Technical Difficulties

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Since my Tuesday night gym class got canceled due to lack of enrollment, I now have Tuesday nights free for running. Normally I would also run on Monday nights, but this past Monday I spent the day traveling to some classes where I went to graduate school. I left my house at 8:45 AM and didn't get home until after 11:00 PM. Not much time for running there!

So, I told myself I would do at least 3 miles on Tuesday night. Preferably 5 miles. The shoes I wore on Monday gave me a big honking blister on the inside of my left heel (which is totally strange since I wear those shoes all the time without problems) but I figured I'd stick a bandaid on it and move on.

Which I did. My run started out okay. I did the first mile in just under 10 minutes. Mile two was tougher and I really wanted to walk. But, I didn't want to walk before I hit the two mile mark so I pushed on. Miles 3 and 4, however, were horrible. Both were around 11 minutes. And, yes, there was walking. Towards the end of mile 5, however, I saw a woman running up ahead of me I decided to make it my goal to either catch up to her or pass her. I caught her right at the bottom of the one and only "hill" (read: freeway overpass) on my route. I powered up that hill, passed her, and kept going until the bottom of the hill. And then I would walk a few steps and jog a few steps.

I wish I could look at the pace graph from my run. I'm sure it would be all over the place but I really wanted to see my actual mile times. Sadly, due to technical difficulties the data from last night's run disappeared into the ether. Thankfully, I'd looked at the final stats before it got deleted. 5.01 miles with an average pace of 10:17 minutes per mile. Better than Saturday, but not as good as I would have liked.

When I walked in the door after my run, I felt like hell. Note: Non-runners might want to skip this paragraph. Around mile 3.5 I realized that I needed to use the bathroom. The pretzels with peanut butter I'd eaten shortly before my run were, um, threatening to run faster than me. I managed to make it home and promptly headed for the bathroom. However, pushing myself so hard at the end of my run seemed to have thrown my body into some sort of sphincter-tightening overload. And, let me tell you, it's really difficult to sit on a plastic toilet seat while you're streaming sweat and feeling overheated. It took all my strength just to stay on that darn seat. It felt like it had been lubed up with baby oil on Teflon.

Jason, bless his heart, always asks me how my run went. I wish I could answer something other than "crappy". Do you realize I haven't run a race without walking since May? I have come to the conclusion that my cross-training and schedule-switch-up experiment is failing. My old schedule gave me 3-4 days of running and 1-2 other days of cardio cross-training. Meaning, I was doing hardcore cardio workouts 5 days a week. I think that skimping on the cardio cross-training has really killed my endurance. Right now, though, the problem is, I hate wasting money. And since I already paid for my yoga and my swimming class I'll feel like I'm totally wasting money if I stop going. And, no, I can't get a refund. So, I suppose I stick out this period of crappy running until classes end in mid-October, take what I can get at my next two races, and vow to do better next year.

Meanwhile, here's a few questions: Do you do yoga? What kind? Do you like it? If you're also a runner, do you think it has helped your running? Why?

In a Fog

I think fog is beautiful. It's both mystical and frightening. It shows up in scary and romantic movies alike. I even recently read a fascinating article all about fog in London.

Fog, however, is not conducive to many forms of transporation. Driving in fog is dangerous. Flying in fog can be deadly. But what about running in fog? Well, as I discovered yesterday, I believe it needs to be added to the list of things you shouldn't do.

No, I didn't trip over anything or run out in unseen traffic. Don't worry. When I left the house around 8:30 on Saturday morning the fog was hovering around the tops of the taller buildings. But, when there is fog you know there is humidity. On top of taking a week off of running (due to illness, schedules, and, yes, lack of motivation) I should have known the run wouldn't go so well.

Do you ever hit a period of running where every run is horrible? You arrive at your finish point demoralized, dripping, and disgusted? I feel as though every run I've had for the past few months has left me feeling this way.

Yesterday I didn't even make it to the 2 mile mark before I had to walk. And then I spent most of the last mile walking, too. I eventually gave up, disgusted with myself, and stopped my Garmin when I was still at least a quarter mile from home. And then I just walked the rest of the way. I was dripping sweat, my hands felt sticky, and I was just exhausted. And I wasn't even running fast.

