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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

"We shall neither fail nor falter; we shall not weaken or tire...give us the tools and we will finish the job." - Winston Churchill

Spartan Shape-Up, Day 111:

It was a tough day regarding the workout, BlogLand. Today was Run Day... Nothing special, just your usual, run of the mill (no pun intended), 3ish miler that I do several times a week.
Today SUCKED.
Allow me to clarify that a little.
Yes, I was up early, and I got outside. Win.
Yes, I am running more than I ever thought possible. Win.
Yes, I completed the entire intended distance. Win.
Yes, I was mentally trying to push myself. Win.
..... However.
I am frustrated that I still need 10-20 recovery walk steps, here and there, throughout that distance. I like to tell myself that I *need* to walk, "to cross the street", but. Yeah. I have been running that distance solidly for a couple months now, at least. WHY do I still need to walk?! My lungs are okay, I'm not panting or anything, my mind is in the right place.... but my legs just feel SO HEAVY. I take a couple of seconds of a walk break, and I'm okay to get back into it.
Today, I thought, well maybe it's because I'm starting too fast. My first mile is typically almost exactly a 10 minute mile... but then I slow down pretty quickly to somewhere just over an 11 minute mile by the time I'm done. Perhaps I need to even it out a bit, I thought. I tried to run more steadily, avoiding the walk breaks. I did this, to an extent... still had to take a few seconds here and there, but I did better. But STILL, my body refused to let me run the whole thing. Maybe it's in my head, I don't know.... but I am frustrated.
I was even MORE frustrated when I looked at today's run stats:


Time: 36:04 min
Distance: 3.05 mi
Pace: 12:10 min/mi.

That is HORRIBLE, for me. It is NEVER that slow. WTF happened? Ugh. Disappointed and annoyed with that today, if we're being honest. Just not sure why I can't get my body to let me run the full 3 miles. I suppose it's time to track down the GT and pick his brain about what is going on here. He's assigned me a 4 day run week (3 regular runs and one Long Run), starting this week... maybe that will help. But seriously, after 100+ days time, I feel like I should be able to do this better. Grr.

That said, it's okay. I am still going forward, I am still generally positive about the whole process... It's just that currently, I am flummoxed because I have stopped seeing the progress. That means I need to change something generally... the question is just What...

In other news, No Bread Day 5 is on the books. Success, so far. I ventured into a weird, hippie, organic food co-op to find quinoa in bulk (and seriously, half the price of the supermarket!). What have I become?

I'll tell you what I've become! The No Bread, No Carb Martha Stewart!!

I just made Apple Pumpkin Curry Soup (with pureed white beans and ground turkey). Yes, this sounds like a mish-mash. However, the white beans add some protein and serve to make it a bit creamier. The ground turkey is for protein (and doesn't detract from the flavor of the soup, being relatively bland on its own). THEN, we curry the daylights out of it (by 'curry', I mean curry plus my special blend of herbs and spices...). THEN, I finally put my finger on what it was missing. My typical recipe calls for maple syrup. Currently, that is no on my 'okay' list, but I still needed some sort of sweetener. Apples sounded good. So, tossed in a few diced apples and a way we go. Pretty damn tastey soup, if I do say so, that ought to perk up some boring carb-free lunches.

ALSO, in a stroke of brilliance, my friend and I came up with a quinoa pudding. Think rice pudding (milk, eggs, rice, cinnamon, etc.), but with quinoa instead. It was a little weird to get the proportions right, but it will be a nice addition to breakfast, I think. Just quinoa, milk and eggs and spices and a tiny dash of Stevia... Can't go wrong there. I'm excited for my new options!

In other news... there isn't much. I'm intending to get up EARLY (like REAL early) tomorrow to get to the Crossfit WOD and activate my membership for the winter at the Crossfit gym. Only downside (other than the $$) is having to BE there for like 6:45-7am at the latest. THAT is going to get ugly.  But. It is what it is.
On that note... it's probably time for sleep.

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