2011
A started running, I'm still running. That's kinda cool. My daughter uses me as a guinea pig and review / inspirational material for her course. Luc started running with me in November so I wouldn't have to run in the dark by myself. He's doing fantastic. I think he's enjoying himself. He's got himself hooked up on Runkeeper and Myfitnesspal.
I maintained for the most part a "get healthy" mind set. Camping season I went a little haywire (ice cream, beer and steak) gained back 16lbs of the almost 40 I had lost.
Year 3 of camping season was ok. It rained the first three months which really isn't good for business. We had the nicest weather of the season, after we were closed. That kinda sucks.
Work is, well, same old same old. Nothing really changed. A whole year of the same.
Home life in general is good. Nothing to complain about. Which is much better than a lot of people. We went on our cruise in April. It was good, we had fun for the most part. Luc was sick with a head cold for most of it. I went snorkeling and that was freaking cool. My favorite part of the whole cruise.
We also took a little camping trip after camping closed in the Hillbilly Hut. Spent a few days in Cape Breton. Took the ferry to PEI. Drove to Moncton and then raced at the Legs for Literacy race. 10K.
Health is good. Probably much better since I started being health conscious. At the end of the year, I still haven't lost all the weight I gained back during camping season. As of writing, I still have 4 lbs to go. But I think I've lost more inches.
I'd also like to add for posterity's sake that it has been unusually warm this fall. I'm still wearing a sweater to work. I've only had to wear a fall coat to work twice, I think. Really bizarre weather. One snow storm in November and nothing at all in December. I hope we get some snow soon. Snow means money in our house.
Well I guess that's all for now.
I'd like to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A Christmas tidbit
My favorite Christmas special is A Year Without a Santa Claus
My favorite part of the show are the songs from Snow Miser and Heat Miser.
Enjoy your earworm for the day. I know I will
My favorite part of the show are the songs from Snow Miser and Heat Miser.
Enjoy your earworm for the day. I know I will
Monday, December 12, 2011
What a crazy week
I did over 11 hours of exercise this week. I was a workout machine. And it showed on my long run. I knocked 20 seconds off my pace for 10k yesterday. I know it's supposed to be a long SLOW run, but I try to speed things up if I can and feel like it to make up for the slower than I should be going runs during the week.
My runs during the week are slower because my husband is joining me. It gets dark here at 5pm, so he joins me so I don't have to run in the dark by myself. He is enjoying himself. He's seeing weight loss results which is keeping him motivated. He's looking at the schedule to see what we need to do for the day / week. We're talking about pace. He mocks me when I can't keep up to him (ie after I've already run a 10k that day) *insert eyeroll here* I think he's training for a 10k race. He just doesn't know it yet. Moncton 2012, I think.
According to Runkeeper I set all kinds of personal records this week. Over 6 hours of running (There is a lot of walking in there too), 466 metres in elevation climbs, 36.7 km run. Excellent.
Now I'm looking at my single best activity. 12.9 km on July 18, 2011. I think that will be my Christmas present to myself. My long run on Christmas day is supposed to be 13km. I think I'll run the same route and see if I can't beat that time.
This week coming up is a taper week. 4 runs of 5km only. I'll probably do 2 5km's on Sunday. One at speed and one slow one. I'll have to add some other exercise in there to make up for it. Some gym classes maybe.
In other news I finally broke the decade for weight loss. That was a hard battle. And I managed to keep it off over the weekend too. WOOT! We indulged in crackers and cheese and pepperoni and dips. And drink. I only have 7 more pounds to go to be back at the weight I was in June. And 19 pounds to get to goal.
This is what December looks like so far:
Total Distance: 56.1 KM
Total Duration: 9:09:54
Average Pace: 10:11 per km
Average Speed: 6:00 km per hour
My runs during the week are slower because my husband is joining me. It gets dark here at 5pm, so he joins me so I don't have to run in the dark by myself. He is enjoying himself. He's seeing weight loss results which is keeping him motivated. He's looking at the schedule to see what we need to do for the day / week. We're talking about pace. He mocks me when I can't keep up to him (ie after I've already run a 10k that day) *insert eyeroll here* I think he's training for a 10k race. He just doesn't know it yet. Moncton 2012, I think.
According to Runkeeper I set all kinds of personal records this week. Over 6 hours of running (There is a lot of walking in there too), 466 metres in elevation climbs, 36.7 km run. Excellent.
Now I'm looking at my single best activity. 12.9 km on July 18, 2011. I think that will be my Christmas present to myself. My long run on Christmas day is supposed to be 13km. I think I'll run the same route and see if I can't beat that time.
This week coming up is a taper week. 4 runs of 5km only. I'll probably do 2 5km's on Sunday. One at speed and one slow one. I'll have to add some other exercise in there to make up for it. Some gym classes maybe.
In other news I finally broke the decade for weight loss. That was a hard battle. And I managed to keep it off over the weekend too. WOOT! We indulged in crackers and cheese and pepperoni and dips. And drink. I only have 7 more pounds to go to be back at the weight I was in June. And 19 pounds to get to goal.
This is what December looks like so far:
Total Distance: 56.1 KM
Total Duration: 9:09:54
Average Pace: 10:11 per km
Average Speed: 6:00 km per hour
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tis the season to be jolly
At this time of year, it's hard not to eat and drink to excess. There's Christmas parties, and cookie exchanges and get togethers with friends and family.
Friday night was my work christmas party. Here's me, all gussied up and ready to go.
Saturday was bake-a-palooza. Cookies galore. I actually didn't make as many as I wanted. Baking with a hangover just kinda sorta sucks. But I made some and I ate some.
Sunday was Tammi's cookie exchange. The cookies were fantastic.
What did I do to ward off the cookie monster (aka weight gain) ? I did 30 minutes on the treadmill Friday night and I did a 10k Sunday morning. We were supposed to do another 5k after supper, but the weekend's gluttony finally took it's toll. We'll do the extra 5k on Monday and carry on.
Friday night was my work christmas party. Here's me, all gussied up and ready to go.
Saturday was bake-a-palooza. Cookies galore. I actually didn't make as many as I wanted. Baking with a hangover just kinda sorta sucks. But I made some and I ate some.
Sunday was Tammi's cookie exchange. The cookies were fantastic.
What did I do to ward off the cookie monster (aka weight gain) ? I did 30 minutes on the treadmill Friday night and I did a 10k Sunday morning. We were supposed to do another 5k after supper, but the weekend's gluttony finally took it's toll. We'll do the extra 5k on Monday and carry on.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Cold Weather Running
It's starting to get cold out, so it's time to start thinking about dressing for the more colder temperatures.
The first rule of thumb is to dress like it's 15 to 20 degrees warmer, and dress in layers.
The couple of runs I've done so far have been in 0 deg Celsius and -4 deg Celsius. The only difference in these two runs for me was that I wore a headband and gloves for the -4 run. I wore my compression leggings, a long sleeved technical shirt and my white nylon jacket. Anything colder than that and I'll have to wear another layer on my legs. But my core was good.
This is a great video.
Happy Running
The first rule of thumb is to dress like it's 15 to 20 degrees warmer, and dress in layers.
The couple of runs I've done so far have been in 0 deg Celsius and -4 deg Celsius. The only difference in these two runs for me was that I wore a headband and gloves for the -4 run. I wore my compression leggings, a long sleeved technical shirt and my white nylon jacket. Anything colder than that and I'll have to wear another layer on my legs. But my core was good.
This is a great video.
Happy Running
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
OWIE! I am sore today
I'm not really whining about it. I really enjoyed breaking me. But suffice it to say, I'll probably miss Zumba tonight.
The last couple of days, I went hog wild with the gym classes. Body Pump on Monday, Yoga, Body Flow and Zumba on Tuesday. That worked out to 4 hours of exercise in a little more than 32 hours. With 3 of those hours in less than 12 hours. It was probably a foolish thing to do, but I did enjoy myself.
I do have to give my head a shake though. This time last year, it never would have even occured to me that I would enjoy exercising this much. OK. Maybe last year. I was doing some Wii workouts infrequently. Well, OK, I guess this has been a couple of years in the making. I did buy the Wii in 2009 with the Wii Fit, in order to get in better shape.
Someone at work asked me today how much weight I've lost. Since January 2011, it's about 30 lbs. It was almost 40, but I got sucked into the summer time food eating, beer drinking frenzy and gained 16 back. (Down 6 since the middle of October) Luc found an old picture of us from a couple of years ago, and I was HUGE. No lie. I mean no offense to anyone. I don't say that like it's a bad thing, just that I didn't realize how much I really did weigh. I bet you I weighed in at my heaviest at 250lbs. So, I guess as of right now, I've lost about 80lbs altogether.
