Category Archives: Running

One bad week but one good run

Well, another week has gone by. This was a bad one. I just ate too much food. Not enough self control. I barely worked out at all! BUT I did have one good run, yesterday. It was a very windy day, and the wind kept catching the jogging stroller, so it was tough. I did walk/jog intervals for about 10 1/4 miles. My averaged out pace was 12:32 min a mile, so I’m pleased about that. I’m happy overall that I was able to get the distance in! I did meet my Winter Miles Challenge, woohoo! You can read more details in my Fitness Friday post at Mylifeaworkinprogress.com.

The next few days are supposed to be cool, but mid-week the weather’s supposed to warm up. The forecast says we may even get into the 60s! As exciting as that is, every time this area has a good extended forecast, by the time we get there, some storm or other has moved in bringing snow and cold.

I’m just really hoping that we have good weather by March, so I’ll at least have a month of good training for my half marathon. As it is now, I could completely the half, but not as fast as I’d like. Baby J and I are going to visit his Daddy in Florida in a couple of weeks. We’ll be there for about 2 1/2 weeks, so perhaps I’ll get some good runs in while I’m there!

One other thing, my arm muscles are getting stronger. I was able to do more reps and more weight this week. I need to be more consistent though. I have a lot of work to do, so hopefully next week will be better.

Baby J loves to ride in his stroller during mama’s runs!

How was your week? Your weekend so far?

Glad January is over!

February isn’t starting off so great, but it’s all in perspective, right? My toddler has croup. I think he’s getting better, but Friday and Saturday were rough. Last night I took him to the ER, after he started vomiting. They treated his fever and nausea, and then gave him an oral steroid for his throat inflammation. Today he wasn’t coughing as much, just super crabby.

It was a gorgeous day outside, so I finally felt comfortable taking him out. In fact, I thought the fresh air would do him some good. And it did…at first. The track where I run goes by two playgrounds. He didn’t understand why I wouldn’t stop and let him play with the other kids (I didn’t want him to infect anyone). So he’d cry. When he cried, his coughing fits would start. Add to that the fact my yoga pants kept falling down (that’s NEVER happened before). I stopped running a little after 1 mile and was able to walk another. It was really frustrating. I almost wanted to cry for a minute, but I just have to persevere.

The good news is that my average pace while jogging was 9:18 min mile. All through January I was averaging a 10 min mile or worse. Of course, that was only for a mile, so I don’t know how long I could’ve kept it up, but I was feeling pretty good.

I didn’t meet my Winter Miles Challenge this week. I missed it by about a mile, that’s it. Frustrating, but I just have to do better next week.

Brrrrrr Baby, it’s cold outside!

The last day I posted was Saturday, when I had an encouraging run. Sunday I took the day off. Then Monday morning, I ran with two friends (and Baby J, of course). We did two laps together, which is 5.4 miles. Most of that was jogging, but we did walk a little bit…perhaps a mile. After my friends left, I did another lap…mostly jogging, but some walk/sprint intervals. I wanted to change it up a bit for once! So it was a total of 7.2 miles.

Today, Tuesday, I planned to workout at a Navy gym. One of the local bases has a family workout room in one of the gyms. I haven’t checked it out yet, but I heard they have a sort of gated area, where you can stick your kid, with treadmills, bikes, and weights next to it.

Turns out a friend treated me to a movie (and some delicious theater popcorn)! Her husband watched our kids while we were gone. I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie in the theaters! Between the 2.5 hour long “Catching Fire,” nap time, and baby sitting this morning, there wasn’t time to make it to the gym.

There’s snow on the ground right now! First time this year. If it’s still cold tomorrow (and it’s supposed to be), I’ll have to make some indoor plans. If the bases aren’t closed (two inches of snow freaks everyone out around here), I’ll head over the gym there. Another option is to meet a friend at the YMCA. I get one free day and childcare, as a guest. Might cash it in tomorrow!

I’m upping my winter miles challenge this week from 10 to 20 miles. I think I can do it!

How was your weekend and the beginning of your week?

Finishing strong

I’m encouraged. Yesterday, I had a great run. I ran at least 6 miles and without my running buddy. I never run well alone, so I was thrilled that I made it that far without her. I’m sure I could’ve done at least another 2 miles, but poor Baby J was getting really antsy. Every time we passed the playground, he started getting upset, because he wanted to play. I kept telling him, “Soon, soon,” and he was being so good about it that I couldn’t do any more laps. Not fair to him!

