Running Thoughts

Lifted! Got that workout in! yay me! I ran 2 miles this morning and lifted this afternoon. I'm already sore in the booty-us-maximus! Hammies and shoulders too. And...here are the top 5 reasons to lift weights: 1. Weight training tones your muscles which looks great and raises your basal metabolism...which causes you to burn more calories 24 hours a day. You'll even burn more calories while you're sleeping. 2. Weight training can reverse the natural decline in your metabolism which begins around age 30. 3. Weight training energizes you. 4. Weight training has a positive effect on almost all of your 650-plus muscles. 5. Weight training strengthens your bones reducing your risk of developing osteoporosis. I'm planning to run my September 10K this weekend, then I have another 10K with Nike+ on October 25. Thought about running the Denver Half, but decided not to spend the money. Next summer, I want to run the Creede Mountain Run again, but maybe the 22 miler. And I...

Layered Salad In a rectangular baking dish: layer #1- chopped fresh spinach layer #2-small can green peas layer #3-mixture of chopped onions and chopped bell pepper layer #4-mayo about 1/4 inch thick layer #5-Tsp of sugar sprinkled on mayo layer #6-grated cheese layer #7-crisp, crumbled bacon I love this recipe even though I normally don't like green peas so much. I didn't start my new plan today...blah tomorrow.

Well, we had fun with our guests. They left yesterday, so what did I do today? I cleaned up after our weeklong visit/demolition and I RAN! Only 2.5 miles, but wow I needed it. It felt like it had been a week since my last run too. Some friends invited me to run a half with them mid-October, but today didn't feel like it. What a gorgeous day. Blue sky. God's glory evident in the shimmery, golden leaves. aaaah So glad I went. Tomorrow marks my re-start of Chalene Extreme (lifting workout) with new before pictures and measurements. I'll be working on losing 10 pounds, one pound at a time, and gaining muscle. It's a 90 day program that is BFL-style lifting, but the burnouts are slightly different and the exercises are with music and a coach.... It's a tough workout and fun. I'm also intent upon my whole family concentrating on eating more veggies. We normally do, but lately we've been eating fewer it seems. So, my idea is to plan our meals around w...

Dear Ruthie, My thoughts are with you as you run 26.2 miles. I wish I could run the last 13.1 with you and cheer for you in person. As it is, you will run, you will finish, and I will anticipate your blogpost about your experience. Until then, here are some quotes for my quotatious friend. "We are different, in essence, than other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." -Emil Zatopek "Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity." -Michael Johnson "I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." Jesse Owens "Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." - Steve Prefontaine "Tough t...

still no run I did babysit a sweet little mini-friend and took him for a walk in his stroller and jogged part of it. Better than nothin'.... Hoping for a good run this weekend. Did you know that Ruth Runs Saturday????? This is for her!!

We have friends in town...not much time to blog or workout or run. It's forecasted to snow this week.  wow My favorite brands of warm stuff to run in: Hot Chili's Smartwool Underarmour Merrell Must haves: tights wool socks moisture-wicking first layer fold over mitten-gloves neck gator beanie

It rained and rained today.  I hopped onto the treadmill for the first time in a long time...a sure sign that seasons are changing.  I ran speed intervals with OKgo.  I downloaded the workout a long time ago and it's a butt-kicker.  More fun that just running on the 'mill, though.   Here it is. I'm trying to figure out when I'll get to run my 10k.  We have friends coming into town Saturday night, so Saturday during the day would be good except that it is my daughter's 15th birthday and we have soccer games.  hmmm  I'll figure it out. Some friends are running this half and mentioned it to me.  Doubt I'll do it, but I noticed that Bill Philip's Transformation is advertised on the bottom of the page.  Cool. Last, but not least, here are some form drills that I found.  Sort of cheesy, but looks like a good change in routine.

