Week?? Ambiguous training for something yet to be determined {2}

Another awesome week in the books! I only ran 10 miles, but worked out for 4 hours and 50 miles total, so there's that. I also ran my longest consecutive run in what seems like forever. I actually cant remember the last time I ran double digits.

Monday: REST

Tuesday: 10 miles cycled

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: REST

Friday: 10 miles cycled

Saturday: 10 miles run w/ 4 Tempo miles @ ( 7:12, 6:55, 7:02, 7:02) Followed by 5 miles on the bike

Sunday: 15 miles Cycled

L came home on Wednesday from Brasil, so I decided to spend time with him (especially since he has been home only a handful of days in the past 2 months). Since he was leaving for another trip early Friday, I decided my marriage > running and we went to Eataly for dinner on Thursday. I haven't been doing morning workouts lately and did not mind the extra time off.

With there not being any good 5k's happening in Chicago in April, (that fit my schedule), I have just been running/cycling whatever I feel. I like working out "intuitively"- if I feel like running fast, I pull a speed sesh out of my hat, or if I feel off, I run slow and then cycle and always finish with some PT/AB/Weights. I do like following a plan though, so I need to decide soon whether or not to focus on a half marathon, or just keep doing what I feel like. I've trained diligently for enough half- full marathons, that intuitively I know what I need to do to be successful should I choose to run longer. And now i've basically said nothing and everything in 100 words.
CB was all "HIGH 5's" one morning, which was probably because I had a stinky soft treat to give him. Although he is a fan of high 5's...
L returned from Brasil with a bottle of Mikkeller Running beer for me!! And to think I would only get to try this when I am in Copenhagen post MRC run... It was a nice ale- perfect for post run hydration. I was *slightly* jealous he got to run with the MRC Sao Paulo group because they had deferred their April 4th run to the 11th due to Easter. Because Brasil = Catholic.

Come join us for our 4th run on May 2nd in Chicago! RSVP/ More info: HERE
With L being home for 2 days after being in Brasil, and before that California and Vancouver and California, it was nice to spend some time together before he took off again.
Saturday I ran outside. In a tank top and froze my ass off. With the temp in the low 50's and 30mph winds, I was so ridiculously cold, but ran 5 miles into the headwind and felt pretty good. At the turnaround I decided to do 4 tempo miles and I was flyyyyiiiiinnnnnnng. It felt good to run long, and outside, and fast, and on the lakefront.
Post 10, I made beer. This will be my 5th, and is a Mikkeller single hop clone recipe. Currently it is fermenting vigorously under my bathroom sink, and while I have high hopes for it, I am slightly concerned about it not turning out ok. I didn't boil off enough of the wort and got a slightly lower gravity reading than I planned for. In 5-6 weeks, I'll hopefully have a decent beer to drink. I will also make another version of this exact beer, but with a different hop in a few more weeks. Fingers crossed this Cluster Hop IPA turns out well.
On Sunday CB and I went for a walk in Grant Park. I didn't feel like running, so we walked and sniffed the flowers.

Looking forward:

I'm excited to watch the Boston Marathon at work tomorrow......and then for it to be over. The hype surrounding it on social media this past week has been tiring to keep up with.

I can't wait to see my Daad later this week- last time he was here was in January.

Yay for a busy week at work- this week will fly by!

Continuing to research places to go in Paris and Copenhagen... I already have a nice list of restaurants, and sights to see, but am still reading about all things Paris and Copenhagen for more potential ideas.  And I am really excited for this trip. Like super duper excited to just wander the streets of Paris with L and eat bread and cheese and drink wine.

Up Next:

2 more recaps of my trip from 13 years ago... Amsterdam and Paris!

Week whatever out of ?? ambiguous training for something or not

This week...Eh...

Monday: REST

Tuesday: Progressive 4 miles followed by 6 miles on the stationary bike

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: REST

Friday: 3 Miles

Saturday: 4 Miles with the pup, followed by a half assed speed sesh of 2 miles.

