Just a few more days in 2010. What a year it's been. I'm planning on recapping the year because, as I went through some blog entries from last January, it is amazing how far I've come. But for these last few days, I'm just going about my weekly routine as much as I can and getting in my runs in. I'm glad there's the NYC 1/2 to look forward to, now that I met my 1000 miles goal and it's that lazy week between Christmas and New Year's, I could see slacking off. It wouldn't be the worst thing to take some time off but why mess with something that's working. It will be easier to continue doing what I'm doing as the new year starts instead of feeling like I have to start over or start again.
It was a great day at work -- no one was there! It's a super slow week, we're all on flex time so my work days were yesterday and today, then I get Wed and Thurs off. I like that! Because I knew I'd be alone at work I thought I'd try to get in a lunch-time run. I got changed and it was cold in my building, I couldn't imagine what outside would feel like. As I walked out of the building to my car I thought "Maybe this isn't such a good idea." But since I was already out I thought I should give it a shot.
I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I know within 12 steps how it's going to go. Fortunately, I knew right away it would be an okay run. I felt strong and ready to roll. The wind was wicked, the cold was fierce, there were puddles of slush, patches of ice, and snowbanks to hop over and into when plowtrucks went by. As crazy as it was, it felt great being out there. I felt so alive. So connected with myself that I had carved out that time and, regardless of the conditions, I knew I had the strength to make it work.
I worked it. 6.31 miles. Overall pace was 10:09/mile which seems to be my number lately. I'm not upset with it at all, it was rough-going out there! I did it! That was the important thing! When doing nothing and sitting at my desk wrapped in a blanket (as I also do when no one's in the office) seemed much more likely than going outside and running for an hour -- I win! I put myself first because I knew how satisfied I'd be when I was done.
I think I'll probably get one more run in 2010. If I run tomorrow it will be 5 days in a row which I don't really like to do but I might do it anyway and take the next few days off. If I do run, I want it to be a good one. But aren't they all good? Any time you do something for yourself and your health, any run is good.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Oh, did it ever snow...
...and snow, and snow, and snow. It actually wasn't the snow that was the frightening part, it was the wind. Gusts of up to 60 mph. We didn't lose electricity, thankfully, so it wasn't that bad. Yesterday after I got home from my run and the errands I took a nice nap, did some reading, watched a movie, and knitted.
This morning we got the email "If you feel you cannot make it into work..." so the office wasn't closed but we were able to work at home. Big deal. I hate technology. I remember when a snow day was a snow day. Whatever. At least I didn't have to go anywhere today and I didn't have to take the day as an unpaid vacation day.
I normally take Mondays off from running but I'll be taking Thursday, Friday, and probably Saturday off this week so I did a few miles tonight: 3.14. I did it as fartlek training and I really do see an improvement. All my fast intervals were all in the 8-something-minute range which made my recovery intervals 10 minutes/mile or less. The easier those seem then there's the hope that my average speed will get better little by little.
I'm bringing my running stuff to work tomorrow. If the roads are plowed then I'm going out at lunch.
This morning we got the email "If you feel you cannot make it into work..." so the office wasn't closed but we were able to work at home. Big deal. I hate technology. I remember when a snow day was a snow day. Whatever. At least I didn't have to go anywhere today and I didn't have to take the day as an unpaid vacation day.
I normally take Mondays off from running but I'll be taking Thursday, Friday, and probably Saturday off this week so I did a few miles tonight: 3.14. I did it as fartlek training and I really do see an improvement. All my fast intervals were all in the 8-something-minute range which made my recovery intervals 10 minutes/mile or less. The easier those seem then there's the hope that my average speed will get better little by little.
I'm bringing my running stuff to work tomorrow. If the roads are plowed then I'm going out at lunch.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Outrunning the snow
I woke up this morning on high blizzard alert. It's all everyone talked about last night on FB so I expected to wake up to 6 inches of snow. Since I didn't and it was off-and-on flurrying I decided to go to the trail and get in a good run before the snow really hit. I also needed some groceries so I figured I'd hit that on the way home.
I was planning on doing 6 miles, hoping to do 7. I felt good when I started out, I think I just naturally thrive in this weather -- I felt happy and my lungs felt good (they can burn sometimes with the cold air). I had a rough idea where the 3.5 mile turnaround was but when I took out my phone to check Runkeeper I saw that I was already at 3.66 miles so I figured I'd just keep going at that point to the 4-mile turnaround.
It was a sweet run. Average pace was 10:09/mile, not bad for the trail and taking on a 411 foot climb. My splits are great, my pace dropped even as the climb went up and then took a nice drop on the way back. I love the rare runs when each mile is consistently faster.
