Say what you want about Eminem but that man can do RUNNING music.
It's been an EXTREMELY long time since I've run with music. I lost my shuffle, found the shuffle, couldn't get it to sync, missplaced the dang thing again, etc...but I bought a new one recently as I've mentioned. Between the two of us (Jessica & I actually), we have flooded my new shuffle with some of my OLD & NEW favorites. During my little 3 mile run in zone 5 (yes, I wore the heart rate monitor again), I struggled just a tinsy bit the first half of it (warming up & adjusting the patella band).
Then on comes "Lose Yourself" & my feet promptly fell into place. :-)
Today: P90X ab ripper before work & 3 mile run in zone 5 after work (10:05 pace, yeah, I know still SLOW. Blame the patella band scratching my leg).
I am feeling much, MUCH better. My 6 mile run with Kim tomorrow afternoon in Manchester is something I've been looking forward to all week. ;-)
What's your favorite running songs?
Some of my favs.....anything Bon Jovi, Madonna, Usher, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ga Ga, & Aerosmith.
Goal: Get Faster!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
3 things
1) I ran with the heart rate monitor for the first time today....man, I could tell I'm not 100%.
I started in zone 1, which was basically a fast walk per my heart rate, moved it to 2, not too much better, then moved it to zone 3. This was all during the 1st mile of a hilly 5 mile run. LOL! I stayed in zone 3 & made myself take walk breaks. 5 miles at an 11:58 pace (laugh with me!)
I had to remind myself that P90X Cardio had been way more difficult than it normally is for me the previous day. Anyway, this will teach me to slow down & do recovery runs a whole lot more. I kept telling myself all that had gone on the last few months & made myself accept it. My body is just tired right now & it's "recovery" time.
2) The shuffle is working. Don't know what we did differently, but it's working & I've got a ton of songs on it now. No need to head to the Apple store! Whoo Hoo!
3) As for the yurbuds that I bought at the Expo when I did the Nashville Women's 1/2 marathon, they sorta sucked. My ears were measured by the sales person but apparently, I'm not putting the dang things in correctly or they're the wrong size. In the past, I've worn the over the ear buds & had no problems. Guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
I was off today but heading back for about 5-6 hours tomorrow & 4 on friday.
We are spending New Years Eve in Murfreesboro with the Heusers. Can't wait! ;-)
I started in zone 1, which was basically a fast walk per my heart rate, moved it to 2, not too much better, then moved it to zone 3. This was all during the 1st mile of a hilly 5 mile run. LOL! I stayed in zone 3 & made myself take walk breaks. 5 miles at an 11:58 pace (laugh with me!)
I had to remind myself that P90X Cardio had been way more difficult than it normally is for me the previous day. Anyway, this will teach me to slow down & do recovery runs a whole lot more. I kept telling myself all that had gone on the last few months & made myself accept it. My body is just tired right now & it's "recovery" time.
2) The shuffle is working. Don't know what we did differently, but it's working & I've got a ton of songs on it now. No need to head to the Apple store! Whoo Hoo!
3) As for the yurbuds that I bought at the Expo when I did the Nashville Women's 1/2 marathon, they sorta sucked. My ears were measured by the sales person but apparently, I'm not putting the dang things in correctly or they're the wrong size. In the past, I've worn the over the ear buds & had no problems. Guess if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
I was off today but heading back for about 5-6 hours tomorrow & 4 on friday.
We are spending New Years Eve in Murfreesboro with the Heusers. Can't wait! ;-)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wimp
Yep, I was a wimp today. No run. It felt cold enough to snow here but I think it was the wind that was cutting through me that made me wimpy.
I chose to do P90X ab ripper & P90X Cardio. (full hour of Tony Horton)
I swear I wanted to take a break towards the end of that Cardio dvd but I pushed through it.
I do feel a bit better than yesterday, thank goodness. If I had not, there would have been NO work out whatsoever.....
Tomorrow is supposed to be just as cold if not colder....it is winter & my body has just got to get used to it. Trouble is...it could hit 55 or 60 several days from now! ugh!
Anyway, I've got to get in a run tomorrow for sure.
I'm off tomorrow & the kids & I plan to hit up "Dave & Busters" for half price lunch & games.
AND in honor of Drew Brees passing Dan Marino's single-season yardage record, I'm posting my "Cool Brees" shirt I bought in New Orleans earlier this month.
I chose to do P90X ab ripper & P90X Cardio. (full hour of Tony Horton)
I swear I wanted to take a break towards the end of that Cardio dvd but I pushed through it.
I do feel a bit better than yesterday, thank goodness. If I had not, there would have been NO work out whatsoever.....
Tomorrow is supposed to be just as cold if not colder....it is winter & my body has just got to get used to it. Trouble is...it could hit 55 or 60 several days from now! ugh!
Anyway, I've got to get in a run tomorrow for sure.
I'm off tomorrow & the kids & I plan to hit up "Dave & Busters" for half price lunch & games.
AND in honor of Drew Brees passing Dan Marino's single-season yardage record, I'm posting my "Cool Brees" shirt I bought in New Orleans earlier this month.
Monday, December 26, 2011
head cold? maybe? possibly?
I'm one that never gets sick unless it's a migraine or sinus infection.
Since I started doubling my antihistamines back in the Spring, I've avoided sinus infections.
But the last few days, really about 5 days...I've been dragging ass.
1) I thought it was stress from work because since the first of Dec, it's been nuts.
2) I thought it was all the stuff I had planned starting early Nov with the marathon, then Thanksgiving in MI, then New Orleans, then East TN, etc...
3) Maybe it was over training?
4) Maybe it was under training then pushing my limits?
5) Maybe it's my diet?
6) Maybe it's just me running down & getting some sort of cold?
I first noticed this feeling when the gas heat was kicking on more & more. I detest gas heat. It dries me out, makes my sinuses dry & bleedy. So, we set up a big momma humidifier in the room. I think it's helping.
Anyway, I woke up sometime around 3 or 4am wide awake with too much on my mind this morning.
I decided to run by the office for a bit to kick start what I have to do tomorrow since I had to go to that area anyway to return something, use a Macy's gift card, & try to get into Apple to see why my shuffle won't sync. (Apparently, there was like a 5 hour wait to see the tech. So, I'll be scheduling an appt online in the near future.)
I did all of the above except wait around the Apple store, plus I went to Target to get the kids new bedding & Walmart. Amazing how I can stand Walmart in the middle of the day but going there after work or on the weekends makes me ill. Productive day, if I say so myself but NO workout of any kind will be happening. I'm wiped out & we have the Red Wings - Predators game tonight! So, a nap I will be a takin'.....
Tomorrow is another day....
Oh & before I forget, I got the 1/2 marathon training schedule that I paid for today.
Wow, there are days with just 2 miles on them. ;-) (almost not worth getting dressed! LOL!)
Looks like a fairly intense schedule in March/early April.
I'm going to do my best to stick to it to the letter, though. NO whining from me.
The only changes I know I'll make will be the Tom King 5k (I will be adding 7 miles after the 5k since there's 10 that day on the schedule!) & the Carmel, Indiana 1/2.
Now that I see the actual run schedule, it probably wouldn't be too wise to throw in any other races anyway.
Since I started doubling my antihistamines back in the Spring, I've avoided sinus infections.
But the last few days, really about 5 days...I've been dragging ass.
1) I thought it was stress from work because since the first of Dec, it's been nuts.
2) I thought it was all the stuff I had planned starting early Nov with the marathon, then Thanksgiving in MI, then New Orleans, then East TN, etc...
3) Maybe it was over training?
4) Maybe it was under training then pushing my limits?
5) Maybe it's my diet?
6) Maybe it's just me running down & getting some sort of cold?
I first noticed this feeling when the gas heat was kicking on more & more. I detest gas heat. It dries me out, makes my sinuses dry & bleedy. So, we set up a big momma humidifier in the room. I think it's helping.
Anyway, I woke up sometime around 3 or 4am wide awake with too much on my mind this morning.
I decided to run by the office for a bit to kick start what I have to do tomorrow since I had to go to that area anyway to return something, use a Macy's gift card, & try to get into Apple to see why my shuffle won't sync. (Apparently, there was like a 5 hour wait to see the tech. So, I'll be scheduling an appt online in the near future.)
I did all of the above except wait around the Apple store, plus I went to Target to get the kids new bedding & Walmart. Amazing how I can stand Walmart in the middle of the day but going there after work or on the weekends makes me ill. Productive day, if I say so myself but NO workout of any kind will be happening. I'm wiped out & we have the Red Wings - Predators game tonight! So, a nap I will be a takin'.....
Tomorrow is another day....
Oh & before I forget, I got the 1/2 marathon training schedule that I paid for today.
Wow, there are days with just 2 miles on them. ;-) (almost not worth getting dressed! LOL!)
Looks like a fairly intense schedule in March/early April.
I'm going to do my best to stick to it to the letter, though. NO whining from me.
The only changes I know I'll make will be the Tom King 5k (I will be adding 7 miles after the 5k since there's 10 that day on the schedule!) & the Carmel, Indiana 1/2.
Now that I see the actual run schedule, it probably wouldn't be too wise to throw in any other races anyway.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
sluggish miles for Christmas
Saturday: 4 hilly miles at a 9:42 pace before leaving for the Titans - Jags game.
Sunday: 6 miles of jog/walk with hills at a 11:10 pace
I had thought I would stay in pajamas all day today but it was in the mid-50's & sunny.
I had to get out. It was just too pretty to stay inside on Christmas day so I took the run/walk super easy.
My body needs the rest anyway.
I did accomplish something else. The dang heart rate monitor now works & I hope to use it for a short run sometime in the next few days. I couldn't get the iPod to sync and I couldn't get the lap top to recognize it.
(Always something!) I will most likely make a visit to the Apple store tomorrow in Greenhills since I need to run a few errands over there.
As for any P90X or Jillian's Shred this week, I'm not sure if I want to make my body sore this week with that. I'll have to sleep on it. GREAT workouts but it is taking me days to recover & the running has come to a screeching halt with those work outs in my schedule. I want to work other muscles, confuse my body, firm up some areas, but dang what a price I'm paying!
Fall Marathon decision has been made. I hate to even post it yet for fear we'll change our minds again. I tried to talk Joe into the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA. ha! Detroit would be awesome to do but my gut isn't feeling it right now. We have until Jan 7th until Detroit's registration jumps, though. We'll see how we feel next weekend.
Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!
Sunday: 6 miles of jog/walk with hills at a 11:10 pace
I had thought I would stay in pajamas all day today but it was in the mid-50's & sunny.
I had to get out. It was just too pretty to stay inside on Christmas day so I took the run/walk super easy.
My body needs the rest anyway.
I did accomplish something else. The dang heart rate monitor now works & I hope to use it for a short run sometime in the next few days. I couldn't get the iPod to sync and I couldn't get the lap top to recognize it.
(Always something!) I will most likely make a visit to the Apple store tomorrow in Greenhills since I need to run a few errands over there.
As for any P90X or Jillian's Shred this week, I'm not sure if I want to make my body sore this week with that. I'll have to sleep on it. GREAT workouts but it is taking me days to recover & the running has come to a screeching halt with those work outs in my schedule. I want to work other muscles, confuse my body, firm up some areas, but dang what a price I'm paying!
Fall Marathon decision has been made. I hate to even post it yet for fear we'll change our minds again. I tried to talk Joe into the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA. ha! Detroit would be awesome to do but my gut isn't feeling it right now. We have until Jan 7th until Detroit's registration jumps, though. We'll see how we feel next weekend.
Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!
Friday, December 23, 2011
A girl can change her mind, right?
Yesterday, I did P90X Stretch & worked out with my 5 lb weights when I got home from work.
We went to the NRC Christmas party last night. Good Times & lots of fun! Due to peer pressure at the party & my strong desire to run in places I've never been....we've decided to register for the Carmel, Indiana 1/2 marathon. It's the Saturday BEFORE the CMM 1/2. Yes, I'm going against what I put in my "goals" post but it's not like this half is in Feb or Mar or even early Apr. It's super flat & it should be at least a little cooler than TN one week later. I still want to shoot for a sub 2 hour finish time on the CMM 1/2 course. I started thinking of the courses that I've gone sub 2 on and I know I did it in Huntsville, Tom King at least twice, & in McMinnville. (I need to find the post where I listed all my half marathons.)
This morning I did ab ripper & I had intentions of running 3 miles after work but that just didn't happen. I'm not going to feel guilty about it either. Tomorrow is another day....I'll squeeze in a run before we head downtown to see which Titans team decides to show up to play the Jags. ;-P
Happy Friday!
We went to the NRC Christmas party last night. Good Times & lots of fun! Due to peer pressure at the party & my strong desire to run in places I've never been....we've decided to register for the Carmel, Indiana 1/2 marathon. It's the Saturday BEFORE the CMM 1/2. Yes, I'm going against what I put in my "goals" post but it's not like this half is in Feb or Mar or even early Apr. It's super flat & it should be at least a little cooler than TN one week later. I still want to shoot for a sub 2 hour finish time on the CMM 1/2 course. I started thinking of the courses that I've gone sub 2 on and I know I did it in Huntsville, Tom King at least twice, & in McMinnville. (I need to find the post where I listed all my half marathons.)
This morning I did ab ripper & I had intentions of running 3 miles after work but that just didn't happen. I'm not going to feel guilty about it either. Tomorrow is another day....I'll squeeze in a run before we head downtown to see which Titans team decides to show up to play the Jags. ;-P
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
2012 Goals
I took a vacation day today. I declared it a "Ferris Bueller" day but it really just turned into a regular day, minus me driving into Greenhills to work. ;-P A "Ferris Bueller" day would have entailed no planning & possibly a road trip. (always too hard to find a parade float to sing on, anyway)
I was wide awake at 5:20am so I ate breakfast & crawled back in bed for a little while. I did ab ripper P90X about 7:15am & then headed out for a painful 7 mile run about 8:15am. You see, someone hit me with a stupid stick this week. I've done Jillian Michael's shred dvd twice this week & it's basically "crippled" me. My original plan for the last two weeks of Dec was to do some speed work but apparently, I'm choosing to abuse my body so that I have to run slow. Anyway, I had a 10:24 pace for 7 miles with lots of walk breaks. It was 60 degrees so I wore no shirt & I broke a sweat. People were looking at me odd in the 'hood but hey, it is December. ha!
Yesterday, I did the dread shred & the 1 hr 20 minute "Yoga For Runners" dvd. I knew that seemed to go on forever! ;-P
Goals for 2012
Training for the CMM 1/2
I actually paid for training for the first time ever so NO other half marathons will happen between now & the end of April. I will focus on the "paid" training schedule. ;-P
No Tom King 1/2 for me in March but I am signing up for the 5k since Joe will be there anyway doing the 1/2.
If another short race, maybe a 10k, pops up that I want to do, I will certaining consider it.
Detroit or Chicago Fall 2012
I'm not real sure when the registration opens for Chicago but Detroit's opens 1-1 & it's only $60 until 1-7.
Detroit is not that far from some of my family & Joe's family, plus it would fall right with the kids Fall break.
Chicago, even though it's notoriously hot, is certaining one to cross off our list. So, guess we'll be making the final decision soon! Either way, there will be lots of long runs summer 2012. Can you sense my excitement about that?!! ;-P
There is one 1/2 marathon that I've had in my head for years due to my buddy, T.Q. telling me how much he loved it. "The Hatfield & McCoy Marathon & Half Marathon" is in June. We would only do the 1/2 & just do it for fun. I've heard that it's a hoot!!! The course runs through W.VA & KY. I figure if I can run the Moon Pie 10 miler in June then I should be able to handle that 1/2. (Moon Pie won't be on my list for a very long time, if ever....)
I see us adding some local races here & there that we've never done but we'll see what's going on....
As for the Santa Hustle 1/2 in December 2012, that could very well be another must do, since the kids loved that place.
I was wide awake at 5:20am so I ate breakfast & crawled back in bed for a little while. I did ab ripper P90X about 7:15am & then headed out for a painful 7 mile run about 8:15am. You see, someone hit me with a stupid stick this week. I've done Jillian Michael's shred dvd twice this week & it's basically "crippled" me. My original plan for the last two weeks of Dec was to do some speed work but apparently, I'm choosing to abuse my body so that I have to run slow. Anyway, I had a 10:24 pace for 7 miles with lots of walk breaks. It was 60 degrees so I wore no shirt & I broke a sweat. People were looking at me odd in the 'hood but hey, it is December. ha!
