Run + Swim + Recap

I haven't run in the park in weeks, but I went today. I didn't have time to fit a run in at the Y before swim class. See, I run at one Y (there are more treadmills and an indoor track) and have swim class at the other Y (closer to home). I didn't have time to be driving from town to town, so I sucked it up and went out in 87° with a heat index of 93°. Before I stepped out I prayed, "Lord, please don't let me crash and burn." I also blurted out a, "Lord, have mercy on me" somewhere in the middle of the run. I was expecting the heat to take me under since I've been running indoors lately. Thank God, it was overcast. If the sun was out, I'm pretty sure I would have been laid out. I was also expecting the little hills and inclines to get me since I've been running on extremely flat surfaces, i.e. track, treadmill. But that didn't bother me at all. What did bother me was the extremely thick air. I tried to slow my pace for consistent splits. But consistency is not my forte, so I decided to go with negative splits instead. Pretty graphs below. So I make it to my swim lesson on time. I have no idea how far I swam. At some points, there were others in the lane, so I would only go part way and back. I did some kicking drills (frog kick forward and backward, flutter kick forward and backward), breathing exercises, front crawl, competitive breaststroke, and backstroke. Now my shoulders and back are sore. It's okay though. I was expecting to be sore way before now. I was out dancing last night. Woke up fine though. And, now let me recap where I left off... 8/9 - 3mi Track (25:47 - 8:35 pace) 8/11 - 5mi Treadmill (50:00 - 10:00 pace) I began making an effort to run slower, since my mileage is getting up there. Really helps with recovery. Swim Lesson (30min - 550yd) 8/12 - 5mi Treadmill (50:00 - 10:00 pace) Yoga Class (1hr) Right before yoga 8/13 - 6mi Treadmill (60:00 - 10:00 pace) 8/15 - Namaste Yoga (25min Fit TV) Shimmy (2 x 20min Fit TV - Belly dancing and loving it) 8/16 - 10mi Treadmill (1:40 - 10:00 pace) With keeping my speed down, I didn't even feel this run the next day. So there is something to long SLOW distance runs, huh. Oh, and I must mention that I skipped a 5miler. If I keep my runs slow, I should have no problem making it up. But if I run outside, I can't guarantee a slower run. So we shall see. Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 27 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -32 ft Date: 08/18/09 Up/Downhill: [+200/-232] Time: 05:30 PM Difficulty: 3.1 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 87 F temp; 61% humidity 93 F heat index; winds Vrbl 3 Performance Distance: 5.00 miles Time: 0:48:02 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 36 /mi Heart Rate: 169 bpm (Avg) Calories: 554 194 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .43mi 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 15m 31% 1.63 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 25m 51% 2.57 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 06m 12% 0.63 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 03m 6% 0.28 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' 54 +0' 18 6.1 -0.2 145 -49 ft 2 9' 49 +0' 13 6.1 -0.2 165 +16 ft 3 9' 39 +0' 03 6.2 -0.0 172 -19 ft 4 9' 23 -0' 13 6.4 +0.1 182 +17 ft end 9' 15 -0' 21 6.5 +0.2 184 +3 ft Versus average of 9' 36 min/mile

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102

This is me yesterday after a 6mi sweaty run on the treadmill and hitting 102mi for the month. That's right. I hit 102 miles in July! It shocked the hell outta me. I didn't think my new running plan called for so many miles. I was just following the plan and not paying attention to much else. And the best part is that my injury didn't make an appearance. Thank God! I have learned that if I'm going to be running so much that I need to run slower. Every run doesn't have to be a PR. I'm no where near being a marathoner or anything. That's not my goal anyway. I just want to stay healthy. I'm not getting any younger. And I want to look as fabulous as my friend, Diane, when I turn 60.

