I know for most people, Mondays are full of drudgery. But for me, Mondays are
a fresh start
a warm cup of coffee
jeans and a favorite sweater
a job I love
new projects to start
new devotion to read
REST day from half-marathon training
Jacuzzi day b/c I finished last week's training
...an evening with my wonderful hubby, Kevin and our dog, Mina..all to myself :)
It's one of those days where I'm tempted to bundle up and take the dog hiking when K2 gets home, or make a hot dinner and sit in the dining room and chat! I hope to do both tonight.
Kevin and I had a great Sunday. Our newlyweds fellowship group met today at church, which is one of the best things about Fall. After church we tried out a new pub for lunch which was quite good, and afterwards I treated myself to a Main Street Cupcake! Their half-baked cupcake is filled with cookie dough and tastes divine. We first got to taste these little pieces of heaven at Kait and Trace's wedding last year.
It was a bit chilly today so we came home and started the first fire of the season. I love when the house smells like a fresh fire and we get to put on our wool socks.
C and I met up around 8 for our 3 mile EZ run. We've gotten in to a nice habit of running 2 miles to the gym them finishing on the treadmill or around the 2nd story indoor track. We planned to rest in the jacuzzi but it was too late.
Tomorrow is rest day and we're definitely planning some jacuzzi and sauna time!
Do you ever have that dream where you're trying to run towards someone or something...BUT instead of moving at the speed of light...you're moving in slow-motion and it feels like you'll never get there?
Well, I've had that dream and at mile 7 of our 10 mile run today...I lived it! We loved last week's run where we ran all of our mileage in one direction..towards some sort of goal. Last week, the goal was a Robek's smoothie. This week...we ran from our drop-off point and through a few towns to C's parents house in Macedonia for lunch! The run went great but at mile 7 we turned on our last road and had more to tackle then we expected. At first, the wind felt nice as it dried our sweaty faces a bit. However, we immediately began almost a 2 mile trek up hills with the wind pounding at us.
By mile 8, our calves were burning, C's feet were hurting b/c her new shoes have yet to arrive, and there was no significant downhills in sight. We finally realized we were running so slow we'd be better offer power walking and that's exactly what we did. There we a few times we sped up to a jog and tried to fight the wind.
It was pure joy when the beeper went off right as we passed C's parents house. After some much needed water-gulpage and a few "We're so proud of you"'s from the rents..we ate lunch!
In the past when I've not completely run my entire training run, I've been discouraged and disappointed. Today was different. I'm learning a lot about how my body feels and today when I made the decision to power walk, I didn't feel like I was quitting. My body felt like it did at mile 9 last week and after all the power-walking, I was proud that I gave it a good workout!
The last two training runs I've done have been later in the evening due to a pretty hectic schedule this week. Last night I left my small group meeting to dart straight to the gym and knock out my 3miler.
As I walked in I wondered who was going to be at the gym at such a late hour. The first person I saw looked both ripped and roided (steroids) while he was curling weight I didn't even know existed. As I walked upstairs toward the treadmills, I was greeted by a bunch of people I'd never seen before who were darting around trying to get a run, a circuit, a strength workout and stretching done in what seemed like 20 minutes! It made me think they all had been working all day and were just trying to finish in time to get home before their kids went to bed. I admire their discipline.
I ran a 10 min mile with a good incline for mile 1 then slowed my pace to 10:30 with the incline for mile 2. I was so tired at that point I zeroed out the incline and increased the pace to 11 but stopped at about 2.8 miles for the evening.
Today is one of those peaceful rainy days, that for some who work from home, I can imagine is very distracting. Not the case for me! I've pulled out a new spiral notebook to use that screams creativity!
