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March 28, 2005
Crosstraining Monday
I had a bad itch to run after a tough but fun spin class tonight, but I ended up sticking to my plan of giving my legs a break. I ended up with ~41 miles for last week, and my legs were still feeling a bit tired even after Friday's deep tissue massage. It was probably the combination of three hard runs rather than the mileage. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to push through a slow run today and prolong recovery. The goal is fresh legs for track and tempo, if I decide to do that too. Anyhow, before spin class, I warmed up with my pull up-push up routine and core exercises, lifted arms, and did a couple hip/leg exercises. I couldn't believe that it all took nearly an hour and a half, but I never had to mark time for a class before...it certainly didn't seem that long.
R. and I had a wonderful Easter. We went to church with our friends and baby goddaughter, then had brunch together at IHOP. I hadn't been to one in a long time, but now I know that I prefer Cracker Barrel and Silver Diner for breakfast-type foods. The crepes were decent but not as outstanding as the country ham, sides, and omlettes at the other two places. We didn't get L. a typical Easter basket because she's only 14 months. Instead, we got her a huge, soft stuffed pink bunny, a box of Easter animal crackers, and a small pail of Lindt chocolates. I also picked up a camoflauge baby dress (in the new Marine Corps digital pattern!) for her, which to my surprise, mom liked. I did caveat the gift with "You have to make her wear this at least once."
When we got home, my swim instructor had left a message cancelling our lesson because she came down with a cold, so R. and I took a little nap. The rain and gray clouds just made for a sleep-inducing day. When I got up, I went for an easy 30 minute run, and then woke up R. so we could go swim. We were so sluggish, though, that by the time we got moving, we only had 45 minutes before the pool closed. It was my first swim in two weeks, and I was relieved that my form hadn't gone out the door. I just required more breaks.
I plan to call it a night early, since I'm covering the early shift tomorrow for a co-worker. My boss was glad to see my back at work, to take some of the workload off his plate. And I'm happy to back to my routine, for the most part.
Posted by Leilani at 08:20 PM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2005
Tired Legs But a Great Day
I was especially excited for today's run because I got to run with my group for the first time in months and Becky was in town from Boston to join us. Jessie was present too, so the three of us ran together for about an hour. Even though it was a bit chilly, surprisingly, there were a decent number of people on the Mount Vernon trail. We caught up on recent events in our lives and had a good time, despite the fact that each of us were hurting in our own way. Becky's achilles was in pain. Jessie had side-stitches from a pre-run breakfast. And my quads were still tender from Wednesday. They toughed it out and continued on the 14-mile route, but I decided to add 10 minutes on Memorial Bridge then head back toward Iwo Jima - for a total of ~11 miles. Since I'm not training for any long races at the moment, I thought it best to give my legs a break with the hope of doing both tempo and track workouts next week. We'll see how my legs feel.
After the run, we convinced Becky to go to Whitlow's for breakfast. Everyone was so elated to see her. By the time R. and I got home, my bed was calling my name, but no dice - I was way overdo for an oil change. I headed over to the mall and killed two birds with one stone. I got an oil change at Jiffy Lube and bought an overpriced bathing suit for our St. Croix trip in May. I have to buy these types of things at regular price, and get a price adjustment when the coupons come out, because it's hard to find tiny sizes once all the good suits are picked over later in the season.
I also registered for summer semester and paid a couple bills, so I guess it's been a decently productive and relaxing afternoon. I just can't emphasize enough how wonderful it feels to have a day off from work!!! We're going to get Indian food and catch a movie tonight. I'm truly relishing this weekend before returning to the madness of my civilian job. It's expected - that's my payment for going away and playing Marine for three weeks.
Posted by Leilani at 05:29 PM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2005
Winding Down a Hectic Month
Aaaahhhhh, a breath of relief and relaxation. I can’t believe I just slept the day away, but it felt soooo good. I haven’t had a day off work since the end of February, and I think all the extra sleep was my body and mind’s way of resetting itself. I got home last night around 10:30 - went to bed around midnight - woke for breakfast at 8 –went back to bed – and, woke up only 10 minutes ago. Wow, that’s almost 13 hours of sleep!
