Running On...My Quest for C2FM

And not a blog post about the first two days! My apologies to my lone reader ;) Just didn't have the oomph to do a post run write-up for either Sunday's trail run with Janice (which was a run/walk effort with Janice being very patient at all my walk breaks) or Monday's Heart Rate Training run (which saw me walk more than run because my heart rate was way up). Let's move on to today's run. Planned: 4 miles Willy Nilly. Actual: 4.1 miles Willy Nilly up Village Nursery Road. Being honest, the out part of the run sucked! Tried to keep it slow and steady, but struggled with my breath. On a positive note - it was uphill and into the wind (grasping at straws). I managed a little over a mile before I switched to walking. Then, it was run/walk whenever I felt like it. Now, the back part of the 'out and back' run was much, much better (note - it was downhill, wind at my back). Still took walk breaks, but it felt much easier (um, downhill perhaps helped?) and my brea...

NOT BEFORE! Work was very busy/stressful early last week and I was trying to get everything organized for my short vacation to Boston. Lame excuse, but there it is! NOT DURING! There was no way I was going to try and pack running gear in my carry on and I know from past experience that I wouldn't have run anyway. It would have been nice - there was a lovely park down the road from where I was staying and more parks scattered throughout Boston. It is the home of the Boston Marathon, so runners are everywhere. We saw plenty throughout Boston, many trying to maneuver in Good Friday crowds in downtown Boston. Maybe next time, if there is a next time, I will take my gear and join the avid runners (but along the Charles River - not downtown). NOT AFTER! Arrived late afternoon Monday, so there wasn't going to be a run then, but I had hoped to get one in on Tuesday. That didn't happen. Nor did I run on Wednesday. In fact, I haven't done a thing since being back except the u...

Did I get out for a run? Yes! Did I want to? No! Did I stick with a plan? No! Did I find a zone? No! J

Today was a rest day - did nothing, not even a walk with Ron and Zoe. Feeling rather lethargic... Which doesn't bode well for tomorrow's long run. Let's hope I find the gumption to get out there tomorrow. Let's hope it isn't raining cats and dogs as is forecast. Let's hope I can end the week on a high note. J

My word of the year rhymes with shit! Which is exactly how this run felt - poopy! I didn't feel like going, so decided to do another Heart Rate Day. My runs segments were very short - shorter than they've ever been - could not get my heart rate under control. On a positive note, all the run segments (10 in total) had good cadence. Not sure why the run was so poopy. But, I got out there. I got it done (an hour on my feet). So, let's find a good motivational quote - and leave that run in the past. Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up. ~  Dean Karnazes J

The last time I did a Heart Rate Training on the TM, I walked/ran for 30 minutes and covered 1.88 miles. Today (due to the 6 inches of snow that fell last night), I was back on the TM for my HRT. It took a while for my heart rate to climb. And I was able to keep it in the proper range longer as I ran. No, I was not setting any land-speed records. But in that same 30 minute time period, I covered 2.06 miles. Calling that an improvement. J

Was it just last week I was saying how much I was 'loving' this running thing? Looking forward to my runs? Oh,yeah - it was ! The bloom seems to have fallen off the rose. I haven't been feeling the love - BUT I've still be getting out there to do the planned workout. THIS may be a breakthrough (although I don't want to jinx myself). Today was supposed to be Heart Rate Training Day. Tomorrow, a 45 minute non-stop run. There is a bucket load of snow in the forecast, so I am pretty sure tomorrow will be a treadmill day. Knowing that and knowing that the love isn't there, I told myself that after 3 strong weeks, I could cut myself some slack. The goal was to get out the door. Maybe do a heart rate run, maybe a shorter non-stop - but.get.out.the.door. I ended up opting for the non-stop, but unsure of the time. My legs were clunky and I struggled with my breathing. At a mile (because there was no way I was not doing at least a mile), I wanted to turn around and ...

