fresh air

The weather forecast is predicting rain for tomorrow. That made me think that the trails might be dry since the last time it rained was 2 weeks ago and I should get a run in before the water gets here.

Three miles in, I was so excited and happy I choose to run on the trail today. Everything was so green. There were new patches of grass and little flowers/berries on the trees. The ground was covered in leaves and the dirt was wet but not muddy. And the fresh air smelled amazing, like winter in a bottle.

Until I got to one little trail that is always always wet, even in the summer. For half a mile,  I tried not to slip and ended up with mud up to knees. I'm glad I wore my trail shoes since they really helped grip the clumps of mud and kept me from slipping.

The weather was perfect. I wore winter workout clothes and still felt the breeze as I was climbing the hills. The workout was hard. The last time I ran this course was in early November. Its crazy how fast you lose fitness for a specific activity/ or route when you haven't done it in a while. I definitely felt like I was huffing and puffing and my thighs and calves we're burning. Super hard, sweaty and fun- my favorite kinda run.

On another note, I've been having a weird pain the arch of my left foot. I don't notice it unless I'm walking around barefoot and mostly when I point my toes up. It feels like the muscle but I'm not sure and Dr. Google isn't providing any real helpful info.

I'll be attending crossfit tonight, I'll let you know how that goes...
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Do you take walks/ hang out outdoors during the winter?

Do you consult Dr. Google when something's off? or a real Dr?

How often do you do cardio workouts? strength training?

inny minny miny mo

Happy Thursday!!

The trails have been too wet for real trail running so I recently discovered a curvy uphill road near my home. I'm not sure how far it goes but for the last few semi-long runs, I have ran up that hill for 5 or 6 miles and then down for an additional 5 or 6 miles.

Today I did 10 miles total. This path is rough because it is uphill and steep, which makes for a killer uphill climb but a speedy downhill sprint.

This weekend I am registered for a half marathon in Camarillo. I'm debating sneaking in to the full marathon and running it easy. I'm not sure. I'll probably end up playing inny-minny-miny-mo the morning of.

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What was your workout this morning?

Are you back to work? school? real-life?

how do you make big decisions? flip a coin? inny minny miny mo?

Muddy hill run & off to the game

I have been meaning to post for the past four days. It just keeps slipping my mind and by the time I remember I'm already in bed.

Quick recap: Wednesday- was an easy 7 miles. I did my usual loop and it was a nice, peaceful run. Thursday- I didn't do anything because I was planning a longer run on friday and wanted to save my energy. Frida- I wanted to do 15 but it was raining the whole time and I stepped in a million puddles. My feet were so cold and soaking wet, I called it a day at mile 13. I think that's ok since I was planning on still doing the Saturday trail run.

This morning (saturday) I meet Ernie for our usual trail date. It has been raining for the past few days so the trails were too muddy. Instead we did a 10 mile run on some crazy hills. The path was on semi- cement but I still came home covered in mud. The hills were tough. I came home and iced because the back of my legs were hurting. We are planning on running a half marathon next week. I'll tell you more about that later.

For now, I have to go…. LA GALAXY game today….. So excited….

Defend the cup!!

I'm home

This morning I woke up early to get a long run in. I did the exact same path as saturday but somehow ended up at 21 miles. I felt good, I had fuel and I remembered to take it regularly. I was beat though. My knees are definitely feeling the milage.

The next few days are definitely going to be easy.

After I cleaned up and slipped on some compression gear, I drove home to Dinuba and sat in traffic for 4 + hours. Traffic was crazy.

When I got home my favorite 6 year old was visiting my mom and jumped out and yelled surprise when I walked in. Super cute. I'm so excited for the next few days with my family.
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Any one venturing out for Black Friday?

What do you do to distract yourself when you are stuck in traffic?

What's your favorite Thanksgiving food?

no more shin pain

Yesterday I went out hoping my shin didn't hurt. AND IT DIDN'T.

Yay- I ended up doing 9 easy miles. I skipped Thursday's speed work and my legs were itching to run. I felt great!

This morning I ran 20 miles. I'm not feeling so great now haha.

It was actually an awesome run. I woke up late and missed Earnie but I figured I should still do the trail. I went by myself and found all the trails and did the 10 mile loop plus a little extra (I did an extra 3 miles on flat paths ) I then took the long way home for a total of 20. This week I felt better because I had fuel and stopped a few times for water.

My legs feel heavy and my knees ache but that's expected, a little R&R and my compression socks and I'll be fine.

After my run, I had to rush out because I was meeting a few friends for brunch and to discuss a group presentation. I was late (#fail).

a chilly trail run

The hardest part of my 10.5 mile trail run today was getting up at 5 am, to be more specific, getting out of bed. It was cold in my room and I figured it was freezing outside. I tried to make myself as warm as possible for my run. I'm wearing a headband, 2 long sleeve shirts (one of them is a sweater), gloves, a t-shirt, and capri pants. 

This picture was taken after my run so I'm pretty sweaty and gross.

Check out all the mud all over my calf and socks. haha.

All the layers were too much. I was hot after the first mile. I always forget that I am going to get warm once I start running. Duh!

The run itself was amazing, for the first time I wasn't so focused on  the hills and just the sights. The smell of nature is amazing! It was crisp and the sun was shining on the trail and it looked pretty amazing. I think this time I finished the loop 5 minutes faster than last week. 

It was a heck of a workout which has me worried about tomorrow's half. I decided during my last mile that tomorrow should just be for fun. I'm going to try my best but I"m not going full out, which means I probably won't PR but I'm okay with that. 

I already laid out my outfit for tomorrow. It is pretty random based on today's cold morning and the fact that I will probably heat up during the actual run. Notice the beanie, gloves and tank top. 

Have a great weekend!!

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Do you overdress on cold days?

When planning an outfit, do you lay out stuff "in case"'?

Plans for this weekend?