Up Till Now

I had a great workout at the gym on Monday with Kelly. She's really making me work my butt off, so to speak. But it's a good thing and I love the challenge.

I switched my Tuesday & Wednesday workouts. (So Tuesday became a rest day.)
Here's the scoop on Wednesday.

Time: 57:35
Distance: 4.6mi. 
Pace: 12:31 m/mi
Time of Day: 3:40 p.m.
Weather: 73°F. Sunny and warm, very warm.

This run was a challenge from Kelly. There is road near my home that's pretty hilly and I've never attempted it. It's one of those up & down, up & down, up & down roads. Kelly wanted me to challenge myself with one of my runs this week and we decided this road would be it.

The route in detail: The first .25 mile was getting out on the road to the stop light where I turned right. The next 1-1.5 miles was up and down all the way. I did pretty good here. Only 1 hill that I walked part way up. When the ups & downs ended I was "up". The next .5 mile is a slow descent to a flat part about 1.5 miles. Then I turn right again and head up a long slow hill to get back home. That is the part I had to speed walk.

So here's the good, the bad, and some observations about the run & the route.

Bad
I wasn't able to run the entire route. I managed about 3.5 miles before I had to slow down & walk.
And, that's it. That's the only bad item.

Good
I finished the run! Yes, I walked that last 1.1 miles, but I finished it speed walking.
My pace was good - 11:30 - running the hills. That could be a contributing factor to why I had to slow down on the back end, but it really didn't feel too fast while I was running.

Observations
Man, I should have taken water! I thought about it but decided against it. I should learn that if I think about it, I should probably do it. It was 73°, sunny and I was running hills. A definite recipe for a bottle of water.

The hills were not as challenging as I thought they would be.

I will definitely run these hills again, but I'll loop back rather than run down that long hill and hit the flat part. The flat part does not have a sidewalk or even a shoulder on the road. It was hazardous a couple of times when I was walking. I had to step off the road onto the grass. It was bumpy and not good on my ankle. I think a good solution is when I am at the peak to run through the park and just turn around and come back. That will avoid that stretch of road with really nowhere to run.

All in all I was really pleased with the run. Woo-hoo!

Last Friday's Run

Time: 1:11:37
Distance: 6.07 mi. 
Pace: 11:48 m/mi
Time of Day: 6:40 a.m.
Weather: 50°F. cloudy & cool

A really great run! I switched things up a bit and listened to a podcast by Michael Hyatt instead of music. What a difference! The miles just seemed to fly by. I will definitely do this again.

I ran a route I am including more & more. At the 2-mile point on my usual route I can turn left and create a loop through a residential area. It adds a whole mile vs. just turning around and running back home. There are some hills on this route so that helps mix it up.

Monday with Kelly

Worked out at the gym with Kelly this morning. As usual she pushed and challenged me to work hard. For the first time every I exercised my shoulders using these huge big heavy ropes. Oh my gosh. My shoulders were so tired after 3 30 sec. -- what do you call it when you wave those ropes up & down? No clue, but I think I'll have trouble raising my arms tomorrow!

So this week is a bit mixed up as far as working out. Tuesday will be a 4 mi. run. Wednesday I'll go back to the gym for some elliptical work and ab work. Thursday will be strength training and a LSR on Friday. Saturday & Sunday will be off days due to sewing guild activities.

Weekend Wrap Up

Thursdays I strength train at the gym. I have enough workouts from my time with Kelly that I can pick & choose which one to do. But Wednesday evening Kelly emailed me a special workout to do on Thursday. Oh man! You're killing me Kelly. She said it was shorter than normal since I would be incorporating some sprint work on the elliptical. I really need to read between the lines better. If I had done so I would have read the words "more intense". Yes, the workout was shorter in exercises and sets, but it was way more intense! I made it through by telling myself it would be worth it in the end. Also, as Kelly knows, there is no way I'm going to quit or admit a workout is too tough. At the end, after I'd recovered a bit, I felt awesome. Thank you, Kelly.

Also on Thursday I visited my podiatrist about my ankle. Her conclusion is that I sprained the ankle in the plain where I walk (vs. the plain where I run. Did you know that your foot had these 2 different plains?) She prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine along with wrapping the ankle, and ice after exercise. She recommended keeping it wrapped all the time for about a week, then wrapping it after running for another 2-3 weeks. She also said that for the next week I should ice my ankle after I run. She explained that I could do any exercise that didn't cause pain but if any movement caused any discomfort I shouldn't do it. That eliminated step ups at the gym and yoga. Boo-hoo. No yoga for about a month.

