I Hate Humidity

Man these last 2 weeks it has been raining off and on every day. It has been so humid here.. The humidity makes it feel like 5-10 degrees warmer.. Luckily it has been only in the mid 70's to mid 80's... But definently too hot to run in.. It has really been affecting my energy..



Mon. 27th

2.50 Miles.. I dont know if it was because I ran first thing in the morning and so I did not stretch per reccomendations from running book or just what exactly but I felt so stiff and sore and it was really hard to run today.. Goal was to run 2 miles at 10:14 my average pace was 9:53 so that was good..



Weds. 29th

Tempo run Goal 5 miles 3 miles at 8:40 Did lower body weights before running while waiting for breakfast to digest. I knew this one was going to be hard.. the last tempo run like this one I did on treadmill was brutal.. Did really well for the first 2 1/2 miles of speed run then pooped out and had to stop and catch breath for a min then started back up and was able to get close to goal.. The last mile of speed run I had slowed down quite a bit I was ranging from 8:45 to 9:15 speed so I figured I wouldnt do as good on this one.. Plugged data in and 1st mile of speed run my average pace was 8.23 2nd mile was 8.40 and 3rd mile was 8.49 so only 9 secs off goal so I was pretty surprised.. I knew the first mile would be good because when I started out my paces were around mid 7 to 8 min so I could actually slow down a bit.. By the second mile I was slowing down quite a bit. I was actually falling below goal and was having to speed up I think thats why I got so winded and had to stop for a breather.. thank heavens it gives you an average pace for the mile.. All in all I think I did quite well...



I felt much better on todays run.. I think the lifting weight helped loosen me up quite a bit.. I only had tight lower leg and ankle on the bad leg for about a mile and a half then it loosened up really good.. Even my knee was not as bad.. I even ran without the knee strap so I was quite happy that it didnt feel worse.. Once I stoped though my shin started tightening up and had to keep stretching it out and icing it and the knee. I am not sure why but that leg for some reason is more tighter then the other one and has always been that way.. My hamstring is way tight in that leg and I think that is what is causing the shin splints in this leg.. I can tell the muscles are alot weaker in my hams and especially that leg.. If I can just get it to loosen up I think that would help my shin splints alot.. I really try to stretch that leg extra good but still cant seem to get it to loosen as much as the other leg.. Any suggestions?? Finished the morning with upper body weights...

All in all a good run...



Ok so all these people say they run to loose weight but it obviously isnt working for me.. I run but still havnt lost a pound.. So I have started to watch my calories and I am trying to reduce my calorie intake by 500 a day.. Can I just say I really hate counting calories... On the days I run I dont have to much of a problem but the days I dont run I dont make the calorie goal.. I guess I am going to have to do some form of excercise everyday to be able to stick with this cal reduction.. I still havnt been able to figure it all out with what to eat after and before my runs.. Like today I lifted weights and ran so I burned double the calories and I must have not ate the right foods or amounts afterwords because all day I have just felt tired and sluggish like I needed to eat something or needed some kind of energy rush.. but nothing I ate seemed to provide that for me.. I felt the same way on the days I do my long runs.. Any helpful tips on eating and trying to loose weight while running?

Friday 31st

Long run today.. 7.67 miles
Even though I didnt get out until 12:30 in the afternoon it wasnt as bad as I thought it would be.. It was around 74 degrees when I left but there was no humidity and that made a world of diffrence.. It took almost the whole run for my leg to finally loosen up and not hurt but the last mile or two I didnt feel it at all which was nice.. It took long enough.. But also the last mile or two my knee started hurting a little more so that was a bummer.. But at least through most of the run it did pretty well.. I figured I better do my long run today because tomorrow I dont think I will be up to it..

Tomorrow I am taking the physical agility test to become a firefighter/EMT It is a pretty hard test.. I dont think I would have a problem with the test if it wasnt for the fact that they time you so that makes it pretty hard.. The one I think I will struggel most with is dragging a 120 pound dummy 15 feet then up a flight of stairs then back down the stairs and another 15 feet to the target.. I went up to the firestation to have a friend who is currently a firefighter give me some tips and show me what they will be doing and just with practicing carrying the dummy 100 feet was hard.. My hams were so tight and sore after it and that wasnt even going up and down any stairs.... I worry about carrying all that weight and doing the stairs with my bad knee... should be interesting..... I am pretty nervous..

