Saturday Long Run

After a long week with lots of work meetings plus some after-work obligations, I decided to skip the running group and run by myself today. I needed the alone time in a bad way. I decided to head for the American Tobacco Trail, my current favorite place to run. I was feeling groggy and cranky, and when I got to the trail, I still didn't feel like running. I decided to take it slow, do all the walking I needed to do, and so what I could accomplish. I ended up covering the same mile or so stretch of the trail that was closest to my car, since I didn't know how long I'd feel like going. Back and forth, back and forth. I ended up run/walking 5.21 miles in 1:30:00. It was slow going, and the groggy crankiness didn't lift until nearly the end.

Afterward, I stopped by Bull City Running, a new running store in the shopping center near the American Tobacco Trail. I bought some Gu Gels to give them some business; they were very friendly. I also returned some library books and stopped by the grocery store, THEN I went to the gym. I thought I might ride the recumbent bike, but I decided to hit the treadmill, and ended up going 3.54 miles in 40:09 minutes, a much better clip (and no walking) than the ATT run.

I ended up with 116.16 miles for the month of January, beating my previous high of 114.3 from January 2008, exactly one year ago! Woohoo!

Friday Workout

1) Rode 2.68 miles (15:01 minutes) on the recumbent bike.
2) Walked 1.22 miles (20:03 minutes) on the treadmill.
3) Ran 3.03 miles (35:03 minutes) on the treadmill. This run was at a faster average pace than I'm used to, and it felt good to work on running faster.

Tomorrow I hope to run in the neighborhood of 10 miles. We'll see how my legs feel tomorrow morning after this morning's something of a speed workout.

Thursday's Workout

1) Rode 4.42 miles (25 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Ran 2.08 miles (25:02 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.36 mile (6:01 min) on the treadmill
4) Ran 1.02 mile (12:03 min) on the treadmill
5) Walked 0.51 mile (10:06 min) on a walk break at work

I've decided to try a reward system (again) for losing weight: every time I lose to a multiple of 5, I'm going to order something off of my Amazon Wishlist. I tried this before, and got away from it over the holidays. Well, I'm at it again, and have already ordered my first "prize." Now I'm shooting for the next one! I have a long wishlist, so I'm going to see how this goes! :) Since I last tried this method, I've signed up for Amazon Prime, so now I get free 2-business-day shipping on most items. That's a decent turnaround time, nice and quick for this reward thing, and it's at my doorstep when I get home from work. Fun!

Wednesday Morning Workout

1) Rode 4.46 miles (25 min) on the recumbent bike while I waited for a treadmill to open up.
2) Walked 0.61 mile (11:06 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 3.44 miles (41 min) on the treadmill

The run felt good, and I was sorry I ran out of time before I needed to go get ready for work. I guess I need to get to the gym earlier, huh?!

Tuesday Workout

1) Ran 0.40 mile (5 min) on the treadmill. Shins were a little sore.
2) Walked 1.23 miles (20:03 min) on the treadmill. Shins better.
3) Ran 3.06 miles (37:02 min) on the treadmill.

Moral of the story: warm up first!

I'm still tired from last week's run and Sunday's daytrip to the beach. I'm off to stretch out on the couch and read.

Busy Start to the Week

Yesterday I didn't have time to blog, becasue George and I drove down to Emerald Isle, NC, for the day to visit family. I did get up early and ran for 30 minutes (2.44 miles) on the treadmill. At the beach, we had a nice walk on the chilly beack, 1.55 miles in 34:34. I ended up being just two tenths of a mile from hitting 30 running miles for the week, and I was plenty sore to show for it! If I'd realized that at the gym, I may have gutted it out, but I really didn't need to--in the big scheme of things.

I was still tired this morning, partly from last week's mileage, and partly from driving nearly 400 miles roundtrip yesterday, but I still made it to the gym. Here's my workout:

1) Walked 1.76 miles (30:07 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 1.22 miles (15:01 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked another 0.60 mile (10:07 min) on the treadmill because the bikes were occupied
4) Rode 2.02 miles (10 min) on the recumbent bike

It's unusual for me to have more walking miles than running miles in a running week (which starts on Monday for me). That'll change soon!

