Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 8 Rest Day

Today is my rest day.  I'm kind of glad as my legs need a day to recover some.  After dropping James off at school, River and I headed out for a walk.  It was snowing and I had to pry River off the couch.  She is not a fan of the snow.  She pouted almost the whole walk. 

I enjoyed the walk though.  The snow was the big fluffy kind.  It was cold, but it wasn't bitter cold.  I enjoyed walking through all the fluffy snow.  Now Wednesday when I go for my run I will be upset if people haven't shoveled. 

Here we are after our walk today.  River was ready to go inside and have her lunch.

River has been curled up on the couch ever since we got back.  Normally she wants to go out again, but she keeps burying her face every time I stand up.  She really hates winter.

Tomorrow I'm in the gym doing speed work and weights.  I'm looking forward to it.  I have enjoyed my rest day, but I'm ready to be back at it!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 7 The Hanukkah Hustle

Today puts me at the end of the first week of training.  It's been a good week.  To end it, I ran the Hanukkah Hustle 5k.  I really enjoy this race as it's small and I love the course.  I like watching the residents of the assisted living facility get out and enjoy time with family and the volunteers.  Here we are before the race.

It was starting to snow as we headed to the start line.  It was a pretty fluffy snow too.  I reminded Mike that he should be thankful that I was only doing the 5k and not the 10k.  He didn't have to stand outside as long.  I know he went inside to stay warm.  He knows my times and knows when to be out at the finish line.  And he was!  Here I am crossing the finish line.

The race itself was okay.  My legs were really tired from my runs this past week.  I knew I would be slow, but I was fine with that.  It took me awhile to get my legs stretched out and feeling good.  By that point I was almost at the finish line.  The finish for this race is uphill.  I got to the hill and kept repeating, "Up the hill. Across the line."  It got me there.  It's not the hill was particularly big or steep, it was just my legs were that tired.  I got my finisher's medal and we headed inside for hot dogs, latkes, and to check results.

I didn't think I had gone fast enough to place, but I was surprised that I got 3rd in my age group!  We stayed for the awards.  The top 3 in each age group got Star of David pendants.  They were pretty cool!

Here's a picture of both my finisher's medal and my age group pendant.

Tomorrow is my rest day.  I will just take River for a long walk.  Tuesday I'm in the gym for speed work and weights, Wednesday it's a 4 mile run, Thursday cross training and weights, and Friday is my long run.  Saturday is my rest day and Sunday I have a swim meet so I can't run then.  I'm ready to tackle the 2nd week of training!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 6

I have to say that I did beg off my workout today.  I know, the shame of it!  I had all my gym stuff with me and on my way home drove by the gym.  It was so busy I just didn't want to go in at all.  There are 2 reasons for this.  One, I hate crowds and two I still don't like people watching me workout.  I know they aren't looking at me, but I feel so uncomfortable that I just couldn't bring myself to go in and workout.  I feel like all those people that are in so much better shape than I am are judging what I'm doing.  I hate feeling like that, but I do.  Heck, it took me over a year to be able to run on main roads where lots of people would see me.  The whole day it was on my mind though.  I have to get over that and just go and do it.

Mike and I did go to St. Jacobs and had a good time shopping in all the little shops.  We got our Christmas shopping almost done.  It was so nice.  We ate at a cozy little restaurant and got to sit by the fire.

It was a nice afternoon and it's getting me in the Christmas spirit.  I still won't put up my decorations until after Thanksgiving (American Thanksgiving).  I'm looking forward to doing that in a few weeks.

Tomorrow I have my race so I will get a 5k run in and then I will walk River when we get home.  WEek one is almost done!  I have done okay up until today.  Back on track tomorrow!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 5

Brrrrr.....I knew we were supposed to get flurries, but we woke up to some real snow this morning.  It wasn't a whole lot, but enough to cause over 100 accidents in our area before 10am.  The whole time I'm getting James ready for school I had to keep motivating myself to run.  I put on my sports bra and running shirt to take him to school.  That means I was halfway dressed when I got back.

Once I got back, I changed into my running tights and still had to talk myself into getting out the door.  River couldn't go with me so I was running solo today.  Plus the route I had to take was hilly and not the slow rolling kind.

I did get out the door.  The first 2 miles were on the shoulder of the road.  Luckily it's a wide shoulder or I would have planned a different route.  The little bit of snow we got made a huge difference in my running though.  My legs were tired by the time I got to the first steep hill.  I got about halfway up and had to walk.  I was upset, but I can't really beat myself up.  The other steep hills were like that too. 

