Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Wednesday Workout Update

I ran with music for the first time in years for our long run on Saturday!  I haven't really missed the music, but since I haven't had anyone to do my long run with, it's been a little too quiet; the Missions race was the last straw in running solo AND music-free.  Jeff has been using my little iPod shuffle for a while now after his shuffle died, so I just made a playlist and put it on my phone.  I found my old earbuds - they are the kind that sit over your ear so you can hear both people talking as well as approaching vehicles - and I was all set.

As it turned out, Cary ended up running with me, but I still had the music playing quietly in the background.  I need to add more songs to that playlist because it was repeating itself, but overall, it ended up being a good run, which was especially nice since it was our first run in a long time where we got to deal with a muggy morning - and it's only February!  I am not quite ready to welcome that kind of weather back just yet.

I must be getting more used to doing the 2:1 intervals for more miles, because we finished this run in the same time that I did the Texas 10 Series 5 miler...and I don't feel like I put out as much effort.  Plus, we were running with one of her dogs, so there were a couple of extra stops to deal with doggy potty breaks and subsequent clean up, which means we probably would have beaten that race time...WHAT?  So weird, I didn't expect that, especially with the warm and humid weather.

Afterward, we went to Blue Baker and planned out our next epic running adventure.  We were there for a couple of hours, working our way through breakfast and drinking coffee.  Now, most people in our group are trying to either diet, or watching what we eat, but it sure is challenging when the bakers bring us treats like these:
Fudge brownies!
This started out as three scoops of white chocolate macadamia nut cookie dough.  So good, and of course we will never turn down cookie dough, but it felt a wee bit excessive.  

I told Jeff that we needed to stop getting our traditional cinnamon twist, because there's only so much of this we can eat.  I ended up taking my half of the twist home, along with some of the cookie dough and brownie.  I can't decide if that was making a better choice or not - on the one hand, we had the extra treats on Sunday instead of going out for our weekly frozen yogurt treat, but on the other hand, hello calories.  Delicious, delicious calories.  Sigh...

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I recently experienced a couple of running blunders, which kind of surprised me - I thought I had this running stuff down pat by now.  Guess not.

The first one came in the form of a GU that leaked all over a zippered compartment in my suitcase.  I brought two of them when we went to San Antonio, and thankfully contained them to a smaller section of the suitcase, because let me just tell you, leaky GU is sticky and is hard to remove from things, like, say, a Garmin, a charger, and the suitcase itself.  I've traveled with GUs this way many, many times, but lesson learned - they are going to go into a Ziploc bag from now on!

The socks in question.  Of course I had to buy them - purple, with lime green accents?  Yes please!

My second blunder was wearing a new pair of socks for a race.  Being that they were the exact same pair of Balega socks that I've worn for years now, I didn't think anything would be amiss with wearing them for the race.  In fact, I saved them for the race, and I was really looking forward to the squishy softness that comes with a new pair of socks.  As I was putting them on that morning, Jeff warned me against wearing them, but what does he know?  Socks, schmocks.  Same difference.  So naturally, when my feet kept sliding around in my shoes during the race, all I could think was "son of a bitch, Jeff was right" - argh!!!

23 comments:

  1. I get a new post of you in my feed reader and I had to smile because next to the title is always a photo from that blog and the title "WWU" didn't really match the brownie photo LOL

    I love running with music. I always listen to the music and stop to think about everything I need/want to do. It's relaxing for me.

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    1. I wouldn't be surprised if there's as many Blue Baker food pictures on my WWU as there are running shots! ;)

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  2. Oh that cookie dough looks awesome! And makes me want to make white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (they're my favorite).

    I love listening to music on my runs. I've rarely run solo without music. It helps the miles tick by more quickly, and lets me just zone out for a while.

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    1. I agree with you on the zoning out aspect when running with music; it's not a bad thing, to drift through a few miles and suddenly be finished.

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  3. I typically run with music but on a few occasions on my run I have been unfortunate to have forgotten to charge my Bluetooth headphones and they go 'dead'....and it really isn't bad. So I giggled when I read your post because we are really the 'opposite' in that one.

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    1. I'm a talker when I run. And a swearer, depending on the distance...anything after about 8 miles, and I need someone to cuss with, LOL.

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  4. That is awesome that the intervals are getting easier! WOO HOO! And boo to that muggy weather - no gracias!

    Ugh, I would be torn about the sweats, too. But I bet they were so great it would have been hard to throw them out!

    Are you going to tell us what the next big adventure is?!

    GU is such a pain to clean up! Hope your stuff recovers :)

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    1. I'll be sharing about the big adventure soon, once we get everything set. :)

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  5. Isn't it fantastic when you just have a good run for no obvious reason? Honestly I think that's where the "runner's high" comes in - you just get in a zone and really aren't paying attention to all the stuff: noise, aches, time, pace, etc. I love when that happens.

    I'll take your muggy weather. I'm just jealous of you being able to consitently run OUTSIDE nearly year 'round. As you know for me if it's not snow, it's ice. Even in this milder winter, I woke up this morning to pouring rain. Blah. The next place I live, I'm going for better weather, I swear!

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    1. I think you're right, about everything coming together for a good run...I try to force it so often that when it does happen, it surprises me!

      And yeah, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't run outside most of the time. Even with the muggy weather, it's still better than dealing with icy, wintery conditions.

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  6. I can't imagine going out for my walk without any music!

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  7. Mmmmm. Cookie dough! That would be a very hard choice for me--cookie dough vs. cinnamon twist.

    I love new squishy socks too. But that does drive me nuts, when they get bunched up on my feet. (I guess that's not what you said, but that's what irritates me :) )

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  8. Oh Shelly that last sentence literally made me LOL (and I'm at work,,shhhh).
    Yea, I usually think if one brand of something works for me then the same item (even if it's new) should be just fine. But I guess sometimes it's not!

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    1. I should probably thank my lucky stars that the new pair of Hokas I bought at the Houston expo and wore for the half marathon the next day didn't give me any trouble...

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  9. I have worn new socks and new running shoes as long as they are the same brand. Lucky so far with that.

    Do hate when my hubby is right...

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  10. I hate when husbands are right! I can't run/walk naked anymore - i.e. I need music, or a podcast or something - it makes the time go by so much faster and I don't seem to check my breathing like I do if that's all I hear!

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  11. I just had the same thing happen to me with a new pair of socks. They were so slippery in my shoes. And they were the Balegas that I love. I guess I should throw them in the wash before wearing.

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    1. I guess Balegas need to be washed before we run in them - sorry that happened to you, too, but good to know it's not just me.

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  12. I would skip the twist and go for that cookie dough any time! I lost my MP3 player, so I don't listen to much when I work out unless I play Pandora on my phone. I need a new one.

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  13. I always have music when I am out running, but I do wish I had a regular runny buddy! I live in Oregon so it's always beautiful scenery to look at, when I am out on the trail running I go without music so I can hear all the sounds nature makes. Blessings and yes, we all hate when the husband is right, lol.

    http://runningsurvivor.blogspot.com/

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