Welcome! I’m Caroline
follow me
Subscribe By Email
Search The Little Things Blog
Follow Me On Bloglovin’
Categories
Archives
Happy Saturday!
Happy Thursday! It’s race week so most of my thoughts seem to be focused mostly around Saturday morning and those 13.1 miles I am going to run. In light of that, here’s what I’m thankful for this week, with a healthy dose of running intermixed!
I’m thankful that I pushed past that first run. The first run I went on as an adult led to me collapsed in someone’s yard about to pass out. I’m so glad I pushed past it and kept going so that I could experience all the joys that I’ve found in running.
I’m thankful for my new running shoes! I guess they aren’t technically new as I started wearing them mid-January. They are comfortable and have carried me through this training cycle… and I hope they do a great job of carrying me through my race!
I’m thankful for quinoa and pasta! I make a few pre-race meals out of these two items, and I love it! Protein and carbs at their finest 😉
I’m thankful that not only did I pass my test, but my license is official now! I got an email on Tuesday afternoon that the state had finished processing everything and I’m now officially a licensed clinical mental health counselor! This goes along with my clinical addictions counselor license and my nationally certified counselor certificate as well. So, when I sign my name on a client note, there’s a whopping 13 letters that now come after my name. YIKES! That’s lots of extra letters to sign 6-7 times a day at least.
I’m thankful for my computer. I took my personal computer to work on Monday, which I very rarely do (it’s maybe the 4th time in the last 10 months that I’ve done this). I accidently left it at work on Monday evening, and didn’t realize it until I got home (and I wasn’t going to drive all the way back to work to get it!). While I enjoyed having a night where I “couldn’t” do any work, I’m so glad for my computer. Not only does it greatly increase all sorts of convenience and ease in doing things, but it’s really a source of connection to so many people.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
AGH- it’s race week already! It feels like I really just signed up for this race (I didn’t- I signed up on New Years Eve so it’s been a few months). The training flew by and here I am, only a few days out. This has been the most chill training cycle, and I’m not quite sure why. I haven’t had the typical injury struggles, leading to better runs and higher peak mileage. Normally I’m sore for a couple days after long runs, but I haven’t had too much of that this training cycle. I’m hoping this more chill cycle won’t lead to worse performance!!!
In the fall I had thought at one point in training that “I’m never training for a longer mileage race- this is ridiculous” again. Well, then I found myself signing up for another half marathon, and this training cycle I haven’t regretted signing up! It’s been a really great one.
The thing is, I haven’t really run a race with an unknown course since my half marathon in November of 2012. My two half marathons in 2013 were repeats of the two courses I ran in 2012. This time it’s different. I’ve never been to Carmel before and have never seen the race course. That course, as I understand it, has some hills, although I believe they are fairly “small” (and maybe even ends with one too? I’ve read a bunch of race recaps from previous years and I keep seeing this mentioned…), and I really don’t have anywhere to train with hills. I’ve found a route where the elevation changes about 75-80 feet throughout a 9 mile route, but no real hills. So, even a little hill might mess with my legs a bit.
I’m nervous for the hills since I’ve very rarely run them. I have gotten bad cramps during the last miles of races before (Indy Mini there were 3ish miles of them, and the Monumental in November there was 1 really really bad last mile), and I’m fully expecting that I’ll deal with them again in this race… although I hope not for 3 or more miles again! Mentally I need to be prepared for them as I wasn’t last May and it was a no-good situation.
This week I’ve been eating bananas for breakfast, this quinoa dish for lunches, and various things for dinner, including pasta! I’ve increased salt a bit (having POTS already requires an increase), stretching every day, and trying to be light on the exercise that I do.
But mostly, I’m feeling antsy and full of energy. Cutting back so much on exercise has left me with all sorts of pent up energy and I’m itching to get it all out! So for now I’m trying to sleep, rest, enjoy work for the week, and try not to check the weather too much 🙂
So- here’s to a good half marathon #5 on a new-to-me course!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have any race week rituals?