OK. HOLY CRAP. Just went looking through facebook. I found this doozy. October 18th, 2008.
hmmm. Pain in my muscles versus the pain of looking at this picture.
On that note, I think I'll end my post there.
PS: I think I've also decided to hit the gym for Zumba tonight anyway.
The last couple of days, I went hog wild with the gym classes. Body Pump on Monday, Yoga, Body Flow and Zumba on Tuesday. That worked out to 4 hours of exercise in a little more than 32 hours. With 3 of those hours in less than 12 hours. It was probably a foolish thing to do, but I did enjoy myself.
I do have to give my head a shake though. This time last year, it never would have even occured to me that I would enjoy exercising this much. OK. Maybe last year. I was doing some Wii workouts infrequently. Well, OK, I guess this has been a couple of years in the making. I did buy the Wii in 2009 with the Wii Fit, in order to get in better shape.
Someone at work asked me today how much weight I've lost. Since January 2011, it's about 30 lbs. It was almost 40, but I got sucked into the summer time food eating, beer drinking frenzy and gained 16 back. (Down 6 since the middle of October) Luc found an old picture of us from a couple of years ago, and I was HUGE. No lie. I mean no offense to anyone. I don't say that like it's a bad thing, just that I didn't realize how much I really did weigh. I bet you I weighed in at my heaviest at 250lbs. So, I guess as of right now, I've lost about 80lbs altogether.
OK. HOLY CRAP. Just went looking through facebook. I found this doozy. October 18th, 2008.
On that note, I think I'll end my post there.
PS: I think I've also decided to hit the gym for Zumba tonight anyway.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
I'm losing it
I've been getting a tad bit discouraged this time around. I haven't lost any weight to speak of. I'm still a far cry from where I was 3 months ago. I know it's my own fault. I'm not eating as cleanly as I should be. But I'm still eating low enough that I should be losing SOMETHING.
Apparently I am. I very quickly took a couple of measurements this morning because I was early getting ready for work. WOW. At least 6 inches in two weeks. OK. I feel better now.
I am working my ass off though. Here has been the schedule for the last couple of weeks.
Monday - Body Pump at lunch
Tuesday - Yoga at lunch, then a 6k run in the evening
Wednesday - Zumba
Thursday - Yoga at lunch and then a 6k tempo run in the evening.
Friday is my off day. I've really been looking forward to it. It's a little bit of added motivation for my tempo run too. "You only have 10 minutes left and then you get a whole day off"
Saturday I go to Yoga in the morning.
Sunday is my long run. 8 - 10 k as of right now.
Last Sunday I did a 10K race. It was the inaugural MEC Halifax race. It was in Shubie Park. I had never run through the park before. Holy crap, talk about hilly. There were a couple of long hills but there were a lot of rolls. Up and down, and left and right. I was pretty ill by the time I was done. (like car sick ill) I'm used to road racing. The roads don't go like that. So, I'm going to add that to my list of runs I'm going to have to do on a regular basis. Anyway, I did the 10k, in 1:25:36. I was hoping to complete it in sub 1:20:00 but that didn't happen. But I also wasn't expecting the hills either.
Lets see how November is shaping up so far.
Total Distance: 26km
Total Time: 3:44:14
Average Pace: 8:39 per km
November is actually turning out to be my fastest pace month in the last six months. I'm impressed with that. June was a phenomenal month for me for running. I ran 115km with an average pace of 9:10. I guess that's the goal. To keep my average pace for the month below 9:10. Based on my training plan, I'll be running 78km for the month.
I guess my racing is now complete for this year. I think the first race of 2012 will be the Falmouth Freezer. Here's the list for next year as it's starting to shape up.
Falmouth Freezer 10k Feb 12 2012
Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run 5K April 14 2012
ZX 10K - Greenwood 10K April 15 2012
SB Bluenose 21K May 20 2012
Lunenburg Muffin Run 5K June 6 2012
Nova Scotia Marathon 21K July 22 2012
Berwick 5 mile 8K September 2 2012
Valley Harvest 21K October 7 2012
Legs for Literacy - Moncton 21K October 21 2012
There's a new race organizer on the scene in Nova Scotia too. United by Running. They are organizing three new races for Nova Scotia next year. I'm really looking forward to them. Hopefully, they'll be close enough that I can take part in them.
So, that's the plan for next year's racing.
Apparently I am. I very quickly took a couple of measurements this morning because I was early getting ready for work. WOW. At least 6 inches in two weeks. OK. I feel better now.
I am working my ass off though. Here has been the schedule for the last couple of weeks.
Monday - Body Pump at lunch
Tuesday - Yoga at lunch, then a 6k run in the evening
Wednesday - Zumba
Thursday - Yoga at lunch and then a 6k tempo run in the evening.
Friday is my off day. I've really been looking forward to it. It's a little bit of added motivation for my tempo run too. "You only have 10 minutes left and then you get a whole day off"
Saturday I go to Yoga in the morning.
Sunday is my long run. 8 - 10 k as of right now.
Last Sunday I did a 10K race. It was the inaugural MEC Halifax race. It was in Shubie Park. I had never run through the park before. Holy crap, talk about hilly. There were a couple of long hills but there were a lot of rolls. Up and down, and left and right. I was pretty ill by the time I was done. (like car sick ill) I'm used to road racing. The roads don't go like that. So, I'm going to add that to my list of runs I'm going to have to do on a regular basis. Anyway, I did the 10k, in 1:25:36. I was hoping to complete it in sub 1:20:00 but that didn't happen. But I also wasn't expecting the hills either.
Lets see how November is shaping up so far.
Total Distance: 26km
Total Time: 3:44:14
Average Pace: 8:39 per km
November is actually turning out to be my fastest pace month in the last six months. I'm impressed with that. June was a phenomenal month for me for running. I ran 115km with an average pace of 9:10. I guess that's the goal. To keep my average pace for the month below 9:10. Based on my training plan, I'll be running 78km for the month.
I guess my racing is now complete for this year. I think the first race of 2012 will be the Falmouth Freezer. Here's the list for next year as it's starting to shape up.
Falmouth Freezer 10k Feb 12 2012
Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run 5K April 14 2012
ZX 10K - Greenwood 10K April 15 2012
SB Bluenose 21K May 20 2012
Lunenburg Muffin Run 5K June 6 2012
Nova Scotia Marathon 21K July 22 2012
Berwick 5 mile 8K September 2 2012
Valley Harvest 21K October 7 2012
Legs for Literacy - Moncton 21K October 21 2012
There's a new race organizer on the scene in Nova Scotia too. United by Running. They are organizing three new races for Nova Scotia next year. I'm really looking forward to them. Hopefully, they'll be close enough that I can take part in them.
So, that's the plan for next year's racing.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Websites for good health information
I'm always on the lookout for accurate health information.
A thread was started over on www.myfitnesspal.com asking that very question. Here is their list . I'm sort of posting it as a note reference to come back to and take a look at. So I'm not vouching for the information yet.
When you are researching about health, fitness and weight loss, my personal opinion is that you have to read lots and lots and lots. What is truth for you is what makes sense and what resonates with you.
http://www.livestrong.com/
http://www.leighpeele.com/archives
http://www.ampedtraining.com/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ (National Institutues of Health)
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com (Lyle Mcdonald)
http://www.alanaragon.com (Alan Aragon)
http://www.leangains.com (Martin Berkhan)
http://body-improvements.com (Steve Troutman)
Harvard School of Public Health - The Nutrition Source (my very favorite)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu//nutritionsource/index.html
Mayo Clinic - Nutrition and Healthy Eating
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/MY00431
National Institute of Health - Nutrition
http://health.nih.gov/topic/Nutrition
Cleveland Clinic - Healthy Living
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/default.aspx
Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/index.html
webmd.com - Healthy Eating & Diet Center
http://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm
http://www.badscience.net/ (weeds out the bad science)
At some point I'll give my two cents on what I think of these websites. But they are there if you want to take a look yourself.
A thread was started over on www.myfitnesspal.com asking that very question. Here is their list . I'm sort of posting it as a note reference to come back to and take a look at. So I'm not vouching for the information yet.