Yesterday, I did the dread shred & the 1 hr 20 minute "Yoga For Runners" dvd. I knew that seemed to go on forever! ;-P
Goals for 2012
Training for the CMM 1/2
I actually paid for training for the first time ever so NO other half marathons will happen between now & the end of April. I will focus on the "paid" training schedule. ;-P
No Tom King 1/2 for me in March but I am signing up for the 5k since Joe will be there anyway doing the 1/2.
If another short race, maybe a 10k, pops up that I want to do, I will certaining consider it.
Detroit or Chicago Fall 2012
I'm not real sure when the registration opens for Chicago but Detroit's opens 1-1 & it's only $60 until 1-7.
Detroit is not that far from some of my family & Joe's family, plus it would fall right with the kids Fall break.
Chicago, even though it's notoriously hot, is certaining one to cross off our list. So, guess we'll be making the final decision soon! Either way, there will be lots of long runs summer 2012. Can you sense my excitement about that?!! ;-P
There is one 1/2 marathon that I've had in my head for years due to my buddy, T.Q. telling me how much he loved it. "The Hatfield & McCoy Marathon & Half Marathon" is in June. We would only do the 1/2 & just do it for fun. I've heard that it's a hoot!!! The course runs through W.VA & KY. I figure if I can run the Moon Pie 10 miler in June then I should be able to handle that 1/2. (Moon Pie won't be on my list for a very long time, if ever....)
I see us adding some local races here & there that we've never done but we'll see what's going on....
As for the Santa Hustle 1/2 in December 2012, that could very well be another must do, since the kids loved that place.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Quick end of the year wrap up, bye bye 2011!
I'll just do this by answering questions. ;-P
What race did I enjoy the most?
NYC marathon, of course.
Yes, the last 8 miles or so were painful but it was "different".
The spectators were awesome & Joe got a HUGE PR with his 3:38:06.
My pitiful 4:50:something is one I'd like to forget but NYC is done & in the books.
I had some decent training runs leading up.
Who runs a 9:55 pace on a hilly, hot, 21 mile training run, & still comes out with a 4:50 marathon?!
Not to mention a 20 miler at a 10:07 pace two weeks later...
Just crazy disappointing!
I would LOVE to do that marathon again but with a new left IT Band.
(Santa, are you listening?)
Best training run?
The hilly, hot, 21 miler, of course. I truly enjoyed running almost ALL the training runs with the Nashville Striders. AND yes, I will do them all next Summer/Fall for either Detroit or Chicago.
Best movie I saw?
I love movies even though I feel behind on them right now.
"The Help" & "Brides Maids" movies were my two favorites this year.
One made me cry & the other had me laughing until tears were streaming down my face!
Biggest surprise of 2011?
Tebow with the Broncos, nuff said....love him!
Biggest disappointment?
I didn't expect much of out of the Titans this year & of course they did ok but still disappointing.
And of course my finish time in the NYC marathon!
What did I learn?
No matter how the marathon training goes...it's always a crap shoot in the end.
Whether it be weather or an injury sneaking up on you...you just have to deal with it.
Biggest change for me?
Job change, of course, & moving out of Coffee County.
Yes, I miss the old job & yes, I miss Harvey's Gym, my running buddies, etc....
But you deal with it....I was due a HUGE change anyway. ;-P
I like my job but like I said, it's something I've NEVER done before but I'm grateful for it.
(18 vacation days, plus all major holidays that I can float....thank you, God!)
Most inspiring moment?
Shuffling past a runner during the NYC marathon that had one leg.
When I saw the runner, I told myself to stop the whining in my head & just finish.
It's all about "when you can", not about "if you can".
Best trip we took?
The last minute trip to Chicago during the July 4th holiday weekend was GREAT!
We did so much in such a short time. I have probably only changed planes there but had never been there to run around the city & see it. The bus tour, running on the beach near Navy Pier, & the game at Wrigley. Who wouldn't love that?!
(Bet you thought I'd say the trip to NYC? NYC is a been there, done that trip for us but I NEVER tire of that place.)
Best book I read?
I'm going with two.
The Steve Jobs biography & Kristin Armstrong's "26.2 reasons why women run".
Best tv show I watched?
I'm totally in love with "2 Broke Girls". (created by the "Sex & the City" creator)
I love "Mike & Molly", "Modern Family", & "The Middle".
I gave up "Grey's Anatomy" this year. (got tired of the same ole crap)
This is the last season for "Desperate Housewives" so I'm watching.
I'll miss my Sunday night addiction when it's gone.
Best food I ate?
Nowhere specific although I LOVE me some "Bonefish Grill" & "Las Palmas" mexican.
(I'm still addicted to mexican cheese dip & my 2-3 pomegranite martini's a year.)
Race PRs?
Big fat zero this year....2006 & 2007 remain my faster years. ha!
I can't think of anything else........"2012 Goals" tomorrow....
What race did I enjoy the most?
NYC marathon, of course.
Yes, the last 8 miles or so were painful but it was "different".
The spectators were awesome & Joe got a HUGE PR with his 3:38:06.
My pitiful 4:50:something is one I'd like to forget but NYC is done & in the books.
I had some decent training runs leading up.
Who runs a 9:55 pace on a hilly, hot, 21 mile training run, & still comes out with a 4:50 marathon?!
Not to mention a 20 miler at a 10:07 pace two weeks later...
Just crazy disappointing!
I would LOVE to do that marathon again but with a new left IT Band.
(Santa, are you listening?)
Best training run?
The hilly, hot, 21 miler, of course. I truly enjoyed running almost ALL the training runs with the Nashville Striders. AND yes, I will do them all next Summer/Fall for either Detroit or Chicago.
Best movie I saw?
I love movies even though I feel behind on them right now.
"The Help" & "Brides Maids" movies were my two favorites this year.
One made me cry & the other had me laughing until tears were streaming down my face!
Biggest surprise of 2011?
Tebow with the Broncos, nuff said....love him!
Biggest disappointment?
I didn't expect much of out of the Titans this year & of course they did ok but still disappointing.
And of course my finish time in the NYC marathon!
What did I learn?
No matter how the marathon training goes...it's always a crap shoot in the end.
Whether it be weather or an injury sneaking up on you...you just have to deal with it.
Biggest change for me?
Job change, of course, & moving out of Coffee County.
Yes, I miss the old job & yes, I miss Harvey's Gym, my running buddies, etc....
But you deal with it....I was due a HUGE change anyway. ;-P
I like my job but like I said, it's something I've NEVER done before but I'm grateful for it.
(18 vacation days, plus all major holidays that I can float....thank you, God!)
Most inspiring moment?
Shuffling past a runner during the NYC marathon that had one leg.
When I saw the runner, I told myself to stop the whining in my head & just finish.
It's all about "when you can", not about "if you can".
Best trip we took?
The last minute trip to Chicago during the July 4th holiday weekend was GREAT!
We did so much in such a short time. I have probably only changed planes there but had never been there to run around the city & see it. The bus tour, running on the beach near Navy Pier, & the game at Wrigley. Who wouldn't love that?!
(Bet you thought I'd say the trip to NYC? NYC is a been there, done that trip for us but I NEVER tire of that place.)
Best book I read?
I'm going with two.
The Steve Jobs biography & Kristin Armstrong's "26.2 reasons why women run".
Best tv show I watched?
I'm totally in love with "2 Broke Girls". (created by the "Sex & the City" creator)
I love "Mike & Molly", "Modern Family", & "The Middle".
I gave up "Grey's Anatomy" this year. (got tired of the same ole crap)
This is the last season for "Desperate Housewives" so I'm watching.
I'll miss my Sunday night addiction when it's gone.
Best food I ate?
Nowhere specific although I LOVE me some "Bonefish Grill" & "Las Palmas" mexican.
(I'm still addicted to mexican cheese dip & my 2-3 pomegranite martini's a year.)
Race PRs?
Big fat zero this year....2006 & 2007 remain my faster years. ha!
I can't think of anything else........"2012 Goals" tomorrow....
Monday, December 19, 2011
breathe, rest, & focus...
Saturday: lots of running around & errands...absolutely NO time for a workout.
We toured the neighborhood gym, which won't be finished until March.
We signed up!
We went to the post office, bank, & then took the kids to their piano recital.
Lunch & "New Years Eve" movie afterwards.
We did Christmas with the kids, had dinner at Blue Coast Burrito in our 'hood, & then we went to the Hollywood 27 for yet more movies. (Jessica & I finally got to see "Breaking Dawn")
We fell into bed about 10:00pm & I dreamed about vampires. ;-P
Sunday: 6.5 miles of slow running for me. (10:51 pace) My legs still had some soreness in them from Jillian Michael's shred dvd. Let's face it, I was just tired but it was a gorgeous day to get outside. I couldn't stand just sitting around or working out indoors. We even went back out for another 1.5-2 miles of walking/jogging with the kids to "The Cake Project". We ordered our new years eve cake to take to the Heuser's. (Can't wait to catch up with Hannah & Jeff on new years eve!)
Monday: ab ripper P90X in the AM & 4.51 miles in the PM (another slow 10:21 pace)
I think I've hit my holiday wall. Ever since we got back from East TN, I've been tired. Work has been cranked up a notch, & all our running around has been nuts. It's time to unplug, debug, & regroup my tired ass.
When I got to work today, I realized I needed to burn 31 hours of vacation before the end of the year. So, I left an hour and a half early. I'm working half a day tomorrow, & taking Wednesday completely off. I'm going to find some creative ways to whittle it down over the next two weeks. ha!
I may just have my long awaited, all day pajama day on Wednesday this week. ;-)
Not sure what workouts I'll do the rest of the week but I will be doing something.
We have the NRC Christmas party Thursday night, the Titans-Jags game Saturday, & the Preds-Red Wings game Monday. The week after Christmas will be very quiet at work, thankgoodness.
We have the kids so I will be off with them some...I see a trip to "Dave & Buster's" in our future. ;-)
All is good & I'm still thinking about my 2012 goals.
There's only one thing that I've decided & that's to stick to the 1/2 marathon training program.
This is the first time I've ever paid for any kind of training so I want my $ worth.
The focus will be getting the most out of it & staying uninjured.
Long story short, my original plans have changed.
The longest race on my calendar in the Spring will be the CMM 1/2.
We toured the neighborhood gym, which won't be finished until March.
We signed up!
We went to the post office, bank, & then took the kids to their piano recital.
Lunch & "New Years Eve" movie afterwards.
We did Christmas with the kids, had dinner at Blue Coast Burrito in our 'hood, & then we went to the Hollywood 27 for yet more movies. (Jessica & I finally got to see "Breaking Dawn")
We fell into bed about 10:00pm & I dreamed about vampires. ;-P
Sunday: 6.5 miles of slow running for me. (10:51 pace) My legs still had some soreness in them from Jillian Michael's shred dvd. Let's face it, I was just tired but it was a gorgeous day to get outside. I couldn't stand just sitting around or working out indoors. We even went back out for another 1.5-2 miles of walking/jogging with the kids to "The Cake Project". We ordered our new years eve cake to take to the Heuser's. (Can't wait to catch up with Hannah & Jeff on new years eve!)
Monday: ab ripper P90X in the AM & 4.51 miles in the PM (another slow 10:21 pace)
I think I've hit my holiday wall. Ever since we got back from East TN, I've been tired. Work has been cranked up a notch, & all our running around has been nuts. It's time to unplug, debug, & regroup my tired ass.
When I got to work today, I realized I needed to burn 31 hours of vacation before the end of the year. So, I left an hour and a half early. I'm working half a day tomorrow, & taking Wednesday completely off. I'm going to find some creative ways to whittle it down over the next two weeks. ha!
I may just have my long awaited, all day pajama day on Wednesday this week. ;-)
Not sure what workouts I'll do the rest of the week but I will be doing something.
We have the NRC Christmas party Thursday night, the Titans-Jags game Saturday, & the Preds-Red Wings game Monday. The week after Christmas will be very quiet at work, thankgoodness.
We have the kids so I will be off with them some...I see a trip to "Dave & Buster's" in our future. ;-)
All is good & I'm still thinking about my 2012 goals.
There's only one thing that I've decided & that's to stick to the 1/2 marathon training program.
This is the first time I've ever paid for any kind of training so I want my $ worth.
The focus will be getting the most out of it & staying uninjured.
Long story short, my original plans have changed.
The longest race on my calendar in the Spring will be the CMM 1/2.
Friday, December 16, 2011
motivation
I did ab ripper this morning & 3 cold, damp, slow miles tonight...brrrrr....(10:12 pace)
Motivation #1 to get out the door....the warm pjs are that much sweeter to put on...
Motivation #2 nothing could be more brutal than running in sleet in the dark in the middle of the night...nothing will ever be worse than the Ragnar Relay 2010! ha!
I did Jillian Michael's yoga last night then immediately did her shred dvd.
Something tells me the 2nd day soreness will creep in tomorrow morning.
Good thing I'll be too busy to work out. ;-P
Our 'hood is getting a new gym at the front of the neighborhood. We are touring it tomorrow.
Can't wait!!!
Motivation #1 to get out the door....the warm pjs are that much sweeter to put on...
Motivation #2 nothing could be more brutal than running in sleet in the dark in the middle of the night...nothing will ever be worse than the Ragnar Relay 2010! ha!
I did Jillian Michael's yoga last night then immediately did her shred dvd.
Something tells me the 2nd day soreness will creep in tomorrow morning.
Good thing I'll be too busy to work out. ;-P
Our 'hood is getting a new gym at the front of the neighborhood. We are touring it tomorrow.
Can't wait!!!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
4.6 miles of hills to see lights...ouch!
We joined the NRC at "Mama's Java's" coffee shop for a quick run....we all started like we had been shot out of cannons or so it seemed to me. The goal was to run almost 1.5 miles to stop at a house that has lights that are synched with a radio stadio. (of course we all stopped our garmins for this...ha!) It was cool. We'll have to drive the kids over there this weekend.
The house was at the top of the first MAJOR hill. When we stopped, I was glad to be stopping. I ripped off my shirt & tied it around my waist. It was in the mid-upper 60's here yesterday. (yep, sinuses are going nuts!)
We took off downhill and then up another.....ouch!...then had yet another couple of major hills to the finish at "Mama's Java's". I actually had to take a short walk break on the last hill. The IT Band was going, "WTH?!"
4.6 miles (9:27 pace, I'll take that since I did have a short walk break in there)
I stretched A LOT this morning in front of the TV. DVR'd Barbara Walter's special of the "Most Fascinating People of 2011". Steve Jobs topped the list. I still say there needs to be a movie made about that man's life.
I am 80-something pages into "Explosive Eighteen"...the latest Plum book. Whoo Hooo!
The house was at the top of the first MAJOR hill. When we stopped, I was glad to be stopping. I ripped off my shirt & tied it around my waist. It was in the mid-upper 60's here yesterday. (yep, sinuses are going nuts!)
We took off downhill and then up another.....ouch!...then had yet another couple of major hills to the finish at "Mama's Java's". I actually had to take a short walk break on the last hill. The IT Band was going, "WTH?!"
4.6 miles (9:27 pace, I'll take that since I did have a short walk break in there)
I stretched A LOT this morning in front of the TV. DVR'd Barbara Walter's special of the "Most Fascinating People of 2011". Steve Jobs topped the list. I still say there needs to be a movie made about that man's life.
I am 80-something pages into "Explosive Eighteen"...the latest Plum book. Whoo Hooo!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
holiday surprises...
I've come into work this week so far to find yellow roses on my desk, a $50 gift card to Macy's, a power bar, box of super soft kleenex, sausages, & reeses cups (gave most of those away!)....
And it is ONLY Wednesday. It's Secret Santa week plus our directors are so generous!
This job drains me at times but it's like NOTHING I've ever done. Never thought I'd be doing what I'm doing but it's been one of the nicer changes this year. I've not been buried in spreadsheets since early May. ha!
My end of the year wrap up will be about all the changes in 2011 & goals for 2012.
Yesterday's workout was P90X Cardio, which is 45 minutes long....that's all the time I had!
Today was ab ripper in the AM & a run will happen sometime after work.
Happy Holiday Hump Day!
And it is ONLY Wednesday. It's Secret Santa week plus our directors are so generous!
This job drains me at times but it's like NOTHING I've ever done. Never thought I'd be doing what I'm doing but it's been one of the nicer changes this year. I've not been buried in spreadsheets since early May. ha!
My end of the year wrap up will be about all the changes in 2011 & goals for 2012.
