Brrrrr.

Starting to get cold here. I think the treadmill and my DVD player will be my new mode of keeping active when it's freezing or rainy. I am trying to run >4 miles each time I go out.

Unscheduled Break

I haven't been running since Friday, when I hurt my hip. Hip feels better but I have some GI thing that's keeping me close to home. Yuck.

Things I Have Considered Purchasing With My Amazon.com Gift Certificate

- running shorts
- books
- Wii games
- a violin (no, I don't know how to play)
- crystallized xylitol
- mint shampoo
- rainboots
- earphones, because the ones that came with my iPod fall out all the time

Weight Weight, Don't Tell Me

After running all summer, I've lost zero pounds. NONE.

But my body fat has dropped by 5%.

So I must have lost fat and gained muscle...or water...or something other than fat.

I can't decide if I'm happy about this or not. It certainly could be worse.

Still Here!

Not that anyone is reading this but me....

I'm still running but pretty much have bagged the idea of doing the half marathon in two weeks. I ran 8 miles one weekend at the end of August, and 6 miles on Labor Day weekend. Since then, 4 or 5 miles (usually 4) about 4 times a week has been it. And I am okay with that. I just don't want to run 13.1 miles, or even 10. It may be time to find something else to keep my endorphins flowing, in addition to running.

Keeping on Track but not Keeping Track

I've lost track of my monthly mileage...oops. I can recreate it with the Garmin sometime. I did run 6 miles this past weekend, and it felt really good. I did 4 miles today and felt great - under 11-minute miles on average. It was cool today, only about 60, and that's my favorite running weather.

Still not motivated, but I'm faking it until I make it, as they say.

Nope.

No running 6 miles this weekend - we were too busy swimming, kayaking, visiting the Children's Museum and seeing Beauty and the Beast in Prospect Park. (Well, we saw the first act, and then packed it in - it was late.)

Trying hard to keep running every day but it's not doing much for me at the moment.

More Miles

Nine weeks until Leaf Peepers and I am still firmly unmotivated. I will do my best to run 6 miles this weekend and see if I can jump-start the mojo.

Three-ish miles today and three-ish yesterday. I am out there, just not "training," per se.

Egg Run Results

9:52 pace
30:35 total
11/15 in my age group

:)

The Power of Naked

Friday night we took my older daughter to a kids' fun run (1/4 mile). A 5K followed, but I volunteered to help out on the course instead of running. However, the volunteering motivated me to sign up for a local 5K the next morning.

My DH drove me to the registration, and I realized as I got out of the car that I'd forgotten my Garmin. Horrors! How would I possibly run without knowing exactly how fast and far I was going?

Well, as it turned out, I'd run pretty damn well. Under 10-minute miles (I don't know my exact time -- about 30:30, or a bit less) kind of well. (Results aren't posted yet.) I haven't run a 5K that fast since before I had kids.

So...yes, Virginia, it is possible to have TOO MUCH information.

The Itchy and Scratchy Show

We have lice in our house. Double, super gross. The kids and I have them; my dear husband does not (probably because he has 1/4 of an inch of hair on his head). We are feeling very primate-like, poking around on one another's scalps looking for critters. Iewwwww to the nth degree.

I am not running today, or tomorrow - family in town whom I haven't seen in a long time. I'm planning on 6 miles for Saturday.

Back to many loads of hot-water laundry.....

Four Slow Miles

is better than nothing. :)

Another Monday

My motivation is flagging, big time. I know I have to "just do it" but once I stop "just doing it" for a day or two, it's hard to get back on track.

I'm working on it. Only 10 weeks until the Leaf Peepers half, so I'd better find some motivation somewhere, huh?

Still Running...

...just not blogging about it. Speedwork on Sunday - four quarter-miles on the TM in 2:18 or less - not shabby! Esp. considering I could have done 2 more, except real life intervened.

I did 4 miles today...I'm trying to get back into the 10-week plan for the half marathon, since I have 11 weeks to go and haven't run more than 6 miles at a stretch since the last half I did. Oops.

More Miles

I've been running, just not posting. I've kind of lost the desire to write down every piece of data. Weird, huh?

Eleven miles since July 10. It should be more like 20, but I blew off the long run this past weekend. This coming weekend is the beer festival in Burlington so I doubt I'll be getting in a long run then! But I'm going to try to run tomorrow and Friday, and do something on Sunday besides lie around.

Running with Sadness

Our dog was put to sleep on Tuesday. It was necessary but that didn't make it any easier. RIP, Brando-man.

My running has been uninspired and sweaty lately.

Today: 3.13 miles, 11:16 pace, 143 bpm, 803 cal
7/9: 4.5 miles, 11:13 pace, 151 bpm, 1525 cal (? That's a lot)
7/6: 3 miles, 11:59 pace, no bpm, 747 cal
7/4: 4.5 miles, 11:51 pace, 147 bpm, 1118 cal (speedwork - half-mile repeats)
7/2: 3.1 miles, 10:44 pace, 151 bpm, 755 cal

Halfway Through

We're halfway through the year...hard to believe. The days fly by now that the weather is warm, the strawberries are ripe and you can go outside without layering up.

3.1 today in 10:44 - that's tempo pace without me really intending it. Kind of cool.

Mile 1: 10:37, 143 bpm
Mile 2: 11:03, 152 bpm
Mile 3: 10:45, 158 bpm
Mi 0.1: 8:34, 166 bpm

Overall was 33:16, 151 bpm, 755 cal.

Keeping it up

To run more, you must run more.
To run faster, you must run faster.

That's all the wisdom I have for today...I did 6 over the weekend and 3.5 this morning, but then witnessed a full-blown epileptic seizure in our dog, who is getting measurably worse. He got put on prednisone today and that is supposed to help, but we will have to keep upping the dose as his body gets used to it. This stinks.

Slow Down To Go Faster

I did a 3-mile tempo run today. Except I stopped after 2.75 miles because I was so worn out. I walked for a bit, and then sprinted the last 0.21 miles, hitting a new top speed (6:55 miles!) and running the whole shebang at a 7:50 pace.

I just think these numbers look weird.

Mile 1: 10:19, 143 bpm

This is usual for my first mile - a decent pace and a low heart rate.

Mile 2: 10:49, 157 bpm

Slower pace, higher heart rate - I am working harder. Plus there are more and larger hills in this mile.

Mile 3: 11:01, 160 bpm

This is the reverse of Mile 1, basically - it has at least two good uphills in it, but still - my heart rate is 160 and all I can manage is 11:01??

THEN, after a short walk:

Mile 0.21: 7:50, 160 bpm

So - my heart rate is the same as it was when I was pooping out bigtime, yet my pace is more than 2 minutes per mile faster? And BTW I felt great during this sprint. The rest seemed to be just what I needed to regroup.

What is this about? Is it just the course I'm running? Is there nothing really all that mysterious here and I'm just reading too much into it?

I know I run best after I've been running for about 30 minutes. Miles 4 to 7 have always been my "best" in any longer run. I feel good, am warmed up and loose, and my body has adjusted to running.

Anyway...the full stats are 31:04, 2.96 miles, 10:29 pace, 153 bpm and 601 calories burned.

Numbers

I am a numbers geek, but I never really realized it until I became a runner, too. I love keeping track of my pace per mile, my heart rate, calories burned, and all those other statistics. And it's all good, since sometimes the only thing that motivates me to get out and run is the thought of collecting more data.

(Why did I drop out of grad school, though? Because I didn't like analyzing and collecting data! Isn't life just a puzzle.)

Yesterday's run:
3.38 miles
38:06
11:17 pace
151 bpm

8:56 max pace
163 max bpm

686 cal

Mile 1: 10:43, 142 bpm
Mile 2: 11:24, 152 bpm
Mile 3: 11:39, 157 bpm
partial:11:32, 157 bpm

Today I did quarter-mile repeats on the road, rather than on the treadmill. I did four of them and was pleasantly surprised at my speed. On the treadmill I was between about 2:17 and 2:25, so I was quite a bit faster today. Part of it is just the nature of the treadmill - you can't just start running fast, it has to work its way up to the speed I want. Also, the repeats seemed much shorter on the road -- probably because I wasn't watching that little progress bar all the time!

First I did an easy jog down to where I was going to do repeats. I say "easy" but it was 10:19 (0.84 miles), which is actually rather speedy for me. I felt good, though.

Repeats:
1: 1:59:68, 7:50 pace, 144 bpm
2: 2:00:60, 8:18 pace, 165
3: 2:07:17, 8:19 pace, 162
4: 2:06:95, 8:27 pace, 167

Repeat 2 was actually 0.24 miles and Repeat 3 was 0.26, but it was close enough for government work. I am amazed at the low heart rate on the first repeat!

Then I jogged back: 10:44 pace and 155 bpm. Burned 690 calories. I just made banana bread so I can "give back" some of those calories as soon as it cools!

