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Happy Friday!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Long Run and Crappy Weather
Saturday is supposed to be my long bike day and Sunday is supposed to be my long run day. But sometimes Mother Nature is a witch and decides not to cooperate. Saturday and Sunday were perfect examples of this...
My tri buddies and I were planning on a 7 am bike ride - 30 miles. We're gradually upping the mileage. At 5:52 I received a text message from tri buddy, Kelly, asking if it was raining at my house. Apparently, it was raining at her house. Even though she only lives about 10 miles away, it wouldn't be the 1st time it was raining at her house but not at mine. But, I went to look out the front door and sure enough, rain. Drats! And, since it was 45 degrees, a rainy bike ride would not be fun. We decided to postpone the ride, especially since it was supposed to rain off and on all day. And, Sunday's forecast looked even worse - 100% chance of rain. All day. Ugh.
By 8 am, it looked as if the rain was going to let up a bit. I decided that I should go ahead and get my run out of the way, especially after seeing Sunday's forecast. I'll be honest, I really didn't want to run. I am used to being done by 8 am, so to start my run at 8 am...well, it was just weird. But off I went....around the neighborhood. It was in the low 50's and I totally overdressed - Nike Capris and a long sleeve Under Armor shirt. I know better. I started out feeling awkward and stiff. It took seveal miles to really feel good. It seemed like I felt every bit of those miles. I made it back to my house at 8 miles, used the bathroom, changed into a short-sleeved shirt, grabbed some Gu and headed out once more. Finished 4 more miles at a much faster pace that the previous 8. Overall run - 2:04, or a 10:21 pace. Not too bad considering I had no intention of running, did not want to run and was pretty damn negative the entire 12 miles. If I maintain this same pace for the 1/2 in 2 weeks, I'll have about a 5 minute PR. Now let's just hope the weather cooperates!
Sunday, it was a nasty mess all day- about 58 degrees and non-stop rain. Yuck. I should have gotten out my trainer for a long bike ride, but I opted to watch movies with the kids instead. Lazy. We did get out to get the kid's haircuts taken care of and had dinner with my parents. I am so used to this being Houston Marathon weekend, that it seemed weird to be having birthday dinner with my parents without being able to celebrate running. Oh well...two more weeks! And the Golden Globes are tonight...can't wait! Hoping that Mad Men and The King's Speech pick up a few!
My tri buddies and I were planning on a 7 am bike ride - 30 miles. We're gradually upping the mileage. At 5:52 I received a text message from tri buddy, Kelly, asking if it was raining at my house. Apparently, it was raining at her house. Even though she only lives about 10 miles away, it wouldn't be the 1st time it was raining at her house but not at mine. But, I went to look out the front door and sure enough, rain. Drats! And, since it was 45 degrees, a rainy bike ride would not be fun. We decided to postpone the ride, especially since it was supposed to rain off and on all day. And, Sunday's forecast looked even worse - 100% chance of rain. All day. Ugh.
By 8 am, it looked as if the rain was going to let up a bit. I decided that I should go ahead and get my run out of the way, especially after seeing Sunday's forecast. I'll be honest, I really didn't want to run. I am used to being done by 8 am, so to start my run at 8 am...well, it was just weird. But off I went....around the neighborhood. It was in the low 50's and I totally overdressed - Nike Capris and a long sleeve Under Armor shirt. I know better. I started out feeling awkward and stiff. It took seveal miles to really feel good. It seemed like I felt every bit of those miles. I made it back to my house at 8 miles, used the bathroom, changed into a short-sleeved shirt, grabbed some Gu and headed out once more. Finished 4 more miles at a much faster pace that the previous 8. Overall run - 2:04, or a 10:21 pace. Not too bad considering I had no intention of running, did not want to run and was pretty damn negative the entire 12 miles. If I maintain this same pace for the 1/2 in 2 weeks, I'll have about a 5 minute PR. Now let's just hope the weather cooperates!
Sunday, it was a nasty mess all day- about 58 degrees and non-stop rain. Yuck. I should have gotten out my trainer for a long bike ride, but I opted to watch movies with the kids instead. Lazy. We did get out to get the kid's haircuts taken care of and had dinner with my parents. I am so used to this being Houston Marathon weekend, that it seemed weird to be having birthday dinner with my parents without being able to celebrate running. Oh well...two more weeks! And the Golden Globes are tonight...can't wait! Hoping that Mad Men and The King's Speech pick up a few!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
More of the same..
Here I am. Blogging used to be so easy to squeeze in here and there. I'm not sure what happened, but it's slipping farther and farther down the priority list. To those who still come here from time to time, I apologize. But, I do want to keep this site going, so here's an update....
Monday, 1/10 - Run, 2 miles
Normally, I'd get out and run my miles in the wee hours of the morning. But, the temps were in the 30s and it seemed like such a waste to get out in the cold for 2 measly miles. :-) I ended up running my 2-miler on the indoor track at the gym on my lunch break. Funny thing - I usually wear my ipod on the indoor track and the treadmill. I forgot my ipod, so I was dreading this run. But, I found that this was one of my better runs on the indoor track. Everything "clicked" and I wanted to do more. Honestly, I think that using my ipod screws up my stride...I try to get the bpm for the songs to be in the same range, but it can be hard. I think I speed up and slow down depending on the song. I really like running without the music better!
Tuesday, 1/11 -P90X Chest and Back & Spin Class & Ab Ripper X
After doing P90X for the past 6+ months, I decided to step it up a bit. Instead of using bands for the chin-ups, I finally bought this....
Sorry for the crappy pic from my phone - that's a chin up bar. Time to stop being a wimp! :-)
At lunch I headed to spin class. The instructor stepped it up a bit - a lot more tension, lots of intervals and hill climbs. Good stuff!
Once the kiddos were tucked into bed, I did P90X Ab Ripper X. Gotta work that core!
Wednesday, 1/12 - Run, speedwork -10 miles 8 miles
The Hubby was out of town starting on Tuesday for a hunting trip. What does this mean? It means that if I want to run, I have to do it either during lunch or after the kiddos are in bed. That doesn't really leave time for 10 MILES. Right? Now, I did consider taking the baby monitor outside and running loops around my backyard just to get in a few miles after work.
Really, I did.
But, I decided against it. Why? 1) My backyard is not that big... it probably would have taken me 25 laps to equal 1 mile (can we say monotonous?) and 2) it was going to be the coldest day of the winter thus far (26 degrees...stop laughing you Northerners, that's cold for the South!). So instead, I ran 5 miles at lunch on the indoor track - 1 mile warm up, then 3 miles of intervals (3 loops fast, 2 loops slow), then 1 mile cool down (total time - 49:47). Then, after the kiddos were tucked into their beds, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill (29:27).
Thursday, 1/13 - Rest day
'Nuff said.
Friday, 1/14 - P90X Shoulders and Arms /Spin
4:15 wake up call for P90X! I know I've said this before, but this is my favorite P90X workout.
I was going to try for lunchtime spin class, but shiznit happens, right? Decided to work through lunch. Maybe I'll wait until after the Houston 1/2 to pick up a 2nd spin class....
Have an AWESOME weekend, ya'll!!!
Monday, 1/10 - Run, 2 miles
Normally, I'd get out and run my miles in the wee hours of the morning. But, the temps were in the 30s and it seemed like such a waste to get out in the cold for 2 measly miles. :-) I ended up running my 2-miler on the indoor track at the gym on my lunch break. Funny thing - I usually wear my ipod on the indoor track and the treadmill. I forgot my ipod, so I was dreading this run. But, I found that this was one of my better runs on the indoor track. Everything "clicked" and I wanted to do more. Honestly, I think that using my ipod screws up my stride...I try to get the bpm for the songs to be in the same range, but it can be hard. I think I speed up and slow down depending on the song. I really like running without the music better!