My legs were really tired today.  The whole run they were just tired.  No soreness though so I was happy for that.  The last 2 miles felt really good.  I don't know if it was because it was either downhill or flat or because I knew I was close to home or because I finally hit my groove.  Whatever it was I felt great!

Since River couldn't go with me, I had to get her out for a walk when I got home.  I quickly changed my socks, shoes and coat and went out again with her.  It made for a nice 1.5 mile cool down.  I think it will help my legs recover better.

I did take this picture after my run and quick change as we were walking.  I was tired!

River didn't seem to keen on walking today.  I think she is still tired from her day at doggy daycare.  She also is not a huge fan of the snow.  She pouts the whole time.

Tomorrow I'm hitting the gym after swim practice for cross training and weights and Sunday I have my race.  So far my training is going well.  I feel good and I know I will get stronger everyday.

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 4

So today I was supposed to go to the gym for cross training and weights.  Mike had to go into work early and I had to be at the pool all day so I had to switch my rest day from Saturday to today.  I'm feeling a bit grumpy and sad about it too.

I can tell I need to do something active because I'm antsy and restless.  I can't even walk the dogs since I'm at the pool working on my computer.  I did get the work done so tomorrow when I'm out for my long run I won't have to feel guilty about not working at home.

Last night I had my first Mini Meet since taking over the Swim Academy.  It went well.  We had 97 swimmers last night which I think was a pretty good turn out.  We even had a lot of private lessons come to compete.  Tonight is our 2nd Mini Meet so I hope we have a great turn out for it!

It's snowing today.  Just flurries and it's dusting the ground, but it's snow.  Tomorrow will be a cold run, but once we get moving River and I are fine.  It will be cold on Sunday too for the race.  I just have to run harder so I won't freeze.

The rest of the training week looks like this: Friday 10k run, Saturday cross training and upper body weights, Sunday 5k race.  It's a good first week of training.  I'm feeling good and strong this week.  I know the next 15 weeks will be great!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 3

I know some people may not find my training exciting, but it helps me stay accountable and helps me organize my thoughts since running is my stress relief and my way of fighting depression.

Today was a 4 mile run.  It was cold and windy.  Such a big change from the weather yesterday!  I'm not going to lie, it would have been easy to stay inside and go back to bed.  I had to get River out for a walk no matter what so I figured I should just do my run.

The first 5k felt great!  I was moving at a good pace and I felt relaxed.  Then my stomach started to revolt against me.  I was hoping this whole thing with the iron was settled.  Guess not.  River had to stop to go to the bathroom so I took some time to stretch.  That helped.  The other thing I'm going to try is taking my iron pill at night before bed.  I'm hoping it will be through my system by the time I run in the morning.  I'll know Friday if it works.

I was afraid that my legs would be sore after lifting weights yesterday, but they felt pretty good.  They were tired, but not sore.  River loved running in the cooler weather.  She was all smiles.  When we got home she was ready for her lunch though.  As you can see, she was not amused by our selfie.

I'm so glad I did this run.  I could feel myself losing my stress as I ran.  I took over the swim school part of the team I coach and we have our first mini meet tonight.  I'm nervous about how it will go.  I know it's out of my hands as I've done everything I can to get ready for it, but I'm still stressing about it. 

I'm also worrying about Christmas.  I've gotten almost all my shopping done so I can just do the baking in December.  I have ordered some really cute shirts from Snappy Kid (www.snappykid.com) and can't wait for them to get here!  I love that sight!  It has great geeky shirts for James and my neices and nephews.  I thought I was finished and then I saw this awesome Minion shirt that I got for James for Christmas.  He will love it!!!!!!

Tomorrow I'm in the gym for cross training and weights and Friday it's my long run.  Week one is almost in the books!  March 1st will be here before I know it!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 2

This morning it was speed work and weights.  I was at the gym bright and early.  I hate the treadmill, but for speed work I can tolerate it.  I did the following:

5 minutes warm-up
10 rounds of 1 minute at my long run pace
                    45 seconds at my 5k pace
                    15 seconds at a full sprint
5 minutes cool down

I then did leg weights.  It's been since July that I've lifted weights.  I know I'm going to feel it tomorrow on my run. 

