Well, I've been licking my scratches and feeling sorry for myself a little bit since this weekend, when I ran a 5k on Saturday and did - what I felt at the time to be true, anyway - incredibly poorly.
Fact is that I did *not* do incredibly poorly and I have to keep reminding myself of that. I did under 30 minutes and that's just fine. I feel like an out-of-shape schlub because at my last 5K I did just about 28:00, and at the 8K I did a couple of weeks ago I ran in 47 minutes, including two stops. This one - this puny little 3.1 miler - I finished in 28:45 (or 28:36, according to the results on the website - whatever, nine seconds I DO NOT DISPUTE) and had to walk for a significant section of it around mile 1.5 and 2.5. I took this very hard mostly because I have been having that happen a lot lately - I've had stamina trouble this past couple of weeks and it bothers me quite a bit. Not being able to finish 5 miles without stopping I can understand. Not managing three? Sadness. ;_;
Well, I've thought long and hard and I think here are some reasons, some of which are under my control and some of which are not:
1) I was pacing myself after a coworker who was also running the race and as a result I ran the first mile WAY too fast. Seriously, I did it in 8:15, which would be dandy if I were running a one-mile race. it's much too fast for the first third of a race though.
2) The course had a buttload of hills and I haven't been keeping up in training with hills - I've been sticking mainly with the treadmill the past couple of weeks. I ran the apartment perimeter again yesterday, almost but not quite three times around, then did a hill course on the treadmill. From here on out Sundays are hill days, the end.
3) I've been dieting and this is the first time, I believe, that I've gone into a race with a deliberate week-long caloric deficiency. I guess I can't expect to perform my best when I've been watching calories as harshly as I have. Not that I've been doing 1,000 calorie days or anything like that, but it's just probably best not to try to train for *real* running while trying to lose weight: you either run to lose weight, or you run to race, and the two are different.
So, even the ones I can't really control (like the course) I can at least try to work up on next time. Le sigh. I checked my coworker's time and she only finished a minute ahead of me, after all; and she said she had to stop too and the course was really tough, and that she was running with her son (his first race) and she had to let him go ahead, and he finished a minute ahead of HER. I felt a little better after that but I can't shake this feeling of being disappointed in myself, even though I know I shouldn't. My next 5K will be better. We're all allowed less-than-stellar performances sometimes.
Oh, in unrelated news, I have finally - for the first time! - finished week 2 of the 100 push-ups challenge! My exhaustion test was 26, which is a nice bit up from 19 (where I was two weeks ago). I started week three today but it's HARD; I could only do half of the "max" number listed for the final set (20! YOW!). I think I'm probably going to do the week and then repeat it before going on to week 4. Still though! Progress :)
Showing posts with label 5K. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5K. Show all posts
Monday, October 6, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Kitty in the middle
I don't know what that means. For all I know it's obscene. I hope not. :P I just like the idea of a kitty cat in between two other objects, durnit!
Well, not a lot going on... I did my run on Tuesday, but though it totaled about 4.5 miles it was very broken up (generally about a mile at a time with a little rest in between. The 0.5 was done in four sets of sprints). Yesterday I was going to just do a three-mile run and then do some Minna Lessig workout but I ended up changing my plan and doing five miles on the treadmill non-stop. This was easier for some reason than it had been - I was on a different treadmill, to start with - so I think there's some thing going on with the elevation on the treadmill I use at work. Again. Sigh. Well, no biggie, if I'm working harder than I think I am that's cool!
And finally, today I was back at the usual treadmill and although I did 4 miles (and the first two straight through) I still had to stop at the start of the third, and again about about 3.2 total before finishing. So there's got to be SOMEthing going on with that sucker.
Tomorrow is a "rest" day, meaning I'll just do a DVD, and then Saturday I'm aiming for another five-miler. I'd like to get these things a little more commonplace. By next Saturday I'm hoping to do a 5.5 mile run. The problem of course is that I do them on the treadmill so I'm kind of "on the clock". :P I'm just not really sure where else to go - I know there are places to go in the area, but it's the extra time of getting there and getting back and etc that puts me off. The treadmill is RIGHT there, about a two-minute walk from my apartment. Yes, I could certainly jog the perimeter of the apt complex, but for five miles that would be like six times around and I get effing BORED. ;D Oh well! I'll figure it out!
The Thanksgiving race that looks the best in this area is actually a 10K. I am all up for that - I have two months to prepare after all, and it's only a little over a mile more than what I've already done - but are the people who wanted to join me for it still up for it if it's 10k instead of 5k? (I know Mom is out, because it's on the morning of Thanksgiving, but it's early enough that the rest of us could still get back and get things done.)
