Month: October 2011

Why put off until tomorrow…

What you can do today!!
Sun, Oct 30
Ran 5.5 miles outside at about 4pm
Time: 58:44; Average Pace: 10’39”
(Supposed to do 5 miles at an 11/mile pace – I just cannot run that slow!!)

So I was marveling at how beautiful the trees were on Aurora Street on my way to church this morning. I noticed all the runners out at that time and was wishing I was one of them. It was a beautiful morning – sunny and brisk, but the trees were just gorgeous! So when I got the groceries done and put away and was feeling the normal stress of living with other people pressing in on me, I decided I would go for a run…and move tomorrow’s run to today. Why not? It was supposed to be a rest day, but I’ll just rest tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be busy with our Halloween party at the office (lunchtime) and trick-or-treating in the evening so now it is done!

The run itself was pretty good for the most part. It was about 49 degrees and sunny. I wore long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a hat. My legs were a little sore when I first got going, but they got more into the groove after a couple of miles. Right about then my right foot started going numb. That hasn’t happened for a long time – since like the last time I ran the indoor track at JCU! I had to walk a bit now and then to alleviate it. I even loosened my laces, but it still bugged me. The last mile felt really good. I finally got the “I could run forever” feeling. So different from the treadmill. I feel like I can have my runner card back now that I went back outside. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was out there this afternoon. Yes, the treadmill will have its place this fall/winter, but I’m going to have to get outside now and then just to feel like me again.

Dragonfruit

So it all started at Kriegers. Have you been there? It is this great produce and food store on Graham Road. It is a frequent stop of ours after we have been out thrifting at the Village Discount Outlet. Yes, I lead an exciting life. Zach is always begging to stop there because he likes to get a Zach-sized fresh squeezed orange juice that he cranks out and fills up by himself and usually slurps down before we have even gotten back to Route 8. Well, now Nick has been introduced to the store and yes, I have another convert.

The store is really cool. It is filled to the brim with a giant variety of fresh produce, organic stuff, healthy snacks, a pharmacy of various jams and jellies, a great meat and deli counter and a nice selection of beers and wines I might add. Zach especially likes the gluten-free, poppyseed cookies. It is literally stuffed with stuff and getting around with a cart is always challenging. That is part of its charm, however. Even though their parking lot is always jammed and they would do well to expand, I hope they never do. It feels like a small town grocer and I sometimes think someone from Little House on the Prairie is going to wait on me. Oh, and also – the prices are really cheap!!

So, we were shopping yesterday and Nick and I were perusing the various fruit – lots of which I didn’t recognize. We wanted to try the ones we had never had before, but at like $3.29 per piece I limited it to one. So, we picked the dragonfruit…

Yes, it looks like someone off a tree on Star Trek, but we were up to tasting it. We googled how to peel it so we did it correctly. It tasted like a kiwi meets a pear, but with less taste. I’m not sure if it was ripe or not, but it didn’t have much taste. A bit sweet, with the consistency of a kiwi almost. We all tried it, but no one was really sold on it. We put the rest of it in a smoothie. After we took the pics I decided to blog about it and maybe try a new fruit or vegetable every week. So, this is the beginning of the Fruit Frenzy. Enjoy!!

Here is more info about the dragonfruit

That was easy.

Sat, Oct 29
Ran 1 mile on the treadmill at LifeCenter
Time: 9:32

So I was supposed to run 1 mile at a 9:45 pace today – my first tempo run for my training program. Since I am watch-handicapped I thought I would just run fast and see what happened. I did use my iPod so I thought I was close. Turned out I went under that so that felt good. The treadmill was on 5.5 with a 0 incline. I felt a little badly that I didn’t just run outside, but I had shorts on so I just did it inside. The run felt good – not really easy, but not really hard either – I probably could have run faster. I think I’ll be in a good place for getting that PR the end of December. Just following the program. It was really funny to hear the half-way point at .5 miles!! That has never happened before!!!

