Nike + iPod Sensor

No running or working out today. It's my scheduled rest day. Plus, it's been raining all day, as in thunder, lightening, rain. It's cooled off amazingly. Yesterday 95°F, today it's like 60°F. What a fabulous change!

So yesterday the UPS man left a little package on my front step. The Coach sent me a Nike + iPod Sensor to put in my shoes and track my runs. How cool is that?! She has had a sensor for a couple of years, I guess, and her handsome husband has one also. It came in very handy last Saturday for my big 10-miler. You know, when my Runmeter app failed me and didn't track my mileage correctly.

I feel pretty special and can hardly wait until Friday, my next run, to use it. It's already seated in my shoe just waiting for a chance to show its stuff!

Thank you, Coach!

Cooler Temps are so Cool!

Time: 39:34
Distance: 3.24 mi.
Pace: 12:13 m/mi
Time of Day: 6:34 a.m.
Weather: 61°F.

Easy run today according to the training schedule. The temperatures in the 60's are definitely working in my favor. It is supposed to heat up by Thursday, near 100° again. Yuck!

I had a migraine yesterday and didn't get to work out with Kelly. I'll strength train tomorrow, run Thursday, and strength train on Friday, Monday will be my rest day this week.

A Look Back at Summer Running

Distance: 3.05 mi.
Time: 37:10 min.
Pace: 12:11 (m/mi)
Time of Day: 6:15 a.m.
Weather: 72°F, warmer & more humid


First before I look back at my stats over the last 3 or months—I hit my 10 min. mark at .82 mi. again today! I wasn't sure I would make it because it was pretty humid and I was having trouble early on. But I pushed myself and I made it!


So here's what I did over the last few months.


May
Distance: 83:57 mi.
Duration: 18:25:17
Avg Pace: 13:14 (m/mi)


Pretty good  considering I ran my first half-marathon in April.


June
Distance: 34:07 mi.
Duration: 7:05:43
Avg Pace: 12:30 (m/mi.)


Wow! I really increased my pace but my total mileage is way down. A sign of the heat that was settling in. 


July
Distance: 62:47 mi.
Duration: 13:40:04
Avg Pace: 13:06 (m/mi)


A little slower pace but better consistency and total mileage. Most of the miles were logged before the 20th. 


August
Distance: 34.96 mi.
Duration: 7:17:38
Avg Pace: 12:31 (m/mi)


I ran only 6 days before the 20th. It was hot, humid & miserable. I just gave up. 


Here is what I think I learned from my first summer of running. Consistency is important. I learned that running several times a week, even if only a short distance, is much better physically and psychologically for me. I need the routine in my life and the daily dose of sunshine & being out-of-doors.


Better to run shorter distances more frequently than longer distances once in a while. When it is hot & humid I need to shorten my time and distance. Again, several short runs vs. one long run in a week is more beneficial. 


Just to remind myself, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported this morning that this summer is going down in the books as the 4th hottest summer on record. There weren't any individual daily records set, but the consistency of 90°+ days and 70°+ nights is what made it so hot. I really am not crazy-it was hot, humid & miserable. 

Head for the Hills

Time: 26:53 min.
Distance: 2.15 mi.
Pace: 12:56 m/mi.
Time of Day: 6:15 a.m.
Weather: 80°F, humid but breezy


A new route today. Instead of turning left out of my subdivision I turned right and headed out to run some hills. As I've said before, I live half way up a hill. At the bottom of the hill is a river. So I ran almost to the river this morning. I have avoided this area simply because it is all downhill on the outbound, and, of course, uphill all the way back. But it is going to be a good way to get in some hill practice. 


I'm pretty pleased with my performance. I didn't walk at all and to run up a fairly steady incline about a mile long at a 12:56 pace--well, I think that was pretty good. 


BTW, I'm feeling the ab workout yesterday. 


