Life After Marathons: A Running/barre3/Coffee/Life Journal

I think my running goal for 2021 is to learn to love running again. Because right now I'm really not there. And I know I used to love (or at least like it) running and I think it would be cool to get back there, because I haven't had that feeling in a long time.
(Also I'm going through old posts trying to figure out if I ever set run goals for 2020 and I miss baseball and going places. And also when this place was a fun community chat area. I love you all and miss our random chats, but still very much appreciate y'all being here and reading my ramblings.)

Also thinking about the Miami Half, but it's hard to imagine a world in which I'll feel comfortable going to Florida in January.
 
I think my running goal for 2021 is to learn to love running again. Because right now I'm really not there. And I know I used to love (or at least like it) running and I think it would be cool to get back there, because I haven't had that feeling in a long time.
(Also I'm going through old posts trying to figure out if I ever set run goals for 2020 and I miss baseball and going places. And also when this place was a fun community chat area. I love you all and miss our random chats, but still very much appreciate y'all being here and reading my ramblings.)

Also thinking about the Miami Half, but it's hard to imagine a world in which I'll feel comfortable going to Florida in January.

Sorry you are struggling to "love" running again. I have nothing useful to add, I'm sure. I will not even insist on telling you that it will be possible or that you even need to. Why put that pressure on anyone!

I think it's totally reasonable that, like with people, the nature of our relationship with running changes over time. Unlike with people, we get total control on what kind of relationship this can be...yippee!

For example, I have recently been in the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" phase. Now that I am beginning to start back up again I find it is scary, exhausting and somewhat disappointing. I also know, I can't judge my relationship with running going forward in terms of what it was in the past. I used to be speedy for my age and and am now slower, and I don't know if I really want to kill myself trying to get age-fast again. Point being--things change

Anyway, I hope you find what's best for you re: running.
 
Sorry you are struggling to "love" running again. I have nothing useful to add, I'm sure. I will not even insist on telling you that it will be possible or that you even need to. Why put that pressure on anyone!

I think it's totally reasonable that, like with people, the nature of our relationship with running changes over time. Unlike with people, we get total control on what kind of relationship this can be...yippee!

For example, I have recently been in the "absence makes the heart grow fonder" phase. Now that I am beginning to start back up again I find it is scary, exhausting and somewhat disappointing. I also know, I can't judge my relationship with running going forward in terms of what it was in the past. I used to be speedy for my age and and am now slower, and I don't know if I really want to kill myself trying to get age-fast again. Point being--things change

Anyway, I hope you find what's best for you re: running.

Thank you for sharing this!
My relationship with running has definitely changed a lot over the years. It's tough to accept sometimes, but I just have to find the right relationship for where I am in life.
 
I have run consistently since May and I don't even feel bad about it. I know I lost all my fitness gains, but that is okay. Between quarantine and transiting to a new normal in terms of work and life, I just didn't feel like running. Plus it was summer and it was hot and humid. Now that it has cooled off some and Fall is approaching, I am interested in getting back into it. I did find it hard this year to stay motivated without races so I joined a virtual challenge. It just started Monday and it has already been a huge motivator. This year has been nothing like have anyone expected it to be - lots of plans changed or canceled, way too much time at home. But I do hold hope that 2021 will be better once we get through the winter. And I learned it is not worth beating yourself up about something. Even though I didn't run all summer I did at home classes and went on lots of walks so I still felt active. Great thing about running is you can always pick it back up whenever you are ready.
 


COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "Start Strong, Fizzle Out" - August 31st - September 6th, 2020

Monday:
  • 7.72 mile run, 1:51:42 hours, 14:29 min/mi avg pace
  • barre3 online - 10-minute class
Tuesday:
  • barre3 with Jess Livestream - 60-minute class
Wednesday:
  • 3.06 mile run, 40:35 minutes, 13:15 min/mi avg pace
  • barre3 with Babette Livestream - 60-minute class
Thursday:
  • barre3 with Kelly Livestream - 60-minute class
  • 42 minute walk, 2.13 miles
Friday:
  • barre3 online - 30 minute class
Saturday:
  • Rest Day!
Sunday:
  • Unplanned Rest Day. I originally planned to wake up early to run but I needed the sleep.

Total Running:
2 runs, 10.78 miles, 2:32:17 hours

Total barre3:
3 Livestream classes
2 online classes
Total time: ~ 3:50 hours

Walks:
1 walk, 42 minutes

Healthy Eating:
What? Healthy eating? I'm not familiar.

