Throwback Thursday to Our Journey as Friends and Life

Five years ago today, Kirstin and I were hiking 12 miles over the course of two days on the Great Wall of China as part of a course on global environmental issues. Prior to this trip, we were really more acquaintances that had a lot of the same friends and participated in a lot of the same Honors activities at our university. Five years ago, through a variety of shenanigans, I decided to start a joke that Kirstin was my best friend, and the joke continued running through the trip and through that summer, and before we knew it, we really were best friends. I joke around a lot and act silly, but I'll be darned if that's not the best joke that I've ever told because it came true and I don't know where I would be without her today.

We've alluded to how we started running and how our friendship started, but I was in sort of not great place physically at the time. Yes, I was sort of in shape because I dabbled in a lot of random exercise classes, like Jazzercise, step aerobics, randomly training at the gym with friends on occasion, and other things. I still struggle with this, with ups and downs, and trying to motivate myself with new things or exciting rewards if I make it through a challenge that I set for myself. 

How did we do with this week's challenges that we set for ourselves? Eh, so so. I did really well for most of last week, but life has really gotten in the way the past few days. My graduation was on Saturday, which was hot and exhausting and emotional for me, and Kirstin's was on Sunday, which made for a crazy busy weekend for both of us to try to be there for each other's respective events. I think we did an amazing job of supporting each other (she took some awesome pictures at mine). On the eating, working out, staying healthy bit? Well, it's hard when you are celebrating. We both know what we should be doing, but we aren't perfect and we are human. I think the most important part of making lifestyle changes is to recognize that you will have moments of backsliding, but as long as you recognize it and get yourself back on track, that's when you can make real changes. Just because you had a bad weekend or bad week doesn't mean that you have to have a bad month. 

Day 4: ...and we used to hate running too

We didn't always love running, in fact we both kind of hated it. It all started with a little 5K...

KAYCEE: I tried running a few times. In high school, such value was placed on running fast for fitness testing on the mile, and being the straight-A student I was, it killed me that I could never achieve a sub-9 mile, which was an A. I honestly don't know if I could now, even after all of this running. I'm not speedy, but I enjoy distance. I remember vividly coming very close to that mark and almost blacking out. My friends said that I was as white as a sheet after, which is not the best response to exercise. The issue I have with the way that we were prepared for these tests was with fixed run/walk interval training with no explanation or progression.

My next memory of running is trying to impress a guy that I liked in high school. He ran and I thought if I did too, he would like me. That ended with me basically dying in his kitchen afterwards. Oops.

Finally, my last awful memory of running was in a step aerobics class in college. At the end of the semester, the professor thought it would be "fun" to go outside and run sprints after a semester of only doing step aerobics. How does that translate? I ended up with shin splints so bad that I could barely walk the next day. I ended up skipping the last class of the semester, because she was planning the same thing again.

I don't really know what flipped the switch. I stumbled across Couch-to-5k and read so many amazing stories of success that it inspired me, I guess. At the point I started running, I was heavier than I had ever been in my life and knew I needed to change before the trend continued. I'm not saying that I've had the most perfect relationship with running since then, and I'm still figuring it all out. 

KIRSTIN: To be completely honest, I started running in high school for 2 reasons: to lose weight and to appease my then boyfriend (trend here much?). I've now realized he had textbook signs of verbal and relationship abuse but it's okay, he's long gone now. When I quit dance, I needed something to fill the void and I had no idea what else to do. He suggested I run, so I did, but I had no idea what my pace should be, how far I should go, what shoes to wear-nothing. I began to hate it when said boyfriend criticized me for not going further or when I saw the athletes from school running faster on the treadmill next to me. They all made it seem so easy but I was determined to tone up. I only ever ran a mile or 2 at a time but I made myself go to the gym most days of the week.

Even after Kaycee and I ran our first few 5Ks I still struggled with this concept. I was convinced walking meant failure and there was no chance in hell I'd ever run more than 3 miles. It wasn't until I joined my first half-marathon training group that I began to enjoy running and realize it was more than a weight loss tool. It took a real training plan, the accountability of others, and gorgeous routes to get me to that point. If 2015 me told 2007 me I'd ever enjoy running, 2007 me would have laughed in my face.

Something we wish we would have known when we first started is that not every run is created equal. Just because you had an amazing run one day, does not mean you'll go as far or fast or feel as good the next day. Although there is something to be said for proper fuel, weather conditions, and general attitude, sometimes it just doesn't matter. There will be good and bad days but you just have to keep pushing. Consistency is the key but first find what makes it fun for you!

