Monthly Archives: January 2009
A good start to '09
Today I got in a good 6.4-mile run, with much of it coming in a group of Lynchburg College alumni who are getting ready for the Monument Avenue 10k. It was a fitting close to a month that for the most part has been very good to me. As I continue to adjust to life with a baby, there were certainly times in which I wish I could have made it to the gym, even for just a quick workout, but I’m not really complaining. A four-day trip to Ohio in the coldest part of the month also put a small dent into things.
For the month I ran 59 miles. With last year still on my mind a bit, this is great. I’m kicking myself just a bit for not hitting 60. This is better than all but four months from last year, including the just over 40-mile start in January ’08. But this month is so much different than a year ago in the fact that I also logged 15.6 biking miles and 17.3 miles on various elliptical machines. Add in 14.5 walking miles and I have 106.4 total miles for this month.
I’m a bit disappointed that I haven’t been able to shed much weight, but I can only blame myself for what goes in my mouth. Overall I haven’t been eating that bad, but this small snacking at work when people bring in food has got to stop.
As I look ahead to February, my goals are simple - do more and do it with more intensity. With running, I want my long run at the end of the month to be 10 miles. After what I did today, I’m pretty confident that a 10 miler on Feb. 28 won’t be a problem (weather permitting). On Feb. 14 I’ll be running in the Sweetheart 8k. My goal for that is to beat last year’s time of 38:26. That race will be a good test to see where I’m at with being in racing shape. I’m just not looking forward to that damn hill at the beginning.
Lastly, I just want to say: Go Cards! I’ll be an Arizona fan tomorrow, if only for a day.
The cold unmotivating rain
I hate it when it’s cold enough to snow but it rains. And even though it’s right at 32 degrees, this rain isn’t cold enough to make driving a nightmare. I’d rather that be the case. There’s just a little bit of ice on the trees. But it is cold and annoying enough to skip the gym tonight and sit in and do nothing but complain that it’s not snowing. Instead of getting backed up on my DVR, I’ll be watching “American Idol” or “Biggest Loser” live tonight. Will someone please fall off the treadmill already??
I did, however, get in a great workout yesterday - a half-mile walk and 1.2 mile run with my dog; 3.1 miles on the runner elliptical; and 6.2 miles on the bike. I covered those 11 miles in just a little more than an hour’s time. I was a bit surprised today that my legs are tired … it’s a different tired than I’m used to with running. Tomorrow I plan to hit the treadmill for some speedwork and maybe a little bit of something else. I want to get in a 2-mile tempo run at an 8-minute mile or better pace, but I’ve never really tried that on the treadmill.
Lastly I want to give a quick shout-out to my friend and co-worker twice over Stephanie, who is training for the Monument Avenue 10k in March. You can find her blog here. She’s looking for readers and I think that her blog is definitely worth checking out.
Another 5 miler
Now that we’re a few weeks into the new year, I’d really like to get a regular schedule going. But a weekend trip last week to Ohio kind of threw me off, mainly due to weather too cold to run. So this week sort of feels like I’ve been catching up, but my personal schedule led to not being able to do much on Thursday or Friday.
So today I set out to meet a group of Lynchburg College alumni for a group run - they’re getting ready for the Monument Avenue 10k at the end of March. I ran to the park near my house where the group was supposed to meet, but once I got there and there were only a couple of cars, I realized that I read my e-mail wrong - the group run is NEXT week. While I was mad at myself, I went ahead and got in my planned 5-mile run with the last 1.25 of it with my dog.
That makes two 5-mile runs this week, with another 3-plus miler mixed in. I’ll get in some kind of workout tomorrow. What exactly I’ll do is something I’m not decided on. Getting two 5-mile runs in a week’s span makes me feel good with my training. As of tomorrow there are 8 weeks to the (sold out) Shamrock Half Marathon. I feel a bit behind, but physically I feel like I’m in a good spot. I just have to get up tomorrow and do something, and then go 110 percent next week for 8 straight weeks. I’m in a better place than I was last year, that’s for sure.
Ye Olde Treadmill
The combination of cold weather and darkness continues to lead to treadmill running and this week I have found it to not be so bad. Yesterday I somehow did 5 miles on it and today I did 2.5 miles on it (plus 20 minutes on an elliptical and walk/jog with my dog). Yesterday I did speed work based on my iPod. One song fast (generally 7.5 mph or faster), one song slow (generally about 6.5 mph). It worked pretty well instead of trying to do specific intervals. I found myself not paying attention to the distance so much, which made the 5 miles OK.
Tonight I found myself quickly settling in comfortably between 7 and 7 mph with some tenth of a mile inclines. I started at 1 percent and worked my way up to 4 percent. I certainly wouldn’t call it a hill workout, but it was something different.
The treadmill has certainly helped me pick up the speed with my normal pace. Although outside running is rare, I can tell a big difference. In the short run with my dog tonight, I felt really good. I’m looking forward to this weekend to getting outside. The treadmill is boring, so the faster I run on it the faster I can get off and do something else.
A 3.1-mile snow-packed journey
I really thought that getting a run in this weekend in Ohio was going to be impossible. Yesterday it was -5 when I got up. But thanks to a 30-degree swing in temperatures in the past 24 hours, I got in a good 5k run today on some snow-packed roads in a park near my in-laws. I wanted to run more than that, but my options were very limited and honestly those 3.1 miles felt more like 5 miles worth of effort with running through the snow. The temperature difference was amazing. While it was certainly still cold, it was manageable. Just walking outside yesterday morning hurt my lungs.
I managed to run through some tire tracks that helped me find a path, but there were a fresh couple of inches of snow this morning that made the run all the more interesting. Roads that I would normally run through at a campground had not been driven on yet - these roads easily have about a foot of snow on them.
All in all, I’m just happy to get something in!
The week so far
When things are going fine, it’s tough to write much. This week has been great with two good runs and lots of cross training mixed in. I may be in for a few days of break time though as tomorrow evening I head to Ohio to visit the in-laws. I doubt I’ll see temperatures any higher than 20 degrees or so - Friday’s forecast is for a high of 8. There are no Gold’s Gyms nearby either.
I’ll find something to do at least one day while I’m there, but I’m not overly worried about it. I don’t mind running in the cold … it’s just finding a place that’s not overly snow covered and safe to run. Easing back just a bit might not necessarily be a bad thing for a few days. It might be my last chance for a break for more than two months. We’ll see what happens …
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