Hang with me

argh im bad at this blog thing.
Today was "key workout #2" - 1 mile easy, 7 miles tempo. finished in 8:25 pace. I ran after work along the west side hwy. it was a gorgeous night for a tempo, just a bit windy. i feel strong and in shape. its exciting. i cant wait for this marathon.

earlier in the week I ran an interval workout (Tuesday) which consisted of 5x 2min 'fast' and 2 min 'easy'. My fast pace according to my plan - the FIRST marathon training program - is 7:3o, which i usually do at about 7:24 (8.1 on the tread). The easy pace I did at 6.0. I lifted after the workout. Wed I went on an easy 4 mile run. Tomorrow im planning on getting up early to do some elliptical and lifting, then head to work.

Resurrection

Im back! Seems like years, not months. Much has happened. Including a lot of running. Training right now for Philly with the brother.

Today was a rest day. Tomorrow am 12 miles.

Happy St. Pattys Day!

Return of the spring weather. Thank you jebus! After the horrible rainy weekend the last two days have been so gorg. Monday was rainy in the am, but by nightime it had stopped. Went for my usual Monday tempo-esque run. Tuesday I canceled on lifting at the gym and did a recovery run outside, nice and slow. It was soo nice, and as an added bonus it was still light out when I started! Ran around Astoria park.

March 15- Garmin: 4.20miles, 37:05, 8:50 pace; Nike+:4.15 miles, 38:10, 9:10 pace

March 16 - Garming: 3.64 miles, 35:51, 9:50 pace; Nike+ 3.85 miles, 38:43, 10.01 pace

Today was off. Had dinner with the friends. KM made the tasty Irish foodies. Had a bit of Baileys but otherwise a dry day for me. Tomorrow is an interval workout on the track in the lovely warm weather!

Race Time

Little bit late with this post. Im writing 3/17 but am just going to backdate this to make it easier:)
The 8k race was this past Sat - yes I did end up manning up and doing it. I woke up and it was raining, but not pouring so I decided hey, why not, Im tough. Was surprised at how many other people apparently felt the same way. There was a lot more people there than I expected. I was wearing my black tights, a white tank, my white Nike core long sleeve and my Nike storm jacket. Also had on my headband and gloves. I thought about wearing a cap, but the only one i found was distorted from being shoved in my closet and looked too ridiculous so I passed. Got uptown about 20 min early. That was the miserable part. I hung around a bit in the subway station at 103rd to stay out of the rain and then decided to just head to the start. I jogged over to the park for a warm up and then went up and down the corrals to keep warm and stay loose. I was completely soaked and my pony tail was dripping. Couldnt wait to get underway. Told myself not to push, just relaxbut it was hard not too. I had to hold back from sprinting in at the end. I still have to digest the info from the garmin as far as splits go, but I was pretty happy with the end result. Plus, never raced 8k, so auto PR! Added 2+ miles at the end by running down from the finish to the subway at 57/5. Knee started hurting here and the wind/rain had started to pick up. I was sooo happy when I saw the subway and hopped on home. Took a nice hot bath and then a nap.

Garmin Race: 5.04 miles, 41:57, 8:19 pace. Extras: 2.27 miles, 21:22, 9:25 pace
Nike+ Total: 7.57 miles, 1:06:16, 8:45 pace

Wednesday & Thursday

Rough workout wednesday. I planned a treadmill interval workout that I found in an older issue of Runners World. It was supposed to be 3x3 at a pace 10 seconds faster than your 5k pace and 2 min recovery. I havent run a decent 5k since HS, so I though i would do the interval at 8.0. When I was walking up to the gym I thought I would do 15 min warmup at 6.0/6.5 then do 5x3, with a follow up cooldown to be determined on how I felt. Walking up my leg/knee felt fine. Upstairs in the tread room, not so much. I had a strange sharp pain in my hip/butt area. I tried to stretch it out but it wasnt going away. This and not getting the treadmill I wanted psyched me out (lame I know). Then I pull out my ipod and its dead! Ugh, worst ever. I start the workout and get through the 15 min warm up (6 min 6.0, reamining at 6.5). Hip is throbbing randomly, like every third minute. Out of stubborness I decided to continue. I ended up readjusting to 3x2 min with 3 min recovery at 6.5, then about 2 min at 3.0. After each interval I thought I would quit but I forced myself to finish it. The pain continued on and today my knee has been aching off and on. Ive noticed if I keep my leg bent under myself (as I often do) I get super stiff and achy when I try to get up. Not good.
Sadly no stats since my ipod was dead. The treadie said it was about 4.5 and about 40 min. Did a 2% incline again.

