The new thermometer is here:
Showing posts with label wish list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wish list. Show all posts
Monday, August 13, 2012
Wish list funds
With the run from Saturday in the books, we bumped the thermometer up to $120. After the run, I purchased a $65 CamelBak which knocks the total down to $55.
The new thermometer is here:
The new thermometer is here:
9(ish) mile run and the adventures of Stick and Box
Saturday's run was a new "longest ever". Our goal was 9.5 miles. In the 132 minutes allotted, we covered 8.78 miles. This was an increase of about 2.25 miles over our last "longest ever run".
We actually experimented with Jeff Galloway's proposed run/walk ratios this run (he recommends a pace of 3 min run, 1 min walk where we had been doing 10:3 or 8:5). I really liked it, because I felt like my legs held out a lot longer. Matt didn't enjoy it as much, because the constant time checking prevented him from "zoning out". We basically broke it up into 32 rounds of 3:1, with an extra 1 minute walk break after 8 rounds.
Our overall pace was about 15 minutes per mile. I don't want to get hung up on time, though. The distance itself was a victory. Temps were 86 with a heat index of 90, humidity of 57%. That's pretty ridiculous for 9:00pm.
During the run, I had some moderate hip discomfort in my left hip. I took periodic breaks to stretch out my ITB and pop the tendons back into place, which seemed to help. Surprisingly, I had no problems with my right shin; so, the periodic ache I'm having there is probably not a stress fracture. When we got home, I went through my normal routine of static stretching followed by a cool shower. I then decided on a whim to take an impromptu ice bath. We didn't have much ice, so it was pretty weak. I can understand the appeal though.
For fuel/hydration, we brought a good ol' 12 oz gatorade and a package of Clif Shot Bloks (they're like giant square gummies). The Clif Bloks worked great. They're really easy to eat while running, they don't leave a horrible aftertaste, and I definitely felt the effects. No glycogen issues on this run. We scheduled a Shot Blok approximately every 45 minutes (one at 12th round, and one at 24th). I may experiment with some other gooey fuel in the future, but I thought these worked awesome.
I ended up buying this CamelBak Aurora Hydration Pack (70 fl oz), which is different than the one on my wishlist. The one I bought is $65, compared to $50, but it has more pockets, more colors, and a greater water capacity (which I hope will make it more useful if I ever decide to transition to even longer distances). I don't know when it will arrive, but hopefully soon.
Also, the adventures of Stick and Box.... while we were running down Old Jacksonville Hwy during the first leg of the run, we came across a big cardboard box with a long gnarly stick leaning against it. We decided that Stick and Box were the main characters in a buddy comedy. Box is the staid, reserved, slightly overweight pencil pusher (to be played by Nick Offerman) while Stick is the spontaneous, fun-loving new guy who likes to shake things up (to be played by Seth Green). We decided that their love interest (which threatens to tear them apart) is Puddles, a refreshing but unreliable woman played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. We made them a theme song (although we didn't really get past "Stick and Box, Stick and Box, one is a stick, and the other's a box"). This took up a large chunk of our run.
We actually experimented with Jeff Galloway's proposed run/walk ratios this run (he recommends a pace of 3 min run, 1 min walk where we had been doing 10:3 or 8:5). I really liked it, because I felt like my legs held out a lot longer. Matt didn't enjoy it as much, because the constant time checking prevented him from "zoning out". We basically broke it up into 32 rounds of 3:1, with an extra 1 minute walk break after 8 rounds.
Our overall pace was about 15 minutes per mile. I don't want to get hung up on time, though. The distance itself was a victory. Temps were 86 with a heat index of 90, humidity of 57%. That's pretty ridiculous for 9:00pm.
During the run, I had some moderate hip discomfort in my left hip. I took periodic breaks to stretch out my ITB and pop the tendons back into place, which seemed to help. Surprisingly, I had no problems with my right shin; so, the periodic ache I'm having there is probably not a stress fracture. When we got home, I went through my normal routine of static stretching followed by a cool shower. I then decided on a whim to take an impromptu ice bath. We didn't have much ice, so it was pretty weak. I can understand the appeal though.
