Run 1/31/09

So I did it. I spent one hour on the indoor track without losing my mind. And I actually enjoyed it. It was one of those runs where you want to keep on going. I felt strong. Oh, and I wore my IRUNLIKEAGIRL shirt. I always feel like Super Girl or something when I wear it. It's like, "Yeah, I'm a girl, I'm strong, I'm running, and I'll outrun all of you! And what?!?!" Anyway, I'm trying to make it a habit to do a full on run at the end. So I'm running at an pace that I can easily maintain throughout the run, so that I have enough reserved to kick it up a few notches at the very end. I haven't broken out into a full on sprint, but I'm pretty fast. At least I think so. Jamaicans racked up medals in the last Olympics. Maybe it's in our blood. Yeah right, I wish. I don't know anyone in my family known for speed. Heck, I don't think anyone in my family runs. Oh well. I guess I'll continue to train. And maybe one day I'll surprise myself with how fast my easy pace has become.

Anyway, I'm going to read a book. Yeah, it's a wild Saturday night. Enjoy your weekend.

Run 1/29/09

So so tired. But with my bag packed and all, I headed to the Y. I was just hoping not to hate it. I had 45min planned. And you know what? It was a really good run. Almost magical. I was in the zone. I just wish my Garmin foot pod thingy was working so I can see how far I ran. That reminds me, I should contact them about that. Anyway, I won't have stats until I run outside again. And I don't see that happening this weekend. It's supposed to be 29° or so on Saturday. So not my cup of tea. I just hope I don't lose my mind on the indoor track. I have 60min planned and it's 18 times around for one mile. That's about 108 times around. Oh joy! Maybe I'll just run slower. Or maybe I'll be in the zone again and not even care. Yeah, I'm hoping for that.

And now, it's tea time. Chamomile and peppermint. Night all.

Run 1/27/09

I really didn't want to run today at all. After a full day at work, I just wanted to go home. But I already had my gym bag packed and in the car since last night. And I have to pass the exit for the Y on my way home. So instead of just going home annoyed by work, I might as well just run it out, right? And it went pretty well. I didn't spend the whole time wondering when my 30 minutes would be up. You know, sometimes it can be like that. But I was thoroughly enjoying my music. So running circles about 54 times around really didn't bother me.

And now, I'm going to relax and watch some tennis. Night all.

Run 1/26/09

This is a quick one. I should have blogged earlier. But who cares. I have no stats anyway. I ran on the indoor track for 15min after leaving work with a headache. How nice. I have 30min planned for tomorrow. Hopefully I won't feel like crap after work.

In other news, Michelle mentioned the Brooklyn Half Marathon the other day. I think I'll run it with her. We shall see.

And on that note, I'm going to finish my tea and doze off to some tennis. Night all.

Run 1/24/09 and Random Stuff

I set out for 5mi but only did 3. Part of it was because of the weather. I think the weather man or whoever lied. My browser displays the weather conditions and such. It said something like 39° or 40°. Decent running weather, right? It was cold and windy when I stepped out. I immediately turned around to get my jacket. I figured I'd get too hot but I didn't. My fingers never got warm, despite wearing gloves and putting my hands in my pockets. My feet didn't defrost until 2.5mi in. And with the wind in my face, it felt harder than it needed to be. I don't want to spend too much time talking about this busted ass run. Instead, I'm going to share random thoughts that crossed my mind today... **My face is frozen and I can't tell if my nose is running. I should have Marcy teach me how to blow snot rockets. **I wish I could ride my bike, but it's too cold. **Why is Shoprite always so packed? You would think they were giving something away. And why can't I find a damn basket to carry my food? **My gas station attendant looks like an elf in a turban. So wrong, but so true. I turned to look and he was looking at me through the passenger side window. The thing is, he was freakishly short and didn't need to bend down to look into the car. **Why are some people so short? I'm only 5'5" on a good day. I think it's crazy that I can tower over someone at my height. **Chai and chocolate soymilk make a tasty combination. **Honey Maid cinnamon graham crackers are my guilty pleasure. I think I'll take them over cookies any day. **I'm so glad I bought more bread. I can't live without PB&J. I may make a sandwich tonight for dinner instead of cooking. **I think I'm going to be a Scroogette at least until Spring. **I'm thankful for my friends, even the ones I haven't met yet. Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 28 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -23 ft Date: 01/24/09 Up/Downhill: [+95/-118] Time: 04:06 PM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 34 F temp; 33% humidity 34 F heat index; winds NW 13 G 23 Performance Distance: 3.00 miles Time: 0:29:28 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 49 /mi Heart Rate: 174 bpm (Avg) Calories: 343 190 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .27mi Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 180 - 200 0h 13m 46% 1.40 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 14m 48% 1.44 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 02m 8% 0.25 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 00m 1% 0.05 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.03 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 57 +0' 08 6.0 -0.1 157 -50 ft 2 9' 47 -0' 02 6.1 +0.0 179 -3 ft end 9' 44 -0' 05 6.2 +0.0 186 +30 ft Versus average of 9' 49 min/mile