Here’s an example: When I first started working out, I realized that if I sat down on my couch after work, it was all over for me, and I was almost 100% going to not work out. Because I tracked my behavior and realized what was going on as I wasn’t working out, I was able to create effective steps to help set myself up for success. Here are some of the different options I came up with: I would change into my workout clothes before I even left the office (getting into workout clothes is half the battle!), I would bring workout clothes to work and workout either at my work gym or go on a walk or run in the neighborhoods around work, or I would lay out workout clothes on my couch so I’d have to pick them up before sitting on the couch (win- they were already in my hand then!).
How we plan to set ourselves up for success can be hugely important in attaining the goals that we want.
Here’s another example: My dad has said over and over again that he doesn’t register thirst until he’s already pretty dehydrated (like headache-y dehydrated), but he felt stuck because he wouldn’t remember. Well, I’m a fan of not being a victim to the circumstances we find ourselves in, and I like proactive steps. So, I set a reoccurring alarm in his phone for 2 pm every day that told him to go drink water. Every day it went over, and he told me by about a month or two in he started to feel thirsty on his own right around 1 or 1:30 just because his body had been trained to want water at this time. Cool, huh? What an easy way to deal with the issue of not remembering to drink some water!
I set myself up for success by stocking my snack drawer at work with good foods, by trying to be proactive in dealing with injuries, by practicing gratitude, and by changing my language to healthier phrases and words. I do meal prep on sundays so that I have meals ready to go after I work out! Pre-cut veggies are there for easy, go to snacks.
As you work on behavior changes, I challenge you think about what you need to do to set yourself up for the best chances of success! What can you do to try to take away or decrease the excuses or plan ahead in being proactive? What mental health choices do you need to make to help impact you in other areas of health?
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have any little tools or tricks for setting yourself up for success in terms of health behaviors? What’s a time you’ve been successful at setting yourself up for success in the past?
- Walk around to people watch and explore! When I’m at the beach in Marco Island, I end up walking around 4 miles a day. I could just sit on the beach, but I get a little bit of exercise AND get to see all sorts of odd people on the beach! It’s so fun! Walking is also a great way to explore a new city!
- Pack some healthy snacks. When I travel, I tend to bring a number of healthy snacks with me to carry in a back pack so I’m not stuck in a pinch and hungry. Of course I’ll eat local desserts, but I try to balance it with some healthy things too! Protein bars, nuts, and dried fruit are staples that I bring with me while traveling.
- Bring a resistance band or workout DVD to use in the hotel/condo/house that you’re at! A resistance band takes almost no space but you can use it to get a little workout in if needed. DVDs are also great, or you can find workout clips on youtube!
- Bring something fun to read! Vacation can be a great time to catch up on that book you’ve wanted to read but haven’t had time for! I tend to stock pile magazines for the 2-3 months before a beach vacation so I’ll have lots of fun reading material for the plane and the hours of sunshine!
- Don’t be afraid to mix up your normal routine! Again, when I’m in Florida, it’s just too hot to do much in the way of running (for me at least!). To get in a few “running” workouts, I do pool running 1-2 times a week! It’s a great cardio workout, and you can do it while still spending time with friends or family in the pool! I also love hiking (if I’m somewhere where that can be done), or kayaking in Florida. Don’t be afraid to mix up your normal routine and plan and try something fun and different!
- Stay hydrated. It’s really easy while on vacation (and out of our normal routines) to forget to drink as much as we need to. This can lead to feeling groggy, tired, and head-achy, which is exactly what we don’t want to happen on vacation! Set alarms throughout the day if you need to to remind yourself to get enough to drink!
- JUST RELAX and be flexible! Understand that one week isn’t going to “ruin” anything, so be careful to not catastrophize. If you gain a pound or two because you really want to enjoy local pastries (that was me in Spain last year!)- oh well, the world isn’t going to end! If all you do on vacation is walk from place to place and you can’t get in any other workouts for the week- well, that’s ok, just start up again when you get home! Stressing about not being “healthy” will only lead to a bigger lack of health. Sometimes having fun, enjoying the moment, and not stressing about it is what’s the most healthy in the moment! Vacations ideally are more relaxing and stress free, so don’t stress yourself out by all the “shoulds” you give yourself.
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one way you try to stay healthy while on vacation?
