Author: Agata

Mom with a 9-5 job who is trying to run a marathon in every state and decided to pick up triathlons as the next challenge.

Knee pain

by Agata, posted in Health

Since I already covered the most common type of pain for cyclists (lower back), it’s only fair to discuss problem pretty much every runner has to deal with sooner or later: knee pain. I suffer from it on occasion, especially after particularly long runs. Based on what I have read, other than acute injuries (like spraining your knee) and illnesses (like arthritis), there are four main sources of knee pain. Disclaimer: if your joints are swollen, things are not healing or if you are really concerned, go see a doctor.

Strained calf muscle

I’m definitely starting with the easiest one… Pain in the back of your knee is most likely to be caused by strained calf muscle. I guess that could actually count as an acute injury… This one is just full of good news: just let your leg rest, some ice and if you want to get fancy, deep tissue massage will help.

Patellar tendon strain

Patellar tendon is the one that connects your knee cap to your shinbone. You will usually feel it as you push off during running and the pain exacerbates on hills. You can solve the problem in the short term by using straps below your knee or through patellar taping. Ice and rest are always a runner’s go-to and it may grant you relief. However, over time, the problem may increase to the point that every attempt at running hurts. Figuring out the problem and finding a long term solution is better. Overpronation and weak gluteal or medial quad muscles contribute to the problem. First thing you should look at are your running shoes. Speaking from experience: if you are not tracking mileage on your shoes, you may find out that they are worn out and don’t provide you with sufficient support by developing pain in your knees. Also, not having shoes that correct for your overpronation can lead to pain in your knees. Fortunately, that’s an easy fix and all it takes is either a trip to a store or online order. The other issue takes longer to resolve. You may need to focus on your glutes and quads at the gym (yes, don’t skip your legs at the gym!). Stretching quads and hamstrings will also help avoid developing strain in you patellar tendon.

Illotibial band syndrome

Isn’t that a fancy name? It has to do with inflammation of the illotibial band or bursa (fluid sack in your knee) getting squeezed by the illotibial band (I wonder how many times I have to write ‘illotibial’ before I remember the word?). It tends to get worse the more you run/ the further you go and on hills. There are some temporary fixes, like icing your knee or straps and taping. However, as per usual, that won’t really fix the problem, just kick the can down the road. Oh, another piece of advice I just ‘loved’: avoid running on hills. Well, outside of a treadmill and track, I am not sure how you’d achieve that. So the first step in truly addressing the problem is making sure you have good/proper running shoes. The next one is in case one of your legs is shorter than the other (I assume they are referring to more significant amount, since most of us have some small difference in leg length), put lifts in your shoe on your shorter leg. Have you already guessed what the real solution is for vast majority of us? You are right: hit the gym and work on your leg strength. You should focus on your glutes and core muscle to help with this.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome

This is what most of us think when we say runner’s knee. Runner’s knee is pain under the knee cap. It gets worse after running and when walking up and down the stairs (remember that after some of your long runs?). It happens when the patella (fancy name for the knee cap) moves out of alignment, causing irritation to the cartilage. You usually get here when your mechanics during the run are off. For immediate relief, anti inflammatory meds and ice will help. You can reduce mileage and cross-train during the recovery. But the truth is that at the end of the day, you need to do something about your mechanics. From what I have learned from Diana (my personal goddess of sports), the reason why you develop this problem during your long runs is because your step becomes off as your muscle tires. It happened to me in the worst possible way during my Philly marathon due to my hip problem – I was subconsciously adjusting my stride to take pressure off my left hip, creating awkward stride and putting stress on my left knee. Yes, it hurt. A lot. Have you guessed already what the fix to this problem is? Yes, you guessed it! Strength training for your legs. Gluteus medius and quads to be precise. And don’t forget to stretch your hips and hamstrings!

When doing my research and even more so while writing this post, I was just seeing the recurring theme: make sure you have good shoes and hit the gym. At the gym, it’s easy to get an impression that many people skip the leg days (chicken legs anybody?) because they either only care about the appearance of their upper body or they think that their legs are taken care of because they run/bike enough. Clearly, working on strong legs is essential to avoiding knee problems. I am adding exercises for avoiding knee pain to my list of workout videos I need to create!

