cheryl

I didn't start December off very well, barely getting in any running.  I was a little too keyed up about things to put in a decent run.  Hopefully the rest of the week will be better.

Met with the BBK's at the church at 3200 W. and 102 So.  I took off with the group and was surprised to see I could actually stay with the lead pack--at least for a while.  Gradually I began to fade, until I met up with Dean and then Lynette and we finished the run together.  I was really dragging at the end.  Our average pace was about 8:36, but that was with being a little faster at the start and a lot slower at the end.  I usually like to finish faster, so I'm just going to have to start slower.  I'm glad Peggy will now be the speed police and will keep us under control.

It was the old dreadmill, I mean treadmill, day.  I actually like the treadmill so I probably shouldn't be calling it that.  While watching my favorite shows, such as Regis and Kelli, and of course The View, I got in a pretty good workout.  I threw in some fast stuff there at the end, got the treadmill up to 10.6mph for a short distance (with no incline.)  It was fun.

I met the group at Peggy's house at 5:45am.  The group was just a little smaller than it's been lately.  Several, such as Kelli and Britta, are battling injuries.  We missed you guys!  Anyway, Peggy had a clever workout planned, the only problem was none of us could quite figure out how to do it right.  It had something to do with throwing gloves into a pile, and then exchanging gloves, and then exchanging partners, and then running in different directions.  It was too early in the morning for our brains to follow it all.  But I liked the idea of trying to think of something to do that was a little diferent.  We eventually just all grouped together and ran over to Y Worry Lane by the temple.  We had a fun political discussion.  Everybody seems to think about the same, so that made it nice, nobody to challenge our beliefs, we liked that.  I was just a little draggy this morning and once again ran a little faster than I really wanted, but it was fun to be out with the group.

Short run, didn't get in as much as I wanted.

I had a funeral for my husband's aunt this morning, so I put off running until later in the day, and guess what, later never really came.  I did go to the Rec Center and do the stairmaster for 20 minutes, then some back and ab exercises.  Another low mileage week.  Hope to pick it up next week, but you never know about this time of the year.

I was up bright and early and at the Rec center at 5:30 to do Lisa's circuit class.  We rode the bike and worked on upper body exercises.  Then I went upstairs and did some back and ab exercises, then I did the stairmaster for 8 minutes.  Later on,  I ran on the treadmill and got in almost 3 miles.  Two miles were at 8.5 with no incline.  Always enjoyable to try and run fast on the treadmill.

Dean led the workout today.  We met at a church in his neighborhood, and then broke the run up into 3 segments.  I liked that because we were able to regroup and see all the members of our group at each regrouping.  It was cold out, but besides my hands being a little cold, it was fine.  I'll take the cold over the wind any day.  I was able to talk to several people, which was fun.  I felt pretty strong during the run.  I think working on my core strength by doing yoga and other exercises has helped me feel stronger.  Last year (speaking of pre-St. George marathon time) when I didn't do those things, I always felt a little weak and struggled to keep up with the group.  Plus I struggled with injuries.  So I know what to do if I want a better year of running in '09.

Since I now have a Garmin, I thought I'd put in the vital stats of the run:

Interval 1:

Time:  16:47

Distance:  1.84 miles

Avg Pace:  9:06

Best:  7:06

Interval 2:

Time:  17:45

Distance:  2.09 miles

Avg. Pace:  8:30

Best::  7:25

Interval 3:

Time:  20:43

Distance:  2.4 miles

Avg. Pace:  8:38

Best:  7:00

A lot of times at night, I have great ambitions about getting up early and running.  Then when early comes, I talk myself out of it.  That's what happened today. I had to be at my 9 year old's class at 9:00 to help with reading, so that's what I did first.   Everyone in his class is a pretty good reader.  Then I found a book that totally grabbed my attention and I had trouble doing anything besides reading it.  Don't ask what it's about, let's just say it has something to do with orange juice and a glove and stuff like that.  Those who know me well and my obsessions may be able to figure it out.  Anyway, I finally put the book down and got on the treadmill and ended up having a very nice run.  I went very easy for about 30 minutes, then cranked the treadmill up to 8.5 mph and ran that for one mile, then eased back down and ran for another mile at a slower pace.  It was very enjoyable. 

I met with the group at 5:45 at Parkway Palisades.  One of these weeks I'm going to make the 5:15 group, but I'm not quite ready for that yet.  Peggy had us do 3 approximately 2 mile runs.  I must need a lot of time to warm-up, because the first two I was struggling, feeling uncomfortable, having trouble keeping up.  By the third, I fit right in, felt good, stayed up with everyone.  I was sure they had slowed down for that one, but Peggy said she thought they were running about the same pace.  Here is the info from each run:

1-  Time:  17:43; Distance 1.98 miles; avg. pace 8:56; best 6:53

2-  Time:  16:40; Distance 1.71 miles; avg. pace 9:45; best 7:29

3-  Time:  16:35; Distance 1.95 miles; avg. pace 8:29; best 7:13

It was a fun workout.

