Sniff sniff blow sniff...

I have a code...and my node is stopped up preddy good. ~sniiifff~

It started as a dry cough and then all of the sudden moved to my head. I feel ok, just a little worn out and quite achy, though the achyness may be left over from recently sleeping on an uncomfortable couch one night and laying on the same uncomfortable couch with a sick beagle the next night. Being off this week was good timing I suppose. My chapped lips and nose are more uncomfortable than anything else.

So I haven't worked out. Not that I've been working out consistently anyway. Sigh. It's getting old, me and my not working out.

I've decided I'm going to do the Heart Mini Marathon. It's March 20th. That should be enough to motivate me to train - it's 11 weeks away and an actual race. It's definitely time to start, especially since I haven't been running or biking consistently. I would like to start to get excited about it, but it's difficult given the current 'you better not run' situation with my folks. I know I am excited about it, but I can't be openly excited and happy about it. It's not like me to be quiet about things I'm looking forward to, especially with running. I suppose I should just go ahead and make my appointment with a doc and get that clear bill of health that I think I have. I don't want to get cocky about it. But I am really really hoping I get the "run whatever and however far you want to" from the docs. Then I can openly and confidently live the way I want to with running again. Well, mostly anyway.

And now to lift while Greg plays Forza. Might as well do something.

Cold Snowy Run on the Trail

I wanted to run 4 today, but I was a little under-dressed. A mile and half away from my warm studio where my warm dry clothes were waiting, I turned around and made it three.

I went down to the trail, where I had reports from Roman, who took a run on it earlier, that it was packed down and not ice. It was for the most part a nice crunchy run. However, if there was pavement it was black ice, I quickly learned. Because of the slipperiness, my eyes were pretty glued to the trail ahead of me. So I was startled to come upon this guy...

...a male Malamute, finishing up his business on the side of the trail. He only had one eye. I slowed to a walk and we looked at each other. I said "hey buddy" to which his response was a growl while looking away and puffing up his chest. I recognized the posture. He was like a mean, one-eyed version of my dog Lobo I had growing up. I love how Malamutes look yellow when it snows, like polar bears do.

I went on my way, checking to make sure I wasn't going to be a good catch a couple of times and then turned around. It was so quiet. I stopped a couple of times to just listen to the nothing. Here's what the trail looked like.

And this awesome house looks even more awesome with the snowfall. Looks better in person.

The wind picked up and I was really getting cold. When I got back, I went to the bathroom to grab a towel and noticed I had icicles attached to the ends of my hair in places. They were melting, Frosty the Snowman in the Greenhouse speed.

Overall it was a nice, brisk, crunchy run that would have been more enjoyable with warmer clothing.

Monday 12/20 - Bike 45 minutes

I'm tackling this week. I really am trying. Today is the winter solstice...which means tomorrow and each day going forward will have longer daylight! Woohoo!

Last night I spinned (spin span spun) while watching Morgan Spurlock spend 30 Days in jail. It was a pretty interesting yet depressing show. I have another season of 30 Days cued up, but I'm not sure there are anymore after that available. Or if the show even went on. It does make me wonder what he's doing these days...he has a lot of cool methods for bringing things to light. I also wonder if he married his whiny fiancée. I'm mean. But really, she annoys the crap out of me.

I was doing 2 minutes light spinning alternated with 2 minutes a few gears harder. It definitely got my heart rate up and made me sweat. After doing that for about 15 minutes, I just kept it a medium hard steady pace the remainder of the time. 

Today is going to be rough to get in a workout. I'm having lunch with someone, plus it's supposed to rain, plus I forgot my bag o' running stuff at home :(  Thought I might be able to squeeze something in this afternoon. I have a happy hour to go to for a printer after work. But after that, I could hop on the bike again...thought I have to finish a few drawings... eeek!

Spin Class. Instructed by...Me

Spinning to music today. It took all my strength to get out there. And by "out there," I guess I'm speaking of the cold garage. Which really is nice, because I don't even need the fan now. I'm in such an exercising funk. It was bright and sunny and there's snow on the ground. I really wanted to go for a run... until I went outside and felt the wind in my face. I am really really hating this and have lost motivation. If I could just get on the bike every day...if only for a half hour. That would be better than nothing, right? Ug, I feel so horrible about it all. It's completely effecting my mood. Which you would think would be enough motivation to get my ass out there. Stupid vicious circle thing. [Slaps face]

Anyway, enough whining. I had a good workout, though it was short. A little over 30 minutes.
The Story - warm up
Uprising - Heavy resistance
Stronger - Recovery with some light speed
Viva la Vida - Steady
Time is Running Out - Hill build. Killed me.
DOA - Recovery steady (this is the song that is my hill benchmark, but I forgot about that prior)
All My Life - Speed

So that's it. Next time (tomorrow morning? yes?) I am going to start with All My Life and then move on down the list. Maybe that will be a way to motivate me. Looking at my future songs I am pretty excited...hmmm...maybe I just need to hear some music initially and that will help get me out there.

Tomorrow my dad is having a heart cath procedure done. When he was having all the weird chest pains (and headaches I just recently learned) before thanksgiving, they found something abnormal on his chest x-ray. So my parents have to go in at like 6 a.m. for that fun. If they find something, they will put a stent in. If not, I guess they'll just release him. It's kind of weird and exploratory. I guess when he has as much going on with his heart as he does, his cardiologist doesn't take chances.

Spinflix: The Men Who Stare at Goats

Work is kind of slow right now, which has been nice. It allowed me to leave early yesterday. Oh but first, as you cans see, it also allowed me to make a new blog header. I was bored so I made a 'winter themed' blog header...trying to embrace this weather - ug.  I don't know about it, it definitely doesn't have to stay. It might look a little too feminine or like this is a children's blog? lol  Bored with pen and paper and computer and I'm dangerous.

Anyway, work is slow which allowed me to leave early yesterday and spin. I was going to run. It was sunny...cold, but sunny with a bright blue sky. But I am really hating the cold and decided I just wanted to plop myself in front of a movie for a while. Plus I didn't want to lock the dogs back up. They aren't doing so well with the kitchen remodeling project and I felt they'd appreciate some free time.

I decided that The Men Who Stare at Goats was a great lengh- 1 hour 32 minutes. It took me about a half hour to get into the movie to the point where I wasn't constantly fidgeting on the bike and wondering how far along the movie was. This is the mental battle on the trainer. Same kind of thing as what you go through on a treadmill, but a little different. I'm finding that quick entertainment is what I need for a longer ride.

I made it an hour and 5 minutes before I decided I'd had enough mentally. I finished the movie as I stretched. But I'm still happy with the increase from 45 minutes to an hour. I can see doing movie-long-rides on the weekend. A little bit painful yes, but I think I'll be happier when spring comes around and I can ride outside again and will hopefully be in a good starting shape.

