Slackin'

I did not go running for three days in a row! Yikes! Monday was a planned rest day and then Tuesday and yesterday I could bring myself to neither wake up early enough to get it done nor run on the treadmill at work. Alas.

But today I did three miles, and honestly, it felt so good that I wondered if perhaps I needed the three day rest. My hip stopped bothering me yesterday and nothing was sore or achy. Time was 36:12, 12:04/mile and I did 3R/1W intervals.

A good week

I did three miles today.

Stats for the Week:

Outside Miles: 15

Treadmill Miles: 3.5

Total Miles: 18.5

I don't know how much I am going to blog in the next couple of weeks, as Sandy is going out of town and I hate feeling like I am the only one writing here. So, we'll see. I'll definitely blog after my long runs, if only so I can bitch about them.

Mistakes were made

1. I decided to take tues off because I had gone 4 days in a row even tho those were very short runs and even tho I knew I was leaving outta town on Weds.
2. I packed 2 running shirts, 2 shorts and 2 socks because I was going to N Cal where the weather would be nice for running outside.
3. On Weds I got back to my room after work and promptly fell asleep, thus ruining any chance that I'd go.
4. On thurs I got back to my room and promptly changed into my running clothes, which is when I realized that I had brought zero running bras. And, I only had one regular bra cuz I travel light.
5. On Friday I got home around 7pm and was just too tired to make an effort.

So this morning I got up and I did do about 5 I think. I ran after dropping J an his game early and was in an unfamiliar hood.

There are some issues with running at night

Some annoying issues. Firstly, you have to think about feeding yourself properly during the day before the run. Turns out, eating three crispy shrimp tacos from Chili's for lunch followed by a Chick Fil-A peach milk shake will leave you feeling like your legs are sacks of flour and you'll have a wicked stitch in your side right around mile four that will last about half a mile. Flatulence while jogging also appears to increase exponentially when following this dietary path.

Duly. Noted.

Secondly, there are the bugs! Now, I should have anticipated this one, since the last "fourteener" that Chris hiked he came home looking like he had some kind of mumps or measles, so bad were the mosquito bites all over his back. We were honestly worried he would be turned away from the neighborhood pool due to concerns over infectious disease. Anyways, they are crazy, these bugs! Mosquitos the size of hornets, everywhere like gangs of marauding Hell's Angels, some of them flying kamikaze-style right into your mouth and nose. It's all rather unpleasant.

Anyways, when all was said and done, I went five miles, time was 1:01:47, 12:22/mile. Not bad.

Much better

Same run as yesterday, but much better time, and I did it at 6PM instead of 6AM, so perhaps I will do well in Vegas, maybe I do better at night and I don't even know it! Total time was 42:10, 12:04/mile.

Sandy......dude, what the hell?

3.5

I told myself that one of my short runs needed to be 3.5 and one needed to be 4 this week. And at least one needed to be 3/1 intervals. So, that is what I did today, 3.5 miles. I did not do as well as I felt. I felt really good and like it was a really fast run, but my time was 43:53, 12:33/mile. Oh well. It was really early in the morning and it was dark and pretty chilly out. But it's cool to live here where the seasons change. You go out on a morning like this one and feel that specific chill and it makes you understand how the trees know to start dropping their leaves, because that particular chill doesn't feel like any other in the year.

5 mi

So, I did my long over a period of 3 days. 2 miles on sat, 1 yesterday and 2 tonight.

It's probably a combination effect

Of both hills and ipod that affect my speed. I did 4.5 miles on that same plum creek trail, time was 55:35, 12:21/mile. I did 2R/1W intervals. And you guys, it was such a good run. I felt so good, it was just awesome. I will now be doing all my long runs on that trail! WOOT!

Weekly Stats:

Outside Miles: 13.5

Treadmill Miles: 3

Total Miles: 16.5

Calories Burned: 2168

I'm so right about the hills

Either that or I am just really slow without my ipod. I went on the plum creek trail today and I went a different way that I haven't been before and it was really pretty flat. I confirmed on the garmin that it was only about 79 elevation gain and 59 loss, so it was definitely flat. And my time was slower! I did three miles and time was 37:24, 12:28/mile! Now, I forgot my ipod so maybe I just go slow without my ipod, but I don't think so. I think that the downhills on my usual neighborhood route make me appear to be able to run faster than I actually can run for the same distance on a level surface. And the fact that I run uphill as much as I run downhill, which you would think would make up for the time difference, does not actually do that in practice. And that is part of the reason why I am consistently slower in races than I think I will be.

So, bearing that in mind, I am going to do my 4.5 mile long run tomorrow on the same trail. This time I'll remember my ipod.

