Lisa runs? Wait...what?

Starting over

2011-01-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

Well it's been almost three months since I ran the half and I'm finally running again.

I took a few weeks off because I was having weird foot aches after the race and decided that not running was the best thing to do. It worked but then I got sick and couldn't shake it for about 2 weeks.

Then the weather got cold and the holidays came along. I hate the cold weather. And I don't like running in it. Trying to convince myself the take off my warm clothes and put on cold tights/capris and compression tops just doesn't appeal to me. Often times I put my running clothes over the heater vent so they aren't as cold when I put them on.

Did I mention that I don't like to be cold?

So anyway, I started running again this month. I figure if I am going to run another half marathon (or possibly two...did I just say that???) this year I need to be prepared for it, not only for the running part but also for the physical part as well.

I'm running and cross training and hoping to have a stronger core for the next half. My lower back was sore for a couple of days after Nike and I know it's because my core wasn't as strong as it should have been.

I'm running 4 days a week and cross training on the others. My running days are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Not ideal but it is what it is.

The weekends are a given because I can run in the mornings or really anytime and I'm running on Mondays and Wednesdays when my daughter is at soccer practice. I drop her off at the park and pick up the trail there. Three days of running in a row is probably not a good thing but I'm going to see how it goes. I'll be glad once there is more daylight in the evenings so I can change up my schedule. I'm not running far at the moment so hopefully all will be ok.

Since it's been so long since I've last run I'm basically rebuilding my base (UGH!). Weekday running is set for 30 minutes each time and on weekends I'll choose a distance. I'm running for 30 minutes 1) so I can ease back into running and 2) so I can measure progress. Hopefully the distance covered over the 30 minutes will increase over time meaning that my pace is improving.

That's something I'm hoping to improve upon this year but for now I'm just happy to be running again.

Checkin' in

2010-11-08T21:34:00.000-08:00

It's been 3 weeks since my last run. I want to run but I've had weird foot issues since my half so I've decided to not run and let whatever is going on heal. My feet are feeling pretty good now so I'm hoping to run again this Friday since I have the day off.

I'm also considering running in a 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. We've done this race for the past 2 years but this year, if I decide to do it, it'll be just my 10 year old daughter and me. We will run at her pace so this will just be a fun run for me.

I hate daylight savings because it's now dark by 5pm. I'm thinking that I either need to run on Monday and Wednesday afternoons while my daughter is at soccer practice (I'd have about 1 hour of daylight to run in) or get up early and run. I noticed that by 6am this morning it was light enough to see which would give me 30 minutes to run before having to get ready for work. I won't run in the dark because I'm nervous about not seeing something on the ground or uneven pavement and rolling my ankle again.

I'm thinking that instead of running for mileage this winter I'll run for time and get my longer runs in during soccer practices, shorter runs in on the days I would get up at 6am and speed workouts on Saturday mornings. This would be a complete flip flop of my normal running schedule which had my long runs on Sundays and shorter runs during the week. I don't know yet, something to think about though.

My local Lululemon store is offering free track workouts with a run coach on Saturday mornings and I really want to go to those, schedule permitting of course. We are now in the midst of not only soccer games but basketball games as well, so my weekends are crazy. Three games this past weekend!

I'm inquiring about the half marathon course for a race in March. If it's flat I'm thinking I want to run it but I'm worried about training in wet weather. I don't mind the cold so much but training in rain is not my cup of tea. I've posted the question on the race's Facebook page so we shall see what people say. I need to make a decision soon because it's now 20 weeks away from the race.

Hopefully it's nothing

2010-10-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

So ever since the Nike half I've been having tenderness on the top of my right foot, the outer part. Looking at pictures of foot anatomy it's either one of the tendons on top of my foot or one of the metatarsal bones. God I hope I didn't do something serious. I can walk fine but the tenderness is always there. I think I better not run for a while until it goes away. In the meantime, I plan on resuming strength training and stretching. I can really feel that my muscles are tight and I know that can lead to injury.

I'm eyeing another half in March. Early bird registration ends 10/31 but I'm not ready to commit just yet. I know that the coming wet weather will affect how much I run and I don't know that I want to commit to training in cold wet weather.

The good news is that a local running store is going to announce training groups starting in January. That might be a better time to reassess how badly I want to run this particular half. Regardless of what I decide to do I really would like to run with a group because I think it will help to make me faster. Hopefully by then whatever is going on with my foot will be history.

Speed, and I use that term loosely

2010-10-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

I've been running almost 3 years, give or take some time off last year due to tendonitis and a broken ankle. But 3 years is 3 years and I feel like I haven't made much progress with regard to my pace. I guess it never was an issue until now. I'm comfortable running 10:00-11:00/miles. I've run 5ks, 10ks and now a half marathon but now I feel like I want to be faster. I suppose that's a natural progression for runners.

I'm a slow runner and I'm okay with that, however, I would like to be a faster slow runner. Pace doesn't define me. I know that I'll never win in my age group but I'm still competitive with myself and improving my pace is something that I'd like to work toward. I've worked up from 0 to 13.1 miles, something I never dreamed was possible, but now it's time for another goal, another challenge.

I've been reading up on how to improve pace. Tempo runs, intervals, strides, fartleks, hill training etc. I'm aware of these methods and have even done some of them but not enough to have an impact on my pace. I don't like running fast, it's hard and it makes me tired and out of breath, but if I want to get faster I'm going to have to run faster.