One drawback today, though. Since I was only planning on doing 6 or 7 I didn't bring hydration or a gel with me. Eight miles is about my max of what I can handle without some fluids. The first 7 miles I was running off of Christmas cookie carbs (the very best carbs of all!) but my legs felt very heavy by the end because I had no glycogen left. If it were hot out I wouldn't have lasted more than 4 miles without fluids. So my lesson was that just because it's cold and it doesn't seem like I'm sweating, I still need to hydrate and supplement now that I'm back up to a good mid-length distance for my long runs.
It ended up being another solid week: 27.43 miles. I wasn't expecting anything close to that because of traveling and Christmas. I think this will be a lower mileage week and I'll go back up in the new year. Two up, 1 back, that's the pattern that worked well for marathon training.
After my run I picked up some groceries, some Chinese food (which was more packed than the store), and headed home. It was the first test of my 4-wheel drive and I had no problems getting up my monster hill.
Oh, and something nice happened the other day. I don't really know our neighbors, our houses are far enough apart that we really never even see them. On Christmas Eve day the neighbor on the end who has 2 little kids brought banana bread around and she asked me if I had done the half marathon. I said yes but I was confused how she knew so I asked her and she said it was in the local paper and that her husband saw it. Who knew? A local celeb. ;)
I was planning on doing 6 miles, hoping to do 7. I felt good when I started out, I think I just naturally thrive in this weather -- I felt happy and my lungs felt good (they can burn sometimes with the cold air). I had a rough idea where the 3.5 mile turnaround was but when I took out my phone to check Runkeeper I saw that I was already at 3.66 miles so I figured I'd just keep going at that point to the 4-mile turnaround.
It was a sweet run. Average pace was 10:09/mile, not bad for the trail and taking on a 411 foot climb. My splits are great, my pace dropped even as the climb went up and then took a nice drop on the way back. I love the rare runs when each mile is consistently faster.
One drawback today, though. Since I was only planning on doing 6 or 7 I didn't bring hydration or a gel with me. Eight miles is about my max of what I can handle without some fluids. The first 7 miles I was running off of Christmas cookie carbs (the very best carbs of all!) but my legs felt very heavy by the end because I had no glycogen left. If it were hot out I wouldn't have lasted more than 4 miles without fluids. So my lesson was that just because it's cold and it doesn't seem like I'm sweating, I still need to hydrate and supplement now that I'm back up to a good mid-length distance for my long runs.
It ended up being another solid week: 27.43 miles. I wasn't expecting anything close to that because of traveling and Christmas. I think this will be a lower mileage week and I'll go back up in the new year. Two up, 1 back, that's the pattern that worked well for marathon training.
After my run I picked up some groceries, some Chinese food (which was more packed than the store), and headed home. It was the first test of my 4-wheel drive and I had no problems getting up my monster hill.
Oh, and something nice happened the other day. I don't really know our neighbors, our houses are far enough apart that we really never even see them. On Christmas Eve day the neighbor on the end who has 2 little kids brought banana bread around and she asked me if I had done the half marathon. I said yes but I was confused how she knew so I asked her and she said it was in the local paper and that her husband saw it. Who knew? A local celeb. ;)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Merry Christmas to ME!!!
Did a nice 4.08 mile this morning. 9:36/mile pace. Hill course from hell:
That would be awesome on its own, except my Christmas run gave me this little present:
This is probably the first New Year's goal I set for myself and actually followed through on. And I still have 6 days before the end of the year! I'm so damned happy. As RunKeeper gave me my audio cues for each mile this morning I got faster and happier because I knew I was ticking my way down to my goal. What an awesome feeling.
Since this was a Christmas gift to myself, here's a stupid picture to go along with it! Merry Christmas! I gave myself the gift of good health, the very best gift of all!
That would be awesome on its own, except my Christmas run gave me this little present:
This is probably the first New Year's goal I set for myself and actually followed through on. And I still have 6 days before the end of the year! I'm so damned happy. As RunKeeper gave me my audio cues for each mile this morning I got faster and happier because I knew I was ticking my way down to my goal. What an awesome feeling.
Since this was a Christmas gift to myself, here's a stupid picture to go along with it! Merry Christmas! I gave myself the gift of good health, the very best gift of all!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Blown away
Unbelievably, I got in another run today. I know! Who'd a thought?! It was amazing, too. It was flurrying, my first snow run of the year. I loved it! I felt like a husky dog and I just wanted to go, go, go. I tried to take a picture of the flurries but they were too fine to capture with my phone. It was pretty though. And cold. I did 5.16 miles and I was thrilled. I saw on the news later that the wind gusts were 30 mph today. I definitely felt it! I thought March was supposed to be the windy month! Windy now, windy later -- it's good training and I'm almost to my running goal for the year.
