Sunday, September 29, 2013

Fall and dogs and swimming.

Yesterday's long run stopped abruptly at about 11.5 miles. Everything that could've gone wrong went did. Actually not everything, just a few things. On the second mile, Garmin started flashing low-battery (though I charged it to full the night before!) and completely died at 8 miles. I had to figure out how far I went using MapMyRun, though when I stopped I had a pretty good idea. Running Friend didn't feel too good and she left me earlier than planned and I lost a lot of motivation after that. I wore my compression socks for warmth but they bothered my knees. I had classic stomach troubles of runners and in an emergency had to quit my run when I did. No more details necessary.

Luckily, that afternoon I wasn't quite dead-tired enough to have to lie horizontally all day, so I went into town with a couple of friends to help them with shopping. I noticed that the fall colors are starting to sneak out around campus...

One of the shops we went into had all of this different dog-themed stuff from different dog-themed vendors. I will definitely be returning there for gifts for my dog-loving friends! Especially for the lab-lovers that I know :)

Dinner last night was this beautiful salad and tomato soup+crackers. I couldn't not share the gloriousness of my daily vegetables!

Today was my first day of my official taper (T-14 days to race day!) so I didn't run at all. I went to the pool and swam for an hour, and did about 1 mile (hopefully more; I really want to be making progress!). The pool was freezing (I didn't get a lane in the warm dive-pool and had to go in the chronically freezing lap-pool) and if I stopped moving for .3 of a second I would clam up and turn purple. So I didn't really take any breaks and it was a great day of swimming. During my breast-stroke lengths I got to watch the divers at practice doing all sorts of cool flips and flops. I could never fall that gracefully! 

The weather today was very cold and grey (no sunlight alllll day!) and so that seemed to make swimming even more freezing. Afterwards I showered at the pool - best decision ever! My dorm showers have low water-pressure and have 1 temperature (which is comfortably warm but not hot which is what I really needed so I could warm up). The showers at the pool have crazy water pressure and are very hot. I need to start showering there more often!

Afterwards I had to bundle back up and brave the storm (drizzle) that was happening outside. 

Have a good week!




Friday, September 27, 2013

Rowing is passion.

My silly team.

Yesterday someone posted this "rowing is passion" video on our team Facebook group. I really like the beginning of the video, it uses some of the same "motivational" music from the motivational triathlon video I shared a few months (?) ago. I'm glad my teammate shared this because it made me remember things that I love about this sport.


Yesterday our practice was 30 strokes on, 10 strokes off x10. It was way harder than I expected but I love interval work like this with rowing. I was really glad to do something like this, it keeps it less boring. I also did a 30-minute run. I'm taking today off because I'm going to run a lot of miles tomorrow with Running Friend, anywhere between 10 and 14 miles I think. She runs a little slower than me so I might do the 10 with her and then tack on some miles at the end at a bit of a faster pace. That will be "it" until I run my half-marathon. I definitely like I've tired out and regressed since summer...during the last few weeks before moving back to school I had some really strong runs and when I had to cut back from 5+ days a week from running to 3-4 I think it suffered.

I'm also worrying about my swimming goals. With my new practice schedule there's just no way I can get to the pool. Now I have some time this weekend that I could spend in the pool but I find myself feeling...unmotivated. I hate going and swimming alone! Hopefully get at least 1-2 good swims in during the next 3 days though.

Have a good weekend, everybody!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Exciting things that have happened!

Sunday: 30-minute very easy run
Monday: Boathouse Run (6.4 miles) with Friend and practice (shortened due to equipment difficulties)
Tuesday: Off completely (i.e. completely busy)
Wednesday: 6:00AM rowing practice (hard 20 minute piece at 30 strokes per minute), drills, hard 15-minute piece at 28 strokes per minute and 32 minute-tempo run (hard).
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I got my exams over with by Monday but this week seems to be frighteningly busy as well, despite less academic stress!

Exciting things that have happened:

Pink loafers

Insomnia Cookies opening here! 
(First tried it when in C-bus 1 year ago for the Hot Chocolate Race)

FREE Mint-Chocolate-Chip!

Having a giant delicious salad with oranges in it YUM

As of now, I am going to be a coxswain in the 2014 Gay Olympic Games!

Writing fancy thank-you notes

The M&M Fairy visiting!

Also very exciting news as of about 1.75 hours ago.... I SIGNED A LEASE ON MY FIRST APARTMENT! I will be living with 3 other girls who are all rowers/coxswains as well. This is for next Fall/Spring and I'm SO SO SO excited!








Sunday, September 22, 2013

Cleveland.

