new blog

I've moved my blog here: http://suzshe.wordpress.com/

This new blog is an overall blog. It's not just for running. You can click on tags on the right if you want to see all the exercise posts. All my runs will be tagged there.

short and sweet

I did a 2miler, but hey, glad I can still do that after being a bum the last couple of weeks. It felt good to get out there. Feels real good now for having done it. I figure I'll stick to 2 and 3milers until I have plans to do something further and then I'll start training. It's not much of a time commitment with the shorter runs. I am aiming for 30min of movement. I added a few minutes of walking onto my run to make up the extra time.

I'm back on my summer work schedule, 2 days a week. I wish I could say that now that the kids are home I'll have more time to run. Sadly, that's not the case. The only hope is for Matt to get home after work and go then since Anna doesn't have as many after school activities anymore. Except afternoon is the hottest time of the summer. Mornings are better. But the getting up part is hard.... arghhh. ......more sleep, less wine, more sleep, less wine, more sleep, less wine.......

hazy hot and humid

it could have been hotter I guess, but it was still miserable. We (Becky and I in Wilbraham) did about 3.6mi which seemed like twice that amount. The hat did nothing for the sweat dripping into my eyes. I don't know how I'm going to do this all summer long. I'm going to have to get creative. Maybe a fan clipped to the visor of my hat.

no baby turkeys

No goal in sight and I still ran. I did 3.2mi around the neighborhood. I didn't even bring my watch! That's a major accomplishment for me. At first I felt strange not knowing how fast I was going (hence knowing how far I'd gone and when I could stop). Eventually my mind took over and I was once again thinking about the day of the marathon. It was a good run. No wildlife viewings.

VCM 2007!

there is so much to say, so much has been said. I guess I will let the pictures speak for most of it: http://picasaweb.google.com/suzshe/VCMRelay2007

There were ups and downs. I've got to make a blog entry to list those ups and downs and things we can do better next year. But not tonight, not tonight. I'm still on a high from 2 days ago. I've searched online for other races. I can't wait a whole year to do that again! Becky and I have been talking about a race in Portland and a race in Newburyport. I found something online for the kids to participate in.

Back to the present, and the race..... I had my watch on me and recorded each of the miles. Here is the breakdown:

	mileage
lap 1	0.4	3:33
lap 2	1	10:19
lap 3	1	10:45
lap 4	2	21:13
lap 5	1	10.39
lap 6	0.2	2:08

That results in a 10:30 mile. I can't believe I ran a 10:19 mile. I think that must have been the downhill at the beginning.

Our team did awesome. Much better than Matt's spreadsheet predicted. We finished in 4h:50m:34s. Our pace was 11min 5sec. Unbelievable. Yay Saps!

I cannot wait to do it again.

THE LAST RUN!!

I went out and did my last 4miler, last run before D-day. I got up early. I do enjoy the early hour. It's just so hard to remember that when the alarm goes off. Except this morning I was awake at 5:30 even tho my alarm wasn't to go off until 6:00.

It wasn't the best of my runs, it wasn't the worst. On Becky's recommendation I ate a banana before my run. I do think that helped. I had more energy this morning than I did on Tuesday. Maybe it made me run faster. I ran 10:37 on average. All miles were sub 11:00.

I do enjoy seeing the wild life (and I'm not talking the human variety), even in my urban sprawl neighborhood. Last week I saw about a dozen baby Canada geese, Tuesday a turkey flew in front of me from tree to tree (I didn't realize they could fly that high), today I saw, what I imagine to be, the same turkey on the side of the road watching me. Anna says she thinks that it was a different turkey, that it was the boy turkey and the girl turkey is somewhere with the eggs. She says the next time I go out running that I'll see the babies. The next time I go out running............

last 3miler before race

So the only plans for the week are to fit in a 3miler and 4miler. Once again our evenings are just too busy so I got up early this morning and did a 3miler. It wasn't an easy one. I blame that on the earliness of it all. But I did it. And I'm glad of that.

I find myself thinking about what I will do next week. Will I keep up with this when there's no goal in sight? I'm afraid I won't. It's not easy finding the time to fit these runs in. Will I be motivated to find the time if I don't HAVE to do it? These are my worries. Even tho the run was difficult this morning it was still nice to be out before the masses. The neighborhood was peaceful. I tooled around and did some things before the kids and Matt (and Chris) got up. It was some good "me time". But getting up early isn't easy. SO many obstacles.