We did more shopping, more visiting, and I have to do more wrapping tonight. It's all good though, I've actually enjoyed the holidays more than I usually do.
We did more shopping, more visiting, and I have to do more wrapping tonight. It's all good though, I've actually enjoyed the holidays more than I usually do.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Doing what does not come naturally
I'm out in Long Island. We're doing the family visiting thing. I'm off until Monday. The holidays are officially here. There's lots of great food all around. Doing some last-minute shopping. It's the end of the year and I'm in that mode of kicking back and relaxing.
But I still have some miles to do. So after we went shopping this morning and did some errands I forced myself to put on my running clothes and I did a respectable 4.18 miles. Yeah! I know! It was so windy I didn't think I would get very far and, truthfully, I didn't care if I did. If I got in 2 miles today I would have been happy. The wind kept whistling in my ears and pushing my headphones right out! So I just put my head down and kept going. Despite being sore as hell from Crossfit the other day I felt fine from a cardio perspective so I kept shuffling along. Once I got to 3 miles I figured I'd get one more in and ended up with 4.18.
That totally flies in the face of what I wanted to do: lie around, eat cookies, and take a nap. I did end up taking a nap afterwards but I felt like it was deserved. After, we did some family visiting and now we're kicking back.
The plan is to run again tomorrow. But that's just a plan. It's Christmas week. I already did something unprecedented today by getting this run in. I'm not going to come down too hard on myself if I can't repeat it.
But I still have some miles to do. So after we went shopping this morning and did some errands I forced myself to put on my running clothes and I did a respectable 4.18 miles. Yeah! I know! It was so windy I didn't think I would get very far and, truthfully, I didn't care if I did. If I got in 2 miles today I would have been happy. The wind kept whistling in my ears and pushing my headphones right out! So I just put my head down and kept going. Despite being sore as hell from Crossfit the other day I felt fine from a cardio perspective so I kept shuffling along. Once I got to 3 miles I figured I'd get one more in and ended up with 4.18.
That totally flies in the face of what I wanted to do: lie around, eat cookies, and take a nap. I did end up taking a nap afterwards but I felt like it was deserved. After, we did some family visiting and now we're kicking back.
The plan is to run again tomorrow. But that's just a plan. It's Christmas week. I already did something unprecedented today by getting this run in. I'm not going to come down too hard on myself if I can't repeat it.
Monday, December 20, 2010
A day made of win
I graduated twice today!
My first graduation was at Crossfit. I finished my last training session. We worked on form for deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, and clean and press. I should back up because there was a good saying written on the dry erase board: Our warmup is your workout. It's no lie. The warmup was 2 sets of hip flexor stretches, 10 situps, 10 squats, 10 shoulder presses, 10 walking lunges, and 200 m rowing. Yeah. THEN the practice for the form. And then the workout. Today was insanely hard:
21 sumo deadlifts
21 pullups
21 squats
18 sumo deadlifts
18 pullups
18 squats
15 sumo deadlifts
15 pullups
15 squats
And the 12 of each, 9 of each, 6 of each, and finally 3 of each. I didn't think I was going to make it through the first round, how I got to the end I'll never know. You do it for time, the idea is to move quickly from each movement to keep the heart rate jacked. I think it took me around 18 minutes (I'm supposed to write it down). I walked out of there feeling like a warrior!
That would have been more than enough of a workout but I got that goal to finish so I hit the treadmill when I got home because tomorrow I'm traveling and my runs (if any) will be short ones on Wed and Thurs because we'll be visiting B's family. I played with speedwork again, it's becoming my favorite way to do the treadmill, and I got in 5.94 miles. OOH-RAH!
After I did the treadmill I opened the mail and got my "diploma" from the NYC Marathon, Class of 2010. I love it! 10:58 pace, baby! So proud of that.
Even cooler, this came!
The picture does not do it justice. I said I was going to order one of these if I ever did a full marathon! I ordered it at the expo and, to be honest, I forgot about it for awhile until it finally showed up on my credit card. It's gorgeous. Thats a real medal so I actually have 2 now. The picture is 5 x 7 so that gives you an idea of how big it is. I have no idea where to hang it though. I'd really like to put this stuff in my basement where my treadmill is but it's a cement foundation and I don't really want to drill holes into the concrete to hang stuff. I'll find a good place somewhere.
My first graduation was at Crossfit. I finished my last training session. We worked on form for deadlifts, sumo deadlifts, and clean and press. I should back up because there was a good saying written on the dry erase board: Our warmup is your workout. It's no lie. The warmup was 2 sets of hip flexor stretches, 10 situps, 10 squats, 10 shoulder presses, 10 walking lunges, and 200 m rowing. Yeah. THEN the practice for the form. And then the workout. Today was insanely hard:
21 sumo deadlifts
21 pullups
21 squats
18 sumo deadlifts
18 pullups
18 squats
15 sumo deadlifts
15 pullups
15 squats
And the 12 of each, 9 of each, 6 of each, and finally 3 of each. I didn't think I was going to make it through the first round, how I got to the end I'll never know. You do it for time, the idea is to move quickly from each movement to keep the heart rate jacked. I think it took me around 18 minutes (I'm supposed to write it down). I walked out of there feeling like a warrior!
