Crazy Busy

No time.
Friday? No activity that I can remember. LOL Oh the guinea pigs came home.
Saturday? worked, timed at a swim meet, played a game of hockey in the afternoon, worked all evening on school stuff.
Sunday? worked, ran 8.5 k in the worst wind in ages UGH had to walk into it for long distances, like walking into a wall :( very hard 56:12 run.  Hockey in afternoon with Annika's team not very strenuous. LOL. 
And worked all evening.

This coming week is nuts. Hockey, work, marking, meetings for kids, science fair...its not going to be fun. I dont expect to get much accomplished. Going to put P90X off another week to get through it all :(

Prioritizing; if I have time, it will be for running. Weather is supposed to be awesome! Hope this wind lets up! :)

Success...sort of...

Ugh sometimes it can be so hard to get things in when you need to! With husband leaving town for a couple days it's important to run when kids are in school, or be stuck working out in the basement (I could use more cross training, honest!) This morning I was so not expecting to be taking the kids to school but I did.  At 2 different times at that.  I dressed for running when I took the first load into town, dropped them off, and headed off for a nice 8 km loop. Wow did I miscalculate that.  Because of where I parked, I was off a bit on my estimation...I ended up going 9.7 km back to my car. Oops. I was therefore late for picking up lot 2 of children, but luckily Scott had made an appearance and took the older ones to school so I could shower and dress and get off to work.  9.7 km in 1:01: ish not bad for running around on a strained ankle.  OMG I ran on the Cobequid trail and I have NO idea who is going to clean up all that dog shit from a winter of stupid people letting their dogs shit whereever? WTF? Nice, people.  I wont be taking my dogs there for a while. It's toooooo dirty and Im not walking dogs from shit pile to shit pile.  Sometimes dogs owners just suck. 

Notice no P90X updates in awhile? I seem to have fallen off the wagon.  after the weekend, when its hard to get workouts in due to hockey, I had the flu and have been extremely tired since. Running is my first priority and it's been all Ive handled this week past.  I do intent to start week 5 over again, possibly tomorrow or Saturday now that the girls' regular hockey seasons are over.

Will update.

We need a Redo

The damned flu bug has wreaked havoc in our house this past week and a half, there was not a single day over the kid's march break and beyond that did not have someone feeling ill or vomiting. Or worse.
So it was not a huge shock when it hit me. No it was still sorta. I eat well, wash my hands, I should not get sick lol. But I did. Good and sick. I took Monday off anyway; seems a nice rest after busy weekends and a long day on Monday in class. But I had big plans for a long run on Tuesday. I was instead sick all through the night and into the next day. I spent all of Tuesday in bed or very near bed. Ugh I hate being sick bad enough but the recovery is always so long.
Wednesday morning I could barely wake. I slept badly the night before and after 6 I was still barely awake. Dragging out of bed was really hard. Smells made me feel terrible. Working the day was somewhat better; once out of bed things get easier. After Work plans changed a little when Taylor did not go swimming so I took a very dangerous chance and I went home to run from there. Home can be a huge energy suck; once you walk in the door there are distractions and energy just seeps away until you don't go anywhere. But I dressed and got out the door into the amazing weather anyway. I went in a long sleeved shirt and tights, a head band rather than a hat. It was slightly chilly in spots but so nice! The sun felt very nice! Planning a short run, I went up the hill to 3 km then turned back. Once I got to the big hill I was feeling super and I lengthened my stride and took in the sun and was singing a song and then. It happened. I wasn't watching closely enough; the sun and tree shade were playing games...and I stepped in a little teensy washout and turned my ankle over. And to not fall onto the road in front of a car I stepped right on the top of my foot (dirt on my shoe showing me where). I didn't fall. I said oh no lol. And I walked. At least I could. It REALLY hurt. My shoe felt tight very fast. I limped for about 30 seconds but I was only 4 km into a 6.4 km run and there was no one to take me home; so I figured I might as well see if I could run. It did not hurt more to run, so I did. Slowly I think. Little faster as I got closer to home. I pulled up in front of the house with 6.4 km in 40:20 which isn't as far off my intended time as I thought it would be.
I iced ankle and foot and went to bed. This morning it looks normal but hurts quite badly. I'm going to try a run this morning; changing plans a little since I guess I'm taking the kids to school. maybe I will walk instead. Not a good morning to try the trails. Lol

