I would willingly admit that I am addicted to caffeine. And to coffee. I have been slowly cutting back the last few weeks, just because I need to run in the mornings before I have time to have some. I don't want to end up with a caffeine headache all day so I figured it's best to wean myself off the juice. At least mostly.
But I still love coffee. I will drink it all day, up until 5pm. I will take it in regular, decaf, or - if I'm feeling feisty - half of each. :) It is something I won't go without. And now I've read that there's really no reason to! It's good for me! Runners and coffee drinkers unite and rejoice!
Here's the good news article I read yesterday. Enjoy reading over a fine cup'a joe - caffeinated or otherwise.
Eight Things Runners Should Know About Coffee
The last two bits of info are my favorite... Coffee Butter?! Yes, please!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
how tough is tough
A couple of years ago, I took a Strengths Finder test at work. We all did it to see how we can work together better. It was fun to see posted on a wall everyone's top 5 strengths! One of my top five was Consistency; along with Empathy, Harmony, Adaptability, and Developer.
I'm telling you this because when it comes to my running/workout routine, I am very consistent. Not always in the day/time but especially in regards to running routes and not really adding much else into my training (like strength training or cross training or hills!). I like the routes I run and I don't much venture away from them. I know how long they'll take, I know what to expect...consistency!
This spring/summer, I'm doing something a little outside my box of consistency. I signed up for a Tough Mudder. A Tough Mudder is a 10-12mi long "experience" with 20-25 military-style obstacles thrown in...you know, for fun. :) I have always been somewhat opposed to these sorts of gimmicky races (Color Run, Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Foam Fest) because I am a purist. I like to run. I don't like to have things thrown at me, to jump over walls, to deal with fire during my runs. So when two friends (big, strong dudes) asked me to be a part of their team, I immediately said, "No, I'd rather run a marathon every week than do this Tough Mudder business." (Exact quote.) :)
However on my run that afternoon I started thinking... Who else would I ever do this with if I did ever get the notion to do it? I could think of no one. So that evening, I committed to be a part of their TM team. And I got down to business recruiting other people too. We currently have a team of 8 (3 women, 5 men) and hopefully another 2 will be signing up soon.
I also got down to business training. If there is one thing I lack more than anything else, it's upper body strength. I just don't have it. I could run for days, but ask me to do a pull up? No way. To help build a bit of endurance and strength, I downloaded the TM Boot Camp Training Plan. It's 5 circuits of 6 x 2min of cardio/1min of obstacle training with one minute of rest in between each circuit. It's good stuff and totally kicks my butt. This boot camp is on my training schedule 3days a week. I have to remember that I'm also training for the NYC Marathon (Finally!) so still doing runs 3-4 days a week, as well.
It's a lot of training and hard work but I know that it will pay off big time on Aug 10th (TM) and Nov 3rd (NYC).
I'm telling you this because when it comes to my running/workout routine, I am very consistent. Not always in the day/time but especially in regards to running routes and not really adding much else into my training (like strength training or cross training or hills!). I like the routes I run and I don't much venture away from them. I know how long they'll take, I know what to expect...consistency!
This spring/summer, I'm doing something a little outside my box of consistency. I signed up for a Tough Mudder. A Tough Mudder is a 10-12mi long "experience" with 20-25 military-style obstacles thrown in...you know, for fun. :) I have always been somewhat opposed to these sorts of gimmicky races (Color Run, Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Foam Fest) because I am a purist. I like to run. I don't like to have things thrown at me, to jump over walls, to deal with fire during my runs. So when two friends (big, strong dudes) asked me to be a part of their team, I immediately said, "No, I'd rather run a marathon every week than do this Tough Mudder business." (Exact quote.) :)
However on my run that afternoon I started thinking... Who else would I ever do this with if I did ever get the notion to do it? I could think of no one. So that evening, I committed to be a part of their TM team. And I got down to business recruiting other people too. We currently have a team of 8 (3 women, 5 men) and hopefully another 2 will be signing up soon.
I also got down to business training. If there is one thing I lack more than anything else, it's upper body strength. I just don't have it. I could run for days, but ask me to do a pull up? No way. To help build a bit of endurance and strength, I downloaded the TM Boot Camp Training Plan. It's 5 circuits of 6 x 2min of cardio/1min of obstacle training with one minute of rest in between each circuit. It's good stuff and totally kicks my butt. This boot camp is on my training schedule 3days a week. I have to remember that I'm also training for the NYC Marathon (Finally!) so still doing runs 3-4 days a week, as well.
It's a lot of training and hard work but I know that it will pay off big time on Aug 10th (TM) and Nov 3rd (NYC).
Monday, June 3, 2013
heatwave
This weekend, the Northeast was treated to three days of 90+ degrees! I'm not complaining, I love the heat. But it does make for slower runs, at least for this girl. On Friday, I wanted to get about 3-4mi in and a friend said she'd run with me. Great! However, by the time we could get together, it was about 95deg. We called it, got iced coffees and went for a 3mi walk instead.
Saturday, I got up early (although, not early enough) and headed out for 10mi. I left the house by 8am and it was already roasting! Somehow I made it the whole 10mi, slowly but completely. On Sunday, I knew if I was going to get any kind of running in, I was going to have to get myself out the door by 6:30am. And that's just what I did. It was still pretty warm and I was really tired so it was a horrible 4mi. (I also wore shorts...I hate wearing shorts so I know that contributed to my feelings on this run.)
Running in the heat is hard. But it's do-able...just pay attention to your body and stop if you need to! For my run on Saturday, I made sure to stay at the lake where there are water fountains every mile or so. I not only drank from the fountains, but was sure to drench my head and face each time to cool off. When I got home, I took a cool shower and continued to drink lots of cold fluids - including some nuun! I was planning to go up to the beach that day, but with the later start, I thought twice and hung around home. I'm glad I did...even sitting on my porch in the shade, I was roasting! So, I hit up the nearest Redbox and Chipotle and had a lively, happenin' Saturday night. :)
Saturday, I got up early (although, not early enough) and headed out for 10mi. I left the house by 8am and it was already roasting! Somehow I made it the whole 10mi, slowly but completely. On Sunday, I knew if I was going to get any kind of running in, I was going to have to get myself out the door by 6:30am. And that's just what I did. It was still pretty warm and I was really tired so it was a horrible 4mi. (I also wore shorts...I hate wearing shorts so I know that contributed to my feelings on this run.)
Running in the heat is hard. But it's do-able...just pay attention to your body and stop if you need to! For my run on Saturday, I made sure to stay at the lake where there are water fountains every mile or so. I not only drank from the fountains, but was sure to drench my head and face each time to cool off. When I got home, I took a cool shower and continued to drink lots of cold fluids - including some nuun! I was planning to go up to the beach that day, but with the later start, I thought twice and hung around home. I'm glad I did...even sitting on my porch in the shade, I was roasting! So, I hit up the nearest Redbox and Chipotle and had a lively, happenin' Saturday night. :)
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