Sun, come back!

Because I was running late, I ran only about 1.8 miles on a sun-filled, warm (about 66 degrees!), but windy, afternoon this past Friday. I ran pretty quickly up the hill, thinking that I might be able to squeeze in the two miles in the 20 minutes I had. Of course that hill that left me pretty breathless, and it took me a few minutes to recover. Ultimately, I decided to cut it short; I just could not take a chance and risk getting back into the parking lot, neither cooled down nor stretched at the same time my kid was walking to my empty car.

Fortunately, I also swam 15 or so laps an hour later, so I did get a pretty good workout in. The very next day, the kid and I walked about a mile in 30-some degree temps. (C'mon, did we really need to lose over 30 degrees in under 24 hours?!)

And on Sunday, I swam about 25 laps, which I thought was the most ground (well, water) I had covered since I started swimming again. But then I realized I did that last weekend. I am now trying to swim three or four laps at a time instead of two, to try to increase my stamina. Hopefully, I can keep that up.

Unfortunately, I developed a slight cold Friday evening. Again. After only about a month and a half of being healthy. Grr.

I am still trying to exercise. And fortunately, I have felt better after I have done something physical. But I have a feeling I will neither swim nor run today. Just can't motivate myself.

Dear real December weather, please come back

This week was crazy cold. There was just no way I was going to run in temps in the teens. Wednesday was pretty decent, with temps in the lower 20s by earlier afternoon, but with the snow and ice still on the road, it was just not enough to motivate me to run outside. I did get a brisk, 20-minute walk in, so there is that.

So when I went to the pool on Friday, I knew that in addition to swimming my laps and jogging around the pool, I needed to get on that dreaded treadmill again. This time, I ran about 1.5 miles, and, once again, it was quite a chore.

I do not understand how people run on treadmills. It is sooooo boring. I simply cannot help myself from staring at the elapsed time, which seems to drag on and on, and wishing I had just completed my mile(s) already. I wanted to be done after one mile, which took me just under 10 minutes, but since my kid was in the exercise room with me watching the last few minutes of a Penguins of Madagascar Christmas special, I figured I might as well keep going.

Even though I have not been running, with the regular swimming I have been doing, I have managed to stay in pretty good shape. I will say that after running 1.5 miles and doing a set of various arm and leg exercises on some weight machines, swimming laps was quite challenging yesterday.

Can't we just have our regular December back?!

Stressed out + running = good and bad

I ran yesterday, for the first time in over a week. This layoff was due mostly to a family medical situation that forced me to be on the phone for hours a day with various people as well as required a few trips to the hospital. So despite my feeling stressed out and tired, I figured it would do me some good to run.

Oddly enough, before I knew it, I was finished running up the killer hill. For the first time in pretty much ever, it did not feel too terribly taxing, but, of course, it was no walk in the park either. As I was running, I was thinking I had a good chance to finish that first mile in under 10 minutes again, so I pushed myself as much as I could. As I came near the top of the hill at the end of mile 1, my stopwatch hit 9:43. In full disclosure, I turned around just before I reached the peak, but that was still probably my best time to date.

Unfortunately, I paid for that during my second mile back, which is mostly downhill. More often than not, I try to run down the last steep hill, to keep that second mile time around 8:30 or so. Yesterday, it was all I could do to jog the last couple tenths of a mile. I ended up finishing that mile in about 8:50, which is the worst second mile I have had for quite some time. I was also not able to run up the driveway of the school and run around the upper lot to get in at least another half mile, as I typically do when I have finished my two miles.

Hopefully things will be back to normal soon. But for now, I can at least be glad I got a short run in this week.

A pretty good workout week

I started my Labor Day with a run around Indiana County (particularly, my mom's neighborhood). I added an extra street or two, so I ended up running around 3.3 or 3.4 miles (my best guess, based on my time, which was around 35 minutes) at a fairly easy pace. I really like that run. The hills don't seem awful.

