Steep hills

Last week we had a day when we couldn't make it to the Y to run, so we took a run as a family around the camp. Reminder: the camp is one big hill and some of them are pretty steep. And even though there are 500 acres of land, the roads are condensed into one area so you have to make several loops to actually get any distance. Unless, of course, you brave the road. (might as well run on the highway.) We got in 2 miles that night in about 30 minutes. I had to do the "grandma run" up some of the hills (ie: little steps), but I got in a really good sprint at the end.

Today I ran on the treadmill at the Y, but I didn't have time to do a full 5K. So I ran for 2 miles straight at 6.0 (10:00/mile). Then I did another 0.5 mile with the incline set at 2.0 and the speed set at 5.4 (11:00/mile). Feel the burn baby!

Total distance and time: 2.5 miles in 25:43

Getting Stronger

Pushed through to 1.5 miles at 6.0 (10:00/mile) before pausing to check my heart rate, then kept going to 2.4 miles at 6.0 before my bladder made me stop. Final time for first run 24:45. After my potty break, I ran an additional mile in 9:48. Most of that was at 6.0, but I sprinted for as long as I could at 7.5 (8:00/mile).

After a good stretch I hit the weight machines, but I only worked out my legs. We ran out of time, and I was tired!

Time Crunched Day

I only had 20 minutes to run today. But I got in 1.9 miles. I ran one mile at 6.0 (10:00/mile) without stopping. I took a heart rate check while walking for about 0:30 then kept going for the remainder of my time. 5K in 30:00 here I come!

Getting Closer

I did it! 5K all the way through at 5.5 speed (11:00/mile). I paused once to check my heart rate, but that was less than 30 seconds. WooHoo! Final time was 33:51. Now I need to increase my speed some to get to my 30 minute goal.

Pushing Through

I have been trying to increase my distance at my current speed of 11:00/mile. I had been getting stuck at 2 miles, so today I pushed through and just kept running. I had to cut myself off at 30 minutes (and trust me I was NOT complaining!) because people were waiting for a treadmill, but I ran the whole time at 5.5 (11:00/mile)!! My distance came to 2.74 miles. I'm pretty confident that I can keep going through the whole 5K distance if no one is waiting for a spot, but we'll see.... 5K under 30 here I come!

No Pain Day!

Today I didn't have time to get in a full 5K, but I did run 2 miles without stopping at 11:00/mile pace. And it didn't hurt during or after. I was stiff all over from the weather all day, but while I was running my knee and ankle didn't hurt, so Yeah! I finished my time out with a 0.25 mile cool-down for a final time of 26:12.... had to leave time to stretch before running out to pick up the kids.

Just keep running, just keep running....

(note: the title of this blog must be sung to the tune of "Just keep swimming" by Dory from "Finding Nemo")

Well, now that my 5K Challenge has passed, I need a new goal. So here it is: to run a 5K in 30:00 minutes or less. I would like to be able to do this by the Cheerios race, but I don't know. My knee and ankle have both started complaining. I thought it was just the cold snap the past couple of days, but that might be wishful thinking. So, I am going to really focus on strengthening the muscles around both my knee and ankle as well as some serious stretching so I can "just keep running. Just keep running. Just keep running, running, running. What do we do? We run, run, run." (did I get the song stuck in your head? hee. hee. hee. -- that's my evil chuckle)

I did run today. Since my 5K challenge is changing, I decided to focus on extending the length of time I can run at a faster pace instead of getting in my 3.1 miles in a shorter time. So I pushed past my comfort zone and ran a full 2 miles at 5.5 or 11:00/mile. This left me with 8mins in my 30:00 minute allowance at the Y. So after my heart rate came down and I no longer had a stitch in my side, I did a couple of "sprints" at 7.0 (about 9:00/mile I think). I was only able to go about a quarter of a mile each time, and I rested for about 2 minutes in between, but it felt really good. The fear of being propelled backwards off a treadmill can make anyone run faster!