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Run 1/21/09

After doing some food shopping, I went to the Y. And I got a treadmill this time. Go me. But I hated every minute of it. I can't stand treadmill running. It's just so much harder for me. I guess that explains why I always run slower on it. I also tried the Garmin foot pod accessory again. Maybe I got a busted one, but it does not work well. It kept beeping and carrying on. And when I finished, it said I ran 81.01mi. What the hell? So afterward, I went upstairs to the track for a cool down walk hoping it would work better there. Yeah, not so much. Maybe I should send it back. And on that note, I've decided that my indoor running will be on the track instead of the treadmill. The treadmill just sucks. I figure I'll run by time and just assume I'm running 10:00/mi to get an approximate mileage for my log. But I just can't take the treadmill. I'm bored to death running in place, and it just feels harder because I can't control my pace on my own. Who runs the same pace consistently throughout an entire run? Not me. It's just not natural. And I don't care for running while covered in sweat with no breeze to blow it off either. So yeah, I'm leaving the treadmill thing alone. Activity Route: Treadmill Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Mount Laurel, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/21/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 04:45 PM Difficulty: 1.5 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 3.00 miles Time: 0:29:37 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 52 /mi Heart Rate: 180 bpm (Avg) Calories: 317 194 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .33 on the track

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Run 1/20/09

Last night, I packed a bag and decided I'd go to the gym right after work. The parking lot was packed. You'd think the Y was having an inauguration party. But I guess that's to be expected when you roll through during peak hours. All the treadmills were in use. So I ran on the indoor track upstairs. I have no clue how far I ran. I was scheduled for 3mi. I decided on 30min. I felt a lot faster than last time I ran. I estimated my pace just so I'd have some sort of distance to record in my running log. There's no point in posting any stats here though. They're all wrong.

Anyway, tomorrow I may brave the cold and run in the park. Or maybe I'll go to the Y and bore myself on the treadmill since I have the day off.

And now, I'm going to continue watching the Australian Open into the wee hours of the morning.

Run 1/18/09

I really didn't like this run. I hated every minute of it. All 19:05 minutes. I didn't realize that it has been almost two weeks since I last ran. And I had valid reasons for not running. I had stomach issues, then got a cold, then it was too cold, then I had female issues (a couple of those issues overlapped each other too). And I don't care what none of y'all say, I'm not running in ridiculously cold weather. No matter which way you slice it, my people are from the equator. And we weren't made for this ridiculousness. So on to today...it was above freezing and figured I'd venture out. I've been in the house long enough. And when you haven't run, all the sudden you feel fat and out of shape. Neither are true, just all in my head. But I was reminded that it had been a whole 13 days since my last run. Because I'm back to it not feeling easy. I felt slow the whole way. I really should have slowed down because I wasn't going as slow as I felt. Anyway, I ran without music. Sometimes music can be too complicated. It can take a half hour to figure what I'm even going to listen to. And I didn't feel like having one of those moments. I had enough on my mind to keep me occupied anyway. I've been a Scroogette during the holiday season for good reason. I've got some stuff on my mind. Well, one thing in particular. And this cold weather isn't making it better when I need to be out running and clearing my head. So maybe, just maybe I'll stop being a wuss and wake up at the crack of dawn to go to the gym. But I hate running on the treadmill. It's too hot in there, so I have to dress like it's summertime. Then I have to spend the time covered in my own sweat with no wind to blow it off. No fun at all. There is, however, an indoor track at the Y that I haven't run on since I've been logging miles and such. It's 18x around for one mile. And I'm not doing all that counting. And the ped attachment thingy for Garmin actually sucks. So there's no good way to measure distance. I'll have to run by time but maybe I can just estimate distance? That will be hard too. If I'm running like a well oiled machine, I can wrap up 3mi at a 9:20 pace. If not, it's around a 9:45 pace. So maybe I could assume I'm running at around 9:30 to calculate distance. Or maybe just go with 9:45? Ideas anyone? I need to do something though. I used to feel energized after an early morning run. It's the getting up part that's the hardest thing about it. But afterward, I felt like I was ready to start my day. And I could use some early me time. Things are on my mind that need to go away. I haven't made any resolutions yet this year (probably because the holiday season was just so busted). But maybe I should start with putting myself first. I haven't done that, and I really should start. You can't help somebody else if you can't help yourself, right? So maybe, just maybe, one of these days I'll treat myself to some early morning Me Time. We shall see. Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 29 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -20 ft Date: 01/18/09 Up/Downhill: [+78/-98] Time: 03:10 PM Difficulty: 1.7 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 36 F temp; 45% humidity 36 F heat index; winds S 6 Performance Distance: 2.00 miles Time: 0:19:05 Speed: 6.3 mph Pace: 9' 32 /mi Calories: 222 Notes Cool Down = .37mi No HR monitor (Good thing I left it home. I'm sure it would have been through the roof.) Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 33 -0' 00 6.3 +0.0 -59 ft 2 9' 31 -0' 01 6.3 +0.0 +39 ft end ** ** ** ** ** ft Versus average of 9' 32 min/mile ** Insufficient data to calculate this split