I'm out of town the rest of the week so my workout schedule looks like this:
Wednesday-yoga in the hotel room
Thursday-treadmill for 3-4 miles
Friday-rest
Saturday-Probably an additional rest day since I will be traveling.
Sunday-long run

Me and Wii

Rest Day


Since I don't have a gym membership any more I have to do strength training, etc. at home. My fabuloso kids gave The Love a Wii for his birthday earlier this year. We have played around on it so I am looking to it for fitness workouts on my non-running days. 


The strength training section focuses on the lower body, but the Yoga and balancing sections are great. Also, I did the beginner running activity and was smoking! 


I also have a plethora (inside joke) of fitness videos I can utilize for general body toning and upper body workouts. So I think I'm set.

The Best Laid Plans Go Awry

Stats
Distance: 7.5 mi.
Time: 1:52:55
Pace: 15:03 min/mi
Time of day: 11:30 a.m.
Temperature: 80F; sunny, hot, 66% humidity

I counted 11 people out running a 7:30 a.m. when I went to pick up The Love's car and drop off my car for a state inspection. It was a sign and I totally missed it! I was concerned about too quick of turnaround having run last evening. Oh how silly I am. Even The Love tried to tell me that I should run in the morning and not wait until afternoon.

I finally hit the trail about 11:30 a.m. My plan was to run 2 miles, then walk 1 mile and log 13 miles. Umm, yeah. That was the plan. It didn't work out though. I completely underestimated the effect of the temperature and humidity. It was brutal and with the lack of running this past week, well, all I can say is, I did what I could do.

I ran the first 2 miles and slowed down to a power walk. By the time I was at the 3 mile mark, I was hot, sweating profusely and not feeling well. I picked up the pace and ran about 1/4 mile before I realized I was in trouble. I started walking again and finally turned around at just under the 4 mile marker. I tried running again until I became light-headed and started feeling sick. I found a shady place to sit for about 5 minutes and then walked the remaining 2 miles back to my car.

I carried water but it was all gone by about mile 5. I realized that I really should have run earlier when it wasn't so hot and humid. I hope I don't make this mistake again.

So where does this leave my training and my readiness for the North Shore half-marathon?

I am going to pick up the training schedule with tomorrow's 2 mile run. I plan to follow the schedule as set out with 1 change. I'm going to run 2-3 miles on Wednesday since I don't get those miles when I strength train now. And when race day comes I will do the best I can.

A Long Talk With The Coach

I had a long talk with The Coach Sunday evening. I was feeling bad about my earlier run. And, with a travel schedule that will disrupt my running schedule again, I wanted to get her advice on how to proceed. As usual she was understanding, uplifting and practical.

The first thing she said was that Monday should be a fun run, if I run at all. Decide in the morning how I feel and if I don't feel like running, then don't. If I do feel like running, then just start out and run for only as long as it is pleasurable. Don't go out with any time or distance goal. Just run for the joy of it.

She also reminded me that I am a beginner runner. I have not built up a great deal of endurance or stamina and running the distances I did in the time frame I did really taxed my body. Don't beat myself up about a bad run, just accept reality and move on. Even elite runners have bad runs.

So here I am in my hotel room Monday evening. I didn't run this morning before leaving home because it was raining. I am exhausted after my day today. Making myself go get on the hotel treadmill sounds like toture. I am going to wait until tomorrow to run. I believe I will be at my hotel early enough that I can get on the treadmill before dinner.

A Bad Run

Sunday, 05/17
Distance: 8.0 mi.
Time: 1:49:56
Pace: 13:45 min/mi
Time of day: 10:25 a.m.
Temperature: 60F, cloudy, cool, rainy

Today's run was awful! Here is a list of what went wrong:

1. I ran Saturday evening at 5:30 p.m. and turned around and ran at 10:25 a.m. I had a situation of avoiding rain and hooking up with The Chef on business. The Chef lives very close to the trail I use for long runs so I didn't want to go to her house, come home, and then drive back.
2. I forgot to carry my water. I realized this about 1.5 miles into the run.
3. I was tired. I ran 12+ miles in the last 48 hours before heading out on this run.
4. Again, my running app malfunctioned.

I wanted to run my regularly scheduled 11 miles Sunday, but I was worn out by 8 miles. In fact, I had to call The Love to pick me up and drive me back to the trail head where my car was parked.

