After very little motivation all day yesterday, I finally sucked it up and went for a run in the evening. The temperature showed "feels like 5" but that sounded better to me than the treadmill. I knew it would be getting even colder later in the week, so I might as well try to go outside while it was above zero degrees.
I ended up running 4.25 miles in 32:56, for an average pace of 7:46. Mile splits for the first 4 miles were: 7:54, 7:49, 7:44, and 7:38.
I would've liked to go about further but it was cold...and my teeth hurt when my mouth was open breathing in cold air. Why was that, you ask?
I had a teeth whitening procedure done Monday morning and it HURT! I was unaware that a teeth whitening procedure would be painful, but oh man it was. The entire thing took about 2.5 hours and included 4 2-minute sessions under the light. Right before we started, the dental hygienist explained to me that I would feel what were called "zingers" but it varies from person to person how frequent and intense they are. I'm no dental professional, but the way I understand it, the procedure takes off the top layers of discoloring on your teeth and so they are left extremely sensitive and it gets worse as the procedure goes on. I basically fell asleep during my first 2 20-minute session under the light, but I experienced my 1st zinger towards the end of the 2nd session.
The 3rd session was considerably more painful, and then I made it through 10 minutes of the 4th before calling it quits. (It is common that people don't make it all the way through all 4 sessions.) I was not sure I was even going to be able to drive home, the pain in my mouth was so bad. I took some medication and slept away more of the day. If I knew the procedure was going to cause so much pain for the rest of the day, I would've ran beforehand! I even wore my running clothes to the dentist thinking I could go to the Y right afterwards, but that did not happen. I would have fallen off the treadmill if I tried to attempt it.
The pain was mostly gone when I woke up yesterday, but not completely. I still had a breakfast of soft foods that I didn't need to bite into (a soft doughy chocolate chip pancake and a cheese omelet). And then when I went for the outdoor run, I could tell the sensitivity was still there when the cold air would touch my teeth. But obviously I couldn't run with my mouth closed! And it wasn't nearly bad enough to make me double over in pain like the previous day.
Despite the pain, the teeth look great! Beauty comes at a price. Luckily, this beauty didn't have a financial price for me - my mom won it in a raffle at her Women's Club Fashion Show and gave it to me :) CSmith Be Generous.
Do you have sensitive teeth?
Have you ever had your teeth whitened?
Showing posts with label normal run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label normal run. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Weekly Running Recap - 2/17 - 2/23
Don't you just love Mondays? I do, because it means I can get all analytical and see how my previous week of running was:
Monday - 6 miles w/ 2 x 1 mile fast
Tuesday - 5.5 miles
Wednesday - REST
Friday - 5.5 miles
Saturday - REST
Sunday - 3.9 miles
Total - 27.7 miles
So total mileage for the week was nothing special...definitely not up to where I want to be. But I do think I more quality miles in there than I previously have. And I suppose that's better because my next race distance is 5 miles, followed a week later by 6-7 miles in a marathon relay. I'm not training for a marathon right now. I am however, going to run a half marathon in late April or early May (not sure which one yet!), so I do need to be getting in higher mileage for that.
As for Friday's and Sunday's runs:
Friday - I ran 5.5 miles in 45: 35 for 8:17 average pace/mile on the treadmill at the Y. Nothing special really. I was planning to go for 8-10 miles, but I just couldn't stand the treadmill anymore. That thing is killing me now.
Sunday - I ran OUTSIDE!! Yay!! I did 3.9 miles in 33 minutes for 8:28 average pace/mile. I came extremely close to landing on my butt after sliding on some ice, but I used my awesome ninja skills to somehow stay on my feet. The sidewalks were mostly clear, but still some icy or wet patches that were difficult to navigate. I moved to the streets though (side streets) and it was a lot better then. I struggled a lot at the start because it was so cold, but eventually warmed up and felt like I could've ran further (and maybe should have) but I also didn't want to be away from the house for too long because...
As for Friday's and Sunday's runs:
Friday - I ran 5.5 miles in 45: 35 for 8:17 average pace/mile on the treadmill at the Y. Nothing special really. I was planning to go for 8-10 miles, but I just couldn't stand the treadmill anymore. That thing is killing me now.
Sunday - I ran OUTSIDE!! Yay!! I did 3.9 miles in 33 minutes for 8:28 average pace/mile. I came extremely close to landing on my butt after sliding on some ice, but I used my awesome ninja skills to somehow stay on my feet. The sidewalks were mostly clear, but still some icy or wet patches that were difficult to navigate. I moved to the streets though (side streets) and it was a lot better then. I struggled a lot at the start because it was so cold, but eventually warmed up and felt like I could've ran further (and maybe should have) but I also didn't want to be away from the house for too long because...
I was babysitting my younger cousins all weekend! I got to do some fun, sports-related things with them this weekend:
Ryan had basketball games on both Saturday and Sunday and won both of them!
I forgot how entertaining grade school basketball is. It's so much better than watching college or NBA basketball.
Saturday night, Shannon's high school track team had time trials and parents were invited to a meeting and to watch the time time trials. Since this is right up my alley, I tagged along with Shannon as her parent for the night.
She did the pole vault, recording a tie with her personal record of 7 feet. Shannon missed all of outdoor season last year due to a surgery so I'm sure she will improve quite a bit this year!
She also ran the 400 and won her heat!
Other than that we did a lot of bumming around, watching movies & sports, and eating pizza, Thin Mints, Cheez-Its, and Portillo's.
What is the best part about your Monday?
What is your favorite track event?
Other than that we did a lot of bumming around, watching movies & sports, and eating pizza, Thin Mints, Cheez-Its, and Portillo's.
What is the best part about your Monday?
What is your favorite track event?
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Give A Girl The Right Shoes...
I wasn't planning to post again today since I usually only post once a day, but I decided to pop in and tell you about yesterday's run.
For starters, yesterday's run was at a normal time of the day and not at 9pm like Monday's speed workout. It felt weird walking into the gym less than 12 hours after I had left the previous night.
The run ended up being 5.5 miles in 43:30 for an average pace of 7:54/mile. I started the treadmill at 7.0 and increased the speed by .1 every time the song changed, ending at a speed of 8.1. I had no real plan for the day, but wanted to get in over 5 miles.
I ultimately decided to call it quits at 5.5 miles because I was so so bored. I guess that's what I get for saying yesterday that I haven't minded the treadmill that much lately. And I really haven't, but yesterday I was just not feeling it. I was unbelievably restless and just wanted it to be over.
I would've like to go farther, as I said last week I want to change what to consider a "normal" run to be closer to 7 miles than 5. But hopefully that will get easier to do when I can run outside again. I'm really looking forward to spending some time at the Elk Grove Forest Preserve where the loop is 7.5 miles. So as long as I hit that up (and run the full loop) a few times a week, I'll be golden.
I was pleased with the average pace though. I know I had also said a few weeks back that I'm going to try to not really care about my pace as much right now and just get the mileage in. I've been doing a good job at that I think, but it's also harder to do on the treadmill, whereas outside I can just go by feel.
In other news... I've been playing around with PicMonkey lately and am going to try to make up my own cool graphics and such. Here's one I just made last night :)
I have a feeling Marilyn Monroe was talking about a different kind of shoes...
PS - Those are my beautiful pink Nike Flyknits that I've been running in a lot lately. They are minimalist shoes, which I'm not sure yet how they will be outside, but they've been great on the treadmill! And my poor yellow Timex watch that has been getting neglected since I got the Garmin for Christmas. Actually the Garmin has been neglected to due to the polar vortexes and snow.