It felt good to be back in the gym and pushing myself like that.  I was tired and I was dripping because I ran inside, but I felt great!

 

This morning I got to go watch James narrate as his school's Remembrance Day assembly.  He did a great job! He was so excited to be the only 4th grader to get asked to do this.  It was a nice assembly and all the kids did a great job!

I then got to spend the rest of the day sitting at a desk figuring out coaching assignments for the next session of Swim Academy.  Whew...that's tough!

Tomorrow will be Day 3 and River and I are out for a 4 mile run.  Thursday morning I'm back in the gym for some cross training and weights and Friday is my long run.  Once I get in the swing of things, it won't be so hard for me to get out the door.

Day 2 is done!

Chilly Half Marathon Training: Day 1

Yes, I'm starting my training for my 3rd half marathon.  This one will be on March 1st.  I have to train all through the winter.  I was disappointed that I had to drop out of the Toronto Waterfront Half.  I want to run this one and I want to run it well. 

I've been struggling for several months with motivation and health issues.  I think I've finally got everything under control and am ready and motivated to get this done!  I have my goal and I have my plan.  Mike and James are helping me by keeping me accountable and River is ready to train with me for as long as she can.  Once the snow hits, she won't be able to run with me.  It won't be safe for either one of us.

Mondays will end up being my rest days, but I wanted to kick off the training with a short run.  River and I did just under 2 miles.  Nice and easy and relaxed.  It felt nice and River enjoyed the cooler weather to run.

Here we are after our run this morning.

Tomorrow I'm back in the gym for speed work and weight training.  I'm up early so I can be back to get James ready for school.  I've been sleeping better so I'm hoping that I can get up and get out the door.

Wednesday I have a 4 mile run, Thursday it's the bike and weights, Friday 10k run, Saturday rest and Sunday I run a 5k race.  River is doing the run with me on Wednesday and Friday.  She will have a blast doing it too!

I have to just keep reminding myself to just get out the door.  Once I'm out and going, I feel great.  I just have to get out the door.  That's the hardest part some days.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Today it's both, but they are  NOT getting me down!  Last night we had a lot of rain.  I knew it would be a wet morning.  When I got up around 6:30, it was pouring rain.  I thought there was no way I was running in that mess.  I figured I would just go to the gym. I got up and started getting ready, but remembered that Mike had to take my car today since his truck is in the shop.  No gym for me.  Then I realized that I had to take River for a walk rain or no rain.  After much back and forth in my head, I put my running clothes on and headed out the door with River. 

I love running in the rain.  I really do.  I don't know why I had to talk myself into this.  I like running in the rain for many reasons.  One, it's quiet and the air is fresh.  You aren't going to run into many people.  I love the smell of the air during a rain storm.  Two, I love running though the puddles.  When you're little you are always told not to splash, but I get to splash all I want on my runs with River.  We got out of our way to run though puddles.  Finally, the rain keeps you cool.  It's nice to feel the splash of cool water on your hot face.

River was all smiles too.  She's not one that likes the rain and will usually pout, but today she was game and happy to be running.  I am glad I got out the door this morning for run rather than a walk.

For the workout today, I did do a run walk simply because I took a hilly route and knew my legs just weren't quite ready for a straight run.  I did the following intervals:

10 minute run/2 minute walk

10 minute run/1 minute walk

10 minute run/2 minute walk

3 minute run to finish

I did the 1 minute walk in the middle because the walk interval came up halfway up a hill.  At the 1 minute mark I was at the top and wasn't going to walk down a hill.  My legs were sore at the bottom because it's a steeper hill.

I did take this weekend off.   I just couldn't get going.  I don't know what the deal was.  I have to make sure this coming weekend I'm up and out the door.  James will be here so that will help.

Tomorrow will be a gym day.  I'm doing speed intervals and weights.  Wednesday I have James with me so it will be shorter run with intervals.  I may make Wednesday a double and do a longer run in the evening.  Thursday will be run as I have to switch my 2nd gym day to Friday since I have a meeting that day.  Saturday will be a mid-distance run and Sunday my long run.  

It's been a slow start to the this half marathon training, but I'm getting there.  I will be ready by October!