I've Got Rhythm

Three and a third miles in the middle of the day - hot. Kind of slow, but not terrible. I could tell I ate about 20 pounds of food between Friday night and Sunday night!

S. is taking swimming lessons, and I thought her dad had to be in the pool with her. In fact, he is not allowed in the pool. So he can take little Z. with him and I will have 90 minutes in which to run, shower and get dressed. EVERY morning this week, and four mornings next week.

Grand!

Back in the Saddle

Is it okay to use a horse metaphor for running? Sure, why not.

So, I didn't run Wednesday or Thursday. Friday I left for a long "girls' weekend" in New Hampshire. Four of us did run on Saturday morning. I did just over 2 miles at a nice, talk-while-you-run pace. Of course I had ideas about running 8 miles on Saturday, but that was just not to be. First, my Garmin failed me again - it doesn't seem to hold a charge well at all once you take it off the charging dock. Second, well, I was just having too much fun to spend 90 minutes away from the lake and my friends. Oh well.

I am 14 weeks from Leaf Peepers, so my goal is to get started on the 10-week plan this week and then repeat some of the weeks once I get closer to the race. I found one other appealing-looking race in the fall, but it is in Lowell, Mass., which is a hike.

Four Miles and a Rest

I did 4 miles yesterday and felt good. Unfortunately, this morning I'm feeling oogy. So no quarter-mile repeats for me.

Stats from yesterday:
4.2 mi
45:16
10:49 pace
149 bpm

8:24 max pace
173 max bpm

884 cal

Mile 1: 10:52, 137 bpm
Mile 2: 10:46, 149 bpm
Mile 3: 11:01, 153 bpm
Mile 4: 10:51, 157 bpm
Mi 0.2: 9:42, 170 bpm

The Power of Two

I did two miles today. After work. I never run at that time of day because I want to spend time with the kids, and give DH a break from SAHDdom. But I felt like I *needed* to run. So I did (with DH's blessing...at least I think it was his blessing...he said I could go!). It was good. Even just 22 minutes of running makes a big difference. I need to try to go running every day, or almost every day - I think that is the only way to see progress and changes.

I will add the stats later - it was close to an 11:00 pace, possibly because I was uncaffeinated and hadn't had anything substantial to eat in the previous 5 hours.

Sunday Sunday Sunday

I did six miles today - my foray back into "long" runs (though six miles is starting to seem not all that long - I guess that's a good thing). I saw a running friend of mine, which never happens, so that was kind of cool. What was NOT cool was the weather - super hot and sticky, even at 9-10 am.

Stats:

6 miles
71:49
11:49 pace
148 bpm

9:04 max pace
165 max bpm

1,331 cal

Mile 1: 11:28, 139 bpm
Mile 2: 12:05, 146 bpm
Mile 3: 11:31, 149 bpm
Mile 4: 11:57, 149 bpm
Mile 5: 11:21, 151 bpm
Mile 6: 12:29, 156 bpm (2 big hills + no water = slow)

More is Better

Three miles today - this is the fourth run this week! I was feeling worn out yesterday, so didn't run. (Is it coincidence that I ate badly yesterday, too?)

Hot, sunny, breezy, nice. No Porkchop.

Stats:
3.1 miles
34:06
10:59 pace
154 bpm

8:17 max pace
172 max bpm

841 calories

Mile 1: 10:41, 144 bpm
Mile 2: 11:03, 156 bpm
Mile 3: 11:27, 161 bpm
Mi 0.1: 8:39, 170 bpm

Putting in the Miles

Four miles today in sunny, breezy conditions. I thought it was kind of hot, but then I don't do really well with warm weather. Um, or cold weather. My "weather band" for optimal running is pretty narrow.

Still, I ran faster today than yesterday (when it was warmer), while keeping my HR basically the same.

I was thinking on my run today about how often I short-change myself. I decide to run 4 miles and run 3.8 instead. I decide to do six repeats and do five instead. What is that about? Fear of success? That's almost laughable - I mean, I am so far from a professional runner!

But maybe there is something to it - once you set and meet a goal, what happens then? Set another goal, for sure - but often there's a lull when you feel sort of untethered. I had that lull after the half marathon. Yes, I had a cough (and still do, but notice I am running anyway now), but I think I used that as an excuse to not run, because I had lost my motivation after the race. I don't have another concrete goal yet, though the Leaf Peepers half (late September) is a definite for me. I'd like to set another race goal before that, though.

Stats for today:
4.07 mi
45:57
11:18 pace
6:43 max pace (smokin'!)

149 bpm
173 max bpm

928 cal

Mile 1: 11:01, 137 bpm
Mile 2: 11:05, 151 bpm
Mile 3: 11:38, 153 bpm
Mile 4: 11:46, 156 bpm
0.07: 6:53, 169 bpm

Early Morning Run

The dog had to go to the vet this morning for an 8 am blood draw (fasting glucose), so while the rest of the family took him, I ran 4 miles. I thought it would be "cool" (we are having a heat wave, with 90-degree temps the past 3 days), but it wasn't! I'm glad I got the run in, anyway, since by noon it would have been even hotter.

Porkchop ran with me most of the way - she is a beagle mix and one of my favorite running partners. (Well, I don't have any human ones....) We saw a turtle, and that was about it for wildlife.

Stats:

4.22 mi
50:14
11:53 pace
150 bpm

7:43 max pace
167 max bpm

992 calories

Mile 1: 11:18, 140 bpm
Mile 2: 11:38, 148 bpm
Mile 3: 12:07, 157 bpm
Mile 4: 12:39, 154 bpm
M 0.22: 11:14, 158 bpm

It should cool off today after some late T-storms and be sunny and in the 70s for the rest of the week!

Hot!

The weather, not me. :) Just did 3.33 miles in the hot noonday sun. It's close to 90 out there, and has been for three days!

Stats:

3.33 miles
38:19
11:28 pace
827 cal

Mile 1: 10:28 (hey, this isn't so bad)
Mile 2: 11:46 (wow, it's hot)
Mile 3: 12:05 (really, really hot)
Mile 0.33: 11:49 (whew - I'm done!)

I forgot the HRM, which was probably a good thing - I'm sure my HR was way, way up there.

My summer goal is to run 5 times a week. Preferably in the morning, but I'll see what I can do.

Treadmilling With Angel

Just watched a Buffy episode (called "Angel") and ran/walked 3 miles in about 40 minutes. It felt okay, not too much coughing during the run, but now I'm hacking. Nice.

I have given up caffeine for my blood pressure's sake...I'm hoping it'll also help me eat healthier and be less moody. This is day 5 of no caffeinated coffee, and I definitely have withdrawal symptoms still. I hope they go away VERY soon.

Lull

Still coughing, so I haven't been running. I'm planning to go tomorrow and see how it goes. I'm also in the process of giving up coffee...I say "process" because even though I haven't had any since Friday or Saturday, I still have a headache. YUCK. But it raises my blood pressure to unhealthy levels, and what's the point of exercising to get healthy if a cup or two of coffee is going to negate that?

I miss it, though.

I'm thinking of looking for another half marathon to do in the fall. Leaf Peepers is always an option if I don't find another one.

Run, Run, Cough

I did 3.5 miles yesterday on a glorious day - sunny, breezy, great for running. Then last night I got that telltale scratchiness in my throat that tells me some sort of virus is moving in (or already has). I'm not surprised -- nearly 2.5 hours of running can wear down the body, making it more vulnerable to getting sick. I was just kind of hoping I'd avoided that.

I'm taking today off and hoping that I feel better tomorrow - I would love to do an easy 4-miler and then a long-ish run on Sunday (6-8 miles depending on the weather).

Stats from yesterday:

3.54 mi
38:09
10:45 pace (woot!)
817 cal
153 bpm (quite low for such a "fast" pace, IMHO)

max pace 7:37
max bpm 172

Mile 1: 10:18, 143 bpm
Mile 2: 10:58, 155 bpm
Mile 3: 11:19, 157 bpm
Mi 0.54:10:12, 166 bpm

Race Report: Fun and A PR Too!

Race day was sunny and warm (just a bit too warm for my tastes, but it worked out okay) and I ran a great race - a personal best for me! 2:26:39, which beats my previous personal record by a whole 14 seconds (back in 2002, the B&A Trail Half Marathon outside Baltimore)! Woot!

I am a bit disappointed that I didn't meet my goal of a 2:24 half (I would have taken 2:24:59!), but I don't know where I would have picked up enough time. It was hot enough that I stopped at every water stop - I suppose if I hadn't done that, I might have managed it, but those short walk breaks might actually have helped my time, for all I know.

