I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

Just easy miles (avg. 9:20).  It was very, very cold.  I'm not looking forward to running tomorrow.  I'm doing a trail race, but it probably won't be much of a race.  We'll see what conditions are like...

It was very cold.  I originally planned to go out early and run some miles before, but when I saw that the temp was -17 with the wind chill, I thought I better not.  And then I only got there in time to "warm up" a little less than 1/4 mile.

So this was a trail race and it was moderately difficult.  I didn't push the first mile because the start narrowed very quickly so it was hard to get around people.  Then I started moving a little more.  There was only one area that we were all forced to walk--a very narrow steep incline that wound around a bit.  Other than that (and I didn't pay attention to how long it was, maybe a little less than .2) it was running all the way.  There were some narrow parts and some icy parts, but overall it was a pretty trail.

As far as racing goes, I could have done better.  My splits were 9:48, 9:01, 8:39, 8:27, 11:16 (this was the uphill part), 9:21 (I got lazy and talkative here.  I had a few minutes of conversation with the guy behind me), 9:51 (can't remember what the deal was here, but I think this was a little rougher terrain), and then about 8:53 (but I'll update that when results are posted because I forgot to stop my watch, but I know the finish clock said 1:10 something).

The only thing that irritated me was that the whole way there was a woman running behind me and I just wanted to beat her.  In the last mile I kept trying to send her a vibe to pass me because I wanted her in front.  And then when she did pass me, I wasn't expecting it.  The trail was narrow and there were a couple people in front of me and she passed us all at once.  By the time I got by the other two in front she was already about 15 paces ahead and I stupidly just gave up with about 1/4 mile to go.  That's why I hate racing--because at the time I don't care that much, but it bothers me now that it's all over.  I did feel a little better because one of the other two I passed right in the end was a woman, and she tried to out kick me in the end, but I edged her out. 

Then I was interviewed by the news.  I doubt I made it on because I think my response was unintelligible.  He asked me if I was cold, and I tried to say, "No.  I was dressed perfectly."  That's how it sounded in my head, but I was still out of breath and it didn't come out that way.

I was happy because I was the 12th woman finisher and my award was a t-shirt and a stocking cap.  Hooray!  Oh, and I beat crazy Que, the lady that I saw last week running with a chute.  I did stop to talk to her afterward.  She's been injured, but she might be running Boston this year.  She qualified last year at the Illinois Marathon and didn't even realize it until her coworkers told her she had.  She's turning 60 this year, I think.

And then I cooled down 2 miles.  And I really cooled down because I was running around looking for the girls that were holding my jacket (former runners).  I finally found them and the jacket and still wanted to run a little more.  My last mile was frigid.

UPDATE:

 I updated my time.  I swear that when I crossed the line the clock said 1:10 something.  Oh well.  Maybe I looked at it 5 seconds before I crossed the line.

Instead of running today I just chilled.  My heel has been bothering me (another bout of tendinitis) and I'm thinking the gazelle might be partially to blame.  I don't want to do too many miles on it, so instead I played Guess Who with my oldest after putting my youngest (and crabbiest) to bed at an astonishing 6:30.  Thought about doing some yoga to at least get in a workout, but decided I preferred cuddling.

An easy time on the gazelle while watching the Illini annihilate Iowa.  Heel feels mostly better.  I stopped periodically to stretch because the way I favor it makes my calf tight (I am working on not favoring it, but sometimes when I've been sitting for a while, the first few minutes of walking are pained).  I'm wearing dress shoes for the first time this week.

Too much ice on the sidewalks; too little motivation.  This was not an inspiring run, but I'm glad I got out and did it.  It was cold, but I was warm.  I never really got out of a slow pace.  Last week's unshoveled sidewalks are now covered in uneven ice, so sometimes I was running over that, sometimes I was running in the snow on the grass, sometimes I was going up and down driveways to run in the roads.  Overall my average was 9:59.  Even my last mile, when I was running in the clear road, was only 9:21.  

But on the plus side:  I am off school today.  I doubt I'll run outside, though.  The few inches we got last night are now covering that ice from yesterday--but it's still there and now it's invisible.  Plus we're getting more as we speak. 