5K Challenge -- Day 17

Today was the day. I made my time official for the Race to Nowhere.
And what was it you ask? Hmmmm....?
34:53!!!
I got it under 35:00. Yes!
So, now I am going to work on getting it to 30:00 or less by April 16th for the Cheerios Race. (not that I can actually run in it, because I have to work it, but that's my deadline.) An added bonus -- if no one else beats my time in my age group I win! I know, I have already won because I have come so far, and I met my first goal. But bragging rights don't hurt either!

5K Challenge - Day 16

Tuesdays are busy days at our house. Add to that it is the 1st and work compounds that. So.... I didn't get to actually run today. But, Russel and I did walk about 2 miles around the Outdoor Center during Julia's soccer practice. Better than nothing!

5K Challenge - Day 15

Well, we're in the home stretch. Got to make my time official by Friday. I was kind of bummed when I realized I had gotten the dates mixed up, but Audri (one of my work peeps) told me something that made me rethink it a little. She said that it would be good to go ahead and get my time now and then keep working on it and time it again right before the Cheerios race. She said I would be surprised by how much better it would be by then. So that's what I'm going to do.

As for today's run..... really happy! 35:17 !! That's 0:45 off my time from Thursday, and I didn't do anything (nothing at all) between then and now. But I will confess that I really pushed myself today. I ran the whole first mile at my faster speed (10:30/mile) which meant that the other 2.1 miles were harder to maintain at a decent speed. But I mixed it up and threw in a few 0.3 - 0.5 mile bursts of quick runs to make up some time. A couple of those I pushed all the way up to 10:00/mile (6.0 speed setting).

More to come soon!

5K Challenge - Day 14

So, I realized today that the deadline to have my 5K logged for the Race to Nowhere is March 5th not March 15th. Gah! That means I have to do an official run by next Friday! I'm thinking it is going to be hard to get to that 30:00 minute goal I had set. Which is kind of a bummer. BUT - I will keep going and try to get it to 30:00 by the Cheerios race on April 16th. (in all reality that is probably a more realistic time frame to meet the goal).

Where am I now?  36:02!
I switched up my run a little tonight. Full disclosure: it was unintentional, but it worked out well! I started off faster (10:30/mile) for the first half-mile then went down to my steady (12:00/mile) for the bulk of my run. At the end I cranked it back up for the last 0.4 mile to finish.

5K Challenge - Day 13

36:50!!!! Yea!!!!

I ran 2.6 at 5.0 (12:00/mile), then because I knew people were waiting for a treadmill (like I had to wait 20 minutes! over the courtesy 30 minute limit) I cranked it up to a 5.5 (10:30/mile) for the last half-mile. Now that I'm home, I really really need to stretch.

5K Challenge - Day 12

Had a good run today after church. Still at the 37:24 mark on my 5K, but I did 2 miles of that at 5.0 (or 12:00/mile) which is progress! Probably could have done it faster if we hadn't gone to the Y right after lunch.

Russel and I stayed at a friend's house Friday night while the kids were in Perry with the grandparents, and Saturday morning we jogged around their property. I think it took about 40 minutes, we forgot to look at the time when we left. That was harder for me than being on the treadmill because of the uneven ground and hills and trying to set a pace and trying to set a pace where Russel (Mr. 6'1") can actually run too! I walked several times. But it was a good change and kept us from slacking off and eating junk food.

5K Challenge - Day 11

Last night, while waiting on the copier to print out some stuff for work, I did some weight machines at the Y (all legs and core work).

Today I ran my 5K while waiting for the printers to finish up an almost 3,000 page project for work that was due at 11:30 this morning. About 15 minutes in my legs started telling me they did not appreciate what I had done to them the night before, but I pushed through, and they shut up. At mile marker two, I got a phone call from the printers saying that they were done with an hour and a half to spare! Talk about making my day! So after I hung up the phone I got back to it at regular pace (4.8 or 12:30 / mile) for a while then I ended up pushing myself hard for the last 0.6 -- I bumped up my speed to 5.5 (10:30 / mile) and pushed through to the end. My final time for the 3.1 miles was 37:24 !!!!  Full Disclosure: I was sucking wind HARD when I got done, but I did it. Now, I need to increase my time at that speed, and I will make my goal for sure.

