Running On...My Quest for C2FM

Again with the 'looking forward to running' mentality!! Interesting. Today was a repeat of last week's 7/3 interval run with the addition of another interval to make 8 (or run/walk time of 1:20:00. It was also a repeat of giving myself an out, just in case - timed so that the 7th interval would be at the bottom of the road and I could, if I wanted to, call it done at that point. I didn't quite calculate distances correctly, so the end of the 7th run segment saw me run past the entrance to the subdivision. But by that time, I knew I was doing 8. The run segments were all within 5 seconds of each other - with no interval slower than the previous. I felt light on my feet, legs were not heavy and not once did I feel like I was sinking into the ground.* Even the last two intervals, when I was working hard to make that 7 minute time, I was in control and content. OK, the cadence could have been much better, but my heart rate was exactly where I wanted it to be - I even ma...

Still not 100%, but did get out the door for my 30 minute easy run (kinda - see below). Here are the positives and negatives from today's outing: + Actually looked forward to the run (this is happening more and more - have I turned a corner?) - Still not feeling well, worried about the goal + Set my watch up correctly - Legs felt like lead + Found a zone earlier than usual - Bitter wind coming up the loop + Legs eased up, turnover felt good - Mile and a half marker and feeling tired + Kept going - Nose running, breathing hard + 22 minutes and I'm OK with that - Walk + Ran last bit mindful of turnover and light feet, felt good Overall, happy with the run. It was to be an easy one anyway, and the fact I did 22 minutes non-stop with a cold is pretty good. The fact I was looking forward to getting out there is even better. J

Had a much better night and woke up feeling quite normal (normal according to me), so decided to head out the door for a run. Actually, decided to head out the door with an eye on my heart rate and the goal of at least a couple of miles (walking if need be). As an aside - I know there's a way to set up the heart rate workout on my Garmin watch, but do you think I can figure it out. Got the brainy idea of setting the high/low alert, then just opting for my non-stop run workout - hoping that the watch would vibrate when I reached the high and I would slow to a walk until it vibrated on the low and I would pick up the pace. #fail There were not vibrations, no alerting me to the fact I had exceeded the set heart rate. This is fail#2, the first workout I created ended up vibrating all the time because I set the parameters exactly the same. I am not technologically advanced!! The workout was mostly walking, with my heart rate elevated into the zone where I would have it set for a slo...

Yep, scratchy throat late Saturday night, full fledged cold Sunday morning. Not happy! Now there is a ton of advice out there as to whether or not one should run when they have a cold - the most common is that if you're illness is above the neck (ie: nasal congestion), you're fine; but if it's below the neck (ie: chest congestion), take a pass. Of course, as with anything, you can always find someone, somewhere to justify your decision. Since I have adhered before to the elevated heart rate theory (take an extra rest day if resting heart rate is elevated), I opted for no workout today. It was going to be a heart rate training day and I figured I wouldn't get much out of it when my heart rate is already elevated. Besides, with the itchy and watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing, I don't think the run would have been very pleasant. I opted, instead, to take a nap. Fingers crossed I am feeling better soon! J

The plan was to try and get 5 miles in - the longest I've run in a very long time! The real plan was for 3 miles, but I need to push myself - this difference in mileage will come into play. In order to change it up and actually look forward to those 5 miles, I decided to do 7/3 intervals. Since I've had a couple of good 45 minute non-stop runs and feeling good about my half hour runs (heart rate, hills), 7/3s sounded very doable. After all, this is the magical long, slow run - so doable it has to be. It was drizzling. I decided to run a couple of loops in case it started to rain. Intervals 1 and 2 felt like I was slogging. Intervals 3 and 4 (both ending up being downhills) were a little too fast. No rain, so I took interval 5 out onto the highway and this is where the negotiations began... I was already 3.3 miles into the run, so in my head I was sorta done. I promised myself I could finish it up at 6 intervals. And I kept promising myself that - the 5th interval was hard. ...

