Week 41

October 7th- Abs

October 8th- 3.1 mile run and arms

I was able to make it to the gym today after my evening class. It sucks it is starting to get dark out so early… it’s making those evening runs not possible to do outside. I hit the gym tonight I powered through a quick 5K and arm workout. It felt good and something I want to keep up, even with my super busy schedule!

October 9th- Abs

October 10th- 4.5 mile run

This was another gym run tonight. I got out of class a little earlier than I thought I would and took that as an opportunity to hit the gym and get some miles in. I’m starting to remember how boring the treadmill can get. I might need to start doing some speed or hill training workouts to change things up a bit.

October 11th- rest

October 12th- rest

October 13th- rest

I spend the day with Alex’s family. We went to the pumpkin patch and then spent the afternoon and evening playing games and eating!

Week 40

September 30th- 3.1 mile run

I opted in for another treadmill run tonight. By the time I got done with classes and meetings it was already 7:45, dark out, and freezing! So I decided to hit the gym treadmill instead skipping my run for the day.

I think it’s going to be really important to make it to the gym and not make excuses for why I can’t run. I felt so much better after this run. It’s amazing how much more clear headed I felt. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store!

October 1st- 30 min bike ride

I decided to bike today instead of run. My legs have been sore the last couple of days so I thought biking might give them a break. I was also able to get a solid arm workout in tonight.

October 2nd- Abs

I didn’t make it to the gym tonight, so opted in for a quick ab workout.

October 3rd- Abs

October 4th- 5.11 mile run

I ran Lake Padden twice today! A couple weeks ago this was a goal of mine and I finally have gotten around to do it! My mile times were a little slower than my normal 3+ mile runs, but I was shocked at how easy this run felt. I was definitely tired when I finished but I thought the hills were way easier than what I had built them up to be in my head. I guess this goes to show you how important a positive mindset can be.

October 5th- Rest

October 6th- Rest

October

I feel like I start each new months blog the same way: “Wow! I can’t believe how fast time has gone this month.” Why does this seem to be the case? And, how do I slow down time? September did go fast, but I think this month went fast because I was more mindful of doing the things I enjoy. This included not only running or working out, but also reading more, taking time to go outside, and spending time with friends and family.

I tried to make the month of September one of my better running months. I really wanted to take the time to run and push myself to hit at least three miles on each run I did. This was a way for me to push myself, but to also make sure I was feeling good and confident after my runs. There were a few months where I would barely hit 2.5 miles and call it quits. These were the runs that never felt satisfying because I wasn’t pushing myself to run longer distances.

When looking back on my goals for September, I did a pretty good job of hitting them. I did run at least 3 miles with every run and I did (and still do) stretch after each run. The one area I still need to work on it getting abs in on the days I don’t run. There were some weeks where I was really good about this, but there were also a lot of weeks where I slacked off. This will have to be one of my continuing goals for this month.

Goals for this month:

Continue to run at least 3 miles each time I run
Do abs each day on my off days from running
Stay motivated and don’t make excuses to not run, especially as classes start to pick up and the days continue to get shorter and shorter.
Continue to care for my body after runs by eating healthy and stretching.

I am excited to see what I can accomplish this October. Having some cooler weather will fun to run in and the rain that’s bound to hit soon will remind me of my cross country days. I know it will be hard to stay motivated with classes and working a part time job, but keeping up with my workouts will pay off in so many ways! I’m really going to have to push myself this month, but I think I will be up for the challenge.

Monthly stats

October was a really good month for working out. Each week this month was filled with a good mixture of run, gym, and rest days. I’m hoping to keep this motivation throughout the November and December.

Week 39

September 23rd- 3.73 mile run

It was dumping rain most of the day. While most times it rains I have to push myself a little harder to get out and run, today was different. I was excited to run in the rain! I’m not sure what my change in attitude was today, but it made my run a lot more enjoyable.

The temperature has started to cool off, making those longer runs feel a little shorter than they should. My goal this week is to get a few long runs in. I am hoping to run around Lake Padden two times tomorrow. This will give me a little over 5 miles total. I know this run will be difficult, as Lake Padden has some fairly hilly parts, but it something I have been aiming to do for awhile. With the weather cooling down, it makes this goal seem feasible. I can’t wait to write that post sometime later this week once I have accomplished this mini-week goal!

