It's been awhile

I cannot believe I have not posted for over a month. Not coincidentally, my exercise really slacked off for several weeks during that time, which was related to some family and work things. I like to think I am getting back on track. Have to burn off those Thanksgiving calories somehow!

I have no recollection how much exercise I ended up getting from the end of October until last week. I know there was at least one week when I moved my body only one day and probably another week where I got in maybe two days. Sad, I know. Last week, however, was pretty good. I went swimming three times, took a Zumba class, and did a ton of walking on two different days--one day at the zoo and another day at the History Center. I like to think I earned all my eating and drinking.

I started this week off with about 30 minutes of cardio at the pool exercise room, split between the treadmill and the stepper. I am hoping to go swimming today, do Zumba tomorrow, and swimming again on Wednesday and Friday.

Until next time, which I hope won't take me another month-plus...

9:59:57

Yesterday, I hit the lap button on my phone as I made it to the top of the hill (well, I came close; I don't quite go to the top, but save myself about a dozen steps) and then immediately hit the stop button as my shoe was untied. Once I took care of that, I hit the resume button and started running down the hill. And that was when I saw that I had completed my first mile in 9:59:57. Which is under 10 minutes.

I don't have a lot to say about my run, which took place under sunny skies and temps in the 60s. My feet did not hurt until after I was done running. Unfortunately, my left knee hurt at the beginning and off and on during the run. No idea why that happened. That is my good knee! I felt winded at the beginning, but when a song I liked came on my mp3 player, that helped to push me.

All in all it was a good run. Mostly because I finished my first mile in under 10 minutes!

Mile one: 9:59
Mile two: 8:18

I really think I can be happy keeping it just above 10 minutes. I truly don't expect to go much below the 10-minute mark. I just want to be happy that I can still keep doing this. Here's hoping I can and will.

A run I am proud of

Yesterday morning my right hip flexor was hurting like, well, something that hurts a lot. I was wincing every time I walked up steps or lifted my knee even slightly. And I am assuming it is my hip flexor because that is what another mom at school told me it was as I pointed to the place where my leg connects to my body, for lack of a better description. This pain was rather unfortunate as it was such a beautiful sunny October day that I hated to think I would miss a chance to run it. Luckily this woman, who is not a doctor, told me I would probably be fine to run; she insisted my body would tell me if it needed to stop. I decided to go with her thoughts. And I am glad I did.

I don't think I noticed my knee or hip flexor hurting at all, for whatever reason. My left foot hurt only a bit and not consistently, which is always a nice thing. And running to Nine Inch Nails and Arrested Development made the experience of running in sunny and mild (the mid 60s, I believe) temps everything it should be. Best of all, I did not feel lousy and winded, as I often do. Maybe I was still on my "I-came-in-third-place-in-my-age-group-and-finished-the-race-in-under-29-minutes" high. Who knows, but I will take it.

Mile one: 10:19
Mile two: 8:26

That first mile was my best this school year. And I have not done my second mile in under 8:30 since last fall, I do believe. Many months ago, I said I might never get my first mile below 10 minutes, and I was probably okay with that. I still am. Even though I won't completely give up on that happening and I am not necessarily considering that as a goal, I will keep it in the back of my mind.

In other exercise this week: swimming on Sunday, nothing on Monday, Zumba on Tuesday, lunch duty along with running and some tag and soccer playing at the park on Wednesday, and a short (20 minutes round trip) walk this morning. May or may not get in something Friday.

Race for Pace

I completed the Race for Pace in 28:55.

If I would have run the race about three weeks ago, when I was working out like crazy, that time time might have been a little disappointing. But I have to keep telling myself over and over that I am 40. Unfortunately, saying it does not help me accept it all that much. Not that I am 40; I am cool with that. But that I am past my running prime. But proof of that was right before me: I ran into a former student whom I beat by about two and a half minutes when I ran the race two years. This year, he bested me by seven and a half minutes.

I know I should be focused on my finishing the race in under 30 minutes, which is great, considering I have been running about once a week. And I am absolutely proud of myself, particularly considering that I struggled a bit during my runs lately. I was not convinced I could do it in under 30 minutes. But I did it.

A few other notes:

It was cold, probably about 35-degrees at race time, but sunny. My running gear consisted of a long-sleeved t-shirt, a windbreaker, yoga pants, socks as gloves, and a flexible knee brace I used to wear at the beginning of this century when I ran several times a week. I unzipped the windbreaker during the last 2/3 of the mile, and maybe even took it off. The socks on my hands also came off about that time (I did not have gloves, but those babies worked great, even for nose-wiping purposes, as gross as that sounds, but it was cold).

I am happy to report that I was almost pain-free the entire time (the knee brace was a good call); even my feet hurt very little, though during the first mile, two of my toes were numb from the cold! I have this odd breathing pattern, which I tried to replicate when I was lying in bed, but couldn't. Regardless, it seems to work for me, and, almost as important, I am not wheezing and gasping as I seem to always notice some people do during these races.

I started off strong, kept a pretty steady pace, struggled a bit near the end up the last hill, but "kicked it in" as best as I could the last tenth of a mile. Having my friend Diane there cheering me on really helped. As I was struggling up the last hill, she made me laugh (or at least smile as I was out of breath) when she yelled, "Go, Faith! Don't embarrass me." 

During the last mile, a woman who I determined was somewhere near my age (which impressed me, because I am lousy at figuring out ages) passed me. I thought about pushing myself even more, in case she was going to be the difference between my getting third place and fourth place. But in the end, the last hill was too much for me, and I could not go any faster. I convinced myself to just keep going as I was so I could finish in under 30 minutes

When the time came for my age group awards, the person they announced for third place was that woman who passed me. I could not believe it! Oddly enough, when I checked my results online that evening, I was listed as being in third place in my age group. I emailed the race director about it, who just emailed me a bit ago saying she would look into it. I admit the competitor in me is disappointed to think they made a mistake that cost me getting my name mentioned and a medal, but the mature gal in me is going to keep telling myself this:

I am 40, I finished the race in under 29 minutes, and I am proud of this body!