Yesterday's workout was P90X Cardio, which is 45 minutes long....that's all the time I had!
Today was ab ripper in the AM & a run will happen sometime after work.
Happy Holiday Hump Day!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
craziness...before the calm
Yesterday after work, I did ab ripper & XStretch P90X. My body was a bit sore & needed to be stretched. With another stressful, busy week at work, I'm cutting myself some slack.
I'm not running until maybe Wed & we may run with the NRC...not sure yet.
My weekend run will only be around 6 miles this week. We will be doing "our" Christmas with the kids, which will include opening gifts, a movie, & their recital. (Plus I need some "veg" time!)
I'm in a desperate need to spend a day in my pajamas, lay in bed, watch tv, read, & do almost next to nothing. ("Explosive Eighteen"-Evanovich book is calling my name!)
I need to de-program, un-plug, & relax. I have a lot to be grateful for this year & it's time to sit back & enjoy it. Starting 2012, we will have a timeshare! Whoo Hooo! Yes, we took the plunge & bought one that we can bequeath to the kids. Our gift to ourselves for the future fun we plan to have...ha!
So, over the next few weeks until the first of the year, I'm going to try to shoot for more P90X & less running. Jan 7th is my first "training" run with the FF folks. Time to wipe that slate clean & start fresh!
I'm not running until maybe Wed & we may run with the NRC...not sure yet.
My weekend run will only be around 6 miles this week. We will be doing "our" Christmas with the kids, which will include opening gifts, a movie, & their recital. (Plus I need some "veg" time!)
I'm in a desperate need to spend a day in my pajamas, lay in bed, watch tv, read, & do almost next to nothing. ("Explosive Eighteen"-Evanovich book is calling my name!)
I need to de-program, un-plug, & relax. I have a lot to be grateful for this year & it's time to sit back & enjoy it. Starting 2012, we will have a timeshare! Whoo Hooo! Yes, we took the plunge & bought one that we can bequeath to the kids. Our gift to ourselves for the future fun we plan to have...ha!
So, over the next few weeks until the first of the year, I'm going to try to shoot for more P90X & less running. Jan 7th is my first "training" run with the FF folks. Time to wipe that slate clean & start fresh!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Santa Hustle Half race report & "Wilderness of the Smokies" resort
The lodge was absolutely awesome and great if you have kids or you're a kid at heart. It was decorated very nice for Christmas & when we walked in friday night, they had Christmas cookies & hot chocolate in the lobby. The kids thought they had died & gone to heaven. ;-)
We hit up the indoor waterpark Fri night for an hour & on Sat for most of the day, did a little shopping, & packet pick up. (which was located next to the waterpark...talk about convenient!)
My ONLY gripe about the place is that the walls are thin. We upgraded to the main building so we wouldn't have to go outside to get to the waterpark. They put us on the main floor between the lobby & the waterpark. I would've asked for the 2nd floor had I known how noisy it was going to be because the waterpark doesn't close until 10pm on Fri & 11pm on Sat. YIKES! So much noise, plus the people next to us had loud kids.
As for the Santa Hustle Half, it was as expected. There were some hills but nothing real serious like what we have in our 'hood or downtown Nashville. It's going to take a REALLY hilly course for me to forget how hard that Women's Half marathon was this past fall. ha! I didn't expect much today but I did ok. My overall time was something like 2:03:43 (yes, FAR from a PR but FAR from a PW) Joe did something like 1:44:52.
We met up with the Manchester peeps & we took off. I would've liked a little more gatorade on the course & less candy & cookies. Nobody running around 2 hrs or less wanted that crap but that was a part of the "charm" with this race. They billed it as having cookie & candy stations with Christmas music. There was water & gatorade but not enough for me, apparently. Had this been a hot race, I would have bonked in a big way, I think...
Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 9:03
Mile 3: 8:56
Mile 4: 9:09
Mile 5: 9:08 (hill)
Mile 6: 9:19 (hill)
Mile 7: 9:05
Mile 8: 9:11
Mile 9: 9:21 (thirsty)
Mile 10: 10:00 (hill)
Mile 11: 9:25
Mile 12: 9:53
Mile 13: 10:04 (thirsty!)
.24: 9:57 (my garmin read 13.24 miles at 2:03:45)
Would we do this race again? You bet! The kids are already ready to go back again next year. ;-)
Can't remember the last time I used a chip...but cute!
We hit up the indoor waterpark Fri night for an hour & on Sat for most of the day, did a little shopping, & packet pick up. (which was located next to the waterpark...talk about convenient!)
My ONLY gripe about the place is that the walls are thin. We upgraded to the main building so we wouldn't have to go outside to get to the waterpark. They put us on the main floor between the lobby & the waterpark. I would've asked for the 2nd floor had I known how noisy it was going to be because the waterpark doesn't close until 10pm on Fri & 11pm on Sat. YIKES! So much noise, plus the people next to us had loud kids.
As for the Santa Hustle Half, it was as expected. There were some hills but nothing real serious like what we have in our 'hood or downtown Nashville. It's going to take a REALLY hilly course for me to forget how hard that Women's Half marathon was this past fall. ha! I didn't expect much today but I did ok. My overall time was something like 2:03:43 (yes, FAR from a PR but FAR from a PW) Joe did something like 1:44:52.
We met up with the Manchester peeps & we took off. I would've liked a little more gatorade on the course & less candy & cookies. Nobody running around 2 hrs or less wanted that crap but that was a part of the "charm" with this race. They billed it as having cookie & candy stations with Christmas music. There was water & gatorade but not enough for me, apparently. Had this been a hot race, I would have bonked in a big way, I think...
Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 9:03
Mile 3: 8:56
Mile 4: 9:09
Mile 5: 9:08 (hill)
Mile 6: 9:19 (hill)
Mile 7: 9:05
Mile 8: 9:11
Mile 9: 9:21 (thirsty)
Mile 10: 10:00 (hill)
Mile 11: 9:25
Mile 12: 9:53
Mile 13: 10:04 (thirsty!)
.24: 9:57 (my garmin read 13.24 miles at 2:03:45)
Would we do this race again? You bet! The kids are already ready to go back again next year. ;-)
No, we didn't run in the hats & beard. Been there, done that in a 5k in Vegas. Too itchy!
This room slept 6 people. Loved it.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
come on friday.....
Wednesday: Too tired & stressed to do much of anything so I did errands & laundry.
Thursday: ab ripper in the AM & 5.25 cold miles in the PM (9:41 pace)
Friday: yoga in the AM if I can get my lazy behind out of bed.
Check out the cool Santa Hustle 1/2 finisher's medal. Can't wait to run it this Sunday. :-)
Thursday: ab ripper in the AM & 5.25 cold miles in the PM (9:41 pace)
Friday: yoga in the AM if I can get my lazy behind out of bed.
Check out the cool Santa Hustle 1/2 finisher's medal. Can't wait to run it this Sunday. :-)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
grrr....grumble, grumble...
Grrrr....or rather Brrr....
We're still in the "seasaw effect" of weather patterns which mean my sinuses are crazy.
Bleeding crazy that is....
On Monday....ab ripper & Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.
Shred workouts are only 20 minutes long but that biotch means business.
When I ran after work Tuesday, I could feel it in my thighs.
Today I can feel it.
It's not bad soreness like P90X gives you but it was enough to make itself known.
My 6.25 miles had hills & it was a 10:07 pace.
Today....I'm stretching on my own & doing ab ripper...too much stuff to do to get in a real work out.
Tomorrow, probably some Jillian Michael's yoga in the morning & another 4.5-5 miler after work.
Friday cannot get there quick enough. Next week at work looks crazy....crazy before the storm & then calm till the end of the year. I'm about ready to crack out the baileys & pour some in some sugar free hot chocolate, by golly. ;-)
We're still in the "seasaw effect" of weather patterns which mean my sinuses are crazy.
Bleeding crazy that is....
On Monday....ab ripper & Jillian Michael's 30 day shred.
Shred workouts are only 20 minutes long but that biotch means business.
When I ran after work Tuesday, I could feel it in my thighs.
Today I can feel it.
It's not bad soreness like P90X gives you but it was enough to make itself known.
My 6.25 miles had hills & it was a 10:07 pace.
Today....I'm stretching on my own & doing ab ripper...too much stuff to do to get in a real work out.
Tomorrow, probably some Jillian Michael's yoga in the morning & another 4.5-5 miler after work.
Friday cannot get there quick enough. Next week at work looks crazy....crazy before the storm & then calm till the end of the year. I'm about ready to crack out the baileys & pour some in some sugar free hot chocolate, by golly. ;-)
Monday, December 5, 2011
the weekend....
Saturday: Ran 10 hilly miles at a 9:52 pace & flew to New Orleans
Sunday: 3 hour tour of downtown New Orleans, the Bourbon St. area, Harry Connick, Jr. musicians area, & Hurricane Katrina area (better known as the lower 9th ward), & we went to the Lions-Saint's game at the Superdome!!!
Today: We flew home & as far as exercise, I've done ab ripper P90X & Jillian Michael's 30 day shred dvd. (just couldn't bring myself to run in the rain so I settled for 35 minutes total of Tony & Jillian yelling at me)
We both managed to get our 10 milers in before we left Saturday so that was a huge plus.
New Orleans has never thrilled me that much (been there, done that) but since Hurricane Katrina, I've always wanted to go back. When I saw that the Lions were playing the Saints on Dec 4th, I thought what better than to head there for our 1st anniversary. It was a quick trip but we had fun! ;-)
I dumped pics on facebook so I won't post any here. "Friend" me if you want to see them. ;-P
I finally finished the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. Wow, I hope they make a movie based on the book. It's 572 pages long so it's taken me a little more than a month to find time to get through it. I hit it hard on the flights this weekend to finish it. There were times where I thought Steve was an ass, times I thought he was brilliant, & I'll admit, I teared up while reading about his cancer battle at the end. He was human with lots of faults but he managed to change the world. Think about it the next time you turn on your iPhone, iPod, or you watch a Pixar movie. Not many people know that there was a time where he was running Apple & Pixar. This book even made me look at the packaging that went into my new iPod shuffle which I've not had time to open yet! It's a great read, especially if you like biographies. (I need to post this book review on amazon...)
One more weekend on the road. Sevierville, TN..here we come!
Sunday: 3 hour tour of downtown New Orleans, the Bourbon St. area, Harry Connick, Jr. musicians area, & Hurricane Katrina area (better known as the lower 9th ward), & we went to the Lions-Saint's game at the Superdome!!!
Today: We flew home & as far as exercise, I've done ab ripper P90X & Jillian Michael's 30 day shred dvd. (just couldn't bring myself to run in the rain so I settled for 35 minutes total of Tony & Jillian yelling at me)
We both managed to get our 10 milers in before we left Saturday so that was a huge plus.
New Orleans has never thrilled me that much (been there, done that) but since Hurricane Katrina, I've always wanted to go back. When I saw that the Lions were playing the Saints on Dec 4th, I thought what better than to head there for our 1st anniversary. It was a quick trip but we had fun! ;-)
I dumped pics on facebook so I won't post any here. "Friend" me if you want to see them. ;-P
I finally finished the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson. Wow, I hope they make a movie based on the book. It's 572 pages long so it's taken me a little more than a month to find time to get through it. I hit it hard on the flights this weekend to finish it. There were times where I thought Steve was an ass, times I thought he was brilliant, & I'll admit, I teared up while reading about his cancer battle at the end. He was human with lots of faults but he managed to change the world. Think about it the next time you turn on your iPhone, iPod, or you watch a Pixar movie. Not many people know that there was a time where he was running Apple & Pixar. This book even made me look at the packaging that went into my new iPod shuffle which I've not had time to open yet! It's a great read, especially if you like biographies. (I need to post this book review on amazon...)
One more weekend on the road. Sevierville, TN..here we come!
Friday, December 2, 2011
In honor of my birthday....
...here is a trailer from one of my favorite all time 80's flicks, "Sixteen Candles".
Here's to moving into a new "age group", proving that 45 can still look somewhat attractive, & knowing I have a past juicy enough that I look forward to retelling it! It's been a cool ride so far & God has blessed me each & every year. "No Regrets!" ;-)
Thank you for the "quotes" Maya Angelou & Jillian Michaels.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Cold, Hilly, & Slow 6.25 miles
I looked at the weather on my phone yesterday about 5:30pm & I could've sworn it said 44 but it sure didn't feel like it. I headed out with a long sleeve tech, LONG compression socks, shorts, no tights or gloves. I felt ok after a mile but the legs did seem to never really warm up. I started by hitting the biggest hills in the 'hood which are behind our cul de sac. One hill reminds me of the infamous "moon pie" hill in Bell Buckle. It went on forever & really slowed me big time. My pace for 6.25 mile was 10:39! That was the hillest, coldest 6.25 miles I've done in a very long time. Gesh! I was also hungry. When I finished, I went straight to the frig, got out the spicy chilli, & threw it in the microwave. YUM! Then I soaked in the tub in hot water. I just couldn't warm up.
I did ab ripper this morning then I signed up to run with the FF Training program for St. Jude. It starts Jan 7th & is something like 16-17 weeks long. I'm only doing the 1/2 so I signed up to run with the 1/2 marathon group in the 2:00 pace (I hope to be faster than that, though). I've done quite a few sub-2 hour 1/2 marathons but I've never gone sub-2 on the CMM 1/2 course & neither has Joe. (My coworker that sits next to me signed up, too!)
Let's hope this ongoing IT Band issue goes away. It's been flaring up ever since summer of 2010. My next PT appt is Dec 27th & I'd like to NOT go back after that.
We're looking forward to the Santa Hustle 1/2 marathon in East TN. I know it will be hilly but it's something DIFFERENT. 2012 is going to be all about "something different" for me.
I did ab ripper this morning then I signed up to run with the FF Training program for St. Jude. It starts Jan 7th & is something like 16-17 weeks long. I'm only doing the 1/2 so I signed up to run with the 1/2 marathon group in the 2:00 pace (I hope to be faster than that, though). I've done quite a few sub-2 hour 1/2 marathons but I've never gone sub-2 on the CMM 1/2 course & neither has Joe. (My coworker that sits next to me signed up, too!)
Let's hope this ongoing IT Band issue goes away. It's been flaring up ever since summer of 2010. My next PT appt is Dec 27th & I'd like to NOT go back after that.
We're looking forward to the Santa Hustle 1/2 marathon in East TN. I know it will be hilly but it's something DIFFERENT. 2012 is going to be all about "something different" for me.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
STRETCHINNNNNGGGGG.....
As soon as I hit the door home, I did ab ripper P90X & the "yoga for runners" dvd.
I thought that dvd would never end. I'm not good with slow, long poses but she made me hurt.
She found my crappy IT Band & she made me stretch it. I feel so much better now.
I've determined that I'm not used to gas heat, which is what we have...makes my sinuses dry & full of pressure. This morning I did feel a lot better than yesterday morning, though. I did Jillian Michael's yoga workout #2. I LOVE her workouts & as I've said before, it's just 30 minutes. No excuses!
This afternoon I hope to do around 5-6 miles....take a tour around the 'hood to look at the Christmas lights. Some people really do it up right. All I have on the door is a live wreath from the Boy Scouts. ;-(
Can ya believe it's nearly been a year since we stopped during the Las Vegas 1/2 to get married?! ha!
Don't think I haven't wondered what my time would have been had we not stopped for like 25-30 minutes in front of the Venetian to get married. (I'll never forget staring up at the David Spade bill board on the front of that place when I said "I do".) Too funny!
I thought that dvd would never end. I'm not good with slow, long poses but she made me hurt.
She found my crappy IT Band & she made me stretch it. I feel so much better now.
I've determined that I'm not used to gas heat, which is what we have...makes my sinuses dry & full of pressure. This morning I did feel a lot better than yesterday morning, though. I did Jillian Michael's yoga workout #2. I LOVE her workouts & as I've said before, it's just 30 minutes. No excuses!
This afternoon I hope to do around 5-6 miles....take a tour around the 'hood to look at the Christmas lights. Some people really do it up right. All I have on the door is a live wreath from the Boy Scouts. ;-(
Can ya believe it's nearly been a year since we stopped during the Las Vegas 1/2 to get married?! ha!
Don't think I haven't wondered what my time would have been had we not stopped for like 25-30 minutes in front of the Venetian to get married. (I'll never forget staring up at the David Spade bill board on the front of that place when I said "I do".) Too funny!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
4 miles & stretching....
Yep, that's all I had time for yesterday...it was slow going...9:58 pace.
