Okay, No Running Today

I managed to stay off the treadmill this morning, although it WAS calling my name! I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, and another 10 on the recumbent bike. I'm still a bit tired, though I got to bed a little earlier last night. I need to continue to monitor the tiredness thing. I'm eating well enough and taking a multivitamin. I feels like an exercise tired. I'll continue to hydrate, and will try to get to bed at a decent time again tonight.

I Didn't Mean to Run Today...

I woke up weary this morning, partly because I went to bed too late, and partly because I ran 26.24 miles last week, a big increase from running 20.89 miles the week before. I was just going to crosstrain today, so I rode the recumbent bike for 25 minutes (3.72 miles). Then I decided to get on the treadmill-for just a few minutes. The exercise on the bike had gotten the blood flowing, and I was eager to burn some more calories. I got on the treadmill and started slow. I ran and ran, and before I knew it I'd logged 2.3 miles in 30:15 minutes. Okay, so now I'm still tired, and a little sore too. I need to rest, but I need to exercise too. Where's the balance?

Treadmill Run

I had planned to do a little running this morning, and follow it with some crosstraining, but I got on the treadmill and just kept on running. I ended up going 3.47 miles in 45:08, about a 13- minute pace! Not bad for a morning after a long run-for me, anyway. I set the incline at 1%.

I feel a bit tired, and my legs are sore and a little tight. I've been stretching a bit since I got home.

Long Run Report

This morning I decided I just had to get some outdoor miles under my belt! So, I parked at the gym, and set out from there with my Garmin 205 on my wrist. I did some of the miles near my gym first,; then I went to the Brier Creek residential area and ran a long stretch of Arnold Palmer Drive. It was a really pretty morning for running outside! I could feel a difference in the temperatures, and that helped a lot, I think. I ended up hitting the 10 mile mark in 2:40:00, four minutes and change faster than my last outdoor 10-mile run. I ended up continuing for a few more minutes outdoors, finishing 10.21 miles in 2:44:00 (with some more walking at the end). Then I went inside the gym and ran another 23 minutes (1.83 miles) on the treadmill (without a walking break).

My total for today is 12.04 miles in 3:07:00. I'm feeling more confident now about finishing the City of Oaks Half Marathon within the 3:30:00 time limit--yay!

Getting Closer to Milestone

This morning I ran an easy 35 minutes on the treadmill for 2.62 miles, then got on the recumbent bike for 25:01 minutes (4.45 miles). I'm just a little over two miles from hitting the 500 mile mark--yay! I should pass that tomorrow. It's not the 1000 miles I was shooting for in January, so now I'm running to set the total to beat NEXT year.

After yesterday's blog post, I registered for the City of Oaks/Rex Healthcare Half Marathon, which is exciting! I'm a little nervous, but a mostly excited! I also signed up for the Autism Ribbon Run 5K on October 11. I've run that race before, and it's a fast course, so that'll be fun, and a good chance to do a little speed work for the half marathon. Since the timing worked out, I decided to sign up for the virtual Worldwide Festival of Races, and will use my Autism Ribbon Run time.

No Treadmill Today

My legs are still feeling tired this morning, and the plantar fasciitis in my left foot was peeping at me when I got up, so I decided to take a break from running today. I did 45 minutes on the elliptical machine instead (for 3.16 miles) and followed it with 20 minutes on the recumbent bike (for 3.46 miles).

Last evening I finally got around to exploring a website called MapMyRun.com, where you can map out routes, and the site will tell you distances. (I'd heard of it for a while, but hadn't gotten around to poking around on it.) You can save routes to your profile, and make them public or private. Once I got the hang of it, I could see that the site could be a lot of run in terms of creating new routes, or finding routes already added by others on the site. I've already got some good ideas of places to run around here.

Broken Record

Okay, I did the same gym machines as yesterday, but it works. I ran a little less today, though, because I started feeling a little nagging pain where I had the groin strain earlier this year. When I started feeling it, I finished that minute and hopped off! Ended up with 32 minutes of running on the treadmill, for 2.47 miles.

I stretched a little bit, and got on the recumbent bike for 30 minutes (5.39 miles). No more pain, but I'll stretch some more today.

