I Probably Should Make My Blog Public again

I have really been lovin' running lately.  This was another great run.  And it was even better because I wasn't sure I was going to get outside to run it.

Had a limited amount of time, so I tried to push the pace so that I could get 8 miles in the 1:10 I had.  And I finished a little over 8 miles with 3 minutes to spare!

Avg. pace:  8:16.  It wasn't an easy pace, but it wasn't too difficult either. 

I feel so bad for my poor husband.  He was supposed to get to leave work early, but he didn't end up leaving until WAY later than usual (which is why I wasn't sure I would get to run outside).  There was a fight after school and he had to deal with it.  It seems like there's always something like this going on.  Last Friday he was breaking up a fight, and one of the kids (a girl, mind you) jumped on his back to try to get at the girl she was fighting.  And just to give you a visual:  my husband is a HUGE guy--former college linebacker, 6'4" and 275 pounds.  But some of these kids just don't think when they're fighting.  And if you might recall, in the fall some girl punched him in the face...

BUT there's a job opening at his old school that he is DYING to get.  I'm praying that he gets it.  They loved him there, but it seems that small schools (this one is about 400 kids) already have someone in mind for jobs they post.  We shall see. 

This was a lot slower than yesterday.  I just relaxed and went with it.  The wind felt more intense than yesterday, even though it wasn't, really.  The difference is that this was directly from the west, so I spent more time running directly into it.

Avg. 9:31 pace

My husband was sick (poor baby) so I decided to combine my two loves:  running and Illini basketball.  That way I could keep the kids out of his hair.  So I just stayed on the gazelle for the whole game (except during half-time, when I put the kids to bed).  It was probably a good idea to do this so that I could transition better from cross training miles to regular miles.  The last few weeks I've been more days inside than out, and this week I should be outside almost every day.

My heel isn't a fan of the gazelle.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and I'm almost done using it :)

I had just a bit over an hour to finish, so I did a progression.  I didn't get too fast towards the end, but tried to finish at around 8 min. pace for the last mile.  I think I was a little over.  I'm too lazy to get my watch.

I never see other runners out.  Possibly because of the odd time I run, possibly because all the area runners are on treadmills, possibly because I live in the midwest, where people would rather eat than exercise.  But I saw my first runner probably since summer.  I startled her when I passed her, so she probably doesn't usually encounter other runners either.

Sometimes I have these dreams where I am running and cannot get into a rhythm.  This morning that was a reality.  For the first .3 I was all off-kilter and my cadence was just...strange.

I had several factors working against me.  One was the early morning (got out at 4:40).  Another was the fact that I had finished my Thursday run just 10 hours before and my heel was screaming.  But the worst was that there was a nice sheen of ice on the road/sidewalk.

I eventually found my rhythm, but I never got out of first gear.  North/south roads were just a little slick, but east/west roads were more so.  I slid a couple times, but nothing too serious.  Throughout the run I had a hot and steamy love affair with 10 minute pace.

We're supposed to get some snow on top of this.  Tomorrow should be fun.  Class tonight, class tomorrow, so I will be morning running again tomorrow.

Lots of snow and wind.  Last night coming back from class I was only able to drive 40 on the interstate.  

I decided that before class I'd use the gazelle for a while (enough for 6 cross training miles) and then try to maybe get outside after class--maybe since it's Saturday people will shovel.  If it's still messy I'll do some more inside.

Okay, you're all going to laugh at me.  Right after class my husband and I did a trade off (he had to go supervise a basketball game) so I didn't get outside.  I planned on doing another hour on the Gazelle, and instead I stayed on it for the entire Illini game. 

This game was so exciting, I seriously don't think I'm going to be able to go to bed.  They looked great.  Won 78-73 against #5 Michigan State.  I was crapping my pants because it was a close one.  I was afraid to stop working out because I'm superstitious and I was afraid that they would start playing badly. 

I know that's lame, but I'm glad they won.  And I was working it pretty hard because I was so pumped :)

This was the most 1/2 hearted run...cold, starting to snow, getting dark.  I cut it short.

Okay.  I did it.  I broke down and went to the gym.  We got a lot of snow today and we're supposed to get 4 more inches.  So I'm getting a membership for a month, but I forgot that I was supposed to go to the rec center to renew.  The lady was nice enough to let me in anyway.