45 minutes

Last night I rode for 45 minutes while watching an episode of 30 Days. I waded through all of the crap that is in the 'basement' right now due to the kitchen remodeling. Thankfully my bike is kind of in a clear island and I didn't have to climb over too much or move anything to get to it.

It was just a steady ride. My heart rate was up, probably in the fat burning zone since it wasn't very high. So I guess it was a good workout, but I need get these kind of rides up to 1 - 2 hours. Of course starting at 45 minutes is fine...bum acclimation. It is so cold outside that while I rode, our furnace ran the entire time. I think I must have been doing the ride at the same time the thermostat is programmed to raise the temp a few degrees from the low temps during the day. But still - 45 minutes? It was also cool enough in the garage that I didn't need the fan on me.

I should do some bike maintenance soon. My chain seems a little dry. I never got around to cleaning my bike at the end of the season. I need to learn how to do all the basic stuff, especially now that I'm planning on using my bike more. I also want to see if my computer can be moved to my back wheel so I can get a sense of my work load. I know 18 mph won't really be 18 mph, but I have nothing to gauge against now, and some kind of point of reference would be nice.

Today is another frigid day, a whopping 19º at the moment and it's almost noon. If it isn't windy later, I might throw on the balaclava face mask and do a run. I'm not too excited about it though. Maybe this week will just be biking. These are the days when I wish I had treadmill access.

Weekend in the Kitchen = Crosstraining?

The weekend wasn't exactly a lethargic, sit-on-my-ass type of weekend, but I didn't get in my planned workouts either. The remodeling project took over pretty hard. Saturday morning I did manage to get in a run. I wanted to do a long run, but once I started out at about 8 o'clock, I started worrying about how much time I was taking before my parents and other helpers were going to arrive. So I just did 3. The first 2.5 was at 10:07 pace, then I picked it up for the last half mile making my overall pace 9:53. So I am not sure what pace I was running that last half because I don't do math.

I am very much enjoying the kitchen remodeling project. I am super thankful for everyone who is helping, making it happen. I wish I knew how to do more/had more skills. I'm trying to do what I can, and without my dad around to point out what I am doing horribly wrong, felt better about myself on Sunday.

Today it is a whopping 18º.  F that. I'm not running in it. I'm scheduled to spin anyway. I was really tired this morning, so that means I have to spin this evening. Must must must, that's all I can do now is make myself do it. There's no motivation, it's just a matter of doing it because I have to.

Rest

Yesterday I took a day off from the schedule. I wasn't happy about it, but think the kitchen and weather and everything else was catching up to me. After finally finishing up the many many invoices I was behind on, I left work early and painted more in the kitchen...the never ending primer coats. Today I took off work completely and applied coat 3 and coat 4. I didn't do coat 4 on everything, just the lighter areas and walls that I know for sure will be exposed after the cabinets will be up. My arm, especially my wrist, is screaming at me.

I found out Wednesday night that a friend's husband died a couple of weeks ago on the 15th. I used to work with both of them. I am still not 100% certain how he died, but apparently it was either overdose or suicide. From a condolence comment I read on the funeral home's website from an aunt, I'm afraid it was the latter. Either way, it's all very very sad. These past couple of days have been strange and not the happiest. It's as if this news with all it triggers from the past has left a thin film of icky-ness on everything.

But now I'm trying to convince myself to get my butt off the couch and onto the bike seat. I know I'll feel better after I do it and keep telling myself that. So it's time to go change and ride! Think it will just be a steady ride, maybe some Spinflix. Tomorrow the new kitchen appliances come, and I am hoping to get a peaceful, mind-clearing, long run done in the morning before the day of work starts.

Magic Tights

I left work a little early tonight so I could squeeze in a run before it was completely dark. I failed to get up early enough to run before work. Funny, I was awake from 4 a.m. on, so you'd think by 7 I'd be really ready to go. Ha.

Before Thanksgiving, I bought some tights that I saw at Dick's a while back that I really wanted. I had a 20% coupon- woot! I don't typically get excited about running clothing, as most of it makes me look pretty silly. But these tights are awesome (and I probably still look silly). They have a funky design on them and are smooth and don't have too strong elastic at the waist and they make me faster. Ok, maybe they don't make me faster. But I'd like to think they do. They did certainly help with my motivation tonight, so why wouldn't they also be able to make me faster?!?

It is cold outside. Yesterday it was 54 and I ran in the rain. Tonight it was 27 and snowing. WTF. Thanks for letting me acclimate my lungs to this, Weather. I was really struggling with the urge to bag the run. But those super-cool tights...they were calling my name. So I put them on along with my warmest shirt and then put a vest over that. I need a new vest. The one I have is from a long time ago and is too big and scratchy. The collar comes up and hits my chin as I run. When my skin is cold, that really hurts. Maybe I can find one with my other 20% coupon...

My plan was to just do 3 at an easy pace. I took my GPS along and it felt like it had frozen to my wrist. My overall pace was just under 10 and much to my surprise, I felt good. I ran on the sidewalks on Montgomery and Columbia. I felt the eyes of all of the cars in the stopped traffic...staring at my rad tights...they were so jealous.

I caught a few snowflakes in my mouth as I clipped along steadily. Coming back was a little more difficult, as the biting wind blew against my face. I pulled my hat further over my ears and had my scratchy-vest zipped all the way up.

If this is how winter is going to be...this cold, dark and lonely...then I better find a few more pairs of awesome tights to keep getting me out there.

A Rainy but Warm Run

Today I got in a lunch run. When I  woke up, I was going to spin to make up for not spinning yesterday. There was no rush to get to the office, so I took my time getting out of bed. I even got dressed in my bike gear, but after looking online for some trainer workouts I decided that I would rather run today. And I'd rather paint the kitchen. And I wasn't awake, having had another bad night's sleep. So my new plan was to paint, then run, then go to work.

Painting the kitchen took way longer than I anticipated, and I think I'm a pretty fast painter. It was a nice morning though. The dogs slept and stayed out of my way the entire time. I slapped on primer with a roller first, then went back to do the trim,  It is probably going to take 3 coats to cover the red. Bleh. Hopefully the next ones will go faster.

About 3 hours later, I was done with the first coat and stepped outside to check the temps. It was raining, but relatively warm. Fine, I'll run in it. I put on shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, a hat and my arm warmers. It just seemed like I'd need them, being so wet out. But I soon ditched those because I was too hot.