5.5 baby!

Well I can do it. As long as it's 50deg and rainy anyway.

I had a great run. I went through Fidelity and down Naticook to Joey Road. Was going to stop at Peter, which would have given me 5mi, but figured if I could do Peter I could certainly do Joey, so I did Joey. And he was good- I mean it was good.

Between the 2 and 2.5 mi my knee started hurting. I hope it means nothing. I was really bummed for a bit but by the time I got to Peter (2.5mi) the pain had gone away. It returned after I stopped running but feels fine now.

I ran 11:12min/mi. I'm really happy with that. I'm so psyched that I've done a 5.5mi run and that it wasn't hard. Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!

Can you tell I'm psyched?

Oh and I saw baby Canada geese on my trip. Almost ran them over.

taper?

I really shouldn't be tapering for a 5.6mi run, but 2.2mi was all I could fit in today. I ran in the high heat of the day. It's a fairly mild day, around 74deg, but still not too comfortable for me. I ran at about the same time as I'll be running on race day. Not on purpose really, mostly I was busy doing other things looked at the clock and thought, better get this in before Anna's bus comes. Only gave myself around 1/2 hour to run. I ran a 10:49min mile. Funny how 2.2mi feels so lame when last Fall it would have been a major accomplishment.

not a run, but.....

We hiked Tuckerman yesterday. Technically that is not a run. But it certainly feels like I did something today. I put my exercise into weightwatchers and I earned 21 activity points (meaning I can eat 21 extra points of food and still lose weight, 23 points is my usual daily intake). A run of 5miles normally earns me 8 activity points. Oh and BTW I did NOT eat 21 extra points yesterday.

I am amazed at how much easier the hike was this year. I'm usually very slow and spend the whole time apologizing to my hiking buddies about slowing them down. Yesterday I hiked with Matt, and where I don't think he hiked as fast as he usually does, I still think we made very good time. He looked back a few times and asked if I was ok (I was right on his heals the whole time) and I very honestly said I was fine. There's something to this running thing. I may make a habit of it.

excuses excuses

excuses seem to be the theme of the week. Here are mine: no time, too hot, no energy.... Guess those are the big ones. I started on Sunday with a 5miler then tried going out on Tuesday for a 4mile run and just didn't have it in me. I ended up *gasp* walking for a 1/2 hour. Better than nothing, but not enough. I didn't get a chance to get out again until this morning. I was determined to fit it in so I got up early and did a 4.7mile run. I'm so glad I did it. Becky just sent a reminder, the race is 2 weeks away!

Tomorrow we're hiking Tuckerman. It's 2 miles up, 2 miles back. That's gotta count for something. I still need to do a 5 mile run for the week and I don't know how I'm going to fit that in. I'm afraid I won't feel up for it on Sunday. We're going to a Red Sox game. It's going to be a long day.

ouch

I feel so old. My back hurts, my knee hurts and my achille's tendon. But I DID IT! 5 miles in the bag. I did the first 2.5mi in 27:45 and the second half in 28:00 even. That translates to 11:09 minute miles.

I didn't do a loop this time. I did a there-and-back. The weather was perfect. I was quite comfortable except for the pain in my achilles. The knee didn't hurt until the very last little bit. The back hurt after I stopped. I'm sure I'll be fine in a little bit. It feels so good to sit.

not bad, not bad

was not feeling like going AT ALL. But my friend John encouraged me and I did it. 3.7mi. It wasn't a tough one. It was kind of a medium one. I had some good random music.

Had some tightness in my lower calves again. Not even sure the area is considered the calves. I'll have to look it up online. But it didn't hurt like last run, just tight. It feels fine now. Probable would benefit from a little stretching.

Gotta do a 5er this weekend. I'm a bit nervous about it.

only 3 miles

As I was leaving the house for my run I told Matt, "I'm only doing 3 today". He asked if it felt good to say "only 3". Yes, yes it did.

Was very tempted to cut my run short today but I persevered. I find it easy to make excuses for why I should stop. Like tonight Anna had piano lessons and I couldn't go out until Matt came home from work. So I'm out there until 15min before her lesson. I tried telling myself to stop early so she wasn't late. But I didn't let myself. I'm important too! And this is MY time.