Quote of the Day


Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about.

New Shoes

Monday-
Went for my light run today.. Training sched said 2 miles at 10:14 Actually went 2.9 I think I was good with my pace.. I decided to lift weights before my run because my running book said you should lift before runs.. So I gave it a try.. My legs and body felt really strong on the run which felt really good but I felt kinda pooped though.. I didn't have the energy.. I think my feeling sluggish was also all the junk food I ate the night before.. Sunday's we usually piece all day on junk food.. I'm sure that didn't help.. Other then that a pretty good run..

Weds.-
Got my new Garmin Forerunner 305. I was so excited to use it.. I spent tues night trying to get it all set up and learn the ropes of it for todays run.. I followed some hints from Julia's blog. She recently has gotten one too and was trying to figure some things out and got some good advice so I tapped into it as well.. Apparently the alerts dont work on the interval workouts which was what I was doing today so that didnt help me out with my pace and on the interval workouts it doesnt even show your pace all it does is show the time and your remaining miles. So that kinda bummed me not to be able to watch my pace but it ended up working out to my benefit.. I just concentrated on my effort. I was to run 2 1600's in 8:11 with 800 jogs in between. When I got home and plugged the garmin into the computer to download the data I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was faster then my goal was.. My first speed lap was done at a 7:59 pace and my second lap was done at an 8:05 pace so I was really pleased with that.. I had a great run overall and felt pretty good.. Although it was hard it wasnt as bad as my first tempo run on the treadmill.. I think the calabarations on the treadmill were off because I dont feel that I was running that hard out side.. Got my 5 miles reccomended run in..

Fri.
Only got in 3/4 of my kickmax dvd in.. Had to many phonecalls and then the fridge repair guy showed up so couldnt finish it.. plus my energy level was way down anyways.

Sat.
Long run today.. training sched reccomended 6 at 10:14 I programmed in under quick workouts a 7.5 mile run at 10 :14 This time it did show my current running pace then about every so often it would show an average running pace.. It still didnt seem to beep or alert me though when I was below or above my goal and I am not sure why.. I set it up to I am pretty sure the right way but i dont know..I constantly watched my pace through out the run and saw that I was always running a little faster then I should be according to the current pace shown I was always around the low to mid 9 min pace so I had to keep forcing myself to slow down to try and stay in the high 9 to low 10 pace.. It was a fairly easy run today.. It was a bit on the warm side today though.. I got out way to late it was pouring rain when I was originally going to go so I waited and didnt get out until around noon and it was around 78-80 degrees but with the humidity it felt like 90 it really zapped the energy out of me quick.. I noticed by my last 2-3 miles I was slowing down alot and didnt have to hard a time keeping it in the 10 min range.. There was even some times I fell below my goal pace and had to force myself to speed up.. Plus by mile 5 my knee started hurting a little more.. I didnt quite get my route just right.. I went the same way I always do for my long runs that I have been wearing my pedometer with and using the garmin today I came in short by quite a bit.. My pedometer showed usually around 7.4-7.7 but the garmin showed 6.85 miles today.. So that tells me my pedometer was a bit off.. I was a little dissapointed not to get in the mileage I wanted but I was so tired and hot today that I dont think I could have gotten much farther anyways.. It's amazing what temps can do to your runs.. I remember the first long run I did this year which was only a few weeks ago I got out early in the morning and it was nice and cool and I felt so great and felt like I could have done a half with no problem but today I know I could have never done one.. The heat really drains it out of you..

I went and got new shoes today.. I thought maybe my knee and shin probs could be due to my shoes (even though I have had them all along LOL) so I invested in a new pair.. I had somewhere around 4-500 on my current pair so it was probably time anyways.. I got some Brooks Glycerins..I like the purple shown but because I have such big feet all they had was blue in my size.. I am excited to wear them on Mondays run and see how they do.. I also got some energy beans and some gu gel to try out and see how they do on my longer runs.. I worry because I have heard to many scarry stories on the gels and stomach probs, and there isnt really any bathrooms or water around on my long runs so I am going to have to figure something out..
Any suggestions?

