Pittsburgh on Pause

Let us recap the week in running and exercise, shall we? Even though I'm pretty sure the title of the post provides enough foreshadowing to tell you how things turned out...

As I said in my last post, Monday morning I woke myself up at 5:45, looked out the window, and said “Snow hasn’t started yet, no excuses, get your butt to the park.”

I got dressed, put on my sneakers, looked out the window and…the snow had started. But at that point there was no turning back, and I headed to the park for 6 miles that were faster than I’ve been typically running these days- 8:25 pace in the empty, snowy park and my week was off to a very positive start.

Tuesday was another early morning, but it wasn’t very difficult to get up and out because interval day is my favorite day and I knew I was meeting Melissa to do a few miles as a warm up! We did 3 miles followed by 2.5 miles of 400 meter intervals and a .5 mile cool down back home for a total of 6.

(Interval crew) 

It was cold, it was snowy, and when I got back to my apartment, there was no heat or hot water. Thank god for NYSC memberships.

Wednesday morning I returned to November Project after way too long off. I even got up and out for the 5:30 a.m. group so I could make it to physical therapy at 7:30! 

(So early, but so great)

My new apartment is almost 1.5 miles away from Gracie Mansion, and the workout was about 3 miles plus burpees, lunges and pushups! 5 miles total on Wednesday!

(NP_NYC)

Thursday was a day off from running but I did a shoulder and back circuit at the gym:
10 TRX rows
10 front plate raises (10 lbs)
10 ball slams (14 lb ball)
10 later side plate raises (5 lbs)
x4

Then,  15 minutes of rowing.

Friday was another day off from running – 

(Sometimes, seeing this is wonderful!)

Kayla, Melissa and I continued with my new favorite tradition – Friday decks & froyo! We met after work for 2 decks at NYSC. A KILLER arm deck (renegade rows, tricep extensions, lateral raises, pushups, and Kayla’s Chaturanga death move for the jokers. It took a while, so we made a quick ab deck to finish up with- penguins, lower ab circles, weighted Russian twists, and toes to sky.  

Next was the best part of deck & froyo Fridays- the froyo. $4 fill ups, thank you 16 Handles! Who cares that it was the coldest day of the year!?

(Mine's the one with extra graham cracker crumbs, frosted animal crackers and rainbow cookies)

Saturday was Valentine’s Day and it was the perfect morning. We woke up and headed to the park – I finished 12 miles relatively pain free and when I got back, an amazzzzing brunch was being cooked for me :)

Bacon.
Cinnamon Buns.
An omelet with spinach, mushrooms, peppers & cheese.
Hot chocolate with whipped cream and raspberry chocolate sauce.

Why do I spell omelet wrong every time. My brain just wants it to be omelette.

(Lucky girl!)

We got ready and got on a train to Connecticut for happy hour and endless appetizers at TGI Fridays. Approximately 40 mozzarella sticks later, it was time for some hockey! It was so nice being back at Quinnipiac. Watching hockey with some of my favorite people. And seeing BOOMER of course.

(Favorite people)

(Favorite bobcat)

(Just like the good old days!)

We spent the rest of the night drinking and eventually made it to Eli’s which was weird because it was emptier than I’ve ever seen it! Second trip to Hamden in a row where I’ve been forced to leave the women’s room by the bartender because I was busy girl talkin’ with friends. Woops.

Sunday we slept in and got RAY & MIKES SANDWICHES aka heart attack in sandwich form. Cheesesteak with a buffalo chicken cutlet. Because that’s necessary.

("The Irresistible") 

Then, time for more hockey- we had an entire suite to ourselves at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers game! Sadly, my parents and sister couldn’t make it, but we made the best of it.

(We may or may not have watched an entire period on the TV screen because we didn't want to leave the couch) 

Monday was President’s Day so we had an extra day of weekend-ness. I had every intention of running 6 miles. Instead, the cold made it impossible to run outside- my fingers and toes were immediately numb despite all my layers. So we went to the gym and I figured I could at least do a few miles on the treadmill.

Wrong.

Shins. Were. Awful.

I was crushed. My foot has been feeling almost 100%. I took 3 days off from running last week. My runs had been going great. I was finally back in the groove of waking up early in the mornings for my workouts.

The frustration and disappointment translated to me crying in the middle of New York Sports Club. Not my proudest moment.

Naturally, I dealt with it by brunching with my lovely ladies.

Potluck brunches are the best! You get lots of different food. The drinks are bottomless for AS LONG AS YOU WANT. You can take your shoes off and sit on couches.

Our menu consisted of:
The most delicious mini banana muffins that Kayla made. And healthy too! Probably not when you eat like 5 of them like I did, but whatever. 

S’more cookies that were killer. “If we eat them all now, we don’t have to worry about eating them later.”
Bruschetta, classic.
Avocado toast on Ezekiel bread <3
Greek yogurt with coconut flax granola (shout out to Nature's Promise, my favorite granola ever!)
Fruit salad
FRITATTA

And lots and lots of sangria. 

And maybe some cucumber vodka. Organic, of course.

Tuesday, I was supposed to run, but a delayed flight and landing in California later than scheduled meant I didn’t have time to make it to the gym.

I woke up this morning SO EXCITED to run in SHORTS and be WARM. My hotel is right near the Guadalupe River Trail, and I woke up nice and early with plenty of time to get in a wonderfully glorious 6-8 mile run.

If only.

Instead, I limped along for 2 miles before finally telling myself that this has to end.

I have to stop blatantly disregarding the warning signs that my body are giving me.

I have to stop knowing what I need to do to get better, and refusing to do it.

Thank you, to the November Project friend who Facebook messaged me and said, “I just honestly don't want to see a talented runner sidelined because of this mental side of training and need to keep up.”

Thank you to Kayla who probably doesn’t realize how much she has helped me- by watching her overall positivity despite not being able to run for so long – by seeing her persistently  stay active with decks and yoga – by being so unwavering in doing what it takes to make it to her end goal, to run happy and healthy again.

Thank you to Nina, whose tough love protestations of “GIVE IT A REST, IDIOT” have finally broken through my stubbornness.

Thank you to Peter for not pretending he didn’t know the weirdo breaking down in the middle of New York Sports Club and for hugging me instead.

Elliptical, rowing, biking, swimming, weights and decks it is for me for the time being.

I’m still fairly confident I can make Pittsburgh happen, but if I keep doing what I’m doing, there’s no way I’ll be making it to that starting line, let alone the finish. 

:(