Mondays On Notice

Today begins a new blog feature that I'm calling Mondays on Notice. The name borrows a bit from Stephen Colbert's list of things that are on notice, which in his case includes Lutherans and bears. Obviously this means that Mondays are permanently on notice, but I think we can all agree to that. Each week I will be featuring something I would like to add to my list of those things on notice.  Some of these will be running related, some will not. With that, my first Item on Notice:

Excessively short layovers.

Why? This past weekend we were traveling. Our travels involved  an almost 2 hour long layover in Detroit, which was absolutely perfect. We had enough time to exit security and see these people. (Sorry for the photo quality. This was my first attempt to use pics from my phone and I haven't quite figured out how to make it all work yet.)

And a little of this.

 

 And it was fantastic. I got to squeeze my nieces, drink coffee with my SIL, catch up with my brother and Dad (who is there because Kdot broke her collar bone and cannot drive, pick up babies, etc. Ouch!), then mozy on back through security and back to our gate. None of which I could have done with an excessively short layover. Plus, really short layovers induce all sorts of anxiety about delays and missed connections. So there you have it, Excessively Short Layovers, I hereby put you on notice!

At the other end of our flight, I finally got in a run I've dreamed of for a very long time--mountains! While there was a heat index of 112 at home, I was soaking up 4 miles of this gorgeousness. I think I had forgotten what mountain running felt like. It works those hammies and I loved it! This was the view as I started out. 

The trail is 2 miles long. I came across this at the back end, about 1 mile into the trail. So picturesque!

I did the whole trail twice for a total of 4 miles. It got really steep in a few places, so I wasn't that surprised to see that my pace was well over a minute per mile slower than usual. It was tough and just exactly what I'd hoped for. 

Good morning weekend!

It's been a while since I was up before the sun. I couldn't resist the picture.
I have some awesome runs coming up this week and a new blog feature starting on Monday. I'm so excited to share both. But in the meantime, rock some longs runs, bloggy world.

June Recap

Miles ran: 61.6
Rest days: 15
Highest mileage week: 18.3
Long runs: 0
Pace workouts: 4
XT days:  a big fat zero....this will be changing later this month.  
Tempo or interval runs: 2
Favorite run: my standard 4-miler on 6/29. I got an average pace of 8:41, which felt great! I finally let myself attack the pace again after the few days of back issues before that.  
Current goal: consistent 16-20 mile weeks with maintained speed. 
Current obsession: still decorating! I got the shipping notice for our sofas a few days ago, so they should be here soon. Also, I am almost finished painting our bedroom and the search for decor has commenced. I love doing this SO much! I love making our house something I feel good about and enjoy. 
Current need: materially, there really isn't anything I need right now. But I do need some rest. And it's coming! We have a vacation planned, but I'm not going to tell you where, what, or when until we're back. :) So you'll just have to wait. 
Current excitement: Feeling like I'm getting back into the swing of things. I feel like I'm slowly regaining control.   
Current bane of my existence: I know I sound like an insufferable ray of sunshine here, but honestly, if all I can complain about is the state of the closets in our house, life is pretty fantastic. But the closets, yeah. They are pretty bad! Maybe I should take before and after pictures. 
Current wish list: a new bathing suit 
Current indulgence: DECORATING! And Schlafly Pale Ale. Because it's summertime. 

An open letter

Dear JoannaRuns,

It's been a while, blog. I've thought of you often. Wondered what I would say when we inevitably met again. What version of the truth I would tell you about where I was. Wondered if you'd still be here when I came back. I missed you, a lot.

See, it wasn't you. It was me. Things are good. No, not good, great. There is no cause for concern. But I did need some time apart, some space if you will, to embrace the side show my life often becomes, to re-think what I want for our relationship, and to set some priorities for what remains of summer. Maybe I should do a "day (or week) in the life of" post with you sometime. My SIL, Kdot (who I adore) tells me it's not normal--often in a good way and sometimes in a downright crazy way. Recently things had gotten a lot out of hand. It's not a complaint; I wouldn't live my life any other way. But I did need to stop and hash out a game plan.

I really want to get back together with you, but I need to lay some ground rules. First, I need to ask you to let me hit "mark all as read" and let me move on. It's gotten to the point that I just can't catch up on all the 9,837 posts in my Reader. Second, I want to ask if I can let in a little bit more of the crazy from time to time. I think this will be good for both of us. Third, I need to ask that no one judge me for reverting to the treadmill when the heat index reaches "blistering". For several years I've had a medical issue that makes extreme heat + exertion a real problem for me. Telling you this will make it a lot less awkward for me to talk about summer running. And with that, I promise not to whine about heat. Fourth, I want to do some giveaways. Soon.

I have had some fun while we've been apart. We've had some friends visit from out of town (reason #72 why I love living in a city: people have multiple excuses to come visit!). This ridiculously adorable pic is the kiddo with his very first friend ever, a little boy he used to go to daycare with, and whose parents we know from our old church. They came to town for a family getaway. Also, I started painting our master bedroom (XT, baby!) on Saturday night. It's just almost finished, finally, and I love it! Now I get to shop for decor and accessories, and Project Closet Reorganization will be underway very soon.

Thanks for not leaving me while I was away. I have so much stuff planned for us, and I'm super excited about it!