I'll pin this and any future graphics I make on Pinterest and I'm sure I will put them on Instagram as well, so make sure to follow me there!
This is also going to encourage me to start taking more pictures! I know I keep saying that I need to, but do you really want to see the inside of a gym or a picture of the treadmill dashboard? It's not that thrilling.
Do you use PicMonkey or any other photo editing program to make graphics?
What shoes do you run in?
What is your favorite non-running shoe? I really love my pink Sperry's. And my purple Hunter rain boots because those have been a God send all winter.
For starters, yesterday's run was at a normal time of the day and not at 9pm like Monday's speed workout. It felt weird walking into the gym less than 12 hours after I had left the previous night.
The run ended up being 5.5 miles in 43:30 for an average pace of 7:54/mile. I started the treadmill at 7.0 and increased the speed by .1 every time the song changed, ending at a speed of 8.1. I had no real plan for the day, but wanted to get in over 5 miles.
I ultimately decided to call it quits at 5.5 miles because I was so so bored. I guess that's what I get for saying yesterday that I haven't minded the treadmill that much lately. And I really haven't, but yesterday I was just not feeling it. I was unbelievably restless and just wanted it to be over.
I would've like to go farther, as I said last week I want to change what to consider a "normal" run to be closer to 7 miles than 5. But hopefully that will get easier to do when I can run outside again. I'm really looking forward to spending some time at the Elk Grove Forest Preserve where the loop is 7.5 miles. So as long as I hit that up (and run the full loop) a few times a week, I'll be golden.
I was pleased with the average pace though. I know I had also said a few weeks back that I'm going to try to not really care about my pace as much right now and just get the mileage in. I've been doing a good job at that I think, but it's also harder to do on the treadmill, whereas outside I can just go by feel.
In other news... I've been playing around with PicMonkey lately and am going to try to make up my own cool graphics and such. Here's one I just made last night :)
I have a feeling Marilyn Monroe was talking about a different kind of shoes...
PS - Those are my beautiful pink Nike Flyknits that I've been running in a lot lately. They are minimalist shoes, which I'm not sure yet how they will be outside, but they've been great on the treadmill! And my poor yellow Timex watch that has been getting neglected since I got the Garmin for Christmas. Actually the Garmin has been neglected to due to the polar vortexes and snow.
I'll pin this and any future graphics I make on Pinterest and I'm sure I will put them on Instagram as well, so make sure to follow me there!
This is also going to encourage me to start taking more pictures! I know I keep saying that I need to, but do you really want to see the inside of a gym or a picture of the treadmill dashboard? It's not that thrilling.
Do you use PicMonkey or any other photo editing program to make graphics?
What shoes do you run in?
What is your favorite non-running shoe? I really love my pink Sperry's. And my purple Hunter rain boots because those have been a God send all winter.
Friday, February 14, 2014
Friday Five - Valentine & Olympic Edition
Welcome to the Friday Five - Valentine's Day and Olympics edition.
For starters, I'm not a big fan of Valentine's day. Mostly because I'm single. So it's a holiday that I am currently excluded from. Like how I imagine non-Christians feel around Christmas. I'm sure when I am in a relationship, for at least the first Valentine's day, I will be the girl posting flowers (provided the guy sends them I guess) and checking in wherever we go out for dinner and brag about what we did. But this year, I have plans with some girlfriends - including a running event!
Tomorrow evening I'll be heading to this run:
Each runner receives a reflective wristband based on your relationship status. So to start of my Friday Five, here are five pick-up lines I'm thinking of using:
1) "I bet I'm faster than your girlfriend." (Juuuust kidding, I'll stick to the single ones.)
2) "Your pace or mine?"
3) "When I blog about this, it will say I ran 3 miles with my future husband"
4) "I'm like chocolate pudding. I look like crap, but I'm sweet as can be." (For after the run, because that's definitely not my most attractive time. I will wear make-up and my cutest running clothes though.)
5) "On a scale of 1-10, you are a 26.2!"
Ok, so I didn't make up those last 3...thank you, Google. And I altered the one about blogging. I will obviously blog about the event, but you can bet your glutes I will not say something like that.
Besides Valentine's Day, it is also one of my best friends Grace's birthday! Happy Birthday, Grace :)
I haven't talked about them much on the blog yet, but I really love the Olympics! I would like nothing more than to compete in them, but I don't foresee that happening, unfortunately. I have to say though that I'm really not as big a fan of the winter Olympics as I am of the summer. But so far, here are what I think are my five favorite winter Olympic sports:
1) Figure skating
2) Cross country skiing
3) Alpine skiing
4) Speed skating
5) Curling
These are my five favorite summer Olympic sports:
1) Marathon (what did you expect?)
2) Triathlon
3) Gymnastics
4) Swimming
5) Track
Five Articles I've Loved This Week:
Runner's Valentines - Runner's World
17 Things You Should Know Before You Date A Runner - Thought Catalog
Matchmaking App Tinder Sees Huge Spike in Sochi During Games - Wall Street Journal
Beer Fridge at Sochi Olympics Only Opens for Canadians - NY Daily News
The Olympics' Most Interesting Man - Crave Online
And since I didn't tell you about it yet, here are 5 things about Wednesday's run:
1) 4.75 miles in 40 minutes (8:25 average pace)
2) Treadmill...what else is new?
3) Started at 7.0, increased by .1 every 2 songs, so ended at 7.5
4) Took it nice and easy because the lunges at BodyPump on Tuesday destroyed my legs
5) ...and then I went to Panera with my dad.
I took Thursday as an off day, but I'll be back at it today! I'm going to do a morning run on my own before tonight's fun run.
What is your favorite pick-up line? Running or not running related!
What are your favorite Olympic sports?
For starters, I'm not a big fan of Valentine's day. Mostly because I'm single. So it's a holiday that I am currently excluded from. Like how I imagine non-Christians feel around Christmas. I'm sure when I am in a relationship, for at least the first Valentine's day, I will be the girl posting flowers (provided the guy sends them I guess) and checking in wherever we go out for dinner and brag about what we did. But this year, I have plans with some girlfriends - including a running event!
Tomorrow evening I'll be heading to this run:
Each runner receives a reflective wristband based on your relationship status. So to start of my Friday Five, here are five pick-up lines I'm thinking of using:
1) "I bet I'm faster than your girlfriend." (Juuuust kidding, I'll stick to the single ones.)
2) "Your pace or mine?"
3) "When I blog about this, it will say I ran 3 miles with my future husband"
4) "I'm like chocolate pudding. I look like crap, but I'm sweet as can be." (For after the run, because that's definitely not my most attractive time. I will wear make-up and my cutest running clothes though.)
5) "On a scale of 1-10, you are a 26.2!"
Ok, so I didn't make up those last 3...thank you, Google. And I altered the one about blogging. I will obviously blog about the event, but you can bet your glutes I will not say something like that.
Besides Valentine's Day, it is also one of my best friends Grace's birthday! Happy Birthday, Grace :)
I haven't talked about them much on the blog yet, but I really love the Olympics! I would like nothing more than to compete in them, but I don't foresee that happening, unfortunately. I have to say though that I'm really not as big a fan of the winter Olympics as I am of the summer. But so far, here are what I think are my five favorite winter Olympic sports:
1) Figure skating
2) Cross country skiing
3) Alpine skiing
4) Speed skating
5) Curling
These are my five favorite summer Olympic sports:
1) Marathon (what did you expect?)
