Monthly Grade

Stronger than the Fear: March 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 27 Comments

bstronger than fear

March was a doozy, wasn’t it? It didn’t start out well for me, not feeling well. I get a non specific virus like this often in Spring (relatively sure it wasn’t COVID19 but we’ll never know). I rest, I get better, then out of the blue I feel a little worse, and back and forth for weeks.

I was a little disappointed because I’d really tried hard to clean up my nutrition. For the record, I was never very sick. Maybe that’s the clue — while I still got sick, it was extremely mild. Maybe due to making an effort to eat healthier because I know that this time of year I’m always vulnerable.

Truthfully, if my family and loved ones come through this okay, if we have a roof over our head (and four walls, please!), and enough to eat, missing some racing is a small price to pay.

These lyrics from Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” (which I’ve always loved) seem very appropriate to the times:

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone

Especially the part about not being lonely when I’m alone. I know that a lot of people are really struggling with the lack of social connectedness right now, and I am sorry for the many that #thestruggleisreal.

It doesn’t mean that I love doing everything alone — no. It’s just that I’m okay being on my own. I’ve had a lot of practice, having lived far away from relatives for many decades (until now, although still far away from my brother and my MIL), and also spent a lot of time separated from Mr. Judy over the decades due to his work.

I think it’s a good thing to be comfortable with being by yourself; not trying to be preachy here, just that it’s a good life skill no matter what’s going on in the world.

 

Running all the hills right now anyway

 

Getting in scheduled runs
Except for the one week I was sick, I kept up with running 3 x week. Missed one long run. Didn’t really matter as I ended up not being in training mode anyway.

Grade Earned:  A

Recording my runs
Again I got spotty with recording my runs. I’ve been working on a big project for my YouTube Channel (which you can visit here), and it’s kept me very busy. Then there was that pesky COVID19 thing.

Grade Earned: B-

Dynamic Warmup
It’s (mostly) getting warmer, so I’ve been doing well with my dynamic warmup — as I wait for my Garmin to find a signal.

Grade Earned: A

Getting back into more frequent foam rolling. Does a body good.

 

Foam Rolling
I have actually been doing well with foam rolling, too. Even occasionally foam rolling on days I don’t run. My long run on Friday was physically very tough, and my hamstrings were complaining. I did yoga, I did a long foam rolling session, and I was very surprised (and happy) to wake up feeling okay the next day.

Grade Earned: A

The hardest part about delivery is finding healthy options. This wasn’t so much healthy, but it was yummy!

 

Nutrition
My weight is hanging steady (even if it’s a few pounds over where I’d like it to be). I really have to stop doing my long runs at lunch time, though! By the time I get home, even with a post run snack, I’ve got a serious case of the rungries. It isn’t pretty.

Grade Earned: A-

Support

  • Massage? Nope. We all know why.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? See massage.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? Again, see above. It’s probably going to be a while. It’s been about 6 weeks since my last cut — even though that’s the “correct” amount of time for me for a cut, I very rarely get it done that often. Sometimes I go months. And I do like to grow it out a bit in the summer to braid it.

Grade Earned: B

Cross Training
I’ve been riding the stationary bike fairly regularly. I was getting back into some strength training too, though somehow I fell off of it the last week of March. I’ve done a little pilates here and there. So hard to squeeze it all in!

Grade Earned: A-

March 2020  gets  . . . 
. . . an A-. There’s always room for improvement, but March, despite the craziness, went pretty well.

March Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. I’m going to say I met this goal — when I felt healthy. I felt meh off & on in March, so I rested when I needed to.
  • Continue running 3 x week and maintaining my base. Y. Again goal met when I was feeling good. I only had one week with just one run, and only one missed long run.
  • Begin to write half marathon plans. N. No reason to yet.
  • Start practicing at the Yoga Studio that’s close to me. N. For obvious reasons that didn’t happen..
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Y. High five for doing it pre-run and some non-running days too.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. Weight is staying pretty stable, but it’s on the high end. I wouldn’t say I’m overindulging in sweets, but I would say there have been more than I need (or burn off). Need to get a handle on that; clothes are just a tiny bit snugger.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! Y. Not only did I meal plan, I even began to meal prep too. Until COVID19 hit . . . then simple grocery shopping sucked up a lot more time than usual.
  • Maybe a shorter race? N. Again, not my fault. I had actually planned to try for a new-to-me race; it was not to be.

