Long Run, Beach Run and Podcasts

 

As promised, a picture from the beach yesterday.

Only difference this week is that I took the beach pictures while running.

How cool does the early morning boardwalk sun look in the sky?

I did a lot of running this weekend between Saturday’s long run (13.1 miles) and Sunday’s boardwalk run (7.50 miles).

I have a thing for taking pictures of my shadow. I don’t know why.

I also have a thing for cold oatmeal, greek yogurt, berries and peanut butter.

Totally portable, even on a hot day. I packed my favorite post-run combo in a disposable coffee cup with a lid, kept it in a cooler in my car and when I was done with my run, it was waiting for me to relax and enjoy on the boardwalk.

So Saturday’s long run was nice and relatively slow for me.

The good thing about a long run is that the focus is more on endurance and less on pace which was perfect for me Saturday morning since I woke up with my least favorite monthly visitor.

But hey, at least it arrives basically like clockwork now no matter how many miles I run these days.

I really felt fine (more to come later this week about how I helped myself to feel fine versus the bad cramps and crazy hormones from a few months ago) yet at the same time, my body was well aware of it’s guest.

As I ran at a comfortable pace, I thought back once again to the Fitness Magazine Half from April and reconfirmed with myself that racing under such hormonal conditions is just not advisable for me.

I can pace myself to run a routine run and feel perfectly fine but run a race during this time of the month where my speed would have to be almost two minutes faster per mile than Saturday’s average pace? No thanks. Not unless I want to feel sick and pass out.

Planning your race schedule around Aunt Flow could really be an unwelcome issue, that is, if I truly cared and desired to run a ton of specific races.

I don’t.

I love a good race but it means more to me to feel my best if I am going to pay money to run a course.

I read an interesting article over at Runner’s World about the people who love to run yet DON’T run races often, if at all.

I love seeing articles such as this to remind us that we can love to run without training for specific races.

You don’t need a race to run 13.1 miles.

You don’t always need to pay to run a course (hello, I just ran the Long Beach boardwalk yesterday for free yet paid twenty dollars two weeks ago to run the same stretch) nor do you need a race to make you high on endorphins and super sweaty.

Although if you want the race t-shirt, you at least need to sign up in order to pick up the race expo goodies.

I wore the Fitness Magazine half shirt yesterday because I wanted to keep my back and shoulders as covered as possible to avoid too much sun exposure while running at the beach.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, that would be the Lulu Pace Setter skirt and yes you can even fit a tampon in the inside front pocket.

Can we discuss my recent shift in listening pleasure while running?

During my long runs as well as any other run where I don’t need Pitbull’s fast lyrics to keep me moving faster, I have started turning off the music in favor of listening to Podcasts.

Not fitness related, not diet related…more like general life related discussions.

I actually can’t stand too much fitness or diet talk.

Cake talk is always welcomed but healthy lifestyle food and fitness chat, like no. Overkill.

Do you know Dr. Joy Browne? She is the best.

I used to listen to her on the radio for years and I recently discovered I can listen to her shows via podcast.

What I love about her therapy sessions is that you get to hear a diverse range of people (male, female, young, middle-aged, elderly) calling with a wide range of problems (relationships, school, career, weight, health, interpersonal, intrapersonal, divorce, children) and the best part- she calls everyone cookie and I really like cookies.

Sometimes you hear a caller with an issue similar to something you are currently going through and sometimes it is totally unrelated yet I have found Dr. Joy’s advice to be universal in application.

What I took away from this weekend’s therapy session:

*Expectations say everything about you and nothing about the person you are placing the expectations on. And, most of the time, your expectations haven’t been communicated or verbalized.

*Everyone interprets what they hear through their own stimuli, which means, you hear what you want to hear based upon your experiences. On this same thought, what you say may not be interpreted the way you meant it to be heard.

*You cannot control anyone else’s actions or reactions but your own. No one can make you feel the way you do. You are in charge of you and your emotions.

*Cheerful and stupid – the best approach to take when dealing with difficult people or situations.

Now go ahead about think about all of this while I go eat breakfast.

Have a terrific Monday!

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Do you plan your race schedule far in advance?

Do you listen to Podcasts? Which ones do you enjoy?

Best dessert you ate this weekend?

If you went to Blend, please tell me about it!