This sat is the 8k. Its supposed to be pouring rain. Not happy about this. Im not sure I want to do it. I guess Im going to wait and see what its like when I get up that morning.

Tempo Time

Gorgeous day again today. I was definitely looking forward to the evening run. Managed to get through it without being molested by random strangers.
I wanted the run to be a tempo run, not sure if I succeeded there though. Ill need to digest some graphs on the garm. I tried to run hard(ish) through 4 miles and then slowed it down. I actually stopped running 5 blocks from my house, as my leg/knee was starting to ache.
Stats:
Nike+-5.01 miles, 44:37, 8:52 pace
Garmin-4.74 miles, 43:16, 9:08 pace

Signed up for a race this weekend- an 8k. Its supposed to rain:( I also signed up for a 4 mile later on in april that last year had a nice technical tee, so hopefully they will repeat with nice swag.

Adventure Time

Went on a long run adventure today to Roosevelt Island. Friday I saw on tv that the weather this weekend was supposed to be lovely, high in the 50s and sunny. After hearing that I knew it was time for an adventure. Ive wanted to run some place new for awhile. I orginally wanted to run on Randalls Island but I couldnt find any route maps - maybe you can get there on foot from queens? who knows. So i settled for Roosevelt and set out around 12:30. I wore a black tank, black zip up longsleeve and black tights and was perfectly dressed. Headed out and ran down my usual way to astoria park then veered off to head towards the bridge. The route took me through some not so nice areas. This is definitely an early afternoon daytime run only. I got turned around once in a project parking lot but got back out quickly and found the right way. Roosevelt Island was very quiet and calm and it was such a nice day. I really enjoyed this run. I had planned to go about 9 miles, which seemed a bit ambitious but for some reason I really wanted to complete it. My left leg, thigh to knee, was aching during the last 3 miles, which had me worried that I would have the mystery knee pain come back. Its still sore, as I write, but no intense pain so thats good. I did a full loop of the island and then came back over the bridge around and headed up 34th ave. I initially stopped when I hit 9 miles but I hadnt yet hit 21st street so I decided to keep running to get closer to home. (i was also trying to meet KM at the gym at 2 for lifting, and it was 2:14 at this point so figured I couldnt have the luxury of a long stroll. Ended up stopping at bakeway on broadway but they were out of bagels:( Got a giant Zico instead and then walked home from there. Tried to meet KM but she had come and gone by the time I ended up at the gym. Did some quick lifting- arms only - and headed home to veg out.

Overall, great run, beautiful day. Im happy about my fitness too. I didnt struggle cardiowise at all and I kept it smooth and evenly paced pretty much throughout the entire run. Yay!
Stats:
Garmin-9.52miles, 9:31 min/mile pace, 1:30:31, HR=148
Nike+ - 10.32miles, 9:12min/mile pace, 1:34:55

the nike was really off on this one! although i did stop the garmin when i was going up and down the stairs on the way in/out of roosevelt island.

Heavy Lifting

Solo lifting sesh today. Did 30 min on the elliptical, and then hit the weight room.

Why is everyone on American Idol this season so bad?? Those group performances are soo awkward. yek!

Intervals!

Tough workout at the gym tonight. Did an interval workout on the treadmill.

2% incline, 10 min warm up (6.0, then 6.5) 10 intervals of 1 min @ 8.0 and 2 min recovery@ 6.5. Finished at 40 minutes, walked it off for 4, then finished off an even 5 miles at 6.5.

Nike+ Stats: 5.01 miles, 44'00", 8:46 pace.

This is basically the same interval workout I did before, but with more recovery.

I totally freaked out on my run tonight. I headed out the door at 9 on my usual later night-time route. About 5 minutes in I was just crossing the intersection at broadway and 31st when some guy yelled something at me and made some hand waving gestures, which of course I ignored. The scumbag then started running after me trying to say something. I had my headphones on so I couldnt hear what he was saying beside "Miss! Miss!" I kept going ignoring him, picking up the pace and hoping he would just drop off. Usually when this kinda thing happens its kids or young teenage boys who run after me a bit and then immediately stop, annoying but non threatening. This was something totally else. This jerk followed me more than half the avenue block, on a dark poorly lit street trying to get my attention. Who does this? It became obvious that he wasnt going to leave me alone, so I finally ripped out one of my earphones and said "what the fuck!" the idiot guy says "whats your name?" at that point I screamed out, like at the top of my lungs "Fuck you!" I think I stunned the guy with that because he stopped and I sprinted on down the street. Seriously, who does this to a woman running alone at night? Did this guy really think he was going to pick me up while I was running? Ugh. It totally ruined my run/night. I obsessed for the rest of the time about it too, afraid I was gonna see the guy again or that he was gonna come after me. I still cant believe that I yelled out like that though. It was extra loud too because I still had my headphones on in one ear. Oops!