My feet hurt

There are so many thing I want to cover in this post, so expect something quite disjointed.

I will start off listing what physical activity I have done since I last posted a week and a half ago:

• Zumba the last two Tuesdays
• Swimming last Wednesday, Saturday, Monday, and yesterday (Wednesday)
• Running on Monday and Wednesday of this week
• Short (just over 15 minutes round trip) walk on Monday
• Lunch duty two days both last week and this week

Although I am satisfied with the amount of exercise I have gotten, I don't feel as if I am making the gains I want to. Normally, I would not care, but on Saturday, I am planning to run in the Race for Pace. As it stands now, I am not sure that I will be able to finish it in around 30 minutes. When I ran this race two years ago, I did it in 27 minutes. There is no possible way I could come close to that considering how my times have dropped off in the last year or so. :-(

On Monday, I had a really good run, and based on that I would think I could finish Saturday's race in under 30 minutes. But I have a bigger problem, which is impeding me greatly: my feet. Unfortunately, my latest pair of Asics Gel Enduros have proven to be worse than my previous pair. My feet were so uncomfortable during Monday's almost three miles (after I did my normal two miles, I ran around the outside of the gym and up the steps a handful of times), I ended up buying Dr Scholl's athletic foot insoles to try to help. Those babies cost an insane $19.99, which is more than half of what my running shoes were on sale (yes, the fact that I paid less than $40 should be a good indicator that I am not buying good shoes!). Anyway, the insoles were little help. They feel good on my feet when I walk, but the bottoms of my feet, particular the balls of my feet, continue to hurt once I hit the pavement. I won't completely blame my Asics; as it turns out the Gel Enduro 7 shoes are apparently trail shoes and I run on pavement. But the Gel Enduro 5 was awesome, and I would assume it was also a trail shoe. Anyway, on both Monday with the old insoles (three miles) and Wednesday with the new ones (two miles), I got through the runs, so I am pretty sure I will make it on Saturday. Just not sure how I will end up. Hopefully, there is not some other issue going on...

I am taking a break today, other than a brief (five minutes one way) walk I have to do as part of a volunteer thing. And if I swim on Friday, I will take it easy and try to swim no more than 10 laps (I swam 18 on Monday and 15 on Wednesday, which is pretty good after a run on those days).

Monday's run
Mile one: somewhere over 9 minutes and under 11 (I forgot to turn on the stopwatch); it was a pretty good run, so I am thinking and hoping it was around 10:30)
Mile two: 8:30

Wednesday's run
Mile one: 10:55
Mile two: 9:17

No idea why Monday's run was better, but it was. Hopefully, I can get back to better times soon. And, more importantly, here's hoping the feet feel better soon. Those babies still hurt a little today.

Some step improvement

I took it easy again this past weekend. Other than walking around a few stores and chasing my aunt's dog around her living room for a few minutes, that was pretty much it.

Today, after some cleaning (and the way I vacuum and clean my bathtub, that IS a workout), I ran the 64 steps in two sets of 10.

I inadvertently forgot to record/write down precisely how long it took me for the first 10 trips, though I think it was around eight minutes. I do know I was glad I was going sleeveless but wishing I had gone with shorts. I took probably just over a minute to catch my breath and rehydrate before getting my second set in.

When it was all said and done, I ended up completing my 20 trips up and down in 16:17, which was an improvement over the same distance two weeks ago. I felt okay, though a "lap" or two into my second set, I considered stopping at 15. Fortunately, always the competitor (against myself), I did not give in. Not sure if the new Asics helped or hindered.

Within an hour, I was swimming laps at the pool, though my pace resembled someone swimming through honey. Still, I managed to complete 10 laps, swim around with the kid for about 35 minutes or so, and then I ended with three more laps.

Zumba tomorrow.

What I did this week

There was no way I could keep up last week's pace, so I did not even try. Here is what I did instead:

Monday: The kid and I took a walk, probably about 30 minutes, maybe 25.
Tuesday: I did Zumba
Wednesday: I did lunch duty (two hours of standing and walking around) and then we went swimming. I did about 30 laps plus some jogging around.
Thursday: I did lunch duty again. Other than walking about four minutes one way to pick up some kids for an after-school program, that was it.
Friday: Swimming again, with another 25 laps plus jogging around.

I am happy with the amount of activity, though I wish I had gotten a run in. I hope to next week, as I am planning to sign up for the Race for Pace, which is two weeks away. Not sure how I will do in that as I have not run over two miles in quite awhile, but we shall see.

I am pretty sure this week won't be like last

My legs (ankles, thighs, calves) have been sore off and on (mostly on) since last Monday. I guess I overdid it in the physical activity department from Monday to Friday. I was a crazy weekday warrior, if you will.

Friday I stood on my feet for about two hours helping out with a school event. I went home to do laundry, vacuum, and clean the bathtub. When I headed back to school a few hours later, I ran around the outside of the gym for between 10 and 15 minutes, and that run included a handful of trips up and down the steps next to the gym and the steps leading to the main church lot. I am not sure for exactly how long I ran because I had to take a couple-minute break to move my car. I stood again for about 1.5 hours at the park that evening, and that was pretty much it.

I took it easy yesterday with my only exercise resulting from shopping at two stores for brief periods of time. Mostly I sat around. Ah, relief.

Today it is my intent to swim, but buying a new oven and the Steeler game may get in the way.

About the only thing I am certain about is that this coming week won't look too much like last week in terms of exercise. My 40-year-old body will fight me on that.