Which leads me to April Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. I’m really shooting for those 3 x week, even if one session is just 10 minutes.
  • Continue running 3 x week, adding in more mileage. I’ve slowly been adding distance to my runs, both the long runs and the midweek runs.
  • Plan out long runs (in case I run the June half). I like to look at the race date, and work backwards from there. Even for the June half, it’s time — starting early gives me that wiggle room.
  • Release my 21 Days of Yoga Challenge! Um, maybe. Depends on what happens in life. I’ve been thrown some curve balls with this, again, but we’re getting closer to it.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Would love to foam roll at least occasionally on days that I don’t run.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Although I’d love to drop just a little weight, I’m still maintaining fairly well.
  • Carve out a time to read non-fiction daily. I read fiction (for the most part) before I go to sleep. I have a lot of nonfiction books waiting for me. Something always seems to get in the way of setting a regular time during the day to just read. Maybe the first step is to decide how long I will give myself.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.

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That Made Me Stronger: February 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 26 Comments

bstrongerfeb2020

I was not familiar with Stevie Nicks’ song, That Made Me Stronger. It’s true, though, that the tough times we go through make us stronger. You have to go through it; no one else can do it for you — they can only support you.

The last 6 months? Hard. So hard. Did they make me stronger? Did they change me? Time will tell.

Can you write this for me
He says no, you write your songs yourself
That made me stronger
It made me hold on to me

Getting in scheduled runs
I kept with my 3 x week runs. Which is not to say February didn’t make it challenging. Much less travel — but still one trip to my mom’s. Not much snow — but plenty of ice. I’m pretty proud that most of those runs occurred outside. I began to lengthen the long runs.

Grade Earned:  A+

Recording my runs
After the intensity of January, I fell almost completely off journaling the first couple of weeks of February. I did run, obviously. I have the blog to go back and fill in the blanks. Which is part of why I write a detailed recap of my runs on the blog. It’s my backup.

Grade Earned: B-

Dynamic Warmup
It gets done. The length varies, but I do move my body before running. Cold rubber bands break when they’re stretched. You don’t want to break your legs, right?

Grade Earned: A

Foam Rolling
I haven’t moved back to more frequent foam rolling, but I really am committed to foam rolling before I get out there and run. If I wait til afterward — well, the stretching doesn’t even always happen afterward.

Grade Earned: A

I think my family was trying to fatten me up!

Nutrition
There was more eating out than normal in February, especially my birthday weekend. Not only did I have 2 cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, and pizza, but there was sushi, too! Plus some of my husband’s tempura veggies. The secret to indulging? Don’t wait til the proverbial Monday to get back to healthy eating.

Grade Earned: A-

bcatyogafeb
I got a haircut for this class, but it kind of back fired. I’d have been better off waiting. I ended up pulling it into a ponytail to tame it anyway.

Support

  • Massage? No. No birthday massage for me. 😦
  • Chiropractor Appointment? Still no.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? No — I actually had 2 in 2 months! My hairdresser seriously thought that second appointment was a mistake. And that is the last time that will happen!

Grade Earned: B-

Cross Training
My recent bone scan (my first) came back with mildly low bone density. I’m sure that my very low Vitamin D levels are to blame. I am really making an effort to get in that strength training 3 x week! I was successful this month.

In addition, I have also begun to ride my stationary bike before breakfast several times a week. When I run on the treadmill, I also use it as a warm up. Obviously there is lots of Yoga.

Grade Earned: A

January 2020  gets  . . . 
. . . an A-. There’s always room for improvement, but February went pretty well.

February Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. February was a busy month. But I really committed to trying to get in more strength training and was successful.
  • Continue running 3 x week and maintaining my base. Y. No, I didn’t add in a fourth day, and probably won’t for a while, but I did begin lengthening my long run.
  • Start practicing at the Yoga Studio that’s close to me. N. Let’s just say life has thrown a few more curve balls my way so it didn’t happen.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Y. Still just pre-run, but that’s the most important to me.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y.There was more eating out than planned in February, not to mention those dreary end of Winter days are testing my resolve, but I am proud of continuing to maintain my weight intuitively. People who’ve never struggled with their weight will never understand why it’s even an issue for anyone, but others will get it.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! Y. Are you shocked? Yes, I started to meal plan on the weekends again! If you fail to plan, you plain to fail, never forget that!

Which leads me to March Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. I’m really shooting for those 3 x week, even if one session is just 10 minutes.
  • Continue running 3 x week, adding in more mileage. If I’m motivated, maybe I’ll add in a fourth day. My guess is that won’t happen anytime soon. Still. Other fish to fry.
  • Begin to write half marathon plans. I like to look at the race date, and work backwards from there. Even for the June half, it’s time — starting early gives me that wiggle room.
  • Start practicing at the Yoga Studio that’s close to me. Um, maybe. Depends on what happens in life.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Would love to foam roll at least occasionally on days that I don’t run.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Although I’d love to drop just a little weight, I’m still maintaining fairly well.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! Planning makes almost everything better. Just sayin’.
  • Maybe a shorter race? It’s been months since I’ve raced. Time to remind these legs that they can turn over faster.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

This week I am also joining up with the new Runners’ Roundup linkup.

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Stronger Every Day: January 2020

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 20 Comments

bstronger

Looking through songs with Strong as a theme (or in the Title) was surprising. Many seem to be about breakups, including this month’s song, for which I’m going old school with Chicago’s “Stronger Every Day” — the refrain spoke to me. Of course I love the song, and maybe break up songs are kind of appropriate, as I’m learning to let my father go to a better place — I wrote that last before my Dad had even passed away. It’s a great anthem, anyway!

Feeling stronger every day
(You know I’m alright now)

Running where & when I could

Getting in scheduled runs
Last week was understandably low on mileage, but movement is ingrained with me. Although I only got in 2 runs, I continued my step goal streak. My Garmin has my daily step goal low, about 7500. I averaged about 9700 steps a day last week, and some of them included walks inside the senior living community because it was so cold (or raining) outside.

Grade Earned:  A

Recording my runs
My new planner (Clever Fox, Amazon Affiliate link here) has definitely kept me more organized and more focused. It can still be a struggle to take the time to record my runs when I’m busy, but I’ve started out the year right. Well, until last week, when I completed stopped using the planner. I’m giving myself a pass on that for obvious reasons.

Grade Earned: A

Dynamic Warmup
There’s always some dynamic warmup. The duration varies, but something is always better than nothing!

Grade Earned: A

Foam Rolling
I actually brought my foam roller to my mom’s — and used it! There’s not a lot of space there, but my body thanks me when I use it.

Grade Earned: A

Tried to make healthy choices most of the time

Nutrition
Nutrition got better, but last week was a bit of a struggle. There were quite a few days with few healthy choices. As I said to Mr. Judy, I’m okay with the occasional not so healthy meal, but I don’t like a steady diet of it. I did bring food with me, which was very helpful, but there were days we were at my sister’s house, and I had to make the best choices I could.

Grade Earned: A-

Support

  • Massage? No.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? Still no.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? No, but I do need to book the next one.

Grade Earned: B-

Cross Training
I was getting back to more strength training, until last week, when there was none. I could definitely have done bodyweight exercises, or used the gym at my mom’s, but I walked and I did yoga and I called it a day. Most days were just busy, or emotionally taxing.

Grade Earned: B

January 2020  gets  . . . 
. . . a B+. I’m definitely not beating myself up. I did what I could, I was there for my family, and I tried not to push myself too hard. I rested when I didn’t feel well, and so far, knock on wood, I’m still feeling okay. Apparently I haven’t made any monthly goals since November, so I’m overdue.

