Thankful Thursday

Now that it is practically the end of the week (only 13 more work hours!), I’m getting excited for vacation and spending time with the people I care about. In honor of Thankful Thursday, here is a variety of things I’m grateful for this week.

Yesterday we ran a ladder at speed training. We’ve done ladders before, but not like this. The sprints were: 200m, 400m, 600m, 800m, 600m, 400m, 200m. Did I mention I’ve never run a 600m or 800m sprint? I was terrified, but I did it. Dear goodness I’m thankful for my legs and lungs for not failing on me. Hopefully these longer sprints will help me continue to improve on my mile time and overall pace.

Today my best friend Lisa will be in town with her boyfriend Guy. I haven’t seen these two since last September! They are on their cross country journey from San Francisco back to Philadelphia and I’m the last stop. We won’t have much time together tonight, but I’m sure I’ll see them when I’m back home.

Which leads me to the most exciting news, I get all of next week off (and paid). I fly out tomorrow afternoon and arrive in Philadelphia at the same time as our friends from New Orleans. Sadly there are no drive-thru margaritas to enjoy, but I’m sure we’ll find something delicious. My entire family will be coming in to celebrate the fourth of July, which means a lot of eating, drinking, and general chaos. I plan to spend the next week out by our pool (becoming less pale), playing with the new pup, and potentially running with my father.

Mardi, the cutest and newest member of our clan. I'm hoping to take him for his first run ever this week.

What are you thankful for this week? How will you be enjoying your long weekend?

Do the Dew (Point)

You know those days when you walk outside, prepared to run, and you start sweating immediately? Don’t blame the temperature, it is all in the dew point. Now I’d never heard of this measurement until speed work one miserable day; I started kvetching almost immediately when I entered the track and coach explained that it was the dew point, not the humidity, that was killing me. According to coach (and science) the dew point is the temperature where water vapor will condense into water. To put it a bit more plainly, the higher the dew point, the harder it is for your sweat to evaporate. Sounds pleasant, huh?

Now before I go out for a run, I check the temperature and dew point. It helps to prepare mentally. If the dew point is above 65° then I know not to push myself too hard. The last thing anyone needs is to faint or become horribly dehydrated in this weather. If you notice that the dew point will be lower later in the day, consider changing your routine for the day. Remember to have water and a towel (or absorbent top) easily accessible if you are heading out in less than ideal conditions!

Check out this quick article (courtesy of coach) that gives a slight break down of the different ways to handle the varying dew points – Dew Point Information  If you want a more detailed explanation, well then go to Wikipedia (obviously).

Is this a measurement you’ve ever heard of? Do you take dew point into consideration before going outdoors? 

And then I ran

Yesterday I was lacking motivation. Heck, I’ll admit it, I was down on myself. By five in the afternoon I felt as if I hadn’t accomplished much and I hadn’t worked out in days (okay, it was only three but that is a lot for me). I desperately needed to do something. P90X just wasn’t going to cut it. So I sat in my chair (since I sold the couch) and I whined a bit to Ron about my dilemma.

It wasn’t looking so good for a moment. And then I realized it was the 4th Sunday of the month, time for #runchat. I didn’t really have anything to contribute, I hadn’t run in days (I don’t count speed training). So I decided what I needed to do. I threw on my running shorts so I had no excuses.

I’ll admit, I sat around for an hour or two waiting until the sun went down and the temperature was more agreeable. I set a time, I’d leave my apartment no later than 7pm for this jaunt. And when 6:54pm rolled around, I scurried off to my room to finish dressing and headed out the door.

At first my run was like most others, the first quarter mile was 15 seconds faster than my typical pace. I feared I’d gone out of the box a bit fast (as usual), but I kept going. Looking down at my watch as I hit 1/2 a mile I noticed something odd, my pace had dropped by another thirty seconds. Hm, okay, I’ll just roll with it. A quarter of a mile later (my laps are set to 1/4 mile) I had dropped another few seconds. I seriously had no idea what was going on. I was going fast (for me).

So I kept up the pace. At one point I thought I had slowed down, but Garmy informed me I had in fact sped up a touch. By the time I rounded my complex I had completed 2.5 miles at a pace one minute faster than my average. I felt like a champ. Admittedly I couldn’t run up my stairs as triumphantly as Rocky, though I felt just as proud.

It wasn’t the distance I had initially hoped for, but I was quite happy with what I accomplished. Apparently all of my speed training has helped me speed it up a notch! I’m hoping to keep up this momentum. Not necessarily run that quickly every time, but to improve my pace and focus on my goals (marathon in December, eep!).

A major thanks to everyone who told me to quit my bitching go out and do it.

When was the last time you felt triumphant? 

Motivation, wherefore art thou?

I think I’ve lost it. Motivation to get up and do much of anything. Don’t get me wrong, I folded a batch of laundry, my sheets are currently in the dryer, and I’ve cleaned out a shelving unit (just in case my coworker comes back to purchase it, I hope she does). But I need to get up and go outside. Or do a workout video. I need to get my body moving so I can burn off every ounce of unhealthy that I consume this weekend.

For some reason Sundays have this effect on me. Last week I went out with the boys and, although we walked around a bit, I didn’t do any sort of regimented workout. Fortunately I was able to muster up the motivation to work out come Monday, but Sunday was a wash. Now there are some other reasons associated with today’s lack of desire to move, (Adeel left, our big brunch this morning, stress over moving, etc.) but they are just excuses. And boy am I full of them at the moment.

Sigh. Where is my dinosaur when I truly need him?!

Do you know how I feel? How do you overcome a case of the lazy Sundays?

My beloved Fiona

I don’t know what I would do without you!

Today a few lovely ladies on the twittersphere were discussing product sizing, especially for us that are more endowed. Finding an appropriate sports bra has always been difficult for me, I remember wearing two bras just to get through a workout. It was miserable.

At some point (seven or so years ago) someone introduced me to the “Last Resort” bra. What a name. Personally I like to call it my “dominatrix” bra. With hooks up the entire front I felt kinky every time I put it on. My friends found it quite entertaining, I think they were jealous. And since I had no other options, I wore it constantly until I was able to put on a slightly smaller brassiere.

Even when I decreased in size, I still had some trouble determining which bra would be most effective. I went through some dreadful cotton bras that I found in big box stores, but  I bounced in them and that just isn’t pleasant (you know what I’m talking about). And then one day I was perusing Title 9 when I saw her, my Moving Comfort Fiona.  It had four plus dumbbells, it had to work! I ran out and purchased one to test. I jumped up and down, I ran jogged on the treadmill, I attempted to jiggle as much as possible. In the end it didn’t make me feel like I was about to hit myself in the face. Success! Since then I have purchased nearly a dozen Fiona’s in varying colors. When I found out that Moving Comfort made a racerback in my size I was ecstatic. Do you know how many cute tops I had been missing out on for all these years?! At the moment I only own one Juno, but it is on my wishlist for this summer (did I mention my birthday is coming up?).

So tell me – What sports bra works best for your girls? What athletic brands fit you the best?