Training for the marathon takes up a lot of your time. I am running 5 times a week and I have run 92km since my last post. I ran my farthest distance so far and I’m loving the challenge of pushing it. 26km! The last 3km were rough though. I had some pain happening so we stopped and stretched and it helped a bit. I felt a bit like a duck when we started back up again, but I waddled through it.
So running does take up a lot of time, but my wonderful family understands that right now running is a priority for me. Fitting it all in with life and trying not to feel guilty about the sacrifices my family has been making is not easy, but when my girls tell me that they think I’m “the coolest mom ever” I know it’s all good and hopefully I’m inspiring them.
Family Vacation and Running
It’s family vacation time and some of our kids and grand kids are here from Ottawa and Montreal. I love it and want to spend as much time with them as possible so I’ve been running at home mostly, instead of with my running group. With a family of 11 it’s been very busy, but I’m still managing to fit my runs in somehow. I have been running my long Sunday runs with my running group though. I don’t think I could do the longer distances alone.
Eating and Running
I should probably spend less time eating. Sometimes when I’m running I feel like I’m on auto-pilot, in the zone, and everything’s easy-peasy, and other times I feel like my legs are filled with cement. I learned not to eat extra unless I’m doing more than 10km. I had been eating extra, ‘loading’ no matter what the distance. Eating the proper amount stopped that heavy feeling I had been experiencing. Remember the 1-2-3 rule; if your running in 1 hour, eat 100 calories, in 2 hours eat 200 calories, in 3 hours eat 300 calories. I was eating a 400 calorie breakfast 1 hour before my long Sunday run. I really feel the difference now that I’m eating properly. Much better!
Milestones from the last 2 weeks:
How is your recovery after your long runs?
I figured out that the reason I have so much pain on my short 6km Tuesday runs is probably because my legs are not recovered from my progressively longer Sunday runs. So I broke down and bought a Pro-Tech Roller Massager. I felt a little silly buying one, but at this point I have so much invested that I’ll do pretty much anything to make it happen. You role it over your muscles and get a deep-tissue-ouchy-massage to reduce muscle tightness, soreness, and pain. I first tried using a regular rolling pin but starting craving shortbread so I moved on to the real deal.
My New Recovery Regime
- Cool bath (or a jump in the ocean)
- Pro-Tech Roller Massager
- Advil
- Protein within the hour
- Hydration
- Got tips? Please share!
Keeping it Fun
It’s hard fitting it all in, especially being on vacation, but we’ve sure been keeping active and having fun. We’ve been kayaking a lot and changing things up sure keeps things interesting, fresh and fun. I also went running hills with my eldest step-son Andy and it was great. But I have had to go against tradition and cut out of our family campfires early to go to bed. What a bummer. Talk about sacrifice and dedication!
Still Hill Training
We’re still doing hill training. This week I ran them during a family beach day in Rustico in 33 degree heat and it was so hot I could only do 4 of the 6 repeats on a much smaller hill. But I’m still out there! And jumping into the cool PEI North Shore water afterwards was absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend it!
My Tips for Finding Time to Run
- Make running a priority
- Turn off the TV
- Get away from the computer
- Bring your running gear along with you
- Run on your lunch hour
- Make running social; instead of meeting for coffee, meet for a run
- Run instead of wait during your kids’ activities
- Take the kids with you; in joggers or on bikes
My Ginormous Feet
One day, when I didn’t even run, I was sitting and working at the computer. My feet felt really hot so I took off my socks and kept on working for a few hours. The whole time my feet were hot and tingly it was kind of weird but I didn’t think anything of it… until I stood up. My feet were completely swollen. It was hilarious. They were HUGE!!! What was that?! Is that from running? Does anyone know?
How’s your running going?
Where do you find the time to run?
Do you have any recovery tricks?
Do you have ginormous feet?
I want to know!
Heather Ogg
Photographer, Designer, Social Media Hound, WordPress Lover, Happiness Bully, Creative Junkie, Runner, Hobby Farmer, Blogger. Not necessarily in that order ; )
Heather OggLive Happy ; )
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