I'm not really sure what to start with but I'm thinking I might do some fartleks and maybe some intervals. Since I'm currently not training for anything at the moment I think working on improving my pace will give me something to focus on. I'm sort of feeling like "what do I do now" now that my half is complete so this will give my running some purpose and another goal to work towards.

~~~~~

So I went for a run Saturday morning. I wanted to shake my legs out and get some mileage in but my right foot has been a little sore since my half so I only ran 2 miles.

Thought I'd run out of my comfort zone and speed things up a little. I told myself to not look at my Garmin because I know that once I see that I'm running "fast" I tend to slow down. It was hard not to look but once my Garmin beeped at 2 miles I was happy to see the result - 19:08, 9:33 average pace. For me this is fast and I was able to maintain it for 2 miles. Yay me.

Post race thoughts

2010-10-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple things I didn't include in my novel of a race report:

My Lululemon arm warmers (I was going to link them but they aren't on the website anymore) were awesome! I wasn't even sure if they would stay up but they did and I loved them. Super soft and super warm. Eventually I pushed them down and I stayed cool even though half my arm was still covered.

For my next half (and there will be one!) I need to make more of an effort to take in everything, including my surroundings. I think I missed some pretty sights and fun things on the course because I tend to look down at the ground due to my fear of stepping on something and rolling my ankle again.

Loving that my knees don't hurt. They never did. I'm only sore in my quads and a little in my lower back. Definitely need to do some core work.

It started to rain pretty good once I crossed the finish line and I guess since I was no longer in motion I got pretty cold. Cold as in my lips were blue!

Minimal training in the last month or so before this race is reflected in my official time. I know this is my first race and it was a difficult course and I should be happy and I am but the 2:41 is knawing at me. I know I can do better.

I'm already looking for another half. Next time it'll be on a flat course though :)

Nike Women's Half Marathon Recap - Part 2

2010-10-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

So race day arrives. I was worried that I wouldn't sleep well the night before but I actually slept like a baby and awoke at 4:45. We were out the door by about 5:10.

We arrived in S.F., parked and walked a few blocks to Union Square. Thank God there were other runners to follow because we really didn't know where we were going.

Wow oh wow, I could have never imagined the energy that was there from all the people filling the streets of Union Square. I used a porta potty (hard to do in the darkness) and then texted Bootchez, my running partner so we could find each other.

Finally I heard someone yell "Lisa!" and I looked to my right and there she was. After some introductions and a few pics we headed off to our corral.

We were packed like sardines in the corral. I felt something poking my foot so I had to take my shoe off and could barely bend down to do so, it was that crowded.

After a few more pics we began to hear some cheers but since were kinda far from the start line we had no idea what was being said.

Finally we started moving and as we rounded the corner we could see the start line! I fumbled to take my iphone out and get these pics:

(taken by my husband before the race offically started)

Almost to the start line:

There was a lot of weaving in and out of people the first few miles. And since we were running amongst tall buildings I lost the signal on my Garmin. I didn't realize that's what had happened though. I heard the beep and thought I had bumped arms with someone and accidentally paused it. I fiddled with it starting and stopping it and my blind eyes could not read the display so I didn't know if I had paused or restarted the damn thing. Finally I got a signal but was annoyed that not one mile into the race my Garmin was screwed up.

Also, I had my music on (it was low and I only started it so I wouldn't have to remove my phone from my ifitness belt mid-run) and the same song kept playing. WTF??? So I had to take the phone out and try to get my playlist to shuffle but it wouldn't. Ugh. Finally I got it to start and all was good. I didn't really listen to the music but it was there in case I needed it.

Miles 1-3 were basically weaving in and out of slower runners and walkers, hopping on the sidewalk and trying to avoid dropped jackets. A little frustrating but we enjoyed the scenery, vibe and entertainment.

Crowd support and entertainment were awesome and really energizing. At about mile 3 there was a little hill. I think I ran it and then there was another smallish hill that I think I ran/walked.

Mile 6 was the beginning of a 1 mile climb. The road narrowed at this point and it was really congested. I ran slowly until I had to walk. We stopped to take a pic which provided a brief rest.

Then it was back to the hill. Bootchez suggested walking the middle portion of the hills and surging at the top. OK, what the hell. So as we approached the top we ran.

We had a brief break from the hills but then another one began and then another. OMG, they never seemed to end. We ran, walked, and surged. Man oh man I had read that the hills were tough but one cannot appreciate how tough they are until you are actually on them. This gives you an idea of what they were like.

(mile 8)

We stopped once so Bootchez could use the porta potty and then we headed DOWNHILL. I LOVE DOWNHILLS!

Somewhere at mile 8 I heard someone yelling "mommy" and over my music, the crowd cheering and the runners I recognized my daughter's voice. I had not expected to see my family until the finish line so this was a really really nice surprise.

She didn't realize that the sign she made for me was backward until her brother kindly told her :)

Here is the sign in all its glory. She was so proud!

And this is a somewhat blurry picture of Bootchez and me at mile 8:

(notice many of the people are walking)

It began to rain shortly after this picture was taken and I began to get tired and had to take more walking breaks.

At around mile 9 the race volunteers were handing out orange slices and I took two. I had to walk and eat them because trying to chew, breathe out of my mouth and run all at the same time didn't work. I welcomed an excuse to walk anyway.

I felt bad that I was walking and felt that I was slowing Bootchez down but she assured me that all was good. Can I just say that I had THE best running partner ever. She encouraged me when I needed it, told me not to worry about the time and was just so supportive. I had no idea that I would need that as much as I did, especially in the last few miles.

We continued on and finally rounded a corner and there was Ocean Beach and a DOWNHILL. We booked it here. At the top of this hill you could see the finish line and finishers village. So close but yet so far!

We made our way into Golden Gate Park and it was here at mile 10 that the 3 mile incline to the finish line began. I was pooped and was really struggling but Bootchez was there supporting and encouraging me. All I wanted was to finish and get my necklace.

Somewhere along the way I spotted Katye - Long Legs on the Loose. She heard me say her name and turned around. I told her she didn't know me but that I read her blog and had one too. She asked the name of my blog and I told her and she acted like she knew it (after the race I realized she may have remembered me because I bought a Bondi Band from one of her fundraisers). Anyway, sweet girl that she is she turned around (she had been running back into the runners) and ran with us for a minute or two. Thanks Katye, that was fun!

At this point it was all about getting to the next mile. At mile 12 (aka chocolate mile) we grabbed some Ghiradelli chocolates from the volunteers and headed toward mile 13. It seemed it would never come.

All I wanted to do was walk and I developed a cramp under my left rib cage at about mile 12.5. And OMG, we rounded the corner and there it was:

I was holding my side but I was determind to run (albeit slowly) to the finish line.

Bootchez was AWESOME, pushing me to the end. Look at her fist pump here:

My son was taking the finish line pics and sadly didn't get one of me crossing the finish line so I will have to wait until the race pics are published.

But I did get these pics:

13.1 miles

Chip time 2:41:27

Eleven minutes slower than I had hoped but given what I now know about this course and the walking breaks we took, I'm totally good with this.

Amazing and hard are the two words I have been using to describe this race. I'm so glad I bit the bullet and registered for this back in March or April. And I'm really lucky to have shared this with Bootchez. Her enthusiasm and energy were inspiring and I loved every minute of it. It was an amazing experience and one that I'll never forget!

And yes, I would totally run this race again!

p.s. L.B., I changed my blog header just as you suggested :)

Nike Women's Half Marathon Recap - Part 1

2010-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

I'll start this race recap with the expo first.

My daughter and I went to the expo on Saturday morning. I had heard many things about this particular expo and even though some of those things were negative, I was looking forward to actually going to my first race expo.

Walking up Powell street towards Union Square I could see many people sporting their TNT apparel as well as Nike race apparel. I was excited to get my own. I already knew I wanted to get a cap and zip hoodie.

Rounding the corner of Powell and Geary streets I saw the expo tent and all the billboard sized signs for the race. There was definitely a buzz in the air.

Bib pick up was really quick and easy. The volunteers filled my pink (yay!) race backpack with my bib, chip, course map, and lots of flyers and coupons. We proceeded to get my pace bracelet and then walked around to see what else was there.

The tent was packed and true to the comments I had read about ths expo, it was disappointing. Not much to see or do. There were smoothies, Gatorade samples, Nike sport bra fittings, custom Nike shoe designs, a DJ, massages, an area where you could sign up to receive messages from either Mia Hamm, Serea Williams, or Joan Benoit. Whoever you chose would call you at 6am race day to give you some words of encouragement, then call someone of your choice when you passed mile 6 and then I would get a congratulatory call after I crossed the finish line. Seemed cool enough and my daughter was excited that Mia Hamm was part of this so I signed up and of course all phone calls were from Mia Hamm. There were probably a few other things to see but I can't rememer at the moment. Pretty uneventful :(

Outside there was yoga, Kashi cereal and Ghiradelli chocolate samples, and the Power Balance pace leaders. We got a few samples and then headed across the street to the Niketown store.

First though I had to see my name amongst all 20,000 runners on the wall of names. On our way to see this look who I ran into:

Dmity and Sarah of Run Like A Mother!

It took a few minutes but we were able to find my name.

We made our way inside the store. Four floors of Nike stuff. It was a madhouse! There was a DJ playing loud music, someone talking over a microphone and intervewing runners and all the buzz and excitement that came from the hundreds of people in the store. Employees were carrying armfuls of inventory to replenish stock - it was a sight for sure.

You name it and they had it. From jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts, tech tees, shorts, capris, arm warmers, water bottles, hats, jackets, engraving on your ipod/iphone, customized messages on shirts and more. I'm sure they made a ton of money; they got $90 of mine :)

We had a soccer game to get to so after one final picture we headed home.

Mission Accomplished!

2010-10-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

I did it.

13.1 miles.

It was hard.

It was AMAZING!

The hills killed me.

But in the end I got this:

I'll write more tomorrow.

I'm pooped and my S.F. Giants are playing right now.

3 days!

2010-10-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

So 3 days left. Three days. Wow, I cannot even believe it. The morning DJs were talking about the road closures on race day and I felt a few butterflies.

The expo opens today but I won't be going until Saturday. Between now and then there is a lot to be done:

Get my race stuff ready (I decided on shorts, less chance of chafing)
Go to the expo to get my bib and chip
Go to Niketown to get a jacket and a hat
Daughter's soccer game Saturday afternoon
Son's homecoming dance Saturday night (still need to get him a tie)
Grocery shopping on Saturday because I won't be doing anything on Sunday other than running and watching some SF Giants baseball!
Eat some more carbs and drink some more water
Hoping to run a few miles this evening

I've been eating more carbs this week than normal and I'm sure feeling it. I hope I run off all the calories I've eaten and will eat this week otherwise I might not be able to button my pants next week :) I'm pretty sure I'll be taking Monday off. I have no idea how I will feel but I do know that I will be exhausted so if anything I can at least sleep in and rest.

I've received some really good advice (thank you!) about prepping for the race as well as actual race day advice. As a result I will bring pretzel sticks and start eating them after the halfway point. I've got my GU Chomps, Sharkies, Powerade/water mix and now the pretzels. They will fit nicely in the little pocket of my water bottle and I'll put the energy chews in the second pocket of my ifitness belt. That way if they get squished they won't be reduced to powder like the pretzel sticks would.

My plan is to walk the hills and run the rest. I do want to stop and take pics along the way and just enjoy the experience as much as I can. That said, I hope to finish in under 2.5 hours as I don't want to be running for any longer than that.

Bootchez and I have been emailing back and forth about the race. We won't be able to meet up at the expo on Saturday because I'll be there in the morning and she won't be there until later that afternoon so we will meet for the first time ever on Sunday morning. She'll be the one in the pink tutu; I'm sure she will be easy to spot. Thank God for cell phones. I'm looking forward to meeting her and having someone to share this race with. This little race though is only a training run for her - she's running an ultra soon. God, I cannot even imagine.

6 days

2010-10-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

So this week, the week before my first ever half marathon, is going to be about hydration and a few carbs.

Fueling properly has always been something that I struggle with and since I'm pretty picky about what I eat and given that I can't eat a lot at once, I'll be eating carbs in small amounts every day leading up to Sunday. Also, I'm only drinking water this week and will forego my beloved Diet Coke.

I'm still not sure what I will be wearing on Sunday. I have my t-shirt and arm warmers but I am at odds as to what to wear for bottoms: shorts, capris or a running skirt.

I pulled out a black running skirt yesterday and will wear it this week for a short run to see if it's comfortable enough for 13.1.

I'll be going to the expo on Saturday morning with my daughter. I thought it would be fun for her to see all the runners and to experience an expo. She wants to go with us on Sunday to the race to cheer me on and I think it will be a fun experience for her to see such a large race up close and personal.

I'm not even going to mention the slight soreness in my throat right now. Nope, not going there.

I think I want to do this

2010-10-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ragnar Relay: S.F. to Napa

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea

2010-10-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

So last night I decided it would be fun to Google some pictures of previous Nike Women's Marathons. I also came upon some race recaps with some really helpful information.

I found some really cool pics of the starting line and learned that it'll probably take me a good 15-20 minutes to cross the start line once the race officially begins. Good info to know.

I'm also considering staying in the city on Saturday night because logistically it will just be easier. I'm worried about parking and since we (husband and I) don't know the city that well, staying overnight will lessen the stress on race morning because we won't have to wake up extra early and worry about finding our way through the city and then finding parking.

I'm thinking I want to take pics during the race because who knows if I will ever run it again. Too many fun things out there on the course that I will want to remember but how will I do this? I can use my iPhone which I will use for music but taking it in and out of my ifitness belt might get old after a while. I have a small digital camera but it's kinda old and not as compact as newer models. Need to think about this.

After seeing pictures of the water stations, I've decided to carry my water bottle. The water stations looked a little chaotic and crowded and I don't really want to stop and wait for the drink and then stop to drink out of the cup. At least with my handheld I can drink and run at the same time. I'm thinking of doing a 50/50 mix of a sport drink and water.

Hills. Umm, yeah, hence the title of this post. There are lots and there are some steep ones. I would rather not know this but too late now. Apparently miles 11-13 are on an incline. Great. Can't wait for that. Most of the recaps I read proclaimed this race to be their toughest ever, tougher than even the SF Marathon.

Sweet.

Gettin' ready

2010-10-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Just about 10 days left (my countdown ticker is a day off for some reason). I'm in get ready mode and tonight I bought these Lululemon armwarmers (ha, me in armwarmers! I might actually look like a real runner):

PINK!

And I'm wearing this tshirt:

It's happening and I cannot believe it is almost here.

I got the armwarmers because I know it will be cold in the morning and I don't have a throwaway jacket to toss at mile 2 or 3, where ever the coat toss is located. Love that the armwarmers have thumbholes and a cuff that can be rolled down over your hand (fingers still exposed though). And there is an opening for my Garmin.

Tonight I put together my playlist. I'll probably still tweak it some but it's a start. If anybody has song suggestions please let me know.

10.6

2010-10-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday I woke up earlyish and got ready for my last long run before the Nike Women's Half Marathon on October 17th.

Friday I had mapped out a 10 mile route that took me from my house to the park where my daughter had a soccer game. I laid my stuff out Friday night, charged my Garmin and even ate a pasta dinner. Saturday I woke up and laid in my warm bed for a bit then finally decided I could procrastinate no more.

I ate a piece of toast and drank some water and then ate a few Sharkies. I packed what was left of them and also some fruit snacks that my kids eat into the pocket on my handheld water bottle and then walked to the trail near my house.

I told myself I wasn't going to look at my pace except when my Garmin beeped at every mile. Mile 1 and 2 were the usual warm up miles and then I remembered that I needed to ask my husband to bring a water bottle for me to the soccer game because I knew I would run out during my run. At the end of mile 2 I paused my Garmin and sent my husband a text. I then continued on with my run. When I neared what was the end of mile 3 I glanced at my watch to see how much farther until I could turn around and it read 2 miles. Crap, I forgot to restart it after I sent the text.

I was annoyed because that meant I wouldn't know the exact time for the entire run, only an estimate. Oh well, nothing I could do at that point so I trudged along.

My thoughts were about the Nike half and how I would do, what my time would be, how bad will the hills be, will I be able to finish, do I wear shorts or capris, what about mittens and a jacket, handheld or no handheld, what am I gonna do about fuel, water or a sports drink, yadda yadda.

Somewhere in mile 5 I said hello to a little boy who was waving to all the runners and bikers and that triggered the voice control on my iPhone to go off. This has happened several times in the past and is very frustrating. I had to stop and cancel out of it even though the cord to my earphones was inside my top. I’ve determined that the little microphone on the earphones is picking up the breeze, my breathing and an occasional hi and I thought that putting the cord inside my top would prevent the voice control from going off but apparently I was wrong. Several times I had to stop because it kept going off.

During mile 7 I tried to run up a steep hill. I made it part way then had to walk the rest. It was near this point in my run that I ran out of energy chews but knowing that I only had about 3 miles left I wasn’t worried. My pace had slowed and during this point of the run I was up in the hills where it was breezy and the stupid voice control started going off again. I have to get ear phones that don’t have a microphone on them because I can’t deal with this during the half.

Anyway, I am plugging along and really wanting to be done with this run. As I get to mile 8 and 9 I started losing my bearings because I couldn’t figure out where I was even though I wasn’t far from home and then I worried that had made an error in mapping out the route and would have to call my husband to come and get me. I took a couple of walking breaks and asked someone what the nearest street was and then finally saw the street I needed to get to my daughter’s soccer game. Thank you God!

10.6 miles done in about 2 hours.

Next long run? 13.1 in San Francisco.

It's October...

2010-10-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

and that means this is the month of my first ever half marathon!

The butterflies have officially started even though I posted yesterday on FaceBook that I wasnt nervous. Yet.

I started this blog over a year ago as a way to document my journey towards this goal, and while there have been some interruptions with tendonitis and an broken ankle, IT is finally here. Still not sure how that happend so quickly.

I'll admit training has been rough lately but it is what it is and there's nothing I can do to change it. I still believe that I can complete the distance within a reasonable amount of time. The only unknown is how I will do with the hills. My plan has always been to walk them, or at least part of them, so I'm not too worried about that and I think the energy at the race will definitely help me push through.

I guess my only issue right now is figuring out race day logistics and how I will fuel. I don't really want to carry my water bottle for 13.1 miles so I need to figure out where the water stations will be. The race starts at 7am so heat won't be a factor but I do know that I need to hydrate and I'm hoping that drinking water at each water station will be enough. Fuel is more of an issue for me than hydration is because I haven't figured out yet what to do about that.

I've tried sport beans and they are ok but not sure if they have enough kick in them for a half marathon. I've also tried Sharkies; they were just ok too. Any suggestions besides GUs?

I've got a 10 miler mapped out for either tomorrow or Sunday. Hoping to do it tomorrow and run to my daughter's soccer game but I need to fuel for that today and so far I'm not off to a good start. Fuel is obviously an issue for me.

Still here

2010-09-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

So it seems I've neglected this blog. It's a running blog and since I haven't been running as much as I should have I haven't blogged.

I received my pre-race email from Nike today. It has all the details about the expo and picking up my bib. I've already scoped out the race apparel I want. Definitely getting a hoodie and maybe something else too.

I'm planning a 10 miler this weekend. It's been so blasted hot here (107* at 4pm today) that I haven't wanted to run, plus it is dark now by 7:30.

Seriously, I'm excited to run this half but I'll be glad when it's over too. Trying to train with kids who are in school and active in sports is nearly impossible. We have traveled every weekend lately for soccer games and/or tournaments and I admit training has been neglected.

I'm not worried though. I know I can run the 13.1 miles although I will walk the hills. That's always been my plan anyway so no concessions there.

Looking forward to meeting Bootchez and running this race with her. She's got her pink tutu all ready for this race; I on the other hand am not so daring lol and haven't yet decided if I will wear shorts or capris. This however is the tshirt I will wear. Sweet huh?

Very sweet giveaway

2010-09-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

Miss Zippy is hosting a very cool giveaway, one that I'd like to win for my half on 10/17. I've been wanting a pair of compression tights but they are expensive! So please Miss Zippy, pick me, pick me :)

Check it out here

T minus 45

2010-09-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

I'm 45 days out from my first half marathon. What have I been doing lately to prepare for it?

That would be nothing.

Zero

Zilch

Nada

I haven't run in the past three weeks. Partly because I haven't felt like it and partly because I've been busy.

With back to school and the start of fall soccer, the days have been a blur and I'm feeling overwhelmed at trying to keep up with two different school schedules (my son is now is high school), practices, homework, housework, yadda yadda.

So yeah, I'm starting to feel stressed about the half. I know I need to run but I just can't find the time and when I have the time I don't feel like it.

I think I'm a little burnt out. I've decided that after the half I'm not going to race for a while and just run for the fun of it. No training plan to follow and no pressure to run. I also need to get back to the gym or cancel my membership. I'd really like to take yoga classes because my legs have been feeling tight. And I'd love to start spin classes again.

One thing at a time though. I need to tackle these 13.1 miles in 45 days, get my necklace and then I can relax.

Catching up and ifitness belt frustration

2010-08-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've been in a running rut of late. I know I need to run but i just haven't felt like it. I need to snap out of it quick.

Part of my problem is that my legs and knees have been sore after my runs. I thought possibly I was developing shin splints because I had a dull ache in my shins for a few days, so I erred on the side of caution and took about a week off.

I now suspect that I wasn't developing shin splints but that I need to replace my shoes. They only have about 260ish miles on them but I guess that since I am running longer now, they aren't as supportive as they once were. At $125 a pair, I would expect to get more mileage out of them. I wear the Asics Gel Nimbus...anyone get low mileage out of their Asics too?

I plan on replacing them with the same model because I don't have the time to work out the kinks of finding a new shoe with my half marathon a little over 2 months away. Maybe I'll use the new ones for my long runs and keep my existing shoes for my shorter runs and see how my legs feel.

Anyway, I missed my long run last Sunday (8/2) because I was at a concert all day the day before and hardly ate anything. I knew I couldn't run 10 miles without being properly fueled.

After sleeping in yesterday I had almost written off my 11 miler. If I don't get my long run done early in the morning I don't feel like doing it at all because I get busy doing other things and mentally I'm just not into it, but my husband was going out for a bike ride with my daughter so I decided I would suck it up and run.

Even though I had 11 miles on the schedule I had only planned to do 6, maybe 8, depending on how my legs and knees felt.

I met up with my husband and daughter at about mile 4 and asked my husband to go into Safeway and refill my water bottle. I was eating sport beans and sipping water and even though it was warm there was a breeze that helped keep me cool.

I told them I would at least do 8 miles and depending on how I felt when I got back to my starting point I might continue on and do 2 more miles.

At 6 1/2 miles I really started to feel it in my knees and legs. I tried to not focus on it and just get through each mile popping sport beans hoping that they would provide the kick I needed to get through it.

At 8 miles, even though I was sore, I decided to go for 2 more and depending on how I felt at 10 miles, possibly go for 1 more to complete 11. I really wanted to hit the 11 mile mark.

I had slowed down considerably and by mile 9 I was checking my Garmin to see how far away I was from 10 miles. I wanted to have a new distance PR and knew that 11 miles just wasn't going to happen so once the Garmin beeped at 10 miles I continued on for another quarter mile.

10.25 miles, 1:53:xx, 11:04 average pace.

~~~~~

I ran with my new ifitness belt. All the reviews I have read say that the thing DOES NOT ride up. I'm always pretty pessimistic about reviews like that but not once did I read one where someone complained about it riding up. Well, I must be the only person who has experienced that. I must of stopped 5 or 6 times to loosen, tighten, and readjust and once I thought I had tightened it enough and lowered it to over my hip bones, it still rode up.

What is the secret to prevent it from doing that? I think my hips are kinda wide and that thing kept wanting to scooch up to the narrowest part of my waist. Very frustrating as I bought it hoping to use during my half marathon. I had it almost as tight as it could be adjusted and over my hip bones. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Any suggestions?

~~~~~

The races I talked about running in my last post might not happen due to my daughter's soccer schedule. The team needs to play in state up preliminary games and it just so happens that 2 of the dates they are tossing around are the dates that I was hoping to run a half marathon (8/21) and the 5k with my daughter (9/12). Nothing is set in stone yet so I haven't registered for either race. I'd really like to run the half so I have a benchmark time. The course is described as flat and fast so that would help me figure a time for the Nike half which is hilly.

~~~~~

It looks like one of the girls I registered to run the Nike half with is bowing out :( She is overextended and hasn't been running and there is no way she could train with just two months left. I'm bummed but it is what it is. I figured we would start together but then go our own ways but it would have been nice to have her there. Oh well, I'm still registered with Bootchez so that should be fun.

Anyone know what can be done with a Nike half marathon registration that can't be used?

Race calendar

2010-07-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

So even though I'll be running my first half marathon on October 17th, I've been thinking about some other races as well. I was searching Active.com for races last night and was happy to see that an old local race, one that was discontinued for many years, is coming back.

The city I grew up in was a walnut orchard way back when and the walnut harvest was celebrated with a festival. Well that festival is now a small carnival that comes to town for three days every September. When I was young the festival organizers held a 5k race (maybe a 10k too) the week before the start of the festival. Due to the population explosion we've had, shutting down the major roads that the race was run on was no longer feasible. Well the race is back with a new course and I'm excited to run it. I'm planning on running the 5k since I haven't raced one in 2 years. My 10 year old daughter wants to run it too so I'm guessing the husband will have to run with her so I can race. Hoping to beat my time of 29:41...we shall see.

The race is on 9/12 and I have a 10 miler scheduled that day so after the race I will have to continue on for another 7 miles. I'll be able to pick up the trail near the finish line and run home. I don't really like breaking up a long run like that but I guess it'll be okay.

For the past two years we have run the local Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning and hopefully it will be held again this year so I/we can run it again. Last year there was a 5k and a 10k but I'm not sure which one I would run this year; guess it depends on my time in the 5k in September but also on the course. Last year it was narrow and cramped with very sharp turnarounds. Hopefully enough people mentioned that in the evaluation and the course will be changed.

December is up in the air. I haven't found any races that appeal to me (i.e. are close by) but I also have to contend with my daughter's soccer and basketball schedule, so it's probably best to just wait and see.

Sucktastic 6

2010-07-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

When I made my half training plan I based my weekday runs on my daughter's soccer practice schedule which was on Tuesday and Thursdays. Little did I know that her practices would be changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Don't they know that screws ME up?

I figure that I'll have to change my weekday runs to Wednesdays and Thursdays for the time being. Her schedule drops to two practices a week once school starts but I'm not sure if the days will change.

So I didn't run yesterday and told myself that I would run today while she was at practice. That means that I will have back to back runs during the week. Not my preference but it'll have to be that way for now.

This afternoon I ate too much and paid for it during my 6 miler. I was really trying to talk myself out of running but I knew that I shouldn't miss any runs now that my half is 12 weeks away.

OMG. Twelve weeks!

But I digress. I had a pretty good first 2 miles with 10:16 and 10:18 paces. And then from there it all went downhill. I started feeling the need to go to the bathroom and it was hot. I stopped in the shade at about 2.7 miles, paused my Garmin and rested for a few minutes. I contemplated cutting the run short but knew I would regret it.

Each mile got progressively slower. Even slower than my average pace for my 10 miler on Sunday. I almost gave up about 3 more times but perservered and told myself to get to 5 miles and then see how I felt. At mile 5 I still felt shitty but figured I only had 1 more mile to go so what the eff, just run it.