When you start mile one on a cold afternoon going UP hills, you'll have that...
Not sure I ever warmed up that much but got it done...sure didn't want to get out this morning...
I'm still getting acclimated...doesn't help that Michigan was warmer than I thought it would be & now Tennessee has taken a cold snap (spitting snow right now as I type this...)
The "see/saw" temperatures always wreak havoc on my sinuses.
I woke up with a horrible sinus migraine, slowly got ready for work, while the "mac daddy" migraine pill took effect. I feel great right now, though.
I did some stretching last night after I shuffled through the little run.
I feel like my body was still in knots from Sunday's car ride.
(We will have an SUV this time next year!)
This morning I did nothing so this afternoon....P90X ab ripper & the yoga for runners dvd for me.
Wednesday, is up in the air...I'd like to join the NRC but hate that they start at 6:30pm, plus I don't know the routes, especially in the dark. I do know I need another run this week before I run Saturday morning.
We're heading out after lunch on Saturday via the GREAT deal I got on Southwest to New Orleans & flying back on Monday. (Happy anniversary to us & happy b-day to me!)
So GLAD I got a great deal on Southwest. (Glad Joe used up all his points on American...gesh!)
When you start mile one on a cold afternoon going UP hills, you'll have that...
Not sure I ever warmed up that much but got it done...sure didn't want to get out this morning...
I'm still getting acclimated...doesn't help that Michigan was warmer than I thought it would be & now Tennessee has taken a cold snap (spitting snow right now as I type this...)
The "see/saw" temperatures always wreak havoc on my sinuses.
I woke up with a horrible sinus migraine, slowly got ready for work, while the "mac daddy" migraine pill took effect. I feel great right now, though.
I did some stretching last night after I shuffled through the little run.
I feel like my body was still in knots from Sunday's car ride.
(We will have an SUV this time next year!)
This morning I did nothing so this afternoon....P90X ab ripper & the yoga for runners dvd for me.
Wednesday, is up in the air...I'd like to join the NRC but hate that they start at 6:30pm, plus I don't know the routes, especially in the dark. I do know I need another run this week before I run Saturday morning.
We're heading out after lunch on Saturday via the GREAT deal I got on Southwest to New Orleans & flying back on Monday. (Happy anniversary to us & happy b-day to me!)
So GLAD I got a great deal on Southwest. (Glad Joe used up all his points on American...gesh!)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Detroit Turkey Trot 10k & 8 miles on the Paint Creek Trail
Detroit Turkey Trot 10k (55:09) Nobody is more surprised with this time than I am, seriously.
I've been running so slow lately but it was my favorite temp, COLD, & my favorite terrain, FLAT!
My garmin actually said 6:36 at an 8:42 pace. The bottle necking kept me slow the first two miles, which worked to my advantage, I guess....
Watched the parade afterwards.
Mile 1: 9:14
Mile 2: 9:02
Mile 3: 8:31
Mile 4: 8:26
Mile 5: 8:33
Mile 6: 8:33
.36: 8:24
Saturday: 8 miles on Paint Creek Trail (9:48 pace)
There's a hill going out & coming back as you can tell by my first & last mile.
This trail goes to Rochester, which is 7 miles. Joe ran an out & back once earlier in the year & loved it.
Word in our 'hood, is that we're getting a trail of some kind sometime next year.
I hope it's packed gravel & soft like this trail. I would be in heaven if I had a trail this close to my house like Joe's parents do!
Mile 1: 10:08
Mile 2: 9:41
Mile 3: 9:49
Mile 4: 9:27
Mile 5: 9:37
Mile 6: 9:33
Mile 7: 9:51
Mile 8: 10:21
Not sure what my week is looking like since there's tons of rain in the forecast, I'll be super busy at work, & we're going to New Orleans this coming weekend. I will find time for 10 miles on Saturday, though. ;-)
I've been running so slow lately but it was my favorite temp, COLD, & my favorite terrain, FLAT!
My garmin actually said 6:36 at an 8:42 pace. The bottle necking kept me slow the first two miles, which worked to my advantage, I guess....
Watched the parade afterwards.
Mile 1: 9:14
Mile 2: 9:02
Mile 3: 8:31
Mile 4: 8:26
Mile 5: 8:33
Mile 6: 8:33
.36: 8:24
Saturday: 8 miles on Paint Creek Trail (9:48 pace)
There's a hill going out & coming back as you can tell by my first & last mile.
This trail goes to Rochester, which is 7 miles. Joe ran an out & back once earlier in the year & loved it.
Word in our 'hood, is that we're getting a trail of some kind sometime next year.
I hope it's packed gravel & soft like this trail. I would be in heaven if I had a trail this close to my house like Joe's parents do!
Mile 1: 10:08
Mile 2: 9:41
Mile 3: 9:49
Mile 4: 9:27
Mile 5: 9:37
Mile 6: 9:33
Mile 7: 9:51
Mile 8: 10:21
Not sure what my week is looking like since there's tons of rain in the forecast, I'll be super busy at work, & we're going to New Orleans this coming weekend. I will find time for 10 miles on Saturday, though. ;-)
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday night 5 miler....
To avoid a rainy 5am run Tuesday, I did a somewhat dry, hilly 5 miler Monday at 5:17pm. (that's what the garmin said...). Lordy, the hills! I eeked out a 9:58 pace on them. This was the 4th run since NYC. I could feel my heart rate going all over the place on the hills.
Today, I did ab ripper & stretched....work & last minute packing had to happen. ;-P
There are two things I'm going to do after our holidays calm down a bit.
1) Get out my heart rate monitor and use it.
2) Put music on my new iPod shuffle.
Yes, I want to run with music again. ;-)
Happy Early Thanksgiving!
Today, I did ab ripper & stretched....work & last minute packing had to happen. ;-P
There are two things I'm going to do after our holidays calm down a bit.
1) Get out my heart rate monitor and use it.
2) Put music on my new iPod shuffle.
Yes, I want to run with music again. ;-)
Happy Early Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 21, 2011
MORE rain = flexibility
So, this morning I had to get to work super early...short weeks kill me!
I did find time to do the mat portion of the new "yoga for runners" dvd.
It's about 15-20 minutes long. Plus I stretched the IT Band.
If it's not raining when I get home, I'm going out for a run of some kind.
Tomorrow morning may be ab ripper P90X before work & I'll be doing last minute things after work.
On the road at 5:30am with Joe & the kids Wednesday morning....
(We leave out Sunday at 5:30am to get them back to their mom's in the afternoon)
We'll be stopping at Cobo for Turkey Trot packet pick up before heading to Joe's parents.
So many little things on our list but it's good.
I'm bringing plenty of clothes to run in so no excuses....
Saturday, I may try to do 8 miles with Joe since we have that hilly, Santa Hustle 1/2 coming up. ;-P
Looks like I'm flying to San Antonio on Jan 13th.
Flying on Friday the 13th!!!! (now that's sisterly love!)
I did find time to do the mat portion of the new "yoga for runners" dvd.
It's about 15-20 minutes long. Plus I stretched the IT Band.
If it's not raining when I get home, I'm going out for a run of some kind.
Tomorrow morning may be ab ripper P90X before work & I'll be doing last minute things after work.
On the road at 5:30am with Joe & the kids Wednesday morning....
(We leave out Sunday at 5:30am to get them back to their mom's in the afternoon)
We'll be stopping at Cobo for Turkey Trot packet pick up before heading to Joe's parents.
So many little things on our list but it's good.
I'm bringing plenty of clothes to run in so no excuses....
Saturday, I may try to do 8 miles with Joe since we have that hilly, Santa Hustle 1/2 coming up. ;-P
Looks like I'm flying to San Antonio on Jan 13th.
Flying on Friday the 13th!!!! (now that's sisterly love!)
Sunday, November 20, 2011
rain & a nap
I'm one who never takes naps but today was a good day for one with the rain & all. I think I may have fallen asleep for a little over an hour. Wow!
Getting deeper into the Steve Jobs book this weekend. I know it was the early 70s but what a nut job he was in his early 20s! It's amazing to me how polarizing he was to people early on in his career, yet he accomplished so much in his short life. Truly amazing!
During my little 4 miler this morning, I realized I had on my "rain" shoes. (The shoes I ran in during ALL the training runs where we got rained on this past summer, my pink saucony) So, it was appropriate that the rain moved in on me about mile 2 & progressively got worse. I finished a rather hilly 4 miles at a 9:49 pace soaked to the bone. (I did ab ripper before heading out the door)
I finished wrapping & packed for Michigan.
Now I'm stalking K.A. on her AZ Ironman.
Hope she does GREAT! ;-)
Getting deeper into the Steve Jobs book this weekend. I know it was the early 70s but what a nut job he was in his early 20s! It's amazing to me how polarizing he was to people early on in his career, yet he accomplished so much in his short life. Truly amazing!
During my little 4 miler this morning, I realized I had on my "rain" shoes. (The shoes I ran in during ALL the training runs where we got rained on this past summer, my pink saucony) So, it was appropriate that the rain moved in on me about mile 2 & progressively got worse. I finished a rather hilly 4 miles at a 9:49 pace soaked to the bone. (I did ab ripper before heading out the door)
I finished wrapping & packed for Michigan.
Now I'm stalking K.A. on her AZ Ironman.
Hope she does GREAT! ;-)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Christmas shopping DONE!!!!!!
I have everything wrapped but three gifts but we'll need to get some tissue paper in the morning to finish that.
(All I have left to buy is Austin & Avery's gifts & thank goodness for amazon wish lists!)
There is a serious lack of customer service these days, especially in the mall. I had a 40% off coupon for Aeropostale. I realized this about 20-25 mins after I left the store so I went back & grabbed something else for Jessica. I went to the counter to return what I had bought earlier in order to "re-buy" it with the extra shirt & use the coupon. You would have thought I had asked for someone's first born. I will never go in there again. If it were not for amazon, I wouldn't be done with this shopping because I have no patience for rudeness in the mall. The Cool Springs area already makes me crazy as it is...hate driving over there, hate shopping over there, & I'm damn glad I don't work over there. ha!
On a positive note, my fabulous husband paid for me to get a 60 min reflexology massage at the Day Spa (near Five Guys & the theater). I had gone there back in June & I LOVED it. They can barely speak any english but those women know how to give a massage. Gesh, it was AWESOME! When she massaged my scalp, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I love that place!
Yesterday: P90X cardio after work (that short 43-44 min work out kicks my butt)
Today: Ran a somewhat hilly 6.2 miles in the 'hood. (9:36 pace)
The legs are coming around...just got to focus on the form, turn over, & some speed work will be forthcoming.
The foot strike on the video from the PT shows me turning the left leg inward.
My left foot strike shows me landing on the side of my foot too much, hence, the callous on the left side of my foot. When I get a little tired, apparently, my left hip gets weaker, my left foot strike gets all sloppy. The video doesn't lie.
Tomorrow: the plan is ab ripper & 4 miles
As I type this, I'm watching the UT - Vandy game. I have to say, I don't have a dog in the race but I totally love both Dooley & Franklin. What's not to like, really? Franklin is doing awesome things with Vandy. I stop what I'm doing when I hear Dooley's voice on TV just to hear him talk. ha! What a cutie!
Both teams have suffered some BAD luck this year but who cares. I love me some SEC football. ;-)
(All I have left to buy is Austin & Avery's gifts & thank goodness for amazon wish lists!)
There is a serious lack of customer service these days, especially in the mall. I had a 40% off coupon for Aeropostale. I realized this about 20-25 mins after I left the store so I went back & grabbed something else for Jessica. I went to the counter to return what I had bought earlier in order to "re-buy" it with the extra shirt & use the coupon. You would have thought I had asked for someone's first born. I will never go in there again. If it were not for amazon, I wouldn't be done with this shopping because I have no patience for rudeness in the mall. The Cool Springs area already makes me crazy as it is...hate driving over there, hate shopping over there, & I'm damn glad I don't work over there. ha!
On a positive note, my fabulous husband paid for me to get a 60 min reflexology massage at the Day Spa (near Five Guys & the theater). I had gone there back in June & I LOVED it. They can barely speak any english but those women know how to give a massage. Gesh, it was AWESOME! When she massaged my scalp, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I love that place!
Yesterday: P90X cardio after work (that short 43-44 min work out kicks my butt)
Today: Ran a somewhat hilly 6.2 miles in the 'hood. (9:36 pace)
The legs are coming around...just got to focus on the form, turn over, & some speed work will be forthcoming.
The foot strike on the video from the PT shows me turning the left leg inward.
My left foot strike shows me landing on the side of my foot too much, hence, the callous on the left side of my foot. When I get a little tired, apparently, my left hip gets weaker, my left foot strike gets all sloppy. The video doesn't lie.
Tomorrow: the plan is ab ripper & 4 miles
As I type this, I'm watching the UT - Vandy game. I have to say, I don't have a dog in the race but I totally love both Dooley & Franklin. What's not to like, really? Franklin is doing awesome things with Vandy. I stop what I'm doing when I hear Dooley's voice on TV just to hear him talk. ha! What a cutie!
Both teams have suffered some BAD luck this year but who cares. I love me some SEC football. ;-)
Friday, November 18, 2011
Testing-1, 2, & 3
After seeing that it would be in the high 20s this morning on the news yesterday, I finished up my jillian michael's yoga & ran out the door for 3 miles. I didn't realize really how cold it was at nearly 6:30pm.
(high 30s?) I was only really cold the first mile in shorts & long sleeve tech shirt but I should've worn gloves. I shivered for hours afterwards. Gesh, I am so NOT acclimated for temps below 40 right now. Sure, we had a few runs before NYC that were at 35 degrees but I'm very wimpy right now. ;-P
The pace was 9:29 for the 3 miles, but it had a few hills in it, too. Has it really been 11 days since I slogged through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, & Manhattan?! November is flying!
Wednesday: all I did was P90X Stretch.
Yesterday: I did ab ripper in the AM, yoga, & the 3 miles in the PM
I went to the PT who showed me more exercises for the IT Band. I told her how many/how much I'm doing & she said to slow down on them. (?) Something about letting the muscles rest. I hope this isn't a ploy to keep me coming. I've about decided that by January, I'll probably stop going for a while. I'm only going every other week anyway. Supposedly, it takes up to 8 weeks to strengthen a muscle. Let's hope the left hip is strengthened by early January. ;-)
Today: I just couldn't get out of bed to do anything other than the hip exercises.
Thinking that after my errands, I'll do P90X Cardio.
Tomorrow: Going for 6.2 miles......that Detroit Turkey Trot won't "run" itself next Thursday morning.
What am I expecting from it? NO PR, of course. That hilly 52:43 from 2007 will sit for a good little while.
Let's just say, I hope to be at least somewhere near 58 minutes for pete's sake.
Happy Pre-Thanksgiving weekend! I hope to get a few more Christmas things done!
(high 30s?) I was only really cold the first mile in shorts & long sleeve tech shirt but I should've worn gloves. I shivered for hours afterwards. Gesh, I am so NOT acclimated for temps below 40 right now. Sure, we had a few runs before NYC that were at 35 degrees but I'm very wimpy right now. ;-P
The pace was 9:29 for the 3 miles, but it had a few hills in it, too. Has it really been 11 days since I slogged through Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, & Manhattan?! November is flying!
Wednesday: all I did was P90X Stretch.
Yesterday: I did ab ripper in the AM, yoga, & the 3 miles in the PM
I went to the PT who showed me more exercises for the IT Band. I told her how many/how much I'm doing & she said to slow down on them. (?) Something about letting the muscles rest. I hope this isn't a ploy to keep me coming. I've about decided that by January, I'll probably stop going for a while. I'm only going every other week anyway. Supposedly, it takes up to 8 weeks to strengthen a muscle. Let's hope the left hip is strengthened by early January. ;-)
Today: I just couldn't get out of bed to do anything other than the hip exercises.
Thinking that after my errands, I'll do P90X Cardio.
Tomorrow: Going for 6.2 miles......that Detroit Turkey Trot won't "run" itself next Thursday morning.
What am I expecting from it? NO PR, of course. That hilly 52:43 from 2007 will sit for a good little while.
Let's just say, I hope to be at least somewhere near 58 minutes for pete's sake.
Happy Pre-Thanksgiving weekend! I hope to get a few more Christmas things done!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Debating....random thoughts...
Still debating on Winter/Spring races....
Definitely still going to sign up Dec 1st for the FF 1/2 marathon training series....
Really surprised at how my thighs feel after Monday's Plyometrics....gesh!