Run strong,
Joanna

The Suspect List

Cotton: We haven't seen Average Joe's yet. They haven't made it to the court. It could be a psychological ploy, or something worse. 
Pepper: They're definitely not on the court, Cotton. Their absence is noticeable. 


....yeah, I know. I've been a little MIA recently. Sadly no, not a psychological ploy to....win the internet? Ha! Anyway, no. What's up is that when I left for my Monday morning run I knew quickly that something was really wrong. I had shooting pains sort of from the backs of my hips down my legs. I slowed down, waiting for whatever twitch it was to work itself out, but it never did. By the last mile I was walking on and off. Through the rest of Monday and then crazy on Tuesday, my calves tightened and felt like I'd shredded them. WTH. 


Before I move on to the Suspects List, I want to jump to the end: I ran 4 miles today and had only a tiny bit of tightness and similar pain, so I think I'm almost out of the woods. I'm really thankful that it seems to be a temporary setback. 


So what do I think caused this? Here's the Suspects List, in no particular order.


Suspect #1: The pain in my rear

Yes, that old chestnut. And yes, I made my husband take this picture. I didn't even realize the piriformis was angry again until Wednesday when I realized that it was painful, rather than being it's low, dull, 18-month-old pain. Truthfully, I've slacked off the foam roller since Cleveland, so it's back to that. I think this old injury is the center of this week's issue, made worse by both Suspects #2 and #3. 

Suspect #2: Our couch

This couch and our kitchen table were the first pieces of furniture I ever owned. I loved this couch. But, 7 years and a child later, and I love it less. It was always deep, but with time it's gotten Little Shop of Horrors consumptive. And it makes my back hurt. New sofas are on their way! Cannot wait. They are going to be awesome. 

Suspect #3: Bad Yogi

Y'all know I love the yoga. But...admission of truth--I haven't done it since well before Cleveland. Meaning, I haven't been stretching out the piriformis (or anything else) since early May. BAD YOGI. I have a Groupon for a month of unlimited yoga classes, so I'm starting back this week. 

MOJo

Haha, get it? MOJo? Because I live in Missouri and my name is Joanna? And no, you cannot call me Jo. Unless you already do, which probably means you're either from a small town in WV or I met you in the US between 1999 and 2003. And that's a whole other story. Anyway, I seem to have lost some of my running mojo. And I need some help finding it. So, completely without segue, some backstory: 

See, I love coffee. (I swear, this is about running. Stay with me.) In fact, I love it so much I once took a picture of a freshly-filled canister of coffee beans to file away in a "Favorite Things" folder (before Pinterest was cool). 

And yet, most summers I try to wean myself from it. Why? Because it's frackin' hot out, and coffee makes it worse. And, life is usually much less chaotic in the summer, so I actually get enough sleep.* Oh yeah, and I have this bizarre need to prove to myself that I can break the addiction every now and then. #masochism. So, yes, I'm currently in the weaning process. I'm down to about 3/4 of one mug each morning. I hate this process.

As if that weren't enough, did I mention that it's hot out? Because, in the words of my beloved Jamie, it's hot as balls out. The last few days we've had highs around 96, also with crazy humidity. I ran my normal 4-mile loop yesterday morning, starting at 7:45am, and was about to hurl by the time I got home.

Neither of these things--the coffee withdrawal or the heat--is particularly motivating me to run. And because I don't have a training plan right now, I'm a little shy on motivation. But I also don't want to lose my new found speed or fitness from the marathon, so I need to find a way to motivate myself. So, you know me. I like lists. Here's what I'm gonna do.

1. Steal underwear. Suck it up, admit that I don't have to be a hero, and face the dreadmill until the heat breaks (which is supposed to happen sometime this weekend. But you know what I think of the weather forecasters here). 
2. Read up on hot weather running tips and be ready when the temps drop back below 90. 
3. Profit.** Set up a non-plan schedule to maintain fitness. Something like 15-20 miles a week with short Monday and Friday runs, slightly longer on Wednesdays, and "long"ish runs on Saturdays. 

Any thoughts or advice? I know a lot of you have more experience in hot weather running and in non-training cycle running than I do, so please share!

*yes, normally work is slower in the summer. Just not right now. It's head-explodingly crazy right now. And I kinda like it. 

** Please, please tell me someone got that joke. Please. 

Three Things Thursday

I have three things to tell you, it's a Thursday, so let's do this!

1. A big THANK YOU to Jodi over at Run Jodi Run for spotlighting me today. I've had so much fun getting to know her and am thrilled and honored to be part of her blog for the day! Read it here. You might learn a thing or two about me. :)
2. Yesterday was National Running Day. I ran 4.8 miles and added it to the Competitor.com miles reel. They were hoping to get 500,000 miles and ended up with about 12,000. Er...that's embarrassing! Did you know there's an International Mustard Day (August 5th, don't ask how I know)? Why shouldn't we have a Running Day?!? Mustard versus Running--I'm gonna be really sad if Mustard has more Facebook friends. 
3. Summer has arrived! That means more frequent water stops while running, more time outside, a still-crazy-but-less-scheduled work life, and a few of my favorite things--painting (aka, finishing decorating) and staring longingly at the empty space where our back-ordered porch furniture belongs blowing bubbles with the kiddo.