AND....my hubby came home with flowers for the dinette area in our kitchen! I love fresh flowers in my kitchen. I swear it made my coffee even taste better :)
To do list today:- Hydrate all day (or Flu-ate...as C calls it)
- Eat a CARBy lunch
- Spend at least 30 minutes stretching and doing yoga
That's what a passer-by said to my husband last night. It was dark and I still needed to get my 3 mile run in so I chose to suit up and run around the neighborhood. While we consider our neighborhood to be quite safe, my hubby thought it best to take his bike out and bike behind me so I wasn't out there alone :)
C had done her run early in the morning and I bailed on her because I didn't sleep well the night before. Last night's run was easy and I loved Kevin's company and encouragement while I was jogging away in the dark. He offered to manage the GPS tracker but we think it got confused when he put it in his pocket and shut off. I got to the 2.5 mile marker then I just figured the number of blocks I'd just run and kind of used that as a guide for when to finish.
I think C and I will do our run later today. If not, it will be another late night date with the pavement for me and my bicycling hubby!
Chow!
I've just come in from our first run this week. C and I ran about 2 miles down the main road that runs through our town until the sidewalk ended then turned around. We finished just before it got really dark and the swarm of man-eating mosquitos comes out at night. I actually just had to stop typing and scratch a new bite on my ankle....ARGH!!
Tomorrow we both have very busy evenings, so we're planning to run at the gym at 6am!!!
Ok..i smell...I'm going to shower!
C texted me last night to tell me that since July 6 we've run 120.5 miles! That's crazy. I was pretty tired and my hips were a bit sore after Saturday's run. Apparently running cures all. I felt great last night after our 3 miler at the gym. The Sunday runs are usually supposed to be EZ runs but we both ran at top speed because it was late and we wanted to get it over with. After some long stretching, my body felt great!
As for this week coming up, here we go with another '5-Days of Running' week! Here's the running plan. I'm not planning circuit training, but instead our goal is to go at least 2x this week. C starts teaching this week so my schedule will kind of be dictated by how bratty her kids are and how tired they make her :)
Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - 4 Miles
Wednesday - 3 Miles
Thursday - 3 Miles
Friday - off
Saturday - 10 Mile Long Run
Sunday - 3 Mile EZ run
Talk to you later!
PS: It's starting to feel like Fall here in Ohio and I'm loving it! I'm already wearing my winter slippers and a sweater for work today :)
Our 9 mile run went great! I can contribute most of our success to how great the weather was, BUT there were a bunch on new things we tried for this run too. Last Saturday was about learning lessons. This morning was about applying what C and I learned and trying our best.
I bought some sweat-wicking clothes that were on a great sale at Target and I may never go back to regular cotton again! C bought a waist pack (fanny pack) and brought a drink bottle, her iPod and some candy. I ran with a water bottle filled with some Powerade and packed two Lifesavers candies in the inside pocket of my new shorts.
We were packin' alright! I think the Powerade made a difference at mile 6 when I started to feel sluggish and the candy kept my mind busy while I trotted down the road.
We ran one-way for 9 miles and our goal was to end right around where the Robek's smoothie shop was. It was a great plan b/c that's exactly what we wanted after the run as we waited for my hubby to come get us.
Here's our post-run shot!
It felt great to finish without ever walking! We needed a great run and I'm so proud of C!
BTW...Thank You to my friends Kait, Erin, Jillian and Didi for the encouraging words and advice this past week. As always, thanks C for being there with me on the road!
I've decided the worst thing about running right now is my never-ending wedgie battle. The best thing about running right now is Thursday Pasta Night :)
After hearing about my horrendous run last Saturday, most of my 'seasoned-runner' friends suggested I eat more carbs about 2 days before. C took the lead with that information and her and her hubby invited us over to have spaghetti and ravioli and garlic bread and ice cream for dinner last night. Yes, I know...I went too far with the ice cream, but it was Moose Tracks!
It was a great meal and I hope it makes a difference tomorrow. I didn't get the strength session in that I wanted to because my hubby offered to go grocery shopping with me and since I don't really like going in the first place, I always accept when he offers!