The first of at least two days indoors.  Started watching some depressing History Channel show narrated by a fictional girl born in 2009 from 2100.  No more natural resources, crumbling cities, global warming, etc. etc. etc.  Whatever.  I don't know why the History Channel is full of apocalyptic shows this past week.  Boooooooooooo.

Then I moved on to 30 Rock.  At least that was entertaining.

Set my alarm for 4:40 to get in a workout early.  Turned on the T.V. to see schools scrolling at the bottom, but not mine.  Took my chances anyway and went back to bed.  Alarm went off at 5:40.  My school was still not on there, so I got in the shower reluctantly. 

The phone rang while I was in the shower.  Snow day.  Booooooo (well, as much boo as can be said for a snow day). 

A wasted shower.  Still have not worked out, but I will when I start to feel dirty again...

UPDATE:

 I was reading some stuff about cross-training, and I found an article that said 60 minutes of cross-training (with heart rate at least at 70% of max) = 5 miles.  So reluctantly that's the formula I will use when I'm on the gazelle.  I'm not going to adjust previous mileage, but will fix from here on out. 

I hope I can run outside Sat, but it doesn't look promising.  Sidewalks are not clear, but neither are streets.  Rantoul, for budgetary reasons, of course, does not believe in salt for any but major roads (and even those aren't great).

Another boring time on the gazelle.  I'm itching to go outside.  If I can't get outside I might break down and get a gym membership for 3 months.  Although I'm not relishing the thought of a treadmill, I can at least have somewhere to really run when outside running isn't happening.  

I embraced the gazelle today and was happy to be running in shorts and a tank top.  I just did an hour and then I did some Power Yoga.  I stink at the back bends, but otherwise I rock.  I did finally hold my 3rd back bend for a little while.

I hope to be outside by the end of this week.  The deep freeze might be over in a few days.

As you can see from the odd mileage--I got outside today!  Hooray!  I did a weird loop where I ran out of my neighborhood (streets are still snowy and "sidewalk" in some of the areas that I run is actually on the street, sorta like a bike lane, if you will) and then ran east down one road by the church/school and high school, south to the next block, then west and so on.  I ran some of the roads which had shoveled sidewalks two or three times.  I managed to get quite a few miles that way because my east/west roads were about 1/2 mile sections.  AP:  9:14.

It was cold, but not as bad as it has been.  It was 24 (17 with the windchill).

I did not feel particularly safe at the times where I was forced to run in the streets (and there were a few times).  I should go out and get a reflective vest at least, but I don't know if that will make me feel particularly safe either.  I'm considering the gym so I at least have access to a treadmill, but I don't want to run on the treadmill every day.

Tomorrow is supposed to be 36 (sorry April, I was wrong on the 46, but it's still above freezing for the first time in a while) so hopefully there will be some more melting!

In other news, potty training is going swimmingly.  The first couple weeks were terrible because the holidays led to us being inconsistent, but now Eli is doing great.  He's down to roughly one accident a day.  He's not pooping consistently, but I remember Caleb took a while to get that down, so I'm not worried.

I got started really late because I watched an ultra-exciting 6th grade boys' basketball game.  The final score?  26-12.  It was a nailbiter.

And that reminds me:  I heard on the news yesterday that some organization was trying to create a new punctuation mark to indicate that you are being sarcastic.  http://www.asylum.com/2010/01/12/sarcmark-introduces-punctuation-to-indicate-sarcasm/

Considering the subject matter, I'm not sure if they're serious.

On to other news, I watched 1000 Ways to Die while I was doing the gazelle.  That show is...entertaining, for lack of a better word.  Then I got bored with it and watched most of an NCIS episode, but I missed the beginning, so I spent the whole episode really trying to catch up.

Outside on Thursday, I do believe.  It was a balmy 36 Wed, and I think it'll be just as warm Thurs.

A glorious outside run.  It was in the mid-30s, with a 6 mph wind that I could only feel when I was going south, and it wasn't bad even then.  After school I picked up a reflective vest and a blinking LED light and I felt a little safer, but I still didn't let my guard down when I was running in the street.