For fuel/hydration, we brought a good ol' 12 oz gatorade and a package of Clif Shot Bloks (they're like giant square gummies). The Clif Bloks worked great. They're really easy to eat while running, they don't leave a horrible aftertaste, and I definitely felt the effects. No glycogen issues on this run. We scheduled a Shot Blok approximately every 45 minutes (one at 12th round, and one at 24th). I may experiment with some other gooey fuel in the future, but I thought these worked awesome.
I ended up buying this CamelBak Aurora Hydration Pack (70 fl oz), which is different than the one on my wishlist. The one I bought is $65, compared to $50, but it has more pockets, more colors, and a greater water capacity (which I hope will make it more useful if I ever decide to transition to even longer distances). I don't know when it will arrive, but hopefully soon.
Also, the adventures of Stick and Box.... while we were running down Old Jacksonville Hwy during the first leg of the run, we came across a big cardboard box with a long gnarly stick leaning against it. We decided that Stick and Box were the main characters in a buddy comedy. Box is the staid, reserved, slightly overweight pencil pusher (to be played by Nick Offerman) while Stick is the spontaneous, fun-loving new guy who likes to shake things up (to be played by Seth Green). We decided that their love interest (which threatens to tear them apart) is Puddles, a refreshing but unreliable woman played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. We made them a theme song (although we didn't really get past "Stick and Box, Stick and Box, one is a stick, and the other's a box"). This took up a large chunk of our run.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Something clever, and a new record
To wrap up last week's runs:
We had this speedy-q run on Friday (Wednesday and Thursday got delayed due to some kind of illness that manifested on Monday). It was a 30 minute run in which we covered just over 3 miles (9:58 pace, awesome awesome). It's pretty evident that occasional intervals of speedwork help me keep a good pace throughout the entire run. Sometimes, my legs just need a wake-up reminder. This was probably the best paced run we have ever had.
On Saturday, we ran a new record distance of 5.71 miles. The training plan target was 6.5. We ran for 75 minutes (a 15 minute increase from our last record long run). Mentally, I was in a much better place this time. I also got through the whole run without ANY join pain (some mild fatigue in the left hip) and only minimal tummy cramping. One note, though: do NOT run south on Robertson Ave past 5th street. It is extremely dark, there are no sidewalks, and it has a surprising amount of oncoming traffic. Old Jacksonville Hwy, however, has some great sidewalks - really wide and flat. It was sooooo nice to get away from hills for a while.
And another week in the books means another notch on the thermometer:
I think it's about time to cross something of the Wish List. First down will probably be the Camelbak Annadel Hydration Pack from REI. As our long runs get longer, a small gatorade bottle isn't going to cut it anymore. Also, I'd really like to have a pocket for holding keys/phone/etc. Especially the phone. As we venture further and further from the house (or anyone's house), I'm getting a bit squeamish about not having one on me.
We had this speedy-q run on Friday (Wednesday and Thursday got delayed due to some kind of illness that manifested on Monday). It was a 30 minute run in which we covered just over 3 miles (9:58 pace, awesome awesome). It's pretty evident that occasional intervals of speedwork help me keep a good pace throughout the entire run. Sometimes, my legs just need a wake-up reminder. This was probably the best paced run we have ever had.
On Saturday, we ran a new record distance of 5.71 miles. The training plan target was 6.5. We ran for 75 minutes (a 15 minute increase from our last record long run). Mentally, I was in a much better place this time. I also got through the whole run without ANY join pain (some mild fatigue in the left hip) and only minimal tummy cramping. One note, though: do NOT run south on Robertson Ave past 5th street. It is extremely dark, there are no sidewalks, and it has a surprising amount of oncoming traffic. Old Jacksonville Hwy, however, has some great sidewalks - really wide and flat. It was sooooo nice to get away from hills for a while.