Looks like a snow day tomorrow too.  I'm not sure how I feel about that. 

Workout:  2 miles warmup at 9:13 pace.  2 miles at 8 min. pace.  1 mile at 9:13.  2 miles at 8 min. pace.  1 cooldown at 9:13 pace.  The 8 min pace felt challenging, but sustainable.  I was, though, glad when the second set was done. 

Watched the first half of the Illini game.  Now I'm watching the second and hoping that they win...it's going to be close, whatever the outcome.

I L L I N I!

They won!  They've been having a good week.  Two ranked opponents in a row!

On the treadmill again.  I ran one mile and then I realized that I hadn't set it correctly.  So I stopped and then set it to go for one hour.  And then I was bound and determined to finish 7 miles so I didn't have to reset it.

Treadmills are annoying.  So the avg. pace was somewhere around 8:40, which is probably a bit faster than I really needed to go...

I started off on the elliptical because all the treadmills were taken.  Decided that it wasn't a bad thing, since the treadmill bothers my foot.  Did the equivalent of 3 miles on the elliptical and then 5 miles on the treadmill.  I am tired.  It was slow and easy.

I woke up a little before my alarm and turned it off.  But I'm not sure how many miles I'll do tomorrow, so I knew I couldn't afford to skip a day.  SoI guilted myself out of bed.  Gazelled 5 cross training miles.

I'm exhausted.  Running makes my cycle seriously irregular, so I may be getting my period, but I'm not sure.  I haven't had it for a while.  I hope it's on the way and not just that I'm getting sick.  I feel like I've been running myself ragged for the past 6 weeks. 

Ahhhhh.  Success. I went over to my dear friend Colleen's house and earlier in the week when we were planning, she suggested that we go to her gym together.  Well, the thought of another run on the treadmill made me sick, so I packed indoor and outdoor stuff.

When we got around to the running part of our day, I successfully convinced her and her crazy sister Mo to run outside.  Success #1.  I had to lend her sister one of my shirts, but it wasn't ridiculously cold (it was probably near 30).

Then I convinced Mo that she could do 6 miles.  She is NOT a runner primarily, but she is planning on running the Shamrock Shuffle.  She started running in January and this is the first time she's run in 6 years.  I was a little worried about the 6 miles given her history--she ran the Chicago Marathon 6 years ago a week after a car accident (and she wasn't really well trained to begin with) and promptly had a heart attack.  Literally.  She had lacerated her liver in the car accident and was unaware, so the strain led to a heart attack at 35 (well, and she had an enlarged heart because she was a body builder).  So anyway, I was nervous, but she's been cleared by her dr. and everything.  And she did great.  Success #2.

Then I knew that I could convince Colleen to run at least a little more, and somehow another loop around her subdivision became 4 more faster miles.  Success #3.

Avg pace:  9:02.  9:27, 9:21, 9:35, 9:30, 9:39, 9:21, 8:46 (post Mo), 8:35, 8:30, 7:47, and .10 @ 7:03 pace.

A treadmill run.  I did 2.5 at 9:13 pace and then just increased the pace by .1 every 10 minutes.  In the last 12 minutes I increased the pace by .1 every 2 minutes, just so I fit a little more in.  I ended the last 2 minutes at 7:30 pace.  

Just an easy indoors 8 miles.

I watched some of the Olympics.  

It was SO HOT inside (at the gym again today).  Usually I bring a water bottle, but I didn't today and I really needed one.  I stopped after mile 4 to get a quick drink.

I warmed up 2 miles, did 1/4 mile fast, 1/4 mile slow for 4 miles, then .5 cool down.  I actually cut my workout a little short.  The treadmill shut down after an hour, so I figured it was a sign. 

I went outside today for a change.  I spent the first two miles complaining in my head, thinking I would just try to go for a few miles.  Then after that I got less whiny and life was fine.  I didn't push the pace.  Just ran and tried to enjoy it. 

We're more than a week past the snowstorm we got last week, and it was slow going in some spots because of ice/packed snow/deep snow.  I think that's probably why I was uninterested and unmotivated in the first couple miles.  I kept getting annoyed when I would  shuffle through snow-covered sidewalks in front of a house--but the driveway was perfectly pristine.  There was a stretch of about a mile where this was the case, and I was running in front of some of the biggest houses in town.  It probably took those poor people too long  to snow blow their hugely long driveways, and they didn't want to work for the extra 3 minutes it would take to clear the sidewalk. 