Crazy for the Cardio Room

Fri, Oct 28
Ran 3 miles on the treadmill at LifeCenter
Time: 31:57; Average Pace: 10’39”

I was off this morning so I could help at Zach’s Halloween party, so I ran at Life Center. It is nice there because they have a climate controlled cardio room with fans going so it isn’t as hot and sweaty as the fitness room at JCU. So my workout today was supposed to be anywhere from 2-4 miles Easy run (like 11:25 min/mile). So, I decided to go in the middle – 3 miles. The tempo didn’t quite work out, however. I’m just so used to running by feel! And I felt great today! I didn’t want to run any slower and plus my iPod did that dumb thing again and jumped around so it was hard to know exactly what my pace is until the very end. Yes, I need a watch. Tomorrow should be interesting because I have to run one mile that is a tempo run (9:45 pace). I can totally do it, but the question will again be how to pace myself. My approach tomorrow will just be to run fast and see what happens!!!

By the way, I’m getting used to the treadmill….dare I say I might be starting to even like it! As an alternative to weather – I’m down.

Institutionalized Yoga!!

Thurs, Oct 27
Yoga at lunch

I.Love.Yoga. It is really just that simple. And I think it should be mandatory for all people. Can we make that happen, people? Like, could doctors prescribe it for people who are stressed? Or could corporations mandate that people practice yoga in order to get certain monetary health benefits? Could we institute a mandatory yoga time during the work day when everyone just practices yoga? I mean, what if we just do a two hour lunch and make one hour be yoga? Other countries have siestas and stuff, right? And they are probably way less stressed than Americans!! I know this is extreme, but really, this could make us all healthier on so many levels!! Hey, at least I’m not advocating mandatory running! Or maybe…..

Truckin’ on the Treadmill

Wed, Oct 26
3 miles Easy on the treadmill at lunch (0 incline, 5.0 speed)
Time: 32:32; Average Pace: 10’50”

Well I found myself back on the treadmill today and I’m happy to say I did much better. For one – shorts and a short-sleeved shirt proved much more comfortable and two – use the pause feature after I did a warm up run so I could stretch!! The only challenge now is trying to get the pacing right for the workout I’m supposed to do. Today was supposed to be an “Easy” run which is defined on my workout plan as an 11:35/mile pace. Well, I tried using my iPod to track it, but it was jumping all over the place so I ended up faster. I think the only solution to this is the purchase of an awesome Forerunner watch (is my hubby reading this – Christmas??). However, I’ll make due for this training season.

While I still prefer running outside I can definitely see some of the benefits of using the treadmill (never thought I’d ever say this!!). But, it is definitely more convenient in terms of not having to dress for the weather – that part is predictable. Also, for this training cycle it will help with intervals runs, with hills, etc that aren’t exactly easy to do or predict outside. I will admit that I put the tv on in addition to my music (I don’t really hear the music – just my trainer lady giving me updates). Today I found the closed caption button so I can actually follow what is going on. At first it made me dizzy, but I got used to it. I feel a little bit like I’m selling out using the treadmill, but I’m getting my workouts in and that is the most important thing. Plus I’m getting caught up on some really stupid Lifetime shows. I’ll keep going out for my Saturday runs no matter what so I don’t forget how to run outside!!

Amazing Abs

Tues, Oct 25
Yoga at lunch

Great class today with a really good ab workout at the end. I tried to approach my yoga today with a deliberate posture. I didn’t force it, but I was very deliberate with every pose and every breath. It made the class go surprisingly fast and actually really meaningful.

Trying the Treadmill

Mon, Oct 24
5 miles on the treadmill at lunch – Day 1 of the 10-week challenge
Time: 57:17; Average Pace: 11’27”

Ah, it feels good to start tracking workouts again! Yes, maybe I’m too anal about this and yes, maybe I’m too structured, but you know what, I don’t care! I just know that being on a structured work-out plan with a goal that I’m working toward keeps me motivated. So, hey – that is the most important thing. Find out what motivates you and do that!!!

So today went as follows:
5:30am – alarm goes off – might be raining…definitely chilly…I’ll run at lunch…
Around lunchtime – it is not longer raining, but still looks chilly….the choice is either go outside and be chilly and/or wet, bag running altogether or do the treadmill at lunch. You’ll be happy to know (I was) that I actually picked the treadmill!!!

