Lots of "H" words.....

Hot, Humid, Hilly, Heat.....
Bleh, bleh, & more bleh...
As they say, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.."
I overshot my goal of 9 miles this morning so I walked most of the last 1.5 miles of it.
Overall it was a 10:27 pace & I'm just fine & dandy with that since this is my first REAL dose of humidity this year for a "longish" run. (9.55 miles at 1:39:43)  Longest run I've done since my wedding day, Dec 5th in Vegas. Joe's got some groin soreness this week. Guess I spoke too soon a few blogs back. I pray that it isn't a huge issue on Saturday. Let's hope mother nature eases up on the humidity.

Yesterday, I did nothing other than the fit test at Endurance Sports.
I had a horrible time blowing the air out of my body & staying under long enough to get a GOOD reading so David estimated the results, bless his heart. Needless to say I wasn't that surprised at my BMI test results. I was not too thrilled to learn that I've lost 3/4 of an inch on my height in the last year. WTH?  Apparently, I can do nothing & still burn approximately 1400 calories a day. My V02 results were off the charts for my age bracket of 40-49. Superior is 36.9 but I got a 40.4!!  I'd pat myself on my back but that proves that I do NOT run efficiently at all. If there's anything that I learned from "Lore of Running" is the fact that even though your V02 results might be high, if you're a sloppy runner it won't matter one bit. They had an awesome treadmill there that I felt like I could fly on so that helped, I'm sure. WAY better than Harvey's treadmills. I snagged a good deal on a bike shirt there. Let's hope I find time to use it!

We went to the 'boro for burgers off the grill at the Heusers. Yummy!!!  Jeff can do up some great burgers!
Then we headed off to the Saturday evening Easter service at Murphy center. World Outreach Church is awesome & G. Allen Jackson has the best personality of just about any preacher I've ever heard. I just wish that we weren't 30-35 mins from that church. :-(  Totally enjoyed the service, which included Michael W. Smith singing also.

Today, we're heading to the first hour or so of the Sounds game then we'll head over to Bridgestone for the Preds play off game. If they win tonight, the place will be exploding with excitement.

Hope everyone has a wonderful & safe Easter.

And week it has been.....

Last Sunday: Rest (I should've been stretching more...)
Monday: 5 hilly, humid miles on the Mach Tenn Tri course 10:01 pace & 35 mins elliptical
Tuesday: 35 mins elliptical in the AM, weight machines/ab ripper P90X PM
Wednesday: 30 mins Jillian Michael's yoga AM & 5.5 miles w/Kim (my garmin was dead & she forgot hers but I feel like we were around a 9:30 pace chatting comfortably)
Thursday: P90X yoga (90 mins of stretching & I sure needed it)
Friday: 6.5 miles around 9:30am at a 10:06 pace. (I walked a few times so I'm happy with this hot/humid/hilly run)

Tomorrow morning I FINALLY get to use my gift certificates for the metabolism, V02, & BMI tests!
Granted I'm not in the BEST shape of my life but these tests will certainly tell me where I'm at right now.

The week started off rough & trust me there are things that I wish I could change about it.
Sometimes I open my mouth without thinking. I'm human & I apologized to the person but didn't hear from them. (No big deal!) 
I was also stalked by a idiot from the past at 5am on Tues as I was heading to the gym. It was a bit funny now that I think about it but disturbing at 5AM! 
I thought to myself, "Self, your world is just too small, be more proactive to get the HELL out of the 'homa!"
Things turned around in the afternoon on Tues when I got a call to come interview at a company I had applied at online the previous Thursday. Long story short, I interviewed yesterday & had the job in a matter of hours offered to me. (The written offer is coming via mail early next week.) I'll know more next week, but I'm excited & scared to death at the same time.

We did trivia in the 'boro with the Heusers on Thurs evening & came in 2nd. See, we're aren't stupid all the time!  Today, we're relaxing. Saturday, we're attending the World Outreach Church services at Murphy center. I can't wait. They always have a GREAT service. Sunday, we're going to the Predators play off game. Go Preds!