I think a big thing that helped this month was completing the majority of my runs first thing in the morning. Just because I run in the morning doesn't make me a morning runner. I am not a morning person. It's not that I don't function in the morning or that I need caffeine to start my day. I'd just rather hit the alarm and turn over than be on the track. Well, maybe I'd feel differently if I went to bed on time. But that's another story. Anyway, if I get it out of the way first thing, there's less of a chance for me to skip it. Well, unless I wake up with a headache or something. There are too many reasons for me to skip it if I wait. As the day goes on, especially after a work day, I get tired or get a headache or just get lazy.

So the plan for next month is to just keep running injury free. That means keeping up with cross training. I'm still taking swim lessons. My front crawl needs a lot of work. But I've only attempted it once. Hopefully, it will come to me. Once I get that down, I plan to do laps regularly at the pool (even in the winter because the pool is heated). Right now, my stroke of choice is the breaststroke. I think it's the one thing I do correctly. Too bad it's a slow stroke.

I do need to take my bike out more. But who wants to be outside in this heat and humidity? And of course, I plan to stick with yoga. Having an instructor really helps. You can't learn everything from a dvd. And if you do the poses correctly, it's like having a strength training session (Did you see my lil guns in the photo? Yoga does a body good). I hate strength training, but love yoga.

Alright, so here's what I've done the past couple of days...

7/29 - 4mi Treadmill (37:43 - 9:25 pace)
Yoga Class (1:10)

7/30 - 6mi Treadmill (57:14 - 9:32 pace)

On tap for tomorrow is 5 miles. Then 9 miles on Sunday. I'm not feeling the long run whatsoever. I really don't want to run outside. And I don't want to lose my mind on the treadmill. I could do the indoor track, but I won't know how far I ran. I could just estimate by time. I should be able to wrap it up in 90min or less. Ah, decisions, decisions.

Anyway, have a great weekend everyone!

Now where did I leave off?

I was so freakin' tired last week. I decided to make up the 6 mile run I skipped in Daytona. I ran 6 days straight, which is not typical for me. What is typical is for me to skip runs. And I've been pretty good with that these days. I haven't run this much since February. I guess I've been slacking. And my thighs thank me. They're looking pretty decent these days. I also lost the couple pounds I gained from eating out in Florida. Oh, and I finally took my bike out. I've only gone to and from the track with it, but it's something. Alright, so let's recap... 7/20 - 3mi Park (27:26 - 9:08 pace) 7/21 - 6mi Track (56:49 - 9:28 pace) Swim Lesson (30min) 7/22 - 3mi Park (27:42 - 9:14 pace) Yoga Class(1hr) 7/23 - 1.36mi Bike (8:18 - 9.83 mph) 7mi Track (1:08:44 - 9:49 pace) 1.38mi Bike (11:06 - 7.46 mph) 7/24 - Yoga (45min dvd) 7/25 - 3mi Treadmill (27:20 - 9:06 pace) Swim (750yd) 7/26 - 1.36mi Bike (7:44 - 10.55 mph) 6mi Track (57:16 - 9:32 pace) 1.40mi Bike (10:33 - 7.96 mph) 7/28 - 6mi Treadmill (57:28 - 9:34 pace) Swim Lesson (30min) So far, I have 92mi in for the month. That's the most ever. And now that that's out of the way, I have 4 miles planned on the treadmill later along with yoga. I don't hate the treadmill the way I used to. With the weather these days, it doesn't make a bit of difference if you run at the crack of dawn or not. You'll be disgusted anyhow. Might as well sleep in and run comfortable. Anyway, my goal these days is to be a well-rounded athlete. I guess athlete is the right word. I want to run, swim, bike, do yoga, and whatever else is out there. A Latin dance class would be nice. (I love all things Latin. Well, not all things, but a lot of things. You know, the music, food, drinks, men...the usual.) I don't care to compete though. I'm not a fan of racing in the least bit. If I don't back out of Philly Distance Run, it will probably be my last race for a long time. I just want to stay active. And I don't need racing to motivate me to do so.

