Prep Day

Tomorrow is the race, and today I have to get everything ready.  I've decided to drive up tonight and sleep in the car.  This way I can sleep in tomorrow, and don't have to get up at 5am for the 3.5 hour drive.  I also soaked my feet in ice water for 20 minutes one last time, fearing the torture they will be subjected to tomorrow.

Food

• Bananas for breakfast and the night before. I want to load up on potassium to help with the soreness.
• Yogurt and granola for breakfast
• Protein powder for breakfast
• Two sugar free Powerade for after the race
• Two 20oz jars of green tea for the ride home
• Trail mix for the ride home
• Plenty of ibuprofen to reduce swelling and inflammation during the race and after
• Glucosamine, multivitamin, and fish oil supplements
• Two gallons of water

Gear for the very cold night

• Sleeping bag
• Extra blankets
• Camping sleeping pads
• Long underwear
• Down jacket
• Fleece gloves
• Extra change of clothes
• Toilet Paper
• Sunblock
• Bug repellent
• Plastic bags for my muddy clothes 

Race Gear

• Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek
• Injinji Outdoor Series Trail Toe Socks
• CLC Black Work Gloves
• Black Nylon Shorts
• Black Nylon Shirt

Mourning

I really should be doing some strength training with the race coming, but I was preoccupied today.  My grandmother died at the age of 91, so most of the evening was spent assisting my mother for her trip to Nebraska.  Perhaps I'll get back on the horse tomorrow.

Tired All Day

Recovery from last night involved a lot of sleeping in today.  While I came home sober, it was still far too late for me.  Screwing with my sleep has a major impact on me, so I am regretting not getting to bed earlier.  Eventually, I made it to a baby shower, which occupied the rest of my day.  Even if I weren't so busy, today is a day off because I am too exhausted to train.

What to do?

I was a little sore from yesterday's landscaping job, especially in the hands.  I should have trained today, but I'm worried about my ankle. My old bike broke yesterday, and I don't have regular access to a pool.  I'm trying to take it easy, so not to injure myself right before the race.  I'm so used to being very active, that I am not liking all this sitting around.

Joint Issues

My ankles are worse after the short run yesterday, so today is a day off.  I loaded up on potassium for any soreness and bought joint supplements.  I know supplements have come into fire in recent days, but there's no harm done if I just urinate them out of me.  If future evidence show that the recent findings on absorption are incorrect, then I'm helping my joints.  If they hold to be true, and I am not really absorbing the glucosamine and my daily Centrum multivitamin that I take, then I have only pissed away a total of $36.50 a year.

Twelve Hours on My Feet.....Again

Today was another occasional double shift at work today.  Out of the twelve hours I was at work, about half was spent on my feet.  I'm going to count today as my scheduled day off, which would normally be on Sunday.  That means tomorrow, I will have to train as if it were Saturday.

I feel pretty good as far as recovery from the big run last Thursday, so I'm right on track to do the race in a couple weeks.  I was hurting a bit yesterday, but now I'm not feeling anything more than just some sore feet from being worked so hard.  I'm glad my feet will be strengthened for the race, so I think I will preform slightly better as a result of doing the practice race.  As always, I'm eating tons of bananas, because potassium aids sore muscle recovery.

Well Deserved Day Off

Yesterday's big run killed my feet.  The rest of my body feels okay, so my training is paying off.  My feet are pretty sore, to the point where walking is difficult.  Instead of wearing my Vibram Five Finger shoes all day to help work out the lactic acid, like I usually do, I opted for some very stiff soled indoor soccer shoes.  The idea was to immobilize my feet, so I could actually move around throughout the day.
I ate some bananas and cooked up some sweet potatoes, so the potassium would help with the soreness.  I also took ibuprofen all day, to reduce any inflammation in my ankles and feet.
Aside from that, there was no training today, just pure recovery.  

Scheduled Day Off

My Saturday was busy with work and a kid's birthday party, so there was no workout today.  Usually Sunday is my day off, but I don't think there is any harm in switching the two.  This is the limit of the flexibility in my workout routine.