September 24th- 3.73 mile run

Today’s run was another Fairhaven one. This time I decided to go through Fairhaven Park and hit a little bit of the Greenway Interurban Trail. I want to look more into where all this trail takes you. It might be a new route to try out!

September 25th- Rest

First day of classes went well except for one minor detail… I forgot how hard it is to wake up for an 8am! When my alarm went off this morning I couldn’t believe how tired I still was. This feeling carried throughout the day and into the evening.

I knew fall quarter was going to feel this way. I am promising myself to get a run in at least every other day. I will need to push myself to accomplish this. Tomorrow after my class ends at 6pm I am going to go to the gym and try a speed workout or hill workout on the treadmill!

September 26th- 3.31 mile rolling hill workout

This was my first time back in the gym after summer break. It was weird being back, but even weirder realizing I only have two more quarters to utilize the machines I’ve gotten used to.

I decided to do a hill workout today. This was harder than I thought it was going to be but made sure to push through the 30 minute workout and give it my all. I wish the treadmill would have tracked how much incline I gained while doing this workout. I know my legs and butt will be sore tomorrow! I was also able to get some assisted pull ups in. It felt good using theses muscles again.

I am excited to see what results I can get with going to the gym on a regular basis.

September 27th- Rest

September 28th- Moving day

It’s the day Alex officially moves out of his apartment in Bellingham. Although he has been living back at home for a little over a month now, it’s finally time for his lease up here to end and all his stuff to get moved back home. I wanted to count today as a “gym day” because of all the heavy lifting, squatting, and sweating we all did.

September 29th- Abs

I though I should end the week with an ab sessions. Today I spend the morning and part of the afternoon cheering with Alex and his brother at a marathon for Alex’s brothers wife. It was awesome to see so many dedicated runners… way more dedicated than I sometimes am.

It was a good reminder for me to stay on a schedule and push myself every time I run. Whether it be going up that dreaded hill instead of finding a new route, running a faster mile, or just going a longer distance than 3.5 miles. It’s these small changes that will make the biggest difference in my running.

Week 37

September 9th- 3.18 mile run

This run was another route I decided to run backwards. I started off running around campus and quickly decided to do a little trail running and get a hill workout in. I haven’t done this type of training in awhile, I was able to gain over 500 feet in elevation.

As I was running through Sehome Arboretum, I ended up twisting my ankle on a root. I finished off my run, but am hoping I didn’t injure myself. I made sure, once I got back, to rest, elevate, and ice it. I’m hoping tomorrow it won’t be too sore. I want to try and get a long run in either tomorrow or the day after (depending on how the ankle is feeling). Only time will tell!

I’m aiming to get a 4.5 or 5 mile run in. Right now I seem to be capping out around 3.1, which is awesome but I think it would be good to push myself to start running longer distances again.

September 10th- Rest

I’m mad at myself for rolling my ankle yesterday in the arb. It felt okay yesterday, but today not to much. I think I internally bruised it and will need to let it heal before running on it again. This feels like a setback, as I have been so motivated the past couple weeks to run and push myself to run longer distances. Hoping this little injury doesn’t put me too far behind!

September 11th- Abs

My ankle is still sore, so I opted in for a ab session today instead of running.

September 12th- Rest

Okay, can my ankle be healed already?!?! I’m starting to get antsy, but I know I need to be patient and let I heal so I don’t injure it more.

September 13th- Rest

Today was a moving day. My family helped move my grandma into a 24 hour care facility. I spent the day packing up her stuff and helping move it to her new home. As the day drew on, I couldn’t help but notice how sore my ankle was. I’m hoping this heals soon, as I want to start running again!

September 14th- Rest

This week is not going too well with running. I am really regretting rolling my ankle on Monday! I am going to let it rest for the remainder of the weekend and try to do a short run on Monday to test out how it is feeling.

September 15th- Abs

I opted in for a quick ab session tonight. I decided to try that app again that does a fully body workout. I decided to go for 20 minutes instead of 10 and I could definitely feel the burn! I really liked this workout and will need to keep it in mind for the future.

Post Running Recovery

Within the last couple of weeks I have been trying to run longer distances and increase my elevation gain. With these challenges, comes new recovery techniques I have started implementing and thought I would share with you as well.