I ran past the houses in my neighborhood where Christmas has thrown up. In the rainy daylight, it looks even worse than at night. I ran the first mile at what felt like a pretty easy pace, somewhere around 9:50. Then for the next mile my plan was to make it a tempo run and maybe try for 5K pace? But my pacing skills are really whack right now. I just haven't been running consistently enough. So, nearing the half way point, I was about spent. I decided I'd stop and breathe a bit and then do the same thing going back. Turns out I was running a little under an 8 pace, so no wonder. I walked for a few seconds. Then I headed back. The next half was even faster. After I turned the corner for the last mile to home, instead of stopping, I slowed to a jog until I felt somewhat recovered. Then I kept pushing up a hill and back into my neighborhood. I think my times for the miles that weren't during the tempo part were around 9:50 and 9:10. This is all averaged... I didn't wear my GPS since it was so wet out. It is supposed to be submersible for 30 minutes in 1 meter, but I didn't feel like worrying about it.

Right now, I'm stiff - very stiff. Yesterday after work I lifted in the short time I had before heading to dinner. I did arms and abs. This morning I thought my shoulder was going to explode while I was painting. It's all good timing though...a great jump start. I'm enjoying feeling sore again.

Week After Stuff-fest

I feel so fat. I know I've over-eaten these past few days. Best remedy for that? Running. (Oh yeah, and to stop over-eating.)

Running is a remedy for a lot of things for me, I've found. I have a lot on my mind right now, most of it weighing pretty heavily. I am really thankful that I can run right now and have that. Last night I tossed and turned in bed for around 4 hours. I can't help but think that it would have been awesome to get up and go for a run. Cold weather and time of night aside, it would have been good for me, and I bet I would have come back able to sleep. A few times in college or soon thereafter when I was driving very late at night, I saw people running. I remember thinking how odd it was...they must work a different shift and have to train at this hour. That is probably the likely reason, but I suppose it could have also been they were unable to sleep and had the balls to get up and go for a run at a most unconventional time.

Sunday I only ran 2 miles. I felt like crap. Tonight I won't have time for a proper spin, but now I'm going to do a quick lift session. I'm still sore from house stuff...good jump start I guess.

Day After Stuff-fest

I ate a lot yesterday. I know I did, but I didn't let it bother me too much. It's only one day.

Thanksgiving was ok. I actually have mixed feelings about it. For one thing, Shannon didn't get invited due to her and my parents bullshit they do back and forth with being mad at each other then not, then again, etc etc. I don't understand it. But I feel awful that she spent Thanksgiving by herself for what seems like no good reason, probably knowing that we all got together too. That would really hurt me if it were me. Second is the news I got from my parents that I should be screened for a condition my dad has, because they just found out from his cardiologist that it is hereditary. Dad lives with a thoracic aortic aneurysm, the same condition that killed John Ritter. Dad's is pretty much inoperable because of its location – the survival rate is less than 50% or something like that. So they just monitor it and he can't lift anything over 20 pounds. Anyway, you can take a blood test and see if you have the gene mutation that causes them. Then if you do, and as I understand it even if you don't because they haven't found all of the genes yet, you get chest scans every couple of years to see if one has developed or not. It's a silent killer, but you can scan for it and at least I guess prevent yourself from making it burst. This news was given to me right after we got there and I'm really not sure how to take it. I have been having very weird feelings about it all.  

Today I'm sore...from running I suppose, and painting. So I decided to forgo running or biking today and have just been doing kitchen demo prep. I moved every last thing out of the kitchen that isn't attached or still in use (appliances). It took me three hours. It was nice work though, and I feel really accomplished. I also finished the bathroom shelves that Greg started and have everything put back in now.

While I was taking a break from kitchen dismantling I did some leg lifts and also lifted. Felt good. I'm pretty happy with the schedule so far this week. I'm a little numb right now thinking about this aneurysm shit.

Rainy Turkey Day

Yesterday I took the day off. It was very nice to get some things done around the house that have been neglected. I did errands in the morning when it was dry...and therefor missed my opportunity to get outside for a run. It was really cold and raining/sleeting the rest of the day. So I hopped on the bike.

I watched some music videos and did my best to spin. I was pretty tired. Every time I tried to push myself, I'd have to stop. Meh, to be expected I guess. It's been a while and this is the "getting back into it" phase.

Today my neck and shoulders and even arms are sore. I think my neck and shoulders are sore from the bike, but my arms are probably sore from painting. One of the things I got started yesterday was painting the bathroom closet and its shelves. It's amazing to me how such a small room can be so complicated and take up so much of our time.

Anyway, today is Thanksgiving. I'm happy to start the eat-fest day with a good run, burning some calories. When I got up to make the cranberries, it was pouring. Even though it's 61º, I didn't want to run in a downpour. By the time I was done making the cranberries and putting another coat of paint on the shelves, the rain was a sprinkle. So I went out, for the first time since last Monday I think. The run went really well, I was surprised. I was glad to be able to run in warm weather, for my lungs' sake. Yesterday's coldness was shocking, and I'm sure I would have coughed for 3 hours afterwords if I had ran in it. I think it's going to get really cold again soon, so my ideal acclimation scenario probably won't happen :). I really feel my soreness from yesterday – time to pop some Advil.

And now it's off to Dayton for Thanksgiving. Greg's Grandma isn't going to be able to make it. She's having some urology issues so can't make the long trip. So, Greg is going to drive separate and follow his folks when they leave and spend the night up in P-burg so he can visit his Grandma tomorrow (and win Grandson of the Year Award!) I'm really really super sad to have to be by myself tonight and tomorrow. I'm dreading this evening. But then I think about his grandma all by herself and realize I have it easy and I should suck it up.

Spinning - kicking off the new schedule

This morning was my first workout following a new schedule I came up with. I didn't have to rush to work, so I didn't have to get up too early at all. I got out of bed at 7:10 and was on the bike by 7:30. This included letting out the dogs, feeding the dogs, changing into my gear, and a minor (user) hiccup in hooking up my laptop to the screen and speakers.

I decided to just hit shuffle and ride to whatever popped up from my preliminary spinning list, which ended up being: Panic Switch, Ænema, DOA, Harder Better Faster Stronger, Everlong, whatever track 10 of the Queens of the Stoneage album I have is, and Tom Sawyer. Ænema is just awesome for hills, or slow heavy pushing. So was DOA - a very good hill song. I kept changing things up among short sprints, seated climbs and a couple of bigger climbs.  I was pretty exhausted 2 songs in...I am really out of shape.

One thing I noticed today about hills with the fluid trainer verses a spinning bike is that the fluid trainer is much closer to how hills feel on the road. I guess the obvious difference is there is no fly-wheel that gains momentum like on a spinning bike. Setting the trainer to a level and then changing my bike into a gear that made me have to stand up felt so close to a hill. It was hard and I felt like gravity was working against me. The friction stayed. I was initially a little worried about successfully replicating hill climbs from spinning classes of yore, but now am pretty certain that I can make that trainer and bike do a pretty nasty climb for me.

