Thursday, January 13, 2011

Update on December Workouts (Long Post)

I know it has been a long time since I have posted, so here is an update on how I finished 2010!

December 8, 2010

Elliptical Trainer---22 minutes---Great...just burning some "extra" calories on my "rest" day!

Gaiam Yoga---50 minutes---Great, relaxing workout on my "rest" day! Love it! :)

December 9, 2010

Gaiam Yoga---28 minutes---What a great way to wake up in the morning! Just a little bit of yoga to get going this morning. Still loving it! Run scheduled for this afternoon!

5 Mile Run---41 minutes---This run was AMAZING! I felt great and pushed myself to a new level. Here is the breakdown of today's run: A couple of days ago my husband asked me if I would be willing to help pace him for his AF PT test (the running part) that he has coming up next week, of course, I said I would. I was really happy and honored that he would even consider asking me to help pace him for his run. So today my first focus was on a good 1.5 mile run to start, but then I felt really good so I just went with it! I started out a little slower than I wanted too, but I knew that I was going to run a total of 5 miles today. I just wanted to get a feel for how fast I could run the 1.5 miles to help pace my DH for his test. Oh, and, all of this running was not on an incline, which I know helped me out, but the PT test is done on a flat track. Just wanted to be honest about that! :)

Mile 1: 8:29:16 (average HR 149)

Mile 1.5: 12:27:24 (average .5 mile pace 3:58:08, average HR 160) My fastest 1.5 miles ever!

Mile 2: 16:28:39 (average .5 mile pace 4:01:15, average HR 160) Since I was already feeling good, I decided to finish to a 5K at this pace, and actually ran the last .5 mile of the 5K at a 7:41 pace! My first sub-8, granted it was only for a half mile, but it is a start! :)

Mile 3.1: 25:06.57 (average 1.1 mile pace 8:38:18, average HR 163) New PR!

Mile 4: 33:40:44 (average .9 mile pace 8:33:87, average HR 161) After I finished the 5K I slowed down to an 8:34 mile pace, but finished the last .4 miles of the 5 total miles at a 7:41 pace!

Mile 5: 41:02:85 (average .9 pace 7:22:41, average HR 165) Not sure how that works because I didn't run at that pace or faster at anytime...my figures might be off some where, but finished in 41:02:85 regardless, and the last .4 miles at a 7:41 pace!

Ended with a 1 mile cool down! Great run today and felt really comfortable at the 8:34 pace, as my "slower" pace! I love running and setting new PR's! Hubby and I are doing a practice 1.5 mile run tomorrow, outside, for his PT test, since the test will be conducted outside. Hope it goes well!

December 10, 2010

5 Miles

Today's run was a little different than how I have normally been doing my runs, but after pushing myself so hard yesterday I knew that I needed to take it a little easier today.

The DH and I decided to do our run today outside (in the stinking cold) on the track because we wanted to get in a practice 1.5 mile run in for his PT test. So my run for today is broken up into intervals because I still wanted to give my body a little bit of a rest and still get a run in.

I am only logging the running on this one because I don't want to count my walking as running, as I am tracking my running miles for a personal goal for the month of December. I will log the walking portion after this, but here is how the run intervals went for today.

We started with a 2 lap warm-up walk--8:00:00.

Then we did the DH's trial 1.5 mile run----6 laps----12:28:39.

After that was another 2 lap walk---8:50:50.

DH left after this, but I wanted to get some more miles in so I did...

Another 1.5 mile run---6 laps---14:41:41---was trying to keep it slower.

Walked 2 laps---7:58:16

Ran 2 miles---8 laps---19:55:04---once again trying to stay a little slower today.

Finished with another 2 laps walking to cool down---8:17:58

Total time running: 47:04:84

Total time walking: 33:07:04

Total time for both: 1:20:00

I figured out pace for walking and running and it was an 11:25 pace, which is not too bad for 7 miles! That was faster than our marathon pace! :)

Overall, a good interval run/walk today, even if it was a little chilly out! Happy with just the run pace for today and the combined pace!

