17 September 2012

Weekend Fitness Frenzy

Since I didn't do squat all week...partially due to a 3-day migraine :( ... and partially due to lack of motivation and energy post-migraine, I decided to do what any normal athlete would do...

too much on the weekend.

I was going to run a little bit on Friday. But... I had an active 3-year old in tow all day and some painful internal struggling to power through. By bedtime Friday, I knew I had to do something on Saturday...and I had already half-committed to a possible run with a friend on Sunday... maybe... meaning I was facing a weekend fitness frenzy...at least by my standards.

By late Saturday afternoon, things finally calmed down on the homefront. I headed to the gym at around 5 o'clock and settled in on the StairMaster for a little warm-up. Twenty bored minutes later and totally up-to-date on the Blake Lively/Ryan Reynolds nuptials, I closed my People magazine and stepped off that machine and climbed aboard the elliptical. Fifty super sweaty and soulfully satisfying minutes later, I had firmed up my Sunday running plans thanks to my smartphone and was done working out for the evening for which my shell-shocked quads thanked me. All in all, it was a very productive session.

When I awoke on Sunday, I was a little concerned about the state of my quads given the run I had in mind. I was planning to meet up with my running buddy who is always up for awesome challenges. I love running with her because we have good conversations and both relish training on demanding terrain.

We planned to meet at high noon...because we like to make things harder. We set off to run the same loop as last Sunday, but this time we did three loops plus a little extra in the middle of each loop...which brought my total for the run to 9.6 miles. She did more. I was a waste product after the 9.6.

Below are photos of my two very favorite parts of this route...the photos were taken in the spring when everything was green so imagine instead of the green (except the eucalyptus) it is the golden brown typical of California at the end of summer.


This little 'gateway' is at the crest of the BIG hill. 
I love turning the corner that precedes it and seeing this opening...
 and when you pass through it, the valley opens up at your feet :)

After climbing the BIG hill, you run a bit around the rim of the valley, crossing to the other side.
You then descend on this road.
This view always makes me think of The Road to Endless Possibilities.

With each loop it was getting hotter, but it never got unbearable. Then I dropped an awesomebomb right as we approached our final 1.4 mile descent... kombucha on ice in my car at the finish. Roserunner got very excited and announced the arrival of her second wind and started picking up the pace. I grumbled and flailed and couldn't match anything faster than a determined plod until the downhill began.

We got to the bottom. I was a salty mess. I usually drink a big bottle of Nuun before runs like this one...but I had forgotten to set it up before I left the house :(  Instead, I followed my car-ride kombucha with Nuun at home. And while I tend to take ice baths following long runs (yes, 9.6 is long in my book), I've been opting for warm epsom salts baths lately. I don't really know why. And I don't really know what difference I would feel versus an ice bath. But the epsom salts deal seems to be very comforting and my muscles do feel pretty happy right now.

I'm thinking next week I might shoot for a double-digit run...not sure how that will fit into the Don't Run, Run Faster training plan...perhaps if I, once again, don't do squat all week and just save it all for the weekend... 

*****************************

And we have a victor...

the random number generator at random.org says...

28

which translates to...

Lisa from Mom to Marathon!

Congrats to Lisa on winning the Endorphin Warrior Training Bracelet...and many, many thanks to all who participated in the giveaway :)

17 comments:

  1. That trail looks so peaceful and awesome to run!! Can I come visit?

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  2. Never do anything halfway, right?

    Congrats on a full weekend. If your muscles are happy, you should be happy. No worries about overdoing it!

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  3. This reminds of 3 things:
    1) I totally meant to and now need to write about that ginger Kombucha. Jonathan got mad when I compared how satisfying the drink was after that run to 3 orgasms.
    2) Epsom salts. I must buy some.
    3) wow, that route is so beautiful. I love it. Thanks for wiping me out in the best possible way! You fooled me, would never have guessed your quads were being whiny. You jumped out of the car and RAN!

    (p.s. A secret. I had a bottle of water in my car with Nuun in it...Nuun gifted to me from Pam....I should have given it to you! I was too busy with my Kombucha to bother with it).

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    Replies
    1. the pleasure and satisfaction derived from downing 16oz of ice cold ginger kombucha after that run = 3 orgasms....

      I am inclined to agree with that.

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  4. OMG! That just made my day!!! I think it is a sign. I will ruminate on what word I want during my marathon on Saturday. Thank you!

    Btw, I think a warm epsom salt bath sounds infinitely more desirable than an ice bath and I bet the benefits are close to the same.

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  5. Yep, sounds like me. I always try do overdo the exercise thing on the weekends too (hike or ski one day, run the other!) Except lately I'm in full marathon training mode, so it's all running all the time. But the big event is in three weeks, and then I can go and have fun on the weekends again. :)

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  6. Funny, I always run that loop in the opposite direction. But it's one of my favorites, for sure. Hilly but runnable, gorgeous, and not crowded. We'll have to run that together once I'm done with CIM training!

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    Replies
    1. Ugh. I can't imagine running it the other way! That looooooong uphill would seem neverending!!!! You are tougher than tough! Perhaps we should do it together sometime...you could properly school me in how it's done :)

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    2. I'm not sure about being tougher than tough; I do know that I run it SLOW as molasses. It might be a long hill but nothing quite as bad as some of the other trail hills around. Yes, we should definitely run together -- maybe once clockwise, once counterclockwise to see if we have a preference!

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  7. Good job on doing Squat. Or lack of. Wow, those hills are green!!! I was there last weekend and they are definitely a different color now! I think I was on the same loop! You almost did double digits! You should have just squeezed out an extra .5!! Let me know if you need a trail running buddy; I am always down for a round or two!

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  8. I'm on the Don't Run, Run Faster plan too ;)

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    Replies
    1. Girl...there are no 40-mile weeks in that plan ;-)

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  9. I have been doing the epsom salt baths too...I really like it and I really feel good afterwards.
    That looks like a beautiful place to run....are those eucalyptus trees? We dont have them here in TX and I really miss them :(
    I hope you have a great week!
    And 9.6 is a long run!!!!

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  10. i love my joyful bath company salts-they have epsom plus other healing type ingredients-i use them in warm baths and my ice baths. seems to make both much more pleasurable! i am envious of your bliss with that damn elliptical. tonight was better with a magazine. i know you will easily get to your double digit run. period. :)

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