8 Flat Miles on Saturday

Running with Jill's Team Rio group won out.
I was up at 4:15am, out the door at 5:15am & at River Park parking lot around 6:30am.
Since what I had to do was run out 4 mi & turn around & come back I decided to try to push my pace a little the first 4 miles.
Mile 1: 9:32 (chatted with a woman doing Boston as a charity runner for a bit)
Mile 2: 9:15 (trying to keep Jill & her pink shorts in my sight)
Mile 3: 9:04 (finally caught Jill)
Mile 4: 9:16 (my turn around point. I was glad because we were on a concrete sidewalk. My body hates concrete)
Mile 5: 9:19 (feeling pretty decent)
Mile 6: 9:55 (took a wrong turn & stopped a walker to ask directions-ha!)
Mile 7: 9:50 (legs feeling tired)
Mile 8: 9:56 (realized I was going to be over .25 short so I ran around the Y parking lot)

Two guys stopped me for my pace & admitted they were trying to catch me. (9:31 pace)
I love running with others because it pushes me. :)
Thanks Jill for the invite.

We had Joe's family in from MI. Nice weekend despite the rain & wind on Sat.
Not doing much of anything today other than stretching.

Tomorrow I'm tackling the Mach Tenn Tri course hills in the heat. bleh!

GO PREDATORS!!!

Mid-April...bring it!

Monday:
1 hr elliptical & a few weight machines
No soreness from Sunday’s 7 mile hilly run

Tuesday:
Ahhh, ab ripper P90X…16 minutes long & I always break a sweat.
I’ve been doing ab stuff at DW Wilson, also.
I hear about people being sore from ripper but so far no soreness still.
5 mile hilly run on the Mach Tenn course (we added a flat mile to it)
9:46 pace which was way better than last week when I did the 4 miles
Started SUPER slow with an 11 minute pace (had to re-tie shoes!)
I negative split the 5 miles easily.
The Mach Tenn Tri run course is actually 3.88 not 4 miles.
I run per what the garmin tells me & every time it’s short exactly the same distance.
Some weight machines afterwards

Wednesday:
58 minutes of P90X “Back & Legs” in the morning.
I was so proud to be awake enough to do it & not sore from the 5 miles.
I am getting stronger…maybe? :-)
35 mins on the elliptical
Jillian Michael’s 30 min yoga after work

Thursday:
Ab ripper in the morning
Some weight machines & 35 mins on the elliptical afternoon

Friday:
Friday is 100% rain, thunderstorms, lightening...bleh!
Elliptical 1 hour

Saturday:
8 miles with some hills in the ‘homa OR get up EARLY & run 8 with “Team Rio” group at some Park off Concord Rd OR pay $40 for 2 races (run the Purity Moosic 5k, then “jog” the 10k.)
I’m only supposed to do 8 miles, not 9.3 so Purity is probably out.

Purity Moosic both races
Pro: I need a fire under my slow ass…a 5k would push me
Pro: Get to Joe’s earlier
Con: the 10k might break me…(7 miles is my longest run since Dec 5th!)
Con: It is $40.00 that I could spend elsewhere although it is a GREAT cause.

Run with Team Rio
Pro: Only 8 miles
Pro: FREE & with other runners
Pro: Get to Joe’s earlier than if I ran in the ‘homa
Con: Still have to get up early to get to a place I’ve never been…

Run in ‘homa
Pro: Sleep in a little
Pro: Free
Con: less motivation
Con: later arrival to Joe’s

(update on Joe’s CMM Full preparation: he’s trained well with no injuries so now if Mother Nature will smile on Apr 30th, that would be Fantastic!)

I’ve got hockey & baseball fever!!!!!

Heat, Hills & some race decisions

7 miles 10:22 pace with hills. I'll take that since I ran hills yesterday & biked for the first time in many months. It wasn't burning up hot yet because we were out shortly after 7:30am Sunday (62 degrees when we started & 67 when we finished.). I'm thinking this is the longest run I've done since Dec 5th so I'm ok with it. (at least it's not like LAST Sunday, bleh!)
Today I think we'll take a picnic to the base beach, mach tenn tri area, even though it's not open yet.
I'd love to soak in some sun, read, & just "veg".