March 18 – 24

by Agata, posted in Calendars

Are you wondering why I had a 16 minute workout on Friday evening and then nothing all weekend? Well, remember my daughter’s stomach bug? Yeah… I am planning on doing strength training with my trainer today (Monday), but I am not sure how it will go. The best I can say for right now is that I am able to eat again. What a nightmare! The weather is back to being beautiful though and I am hoping to go back to running the last 6 miles to the office and biking from my train station to the office. So, obviously, it’s supposed to be absolutely freezing overnight! I might need to wait another week for the biking, but maybe running can happen on Wednesday? I will let you know in a week!

March 11 – 17

by Agata, posted in Calendars

Took me long enough to post… Despite beautiful weather, I didn’t get to train much. First, it was a board meeting, which kept me occupied from early morning until late at night. And then came Friday night… My daughter went to a late night event and when I picked her up, she looked off. I assumed that it was too much St. Patrick’s day fun. Oh, how wrong I was… Stomach bug! So she spent the weekend sick and I was going between taking care of her, cleaning up and trying to get a little bit of rest. That was more brutal than a marathon!

Should runners stretch?

by Agata, posted in Health

Since I have mentioned that cyclists should stretch in the article about back pain while riding, I think it’s time to talk about stretching for runners. It’s been a highly contentious subject, but I got a sense from the internet that YES is currently the official answer, although there are some ‘buts’ to it.

Let’s start with the only article I have found that started with a NO. It was from ABC News and started with a story of a lady who used to stretch before running and get injured frequently. As I kept reading along, I realized that it actually echoes information I have read elsewhere, just coming from the negative side.

The point that all sides converge at is that there are different types of stretches and whether they are a good idea is when you do them. The first type of stretching is static. That’s the one where you stretch out a muscle and hold a position. There are dynamic stretches, where you repeat the movements without holding. Some of us (at the risk of dating myself) have been told in the past that dynamic stretching is bad and can cause tears in your muscle. This has been disproved since, provided that you don’t do them so hard that you are causing yourself pain (to be fair: whatever you are doing, if you are causing actual pain, you are probably doing too much/going too hard).

Dynamic stretching
Static stretching

In all the articles I have read, they have discouraged doing static stretching before running. And that’s where ABC News story was coming from – person who was doing static stretches before running. Further research into the subject told me that the biggest problem coming from static stretching before running came from decreased performance. Explanations included tiring out muscle; inhibiting nerve contraction, which leads to lower speed; and worse run economy. Further studies have shown that the decreased running economy impacted only untrained runners, but isn’t majority of us here amateurs? Having already said all these bad things about static stretching, I feel a need to mention that it’s not all bad. It’s just not for before going for a run. In the long run, it will help with your range of motion and some common aches and pains. Also: I dare you not to do any stretching after a marathon. Actually, please don’t. It’s a figure of speech. Have you seen people wobbling around bent in not-so-natural poses after long runs? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Static stretching is meant to alleviate those problem.

Dynamic stretching, on the other hand, is exactly what you need before heading out for a run. One of the benefits is that it gets your blood going, so you can start at a higher level than if you were to start immediately. It improves your range of motion and increase your performance and power. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I have read now to do high knees and butt kicks before heading out for a run!

Conclusion: you need to stretch. You just need to choose the right stretches for the right time. Videos on the subject coming soon!

March 4 – 10

by Agata, posted in Calendars

I know this post is almost a week late, but it’s been crazy! Running is going great, but I think I need to improve my ability to fit the swimming in. Sadly, going to the pool is the trickiest to fit into my schedule. Majority of workouts was just fine, but Sunday 18 miles were a ‘character building exercise’ – there was no way of avoiding all puddles and mud, so I ran with shoes full of freezing water. The important thing though is: I made it!

Supporters and spectators

by Agata, posted in General advice

I probably have mentioned this before: I started this blog after I told my aunt the distance I was planning on for the long run and it made me stick with it when I wanted to give up. I realized I need to have people watching me to stay honest through the long months of training for Ironman 70.3. It’s basically working and I have a feeling it will get even more important in the months to come, as I will have a long time without payoff in form of a race. So here is to people who help us make it to the finish line.

