April Mileage - Best Month Yet & Puttering

Today marks the end of the month of April and so far it is my highest mileage month yet with 43 miles.  I ran just over 11 of those miles, which is quite nice.  My goal for May is to try and do Insanity or PiYo at least once a week, when I am not traveling.  This will help my flexibility and strength improve.  Both are key to running and for training!

My Grandpa Gaynier was famous for spending hours in the "shed."  He would come in for dinner and lunch and it was clear that he had been working on fixing things and doing various projects.  Normally, the activities were not discussed, but the marks on the overall could sometimes indicate what he was doing.  This morning, I slept in and ate a good breakfast before setting up to paint, putting away things from a recent trip, doing a load of laundry, and lastly painting.  All of this was "puttering" of a sort and I was happy doing it all.

I miss my Grandpa and his sayings.  He was a lovely fellow and apparently I got his puttering gene!

Happy Saturday, All!
Margaret

Week 2 - Thankful Thursdays

Can you believe it is Thursday?  I can and here is what I am thankful for today.

1)  Kiwanis - tonight I participated in a fundraising event.  Going into it, I was tired and considering backing out of it.  Instead, I drove (rain threatened!) and sat down.  Almost immediately, I got in a running discussion followed by learning more about the design of the playground for which the event was raising money.  I am so thankful for this group, who continually helps me face the remainder of the day and week with a smile on my face.  They are kind, considerate, willing to listen and to provide support, and help keep me going in all circumstances.

2)  Spring 2016 - It has by far been one of the toughest Springs on me emotionally.   Physically, except for random events (hello, chiggers!) and not taking enough care to get sufficient sleep, I am doing ok.  I resumed running this week and I am so glad that I did.  Even moving slowly (watch out, drivers!), I am thankful to be back at it.  As this season draws to a close, I have learned and grown so much personally and professionally.  I am learning to standup for myself and, with gentle mentoring, am getting better at saying no without guilt!

3)  Cars - I am subcompact and compact kind of driver.  Yes - they are on the small side and I drive with headlights running, but this is my type of car.

4)  Family - last but not least - they have been with me all along and particularly in the past few months.  If I am starting to go in the wrong direction, they step-up and steer me back in the right direction.

Happy Thursday, all!
Margaret

Monday, Monday - Longest Run since last October

Hi All,

It is official.  The mileage buildup has started and today I hit 3 miles.  I am excited to report that I have run more consistently in the past 7 days than I have yet this year!  Slowly, my pace and distance will return and right now I am excited with my current progress.  Consistency - I am told is a key component of success.

Also - I signed up for the following 10k race in early June:

My first race of the year is scheduled! It will also mean visiting a new city, which is always an adventure!

A photo posted by Runningwithallergies (@runningwithallergies) on Apr 22, 2016 at 7:43pm PDT

My goal is to complete the race and enjoy wearing the Oiselle singlet for the first time.  Depending on how it goes, I will begin planning out future races for 2016.

Happy Running and Happy Monday,
Margaret

Thankful Thursdays

This picture is from Pixabay and does not require attribution!

When times are stressful or tough, it is often hard to be thankful for what gifts, skills, and talents we have.  Without further ado, Thursdays are going to be posts where I list what I am thankful for that day.  Feel free to let me know, if you have things that I should post on your behalf.

• Health - I am normally in good health and, as of this evening, my energy and health returned.
• Employment - My professional career, for the most part, has included full-time work with benefits.  This is not always the case for my field and I count my blessings, even when things are tough.
• Allergies - I am still working on being thankful for these, but it does make my creative side come to the fore as I learn to work around them.
• Family - My siblings and parents are always supportive of me, even when it means providing constructive criticism.
• Spiralizer - I can already tell that this machine is going to be a blast, after using it only one evening.

Tonight, I did my inaugural run as a member of the Oiselle Volee.  It was not fast, but joining the team and feeling better got me back out on the roads after a 9 day hiatus.  I am looking forward to a more regular running routine for the rest of Spring and the upcoming seasons.

Happy Thankful Thursday!

Margaret

New Member of the Oiselle Volee and Update!

Hey All,

Yes - I am sure my rambling blog posts have been missed.  What can I say, getting sick and then reacting to the medications, which made me better, were not on my plan for the month.  Finally on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after getting the initial diagnosis, I finally figured out a solution.  I am not 100% yet, but it's a good feeling to be heading in that direction.

For April, I joined the Oiselle Half Marathon Challenge.  My goal was to run 13 days and accrue 26.2 miles.  Due to being sick, I am going to count non-running miles and see if I can surpass mileage of previous months in April.  If I do, I will consider my revised goal a success.  If not, hey, you cannot plan on being sick.

I am officially a member of the Oiselle Volee.  What's that you say?  It is the fan of non-professional athletes, who pay a membership fee, and they help promote Oiselle.  If you have not heard of the company, check it out here.  Two years ago, I purchase my first items and I have been curious about "the Flock" ever since.   For me, it is an opportunity to join fellow runners, support a company I admire, and be a fan of the incredible athletes Lauren Fleshman, Kara Goucher, Steph Rothstein Bruce - to name a few - who are avid supporters of a clean sport.

With that, I will leave you with the Oiselle Volee signature sign out.

"Head's Up and Wing's Out."

Happy Running, All - I look forward to rejoining the ranks soon

The 2-3 Cycle and Planning for the late Spring/early Summer

A year I raced the Cherry Blossum 10 miler, which was shortened to 9.5 miles, for the first time in 1:45 minutes.  It was not my best time and was aware of this going into it.  No tapering occurred.  At the end of September, I did a half marathon in 2:45.  It was my slowest time and included lots of walking.  Why do I look back to memory lane?  Simple - it helps me put things into perspective.  2015 was the year to try new things and experience, first hand, the frustrations and excitement that come with training.  While I did not renew my Runner's Connect subscription, I truly learned a lot from them and I follow many of the people I met (Sarah Crouch, Tina Muir, Debra Hexel, Alison Scofield) via Facebook and I am an avid fan of the podcast!

For whatever reason, this year I seem to be in a 2-3 week cycle and, once this latest one is complete, it is time to change it folks!  Today, I learned, that I picked up chiggers.  Yep-those little bugs that hit 2-3 days afterwards, create lots of sores, and make you want to itch non-stop.  For the next few days, antihistamines and I will be on good terms and running might not happen until the itching subsides a fair amount.  As I said - this is the beginning of the 3rd week and it means the next 2-3 weeks should go  well.  I am aiming for a good month - yep, yep!

April is the month of deadlines.  It means high stress, long hours, and little time to do anything but survive.  In the next few weeks, I hope to get back into running/working out 3-4x time a week.  I joined the Oiselle challenge and my goals are to run 13 days in the month of April and also complete 26.2 miles.  If I do that, it will be my highest running month so far.  2016 has been a tough one with some bright spots and I am hoping the rest of the year will have more light and fewer shadows.

As for now, I am thrilled to have a health care provider who a)listens to me, b)schedules me in on a few hours notice, and c)helps me find ways to live a "normal" life while coping with the upcoming allergy season.  More treadmill and elliptical miles may lie ahead, but podcasts and being happy to run should keep me motivated, eh?!

Late Spring/early Summer planning will depend first and foremost on how the next couple of weeks go in terms of running and work.  A late June/early July or late August/early September half marathon seem doable, if I can get back into a regular pattern of running and 6 miles is a doable amount 2-3 times a week.

Happy Monday!