That would have been more than enough of a workout but I got that goal to finish so I hit the treadmill when I got home because tomorrow I'm traveling and my runs (if any) will be short ones on Wed and Thurs because we'll be visiting B's family. I played with speedwork again, it's becoming my favorite way to do the treadmill, and I got in 5.94 miles. OOH-RAH!
After I did the treadmill I opened the mail and got my "diploma" from the NYC Marathon, Class of 2010. I love it! 10:58 pace, baby! So proud of that.
Even cooler, this came!
The picture does not do it justice. I said I was going to order one of these if I ever did a full marathon! I ordered it at the expo and, to be honest, I forgot about it for awhile until it finally showed up on my credit card. It's gorgeous. Thats a real medal so I actually have 2 now. The picture is 5 x 7 so that gives you an idea of how big it is. I have no idea where to hang it though. I'd really like to put this stuff in my basement where my treadmill is but it's a cement foundation and I don't really want to drill holes into the concrete to hang stuff. I'll find a good place somewhere.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Well *that's* pretty cool
I had another good trail run today. I went in the opposite direction for some variety. That doesn't mean there wasn't some uphill involved but it didn't seem as bad because I was only doing 4. I ended up with 4.3 miles and my average pace was 9:53/mile. I'll take that, especially for a recovery run. My splits tell a good tale:
The trail sure is pretty. This just made me feel so happy and alive to be out there today.
It ended up being a really great week for running: 28.4 miles! I haven't pulled out mileage like that since the first week of the taper for the marathon. I won't have a great week like that next week because I'm going to LI Tuesday-Friday, then it's Christmas, but I should be able to get in enough to finish off my 2010 goal! A little over 18 miles to go! When I set this goal almost a year ago it seemed so unattainable. I'll have to look online and see all the places I could have run to in a thousand miles.
The trail sure is pretty. This just made me feel so happy and alive to be out there today.
It ended up being a really great week for running: 28.4 miles! I haven't pulled out mileage like that since the first week of the taper for the marathon. I won't have a great week like that next week because I'm going to LI Tuesday-Friday, then it's Christmas, but I should be able to get in enough to finish off my 2010 goal! A little over 18 miles to go! When I set this goal almost a year ago it seemed so unattainable. I'll have to look online and see all the places I could have run to in a thousand miles.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Happy Trails to You
Ahhh, how nice it was to not be training for anything. It's amazing how in one week my mind went from "Hey, running is fun!" to "Git r done."
I hit the trail this morning, 6.5 miles. Trail running is always tougher than street running (unless you're running into a wind tunnel like the other day) so I wanted to make today a good run. It was: 10:09/mile average pace. That's pretty good when you take into account this monster:
Oh, that hill. That hill! I turned around at 3.25 miles and I couldn't for the life of me imagine charging up another 2.75 miles of uphill like I had over the summer. But if you don't use it, you lose it. I haven't done that kind of run in awhile. Isn't that sad though? That it takes so little time to lose stamina and strength? Maybe it's the mental edge, too. I knew I didn't *have* to keep going up the hill so I didn't. If I knew that's what I needed to do I guess I would have done it. That tricky brain, it's always coming up with ways to get out of doing stuff.
Anyway, good run. I'm very satisfied with my pace and strength. I loved being outside on a sunny, chilly day. It actually warmed up during my run, I took off my arm warmers and if I had gone any longer I would have taken off my earwarmer-headband-thing.
Now I have more Christmas crap to do. Baking, wrapping, and that. Christmas cards never got done this year and I'm fine with that. I have a pretty small quotient for festivity this time of year.
I hit the trail this morning, 6.5 miles. Trail running is always tougher than street running (unless you're running into a wind tunnel like the other day) so I wanted to make today a good run. It was: 10:09/mile average pace. That's pretty good when you take into account this monster:
Oh, that hill. That hill! I turned around at 3.25 miles and I couldn't for the life of me imagine charging up another 2.75 miles of uphill like I had over the summer. But if you don't use it, you lose it. I haven't done that kind of run in awhile. Isn't that sad though? That it takes so little time to lose stamina and strength? Maybe it's the mental edge, too. I knew I didn't *have* to keep going up the hill so I didn't. If I knew that's what I needed to do I guess I would have done it. That tricky brain, it's always coming up with ways to get out of doing stuff.