Who knows what the rest of the day has in store. TGIF!
Breathing Deep
Posted by Aynsley Labels: half marathon, my friend C, run, strength training, trainingToday got off to a great start. Even though I felt like I was in hell when my alarm went off at 6:30am, I got up anyway. There is magic in knowing someone is counting on you...it gets me going every time. I drank a bit of water and started walking over to C's house for our 7am 4 miler.
I didn't bring my phone to track stats because we know it's 2 miles from C's house to the driveway of our gym so we simply ran there and back. I'm confused a but about my pace and today's run was a perfect example of why. C and I started off running side by side and for the entire first half I stayed right by her. When we turned to head back my legs felt a bit sluggish and my friend E's words rang in my head. She suggested that maybe I should be running faster so I tried it. Sure enough, that was the cure! I sped up and as a result there was some distance between C and I. She didn't seem to mind so I continued.
I stopped in her driveway only moments before she met me so it wasn't like my pace created some gaping whole. It did, however make the run feel pretty easy. I may need to speed up during my long runs but I have to be careful not to get ahead of myself and burn out early.
After showering, I put on my fave pair of jeans turned the computer on to start my day! 
Work is going great and I'm planning to do some circuit-ish workout at home later this evening.
Work is going great and I'm planning to do some circuit-ish workout at home later this evening.I just came in from my first 4 mile training run for this week. C met at my house at 8pm and we waited for K to join us, but she had to cancel. We headed to a trail nearby. The trail we chose is very nice but it heads in to the city and it wasn't the safest run once it got dark. Our husbands scolded us when we came home. Oh..we also did strength training at the gym this morning! I missed it more than I thought I would. 
I loved every minute of tonight's run! The weather was cooler and the path had some beautiful views of the city. There were some hills in the beginning but then we caught a nice long decline and used the momentum to set a 10:27min/mile pace on the 3rd mile. Once we got off the trail we had run a little over 3.5 miles so we continued lapping around the parking lot until we heard the fourth beep. The only downside was how buggy it was! I would've eaten less for dinner if I'd of known I was going to devour enough bugs to be on an episode of survivor!
Alright..off to the shower!
That's what this post will be. It's Rest Day!! I've got a lot of plates spinning as far as work, but I love it when I'm busy. Below is my plan for the week. I'm going to spend some time later today doing some research on nutrition and hydration so I'm fully prepared for my long run this week...where I'm planning to Kick Trail!!!
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - strength workout, 4 mile run
Wednesday - strength workout, no run
Thursday - 4 mile run, stretching and yoga
Friday - nothing
Saturday - 9 mile Long Run
Sunday - 3 mile EZ run
I am up and at em' this morning and I'm joining C for our 3 mile EZ run before we head to church with our hubbies. I think we're going to run 2 miles to the gym then do our 3rd mile inside along with some strength training.
Lesson I forgot C mentioned yesterday during 8 Mile Hell : Start strength training again.
We've both been noticing we feel a bit weaker and it could be due to improper nutrition, but before vacation we were both doing a bit of leg work aside from our runs. This week we're back to a 4 day/week running schedule which will definitely make it easier to lift and get some leg work in which should help us run better too.
I feel great this morning and while my feelings of inadequacy as a runner still linger a bit from yesterday, I do see this as an experiment where my theory that "I CAN DO IT" still wins out.
Here are a few illustrations of how our run went yesterday:
Today's run was enlightening, to say the least. I got the trails mixed up and we drove around for almost 40 minutes before deciding on the same trail we ran our 5 miles on.
Lesson 1 - Get better directions when trying new trails
Once we got there, the trail we had fond memories of in June had been replaced with a busy empactment of gravel filled with small families on bikes and tree-less path areas that made you feel like you were being microwaved!
Lesson 2 - Start running earlier in the morning or later at night to prevent death!