Weekend recall

I was right! I did not feel like working out after Holly's championship game. I was totally bummed after Holly's game. LOL they went through the tournament unbeaten, but so did the other team. They scored loads of goals. So did the other team.  Both teams went into the final fairly even.  And Holly's team lead for most of the game. MOST. But they were not in the lead when the game ended.  I was So sad. And embarassed for the behaviour of some of the team members. Shameful poor losers, 9 and 10 year old kids are. SIGH.
Anyway we went home and had some sinfully good frenchfries and chicken wings for supper, and by the time we were finished drowning our sorrows and enjoying a kazoo concert, it was time for all to sleep.
Saturday morning was for sleeping and we did!  Past 7 am! Glorious!  lol.  I woke for awhile and then luxuriously went back to sleep until almost 8!  Bliss! 
I had a hockey game that I took Holly and her friend to, it was pick up so they played with us and it was fun :)   All scored a few goals and went home for the rest of the day where, even tho it was sunny, it was cold and I stayed in and worked.  And worked some more.  Marking Marking, I hate this semester for all of it's marking SIGH.  But by Saturday night I had finished one assignment.  I had Taylor rubbing the kink out of my neck for ages.  Wonder where that came from!
Sunday morning, up early for a breakfast out, then I didnt feel much like running for a couple of hours. Sunday is hard when it is hockey season because I want to run almost every Sunday, I feel like it, but I dont want to be too tired for Hockey. SIGH.  I left the house just before noon for my 10 k run.  Yeah no long run. Hockey game was at 3.  The run was good, about 1:03:45 with a 6:20 pace for the 10 k, lot of hill on the way up and less on the way home.  :)  The weather was mostly nice lol windy but warmish and sunny and I was very happy to just run along.  No speedwork and only about 6 dogs. I KNOW! Where are they all coming from?  Im just so happy that the good weather is returning :)
Hockey game in the afternoon was good.  I had a goal, tie game, got my finger whacked but it only bothers me when I have to use it SIGH.  Pull ups this week? Maybe NOT.  Ive gotten a great headache going on and I need to see if more sleep and more water will improve it.
This morning I did not drag out of bed for a 5 am workout. In attempts to be better to myself I took the extra sleep.  Not that I got much. It was super hard to get back to sleep after Scott left and Cat was howling. SIGH. But I took the laying in bed.  There are only 3 weeks left of this semester and they are going to be super busy ones. If I have to take a break from some workouts,this is the time to do it. And it is Monday. Not my old friend.  I start at 8 and teach until 5, nearly non stop. Hard.
Time to start bike riding regularly.  I might use Taylor's or Scott's bike until I am ready to remove my bike from the trainer....changing tires is way too hard. :)
Swimming. How am I going to get to swimming?  If Im going to do a Tri this summer I really need to start swimming and very soon!

Feeling Somewhat Better

About things. I have to thanks IAN for pointing out possible burnout; it made me rethink the whole cranky mood/tired running thing and I actually did read quite a few articles about burnout while trying to decide if I actually WAS burned out or just tired of winter...
and Ive concluded, since it's my workouts that keep me sane and Im not getting enough of the outside world thanks to the weather, Im actually more likely just tired of winter and having a little SAD to go along with it.  Ive had some good workouts this week and am feeling a little more on balance.The weather improving or at least giving me breaks is certainly helping.
Ive also slept in a bit this week; my kids are on March Break and although I still have to go to work, I was able to sleep a teensy bit later 4 of those days; no 5 am, more like 6 am. Yesterday I barely remember the alarm going off; I turned it off about 6 times before I finally figured I should get up. YEAH that's an hour. 