Day 3: Olympic Inspiration

James got up early this morning and I had been up for a couple of hours already.  I was watching the Olympics and the women's hockey game was starting when he got up.  It was USA vs. Canada.  He was very excited and got to watch the first period before he had to get ready for school.  On the way to school, we kept trying to find the game, but couldn't.  When we got to school, the US was up 1-0.  I went to the gym after dropping him off and was able to watch the 3 period.  It was a pretty good game.  Canada won 3-2.  When the United States scored their 2nd goal I forgot where I was.  I was running along and when the goal was scored, I threw my hands up and said, "YES!" in a not so quiet voice.  Oops....It was a good game.  I can't wait for the medal games now.

I did do 4.5 miles on the treadmill today.  I felt pretty good and kept moving.  I think watching the Olympics is helping.  It helps pass the time and I am an Olympic junkie!  I got to also watch speed skating.  Today was a day off from my weights.  Tomorrow I have another cross training day and weights again.  Friday is my first long run of my training.  I have to remember my vasaline though.  My legs are a bit chaffed from running today.

This weekend I'll have 2 rest days as I'm at a swim meet all weekend.  It should be a fun time though. 

109 days left!

Day 2: Half Marathon Training Has Begun!

And I'm off and running!  Yesterday and today I was in the gym with my goal in sight!  Yesterday I ran a 5k on the treadmill (Yuck!) and did weights (legs).  Today was a cross training day so I did the recumbent bike and upper body weights.  It felt good.  I'm glad I used last week to get back in the swing of things.  I have a schedule and my training plan, so I'm ready to go!


I just want some of this snow to melt so as my long runs get longer, I can run them outside.  I can only do about 10k on the treadmill and that's a mental battle for me.  I just hate staying in the same place the whole time.  I do make a game out of it and speed up and slow down at various times.  It doesn't make it any easier mentally for me though.  I just have to get through it I guess. 


Weight lifting has been going really well.  I feel really good while doing it.  I'm already going to up the weight on some exercises.  That's a good sign!


With my half marathon training comes my half marathon eating.  More protein and lots of fresh fruits and veggies!  I love it!  I have been eating like crap for about a month.  I haven't been getting enough vegetables and I can tell.  But I'm back on it and should start feeling more energized soon.


My next check up race is on March 8th.  It's the downhill race I run every year.  This year I'm going to break 30 minutes!  That's my goal and I think I'll be there by March.


Tomorrow I'm doing a 4-5 mile run, but no weights.  Thursday is another cross training and weights day.  Friday is my long run, 10k.  Saturday and Sunday I'm at a swim meet so I won't be able to get in any runs.  Monday should feel good though after standing on the pool deck the whole weekend.


110 days until I run my race!  Let's get this done!

Days 76-78: Kind of a mixed bag weekend

I think I finally have a handle on this new school schedule.  At least I hope I do.  The past 2 weeks my training has been crap. 

This weekend was pretty good though.  Saturday, James ran his first obstacle race.  He ran the Badass Dash.  He had a great time!  It was a nice race for kids.  Mike and I couldn't run the adult race for several reasons.  For me it was too close to the half marathon.  For Mike, the only times open were early in the morning and I had swim practice.  He couldn't leave James alone while he ran.  Maybe next year.

Anyway, James had a good time and loved the obstacle race!  He said his favorite obstacle was the Water Web.  He got soaked, but he loved it!  He also love that he had to climb over a bus.  Here are a few pictures from the race.

Sunday, I got up and did the Terry Fox Run with the swim team.  My groups had to run a 5k and the older kids had to do 10k.  I did 20k because I had to get my long run in sometime.  It was a beautiful day to run and it was a loop course.  I did 8 loops.  I thought I would get bored with that, but I really didn't.  It was a pretty course and it kind of made it feel faster.  I may try to do that with my next long run here.

The run itself felt really good.  I did break down and get new shoes and that has made a huge difference.  I had no pain at all in my Achilles or hamstring.  I ran an hour and a half before I did my 5 minute walk to get my honey stingers and Gatorade.  Then I did a 2 minute walk at the 2:15 mark.  This run really made me feel like I can do this half marathon.  I should be under my goal time, but we'll see.

This morning I got up and did a 2 mile recovery run with River.  It is so nice to run in cool weather.  I love running in the fall and in the spring because the weather is so awesome! 

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a tempo run that is in total 7 miles with warm-up/cool down and the tempo part.  I think I'll take River with me as there will be times for breaks and her to get water.  I'm feeling really good about this race.  Only 34 more days!

Days 69-71: Kind of a mix bag

This weekend had some ups and down with my running.  Last week I was hit and miss with my training because we were getting used to the new schedule with school starting.  I think I have it under control now so hopefully that's all settled.