I just looked at my spreadsheet and I was supposed to do 3.5mi, I only did 3mi. Oops. Oh well, I'll save that for Friday. My calves were tight today. I'll need to do some stretches before my next run. And.... note to me.... BRING KLEENEX!! I never remember and I need it every run.

nice run, longest yet

I did it! Longest run evah. 4.5miles. It didn't get too hard until the last 0.5 miles. That was a whole mile over my previous record! Wow.

I ran with Becky in Wibraham. I was thinking that out of everyone training for this marathon I have the crappiest training route. Christa is at the tip of Long Island, that's gotta be the best. Ali is in Burlington, need I say more. Tara has a nice country road. Becky has a beautiful town with beautiful landscaped houses. Even Karen has some areas that are more interesting than where I live. Runnability is going to be a major factor in our future house hunting.

I don't know what my time was. I brought my watch but forgot to wear it. It doesn't matter. I'm sure it was somewhere around 11min. My legs are pretty tired now. I need to strengthen them. I started doing some simple strength exercises on my off days.

I wore new running shorts today. Becky gave me a pair. They were awesome. Gotta start a list of things needed for race day. So far the list goes something like this: (not necessarily things that I need to buy beforehand, just things I need to have on hand that day)
towel
tank top
running shorts
watch
hat (or visor? I get so hot and sweaty I wonder if a visor would be cooler)
ipod and headphones
sunglasses
sneakers
socks
underwear
some kind of food
water bottle
water

Any other suggestions welcome.

1 in 10

I think that's what Ali said..... 1 out of every 10 runs is that dream run, the one you strive for every time you run. Today was that run. I did 3 miles, which isn't the most I've done, but it's right up there. And it was great. My mind was wandering all over the place. I completed the run in 32:56. Consistency is my middle name.

So now I have 9 sucky runs to look forward to. sigh

still a challenge

It started and ended difficultly. The middle was ok. I am proud that I made it the full 3.5mi but a little miffed that it doesn't seem to be getting any easier.

I did the interior neighborhood zigzag loop. 3.5 laps. It's boring but safe. I need to do 4.5mi this weekend and I think I may do a loop that takes me far from home (well as far as a 4.0 mile loop can take me). I'm nervous about being that far away from home. I may take a fanny pack and bring my cell phone.

My overall time was 11:19 per mile. The first mile I actually broke 11:00, 10:49! I really hope it starts getting easier from here on out. I'm getting nervous that there's only 5 weeks left and I haven't gone above 3.5mi.

catch up

I fell behind this week. It was a tough week. I'm going to blame it on the cold that I seem to have come down with. The week started off tough and I thought it would pick up, but it never seemed to. Each and every run was hard. But I stuck with it and only came in shy 0.5mi for the week. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do a 4miler like I was supposed to. (I posted a link on the right to my training schedule)

I'm pretty proud of myself for going out and doing a couple of miles today even tho I feel like crap. I wish I could say I felt better afterwards, but..... still feeling pretty crappy. Going to bed soon. Tomorrow will be a day of rest.

I find it quite interesting that I ran faster today then I normally do. My first mile I did in 10:39. That's considerably faster than my normal 11:00. Guess I just wanted to get it over with.

yesterday, 3mi

I did 3mi yesterday. Broke it up and did 2miles then had to come into the house to blow my nose and get some water. It was a hard 3miles. I was supposed to do 4 but...... oh well.

not an easy 3

(posting for last night's run)
Yes, I made it. It wasn't easy. I'm feeling it today too. Lesson learned: do not take 3 days off from running, it will set you back.

Got in a discussion with my neighbor this morning about running (again). She keeps saying "I'm not a runner", "my lungs aren't made for it", "I run like a smoker", etc....... I'm sorry but I think that's such bullshit. I don't think anyone's lungs are made for it. I use to think just like her, way back before I had it in my head to start running. But the truth is you can train your body to do anything. You just need patience. You aren't going to run a 5K right away. You start with 30 sec here, then a mile, then a few more.... Given time I could probably run a full marathon. It might take me 3 years to get there, but with patience and perseverance I'm pretty sure I could do it. Now the question remains, do I want to do it? And at this moment in my life I'm going to say an emphatic, NO WAY!!

not so easy, not so breezy

only 2 miles. Taking 3 days off makes coming back all the harder. Still, 2miles is way more than I could have done a year ago. I like to look at the positives.

Not much to say about the run. Glad I went. Glad it's over.

easy breezy 3.5

I did it! My long run for the week. 3.5mi, the most I've ever run in my life. Are you sick of hearing that yet? I'm not!

