I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

Ran a bit at the gym.  Lifted legs and did abs.

I've been lazy about lifting arms lately.  I used to lift every morning.  I have to get back into that.

My husband was painting last night, so I didn't get in a run.  I was bummed.  This day I had time for a quick four--I finished teaching my class at 5:15 and stopped at the gym on the way home.  I didn't get home then until almost 7.  Because of my guilt, I'm thinking about goingto run AFTER I put the kids in bed (at about 9) but I'm an early riser, so likely it won't last!

Last night my husband was supervising a basketball game, so I didn't get to the gym.

I did, though, have a good run this morning.  I ran 3.5 miles, then I did abs.  Then I ran another 2 and afterward did shoulders, biceps and triceps. 

My running felt a little sluggish, but that's probably because I didn't run much this week.  I need to stop feeling so guilty about it; I can't do everything!

I ran with a couple kids from my team.  We started off slow and ran I would say tempo for the first 2 miles.  I forgot my watch in the car, so I don't know our splits.  Then roughly around the 2 mile mark, Gregg Rose came by with his heavy breathing.  At first I didn't know it was him, but as soon as he passed me, I knew there was no way that I was going to let him blow by me.  He told us afterward that he was annoyed that we were talking during our race so he thought he'd spur us on.  I'm glad he did because we weren't going hard.  The last mile, though, we were.

I ended up only 26 seconds slower than last month with a lot less effort.  Even though I was disappointed at myself for not really racing, I was still okay with the fact that I took 3rd in my age division (and another 10 seconds and I would have taken first in my division--I thought there was no way I'd even be close to a medal.  But hindsight is 20/20).

BTW, it was about 20 degrees. 

Ran on the treadmill at 8:12 pace.  I ran at that pace for 35 minutes, mostly because I find it hard to believe that I'm actually running at 8:12 pace.  Then I cooled down a 1/2 mile.

I almost didn't get to run today because I tutored a kid after school and I thought it would take 1/2 hour and we worked for an hour and a half.  I had planned to run after I was done with him and then my husband was going to work his night job (a painting project with his bros).  But one brother had to cancel at the last minute so they are going to paint tomorrow.

I may not be able to run tomorrow, but I have conflicting guilt:  do I skip the run and feel guilty about that, or do I come home at 6 only to bring my kids to the gym so they can spend more time with someone else and then feel guilty about that?  I'll probably skip the run...mom guilt overrules everything. 

Running was a bust this week.  I was supposed to go Wed and Thurs, but I had to teach my class at its scheduled time instead of early like we've been doing.  I stayed at school to grade papers instead of going out to run (I'm an idiot for collecting a research paper 2 weeks before finals and Xmas.  I've been busting my rear to get them done.  My plans weren't supposed to work that way, but my son was in the hospital in the beginning of the week I was originally supposed to start the paper, so I had to push it back till the next week).

Anyway, I ran 4.2 miles in 33 minutes.  I was in Chicago and ran on my sister's treadmill.  I had limited time, so I did what I could.  I warmed up 1.2 miles, and then did 3 miles at 7:30 pace.  I was pretty proud of the pace I was able to sustain, but I'm still convinced that I would not be able to do that outside.

I warmed up .9 miles and then did 5.2 miles at 8 minute pace.  I'm counting those as fast.

I forgot to post on Tuesday's that I lifted, so I don't even remember what I lifted.  I think I did legs, lower back, and abs.

Yesterday I did arms, but only shoulders, bench press, biceps and triceps.

Today I did legs and abs (but only one set with a medicine ball--I ran a little longer than I had planned and needed to make it home for dinner).

I ran 1 mile at 9:13 pace, 1.5 at 8:49 pace, and then 2 at 8:41 pace (although I sped up the treadmill a bit towards the end.  It was a good run.  When I started running, my knee hurt, but after a mile, it didn't hurt anymore I just stretched afterwards and I am planning on lifting tonight at home.

I've been skimping on stretching lately, but I made sure I stretched well today.  

I warmed up for .3 miles and then did 1 mile in 8:34, 3 miles at 8:20 pace, and 1 mile in 8:34.

I get really bored running on a treadmill at my usual easy pace.  I watch the clock and it seems to take forever.  If I challenge myself a little, I feel less bored and more satisfied.  

I was a little challenged towards the end of my tenure at 8:20 pace, but I just stayed focused and allowed myself to go slower on the last mile so that I would finish my 45 minutes right at 5.3 miles.  To help myself concentrate while I'm running, I like to do the math--like, if I run at this pace for x minutes, how many miles will I do?  Then partway through when I feel like I'm in a rut, I'll think, now how much will I need to increase my pace in order to tack on an extra tenth of a mile?  I find that if I do math while I'm running, for some reason I feel more focused.  I always do it on long runs outside--when I finish a mile, I calculate what percentage of my workout I've completed.  I'm a dork, I know, but I bet other people do similar things.

And now I'm taking a break from tedious grading--it's finals week!  As soon as I finish another 10 portfolios, I'm leaving and probably heading to the gym, depending on the time and the weather.  We are due for an ice storm today, but no one's real certain about when it'll hit.

I had only a bit of time to run, so I went to the gym and ran for 1/2 hour.  I can't remember my pace but I remember my mileage.

Ran easy for 3.5 miles and then a little harder for the last two miles.  It took me 50 minutes to run and I think my easy pace was 9:05 and harder pace varied between 8:20 and 8:34.

We had a problem with our thermostat, so it was freezing in the house and I was dealing with that during the afternoon.  I got to the gym 45 minutes before it was closing, so only ran for 30 minutes.

I had a great run.  I started at 8:34 pace and then sped up every .2 mile.  I went to 8, 7:30, 7:03, 6:40 pace and then started over.  The last .1 mile I ran at 6:00 pace so I could get in a .1 mile before the treadmill shut off!

Did this at 8:34 pace--I'm counting that as fast.  It was difficult towards the end, probably because I haven't run more than 5 or so consecutive miles in a while.

A quick 3.5 miles before we hit the road for my folks'.

First run since Xmas.  I hadn't planned on running on Christmas Day, but the rest I was planning to run, but I was going to run streets and Friday and Saturday were icy.  Then Saturday warmed up to 60 degrees!  But I was already on my whirlwind tour of family and friends that day.  Sunday I was lazy, but today I had a good run.

It was in the 40s, so it was a nice run outside for a change.  I didn't bring a watch so I don't know how long it took me.  I thought the route I planned was more like 7 miles, but when I mapped it it was only 6.25.  Oh well.

Ran about 2 miles before my foot started hurting.  Ran another 2 before I thought it would be a good idea to stop.

I was afraid that I had a stress fracture because my foot still hurt just in one spot two days later after icing and ibueprofin.  I drove 125 miles to have my dad (podiatrist) look at it.  He took xrays and luckily it is only tendonitis in the peroneus longus.  I'm relieved that it's not a stress fracture. 

Anyway, I have to stop running for about a week until it doesn't hurt anymore.  After that I have to run less on the treadmill.  Bummer, but I guess I can still run outside on the weekends and then just run a few miles on the treadmill during the days of the week.  It's funny because it didn't hurt at all until partway through the run on Tuesday. 

I'm going to try the rowing machine at the gym in the meantime.  We'll see how that goes, since I'm not sure that they even have one.  But I'll find something to do, I'm sure.  I'll go tomorrow when I get back home.  I'm annoyed that this didn't happen while I was at my parent's house earlier in the week.