6 miles, 1:04:50, 10:48 average pace.

I have come to the conclusion that I don't like running in the late afternoon. Early morning runs are way better.

Gone for a Run giveaway

2010-07-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Melissa over at Life by Melissa is hosting a giveaway of a Gone for a Run t-shirt. Check it out here.

Double Digits

2010-07-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

So Saturday I ran an easy 4 miles...nothing exciting to report except that I should have run earlier in the morning. When will I learn??? I did take my water bottle so I didn't have a repeat of last Saturday's run.

I usually wake up early on the weekends but don't get up because I don't want to wake my kids or husband, but with the heat of summer I have to run early in the morning if I am to get anything out of the run. So I told my husband that for Sunday's 10 miler I would be waking up early and I wasn't gonna worry too much about waking anyone up, although I do try to be quiet.

Saturday: 4 miles, 40:58, 10:13 average pace.

Today (Sunday) I had my first 10 miler scheduled. Even though I ran 9 miles last week, something about running 10 miles was a little scary to me, especially when I estimated how much time I anticipated that it would take me.

I carb loaded Saturday night and had a bowl of Cheerios later in the evening. Last time I ate Cheerios the night before a run I had a really good run. I laid my gear and clothes out and hopped into bed at 11:00 with a 7:00 alarm set.

I woke at 6:40, laid there for a few minutes, got up and dressed, ate a banana and drank some water and was out the door by about 7:20.

It took a while for my Garmin to find a satellite so I did some dynamic stretching while I waited and once the watch was ready I took off. My goal pace for this run was 11:00-11:30, knowing that as the miles added up I would slow down. I also ate one or two sport beans at each mile and drank a few sips of water.

My husband was going to bike out to meet me and bring me a water refill so I didn't need to worry so much about rationing it.

I felt good and when I glanced at my watch I saw paces in the low 10's to just over 11. I'm so not consistent with that yet and had to remind myself to slow down. It's hard to run slow but I tried so that I wouldn't run out of gas in the last few miles.

I ran a different route this time and the last 4 miles included a really steep hill and some other more managable inclines. Probably not the best idea in hindsight.

I meet up with my husband during mile 7, refilled my water bottle and kept on chugging along. It was here that I had to run up the steep hill. I was able to run half of it and then had to walk the rest.

I think running down this hill was harder than running up it because it was hard on my knees.

I ate an entire bag of sport beans and drank almost 40 ounces of water during this run. I never felt tired and I think the sport beans really help me although for the half in S.F. I think I may need more fuel than what sport beans can provide. I've been resisting trying GUs but think I may need to give them a try.

I wore my new socks for the 4 miler on Saturday and for today's run and I think I like them. The tender spot on my right foot isn't sore so I guess the socks are keepers.

All in all this was a pretty amazing run. Totally not what I expected.

Sunday: 10 miles, 1:48:09, 10:52 average pace. The only mile in the 11s was when I walked up the hill and my pace for that mile was 11:14. I'm pretty pleased with that.

I ate 4 big pancakes after I got home, showered and ran the cold water over my legs for a few minutes. After I dressed and got ready I sat on the couch and fell alseep for a few minutes. Surprisingly I'm not sore but am pretty sleepy. I'm sure I will sleep well tonight.

Front of my tshirt for today's run

Back of my tshirt

Run interrupted and socks!

2010-07-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday I had a 6 miler scheduled and I had planned to do it while my daughter was at soccer practice. Prior to her 4:00 practice I had to meet with a plumber at my house so he could look at a broken pipe under the house. He left my house at 3:50. I had already dressed in running clothes, put my RoadID and Garmin on so I quickly filled water bottles and got my sport beans and we headed to practice. On the way I powered on my Garmin only to have it beep at me that it had a low battery. WTH? I just charged it.

As soon as I got my daughter situated on the field with her coach, I headed back to the car to get my water bottle and start the run. I glanced at my watch to start the timer and it had already died :( Shit. I hate not knowing my pace and distance.

I ran anyway figuring that I would map the run after to get my mileage. I noted the time on my iphone and headed out for what I thought would be a good run.

I ran up the hill I had hoped to measure elevation of with my watch but obviously I couldn't do that. I ran through the park to get to the trail and after many detours due to road work I finally got to it only to be hit by the need to go to the bathroom. I tried to ignore it but you can't ignore tummy issues, so after 20 minutes of running I turned around and walked back to my car, annoyed, and went home.

I woke up early this morning before the plumber arrived and headed out to complete the run. It turned out to be a great run - sunny with a brisk cool breeze. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone to see if I could manage to complete the 4 miles in less than 40 minutes.

4 miles in 39:14. Sub 10 minute miles!

Tonight I went to Road Runner Sports and got these socks. I've been running in Adidas socks that are cotton, and while I like them for the support they offer, I noticed after my 9 miler last week that a spot on the bottom of my right foot was tender and I think it may have to do with the fact that the socks are cotton. The cotton combined with the longer distances I'm running now doesn't make for a very comfortable run. I'll still use them for shorter distances but hopefully the Feetures socks will work for my long runs. They better for the price I paid.

Tomorrow is an easy 4 and Sunday is my first 10 miler! OMG!!!

Vacations are great but...

2010-07-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

they throw me off of my routine and it's hard to get back.

Yes, I was in Maui in late June and then up in the mountains for the 4th of July weekend. And then both my kids played in allstar baseball games, and then a week of nothing planned or scheduled but running just wasn't happening.

Minor detail: I'm supposed to be training for a half marathon in October. See there, 89 days till the big day.

That all changed last Satuday. I ran 4 miles. They were miserable.

It was hot, I didn't have water (who brings water for a 4 miler?) and during mile 3 I started to feel light headed and like I might be sick. I had to stop to rest in the shade for a few minutes (I hate stopping during my runs). All I could think about was please God, don't let me throw up in front of everyone and not have any water to rinse my mouth out with.

Thankfully I held it together and made it home.

Suckiest 4 miles ever.

Note to self: run earlier in the morning and bring water.

Sunday I had 9 miles scheduled. My longest run ever is 8 miles. I hadn't run in almost 4 weeks and now I'm supposed to run 9????

Shit, I'm so screwed.

I was nervous, intimidated, trying to talk myself out of not running that far, then telling myself I needed to, then telling myself to just play it by ear and see how I feel, then being nervous at the thought of 9 miles. I mean that's almost double digits. That's close to the half marathon distance.

We had to be at breakfast on Sunday at 10:00 for my sister's birthday so I set my alarm for 7:00. I woke, got dressed, tried to eat a piece of toast with peanut butter and drink some water.

As I'm eating the toast I look at my training schedule and cross off the completed 4 miles from Saturday and see that 10 miles are scheduled for Sunday and not 9. I was supposed to run 9 the week before. Did I mention that I basically haven't run in the past 4 weeks?

Sweet.

I filled my water bottle with ice and water and put some sport beans inside the little zippered pocket of the insulated bottle carrier.

I headed out the door at 7:30. It was sunny, cool and breezy. Perfect running conditions.

My plan was to eat a sport bean and take two sips of water after my Garmin beeped at every mile interval. I wanted to conserve water because last time I used it on a hot 7 miler I ran out, so two gulps seemed like I would be able to ration the water out over 9 miles.

If I went that far.

I wasn't sure what the mileage plan was. I really wanted to complete 9 miles but in my head I felt like since I basically hadn't run in 4 weeks I wasn't ready for 9 miles. Ten miles wasn't gonna happen. I had been mentally preparing myself all week for 9 so it would be 9 or less for this run.

I started out strong and told myself to not worry about pace and to not constantly glance at my Garmin. Just wait for the beeps and eat the bean and drink some water.

This was my first time eating sport beans. I had bought a few packages of different types of nutrition and the Luna Moons were gross. I had GU Chomps and these in my cabinet. Since I didn't like the texture of the Luna Moons, I figured the GU Chomps would be similar so I chose the sport beans and I have to say they were pretty decent. They are sweeter than I care for but they were tolerable and seemed to get the job done. I never felt tired or like I wanted to just be done with the run. I think I found my fueling method for the half.

So that was the process, run, eat, drink, repeat.

And I did it 8 times for 9 miles total!

Yep, I ran 9 miles and felt good the entire time. Granted my pace slowed down but covering the distance was what I wanted and I did it.

I came home, quickly showered and did my version of an ice shower. I turned the hot water off and let the cold water run on my legs for a few minutes. It actually felt okay but my legs were still a little sore later in the afternoon and even now as I type this on Monday morning, but I'm no more sore than usual.

I've had to revise my long run mileage plan so I can get back on track. I've stil got two 13 milers planned prior to the actual half. And on the menu for this Sunday: 10 miles. OMG, I'm so nervous.

Running in Maui

2010-06-22T09:54:00.001-07:00

Mile 3 of my 8 miler

Mile 6.5 of 8

Rainbows

And a sunset

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Gah!

2010-06-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

The running gods must be speaking to me. Not only do I have a sore throat but I have some random pain in my lower left back that radiates down to my butt. I felt something today after I stood up at work and took a few steps. It started as an annoying feeling in my back (around my left kidney) and then started to radiate down to the left side of my butt. Grr, I hope this isn't something that is going to sideline me.

Needless to say, I didn't run today :(

Bumps in the road

2010-06-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

This isn't turning out to be a very good running week for me.

I missed my 7 miler on Sunday.

I missed my 6 miler yesterday.

I am sick. Well, I have a sore throat and I'm really hoping to shake it before we leave Saturday for Maui.

Today is a cross training day and I normally would go to spin but I'm not sure what I will do - try to fit in the 6 miles I missed yesterday, go to spin or do nothing.

I have 5 miles scheduled for Thursday, rest day on Friday, travel on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday. Maybe I might tweak the plan a bit and still get my miles in but on different days.

On Thursday my daughter plays in the tournament of champions and my son has baseball practice (yes, softball and baseball are STILL going on!) so I doubt I'll get my scheduled 5 miles in unless I go to the gym in the morning. I suppose I could do 6 today and 5 on Friday. We'll see.

My gut tells me to just rest and get well and be ready for running in the heat and humidity in Maui but my brain is telling me to run and not miss any training days. I'm finding that I really like crossing off completed runs on my training plan and not doing that annoys the heck out of me.

Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I need the reminder that life happens and if I don't get a run in here or there the world won't end. It looks like this might be a "life happens" week.

I don't know if I will post again before I leave. I was thinking it would be fun to do some picture posts from Maui...we'll see if that works out or not.

Long run fail

2010-06-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend in preparation for leaving on vacation this Saturday. I had a list of a bunch of stuff I needed to do and of course crap happens to screw things up.

Saturday
4 miles in about 42 minutes, 10:25 average pace.

In doing laundry so that we could pack, the drainage line for the washing machine got backed up. My husband tried to snake it but it didn't work, so no laundry got washed.

Sunday
7 miles was on the schedule. I woke up early but everyone was sleeping and I didn't want to wake them. Once I got up I got busy with stuff, laying out clothes to pack, my husband dealing with the plumber and we still had to take the car in to get new tires. I didn't feel like I had any business running when I had so much to do. I watched the clock. It got later and later and hotter and hotter. I wished I had gotten up when I woke up.

I never ran and I'm so annoyed.

I hate not being able to cross of a completed run on my training plan.

I guess it was just as well anyways. My knees kinda ached yesterday.

Catch up

2010-06-11T11:00:00.000-07:00

Thursday
4:45 wake up call. Five mile treadmill run set at a 1% incline (thanks Kerrie) with a one mile warm up, progressively faster miles and about a half mile cool down. I really wasn't into this run and I was feeling tired. My knees felt somewhat better yesterday and feel even better today.

5 miles in 52:24, 10:28 average pace.

Friday
Today is the last day of school for my daughter and they only went for about an hour and a half. Normally one of my girlfriends would bring my daughter home since I would be at work but since neither of them were available I went in to work late so that I could bring her home.

So this morning I got to sleep in a bit. I wished I had planned better yesterday and woke up early this morning and gone to the gym but I wasn't thinking (my mind is swirling with stuff to do in preparation for leaving on vacation), so instead I did a weights workout at home and I'm hoping to go to the gym later tonight to workout on the elliptical. First we have dinner with my sister for her birthday.

I really like having my workouts completed first thing in the morning. Waking up at 4:45 is becoming easier each time I do it. Knowing that I still have to do an elliptical workout later tonight bugs me. I wish it was already done.

Baseball and softball are coming to a close so hopefully I can get all my runs completed outside and only go to the gym for weights and spin class.

On the menu for this weekend

Saturday
4 miles

Sunday
7 miles

A dead battery and 6 miles

2010-06-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

So this morning I woke up at 4:45 to head to the gym to get my 6 miler done because I wouldn't be able to run later due to both kids having games.

I was tired and really didn't want to get up but I did and when I got in my car I discovered that it had a dead battery. Worked fine last night.

So I went back into the house, put my pajamas back on and crawled back into bed. I laid there for probably a half hour worrying that whatever was wrong with my car was more than a what a new battery could fix and all I was seeing was dollar signs.

Eventually we got the car to the shop and a new battery was installed. I went to the gym after and ran my scheduled 6 miles. I wasn't into it at all. My knees have been aching and 6 miles seemed like a lot to me.

I broke it down mile for mile and did quarter mile fartleks and the end of each mile. At mile 3 I accidentally hit the stop button on the treadmill and the display reset so I had to start over. My time was somewhere about 1:01, a 10:09 average pace.

I did some stretching and strength training after and headed home for my second shower of the day.

Not sure why my knees have been aching because my shoes only have 200 miles on them.

Weekend recap

2010-06-06T20:42:00.000-07:00

Friday
4:45 wake up call. One hour on the elliptical followed by stretching and some weights.

Saturday
Four miles was on the schedule. I ran in a different location while my daughter warmed up for her softball game. I ran at 10 a.m. and it was HOT. The route included hills and that combined with the heat slowed my pace waaayyyy down. I thought about cutting the run short but knew if I did I would be annoyed with myself after.

4 miles in 45:40, an 11:25 average pace.

Sunday
Seven miles scheduled for today. It was hot this morning when I set out at about 9:30. I walked to the trail and as soon as I got there I realized I forgot my Garmin so I had to walk back. After heading home to get the watch I set off and settled into a comfortable pace.

I tried to remember to drink water at every mile and the cold water going down felt good. I took a different route today because my usual one is getting boring. At 3 1/2 miles I turned around and headed back and it was here that I noticed that my water was getting low so I tried to ration it. I eventually ran out but I was pretty close to finishing the run anyway.

7 miles in 1:15:22, a 10:46 average pace.

I had negative splits the last 3 miles.

Overall this was a pretty good run. I never felt tired despite the heat and the distance never seemed hard for me. Eight miles is my longest run ever (pre broken ankle) so I'm getting close to where I was before my injury.

After yesterdays hilly run I know I definitely need to run hills to improve and be prepared for the Nike half and they are on the training schedule for sure.

The more I use my handheld water bottle the more I'm liking it. I love that it's insulated and keeps my water cold and the ice doesn't melt for about an hour. I just need to figure out what to do about replenishing it on longer runs. I mentioned to my husband that maybe he could meet me halfway on my long runs for a refill. I don't really want a fuel belt.

Craptastic run

2010-06-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Suckyist run ever today :(

5 miles.

54:22 agonizingly slow minutes, 10:54 average pace.

Legs felt like they never warmed up.

Knees were achy.

Didn't eat enough prior to running.

Carried a water bottle for first time and it was annoying.

iPod worked sporadically :(

Stopped a couple of time to fix said iPod (actually my iPhone).

Sweat in my eyes and they were stinging like crazy.

Glad it's over and I hope I never have another run like that although I know I will.

National Running Day & half marathon thoughts

2010-06-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Today is National Running Day. Normally this is a cross training day for me and I would go to spin class but since today is also my father-in-law's birthday and we have dinner plans with my husband's family, spin class is out and running is in.