Well, not a lot going on... I did my run on Tuesday, but though it totaled about 4.5 miles it was very broken up (generally about a mile at a time with a little rest in between. The 0.5 was done in four sets of sprints). Yesterday I was going to just do a three-mile run and then do some Minna Lessig workout but I ended up changing my plan and doing five miles on the treadmill non-stop. This was easier for some reason than it had been - I was on a different treadmill, to start with - so I think there's some thing going on with the elevation on the treadmill I use at work. Again. Sigh. Well, no biggie, if I'm working harder than I think I am that's cool!
And finally, today I was back at the usual treadmill and although I did 4 miles (and the first two straight through) I still had to stop at the start of the third, and again about about 3.2 total before finishing. So there's got to be SOMEthing going on with that sucker.
Tomorrow is a "rest" day, meaning I'll just do a DVD, and then Saturday I'm aiming for another five-miler. I'd like to get these things a little more commonplace. By next Saturday I'm hoping to do a 5.5 mile run. The problem of course is that I do them on the treadmill so I'm kind of "on the clock". :P I'm just not really sure where else to go - I know there are places to go in the area, but it's the extra time of getting there and getting back and etc that puts me off. The treadmill is RIGHT there, about a two-minute walk from my apartment. Yes, I could certainly jog the perimeter of the apt complex, but for five miles that would be like six times around and I get effing BORED. ;D Oh well! I'll figure it out!
The Thanksgiving race that looks the best in this area is actually a 10K. I am all up for that - I have two months to prepare after all, and it's only a little over a mile more than what I've already done - but are the people who wanted to join me for it still up for it if it's 10k instead of 5k? (I know Mom is out, because it's on the morning of Thanksgiving, but it's early enough that the rest of us could still get back and get things done.)
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Return of ME!
The Return of the Push-Ups Challenge
I kept forgetting to do these and fell waaaay behind. Last week I did remember them midweek but thought that instead I'd just do an "exhaustion test" and see what my results were. Turns out I could do just about 19 before wanting to die. ^_^ Ackshully I probably could have squeaked out 20 if I'd really really really really really tried but I thought eh, 19 is okay to start with. So today I started up again, doing day 1 of week 1, which is 10-10-8-6-7. Lalala...
The Return of Talking About Running
I mentioned earlier that I was sort of pulling back from running so much b/c I don't want to overdo it. I was going back and forth on doing the 8K on 9/21, and I've ultimately decided to do it, but not competitively. I'm just going to try to run the five miles in 50 minutes or so, and then I'll have run an 8K! Yay! I think I can do it if I run slowly enough; I can do 6mph pace easily for 5 miles on the treadmill, and of course I know outdoor courses are harder, but I just need to remind myself I can go as slowly as I need.
In that vein I actually conquered the 3-mile run on the outdoor trail last week! :D For the firstest time EVER, I did it! I just made myself go sorta slower than usual for the whole thing. Plus it wasn't very humid at all, which helped a lot. I guess it's also helped that I've been doing well in the 5Ks lately; the second to last one I actually placed third in my age group! :D I won a PRIIIIZE! It was a great race, and I have my best official time from it (28:46 - it was a smallllll race and in a larger one I never would've placed but it's all good). The last one I did was on 8/31 and it was also rather small. It turns out it was not a full 5K - I don't know exactly how long it was but I heard something like 2.8 miles instead of 3.1. I still did extremely well, 25 minutes or so for the whole thing, so I guess you could estimate my time would have been around 28 minutes for an actual 5K. Wheeee!
Anyway, right now my "training" if you can call it that is to go ahead and run 5 miles once or twice a week, and have shorter runs two other days (generally it'll be Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays). I didn't, however, run yesterday because all weekend my hamstrings have been killing me. I guess it's because I used the elliptical for the first time on Friday but it's just... wow... they REALLY hurt. And don't seem to be getting much better. Well, I guess running "long distance" on Saturday didn't help 'em.
The Return of The Other Stuff
And in between I'm tryin' to do the strength training stuff, or at least some form of non-running kind of thing. Friday and today both I did the elliptical (today mostly b/c I wanted to get some calorie burning done) for about 40 minutes and then followed it up with a portion of Minna Lessig's workout DVD... Friday I did the total body and today I just did the upper body workout. I also hope to keep doing the Winsor Pilates DVDs, and maybe some other workouts.
I don't know if there's anything else worth posting about right now... I'm going to try to keep up with workouts on our vacation next week. The hotel we're staying in has a fitness center so I intend to try and use it! Other than that... ummm... live long and prosper.
I kept forgetting to do these and fell waaaay behind. Last week I did remember them midweek but thought that instead I'd just do an "exhaustion test" and see what my results were. Turns out I could do just about 19 before wanting to die. ^_^ Ackshully I probably could have squeaked out 20 if I'd really really really really really tried but I thought eh, 19 is okay to start with. So today I started up again, doing day 1 of week 1, which is 10-10-8-6-7. Lalala...