Day 3: I Hate Lifting

Yesterday someone came into my gym and we talked for awhile about fitness and forms of exercise. I told him how I run, teach TRX and how I used to dance. I'm reasonably sure he was trying to hit on me, but at some point he asked "is there anything you don't do?" I immediately responded with how much I hate lifting.

Yes, I'm a certified TRX Group Instructor. Yes, I understand the importance of strength training as both a runner and a woman in the prevention of osteoporosis....but that does not mean I like it. I got into this field because I recognized how America is systematically designed for chronic diseases and I wanted to change it on a population level, not because I wanted to help individuals train for body building. Personal trainers come in all varieties, ya'll. 

To me, resistance training was how long could I hold my leg out while standing on the opposite toe and whatever else I could do to make me a better dancer. Even though my undergrad degree is in Exercise Science, we never formally taught weight training--which is why Kaycee and I took a weight lifting class in college but our very attractive, Australian, rugby instructor didn't exactly teach us much (or maybe we just didn't pay attention). 

Through work and study I've learned a lot but it's still a challenge to push myself to personally lift on a regular basis. I love, love, love using a TRX for legs and core but I know I need to challenge my upper body more and be more consistent in general. So for this month, it's my personal challenge to AT LEAST use the TRX 3 times a week, if not actually use weights. 

The nice thing about TRX is that you can literally do it anywhere. Yesterday Kaycee and I found a spot at one of my favorite spots in Louisville and did the following workout prior to our speed work:

2 Rounds of each exercise performed for 1 minute each:

-Squat

-Low Row/High Row

-Step-back Lunge/Pistol Squat *30 sec each side*

-Chest Press

-Front Squat/Sprinter Start *30 sec each side*

-Bicep Curl

-Side Lunge *30 sec each side*

-Triceps Extension

You can see the videos here: Instagram . It wasn't much, but you have to start somewhere!

~Kirstin

This Week's Goals and Lifeplanning

Kirstin and I are sitting at my dining room table planning out the next few months of our lives. Graduation for both of us is next weekend ("Woot!" says Kirstin), and we are in a limbo phase right now. Our Derby half marathon was last weekend, which was pretty much the worst race ever due to weather, sickness, and injury, and we won't talk about it anymore.

This week, we understand that there will be some definite challenges to keeping the May goals we've set for ourselves (see the Challenges/Goals page) because of all the graduation festivities that will be happening. So, we understand that we set a goal for one cheat meal per week that may not be totally realistic with said festivities ahead. Our goal for this week is to not gorge to excess on all of the goodies, and keep it together when we aren't going to those events (as my husband feeds Kirstin pizza rolls). And, to commit to our strengthing/maintaining our base/speedwork program from this point forward. Life is all about balance and sometimes you just have to understand that life happens.

We also plan to update this a lot more and start to build a better social media base, which has been the plan all along.

Life keeps coming, and you have to keep rolling.

We haven't blogged in a while, mainly because we are both frantically trying to finish up graduate school in the next few weeks. Does that mean we quit running? No. In fact, we finished Run the Bluegrass in Lexington two weeks ago and set a PR as a duo and individually. We will be running again in two weeks at the Derby Festival mini marathon as the second half of the Half Classic. We did our final long run yesterday morning and started planning out how we want to change for the better and challenge ourselves more, and after that run, we signed up for our first true travel race, the Great Smokey Mountains Half Marathon in September. And after that, maybe we'll sign up for the Indianapolis Monumental Half in November. Why not do four in a year?

We would like to turn our focus to again getting faster over the summer months, but also spend some time on fun activities like beach volleyball, camping, swimming, and canoeing. We've both had a hard three years of working, school, and life, and it's time that we focus on what our friendship started with. This also means getting healthier and challenging ourselves to focus on our weaknesses now that school is almost out of the way.

It's an exciting time. Two weeks until our second half marathon of the year and hopefully a PR on a flatter course. Four weeks until graduation. Kirstin will take her boards for her MPH in June and some other certification stuff for work, and I'll take my physical therapy boards in July. And then? Just life.

Also, if someone could please make these shirts for us before Derby, that would be awesome (just kidding, not really). Apparently I can't have that many colors on one shirt using that site and it costs a lot of money because we have to buy 6.