I went down through Whittier development and back, 2mi then a mile and a half around my neighborhood loop. It broke up it.

an orange cat peeked out from behind a car, a dog ran out after me with fangs (owner called it back), 2 ducks flying overhead, a very cute brown border collie with beautiful eyes who assumed the play mode at me with a tennis ball (wish I could have played with him/her), a black lab on leash who leaned toward me, a house for sale, new on the market, that looks a lot like ours and had a free handout with all the specs, larger interior than ours, not too many people out, the border collie's family was nice, little boy, little girl, father smiled, listened to DMB (my new favorite to put me in motion), Sarah Mclachlan, Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovitt, wonder what he's doing these days, too bad he and Julia didn't last, wonder why they got married in the first place, is she pregnant again? OOh pain in my side, glad I'm on the last 1/2 mi, have to go back and get that handout on the house to show matt.......

OK, enough of my ramblings. I'm sure there were more, but those were the highlights. I had my watch. My first lap was 2mi which I did in 22:05, the next lap was 1mi that I did at 11:02. I may be slow but I sure am consistent. Now if I can just keep that up for 5.5mi we'll be all set.

1+ mile on 'mill

It wasn't on the spreadsheet but I just felt like it. We went to BJs at lunchtime and I ate some samples. Figured I'd burn some of them off. I just did a mile running then walked the rest. 42min worth. That is all.

'mill, slightly better performance

I set the 'mill for 3mi, did 1.5 running, 0.5 walking, 1.0 running. It was hard, but it felt good. Especially now that it's over.

It's snowing again. sigh

dreadmill...... so true, so true

I dreaded it. And because I dreaded it, I didn't perform well. I did my 3miles, but not all at a run. They were 14.3 min miles. That's not even going to get us across the finish line. Good thing the marathon isn't on a treadmill.

That's all I'm going to say about that one. It's not even worth the blog space.

3 miles baby!

I made it 3 whole miles. So now I know I can do the first leg as long as it's 37deg, sunny, I have music, my hands aren't freezing, I have kleenex and it's in my neighborhood.

This will be a quick message so I can go out and play in the snow with the kids......

the stats:
mile 1 - 9:17+1:35 (stop in between for kleenex and gloves)
mile 2 - 11:38
mile 3 - 12:04

I intentionally slowed down in the last mile so I'm not surprised to see that. All that's important now is that I made it. Yay!

confident run

Today I did not want to run. I was supposed to run yesterday but blew it off. Running on the 'mill is to be avoided at all cost and I wasn't able to run after Matt got home. So I put it off until this evening. And I DID NOT want to go. But I made myself. The spreadsheet is god. It says I run 2.5 miles, I run. (ignoring the fact that I just edited that spreadsheet the other night and if I wanted to change all the entries to 1 mile I could do it). But what I am trying to say (in not a very quick way) is that every time I go into a run thinking I don't want to run it, I come out of the run feeling awesome and so glad I did it. Why can't I remember that? Maybe I do and that's what got me out there in the first place. I don't know.

But it was an awesome run. It was easy. My lungs burned here and there. Mostly on the little hill. But I tried some deep breathing exercises and that helped a lot. I had a side cramp for a few seconds that went away with the deep breathing. I ran with my sneakers very loose. My toes never felt numb. In fact it felt like I was wearing slippers, just like the salesperson said it should. My legs felt strong the whole way. I could have gone 3mi. I was thinking I would but decided there was plenty of time for that. In fact my next run is 3mi and with this new found confidence I'm sure I can do it.

Here are my stats: (wore my watch, thanks to M@'s reminder)
I did my favorite neighborhood zigzag loop (see previous posts)

Total distance: 2.5mi
lap 1: 1mi, 11:08
lap 2: 1/2mi, 5:50
lap 3: 1/2mi, 5:27
lap 4: 1/2mi, 6:00
Total time: 28:25

Music: (that I can remember and in no particular order)
DMB Spoon, Louisiana Bayou, #41, Say Goodbye
Alanis Morisette Head over Heals
BNL Jane
other songs tried to start but I forwarded by them. Guess I'm beyond the Tom Petty kick. Or maybe just taking a break. DMB was the music of choice this time around.