I know I can blame most of this crappy run on the humidity and the fact that I'm coming off the tail end of my cold. I know that I really screwed up my schedule with all these gym classes. But that doesn't explain the lack of really good runs in recent memory.

I've been contemplating looking for a running coach. I feel like I've hit a plateau in my running and that I need an external source to push me to the next level. My ultimate goals are to get my half marathon time under 2 hours. It can be 1:59:59 for all I care. But that requires me to get quite a bit faster. I don't know if I can do it on my own. So, if anyone knows a good running coach in the Chicago area who takes on private clients, let me know!

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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 627 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 09/12/09 Up/Downhill: [+114/-114] Time: 08:31 AM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0   Weather: Fog   65 F temp; 100% humidity   65 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 4.68 miles Time: 0:51:24 Speed: 5.5 mph Pace: 10' 59 /mi Calories: 536 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 15 -0' 44 5.8 +0.4 +4 ft 2 10' 45 -0' 14 5.6 +0.1 +10 ft 3 11' 01 +0' 02 5.4 -0.0 -4 ft 4 10' 39 -0' 20 5.6 +0.2 -7 ft end 13' 09 +2' 10 4.6 -0.9 -3 ft Versus average of 10' 59 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Yikes!

A sculpture along the path I ran on Saturday. Click to see the larger version and the title of the sculpture. That's how I felt about my run on Saturday.


Wow, it's been a week since I posted. And, let me just tell you know, it wasn't a good week for running. I did a total of 10.5 miles last week. Yeah, I barely made the double digits. When I woke up on Saturday morning with a sore throat I feared my run wouldn't be the best ever. Actually, there were several factors in play:

1. Stayed up too late drinking wine and visiting with my parents (we went to see them for the long Labor Day weekend)

2. Drank three glasses of wine

3. Slept in and didn't get started on my run until 11:15 AM

4. Woke up with a sore throat

5. Humidity!!

Earlier in the week I had really wanted to get in an 8 mile run on Saturday, but once I got out there I knew I'd be lucky to get in 5 miles.

First mile went well, although probably too fast. But even at mile two I realized I just wasn't feeling it. I walked. A lot. At certain points I wanted just to walk the rest of the way but I knew that would take longer. I really wanted to get back to my mom's house so I could collapse.

At least the path is pretty.



Turns out I've developed a cold. A lovely, lovely head cold that has left me feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I managed to do a 40 minute exercise video with my mom on Sunday and go for an hour long walk with her on Monday. Last night my strength training class was canceled but I dragged myself onto the elliptical for 30 minutes since I was the gym anyway. But I haven't run.

It's not looking good for my upcoming race goals.

On the plus side, my Tuesday night class got canceled entirely, so now I'll have time to do speedwork if I want to. Assuming the track is available for public use on Tuesday evenings. Guess I'll find out!

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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 734 ft Location: Urbana, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 09/05/09 Up/Downhill: [+167/-167] Time: 11:18 AM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.10 miles Time: 0:54:25 Speed: 5.6 mph Pace: 10' 40 /mi Calories: 575 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 42 -0' 58 6.2 +0.6 +36 ft 2 10' 23 -0' 17 5.8 +0.1 -23 ft 3 11' 25 +0' 45 5.2 -0.4 +10 ft 4 11' 20 +0' 40 5.3 -0.3 +13 ft 5 10' 44 +0' 04 5.6 -0.0 -40 ft end 8' 34 -2' 06 7.0 +1.4 +3 ft Versus average of 10' 40 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

August Wrap Up

Image from TSBVI


August highlights:

*Volunteering at the Elvis is Alive 5K

*Hosting Take it and Run Thursday for Runners' Lounge

*Being interviewed by Runners' Lounge

*Running a 5K with Kim.

*Trying new forms of cross-training

*Running with a new running club

While not all of those things went as well as I'd hoped, I'm glad I did all of them. I ran a total of 59.97 miles in August which I think is pretty good for not really training for anything.

My original goals for this fall were to train hard for a 10K in November. While I'm still planning on running it, I don't know if I want to train hardcore or not. Additionally, I may have overscheduled myself a bit with all my cross-training classes. And, in all honesty, I skipped my run yesterday. I'll be lucky if I make 10 miles total for the week.