Big Running Morning

1) Ran 1.75 miles (20:04 minutes) on the treadmill at the gym near home. After this run, I drove to Raleigh and met a new Meetup group at Bruegger's. The group is planning to train together for the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon, and this was the initial meeting. After the brief meeting, we walked over to Fleet Feet and did the group run they'd advertised.
2) Ran 4.17 miles (57:40 minutes) in a neighborhood near the Fleet Feet store. It was fun to meet some other area runners and get to know them a little better. The time and the miles went quickly.
3) After running some errands, I went to the other gym I belong to, and ran 2.57 miles (31 minutes) on the treadmill there. The facility is very nice, but the treadmills aren't quite as high tech as my other gym. In addition to fewer gadgets and buttons, the treadmills there are set to go into cool-down mode after 30 minutes. After wrestling with it for a minute, I decided to take a bathroom break, then I went back to it.
4) One last treadmill run, 1.86 miles in 22:01 minutes.

That's 10.35 miles in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 45 seconds. Eventhough it wasn't continuous, it was mileage on my feet. I'm tired, but I feel good.

Friday Run

This morning I ran 3.1 miles in 36 minutes on the treadmill, and that's all I did. I got sidetracked taking care of things at home before the run, including a stopped-up toilet--ugh!, and I had time limits on the end of my workout because I needed to take my car in to get serviced before work. It was a good run though--I sped things up and felt pretty strong!

Thursday Workout

1) Ran 3.43 miles (42 min) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.60 mile (10 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 0.68 mile (8:04 min) on the treadmill
4) Rode 2 miles (11:08 min) on the recumbent bike

I've already walked more this week than I did last week, so I'm pumped about that. Hopefully I'll log a few more miles than I did last week. I tried to work on that today with the second run. I was happy with my first run on the treadmill, but still had some energy after my walk, thanks to a decent night's sleep last night.

I'm a little bummed that one of my favorite podcasts, "Confessions of a Runner," is no longer going to be around. Jodi, the podcaster, completed her goal of marathon at the Walt Disney World Marathon earlier this month, and has decided to move on to other projects. I can understand that, but I'll miss her Mississippi accent that reminded me a little of Alabama, and her stories about running on the Gulf Coast. Thankfully, there are lots of other running podcasts to listen to!

Wednesday Workout

1) Ran 1.21 miles (15 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Walked 1.25 miles (20:01 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Ran 2.10 miles (25 minutes) on the treadmill
4) Rode 2.05 miles (11:03 minutes) on the recumbent bike

I've taken to splitting my treadmill runs up into two parts, divided by a walk, with some frequency lately. Other than the occasional bathroom break, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's breaking up the monotony a bit, though I generally don't mind the treadmill

Indoor Run

We woke up to snow this morning! It was so pretty, but I didn't have any desire to run in it! Brrr-not today! I did go to the gym (my normal thing), and enjoyed watching the snow fall as I ran on the treadmill.

1) Ran 2.51 miles (30:04 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.61 miles (10:07 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Rode 1.08 miles (6:01 minutes) on the recumbent bike

The gym was almost empty this morning because of the snow, just a few other diehards. It reminded me a little of the Frozen 5K Race on Saturday. :)

Holiday Workout

I had today off for the Martin Luther King, Jr, holiday, so I spent some extra time working out this morning. It felt great, and I got to take a big ole nap afterward. I still feel a little tired and sore, so maybe I overdid it.

1) Walked 2.15 miles (41 minutes) outside, which felt great!
2) Ran 1.71 miles (20:03 minutes) on the treadmill, had to take a bathroom break
3) Ran 2.3 miles (26 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Rode 2.24 miles (10 minutes) on the stationary bike

Last night, George and I watched our recorded episode of "The Biggest Loser," and while I was on the treadmill, I kept thinking of the contestants and how fast they were going on the treadmill! It inspired me to speed things up a notch, so I'm feeling it now-whew!

Sunday Workout

I made it back to the gym today. While it's warmer outside than yesterday, being back on the treadmill was comforting and warm this morning!