We ended the military exercise yesterday morning since our counterparts in Korea had already closed up shop many hours earlier. Following several hours of after action report discussions, the big bosses cut us loose. Today, all of the Marines from New Orleans were taken up to DC for a tour, but since I’m from the area, I’ve taken the day to catch up on sleep and errands. One of my most enjoyable, at the same time dreaded, experiences was briefing the three-star general, Colonel, and other senior officers daily because I got to practice my public speaking skills. I'm no great orator, and the first day I used tons of medical acronyms and spoke a mile a minute because I was extremely nervous (on the verge of throwing up), but it got better as the week went on.
During the last two weeks at Quantico, I was happy to be able to run most days. Running kept me sane. It just took extra motivation to get on the road either super early or late, depending if I was working the day or night shift. My co-workers thought I was crazy, but I compared it to having a daily smoke. Terrible analogy, I know, but the only one I could come up with at the time.
Since my latest entry last Thursday, here’s the running recap:
Friday, March 18
I didn’t get to run with the guys from the All-Marine team. There was a base-wide power outage and by the time I got to the gym at exactly 5, they had decided on an alternate training site. I had to go back to the barracks to grab my headlamp…it was pitch black outside. I ran for almost 9 miles at a medium-fast pace because I was way underdressed and needed to keep warm. Both of my hamstrings tightened up due to the cold, but I still managed okay.
Sunday, March 20
This turned into a 5-mile run-walk session. I started out too fast, and my legs were still tired from Friday’s effort. On a positive note, my left hamstring didn’t bother me and the weather was gorgeous.
Monday, March 21
Only 3.5 miles today. My time clock was off kilter from switching from day to night shift and back, not to mention that I still had remnants of lunch in my belly. I was very tired and my breathing was labored, so I called it a day early and decided to lift arms and bike hard for 45 minutes afterward.
Tuesday, March 22
I did just under 8 miles with 23 minutes at tempo pace. It was hard to be consistent because it was so dark out and I was being extra careful about my footing on the uneven roads/sidewalks. Since I hadn't done any good speed work or races in the past few months, I was uncertain of my current tempo pace. It used to be a 7-minute pace, but I want to target it more accurately so I can resume regular weekly tempo and track workouts without burning out my legs for Saturday long runs. Next week I think I'm going to test out 7:05 or 7:10 miles to see what my legs feel like post-workout.
Wednesday, March 23
After I got off my last shift, I celebrated in true runner's style by going for a hard run with one of the Corporals. I wanted to go an easy 6-8 miles, but when he asked if I wanted to run to the front gate, I was like "Sure, why not?”, at the same time thinking "I don't know if I can keep this up!" It ended up being about 12 miles in 1:28, and I think we both equally hammered each other into the ground. Cpl K., a very tall Marine with a naturally long and fast stride, set a quick pace from the outset. It was just a touch out of my "comfort zone" but I felt great and continued to pick up the pace after the turn around. It had rained a lot earlier in the day and Cpl K. stepped in nearly every puddle we encountered, which provided great entertainment. I massaged my quads with a tennis ball and had cereal for dinner before calling it a night.
Thursday, March 24
My legs were so sore after yesterday’s run that it was difficult to move any faster than a snail’s pace. I did an easy 2 miles to the Barber Gym, lifted and did core exercises for an hour, and ran back to the barracks. I had plans to meet my fellow medical team members for dinner at 8, so I had to cut it short.
That brings me today, having done no exercise or anything else productive for that matter. I have to tell myself that it’s okay since I’m such a “go, go, go”, “do, do, do” person who finds it hard to relax – it drives R. up the wall every now and again. I have a massage appointment at 4:30, and I just may go swimming after that.
Becky’s in town this weekend, and I can’t wait to run with her again! Have a Happy Easter everyone!
Posted by Leilani at 03:21 PM | Comments (1)
March 17, 2005
Running with the Boss
I guess my little tempo-ish run yesterday didn't tax my legs as much as I thought it would because my legs felt fresh as a daisy this morning. I would have liked to run faster but my commander was following in trace (his first run in months) and I thought it'd be rude to drop him considering I invited him to run with me. We did a similar route to the one I did on Monday, but included Quantico-town and ran near the river past the power plant. We ran for just under an hour. The weather was in the low/mid 30s - cool, comfortable and just a hint of wind...my ideal conditions. While running the University loop, I saw guys doing intervals from the All-Marine running team that I trained with a few times while I was attending TBS. They invited me out for an "easy" 8-mile run at 5am tomorrow, which I'm debating because I'm worried that I wouldn't be able to hang with them right now. But I am leaning toward going for three reasons: 1) they're racing on Saturday, so maybe they will run slow enough; 2) I'd wouldn't mind injecting a faster run (for me) with some company; and 3) Saturday, I'm working 5:30am-6pm and Sunday 5:30pm-6am (Monday) and I'm anxious about fatigue ruining a longer weekend run that I would do. So, with that, I think I've convinced myself that I'm going. Now I just need to convince myself that I can get up an extra half hour early at 4:30am to meet them at the gym. All right, my team is waiting for me...gotta go.
