Day 72 (2/7): 5.0 miles + Mini Bra Review

5.0 miles. 52:28. 10:30 pace.

Well, there's another chapter in the bra saga for you to enjoy.  Tonight while I was waiting for a prescription to be filled at Walmart, I found myself looking at their sports bra selection.  Since I had some time to kill, I kinda wanted to see how truly "high impact" their bras labeled such actually are.  In the past, both Target's and Walmart's idea of high impact support has been kinda laughable to me.  I grabbed a couple, including one labeled "extreme impact" and headed off to the dressing room.

The "extreme impact" one really truly surprised me.  Enough that I bought it.  Holy shiz right!?

Now, the smallest size they have, 34B is slightly too big for me in the band, but I felt it offered the same level of support as my 32C Moving Comfort Juno.  I had to do roughly the same number of bra adjustments as the Juno, if not less.  It feels really comfortable over the shoulders and back, and I feel like this could be an everyday bra as well.

Tonight I wanted to try this bra on it's own to see how it would fare.  After a mile, I did end up tossing another cheapo bra over the top of it and that combo was perfect.

My only complaint about this bra (besides the lack of sizing variety) is the straps.  In the back there are adjustable straps and they loosen too easily.  This is probably why I had to toss another bra on after awhile.  At the $13 price point, however, I have no problem sewing the straps so that the sliding adjuster is unable to move.

Since I plan on going back to Walmart and picking up the other 34B that they had in stock I feel like I can recommend this guy.  If anyone else has tried this bra out or had any other Walmart/Target sports bras surprise them, let me know!

So anyway... back to the run.  It was pretty uneventful.  Just a basic, run of the mill 5 miler. Afterwards I came upstairs and watched the Olympic Opening Ceremonies with Karl and Mercedes (Max was in his room and Callie and Taylor were at a basketball game).  Mercedes didn't last long. My little sleepy snuggle muffin kept me warm and I loved it.

I was really impressed with the opening ceremonies.  Granted, I've never watched either an opening or closing ceremony before but wow, the projections on the floor of the arena were amazing!!!

Day 71 (2/6): 4.0 miles

4.0 miles.  40:02. 10:01 avg pace.

I decided that instead of doing race pace runs on Thursdays that I would do runs that are harder than my easy days but not quite as hard as my speed days on Tuesday.  Which would mean a pace that is close to (preferably under) 10:00/mile.  Every tempo run I've attempted thus far has just been downright terrible and it was hurting my confidence and making the next couple of runs feel not so great as well. 

Today's run was a scheduled 6 miles, 5 of which were supposed to be tempo pace.

I got to 4 miles and paused the treadmill to grab some water when I heard Mercedes (my three year old) sitting at the top of the stairs whining, "Momma I want you...." I started to say just a couple more minutes, but then common sense kicked in and I remembered what was important in my life.  So, I went upstairs and we snuggled on the couch and watched The Little Mermaid. 

I had good intentions to go back downstairs after the kids went to bed and finish those last 2 miles but as the evening wore on... it became less important to me.  Plus my legs were stiffening up from immediately parking my keister on the couch.

I don't regret quitting early at all.  I feel like I still got a good workout in and singing all the songs from my favorite Disney movie with my favorite toddler was a heck of a lot more fun!

No pictures today... I'm posting this 4 days late.  Grrr.. bad blogger I am.

Day 70 (2/5): 1.0 mile + REVIEW of Clif "cookies & cream" protein bar

1.0 mile. 10:08.

I apologize for the 2 day delay in getting this posted.  I didn't get my run in until 10:30 at night.  We bought a new belt for our el cheapo treadmill and it took him over 3 hours to replace it.  I don't think that our treadmill was meant to be taken apart.  He had to break two pieces off in order to get the deck off because the manufacturer super glued a plastic cap over where the hole for the screw was.  I don't have pictures... but just take my word for it.  It was quite a job.  I'm going to have to re-lube the deck this weekend and I'm not looking forward to it because I'll have to loosen the belt again and the tightening/centering of the belt took a good 45 minutes.  Grr.

But... We have a working treadmill for both of us now.  The last two weeks I've been the only one able to use it because I didn't need the belt tightened as much as Karl did to avoid the belt slipping.  If we were to tighten it any more, the crease in the belt would have rubbed against a the plastic motor housing and eventually would have caused the belt to split into two pieces, I'm sure of it.

Since we've gotten the belt replaced, the treadmill feels a bit more rickety... but that could be because it isn't in exactly the same place that it was before and we (stupidly) have it just on our concrete basement floor which isn't completely level.  I'm going to stop at Lowe's tonight after work to see if they still carry the rubber workout flooring.  Hopefully it won't raise the height of the treadmill too high for Karl to be able to use.  He's 6'4".  We currently have the treadmill situated between floor joists so he has some head room.  Oh the things you don't have to consider when you're short....