Your village

A lot of people like exercising with others. Personally, I don’t. I love doing my own thing and I guess that’s what makes running work for me so well: I can go whenever & wherever. I do, however, enjoy an occasional bike ride with a friend. That’s mostly because they make me go faster. I have a tendency to have a very ‘touristy’ pace on a bike. Push I get from company is great. And then there is an issue of more practical support – kids need watching, so you can work out? During a race? How about making sure you have water, energy drinks and food during longer races? Those friends who will support you through your sport adventures are indispensable. I know that majority of races provide water and occasional banana, but it’s not always so and sometimes it’s just not enough. A few years back, I did Luray Triathlon at the olympic distance. It appeared to be an established race, so what could go wrong? As it turns out, they didn’t have water until the running portion. Fortunately, I has water bottles in my bike, so I was able to hydrate. But wouldn’t it be nice to be able to call somebody and have them wait for me…

You may be tempted to bring one of your ‘villagers’ with you on a race. This is where it gets tricky. If it’s somebody who you run with regularly, that may be a good idea. They can push you and help you keep going during the long races. I won’t be talking about short races – there is little threat from company on those. But on the long ones, having somebody next to you may be to your detriment, especially if you are not an experienced distance runner. I tried once bringing somebody with me for a marathon and it went awful. Neither of us was ‘in the zone’, we ended up losing each other in the crowds and lost a lot of time trying to find each other. We did not finish together. It was a mess! I’m not doing that again! On the other hand, I had some luck with finishing a triathlon with somebody, although it was kind of by accident, since we ran into each other on the running portion and just jogged slowly to the end. I have also heard a story of a couple running together a marathon, where the guy was pushing the woman yelling ‘oh, it’s all in your head! Just keep pushing!’ all the way until an ambulance had to take her to a hospital… So just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into when bringing other people along for a long race.

Supporters at the race

This is where I need all the help I can get! During longer races, I need distraction! There is a reason for the home court advantage, with the crowds feeding you positive energy. I was surprised to find out that there are people who don’t care or aren’t particularly into it. One of my coworkers told me that she always plans ahead of time for every little hill, every water station and basically every step. I guess she doesn’t need anything else on her mind? I also know a friend who apparently focuses on listening to his body. Good for them. I need my mind occupied and I am not always great at providing my own entertainment (although sometimes I do). When I did a triathlon a few years back, it was through the middle of nowhere, not much cell service and I didn’t have my playlist thing figured out yet. No spectators, only a couple of medical tents and people pointing you in the right direction (not even a water station!). That bike ride was the longest thing in my life!!! It was olympic distance, so a bit under 25 miles. I have done 5 marathons and a lot of training, but none of it felt as long as that bike ride. And that’s how I learned to value the crowds coming out to cheer for the runners and cyclists. My personal favorite is always looking for new signs. You know, like ‘You run better than the government!’ (true in pretty much every country, regardless of your political stance) or ‘When my wife asked for Disney marathon, this is not what I expected!’. I love them!!! That little smile is exactly what I need. My first marathon (Baltimore) was for some reason particularly mentally draining. Maybe because it was the first one? Anything that could make me smile was very much needed. Since then, I got into a habit of making mental ranking of the best signs I have seen during a particular race.

Signage is not the only source of entertainment and support I have seen during the races. When I ran Vermont City, they had bands playing every couple of miles, giving a good beat. When we ran through communities, people were banging even tempo on trash cans. In various marathons, there were people in costumes standing on the sidelines (and I am not talking only about the paid actors at Disney World). In Baltimore, I ran through the zoo and they brought out some animals and I even got a picture with one. So much entertainment and fun!

Yes, I strongly believe that distractions during a marathon make it easier to finish because I don’t focus on my own misery. But then there are people who just withdraw into some corner of their own head and that propels them through the many miles of the race. Lesson to be had in here: before signing up for a race, check how many participants there are and look up online reviews of spectators. It may make all the difference in your experience!

Back pain while biking

by Agata, posted in Health

Do you get pain in your lower back while riding? I sure do! It doesn’t get that bad when I bike at home, with my bike on the indoor trainer. I am just now getting back to biking outside, since the weather is getting better. Sadly, that’s not great for my back. I recalled that I have seen in the past that complaints about lower back pain are not so uncommon among cyclists. So I decided to dig around and find out what to do.

I have found out that there are two groups of reasons, let’s call them mechanical and fitness. Mechanical are bike fit and posture while riding. Fitness are your core strength and stretching. Let’s take each of them apart and discuss solutions.