Sunday: 5 Miles, 36:50. Finally a speed sesh! Alternated one song fast, one song at 8:00 pace. (Speed songs were at 6:48, 6:48, 6:39, 6:39, 6:31)

6 miles cycling
18 miles running

Tuesday morning I woke up and my neck was hurting a lot. I must have slept funny since I do not recall any specific trauma. My neck was quite uncomfortable during work Tuesday and even more so during my run Tuesday evening. Wednesday and Thursday I was going out of my mind with the pain in my neck, and aleve wasnt helping it at all. I could barely function at work so running was absolutely out of the question.  A few epsom bath soaks later, Friday I woke up feeling much better.

Saturday I ran with CB then went shopping. I bought some nice stuff to wear in Paris and Copenhagen as well as springtime here, whenever it gets a bit warmer.

Sunday I did a moderate speed sesh since my neck was still a tad janky & because CB wasnt feeling well. I called the vet to see if I could take him in, but they were only accepting dogs with flu symptoms (which he does not have thankfully) but I have to keep an eye on him and hopefully not have to find another vet. He does seem much better now (Sunday evening) than earlier Sunday.
                                         
Me and my bear. I love him so much. Monday I got to see some wonderful ladies for a nice chat and dinner. It was awesome catching up with Anne, Emmers and Erin. Tuesday I voted. CB said he voted many times earlier in the day while I was at work.
Sunday I bottled my Russian Imperial Stout which has been fermenting for 2 months! I had to open one of my old IPAs for the bottle (because I only have 12 total!), and surprisingly it tasted much better than it did in January. I also bottled one bottle of the Belgian stout I made 3 weeks ago. The rest of the Belgian stout will be seconday fermented with coffee. I just need to cold brew some first.I think this Belgian stout is going to be amazing.
Looking forward:

Since there are no "good" 5ks that fit in my schedule before my vacation, I am unsure if I want to continue focusing on 5k prep- or maybe change it up and start running longer since the weather is nice. I'd love to smash my stagnant half marathon PR this year (it's been nearly 2 years since my last 13.1!!!).On top of that, I am really enjoying running/cycling/lifting weights and my continued PT exercises and am not really excited to race. At least right now.. I'm sure that will change soon. I want quality performance over quantity races this year and know post vacation, I'll be itching to take advantage of the good weather and let my legs fly.

Up next:

Throw back posts of my trip to Europe 2002, because my daad found some photo cds I had of half of my pics from the trip. And because I found my journal from that trip. And because I am super excited to return to Europe after 13 years!!!


-Xaar

Week 8 of ?? Sub 20 5k training

This week was a bit meh. I was happy to run in Vancouver one last time- with L! But then had to fly home and go to work the next morning for all day meetings!! Always super fun. I just couldn't shake the exhausted no energy feeling Thursday- so figured a rest day was in order. Friday I was even more tired and stuffy so had to take off one more day. It's just not worth it to me to over do it while sick and prolong it.

Monday: 5 miles along the Vancouver Seawall with L.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 5 miles. Some progressive.

Thursday: REST aka no energy

Friday: REST aka stuffy head no energy

Saturday: 10 total: 4 am miles with CB, 6 miles speedwork pm. 2x 1.5 miles at 6:22, 6:10 respectively.

Sunday: 5 miles


Saturday I went for a "test" run with CB and felt much better so I figured a nice speed sesh was in order. It felt more difficult than it should have, but I got both sets of 1.5 miles done. I finished out the week with an easy 5/recovery run to help rid my quads of the soreness from the 2x1.5's. The first half mile my legs were like lead and super sore- but by the 2nd mile I was feeling better. My legs are still a bit sore, which was to be expected.


The sunrise on Wednesday was amazing!


I missed my little puppy bear.


One of the "outtakes" from our run on Saturday. I like taking photos with CB on our runs, because he's so stinking happy and cute, but also because I know the days for us to run are getting more limited as he ages and I want to document these memories.


I also opened another bottle of the black berry stout I had made. The first tasting was lackluster a few weeks ago- but I left more bottles to condition for additional time. The difference between 1.5 and 3+ weeks was huge! The beer today had more carbonation and flavor (more caramel/tartness) and was definitely more drinkable than the one I opened after 1.5 weeks of conditioning. I definitely respect beer a lot more now that I'm beginning to realize everything that goes into producing beer.