December 11, 2010

4.3 Miles

Today's run was another treadmill run. Since I had run pretty hard the last couple of days, I thought I would take it easy and run some hills today! :) I only had time to get in 4 miles, but better than nothing!

I did a hill workout on level 4 with my highest incline 3.6 percent before it descended again. I kept it at a 9:40 pace for most of the run, but decided to pick it up just a little bit at the end, since the incline was mostly flat. I started the last mile at a 9:30 pace, then picked it up to an 8:41 pace for about a half mile, and then finished the last minute or so at an 8:27 pace. The overall climb was 341 feet. Walked the last .7 miles for a cool down and to round out the miles to 5. Good run and got a little bit of hill work in!

December 12, 2010---Rest Day

December 13, 2010

6 Miles

Today was another treadmill run and my longest treadmill run ever. It was just way too cold and windy outside to run, so I opted for the treadmill. I was lucky enough to be able to get my workout done before the gym got too busy. It was getting busy, and when I left every single treadmill was being used!

Anyway...not a bad run, but was a little disappointed at the end of the run, you will see what I mean. Decided to run a random hill workout today on level three, which went to a 2.9 percent incline. Here is a breakdown of how the miles went:

Miles 1-3---started with a 9:31 pace

Mile 4---went to an 8:57 pace

Mile 5---went to an 8:27 pace

Mile 5.5---went to an 8:00 pace (wanted to finish the last mile here, but got a stitch on my left side and could only make it a half mile before I couldn't take it anymore)

Mile 6---finished the last 1/2 mile at an 8:34 pace, was a little disappointed I had to slow my pace down at the end, but still finished with a descent overall pace, 9:02!

Distance climbed: 365 feet

Finished the workout with a 1-mile cool down walk!

Total workout time: 1 hour 11 minutes

Still a good run and zapped that dreaded, horrible, ZERO! :)

December 14, 2010

4 Miles

Today was yet another treadmill run, as the weather is just too cold and windy. I think if the wind wasn't 20-30 mph I would be willing to get outside to do my runs, but the wind forces me to go to the gym, where it is just a little warmer! :)

Anyway...I decided to make today a recovery run, after yesterday's hard run, and it is a good thing I decided to do that because my right leg was very tight and sore at the beginning of today's run. :( It is still a little sore now, but I am icing it as I type this!

I made myself keep a 10 plus minute mile pace today, and would not allow myself to run any faster than a 10-minute mile. I started with the first 2 miles at a 10:20 pace, then did mile 3 at a 10:10 pace, and finally the last mile at a 10:00 pace. Average heart rate was 135!

I also took it easy because I am supposed to pace my husband for his PT test tomorrow, but it looks like it might get postponed due to the weather. We will find out tomorrow morning.

Despite the right leg pain, it was a pretty good, easy run. Listened to some music to help me focus on something else besides the pace I was running. :) Seemed to make time go a little faster too. Finished with a nice 1 mile cool down!

December 15, 2010

5 Miles

I ended up doing my run outside today because I drove 30 minutes (one way) to base to go to the gym, just to find out that it was closed. I am not sure why it was closed, but my guess is that they had a power outage. So, after spending an hour on the road, for no reason, I came home and did some stuff around the house, and then went out for my run. I finally got out for my run around 2:00pm.

I wasn't excited about having to run outside because it has been cold and windy, but once I had all my gear on and got going the cold and wind didn't really bother me. I wasn't cold at all, which is something I was worried about, so I am hoping what I wore today will be warm enough for my runs in New York next week.

Anyway...the run started out pretty good, as I had already planned for another recovery run, since I was having some pain in my right leg yesterday. My leg felt fine for the first half mile, but then it started to hurt and hurt for about the next 1.5 miles. After the first 2 plus miles it wasn't hurting much at all and I felt pretty good. I was only going to run 4 miles today, but after I hit miles 3 and 4 I was feeling good and my leg didn't hurt near as much, so I decided to finish out my loop and run 5 miles.