Flip Flop

Playing catch up.

Monday's Stats, 05/03
Distance: 3.29 mi.
Time: 43:23 min.
Pace: 13:11 min/mi.
Time of day: 12:30 p.m.
Temperature: 75°F., sunny, hot, humidity on the rise

Two things about today:

First, I am swapping my Monday and Tuesday schedules as mentioned previously. I have a hard time motivating myself to hit the gym first thing Monday morning. I do, however, feel the urge to run on Mondays. So I'm going to try the swap and see how it goes.

Second, I was all excited about running today and really ran into a wall. The Love wanted to walk on the local fitness trail at lunch so I agreed. I figured I would run the outer loop and then a figure 8 to hit my 5 miles. It was hot and humid and that coupled with the hills really wore me out. I made the outer loop and started the figure 8. I was only about 1/4 of the way when I started feeling light-headed and slightly nauseous. I walked a while then ran again, ending at the car. I was o.k. but I'm not in this to make myself sick. So I'm  glad I listened to my body and stopped.

A question I had for Coach Jeni was, do I make up the missed miles later in the week? "Nope", she said. "They are just gone."

Yesterday and Today

Thursday's Run
Distance: 2.29 mi.
Time: 29:51 min.
Pace: 13:01 min./mi.
Time of day: 12:20 p.m.
Temperature: 65°F. (I forgot to log the temperature, but it was close to that.) It was a beautiful noontime run.

My first attempt at running up the hill in front of my house. I have to laugh! I live halfway up a pretty long hill. Coach Jeni told me earlier this week that from the bottom of the hill to about halfway would be good training for my next race. So today I walked out of the house, down the hill and stretched a little. I took off up the hill at a pretty slow pace (about 15:30 min./mi.). I did actually make it to the top of the street. At that point you turn, continue up the hill another block and then the road flattens out. As I said, I made it to the top of my street. That was my goal. I was lightheaded and breathing hard gasping for breath. But I didn't stop. I turned the corner and walked the remaining 1 block to the flat part of the road. My breathing had slowed enough that I started running. (Yes, actually running, with only one foot on the ground at a time.) I ran out of my subdivision and on to my usual 2 mile course.

It took about 3/4 of mile before I felt I have recovered from the hill. But, hey, that was my first time. It will only get better from here on out.

Oh yes. I swapped Thursday and Friday workouts. It was supposed to rain all day Friday so I decided to run Thursday and go to the gym for strength training on Friday. Which I did.

Friday's Workout
An easy 1 mile on the treadmill to warm up, then 1 set of each exercise to ease back into the strength training routine.

I need to increase my upper body strength so I don't slump so much as I tire during running. Besides, it makes me look better. And as I have said to The Son a couple of times, "It's all about the look." He'll understand.

Saturday is my first "long" run since the race. It is 5 miles. It is supposed to rain tomorrow also. But I think I will run in the rain (if it's not too bad) just for the experience.

It feels good to be working out regularly again. I understand that I need to give my body time to recover from racing and I understand that right now that takes me a couple of weeks. But, I miss the discipline of working out every day. I tend to get lazy when I'm taking it easy with the training. It 's a darn good thing I have such a great Coach to keep me healthy!

Second Verse, Same as the First

Wednesday's Stats

Distance: 1.68 mi.
Time: 23:28 min.
Pace: 13:57 min/mi
Time of day: 4:45 p.m.
Temperature: 85°F. sunny, warm, breezy, but absolutely beautiful

So there I was running along feeling great, listening to my music, letting my mind wander, reveling in the recent 2 lbs. weight loss and, "Ouch!" Crap, I did it again. I turned my left ankle. Of course, the acute pain stopped me in my tracks, but it went away pretty quickly. But I have a half marathon to run in 10 days so I turned around and limped home.

RICE to the rescue! I fixed myself a bowl of Cheerios for dinner and plopped down in front of the TV with ice and elevation for my ankle. There I stayed for the next 3 hours, not moving even to go the bathroom. When I did get up, I was pleased to find that although a bit tender on the outside of my ankle I could walk without pain or limping.