Tuesday morning I got up and did a sort of long run. I do believe Im going to run a half marathon in Fredericton in May before the CTR, and then a full marathon in the fall when I will have a better hope of training for it.  So I backed my long run off this week. That kind of means I am completely off of any plan, because to do a half marathon plan I have to like...half my running. While I may not be doing a full in the spring, I do not really want to back off the long runs too much (after doing 18, backing down to 10s again as the long run seems silly). So Im going to keep uping the distance with back off weeks until after May.  I did 12.1 km on Tuesday morning before work.  The weather was amazing and it was an effortless run with a nice 6:16 pace on hills and 1:16 time.  Nice.
That night we went off to the Valley for Grammy's 60th birthday party. we arrived in time for some cake before scooting the kids to bed (almost midnight)! ugh.
They were very difficult to wake in the morning.  I snuck out of the house at about 7 to get in a very short, fast 4.1 km run done in about 23:16 with a 5:40 pace on some flat some hilly roads. :) Again it was chilly but the weather was awesome.
We dragged the littles out of bed and rushed to get to Annika's first tournament hockey game (we were late).   She had 3 games on Wednesday. Between the first 2 we took Taylor to her Nanny's house because she was sick. While we were at the games Holly got sick as well, a stomach bug. With Annika's cold, that was all three feeling terrile.
Thursday morning I did P90X Day 37 Plyometrics which was fun :) After working the morning away I went to Annika's last tournament game where she got a medal (as did I...for coaching :)) and then went back to work for a few more hours before heading off to Holly's first tournament game in the opposite direction. SIGH.  the weather was even more amazing and I missed it! :)
SO Friday morning I decided to do a nice run in the afternoon. Until I heard the weather forecast for gusting winds and rain; then I threw on my clothes and went in the morning before work; barely fitting everything in! UGH.  So stressful making time for things!  But I got the 8.5 km done in 52:52, 6:12 pace.  I feel it's coming back a bit, after all that nasty snow and ice LOL. 
I might do P90X tonight (I love the potential of Friday nights) but after Holly's championship game in her tournament in a couple of hours, I might be tired and just NOT. 
Planning a long run for this weekend, whenever the weather seems appropriate. I have a feeling we dont have much going on this weekend and I cannot wait! LOL my last 2 hockey games of regular season are this weekend, then just one tournament for me and I can put away the gear, and start planning for ball hockey SIGH. 
I LOVE SUMMER.

I'm hesitant to write about the weekend

Because it's such a FAIL. And I'm trying to figure out why it has to feel like a failure when i'm tired and overbooked,and I do not manage a lot of physical activity, I feel like I failed somehow.
I'm on a training program and I'm failing it miserably. I need just a touch of what Charlie Sheen has; he thinks he is winning ALL the time.
Time for a mind change. Work is busy, weather difficult, kids busy, hockey busy, and I just need to give myself a teensy break. But if I do that, it just gets easier to skip. Which Is why I've not run in 3 days now.
Back to Friday; I got up half early and I did P90X Kenpo, and Ab Ripper. I dressed and ran after lab, only 5 km but it was decent in the wind and rain that was falling. Temps were duper warm relatively and rain was light. It was fine.
I was tired and slacked in the evening, only foam rolling, trying to watch a frustrating rental movie, FAIL again, and finally sleeping.
Saturday morning was early hockey. I played hard lol. The weather was super nice and somewhat sunny. And instead of running I got to do hockey. This was their last full weekend of hockey and they had a lot of it. If only I could have come home and run but I didn't. I Do not remember what I did. I did forget about a party we were supposed to go to. I folded laundry. Did some work for week ahead. Wasted day.
But was it? I enjoyed the kids hockey and relaxed...
Anyway. Sunday morning was awesome but I had Holly home and rather than leaving her alone, we took the dogs for a nice 4km walk. Weather was again super nice.
Hockey in the afternoon, then although I planned to run, I worked instead. I thought I would run later but I didn't finish what I was working on until past 9 pm. Ugh.
Monday dawned super early because of the time springing forward, so at 5 am or the old 4 am I crawled out, after listening to Taylor being ill, for a while. I did some P90X chest back and triceps. And Ab Ripper. And went to work for long Monday morning. I cannot stand listening to me talk for that long.
Afternoon fail. Mostly because it was snowing and blowing a lot SIGH. I did again walk the dogs, 2.45 km which ain't great but at least we got out of the house for a bit.
High hopes for Tuesday :)
And maybe time for a retry at a positive mindset. April is coming after all.