It's been a while

I haven't actually blogged a run since July 2nd. I must rectify that. But just so you know, I have been running and such. I tweet workouts on twitter. And I log my activity on dailymile. It's like Facebook or Myspace for athletes. Am I an athlete now? I kind of feel like it. I am taking yoga and swim classes. I haven't broken out my bike yet for the month though. I must get on that. I don't want to be a triathlete or anything. I just want to stay healthy and active. So I feel like I should recap what I've done. So here goes... 7/3 - Yoga (30min dvd) 7/4 - 3mi Run (26:09 - 8:43 pace) 7/5 - 7mi Run (1:04:48 - 9:15 pace) 7/7 - 5mi Run (44:11 - 8:50 pace) Swim Lesson (30min) 7/8 - 5mi Run (48:25 - 9:41 pace) Yoga Class (1hr) 3mi Run (27:10 - 9:03 pace) 7/11 - 3mi Run - Daytona Beach (28:02 - 9:20 pace) 7/13 - Swim (700yd) 7/14 - 6mi Run (54:40 - 9:06 pace) Yoga Class (1hr) 7/15 - 3mi Run (26:30 - 8:50 pace) 7/16 - 4mi Run (37:36 - 9:24 pace) 7/18 - 3mi Run (25:48 - 8:36 pace) Then I ran last night. Pretty graph is posted below. So far, I have 58mi for the month. I've skipped only one run, and that's because I was in Florida. I actually ran twice in one day since I had to travel on a run day. So no slacking on my part. Hopefully, I can keep this going. Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 25 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -49 ft Date: 07/19/09 Up/Downhill: [+305/-354] Time: 07:21 PM Difficulty: 3.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 75 F temp; 61% humidity 77 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 8.00 miles Time: 1:14:27 Speed: 6.4 mph Pace: 9' 18 /mi Calories: 889 Notes Cool Down = .63mi Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 39 +0' 21 6.2 -0.2 -52 ft 2 9' 36 +0' 16 6.2 -0.2 +17 ft 3 9' 21 +0' 03 6.4 -0.0 -19 ft 4 9' 15 -0' 03 6.5 +0.0 +23 ft 5 9' 16 -0' 02 6.5 +0.0 -26 ft 6 9' 06 -0' 12 6.6 +0.1 +10 ft 7 9' 13 -0' 05 6.5 +0.1 +13 ft end 9' 00 -0' 18 6.7 +0.2 -13 ft Versus average of 9' 18 min/mile

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Crack of Dawn Running

My alarm rang at 4:30 am. I was on the track 20 minutes later. It started out slow. Not sure how anyone can get their bodies to move that early in the morning. Hell, I surprised myself. Morning running is not my thing. And my splits were on point. I would say more, but I'm tired. And I still haven't eaten dinner. So I'm off to whip something up real quick. Oh wait, I almost forgot. I did yoga tonight. I did 30 minutes worth of the Hip Mobility routine. It was right on time. My hamstrings are tighter than usual. Maybe I'll do it tomorrow too, if I remember. Activity Route: Track Elev. Avg: 36 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 06/22/09 Up/Downhill: [+3/-0] Time: 04:50 AM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Weather: Rain/Overcast 65 F temp; 93% humidity 65 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 0:55:43 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 17 /mi Calories: 665 Notes Cool Down = .25mi Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 00 +0' 43 6.0 -0.5 +3 ft 2 9' 33 +0' 16 6.2 -0.2 0 ft 3 9' 19 +0' 02 6.4 -0.0 0 ft 4 9' 18 +0' 01 6.4 -0.0 0 ft 5 8' 53 -0' 24 6.7 +0.3 0 ft end 8' 36 -0' 41 7.0 +0.5 0 ft Versus average of 9' 17 min/mile

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Run 3/31/09 Almost There

I am really surprised this run turned out the way it did. I didn't have a decent meal all day. Of course I ate, but it was mostly snacking. I did manage to work in a banana and an orange, which to me, is still snacking (but good snacking). Anyway, instead of the track, I went to the park. I figured I could get in a decent run before it got dark. There were a lot of people out too. I ran three times through the woods, and the last mile on the road since it was kind of dark at that point. Wait a minute. Let me back track.