I probably shouldn't have ran this much, and I know that, but I am stubborn. However, tomorrow is going to be a walking only day, and Friday is going to be a rest day, as I will be traveling. I am hoping the walk tomorrow and the rest day on Friday will help, so I can run again on Saturday pain free! I have had this pain before, when we were training for the marathon, and it went away once I was hydrated. I am hoping that is/has been the problem, as I did not have a lot of water in me before my run yesterday and my run today. It feels like a bad cramp more than anything, and most of the pain went away during my cool down walk.

So hopefully 2 days with no running and lots of water will help! :)

Finished today with a 10:10 pace, which felt SO much slower, and I guess not too bad considering it was a recovery run and I was in some pain. It was nice to run outside again, as I think I push myself much harder on the treadmill because I can set my own pace! ;) I definitely missed running outside, even if it is cold, and the feel of running outside. I think running outside is much harder, as my heart rate was higher today compared to yesterday, and I ran at about the same pace!

Despite the pain, it was a good run and I was happy to be outside! So I am kind of glad the gym was closed, and even though I wasted an hour on the road today, I still managed to get everything done around the house that I wanted to get done!

December 16, 2010

5 Mile Walk

As I promised myself yesterday, I ONLY walked today! Let me tell you though, it was hard, as I wanted to run so bad, but knew I needed to give my right leg a rest and some time to heal. Even though I only walked, I still got in a good workout and had little to no pain throughout the workout, which of course I was happy about. There is some slight pain now, but will ice it off and on today, and more tonight when I have some time to actually sit down and relax. Tomorrow is a total rest day, and I hope that I will be able to run on Saturday.

I got in 5 miles of hills and valleys today. I started the first mile at level 8 at 4mph with a 6.4% incline at the highest point. I increased to level 10 at 4mph with a 7.8% incline for miles 2 and 3. Then back down to level 8 for mile 4, and mile 5 was totally flat, as a cool down mile!

Felt pretty good throughout the walk and time seemed to go pretty fast, even though I was only walking.

And, of course, today it is snowing in Maryland, and I didn't get to run in it! :(

December 17, 2010---Rest Day

December 18, 2010

3 Miles

The weather wasn't too bad, as it was around 30 degrees and sunny during my run. I did have some wind on the way out, but no wind on the way back.

I felt pretty good for the first half mile, then the leg/knee started bothering me again. :( I didn't think it was going to bother me at all because I had no pain while doing anything else after my 5 mile walk on Thursday. Although I did spend a lot of time sitting in the car yesterday, so wasn't on it too much, which is probably why it didn't bother me. By 2 miles it was not feeling great at all, so I knew I was only going to do 3 miles today, which is better than nothing. I was happy to get back out there, but was hoping for no pain. I took this run pretty slow; as I didn't want to push it at all, even though I felt good to start with, but I was also running on unknown terrain...SNOW! :) It wasn't snowing for my run, but running on back country roads that are snow and slush covered was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be, especially on the hills! I ran on the bare parts of the road when I could though, which was probably about half the time, and that helped.

Minus the pain...it was a nice run and not too cold at all with all of my layers on!

Another rest day is in store for tomorrow, but will give another slow run a try again on Monday, and see what happens!

December 19, 2010---Rest Day

December 20, 2010---Rest Day

December 21, 2010

3 Miles

Got to run with the DH today. It was nice to run together again...been a while. Anyway...good, easy 3 miles on the snow covered roads. Running on the snow is definitely a different type of running, but just happy to get it out there and get some miles in. Been hard to get more than 3 mile in because we have been so busy the last few days, but 3 is better than nothing. Today's run was a little slower than I would have liked, but didn't want to push it and hurt my knee any more. My knee actually felt much better and barely hurt at all during the run, which is great progress from the other day.