Oh yeah, the neighborhood was buzzing even though it was 33deg out there. A local newspaper was soliciting all over, there were probably about 6 teenagers that I passed over and over. People were out shoveling. A dog tried to trip me. Someone beeped at me (I think). I'm not comfortable with the audience. Hopefully that will be different when they are actually cheering me on.

run, interrupted

I waited for matt to get home from work. I made him and the kids their dinner and got myself all ready. Went out around 5:35 and got done around 6:05. So that was 2.5 miles in 30min. Yes, that's what I said, 2.5 MILES! It hurt, it burned, but it wasn't all that bad. My thighs still hurt from painting this past weekend. Sounds kind of strange but I guess I must have done a lot of deep knee bends. I did a different loop. maybe I'll post the route some other time. Not feeling the motivation to do it right at the moment.

I got a cramp. Becky jinxed me. She posed the question yesterday, what to do about cramps? I half listened to Tara's response. All I could remember was the part about holding your arm above your head. So I did that, but it wasn't going away. I probably ran with it for about .2mi until I got to my house, which was the 2mi mark. I was determined to make it 2mi without stopping. I walked it out in the driveway then did another .5mi. Does that count as doing 2.5mi? I didn't stop moving in between.

On the advice of my teammates I have upped my mileage. I think it's true that on raceday that the adrenaline will get me through the last half mile, but I've never done this before and think I'll need to prove to myself that I can actually run 5.5miles. The extra confidence will calm the nerves on raceday. Right now it's hard to believe that I'll actually be able to do it. That's over an hour of running. OMG!

2miles, what a breeze!

who knows why, maybe it's running in the morning, maybe it's a change of music, maybe it's because I had a glass of water beforehand, but today's 2miles was soooo easy! I need more like that. I am amazed every time I get to this point, that I've gotten to this point! If that makes any sense whatsoever. I just feel so utterly amazed that I can do this. It feels great.

I did my usual loop around the neighborhood. I had a mix of some of my favorite songs on the pod. I made the mix for the car but it works well for running. I find that I don't need rockin' tunes for running. They just need to be songs I like. They can be real slow or real fast, it doesn't matter. They don't even need to have a specific beat. I was listening to Break Your Heart, it's super slow. But I was singing, well lip syncing and it totally got my mind off of my feet.

Speaking of my feet. I wore my new sneaks and made sure I had thin socks and my toes didn't go numb! Yay! I notice I keep my toes really tight even when there is plenty of room for them to move around. I was conscious about loosening them up a bit.

OK I had more to write, I was thinking of things as I was running. But that was about an hour ago and I've forgotten most of what I meant to type. Gotta go help with the trim painting now.

almost 2mi, 'mill

I made it 1.8mi, ran for 25min on the slowmill. slowmill, dreadmill, suckmill.....

I psyched myself out. Probably could have made it. It's a case where too much information isn't good for you. I read somewhere (or heard somewhere) that when you get a chill while running that means you are dehydrated. I didn't drink any water this morning, just 2 diet cokes. I know, I know, not good. This was at about 24min when this happened. So I decided to go to 25min (1.8mi approx.) then walk the rest. So I did end up going the full 2mi, just not all at a run. Boy am I sweaty. (yes I'm drinking a tall glass of water)

I watched the Police Synchronicity tour on DVD. Matt gave it to me for my bday. It brought me back. I was probably around 13/14. Funny hair, funny clothes, Sting was still hot even tho he also had funny hair and clothes. I wasn't a major Police fan until after they split up. I remember liking wrapped around your finger, can still picture the video with Sting playing the bass or cello, or whatever it is. And I remember hating King of Pain, only because everyone else loved it so much. It wasn't until Dream of the Blue Turtles, Sting's first solo that I went back and revisited the earlier stuff. Matt and I are going to see them at Fenway in July. Can't wait.

the new sneaks

product page
in ice blue

only 1 mile on the 28th

I forgot to blog that I did a mile outside on the 28th. I bought new sneaks after work and HAD to try them out. I didn't have much time. Matt got home late and Anna had a piano lesson at 7:00. I went out at 6:30 and did a quick mile starting at the house and did the neighborhood loop. It was quite easy and I didn't feel like I got much out of it. Funny how perspectives change. Last year I thought a mile was out of my reach.

Today I need to do 2miles but don't have a chance to do it outside. I will have to use the dreadmill, sigh. Hey kids, what do you want to watch........................

2miles again!