Tonights Run: Garmin- 32'44", 9:11 pace, 3.57 miles; Nike+ 33'45", 8:51 pace, 3.80 miles

Update post for the last week including the big race report coming soon.

Meh Meh Meh

Meh! Today is the first day of lent and already I am craving candy. My annual lent challenge is to give up sweets /dessert and fried foods. This is my fourth year. The first year I made it the full 6 weeks without cheating. The next 2 years are a totally different story. Both 08 and 09 were super stressful times at work. Yesterday I felt I had renewed vigor to make it through the challenge but right now im dying. I'd kill for some brownie mix. Meh.

Making it worse, I totally bonked during my workout tonight. I was trying to repeat my treadmill interval workout from last week but it didnt work out so well. I was dying after 5 intervals and had to walk it out for 3 min. I tried to finish it off but could only make it through 3 before I set it back to walking. Overall it was about 3 miles of running.
After going back and forth with myself I signed up for the Haiti benefit race. You get 2 marathon credits, and you do your humanitarian duty all in one. Im nervous though. This will be my first race totally by myself and also my first winter race. Not sure what to expect. I guess we will see.

Long Weekend

So the long valentines day weekend has come to an end. sigh.. I had an excellent relaxing and lazy weekend. Ate a lot of food and watched a lot of olympics. Pretty much spent 24/7 with the BF and it was great.

Backing up to last week, Wednesday 2/10 was the big snow day. It looked worse than it was in the am, no issues on the train or anything. But as the day went on it was apparently getting worse and worse. Work excused everyone early, so I left and got home fine. I was planning on trying out an interval workout on the treadmill but I canceled it in favor of hibernating on the couch.

Thursday 2/11 I debuted my interval workout on the tread. I nipped the program from a blog I read. Here is the plan:
1-5 6.0
5-10 6.5
at minute 10 start 1 minute intervals of 8.0 followed by 1 minute rest at 6.5. 10 repeats
31-end at 6.5
This workout was tough! also humbling. I though I was in better shape. When I was planning it I thought I could do 8.5 intervals no problem but after 1 I switched to 8.0. I did finish up the last 2 at 8.5 though. After the final rest interval I walked it out for 2 min and then started running again at 6.5 until i hit 4 miles. The Nike+ data for this workout is strange. The graph is like completely straight across, making it look like I had a super even pace. Whatever.
Stats: Nike+ = 4.02 miles, 37'06" 9'13" pace. incline of 2%
I had half planned to head to the gym after but it was late and the BF was waiting for me to eat and watch our shows so I just headed home.
Friday 2/12 - Wii Fit day. I boxed it out and hula hooped for an hour. The next day my arms killed.
Sat 2/13 - Met with KM at the gym for lifting. Then did 30 min cardio on the elliptical. I felt like I had no energy at all. I had wanted to do a longer run today but decided to switch to Sunday.
Sunday 2/14 - Valentines day. Great 6 mile run. Beautiful weather. I had too much on actually. I was wearing my warm tights and a tank, and then I had a Nike core pro thermal half zip and on top of that a new black zip up fleec lined jacket. plus gloves and a headband. It was around 20 degrees with the windchill but the sun was blazing and I was definitely regretting the double layers. I was nervous, as I was doing the same 6 mile loop that cause my mystery 2 day knee pain last time. No problems this time though.
Stats: Garmin = 6.06 miles, 54:51, 9:03 pace, avg HR 152; Nike+= 6.45 miles, 58:14, 9:01 pace
Monday 2/15 (Today) Home today, thanks to Presidents Day. Another beautiful day for a run.
Stats: Garmin= 3.54 miles, 31:37, 8:57 pace, avg HR 148; Nike+= 3.75 miles, 32:28, 8:38 pace
Best thing about todays run was that I barely had to stop at any stoplights. Unlike yesterday when I stopped at every single one.

