So, here it is Sunday night. The Oscars are over and movies I've not seen have been rewarded. Iran yesterday to make up for having missed my Thursday run. Flexible schedules and not being too anal about sticking to them is what will help you survive getting back into running. I had to go to Woodinville on Wednesday and I didn't get home until after 12:00 am on Thursday. In fact, as I was plugging phones in I noted the time; 1:00. Four hours until I needed to get up for that run...maybe Friday. Turns out I'm not as young as I once was. Friday morning came, alarms went off, and I ignored them. So yesterday afternoon, after working for a few hours I went for a little run; 3.1 miles to be exact. For those of you following along at home, that is 5K.
To plot my path through the neighborhoods, I used both Nike's site and LiveStrong's site. both gave the same distance, but the LiveStrong site shows you the elevation changes of your run in relation to the distance. So I knew heading out that at 2.5K I would start up a long rise that would take 500M to complete. Then I would get to decrease my elevation to below my start-point over the next Kilometer. This meant that my LAST click was spent climbing back up to the starting point. This loop will be a permanent fixture in my running loops. I also managed a nice comfortable 10:10 pace over the whole distance. I look forward to a day in the future when we look back on a 32:00 5K with nostalgia, and marvel at how much faster I am doing that distance. I'm not crazy and think I will do a 10K in that time, that ship sailed decades ago, but I think a 45 minute 10K is reasonable. Maybe not in May or June, but by the end of Summer certainly. I will strive for that Airborne quality speed of 7 minute miles, as I feel that is reachable.
This time next week will be the "victory post." The race has sold out, I have my team together, not whom I had originally thought, but hey, being flexible is what this is all about. So this week we have learned that Lance's site is cooler than tha parent site for the maps...elevation info is great for planning a run. We have also learned that---well actually life taught this one years ago--being flexible with plans is key to not going gray before I'm 42. The next race is scheduled and paid for, so after next Sunday, we roll right into training for that one.
Showing posts with label LiveStrong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LiveStrong. Show all posts
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Two runs in since Friday...
I had a REEEEEALY long week last week, and I had to work until midnight on Friday, which is why I didn't post about Friday's run. So Friday morning comes and I knew that I was going to have a very long day, but I got up at 4:45am and dragged my butt up to the Y and did 2.25 miles. My knees are giving me a bit of grief about the latest activities. So I started looking up knee exercises to help ease the pains. It turns out there are many many sites that will give you some good choices. I had already upgraded the shoes, so there had to be some other things that I could do the help my knees. One of the things the sites all talk about was running on short tracks, or tracks in general. There is some extra stresses in running in circles on the knees. So thy all said get off the track and start doing some road work. Since I am past the run-walk-run stages of the C25K program, I did just that.
This morning I slept late, as yesterday was another long day at work. Not the lovely 20 hour day I pulled on Friday, but since I only had 6 hours of sleep going into Saturday, I was a bit run down. So I slept in. I got up about 8 and then I got dressed in some slightly warmer clothing and hit the pavement. I mapped out a course on the Nike +, or on the LiveStrong site. For 2.5 miles it was a simple "around the neighborhood" jog this morning. It has a couple of shallow hills and a good one at the end. I "get" to run this one this week two more times. Then I get to add a little bit more distance, and I will probably change the directions of where I go. That way I can see more of the neighborhood in the dark.
Now, warmer clothing is needed at this time of year when going outdoors. I have been a big fan of running tights for a very long time. I know that some of my family members are going to question this statement. But, when I was in high school, I had a pair of tights that I called my Spiderman tights. They were Nikes that were red and blue, and the red was a mesh material. They were awesome. I wish someone still made some like that. So, my current tights are dark blue and solid, but they will definitely keep the legs from being too cold, and keeps the legs from seizing up.
I also got a jacket to keep myself dry when it starts raining in two days, when next I get to the road, there will be moisture in the air. I don't mind my legs being a little damp, but my back would be a bit cold if I got very wet, and that will end a run quick enough. The new jacket happens to be a Livestrong Nike Fit jacket. I will need to get a safety vest tomorrow, but the new jacket is bright blue and I carry a flashlight outside, I still want to have something that will reflect the lights of passing cars.
I have less than three weeks until the race, and the next ones are a short 11 weeks away from today. I need to be very diligent with making sure that I get out the door everyday that I have a run scheduled. Everyday that I skip is too precious to miss. I do have the minimum number on the team, there are potentially more people signing up for it, but if they don't, I have met the minimum number. The next two races are potentially 10Ks. We will see how the legs and knees do in the coming weeks.