A while back I read a fun post on www.mizfitonline.com from a guy who had come up with a super fun way to make a game of fitness.  He called it an "adventure playout."  get it??  instead of workout??  Anyway, I copied and pasted it in a file on my computer to come back to later because I have decided to concentrate more on making sure my kids (I homeschool) get lots of good phys. ed.  I wanted to imitate his great idea.  Here is my adventure playout: Jungles of Oompa Loompa Land Following a home-made map of our area with embellishments of ideas from Willy Wonka, we will set out to save the oompa loompas from snozzwangers, hornswogglers, wangdoodles, and rotten vermicious knids. First, the map will take us around our driveway, noted on the map as the road to Loompa Land.  At the end of this road, we will turn right onto the path that leads to the chocolate river.  At the river we will pause to throw candy rocks at the hornswogglers in the chocolate river.  From here, we will b...

Today, my 10 year old wanted to go with me on my run. I was only planning 2-3 miles if the weather cooperated. So, I decided on 2, and B went with me. I've been resting, letting my hip and neck have a break. Today felt great! B did really well too! We walked a little and waited for our dog a little and ran at a great pace for me. I think it is just taking me a while to figure myself out. Running by myself, I don't realize how fast or slow I'm going or how one pace feels versus another. I look at my runs on Nike plus and my pace is all over the place. LOL I'm getting more efficient. Running the 1ok around the lake a while back and running the 12 mile mountain run were both good for me to see where I am and how I feel. Today, I finished 2 miles in 22 minutes with some walking and waiting thrown in. My friend ran Imogene on Saturday! Yay for her! She did great, beating her time. It's an incredible 10 miles uphill and 7 back down. Big kudos to Mandy! I...

One unexpected lesson in fitness awareness, running, lifting, yoga...is that of learning to respect my body and its boundaries and signals. I ran the 12 mile mountain run (super fun-will do again!) without being really prepared for it. As a result, my hip has been bothering me and my upper back and neck too. I ran one 3 mile very easy, slow run to see how that felt, but it made it worse, so I'm on a leave of absence until Monday. Until then, I'm planning running, reading about running, talking with friends about running...but not running. On Monday, I will try an easy, short run if my neck is completely better and my hip (which is better already) doesn't stop me. I didn't mention the stress of the 12 mile run...I carry stress in my neck and shoulders.... My daughter decided at the last minute that she would come with me and run the 2 mile. GREAT! But then she got there and was nauseated. She's never reacted to nervousness that way, and so I was not sure if it was th...

I had planned to run a 10k on Sat. for a "better than last time" time.  My hip has been troubling me, though, so I may put it off until Monday.  I think I just need to rest.  I'm also excited to get going again with my weights.  I took a breather (longer than intended) to be fresh for the 12 mile run.  So, next week, lifting again!  wahooo! I still don't have pictures from Creede.  I should have taken them myself.  Oh well, when I get them, I'll post them! I'm so excited about Ruthie's marathon on the 26th.  It seems so close.  I'm inspired to plan for the mountainair marathon next fall.  

Been lazy the past few days... I was sore and recovering for 2 days, but yesterday I fully intended to run.  Didn't.  I'm heading out now!  Yay! ******************* 3 miles done!  My hips are still stiff.  They were the part of me that gave out in the 12 mile run.  Not sure why???  I couldn't be getting old. My nike+ gadget didn't save my 12 miles for some reason.  Bummer.  

Creede is a town about the size of my own town, maybe 400 permanent residents.  The town survives mostly on tourism, so summer population is probably closer to 800.  People are attracted to the little mountain town by the outdoor sports.  In the winter, people come to snowshoe and snowmobile.  In the summer, they come for the hiking, the photography, fishing.  Fall, they come to see the color change and to hunt for elk, deer, and black bear.  The elevation of the town is the attraction.  It is situated at 8,850' above sea level, in the beautiful San Juan mountains.  It shares the boast of 5 fourteeners (peaks of over 14,000') in the nearby vicinity with my town which is slightly higher in elevation.  So, I'm accustomed to running some hills.  The idea is not new to me.  I see these gorgeous mountains every day, but never get my fill.  Running the Creede Mountain Run was an incredible experience topped only by owning the bragging rights.   The race started in the town park a...

Ok....no big deal.  It's just a little 12 mile jaunt over a mountain.  Easy-peasy.  More tomorrow when I get back. www.creedemountainrun.com Here is one person's experience.  I will post more about my own experience tomorrow...tonight, I'm going to bed.  But first, I wanted to let you know that I survived 12 miles of mountain running/hiking and thoroughly enjoyed the day.  I can't find my little pocket camera, and that's a shame because the run struck me in two ways...hard and gloriously beautiful.  From the top of the run, you can see all across the continental divide.  Wow.  Really wow.

