The Road to Dopey: Week 21 - The Texas Rainy Season

May Miles to Date: 23.3
May Average Pace: 14:08
2016 Miles to Date: 134.6
Yoga/Strength Training Sessions this week: 4
Streak Day: 36 (Maximum: 36)
The American 200: 124.6/200 (9/16/16 Deadline)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 22.4 miles (Leg 1 - Complete!)

I did the best I could this week. My Thursday run became yoga because I woke up to thunder and lightning. And the gym is still on intercession hours. Which is inconvenient. I had intended to run Friday instead, but I woke up to thunder and lightning again. So I did more yoga/strength training. Yesterday I had intended to run 7 miles, but I got sick at 1.6 miles and went back out for 2.5 more. I had intended to run 3 more this morning. But I woke up to an imminent thunderstorm.

We're in the middle of the Texas rainy season, and while I'm grateful that the worst we've gotten is that I haven't been able to run as much as I'd like, it's still getting annoying. At least the summer session starts soon, which means that the gym will be open in the mornings again.

I got the go ahead to schedule my defense this week, which is awesome but terrifying. I've been working on my dissertation non-stop since then, writing what needs to be written. I'll have the first draft completed this week, which feels incredible and terrifying. I'm going to need the run so much in the next few weeks.

I also completed the first leg of my Alice virtual race yesterday. It took a little longer than I thought because of the rain and the back tracking in my training, but I still did it! I'll be registering for leg 2 (White Rabbit) this week, after payday.

That's really all I know. Today I'm taking a mental break and not working on my dissertation. I think I need it, and have earned it. Lounging, crafting, and Harry Potter weekend. Yep, sounds great!

Training plan for the week:
Monday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Strength Training
Tuesday: 3.1 miles
Wednesday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Yoga Tone
Thursday: 3.1 miles
Friday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Strength Training
Saturday: 9 miles

The Road to Dopey: Week 20 - Let's back up...

May Miles to Date: 16.1
May Average Pace: 14:04
2016 Miles to Date: 127.4
Yoga/Strength Training Sessions this week: 3
Streak Day: 29 (Maximum: 29)
The American 200: 117.4/200 (9/16/16 Deadline)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 16.1 miles (Leg 1)

This week I realized I have to back my training up a bit. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday saw excellent yoga sessions. I still have problems fitting in both yoga and strength training sometimes, but hopefully this week will be better! Every week that goes by, I get better at getting up and getting to it and I'm currently on Streak Day 29!!!!!! I am experiencing the desire to not restart that counter more and more each day...the higher that number gets...the harder it is to give up.

Tuesday I did my normal 2.5 mile loop and Thursday I decided to forgo hill training and run my 5K for the Virtual Running Shorts runDisney Challenge. It also let me road test my new Garmin Forerunner 235! I think I'm really going to love using this as I increase my training mileage because I won't have to worry about the battery life on my phone! Plus it's a smart watch and pedometer, which means I can wear it all the time. Which means, lately, I've taken to wearing two watches. I'm eccentric.  What can I say...

The 13 miler I was supposed to do yesterday turned into a 5 miler. I just didn't have 13 in me. And that's when I realized...I haven't run 13 miles since March, when I PR'd the Bearathon. Worse than that, I have run further than 4 miles since March. So I've decided to backtrack my training just a little bit and build back up to 13 miles and then keep going with the training as it is written. So this coming weekend I'll do 7 miles. Then 9. Then 11. Then 13. Then I'll pick up where I'm leaving off.

Otherwise, things are going okay. Everyone say a little prayer, if you're so inclined. I may be able to schedule my defense soon if certain things happen this week. I also applied for a place to live when I move, so hopefully I'll hear on that this week too. My time in Texas is slowly coming to and end and I have mixed feelings about that.

I'm probably going to be finishing up the first leg of Alice this week as well. I'm thinking about increasing my weekday runs to 5K length, just to increase my normal endurance. And since I'll be increasing my weekend mileage, it only makes sense to up my endurance during the week as well. Alice only has 6.3 miles left, so I want to split that between Tuesday and Thurday and then start Leg 2 (White Rabbit) with my 7 mile run on Saturday.

Training plan for the week:
Monday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Strength Training
Tuesday: 3.1 miles
Wednesday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Yoga Tone
Thursday: 3.2 miles
Friday: Runner's Yoga, Yoga Abs, Strength Training
Saturday: 7 miles

The Road to Dopey: Week 19 - Virtual Reality

May Miles to Date: 5.5
May Average Pace: 14:37
2016 Miles to Date: 116.8
Yoga/Strength Training Sessions this week: 4
Streak Day: 22 (Maximum: 22)
The American 200: 106.77/200 (9/16/16 Deadline: 41 miles ahead of schedule)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: 5.5 miles (Leg 1)

A lightning storm yesterday morning (coupled with the gym being closed for the intersession) killed my plans to run 13 miles. But otherwise, I stayed on plan all week. And when my plans were ruined yesterday, I just adjusted the plan. I did a new yoga sequence (Yoga Tone...man was that intense!) instead. I know it wasn't the same workout as 13 miles, but at least I did something. And it kept my workout streak alive. As predicted it's becoming "the norm" and everyday I wake up and consider not doing a workout, I'm motivated by the fact the counter will reset to 1 if I don't...