Half Training..

So this week I decided to start training for a half Marathon that I am still contemplating on doing in Sept.. Still havn't made up my mind.. Anyways for this first week I was supposed to do an easy run of 2 miles on mon. A tempo run of 5 miles on weds and A long run on Sat.

Mon.
I was only supposed to go 2 miles but after all this time of doing more miles it was hard to stick with just 2 miles. I was pretty close at 2.76 It was hard not to keep going but I really wanted to stay fairly close to the training plan I got off runnersworld.com.

Weds.
This was probably one of the hardest runs I have ever done.. I had never done a tempo run before so I knew this would be a little challenging.. I was supposed to do 5 total miles with 1 mile warm up 1 mile cool down and 3 miles at 8:40 I decided to do it on the treadmill so I wouldnt have to keep stopping and try and look at the pedometer.. I figured it would be easier.. I failed the first mile at tempo I was off by like .16 of a mile and I thought I was running pretty fast so by mile 3 I stepped it up quite a bit but still didnt make it. I was off by .5 so pretty close but I was so tired by this point I had to step off the treadmill to catch my breath before jumping back on to do mile 4 I was able to get about half way and then I had to slow it down I was dying but I was able to speed it up towards the end and came pretty close again I was off my just a couple of points. It was hard to do a whole mile for cool down I usually only speed walk like .25 miles when I normally run so it was hard to do a whole mile I slow runned for about .7 miles then walked the rest.. This was a way hard run for me.. My legs were screaming by the time I was done.. My knee was really acting up.. It actually started really hurting when I slowed down to walk. It felt better to run go figure..

Fri
Ok I was pretty dumb today. I did full body weights and my kick max dvd then went out and shoveled and hauled and spread mulch in my yard for 4-5 hrs.. As if it wasnt bad enough to do the weights then the kickmax dvd, but I didnt get a chance to do the weights earlier in the week so I really wanted to do them... I was so wasted by the time I finished in my yard I was ready to pass out and my whole body just hurt.. I didnt know how on earth I was going to do my long run the next morning.

Sat
Not as sore as I thought I would be but still pretty sore.. Decided to stick with my sched and do my long run.. Was supposed to do 6 miles at 10:14 My first mile by my pedometer it said I was right on but according to the trail markings it said I was off by 15 secs so I dont know which one was more accurate.. I headed off on trails that had no mileage postings from then on so I just went off my pedometer. All my remaining miles said I was somewhere in the 9 1/2 to 10 min range which was pretty good.. I ended up going a little farther then I should have but on the last couple long runs I have been averaging in the 7-8 mile range so I really didnt want to decrease when the whole idea is to increase my mileage so I went 7.43 today.. A little bit of probs with knee starting around mile 5 but leg did really well today.. I wish I could get a pain free run with my knee but just dont think it will ever happen.. All in all a pretty good run.. But tonight I am so sore I can hardly move.. I think all the sore muscles has finally kicked in and I am really feeling it.. Good thing tomorrow is a rest day and monday is an easy run..

Refreshing, Soggy Run

This one is a little lengthy!!!

So I just have to tell about my run today.. after Thursdays speed run I developed a anterior ? shin splint just opposite side of where I have been struggling with pains since last year. So I was not to happy about that.. But at least it wasn't really bad.. I ran a little farther then I had planned on Thursday and I think with the exertion I was using and then the hills it just put a little too much stress on my leg.. I knew I should have stuck with the treadmill... Owell I rested on Fridays and decided I would try my long run on Sat. depending on how it felt.. I did a little research on shin stretching and went back through my running book and realized that it says that if you run first thing in the morning like I have you shouldn't stretch until halfway through your run or wait until after your run.. I forgot about that and have been stretching before my runs so maybe that is my problem is I am stretching cold muscles and have been doing more damage then help?? There is so many conflicting story's out there about stretching that I don't know what I should really be doing but I think I will start waiting to stretch until half way into or after my runs...