But despite the soreness, I do feel good. As if my body did great things this week. And, in a way, I guess it kind of did.

But wait, it gets worse

For three days this week, I was pretty crazy with exercise. I basically crammed five days of working out into three. And I am suffering for it. My aching body.

After Monday's over-abundance of physical activity, I (comparatively) took it easy on Tuesday with an hour of Zumba. But Wednesday I went for another marathon of activity.

I stared off doing lunch duty. The school has three lunches, each lasting 40 minutes. As a monitor, I walk up and down the aisles making sure kids are doing what they are supposed to. After about 25 to 35 minutes, I walk the kids up a few steps and down a bunch more to go outside, where I again walk up and down the playground many times. Then we bring them back in and do it two more times. Although I cannot call that working out, it seems pretty reasonable to "count" it as exercise.

About an hour after I finished that, I went for a run. My stomach was probably a little too full to do it well, but I wanted to get that run in, since the weather was nice. Turns out the 60 degrees kind of felt too cold during the first mile; in fact, my ears actually briefly "burned" as they do in the winter. Crazy.

I don't have much to say about the run, other than I struggled a bit. But when I remind myself that I had already walked, ran steps, swam, did Zumba, stood on my feet for three hours for three mornings in row while subbing, and did a lunch duty within a 54-hour period, finishing the two miles is an accomplishment in itself. Let's go with that.

Mile 1: 10:57
Mile 2: 8:58

An hour later, I swam almost 15 laps and tread water for a bit.

I sort of took the day off today, other than a couple hours of standing while subbing and another two hours of lunch duty.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But I am pretty sure my feet, thighs, and ankles wish it would be lying completely still. 

A walk, some steps, and a swim

When I last blogged, I lamented how I was not doing as much physical activity as I wanted. I swam on Friday, which included about an hour of treading water, but then did nothing on Saturday or Sunday. So today I was determined to make up for my inactivity.

Late this morning, I met some friends downtown for lunch. I parked at the Second Avenue Garage and made the trek to Market Square. I am not sure how far I walked, but I kept a pretty brisk pace there and back, despite my impractical sandals. It ended up taking me about 25 minutes round trip, plus the steps up and down to my car. Not bad (but let's not talk about the Chipotle lunch I had while in Market Square).

Then I headed to school and for the 63 or 64 steps. For some reason, I made better time the first 10 trips, and I was delighted I did not fall ill, as I was only about 1.25 hours removed from eating. I took a two-minute break to catch my breath and gulp some water, and then I ran up and down another 10 times.

First 10 steps: 8:15
Second 10 steps: 8:35

Once again my heart rate was up around 180 bpm when I was done, but I walked around a bit after and felt fine within a few minutes.

Within an hour, I was in the pool, and I ended up swimming 15 laps, plus general moving and splashing around. It was definitely slow going, but I was glad I did it as well as a few arms exercises.

All in all, a great day exercising. But let's also not talk about my dinner either...

Slacking a bit

Since I last blogged, I have not been as physically active as I had hoped. I did Zumba on Thursday. I pretty much just sweated for hours on Friday, thanks to the oppressive heat and humidity. Saturday, I swam, though I don't recall how many laps. Sunday I did very little, other than running some errands. Monday was a bit fat nothing (besides lunch duty). Tuesday was Zumba, and yesterday was swimming. Only three laps but much treading water and moving.

I have been so busy lately that I have not had as much time to workout. Today was the first day I had almost five hours to myself. I really should have gone back to the pool or went running, but I was just so happy to have no meetings, appointments, volunteer work, or errands, plus I am down on sleep so feeling lazy (which is a great reason to exercise, I know!). Unfortunately, I have to pick my kid up from school early before taking my dad to a doc's appointment, so I won't be able to run (i.e., get sweaty). Tomorrow, if all goes well, I should be able to run after lunch duty and before I go swimming. I vow to at least get some steps in.

After all, I have lots of eating to make up for.

Oh, and a little part of me wants to run in the Race for Pace in four weeks. Not sure if that will happen, though.

Continuing to blame it on the heat

This afternoon, I finally tackled my "usual" two-mile round trip school run. I had well over an hour to get it in, so I figured even if I had to crawl the last mile, I should be able to make it back in time for pickup.

Most of the run was without pain, so there is that. I do recall feeling some ankle pain (I forget which foot) early on, but it subsided quickly. Or, the constant panting took over, "drowning" out any other suffering.

The temps were around 80-couple degrees, but, once again, the humidity was pretty high, or so it felt to me. But I was determined not to let the heat, my age, and my inconsistent/rare running keep me from doing what I set out to do. Part of me really wanted to get a longer run in since I had the time, but wanting to know where I stood time-wise for my usual run won out.

Here are the stats:

Mile 1: 10:43
Mile 2: 9:00

Looking back at previous posts, this is definitely one of my worst runs, and I fought to get the first mile under 11 minutes! But between the heat and my running so little this year (probably six to eight times the first eight months of the year), I won't beat myself up about it too much. Besides, once I got my almost 20 minutes in, I jogged around the outside of the gym and up the outside steps over a half dozen times, for about eight or nine minutes. On top of that, my heart rate gets up pretty high when I am running uphill or up steps (between 160 and 180 bpm), which I know is not good, so I feel a little limited.

I also swam about 25 laps on Sunday and 30 laps yesterday, with some pool jogging and leg and arm work thrown in for good measure. If I can round the week out with Zumba and another swim, then yee-haw for me!

Nothing like running steps in 90-degree weather

In addition to running about 1.5 miles this week (along with a Zumba class and two days of swimming), I also ran up the 65-ish fun-filled steps 10 times. Several people told me I was nuts as it was 90 degrees. And I did not disagree with them. But I guess I felt as if I had something to prove to myself.

