I cannot tell you the last time I ran with my brothers (one is older and the other is younger, the latter of whom I still refer to as my little brother even though he has about three inches on me). Probably has not even happened this century. In fact, I am not sure we have run together more than once or twice. But late this afternoon, while all of us are my mom's, we decided to take a short, medium-paced run around her neighborhood.
If I remember, I will drive around to see how far we actually ran; I am guessing it was around 1.5 miles, maybe 1.8. The hills were extra tough on me. So much so that for a couple of them I was not running with my brothers but rather running a hundred feet or so behind them. I actually felt as if I were in a 5k.
The temps were in low 50s according to the Indiana Gazette, but it felt more like the upper 40s. By the end of the run, my ears were burning. I'd like to blame my struggles on that, or just the massive amount of food I have consumed in the past couple of days. :-)
Still, I got out there. And I was able to enjoy (more or less) 15 or so minutes with just my brothers, something I so rarely do.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
My legs hurt
After a great stretch of exercising, I kind of slacked off. I had that really good swim last Thursday, and then I did nothing until yesterday (Tuesday), other than walking the streets of Indiana for their Light-Up Night last Friday.
It has rained the past few days, and because I prefer to run in no more than a light drizzle, running has been pretty much out for me. So yesterday, I headed back to the pool, determined to get a solid, strenuous workout in.
This time around, I swam 20 laps, which took me around 23 minutes. Then I jogged in the pool for about 30 minutes, a new record for me. I followed that up with another 20 laps, though for some reason that set took me about 30 minutes. I finished up with almost 30 more minutes of jogging in the pool, before I did some leg and arm exercises for about 10 minutes.
It was definitely a good workout, if not a slightly annoying one during my second set of laps. For some reason a woman at the pool does her laps around the perimeter, and she does not really pay attention to where she is going. I don't mind when I am swimming a front stroke; I can move out of my lane/her way. But it becomes rather bothersome when I am on a backstroke, and I have to stop and turn around to make sure I don't hit her. Not a big deal, though.
My legs are hurting a little today, so I am definitely going to take it easy. I would love to get up and run on Thanksgiving, taking my Indiana County route, but not sure if that will happen. We'll see.
One thing I am pretty sure that I will be running towards is the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pies tomorrow!
It has rained the past few days, and because I prefer to run in no more than a light drizzle, running has been pretty much out for me. So yesterday, I headed back to the pool, determined to get a solid, strenuous workout in.
This time around, I swam 20 laps, which took me around 23 minutes. Then I jogged in the pool for about 30 minutes, a new record for me. I followed that up with another 20 laps, though for some reason that set took me about 30 minutes. I finished up with almost 30 more minutes of jogging in the pool, before I did some leg and arm exercises for about 10 minutes.
It was definitely a good workout, if not a slightly annoying one during my second set of laps. For some reason a woman at the pool does her laps around the perimeter, and she does not really pay attention to where she is going. I don't mind when I am swimming a front stroke; I can move out of my lane/her way. But it becomes rather bothersome when I am on a backstroke, and I have to stop and turn around to make sure I don't hit her. Not a big deal, though.
My legs are hurting a little today, so I am definitely going to take it easy. I would love to get up and run on Thanksgiving, taking my Indiana County route, but not sure if that will happen. We'll see.
One thing I am pretty sure that I will be running towards is the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pies tomorrow!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 10 = exhaustion
When I swim laps, I have a hard time keeping track of which number I am on. I tend to swim four or five laps of the same stroke before switching to another, but my mind wanders so easily that I often lose count. Recently, I decided to swim only two laps per stroke before moving on to the next. That has helped immensely, though at least once today, I actually could not remember if I was on my first or second trip for that stroke. Crazy!
Anyway, this morning, to mix it up a bit, I decided to jog in the pool first. Since jogging for 15 minutes has been pretty easy for me, I decided to up my time to 20 minutes. In the interest of helping the balls of my feet and working some different muscles, I decided to jog backwards for the last five minutes. Then I swam about 20 laps (which takes me about 23 minutes). I next got in another 20 minutes of jogging, again including the backwards jogging for the final five minutes. I followed that up with 20 more laps (which may have been 19 or 21). Finally, I jogged backwards for about 10 more minutes before rounding out my workout with some push-ups and leg exercises in the water. And that is where my title comes from.
All told, it took me almost two hours to get everything in, and I was (and still am) pretty darn tired. But it is a fulfilling tired. Throughout my workout, I felt good. Admittedly, during some of the laps, I was not sure I could keep going. But always competing with myself and wanting to do what I set out to, I pressed on.
As I was, per usual, struggling with the butterfly stroke, I realized that it is a lot like that first killer hill when I run. In both cases, I keep doing it, yet the task almost never seems any easier.