Posted by Leilani at 05:29 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2005
Hello from Quantico (VA)
I'm at the base research library making this quick post, as it's the only close, free internet access spot that I can get to during our lunch break. My butt hurts from sitting for 12+ hours since Sunday, but I do have to say that I'm learning a great deal. It'll be good to be done with the death by PowerPoint and exercise the concepts for real.
I didn't run on Sunday as we simply did not have time. On Monday, start time wasn't until 8am, so I got up at 5 and ran an easy 6 miles from Officer Candidates School to Marine Corps University and back, picking up the pace for the last mile to mile and a half. I stopped to
stretch my left hamstring a couple times. I also lifted and did core exercises during our dinner break. I decided to take Tuesday off and just bike for an hour and elliptical for 15 minutes,since my hamstring is still bugging me from those deadlifts last week. It seems more like an "overstretched" feeling than pain but enough to cause discomfort when sitting for long periods and tightness
when running. I did 40 minutes on the treadmill this morning: a 15 minute warm up, 15 minutes at 7:20/7:18 pace, then a 10 minute cool down. I'm slowly trying to work back up to some semblance of speed (though I hardly think of that as "fast"). I could have probably managed 7:15 for that short of a period, but I consider this a new build up "season" and also didn't want to irritate my leg. I'm monitoring the hamstring situation for now and having R. bring down my massage "tools" (foam roller and tennis ball) and heating pad to see if that will alleviate things. My leg is no better or worse than last week, and I hope not to take time off because I want to get back into doing regular speedwork once my two-week stint here is done.
Posted by Leilani at 12:07 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2005
Extremely Content
...like a fat cat with full bowl of food, his favorite toys, and a warm, cozy place to sleep...Although I'm a bit stressed about rushing to unpack my bags to repack a new bag and military gear for a two week stint at Quantico and about being behind on my school project, I simply can't complain about anything right now. Watching my little sister at karate last night (...the simple pleasues of being a kid), having an undistracted and humorous dinner my with mom and sis, and driving back up to DC today gave me reason/time to step back and reflect on several of the many blessings in my life. I'm running healthy - even if not that many miles at this point, both of my jobs are challenging, educational, and fast-paced (just the way I like things), and I couldn't ask for more loving family and friends. Oh yes, and I get to sleep in my own bed tonight and also found out that I got a very generous pay increase at work this year. I'm taking this brief "stop and smell the roses" moment before the madness kicks in again tomorrow. I suppose that I can take a break on a Friday night.
Yesterday, I had both a great swim and run. I swam the farthest I ever have - 1600 meters - without much trouble. By focusing on what my individual body parts are doing at different intervals, I stave off boredom and feel that I'm improving. But really, it's hard to tell unless someone is critiquing me. If only I had an underwater video camera that taped as I swam, I could see what I'm doing wrong. I also practiced treading water in the deep end, since the YMCA pool length travels from a chest-high shallow end to ~8 feet at the other end. At lunchtime, I planned for an hour run but only ended up going 53 minutes because I didn't want to get caught in an unsafe area. I started at the Reserve center and headed toward 35th Street, which someone said was 3.5 miles one way. The sun was out (tank top weather!) and the scenery was nicer than Wednesday's route, with large, beautiful homes with pillars and wrap porches, as I would envision in the deep South. I passed 35th Street in under 20 minutes -no way it was 3.5 miles since I was trotting along at an easy pace. When I got to the end of Huntington Ave, I took a left and ran over a foot bridge until I got to a stoplight and turned around. There was a little huffing and puffing as I went back over the bridge, as I'm out of hill practice. My left shin was achy by the end, which I'm sure was a result of running on concrete for three days straight. Oh well, I didn't have many options that were convenient and/or safe.
Because I needed to pack and work on my annotated bibliography for class, sadly, I didn't get in any form of exercise tonight. On the other hand, I was happy to catch up with R. at dinner at our new favorite Italian place. Did I mention that it's good to be home?