But, it's still early in the month. I may change my mind. After all, I do have an 8K at the end of the month! I'd love to beat my previous time of 46:59. Will I do it? Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Back of the Pack

Warning: This post may contain some negative thoughts.

Last night was my usual Monday night run with the running club. I debated running to the starting place and then running home, but took so long deciding that I ran out of time and had to drive.

I looked around for the women I've run with previously but none of the other slowpokes where there. I wasn't really feeling like a run so I didn't know if I'd have the drive to keep up with the speedier ladies.

We started out fast, like always. I just don't understand this desire to run so fast right out of the gate. It's not a race.

I fell behind very quickly. But, I had to keep everyone in my sights since I still don't really know the route all that well. So, although I was at the very back and almost half a block behind everyone else, I had to keep running my little heart out. When my Garmin beeped at the one mile mark I was shocked to see that I'd just done that first mile in 8:30 (not including pauses for traffic). And I was STILL at the very back of the pack. I managed to keep up that pace for another mile. But I was starting to get very discouraged. Everyone was so far ahead of me. I didn't know the route very well. I was angry that no one was nice enough to slow down and run with me. I hated that they didn't even notice I was back there. I hadn't brought my iPhone (cause I thought I'd be running with a group!) so I didn't even have my map or a way to call Jason if I got lost.

And then I started having that same breathing problem I encountered on some of my long runs and at my last half marathon. My chest just closed up. I started wheezing. I couldn't get a deep breath and I started to tear up. So, I walked. I walked for what felt like forever. I was getting further and further behind the group until I couldn't even see them anymore. Thankfully I knew where I was at this point. But I was still so angry. I envisioned telling everyone off. I thought about just walking the rest of the way but figured if I ran I'd get done faster. So, I started running again.

When I got within sight of the park where we stop for water, I saw almost everyone else in the group take off for the rest of the run. When I finally made it to the water fountains only three people were still standing there. One of them was another woman my age. I had noticed her up ahead of me but she had been falling further and further behind the group. We chatted for a minute by the fountains and discovered that we both prefer to run a little bit slower. So, we ran back to the finish together.

I'm just so angry at the group right now. I mean, look at how they advertise themselves on the website:

Join the Oak Park Runners Club (OPRC). No prior running experience required. The club is one of the oldest and most active runners' organizations in the Chicago area. Our members are a diverse group: young and not so young, fast and not so fast, recreational runners and competitive racers, joggers and marathoners.

and

Monday Night Fun Runs
Open to all comers, the club's Monday night fun run begins at 6:30 p.m. from The Competitive Foot Store

Yet, last week when I was able to chat with the club secretary, she said that when people contact her with questions she tried to convey that if you're slower than 10 minutes per mile that you might not like running with the group. Make up your minds, people! Are you going to encourage everyone to join or are you going to scare off the slow people? These runs are supposed to be fun.

And what really makes me angry is when the faster runners, in an effort to be encouraging, laugh off your comments about being slower than them. Last night one of the fastest runners introduced himself to the woman I'd finished with. This is how the exchange went:

Woman: Oh, yeah, I didn't get a chance to talk to you during the run. You're one of those speedy people all the way up front.
Man: Oh, no, this was a slow night for me!
Me: Hahahahah
Man: What?
Me: Your slow miles equal the fastest mile I've ever run in my life
Man: Oh, I doubt that!

No, really. It's true. And I hate when people don't acknowledge that. I don't care if you're faster than me. I just want you to realize that not everyone is the same speed.

So, yeah, I'm a little discouraged. If I want to run on my own, I don't need to pay $15 and show up at the same place every Monday night. I joined the group because I want to run with the group. I suppose there are other reasons to join the group. Volunteering at races. Going to the monthly meetings (the first one of the fall season is tonight. Our speaker is the race director for the Chicago Marathon). Attending the holiday party. But it just makes it hard to like these people when they leave me in the dust and don't look back.

On the plus side, if you subtract the time I had to wait at intersections but still include the time I spent walking, this is the fastest run I've done with the running group. Too bad I was still at the back of the back of the pack.