I kept the pace rather slow as I was sweating (so much for clothes that wick away perspiration) and struggling. In the end, I finished in 8:55, which I was happy with considering the temps. When I was finished and had a few minutes to catch my breath, I decided to run around the gym and up those steps four times. To me, exercising for only nine minutes hardly "counts." That too was no easy task considering the heat, but I was happy to get another five minutes of movement.

I wish I could be happy with walking as it is probably not a good idea to get my 40-year-old heart up to 180 bpm, but it seems so inefficient and boring. However, if the heat continues (and I don't think it will), then I may have to slow down the pace.

Stay tuned.

Way out of running shape

Despite my rare appearance on this blog, I have been exercising. I managed to do Zumba once a week during August (including one week with two classes) as well as swim two to three times per week all month long. Unfortunately, I had not gone running since the beginning of July. That is until last week.

Now that school is back in session, and I have had time to kill between lunch duty and pick up, I figured I had no excuse not to lace up the running shoes. So this past Tuesday, I finally got back out there. It started off okay, though I felt warm almost right away. I don't recall feeling too much, if any, pain, but realizing I was struggling mightily, I decided to run only to the stop sign just before the final (big) hill during the last couple tenths of the first mile. I could not risk running out of gas and then leaving my kid stranded in the parking lot on the first full day of school.

When I finished my run, I was convinced it had to be about 90 degrees. Turns out it was only 81, but the humidity was definitely high. Between the heat and my not-in-running-shape body, it took me probably 10 minutes to stop panting. At least two parents in the lot after commenting on how I seemed to be struggling while running (they drove past me), and I told them they were not wrong, but I considered it a victory that I was still walking. I cannot recall how long it took me to run that approximately 1.5-mile route, but it was irrelevant. Since I had not run that route since March, I am not overly disappointed. Hopefully before too long I can get the two miles in.

Some pool running

I am, once again, coming up on a month since I have last gone running. Real running, that is.

I have been keeping up with swimming (two to three times per week), during which I make it a point to jog around the pool or in place, or just tread water each time. I know it is not the same as regular running, but it is better than not running at all, I suppose.

Yesterday, I had a really good swim, no doubt inspired by the Olympics. I have no idea how many laps I swam; I just kept going for the better part of an hour. I managed to do three fast laps at the end of my laps so I could further convince myself that I could be in the Olympics. On top of that, I managed to tread water for about 10 to 15 minutes and jog for 10 minutes, then for another 5. I also did some arm and leg exercises.

The day before, I had a good Zumba workout, and the day before that, I swam about 15 or 20 laps, with some jogging and water treading thrown in.

Last week, I hit the pool a few times and went to Zumba twice. During one of those pool trips, I was treading water for about 45 minutes, with only a couple of breaks.

I am overall pretty happy with the amount of physical activity I have had as of late. And I feel as if my fitness level is close to where I want it to be (my ab muscles, on the other hand, need some work). But there is always room for improvement.

I just hope, but I won't be the farm on it, that I can get another run in before school starts in 3.5 weeks.

I don't know how Olympians swim that many laps

When I went swimming on Thursday (which, by the way, was only my second day of exercise for the week), I felt pretty good doing laps. I did about 25 total, broken into 15 and then two smaller sets. A number of my laps came at a good speed. In fact, for about three or four laps I felt challenged by a boy swimming next to me who appeared to be about 10. I was not about to let that kid swim faster than I could, so I swam pretty quickly.

When I went swimming again today, the laps did not come as easily. I felt slow and sluggish almost the entire time. I started off with 15 again, then did a few smaller sets, eventually ending up with 30. I also jogged in the water a few times, probably for about 20 minutes total. And I did some lunges, squats, push-ups, and dips while in the water. I definitely had a good workout, but I was just not "feeling it." I pushed myself to swim fast a few times, but it was a struggle. I could barely do two fast laps in a row.

I am blaming this on the four to five pounds I have gained the past three weeks, which is related to my poor eating, which probably hinders me even more. Hopefully I can get on the right track soon...

No, weather people, it does NOT feel like 73 degrees!

My second run in as many weeks. Look at me go!

When I went to bed last night, amidst the windy, stormy weather, I was convinced my morning run would be in 70-degree and low humidity weather. I figured I would take the same route as last week, and see if my time had improved. But when I started my run around 9:50 a.m., the temps felt about 80 degrees and the sun was blazing, I was pretty sure that was not happening.

When I was halfway through my water bottle and only 1/3 of the way through my run, I, once again, considered cutting in short. But I decided even if I could not beat last week's time, I could at least come close to it. So I soldiered on.

Because of the sun, heat and humidity (I cannot believe it was only 73 degrees, but I can believe the humidity was 100 percent), I hardly noticed any pains. I was, however, cursing the sweat that kept running down my face. The ponytail holder kept my hair off my face and neck, but what I was really missing was a hairband to  keep the sweat on my brow. Oh, well.

When it was all said and done and my lukewarm water was down to its last few rationed drops, I ended up coming in at 29:16. I have no idea how I bested my time from last week by almost two minutes. And I really felt it at the end (as did my rapidly beating heart which took quite a few minutes to slow down). But I did it.

Not sure when I will get my next run in (just last week I said it would probably take me a month or two), but if I can keep up with swimming and/or Zumba a couple times a week, hopefully I can stay in decent shape.

I ran!

After almost 2.5 months without a run, I finally got one in, in Indiana County. I originally planned to run for 20 minutes, since I knew it had been a couple of months since I last run. But after about 10 minutes into it, I decided to try to run my usual route to see how long it would take.

I need to verify that I ran 3.1 miles (it might have been a tenth or two more or less). But knowing it was at least close to 3 miles and doing it in just over 31 minutes, I am calling it a success. It is good to know that Zumba and swimming keep me in pretty good shape.

