Saturday Workout

1) Ran 0.79 mile (10 min) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.36 mile (6:01 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 3.43 miles (40 min) on the treadmill
4) Rode 5.54 miles (30:01 min) on the recumbent bike

One of the best workouts I've had in a few days. Although I missed doing a long run, it was raining, and I'm recovering from a cold. This workout cleared my head, and my congestion is better, but the cough was exacerbated. Took some cough medicine at home. Now I'm feeling tired, but pretty good.

Friday Workout

1) Ran 3.06 miles (36 min) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.61 mile (10:01 min) on the treadmill
3) Rode 1.8 miles (1o:01 min) on the recumbent bike

I still feel snotty today, but slightly better. Feel like the cold it breaking up a little. I have about 6/10 of a mile to run so hit the 100 mile mark for the month of February! Unless I take a turn for the worse, I'll be able to get that in tomorrow morning without too much trouble.

Thursday Workout

I was feeling the effects of my bad cold this morning (and they've persisted throughout the day! Phfhfpfpphf!) So, I didn't get much of a workout in this morning, but at least it was something.

1) Walked 1.17 miles (20:09 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 1.24 miles (15 min) on the treadmill

Wednesday Workout

1) Walked 0.82 mile (15:01 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 2.08 miles (25:03 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.11 mile (2:01 min) on the treadmill
4) Ran 1.02 mile (11:10 min) on the treadmill

It was a decent workout, considering I was coming down with a cold. Ugh! I don't seem to have a fever, but am congested and have an achy throat. Ick. I'll do what I can this week, and hope I'm well enough to do a long run on Saturday.

Catching Up On Workout Posts

Monday, 2/23:
1) Ran 1.2 miles (15:03 min) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.35 mile (6:07 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 1.25 miles (15 min) on the treadmill
4) Rode 2.7 miles (15 min) on the recumbent bike

Tuesday, 2/24:
1) Walked 0.57 mile (10:05 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 3.01 miles (35:05 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 0.53 mile (6:04 min) on the treadmill (decided I had a little left in me)
4) Rode 2.14 miles (12 min) on the recumbent bike

The Day After

I'm a little sore today from yesterday's race, but not as bad as I expected. I managed to get in 90 minutes of exercise this morning, which is actually more than usual. Instead of finishing a book before I worked out this morning (something I did twice last weekend!), I took a book with me and finished it on the recumbent bike.

1) Rode 10.39 miles (1 hour) on the recumbent bike
2) Walked 0.30 mile ( 5:11 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 2.14 miles (25 minutes) on the treadmill

Race Report: 2008 Coach Bubba 20K

The day of the Coach Bubba 20K, my first at that distance, finally arrived this morning! It was a chilly, but pretty morning, cold enough for half-way leggings and a long sleeve shirt, but not cold enough for me to bother with a hat and gloves.

It was fun running into some people I knew before the race, including Susan from the Junior League and Rey from previous races, and George ran into Jack from the Cary library. During the race, I chatted with a retired Duke political science professor, and passed Cindy from blogging/Facebook/Twitter on the trail.

I really enjoyed the course, though the first part of it had some hills. We started in downtown Durham, then went through the Forest Hills neighborhood before hitting the American Tobacco Trail. Once I got on the ATT, I felt like I was on my home playing field.

I only had to make one pit stop this race, which was a relief! During the half marathon I ran in November, I had to stop at every porta-john, and I knew I needed to work on my food intake during race week! It worked, with only the one stop this time--yay! I also worked on drinking plenty of water this past week, and got to bed early the past three nights. All of this worked in my favor.

Even still, I was the last person in the field for most of the race, with the police car hovering behind me for most of the course that was on the streets. Once I got over being irritated at hearing the police car so close by, I was resigned to the fact that I might come in last, and that I'd be okay with it. (Not thrilled, but okay!) It wasn't until the last three quarters of a mile that I passed a couple of people, and that just happened by plugging along. It wasn't a race at that point, but a run to finish, a goal to complete.

At one of the street crossovers while I was still at the back, I told the police officer holding traffic that I was it, and he replied, "You may be it, but you're an inspiration." That was a nice little lift for this back-of-the-packer.

I'd definitely recommend this race to others! Kudos to the Carolina Godiva Track Club and all the volunteers! I'll update with an official time later.