They weren't quite this sore after we got back from nyc!
Hoping that the PT at Pro Motion sees some "new" strength in the left hip/ITBand tomorrow...
I've been rehabbing it, I PROMISE!
So very tired of the rain...
Nashville doesn't know how to drive in rain, sleet, or snow....so dreading the winter here.
I'm really starting to get into the Steve Jobs book...
I think he would have driven me insane had I known him personallly....ha!
Definitely looking into buying a pre-parking pass for the Superdome in New Orleans...
Saints fans like to party & tailgate so this will be an "experience" on our anniversary/my b-day weekend....
I am so looking forward to a 2 day work week next week...
Michigan....here we come!
Definitely still going to sign up Dec 1st for the FF 1/2 marathon training series....
Really surprised at how my thighs feel after Monday's Plyometrics....gesh!
They weren't quite this sore after we got back from nyc!
Hoping that the PT at Pro Motion sees some "new" strength in the left hip/ITBand tomorrow...
I've been rehabbing it, I PROMISE!
So very tired of the rain...
Nashville doesn't know how to drive in rain, sleet, or snow....so dreading the winter here.
I'm really starting to get into the Steve Jobs book...
I think he would have driven me insane had I known him personallly....ha!
Definitely looking into buying a pre-parking pass for the Superdome in New Orleans...
Saints fans like to party & tailgate so this will be an "experience" on our anniversary/my b-day weekend....
I am so looking forward to a 2 day work week next week...
Michigan....here we come!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
And your punishment is...P90X Plyometrics.
So, yes, I went home & slung sweat all over the living room. (Joe was not there, thank God.)
I was in nearly no clothes jumping around & at one point when I bent over my yoga mat, the sweat dripped all over it. Back in '08 I took a girl trip to NYC, we saw "Hairspray" on broadway. We were on the 2nd row & when the actors twirled real quick, you could see the sweat swing off their foreheads. Well, that's what I did to myself after work. It wasn't a pretty sight. ;-P
Hopefully, the soreness (feels like I was on a horse rounding up cattle for hours yesterday...that type of soreness where I need it most) is gone by Thursday's PT appointment at Pro Motion. We shall see.
I did ab ripper before work today & I plan to do Jillian's yoga workout #2 when I get home. (I miss running in the morning so much right now.) ;-(
The mission is clear: strengthen the IT Band & shake up the other muscles in the meantime.
I'm really looking forward to this race next week. ;-)
I was in nearly no clothes jumping around & at one point when I bent over my yoga mat, the sweat dripped all over it. Back in '08 I took a girl trip to NYC, we saw "Hairspray" on broadway. We were on the 2nd row & when the actors twirled real quick, you could see the sweat swing off their foreheads. Well, that's what I did to myself after work. It wasn't a pretty sight. ;-P
Hopefully, the soreness (feels like I was on a horse rounding up cattle for hours yesterday...that type of soreness where I need it most) is gone by Thursday's PT appointment at Pro Motion. We shall see.
I did ab ripper before work today & I plan to do Jillian's yoga workout #2 when I get home. (I miss running in the morning so much right now.) ;-(
The mission is clear: strengthen the IT Band & shake up the other muscles in the meantime.
I'm really looking forward to this race next week. ;-)
Monday, November 14, 2011
the non-running weekend, Christmas stuff, & P90X
Friday: P90X Ab Ripper in the AM & the P90X Cardio in the PM
I'm not going to lie, the cardio was a sweat fest for me friday afternoon.
It's less than 45 mins long & I've probably not done it since late Spring. Ouch!
I was still feeling some aches from the marathon but dang, this one sure pointed out the IT Band weakness.
That's what P90X does, it points out your weaknesses & puts RED flags all over them.
Saturday, I had a gazillion errands to run. All I did was the IT Band exercises & a little walking with the kids. About the only fun thing we did was check out the new coffee shop in our 'hood & we had lunch with the Heusers in the 'boro.
We are about 90% done with the kids Christmas shopping & I managed to wrap some of their presents Saturday night. I even made the executive decision to only drag out the small tree. Yes, we put up our tree on Nov 13th. After this coming weekend, we will be on the road 3 consecutive weekends. Plus one weekend "doing Christmas" with the kids & attending a Christmas party on my side of the family. Things won't slow down for us until right at Christmas. (I can't wait to really get into my Steve Jobs book then because I've only read about 30+ page right now. It's killing me to have NO reading time.)
Sunday: Ab Ripper & Core Synergistics P90X
I cannot do "prison" push ups. The leg will not stay up while I do a push up, sorry, it's just not going to happen. I had to modify a few of these push up moves. I can do about 12 boy push ups before falling out but adding the "leg move" just wasn't happening in that sequence. It was another sweatfest, though, & I needed it.
Today: I'm doing Jillian's yoga & working with my free weights.
Tomorrow, I'm about half way tempted to do Plyometrics P90X.
I'm sure since I've not done it in MANY months it will make me good n' sore before my Thursday PT appointment. ;-P (Maybe I should do it after work today! ha!)
Anyway, I'm doing what I said I'd do......taking it easy but throwing in the P90X & yoga.
On friday before work, I hope to get out for 3 easy miles....just shy by 2 days on the 2 weeks off but that's ok. I feel ok.
As for the IT Band exercises.....I'm doing them religiously 2 - 3 times a day. They have definitely made the knee & hip sore. Supposedly, it will take 8 weeks to strengthen the left hip/IT Band. Well, that's all fine & dandy. I'm still going to slug through a "10k Turkey Trot" Thanksgiving morning in Detroit & I still intend to "Santa my hustle 1/2" in Sevierville, TN. ;-P Just a couple of fun races to shut down my bittersweet year of marathon training. I have decided I will go back to NYC one day to nail that course. It may take 10 yrs to get back there but I will go back.
I'm not going to lie, the cardio was a sweat fest for me friday afternoon.
It's less than 45 mins long & I've probably not done it since late Spring. Ouch!
I was still feeling some aches from the marathon but dang, this one sure pointed out the IT Band weakness.
That's what P90X does, it points out your weaknesses & puts RED flags all over them.
Saturday, I had a gazillion errands to run. All I did was the IT Band exercises & a little walking with the kids. About the only fun thing we did was check out the new coffee shop in our 'hood & we had lunch with the Heusers in the 'boro.
We are about 90% done with the kids Christmas shopping & I managed to wrap some of their presents Saturday night. I even made the executive decision to only drag out the small tree. Yes, we put up our tree on Nov 13th. After this coming weekend, we will be on the road 3 consecutive weekends. Plus one weekend "doing Christmas" with the kids & attending a Christmas party on my side of the family. Things won't slow down for us until right at Christmas. (I can't wait to really get into my Steve Jobs book then because I've only read about 30+ page right now. It's killing me to have NO reading time.)
Sunday: Ab Ripper & Core Synergistics P90X
I cannot do "prison" push ups. The leg will not stay up while I do a push up, sorry, it's just not going to happen. I had to modify a few of these push up moves. I can do about 12 boy push ups before falling out but adding the "leg move" just wasn't happening in that sequence. It was another sweatfest, though, & I needed it.
Today: I'm doing Jillian's yoga & working with my free weights.
Tomorrow, I'm about half way tempted to do Plyometrics P90X.
I'm sure since I've not done it in MANY months it will make me good n' sore before my Thursday PT appointment. ;-P (Maybe I should do it after work today! ha!)
Anyway, I'm doing what I said I'd do......taking it easy but throwing in the P90X & yoga.
On friday before work, I hope to get out for 3 easy miles....just shy by 2 days on the 2 weeks off but that's ok. I feel ok.
As for the IT Band exercises.....I'm doing them religiously 2 - 3 times a day. They have definitely made the knee & hip sore. Supposedly, it will take 8 weeks to strengthen the left hip/IT Band. Well, that's all fine & dandy. I'm still going to slug through a "10k Turkey Trot" Thanksgiving morning in Detroit & I still intend to "Santa my hustle 1/2" in Sevierville, TN. ;-P Just a couple of fun races to shut down my bittersweet year of marathon training. I have decided I will go back to NYC one day to nail that course. It may take 10 yrs to get back there but I will go back.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Everyone likes a discount...
.....and yes, I took advantage of the $20 off registration for the "Rock n' Roll" series by registering Joe & I to do the CMM 1/2. (Yeah, been there, done that...& yes, I didn't run last year & really didn't miss it.)
The two times Joe has run the Country Music 1/2, he's never gone sub-2 & neither have I. I ran it for the first time in '04 & had a 2:01-something. So, we both agreed...we want to make an effort to both go sub-2 on that hot, hilly, crowded, course. I'm even considering signing up for the 1/2 marathon training through Brentwood Fleet Feet. Can I push myself to a sub-2 on that course by myself, yes! Do I want to try something new? YES! So, there ya have it. Our first "scheduled" race of 2012. (there will be more before it)
A little "funny" occurred to me on the elevator earlier today. The morning of the NYC marathon, we walked down 12 flights of stairs in our hotel. We (and a few others) didn't want to wait on the slow elevator, plus we thought we were cutting it close getting to the NYC Library. ha! There are things coming back to me that are making me smile about the whole trip. I still say the best sign I saw was the "Get the Hell out of Brooklyn" sign on the Brooklyn bridge. :-P
The two times Joe has run the Country Music 1/2, he's never gone sub-2 & neither have I. I ran it for the first time in '04 & had a 2:01-something. So, we both agreed...we want to make an effort to both go sub-2 on that hot, hilly, crowded, course. I'm even considering signing up for the 1/2 marathon training through Brentwood Fleet Feet. Can I push myself to a sub-2 on that course by myself, yes! Do I want to try something new? YES! So, there ya have it. Our first "scheduled" race of 2012. (there will be more before it)
A little "funny" occurred to me on the elevator earlier today. The morning of the NYC marathon, we walked down 12 flights of stairs in our hotel. We (and a few others) didn't want to wait on the slow elevator, plus we thought we were cutting it close getting to the NYC Library. ha! There are things coming back to me that are making me smile about the whole trip. I still say the best sign I saw was the "Get the Hell out of Brooklyn" sign on the Brooklyn bridge. :-P
Thursday, November 10, 2011
changing it up & moving on...
I'm moving on from the grumbling over my (S)*IT Band. I'm borrowing "shit" band from a gal who's blog I stalk read. A few years ago, she had a DNF at a marathon due to her (S)*IT Band giving her fits.
(so at least I finished)
This week, so far I've done almost nothing but work on the IT Band exercises. (I've been getting GOOD SLEEP this week!) We did walk a little last night with the NRC group. This weekend I'll be introducing a few of the P90X workouts back into my routine. All along I did keep ab ripper & XStretch in the schedule but it's time to include some of the others again that will will challenge me. I don't see me trying to run again until after next week's PT appointment & that's perfectly ok. If I show up to the Detroit turkey trot 10k with only a run or two post marathon then ok. I could care less about my time at that thing. It's crowded & it's Thanksgiving morning. I'm doing it for fun. Pretty much like the Dec Santa Hustle 1/2...just for fun. Come January, I hope to have no (S)*IT Band issues at all.
So, what are we looking at in January?
Possibly, this race. With it falling during MLK weekend, it's almost too tempting. Of course, we'd just do the half.
February?
Possibly, the Cedars 1/2 (part of the TN running tour)
It's hilly & cheap. ha!
March?
Always gotta go to the Tom King 1/2.
It's so close to us & such an easy course for most.
April?
Most definitely, I'll use the $20 "Rock n' Roll" discount tomorrow to register Joe & I for the CMM 1/2.
I plan to do some shorter races, of course, so we'll see how things pan out.
The (S)*IT Band will have to heal first. ;-)
Happy Thursday!!
(so at least I finished)
This week, so far I've done almost nothing but work on the IT Band exercises. (I've been getting GOOD SLEEP this week!) We did walk a little last night with the NRC group. This weekend I'll be introducing a few of the P90X workouts back into my routine. All along I did keep ab ripper & XStretch in the schedule but it's time to include some of the others again that will will challenge me. I don't see me trying to run again until after next week's PT appointment & that's perfectly ok. If I show up to the Detroit turkey trot 10k with only a run or two post marathon then ok. I could care less about my time at that thing. It's crowded & it's Thanksgiving morning. I'm doing it for fun. Pretty much like the Dec Santa Hustle 1/2...just for fun. Come January, I hope to have no (S)*IT Band issues at all.
So, what are we looking at in January?
Possibly, this race. With it falling during MLK weekend, it's almost too tempting. Of course, we'd just do the half.
February?
Possibly, the Cedars 1/2 (part of the TN running tour)
It's hilly & cheap. ha!
March?
Always gotta go to the Tom King 1/2.
It's so close to us & such an easy course for most.
April?
Most definitely, I'll use the $20 "Rock n' Roll" discount tomorrow to register Joe & I for the CMM 1/2.
I plan to do some shorter races, of course, so we'll see how things pan out.
The (S)*IT Band will have to heal first. ;-)
Happy Thursday!!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
the after thoughts...
I have to admit yesterday was a bit rough...the quads were sore. Today, I feel ok. The left knee feels a little sore but in all honesty, if someone said, "You have to go jog 5 miles!", I could probably do it just fine in a 10:00-10:30 minute pace. ha! We are planning to join the NRC tonight for a 2-3 miles walk. The Nashville FF owner will be there doing door "door prizes". ha! There's nothing on TV worth watching tonight so I thought we'd go. CMAs are on...who cares....ha! Speaking of which, it still amazes me the people that come here for the country music stuff, go to all these concerts, award shows, etc... The $ that stuff brings in sure helps the downtown area. Did anyone read how much the NYC marathon generates for that city? If I read it right, 32 million! CRAZY!
After we finished the 26.2 jaunt around the New York area, we walked probably a good 3-4 miles. We had a nice late lunch/early dinner with Jillian & Cheryl in the Macy's cafe down in the basement. All I wanted was fries & water....Joe woofed down almost everyone elses fries & had a burger. We're so good, we only drank water. I had thought I'd treat myself to a martini but it never entered my mind at that point. If you're ever in THE Macy's, see the old wooden escalator. I noticed that they were working hard on the Christmas decorations. Hard to believe that the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade is just around the corner. We were in bed by 7:30pm Sunday night & up fairly early Monday to head to the marathon pavillion in Central park. Joe got his name & time engraved for $20. We picked up the NY Times. Both our names were in it despite me coming in nowhere near the 4:30 cut off. We took the subway down to the 9-11 memorial. I just can't find words to describe it, really so I'll leave it at that. After that we found "Kleinfeld Bridal".....my friday night not so secret obsession. Sorry, but it just cracks me up... The door was locked. They had double glass doors & you had to have an appointment to be buzzed in. I just wanted to stick my head in but who knows...they could've been filming, too. We then took the subway back to the hotel, caught a cab to the airport, & arrived back in Nashville for the afternoon drive time traffic. ha!
Some of the goofy stuff we did....
*Stood in front of "Kleinfeld Bridal".....snooty tootie place. ;-)
*Stood in front of "Serendipity" amazed at how long the line was to get in... :-(
*Went to the Dylan's Candy Bar...yes, I know they're in other locations but we don't have one in Middle TN. That place was super cool. We got the kids a few little things there.
*Last but not least, I picked up some of the Spiderman web that was shot from Spidey when he sailed over our heads & brought it back to TN. (Can't wait to show Joey. ha!)
*Took pics of some of the "Occupy Wall Street" folks who where near the 9-11 Memorial area.
What's next?
*Filling out the race forms for Joe & I for the Detroit Turkey Trot 10k Thanksgiving morning.
(He's in the Comet wave & I'll be in the Blitzen wave. ha!)
*We have the Santa Hustle 1/2 marathon Dec 11th. (I'm trying to figure out how to prepare for this one)
*I'm continuing the visits to Pro Motion but not going this week.
*And....trying to figure out if we want to use the 11-11-11 discount on friday & for what "Rock n' Roll" race to use it on.....(probably CMM 1/2 since Spring will be all about 1/2 mary's for me!)
What am I doing this week?
*So far only walking, stretching, & trying to get things back in order, washed, put away...
*Hopefully, do more Christmas shopping...
*Going to work on a run schedule to ease back into this "hobby".