I am one of those people who will start to mimic an accent when speaking with someone. It's not a conscious choice, I just automatically adopt the tone and inflections of whomever I am speaking with. Then I catch myself and try not to do it - afraid that the other person may think I am being rude. Truly, I am not. So yesterday after running with Janice and posting about what a great role model she is for cadence, I got to thinking of my unconscious imitation habit. Could it be the same? Do I adjust my gait depending on who is running with me? A very long while ago, Brenda and I did the half marathon in Port Greville, NS. OMG, the hills!!! The website assured everyone the route was along rolling hills. To a Prairie Girl, those were small mountains. And it wasn't just uphill one way - this course was an undulating (a very nice term for them there hills) out and back. As we turned to head back into town, I realized that those lovely downhills I had enjoyed coming out were goin...

I really, really didn't want to run today. Like really, really!!! So I was very happy that I had made arrangements last night with Janice to do this week's hill repeat. She was coming to pick me up - I had no choice (well, I did, but don't tell my brain that or there will be lost opportunities left, right and center). On our way over, I told her that I wasn't feeling the love! Just to warn her in case I swore or wimped out or didn't throttle up the hill like I did a couple of weeks ago (which I didn't, but I'll get to that). Or lay on the road in a fetal position and cry like a baby over this running quest. She was more than understanding and said we'd take it easy. What started out as an 'ugh, I have to run' morning, ended up with a 'fabulous run' thumbs-up before getting into the car. We did take it easy and, surprisingly, was only a half a minute slower (all tolled) than the previous workout . Now, I'm not going to say it was e...

Do it again and again. Consistency makes the rain drops to create holes in the rock. Whatever is difficult can be done easily with regular attendance, attention and action. ~  Israelmore Ayivor

Wow - actually looked forward to today's run! Of course, I was cursing once I was out there. One lap around the 'hood and I had had enough - so I ventured out onto the highway in the hopes that the shoulders were dry. They were! The plan was to do 35 minutes non-stop. Ended up doing 45 minutes non-stop. Slow as molasses, but right on the 13m/M goal I have given myself. When I got home and looked at the stats, I was pleased to see my cadence was faster than I usually muster on my slow runs. And the heart rate was even and controlled. A win on 4 counts: Excited pre-run! Perfect pacing! Higher cadence! Lower heart rate! Putting it in the vault for future reference. J

I am not the most tech-savvy individual so when I uploaded a Heart Rate training plan onto my watch this morning, I knew there could be problems. Um, yeah. Seems I set it to alert me when my heart rate was under 140 and then alert me again when it was over 110. Do the math...the damn thing was vibrating all.the.time! Once I got it to stop vibrating, I deleted it and went with my Non-stop 2 miler and kept watching the heart rate so that I would run if I was over 114 and walk when it reached 135. A pain in the butt, but it worked and I had an awesome heart rate run - improving on my heart rate run of last week.* I will do some more investigating and attempt to create another heart rate run workout for my watch. I figure getting a little vibration when it's time to walk or when it's time to run is much better than constantly looking down at my watch. Wish me luck! J *noted: last week was a treadmill run, this week I was outside

This is run number 50 - if you hadn't figured that out already. Since beginning this quest back in Oct., I've run 50 times. Now the first 25 were awesome - consistent and definitely progressing. Then I hit a bad patch. No motivation, uninspired, weary of what I had chosen to focus on. But, I think I've got myself back in the picture. I said to my friend the other day, January and February are hard months for me. I should know better than to plan specifically for those months. The great thing about my quests, my endless journaling, is that eventually these epiphanies take place. I never said I was quick to learn the lessons, but usually I do. Anyway, I thought this would have been a treadmill run as the forecast was for rain into the afternoon. But the rain had ended before I was even out of bed and although I thought about the treadmill, the warm temperature (+8C) lured me outside. Still running in circles, not yet trusting the shoulders on the highway to be clear of sn...

