Training Errors

As usual, I have managed to acquire a bit of a tinge that is bothering me (piriformis... again).  Go figure, I did a twelve-miler for the first time in months (though I had previously done two runs of 10-11 miles), and THEN on Friday our commander had us do a 4-mile run for time.  My time was actually really slow considering I normally do that pace on regular runs when I'm barely pushing the pace...  but after the twelve-miler, and with the cold/snow and that really uncomfortable and bulky winter physical training uniform we have to wear, the effort felt pretty hard.  And my lungs were burning afterward, SO, I'm not surprised at all that my hip/glute is hurting me again.  I took today off from running... even though I really didn't want to because I had to take a week off the week before last because of that gum surgery, but I'm trying to avoid further injury.  Anyways, some things I think I need to do so I stop hurting myself:

1) I need to not worry about what other people are thinking.  I'm going to start incorporating walk breaks into my longer runs... At the end of that last long run, I felt pretty beat up, and it wasn't even a race.  Normally my legs don't hurt WHILE I'm running unless it's a race.  Well, they were hurting at the end of that long run.  That's telling me that the pace was too fast.  It sucks, though, when you're on an infantry post... and I HATE HATE HATE stereotypes about how women are lazy/out of shape/shouldn't be in the Army, blah blah blah.  I think that tends to make me push harder... which is good for some things, but not so much when I'm doing a long run and trying to increase endurance.  So, I need to stop thinking about what other people are thinking and slow down.  And take walk breaks early on (I was reading Galloway's running method... and even though he PERSONALLY came to West Point when I was on the marathon team and talked to us about it, it didn't make much sense to me then... reading it now, it makes sense).  Anyway, I think SPEED is what keeps killing me, not distance.

2) Not think so much about miles for the week... My mileage is actually pretty low compared to a lot of runners.  I try to average around 30 miles per week, which really isn't high at all, and I think I could easily increase that IF I slow down.

3) Remember to do my strengthening exercises... Yeah... I am working on that one.  It seems I only remember to do them when I'm actually injured.  But when every physical therapist tells me "You have weak hips and that's why you keep getting hurt!"  I guess I need to keep up my exercises when I'm NOT hurt.

I guess the list isn't extensive, but looking back, those seem to be my biggest training errors.  I don't think I've been guilty of too much too soon in a very long time. At least not when it comes to distance... I increase my distances pretty safely.  It's the speed and hills that seem to hurt me.  And not speed WORKOUTS, but running my regular runs too fast...   And while I haven't had an injury that's REALLY put me out since I started running in more minimal shoes/working on running form, I keep getting these random injuries that slow me down by making me stop for a week or so at a time.  

I will admit though... as much as I really really detest wearing that terrible winter physical training uniform for my long runs (seriously, it really sucks... it's like wearing bags on my legs/upper body), I like doing my long runs for PT in the morning since we are now in the process of marathon training.  That way I don't have to spend my weekends doing it :)  I can go for a leisurely 6-8 mile run or something instead of taking hours for a run.  It's quite nice :)

Love,
Nina

LIFE

I haven't been updating much lately, so I suppose now is as good time as any :)

There's actually quite a bit going on right now.  I've been getting settled into my job, which has been a slightly interesting experience.  I'm in a Captain's position as a brand new 2nd Lieutenant, so I'm having to learn quite a bit of stuff with very little experience.  Fortunately I was prior service, but UNfortunately this is my first time deploying, and, again, I'm new to the unit, so I'm still learning how it all works.  Fun stuff.  Fortunately I have lots of people that are helping me to learn the new job.  I guess West Point taught me at least one good thing: don't act like you know everything, and don't be afraid to ask questions and take advice.

On another different (but slightly similar note), I am taking my Graduate Record Exams (GREs) tomorrow afternoon.  I must say I am NERVOUS.  I have been practicing for awhile; however, the initial book I used wasn't very difficult.  It wasn't until I took the test on the actual ETS (the test-maker's) site that I started worrying, so I ordered THEIR book, and have been practicing since I got it, which unfortunately, has only been for a week.  I still don't feel confident in a lot of the math portions, and unfortunately, because my college GPA was only okay, I would really like to do well on this exam for grad school (not that I'm sure when exactly I'm going to go, but I know it will be within the next five years, which is how long the GREs are good for).