After we finished the 26.2 jaunt around the New York area, we walked probably a good 3-4 miles. We had a nice late lunch/early dinner with Jillian & Cheryl in the Macy's cafe down in the basement. All I wanted was fries & water....Joe woofed down almost everyone elses fries & had a burger. We're so good, we only drank water. I had thought I'd treat myself to a martini but it never entered my mind at that point. If you're ever in THE Macy's, see the old wooden escalator. I noticed that they were working hard on the Christmas decorations. Hard to believe that the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade is just around the corner. We were in bed by 7:30pm Sunday night & up fairly early Monday to head to the marathon pavillion in Central park. Joe got his name & time engraved for $20. We picked up the NY Times. Both our names were in it despite me coming in nowhere near the 4:30 cut off. We took the subway down to the 9-11 memorial. I just can't find words to describe it, really so I'll leave it at that. After that we found "Kleinfeld Bridal".....my friday night not so secret obsession. Sorry, but it just cracks me up... The door was locked. They had double glass doors & you had to have an appointment to be buzzed in. I just wanted to stick my head in but who knows...they could've been filming, too. We then took the subway back to the hotel, caught a cab to the airport, & arrived back in Nashville for the afternoon drive time traffic. ha!
Some of the goofy stuff we did....
*Stood in front of "Kleinfeld Bridal".....snooty tootie place. ;-)
*Stood in front of "Serendipity" amazed at how long the line was to get in... :-(
*Went to the Dylan's Candy Bar...yes, I know they're in other locations but we don't have one in Middle TN. That place was super cool. We got the kids a few little things there.
*Last but not least, I picked up some of the Spiderman web that was shot from Spidey when he sailed over our heads & brought it back to TN. (Can't wait to show Joey. ha!)
*Took pics of some of the "Occupy Wall Street" folks who where near the 9-11 Memorial area.
What's next?
*Filling out the race forms for Joe & I for the Detroit Turkey Trot 10k Thanksgiving morning.
(He's in the Comet wave & I'll be in the Blitzen wave. ha!)
*We have the Santa Hustle 1/2 marathon Dec 11th. (I'm trying to figure out how to prepare for this one)
*I'm continuing the visits to Pro Motion but not going this week.
*And....trying to figure out if we want to use the 11-11-11 discount on friday & for what "Rock n' Roll" race to use it on.....(probably CMM 1/2 since Spring will be all about 1/2 mary's for me!)
What am I doing this week?
*So far only walking, stretching, & trying to get things back in order, washed, put away...
*Hopefully, do more Christmas shopping...
*Going to work on a run schedule to ease back into this "hobby".
Monday, November 7, 2011
NYC marathon race report: the revolt of my IT Band
Yeah, I know, it's a broken record...
I know this is going to sound incoherent & out of sequence but I really don’t have time to organize my thoughts on the whole entire weekend. So, here goes…in no particular order.
The organization is impeccable. If you’re a runner & your family has never seen NYC, throw your name in the hat. Plan to stay a few days AFTER the race to sight see, & just have fun. Book everything you want to do EARLY & do your research. I heard more than a few folks say they didn’t get to see the 9-11 memorial because they didn’t know they needed to get visitor passes ahead of time. I’ll spend some time here talking about the memorial first since it was the last major thing we did other than me trying to walk into “Kleinfeld Bridal” without an appointment. Ha! The memorial will make you think of just how lucky you are to be alive. It will probably bring tears to your eyes. I “teared” up just walking into it. We were not there very long since all they have open is a small gift shop, some items are encased that were saved in the rubble, & of course the fountains in the memorial park area. If you go all you really need is an hour to spend there until they have the entire thing completely done. I think we’ll probably take the kids before Jessica goes to college. Everyone needs to see it at some point in time….that & the Statue of Liberty…just sayin’…
The only gripe we have about the NYC marathon experience is the fact that the shuttles were nowhere to be found for the Expo on Friday. Supposedly, shuttles for runners only were picking up in certain spots around town & taking runners to the Expo. We read this online & it was in our booklets they sent us. We never saw one but we didn’t waste that much time looking either. That was our mission on Friday after we landed. Get checked into the hotel, get an late lunch, & get to the Expo. We ended up walking most of the way there & then hopping in a cab. The Expo was much like it was when we visited it back in Nov '09 when we were up for fun to watch the marathon. We talked to a guy at the Runner’s World table who has a brother who lives in Nashville (can’t remember the name) but the guy raved about how nice & friendly the Nashville striders are to him every time he visits & runs with them. ;-)
We really didn’t buy much at the Expo, except for the gloves that have the five boroughs on the fingers. I did get a decent deal on some zenzah socks . The Runners World guy told us about the 2 mile warm up on Saturday morning that might be led by Kristin Armstrong or Bart Yasso. Had I got enough sleep Friday night, we would have gone to it but I’ll gripe about that later in the post. That’s about all I remember from the Expo. (saw Bart Yasso, again, at the speakers area this year just like we did in '09)
The Expo was kind of uneventful….and again, great organization for so many runners coming through there…..something like 47,000 + ran on Sunday, which is supposedly the most ever.
Fast forward to Sunday morning…..
Again, the organization was amazing! Our 2nd hotel….yes, I wrote 2nd but that will come later in this post….was a 7 minute walk to the NYC public library. We walked there with many others, boarded immediately, & was in Wadsworth in about 35 minutes. I had to pee BAD when we got there. When we got there, there were no lines yet to the potties…NO LINES for anything really! I got right into a pottie & of course didn’t lock the door completely. It was opened on me by some guy. No big deal since it was dark anyway. I just let out a scream & the dude shut the door. Ha! That was the 2nd time I had a bathroom door opened on me. (The first time was on the airplane from Nashville.) Ha! We brought a roll of toilet paper with us to Ft. Wadsworth but never needed it. Kept it in the drop bag & took it back to the hotel. I was very glad we were bundled up because our phones read something like 36 degrees when we got there. About an hour before we started, it warmed up to around 43-44 degrees. We both felt tired from lack of sleep & sitting on our Preds blanket in the cold but overall we felt ok about starting. Joe was fired up but all I could think about was the IT Band. We didn’t really walk around a lot Friday or Saturday but I had had a few sharp pains in the left hip/side of the knee to remind me that there was a problem. What’s so sad about all this is that it wasn’t a problem like 3-4 weeks ago. Just makes me madder than hell. Anyway I won’t spend too much time bitching about it in this post. Like I said before, it is what it is…
As I write this at LaGuardia airport, it’s not bothering me much at all. (we walked a lot this morning, too!) All that’s sore right now is the quads. Anyway, Wadsworth was entertaining to say the least. We got a ton of free dunkin donuts hats as freebies that we stashed in our drop bag, tons of food everywhere…& NO big lines for any of it. Almost all the race reports I’ve read over the years mentioned lines there for everything & not enough toilet paper. Except for the waiting around in the cold, I have NO gripes about Wadsworth whatsoever. Full of amazing volunteers everywhere! Before we knew it we had to shed clothes, drop our bag, & head with all the Green runners to the Wave 2 area. It’s all a blurr now but when they played “New York, New York” by Sinatra, it gave me chills…then we were off. I started with Joe in his corral one behind me originally. I saw the back of his shirt as we started & he was gone like a flash. We’re pretty proud about his 3:38:06 finish. ;-)
I remember telling myself at this point, just stay comfortable, watch your form, & settle in…the garmin was reading crazy numbers in that lower level of the Verazzano Narrows Bridge so I chose to ignore it for a good little while. I honestly thought I was running 10:00 minute miles at that point because I felt like I was all but crawling. I wasn’t weaving around folks & I was feeling A OK. It was easy to ignore the garmin at this point when I had so much scenery to take in…. When I saw my early splits after the race, I was surprised to see they were not as slow as I hoped they’d be but whatever. Overall, the course seemed flat to me but this comes from someone who has been running hills all damn summer/fall. Overall, the only hill that seemed hard for me was the Willis bridge because at that point, the IT Band had already told me to screw myself & had shut down. Otherwise, I felt ok. I’m thinking it was about mile 18-19 that the IT Band/left knee area was shot. At about mile 21 both knees were starting to kill me. At about mile 23, the bottoms of my feet were killing me… I thought I was never going to see that right hand turn to the finish line, seriously. Miles 24 to the finish were my death march.
As for the tendonitis in the left ankle…it never once flared up one single little bit. I sure wish the voltaren cream would heal the IT Band like it’s healed the tendonitis!
But I’m fast forwarding a bit here….the neighborhoods were everything I had read about, Brooklyn is the one we spent most of our the time & the crowds were so much fun there. It got eerily quiet in the Hassidic neighborhood so I knew right where that was when we hit it. Aerobically, I feel like I still had a lot in me, which tells me I was trained for this but running with an injury will certainly slow you down even though your lungs & the rest of your body are telling you to pick it up. There have been three marathons out of the nine that I’ve gone into injured….this one, Chickamauga, & one of the Rocket City marathons. I’ve now run two with bad shin splints & one with an IT Band injury. What was I supposed to do, take a deferment with NYC? Nope, I wanted to do this with Joe, we had everything paid for, reserved, etc….I had to do it even if I just walked it. Maybe that is what I should have done, walked the whole friggin’ thing! I just don’t have the patience for walking 26.2 miles. I’m not programmed to walk a whole marathon & my hat goes off to those who can do it.
Overall, it’s a GREAT experience. We had GREAT weather but I would have loved it even more had we had some overcast skies to go along with the nice temps. The sun late in the race got on my nerves. I couldn’t see much at all. There was a woman who was crossing the street on 1st Avenue that ran into me…(a pedestrian NOT a runner in the race.) The policemen were doing their best with the crowds but when there’s that many spectators out there like 5-6 people deep & one runs across the street, there’s not a lot they can do but scream at them. I gave her an ear full when she ran into me, trust me! I had stopped to tighten the compression band on my IT Band & had started shuffling again & saw her coming at me out of the corner of my eye. Had I been mean, I would have shoved her hard but that’s not me. Screaming like a lunatic is more my style, apparently. (I yelled, “Get the HELL off the ROAD!!) ha!
After I did my death march across the finish line, I immediately turned on the phone & there were messages from Joe & Cheryl looking for me. It took probably 30-45 minutes for Joe to find me & another half an hour to find Cheryl & Jillian. All I wanted was a Starbucks in my hand & to wash the grime off my hands at that point.
What did I learn?
It pays to sign up for a marathon where there’s an option to downgrade to the half due to injury but NYC isn’t like that. Either you do the full or nothing that day. If I had to redo the day with this IT Band issue, I would have made myself do the walk/run Galloway method. Seriously, I don’t think my time would have been any worse if I had done that.
What did I gain from all this training?
A slow NYC marathon finish time but the journey here got me a sub – 2 hr flat half marathon time (on a long course…see ‘boro half race report). It got me a 2:05-ish half marathon time on a HORRIBLY hilly Nashville women’s half marathon course. I did have two pretty great 20-21 mile training runs. What I didn’t do was rest enough in between them. Lesson learned the hard way.
Will I do a marathon in 2012?
I’ll train for one but if I’m injured 2-3 weeks out then I’ll downgrade to the half course. So, the decision is made. Detroit Free Press Fall 2012, here we come. Chicago will have to wait another year or two for sure. My Spring will consist of NO marathons. It’s time for me to get reacquainted with “speed”. It’s time to heal & think about running fast again. Like I’ve mentioned before, my early 2012 goal will be to chase my old half marathon PR. If breaking 4:17:11 remains elusive for me (that certainly wasn’t the goal on Sunday in NYC) then maybe breaking 1:51:25 needs to be the new goal for now. ;-)
I’m a firm believer that you really need to get your half marathon times down before you set your goals on lowering your full marathon times. I certainly need to follow that rule.
The Cons of doing a marathon of this magnitude:
We both ran Sunday sleep deprived. (It’s hard to get a good night’s rest in NYC with the sounds of the city all around you.)
It’s hard getting up super early to go sit on a blanket outside for a few hours when it’s 36 degrees.
It can be expensive but that’s to be expected in NYC. (We pretty much planned & paid for this trip well in advance.)
It’s hard to get into this race unless you’re given a “free ride” or you do a charity. (I know folks who’ve done it all threw ways, given a free entry from a running store, did a charity, & or the lottery. I have met a few who qualified on time. Now that's hard to do with this race. I think it's worse than Boston!)
The Pros of doing a marathon of this magnitude:
The city is amazing. (It’s a historical race with so many stories.)
It’s a “cross off your list” marathon for nearly all the runners I’ve ever known.
It’s a huge “party” through 5 boroughs & you can’t get that anywhere else.
The city shuts down for you.
What I will remember the most about the NYC marathon...
Hitting the Queensboro Bridge at around mile 15 & thinking, “This hill isn’t that hard & these spectators here are CRAZY AWESOME!” I smiled all the way across that bridge.
Joe’s 3:38:06 for sure & he said he even took the time to “high five” people along the way.
He loved the Queensboro Bridge also. He loved the entire experience but he wasn’t going into it with a nagging 3 week old injury either, bless him & his neutral foot strike. Ha! I'm so happy one of us finished strong!
Filling in the holes to the story….
I started out by banging my head HARD on the overhead compartment in the plane. Not good.
Then I used the planes bathroom at the back. Some guy opens the door on me. Not good.
We get to the airport & we’re hailing a cab when Joe realizes he’s booked two different Fairfield Inns for the weekend. Not good.
Nagging hip/knee pains off and on in the afternoon. Not good.
That was Friday…
On Saturday....
Superman: Turn off the dark:
It was everything I thought it would be...the reviews did it justice. The cast was super. The place was packed with a lot of runners for the Saturday matinee. We totally enjoyed it & we got sprayed by spidey’s web. I even grabbed some of Spidey's web when he sprayed us. Ha!
As for the two hotels we stayed….Joe paid for two nights with points & then days later booked what he thought was the same hotel for the first night. He realized this fact when we were about to hail a cab from the airport. He pulled out two sheets of paper for two different Fairfield Inns. We can laugh about it now but what a pain in the ass that was…. The Fairfield on 37th street is a lot smaller & noisier than the one on 40th. The one of 40th had way more runners in it & we lucked up with a much quieter room for the last two nights. I don’t sleep that great in hotel rooms to begin with but stress causes me not to sleep well too. Changing rooms, some nagging hip/knee pains, logistics anxiety, race anxiety, etc…well, let’s just say it will be GREAT to be back in my own bed tonight knowing all I have to do is show up for work tomorrow. ;-) It will take me a while to catch up sleep this week. I’ve promised myself that I’ll not do any early morning workouts this week.
As for pictures, I loaded them all on facebook.... but here are a few...
The view of the start & two from the 9-11 Memorial.
I know this is going to sound incoherent & out of sequence but I really don’t have time to organize my thoughts on the whole entire weekend. So, here goes…in no particular order.
The organization is impeccable. If you’re a runner & your family has never seen NYC, throw your name in the hat. Plan to stay a few days AFTER the race to sight see, & just have fun. Book everything you want to do EARLY & do your research. I heard more than a few folks say they didn’t get to see the 9-11 memorial because they didn’t know they needed to get visitor passes ahead of time. I’ll spend some time here talking about the memorial first since it was the last major thing we did other than me trying to walk into “Kleinfeld Bridal” without an appointment. Ha! The memorial will make you think of just how lucky you are to be alive. It will probably bring tears to your eyes. I “teared” up just walking into it. We were not there very long since all they have open is a small gift shop, some items are encased that were saved in the rubble, & of course the fountains in the memorial park area. If you go all you really need is an hour to spend there until they have the entire thing completely done. I think we’ll probably take the kids before Jessica goes to college. Everyone needs to see it at some point in time….that & the Statue of Liberty…just sayin’…
The only gripe we have about the NYC marathon experience is the fact that the shuttles were nowhere to be found for the Expo on Friday. Supposedly, shuttles for runners only were picking up in certain spots around town & taking runners to the Expo. We read this online & it was in our booklets they sent us. We never saw one but we didn’t waste that much time looking either. That was our mission on Friday after we landed. Get checked into the hotel, get an late lunch, & get to the Expo. We ended up walking most of the way there & then hopping in a cab. The Expo was much like it was when we visited it back in Nov '09 when we were up for fun to watch the marathon. We talked to a guy at the Runner’s World table who has a brother who lives in Nashville (can’t remember the name) but the guy raved about how nice & friendly the Nashville striders are to him every time he visits & runs with them. ;-)
We really didn’t buy much at the Expo, except for the gloves that have the five boroughs on the fingers. I did get a decent deal on some zenzah socks . The Runners World guy told us about the 2 mile warm up on Saturday morning that might be led by Kristin Armstrong or Bart Yasso. Had I got enough sleep Friday night, we would have gone to it but I’ll gripe about that later in the post. That’s about all I remember from the Expo. (saw Bart Yasso, again, at the speakers area this year just like we did in '09)
The Expo was kind of uneventful….and again, great organization for so many runners coming through there…..something like 47,000 + ran on Sunday, which is supposedly the most ever.