My daughter has her last soccer practice before they take a summer break so my plan is to run while she is at practice. I'm hoping for 4 miles.

~~~~~

So a couple posts ago I asked about running my first 13 miles in a half marathon and whether or not that was a good or bad idea. The consensus was 100% go for it. I liked the comment about being surrounded by others for that long of a distance; I hadn't thought of that. However, upon further investigation into the location that this race is held at, it appears that it is a VERY hilly course. I'm not so sure that I want to deal with hills the first time I run 13. I suppose it would be good preparation for the hills of San Francisco and the Nike Women's Half marathon but I won't start hill training until the week after this race so I won't be prepared for that aspect of this particular race.

I have until 6/20 to decide and still qualify for the early bird race fee. I've got some thinking to do.

Run, run & run, done, done & done

2010-06-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I had 4 miles scheduled and I did them in just under 40 minutes, 9:56 average pace. I'm noticing that my pace is improving ever so slightly with the consistent running and mild speedwork that I've been doing.

Sunday is my long run day and I had 6 miles scheduled. I really struggle with slowing myself down, slower than what for me is an easy pace and I ran it in 1:05, 10:50 average pace. The weather was beau-ti-ful on Sunday and I wore shorts, a workout tank and my new sunglasses. This was the second time I have worn them and I have to say I really like them. They stay in place and the lenses automatically change tint based on how bright it is. Love them. They are also are vented so they won't fog up. I barely notice them when I have them on. They were my Mother's Day gift...the husband did good :)

Today I had 6 miles scheduled and since my son has a baseball game this afternoon I knew I wouldn't be able to run then so I set my alarm last night for 4:45 and was on the treadmill by 5:10. Six miles on the dreadmill is a new record for me. I ran quarter mile Fartleks at the end of each mile and completed the run in 1:02, 10:24 average pace. I hope that I don't have to do too many more longish runs on the dreadmill because it's just plain boring. Plus after one hour the treadmill goes into cool down mode.

I scored some cool running stuff this weekend. A very inspirational running t-shirt by Adidas. I can't find a picture online so I will post one of it later. I also got a Nike Dri Fit running hat for $7.50. I wore it this morning to the gym and it is was more comfortable than my other Nike running hats. Wish they had more colors because I would go back.

I'm going on about 5 hours of sleep. I didn't sleep well last night because my daughter is sick and I was worried about her. At 1:00 this morning I was still awake, after having gone to bed by 10:30. 4:45 a.m. came VERY early.

I cannot even believe it's June 1st. Where has the time gone?

Tempo run and a possible half

2010-05-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

So this morning was another 4:45 wake up call in order to get my butt to the gym to run. Rain is forecasted AGAIN so I knew that the only way I'd get my scheduled 5 miles in was on the treadmill at the gym.

I was tired and hungry when I woke up. Shit who isn't when they wake up at 4:45am? I ate a banana on the way to the gym; I normally cannot eat anything that early in the morning, but I knew I needed something in my stomach.

I usually store my gym bag in the lockers but this morning I didn't figuring it was early and it wouldn't be in anyones way. I headed upstairs to the treadmills and set my bag down and took out my water bottle, towel and ipod. I put my earphones in (I remembered them!) and turned on my ipod and nothing. NOTHING! After fiddling with it I figured that the battery was low so I took out my iPhone, took off the case and slid it into my armband. All was good. I had my music for my 5 miles. I heart my iPhone :)

I warmed up for a mile then increased the speed for 3 miles to do a tempo run. Then a cool down mile. I didn't run as fast as I could have because I was tired. All in all I ran the 5 miles in 51:43, a 10:20 average pace. I did about 10 minutes of stretching and then it was time to head home. Strength trianing and abs are on the menu for tonight.

~~~~~

I was looking at some races this summer and it turns out that there happens to be a half marathon on July 31, the same weekend I am scheduled for my first 13 mile run ever.

This particular race is on 50% paved trails and 50% fire trails. There are rolling hills as well and according to the website the total ascent/descent is 1,341 feet! What do you all think about me running in this race? Is it not a good idea to have your first 13 miler be in a race setting? I wouldn't be running for time but just doing it and having it as a benchmark for future races. Of course if I came in at a certain time or under I wouldn't complain ;)

Let me hear your thoughts.

5 miles on the treadmill + no earphones = BORING

2010-05-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

Rain is forecasted for the next three days so last night I set my alarm for 4:45am. I had 5 miles scheduled and the only way that would happen is if I did them on the treadmill at the gym. Before I went to bed I prepped lunches, got all my gym stuff ready and laid out clothes to change into in the morning.

4:45 came early and I got up, changed and headed to the gym. In the women's locker room I pulled my towel out of my bag, water bottle, ipod and my earphones? I couldn't find them. I panicked for a minute thinking "I can't run 5 miles on the dreadmill without music." I pulled everything out of the gym bag and sadly, my earphones weren't in there :(

I sucked it up and told myself that at least there was some music playing in the gym, although it wasn't very motivating. I got to watch the local news and stare at the machines downstairs. Such fun.

Not only did I have 5 miles on the schedule but I also wanted to do some fartleks. I decided that I would do them the last quarter mile of each mile I ran. Once I got to three quarters of a mile I upped the speed 1 mph and did my thing. When I lowered the speed back down I didn't take it all the way down to what it was prior to raising it. That way when I did my next fartlek I would do it faster than the previous.

This was a good way to pass the time and made the run a little less boring. All in all I did the 5 miles in 52:50, a 10:33 average pace.

After, I did about 10 minutes of stretching and some ab work before it was time to leave. I didn't have time to do any weights so I will do that tonight.

Tomorrow is spin class. I haven't been in probably 6 weeks and I'm looking forward to it.

Seven Things

2010-05-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Kerrie at Mom vs Marathon, Jamie at Motivating Me and Jill at Running to Sanity with this award:

I'm supposed to list 7 things about myself. I think I'm a pretty boring person but here goes.

I met my husband in high school and we have been together ever since. We will be married 18 years this November.
My iPhone is attached to my hip. It tells me where I need to be and when, has my music, shopping lists, entertainment and various other things on it and if I ever lost it I would be SOL.
Our kids go to the same school I went to from 1st-8th and will go to the same high school that my husband and I went to. Well actually my son will go to the boys school and my daughter will (hopefully) go to the girls school which is across the street from the boys school.
I have broken 4 bones. My daughter just recently broke her wrist. I hope that isn't the start of a trend.
I'm so not athletic and never played sports in school and hated P.E. Funny now that I run :)
I don't wear lipstick but I'm addicted to chapstick. I have it everywhere: car, purse, desk, drawers, pockets. I have to have it with me at all times. My current favorite is Aquaphor ointment.
I have to chew gum after I eat lunch and dinner. I chew Extra peppermint gum and buy it in bulk at Costco.

There. Now I'm supposed to tag some people:

Mel at 2nd Chances
Amanda at Fat Wuz Here
Robin at Running Circles Around the Turtles
Alma at The Average Woman's Running Blog
Monica at Wife, Mom, Teacher, Jogger
Bootchez at Back of the Pack
Shannon at It's Trickey
Tara at Colorado Runner

Weekend running recap

2010-05-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

This past weekend marked the first weekend of my half marathon training. Well really it's base building in anticipation of half training but I'm calling it half training - twenty three weeks of base building and half training.

Saturdays are my easy run days and for the most part they will always be 4 miles. I ran these miles on the treadmill in about 41:45. Nothing eventful to note other than it was boring. Can't foregt the guy who got on the treadmill next to me. He was dressed in cotton sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt and made a big production of stretching. After he was nice and stretched, he started the treadmill and proceeded to run for about 5 minutes before he stopped it, got off and got on the elliptical. Ha ha, I had to laugh to myself about that.

Sundays are my long run days. Yesterday I ran 6 miles in 1:05. I haven't always been so successful in running long runs at a slower than normal pace but this time around I'm really going to try to slow myself down and do them correctly. My average pace was just below 11 minute miles which is just about where I needed to be.

On my way back I caught sight of my husband, or at least I thought it was him. He was too far ahead of me to really focus on but based on what he was wearing and how he was running I was pretty sure it was him.

I finally caught up to him and we finished together with me running faster than I should have but it was a very short distance so I didn't care.

I stretched and foam rolled after we got home and wow oh wow am I sold on the foam roller. I'm hardly sore when normally I would be a little bit, especially after my little 3 week running hiatus. I'll definitely make foam rolling a part of my post run routine.

Today is a rest day and tomorrow I have 5 scheduled with some Fartleks thrown in. It's supposed to rain Tuesday through Thursday so I'll probably be running at the gym at the crack of dawn this week.

When will the warm weather arrive? This is California. And almost the end of May.

Guess who I met today?

2010-05-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

That would be Dmity and Sarah from Run Like a Mother. That's my signed book that Sarah is holding. I'm going to save the book and read it in Maui next month.

Yep, they were at a book signing in town today and I left work early to go see them. Dorky me, I wore the t-shirt that I won in a contest on their blog.

And no, I'm not super short. They are super tall. I'm 5'4", they are amazon women :)

We talked for a few minutes after I had to dash out to get cash for the book. I never carry cash and thought I could pay with a credit card. I received some good advice regarding half training plans as well as their suggestion to ask on their blog about where to run in Maui.

I've never been to a book signing before but I'm glad I went and was able to met them.

~~~~~

I was up early again this morning and headed to the gym for some cross training. I also did some strength training and stretching. I was done with my workout at 6:30 am! I love this. As much as I don't like getting up early, I really like having my running and workouts completed first thing in the morning. Although I am tired now and it's only 1:45 pm. I need to get to bed earlier.

I've been tweaking my training plan and I think I've finalized it. I have about 22 weeks until the Nike half marathon. The next 7 weeks will be base building and getting my long run up to 9 miles and then training officially begins the week of July 12th. My training will have emphasis on endurance and strength for all those San Francisco hills. I'll be doing some mild speed work but it won't be my focus, at least not for this half :)

OMG! I still can't believe that I'll be running 13.1.

Running, Lisa. Lisa, Running

2010-05-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

So I reintroduced myself to running this morning. At the butt crack of dawn. I haven't run or worked out in 22 days. That's bad for someone who is supposed to be running a half marathon in October.

I haven't been able to run or workout due to all the sports my kids are involved in and when I miss more than a couple of days it's really hard for me to get back in the groove. So I decided that if I am to get any running and workouts accomplished during the week, I need to get my sorry ass to the gym in the morning. Have I mentioned my dislike of getting out of bed early?

But I set my alarm for 5am (gah!) in order to go to the gym to run and workout. I woke up at 4:40 and contemplated getting up but I didn't want to wake anyone up so I layed there for 20 minutes. I should have just got up and dressed.

I finally got up, changed quickly into the clothes I had laid out the night before, grabbed my gym bag and headed out. I was on the treadmill by about 5:15. I programmed the treadmill for a 10 minute mile and after warming up, ran for 4 miles. I can tell that I haven't run for a few weeks, but I'm excitred that I was able to run the entire 4 miles at a 10/mm pace and felt good other than being a little tired towards the end. I wasn't sure what to expect because I had some weird burning sensation in my left ankle yesterday.

After some strength training and some stretching I headed home to shower and get ready for work. I should have got out of bed when I woke up at 4:40 because I was pushing it on my way home and had to take a quick shower.

Due to the fact that I missed 3 weeks of running I've had to revise my training to train plan. I really want to get my long runs up so that when I actually begin my half training I can do some serious long runs and not have to work up to them. I'd like to get in a few 13 milers prior to the race.

I'll be doing some of my training in Maui. Don't hate.

Missed me?

2010-05-11T21:42:00.000-07:00

So it's been 2 1/2 weeks since I last ran. Forgive me running gods for I have sinned.

Yeah, we've been super busy with softball practice, softball games, soccer practice, soccer games, baseball practice, baseball games and now my daughter has a broken wrist, so running and working out haven't been at the top of my to do list.

Oh and the weather has been freaky. It poured yesterday. It's May. It never does that. It's still snowing in Tahoe. What the hell?

Tomorrow is my son's birthday so there will be no running. I'm semi-optimistic about running on Thursday. Friday night my son might have a baseball game and if he does that will negate the need for a double header on Saturday. Sigh.

I will not say I wish for the season to be over. I already did that and then my daughter broke her wrist during a soccer game last Saturday. I'm just gonna take it all in stride and know that soon the season will be over for reals and then I can run without any, or not as many, distractions.

I got some super cool running sunglasses for Mother's Day. I'll be trying them out hopefully Thursday. It'll be nice to not have to wear my everyday Ray Bans and constantly push them up.

Hopefully soon I'll have a post about running and not the lack thereof.

Weekend recap

2010-04-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Friday was Gym Date Night. I decided I would do the elliptical until it read 500 calories burned. That took me 48 minutes. I was moving at a pretty good clip because I was still riding the high I was feeling for being accepted into the Nike Women's Marathon. I also did about 25 minutes of strength training. It's time to find an alternative weight lifting routine. I've been doing the same thing now for two months and I need to change it up a bit.

Saturday morning my husband, daughter and I drove to a local reservoir for the Lululemon group run. My husband and daughter walked the reservoir with our dog while I ran with the group. I've never run at this location and it was a nice introduction to hills. They were rolling hills and nothing that I couldn't handle but I definitely slowed towards the top. My daughter complained the next day that her butt was sore. I ran 4.25 miles in about 46 minutes. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Some sun, some shade and a nice breeze just when you needed it.

Sunday is my long run day and yesterday I ran 6 miles in about 1:03. I had negative splits for the entire run and my average pace was 10:34. That's faster than I should have run it but I just ran at a pace that felt comfortable. I started my run about 11:00 and it was warm. I wished I had brought my new handheld water bottle. After over a year of eyeing this thing, I finally bought it in anticipation of the warmer weather I knew we would be having.

My last mile of this run was my fastest at 10:25 and that really surprises me because it was at this point that I realized that I need to get some Body Glide. I wore a running skirt and the shorts that are underneath it rode up a little bit so I had some irritation on my upper inner thighs. Yeah that was kind of an experience. I guess I ran faster so that I could be done with the run and get home and out of the running skirt. Probably not a good strategy for a race though.

Today is a rest day and tomorrow I've got 5 scheduled. I think I nailed down my "training to train" plan. This would be a training plan that builds my endurance and base mileage so that when I start training in July for the Nike Half I will be in a good position with my weekly mileage and overall fitness levels.

Training to train

2010-04-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

OK, so my mind is swirling with what I need to do to train for the half. I don't plan to start a training plan until mid July which would be 12 weeks away from the half, but in the meantime I want to train to train, that is, I want to build my base and work on my endurance so that when I do start actual training in July I will be prepared.

I've printed Hal Higdon's Novice Half marathon plan and it seems kind of easy for me, but on the other hand, his intermediate plan incorporates speed work and is more challenging.

I'm not sure what to focus on. Would it hurt to focus mostly on endurance and throw in a little speed work?

Currently, I'm following a plan that I made up myself that has me running 4 days a week with 2 easy runs, a tempo and a long run. Does that sound ok to continue following? Weekday easy runs start out at 4 miles then progress up to 5.5 miles (that's about all I can manage in the time frame that I have to run in). Tempo runs start out at 4 miles and work up to 6 (1 mile warmups and cool downs included in those numbers) and long runs that start at 5 miles and would take me out to 10 miles.

This plan would take me through 7/18 at which time I would then start a formal half training plan.

Thoughts, suggestions?

I need a plan otherwise things don't go so well. I want to get this nailed down this weekend so I can officially start on Monday.

It's official!!!

2010-04-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

I'm running 13.1 on 10/17/2010. I was accepted into the Nike Women's Half Marathon!!! OMG, I cannot even believe it. I'll be running with four other people, one of whom is another blogger. Yay!!!

Group run and bloggy run that wasn't

2010-04-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Friday night was gym date night. I did 42 minutes on the elliptical (I stopped once I reached 400 calories) and about 20 minutes of strength training. There was a creepy guy staring at me while I was on the incline bench doing sit-ups. Kinda weird.

Saturday morning was my second Lululemon group run. This time the group was a little bigger and the weather was awesome. Of course in my typical fashion I was way overdressed and hotter than hell almost from the time we started running. I would pay for this later.

I had planned on 4 miles since the next day (Sunday) I had planned to run about 5.5 miles. As usual I started out too fast and my first two miles were 10:18 and 10:11. The group run leader brought his dog and he kept going from side to side of the leader and getting really close to me. This made me nervous because I was worried that I would trip over him and hurt my ankle again. Finally the leader went ahead of us and I was happy that I could run without having to worry about falling.

Somehow I caught up with the leader and we turned around at the two mile mark. It was during the last mile that there is a gradual incline as you cross over a pedestrian bridge and it was here that I had to walk. I've never walked before while running and so I was disappointed that I had to do this but I had to because of being so hot and going to fast in the beginning. I walked for about 30 seconds and then started to run again. During this last mile the run leader broke away to drop his dog off at home and so I was on my own. I slowed down because of this but also because I was so damn hot. I finished up the last mile and headed home.

Sunday there was a run that Aron organized and I really wanted to go it. When I RSVP's my morning was free of all soccer and baseball games but of course that changed. My daughter's soccer team had a game moved to 9:00 Sunday morning. I thought maybe I would be able to run from the meet-up to near the soccer field (the distance would've been perfect) but I would have been pressed for time and I didn't want to rush because this was supposed to be a long run so I opted to not meet with them.

I did however plan on running after the game. I even wore my running clothes to the game so that I would be ready to run after. Yeah that didn't work out. As soon as we got home I ate breakfast and wanted it to digest a bit before I hit the trail. Then my mom came over and my husband had to take my son to the ball field at noon for his 1:00 baseball game. That meant that there would've been no one to watch my daughter while I ran so instead we went to Costco and then I dropped her off at a birthday party.

After three hours at the baseball game I had to pick up my daughter and get her ready for a 6:30 soccer game. The fun never ends in our house. I thought maybe I would go to the gym and run after the game but it just didn't work out. My daughter was hungry and tired and cranky and if I had gone to the gym it would've been at 9:00 or so. I didn't want to be working out that late in the evening because it makes it hard for me to get to sleep so instead I just did some strength training.

Yesterday I did more strength training and stretching. Today I have 5 miles planned. My daughter has soccer practice this afternoon and a softball game this evening and my son has a baseball game this evening as well. If it doesn't rain like it's supposed to I will get to run on a new trail while my son warms up before his game, otherwise I'll be hitting the gym later tonight to run on the treadmill. I don't want to miss another run day so if I have to I'll be running at 9:00 tonight.

Dollars and tempos

2010-04-15T20:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a long week, thank God tomorrow is Friday.

Last night I went to spin class. I haven't been in a few weeks and when you haven't been to spin in a few weeks it's kind of like not running for a while - it's hard. And to make matters worse the spin room was very warm. I was a sweaty mess only a few minutes into class, but I always feel so good after class is over. I used my new water bottle that I won in a contest that the Run Like a Mother ladies sponsored and it worked out well. I didn't have to unscrew the cap and then screw it back on every time I took a sip. After class I did about 15 minutes of strength training before I had to pick my son up at youth group.

On schedule for today was a tempo run. Last week I did all 4 miles at tempo pace even though that's not how I was suspposed to do it but the pace felt comfortable so I went with it.

Today I decided I would do it the right way: one mile warmup, two miles at tempo pace (10:15), and one mile cool down.

I was still feeling sore from Monday's 30 Day Shred and all the squats and lunges I did so I felt stiff during the first mile. It was during this mile that I found a dollar bill on the ground. I doubled back and picked it up. I've never found money before while I've been running so I took it as a sign that this would be a good run.

My Garmin beeped at the end of the first mile and I picked up the pace. I felt like my pace was all over the place. For whatever reason I have a really hard time maintaining consistent paces and constantly looking at my Garmin doesn't help because then I pick it up too much or find myself slowing down if the Garmin says that I'm running too fast. I ran through a couple of areas that had a lot of tall trees and while I still had my signal I think it messed with the Garmin because I got some weird paces.

Tempo runs aren't easy as I'm finding out and I felt that I wouldn't hit the tempo pace because of all the different paces I was running at. As the end of miles 2 and 3 neared I just told myself to run with purpose and to end each mile strong.

Finally mile 4 came I was able to slow down. Sometimes the Garmin said I was runnning faster than tempo and other times really slow. I wasn't sure how this run would end up split wise but it turns out I was spot on. Here are my splits:

4 miles, 41:37, 10:24 average pace
Mile 1: 10:35
Mile 2: 10:18
Mile 3: 10:12
Mile 4: 10:33

That's pretty consistent in my book.

Calories, Shredding, Running and Goodies!

2010-04-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start tracking my calories because I want to lose 5 pounds. I really had no idea how much I was eating but I do know that it was too much, thus the extra weight I'm packing. Technically I don't need to lose the weight but my clothes fit tighter and I'm not happy about that. I've tried tracking calories before but I never liked it much because I couldn't always record my meals immediately if I was away from my laptop, so after trying a couple of apps on my iPhone I found one I liked and have been using it for a few days.

I calculated my BMR using this formula, then I used this formula to calculate my daily caloric needs based on my activity level. I'm hoping to reduce my daily calories by 250 and then burn 250 calories through running and working out so that I can hopefully lose a pound a week.