I picked up the chip from Julie, my relay partner, in Oakledge Park and headed out. All of my nervous energy, plus the crowd support, pushed me to do sub-11-minute miles for the first 5 miles. Maybe longer...I meant to hit the "lap" button on my Garmin each mile, but I was distracted by the race itself and my miles didn't synch exactly with the mile markers, since i started at the 13.1 mile point. So I wound up with 5 laps of varying distances....LOL.

Battery Hill came at mile 15, but the Taiko Drummers and the crowd helped me push my way up without walking. After that, it was downright fun until about mile 21. Then I was ready to push to the finish...except I had 5.2 miles to go. The last 3 miles were tough; the last mile or so even tougher, but I only stopped to walk one time outside of water stops, and that was short lived. I had good energy almost all the way through and really was enjoying myself - I heard one woman comment after I waved, "They are smiling out there!"

I'd forgotten what a large, highly supportive race could be like and I want to do it again. Maybe not next weekend or anything...I'm kind of sore.

Also...I crossed the finish line next to a marathoner who was dressed like a beaver. I didn't ask why, though I desperately wanted to. I wish my husband had gotten a photo of that....

Anyway - here are the numbers!

Overall:
2:26:39
11:10 pace
169 avg bpm (you'll notice I had no trouble keeping it up!)
2,623 cal

Lap 1:
3 miles
10:46 pace
169 bpm

Lap 2:
1 mile
10:49 pace
167 bpm

Lap 3:
1 mile
10:57 pace
169 bpm

Lap 4:
2 mi
11:38 pace
166 bpm
(this may have been where I fought with my gel packet and could not get it open!)

Lap 5:
6.1 mi
11:17 pace
171 bpm


My heart rate maxed out at 182 during this race...so I guess my maximum heart rate is NOT 181. I was really surprised at how easily I kept my heart rate in the high 160s and low 170s...right where it should be on tempo runs, but where I never could manage to boost it!

I brought 3 gels with me. I had one before Julie showed up, one around mile 19 or 20 (just getting that packet open took a good 30-45 seconds) and another one about mile 23. I had a water-bottle carrier with 2 pockets that I bought Friday, but I just couldn't bring myself to use it...it seemed really bulky and bouncy, so I didn't. I carried the gels in my hand.

It was a great race, and I got a PR and almost met all 3 of my goals...so I'm happy. I realize now that more tempo racing and maybe one more longer run might have helped - but I can't go back, only forward. So now it's time to figure out my summer and fall races!

I am tempted now to try a flat fall half marathon, like Philadelphia....with a summer of training I bet I could meet my 2:24 goal and then some!

Only A Day Away

Tomorrow....the race! We went to a pasta feed tonight at a fellow runner's house - there were at least 6 of us there doing either the full marathon or the 2-person relay. I realized tonight that this will be my first race in a long time that I haven't run with someone else. I've done a half marathon and two 5Ks with friends, and in each of those races, my goal was to make sure the friend finished -- so I wasn't concerned with my time at all. This race, yes, I have a time goal (2:24) and another time goal (under 2:30) and yet another time goal (just finish!). So there's a bit more pressure. But, I have run this course before and I feel ready (though I'm still not sure which shoes I am wearing...the old ones that might be just TOO old and hurt my toe last week, or the new ones that are a bit small and hurt my feet a few weeks ago - great choice, eh?).

My daughter ran a half-mile race today...it was a bit of a letdown, I think. They were very autocratic about lining up for the race (the guy in charge was a principal...I mean really) and then there were sooooo many kids and parents in the half-miler (including me - S. asked me to run with her) that we could never actually RUN....we wound up jogging the whole way. But she did great, didn't get tired out and was pretty happy about her medal. Maybe she'll bump up to the 1-mile race next year.

Next post will be a race report!

Tapering....

Tapering is meant to induce a state of restlessness, I think. The act of tapering for a race means running less the week or two (or three) before the race. Your body gets a chance to rest; you don't lose fitness; and you get restless. People have been known to do plenty of impulsive things during a taper, including purchasing cars and houses.

Tapering for a half marathon isn't as intense as marathon tapering, though. I haven't noticed much restlessness....just crabbiness, which I think is different, but maybe not!

Today was my 4x400; I did it on the treadmill while watching part of a Buffy episode. I have a 2-mile tempo run slated for Thursday and an easy 3 miles tomorrow.

The stats:
9:46 warm-up (0.75 mile)

2:22
2:24
2:22
2:21

3:38 cool-down (0.25 mile)

total of 2 miles and 263 calories.

My goal time for the 400 is 2:27. I did all four of these with effort, but I wasn't completely wiped out after each one. I actually ran part of my cool-down.

Huh. Training works! Go figure. ;)

Last Long Run!

Six miles, all negative splits (except for one mile). I started out realllly slow, but by mile 3 I was feeling really good. And there were turtles, which is always a bonus.

Totals:
6.04 mi
71 min

11:35 pace
7:59 max pace

150 bpm
174 max bpm

1276 cal

per mile:
Mile 1: 12:10 140 bpm
Mile 2: 11:51 148 bpm
Mile 3: 11:39 147 bpm
Mile 4: 11:25 153 bpm
Mile 5: 11:35 156 bpm
Mile 6: 11:02 162 bpm
.04: 7:44 173 bpm

This week I have 4x400, a 2-mile tempo run, and I'm supposed to cross train at least once, which for me probably means an easy 3- or 4-miler.

Coming Along

I went out to do an easy 3 miles (1 mile warm-up, 1 mile fartlek and 1 mile "whatever"), but wound up doing a tempo 5K. I did it in 33:05 for a 10:41 pace, baby. (And 640 calories burned.)

While I often complain I am slow, I am 2 minutes per mile faster this year than I was last year at this time. If I can keep up my fitness, I'm hoping to be a regular 9:30 miler by next year, if not sooner! That will require a bit more effort on my part, I guess.....

The breakdown:
Mile 1: 10:29
Mile 2: 10:57
Mile 3: 10:47
Mile .1: 8:36

I am so superstitious about some things...I wore this red shirt the last two times I ran outside, and I ran really well both times...so now I'm thinking I need to wear this shirt for my race. :) I'm just hoping it's cool that day, because it's a long-sleeved shirt.

Six miles on Sunday - the last long run before the race!

A Non-running Post

This gave me some perspective, for sure! I can still remember slogging around Scotland in the rain.....


What were you doing 15 years ago this month?
May 1993. Traveling! England, Scotland, Iceland. I think I was in Scotland in the middle of May. Doing a lot of walking, eating fish-n-chips, staying in hostels and BnBs. I was very single then, very dissatisfied with my job (I took a 16-week leave of absence to travel), and just generally confused. My "home base" was U St. in Washington, D.C.

What were you doing 10 years ago this month?
May 1998. Working at the University of Maryland, Baltimore ("Director of Creative Services" -- doesn't that sound fun and interesting? It was neither.....). Engaged to Matt since March of 1997, but we still hadn't planned a wedding. :) I think we bought our house on Harford Rd at the end of this month.

What were you doing 8 years ago this month?
May 2000. Anticipating our June wedding in St. Lucia.....freelancing and loving it.....living in our Harford Rd. house with Matt, Theo, Lucky, Squeaker, and possibly Scout.

What were you doing 5 years ago this month?
May 2003. Nursing a 6-month-old (Sascha). Still living in Baltimore, same house, same spouse, down one cat (RIP Squeaker) but up a dog (welcome Brando). I had worked for Intelihealth for almost 3 years, telecommuting 4 days a week and driving to the Philly area one day a week.

What were you doing 2 years ago this month?
May 2006. Nursing a 9-month-old (Zoe) AND a 3-year-old. Living in NW Vermont with 2 kids, 1 spouse, 1 cat and 1 dog (RIP Lucky). Still working for InteliHealth (now known as Aetna InteliHealth - the gloves come off) and telecommuting.

What are you doing now?
May 2008. Nursing a 2-year-old. Still living in NW Vermont with 2 kids, 1 spouse, 1 cat and 1 dog, and STILL working for InteliHealth (though it's just called Aetna now). Taking a class tonight on planting and tending a vegetable garden. Running a half marathon in 10 days. Loving spring!

3x800

Yesterday I started having a pain on the outside of my left knee. It was still there this morning, but disappeared between the time I woke up and the time I went to change clothes to run repeats.

I was slated to do three half-milers in 4:59.

My times:

4:57
4:56
4:53

Negative splits, even! Go figure.

I also did a half-mile warm-up and a 1/5-mile cool-down, for a total of 2.2 miles, 25:42, and 291 calories burned.

My relay partner for next weekend ran 13 miles last week, and is planning on running another 13 this week! Makes me feel like a slacker. Oh well - what's done is done. I (mostly) followed the plan, and we'll see how it plays out!

Groovy

I never run the day after a long run. I figure I deserve a break, time to let my muscles recover, blah blah.

I just went out and did 3 miles in 32:31. (Avg HR 153 bpm, 563 cal burned.) Not blisteringly fast for most people, but a 10:50 pace is good for me these days. Better than good, really!