Ok time for more olympics

Bummin'

Im so mad at myself. I kept putting off registering for the NYC Womens Half in April and now its full. Meh! Im an idiot. I need a race. Im considering doing the Race for Haiti.

Sunday - Elliptical 30 min
Monday - Back to the usual schedule of the Monday run. It was cold and dark at 9pm, so I headed to the gym. Still going to old gym to do treadmill work. Not looking forward to weaning myself off from it. Since I had planned on starting to up the mileage for the half I decided to do 5 miles. Started off fine but then I got the mother of all cramps on my left side. Being the crazy person I am I started to think things like, what if Im having a heart attack. It didnt help that my left arm also started going numb. Inside I was totally panicking, but I forced myself to keep running. I ended up doing a mile and a half at my minimum pace - 6.0 mph before I got some semi relief and could start to increase the speed. The end result was 5.01 miles, 48'24", 9:38 pace. 2.o incline.
Tuesday (tonight) - 30 min elliptical, then lifting alone.

Tomorrow we are supposed to get buried in snow. Fun commuting!

A Tale of Hibernation and Other Short Stories

I've been a very bad blogger this past week. I got on the computer many times to start writing something but ended up either being too tired, not feeling like it or just forgetting to - oops. The good thing though is that I've been getting the runs in albeit my schedule got a little wonky.

Summary of the past week.

Thursday 1/28 - Day off. Had a restaurant week dinner with my dear friend Tim at Smith&Wollensky steak house. Very tasty.
Friday 1/29 - Took most of the day off work to do some chores, run and get ready for the Millrose Games starting at 4pm. It was super cold and windy outside. Silly me chose a route going down by the water so my face could get wrecked by the wind.
Stats: Garmin= 37'00" 4.10 mil 9'01" pace; Nike+= 38'22", 4.3miles, 8'54" pace
Had to pop into work to do a few things before rushing over to meet AG at MSG. I've been to several elite meets in my day but this was the first as a spectator and the first that featured current US track allstars and olympians - hello bernard legat!!. It was expensive to go, I had to get seats at the finish and wanted them to be close, but it was worth it. Legat won the mile for the 8th time (record) and a high schooler set the mens HS USR for racewalk. Fun times all around

Saturday 1/30 - With the BF out of town skiing I hibernated all day. Me and baby Chloe watched an abundance of ID (Identification Discovery channel) and I caught up on my tivo. I also watched the new Final Destination which was as bad as I thought it would be. Was supposed to go to gym with KM, but she needed to catch up on some work. I contemplated going alone to lift but decided hey, let me actually use the Wii fit to work out and see how it is. Did an hour of programs including boxing, stepping and my new personal fav hula hooping. Im slow to learn but caught on to these and think I was pretty decent. The balance stuff - no way. I suck horribly. I tried to snowboard and was awful. I need a lot of practice. My Wii age was 38:(

Sunday 1/31 - Lifted at gym with KM. Was actually sore after the Wii Fit experience. I think it was the boxing moves. Did approx 40 minutes of walkking at incline on treadmill after the lifting. The BF came home early and we had a nice night of TV.

Monday 2/1 - Rough day at work and cold as balls outside = evening hibernation. Did not go for run.

Tuesday 2/2 - Groundhog day. Missing my run the day before made me committ to getting it in today despite being colder and snowing. KM and I were on for a lifting date when she got back around 930, so I hurried home from the office to do a quick run before meeting her.
Stats: Garmin = 33'36", 3.72 miles, 9'02" pace, avgHR-153; Nike+=34'57", 3.88 miles, 9'00" pace.
The only thing I remember about this run now is that snow was hitting me in the face and I was afraid of slipping. Otherwise it was uneventful I guess. Made it out and back in time to meet KM at gym for our lifting session. Feeling strong, I think its paying off.

Wednesday 2/3 - Was planning on running again tonight, as I had dinner plans scheduled for Thurs but again, hibernation won me over. Stayed in and watched the weeks 2 eps of idol with the BF. Shockingly, a girl who I went to HS was featured which caused me to freak out and call people i know. and No, she did not make it to h'wood.