UPDATE: My official time was 3:02:31. I came in 453 out of 455 runners, 12 out of 12 in my age group, and 200 out of 201 female finishers. One of the most telling stats for me, though, was my average pace of 14:43 minutes per mile. In the last longer distance race I ran, the City of Oaks Half Marathon in November of last year, my average pace was 15:13 minutes per mile. I'm thrilled to have made a 30 second improvement in that average over a 10+ mile race!

Friday Light Workout

1) Ran 1.25 miles in 15:13 minutes on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.60 mile in 10:13 minutes on the treadmill
3) Rode 4.41 miles in 25:03 minutes on the treadmill
4) Did 0.43 mile in 5:06 minutes on the elliptical trainer

It felt strange holding back on the workout today, but I hope it will pay off tomorrow at the Coach Bubba 20K Race. So far, I haven't been very good at tapering for races in the past. I felt like I needed to burn more calories today. We'll see tomorrow.

The short elliptical workout was an afterthought on my way out of the gym. I don't think I've been on the elliptical all year. Just needed a little umph.

Thursday Workout--Tapering

1) Walked 0.28 mile (5 min) on the treadmill
2) Walked 0.28 mile (5 min) on the treadmill (again)
3) Ran 2.21 miles (26 min) on the treadmill
4) Rode 1.78 miles (1o:01 min) on the recumbent bike

It was hard to stop at 2.21 miles of running, but I felt like I needed to. I still have running energy left, but my legs are bit sore from working on running faster this week. Saturday's 20K (12.4 miles) race will be here soon enough, and I want to have fresh legs.

Wednesday Easy Day--Not

I'm sleepy tired this morning, got to bed too late, but went to the gym anyway. I thought I'd take it easy today, but I ended up being able to push myself harder than expected. I'm glad, because I'd wanted a solid mid-week workout before slowing down a bit for Saturday's Coach Bubba 20K Race.

1) Walked 1.18 miles (20:05 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 3.45 miles (40:01 min) on the treadmill (still under a 12 minute pace--yay!)
3) Rode 1.80 miles (10 min) on the recumbent bike

Tuesday On the Go

1) Walked 1.55 miles (26 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Ran 3.04 miles (35:03 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.25 mile (4:03 minutes) on the treadmill

The running continues to be a little faster this week, though I slowed down a bit from yesterday. I'm working on weekday training runs at below a 12 minute per mile average pace, with weekend long runs being slower.

Monday Run

What a difference a week makes! Last Monday I was feeling blah, barely did any running. Today--much better!

1) Walked 1.02 miles (17 minutes) on the treadmill
2) Ran 2.23 miles (25 minutes) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.53 mile (8.08 minutes) on the treadmill
4) Ran 1.13 miles (12:04 minutes) on the treadmill (fastest avg pace in months!)
5) Rode 1.8 miles (10 minutes) on the recumbent bike

I'm taking today off from work, and it feels nice to put a hard workout in and have a chance to relax now.

Sunday at the Gym

I got another late start to working out today, as I was finishing yet another book! I'm on a bit of a roll with the reading, but I'm glad I started exercising earlier today than I did yesterday!

1) Rode 3.6 miles (20:02 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Walked 0.64 mile (11 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 0.41 mile (5:10 min) on the treadmill, had to make a pit stop
4) Ran 3.60 miles (41:07 min) on the treadmill

I've noticed that whenever I have to stop running on the treadmill for a quick break, the next round on the treadmill is often a good bit faster. What's up with that? Guess part of it is warming up.

Saturday Long Run/Walk

Today I went the American Tobacco Trail to get my long run in, and ended up doing a run/walk combo of 7.04 miles in 1:58:00. Let me tell you, it was a long stretch! I didn't get started until late (sometime between 11:30 and 11:40), as I sat down to read some in a book and ended up finishing it! So that was my own fault, and perhaps part of the reason why I had a hard time focusing during today's outing. *Sigh* Well, I knew it might be tough, but my goal was a 10K today, and I went past that, so it'll be okay. And on a bright note, the weather was beautiful, and I ran into Susan's husband on the trail. (Susan, if you happen to read this, feel better soon! Hope to see you at Coach Bubba!)

I'll get some more running mileage in for the week tomorrow morning.

Friday Walk/Run Workout

1) Walked 1.18 miles (20:01 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 4.22 miles (50:00 min) on the treadmill

It felt good to push myself on the treadmill again. I was tempted to get off and ride the recumbent bike, but I decided I needed some more time on the run. I'm glad I did.