Mechanical issues

Bike fit

Apparently this one is responsible for the vast majority of problems. Depending on your budget and how serious you were when buying your bike, you may have bought your bike from a professional store or from a big box store. Sadly, most of us are very price-conscious and it will lead to problems. So here are some key point for the bike fit:

  • You need to have some clearance over the frame, that’s a given. I tried borrowing a bike before where I didn’t really have much (any?) space over the frame and let me tell you: watching me get on and off that bike was really funny (for people who weren’t me). But this one is obvious
  • The other part of size of the frame: how far you have to reach out to the handlebars. If they are too far, reaching out will create strain on your back
  • Height of your seat: your knees should be at 15-20 degree angle when your leg is most extended while peddling

Posture

This one can be caused by general bad posture, bad habits or physical limitations. Let’s start from the front of the bike: your arms when you are holding onto the handlebars. They should be slightly bent. If for no other reason, you need to be able to absorb shock (and there will be shocks) and those tend to be vicious on locked elbows. Locking your elbows is a no-no in pretty much every sport (I can’t think of any exceptions actually) and makes you prone to all sorts of injuries. Next would be back and shoulders – keep them straight. Slouching and hunching over can create strain on your bike. If you think about it, slouching also causes your chest cavity to get a bit smaller, compressing your lungs and making it hard to take a deep breath in. When you are performing physical activity, it’s generally advisable to be able to breathe 😉. Last, but not least: legs. At the top, your legs should be at a 90 degree angle and not be fully extended at the bottom. If that’s not the case, check your bike fitting.

Another posture issue is sitting straight and using both sides evenly. It sounds easy, right? Then starts by considering the fact that pretty much all of us have legs of different lengths. It’s probably not the world’s best known fact. We usually don’t realize it because the differences tend to be minimal and shouldn’t cause issues, but the differences may be larger and in that case, you need professional help to make adjustments. How about old injuries? Since I have an old hip injury, I can speak to this one from personal experience. They may lead to moving somewhat differently or large muscle strength disparities. Probably the best solution to this issue is to train both sides evenly and consult a doctor or a physical therapist if necessary.

Fitness

Core strength

This goes for both lower back and stomach muscle. Lower back pain while cycling for an extended period of time may be caused by muscle fatigue. Fortunately, there is an easy, albeit time-consuming, fix for lack of core strength: exercise! You will need, in particular, to focus on inner-most muscles, which attach to your spine, around L5 in particular. Easy example or exercise working those parts is the much-hated plank. I am currently working on some workout videos showing which exercises will help this particular issue.

Stretching

Many cyclists are very tight in their hips, which can cause muscle to pull on the back. During a longer ride, that will create a back strain. In order to avoid this issue, you should regularly stretch your hip flexors and quads. Like with core strength, I will be working on a video showing proper stretches. Heads-up: I am not uber-stretched. I have neglected it for years and now I am working on fixing it. So don’t worry, you won’t be assaulted by a super-limber gymnast who makes you feel inadequate. But isn’t this what this blog is all about: a weekend warrior with very average abilities and totally every-day problems?

Bonus: using too heavy gears. This one I am totally guilty of. I am not very good at moving fast. I can, however, produce a lot of power, especially with my legs, for extended periods of time. Without proper guidance, I developed an unhealthy coping mechanism: I shift into a very heavy gear, which allows me to achieve higher speeds with fewer rotations of the peddles. Apparently that’s how you strain your lower back. Moral of the story for me: I need to work on peddling faster rather than harder. I am pretty sure I have all the other issues under control.

February 25 – March 3

by Agata, posted in Calendars

I could not find a color that would show the quote from John Collins. So this is what it says:

You can quit if you want, and nobody will care. But you will know for the rest of your life.

I love it! For most of us weekend warriors, there is no real payoff other than doing things we love and the bragging rights. Probably plenty of people would appreciate it if we stopped talking about our running/ biking/ swimming 😉. But the truth is: we know if we gave up or totally phoned it in. And believe me, if you haven’t been putting your hours in honestly in the training, you will feel it, especially in the later miles of your training. So we have to show up every day. If you need somebody to do it for: think of your kids (or future kids). They may want to brag about Mommy/Daddy one day or play with your medals 😉. There is also my favorite benefit: my daughter tires out faster than me, even at a playground.

I think that my rest day on Sunday merits a comment: I took my daughter to the pool. We raced on kick boards 4 lengths of the pool. I would love to say that winning was easy 😜. On short distances, her kick is pretty good! She still needs to work on her form. For now, my little one moves like a snake through the water! It was fun. Her favorite thing is just ‘doing tricks’, so I took advantage and practiced my kicking while holding onto the wall. I guess it wasn’t formal training, so it didn’t make it to the schedule. But I did it for over 10 minutes and I can honestly say that it was a good workout. I spent that time on focusing on the form. I happen to know that kicking is my weakness while swimming. My daughter said she wants to race me on the kick board every other weekend. Challenge accepted! I will get my kicking stronger!