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Stats

Garmin


Bones in Motion

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: -- Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/31/09 Up/Downhill: [+19/-19] Time: 06:36 PM Difficulty: 2.0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.39 miles Time: 0:49:56 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 16 /mi Calories: 633 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 07 -0' 09 6.6 +0.1 -3 ft 2 8' 42 -0' 34 6.9 +0.4 -6 ft 3 10' 18 +1' 02 5.8 -0.7 +6 ft 4 9' 15 -0' 01 6.5 +0.0 +3 ft 5 10' 49 +1' 33 5.5 -0.9 0 ft end 9' 24 +0' 08 6.4 -0.1 +3 ft Versus average of 9' 16 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Fall Run and Full Review

As you can see from the above photo (taken on my run on Saturday) it appears that fall is descending. As much as I will miss summer, I'm excited about cooler weather. My 8 mile run on Saturday was not nearly as much of a struggle as many of my shorter runs from the past few months.

The only downside to cooler weather is figuring out what to wear on your run. I usually go by the 20^o rule. Meaning, you dress for weather 20^o warmer than what the thermometer says. But it's really difficult to put on shorts and a tank when you're standing in your house freezing. So, I ended up in capris and a short sleeved shirt on Saturday. Ended up working just fine.

I didn't start out my run with any goals other than to go 8 miles. This would be the longest run I'd done since my half marathon in July so I just wanted to do it. And although my average pace looks speedy, I find it slightly suspect. And, I admit, I did pause my watch at the major intersection, at the halfway point (while I returned a text message) and when I stopped to take the photo.

I almost paused again during the first half of my run. I can around a corner and just a few feet to my left was a doe, happily chomping on my plants next to the bike path. I really should have taken a picture. She seemed unconcerned about all the runners and bikers flying by. I just love it when I see deer while running. Always brings a smile to my face.

Regardless of my original intentions, I decided after a few miles that I was going to try and run at least two miles at "race pace". That is, I wanted to do them at 9 minutes per mile. If you subtract the time spent paused, then I did it. If you don't, then I only got close during mile 6. But I still think it's pretty cool that I managed to hit that after already running 5 miles.

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After my run, I hit up Cosi for some post-run replenishment. I had one of their Strawberry Banana smoothies (it has real bananas in it, at least. I watched the employee cut it up) and a "break bar".

The break bar is an awesome combination of nuts, honey, and dried cranberries. It tasted like peanut brittle but better. I ate half of it and drank my whole smoothie. Both were phenomenal. I will definitely keep Cosi in mind for after my run! I think the smoothie and the nut bar were the perfect combination for post-run refueling.

I also ran in a pair of new Wrightsocks. I received two pairs to try out after posting about socks in the Runners' Lounge forums. Last Tuesday I wore the Running II style for my speedwork on the treadmill. I love that they have the arch support band and, as a fan of cushioned socks, I liked the thickness. The double layers felt funny when I first put the socks on but I didn't notice them after that.

On Saturday, though, I wore the Coolmesh (quarter-length) pair. I didn't like the height since I am more of a lo-quarter gal. I felt like they were too much sock around the ankle. I suppose, though, they would be good with pants instead of shorts or capris. Anyway, they felt good going on and while I was running, but walking around after my run I felt like they were too thin and that my foot was sliding around in my shoes a lot. I did like, though, that I didn't feel the need to adjust the toe area after I put on my shoes. Sometimes socks have those little nubs on ends of the toe seem that seem to sit on my pinky toe the wrong way. There have been days when I've had to take my shoe off, adjust my sock, put my shoe back on and repeat the process a few times before the sock sits just right. I didn't have that problem with this pair.

I don't suffer from blisters (unless I wear strappy sandals and walk over 3 miles) so I can't really comment on how well the double layer technology works. In fact, I've been perfectly happy with my Target and Walmart socks. That is, until I ran holes in my latest pair from Target. I can definitely tell that these Wrightsocks are better constructed. Hopefully they will last longer! I appreciate getting to try them out since I don't think I would have ever bought "fancy" socks on my own. Thanks, Wrightsock!