I rode for about 33 minutes I think. Good enough start I guess. Tomorrow is running...

Work vs. Workout

Since I didn't leave work until after 6:30 last night, I didn't want to hop on the trainer when I got home, soon followed by Greg. It was time for dinner. Work is awful right now. So busy, so many demands, and all of it with near impossible-to-make deadlines. My head is spinning trying to keep it all together. Unfortunately my workouts always suffer when things get like this, and they were already suffering when work was slower. I'm not proud of that nor do I really see it as 100% of an excuse. I feel like other people make things work anyway. My problem is I am still lacking a lot in the motivation department and have lost momentum. Perhaps if I regain that, a day like yesterday wouldn't be followed by a night like last night.

Today I decided to not worry about it too much and brought my running stuff to work. As I see it, yesterday was my day off. That's fine. But that means I have to do something today. However, more deadlines, last minute art changes, unexpected French translation needs and bitchy printers (I don't blame them) left me working too late through lunch for the hungry belly. So, it's after work for try #2. I'm just going to do it and not think about it.

On the weight front (I just saw that label and thought about it), I haven't lost anything. I'm not one bit surprised, and I suppose even happy to have not gained anything given my inconsistencies the past few weeks.
Onward I stumble...

Rain

Cold, rainy weather does not improve my running or otherwise daily mood. Today's weather was a little wake-up call to the facts that: Yes, I live in Cincinnati. And yes it's November. And this is what it does in Cincinnati in the cold months, starting in November. Bleh.

I think this is going to be my first winter in a long time without gym access. That means on days like this where I wouldn't step my wimpy foot outside except to run to my car, I will probably find myself biking on the trainer when I had planned to run. (I love running in the rain, but not when it's below Warm degrees.) Biking is my only indoor cardio option since I no longer have access to the sea of cardio equipment at The Gym. OK, Mason's Community Center didn't have a sea of equipment, more like a puddle. But I will miss the elliptical machine and the Tool station on Pandora as a different, very awesome workout option. I plan to translate those great workouts into my also cardio-benefiting Home School Spinning.

Just some ramblings about cold weather and rain and how much of a fan I am of it (not much). I need to figure out a fun way to power through the drab months, since I can't seem to move away for a few.

Hills or Pancakes - Loveland's Terrain

I should be glad that Loveland's terrain is so diverse. If I want a pancake flat surface, I can run on the bike trail. If I want crazy hill climbs, I can go in any direction away from where my office is and expect to exhaust myself. However, today, only the third run in since the half, I needed something moderate for the IT band. It would have been nice if there was something in between. I really didn't want to run on the trail, so I opted for the roads. But, there just isn't that far to go around Loveland. It's not big, not the flat part anyway. What can I expect; I'm a stone's throw from a river.

I went towards downtown and did a little loop forced by the fact that I didn't want to climb the hill out to Goshen (O'Bannonville), nor the huge hill to Branch Hill-Loveland. Going back west on Loveland, I turned onto Loveland-Madeira to avoid going up West Loveland's huge hill. Once on Loveland-Madeira, I only ran to Kroger...after that the road climbs and then falls again. Heading north, the streets run out of sidewalk about a quarter mile from my office. All in all it was a 2.6 mile run at 9:26 pace. I stopped a few times at lights and to stretch. Felt pretty good, but my cardio is definitely suffering.

So it's either hills or pancakes. And actually, this is all very good news if I'm going to be training from the office this winter, because I hills will definitely help me to get stronger. It will be fine once I'm back in my routine. I look forward to the 4 mile hill loop I've done maybe once before: Loveland-Madeira --- South Lebanon --- West Loveland. I think either direction is probably equally brutal, but I've only done that order. The last time I ran it, I hurt my calves and gave myself a little case of plantar fasciitis and couldn't run for a bit. So I need to give a couple more weeks before the conquering begins. I should name this route...hmmmm... it's a triangle. Kind of an obtuse scalene triangle...but that's not too catchy of a name.

Re-acclimating My Butt

Today was an exhausting day at work. Most of the afternoon was spent at the mall at a floor set for SGH...two hours on my feet in heels, listening to debates about merchandising and metals-plastics-rimless hierarchies. I was drained when I got home. So I decided to exhaust myself further on the bike.

I haven't been on the bike in weeks. Every day when I let the dogs out, I see it. Patiently it sits, facing the TV, perfectly upright and calm, hooked into the trainer, bike pump nearby. I turned on the TV, got my laptop hooked up and woke the chain from its slumber. I wanted to ride hard, but short in order to get my butt used to the saddle again. So I queued up mtvmusic.com on which I think I have officially given up. My playlists won't load and the quality, sound and video (most importantly sound) is pretty awful. It worked for tonight though. I really don't think I need the video part of it. It would be ideal, but I'd sacrifice video for sound for sure.

I warmed up to The Story (Brandi Carlile). Then it was Muse: Uprising, Katy Perry: Hot and Cold, Foo Fighters: All My Life, Silversun Pickups: Panic Switch (by far the dumbest video ever), Muse: Resistance, Cold Play: Viva La Vida, Kanye West: Better Faster Stronger.  It was the same list as I've done one time before, with some variation. But this time, I rode pretty hard. So what if it's been weeks off the bike, there's no time for taking it easy. I had a great time. I bumped up the fluid trainer's gear to the middle one, and stayed in my middle gear which allowed me to do sprints and out of the saddle hills by changing the back gears. I followed the rhythm of the music, something I've never been able to do in a spin class, and pushed moderately hard. My heart was pounding the entire time. It was a great time. There is nothing like some music and good exercise to make the day better.

I believe my butt was happy with the amount of time for Re-Acclimation. (Female computer voice: 'Butt Re-acclimation, 40% complete'). I should work on some playlists to have on my laptop or phone I guess. I definitely need to find some more music and variety. Something to work on this weekend.

Lunch Run #2

Christen and I went out during lunch for a run on the trail. Since she hasn't ran since...well the last time we ran together which was quite a few weeks (if not months) ago, and since I'm making my comeback after not running for two weeks and am having a lot of stomach issues, we took it in chunks. We decided we'd run fast and then walk when we had to. So that's what we did for a total distance of about 2.3 miles.