I managed to get up and make it to Lisa's 5:30 class at the Rec Center.  Usually, I talk myself out of going, but today I made it somehow.  We worked on lower body strength.  I like the class because we do a lot of the exercises my physical therapist says I should do, but I never do them to the extent she has us do them.  Lunges, squats, planks, core work, all that stuff I need to do to run injury free.  Plus, we jump and do other things that are good that I seldom do on my own.  So I was glad as always that I went.

Later I took my dog to the canal road and ran a little.  I wanted to run for a while at a very comfortable pace, just to see what that pace is.  It turned out to be 11:30 minute miles.  Pretty slow, but it was comfortable.  I then ran for 5 minutes comfortably hard, and averaged 8:36.  I then did one minute pretty hard, and that average was 7:25.  The Garmin is great, I can experiment with different paces.  Is this the last nice day before the snow?

I went to bed last night thinking I would meet some of the running group at 6:30 to run 10 miles, if it wasn't snowing.  I didn't set my alarm because I always wake up around 5:00 or 5:30.  Well, guess who didn't wake up until 6:15.  I figured it would be too much of a rush to get there in time.  Plus, it looked cold and a little windy outside, so it was easy to talk myself into staying home and just running on the treadmill.  I ended up having a nice treadmill run.  After the initial warming up, which takes like 30 minutes, I was able to increase the speed and run fairly fast for about 20 minutes.  I varied the pace throughout, which is always a fun way to do it, so the treadmill doesn't get boring.  Then it was off to do my first real Christmas shopping this year.  We had fun at Best Buy, Costco and the mall.  Missed all you guys I could have run with this morning, maybe next time?

I made it to the 5:30 Rec Center class, and then later did some running on my treadmill.  I had such a good treadmill run last Saturday that I was expecting the same today, but I just didn't feel as good today.   I guess we all have days like that. 

Our first bad weather run of this winter.  I met the BBK's at Bingham at 5:45.  There was already a large group of them who had met at 5:15 to run.  Way to go, guys, I admire your dedication, especially on a morning like today.  If I hadn't been in charge of the run, I probably wouldn't have been there at all.  Anyway, we just all kind of stayed together on our run thru the neighborhoods near Bingham.  I was feeling very tight, kind of like I felt all last summer.  Don't know if it was just the cold weather or what, but I have been slacking a little on my stretching lately.  One of these days it will get thru my head that I ideally should stretch just about as much as I run.  So after getting the kids to school, I spent 30 good minutes really working on the stretching and yoga stuff that I know I need to do.  It was fun running with the group in the snow today--but I still prefer summer running.

Stayed inside and ran on the treadmill.  It was uneventful but fun (does that make it eventful?)

I met the BBK group at 5:45 at the So. Jordan park.  The plan today was to run our 5K route twice, maybe throwing in a little speed to get ready for Painter's.  The first one I ran with Peggy and Nancy R.  It was fun.  Just wish I didn't have that darn tightness in my legs, my left hamstring especially.  Plus I feel tight in my upper body.  Does anybody else experience that?  I feel like if I could just loosen up, I would actually enjoy running.  What's the secret?  I stretch and stretch, but I still feel tight.  Yoga every day, maybe that's the answer.

Anyway, back to running.  It started snowing a little during our first run, then it continued throughout the second.  I worried about falling, so ran a bit gingerly.  We were supposed to do one minutes on, one off, but I got separated from the group, so gave up on that idea.  Canterwood looked really good, I was tempted to turn there, but I kept going.  Just to complete that run was an accomplishment, I think.

Good to see everyone today.

First 5K:  26:49; avg. pace 8:50; best 7:20  (heading south)

Second 5K:  28:11; avg. pace 9:18; best 7:24 (north)

Today was no day to run outside--but I wouldn't have run outside probably if it had been 20 degrees warmer and no wind.  I only like running outside when I can run with a group.  Otherwise, it's to the treadmill to run and catch up on some of my favorite shows.  I set the treadmill at a high incline to practice hill running.  Fun, as always.

It hurts to put a zero in the total distance box.  This is the first time I've missed working out on a non-Sunday in like forever.  Hubby wanted to get going on Christmas shopping early, then I thought about running during the BYU game, which started at 6pm, but I just didn't seem to have the energy.  So nothing for me today.