So... I've been in a "try new things to review" kind of mode lately.  Today since it's just a one mile post you're going to get one of those reviews.

I follow a few people on instagram that post mostly about their workouts and things related to their workouts.  A lot of people have been posting pictures of this cookies and cream flavored Quest bar.  Well... I haven't been able to find any in my town.  I think they are available at GNC though from what I gather on Instagram. I can't find a stock photo (I don't want to borrow anyone's Instagram shot) of the actual bar to use to show you just how yummy this thing looked.  It looked like cookies and cream ice cream but in a bar form if you can picture that. 

So imagine my surprise when I'm at the grocery store picking up a couple of Lara Bars when I saw that Clif had a protein bar in the cookies and cream flavor.

As soon as I got to work I wanted to try it out.

I tore off the wrapper and was a little surprised that I saw a chocolate coating.  I guess I just expected it to look exactly like the Quest bar which is mostly white.

Undeterred, I took a bite.

And that's when the REAL surprise occurred.

I was expecting this bar to taste sorta like an Oreo. This tasted like a really bad peanut butter and chocolate knock off.

I even went on Google to find a picture of what the actual Clif bar looked like because I was convinced that there was a mix up at the factory and the wrong label was but on this bar.  As it turns out... there was no mistake and this is exactly what it is supposed to look like.

I gave a bite to my mom to try (we work in the same office) and she said that she could taste the cookie and cream flavor.  I told her she could have it.

I'm sorry Clif.  I know that this flavor seems to have gotten pretty high reviews on Amazon, but when I think of something that is a cookies and cream flavor... I expect there to be a cream (a.k.a. white chocolate) flavor.  Where is that in your bar?  The cookie chunks were also few and far between.

Alrighty... I'm pretty much done hating on Clif for their "cookies and cream" flavored protein bar.

I think I'll pick up some mega stuff Oreos tonight.  At least they never let me down!

Day 69 (2/4): 6.0 miles

6.0 miles. 57:08. 9:31 pace.

oh. em. gee.  This run went fantastically well. 

In case anyone wants to replicate this workout and not have to think about it I typed it up for you to print off.  Change speeds if desired.  It won't hurt my feelings.

Warm up 1 mile: 5.6 mph
Mile 1.0-1.5: 7.0 mph
Mile 1.5-1.75: 5.6 mph
Mile 1.75-2.25: 7.0 mph
Mile 2.25-2.5: 5.6 mph
Mile 2.5-3.0: 7.0 mph
Mile 3.0-3.25: 5.6 mph
Mile 3.25-3.75: 7.0 mph
Mile 3.75-4.0: 5.6 mph
Mile 4.0-4.5: 7.0 mph
Mile 4.5-4.75: 5.6 mph
Mile 4.75-5.25: 7.0 mph
Mile 5.25-5.5: 5.6 mph
Mile 5.5-6.0: 6.5 mph

I was technically done with the workout after 5.5 miles but my OCD brain can't stand it when I don't complete whole miles while on the treadmill.  So, I ran an extra half mile at tempo pace (about 9:10/mi).  I was still feeling pretty good anyhow.

Now, don't think that I felt this workout was easy.  It wasn't.  Each interval I was literally counting down the distance to being done.  My legs burned towards the end of each.  I was just so flipping excited at having completed this workout at the speeds I did.  If I had done this at the gym I would have ran around giving everyone hugs and high fives.

I am still excited about it.  I look at the time and pace and think, "wow, I'm awesome."

To keep track of each interval I would place a gummi bear on the treadmill display ledge.  I should have lined up six gummi bears at the start and just ate one after each interval.  Next time, I guess!

To drag out the bra saga a little bit longer... I wore the 32C Moving Comfort Juno one last night.  Solo.  I tried to make a conscious effort NOT to adjust the thing.  I just tried to think about something else instead of wasting the physical and mental energy of constantly fiddling with my bra.  It worked... kinda. 

The two Armour bras by Under Armour showed up.  I ordered one more size to try and it will be here tomorrow (Feb 6).  If I end up keeping one to try on a run, expect a full review.  If not... well... you'll get a mini review on why I'm not keeping them. 

Anyone else have a fantastic run lately??

Day 68 (2/3): 1.0 mile

1.0 mile.  10:12 pace.

I know what you're thinking.  What the heck!?  It's not Wednesday!  Wednesday's are 1 mile days.

Well... here's what happened.

I got home at my normal time.

But I was HANGRY.

Hangry.

I ate something small (I don't like running with a lot of food in my belly), but I was still crabby.

For the first time in almost 2 months, I just did. not. want. to. run.

Not because I was too tired or because I didn't have enough time.

It's because I was too crabby.

All I wanted to do was lay on the couch under a blanket and eat junk food while the kids destroy the place because I just didn't care.

You've had those kinds of days, right?

I even had something new to try out on my run today and even that didn't help in the motivation department.

