Must have missed logging a week

I ran last weekend, but for some reason did not blog about it. Really the main (usually only) reason I blog about my running is so I can keep track of it. Otherwise, I would never remember doing it. I am thinking I ran on Labor Day, but would not bet the farm on it. But I seem to recall feeling good about eating a lot at the neighbor's picnic that day, so I am going to go with that.

When I woke up yesterday, I was chilly for the first time in months. I looked at the temps, and decided that 55 degrees was too cold to run. Which is crazy, because in my running days, 50-degree temps were the best. But I guess my older body is used to running in warmer weather, and although I hate anything above 70, 55 felt too extreme.

So I blew off running and went about my day. But when I started walking the dog early that evening, I decided to try to run a bit. That decision was mostly made for me because Bailey was in a running mood from about minute 1, so I went with it. I might have slowed down or stopped a couple of times, but it was my almost-typical 1.2 mile run. In jean, no less. When we got back home, and I started to take off my tennis shoes, I decided to re-lace up and get back out there. I ended up running around the field at the end of our street for somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. I kept a steady, not fast pace. I felt really good and probably could have kept going. I think it helped that it was all flat.I don't think I will be running in jeans again any time soon, but still, not constricting at all.

I am definitely glad I kept my streak up. Once the temps turn really cold or gets wet or snowy, I am guessing I will put my running on a hiatus. The dog needs her daily walk, and I just don't see myself running on wet roads with her without falling.

But until then, hopefully I can keep it up. And the walking. And the weight lifting, which I have been doing about every three days.

Hope I get another run in

I did not blog about my Saturday morning run. I accidentally deleted it from my stopwatch, but I ran for 40 minutes. That I know. I also know that it is not 40 consecutive minutes because I had to stop for a poop break for Bailey, as per usual. And I when I completed the first trip, I dropped her off, wiped off my sweat, gulped some water, put on a little more sunblock, before heading back out. So my first about 13 minutes had two interruptions. But the next 27 minutes, I just went.

I seem recall not feeling too much pain until I had done the first trip, and then not feeling one of my pains until I finished my second trip. Regardless, it went well, and I could have kept going.

I am hoping to get a run in tomorrow night. Friday night I will be packing. And Saturday we head to the beach, where I hope to get two runs in over the next week.

I have also been pretty good about lifting weights again. I started about 3.5 weeks ago, and have done it 3 times per week pretty consistently. I flaked out last night, but because I woke up early today, I got in two sets. Sure, not my usual three sets, but I was mixing it up.

Oh, and I talked to my cardiologist friend who said that it is okay that my heart rate gets up so high when I run up hills. As long as I am not sustaining the 100 percent (which I am not; I think I keep it around 85 percent during most of my run), then I am fine. So, good.

Later.

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?!

The dreaded treadmill

After last week's tough run in the cold, I could not will myself to do it again this week (welcome to the next three months in Pittsburgh!). But since I had been making such good progress running, I hated the thought of a layoff. So hello, treadmill, old friend!

For about three years now, Bally's has been trying to get me to come back. The $100 offer for a year's membership is pretty good, but I was hesitant to spend the money on something I would rarely use or stop using after a few months. The last one to two years I was a member at Bally's, I probably went four or five times. And my husband reminded me of this, saying instead of rejoining, I should just take a 100-dollar bill and burn it.

Then, about a month and a half ago, my mother-in-law generously bought us a family pool membership at a local hotel. My kid loves to swim (and pretty much has no other interests), so it seemed like a good idea. And I don't hate swimming (more just the bathing suit!), plus I figured the smaller exercise room would give me the chance to start lifting weights again or jump on a treadmill if I felt so inclined.

So I did yesterday. And IT WAS HARD! I could not believe how challenging running about 6 mph was, considering that pace was slower than my usual run mostly up hill. I did start on a 4.5 incline (no idea what that means exactly), and once I started getting into the 9-minute mile pace, I had to cut back the incline.

After running about 3/4 of a mile and being bored and willing the miles to add up, I decided to alternate between a fast (7 to 9 mph) pace for 15 to 30 seconds and a slower one (5 to 6.5 mph) for up to 60 seconds. As challenging as that was, it forced me to keep going and really pay attention to the time. No more boredom!

I was planning to run only two miles, knowing I was going to swim for 30 minutes after and I had already used the weight machines on my upper body. Unfortunately, all that frenetic running caused a wire on the treadmill to come loose, shutting the darned thing down after I had run about 1.75 miles. I tried to start it back up, but after a couple of minutes, I gave up and jumped on the older treadmill for a two-minute walk.

Because it is so darned cold (in the upper 20s and maybe 30 or 31), I am going to try the treadmill again next week. Hopefully that baby rights itself!