Mental Health, The Run, and Surprise I'm Wearing Cotton

Pre Run

Getting out early today didn't happen. I kind of regret it knowing today is another hot one. But I will be getting out later this morning. I've been struggling to wake up the past few weeks at my more normal time of 5:00 am. It's been hard because that's my decompression time. I also intend to move my Thursday and Saturday runs closer to that time. Typically when I can't wake up, it's because I am exhausted or going through a bout of depression (it feels more like the latter). When this happens, I start to lose interest in everything, which is one of the indicators I watch for. My depression is due to bipolar type II, which I was diagnosed with in my late 20s (it consists of more depression and hypomanic episodes). My medication works reasonably well in keeping the hypomania away and decreasing the impact of the depression. When I go through depressive mood swings, things don't feel right. I see it happening and feel nothing can be done about it. In recent years, I have just let it happen. Which has caused longer depressive episodes that have been harder to work through. What helps me most are routines and ingrained habits that I can just do on autopilot. This reminds me of when I ran before. It was a great help because it was an ingrained habit. It helped regulate my moods because I was getting out consistently and spending less time in my head. So yeah, there is that. Next is to rely on my burgeoning habit of running again and getting out the door.

The Run

My run went quick today. I was surprised at how time went by. I got in the right space mentally while I was out there. Thinking more about the run itself than everything else going on. My goal was 2.13 miles, so I could do 6 miles for this week. Focusing on that goal helped me to be more in the moment. While I was running, I found myself looking at the ground a lot, about 6' in front of me, instead of looking straight ahead. Doing that allowed me to push myself more and not worry about landmarks as goals. They may help some people but only help me to keep running sometimes.

I had a wonderfully irritating discovery of the cotton in some of my running socks. I was reminded why I still had so many running socks with my running clothes that I can't find. Because of how much I sweat, especially on my feet, the cotton starts to painfully remind you that it doesn't like running. I thought my socks weren't cotton at all. They have been fine so far... until today were it felt like I was walking sharp little stones for the last running portion and the remaining cooldown that I did. Cotton and running don't mix, especially if you sweat a lot. The stupid socks contain some degree of cotton. I should have looked more diligently at the packaging when I got them.

Here's my week in numbers.

• Workout: 
• Tues: Warmup (4) | 5-minute run / 2-minute walk x4 | Cool down (3)
• Thurs & Sat: Warmup (4) | 5-minute run / 1-minute walk x5 | Cool down (4)
  
• Total Time: 1:51:57
• Average Split: 0:18:37
• Total Distance: 6.01
• Cross Training: -
• Shoes: New Balance Fresh Foam X 880 v12

That's all for today. Thanks for reading.

 -Riley

Rambling Before the Run, More Heat, and 2 Miles

Before Running

To start off, I didn't get my cross training in yesterday. I now have it scheduled for tomorrow. I did find on my watch that I have a strength training monitor, which will be nice to get some information about how much I'll be pushing myself during my cross training. Also, I just checked the temperature on my phone and it has it as a cool 88° during my lunch today when I plan on running. I have been bringing out a water bottle I got off of Amazon with a handy strap on it to keep hydrated. By the time I took my first drink on Tuesday it was quite warm because it had been in my hand for 20 minutes.

I have planned a 2 mile run today. It's 5 sets of 5 minute run / 1 minute walk with a 2 minute stretch, 3 minute warm up walk then a 3-5 minute cool down. So max time hitting the road should be 38 minutes. I'm going to be pushing my runs to earlier in the morning so I actually have time to eat during lunch within the next couple of weeks. My aim is to be between 132-143 bpm for my target heart rate.

After the Run

Two miles in 90° heat... probably not the smartest thing I've done, but I'm glad I did it. I will keep running in the heat too, but will be changing the time of day that I do it in the near future. It just works really well to run during lunch, only home bodies and crazy guys with binoculars who broke their leg are watching. So less paranoia about people gawking at the guy running outside. It also stops me from sleeping my lunch away. Another plus is that it doesn't interfere with other things that I should be doing, like the course work for my MBA.