~~~~~

Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day but I've decided that on Mondays I will now do an exercise DVD and so last night I did Level 1 and 2 of 30 Day Shred. Each level is 20 minutes and I felt that after the first level that I could and wanted to do more. Level 1 is pretty easy for me and 20 minutes of exercise just wasn't enough. So after completing level 2 I was pretty spent and pretty sweaty. Level 2 is much tougher than level 1 and I'm feeling all those squats and lunges today.

Today I ran an easy 4 in 42:25, 10:37 average pace. My splits were:
Mile 1: 10:43
Mile 2: 10:42
Mile 3: 10:46
Mile 4: 10:17

I was able to maintain a pretty consistent pace which has been hard for me. The last mile reflects a couple of fartleks. Yeah, this was supposed to be an easy run but I decided to throw these in.

~~~~~
I received my goodies from the Run Like a Mother ladies. Here's what I received:

Four Fruition bars
RLAM visor
RLAM sticker
RLAM t-shirt (can't wait to wear this)
Water bottle
KT Tape
Bridgedale socks

Here's where I put the sticker:

It's hard to tell but that's my laptop.

Tomorrow is spin class and Thursday is a tempo run.

Looks like there will be 5 of us running together in the Nike Women's Half marathon if we get picked. Friday is the last day to enter the lottery and we will be notified by the end of April. I'm really hoping we get picked.

Another giveaway!

2010-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Amanda from Fat Wuz Here is having a foam roller giveaway. Check it out here.

Easy run and long group run

2010-04-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

So Thursday was my easy 4 mile run. As soon as I got home from work I changed in to my running clothes, grabbed my gear and headed out. The weather was nice and I was able to run in a t-shirt and capris. I tried to keep it slow and remind myself that this was supposed to be run at an easy pace, which according to the McMillian calculator, would be in the range of 11:22-11:52. Yeah, that's just a little slow for me so I ran at what was comfortable.

4 miles, 43:09
My splits:
Mile 1: 10:40
Mile 2: 10:51
Mile 3: 10:52
Mile 4: 10:40

I was glad I ran on Thursday and didn't save it for Friday because Friday turned out to be cool and windy and I hate the wind. Plus I knew that my planned 5 mile long run would have to take place on Saturday since rain is forecasted for Sunday. And also knowing that I need a rest day in between running, I had to stick to my plan. I need to remember the big picture when I'm contemplating skipping a run because doing that screws up the plan for the rest of the week. I guess that's why it's called a "plan".

So today (Saturday) I had my first group run ever. I ran with the Lululemon running group. I woke up to cloudy skies and some wind. Great. I dressed in a t-shirt with a long sleeve over that and then my windbreaker so I had a place to put my keys and phone. I opted to not bring my earbuds because I figured that since this was a group run I would have someone to talk to.

I arrived a little early and saw someone who I thought was the run leader. I sat there for a few minutes reading emails and trying to stay warm and then finally got out of the car.

Turns out I was right, he was the run leader and about 6 other women showed up. We talked for a few minutes and I found out that he recently ran the Oakland Half Marathon at about an 8:00 minute pace. Yeah, he's fast. He marked the trail we would run on up to 3.5 miles. I mentioned that 7 miles was a little far for me right now and would turn around at 2.5.

So we set off and I'm running with him. He's talking with no problem and I'm only able to say a few words at a time. I look at my Garmin and see that we are running about 9:30 miles. Fast for me, easy for him. No wonder why he could talk with such ease.

I stayed with him for the first mile and then eased up on my pace. I ran the next mile next to a girl but she was listening to music so we didn't talk. We ran down a steep hill and all I could think of was that I'm gonna have to run back up that. My pace slowed and she ran ahead of me and I was on my own after that. I wasn't paying attention to the distance and when I looked at my Garmin it read 2.55 miles. Missed my turnaround by a bit.

My pace slowed to between 10:30-11:30. Once I came to the hill I told myself to just look down and do the best I could. I had to walk the last half of it. I missed my music at this point. It would have helped some. So yeah, I forsee some hill work in my future.

With about a half mile left the run leader caught up to me. Yeah he ran to the 3.5 mile mark and I ran to 2.5 and he was able to catch up. He's fast.

We talked a bit and finally I looked at my Garmin and it read 5.14. It actually was slightly farther than that because I lost my signal when we had to run through a tunnel under the road.

5.14 miles, 56:26
My splits:
Mile 1: 10:01
Mile 2: 10:22
Mile 3: 11:09
Mile 4: 11:57 (includes walking up the hill)
Mile 5: 11:35
.14: 10:01

So yeah, I ran the first 3 miles too fast per McMillan (11:22-12:22 for long runs). The last 2 were right where I should have been. Trying to stay on pace is gonna take some practice.

All in all it was a good experience even though it was more of a solo run instead of a group run. I had hoped to run with someone but hopefully the group will get bigger and then there will be more people to run with. It was fun to run on a different part of the trail and I look forward to running with them some more.

OMG OMG OMG

2010-04-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely

2010-04-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

Let's see, since I last blogged I have run two times; here's an update.

On Saturday I ran 4 miles in 42:39, 10:28 average pace. I did some dynamic stretches before that Kerrie talked about here and I think it helped me warm up more quickly.

My splits:
Mile 1: 10:16
Mile 2: 10:45
Mile 3: 10:23
Mile 4: 10:28

I almost rolled my left ankle again on the uneven pavement. My left foot landed and I felt it start to roll but fortunately I was able to catch myself.

I took today off from work and went for a run this morning since I lost my mojo yesterday afternoon and never made it out for a run. I started off with some dynamic stretches. I really like doing that before I run because I find that I don't feel as stiff when I fist start running.

I was supposed to run an easy 4 but it ended up being tomorrow's tempo run. I started off strong and felt good. I almost always start off too fast but since I was feeling good I decided to just get the tempo run over with. I really focused on holding my pace and only focusing on the mile in front of me.

My first two miles were sub-10! I started to get tired and developed a little cramp around mile 3 and my pace reflects that. I could feel my pace slowing and I really tried to move my legs faster. I decided to pick off people ahead of me in order to help me speed up. I was able to pick off a few and finally at the end I just had to focus on the ground in front of me because it is uneven and is where I almost rolled my ankle last Saturday.

My splits:
Mile 1: 9:55
Mile 2: 9:58
Mile 3: 10:28
Mile 4: 10:25

I'm thrilled with these paces. I feel like I'm slowly getting back to where I was pre-injury.

I've been working on a run schedule to help me rebuild base and to hopefully improve my pace. It has me running four days a week and incorporates a tempo run, two easy runs and a long run. I know speed will come with time but there's a reason I want to work on it now.

This run schedule goes to the middle of July. The middle of July is twelve weeks away from a fall half marathon. There are three races to choose from in October, all within a week of each other, so my hope is that by rebuilding my base and working on my speed now, I will be in a good place come half marathon training in July.

OMG I cannot even believe I just wrote that.

Sunglasses giveaway

2010-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Tara from Colorado Runner is hosting her first giveaway of sunglasses. Check it out here.

Making up for lost time

2010-04-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

Today I ran 4 miles in 41:21. I was going to do a tempo run but I couldn't slow down and ended up running the entire 4 miles at tempo pace. My average pace was 10:20. One week ago I ran 4 miles in 45:21, an 11:20 average pace. What the heck happened in a week?

I felt some soreness in my upper right quad pretty much from the get go. It almost felt like a pulled muscle but I didn't actually feel a pull or anything. My iPhone was banging against my leg in the exact spot it is sore but I don't know how that would make my leg hurt. It's still sore right now. Weird.

It was windy and cool and the sun would come out and then hide behind the clouds. I overdressed as usual but I didn't mind. This time I remembered to wear my RoadID and bring my pepper spray. There have been some incidents on the trail recently, even an armed robbery, so I brought the spray for peace of mind.

I had knats stuck to me when I finished. Gross.

Tonight I strength trained for 35 minutes and stretched for 15 minutes. Obviously I wanted to start out the month on a good note.

I've been working on my run/workout schedule and I think I nailed it down, at least as best as I can given the kids' game schedules (still don't have my son's baseball schedule). There will likely be some rearranging but I'm okay with that just as long as I can run 4 days a week. The plan looks like this:

Monday: Strength train
Tuesday: Run (easy) & strength train
Wednesday: Spin & strength train
Thursday: Run (tempo) & strength train
Friday: gym (elliptical & strength train)
Saturday: Run (easy)
Sunday: Run (long)

That’s a lot of strength training in a row but for now that’s how it will have to be. I’ll probably alternate upper and lower body workouts so that I give my muscles a rest day.

Of course I will try to stretch every day too.

I really want to improve my speed and get back to where I was pre-injury, or even better than that, so I'll likely follow a modified half marathon training plan. I do better with a plan instead of just winging it; it’s too easy to say, "I’ll run long next week", or "I’ll do a speed workout tomorrow". I know me and I need something concrete.

I'm giving up my Saturday spin class and am going to try some running groups through Road Runner Sports and Lululemon; both have Saturday morning group runs.

I’m targeting a fall half marathon. I’m likely going to enter the lottery with Bootchez to run the half of the Nike Women’s marathon. I’ve got a Group ID for this race…if anyone is interested in entering the lottery with us, let me know and I’ll email the ID to you. If we could form a group and run the race together that would be awesome. Any takers???

March goals review

2010-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Well March was kind of a sucky month. It started off slow because I had sore knees and went downhill after that. Also, with the start of baseball, softball and soccer season, I get thrown off because our schedules are sooo busy with practices and games, and trying to plan workouts and runs is difficult at best. But softball and baseball will go through June and soccer is pretty much year round so I need to figure something out.

Rehab - I feel like I can remove this from my list. March was good for something at least. I feel pretty much back to normal. My foot isn't sore anymore and the only thing I have to deal with is some tightness every now and then.

Rebuild/Run - I'm slowly rebuilding my base. I mentioned in a previous post that I would start ramping up my mileage and adding a long run in April. I hope to make some pretty decent progress on this goal in April.

Race - I don't have any races scheduled and and don't plan on it until summer at the earliest. I am contemplating entering the lottery for the Nike Women's Marathon to run the half but go back and forth between feeling like I can do it to being totally intimidated by the hilly course.

Stretch - total fail. I stretched 5 times this month :(

Read - another fail. I have several books waiting to be read but I didn't read anything this month, unless you count the 4 magazines I subscribe to.

Water - doing ok here. I started out the month doing well and sorta fizzled toward the end.

Sleep - definitely not good. I slept through my alarm twice this week and it's only Wednesday. I am dragging today.

Camera - another fail. With games several times a week I think I may bring my camera and take some practice shots.

Weights - I have 10 entries in my log book for strength training. I may have a few more that I didn't enter, but still, 10 days out of 31 isn't the greatest.

Well tomorrow is the start of a new month. Here's hoping it will be better than March.

Boring run

2010-03-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to run outside yesterday and was conflicted about going to the gym and just doing weights and running when I got home or doing both weights and running on the treadmill at the gym. The treadmill won because I knew I had a lot to do once I got home and figured I would lose my motivation if I didn't run at the gym.

So when my husband and I got to the gym yesterday morning I headed upstairs and picked a treadmill. I forgot my ipod but figured I would just watch one of the many tv's that are upstairs. Yeah that didn't quite work out.

Out if the approx 20 tv's upstairs in the gym, I could see 15 of them. Three of them were tuned to CBS and were showing Richard Scarry cartoons, another had Joel Osteen, some college hockey game, an infomercial for a mini snake to unclog bathroom sinks with full demonstration of a clump of hair being pulled out of the drain (gag), fishing, and other boring stuff.

I had planned on running 4 miles. I knew once I saw what was on tv's that it would be a very long 4 miles.

I started out at 5 mph and slowly increased my pace at half mile marks. My husband ran next to me for a bit but was as bored as I was so he got off and went down stairs to the weights.

I continued on and counted off each mile. I was really bored but was feeling good so I tried to not think about how much longer I had to go. By the time I got to 3.5 miles I was running at about 6 mph and wanted to be done so I increased the speed a little more. Every tenth of a mile was another increase in speed and by the end I was running at 6.5 mph. The pace was a little hard for me but I was able to do it and was so glad to be done.

4 miles in 43:14.

Most boring run ever. I don't know how people run high mileage on treadmills.

The weather forecast is for about 4 days of rain and unseasonably cold weather, even snow is predicted on our local mountains. Boo! I really was looking forward to running in the sunshine after the recent weather we've been having. Looks like there will be some more treadmill runs this week.

I'm hoping to begin ramping up my mileage in April. I think I'm at the point now physically where I can start incorporating a long run on the weekends and running more often during the week. Hopefully I can make that work around the kids' sports schedules.

Wish I had more time

2010-03-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

I changed my blog again. I'd been wanting a 3 column blog for a while now and thanks to L.B. over at Muddy Runner I found a new template.