I enjoyed watching "The Biggest Loser" with George last night. He suggested we have a contest with each other, to see who can lose the most weight. He wants to go pound for pound, but I'd rather do weight loss percentage, like they do on "The Biggest Loser." We'll see how this goes!

Running and Bike

This morning I ran 41 minutes for 3.10 miles on the treadmill, then hopped on the recumbent bike for 3.58 miles in 20 minutes. It's the second day in a row that I've exercised for an hour total, and my legs feel it a bit. I'll probably need to do a little less some days until I get used to it.

I've continued to find workouts to add to my BuckeyeOutdoors online log. Yesterday I remembered the log I used to keep on running2win.com back last year. I wasn't very consistent about it using that log, but it has enough to make it worth consolidating, especially the road races I recorded online. One online log I used to use (I think it was on coolrunning.com) ceased to exist, so I lost some workouts from that, but oh well. I've glad to have the records I've got, and I've been recording consistently for quite some time now. One thing I've recently discovered on BuckeyeOutdoors is that I can record my weight, which I think will be motivating. There's also a food log, but I think I'll stick with another site for that.

Crosstraining Morning

This morning I did 35:01 minutes on the treadmill for 2.54 miles, 15 minutes on the elliptical for 1.11 miles, and a cool down on the recumbent bike for 10 minutes (1.74 miles). It felt great to do a full hour of cardio again!

I finished plugging in this year's workouts into Buckeye Outdoors. It was interesting to plug in the limited workouts through my February groin strain, as well was all the "rest days" (doctor ordered) after I broke my nose, then had it reset in the hospital. It was a good experience to review the whole year to date, really, and think about what next year's goals will be. I'd hoped to hit 1000 miles of running for this year, but won't make it, so I think that 1000 running miles will be a goal for 2009.

I was also glad to figure out how to put my workouts from the BuckeyeOutdoors log onto my blog here. See the right side, near this post. From there, it's also easy to see monthly and yearly totals, which is fun. (I'm almost up to 500 running miles for the year, which is pretty decent.)

Long Recumbent Bike Ride

My legs are sore from yesterday's long run on the treadmill, so I got on the recumbent bike at the gym this morning, and did 7.01 miles in 40 minutes. Late on Sunday afternoon now, my legs are still pretty sore!

One of my projects this weekend has been entering my miles from earlier this year into my online training log on BuckeyeOutdoors, so that I can let the website do the math and create stats and reports for me. It's been an interesting reminder of all the miles I did at the beginning of the year (I'm transferring early February's runs now.) Not only did I run farther 8-9 months ago, but I was going faster too! *sigh*

It's reminded me of two things: 1) that I got injured in mid-February, due to the distance and speed I was putting in; and 2) I weigh a few more pounds than I did then.

I need to remember not to overdo it as I increase my workouts. I also need to continue to watch my calories and refocus my weight loss efforts.

Long Run Inside

I decided to take it easy on themy 10-mile run this morning. The Galloway group was going to run a hilly course, and my week was busy enough that I didn't feel like going there. So, I headed for the gym this morning to run on the treadmill. I had to break the runs into chunks, since the treadmill only lets me do an hour plus a few minutes of cool down. My total was 10.17 miles in 2:33:00, for a 15:02 pace! I did most of this on a 1-1.5% incline, so that it would be a little harder. I'm excited about the faster pace, even if it was on the treadmill.

I did do some walking, but I ran for the whole first hour, and it felt good to find out I could do that. Now, in the middle of the day, I am pretty tired and sore, but nothing that a nap won't cure. Okay, and maybe a bubble bath later. :D

More Running

My favorite treadmill was calling my name again this morning, so I ended up running 40:01 minutes for 3.12 miles at a 1% incline. It's more than I'd planned to run, considering I'm planning to do a long run in the morning. We'll see how that goes now!

Afterward, I got on the recumbent bike to cool down for 5 minutes, and it turned into 15 minutes (2.67 miles).

It was a good workout, but I'm exercise-tired. I hope I can get to bed early tonight.