When you are researching about health, fitness and weight loss, my personal opinion is that you have to read lots and lots and lots. What is truth for you is what makes sense and what resonates with you.
http://www.livestrong.com/
http://www.leighpeele.com/archives
http://www.ampedtraining.com/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
http://scholar.google.com/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ (National Institutues of Health)
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com (Lyle Mcdonald)
http://www.alanaragon.com (Alan Aragon)
http://www.leangains.com (Martin Berkhan)
http://body-improvements.com (Steve Troutman)
Harvard School of Public Health - The Nutrition Source (my very favorite)
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu//nutritionsource/index.html
Mayo Clinic - Nutrition and Healthy Eating
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/MY00431
National Institute of Health - Nutrition
http://health.nih.gov/topic/Nutrition
Cleveland Clinic - Healthy Living
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_living/default.aspx
Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/index.html
webmd.com - Healthy Eating & Diet Center
http://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm
http://www.badscience.net/ (weeds out the bad science)
At some point I'll give my two cents on what I think of these websites. But they are there if you want to take a look yourself.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A Little Midweek Update
So, I've been a class / gym going machine this week.
Saturday morning, I went to my first Yoga class. I really enjoyed that. And it was a great way to start off a lazy Saturday. I had been planning on doing the Body Pump at 9:30, but I slept a little too late and ended up going to Yoga. I'm really glad I did.
Sunday was my long run, but we were hit with a Nor' Easter which wasn't conducive to running outside. So off to the gym I went.
Monday was Halloween, so I knew that if I wanted to get a workout done today, I was going to have to go to the gym at lunch time. So I took the Body Pump class then. It's a good class. I'll probably continue to take it. But maybe on Monday night instead of at lunch time.
Tuesday was a very sore day. Ow. But I sucked it up and took a Yoga class at lunch time anyway. And Tuesday night I went for my short easy run.
My thoughts on this week. Yoga is hard. Running is easy. OK. Not really. I have great lower body strength which is good for running and Yoga. I have absolutely NO upper body strength which is good for running, not so good for yoga. My arms are SO, SO sore. SO sore. I could not hold a downward facing dog yesterday, if my life depended on it.
I was pretty sore last night, that I was kind of upset that I might not be able to do anymore working out until Sunday. I didn't know whether I would be able to run the 10k on Sunday or not.
I decided to do my easy run last night anyway. I did really well. I can definitely see the increase in my endurance from the classes. I actually could have kept up running for most of that run, except I was getting cramps in my legs.
At the end of the run, I decided I was going to be ok for Sunday. But I think I'll leave out the Body Pump until next Monday.
Today is Zumba day. Tomorrow is a speedwork run. Friday is my off day. I'm really looking forward to that I think. I'll do yoga on Saturday and my 10k run on Sunday. I think that will take care of my big runs until the Falmouth Freezer in February.
I was going to do the Santa Shuffle in December, but my Christmas party is the night before. That Saturday is going to be hangover day. :) There is also a New Years Eve run in Wolfville. I'll probably go to that too, but it's only a little one 4 or 5K.
Saturday morning, I went to my first Yoga class. I really enjoyed that. And it was a great way to start off a lazy Saturday. I had been planning on doing the Body Pump at 9:30, but I slept a little too late and ended up going to Yoga. I'm really glad I did.
Sunday was my long run, but we were hit with a Nor' Easter which wasn't conducive to running outside. So off to the gym I went.
Monday was Halloween, so I knew that if I wanted to get a workout done today, I was going to have to go to the gym at lunch time. So I took the Body Pump class then. It's a good class. I'll probably continue to take it. But maybe on Monday night instead of at lunch time.
Tuesday was a very sore day. Ow. But I sucked it up and took a Yoga class at lunch time anyway. And Tuesday night I went for my short easy run.
My thoughts on this week. Yoga is hard. Running is easy. OK. Not really. I have great lower body strength which is good for running and Yoga. I have absolutely NO upper body strength which is good for running, not so good for yoga. My arms are SO, SO sore. SO sore. I could not hold a downward facing dog yesterday, if my life depended on it.
I was pretty sore last night, that I was kind of upset that I might not be able to do anymore working out until Sunday. I didn't know whether I would be able to run the 10k on Sunday or not.
I decided to do my easy run last night anyway. I did really well. I can definitely see the increase in my endurance from the classes. I actually could have kept up running for most of that run, except I was getting cramps in my legs.
At the end of the run, I decided I was going to be ok for Sunday. But I think I'll leave out the Body Pump until next Monday.
Today is Zumba day. Tomorrow is a speedwork run. Friday is my off day. I'm really looking forward to that I think. I'll do yoga on Saturday and my 10k run on Sunday. I think that will take care of my big runs until the Falmouth Freezer in February.
I was going to do the Santa Shuffle in December, but my Christmas party is the night before. That Saturday is going to be hangover day. :) There is also a New Years Eve run in Wolfville. I'll probably go to that too, but it's only a little one 4 or 5K.
Friday, October 28, 2011
100 Beginner Running Tips
I just saw this posted on facebook and had to share. 100 Beginner Running Tips.
Some of my favorites are:
2. Cotton socks will only lead to blisters; invest in socks designed for running. (I love, love, love my running socks. I actually prefer them over cotton now.)
8. Remember to say “Thank You!” to race volunteers (e.g. when you get that cup of water at the aid station) and family and friends who support you. ( I really wish they had garbage cans at the water stations. It goes against every fibre of my being to litter. )
These two go together. Where I've just started running, I think these are important for me to remember. I don't want a bad run to discourage me from running.
17. Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.
22. Even a bad run is better then no run at all.
32. During longer runs if you don’t like to carry water take some cash in your pocket pouch or a shoe wallet. Run a route where there’s a corner store that you can use as a pit stop to pick up your water and maybe use the bathroom. (I figured this one out on my own. By luck)
33. Avoid eating spicy foods before running and the night before your long runs. (For me, this is true about 99% of the time.)
37. Guys: Band-Aids before the long runs. Your nipples will thank you in the shower afterwards. (Ouch. I can't even imagine that. I'm so glad for bras.)
44. When trail running don’t forget the bug spray. (This one reminds me of the run my sister in law and I did, down at the campground. I thought those suckers were going to carry us away.)
62. Give horses wide berths on trails and walk as you pass them unless you enjoy a hoof to the melon. (This never would have crossed my mind. Duly noted. Not that I see a lot of horses during running. I can think of a few runs where I should have walked by dogs instead of running)
81. It’s okay to take walk breaks (run 1 minute walk 1 minute then progress to run 10 minutes walk 1 minute etc.). (Of course I would agree with this one.)
93. Dress as if it is 10 degrees warmer than the temperature on the thermometer. (This one is hard to learn)
94. Wear sunscreen and a hat when the sun is beating down—even in winter. (And sunglasses too. )
OK. Now I'm really done for today.
Some of my favorites are:
2. Cotton socks will only lead to blisters; invest in socks designed for running. (I love, love, love my running socks. I actually prefer them over cotton now.)
8. Remember to say “Thank You!” to race volunteers (e.g. when you get that cup of water at the aid station) and family and friends who support you. ( I really wish they had garbage cans at the water stations. It goes against every fibre of my being to litter. )
These two go together. Where I've just started running, I think these are important for me to remember. I don't want a bad run to discourage me from running.
17. Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.
22. Even a bad run is better then no run at all.
32. During longer runs if you don’t like to carry water take some cash in your pocket pouch or a shoe wallet. Run a route where there’s a corner store that you can use as a pit stop to pick up your water and maybe use the bathroom. (I figured this one out on my own. By luck)
33. Avoid eating spicy foods before running and the night before your long runs. (For me, this is true about 99% of the time.)
37. Guys: Band-Aids before the long runs. Your nipples will thank you in the shower afterwards. (Ouch. I can't even imagine that. I'm so glad for bras.)
44. When trail running don’t forget the bug spray. (This one reminds me of the run my sister in law and I did, down at the campground. I thought those suckers were going to carry us away.)
62. Give horses wide berths on trails and walk as you pass them unless you enjoy a hoof to the melon. (This never would have crossed my mind. Duly noted. Not that I see a lot of horses during running. I can think of a few runs where I should have walked by dogs instead of running)
81. It’s okay to take walk breaks (run 1 minute walk 1 minute then progress to run 10 minutes walk 1 minute etc.). (Of course I would agree with this one.)
93. Dress as if it is 10 degrees warmer than the temperature on the thermometer. (This one is hard to learn)
94. Wear sunscreen and a hat when the sun is beating down—even in winter. (And sunglasses too. )
OK. Now I'm really done for today.
Rest Day
Phew! I made it to rest day. It's been a good week. It's been a varied week. I really enjoyed this week.
Did I mention this is week 1 of the 31 week half marathon plan? I did have a plan to run the Valley Harvest Marathon Half, but it didn't turn out that way. My plan now is to run the Bluenose Half on May 23rd. If I could figure out how to post a document to the internet that you could open, I'd post it. But here is week 1.