Snow is melting and most sidewalks were clear, but the unshoveled ones were slushy.  Not bad mostly, but on 45 just south of St. Mal, the slush was pretty deep because that was a sheet of ice before the thaw.

I ran a minute and 1/2 before I realized that my watch hadn't picked up a satellite, so I stopped until it connected.  I figured the distance on the way home (it was .17).  So my real splits (not including that 1 1/2 minute .17) were 8:52, 9:04, 8:55, 8:37, 9:04, 8:37, 8:30, 8:07 and then 7:05 for the last .22.  The pace felt comfortable, not hard, but not easy.  I was working, and only slightly bogged down in some of the slushy areas. 

Woke up at about 1:30 feeling that silly pain in my left heel.  I don't know if the cause might be the pace from yesterday or that my heel likes consistency in the surface it is running on and is unhappy that it isn't getting it.

Then woke up at 4:30 to get in a run before work.  I went for an hour, stopping every 5 minutes to stretch my foot.  After I was warm I didn't feel it as much, but I feel it now and am wearing gym shoes to work and trying not to baby it.

I ran on a treadmill today since I was at my sister's.  This way I could keep an eye on the kids while my sister slept in a little longer.

I did a progression run.  Started with 1 mile in 9:30 and increased to 8:57 for the next two miles.  Then hit the up button 1 time for the next bunch of miles.  Then, for some reason, I decided that I wanted to finish 7 miles in 60 minutes and knew that I had to do more of an increase, so started hitting the up button once every minutes starting at 52 minutes.  The last 3 minutes were hard.  If I thought about it I could probably figure out exactly what he pace was, but I think in the last 3 minutes I was just above and then just below 7 minute pace.

I didn't finish in 60 minutes.  I was about 10-15 seconds over.

Then I cooled down 1/2 mile.

My sis diagnosed my heel as PF.  Aggravated by some sort of change in routine, probably.  It was a little bothersome in the first few miles, but felt fine as I kept going.  So I'll just keep doing what I've been doing, which is stretching calves and my arches.  I'm about to also check out the link that Bonnie posted to my blog yesterday (thanks!).

This run felt great!  It was foggy so I wore my vest, but I was happy to get out running in the daylight.  Sidewalks were almost all the way clear, but there were a few areas where snow/ice still lingered. 

I started at a good pace and then just kept pretty steady until the end, where I tried to push for the last 15 minutes.  My splits are odd because I accidentally pressed the lap button when starting the watch after waiting at a light at 1.46 miles, so splits were taken every mile thereafter (at .46).

Avg:  8:38.  Splits 9:02, .46 at 8:42, then miles of 8:32, 8:50, 8:52, 8:39, 8:37, 8:44, 8:53, 8:05, and .65 at 7:41.

Didn't really want to go out on this run.  When I was out on this run I was contemplating doing 4 miles, then 6, and finally I just figured if I was about 8, I would be satisfied.  It was easy and uneventful.

Avg: about 9:35.  

Long time on the gazelle.  Freezing rain outside.  Watched some NCIS.

We're supposed to get thunderstorms Thurs.  Weird.  But then I hear it is to be 50 on Saturday, which I like.

I signed up last week for Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle in March.  My only dilemma is the start.  I'm in a start corral (the slowest one).  All my other people could get into a better start corral, but they are content to be in the open because they don't want to race.  Since none of them care, I have to decide if I should just stay put in my slow corral.  I could submit 5K results to get a better start corral, but it just seems like a lot of effort...I just don't want to go in the open with them because I do want to race and I know I would allow them to seduce me over to the dark side if I started with them.

Did yoga when I came home from school.  The 3 kids joined me (I pick up my nephew from school.  He's almost like one of my kids).  Eli got bored after 5 minutes and then wandered around trying to get the other two to stop.  Caleb got bored after about 20 minutes.  Spencer did pretty much the whole thing with me.  He sat out for a few minutes when the poses got hard for him.

