I Didn't Run Today

 Today is a non-running day on the schedule.  I run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays , with my long run on Sundays.  Saturday is a day off.  Up until now, Tuesdays and Thursdays were also a day off.  Not any longer.

I get up early in the morning and have a couple cups of coffee and catch up with the news and friends online.  On running days, I then go running.  On other days, I sit around and wait for the kids to wake up and the day to start.  Why?  That is prime workout time.  So I decided to use it to try to tackle some "problem" areas.  Arms and Abs.  

Here is the arm workout I did today (yes, I found it on Pinterest):

This was a lot harder than it looks.  I have not done any weights or upper body exercises in such a long time.  I will pay for that tomorrow.  My hands are a little shaky as I type this.  I made it through the whole list, but I did girl push-ups and my form may have suffered a bit towards the end.  

Then onto the abs.  I also pulled this off of Pinterest:

Rock Solid Abs

All I can say is I have some work to do.  The leg lift exercise really hurt my knees, so that will have to wait until I build up some strength to stabilize them.  The basic plank was okay.  The rest looked like the hippo.  I can only get stronger.

As if this wasn't enough torture, I pulled out the dreaded foam roller.  I have a serious love-hate relationship with this innocuous torture device.  My IT band is so tight that it often hurts to touch the outside of my leg.  This is supposed to help loosen it up.  Imagine if it hurts to touch your leg how much more it hurts to lay all of your weight on a hard foam cylinder and roll up and down from hip to knee.  This is also very hippo-esque.  

So there it is.  Done.  Thursday should be interesting.  Looking forward to my run tomorrow.

No More

No more apologies. 

No more qualifying statements.

No more "quotes".

I ran. I am a runner.

My planned run today was my short 2.6 mile route.  This is the route I started with.  I tack distance onto the beginning of this route when a need to go farther.  I know this route.  

When I stepped outside to a wonderfully cool morning.  I decide to have a great run.  I started fast.  Here's where the no more apologies idea began.  While I run, I often think about what I will write.  In my head I saw, "I went out fast."  Then I started thinking that I would have to write it as:  "I went out 'fast'" or "I went out fast (for me)".  That is when I decided to stop qualifying my runs.  In yesterday's post I talked about my "long" run.  No more.  Next Sunday, I will write about my long run.  It will be long.  If I know I am running faster than usual, I will talk about my fast pace, my quick turnover, and my great form.  

I follow the Jeff Galloway plan for running.  It is comprised of walk/run intervals.  I am a "Galloway Girl".  I did the Rock-n-Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon in 2003 using this plan and 4:1 intervals.  I will post my intervals (which are currently 3 minutes of running: 1 minute of walking), but I won't apologize for not running the entire time.  

Obviously, there are runners out there that truly are fast.  My husband's slow run is faster than my fastest run.  That's okay.  They have their slow pace and their fast pace.  I have mine.  Their speed does not detract from my effort.  

I had a great run this morning.  I started fast.  It felt great and I realized that this was a short run.  I could speed up my intervals and still run the whole thing.  The worst thing that would happen is that I slowed down at the end.  Not all intervals were fast, but when I felt myself slowing down I just had to remind myself that this was a short run, I was almost home, I could push myself.  I did.

My run today was 2.6 miles.  29:25 minutes.  11:18 min/mile pace!

"Long" Run --4.7 miles

Noah climbed into bed with us about 2:30 this morning.  It took me a while to get back to sleep, so I woke up later than usual today.  It had rained hard last night and I was very glad to see that it wasn't pouring out this morning.  After my two cups of coffee, I headed out on my second long run.  My plan was for 4.5 slow miles.


I am planning my longer runs so that I add the mileage onto the beginning of my route so that the end of the run is a familiar route and headed (somewhat) downhill for the last couple of intervals.


Today's run ended up being 4.7 miles.  It took me an hour to run it.  12.47min/mile. 


 I felt pretty good during the whole run. Minor aches and pains that were easy to run through.  I didn't do my usual cool down walk with my dog, Carley, because I was supposed to meet Brian over in Newport to cheer him on in his Triathlon.  After waking up the kids and taking a quick, much needed shower, we were off.  Brian had already finished  (1:14:26) by the time we got there.  


What are you doing for exercise today?

Training so far...

My Training Up to this point...

July 27, 2012
Nice swim this morning. Wow, was it humid. Rough start, but it got better once I figured out how to breathe water. Nice long walk with Carley.
July 25, 2012
Most excellent run this morning. It was breezy and cool. 3:1 intervals worked great. New PR for 5k--38.35. Almost 4 minutes faster than last time. That is awesome!
July 23, 2012
Done. Easy 2.6. Not tired at all after the intervals, so I up'd it to 3:1 about halfway through. What are you doing today?
July 22, 2012
Just finished my "4 mile" run. It wasn't. I finished too soon. I had mapped the route in my car last week, but will do it again this morning. I think it was much closer to 3 miles. Oh well. 4 miles next week!
Okay. It was 3.8 miles. 46:48 = 12.18/mile
July 20, 2012
Glorious run this morning. Just 2.6 since I am going to work this morning. Cool outside. Not tired after run intervals. Yahoo!
Crazy thing I did this morning: Just registered for the Newport Half. Going to get one done before I am 41. First long run this weekend. 4 miles.
July 18, 2012
Added 1/2 mile to my run this morning. 3.1 miles or a 5K. Slow, and my turnover rate was for s#*t, but done. My last official 5K time (at the Anchor Run, with Riley) was 51:08. Today was 42:11. Progress. Just need to add 10 more miles :)
July 16, 2012
Rain last night = HUMID this morning. Did.
July 13, 2012
Did. Great run this morning. Felt like I could have gone farther, but didn't want to turn a great run into a bad one. I've gone from 35:00 to 32:25. About a 12:30 pace. That's a 2:43:00 half :)
July 11, 2012

I ran this morning. Added 30 seconds to each run interval. Took a minute off my time.
July 10, 2012
REGISTERED! 
Didn't sign up for the extras since we'll be there as a family and who knows what we will be doing. But I know Sunday morning I will be running. I also put a 3 hour time, but it would be really great to beat that!
July 9, 2012
I did it. I ran. What are you doing today?
July 5, 2012
It was hot and humid. I ran late and slow. After yesterday's continuous feed fest that was my 4th of July, I knew I had to run. I did. What are you doing today for exercise?
July 2, 2012
Lucky Ladies! 2.6 again this morning, but 2 minutes faster (surprising since it didn't feel like a good run). Went out good (maybe too fast), but started to feel new aches and pains. They were probably a result of Sunday's "lazy" day of walking, kayaking, and hiking.
June 27, 2012
You either ran today, or you didn't. I did. 2.6 miles. Yea. Right now I am at a 13.30 pace. What are you doing today?
June 23, 2012
A few friends and I have decided to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  February 24, 2013

Now I have to get ready.