Stupid cankle, why you no like me?

Reading a Running Times while cycling in an 85 degree stuffy gym is so totes amazeballs. NOT


Taken on My last run before the ankle got mad at me.

I'm on a self imposed running hiatus, length unknown. That sounds way more dramatic than it is. My ankle started bugging me in the same way it did before Fox Valley in 2012. So being the mature, responsible person I am, I decided to call it quits with running for a bit. Well, at least after a few runs on the Highline, West Side Highway, Central Park because I was in NYC and how could I NOT go run!? I also had one last run with Kim in Chicago because she wanted to run with me before work and how could I say no to her!?!


The good thing is there's no swelling, and it warms up after 3-4 miles. But leaves my Cankle throbbing once I get cooled down.


Dressed up all fancy Black tie for a wedding only to sit at the bar the entire night while my cankle howled in discomfort.

In this self imposed downtime (last week I ran 5.5 miles and had a whopping 6 days of no workouts!) I realized some things.

•I'm happy to have not registered for any future races. I wasn't too jazzed about anything anyways except for Fleet Feet racing team. But FF and races will be there for me when I'm ready to return.

•Not working out makes my mood take a nosedive.

•When not exercising regularly it is not advisable to eat all the things and drink all the booze.

•Balance is super totes important. I have annoyed the shit out of my husband with running talk and thankfully have managed to get that under control. My god there's so much more to life than running, training and OMG races.


having fun on the lakefront where no running was involved. *gasp*

I'm using this minor annoyance as an opportunity to become a more well rounded athlete and person. I'm researching swim stuffs like suits and goggles so I can finally use the resistance pool in our gym. I'm also taking this "time off" to strength train a lot more than my usual half assed 2x weekly sessions.


I miss NYC way more than I ever thought possible. I do not miss Times Square however.

I'm just hoping this ankle thing is a one off and clears up quick so I can get back to running the lakefront again or NYC or anywhere pain/ discomfort free.



- xaar

Knoxville Marathon Week 9, One week to go.

Monday: REST

Tuesday: Easy 5 
I RAN OUTSIDE!!!! Learned my lesson from a previous week and decided not to take 2 days off in a row.

Wednesday: 6 tempo miles at 7:18/mile, 8 miles total
Felt like shit during this run. OMG so hot and sweaty. Might have been fighting a small cold and probably sweated out my soul on this one.

Thursday: REST

Friday: Easy 5 
My last run as a"single" woman. Again, felt off- sneezed 89 times the day before. So um, thanks allergies? Or mild cold?  Got married. 

Saturday: 6 easy miles with some sprints
Planned on my long run but woke up feeling feverish hungover and had an elevated heart rate so decided on my other short workout. Surprisingly I felt much better once I got going. 4 miles indoor, 2 miles outside to run to Whole Foods and back for some stuff.  BEER FEST in the early afternoon.

Sunday: 10 easy miles, 1:22:30
Got up early to knock out 12, but felt shitty again- probably remnants of a hangover from the Beer Fest the day before because I had to sample like 18+ beers. I drank more beer Saturday than I have total in the past 5 weeks. It took me until mile 5 to really settle in and enjoy this run. I tried hard to get into my "performing" mindset, but man it was a struggle. Every week cant be a rainbow sneezing pony, so this week will hopefully be much better.

Thoughts:

So Tuesday was approaching 50 degrees, so I HAD to run outside. I was so freaking happy I did, because I saw PANCAKE ICE!!!!!
I hadn't seen this phenomenon since last spring, and was losing hope I would encounter it this year with Spring (fast?) approaching, but IT WAS THERE IN THE HARBOR and I was OMG SO HAPPY. Day made.

YAY WEDDING YAY!!

On Friday L and I went to City Hall and got married almost 5 years to the day we first met. We decided on a City Hall wedding a while ago because an actual ceremony wasn't feasible for our situation, nor did we want to deal with anything related to wedding planning. Since our family and friends are all over the United States and the world, we will go on mini vacations to see all the VIPs in our lives during the year. Some things that I *loved* about our little wedding:

• There were about 10 couples ahead of us to get married- and it was a 60/40 split of straight to gay couples which I thought was pure AWESOME. YAY equality.

• An older gay couple started clapping after each couple came out of the judge's chamber to congratulate the new married couple. This lightened the mood up considerably because it felt a bit like waiting at the DMV...

• Our judge was AMAZING. This guy obviously loves his job of marrying people and made us laugh and (maybe) shed a few tears... 

Dress: Monique lhuillier,  Shoes: Corso Como (Gold- because it's a Brasilian Wedding Tradition Belt/Hair clip: Anthropologie, 
Post wedding, we changed back into normal clothes and then hit up Dryhop for some delicious beer and lunch.Then went to Gilt Bar for an amazing dinner.

Saturday we went to the craft beer fest at Union Station. We had our pretzel necklaces and a huge entourage which made sampling dozens of different beers all the more fun.
More thoughts:

While I might have been fighting a little cold or allergies this week, the likely culprits for my lackluster (shitty) feeling runs was probably a combo of too many beerz +  not paying close enough attention to my food intake. I need to make sure this week I avoid dairy and cool it with all the beerz until I'm celebrating post 11th marathon. Ok, Ok, I'll have a beer with my dad on Wednesday when he arrives... 

I'm still wishy-washy on my shoe choice and am leaning towards wearing my older Newtons because the NEWtons are still making my left foot feel a little strange on longer runs. I'm all set with my race day outfit, and realize i'll probably freeze my ass off in the 40 degree start temps (with a skirt and tank), but will feel so good within a mile or 2.
I'm looking forward to leaving Snowy Chicago for a few days to see my mom. I'm also really psyched to run in a new area.
So in these final days of taper for #11, i'll continue to take care of myself and get rest and eat foods that make me feel good and not the foodz that I know make me sick. I'll also only think the most positive thoughts, because why the hell not? I run because I love it. I love the challenge of marathons, and am excited to put these past 10 weeks of training + changes in nutrition on the road in Knoxville. I'm prepared, I'm ready, and I'm excited beyond belief to run marathon #11 and hopefully get my long awaited BQ.

Third time is the charm, right??

7 days to go!

-xaar