Ooh, remember the old '80's song by Katrina and the Waves - Walking on Sunshine ? Anyway, I digress. The run today was in lovely sunshine and warm temperatures. A slight wind that kept me from removing my gloves, but truly a beauty of a day. The run itself was OK - slow, but then nothing new about that. I think I should run faster, but I know I want to do non-stop, so running faster makes me worry I won't be able to do the entire distance (ie - I'll run out of gas). I had planned a simple 20 minute run as this is a 4th week (week 20 to be exact), an easy week, but I felt good, so I kept going. My 20 minutes became the goal of 2 miles, which became the goal of 2.5 miles (3 laps around the 'hood), which then became 3 miles. Then I was done. I walked the rest of the way back home. With this sunshine and warm temperatures melting all the snow we got in the last 3 weeks (really, the only snow we got all winter), the highway shoulders should be thawing out and dryin...

Today was to be a swim day, but after yesterday's grouch-fest and morning headache (and the fact I was dragging my butt, bone-tired, all day), I opted for a pure rest day. And a lovely, late afternoon walk in the warm sunshine with Zoe and Ron. I love this quote: Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend. - Corey Ford  J

My friend Julie is a firm believer in putting memories in the vault to be puledl out if and when needed. For example, an excellent hill workout - in the vault to be pulled out when tackling hills in a race or on a regular run ('Remember that time you did that fabulous hill workout with Janice...you zoomed up that hill with no problem.') Or, the first time you ran 8 miles non-stop to be pulled out when a 4 miler is feeling unattainable. Today was a memory for the vault. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed - twice. The first time when Zoe jumped up for her usual morning cuddle before Ron took her for a walk. And then again when I woke a good half hour later, having fallen asleep after they left. I was still tired and could feel the onset of a headache. My first thought was 'ugh, I have to run today.' Thankfully, there was no procrastinating as I was already half an hour behind in the day and I had to drive Ron into town so he could pick up the other car at the gara...

A week or so ago when I did an awesome hill workout with Janice, we got talking about Dr. Phil Maffetone  and briefly chatted about heart rate training. It got me thinking and today I decided to do a short heart rate session. Now, there are a ton of different heart rate calculations out there. The standard (220-age, then % of that number for varying training sessions - tempo, anaerobic, aerobic, etc) and Maffetone's (180-age = target heart rate sessions) and everything in between. Google it, you'll be amazed. I opted for Maffetone's, having just finished his very interesting book Overfat Pandemic. Jumped on the treadmill and began. Yowzers! that was was incredibly eye-opening. I had to walk most of the 30 minutes - the very slow run taking my heart rate up to 124 and then walking to get it back down. Now, mind you, the 30 hour passed relatively quickly watching my watch and adjusting the treadmill - and, surprisingly, it was a very pleasant workout. Not sure how I feel...

Planned for a longer run today (see post about pushing harder in this quest), so that meant promising (er, bribing) myself some goodies to make sure I got it done. The plan was to make it to 45 minutes non-stop. The promises (er, bribery) were many: 1. Left over BBQ Chicken Pizza as soon as I was done (would have it anyway, but maybe not so early in the day) 2. Long, overdue chat with my nephew (would have done that anyway but if I had done it before the run, I may have been in jeopardy of not getting out the door - and I knew he'd ask about the running) 3. Luanna's Chocolate Balls - a lovely concoction gifted to us that we froze...one ball in a big mug of milk, microwaved until hot and melty...heaven (would not have had this as they are very sweet and I really need to use them as a reward) 4. Rest of the day to lounge in my pajama pants and fleecy I am already kitted out so once I hit publish, I am on the couch. Perhaps a nap, maybe a movie. I am in the middle of a ...