Up and out the door at 7:30 this morning...early, early for me!  I have to spend the day on errands, though, and really wanted a run in!  When there's a will...   I wouldn't have gotten up and ready for many things, but a run?  Yep. My pace was about 11'21.  That's fast for this old lady.  I only went a couple miles and the faster pace felt easy and good.  The long runs are paying off.  That's what I want to see...improvement.  I don't care about the pace except that it improves.  I think so.  :) Life is messy at my house.  We are preparing for a yard sale to raise money for my son's "son-rise program."  I have belongings scattered and piled everywhere!  My kids' rooms are looking better, though!   I plan to go to yoga this afternoon.  Running, my son's program, and yoga...what do they have in common?  Presence of mind.  I'm not only getting physical exercise, but mental as well.  To maintain a pace and to overcome the part of my brain ...

Here it is...September!  When I look out, I see new colors.  Yellows and golds have crept in, and Autumn approaches.  Mornings are crisp.  We've even reached freezing a couple of nights.  To top it off, a bear ran across our yard yesterday evening.  They've been around in the night all summer and up in the hills, but Autumn is when they really try to fill up their tanks for the winter, so they are down low and in town more.  Yep, September. I love September.  Don't you know loads of Birthdays in September?  My hubby, my daughter, my brothers....and sapphire, wow, what a birthstone!  New school clothes, new pencils, fresh paper, clean notebooks.  Yep, September. This is the month when I try to run a 10k faster than my last one.  September. I'm shooting for Saturday, the 12th.

I wish I'd taken my little camera with me.  I hiked up Nellie Creek Trail past a gorgeous waterfall and then ran back down.   The Creede Mountain Run has a long section of vertical hiking in the first half, so I figured today's trail would help get my head around what I'll need to do.  Conserve, that's what.  Conserve energy and strength early so that I can finish.  It was all I could do not to run the flatter portions of today's uphill trail, but if I want to finish the 12 miles next weekend, I'll have to restrain myself so that I can run the last half.  

I got an email from Ruth (who conquered 18 miles yesterday!!) with a link to a blog with a link to a blog with...  You get the idea?  So, this chain of links led me to Jeff Galloway's book . I've mentioned before that when I allow myself walk breaks, my time ends up faster...go figure, I said.  Ruth had some interesting things to say about that topic that reflect the Galloway approach.  Scheduled walk breaks are a way to better your time, saving your legs for later in the run, says Mr. Galloway. You may recall that I'm to run a 12 mile mountain race.  (Mountain, being the key word)  You may also recall that it is in less than 2 weeks and that my longest long run lately has been 5 miles. It stopped raining.  I went out with thoughts of being lucky to accomplish 8 miles which is pushing it since I haven't built up to 8 lately.  I knew that the only way I'd make it would be with walk breaks.  I put my new watch on my arm and set out to prove to myself that I could do a...

I've lived here for several years, and I've found it difficult to make friends.  Oh, people like me and say hi and I like them and say hi....  But lately some other cool gals have found out that I like to run, jog, trot, crawl.  Suddenly, I have friends.  It's interesting the camaraderie between crazy people who lace up their running shoes.  I've been invited to run the Creede Mountain Run with these new friends .  And I'm going!  I'm planning to attempt the 12 mile run.  My longest run lately has been 5 miles, and the run is Sept. 5!!!!  I hurt my toe, had company, and had a week-long headache...all these things waylaid my plans to train.  But you'd better believe I'm going even if I have to walk it all!   If you read the description of the course, you know that the first part is an uphill climb.  The trail I took yesterday was just such a climb.  I walked/hiked up a mile and a half and ran/fell down it.  I was hoping to do the same thing tomorrow (minu...

Another goal met!  I investigated my second new trail of the summer today.   Some conditions that my Nike+ can't detect:  altitude steep vertical climbs creek crossings big rocks jumping over logs steep descents tripping blood losing 1987 Topgun sunglasses looking for sunglasses I found 'em!