The Return of Talking About Running
I mentioned earlier that I was sort of pulling back from running so much b/c I don't want to overdo it. I was going back and forth on doing the 8K on 9/21, and I've ultimately decided to do it, but not competitively. I'm just going to try to run the five miles in 50 minutes or so, and then I'll have run an 8K! Yay! I think I can do it if I run slowly enough; I can do 6mph pace easily for 5 miles on the treadmill, and of course I know outdoor courses are harder, but I just need to remind myself I can go as slowly as I need.
In that vein I actually conquered the 3-mile run on the outdoor trail last week! :D For the firstest time EVER, I did it! I just made myself go sorta slower than usual for the whole thing. Plus it wasn't very humid at all, which helped a lot. I guess it's also helped that I've been doing well in the 5Ks lately; the second to last one I actually placed third in my age group! :D I won a PRIIIIZE! It was a great race, and I have my best official time from it (28:46 - it was a smallllll race and in a larger one I never would've placed but it's all good). The last one I did was on 8/31 and it was also rather small. It turns out it was not a full 5K - I don't know exactly how long it was but I heard something like 2.8 miles instead of 3.1. I still did extremely well, 25 minutes or so for the whole thing, so I guess you could estimate my time would have been around 28 minutes for an actual 5K. Wheeee!
Anyway, right now my "training" if you can call it that is to go ahead and run 5 miles once or twice a week, and have shorter runs two other days (generally it'll be Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays). I didn't, however, run yesterday because all weekend my hamstrings have been killing me. I guess it's because I used the elliptical for the first time on Friday but it's just... wow... they REALLY hurt. And don't seem to be getting much better. Well, I guess running "long distance" on Saturday didn't help 'em.
The Return of The Other Stuff
And in between I'm tryin' to do the strength training stuff, or at least some form of non-running kind of thing. Friday and today both I did the elliptical (today mostly b/c I wanted to get some calorie burning done) for about 40 minutes and then followed it up with a portion of Minna Lessig's workout DVD... Friday I did the total body and today I just did the upper body workout. I also hope to keep doing the Winsor Pilates DVDs, and maybe some other workouts.
I don't know if there's anything else worth posting about right now... I'm going to try to keep up with workouts on our vacation next week. The hotel we're staying in has a fitness center so I intend to try and use it! Other than that... ummm... live long and prosper.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Only once this week?
Okay, well, I've been quiet because I'm kind of trying to get myself into the headset that it's best for me to back off of running too much right now. Although I don't think I'm over-exercising as an individual in the least, I do think it might interfere with fertility somewhat so I'm trying to just pull back a bit. You know - running a comfortable amount each week rather than training and trying to do just a bit more every time.
So while I definitely still ran this week, I did so less, and I just never got around to writing about it. Starting with Saturday: I really, really, really was tired on Sat. I could not make it to work out, so I just accepted that I was not going to. Instead I ran 5 miles on Sunday! Yay! That was kind of a "last hurrah" in a way... I might do that again in one run but I'm not going to go over it for a while.
Monday was very busy since several coworkers were out, plus I had to make a sudden appointment, so I didn't have time to work out. Boo! But I have been fine since then; I did about 4 miles on Tuesday (including some sprints), 3 miles straight on Wednesday, and yesterday I went outside and got in 4 miles. AND! I came closer to conquering that damn last half-mile! I actually made it close to 2.9 miles before stopping. I spent the last part of it counting, which kinda worked.
Tomorrow I am running a 5K and since I never run the day before a race I just walked a lot today. I went on the treadmill and put up the elevation, and carried a couple of weights for part of it. I feel pretty good about it because it was *hard work*.
Diet habits are... complicated lately. I've been trying for about 2 months or so now to lose around 5 lbs, and although I guess I've lost between 1 and 3, most of it has come back bit by bit. I'm right around where I was when I started, I guess maybe a pound less. I've decided this is because I am SICK OF BEING ON A DIET. :P So I admit it: I'm not actually sticking to dieting. I'll do okay for half the day and then blow it at night, or do okay for half a week and then go to a wedding or something on the weekend. Remember what I was saying about binge eating? :P So I think I need to just let it go and start trying to eat regularly for a while, 1800-2,300 calories a day, nice and normal. That gives me a nice window, since I'm pretty active. Anyway most days I don't actually go *over* 2,000 or so calories, it's just I'm trying to do, say, 1300-1400. So forget it! I need to learn to just eat normally!
Also I certainly don't need to be dieting if I'm trying to get pregnant (even though hey, it didn't hurt last time). Now I'm just going to be tremendously paranoid that it'll result in me putting on weight over the next few weeks instead. Ugh. Too much to stress over! :)
So while I definitely still ran this week, I did so less, and I just never got around to writing about it. Starting with Saturday: I really, really, really was tired on Sat. I could not make it to work out, so I just accepted that I was not going to. Instead I ran 5 miles on Sunday! Yay! That was kind of a "last hurrah" in a way... I might do that again in one run but I'm not going to go over it for a while.