Saturday I ran two races.  In the morning, Mike and I drove to Niagara Falls for the Run or Dye race.  This is a color run and we had fun doing it.  I know Mike was really tired, but he was a good sport about it.  We had lots of dye packs that we were throwing in the starting chute.  On the course, every kilometer they threw a different color on you.  We had a good time and I'm looking for one to do with James next spring or summer.

Here are a few pictures from the run.

After the race we drove home in pouring rain.  Luckily is started after we were on our way home.  I ate some lunch and took a nap because I still had another race to run that night. 

Saturday night we drove to Toronto for the Night Race.  I really enjoyed this race.  It was a nice flat course and they had great pre- and post-race activities.  It was fun to run in the dark too.

Here are a few pictures from that race.

Yesterday, I had a long run scheduled.  I started out and got about 5k into it and I had some pain in my hamstring.  I went a little further and had to turn back.  I just couldn't do it.  I ended up doing just under 10k.  The pain was because I didn't use my foam roller Saturday after my races.  It was my own fault.

This morning a ran a 5k with River.  It felt really good.  I had some tightness, but not pain.  I'm going to use the foam roller a few times today and hopefully tomorrow I'll be good as new.

I'm having a good start to a busy week, but I'm ready to go!

Day 60: Long Run

This morning I got up and got ready for my long run.  10 miles was on the schedule.  This was run was taking place after over a week of not really running for various reasons.  I was nervous about this run.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go.

The first 2 miles were just getting into a rhythm.  It didn't hurt, but it was just getting my muscles relaxed and into the running groove.  There are some pretty big hills at the start of this route so that didn't help.  But to be honest, the only hill that really hurt was the second one on the route.  It was the biggest and just seemed to go on forever.  I got up it and then the run started to feel really good.

This route is through the city and into Waterloo so there are a lot of stop lights along the way.  I hit about 50% of them red and had to wait.  Towards the end of the run it hurt to get started again.  At the hour mark, which was about 5 miles in, I had to walk to eat some Honey Stingers and drink some Gatorade.  I only walked for 3 minutes though. 

The run had it moments.  There are some nice residential areas and some built up city areas.  I had to run through construction and almost got run over by someone on a bike.  They were riding on the sidewalk not paying attention. 

At the 2 hour mark, I had to walk again.  I had eaten the rest of my Honey Stingers at a stop light so I just needed to get some Gatorade in me.  It was only about a 2 minute walk.  Then I ran the last mile and half home.

When I got home and mapped out my route, it was actually 10.75 miles.  It really wasn't a bad run.  I kind of enjoy these long runs.

After the run I had to walk River.  She seemed to know that I was tired and didn't try to chase things like she normally does.  I really appreciated that.

Tomorrow I'll do a recovery run to shake out all the stiffness.  Only 52 more days until the race.  I'm starting feel like I can do this.  I hope that feeling lasts!

Day 50: Ack!!!!!! Starting To Get REALLY Nervous!

Only 62 days left until I run my first half marathon.  I'm starting to get really nervous.  I know I'm getting stronger and fitter, but I'm still starting to really get scared.  My long runs are getting longer.  My short runs are getting longer.  My recovery runs are getting easier.  I just hope mentally I'm there on race day.

Today was a recovery run after the race we ran yesterday.  River ran with me.  Today is probably the only day she will be able to run with me because it's supposed to get warmer in the mornings this week.  She enjoyed her run.  She loves being out and just being able to go.  We took a path that she just loves to take.  It's a gravel trail that goes behind 2 schools.  It runs through some open fields so she's always looking for rabbits when we take that way.  There weren't any today though.

The run felt nice and easy.  I haven't had a nice feeling training run in awhile so this was a good change.  I was nice and relaxed and just did a nice easy speed run.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a 10k run.  It's going to be a bit warmer than what it has been this summer.  I think I have been spoiled by the cooler mornings.  I won't take River with me so when I get home I will have to take her for a walk.  If by some chance it is cool tomorrow morning, I will take her with me.

Today James and I have a busy day of preparing for Fax Expo on Thursday.  We are both so excited!  I will be getting up early to get my runs in before heading to the Expo each day.  I should be exhausted by Sunday night.  Off to get ready for the day!