Thursday 2/4 - So again, the days previous laziness had me committed to running despite having no time. My commute is approx 45 min and I was meeting KM at 8:35 at the train. I thought if I left at 5:30 I could run no problem. Didnt get out of there until 6, and didnt walk in my door until 6:50. By the time I changed and helped hold Chloe down for her meds (she is getting tired of taking it and has started to rebel) it was 10 after 7. Ahh - time to spring out of there. I was conflicted bc I was pressed for time but wanted to do atleast 4 miles. Since it was earlier I had different route options and I was tired of the old faithful Id been doing lately. I figured I'd do the loop I used to do with KM that I thought was almost 5 but Id cut up to S'way 2 aves earlier to knock it down to 4. I set out and was running faster than I had wanted to, but felt I had no choice had to get back and shower. On the way out baby Garmin told me he was low on batteries but there was nothing I could do. I was hoping this was like an early warning type thing and that I could still get the run in before he died. Nope. He died after 7 minutes. I didnt know this though until more like 25 min in. Normally this wouldnt have been that bad, besides the loss of the HR info and more accurate data. However, tonight I hit every single light. I seriously was stopped at any possible intersection. It sucked. So while Garmin will autopause in these situations and keep my data solid, my Nike clock keeps ticking and my avg pace info gets screwed. Stinky bc I think this would have been great stats on this one. Plus it would have been itneresting to know how much time I spent hopping around on street corners. Oh well.
Stats: though its hardly worth mentioning, Garmin= 7'49, .83mi, 9'22" pace; Nike+ = 42'06", 4.71 miles, 8'56" pace.

In the end I was late meeting KM by 20 min and had to throw my body into the train doors in order to prevent being seriously late to the reservation. We had our bi annual friend restaurant week dinner with other BFF AP. This year was at Fig & Olive. We realized as our train was about to go underground that I made the reservation at the wrong one, and now poor AP was going to show up at a diff restaurant. It all worked out though, we made it only 20 minutes late to the restaurant, had a delish dinner - yummy lamb skewers and couscous with greek yogurt and honey - and got home before 12.

Friday 2/5 - was planning on doing the gym for some cardio upon arriving home but instead for some reason walked from my office in chelsea to soho to the bloomies down there to pick up more trish lotion. got home after 8 and just wanted to hibernate again. so i did. BF and I watched our shows and ordered indian.

ugh, am I done yet? this is the longest post ever. must finish!

Saturday 2/6 (today!) - plan was to lift at 11 with KM. Her regularly scheduled sat morning event was postponed due to the mega snow we were supposed to get. my own plan was to get out and run before meeting her. Woke up and it was clear of snow but balls cold again. Decided I would go to my old gym, since i still have access until 2/20 to run on their treadmills (they have built in fans that im really going to miss) and then go over to lift. Gym was busier than I thought it would be but I got a tread and got to work. I read recently that 2.0 best mimics outdoor elevations. So i thought what the hell will try it.
Stats: Nike+ - 38'11", 9"32", 2.0 incline
Run was ok. My bunion foot was sore after my walk last night in less than desireable shoes (stupid). By the end it was really hurting and so was my knee, a bit similarly to the last time. I stretched right away and then headed over the lift. Then had KM stretch out the IT band after we were done there. So far no pain but it def got me worried. I need to be careful about my foot.
I wonder if I had gone a few more miles if the pain would have been back in full force.

The rest of the afternoon today was spent in hibernation mode again. Where is spring?? Im lucky I have a personal heater (aka baby Chloe). She was laying on me all day keeping me warm and Im sure vice versa.

Yay Im done catching up. Now its almost 10, Im starved and need to kick BF off of Xbox so we can order food.

Late Night Post

Watching TVland's High School reunion right now but I should be sleeping. The people on this show are such train wrecks. Ran at the gym tonight. Still pain free in the leg. Don't understand it but I'll take it. Did 4.01 miles on treadmill with 1.0 incline, 38'04", 9:28min/mi pace. Yesterday I lifted at the gym with Kristen and did 25min on the eliptie. Tomorrow is going to be an off day. Having a delish dinner with college friend Tim.

Night Night.

where have i been?

Long time no post I know. Had a very strange/scary weekend. Thursday I lifted again with Kristen. Nothing unusual, did arms and legs. Finished up with 45 minutes on the treadmill walking at an incline. Friday was off. Saturday I planned on going out for a long run. It was a nicer sunny afternoon so I set off on my longer route wanting to do 6-7 miles. The plan was supposed to be the same as the last longer run, take it easy, stay between 9:30-10. However, I just couldnt seem to slow down. I kept looking at the Garmin and seeing 8:40 or 8:30. I felt amazing, really strong. That was the good part. The bad part was that I seemed to hit every single light. It was also earlier than I usually do this route (ie, daytime) and since the weather was nicer everyone was out. This meant a lot of weaving in and out of people on steinway and other high traffic streets. I dont know if this is what did me in, or if it was me muscularly adjusting to my right foot hurting. --Backing up, I have grotesque feet. Ever since about 21 I've had nasty bunionettes (bunions on the pinky toe side). They flared up badly in college and early working time but for the past two years Ive been basically pain free. That was until this past month when the pain came back like woah, between new years eve when I spent the entire night on my feet in 4.5 inch heels and these boots that i bought, which are flat but must have been too narrow. My right foot has been constantly aching and Sat it seemed worse than normal. I was aware of it aching during the run, which usually it doesnt. --

