Monday, March 25, 2013

Weekly Goals and Workout Recap: Beating the Blues

Hello and happy Monday!

Last week, despite being my spring break, was kind of rough. After Katie left on Tuesday, my mood just plummeted. I was really sore and my pinkeye came back in the other eye, along with nasty cold symptoms, so I was SUCH A GRUMP. We had another friend come visit for four days, and while I loved seeing him, having a guest in our 600 sq ft apartment for 8 days straight was kind of tough.

Guests in my home = I can't chill like Mason.
It's not polite to lie like this when you have guests since open-air genitals are a bit awkward. 
Are you ever a bitch (or dick, let's be gender-neutral) and hate yourself for acting that way? I was there a lot last week. I was desperate for a nap by 3 PM. I was snappy and irritable and just did not want to be in NYC. I was such a delight. And every time I'd snap, almost entirely at Sourabh, I'd be like, "ahhh why am I being like this?"

Normally I go for a run when I'm in a bad mood and that clears it up immediately. I call those runs my "therapy runs." But since my body was in no shape to be running on Tuesday or Wednesday, that just wasn't an option.

Thankfully my ghoulish mood went away by Friday morning. I think my body was just really exhausted and sick, and the grey and cold weather didn't help. Clearly I'm recovered from my bitchy blues since today there is snow on the forecast and I am nevertheless feeling pretty cheerful.

It also helped that the weekend was lots of fun! Sourabh and I went to Boulud Sud to take advantage of their weekday lunch deal, which was really tasty, and I got to spend the rest of Friday decompressing and resting since he went to NJ for the weekend to visit his parents.

Saturday I did a ton of decorating (post on that to come!) before having dinner with Ashley and then heading to Dori's birthday party. So much blog friend fun!!

Beth, Dori, Leticia, Theodora, me, Liz
(credit: Dori)
And the perfect conclusion to the weekend? Sourabh getting home on Sunday with eight containers of homemade Indian food. COME TO MAMA.


Some of it is stuff you've probably never seen unless you've eaten in an Indian home, since most Indian restaurants are much creamier and less veggie-heavy than normal Indian cooking. It's actually a lot healthier than most of the stuff you see in restaurants!

Since I was recovering from the NYC Half, I have no real workout recap, so I'm just posting my goals for this week. But first, a quick announcement!


Kick Ass Virtual 5K
Abby of Run Stronger Every Day is hosting a virtual 5K to benefit Team Challenge on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. Abby's blogs about running, training, and her personal experience with ulcerative colitis. She is SO inspiring, and I am so excited to participate in her virtual 5K!

Please join me in donating $15 and supporting Team Challenge, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America's fundraising and endurance training program. Check it out here!


This Week's Goals
Unfortunately, during Sunday's short run with Katherine I experienced some knee pain. I'd felt it a bit on my 1 mile run on Saturday to test out the legs, but it only occurred after I stopped running. This time, the nagging knee pain started after a mile and wouldn't go away, growing a bit worse even, so I called the run short at 3.7 miles.

So this week will be focused on cross-training -- yoga, strength training, and potentially a spin class -- and hopefully by the weekend I'll be recovered and able to run!

• 2-3 yoga classes/practices (based on how my knee feels in today's class)
• 3 strength training sessions (nothing involving jumping)
• 2 cross-training sessions (elliptical, spin, etc. - whatever feels ok on the knee)

As you might have noticed, I'm being super cautious! I've never had knee pain so I'm hoping it's just tired and that more rest and ice should have it cured quickly.





How long does it take you to recover from a goal race? Have you ever had a nasty mood you couldn't shake for a few days?

8 comments:

  1. I find myself grouchy when my schedule gets out of wack and I can't control it. Or such as Saturday post race I walked with a disclaimer of "I'm in a crap mood ask me about the half at your own risk".
    I need lots of alone time when in a foul mood it is the only thing that helps, I need to sort out the WHY and then plan how to change it.
    I went on a longish 8 miler yesterday to shake out the half. I play each recovery by ear and just listen to my body. The marathon was really the only time I took off more than a day or two!

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    1. I can definitely get grouchy when things don't go as planned or according to schedule! And I don't blame you, sounds like Saturday's race was a mes.

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  2. Glad you are back to feeling more normal! Guests can be stressful because you want to be happy but it can be exhausting! I have knee pain too (inner left knee) and could barely run 2 miles yesterday. What's up with us?!

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    1. I'm having it on my inner right kneecap! So weird. I guess our bodies aren't happy!

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  3. Sometimes my mood goes so far south that I just can't stand the idea of exposing other people to my bitter irrational grumpiness. So I stay in. And this usually makes things worse. Running helps break the cycle though! So does reading and writing papers, which makes me feel a sense of accomplishment. It's nice to see a blogger post something normal and genuine! Thanks!

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    1. Thanks! I felt a bit awkward posting about it, but hey, I try to keep it real ;) Reading is a good idea, and that was how I tried to decompress last week when I couldn't run.

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  4. Mmmm, homemade Indian food for the win! Good call being cautious with your knee--there's no reason to push now and end up injured. Enjoy cross training this week! And see you tomorrow! :)

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    1. That's my thought! Can't wait to catch up!

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