Fast forward to Sunday morning…..
Again, the organization was amazing! Our 2nd hotel….yes, I wrote 2nd but that will come later in this post….was a 7 minute walk to the NYC public library. We walked there with many others, boarded immediately, & was in Wadsworth in about 35 minutes. I had to pee BAD when we got there. When we got there, there were no lines yet to the potties…NO LINES for anything really! I got right into a pottie & of course didn’t lock the door completely. It was opened on me by some guy. No big deal since it was dark anyway. I just let out a scream & the dude shut the door. Ha! That was the 2nd time I had a bathroom door opened on me. (The first time was on the airplane from Nashville.) Ha! We brought a roll of toilet paper with us to Ft. Wadsworth but never needed it. Kept it in the drop bag & took it back to the hotel. I was very glad we were bundled up because our phones read something like 36 degrees when we got there. About an hour before we started, it warmed up to around 43-44 degrees. We both felt tired from lack of sleep & sitting on our Preds blanket in the cold but overall we felt ok about starting. Joe was fired up but all I could think about was the IT Band. We didn’t really walk around a lot Friday or Saturday but I had had a few sharp pains in the left hip/side of the knee to remind me that there was a problem. What’s so sad about all this is that it wasn’t a problem like 3-4 weeks ago. Just makes me madder than hell. Anyway I won’t spend too much time bitching about it in this post. Like I said before, it is what it is…
As I write this at LaGuardia airport, it’s not bothering me much at all. (we walked a lot this morning, too!) All that’s sore right now is the quads. Anyway, Wadsworth was entertaining to say the least. We got a ton of free dunkin donuts hats as freebies that we stashed in our drop bag, tons of food everywhere…& NO big lines for any of it. Almost all the race reports I’ve read over the years mentioned lines there for everything & not enough toilet paper. Except for the waiting around in the cold, I have NO gripes about Wadsworth whatsoever. Full of amazing volunteers everywhere! Before we knew it we had to shed clothes, drop our bag, & head with all the Green runners to the Wave 2 area. It’s all a blurr now but when they played “New York, New York” by Sinatra, it gave me chills…then we were off. I started with Joe in his corral one behind me originally. I saw the back of his shirt as we started & he was gone like a flash. We’re pretty proud about his 3:38:06 finish. ;-)
I remember telling myself at this point, just stay comfortable, watch your form, & settle in…the garmin was reading crazy numbers in that lower level of the Verazzano Narrows Bridge so I chose to ignore it for a good little while. I honestly thought I was running 10:00 minute miles at that point because I felt like I was all but crawling. I wasn’t weaving around folks & I was feeling A OK. It was easy to ignore the garmin at this point when I had so much scenery to take in…. When I saw my early splits after the race, I was surprised to see they were not as slow as I hoped they’d be but whatever. Overall, the course seemed flat to me but this comes from someone who has been running hills all damn summer/fall. Overall, the only hill that seemed hard for me was the Willis bridge because at that point, the IT Band had already told me to screw myself & had shut down. Otherwise, I felt ok. I’m thinking it was about mile 18-19 that the IT Band/left knee area was shot. At about mile 21 both knees were starting to kill me. At about mile 23, the bottoms of my feet were killing me… I thought I was never going to see that right hand turn to the finish line, seriously. Miles 24 to the finish were my death march.
As for the tendonitis in the left ankle…it never once flared up one single little bit. I sure wish the voltaren cream would heal the IT Band like it’s healed the tendonitis!
But I’m fast forwarding a bit here….the neighborhoods were everything I had read about, Brooklyn is the one we spent most of our the time & the crowds were so much fun there. It got eerily quiet in the Hassidic neighborhood so I knew right where that was when we hit it. Aerobically, I feel like I still had a lot in me, which tells me I was trained for this but running with an injury will certainly slow you down even though your lungs & the rest of your body are telling you to pick it up. There have been three marathons out of the nine that I’ve gone into injured….this one, Chickamauga, & one of the Rocket City marathons. I’ve now run two with bad shin splints & one with an IT Band injury. What was I supposed to do, take a deferment with NYC? Nope, I wanted to do this with Joe, we had everything paid for, reserved, etc….I had to do it even if I just walked it. Maybe that is what I should have done, walked the whole friggin’ thing! I just don’t have the patience for walking 26.2 miles. I’m not programmed to walk a whole marathon & my hat goes off to those who can do it.
Overall, it’s a GREAT experience. We had GREAT weather but I would have loved it even more had we had some overcast skies to go along with the nice temps. The sun late in the race got on my nerves. I couldn’t see much at all. There was a woman who was crossing the street on 1st Avenue that ran into me…(a pedestrian NOT a runner in the race.) The policemen were doing their best with the crowds but when there’s that many spectators out there like 5-6 people deep & one runs across the street, there’s not a lot they can do but scream at them. I gave her an ear full when she ran into me, trust me! I had stopped to tighten the compression band on my IT Band & had started shuffling again & saw her coming at me out of the corner of my eye. Had I been mean, I would have shoved her hard but that’s not me. Screaming like a lunatic is more my style, apparently. (I yelled, “Get the HELL off the ROAD!!) ha!
After I did my death march across the finish line, I immediately turned on the phone & there were messages from Joe & Cheryl looking for me. It took probably 30-45 minutes for Joe to find me & another half an hour to find Cheryl & Jillian. All I wanted was a Starbucks in my hand & to wash the grime off my hands at that point.
What did I learn?
It pays to sign up for a marathon where there’s an option to downgrade to the half due to injury but NYC isn’t like that. Either you do the full or nothing that day. If I had to redo the day with this IT Band issue, I would have made myself do the walk/run Galloway method. Seriously, I don’t think my time would have been any worse if I had done that.
What did I gain from all this training?
A slow NYC marathon finish time but the journey here got me a sub – 2 hr flat half marathon time (on a long course…see ‘boro half race report). It got me a 2:05-ish half marathon time on a HORRIBLY hilly Nashville women’s half marathon course. I did have two pretty great 20-21 mile training runs. What I didn’t do was rest enough in between them. Lesson learned the hard way.
Will I do a marathon in 2012?
I’ll train for one but if I’m injured 2-3 weeks out then I’ll downgrade to the half course. So, the decision is made. Detroit Free Press Fall 2012, here we come. Chicago will have to wait another year or two for sure. My Spring will consist of NO marathons. It’s time for me to get reacquainted with “speed”. It’s time to heal & think about running fast again. Like I’ve mentioned before, my early 2012 goal will be to chase my old half marathon PR. If breaking 4:17:11 remains elusive for me (that certainly wasn’t the goal on Sunday in NYC) then maybe breaking 1:51:25 needs to be the new goal for now. ;-)
I’m a firm believer that you really need to get your half marathon times down before you set your goals on lowering your full marathon times. I certainly need to follow that rule.
The Cons of doing a marathon of this magnitude:
We both ran Sunday sleep deprived. (It’s hard to get a good night’s rest in NYC with the sounds of the city all around you.)
It’s hard getting up super early to go sit on a blanket outside for a few hours when it’s 36 degrees.
It can be expensive but that’s to be expected in NYC. (We pretty much planned & paid for this trip well in advance.)
It’s hard to get into this race unless you’re given a “free ride” or you do a charity. (I know folks who’ve done it all threw ways, given a free entry from a running store, did a charity, & or the lottery. I have met a few who qualified on time. Now that's hard to do with this race. I think it's worse than Boston!)
The Pros of doing a marathon of this magnitude:
The city is amazing. (It’s a historical race with so many stories.)
It’s a “cross off your list” marathon for nearly all the runners I’ve ever known.
It’s a huge “party” through 5 boroughs & you can’t get that anywhere else.
The city shuts down for you.
What I will remember the most about the NYC marathon...
Hitting the Queensboro Bridge at around mile 15 & thinking, “This hill isn’t that hard & these spectators here are CRAZY AWESOME!” I smiled all the way across that bridge.
Joe’s 3:38:06 for sure & he said he even took the time to “high five” people along the way.
He loved the Queensboro Bridge also. He loved the entire experience but he wasn’t going into it with a nagging 3 week old injury either, bless him & his neutral foot strike. Ha! I'm so happy one of us finished strong!
Filling in the holes to the story….
I started out by banging my head HARD on the overhead compartment in the plane. Not good.
Then I used the planes bathroom at the back. Some guy opens the door on me. Not good.
We get to the airport & we’re hailing a cab when Joe realizes he’s booked two different Fairfield Inns for the weekend. Not good.
Nagging hip/knee pains off and on in the afternoon. Not good.
That was Friday…
On Saturday....
Superman: Turn off the dark:
It was everything I thought it would be...the reviews did it justice. The cast was super. The place was packed with a lot of runners for the Saturday matinee. We totally enjoyed it & we got sprayed by spidey’s web. I even grabbed some of Spidey's web when he sprayed us. Ha!
As for the two hotels we stayed….Joe paid for two nights with points & then days later booked what he thought was the same hotel for the first night. He realized this fact when we were about to hail a cab from the airport. He pulled out two sheets of paper for two different Fairfield Inns. We can laugh about it now but what a pain in the ass that was…. The Fairfield on 37th street is a lot smaller & noisier than the one on 40th. The one of 40th had way more runners in it & we lucked up with a much quieter room for the last two nights. I don’t sleep that great in hotel rooms to begin with but stress causes me not to sleep well too. Changing rooms, some nagging hip/knee pains, logistics anxiety, race anxiety, etc…well, let’s just say it will be GREAT to be back in my own bed tonight knowing all I have to do is show up for work tomorrow. ;-) It will take me a while to catch up sleep this week. I’ve promised myself that I’ll not do any early morning workouts this week.
As for pictures, I loaded them all on facebook.... but here are a few...
The view of the start & two from the 9-11 Memorial.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Joe did GREAT & I sucked...
Me: 4:50:44
Joe: 3:38:06
By about 19-20 miles, the IT Band decided to take an early plane back to Tennessee.
Honestly, I felt pretty decent up until that point. I thought I hydrated well enough but around mile 22, I actually felt my left toes cramping up. WTH? I had chewed on shot bloks, drank water & gatorade at nearly every single mile. There were several water stops I walked through.
Lord knows I didn't expect much since it started acting up about 3 weeks or so weeks ago but damn, 4:50?!
The worst I expect was around 4:40, but I didn't know what to expect to be perfectly honest. I had a 21 miler at a 9:55 pace & a 20 miler at a 10:07 pace & then the IT Band issues slowed me...to a screaching halt, apparently. When I hit the half way mark, I thought to myself, this is ok, it's where I need to be but guess I should have dialed it back. One thing's for sure, I sure didn't mean to run the sub-10 minute miles early on. The garmin wasn't reading those. I thought I was running around a 9:50-10:10 pace early on but apparently that wasn't the case looking at the splits. I felt like I was crawling early on....
Oh and don't get me started on the sun in my eyes the last 6 miles straight. I had on sunglasses but couldn't see much of squat going on around me. Eh well, that damn 4:17:11 from that hot ass, hilly ass Country Music Marathon from 2006 is going to haunt me like a bad dream forever. ha!
I'll give a better race report when I'm in a better mood.... ;-P
Joe: 3:38:06
By about 19-20 miles, the IT Band decided to take an early plane back to Tennessee.
Honestly, I felt pretty decent up until that point. I thought I hydrated well enough but around mile 22, I actually felt my left toes cramping up. WTH? I had chewed on shot bloks, drank water & gatorade at nearly every single mile. There were several water stops I walked through.
Lord knows I didn't expect much since it started acting up about 3 weeks or so weeks ago but damn, 4:50?!
The worst I expect was around 4:40, but I didn't know what to expect to be perfectly honest. I had a 21 miler at a 9:55 pace & a 20 miler at a 10:07 pace & then the IT Band issues slowed me...to a screaching halt, apparently. When I hit the half way mark, I thought to myself, this is ok, it's where I need to be but guess I should have dialed it back. One thing's for sure, I sure didn't mean to run the sub-10 minute miles early on. The garmin wasn't reading those. I thought I was running around a 9:50-10:10 pace early on but apparently that wasn't the case looking at the splits. I felt like I was crawling early on....
Oh and don't get me started on the sun in my eyes the last 6 miles straight. I had on sunglasses but couldn't see much of squat going on around me. Eh well, that damn 4:17:11 from that hot ass, hilly ass Country Music Marathon from 2006 is going to haunt me like a bad dream forever. ha!
I'll give a better race report when I'm in a better mood.... ;-P
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
taped during the last week of taper.....
Went to my 2nd appt at Pro Motion yesterday....got taped.
It's supposed to last 3 days....stay on in the shower, etc...
Uh, no, it didn't last 3 days...mine came completely off in the shower.
Anyway, there's different kinds of tapes to use.
Mine is two layers with white on the bottom & brown on the top.
You don't want the brown to touch the skin because it can be irritating.
Anyway, I was given a little bit to tape myself Sat night or Sun morning.
I ran 4 miles with it and couldn't tell I had tape on my foot/calf at all.
The key is to get it taped just right so it's pulling just ever so slightly.
It's EXPENSIVE & I was told they special order it for their office but was given the names of it to order online. I'm too busy to dig in my purse for that right now but I might order some....or I might not.
What I HAVE to do is watch how I land my left foot Sunday.
I'm to phase in the "pawing" method to reduce the impact on the IT Band.
Of course this isn't happening overnight but I will try my best not to be sloppy Sunday.
(Head up, don't scrunch down like a little old lady when I'm tired. Lean forward like the dang "Chi Running" book said to do!) Incidentally, I did all this yesterday on a 4 mile run after work & my pace was 9:05. The run was "easy"....not quite tempo but when I lean, I run faster. So, just make yourself think of the "Smooth Criminal" video of Michael Jacksons....lean in a little & viola your turn over picks up so gravity doesn't pull you down. I'll have to watch that Sunday so I don't go out too fast. I do not want a 9:05 first mile.
As for Joe.....he has SO got a sub 4 hour in him. It will totally surprise me if his finish time is more than a 4:05. My guess is that he'll be anywhere between 3:50-4:05. That's what long legs & a natural foot strike will get you. Grrrr......
It's supposed to last 3 days....stay on in the shower, etc...
Uh, no, it didn't last 3 days...mine came completely off in the shower.
Anyway, there's different kinds of tapes to use.
Mine is two layers with white on the bottom & brown on the top.
You don't want the brown to touch the skin because it can be irritating.
Anyway, I was given a little bit to tape myself Sat night or Sun morning.
I ran 4 miles with it and couldn't tell I had tape on my foot/calf at all.
The key is to get it taped just right so it's pulling just ever so slightly.
It's EXPENSIVE & I was told they special order it for their office but was given the names of it to order online. I'm too busy to dig in my purse for that right now but I might order some....or I might not.
What I HAVE to do is watch how I land my left foot Sunday.
I'm to phase in the "pawing" method to reduce the impact on the IT Band.
Of course this isn't happening overnight but I will try my best not to be sloppy Sunday.
(Head up, don't scrunch down like a little old lady when I'm tired. Lean forward like the dang "Chi Running" book said to do!) Incidentally, I did all this yesterday on a 4 mile run after work & my pace was 9:05. The run was "easy"....not quite tempo but when I lean, I run faster. So, just make yourself think of the "Smooth Criminal" video of Michael Jacksons....lean in a little & viola your turn over picks up so gravity doesn't pull you down. I'll have to watch that Sunday so I don't go out too fast. I do not want a 9:05 first mile.
As for Joe.....he has SO got a sub 4 hour in him. It will totally surprise me if his finish time is more than a 4:05. My guess is that he'll be anywhere between 3:50-4:05. That's what long legs & a natural foot strike will get you. Grrrr......
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
dang it!