This morning I got up and, again, there is that sore spot on the outside of my ankle, but I'm walking and feeling o.k. I put on my elastic ankle brace thingy to compress the area and give it support.

No running or exercising today. Tomorrow is a scheduled 3 mile run I will attempt. But there is no way I'm messing around with this minor injury. I will be in top form for the Go! St. Louis race in 4/11.

Random Thoughts on Running

Now that's it has been 24 hours since I did my longest run ever and I didn't do any workout today because my legs were so darn sore, I thought I would put down some random thoughts I have had about running.

I can still hardly believe that I ran 11 miles. I first talked to The Coach about wanting to run the Go! St. Louis half-marathon Nov. 12th or 13th. I started training the following Monday, Nov. 16th. That is just a little over 4 months ago. When I stop and think about it, I am amazed at what I have accomplished in the time since that first walk/run on a cold, rainy, dark morning.

I tend to downplay my accomplishments but honestly, I've accomplished a lot. It has taken determination. And I could not have done this without the support of The Love, The Coach, and The Son. The Love has worked his schedule around my running; he never blinked an eye when I took off during the day to run. When I needed something, he made sure I got it. In addition, his belief in me that I could do this has brought me to tears more than once. The Coach has been fabulous. In addition to developing a comprehensive training program, she, too, has supported me with confidence. More than once, she has picked up my flagging spirits and re-energized me. She answered every question I asked, even when it was probably inconvenient for her. She has truly been the back bone of my training. The Son, while playing a smaller role, has nevertheless been instrumental in helping me on the LSRs every weekend. He has quite a talent for keeping my pace steady and encouraging me on the final miles. I honestly didn't think I would be able to run the last 2 miles yesterday without him. But as I became tired I tried to tell myself what I thought he would be telling me if he had been running along side.

So with all this support and love around me I was quite surprised last Saturday at my sewing event for the negative reaction I received from other women about my goal. I ate lunch with a group of women that I know only slightly, through my monthly ASG Neighborhood Group meetings. As we talked about health and middle age the subject of exercise came up and I mentioned that I was training to run a half-marathon. Much to my surprised the women responded with only negative comments. "You shouldn't run because it makes every thing droop." "My doctor told me never to run. The constant pounding wouldn't do anything good for my body." "You're going to get arthritis in your knees and then you'll be sorry." Whoa! I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I certianly don't expect people to fawn over me when I talk about running and my goal. But, several other people who know I run (and now that I think about it, they are all men,) have responded to me with comments like, "Wow. That's awesome." "Wow. A half-marathon, huh. That's a really long way." "That's great. Good luck." Stuff like that. I am really blown away by how negative these women were. I don't know what was going on with them, but I hope I learned that when someone tells you about a goal in their life, give them some positive feedback. What they are doing is important to them and they deserve all the support and encouragement they can get. Who cares if their goal doesn't appeal to you. The fact that she is moving forward in a positive manner is awesome!

OK. That's the end of my rant. I just had to get it off my chest.

I rested today. I am surprised by how stiff and sore my legs are. Probably due in large part to the half-hearted stretching I did after the 11 miles I ran. (Isn't it so cool that I ran 11 miles?) Tomorrow is a 6-mile run. While I think it would be easy to talk about how it's only half of what I just ran so it will be easy, I don't think so. Six miles is still a distance for me to go. But I am totally up for it. Should I take my grocery list with me as I run to the grocery store and back?

Resting a Day Early

Imagine my surprise when I awoke around 4 a.m. and realized it was raining. Hmm. What happened to warm and sunny? I swapped my rest day today and will run tomorrow when, even though it will be cloudy, the temperature is predicted to hit 70°F.

I was a little sore in my upper back and shoulders this morning after my strength training yesterday. But it was a good sore.

Is That Renewed Enthusiasm I Feel?

Distance: 1.17 mi/
Time: 15:00 min.
Pace: 12:49/mile
Time of day: 6:30 a.m.
Warm up for strength training

I was up and at 'em this morning, heading out to the gym around 6:15 a.m. I wanted to really work with the weights today since I had a couple of easy strength training sessions last week. I didn't push myself on the treadmill, just enough work to warm up the muscles. And I had a great strength training session.