Literally two steps into the run, my left knee hurt. Soon after my right foot hurt. Not long after that, my calves started to bother me, and during the last mile, my left foot hurt. Even though it sounds like a lot of pain, nothing hurt me too badly, and I completed the run in the sun without stopping, so yeah, me! I really need to get a new pair of shoes, however. I am thinking I have been running with these for about a year (I need to check the old posts), but considering how infrequently I have been running, I would think they still have some life left in them.

My guess is I won't be writing a running post again for another month or two, but you never know. I have been swimming 1 to 3 times per week as well as doing Zumba once a week, so I have not been completely lazy. :-)

Getting back into the swing of things

I cannot believe that I last wrote a post at the end of April. I ended that post hoping I would get in at least one swim that following week. Unfortunately, I don't think I did that. And if I did, that was my last swim for over a month. Work gets in the way, sometimes!

But the last week in May, I did get in two Zumba classes. The next week I did Zumba and swam once each. This week, I swam on Sunday and today. I am planning to do Zumba on Thursday and then another day of swimming. On a positive note, after swimming every other day for the past five days, I actually feel close to my "swimming shape." I did almost 30 laps, (12, 14, and 6), and I could have easily done more.

Running seems to be a distant memory at this point, but I am not giving up hope that I will jog-run a mile in the not-too-distant future.

Here's hoping!

I am getting out of swimming shape

For months I was swimming pretty regularly, typically three times per week, and every once in awhile I got in a fourth day. Then March came and the weather turned nice (actually, we had quite a few nice February days as well), so the indoor poor fell by the wayside. And when I started working about six weeks ago, the pool was almost forgotten. This week, however, thanks to bad weather and good timing, I managed to hit the water on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

Because I did not have a lot of time and I was out of swimming shape, I managed to swim no more than 15 laps earlier this week. In fact, one day I think I completed only 12. But today, I was alone, the pool was empty, which is rare for a Saturday, so I got in a pretty full workout. I swam 20 laps, jogged in the pool for 10 minutes, swam 10 more laps, jogged in the pool for another 10 minutes, and finished with about six or eight minutes of leg and arm exercises.

It was a tough swim week for me; I can no longer swim 10 laps at a good pace and feel just fine. But the sort-of-good-news is because I have been exercising less in general over the past six weeks because I have been working, I don't feel obligated to push myself like crazy. I would have been happy to have gotten in 20 laps today, particularly considering how full I felt from lunch hours earlier. But since I had the time, I did what I could. And that meant going slower than I used to. But I was fine with that.

And even if I get in only a day next week, I think I will be okay with that too.

After all, anything is better than nothing.

Slow and steady finished the run

After over a month of not really running, I finally laced up my shoes this morning, two counties over. As I first set out in the cloudy, 55-degree morning, I decided I would try to run for about 20 minutes. But the more I ran (and by ran, I really mean jogged), I figured I might as well keep up my slower pace and go for 30 minutes.

About three minutes into the run (jog), I noticed a slight pain in my left foot and calf, but nothing unmanageable. Soon after, I realized I should have gone with a short-sleeved tee and shorts, rather than my long sleeves and yoga pants, but there was not much I could do at that point. I also ran with a bottle of water, something I do whenever I am at my mom's, probably because she uses bottled water and it helps. For whatever reason, I noticed I prefer to keep the bottle in my left hand and would often switch it back to that hand without realizing it. As my mind wandered, I tried to make a connection between my left-hand preference and my left foot hurting.

About 20 or so minutes into the run, I noticed my right foot and calf hurting, but they could have hurt before that and I just never noticed. Fortunately, the pain was minor.

All in all, I call it a good run (jog). I am glad I got out there and can still do it, even if doing it means doing it slowish.

I continue to slack off

Having started a part-time, temp job, I have less time than I used to (duh!). As much as I hate to slack off  exercising, I am afraid I have done just that. The week leading up to Easter I managed to swim in addition to the steps I last blogged about. But I am pretty sure that was it.

This week, which is nearly over, has not been any better. At the park on Monday, I ran around with my kid off and on for about 10 to 15 minutes, but that pretty much left me winded. I have no idea why I can run a few miles (not fast of course, but I manage some speed), but yet when I am trying to tag my kid or run away from her, I am so out of breath that I have to take a break after only a minute or two.

Yesterday, we went swimming, where I managed about 18 laps and some arm exercises. Again, nothing to brag about, but at least I was moving. This afternoon I will be Zumba-ing, after not having class last week. Since I work tomorrow, I guess that will be the end of my exercising. Admittedly, since late winter has returned, I am not that disappointed that I have not gone running this week. Getting some exercise is better than none.

A step and a run

I have not been exercising as much as I should be. Since I last wrote, I swam two times, did Zumba twice, and took a short (45 minutes?) hike at Frick Park. I did some running around with the kid at the park, but that is nothing to brag about. Today I was a little more productive.

I walked up and down the 65ish steps three or four times while talking on the phone. Once I ended that call, I ran up and jogged down the steps 10 times. It took me 8:19 to do that, which is respectable. Once I finished that journey, I jogged for about eight minutes on the mostly flat upper lot at school. Then, for the final three or four minutes, I sprinted for about 20 seconds at a time and then jogged slowly in between, for probably 30 or 40 seconds.

I felt okay for most of the running, though I was wishing I had on short sleeves and shorts. At first, as usual, I was thinking it was going to be too much, but since I decided from the get-go I was going to make only 10 trips, it made it easier mentally. As for the sprinting at the end, even that was not so bad. The downside is my heart rate did get up (around 180 bpm) every time I finished a sprint. But I like to think the old ticker is going strong.

And yet another beautiful day in Pittsburgh

Not a very original blog post title, but considering the fantabulous week of weather we are having, it seems appropriate. Still not sure how I feel about May showing up in March, but it sure has been nice to get out in the beautiful weather.

Unfortunately, I did not get a run in as I had hoped. However, I did get a second step run in.

I had only 20 minutes max to get my workout in, and I did not want to chance having a bad run and not making it back in time, plus the sky was cloudy, so I figured 20 trips up and down the steps would have to suffice. Besides, my legs are pretty tight/solid, which makes it well worth the struggle.

So struggle I did, but fortunately not greatly. I finished my 20 trips in 16:26, which I am okay with. I knew there was no way I was going to best Tuesday's time, particularly considering I don't normally (or maybe ever) have two step workouts within a three-day period. And it did feel a little humid.

All in all, a good workout week. One day of swimming, two days of steps, and one Zumba workout.

Another beautiful day in Pittsburgh

We have had some beautiful March days lately. I probably should have used yesterday's just about 70-degree sunny day to get in a run, but I decided to run the steps instead. This time I smartly went sleeveless, though I probably could have also done without the 3/4-length leggings.

As usual, I felt great going up the first time, but, man, it does not take long for me to wonder how I am going to get through 20 trips. Pretty much by the second trip down, I was feeling tired and warm. I decided not to worry too much about my timing since it was the warmer than when I last did steps, but I definitely did not want to increase my workout by more than a minute.

Luckily, somehow, I bested my time from two weeks ago. I completed 20 trips in 16:07, shaving just over 20 seconds off that workout. I am not going to boldly claim that I want to get my time below 16 minutes, because, quite frankly, I would be happy with 17 minutes, maybe even 18. I cannot figure out why my timing has gotten better this year/month as compared to previous years, when I felt as if I were in better shape. Perhaps I stopped more during those workouts and then did not stop my stopwatch while doing so.

And the downside of getting through steps in a short(er) amount of time is that if I do nothing else, that means I get just over 15 minutes of exercise in, which is pretty much nothing (well, don't tell that to my thighs and heart!).

So I when I finished my 20 trips up and down the steps, I proceeded to run around the outside of the gym, which includes about 20 steps, for seven minutes. So I probably ran about 3/4 of a mile, maybe more. I am definitely satisfied with 23 minutes of working out.

If I did not work my legs so hard, I would do something today, but probably I will just walk around for a bit and enjoy the weather. Too nice to go to the pool (which, by the way, we did on Monday, and I got in about 20 laps).

Going the distance

I ran about four miles yesterday. Yeah, me! I understand that most runners would be unimpressed by that, but considering how often (or infrequently) I run, I think running four miles is pretty darn good.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, in the mid 60s. For that reason, I decided that I wanted to do a long run. Probably about eight minutes into the run, I was wishing I had short sleeves, so up my sleeves went for the remainder. For some reason my legs, covered in yoga-like pants were fine, despite their being insulated with more fat and muscle.

I did not push myself, as I was going for distance, not time, and I am not really sure how far I went. I decided after I ran my first usual mile, I would make a right and go up the Pike for about 10 minutes, which would leave me 10 minutes to get back. I made it back in less time, because there were more down hills. Then, about halfway through my final (usual) mile, I cut down a sidewalk and ran through a park, down that street and then up another steep one to get back onto the usual street.

As for pain, I noticed the top of my right thigh hurting for a bit. My left knee also hurt at the beginning, which made me panic, as I had somehow forgotten that my left knee has been hurting the previous two days. Luckily, it mostly subsided. My feet hurt off and on, but nothing major.

I did Zumba today, and I found it much more difficult to do it high impact, but I kept up. Tomorrow I will probably swim. A pretty good week.

Swimming and the knee

Other than a brisk 15-minute walk both Friday morning and Sunday afternoon, I had not done anything in the way of exercise since Zumba last Thursday. But because, for whatever reason, my left knee hurt Sunday evening and most of Monday, I was considering skipping my planned swimming yesterday. Fortunately, I thought better.

I ended up swimming, at a pretty good pace, 25 laps in about 30 minutes. I followed that up with about 15 minutes of jogging in the pool and some arm and leg water exercises. I did not notice the discomfort, which can best be likened to having twisted my knee, at all during my 55 minutes in the pool. It came back once I was home, but I will take what I can get. I hardly notice it now.

I have really been slacking off swimming lately, only one day last week, so I was glad to get in that workout at the beginning of the week. Most likely we will swim again on Wednesday unless the predicted 60-degree weather beckons us to the park. I do hope to either run my two-mile jaunt or hit the steps on Wednesday unless it rains. I think I will give my knee the day off today.

Until next time.

My legs felt like jelly

Yesterday, not feeling like running, I decided to run the 64/65 steps at my kid's school. It had been awhile since I had run those steps (probably since the fall when I last did my "usual" 20 trips). That layoff, coupled with my less-than-stellar-running times as of late, led me to think I would probably not get what I consider a good time. In fact, as I was making my first few trips, I was telling myself that in the long run, I needed to decide if I should be more concerned about timing and perhaps not making as many trips, or if I cared more about getting the "laps," for the sake of distance.

Throughout the run/jog, I felt pretty good. I was out of breath a few times, when I started pushing myself more. And I was breathing heavy pretty much the entire time, but I don't recall my knees or feet hurting at all, so that was good. I did, however, have a (left) side stitch for a bit, but I was able to work through it.

When I had finished my 20 trips, I had clocked in at 16:28, which I am pretty sure is my best time ever.

I have no idea how that can be, considering how my running times have gone in the wrong direction. But I will take it and be proud. In full disclosure, I did stop for about 10 seconds to get a drink, but still good.

I'd like to think I will get a run in on Wednesday or Thursday, but we'll have to see about the weather, which, by the way, was in the upper 50s and partly sunny and a little bit windy yesterday. The next few days are not forecast to be as warm (or if they are that warm, then not sunny).

Until next time.

