Sunday, August 9, 2015

Life After Vacation

I've been running again. Oh man, does that feel good. Of course, I'm still in the shoes I wore for the marathon, and my knees are beginning to feel it. I went on a wild shoe chase to find a new pair because the line I'm switching to is impossible to find locally in the color I want.
I'm switching from Kayanos to the GTs for a couple reasons...I'll write about it once the shoes are in!
Don't judge me for being picky about the color; I really think neon makes me feel faster and more confident!

Anyway, because ASICS is probably getting ready to release the new editions of the shoes, I had to order them; they should be here by Monday. I hate running in worn out shoes, so I'm keeping my mileage low.
This week I only ran a total of 8 miles, but I'm already feeling ready to build in more workouts.
I chose a training plan, too, but I need to tweak it a bit. It calls for four 20-milers, and while I do want to run more than one this time around, I really want to taper smarter this year and avoid burnout. I also want to fit more races into the fall...last year I skipped a couple of my favorite races and I think I'll try working them into training this year.
I went with Smart Coach again, but a more rigorous program. I'll talk a bit about my goal time once I get it all in order.
Some days I have no idea how I ever ran a marathon; my runs this week have been so sluggish. I just have to chalk it up to humidity and cut myself some slack.

I bought a gently-used Forerunner 10 from Kim and can't wait to begin using it for intervals and tempo runs. I'm still pretty loyal to Nike+, but I'm excited to have a simple Garmin for speedwork. (If you recall, I have a 440 as well, but it was too complex for me! Matt uses it now for SUP training.)
On the school front, I had my first meeting of the year on the 8th; it was fun to see the leadership team and to take a look at this year's big changes. I'm excited (and a bit nervous) to be going back.

I'll be going in to school this week to start setting up my classroom a little before actual training begins. I got a new Smartboard in my room and can't wait to play around with it!
My new Smartboard!
I got my back-to-school haircut! I wanted to do something drastic with my hair so...I did. I'm still getting used to it but I like it! When my hair is down, like I wear it 80% of the time, it looks totally normal. But...
I think when I go back in to get it trimmed again, I'll get the shaved part tighter to my head. I want it to look like a mohawk haha.
Maybe I should dye the short part...I think dark purple would look awesome.

Do you have a color-preference when it comes to shoes?
Do you like to take risks with your hair, or do you play it safe? I always figure it grows back, so why not play around with it?!

ABK

18 comments:

  1. We go back to school on Sept 1 so I'm basking in the almost 3 weeks that I have left. Your hair looks great! I'm totally jealous you have a smart board! Since I teach first and second grade I do not have one of those in my room. But when we go to PD at the school board they have them there and some of the newer high schools have them.

    I love the new sneakers you are hunting for! Because I wear a wide shoe I basically have to wear the colour the Asics decides to put in the D width.

    I've never done 4 x 20 milers for a marathon. The most I've done is three but 4 does sound like a lot! Good plan on doing some tweaking. I think if they're done slow enough and spaced apart far enough it's doable though. Looking forward to following your training!

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    1. I'm hoping my kids can teach me how to use the Smartboard lol! I'm pretty good at new technology, but Smartboards are a whole new animal for me.

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  2. I used to have the same hair cut...I'm trying to let it grow out but its tough...I'm glad to see someone else with the same hair cut. Color is the one thing I don't like about my new shoes....they just aren't flashing enough for me. LOL

    I have the exact same garmin that you just bought...I love it...simple enough but gives me exactly the information I need. Today as I ran my 12k I wondered how the heck I ever ran a half. Those 12k nearly killed my legs and feet....I guess we will both get there again!

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    1. I'm sure growing it out is weird because you have to commit to wearing it down for a couple weeks while you hide the funny underside. I told my stylist I'll need to keep this cut until December because of marathon training and wearing my hair up lol.

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  3. I always play it safe with my hair. I've been weighing the pros and cons of ombre hair for so long that I think the trend is way over. I took a risk one time and permed my hair, which was a total disaster! Your hair looks great though. I love that when you're wearing it down you have this little secret haircut just waiting to be shown when you throw it up!

    I love brightly colored shoes too. I wear the wide width Adrenalines so I can't be too picky. It's definitely annoying that most years the WW shoes are only offered in blue. I was so excited when they came out in pink last year!

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    1. OMG perms...I did an at-home overnight perm when I was like 9 or something and FREAKED OUT the next morning. I looked like Little Orphan Annie. I refused to go to school. Ugh, the worst.

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  4. I have wild curly hair, so I kinda have to play it safe or else I can end up looking pretty strange. I don't mind going short, but I generally keep it the same style every time. I wish I could wear brightly colored shoes, but I wear a narrow width, and they are always really boring colors in narrow.

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    1. My hair used to be much wavier than it is these days, and I had to play it safe then. Having huge, voluminous hair does make experimenting kind of tricky. I'm glad mine has calmed down a bit, but I'm sure it will change again in the next few years.

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  5. YOU ARE SO COOL. I didn't even notice the shaved part and then when I did I was like "Yesssss!!" I like how it is now but I bet it would look awesome dyed. Maybe you could get it the exact red color that Archie is???

    Your Smartboard looks very sleek! I think I only understand about 10% of what my Smartboard does. It is one of those things where no actually trained me how to use it and I don't have enough time/interest to learn it on my own.

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    1. Archie is actually mostly green, with a red beak. I do like the idea of a deep red or deep purple! But I also want to see how it looks shaved shorter. I'll be cutting it again in September to clean up the underneath, and we'll see what I do then!

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  6. Can't wait to see how your marathon training goes!! I hear you on shoes...I usually have really boring shoes but now that I have my pretty pink and blue Nike's I'm in love!

    Love the hair! Hope you have a great start to the school year!

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    1. I don't know what it is about shoes, but maybe it's like women (in general) and shoes (in general): we want them to look cute/exciting to spice up our outfits and makes us feel empowered!

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  7. The color of my running shoes is almost as important and the style/feel. If they're not cute I won't buy them! I am so intimidated by Smartboards, I really need to get some training on them before I have my own classroom!

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    1. When I was trying out Brooks, one thing that kept me from committing was that the style that worked for my feet only came in ugly colors! I love that Asics has a good selection usually.

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  8. Welcome back to training!! As for the hair...I would say purple or deep red! Go for it!!!

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    1. Those are exactly the colors I'm thinking of! We'll see how I feel after I get it spruced up in September.

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  9. I love bright shoes!! I've been running almost exclusively in Newtons this year and my favs are orange & lime (Google "Newton women Motion 2012") and I have another pair that are hot pink. It's great because it's easy to find yourself in race photos (just look for the different/bright shoes) and people can identify you when you wear them ("hey, wasn't that you I saw on the trail the other day. I recognized your orange shoes...").
    My daughter just got that same watch for Cross Country. I can't wait to see it in action. It's so pretty!

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    1. I do love the Newton colors! They definitely are a good way to find yourself in a crowd haha.

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