The new Garmin I got works well. I am still figuring out things with it. For example, I know there is a feature that stops the overall time when you slow down to walk or if you're stopped at a stoplight. You don't have to push stop and start again when you start running again. The time is called out separately as rest time and I think doesn't effect the overall pace shown. But I couldn't figure out how to get that to work today. There might be a setting you have to enter, i.e. when pace drops below 11:00 per mile, put the time in the rest segment. I'll have to refer to the book. I'm going to have to refer to the book a lot until I figure out all of the nuances.

Last Sunday I managed to get out for a one mile run. This was my first test of the Garmin, as well as the first run since the half. The Garmin is huge. I don't know anyone with smaller wrists than me, but I still don't have to have it in the last hole, which I found funny. It is surprisingly comfortable. However, it does hit my sticky-outy wrist bone and that starts to hurt. So I might just have to move it up my arm some, away from the bone. In my...I don't know, let's just call it quest for getting faster, I ran pretty hard. I've decided that most of my runs will be like this, as much as I can handle, except for longer distances. Before the balance was mostly longer distance slow. Now I'm going to do shorter distances fast, with long slow still happening to keep a good base, just less of them. We'll see if that nets anything. Not sure else how to approach it.

Plans and Such

It's been almost two weeks since the half marathon, and I haven't run 1 mile. Nor have I biked. In fact, I've not done much of anything except worked. Working in, not working out. :(  This is not exactly how I had wanted it to go.

Part of the problem was work (many consecutive 10 billable hour days). Every day like clockwork I get a bad tension headache in my neck and jaw. I'm tired of it! (Ironically, a run would probably help get rid of it!) The other part was motivation. I get pretty sad/down after races as eventful as a half, where there are weeks invested in training and planning for it. This one was no exception. I finished, was happy and disappointed all at the same time (which was weird and I still feel weird about), and was left feeling pretty empty with the question in my head every day: now what?

I guess now I'm trying to address it. Now what?

First things first - It's time to start running again! I need to start running again. This has been a long rest period; I'm sure my IT band is fine by now. Plus, I have a fun new GPS watch to play with! I partly bought that for motivation, but it didn't have quite as big of a spark as I had hoped it would. I am still looking forward to using its features and having more freedom on my routes again.

Second, plans/aka motivation... My eyes are on the Pig. I go back and forth about full or half. I feel like I'm copping out by not doing the full. I've done a full and would still like to run more full marathons. And this is the home town marathon! But.... then I think about how I want to get faster. The Pig quite possibly could be a slower marathon than Columbus was for me, and I don't ever want to do one slower than that. I would need to know I could do better, which means I'd have to train for pace at the distance rather than just the distance. That's scary when you're a mortal. Back to the half... it is such a more manageable distance! It's still an endurance challenge, but nothing like a full. I know I could keep improving my speed and would have a great time working on that. I feel like it would be very rewarding. Back to the marathon... I could do one later in the year, after the Pig is done. I could aim for Columbus again in the fall - that is such a great race.  Hmmmmm...decisions!

I think for now I'm going to break things up in chunks. From now until the end of the year, I want to nail down a routine, which will include running, biking (indoors) and lifting/core. When I think about running, I get pretty excited thinking about getting faster. So I think I'm going to start there for now and see what happens. It's time to do some real work!

November, and I'm starting to slide.

First off, I'm am/was fantastically thrilled with my half marathon results. I killed it. 8:55? what the heck? I'm really happy with how I felt, and my ability to maintain my stride over that distance. I really wish I had a pace clock so I could see how varied my splits were... I have a feeling there were slightly erratic. ah well. I couldn't have been more pleased with my race.

Secondly, It's Novemeber. And I'm going to say now that I've officially been on my weightloss, trim down, eat better kick for a year. If I need an aniversary date, I'm going to say Novemeber 1st. And in the last year I've come down from 239lbs to 183. 56 lbs have come off my frame. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and wonder what I would think my 229lbs self would say about my 183lbs body. I can see the difference in pictures, but I don't feel like I've changed that much. Perhaps because it was a slow process. But I'm reminded everytime I get into my closet, just how big I used to be. There is no way I can wear anything in my closet that fit me this time last year, without looking completly rediculous. This is good and bad.... Good as a reminder of my progress and becuase I get to re-outfit myself, and bad because I NEED to re-outfit myself. Clothes get expensive when you need to buy a lot! :)

Ok, that's the good, now here's the bad. I really feel like my eating is getting out of control. I've been chosing poorly, snacking feverishly, and consuming greater portions. I really need to reel in my eating. I've been taking it easy since the race, for my body's sake, but my activity level is dropping at the same time. Double Whammy! Thank goodness Halloween has past. Hopefully the quantity of candy sitting around will start to wane.

I need to find the balance again. I need support and accountability again. I'll try to make my blog updates regular. No more excuses! I have more weight to lose! 175 here I come

Half Marathon is Done!

The Cincinnati Half Marathon is officially raced!
Casey: 1:57:18
Steph: 2:09:49

Saturday's weather was beautiful and perfect for running. I don't think it was too bad for spectating either. Congratulations, Casey! A sub 2 hour half marathon... 1:57:18 AWESOME!!! I'm so happy about how well you did. Your pace was awesome, you maintained it the entire time and were so strong. You did so well! You kicked this distance's ASS!!!!!

Also, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Casey for being such a super-wonderful training partner. He definitely helped to push me through these weeks, and helped me get faster. I do think I'm in the 'fastest' running shape I've ever been in, and that I'm quickening my pace, which makes me very happy and excited for the future. My time was a PR by 6 minutes. My 5th half marathon, and I'm finally improving and feeling stronger. Things are starting to click.

Now it is recovery time. My legs are better today than they were yesterday. I need to roll roll roll on my IT band. Yesterday I couldn't go down stairs more than one at a time, lol. At least I know I used up everything in the tank! Casey, I very much look forward to any future training to share...whatever fun running adventures might be out there for us. I hope you are inspired by your abilities, feel proud and had a great time getting to this place. You did an absolutely fantastic job!

Half Marathon Training Schedule. What We Did.

Archived: The training for the Cincinnati Half Marathon Oct. 23, 2010

Woohoo!

So, I am by no means a coach, but would like to share everything I've learned over the years – from things I've read to training for 3 half marathons and one full marathon – in hopes of making this training smooth and fun.

The main thing to accomplish while training for a first half marathon is getting your body used to running longer distance. Pretty simple. And of course this is done by slowly increasing the weekend long runs. The rest of the week is also important to keep your body strong. But the key to the training is the long runs and good recovery after them.

And now for a couple of main points about running long. Most of this stuff is probably already known, but I just want to collect some of the most important things that have the power to make long runs miserable vs. pleasant. Forgive me if I'm writing something that is obvious.