This week is a step back week on the training schedule. And, for the first time I really understand the purpose. I ran a total of 28+ miles last week and I'm ready to take it a little easier this week. The weird place I feel it in my body is my ankles. Those bony knobs that stick out on the ankle--my are really tender. But other than that I feel great! And I'm really looking forward to running this week. Is that enthusiasm I feel?

A Great Sunday Run

Distance: 2.1 mi.
Time: 23:36
Pace: 11:16/mile
Time of day: 11:00 a.m.
Temp: 50-ish, warm, sunny, slightly breezy

Sunday's are short, easy runs designed to make sure I don't get stiff and sore after my LDR on Saturday. I felt great Sunday. The Love Of My Life wanted to walk outside so we headed up to the middle school track. I decided the track would be a great place to work on speed and I'm really pleased to see that my pace was so good, 11:16/mile. I felt like I could have run another couple miles at that pace, but I didn't. Instead I slowed to a walk and shared a couple of laps with The Love. It was a fantastic workout!

Could that be enthusiasm returning?

Longest Distance Ever

Distance: 9.0 miles
Time: 2:00:03 hours
Pace: 13:25/mile
Time of Day: 9:45 a.m.
Temp: 45°F, beautiful, bright, sunny

I ran 9 miles today! Nine miles! Of course, I had my DS running with me and encouraging me, but I did the running! I ran 9 miles.

I felt pretty strong during most of the race, but the last 1.5 miles was a struggle. Scott was an awesome running partner. He encouraged me and supported me through the entire race, but especially that last 1.5 miles. I said to him at about 8 miles, "Don't let me quit." He responded, "No, Mom. There is no way you are quitting at this point. I won't let you." The other thing he said to me was, "The first 7.5 miles is just a warm up for this last 1.5 miles." It was what I needed at the time.

After feeling so completely worn down last Sunday with my 7-mile run, I am really pleased that today I feel great. I am tired and my legs are sore, but I didn't feel like collapsing at the end of my run today.

One thing Scott had me do today was stretch every time we had to stop and wait to cross a street. A couple of times I stretched my hamstrings. One time near the end he suggested I rotate my ankles to kind of stretch them out. That felt great. He also had me really stretch at the end of the run, which I believe helped me not feel so sore this afternoon.

We ran a completely new route today. It is a paved trail over an old railroad line. It is flat (as in no hills) and runs along a couple of streams. The sky was bright blue; the sunshone brightly; a light breeze. It was absolutely gorgeous! And, by the way, did I mention I ran 9 miles today?

Thinking While Resting

Today is my rest day. I'm going to swap Thursday's and Friday's workouts due to a scheduling conflict. I considered swapping Wednesday's and Thursday's workouts, but decided I really wanted today off.

I had a great session with Coach Jeni this morning. We talked mostly about how mental I am I need to work on my mental training. She suggested the following:

• Clock the distance of my running route with my car before running so I know how far I have to go on The Road before I start out. This will eliminate any surprises like Sunday.
• Quit running the short side streets and run straight up and back on The Road. This should provide a huge psychological boost by physically running a little farther almost everytime I run.
• Practise safe running by being aware of my surroundings, turn down my music if I have to, run on the sidewalk when possible, and just go run on The Road.

She also reminded me to be sure to regulate my breathing. This will be increasingly important on my LSRs.

After my mediocre experience Sunday I have been thinking about running during every free moment. I think I've reached another point where it would be easy quit. I haven't built up that foundation that makes longer runs enjoyable so LSRs are taxing for me. I was exhausted the remainder of Sunday and have been in bed by 8:30 p.m. every night since. It would be easy for me to say, "This is harder than I thought; I don't think I can do this". I admit to having considered quitting Monday morning. But I'm not going to. I really, really, really want to reach my goal of running the half-marathon. And I really, really like the way I am feeling and beginning to look. I really really like running outside all the time, especially now that the weather will be warming up and the sun shining more. I've made it through all the snow and cold and clouds and grey skies, I now want to experience the beautiful weather when I run. So I'm in for the long haul. Many many thanks to my family for their suppport.