So anyways, with about a mile to go i noticed some soreness in my left leg. My leg/knee felt heavy, like it was harder to pick up. I ignored it and just pushed through. I had originally planned to run up past my house to the library to pick up some books, but as I was coming up the street to my house the pain was starting to increase and I thought I had better just stop at home, so I did. As soon as I did I had this overwhelming pain in my left knee, on the left side. At this point I was still kinda ignoring it because I was so happy about my run. I basically had broken my 10k race PR. I did 6.26 miles in 56:16, a 9min/mile pace. My avg heart rate during the run was 154bpm. My previous best was a 56:59 at the human race this year. Very happy.

The happyness didn't last long though. I came in limping. Several hours later I couldnt stand on my leg and couldnt bend my knee. It totally killed. I tried soaking in an epsom salt bath and taking ibuprofen. Still horrible pain. Ended up spending the evening on the coach resting my leg and making the bf fetch stuff for me.

Sunday was supposed to be a lifting day with Kristen (to make up for not going Saturday). I opted out though afraid of aggravating the leg. It didnt hurt as bad in the morning but the pain was still there and I was limping around still. Luckily for me, Kristen is an athletic trainer so she came over that night to give me an evaluation. She suggested the pain was from Iband tendonitis, which terrifies me. She told me what stretches to do and gave me this cool ice cup to do ice massage.
Today I woke up and was still sore but not nearly as bad. It was an awful morning due to torrential rain. I wore flip flops at work which made the bunioette foot feel much better. At the end of the day I really didnt have any leg pain at all so I decided to do a test run of 2 miles to see how I felt. I did 2.02mile sin 18:58, or 9:24pace. HR was 142bpm. I was thinking more of 10min mile pace but again I felt really good. I had just mild pain in the foot and really nothing in the knee, which left me so confused. What the hell does this mean? How do you go from excrutiating unable to stand on your leg pain, to absolutely fine within 48 hours?? I dont get it. Im going to be monitoring this closely just in case.

Tomorrow is a lifting day. Signed up for Runners World magazine today.
I've been writing this post since 9pm so its time to sign off.

Quick post tonight. Ran at Gym (on a 1.0 incline). 37'02", 9:13 min pace, 4.01 miles. Ok thats it.

Too tired:(

We belong to the music...

There is nothing like new music to make a run amazing. I downloaded the new Timbaland today and now I have several new songs for my running mix. I hate to admit to it, but the Miley collaboration is my new fav. I was planning on going to the gym to run on the treadmill but it was warmer tonight (40s) and the idea of new running music had me too pumped to run indoors. Headed out at 9:45. I think I watch to much true crime television because of course everyone I saw on the way I thought was going to kidnap and murder me. I guess its good to be a bit on edge and not let your guard down.

Run felt great. Here are the stats:

33:03, 3.74 miles, 8'50" pace, 155bpm
Ipod: 33:42, 3.91 miles, 8'36" pace

Argh I need a real training program. I'm giving myself a week to figure it out.

Meh

Woke up early today to lift with Kristen. Now I'm super sore. Was going to hop on a treadmill to get the days miles in while we were at the gym but I was too shaky from not eating breakfast and it was just too hot in the room. There are huge windows letting in all the sunlight and barely any ventilation. Not to mention a ton of machines all packed in so tight together. I really can't imagine running on the treadmill at this place. Not sure whats going to happen in the future on that one if I need too.

Went home, ate and rested a bit and then went back out for the run. What a beautiful day it was today. After weeks of bitter cold it was almost 50! I went and did my usual loop down by the water. Total of 4.o1 miles in 35'30". 8:52mi/mil, 160bpm avg HR. I felt really good throughout. I was afraid after the lifting my legs would feel like dead weight but they felt good.

I wore black UA tights, grey tshirt, green longsleeved shirt and my green/grey vest.