 And on ANOTHER slightly related note, I am ALSO taking my test during the Army-Navy football game!  Ahhhhh!  I am so disappointed I won't be able to watch it.  Those of you who know me know that I absolutely do not care about football.  Except for Army football (or rather, West Point football), and ESPECIALLY this one particular game.   The Naval Academy is West Point's number one sports rival, and this game is huge.  For those who don't know, EVERY cadet and midshipmen (Naval Academy cadet) travels to watch the game.  It's a huge deal.  And Army hasn't won one of these games in nine years.  :(  So, EVERY year everyone gets all excited for the game.  I sure was looking forward to watching the game sitting down, nice and warm, probably drinking a beer (Cadets have to stand the entire game, our uniforms weren't particularly warm, and we couldn't drink during football games, so these were all novelties).  Sadly, I will be sitting, nice and warm, taking a 3.5 hour test.

Finally, I suppose I will talk a little about upcoming months.  First, I am very excited for the next few weeks.  I will be seeing one of my best friend's West Point graduation (she's graduating a semester late because she had to take a semester off our sophomore year), which means I get to head back to West Point for a couple of days :)  Following that, I get to head down South for some French Quarter and some beach goodness :)  Well, I don't know how warm it will be for the beach, but I'm still excited.  And THEN my sister will be visiting before we head up to Canada to go skiing for her birthday and New Year's Eve.  Um, rockin' good time me thinks!

Following my amazing period of leave, I'll be training extensively for a 50-mile race when I deploy.  I've never run a marathon much less fifty miles, but I think fifty miles would just be a completely different type of setting.  Unlike in a marathon where I would think you would try to keep running the whole time (I know I would be trying to run the whole time), it's pretty acceptable to walk during ultra marathons.  As a matter of fact, it's pretty much EXPECTED.  And we get 24 hours to finish.  That's like, barely over two miles per hour to finish (though I really hope that I do NOT ACTUALLY take 24 hours to finish...)  Anyways, I'm excited for it, but nervous at the same time because of my tendency to get injured.  I am combating this as much as possible by lifting more regularly again.  I want to build strength in my hips/legs so that they are better able to handle the stresses of running AND stabilize my body more so I don't end up with all these weird injuries because my hips are weak (what my physical therapist always told me at West Point when I'd walk in with yet another overuse injury).  I will also try VERY hard to slow my long runs down, and add some walking breaks in once I hit higher mileage, that way I actually recover better.  I have a very difficult time running long distances as slowly as I should be when I'm just training.  A 9:30 minute mile is pretty slow for me, but when I think when I start doing longer distances, I should probably be going slightly SLOWER than that.  Not because I'm not capable of running faster, because I very much am (most of my long runs last time I was training for a marathon were around 9-9:15 minute miles, and I wasn't trying to pick up speed), but I think to get the kind of endurance I want for this type of distance, I need to slow it down so I don't hurt myself.  I need to save speed for the speed days I guess :)

Alas, I suppose I have written quite a bit for now.  Those are the big things going on now though that I've been thinking about.  And we all know I like to share my thoughts :)

Love,
Nina 

True Friends

As I was sitting here procrastinating on studying (feels like college.. except it's not), I started thinking about what being a true friend is.  In the past year or so I had a person who I had considered a very close friend for a long time just stop talking to me.  She never told me why, and I'm not sure why because as far as I'm aware, I don't think I ever did anything to her (some of you probably know what I'm talking about right now), but it made me think... What is a true friend?  Here are my thoughts.  

A true friend is someone who has seen you at your best and your worst, but they are still there for you.  I'm not talking about taking abuse from you because nobody deserves to be treated like crap - there's a difference between being a friend and a doormat.  No, a true friend has seen you on your bad days, and maybe has had to deal with you when you're feeling irritable, but ultimately knows who you are, and is willing to deal with a few bad days because that friend knows you'll always be there for them during their bad days.  They watch you grow and change and are still there for you to help support you.  A good test of a true friend?  If you can live with each other and remain good friends (hi, Vanessa!), or you end up being good friends BECAUSE you lived together (hi, Amber!)  You can have occasional arguments, but you can get over it because you know it's just that - an argument - and it happens sometimes.  

A true friend knows both the good and the ugly, and is okay with both.  The friend might give you advice or tell you that what you're doing isn't the smartest idea, and you might not even want to hear someone tell you what to do, but you know the advice is because he or she cares about you, not because he or she thinks that they are better than you.  There are some people who will give you advice just because they think they always know what's best, but a true friend does it because they really CARE about YOU.  