Mile 1: 10:45 143 bpm
Mile 2: 10:58 155 bpm
Mile 3: 10:48 162 bpm

After running for 2 hours yesterday, 32 minutes seemed like nothing at all. It helped that it was another indescribably glorious spring day. It was like running through a Vermont postcard.

The Home Stretch

Keeping this blog has made me see that I am lame. :) By that I mean that I short myself a lot. I don't do runs that should be done....I run fewer miles than I'm slated to run...and I don't push myself hard enough.

Instead of 12 miles yesterday I did 9.65. I decided I didn't want to run more than 2 hours, and that I was going to do a hilly run, and that dammit, it was Mother's Day and I didn't want to spend the whole day jogging around Vermont, sweating.

The stats:

Total time: 2:00:07
Total miles: 9.65
Total pace: 12:27
Avg HR: 150
Total cals: 1773

Mile 1: 11:29 139 bpm
Mile 2: 11:30 150 bpm
Mile 3: 11:50 153 bpm
Mile 4: 12:01 152 bpm
Mile 5: 12:40 157 bpm
Mile 6: 13:41 152 bpm (potty stop)
Mile 7: 12:19 147 bpm
Mile 8: 12:44 152 bpm
Mile 9: 13:51 149 bpm
0.65 m: 12:05 151 bpm

To review, my heart rate on long runs should be no lower than 151 bpm and no higher than about 164 bpm. But I just seem to get worn out before I can get my heart rate up where it should be. I'm not sure what this means, other than I need to get in better shape. :)

On the bright side, I felt good until the end, when I started to get sore....I only stopped twice on hills (and there were a LOT of hills, and some of them were STEEP)....otherwise I didn't stop at all (except for the potty stop)...and I saw some gorgeous views of the Vermont countryside.

I went back to my training for the fall half marathon...and I was out there running more miles. I have been very lazy about running if it wasn't on my "plan," even though the plan specifically says to cross train two days a week PLUS do the three days of running each week. Last week I worked out twice instead of five times....I actually don't remember the last week I worked out four or five times! And that's not good.

But...my last long run for the fall half was 10.5 miles at a 13:11 pace. So if I go by that, I'm almost a minute ahead of my fall training. And I finished my fall half in an 11:40 pace. So there is a lot of hope!

Now, I want to work out several times a week but also do enough tapering that my body is raring to go come May 25. This week calls for repeats, a 3-mile tempo and a 6-mile long run. I am going to add in a 3- or 4-mile easy run, too.

Terrible With Raisins, Indeed

The title of this blog comes from a Dorothy Parker quote. She was reviewing something -- I don't even know what it was; a book, probably -- and she said something like, "This wasn't just plain terrible. It was fancy terrible. It was terrible with raisins in it."

I just had a run that was terrible with raisins. I tried to do 4x1600 after three days off. Plus, I was traveling Tuesday, Wednesday and this morning and am overtired and have been eating poorly.

I managed half a mile warm-up in 6:35, and two repeats:
10:19 with two rest stops
10:22 with two rest stops

My goal was 10:17. I cannot do two more repeats, though I may try one more after I write this post. Or I may just take a shower.

Just to review, I'm also supposed to do an 8-mile tempo run, and a 12-mile long run this week. I think tomorrow I will run 5 miles, 4 at tempo, and on Sunday I'll do the 12. I hope I'm in better shape and spirits then. Wow. I mean, my knees are sweating. Is that even supposed to happen???

Are 7 Good Miles Better Than 10 Mediocre Ones?

Just my way of saying I didn't get to do 10 this weekend. It was poor planning on my part; Kristen was visiting and we'd originally planned for her to drive me 10 miles away from home and drop me off (not unlike what people do with kittens that they don't want), and I'd run home.

We had to scrap that plan because I stepped on one of Sascha's Bob the Builder diggers and I wasn't wearing shoes. (I also wasn't looking where I was going because I was intent on getting Sascha as far from Zoe as I could in the shortest time period possible - they were getting in each other's hair, so to speak.) I had at least one big bruise on the bottom of my foot.

So, being 10 miles from home could be very bad if it turned out I couldn't run. I worked out a route, but by the time I did that AND got dressed AND found a running hat AND geared up with my Garmin and HRM AND came back to get a bottle of water, I didn't have time to run 10 miles. That's because I was taking Sascha to the symphony at 3 pm. (Her first taste of classical music and my first orchestra concert since about the age of 7. Remind me in the future NOT to get front-row seats, because mostly what you see is the conductor's a$$.)

Anyway, to make a long story even longer, I did 7 good miles with no foot pain (thanks to thick socks and ibuprofen)! Here are the stats:

Mile 1: 11:25, 140 bpm
Mile 2: 11:37, 149 bpm
Mile 3: 11:40, 152 bpm
Mile 4: 12:25, 157 bpm (this mile had two HUGE hills in it)
Mile 5: 11:29, 152 bpm
Mile 6: 11:44, 155 bpm
Mile 7: 11:08, 161 bpm

Totals:
7 miles
81:35
11:38 pace
9:16 max pace

152 bpm
171 max bpm

1,427 calories

I'm pretty happy with that - 152 is almost exactly 75% of my max heart rate (my resting HR is about 64-65 bpm - I have been measuring it at night when putting Zoe to bed). That is the low end of what I should be doing for long runs, but I'll take it.

I'm also happy I got to see those little red lizards on the road near Goose Pond. I have no idea what they are. They kind of remind me of gummy candy. They're not quite *that* red, though.

In other news, I *just* figured out how to light up the background of my Garmin display, after owning it for more than a year. Read the manual? What manual?

Next week is heavy - four timed miles, an 8-mile tempo run and a 12-mile long run. I have no clue when I'm going to do all this, since I am going to Hartford and Boston this week and they extended my already-too-long-day-long class by an hour. The nerve!

I'll figure it out. I may be doing those 12 miles on Mother's Day...

Tiki Tiki Tempo!

I was supposed to do 6 miles today, but I did 4....but I did them in a sub-11-minute pace! 10:56, baby.

I also thought to keep track of my pace each mile. Note that I failed miserably at the "negative split" idea.

Mile 1: 10:29
Mile 2: 10:52
Mile 3: 11:01
Mile 4: 11:23 (this included A Nasty Hill)

I guess it was more like 4.5 - I jogged and walked the other half mile naked*.

I also forgot the heart-rate monitor, which may have been a good idea.

So...close to tempo pace! It was a great day, my favorite kind of running weather - 50s, sunny, no breeze. I saw some intimidating cows (no, that is not a typo - they were staring me down. I think they knew I was not a vegetarian) and a dead beaver. Yuck.

Hoping to do 3-4 easy miles tomorrow, but I'm rethinking the idea of "easy miles." If I ran this hard or harder each time I got out there, would that make my runs more worthwhile? It would certainly get me in better shape.

*meaning I used no watch, heart-rate monitor, or other measuring device. I kept my clothes on!

Perspiration and Vampires

Just did 6x400s while watching part of a Buffy episode. Here are my times (goal for these is 2:27):

9:36 warm-up (0.75 miles)

2:24
2:16
2:25 (I had to stop in the middle of this one as I overdid it on the previous one!)
2:20
2:25
2:23

5:20 cooldown (0.25 miles)

2.5 miles total
323 cal

I seem to have no problems doing my speedwork, and my long runs are coming along rather well. It's just this tempo run thing. I am supposed to do a 6-mile tempo run this week. Maybe I will do some intervals during it, and see if that ups the pace at all.

Less than 4 weeks until the race! Gulp.

Long Run Done

Eight miles today on a perfect day to run...I'm becoming spoiled by this weather and I know it's not going to last.

8 miles
91:41

11:28 pace
7:14 max pace

151 bpm
176 max bpm

2167 cal
(Is it weird that this is more than 100% more calories burned during my 5.15-mile run, even though I ran only 60% farther? I mean, that's 270 calories per mile....that seems near impossible unless I gained 100 lbs somewhere between Thursday and today.)

I'm starting to count on adrenaline and spectators to help me meet my goal at the half. I ran fairly hard today, not all out but I never felt like I was shuffling along, and I only walked when I had to (i.e., when a large dog ran toward me, barking). I could have pulled off 5 more miles today for sure, but a 11:00 pace is looking more like a secondary goal. Maybe not...maybe I can ratchet it up a notch at the race...I don't know.

In totally unrelated news, we just got back from a 4-year-old's birthday party where DH was subjected to debating with one of those people who has no clue what they are talking about but goes right on talking anyway. According to this guy, the earth just "makes" oil all the time, so we shouldn't be so worried about using it, and the sun is not made of matter. (DH wasn't clear what this guy thought it WAS made of, and the little bit I heard of this person's side of the conversation made me wonder what the h#*% they were talking about...something about magnetic poles and the sun's heat making them stronger.....