Anyway, good run. I'm very satisfied with my pace and strength. I loved being outside on a sunny, chilly day. It actually warmed up during my run, I took off my arm warmers and if I had gone any longer I would have taken off my earwarmer-headband-thing.
Now I have more Christmas crap to do. Baking, wrapping, and that. Christmas cards never got done this year and I'm fine with that. I have a pretty small quotient for festivity this time of year.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wind training
There's all kinds of training for running: speed work, hill work, long runs, tempo runs, repeats. Today I discovered a new one: WIND training.
I decided to do one of my favorite routes near my office at lunchtime today. First I had to stop at the running store (which I love that there's one right near where I park) to get some winter running pants. I only have capris and I knew those were not going to cut it in 27 degree weather. I got some really nice Nike ones that are fleecy on the inside and stretchy on the outside. They look cool, too. I also got a ear warmer headband with a little hole for my ponytail, some arm warmers which I've never used but really came to appreciate today, and some socks. It was an expensive 10 minutes but I really needed all that stuff.
I did a 6.17 mile loop and while it was gorgeous to run along the wintry shoreline, it was WINDY. Like, running into a wind tunnel the entire time. At times I felt like if I wasn't running as hard as I could I would have been pushed backwards. As tough as it was, it was excellent training for my quads because that's where I felt it the entire time. It ended up being a pretty solid run even with the wind, my pace was 9:59/mile. Imagine if it wasn't so windy! Good, tough training though. I was so happy to be outside on a beautiful sunny day running a route that served me very well during my marathon training.
My splits were pretty good. I haven't paid much attention to pace since the marathon but now that I'm officially in training for something I'm going to work on that again.
My 1/2 time at the NYC marathon was 2:16:34. I'd like to get under 2:10 for this one. We'll see, I said this one would be no pressure and here I am already looking to PR. I'll just be happy running through the streets again with a number and a smile. :)
I decided to do one of my favorite routes near my office at lunchtime today. First I had to stop at the running store (which I love that there's one right near where I park) to get some winter running pants. I only have capris and I knew those were not going to cut it in 27 degree weather. I got some really nice Nike ones that are fleecy on the inside and stretchy on the outside. They look cool, too. I also got a ear warmer headband with a little hole for my ponytail, some arm warmers which I've never used but really came to appreciate today, and some socks. It was an expensive 10 minutes but I really needed all that stuff.
I did a 6.17 mile loop and while it was gorgeous to run along the wintry shoreline, it was WINDY. Like, running into a wind tunnel the entire time. At times I felt like if I wasn't running as hard as I could I would have been pushed backwards. As tough as it was, it was excellent training for my quads because that's where I felt it the entire time. It ended up being a pretty solid run even with the wind, my pace was 9:59/mile. Imagine if it wasn't so windy! Good, tough training though. I was so happy to be outside on a beautiful sunny day running a route that served me very well during my marathon training.
My splits were pretty good. I haven't paid much attention to pace since the marathon but now that I'm officially in training for something I'm going to work on that again.
My 1/2 time at the NYC marathon was 2:16:34. I'd like to get under 2:10 for this one. We'll see, I said this one would be no pressure and here I am already looking to PR. I'll just be happy running through the streets again with a number and a smile. :)
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Start spreading the news...
Looks like I'll be running the streets of NYC again! Don't worry, I won't be asking for money and it's a half marathon so I won't be whining about my training nearly as much. It's a very cool course, totally different from the Manhatten part of the full. It starts at Central Park (I bet those hills will feel a lot better in the beginning of the race than they did at the end of the full), through Times Square, and down to Battery Park. I'm going to be much more laid back and just enjoy the sights and the people.
This is an older map but I'm assuming it's the same course. Bring it!
Even cooler, Miss Sarah got accepted, too! It's her first half marathon and she is VERY lucky that it will be NYC! It might spoil her for all other half marathons! ;)
Running through Times Square -- how cool is that?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Two-a-days X 2!
Second Tuesday in a row: double workouts!
Crossfit was great. We worked on the form for 3 upper body moves: shoulder press, push press, and the push jerk. They are progressively harder, working the shoulder and probably everything else in the upper body (I'll know tomorrow by what's sore). We did that for awhile and then we did the workout:
5 pushups
10 push press/push jerk
5 medicine ball wall throws (you squat and as you come up you throw the medicine ball up and at the wall)
Did that for 10 rounds. We were originally going for 5 but when I was almost done with the 5th she said I was doing so well that I got to do an extra 5. Yay, me! :P It felt great though. Crossfit is such a solid workout and I'm really glad I'm getting into it. I have one more training session and then I'm all cleared to take part in the regular sessions. I could have banged them all out in the same week but I'm still working on that running goal.