Finished the run with a 13-minute cool down walk! Good run!

December 22, 2010

3 Miles

Today's run was pretty good and uneventful, which is not a bad thing, considering I have been fighting knee pain for the last week or so. The pain is getting better, which I am thankful for, but still keeping my runs slow, as I don't want to hurt it worse. I would rather run slowly than not at all. I am hoping to get a few more miles in for the next couple of days. I set a goal for the month of December to run 100 miles, and I am not sure if I am going to be able to hit that goal, as I haven't been able to run the number of miles I would like to have been the last few days. :( I will probably be close, but not sure if I will hit that 100 mark. Finished the run with a 13-minute cool down walk. Good run!

December 23, 2010

5 Miles

Today's run was AMAZING! I FINALLY got to run when it was snowing. It was so beautiful. It was 23 degrees, snowing, a little windy at times, but still a great run. Knee felt great until I hit the hill on the way home, but still feeling much better than it had been. Almost 100%, but not quite! :)

I am still happy with this run considering the conditions I was running in. Not a new PR or anything, but a lovely run in the snow! I will definitely take my 10:26 minute per mile pace today! Had quite a few cars on the road for my run today. One passed me and when I got back to where he lived he was outside. He said to me "You have a good pace going. I passed you a while ago!" That made my day! Nice to see someone being encouraging even way out here. At least if he thought I was crazy...like I am sure everyone else did...he was supportive! :)

Oh, and the DH called me his "little Arctic Baby" before I left! :) Average heart rate 149 throughout the run and finished in 52:14:15. Finished with a 19-minute cool down and an average heart rate of 121. Great refreshing run!

December 24, 2010

4.22 Miles

A little colder and windier than yesterday's run, but overall not a horrible run. I felt really slow and tired during this run, but knew I just needed to get the miles in. The hills really hit me hard today, but I pushed through them. Nice Christmas Eve run! Still going for the 100 total run miles this month! Hoping to still hit the goal! Finished with a 16 minute cool down! Total workout time: 60 minutes! Merry Christmas, everyone!

December 25, 2010---Rest Day

December 26, 2010

5 Miles

Braved the cold, windy, snowy weather and got a 5 mile run in today. I had to get out there and do something, since I didn't do anything yesterday, and I was feeling yucky! ;)

It was 16 degrees, snowing and blowing, but it pushed through it. I figured if I can run in this, I can run in anything! Lol! :) Spring running will seem easy after running in this crazy stuff. Pace was slow, but anything but easy. I ran out and back twice, and both times on the way back the wind was in my face the whole time, and it was partially uphill. So glad I wore my sunglasses, even though there was no sun, just so the snow wouldn't be flying into my eyes. Even gave someone directions on my second time back. :) It is amazing, even way out here in the country, I was able to give someone directions during one of my runs. A good run, and my knee didn't give me any problems...probably because it was numb! ;) Probably one of my most difficult 5 mile runs ever, but I got out there and did it. Run time: 53:51 
Cool down time: 6:09 
Total time: 60 minutes. Had to cut the cool down time way down, as it was just too cold and windy to stay out there any longer than an hour! But, I feel so much better now that I have taken a nice, hot shower, and am enjoying some hot gingerbread tea! :)

December 27, 2010---Rest Day

December 28, 2010

7 Miles

When I started this run, I didn't know how far I was going to go, but was feeling really good and just kept running. So, I ended up doing a 3.5 mile out and back to get in a good 7 mile run in today. This is the longest run I have done in a while (since December 5), and I am so glad that I was able to get another "long" run in. I really have missed them! Not a horrible pace today, as I wasn't expecting to set any new PR's on this run. I just wanted to do an "easy," long run. I averaged about 80% of my MHR for this run at 150, so not too bad. The weather was much better today than it has been for my runs, so I took advantage of it and ran! :) It was about 27 degrees when I left for my run and 25 degrees when I returned. It was not snowing, for the first time in 2 or 3 days, and the wind wasn't horrible. I did have wind to deal with on the way down, but, thankfully, it was mostly down hill and flat with the wind in my face. Pretty much no wind on the way back...once again, very thankful for, since the hills are hard enough after you have already ran 4, 5, and 6 miles. :) Overall, it was a great run and I am so glad I got out of the house and did it. I am still working towards that 100 miles for December....currently at 84 miles with 3 days left in the month! Still doable! :) Hoping for another long run on Thursday to help me out, since the weather is suppose to warm up by then! Now, enjoying some hot, gingerbread tea! :)