Pace.  Long runs (for mortals like us) are done at an easy, comfortable pace. It should feel too easy and like you are holding back. Ideally, at the end of the run, it should feel like you can run more. That doesn't always happen, but that is the pace to go by. Anything more risks breaking down the body too much to recover and gain from the next week. Race day you can break your body down all you want :)

Hydration = key.  It helps not only with not overheating while running but also makes a big difference in how you recover afterwords, believe it or not. Going into the run hydrated is also key.

Diet.  You'll figure out fast what you should and shouldn't consume the night before a long run. In general, you want to just eat well and balanced, making sure to have some good carbs, but you don't have to go crazy over it as people tend to do. I can't drink more than 1 beer the night before, and definitely stay away from hard alcohol, but that's me. Also too many sweets have made long runs miserable.

Calories Before and During.  Before going, you need calories. I like to have something like applesauce or toast - somewhere around 150-200 calories is good for me. Treat it like whatever you eat before a 5K. When runs become a bit longer than an hour, you might want calories during. And you'll definitely need calories when running an hour and half or more. Some of it could be liquid calories and others could be in the form of chews or gels. Trial and error awaits. No calories = bonking.

Calories After. The most important thing to do afterwords is eat some calories of sugar and protein. Chocolate milk is touted as one of the best recovery drinks. It is also said it should be done within 15 minutes of stopping. Again something you'll learn about your own body. My case is that I definitely need something to eat or I'll get low blood sugar and then recovery sucks and takes 3 - 4 hours.

That's it I think! Just some pre-game info that is hopefully helpful!!

**A general guide to the next 12 weeks! It's flexible, can be modified as needed.**

This is a minimum weekly mileage kind of schedule, but the spinning cross training is excellent. 

I'll probably replace Thursday's bike with a run because I just might not have 

time to always mess with a bike ride.

:S: disc golf   :M: spin/bike   :T: run/track   :W: run 4 - 6 mi   :Th: spin/bike/run   :F: lift   :S: long run

Week 1 (Aug 1 - 7)

Wed: 4 (9:40 pace),  LR: 6  (10:00 pace)

Week 2 (Aug 8 - 14)

Wed: 4 (9:45 pace),  LR: 8 (8.25 miles bike trail, 10:25 pace)

Week 3 (Aug 15 - 21)

Wed: 4 (9:52 pace by my GPS),  LR 8 - 9 (8 at 10:33 pace, Mason)

Week 4 (Aug 22 - 28)

Wed: 4 - 5 (3 at 9:27 pace),  LR: 6 (Did Powder Keg Trail Race for 6 mile effort...fun!!)

Week 5 (Aug 29 - Sept 4)

Wed: 4 - 5 (3 painful miles at 10:06 pace...Steph not feeling it),  LR: 9 - 10 (only did about 8 very slowly due to me not feeling it again...slight cold + allergies kicked my ass)

Week 6 (Sept 5 - 11)

Wed: 4 (3 miles, sick Steph),  LR: 10 (10:17 pace!)

Week 7 (Sept 12 - 18)

Wed: 4 - 5 (4 miles at 9:35 pace),  LR: 6 (9:50 pace)

Week 8 (Sept 19 - 25)

Wed: 4 (0. walked, stomach issues),  LR: 10 - 11 (11 at 10:09 pace, negative split!!!!)

Week 9 (Sept 26 - Oct 2)

Wed: 6 (3 miles, 9:20 pace),  LR: 6 (9:39 pace! Just Steph though. Casey and Steph had a running weekend apart...and Casey's location was 47º and raining - bleh!)

Week 10 (Oct 3 - 9)

Wed: 4 (9:17 pace!!!!),  LR: 12 (10:30 pace, first 6 were 10:00 pace...)

Week 11 (Oct 10 - 16)

Wed: 5 easy (3 at 9:20 pace...good pace, shorter distance due to Max!),  LR: 6 easy (10:00 pace)

Week 12 taper week (Oct 17 - 23 Race Day!)
Wed: 2-3 easy... RACE: 13.1

Half Marathon Pace Chart and Goals

So here's a quick pace chart for times I think might be relevant on Saturday...varying for both of us. These are goal pace ideas...it's a range. I might carry something like this with me so I know where abouts I am, since I don't do math and run at the same time. Ok, I just don't do math.

Pace	9:30	9:40	9:50	10:00	10:10
1	9:30	9:40	9:50	10:00	10:10
2	19:00	19:20	19:40	20:00	20:20
3	28:30	29:00	29:30	30:00	30:30
4	38:00	38:40	39:20	40:00	40:40
5	47:30	48:20	49:10	50:00	50:50
6	57:00	58:00	59:00	1:00:00	1:01:00
7	1:06:30	1:07:40	1:08:50	1:10:00	1:11:10
8	1:16:00	1:17:00	1:18:40	1:20:00	1:21:20
9	1:25:30	1:27:00	1:28:30	1:30:00	1:31:30
10	1:35:00	1:36:40	1:38:20	1:40:00	1:41:40
11	1:44:30	1:46:20	1:48:10	1:50:00	1:51:50
12	1:54:00	1:56:00	1:58:00	2:00:00	2:02:00
13	2:03:30	2:05:40	2:07:50	2:10:00	2:12:10
.1 (total time)	2:04:32	2:06:43	2:08:54	2:11:06	2:13:17

I think I am shooting for (gulp) 9:50 as my pie in the sky / I'd be so ridiculously happy goal, unless Saturday morning my body tells me otherwise. 10's would make me very very happy too. Anything after that I just hope comes in sub 2:15:48, which is the fastest pace I've done the distance (or would have had the race actually been 13.1 and not 12.68 - looking at you State to State Half!).


Goal A:   2:08:54 (9:50 pace)

Goal B:   2:11:06 (10 pace)

Goal C:   anything sub 2:15:48
 

Taper Time

5 more days until the half...

I didn't ride tonight. I was hoping to, but stuff happens. I lifted instead though. That has nothing to do with this weekend, but it made me feel better than doing nothing this evening.

So it's taper week!! And that means it should be a week of rest and feeling like you're not doing enough. I am probably going to bike Tuesday, easy. Then Wednesday will be the last run, and we should do it easy and short. It's always an odd feeling doing such easy workouts, but on race day, when you feel the fresh legs as you start to run, you're so glad you got through the oddness.

Other things I like to do the week(s) of taper: eat right, not be full at meals, get plenty of sleep, try to relax more (especially the nights before the race), do some stretching and drink a lot of water. This is all obviously not so I win, but so I feel as good as I can on race day. That is usually my first goal: to feel good during races – especially for something as long as the half. It's a long way to suffer. And if I feel good, even if I'm not going the pace I want, at least I can enjoy myself. However, feeling good does usually mean I can push myself too...