Life:
Work was interesting last week, but nothing I couldn't handle. Went to my parents' for the weekend and then my sister (with my parents) Sunday/Monday, so that was nice. Other than that, nothing much doing. I'm very boring these days.
 
COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "No Planes, No Trains, Yes Automobiles" - September 7th - September 13th, 2020

Monday:
  • 39 minute walk, 2.02 miles - spent a decent chunk of the day in the car (Philly --> Allentown --> NYC), so I wanted to stretch my legs a little when I got back.
Tuesday:
  • 3.23 mile run, 44:39 minutes, 13:50 min/mi avg pace
  • barre3 with Lauren Livestream - 60-minute class
Wednesday:
  • 3.98 mile run, 52:02 minutes, 13:05 min/mi avg pace
  • barre3 online - 10-minute class
Thursday:
  • barre3 with Kelly Livestream - 60-minute class
Friday:
  • 2.00 mile run, 29:01 minutes, 14:29 min/mi avg pace
  • 21 minute walk, 1.12 miles
Saturday:
  • Rest Day!
Sunday:
  • barre3 with Vicky Livestream - 60-minute class
  • 38 minute walk, 2.00 miles - had to return shoes to the running store, so I made a walk out of it

Total Running:
3 runs, 9.21 miles, 2:05:42 hours

Total barre3:
3 Livestream classes
1 online classes
Total time: ~ 3:10 hours

Walks:
3 walk, 1:38:00 hours

Healthy Eating:
Still not great, but I'm trying not to stress out over it. My current focus is drinking lots of water.
I also ordered dinner tonight instead of reheating my leftovers, but I was exhausted (not a lot of sleep and a lightly busy day) so I'm okay with it. I'm trying to remind myself that I don't have to be anywhere near perfect and it's okay to just do what feels right even if it's not the healthiest choice (although I did go with plain grilled chicken rather than a breaded option, so that was good).

Life:
Mostly a decently good week. Things are moving along with some work things and while I don't agree with all the decisions made, I'm happy with how it's been overall, which is nice.
I had some exposure (thankfully distanced) to some idiots who weren't wearing masks in an indoor setting where masks are required, but I also saw and talked to some people I haven't seen since before the 'rona, so ... that was nice.
Like I said ... mostly a decently good week.
 


COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "Chaos Week" - September 14th - September 20th, 2020

Monday:
  • 2.89 mile run, 39:20 minutes, 13:37 min/mi avg pace
Tuesday:
  • barre3 with Katie Livestream - 60-minute class
Wednesday:
  • 8.84 mile run, 2:00:48 minutes, 13:40 min/mi avg pace
Thursday:
  • barre3 with Kelly Livestream - 60-minute class
Friday:
  • Unplanned Rest Day (just life stuff)
Saturday:
  • Rest Day!
Sunday:
  • 2.47 mile treadmill walk and run (kinda mixed it up - 1 min slow walk, 1 min fast walk, 2-3 mins run, 1 min fast walk, repeat), 36:01 minutes, 14:35 min/mi avg pace

Total Running:
3 runs, 14.20 miles, 3:16:09 hours

Total barre3:
2 Livestream classes
Total time: ~ 2:00 hours

Walks:
0 walks

Healthy Eating:
Not my best week, but honestly, I'm fine with it. I know I feel better when I make healthy choices, but sometimes it's not worth the stress.

Life:
Oh, this week.
I was on call at work. This was my 3rd(?) time being on call since I started this job (I'm on call once every 2-3 months or so). So far it hasn't been too bad, only 1-2 pages each time and all at reasonable times. There were 5 pages this on-call (one of them was on Rosh Hashanah when a colleague was covering for me), three of which were outside of normal working hours. One of them was at 1:24am. I WAS SLEEPING!!! Thankfully, it woke me up, and I acknowledged it so that it didn't escalate and wake up anyone else. That was fun.
And on top of that ... this weekend was Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) so there was cooking to be done. My mom broke her wrist (and had surgery last week), so I had to help with the cooking. Which I didn't mind, except that I also had work to do.
All's well that ends well, and things worked out okay (and my mom is doing better, but she still can't really use the broken wrist much), but it was a chaotic week. Definitely was less active than I planned, but considering everything else going on I'm totally fine with my activity level for the week.
 
this weekend was Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) so there was cooking to be done. My mom broke her wrist (and had surgery last week), so I had to help with the cooking. Which I didn't mind, except that I also had work to do.
All's well that ends well, and things worked out okay (and my mom is doing better, but she still can't really use the broken wrist much), but it was a chaotic week. Definitely was less active than I planned, but considering everything else going on I'm totally fine with my activity level for the week.
Adding my well wishes to your mom's recovery and I hope you enjoyed Rosh Hashanah.
 