So I did 2 miles today, and it was hot. The last .02 miles were basically me pacing back and forth in my drive way until I feeling my watch buzz to indicate 2 miles. I really wasn't sure I was going to make it the whole way, at roughly the mile and a half mark I had the fleeting thought, "If I went home right now I could be out of the heat." Then a guy drove by whose dogs got out of his yard around the .25 mile mark and were still evading him. He was able to eventually wrangle them in with the help of a nice neighbor (I wasn't the nice neighbor just a guy running up the street). It was a good run though. This is my high intensity workout for the week, I spent most of my run in Zones 3 & 4. The heat probably impacted that to a degree.

Well, I think that's about it for the day. Thanks for reading.

-Riley

Insoles, Brain Games, and Anxiety

I didn't get this posted after my run yesterday. The run went a little longer than previous weeks and threw me off kilter a little when it came to eating after the run and getting ready for work again. It was a hot run yesterday, about 86° when starting and I was running on the road, so it was a bit hotter there.

A few weeks ago I got some fancy insoles for my shoes, thinking they would help decrease discomfort to a degree when running. I had done some running without the insoles and had experienced some discomfort. I tried out the insoles for a couple of weeks and was having some specific discomfort of the anterior tibial muscle (muscle that is the culprit for shin splints). It was a big discomfort each run. So I took out the insoles and magically no pain in that area. Then I realized I still had other aches and pains that were bothering me, but a quick adjustment to form helped those fade away.

I have been running without headphones, which is very different for me. I am now more aware of cars coming up from behind, and am able to catch my mind going to less effective areas when I run. The hardest thing for me is to keep running at times. The conversation in my head goes something like this.

Me: OK two more minutes and I reach 5 minutes of continuous running.

Body: Alright let's do that, two more minutes... and stop running now. Two minutes wasn't going to work for me.

Me: Why did I stop running, 10 seconds and I will start again.

Body: Cool we can do this... in another 30 seconds.

This seemed to be my battle yesterday as I ran. I still feel like I got the workout in, but just not quite as intended. Tomorrow I am hoping it will go better, not sure how to prepare for it better though.

On Monday I planned to get my cross training in. I figured I would do it midday like I do with my runs. We were going to a church picnic in the morning and to help with handling with the amount of people I took some anxiety medication (which I only take when needed). I was in a relaxed daze for the rest of the day. I got nothing done after that picnic, I will be taking less than prescribed from now on. So with cross training, that will be today during lunch. It's the Nerd Fitness Beginner Body Weight Workout.

I think I have rambled on long enough, thanks for reading.

-Riley

Target Heart, Increase Activity, and Food

 

I made it out this morning for my run. It was good, I was winded early on and was compelled to go slower. I kept repeating to myself, "take it easy, and are you able to carry a conversation?" Since I have been so high on my heart rate during my outings, I figured it would try again to focus on sticking between 132-143 bpm. I did it, I was in the right heart rate zone at an average if 142 bpm. I was shocked when I saw it. I guess getting winded early helped me to slow down and keep where I was aiming to be.

Next week looks a little overwhelming with increasing to 5 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking for 2 days (2 minutes of walking for the first day). I will also be introducing cross training using the body weight exercise. I found from Nerd Fitness. That will be Monday during my lunch. I have also started to listen to a podcast Running Lean. That's really gotten me thinking more about the food I'm eating (combined with the lesson from Thursday where I ate fast food for breakfast and it sat in my stomach like a rock). I'm starting from ground zero with meal planning so I'll need to do some more research on it to get started.

I think that's all for today, here's my week in numbers.

• Workout: 
• 1 Day 3 min warmup - 4 min run / 2 minute walk x4 - 3 minute cool down
• 2 Days 3 min warmup - 4 minute run / 1 minute walk x5 - 3 minute cool down
  
• Total Time: 1:34:07
• Average Split: 0:18:06
• Total Distance: 5.2 miles
• Shoes: New Balance Fresh Foam X 880 v12

Thanks for reading.