My run last night was on the treadmill. It was a little cool, and I didn't know if I should run outside or not. Silly me, I really should have, but anyway. I did .94 miles at 3.5mph as a warm up. Then switched it up to 4.5 mph and ran what was supposed to be 24 minutes. Math really isn't my forte at 4.5 mph. I ended up running 28 minutes. I remember thinking to myself in the last five minutes of running "You've already done 19 minutes (remember I can't add), 5 more minutes and you don't have to run anymore for two whole days". I went to switch my speed back to 3.5 mph for my cool down and turned the damn treadmill off. *snicker* I'm sure everyone in the whole gym heard me curse. LOL. Anyway, I started a new workout for 15 minutes at 3.5 mph and then I was done.
Oh Boy, was I sore last night. I ached and ached and ached. I've never been that achey from a run before. I'll have to look up some "What to do's" sometime this weekend. I took some advil and went to bed. I do feel better this morning. No aches or pains at all, actually.
So, what am I going to do on rest day? Well, I have to work of course, but then I think I'll just snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, some cross stitch and maybe a couple of drinks and watch the boob tube.
There's no video today, just me rambling.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Did I mention this is week 1 of the 31 week half marathon plan? I did have a plan to run the Valley Harvest Marathon Half, but it didn't turn out that way. My plan now is to run the Bluenose Half on May 23rd. If I could figure out how to post a document to the internet that you could open, I'd post it. But here is week 1.
| WEEK 1: 18 KM | |||
| Tue | 25-Oct | Easy Run | Dist: 6 KM @9:39 |
| Thu | 27-Oct | Tempo Run | Dist: 6 KM, inc Warm; 3 KM @ 8:49; Cool |
| Sun | 30-Oct | Long Run | Dist: 6 KM @9:39 |
My run last night was on the treadmill. It was a little cool, and I didn't know if I should run outside or not. Silly me, I really should have, but anyway. I did .94 miles at 3.5mph as a warm up. Then switched it up to 4.5 mph and ran what was supposed to be 24 minutes. Math really isn't my forte at 4.5 mph. I ended up running 28 minutes. I remember thinking to myself in the last five minutes of running "You've already done 19 minutes (remember I can't add), 5 more minutes and you don't have to run anymore for two whole days". I went to switch my speed back to 3.5 mph for my cool down and turned the damn treadmill off. *snicker* I'm sure everyone in the whole gym heard me curse. LOL. Anyway, I started a new workout for 15 minutes at 3.5 mph and then I was done.
Oh Boy, was I sore last night. I ached and ached and ached. I've never been that achey from a run before. I'll have to look up some "What to do's" sometime this weekend. I took some advil and went to bed. I do feel better this morning. No aches or pains at all, actually.
So, what am I going to do on rest day? Well, I have to work of course, but then I think I'll just snuggle up on the couch with a blanket, some cross stitch and maybe a couple of drinks and watch the boob tube.
There's no video today, just me rambling.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
My first Zumba class
I went to my first ever Zumba class last night. Actually, it was my first gym class of anything, last night. For it being my first time, it was meh, ok, fun.
It's a popular class so you have to line up, sign in, line up, go into class, line up to start. It's certainly a little awkward being the newbie, with everybody knowing what's going on and chit chatting.
The instructor starts. Asks if anyone is new, I stick up my hand and get promptly ignored. WTF??? *eyeroll* OK. OK. It's a class of 40 or 50 people and I was at the back. I could have jumped up and down or yelled out, but whatever.
And we start.
I actually didn't do as badly as I thought I was going to. It usually took me a couple seconds to clue in to the moves, and they they were repeated through the song. I couldn't see the instructor at all, except for her head, but I spied out a lady in front of me that looked like she knew what she was doing, so I just followed her. There's a lot of hip swiveling and boob shaking that I just could not get AT ALL. HA! So I faked it.
Was I a klutz? Yep. But guess what. So were many of the other women that were there that have taken the class before. There were actually only a very few women there that knew what they were doing. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It just means that a newbie really wouldn't feel too, too out of place.
The moves themselves were not too hard, once you figured them out. It's a latin dance so there's a lot of hip action, that I couldn't do, so I just did the steps themselves. If you've ever done a regular aerobics class, I don't think you'd have any problem with this at all. Take a look on youtube for some Zumba videos.
And to top off the night, we did this... (Zumba style)
All in all, it was an ok time. I'm sure I'll go again. At least for the 500 to 1000 calories that it burns.
It's a popular class so you have to line up, sign in, line up, go into class, line up to start. It's certainly a little awkward being the newbie, with everybody knowing what's going on and chit chatting.
The instructor starts. Asks if anyone is new, I stick up my hand and get promptly ignored. WTF??? *eyeroll* OK. OK. It's a class of 40 or 50 people and I was at the back. I could have jumped up and down or yelled out, but whatever.
And we start.
I actually didn't do as badly as I thought I was going to. It usually took me a couple seconds to clue in to the moves, and they they were repeated through the song. I couldn't see the instructor at all, except for her head, but I spied out a lady in front of me that looked like she knew what she was doing, so I just followed her. There's a lot of hip swiveling and boob shaking that I just could not get AT ALL. HA! So I faked it.
Was I a klutz? Yep. But guess what. So were many of the other women that were there that have taken the class before. There were actually only a very few women there that knew what they were doing. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It just means that a newbie really wouldn't feel too, too out of place.
The moves themselves were not too hard, once you figured them out. It's a latin dance so there's a lot of hip action, that I couldn't do, so I just did the steps themselves. If you've ever done a regular aerobics class, I don't think you'd have any problem with this at all. Take a look on youtube for some Zumba videos.
And to top off the night, we did this... (Zumba style)
All in all, it was an ok time. I'm sure I'll go again. At least for the 500 to 1000 calories that it burns.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Endorphins make you happy
Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't.There's only ever been a couple of movie quotes that stuck with me. Besides the fact that I loved Legally Blonde, it's probably one of my all time favorite movies, This is one of those quotes.
Why am I bringing this up? Because I feel good today. And I know it's because of the exercise. I remember feeling like this when I started exercising back in January, but I forgot about it. It's been a long time since I have done regular exercise, that I really feel the difference in my mood.
So, what exactly is different? I feel like I'm smiling. On the inside. All the feelings of panic, anxiety, worry and stress are gone. Even though the triggers are still there. This is huge and really amazes me when I think about it. Some days were so bad, that it took every, single fibre of my being to get out of bed and go to work.
I can also see a definite improvement in my energy level. I literally bounced out of bed this morning, instead of the typical roll and drag that normally happens. Did a sun salutation , granted it wasn't very good, my flexibility has certainly diminished in a few short months, but I had the energy to do it.
I'm currently sitting at work (shhh, I probably should be doing actual work), and feel like I could get up right now and run a marathon. (OK, I know I couldn't actually run 42 KM, but I do have ants in my pants. LOL)
October Stats
Total Distance: 39.7 km
Total Time: 6:43:52
Average Pace: 11:20 min / km
Monday, October 24, 2011
Moncton 10K
I ran the 10k race in Moncton today. It was fantastic. Well except for having to stop for a potty break (no.2) and not knowing whether I was going to find one or not. That was pretty stressful. Then I had to stop to get rocks out of my shoe. All told, I lost 4 or 5 minutes off my "coulda been" time.
2 weeks ago at my first 10k, my chip time was 1:25:44. Today my chip time was 1:23:15. I'm thrilled with that. If I hadn't had to stop, it could have been 1:19:00 ish. I finished really strong. I really could have kept going at the pace I had set. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
I'm looking forward to doing it again in two weeks. Not sure which race I'm going to do though. The Muir Murray Winery race on the 5th or the MEC race at Shubie on the 6th. (As I was writing I thought I'd check the sites for availability. Looks like I'll be running the MEC race. The Winery registration is closed)
So besides the running stuff, I've got to back into healthy eating and some weight loss. 27 lbs to be exact. Plus it makes running easier and better when I'm eating well. So, I've taken all my measurements again and weighed. And I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.
I'll be running Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Monday and Wednesday and maybe Saturday, I'll be either going to the gym for a class, or doing some Wii Active workouts. I've set MFP to lose 2 lbs per week. That allows me 1200 calories a day, plus eating all my exercise calories. We'll see how that goes and I'll adjust if I need to. Times to eat will be 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and a little snack at 9:00pm.
Today (Monday) is going to be a yoga workout, I think. To stretch out my muscles and aches and pains from yesterday. I'll have to check to see if there is one at the gym or not.
Anyway, that's my update.
PS: I'm switching all my trackers over to km.