A true friend is someone who you can trust.  You know you can tell them secrets, and they won't go telling everyone else just so they have a good story.  

A true friend might not even be someone you speak to frequently.  I have a few of them from my high school days.  Even though we don't talk often, when we do talk, it's like we haven't spent something like ten years away from each other.  We can still tell each other things.  

A true friend is NOT someone who abandons you because they meet someone "better" or a significant other (this is the worst).  To sort of contradict that, a true friend will understand if you have your slip-ups, because after all, nobody is perfect.  They also won't only talk to you when they want something from you.  

I know this was a little cliche, but those are my thoughts on what a true friend is or is not.  I've been fortunate to meet quite a few people in my life who I consider true friends, and I'm so thankful for them!  

I don't have anything very profound to say today, but I wanted to update because I know it has been a little bit of time.

First, Happy Late-Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope everyone had a fabulous day stuffed with turkey delight.  On that note, I find it quite depressing that stores are now opening on Thursday night for Black Friday (Thursday?)  We discussed this while I was with my relatives, and it's unfair to the employees to have to worry about coming into work and dealing with a bunch of crazy shoppers after spending a day being thankful.  Why is Thanksgiving turning into another consumer holiday?  I read a newspaper article that stated that stores are doing this because they need the extra boost with the economy.  How about just keeping the sales going later instead of starting them at midnight and ending them by noon?  I'm no economist, so I can't really speak on this area knowledgeably, but I was still appalled that people had to come into work on Thanksgiving night so stores could make a little more money.  I'm even more appalled that people are so crazed by shopping that they PEPPER SPRAYED people.  Really?  REALLY?  Is it THAT important that you save some money that you're going to harm other people?  I hope I never become a material-crazed person who will fight with people over a sale.  Fortunately, we have the internet now, so I really don't think I should have to :)   In case anyone was wondering, I don't usually go out on Black Friday.  I did go to a mall this year (not until late afternoon though), and the only reason for it was because I was in an area that had a good mall, and we only have a small one where I am.  Nothing I wanted was even on sale, so... mostly I just went because it was convenient :)

Goodness, it has been so long since I've written, I'm trying to think of what I should talk about.  Let's talk about my favorite topic - running!  Sadly it isn't going as well as I'd like... the knees and hips don't like me much today, but I'm trying to get myself out the door for at least a few miles.  I wanted to do a longer run, but my knees are not in good shape... I'm not sure why, as I only did 7 miles yesterday.  Seven is the most I've done in the past few weeks  (though I've done it several times)  I have decided that I'm going to get my hips checked out tomorrow.

  I also don't want to screw up my knees because I want to ski this year!  I live in an area that usually gets tons of snow (though we haven't had more than an inch this year yet - strange), and my sister and I are heading up to Canada this year to ski, so I need to get into ski shape so I don't destroy myself after one day.  I'm super excited!   This next month is looking quite awesome actually.  I take my GRE's on the 10th of December, then I fly down south a week later, then the day after I get back, my sister flies in and we head on our Canada ski adventure.  I'm kind of going all out this year because I want to enjoy my time before I have to deploy.  Fortunately, deployments are shorter now, so it really shouldn't be so bad.  Nonetheless, I want to spend as much time enjoying myself as I can :)

That's all I can think to say right now.  I should've waited until after my run to write, as I always have lots of intelligent things to say after I run, but I'm procrastinating getting out the door... hehehe .

Love,
Nina

Overcoming and being content

I know, simple post title.  But it's how I feel right now.  Happy.  Content.  I don't think it's necessarily that everything is perfect, though there is really nothing wrong; rather, it's that I have learned how to be content despite imperfections.  Because really, when is anything ever perfect?  There will always be something wrong if you look for it.  Perhaps one of the greatest lessons I've learned in the past year and a half is that to be really content, you can't rely on outside circumstances.  Maybe this is partially a result of spending hours a day in my psychology classes in my final year as a cadet: counseling, social psychology, positive psychology, etc.  All of those classes focused at least a little on the effect that your reactions to your surroundings have on your overall well-being.  Particularly counseling and my capstone class, which focused on positive psychology (resiliency, etc.).  Counseling was basically a deeper look at myself.  I know some people did not like that course, and at times I had mixed feelings... It was actually one of my lowest grades in my major, but it probably taught me more about myself than any other class at the Academy, and for that I am glad I took it.