We'd tapped most of our fun conversation elements during our 45 min tour of the park system, so we didn't have much to talk about. That makes a big difference, because C and I are used to chatting it up while a few miles go by.
Lesson 3 - Don't talk to each other until you start running :)
At mile 3 I pulled the headphones out and turned on the iPod to drown out my feeling of being roasted alive.
We waited for the 4 mile beep and trucked a little bit further before turning around. At the 5 mile marker I was actually confused because I felt so tired :(
C stopped to walk a bit and I initially joined her but then I began to run again. The next few miles were brutal as I couldn't catch my breath and I felt like I was falling asleep while I was running. There were a few walking breaks and then I ran back to C and we completed with a spatter of what looked like a mix of jogging and suicide.
The rest of my lessons I learned from a group of bikers that were at the rest stop we finished at. They agreed on the following words of wisdom
Lesson 4 - most distance runners were out at 7am because it was cooler and...
Lesson 5 - water just won't do the trick for us any longer. While they suggested drinks to replace all the good stuff we lost from sweating, they also said...
Lesson 6 - we probably were carb depleted too. We need to start eating more the night before or a few hours before we run.
C made me a smoothie at her house and we spent the rest of the day at the pool...which I really needed. The Cleveland Browns play their first game tonight so I'm off to the in laws for dinner and the game!
Happy Saturday!
I don't run today! I know, I'm usually really excited to run so it's weird. Yesterday's 4 miler killed me. I didn't drink enough water and probably didn't eat enough either. By the end of the 2nd mile I was dizzy and felt really sluggish. I didn't bring my water bottle on the run with me either. C, the best running partner ever, really pushed me and encouraged me and now that I look back I'm glad she did. I felt so gross that once I could see our finish marker ahead I told C that I was going to speed up and a sprinted to it just to get it over with.
I planned to go to C's house this morning for some restorative yoga but I chose to sleep until the least possible minute before getting dressed for work and opening my computer. It was heaven :)
In other news....I'm officially registered for the Akron Half Marathon. My bib will say AYNSLEY...I know...original.
Tomorrow is 8 miles and I'm going to start searching Map My Run for a nice new route to run with C. Afterwords I'm going to enjoy Saturday at the pool!
What Was I Thinking?!
Posted by Aynsley Labels: half marathon, my friend C, run, strength training, trainingIf my day were mapped out on a terrain map...it would be VERY HILLY! I've had a lot of ups and downs today. C and I met around 7 this morning to run our 3 miles. I was not feeling good and can expect to feel the same for the next few days (hint, hint). Our run went great and our pace was pretty good even while we climbed a bunch of hills. We both knew that hill work was bound to find its way into our training and it wasn't as bad as we thought.
As soon as I came home I got to work while devouring my breakfast. I have a campaign that kicks off on Monday and I'm developing some additional collateral for it. I've been dealing with writer's block, a slow Internet connection and just recently finished a debate over the application of traditional marketing principles. I also told my client that from now on we should get an inflatable sumo-wrestling set and sumo-fight during each debate! I hung up the phone and had a "Ugh...what was I thinking" moment :)
There was no Pilates or gym time last night. I feel a little like a slacker b/c my strength training hasn't just taken a back seat to my running, it's been kicked off the bus altogether. These weeks where I run 5 days and 3 days in a row are really tiring and I know I need rest, but it's tough not to feel a little guilty.
I'm off in search of a clean Choc Chip Cookie recipe! Wish me luck!
Why hello there! It would be wrong of me to write my entire post and save my confession until the end...so here goes. I made a secret pact with my self (first problem) that this week I was going to eat as clean as possible. You can start laughing now, because I didn't even make it till Tuesday - let alone Monday dinner time :(
My intention was to stop my 'vacation diet' in it's tracks by eating clean for 7 days. After Kevin and I saw the baby last night, we dropped our friends off immediately were on the hunt for food. Worse yet, I have PLENTY of food at home. With no desire to cook at 8pm and a steadily decreasing list of options due to my picky hubby, we went to Five Guys for burgers, fries and soda..topped of with a small ice cream cone. GASP - I know...so ashamed. He made me do it :) I'm over it, but I won't easily forget the feeling I had today pumping out 4 miles at 7 in the morning and feeling like crap!