I didn't run Sunday because for one, I had a ridiculous headache all day. And two, my right head of fibula knee thingy was bothering me. Well, it bothered me towards the end of Saturday's long run. This would be the injury that notified me over a year ago that my old sneaks needed to be replaced. Yeah, I learned the hard way. I took off yesterday as well to rest it. Fast forward to today, and it didn't make an appearance at all.

So back to the run. Mile 3 at 8:58 surprised the heck out of me. It helps that it was downhill. Same deal for mile 5 at 8:59. At that point, I told myself that I couldn't possibly have a negative split in the last mile. It helps that I ran the last mile on the road though. Not as hilly. Thank God. Mile 6 was done in 8:39. What in the world? I'll take it. And with that, I finished up with an overall pace of 9:05.

This is all just amazing. Maybe a month or so ago, I talked about my goal of maintaining a sub-9:00 pace. And I so didn't see it happening anytime soon. But the more I run, the more I believe it could actually happen sooner that I thought. So with that, to all you speed demons, I'm on your heels. LOL!

Have a good night.

Run 3/15/09

This run went surprisingly well. My only gripe is that my shoulders were bothering me. I tried to shake it out and loosen up. No such luck. But anyway, it started out feeling easier than it should, although it was faster than usual. I never do a longish run that fast (9:17) in the beginning. It didn't feel like work until after mile 3. That's cool though. I'm still trying to get my mind around maintaining the pace for 6mi. And the pace would be 9:07. How sweet is that? And just think, my week was crap energy wise. As far as my speed goes, I'm doing pretty well now that I think about it. I outweigh a lot of people. No, I'm not a big girl by any means. But I tend to outweigh women who are my size by about 20lbs. I have big, heavy bones. My ankles are 9 inches around. I have a hard time finding anklets that don't cut off my circulation. Yes, there is such a thing as being big boned. If you don't believe me, just try to pick me up. Anyway, I would think it takes more effort to get your speed together if you weigh more than the average chick. So on to other things...it's starting to get a bit warmer. The days are getting longer. And it makes me want to get my raw food on. No, I'm not going raw. But I do want to incorporate more raw foods into my diet. I've had an awesome raw breakfast that I've eaten almost every day this week. I made almond milk this morning. I need to tweak the recipe a bit before I'm satisfied with it. I went to Produce Junction today to get my fruit and veggie on. I think I'll make zucchini pasta with pesto tonight. I don't know. We'll see. Depends on my mood. And on that note, I need to start getting my food prep on. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 26 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -42 ft Date: 03/15/09 Up/Downhill: [+187/-229] Time: 01:25 PM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 45 F temp; 60% humidity 45 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 0:54:44 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 07 /mi Heart Rate: 179 bpm (Avg) Calories: 664 193 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .5mi 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 38m 69% 4.21 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 12m 23% 1.37 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 03m 6% 0.37 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 02m 4% 0.24 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 17 +0' 10 6.5 -0.1 152 -50 ft 2 9' 11 +0' 04 6.5 -0.1 177 -3 ft 3 9' 03 -0' 04 6.6 +0.0 185 +13 ft 4 9' 06 +0' 01 6.6 -0.0 187 +17 ft 5 9' 08 +0' 01 6.6 -0.0 188 -7 ft 6 8' 53 -0' 14 6.7 +0.1 189 -13 ft Versus average of 9' 07 min/mile

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Run 2/26/2009

Six more miles on the treadmill today. And I hated every minute of it. A sista is beat. And on that note, I'm out. Activity Route: Treadmill Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Chester, PA Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/26/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:00 PM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 0:58:58 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 49 /mi Calories: 680