Tuesday, 1/11 -P90X Chest and Back & Spin Class & Ab Ripper X
After doing P90X for the past 6+ months, I decided to step it up a bit. Instead of using bands for the chin-ups, I finally bought this....
Sorry for the crappy pic from my phone - that's a chin up bar. Time to stop being a wimp! :-)
At lunch I headed to spin class. The instructor stepped it up a bit - a lot more tension, lots of intervals and hill climbs. Good stuff!
Once the kiddos were tucked into bed, I did P90X Ab Ripper X. Gotta work that core!
Wednesday, 1/12 - Run, speedwork -
The Hubby was out of town starting on Tuesday for a hunting trip. What does this mean? It means that if I want to run, I have to do it either during lunch or after the kiddos are in bed. That doesn't really leave time for 10 MILES. Right? Now, I did consider taking the baby monitor outside and running loops around my backyard just to get in a few miles after work.
Really, I did.
But, I decided against it. Why? 1) My backyard is not that big... it probably would have taken me 25 laps to equal 1 mile (can we say monotonous?) and 2) it was going to be the coldest day of the winter thus far (26 degrees...stop laughing you Northerners, that's cold for the South!). So instead, I ran 5 miles at lunch on the indoor track - 1 mile warm up, then 3 miles of intervals (3 loops fast, 2 loops slow), then 1 mile cool down (total time - 49:47). Then, after the kiddos were tucked into their beds, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill (29:27).
Thursday, 1/13 - Rest day
'Nuff said.
Friday, 1/14 - P90X Shoulders and Arms /
4:15 wake up call for P90X! I know I've said this before, but this is my favorite P90X workout.
I was going to try for lunchtime spin class, but shiznit happens, right? Decided to work through lunch. Maybe I'll wait until after the Houston 1/2 to pick up a 2nd spin class....
Have an AWESOME weekend, ya'll!!!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Decisions, Decisions
On Saturday, I had to make some decisions about what I was going to do as far as my workouts were concerned. Lately, I have been biking on Saturday morning and then doing my long runs on Sunday. I used to have the opposite schedule – run on Saturday/bike on Sunday, but it’s much easier to start a long run before dawn and be done in time for Church. The problem? The weatherman warned of monsoon-like, storms ALL DAY on Sunday. And, I was really hoping to have one really good, quality 12-13 miler on Sunday. The last long run before the taper…
As luck would have it, I had a friend who is training for a 100-miler and she was looking for some support during her 40-mile training run on Saturday. I was excited to have the chance to help out and have someone to run with for a change!
If I was smart, I would have skipped the bike ride and concentrated on the run. But, I apparently am not that smart and insisted on going ahead with the bike ride – my bffs Kelly and Jenn came along too. The ride was supposed to be 25+ miles. However, there was an issue – I couldn’t find my freaking bike helmet. Yes, the same one I wore just last week. After about 15 minutes of looking, I decided to make do with the Hubby’s helmet. Ugh. By the time we got going, we only had time for about 20 miles. But, it was a fun ride and I loved catching up with friends.
Next, it was on to an informational meeting about a local tri group that I am thinking of joining. I love the idea of being part of a team, having group rides/runs/swims and actually being coached for once. I have been just “winging it” with my tri training for two season now and if I am going to attempt the 70.3 in April, I definitely need some coaching.
I finished up at the tri meeting just in time to meet Karen and her support team! I was also fortunate to finally meet fellow blogger, Holden, who was part of that support team. I was completely amazed at Karen’s energy level – she had already run more than 30 miles and was going strong. I could barely keep up with the 9:30-ish pace she was keeping…lucky for me, she was doing 8:2’s and trust me when I say I enjoyed every second of that 2. Of course it helped that we had some good conversation going on - makes the miles go faster. After running 7 with Karen and then going back to my car, I decided that I should run more…just in case the weather was really that bad the following day. I made it to 10 (and kept the pace at sub-10!) and called it a day – I was beat either because of the bike ride earlier, the faster pace, the fact that it was warming up and I had on capris (dumb move) or a combination of all three.
So now I am torn – I didn’t do my 12-13 miler this weekend. I did get in a quality 10-miler, though. So now I am trying to decide – do I run 12-13 this weekend, but keep it at what feels like an easy pace and then taper? Or, do I proceed with the taper? Honestly, I don’t feel like I need that much of a taper for a ½ marathon. And, I think one more 12-13 miler would be a good confidence boost. What do you think? Decisions, decisions!
Oh and it did rain on Sunday…until about 10 am. It was still nasty outside – cold and damp – but not too bad for a run. Darn weatherman!
As luck would have it, I had a friend who is training for a 100-miler and she was looking for some support during her 40-mile training run on Saturday. I was excited to have the chance to help out and have someone to run with for a change!
If I was smart, I would have skipped the bike ride and concentrated on the run. But, I apparently am not that smart and insisted on going ahead with the bike ride – my bffs Kelly and Jenn came along too. The ride was supposed to be 25+ miles. However, there was an issue – I couldn’t find my freaking bike helmet. Yes, the same one I wore just last week. After about 15 minutes of looking, I decided to make do with the Hubby’s helmet. Ugh. By the time we got going, we only had time for about 20 miles. But, it was a fun ride and I loved catching up with friends.
Next, it was on to an informational meeting about a local tri group that I am thinking of joining. I love the idea of being part of a team, having group rides/runs/swims and actually being coached for once. I have been just “winging it” with my tri training for two season now and if I am going to attempt the 70.3 in April, I definitely need some coaching.
I finished up at the tri meeting just in time to meet Karen and her support team! I was also fortunate to finally meet fellow blogger, Holden, who was part of that support team. I was completely amazed at Karen’s energy level – she had already run more than 30 miles and was going strong. I could barely keep up with the 9:30-ish pace she was keeping…lucky for me, she was doing 8:2’s and trust me when I say I enjoyed every second of that 2. Of course it helped that we had some good conversation going on - makes the miles go faster. After running 7 with Karen and then going back to my car, I decided that I should run more…just in case the weather was really that bad the following day. I made it to 10 (and kept the pace at sub-10!) and called it a day – I was beat either because of the bike ride earlier, the faster pace, the fact that it was warming up and I had on capris (dumb move) or a combination of all three.
So now I am torn – I didn’t do my 12-13 miler this weekend. I did get in a quality 10-miler, though. So now I am trying to decide – do I run 12-13 this weekend, but keep it at what feels like an easy pace and then taper? Or, do I proceed with the taper? Honestly, I don’t feel like I need that much of a taper for a ½ marathon. And, I think one more 12-13 miler would be a good confidence boost. What do you think? Decisions, decisions!
Oh and it did rain on Sunday…until about 10 am. It was still nasty outside – cold and damp – but not too bad for a run. Darn weatherman!
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Taking Care of Business
Part of the reason I have this blog is to track my training. Obviously, I have been a slacker in this area, so the purpose of this post is to play catch up. More fun posts to come....
Friday, 12/31 - Quickie morning 2 miler - Way too warm and humid for December! I had to work, but fortunately it was a 1/2 day. Spent NYE with the hubby, the kids and friends. Had a great time watching intoxicated neighbors causing meyhem with fireworks!
Saturday, 1/1 - 20 miles on the bike - Met up with Tri BFF, Kelly, for a morning ride. Great way to kick off the new year!
Sunday - 1/2 - 9 mile run - My very first run with the hubby! Avg pace - 10:34
Monday - 1/3 - 2 mile run - Short run on the schedule. Also, went back to the pool...swam 850 yds before getting kicked out of the pool by the Aquafit class. I had the day off from work, so I went to see "The King's Speech" with my Mom. GREAT movie - I highly recommend it!