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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 621 ft Location: Brookfield, IL Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 08/29/09 Up/Downhill: [+187/-190] Time: 08:35 AM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   62 F temp; 67% humidity   62 F heat index; winds NW 10 Performance Distance: 8.00 miles Time: 1:18:29 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 49 /mi Calories: 951 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 16 +0' 27 5.8 -0.3 -3 ft 2 10' 05 +0' 16 6.0 -0.2 +6 ft 3 10' 01 +0' 12 6.0 -0.1 +10 ft 4 9' 25 -0' 24 6.4 +0.3 -13 ft 5 10' 49 +1' 00 5.5 -0.6 +4 ft 6 9' 07 -0' 42 6.6 +0.5 -7 ft 7 10' 08 +0' 19 5.9 -0.2 -6 ft 8 10' 03 +0' 14 6.0 -0.1 0 ft end ** ** ** ** ** ft Versus average of 9' 49 min/mile ** Insufficient data to calculate this split

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Core and More

After taking a several-months-long break from Pilates, I went back to it last night. The instructor remembered me and one of the "regulars" even remembered that I'd been training for a race. There were two new faces in class but otherwise it was the same group as always.

I could totally tell that I'd taken a break from Pilates. Some of those moves were killer last night. And the leg lift series was torture. One of the new women in the class just sat there most of the hour watching us, unable to do many of the moves. It made me think about how difficult it can be to get into exercising when you're really out of shape or really out of touch with your body. Sure, Pilates is difficult. Sure, there are still some moves I can't do perfectly. Sure, I remember the first time I took a core strengthening class that I laid my head down on the mat and struggled not to cry. But I've always been able to at least attempt the movements. I tried to talk her into switching to the beginner yoga class. I think Pilates may be a little too advanced for someone who has never done any strength training before in her life.

After Pilates, I asked the instructor for assistance in finding the pool entrance. Thank goodness I did or otherwise I would have never found it! She walked me to the locker room and even then I had to ask some women in there where the door to the pool was. They certainly keep it hidden!


The pool at the Y

The other things I was worried about? Well, my suit still fits, but I can tell that it's old. The elastic is starting to disintegrate and, while it still had enough left to keep the legs and the front lining tight, the outer shell just hung loosely when it got wet and it seemed to be shedding flakes of elastic everywhere. I think I'll be buying a new suit this weekend. I'll miss this one, though. It was a pretty purple color with very faint stars on it! But it has to be at least 10 years old.

I'll also be buying goggles. I definitely needed them last night. Without them, I tend to swim diagonally across the lane and start to freak out because I can't see. The instructor was nice enough to let me use his for most of the class. He also gave me some tips on where to buy good goggles for cheap (FYI: He said Marshall's for those of you that have them in your area).

There are four of us in the class. One very beginning swimmer, one guy who can swim but can't tread water and just doesn't feel very comfortable in general, and one woman who wants to learn better technique. And me.

We didn't spend a lot of time moving last night. Back and forth across the pool a few times. The class is only 40 minutes long, though, and the instructor spent a lot of time talking with each of us. I suspect that as we get further along we'll spend more time swimming and less time talking.

The only bad thing is that at the end of the class he wanted to see if we could touch the bottom at the deepest part of the pool and then swim back to the surface. Right as I touched the bottom and started kicking to head back to the surface, both my calves cramped up and became rocks. Seriously. I had like tennis ball sized rock hard lumps instead of calves. Oh, it hurt! And it's hard to stretch and massage your calves in the deep end of a pool! They were still tight and sore when I went to bed last night. I'm thinking that even though my previous experience with professional massage did not impress me, I might need to check out the massage services offered at the Y. My hamstrings would probably thank me, too.

Fuel and Fretting

Today's Take it and Run Thursday question is:

It's the morning of your weekly long run... what do you eat and why?

I'm STILL trying to figure this out. I feel like I run out of fuel so fast. Additionally, I'm a really salty sweater so I think that makes me hit the wall even with taking fuel mid-run. Typically, I eat a whole wheat English muffin with crunchy peanut butter and dried cranberries. I try to follow that up with a granola or energy bar shortly before I actually start my run if I ate the English muffin more than an hour before.

I've also tried the oatmeal with tons of add-ins (almond butter, honey, nuts, dried fruit), but it doesn't always work.

I'm definitely not one of those people who can just grab a banana and a glass of water and call it pre-run fuel. My metabolism is pretty fast so by the time I get up in the morning I've fairly well digested all of my dinner. I've tried running in the morning without eating and I tend to get cold sweats or feel super dizzy after I'm done.

So, yeah, still working on the perfect fuel.

Speaking of how things make me feel (yeah, that was a crappy segue), I took my first yoga class last night at the Y.