Thursday Workout

1) Rode 3.54 miles (20:06 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Walked 0.58 mile (10 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 3.35 miles (40:09 min) on the treadmill

My legs are a little tired from yesterday morning, and my body's a little tired from a busy last evening. I'm just glad I got over three miles of running in today; I'm still playing a bit of catchup.

I'm trying to get a "corporate" team together for the Run for the Oaks in mid-March. So far, two other library employees are interested, which, with me as the third, would make the minimum of a team! Yay! I hope it all works out!

A Longer Run Today!

1) Walked 0.27 mi. (5 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 4.40 mi. (52:07 min) on the treadmill
3) Rode 1.26 mi. (7:01 min) on the recumbent bike

It was satisfying to get a solid, longer run in this morning. My legs weren't as tired after taking a couple of easy days in the gym. Now I need to get my mileage back up a little.

Tuesday at the Gym

1) Walked 0.85 mi. (15:03 min) on the treadmill
2) Ran 1.22 mi. (15:03 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.30 mi. (5:03 min) on the treadmill
4) Ran 1.24 mi. (15 min) on the treadmill
5) Rode 3.09 mi. (17:01 min) on the recumbent bike

I just felt like breaking things up today! I think I'm getting my sea legs back to running, bit by bit. Still, it's unusual for me to have so many more biking miles than running miles for the week. I'm sure it'll even out in time.

Slow Monday Workout

1) Rode 6.29 miles (35 min) on the recumbent bike.
2) Walked 1.03 miles (17 min) on the treadmill.
3) Ran 0.40 mile (5 min) on the treadmill.

I'm still pretty sore and tired from the weekend's long run and 5K. I should've just not run today, but I'm stuck on this not-taking-a day-off-from-running streak. I hope I don't get knocked off by overtraining. Must be careful.

Race Report: 2009 Run for the Roses

It was a beautiful afternoon for a 5K, and I was registered for the Run for the Roses 5K in Raleigh! The race start was at 2 PM, so I was able to go to church first, and changed into my running clothes afterward so I could drive straight to Raleigh.

I arrived at the Halifax Community Center in plenty of time to find and meet Pauline, a Facebook friend and fellow runner, for the first time today! We've run in at least a couple of races together (including last year's RFTR) without meeting, so it was great to meet her today! I also saw Louise (from the Frozen 5K, the Resolution Run, and other races around here!) at the mid-point water stop. It was a treat to see a familiar face there--thanks for volunteering, Louise! Ray from the Apex Turkey Trot and other Second Empire Series 5Ks last year was out as well, and a newcomer to the Triangle struck up a conversation with me--turns out this was his first race since moving here from New Jersey. He was loving the weather, and his child was signed up for one of the kids' races following the 5K. (The kids races are always sooo cute!)

I knew today's race would be a little slow for me, coming at the end of a fairly high mileage week (didn't quite make 30 miles), a long run yesterday, and a pretty good workout on the recumbent bike at the gym this morning. Still, I was hoping to come in under 40 minutes. The hills in the race were a little tough as I remembered, but I stuck pretty closely to the 3:1 run/walk ratio I started with. (A couple of times I extended it to 4:1 or 5:1, if I caught the downside of a hill!) I ended up coming in at around 40:45, but am waiting for official results. While I'm a little disappointed in my time, it was great to run outside and see so many people out running!

UPDATE: Gun time was 40:50, chip time was 40:28.

Easy Sunday Morning Workout

1) Rode 8.06 miles (45:02 minutes) on the recumbent bike, while finishing Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea.
2) Walked 0.27 mile (5 minutes) on the treadmill.

This was a leisurely workout, since I have the Run for the Roses this afternoon. It feels strange not to have run already, but my legs are kinda tired as it is, from yesterday's workout. Hope I make it through the race okay. This was the race where I injured myself last year, and I really, really don't want to repeat THAT!

Race report later!

Long Run Plus

1) Ran 7.05 miles (1:48:00) at Shelley Lake, the best long run I've had in a while! The pace was a little faster than normal, partly because I tried a different strategy, I think. Instead of watching my Garmin for scheduled walk breaks, I used the songs on my iPod instead. I accidentally set the iPod to shuffle songs, but it turned out to be a nice change of pace from my workout playlist. I decided to run through at least one whole song (sometimes two if I was feeling strong), then talk a fast walk break for part of a song, then run the rest of the song and the next. The weather was clear and cold, but a long sleeve shirt and long stretchy shorts kept me plenty warm. I saw a few familiar runners at Shelley Lake, which was fun.