Here is the spreadsheet that Matt made for me This link doesn't always show an up to date spreadsheet. I have to remember to publish it periodically. But it's updated as of today.

Today was the best run yet because I went with my darling husband. It was harder and easier. I was out of breath from talking, but the conversation was quite distracting. We did the same route as last time. Matt drove it last night and confirmed that it was in fact a mile. Google Earth does not lie.

Matt saved me from a negligent dog owner's wandering dog. He nosed my butt. Not sure what his intentions were but his growl was alarming. Lego nosed me in the same place when I got home. There's either some scent on my butt that attracts dogs or perhaps Lego smelled the other dog's scent. Regardless, time to wash these leggings. And probably take a shower too.

I JUST DID 2 MILES!!

Yes, I am yelling. I can't believe I made it. All you long distance runners must think I'm crazy. But that is the most I've ever run in my life. And I feel good! I don't feel like I'm going to die. I had the same experience as last run, after I got past a mile I felt great. Right before that hit I felt real crappy. My lungs were hurting and I didn't think I'd make it past a mile and a half. But after a mile I knew I'd make it the full 2 miles that I'd planned.

I did a new route. I will try to post the image from Google Earth......


Well it's kind of hard to see, but I zig zag within the development. The route is 1 mile so I did that twice tonight. At one point I had this flock of ducks buzzing me over and over. They probably went by me 8 times in different directions. I asked them if they were lost. Must have been the endorphins making me crazy.

I didn't wear my watch tonight so I don't know how fast (slow) my miles were. But heck, I don't care.

Week 3 Day 3 - 1.5mi

today I had every intention of going out on the road but my first step almost landed me on my ass so I resigned myself to the dreadmill. It really didn't end up being all that bad. I listened/watched DMB the central park concert. LOVE that song Cortez. It kept me sufficiently distracted for at least a 1/4 of a mile.

I experienced the "groove" I've heard others talk of. I have never felt that before. It didn't hit until after I'd passed a mile. I lowered the speed a touch and it just got so easy. It was almost as natural as if I were walking. That lasted for about 3 miles but then I started over analyzing it and it got hard again. Now I can't wait to feel that again. This must be what keeps people going back for more. There's a small glimmer of hope that I may actually become a runner yet!

I used my watch and broke it into 3 laps, each 1/2mi. I did the first mile at 4.5, the second at 4.3 and the third at 4.2 except for the last 0.1mi I did at 4.5. The first leg was 6:37, the 2nd 7:00 and the third 7:04. That's an average of 13:47 per mile. Not great, but it's the dreadmill. I'm faster outside.

Week 3 - 1.5mi

I ran outside in almost 70deg weather. It was awesome. I went after Matt got out of work. I did a loop around the neighborhood. I started at the end of Spruce, ran down Douglas, then a left onto Cedar and a right onto Beech, then a left onto Camp Sargent, back to Spruce and finish the loop. I did 2 loops then started back towards home. Google Earth says that's 1.47 miles but I called that good since I walked from the house down to the end of Spruce. It was harder than last time but not too bad. Makes me scared to bump it up to 2mi. It's going to be very hard.

It's funny, I was noticing how when I ran by snow I could feel the coolness coming from it even tho I was a few feet away. When I wasn't near snow it felt warmer.

I need new music in my ipod. I'm still liking TP but need a little more variety. Maybe some Police to get me psyched for Fenway!

outside 1.5miles, week 3

the weather is right, the roads are clear, it's light out until 7:00, and it feels so good. I went for a run at 6:30pm. Did my first outside run over 1mile. Does that make sense? It wasn't too bad. I felt like stopping once and that was on the last tiny hill when I was almost done. My shoelace came untied with about 0.1mi left but I didn't stop. If all runs were like tonight's I would have absolutely no problems.

March 8th

I did a miler on the 'mill on March 8th but forgot to blog it. That is all.

Week 1 Day 3

I ran outside. It's 47deg. I just wore a long sleeve shirt and pants. I was plenty warm enough. But it hurt real bad. My lungs were on fire the whole way. I kept waiting for it to go away but it lasted the whole mile. I was supposed to do 1.5 but I just couldn't make it. I ended up walking for .8mi. I ran down Camp Sargent starting at Arbor then took a right into Whittier place and ran all around the horseshoe until I got to Camp Sargent again, where I started walking. I walked up the hill (Cedar I think), down Douglas, and finished by walking down Spruce St. Google Earth said it was a total of 2miles.