Oh, and I was still running on snow and slush for parts of the run. I ran on the bare road when I could though. :) Cool down: 8:39:53---too chilly to stay out there any longer!

December 29, 2010

5 Miles

Pretty good run. Not as fast as I would have liked, but the YakTrax definitely helped. So glad I bought a pair. I didn't feel it until I got going, but was still a little tired from yesterday's 7 mile run. Then I had the wind in my face again today for most of the first 2.5 miles. Ugh, so that took a little bit out of me. I am still amazed at how much harder it really is to run in this kind of weather. Stayed around 80% of my MHR again today...as my average HR was 151 during the run. Overall, not a horrible run! Fast or slow...at least I am getting the miles in. Only 11 more in the next 2 days to hit 100 miles for the month! I am going to do it! :) A week or so ago I didn't think it was going to be possible, but now I know it is! Glad I got my run in earlier today, but might be why I was still a little tired! :)

December 30, 2010

6 Miles

Run went pretty good today, and the weather was actually really good for a run. It was over freezing for the first time in 2 weeks for my run, a whopping 35 degrees!

It seems like I keep getting slower and slower every run, but really, all of my times have been pretty close. I was tired at the beginning of this run, but after the first mile and a half I was feeling pretty good. Wore my YakTrax today, but probably could have made it without them. Still love them! I think I am just getting bored with this route, but up here I just don't really have too much of a choice. The hills are a killer, but I just keep telling myself that they are good practice for Baltimore! ;) One more NY run tomorrow and then 2 days of rest. I am sure my body will thank me for it. 18 miles in 3 days and another 6 miles planned for tomorrow. I was able to keep my average HR at 147 for the run, which is about 78% of my MHR. I finished the run with a nice 17-minute cool down. Total work out time 1:21. Overall, a pretty good run.

December 31, 2010

6 Miles

What a GREAT way to end the year! Best 6 mile run, and best run, since I have been in NY! The weather was amazing...43 degrees and very little wind! I didn't feel like getting out there by the time I got around to run, but did it anyway, and I am SO glad that I did.

Not only was this my best run in a long time, but I was also able to hit my goal for December...to run 100 miles! I ended up running 101 miles this month! A week or so ago, I didn't think I had a chance to do it, but then I decided that it WAS going to happen and that was it. I had to do it, and I did! Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Definitely!

Not only was the weather great for today's run, but the roads where clear of snow and that made the run much better. I was able to keep a good pace and keep my stride, something that was off when I was running in the snow, because I was afraid of slipping and falling.

Here are my approximate splits (wasn't exactly sure where mile 2 was) for today's run:

Mile 1: 9:50:88 Avg HR 138

Mile 2: 9:29:01 Avg HR 146 (mostly down hill)

Mile 3: 9:39:08 Avg HR 148 (a little over 3 miles - 3.03)

Mile 4: 10:22:62 Avg HR 156 (not sure why this mile was this slow)

Mile 5: 9:32:28 Avg HR 159 (up the biggest hill)

Mile 6: 9:13:53 Avg HR 163 (last and fastest mile!)

Time: 58:07:40 (Distance is actually 6.07 miles, but I just count it as 6)

Cool Down: 16:53:34 Avg HR 114

Total Time: 1:15

I am so happy with how my running has progressed in 2010, and only since July 12th! I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for my running!

Happy New Year!

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