What really sparked my interest in writing this post was rolling my ankle earlier today while trail running through Sehome Arboretum. Feel free to read about that post here.

One thing that is super important after any type of physical exercise is the recovery you implement afterwards. To be honest, I wasn’t very good about this and of course suffered the consequences the next day of really stiff and sore muscles. Recently, I have been trying to change this and really put as much focus into stretching, eating, and recovering as I do when I’m running. I started to do a lot more research on how to take care of my body and wanted to share some of that here, not only as advice but also as a good reminder for me.

Diet: Pre and Post Run

One of the major things I notice when running long distances is the runner’s trots. If you aren’t familiar with this, then count yourself lucky. For me, running messes up my stomach to the point where I would be sitting in the bathroom 30 minutes after my run shitting my guts out (sorry for the gross image). I did some research on this and found out that:

This is a common thing among runners. It is more common in females than it is males and occurs from the constant movement of the stomach while running.
Diet can play a role in the occurrence of this. While I have not be able to fully rid myself from this problem, I have been able to lessen it by eating healthier foods.
- This includes more fruits and veggies with my meals and eating out less. Once I started this, I noticed a big difference in the urgency to “go”.
- Cutting back on processed sugars was another one I tried. This was a little harder for me to do, but I did notice a difference.
Staying hydrated as also helped with the aftermath of being in the bathroom. It is important to replenish all the water you lost through sweating. This not only helps with runner’s trots, but also during running and the recovery afterwards.

A post run drink I have tried as part of my recovery process include chocolate milk. Chocolate milk is supposed to be really good for you after a run. It helps replenish the sugars your muscles lose during running and it restores your muscles so they are ready for your next workout. Between this and stretching, I have noticed a significant difference in the soreness of my muscles the next day after a long run.

These are just a few diet changes I have made and seen results from in the past couple of weeks!

Stretching

This is something I never took too seriously. I knew I should be stretching, but it wasn’t until running longer distances again where I really started to notice the need for this. To fix the sore muscles I was feeling the next day after running, I made sure to not only stretch, but also include a cool down at the end of my run.

Right after finishing my runs, I don’t immediately stop and start stretching. Instead, I make sure to do a slow jog that eventually leads into a walk. By doing this I can really feel where my muscles are hurting and try to focus on those areas when stretching.

After this, I set aside 10-15 minutes of static stretching. This is mainly for calves, thighs, hip flexors, and sometimes shins and arches depending on how they are feeling.

Since making these changes, I have noticed a change in how I feel the next morning after my long runs. I no longer feel stiff and am able to run the next day. Who knew these simple changes could make such a difference in how you are feeling the next day!

I feel like I’ve taken a new approach to running during late August and most of September (maybe because of all the free time I have without classes?). I have been slowing down my pace by not trying to race myself and I’ve made sure to take care of my body both before and after my runs. This has had a huge impact on my motivation to continue to run and push myself to longer distances and higher elevation gains.

Week 38

September 16th- 3.61 mile run

We are finally back! After taking a week off to let me ankle heal I was able to get a run in today. It took me awhile to warm up and get into a comfortable running pace, but once I did I didn’t want to stop running!

I made sure not to over do this run, as I want to make sure I give my body time to get back into running and make sure my ankle is fully healed.

September 17th- Abs

September 18th- 3.33 mile run

All day today I have felt lethargic and unmotivated to do anything. This included while on my run. While I was able to get a 5k in, it felt like it took forever and drug on. I was able to push myself to get to 3 miles, but I wish I felt more drive to get to 4 or 4.5 miles.

September 19th- Rest

September 20th- Abs

September 21st- Rest

September 22nd- Abs

Week 36

September 2nd- Rest

Today was so long! We got back from Leavenworth, then headed back out again to go sailing with Alex’s side of the family. I got back up to Bellingham around 10pm and went straight to bed. I’m excited to start up running again this week!

September 3rd- 3.79 mile run

I got back from work and had a hard decision to make: run Lake Padden, or run my Fairhaven route. I opted for the Fairhaven run. It was a little harder than I remembered. The hills killed my legs!