After I delivered my forest of paper before my 11:30 deadline, Russel came by and took me out for lunch. And then, just for grins, we went back to the Y and hit the weights. I did all upper-body stuff today, and I know that my arms are going to be fussing at me tomorrow.

Oh, and it's official! I have registered for the Race to Nowhere. No turning back now!

5K Challenge - Day 10

Woo! Hoo!
I ran the entire goal distance -- 3.1 miles -- without stopping!
First time ever.
And, I did it in 38:49 minutes.
Only 8:49 minutes over my goal time.
I have about 45 - 50 days to shave that off before I run it for official time in the treadmill race. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

5K Challenge - Day 9

After two days off I got back on the wagon, or treadmill in this case. And because the Y was far from crowded and I wanted to see how long I could go, I ran (most of) my 5K. It took me 41:18, and I only walked 9:18 of that. The last 6:18 was my cool-down / I'm-going-to-fall-off-this-thing-if-I-don't-stop-running-but-I-will-get-to-3.1-miles!-time.
Here's the run-down of the whole thing:
I warmed-up on the bike for 5mins, then did a pre-run stretch. I pumped out 15 mins on the treadmill before slowing to a brisk walk for 3 mins to catch my breath and find a motivating song to start back running on. Then I pushed myself until I couldn't go anymore (18 more minutes), and walked out the rest of my 3.1 miles.

5K Challenge - Day 8

After lunch I hopped on the bike at work for a quick 5 minute warm-up.
Then I went and stretched my legs really, really good. (i just knew that if I didn't they would be screaming at me after the workout i did yesterday!)
Then I got on the treadmill and went straight into my run for the day.
15 mins @ 4.8 (12:30 / mile)
2 min breather @ 3.5
8 mins @ 4.8
5 min cool-down
Total distance 2.2 miles in 30 mins.
(and FYI -- even with the stretch.... my calves were screaming at me!)

5K Challenge - Day 7

Full body pilates workout today.
Arms are a little shaky now, going to hurt tomorrow.
But it is all worth it.

5K Challenge - Day 6

This morning Russel and I went to the Y to get our workout in before work. (not to be confused with getting up super early! he didn't have to be at work until after lunch)

I ran 2.14 miles in 30 mins.

• 5 min warm-up
• 10 min run @ 4.8 (12:30mins per mile)
• (quick stretch for my screaming calves and hamstrings)
• 10 min run @ 4.8
• 5 min cool-down

Oh, and as an addendum to Day 4.5 -- I did do a good ab workout on Friday when Julia was home sick.

5K Challenge -- Day 5

So, what happened was.... I was supposed to run yesterday, but Julia wasn't feeling well, and we stayed home all day. I didn't want to take her with me to the Y in case she started running a fever again because she would get the other kids (and adults) there sick. So I ran today.

Now I have to explain about the enormous leap in difficulty that I added today.

I ran / walked outside on the road at the Camp. (instead of the treadmill) Why this makes such a big difference you ask? A) I don't possess the natural ability to pace myself at a slow speed. Not good for a beginner. 2) I had to carry a bottle of water. There was no cup holder like on the treadmill. and 3) Camp Road is one big, nasty hill. And I am not exaggerating. Anyone who has ever driven it can tell you. Killer.

So I won't lie and say that I ran the entire 3 mile loop. I didn't even run half of it. I walked all the uphill parts, and at a decent pace too. Not a Sunday afternoon stroll here. But on the way back down the hill of death I did run several chunks of road. 

But the thing I am most proud to brag about..... my time. 45 minutes! That's all it took me to tackle the evil monster we call Camp Road. I had estimated an hour minimum. I told Lisa (who lives at the bottom of the hill at the Camp) to send out a search party if I wasn't back in an hour fifteen because I had visions of me splayed out on the side of the road with a pulled hamstring, severe muscle cramps, or the victim of a "drive-by" turkey pecking. (it could happen) But it wasn't necessary! Yay me! Now, will I be able to move tomorrow? That remains to be seen.