A Good Day to Rest

Rest Day

Mmm, cold today. The high was maybe 30°F with wind chills at least 10 degrees colder. A good day to rest! I am a little sore in the legs after my 4.8 mile run yesterday. But my foot doesn't hurt so that's a good thing. Back to the gym tomorrow.

I Feel So Much Better!

Distance: 4.8 mi.
Time: 1:01:05
Pace: 12:44/mi.
Time of day: 3:30 p.m.
Temp: 39°F, 30°F WC

It was a beautiful day to run! The sun was shining brightly. Only a slight wind. No rain, no snow or ice. Glorious!

I have 2 reasons to feel so much better. First, I am able to run again! I was very happy to be outside running, especially since it was such a beautiful day. I didn't plan to run 4.8 mi. but I misjudged the distance of a new leg on my route. So I feel good that I ran that far. Also, my pace was faster than I have been running. (It would have been even better, but I had to stop & tie my shoe! What's up with that?) I made a concerted effort to run just a bit faster. Not so much that I am exhausted though. I think I tend to get stuck in more of a warm up speed than a run speed. So after I had run for 1/4 mile to warm up I picked up the pace and worked to keep that faster pace. I am pleasantly tired.

My ankle is a little stiff after the run. But I think it is o.k. It isn't painful, just kind of stiff. So I'm happy about that.

Now for the 2nd reason I feel so much better. I discovered that the reason I twisted my ankle is not because I'm a klutz, but because the road has a definite uneven spot where I turned my ankle last week. I ran the same route I started on last Thursday and when I reached the point where I fell, I paid special attention to the road surface. I didn't see anything then but on the return trip over the same spot, I almost fell again due to a marked unevenness of the road surface. Here's the deal. This road was recently resurfaced and the shoulders were topped off with this very fine gravelly stuff. You can't readily see where there might be a dip in actual black top. But now I know! I'll be careful in that spot and run a little closer to the traffic lane when it is safe. I'm so happy I'm not as klutzy as I thought!

So tomorrow is my regularly scheduled rest day. And, Coach Jeni told me not to "run, run, run" when I get back on the road. So I guess I'll take tomorrow off and hit the gym again on Thursday. I'm still thinking about the weight issue. Then Friday I get to run again. Yeah! And on Saturday Coach Jeni (and all my beautiful grandchildren) will be here for the weekend and Jeni & I will get to run together. I'm so excited! Oh yes. I'm also excited because this weekend is the big birthday party for The-Love-Of-My-Life!

Life is good!

The Day After 5 Miles on a Treadmill

Rest Day

I was exhausted yesterday afternoon and evening after running 5 miles on the treadmill. Jeni & I talked late in the day about how tired I was and I asked her if it could be because I didn't eat any GU while I was running. She said she didn't think so, not at this distance. But when I casually mentioned later about having shoveled snow in the morning she broke in and said, "That's probably why you are so tired now." Maybe. I guess so. I know shoveling snow is hard work, but still…would it make that much difference? So as the day wore on I contemplated my tiredness and the snow shoveling and how it all is intertwined.

One reason I wanted to start running is to increase my fitness level. I did not like being only 54 and feeling so out of shape. I felt physically weak; I lacked energy. And I just didn't want to feel that way. I want to be physically active and strong. I also want to be mentally sharp. Sometimes I look at the vast majority of women around me and I cringe. I don't want to be huffing & puffing my way through life, unable to shovel the snow in winter or rake the leaves in the fall. I don't want to qualify for the Olympics, but I do want to be active and energetic.

I realize that I've only been on this journey for a 3 months. I'm no where near what is called "fit". But I am better than I was last summer. And that's a start. And every time I increase my running distance or time or speed my body must adjust. Maybe next winter I'll be better able to shovel snow and run 5 miles on a treadmill without being so darn tired. But today—I'm really glad it's a rest day.