Monday was very busy since several coworkers were out, plus I had to make a sudden appointment, so I didn't have time to work out. Boo! But I have been fine since then; I did about 4 miles on Tuesday (including some sprints), 3 miles straight on Wednesday, and yesterday I went outside and got in 4 miles. AND! I came closer to conquering that damn last half-mile! I actually made it close to 2.9 miles before stopping. I spent the last part of it counting, which kinda worked.
Tomorrow I am running a 5K and since I never run the day before a race I just walked a lot today. I went on the treadmill and put up the elevation, and carried a couple of weights for part of it. I feel pretty good about it because it was *hard work*.
Diet habits are... complicated lately. I've been trying for about 2 months or so now to lose around 5 lbs, and although I guess I've lost between 1 and 3, most of it has come back bit by bit. I'm right around where I was when I started, I guess maybe a pound less. I've decided this is because I am SICK OF BEING ON A DIET. :P So I admit it: I'm not actually sticking to dieting. I'll do okay for half the day and then blow it at night, or do okay for half a week and then go to a wedding or something on the weekend. Remember what I was saying about binge eating? :P So I think I need to just let it go and start trying to eat regularly for a while, 1800-2,300 calories a day, nice and normal. That gives me a nice window, since I'm pretty active. Anyway most days I don't actually go *over* 2,000 or so calories, it's just I'm trying to do, say, 1300-1400. So forget it! I need to learn to just eat normally!
Also I certainly don't need to be dieting if I'm trying to get pregnant (even though hey, it didn't hurt last time). Now I'm just going to be tremendously paranoid that it'll result in me putting on weight over the next few weeks instead. Ugh. Too much to stress over! :)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Fun With Fitness!
I have to confess, I was worried about committing to the 10K training program up until today because I was half-thinking (hoping, wondering, etc) I might be pregnant. But, I'm not. :P So I've got at least another couple of weeks before I will be and therefore can "train" until then.
The downside is that the training might affect my fertility, but I was really kind of itching to try and get my running up a notch so I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity.
Now! that we've had TMI, just to check in...
I've unofficially started going by this plan on RunnersWorld.com; it's paced over 5 weeks, and I have 6 until the 8K, so this week I'm following a sort of modified version of Week 1. Instead of running yesterday's plan, I ran outside yesterday, though I did include a couple of small sprints (not as many as I have in the past - I feel like I'm slipping :P) and I did total a bit over 4 miles. Today I did the 3 miles instead of a Rest day, and ran the first two at 6.5 mph and the final 1 at 6.0, then tacked on an extra 0.1 mile at 8.0 mph just to see what my time would be if I were in an artificial 5K with no hills or uneven terrain. ;P Anyway, my time was 29:15 for the 3.1 miles, which is okay with me! I also, after walking for about ten minutes, did three of the "Gentle Pick-up" sprints they describe in the plan. I didn't feel like they were doing much. I guess I will feel them more tomorrow when I do them directly after the run, which will be a longer one than it was today.
Part of why I'm easing into this plan is because, to date, I have yet to run more than 4 miles straight and I don't think I can jump straight up to 5 miles this weekend. So I'm going to do 4.5 miles on Saturday (if I can), and then try for 5 next Saturday; this might not work out because next Saturday is my 5K. But that's a workout in itself, eh? ;)
Anyway, I plan on following the plan tomorrow and Friday (Friday will be a workout video day with no running), then 4.5 miles on Saturday, and I'm going to deviate again on Sunday and do one lap around the apartment complex to get some hill work in. I would do more, but I don't want my mileage to be a huge jump from my previous high. I can go up from here.
Well. Whew. Totals!
Today's mileage (run): 3.4 (approximately)
Today's mileage (total): 4.35
Total mileage this week (run): 7.65
Total this week (total): 12.35
Goal mileage for the week (run): ~17.5
The downside is that the training might affect my fertility, but I was really kind of itching to try and get my running up a notch so I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity.
Now! that we've had TMI, just to check in...
I've unofficially started going by this plan on RunnersWorld.com; it's paced over 5 weeks, and I have 6 until the 8K, so this week I'm following a sort of modified version of Week 1. Instead of running yesterday's plan, I ran outside yesterday, though I did include a couple of small sprints (not as many as I have in the past - I feel like I'm slipping :P) and I did total a bit over 4 miles. Today I did the 3 miles instead of a Rest day, and ran the first two at 6.5 mph and the final 1 at 6.0, then tacked on an extra 0.1 mile at 8.0 mph just to see what my time would be if I were in an artificial 5K with no hills or uneven terrain. ;P Anyway, my time was 29:15 for the 3.1 miles, which is okay with me! I also, after walking for about ten minutes, did three of the "Gentle Pick-up" sprints they describe in the plan. I didn't feel like they were doing much. I guess I will feel them more tomorrow when I do them directly after the run, which will be a longer one than it was today.