~~~~~

I woke up early this morning and headed off to the gym to do some weights before my daughter's soccer game. I spent about 30 minutes weight lifting, then went to the grocery store, came home and made breakfast and then we headed out to soccer. Driving to and from the soccer game we saw 3 accidents, got stuck in traffic after another accident (it was cleared up but traffic remained) and a rock hit our windshield causing a knick and some little cracks :(

My husband and I ran while my daughter warmed up for soccer. I ran 2 miles in 20:45, 10:24 average pace. Oh yeah! I really liked the location we ran in because it had rolling hills. I've never run hills before and have to say this was a good introduction, granted they weren't steep but enough to make me feel it.

I felt awesome and the weather was perfect. I would have liked to run for longer but we ran out of time and arrived at the game just as it was starting.

Planning another trip to the gym tomorrow and some more running. Hope the weather holds up.

Another cool giveaway

2010-03-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tonia at Racing with Babes is having a cool giveaway. If you are a mom, you'll definitely want to enter. Check it out here.

4 and 200

2010-03-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

I ran 4 miles today and felt pretty good. I just wish I was faster, or at least where I was before I broke my ankle.

I'm not putting my time because it was super slow but it doesn't really matter anyway because I know I will get faster.

The weather here has been weird and this afternoon the wind picked up. I hate the wind. So per usual, I overdressed. Ha, I wore running tights, compression long sleeve with a t-shirt over it and a windbreaker. I was warm but I didn't mind. I'd rather be warm than cold. If I'm cold it's all I can think about and it makes me want to quit.

Nothing really exciting to note about my run. My legs feel out of practice and like they can't go any faster. I hope that ends quickly.

Even though I ran today I think I might try to run tomorrow. I would rather run outside than at the gym on the treadmill. As long as my ankle and knees feel ok, I will run tomorrow.

And another thing. This is my 200th post. How appropriate that it's an actual RUNNING post :)

Playing catch up

2010-03-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

So last night I did two classes at the gym, both taught by the spin instructor from hell.

The first class is called High Octane Conditioning and is a boot camp/circuit class. I started to second guess my decision to take the class when I saw the instructor setting up steps with 5 platforms underneath. I immediately thought we would have to jump on or over them.

We warmed up on the spin bikes while the instructor demonstrated each station. Knee ups with toe taps on the Bosu Balls while roatating around the ball, step ups on the steps and then into a back lunge, jump rope and then assume the plank position while lifting dumbells. Sixty seconds at each station. Yeah, I thought I would die after my first which was the Bosu Ball station.

After we did 3 rounds of that it was on to cardio, like my heart wasn't already racing. First we had to squat against the wall for sixty seconds and then after that we moved away from the wall, got in a squat position and then jumped up and around 180 degrees and landed in the squat position. Sixty seconds. I think I may have died.

There was more. Knee ups with our arms extended at shoulder height (this is very hard), some crazy squat push-up thing, side lunges with floor taps, and other stuff I can't remember but it involved hands on the floor and kicking our legs to the side and up in the air. I had problems with these because of the impact on my ankle but I did the best that I could.

Then there was core work that involved dumbells, and double time bicycle crunches. And then thank God class was over.

I'm not sure that I'll go back. Not because it was hard but because of my ankle.

And then I did 50 minutes of spin. Call me crazy but I was feeling a little bad about my lack of exercise this week. I guess I was making up for lost time.

Surprisingly I'm not all that sore. My quads feel it the most but that's probably a combo of both classes.

Frog Girl was there. In her red shorts and a paper thin white tank top with a red bra underneath and another bra underneath that one. Weird.

I have about a 30 minute window of time later today after I drop my son off at baseball practice and then my daughter for a softball game. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get in a quick run.

I suck

2010-03-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't done a whole lot of anything lately. Last Wednesday I went to spin class and hit the weights, last Friday I ran two miles outside because I couldn't resist running in 76 degree weather (don't hate me). On Friday night we went to the gym and Saturday morning I went to spin. Okay, I guess I did alright last week, I'm just feeling like I'm in an exercise slump this week.

I want to run but am finding it really difficult to get outside and do it right now. Not for lack of wanting to do it but finding time during baseball/softball/soccer season is not easy. Usually I am driving the kids to practices after school four out of five days a week and then coming home to make dinner and pick up one of the kids if carpools aren't arranged. We sometimes don't eat until 7:30 and by that time I am tired.

I thought that I'd be able to run during sports practices but it's not turning out to be the case. I really don't like running on the treadmill and with the weather changing I had hoped that outside running would be possible. There is so much going on with my two kids and their sports schedules that I am sacrificing running and I am therefore making zero running progress. Reading about other people runing half marathons and such makes it even harder for me. Everyone else is doing so well and I'm only thinking about running.

Morning runs aren't really an option for me because it is dark out and I'm not willing to risk falling and getting hurt again because I can't see the ground. It's just not worth it.

I had mentioned before that I was going to change my workout schedule now that I'm able to run again and I haven't really done that. I've just have been doing the same drill that I was doing before I was cleared to run. Add to that that the kids' game schedules aren't set yet so trying to plan a week of workouts is difficult because I don't know when my kids will have games.

Possibly I need to give up my Saturday spin classes for an outdoor run. My gym is located in the same shopping center as Road Runner Sports and they do a weekly Saturday morning run so I guess I could try that and then hit the gym for some weights after.

I don't know. I need to rework my workout/run schedule so I can fit in running, spinning and weights. I really like spinning and lifting weights and I don't want to give them up.

Weekend recap

2010-03-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Quick post just to record some runs and a workout.

Friday night was Gym Date Night. I attempted to run on the treadmill but my knees were bothering me so I got on the elliptical for a while. I also did some strength training.

Saturday I didn't make it to the gym due to our schedule but I did run 1 mile later in the afternoon. It wasn't a good run. I had hoped for 2 miles but I wasn't feeling it and my body just felt stiff, sort of like I have forgotten how to run. My stride is super short right now. It isn't a long stride normally but I feel like I am shuffling whenever I run outside. So at the half mile mark I turned around and headed back.

Sunday I did manage to get out of bed and go to the gym. I warmed up on the treadmill, walking for a half mile. I reset the treadmill and than started running. This time I felt better...maybe I need more than the quarter mile warm-ups I had previously been doing. I ran 2 miles and felt good. I don't know the exact time but it was around 22 minutes. I hopped on an elliptical for 10 minutes to give me 30 minutes of cardio. I did a little strength training and then headed home.

I think I finally figured out how to position my Yurbuds. They never felt like they were going to fall out during my treadmill run on Sunday and the sound is really good.

I'm way behind on reading blogs...will try to catch up.

Gym Date Night

2010-03-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

My husband and I hit the gym tonight for Gym Date Night. I was looking forward to running on the treadmill but really wasn't sure how it would go because my knees felt weird and my left foot has been sore.

I warmed up on the treadmill for a quarter of a mile and then I stopped and restarted it so that the display was reset. My plan was to run 2 miles. I started running at 4.5 mph and didn't feel right. Ok, sometimes when I run slow it screws up my gait so maybe if I increase the speed I'll run better.

Yeah, that didn't happen. I upped the speed to 5 mph and still felt weird. A little faster and I still felt like my gait was wonky. I really tried to correct it but couldn't seem too. Frustrated, I slowed down to a walk for a bit and then sped back up. I figured I would run half a mile and see how my legs felt.

At half a mile I stopped the treadmill and frustrated, got off and hopped on an elliptical.

I don't know what the hell is wrong with my legs and foot but it's pissing me off. Why can't I just run normally???

I didn't really want to be on the elliptical. I set it to "variety" and figured I would go 20 minutes. As 20 minutes approached I figured I would go to 25 minutes and then as 25 minutes approached I figured that since I hadn't done any cardio work all week I should make it worth my while and go for 30 minutes. I hit the 30 minute mark and got off and hit the weights.

I won't be going to the gym tomorrow. My car is being serviced so we will only have my husband's truck and we have a full schedule. I have to pick up my daughter first thing in the morning from a sleepover, get her dressed in her softball uniform and then head over to the baseball field for baseball and softball opening day, pictures, practices, games and then some errands.

Maybe I might be able to get in a run outside. Maybe.

Thanks!

2010-03-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

I really wanted to run this afternoon. I had free time (imagine that) while both kids were at practice, the sun was shining and the weather was beautiful.

But for some reason my legs ached and my inner knees were sore again. I felt like I was having growing pains.

So I didn't run. I knew I would regret it with more pain tomorrow.

Tonight though I did manage to actually workout. I HAD to do something. I did 40 minutes of strength training and 15 minutes of stretching.

Tomorrow is Friday - Gym Date Night.

I plan on running as long as my legs feel good.

This week = total fail

2010-03-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

This week has SUCKED!

I haven't done shit.

I'm not a crier but I've been close on several occasions.

Sweet giveaway!

2010-03-10T10:40:00.001-08:00

Very cool giveaway over at Goals for the Week. Check it out here.

Blogiversary

2010-03-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's my one year blogiversary. One year ago today I posted my first entry. Who knew that I'd actually stick with it. Unfortunately I don't have an awesome giveaway to celebrate, actually I got nothing so you just have to be content with reading this :)

Baseball and softball are kicking into full swing and my daughter's schedule is difficult at best because she is also starting up with soccer again and that means lots of practices. Her soccer team is going to be participating in spring league which means conflicts with softball.

And that means that I will be driving my kids to and from practices like a chicken with my head cut off and tryng to fit in runs during these said practices.

I've been trying to rework my run/workout schedule but since each week the kids have a different schedule I cannot plan anything more than one week at a time and even then it will be spotty because there is always the possibility of practices being changed.

So I'll just be flying by the seat of my pants for the next few months.

I've determined that I cannot run two days in a row, at least not right now while I am still trying to rehab my ankle.

I'm hoping I can adhere to the following this week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Run & Strength Train
Wednesday: Spin
Thursday: Strength Train
Friday: Run
Saturday: Spin & Strength Train
Sunday: Run & Strength Train

Weekend Recap

2010-03-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Well I never made it to the gym on Friday night. Friday nights are usually Gym Date Night but my daughter had basketball practice and since my husband helps coach, I would have been on my own. I had good intentions but lost my mojo later on and never went.

I was supposed to go to a bloggy run on Saturday morning that Aron coordinated but had to cancel because my daughter had a playoff basketball game and the timing of the run and the game didn't workout. So instead, I got up early and went to spin class at the gym and did a little strength training before heading over to the game.

I did try to run on the treadmill but I didn't have my good running shoes on and my inner knees were feeling funny so I promptly stopped the treadmill and got off.

This morning my husband and I went to the gym early. I ran on the treadmill for 2 miles and felt pretty good. I'm not sure about the time though. Doesn't matter anyways. It took me a good half mile to warm up and work out the creakiness in my legs. I contemplated stopping and getting off the treadmill because I'm so paranoid about injuring myself but I gave it some time and sure enough I found my stride.

I varied the speed and almost bit it at once toward the end of my 2 miles. I think I was tired and wasn't picking up my left foot like I should have but I caught myself, lowered the speed and finished off the 2 miles.

I tried out my Yurbuds. Yeah, they are much better than just the iPod ear buds. The sound is much better and I wasn't constantly adjusting them to prevent them from falling out. I think because they are made of a silicone type material they don't get slippery with sweat like the ear buds do and want to fall out. If you are on the fence about these, I definitely recommend them.

~~~~~

I've got 93 followers now :) Welcome!

Random Thoughts and Nike Women's Marathon

2010-03-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

So today is a better day :)

I got the Gmail calendars figured out. So cool to be able to make a change to the calendar on my phone and have it sync to the calendar online AND to my husband's phone. LOVE THAT!

Couple of running thoughts swirling around in my head:

Now that I'm able to run again I need to re-work my workout schedule and fit in some runs. I really would like to continue spinning two days a week so hopefully I'll be able to make that happen.
I posted on Daily Mile that my knees were sore after my run on Monday. Well it was due to me favoring my ankle which resulted in my running gait being all screwed up. Yeah, I won't do THAT again. Well my knees are better today. Still a little sore but not as achy as yesterday. I didn't go to spin class last night; I just wanted to rest. I'm paranoid about getting hurt again. I'm not going to run until maybe tomorrow night at the gym or this weekend. Just going to play it by ear.
My daughter starts up with soccer practice again (didn't we just finish???) which means two days a week at the park. And that leads me to...
Daylight savings begins on 3/14! Yippee! So those two days of soccer practice mean that I can run on the trail and not be in the dark.
I received my Yurbud earphones yesterday. Haven't tried them while running but I did try them on and I can say that the sound is MUCH better than my old headphones and they seem like they would stay in better too. We shall see.
I've been checking to see when registration opens for the Nike Women's Marathon & Half Marathon. Well I checked today and there is a message on the Nike website that the lottery registration begins on 4/5 and ends on 4/16. Is anyone planning on running this? I would like to do it but I have no one to run it with and won't do it by myself. If you are interested email me and maybe we can form a group and register together. Registrations aren't guaranteed since so many people want to run it. Nike conducts a lottery to determine who gets in.

I'm a crabby patty

2010-03-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

I'm in a bad mood today :(

I've been trying to set up gmail accounts for my husband and I so we can have one shared calendar instead of two separate Outlook calendars. I got the email accounts set-up just fine but trying to get the calendar to sync with our phones has been frustrating. I've done what Google said to do and it's not working. Yesterday it did and today, nada. :(

Since I spent all day yesterday and last night trying to do this I didn't strength train :(

My right hip and right inner knee hurts. Obviously I'm not running with proper form because I'm favoring my left ankle. Why does this have to be so freakin' hard. :(

3 miles

2010-03-02T11:07:00.000-08:00

So yesterday afternoon I ran 3 miles in 34:xx. Yeah, I'm not breaking any speed records just yet but I have to keep reminding myself that I've only been back to running for less than a week so speed is going to take time.

My ankle was stiff and slightly sore and as a result I felt myself sort of running awkwardly. Yeah, I overcompensated on my right side and now my right hip aches. I notice myself limping every now and then. I think it's just habit most of the time but yesterday it was because of the stiffness. Probably shouldn't have run...

Today will be a running rest day but I've got weights to do. I've been pressed for time the last few visits to the gym and my weight workouts suffered. Tonight I will play catch up.

~~~~~

So far I'm realy liking Daily Mile but why doeesn't it have an iPhone app? If you are on DM and we aren't friends yet, you can find me here.

An actual running post

2010-03-01T10:20:00.000-08:00

What do you know, I can actually write about running.

Albeit, they were short runs but that's ok. Saturday I ran 1 mile before spin class. Probably not the best idea because I didn't eat enough and by the end of spin class I was pooping out.

The 1 mile was great though. I walked a bit to warm up and then when it was time to run I was a little hesitant to increase the speed. Finally I did it and I felt great.

On Sunday I set my alarm for 7:00 because we needed to pick up my daughter at a sleepover by 10:00. Well I didn't get up when my alarm went off and we didn't get to the gym until closer to 8:15ish.

I decided that I would run 2 miles and after walking for a warm up I took off, this time without any hesitation.

I felt awesome. I increased my speed every so often and by end I was running 10 minute miles. My breathing was really good and I felt like I could go on for more miles.

I should note that when I woke up I ate a piece of toast with a little bit of butter and tried a new protein bar.

One word to describe it: YUM!

I normally don't like protein bars but when I saw the sweet and salty peanut butter pretzel flavor I knew I had to try it. And it did not disappoint.

Ten grams of protein and twenty grams of carbs. Just what I needed.

Needless to say, I have stocked up on more of these bars.

I'm really trying to no go all out with my return to running so I stopped the treadmill at 2 miles.