In the end, I completed the 4 miles with my friend C and decided on no more secret pacts with myself :) I'm counting last night as my cheat meal and I won't see another one of those for a week..BAH!
I think my body is telling me to slow down and do some really thorough stretching. Therefore, I'm planning to go to the 7pm Pilates class at my gym. I'll let you know how that goes.
Today has been great! C and I met up to go to the gym and pamper ourselves in the Jacuzzi. Once we had let the jets do their magic, we cooled off in the pool and then headed to the sauna to sweat it out for a bit.
I came home to a cup of coffee, raisin bran cereal and a whole bunch of water gulping while I turned my computer on to begin work. Mina takes Rest Day very seriously :)
Our friends T and J welcomed their first child into the world yesterday and we get to see her this evening! Kevin and I are so excited to meet baby Reese.
In other news, Elizabeth, our mail carrier, just dropped off the latest issue of Oxygen Magazine and it's taking every ounce of discipline not to stop working and read it cover to cover. I plan to devour every word later this evening!
I just completed my 3 mile EZ run a few hours ago. C lives right down the street from me so we walked to meet each other and ran 2 miles to the gym, then finished with a mile indoors. I chose the treadmill because it has a built in fan and we'd just come from 90 degree weather. C chose the track and we spend about 10 minutes gabbing and stretching before her hubby picked us up.
I had no desire to get up from my nap today and meet C for the run but once we were at the gym, I was really glad we went. I needed to get back inside the gym to feel motivated about my strength training and remember the feeling of confidence I got from lifting.
Tomorrow we going to take full advantage of our REST DAY by going to gym early to enjoy the pool, jacuzzi, sauna, more pool and I might even come home and do some yoga if I've got time before work.
This week was kind of short so I'm skipping my Week In Review. BUT...here's my plan for this week:
Monday - REST DAY :)
Tuesday - 4 mile run, circuit workout
Wednesday - 3 mile run, Chisel class or circuit workout
Thursday - 4 mile run
Friday - Circuit workout
Saturday - 8 mile long run
Sunday - 3 mile EZ run, circuit or outdoor workout
So today was a beautiful, slightly rainy day with a nice breeze. I picked C up a little after 11 and we headed to the Towpath entrance in Peninsula by the bike rental shop. We parked, pottied and began our planned 7 mile long run. The path wasn't full of bikers as it usually is because of the expected rain showers all day. We ran sans-iPod today because C left hers on vacation.
So the good news was the I felt great and I'm still having a love affair with my new shoes. The bad news is that early in our run (2miles) C started to feel really sluggish and kind of dizzy. At the third mile, she needed to walk and was a bit bossy about me running ahead :) I obeyed for a bit but I didn't like us being alone on the path so I complained and she started running again. We ran to the 3.5 marker and turned around to complete 4 miles before stopping. We power walked for a bit then ran to the 5th mile before we decided that it wasn't good for C to continue. We walked back side by side.
We were both disappointed that we didn't complete the 7 miles. However, we also know that we're not going to let this one morning de-rail our half-marathon plans and that together we'll prepare the best we can for 8 miles next week.
C- if you're reading...I'm proud of you...and you still kick trail A@#!
So my visit to the specialty running store in my neighborhood was WELL WORTH IT! I'm very new to running and by no means an expert, so it was great to turn my old shoes and blistery feet over to someone who knew what they were talking about. The staff at Second Sole asked me a few questions about my running plans, pain points and how long I've had my Adidas. After answers like 'i don't now, but I'm loving it so far', 'my arches are always blistered and my knees hurt a bit' and 'I bought my Adidas at an outlet mall 2 years ago', they promptly explained that there was no sufficient padding left in my old shoes.