Leaves are falling

After a month off from running, I got out there yesterday. The day began full of sun and decent temps, but by the time I started running, the sky had clouded up. About halfway through my run, I felt a few raindrops that fortunately did not turn into an all-out rain. Not so bad when it is almost 50 degrees nearing the end of February. Worth noting is that a leaf hit me in the face during my run, which struck me as odd since it is February. Shouldn't all the leaves have fallen off by December at the latest?!

As I began the run, I felt pain somewhere, and I tried to make note of it for this post, but I forget where exactly, so that is probably a good thing. What is not so good is that my left knee has been bothering me since the run; it feels as if I twisted it. Weird, because it is usually my right knee that bothers me. My thighs also are a bit sore, but I blame that as much on swimming some laps at the pool an hour later as I do the run and subsequent five trips up and down the outside gym steps. Yeah, I definitely got in a good workout yesterday.

When I started running, since I had just gotten over my cold, I told myself to take it easy and not be worried about time. This is hard for (competitive) me, and when I looked at my stopwatch on my cell phone as I was nearing the top of the hill at the end of the first mile, I did try to push myself so I would not be too far over 10 minutes.

Mile one: 10:25
Mile two: 8:54

Even though that time is worse than what I did last month, which was against the wind (there was some wind yesterday), I am satisfied. I was sick last week and did almost no exercise. Plus I have to think my nearly gone cough had to affect my running. I know I was breathing hard during most of the run. But the important thing is I went out there and did it. And swam some laps after that. Oh, and I did Zumba yesterday and plan to do it again today.

Hopefully in another month or two, I can work on getting my time back down. But until then, I will try to focus on just getting exercise.

Stupid cold

Well, so much for my intentions of running and doing other types of exercise this week. My sore throat turned into a cold, which became progressively worse as the week went on. The only other bit of exercise I did was a 15-minute-round-trip walk in the chilly air Tuesday morning (hardly counts, to me anyway) and about 15 minutes on the stepper followed by about 10 on the treadmill on Wednesday. I was going at a low-to-medium intensity on both machines, but yet I felt as if I were running. The subsequent 10 minutes in the hot tub only made things worse. For that reason, I decided I would skip Zumba yesterday, plus the thought of blowing my nose once or twice during ever song did not seem appealing.

I can only hope that next week I will be back to "normal" and can at least get in a three or four days of exercise. I hate feeling lazy and the thought of becoming out of shape.

Slacking off

Because I subbed three days the week before and all five days last week, I have been a little lax with my exercise. I cannot even recall what I did the week before last; I know I did Zumba, but I have no idea how many times I went swimming. Since I subbed for gym that week, I guess I can count the many laps I did that day!

Last week, I did Zumba on Monday and then swam on Wednesday. And that was it for the week. I'd like to think my dancing around with the kids in various music classes also counted for something, but that was only a few minutes per class and I was hardly moving. But at least it was most days.

Today, despite my sore throat, I headed to the pool. I started off jogging for 15 minutes and eventually did 15 laps. It was not an intense workout, but at least I got there.

Here's hoping that the temps will warm up enough to melt the snow so I can get a run in again. It has been too long.

Nothing much new

I have not run since I last posted about it. I had things to do this week, including three days of subbing, finishing up my taxes, and attending a volunteer service, which prevented me from getting a run in. Fortunately, I did sub one day for gym class, and I ended up doing some laps with most of the classes.

On Thursday I did a really high impact version of Zumba. I really felt it (and pain in my stupid right knee when I did some knee bends), but it was a good workout. I am getting better and better at it, though I still can't follow all the moves or completely master the hip shaking.

I went to the pool two other days, and I swam about 20 laps one day and 30 yesterday. I also got in some jogging at the pool as well as some arm and leg things.

This week that is just ending had two really nice days (one in the upper 50s and the other about 60 degrees), as well as some sun on one or two of the other chilly days. Most of the days would have been great for a run. Oh, well.

Since I am subbing every day next week, running is out. I may only get to swim two days as well. But come the following week, I am determined to get back on track.

Against the wind but into the sun

According to the weather peeps, today was supposed to be in the 50s, but rainy, so I planned to do my weekly run tomorrow or Wednesday when it was supposed to be sunny, though chillier (between the upper 30s and lower 40s). It certainly did pour this morning, and it was a bit chilly, in the 30s, but fortunately by noon, the rain seemed to leave the skies and the temps started to rise.

So I set out to run around 2 p.m., going my usual route, when the temps were in the upper 40s. As sunny is it was, one could have thought it was 60. In fact with the sun feeling so warm, I decided to skip the sweatshirt/hoodie and wear just a long-sleeved t-shirt with workout pants. Wise choice. I was chilly for only about 30 seconds once or twice the entire run.

As for pain, I felt little, so yeah. I did notice my right knee hurt about halfway into my first mile, but not again after that. The roads were wet, but fortunately, I never slipped.

All in all, it was a good run. Even though the wind on the way down was a bit strong, the sun more than made up for it and left me feeling pretty good.

Mile one:10:12
Mile two: 8:46

Considering the wind, I think I did pretty well time-wise.

Until next time.

Zumba take three!

I just want to go on record saying that I made it through my third Zumba class this past Thursday (two weeks in a row). I am starting to pick up on more of the steps, actually anticipating some of them. And I think my hips actually moved the way they were supposed to on more than one occasion.

I am going to try to stick with Zumba weekly or at least three times per month. I need the diversity, and it does not hurt that according to our instructor, you can burn around 800 calories.

Zumba take two!

After swimming last Wednesday and with Thursday being cold, I decided that I should try Zumba again.

This time went better than my first time a few weeks ago. I was able to keep up with the moves more so than last time. I was even able to anticipate some upcoming steps. For the most part, however, my hips still do not move the way they probably should for Zumba, but that is true for probably more than half of the people there, so I don't feel so bad.