Which leads me to my second workout today: the treadmill. I did an hour again, same pattern as yesterday but I started out faster so I was able to eek in almost an extra tenth of a mile in the same time. I'm going to make that 1000 miles in 2010 goal, damn it! I'm on a roll now!
I have a hot bath pouring (I need it) and I *think* I should sleep pretty well tonight.
Crossfit was great. We worked on the form for 3 upper body moves: shoulder press, push press, and the push jerk. They are progressively harder, working the shoulder and probably everything else in the upper body (I'll know tomorrow by what's sore). We did that for awhile and then we did the workout:
5 pushups
10 push press/push jerk
5 medicine ball wall throws (you squat and as you come up you throw the medicine ball up and at the wall)
Did that for 10 rounds. We were originally going for 5 but when I was almost done with the 5th she said I was doing so well that I got to do an extra 5. Yay, me! :P It felt great though. Crossfit is such a solid workout and I'm really glad I'm getting into it. I have one more training session and then I'm all cleared to take part in the regular sessions. I could have banged them all out in the same week but I'm still working on that running goal.
Which leads me to my second workout today: the treadmill. I did an hour again, same pattern as yesterday but I started out faster so I was able to eek in almost an extra tenth of a mile in the same time. I'm going to make that 1000 miles in 2010 goal, damn it! I'm on a roll now!
I have a hot bath pouring (I need it) and I *think* I should sleep pretty well tonight.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Nap Power
It was a busy weekend: Christmas decorating, cooking and baking, hosting a little party, getting some runs in. I wasn't feeling really ready for Monday but, alas, it came anyway.
I had a pretty productive day at work but I was exhausted when I left. It's Monday, my usual rest day, so I didn't have plans on doing a workout when I got home. I didn't plan on taking a nap either but it was cold and rainy and my bed looked so very tempting. It wasn't a really long nap but it must have been a nice deep sleep because I woke up feeling totally energized and rested.
So I got on the treadmill!
I did fartlek training for an hour, it felt great. That's such a good treadmill workout for me because it's productive but it breaks it into mini sections. I used to think it was about working on my top end speed but, for me, it's better if I think of it as working on bringing the bottom end up. Running 5.5 mph is a fine speed and very sustainable for long races, but alternating that with 6.5 mph makes the 5.5 mph sections seems that much easier. So my goal is to keep goosing that up so my bottom end is faster. I'm also working really hard on form. It's not ideal to do that on the treadmill because it's hard to get a natural gait but I am trying. I want to be a faster, more efficient runner.
Tomorrow will hopefully be another Crossfit training session at lunch and then maybe a short run after work. I don't think I've ever been this good with workouts in December. Merry Christmas to me!
I had a pretty productive day at work but I was exhausted when I left. It's Monday, my usual rest day, so I didn't have plans on doing a workout when I got home. I didn't plan on taking a nap either but it was cold and rainy and my bed looked so very tempting. It wasn't a really long nap but it must have been a nice deep sleep because I woke up feeling totally energized and rested.
So I got on the treadmill!
I did fartlek training for an hour, it felt great. That's such a good treadmill workout for me because it's productive but it breaks it into mini sections. I used to think it was about working on my top end speed but, for me, it's better if I think of it as working on bringing the bottom end up. Running 5.5 mph is a fine speed and very sustainable for long races, but alternating that with 6.5 mph makes the 5.5 mph sections seems that much easier. So my goal is to keep goosing that up so my bottom end is faster. I'm also working really hard on form. It's not ideal to do that on the treadmill because it's hard to get a natural gait but I am trying. I want to be a faster, more efficient runner.
Tomorrow will hopefully be another Crossfit training session at lunch and then maybe a short run after work. I don't think I've ever been this good with workouts in December. Merry Christmas to me!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Baby, It's COLD Outside!
I was happy to get out of my basement and run outside today. It was cold. Sunny, but COLD. It felt great to be outside though. I went to the Airline Trail -- my first time since the marathon. It was kind of like going home. I spent so many hours on that trail this summer. I really became a runner on that trail.
As nice as it was to remember all my long runs it was also a nice break from them today. I didn't have to worry about hydration or gels. I just went. 6.14 miles.
It's been about 10 months since I started running, I think the first time I went to the trail was in April so I'm headed into my 4th season there. It's been beautiful in every season, I don't think winter will an exception.
As nice as it was to remember all my long runs it was also a nice break from them today. I didn't have to worry about hydration or gels. I just went. 6.14 miles.
It's been about 10 months since I started running, I think the first time I went to the trail was in April so I'm headed into my 4th season there. It's been beautiful in every season, I don't think winter will an exception.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
In case you were worried...
My hair came out fab. A little touch-up on my highlights, a keratin treatment, a trim on the ends. Perfect. I can't get it sweaty, put it up, or wash it until Saturday so I have today and tomorrow off from workouts.