Then I went out to the KC's for dinner, where I was the hero of the night.  They do this monthly drawing.  If your number is drawn, you win a certain amount of money.  If you aren't there to collect, you only win half.  My husband had to work and I really didn't want to go, but I was told I had to.  I almost didn't go, but I did, and...we won!  $1710.  Now, don't get too excited for me.  We split it 5 ways (my husband's brothers do everything together.  They each get a number and they always split).  But still.  A bit over $300  If I hadn't gone, it would have been 1/2.

Normally my mantra is "I hate the KC's," but today I love it.  The love won't last long.

And then I came home and did the gazelle for my 7 cross training miles.

Class tonight.  Woke up early to get in an hour of cross training.

Hoping tomorrow is going to be warm.  After I get out of class tomorrow afternoon I'd like to get in at least 10 miles.  It depends on how guilty I feel for spending more time away from the kids, though.

Professor pushed back class start time from 8 until 9, so I was able to get in my run before class. 

And I rocked it.

Did 3 faster miles mid run.  I'm thinking that I will be shooting for a 8 min pace (or maybe a little under) for the 1/2 in May.  So I tried to hit that pace for the 3 miles, and I was a little under.

Avg. pace: 8:45.  Splits:  9:23, 9:00, 8:58, 7:41, 7:52 (for 1.03--I accidentally hit the lap button at .82 and then forgot to push it again right at an even mile), 7:52, 10:03 (started this mile with a .1 walk), 9:13, 9:05, 8:35 and then 8:39 pace for the last bit.

Did not feel totally awesome at the end of the 3rd fast mile.  But felt really good after I was done with the run.  (Almost) wished that I had more time to run a little longer.  But I was a few minutes late for class because I got off to a later start than I should have.

20 mph wind?  Light snow?  Poor visibility?  Dark?

NO THANKS!!

I watched T.V. in the comfort of my home instead.

Indoors again.  Just couldn't make myself go out.  Tomorrow will be outside since I have an evening activity at school.  Thursday probably not--I'm moderating for Scholastic Bowl.  Friday not--Chuck is supervising a basketball game.

On Saturday there is a run out in Mahomet (the closest trails to me, about 40 min. from my house but close to school) that sounds pretty cool.  There's a 4 mile loop and you just run however many loops you want.  My problem?  It starts at 8 and I have to leave for a Chicago b-day party at 10:30 or 11.  A colleague will be running 7 loops.  I'm still trying to think of a way I can go out there and run a bit of his run with him.  We'll see.

A nice 8 miles on the streets behind the school (that essentially go nowhere).  No cars, not really cold, just windy (7-10mph winds).  Going into the wind was obviously worse.  There are some retention ponds out there and usually I run around them so that I don't have to do the same loop multiple times.  That was a mistake.  The first lake I almost fell a few times and I decided that I wouldn't run around the other and then the other side of the lake was less slippery, so I just decided to run around the other lake.

Bad idea.  That was where I fell.  There was a sheet of ice and I thought I could run over it.  I slipped, thought I righted myself, and was quite surprised to end up on my butt.  No biggie, but I decided after that to just run on the roads.

Throughout the rest of the run, I either had the wind in my face or an uphill, or both.  Visibility was pretty bad, especially towards the end of the run.   But it was still a pretty great run.

Avg pace:  8:43 avg

Inside again.  Watched some of the Purdue/Wisconsin game.  Rooted for Purdue mostly because I hate Wisconsin.  Purdue won in an intense game.  Probably not good for Illinois in the long run.

I have been doing some more ab work lately.  I'm trying to add that into the daily routine and so far this week I have been doing it daily.

8 cross training miles and some ab work.

A progression run.  Felt great. 

Temp was 16 degrees (2 with 13 mph winds).  It honestly didn't feel that cold, but it did feel windy.  I tried to make sure that I ran well in the wind, since that's usually the only hurdle I have to overcome in races. 

Avg: 8:43.  Mile splits 9:20, 8:55, 8:55, 8:51, 8:45, 8:43, 8:28, 8:32, 8:24, 8:21 and then .6@8:21 pace.  The last mile and a half I had to push myself to keep that pace, but it felt pretty good.