Oh, shoe update: I bought some superthin socks - some sort of Nike ones with specific left and right socks (there's an "L" on the bottom of one sock and an "R" on the other ). I tried them with the shoes that I thought were too small, and everything felt really good for all 8 miles. I'm relieved - buying a couple of pairs of $7 socks is way cheaper than buying another pair of $95 running shoes.

"Tempo" run

Instead of 8 miles, I did 5.15 miles. My excuse is that I don't have time to do 8 miles, but that's bull. I can sit here surfing the internet for an hour and feel like I'm not procrastinating, because I'm immediately available if someone calls or emails me. Out there running, I'm not immediately available. Of course, 99% of the time, no one cares if I'm immediately available! It's all in my twisted little mind.

Anyway....here are the stats.
5.15 miles
59:26

11:32 pace
7:55 max pace

149 bpm
171 max bpm

1005 cal burned


Once again, I tried to keep my heart rate up, but it just doesn't happen. Part of it is the 2-3 times I walked, but part of it seems to be that I just can't get my body to want to go that fast. I ran the last 1.1 miles in 12 minutes, which was at least remotely close to my tempo run time (10:54 or so, whereas my tempo pace is supposed to be 10:47). But before that I didn't feel like I could go that fast. It's like I save it all for the end, rather than burning out somewhere along the way. Maybe next time I will TRY to burn out along the way. Or maybe I'll just do intervals the whole time and see if that ups my heart rate and/or pace at all.

Eight miles on Saturday (Sunday I have the kids all day as DH is going to Montreal). Tomorrow I should do something, hill repeats or something....but I am supremely unmotivated. As I think I have mentioned.

Ugh.

Just no motivation lately. I tried to do 4x800s but only did 1.5x800s before giving up.

:(

I finished the one 800 in 4:57 - my goal time for these is 4:59. I just had no oomph to keep going.

A Need for NaCl?

Sometimes after a longer run (7 miles or more), I feel ill. It can happen as soon as an hour later, or the next day. I have read that this means I need to hydrate better, and eat more salt.

I used to be the consummate hydrator, drinking many, many glasses of water per day. I don't do that anymore, nor do I bring water or sports drink with me on long runs (which I also used to do). I have noticed salt on my face after long runs, but I don't think that's anything new for me.

I guess I'll start drinking more water and eating a salty dinner/breakfast the night before/morning of my long runs, and see if that helps. My solution today was to eat junk food...Doritos are salty, right? ;)

I am just not smart.

Why, why, WHY did I buy running shoes online? Well, that's not really the question. The question is why did I buy running shoes online in the WRONG SIZES? I knew perfectly well which sizes and widths were comfortable for me, but noooooooo....I had to get shoes that were too narrow and too short. So that when I try to run 10 miles, I get horrible blisters such that I'm about to cry by mile 4, and have to go home, put on band-aids, change shoes and socks, and go run another 6 miles.

Did I mention the ibuprofen?

Instead of "saving" money by buying online I have basically wasted $150 on two pairs of shoes that I can't wear on anything more than an easy 4-miler. I'm hoping, wishing that it could be the socks....and buying a couple of pairs of thin, high-quality running socks (I really only have one pair that fits this description...the others are high quality, but thick and cushy) would certainly be less costly than buying yet another pair of shoes.

Anyway...I did the 10-miler today in 2 parts.

Part I:
4.6 mi
53:30

11:41 pace
9:19 max pace

149 bpm
963 cal


Part II:
5.5 mi
66:41

12:04 pace
8:31 max pace

148 bpm
1184 cal


I tried to keep my heart rate around 155. I really did. But I just couldn't get to that level of intensity and stay there. Plus, I did take a few walk breaks, which brought down my average heart rate. I'm starting to think I just have really low standards for myself and my running, since I appear to do my long runs at something like 60%-70% of my maximum hr. You read enough about heart-rate-based training, and 60% to 70% sounds like basically nothing - like I may as well just be sitting on the couch reading a novel.

Anyway...this upcoming week is the week of eights. 4x800s, then two 8-mile runs - one tempo and one long. Happily, the weather has been stellar - 70s and sunny - and shows no signs of stopping (although it will only be in the mid-60s by Friday).

Now that I've burned 2,000 calories I'm trying to think of something worthwhile to eat.

Tempering the Tempo

Just did a 4-mile tempo run in glorious weather....70s and sunny, with a light breeze. The birds, turtles and frogs all were out sunning themselves.

I tried to get my heart rate up to 170, but that would have required sprinting 4 miles, I think. Here are the stats:

4.0 mi
45:25:14

11:22 pace
9:35 max

159 bpm
179 max bpm (this occurred during lap 2, a short sprint, detailed below)

754 cal

The sprint (which was basically to get me back to the bottom of the hill near my house):

0.12 mi
54 seconds
7:21 pace (!!)
6:49 max
171 bpm
16 cal

I'm sort of amazed that I only burned 16 calories...but then it didn't last long.

I may try the same thing again tomorrow to see if I can get the HR up higher and quicker.

I've been really tired this week...maybe it's the Female Thing, I don't know. But I've been falling asleep between 8:30 and 9 pm and getting 9 or 10 hours of sleep a night. You'd think that'd put me in a great mood with lots of energy....but not so much. Hmph.

Well Gosh.

I just looked, really looked at the heart rate targets for my long runs and my tempo runs.

I haven't even been close to hitting the tempo run target...like, ever in my lifetime. It's between 169 and 173 bpm.

On my last "tempo" run, when I ran at a perfect long-run pace of 11:31, my heart rate was right where it should be for long runs - between 155 and 165 bpm.

Go figure.

I cannot imagine keeping up a 170 hr for four miles without exploding. I think "tempo" is some sort of euphemism for "exhausting and killer."

3x1600 and sunshine!

Just finished three 1-mile repeats...though technically the program says to do 1600 meter repeats, which is 0.994 miles. But I added the extra 6/100s of a mile just for endurance's sake. :)

Times:
9:32 warm-up (0.75 miles)
10:08
10:15
10:19

506 calories burned

My goal time was 10:17, so I consider that a success! I did these on the treadmill with a 0.5 incline. It's really nice outside (and supposed to be in the 60s and even 70s this week!), but I prefer repeats on the treadmill.

Now for the caveats and excuses department...I did not do my 6 miles over the weekend. I had planned to do them on Sunday, but, well, let's just say some sex-specific issues cropped up and all I felt like doing was lying on the couch. I'm thinking maybe I should be getting more iron.

This week's plan:
Wednesday: either an easy 4 miles or a bike ride
Thursday: whichever I didn't do Wednesday
Friday: 4-mile tempo run
Saturday: dig up the flower gardens
Sunday: 10 miles

I wish there was a relatively flat place to cycle around here, just to get me acclimated. But there's nothin'. It's hilly and gorgeous, emphasis on the hilly.

Run for the Hills

It's not rocket science, this running thing. Run faster, get faster. Run more often, get more fit.

Still, it amazed me today that I ran up two hills without walking...two hills that easily would have kicked my butt just a month ago.

The schedule says I should do a 6-miler this week at 10:47. I did 5.46 miles and instead of watching my pace, I watched my heart rate. I was trying to keep it as close to 160 as I could. I found that it was consistently too low for about the first 3.5 miles. After that, it was easy for my to keep it at or above 160. :)

The stats:

5.46 miles
1:02:49
11:30 pace (this is right on for my long runs...maybe I should up the heart rate goal for these tempo runs?)
7:50 max pace

156 bpm
174 max bpm

1017 cal burned


I noticed that my calories/mile figure is back down in the 180s, after a couple of runs where it was well over 200. This was easily the hilliest run I've done in awhile (except for that 9-miler...that was pretty hilly too), so what gives? I don't know. I don't put too much stock in the number, anyway - especially because I could look three other places on the internet and find three distinctly different calorie counts given my weight, distance, speed and elevation changes.

So I am basically doing this same run (plus half a mile) this weekend. That seems very doable. Maybe I should shoot for the 10:47 pace this weekend, though.....

Listening to the Body

Today my body says, "Hey - you have run for the past three days. I know you're into this run-every-day thing, but I think it's time for a break. Do those 5 miles tomorrow, okay?"

So I'm listening.

6x400s

Today was a gorgeous day....but I did my 400s on the treadmill. Which was okay, really - I prefer it for things like that.

I also put a 0.5% grade on it to better simulate "real" running...or something.

My times (after a 0.75-mile warm-up):

2:19
2:26
2:25
2:23
2:23
2:21

306 cal
2.3 miles total

I think I'll do a 5-mile tempo run rather than 6 miles...and maybe do it tomorrow. It's supposed to be another really nice day.

Owie Knees

It didn't seem warm enough to bike, so I went out and did 3.1 miles. Great day, but my knees rebelled a bit and I couldn't go as fast as I wanted to.
The stats:

3.1 miles
36:58
11:55 pace
9:35 max pace
734 cal

I forgot to wear my HRM...oh well.