The instructor has added some squats to the routine. Because of swimming and running, my thighs and butt are fairly strong, so I had no trouble with those. In fact, I said to a couple of the ladies that I would rather do squats for an entire song than some of the crazy hip moves!

Since the temps are supposed to get cold again (50 now, but into the 30s tomorrow), I am planning to try Zumba again this coming Thursday. Hopefully, eventually, I will get it going on!

A lot of swimming and some boredom

Since I last blogged, I have gone swimming three times. I swam 25 consecutive laps on Wednesday, about 30 laps on Sunday, and then yesterday, I swam about 15 laps and threw in some jogging for good measure. For some reason, my laps were sluggish yesterday. Whereas on Sunday, I did my 30 laps in about 35 minutes, yesterday it took me well over 20 minutes to get in 15 laps. I was okay going slowly, since my speed was pretty good the day before. But I was not sure what was causing me to languish, if you will.

Nonetheless, with this crazy weather, I am glad I have the indoor pool option. Right now it is about 50 degrees, but it has been raining all morning, so running is out. That means no exercise for me today; I definitely do not feel like getting in the pool three days in a row. Tomorrow, probably.

That first mile keeps getting longer!

Wanting to take advantage of the decent (mid 40s) temps again, I decided another run was in order. Today's jaunt was a bit chillier than Friday's; I was only slightly warm as I ran up the hill, but never enough that it warranted removing the same hoodie I wore on Friday. In fact, I almost wished I had gloves on as I was running up the hill, but after about a half mile, I got over that.

My left foot hurt less than it did on Friday; really, it was hardly noticeable, so that was good. But I did not push myself, mostly because I had eaten a pretty big lunch about an hour prior to the run. But a bigger reason for my running without worrying about time was that I don't want to get my heart rate up too high. When I ran up the steps after my two miles on Friday, I checked my pulse, and it was over 180, which is too high for my age, unfortunately. So I just can't see myself giving it my all as I run up the final hill at the end of my first mile.

Mile one: 10:42
Mile two: 8:52

So even slower first mile than on Friday, but what can you do? Over the next few months, I will have to decide if I can accept that mile one may never get below 10 minutes again. For now, in January, at the age of 40, I am okay with it. After all, I am still running!

A great day at the pool

Before I blog about today's run, I wanted to document my morning at the pool yesterday.

Much like I did a few weeks ago, I swam 20 laps, jogged for 20 minutes, swam 20 more laps, and jogged for 20 more minutes.

I was not feeling it at first, but I pushed myself a little because I know I need to get in better shape and burn off those holiday pounds. I was pretty pleased with my timing of the 20 laps; it took me about 27 minutes for the first 20 laps and about 25 for the second 20 laps. I kept my pool jogging pretty moderate, save for trying to run as best as I could the last few minutes.

My feet did not cramp up as they have been doing lately, so it was a good workout. Probably won't work that hard at the pool the rest of the week!

Wardrobe malfunctions

The American Dialect Society defines a wardrobe malfunction as "an unanticipated exposure of bodily parts." My wardrobe malfunction today was fortunately nothing like that, but just a few annoyances while running.

Yes, I am happy to say that I did manage to run today, in sunny, 55-degree weather, a rare treat in January. I opted for a long-sleeved t-shirt and thin hoodie, but was already too hot in the hoodie just a few tenths of a mile into it. Even before I became uncomfortable, my keys fell out of my hoodie pocket, which necessitated my stopping, turning around, picking up said keys, and starting again. I also was contending with my mp3 player, something I rarely use/wear, mostly in the interest of safety (i.e., the fear of not being to hear a car). Today, however, for some reason I could not keep the clip on my hoodie, so I ended up holding it, which was annoying.

When I reached the top of the hill/first mile, I hurriedly took off the hoodie and tied it around my waist, promptly ripping out my earphones from my mp3 player. I also managed to lose my headband in my hoodie for a couple of seconds. For the record, I stopped timing myself during this minor ordeal.

Fortunately, the run back went more smoothly, although I did manage to once again rip out the headphones once I finished the run and started going up and down the gym steps about a half dozen times.

All told, the run was a bit difficult, which is not surprising considering I last ran outside over a month ago. My feet, mostly my left one, hurt a bit during the first mile, but I hardly noticed it/them after that. And my timing was not great. But I completely the two miles, ran up and down the steps about five or six times, as noted above, and even managed to swim eight laps in the pool an hour later. Therefore, I call today a success. Not bad for a 40-year-old gal!

Mile one: 10:30
Mile two: 8:54

Resistance is futile!

I was not my usual exercising self over the past few weeks. I think I swam only three times between the days leading up to Christmas through New Year's Eve. As for running, I had not run at all for almost three weeks, back when I fought with the treadmill. And my last run outside was over a month ago, way back when I was still in my 30s!

But yesterday, not really feeling like swimming lap after lap as I had done on Saturday and Monday, I decided to jog in the pool instead. To save my knees some, I would jog up a lane and then over, and then I would jog backwards three lanes from where I started. When I am in 3', I can actually pump my arms and get some speed going. But when I get into 4' and beyond (I usually turn just before I get to 5'), it feels as if I am going through molasses, not that I have had first-hand experience.

For the last few minutes of my 30 minute "jog," I tried to run as fast as I could, perpendicular to the lanes, while in 3'. I never feel as if I get a great workout when I jog in the pool, mostly, I presume, because I am not doing it that fast. So hopefully with the speed at the end, I challenged myself enough. And I did manage to swim five laps after that, just because it would seem almost pathetic not to get in some laps.

It has been cold the past few days and crazy snowy on Tuesday, so running has been out this week. But maybe, just maybe, I can bring myself to run a couple miles on Friday, when it is supposed to hit the upper 40s. I won't have much of an excuse then.