Training Week 317
Highlight of the Week: Working out with friends and a new 5K PR!
Monday | November 9, 2015: 1.7 m walk (w/Anne!) + 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 51°/49°, Time: 33:39, Pace: 8:24 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: so so
Tuesday | November 10, 2015: 11 m run + 3 m run (w/Bobbi!)
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP and back, Temp: 30°/39°, Time: 1:44:22, Pace: 9:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, once I woke up!
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 31:46, Pace: 10:35 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | November 11, 2015: 15 m run
Loc: Around Round Lake, Temp: 47°/55°, Time: 2:26:48, Pace: 9:47 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: out of it, annoyed in the wind – but too warm without it
Thursday | November 12, 2015: rest
Friday | November 13, 2015: teaching strength class + Full Moon 5K (incl. .6 m WU)
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Zion, Temp: 39°, Time: 21:49, Pace: 7:03, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: like I was working hard, but good
Saturday | November 14, 2015: 20 m run
Loc: Around Town, Temp: 26°/47°, Time: 3:30:13, Pace: 10:31 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: sore/tired from Friday, as expected
Sunday | November 15, 2015: 10 m ride + 10 mins strength + 3.3 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 46:02, Pace: 13.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 53°/57°, Time: 28:39, Pace: 8:39 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, side stitch, too warm
Notes:
- I really should have written that the highlight of the week was getting a sports massage on Wednesday, because the massage felt AMAZING. I got it in preparation for a 5K PR attempt, and have another one scheduled for next month, the week of the Dallas Marathon (if I decide to run it – I will probably get the massage either way, ha!).
- This was a peak week in marathon training and my legs were a bit trashed for my two long runs. They didn’t hurt, I just didn’t have any pep in my step. Next week is a cutback week – phew!
- On Saturday, I hit my goal of running 2000 miles for a year! It’s nuts! When I thought of this goal at the end of December last year, and that I’d have to average 40 mile weeks, it seemed like a lot, but actually… it really hasn’t been! I wonder how many miles I’ll end with for the year!
First house
Yay! First house (I’ve seen) in our hood to turn their holiday lights on!
And the local radio station started playing holiday music today.
Ahhhh. They both put a smile on my face and calmed me down, which I really needed. I’ve had a highly anxious week and need to CHILL THE EFF OUT.
Frost & Fog
I had a bit of an eventful run this morning! As I was leaving one park to run to another, I saw a tire rolling down a hill toward me. Confused, I looked up and saw a truck skidding off the road, and, yeah – it was missing a front wheel and tire. Yikes! Luckily, the driver was okay. Not so sure about the truck…
Then on the way back through that park, toward home, I saw a coyote! I think it’s the first I’ve seen while running, this season.
Luckily, the rest of the run was uneventful – I was just ohhing and ahhing over the pretty frost and fog (and water and sun) and wondering when the hell I was gonna wake up (3 miles in).
Training Week 316
Highlight of the Week: A naturally fast finish long run!
Monday | November 2, 2015: 7 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Round Lake loop, Temp: 71°/69°, Time: 1:00:49, Pace: 8:41 avg, Difficulty: mostly easy, Felt: good
Strength: One Dumbbell and Lebert Bodyweight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | November 3, 2015: 10 m run
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 46°/45°, Time: 1:36:46, Pace: 9:40 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, but tired and hungry
Wednesday | November 4, 2015: rest
Thursday | November 5, 2015: 10 mins kettlebells + 5 m run
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 70°/68°, Time: 43:06, Pace: 8:37 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pissed about the wind and heat
Friday | November 6, 2015: teaching strength class + 5 m run (incl. 4×800) + 14 m ride
Strength: One Dumbbell and Bodyweight stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but not super awake
Loc: hood, Temp: 46°/49°, Time: 43:41, Pace: 8:44, Difficulty: medium, Felt: decent
Indoor Ride Time: 1:01:26, Pace: 13.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | November 7, 2015: teaching fitness boxing + 7 m run
Strength: body weight and boxing , Difficulty: easy (mostly observing), Felt: great
Loc: Around Grayslake, Temp: 44°/48°, Time: 1:04:25, Pace: 9:12 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, unlike me to say this, but the sun felt good
Sunday | November 8, 2015: 17 m run (first 4 virtual w/Kelly)
Loc: Around Round Lake, Temp: 31°/48°, Time: 2:45:37, Pace: 9:44 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: fantastic
Notes:
- My week started with the discovery of a black toenail on my left Morton’s toe! Luckily, it only held me back from doing mountain climbers Monday night, and by the end of the (work)week, it didn’t hurt anymore. Although it still looks hella bad!