Tomorrow is 6x400 day, though I may want to do a 6-miler then, as it's supposed to be sunny and warm. after that it gets cloudier and cloudier, ending in a 5-day period of rain, rain, rain. I think that whole "April showers bring May flowers" idea originated in Vermont.

Oh yeah - I wore my old Asics (1090s) and they felt great. They are the same size and width as my new shoes, though - the ones that killed my feet yesterday. Urgh.

More Than I Could Chew....

I was supposed to do a 5-miler last week and then 10 miles on the weekend. I didn't do the 5 miles, due to poor planning, a truly crazy work schedule, and barfing children. I figured I could pull off the 10-miler yesterday....it was sunny, 40s, no wind, gorgeous running weather.

Well. I found out after 5 miles or so that my new trail running shoes are half a size too small. Or my socks are too thick. Or something. I spent the next 4 miles trying to keep my toenails from turning black and falling off, and the insides of my feet (at the base of the big toe) from being rubbed raw.

As a result, I did 9.1 miles instead of 10, and ran slow. Now, I have some issues with my Garmin - it loses the signal in the Vermont woods and so I'm somewhat convinced that I actually ran faster than this. But here's what the G-watch sez:

9.13 miles
1:58:29

12:59 pace
9:04 max pace

1849 calories (this tells you it was hilly as hell, at least!)
203 cal/mile

146 bpm
165 max bpm

The thing is, hills or no, I just wasn't working hard enough. My average heart rate should be 155 or higher. I never got in the groove - which stinks because it was the first really good day to run outside in a lonnnngggg time (not counting our weeks in Florida).

I came home, drank water that tasted like ambrosia, took a shower, had a bowl of Cheerios and then took S. ice skating for two hours. I think that may have actually helped with the post-run soreness.

This week:

6x400s
6-mile tempo run
6-mile long run (I may make this an 8-miler since I've cheated myself on the last two long runs - did 7.5 instead of 8, and 9.1 instead of 10)
I also want to do a bike ride and at least one 3- or 4-mile run, and a cross-training session. I probably should do two cross-training sessions, actually. I think if I made sure I exercised every day, it'd be easier for me. It's when I start taking days off that I go down that slippery slope into lounge lizard land.

Vermont's Midnight Runner?

I'm supposed to run 5 miles today and have no time. Normally that is a poor excuse for a lack of motivation. But except for short breaks to refuel and go to the bathroom, I've been at work since 9 am. Before that I was hanging out with the kids while Matt walked the dog. I suppose I could have run first thing in the morning while the kids were watching their daily wake-up video...but that just sounds like torture. Run BEFORE coffee? What's that about?

Maybe tonight, after the kids are asleep. A fun way to spend a Friday night, eh?

Another Day, Another Treadmill Workout

I am so looking forward to running outside and not having to wear three layers of clothing!

Cross-training on the treadmill today - nothin' fancy. Five miles tomorrow - outside, I hope!

2x1600s

That was supposed to be 3x1600s, but I am living in Work Swamp lately (as in, I'm swamped with work....okay, I am tired of writing as it is, so cut me a break) and I'm a wimp (see, I admit it), so I stopped after two.

I did the first one in 10:10, and the second in 10:14. I just looked up my goal pace, and it was 10:17. That makes me wish I'd done the third one! (I thought my goal pace was closer to 10:00 and I was an out-of-shape slacker.)

I burned about 330 calories (I wrote it down, but the piece of paper is in the upstairs bathroom and if I leave this office, I won't make it back in for 30 minutes).

My excuses are that the kids have been sick (one week of diarrhea and one day of vomiting....at least today they are well enough to squabble!), which makes my DH cranky (as he takes care of them during the day), which makes me cranky. And I've had a ton of work to do (see above). Plus taxes are due soon, and we owe, and that's never fun.

Anyway. Here are my goal times for all to see:

400s: 2:27
800s: 4:59
1600s: 10:17
tempo runs: 10:47
long runs: 11:32

Tomorrow or Friday is a 5-mile tempo run, and Sunday is a 10-miler. I'm also supposed to be cross-training for 30-40 minutes twice a week. That hasn't happened yet this week, though. Does ice skating for 3 hours count? I did that Sunday.....

Weather or Not

I didn't like the idea of running 8 miles in 20-degree weather this morning....so I schlepped 7.5 miles on the treadmill. That was two X-Files episodes (Terms of Endearment and The Rain King) and I just couldn't do that other half-mile. Call me lame. Go ahead, I'm waiting.

My knees are unhappy with me now. I usually don't have knee troubles, but then I don't usually run on a treadmill. I'm hoping that's the last long run I'll have to do that way.

Still, the stats are encouraging:

7.5 miles
1:32:00
12:16 pace
1,029 calories burned

Okay, so a 12:16 pace is NOT all that encouraging. But I still have eight weeks to go.

I'm throwing in an "easy run" during the week. I should just cross train twice a week, but I can't bring myself to do it. It seems to me like not even exercising. Plus, I'm betting on the weather getting nicer.

After my run, I took S. ice skating for 3 hours. That also could be part of why my knees are hurting......

The Folly of the Scale

Just for fun, I weighed myself after showering. I was down 2 lbs from this morning, and down 4% body fat.

Which begs the question why I am even bothering to weigh myself at all. I don't know.

Three Pounds, Four Miles

After a week and a half of Fitday, I got kind of bored with it and stopped keeping track of what I was eating. Got on the scale this morning and I was up 3 lbs from last week - for a grand total of 1 pound of weight loss over 3 weeks. Hmm. I would really like to drop 15 pounds or so. I will have to figure out a way to do that without obsessing about food - because once I start obsessing, I eat more. Daily 2-hour workouts did it for me back in the day, but that is just not feasible right now (nor does it sound all that appealing, really).

On the exercise front, I finished 4 miles in 43:45, which is exactly the length of an X-Files episode called "The Ghosts that Stole Christmas". X-Files holds my attention much better than the West Wing....you actually have to concentrate when watching WW, because everyone says clever things under their breaths and the dialogue can be rapid-fire. Even sitting still, I have a hard time catching everything in a WW ep.

The stats:

4 miles
43:45
10:56 pace (!! Woo hoo!!)
544 cal

Okay, so I did rest on the treadmill rails a couple of times while it was still running. But that's still darn good for me, and very close to the 10:45 or 10:47 or whatever it is I'm supposed to be doing for my tempo runs.

Eight miles this weekend - Sunday is supposed to be sunny and 40, so I'll be out there then!

This Is How I Think

Here is why I will never be a size 4:

Hmmmm...this recipe on the side of our box of Fiber One cereal looks good....chocolate crunchy cookies made with Fiber One cereal.....

I need a box of brownie mix, some chocolate chips, an egg, some vanilla...and two cups of Fiber One.....

Um.

Why not just make chocolate-chip brownies, and skip the whole cereal thing.....

4X800 Done

Today was 4x800 day....and I completed all four very close to my goal time (4:58).

Times were:
5:00
4:56
4:58
4:58

270 cal expended (that includes an 0.75-mile warm-up)

I can't say it was easy, but I'm somewhat of a wuss when it comes to running. I want it to be easy but I also want to get faster and lose weight and gain muscle and do all that great stuff that can only happen if you WORK at it. Sigh.

In other news, the dog has some sort of UTI and I am supposed to try to get a urine sample before his vet appointment today. I'm to "catch it in a shallow dish and then pour it into a Ziploc bag, and keep it cool and out of the sun."

Notwithstanding that it is Vermont in March (read: no sun to be found), what sort of shallow dish would I possibly want to sacrifice to dog urine? And don't even get me started on the transferring to a Ziploc.

Word Economy

Cribbed from another blog...I'm tired o'writing about running all the time!

1. Yourself: needing a shower
2. Your spouse: playing with kids
3. Your hair: multicolored (nothing exciting - it's brown with blonde highlights)
4. Your mother: elsewhere
5. Your father: watching TV
6. Your favorite item: whatever book I'm currently reading
7. Your dream last night: don't remember
8. Your favorite drink: Magic Hat HI.P.A.
9. Your dream car: a purple VW Beetle
10. The room you are in: office
11. Your ex: computers, computers, it's all about computers.
12. Your fear: To never reach the top of the mountain, and know I'm there
13. What you want to be in 10 years: Still me, but less self-conscious
14. Who you hung out with last night: Jamie and Claire (reading a Gabaldon series)
15. What you're not: well dressed
16. Muffins: chocolate (cupcakes in disguise)
17: One of your wish list items: iPod
18: Time: fleeting
19. The last thing you did: made lunch for Z and myself
20. What you're wearing: running clothes (still...shower is overdue)
21. Your favorite weather: 70 and sunny
22. Your favorite book: can't pick just one
23. The last thing you ate: Annie's mac 'n' cheese (shells and white cheddar)
24. Your life: busy!
25. Your mood: fairly upbeat, slightly overwhelmed
26. Your best friend(s): are the coolest
27. What you're thinking about right now: a shower
28. Your car: a CR-V and a minivan (gasp)
29. What you're doing at the moment: "working"
30. Your summer: will involve being outside as much as possible.
31. Your relationship status: happily wedded
32. What's on TV: nothing right now.
33. The weather: sunny and 30 degrees
34. The last time you laughed: a few hours ago, listening to Z tell me something. She is so earnest and has this little baby-duck voice...it's too cute.