I'm so proud of myself though -- even though I did my 2 workouts on Tuesday, I got up early (early for me, anyway) on Wednesday to get in a run since I knew I had my hair appt that night. I really hate morning runs, especially on the treadmill. It's just so boring watching the time tick by. There's no way I'll last all winter if I stick to just the treadmill because, as much as I hate to admit it, the hillwork is really important. I've tried playing with the incline on the treadmill but it's just not the same. I like the mental training you get when you see a hill, run into it, adjust your stride to get up it, see the crest, and then (hopefully) get some downhill on the other side. Or if it's not a steep hill but a long gradual climb, I like seeing the road ahead of me and breaking it up into smaller visual chunks (a tree, a fence, etc). Wind resistance is really important, too. I always forget about it until I'm running straight into it. The drag you feel on your quads is incredible. It just makes you appreciate the times when the wind is at your back and you can imagine it pushing you along. That's why I like running outside -- the variety of getting to work against and with the elements.
Two days later and my shoulders are still sore from those kettleball swings. I think that's what Crossfit is going to be like once I'm in a regular class schedule: just rotating sore body parts.
I'm so proud of myself though -- even though I did my 2 workouts on Tuesday, I got up early (early for me, anyway) on Wednesday to get in a run since I knew I had my hair appt that night. I really hate morning runs, especially on the treadmill. It's just so boring watching the time tick by. There's no way I'll last all winter if I stick to just the treadmill because, as much as I hate to admit it, the hillwork is really important. I've tried playing with the incline on the treadmill but it's just not the same. I like the mental training you get when you see a hill, run into it, adjust your stride to get up it, see the crest, and then (hopefully) get some downhill on the other side. Or if it's not a steep hill but a long gradual climb, I like seeing the road ahead of me and breaking it up into smaller visual chunks (a tree, a fence, etc). Wind resistance is really important, too. I always forget about it until I'm running straight into it. The drag you feel on your quads is incredible. It just makes you appreciate the times when the wind is at your back and you can imagine it pushing you along. That's why I like running outside -- the variety of getting to work against and with the elements.
Two days later and my shoulders are still sore from those kettleball swings. I think that's what Crossfit is going to be like once I'm in a regular class schedule: just rotating sore body parts.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Two-a-days
Today was pretty good as far as workouts go.
It's that time of year when there always seems to be some kind of crap to do on the weekends or after work. Schedule-wise, I've found it really challenging to get my workouts in. Motivation-wise, it's been tough, too. Again, it's that time of year. Things are winding down. There are so many obligations -- even good ones. I think it's pretty normal to put things on hold until the new year when it seems natural to want to get a fresh start.
I, however, cannot do that. First, because I know all too well that if I go too easy the rest of the year that renewal for fitness is not going to happen for me on Jan 1. Second, because I have one important goal to finish up: my 1000 miles in 2010. I've only been working on it in dribs and drabs and the ticker needs to keep moving. I still have plenty of time, I haven't backed myself into a corner. But if I don't make a concerted effort to keep going I'll be pissed off on New Year's Eve that I didn't make it.
But back to today...
I had my first training session at Crossfit. We worked on form for 3 different types of squats, which was hard enough on its own. Then we did a 12-minute workout: 5 front squats, 10 walking lunges, 10 kettle ball swings (18-lb kettle ball). Over, and over again. I got in 7 rounds in the 12 minutes and I'm pretty happy with that. I didn't make the mistake I did the first class, if I felt like my heart rate was spiking I just took my time getting to the next exercise. I didn't have to be a hero. I think because the class was going on while I was doing my thing with the trainer the first time I felt like I had to keep up.
That was at lunch and at 3 I wanted so badly to sneak home and take a nap. On the drive home I all but convinced myself that I really was going to go home and sleep. But...I remembered that ticker. So I got on the treadmill and got in 4.10 miles of fartlek training.
That's the first time in, like, ever that I've gotten in 2 workouts in one day. Don't be too impressed, there have been too many days in the last few weeks between getting sick or going away for the weekend where I got in no workout. I'm just happy I saw it through.
Tomorrow night is Brazilian Blowout night and if you've been keeping up with my blog it means my hair takes a few rest days. ;) I'll be good to go by Saturday though and get some more miles in. I think if I average just 15/week for the rest of the year I'm good. I should be able to manage that.
It's that time of year when there always seems to be some kind of crap to do on the weekends or after work. Schedule-wise, I've found it really challenging to get my workouts in. Motivation-wise, it's been tough, too. Again, it's that time of year. Things are winding down. There are so many obligations -- even good ones. I think it's pretty normal to put things on hold until the new year when it seems natural to want to get a fresh start.
