Wednesday, June 29, 2011

6/29

Pushing it harder to make up for Monday; 4 mile tempo run, starting speed 9:09/mile, up to 8:00/mile, finishing back down at 8:20/mile.

4 miles; average pace 8:35/mile

Monday, June 27, 2011

6/27

Didn't really feel like pushing it today, so I ran an easy 4 miles @ 9:13/mile.  Very relaxing and enjoyable; I was thinking while I was lying on the floor after doing crunches that there's nothing quite so nice as just stillness after a good run.

Friday, June 24, 2011

6/24

Treadmill; 6.5 intervals for 3 minutes and 6.8 intervals for 2.  Pretty tired today--it's been a rough couple of nights with Luke.

STATS:  4 miles; 9:02/mile

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

6/22

More treadmill, alternating between 9:13/mile and 8:49/mile.  Gotta get that speed back up!  And hurray, today I broke the 9-minute barrier!

Yesterday I worked out my training schedule for a 10K on September 17th--I'm going to spend the next five weeks getting my mileage up in preparation. 

STATS:  4 miles; 8:57/mile

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

6/21

Treadmill again today--so hot outside!  And the treadmill is finally fixed, thanks to the ingenuity and diligence of my dear husband, who spent $25 on parts for a repair that the treadmill company said would cost $350 in parts from them (to replace the circuit board entirely, whereas Neil was able to just replace the damaged components on the board). 

I've started looking around for something to train for this fall--I'm thinking at least a 10K; much as I'd like to do a half-marathon I don't know if I can manage to squeeze out the time.  It would be difficult to run a 2-hour race with a baby who nurses every 2 hours (travel time would be a real issue as well).  We'll see.  Anyway, he's 6 weeks old this week, and I'm hoping to finally be able to bump up the runs.  I don't think I've been able to even run 3 times a week up until last week.  So my plan is to run at least 3 times a week for a few weeks, then bump that up to 4, and be able to start training 5 days a week at the end of July.  Depending on how my body does & how that impacts nursing.

I tried to push a little more on speed today & didn't take any water breaks (I was afraid that if the treadmill stopped Luke would wake up) and I think I do need to drink during the run--I've got a bit of a headache now.

STATS:  4 miles; 9:06/mile

Friday, June 17, 2011

6/17

A very fast & early 2 miles this morning to wake me up before the day got going--raced home to help Neil with kids & breakfast.

STATS:  2 miles; don't know about time but fast enough that my side was aching!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

6/15

Afternoon run today, after a nap because I was such a zombie.  The kids went to a friend's house and I went running (Neil was working at home, hence why I got a nap and he stayed with Luke while I ran) to try to make myself into some semblance of humanity by the time the children got home.  please, endorphins, help resurrect the mother they're used to.

Really tired.  I ran at the same pace  & route as Monday but I could tell that I'd had several nights of 3 hours of sleep pulling at me.

STATS:  4 miles; 9:15/mile

Monday, June 13, 2011

best part of the day

enough said with the title, right?  Long long long day, blissful run.  All I could think about the entire time was how peaceful I felt out there pounding the pavement.  I ran a new route with some good uphill and downhill, which was fun, and the weather was perfect--breezy and cool.  It was the kind of run where you feel so invigorated and totally in love with running--where you just want to keep going and never stop because it's so perfect and energizing and you feel like you could run forever. 

4 miles; 9:15/mile


forgot to write about last Thursday's run, which was kind of lame--it looked like it was going to storm, so I just ran 4 miles around our neighborhood (boring boring boring) while it thundered and drizzled.  no Midwest monsoon, so I might as well have run something fun.



***
In other news, I'm going to try for at least 3 runs this week (although my in-laws are coming Thursday so it may be tricky fitting the last run in) because I have GOT to get higher mileage--I'm worried that I'm going to start gaining weight, if I haven't already, because my activity level isn't nearly as high as it was when I was pregnant, and when I'm tired and up too late (baby who likes midnight) I eat too much sugary food.  And I keep baking desserts to try to say "I love you" to my family with food because I feel like I'm cranky and short on quality time with everyone.   

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

endurance test

4.6 miles in 88-degree heat over crappy hills.  Interesting how much of a difference temperature and beating sun make, since I ran the same route that was so great last week (except I ran all those glorious hills in reverse at the end, which was not fun).  Running very slow (10ish/mile going by kitchen clock).  I have GOT to get up earlier to go running--I didn't want to leave this morning until I'd fed Luke, but then he projectile vomited all over me and went back to sleep so apparently it was pointless anyway.  Or the treadmill could be fixed and that would be lovely--Neil has been working on it hoping to not have to buy the $350 part, but he's having difficulty diagnosing the problem without a circuit diagram.

STATS:  4.6 miles; 10ish/mile

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

outside again

Treadmill is still broken (Neil is pretty sure Isaac blew the fuse but we're having trouble finding the right fuse) so I ran outside today.  It was a horrible day (all four kids are feverish and coughing) and I spent an hour and a half trying to nurse Luke so that I could leave.  Like I said--it was not a good day.  Neil practically had to push me out the door before it was too dark to go.

I ran a route that I haven't run since last October--my favorite route through the woods surrounding the bog.  There were mosquitoes and the trail was flooded out and my shoes got absolutely filthy and a white-tailed deer scared the bejeebers out of me and it was so worth it.  I felt like I was flying running down the hills in the woods, leaping over roots, dodging trees, and almost falling on my face half a dozen times (in fact, I started running so fast that I got the beginnings of a side ache, which hasn't happened in forever!).  It was completely glorious.  I'm betting that I'm going to feel this tomorrow because there were some decent hills, and I haven't run hills in forever. 

STATS:  3.99 miles, approx. 9:15/mile (going off the kitchen clock and my memory--not sure how accurate this is, since I felt like I was running really slow at some points, but crazy fast at others).