I'm not expecting any miracles on race day, but I am really really really hoping for a PR. It's time for the crappy half marathon race streak to be over. I've trained better for this one than I have any others, I'm in better shape than I have been for at least 3 of the others, and (knock on wood) I'm healthy. I really like this distance; it's the perfect challenge that is very doable, yet tough. I want it to like me back!

Lunch Time Workouts for Those Who Don't Have a Gym

Today Christen and I went on a run from the studio...the first mid-day workout for Fill Creative. It wasn't too bad not showering afterwords. The breeze helped keep me cool and I wasn't terribly sweaty at the end of the run. I think runs during lunch will be possible in winter, given the cooler temps.

Christen hasn't been running in a while, so we took it pretty easy. That was fine by me because I'm still planning to ride tonight. We went down to the trail and headed north. We passed a lot of people with dogs. The weather was perfect and the trail was beautiful. You could barely see the path because of the carpet of orange-brown-red leaves covering it. And the leaves were falling the entire time, giving an additional motion to our own movement forward along the trail.

While I would have rather showered afterwords, it really isn't too bad. Not sure I'd go to a meeting like this, but thanks to the spit-bath in the bathroom, I feel and look fine. When we got done, we sat outside in the sun and chatted, letting the breeze cool us down, which I'm sure helped also. It was very nice to have this kind of break in the middle of the day.

This Morning's Weather Would Be Perfect for Race Day!

It was a beautiful cool fall morning, and we ran 3 miles at a 9:20 pace. It felt faster to me...but at the same time I didn't really have any problems until near the end. The run was shorter due to little Max and puppy logistics! He's sooooooooooo cute. I had a good time playing with him this morning. I want to take some pictures of him soon, while he's still so tiny, so we can all look back on him and laugh later. Like I do with this pic of baby Dexter.

My legs felt very fresh this morning. I guess that's what I expect after not running yesterday. We didn't do track because the Powells are still in Austin. I was going to run with Christen at work, but we were both slammed all day, so it never happened. At least I got on the bike Monday.

And now, since it appears my weight is public knowledge, I might as well start tracking it here and make good use of accountability. I don't like to focus on the numbers, but in reality I realize that it is the easiest way to know progress. I was enjoying having to buy new clothes and feel things fit differently as the numbers were decreasing. I was able to focus more on that. But now I've plateaued so I need to boost the progress again, because I need to lose more weight. And while eventually I might go down another size, a more immediate confirmation of progress would be shown in the numbers. 

So official weigh-in this morning was 131. It's the Wednesday weigh-in. I'll try to only weigh myself once a week. Try.

I think that with more biking on the trainer now, my calorie burn throughout the week will be increased so that is good. This winter I am going to work on toning up. I'm mushy!

Yay- exciting, though probably slow, tracking begins!

Fluid Ride #2

Tonight I hopped on the bike when I got home. I didn't want to, but first fired up the wii and found something to watch on Netflix. I ended up watching the first episode of 30 Days. It's a series where Morgan Spurlock (the guy that did Supersize Me) tries out humanity-type experiments for a month each. The first one was him and his fiancée living in Columbus, OH for a month on minimum wages.

The ride was enjoyable enough, and I'm really glad I finally did something on a Monday again. I didn't push too hard, but my heart rate was up during the 45 minutes. My legs are still a little sore from the 12 mile run Saturday.

After I was done, I remembered to feel the the fluid chamber this time and yes...it gets very very warm!

More running and spinning.

Quick run down of the last few weeks.



Sept 29 -3 miles on Wednesday morning with Steph.
- Great 9:20 pace.
Sept 30 - Left gym bag at home, missed spinning.
- Took a 2 mile walk with Jannelle after work.
Oct 2 - Supposed to run 6 miles. But I was in Pburg, and
- It was 46 degree and raining. No thanks. I'm a wuss, shoot me.

-This was a very slow week for me. One 3 mile run, and no spinning. No wonder I....

Oct 4 - Spinning, and I put on a pound!! 185
-This class was brutal. There something about missing 2 spinning classes that dooms you for your return. I just felt like I couldn't keep up. It was tough for sure.
Oct 6 - Awesome fast 4 mile run with Steph.
- 9:17 pace and felt strong. This was a great run for sure.
Oct 7 - Fantastic ASS KICKING Spin session.
- I destroyed that fucking bike! WHOOOOAH! It's the second class back, and I've experienced the same phenomenon before. First class back is brutal, second class a breeze.
Oct 9 - 12 miler. It was our last long run pre-race.
-It was a great start, but my knee pain, while arriving on delay, managed to bother me around the half way marker. Shortly thereafter Steph was starting to drag and I think the decrease in pace started to bother my knee. Eventually i would run ahead a bit, then walk quickly till Steph caught up. It gave my knee a break.

The aftermath!!!! Well, It's been much better after this run, than after the last 2 long runs. After the 11 mile run, first my right, then my left knees were barking loudly. I think that pain cuased bruising that came out a few days later. This time, only my left knee hurts, and not so much to make me need to sit and ICE. I did ice it a bit on Saturday after the run, and I have made sure to stretch and roll it out the last few days. Today was

Oct 11 - Spinning. Its the first time I've gone to spinning on Monday after a long run.
- I really felt like I needed to work my knees today. My left knee was noticably problematic, but I just relaxed and backed off a bit. My work in today's class came mostly from cardio work/quick pace run where my knee was less taxed then on the big hills.
Weighed in at 183 today. Glad to be back on track!

Final Long Run Complete

Saturday Casey and I ran 12 miles. The first 6 or 7 was great... we were holding a 10 minute mile pace. I felt like that was very manageable and even easy. But soon after we turned around to head back, I started quickly running out of energy. And I became very tired of where we were running. It was just one of those mental things while running.

I so badly wanted to keep the pace and be able to say we ran a 10 pace the entire time! But I just couldn't. I tried to tell myself it was no big deal and get over it, but I was disappointed. Then it got worse and I could barely wog up the hills. And this slow, odd change in gait didn't help Casey's knee pains. Ug.

But we got through it. I'm pretty sure that my lack of energy was due to low iron. Stupid, take your pills. I was very sorry to not have a confidence boosting final long run. I know that Casey could have maintained the pace, so I really hope he at least feels well trained and ready to run on October 23rd! 

One thing I noticed about the 12 miles is how quickly it passed (well, until that last 3-those were rough). Having trained by myself for the marathon last year, I did that kind of distance (and more) solo. I'm thankful to not be doing these distances by myself this time and question if I could even train for a marathon by myself again - I'm spoiled now. It's been so much more enjoyable.

Chilly Wednesday Morning and My New Fluid Trainer Test

Casey and I ran a brisk 4 miles this morning... brisk in pace and in temperature as well. We had gloves on, which was needed and kept the hands from locking up!

