Sleep

Sleep is a lovely thing ...when done well. It restores the mind and body, making it just as critical for our overall health as the food we put into our body and the amount of physical activity we engage in. Of course the amount each person needs for optimal health varies greatly. I've found for myself, 7-8 hours is enough, and I work diligently to attain the minimum. This means on work nights, I try to be in bed by 8:00 p.m. with a good read and my sound machine set to the alpha-frequency calming waves of the Seascape setting. The words and waves lull me to sleep by 8:30 most nights, giving me the potential to get 7.5 hours sleep. But, 7.5 hours could be a restorative blessing, or a busted, broken mess. My FitBit magically records the duration and quality of my sleep. It reveals how long it takes me to fall asleep (usually about 5-6 minutes) how many times I was restless in the night vs. how many times I was actually awakened, and it calculates how efficient my sleep was based on a 100% scale. Pictured here was a stellar night's sleep a couple weeks ago - 100% efficiency!This was logged during my first week of training - I was still getting over a heavy duty head cold, and I think the demands of training on my still-recovering body created a perfect scenario for me to sleep like the dead.

Sound sleep is what I needed this past week for maximum recovery during a scaled back training plan. The plan dictated a huge reduction in miles - only 16, as well as a second day of rest (normally I hit it hard 6 days per week), and instead of a long run, I was to practice my speed in a 5k. Finding a 5k in February in WI yields few options. The only local races I unearthed were in Nashota (a tiny little church thing) or a large one at the Zoo. Did I mention that I generally loathe 5k's? Well, the only thing I hate more than a 5k is a 5k at the Zoo. So, I decided I would run my own 5k in our neighborhood with the understanding that I'd need to run all out as if I were surrounded by competitors. The sleep and extra rest I would get in this scale-back week would, in theory, make me explode on the course, but guess what? My sleep was not so great. Many factors played into this: the Boyz, strong overnight winds, hormones, etc. As the week began to wind down, I looked forward to sleeping in Friday morning instead of hitting the gym. I indulged myself in the Olympics later than usual Thursday night knowing I could snag 8 hours of sleep, but remember what I said about the amount of sleep not mattering if the quality isn't there? Take a look at what 93% efficiency looks like...

Fortunately, I gathered nearly 9 hours of sleep at 97% Friday night, and ran my best 5k time ever yesterday ... over a hilly, icy neighborhood route, I logged a 9:09 pace, finishing 3.1 miles in 28:23 minutes. 

Hoping for a week of 98% sleep efficiency or better as training revs up again!

This-n-That

This-n-That. This blog will contain tidbits about little things since life is quiet right now. 

Let's begin with "Then-n-Now". In Wisconsin we get new drivers license pictures every 8 years. This was my year to renew. This was also the first license I ever told the truth about my height and weight.   When my new license arrived (the license is an identity secure Real ID farmed out to CA for processing), I took my old license out of my wallet to add to the stack of  every ID I've had in my life.   The first picture ID in my pile is from high school, and reveals a startling difference in appearance. Of course that picture was taken 27 years ago, so the process of aging had sharpened my once fleshier features, but other differences include dyed blond hair vs. natural hair, hair parted on the side and with bangs vs. down the middle and bang-free, and bushy Brook Shield's eyebrows vs. shaped and thinned eyebrows. Check out THEN (1987) and NOW (2014). 

Other news, which really isn't news at all, is that Joe is ever thoughtful and creative. We do a modest celebration of Valentine's Day, which is a pit stop between our birthdays - 3 weeks after Joe's and 3 weeks before mine. Amongst other gifts, and with a nod towards my recent Day of the Dead tattoo, Joe found me owl and  sugar skull beads to add to my Pandora bracelet. 

In running news, things are going well. My body has tolerated the demands of the new advanced training schedule without incident. Twice weekly speed sessions are yielding my fastest paces ever - some of them well under 9-minute miles sustained for over 5 miles. I am comfortably logging 28 mile weeks in this nascent stage of training, and will hit 35 mile weeks as time moves ahead. The weather has cooperated too, allowing for outdoor long runs the past two Saturdays. Joe is nearing the 2-month mark of his return to running and is adapting well. His pace and heart rate is steadily declining, and he proudly hit 110 miles today (after completing an 8-miler), already 1/5th of the way towards his grand total in 2013.

And...Go!

The 2014 training season has begun! For many years, I've used Hal Higdon's Intermediate half marathon training plan, but this year I'm moving on to the Advanced plan. Why? Because it's time. How does it differ? More volume (weekly mileage) & more speed work. Today, the first day of training, started with a bang - 6 x Hill repeats. This means I run uphill for 200-400 meters at a time, six times total, after a 2 mile warm-up. In between each hill you walk the same distance that you just climbed. Obviously this morning I had to do hills on the treadmill, setting a 5-7% grade at the fastest pace I could do without rolling off. It went better than I anticipated, though I did lose count at one point ..."was that hill 5 or 6?" and to be sure I didn't cheat myself, I did one more hill. 

The effort really raised my heart rate, making me dig deep into my lungs for air, which led to 3 hours of coughing afterward, but at least I'm working it out, right?  You see, last week I developed a hellacious URI (upper respiratory infection) that really slowed me down and cramped my style. I missed a day of work, a couple runs and a weight lifting session. I was eager for this cold to depart in time for the start of this training week and did all that I could to return to 100%. I was steadily improving day by day, and then yesterday, Sunday, I was suddenly more sniffly and sneezy again. Having a baptism to attend, I took some cold medicine so I wouldn't disrupt the service. This "multi symptom" medicine had a nominal amount of diphenhydramine (Benadryl), which I've never had, as I don't suffer allergies. Within 30 minutes I was having an adverse reaction - severe grogginess, dizziness, increased congestion and a splitting headache, all side effects of diphenhydramine. My reaction was unexpected, but not shocking, as I'm uber sensitive to medicine - remember, I'm the girl who can't tolerate any pain meds. The effects lingered all day and night, threatening to ruin training day #1. As I went to bed, I kept telling myself I'd be better in the morning, and lo and behold I was! I slept like the dead and awoke rested and ready to tackle my hills. I killed the hills and then I killed my weight lifting session with Aaron. Still a little coughy and congested, this is the first day in 10 days that I'm feeling restored to my usual energy levels...just in time for racing season. Our first race is 81 days away.