If there's one thing I've learned from Brenda, it's that consistency plays a huge role in the running game. I've watched her buckle down over the past year and a half/two years and remain consistent with her training. I've also watched her times come down (the highlight: a sub 60 minute 10K). Hard work and consistency pays off. And that's what I am trying very hard to achieve. Consistency has never been, well, consistent in my running life. I go for a while and then fall off that wagon - get back on, work my way up, then fall off again. I am smart enough to know that every fall, every month/two month break in running means starting over when I finally get around to lacing up the shoes. Smart enough, but maybe not wise enough because it keeps happening. This time will be different.* My approach is different - giving myself room to change it up if I have to (ie running only 3 times a week if I am not feeling the love on Monday after my Saturday long run; or be...

It was speed day today - well, it was going to be hill day, but Janice and I couldn't coordinate our schedules. So speed it was. I was inspired by my nephew* who ran 4 miles in 32 minutes (that's an 8m/M pace - blistering)!! My goal was to go out and do 2/1s - speedy 2 minute runs with a lovely 1 minute walk recovery. My first 2 minutes clocked in at a 10m/M pace. And I was pooped.** So, I immediately switched it up - 1 minute runs/2 minute walks. And I flew around the 'hood. One of my intervals was an 8m/M pace - blistering for a minute ;) 14 intervals later, with most clocking in at the high 8m/M pace and low 9m/M pace, I was done. Stick a fork in me done! There was nothing left (I had planned on doing 15) other than a slow walk home. And the cadence - I saw blue on the graph for the first time (blue indicates a 180 average spm cadence) and even some purples (>183 - the highest range). Needless to say, I was pumped about my run! Now, the question becomes - was it...

And clunky as hell. I just couldn't find that meditative state in the pool today. Usually, after a couple of laps, I can get in to a nice groove...I mean, it probably doesn't look that great, but it feels good. Relaxed, methodical. But I didn't accomplish either one of those. My breathing was erratic, my arms felt out of sync and the legs were all over the place. On more than two laps, I ended up swimming into the wall (I was on the outside lane - thank goodness I wasn't sharing a lane with someone). I'm usually pretty good at keeping it right down the middle. Obviously, I haven't been in the pool for a while - but even when I took months and months off, I never felt so clumsy when I dipped my toe back into the chlorinated H2O. I will have to go back to watching my swim guru and get that endless soundtrack in my head so that the next time I jump in, I will be able to hear that Zen-like music and envision Shinji slicing through the water without so much as a ...

And I use 'easier' with trepidation. Every time I think the running is getting easier, I stumble with my dedication. But it did feel easier today. The plan was a 45 minute non-stop - as slow as need be in order to do the full 45 minutes. And it was slow...but maybe that's what made it easy? Easy up to a point. I could feel my form starting to falter around the mile and a half/two mile mark. The arms had dropped, the feet weren't as light, my shoulders were slumping. But having noted that, and the fact that weeks ago my form was disintegrating around the 1/2 mile mark, I know I am getting stronger. Speaking of 'stronger', I've been a little remiss about my strength training. OK, totally remiss! But a new month means a new determination to work my arms (and work toward a full push-up and a full chin-up) three times a week and my legs twice a week. Yesterday's arm workout felt easy (there's that word again), but I can feel the effects today, so I kn...

I got my watch to work for Heart Rate Training today!!! Yay, me. You have not idea how excited I get when I master something technical...I may have got so excited when my watch vibrated letting me know I was at the top end of my heart rate parameter that it spiked even higher. That's OK, but between that and the lingering effects of my cold, it took some time to get it back down to the low end of the parameter. As I tweak my running schedule, I now get those runners who have various goals for each run. There's a ton of information out there that basically says every run should have a goal, but with my recent dislike of running, it was hard to create smaller goals over and above the 'get out there and run, you goof.' Now that I seem to be looking forward to my runs, I can start to visualize what I want from each workout. Of course I've spoken of heart rate training before. Mondays are my HRT days - but I also think this is a really good time to work on my cadence...