Stay strong and keep going!

No gym membership?

by Agata, posted in General advice

One of the most common pieces of advice one can see when looking at ‘how to save money’ advice articles/ columns is to get rid of your gym membership. I looked it up – about 67% of gym memberships remain unused. So that makes sense – if you don’t use it, why pay for it? On the other hand, there is also a group of people who hesitate if they should get one. So today it’s on my take on the subject. And, of course, it all depends. I will start with the gym membership, but then I will move on to alternatives. Note: I am bit biased…

Using the gym

My house belongs to Home Owner’s Association (HOA), which owns a gym with a full size indoor pool. It’s all included in my monthly HOA dues. Many people around the US will be in a somewhat similar situation: their apartment complex or HOA may have gym facilities. For others, office building may have some sort of room for weight lifting and/ or some cardio equipment. In these cases: why would you even consider paying for a gym membership? Well, for one thing: you may work out close to your office, but the gym is at home or vice versa. But before you decide to pay for it: ask yourself if you are really going to use that paid gym membership? Some people will and they absolutely should join and enjoy their workouts.

Then there are specialty gyms and classes. Those can be fun and some people enjoy them. If you are good at actually going – by all means, sign up and enjoy! But if you are not good at staying consistent, you may want to skip it. I have seen plenty of people around me sign up for the trial period, go during their time and then decide to sign up. However, trial periods are usually short and during the time when you are all pumped to go. And then your interest wanes after you are stuck with a bill to pay. Pure waste of money! Keep that in mind, since this is probably where majority of unused gym memberships comes from.

So now let’s assume you don’t already have a gym membership and you are thinking about getting one. According to Google, average gym membership costs around $60 per month in the US (I am taking their word for it). As you weigh your options, here are some things to consider:

  • How often can you realistically commit to going?
  • And do you have persistence to do it?
  • What aspect of gym membership are you most interested in?
  • What equipment you would be using?

If you can’t specifically say what days you will be going, outlooks are not great. Every resolution and commitment requires specificity for you to have a follow through. Many people have also strong history of signing up for gym memberships and classes and then going only a couple of times and then quitting. It’s a good idea to evaluate first how will this time be different than before. It may, but it may not.

People differ in their reasons to join a gym. Some people enjoy working out surrounded by other people working out and it helps them stay motivated. Others love coming to spin or yoga (or whatever else) classes offered at the gym. Those are great reasons to join the gym! If you enjoy those aspects, gym membership may be helpful in achieving your fitness goals (although there will be a little devil’s advocate moment later on).

As to what equipment you would be using… This came up in a conversation I recently had with a friend of mine. She has been considering joining a gym and is hesitating. She shared with me that all she wants is an elliptical. Quick Amazon search said that she can get one for her home for less than two months’ worth of gym membership. I guess this is where you evaluate if you really need access to the gym or if you can get away with doing it at home. On the other hand, you may require an indoor pool. That usually comes with membership in a place that has one and it’s hard to get around it. So if you are a swimmer and/or triathlete, you will need some sort of paid pool (gym) membership.

What I use usually at the gym is access to a personal trainer. This is something that you usually need an access to the gym for. Diana is very important to my fitness goals, so I definitely want my gym membership and I am grateful that it’s part of my HOA – the amount of services I get out of that gym and pool probably adds up to more value than my monthly dues.

Working out at without access to a gym

There are so many alternatives to the gym! Personally, I don’t like going to the gym too much. I enjoy my privacy and personal space when I work out. I have never been into classes and having people around does not motivate me. So here are some alternatives:

Get outdoors! If you are just starting to get into a healthier lifestyle, maybe getting a little bit outside may be a better place to start. At a price of shoes (which majority of people own a pair of sports-appropriate ones), you can get started. Go on regular walks and, if you are up to it, runs. It will make for a great test of your dedication without costing you on recurring basis. I would strongly recommend starting there, especially for people who have poor track record of starting to work out and then quitting shortly thereafter. And if running is your thing, you may never really need a gym membership. All you need is to lace up your shoes and get outside. If you own a bike, it’s also a great activity. Maybe you can even build one of these into your daily commute, so it’s just part of your routine and it’s harder to skip it? For those people who enjoy (or need) others around: join a running/cycling group. I don’t know if they have free ones in your area, but there is a good chance that it will be cheaper than joining a gym. You always have also an option of creating your own group. Ask a friend or two (or a dozen!) to go with you.