Posted by Leilani at 08:55 PM | Comments (1)
March 09, 2005
Wacky Weather
It seems that Newport News/Hampton Roads isn't the only place with unpredictable weather this week. When I drove by Mount Trashmore Park on Monday afternoon, tons of people we flying kites (it kind of looked like a bunch of colorful birds in the sky). Then yesterday, it snowed really hard for several hours and knocked out the power grid, then turned sunny. I ran around my mom's neighborhood later in the day and felt like I was standing still because the wind was blowing so hard. It's a miracle I didn't lose an eye or some skin with debris flying all over the place at the rapid rate. And today, it was sunny again (and warmer), not as windy. I wouldn't want to be a weatherman this week! Anyhoo, I had a great run at lunchtime despite the fact that my hamstrings were tight from doing stiff leg deadlifts on Monday. I ran for 45 minutes and did 6 x ~100m striders. One of the benefits of traveling so much for my jobs this month is exploring new places through running. I had heard that Newport News is the ghetto, but it wasn't too too bad...I just wouldn't run there by myself at night. I'm excited for another new route that one of the Marines described. Ah, it's great to get paid to be in shape and serve the country.
Well, well...I've successfully procrastinated for an hour. I need to try to access my civilian work account, see what's up, and then get cracking on the books before I turn into a pumpkin. Night, night!
Posted by Leilani at 08:24 PM | Comments (1)
March 08, 2005
Living Out of My Suitcase/Seabag
It seems like forever since I last posted. I typed up an entry on my flight from San Diego back to DC last Thursday night, but I didn't get a chance to post before scooting down to Newport News early Friday morning. I won't back track on all the gory details of last week - quick highlights should do fine. My trip to San Diego for an information technology/security conference was wonderful. I got to meet a lot of the FAA field personnel from around the country, listen to young and accomplished CIOs from various companies, *RUN* every day in beautiful weather, eat at great restaurants with my co-workers, and stay in a decent resort with a mall right behind it (you know I went shopping!). Then, I went from the creature comforts of SoCal to practically hypothermia in Virginia Beach (that doesn't sound right) when my Reserve unit went to the rifle and pistol range. The morning started sunny and warm and suddenly took a turn for the worse - cold, rainy, windy - we were all shivering and numb as we laid on the soggy, damp earth trying to get our shots in the black. We did much better on the pistol range, as we shoot standing and the 20 yard line was covered from the elements. I didn't have the opportunity to run all weekend. Drill weekend always consists of long days, more so on a range weekend, and I needed to read for school. My Operating Systems class this semester is quite challenging because it requires a programming background, which I don't have and which was not advertised in the catalog of courses. This just means that it can take 4-5 hours to read a chapter and complete the exercises. Maybe I'll be a little more OS savvy come May...or so I hope.
That brings me today. I'm still in Newport News wearing the Marine hat because I found out last minute that I need to make up some days before my Battalion gets inspected. As a result, R. so graciously drove here to bring me everything that I would need from home, mostly uniform items and workout gear (swimsuit, reflective vest, hat, long sleeve shirts, MP3 player...you get the picture). I've been coordinating logistical planning for the next couple months drills and a two-week combat skills training evolution this summer for the junior Marines and Sailors. On running? I had an awesome, awesome run on Monday night at Oceana. I warmed up for ~20 minutes, then did 2 x 10 minutes at tempo-ish pace with 3 minutes easy between, and cooled down for 10 minutes. The weather was comfortable, and I had my MP3 player, which was a huge motivating factor in the urge to run harder. Afterward, I did three or four different bicep exercises, my pull up/push up routine, and lifted legs. I wanted to save my arms since I swam this morning at the YMCA, down the street from the Reserve center. And I plan to run an easy 40-60 minutes tonight, with some striders if my sore legs can muster up some speed.
Geez, everything that I just wrote seems all over the place as I read over it, but "all over the place" is an accurate description of my life at this moment. I go home for less than a day on Friday to pack up my Marine field gear for a two-week logistics exercise at Quantico. I hope we have time to PT when we go to 24 hour operations or else I'm going to be one cranky Lieutenant! I definitely miss home, my hubby, and the kitties (and I still haven't caught up on all the Oscar-nominated movies), but as R. said, being only several hundred miles away from home for a month is much better than going back to Iraq for another year. I agree wholeheartedly! On that note, it's time to grab some lunch and get back to work...
Posted by Leilani at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)