Which leads me to February Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Definitely time to get back into strength training! Hopefully it can become more of a habit now that life is *hopefully* settling down.
  • Continue running 3 x week and maintaining my base. If I’m motivated, maybe I’ll add in a fourth day. My guess is that won’t happen anytime soon. I need some recovery time!
  • Start practicing at the Yoga Studio that’s close to me. I am hoping that now that life is a bit more normal, maybe I’ll either finally do some subbing or get at least one class of my own.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Would love to foam roll at least occasionally on days that I don’t run.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Although I’d love to drop just a little weight, I’m still maintaining fairly well.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! I was just getting back into it (back into a lot of things) when life took a turn again. Pretty sure I’ll get back at it with the help of my new planner and more time at home.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

coachescorner

Love Hurts: December 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 20 Comments

blovehurts

I got to racing so much in November that apparently I was too busy writing up race recaps and never recapped November! It’s my favorite time of year to race, which is why I have so many long sleeve tech shirts (which I like to sleep in).

Running has been going well on just three days a week. No goal races in the near future, just keepin’ on keepin’ on. Running didn’t hurt me, but life? It’s been tough. Love can definitely hurt sometimes.

Love hurts, love scars
Love wounds and mars

Don’t get me wrong: I’m believe that it’s better to have loved & lost than to never love at all. Endings, though; endings can hurt. If we didn’t open our hearts, it wouldn’t hurt — but then we’d close our hearts to so much love. The hurt lets us know that we’ve love and been loved. In the case of love, no pain, no gain.

gwy runner digestion final
Loosen up those tight runner muscles!

By the way, there’s a new video on my Youtube Channel. Once the hustle and bustle of your holiday is over — especially if maybe you’ve eaten a bit more than you planned to! — check out my Yin Yoga Runner Stretch & Digestion video here. This one is a longer one, so make sure you can carve out a little me time for yourself.

I’ll be making more me time a goal for January! Will I be able to meet that goal? Stay tuned!

Around ice or on the mill, I got it done

Getting in scheduled runs
Still no schedule, no racing, no big races on the horizon . . . but still running. And I definitely deserve an A for some of the cold temps I’ve been running in lately!

Grade Earned:  A

Recording my runs
I was doing well, but all the video editing I’ve been doing eats up way too much of my time. I know it’ll get easier as I learn the software, but still, things have gotten a little spotty again.

Grade Earned: B-

Dynamic Warmup
Still skimping on the warmups — but yes, I’m at least doing a few things before I start to tun. Even on the days when it feels like single digits.

Grade Earned: B+

Foam Rolling
I have been doing well with foam rolling before my runs. Not at any other time, but you do what you can. I moved the stick upstairs with the thought of occasionally using it . . . it remains untouched so far.

Grade Earned: B

img_7094
Trying alternative pastas

Nutrition
Nutrition has been a struggle as it always is in the shorter days, but for the most part, so far, I seem to be winning that struggle. A little indulgence here and there, which of course is fine — trying to make sure I don’t use the holidays as an excuse to indulge all the time — that’s the trick: pick your indulgences, enjoy them, but don’t make it an every day occurrence.

Grade Earned: A

Support

  • Massage? Not this month.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? Still need to schedule it. Been too busy with other appointments.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? Made it after reading this, LOL — I had been thinking about it, so this got me to do it!

Grade Earned: B

Lots of yoga

Cross Training
There’s been a lot of yoga, for obvious reasons. I’ve been able to do a bit more strength training, but with more travel to my parents on the horizon, that will probably drop back down. I’ve started to incorporate Soul Strolls on the treadmill since often the roads are too iffy or the days are just too short.

Grade Earned: A-

November/December 2019  gets  . . . 
. . . an B. I know, lots of As, lots of good stuff, but the goals . . . I met 4 out of 7 goals. Not so great. Life has been busy. I may not have been staying with my mom as much, but I was still going to see my parents. Obviously that’s going to ramp up again and I will be away a lot again.