Tuesday, 1/4 - P90X Chest and Back in the am, Spin class during lunch - the music in spin class was much better this week!
Wednesday, 1/5 - 9 mile tempo run on the schedule - 6 mile tempo run in the morning, 3 miles on the indoor track at work. Hate to break up mileage, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I finally saw the infamous cows that are rumored to come into our neighborhood - four of them!
Thursday, 1/6 - rest day - decided after 11 days of workouts with no rest day, it was time to take a break
Friday, 1/7 - P90X Shoulders & Arms - intended to try out the Friday spin class during lunch, since it's a different instructor. But alas, work was busy and a spin class just wasn't in the cards.
More to come! Have a great day!
Friday, 12/31 - Quickie morning 2 miler - Way too warm and humid for December! I had to work, but fortunately it was a 1/2 day. Spent NYE with the hubby, the kids and friends. Had a great time watching intoxicated neighbors causing meyhem with fireworks!
Saturday, 1/1 - 20 miles on the bike - Met up with Tri BFF, Kelly, for a morning ride. Great way to kick off the new year!
Sunday - 1/2 - 9 mile run - My very first run with the hubby! Avg pace - 10:34
Monday - 1/3 - 2 mile run - Short run on the schedule. Also, went back to the pool...swam 850 yds before getting kicked out of the pool by the Aquafit class. I had the day off from work, so I went to see "The King's Speech" with my Mom. GREAT movie - I highly recommend it!
Tuesday, 1/4 - P90X Chest and Back in the am, Spin class during lunch - the music in spin class was much better this week!
Wednesday, 1/5 - 9 mile tempo run on the schedule - 6 mile tempo run in the morning, 3 miles on the indoor track at work. Hate to break up mileage, but you gotta do what you gotta do. I finally saw the infamous cows that are rumored to come into our neighborhood - four of them!
Thursday, 1/6 - rest day - decided after 11 days of workouts with no rest day, it was time to take a break
Friday, 1/7 - P90X Shoulders & Arms - intended to try out the Friday spin class during lunch, since it's a different instructor. But alas, work was busy and a spin class just wasn't in the cards.
More to come! Have a great day!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Margaritas and Miles
The kids are on break from their activities, the Hubby is on break from his martial arts classes and work has been slower than usual with everyone on vacation this week...bring on happy hour / dinner time with my running BFFs! Or should I say 'rita time?
As always, it was a fun time. Yes, any workouts earlier in the day were completely wasted...I had some chips (not too many), one taco al carbon in a corn tortilla (still being good) and a thousand calories worth of frozen margaritas (yes, that would be 2 drinks). But it's not about the drinks and food, it was all about the girl time. Yes, we talked about running. A lot. We talked about work and our families. Then, we talked about running. For hours. And triathlons too. And running. Here's a pick of the whole gang...they're the bestest (hope Kelly doesn't mind me borrowing this).
And here's one of me...apparently I am flipping someone off and didn't realize it! :-)
I set my alarm clock for 4:00 am as usual. Naturally, as soon as I hit the snooze button I realized that I did not need to get up at 4 am...1) the Hubby would be home today with the kids so I didn't need to get them dressed and to the daycare, 2) the traffic on my commute would be non-existent since it's NYE so I would make it downtown in record time and 3) mass transit was closed today so I'd be driving - this is much faster than the bus since I don't have to stop multiple times to drop people off. I ended up rolling out of bed at 6 am, ran the scheduled 2 miles (9:53 pace), and still made it to work in time (well, almost). Oh and I stopped at the suburban Starbucks, since the one downtown near my office will be CLOSED. Seriously?
I do intend to do P90X this afternoon when I get home from work and that will be the final workout of 2010. Best wishes for an awesome 2011 - BRING IT!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
You spin me right 'round baby...
My schedule is out of whack a bit since I've decided to move my long run to Sunday. I did the P90X stretch workout on Wednesday morning, but that didn't feel like a "real" workout, so I ended up going to another spin class at lunch.
I did several months of spin in 2009 when I was preparing for my 1st triathlon. Never during that time, did the instructor work hand weights into the routine. You can imagine my surprise when the instructor at yesterday's class told us to get 2 hand weights - one slightly heavier than the other. The spin class focused mainly on spin - break aways, hill climbs and jumps - but, for a portion of the class we used the weights while we pedaled. We worked out our shoulders, lats, biceps and triceps and during our cool down we did about 8 push-ups. Overall, it was a good workout...the music, not my favorite. Rob Thomas? I can do without Rob Thomas.
This morning, I headed out in the wee early hours to run. I had 5 easy miles on the schedule (a break from the speedwork, since I ran 13 over the weekend). In all honestly, I didn't want to get out of bed. This was my internal conversation:
"Just do 3 miles."
"Three easy, peasy miles and then come home."
I also remembered that it was an easy run day, so I told myself:
"Just take it easy, run at a comfortable pace. Five miles is no big deal"
I did manage to get out of bed, get dressed and go outside...but still did not want to run. But I did. The weather pretty much sucked - 65 degrees and 1000% humidity. It was even foggy enough to make the neighborhood look a little spooky.
Once I got going:
"Okay, let's go 4 miles. Four miles and you're done."
Then I made it to 3 miles:
"WTH, just HTFU, do your damn 5 miles and get it the hell over with!"
grumble. grumble.
Hopefully, I am not the only weirdo who not only talks to themselves, but also bargains. :-) My run was done at a very comfortable 10:29 pace and I was pleased with myself for not wimping out.
Tomorrow will be a quickie 2-miler followed by some chest and back exercises! Have a very happy new year's eve...be safe!
Happy running, biking and swimming!
I did several months of spin in 2009 when I was preparing for my 1st triathlon. Never during that time, did the instructor work hand weights into the routine. You can imagine my surprise when the instructor at yesterday's class told us to get 2 hand weights - one slightly heavier than the other. The spin class focused mainly on spin - break aways, hill climbs and jumps - but, for a portion of the class we used the weights while we pedaled. We worked out our shoulders, lats, biceps and triceps and during our cool down we did about 8 push-ups. Overall, it was a good workout...the music, not my favorite. Rob Thomas? I can do without Rob Thomas.
This morning, I headed out in the wee early hours to run. I had 5 easy miles on the schedule (a break from the speedwork, since I ran 13 over the weekend). In all honestly, I didn't want to get out of bed. This was my internal conversation:
"Just do 3 miles."
"Three easy, peasy miles and then come home."
I also remembered that it was an easy run day, so I told myself:
"Just take it easy, run at a comfortable pace. Five miles is no big deal"
I did manage to get out of bed, get dressed and go outside...but still did not want to run. But I did. The weather pretty much sucked - 65 degrees and 1000% humidity. It was even foggy enough to make the neighborhood look a little spooky.
Once I got going:
"Okay, let's go 4 miles. Four miles and you're done."
Then I made it to 3 miles:
"WTH, just HTFU, do your damn 5 miles and get it the hell over with!"
grumble. grumble.
Hopefully, I am not the only weirdo who not only talks to themselves, but also bargains. :-) My run was done at a very comfortable 10:29 pace and I was pleased with myself for not wimping out.
Tomorrow will be a quickie 2-miler followed by some chest and back exercises! Have a very happy new year's eve...be safe!
Happy running, biking and swimming!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Spin, Spin and more Spin
Tuesday may just become my official spin day...depending on my work schedule of course. The past 2 weeks have been fairly slow with so many people at work out on vacation, so it's been easy to sneak out for spin class during my lunch break.