It was a little bit of a comedy of errors. Not only was I trying a treadmill for only the second time in my life, but I was also doing a new exercise cycle (I was supposed to run 5 miles at 11/min mile pace) and trying out a new (old) watch too. I have a sports watch that I bought and didn’t really learn how to use very well. The instructions to said watch have gone missing so Mike took a look at it and gave me a crash course last night. All I want to do, mind you, is keep track of my pace for each mile -just to be able to stick as close to 11/min mile as I can. I started running the first mile at a 3.1 incline and a 5.0 speed. Yawwwza. After the first mile I forgot I had forgotten to stretch so I jumped (yes literally jumped) off the treadmill while it was still moving and stretched. I then of course took my life in my hands when I jumped back on it again. People were probably wondering who this ditz was, but I didn’t want to stop the stupid thing and have to waste the time to start it up again after I was done stretching. You just don’t have to deal with these types of issues running outside. Then I saw the “pause” button. Oops. Next time I’ll know the drill. Meanwhile the jumping off messed up the lap counter on the watch somehow. Oh crap.

Oh and note to self: pack shorts and a short-sleeved shirt as well as outdoor running clothes – I was sweating more than normal and that is saying a lot!!

I managed to get through about half the workout or so before I had to cut down the incline to a more manageable level. Now on a 1.0 incline and a 4.8 speed I felt better. To my left was a fellow colleague and ultra marathoner who told me on my last mile that he runs with a 0.5 incline.

Oops again. I’ll get the hang of it eventually. And next time I’ll use the pause button.

The 10 Week Challenge!

Sat, Oct 22
Ran 45 minutes
Distance: 4.46 miles; Average Pace: 10’18”

So it felt pretty good to run again after not running for….a bunch of days – over a week, I think. I’ve been doing yoga regularly, but just hadn’t got the motivation to run again. It was a beautiful morning for a run – about a crisp 54 degrees and nice and sunny. I wore running pants (Capri-style) and a long sleeved tech shirt and that was fine. My hands were a little cold for about the first mile, but then I was just fine. I felt great for the duration and felt like I was going at a pretty good pace. But I now have a new pain. It actually started after a yoga class this past week, I think. The ball of my right foot hurts. That is a new one for me. I’m going to have to look it up because I don’t know what it is and how I can rehab it. It is not a sharp pain, but more feels like a pulled or stretched muscle. It is just uncomfortable, but does not really affect my gait.

So Monday starts my 10 Week Challenge program that I got from Women’s Running magazine. Basically it is a program to get me to a 9:20/mile pace for my 5K which would be a PR. It is a mix of running (4 days a week) and 2 cross training days. The distances are short, however, nothing more than 7 miles so it should be good. It should be fun and keep me running through the holidays which is a good time to make sure I’m running! The 5K that I’ll be using as my “test” is the Great New Year’s Eve Race on Dec 31. What a great way to ring in 2012 – at least that is the plan!!

Chill-ax, woman!

So I’ve been racking my brain (and a bunch of other peoples’ brains) about what I should do next for my running goal. I have felt pressure to commit to another distance race like in November. I almost signed up, I mean it was only $40 bucks, but then I stopped myself. Something was holding me back from committing and rather than challenging that, I’ve decided to embrace it. What is the doggone hurry?! I mean, it has only been a month (this Sat) that I ran my first full marathon! Can’t I just enjoy it for awhile?! I do this to myself. I try to hurry right to the next thing without really living in the now and fully enjoying my accomplishment. I think this transfers to life in general. I mean, when did the Halloween stuff appear in the stores – like August?! And I don’t even want to talk about the Christmas stuff that is already out.

“Be where your feet are, Lisa.” That is my new (old) mantra that I’m recycling. Feel free to use if needed.

But there is still the issue of what to do about my next running goal. I seem to only get motivated to run when I have a structure to follow and a goal to strive for. So be it. So I am going to train for the next few weeks to get a faster PR for my 5K. There is a cool training program in my Women’s Running magazine that I am going to use and then rock out on Dec 31 at the Great New Year’s Eve Race.

Oh, and as far as my next 1/2 or full race for the spring? I’m gonna let that one simmer a little bit and get back with you on that!