Day 44: Recovery Run Otherwise Known As Running With Lead Legs

My legs are feeling yesterday's run.  I don't think it was so much the distance as the hills.  I did get a foam roller and used it this morning.  What a huge difference!  My hamstring is feeling more stretched out.  I did use the one at the pool yesterday and it helped, but being able to use it right after a run feels really good!  I'm so glad I finally bought one.

I took River on the run this morning.  She's getting better at pacing off of me.  She still sets the pace, but she doesn't speed up and slow down as much.  It's more of a steady pace.  The only time she sprints is when she sees a rabbit, a motorcycle or a city bus.  Thank goodness early in the morning I only have to really worry about rabbits.

Tomorrow I'm going for another run, but I'm not really sure how far I'm going.  It might just be one of those days where I just run to run.  I'll take River with me and we'll just go.  She'll like that.

Off to start the rest of my day!

Day 43: Long Slow Distance Run

I haven't been feeling myself lately.  I just couldn't get to sleep and stay asleep.  I was restless and just not motivated like I have been.  It honestly was struggle to just get out of bed most days.  Today I forced myself up and out the door.  Well, it really wasn't forcing as I wanted to run today.

Once again, I postponed my long run until Monday this week.  Mike is out of town, so I had to run a route that was well populated.  I promised him I wouldn't run my country route if he wasn't here just in case something happened.  I planned an out and back route that took me a little bit into Waterloo.  I know the cities run into each other, but I can say that I ran from one city to the next and back again.  It's the little things.

I knew there were a few big hills and a lot of traffic lights on this route.  Due to the lights there was a possibility that I could have a lot of stop and start which is hard at times.  The run out wasn't so bad.  I was at  the beginning of rush hour so the lights were with me for the most part.  The route isn't really that bad.   Lot's of trees and places to stop and get help if need be.  When I got to the 4.5 mile
mark, I did walk for a bit so I could eat some of my Honey Stingers and drink.  I'm trying to teach myself to run and eat/drink and I'm getting better, but still not quite there.

I wouldn't let myself walk until the halfway point.  It took me 55 minutes to get there and that's the longest I've run at one stretch.  Even when I run with River we have to stop so she can get a drink.  It wasn't so bad.  Some of the hills were tough, but I ran up them.  Once I got about 10 minutes into the run I felt really good and loose.

After I ate and drank, I started running again.  I thought it would be tough to get started again, but it wasn't bad.  I felt really good.  The run back I hit more red lights though.  That was a bit of a hard thing at the end of the run.  I felt pretty good the entire run.  I had a few pains, but it wasn't injury pain. 

I am going to get a foam roller today so I can start using that.  I think that will help a lot with my recovery.  I do stretch after most of my runs.  Today I took River for a 45 minute walk instead of stretching.  That was hard.  I just wanted to shower and stretch, but she needed her walk.

Nine miles is the furthest I've ever run.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  I am starting to feel like I can really run this half marathon.  I feel like it's doable for me.  I just have to keep reminding myself of that when I start to lose my motivation.

This week my training is all wonky since Mike is out of town, but at least I got a long run in and tomorrow I'll take River on my recovery run.  I'm so glad I got out this morning.

Day 38: Speed Work and Weights

I had to get up really early this morning to hit the gym.  It was hard to get up for some reason.  Normally I'm pretty good about getting up, but today not so much.  It was tough.

I don't mind speed work on the treadmill as much.  My only complaint is the gym always seems really hot even when the air is on.  I just sweat so much.  So today I did a 5 minute warm-up at an easy pace.  After 5 minutes, I did 10 rounds of 45 seconds sprint and 1:15 recovery.  The I was going at a pretty good clip.  On the recovery, my goal was to get my breathing back to a slower rate.  That got tough at the end, but I did it.  After my sprint rounds, I did a 5 minute cool down at a comfortable pace.

Then it was weights.  Today was upper body and I increased weight on half the exercises.  Between the increased weight and the 2 rounds of 12 that I do on each machine, I was beat!  My body is tired today, but I still feel pretty good that I did it.

I was telling Mike afterwards that even though I really wanted to sleep, I knew I had to get up and go.  It's getting harder to talk myself out of my workouts.  And after the past 2 days, I need the stress release.  I'm having to rearrange some things I promised James we would do and possibly have to cancel them due to some coaching changes at work.  I don't really mind usually, but this time it bugs me.  I got the summer schedule out super early so people could make plans to take some time off, but there has been 2 monkey wrenches thrown into the works.  I'll pick up the practices and cancel on James, but I hate to do that to him.  It's really not fair to him.  I just hope he understands.