As far as the distance, it might have been 7 miles. You see, when my running partner and I started training in the fall, we had several people tell us that a particular track was 2 miles around. Well, when I started using RunKeeper a few weeks ago, it told me that 2 mile stretch was actually only 1.8 miles. That’s a little depressing! I need to verify that, maybe with the MapMyRun app. In the meantime, I ran what we used to consider 6 miles, and then threw in an extra 11 minutes of jogging, just in case.

My view on the trail

I have to be honest and say that I did stop during my run. I had a bathroom break after the first 2 miles, and then had to stop several times quickly to adjust my son’s gloves, and once to tie my shoe laces.

Also it was pretty slow, so “jog” would be more accurate. I didn’t time myself, but I’m sure it was at least a 10 minute mile. BUT all that said…I did run the entire distance, so that’s really encouraging. I think at this rate, my long run can be up to 10 miles in February, which definitely puts me on track for the half-marathon in April. It’s going to be okay!

There’s a 5K next Saturday that I really want to run, but we’re trying to be frugal right now. The registration fee isn’t expensive, but I can think of several things that I should spend money on right now before a race, so it’s probably not going to work out.

I’m going to head out in a bit with Baby J to go run some more. Can you believe it’s 15 degrees colder today than yesterday? The weather here is so back and forth. I’ll probably put Baby J in a snow suit, so he can stay warm even with the wind. I’m very jealous of those of you with treadmills and ellipticals at home, by the way!

I just need 2 miles today to meet my Winter Miles Challenge goal for this week. Oh, I’m behind on my push-ups. I’ll have to do them twice today.

Yesterday I blogged about Fitness Friday on my other blog. You’re welcome to swing by and tell me about your goals!

Also on mylifeaworkinprogress.com, I reviewed the Armpocket, and I’m giving one away. This armband is awesome! There are several models to fit different sizes of phones, and some of them have storage room for gel packs, lip balm, IDs, etc. It’s really cool! You can check out the review HERE and the giveaway HERE. And I’m also participating in a giveaway for the Bowflex Boost fitness tracker. Super jealous of whoever wins that one!

How was your Friday? What does your weekend look like?

Blah

So I have not been motivated this week. I blame the lack of sleep! My son was having some issues (maybe night terrors?) where he woke up several nights in a row, several times a night, just screaming and crying each time. It lasted 45 minutes or an hour usually. The last 3 nights have been good. Also, he’s back in his crib again, so we’re finally both sleeping better! I love sleeping next to my snuggly toddler, but I do get more rest when he’s not kicking my ribs all night!

I’ve only run once this week, and it was only about 2 miles. I did do some hill running, so that’s something. I guess. I really should go out now. Maybe I’ll get myself out the door in a bit. It’s too late to go to my usual running spot, since the park closes in an hour, but I can run around the neighborhood.

It’s been cold too. That’s my other excuse for not running. If it were just me, I’d throw on my ColdGear, but I have to run with my son while Hubby’s away, and it’s SUCH A HASSLE. When it’s cold, I layer him up and put a snowsuit on him (it’s possibly overkill) with gloves and a hat.

I realize, of course, that all of this is just excuses. If I really want to run or exercise, I’ll MAKE it work, no matter the hassle. *sigh*

I’m just so tired this week. :/

Oh! Some fun news- I reviewed the Armpocket on my other blog. I LOVE mine! Best armband ever! It’s really comfortable and has storage pockets for my essentials. I also like that it comes in multiple styles and colors, AND you can choose the strap size to fit your arm. Did I mention there’s memory foam? So comfy =D Check out my review here.

How have you been holding up this week? Better than I am?

An easy weekend

I planned on both Saturday and Sunday being rest days, but some friends of mine wanted to run. So yesterday morning I ran a couple miles at an easy pace with them, and then we walked a couple more. Today, Sunday…no running. Hopefully my legs will be well rested for tomorrow. I’m meeting three friends; it’ll be a fun run!

In other news, for some reason I thought my push-ups app was a daily thing, but realized you’re only supposed to do it three days a week. I’m going to do arms Mon-Wed-Friday then, but I’ll add in some free weights.