November Goals: (yes, never made goals for December)

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. Slowly began to do a bit more, but it will be a struggle with more travel for the forseeable future.
  • See if I can at least sometimes get back to a 4 x week running schedule. N. Nope, too much going on in my life right now. I’m happy with where my running’s at, though..
  • Approach another studio about getting on their substitute list. N. I kind of put my eggs in one basket with the first studio. I recently discover my eye doctor is a sub there. You can’t make this stuff up!
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Y. Before runs.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. Still not tracking, still mostly maintaining (which means I bounce around a few pounds, but it’s not an upward creep). Being home more did help. Hopefully I’ll find the right balance going into 2020.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! N. Still struggling with it. I still need to keep reminding myself that this is a goal. 
  • A race? At some point?. Y. Three of them, in fact: two in November and one in December.

Which leads me to January Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. There will be a lot of back and forth, with no ending date. I’ll do what I can, when I can — as always..
  • Maintain running 3 x week. I’m doing well on that schedule and with nothing big on the horizon see no need to ramp it up.
  • Study chair/slow yoga. Another to-do on my long list of to-dos to get off the ground teaching is to target some of the senior centers around me. I need to get comfortable with chair yoga. Not saying you can’t do regular yoga if you’re a “senior”, of course!
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Keep foam rolling before runs. Try to grab the stick occasionally.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Winter is always my tough season when it comes to eating. I stopped tracking 8 months ago, and have continued to maintain my weight — a huge win for me!
  • Meal plan on the weekends! I’ll keep putting this in until I get back to it. Which I haven’t managed yet. 
  • Carve out more me time. Between YTT, my parents, teaching yoga (which requires a lot of prep work for me — someday it’ll be more muscle memory, but that day is in the future), the dogs, trying to learn video editing! — let’s just say I’ve got away from some of the self care routines I know are important to keep me healthy.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

coachescorner

Reunited & It Feels So Good: October 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 33 Comments

breunited

I got a small break in October (see last month’s “grade” herefor what’s been going on), but it ramped up at the end of the month with my Dad’s discharge from rehab and scrambling to try to find a suitable aide for him. They don’t give you much notice.

Even with a break, there was a lot of time at my mom’s

Running continued pretty strong, and since I was home most weekends, I also got to do some of my favorite Fall races, with varying degrees of success.

There`s one perfect fit
And sugar, this one is it
We both are so excited
Cause we`re reunited

Getting in scheduled runs
Even though I continued to play it by ear, from necessity, I also ramped up my running miles just in case I run a 15k in November. If the weather is good, I’ll do it (despite mostly likely little friend support) — although if a Nor’Easter or Blizzard comes through, no thanks!

Grade Earned:  A

One of my favorite things to do in fall — race!

Recording my runs
The scramble at the end of the month to get my parents settled caused some run recording to be spotty, but for the most part, it’s been better than it has been. Still lots of holes sometimes, though.

Grade Earned: B-

Dynamic Warmup
Still skimping on the warmups, but at least most days I’m going through some high knees, some butt kicks, and some leg swings. It’s something.

Grade Earned: B

Foam Rolling
I’d dearly like to get back to daily rolling, but for now mostly I’m rolling before my runs.

Grade Earned: B

There may have been a few too many treats in October

Nutrition
Nutrition has been okay. Most of the time fairly good, but occasional eating stuff I know is not really helping my body. I’m human, like everyone else — mostly I’ve been able to maintain my weight with the normal fall to winter creep. Time to cook has often been an issue.

Grade Earned: A-

Support

  • Massage? Not this month.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? I need to schedule an appointment soon. Probably after the 15k.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? No! The hair got downright scary, but it’s been trimmed and shaped. Even one of my mom’s friends commented on how nice it looked (of course that was after being washed, but before running).

Grade Earned: A

Cross Training
Yoga continued strong. There’s still some light strength training (some days a bit heavier) or some bodyweight exercising. Not quite as much walking as the days got shorter, colder, and busier, but there’s been more running miles.

Grade Earned: B

October 2019  gets  . . . 
. . . an B+. Still hanging in there at running three times a week, lots of yoga, a little bit of weight training. A few races: a slow trail 5k (read about it here), including a surprising 10k PR (read about it here) and a 5k that still didn’t break me out of my 5k rut (read about it here).

September Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. Not as heavy/intense as I usually do, but I did what I could.
  • Do my best to remain in running maintenance goal. Y. Actually, I got up to double digits in prep for the 15k. I’ll drop back down into running maintenance afterwards. Maybe . . . stay tuned.
  • Develop at least one vinyasa class. Y. Actually, developed two (the memorization is a different story). Taught private Yin Yoga classes. Got on the sub list at one local studio.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Y. I’ve done better with it.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. Still not tracking, still mostly maintaining (which means I bounce around a few pounds, but it’s not an upward creep). Although I need to keep a close eye on it going into winter — hopefully being home more often will help.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! N. Still struggling with it. After the beginning of the month I was just exhausted from everything going on, at the end of the month there was the mad scramble to get my parents settled. 
  • A race? At some point?. Y. Three of them, in fact.

Which leads me to November Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. This will always be a goal. Hopefully November will be an easier month (if my parents stay healthy). I won’t be hosting Thanksgiving because my Dad can’t make the trip. Both relieved and a bit wistful at the same time.
  • See if I can at least sometimes get back to a 4 x week running schedule. I’ve done okay on 3 x week. It’s not the first time I’ve only run 3 x week, either. 4 x per week is my sweet spot, though.
  • Approach another studio about getting on their substitute list. It’s scary, but I know that I still need a lot of experience, and there’s only one way to get it.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. Would love to foam roll at least occasionally on days that I don’t run.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. It’s been back and forth. Not up enough that I feel the need to track, but I really hope that being home more will mean it settles down some.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! I’ll keep putting this in until I get back to it. Which I haven’t managed yet. But maybe with only the occasional day trip to my parents.
  • A race? At some point? I still want to tackle another 5k if the weather is favorable, and the weather is looking good for the 15k, too.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

coachescorner

Missing you: September 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 24 Comments

bsep19

September was the month it all fell apart. In case you hadn’t heard, we went to visit my parents on Labor Day, and my Dad ended up in the hospital that night. He spent almost a week in the hospital and is still in a rehabilitation center — except then he ended up back in the hospital, and is presently back in rehab.

My mom doesn’t drive. The transportation where she lives rarely goes out there. So I have spent the better part of September driving my mom to the hospital, to rehab, sleeping over there sometimes, spending literally hours in the car going back and forth.

So I’m taking a little deviation of my Love theme for 2019. I remember when this John Waite song was at its height in the mid 80s; I totally loved this song, and at the time, Mr. Judy lived in VT, and I lived in MD (we were not yet married). This song really spoke to me. It’s still does. Take from it what you will (missing running? my home? my parents when they were still vital? all of the above?).

I hear your name in certain circles
And it always makes me smile
I spend my time
Thinking about you
And it’s almost driving me wild

And there’s a heart that’s breaking
Down this long distance line tonight

Getting in scheduled runs
I have a feeling it will indeed be a one half a year year. Which hasn’t happened since I started running halfs eight years ago. I’m not sure if I’m upset or relieved about it, considering how rough this year has been. So still just running when I can.

Grade Earned:  B

Recording my runs
September is mostly a complete blank when it comes to recorded runs. I hate that! It was just too darn busy and tiring.

Grade Earned: B

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Thanks for taking so long to get a signal

Dynamic Warmup
As I wrote about in this month’s runfessions, which you can read about here, the only reason I even attempted to warm up most days was because I was waiting for my Garmin to get a signal. 

Grade Earned: B

Foam Rolling
I definitely miss it when I don’t do it, and let’s just say there was a whole lot of missing it in September. Like barely any foam rolling at all. I am still busy going back and forth to my parents for a few weeks, but things are a little calmer (we’ll see what happens when my Dad is released from rehab). Well, they were calmer until he ended up in the hospital again. It does look like maybe I’ll actually have a whole week at home.

Grade Earned: D

Nutrition
It wasn’t perfect, but in general I’m not a stress eater. I was often so busy I simply didn’t have time to eat. Every time we go through one of these periods with my family that’s the case and I usually lose a little weight. Mostly, though, I continued eating fairly well.

I had planned to do a little eating reset while Mr. Judy was out of town, but alas, I was only home a few days that week so there was no time and it didn’t happen.