Yesterday's spin class was tough - lots of jumps, hills and intervals. I think it may take me a few more classes to really get used to spinning again, because I was sweating like crazy and my legs felt like jello. Good stuff!
Today would normally be my run day, but my left quad has been sore for a couple of weeks so I decided to give it one more day of rest. I'll do today's 5-miler tomorrow. I'm also pushing back my long run to Sunday, so that the hubby and I can actually run together...that means I may sneak in a quickie 2-3 miler on Friday and ride my bike on Saturday (depending on how the NYE festivities go).
One of my many goals for the 2011 is to stretch more. I am notoriously bad about stretching before and after my runs. I may stretch a bit after a really long, tiring run, but I rarely stretch after my shorter, weekday runs. I plan to incorporate either the P90X Yoga or X Stretch video into my weekly workout routine. Who knows, maybe it will help this stupid sore quad issue too! In fact, I decided to start working on this goal a little early and did the X Stretch video this morning. My problem with this? It didn't feel like a "real" workout, so I brought my workout clothes to work with me and intend to do some kind of cardio today during lunch.
More about the 2011 goals later. Until then, happy running/biking/swimming!
Yesterday's spin class was tough - lots of jumps, hills and intervals. I think it may take me a few more classes to really get used to spinning again, because I was sweating like crazy and my legs felt like jello. Good stuff!
Today would normally be my run day, but my left quad has been sore for a couple of weeks so I decided to give it one more day of rest. I'll do today's 5-miler tomorrow. I'm also pushing back my long run to Sunday, so that the hubby and I can actually run together...that means I may sneak in a quickie 2-3 miler on Friday and ride my bike on Saturday (depending on how the NYE festivities go).
One of my many goals for the 2011 is to stretch more. I am notoriously bad about stretching before and after my runs. I may stretch a bit after a really long, tiring run, but I rarely stretch after my shorter, weekday runs. I plan to incorporate either the P90X Yoga or X Stretch video into my weekly workout routine. Who knows, maybe it will help this stupid sore quad issue too! In fact, I decided to start working on this goal a little early and did the X Stretch video this morning. My problem with this? It didn't feel like a "real" workout, so I brought my workout clothes to work with me and intend to do some kind of cardio today during lunch.
More about the 2011 goals later. Until then, happy running/biking/swimming!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Lazy Day
After the craziness leading up to Christmas and then Christmas Day, Sunday was declared by me to be Pajama Day (aka be LAZY day)! It was cold outside and the family had no plans, so we were not leaving the house. We had been so busy the past couple of days, that the kids never really had a chance to play with their new toys and we had not had time for any peace and quiet. It was just what we needed – we slept in (okay, so 7 am in sleeping in for us), we had a nice big breakfast, the kids played, the hubby watched football, we watched Polar Express (for the 187th time) and we had leftovers for lunch. All in all, it was a nice change of pace. And yes, I have some very non sexy pink flannel PJs with garden gnomes on them and added my thick green Santa socks to complete the look.
Of course, being the type of person who can’t sit still for too long, I did go out for an hour long bike ride around the neighborhood. (My friends doubted my ability to be lazy all day and they were right!) The temps had warmed up into the high 40’s, so it was still cool and it was a bit breezy – the combination of the two made for a somewhat slow pace. I got in just over 15 miles. For the most part, I was pretty warm the entire time….except for my toes. My toes were so cold that they hurt! It took them awhile to get back to the normal, non-numb feeling. The hubby also had to get out for his long run – he’s up to 8 miles (go Hubby go)! After showers, we went back to pajama-day mode again. :-) Awesomeness!
On Monday, it was back to the grind – running, work and getting the kids to daycare. It also happened to be the coldest day of the winter so far – a chilly 27 degrees at 5 am! I know some of you folks on the East Coast are scoffing at my reference to “cold” weather, but for us Southerners, this IS cold! I got out my running tights (instead of my capris), layered a short sleeve tech shirt with a long sleeve top over it and added some gloves…that was pretty much perfect. Usually, cold weather makes me want to run much faster than my usual pace, but this time I was having some issues – maybe it was all the holiday food, or maybe it was just too damn cold – but I stayed around a 10:20 pace for the 1st 3 miles and finished with a 10:16 pace overall. Even after a warm shower, it took me awhile to really get warm. Naturally today, we’re starting the day with temps in the 50s….Texas! Like I said yesterday, the weather is bi-polar here.
Today, it’s spin class during lunch since Ididn’t wake up in time for P90X am so motivated like that.
Happy running / biking / swimming!
Of course, being the type of person who can’t sit still for too long, I did go out for an hour long bike ride around the neighborhood. (My friends doubted my ability to be lazy all day and they were right!) The temps had warmed up into the high 40’s, so it was still cool and it was a bit breezy – the combination of the two made for a somewhat slow pace. I got in just over 15 miles. For the most part, I was pretty warm the entire time….except for my toes. My toes were so cold that they hurt! It took them awhile to get back to the normal, non-numb feeling. The hubby also had to get out for his long run – he’s up to 8 miles (go Hubby go)! After showers, we went back to pajama-day mode again. :-) Awesomeness!
On Monday, it was back to the grind – running, work and getting the kids to daycare. It also happened to be the coldest day of the winter so far – a chilly 27 degrees at 5 am! I know some of you folks on the East Coast are scoffing at my reference to “cold” weather, but for us Southerners, this IS cold! I got out my running tights (instead of my capris), layered a short sleeve tech shirt with a long sleeve top over it and added some gloves…that was pretty much perfect. Usually, cold weather makes me want to run much faster than my usual pace, but this time I was having some issues – maybe it was all the holiday food, or maybe it was just too damn cold – but I stayed around a 10:20 pace for the 1st 3 miles and finished with a 10:16 pace overall. Even after a warm shower, it took me awhile to really get warm. Naturally today, we’re starting the day with temps in the 50s….Texas! Like I said yesterday, the weather is bi-polar here.
Today, it’s spin class during lunch since I
Happy running / biking / swimming!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Holiday time!
Christmas Eve started off our celebration. First was Christmas Eve service at Church. The kiddo was super cute in the children's choir and was so excited to play the bells this year. The Munchkin made it very clear that he didn't want anything to do with the Christmas singing, so I ended up watching from the Narthex while he ran around like a heathen. Ah, two year olds! Next, we headed to my Sister-in-Law's house to exchange gifts and pig out and drink wine eat dinner. We had a great time watching the kiddos open gifts...and a BIG thanks to my teenage, drum playing nephew, Ant, for buying the Munchkin a DRUM SET. My neighbors thank you too.
And, I survived the big Christmascraziness celebration at my house. It was a crazy, hectic day, but still a lot of fun. People starting arriving around 1:00 pm and it never slowed down. As hostess, I hardly got to really visit with anyone...just a "Hi, thanks for coming - you can put your coat here" or a "let me take that side dish" and "another glas of wine please!" or "the drinks are on the patio" or "here's a spoon for that". There were around 35 people, plus 3 dogs. Whew, what a day!
As for Santa, he was good to me this year....
I scored a Nook from the Hubby...which will be sooo much easier to tote on the bus! I didn't ask Santa for the color one. Seriously people, I'm reading books. The non-illustrated kind.
I also scored this cute triathlon necklace. Yep, that Hubster is awesome! (If you like it, check out windydaystudios.com)
The kiddos bought me several pairs of my favorite running socks....
And, they also bought me a cover for the Nook! They're awesome too, I think I'll keep'em!
And big thanks to my parents for the great gift card, my in-laws for the great watch and sunglasses, and my sister-in-law and her family for the cute sweater, scarf and jewelry set. Also, thanks to my boss (a fellow runner) - she bought each person in our department a $50 Sports Authority gift card. (I think I was the only one who let out a little happy gasp when I opened the card!) Yep, it was a good year!