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Run 2/25/09

I discovered that the gig has a fitness room. And the way I was feeling today, there was no way I was in the mood to head to the Y after work. I'd be too tempted to just drive home since it's an exit away. Anyway, I didn't want to die on the treadmill. I couldn't help but to watch the time and the mileage though. I decided to stop at 6mi instead of run for 60min. That extra minute and change would have killed me. You all know how I feel about the treadmill. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had one at home. Then I could set up whatever distraction necessary. My mp3 player is just not enough. Oh well. I'm not sure where I'm running tomorrow. It depends on how I'm feeling. And on that note, I need to get going. I have a few things to do before I go to bed. Night all. Activity Route: Treadmill Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Chester, PA Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 02/25/09 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:00 PM Difficulty: 1.9 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 0:58:06 Speed: 6.2 mph Pace: 9' 41 /mi Calories: 680 Notes Cool Down = .11mi

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Pace Yourself

Neo-soul was today's distraction of choice. I picked music that I like to sing to. You know, music with lyrics that I actually pay attention to. That should slow me down a bit. I set out for 6mi at 11:00/mi. I figured that should be about right given my progress these days. That's kinda what I did without trying. The last time I ran 6mi I was a lot slower. It's amazing to see how quickly I've improved now that I've been running some decent mileage. Hmm, I just checked the Smart Coach training schedule. Apparently, today was supposed to be a 6mi tempo run with 4mi @ 11:00. Go figure. I nixed the tempo runs and speed work in the beginning. It's just good to see my speed improving without it.

Music: Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 by Jill Scott

Stats:
6.00mi/1:05:16
Avg pace: 10:53/mi
Heart Rate: 178 Avg/189 Max
Calories: 719

1mi @ 11:06
2mi @ 10:42
3mi @ 10:58
4mi @ 10:55
5mi @ 10:52
6mi @ 10:41

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/the usual (raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, flaxseed, unsweetened soymilk and maple syrup)
Lunch: Smoothie w/banana, strawberry, blueberry, hemp protein, and unsweetened soymilk
Dinner: Pakistani dahl w/basmati rice
Snack: Apple w/peanut butter
Late night snack: Edamame

6 Miles...Sorta

First off, let me just say that I am feeling so much better. Solid food and I actually became friends again late Saturday night :)

I postponed Sunday's long run until today. I would have run yesterday, but I was out Saturday night. And well, the party doesn't end until 4am. I went to bed around 6:30am Sunday morning. When I did get up to eat (you know you have to wait a couple hours before running), it was too late to be outside, and the Y was closing. So why bother?

I set my alarm for the crack of dawn today (5:30am). I got up, ate oatmeal, then set my alarm again and went back to bed. I wanted to make sure I had a decent meal before attempting 6 miles. When I got up for good, I decided to run at the Y. It was really, REALLY windy. Not cold, just windy. I didn't want to take the chance of being blown off the track or into a tree if I went to the park. And I didn't want my first attempt at 6 miles harder than it needed to be.

I ran on the treadmill. Little did I know that although I didn't set the timer, it automatically starts the cool down after 60min. So I extended the cool down as long as I could and ran through that. I only got in 5.97 miles. I couldn't get in the extra .03 because the YMCA cops wanted to get me off the treadmill. Yeah, I understand. I'd been on there long enough.

Music: Collected by Massive Attack

I really enjoyed listening to this. I will run with this again.

Jog Stats
5.97mi/70min
Avg pace: 11:44/mi
Incline: 1.0
Calories: 705

1mi @ 13:25
2mi @ 12:35
3mi @ 11:38
4mi @ 11:07
5mi @ 11:04
.97mi @ 10:11

I did a bad thing and didn't cool down or stretch. I didn't do yoga either. I didn't have time. I had somewhere to be. Good thing is, my legs feel like I didn't run today at all. I guess it was just a good running day for me.

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, flaxseed, maple syrup and unsweetened soymilk
Pre-run: OJ
Post-run: Chocolate mint Clif Builder's bar
I inhaled this. I was starving when I got done.
Lunch: Broccoli in garlic sauce w/fried tofu and white rice @ The Dragon House in Wildwood
Drinks: Two glasses of Cabernet @ Flip Flops
Dinner: Finished lunch
Snack: Apple