Wednesday, I ran around my neighborhood, visiting streets I had not been on since 2002, when we bought our house. One of the hills was an absolute killer, but it felt good to complete it, even slowly. I am guessing I ran about 4.5 miles, again based on my time, which was around 45 minutes. Mostly I am glad that no one ran me over; a couple of times cars came pretty close, which I found surprising since I was running up the street (barely a hill) for quite some time. It was not as if I were darting across the street out of nowhere. This is why I no longer run while listening to music.

Today, I ran up and down the steps near my kid's school 20 times, with a break halfway between. I did that in about 17:30, but not sure how that compares to previous attempts. I did not feel as if I was running (well, jogging) as fast as I normally do, but I blame that on yesterday's run. When I completed the steps, I ran around the upper lot for about 12 minutes, ending with a sprint for the last 30 seconds. I hope that I did not correctly count my bpm; if so, when I finished my sprint, I was at 200, which might have put me close to a heart attack. But within a couple of minutes, I was down around 100, so I am guessing not.

Tomorrow, I will be subbing for the gym teacher, so I should get some jogging in during the kids' warm ups. All in all, I call this a good week. I feel (and felt) pretty good overall and I "mixed" it up a little.

My longest run since, well, a long time

Yesterday, I ran (well, mostly jogged) up and jogged (perhaps closer to a fast walk) down the 65 steps in the school lot about 22 times. I felt it during and after, but just not enough to give myself a day off today. With that in mind, this morning I decided to try a longer run, without pushing myself speed-wise.

I did not time my first (usual) mile, though it was probably around 11 minutes. The middle part of my run was on Greensburg Pike, which I used to run on when I lived in the Forest Hills/Chalfant area. I sped up a little during that part because I noticed two senior citizens running at about the same pace as I was; there was just no way I was going to let grandma and grandpa outpace me! Fortunately, there are no killer hills on that road, just some smaller up- and downhills, and I ended up running that leg of the journey in under 25 minutes. I tried to take a slight advantage of the last, mostly downhill mile (I again passed the grandparents), though that mile still took me about nine minutes to complete.

I ended up finishing the run in 45 minutes, give or take a minute. When I measured the jaunt, I was happy to see I ran almost 4.5 miles. I am guessing the last time I ran that far was during the Great Race in 2002 (I actually ran 6.2 miles, since I ran the 10k).

The thing about running races, at least for me, but I bet for most people, is you don't really need to run that distance on a regular basis. If you can run close to it without taxing yourself too much, then you will probably be fine to run farther. This entire summer, I ran 3 miles only twice, and yet I managed to run the 3.1 5k on Saturday just fine.

Anyway, I felt pretty good at the end of today's run, confident I can run even farther next time. So much so, that if I were going to be in town on September 26, I would so be running the Great Race (at a very slow pace, mind you). I guess I will just have to try to get in some more longer runs, for my own satisfaction.

Another run around the track

Although I can now run my usual route near my kid's school, there was no way I was going to do it today when it was 90 degrees (or the next two days for that matter). So I decided to run in the morning instead, around the local track.

I ran the first three laps at about two minutes each, pushing myself because I had no hills to contend with. Unfortunately, during the fourth and final lap of my first mile, I could not keep up the pace, so I ended up finishing the mile in about 8:10 or 8:15. I guess I should be happy considering I typically run my second mile in my usual route (the one with the big downhill at the beginning and the end) at around 8:30. But I tend to focus more on what I can't do, or at least what I end up not doing well.

I spent the next a little over two miles alternating between sprinting (for me, anyway) and jogging about 110 yards each (the sprints were probably a little farther). I tended to do each one between 19 and 22 seconds. After the first few intervals, I generally felt overworked and tired during the sprints. Even though I did not seem to be running fast (and my form was surely not pretty), I could not muster up the stamina to run any faster. Yet when I did my recovery jog, I typically felt okay at the end. If I had jogged a greater distance in between each sprint, I might have done better overall. Who knows.