I ran a 11:45 min mile.

Matt's turn!

Week 1 Day 2 of M@'s fancy spreadsheet

I was supposed to do this 1mi yesterday but it was a busy day. Well the morning wasn't. I was just lazy in the morning. But why do something today when you can put it off until tomorrow.

I watched the first episode, season 1, of Grey's Anatomy. I have started watching that this year, season 3, so I am backtracking. I was so engrossed that it made the run go by really fast.

I did 30min, 1mi being at a jog. 3.3 walk and 4.3 jog are my standards.

back at it

M@ did me up a running schedule. I think he used his schedule and modified it for my very moderate schedule. I think I will do better if there's a spreadsheet telling me I have to run. So far so good. It told me I had to run a mile today and low and behold, that's just what I did. I take direction well.

I did 30min. I believe 14.5 were jogging. I think M@ is right that it takes longer to do a mile on our treadmill. I don't think I am jogging any slower than I do outside and yet it takes me much longer. But then maybe my strides are longer outside?

I watched DMB the Central Park concert. Ended with Crush, my fave.

'mill

I watched the Phantom of the Opera today. I used to exercise to that tape years ago when I lived at home with my parents, I think that was the summer after college. I think they had a step machine. I know they had a rower, and I think they also had a bike at one time. It was a great tape to listen to. I think Matt's mom gave me the tape. It became an instant favorite and the beginning is great to exercise to. I remember being so pumped when the title song came on, "BAHHHHHH BAH BAH BAH BAH BAHHHH...." That was the culmination of my session then the cool down was the next song, Music of the Night. This time tho I never even made it to the title song. That will start my next run. The movie is different than the opera. The kids were watching The Hunchback of Notre Dame while I was exercising and I'm just now getting the parallels. Too funny.

I started with a 5min warmup then ran for 15min (1mi+, but not much more) then completed the 1.5mi at a fast walk. I should have gone longer. sigh. For some reason I thought I had done 2mi, but just remembered I had programmed it for 1.5.

'mill, 5min + 1mile + 10min +17min

yeah that was a silly title. Here's the skinny: 5min walk, then 1mile jog, then 10min walk, but GG wasn't over so put it on an extra 20min and walked, but GG got over when there was 3min left, hence a 17min walk instead. The mile was hard and I almost went back to walking a couple of times. But I thought of M@ out doing his 6mi run and I felt like a dufus for not being able to do a measly mile. So I persevered.

I'm *sniff* on the last *sniff* GG DVD *sniff sniff*. M@, wonderful man (so sorry about the Dave Matthews comment) downloaded for me 2 of the first episodes of the current season. So I've got that going for me.

'mill, 20min

I set the 'mill for 20min and watched it get to 0.1mi then started jogging. Jogged til 4min, which was over 1 mile of jogging, but not much over. Then walked the last 4mi. So that's that. Listened to the pod, mostly TP. LOVE the new TP CD. Love it more and more.

Need to put something on the wall in front of the 'mill for inspiration. Maybe pix of kids. Or pix of flat abs and muscular calves. Or maybe Dave Matthews....... Sorry M@.

outside, 1mile

I jogged the whole way up the hill! Wahoo! It was hard and it took a while to recover. I had my watch but forgot to look at it for a while after coming back and it reset itself. But I glanced while I was going and I'm pretty sure I did the mile in exactly 11min and the end of my session was 18min.

My outdoor gear is very good. I was quite comfortable. It was 28deg and very sunny. I wear ear muffs that hold the headphones in my ears in addition to keeping my ears warm. I wore gloves. I have smart wool pants. I have a fleece jacket that I bought from Target for $7. It was quite warm. Matt said I looked very sporty.

'mill 1mile+

same as yesterday. 1mile run, 1mile walk, 32min total. The jog seemed harder today.

Watched SATC season 6 episode 2. Love Burger.

dreadmill, 1mile+

I did 2mi, 32min. 1 mile being a run. I didn't track how fast I did the run. Forgot my watch. Watched the first show of season 6 SATC. I had to skip seasons 4 and 5 'cause I don't have them. Would have been a good Cmas present. That is all.

dreadmill, 1mile+

that '+' would be some extra walking. I walked 0.5mi, then ran 1mi, then walked another 0.5. It took me 9 min for each walk and 14min for the run. I may try upping the speed of my run, but it feels comfortable where it's at. Maybe I'll just save my speed training for outdoors. I opted to do the 'mill today on account of the weather. Matt tried to run outside and said it was much too slippery. He came back in and finished up his run on the 'mill.

