Author Archives: Melissa

Training Update

Posted on by

6

It occurred to me the other day that this training cycle is a lot different from other times I’ve trained. Typically, I have a good sense of how I’ll feel during a run beforehand. There’ll be a noticeable progression in my training. I’ll eventually get into a groove where I feel really ready–perfectly trained and prepared for a race. This time around? It’s not happening, folks. I never know how I’ll feel and can’t predict when I’ll have crazy pain vs. an amazingly loose, relaxed run. It’s a little disconcerting since the whole point of training is to feel prepared, and I feel anything but. Still, I know logging all these miles has to be doing something, right?

Positive self-talk. It's a thing.

Positive self-talk. It’s a thing.

It’s also time I thought about what I want that something to be. I’m hesitant to set a definite goal for this race since it’s the first thing I’ve trained for since the marathon that wasn’t, and I still don’t feel like my hip/hamstring are operating at full capacity. Still, I think I’m one of those people who always has a PR in the back of her mind–who doesn’t, right?–and would love to show myself that this training has done something for me. More realistically, I know a PR probably wouldn’t even be smart to shoot for given my injury. Instead, I have a more conservative time in mind that’s slightly slower (but still plenty fast for me) than my PR. And no, I’m not going to tell you because I’m too big of a wimp to put it in writing and have to face failure if I don’t meet it. (<–REAL TALK)

Anyway.

I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath for this week’s training update, so let’s get to it, shall we?

Half Marathon #7 Training–Week 5

Monday: 4 miles @8:11

Tuesday: 4 miles @8:59, full body strength training

Wednesday: 7 miles w/5 miles of tempo

This run was particularly crappy. It was humid and hilly, and I generally felt like crap. Can’t win ‘em all.

Thursday: 4 miles @9:18; this workout

My hip was in bad shape for this run and continued to hurt pretty badly until Saturday morning. Lucky for me, Manfriend helped me stretch it out before my long run on Saturday. I can stretch it myself, but it’s a huge help to have some pressure on it to help it release. That, I can’t do myself. So thanks, MF.

Friday: REST

Saturday: 14 miles @8:03

Inexplicably fantastic run. I was absolutely spent by the end of it, but it did give me some confidence that I might still have my speed somewhere in there!

Sunday: REST

Yep.

Here’s what else I’ve noticed: since I started my new job, I’m back at a desk all day. My hip doesn’t like it. At all. In fact, I’m generally uncomfortable sitting unless it’s sprawled out on the couch or floor. I stand up as often as I can and even stand at my desk sometimes, but it’s still pretty bad. Anyone else experience this? I’d love to know if you have any tips on how to deal.

BTW, if you really want the play-by-play for this training nonsense, feel free to follow along on the Daily Mile. Or not.

Pain in the … Workout

Posted on by

4

I used to do the Daily HIIT workouts every day, but now that I’m training for a race, I’m obviously focused more on logging miles. Still, I like to draw my supplementary strength training from Daily HIIT exercises because I’m not original enough to think of these on my own.

Last week, I wanted to get some leg/lower body work in, but wasn’t feeling particularly motivated or creative, so I decided to do a mashup of Daily HIIT moves that were not only challenging, but left my legs and butt feeling like they were on fire. I’ll put it this way: it hurt to sit down the next day. But in the best possible “I worked out hard” kind of way, you know? It was quite literally (yes, actually literally) a pain in the ass.

Think of this as a curated list of my favorite lower body exercises if you will (explanations and pics below).

pain in the ... workout

Sliders: If you don’t have a bar, use a free weight or sandbag. Squat on one leg, sweeping the other leg behind you. It should rest, as shown in the middle picture below, diagonally behind you. Return to upright position and repeat for 8 reps on each side.

Twisting Lunge: Hold a weight at your chest or above your head. Lunge forward with right leg, bring the weight down, and twist to the right side. Return to start and switch sides. Repeat for a total of 8 lunges on each side.

Walking Lateral Squat w/Shoulder Press: Stay in the squat, moving to the right for four squats, doing an overhead press with each one. Switch and do four squats to the left with overhead presses. Repeat on each side for a total of 16 squats/presses.

Sumo Squat w/Side Raise: Squat low, then as you rise up, lift right leg out to the side. Return to squat position, then repeat on left side for 8 reps on each side.

Got any good lower body moves to add to these? Link ‘em up in the comments. I’m always on the hunt for new moves!

Lupus, You Bastard

Posted on by

4

Despite the fact that there are nearly 12 years between us, my sister and I are super close.

019.jpg

Like thisclose.

016.jpg

Like bestbestbest friends.

When she was little, I remember thinking I couldn’t imagine loving anyone as much as I loved her. She’s a pretty great gal.

photo2.jpg

Growing up, Jenn got sick a lot. Inexplicably, she was susceptible to just about everything. If you had a cold, she was getting it. If you had the flu, she had the flu. And I swear, regardless of whatever other illness she was fighting off, the kid had a sinus infection 99% of the time. We had no idea why she was always sick, but attributed it to stress and her teeny tiny frame, too small to fight anything off. But how awful to be sick all the time and not be able to do anything about it, right?

A few years ago, our doctor finally got wise and decided to run some tests. Shortly thereafter, Jenn was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes your immune system to get massively confused and attack your healthy cells right alongside the unhealthy invaders. This is a chronic condition; not only are you more susceptible to illness, but you also have “flares” or periods where lupus symptoms–like swelling, joint pain, fever, chest pain, etc.–get worse. These can be caused by anything from stress to too much time in the sun. Basically, it blows.

jenn and me nyc

There’s no real known cause or sure-fire treatment for lupus which makes it incredibly difficult to manage. So I’m incredibly proud of my little sis who graduated in 4 years and secured herself a full time job post-grad all while juggling countless doctor visits, multiple flares, and the odd hospitalization (meningitis, anyone?). But the thing about lupus is that it’s chronic, and it doesn’t go away.

My sis is a total trooper, though. She never complains. She endures her numerous illnesses, and in fact, she embraces life more than anyone else I know. Jenn is the true definition of a go-getter, pursuing life and making things happen, rather than just hoping for them. She’s kind of an amazing little lady.

Anyway, the point of all this is that May is Lupus Awareness Month, so if I can do even a little to help people learn more about it, that’s what I’m doing. 4445-POP_FBInstagramTwitter_Blue

And if you are so inclined, feel free to Put on Purple tomorrow to help raise awareness. It’s such a strange disease, one that’s hard to understand–even for me and my sister has it!–because it manifests in so many different ways. But if more people are aware, hopefully there will be more funding for research and treatment, and ultimately, a cure.