This weekend I was back at Cleveland for the Head of the Cuyahoga regatta. This is the 6th year that I've been around for this regatta and the FIRST year that it was miserably rainy and cold. I'm not sure if I've seen a regatta with more rain than this one, and thankfully it was in the upper 50s and low 60s for most of the bad weather. By the time we could barely stand it anymore, the sun came out and the day turned out to be bright and 70 degrees!

My race wasn't what I would've hoped, but it was great to see my family and friends, and of course to visit my home boathouse. It made everything worth it :)


I was only at home for a matter of hours, really, but found some old giant birthday cards that my mom had put in my room. This one is from my surprise 16th birthday that Alex put on for me. It was one of the nicest things I think anyone has ever done, and it took months of collaborative and detailed thought and planning. He had everyone sign this big card for me; reading over it made me miss my friends from home so much!

Seeing everyone made me even more excited to go back for a bit of a longer stay in 3 weeks for my half-marathon. It felt like my little Rumbleroar and me had to pack up and leave a little too soon this time!

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In the future this week I have rowing every day except Tuesday, and our practices will mostly be long hard pieces (20 and 30 minute-intervals with drills in between). We have several weeks until our regatta in Indy so we have some down time to prepare for that.

Today I did an extraordinarily slow easy run, which was needed. At the end of the week I hope to do one last long run and then taper. I'm hoping to do the 7-mile run to the boathouse tomorrow afternoon with my Running Friend. I've had some weird running days recently, which I'm hoping is just a phase that I snap out of this week!




Friday, September 20, 2013

9-mile Thursday and the sweetest thing.

Today was supposed to be TEN-mile Thursday but it turns out I actually only did 9. Oops. I'm not too worried though. I think my hard/high-ish mileage for the last several days finally caught up to me because it didn't feel too good during my run today. I had wanted to do tempo miles in the middle but that was not happening. I'm fine with it though - my real focus at the moment is getting through my regatta this weekend!

Yesterday I ate some super yummy blackberries in my mug. 
 

...and saw a beautiful sunset! I guess it's the little things...

I've been having a stressful week (which I feel like I've mentioned 9847593 times...sorry) and this afternoon I opened my door to find this hanging on it...

This was inside!
 
It made me feel really good to feel someone's support and understanding, and to know I have people that are there for me! Gave me the boost I needed to get through this weekend.

Now, off to CLE!








Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Odds & ends Wednesday!

It's WEDNESDAY! That means it's one more day until my exam! Then I'll be "free."
It also means...
  • Today I had a 6AM practice...
  • Tomorrow it's time to run ten miles again...
  • 2 days until I go home for a regatta
  • 2 days until I sleep in my own bed
I realized I haven't talked about running in a bit...I'm still doing it! Still getting ready for my half-marathon! It'll be time to taper soon. On Sunday I ran almost 6 miles with a very speedy friend and yesterday I did a light 3-miles. Now I'm trying to dedicate energy to rowing as well, so my running is 3-4 days a week at best. I'm fine with that! The swimming has been put on hold for a few weeks.

Yesterday was a VERY important day. The day we've been waiting on for years! 

Jack's new album! 

It was a great surprise that I actually had that pre-ordered and when I woke up yesterday it was ready for me. Great start to the day. My favorite song is "Washing Dishes."

Also, I'm decorating my room with hearts. 

This is actually from dinner last week, but there's an Asian/Indian cuisine place on campus now and they have this soup/noodle stuff which is really good. I sloshed a bunch on the floor when I got my plate, but luckily did not get any soup on myself.

I found a quote yesterday that I found to be pretty crucial in my life right now. I have shared it with a few of you, because I was shocked at how well this suits some of my current qualms! 

On another bright note...check out my incentive to get through this exam tomorrow! Hopefully I get to read some to inspire me for this weekend! Can't wait to read this.

It's almost weekend, lovelies!











Monday, September 16, 2013

First time rowing in daylight and bed decor.

If you were one of the people I called crying last week due to problems on my team and me questioning whether I could keep rowing and having a crisis about being a rowingless identity...thank you. Luckily, I took some time away from the team and came back and things were better. I received some apologies and encouraging words and things felt almost turned around. Today we had a great practice and were very productive with 1 hour of drills, a hard 20-minute pyramid, and a high 15-minute piece at a 30. We needed that hour of drills. Tomorrow we're going to be working with a GoPro and hopefully some other cameras to help us see what's going on.

Me after today's practice. 

I also wanted to show off my new mug. I have a knack for finding things on sale, and I left my old mug at home and had no way to drink my tea. Or eat M&Ms....