Crosstraining Morning

This morning I started with 20 minutes (1.47 miles) on the elliptical machine, followed by 20 minutes on the treadmill (1.55 miles), and cooled down with 10 minutes on the recumbent bike (1.78 miles).

I've plugged in a few more races I'd like to run into the list on the right. I also discovered the points totals online for the Second Empire Grand Prix Race Series, of which the Magnificent Mile (the race I ran on Sunday) was a part. There's a lunch in January, after the series is over, for the series winners (based on points), as well as for runners who participate in seven of the nine races. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to participate in seven races total at this point (since I missed the first race of the series). Part of it is due to other commitments this fall. Next weekend's race is the Anna's Angels 10 Miler and 5K--the 10 Miler is part of the series, but the course closes in two hours, and I can't run that fast yet. The 5K partnered with the 10 Miler doesn't qualify for series points. Ah well. I'll run as many of the races in the series as I can, and if they do the series again next year, I'll try to plan ahead.

I've put links for the Second Empire Grand Prix Race Series and the point totals on the right hand side of the blog pace to help me keep track. Let me know if you're planning to run any of the same road races!

More Running

My favorite treadmill was free when I got to the gym this morning, so I hopped on and went for 45 minutes and 3.42 miles. I cooled down with 10 minutes (1.74 miles) on the recumbent bike.

George and I watched the season premier of "The Biggest Loser" last night. I like watching the show, eventhough I'm envious of the contestants for getting to take time out from "regular life" for their weightloss efforts. One thing I pay close attention to is what the personal trainers are having the contestants do in the gym. It's fun to get new workout ideas from the show!

Back on the Treadmill

I got back on the treadmill this morning, not sure how it was going to go. My cold is a little better, but I'm still feeling a bit tired and achy. I thought I'd try going for 5 minutes and see how it went. I ended up going for 35 minutes (2.63 miles), and followed it with 10 minutes (1.67 miles) on the recumbent bike.

I had a church meeting last night, then we had to stop by the drugstore, so we got home close to 10 PM last night! Ick! Tonight I hope to get to bed early.

On the Recumbent Bike

This morning, tired and still sniffling, I went to the gym and did 40 minutes (7.02 miles) on the recumbent bike. Mentally, I felt better after exercising, and there's a lot to be said for that! I'm still tired and sniffling, though, but hope I'll turn the corner soon.

Race Report: Magnificent Mile, Raleigh, NC

Okay, next time I start pouting about being a slow runner, someone just take me by the shoulders, shake me, and tell me to get over it. I had fun today! I finished the 1-mile race in 11:09, and was pleasantly surprised! The race report follows.....

The Magnificent Mile started in downtown Raleigh, near Second Empire Restaurant and the Clarion Hotel, at 2:00 this afternoon. I got there early to pick up my timing chip in the first floor of the Clarion Hotel, and decided to hang out in the lobby for a while, because it was so hot outside (low 90s, about 10 degrees above normal). I enjoyed people watching, as I often do. At road races, I find myself scoping out the competition, and at events that have both competitive and non-competitive categories, I tend to scan people's feet too, to see whether or not they're in the "competitive" (=timing chip attached to shoe laces) division. It amuses me that I do this, as I usually don't consider myself a competitive person when it comes to other people; I love beating my own times at various distances. Since this was going to be my first 1-mile road race, it meant a guaranteed PR! ;-)

This competitive 1-miler had two heats, one for the men first, followed by the women. While the elite men runners were being introduced just before the men's heat, I struck up a conversation with a lady standing near me on the sidewalk. She had a neon green t-shirt on that indicated she was part of a WISH Training Team, with the group's motto on the back. A couple of us in the crowd were intrigued and asked about it. Turns out she's a big Disney fan, and has run the Disney World half/full marathon courses a few times. Apparently, this is a virtual training team she's on, along with others from the Disney message boards on DISBoards.com. She was smiling as she described how much fun this whole thing was, as people from all over the world were part of these boards and the virtual training team as well. It reminded me of a lady I'd exchanged a couple of messages with some 2-3 years ago when I left a comment on her running/weight loss blog. (That lady was a big fan of the Disney races too.) I was trying to figure out if the person on that blog was this same person from her picture on her blog (which went inactive a while back), but I couldn't tell for sure and didn't want to come across like a stalker or something. Anyway, we did talk about our race hopes for the afternoon, and I was relieved to hear she was hoping to finish around the same time I was!