Today I'm going for 3 miles out on the trail :)

Goals Review - February

2010-03-01T08:48:00.000-08:00

So here is my first monthly goals review. My goals for this year are to:

Rehab - Yep, I've done everything my physical therapist has told me to do and now I'm fixed :)

Rebuild - This refers to rebuilding my base and I'm working on that very slowly.

Run - see Rebuild above

Race - I don't have any specific races picked out yet but I do plan on running in a few later this year.

Stretch - I have been stretching almost daily. Out of the 28 days in February, I stretched 21 days. Not bad. I mostly do stretches for my lower body and can tell that I'm getting more flexible. Injury prevention is what I am aiming for with this goal.

Read - My goal was to read one book a month and so far I've read two! Right on target.

Water - This refers to drinking more water and I'm doing pretty well here. I fill my cup (8 ounces at a time) when I get to work and keep refilling until I leave. I also have given up OJ with breakfast in favor of water.

Sleep - My goal here was to go to bed earlier (10:00) so I can get more sleep. I'm doing just okay with this goal. Evenings are busy and sometimes at 10:00 I find I'm getting a second wind and don't feel tired and on other days I'm just exhausted. I definitely need to work on this. Part of the problem is if I am on my laptop, then I will never get to bed early since there is too much to read. I'm trying to only read blogs in the mornings and at lunch time.

Camera - This refers to learning how to use my digital SLR camera so I don't have to rely on the auto setting. I bought a book and promptly returned it because it didn't give the detail I needed. I've done some online reading about it but mostly I just need to practice taking pictures.

Weights - This refers to weight training and I am doing well with this goal. I lift four sometimes five times a week and I can see definition in my arms and stomach. One arm seems bigger than the other so I'm doing extra work on the smaller one. My legs feel firmer as well thanks to spinning and the elliptical.

Daily Mile

2010-02-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

Forgot to say in my last post that I'm going to give Daily Mile a try. Find me here.

Having this blog and tracking my mileage in Sport Tracks is enough to keep me busy so Daily Mile might turn out to be a chore to keep up but we shall see. I like that you can get motivation and support from other runners since most of my friends on Facebook are nonrunners and hardly every respond to my running posts.

I couldn't wait

2010-02-25T18:14:00.000-08:00

for tomorrows treadmill run at the gym so after I dropped my daughter off at softball practice I went for a run.

I got to sport some of my Christmas running gifts. Like my Nike RUN tshirt:

and my RoadID:

and while they are not new, I missed them:

My Asics Gel nimbus 11s. Best shoe ever.

Of course I had my Garmin too but I forgot to take a picture.

My plan was to only go 1 mile and to walk part of it. I started out walking the first .25 mile, ran for the next .25 mile and felt good. Granted I was running extremely slow but I can see that I will have some trust issues with my ankle. I feel fine but I keep seeing images in my mind of me taking a step and then collapsing like I did when I broke my ankle. So I'll probably need to run a few more times before I can totally trust that my ankle won't let me down.

I forgot to turn around at the half mile mark and when I reached it I began walking again. At the .75 mile mark I started to run and then realized what I had done. So I turned around, ran for .5 mile and then walked the rest of the way back to my car for a total of 1.93 miles.

I'm a happy camper today.

Charge the Garmin baby...

2010-02-25T09:25:00.000-08:00

because I am BACK!!!!

Oh yeah. Got the all clear from my PT this morning.

Funny thing is that I didn't even run on the treadmill because stupid me forgot to bring my running shoes. My PT didn't want me to run in my New Balances because she knew they give me tendinitis when I run in them, even so, I probably could have run in them for just a minute or two without causing any damage. I was more than a little disappointed. She did have me run in place on the trampoline, jump side to side with my feet together and do jumping jacks. I did all of it without a problem.

She says my achilles is still tight but I think that is common in runners. She did give me two tennis balls taped together to use as a foam roller on my achilles. It's a brillant idea because in between the balls is a groove that your achilles naturally fits into and then each ball massages the sides of the achilles. I left it in my car but will take a picture later. I've never seen anything of the sort in the stores so seriously, someone should take this idea and run with it.

Anyway, she was very pleased with my progress and told me that I can start running on the treadmill, transition to a track and then to the asphalt trails I usually run on. I just need to use common sense and let pain (I have none) and any uncomfortableness be my guide.

So yeah, I won't be a high mileage runner just yet but let me tell you, that first mile will be GLORIOUS!!!

I can't even begin to say how happy I am to finally get the all clear. She is going to keep my file open for a month in case I need to see her again. I told her that I hoped I never saw her again, hugged and thanked her and was on my merry way.

The sun was shining on my drive to work, I was listening to Kings of Leon (my new favorite CD at the moment) and all is wonderful.

I'm a total winner!

2010-02-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

Yep, I FINALLY won a contest. Christy over at It Just Looks Like Slow Motion hosted a contest where 10 pairs of Yurbuds were being given away and I was one of the winners. I was shocked to see my name because I never win anything.

The Yurbuds couldn't have come at a better time too because my current set of headphones have been making my ears sore after about 30 minutes of wearing them. I can't wait to receive them.

~~~~~

So I don't want to get my hopes up too much but I think I can run now.

I took the garbage out yesterday and as I walking back into the house I decided to take a few running steps again. Last time I couldn't take more than one step without it feeling awkward; yesterday it didn't and I was able to take a couple of steps. Granted they were very slow steps but nonetheless I am hopeful that come Thursday when I have my last PT appointment I will be able to actually run on the treadmill.

Every week I have been noticing a lot of improvement in the tightness and achiness in my foot. I can pretty much walk now without any achiness and even going down stairs is easier and I don't need to lean on the hand rail like I used to.

Also, at my very first PT appointment I asked my therapist when I would be able to run again, as in how will I know when I am ready. She told me when I can do 10 single leg calf raises. At the time I couldn't do one.

Last night I did ten!

The last few were slow and getting to my tippy toes took some effort but I did it and am so excited, although trying not to be because I don't want to be disappointed if she tells me that I'm not ready.

I have done everything my therapist has told me to do. I think all the stretching, spinning and elliptical work I'm doing has helped as well. I don't know how exercise makes you heal faster but I'm convinced it has contributed to my recovery.

Can't wait for Thursday.

p.s. Frog Girl now has her own label.. I've had a few new commenters who were curious so I went back and added the label to the posts where I talked about her. She's famous lol.

Butt Crack of Dawn

2010-02-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yep, I was up at 5:15 this morning and at the gym on the elliptical by 5:40.

In order to get 5 days of cardio in, getting up early on Mondays was my only option. Well not really but it's too hard to get to the gym in the evenings with the kids' schedules and homework so I decided that one day a week I could get up super early and get my lazy butt to the gym.

And that I did. Was hoping for 50 minutes on the elliptical but I need to get up about 10 minutes earlier for that so I eeked out 40 minutes.

I've discovered that for every 10 minutes that I'm on the elliptical I burn about 100 calories so I play a little game and try to burn 100 calories for each 10 minute segment. I program it for my age and weight so I hope I'm getting a somewhat accurate estimate of my calorie burn. It seems about right because I go about 1 mile every 10 minutes and I know that in running you burn about 100 calories per mile. And I'm moving at a pretty fast clip so I feel that the estimate is pretty close.

Funny Frog Girl story. Yesterday I went to the gym and after I was done I headed to the locker room to get my bag and wash my hands. As I round the corner where the sinks are Frog Girl is crouching under the wall mounted air dryer drying her hair. I'm pretty sure that she didn't shower, I think she was just drying the sweat. Umm ok. She's just different. I tried to get a picture of her in her pink swimsuit-like coverup with a big winter jacket over it but I couldn't get it in time. One of these days.

For those of you commenting about blogging from your iPhone... I downloaded a free app called Blog Press Lite. I've only done one post and I think its ok. I'm not sure what the paid version does but the free one seems just fine for me since I don't plan on blogging much from my phone. It's just a nice feature to have for whenever I have something earth shattering to blog about :)

Gym Tales

2010-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Quick post to test out blogging from my iPhone.

Gym date night last night. Forty five minutes on the elliptical and about thirty minutes of weights. Afterwards we went to Una Mas for dinner. So we still get Mexican food but this place is healthier and doesn't have a never ending supply of tortilla chips which are my weakness.

I woke up early this morning and was at the gym and lifting weights at 7:30. Ugh, have I mentioned that I am not a morning person?

I lifted for about twenty minutes and then headed upstairs for spin. OMG, it was the hardest class ever. I think I say that every week but the instructor changed it up and I ran out of gas toward the end. Of course I only ate a banana before so note to self: eat more before spinning.

Frog girl was there. Late as usual and out of all the flippin' places to put her bike she squeezed it in between me and the wall.

She was either looking at me or just looking in my direction. All the time. Whatever. I never made eye contact. I think she likes me lol.

I'm so tired now. Spin takes everything out of me.

Another early morning gym workout tomorrow and I'm contemplating waking up super early on Mondays, like 5:00 early, and heading to the gym for some cardio.

If I can do 5 days of cardio per week maybe just maybe I might lose some weight.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Spreading the sunshine

2010-02-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

I got tagged by Tara for this award. Thanks Tara :)

I guess I'm supposed to tag 12 bloggers so here goes. Sorry if you've already been tagged.

Rachael at The Beginning Runners Blog
Jocelyn at Running With High Heels On
Robin at Running Circles Around the Turtles
Penny (& Velcro) at Planet Ynnep Running
Niki at Niki's Neverending Adventure
Christina at Lazy Bones Running
AJH at Age Groups Rock
Mel at 2nd Chances
Shannon at It's Trickey
Nikki at Still Running
Wendy at Run Well
Melissa at Melissa's Adventures in Living Life
Katye at Long Legs on the Loose

I went a little overboard and listed 13 bloggers. So shoot me.

Another Yurbuds giveaway

2010-02-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Beth at Shut Up and Run is hosting a Yurbuds giveaway. Check it out here.

Still not ready

2010-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

So today my daughter had softball practice and I decided I would walk on the trail near the field that she was practicing on.

I walked 15 minutes out, turned around and encountered a creepy guy on a squeaky bike that kept turning around to look at me, and headed back.

I picked up my pace on the way back and my foot felt better than it did yesterday although it isn't 100%. I wondered if I could run on it and I decided that once I got to the parking lot I would take a few running steps.

Well I only took one and it wasn't good. My lower shin felt like it was limited in motion when I rolled my foot to push off :(

I don't think I will be able to do the treadmill run next Thrusday.

Dang it. I'm so frustrated. How long will it take before I can run again???

On second thought

2010-02-18T09:50:00.000-08:00

So it turns out that I will not be joining the running club. Actually I thought I did but apparently what I joined was the meetup community and the online group for the running club. I thought that made me a member but apparently not. I sent an email to the founder of the group asking a few questions and got an immediate response.

The email welcomed me and told me that there would be more marathon training programs later in the year. She also attached about 5 documents, one of which was a membership application. Imagine my surprise when I see that in order to join this club I need to fork over $240.

Yep, $240.

I emailed her back with some questions and said that I didn't realize the dues were so steep and that I probably wouldn't be able to join because of that. I have yet to receive her response to my questions.

So needless to say, I won't be a member of this running club and my search continues.

My daughter had soccer tryouts yesterday and so I took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk. My foot was sore but I walked for 30 minutes with only a little bit of fast walking. I need to do more fast walking in order to prepare for my treadmill jog next week.

Spin class last night. 50 minutes of hell. 3 songs worth of hill climbing. The final push before cool down is a 360 degree gear turn. It's safe to say my legs are S-O-R-E. But I love it.

I'm noticing that my legs are firming up. Yay me.

Random Bits

2010-02-17T11:03:00.000-08:00

We are having temps in the low 70s and it seems that everyone is out walking or running except me :(
One of the 5k races I have run with my family is adding a half. This race is always at the end of August and it was on my list of possible half marathons to run this year. I received an email this morning that the date has been changed from late August to early June. I don't think I will be able to run a half by June :(
I joined a running group. I found it through meetup.com. It's local and it's a womens running group. They are currently training for a half in March. I joined so I send off an email to ask if there would be any other training programs after March. If there are I should be healed enough to go on group runs and participate in the track workouts as well. Fingers crossed.
Spin class tonight!

ETA:
I just received an email from the founder of the running group. They ARE going to train for the SF Half in July, probably the San Jose Rock & Roll in October and possibly the CIM in December! Yes! that makes my day :)

Another great giveaway

2010-02-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

Christy over at It Just Look Like Slow Motion is having a giveaway of Yurbuds. That would be ear buds for people like me with tiny ear holes and regular ear buds constantly fall out. Head on over here.

In case you want to check out Yurbuds, check them out.

Weekend recap

2010-02-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

So this weekend was quite the busy one and I was out of blogland.

Friday night was Gym Date Night +1. The +1 would be my son. The three of us worked out and I beat my son on the stationary bike. Again :).

I did 20 minutes on the bike, 20 on the elliptical, and then did a combo of walking and fast walking on the treadmill for 5 minutes. I felt GREAT on the treadmill and contemplated running but thought better of it.

Last Thursday I had a PT appointment and between Friday and Saturday I really felt like I reached a turning point in my rehab. I'm hardly favoring my left leg anymore and walking doesn't really hurt either. "Hurt" is a bad word to use because I was never in pain, it just felt tender and sore. Mornings are usually when I feel it and then when I've loosened up it gets better. There is occasional swelling as well but am told that will go on for quite a while.

Saturday I was up early for spin class from hell. Frog Girl was there. She came in late and put her bike in the back so I have nothing to report :)

Sunday was barbell conditioning class. I have to modify some moves because I'm not comfortable doing some of the things the instructor does. So in place of lunges I did squats. Never mind that we did squats before the lunges. Holy Shit, am I paying for that now. Two days later and my ass, hips and quads are screaming at me.

Yesterday I didn't go to work and contemplated going to the gym but thought I better take a rest day. Glad I did because I am stll SORE!

This morning I had my second to last PT appointment. All went well and I've rescheduled my last appointment for Thursday 2/25 in which I will run on the treadmill. Oh my God, I have been waiting for this day FOREVER!

My PT wants me to do more walking/fast walking on the treadmill and to increase the length of time that I do it prior to my last appointment so I will be spending some time with the dreadmill.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

No weekly goal this week. Going to work on reinforcing the past weeks' goals.

Adventures of Frog Girl and naked women

2010-02-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Spin class from hell last night. I mean that in a good way. Sort of.

I love spinning and this instructor is tough. Toughest ever. She really pushes you and I like that. She has a new ride for Saturday's class. Gee, I can't wait.

So I got to the gym a little early. I went into the locker room to go potty and as I'm rounding the corner there is a woman getting undressed, apparently she was going to take a shower. She is topless and facing away from the lockers so everyone can see her in all her glory. I'm thinking, why doesn't she turn around?

I go potty, come out to wash my hands and in the mirror in front of me I see the same woman, now completely naked, facing everyone. Again, why isn't she turned around with maybe a towel around her?

I finish washing my hands and turn to my right to use the air dryer and naked lady starts walking around the locker room totally naked looking for the shower. WTF? Didn't she scope that out when she toured the gym, maybe after she joined or at least before getting buck naked in front of everyone? She didn't even have flip flops on. So gross.

Some people.

So Frog Girl was at spin class again in all her glory. I arrived early and picked a spot not totally in the front but in a position where I could see the instructor and hopefully not be blocked by other people. Frog Girl comes in a little late (again) and positions herself on the diagonal in between me and the instructor. SHIT! I wanted to move but didn't want to be rude because it would have totally been obvious why.

She had taken the class before spin so that might explain why she was a little late. Maybe she went to the bathroom, got some water, traipssed around the gym so all the guys could check her out. You know the type.

Anywho, she's wearing short shorts, and I do mean short, a long stretched out wife beater that was fraying at the bottom, a black sports bra with a regular black bra underneath. Who does that? It's not like she has big girls or anything.

Part way through class she decides to take off the wife beater. Great. Now I get to look at her butt ugly tramp stamp.

The instructor put us through the ringer and at some point on an uphill climb, she said we should be pedaling like Lisa, err, I mean Frog Girl. I'm sure she loved that, all eyes on her.

Finally, class is just about over and during the cool down Frog Girl decides to take her long hair out of her pony tail and shake her head. Kinda like something you would see in a beer commercial with a hot girl. Totally didn't work for Frog Girl. God does she ever like to draw attention to herself.

~~~~~

I started tracking calories. Interesting stuff. I don't plan on doing this forever, just wanted to get a handle on what my daily caloric intake is.