1) Walked 1.5 miles (25:01 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Ran 3.07 miles (37 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Rode 2.03 miles (10:01 minutes) on the recumbent bike

My shins are feeling better than they were a couple days ago, though I can still feel them a bit today. I want to go exercise some more--a little excess energy. Maybe I'll clean the apartment instead! At least I already have 20 running miles in for this week. Not a stellar performance, but a decent base mileage.

Race Report: Frozen 5K Race, Cary, NC

This morning, I ran in the inaugural Frozen 5K Race at Bond Park in Cary. When I left home, the temperature was 11 degrees, colder than I'd like, but I'd aready registered for it, so I felt like I had to do it!

Bond Park is a pretty plan to run in in Cary. There's a lake, some ball fields, a ropes course, and probably other facilities there. I ran there a couple of times last summer with the North Carolina Roadrunners Club, as part of their summer trail series. The first time I ran there, I took a couple of wrong turns, and they ended up sending the course sweeper out to find me! Needless to say, I was a little concerned about wrong turns this morning, but fortunately, there were volunteers at nearly every place there were options of which way to turn. Thank goodness I guessed right at the spots that weren't manned!

The race was pretty low key, with early registration only, a cap of 185 runners, and no timing chips. In fact, there wasn't even a big clock at the end, just manual timing by someone at the end. Everyone was handed an index card after we crossed the finish line with our place in the race (I got #133), and we had to handwrite our names and bib numbers on the back of our finishing numbers! It felt very low tech and homey, rather refreshing, really.

I officially met Louise there, a lady I've seen at a number of races over recent years. I also met her friend, Jen, and a lady (no name) from Waterville, Maine. Nice to meet new folks and out names with faces.

I wore a long sleeve t-shirt over a short sleeve, and long tights, as well as cotton gloves. It all felt decent once I got moving. Once I started, I was glad I didn't have a hat on. I don't do caps well.

I ended up with a time of 40:34 for the 5K, pretty slow, even for me. I decided to take it easy because of the pre-shin splints (self diagnosed). No long run today, going to take it easy for the rest of the day. A Duke basketball game comes on this afternoon, so there's a good excuse for me to just hang out! :)

Friday Workout--Blah!

1) Walked 1.18 miles (20 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Ran 1.23 miles (15:01 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Rode 2 miles (11:08 minutes) on the recumbent bike

I didn't sleep well last night, and this morning, I'm feeling twinges of shin splints! I mentioned it on Twitter and DailyMile.com, and have gotten some good advice (stretches and ice).

Thursday Gym Time and Frozen 5K

1) Ran 0.39 miles (5 min) on the treadmill, had to take a bathroom break
2) Ran 3 miles (36 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.67 miles (11 min) on the treadmill
4) Rode 1.21 miles (6 min) on the recumbent bike

Yesterday I signed up for the Frozen 5K Race Saturday morning in Cary, before looking to see that the low Friday night is predicted to be 12 degrees, and Saturday's predicted high is 36 degrees. At least this will force me to do SOME running outside on Saturday. This will be a low key race, no timing chip or big clock, and a cap of 185 runners. Small race, for sure. May end up being at the end of the line at the finish, but at least I'll be out there.

Wednesday Workout

1) Ran 2.55 miles in 31 minutes on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.33 miles in 6 minutes on the treadmill
3) Ran 1.24 miles in 15 minutes on the treadmill
4) Rode 1.07 miles in 6 minutes on the recumbent bike

Overslept this morning, as I forgot to set my alarm last night. Feel better for having gotten a full 8 hours of sleep! Wasn't planning to run all that much today, but got a second wind after I got warmed up.

Tuesday Workout

1) Walked 0.56 miles (10 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Ran 3.05 miles (36:06 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Rode 4.36 miles (20 minutes) on the recumbent bike

I've remained a little sore throughout the day. Hmmm. Probably the run/recumbent bike combo. I usually do about 5-6 miles max between the two, so today was a little more.

Is It Monday Again?

This morning, the treadmills were full when I got to the gym, so I started with the recumbent bike, riding 6.26 miles in 30 minutes. When I finally got on the treadmill, I ran 3 miles in 36 minutes.

One new habit I've started in this new year (and in my new paper exercise journal) is writing down the time I start my daily workout. It might be interesting to note any patterns. I would like to start getting to the gym earlier, too.