Productive Meetings

I have never liked meetings. Usually they seem like venues for people to talk and talk and complain, and nothing gets done.

Today I walked uphill (4.0-5.0 incline) during my staff meeting at about 2.8 miles per hour. I walked 2 miles, burned 275 calories....and the meeting actually seemed productive to me. (And not just in an exercising sort of way.)

Any meeting where I can wear running capris and a 15-year-old T-shirt is okay with me!

(The T-shirt is a Hard Rock Cafe shirt from Reykjavik...and I actually bought it at the HRC in Reykjavik! Walked in, bought the shirt, and walked out again. It's a bit grimy and has a few little holes in it, but I love it and will never willingly give it up.)

Running Against the Wind

Six miles yesterday, outside. Sunny, but cold. And windy - I had a headwind for most of the way home. Fun!

Stats:

5.86 mi
1:12:05
12:18 average pace
8:58 max pace
154 bpm average hr
167 bpm max hr
944 cal
161 cal/mi

Not too bad, though I was shooting for 11:32 pace. But I'll take 12:18, considering the temperature and wind, and my current state of fitness.

Next week I'll try to keep my heart rate up a bit higher - I think it should be closer to the upper 150s (but anywhere between 153 and 163 is okay).

This afternoon I felt dizzy and strange -- I think I just needed food, though. After three snacks in a row (including chocolate frosting spread on graham crackers...that's approved by Runner's World, I'm sure!), I feel 80% better.

Step By Step

So...I am up half a pound since last week. The good news is that I'm still down 4+ pounds, so it wasn't an artifact!

I just walked half a mile uphill on the treadmill...while reading. It's not only below freezing outside, but very windy. All the puddles and melted snow have frozen, making our driveway just fascinating to drive on.

Today:

0.5 mi
13:52
I'll not worry about the pace here!
67 cal


Better than nothing, eh? Plus I was able to get through a couple of pages of a very cool book - "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. Right now he's discussing the extinction of about 40 species of large mammals in the United States back at the same time humans appeared in the Americas. I had no idea there used to be an American lion and an American cheetah - or that there were beavers as big as bears!

Dam.

;)

Tempo Run Done

Three-mile tempo run accomplished! Now I'm ready for a nap.

Stats:

3 miles
33:12
11:04 pace
forgot to look at calories burned...probably 500-ish

That's above my target pace of 10:47, but not too shabby. If I could do that for 13.1 miles, I'd finish in about 2:25, which would be a PR. Of course I am wiped out after 3 miles....

I wore my new women's Asics, with special Spenco for Women inserts. They felt a bit odd at first, but became quite comfy.

Momma's Got A New Pair of Shoes

Two new pair, actually. They just arrived. They seem to fit really well, but it's hard to tell without road testing them (or treadmill testing, as it were). The women's ones seem a bit narrow - now I remember why I stopped buying women's shoes! But I will give them a go.

Cross training today - a 30-minute uphill walking program interspersed with light weights.

Stats:

1.3 mi
29:00
200 cal (approximately)

The weather is just nasty here. Snow, rain, sleet, freezing rain. The high temp is supposed to be 24 degrees on Easter Sunday. I hope the Easter Bunny has his furry boots at the ready.

4X400

I am not a speedy lass. But I did my 4X400s relatively easily today, under my goal time of 2:27 each. My times were:
2:26 (9:44 pace)
2:23 (9:32 pace)
2:22 (9:28 pace)
2:21 (9:24 pace)

I think I could have pulled off at least one more, but I figured, why mess with success??

(Plus, I ran quarter miles, not 400s, so I am even a bit faster at the 400! [There is a teeny difference (0.25 miles vs 0.2485 miles), which matters when you are slow!])

This also included a 0.75-mile warm-up jog and a short (0.15 mile?) cooldown. (Cooldowns bore me.)

Tomorrow is cross training, and Thursday is another 3-mile tempo with a goal pace of 10:47, for a total time of 32:21.

I signed S. up for her first race - a 0.5-miler the day before my half marathon!

Oh...and I am running the second half of the half....the half with the huge hill. Someone was swearing to me that it wasn't that bad, but I have run it, so she wasn't fooling me. Still, the rest of the course is fairly flat, and I will get to cross the finish line, which will be fun.

Ugh.

I have been denying it for a few days, but it is now obvious....I have a cold. So far (knock on wood) it is above the neck, so I'm going to keep on running.

My running shoes are mostly shot...so I ordered a couple of new pairs. My old ones are Asics 1090s and Asics 2100s. The new models are 1130 and 2130, so you can tell how old mine really are. I finally measured my foot at a running-shoe store and the measurer thingie swears I am still a size 10 in women's shoes...but a C width. They don't make C width running shoes, as far as I know. So I got a 10.5 B and a men's 8.5 D. Plus special cushy runnercentric insoles to make me feel special. :)

I can't wait until they get here...everyone knows that new sneakers make you run faster!

I think I can, I think I can.....

Long run done this morning...almost. I did 5.25 miles instead of 6. I have a long excuse list for this, with which I will not bore you. But I am not wearing my New Balances ever again for anything longer than 3 miles!

Stats:

1:01:43
5.25 mi
11:45 pace
714 cal burned

My goal pace was 11:34. This seemed slow to me, before I started running. I just have to remember that I'm sort of starting over here. Six weeks from now, it should be a different story.

Humility

I did 25 minutes of cross-training today - uphill walking interspersed with free weights and crunches. Then, just for kicks, I tried running 0.25 mi (400 m) at 9:40, which is about the pace I'm shooting for.

WOW.

Sure, I could do four of those, if you give me 5 minutes of recovery time!

OTOH, my scale says I'm down 5 lbs from last Friday. I find that very hard to believe -- not to mention unsafe as far as weight loss goes -- but I'll take it. :)

Enlightened by the Past

I just read a journal entry from 2001, when I did my first (and only) duathlon. It was 18 miles of biking, sandwiched between two 5K races.

I did the first 5K in 28 minutes flat.
I biked 18 miles in something like 55 minutes.
Then I ran the second 5K in under 30 minutes.

I just had no idea that I used to be...almost....FAST. I forgot completely that I had ever run a 5K in under 30 minutes (except for one in Baltimore that I did in 27:20....my PR three weeks before the Vermont City Marathon).

This shouldn't change my perspective, but it does. In a good way. It makes me realize that I can get back to that place again, that place where 10 miles at a 10:33 pace is kind of slow, but okay because it was 80+ degrees that day. The place of the sub-30-minute 5K.

It will just take...wait for it...TIME.

(Well, and a little bit of effort.)

First Tempo Run

So...the days go by faster than I realize. Here it is Thursday and I haven't started my half program yet. I skipped the 4x400s I was supposed to do, and did the 3-mile tempo run. My goal was to run it at a 10:47 pace. I actually ran most of it at 10:42. But I also took 3 walk breaks.

The final stats:

3.01 miles
34:05
11:32 pace
433 cal

My pace breaks down to a 2:34:22 half marathon, based on the program's formula (you should do your tempo runs at your half marathon pace, minus 15 seconds). I am okay with that at this point, since I am not in any sort of shape! That's only a minute or so slower than I did Leaf Peepers. (Of course I'm fooling myself to think I could run 10 more miles at this point.)

Sunday's weather is mostly sunny and a high of 35, so I am hoping to get out on the roads and do 6 miles.

Tomorrow: upper body workout!

Talk and Walk

I walked 1.8 miles today on the treadmill. I had two phone conferences (aka meetings) and I walked all the way through one and partway through another. Two hundred calories gone.

I've decided to do a 10-week training program for the half marathon. My half is 11 weeks away, so I'm going to do the Week 1 stuff twice. You figure out your goal time and then run three days a week. One day is repeats (400, 800 or 1600), with goal times based on your goal for the half. One day is a tempo run, at goal pace minus 15 seconds. And one day is a long run, at goal pace plus 30 seconds.

My goal is 2:24. That would be a PR. When I ran VCM in 2001, my time at the half was something like 2:29 or 2:30...and that was with 13.1 miles to go. I think 2:24 is a fairly lofty goal, but we'll see how the training goes, and which half of VCM I wind up running (the second half has Battery Hill at mile 15, which I still remember 7 years later....so I'm sort of angling for the first half).