I also made more beer. I basically made the same stout as the blackberry stout, But will put coffee in it instead. Then I'm done with stouts, and will move onto a different style which is more spring appropriate. Maybe Gose or pale ale?

This week I'm looking forward to the Shamrock Shuffle... My 4th! Yay.

Week 6 of ?? Sub 20 5k Training...

This week can be summed up as "MEH." I was sweating buckets during the speedwork and didn't feel as springy as usual. Whether it was hormones or a cold type thing or a combo of both, I just wasn't feeling myself this week. I started thinking there is no way I'll be able to hit sub 6:26 a mile for 3.1 miles in a race anytime soon while doing the 1200's, BUT I quickly reminded myself I was feeling off and this is not how I usually feel. Sure, the sub 20 5k won't be easy, but it shoudn't feel like a complete struggle whenever it happens.

Monday: REST

Tuesday: 7 miles, 53:20. "Some slow, some fast" 3  miles easy, 4 miles @ 7:18, 7:13, 7:13, 7:08

Wednesday: 11 miles cycle

Thursday: 6 Miles, 42:45. "4 x 1200's" 2 mile WU, 4x 1200's @ 4:40 (6:15/mile)

Friday: REST

Saturday: 3 miles progressive before MRC.
                 3ish miles with Mikkeller Running Club.

Sunday: REST

19 Miles running for 2:29.05

11 Miles cycling for 45:30

30 miles total for 3:14.35

By Friday I was feeling funky at work. Saturday morning, I ran 3 miles before MRC and felt quite bad. The 3 easy miles I ran with MRC were awful. The rest of the day I napped and did not eat anything because I felt so sick. Sunday I felt much better so I met my friend Vicky for brunch. But by the time I got home the stomach issues returned and I slept the afternoon away. The bad thing is I wanted to run again on Sunday but had no energy. The "silver lining" is I'm much closer to racing weight now... I just hope to be eating normal asap because my first 5k is this weekend!

I got some cool Toms with a Foxy "CB" print on them.
I got a lot of kisses post 1200's this week. CB is always happy to see me post workout. I'm just a huge salt lick to him...
We tried my blackberry stout this weekend. It was alright, but not quite as good as I thought it would be. I believe that it needs to bottle condition for a bit longer. This bottle was opened after 1.5 weeks of conditioning- We will try another bottle after 3 weeks and hopefully it will taste better. With this being my 2nd batch of all grain beer, I am constantly trying to improve and understand the process better. I'm excited for my next batches as my knowledge grows. I know CB is happy when I make beer because he gets biscuits.
Sunday CB curled up next to me while I took a long nap after brunch. I think he knew I wasn't feeling well and just wanted me to feel better and take him for a walk. Sorry buddy, not today. But hopefully this week we can go for a run or walk together.
Looking forward:

• I hope this stomach bug ends quick and doesn't impact me much more than the 2.5 days it already has caused havoc.

• The forecast for my 5k so far is complete crap. low 40's and rain. I need to figure out what to wear for it, especially if the forecast doesn't change by Thursday. I know i'll wear my Mikkeller Running Club shirt, but might have to add arm warmers. I wanted to wear my new neon green skirt from Track n Field that I bought in Brasil, but skirts and rain = too much excess soggy material. So most likely i'll wear some booty shorts or capris. I can always wear my skirt for the Shamrock Shuffle.

• I'd like to get one more solid speed sesh in before this weekend, but that all depends on how I feel post stomach bug. I want to go into the 5K with fresh legs and really see where i'm at in this sub 20 goal.

Cheers!

-Xaar

Week 3 of?? 5k training aka See you in 56 days...

This week was a nice contrast to last week's suck fest. I pretty much smashed all of my workouts and felt great- minus Saturday's 5k hills post brunch. Derp. I should know better.

Monday: rest!

Tuesday: cycle 10 miles
                10x 400's @ 6:18, last 2 @ 6:10 pace

Wednesday: easy 4

Thursday: easy 4 progressive with strides

Friday: rest. Hungover. Rest.

Saturday: 12 mile cycle, 
                  3x2:00 hills @ 5k pace felt heavy and slow. Yay brunch!