Everyone, including the children, were interested in my Vibram Five Finger Bikilia shoes.  When kids said they were silly shoes, I explained that they were my ninja shoes.  Other's said they had seen people with them, and asked every question they had come up with since their first siting.  I even let a friend try them on, as he was talking about getting a pair and had the same size feet.  Another woman wanted to know how they were for walking around all day, because she was about to go on vacation, involving lots of walking tours.  Some of the B-Boys that were at the party thought they would be good for practicing Capoeira, due to the traction and dexterity in the toes.  Wearing these shoes don't just help workout soreness from running in them and building up the strength of your foot, they are great for striking up conversations.  Since I really love these shoes and what they have done for my foot health, I really don't mind telling people about them......even if I do sound like a sales rep for Vibram.

Preparin' for a Hurtin'

I decided to skip exercising today, anticipating a lot of pain tomorrow.  I'm spending the day as a hired hand for a local landscaper.  I am basically spending the day as a day laborer, so I'm expecting a lot of physical work.  I don't want to go into the day already fatigued, because I don't know exactly what tomorrow's work entails.

Scheduled Day Off

I have decided that Sunday should be a day of rest.  I have to have one day a week to make sure my body has fully repaired itself.  Either Saturday or Sunday will be my day to fully recuperate.

Day Off........Again

I gave my body a day of recovery, but this time it was from the night before.  I went out with the guys and drank a moderate amount of alcohol.  Because I don't drink regularly anymore, it took longer to recover the next day.  I'm going to stick with abstaining from alcohol, as I don't have time to keep taking days off from training.

Deserved Day Off

Well the work out on Tuesday, and the two mile run yesterday ruined me for today.  I'm forced to take a day off because I can hardly move.  My form would just be sloppy and I could hurt myself, at least that's what I'm telling myself.  I feel guilty because I have already taken days off that I shouldn't have, but this time I am in bad shape.  I did a lot of long deep stretching twice today, and that helped quite a bit.  I also walked around a lot, to get some kind of activity.  For breakfast and lunch I had mashed sweet potatoes, as well as a banana at dinner for potassium.  Lastly, plenty of water and green tea was consumed throughout the day.

Another Day Off

Last nights dancing really helped prevent me from getting sore again; however, it may also be that my shorter aided in this.  Today I took it slow again, as I'm looking for a new job.  Most of the day was spent on the couch, staring at a laptop.  In light of this, I made sure to do a full session of stretching. 

I have decided that I need to put together a weight training or yoga routine for my non-running days.  If I don't ramp up this fitness training, I'm never going to be able to do the race in October.

Almost Too Far

Wow, pushing harder sure did take a toll on me, but this time it wasn't as bad.  I did stop at the right time, and I would be laid up if I had pushed any farther.  I did my stretching and had some potasium.  Not sure what else I can do. I should do some weight training, but I don't have my gym membership renewed.  I may not even renew it this time, as I may ditch the weights and go the route of P90x instead.  It seems easier with having kids around, and I don't like taking the time to drive to the gym, and also not being able to use my shower right afterwards.  I should probably renew the membership incase I ever do decide to go back, as I only pay $100 per year at 24-Hour Fitness.

Better Recovery

I had a much better day after my run yesterday, in comparison to last time.  I wasn't sore at all, but I was stiff.  I loaded up on potassium and did my stretching.  I was sure to be active all day as well.  I am glad that I had scaled back with the stepping machine, and I think that's why the run was so much easier than last time.  I even feel like maybe doubling the run scheduled for tomorrow, but we will see when it happens.

Accidental Day Off

I meant to run this afternoon, atter taking care of some things this morning.  I ended up getting called into work right before I planned on running, so there will be no workout today.  My brother emailed me asking if I have been running consistantly, and tommorw I will get back into a routine.

Supper Day Off

Feeling depressed today about some personal matters, I sat around all day and then had dinner with my brother. In hindsite, I should have gone for a run to improve my mood.  Next time I'm feeling like this, I will be sure to do so.

Major Change

I felt pretty good today....no sore muscles.  I did have a major personal change that forced me to relocate to my mother's house.  I don't know if this change is permanent or temporary, so I'm not sure what the future of this training will be.  I may not be doing the Tough Mudder in October.  We will see what happens as the days pass.

Hail Cesar!

Still sore again today, so I did more deep stretching to aid recovery.  I also went out and got a Caesar haircut to help to keep the hair out of my eyes while running.  I also made sure to have more potassium to help my muscles recover faster.

Sore Again!

Yesterday's workout made my calves sore again; however, it wasn't as bad as before.  I did some deep and long stretching and ate some bananas.  Hopefully, recovery won't take as long as before.