March 07, 2015

Indy Virtual Training Series: The 6-Miler

I had a terrible night's sleep on Thursday night, and I was really glad that I didn't have to do my long run yesterday. My anxiety has been pretty bad lately, and on Thursday night, my mind just wouldn't shut off so I could sleep. I ended up taking pictures of the alarm clock to show Jerry just how bad it was--usually, he thinks I'm exaggerating when I tell him I've been up literally all night long.


A Xanax usually does the trick for my nighttime anxiety, but I don't like to take it very often (it makes me feel lethargic in the morning).

Anyway, I had a pretty lazy day yesterday, because I was so tired all day. We had Joey's obedience class at 7:00, and Jerry met us there after work. It's kind of funny--I usually tell Jerry how exhausted I am after that class, because it's a lot of physical and mental work to do the obedience exercises with all those dogs in there making Joey excited; but yesterday, with Jerry there, Joey was this perfect angel-dog. He didn't bark or lunge even once, and he was SO obedient. He made me look like the biggest liar ever.

Licking his chops after he got a treat ;)
Thankfully, Jerry was the one who was put on the spot to do the exercises with Joey, and he made all the same rookie mistakes I did at first ;) I'm a little bummed that I won't be there for the class next week, because I've been learning so much... but I'll be having fun in Portland!

Last night, I slept much better--straight through from 11:30 to 4:00. I had a 6-mile run on the schedule today; and not just any 6 miler, but the Indy Virtual Training Series 6-Miler. There are three runs in the training series--a 3-miler, 6-miler, and 10-miler--an I had to walk the 3-miler last month because of the stress fracture. I was really hoping that I'd be able to run the 6-miler, which was scheduled for today.

I hadn't run six miles since December, so I just hoped that my ankle would do okay. Even though I'm sure the stress fracture is healed, I'm constantly worried it's going to happen again, or that one wrong step will snap it in half (well, that's a mild exaggeration). Eli had a basketball tournament at 8:45 this morning, so I was debating whether to do the run before or after basketball. Since I was up early, I decided to just get it over with early.

I got on the treadmill (which I haven't run much on lately--most of my runs have been on the indoor track), and set it to 6.0 mph. I wasn't sure how that pace was going to feel, because last week's long run outside was a 10:50 pace, but I hoped that I could manage it. I started the series Criminal Minds on Netflix, and I'm only a few episodes in, so I watched that while I ran. It's a good show! Sometimes it's a little slow, but when the action picks up, it's exciting.

The first three miles just CRAWLED by. I was even thinking, "Do I really even want to run the Indy Mini? I could just walk it..." (of course I want to run it). It's kind of interesting, but I've found that the hardest part about getting back to running after taking two months off is the mental part. Physically, I feel just fine; but mentally, it's really hard to get excited about running for an hour (or even half an hour).

After I got past the halfway mark, and the show started getting more exciting, the time went by faster. I even bumped up the speed for the last quarter mile, and my ankle felt great. So I managed a sub-10:00 pace for 6 miles; which, considering I took two months off to heal a stress fracture, I'm very happy with!




Thanks for all the suggestions and helpful words regarding the yoga class that didn't happen. I was really worried about even posting about it, because I realize it makes me sound ridiculous to get so worked up over something that is very simple to most people; but it was really nice to see that I'm not the only one that gets nervous over things like that.

I don't want to give up on the idea of yoga completely, because I know how many people swear by it. The irony is kind of funny: yoga is supposed to be great for de-stressing, and just the thought of it causes me so much anxiety that I can't even sleep at night, haha. I'm sure that if I just do it once, I'll realize it's no big deal and I was worried about nothing! So maybe I'll go on Thursday, even though I missed the first class.

Six days until Portland! :)  (By the way, I'm meeting up with a reader on Saturday morning at Starbucks; if anyone else in the area wants to join us, just send me an email and I'll give you the details. Otherwise, maybe I'll see you at the race!)

