The Old Girl Don't Bounce Back Like She Used To!

Well, we're at T-minus 12 days to the Kenosha half marathon. I'm ready, in that I know I'll finish. But I'm also sure there will be no PR.

I did 13.1 miles on Sunday morning ... indoors, because I had a super tight time-frame to get things done and had to take 15 minutes to make a call for work somewhere around Mile 4.

And when I was done, I showered, climbed in my car, and then started on a road trip with some of my favorite people ... a road trip that ended at Ikea and the mall.

So if you're keeping score at home, that's 13.1 miles running with an additional mile of warm up and cool down, sitting cramped up in a car for about 3 hours total, and walking for another 3-3.5 hours.

This is, of course, after my first RIPPED class in over two weeks on Saturday.

I was a hurtin' unit on Monday. My body hurt and I was tired. Really. Really. Tired.

And I felt old. Really. Really. Old.

The whole thing reminded me how important those rest days are.

And I took one on Monday. The ol' Fitbit said I moved less than 3,000 steps and I was in bed, watching DVR'd Mad Men by 7:30 p.m.

But that's OK.

This is sort of how the Old Gray Mare that is me moved on Monday.
But I didn't wear the red hat. I draw the line at the red hat. 

Shakin' Blue Tail Feathers

I love my Fit Bit because sometimes it cracks me up.

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After a long day on Friday, with 17,000+ steps that included a 5-mile early morning run and a trip to Miller Park, Saturday's numbers didn't look as good when I checked in at about 8:30 p.m.

I was kind of disappointed with the 6500 that had been recorded ... far below-desired goal of 10,000.

As I thought about the way we'd spent the day, I wasn't entirely surprised.

You see, we went to Chicago (sitting), had lunch at Howell & Hood in the Trib building (more sitting ... and mini red velvet cupcakes) and then took in a matinee performance of Blue Man Group (even more sitting).

Since we went as part of a group tour, we were dropped very near the restaurant and then dropped literally at the front door of the theater. Yes, it was uber convenient, but it just didn't allow for a bunch of steps. Good ol' FitBit was sort of flat-lining for much of the day.

Except for one spot.

There was an energetic spike of activity in the afternoon, during the time we were at the performance.

If you've never seen Blue Man, you might not know that they have a song called "Shake Your Euphemism." The song is essentially a nice back beat and a list of words for "butt." It's hilarious. (Listen to the song here and get the full lyrics here.)

To put it bluntly, at this point of the show, they encourage you to stand up and shake what your mama gave you.

Apparently, I did.

The smaller blips were from me tapping my feet, BTW! 

Mama would be proud of my Groove Thang. Or my Squash-Tart, as it were.

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If you want to see Blue Man for yourself, more info is here: http://www.blueman.com/chicago/about-show.

Running a Half Marathon on Three Training Runs a Week

Half Marathon 2015 is getting closer.

It's May 2, as a matter of fact ... a mere 24 days away. 

I still don't have a hotel. I have just one long outdoor run under by belt. I'm feeling heavy and not eating very well. I'm temporarily out of fish oil capsules so my knees hurt a bit more than usual. 

And I'm starting to find excuses to add a "total rest" day during the week. None of these things are good signs. 

On the bright side, I did 11 miles on Saturday with no major malfunctions and no significant additional aches and pains on Sunday. 

This might be the strangest training for a half I've ever done. 

It's strange mostly because I'm only really running three days a week. 

And it's quite a contrast from my first half. 

Back in 2012, I was running nearly every day. I'd hit my treadmill each morning for 4 miles and then I would run at least 6 on one weekend day and longer on the other weekend day, working my way up to a pre-race 12 on long run day. I was regularly getting in 30-ish miles a week, even on a slow week. 

Fast forward to 2015. My knees are in worse shape and my body has an idea of what I'm asking it to do. After a year of fairly heavy strength and cross training, I'm stronger and more well-rounded than I was then. 

So this time through, I spent the first couple of months with two, sometimes three, weekday 4-mile runs and one slightly longer run during the weekend. Then I'd cross-train on two or three days a week. I gradually started adding a mile to the weekend run. Plus, I religiously took one full rest day each week. 

So that's 12-16 miles a week in the beginning. Once I was at the 8- or 9-mile mark for the long weekend run, I added a mile to both of the weekday runs, too, increasing my overall mileage to 18-20 per week. 

And that's where I am now. I go five miles a day, two mornings a week. This past Saturday, I put 11 miles in for my long run. That's only 21 miles in a week. 

I'm not sure if this is a smart way to go about it. But it is the way I have attacked it this time for any number of reasons. I am pretty sure my time will be considerably slower than that first time, too. 

Or maybe it won't. I can't wait to find out.