Tomorrow is a cross training and full body weights day.  I'll hit the gym after my morning practice and then come home to give River her long morning walk.  Then I have to finish the Cyberman costume.  I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.  I really need some time to just relax, but it looks like that might happen around Christmas now.  Oh well...that's the way it goes.  At least it's Wednesday!  We're on the downhill now!

Day 37: Recovery Run

I should have done 5 miles, but it was my own fault.  I couldn't sleep last night and so when my alarm went off, I reset it.  I just couldn't get myself out of bed in time to do 5 miles.  I did 3 instead.  River went with me and she seemed off this morning too.

I will say my legs felt better today than they did after my long run last week.  The run felt pretty good.  I was going at a fairly decent pace until the end when River needed to slow down and kept getting distracted.  I don't think she feels too good.  She has slept in the past few days and while she has eaten, it just hasn't been with the gusto she normally eats with.  I'll have her take it easy today.  Poor girl.

Today James starts Mad Science Camp.  He's really excited too.  He has been looking forward to this since it ended last summer.  He loves this camp and everything is right up his alley.  This year the camp he's doing has a different theme each day.  I hope he likes it as much as he did last year.

It's also the last day of swim school for this session.  I really need a break from kids for about a week.  I can tell because every little thing is starting to grate on me.  After a week I'll be fine.  I just need that week to reset.

Things are winding down for the summer.  Pretty soon school will be starting up and swim season will be in full swing again.  I can't believe how this summer has just flown by.  I just want time to slow down for a few days, but that isn't going to happen so I'll just make the most of it now.

Day 36: Long Slow Distance

Yesterday I was supposed to do this run, but I slept wrong and couldn't get my hip stretched out so I postponed it until today.

I wanted to be out by 6:30, but my 4-legged alarm didn't go off.  River is on a schedule; up at 5:30 for breakfast, back to be for 45 minutes and then up and ready for her run or walk.  She didn't get up at 5:30 or 6:30 or even 7:00.  She was still in bed when I woke up and started getting ready for my run.  At 7:15 she half-heartedly at her breakfast because she thought she was going with me on my run.  Unfortunately 8 miles is too long for her to run with me.

I really had to talk myself out the door for this run.  I just wasn't feeling it, but I knew I had to do it and once I got going it wouldn't be that bad.  Off I went.  It took 3 miles to really get a good feel for this run.  It didn't hurt, it just didn't feel  that good.  It was like I was going through the motions.  I think part of the problem is I didn't have my normal cranberry orange breakfast pita before running.  I had a quarter of a protein bar instead.  The store has been out of my pitas so I had to eat something else.  I'm stocking up next time I see them.

At 43 minutes, I did a bit of walking to drink and eat 5 of my Honey Stingers.  This took me to the start of the really hilly part of the run.  Honestly, the hills today didn't bother me.  In fact, the last steep hill I was halfway up it before it registered that I was running up the hill and feeling really good.  The worst hill was the last one.  It is a longer very low grade hill, but it just seemed to never end and I thought I my legs were just going to quit on me.  It's funny how that works.  The steep ones I had no problem with, but this very low grade one nearly killed my legs.  I got up it though and then is was downhill and flat the last mile and a half.

At the 1:20 I walked a few more minutes to drink and eat the rest of  my Honey Stingers.  That gave me the fuel I needed to get through the rest of the run.

After I got home, my legs didn't hurt near as bad as they did last week.  I thought that was a good sign.  I have a love/hate relationship with this route so if my legs are feeling stronger that's what I want.  I don't want to switch up my long route too much because I need to train the hills, but I HATE hills and would love a nice flat route.  I'll stick to this route and just keep adding on to the back end as increase my mileage.  I just keep reminding myself that I need the hill work.

I feel pretty good about this run.  My schedule is a bit off for this week, but that's okay.  Tomorrow I'm out for a 5 mile run with River.  We'll see how my legs feel after that run.  Wednesday is speed work.  Thursday is cross training.  Friday I'm up to a 6 mile run.  Sunday I increase my long run to 9 miles.  I'm usually feeling pretty good at the back half of my runs so hopefully 9 miles will feel okay.  That will be the furthest I've ever run in one stretch. 

Off to take a relaxing bath and to read for a bit.  Then I have to tackle a Cyberman costume.  Have a great day!