We had a great time watching the kiddos open their gifts too. Playing Santa was definitely the highlight of Christmas. I will never forget hearing the Kiddo gasp with excitement when she saw that Santa had eaten most of his cookies and drank almost all of his milk, lol! It was so cute!
So what was your favorite part of Christmas this year?
And, I survived the big Christmas
As for Santa, he was good to me this year....
I scored a Nook from the Hubby...which will be sooo much easier to tote on the bus! I didn't ask Santa for the color one. Seriously people, I'm reading books. The non-illustrated kind.
I also scored this cute triathlon necklace. Yep, that Hubster is awesome! (If you like it, check out windydaystudios.com)
The kiddos bought me several pairs of my favorite running socks....
And, they also bought me a cover for the Nook! They're awesome too, I think I'll keep'em!
And big thanks to my parents for the great gift card, my in-laws for the great watch and sunglasses, and my sister-in-law and her family for the cute sweater, scarf and jewelry set. Also, thanks to my boss (a fellow runner) - she bought each person in our department a $50 Sports Authority gift card. (I think I was the only one who let out a little happy gasp when I opened the card!) Yep, it was a good year!
We had a great time watching the kiddos open their gifts too. Playing Santa was definitely the highlight of Christmas. I will never forget hearing the Kiddo gasp with excitement when she saw that Santa had eaten most of his cookies and drank almost all of his milk, lol! It was so cute!
So what was your favorite part of Christmas this year?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday "Speedwork" and a long run...
Texas weather. It's December - one day you're wearing flip flops and shorts and the a/c is on, the next you're wearing sweaters and the fireplace is going. So bi-polar, but so typical.
Wednesday is my designated speedwork/tempo run day (it alternates each week). This week was supposed to be 8 miles - 1 mile warm up, 6 miles of 800s @ 9:15 w/400 rest, 1 mile cool down. As always on my speedwork day it was the flip flop hot weather. Why? Why is it always warm on my speedwork day???? So, it wasn't HOT, but 69 degrees with 90% humidity in December is warm in my book. I hit my goal pace on my 1st 3 800s, but it was hard for me...after that, it was all crap. I slowed way down. My final pace was slow - I was at my long run pace from Sat - 10:16. Ugh.
Since Saturday was Christmas Day, and we were playing host to about 40 family members, I decided to get my long run out of the way on Friday. Plus with Santa visiting, I knew the kids would be up before I could manage a long run. :-)
I slept in until almost 6 am and then set out for my run. Originally, I had a 14-miler on the schedule. However, I've had lots of nagging aches and pains all week, so I decided to cut the run down to a 10-miler. I also decided to give my body a break by slowing the pace way down. A cool front from the day before had made the temps much more bearable (high 40's), so it felt great to be out. I kept my pace around 10:40 for most of the run...just taking it easy. When I made it to mile 8, I was feeling great and knew 10 would be no problem. By mile 9.5, I decided that I wasn't ready to stop. I ran to my house to fill up my hand-held water bottle and headed back out for a 3-mile loop. My total run was 13.15, which took me 2:19 (a 10:36 pace)...funny because that was my finish time in January at the 1/2 marathon. This run made me feel a little better about my crappy run on Wednesday.
Only 5 weeks 'til the Aramco 1/2 Marathon...hard to believe it's almost here! I am actually more excited about the Austin 1/2 in February, because it will be the 1st time the Hubby and I will be running together.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Santa brought you everything you wanted!
Wednesday is my designated speedwork/tempo run day (it alternates each week). This week was supposed to be 8 miles - 1 mile warm up, 6 miles of 800s @ 9:15 w/400 rest, 1 mile cool down. As always on my speedwork day it was the flip flop hot weather. Why? Why is it always warm on my speedwork day???? So, it wasn't HOT, but 69 degrees with 90% humidity in December is warm in my book. I hit my goal pace on my 1st 3 800s, but it was hard for me...after that, it was all crap. I slowed way down. My final pace was slow - I was at my long run pace from Sat - 10:16. Ugh.
Since Saturday was Christmas Day, and we were playing host to about 40 family members, I decided to get my long run out of the way on Friday. Plus with Santa visiting, I knew the kids would be up before I could manage a long run. :-)
I slept in until almost 6 am and then set out for my run. Originally, I had a 14-miler on the schedule. However, I've had lots of nagging aches and pains all week, so I decided to cut the run down to a 10-miler. I also decided to give my body a break by slowing the pace way down. A cool front from the day before had made the temps much more bearable (high 40's), so it felt great to be out. I kept my pace around 10:40 for most of the run...just taking it easy. When I made it to mile 8, I was feeling great and knew 10 would be no problem. By mile 9.5, I decided that I wasn't ready to stop. I ran to my house to fill up my hand-held water bottle and headed back out for a 3-mile loop. My total run was 13.15, which took me 2:19 (a 10:36 pace)...funny because that was my finish time in January at the 1/2 marathon. This run made me feel a little better about my crappy run on Wednesday.
Only 5 weeks 'til the Aramco 1/2 Marathon...hard to believe it's almost here! I am actually more excited about the Austin 1/2 in February, because it will be the 1st time the Hubby and I will be running together.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas and Santa brought you everything you wanted!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
It's a Love/Hate thing...
with spin that is!
Last year during tri season, I didn't go to any spin classes at all. My bike times didn't improve, but fortunately, they didn't get any slower. This year I've decided that I need to add spin back into my training schedule, along with some time on the trainer. Lucky for me, my company has a gym on-site that is totally and completely free! Not only that, they offer all kinds of classes - Zumba, Karate, Pilates (mat), Body Sculpt and some others. Oh, and they offer SPIN! Not just that, they offer it 4x per week. The classes are usually pretty early, but today the class was a 12:15 pm - perfect to fit in between meetings!
I completely forgot how hard spin class could be. Going back for the 1st time in a year was tough. I miss going to my old classes at the Y, mainly because the instructor was so much fun and had music that rocked. The instructor today was good - she definitely made it challenging. When I spend an hour in a spin class, I want it to be a good workout. No, I want it to be a tough workout (i.e. hand me my ass on a platter, please). This class did the trick! The music was just okay - well, except for that Muse song. :-) I think I might try a couple of the other instructors too, just to see which ones I like best.
I also completely forgot how much I HATE spin class. But I love it too. I hate that I sweat like a pig. I hate that my legs feel like jello. But I love that I feel like I had a great workout. I love burning 400+ calories on my lunch break. Like I said, it's a love/hate thing.
Monday, December 20, 2010
'Tis the Season
The holiday season is upon us. For most, the holidays mean holiday parties, lots of over indulging and gaining an extra 5 lbs. For those of us training for a January race, it means excusing ourselves early from the holiday parties and not over indulging...after all, we have a long run the next day and we want to avoid putting on that 5 lbs!
Last year, I had a lofty weight loss goal for the months of November and December. Lighter = Faster, I thought. I actually did lose weight during the holidays! This year, my goal isn't quite as ambitious - I just want to maintain during the holidays. No weight gain! Of course, the ever increasing mileage is certainly helping with that.
This past week was a tough one. The hubby was out of town, which meant no 4 am morning runs. And since the treadmill is officially dead, that meant no runs after the kiddos were in bed. I did manage to get in 4 miles on Monday morning before the hubby left town. But the lunchtime runs I was hoping for never happened. Well, except for a mediocre 2-miler I squeezed in between meetings one day. I also did one day of P90X and one day with Ab Ripper X.