528027
I don't know what you're talking about, I don't have a problem. (My friend bought 7 pairs)

Also, thanks everyone for the well-wishes for my mom! She's doing better, but definitely wishes she had full use of both wrists. So far it seems like recovery is going fairly well, though, so that's good.
 
COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "New Year, Same Sarah" - September 21st - September 27th, 2020

Monday:
  • Rest Day - I was fasting and the original plan was to do a short barre3 online class after the fast, but I wasn't feeling well so I skipped
Tuesday:
  • 3.36 mile run, 44:32 minutes, 13:16 min/mi pace - didn't get out of bed, did this one at lunch
Wednesday:
  • Unplanned rest day - Just dropped the ball on this one. Nothing else to say. When I forgot to set my run alarm I should have registered for 9am barre class but I didn't. Just a bad decision day.
Thursday:
  • 6.40 mile run, 1:25:36 hours, 13:22 min/mi avg pace
Friday:
  • barre3 with Jenna Livestream - 60 minute class
Saturday:
  • barre3 online - 10-minute class
Sunday:
  • barre3 online - 30-minute class
Total Running:
2 runs, 6.76 miles, 2:10:08 hours

Total barre3:
1 Livestream classes
2 online classes
Total time: ~ 1:40 hours

Walks:
0 walks

Healthy Eating:
Not great, but could be worse

Life:
Just busy. Nothing super exciting. My mom is doing better and work is busy. I'm probably not taking as much time for myself as I should, but I will try to be better about that this week.
 
New Balance Wear Test: Thoughts

About three years ago, I signed up as a shoe tester for New Balance. At the time I had recently gotten my first pair of New Balance shoes and thought it would be cool to try out new shoes. But I never heard from them again.

A little over a month ago I got an email from New Balance saying that I was enrolled in a wear test. I logged into the New Balance product testing website, and it turns out they had the wrong shoe size (my first few pairs of NB shoes were a half size smaller than what I wear now) and the wrong address (remember how I moved 2 years ago?). So there was that. Looking at the shoe test, they wanted an average of 20 miles per week for a total of 80 miles over 4 weeks. It has been a long time since I ran 20 miles in a week or 80 miles in a month (in fact ... it's probably been about a year).

So let's review. The shoes, which are a half size too small, are being sent to my parents' house, where I won't be until labor day weekend, and I'm planning to run no more than half the mileage they're looking for over the course of the wear test. I'm definitely not the shoe tester they're looking for here. But since there was no opportunity to opt-out of the test, I guess I was testing these shoes.

I'm not going to talk about the shoes themselves, mostly because I don't know if I'm supposed to, but also because it's not really relevant. I did want to share a bit about the process.

The shoes arrived in a fairly boring New Balance box, which contained the shoes and a return label. The shoes were in a bag with a label (that had contact info for the study coordinator) and had some sort of tags on them. The first thing I was supposed to do was complete a survey about how they fit, so I put on the shoes (which were too small) and wore them a bit, then filled out the survey while wearing the shoes.

Next came the actual testing. I wore them for a few walks and all of my shorter runs. Didn't want to wear them for longer runs because they were too small. I ended up with about 20 of the requested 80 miles ... so not great. But okay.

Before I returned them, I had to fill out another survey (much more detailed) about running in them - how they felt, how they performed, did they last, was anything uncomfortable, etc. There werea lot of questions but I got through them. Then all I had to do was put them back in the box, put on the shipping label (which came with them), and drop them off at a UPS drop-off location (which my dad did for me). Returning was definitely an easy process.

I think this would have been a different experience had I gotten a bigger size and had I had them from the beginning of the period when I was supposed to test them. Right now, I'm not sure that I'd want to do this again, but if I do end up doing it again, I might have a better experience.

I probably won't be buying these shoes when they come out. Although I wasn't inclined to buy them anyway.
 
COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "It's Okay To Fail" - September 28th - October 4th, 2020

Monday:
  • Rest Day
Tuesday:
  • 2.60 mile run, 35:29 minutes, 13:40 min/mi avg pace
Wednesday:
  • barre3 with Kimberly Livestream - 60-minute class - my first time taking a class from one of the instructors at the parent studio. Kimberly was great.
Thursday:
  • 0.42 mile run, 5:01 minutes, 11:58 min/mi avg pace
  • 3.56 mile run, 50:01 minutes, 14:03 min/mi avg pace
Friday:
  • Rest Day
Saturday:
  • Rest Day
Sunday:
  • barre3 online - 10-minute class
Total Running:
2 (ish) runs, 6.58 miles, 1:30:31 hours

Total barre3:
1 Livestream classes
1 online classes
Total time: ~ 1:10 hours

Walks:
0 walks

This week was not what I wanted it to be, but that's okay. I have a lot going on, and I made the decision to put family and work before myself and I'm totally okay with that. It was what the week needed.

Healthy Eating:
Meh

Life:
A lot going on. My mom has gone from a sprint to a brace on her wrist, which is a big improvement. Today she was able to cut salad vegetables without me. So that's good.
People, on the other hand ... sigh. I'm done with people.
 
COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "Princess of China" - October 5th - October 11th, 2020

Monday:
  • 3.32 mile run, 41:31 minutes, 12:30 min/mi avg pace
Tuesday:
  • barre3 with Katie Livestream - 60-minute class
Wednesday:
  • 4.07 mile, 56:21 minutes, 13:51 avg pace. This was originally supposed to be a 7-8 mile run, but it got cut short by timing + just not feeling it. Walked most of the last mile. But still got it done!
Thursday:
  • barre3 with Kelly Livestream - 60-minute class
Friday:
  • 2.52 mile run, 31:06 minutes, 12:19 min/mi avg pace. This was an Aaptiv guided tempo interval run called "A Rush of Blood to the Legs". This was my first Aaptiv run (I have access through work for the month) and it took me a few tries to find a run I liked, but this was a great one. I'm definitely not in tempo shape (my fast pace was like 12 min/mi), but overall this was pretty good. Although tempo in the mask is not the same as easy running in the mask, so I'm not sure how much tempo I'll be able to do for a while because people don't like to stay 6 feet away from me.
Saturday:
  • Rest Day
Sunday:
  • Rest Day
Total Running:
3 runs, 9.61 miles, 2:08:58 hours

Total barre3:
2 Livestream classes
0 online classes
Total time: ~ 2:00 hours

Walks:
0 walks

This was actually a pretty good week. 3 runs for the first time in a while (including my first tempo run since February). 2 barre classes. Saturday was planned as a rest day and Sunday was dependent on some things, and I ended up not having time for anything. I wish I had gotten in a long run, but overall, I'm happy with how the week went.

Healthy Eating:
Snacked less than the previous few weeks, but made worse snacking decisions. So overall, a draw.

Life:
After almost a month with my family, I ended the week back at my apartment. It's good to be back (my monitor!!!!), but also feeding myself and shopping for myself takes a lot of effort. I already did a fresh direct order because it was supposed to rain. So that's where I'm at right now.
Work stuff is good. I've been on a big project that's launching next week, which is stressful but also super exciting. I've already been very busy with that today but I'm trying to balance it with taking time to relax and enjoy being back at the apartment.
Overall, I think I'm doing okay, all things considered.
 
Shoes: An Update

A few weeks ago (I think, time has no meaning), I wrote about the shoes I wear tested for New Balance. As I may have mentioned, I was at my parents' for almost a month. I only brought two pairs of shoes to the house with me - the test shoes and my Nike Pegasus - so once the test shoes were returned, I was left with one pair of shoes. I didn't run as much as I planned at the house, but I did put enough miles on the shoes to get them over 250 miles, so I figured it was time to start looking at new shoes. I don't have a specific problem with the Pegasus (or as I call them, Pegs), but I also don't love them, so I decided to head over to the running store to try out shoes.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from shoe fitting in the COVID-era, but it really wasn't that different than in the non-COVID era. Which is maybe not great. But okay.

The first thing the salesperson did was ask me to stand on a thing that measured my feet and where I put pressure when standing (spoiler alert: I have high arches). Then we talked a bit what I'm currently wearing and what I like, and he brought out three pairs of shoes for my to try: the newest Pegasus, the Brooks Ghost, and a surprise (which was the Saucony Kinvara, which I've wanted to try for a while).