Part of why I'm easing into this plan is because, to date, I have yet to run more than 4 miles straight and I don't think I can jump straight up to 5 miles this weekend. So I'm going to do 4.5 miles on Saturday (if I can), and then try for 5 next Saturday; this might not work out because next Saturday is my 5K. But that's a workout in itself, eh? ;)
Anyway, I plan on following the plan tomorrow and Friday (Friday will be a workout video day with no running), then 4.5 miles on Saturday, and I'm going to deviate again on Sunday and do one lap around the apartment complex to get some hill work in. I would do more, but I don't want my mileage to be a huge jump from my previous high. I can go up from here.
Well. Whew. Totals!
Today's mileage (run): 3.4 (approximately)
Today's mileage (total): 4.35
Total mileage this week (run): 7.65
Total this week (total): 12.35
Goal mileage for the week (run): ~17.5
Monday, August 11, 2008
Me so seepy
Ahhh yes. Well the wedding was very nice, but apparently someone there was an energy vampire, because ever since Saturday night I've been exhausted. I mean drop down on the floor and start snoring exhausted. It didn't help any that I slept badly on Friday night (and went to bed late), got up early Saturday AM to run 2 miles (only exercise I got all weekend, raaaaay!), then shared a bed with a preschooler Saturday night. A preschooler who has only ever slept in a crib and found the whole "bed" concept utterly frightening, by the way. Here's how that went:
To bed at 10 pm. Wake up when daughter has kicked you in the kidneys. Check her, find she's slightly diagonal now, try to move over a bit to give her space; check the clock, it's 11:30 pm. Repeat this four or five times, with variations on what woke you up; sometimes it's because she just spoke a sentence cheerfully and loudly, as though she was awake (and capped it off by kicking you in the back), and sometimes it's because suddenly her feet are comfortably lodged under your chin. (MY CHIN. HOW?) Then, wake up at 5:30 when daughter wakes up just enough to realize she's not in her crib and freak out. Try to comfort her while she's so tired and disoriented that she is pushing you away while begging you to hug her. The next hour was basically an ongoing effort to calm her down, arrange myself so that I was holding her the way she wanted to be held (if ANYthing was wrong she would cry some more), and try not to fall out of bed while she went back to sleep for 20-25 minutes. Finally at 6:30 we decided to turn on the TV and let that calm her down (sadly, it works).
Dan and I both caught a catnap from about 9:15 to about 10 while we were waiting for the hotel pool to open - this was after we'd all gotten up and dressed and had breakfast with the bride and groom, I should add, we did NOT spend nearly 3 hours just watching TV ;) Anyway, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" came on and boy did she go nuts. She knows parts of that show by heart. I had no idea. Anyway she watched it quietly for an hour (while lying on the floor near the beds and pushing a chair around with her foot) while I dozed and awoke moderately refreshed, to the sound of her saying "bye Donald! Bye Pu-to! Bye Doofy!" Then I packed everything up while she and Dan went to the pool. That was nice. :)
Well, despite the nap I was a wreck yesterday and today is not that much better. I did that Winsor Pilates DVD workout today and felt a little more awake. Tomorrow I'm going to try either to start training for a 10K (going by a plan on Runner's World) or else, if it's nice enough, just go outside and run as well as I can. I checked out the results from last year on the 5K I want to do, and it looks as though it's fairly small, only 140 people did it last year. And it's all women, so I can effectively compete. :) Not that I'll finish first, but I have a decent chance of finishing high within my age category! Then again that's entirely random and up to chance. So who knows? Also if I'm feeling the way I've been feeling lately - sleepy, and plus on Saturday I had to stop just before 2 miles because I had an odd stomach pain - I don't know how I'll do. :P I'm hoping Race Day Adrenaline kicks in. Dan won't be coming to this one - apparently I kind of sprang it on him - so if it's just me, I probably WILL end up winning something just because fate would think it was funny for me to do it without anyone seeing me. ;D Nah, I doubt I will, but I'll be happy if I can just finish without incident.
I haven't had a good outside run in a while now. I really want to get one done before the race, which is a week from Saturday. So I'm perhaps not doing as well as I could. :P
To bed at 10 pm. Wake up when daughter has kicked you in the kidneys. Check her, find she's slightly diagonal now, try to move over a bit to give her space; check the clock, it's 11:30 pm. Repeat this four or five times, with variations on what woke you up; sometimes it's because she just spoke a sentence cheerfully and loudly, as though she was awake (and capped it off by kicking you in the back), and sometimes it's because suddenly her feet are comfortably lodged under your chin. (MY CHIN. HOW?) Then, wake up at 5:30 when daughter wakes up just enough to realize she's not in her crib and freak out. Try to comfort her while she's so tired and disoriented that she is pushing you away while begging you to hug her. The next hour was basically an ongoing effort to calm her down, arrange myself so that I was holding her the way she wanted to be held (if ANYthing was wrong she would cry some more), and try not to fall out of bed while she went back to sleep for 20-25 minutes. Finally at 6:30 we decided to turn on the TV and let that calm her down (sadly, it works).