Well, I have until the end of April to decide before race fees go up.
I'm thinking Joe & I will do the Moon Pie race this year. It will hurt my pride if I get a personal worst on it but I am planning 2 practice runs on it. EARLY in the am May 22nd & EARLY in the am June 5th.
2004 time:
1:30:14 9:05
2005 time:
1:31:14 9:08
2006 time:
1:28:59  8:54 
2007: time:
1:29:52  9:00 
2008: cracked shin
2009: we were at Disney World but my shin was still cracked.
2010: I didn't have time to train for it because I had just been given the go ahead to run late April.
So, I'm trying real hard to find an excuse NOT to do it this year but I can't. ha!
I guess my goal is to try to get as close to 1:30 as I can..anything below it will just be gravy for me this year.
I'm also tossing around the idea of doing the Memorial Day Dash. Joe should be healed from the CMM full by then & he's never done it. I think he'll like running around the Sounds field since he spends so much time there with the neighbors. Ha!

Gesh, the heat!

Gripes about weather:

We’ve had some hot, early Spring days but the fact that it snaps back to cooler weather overnight with the tornado threats makes my sinuses spasm. I know I gripe about this all the time but again, you can probably measure the barometric pressure if you plug into my sinus cavities. Arg! Don’t get me started with all this flowery stuff floating in the wind…bleh!

Gripes about my current “read”:

I’ve had a biography written by Andrew Morton about Madonna for a long time. I kept putting off reading it. (got it off a bargain table at Big Lots) I love/hate her really. She is a “sign” of my youth, though. Oh, how many times I’ve danced to her early stuff when nobody was looking. LOL! I dressed like her, bought her music, & saw her in concert. Love her but man, oh man, what a character… I’m learning stuff in this book about her that just isn’t too likeable. Eh, to each his own… I’ll keep the memory of listening to “La Isla Bonita” on the Ft. Lauderdale beach during Spring break ‘87 in my head & forget the “ugly” stuff. :-)(Amazing at how much Lady Gaga seems to emulate her.) Next up will be Michael Oher’s book, “I beat the odds”.

Gripes about my running:

At my age, I hope I know my limits. I have come to the conclusion that the P90X is keeping my legs sore & not allowing for a full recovery to run at a decent pace. Granted I’ve not been doing the “plan”. I’ve just been inserting the workouts here n’ there during my week. If there were 9 days in a week instead of 7, I could keep some of these workouts but that just can’t happen anymore. If only I didn’t love sleep so much & didn’t have to work. LOL!

After April, I’ve made a promise to myself to keep the Jillian Michael’s workouts in rotation (yoga & abs). I will keep the ab ripper X & occasionally I may do the yoga X. For me to stay stretched out & injury free, I have to keep yoga on the calendar no matter what. All the other stuff will just keep me sore/slow. Late Nov/early Dec, I’ll get back to some P90X. I’ve loved the variety, though! Also, I need time to get that little thing in my laundry room out on the road, too…the bike!

Monday: (actually still had some soreness behind my knees)

50 minutes on the elliptical
Some weight machines
Ab ripper X

Tuesday: (motrin PM night before. Ibuprophen Rocks!)

J. Michael’s yoga in the AM
6 mi run after work (9:43 pace, sure beat Sunday’s death march)
35 mins elliptical to stretch out legs

Wednesday:

P90X 43 min Cardio in the AM (sweatfest!)
Yard work after work (cross training!)

Thursday:

Ab ripper in the AM
4 mi run on the Mach Tenn Tri course (ugh, hills & heat at 10:18 pace for me)
Weight machines

Friday:

1 hr elliptical

Saturday:

A little local 5k sponsored by Northlake Elementary School.
As you know local 5ks are not “true” 5ks most of the time.
2.85 miles in 26:35…(hills & heat & I had to walk 2X to get my heart rate under control)
I was the 2nd woman in but hey…it was local. :-)
Couple hours later I dusted off the Fuji for 17.5 miles 15.9 mph with Jessie & Keena.
Ugh, headwinds/crosswinds & well, it’s just freaking hot right now & my body isn’t ready for it. There should be a law against it getting above 80 in April. Just sayin’…