Brownies of righteousness

That's what I'm eatin right now, on the couch of righteousness. After eating the Mexican food and drinking the beer of righteousness. Alas, I only did 2 miles on treadmill at lunch. Righteous indeed.

Shake it 'till the moon becomes the sun

Haha. From the lovely Rihanna. I did three miles outside today, 12:22/mile. I also did three stupid treadmill miles in the awful fitness room in Dallas with no fan. That was on Wednesday.

A good one, surprisingly

Tonight I was kinda mentally beat from my run last night but I know consistency is key so I was just gonna get out there and do whatever I felt like doing. So I just took it slow and easy and did 2.5 mi straight and then walked the last mile. As I was walking I had an awesome idea for a book about the marathon we did, and as I was mulling it over in my mind I saw this giant green ball of light shooting through the sky. It was kinda like a falling star but way bigger and longer - I thought for sure it was a plane crashing. Green chunks started falling off of it before it disappeared behind a house. Crazay!!! I drove over to where I thought it had landed and there was nothing - no fire, no crowd, no sirens. Very perplexing. On the news tonight it said a few people have reported a green light in the sky and it was seen as far away as palm springs and Las Vegas, they called it meteor activity. So if that's true it must have been freakin huge!!! The way I see it, it was the luckiest star in the world, so that means I'm going to write a book and have it published.

Its on like donkey kong

Oh yeah baby. I did 3.5 outside tonight, so blessed were we with some rain and cooler temperatures. I think it was about 78 out. And I was blessed to have my beautiful K running with me this night. I was all nervous when she asked to go since I hate feeling rushed or that I'm holding someone back when I run, and I was convinced she would kick my proverbial ass. But as it turns out I think I challenged her. We took a couple short walk breaks in the 3.5 mi route and I felt the pace was good. So yes Mari we need to get going!!! And I'm going. Vegas baby!!!

Sweaty Three

Outside. Time was 35:56, 11:59/mile. I did 3R/1W intervals, cut one of the run intervals short on nemesis hill. It's really cloudy out there, although nice and cool, but I am assuming the humidity is what made it such a sweaty run.

I am off to Texas today for two days, so it will be a treadmill run or two for me as I am presuming it is still far to hot there for any human to be out running.

Sun coming up on another day, Got a second hand chance gonna do it again

From "No More Rain" by Kylie Minogue. A good running song. I did my four mile long (although not as long as Sandy's long, haha), and it was good! Time was 48:29, 12:08/mile. Not bad, not bad at all. I did 2R/1W intervals, but no dog, so nothing slowing me down.

Stats for the Week:

Running Outside: 17 Miles

Calories Burned: 2369

Trickery

Well I started my longs today. Not because I planned to or even because I wanted to. I was bamboozled into it. BF and I are in New York to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. When we got in we decided to take a run in Central Park. How cool is that? So we walked about a mile from our hotel to get to the park where we inspected the map to determine our best route. BF has run there before and he ascertained that its about 3 miles to run around the park. So we started off. We stayed together for about 20 minutes and then I suggested BF go ahead. I was struggling a bit after only 4 hours of sleep and 6 hours of travel. Oh, and cinnabon for lunch. We agreed to meet back at a statue where we entered the park.

So I jogged on. And on. And on. Daylight began to fade and I felt the first tendrils of panic in my belly. I am going to be alone after dark in central Park in New York. A place I've never been. Without my phone. And no way to locate BF. Without a key to our hotel room. And the daylight fading. Every turn I rounded my hope fading that the statue would be there.

But, all ended well. At last I caught sight of BF waiting for me. Oh so relieved! And how far was the run you ask? 6.1 miles. That's right.

I did one of them farty runs

Or at least, I tried. And it pretty well sucked. I basically tried to really go fast on a few of my running intervals. One description I read said that for your "fast" intervals you should be "pulling for air." And I thought, well I don't know what the hell that means, does it mean gasping? Because that is what I feel like I am doing. I'm sort of always "pulling for air", for me that just means I'm doing my usual. Also, they keep talking about your slow "recovery" jog. Well, I don't really have any other pace than "slow" jog, so I just figure my walking intervals are my recovery. Whatever. I did make really good time, I did 3.5 miles, time was 41:51, 11:58/mile. Tomorrow I will do four for my long at 2R and it will probably feel like a picnic. Today I did 2.5R/1W. Next week on my shorter runs I will push it up to 3R/1W for at least one of them.