September 4th- 3.2 mile run

I got another run in this week! I’m excited that I’ve been able to get two runs complete two days in a row. It feels good getting out and enjoying the sunshine before fall hits and the weather starts to cool off. I have started to notice the fallen leaves on the ground… are we really that close to fall?!? I’m hoping we get a little more sun before the weather change.

September 5th- 3.33 mile run

Today was a Lake Padden running day! I ran the usual route backwards. It’s interesting how new the route seemed, even though I’ve ran it so many times. I’m going to have to try this with some of my other routes to switch it up a bit.

September 6th- Rest

September 7th- Walk

Alex came up for the weekend and we ended up walking over 3 miles around campus. Although this isn’t as tiring as a run, I still thought it was good we got out for a bit and enjoyed the fresh air.

September 8th- Abs

I used one of the various workout apps I have downloaded to do a 10 minute full body workout. This targeted my arms, abs, and legs. 10 minutes was a good starting point for these exercises, but I think 15 or 20 minutes would have been better. Something to keep in mind next time I use this workout!

September

I am proud of what I have done throughout the month of August. I have gotten more running in than I have the past couple of months and I feel a lot healthier and confident because of it. I have recently had a lot more time on my hands with classes being out and working a part time job. While I am sure all of this has helped in my motivation to run, I believe my mindset has also played a role in this.

Towards the end of August I got back into running longer distances. As I started running a consistent 3 or more miles, I stopped worrying about my mile time. It finally dawned on me that every time I would go for a run I felt like I needed to race myself. I think this comes from my cross country and track background in high school. I finally stopped worrying about how long a run was taking me and instead am learning to enjoy the freedom of being outdoors in the sunshine, slowing down when I need to, and pushing myself to go longer distances at a longer pace.

Taking the pressure off myself makes me excited to go for a run and find new routes to take. I am continuing to enjoy all the running I am able to do outside and am already starting to dread the treadmill running that I know is around the corner as fall approaches.

Before laying out my goals for September, I want to take some time and reflect on the goals I set for myself for August. As a refresher, here were my goals for August: sign up for a race, run at least one four mile run a week, and keep arms toned at the gym.

Alright, signing up for a race did NOT happen! I looked into quite a few, but couldn’t believe how expensive they are!! Right now, I do not have an extra $50-$60 to drop on a race… Maybe once I have a more solid income this will change. Towards the end of August I was getting 3.5 to 4 miles in. Finally, keeping my arms toned at the gym was a hard one to accomplish due to the fact that the cyst on my wrist came back and was actually starting to cause me some pain. Instead, I tried to incorporate some ab workouts that would also work on my arms (like planks and mountain climbers).

As I look back on my goals for August, most of them did not get accomplished until the end of the month. I am hoping this changes in September! I want to start working towards my goals right away. With this being said, here are my September goals:

Run AT LEAST every other day, hitting 3 or more miles
Keep up with abs on the days I am not running
Really focus on keeping a positive and motivated mindset
STRETCH after run and make sure to take care of muscles

Monthly stats

September was a good month for working out. Week 37 was a little on the lazy side with four rest days, but other than that I am happy with the work I put in this month!

Week 35

August 26th- 4 mile run

Today was the first time in awhile where a runners high kicked in and I couldn’t help but keep running. My route was a little wonky as I would get closer to home and then detour not wanting my run to end. This happened a few times until the last hill got me and I realized how tired my legs were.

August 27th- Abs

August 28th- 3.04 mile run

Did another loop around campus today. My legs are still sore and tired from Monday’s run, but it felt good to get another run in for the week!

August 29th- abs

August 30th- 3.19 mile run

I came home to Seattle and got to do an old running route around my neighborhood. This route seemed a lot easier than I remember, maybe I’m just more conditioned than I was the last time I ran it.

Later today Alex and I are heading over to Leavenworth to meet up with his siblings to celebrate birthdays! Glad I got a run in, as I’m sure there won’t be a lot of time to go running this weekend.

August 31st- Bike ride and brews

We are spending the weekend in Leavenworth and decided to do a bike around town and winery tour. We hit up a few wineries, but in between was filled with sweating and biking to get to the next location! Definitely a fun way to scoot around town and get a good leg workout in!

September 1st- Rest

We spent the day drinking and exploring Leavenworth!