Sunday: 12 mile cycle, 3 miles east

55 miles total. 34 cycle, (2:18) 21 running (2:42)
5 total hours.

Notes:

Thursday we went out drinking with friends, nearly repeating our exact path on Sunday. Links taproom Check! Emporium arcade Check! I woke up friday so incredibly hungover there was no way I was going to attempt speedwork or workout of any kind. I think I was super dehydrated from my run plus re-hydrating with 4very strong 10%+abv beers was not smart. Lesson learned.

On weight:
I've accumulated a few extra lbs over the past few weeks and have decided to shed them to get to a better racing weight for my first 5k of the year. That means a few less beers a week and some smaller portion sizes. Nothing too drastic but need to acknowledge I must make a change. I feel heavy and slow more than i'd like. It's amazing what a few extra lbs can do negatively.

Saturday L and I racked my Belgian stout onto blackberries for secondary fermentation. It's already been fermenting 3 weeks and posted a 8.53%abv before secondary. I really hope this one turns out well since it's the first beer I've adapted from a 5gallon recipe. I had been using all grain kits before this, But something about measuring out the grains and hops made it extra satisfying to make. I'm almost to the point of making my own recipes based on the hops/malts/barley/yeasts that I like.

The Belgian Stout prior to being moved to secondary + blackberries

After racking the Belgian stout on the blackberries, we brewed another adapted recipe- a Russian Imperial Stout. Folks, the wort of this beer smelled absolutely divine & was a gorgeous brown black color. I have high hopes for this one. But it won't be ready for another 56 days. At least I have 2 carboys now so I can keep brewing other beers while this one ferments. Next up: the same Belgian stout I used for the blackberry stout, but we will either leave it plain or add a flavor like coffee. Then I'm done with stouts and will start brewing more spring appropriate beers.

The Blackberry puree for the Belgian Stout, The grains for the RIS. That Russian Imperial Stout boil though... Look at that deep color! The smell was divine!

For Valentine's Day we went out to Belly Q and had an amazing time. The food was delicious and our waiter really made the evening pop with her knowledge of the menu/drinks.

Of course- since we brewed beer we made more spent grain biscuits which CB was super happy about. Our freezer is overrun with spent grain and biscuits right now. CB does not find that to be a problem though...

Yesterday it snowed again and was super cold so I didn't get to run outside for my long run. And the reason there was no long run.  Oh well. We had brunch & got to celebrate our friends daughters 3rd birthday which was cute and fun. It's so amazing to see the difference between 2 and 3 with her!

Onto another exciting week. Only 25 days until my 1st race of 2015!

--Xaar

Week 2 of ?? 5k training

This week was a bit of a bust training wise. I was very busy at work and felt "off" all week and decided taking an extra rest day or 2 wouldn't kill me. I still nailed all of my speed work.


Monday: REST

Tuesday: FARTLEKS! 5x 3 minutes at Goal 5k pace (6:22/mile) with 2 min recovery (8:45/mile).

Wednesday: REST

Thursday: Cycled 9 hilly miles

Friday: REST

Saturday: 3 progressive miles followed by 3.3 Miles with the Mikkeller Running Club- More on that soon!

Sunday: Progressive run- 10 min easy, 15 minutes @ 7:12/mile, 5 minutes @ Goal 5K pace (6:22/mile) followed by 3x 30 second hills @ Goal 5k pace (interval 3 on treadmill)

I am still amazed that I haven't had to modify the speed workouts either for pace or time yet. I'd only amend the workout if it felt exceptionally hard. But after 2 weeks, I feel all the speed work i've done so far is comfortably hard- like i'm not over exerting myself trying to keep the pace nor do I feel like I gave 100% effort (I'll be saving that for the goal 5k!). After each speed workout I feel energized and like I could have kept going. These workouts leave me craving more speed!

I still don't have a goal 5k (or 5ks) yet. I am however signed up for 2 5k's in 2 different countries (USA not included!) but depending on the circumstances of each of them, will probably not be sub 20 worthy... PR worthiness remains to be seen and will not be totally discounted... One has a crazy elevation profile including a brutal uphill finish, the other will be at the end of a week of excessive wine and beer consumption. I'll keep looking for some Chicagoland 5k's to consider for the sub 20.