The pace was 9:17 average. It was a great run for me. I felt good for the most part. My legs hurt a little bit. Either the dehydration thing (I really don't know what my problem is these days with not drinking enough) or maybe a little too many hills on the bike last night. I couldn't talk at the end during the final push. But really was surprised by how easy the rest of the run felt. Yay for speed progress!

Last night I finally got my bike set up in the basement (garage) ready to Spinflix and watch music videos, if MTVmusic.com ever works properly. For some reason it won't allow me to log in at home. I can at the studio. ???  It doesn't give me any kind of message (wrong password or user name)...but just goes back to the main page. :(  After a lot of frustration with my computer, not knowing how to hook it up, the wii trying to access our old wireless name, crappy speaker syndrome and smashing my finger, I finally was able to have a very enjoyable but short workout. I moved everything inside and hooked my 'puter up to the living room sound system (yay!) and watched videos while riding. I was able to access my Quicklist on mtvmusic. I would ideally like to make a few playlists and be able to save them, but I won't be able to do this if I can't ever log in. Listening to the music while riding was absolutely awesome. I was so pumped up and loving it. In fact, some of the time I don't think I was really even paying attention to the videos, which makes me think I could possibly stand to just play a playlist from iTunes. It reminded me of spinning. Here's what I listened to:
The Story (good warmup) - Brandi Carlile
Uprising - Muse
Hot and Cold - Katy Perry (the video cracks me up, but I think this one will be removed now)
All My Life - Foo Fighters
Knights of Cydonia - Muse
Panic Switch - Silversun Pickups

That's all I had time for, but have 5 other songs in this particular playlist. When listening to the music, I could envision doing all kinds of things with it - sprints, hills, whatever. It was awesome. And the fluid trainer allows for a lot more resistance so I can do hill work. I tried to take it easy since I was running in the morning, but I did play around with the settings on the trainer a bit.

I'm really excited about the fluid trainer. I think it will be awesome - decent speakers, big screen to watch Netflix or videos, a cool environment with a fan, and it's out of the house so I can crank music if I wish. It's my own little workout area I guess. I'm really looking forward to riding more throughout the winter.

6... We're Getting Close!

I ran 6 this morning, after spending an evening in a couple Kentucky bars full of smoke (I always forget about that!) and getting home around 1:30. Ok, so it wasn't early morning...more like 10:30. But I did it and felt surprisingly good.

I did the same 6 mile route Casey and I did the other cutback weekend a few weeks ago. I was distracted early on by a dog while still in the neighborhood. I passed a house and noticed a black pug looking dog and tan cute looking dog both barking at me at their fence. The tan dog had some spring loaded legs and was jumping Jack Russel Terrier style over and over, gripping the chicken wire fencing each time. I thought to myself that dog could easily get over the fence if he wanted to. 10 more steps and I heard the crunching of leaves by little doggy feet. I turned around and there he was. We stared at each other a little, as his tail wagged so fast it seemed blurry. Assessment: friendly dog. I walked up to him and grabbed his collar. Thanks to Harley and her behaviors on the other side of the fence, I always make the assumption that every dog's goal in life is to run away. So I wanted to grab him and get him safe. He let me pull him back to the fence. But I didn't want to open it and have the other dog escape. So I thought we'd better just go to the front door. But the little guy put the breaks on. He wasn't going to move anymore. I kneeled down, we looked into each other's eyes a little more and he turned his head away...so I picked him up. Oh geez...what a baby! He snuggled into me and licked my ear and neck repeatedly. I considered turning around and heading home with him! :)  (not really)  I rang the doorbell and we stood on the stoop, waiting, licking, snuggling. No one answered, so I tried the fence again. By this time, both dogs were calmer. I figured out the gate and shoved the little guy in there. We said our goodbyes and I told him to stay. They were much calmer by now, but I was still worried that he might leap over again. I've never seen these dogs before, so I think they are visiting. And I wanted to tell the owners that the fence was no match for the dog with the spring loaded legs!

Anyway, that was a nice start to my run. Furry creatures are the best.

The rest of the 6 was pretty uneventful. I stopped for some water at 3, in the little bathroom hut. I was at a 9:40 pace then. Coming back, the small hills were wearing me out. I knew I was slowing down, so I tried to make up time when I felt better on the flats and downhills. Good race practice.

I finished strong, but it was a rough strong. It was hard to push by myself. But 9:40 pace!!! Woohooo!!!! I seriously think I could have maintained this pace quite a bit longer...on the right day and with the right lack of hills, lol.

In the few remaining weeks of training, I'm going to hit the bike hard. I'm spending the afternoon getting the basement cleared up to make room for my bike and trainer. Biking helps my running so much...it's push time. Well, until taper time.

3 in the Warm Fall Breeze

I nearly fell asleep reading email today at work. So my plan to run after work was starting to sound like a bad idea as the end of the workday neared. I worried that as soon as I was home I would be sucked into the house, never to find my shoes or put on my shorts. As I let the dogs out, I passed the empty Pop Tart box that I left sitting on the counter from the morning. Yes, I'm ashamed. I took a pack of Greg's Pop Tarts for "breakfast" this morning. Ug. But that Pop Tart box got me out the door!

I felt Lunch sloshing around in my belly as I started off. I haven't ran on Montgomery Road in a while, and only once since the new sidewalks were put in, so I headed down the sidewalk in the direction of Meijer. I smelled Little Caesar's pizza pizza cooking for quite a while as I passed. Not necessarily a good smell while running. My legs killed me. They were tight and crampy all the way from my ankles to about my mid-thighs. At the turnaround, I stopped and stretched. That helped a little bit. I think I was dehydrated...really hadn't drank much the past few days.

I maintained a steady 10 minute per mile pace the entire time. It didn't feel hard, but it didn't feel easy. Oh well - a typical tired, end of the day kind of run.

Tomorrow morning I am planning to hop on my new trainer for the second time. And maybe do my own version of spinning to music...videos! On mtvmusic.com you can queue up videos and make playlists,  then play it and watch all of the videos back to back. Awesome?! I hope. I was thinking about this the other day. I miss spinning a lot. My favorite part of it is the music, which was never stellar. Could I stand just sitting on my bike and listening to music... wait there's that mtvmusic.com site, I could watch too...  The only thing to see about now is if I can hook my laptop up to the TV. It would be a nice variety in the mix of watching Netflix. So far my playlist consists of some Brandi Carlile (warmup), Muse, Foo Fighters, Tool (the one and only Tool video available), Katy Perry, Cold Play, Silversun Pickups and David Bowie. 11 songs total. I hope it works out!