...No really, I'm a bad triathlete

I decided that November is going to be called "No Long Run November". I decided on this title because my marathon training officials starts on December 1st and I really wanted to give my body adequate time to heal my injuries.

That's when I created what I like to call "adventure runs." These runs all got started because of my crazy friend Greg who was training for World's Toughest Mudder and convinced me to train with him at Walden one day. I declined putting on the wetsuit and jumping in and out of the pond with him but I did participate in hill sprints, push ups, squats and the trail running. I really liked this type of training and it gave my runs some variety so I decided to make up my own runs like this back home.

I decided I was going to do no more than 3-5 miles because....No Long Run November!

Here is a little map:

As far as the "set of activities" go, I've been doing lunges, squats, pushups and burpees. Don't forgot to push it up those hills :)

So you might be wondering why I titled this post about being a bad triathlete. Allow me to explain...

Very last minute had the opportunity  to run the Gobble Gobble Gobble race in Somerville. I've never run a Turkey Trot before and a nice 4 miles before Thanksgiving sounded like a great idea. I also heard there was  free beer after...I was in! I know I said I wasn't racing any more for the season but hell, we knew that wasn't going to last :)

I left work early on Wednesday (thanks job!) and decided to wash all of my bedding at my parent's house and take advantage of my free time. I had dinner plans with home friends and then I was planning on going out for a bit after and be home at a reasonable hour to rest up for the race...

Flash forward to not a very sober Cat at 3 am... Up until this point I thought I was just going to sleep in my sleeping bag (because I didn't bother to make my bed after I washed all the bedding.) However, I guess my drunk productive self decided that it was unacceptable to sleep in so I woke up (3 hours later) in my nicely made bed, running clothes laid out and I had a new playlist for the race rightfully labeled "IDK?". Yay for drunk productivity!

To say I didn't hate the world when I woke up would be a lie, but I still headed on over to the race on time.

I had a fantastic race! I can't manage to eat before short races so I thought my empty stomach would be a problem but nope! I felt great the whole time and I felt like I could going. I ran just over an 8 min/mile pace. Woot woot. I also thought we got ONE free beer after the race. I walked into the Burren and saw the bar:

 Let's just say I was late to Thanksgiving :)

First Marathon training run is this Saturday! Woot woot!

-cat out

PS
Make my day and donate to my Santa Speedo Run?
http://www.ssrunners.org/ssrun/participantpage.asp?uid=2332&fundid=1516

History in the making!

Tonight Elizabeth Warren became the first female Senator of Massachusetts. Also tonight, I became the first female of my house to remove an AC from her window. I believe her and I are sharing equal joy at the moment.

 

Ps
Scott Brown beat me by 6 minutes at the Cohasset Triathlon this year and I've never even able to forgive him for that.

Bad triathlete problems

Got a glowstick from the night before stuck in my cleat..

Casual Half Marathon

I have a folder on my desktop that has saved photos I plan to blog about and I found that gem from when I signed up for the Newport Amica Half Marathon.

It's true. I freakin miss triathlons. I think I even miss the sun blasting me in the face as I struggle to swim back from the other side of Walden and not being able to spot the bathhouse to swim back to.

However, I'm also burnt out, for now.

Two weeks prior to the half marathon, I really badly rolled my ankle .5 miles from my house and near end of my run. The run was going as it always does. I hit my good stride, I'm practically singing out loud to my music, endorphins are flying, I'm almost home, I'm thinking about what I'm going to wear to the bar that night, big smile on my face and then AHHHHHHHH. Really bad ankle pain (well not as bad as the time I broke it.)

Anyways, as I do with most injuries, I freaked out, got over it, started to walk, started to jog and then started to run. I went home, got ready to go to the bar, went out and woke up with a cankle. Please see injury log for a great photo. I rested, I iced, I compressed and I elevated.

And I still went on my 3 day hiking trip the next weekend.

I was feeling pretty good but I knew I hadn't run in awhile so the half was going to be a struggle.

I told myself I was just going to take it easy and enjoy the course. I also forgot my ankle brace so I knew it was going to be an interesting run. The first 7 miles went by fine and I was making pretty decent time.  However, half way through the next mile with the 20 mph winds hitting me in the face and my ankle screaming at me, I was done. I walked.

I was ok with it. I made little milestones to run/walk for the next couple miles and then made myself run the last 2.5 miles without stopping. It actually went by really quickly and I was pretty happy for most of it. Despite the really crappy weather and intense winds, Newport is such a pretty city and a beautiful course.

Word to the wise: Don't run a half marathon after you roll your ankle two weeks prior. You will be limping for days after and you will not do well in the race. You will also get your cankle back for a couple days. Now you know, don't say I didn't warn you.

During the race I also realized I need a mental break. I want to spend November swimming, biking, doing fun workouts, strength training, making sure my knee and hip are 100% ready to go because I have my first team run bright and early December 1st. For what you might ask...

BAM!!!!! (Yes, this is my "race goals" white board for my big races)

I'm not posting it on fbook/twitter yet so you wonderful blog readers get to know before the social media world :) (I haven't told my family yet so I need to tell them before posting.)

HAPPY NOVEMBER!

I'll probably be a bad marathon runner,

-cat