It was fun watching the guys run their mile. Since I always finish near the back of the races I run, I don't ever see any elite runners finish, but I got to today! The winner of the men's heat finished in a probable course record of around 4:12. Boy, was he flying toward the finish line when I saw him cruise past where I was standing! All the guys finished in under 10 minutes, except for one little kid, who finished in about 12:30. He was sooo cute, and his mom was trotting next to him with a stroller with another child in it. As they neared the finish line, she took the stroller to the left of the finish line, and the little boy wanted to follow her instead of crossing the finish line with his timing chip on! The race officials redirected him across the timing strip at the finish. Very sweet!

Then it was our turn to line up at the start line. Instinctively, I walked to the back of the pack, and there was the Disney lady! We had a few pre-race chuckles, and then the horn sounded. We started running down Hillsborogh St. toward the State Capitol area. The course would take us up to Salisbury St., Morgan St., Wilmington St., Edenton St., back onto Salisbury, then back on Hillsborough St. down to the finish.

At one point pretty early on, I realized I was the last one in the race! (The big clue was the police car right behind me.) The lady in neon green was maybe 50-75 yards ahead of me, and there were a couple of people in between us. I didn't know how that happened--it was like I must've zoned out for a minute or two. I shook it off, and set my sights on the next person in front of me. I caught up with her in a bit, and we exchanged some encouraging words. (She was wearing a gold colored family reunion t-shirt, along with a couple other ladies I'd seen near the start. I thought that was a neat thing to do.) I finally caught up with the Disney lady, and we traded places a couple of times along the way. It was fun to chat with her at different times over the next several minutes. At one point I passed one more lady, who's number (95) was one number lower than mine. I told her we were number neighbors, and to keep on keepin' on. She thought I was strange, I think. (Or maybe she was tired like I was, or maybe she just didn't care!)

When I got back on Hillsborough and could finally see the clock, I hoped I could make it in under 11 minutes, but I didn't quite make it. Disney gal and I ended up crossing the finish line together in 11:09, and it was fun to have someone to celebrate with at the end of the race!

I was pretty tired at the end of the race, though, and am still a bit sore. My cold is still lingering, but I'm still excited about the race, inspite of being a little under the weather.

It was about 20 more seconds before I realized I'd forgotten to turn off my Garmin-oops! I stayed afterward to enjoy the post-race food, watch the non-competitive race (a number of those runners would've beat me this afternoon), and see the official results for myself (out of impatient curiosity--they'll post them online eventually, but I was curious, since my Garmin had kept going). I found out my time of 11:09, and saw the name of the person who finished with me. Turns out it WAS the same lady I'd swapped messages with a few years ago! Now, I can start looking for her brightly colored shirt at future races and say hello. :)

Extra Push, Plus Race Concern

I woke up this morning feeling a little better, thanks goodness, so I was thinking I'd be feeling okay for this afternoon's race. I got on the internet for a few minutes for my habitual early-morning-quick-check of news/email/Facebook/Twitter. On Yahoo, one of the featured stories was called "4 Reasons We Regain Weight." Since I've regained a few of the pounds I lost on the Rice Diet and am eager to get them back off (see my progress pictures here), I pulled up this article to read it. One of the things the article said that people do to maintain weight loss is to exercise an hour or more daily. I used to do at least an hour daily while I was on the Rice Diet, but I don't do that as much any more. I do at least 30 minutes every day, but usually 40-45 minutes, and on Saturdays, I usually exercise 2-3 hours (when I do my long runs, except for yesterday--blasted cold!).

So, eventhough I'm still sniffling a bit from this cold, I decided to pick things up a bit at the gym this morning, eventhough I have a 1-mile race scheduled this afternoon. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill (2.24 miles, a slower pace with occasional .5% incline), and 15 minutes (2.67 miles) on the recumbent bike. Since I knew I'd probably make it to the race this afternoon, I stopped there. Now I wish I'd stopped a little sooner, because now my legs are tired! But, a mile's a mile, and I definitely have another mile in me. (Just wish the temps were going to be a little cooler; it's supposed to be over 90 degrees this afternoon! Ick!)