I'm also discovering more about the world of virtual racing. Not being able to race for bling is sad after a year of bling earning. But I know financially and logistically, I can't be traveling like I did in 2015 for races. And I need to focus on my training if I want Dopey 2018 to be a reality. So I'm warming up to the idea of the virtual race. Especially ones that are mileage challenges. Like the Texas 200 that I completed in March, or the American 200, which I'm currently completing. 

I signed up for the first leg of a new challenge this week: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. This is a 6 part Challenge, with each leg a different length. The first leg is 22.4 miles, and I'm currently 5.5 miles in. Next weekend, I also have the first race of the Virtual Running Shorts coming up. The Yellow Shoe race event started today and I have until June 1 to complete it. My plan for completing it is including in my plan for the week below. 

I'm so proud of myself for sticking with my streak this week, especially after a week on vacation. It would have been really easy for me to not get back to it, but if anything, Disney inspired me to continue working toward my next runDisney race.

This week, I think I'm going to shake up my MWF routine, since I'm exploring my yoga possibilities. I'm excited to see how it goes. Let y'all know next week!

Plan for the week:

• Monday: Runner's Yoga, Quick Abs Yoga Workout, Strength Training
• Tuesday: 2.5 mile maintenance run (All miles for Alice's Adventures)
• Wednesday: Runner's Yoga, Quick Abs Yoga, Yoga Tone
• Thursday: 3 miles (Hill workout! All miles for Alice)
• Friday: Runner's Yoga, Quick Abs Yoga Workout, Strength Training
• Saturday: 13 mile training run (3.1 miles to Yellow Shoe Virtual 5K, 9.9 miles to Alice)

The Road to Dopey: Week 18 - A week off doesn't mean no miles!

May Miles to Date: 0
May Average Pace: ---
2016 Miles to Date: 111.3
Yoga/Strength Training Sessions this week: 0
Streak Day: 15 (Maximum: 15)
The American 200: 101.27/200 (9/16/16 Deadline: 50 miles ahead of schedule)

I spent the week at Disney World and had so much fun! It was a much needed vacation and celebration, and I feel ready to finish my PhD now. Not that I haven't been ready for a while, mind you....

I don't have  a lot to report this week. You may have noticed that my American 200 miles jumped quite a bit...that's because I decided to count my Disney walking miles because I think it was really impressive that I walked over 60 miles this week.

This doesn't include the 6 miles from our arrival day. 

This week I plan to:
-Monday, Wednesday, Friday: Yoga/Strength
-Tuesday: 2.5 miles
-Thursday: 3 miles (with hills)
-Saturday: 13 miles

Wish me luck! Let's get back to it!

The Road to Dopey: Week 17 - Making the most before a week off

I forgot to publish this Sunday, but here it is! See you in two days to talk about this week!!!


April Miles to Date: 16.5
April Average Pace: 14:16
2016 Miles to Date: 111.3
Yoga/Strength Training Sessions this week: 3
Streak Day: 8 (Maximum: 9)
The American 200: 37.3 mi/200 (9/16/16 Deadline: 12.5 miles behind schedule)

Dopey went on sale this week. And it didn't sell out right away. Which made me want to register all the more. But I know two things: 1) I cannot afford it yet and 2) I can't guarantee that I can devote my training time. I know I'm going to do my best once I move, but I don't want 48.6 miles hanging over my head. And I would prefer to get one more year to get a proper Proof of Time and proper training.

But I did get to register for the new Virtual Race series runDisney announced. I'm finally coming around to the virtual races...not all, but some. I like the rD ones just because it's an organization I like and support and if I can't race at Disney until 2018, at least I can race for Disney. And I like the longer distance ones like the Texas 200 or the American 200 I'm doing now because there is a degree of accountability to it. It's exciting to have "races" again on my calendar. My mom registered for them too, which was so exciting! I hadn't told her, but I was hoping I could convince her to do a 5K the next time we do a rD weekend, and this is certainly a step in the right direction!

I made both my runs this week. I went to the gym on Tuesday thanks to humidity and needing to get it in earlier than the sun is currently coming up since I'll be gone all next week, but I did it nonetheless. Thursday I woke up with a small headache (thanks a lot allergies), but I decided to go out anyway and I'm glad I did because I actually felt better when I was done! It still amazes me how that works.

I did all my yoga/strength training this week too. I did most of them at night, which seemed to work really well. 1) It really helped me let go of my day and 2) it worked really good for my schedule. I may have to try and keep this up in the future.

But for now, it's time to make some more magical memories with my mom (that don't involve 3 am wake up calls!). See y'all next week!