- My previous yearly personal distance record for running was 1915.1 miles, set in 2013. I passed that distance on my Thursday run this week and ended the week with 1945.7! My goal for the year is (was?) 2000 miles, so it seems like I am going to make it! I worry if I talk about it too much though, I will jinx it, ha ha.
- Did everyone else have an off week from Daylight Saving Time ending? Gah, I felt so tired every night. And it didn’t help that we started off our week going to bed late Sunday because we were up watching the Royals win the World Series! Hopefully I finish adjusting to the time change this week!
- I’ve been trying to switch things up in my strength classes to keep it fresh for my students, and really… fresh for me. It’s so much fun to research different ideas I have for strength moves, and see what the current industry trends and studies are!
Best $2.50 I’ve ever spent
I’m so happy our need for batteries took us near the clearance Halloween section at Target!
The difference a week makes
Mother Nature is saying “I hope you’re ready for a change!”
What is it with stray grays?
Nope, not a post about my hair. Ha!
We’re checking in on our neighbor’s cats while they’re out of town, and when we were locking up last night, a random gray cat showed up at the front door all “Meow, b*tches, let me in!”
“Um… you don’t live here, cat.”
What is it with stray grays? That’s how we found Data!
I asked the next door neighbor if she’d ever seen this cat. Nope. The cat was playful and friendly, so I hope he was just out for an evening stroll, and is back at home now. If we see him again in the next few days though, he’s coming home with us… so we can take him to the local no-kill shelter. Data is an only child (who lives like a king)!
Training Week 315
Highlight of the Week: A super fun Halloween strength class, and a run with my dad (while he biked)!
Monday | October 26, 2015: 8 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: MT to Nippersink FP, Temp: 56°/53°, Time: 1:12:16, Pace: 9:02 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Strength: One Dumbbell & Lebert Body Weight Stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | October 27, 2015: 6 m run (incl. 8×400)
Loc: hood, Temp: 54°/54°, Time: 53:09, Pace: 8:51 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: okay!
Wednesday | October 28, 2015: rest
Thursday | October 29, 2015: 10 m ride + 11 m run
Indoor Ride: Time: 41:54, Pace: 14.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Millennium Trail, Temp: 46°/46°, Time: 1:40:10, Pace: 9:06 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Friday | October 30, 2015: teaching strength class + 20.5 m run
Strength: One Dumbbell and Halloween themed stations, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Loc: Grayslake & Lindenhurst Loop, Temp: 37°/48°, Time: 3:33:30, Pace: 10:25, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: decent, but tired glutes
Saturday | October 31, 2015: 5 m run
Loc: Cedar Prairie Trail, Temp: 46°/46°, Time: 46:56, Pace: 9:23 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: pretty good! odd side ache
Sunday | November 1, 2015: 10.5 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: Around CF, Temp: 40°/52°, Time: 1:39:01, Pace: 9:26 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great!
Notes:
- I actually did some half chin-ups this week! Crazy! I had a station set up in the studio with a step under the pull-up bar, so people could get a jumping assist, and when I jumped up, I was able to stay up and lower myself up and down several inches, several times. I was able to do it at home too. Schweet.
- I always thought I preferred 400s for speedwork because they are over so quickly. But after running mile repeats last week, then doing 400s this week, the 400s surprisingly felt a lot harder. I think it’s because you have to accelerate so much faster in a 400, than a mile repeat – I must not have as many fast twitch (as slow twitch) muscle fibers. Good thing I’m a long distance runner, and not a sprinter!
- One of my runs this week had a low enough wind chill to warrant covering my ears with an ear band, and it was so nice to have the ear band block out a ton of the wind noise! I forgot how nice that is! I may have to wear one on the really windy days, even when I am not concerned about my ears getting too cold.