I just published this post but then I remembered that I forgot to mention the Wii Fit! I finally got one. My aunt has one that my mom and her use and she raves about it same as everyone. After we got the Wii for Xmas this year I knew I wanted to buy one but its been like trying to buy a rare gem or something. They are never in stock! I finally lucked out Friday at work. I was scoping out best buy and they had one available for instore pickup at 62nd st and broadway so I hurried up and bought it. It was a pain carrying it home, since it was much bigger and heavier than I thought. Havent really done much so far, just established myself as a character and did the initial assessment. It told me that my Wii age is 37. Apparently I have horrible balance. Im looking forward to tracking improvements in fitness and weight. Should be fun times.

Judgement Free Zone

Went to the new gym with Kristen tonight. It was already less crowded than a week ago which was great. We lifted on the machines and then went up and did 30 min of cardio. We were both laughing at how non-intimidating it was to lift here. I think I'm going to like this gym.

Im probably going to be sore tomorrow.

Is it really only Wednesday?

Why is this week dragging so much??

Quick update about Chloe- she is fine. We were afraid that she might have FIV or Feline Leukemia but she is negative for both thank god. She apparently has swollen gums which is strange for a cat her age (young). There were multiple potential causes that the vet thought might be causing it, including the bad ones mentioned above. Now its looking like she might have something else which causes cat scratch fever in humans (lol). We find out Friday.

Yesterday was a planned cardio day at the gym but I stayed in instead. My left leg - quad and knee area - was sore from Mondays run. I decided to rest up. The plan was to use the time in to research research research, make a training plan and go to sleep early. None of those was accomplished:( I did look up some training programs but without a specific goal race in mind I didn't nail anything down. I did read something interesting online though, that said if you are training on a treadmill you should have atleast a 1% incline in order to offset the pull of the belt and prevent IT band injuries. I will definitely keep this in mind.

Today I decided to do 6 miles outside. Its still cold here in NYC but I was going out a bit early (8:30) and the thought of a crowded gym really turned me off. I had a really hard time linking to the satelites on the garmin and spent a good 15 minutes shivering outside my house waiting. I wanted this run to be controlled between 9:30-10 min mile pace. I ended up doing 5.86 miles in 55'53", which is 9:32 m/mi pace - perfect. The avg heart rate was 153bpm. Graph info looks steady across, began creeping up during last half. The graph of the pace is hard to view. Ipod got 6.17miles, 9:09 m/mi pace, 56'28". Overall it was a good run. I did my best to relax and go steady, kept reminding myself not to speed it up. It got harder on the back end of the run. Its not through a 'bad' neighborhood per se, but its not the greatest - dark, residential streets, seedy commerical areas, few pedestrians, not so much traffic in parts, near a park, etc etc. Its the kind of run that my mom would get mad at me for running alone. Ive done it in the past and not even felt nervous. And it wasnt like it was thaaat late, but I think combined with the cold fewer people were out and about. But anyways, I felt myself speeding up to hurry up and get back to the neighborhoods I'm more comfortable with. With like 5 min to go I started to get a bit of pain in my hip area, but with stretching afterwards its now feeling ok.
Outfit check - warm nike tights, grey sb, navy UA long sleeved top, grey zip up, gloves, headband. In review, too much dark color for a night run on dark streets. That was silly of me.

Tomorrow the plan is to check out the new gym and do some lifting with Kristen. I havent lifted in forever. I'm excited about getting back into it.

In exciting running related news, I decided to definitely go to the Millrose Games this month. I can't wait. Buying tickets tomorrow.

Thats it for now, goodnight!

I should really be sleeping instead of writing

Sunday was a cross training day, did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical at the gym.
Today (ie Monday) went to the gym and did 5 miles on the treadmil at what I was hoping was a relaxed pace. Ipod recorded 5.01 miles in 47'26", 9:27 min/mile pace. I wore black UA tights and this super cute Nike jersey-like shirt that matches my shoes (white and light blue). I went earlier than usual (8:30) and it was super packed. Luckily though I scored my favorite type of treadmill, the kind with the built in fan.
I feel a little lost right now because I don't really have a plan. I have an abstract idea of what I want to do this year - I know I want to run a marathon and at least 2 halfs. I also want to do a trail race at some point. But outside of just saying I want to do these things I dont have any action plan. I really need to develop a training schedule that I can get into and follow. I keep telling myself I need to do some research and plan out the next few months but I havent been able to find the time. Hopefully now that the holidays are really over, visiting friends have left town and the work chaos surrounding our move has finally begun to die down maybe I can steal some time to think.
All of this is further complicated by Kristen (my RP) being out of commission with her knee. :(

Non running note, scary visit to the Vet today with Chloe. There is a possibility that she could be very ill. We will find out tomorrow. I dont know what I will do if she is.