I have a new blanket. It's very soft and fuzzy and matches all of my bed. It honestly deserves a whole post dedicated to it but this will have to suffice for now.

Usually I do 10-mile Tuesdays but with a big exam on Thursday I'm not sure I feel right squishing that big run in until after the exam on Thursday. So this week might have to be a 10-mile Thursday and a study Tuesday. Stay tuned!



Saturday, September 14, 2013

Exercising...precaution! And fall.

Yesterday when I was on my run on those country roads, a giant semi whizzed past me at 60 mph and I tried to run on the side of the road (but not too far on the side, didn't want to fall down an embankment!) and of course at that point I came to a broken part of the road and twisted my ankle and slid. My ankles are not super strong and I twist 'em a lot on runs but I guess this was a bad one because it started hurting last night and doesn't feel great now. Mostly feels bruised and now swelling so I'm not worried. Since I've got a half-marathon in 3 weeks I decided 1 day off to make sure it's better would be a wiser choice than continuing to train on it. So, I took today off! I think it was good, after swimming, running, and rowing (sometimes twice in a day) I definitely have a lot of body tiredness.

Instead, I got the NY Times at brunch and later settled down to read. TWO arts sections this weekend!


I also got to eat some of these delicious berries from the mini-mart. The mini-mart doesn't often have delicious super foods so this was a great find.


I got to wear my first "fall" outfit. I love when it's chilly enough to wear pants and warm enough to wear a t-shirt (and a jacket if you want!). This also is usually great rowing and running temperature.


Later, I took the trolley to TJ Maxx with a friend. We have the cutest campus transportation!


Hope you all had wonderful Saturdays as well!




Friday, September 13, 2013

Pictures are good when words are difficult.

I've been having a tough week...so I thought I'd just share some pictures from my 7-miler today.

But first

This run was just what I needed. The country is so beautiful. Our world is so beautiful! This run is from the ten-miler I did this week minus the extra miles on campus and is the same route from the 12-miler I did in May. Look how tall the corn has gotten!






2 horsies, I wished they'd come over to run with me.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

10-mile Tuesday!

2 runners
10 miles
5 cornfields that we spotted
4 sprinklers we ran through
3 super giant hills
4 Gatorade chews that I ate
9837409 times I wanted real Gatorade
2 blisters
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10 miles: Check! This morning I hit up the country roads with my running Friend and we did 10 slow-paced miles all before the time I would normally wake up. It was "only" 80 degrees by the time we got back (I say only because it's supposed to be 94 later today...).

Yesterday I found this. I like it. 

I don't know if I necessarily consider myself a distance runner yet; I don't marathon. I'm not sure if I ever will. But I think that the above image is applicable to any endurance athlete, and probably anyone who's ever consistently done a sport. You can change "I'm a distance runner" with "I'm a ________." Once you have that mentality of enduring, it never goes away. Maybe it was always there to begin with. 

These were my bffs this morning (don't worry I didn't drink all that choc milk today!!!)

I couldn't decide between the light or dark blue Gatorades so I just tried half of both. I'm more of a dark blue person though.

Somehow I keep forgetting (probably for my own benefit!) that I have two 6AM practices scheduled this week. Official practice wasn't supposed to start until next week but now we're doing a couple extra days which I'm fine with. I'm not fine with waking up at 5:30AM twice in a row though. I don't usually end up minding it as much as I expect but it's still not my favorite thing in the world. I definitely prefer to practice first thing though. I'm so excited to get on the water with my new boat! 

Monday, September 9, 2013

Funny sightings, still swimming, and long run plans.

Happy Monday! I hope everyone's week has been off to a good start. My Monday was nuts with a day packed with classes in a straight block from 10-4, 2 quizzes, time working in my Psychology lab from 4-4:45, rigging my boat for the season from 5:15-6:30, crew Novice info session from 7-7:30 and swimming from 8-8:30!

Since my last post, I found out what boat I'll be in this season. I'd been waiting since my tryouts last week. Get ready for it...drumroll....it'll be...the LIGHTWEIGHT FOUR! This will be my first time rowing in a lightweight four since high school and it's my favorite category (though I like fours in general). This is definitely the best suited category for me, because I'm very tiny. I didn't know how much that could matter until last year, particularly last fall, when I was up against some really strong, tough, giant women. I'm very excited for this season, and my boat has some great girls in it!

As a side note, check out this man perched on top of the Psychology building at 8:45AM! He's that little black spec by the top of the crane. For some reason I found his presence there highly amusing.


