Tag: Running

About that…

On the heels of last weeks good but short speed work, I thought I would be running on Wednesday and Thursday since I couldn’t run Saturday. We were supposed to have our our work holiday party on Saturday evening and with working in the morning, I would have had little time to run. I would also be unable to attend Vine St with my family like we traditionally do. When the work party was canceled for a few reasons I was actually ok with that. I figured I could get in a6ish mile run after work and go to Vine st. Which was a doubly good plan because my stomach hated me on Wednesday so I changed it back to a rest day.

Thursday, unfortunately, dawned with more of the same. I refused to change my plan again, so I headed to the gym after work. I slogged through 3.5 slow, miserable miles before calling it quits. Which bites because NikeC was there working with the trainer and I have been wanting to tag along with them but there was just no way. But it was better than none!Thursday night- Friday was the “epic storm” in these parts- ha!! But I shouldn’t snark- between all the rain then and yesterday, streets have been flooded, power has been out and a giant boulder rolled on to the freeway last night hitting a semi- everyone is said to be ok. Saturday and Sunday were ruled by my stomach- not only was there no running involved, I almost bailed on Vine St. I tried to get my family to go ahead and then meet them. But I made it through- all the pretty lights- and did manage to complete some Christmas shopping on Sunday. This week is the stomach testweek- can we call it that?- so running will be hit and miss. After last weeks short 6 miles, that makes 2 short weeks. 😦 With Tuesday being prep day and Wednesday being the test, I had to breakmy own rule and hit the gym on a Monday if I wanted to get a run in. It actually wasn’t that busy. But then most people probably didn’t want to drive in the down pour. We Californians are babies in the rain, then again, I did hydroplane at one point so maybe they had the right idea. Another 3.5 miles in the books. 🙂

I can’t eat today and for some reason all I have wanted is pretzels. And pictures of pizza keep popping up on my Facebook and Twitter feed. Waah.

How has your week started?

What food are you craving right now?

How’s your weather?

Getting Back Into Things

Where did Thursday come from? I feel like I have been playing catch up all week! But, really I kind of have. I was excited to go back to work on Monday but a little anxious about all things I knew I needed to catch up on since vacation. It had suddenly occurred to me that I had taken off month end and month start– umm, oops. I only had a couple hundred emails. My boss, said “that’s it?’- ha! I was glad that Monday’s are usually rest days.

Tuesday turned in more of a workout than planned. The Christmas had been delivered last Friday and it was one of those high school fundraiser trees. The ones that you buy sight unseen a month before and hope isn’t horrible. They delivered it but it didn’t come with a stand. From what I hear, my coworkers went and bought a stand but couldn’t get the tree to fit without a saw. So it was still all bundled up and propped in the water leaning against the wall on Monday. My inner Christmas nazi ( my mother and former coworker’s nickname for me) was kind of freaking out. There were no decorations up and it December 8 and the tree just looked sad. But I couldn’t do anything about it on Monday. On Tuesday I was determined to get the tree up. Last years stand was one ofthose ones with the spike in the middle but we didn’t have anything to drill the tree.

Kimi with one of the two trees in my bedroom.

Necessity is the mother of invention, right? We had screwdrivers at work and I had a mallet in my car. We laid the tree across a chair so it was easier to use our poor attempt at a drill. It took us a couple of hours but we finally made a hole that would fit the stand. Then we had to use the mallet to try to make the stand fit better. Customers thought it was hilarious. We finally got the tree upright and unwrapped. It’s freakin’ huge! And a little crooked, well crap. A few phone books and paperclip containers later, it was as straight as it was gonna get.

'Taking down the Christmas decorations is just as much fun as putting them up'.....said no one ever!! I decorated it in between working yesterday and taking a bunch of tests I forgot were due by Friday. Take a test, hang the lights. Help a customer, hang the ribbon etc. As of today, the snowflakes are up, 6 of the windows are lit with lights, and the wall art is up. It looks so festive!! I don’t have the energy to hang the bells and garlands from the high beams this year though. Maybe that will be an every other year thing? And Slackerfail- I forgot to take any pictures!

Mile 2 was not that fast- the Garmin got a little cuckoo.