Speaking of the Magnificent Mile, I went to Raleigh to pick up my race packet at the Athlete's Foot in Cameron Village. The North Carolina Roadrunners Club had two tables set up outside, with one with race numbers and the other with t-shirts. (I can't remember where the goodie bags fell into the flow.) When I took my race number to Table #2 for my t-shirt, an older man standing at the table looked at my race number, looked at me, and said, "So, you're running in the competitive mile?" Okay, so I was already a little sensitive about my slow running, but I still took his comment a little personally. I doubt he meant a thing by it, but I felt a little self conscious! Silly, huh? But I nodded, and replied, "Yes!" Since then, I've been trying to remind myself that 1) I have as much right to be a participant as anyone; 2) the website didn't mention a time limit; 3) I paid the entry fee for a worthy cause, the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation.

Now, I did check the times from last year's race, and based on those times, I probably will be one of the last ones to finish. Do I want to set myself up for that? Hmmm, I think I just need to get over that, though there is the whole pride thing. What I should be proud of is showing up and doing my best. Now, this 1-miler is a USTAF State Championship, as well as a RRCA Southern Region Championship, so I may be a little out of my league. But, since I aspire to be a faster runner, I want to go out there and practice running faster this afternoon. Perhaps I need to remember to smile and have a good time (even with the remnents of this icky cold), to try my best without taking myself so seriously that I forget about the joys and benefits of running.

Missed Long Run

My cold has gotten a bit worse this morning, so I decided to take it easy at the gym. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, and followed it with 15 minutes on the treadmill. No incline today. No speedwork. I just sucked it up and got some cardio time in. My legs still feel like they have energy in them, like they were expecting a long run today. My face, not so much energy! My nose is clogged up and my eyes feel droopy. Granted, I did go grocery shopping after my workout, all before 11 AM, but I do see a nap in my future!



I wanna be a wuss when I have a cold, but since I'm not coughing, I may try to run the Magnificent Mile tomorrow, since I'm already registered for it. I was hoping to use it as speedwork, but between the cold and projected highs tomorrow close to 95, I think I'll just go out there and run it, have fun, and see how I do.

Under the Weather--A Little

I've been nursing a scratchy throat and slightly stuffed-up nose since yesterday. It's not any worse this morning, but not any better either. I decided to go to the gym anyway, but had a pretty light 35 minute workout on the recumbent bike. It wasn't anything intense, but it was something.

Good Treadmill Run

It was back on the treadmill for me this morning. My basic plan was to run 30 minutes, but to hit the 5K mark if I had it in me. I remembered to set the incline to 1% at the beginning of the run, and hit the Start button. I ended up going for 45 minutes and 3.4 miles--yay! The pace was a little slower than it has been on the treadmill lately, but the steady incline, eventhough just a little, took its toll a bit, as the plantar fasciitis in my left foot flaired up a little. The foot feels better now.

I'm thinking about running a 5K on Saturday! Hmmmm....

Combo Workout

This morning I ran on the treadmill for 20 minutes (1.43 miles), then spent 20 minutes (3.5 miles) on the recumbent bike. My knees were feeling a little sore going down the steps of my apartment building on the way to the gym this morning, so I felt like I needed to take it a little easy.

On the treadmill, I forgot to set the incline at first, but 3-4 minutes into the run, I set the incline to 1% and left it there. I could feel some difference in the run (not QUITE as easy)!

Back on the Treadmill

I ran a 5K (3.1 miles) in 40 minutes on the treadmill this morning, with some incline (.5% and 1%). It felt pretty good, no foot pain today.

It's still dark during the majority of my workouts now. The seasons are changing, for sure. I'm kinda missing the possibility of running outside in the mornings. Oh, well, at least I'm okay with the treadmill.