2) Triathlon
3) Gymnastics
4) Swimming
5) Track
Five Articles I've Loved This Week:
Runner's Valentines - Runner's World
17 Things You Should Know Before You Date A Runner - Thought Catalog
Matchmaking App Tinder Sees Huge Spike in Sochi During Games - Wall Street Journal
Beer Fridge at Sochi Olympics Only Opens for Canadians - NY Daily News
The Olympics' Most Interesting Man - Crave Online
And since I didn't tell you about it yet, here are 5 things about Wednesday's run:
1) 4.75 miles in 40 minutes (8:25 average pace)
2) Treadmill...what else is new?
3) Started at 7.0, increased by .1 every 2 songs, so ended at 7.5
4) Took it nice and easy because the lunges at BodyPump on Tuesday destroyed my legs
5) ...and then I went to Panera with my dad.
I took Thursday as an off day, but I'll be back at it today! I'm going to do a morning run on my own before tonight's fun run.
What is your favorite pick-up line? Running or not running related!
What are your favorite Olympic sports?
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
A New ID & Changing My Normal
I did my workout at the YMCA yesterday and the worst thing ever happened. They made me get a new member ship ID card. This was traumatic because I've had the same membership card since 1997. That's how long I've been a member of the Y. And my whole self-confidence and source of pride is that I still have that ID card - I never lost it or damaged it. Same with my UD student ID card, by the way...and that's even more of a feat since I took it out with me every where I went...including to parties, bars, etc. Anyways, OK so that was exaggerating, but I really do laugh every time I see my old card that says member since 3/20/1997 and has a picture of me at 8 years old.
When I gave it to the lady to swipe this time, apparently it didn't work and she said I would need a new card. So she took my picture and gave me a card. I was dismayed to learn that the new card didn't have show the picture. I'm sure in 17 years I'd want to have it to laugh at. Oh well.
After the card fiasco, it was time to work out. I knew I wanted to go to body pump at 5:15 and if I didn't have to get a new card, I could have ran for 30 minutes. Instead, I was only able to run 3 miles, which I did in 24 minutes. It was fairly easy, but I was feeling at the end. It's always harder those last couple minutes when you know you're almost done, right? I started at a speed of 7.0 and increased by .2 each time the song changed, so I ultimately ended at 8.0.
Right after my run, I had just a few minutes to get upstairs to Body Pump. When I showed up, the room was almost full, but the instructor greeted me right away and showed me to a spot I could use. I told her it was only my 2nd Body Pump class, so she helped me set up what I would need. I could tell that a lot of others in the class probably come to this same class every week because they were joking around with each other and the instructor and asking when they could do different workouts/music.
The class was the same tracks and music as the class I went to on Sunday. But it felt so much harder. I am pretty sure I was using the same level of weights, but my muscles were getting fatigued quicker. I had to pause for a few reps of some of the exercises, but the instructor was very encouraging and kept me going. I am probably a little sore from Sunday perhaps.
I'm going to try to keep going to Body Pump a few times a week because it's definitely better than any weight lifting I do on my own! Once I get a little better/more familiar with it, I'll try to give a whole run-down of what we do, how I think it's helping my strength, etc.
You also may have noticed that I have been completely failing on the 30-Day Challenge I made for myself. Basically the challenge was to run 60 minutes a day for 30 days straight. I did a decent job, but some of my runs turned out to only be 30-50 minutes instead, for various reasons. And some days I just didn't run. There was only one day - 4 days into the challenge, that I felt like I could physically not run for an hour. I can't say how the rest would have gone if I was actually doing it. But I think a lot of the problem has been the weather. This isn't just trying to run 60 minutes - this is trying to run 60 minutes on the treadmill. And while I have been generally OK with the treadmill for now, some days I just couldn't bring myself to go to the gym knowing that I had to be on the treadmill for an hour.
One of the other big reasons I have not been running for a full hour has been that I'm trying to cross train/weight lift more than I have in the past. I think I want to do another triathlon. And I know I need to strength train. Therefore, I've cut runs short so that I can swim or go to spinning or Body Pump. I'm also going to try out a few new classes!
Although I am disappointed because I really want to run higher mileage, I definitely feel like I've been doing a lot more lately than I have before. Last week I was only at 26 miles though, and I know I want to be consistently above 30 so that by the time the nice weather comes around and it's time to really train hard, I can more easily transition to 50-mile weeks.
Even though I'm going to stop this challenge, because really I was the only one doing it anyways and already "failed," I am still going to aim for an hour on a lot of my runs. In the past, a "normal" distance run for me meant 40 minutes, 5 miles. To get better at the marathon distance, I know that for me, more mileage is key.
Do you have a membership card or something of the like that you're surprised you haven't lost yet?
What is your go-to run distance or time that you consider on a "normal" run day?
When I gave it to the lady to swipe this time, apparently it didn't work and she said I would need a new card. So she took my picture and gave me a card. I was dismayed to learn that the new card didn't have show the picture. I'm sure in 17 years I'd want to have it to laugh at. Oh well.
(old card on top, new card on bottom)
After the card fiasco, it was time to work out. I knew I wanted to go to body pump at 5:15 and if I didn't have to get a new card, I could have ran for 30 minutes. Instead, I was only able to run 3 miles, which I did in 24 minutes. It was fairly easy, but I was feeling at the end. It's always harder those last couple minutes when you know you're almost done, right? I started at a speed of 7.0 and increased by .2 each time the song changed, so I ultimately ended at 8.0.
Right after my run, I had just a few minutes to get upstairs to Body Pump. When I showed up, the room was almost full, but the instructor greeted me right away and showed me to a spot I could use. I told her it was only my 2nd Body Pump class, so she helped me set up what I would need. I could tell that a lot of others in the class probably come to this same class every week because they were joking around with each other and the instructor and asking when they could do different workouts/music.
The class was the same tracks and music as the class I went to on Sunday. But it felt so much harder. I am pretty sure I was using the same level of weights, but my muscles were getting fatigued quicker. I had to pause for a few reps of some of the exercises, but the instructor was very encouraging and kept me going. I am probably a little sore from Sunday perhaps.
I'm going to try to keep going to Body Pump a few times a week because it's definitely better than any weight lifting I do on my own! Once I get a little better/more familiar with it, I'll try to give a whole run-down of what we do, how I think it's helping my strength, etc.
You also may have noticed that I have been completely failing on the 30-Day Challenge I made for myself. Basically the challenge was to run 60 minutes a day for 30 days straight. I did a decent job, but some of my runs turned out to only be 30-50 minutes instead, for various reasons. And some days I just didn't run. There was only one day - 4 days into the challenge, that I felt like I could physically not run for an hour. I can't say how the rest would have gone if I was actually doing it. But I think a lot of the problem has been the weather. This isn't just trying to run 60 minutes - this is trying to run 60 minutes on the treadmill. And while I have been generally OK with the treadmill for now, some days I just couldn't bring myself to go to the gym knowing that I had to be on the treadmill for an hour.
One of the other big reasons I have not been running for a full hour has been that I'm trying to cross train/weight lift more than I have in the past. I think I want to do another triathlon. And I know I need to strength train. Therefore, I've cut runs short so that I can swim or go to spinning or Body Pump. I'm also going to try out a few new classes!