Well, here we are, almost at the end of this training cycle. The next training recap I post will be after my half marathon, and I can’t believe how quickly these last 3 months have gone! Training for this half marathon definitely helped me deal with all the nasty weather this winter, so I’m pretty thankful for the training. Here’s what my week looked like:
- Friday (3/28): 3.5 mile run
- Saturday: 10.75 mile bike
- Sunday: 1 hour pilates, 2.35 mile walk
- Monday: 3.9 mile walk
- Tuesday: .6 mile walk, 35 minutes pilates
- Wednesday: 14.75 mile bike, 1.75 mile walk
- Thursday: 30 minutes pilates, 30 minutes strength training
- Friday: REST
I still had a busy week of workouts, but I decreased the duration and intensity as taper started. Taper has bothered me a bit this time– more than other times. I’ve found myself getting pretty antsy, which is why I walked more this week. I tried to force myself to walk pretty slowly, but the antsy-ness combined with beautiful sunny days led to walks being a necessity 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you go on walks when the weather is nice? How do you handle the taper- crazies?
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you how much I’m enjoying watching Breaking Bad. It’s not the best TV show I’ve watched, but I’m really finding it pretty interesting. I’m an addictions counselor, so the drug component is interesting to me…
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that I’m getting really antsy during this taper. I’m still working out, but I’ve cut way down on mileage and intensity, and my legs are feeling it. I know that this is the purpose of taper, but I’m not feeling it right now.
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that I really like my co-workers. I’m lucky that I have co-workers that I’d also count as friends. One of them is leaving at the end of the month, and I feel really sad about it! I’m really going to miss her.
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that I’m a little worried about my half marathon. I’m worried before every half marathon, and this one is no different.
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that I’m really excited that the grass is starting to get a bit more green again! Of course that means that we’re having more rain (and 45 degrees and rainy isn’t that pleasant) but it’s necessary for spring to come. I’ll take it!
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that my allergies are starting to pick up again, and that’s no fun. I feel a little more tired and achy during allergy season- Boo!
If we were having coffee this morning, I’d tell you that I’ve tried oil pulling. It’s an intriguing idea, but I’m certainly skeptical of all its claims. I want to see data and hard numbers 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! If we were having coffee today, what would you tell me?
Happy Thursday (and the first Thursday in April!)! Last week was spring break, so between last Thursday and this Thursday I’ve had partial spring break, and then back to work! Here’s what I’m thankful for at the moment:
I’m thankful for a fun “staycation”: Going somewhere for spring break isn’t the only way to have fun! I resolved to have a great time staying in the area, and I certainly did!
I’m thankful for a few nice days! It snowed on THREE separate days last week- blech! Finally this past Sunday it was 50 degrees, and then it bumped up into the low 60s for a few days! I got to sit outside and read in the sunshine, as well as go on a few walks! This is what I love most about the weather getting warmer!
I’m thankful for good books and the ability to read. I love getting to read, whether on the treadmill or bike, outside, or on my couch. I enjoy being able to learn new things or escape into another world for awhile!
I’m thankful for opening day in baseball! I love baseball season, and can’t believe it’s been 5 months (plus a few days) since the Red Sox won the World Series! (I’m embarrassed that I typed World Championships, paused, and then realized my mistake! See… it’s been too long since baseball was on TV!), and I’m more than ready to watch some ball again now that it’s warm out!
I’m thankful for my dish washer! I actually don’t really mind hand washing dishes, and sometimes I do it just for the heck of it. However, I love being able to throw things quickly into the dishwasher, push start, and viola- clean, sparkling dishes! What a neat little invention.
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? Are you a baseball fan? If so- who are you cheering for this year?
Unfortunately, because I signed up late into the window of race dates (and had plans this past weekend that made it difficult to run), I ended up running after I went in to my office on Friday on the treadmill at work. Let’s just say this- it wasn’t my day.
After a few awesome runs over the last month, it was a little sad to have this run go down the way that it did. But, I guess not all days are running days after all.
I had a big lunch at work (when the company buys lunch, you gotta take advantage of that, right?), and while it was just about an hour and a half after I finished running that I jumped on the treadmill, my stomach hurt the entire run. Well, it didn’t HURT hurt, but I had this cramp that wouldn’t go away, and which slowed me down a bit. The other problem that the work gym has is that they don’t keep it cool enough in there, AND they don’t have any fans going in there. The air usually feels hot, heavy, and stale, which certainly doesn’t lend itself to a good running environment.