Retake on the Virtual 5k race

Went far better than the first. Mostly. Best? No snow or ice or slush. Worst? Flooding.

Ok so Tuesday morning Out of bed early and to the basement for P90X Day 32 Yoga X. I think I am getting better at it lol. I wish I could do it more often. My time is coming. Off for a nice work day, then enjoying the sun and the warmer temps, I dressed and headed out from work. Totally determined to do better at the 5 k. The schedule called for 4 miles.

I did not know the names of the "corners" and roads. I heard some stuff on the radio about flooding and road closures but I didn't know where they were. I should have known better since this stupid town was built on a flood plain.

Detroit Runner's virtual 5 k was just a little challenge I took on to test my speed at the moment, which after this long hard winter, is not great.
Weather was perfect, sun was shining. 5 k done in 28:34 minutes. My goal was not too ambitious; under 30 was ok with me.

But I made some critical judgement errors on this part of the run. When I got to the end of this road for a short cool out run back to my office, I realised I was not going to be able to get through this way. 

The areas where there is water...usually there is no water. Particularly on the road.  LOL FLOODS!  I had faith. Someone would drive me across this water.

No matter how pathetic I appealed, no one picked me up to cross the water. They looked at me like I was raving mad.  I did NOT want to turn back! It would double my distance and had some nasty rolling hills and a steep hill on the way back.

Im such a genius. I decided to head down to that water and turn right, where there was less flooding, and run to a friend's farm to call for a ride back to my car. It was not as far as turning back.

What it was, was cold. The wind across those flat fields was SO cold.  No longer a nice sunny day but a cold sunny day. 

I went past more gates saying road closed; I thought they were for behind me. Judgement error 2.  I got within sight of the farm...I could almost touch it. And there was another river, flooded across the road. I was now 7 km away from my car, on a 4 mile run. lol

I went to a stranger's house, to call for a ride, I got ahold of Scott and asked him to come and told him what road to take.  Then I ran towards town. the woman in the house said I should sit and wait if I wanted; it was her birthday and she seemed a little lonesome.  But something in her house was making me sneeze (a candle? some sort of scent) and I thought i might stay warmer if I kept moving.  I get super cold when I stop and Im sweaty.

What I was not counting on, was Scott taking half an hour to come get me. He says he took a wrong turn and it wasnt that long but I was almost 4 km back to the car before he came along, and I was so cold I actually had tears.  I should have 1. learned what roads were closed, 2. not assumed it could not be that bad, and 3. turned around and headed back at the first flood water. It seems not so far in retrospect. My 4 mile run turned into 10.85 km. :(

It took me hours to warm up; didnt help that I had to go to the junior high for the science fair right away.

Wednesday morning; I did not hop out of bed. I packed a bag and thought I would run in the afternoon after labs were done. Which I did. It wasnt that cold, the sun was out. BUT. I got hungry. No big deal, right?  My stomach was sloshing and empty and I got very light headed and dizzy and felt like I was floating, not in a good way.  I kept tripping; my speed was horrid!  I felt like I was working super hard but getting no where. And I was on another planet. I wanted to go 8 km; I went 7.55 but I walked 3 times, and went super slow. That's a lot of run FAILS.   I was so happy to see my car, I went home, ate, went to bed and shivered....I was asleep by 730.  And I did not hop out of bed Thursday morning. 

I did get up eventually and did P90X Day 33 Legs and Back, then Ab Ripper.  But Im not running today.  I MIGHT cross train on the bike trainer, but Im not counting on that. LOL Still not feeling 100%. 