October Stats
Total Distance: 33.5 km
Total Time: 5:38:52
Average Speed: 6 kph
Average Pace: 11:31 min / km
I have a long way to go, to get back to where I was in June and July. But I'll get there.
2 weeks ago at my first 10k, my chip time was 1:25:44. Today my chip time was 1:23:15. I'm thrilled with that. If I hadn't had to stop, it could have been 1:19:00 ish. I finished really strong. I really could have kept going at the pace I had set. Which is a good thing and a bad thing.
I'm looking forward to doing it again in two weeks. Not sure which race I'm going to do though. The Muir Murray Winery race on the 5th or the MEC race at Shubie on the 6th. (As I was writing I thought I'd check the sites for availability. Looks like I'll be running the MEC race. The Winery registration is closed)
So besides the running stuff, I've got to back into healthy eating and some weight loss. 27 lbs to be exact. Plus it makes running easier and better when I'm eating well. So, I've taken all my measurements again and weighed. And I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.
I'll be running Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. On Monday and Wednesday and maybe Saturday, I'll be either going to the gym for a class, or doing some Wii Active workouts. I've set MFP to lose 2 lbs per week. That allows me 1200 calories a day, plus eating all my exercise calories. We'll see how that goes and I'll adjust if I need to. Times to eat will be 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm and a little snack at 9:00pm.
Today (Monday) is going to be a yoga workout, I think. To stretch out my muscles and aches and pains from yesterday. I'll have to check to see if there is one at the gym or not.
Anyway, that's my update.
PS: I'm switching all my trackers over to km.
October Stats
Total Distance: 33.5 km
Total Time: 5:38:52
Average Speed: 6 kph
Average Pace: 11:31 min / km
I have a long way to go, to get back to where I was in June and July. But I'll get there.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Running in the rain
So, it looks like it's going to be chilly and rainy next weekend for the Moncton race. I'm looking up information about running / racing in the rain.
Here's what I'm learning:
Here's what I'm learning:
- Dress for temperature, not for rain.
- Wear a water-resistant jacket. Not water proof. Water proof with retain sweat / moisture.
- Dress in layers. Layer closest to your body should be a technical fabric
- Wear a hat with a brim to keep the rain off your face.
- Sunglasses will help protect your eyes from the rain
- Wear gloves
- Wear something reflective. Tape.
- While you are waiting to start a race, wear a garbage bag with holes cut out for arms and neck. Then throw it away when the race starts.
- Wear old sneakers while you are waiting. Change to your good, dry racing sneakers just before the race starts.
- Put cell phones, ipods, mp3 players in zip loc baggies.
- Put balled up newspaper in your sneakers after the race to help keep their form and to help them dry out.
- In the fall, watch out for wet leaves
I think that's all I've come across. Anything else I should be thinking of?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Valley Harvest 10K
Ran my first 10K race today at the Valley Harvest Marathon in Wolfville. It was a good run. I'm really glad I went and that I didn't back out because of my lack of training. Racing really is a lot of fun. Keeping track of times, keeping ahead of people you're racing against, passing people that you are racing against.
I left the campground at 6:30 am. It was quite cold. I had my long track pants on over my running shorts, my tshirt and a jacket. Arriving at 7:30 ish was a perfect time to arrive. Any later and I would have had a bugger of a time with parking and bathroom duties et al.
Picked up my kit walked around for a bit, went and watched the start of the full and half marathons and waited for the start of the 10k.
Boy was I warm. I didn't dress appropriately at all. It was still really cold before the start so I left my long pants on. And the race shirt was long sleeve, so I was warm. I spent at least 75% of the race thinking about whether to take my shirt off and run with just my running bra on, or take my long pants off 'cus I still had my running shorts on underneath. Oh the dialog. Where was I going to stash my clothes? Tie them around my waist? Should I just drop my drawers in the middle of the run, or find a porta potty? As it were, I left all my clothes on until after the race. But it was warm.
It was a really nice course, a couple of inclines, the largest of which was at the ramp to Port Williams, and really, compared to what I run on regularly, it wasn't that bad.
My legs finally gave out at the 8km mark. Exactly. Saw the sign and my legs said, that's it. I did manage to jog the last 300 metres around the track to the finish line. It was pretty painful. But I did it.
My goal was to complete the 10k in 1:30:00. I switched my garmin over km because it was easier to track an average pace of 9:00 minutes per km than try and figure out what that would be over 6.24 miles. I finished the first 5k in 40:26 a little over 8 minutes per km. I finished the whole 10k in 1:26:08 that's a little more than 8:36 per minute.
I'm running the 10k in Moncton in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to it. I'd like to finish it with a pace of 8:30.
Here are some pics from todays run.
This was during the drive.
I left the campground at 6:30 am. It was quite cold. I had my long track pants on over my running shorts, my tshirt and a jacket. Arriving at 7:30 ish was a perfect time to arrive. Any later and I would have had a bugger of a time with parking and bathroom duties et al.
Picked up my kit walked around for a bit, went and watched the start of the full and half marathons and waited for the start of the 10k.
Boy was I warm. I didn't dress appropriately at all. It was still really cold before the start so I left my long pants on. And the race shirt was long sleeve, so I was warm. I spent at least 75% of the race thinking about whether to take my shirt off and run with just my running bra on, or take my long pants off 'cus I still had my running shorts on underneath. Oh the dialog. Where was I going to stash my clothes? Tie them around my waist? Should I just drop my drawers in the middle of the run, or find a porta potty? As it were, I left all my clothes on until after the race. But it was warm.
It was a really nice course, a couple of inclines, the largest of which was at the ramp to Port Williams, and really, compared to what I run on regularly, it wasn't that bad.
My legs finally gave out at the 8km mark. Exactly. Saw the sign and my legs said, that's it. I did manage to jog the last 300 metres around the track to the finish line. It was pretty painful. But I did it.
My goal was to complete the 10k in 1:30:00. I switched my garmin over km because it was easier to track an average pace of 9:00 minutes per km than try and figure out what that would be over 6.24 miles. I finished the first 5k in 40:26 a little over 8 minutes per km. I finished the whole 10k in 1:26:08 that's a little more than 8:36 per minute.
I'm running the 10k in Moncton in 2 weeks and I'm really looking forward to it. I'd like to finish it with a pace of 8:30.
Here are some pics from todays run.
This was during the drive.
Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
It gets dark earlier now
That's no surprise to anybody. We are half way between the longest day of the year, June 21 where it stays light until 10:00pm and the shortest day, December 21, where it's dark at 5:00 pm. If you don't want to run in the dark, time to run is getting scarce. Well that is if you have a full time job or two.I did think last night that if I left at 7:00pm, It would still be reasonable at 7:45 when I was done. Not so much.
Here's an article from Active.com. 3 tips to stay safe while running in the dark.
I did my 3.5 miles at a 14:45 pace. Meh. Not as fast as I was. I'm back at a C25K week 2 ish. That really sucks. But it is a plan. I will just follow the plan and I will improve. AGAIN. I don't think I'll get down to my 13:20ish pace for the 10k, but I will finish in 1:30:00.
So back to the fact that it was dark on my run last night. There are creatures out in the dark. I was out minding my own business jogging along when all of a sudden I saw this thing moving in the grass.
"ACK! What's that?"
"OMG! It's a puppy"
"Where do you belong, puppy?"
With that he looked at me, started barking in his little chihuahua voice and ran back to his house.
I won't even bother talking about people that let their little bitty dogs out in the dark, off leash, on a suburban street, where they can get run over.
Off to running I was again. I got around a corner and there is something else crouched in the grass.
"Cripes! What the hell is that?"
"Oh FFS, it's a stupid cat."
Now I'm just paranoid. The dark is starting to get to me. UGH!
I keep running, and I'm going up a hill. OK. I'm walking at this point. And I see three guys running toward me. In the dark. I'm done for. Did I mention I run alone?
Then I recognize the running form of one of the runners. He's somebody I see on my runs regularly. He has a really unique running form.
"Phew. Don't think I'm being murdered today."
And with that, I think I'll start running before supper instead of after.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Running cures what ails me
I have been so out of sorts lately. It started out as being a little down. Then it turned into not doing things I used to enjoy. I even started having some cigarette puffs while I was drinking. That's not good. Not eating well. Eating junk.
Then I started hating. Hating people. Hating things. Everything and everybody was pissing me off.
I was even feeling sorry for myself. I'm not good at anything. Everybody does everything better than me. I wanted to do the half marathon in October and failed miserable at my training. I know it's my own fault for making excuses, but I made them. I was even trying to put myself out there, to get to know other runners in the area. And got stomped on. Twice.