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Run 1/5/09

I'm going to make this short because I'm not feeling so hot. I ran and I probably shouldn't have. My stomach still isn't feeling right. So I'm not eating a lot of protein heavy foods. I'm thinking it will bother my stomach even more. But of course low protein = horrible run. So the run was harder than it needed to be. It was slow, but certainly didn't feel that way. Oh well. Hopefully the next one is a better one. I'm off to sip some ginger tea. Activity Route: Track Elev. Avg: 36 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/05/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:58 PM Difficulty: 1.5 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 42 F temp; 48% humidity 42 F heat index; winds NW 9 Performance Distance: 3.00 miles Time: 0:29:17 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 46 /mi Calories: 333 Notes Cool Down = .13mi No HM monitor Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 13 +0' 27 5.9 -0.3 0 ft 2 9' 47 +0' 01 6.1 -0.0 0 ft end 9' 19 -0' 27 6.4 +0.3 0 ft Versus average of 9' 46 min/mile

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Run 1/3/09

When I stepped out, I felt under-dressed when the air hit me. My arms were cold. My arms are never cold. But once I got started, I felt okay. Once my core was warmed up, having cold arms was actually refreshing. I really wasn't expecting this run to go well. That's mostly because I don't care for leaving a warm house for the cold outdoors. Oh and I decided to attempt 5mi instead of last weekend's 4mi. I haven't run 5mi in what feels like ages (since 9/15/08). I just checked my previous stats. And oddly enough, this looks like my fastest 5miler to date. Go me! And just think, the first time I ran 5mi it took me about an hour. So maybe, just maybe if I don't punk out for the rest of the winter, I can knock out 5mi in 45min about time Spring rolls around. Oh wait, that means a 9:00/mi pace. Okay so maybe not. I'll just do what I can. So back to the actual run. I stopped in the beginning of mile 2 for a bit to change my music. I started out listening to an artist/album I had never played before. I scanned the tracks briefly beforehand. I thought it was pretty decent, but it just didn't agree with me. So I switched to old, faithful 4hero Presents Brazilika. Maybe that's why mile 3 was such a pleasure to run. It was like the planets were in alignment. But I'm sure it helped that it was going downhill. I was hoping for all negative splits, but not so much. Oh well, it still worked out. In case you've forgotten, THIS IS MY FASTEST 5MILER TO DATE! So it's all good. Well, I'm off to lay up and such. I'm having tummy issues. Not sure why, but whatever. Enjoy your weekend, everyone! Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 28 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -30 ft Date: 01/03/09 Up/Downhill: [+193/-223] Time: 02:14 PM Difficulty: 2.1 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 37 F temp; 40% humidity 37 F heat index; winds NW 9 G 16 Performance Distance: 5.00 miles Time: 0:47:56 Speed: 6.3 mph Pace: 9' 35 /mi Heart Rate: 173 bpm (Avg) Calories: 560 192 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .42mi HR Monitor issues the first half mile in. Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 180 - 200 0h 31m 64% 3.28 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 12m 24% 1.22 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 01m 3% 0.16 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 03m 5% 0.26 mi (none) out of range 0h 02m 3% 0.19 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 52 +0' 17 6.1 -0.2 135 -46 ft 2 9' 47 +0' 12 6.1 -0.1 178 +16 ft 3 9' 24 -0' 09 6.4 +0.1 184 -19 ft 4 9' 32 -0' 03 6.3 +0.0 188 +16 ft end 9' 20 -0' 15 6.4 +0.1 189 +4 ft Versus average of 9' 35 min/mile

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