Weekend Workouts

What an active weekend! At least, the car got a lot of activity, driving us all around all weekend :)
Saturday morning the little girls got up at 530 am.  530!  OH jeez what a day that was. Grumpy tired little girl in my house :)  At 7 I went off to play hockey; pick up is always a lot of fun :)  It was a good workout! 
once home, Scott took off for 4H speech day and I took Annika to hockey. She had fun but was super tired and wanted to do her speech so I took her to the speech day and she didnt play her hockey game.
Speeches were great!  Annika totally kicked butt in our house with her speech on Shelley :)
It was nice to see some friends I havent in awhile :)
Speeches ended in Old Barns and I got ready for a long run back to our house; with some detours in town it's about 18 km to our house.  The sun was nice although it set way too soon; the wind was nasty in places but it could have been far worse.  I did some rerouting to avoid running the entire way into the wind, and got 18.2 km in less than 2 hours.  Over that ice and slush and MUD it was a good time. Parts were very good; I had stepped in slush puddles less than 2 km in tho so feet were very wet.  Felt good the whole way pretty much. Gatorade in hand held; jelly beans at 6.5 km, half a bar at about 12 km. 1138 kcal burned!

Did lots of foam rolling that night and went to bed early even tho Taylor was having a sleepover; they are low maintenance at 12 and 13 years old. 

Sunday morning I got up early for Holly hockey and then prepared for 4H Scrapbooking meeting in the afternoon; hockey at 1 was a hard workout; gained a few more injuries and bruised my tailbone which makes most movements today much harder.  
Scrapbooking meeting went fairly well; finished marking some assignments, made supper, and did prep work until dropping from tired by 930 pm.
My clock is now officially reset; I can hardly make 10 pm and am fairly wide awake by 5 am which is making getting out of bed easier but is a little frustrating when I have a lot of work to do in the evening.  I should have a daily nap!
This morning was unenthusiastic but I DID get out of bed at 5 grumpy because someone woke me way earlier than that; did P90X Day 31 Back and Biceps, and Ab Ripper.  Im slowly getting through my weeks; combining with the running is slowing the progress a lot.  Back and Biceps was a little boring; I need some new weights; 8 and 12 pounds would be nice.
No run today; working late and we have to do Holly's science fair project tonight.  Tomorrow morning tho...

Time is not on my Side

It sort of feels like i am just writing the same old things here. Not much has changed in NS. I am sitting here on a Friday night in my cozy living room on my new loveseat that is very comfortable. Annika has a whole gaggle of friends in the basement watching a movie; her birthday was 4 months ago but we never had a party for the poor little thing until now. And even now the timing is terrible; tomorrow there is hockey x 3 and 4H speeches and Scott is not going to be around to help with any of it. But it was never going to be a good time for her party so it is just now. They really are being very good:)
So on Wednesday I dragged this ragged butt out of bed and did Yoga X. I do like the yoga better now; hell of a stretch and workout, still very long but enjoyable. I did cut it short when Annika told me that the coffee maker was on, meaning 630 am. Kids had to get to school. They were all so keen, we got out of the house early and scooted by the college to pick up stuff for Taylor to present her science fair project on DNA. In French. I'd like to see her do it. After classes all day I put on my running stuff with dread; it wasn't terribly cold but there were 60 km winds blowing and I do hate to run in wind. On ice and snow. But if I don't make myself do it, I simply won't. And since runs are often on windy days I might as well remember that and make the windy runs too.
I went to the pool where I was meeting the kids and ran from there. Gives me the most efficient time use. I cut my planned 18 km run down to 10 then even shorter once I headed up hill into the wind for 2 km. I was battered sideways and backwards by the wind. But it wasn't too cold; exposed skin was cold and I did dress warmly, but by 3 km i took my coat off and ran in 2 shirt layers and one sweater layer. Relative balmy.
After the up hill into the wind I spent some time running parallel to the wind then wind at my back for a bit; what a relief. Then I turned onto a new street and the enjoyable roads and sidewalks were replaced by my friend ice and snow. And deep slush puddles with no warning. Sigh at least I'm getting used to that. Oh and more wind.
I got back to the pool after 8.5 km and about 56 minutes Which is a terrible time. Lucky I'm used to being slow. Foam rollered for a bit Before bed. I hope it's working.
Thursday morning I got right up and did 5 am workout P90X Day 29 back chest and triceps. That was hard.
Admit....tired lately. Some workouts harder than others.
So after kids went to school I dressed in running clothes for a short 5km run. It was meant to be a test of where im at, and maybe the virtual 5k I signed up for. If I don't get a better one lol.
It was cold. Holy cold. And sometime over night, it snowed. On top of rain, and ice. The main road out there was not plowed. There are not a lot of driveways to getoff the road so I was listening really carefully for snowplows and big trucks. I pushed hard but hills, cold, and slippery didn't help; 32 minutes was all I could manage.
Friday I chose not to run. Again really cold, and I wonder if I'm just overdoing it sometimes. I've slightly shortened the running schedule by necessity, and I'm not exactly flying through the P90X program. But I need more sleep and I need to maybe moderate more workouts? Hmm
Therefore Friday I didn't run. I did do 530am plyometrics (day 30) and then ab ripper x but that's all. No run lol. Leg day.
What's missing? A weekly long run.
Tomorrow maybe?
It is supposed to warm up...