The other thing I find interesting is that when I run, even though I typically complete only two miles, I think I have achieved this great workout. Yet when I swim, if I end up doing only 15 laps, which typically takes me about the same amount of time as it does to run two miles, then I feel as if I barely did anything. I guess a big part of it has to do with the intensity; I tend to run harder than I swim, which leaves me sweaty and out of breath; it just feels as if I have run for an hour, even though I never do.
Regardless, I am glad when I can get a really long swim in. I am quite certain, however, even if I jog super slow, I won't be running for an hour anytime soon. Or probably ever.
Anyway, this morning, to mix it up a bit, I decided to jog in the pool first. Since jogging for 15 minutes has been pretty easy for me, I decided to up my time to 20 minutes. In the interest of helping the balls of my feet and working some different muscles, I decided to jog backwards for the last five minutes. Then I swam about 20 laps (which takes me about 23 minutes). I next got in another 20 minutes of jogging, again including the backwards jogging for the final five minutes. I followed that up with 20 more laps (which may have been 19 or 21). Finally, I jogged backwards for about 10 more minutes before rounding out my workout with some push-ups and leg exercises in the water. And that is where my title comes from.
All told, it took me almost two hours to get everything in, and I was (and still am) pretty darn tired. But it is a fulfilling tired. Throughout my workout, I felt good. Admittedly, during some of the laps, I was not sure I could keep going. But always competing with myself and wanting to do what I set out to, I pressed on.
As I was, per usual, struggling with the butterfly stroke, I realized that it is a lot like that first killer hill when I run. In both cases, I keep doing it, yet the task almost never seems any easier.
The other thing I find interesting is that when I run, even though I typically complete only two miles, I think I have achieved this great workout. Yet when I swim, if I end up doing only 15 laps, which typically takes me about the same amount of time as it does to run two miles, then I feel as if I barely did anything. I guess a big part of it has to do with the intensity; I tend to run harder than I swim, which leaves me sweaty and out of breath; it just feels as if I have run for an hour, even though I never do.
Regardless, I am glad when I can get a really long swim in. I am quite certain, however, even if I jog super slow, I won't be running for an hour anytime soon. Or probably ever.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Running towards 40 at full force
Not wanting to waste an unexpectedly nice afternoon with warm temps (upper 60s!) and partly sunny skies, I decided to get another Monday run in. I tried to employ mind over matter by telling myself that the first hill is not so bad, and it actually kind of worked. My left foot hurt just a little before the pain soon went away (or else I did not notice it), and I felt as if I had a pretty good groove going.
As I was nearing the top of the hill, I checked my phone and saw that I had been running just over eight minutes, which meant there was a good chance I could complete that first mile in under 10 minutes. When I reached the top of the hill, pretty much gassed, I happily saw that my time was 9:44. The last time I ran that fast was last fall.
I felt pretty pleased with myself, so I tried to keep up a decent pace on the way back, without pushing myself as hard as I did on the way up. I ended up with a total time of 18:33.
Mile one: 9:44
Mile two: 8:49
Today's run marked my seventh out of eight days of exercise. Including in those days were running, walking, and swimming. And eating. But let's just focus on the exercise.
Three more weeks...
As I was nearing the top of the hill, I checked my phone and saw that I had been running just over eight minutes, which meant there was a good chance I could complete that first mile in under 10 minutes. When I reached the top of the hill, pretty much gassed, I happily saw that my time was 9:44. The last time I ran that fast was last fall.
I felt pretty pleased with myself, so I tried to keep up a decent pace on the way back, without pushing myself as hard as I did on the way up. I ended up with a total time of 18:33.
Mile one: 9:44
Mile two: 8:49
Today's run marked my seventh out of eight days of exercise. Including in those days were running, walking, and swimming. And eating. But let's just focus on the exercise.
Three more weeks...
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The new insoles helped a little
Thanks to Indian summer (wait, is it politically correct to say that?), I ran in 60-degree weather yesterday. I could not bring myself to run in shorts since it is November and all, but it was still nice, and most likely my last 60-degree run until March.
As for the new insoles, they definitely helped. My feet did not have the "walk on clouds" feeling I had when I first put on my Enduro 5s in 2010 or whenever I got them, but I hardly noticed foot pain, so I call it a success.
As for the actual run, I did pretty well. Not my best time as of late, but enough to keep me satisfied and motivated, particular since yesterday marked four weeks until I turn the big 40.
Mile one: 10:00
Mile two: 8:36
After I ran my two miles, I ran around the outside of the gym, which includes about 20-some steps, for about eight or nine minutes, so I got in almost a third mile.
