Quit whining it's only winter!

Lately I've been trying to complain less. It's something that I do everyday, and I'm sure more than I even realize. I don't know how well I'm doing, but I figure that the more I work on it, or am aware of it the better it will get. That being said I'm going to un-complain myself through this blog.

This morning as I dressed in layers upon layers to brave the 15 degree temp with 4 degree wind chill I wondered how many miles it would take me to warm up. Standing outside with the group for the few seconds before we took off I heard someone say something about Chicago and I thought of my poor friend, Jeannie. I talked to Jeannie on the phone last night and we talked a bit about running and how she has had to do most of her training on the treadmill. Yuck! I told her how it was pretty cold here but I've only had to do a few treadmill runs because of the weather. Lucky me! February in Kentucky can be pretty messy, but what would I do if I couldn't train outside for months?!? Still...I can't wait for spring!!!

This is usually the time of year that I get the winter blahs and find myself unmotivated and a bit lazy compared to the rest of the year. It's really an easy season to be this way. This year I have been trying to vary my training by staying more balanced in all of the components of fitness. Obviously with the sport that I have chosen there is a lot of emphasis put on my cardiovascular endurance. I am still maintaining fitness in that area, but my flexibility (thanks to Yoga) and muscular strength and muscular endurance are also much better than last year. Hopefully this will result in a better race than last year's Derby Half Marathon. Last year was great, but it would be nice to PR.

Tomorrow is Friday which I usually take off from running. This is a good thing because as I sit here and type I am listening to the rain outside. Rain that will most likely freeze into an ugly messy ice storm overnight. But who cares because I don't run tomorrow anyway!

One benefit of crappy weather is that there's more time for this...

New Training

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon Saturday. It's October 12, 2008. It's pretty far away, but I like that. Not that I did too much last year, but it will be nice to have a more relaxed race schedule for this year. I might not even do a triathlon this season. I do love triathlon, but I don't have much desire to race just yet. I might change my mind when it starts getting warmer again, but as of today the only races I plan on doing in '08 are the Derby Half Marathon and Chicago.

So how is training going? The month or so after a race is always the time I need to be the most cautious. Its always a challenge to figure out how much time I need to take completely off, and how slowly or quickly to return to exercise. I have some strong telltale signs of when I am being too ambitious. I think we all have them, so what happens when we don't listen to the signs? In most cases it results in injury. Every time I have had an injury, achilles tendinitis, knee inflammation, etc. it has always been in the first month or so after a big event. My achilles tendinitis occurred when I started running again after the Derby Marathon. Knee pain followed the Ironman. It's not every time that I have an injury after a race, but it can be often if I am not careful. Knowing that my running group is out there pounding the pavement every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning makes me want to come back as quickly as possible because I fear losing fitness... of course also for fear of missing out on the great early morning conversation.

Since I am still within one month of the Phoenix Marathon I have been trying to be very careful about my training. I've been doing this by taking a few days off when I feel something not quite right, and adding some variety into my training. Strength training is something I always do reluctantly and infrequently, but for now it has been a bit more frequent, but still with reluctance. Example week:
Monday: Strength training 30 minutes, cross training (usually elliptical) 30 min
Tuesday: Run 40-50 min
Wednesday: Trainer ride 45min-1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr (flexibility and strength)
Thursday: Run 47-49 min w/Starbucks group
Friday: rest
Saturday: Run >1hr
Sunday: Trainer ride 1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr

I've been really enjoying this yoga class. I think the instructor is great and it is always more challenging than I anticipate. The room stays a very humid 90-95 degrees which makes it great
for keeping the muscles warm and loose. I think it is really helping my hips and hamstrings. Hope it helps me stay injury free as well!