Fortunately, the hubby was back in time for me to run my long run on Saturday. 12-miles. My last 12-miler was a few weeks ago...the day after one of those holiday parties. For that run, I was really proud of myself - I managed a 10:23 pace for the distance, which is faster than my January 1/2 marathon "race" pace of 10:34. And, that pace felt fan-freaking-tastic. So maybe that speed work is actually working? Hmmmm, imagine that! This week, my pace hovered around10:20. I wanted a negative split, so at mile 7 I picked up the pace a tiny bit. My final pace was 10:16....however, I will say that the last two miles were rough. I felt great until I hit mile 10 - that's when my legs were done. Bonk. Toast. I even took a short walk break at mile 10. Miles 11 and 12 were done at 9:59 and 10:22 respectively...not terrible, but I can usually really pick up the pace in my final few miles. That was just not the case on this run.
I'm not sure what might have happened. Maybe a 10:20-something pace is all my legs can take right now. I hope not. Maybe I should have planned my nutrition better - I only had gel one at mile 6 and about 16 oz of Gatorade. The temps were perfect (high 30s), so that wasn't it. My nutrition all week had been right on target, so that wasn't it either. I didn't eat a real dinner the night before, but that's not unusual.
What I do know is that my quads were super sore for the rest of the day. What I know is that the 1st 9 miles of that run felt great. What I also know is that if the temps are nice and cool, the planets align, and the running gods are smiling down on me on race day....I might just have a nice little PR in January. What I do know is that I would love that! Maybe eventually I won't feel like such a slow runner...heck middle of the pack is better than back of the pack, so I'll take it.
Last year, I had a lofty weight loss goal for the months of November and December. Lighter = Faster, I thought. I actually did lose weight during the holidays! This year, my goal isn't quite as ambitious - I just want to maintain during the holidays. No weight gain! Of course, the ever increasing mileage is certainly helping with that.
This past week was a tough one. The hubby was out of town, which meant no 4 am morning runs. And since the treadmill is officially dead, that meant no runs after the kiddos were in bed. I did manage to get in 4 miles on Monday morning before the hubby left town. But the lunchtime runs I was hoping for never happened. Well, except for a mediocre 2-miler I squeezed in between meetings one day. I also did one day of P90X and one day with Ab Ripper X.
Fortunately, the hubby was back in time for me to run my long run on Saturday. 12-miles. My last 12-miler was a few weeks ago...the day after one of those holiday parties. For that run, I was really proud of myself - I managed a 10:23 pace for the distance, which is faster than my January 1/2 marathon "race" pace of 10:34. And, that pace felt fan-freaking-tastic. So maybe that speed work is actually working? Hmmmm, imagine that! This week, my pace hovered around10:20. I wanted a negative split, so at mile 7 I picked up the pace a tiny bit. My final pace was 10:16....however, I will say that the last two miles were rough. I felt great until I hit mile 10 - that's when my legs were done. Bonk. Toast. I even took a short walk break at mile 10. Miles 11 and 12 were done at 9:59 and 10:22 respectively...not terrible, but I can usually really pick up the pace in my final few miles. That was just not the case on this run.
I'm not sure what might have happened. Maybe a 10:20-something pace is all my legs can take right now. I hope not. Maybe I should have planned my nutrition better - I only had gel one at mile 6 and about 16 oz of Gatorade. The temps were perfect (high 30s), so that wasn't it. My nutrition all week had been right on target, so that wasn't it either. I didn't eat a real dinner the night before, but that's not unusual.
What I do know is that my quads were super sore for the rest of the day. What I know is that the 1st 9 miles of that run felt great. What I also know is that if the temps are nice and cool, the planets align, and the running gods are smiling down on me on race day....I might just have a nice little PR in January. What I do know is that I would love that! Maybe eventually I won't feel like such a slow runner...heck middle of the pack is better than back of the pack, so I'll take it.
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Still here...
I'm still here.
Tri season is over, but I am still running and biking! Running about 3x per week, biking once a week on the weekends and doing P90X for strength training 2x per week. All in the wee hours of the morning (read: 4:00 am!). Well, except for the bike riding - I only do that during the daylight hours. I have been diligent about sticking to my training schedule and doing my speedwork and tempo runs like a good girl, and I've been pleased with the results. Two years ago, my average long run pace was an 11:30+ minute mile. Last year, I got that down to about 10:45 - 11:00. So far this year, it's been around 10:15-10:30. My shorter tempo runs up to about 7 miles have been a sub-10 minute pace, so I'm pleased as punch about that.
What can I say? Life is busy - I'm back to working full-time...this time last year, I was working a reduced work schedule, and later laid off. Being back full-time took some getting used to, but it's working well. The Kiddo just finished up the fall season of soccer and is still taking dance and gymnastics. The Munchkin just finished his first session of Soccer Tots, which was fun but a bit trying because he'd only cooperate if I was participating with him (and not the Hubby). The hubby is still doing martial arts 2 evenings per week and he decided to train for his 1st 1/2 marathon! I am super proud of the Hubster, because he's been consistent with his training and doing great! He selected Austin as his first....not necessarily the easiest course for a 1st timer. I am planning to run it with him...hopefully I can keep up!
The only area I don't feel I am doing as well in is my eating. Ugh, I am a stress eater and food addict. So, being super busy has not helped with the stress level, which in turn, has not helped with the stress eating. I've really been working on it though...only 8 weeks until the Aramco Houston 1/2 Marathon and I don't want any extra pounds on me to slow me down!
I am trying to decide if I want to commit to doing the Lone Star IM 70.3 in April. I REALLY, REALLY want to do it, but I feel stretched thin already and can barely stay on top of everything. Plus, our busiest time at work coincides with what I think will be the hardest training weeks (Feb/April). More to come on that decision....
Well, back to being busy! I'll be back again soon (I hope)!
Tri season is over, but I am still running and biking! Running about 3x per week, biking once a week on the weekends and doing P90X for strength training 2x per week. All in the wee hours of the morning (read: 4:00 am!). Well, except for the bike riding - I only do that during the daylight hours. I have been diligent about sticking to my training schedule and doing my speedwork and tempo runs like a good girl, and I've been pleased with the results. Two years ago, my average long run pace was an 11:30+ minute mile. Last year, I got that down to about 10:45 - 11:00. So far this year, it's been around 10:15-10:30. My shorter tempo runs up to about 7 miles have been a sub-10 minute pace, so I'm pleased as punch about that.
What can I say? Life is busy - I'm back to working full-time...this time last year, I was working a reduced work schedule, and later laid off. Being back full-time took some getting used to, but it's working well. The Kiddo just finished up the fall season of soccer and is still taking dance and gymnastics. The Munchkin just finished his first session of Soccer Tots, which was fun but a bit trying because he'd only cooperate if I was participating with him (and not the Hubby). The hubby is still doing martial arts 2 evenings per week and he decided to train for his 1st 1/2 marathon! I am super proud of the Hubster, because he's been consistent with his training and doing great! He selected Austin as his first....not necessarily the easiest course for a 1st timer. I am planning to run it with him...hopefully I can keep up!
The only area I don't feel I am doing as well in is my eating. Ugh, I am a stress eater and food addict. So, being super busy has not helped with the stress level, which in turn, has not helped with the stress eating. I've really been working on it though...only 8 weeks until the Aramco Houston 1/2 Marathon and I don't want any extra pounds on me to slow me down!
I am trying to decide if I want to commit to doing the Lone Star IM 70.3 in April. I REALLY, REALLY want to do it, but I feel stretched thin already and can barely stay on top of everything. Plus, our busiest time at work coincides with what I think will be the hardest training weeks (Feb/April). More to come on that decision....