After Tuesday’s impromptu “hammering” cardio, I headed to the gym after work. I was hoping for 5-6 miles but was late getting out of work. Then I was stuck behind a car going 20 up the hill on the way home. So by the time I got to the gym I only had 30 minutes. I decided to try a tiny progression and see what my stomach did. So I tried the following-

*Distance*	Pace
.5 mile	Warm up
.5 mile	10:30
.5 mile	10:00
.5 mile	9:30
.5 mile	8:30
.5 mile	cool down

My stomach behaved which was awesome because it’s been a rough week in that department. I had my normal treadmill trauma though. Both shoes came untied at different points, almost snapped my head phone cords when trying to fix my shoes. I also managed to fling another water bottle lid as well. Seriously, what gives?!

Who’s excited about Friday? I work on Saturday.

Anyone getting in a last race this weekend?

Ever had a decorating fiasco?

Tired Legs- Step 1

I finally pulled it off! My head cold may have set me back a bit but I woke up Monday with a plan. I decided I may as well make the most of this last week of vacation running wise. So I headed out for a long run in the afternoon.

I was still feeling a little yucky so I was planning on taking it slow and walking whenever I needed too. I wanted to run between 5-8 and then get the puppy and run/ jog with her for another 2-4. Ok, maybe I was overly ambitious but I was going to run loops around my neighborhood so if I needed to bail I could.

Great start to Tuesday's run before the storm came back- — Great start to Tuesday’s run before the storm came back-

It wasn’t exactly cold but it wasn’t warm either. We have been enjoying some lingering rain systems here which is great because we desperately need it but hard because it’s so not the norm. I figured I would be ok in shorts and I decided to test out the new long-sleeved top that I has picked up. I knew I had to make myself keep it on though. 🙂 I figured I would get hot soon and I did around mile 3. I kept an easy pace and took some walk breaks. I felt tired but pretty good. I have been running the same 5 mile route lately so I know where all the splits should be. I noticed that my Garmin was lagging a bit, guess it didn’t appreciate the cloud cover. The mileage geek in me had to re-map my route after my run since it seemed off. Oh, and while I may have felt warmer on top, my legs stayed a little cold. I had a minor chafing issue? What gives, it wasn’t 100º and that is usually the only time I have issues with my legs- ugh!

Puppies don't do selfies or pose very well — Puppies don’t do selfies or pose very well

It took me a little longer (1:15:58) to complete 7 miles than I thought so I had to hustle to get the puppy. My mom had her ready so I grabbed her and off we went. Due to the rain and setting sun we only managed a little over 3 miles. We were slower than the day before but that was all me and not the dog. 🙂 When we turned around to head back she looked sad that we weren’t going farther. 😦 But long run officially done!!

Tuesday was another rainy one- woo hoo! In keeping with my plan to get used to running on tired legs, I headed out for a run. I have never run the day after a longer run so I wasn’t too sure how it was going to go. My pace was actually better than I thought it would be but wow, my ankles were kind of tired. That was the only part of me that was really achy. There were clouds rolling in and ridiculous wind- I damn near lost my hat3x- so I called it at 5 instead of 6. I am kind of digging this 5 mile route. Too bad I am about to only get it on the weekends.

So 3 days in a row meant Wednesday was a rest day for me. I don’t want to push it too much. Plus that worked out well because my mother had her end of season tennis banquet and I help her a little with that. Oh and if we are counting- I have now watched 4 cheesy Christmas movies- love it!

How’s your weather? Do you like running in the wind?

Am I the only one watching an excess amount of holiday movies right now?

Happy Wednesday!

Night Night November

Where did November go?! Today should not be the first day of December- I’m not ready! But, time marches on so here is my November Recap.

Miles- 55.1
Race- GREW From the Vines 5KHikes- 2 East Cuesta and Cerro Alto So November was kind of a toss-up. I started the month feeling a little under the weather, so only logged 3.4 miles the first week. I also figured that meant I finally wouldn’t be sick on vacation. The following week I started my training plan but the first 2 weeks were fairly easy. Last week was supposed to step up the mileage and it coincided with my first week of vacation. I tried really hard to stick to the plan but the stupid head cold of Thanksgiving came back with a vengeance Saturday and Sunday. Saturday wasn’t wasted because I did enjoy some shopping with my mother. I was a little confused- where were all the people who were supposed to be out and about? I may have treated myself to a new running outfit. Both pieces are by Reebok and the pants are super warm. The top is long-sleeved and the exact style of an original clearance rack cheapie I picked up almost 2 years ago. I have worn that light pink one so many times, my mother can no longer stand the sight of it. 🙂 Sunday dawned gray and rainy, and I had been up coughing most of the night. Between my asthma and GERD, every time I get a little cold I develop a hacking cough. Geez, I have issues, nice. I knew there was no way a long run was happening but I thought I could handle a good puppy walk. Except the puppy didn’t want to walk, she wanted to run. I finally just decided to jog with her. Every so often she would look my way like – “see, I can run with you”. It was a pretty good run. I also bundled up before heading out. I tested out the new pants and wore multiple layers on top plus an ear warmer over my ears. My bottom half was the warmest part of me, though. It only rained on us for a short while. Those 4 puppy miles brought my November total to 55.1 miles. Not what I had hoped for but better than October (by a mile)! Another bonus about November? I hit my yearly goal of 750 miles!!! Miles to date for 2014- 776.8!!