I'm generally a very tense person, so there were some times during the class that I felt as though I should be relaxing more than I was. Our instructor really lets us take our time in each pose, though, so I was able to attempt to relax each part of my body. We did very basic mat exercises (such as the poses above) and she indicated that this isn't a very strenuous class but that we will be working harder by the end of the 8 weeks. Sadly, I don't think that doing yoga combined with rushing home to get dinner on the table before 9PM is really all that calming or centering or whatever yoga is supposed to be spiritually.

I feel strange (and a little guilty) for not doing any cardio on Wednesday nights. I've done some kind of cardio on Wednesdays for so long that I'm not used to not ending my day by dripping sweat. Also, even though my original plan was to run Thursdays at lunch to make up for it, I don't think that's going to happen very often. Here's hoping that swimming helps make up for it.

Speaking of which, my first swim lesson class is tonight. I'm stupidly nervous. Not that I'll be bad at it or anything. It's lessons; they're not expecting me to be any good. It's just that I have to get in a pool with a bunch of strangers to do something other than splash around and be silly. Also, I'm still not sure how to actually get TO the pool at the Y or whether or not my Speedo tank suit even still fits. Will I need goggles? Do I bring a beach towel or a regular towel? Will I need a swim cap? Probably should have thought about all those things before today, huh?

Weights and Push Ups and Treadmills, Oh My!

Last night I arrived at the Y for my first Total Body Conditioning class. How was it? Tough to say.

The geniuses at the Y decided to schedule a blood drive in the same room where most of the classes are held. So, instead of teaching class in her usual room with her usual equipment, our instructor was relegated to a completely different room with completely different equipment. She attempted to take it all in stride and had us pull out steps, stability balls, mats, body bars, and weight balls. And, without music, we did squats, push-ups, crunches, bicep curls, shoulder presses, and tricep presses.

Did I ever mention I hate push-ups? No? Well, I do. And we did a TON of them.

I'm reserving judgment on the class until we get back into the room she usually teaches in. She seemed rather discombobulated last night and I felt as though the pace of the classes alternated between too slow and too fast as she tried to think of what exercise we should do next. On the plus side, she's really big on working at your own level. As she said, you can do 20 push-ups, but if only 5 of them are any good and the rest are crap then you're not really helping yourself. Do the 5 good ones and work up to the 20 good ones. Yeah, that will be me.

After class, I headed to the cardio room to do some speed work on the treadmill. I took Kristen's favorite speed workout and figured I'd try it. She said her favorite is 1x1600, 1x1200, 1x800, 1x400, 1x200. Kristen, you are now on notice. That was HARD. Or maybe I just did it wrong.

While at work I used a the Runner's World training pace calculator to figure out what my pace should be for my speed workouts since the McMillan Running Calculator website was down. The RW one seemed to indicate my speed workout pace should be between 7:37 and 8:08 minutes per mile depending on what race I entered. Okay, I thought, I'll set the treadmill to a 1% incline and the speed at 7.4 MPH (which translates to a speed around 8:05 minutes per mile).

I did a half mile warm up at 5 MPH. The treadmill I was using had an awesome "speed interval" setting so you just set your "jog" pace and your "run" pace and toggled between them at the push of a button. After the half mile I hit the button and zoomed up to 7.4 MPH. I did my first mile (or 1600 meters) without stopping. Then I took it back down to 5 MPH for a quarter mile recovery jog. Then it was back to 7.4 for another three quarters of a mile (or 1200 meters). Yeah, that didn't go so well. I had to stop and rest a few times in there. I followed that with another quarter mile of jogging at 5 MPH. Then I tried to do the half mile (or 800 meters) at 7.4. I managed a quarter mile before I felt like I was going to die. So, I slowed it down and jogged for the rest of my Y-Cardio-Room-Imposed 30 minutes. I then figured out today that according to the McMillan Running Calculator that my max speed for speed work should be 8:26 minutes per mile or more like 7.1 MPH on the treadmill. Runner's World, you are also on notice.