I knew I was in a funk and it was getting worse. I was trying to figure my way out. I was actually this bad this time last year too. Last year I went to my Dr for some "medicine". I still have some if I need some, but I'd like to try and do this without.
I thought I'd finally sign up for a race. 10K in the Valley. I was hoping that if I had something to look forward to, I might get my ass in gear again. Nope. Now, I've just wasted $50.00
This last week I was just plain nasty. Cranky. Nasty. Say rude things and not care who I hurt, nasty. That is so not me.
I woke up this morning and decided today was the day. I had to get my sanity back. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I was going to do something. Smart Coach said I have to run 3 miles today. It's not crazy hot out. Hopefully I won't be exhausted when I get home. I won't be. I'll have a cup of coffee at 3 pm. That should keep me going until I can get a run in.
I got home. I made supper. And then Pat and I went out for a 3.5 mile run.
I didn't realize how much I needed that. I actually haven't felt this mentally good in weeks. I know. I know. It's the endorphins. But I'll take whatever I can get at this point. And probably the caffeine.
I'm going to try and keep up with the running. Knowing that it might help with the mental me, might give me the push I need. I'm not feeling so bad about the 10K in the Valley. I will do it. And I will do the 10K in Moncton at the end of October too. I know I will be ready. Ready to finish anyway.
So that's my little sob story for the evening. I don't have any pictures to post. It's 11pm and I'm tired. I'll post my September stats tomorrow as well.
Good night.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Homemade Clif Bars
@eastcoastknits just asked me for a recipe for my Clif bars. Can't twitter it, so I'll blog post it. These are really yummy.
1 1/4 cups rice krispies
1 cup quick oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts or seeds
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine honey, peanut butter and vanilla in a pan over medium heat until well melted and blended. Combine the rice krispies, quick oats, flax seed, dried fruit, nuts and cinnamon in a seperate bowl.
When the liquid ingredients are well melted, pour over the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon. Spoon out into an 8 inch pan. Cool.
Cut into 8 servings.
Each bar has 294 calories. 30 g carbs. 19 g fat. 8 g protein. 3 g fibre. 186 mg sodium.
You can probably reduce the amount of fat by changing the peanut butter to another nut butter.
There are so many variations to try.
Cherry Almond
Raisin Walnut
Apricot
Spiced Pumpkin ( replace the cinnamon with a pumpkin pie spice)
Apple Pie (Apples with pecans)
1 1/4 cups rice krispies
1 cup quick oats
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit
1/4 cup finely chopped nuts or seeds
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine honey, peanut butter and vanilla in a pan over medium heat until well melted and blended. Combine the rice krispies, quick oats, flax seed, dried fruit, nuts and cinnamon in a seperate bowl.
When the liquid ingredients are well melted, pour over the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon. Spoon out into an 8 inch pan. Cool.
Cut into 8 servings.
Each bar has 294 calories. 30 g carbs. 19 g fat. 8 g protein. 3 g fibre. 186 mg sodium.
You can probably reduce the amount of fat by changing the peanut butter to another nut butter.
There are so many variations to try.
Cherry Almond
Raisin Walnut
Apricot
Spiced Pumpkin ( replace the cinnamon with a pumpkin pie spice)
Apple Pie (Apples with pecans)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The mind is a wonderful thing
I haven't posted an update in almost a month. That's bad. That's bad because I haven't really had any great runs in a month either. I'm kinda thinking that my hopes to run the half in October are dashed. I'm almost positive I'll be running the 10K instead. Not that I'm crushed about that or anything. The fact that I'm even out running is incredible in itself.
I went for a run at the campground... Sometime... This is the country road I was running on.
Then I came home and went for a run... Here...
But let me tell you about this run. It was my first long run in probably a month. We had crazy July heat. I hurt my foot. Then it rained. And I was lazy. I did manage to do a few runs on the treadmill, but it just isn't the same. I end up walking more than I run because I actually find it awkward to run on the treadmill.
Anyway, back to my story.
I left the house on my long run route. That route gives me the option to do a 3, 5 or 7 mile run depending on how I'm feeling. It was easy to pass the 3 mile turn. There is a fairly large hill on this route that I haven't conquered yet, but I will. It's an incline of 26 feet over 528 feet. 4.9% incline. About a third of a mile later there's another hill. 43 feet elevation over 897 feet. 4.7%. When I first started running this route, I wouldn't run either hill. Now I can "almost" easily run the second hill. I can't even tackle the first one. The inclines are virtually the same, and the first one is a shorter distance. Go figure.
I passed by the 5 mile turn and kept on going.
Another couple of hills over 1.15 miles at 3.2% incline. Can't run up that at all.
The last little bit of my run, I was jogging along and my mind kept saying, "OK, you've been running long enough" and I'd stop. Then the other side of my brain said "Hold it, you're not tired, keep running" so I did. This actually kept going on for the last mile or so. It was actually quite humorous, once I was finished.
The lesson that I learned over this run, is that I need to make sure my mind and body are working together for the common goal. That it's too easy to take the easy way out and let my mind rule the roost.
Aug 11
Total Miles: 7.13
Total Time: 1:41:06
Avg Pace: 14:10
Stats for August
Total Miles: 17.6
Total Time: 4:16:58
Average Pace: 14:49
I went for a run at the campground... Sometime... This is the country road I was running on.
Then I came home and went for a run... Here...
But let me tell you about this run. It was my first long run in probably a month. We had crazy July heat. I hurt my foot. Then it rained. And I was lazy. I did manage to do a few runs on the treadmill, but it just isn't the same. I end up walking more than I run because I actually find it awkward to run on the treadmill.
Anyway, back to my story.
I left the house on my long run route. That route gives me the option to do a 3, 5 or 7 mile run depending on how I'm feeling. It was easy to pass the 3 mile turn. There is a fairly large hill on this route that I haven't conquered yet, but I will. It's an incline of 26 feet over 528 feet. 4.9% incline. About a third of a mile later there's another hill. 43 feet elevation over 897 feet. 4.7%. When I first started running this route, I wouldn't run either hill. Now I can "almost" easily run the second hill. I can't even tackle the first one. The inclines are virtually the same, and the first one is a shorter distance. Go figure.
I passed by the 5 mile turn and kept on going.
Another couple of hills over 1.15 miles at 3.2% incline. Can't run up that at all.
The last little bit of my run, I was jogging along and my mind kept saying, "OK, you've been running long enough" and I'd stop. Then the other side of my brain said "Hold it, you're not tired, keep running" so I did. This actually kept going on for the last mile or so. It was actually quite humorous, once I was finished.
The lesson that I learned over this run, is that I need to make sure my mind and body are working together for the common goal. That it's too easy to take the easy way out and let my mind rule the roost.
Aug 11
Total Miles: 7.13
Total Time: 1:41:06
Avg Pace: 14:10
Stats for August
Total Miles: 17.6
Total Time: 4:16:58
Average Pace: 14:49
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
He's not very happy with me
I've been a little remiss this past week about blogging. I'm trying very hard not to let this blog go the way of the dodo bird like the other blogs I've written.
Speaking of birds, here's my picture for today. I was out running last night in Burnside. Just a little run while I was waiting for daughter to finish her soccer game. She coaches a U12 boys team. They won. :) While I was out running, I spied a huge ass birds nest on top of a power pole. I stopped. I watched. I waited for big assed bird to crap on my head. He was pretty mean that I was standing so close to his nest. At one point I seriously think he debated dive bombing me. As soon as I was able to take a picture of bird and nest, I was outta there.
That was part two of my evening outing. Earlier I met Zoe for for a little golf at the driving range. Went to Lake Loon in Dartmouth. That was the first time I've been golfing. Zoe gave me a little lesson and away I went. I don't think it went half bad. I didn't completely suck. I missed ball contact more than once. And I actually had a couple (of the bucket of 70) balls that went pretty straight and far.
I've been having a hard go at running lately. The heat and humidity and the horribly bad weekends have been taking it's toll. It's summer. It's camping season. I haven't been able to follow the training plan for the half marathon that I committed to. I really wasn't seeing any progress. Of course not. I get it. You have to practise to make perfect. And I haven't been very motivated to practice. But I had a great little run on Tuesday. It was a two miler. And it's very relatively flat. I made fantastic time. I broke a 12 minute mile. I also had an average pace of over 5 mph. That's awesome for me. But what's even better, is that that last time I did that route (May 31) my pace was over 13 minutes per mile. Now, that's progress.
July Stats
Speaking of birds, here's my picture for today. I was out running last night in Burnside. Just a little run while I was waiting for daughter to finish her soccer game. She coaches a U12 boys team. They won. :) While I was out running, I spied a huge ass birds nest on top of a power pole. I stopped. I watched. I waited for big assed bird to crap on my head. He was pretty mean that I was standing so close to his nest. At one point I seriously think he debated dive bombing me. As soon as I was able to take a picture of bird and nest, I was outta there.