Recap

Don't think I did one of these. My MapMyRun site is changing and I better get this info before I cannot find my way around anymore! SO confusing, I do not deal so well with change!

January:
107.7 km
11,875 kcal Both less than last January
(Started P90X on the 25th)

February:
129.53 km
18, 831 kcal (Both far better than last year)

down a little over a kg

Lifetime Totals
(Or since I started MapMyRun lol)


2,975.09  Total Kilometers
521.4 Total Hours
595 Workouts
252,031 Total Calorie

Kind of neat. :)

working on learning the spots to look for the new MapMy Run but there is no gear tracker OH NO so I have to keep going back to the classic version to map.
PLUS the new version does not give me very generous calorie counts for the same workout.
UGH.

Not easy to get in workouts OR blog posts apparently.

Life has been super busy lately. And Im in this mood. Grumpy, impatient, intolerant, I dont care mood :(  It might pass if we start getting some sun. And it better fast before everyone hates the sight of me or I say something I really should filter LOL. 

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for Holly's hockey game and Drama for the other little drama queens :) After Holly's rather unpleasant game, she went to a friend's place and I went out for a shortish run. I went up the hill and back down for 6.45 km in 42 minutes; times had better start to get better or I might wonder what on earth I am doing wrong! Most of this was on the road with only minimal slushy running so I would like to think it would get better.
After getting some work done and some major house cleaning done, it was time to go to hockey. I have nothing to say about hockey. It was not my best game and my very bad mood did not make things any better. Im going to stop going if I cannot leave my mood at home :(
Rest of the day and night was spent marking and doing some last minute lecture preparations. Good times.  Monday is that terrible long day; I start classes at 8 am and go until 5 pm.  It is amazingly hard to talk that long, honestly.  I just dont even want to hear my raspy voice at the end; even my jaw was sore and I was grinding my teeth Thank you stress!  :( I hate Mondays.  Only 5 left thank GOD.  6 weeks of classes and then exam time :)
I had planned to do "something" last night although I was not sure what. By the time I got home with Taylor from swimming (Horrible weather and bad drive) it was 6 pm and supper was ready and I ate and did some work for today then went to bed to read for some lecture prep and OMG was asleep before I even knew it; Didn't see 9 pm. :(
Slept terribly last night; was awake for hours :( Someone was snoring, then wind was blowing, worrying, thinking, exhausted but unable to sleep. I should have been smart and got up at 5 am for some P90X but I figured I had time later. WRONG. I had to take care of school drop off and time was cut short. I did most of the Core Synergistics DVD but not the cool down.  And with so much to do today/tonight with kids and one-parenting it, I wont likely get much more in. Maybe after the kids get to bed I can do some bike trainer or Yoga but that will be late and chances are I will just be tired. No run in sight :(:(:( NEED a run tho, so frustrated.

This has been a seriously negative post. I will try really hard not to post many mroe of those :(