And another week in the books means another notch on the thermometer:
I think it's about time to cross something of the Wish List. First down will probably be the Camelbak Annadel Hydration Pack from REI. As our long runs get longer, a small gatorade bottle isn't going to cut it anymore. Also, I'd really like to have a pocket for holding keys/phone/etc. Especially the phone. As we venture further and further from the house (or anyone's house), I'm getting a bit squeamish about not having one on me.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Tuesday/Wednesday runs and a shiny new look
TUESDAY RUN
We ran one mile barefoot in karate class (upper belts have strict running requirements, so we start early). I must have landed too far forward on my toes, because I finished class with super sore calves. I'm definitely adding a foam roller to my Wish List, because this is not an isolated incident. Normally I really enjoy barefoot running and manage to avoid any injuries. It's likely I just didn't stretch well enough.
TECHNICAL UPDATE
You may have noticed that I've changed some things around lately, including the layout, color scheme, and domain name. I just recently fixed the internal hyperlinks (from one blogpost to another), so I'm sorry if anyone had problems with that. I hope you enjoy the new look.
WEDNESDAY RUN
We ran for 30 minutes in the Azalea District on Wednesday. I forgot where we stopped exactly, so I put down last street I remembered. I believe we might have run farther, although it doesn't really matter. The course we made up was basically one giant hill after another.
We almost skipped the run entirely. My calves were so sore from Tuesday's 1 mile barefoot run that I didn't know if they'd cooperate for my scheduled run. On top of that, Wednesday was one of the top three worst work days ever (the top two belong to the Tyler branch of Home Depot, but that's a story for another time). After a long conversation with my husband (and a nap), I still hadn't managed to shake it.
The good that came out of all this, however, is that I managed to channel all my frustration, disappointment, and hurt feelings into motivation to get out the door. I knew the run would make me feel better even if my calves yipped a little... and I was right. The fact that I made this decision so easily shows me that I've experienced a major attitude realignment. Exercise to feel better? Who DOES that? Apparently, I do.
About half way through the run, Matt pointed out another change. I have never been one to run through pain or discomfort, but here I was running through the pain in my calves (note: it's "sore" pain, not "injury" pain. I'm very conscious of giving potential injuries a chance to rest).
I managed to keep up a pretty good attitude throughout the run, although I got a little less-than-perky after Matt volunteered to demonstrate proper "fartlek" technique while we were climbing a long evil hill... I'll leave the implications up to your imagination. Needless to say, it gave ME motivation to run faster.
We ran one mile barefoot in karate class (upper belts have strict running requirements, so we start early). I must have landed too far forward on my toes, because I finished class with super sore calves. I'm definitely adding a foam roller to my Wish List, because this is not an isolated incident. Normally I really enjoy barefoot running and manage to avoid any injuries. It's likely I just didn't stretch well enough.
TECHNICAL UPDATE
You may have noticed that I've changed some things around lately, including the layout, color scheme, and domain name. I just recently fixed the internal hyperlinks (from one blogpost to another), so I'm sorry if anyone had problems with that. I hope you enjoy the new look.
WEDNESDAY RUN
We ran for 30 minutes in the Azalea District on Wednesday. I forgot where we stopped exactly, so I put down last street I remembered. I believe we might have run farther, although it doesn't really matter. The course we made up was basically one giant hill after another.
We almost skipped the run entirely. My calves were so sore from Tuesday's 1 mile barefoot run that I didn't know if they'd cooperate for my scheduled run. On top of that, Wednesday was one of the top three worst work days ever (the top two belong to the Tyler branch of Home Depot, but that's a story for another time). After a long conversation with my husband (and a nap), I still hadn't managed to shake it.
The good that came out of all this, however, is that I managed to channel all my frustration, disappointment, and hurt feelings into motivation to get out the door. I knew the run would make me feel better even if my calves yipped a little... and I was right. The fact that I made this decision so easily shows me that I've experienced a major attitude realignment. Exercise to feel better? Who DOES that? Apparently, I do.
About half way through the run, Matt pointed out another change. I have never been one to run through pain or discomfort, but here I was running through the pain in my calves (note: it's "sore" pain, not "injury" pain. I'm very conscious of giving potential injuries a chance to rest).