This morning I slept late, as yesterday was another long day at work. Not the lovely 20 hour day I pulled on Friday, but since I only had 6 hours of sleep going into Saturday, I was a bit run down. So I slept in. I got up about 8 and then I got dressed in some slightly warmer clothing and hit the pavement. I mapped out a course on the Nike +, or on the LiveStrong site. For 2.5 miles it was a simple "around the neighborhood" jog this morning. It has a couple of shallow hills and a good one at the end. I "get" to run this one this week two more times. Then I get to add a little bit more distance, and I will probably change the directions of where I go. That way I can see more of the neighborhood in the dark.
Now, warmer clothing is needed at this time of year when going outdoors. I have been a big fan of running tights for a very long time. I know that some of my family members are going to question this statement. But, when I was in high school, I had a pair of tights that I called my Spiderman tights. They were Nikes that were red and blue, and the red was a mesh material. They were awesome. I wish someone still made some like that. So, my current tights are dark blue and solid, but they will definitely keep the legs from being too cold, and keeps the legs from seizing up.
I also got a jacket to keep myself dry when it starts raining in two days, when next I get to the road, there will be moisture in the air. I don't mind my legs being a little damp, but my back would be a bit cold if I got very wet, and that will end a run quick enough. The new jacket happens to be a Livestrong Nike Fit jacket. I will need to get a safety vest tomorrow, but the new jacket is bright blue and I carry a flashlight outside, I still want to have something that will reflect the lights of passing cars.
I have less than three weeks until the race, and the next ones are a short 11 weeks away from today. I need to be very diligent with making sure that I get out the door everyday that I have a run scheduled. Everyday that I skip is too precious to miss. I do have the minimum number on the team, there are potentially more people signing up for it, but if they don't, I have met the minimum number. The next two races are potentially 10Ks. We will see how the legs and knees do in the coming weeks.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A good morning run!
I got up this morning a little slower than I should have. I didn't need to stay up and watch the Chinese win gold and silver. I didn't need to watch the Men's BoarderCross final. Thanks to NBC's inability to do anything except "The Biggest Loser" correctly, I had already learned of the results, and should have gone to bed at a reasonable time. BUT, since when have I ever been reasonable? So, at midnight, the Mrs. and I trundled up to bed, and, well, let's just say that 4:40 am comes really fast at that point.
But, I got up and did Week Six, Day Two, and felt good after the first half mile. By the end of mile two I was in gear and trucking around the Y's track. I had a 9 minute mile pace at the end. Tracking forward from there, if I keep with this schedule, I should be able to hold to a 10 minute mile easily for the 3.1 miles on March 14. Holy Short-time Batman, but that is only three weeks away. After today, there are no more walk breaks in my morning runs, and as the weather begins to get less rainy (or if I would go buy some good wet-weather gear) I can move this show outside. I will need to after the Shamrock Run anyway, because I am already looking at the next two races... Both have start-finish lines within a mile of my house.
Moving outdoors is easy with both the Nike+.com site and the Livestrong.com site. Both offer a mapping feature that lets you pick a starting point and then follow along the roads and plot out a route and it gives you the distance as you go. Can you say, 4 and 5 mile runs? Can you say 10K? All from the comfort of your own home, can you plot out your courses and you don't have to drive down roads that are closed to traffic to figure out how far it is.
But, I got up and did Week Six, Day Two, and felt good after the first half mile. By the end of mile two I was in gear and trucking around the Y's track. I had a 9 minute mile pace at the end. Tracking forward from there, if I keep with this schedule, I should be able to hold to a 10 minute mile easily for the 3.1 miles on March 14. Holy Short-time Batman, but that is only three weeks away. After today, there are no more walk breaks in my morning runs, and as the weather begins to get less rainy (or if I would go buy some good wet-weather gear) I can move this show outside. I will need to after the Shamrock Run anyway, because I am already looking at the next two races... Both have start-finish lines within a mile of my house.
Moving outdoors is easy with both the Nike+.com site and the Livestrong.com site. Both offer a mapping feature that lets you pick a starting point and then follow along the roads and plot out a route and it gives you the distance as you go. Can you say, 4 and 5 mile runs? Can you say 10K? All from the comfort of your own home, can you plot out your courses and you don't have to drive down roads that are closed to traffic to figure out how far it is.
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