My lethargy continued today.  I think it may have had something to do with some medication I took yesterday that has as a side affect making you "exercise intolerant."  I was definitely something intolerant today, the running just would not happen very well.  I think I managed about two very unenthusiastic miles.

I think my meds were still affecting me.  I woke up at 5:00 with the plan to meet the running group, but I also had a headache, so I thought, "Hmm, I could go outside in the cold, dark, and probably icy weather, or I could go back to bed and try to get rid of this headache."  Guess which one won?  When I did finally get back up, I felt better, but I still had no enthusiasm for running.  It seemed worse than yesterday, I barely got in a mile.  Hopefully things will be better soon.

Finally, a fairly good day of running.  I stayed inside on the treadmill and ran at various speeds while watching Road Trip, which starred one of my daughter's favorite actresses, Raven Simone, and one of my favorite entertainers, Donny Osmond!  It was a pretty funny movie, it kept me entertained and on the treadmill longer than I probably would have stayed on otherwise.  Merry Christmas to everyone!  I think my shopping's about done.

After opening all the presents and hanging out with the family, I got on the treadmill and tried to run a little.  My hamstrings were bothering me, I just didn't seem to have the energy or desire to run because of the pain.  So I moved to the spinning bike and did that for almost an hour.  That was great, no pain, everything felt really good. 

I decided after the discomfort I felt yesterday running that I would take a break today.  I rode the spinning bike again for close to 40 minutes, then I got on the treadmill and walked on an incline for 30 minutes.  Everything felt good, I only feel pain when I run.

First thing, I spent 30 minutes on the spinning bike and 30 minutes walking on the treadmill on an incline.  I watched the movie called The Jane Austen Book Club.  It was pretty good, I learned a lot about Jane Austen's works.  Later on, after doing my Saturday chores, I went to the Rec Center mainly to do more cross training.  I decided to run a little on their indoor track just to see if I could run pain free.  To my surprise,  I was able to run for 30 minutes and my hamstrings didn't bother me at all.  I was working on some new techniques I've been reading about in Brain Training for Runners, a book I got for Christmas.  I think that helped take pressure off the hamstrings.  So I was pleased to get in some pain free running for the first time in a while.  Let's hope I can keep it up.

First thing this morning, I got on my stationary bike and rode for 30 minutes.  Then I walked on my treadmill on almost the highest incline for 30 minutes.  I'm thinking if I do that reguarly, my legs should get stronger and maybe (hopefully) more injury resistant.  I was planning to run later, but never got around to it.  After the holidays (and getting the kids back to school) I hope to get on a better schedule.

I met the group at Parkway Palisades at 5:45.  Some of them had already warmed-up and took off right away.  I ran back with Michelle and Cheris, we decided we need more warm-up time, although I guess Cheris had run a little beforehand.  Anyway, we managed to keep the main group somewhat within sight, then they came back and regrouped with us, then we all stayed pretty much together for the remainder of the run.  We did hill repeats on the big hill by Lampton, which was tough but hopefully helpful.  I'm thinking if we run Painter's we'd better get some hill work in.  When we finally got to some downhill on one of the main streets in Parkway Palisades, I did what I worry about doing this time of year--I fell.  I don't think I hit any ice, I think my foot just got caught on a small pile of snow.  Anyway, thanks to my gloves and two pairs of pants, I really wasn't hurt.   Peggy fell near the end of the run; I didn't see that happen but she told us about it.  Hopefully those are our only spills for this year.

I went to the Rec Center around 9:30 to run on their indoor track.  Lots of people there, have their new year's resolutions kicked in a day early?  I ran for 30 minutes, then I did several fast straights, walking curves.  The straights are so short I can run them in about 10 seconds, so it wasn't a lot of fast running, just enough to be fun.  I saw Debbie at the end with almost her entire family there--that's a great family activity, I think, going to the gym together.

Since it's the new year and I've read other blogs where they're putting in their goals for '09, I thought I would too.  Last year I ran more mileage than I've ever run before, but it didn't translate into better race results.  I think the reason for that is I concentrated so much on running that I neglected other things that I need to do to stay healthy.  I need to stretch a lot, plus work on strength, especially core strength.  My most successful year of running I also did lots of cross-training, so I think I'll go back to that.  I plan to do some 100 mile bike rides next year.  So running will remain my first priority, but I think I'm a better runner when I'm doing lots of things in addition to running.  I may not get many 50 or 60 mile running weeks next year, but hopefully I'll be a healthier runner.  Number one priority:  NO INJURIES!

Good luck to everyone else in your goals for next year.  Whatever happens, it should be fun!