The first mile I clocked in at 11:50-ouch! It took about 1.25 miles for my legs to feel like they loosened up a bit. My miles got a bit faster after that. My 3.1 miles clocked in at the following:
Not my best. In fact, it’s a few minutes slower than my 5k PR. I ended up running .4 miles after this, leading to a 3.5 mile run. It was a tough one, both mentally and physically. I think I had a harder time than I thought adjusting back to the treadmill surface and the stuffiness of the gym after the freedom of the road. I tried to listen to a podcast and completely shut down from what I was doing, and that definitely helped.
Now it’s your turn to share! What do you do when you’re having a tough workout or race?
Happy April (and Happy April Fools’ Day). Did anyone play any good pranks on other people? I don’t play pranks on people now, but when I was little I did stupid little things (screaming about a huge spider in the bathroom was one that I’m embarrassed to think about. haha). Since we’re now through the first quarter of the year (WHAT?! How did that happen?), I decided to do a “14 Challenges in 2014” Update.
I challenge myself to run 200 miles. I’m at 60.3 miles for the year, which has me right on track with about 30% of my mileage done.
I challenge myself to walk 275 miles. I’m at 74.8 miles for the year, which also has me right on track with a bit over 26% of my mileage done for the year.
I challenge myself to bike 900 miles. I’m right at 237 miles for the year, which also has me just over 26% done for the year. All of those miles have been done on my bike trainer, and most of them were spent studying for my big test I took in mid-March.
I challenge myself to 75 hours of pilates. I am starting to think that it might be difficult to get in 75 total hours for the year, and I don’t want to push myself to do it just because I HAVE to, and then get burnt out on it. Either way I’ll end up pretty close. Right now I’m at 17.5 hours for the year, which puts me at 23% done for the year. Obviously this doesn’t even put me at the quarter mark. Like I said, I had no idea how many hours of pilates I did each year, so I just chose a random number.
I challenge myself to 250 minutes of planks. This one has been REALLY easy so far, and I’ve clocked a total of 100 minutes for the year, putting me right at 40% complete! I guess this winter just called for lots of planks?
I challenge myself to run 10 races for the year. Like 2013, these races can be in person or virtual, but I’d like at least 5 of them to be in person! So far I’ve done 4 virtual races, but I have my first “in person” race of the year coming up soon! I’m on track with this for the year!
I challenge myself to read at least 14 books. This one has been so fun! I’ve read 6 full books and half of another book so far this year. I’m doing great with this goal.
I challenge myself to go through all the clothes that I own. This one I finished at the end of January when I got rid of 54 or 56 (I forget which)
I challenge myself to continue to be present. Am I present every single moment of every day- no, but I don’t think that’s fully possible for most of us! But being present has really changed my life, and I’m continuing to enjoy this challenge!
I challenge myself to continue to hunt for provisions and blessings (continuing to develop gratitude in my life). Yes! I’ve written it down twice a week, and am really enjoying it. I even started a gratitude journal outside of this blog, and it’s great to have a hard copy I can flip through.
I challenge myself to read the entire Bible this year. I found a plan online (it’s this one if you’re interested) and have been following that. I don’t necessarily exactly read what is outlined on the day, as sometimes I get ahead or behind (and then have to catch up). I’m right on track where I should be at this point in the year though.
I challenge myself to publish an article this year. I haven’t published it yet but I’ve written it and it’s gone through a few rounds of revisions now! On my way…
I challenge myself to put more time and energy into friendships and relationships. YES! This one has been so much fun, and I’m loving the relationships that I’ve either strengthened or built over the last three months.
I challenge myself to be brave. Oh yes! I wish I could write blog posts about this, but at this point I can’t so much. Brave (or courage) is my word for the year, and while this probably deserves an entire post of it’s own, I thought I’d throw it out there anyways. I want to continue to push myself to be brave in any area of my life…
So, overall, I’m pretty much on point with where I “need” to be for the year in each of these goals, although slightly behind with pilates. It really hasn’t felt like too much effort, but knowing these goals are out there helps keep me motivated. So, we’ll see how this next quarter goes–
Now it’s your turn to share! How are you going on your goals/challenges/resolutions etc… for the year? Is there anything that you hope to accomplish in the next three months?