Although I am disappointed because I really want to run higher mileage, I definitely feel like I've been doing a lot more lately than I have before. Last week I was only at 26 miles though, and I know I want to be consistently above 30 so that by the time the nice weather comes around and it's time to really train hard, I can more easily transition to 50-mile weeks.
Even though I'm going to stop this challenge, because really I was the only one doing it anyways and already "failed," I am still going to aim for an hour on a lot of my runs. In the past, a "normal" distance run for me meant 40 minutes, 5 miles. To get better at the marathon distance, I know that for me, more mileage is key.
Do you have a membership card or something of the like that you're surprised you haven't lost yet?
What is your go-to run distance or time that you consider on a "normal" run day?
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday Runday & Big News!
I surprisingly am not getting too fed up with the treadmill right now. Maybe because I've been doing it so consistently that it's just become routine. Routines are good. If I was used to running outside and then forced inside by the weather every once in awhile, it would be like a punishment. But since right now there isn't another option and hasn't been another option for weeks, it just seems normal. Also, as I highlighted in a previous post about the positive aspects of treadmill running, I really like that I can set my pace.
For example, yesterday I decided to throw in a fast mile in the middle of my run:
I was in a particularly good mood (I'll share why in a just a minute), so I decided I should try out some speed work. I haven't done speed work since probably September, before the Chicago Marathon. And I didn't want to do anything crazy, but I knew I could handle to go a little faster since I have been finishing most of my treadmill runs at faster than 8-minute pace. After a 2-mile warm-up, I increased to 6:58 pace for a mile, then back down to 8:00 pace for the remainder of the run. It definitely wasn't the easiest mile, but not super hard either. My main struggle was that I forgot both a headband and a water bottle. And since I have short side bangs now, it was rather uncomfortable running with that hair bopping around in my face/eye the whole time.
After the run, I went to the locker room to gather my things, and found a nice little treat waiting for me (and all the other female patrons of the YMCA):
What do you tend to forget most when you go to workout?
Do you like sending greeting cards?
For example, yesterday I decided to throw in a fast mile in the middle of my run:
.5 miles @ 7.0
.5 miles @ 7.2
.5 miles @ 7.4
.5 miles @ 7.6
1 mile @ 8.6
2 miles @ 7.5
Total of 5 miles in 39:45 (7:57 average pace)
After the run, I went to the locker room to gather my things, and found a nice little treat waiting for me (and all the other female patrons of the YMCA):
Someone must work for Hallmark and had all these leftover Thanksgiving cards, because there were a ton of nice Hallmark cards! I took one of each variety (so like 12 cards total)... now I need to remember in 9 months that I have these cards to send out. This one is my favorite (I actually took 2 of this design):
Alright, well that's enough fluff - onto my big news!! I found out yesterday that I've been selected as a ZOOMA Chicago race ambassador!! I'll be promoting the race, running it myself, and helping out with all the fun events and training leading up to the race! I'll have more info on specifics later, but mark your calendars for Saturday, August 9th for the ZOOMA Chicago Half Marathon and 10k! I'll have a promo code soon so you can all get 10% off your entry fee too :)
What do you tend to forget most when you go to workout?
Do you like sending greeting cards?
Monday, February 10, 2014
Running, Spinning, and BodyPump - Oh My!
I haven't updated you all (y'all for my friends down south) on my workouts much the past couple days, but I promise I have been working out...maybe just not as much as my challenge was supposed to have my working out.
Here's a recap of the past week:
Since I haven't posted since last week, I need to tell you about these past few workouts.
On Friday, I decided I would go to a spin class. I was only going to run 30 minutes before it, but I got there a bit early so ended up staying on the treadmill for 50 minutes. And I'm very glad I did. I ended up leaving the hour spinning class after 35 minutes because it was so bad. I've gone to spinning classes at XSport before and they have been good, but this instructor was not. It was a middle-aged man who barely said anything during class. The music was terrible. I wasn't even sweating after 35 minutes because he had no particularly hard sequences of workouts to do. On a positive note, I do have to say that although his actual class was not the best, the instructor was super friendly and helpful. I hadn't been to spinning in quite a while, so he helped me set up my bike and I noticed that he got off his bike in the middle of class to give a participant a towel. At least that lady was getting a good workout from him!
I really should have ran on Saturday and have no good excuse for why I didn't except that it was snowing and I didn't want to leave my apartment. I did go to brunch right away in the morning with Rachelle, but then had the ultimate lazy Saturday spent watching documentaries on Netflix. When will you be over, winter??
But Sunday was a big day for me. I woke up and went to BodyPump at the Y. I was a bit nervous because I had never been to a weight-based class. Before the instructor unlocked the studio, I met a girl who was also waiting who said it was her first time as well. When the instructor came, we told her we had never been to a BodyPump class and she walked us through all the equipment we needed and how much weight to use. Throughout the class, she was sure to give proper instruction which was nice and I felt at ease. We did 10 "tracks" including a warm-up and cool-down track and then each other track focused on a different muscle group. There were some exercises I wasn't quite able to master yet, but I'm sure I will as I go to the class more often.
Have a super Monday! I have some BIG news to share tomorrow!!
What is your favorite group fitness class?
Here's a recap of the past week:
Monday - REST
Tuesday - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace avg)
Wednesday - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace avg)
Thursday - REST
Friday - 6.25 miles in 50 minutes (8:00 pace avg) + 35 minutes of spin
Saturday - REST
Sunday - BodyPump class + 5.05 miles in 40 minutes (7:55 pace avg)
Total - 26.3 miles + 35 minutes spinning + 1 BodyPump class
Since I haven't posted since last week, I need to tell you about these past few workouts.
On Friday, I decided I would go to a spin class. I was only going to run 30 minutes before it, but I got there a bit early so ended up staying on the treadmill for 50 minutes. And I'm very glad I did. I ended up leaving the hour spinning class after 35 minutes because it was so bad. I've gone to spinning classes at XSport before and they have been good, but this instructor was not. It was a middle-aged man who barely said anything during class. The music was terrible. I wasn't even sweating after 35 minutes because he had no particularly hard sequences of workouts to do. On a positive note, I do have to say that although his actual class was not the best, the instructor was super friendly and helpful. I hadn't been to spinning in quite a while, so he helped me set up my bike and I noticed that he got off his bike in the middle of class to give a participant a towel. At least that lady was getting a good workout from him!
I really should have ran on Saturday and have no good excuse for why I didn't except that it was snowing and I didn't want to leave my apartment. I did go to brunch right away in the morning with Rachelle, but then had the ultimate lazy Saturday spent watching documentaries on Netflix. When will you be over, winter??
But Sunday was a big day for me. I woke up and went to BodyPump at the Y. I was a bit nervous because I had never been to a weight-based class. Before the instructor unlocked the studio, I met a girl who was also waiting who said it was her first time as well. When the instructor came, we told her we had never been to a BodyPump class and she walked us through all the equipment we needed and how much weight to use. Throughout the class, she was sure to give proper instruction which was nice and I felt at ease. We did 10 "tracks" including a warm-up and cool-down track and then each other track focused on a different muscle group. There were some exercises I wasn't quite able to master yet, but I'm sure I will as I go to the class more often.
Have a super Monday! I have some BIG news to share tomorrow!!
What is your favorite group fitness class?