Running with a pup partner

When I started running in 2010, I had a large Great Dane mix who had made it abundantly clear that he lacked the endurance and willingness to walk more than 20 minutes, much less run. He had a lot of joint problems, so I never really tried running with him. He passed away in 2012, much to our sadness and shock and I waited more than a year to get another dog.

Once I decided that I needed another dog, I knew I needed a dog that could be a good running partner. About a year ago, I ended up with a crazy coonhound/beagle/hound puppy through a rescue situation involving a coworker and the timing was right. Let me preface the following tips by saying, I am the world's worst dog trainer. I am lenient and inconsistent, and a stubborn hound was probably not the best choice for me. However, the one place that my dog has figured out the pecking order and listens to me better than most places is while we run together. My one goal for this dog was that she would be a good running buddy.

1. Start slow. If your dog has never been running, especially if the dog is young, start with walking at a brisk pace and work in some intervals. You didn't start out running 3 miles at a 6-minute mile pace (or 12-plus at times in my case), so don't expect your dog to do the same. If you have a younger dog, under a year, you really don't want to damage their joints by starting out too hard. In our case, we started out walking, slowly, when she was a baby, working up to walking a mile together, and finally adding in some trail intervals to start her out running on softer surfaces.
2. Leash manners are pretty important. I have to admit, we haven't quite mastered this one yet because 'Heel' was never a command that my dog mastered. That being said, letting your dog be a nutcase whenever they see a squirrel, bike, another dog, other people, etc. is not going to make for a good run. My dog's leash manners are at the best when we run because I established early on what was expected during runs. We started out in a fenced area with me running and teaching her not to attack me and worked our way up from there. Walking is a challenge, though, because she wants to run.
3. Establish commands that make sense to you. I don't like to do things by the books, I'll admit, but I've made up some commands that work for us that we use on runs. The most valuable:
• Let's Go! This is especially valuable for a hound that likes to take sniff breaks that are way too long.
• Whoa! We use this to mean, "Hey pup, you need to slow down and stop pulling."
• Wait. This is useful when you have to pick up a pile or are getting your gear together and don't want a dog pulling you everywhere. Also, when we occasionally trial being off-leash on trail runs, it means that she had better stop and wait for me when she gets ahead.
• Hurry!!! I accidentally turned this into a command when crossing a crosswalk and want her to pick up the pace so we don't stop in a street.
4. Your dog needs a change of scenery, too. The same old route, even with fresh smells can get boring. I can tell my dog loves going to new places and checking them out, especially with trails.
5. Pace doesn't matter. You aren't going to achieve a route PR with your dog. That's silly. Take the time to enjoy being with your pet and let them enjoy your time together. I usually run between a 12 and 13-minute mile with all of the sniff breaks, potty breaks, and stops to stare at strangers.
6. Pay attention to the weather. Try to be mindful and prepared for whatever you might encounter. In hotter weather, pack water and take frequent water breaks. Don't take your dog out on the hottest day of the year. I usually turn my CamelBak into a water fountain on the run for my dog, stopping about every mile for a break. I'm looking into finding her a backpack so that she can carry her own water because she usually drinks the majority of my 70 oz. pouch and leaves me thirsty. Now that the weather is getting colder and the salt is making the roads harder on pup feet, I'm looking into buying boots to protect her feet.

Running with a dog pal can be very rewarding, even if it is frustrating at times. I hate running alone, and she makes me feel safer on routes that I normally would not run without a buddy. I may sound like a nut, but she also gives me someone to talk to. Just have fun, stay safe, and be mindful of making the run as fun for your dog as possible!

Competing Against Myself

Just a short post today on some thoughts as I play with my computer.

I recently started using my Garmin Forerunner again to track my runs after a year of leaving it in a box and using my phone instead. It is nice to be able to look at the past few years' worth of runs. I found my old training runs and marathon breakdown, and realized that I was maintaining a better pace over 18 to 20 miles than I have for many of my recent long runs and half marathons.

What happened? Shouldn't I be getting better? What was so different about my motivation compared to now? And more importantly, how can I get back to that level of commitment?

My life has been crazy with school, but I've always viewed running as a means to compete against myself. When I trained for a marathon, I was in the midst of a year sabbatical from school and only had to worry about work for the most part. I have a tendency to fall off of the wagon, but I need to dig deeper and make myself try to keep up with training. This is my constant battle, which is much harder than running and training for a marathon.