According to Livestrong.com I ate 1,530 calories yesterday and burned 323 from spin class. I totally don't agree with the calorie burn they give for 50 minutes of spinning; I think its higher but whatever. So that makes my net calories for the day at 1,207. I still felt hungry.

Total carbs were 50%, protein was 22% and fat was 29%. FYI, the fat was good fats (walnuts, avacado, chicken etc.).

I'm going to track for a while and see what happens with my weight. The hard part is recording a meal when you are out and you have no idea what the serving size is or what ingredients went into the food.

Majorly cool giveaway

2010-02-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

Shut Up and Run is having a sweet giveaway of a bunch of Champion running clothes. Check it out here.

Weekly mini goal

2010-02-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm a day late with this.

So since I've been ~~trying~~ wishing to lose 5 pounds for what seems like FOREVER, my goal this week is an attempt to put forth a better effort in that regard.

Since I'm buring like a bizallion calories at the gym and all, cutting out the stuff in my diet that is likely sabotaging my weight loss efforts would probably be a smart thing to do.

I don't track my calories, too much effort there. I actually probably don't eat enough to lose weight and that could be part of my problem. But I have to do this in baby steps so this week I will eat as clean as possible. Clean eating paired with working out SHOULD produce some results, right???

Or maybe if I just cut out the eleventy billion baskets of chips and salsa, that might help too?

We shall see.

Wish me luck.

My bad and PT update

2010-02-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

So yesterday morning we arrived at the gym a little before 11:00. My husband and I were going to do the barbell conditioning class. Too bad the class started at 10:00. My bad. For some reason 11:00 was stuck in my mind.

Oh well. We just headed over to the stationary bikes where my son was and did some cardio there for a bit. My son and I raced each other. He had been on the bike for about 8 minutes when I got on mine and of course, I glanced over and saw his mileage was about 2.5 miles and I just had to beat him. I set the bike for "variety" at level 8 and pedaled as fast as I could and 9 minutes later I had passed him :)

He got off his bike and went to another cardio machine :)

I rode the bike for 20 minutes and then headed over to an elliptical for 20 more minutes.

After that we headed downstairs and lifted some weights. My little boy is developing some guns. Of course he has zero body fat so that always helps. He's liking the gym. This is going to be a good thing for him.

~~~~~~

This morning I had another PT session. My achilles feels much better but according to my PT it is still a bit stiff. She worked my achilles a bit and then focused on my plantar fascia. Apparently it is tight and that is what is causing the tenderenss in my foot when I walk and walk downstairs.

I have made a lot of progress and she wants me to start alternating normal walking and fast walking on the treadmill. From there I will go to fast walking to jogging.

I think I will be running very soon :)

More Giveaways

2010-02-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Super cool giveaways at Tricia's Endurance Isn't Only Physical blog. Check it out, she's giving away a Running Skirt and Oiselle Running Apparel.

Gym Rats

2010-02-06T15:29:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up bright and early. Well, bright and early for this girl. Spin class was at 8:00 so we needed to head out. I got a guest pass at the gym so my 13 year old son could try it out. He seems to want to work out so we'll test the waters a bit before I commit to paying for him to go.

He rode a stationary bike and did the elliptical and then he and my husband worked the machines. I think he liked it and he thought it was cool to actually see a UFC octogon. Too bad there wasn't a class going on, It's fun to watch.

UFC training is hardcore. Tire flipping, rope waving or whatever it's called and lots of boxing type moves.

Meanwhile I took the spin class from HELL. OMG the instructor is so friggin' tough. We increased gears while she told us to pedal faster more than we decreased gears. My legs were on fire! She's tough but it is a great class and her music selection is awesome. I was a dripping sweaty mess 15 minutes into class. At the end of class one of the girls in the back literally had a puddle of sweat on the floor underneath her bike. So gross.

Frog girl was there. In her red shorts and wife beater again. She likes to make her grand entrance by arriving to class 5-10 minutes late and then leaving early. Turns out she has a teenage son and for whatever reason she had to rush out of class to get him. She doesn't look to me more than mid to late 20's though. Whatev. I positioned my bike on the other side of the room mostly to have a better view of the instructor and was glad that I did because Frog Girl positioned her bike near where I would have put mine. I don't care to stare at her ugly tattoo.

My right hip is sore today. I think I overcompensated on the elliptical last night because my left hip feels fine. Funny thing is I didn't even notice it last night.

I've stopped wearing the ankle brace so maybe that might have something to do with it. Anyway, I'm hating it today. Between my left ankle and right hip I'm a hobbling mess. It's all good though. I love being sore from working out. Best kind of sore there is.

Barbell Conditioning class tomorrow morning with my husband and son. That should be interesting :) Then off to Superbowl festivities.

Go Saints!

Gym Date Night

2010-02-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

It almost didn't happen. My husband had to work late and so I texted him to ask if he still wanted to go to the gym and he said yes. Yay!

Sixty five minutes on the elliptical, 600 calories and 5.5 miles! I know my calorie burn is less because the machines give numbers based on a 140 lb person and since I weigh less than that my calorie burn will therefore be less. Even still, I burned a lot of calories.

Tomorrow is spin class and some strength training. My son wants to go to the gym and try it out. We shall see how that works out.

Goals Update

2010-02-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

So I’m making some progress on my goals. I’m planning to do a goals update once a month - this one is a little belated.

I finished reading my first book of the year last night; I stayed up until 11:15 reading Valerie Bertinelli’s Losing It. It was a good book and a very easy read. She was quite honest about A LOT of stuff in her life and I found her to be just as down to earth as she is when she’s on tv. I've never read a memoir before and really enjoyed it.

Stretching and working out have been going well too. I‘ve had to make a few modifications to my workout plan due to our schedules but nevertheless I did what I had planned one way or another.

My water intake has been pretty good. I’ve been drinking water in 8 ounce increments so I can 1) drink it while it is relatively cold, 2) track it more easily, and 3) 8 ounces is just more doable than 16 or 24 ounces in my cup at once. I’ve pretty much established the habit of filling my cup when I get to work and refilling it a few more times. I do need to make a more conscious effort to drink water once I’m home though.

I did buy a photography book but I didn’t like it so I’m taking it back and will look for another one.

Getting to bed and asleep earlier has been kind of a 50/50 thing. Last night was a total fail because I was finishing my book. Some nights I’m in bed closer to 10:00 and other nights it’s closer to 10:30. This one is going to be a tough one but I will continue to work on it.

~~~~~

Gym Date Night tonight. Looking forward to it. I'm going to try intervals on the elliptical to get more of a calorie burn and to make it more interesting. I hate anything stationary - so flippin' boring!

My Home Gym

2010-02-03T16:22:00.000-08:00

So my home gym. I thought I’d do a post about it since it seems the only thing I blog about lately is working out and physical therapy.

I think calling it a “home gym” is kind of a misnomer. It’s really just some workout stuff that I have at home lol. Here’s what I have:

• 5 lb dumbbells (hardly use these anymore)
• 9 lb dumbbells
• Dumbbells with different weighted plates (pain to use, thus the dumbbells above)
• 3 lb medicine ball (small)
• 4 lb medicine ball (large)
• 2 long resistance bands
• 1 short resistance band
• 1 long tubing band with handles
• Stability ball
• Yoga mat
• Various DVDs
• Workout binder
• Workout books

Note: I bought most of these things at discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

So my workout calendar tells me that I am supposed to strength train 4-5 days a week. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays I go to the gym so my strength training is done there; Tuesdays and Thursdays I workout at home.

I don’t have a set routine but I do work my entire body, or as much as I can at the moment given the limited range of motion of my ankle. I do what I can for leg and butt exercises.

I work the following areas:

Arms (biceps and triceps)
Shoulders (front, back and side)
Back (trapezius and rhomboids)
Abs (upper, lower and sides)
Butt
Hips

My arms are like beanpoles and they develop quickly. Well at least my biceps do. I’m really trying to firm up my triceps and I am doing extra work there.

My shoulders develop fairly easily as well.

I don’t want a manly back but I do a few exercises that target my upper back. I don’t really work my lower back per se but I do planks which target the lower back area.

I do a good amount of crunches, reverse crunches, and a bunch of other exercises for my abs. I don’t know the names of the exercises unfortunately. I’ve got some definition going on and if I lost about 5 pounds I’d be smoking hot. Just kidding. But the definition would be more apparent if I lost a few.

Planks are great for our core as I’m sure you all know. I was up to about a minute and thirty seconds prior to my broken ankle. Now I do them twice, each time holding for 45 seconds. Getting there.

I do a few things for my glutes and hips. I can’t do a lot at the moment because of my ankle but I am able to do some floor work.

Once I have more flexibility in my ankle I’ll work more of my lower body and do some squats and lunges. I HATE lunges!

My Workout Binder

I subscribe to three fitness magazines: Shape, Fitness and Oxygen (I guess four if you count Runners World). Periodically, I go through them and tear out the exercises I like, put them in page protectors and file them in the binder. The binder isn’t organized by body part because often times the workouts I tear out are full body workouts but I try to group by body part when possible.

In case you are wondering my binder cover is a Nike ad and it says:

"If you went running when you first started thinking about it you'd be back by now"

I usually rest the binder on the hamper, open it to an exercise I want to do and start lifting. I used to do the same exercise all the time or would get bored and having the binder reminds me of other exercise I can do. Plus, it’s nice to change up what you do every few weeks to keep your muscles challenged.

For most exercises I do three sets of 8-12 reps, it just depends on the exercise, amount of weight I’m using and the body part I’m working. For abs I do three sets of 20.

Workout Books & DVDs

This book is awesome and I bought it to take to the gym with me.

If you look closely on the right side you can see my yellow Post Its that mark the exercises I want to do.

If you are interested I saw it at Costco last weekend for $15!

I also have this book:

I got it for $2.99 at Marshalls.

It has a lot of good ideas in it as you can see from all the purple page markers. I refer to this book fairly often. It was a great little find!

I have three Jillian Michaels DVDs. I’ve used two of them and highly recommend them: 30 Day Shred and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism. They are tough!

I also have this DVD:

I got it Marshalls. It’s ok. It’s easy for me so if I do it I will do more than one workout.

Finally, I also have this DVD:

It’s just ok. Nice to do once in a while.

I workout it my bedroom and either turn on HGTV for company or will listen to my iPod. Last weekend I caught John Mayer on VH1 Storytellers. I need to get one of his CDs.

Very soon I will be incorporating Exercise TV into my home workouts.

Well that’s it. I hope I didn’t bore you.

Giveaways and Contests

2010-02-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

Lauren at Adventures in Running is having a Bondi Band giveaway. Head on over to enter: Bondi Band giveaway

Mel at Tall Mom on the Run is having a Recovery Sock giveaway. Check it out here: Recovery Sock Contest

Quick workout and rehab update

2010-02-02T21:39:00.000-08:00

Just an update to keep me honest.

Monday was a rest day; an unscheduled one. I had a little monthly migraine going on. Nothing happens when THE headache hits me. I woke up with it and went to bed with it :(

Tonight I did forty minutes of strength training and about 20-25 minutes stretching/ankle exercises.

My ankle continues to imrove. My PT is pleased with my progress and thinks I will have full flexibility soon. Yay!

She is having me wean myself off my ankle brace. Yesterday I was supposed to alternate wearing it and then removing it every hour. That didn't happen because I was too busy at work so I ended up not wearing it at all yesterday and today I wore it all day. Go figure.

Spin class likely won't happen tomorrow night because my husband has to do softball stuff and I won't leave the kids by themselves at night. I'll try a DVD or just do some more strength training.

Weekly mini goal

2010-01-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

So the theory behind my plan to post weekly mini goals is to accomplish some goals and form some new habits that I’ve wanted to incorporate into my life for quite a while.

The thing is, I've always thought how nice it would be “if only” I did these things but the thought of trying to do some or all of them was always too daunting. So my hope is that with the start of each new week I will focus on a new weekly goal while still practicing the goals from the weeks before. Sort of like compounding interest, only in this case it will be compounding goals and habits.

The idea is that these goals will become regular habits and/or I'll finally accomplish some things that have been on my list for quite a while. Some may be fitness/running/health related and some may not. I’ve got a big list of things I’d like to do and for a long time it’s been just that, a list that never gets anything checked off on it. I’ve decided that 2010 will be different.

So with that said, this week’s mini goal is to prepare the kids and my lunches the night before.

Pretty simple but it's something I've started in the past, did well for a while and then got lazy. Making this a habit will affect another of my weekly goals that I'll be revealing soon.

Prepping lunches the night before will free up about 15-20 minutes of my time every morning. That’s not a lot of time but that’s 15 more minutes I could be sleeping. Or working out.

~~~~~

Today was a rest day due to the busy day we had scheduled. It was needed as I've been pretty tired but I did manage to get a lot done.

Fifteen minutes of stretching tonight. My ankle is getting better everyday. The tightness seems to be lessening and the soreness I've been feeling in my heel is going away. Tonight, while I was doing the exercises my PT told me to do my ankle popped about 10 times. The good pop, you know, the kind you hear after a good stretch. The PT thinks that those pops could be me breaking through scar tissue. Lets hope so.

I feel like I'm finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

Gym Date Night

2010-01-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

was a success!

It was a fun night and I look forward to it becoming a weekly tradition.

We spent an hour and a half there and were able to do both cardio and weights. I tried some of the machines which always intimidate me for fear of making a fool of myself and guess what? I did just that.

I tried a deltoid machine and sat on it backwards. OMG, thank God there weren't many people there. I also tried the tricep machine (don't know what it's called) and I didn't like it. It's an assisted machine and it was too easy so I'll just stick with my tricep dips off a chair or bench.

~~~~~

We woke up early this morning and I went to spin class while my husband ran on the treadmill.

Spin class was the hardest spin class ever! Two songs worth of increasing gears. Just when I thought a rest or decrease in gears was coming the instructor said that the hard part of the class was yet to come. Huh? It already was hard!

I loved it though and was a sweaty dripping mess at the end. Of course it didn't help that the heat was on in the beginning of class but the instructor figured out how to turn it off after two tries.

Frog Girl was there again. In her red shorts and wife beater tank top. She's quite a piece of work. Comes in late, grunts A LOT, and likes to hike her leg up on the bike seat when we stretch. I'm sure thats quite a sight with her loose shorts and all. Thank God I was behind her.

I'm pooped. That's par for the course when I take spin class... it takes everything out of me.

Both my husband and I really liked working out early. We came home and I made breakfast and I was able to get a lot of other things done. As much as I hate getting up early, I love having my workouts done before breakfast. Makes for a very productive day.

I'm deviating from my schedule tomorrow because we have the kids' school open house to go, a basketball scrimmage and I also have errands to run.

I'll be back at it bright and early Monday morning.

Random Thoughts

2010-01-28T21:16:00.000-08:00

Random Thoughts posts are just that, my random musings about nothing in particular.

I made Baked Pasta last night and I didn't like it. Of course I'm not a big pasta fan unless it's with olive oil and garlic. Red sauce is just eh to me. Kids liked it so I guess that's good but I don't think I'm going to make it again. I mean if I'm going to make it I at least want to like it.
My daughter doesn't have a basketball scrimmage tomorrow night so gym date night is on!!! Woo Hoo!!! I plan on doing some major cardio because, shh, we went for mexican food tonight while my daughter was at soccer practice. She doesn't like mexican food so it was a good time to get it. How I gave birth to a kid who doesn't like mexican food is beyond me. I think I might have brought home the wrong kid from the hospital.
My husband and I can't go to the Barbell Conditioning class on Sunday morning because I forgot that we have to go to the kids' open house at school. When I told my husband about that he suggested that we go after. I think that is a good sign lol.
I stepped on the scale this morning and it read a number that I haven't seen in a long time. A good number I mean. Apparently when you workout out and eat healthy you can lose weight...who knew?!?!
Make it Happen. I read a sad story on Chic Runner's blog today and thought I might borrow this phrase. I think it's not only appropriate for me but others as well since many of us are working on goals. I do a lot of visualization when I'm running and working out so this is going to be my new mantra, along with I Can Do This.
Speaking of mantras, I forgot to say that the RoadID my husband gave me for Christmas has my I Can Do This mantra on it. How cool is that?
Sixty minutes of strength training tonight and about 15-20 minutes of stretching. I got new dumbbells today so I was excited to use them.
I'm working on a couple of posts, one about my little home gym and another on the exercises and stretches my PT has me doing.