Woo hoo! Time to move on to December. I have one last week of forced vacation 😦 and then it’s back to work for me. There is Christmas to prepare for, both of my parents have birthdays this week plus the plethora of Christmas/ end of the year parties are starting. I also have my colonoscopy to look forward to in a couple of weeks. All that being said, it’s time to step up the mileage.. and see if I can really follow through! Oh and it’s time to watch a bunch of silly made for tv Christmas movies. 🙂

How was your November? Are you ready for December?

Any Reindeer runs in your future or are you done racing for 2014?

Sticking to a Plan

I am really trying to stick to my plan. I want to go into 2015 and my spring races without feeling like I have to start from scratch after the holidays. That said, a big part of my plan is flexibility. So when my stomach was a butt head on Saturday, I ran 5 instead of 8. However, I still followed through with my back to back days and did the 6 mile Cerro Alto hike.

Tuesday, I ended up getting a way later start than planned and was only able to get in 5 miles before dusk. However, they felt pretty damn good. They weren’t the speediest but they felt solid. After a pretty great 5, I was eager to get running again on Wednesday. But I was questioning if I should. Vacation is hard, part of me wants to run all the miles but the more sensible part really wanted to stick my schedule and get comfortable with it. I never did find a nearby turkey trot but was planning on doing a couple of miles with my mother. Also, I knew that I would be spending Saturday or Sunday shopping so I started rearranging my running days in my head. I started thinking I could squeeze 6 out of Thanksgiving and then run 8-10 on Friday. With that in mind, I took Wednesday as a rest day since I know my body is not a fan of running 4 days in a row.

Oh such plans. Thanksgiving morning rolled in and I woke with a sore throat and a headache and scratchy eyes. I spent the day half in pajamas and half in running gear under a blanket on the couch. I was cold and it was a balmy 75º in my neck of the woods. My family had a very low key Thanksgiving. We hung out and watched movies- Into the Storm, Lone Survivor, and Heaven is For Real. Interesting choices, right? Luckily, we never really go overboard on Thanksgiving so I didn’t feel too guilty. 🙂 In fact, minor sickness aside, it was a pretty great day.

I don’t do the whole shop at night or at the crack of dawn thing, so I slept in on Friday. I still felt a little off but better than Thursday. After a small lunch and a couple of errands, I headed out for a few miles. 5 miles seem to have become my new go-to. With just trying to complete both races in January before focusing on speed for SLO, there is no speed work built into my plan right now. Plus, my stomach doesn’t really like it these days. So any speed work that happens is just based on how I feel that day. That said, I have been trying to work on a fast finish to most of my runs. Usually by the end of races and runs, I am done, I can never kick it in to the end. I figure my stomach should be able to handle that.

I will say it’s a lot easier on the treadmill. Turn the speed up and just hang on. Out on the road, I have to focus more. All I’m aiming for is a speedy last half mile before cool down. That’s not too long, right? I felt like I pulled it off the last couple of runs. My fast pace alert was vibrating my Garmin on Tuesday’s run but I never actually looked at it. But then it just averaged in with the rest of the mile. Urgh. So even though I was tired today, I used the lap buttons. The last half mile comes right after hill that always kicks my butt. I have never run it. It’s short but steep and just makes me tired. I hit the lap button as soon as I got to the top and started running. Oh,man that was hard. I felt slower than Tuesday, which made sense, and like there was no way I could maintain anything for a half mile. I hit 5 miles, pushed the lap button and stopped the Garmin. It wasn’t until I synced my Garmin with my phone that I figured out why it felt so hard. I did what?!

Holy crap! I realize that it wasn’t even a mile but still sweet! Also not the pace I was looking for, haha! I was aiming for the mid to high 8’s but I’ll take it! Probably couldn’t pull it off again or maintain it for a full mile, but it’s still kind of cool. 🙂

How was your Thanksgiving?

Anyone join the crush of crazy shopping? Any good deals?