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Positive Aspects of Treadmill Running
Here we are on hump day, just another snowy day in Chicago. It has gotten to the point that talking/tweeting/posting about the weather and its inconveniences is like beating a dead horse. But I wrote an awesome haiku yesterday:
(You can read more of my spectacular running poetry here and here.) Treadmill running is probably the epitome of what runners love to hate. And my relationship with the treadmill truly is a love/hate relationship. So instead of highlight the negative aspects of treadmill running, as most of us usually do during this time, I decided I'm going to focus on why treadmill running is better than outdoor running.
People watching. People watching is obviously fun outside too, but you generally just run past a person never to see them again. But on the treadmill, you can observe people and their working-out habits/techniques. At XSport, the treadmills are right next to one of the fitness studios, so chances are a class is going on. It is funny to watch people doing the routines, but to the music in your own headphones.
Controlling your pace. If I was able to go run for an hour outside, chances are it would be just an hour right around 8 minute pace or so, with little variation. I like that the treadmill allows me to pick and choose exactly what speed I want to go for the day without any guesswork. I can easily change up the pace when the song changes or after a certain number of minutes without always needing to look down at my watch to see when to do so.
Hillwork. There is no such thing as a hill in Chicago. Sometimes there are very slight inclines, but they are about as close to a hill as my net worth is to Warren Buffett's. Or my basketball skills are to Michael Jordan's. You get the picture. Now, I am not going to pretend I've actually done hill work on the treadmill. I'm not one to voluntarily run hills. But I know that I should and used to run on hillier terrain when I lived in Dayton. Catherine recently sent me a few treadmill hill workouts to try by varying the incline setting for intervals, so I plan to work those in over the next month and will share them when I do.
Readily available supplies. I always have a towel and water bottle right at the treadmill with me. In addition to varying the speed every time the song changes, I also am in the habit of taking a drink of water every time the song changes (after I change the speed first of course). I usually use a towel to cover up the display panel so I am not constantly staring at my time or distance, but I also use it to wipe away sweat from my face which is something I can't do outside.
Entertainment. Along the lines of supplies, I must admit that I do bring my phone to the treadmill sometimes and text or tweet while I run. Same with the Kindle, which only works to read while running at the slower speeds, otherwise I'm too bouncy. I can also watch/read the closed captioning on the TV. I can't tell you how many episodes of Sex and the City I've "seen" but not heard. They are always on and I watch and read the captioning, but while I'm listening to my own music.
And a recap from today's run:
Day 10 - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace average)
This run was very similar to yesterday's. The total time and mileage ended up the same as yesterday, but today I started at a speed of 6.8 and increased by .1 each time the song changed, ultimately ending at a speed of 8.4. I was happy with it, especially because I was almost going to stop early a few times.
I was at the YMCA today instead of XSport and used the treadmill while Mom was in Zumba class. I was starting to feel very fatigued and knew she'd be done right around when I would hit 6 miles. I figured I would just call it quits when she finished Zumba because obviously I want to be polite and not make her wait. But instead, I told her she should get on the treadmill next to me and walk/run for a bit until I finished, which she did. (I am trying to get her to be a runner of course.) By this time, I was at a speed of 8.1 and was pretty sure I was not going to make it much longer. I declared that I would stop at 7 miles. But once I got there, I told myself it's only about 4 more minutes to finish out the hour, so I kept on cranking through it. Boo-yah.
I do like doing these gradual progression runs, but I think tomorrow I'll go back to sticking around the same general pace for the duration of the hour.
What do you like about the treadmill?
What TV shows do you watch on the treadmill?
It's snowing again.
When will it all melt for good?
I hate the treadmill.
(You can read more of my spectacular running poetry here and here.) Treadmill running is probably the epitome of what runners love to hate. And my relationship with the treadmill truly is a love/hate relationship. So instead of highlight the negative aspects of treadmill running, as most of us usually do during this time, I decided I'm going to focus on why treadmill running is better than outdoor running.
People watching. People watching is obviously fun outside too, but you generally just run past a person never to see them again. But on the treadmill, you can observe people and their working-out habits/techniques. At XSport, the treadmills are right next to one of the fitness studios, so chances are a class is going on. It is funny to watch people doing the routines, but to the music in your own headphones.
Controlling your pace. If I was able to go run for an hour outside, chances are it would be just an hour right around 8 minute pace or so, with little variation. I like that the treadmill allows me to pick and choose exactly what speed I want to go for the day without any guesswork. I can easily change up the pace when the song changes or after a certain number of minutes without always needing to look down at my watch to see when to do so.
Hillwork. There is no such thing as a hill in Chicago. Sometimes there are very slight inclines, but they are about as close to a hill as my net worth is to Warren Buffett's. Or my basketball skills are to Michael Jordan's. You get the picture. Now, I am not going to pretend I've actually done hill work on the treadmill. I'm not one to voluntarily run hills. But I know that I should and used to run on hillier terrain when I lived in Dayton. Catherine recently sent me a few treadmill hill workouts to try by varying the incline setting for intervals, so I plan to work those in over the next month and will share them when I do.
(There ARE hills/mountains in Denver!)
Readily available supplies. I always have a towel and water bottle right at the treadmill with me. In addition to varying the speed every time the song changes, I also am in the habit of taking a drink of water every time the song changes (after I change the speed first of course). I usually use a towel to cover up the display panel so I am not constantly staring at my time or distance, but I also use it to wipe away sweat from my face which is something I can't do outside.
Entertainment. Along the lines of supplies, I must admit that I do bring my phone to the treadmill sometimes and text or tweet while I run. Same with the Kindle, which only works to read while running at the slower speeds, otherwise I'm too bouncy. I can also watch/read the closed captioning on the TV. I can't tell you how many episodes of Sex and the City I've "seen" but not heard. They are always on and I watch and read the captioning, but while I'm listening to my own music.
And a recap from today's run:
Day 10 - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace average)
This run was very similar to yesterday's. The total time and mileage ended up the same as yesterday, but today I started at a speed of 6.8 and increased by .1 each time the song changed, ultimately ending at a speed of 8.4. I was happy with it, especially because I was almost going to stop early a few times.
I was at the YMCA today instead of XSport and used the treadmill while Mom was in Zumba class. I was starting to feel very fatigued and knew she'd be done right around when I would hit 6 miles. I figured I would just call it quits when she finished Zumba because obviously I want to be polite and not make her wait. But instead, I told her she should get on the treadmill next to me and walk/run for a bit until I finished, which she did. (I am trying to get her to be a runner of course.) By this time, I was at a speed of 8.1 and was pretty sure I was not going to make it much longer. I declared that I would stop at 7 miles. But once I got there, I told myself it's only about 4 more minutes to finish out the hour, so I kept on cranking through it. Boo-yah.
I do like doing these gradual progression runs, but I think tomorrow I'll go back to sticking around the same general pace for the duration of the hour.
What do you like about the treadmill?
What TV shows do you watch on the treadmill?
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Hairstyle Changes & Running Relaxed
Hello friends! I have many things/workouts to update on from over the past few days. Btw, does that seem normal to have 3 prepositions in a row (on, from, over)? Is there a rule on how many prepositions can go in a row? Prepositions are my favorite part of speech so I always notice them. Anyways...
First, a recap of last week's mileage (click on the links for details of each run):
Second, I realized that I have been failing on taking pictures lately. And I will tell you why. It's because of SnapChat. Whenever I find interesting things to take a picture of or take silly selfies on the treadmill (not that I'd put my sweaty treadmill pictures up here for the world to see anyways), I snap them to my friends instead of take a normal picture. So I am now resolving to take more real pictures so I will have more for the blog :)
I did just look through the photos on my phone though and found 3 I would like to share:
Each of these 3 pictures was taken within 3 weeks of each other. My hair was so long and blonde. Then I decided it was time to go back to brown, my natural color, but I was going to keep on growing it long. It's much easier for running when I can nicely pull all of my hair back into a ponytail. But then I got an offer by a friend in cosmetology school to do a hair cut on me for free. So why not?