That was part two of my evening outing. Earlier I met Zoe for for a little golf at the driving range. Went to Lake Loon in Dartmouth. That was the first time I've been golfing. Zoe gave me a little lesson and away I went. I don't think it went half bad. I didn't completely suck. I missed ball contact more than once. And I actually had a couple (of the bucket of 70) balls that went pretty straight and far.
I've been having a hard go at running lately. The heat and humidity and the horribly bad weekends have been taking it's toll. It's summer. It's camping season. I haven't been able to follow the training plan for the half marathon that I committed to. I really wasn't seeing any progress. Of course not. I get it. You have to practise to make perfect. And I haven't been very motivated to practice. But I had a great little run on Tuesday. It was a two miler. And it's very relatively flat. I made fantastic time. I broke a 12 minute mile. I also had an average pace of over 5 mph. That's awesome for me. But what's even better, is that that last time I did that route (May 31) my pace was over 13 minutes per mile. Now, that's progress.
July Stats
* So if you were following along today, you probably saw that my computer had been repurposed. Repurposed and I hadn't even finished my post yet.
I'm finally getting back to it.
This week: 12.5 miles
This month: 31.4 miles
Sunday, July 3, 2011
I didn't have a run in me.
I was supposed to do an 8 mile long run today. I just didn't have the energy. There was just no way I could pull off a long run today. I was also having some tummy issues, so I really didn't want to even go outside. I took my shoes off and said. Nope. That's it. I'm taking the night off. I just can't do this. But in the end, I did 3 miles on the treadmill. Walking.
I think I'm going to have to change my long run day. Working all weekend at the campground, 13 hour days, is just exhausting and is not conducive to a long run Sunday. I think by Wednesday, I should be all rested up to do a long run. The most I'll be running is probably 3 hours. I can do that in an evening.
I did get out yesterday morning with one of our campers for a run. That was fun. We did 2.25 miles, and the W3 of the C25K program. We went out at 9am, so it wasn't very warm.
Here's a picture from our run yesterday morning. This is from the bridge over Texas Lake, where it becomes our river.
Stats
Saturday
Distance 2.25 miles
Time 34:34
Avg Speed 3.90
Avg Pace 15:23
Sunday
Distance 3.00 miles
Time 56:18
Avg speed 3.2
Avg Pace 18:46
July Stats
This week 3 miles
This month 5.25 miles
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Week in Review
I don't think I had a very good week this week. Running wise. Or weight loss wise for that matter.
As far as weight goes, I bloated right up this week. I gained 5lbs. Of water. There's no way in hell I ate 17,000 calories over and above what my body uses. With all this running, I might eat that many in a whole week. Let alone twice that to gain 5lbs. I really feel it though. I feel bloated and gross and icky and swollen. Blech. And tired. And weak. Yea. That just about covers how I'm feeling this week.
The tired and weak and bloated feeling carried over into the running this week too. It was a really warm day on Sunday for my long run. I figured I would wait until late afternoon before I started, but I should have waited probably another hour. 7 miles. It exhausted me. I walked most of the last half.
Monday I did an easy 3 miler. Nope. Not so easy. A lot of walking during that one too. I just couldn't get into a groove. And it felt like I couldn't get any oxygen. The humidity was weighing heavily on me, I guess.
I took a rest on Tuesday. I didn't even go to the gym.
Last night, I went out for another easy 3 miler. I did feel a little better. Not great, but better. But then I got a cramp in my butt. Why yes, yes I did. A cramp in my butt so bad, I didn't think I was going to make it home. I thought I was going to end up in the bushes puking. I could have cried right then and there. That was awful.
Tonight I'm supposed to do my 5 mile tempo run. As of this writing, I'm going to say screw it. I am debating going to the gym at lunch for a treadmill run. I just had such a crappy running week, that I don't want to make it worse by forcing myself to have another horrible run. KWIM. This is supposed to be fun.
This is a picture I took on my Sunday long run. It's a house that is set down and back from the road. If you are driving you can't see the back yard. The landscaping is incredible. Beautiful. Very serene, considering the road is 20 feet away.
Sunday Stats
Distance: 6.91
Time: 1:48:51
Avg Pace: 15:46
Avg Speed: 3.8
Monday Stats
Distance: 3.50
Time: 46:11
Avg Pace: 13:11
Avg Speed: 4:55
Wednesday Stats
Distance: 3.49
Time: 48:24
Avg Pace: 13:53
Avg Speed: 4.32
June Stats
This week: 13.90
This month: 67.98
All in all. That's a pretty impressive number. For me. There's a little incentive to hit the gym. Get in that three miles and bring my month end to over 70 miles run.
As far as weight goes, I bloated right up this week. I gained 5lbs. Of water. There's no way in hell I ate 17,000 calories over and above what my body uses. With all this running, I might eat that many in a whole week. Let alone twice that to gain 5lbs. I really feel it though. I feel bloated and gross and icky and swollen. Blech. And tired. And weak. Yea. That just about covers how I'm feeling this week.
The tired and weak and bloated feeling carried over into the running this week too. It was a really warm day on Sunday for my long run. I figured I would wait until late afternoon before I started, but I should have waited probably another hour. 7 miles. It exhausted me. I walked most of the last half.
Monday I did an easy 3 miler. Nope. Not so easy. A lot of walking during that one too. I just couldn't get into a groove. And it felt like I couldn't get any oxygen. The humidity was weighing heavily on me, I guess.
I took a rest on Tuesday. I didn't even go to the gym.
Last night, I went out for another easy 3 miler. I did feel a little better. Not great, but better. But then I got a cramp in my butt. Why yes, yes I did. A cramp in my butt so bad, I didn't think I was going to make it home. I thought I was going to end up in the bushes puking. I could have cried right then and there. That was awful.
Tonight I'm supposed to do my 5 mile tempo run. As of this writing, I'm going to say screw it. I am debating going to the gym at lunch for a treadmill run. I just had such a crappy running week, that I don't want to make it worse by forcing myself to have another horrible run. KWIM. This is supposed to be fun.
This is a picture I took on my Sunday long run. It's a house that is set down and back from the road. If you are driving you can't see the back yard. The landscaping is incredible. Beautiful. Very serene, considering the road is 20 feet away.
Sunday Stats
Distance: 6.91
Time: 1:48:51
Avg Pace: 15:46
Avg Speed: 3.8
Monday Stats
Distance: 3.50
Time: 46:11
Avg Pace: 13:11
Avg Speed: 4:55
Wednesday Stats
Distance: 3.49
Time: 48:24
Avg Pace: 13:53
Avg Speed: 4.32
June Stats
This week: 13.90
This month: 67.98
All in all. That's a pretty impressive number. For me. There's a little incentive to hit the gym. Get in that three miles and bring my month end to over 70 miles run.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Week 4 Day 1
Did my 5 mile run last night doing W4D1 of the C25K program. W4 is 3 minutes running, walk :90, 5 minutes running, walk 2:30.
You know, I'm not quite sure what happened between Tuesday night and Thursday night, but all I can say is wow.
For some reason I thought week 4 was two sets of 3 minutes running. I'm not sure why. When I found out that it was 3 and 5's I resigned myself to at least a couple weeks at this level. I headed out. 5 miles I could do. If worst came to worst, I'd just do 3 minutes of running and practice that, because Tuesday night I was just barely finishing the 3 minutes.
The first 3 minutes was fine. I mean, really fine. I mean, holy crap, that was almost easy fine. Then the 5. The first three minutes was fine and then I hit hill. I ventured to tackle it, and slowed down my pace. I'm finding a good running pace is about 11:30, so this hill I slowed down to about 13:00. About a minute into it, I stopped. My form was just NOT good. Not even a little bit. All doubled over, leaning forward.
The next 3 and 5 were actually pretty easy. There was another up hill, but I was able to finish my 3 minute run up it, and the :90 walk finished it, the 5 minute was all level and down hill. And I even ran a little of the 5 minute cool down to the bottom of the hill. I did my 2:30 walk while I reset the program and I was off again.
My legs were starting to get a little tired for the next 3 and 5. But I did it. I stopped about :20 short of the 5 minutes. Brake Hard hill. And I paused the program until I got to the top. And finished off the last 3 & 5. Walked 2 minutes. Ran 3 more and I was home.
I'm finding that breathing really is key. And that I was able to last through the five minutes by concentrating on my breathing. When I was starting I was taking one breath for three steps. Once I got going, I had to change to one breath for two steps.