Today for the first time, I logged the number of hours I slept last night in one of my online training journals (BuckeyeOutdoors.com has a space for it). That could be useful information as well.

Tired Sunday

I'm dragging today after yesterday's long run, so it was nearly 12:30 before I got to the gym! I started by walking in the neighborhood near the gym for 31 minutes (1.67 miles). Then I went inside and ran 31 minutes (2.6 miles) on the treadmill, and rode 4.12 miles (20 minutes) on the recumbent bike. It was a decent workout, just wish I'd started earlier in the day. I usually feel better when I work out in the morning.

Saturday Long Run

This morning I hit the American Tobacco Trail for my long run, and it felt so good to run outside again. I decided to try a run/walk ration of 5:1, and that worked out really well, by and large, for the first 6 miles. The plantar fasciitis in my left foot has been acting up again, and at mile 6, it hurt bad enough that I needed to do more walking. Bummer. Even still, I ended up doing 8.1 miles in 2 hours, 22 minutes, an average pace of about 5 seconds faster than last week's long run. I'll take that mini-victory!

I discovered that the Circle K convenience store/gas station does not have public restrooms, but the Rite-Aid drugstore does! Woohoo! I used it both on my way out and on the way back. It's only a mile into the run from where I park, but it sure did come in handy. The Solite Park restrooms, at mile 2 from where I park, are closed for the season. These are good things to know!

I noticed a couple of running groups out on the ATT, both of whom passed me. I'll be glad when I'm fast enough to join a regular running group! While running, I thought about forming a running group for people my speed (who want to speed up too!). Hmmmm.

Friday Workout

1) Ran 3.34 miles in 40 min. on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.35 miles in 6 min. on the treadmill
3) Biked 2.03 miles in 10 min. on the recumbent bike

The workout felt pretty good, especially considering I accidentally left my iPod at work yesterday! I found an extra pair of earbuds at home, and plugged them into the TV monitor attached to the treadmill at the gym, and watched the news instead. Perhaps the change of pace was good.

I also renewed my membership in the North Carolina Roadrunners Club, and signed up for another 5K, the Run for the Roses in Raleigh.

I've started reading a couple of books about marathoning:

1) Run Your First Marathon: Everything You Need to Know to Reach the Finish Line, by Grete Waitz
2) Marathon: The Ultimate Training and Racing Guide, by Hal Higdon

I hope they'll be informative.

Thursday Workout and Fall Race Update

The gym was still pretty crowded with the Resolution crowd this morning, but I was able to get a decent workout in.

1) Ran 3.14 miles on the treadmill in 38:03 minutes
2) Walked 0.50 miles on the treadmill in 6:11 minutes
3) Biked 2.15 miles in 12 minutes

This afternoon, I noticed that the City of Oaks Marathon and Half Marathon have tentatively been set for November 1. That's cutting it close to the annual anniversary trip George and I usually take the end of October. (Our first date anniversary is on Halloween!) Sooo, I also found out that the Outer Banks Marathon and Half Marathon are on November 8! The timing seems better, and it would be a neat trip! Also, I've heard that marathon is rather flat (except for the bridge), and could be a great first marathon. I wonder if I could be ready for a marathon this year. I'd all but talked myself out of that goal for this year, thinking that another year of base mileage would be good for me. But what if I could do it?!

Well, I'll see how the Coach Bubba 20K next month goes. Raleigh Rocks Half in March will be a good indicator of my progress as well. Stay tuned!

Wednesday Workout

1) 3.34 mile run on the treadmill (40 minutes)
2) 0.30 mile walk on the treadmill (5:10 minutes)
3) 2 mile recumbent bike ride (11:04 minutes)

Still struggling to get to the gym and feeling pretty sluggish after. Perhaps I need to work on the nutrition end of things, and make sure I get to bed. I'll work on drinking more water today.

Tuesday Gym Workout

1) Run 3.02 miles (36 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Walk 0.60 miles (10 minutes)
3) Bike 1.08 miles (6:02 minutes)

The gym is getting a little more crowded with New Year's Resolutioners. It's nice seeing the fresh faces. I've been having to push myself to get to the gym this week. I think I got spoiled being able to run outside while out on vacation. Now it's just too dark in the morning before work for me to feel safe running outside. I do find that once I'm at the gym, and going on the treadmill even, it's easier to put one foot in front of the other.