Well, back to being busy! I'll be back again soon (I hope)!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Texas Tour...
Friday, September 24 - No workout
I'm the type of person who likes to get things over with...especially when it comes to long runs. Knowing that I was going out of town on Friday afternoon, I had every intention of running in the wee hours of the morning, but chickened out...I'm skeered to run in the dark in the 'hood. This meant I would be forced to run on Sunday evening - oh the horror.
Saturday, September 25 - No Workout
Unless you think I should count walking a hundred miles back and forth around SeaWorld, I did not workout on Saturday. Count the fried catfish and shrimp I had for dinner later and I think I gained about 5 lbs - even with the profuse sweating all day in the hot sunshine. But, it was a great day! We surprised the kiddos with the trip to SeaWorld and got to visit with the in-laws...okay, and a trip to the San Marcos Outlets. And, I finally had a chance to use my Sunglass Hut gift certificate on a cute pair of Lauren aviators! Yipee!
Sunday, September 26 - 6 mile run
Okay, so it wasn't the 10-miler on the schedule, but after getting home from San Marcos, unpacking, doing laundry, and going grocery shopping there wasn't much time left. Six miles was all there was time for before dinner and the kiddo's bedtime. But, it was a great 6 miles! It was a tad bit on the warm side, but the humidity was low and the neighborhood sprinklers were on! Overall pace was 10:23 and the last two miles were my fastest. Yippee skippy!
Monday, September 27 - no workout
This no workout thing is starting to become a habit. A month ago, when I was still finishing up Insanity, that would be unheard of! But, I knew it was going to be a long day - work in the morning, drive to College Station, presentation to students, dinner with students....I opted to get an extra hour of sleep.
Tuesday, September 28 - ~4-mile run
Ah Aggieland! I almost never get to go back to the A&M campus, except for the occasional recruiting trip for work (and there's rarely time for just wondering around the campus). This time, I happened to be recruiting with a couple of runners, so we decided to head out for a 5 am run around the campus. It was great to run around my old stomping grounds. I imagine it's like any other college campus - a lot has changed in the past 14 years! It was amazing to see all the new buildings and a little sad to see some old buildings gone. It was also a little sad to see that you can no longer drive through the campus streets - probably a post 9/11 precaution, so that no one could drive too close to any of the larger buildings. The temps were in the high 50's, so that was a great treat as well!
I'm the type of person who likes to get things over with...especially when it comes to long runs. Knowing that I was going out of town on Friday afternoon, I had every intention of running in the wee hours of the morning, but chickened out...I'm skeered to run in the dark in the 'hood. This meant I would be forced to run on Sunday evening - oh the horror.
Saturday, September 25 - No Workout
Unless you think I should count walking a hundred miles back and forth around SeaWorld, I did not workout on Saturday. Count the fried catfish and shrimp I had for dinner later and I think I gained about 5 lbs - even with the profuse sweating all day in the hot sunshine. But, it was a great day! We surprised the kiddos with the trip to SeaWorld and got to visit with the in-laws...okay, and a trip to the San Marcos Outlets. And, I finally had a chance to use my Sunglass Hut gift certificate on a cute pair of Lauren aviators! Yipee!
Sunday, September 26 - 6 mile run
Okay, so it wasn't the 10-miler on the schedule, but after getting home from San Marcos, unpacking, doing laundry, and going grocery shopping there wasn't much time left. Six miles was all there was time for before dinner and the kiddo's bedtime. But, it was a great 6 miles! It was a tad bit on the warm side, but the humidity was low and the neighborhood sprinklers were on! Overall pace was 10:23 and the last two miles were my fastest. Yippee skippy!
Monday, September 27 - no workout
This no workout thing is starting to become a habit. A month ago, when I was still finishing up Insanity, that would be unheard of! But, I knew it was going to be a long day - work in the morning, drive to College Station, presentation to students, dinner with students....I opted to get an extra hour of sleep.
Tuesday, September 28 - ~4-mile run
Ah Aggieland! I almost never get to go back to the A&M campus, except for the occasional recruiting trip for work (and there's rarely time for just wondering around the campus). This time, I happened to be recruiting with a couple of runners, so we decided to head out for a 5 am run around the campus. It was great to run around my old stomping grounds. I imagine it's like any other college campus - a lot has changed in the past 14 years! It was amazing to see all the new buildings and a little sad to see some old buildings gone. It was also a little sad to see that you can no longer drive through the campus streets - probably a post 9/11 precaution, so that no one could drive too close to any of the larger buildings. The temps were in the high 50's, so that was a great treat as well!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Flexibility
I am a typical type A personality. I like schedules. This week, I've had a few lunch meetings, so I had to try my best to be flexible...luckily, the hubby is very far from type A and he helps balance out this OCD thing I have with schedules.
Wednesday, 9/22 - Run
I usually run on Tuesday and Thursdays during lunch at the gym at work (nice, right?), but this week I had lunch meetings. Fortunately, I knew this far enough in advance to plan ahead! ('Cause I'm a planner like that.) So, I managed to get in a run at the gym on Wednesday instead. I did a warm-up mile, then 2 laps fast (relatively speaking) followed by 1 slow x4, then a cool down. All in all, just a little over 3 miles. I managed to leave my watch at home, so I have no idea what my splits looked like. I do know I finished the 3 miles in less than 30 minutes...small improvements...
Thursday, 9/23 - P90X - Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X
Again, I had to be flexible - this is Friday's scheduled workout. On Friday, I shall attempt to run.
In my effort to continue to build some muscles, I have vowed to do a P90X workout 2x per week. Today's workout was nothing but push-ups and chin-ups, and I could tell it had been 2 months since doing this workout - it hurt! I could also tell by the number of "real" push-ups I could do, that I am much stronger than the last time I did this workout - that kinda rocks! During each exercise, I did about 20 "real" push-ups, before I had to drop to my knees and do "girlie" push-ups...the only exceptions were the dive-bomber push-ups. I still suck at those.
Wednesday, 9/22 - Run
I usually run on Tuesday and Thursdays during lunch at the gym at work (nice, right?), but this week I had lunch meetings. Fortunately, I knew this far enough in advance to plan ahead! ('Cause I'm a planner like that.) So, I managed to get in a run at the gym on Wednesday instead. I did a warm-up mile, then 2 laps fast (relatively speaking) followed by 1 slow x4, then a cool down. All in all, just a little over 3 miles. I managed to leave my watch at home, so I have no idea what my splits looked like. I do know I finished the 3 miles in less than 30 minutes...small improvements...
Thursday, 9/23 - P90X - Chest and Back, plus Ab Ripper X
Again, I had to be flexible - this is Friday's scheduled workout. On Friday, I shall attempt to run.
In my effort to continue to build some muscles, I have vowed to do a P90X workout 2x per week. Today's workout was nothing but push-ups and chin-ups, and I could tell it had been 2 months since doing this workout - it hurt! I could also tell by the number of "real" push-ups I could do, that I am much stronger than the last time I did this workout - that kinda rocks! During each exercise, I did about 20 "real" push-ups, before I had to drop to my knees and do "girlie" push-ups...the only exceptions were the dive-bomber push-ups. I still suck at those.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Rest (sorta)
After finishing both P90X and then Insanity, I decided to take a little hiatus from everything Beachbody.com related.
The week before my tri, I only ran...then, last week (the week after my tri) I did one day of Insanity (I caved) and ran.
Tuesday, 9/14 - 3 miles, indoor track - took it easy...