So On to today's run... I woke up about 7:15 and decided I could prob run so I headed out by around 7:45.. Just as I got all my clothes on and was about ready it opened up and started raining.. It was supposed to come in last night but it was a little late.. I really debated on going but decided it might be kind of fun so what the hay... It started thundering and lightning so it was kind of cool to listen to.. It was just a light steady rain when I left nothing too bad but about a mile and a half into my run I had just made it out of the subdivision and was getting ready to head down the pollyann trail and I stopped to do a little stretching and I could see this big dark blanket coming for me.. I immediately knew I was in trouble and I had no where to go.. It just opened up and poured so hard.. I knew that about a half mile from the start of the trail there is a bridge that I could take shelter in but I would have to run into the blanket.. i immediately shot it in gear and started running but within seconds I was totally drenched and dripping everywhere.. My shoes and socks were soaked and I was just sloshing around.. I was trying to cover my ipod and watch so they wouldn't get to wet.. I couldn't even open my eyes the rain was coming down so hard it was like standing in a shower only harder... By the time I made it to the bridge it was starting to lighten up a bit so I stopped at the bridge and did some stretching and tried to wait out the worst of the downpour..

I was hoping my husband would come find me to take me home which he did come looking for me in the car but to no avail we never found each other.. The bad thing about the trail is there is not very many access areas to the main road so it's hard to see anyone on the road.. we must have just missed each other at the bridge.. Anyways after about a 10 min hold out at the bridge I decided I wasn't going to get any wetter so I decided to finish the run. I think I might have cooled down a little to much because as soon as I started back out my knee started hurting. I continued to run through it though.. And then there is a spot on this trail where it breaks of from the trail and goes into a bunch of other small trails around a lake.. I ran it last time I did my long run so I figured i knew where I was going but somehow I got lost and was running in circles.. These trails are like being up in the Forrest and all you can see is the lake and tree's and thick vegetation.. They are awesome running trails but a little disorienting if your not familiar with them.. And to top it off I had to go potty and wasn't going to make it back.. Lucky for me there were no other crazy people like myself running or biking the trails today so I was able to jump off the trail and go tinkle in the vegetation without being caught thank heavens.. Of course it was a little difficult when your clothes are soaking wet and stuck to your body but it all ended up ok..
I finally made it back onto the trail and decided to head for home cutting out one of the loops I did last time on my long run.. My knee was just hurting too much to keep going and I had had enough with all the stops and go's.. I had to stop a few times because my ipod kept cutting out on me I think due to the moisture in its ports.

Of course by the time I got back on the trail it had stopped raining so I was able to finish up the last 2 miles in dryer weather.. Other then the few setbacks with the rain and my knee I felt really good.. I never got hot or winded and it was really a easy run.. And to my surprise that even with cutting out the extra loop I still got in 7.73 miles in 1 hr 18 mins. Of course there was alot of down time in that time but I was not worried about time at all.. I am however a little surprised because the last time I did my long run with the added in loop I got 7.31 miles in according to map my run but my pedometer said 7.73 today so one must be off just a little or I made up alot of mileage when I got lost but it didn't feel like it was all that much more distance..

When I got home I was still dripping from my shorts and when I got my shoes and socks off my feet were pruned it was quite the run and of course an hour later the sun came out and it got hot.. I should have either got out earlier or just a little later... Owell I can now say I have ran in a downpour..

I am so excited we just got a new home gym unit delivered today and I cant wait to use it.. We had gotten one from walmart called the gold's gym s45 or something like that but when we got it all hooked up and went to use it I couldn't even move the pulley with my legs and that was with all the weight off.. Something was not right with it so we took it back and went shopping around for something else... We found the most sweetest gym.. It is so nice and easy to use and I can hardly wait to start using it.. You can do pretty much any weight exercise on this machine its like having 20 different machines all in one... I figures it would probably not be a good idea to work out on it today where I did a long run but on Mondays when I do just a easy short run of just 2-3 miles I will do a full body weight workout.. Yeah.. You can check it out below.. Awesome!!