I had a checkup yesterday, and was glad to hear my diabetes is still under control with diet and exercise. (Two years ago, I was taking four insulin shots for Type 2 diabetes!) She encouraged me to do the half marathon rather than the marathon at this point.

No Running Today

I decided to give my legs a break from running today, though it was a little tough! (Crosstraining is my friend, crosstraining is my friend!) Instead, I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, and another 15 minutes on the recumbent bike. On this end of the workout, it feels good to have done other exercises. :)

Unexpected Run

I got on the treadmill this morning expecting to run just enough to bumped my mileage up above last week's mileage of 17.85 miles. I only needed less than a mile, but I felt good enough to keep going, so I ended up with 2.73 miles in 35 minutes. That's 20.47 running miles for the week (in addition to the elliptical machine and recumbent bike). It's good to be back to a 20-mile running week!

Back on the Treadmill

I slept in and puttered around this morning, since Tropical Storm Hanna's wind and rain were coming through. I made it to the gym this afternoon, and did 30 minutes on the treadmill for 2.33 miles. Although I usually listen to my iPod during runs, I shook up the routine a little and watched the rest of an episode of "House" on the treadmill's little TV screen, plugging my earbuds into the sound jack. (There's a "House" marathon on the USA network today, and I got sucked in this morning!)

After the treadmill, I got on the recumbent bike for 15 minutes, for 2.55 miles.

Bike Workout

Still tired from yesterday's long run, I hopped on the recumbent bike at the gym this morning, and went 5.25 miles in 30 minutes, a pretty decent pace for me. I'm looking forward to running again, but my legs needed a break today.

I added a little bit of upper body strength training. The 15 lb. kettlebells are still too heavy for me, so I worked with the 5 lb. free weights.

Long Run Early

Since George and I are taking a couple of days off, and Tropical Storm Hannah may drop some rain on us Saturday morning, I decided to get my long run out of the way this morning. I got a late start, though, as I slept in a little. (I had a Junior League meeting last night, and a glass of wine at the post-meeting party at the Franklin Hotel. The meeting and party were fun, but the glass of wine wasn't the best decision for a night before a run!) By the time I started running at Shelley Lake, it was about 8:20, late for me, and already getting warm. I decided to see how far I could go, hoping to do 10 miles, given I was feeling a little blah.

The traffic between home and the lake was a little more congested than I'm used to, but the lake trails weren't as crowded was they are on Saturdays. Even still, I saw another Galloway training group member out running, so it was fun to chat with her for a couple of minutes. :)

I ended up with pesky pain (the usual plantar fasciitis in one and the mystery toe pain in the other) in my feet again today, so I took some walk breaks, but still finished an even 10 miles in 2:44:12, a 16:25 pace! I can tell I'm getting faster (and walking less), and that's encouraging. I need to build some more distance in soon, to make sure I nail the half marathon distance.

Bike Ride

I took it a little easy this morning, doing 35 minutes (6.07 miles) on the recumbent bike. My body and legs are tired this morning, and I gave myself permission not to push it too much. I just enjoyed the time at the gym, listening to podcasts, with the morning news on the bike's TV screen.

Crosstraining at the Gym

This morning I started with a slower run on the treadmill (30 minutes for 2.26 miles), then 15 minutes on the elliptical (1.07 miles), and lastly 10 minutes on the recumbent bike for 1.71 miles. Yes, my legs are feeling tired now!

The City of Oaks/Rex Healthcare Half Marathon that I want to run is just two months away now, on November 2! Yikes! No, I can be ready--and healthy! I can do it!

Speaking of doing it, my running friend Tayler has signed up for Team in Training--yay, Tayler! I'm excited for her, and impressed that she's taken on fundraising in addition to training for her first half marathon in December or January. Her fundraising page is here.

Treadmill and Bike

Although my legs still felt tired from the weekend workouts, I decided to get on the treadmill and see how far I felt like going. I ended up doing 3.15 miles in 41 minutes, a 13 minute m/m pace! Glad to be running a little faster, even if it's on the treadmill. I need to remember to be careful, though, and not go so fast that I get injured again.

After the treadmill, I got on the recumbent bike and did a slower (than yesterday) 2.61 miles in 15 minutes.