Something else that I thought was pretty neat was my split times. They were all really consistent at about 13 minute miles except for the mile that includes Brake Hard hill. That was 14:55.
I'm really happy with last nights run, especially after the hard time I had with week 3.
Stats
Distance: 4.86 miles
Time: 1:05:24
Avg Pace: 13:28
Avg Speed: 4.46 mph
June Stats
This week: 18:45 miles
This month: 54.08 miles
You know, I'm not quite sure what happened between Tuesday night and Thursday night, but all I can say is wow.
For some reason I thought week 4 was two sets of 3 minutes running. I'm not sure why. When I found out that it was 3 and 5's I resigned myself to at least a couple weeks at this level. I headed out. 5 miles I could do. If worst came to worst, I'd just do 3 minutes of running and practice that, because Tuesday night I was just barely finishing the 3 minutes.
The first 3 minutes was fine. I mean, really fine. I mean, holy crap, that was almost easy fine. Then the 5. The first three minutes was fine and then I hit hill. I ventured to tackle it, and slowed down my pace. I'm finding a good running pace is about 11:30, so this hill I slowed down to about 13:00. About a minute into it, I stopped. My form was just NOT good. Not even a little bit. All doubled over, leaning forward.
The next 3 and 5 were actually pretty easy. There was another up hill, but I was able to finish my 3 minute run up it, and the :90 walk finished it, the 5 minute was all level and down hill. And I even ran a little of the 5 minute cool down to the bottom of the hill. I did my 2:30 walk while I reset the program and I was off again.
My legs were starting to get a little tired for the next 3 and 5. But I did it. I stopped about :20 short of the 5 minutes. Brake Hard hill. And I paused the program until I got to the top. And finished off the last 3 & 5. Walked 2 minutes. Ran 3 more and I was home.
I'm finding that breathing really is key. And that I was able to last through the five minutes by concentrating on my breathing. When I was starting I was taking one breath for three steps. Once I got going, I had to change to one breath for two steps.
Something else that I thought was pretty neat was my split times. They were all really consistent at about 13 minute miles except for the mile that includes Brake Hard hill. That was 14:55.
I'm really happy with last nights run, especially after the hard time I had with week 3.
Stats
Distance: 4.86 miles
Time: 1:05:24
Avg Pace: 13:28
Avg Speed: 4.46 mph
June Stats
This week: 18:45 miles
This month: 54.08 miles
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
On to week 4
We went out for daughter's 19th Birthday dinner tonight. We went to The Colby Bistro and Wine Bar. I had a tenderloin beef sandwich and fries. Don't ask me why. I just went through this with hubby. I keep ordering a steak sandwich looking for something even remotely close to what Pacifico's used to make 10 years ago. (Is Pacifico's even still around?) Nothing comes close. And this was unfortunately no exception. I never get french fries. But there was bragging advertising about their terrific special fries. They were pretty good as far as fries go, but not spectacular. The bar itself is very nice looking. I'm sure we'll go back again for drinks some night.
I had to wait for my wine, dinner and dessert to digest before I went for my run.
I had to wait for my wine, dinner and dessert to digest before I went for my run.
Hopefully I overestimated my food calories and can consider this a maintain day.
Food was digested and off for my run I went. I'm really finding the 5 minute walking warm up a pain in the ass, so did a couple of walk / run minutes. The first go 'round of C25K W3D3 was very good. Very very good. I forced myself to run up the hill. 44ft elevation. I completed all runs. YAY! I fast forwarded through the two middle 5 minute cool down / warm ups and I was off again. The first three minute jog was up another hill 45 ft elevation, but shorter distance. I couldn't muster the energy up that one. I stopped at about 1:45 and started again around 2:10 or 2:15. I'm happy with that.
The five minute cool down was a easy sloping down hill so I jogged all of that. ALL five minutes.
I'll be taking a day off tomorrow, and starting week 4 on Thursday. 5 miles.
Stats
Distance 3.12 miles
Time 42:49
Avg pace 13:53
Avg Speed 4.32
June
This week 13.59 miles
This month 49.22 miles
Monday, June 20, 2011
C25K Week 3
Stats
Distance: 3.49 miles
Time: 49:48
Avg Pace: 14:16
Avg Speed: 4:20
Last night was my long run. 7 miles. WOW! That was painful. I thought for sure my legs and hips were going to hurt today. But they didn't.
I actually listened to some music on this run, which isn't usually the case. But I downloaded from itunes a 105 song running album. It really has some great songs on it. They aren't original artists, but they are very similar.
I thought I could drown out my thoughts with
some music. No such luck. That's the down side of running. Being in your own head. It's great most of the time, but when you don't want to think, running is probably not the activity to do. Hopefully I get out of this funk soon. It sucks.
Anyway, here's my picture. Not a OOOH Isn't that awesome picture. This is a view through Portland Hills. I can't get over how much this has grown up in the last decade or so. 10 years ago, this was all woods.
Stats
Distance: 6.98 miles
Time: 1:45:18
Avg Speed: 3.98
Avg Pace: 15:06
June Stats
Distance This Week: 10.47 miles
Distance This Month: 46.10
Friday, June 17, 2011
What am I listening to
I don't really like listening to music when I'm running. I've tried, but it actually gets on my nerves. Someone screaming in my ear or singing at a pace I'm not running at. Very distracting.
I like listening to podcasts or audiobooks.
I thought I'd list my podcasts. These are running and health podcasts. I can't imagine anyone would be interested in what I listen to for knitting and photography. :p
I did my first run at the campground today. It was a little more than 2 miles. I've been sorta trying to avoid running at the campground because it's all hills. ALL HILL. The one place that is relatively flat, and you have to go up and down a hill to get there, is a dirt road, and I'm worried about the wildlife sneaking up on me. (read: coyotes). Not that there have been sightings or that anyone else in the area is worried about it. I'm a city girl in the woods and have been molded by what I see on TV.
I like listening to podcasts or audiobooks.
I thought I'd list my podcasts. These are running and health podcasts. I can't imagine anyone would be interested in what I listen to for knitting and photography. :p
First run at the campground.
I did my first run at the campground today. It was a little more than 2 miles. I've been sorta trying to avoid running at the campground because it's all hills. ALL HILL. The one place that is relatively flat, and you have to go up and down a hill to get there, is a dirt road, and I'm worried about the wildlife sneaking up on me. (read: coyotes). Not that there have been sightings or that anyone else in the area is worried about it. I'm a city girl in the woods and have been molded by what I see on TV.
I couldn't avoid it anymore. The plan said to run 2 miles on Friday, so I had to run 2 miles today. I decided I'd run to the falls. It's 1km on the road and then probably another 1/2 km into the falls. On a dirt road. Don't ask my why I wasn't worried about the wildlife (read: coyotes) on this road.
This is Indian Falls. This is what I got to see at the half way point. Great swimming and fishing here.
Overall, it was just an ok run. The hills were yucky. I did C25K W3D1 again. I'm still having trouble with the 3 minute run. But that could be because I still have a little chest congestion. Whatever the reason, I'm not moving on til I get the 3 minute down comfortably.
This is Indian Falls. This is what I got to see at the half way point. Great swimming and fishing here.
Overall, it was just an ok run. The hills were yucky. I did C25K W3D1 again. I'm still having trouble with the 3 minute run. But that could be because I still have a little chest congestion. Whatever the reason, I'm not moving on til I get the 3 minute down comfortably.
Today's Run
Distance: 2.76 miles
Time: 41:38
Avg Pace: 15:06
Avg Speed 3.97
June Stats
Distance this week: 17.19 miles 27.5 km
Distance this month: 35.63 miles 57 km
Thursday, June 16, 2011
No picture today :(
I thought I had a crappy run tonight.
I did the C25K W3D1. That's 90 seconds running, 90 seconds walking, 3 minutes running, 3 minutes walking. I did the first go through. I set it to run the second go through and didn't even finish the 90 seconds. Then stopped again after 2 of the three minutes. Then finally turned it off. I was done. Couldn't run anymore. So I walked almost the rest. There were a couple of down hills, so I gave a little jog a go.
I got home and loaded my times from my Garmin and realized, it wasn't really that horrible.
Stats from tonight
Distance: 4.69 miles
Time: 1:12:??
Avg Pace: 15:22
Avg Speed: 3.90 mph
Here are my splits
Splits
| mi | Pace (min/mi) | Elevation (ft) |
| 1 | 13:32 | -28 |
| 2 | 14:55 | -22 |
| 3 | 16:24 | 38 |
| 4 | 17:05 | 29 |
| 5 | 14:43 | -26 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