My arches are normal and I walk as if I'm a real runner, so they say. All these things led to trying this pair, a pair of Nike's and Adidas and running short laps around their store path to narrow my options.
I settled on these babies below and made a date for 4:15 to complete my third 3 miler this week.
The cushioning made a huge difference. I didn't need to bandage my arches at all and my knees felt fine during and after my run. Best of all, I ran a 10:20 pace which is my fastest yet.
I wasn't planning on having to buy new shoes during this process, but it was the right thing to do and came just in time to act as my 6 mile goal.
I'm thinking about a 10-mile goal next! Maybe a massage somewhere :)
As you may have noticed, this week consists of three running days in a row at 3 miles each before the long 7 mile run on Saturday. I've had a blister on my right foot since my last long run in Florida and my knees are starting to feel a bit sore a few hours after my run.
Tuesday's run was petty slow because my blister was bothering me, but last night just down right sucked. I put a bandage on then taped around it so it would stay in place and my foot didn't really bother me. I do think I was compensating a bit and my knee may have suffered as a result. I don't know my pace b/c I only took Mina (the dog) and my iPod.
By the time I'd reached about 2.5 miles, my left arch was starting to rub against my shoe - not good! On top of it all, I think I should have hydrated better because I got a bad headache while walking home.
I decided to rest and drink lots of water instead of go to the gym for a circuit so I feel a bit like a slacker. Today I'm hoping to visit a specialty running store and see what kind of advice they can give me.
missing the gym, Ayns.
Vacation Recap & Week in Review
Posted by Aynsley Labels: half marathon, run, strength training, training, vacation, week in reviewOur 4 day trip to Florida was exactly what we needed! We vacationed with 2 other couples that we spend a lot of time with back in Ohio and it was a blast. Our first day there was filled mostly with laying by the pool and deciding where we wanted to eat dinner! The guys hit balls at the driving range and we all took a little nap before heading down to Naples. Before we checked in at Tommy Bahamas (the restaurant), we walked down to the beach. Day 1 was very relaxing.
Even though it was hot and humid, it was still nice to dine outside. We had a great dinner and joked about my hair the whole time. The Florida heat makes my hair react like those towels that start out as little compressed animals and once you put them in a bowl of water, they enlarge to 10x their size :) My hair had gone through the wet, frizzy, fluffy, huge fro and finally the saggy stage just in time for this lovely picture to be taken :(
This was taken after all 6 of us went out for dinner. We stopped by the front gate of The Colony, which is the community where we stayed at for our trip.
I talked everyone in to going Kayaking the last night that K2 and I were in Florida. It was so much fun and the water was calm and I can't wait to go again. That was my first time kayaking and I definitely don't want it to be my last. It's a great core workout. 
As for my workouts, I could have done better but it's nice to slack a bit on vacation.
Thursday - ran 4 miler at home before flying out
Friday - circuit workout with body weight by the pool
Saturday - 6 mile long run
Sunday - 3 mile EZ run at community fitness center...Blister on my foot = horrible pain
Monday - rest day, kayaking trip
Tuesday - flew back to Ohio, completed my 3 mile run
This week's plan is short but sweet:
Today - 3 mile training run, attempt circuit workout
Thursday - 3 mile training run
Friday - circuit workout
Saturday - 7 mile long run
Sunday - 3 mile EZ run and circuit workout
Monday - rest day
Here's the recap from my 6 mile Long Run on Saturday while I was in Florida: C and I woke up at 6am. I had some water and a smoothie before heading out the door. Activity
Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Posted from www.bimactive.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hubby and I flew back in today and picked up the dog before settling back in to reality. I just got done my 3 mile run for today.
I will be back tomorrow in full swing and I'll post some pics and run recaps too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