In other news, I can cook froached eggs in my dorm's kitchen. We have a toaster too. Here are the results (I'm such a good food photographer!):


I like eggs for lunch and I'm sticking to my normal Trader Joe's granola+Cheerios with a Menchie's spoon for breakfast that I was so fond of at home. Too bad I have to import TJ's though :(


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So, my swim to Turkey is coming along. Today I did 1000 meters, but yesterday I did 2000. After I finished, I realized that was 1.2 miles (the distance for the swim in the half-ironman). It took me longer than I'm willing to admit. 

Tomorrow I'll be waking up early and doing my 10-mile route (most of which is in this 12-mile course I did in the spring) with my Friend who will be doing my next half-marathon with me. I'm super excited...but not for the waking up early part. Now it's time for me to double-check the course map so we don't get lost and head to bed!




Saturday, September 7, 2013

Farmer's Market morning.

This morning I got up early to run before the heat struck (looks like we're getting another blast of heat--it just wants to keep being summer! Which is fine with me!). I did a 40 minute run including 5 minutes of running on the grass. Then I ran over back to my dorm to meet a bunch of people going to the Farmer's Market! A bunch of us went and Alex came too, and we shared a piece of lemon cake (I ate the top and he got the rest--this is how it usually works because I normally only like the top of stuff!).


I had expected to be busy today but somehow my schedule is mostly clear. I guess I imagined that I would have a lot more homework than I have in reality. Tomorrow will be somewhat more packed though, so I should enjoy my leisure time today, for sure! I also definitely need to catch up on rest...my schedule during the week is absolutely crazy week after week, and will only get increasingly crazy. Maybe I'll sit at my computer all day refreshing my email every 5 seconds anxiously awaiting the release of Fall boat lineups... They're supposed to come today, I really hope they do!

This afternoon I went swimming. My legs were tired on my run, and definitely felt tired in the pool but I forced myself to do more freestyle today. The other two days that I've swam I did mostly breastroke which is way quicker and easier for me. I swam for 53 minutes and I only went...1700 meters (about 1 mile). I'm a slowpoke. I wish I knew how to keep better track of my laps, I get confused sometimes when I have done a bunch. Even more so than with running, my mind gets hazy in the pool.

YAY swimming!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Favorite Things Friday!

Here are some of my favorite things this week!!!

1. Ordering an egg and veggies on a bun at the new hamburger shop (I don't eat hamburgers and this is such a nice solution!).

2. Taking selfies with this guy...

3. The "M" on the bun for my egg

4. My window seat :)

5. This dress!!!

Happy weekend, everyone!





Thursday, September 5, 2013

New eats and 5k erg tryout!

On Tuesday, campus's new eateries opened. It's a chain of different food shops that have different entries but are all lumped together...sort of like a mall. Four of the new restaurants (there's more to come!) opened, and we were some of the first to check them out! We saw that there's a hamburger place, a pizza place, a sandwich place, and a patisserie! The most intriguing is obviously the patisserie... but we didn't get anything there. We did look though!

Fancy!

We ended up at the sandwich place, which I really wanted because I didn't want greasy pizza. They had fancy soda, all in glass bottles! 


It turned out that I just ended up with a greasy sandwich which I wasn't a huge fan of. It tasted good, just didn't feel good.


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Alright, now that my tryout is finally over I feel like I can finally write! I was a ball of anxiety yesterday and especially today...and in the end I made a 9 second PR (even from that big PR a few weeks ago). I made a few mistakes...I had a coxswain who didn't know my goal and she pushed me pretty hard at the beginning--too hard in fact--and I fell victim to the classic "fly and die" tragedy. However, even though I was dying, I knew I was still going to have a huge PR. Throughout the piece (it's all a little hazy now...) I had some trouble breathing and some cramping (I had eggs for lunch 3.5 hours before but I guess it still wasn't long enough?) and kept trying to cough but couldn't so my throat burned. I just wanted it to be over, especially during the "dying" parts. It was strongly reminiscent of my tryout last year, which felt similar, but this time I walked away with a new record. Unfortunately I didn't remember my log card :( but my time and watts is officially recorded. 

Now, I've had a few days off from activity, due mostly to the fact that I've been sick but also in preparation for my 5k. Now that the time trial is over I can focus a little more on running for a few weeks (I signed up for a half-marathon that is on October 13th). This race is really before the majority of the rowing season heats up and is over our fall break and is also right at home for me...so needless to say I'm very excited. I just realized that I'll need to be in taper mode for that in just a few weeks though, so I will focus some attention on long runs while rowing is still low-key. I'm doing this half-marathon with a Friend so I'm very excited to have company!

Thank you so much to everyone who was with me all day through texts and emails. While I was rowing I felt like you were all behind me!