I watched GG. Good episode. I'm sad because I'm nearing the end of season 6 and since season 7 is the current season I won't be able to catch up until they release it on DVD which probably won't be until next Fall or Winter. Unless Matt can find somewhere to download them and then I won't be able to watch them on the 'mill because I wont' be able to play them on the DVD player. But it's all good now that I have my ipod. And I may just have to start a new series. Any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe '24'. Problem with '24' is that it's something Matt would also like to watch. Not that he doesn't appreciate GG, I've heard him chuckle a number of times while I'm watching it. But it really is a bit of a chick flick. So another chicky series would be good. Tho chick series that are truly funny are few and far between.

outside, 1mile run

I did the neighborhood loop and did a mile in 11min 13sec! I even jogged up the hill and only stopped for a few seconds to catch my breath. I walked/jogged for a total of 18min. I was even able to figure out how to use my watch so that I knew how long each part of my session was. I walked for 2min, then ran for 11min, then walked for 5 min.

I didn't have my ipod on shuffle this time and handpicked the songs to run to. I'm still sticking with Tom Petty being my music of choice. It's got a great beat.

dreadmill, 1mile

I did a mile on the treadmill. It wasn't that bad. It was a little more boring than outside. I used my watch and timed myself, 15min mile. I know the treadmill does that for you, but I wanted to use my watch. I couldn't get the heart monitor working. Gotta read the instructions. I used the ipod, didn't watch a movie this time. So far the new Tom Petty CD is my favorite to listen to.

outside, 1mile

I did more than 1 mile but not sure how much more. Probably not a whole lot more. I did the neighborhood loop. Again, walked for a little bit on the hill, but less walking than I did last time. It wasn't as easy as it was on Saturday. But then again Saturday was a perfect day weatherwise. Today was a bit chillier.

I dressed in my Cmas winter jogging clothes. I was quite warm and comfy, but the air was hard to breathe in. I still have the residuals of a cold so I couldn't breathe real well through my nose. Lots of phlegm going on. But I did it, and I want to do it again, so it must not've been too bad.

As a reward to myself afterwards I went to Target and bought a bunch of exercise clothes. I may end up returning some of them.

This new schedule so far is working out okay. I can't believe I had a few hours to myself today. I felt a little guilty that I didn't go to daycare and get Nick earlier. But when I showed up one of the teachers (actually the owner of the daycare) was playing with Nick and another little boy on the floor teaching them about medical play equipment. So that made me feel better. At least he was getting some attention. Tomorrow I will pick him up early and the guilt will be completely erased from my memory and all I'll think about are the wonderful exercise clothes that I now own.

training begins

I almost said it "officially" begins but I don't feel like I can say that just yet. I don't have a training program mapped out yet. I could do couch to 5K again, and maybe I will. Gotta figure that out. I don't want to start from week 1, I feel like I am beyond that, even tho I haven't exercised since before Dec 1st. I just got back from jogging a mile. I did the neighborhood loop, down Camp Sargent, up Cedar (big hill), left on Douglas then back on Spruce. I started running on Camp Sargent when I got to Arbor St. I walked up the steep part of the big hill. It really hurt my lungs at first, I think due to the cold I've had for over a week. But it didn't last long. It actually wasn't that hard. The last stretch down Spruce St actually felt really good. Next time I think I'll turn around at our house and go back the other way and hopefully do 2miles.

I start a new work schedule this week. I will work short days Mon, Tues, Wed. Not sure how I'll fit the exercise in. I'm going to try to do it every other day. I may work some strength training in on the off days.

We haven't signed up for the relay quite yet. We are stuck on picking a name. The latest possibility is "will run for beer". But I don't think Tara drinks beer.

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ooooh just realized there was so much I forgot to say in my blog. I ran with my ipod for the first time. It was great. I realized I don't need to have real rockin songs to listen to. I actually only got through 2 songs, 1 Tom Petty and 1 DMB. 'Everyday' was 10.5min long! I also used my new stopwatch/heart monitor but I wasn't sure how to use the stopwatch function so I just watched the time. It appears that I did a 13min mile. I'll know better next time because M@ has since figured it out for me. And the other thing I forgot to mention is that it was 68deg today!! Unbelievable.