Dan and I both caught a catnap from about 9:15 to about 10 while we were waiting for the hotel pool to open - this was after we'd all gotten up and dressed and had breakfast with the bride and groom, I should add, we did NOT spend nearly 3 hours just watching TV ;) Anyway, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" came on and boy did she go nuts. She knows parts of that show by heart. I had no idea. Anyway she watched it quietly for an hour (while lying on the floor near the beds and pushing a chair around with her foot) while I dozed and awoke moderately refreshed, to the sound of her saying "bye Donald! Bye Pu-to! Bye Doofy!" Then I packed everything up while she and Dan went to the pool. That was nice. :)
Well, despite the nap I was a wreck yesterday and today is not that much better. I did that Winsor Pilates DVD workout today and felt a little more awake. Tomorrow I'm going to try either to start training for a 10K (going by a plan on Runner's World) or else, if it's nice enough, just go outside and run as well as I can. I checked out the results from last year on the 5K I want to do, and it looks as though it's fairly small, only 140 people did it last year. And it's all women, so I can effectively compete. :) Not that I'll finish first, but I have a decent chance of finishing high within my age category! Then again that's entirely random and up to chance. So who knows? Also if I'm feeling the way I've been feeling lately - sleepy, and plus on Saturday I had to stop just before 2 miles because I had an odd stomach pain - I don't know how I'll do. :P I'm hoping Race Day Adrenaline kicks in. Dan won't be coming to this one - apparently I kind of sprang it on him - so if it's just me, I probably WILL end up winning something just because fate would think it was funny for me to do it without anyone seeing me. ;D Nah, I doubt I will, but I'll be happy if I can just finish without incident.
I haven't had a good outside run in a while now. I really want to get one done before the race, which is a week from Saturday. So I'm perhaps not doing as well as I could. :P
Friday, August 8, 2008
What is up with the temperature at my office? :P
I won't have time to workout today so this will just recap yesterday.
First of all I did Day 1 of Week 2 of the push-ups challenge. Back down to 50 - 12, 12, 9, 7, and 10. Fair enough. I like that the "maximum" now is a push, above what you had done on the previous two levels. Bet I'll like it less when it's 15 instead of 10. ;)
Secondly I did my sprints. Nothing much to report on that. Afterwards I walked on the treadmill with handweights and put up the elevation a little. Again, nothing much to say.
Yesterday I did some looking into times and things like that on the 8K and 10K I want to do later this year, and I realized for the first time that 5Ks are for people who may want to run competitively or may just want to run that distance - but 8 and 10Ks tend to be more for people who want to run FASTER. It's an actual RACE. I'm used to coming in right around the middle in 5Ks and if I do my usual time and pace on a longer one I'm going to come in towards the end.
So I had to think about that. First I thought "I have to train harder so I can COMPETE!" Then I thought, okay, yes, that can be down the road, but maybe I *do* just want to run the first 8K at my usual speed just to say I have done it. Why not? Who's it going to hurt? Also I'm pretty sure I can do a better pace in a 5K now than I did on the last one - getting under a half an hour now shouldn't be a problem, because I've found that the past few times I've run 6.0 on the treadmill it has not led to me wearing down nearly as quickly as I used to. I'm thinking I might, at some point before my next 5K (which is 8/23, two weeks from tomorrow), try doing a 3-mile run on treadmill at 6.5 mph just to see if I can. An actual outdoor race will be different, with hills and other aspects, and naturally I won't be able to pace myself so exactly, but it's more like a test to see if I am able. I already know I can run 1 mile at 7.0, and two at 6.5; I'm interested to see if I can do the whole 5K at that speed, which would take my total time down by nearly 3 minutes.
Anyway, just some musings. This next 5K is in PG County somewhere - I heard about it from a co-worker. I hope it's a good one, better than the last one! I'm not even entirely sure the family will be able to make it to this one, but if anyone reading this wants to come, let me know and I'll give details...
Now it's off to a wedding! (Well, not yet. I leave in another hour +. But soon!)
First of all I did Day 1 of Week 2 of the push-ups challenge. Back down to 50 - 12, 12, 9, 7, and 10. Fair enough. I like that the "maximum" now is a push, above what you had done on the previous two levels. Bet I'll like it less when it's 15 instead of 10. ;)
Secondly I did my sprints. Nothing much to report on that. Afterwards I walked on the treadmill with handweights and put up the elevation a little. Again, nothing much to say.