Okay, and I am all registered for my two 10K's! I have one on October 8th and another one on October 22nd. I did not yet register for the Vegas half. Looking at the website closer, it looks like they have a limit on the number of entrants for the full marathon, but no limit on the half, so I'm not too concerned.

Suzanne, if you are reading this, and you are planning to do the Vegas half or full, you better let me know so I can hunt you down!

Does it count?

If I drove all the way to the gym and went upstairs to change and only then realized I had forgotten my shoes? So after all the expended mental energy it takes to drive to the gym after a long day at work, I had to turn around and go home and then rev myself up to go back. But, I did. And I did a slow but not easy 2.

Rockin'!

Did another three outside today, 2.5R/1W intervals, time was 36:05, 12:02/mile. Felt really, really good. My long on Sunday will be four miles, and then I'll commit to my first 10K and figure out a training plan for that.

Sandy, did you know that registration for this Vegas half is $155!! I went to register this morning and I about pooed my pants! I don't remember other ones being that expensive, but I guess that's the magic of Vegas. I didn't register yet, I was too shocked by the price. I probably will soon, though, because I'll bet you they have a limit to the number of people that can register, and it might sell out.

I really need to do consistent 13 minute miles for this thing to get in under three hours, which is my goal. I think I can do it, but it sure sounds daunting. My plan for the half is to do 2R/1W intervals, but my shorter runs will be 2.5 or 3R/1W intervals, for training purposes. But I'll do my longs at at the 2R. Also, for this one, I plan to train up to 12 miles. No more of this "if you can do ten miles, you can do the half" shit. I think it is true, but I think that is probably only a good idea if you don't have any time goal, right? I mean, sure you can kill yourself for last three miles, walk a whole lot of it, and you will finish.... but if you have a time goal, then it seems to me that you need a more realistic picture of what you can do consistently, up to nearly the whole 13. Anyways, that's my theory and I'm going to do it!

Hey, if Holden is going to be doing this too, then he has to blog!!

Goddamn I rock

Did another 3 at inclines on tready tonite in 3510 or 11:43 min/mi. I am hoping these inclines prepare me to run faster outside once the inferno summer is over. Hey, it was only 105 today! Crisp fall air!! Turning cactus leaves and all.

A mighty fine jog

3.5 miles outside. Time was 42:53, 12:15/mile. I did 2.5R/1W intervals, which was really good. I was surprised at how well I did, I was expecting to really be huffing and puffing, but I wasn't. I did all the intervals as planned, and all was well. I have been taking claritin every day, so that has been really helpful, and today I was especially glad I did, since the maintenance workers were out mowing lawns all along my route. Also, rest day yesterday probably helped. I think tomorrow will be my other day off, work schedule will make it hard to fit it in tomorrow. Today was perfect weather! A little bit chilly, cloudy and a nice cool breeze.

I'm all motivated now that Sandy is talking about doing that damn Vegas half!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh

Well I finally got off my ass and got a decent run in tonight. I was actually looking forward to the treadmill, believe it or not. I did a pretty strong 3 at inclines, 11:50 min miles. I did a lot of the last mile at 10 mm pace interspersed with a couple walk breaks. I was damn wiped by the time I was done though my time doesn't really reflect that. I could feel my body breathing a sigh of relief to have been pushed a little after so long.

Its time to start getting into training mode if I'm gonna pull off the Vegas half in December. I'm totally excited that this one is at night!! I always do better at night, and when its cold.

'nother three

Outside. Almost exactly the same time as yesterday, 36:41, 12:13/mile. I am doing 2R/1W intervals right now. Starting this Sunday, I need to get back to doing "long" runs and start training for those damn 10K races I told myself I would do! And on the shorter runs, I need to get back to doing 2.5 or 3R/1W intervals. I don't actually do much better on time when I do those longer run intervals, but I think doing that builds up more stamina, so that when I do my long runs at the 2/1 intervals, I make better time.

Go Get Em'

Did three miles today outside. Time was good, 36:33, 12:12/mile, but we had the great idea to sleep with the windows open last night and that combined with spending a good amount of time yesterday tramping about the woods has brought on a wicked allergy attack. My chest was tighter on this run than it was at the worst of my cold. But I did run by a guy who said "Go get em'", which was kind of funny and nice. Most people just stick with the wave or "good morning".

Stats for the Week:

Treadmill Miles: 8.5

Outside Miles: 3

Hiking: 5

Total: 16.5

I did a begrudging 2 miles on tready today. Ran one and walked one at 2 pct incline. As it turns out, August here broke all kinds of records. Highest daily temperature (117F). Highest high temp. Highest low temp. Highest monthly average temp. Most days over 110 degrees (over half the month). So yes I shall continue to whine and moan.