“Arthur” is playing at the Drive In. Yeah!
If it’s not raining that’s where we’ll be tonight. :-)

Thrashed & dehydrated

6 hilly miles that turned into a walk/jog after the 2.5 mile mark.
I know better than to run w/o drinking water.
Running on nothing but coffee doesn't work & I'm a stupid idiot for doing it.
It was 57 when I started & pretty breezy so ideally, this should have been somewhat of decent run.
Then I reminded myself that this is the 2nd 6 mi run I've had since Dec 18th. (I looked at my log!)
My upper back was sorta tight from P90X yoga yesterday & my calves were incredibly tight.
I've not had any ibuprophen in over 2 days either..
All I know is that I'm logging 6 mi at an 11:44 pace & I'll live with that for now since it did involve climbing up a hill that makes the 4.25 mi hill at Moon Pie seem miniscule.
My legs felt thrashed but I kept reminding myself that I have well over 6 months to get ready for New York.
God help me.....

Last week of March

P90X, running, yoga, etc:

I’m putting off buying the pull-up bar simply because I just don’t have the time/energy to do the “arm/chest” specific dvds. Just don't see it happening....
Monday night I did “Back & Legs” for the 2nd time. Like before, when they do the pull up bar exercises, I use my 5 lb weights to do various exercises. Yes, I’m ONLY using 5 lb weights but believe it or not my arms/shoulders were sore this time around. Jillian’s yoga was a bit challenging on the mat Tuesday morning. I drove over to the gym to do the elliptical right after I finished “Legs & Back” for 50 minutes to loosen the tightness. Easy to do when you’re distracted by “DWTS”. LOL! (I’m rooting for Hines Ward & Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid-can’t believe he’s 50 yrs old!) It worked! No where near as sore as the first time I did the dreaded “Back & Legs”.
Tuesday afternoon, weight machines/30 mins on elliptical. (yoga that morning)
Wednesday, 5 mi (9:57 pace-calves were tight the last 2 m) & 30 mins yoga. I felt ok despite just being barely under a 10 min pace. Thank You, Motrin PM for a good night’s rest & almost no soreness on Wednesday AM.
Thursday AM, ab ripper P90X. (16 minute sweat!)
Thursday PM, weight machines & elliptical for 35 minutes…gotta get the gym time in!
Friday, 4 mi run after work (9:44 pace) & MORE elliptical. (what can I say, it loosens my legs.)
Saturday 30 mins Jillian Michael's ab dvd. (OMG, forgot how hard that thing can be!)I took a 45 min break & dived right into the 90 min P90X yoga. I feel all stretched out now.
Tomorrow is a 6 mile run in Joe's hilly neighborhood.

Anne Frank Center in NYC:

I am going to try to get to the Anne Frank Center in NYC when we head there for the marathon in Nov. I heard on the news that there’s talk it will move to the Ground Zero area. I’m not planning much this time around as far as sight seeing because I want it all to be about the marathon on this visit. Re-reading the famous diary has sparked my interest in the museum. When I think that it was only 67 yrs ago that they were found by the Nazi’s, I realize that my grandma was here living in Tullahoma raising her kids freely & happily. Really puts it all in perspective. I pray that nothing like this ever happens anywhere. This has to be one of the greatest tragedies ever written.

Seven Random Things About Me:

From what I’ve read on other blogs, they’re supposed to be stuff that most people wouldn’t know about you. I get these things all the time from people & ignore them but I guess I’m going to answer here.

1. I’ve never had the chicken pox…both sisters got it at the same time but I didn’t.
2. I’m the oldest of three girls. (Deb & Steph) Deb is 42 & Steph is 40.
3. I lost a baby in 1991. I was only 1 month along but some day I hope to see him in heaven. :) (I just know it would’ve been a boy because my sisters had all boys.)
4. My ex husband got me running while living in Germany. The greatest gift he ever gave me.
5. My first job was working behind a concession stand in the local movie theater. Oh my, if those walls could talk…we had WAY too much fun.
6. I feel naked if I don’t constantly have a book going, preferably a good biography.
There is something about reading what makes people tick that fascinates me.
7. I think of exercise as like “brushing my teeth”. I have to do some form of it every day.

April...Bring it!