OK, now to the running! Here's how the past 4 days of my 30-Day Base Building Challenge have gone:
Day 6 - 3.5 miles in 30 minutes (8:34 pace average) + 500m swimming
Day 7 - Rest
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace average)
I was about to put little sad faces by the 2 days that I didn't do my challenge, but I decided that in the end, I think the rest is a good thing. I felt awesome on today's 60 minute run!
But let's back up to Saturday. I went to XSport with the intention of not running a full hour so that I could try my hand (body?) at swimming. I have completed a few triathlons in my day, and I plan to write a whole post on my thoughts on doing another one this summer, but let's just say I'm not exactly a swimmer and need some major improvement. So I got in the pool, not sure how it would go considering I have not swam since the last triathlon I did back in June. I ended up doing a total of 500m, stopping for a short rest every 100m. My 100m segments were: freestyle, freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle. It was definitely an arm workout as well as a cardio workout, so I'd like to try mixing in some swimming twice a week and I also plan to take a stroke class.
And on the 7th day, I rested. I decided more for mental reasons that I did not want to deal with another day on the treadmill. Another impending doom of a winter storm is heading for Chicago now and I knew I'd be on the treadmill all of this week...and who knows how much longer. So, I decided that since it was the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day and Sunday, it was an appropriate day to rest.
Similarly, Monday was a mental health day/I don't want to go to the treadmill day in my book. I figure I could take that day off and still get in 6 quality runs each of the remaining days this week. So that is my plan.
Which brings us to today. I ventured out to the gym and thought "hmm it's not that cold, I could run outside." But then I remembered that the issue is not the temperature right now (we seem to be past this round of the polar vortex), but rather the snow and ice that still blankets the sidewalks.
On the treadmill today I was surprisingly content and relaxed the entire time. I started at a speed of 6.7, which has been my normal starting speed lately, and I increased by .1 every time the song changed. After I got to 6 miles (I was at a speed of 8.0 I believe), I decided to get a little crazy and increase the speed every 1/4 of a mile. I still felt very relaxed and at ease, which was a nice little boost to my running self-confidence. For the last 5 minutes I increased the speed each minute, ultimately ending my hour at a speed of 9.0 (6:40 pace). I think next week I'll try working in some actual speed work to my runs. But for now, this 8 minute/mile average run was a wonderful start to the week.
Do you change your hairstyle a lot?
Any tips on learning to swim?
First, a recap of last week's mileage (click on the links for details of each run):
Monday - 7 miles
Tuesday - 7 miles
Wednesday - 7 miles
Thursday - 3.65 miles
Friday - 7.5 miles
Saturday - 3.5 miles
Sunday - Rest
Total - 35.65 miles
Second, I realized that I have been failing on taking pictures lately. And I will tell you why. It's because of SnapChat. Whenever I find interesting things to take a picture of or take silly selfies on the treadmill (not that I'd put my sweaty treadmill pictures up here for the world to see anyways), I snap them to my friends instead of take a normal picture. So I am now resolving to take more real pictures so I will have more for the blog :)
I did just look through the photos on my phone though and found 3 I would like to share:
Each of these 3 pictures was taken within 3 weeks of each other. My hair was so long and blonde. Then I decided it was time to go back to brown, my natural color, but I was going to keep on growing it long. It's much easier for running when I can nicely pull all of my hair back into a ponytail. But then I got an offer by a friend in cosmetology school to do a hair cut on me for free. So why not?
OK, now to the running! Here's how the past 4 days of my 30-Day Base Building Challenge have gone:
Day 6 - 3.5 miles in 30 minutes (8:34 pace average) + 500m swimming
Day 7 - Rest
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes (8:00 pace average)
I was about to put little sad faces by the 2 days that I didn't do my challenge, but I decided that in the end, I think the rest is a good thing. I felt awesome on today's 60 minute run!
But let's back up to Saturday. I went to XSport with the intention of not running a full hour so that I could try my hand (body?) at swimming. I have completed a few triathlons in my day, and I plan to write a whole post on my thoughts on doing another one this summer, but let's just say I'm not exactly a swimmer and need some major improvement. So I got in the pool, not sure how it would go considering I have not swam since the last triathlon I did back in June. I ended up doing a total of 500m, stopping for a short rest every 100m. My 100m segments were: freestyle, freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke, freestyle. It was definitely an arm workout as well as a cardio workout, so I'd like to try mixing in some swimming twice a week and I also plan to take a stroke class.
And on the 7th day, I rested. I decided more for mental reasons that I did not want to deal with another day on the treadmill. Another impending doom of a winter storm is heading for Chicago now and I knew I'd be on the treadmill all of this week...and who knows how much longer. So, I decided that since it was the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day and Sunday, it was an appropriate day to rest.
Similarly, Monday was a mental health day/I don't want to go to the treadmill day in my book. I figure I could take that day off and still get in 6 quality runs each of the remaining days this week. So that is my plan.
Which brings us to today. I ventured out to the gym and thought "hmm it's not that cold, I could run outside." But then I remembered that the issue is not the temperature right now (we seem to be past this round of the polar vortex), but rather the snow and ice that still blankets the sidewalks.
On the treadmill today I was surprisingly content and relaxed the entire time. I started at a speed of 6.7, which has been my normal starting speed lately, and I increased by .1 every time the song changed. After I got to 6 miles (I was at a speed of 8.0 I believe), I decided to get a little crazy and increase the speed every 1/4 of a mile. I still felt very relaxed and at ease, which was a nice little boost to my running self-confidence. For the last 5 minutes I increased the speed each minute, ultimately ending my hour at a speed of 9.0 (6:40 pace). I think next week I'll try working in some actual speed work to my runs. But for now, this 8 minute/mile average run was a wonderful start to the week.
Do you change your hairstyle a lot?
Any tips on learning to swim?
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Running Playlist - February 2014
I made a new running playlist this week and I am loving it! I tried it out for a few days, deleted some songs I had added, but realized while I was on the treadmill I actually didn't care for. I posted my Chicago Marathon playlist and other playlists here and here before, but here's the most recent.
Brave - Sara Bareilles
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
The New Workout Plan - Kanye West
People Like Us - Kelly Clarkson
Wake Me Up - Avicii
The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy
Shake It - Metro Station
Legendary Lovers - Katy Perry
Timber - Pitbull, Ke$ha
Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke
Pompeii - Bastille
Dark Horse - Katy Perry
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
Wasting All These Tears - Cassadee Pope
Red - Taylor Swift
Chillin' It - Cole Swindell
Compass - Lady Antebellum
Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Heels Over Head - Boys Like Girls
Five Minutes To Midnight - Boys Like Girls
Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida
Bottoms Up - Keke Palmer
If I Had You - Adam Lambert
Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson
If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me tweet about the fact that I was basically rotating through 3 songs: Teenage Dream, Dark Horse, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Some days certain songs just get you pumped. And those were working for me today.
Which leads me into Day 3 of my 30-Day Base Building Challenge. I completed 7 miles in 60 minutes, for an average of 8:34 pace. I did the same little game as Monday with my songs and the speed. Started at 6.7 and every 2 songs I increased .2, then decreased .1, and so on. But it felt oh so much harder, both mentally and physically.