Wednesday, 9/15 - Insanity - I only did the shorter, 45 minute workout
Thursday, 9/16 - 3 miles (again)
Saturday, 9/18 - 10 miles
That 10-miler on Saturday went well...I decided that I was going to push the pace a bit. In the heat, my pace sucks. Seriously. But, I usually finish my long runs feeling like I could have pushed a bit more. And, I end up pushing the pace a bit on the final mile or two. This week I pushed it and my pace was about 30 - 40 seconds faster per mile. I didn't have much left to pick up the pace at the end, but it felt great!
Now, I am only 2 weeks away from Ten for Texas and I am concerned that I might not PR. Last year, I maintained a consistent 10:30 pace for the entire race...totally unexpected and rather "fast" for me. This year, my pace has been faster with my shorter runs, but not so much with the longer runs.
The weather also plays a huge role in performance. Last year, we had a nice cool front come through just in time for the race - it was a nice 50-something degrees. I'll be hoping and praying that we're lucky enough for similar temps this year!
The week before my tri, I only ran...then, last week (the week after my tri) I did one day of Insanity (I caved) and ran.
Tuesday, 9/14 - 3 miles, indoor track - took it easy...
Wednesday, 9/15 - Insanity - I only did the shorter, 45 minute workout
Thursday, 9/16 - 3 miles (again)
Saturday, 9/18 - 10 miles
That 10-miler on Saturday went well...I decided that I was going to push the pace a bit. In the heat, my pace sucks. Seriously. But, I usually finish my long runs feeling like I could have pushed a bit more. And, I end up pushing the pace a bit on the final mile or two. This week I pushed it and my pace was about 30 - 40 seconds faster per mile. I didn't have much left to pick up the pace at the end, but it felt great!
Now, I am only 2 weeks away from Ten for Texas and I am concerned that I might not PR. Last year, I maintained a consistent 10:30 pace for the entire race...totally unexpected and rather "fast" for me. This year, my pace has been faster with my shorter runs, but not so much with the longer runs.
The weather also plays a huge role in performance. Last year, we had a nice cool front come through just in time for the race - it was a nice 50-something degrees. I'll be hoping and praying that we're lucky enough for similar temps this year!
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Quickie Post...
Sorry to post and run, but it's past my bedtime. Gee, I sound like a granny!
Tuesday, 9/7 - 5 mile, indoor track
Thank God for the indoor track at work! It rained all day, so there would be no running outdoors. And when I say rained, I mean in sheets. It was crazy! I wasn't really feeling "it", but went to the gym anyway. I compromised - go to the gym and if you still don't feel it after 3 miles, you can stop...but, if you feel good - do 4 miles. I did 5 miles! I felt great, so I kept going. The best part? This was an "easy" run for me, meaning I didn't really push the pace at all...but, I managed to maintain between a 10:05 and 10:15 pace for each mile. Definitely improvement!
Wednesday, 9/8 - no workout
Instead, I got to see PARAMORE! They were amazing. I went with two good running friends and we started with dinner and margarita's and the rocked it out at the concert...good times!
Wednesday, 9/9 - 3 miles, indoor track
Yep, it's sunny again. And hot. Indoor track is great...3 easy, peasy miles - 9:58 pace.
This weekend I am doing my final tri of the season, so I'll have a race report for ya next week!
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
BRICK
So we had lower temps on Sunday. Less humidity too. Unfortunately, that was the one day I couldn't run or bike outdoors. On Monday, I had the opportunity to get in a quick brick and I was hoping the weather would still be nice. Imagine my disappointment when I opened the garage door to feel another 100% humidity day. Grrrrrr....
Fortunately, on my bike I can deal with crappy (and even hot weather) much better than when I run. My time was limited, so I decided on 45 minutes on the bike, followed by a 3 mile run. I have to say that while I am scared to death of crazy drivers on the road, I still have a love affair with my bike. To me, riding a bike doesn't feel like a workout...it's fun! I think that comes from me riding my bike up and down our street with my friends as a kid. I associate it to those fun, carefree days....you know the ones - when you wake up on a summer morning and wonder whether you're going to head to the pool, ride your bike all day or maybe just run through the sprinklers and lay out for awhile. Then again, maybe if I'd incorporate more intervals and speedwork into my rides it WOULD feel like a workout, lol.
I decided to wait for the sun to come out a bit more before heading to the nearby neighborhood where I like to ride. I killed some time in the areas of our neighborhood that are still being developed. There's a nice .65 mile loop where I did some intervals - 2 fast, 1 slow - for a few miles. Then, I finally headed out to my favorite roads to ride and actually mis-judged my mileage a bit (oops!). I ended up riding for 55 minutes (~14.75 miles), which only left time for a 2-mile run. There were quite a few people out on their bikes, which was good to see.
For the run, I hopped off my bike, put it and my helmet in the garage and then headed out (thinking about transitions in my head, of course!). I ran the easy, peasy two mile loop around my neighborhood. I tried to push my pace a bit, thinking that I was probably going to be completely anaerobic after a swim and bike during a tri. The result? Two miles at a 9:16 pace! Yeah, I've always been the 10:30 pace person...maybe 10:00 if I really pushed it. But 9:16? About a month ago, I rode 15 miles and ran a 3-miler at a 9:35 pace...so I think something I am doing is helping! Honestly, I think it's the Insanity program - I mean, you are in an anaerobic state for 30 minutes to a hour during those stupid workouts. (At least I am!) I think I'm getting used to that...which I know can be good and bad. Anaerobic is supposed to be great if you want to burn calories, but bad for building muscle (I think). Oh, and by the end of those 2 miles, I was definitely anaerobic...not quite ready to puke though. ;-)
Anyway, I am pleased with the workout and had a great Labor Day with the hubby and kiddos! Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend too!
Fortunately, on my bike I can deal with crappy (and even hot weather) much better than when I run. My time was limited, so I decided on 45 minutes on the bike, followed by a 3 mile run. I have to say that while I am scared to death of crazy drivers on the road, I still have a love affair with my bike. To me, riding a bike doesn't feel like a workout...it's fun! I think that comes from me riding my bike up and down our street with my friends as a kid. I associate it to those fun, carefree days....you know the ones - when you wake up on a summer morning and wonder whether you're going to head to the pool, ride your bike all day or maybe just run through the sprinklers and lay out for awhile. Then again, maybe if I'd incorporate more intervals and speedwork into my rides it WOULD feel like a workout, lol.
I decided to wait for the sun to come out a bit more before heading to the nearby neighborhood where I like to ride. I killed some time in the areas of our neighborhood that are still being developed. There's a nice .65 mile loop where I did some intervals - 2 fast, 1 slow - for a few miles. Then, I finally headed out to my favorite roads to ride and actually mis-judged my mileage a bit (oops!). I ended up riding for 55 minutes (~14.75 miles), which only left time for a 2-mile run. There were quite a few people out on their bikes, which was good to see.
For the run, I hopped off my bike, put it and my helmet in the garage and then headed out (thinking about transitions in my head, of course!). I ran the easy, peasy two mile loop around my neighborhood. I tried to push my pace a bit, thinking that I was probably going to be completely anaerobic after a swim and bike during a tri. The result? Two miles at a 9:16 pace! Yeah, I've always been the 10:30 pace person...maybe 10:00 if I really pushed it. But 9:16? About a month ago, I rode 15 miles and ran a 3-miler at a 9:35 pace...so I think something I am doing is helping! Honestly, I think it's the Insanity program - I mean, you are in an anaerobic state for 30 minutes to a hour during those stupid workouts. (At least I am!) I think I'm getting used to that...which I know can be good and bad. Anaerobic is supposed to be great if you want to burn calories, but bad for building muscle (I think). Oh, and by the end of those 2 miles, I was definitely anaerobic...not quite ready to puke though. ;-)
Anyway, I am pleased with the workout and had a great Labor Day with the hubby and kiddos! Hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend too!
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