I picked up some of those Dr. Scholl's Active insoles to replace the insoles on my Brooks Pure Flow 2's.  The shoes only have 140 miles on them but they have felt dead to me since about mile 90.  I hate running in them even though they look really cute on my feet. (Oh come on... you know that's important). I was hoping that these $20 inserts would save me from having to drop $100 on a new pair of shoes so soon.

Dr. Scholl's Active Series Insole from good ole Walmart.

I got them cut to size and walked around the house in them for a little bit.  They are a bit thicker than the original insoles, especially in the heel.  It's probably only a millimeter or two but when I'm used to a 4mm drop, it's definitely noticeable.

Because the insole is thicker, it actually made the whole shoe fit a little bit better.  It actually hugged my foot.

I thought I would absolutely hate running in them.  It felt like just a lot of shoe on my foot.

Strangely though, I didn't really mind them.

I'll let you know what I really think about them after this weekend's long run.

Day 67 (2/2): 8.0 miles

8.0 miles. 1:25:35. 10:42 pace.

This run went a lot better than I thought it would.

I only wore two sports bras this time.  A hot pink one from my daughters' bin and my size 34B Moving Comfort Juno bra.  It helped when I would adjust the pink one (that I wore under the Juno) so that the sides came up really high under my arms.  The gals do kind wrap around my side a wee bit (so most bras tend to give me armpit fat no matter what I do) so I'm wondering if the issue is more that I just need more support in that area.  I ordered an Armour Bra from Under Armour that will arrive today (2/4) that looked like it came up higher on the sides than the Juno did.  Hopefully I'll be closer to a solution here.

I had no real plans for this run.

If you remember from Day 66, my legs were completely toast.  I barely made it 3.5 miles on a 6 mile run.

For this run... I waited until almost dark. I started feeling anxious prior... full on butterflies and everything.

I was hoping for 6 miles, but I just planned on taking it one mile at a time.

When I got to about 5.5 miles... my feet started to feel tired.  Shortly thereafter, my hips started to ache.

It wasn't painful enough for me to quit, it was just merely an annoyance.

I made it to 8 miles and then decided I had better stop.  I had a sneaking suspicion that the shoes I was wearing, my beloved Brooks Pure Flow 1, were worn out.  If it weren't for the achiness I was feeling.  I would definitely have run at least one more mile, if not 2.

I was so happy for hitting 8 miles.  I rode that endorphin high the rest of the night!

Day 66 (2/1): 3.5 miles

3.5 miles. 38:15. 10:56 pace.

So…. I was supposed to run 6 miles today.  I even thought my legs felt pretty good when I went downstairs to run.  I was wrong.  My quads are toast.  My brain didn't want to run either.

It didn't help that the sun was shining so brightly into the window above the treadmill (I really need to cover that thing up).  Earlier in the day I looked outside and was thinking with the sun shining so brightly that it must be warm enough to run outside.  Nope.  I was wrong.  It was 11 degrees… but a "feels like" temp of -5.  No thanks.  Too windy.

I've stopped checking the weather for what the forecast will be.  It's too depressing.  Never a warmup.  Always more of the same.  This winter will never end.  There will still be snow on the ground on the Fourth of July.

Seriously.

So anyway… back the the run.  I put on an episode of Sherlock to watch.  Not even that could hold my attention.  The nearly 11 minute pace felt really hard in that my legs just felt like dead weights and didn't want to move.  It's definitely harder for me to run at these slower paces on the treadmill because my form is different.  Outside it's easy to shuffle at a slow pace.  On the treadmill I just can't.  The slow paces make me feel like my form is exaggerated.  I feel like I 'clomp' down more too.  I don't know, I can't really explain it.

At 3.5 miles I threw in the towel.  I figured I would just go down later and finish the last 2.5 miles.  The couch was occupied so I just laid in bed for like an hour.  I damn near took a nap, and if you know anything about me… I don't do naps.  

I realize that the Hanson's say that I'm supposed to feel this way… that cumulative fatigue is beneficial come race day.  But this is a kind of fatigue that is making me dread my runs.

At least I didn't spend the 3.5 miles adjusting my bra the whole time.  Because I wore three.  Two of them belonged to my 12 year old daughter.  So um… yeah.  I still did a little bit but it wasn't as bad as it has been.

I've been craving a wrap lately like nobody's business.  So I made one yesterday for lunch:

That is quinoa, spinach, carrot, zucchini, salt, pepper, and garden vegetable cream cheese on a tortilla.  It's delish.

Last night, since I didn't go back and finish my run, I did just a wee bit of strength training to my upper body.  I managed 24 (girlie style) pushups and a 1 minute plank.  Seems I have some work to do…. 

Tomorrow's run is supposed to be 10 miles.  The thought of running this distance on a wonky treadmill in a dusty basement kind of makes me want to set myself on fire.  In all likelihood it will be another short distance day.