Each of my hour runs over the past 3 days now have been on the treadmill, and I think that's about my mental limit for that death machine. After 30 minutes, I was not quite sure how I was going to make it another 30. I was extremely close to stopping. Once I got to 25 minutes, I decided I would stop at 30 for about 3.5 miles.
But then I did the right thing and put on Teenage Dream. That did the trick. You know the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough put on Katy Perry and get going" or something like that. (I'm way too excited now that I have concert tickets for August...so far away.) Anyways, I suffered/persevered/ran through the last 30 minutes really rocking out. I'm glad nobody was next to me because my music was really loud. But obviously they would've enjoyed it too.
That was all really dramatic. Long story short, I'm really proud of myself for doing the full 60 minutes! If I didn't have this challenge for myself, I definitely would not have done it. I think I will try running outside tomorrow and see how it goes. It's the age old question - suffer on the treadmill or suffer in the cold? Decisions, decisions. Sorry, more dramatic-ness. Running isn't suffering, it's fun!! That's what you gotta tell yourself! So get on out there (after adding the above songs to your playlist), and RUN! :)
Do you have a specific song or 2 you put on when your workout gets tough?
What do you tell yourself to get pumped up? (The last couple sentences above were my words of motivation to both you and me)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
How I'm Going To Get Back In Shape Challenge
I have a crazy plan/challenge that I'm going to set out to do. It's called Colleen's Base Building 30-Day Challenge, or CBB30DC for short. I like to make things into acronyms. So what is CBB30DC?
Run every day for 30 days for an hour each day. That's it. Pace doesn't matter, just get in 60 minutes of running every single day for 30 days.
And so far I've completed Days 1 and 2!
Day 1 - 7 miles in 61:00 - average 8:43 pace
I played a game with the pace settings and my music, like I usually do on the treadmill. I started at 6.7 and every 2 songs, I increased the speed by .2, then decreased by .1, then increased by .2, etc. The entire hour was all between 6.7 and 7.2. Actually I did the last 2 minutes at 8 minute pace just to cruise on in to the finish.
Day 2 - 7 miles in 60:10 - average 8:36 pace
I read my Kindle for the first 15 minutes while the speed was set at 6.7 and 6.8. It wasn't the easiest to do so (it's way easier to read on the bike - treadmill and elliptical are pretty bouncy). So then I switched to music - an awesome new playlist I created.
Unfortunately, it's a whole lot harder to not worry about pace/distance when you're on the treadmill with those metrics staring you in the face. I even ran over my prescribed 60 minutes just to get in a full 7 miles. Who wants to log 6.87 miles or some obscure decimal that when you can log 7.00? But I know I should just adhere to the challenge, so I will try to in the future.
I do cover the display board up with a towel while I run on the treadmill, but I also peak every so often. Even if I didn't peak though, I know exactly what pace I'm running/how far I'll make it (plus or minus a few hundredths of a mile haha). Really, what else is there to do on a treadmill besides math in your head?
I can't wait to run outside again to truly do this challenge not worrying about pace/distance! I'll just wear my watch and run around until I hit 60 minutes. When I run on my own outside, I am sure I will go closer to 8 minute pace, as that is my usual normal run pace. I tend to really like to know my exact mileage though, especially for my logging purposes. I'm sure I'll end up going straight to www.mapmyrun.com or even just using my Garmin (I got it for Christmas - I can't NOT use it). But I guess what I'm trying to do is not get beat up over having a "slow" run because in all actuality, they are necessary and I'm not in good enough shape right now to be doing under 8 minute pace runs. So while I'm on the treadmill, which is a mental battle every minute, I'll keep the pace nice and easy so it's not as much of a physical battle as well. I'll save that for the REAL marathon training cycle...I can try to enjoy this "base-building" time :)
So, some general thoughts on this challenge I made for myself:
- Realistically, I know running 30 days straight for an hour a day is probably not going to happen. Heck, running 30 days straight for any length of time probably wouldn't happen. I know myself. But that's why I made this CHALLENGE to see if I can do it. And now that I'm telling all of you about it, I have to do it. Hopefully I will do all 30 days though and then treat myself to a really relaxing week/something special.
- I know that running 30 days straight for this period of time may not seem like the healthiest thing to do. They (the running gods) say you should only increase weekly mileage by 10% per week to avoid over-use injury. Well, my weekly mileage has always been so inconsistent that I obviously have never followed this rule. I try to. I make training plans that encourage this. But then I get lazy for 4 days straight one week, super motivated the next, etc. If I were to run 7 miles a day for 7 days, I'd get 49 miles. Honestly, that would put me at one of my highest mileage weeks ever (I think my highest was 52 in 7 straight days of running during the summer before senior year of college when I was training to try-out for the cross country team.) Most other weeks that summer and through the fall season were also consistently 40-50 miles. So I know I can do this mileage. I also think I can do even more, but I'll share why in another post soon enough.
I'm going to increase my stretching and foam rolling during this time and also keep up with weight training and core work! And then, by the end of February, I should have a solid base to continue building off of as we head into the spring. Although right now it feels as if spring my never come.
Have you ever made up a difficult challenge for yourself?
What is the longest number of days in row you have run?
Run every day for 30 days for an hour each day. That's it. Pace doesn't matter, just get in 60 minutes of running every single day for 30 days.
And so far I've completed Days 1 and 2!
Day 1 - 7 miles in 61:00 - average 8:43 pace
I played a game with the pace settings and my music, like I usually do on the treadmill. I started at 6.7 and every 2 songs, I increased the speed by .2, then decreased by .1, then increased by .2, etc. The entire hour was all between 6.7 and 7.2. Actually I did the last 2 minutes at 8 minute pace just to cruise on in to the finish.
Day 2 - 7 miles in 60:10 - average 8:36 pace
I read my Kindle for the first 15 minutes while the speed was set at 6.7 and 6.8. It wasn't the easiest to do so (it's way easier to read on the bike - treadmill and elliptical are pretty bouncy). So then I switched to music - an awesome new playlist I created.
I do cover the display board up with a towel while I run on the treadmill, but I also peak every so often. Even if I didn't peak though, I know exactly what pace I'm running/how far I'll make it (plus or minus a few hundredths of a mile haha). Really, what else is there to do on a treadmill besides math in your head?
I can't wait to run outside again to truly do this challenge not worrying about pace/distance! I'll just wear my watch and run around until I hit 60 minutes. When I run on my own outside, I am sure I will go closer to 8 minute pace, as that is my usual normal run pace. I tend to really like to know my exact mileage though, especially for my logging purposes. I'm sure I'll end up going straight to www.mapmyrun.com or even just using my Garmin (I got it for Christmas - I can't NOT use it). But I guess what I'm trying to do is not get beat up over having a "slow" run because in all actuality, they are necessary and I'm not in good enough shape right now to be doing under 8 minute pace runs. So while I'm on the treadmill, which is a mental battle every minute, I'll keep the pace nice and easy so it's not as much of a physical battle as well. I'll save that for the REAL marathon training cycle...I can try to enjoy this "base-building" time :)
So, some general thoughts on this challenge I made for myself:
- Realistically, I know running 30 days straight for an hour a day is probably not going to happen. Heck, running 30 days straight for any length of time probably wouldn't happen. I know myself. But that's why I made this CHALLENGE to see if I can do it. And now that I'm telling all of you about it, I have to do it. Hopefully I will do all 30 days though and then treat myself to a really relaxing week/something special.