Working out at home! This is definitely a multi-part item and a lot of it will depend on how much space do you have at home. I know that people who live in big, crowded cities may have basically zero floor space in their homes, so this may not work for them. I live in suburban America, so I do have plenty of space. Even if you think you don’t have much room, keep reading – you may still find some advice useful.

Cardio equipment. I will refer back to my friend from a little earlier, who is only interested in an elliptical. You can find a cheap one (and you can fold some of them for storage, too!) on Amazon. If your thing is cycling and you own a bike, maybe you could just get a stand allowing you to use your regular bike indoors? Again, plenty of those things can be easily folded for storage. You can choose different levels of sophistication and at various price points. Added benefit: you can do it whenever you have a spare moment at home, without having to go anywhere. I love cycling at home, since I am a mom to a small kid who I can’t leave home alone. I can do my bike rides while she is still sleeping. I think this is a great idea for people in my kind of situation. I also have stairs in my house, so I can also run up and down those any time I want 😉

Stretching. Ok, you may not need anything for this one. I have hardwood floors in my living room, where I do majority of my at-home workouts, so I have a yoga mat. You can get one cheaply either online or at a store, like Target or Walmart or any sport store in your area. Stretching workout article coming soon(ish) to the blog 😉

Weights/ strength. At a cost of some resistance bands (again: online, Target, Walmart, sport store, whatever) and/or exercise ball, you can get a lot of workouts. Not that any equipment is absolutely required. Plank? Push-ups? Squats? There are many videos out there on workouts at home and one of these days, I will post some ideas in here 🙂

Alternative workouts! Not all workouts need to be formal, with you changing into your gym clothes, blocking out time and going seriously about it. There are other ways to get your heart rate up and muscle working. I used to get rather intense leg workouts while teaching my daughter how to ski with her riding between my legs. Controlling her speed and direction is quite something! Also, lifting her to get on a ski lift is a good upper body workout. When you take kids to the playground, consider climbing the equipment, chasing around with them, do a few chin-ups, maybe lift your kids a few times? There are so many possibilities! And work around the house… That’s a great place to show some imagination…

Conclusion

There are many approaches to working out and we all look for things we enjoy. Before you start investing in membership or equipment, give some serious thought to what you can do, what you enjoy doing and what you can commit to. I know I am biased towards workouts I can do alone. As one of my friends described me: ‘you are as social as a solitary cat’. He had a point. I have a relatively low need for company, especially when it comes to my ‘crazy ideas’. I also hate having to follow somebody else’s schedule and rules. But then, I am also very driven and love sports. I have had gym memberships for vast majority of my adult life, either paid or through HOA, apartment or office building. And I have been using them. I also believe that there are alternatives and they should be given serious consideration. As a parent and a person with a serious Ironman 70.3 training schedule, I have learned to appreciate workouts I can do at home. I also love getting some alternative exercises in my life. Give some thought to your options and decide for yourself how to work out. But most importantly: keep moving!

February 18 – 24

by Agata, posted in Calendars

I guess I am still working back on getting back to ‘normal’. On the up side, I had time to go do my intervals running on Wednesday courtesy of a snow day. Yes, it was on a treadmill. The attached picture shows the running path by my gym. Or at least where it should be 😉. I am still working on getting back to 20 mile runs. So far, every time a new excuse to finish early happens. But I will get there. I guess I am just not feeling that much urgency, since I won’t be running another marathon for quite a while. For now, biking is the name of the game. I am also trying very hard not to have two of the same workouts in a row. For example: it would be really easy for me to do interval running and strength training Tuesday nights, but I don’t want to do it the next day after just having done exactly the same thing. I actually think I will start doing my 10 mile runs every other Tuesday, obviously on Tuesdays not following the 20-mile-run-Sundays. The weather is starting to get better, so I am able to occasionally bike outside. Another few months and I will be able to bike to work once a week and that would be great! One day of biking to work and one day of running part of my way to work. That will be amazing for the scheduling challenges!!! Keep your fingers crossed that this week will ‘go as planned’! 🤞