I started with the Ghosts. They felt good - a nice mixture of cushioning and responsiveness. The Kinvaras were okay, but I felt like I was landing very heavy in them, which probably meant not enough support. The Pegasus were way too big and I felt like I was running out of them. The salesperson brought out a smaller size, and I had the same problem.

At this point, the Ghosts were the front-runner, but I wanted to try them on the treadmill. (Spoiler alert: nobody wiped down the treadmill before or after I ran on it. But I hand sanitized.). At first they were okay, but after a minute I got some shin pain on my left side (where, granted, I was dealing with a boo-boo on the back of my foot). So it was back to the drawing board.

The next shoe I tried was the Saucony Triumph, and I was landing on the outside of my foot in those (I think overpronating ... I always mix up over and under). So that was a no. Then we tried the Nike React Infinity ... damn those shoes are fast. They mostly felt good, except that they were digging into my arches a bit (which is weird because I have high arches). I tried them with my insoles on the treadmill, and I still felt that digging into my arch. So those were a no. But they were fast, and I kinda really wished they had worked. Seriously fast shoe.

At this point the guy I was dealing with had to leave, so he asked someone else to take over, and suggested that he bring me the Asics Gel Nimbus. The new guy brought out the Gel Nimbus and the Gel Culumus. I tried the Nimbus first and they were a bit heavy for me. I tried the Cumulus and they felt great. Tried them again with my insoles and they were amazing. Tried them on the treadmill and no problems. So those were the winners.

It took 8 shoes and staying past closing, but I finally found the shoe (there were a bunch of color options but I think this is the one that's least like anything I've had before):
1012A741_020_SR_RT_GLB

I still haven't run in them. Hopefully Monday. I'm hoping they work (it's been a hot minute since I ran in Asics, but I started in Asics so I'm kinda excited to be back in them). If they don't, I may try the Ghost again just to see if they feel better on the road, but I'm hoping these are the shoes and it doesn't come to that.

Also at one point the guy helping me was also helping another runner and the runner said "I don't know if this matters, but when I run I run slowly, like 12:00 min/mi" and the store employee said, "running is running". Yes, running is running, and pace doesn't matter.
 
COVID-19 Wellness Focus - Week "Back to Normal" - October 12th - October 18th, 2020

Monday:
  • barre3 with Jess Livestream - 60-minute class
Tuesday:
  • 2.55 mile run, 31:58 minutes, 12:32 min/mi avg pace - another Aaptiv run! I like these Aaptiv guided runs, but I don't know that I like them enough to pay for a subscription. They do make me want to get back to tempo work, though. Gotta figure that out.
Wednesday:
  • 8.00 mile run, 1:48:46 hours, 13:36 avg pace - first long run in a while ... felt good
Thursday:
  • barre3 with Kelly Livestream - 60-minute class
  • 27 minute walk, 1.48 miles
Friday:
  • 2.15 mile run, 29:44 minutes, 13:48 min/mi avg pace - Aaptiv recovery run
Saturday:
  • 35 minute walk, 1.80 miles
  • barre3 Instagram workout (originally recorded Friday) - 10-minute class
Sunday:
  • barre3 with Vicky Livestream - 60-minute class
  • 43 minute walk, 2.5 miles
Total Running:
3 runs, 12.70 miles, 2:50:28 hours

Total barre3:
3 Livestream classes
1 Instagram class (later)
0 online classes
Total time: ~ 3:10 hours

Walks:
3 walks, 1:45 hours

Busy week, but a good one. Back to long runs. Back to 3 barre3 livestreams a week. Back to taking walks. It's good to be back.

Healthy Eating:
Probably made some wrong snacking decisions, but otherwise decent.

Life:
This week was crazy work stuff, but in a good way. We're nearing the end of a big project at work and there was a lot of work and stress trying to get it all done in time. But it's in a good place and I've got wine to celebrate the big launch. Despite a difficult week ... things are good. And I feel like I'm moving towards a good routine.
Things are good.
 
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We also went and bought new shoes this weekend. My husband feels your shoe pain. He always runs in New Balance and of course they changed the shoe styles up. He must have had to try on 8 different pairs. He did finally find one he liked. Meanwhile I only run in Pegasus so I was done in 5 minutes as they had a pair on clearance that fit great although they are bright orange.
 

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