- I did NOT set myself up for successful long run on Friday, and boy, did I feel it! I’ll be more purposeful in my prep next week (meaning, no tempo middle distance run 14 hours before, eating enough for dinner the night before, getting more than 5 hours sleep, and not running right after teaching class).
- October recap time! In October I ran 252.2 miles (a new monthly personal distance record!) and cycled 46.1 miles (lowest mileage month of the year – ha!). I taught 10 strength classes. I really enjoyed teaching this month, especially the fitness boxing class! I’ve scheduled two more fitness boxing classes for the year (one in November and one in December) and am teaching an indoor cycling class in December. It’s crazy to be talking about the final two months of the year! And something I thought was odd about October – I wore a tank for most of my runs! I wore arm sleeves a few times, and a t-shirt a handful of times, but mostly tanks. And still shorts, no capris yet!
Random Thoughts Thursday 79
- I’m especially excited for my Friday 5:00 am strength class this week! I have a Halloween playlist and am encouraging students to wear costumes. I can’t wait to see what people come as! My costume last year (below) was pretty tame – I’ll do better this year (as in, I will actually be wearing something other than on my head).
- I’ve been working on some other knitting projects besides Steven’s tie. I have a lot of cotton yarn leftover from making so many washcloths, so I started to use the leftover bits for some random color cloths. I also made a hat for my mom (same pattern as this). Sigh. I wish the hat yarn wasn’t so frizzy. It looked so nice when I picked the skein out in the store, but all the handling of it made it frizz out. And gah, the last four rows took me the longest on that hat! I really need to go down to DPNs for the last few rows.
Yes – I am wearing my Royals 2014 ALC shirt a lot! When I see my snister this weekend, she’ll have 2015 Royals gear for me!
- Steven and I started watching Game of Thrones during lunch break (we like to have a TV show to watch while we eat – we just finished Entourage). Mica loaned me the first book from the series some time ago, but I hadn’t started reading it because I was worried about remembering who the characters were. I actually think watching the show may help me with that. I’ll see if I like reading it, while watching it. I’ve heard the show plot diverges from the book plot a bit in later seasons… but I doubt that would bother me. Or that I would get that far in the books, anyway! I just want a little something to read at night to help me fall asleep!
- We’ve wanted a bench seat for the window in our office for quite some time, and finally got one! I think Data approves!
- It’s hard to believe the holidays are around the corner (even though I am stoked to start playing holiday music on Sunday!). It’s starting to feel more real to me though, because we’ve finalized our plans for Christmas (each year is different for us – we alternate one year with my family and one with Steven’s (and sometimes they come here and sometimes we go there))!
- Gina is running the New York City Marathon (NYCM) on Sunday! I am so stoked for her and can’t wait to hear about her race experience. To date, NYCM is still my favorite marathon! Go, Gina!
Like father, like son
Steven asked me to knit him a tie a long time ago, and I finally did!
I somewhat followed this simple seed stitch Lion Brand pattern.
I say somewhat, because we decided we didn’t like the decreases in the part of the tie that goes around the neck, then the increases where it lays behind the tie in the front. So I knitted this entire tie, then cut off half of it, then knitted the remaining half back to the same length all in one width (still a smaller width than the front, just not getting as small).
It was okay I had that half leftover from my first attempt – I had something in mind for it. When I told my coworker I was knitting Steven a tie, she asked if I was making one for Data, too. Sure! Why not? I added on to the leftover bit until it was long enough for a cat-sized tie.
Ha! Data does not mind wearing stuff around his neck, but for whatever reason, he did not want to pose with his dad last night!
Redoing the second half of this tie (several times) made me more confident in unraveling and picking stitches back up, and knitting from there. I also learned that you can only unravel in one direction (toward the first row, not away from it). Ha.
Now, who wore it better?!
Hi! I’m Kim, a 40-something-year-old living in northeastern Illinois with my husband Steven, and our cats, Khaleesi, Apollo, Starbuck, and Eddard aka Ned. My current main hobbies are running, painting rocks, flying, reading, and eating. I follow a vegan lifestyle and work in an account management role. I write about a variety of topics and consider this a “life” blog – a place I can share anything that’s on my mind. Please visit the “About” page to get a better idea of who I am! 🙂