- I know that running 30 days straight for this period of time may not seem like the healthiest thing to do. They (the running gods) say you should only increase weekly mileage by 10% per week to avoid over-use injury. Well, my weekly mileage has always been so inconsistent that I obviously have never followed this rule. I try to. I make training plans that encourage this. But then I get lazy for 4 days straight one week, super motivated the next, etc. If I were to run 7 miles a day for 7 days, I'd get 49 miles. Honestly, that would put me at one of my highest mileage weeks ever (I think my highest was 52 in 7 straight days of running during the summer before senior year of college when I was training to try-out for the cross country team.) Most other weeks that summer and through the fall season were also consistently 40-50 miles. So I know I can do this mileage. I also think I can do even more, but I'll share why in another post soon enough.
I'm going to increase my stretching and foam rolling during this time and also keep up with weight training and core work! And then, by the end of February, I should have a solid base to continue building off of as we head into the spring. Although right now it feels as if spring my never come.
Have you ever made up a difficult challenge for yourself?
What is the longest number of days in row you have run?
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Long Weekend in (Much) Warmer Weather
I'm back in the cold arctic temperatures that seem so common in Chicago this winter, after having just been in Phoenix, Arizona for the past couple days. If you recall, I was originally supposed to go to run the Phoenix Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon, but neither Liz nor I had been training, so we decided to opt out in order to save money and have more time to catch up with all the other girls for a vacation weekend.
Even though we didn't race, we did get in a lot of physical activity! Which balanced out with all the eating at great restaurants and drinking new, fruity cocktails we did.
We hiked up a mountain:
We did a lot of chatting, playing "Heads Up" (hilarious game, I highly recommend it), and dancing:
We explored Old Town Scottsdale:
Did you know that Scottsdale is one of the most livable cities in America because of the proximity of grocery stores, gas stations, etc. and a recreational path all around?
Liz and I also went for a 5 mile run one morning on the same walking path. And I have to say that almost the whole time we ran, we TALKED about running-related topics - running form, our training, what races we want to do, and even doing some triathlons.
My legs felt great on the run, but I was winded. I imagine it was the combo of the weather change, all the talking, and just not being back in super great of shape just yet. But I'm so glad we got out there and took advantage of the perfect weather! It felt just like fall cross country season.
It felt amazing to be outside so much in January! But now it's back to being bundled up and stuck indoors for the majority of the days. I'm hoping to get in some shorter treadmill runs and weights over the next few days and then another run of 10-12 miles outside if the weather allows this weekend! It currently says it will be a high of 30 on Saturday so let's all hope it stays that way!
Even though we didn't race, we did get in a lot of physical activity! Which balanced out with all the eating at great restaurants and drinking new, fruity cocktails we did.
We hiked up a mountain:
On the hike, Liz conquered her fear of cacti:
OK, maybe she didn't actually touch THAT cactus, but she did touch a little baby one.
We did a lot of chatting, playing "Heads Up" (hilarious game, I highly recommend it), and dancing:
We explored Old Town Scottsdale:
And we took a walk on a beautiful recreation path filled with runners, walkers, and bikers (OK, so they were mostly all retired people). This is where I want to retire to...like now, only about 30 years early:
Did you know that Scottsdale is one of the most livable cities in America because of the proximity of grocery stores, gas stations, etc. and a recreational path all around?
Liz and I also went for a 5 mile run one morning on the same walking path. And I have to say that almost the whole time we ran, we TALKED about running-related topics - running form, our training, what races we want to do, and even doing some triathlons.
My legs felt great on the run, but I was winded. I imagine it was the combo of the weather change, all the talking, and just not being back in super great of shape just yet. But I'm so glad we got out there and took advantage of the perfect weather! It felt just like fall cross country season.
It felt amazing to be outside so much in January! But now it's back to being bundled up and stuck indoors for the majority of the days. I'm hoping to get in some shorter treadmill runs and weights over the next few days and then another run of 10-12 miles outside if the weather allows this weekend! It currently says it will be a high of 30 on Saturday so let's all hope it stays that way!
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Treadmill Tweeting
I'm sorry my workouts have not been the most thilling lately. Trust me, I wish they were. Just me, hanging out on the treadmill for about 35 minutes. But once I get back into better shape, I'm sure I'll be having super awesome, fun workouts to share. I do have a few treadmill hill workouts and repeat workouts to try, but I'm not quite ready yet! So here is yesterday's workout:
4 Miles on the Treadmill - My intention was to do 8-10 miles as my "long" run for the week...funny how depending what physical fitness shape you are in how a certain distance can be either a long run or a normal run. In my prime during Chicago Marathon training last summer/fall, 8-10 miles would be a piece of cake. And now, a bit more out of shape and stuck on a treadmill, 8-10 miles seems so hard! So yeah, I made it 4 miles...I just get so bored and restless, no matter how much I try to motivate myself.
I usually don't bring my phone with me to the treadmill, but since I was expecting a longer run and the accompanying boredom that goes with a long run on a treadmill, I brought my phone out there with me. So at the beginning I was having a jolly good time and snapchatting some friends from the treadmill. These only went to the closest of friends because I would not want many people to witness my sweaty-treadmill running self. Speaking of being sweaty/using my phone on the treadmill, I tweeted:
4 Miles on the Treadmill - My intention was to do 8-10 miles as my "long" run for the week...funny how depending what physical fitness shape you are in how a certain distance can be either a long run or a normal run. In my prime during Chicago Marathon training last summer/fall, 8-10 miles would be a piece of cake. And now, a bit more out of shape and stuck on a treadmill, 8-10 miles seems so hard! So yeah, I made it 4 miles...I just get so bored and restless, no matter how much I try to motivate myself.
I usually don't bring my phone with me to the treadmill, but since I was expecting a longer run and the accompanying boredom that goes with a long run on a treadmill, I brought my phone out there with me. So at the beginning I was having a jolly good time and snapchatting some friends from the treadmill. These only went to the closest of friends because I would not want many people to witness my sweaty-treadmill running self. Speaking of being sweaty/using my phone on the treadmill, I tweeted:
(That's why you have to excuse my mis-spelling...the treadmill was bouncey and hard to type!)
I even considered making a video log of me talking each mile and telling you how I felt, what I was listening to, etc. but I didn't want to scare the people around me. But really, they all had their own headphones on and I'll never see them again in my life.
I had a bunch of time though still since I only did 4 miles, so then I did:
Leg Circuit - The same one I did earlier this week - 3 sets of 10 squats and 10 lunges on each leg. With 8 pound weights in each hand for all of it.
Core Circuit - Again, the same one I've been doing regularly. Regular crunches, side crunches, V-ups, medicine ball ab stuff.
I even considered making a video log of me talking each mile and telling you how I felt, what I was listening to, etc. but I didn't want to scare the people around me. But really, they all had their own headphones on and I'll never see them again in my life.
I had a bunch of time though still since I only did 4 miles, so then I did:
Leg Circuit - The same one I did earlier this week - 3 sets of 10 squats and 10 lunges on each leg. With 8 pound weights in each hand for all of it.
Core Circuit - Again, the same one I've been doing regularly. Regular crunches, side crunches, V-ups, medicine ball ab stuff.
I managed to get a 10 mile run done outside this morning so I'll have details on that tomorrow...and I promise it was a lot more exciting than any of these treadmill runs!
Do you use your phone on the treadmill?
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