Apolo Ohno and Jared Fogle will be appearing at the ING Speaker Series:
Friday, 1:00 p.m. (our plane lands at 1:30pm friday & we won't get to Javits Center till about 3:00pm. I seriously doubt he'll still be there.) :-(
List of celebs running
• Stephanie Abrams, meteorologist for The Weather Channel
• Gbenga Akinnagbe, actor – The Wire, The Taking of Pelham 123
• Nate Appleman, chef/TV personality – Chopped All-Stars
• Joe Bastianich, restaurateur, winemaker, and judge on MasterChef
• Dr. Andy Baldwin, reality star – The Bachelorette
• Richard Blais, chef/TV personality – Top Chef All-Stars
• Jennie Finch, U.S. Olympian/Softball
• Mya, Grammy Award-winning singer
• Apolo Ohno, U.S. Olympian/short-track speed skating
• Shonda Schilling, New York Times bestselling author
• Paul Sparks, actor – Boardwalk Empire
• Ivy Stark, Corporate Executive Chef of Dos Caminos
• Ryan Sutter, reality star –The Bachelorette
• Christy Turlington Burns, model/founder, Every Mother Counts
• Michael K. Williams, actor – The Wire, Boardwalk Empire
• Edwin van der Sar, retired Manchester United goalie
• Veronica Webb, model/actress
• Ethan Zohn, reality star – Survivor
Friday, 1:00 p.m. (our plane lands at 1:30pm friday & we won't get to Javits Center till about 3:00pm. I seriously doubt he'll still be there.) :-(
List of celebs running
• Stephanie Abrams, meteorologist for The Weather Channel
• Gbenga Akinnagbe, actor – The Wire, The Taking of Pelham 123
• Nate Appleman, chef/TV personality – Chopped All-Stars
• Joe Bastianich, restaurateur, winemaker, and judge on MasterChef
• Dr. Andy Baldwin, reality star – The Bachelorette
• Richard Blais, chef/TV personality – Top Chef All-Stars
• Jennie Finch, U.S. Olympian/Softball
• Mya, Grammy Award-winning singer
• Apolo Ohno, U.S. Olympian/short-track speed skating
• Shonda Schilling, New York Times bestselling author
• Paul Sparks, actor – Boardwalk Empire
• Ivy Stark, Corporate Executive Chef of Dos Caminos
• Ryan Sutter, reality star –The Bachelorette
• Christy Turlington Burns, model/founder, Every Mother Counts
• Michael K. Williams, actor – The Wire, Boardwalk Empire
• Edwin van der Sar, retired Manchester United goalie
• Veronica Webb, model/actress
• Ethan Zohn, reality star – Survivor
weather....
I will not have the weather to blame if I bonk.
Check it out!
http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/USNY0996
Check it out!
http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/USNY0996
Monday, October 31, 2011
4 day weekend ahead...
It's NO secret that I'm in a bad need of a getaway. Too bad it's only a 4 day weekend but I'm not complaining. Any time spent in NYC is always fun, running a marathon, shopping, seeing a broadway play, museum, etc.... I got an event reminder for our "Spiderman: Turn off the Dark" play on Saturday. Can't wait!
I also got my NYC marathon hint for the day. "What you can bring to the start area". Love, love the fact that they're making this dummy proof. We have to use the clear, plastic drop bags, & nothing else. You cannot even put a bag inside it. They even made suggestions like bringing body glide & some reading material. I am not bringing reading material, I'll have my cell & so will Joe. Our cells will be turned off before we start & they'll be in our fuel belts inside of a zip lock baggie. (Not taking a chance on losing each other after we finish & I'll need to find Cheryl & Jillian) I'm bringing a couple of bonk bars for us, too. Food will be there but I'll eat what I've been eating before the last 3-4 long runs. If it doesn't look like rain then we'll pull the OLD shoes out of our bags Thurs night. I had in my mind that we'd walk in old shoes to the buses & put our race shoes in the drop bag to change into at the last minute. (I'm now seeing NO rain, low of 48, high of 61). I'm still a bit torn on where to wear the bib. 48-61 means singlet or NO shirt at all for me. I'm about 80% packed. ;-)
Yesterday, I did get that little 3 miler in at an easy 9:33 pace.
Today, I'm doing P90X Stretch & working on the IT Band exercises.
Watch out for spooks tonight!
I also got my NYC marathon hint for the day. "What you can bring to the start area". Love, love the fact that they're making this dummy proof. We have to use the clear, plastic drop bags, & nothing else. You cannot even put a bag inside it. They even made suggestions like bringing body glide & some reading material. I am not bringing reading material, I'll have my cell & so will Joe. Our cells will be turned off before we start & they'll be in our fuel belts inside of a zip lock baggie. (Not taking a chance on losing each other after we finish & I'll need to find Cheryl & Jillian) I'm bringing a couple of bonk bars for us, too. Food will be there but I'll eat what I've been eating before the last 3-4 long runs. If it doesn't look like rain then we'll pull the OLD shoes out of our bags Thurs night. I had in my mind that we'd walk in old shoes to the buses & put our race shoes in the drop bag to change into at the last minute. (I'm now seeing NO rain, low of 48, high of 61). I'm still a bit torn on where to wear the bib. 48-61 means singlet or NO shirt at all for me. I'm about 80% packed. ;-)
Yesterday, I did get that little 3 miler in at an easy 9:33 pace.
Today, I'm doing P90X Stretch & working on the IT Band exercises.
Watch out for spooks tonight!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Snow? Really? ha!
So, NYC got some snow this weekend. The NYRR posted that they'll have all of it cleaned up & nothing is slowing down preparations for next weekend. Next weekend looks wonderful & I hope it stays that way. ;-)
Once upon a time, I did start a marathon with snow flakes floating in the air at the starting line. That was Rocket City in Huntsville, AL, 2nd weekend in Dec...many moons ago.... I've never run well there due to my football obsession & not training correctly in the FALL. The one time I did train "ok" in the FALL was in '07 but as we know '07 was unbearably HOT everywhere. That was my last marathon, Dec '07 Rocket City in Huntsvile, 2nd weekend in Dec. It was 8:00am 65 degrees with humidity. I remember standing at the starting line & thinking, "This is gonna suck!" and it did, for me anyway. That was one slow, hot, December marathon. I was NOT mentally prepared for it at all & had one 20 miler on that training schedule but it was the first 20 miler I'd ever done. Yes, I did a 4:17 & 4:24 on the hilly, hot CMM course without doing a 20 miler either time in training. Stupid, yes! I feel like I could've definitely been closer to 4:00 hours in 2006 that year had I not been so lazy. Eh well, that's the past. I'm more disciplined now, paranoid as hell of cracking another bone, but I'm more diligent for me at least. ha!
One week from today, I finally get to run another marathon. It's been what? Almost 4 years!? To say I'm excited would be putting it mildly. There's going to be almost 50,000 runners from all over the world there. The most decorated Winter Olympian will be running. I can't wait! ;-)
Today: We avoided the temptation to head downtown to LP Field. You can practically go for free to this game, gesh! (Stubhub showed $6.00 a seat for the upper level) Anyway, we had laundry to do, packing, etc... We even started Christmas shopping. ;-P I slept almost 9.5 hours....getting up 2X for the bathroom. Now that's saying a lot for me these days! I stretched my IT Band, did the exercises, & still going to do more today. I did ab ripper also. I'm supposed to do 3 miles today but if it doesn't happen, no big deal. I'm tempted to start my "Steve Jobs" book today. ;-)
Happy early Halloween, folks!
Once upon a time, I did start a marathon with snow flakes floating in the air at the starting line. That was Rocket City in Huntsville, AL, 2nd weekend in Dec...many moons ago.... I've never run well there due to my football obsession & not training correctly in the FALL. The one time I did train "ok" in the FALL was in '07 but as we know '07 was unbearably HOT everywhere. That was my last marathon, Dec '07 Rocket City in Huntsvile, 2nd weekend in Dec. It was 8:00am 65 degrees with humidity. I remember standing at the starting line & thinking, "This is gonna suck!" and it did, for me anyway. That was one slow, hot, December marathon. I was NOT mentally prepared for it at all & had one 20 miler on that training schedule but it was the first 20 miler I'd ever done. Yes, I did a 4:17 & 4:24 on the hilly, hot CMM course without doing a 20 miler either time in training. Stupid, yes! I feel like I could've definitely been closer to 4:00 hours in 2006 that year had I not been so lazy. Eh well, that's the past. I'm more disciplined now, paranoid as hell of cracking another bone, but I'm more diligent for me at least. ha!
One week from today, I finally get to run another marathon. It's been what? Almost 4 years!? To say I'm excited would be putting it mildly. There's going to be almost 50,000 runners from all over the world there. The most decorated Winter Olympian will be running. I can't wait! ;-)
Today: We avoided the temptation to head downtown to LP Field. You can practically go for free to this game, gesh! (Stubhub showed $6.00 a seat for the upper level) Anyway, we had laundry to do, packing, etc... We even started Christmas shopping. ;-P I slept almost 9.5 hours....getting up 2X for the bathroom. Now that's saying a lot for me these days! I stretched my IT Band, did the exercises, & still going to do more today. I did ab ripper also. I'm supposed to do 3 miles today but if it doesn't happen, no big deal. I'm tempted to start my "Steve Jobs" book today. ;-)
Happy early Halloween, folks!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
8.2 cold, somewhat hilly miles in the 'chester....
I put on my IT Band strap, patella band, my planned race day outfit, stopped my whining, & ran with Kim C. in Manchester. She said she'd map out something fairly flat. I wouldn't call it totally flat by no means. There were some hills. ha! Anyway, we chatted the entire time (except on this one uphill near the Bonarroo area). We finished 8.2 miles at a 10:12 pace & I felt GREAT the entire way. The IT Band never bothered me once. My left hip was a little achey but nothing to write home about. I kept my form in check, kept it slow, & turned on the "cruise control". Totally enjoyed it. It was 36 degrees & I rewarded myself with a low fat vanilla latte at Starbucks. ;-)
I made sure to drive through the base to see the fall colors...so beautiful. Gorgeous day for a run.
Afterwards, I managed to trip mom's security system, scare the pee out of her cockatiel, Rocky, check out the new Dunham's store, get a haircuit/eye brows done, visit my buddy Ted, & do some shopping. Whew!
When I got home, Joe & I walked to "Mysteries & More" bookstore & to "Sushime" in our 'hood for dinner. (No, we don't eat sushi but we love their teriyaki chicken) A very productive Saturday.
Tomorrow, I've got a check list of things to start packing. I can't believe it's staring us in the face. Seems like yesterday we were doing the Ragnar Relay. It's been a year! Where did this year go?!
I made sure to drive through the base to see the fall colors...so beautiful. Gorgeous day for a run.
Afterwards, I managed to trip mom's security system, scare the pee out of her cockatiel, Rocky, check out the new Dunham's store, get a haircuit/eye brows done, visit my buddy Ted, & do some shopping. Whew!
When I got home, Joe & I walked to "Mysteries & More" bookstore & to "Sushime" in our 'hood for dinner. (No, we don't eat sushi but we love their teriyaki chicken) A very productive Saturday.
Tomorrow, I've got a check list of things to start packing. I can't believe it's staring us in the face. Seems like yesterday we were doing the Ragnar Relay. It's been a year! Where did this year go?!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Steve Jobs bio
Pro Motion Appt
So, I went to Pro Motion yesterday & got the exact same PT as I had like a year & a half ago. She remembered me, too. Nice woman.... We went over the IT Band exercises (some I have already been doing) & she checked my stance, had me do a few exercises, & showed me that my left knee is moving inward as I bend down on my left leg (squat down). As I get tired, my running form gets REAL sloppy. Remember when I read the "Chi Running" book? Well, I probably should have reread it over it the summer. She was telling me to do certain things that are in that book & she said she'd never read that book. Long story short, I am to take short little strides during the marathon. Shuffle it, don't long stride it at all, & watch my form. Stand up & lean forward. Taking note of my foot strike. I'm going back Tuesday so they can look at my running shoes & watch me run on a treadmill. As far as pain, it's not that painful really. There's just some mild soreness. It's been that way since we ran the 'boro 1/2 plus the 3 miles & I do remember it starting to hurt after the last 20 miler but that wasn't near as bad as now. So, we'll see...my goal of getting to the start line 100% healthy has gone out the door but other than that I feel great.
Like I said in a previous post my goals are to focus on the form, keep the IT Band in check, & have fun. So far the weather is looking great at least. ;-)
This weekend: 8 slow, somewhat flat miles with Kim in Manchester tomorrow morning.
If the IT Band talks to me, there will be almost no running going on again until Nov 6th.
Lots & lots of yoga & stretching over the next week.
Like I said in a previous post my goals are to focus on the form, keep the IT Band in check, & have fun. So far the weather is looking great at least. ;-)
This weekend: 8 slow, somewhat flat miles with Kim in Manchester tomorrow morning.
If the IT Band talks to me, there will be almost no running going on again until Nov 6th.
Lots & lots of yoga & stretching over the next week.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
9 days...
3.75 mi this morning: 9:40 pace (kept it easy, short, & mostly flat)
67 degrees when I walked out the door.
I was expecting rain but didn't get any until I was nearly finished & it was only sprinkles.
More Jillian Michael's yoga this afternoon & ab ripping in the morning.
I do have a dvd coming in the mail that's called "Yoga for Runners". It has received great reviews.
Can't wait to try something DIFFERENT for a change.
Looking forward to the weekend.
8 miles in Manchester Saturday morning, a visit to the Coker building for a haircut in the 'homa & possibly some Christmas shopping there. Heard they went to market & have tons of cute stuff.
There will be some packing going on & some cleaning. I had thought about the Titans game on Sunday but my good sense took over & decided to get EVERYTHING done Sunday. Less stress at the end of the week.
This week is flying by....can't believe we're staring November in the face. ;-P
67 degrees when I walked out the door.
I was expecting rain but didn't get any until I was nearly finished & it was only sprinkles.
More Jillian Michael's yoga this afternoon & ab ripping in the morning.
I do have a dvd coming in the mail that's called "Yoga for Runners". It has received great reviews.
Can't wait to try something DIFFERENT for a change.
Looking forward to the weekend.
8 miles in Manchester Saturday morning, a visit to the Coker building for a haircut in the 'homa & possibly some Christmas shopping there. Heard they went to market & have tons of cute stuff.
There will be some packing going on & some cleaning. I had thought about the Titans game on Sunday but my good sense took over & decided to get EVERYTHING done Sunday. Less stress at the end of the week.
This week is flying by....can't believe we're staring November in the face. ;-P
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Stretching, Rolling, & Shuffling
After I ab ripped yesterday, I rolled the devil out of my IT Band, stretching it so much that I felt the need to "ice" it. ha! This mornings run of 6.5 miles was not as hilly so it didn't bother me near as much. I kept it easy, slow, & relaxed at a 9:59 pace. My legs have been locked into the slow pace for quite some time now no matter how far I run. I have NO short distance speed whatsoever right now & I just don't care. If I can lock into a 9:55-10:10 pace marathon morning, I'll be happy with that. Who knows...I'm keeping expectations low knowing full well, I'm far from a PR.
Goal for Nov 6th: focus on stride/form, focus on keeping the "shuffle" slow, focus on having FUN! The race will start at mile 20! ;-)
Goal for Nov 6th: focus on stride/form, focus on keeping the "shuffle" slow, focus on having FUN! The race will start at mile 20! ;-)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tues: Cold "badonkadonk" hilly run
5:05am: 5.75 miles (with about 2.5 miles of hills) 9:53 pace
42 degrees with a cold booty.
I wore a long sleeve tech, shorts, compression socks, & NO gloves (don't wear hats!)
My IT Band was talking to me on the hills & my behind never really warmed up.
The rest of me was fine, though, odd....
I cannot wait to get taped by the "Tape Queen" at Pro Motion on Thursday.
Cheryl has bought her train tickets so she & Jillian will be arriving around 11:00-ish in the city.
She's bringing her camera. Lordy me, I hope I look ok. She's hoping to catch us in Brooklyn. Bless her heart for even fighting the crowds & coming in....love her!
I've never had anyone other than Kirby, my former massage therapist, actually see me (who wasn't running it) in a marathon. I'll never forget hearing her voice when I was literally a couple of hundred yards away from the CMM '06 finish line. ;-)
42 degrees with a cold booty.
I wore a long sleeve tech, shorts, compression socks, & NO gloves (don't wear hats!)
My IT Band was talking to me on the hills & my behind never really warmed up.
The rest of me was fine, though, odd....
I cannot wait to get taped by the "Tape Queen" at Pro Motion on Thursday.
Cheryl has bought her train tickets so she & Jillian will be arriving around 11:00-ish in the city.
She's bringing her camera. Lordy me, I hope I look ok. She's hoping to catch us in Brooklyn. Bless her heart for even fighting the crowds & coming in....love her!
I've never had anyone other than Kirby, my former massage therapist, actually see me (who wasn't running it) in a marathon. I'll never forget hearing her voice when I was literally a couple of hundred yards away from the CMM '06 finish line. ;-)