Yesterday I did some looking into times and things like that on the 8K and 10K I want to do later this year, and I realized for the first time that 5Ks are for people who may want to run competitively or may just want to run that distance - but 8 and 10Ks tend to be more for people who want to run FASTER. It's an actual RACE. I'm used to coming in right around the middle in 5Ks and if I do my usual time and pace on a longer one I'm going to come in towards the end.
So I had to think about that. First I thought "I have to train harder so I can COMPETE!" Then I thought, okay, yes, that can be down the road, but maybe I *do* just want to run the first 8K at my usual speed just to say I have done it. Why not? Who's it going to hurt? Also I'm pretty sure I can do a better pace in a 5K now than I did on the last one - getting under a half an hour now shouldn't be a problem, because I've found that the past few times I've run 6.0 on the treadmill it has not led to me wearing down nearly as quickly as I used to. I'm thinking I might, at some point before my next 5K (which is 8/23, two weeks from tomorrow), try doing a 3-mile run on treadmill at 6.5 mph just to see if I can. An actual outdoor race will be different, with hills and other aspects, and naturally I won't be able to pace myself so exactly, but it's more like a test to see if I am able. I already know I can run 1 mile at 7.0, and two at 6.5; I'm interested to see if I can do the whole 5K at that speed, which would take my total time down by nearly 3 minutes.
Anyway, just some musings. This next 5K is in PG County somewhere - I heard about it from a co-worker. I hope it's a good one, better than the last one! I'm not even entirely sure the family will be able to make it to this one, but if anyone reading this wants to come, let me know and I'll give details...
Now it's off to a wedding! (Well, not yet. I leave in another hour +. But soon!)
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
The incredible edible egg
The egg is like one of my favourite meal items ever. Yet another reason why it would be hard for me to be a vegan. Then again I did used to say I could never give up beef to go veggie, and I have stopped eating beef, so who knows what crazy wacky things the fugure could show us.
WELL. Tuesdays I normally go outside but I was dreading the thought because the heat has been so oppressive lately. So instead I thought I'd go easy on myself and just do the treadmill again. Treadmill potato that I am. It turned out that was a good decision since right before my workout time we got a big ol' thunderstorm! Go figure. So I just went downstairs and watched the first hour of "Return of the King" instead. Oh technology! We shall never have to leave the indoors again pretty soon.
I do best following a predictable schedule, so I just did another long run, though I did try to mix it up a bit with some sprints towards the end. I went 3.1 miles first, with most of that at 6 mph and the last... ummmm... minute, maybe? at 8mph. Then I took a breather with a minute or so of walking at 3.5mph and another .3 at 4mph. So this totaled up to 3.5, and from there I started running again, alternating between perhaps 2 and 1/2 minutes at 6mph and then as long as I could go at 9mph (usually about 45 seconds), then as long as I could go at 8mph (usually same), before dropping back to 6mph. This worked pretty well for the last mile and then I finished with another 1/2 mile of walking. So I again totaled 5 miles, 4.1 of them were running, and I can't recall my exact time but I think I got that 4.1 in about 40 minutes. Maaaaybe a little less... but not much. ;)
I walked another five minutes just to cool down (at low low speeds, like 2.5 mph) and then stretched, which I never remember to do on weekends so my legs were really tight. Then I did pushups but again no crunches. Lazy. I'm up to 16 in one set now! 16-12-8-9 today for a total of 45. :)
To close this out and make it interesting, here are some-but-not-all of the races I would like to run this year (all conditions remaining viable):
the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" 5K in late August
Somerset Annual Back-to-School 8K Run
Rockville 10K/5K
There are also several others I can't link to, like the Candy Cane City 5K in November and the Turkey Burn-off around Thanksgiving. Now THAT is an incentive not to overeat! ;D
So who wants to run these with me?
WELL. Tuesdays I normally go outside but I was dreading the thought because the heat has been so oppressive lately. So instead I thought I'd go easy on myself and just do the treadmill again. Treadmill potato that I am. It turned out that was a good decision since right before my workout time we got a big ol' thunderstorm! Go figure. So I just went downstairs and watched the first hour of "Return of the King" instead. Oh technology! We shall never have to leave the indoors again pretty soon.
