Friday, August 23, 2013

I Need to Post a Post

Uggg...  I really want to keep up with my blog.  Here are my excuses for letting it slip away:

ALLERGIES!
CHILDREN
FRASIER
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
ALLERGIES
MOPS PROJECTS
HUSBAND :)
HOUSEWORK
NURSE WORK
FOOD (yes, it really does keep me busy)
CHURCH
SMALL GROUP
ALLERGIES
PROPERTY BROTHERS
FRIENDS (not the show, the ones from my life) ;)
OTHER BLOGS ;)
PINTEREST
BRAIN FOG (can't call it prego brain anymore... sigh)
ALLERGIES

Did I mention ALLERGIES!  Holy COW!  I haven't had issues like this in YEARS!!!!  they are awful!  Sneezing, itchy watery eyes, runny nose, itchy throat, hives, head aches, body aches....  I don't know why they are so bad.  I had a period of 8 years with NO problems.  I honestly think, that it has to do with hormone fluctuation.  I finally weaned Joey about a month ago.  What I noticed - fatigue, confusion, sadness, feeling overwhelmed and then the ALLERGIES!  Now it is ragweed season, but I have been through it before without all the issues.  I read the other night, that when you wean, estrogen levels go back up.  Estrogen releases histamine, the target to blame for my suffering.  What have I been doing about it?  Well, I am on day 4 of NO ice cream (hold on, gotta dry up the tears on my keyboard) and basically no refined sugar.  Been taking raw honey (supposed to do wonders for hay fever sufferers) in my coffee instead of sugar, avoiding gluten (causes inflammation) and limiting dairy.  I am trying to put good things into my body, avoid the junk, so that my hormones will balance out faster.  I did this for 3 weeks after Joey was born, and it did wonders.  I do feel better, but not like I used to feel. Gotta keep on keepin on!

Running has been OK.  I was feeling pretty discouraged, because I have been wiped out as of late.  I did my long run last Saturday - 9 miles around 9 minute pace.  I felt ok.  Sunday 3 mile recovery.  By Monday, I decided to change things up a bit.  I ran a mile warm up outside, then hit the treadmill for a 3 mile endurance/threshold run.  I was wearing my HR monitor, and my HR was about 188 for about 15 minutes of the run.  That is just slightly over where it should be for this kind of run.   I ran 3 miles in 22 minutes.  Just a tad slower than my PR for this kind of run.  That made me feel better, at least not losing fitness.  I did a mile cool down then home.  I met up with my friend Lynn, Monday night for a 4 miler on our 1/2 marathon trail.  It was SO nice to catch up with her.  GREAT friend.  She loves the Lord, and I always feel so encouraged when I am with her.  I felt exhausted by the end our run though.  Tuesday, I attempted to go out, but did one mile and called it quits.  Need to rest.  Took Wednesday off too.  Thursday was a 6 mile tempo run at 8:09 average pace.  My last 4 miles for all at 8 minutes or less.  Yay!  Today, I ran 2 slow miles and did the elliptical machine for 30 minutes.

Ok, so who cares, right?!  Well, I am scaling back my workouts a bit.  I like to do something almost everyday to get my heart rate up.   But, I have added mileage over the Summer, and I don't feel like I am any faster.  My new plan is to not really have one!  I have always been a run by feel (intuitive) runner, and it has really worked well for me.  I need to listen to my body.  So, I will try to have a hard/interval workout once a week, a tempo run 2 times a week, and a long run.  I will keep my mileage between 30-40 miles and not feel like I have to hit 40 miles every week.  If I feel like I need rest, I am taking it.  No more killing myself for... I don't even know what! LOL  If I never get faster than I am right now, I am ok with this.  I want to be excited for this 1/2 and enjoy it!

Annabelle and I had another date day today!  Went to an organic local farm and picked fresh flowers.  We went initially to pick berries, but their strawberries were all picked over, for now anyway.
 






Fun times!  Tomorrow is my long run for this week.  I'm thinking 8 or 9 again.  We will see how I feel.

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