Friday I went back to the gym and worked out on the elliptical machine for 46 min. I went at a brisk pace (150 strides/min) for 15 minutes then did 10 minutes of sprints followed by 20 minutes at the previous brisk pace. The sprints were 30 sec. as fast as I could go (200+ strides/min), followed by 30 sec. of recovery. My legs were quivering when I stepped off the machine, but I was surprised at how I really felt like I had worked hard.

And now, Saturday's LSR:
Time: 1:12:25
Distance: 6.0 mi. 
Pace: 12:04 m/mi
Time of Day: 9 a.m.
Weather: 53°F.

What a great day to run! The sun was shining and there was the tiniest cool breeze. Not a cloud in the sky. The temp was awesome!

But, alas, it was a hard 6 miles. I had 3 or 4 short walks to get through. They were all on hills or inclines so that made me feel a bit better. And another obstacle was that my left hamstring really tightened up on me. I've never had that happen and I'm going to talk to The Coach about how to deal with that on a run. (She's off yachting in the Caribbean right now. Lucky her!) But the good thing is I made it the entire 6 miles AND, I'm looking forward to my next long run which will be Wednesday and 7 miles. (I have to rearrange my training this week due to an ASG Conference next Saturday.)

Foggy Run

Time: 47:28
Distance: 4.06 mi. 
Pace: 11:42 m/mi
Time of Day: 6:37 a.m.
Weather: 61°F.

After several days of 90° weather it rained last night and cooled off somewhat. But that created lots of fog this morning. It was overcast and cooler, but humid because of the rain.

It was a good run this morning. My ankle is bothering me and I have an appointment with the podiatrist tomorrow morning. It's strange that my ankle doesn't hurt while I run. It is just a bit sore. But now that's it been a couple of hours, I'm beginning to be careful how I put my foot down. I've been putting off going to the doctor because I am concerned she will find something seriously wrong and tell me to not run. But it's time. It hurts enough that it's negatively impacting life in general so it's time to do something.

The Week So Far

Monday mornings I work out with my personal trainer, Kelly. I love Kelly even when she kicks my butt with a tough workout. Of course, sometimes I contribute to a challenging workout. Take yesterday for example. The gym has a big new workout contraption. (Seriously, I do not know what it is called, but it looks like an adult jungle gym.) The weight machines were moved around so that in addition to making room for the big new contraption there is also move personal training workout area. I noticed that in the corner the mirrors had been removed from the wall and I asked Kelly why. She said, "It's so you can use these," and she picked up this weighted ball and tossed it high up against the wall. Silly me, I replied, "That looks like fun." She handed the 12 lb. ball to me and I tossed it up against the wall. As I caught it Kelly said, "Now squat, come back up and toss the ball again." OK. No big deal. Yeah, right. She said, "Now keep that up for 30 seconds." Rest for 10 secs. Repeat. Rest. Repeat. Will that teach me to keep my mouth shut? Probably not, and man, do my shoulders ache today!

Tuesday morning is yoga morning. I've started going at 6 a.m. for Sunrise Yoga at the Agape Yoga Studio near my home. I think this class is actually a bit beyond my skill level, but the time is perfect for my schedule so I sweat my way through. The class instructor is awesome and she patiently helps me. Today as my legs were quivering through a pose I asked myself why I was there, but after class I felt great. So that's why I keep going back.

Weekend Runs

Saturday, 03/31
Time:  1:02:12
Distance: 5.31 mi. 
Pace: 11:32 m/mi
Time of Day: 7 a.m.
Weather: 52°F.

Oh man, it was a beautiful morning to run. It was cool, the sun was just coming up, the sky had nary a cloud.

I had emailed The Coach earlier in the week asking if it would be ok if I texted her after my runs. I was stuck on running 3-4 miles and needed some accountability. She, of course said yes, but suggested I start writing down my runs here in this blog again. She also suggested I write on my training schedule next to each day's workout how I did. Both excellent suggestions which I have started doing. Then she ended her reply with, "Get out of your HEAD! You can run more than 4 miles. Just do it!" Hence, my 5.31 mile run today. Truly, I love her tough love!!

Sunday, 04/01
Time: 17:47
Distance: 1.6 mi.
Pace: 11:06 m/mi
Time of Day: 10:30 a.m.
Weather: 72°F.

Just a short run today. It was sunny and no breeze. I ran on the school track while The Love walked.