Or at least that was what I was thinking during the run.

So once I got to about 4 miles, I figured that I should just do my normal 8.  As I got close to the house I was still a bit under 8 miles, and rather than run past the house, I just went around the block to add the extra 1/4 mile.  Avg pace:  9:44.

5 cross training miles in the A.M.  Class tonight.

I went to class last night.  I was really early, so I sat down to look at assignments and such.  Then I realized that I actually have class next weekend.

I'm stooopid.  But I was glad that I had worked out in the morning because I was exhausted.  And then it meant I could get a long run in today!

We got some snow last night, and when we went to breakfast in the morning, I figured it would be a treadmill day.  So after lunch I got ready to go to the gym, backed the car out, and rejoiced because it was sunny and the sidewalks were relatively clear.  So I went back upstairs and changed into outside running stuff!  Yay!

This run was pretty good.  There were still areas where I was running through snow or on grass, but the snow was rather slushy and not real slippery.  Just some areas of slow going.  I tried to pick up the pace a little in the last mile, but overall my splits were pretty steady.

Avg: 8:48.  9:07, 8:57, 8:46, 8:52, 8:55, 8:52, 8;43, 8:54, 8:41, 8:54, 8:43, 8:47, 8:49, 8:22, .12@7:53.

This was a treadmill day.  It was gray and wet and I didn't have the desire to run that in the dusk.  I started at 9:13 pace and then increased the pace every mile.  Miles went 9:13, 9:05, 8:57, 8:49, 8:36, 8:06, 7:53.  Then after the treadmill shut down after its usual hour, I did 1.2 at 9:13 pace for a cool down.

I got out a little early on this run because my brother-in-law picked up the kids. When I was getting ready to run I had an internal debate:  outside or treadmill?  I decided on the outside even though I feared the wind...and I'm glad I did.  Most of the run was in the sunshine, just until the last 20 minutes or so.

But the wind was a factor as I was heading west.  I'm pretty sure that I will be windburned until April or so.

I started off with the intention of running 8 and then just extended my run because I was feeling pretty good and I had a little extra time.  Average pace:  8:49.  The last mile I tried to push the pace and that one was 7:44 (I started at a little over 8 for the first .2 and then as soon as I turned out of the wind I just kept pushing harder).  Felt good, but I was glad to finish the run.

I haven't run yet, but I just wanted to say a special thanks to all organ donors.  Our buddy Luke is 9 years old and is getting a bone marrow transplant on Friday thanks to a donor off the registry.  

If you pray, please remember Luke and his special donor sometime this week!

Not an ideal morning.

Alarm went off.  I shut it off.  Didn't want to get out of bed to go outside, even though I had everything ready to go.

Then my cat jumped up on me and she was soaking wet in the front.  I tried to catch her, but she ran and hid.  Then I got up and gazelled for 40 minutes.  Worried about the cat.  Found her afterward.  She didn't look good--and had a bunch of saliva running out of her mouth.

So I took her to the vet, worrying that she had something caught in her mouth.  But she just had a loose tooth that was caught in her jaw, keeping her mouth open.  I was relieved.  The vet was going to pull it this morning.  It's hard to remember that a 6 year old cat is middle aged.

All that, and I was still on time for school! 

Class didn't start till 9, so I had time to run in the morning (and got to sleep in till 6!).  It was chilly (low 20s) with some wind (approx. 10 mph).

I ran 2 warmup miles (at about 9:20), then 2 fast miles (at approx. 7:40 apiece), one recovery mile (@ 9:10 or so), 2 more fast miles (at approx. 7:55 pace), then about 1/2 mile home. 

Honestly the second set of fast miles felt hard.  My stomach was sloshing around a little and I don't know why because I hadn't had anything to drink before going.  So I was relieved to be done.

Then I ran around 3.6 with my bro, who is visiting.  We ran about 9:30 pace, and that felt slow, but necessary.  This wasn't a great feeling run, but whatever.

And Luke's bone marrow transplant yesterday went fine.  Now he's going to be very susceptible to infection for the next few weeks--I can't remember exactly how long--and will be in isolation for quite some time.