12.13.2010

Caffeine high

Mondays are usually hard to get moving since I sleep in on Saturday and Sunday (sleeping in means 7/7:30am) so this morning I made a cup of coffee. I would say it was about 3 oz coffee and the rest was milk, so I guess it was a latte. Then I went swimming. Holy cow! I was FLYING. I was beating everyone. Last week was my first full week with the faster people - finally made the move back to the faster lane - it has been a YEAR since I've been there! 5 months post Kara.  Usually I go last. I'm still getting into it. Today I was going first or second and felt like I was on fire. Was it the caffeine? I think so! Whoa!  What a good feeling. I am not a coffee drinker so I have a cup maybe once a week or once every 2 weeks. Maybe I'll save it for when I want to go fast? Those of you that drink coffee every day pre-workout (anyone do that?) does it enhance your performance? I was shocked with how I felt this morning.   I did a post on this recently but do you drink caffeine before you run? for a race or training? I'm not sure if I should get into the habit of this. Is it banned for professionals? It's totally a drug!

RUNNING - to run or not to run
Lifting last week kicked my butt! I did lunges and squats using the BOSU ball and I'm just still hurting. Lunges always kill me. I think I'm never doing them again. My quads are a mess. I am thinking about skipping running this week, but I'm not sure that I can. It will be nice to rest for the next 2.5 weeks and start fresh in January --- maybe? I might check out body pump classes and just swim and bike and see how it goes. I feel like my legs could use a fresh start.  What is the longest time you have taken off from running? How did you feel when you started up again? 

Stay tuned for this fun idea from Parents Magazine.


Happy Monday - only 12 days until Christmas. Wow!

10 comments:

  1. i don't typically drink coffee before a workout but i did for the first time before the marathon this saturday. risky! i've never taken an extended period of time off from running. i'll take off till saturday this week to recover and give myself a mental break but i'll still cross train daily.

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  2. those look SO cute,what a great thing to do with your little ones.

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  3. Coffee!!!! I love coffee!!!! The longest I've been off running has been 12 weeks for stress fractures.. BOOO!! Cookies look soo cute!

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  4. I drink coffee every day. Usually a shot of espresso pre-workout and then I enjoy a whole cup afterward. If the workout is going to be hard, I drink 2 shots. And I would not even think about racing without coffee first!! :) More then about 1.5 cups leaves me shaky though so that is my max.

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  5. Coffee is awesome! I love that stuff. Glad to hear that you are enjoying it.

    I have taken long breaks from running in the past that were 6 months or longer (and I am not talking about pregnancy)and found that I got back into shape pretty quickly. It was always hard at first, but after a month of running I always felt that I was back in decent shape. I once took a ton of time off and then trained for Boston in about 5 weeks.

    I say take the time off from running and enjoy doing other stuff.

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  6. I have to give coffee enough time to get through my system because it cleans me out so I only use it before races. I'm not waking up two hours early before training.

    Congrats on kicking ass in the fast lane!

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  7. Those cookies look awesome!

    I always drink some caffeine before a race! It's a prove fact that it's not bad for you!

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  8. I drank a whole pot today, which isn't that rare - I work from home so it's always there. And I always drink a cup before a run or a race - I know it perks me up!
    Keep up the lunges - the first week is hard, but it will pay off!
    The cookies are adorable!

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  9. I will say my biggest vice is caffeine! I actually would drink a sugar free red bull every day if they weren't so expensive and probably making my insides glow! Instead I drink one before every race...it is part of my ritual.

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  10. yay for being a speedy tastic swimmer!!! :)

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