Abs I’ll probably do Mon-Fri. I’m wondering if there’s some sort of online fitness tracker, or if I should just use an Excel Spreadsheet.

Anyway, not a lot to report, except I did meet my Winter Miles Challenge for this week, woohoo! About to head over to Run with Jess to report that.

How was your weekend?

TGIF and I’ve joined the Winter Miles Challenge. You can too!

Winter Miles Challenge Button

I’ve signed up for the 2014 Winter Miles Challenge hosted by Run with Jess! This free challenge is to motivate us all through the toughest two months of the year- January and February. Although it doesn’t get really cold here in Southern Virginia, I still can use the motivation.

You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, so check out the link above for more info and to sign up. The challenge is open to everyone, and you can pick how many miles you plan to run each week (and change that at any point). And there are prizes you could win!

I knew this week I’d have trouble getting mileage in, so I picked the beginner goal at 10 miles of running a week. We’ll see how I do, but hopefully by February I’ll be in the next category, which is intermediate.

On a different note, today I blogged a Fitness Friday post on my other blog, My Life: A Work in Progress. If you’re interested, you can pop over there and read my current fitness goals as well as view some photos. I even posted my measurements (scary stuff- for me!). You’re also welcome to join me over there every week for Fitness Friday, and you don’t need a blog to do so!

Today’s run was the third this week. And I’ve gotten progressively slower. But I ran a little farther, so I’m not depressed about it. It balances out, right? I figure it’s going to take a few weeks before I get back into the swing of things. I will be able to run faster and farther…it’s just going to take some time to build my endurance and speed back up.

To recap:

  • Wednesday, I ran 1.8 miles at an average pace of 9:36.
  • Thursday, I ran 2.15 miles at an average pace of 9:39.
  • Today (Friday), I ran 3.62 miles at an average pace of 10:58. I actually did run/walk intervals for a couple miles after that, but I wasn’t tracking the time or exact distance.

I was very stiff and sore today, and really struggled to put one foot in front of the other. Just have to keep working at it! I haven’t done any ab or arm exercises yet today, but I’m about to run my push-up app.

How was your day? Did you meet your goals this week? Are you working out this weekend or taking a break?

Rough, but I did it.

Went for a second run this week. It was a little warmer out. I ran a little farther, and a little slower. Not going to lie; it was HARD for me to even make two miles. Tomorrow I’ll be running with my training partner, now that she’s feeling better. She’s a much better runner than I am, so she motivates me to keep going! I was depressed today, but I’m feeling better knowing that I’ll show progress running with her.

I definitely broke a sweat!

How was your day? Did you run? How did it go?

Starting over

I always claimed to “hate” running. This fall I just got tired of my negativity over it and decided the only way to beat my attitude was to run a half marathon. Basically, just make running a part of my lifestyle. After just a couple months of running I went from running barely 1 mile to being able to run 10. It was quite a difference for me! Over the holidays with travel and family gatherings, my training slowed down. I’d determined to only run twice a week, and I did just that. It was a mistake. I’m basically starting over now.

I was able to run once last week. I’d intended to run several times, but ended up coming down with a stomach bug. So now my training and this blog are starting about a week late.

Today was rough. I’d hoped to do 6 miles (3 laps), but stopped after just 2 miles (actually less). The Canada Geese poop was all over the trail, and no matter how I tried to dodge it with my jogging stroller, it did end up on my tires. So disgusting! I couldn’t take it anymore. Starting tomorrow, I plan to run the boardwalk at the beach, until it rains and the bird excrement is washed off my usual course.

So the positive:

  • I got out and ran, even though it’s cold.
  • First run since being really sick.

And the negative:

  • I’m slow. My average pace was a 9:36 minute mile, so I have a lot of work to do.
  • Today I used Run Keeper for the first time. According to the app, the track I’ve thought was 2 miles for a few months now, is actually 1.8 miles.

Jan. 8, 2014 run

Calories burned are most likely off, especially since I pushed a jogging stroller with a toddler. He’s a skinny toddler at less than 23 lbs., but it’s still a little extra workout.

My race is in April, and I’m a bit concerned. I know I have a lot of work to do. Hopefully my running partner will feel better soon (she had the same bug), and we can start training together again! I always do better running with someone else than alone.

How was your day? Did you meet your fitness goals?