CB as always was exceptionally cute this week. Very playful and full of energy. I forget he's over 10 years old now.

We also made some more spent grain dog biscuits- with the grain coming from a porter my husband brewed earlier in the week. CB was very happy.


We finished the week at the Inaugural Mikkeller Running Club Saturday morning, and drank with good friends sunday.

"For relaxing times..." 

It was a good 2nd week of training despite the extra rest days. On to week 3!

New Shoes and running,and clarinets and making beer...

Ive been lacking motivation to run. Summer is my favorite time to run- i love the heat, and the chance to wear as little clothes as possible. Winter = dark, icy, and cold. None of which are conditions I like to run in. I trip a lot, I dont want to injure myself on ice, and the cold makes my hands feel as if my hands have been smashed with a hammer. Sitting on my comfy stationary bike has been my workout of choice lately...
It's pathetic for me to not even break 20 running miles a week and i've only done that 2 times in the past 6+ months. But, PT and my long term vision for ending my injury cycles have been #1. Now that i'm overcoming my anxiety of running more miles, I want to have goals. I want 2015 to be the year of the PRs!

Black friday, cyber monday whatever. I bought 2 new pairs of running shoes- Nike Zoom Fly and Mizuno Wave Hitogami. Both are extremely light (because those extra ounces add up, yo!) and feel pretty good- they have different heel to toe drops, but I am always about variety.  Different shoes for different workouts and all that jazz. Gotta keep the muscles engaged and on their toes.
Saturday was on the warmish side, so I took CB for a run. He saw some Canadian geese and had a great time running 5.5 miles with me.
Post run I made beer. Not any of that extract/syrup shit, but legit all grain brewing.  We have a one gallon set up which is perfect for our apartment.The "standard" home brewer would make 5 gallon batches. I cannot fathom making that much beer. I made an extremely hoppy IPA and if all goes well, in 2-3 weeks I'll have a delicious beer to drink.

The various stages of brewing- the "mash" process where the grains are soaked in hot water to get their flavor and sugars into the water. The OMG delicious smelling hop pellets for "the boil." And our fermentation vessel.
After the mash in, I had 2.5 lbs of spent grain left over. I could have tossed it out, but there was a precious pup who insisted I make biscuits.
With the spent grain I added flour, peanut butter and eggs to make the dough. *No hops are in the spent grain. Those are poisonous to dogs.
The pup supervised me and made sure all the ingredients were perfect.
The pup was drooling while "supervising" me. CB and one of 11 dough balls.
I used my new bear cookie cutter to make 74 bear cookies for CB and his BFF Tomoe. My oven was filled with spent grain biscuits!!! And I still have half the dough left in my freezer! I even taste tested a leg of one of the bears- and it was ok. Not overly sweet or flavorful. But CB approved. Spent grain can also be used to make bread.
To back track a little, On Friday evening I restored all my clarinets. I cleaned their wood bodies, I oiled them, I waxed the outside and cleaned their corks. For the first time in almost 4 years they saw the light of day. It was oddly relaxing to do this- something I had not done since I lived in Mexico and played professionally in an orchestra. It has been a struggle for me to enjoy classical music since leaving Mexico since it brings up so many mixed emotions. A story for another day...
I did all of this because I want to play again. It's taken me 4+ years to actually want to play them again  and before I could do that, I needed to perform the necessary maintenance on them. I would hate for them to crack because I didn't oil their wood. Thankfully they were all in great condition. I've played a few times now- only the Bb clarinet and plan to play the bass, my favorite, soon.
My Clarinets: Eb, Bb, A, and my favorite: Bass Clarinet.
Sunday I went for another run outside. It was cold and windy. I had originally planned to run 8-10 miles, but after going into the freezing headwind for 3 miles, I called it at 6. I just cannot handle the cold. I did another 2.5 on the treadmill once I returned.
The waves were crashing on the sea wall which, despite the cold, was so mesmerizing to me.
I am excited to build a good base going into 2015 and start chasing the goals I had to put on hold during 2014.
I just need to figure out what those goals will be...