“Every day do something that will inch you closer to be a better tomorrow.” Anonymous

Today's Tweet just about sums up how hard it was to get myself in gear today. I really, really, really wanted to bail on the run. But I knew, at the end of the day, I would be disappointed in myself. I used the 'that's all you have to do' mantra - and promised myself that I could end the workout after one interval (I did speed work today - 1/1/1 x 10 at slow/sprint/walk). I ended up doing 10 intervals for a total (with walking warm-up and cool-down) 35 minutes. Yay, Me! J Evolution of today's run: Come on But it's a special day Gonna bail for that? Yeah Lame excuse, next you'll want Easter off We should celebrate special days Like when we didn't run on Global Running Day? Um Next, you'll want Ants on a Log Day off Ooh, can we? Bah, let's go Fine!

No, I'm not running on swim day, nor am I swimming on run day. Why I chose to start all my blog titles with 'Running on-' escapes me. I am sure I thought it would be a way to tie everything together, but it is a serious pain in the butt. Those that know me, know I can not let it go now that it's out there. I will just continue to cringe when my topic of the day doesn't have anything to do with running OR when I can't think of a witty connection. So, swim day. I haven't been to the pool since the beginning of December. But I have been pretty diligent in my strength training (not so much the running, though). Along with my push (push-ups, chest exercises, triceps, raises, etc) and my pull (chin-ups, pull-ups, biceps, rows, etc), I have been working with resistance bands. Specifically, swim-specific exercises. Today's swim felt almost effortless (I say almost effortless because I am still a newbie and my breathing and kicking needs work). And, I was faste...

It occurred to me today that I am 19 weeks into this quest and I really haven't increased my mileage. Oh, I've procrastinated, carped, phoned it in (short runs, mostly walking), and fell off the wagon a couple of times. I've been busy, but I haven't been focused. OK, that's not entirely correct. I look at my spreadsheet directly in front of me and I see that I was very diligent at the start of this quest. BUT, I was in the early stages, building miles and conditioning my lungs, tendons, muscles. Then it kind of goes sideways - and then swerves around a lot, only to get get back on track and still not running 'long'. Today, I was determined to do something about that. Today, I told myself to push beyond that comfort zone of 3 miles/30 odd minutes. And, surprisingly, I listened. The treadmill is fun in that you can do all kinds of intervals. There was no plan to run non-stop - unless I felt like it. There was no plan to do pre-determined intervals - unless...

Where did the weekend go? And why wasn't I updating this blog? Oh, yeah, right...storm forecast, so everything that got split between two days had to be done in one. Storm shopping with every other person in the area trying to get groceries before they were housebound, laundry and other chores in case we lost power, phone calls (again, power outage concerns). Everything was accomplished, and we didn't lose power. In-between all the chores, I did a 30 minute run around the 'hood. It was a beautiful day, and the roads were clear and dry. I wasn't the only one getting their exercise in before the snow hit...our little subdivision was busy with walkers and dogs. Gets a little dull saying 'hi' every time you meet, but you have to be friendly. I took Sheryl Crow with me. The run was good. Not awesome, not bad - just good. Sunday was a nothing day - all chores done, so kind of had the day off. Except I got busy in the kitchen making beef and ale pie with a hot ...

Read a great article about why upper body strength is so important to runners. Since I've been working my upper body, I don't slouch so much while out running. The article also talks about the push/pull exercises...interesting as I just did a bunch of reading late last week about splitting my weight workout into push and pull days. Let's face it - there's not a lot of hours in the day. And not a lot of strength in these spaghetti arms. So alternating the push/pull exercises lets me shorten the workout and focus on a few exercises in order to get stronger. Here's the article - it also has a list (and demonstration) of what they believe to be great upper body exercises. As I've said before, I have a chin up bar that Ron got for me and put up in the closet doorway. I've been (almost) diligently working my way toward a full chin up. As an aside, I read a great article yesterday on the difference between a pull-up (overhand grip) and a chin-up (underhand gr...