Treadmill Key Jacker

I've noticed for the past week the treadmill key is sometimes missing or on the floor in some random place. I wondered what was going on when I approached the treadmill on Tuesday.

This week, we had a little bit of chilly, snowy weather, so I had to put up a fight with the treadmill -- a machine I am convinced is created to defeat people, rather than provide an opportunity to run. I was about to let it get the best of me and quit my workout after 1.5 miles, but then I reminded myself that potential failure in future races would only be caused by my lack of training. I've recently been tapping into Everything you think, whether positive or negative is an affirmation. I choose to remain positive. I completed 4.5 miles.

On Wednesday, I joined Mindy at a private pilates class in Big Bear. She suggested it would be a better cross-training alternative to the crippling Bodyworks class I took at L.A. Fitness. She was right. And the instructor: super polite, super helpful on form and posture...a total doll. Actually, a celebrity. She starred opposite Nicolas Cage in the 1980s classic Valley Girl. And not just an extra. She had second billing on the movie. I discovered this only after I checked out her website, so I didn't make any lame, embarrassing comments to her. Looking forward to going back.

Thursday, I decided to run 8 miles on the treadmill after work. I was so confident after defeating the machine on Tuesday and motivated by a potential upcoming half-marathon that I was ready to run farther than I had ever attempted while never going anywhere.

The treadmill key was on the floor again. No sooner did I plug it in that the mystery was solved.

Cats are so easy...

So I turned the Food Channel on silent so I had something to look at, cranked up my running playlist and hit the mat, jogging the miles away. When I got bored, I bumped up the speed, and recovered at my reliable 6mph (I remember when 4.5 mph was my reliable pace). If I didn't bust out the start gate so fast in my marathons, I would have a better finish time. When I hit 5 miles, I began to negotiate with myself. 6 is enough. But when 6 arrived, I knew I could make it to 7. Once I was past 7, I bumped up the speed to see how quickly I could get to 8. A quarter mile left to go and my legs were pounding the mat. I was at 72:17 when the power on the treadmill surged. It shut down and I nearly ran my gut into the control panel.

"NO! Sh*tcrapg*dd*mnits*nofab*tch!"

I ripped my headphones out of my ears and stomped in to tell Travis what happened. Nose-deep in thesamba.com, I got a courtesy acknowledgment of my plight.

I will not be defeated...

I stormed back in the room and ran a 1/4 mile in 2 minutes.

That. Felt. Awesome.

Today is a scheduled rest day, but I actually feel pretty good. I am going to do a slow 12-14 this weekend. Nell got me to sign up for the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon in Pasadena next Sunday, February 19. I am going to run it and test myself to see if I can come in around or under 2 hours. I should be able to make it in 2 hours. It's a hilly course (there's a steep 200' climb early in the race). My 13.1 personal fastest is 2:11 so I am looking forward to reaping the benefits of running since my 26.2 in Arizona.

11 miles and some fencing

I got back on the wagon and made up for last week's lack of an 11 mile run. I took it slow, as is recommended for a long slow distance training run. Normally, I race out as quickly as I can, but lack the endurance to keep running as the miles slip away. This happens in my marathons as well. So I decided to take training recommendations seriously and gave it a shot. Guess what. I kept my pace the entire 11 miles, and I feel GREAT today. Usually, when I burn out my training runs, I end up crippled for a few days after. 

Huh, imagine that. I don't know everything!

My Garmin tells no lies...

Except it leaves out the part where a wiener dog almost got hit by a car
in order to try to attack me in my last mile. He almost got pepper sprayed...

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Surf City Marathon to cheer on my friends from MBFC and the Las Vegas Marathon, but I will tell you De'Anna got a PR (personal record) with 4:09:xx in the full marathon (oh, I am a wee bit jealous of that time) and Nell reported success for the girls running the half marathon, despite some sushi-colored blisters.

But staying home allowed me to continue to edit a DVD for Paul and help Travis put up more fence along the front of our property.

We might have gotten all eight sections up, but we had a lot of visitors, which is nice...except Travis was going to a Super Bowl party at his boss's house, so we had to cut the afternoon short. The nice thing about these larger sections of fence is they cover a lot of ground, so it seemingly goes up pretty quickly. I am very excited about it. Travis hated the old fence and it's nice to see his vision take shape.

I took a break from video editing to ride Drifter. Details at my horsemanship blog.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Off the Wagon

I fell off the wagon this week. I had lunch break runs on Wednesday & Thursday, but my training plan has been thwarted by none other than myself.

It's like when you're on a diet...and every day you promise to be good...and then you eat an entire bag of chips and a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

I hit the gym last Saturday with a bunch of Mind Body Fit Club girls at the L.A. Fitness in Highland for my first cross-training session of my marathon training schedule. I hadn't done a Bodyworks class since I worked at the magazine in Temecula. It's a freeweights-squatting, lactic-acid burning, triceps murdering class with a tiny instructor who has never had a desk job. It's the kind of class that if you squat one more time, you are certain tomorrow you will not be able to sit without falling...then the instructor calls out for another 32 repetitions.

My muscles were so paralyzed after the class, I got on the treadmill for a mile to loosen up. Then Jaylene (who has lost 105lbs by diet, exercise and mindset through MBFC) had the bright idea to get on a stairclimber, so I complained for 10 minutes until we could get in the pool and try to swim my muscles loose again.

After hugging all the girls and telling them I will be cheering/supporting them at the Surf City Marathon (on 2/5), I hightailed it back up the mountain to ride with Jenn, Kathy and Monica.

Jenn & Jake

Drifter didn't look like this the whole ride

Drifter is training for his own marathon of sorts. I will be taking him to Buck's clinic in March and those four days are going to be tough for him without much endurance. I will post about the trail ride(s) on my horsemanship blog soon.

I finished Sunday with what was supposed to be an 11 mile run according to my training schedule. I eked out 7.25 but not without every muscle in my muscles registering some angry complaints to the brain. Fine. I turned around at the Convention Center and trudged home, just in time to attempt to nurse my seized, cramped legs.

So cross-training + riding + running = A complete shut down of the muscular system

Every day, I'm learning...

I hold myself accountable to my Garmin...but maybe if I tell you dear readers when I am supposed to run, you can be my virtual partner who I cannot let down.

Tomorrow, I plan on making up that 11 mile SLD (slow long distance) I missed last weekend.

I will finish with an unrelated LOL Cat: