Running Thoughts

I have pictures to post along with a post I have in mind, but it will have to wait until tomorrow night.   I ran today...2 miles with speed intervals.   Tired, but happy.

I keep putting off posting because I have some pictures that I meant to post last Friday...you know, photo day.  But my camera is still packed in a bag in the jeep from our ski adventure.  So, hopefully tomorrow.  Skiing was so great, by the way!  Crested Butte is a great place to go especially on a weekday.  It is slow paced and not crowded at all.  We never had to wait in line at the lifts.  And you can go all the way to the top and ski greens and blues all the way down.  It has some really raunchy stuff, too, but I wouldn't know much about those runs!  Not for me.   Yesterday, I lifted superset style.  Today, I'm sore.  But I ran my tempo run anyway.  On the treadmill because I was a wimp about the wind.  I'd never run a tempo run before.  I've done other kinds of speedwork, but not that.  So, I ran 15 minutes at a toughish pace for me and ran easy the rest.  I noticed on my nikeplus that it looks like I fluctuated from 11:50 or so to 12:09.  I was on the treadmill, ...

I have to get to bed...we are going to crested butte to ski tomorrow.  (school field trips here are the best!) so, quick post. I had a great run today, but it wasn't quite 5 miles as I had planned.  I ran to where the half-way mark should have been wondering why my nike plus wasn't registering my distance right.  I turned around to head for home and then realized I had really only gone a little over 2 miles (not 2.5 as I had thought),...anyway, confusion caused by my nike plus and the snow covering the mile markers.  I really only ran about 4 miles and it took me forEVER.  I enjoyed the run; I just don't understand how it can take me soooo long.  I'm really not sure my exact distance, but it was between 4 and 5 miles and I was out there for over an hour .  It's true that I run through snow and uphill, but good grief.  At least I had fun!

Skiing yesterday, yoga and lifting today!  And remarkably graceful too.  I cracked up at myself trying to get off the lift...I can't even describe the event.  So, so funny.  I was laughing so hard as I tried to re-enact it for my family that I cried.  Too bad there wasn't a video camera...I could win 10 thousand dollars.  And I face-planted trying a new yoga pose.  Also very very funny.  I'm glad I can laugh at myself.  It's really fun since I manage such catastrophes.  I hope you had opportunities to laugh until you cried this weekend...you could have if you'd been with me.  haha

I took it really easy on today's run on the treadmill.  TOM--low on energy and my right knee was feeling funky.  By the end of the 2 1/2 miles, it felt fine.  So, that's good.  I'm going to Yoga class in a bit. I definitely run faster and farther outside, so I hope my 5 mile long run this week can be outside.  It's supposed to snow tonight.... I wore my new shoes today too.  They didn't feel "normal" either, and I kept dragging my left toe.  They will take some getting use to this spring.   Here is my latest favorite snack idea:  applesauce with almonds in it with string cheese. Yours?

Planning to run on the treadmill tonight during American Idol.  But I've been checking out snowshoe running... You may not be interested in participating, but I'll bet you'll find the concept interesting... Pretty COOL , pun intended! And go win some stuff!   They have new contests. ******UPDATE***** I forgot that today is a lifting day, not running, so I lifted instead of the run.  I hope you're not too disappointed...haha!  All multi-joint exercises.  I did reverse lunges with my kettlebell in hand.  Then one armed rows...love that kettlebell.  Then, I did lat pullups with my lebert equalizer bars.  squat and presses, and dumbell bench press.  2 sets of each after a warm up on the elliptical.  I like the multi-joint idea of the workout plan I'm following and then add Yoga class which is tomorrow night and Saturday morning.  I'm not sure if I'll go on Monday mornings or not since I go to belly dance Monday afternoons.  2 short runs and a long run...  with a...

Yoga yesterday was good.  Lazy today was also good.  :)

I did a fine job of procrastinating my run this weekend!  Hold the applause, please.  (blushing) I had already done my long run for the week on Thursday...4 miles this week.  Then, on Thursday night I went to a new Yoga class and really loved it.  On Friday, I was sore from Yoga and didn't do my lifting.  Saturday, Yoga again.  Sunday...lazy...finally ran my speedwork at nearly 10pm.  I ran fartleks on the treadmill.  speed intervals, not at an all-out sprint, but sustainable for a longer distance...I sped up and ran for 1 min intervals.  It was a lot of good work. As for reading material...I maintain that John Bingham's "No Need For Speed" is my favorite running book so far.  I've also read his "Marathoning for Mortals" and "Running for Mortals."  And I've read parts of (dry reading) "Running for Women."  I forget the author.  But lately, I've been into 2 magazines.  I subscribed to and adore "Runner's World."  ...

..Or anywhere at all would have made me happy.  What a chilly four mile run!  Still, I had my Golden by my side and life was good.   We ran up my favorite road...along a now-frozen river with cliffs on either side and ahead.  I was thinking about an article I read.  (I'm a reading junkie, so lately I've been reading about running when I'm not running...)  Ways to make it through tough spots in your run...  It was interesting to read how some of the elites get through.  Music.  Specific songs.  Audio books.  Mantras.  Setting short distance goals.  Talking trash to themselves.  Imagining various scenarios.  Counting.  I have used all of those methods except the trash one.  They work, but the one that works best for me is to look left and notice something interesting, then right, then up above me in either the sky or the cliffs.  Repeat.  My path may look a little drunken, but no one knows because I seldom see anyone unless it's the snowplow driver.  hahaha Another method...

I did a body weight work out tonight.  I did squat-jumps, push-ups, plank, plank with leg lifts, and tricep dips.  I just didn't feel like following a plan tonight...It felt great to do sets one right after the other without messing with the dumbells.   Anyway, changes in routine are good!  It felt like a good workout.  Tomorrow is a running day.  :) The other day while I was running and thinking and running, I thought about what keeps me going.  And I thought of you, Ruth.  And you, Sara.  When I was at the end of my half-marathon, the thing that kept me moving was Sara right there running too.  And there are some days when I just do it even when I don't want to because I know Ruth will be checking my blog.  I do it for me, too, of course.  But would I do it as consistently just for myself?  I'm not so sure, so thanks to you, my "runnin' buddies!"

Outdoor run today!  Ya just never know about the weather...but I decided yesterday when it was overcast to wait until today to run just in case we had a sliver of sunshine.  I figured that I could jump on the treadmill if today was too cold.  But today was sunny!   So, out I went in my new orange jacket.  I ran...I forgot to pay attention...I think about 2 miles with speed intervals interspersed in my run.  Not sprints like when running Hiits, but just at a faster speed than I normally run.  Keeping in mind that I'm an old lady, I run at about 9000 ft above sea level, and there is a couple inches of snow on the ground to run through...oh!  and I am wearing heavy "chain"-like straps on my shoes so I don't slip on the ice...I was pretty ok with my time.  I'm ok with it anyway, but I'm hoping to get comfortable at a faster pace.  You know, so I can enter the olympic trials...ha!  Actually, just so I can compete against myself.  I have been running comfortably alo...

Lifted today! Well, more like tonight.  I didn't eat perfectly on target, but close!  And I finally took a picture of the great shirt my Mother-In-Law made for me for running my half marathon.  It is especially meaningful because she has a muscular disorder that keeps her from walking to the neighbor's.  It makes me aware of the blessing that I can run 13.1 miles.  Big thanks for the kudos from MIL!

new shoes for spring when I begin training for my next Half.  New jacket for NOW!  I wore it today and was toasty.

Concerning health and fitness: Does it always have to be a choice? Really, everything is a choice...from getting out of bed to crawling back in.  Yes, it is a choice.  But, as you know, sometimes it's the easy choice and sometimes the hard choice.  I remember talking to a friend about all the things that get left undone around my house and how frustrated I was not to be able to get it all done.  I had taken daughter and beloved bunny multiple trips across Houston to the vet and was completely frustrated to have all my daylight hours taken up.  It was in our conversation that I realized that it was my choice to take the bunny.  It was important to my daughter and therefore, to me.  Yes, I chose it over some other really good and productive choices, and claiming it as my own choice and not something outside of my control was instrumental in my realizing that the things I do and don't do are choices..MY CHOICES.  If I workout...it's a choice that I alone make.  If I choose som...

plowing through the snow was slow but fun.  2 miles out in the brisk air yesterday!  It's good to be home.  More later after my lifting workout. ******** I was gone all day, and was running short on time, so I did push-ups, tri-dips, and plank/side plank.  Better than a complete miss!   I bought a great little orange jacket and new nike+trail running shoes today!  I'll hope for an outdoor run to model them tomorrow!  

I lifted tonight, and I'm already feeling tomorrow...  :) Do you have an exercise ball?  There are so many killer core exercises with those things.  Youtube has lots of videos.  Part of my warm-up was bridges/leg curls on the ball.  Those keep me sore and I don't even do very many of them.  I got to use my kettle bell that I got for Christmas too...2 hand swings and one-armed rows and lots of other stuff.  Afterward, our family rocked with "rock band" on Playstation.  So fun!  We earned a plane.  :) I subscribed to "Runner's World" magazine a while back and got my new one today.  Did you know that you get more oxygen into your lungs when you run outside?  Studies show that the fresh, moving air keeps your lungs healthier.  I hope tomorrow is sunny!  I'll go find my picks for my shoes so I can run outside without slipping!  Also, I was given a copy of "Women's Adventure" magazine when I ordered a skirt from skirtsports...did you catch th...

At about 6:00 pm, I thought, "well, i guess i missed my workout today."  Then I realized that the day was NOT OVER.  I ran 3 miles on the treadmill after a long time with no run and a long time at a low altitude.  I had a rough time readjusting to the altitude, but the run was super with no problems!  And I heard Tiger Woods in my Nike+ tell me that I ran my fastest mile ever!  Won't my nike-mini love me?

Yay for new back country skis! Here is a short video of me shuffling along the flat part of our driveway trying to get the hang of "the glide." Afterward, I went down the driveway and then back up several times. So fun and I'm excited about the prospect of going places NO MAN HAS EVER GONE BEFORE! HA!

After a trip to the ER for my Grandmother, and a couple of sicknesses in my own little family along the way, we are finally home from our Christmas "vacation."  We arrived on Wednesday night to frozen pipes.  Nice.  I was one of the sickies and I'm still working on getting better, so exercise is still in my FUTURE rather than my present... But did I mention that I got back country skis for my birthday and Wii Fit for Christmas??  And I found some great GoLight running shorts with pockets in the back waistband at a second hand store! oh, and the pipes thawed just fine with no breaks!  :)  Now, that's a good Christmas gift!

sorry to be MIA... I am visiting family for about a week.  Not getting to run...  :( BUT...I got a kettlebell from my SIL for Christmas!!! Merry Christmas! I'll be back at the exercise game soon!