Grade Earned: A-

Support

  • Massage? Yes! Just squeaked in with this almost the last day of September and it was glorious.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? Does teaching yoga to the chiropractor count? Seriously, though, I’m not due for a bit.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? I’ve made the appointment, but unfortunately I have to wait a couple of weeks..

Grade Earned: A

Cross Training
Yoga continued strong. There was at least an attempt at some light strength training or some bodyweight exercising. There was also a lot of walking to fill in the gaps in running and other movement. Most days I’d go for Soul Strolls either in the morning or the evening at my parents — sometimes both.

Grade Earned: B+

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September was definitely a best of times/worst of times month

September 2019  gets  . . . 
. . . a B. Doing what I could, when I could. Lots and lots of walking. Some running. Maintaining my weight. No injuries. One 5k with a 3rd place AG award. Passing my YTT and beginning to teach Yoga a little.

September Goals:

    • Look at Fall halfs!. N. Really don’t think it’s gonna happen.
    • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. I’m gonna say yes. I think I did enough light weights or bodyweight to qualify for 2 x week.
    • Work up to 8 miles. Maybe 9?. Y. I have a feeling I won’t be doing the 15k this year. So I did get up to 8 miles but not sure I want to go further right now. Most of my running friends are either doing long races right before, not running longer distances, or injured. Don’t really think I want to do it alone with no longer race I’m training for.
    • Working on practice teaching — and finding a studio to teach/sub at. Y/N. Studio teaching is on hold right now. My schedule is just too topsy-turvy. I am doing a private class to one student right now, and perhaps will do another class at a location that is top secret for the moment.
    • Foam roll almost daily. N. I’m definitely not beating myself up about this, it is what it is, but my body is crying out for it!
    • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. Still pretty much maintaining my weight. So for now it’s working.
    • Meal plan on the weekends! N. I tried, again, but I never got around to actually writing where the recipes I wanted to try were from. Need to get back to that!
    • A race? At some point?. Y. The Running Gods gave us some more awesome weather and you can read about it here.

Which leads me to October Goals:

  • Strength train 2 – 3x week. This will always be a goal. As we age, we naturally lose muscle. Bodyweight exercises count.
  • Do my best to remain in running maintenance goal. I have a pretty good feeling October will be super challenging in the running department, but I also don’t want to have to rebuild from scratch if I don’t have to. Will continue to listen closely to my body and try to make wise decisions.
  • Develop at least one vinyasa class. I may not be able to commit to a class right now, but if I can have a couple of classes all set to go, maybe I can get on some substitute lists.
  • Foam roll when I’m able. That might mean bringing my foam roller with me to my parents. Or just making sure I do it when I run at home.
  • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Winter is coming. It’s a time I — and most people — tend to put on weight if not mindful.
  • Meal plan on the weekends! I’ll keep putting this in until I get back to it. I actually wrote down a few recipes I wanted to make in my journal. Because I often know what I want to make but not where it is (Pinterest, which cookbook, etc).
  • A race? At some point? Big maybe. I wanted to do a 10k, but it depends on what’s going on in my life. There are plenty of October races to choose from, though, even if I don’t do a longer distance.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

coachescorner

We can learn to love again: August 2019

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 16 Comments

bgrade819

So sue me: I basically picked Pink’s song because I like it and it’s my blog. So there. I haven’t fallen out of love with running, although maybe I’ve fallen out of love with training hard? I don’t know. The nice fall-like weather at the end of the month did make it easier to fall back in love with running. It can be nice to race here and there where you want to, and concentrate on other things.

Just give me a reason,
Just a little bit’s enough,
Just a second we’re not broken, just bent,
And we can learn to love again

August was intense with developing my 20 minute yoga routine to film (I know, just 20 minutes — how hard could it be? Hard, turns out!), keeping up with the course work and beginning to try to review for the final test for my YTT.

The harder you work for something the sweeter the reward, right?

A mix of trails and road this summer, with friends & solo

Getting in scheduled runs
I keep thinking I really need to research Fall halfs, but there just hasn’t been time. It may be a one half only year. So no need to follow a schedule.

Grade Earned:  B

Recording my runs
I was doing great with this right up until the very end of August. Then I completely fell off the recording runs (and anything else, like my normal gratitude list). That’s life!

