Training Run 2-29-08

Happy Leap Year!

The true test of whether one is over a cold...and whether one is dedicated to training...running on a chilly Friday night, outside, on a hilly route.

I did the hilly 4-mile route that Holly and I did on our first run together. I tried not to go too fast knowing that most of the uphills are on the way back in, but at the same time it was cold, and I also wanted to see just how well I could do. On the way out the wind was in my face, which was a challenge, but I kept telling myself that on the way in it would be at my back. Didn't happen...the wind died entirely during mile #3, and then came back as a crosswind in mile #4.

However, my pushing myself on the treadmill on Wednesday really paid off...I was much stronger today. In spite of dark, wind, snowy/slushy sidewalks, and two stops for traffic lights...

4 miles, 46:47!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alex pointed out that this was almost exactly my time for my very first 5K (46:42)...amazing how far I've come in only about 6 months. =)

6 miles on Sunday with Holly...I might even feel ready...almost...

Training Run 2-27-08

Thank goodness for treadmills...

I think I've mostly kicked the cold, still have a cough in the evenings but it's not nearly as bad. I've been going to bed early when I feel like it, making sure I get enough to eat, and trying to keep up on my water intake...though I was a little short on the water today.

So I went to the gym an hour before they closed, which put some pressure on me to set the treadmill fast. =)

4 miles with the treadmill set to a 12-minute mile, woohoo...

So hopefully I'm back on track on the training schedule...I plan to run 4 miles again on Friday. Then it's supposed to be close to 40 degrees on Sunday for Holly and I to do our long run. Finally...

Training Run 2-24-08

I hate winter colds....

I've had a cough for about a week and a half that won't go away. I don't feel that congested, but once I start coughing I feel like I'm having an asthma attack - my throat closes up and I just cough and cough but can't clear whatever-it-is. So for the last week and a half I decided that running was a little too risky, especially since the cough is worse in the evening. Last weekend visiting my parents in Michigan I was so sick my mom let me sleep in till 10 am.

So I've read a few interesting books, but no running. Today was supposed to be 6 miles, though, so I knew I had to go out and do something, just to remind my body what it was supposed to be doing. I ran 2 miles in 22:20 and figured that was pretty good...if not for being sick and avoiding snowbanks where people haven't shoveled their sidewalks, I would have broken 11 minutes.

C'mon, spring...

Training Run 2-12-08

Went to the gym again tonight...roads are slushy and sidewalks haven't been salted. 3.5 miles in 45:31. Started the treadmill too fast....so .75 mile at 12:00 pace, 2.25 miles at 13:20 pace, and the last .5 mile at 13:02 pace. Found out there are definitely too many slow songs on my iPod. =)

Going to the store to get all 3 kids oodles of valentines for school...

Long Run 2-10-08

Paid the drop-in fee at the gym again, due to 19-degree weather and horizontal winds. Wore capri pants and nearly froze my shins from the car to the door.

I took my iPod, this is my first time running with it, but I knew without Holly I'd need some distraction to finish the run. It was nice running with the iPod, I have some nice positive music on it, but some of it is slow, which was weird...I didn't know whether to ignore the beat and just run, or try to double up on the beat.

Set the treadmill to 13:20 (setting 4.5) and ran 5 miles. Total time 1:06:40. Not blazing speed, but I didn't need to stop for a break. =)

Training Run 2-8-08

Had to haul myself off the couch tonight...brought home pizza and was starving when I got home, plus a very fussy baby...wanted to put down roots, but I knew I had to go out and run if I was going to run 5 on Sunday.

Decided to run my old 1/2-mile neighborhood loop, then try for the hilly run that Holly and I did 2 weeks ago.  It went pretty well, although I spent a lot of time hugging the curb (running against traffic, of course) because people were going a little fast through the neighborhood.

Running is so mental...the first 1/2-mile to mile is always so difficult for me...I have to practically tell myself out loud that I can do this, that I've run this distance before...and even then my body doesn't really believe it until about 1 1/2-2 miles.  I wonder how far I could run if I just kept believing I could keep running...?

Anyway, tonight's 3 1/2 miles was 42:42, with a really tough hill at the end.  I just imagined I was running up Heartbreak Hill in Boston =)

Someday...

Training Run 2-5-08

I really need to start posting these quicker...

3.5 miles in 41:48. It was actually warm enough that I left my jacket in the driveway after the first half mile and ran the rest of the way in just a T-shirt and running pants. Good Groundhog Day weather =)

I am having a slight pain - like a side stitch but it doesn't go away when I am not running - in my left side just under my ribs. My cousin the physical therapist says that it's probably just a muscle strain and will take care of itself. She says I don't need to change my activity level, especially since it actually doesn't hurt when I run - just in between.

Alex thinks it's because I spend so much time carrying around a 30-pound (?) toddler. He says I was like this with the other two kids too. How come he can remember things I said and did 5-8 years ago but can't remember the honey-do list I gave him last weekend? =)

I'll see Holly at a meeting tonight, and then probably run afterward. She's going to be out of town for a professional conference, so we are going to do our long run on our own and then check in. Maybe I'll try the hilly 4-mile loop...but slower this time.

Run with Holly 2-3-08

We went adventuring today, since we both thought that last week's run was just a little more hilly than we're ready for. We ended up going over our target mileage a little bit, the run was more like 4 1/2 miles than 4. Too bad. =)

55:37 for 4 1/2 miles, also known as just under 12.5 minutes per mile. Wahooooooo!!

Training Run 2-1-08

It's February!!!!!

Alex was a great coach tonight...I had a long week at work and really didn't feel like running, a winter storm is coming through, the kids were off of school today, and I need to bake Allison's birthday cake tonight. But, as usual, once I was out, it was nice to have the time alone to re-focus my brain. Also, after last Sunday I know I need the conditioning.

It was cold but not as cold as I thought...still enough that I pushed my pace to finish sooner (and get back inside!!). I wasn't sure I could do the last mile of my planned three, but I knew it would bug me if I didn't. My challenging myself paid off...

3 miles, 36:36!!!!!!!!!!

So now I am inside tinting white pudding cake batter yellow, pink, and purple. Alex is at the store getting Gummi Savers to put on the finished cake as polka dots. Andrew is screaming and saying that it is time for him to cuddle with mommy and go to bed. =)

Training Run 1-30-08

Almost typed 1-30-01 in the title field...can't believe it's been 7 years since Allison was born.

I ran 3 miles in the cold, wishing I'd run the night before when it was warmer, but I didn't manage to beat the windstorms.  Felt good - especially since I followed a tip I found on Runners' World website (www.runnersworld.com) that said to lace your shoes looser to keep your feet warm in cold weather, so you don't cut off the circulation to your feet.  37:29 for 3 miles, about a 12 1/2 minute mile.

Definitely need to run twice this week so I'm ready for Holly on Sunday afternoon.