13 comments:

  1. It took me over 6 months to go to a circuit training class with a friend. I finally went and never looked back. I do prefer the back row. And never get pressured to move up. Most instructors know people can be shy or self conscious or a number of things. The same friend has been trying to get me to go to spin now. I'm scared to death. But I want to try toga was the same. But for yoga I peaked in o the class for about the minutes before starting. Maybe if you talked to the instructor ahead of time you'd feel better about it. I hope you try something when you are ready. Yoga is great for relaxation. Sometimes I almost fall asleep at the end :)

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  2. Sharing your fears and real life situations is what makes your blog easy to relate to and interesting. Never stop being honest about who you are. :)

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  3. Don't ever feel silly for feeling the way you do. That's how you feel about something and that's the end of it. If people judge you poorly for it, then they're... jerks. There, I said it.

    For your anxiety at night, I was wondering if you've tried Ambien. I've taken it just a couple times (just for sleeping, not because I have anxiety) and it put me right to sleep for 8 hours and then I woke up without any sleeping pill hangover. Also, have you ever tried meditation? I know a lot of people say they can't meditate because their minds are constantly going. But even the best meditators started in that same spot. You can lose your breath 100 times, but the practice of realizing you're not mindful of your breath and bringing your focus back is how you regain control of the mind. I find even just 10 minutes--if that's what I have--is helpful.

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  4. Maybe Joey is picking up on your anxious energy and that's why he's hard for you to manage. Jerry probably has a calm energy so Joey was well-behaved.

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  5. I just had this thought while reading your post today: How about watching a virtual yoga class? There are some on YouTube and on some of the cable networks. Hat way you could see what to expect beforehand and even try some of the poses.

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  6. Sorry you've been feeling anxious recently. That's hard. I hope you feel better soon. :-)

    To piggyback on what Laura says above, have you tried mindfulness as a way to shut off your brain? There are a lot of resources out there, including works by respected academics (e.g. Google Jon Kabat-Zinn [US-based] or Mark Williams in the UK). I listen to mindfulness CDs if I can't sleep at night.

    I'm glad you managed a good run again! Take care.

    Cat

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  7. Go! Go to yoga! I know you can do it. Totally. How long is the class? An hour? You can do anything for one hour! And if you hate it there's no rule you can leave. I don't think you'll regret trying it. Really! You might not love yoga, but you can totally get through the class. I know it!

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  8. I thought of you last night. I fall right to sleep but wake up several times with terrible nightmares so at 4 am this morning I was searching ways to sleep better on my phone. Not sleeping is rough- I read about lots of relaxation ideas but also some natural remedies like chamomile or valarian. Good luck!

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  9. Yoga is a wonderful addition to life! Good luck and enjoy!!

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  10. Amanda NehlsMarch 09, 2015

    Yoga is great but I totally understand the stress of trying something new! I get the same way. If you're ever in the Milwaukee area (a long shot, I know) I go to this amazing yoga studio (Peace Yoga). Diane, the instructor, totally made me feel at ease right from my first class. It's so tranquil and calm. Definitely my way to unwind and forget about the daily stresses in life!

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  11. I have yet to work up the confidence to go to a yoga class too! I've managed to do spinning classes (once at SoulCycle, even) and kickboxing classes, but for some reason, I'm really intimidated about bending all over the place in front of people. Plus, I know less than nothing about yoga, so there's going to be a huge learning curve. Maybe, one day, we'll both overcome our anxiety to try it out!

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  12. I know you get so much unsolicited advice regarding your anxiety. Just thought I'd mention this resource as it's helped so many...http://www.amazon.com/Full-Catastrophe-Living-Wisdom-Illness/dp/0739358588

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  13. You are so very, very awesome to write about your struggle(s) here. I'm sure you have to brace for unsolicited advice every time you share something personal. THANK YOU for continuing to share, it is so, so helpful to me, and from what I see in the comments, I think it is helpful to many other people too! I think the unsolicited advice is typically coming from a place of love and support, although just reading some of the comments makes ME anxious. :D

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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