Happy Monday al! For many of you who work in education in some capacity (K-12, higher ed <–like me!) or are college students yourself, we’re gearing up for the beginning of another school year. I love the buzz on campus during the first week; there is so much excitement and hope and it’s as if the possibilities are endless. (Remind me of this when I’m complaining in November that things are drab, students are cranky, and I’m tired!).
Today I’m hooking up with Katie’s Marvelous in My Monday, because my weekend was quite marvelous!
Marvelous is…spending lots of quality time with Charlie! If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you know that I’m dog sitting Charlie this week. We’ve had such a fun time snuggling, going on LOTS of walks (think four per day), and playing in the backyard. Even though he is a ton of work (and wakes me up at 5am!), I’ve really been reminded how much I love having him around. It’s like a constant love fest!
Left: Selfie. Yup, I do that. Right: Before a workout – it’s nice to have a running partner!
That’s his “Mom, stop taking pictures of me” look. I get it a lot…
Marvelous is….completing my first week of half marathon training and already seeing progress! I’ve started a training log (because I’m super hardcore, obviously!), to track my mileage, average pace, and splits. This week alone I’ve improved my average place and each mile split. I ‘m sure I can attribute a lot of it to getting more comfortable with my plan, but I also feel like I”m getting stronger and more confident with each run. Woo hoo!
I am still flying through my last mile, time wise. My long run on Sunday was miles, and my splits were: 10:20, 10:23, 10:21, and 9:45. I just think it’s so interesting how I’m running out of gas and also full of energy. Love it! (We’ll see if this keeps up for my 11 mile long run, right?!).
Marvelous is…heading to my alma mater, UW-Madison, for my Sunday run. For my long run yesterday, I got up and drove to campus. UW is a beautiful campus and is incredibly runner and biker friendly. I went to the Lakeshore Path and ran out to Picnic Point. It was such a gorgeous backdrop and perfect day (70 degrees, 73% humidity, but with a breeze) for a run. And I was super motivated because when I was an undergrad (or even a grad) student, there was no way I could comfortably run 4 miles. It felt good to see the progress I’ve made in my life over the past how many years!
Picnic Point is the little isthmus in the distance
Marvelous is…tennis balls and frozen water bottles. Random, right? Well, I’ve been experiencing a lot of pain in my heel lately, and after chatting with some friends and asking at my local shoe store, I’m pretty sure I have plantar fasciitis. Ugh. What that means is the ligament that stretches from my heel to toes and supports my arch is inflamed. Common ways to help relieve pain is to run your foot over a tennis ball and/or frozen water bottle twice a day for 15 minutes. I’m also going to chat with my shoe store today to see about other options, such as wraps, compression socks, etc. Hopefully this is something I can manage on my own and will get better.
Marvelous is…magazines! I got the new Self and Runner’s World this weekend and have been devouring them. I’ve been debating back and forth about getting a subscription to Runner’s World and I think I’m going to! I was really surprised by how much I loved the articles and tips!
Finally, marvelous is…Orange is the New Black. OMG. I watched the series in about a week and a half (it’s only 13 episodes and I don’t have cable!). I loved it – I think it’s hilarious, but also has some real heart. Looking forward to season 2!
So what’s on the docket for this week? Well, training week #2. But, I’m going to scale back on my miles and training to hopefully help my foot heal and recover a bit. It’s killing me, but I know in the long run it’s what is in my best interest.
Be sure to check out tomorrow’s guest post from Beth at Mangoes and Miles! She has some great insight to share with those of us who are training for our first half marathon!
Your Turn!
- What was marvelous about your weekend?
- Ever have a running/sport related injury? What was it? How did you recover?
- Seriously, who else is watching Orange is the New Black?!
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Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear about your foot. Have you bought new shoes lately?
I have bought new shoes, but part of the reason I got fitted for real running shoes was because I’ve been experiencing pain since June, but didn’t know what it was. I’m going to the doctor tomorrow – hopefully I’ll get some good news!
See if your running store has either the Strassburg sock or the plantars foot sleeve. Also Feetures elite socks with the compression on the arch will help. And not sure if your store does this, but where I work we build up the arch in shoes by adding orthopedic felt to the arch in shoe inserts. Maybe they do that too.
I’ll have to check that out – I haven’t heard of either of those. Thanks for the advice!
I love having a training log!!! It allows you to see how far you have come and how much you have accomplished!!
Way to go!!
Agreed! My training log has become my own little personal source of pride – it’s really cool to see things coming together!
I love Picnic Point!! Madison truly is a great place to run with beautiful scenery. And yes, get a subscription to Runners World– its worth it!
Agreed! I think my long runs are going to be around campus from now on – I can’t get enough of it!
I keep hearing so many good things about Orange is the New Black but I don’t want to get sucked into a show at this point…sigh. Haha. One day! So glad you were able to be reunited with Charlie! Love the pic of your feet and his. Have a happy Monday!
I would suggest watching it when you have some free time – I basically watched the whole season over two weekends. Just couldn’t turn it off!
I’ve been wanting to watch Orange is the New Black!
Yes, running injury – bah. I hurt my IT band. It sucks. I hope that yours is something easily fixed and NOT a stress fracture.
Watch it!
And yeah..injuries=not fun. I’m heading to the doctor tomorrow to figure out if its nothing, plantar fasciitis, or a stress fracture. I’m praying it’s nothing too bad!
You might check with an acupuncturist who does dry needle treatments on plantar fasciitis. Check this abstract surveying expert opinions on the efficacy of this treatment:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21504939
Hope it helps in addition to the other daily therapies. It passes eventually, however, sure can hurt and interfere with training. I’ve heard really good anecdotes on dry needling therapy. Sounds bad but I don’t think it hurts much at all.
Thanks Mike! I’d never heard of dry needle treatments, but I’m definitely going to look in to it more!
I hope it works for you. I’m sorry the word “needle” is in it. But with plantar, I know there is high motivation for relief!
I’ve been having some nagging hip pain when I get about 6 miles into my long runs. I’ve had to add some walk breaks in there, but I’m pushing through. I’ve also taken some rest days. I love Runner’s World too! I never thought I’d like it as much as I do. There was a groupon for it not too long ago so now I’m getting it for the next 2 years!
Sorry about your hip pain – hope it starts getting better! I’m taking it easy this week – at least it’s 90+ degrees here every day so I’m not missing out on nice running weather! Glad to hear you like RW too – I’m definitely getting a subscription!
I LOVED Orange is the New Black!! I flew threw the series too, I think I was done in about 2 weeks! Having a great run on Saturday was a marvelous part of my weekend. Exciting about your half marathon training!! 🙂
Ugh through* sorry that was going to bother me 🙂
So glad to hear you loved Orange is the New Black! I feel like so many people haven’t heard about it and I have no one to gush to about how great it is!
And, I LOVE that you corrected “through.” I’m the same way — would have driven me nuts!
Ah sorry to hear about your plantar fasciitis but what you’re doing sounds perfect –> RICE (rest, ice, compress and elevate!) Hopefully it’ll calm down and you’ll be OK.
I love those photos of you and Charlie. He is adorable! The ones of your feet/his paws made me chuckle hehe.
you and your pup are too cute! I just wanted to let you know I nominated you for the Liebster award! Check out my latest post for details! Have a great day : )