Meh, going to sleep now.

No training Thursday or Friday this week. Thursday I planned to be off, had to meet up for happy hour with Amanda since her time in NYC is almost over again:( I planned to run Friday night but was exhausted. Im not much of a going out person these days and to have multiple nights of heavier drinking (Thurs-Sat-Tues-Thurs) is rough. I did join that new gym friday though. We will have to wait and see how that goes.

Today I woke up and it looked gorgeous outside, sun was shining. It was misleading though as the temp was 27 degrees, 19 with windchill. I bundled up in my warm Nike tights, white tank, black pullover top, and then a dark grey zip up, black headband and gloves. I also stole evans neck warmer/hood. When I stepped out and stood around waiting for garmin to link to the satelites I was afraid that I might be dressed too warmly and almost went back to drop off one of the long sleeved shirts but I'm glad I didn't. I went for my usual 4 mile loop, down along the water near the park and then back up.
garmin recorded 35'50", 4.12 miles, 8:42 pace. avg HR 159bpm, max 175bpm.
looking at a graph of the data it looks like the HR was fairly steady and was creeping into the 170s towards the end. Im sad to say that I dont know enough about this to know really what it means but I think it might be high. Need to research that.
ipod has 37'12", 8:29 pace, 4.38 miles. The difference in time is that the garmin will auto pause when im stopped at a streetlight.

Chloe really doesnt want me to write this post

Poor kitty is lonely today. Since I walked in tonight she has been all over me. She keeps grabbing my hand with her paw so I will pet her, its the sweetest thing.

Catching up the last few days:

Tuesday I did cross training on the elliptical at the gym (30 min)

Wednesday was a rest day due to a dinner out catching up with my old roomie. Went to an awesome place in the UES with all you can eat sushi/drinking. Too bad it was only Tuesday. I contemplated waking up early and heading out for a run before work but I was too exhausted and instead was late.

As a result of last nights activities I was exhausted all day today as well and it made tonights mild run hard. I did 4 miles on the treadmill at the gym. Ipod stats are 4.01miles in 36'40", at 9:07 pace. I've decided I'm going to also keep tracking of what I wear when running. Some might say this is super lame but to me happy clothes are a big part of being happy. And running outfits are no different to me. So today I wore black UA tights, a NYY World Series champs tshirt and a grey sports bra.

The gym tonight was surprisingly (and happily) empty. Before I went to my current one, I stopped into check out another gym my friend wants me to join with her which is shockingly cheap. I could go to this particular gym until August for less than the cost of this next month at my gym. That is insane and really doesnt even make sense. When she told me this I figured it was probably too good to be true so I went to check it out. Honestly I was horrified by the place. I had the most pathetic tour with the most disinterested sales person ever. She had zero interest in whether I joined up or not. I guess the price just sells its self. The place was packed, which isnt really surprising considered its the first week in January and most people are still holding on to the new years resolution. All things considered though, I might still join. I rarely ever work out during peak hours and most of the crowd will be gone by march. Ill sleep on it I guess.

Tomorrow is another off day for me so see you on Friday.

New Year, New Blog

Happy 2010. Hard to believe another year is over.

I've wanted to start this blog for awhile now, to have a place to write about my runs and keep track of data and my goals. 2009 marked a year where I finally started getting back into running after taking essentially 6 years off. In high school, running was my life and there was nothing I loved more. But then I went away to college in 2002 and things changed. However I am glad to be back and have even surprised myself this past year by doing a half marathon with my BFF Kristen. I'm looking forward to 2010 being the best running year ever, training harder and smarter and doing at least one marathon.

I want to set some official goals, but I still need to think it over some.

Today was my first run of the new year. It was extremely frigid, 20 degrees with a biting wind but it felt good. My new baby garmin says I did 3.51 miles in 31.18 which is 8:55 pace. (My nikeplus says 3.74 miles.) Unfortunately I forgot the heart rate monitor so no data there. Im still learning how to use it. Ive seen other blogs where people upload charts and graphs and I want to be able to do that. I also need to figure out how to use the HR to my training advantage.

The BF is home now and is pressuring me to play Wii with him so I'm signing off.