Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Life in the States

I refuse to let jet lag get to me.  Mind over matter.  I force myself to get back into my regular routine and lead regular hours, no matter what my body is telling me.

So, on Monday morning I spent the day at work, ducking out a bit early for my first Girls on the Run coaching session in 2 weeks!  It was great to see the girls again, and also enjoy the glorious weather we were experiencing in Atlanta with temps in the high 70s!  The girls were in great moods, excited and energetic on their first day back at school since spring break the week before.  And their energy, the sunshine, and running in circles around their school, helped to keep me going through when the jet lag would probably be the worst.


I also had a really great experience running with one of the girls and challenging her to do a whole lap without stopping running.  It is about a half mile loop and she said she had never done it before, so I said let's try.  She complained the whole way, said she didn't think she would make it, said she was having a cramp.  But she didn't stop running.  And she didn't stop the whole way around, even sprinting to the finish of the lap.  I was SO proud of her and encouraged her to feel incredibly proud of herself as well.  I hope she went home and shared that with her parents and felt proud of the accomplishment because that feeling of doing something new that you've never done before, is absolutely one to be proud of.

From there, I kept the outdoor running goodness going by heading over to join one of the local running groups I sometimes meet up with for Monday nights, Run Smyrna. They were doing a 3-mile route or a 5-mile route and I started the run not sure entirely what I wanted to do (I could feel myself getting a bit delirious!) but ended up running 5 really glorious miles.


Side note:  I think I did a really masterful job of filtering that picture on Instagram.  Look how much better it looks!!


Fat is cropped out.  Skin is tanner.  Teeth are whiter. Skin is smoother.  Seriously, I'm impressed with my Instagram skills right there.  IG for the win!

Anyways, I was proud of my run and my pace felt okay because I am working towards running my half marathon this weekend!  On Sunday is the Atlanta Publix Half Marathon, which is the race I have been training for with the team of people who are all aiming to break 2 hours on the race.  I have been doing speed work, trying to shed some points, doing longer runs, and building strength to help myself meet this goal.  However, the past week has been quite a challenge for me.  I didn't run as much.  I have been eating way too much for almost 2 weeks now.  And I am having a hard time even getting it back in control since I have been back in Atlanta.

The run felt good, which I was happy about, but my anxiety for the race this weekend is starting to rise.

Following the five miles, I was a hot and sweaty mess but also wanted to go out somewhere so that I didn't go right home at 8:00 p.m. because I knew I would fall asleep too early.  I drove around without really a thought in mind of where to go and ended up at a pizza and pasta place that is near my apartment that I've never tried, and they had an outdoor seating area with WiFi!  It was totally ideal and total luck that I stumbled upon it, but I ended up ordering dinner and sitting outside enjoying the beautiful evening and writing on my computer for another hour or so before I went home to shower and get to bed.

This morning I also did a pre-work training run with our last speed and skills session.  I did a lot better than I thought I would, which did give me some additional confidence, but again, I don't know how it will all come into play on race day.  Thirteen is a lot of miles and I am going to try and run the first part of the race at least with the pacing group.  I am scared I won't be feeling good and won't be able to keep up or will just totally burn out.  We will just have to see what comes on Sunday!  Here are a couple pics from this morning's run.  I was really pushed by our coach, which was great to have that encouragement and challenge.  I ran without looking at a pace watch today or yesterday and having that lack of knowledge can sometimes be helpful.



People at work today were asking me how I was doing with the jet lag.  Most were totally surprised that I had flown in yesterday morning and also when I told then that I ran yesterday evening and this morning they were shocked too.  But I just don't let it get in the way!  The fastest way to get adjusted is to just be adjusted and go back to your normal routine.  If you let yourself sleep early or sleep in, it will take so much longer to get back to a regular routine.

I worked a full day today, decked out in green for St. Patrick's Day (as I did for my run this morning too!) and stopped on my way home for my once-a-year purchase for St. Paddy's, a Shamrock Shake from McDonald's!


It's funny, I always use random holidays to gauge where I was at different points in time during different years.  Holidays like Fourth of July or St. Patrick's Day are fun to think about because the big ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving I am usually doing the same thing.  Last year for St. Patrick's Day I was in Romania!  The year before that I went to New York City with Dani to cheer for her during the NYC Half Marathon, which, at the time, was before I had run my won half marathon at all!!!  Oh yeah, and I ran a contest at work to wear green and get a free Shamrock Shake :)

Upon searching my blog for the word "Shamrock" I also found a post I wrote two years ago about this very topic of reflection during random holidays like St. Patrick's Day, haha!  I wrote that in context to a close friend of mine having her first baby, and ironically enough, that baby is now 2 and she is about to give birth to her second child!

Anyways, I digress...

The Shamrock Shake was a treat that I do every year.  But I still felt a bit guilty about it.  I know those things are filled with all sorts of craziness and I have just been adding bad eating on top of bad eating lately.  It was dinner though, so I guess there is that.  And shockingly, if the shake was dinner, than I guess dessert was the one beer I had while sitting on my porch this evening.  Porch weather is here, people!!!!


I am pretty sure porch season is pretty short around here when it goes from being really relaxing and nice to sit outside, to being just swelteringly hot.  I guess we will see how it goes though!  I miss my old porch in Albany, but this porch does the job pretty well too I suppose!  For those of you who have been around here a while, I used to write about my lovely Albany porch A LOT.

Anyways, Wednesday hump day was nothing extraordinary.  Sleep. Work. Run with Movers & Pacers. Home with a sandwich from Jimmy John's.  The sandwich I was like, "Oh maybe I'll eat half?" and then I ate it all.  I have been not so good lately.  Not so good whatsoever.  Today I ate a Fiber One 90 calorie bar AND a Quest bar for breakfast.  Then for lunch I ate leftover pasta with sausage and a bag of chips.  As a snack I had a biscotti.  Then another snack of a bunch of pretzels.  Then I had a whole sandwich with cheese and everything.  Then another 90 calorie bar and 2 beers.  Soo.... not the best...

I had a headache all day today and I still have it right now.  When I have a headache, I get really worried.  I'm a hypochondriac, if you don't know that, and I stress about abnormalities.  Having a headache is abnormal for me.  I don't usually get headaches.  And because I was warned of so many medical things from my trip, I am now worrying - what kind of issues could a headache be a symptom of?  What is this?  Am I going to survive the day?

Crazy, I know.

And eating helped me feel better today.  So I kept keep doing it.

I did get those miles in.  I was so, so close to just driving home due to the headache and my anxiety over having a headache.  So, I was glad I got out.  My legs are sore from the past two days, which isn't a good sign for this weekend.  But I just tried to tell myself to run slow and take it easy, even through the hills.  I love the energy and encouragement of this group and it was good to see them.


The run was pretty though.  Flowers are blooming in Atlanta and the weather is warm.  My head didn't hurt while I was running, and as soon as I stopped it started up again.  What is going on with me?!?!  I refuse to think it is somehow related to jet lag.  Do you think it is allergies?  Please advise, internet world.


While I am waiting on your input I am going to sit on my couch and watch Parks & Recreation while my apartment remains a complete disaster.  Goodnight, everyone!

1 comment:

  1. I get headaches fairly frequently, and these are the most common reasons:
    I'm just tired. I didn't sleep enough too many days in a row and I need to sleep it off.
    Hormonal. (PMS/Ovulating/Post-Period whatever, I can usually formulate a theory.)
    Dehydration
    Stress.
    Something I ate. ( Caffeine related--aka something that causes dehydration)

    Rarely:
    Sinus headache due to allergies or illness

    Hope that helps!

    ReplyDelete