I, however, cannot do that. First, because I know all too well that if I go too easy the rest of the year that renewal for fitness is not going to happen for me on Jan 1. Second, because I have one important goal to finish up: my 1000 miles in 2010. I've only been working on it in dribs and drabs and the ticker needs to keep moving. I still have plenty of time, I haven't backed myself into a corner. But if I don't make a concerted effort to keep going I'll be pissed off on New Year's Eve that I didn't make it.
But back to today...
I had my first training session at Crossfit. We worked on form for 3 different types of squats, which was hard enough on its own. Then we did a 12-minute workout: 5 front squats, 10 walking lunges, 10 kettle ball swings (18-lb kettle ball). Over, and over again. I got in 7 rounds in the 12 minutes and I'm pretty happy with that. I didn't make the mistake I did the first class, if I felt like my heart rate was spiking I just took my time getting to the next exercise. I didn't have to be a hero. I think because the class was going on while I was doing my thing with the trainer the first time I felt like I had to keep up.
That was at lunch and at 3 I wanted so badly to sneak home and take a nap. On the drive home I all but convinced myself that I really was going to go home and sleep. But...I remembered that ticker. So I got on the treadmill and got in 4.10 miles of fartlek training.
That's the first time in, like, ever that I've gotten in 2 workouts in one day. Don't be too impressed, there have been too many days in the last few weeks between getting sick or going away for the weekend where I got in no workout. I'm just happy I saw it through.
Tomorrow night is Brazilian Blowout night and if you've been keeping up with my blog it means my hair takes a few rest days. ;) I'll be good to go by Saturday though and get some more miles in. I think if I average just 15/week for the rest of the year I'm good. I should be able to manage that.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Wowza.
I am still sore from Wednesday. I'm kind of scared to go back now when I get back from LI. I guess it's like starting up a running program though, the first month is awful but once you get through it you can handle whatever comes your way.
I went for a run today. It's a suburban neighborhood, lots of loops and not a lot of traffic so I didn't have to worry about where I was going. I'll run tomorrow with B before I head back. The winds were crazy strong today, I felt like no matter which way I went I was always running straight into the wind.
The weeks are winding down for 2010. Gotta make each day count now!
I went for a run today. It's a suburban neighborhood, lots of loops and not a lot of traffic so I didn't have to worry about where I was going. I'll run tomorrow with B before I head back. The winds were crazy strong today, I felt like no matter which way I went I was always running straight into the wind.
The weeks are winding down for 2010. Gotta make each day count now!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
I am humbled
I did my first Crossfit workout tonight. Even the warmup was tough. And then the real workout started:
5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats
Over. And over. And over again.
Sounds simple, right? In theory, yes. In reality, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I made it through 7 rounds. When I was done I was about *this* close to passing out. I went outside for some fresh air and it took me everything not to sit down because I knew if I did I really would pass out. My heart rate hasn't been that jacked in, well, ever I think.
After I felt better I went back in and joined them for a stretch. My hat is off to everyone who does Crossfit. It's not for the faint of heart. Literally.
I like its simplicity. Each workout is different and they are usually only 3 or 4 different exercises. A lot of the workouts have names, like the one I did tonight is "Cindy." I have no idea why they're named like that but so are women's shoes, purses, and nail polish. And you know I love me my shoes, purses, and nail polish. ;)
Tonight was my introduction -- I wasn't doing the same workout the rest of the group was. I had a personal trainer the whole time. Next week I have 3 more sessions where I work on form for all the basic exercises and then I'm cleared to officially join the class.
I'll run tomorrow (assuming I can walk). Crossfit is coming at a great time with this much-needed cutback in mileage. Variety is good.
5 pullups
10 pushups
15 squats
Over. And over. And over again.
Sounds simple, right? In theory, yes. In reality, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I made it through 7 rounds. When I was done I was about *this* close to passing out. I went outside for some fresh air and it took me everything not to sit down because I knew if I did I really would pass out. My heart rate hasn't been that jacked in, well, ever I think.
After I felt better I went back in and joined them for a stretch. My hat is off to everyone who does Crossfit. It's not for the faint of heart. Literally.
I like its simplicity. Each workout is different and they are usually only 3 or 4 different exercises. A lot of the workouts have names, like the one I did tonight is "Cindy." I have no idea why they're named like that but so are women's shoes, purses, and nail polish. And you know I love me my shoes, purses, and nail polish. ;)
Tonight was my introduction -- I wasn't doing the same workout the rest of the group was. I had a personal trainer the whole time. Next week I have 3 more sessions where I work on form for all the basic exercises and then I'm cleared to officially join the class.
I'll run tomorrow (assuming I can walk). Crossfit is coming at a great time with this much-needed cutback in mileage. Variety is good.
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