 -Riley

Doing Some Good Work, Lead Legs, and Sentient Watches

 

Since it's me I'm comparing myself to, current me not past me, I think it's okay to say that I did some good work today. Today was 5 sets of 4 minute run / 1 minute walk. The first two were good, the third suffered from an incline, and the last two beat the crap out of me. But today was good. I had a crappy breakfast that felt like it was just a lump in my stomach. I guess I need some focus on fuel for my body to make sure that doesn't happen again. 

I did get some stretching in before and I think that helped to make the first 15 minutes of being out there better. I really struggled with leg endurance while I was out there today. When I struggled to keep going my legs just felt like lead. It was hard to keep moving because they were just so heavy. I think that comes with increased difficulty of the run and continuing to work myself to my limits. I think I need a cheer squad to follow me when I run, just for those times my legs are feeling like lead but I need to push it a bit more.

On a side note, my watch keeps trying to get me to run more, I'm trying to figure out how to the tell the thing I can't push too hard or else I run the risk of injury. I'm not sure it would believe me though. These smart watches think they know everything. I think that's it for today.

Thanks for reading.

-Riley

Running on a Tuesday

It's Tuesday and I made it out to run, since I've not made it out on a Tuesday yet, it feels good. Today was 4 sets of 4 minute runs / 2 minute walks with a 3 minute warm up and cool down. I'm now sitting here trying to cool down. The first three 4 minute runs went well. They were slower because I didn't know how running 4 minutes without stopping would impact me. More about the last 4 minute run in the next paragraph. My first mile wasn't as draining as Saturday's was, so that's a win.

While running I have opted out of listening to music/pod casts/books like I did when I ran previously. I'm trying it out to see if it helps me to be more in the moment while I'm out there. So far I think it's working, I am much more aware of my body and what it's doing out there. My self talk is actually heard, but the body doesn't always want to listen. Like today, I was 2 minutes into my last 4 minute run and I started saying to myself, "2 more minutes you got this." Apparently I didn't have it because that's when I started to walk for a minute. I think I'm just out of practice of pushing through uncomfortable physical situations, it has been a number of years since I was last really physically active so it makes sense. I think that's where running buddies would help, they would be able to encourage pushing through the discomfort. Even reflecting on it now, I believe, will help to give me that bit of grit that I need to make it though similar situations in the future.

I am going to make some minor changes for my runs on Thursday and Saturday. I'm going to do 2 minutes of stretching before and after running. Just to make it an even 5 minutes for my warm up and cool down. I hope it will make that fist part of the run better by limbering up.

Thanks for reading.

-Riley

More in the Tank

Today I did not want to get out and put in my time. I intended on doing my 20% workout today but ended up just doing my regularly scheduled workout. I did 5 sets of 3 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking. I could keep my heart rate down more which was excellent, and I still finished with the same distance as the past couple of runs.

As I finished my time, I realized I had it in me to go further. But I knew my 30 minutes was up and it was time to stop and go and use the restroom. I pondered having some energy left in the tank for a bit and decided it's better to have that than be completely spent on my day off where I need to get some homework done. 

I did experience what I used to when I ran years ago, the first mile sucked. I got to the 3/4 mile point and almost went home. My ankles hurt, my legs hurt, and I was tired. But I decided to keep going, and I'm glad I did. Today's run feels good now. It was shortly after the 3/4 mile mark that things started to feel better. I also didn't ruin the run by going to Mcdonald's (as tempted as I was).

Last thing, here's my running data for the week if you're interested.

• Workout: 3-Minute warmup, 3-minute run / 2-minute walk x5, 2-minute cool down
• Total Time: 1:30:07
• Average Split: 0:17:43
• Total Distance: 5.09 miles
• Shoes: New Balance Fresh Foam X 880 v12

Well, that's it for today, thanks for reading. 

-Riley