Grade Earned: B

Dynamic Warmup
A mixed bag. Sometimes. Sometimes not. Before I know it it’ll be so cold I’ll have to do those warm ups inside.

Grade Earned: B

Foam Rolling
I didn’t foam roll as often as I did in July, but we’re still good here. I always miss it if I don’t do it!

Grade Earned: A

Nutrition
My ultimate goal is to get to a point where I maintain my weight without having to monitor it so much, or track what I eat so much. I haven’t been tracking a few months now and the weight is holding steady. Nutrition has been mostly good, but it does seem as though we ate out this Summer more than normal. On the other hand, we haven’t traveled in a long time, which might also explain why maintaining my weight has been easier.

Grade Earned: B+

Support

  • Massage? Still in a holding pattern.
  • Chiropractor Appointment? Yes and apparently good thing I did.
  • Do I need a hair appointment? Even though I know those layers really need a trim, at the same time I’m totally digging my longer braid.

Grade Earned: B+

Lots of yoga practice trying to figure out how to film my practicum

Cross Training
Just like last month, I’ve done well with yoga — don’t laugh, it’s easy to skip it while you’re trying to learn about it! — and strength training has been pretty good, too. Not as much Pilates, which I actually really enjoy, too. What will I do when I start actually teaching yoga classes???? Stay tuned!

Grade Earned: A

August 2019  gets  . . . 
. . . a B+. 1 trail race. A little hiking. Maintaining my weight. No injuries.

August Goals:

    • Continue to Prehab. Y. A little less often, but the foot still feels pretty good.
    • Strength train 2 – 3x week. Y. Nailed this in July. Slipping a little lately, but I’ll get back to it when I’ve finished my test/video.
    • Keep long runs about 6-7 miles. Y. I considered doing 8 miles yesterday, but since the last few weeks have only been three times a week and this week I did four times, I quickly ditched that idea.
    • Lots of Yoga & Studying. Y. Totally nailed that one. Will it be enough?
    • Foam roll almost daily. Y. Slipping a little here, too, but still foam rolling a lot — but it only takes 10-15 mintues!
    • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Y. Still mostly working. Will be interesting to see if it still works as the days get shorter, which is usually a time I struggle more with my weight.
    • Meal plan on the weekends! N. I tried, but I didn’t succeed.
    • Trail race at the end of the month. Y. The Running Gods gave us some awesome weather and you can read about it here.

Which leads me to September Goals:

    • Look at Fall halfs! I took out prehab. I’m still doing it, sometimes, but so far, knock on wood, things feel pretty good most days so time to move onto another goal. This may be a year of only one half . . . or maybe I will decide on a race to run. Maybe that’s what I’ll turn my focus to when I graduate as a break.
    • Strength train 2 – 3x week. This will always be a goal. As we age, we naturally lose muscle. Not a good thing.
    • Work up to 8 miles. Maybe 9? There’s a 15k I usually do in November. Sure, I could do it even with just 7 mile long runs, but that wouldn’t be prepping my body. My body likes to be prepped.
    • Working on practice teaching — and finding a studio to teach/sub at. I have a lot of things I want to work on yoga-related. I definitely need a lot more practice teaching — although I need a little downtime, too, after I take my test and graduate.
    • Foam roll almost daily. Continue using my Lauren Roxburgh foam rolling and regular pre-run foam rolling.
    • Continue to try to eat intuitively — unless the weight starts to creep up. Winter is coming. It’s a time I — and most people — tend to put on weight if not mindful.
    • Meal plan on the weekends! I’ll keep putting this in until I get back to it. I sorta started to do it, looking at what recipes I wanted to try, but then not write them down and not be able to find what I wanted to make.
    • A race? At some point? Races are still abundant at this time of year. Just need to look around and see what appeals to me.

btuesdaytopics

Linking up with Zenaida Arroyo and Kim @ Kookyrunner

This week I am also joining up with Running on Happy, Suzlyfe, Crazy Running Girl, and Coach Debbie Runs each week for the Coaches’ Corner linkup

coachescorner