I do best following a predictable schedule, so I just did another long run, though I did try to mix it up a bit with some sprints towards the end. I went 3.1 miles first, with most of that at 6 mph and the last... ummmm... minute, maybe? at 8mph. Then I took a breather with a minute or so of walking at 3.5mph and another .3 at 4mph. So this totaled up to 3.5, and from there I started running again, alternating between perhaps 2 and 1/2 minutes at 6mph and then as long as I could go at 9mph (usually about 45 seconds), then as long as I could go at 8mph (usually same), before dropping back to 6mph. This worked pretty well for the last mile and then I finished with another 1/2 mile of walking. So I again totaled 5 miles, 4.1 of them were running, and I can't recall my exact time but I think I got that 4.1 in about 40 minutes. Maaaaybe a little less... but not much. ;)
I walked another five minutes just to cool down (at low low speeds, like 2.5 mph) and then stretched, which I never remember to do on weekends so my legs were really tight. Then I did pushups but again no crunches. Lazy. I'm up to 16 in one set now! 16-12-8-9 today for a total of 45. :)
To close this out and make it interesting, here are some-but-not-all of the races I would like to run this year (all conditions remaining viable):
the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" 5K in late August
Somerset Annual Back-to-School 8K Run
Rockville 10K/5K
There are also several others I can't link to, like the Candy Cane City 5K in November and the Turkey Burn-off around Thanksgiving. Now THAT is an incentive not to overeat! ;D
So who wants to run these with me?
Monday, July 7, 2008
I No Longer Recall
I don't remember anymore just when I made this. I know that the second post was at the end of November so... sometime before then.
I finally figured out I might as well use this as a running blog, since that takes up a good deal of my attention and I never really feel up to posting about it in my LiveJournal (which tends towards the unfocused mundane and such). So this is going to be tightly themed.
As a short introduction to both me and to me running, here's a history for me:
1) I have been overweight and sedentary most of my life, until recently. I had my first child in early 2006 and in Jan 2007 I decided it was time to get rid of the baby-weight-plus so I eased into better living with a "one step at a time" approach that worked really well for me. In terms of diet it was just trimming off certain calories or foods and replacing them with better options, and in terms of activity it was initially low-key walking, then faster, then longer, then doing other exercises.
2) The running came into it because my sister is a runner and she encouraged me on that path - not so much in a "you should do this!" way as just speaking about it so positively and so clearly loving it. A friend of mine gave me a link to the Runner's World plan to begin running by doing walk/run intervals. It's supposed to be an 8-week program and it took me about a year but as of May '08 I managed to do 30 minutes straight of running... Or perhaps you might call it jogging, at a 6 mph pace, but it's something!
3) In May I also decided I would run a 5K. Just one, to see if I could do it and to say I had. I did it, with my sister, and had such a great time that I was hooked. Since then I've been trying to up my training so that I can do a longer distance race, and also I've run another two 5Ks. :)
So that's my history! I'm at a point of about 14 miles a week, spaced over five days. This week I hope to get the mileage up to about 15.5 and then I'm going to pull back for a couple of weeks - I think my knees need a vacation :P Tuesdays are my Long Outdoor Run days and tomorrow I'm going to try for a total of 4 miles running on a 5-mile course. It won't be 4 miles straight, just total; I've been doing a total of 3.5 miles and that hasn't felt too hard for a while so I'm going to try to step it up. There is an 8K in September that I would like to run and I think 2 1/2 months is enough time to get up to 5 miles. :)
So I will be posting on my progress, on my daily workouts, and if need be on my diet habits (though that will only be if something interesting comes up)!
I finally figured out I might as well use this as a running blog, since that takes up a good deal of my attention and I never really feel up to posting about it in my LiveJournal (which tends towards the unfocused mundane and such). So this is going to be tightly themed.
As a short introduction to both me and to me running, here's a history for me:
1) I have been overweight and sedentary most of my life, until recently. I had my first child in early 2006 and in Jan 2007 I decided it was time to get rid of the baby-weight-plus so I eased into better living with a "one step at a time" approach that worked really well for me. In terms of diet it was just trimming off certain calories or foods and replacing them with better options, and in terms of activity it was initially low-key walking, then faster, then longer, then doing other exercises.
2) The running came into it because my sister is a runner and she encouraged me on that path - not so much in a "you should do this!" way as just speaking about it so positively and so clearly loving it. A friend of mine gave me a link to the Runner's World plan to begin running by doing walk/run intervals. It's supposed to be an 8-week program and it took me about a year but as of May '08 I managed to do 30 minutes straight of running... Or perhaps you might call it jogging, at a 6 mph pace, but it's something!
3) In May I also decided I would run a 5K. Just one, to see if I could do it and to say I had. I did it, with my sister, and had such a great time that I was hooked. Since then I've been trying to up my training so that I can do a longer distance race, and also I've run another two 5Ks. :)
So that's my history! I'm at a point of about 14 miles a week, spaced over five days. This week I hope to get the mileage up to about 15.5 and then I'm going to pull back for a couple of weeks - I think my knees need a vacation :P Tuesdays are my Long Outdoor Run days and tomorrow I'm going to try for a total of 4 miles running on a 5-mile course. It won't be 4 miles straight, just total; I've been doing a total of 3.5 miles and that hasn't felt too hard for a while so I'm going to try to step it up. There is an 8K in September that I would like to run and I think 2 1/2 months is enough time to get up to 5 miles. :)
So I will be posting on my progress, on my daily workouts, and if need be on my diet habits (though that will only be if something interesting comes up)!
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