2) Rode 4.20 miles (21 minutes) on the recumbent bike at the gym.
3) Walked 0.35 mile (6:01 minutes) on the treadmill.
4) Ran 0.57 mile (7 minutes) on the treadmill. Just because.

Now I've run a tad longer this week than last, and I still have tomorrow's 5K race (the Run for the Roses). If I run a little extra, I'll have another 30-mile week under my belt for the year. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

TGIF Workout

1) Walked 0.58 mi. (10 min) on the treadmill to warm up.
2) Ran 3.02 mi. (37 min), including two 1-min. walk breaks, on the treadmill.
3) Rode 3.4 mi. (17 min.) on the recumbent bike.
4) Ran 0.51 mi. (6 min.) on the treadmill to finish with a strong, faster pace run at the end of my workout, to practice running faster after I've been pushing myself for an hour or so.

I'm glad today is Friday! It's been a busy week at work, and I've been pushing the running miles a little bit as well. I tried signing up for the Krispy Kreme Challenge 5K yesterday before lunch, and the race is full! Wow! Over 5000 registered runners, and ESPN is covering it, to boot. Ah, well! Maybe next year. (I looked for another race to do tomorrow in its place, but nothing nearby intrigued me.) Meanwhile, I'm still signed up for the Run for the Roses 5K on Sunday.

Gutting It Out

1) Rode 4.28 miles (25:01 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Walked 0.28 mile (5 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 1.62 miles (20:01 min) on the treadmill. This segment was pretty slow going and took me a while to warm up. Had to stop for a restroom break.
4) Ran 1.75 miles (20:09 min) on the treadmill. This segment went much better. I felt perkier and was able to speed up.

I've signed up the the Run for the Oaks on March 14!

Wednesday Run

1) Walked 0.60 mile (10:14 min) to warm up.
2) Ran 2.50 miles (30:13 min) on the treadmill before needed a bathroom break
3) Ran another 1.75 miles (20:11 min) on the treadmill.

Today's runs felt so, so much better than yesterday's! Whew! :)

I just found out I have this Saturday free after all, so I may run in the Krispy Kreme Challenge after all. We'll see.

Booking My Tuesday Run

1) Ran 3.67 miles (45 minutes) on the treadmill. This was a hard run for me, pretty much the whole way. I had to coax myself through each mile. I usually like the treadmill okay. I think I was just tired, sore, and cranky. The run didn't help much of anything, so I was glad to stop today.

2) Walked 0.35 mile (6 minutes) on the treadmill.
3) Rode 2.15 miles (12 minutes) on the recumbent bike.

I decided to change my rewards schedule to every 2.5 lbs, since the weight was coming off so slowly, and today I surpassed my first mark in this new weightloss journey to my goal weight! I decided to order inexpensive ($5-sih) books for the 2.5 marks, and slightly more expensive ones for the multiples of 5. I ordered Jane Eyre (which I may have read, but can't remember, so I think I'm long overdue for a read or reread!) for the weight loss, and threw in The Thirteenth Tale for surviving the run this morning. I am helpless. It wasn't even that long of a run, but it was just hard! :P Books are my new junk food. So there. I said it.

My Amazon wishlist is getting out of control, by the way, but includes a 24-pack of bottled water! I'm seriously thinking about ordering it next time I need bottled water! I live in a third floor apartment without an elevator, which is wonderful exercise, but less that charming when I'm carrying water in bulk up the stairs. Having it delivered to my front door sounds delightful!

Monday at the Gym

1) Rode 4.5 miles (25:10 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Ran 2.57 miles (30 min) on the treadmill
3) Walked 0.31 mile (5 min) on the treadmill
4) Ran 1.04 miles (12:03 min) on the treadmill

Working hard to pick up the pace a bit with my running, so I think the walk break in between is a nice respit for my legs.

Sunday Morning Workout

1) Rode 5.34 miles (30 min) on the recumbent bike
2) Ran 3.03 miles (35 min) on the treadmill

Ended up with 26.03 running miles for the week, which isn't bad. I'm looking forward to 30+miles/week being the norm. Bit by bit!