Outside speed intervals

Weds- rest

Today (Thursday) I decided to work on speed intervals again but this time I took it outside.. It was a beautiful day.. Started out a little later then I wanted but didnt sleep well last night so coudnt quite make it out of bed at 6:30 so headed out about 8:45 It was quite a bit harder doing it outside because I couldnt control my speed or the hills.. I was probably running harder and faster today then when I did it on the treadmill judging by my breathing and feeling like I was wiped out.. I really had to concentrate on the 2 mins of recovery trying to get my pace slowed way down so I could catch my breath.. The 4 mins of faster running was the longest 4 mins. I think thats part of my prob running outside is I tend to run just a bit faster then I do on the treadmill so I had to really force myself to a real slow jog... And of course the hills didnt help.. Luckily there isnt to many on my route.. I walked most of them in the beginning for my warm up and my first interval had 1 but I had pretty good energy for that one but my 3rd interval had one as well and it slowed me down a bit thankfully it was a short one..

I know I was running faster because I got almost a whole nother mile more on this speed workout then I did on my one on the treadmill last week in the exact same time which i think is pretty amazing unless my pedometer calculations or the treadmill calculations are off.. I got in 4.66 Miles in 45 min 46 secs

My knees did really great today and my shin only twinged a little right at first and then felt great after that so that was a relief.. Other then feeling really pooped when I finished I felt really good..

There is a half Marathon coming up in september I am thinking of doing.. I am a little hesitant.. Not knowing the area and never running one before makes me a little scared. I wish I knew someone who was going to do it or had a running partner to kinda show me the way so to speak.. guess I will have to think about it some more.. It would be a great accomplishment if I did.. OK people I need some encouragement!!

Tearing Up The Sand

More catch up... So on Thursday i went and played some beach volleyball for 2 1/2 hrs.. I dont think that was such a wise decision.. It really tore up my knee's and aggravated my shin leg problem.. I wasn't too happy with that.. Even my feet muscles were sore.. Crazy!!

Friday-- Attempted to do my kickmax dvd but about 15 mins into it the power went out so there went that and I had family coming in that day so I had way to much to do so I ended up doing squat..

Saturday-- got up to do my long run but still felt to sore in my leg and knees and thought it would not be good to start a run already hurting so again nothing..


Monday 6th--- Feeling a little better but still sore. Went running anyways.. Leg felt good after the first mile or so but the knee continued to feel bad.. I got in I am guessing 4.45 miles.. I mapped it on map my run and it says 4.25 but I ran it with my new pedometer last week and the same distance said 4.49 and today (going the exact route) I accidentally switched to to km instead of miles and when I calculated it out it said like 3. something which wasn't right. So I am going with what the pedometer said the first time..

Tues 7th---- Kickmax dvd.. Almost made it through all the exercises.. Still cant get through all the lunge switch jump thingys.. Those really kill my legs.. Knee's and leg is still hurting but I dont want to not run either so I am not sure what to do.. I just dont want to have a repeat of last summer with my leg but it's so hard not to do anything.. This is so frustrating.. I would like to know exactly what it is and why it's happening.. Guess I will just watch it..

mid week review

Increased pushups to 15, crunches still at 100 and added 50 oblique crunches and 25 dips.

Monday 29th 4.49 miles..

Tues off

Weds
Decided to do interval work on the treadmill.. As much as I hate running on the treadmill I think its the easiest way right now to do speed intervals because you can be in control of your speed.. And because I was so focused on the intervals it made the time go by pretty fast and wasnt so boring.. I hope I did them right.. If anyone has any diffrent ideas or has advice please share.. this is what I did.. Got on and speed walked for a warm up for about 7 min around .4 miles at around 3.8 speed then increased to a slow run at 4.2 speed for 2 minutes then increased to 6.0 speed for 4 mins then repeated this 3 times on the 4th and 5th interval I increased to 6.2 speed for the fast run and then just for fun on the 5th iterval after the 4 mins i ran 1 min at 6.8 and 2 mins at 7.0 then dropped down to 4.2 for my 2 mins then dropped to 3.8 speed for a 2 min cool down.. Took about 45 min and gave me 3.9 Miles I was pretty pooped by the time I was done but it felt really great.. It was a good workout for being on the treadmill..