I managed to keep up a pretty good attitude throughout the run, although I got a little less-than-perky after Matt volunteered to demonstrate proper "fartlek" technique while we were climbing a long evil hill... I'll leave the implications up to your imagination. Needless to say, it gave ME motivation to run faster.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Wishlist (and bribing myself to run)
After some discussion with Matt, I've decided to incorporate an incentive program where I will "earn" $10 for every week in which I complete every scheduled run. This will be retroactive, starting the week this blog began.
As of this post, I have $20!
Here's my wishlist:
As of this post, I have $20!
Here's my wishlist:
- CamelBak Annadel pack (a women's specific pack for cross-training, very well reviewed)
- $41.19 on REI.com. Downside is, it's frost pink! - Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS-Enabled Unisex Sport Watch
- $149.98 - Compression socks (really, I just want to try them)
- Foam Roller
- $14.77 (to work out some of these kinks in my calves)
It's possible I'll need some new shoes, but I haven't really thought about them yet.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday run and confronting the mental block
I've decided to make a regular habit of running on the cross-country nature trails at UT Tyler during the week and sticking to my neighborhood on weekends. I work at UT Tyler in the archives, so this makes it easy to get in a quick run before I get home (and get all nappy).
I love trail running because it lets me feel like a wild woman, bounding over sticks and stones as I dodge overhead branches. The atmosphere is beautiful (also, cooler temperatures) and I feel much more mentally engaged. Trail running is not *easier* than road running by any means; it requires significantly more effort to cover the same mileage, and my body has to constantly readjust to the demands of the trail.
I'm hoping that the elevated effort will pay off on Saturday when my husband and I return to the road. We'll be ramping up from 10/3/10 to straight 22min run.
Wednesday's run was very successful (you can see my log on Daily Mile). I'm pretty nervous about jumping up to 22 continuous minutes. The biggest obstacle I expect to face on Saturday will be mental - convincing myself that I CAN do it, even if I haven't run that long continuously in months (since the last time I injured my groin). I know training my brain will be critical for success in the Tyler Half Marathon.
In order to reward my brain, I am going to set up some "prizes" for myself over the course of the training. These prizes will be set up on a monthly basis, contingent upon successful completion of my training schedule. So, watch for a wishlist later this week.
(PS)
I have to confess to my sometimes readers that I fell behind this week on cross-training. I skipped my Tuesday karate class. Very lame. It was beginning to storm around the time I was supposed to leave, and I got really panicky at the idea of driving in the rain. So, I stayed home, had a mild panic attack, and took a nap. Did I go work out later? No. Even more lame. Anyway, I have a chance to make up for that tonight. Just thought I should share, to stay accountable.
I love trail running because it lets me feel like a wild woman, bounding over sticks and stones as I dodge overhead branches. The atmosphere is beautiful (also, cooler temperatures) and I feel much more mentally engaged. Trail running is not *easier* than road running by any means; it requires significantly more effort to cover the same mileage, and my body has to constantly readjust to the demands of the trail.
I'm hoping that the elevated effort will pay off on Saturday when my husband and I return to the road. We'll be ramping up from 10/3/10 to straight 22min run.
Wednesday's run was very successful (you can see my log on Daily Mile). I'm pretty nervous about jumping up to 22 continuous minutes. The biggest obstacle I expect to face on Saturday will be mental - convincing myself that I CAN do it, even if I haven't run that long continuously in months (since the last time I injured my groin). I know training my brain will be critical for success in the Tyler Half Marathon.
In order to reward my brain, I am going to set up some "prizes" for myself over the course of the training. These prizes will be set up on a monthly basis, contingent upon successful completion of my training schedule. So, watch for a wishlist later this week.
(PS)
I have to confess to my sometimes readers that I fell behind this week on cross-training. I skipped my Tuesday karate class. Very lame. It was beginning to storm around the time I was supposed to leave, and I got really panicky at the idea of driving in the rain. So, I stayed home, had a mild panic attack, and took a nap. Did I go work out later? No. Even more lame. Anyway, I have a chance to make up for that tonight. Just thought I should share, to stay accountable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)