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90 mins. P90X yoga
There was no shopping and no running for this girl on Black Friday. My leg was bothering me a bit and I just felt like taking it easy...until I got bored midway through the afternoon. My solution was popping in the yoga DVD and watching it on the giant projection screen downstairs. Like I said before, the first 30 minutes moved a bit more slowly than I would like, but by now I'm familiar enough with the format that I can sort of ad lib my own killer moves when it gets stuck in a lull. This also provided entertainment for the various passers by who had the good fortune of wandering by while I was contorting myself into awkward poses.
I must confess, however, that part of me is now conflicted about the benefits of yoga in light of this article I found today in the New York Times. Unlike most of the "is stretching good for you?" articles I've read, this one draws some very running-specific conclusions. Though I recognize their findings are only representative of one viewpoint, the article does provide some very interesting points to ponder. I still maintain that I find the strength, balance and core benefits just as significant, if not more so, than the stretching benefits; so, in that case, it might be worth the time after all. Either way, at least it helped me get through the day without feeling completely useless.
Part 1: 24 mins. (~2-2.5 miles)
Part 2: 30 mins. (4 miles)
Total: 6-6.5 miles
Thanksgiving morning dawned cold and crisp in Mason, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit sad about missing out on the downtown race festivities. However, Jordan's survival was slightly more important, and I was immensely relieved to see that his temperature had dropped back down to normal levels over the course of the night. Still, he was in no condition to run and I wanted to put in a few miles, so the next best course of action was to enlist a (miniature) replacement. Luckily 7-year-old Tyler was more than eager to strap on his kicks and accompany me for a jaunt through the neighborhood park, so we grabbed our sweatshirts and gloves and hit the streets.
Despite the chilly breeze and overcast skies, we encountered several runners, walkers and dog enthusiasts enjoying a holiday morning in the park. Tyler started with a strong pace out of the gate, but found himself distracted and in need of a few breaks after several minutes. We paused for some action on the playground after the first mile, but it was simply too cold for me to enjoy dilly-dallying for very long. Tyler apparently did not feel the same way, as he found it necessary to stop and show me the field where his football team practices, his favorite tree, his favorite piece of playground equipment, his favorite spot in the woods...you get the idea. Things really threatened to veer off course when he suggested we run to his grandmother's house, an idea I promptly vetoed. I knew it was time to head home when he asked if I'd brought along any money to buy him a soda at the machine in the park. Several walk breaks later, I safely delivered my companion back to Fairway Drive and headed out to finish the rest of my run. While the second half was definitely not as entertaining, I did manage to clip along at a slightly quicker pace. I'm optimistic that in a few years and with some proper training, Tyler could be a serious contender to follow in his big brother's footsteps. I sense a family running dynasty in the making.
AM: 60 mins. yoga
My leg wasn't feeling that great today, but the reason I skipped the run was because I am positively, definitely sick. I'm afraid Jordan has incurred the worst of it, however, and we're almost 100% sure he has the swine flu. He spent literally all day in bed, refusing to participate in life's basic activities such as bathing and eating. Definitely not a good sign. I'm a bit apprehensive that I'll feel the same tomorrow as he feels today, which would pretty much be a catastrophic way to spend Thanksgiving. Needless to say, our plans of participating in the Cincinnati Turkey Trot are effectively dashed.
AM: 4-4.5 miles
PM: 45 mins. P90X yoga
For our first morning in Ohio, Jordan and I decided to enjoy an easy run through the neighborhood park. Unfortunately my left leg was hurting and Jordan yelled at me for being slow so it didn't end up being as much fun as we'd envisioned. Nonetheless, I was glad to get outside and shake the legs out after the previous day's travel.
In the afternoon, I popped the P90X yoga DVD into the living room TV and went to work. The DVD came courtesy of Jilane, who slipped it into a care package of clothes I left in DC last month. A few years ago I was consistently taking several yoga classes every week, but ever since I moved to Atlanta and then to Charlotte I just haven't made time. The DVD was a nice refresher course, though I decided early on to only attempt half of its 90 minutes on the first go. The first half hour moved a bit too slowly, so in future I will probably fast forward through this part and only focus on the last hour. Still, this was a good start for some basic strength and flexibility training.
Yeah yeah, I know I need to update. It's been a crazy weekend and I just haven't had time. But today will be the day, my friends! I will get things caught up ASAP.
~3-4 miles
Lots of running around
Our long day started bright and early with an 8am departure from Jennifer's house. We'd almost made a disastrous error in planning, forgetting that Terre Haute was in Eastern time instead of Central, and had we not realized this late Sunday night we would've ended up leaving too late to catch the D1 meet. Instead, we made it with just minutes to spare before the start of the men's race at noon.
From the gun, we were sprinting around the course as fast as we could, weaving around people and dodging potholes in the tall grass to make it from one point to another. I was huffing and puffing like a chain smoker and was ready to shed a few layers within minutes despite the cool temps. There's really no point in recapping the races for you--anyone who has even a modicum of interest in the sport already knows the outcome, seeing as I'm posting this three days later--but suffice it to say both races were exciting and thoroughly surprising. Equally exciting was unexpectedly running into so many people we knew at the meet--just off the top of my head I can think of Camille and Conor Holt, Christian Tabib (former Brown XC), John Alewine (Adidas rep), and Rick Patterson (one of my former co-workers at Mizuno). Jordan also engaged in awkward banter with Craig Lake and a brief snippet of conversation with Martin Smith (Jordan, around 5k: "How are the OU guys doing?" Coach Smith: "Overwhelmed.")
After the conclusion of the races, Jordan and I decided to jog the course with Jenna while we waited for the parking lot to (hopefully) clear out. Though I was thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere and the beautiful weather, by 5k it became apparent that pretty much every part of my body hurt. Guess it's that whole "delayed onset" kicking in. My lower left leg is particularly nagging. No idea what's going on there, though I'm sure it can be traced back to Sunday's race, but I'll have to keep an eye on it for the next few days. At any rate, I decided to part ways with J&J and head back to the car, content to snack on a piece of leftover pizza while they continued to burn calories. Once the run was over it was time for Jordan and I to load back up and hit the road. Ohio, here we come!
40 mins.
5 miles
I woke up this morning surprisingly un-sore. (That would change later, but I made sure to appreciate it for a limited time.) Coach Simmons had offered to drive everyone who was so inclined for a run (and a few people who weren't, but that's a different story for a different day). He'd tried to scope out a place ahead of time and found something that sounded promising: Angel Mounds, a park/levee system that was supposedly near our hotel. After a 15-minute drive we had reached the desired destination, and it did indeed look promising. With no further ado, I set out with Jess on what promised to be a very slow, very short recovery run. Unfortunately it didn't take long to discern that the park--or at least the section Coach Simmons had stumbled upon--was quite small. In fact, the side trail we'd meandered down ended up looping us back around to the main trail that led back to the parking lot. Normally this would've been very frustrating, but since we only needed to run two of these loops to hit our "goal" mileage it wasn't a big deal.
After showers and lunch, it was time for QU to vacate the Holiday Inn Express that had become our home for the weekend. The rest of the team departed to the airport, while Jordan and I set off for my cousin Jennifer's house for the night. She and Jade graciously offered to host us before we continued northbound to Ohio for the Thanksgiving holiday. Time to drown my sorrows in gravy and cranberry sauce.