There have been times when I wasn't so good at seeing challenges and imperfections as chances to grow.  I wanted things to be right - all the time - and I struggled with dealing with situations when things weren't perfect.  You can imagine how difficult that was for me at West Point, where they purposely try to put you through situations where you can't possibly be right all the time.  Where no matter how hard you try, you will not always get the results you want (minus a few select people who sat in the front rows of graduation, hehe)  Well, it worked.  After three years I finally figured out how to deal with things going wrong.  It's not to shut down or get depressed, and it's not to get angry... It's to change my thought process.   To work harder at what the areas that I DO have an influence on... and to let the things I can't do anything about slide - just a little.

On another similar note, I will be moving into my new apartment tomorrow afternoon :)  I'm excited to see it with the refinished floors :)  Sometimes I guess it pays off to be personable because my landlord (landlady?) was willing to do a lot to get me as a tenant because she really liked me.  She has said several times that "God has blessed her" with good tenants recently.  She's even going to have me and the other new tenant (from Syria... she is in the U.S. for a couple of months for medical school or something) over for dinner one night.  It will be nice to meet some of the people living in the floor above me :)

Alas, I will try to avoid rambling.  Good night all. 

What environment is best for writing?

I've been working an answering some questions about myself for a feature based on my "Women and the Military" post and I'm trying to figure out, what type of environment is best for writing?  Open, honest writing.  I know professional writers will often lock themselves away and write... After all, there is nothing to break your concentration.  Actually, I write many of my blogs in this type of setting.  Unfortunately, I also do not publish most of them because I am afraid they reveal TOO much of myself.  When is it too much?  When does it stop making sense?  I know some of my blogs get pretty in depth in relation to my thoughts and feelings.  This is awesome for a journal, but how honest is too honest?  What do people REALLY want to know?  These are questions I ask myself when I am about to publish a blog entry.  Of course, I only have six followers (haha), so I'm nowhere NEAR a professional writer, BUT some people DO read what I write, so I have to ask... what is better?  Sitting and writing and letting all of my thoughts come out, or writing for a bit, and stepping back, then sitting back down and writing again after deleting at least three paragraphs because I am afraid they are rambling?

I can tell you that for academic writing a combination of the two is the best.  Some of my best papers were written in one night... BUT, I sat back and looked at them again to fix the errors that inevitably occur when your writing becomes a stream of consciousness.  Such as my frequent lack of paragraphs when I write blog entries ;)

Readers, what do you prefer?  Long, honest blogs (that actually discuss something of substance, of course), or shorter, more straight to the point?  What type of environment do you like to write in?  

Life here so far (in my first week)

Completely unrelated to my last blog post...

I've been able to run again!  Wait, did I mention that all ready?  I don't know.  Anyways, it's awesome because the running out here is awesome.  Long country roads and trails, and all sorts of new stuff to explore!  I love it!  And while I'm REALLY not looking forward to having to run in temperatures barely over 0 degrees (which I guess I did at West Point a couple of times, though I usually stuck to the treadmill when it got REALLY cold), I AM looking forward to engaging in some snow sports (skiing, snow-shoeing, etc.)

Also, I should state that the people up here are not rude as they were down at West Point, at least as far as I've noticed.  So far everyone I have met has been friendly and nice... I will say that most people down closer to NYC definitely fit into the typical New Yorker stereotype of being rude.  Most people I've met here are nicer than they were down in South Carolina for the most part.  Almost everyone I've met while out and about actually talks to me and asks me questions.  People say that's how people in the South are, but I didn't see it much.

Now, I just need to actually report to my unit, which has not yet happened because I basically got ten free days of leave to look for a place to live.  Well, I realized last night when I was reading up on the regulation that these days are not actually FREE... the money I'm paying to stay in this hotel will not be reimbursed.  While my leave days are not being taken up, I am not serving any purpose to the government by sitting here looking for a place to live.  Fortunately, I WILL be getting more money for housing.

Anyway,  just an update on life.  Can't wait to move into my apartment.  On another note:  I read more people's responses to the SMA's Facebook posts about uniform changes.  I just cannot understand why people think makeup is a distraction or how it makes us "unequal"... I mean, I bet men COULD fight for makeup, but really, how many would want to wear it?  It would look silly unless it was just cover up or something (and nobody would say anything about it if a guy DID wear cover up). And it takes maybe five minutes to put it on (if you're me I guess).  Hardly a distraction.  But you all know my opinions on that matter... I just get more heated about it everytime I read that post...