I did do a little bit of free weights work on my arms before I left the gym this morning, and that was a nice change of pace.

Monday Workout

Okay, so I didn't get to bed early enough to wipe out yesterday morning's tired feeling! Oops! I return to work this morning after two weeks off, so it's back to the routine. I woke up about 3:30 this morning, and never got back to sleep. Not part of the routine. Zzzzz. So, my gym workout routine was a little off today.

1) Run 2.01 miles, 25 minutes
2)Walk 0.64 miles, 11 minutes
3) Run 0.40 miles, 5 minutes
4) Bike 3.21 miles, 16 minutes

Tired Workout

I'm still dragging after yesterday's 8-miler. I started with 32 minutes (6.02 miles) on the recumbent bike, then ran 15:08 minutes (1.25 miles) on the treadmill, and finally walked 5:05 minutes (0.30 miles) on the treadmill. Blah, tired.

2009 Running Goals

I've been mulling over my 2009 running goals lately, trying to decide how big or specific to be. I also mulled over whether or not the go for a full marathon this year. I decided I wouldn't push it this year, but continue to work on my base mileage and speed. If the marathon happens this year, okay, but at this point, I'm thinking 2010 will be the marathon year. So, for 2009:

1) Run 1000 miles this year.

I tried to do this in 2008, but with injuries early in the year, I wasn't able to catch back up.

2) PR in the half marathon.

I ran my first half marathon in November 2008, and I want to put the things I learned from that race into action and run a faster half marathon time in 2009. I've already signed up for the Raleigh Rocks Half Marathon in March.

3) Race a new distance.

I've already signed up for next month's Coach Bubba 20K. It'll be my first 20K, so it'll be an instant PR, the time to beat when I get around to another 20K!

Tough Long Run

I hit the American Tobacco Trail again today with plans to do another long run. Two late nights this week have taken their toll, but I decided to gut it out, no matter what. It was a beautiful morning to be out, and I needed to get the mileage in. I ended up run/walking 8.01 miles in 2:21:01, a slow run/walk pace. The plantar fasciitis in my left foot is acting up again, and I'm still feeling it as I type. It's turned out to be a pretty high mileage week, so I may take it easy for a day or two.

More Gym Time

I went back to the gym this morning, planning to take it a little easy. I'm still a bit tired and sore from yesterday's race and extra running.

I started with 0.88 miles (15 minutes) of walking on the treadmill, followed by a 3-mile run (36:08 miles). Then I biked 3.1 miles in 16 minutes. Still tired and sore. Since I'm still on vacation, I'm off to take a nap--because I can! :) Need to rest up anyway, for what I hope will be a long run tomorrow.

First Run of 2009: Race Report for Resolution Run

Last night I decided to get up and run the Resolution Run in Raleigh this morning. The decision suprised me, since I was at a New Year's Eve dinner and party at the time, and it was cold outside, so I knew it would be cold this morning!

Although I didn't get to sleep until after 2 AM, I decided to go for it anyway. The morning was cold, indeed, but a nice one otherwise. Okay, it was a bit windy too! The nippy weather gave people something else to talk about though, which was nice.

Although the race was a bit hilly, it was a decent one for me. While I'm still waiting on the official results, I finished in about 38:12, just a few seconds slower than my last 5K. Considering the lack of sleep, plus the wind and the hills, I'm not disappointed, really. And I loved starting out the year with a 5K!

Afterward, I stopped at the gym. (Yes, I'm crazy!) I ran another 1.39 miles (17 minutes) on the treadmill, walked 0.30 miles (5:06 minutes), then rode the boke for 12 minutes (2.4 miles).

This afternoon, I am tired and sore, for sure! George and I met his cousin, Jacob, in Cary for lunch. Afterward, they decided to head for a local used book store. I would've loved to join them, but I decided to come on home. Time to stretch out on the couch with a book! Zzzzzz

UPDATE: Official time for the Resolution Run was 38:11. The picture above is a shot I took of myself before the race, trying out my new digital camera.