Ohhh hey.

So apparently I went into Christmas mode and decided to neglect this thing. Well the good news is, despite neglecting the blog, I haven't been neglecting my workouts. I spent Christmas in New Jersey with my family and, happily, my parents have their own little gym. That means that I got to run on a treadmill everyday I was down there, and I also got to use weight machines. They also have a stationary bike and an elliptical, but I'm anti-elliptical and I couldn't get my stride on a different-feeling bike, so I got fed up with it. It was a great time overall, and the fact that I didn't have to sacrifice workouts was the cherry on top. Especially since I did NOT eat healthily while I was there - if you ate my mom's cooking, you'd understand. She's legit the best cook in the world.

Now I'm back in New Hampshire, and a couple things have happened. One, Jake joined the gym! I'll slowly turn everyone in my life into gym rats.. just give me time. Two, I kicked a wall in the pool really hard. I went on Wednesday and got there early just to make sure I would get my own lane, and ten minutes later there was a massive influx of people. I guess some people have this week off or something, but it was really freaking annoying. I wound up having to share my lane, and anytime this happens I usually wind up kicking a wall. Usually it's a small scrape but this time it split open the skin below my pinky toe and has a very pretty bruise on it. And it hurts. This was taken about ten minutes after getting out of the pool - it's a little blacker now with a more noticeable red mark where it opened up.


Good times. The good news is, despite being in pain and frustrated out of my mind, I still finished 1000 yards and then high tailed it out of there. I'd kind of wanted to do a mile, but since I'd already gotten in a full workout pre-pool, I was fine with 1000. Hopefully the pool will be emptier next week when everyone goes back to work.

I took yesterday off, and not intentionally. I decided to stay up really late on wednesday night for no apparent reason, so I let myself sleep in. I kind of intended to get to the gym, but it would've been my seventh day in a row of working out and my body could use a small break. We saw Jake's parents last night and had a delicious (and not nutritious) dinner, so I definitely had to work out today.

I allowed myself to sleep in today, mainly because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to stay up till midnight tonight. So Jake and I went to the gym and I got a new PR on the bike - 20 miles in 48 minutes. It felt good other than the knee pain it caused, and therefore, I'm currently in an ice bath. I also kicked my butt with arm weights, but I'm not going to fully submerge into the ice bath. My arms will be fine without the ice! Oh, and Kalila is helping me take a bath (slash wondering why the heck I'm in her favorite hang out spot.


Tonight we're going out with friends and tomorrow around noon I'm running the 30th Annual Hangover Classic in Salisbury, MA. It's just a 5k, but it'll be a nice way to start the new year. It ends with an (optional but I'm totally doing it) ocean plunge - I'm thinking my ice baths will have prepared me for it. It'll be fun.

Lastly, tonight/tomorrow is our three year anniversary. I bought Jake a pretty awesome present, but I don't think it'll get here in time - so he'll have to be patient. But really that means that I'll have to be patient, because I love giving people presents and I want him to have it NOW. And for all of you who followed the drama of refinishing the dresser for his Christmas present, here is the before and after. I'm pretty pleased! The pain was worthwhile in the end. :)




Happy New Year, everyone!

Cracked.

Last night (actually at like midnight because time got away from me yesterday) I did 16 miles on the bike and pushed myself fairly hard. But despite wanting to keep going, my bad knee said "nope, you're done." So I struggled through my sixteenth mile, collapsed on the couch for a while, and contemplated bringing ice to bed with me. Until I stood up. Once I stood up I realized how stiff and sore both of my legs were, and realized that there was really only one choice: ice bath.

I've been putting off ice baths for a while. In all of my running training and tri training, I've read a lot about ice baths. Marathoners do them regularly, and other athletes find them beneficial. But sitting in a tub of cold water for 20 minutes? There's really nothing that sounds less appealing to me. It always makes me think about the scene in The Secret Garden when the kid has been using his atrophied muscles too much and they force him into an ice bath. Get that? I equate it with torture. I'm the type of person who takes long hot leisurely showers because I CAN and would rather skip showers than take a remotely chilly one. So for me to take a bath that LITERALLY has ice in it? You've got to be freaking kidding me.


But I did it. I sat in that tub for twenty minutes. The first three minutes were the worst. I was shaking so bad that my back was starting to hurt and I realized that I need to just chill out (hahah, punny. ...Sorry.) and let the ice do its magic. So I relaxed. And yes, the ice bath sucked. I'm never going to tell you that it's FUN to sit in a tub of ice. However, I vibrated my way into a hot shower after that (since I was still in need of washing my workout off) and even though the difference in water temperature made it feel like my skin was melting off, I realized that I already felt a big improvement. I assumed it was just because I was numb, finished my shower, and got in bed.

And then I woke up this morning. I could MOVE. My legs didn't hurt at all and my bad knee, while feeling a little stiff, felt FINE.

So that's that. I'm officially a believer. I'm officially going to be one of those crazy idiots who willingly takes baths in ice. I get it now, and I'm in. And I officially feel like an athlete... and a whackjob.