Regardless, I am glad I "mixed it up"; when you do the same thing over and over, your body gets used to it. Plus I recently read that a good way to increase your speed is to throw in some sprints. Tomorrow I hope to get a regular run in, though maybe for only two miles. If not, then I will plan to get in good run on Thursday. I gotsta have goals!

In conclusion, hills, heat/humidty are evil!

This morning I ran around Indiana, Indiana County again. I ran the same route I did three weeks ago, but I threw in another .3 miles for good measure. Well, that and because the Run Around the Square 5K (3.1 miles) is only four days away. Ugh!

When I started my run today, the wind was in my face and it was quite breezy. The last time I ran in temps that were around 60 degrees, it was probably May. I actually felt a little chilly. Not that I am complaining.

This run felt pretty good. Sure, as usual, it was a struggle anytime I ran up a hill. But actually my bigger concern is that I don't take advantage of the downhills. I guess the speed scares me, so I tend to run kind of slowly. I was thinking about how I need to channel the competitive edge I used to have/feel when I was running regularly years ago. Hopefully, I can do that on Saturday, assuming there are some downhills.

When my run ended today, in stark contrast to last week, I felt pretty good, even though I was pushing myself at the end (mostly because I had been feeling like a running slacker for most of the run). Of course, it makes all the difference in the world when you end your run on a flat street. Still, I was kind of surprised that when I checked my heart rate as I was finishing up today, it was only around 140 bpm. Contrast that with the end of my uphill run last week, when my heart rate was at a very high 180 bpm (which is pretty much my maximum).

I probably should have run a little farther today than the 2.9 miles I did, considering the (usual) lack of struggle I felt. Yeah, low temps and flat ending. Regardless, hopefully I can get an over 3-mile run in on Thursday, but that will be it before the race. Almost there.

Finally a long run

Last week, I managed only one (three-mile) run, plus about 10 minutes of running steps. Not a good week when you consider I spent most of the ensuing weekend eating, thanks to one aunt in town visiting and the birthday weekend of another aunt.

Yesterday, having an hour to kill, I decided to try a long run. I managed to go for about 40 minutes. I am pretty sure I could have run another 10 minutes, but since I ended my run by going up a hill (which is how I normally start), I decided to call it a good run at that. On top of my usual route, this run mostly consisted of running up and down side streets. I ended up running backwards down a couple of streets, which is something I had not done since I was 30. Fortunately, eight years later, I was still able to do this without taking a tumble, and my knees were grateful for the break. My calfs were probably not as happy for the workout, but I needed it.

While on Facebook a few weeks ago, I was debating whether or not to run. A friend suggested I run three miles and see how it feels, and if that worked out, she said to keep going. I had to tell her that three miles is a good run for me; a test run is more like five minutes. But after yesterday's run, which, admittedly, was kind of slow thanks to all the hills, I'd like to think I can push myself into longer runs.

I will never do a marathon or even a half-marathon, but I am determined to keep going, keep improving, and just to try to be in the best possible shape I can.

The tale of two miles

On Monday, I finally managed to successfully time each mile of my two-mile run.

Mile one: 10:24
Mile two: 8:36

I consider that a pretty stark contrast, though I am not too surprised considering the first mile has the killer hill at the beginning and then another, longer, though not as steep, hill at the end. I also pushed myself harder on the way back/down, just knowing it took me over 10 minutes to run the first mile.

Based on my 19-minute run, I feel as if I should be able to run a 5k in the next few months, and I may even be able to do it in about 30 minutes. However, because I have run three miles only a couple of time since I started running again this past fall, and I doubt I will run three miles too many times before I actually run a 5k, I will be satisfied finishing a 5k in about 32 or 33 minutes.

Of course, once I get closer to an actual race, I may change my goal. The type of course, naturally, will also affect my time. And this also assumes I don't throw in the towel. I have kept up with running for six months, but I can be fickle about this sort of thing.

Stay tuned.