So, I did a speed workout. More like 1x1600, 1x800, 1x400 instead of what I was aiming for. But, that's okay. I got in three miles of running and today my body can certainly tell I did something last night. In fact, I'm really looking forward to my yoga class tonight. I'm hoping I'll get a good low intensity workout with lots of stretching. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Monday Night Run

Three weeks in a row of running with the Oak Park Runners Club. Everyone I've met so far has been super nice even if they are all faster than me. Last night, though, I ran with a gal who is running her first half-marathon on September 13th. She's aiming for a 10 minute per mile pace. We were WAY at the back of the pack last night for the first four miles. She kept telling me to speed up if I wanted to, but I know what it's like to be at the back and alone. I stuck with her until after our water stop at mile 4. Then I hung with another woman who really pushed me for the last mile. Especially the last half mile. We did that at an 8:30 pace!

I did feel like I could have gone a little bit faster during those first four miles. Regardless, I got a 5 mile+ run in and chatted with some new people. I think I'm going to sign up to volunteer for the Chicago Marathon with the group. Every year they staff a water station. It would be hard work, but I'm sure a lot of fun.

I'm thinking about running to the group start and then running home afterward. It's about 1.5 miles each way so it would make my Monday night run a total of 8 miles. My only concern with this is that I'm already worn out on Tuesdays after doing the 5.5 or so. I skipped running at lunch today for several reason. One is that it's hard for me to do two runs so close together.

The other reason I skipped my lunch run today is because this evening I have my first Total Body Conditioning class at the Y. Since I have no idea what this will entail, I didn't want to wear myself out beforehand. If it doesn't totally wipe me out, I'll try to do some speedwork on the treadmill afterwards. So, tell me, what's your favorite speed workout?

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Stats

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 08/24/09 Up/Downhill: [+22/-19] Time: 06:34 PM Difficulty: 2.5 / 5.0   Weather: A Few Clouds   76 F temp; 51% humidity   77 F heat index; winds SW 10 Performance Distance: 5.45 miles Time: 0:52:40 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 40 /mi Calories: 642 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 07 -0' 33 6.6 +0.4 0 ft 2 9' 13 -0' 27 6.5 +0.3 -9 ft 3 9' 45 +0' 05 6.2 -0.1 +3 ft 4 10' 47 +1' 07 5.6 -0.6 +7 ft 5 9' 57 +0' 17 6.0 -0.2 0 ft end 8' 24 -1' 16 7.1 +0.9 +3 ft Versus average of 9' 40 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Shuck It

Yes, this is really on the side of the oyster bar/restaurant I run past

I debated whether or not to run last night. I already had over 10 miles for the week. But I wasn't going to be able to get a run in this weekend. I'm not really training for anything, but I do have a training plan printed out and propped up on my desk. I could do 3 or 4 miles, but would it make a difference. It had rained most of the morning, but now it was breezy and sunny.

In the end, I decided I would do 5 miles for a total of 15 and change for the week.

It wasn't a great 5 miles. I had to stop for traffic quite a bit. I was trying to do at least two miles around a 9 minute pace but that didn't happen. When you look at my stats over the week, my average pace slowly crept higher and higher. What do I have to do to get my average pace down from around 10:00 minutes per mile to closer to 9:00 minutes per mile? Seriously, my pace over the past 8 months has been fairly stagnant. Check it out:



That doesn't count any treadmill runs or runs where I forgot my Garmin

Do I need to do speed work? Tempo runs? Run more miles? Do more cross-training? Wait for the weather to change? Be patient? Just don't say hill work (Runners' World, I'm looking at you) cause we don't have any hills.

Or do I just say shuck it and accept my running for what it is?

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Stats

I don't have a clue what happened to that map. It does NOT look that on the actual Bones in Motion site.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/20/09 Up/Downhill: [+101/-101] Time: 05:36 PM Difficulty: 2.4 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   75 F temp; 48% humidity   77 F heat index; winds W 17 G 29 Performance Distance: 5.25 miles Time: 0:52:55 Speed: 6.0 mph Pace: 10' 05 /mi Calories: 619 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 32 +0' 27 5.7 -0.3 +4 ft 2 9' 58 -0' 07 6.0 +0.1 +14 ft 3 10' 41 +0' 36 5.6 -0.3 -3 ft 4 9' 21 -0' 44 6.4 +0.5 -3 ft 5 9' 45 -0' 20 6.2 +0.2 -13 ft end 9' 36 -0' 29 6.2 +0.3 +3 ft Versus average of 10' 05 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com