So....tomorrow it's 4x400 on the treadmill, with a goal of 2:45 for each 400. That seems very doable, but that could be because I haven't done it yet.....

Whoa.

First treadmill workout was a wake-up call. I used to think treadmill running was easier than road running...I guess I was in shape back then!

Here are the sad stats:

2.183 mi
28:06
12:52 pace (I think; I calculated it myself)
It also counts calories, but I forgot to input my weight. Next time.

Granted, I used a 1.0 incline to simulate "real road"....but still. I am a perspiring, worn-out girl after only 28 minutes and 2 measly miles? Jinkies.

It's also so loud that I can't hear the DVD player...but they make earphones for that. I watched part of a West Wing episode and it was pretty hard to follow without being able to hear very well (except during my walk breaks).

I guess this will get me into shape!

I also signed up on fitday to keep track of what I eat. I really dislike keeping track of what I eat. BUT, I have been complaining for almost 2 years that I can't lose weight...and I've also been eating like it's going out of style. I have no concept of what an 1,800-calorie day would look like in terms of eating. So I figured I would try this for awhile and see what happens. It's almost 3 pm and I've eaten about 770 calories...and that's with being very mindful of what I had for lunch! My guess is that it will help.

No Excuses

So...the treadmill is here and upstairs (thanks to Matt and Forrest!) and set up (thanks to Matt and me!), though I haven't plugged it in yet. Once it's plugged in I will be forced to confront the reality that I can now run EVERY DAY with no excuses about the weather. (Which has been horrible lately - snow and ice and rain and snow and ice....great excuse-making weather! Unless you have a treadmill.) I was supposed to run 7 miles yesterday, but it didn't happen - we had tickets for the Mermaid Theatre's Eric Carle tribute. Zoe fell asleep 10 minutes into it, but Sascha enjoyed it.

Anyway. I WILL run today and report back on how the t'mill feels. Now I just have to decide which TV series to start watching. (The treadmill doesn't have a magazine rack, and it is facing the wall....I am all for "zoning out" but frankly I'd rather watch David Duchovny or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or something.)

Later That Same Day.....

What a great day to run. Sunny, no wind, snow on the mountaintops and the smell of woodsmoke in the air....

I'm going to start wearing my heart-rate monitor again - I figure it's another good way to chart fitness. (Plus, with the heart-health history that my family has, it's worth keeping track of how mine is ticking along!)

Today's run:


3.71 mi
45:37

12:18 pace
8:42 max pace

1058 cal
285 cal/mi

155 bpm average
171 bpm max

A couple of Garmin complaints. First, this thing loses its signal a lot while I'm running. I know I'm in rural Vermont, but I'm not in the middle of a forest or anything. I'm clicking along, I look down and it says I'm running 15-minute miles. As I watch it, it goes to 16-minute miles and then 20-minute miles! (and yes, I was still running.) Then the pace section blanks out altogether for 10 seconds or so. URGH.

Second, I wish I knew how this thing comes up with calories burned. It must use heart rate, pace, elevation changes and my inputted weight (which, although I consider myself an enlightened woman of the 21st century, I am NOT sharing). Still, it seems to jump around a lot - did I really burn more than a thousand calories in less than 4 miles? I went back through last year's runs (which are still all on the Garmin - this thing holds a lot of data!) and none of my comparable runs burned close to that many calories. I did discover, however, that I used to be much more fit than I am right now. Oh well. There's always tomorrow!

Free Speed

So, as runners know, losing weight makes you faster. You aren't carrying around as many pounds, so you can expend the same energy and improve your times. "Free speed" refers to the fact that you don't have to train extra to get faster...you just have to lay off the chocolate, bread, pasta, and late-night ice cream. (not that I eat any of those things to excess.....)

I dread the idea of focusing on weight loss. It usually just makes me eat more.

But I think I might try 1 lb a week for the next 11 weeks (until the VCM). Starting a half marathon 11 lbs lighter would certainly help me.

In other news, my treadmill is here! but it's still in the box in the garage. It weighs 190 lbs, which doesn't sound like much until you are trying to figure out how to get it up a flight of stairs. I think it might just stay there until Matt can get someone to help him lug it up to the guest room.

Luckily it's nice out today, so I'm headed out for 4 miles in the sun soon!

Uphill, Both Ways, in the Snow

After more than a foot of snow, it was finally nice enough today for me to run. ("Nice" being a relative term.) It was still snowy, and windy, and cold...but sunny. I managed 5 miles...I probably should have done 6, but oh well.

The stats:

5.04 mi
1:04:27
12:48 pace
9:51 max
839 cal
166 cal/mi

Still waiting on the treadmill...it has traveled from Utah to Colorado to Missouri to Ohio. Now the tracking info says it's been "loaded out" in Pennsylvania and an appointment has been requested. I don't know what that means, but we are about 8 hours from the closest point in Pennsylvania, so I'm guessing it won't arrive until Wednesday or so.

A Treadmill is A'comin'

So, I broke down and bought a treadmill. Normally I am the Consummate Researcher when it comes to major purchases. But part of me knew that I would never buy a treadmill that way. Basically, Costco was having a sale and delivery was included so I bought it sight unseen. :) It's on its way here from Utah.

I definitely need a treadmill, though, if I'm going to keep in shape in Vermont in the winter. After a couple of nice (that is, above freezing) days, it's now 17 degrees and has snowed about a foot since yesterday morning. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 12 degrees. Not good running weather, and me scheduled to run 6 miles this weekend. Actually, weekend weather is looking better - mostly sunny and a high around 32. So even if le mille de tread (yes, I made that up, I took no French, ever) doesn't show up by Friday, I'll be out slogging away on the roads.

Ten Days Later.....

Yes, so after starting my running blog, I stopped running! But I'm back. The running "break" was due to a visit from Grandma, and then 3 days with just me and the kids, and then a VERY long trip home that involved way too much time in the Atlanta airport, and then a few days of getting used to being home (i.e., unpacking and putting away all of those shorts and sandals...wah!).

Today was nice for Vermont, though - about 35 degrees and sunny.

Today's run:
3.14 miles (hey! It's pi!)
40:05
12:46 pace (remember, there are HILLS in Vermont)
8:57 max pace
806 cal
257 cal/mi (about 80 more per mile than in Florida)

I saw my old friend Porkchop on my run. (Well, her name could be Pork Chop. I'm not sure, and as she's a dog, she's not likely to tell me any time soon.) And not much else. It was nice, actually, to be out on the dirt roads again. Though they're mud and ice right now. But still. I definitely enjoyed running under the palm trees...but I could not live in Florida.

I have 12 weekends before my half-marathon...that will make for some interesting training! I'm looking at 6 or 7 miles this weekend, and 8 or 9 miles next weekend. We'll take it from there.

I also just ordered a treadmill, so I will have no excuse not to run. I find treadmill running to be excruciatingly BORING, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. And I can set up the car DVD player, at least, and watch some old X-Files episodes while I sweat. That's a sort of motivation.

A Change of Focus

I've decided to make this a running blog. I'm running half of the Vermont City Marathon at the end of May, so I have a goal. And a long way to go to reach it. Living in Vermont means you don't have 12 months of outside-running weather. After my last half marathon (Leaf Peepers, Sept 30, 2007), I let myself slack off a bit...okay, a lot.

Now, I'm in Florida and have started training again. But next week I'll be back in VT and dealing with snow, sleet, slush, rain, wind and other weathery unmentionables. (Down here, people wear jeans and jackets if it goes below 75. And it has rained on 3 out of the 21 days we've been here.)

So....yesterday I ran 6 miles. AND saw a manatee. (I saw him just after finishing 5 miles, so I did get a bit of a break...and yeah, I turned off the Garmin. So sue me. Marine mammals take precedence over finishing a run!)

Here are the stats from yesterday, which was a "chilly" 65 degrees or so:

6.02 miles
1:10:44
11:45 pace
9:19 max pace
1077 cal
179 cal/mile

Now the stats from today's 3-ish mile run - it was about 80 degrees (and no manatees):

3.13 miles
37:06
11:51 pace
7:49 max pace
585 cal
187 cal/mile

Now, I don't really know how the Garmin calculates calories burned. I'm not wearing my heart-rate monitor (left it in VT), so it must be using a combination of my weight, speed, and the terrain changes. Or maybe it's just guessing. :)

Just for motivation, here are the times of my other half marathons:

2007 Leaf Peepers: 2:33:18
2004 Philly Distance run: 2:28:12
2001 B&A Trail Half Marathon: 2:27:12

So I've been getting progressively slower. :)

I'd love to set a PR in May...but VCM is not the best place to do it....it's hilly! Philadelphia was soooo flat, and I could have gone much faster, but was enjoying running the race with a friend and not getting out of breath.