And now, for something I rarely say: I really need to get back in the pool!
As for the new insoles, they definitely helped. My feet did not have the "walk on clouds" feeling I had when I first put on my Enduro 5s in 2010 or whenever I got them, but I hardly noticed foot pain, so I call it a success.
As for the actual run, I did pretty well. Not my best time as of late, but enough to keep me satisfied and motivated, particular since yesterday marked four weeks until I turn the big 40.
Mile one: 10:00
Mile two: 8:36
After I ran my two miles, I ran around the outside of the gym, which includes about 20-some steps, for about eight or nine minutes, so I got in almost a third mile.
And now, for something I rarely say: I really need to get back in the pool!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
A shorter trip up the steps
As pathetic as this sounds, after my four-mile run on Tuesday, I was afraid to run again this week, for fear of it not going so well. On Friday, I instead planned to run up and down the 64ish steps my usual 20 times. Unfortunately, I ended up talking to someone beforehand, so I had only about 13 minutes, which was not enough time for 20 trips.
I ended up running up and down the steps 10 times, for a total time of 8:11. Technically, that is less than half of what it takes me to run up and down 20 times, which makes it sound somewhat impressive. But my guess is had I kept going, it would have taken me over 17 minutes. I am thinking all the Halloween candy is catching up to me.
As an aside, I did replace my original Asics insoles with Dr. Scholl's sports insoles (not sure exactly what they are called). I hardly noticed pain in my left foot, but I was pushing myself, determined to go at a pretty good pace since I was doing only half as many trip. That coupled with my overly sugared body may have been enough to block out pain. The real test will come when I run this week.
As another aside: I will be 40 in 30 days. Here's hoping I can get in at least four more runs before then. And laying off the candy would be good too.
I ended up running up and down the steps 10 times, for a total time of 8:11. Technically, that is less than half of what it takes me to run up and down 20 times, which makes it sound somewhat impressive. But my guess is had I kept going, it would have taken me over 17 minutes. I am thinking all the Halloween candy is catching up to me.
As an aside, I did replace my original Asics insoles with Dr. Scholl's sports insoles (not sure exactly what they are called). I hardly noticed pain in my left foot, but I was pushing myself, determined to go at a pretty good pace since I was doing only half as many trip. That coupled with my overly sugared body may have been enough to block out pain. The real test will come when I run this week.
As another aside: I will be 40 in 30 days. Here's hoping I can get in at least four more runs before then. And laying off the candy would be good too.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Finally, a long run
Today I ran 40 minutes! I had scraped the back of my heel pretty badly last evening and was thinking about forgoing anything more strenuous than walking to and from my car, but when I walked for 10 minutes this morning without any problems, I figured I had no excuses. And considering the day was sunny and the temps were decent (about 50), how could I not take advantage?
Since I had extra time, I decided I should see if I was able to run more than my usual two miles. It helped that I started near the top of the killer hill, and I kept my pace slightly slower than normal, since I was going for distance, not time. I kept mostly to my main route, going less than a half a mile past where I normally turn around and adding side streets on the way back.
This time when I ran, I forced myself to really pay attention to my feet, since the new Asics seem to always bother me. I noticed that it was only my left foot that hurt and that was not until about a mile in. The pain was confined to the bottom of my foot, so I am wondering if replacing my insole will help. It does not appear that my shoes are too small, as I wondered, since my smaller (left) foot is the one that hurts.
The foot annoyance aside, it was a pretty good run. I felt good, and I probably could have run even longer. Considering I have been averaging just over a nine-minute mile during my two-mile runs and I skipped the killer hill at the beginning, which adds the extra time to my mile, I had to have run about 4 miles. So yeah, me!
Today, turning 40 in just over one month does not seem so bad. :-)
Since I had extra time, I decided I should see if I was able to run more than my usual two miles. It helped that I started near the top of the killer hill, and I kept my pace slightly slower than normal, since I was going for distance, not time. I kept mostly to my main route, going less than a half a mile past where I normally turn around and adding side streets on the way back.
This time when I ran, I forced myself to really pay attention to my feet, since the new Asics seem to always bother me. I noticed that it was only my left foot that hurt and that was not until about a mile in. The pain was confined to the bottom of my foot, so I am wondering if replacing my insole will help. It does not appear that my shoes are too small, as I wondered, since my smaller (left) foot is the one that hurts.
The foot annoyance aside, it was a pretty good run. I felt good, and I probably could have run even longer. Considering I have been averaging just over a nine-minute mile during my two-mile runs and I skipped the killer hill at the beginning, which adds the extra time to my mile, I had to have run about 4 miles. So yeah, me!
Today, turning 40 in just over one month does not seem so bad. :-)
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