Training Week 92
I am training for the Milwaukee Marathon on October 2nd.
Day 638 | July 18, 2011: rest
A visit to Urgent Care thwarted my plan of running in the evening! Wah.
Day 639 | July 19, 2011: 5 m run
Even though we had a million-degree heat wave, I was itchin’ for a run and decided to get out on the Ohio River Greenway in Clarksville, IN.
Most of the run was in the sun on a levee with no shade:
I was dripping so much sweat it was coming off of my watch. But I kept going! Eventually I made it to the river and got a nice view of Louisville.
I didn’t know how far the trail went so I (stopped and) asked another runner who helped me out. I ran out to some bridges, stood in the shade a (long) bit then slugged my way back.
When I returned to the hotel, I immediately changed in to my swimsuit and got in the pool! Ahh!
Distance: 5.0 | Temp: 92° | Dew Point: 78° | Time: 54:54 | Avg Pace: 10:58 | 1: 10:24 | 2: 10:54 | 3: 11:19 | 4: 11:20 | 5: 10:53
Day 640 | July 20, 2011: rest
Day 641 | July 21, 2011: 8 m run
The running gods must have been looking over me for this run! It was 96° when I started, but the dew point was only 60° (I know. “only”). It felt so much cooler than it has, so I ventured out for eight miles and completed them all. Without stopping. Without walking. Almost without running out of water (took 32 oz). And my average pace was under 11:00 minute miles! I will call that a success my friends!!!
Distance: 8.0 | Start Temp: 96° | End Temp: 89° | Dew Point: 60° | Time: 1:26:19 | Avg Pace: 10:47 | 1: 10:54 | 2: 10:44 | 3: 10:46 | 4: 10:41 | 5: 10:46 | 6: 10:56 | 7: 11:02 | 8: 10:26
Day 642 | July 22, 2011: 3 m run
I woke up to a thunderstorm, but was able to sneak in a 3 mile run before the bouts of pouring rain. The temps were lower, but it was humid!
Distance: 3.0 | Temp: 72° | Time: 30:23 | Avg Pace: 10:07 | 1: 10:42 | 2: 9:57 | 3: 9:41
Day 643 | July 23, 2011: 15 m run
I met Tracy in Central Park for one of the New York Road Runner’s organized long training runs. I am so happy I did this long run this way – it was one of the hottest days of the year, but the course was entirely supported – water tables every mile or so and a few misting stations. It was excellent! I’ve never been so perfectly hydrated during a run (I have NO idea how much water I drank, but I had my GUs at 4, 8 and 12)! I would like to do EVERY long run this way!
I had never run through Central Park before, and was surprised by how mostly shaded it is. And I knew it was going to be hilly, but I managed pretty well on the hills.
Tracy and I tried to take the first 6 miles nice and slow, but we kept speeding up by accident! That is what happens when I get all caught up in conversation. Not so good when you have more miles to go and it’s super hot! But at least I was having a lot of fun and the miles were flying by.
As we were nearing mile 5.5 (and the end of our first loop) another blogger named Tara called out to Tracy – she recognized her from her blog (how cool!). We ran the second loop with Tara (another 5 miles) and she just added to the fun (me, Tara and Tracy below). How cool that I got to meet another blogger by accident!
I loved running with these two and they got me through the first 11.5 miles easy! I finished the last 3.5 on my own, nice and slow, and took a long, smelly (me) subway ride home back to Queens to eat my bagel.
Distance: 15.0 | Temp: 90s? | Time: 2:54:10 | Avg Pace: 11:36
Day 644 | July 24, 2011: 3.25 m run
I went out for a quick run in the am to the river and back (in Queens). Boy, was it humid, but there were a lot of other runners out!
Distance: 3.25 | Temp: high 80s | Time: 33:40 | Avg Pace: 10:21 | 1: 11:11 | 2: 10:20 | 3: 9:50 | 4: 2:18
Week Summary: 34.25 miles
Ugh… not my most balanced week, but I got a lot of miles in!
Cloud Nine
NYC BAGEL! After my long run in Central Park. The 15 miles were a success, but now I have the most awful chafing ever! EVER!
Baby Luca… I swear he likes me. Don’t I NOT look like a natural?
Friday Question #160
Did you have braces growing up (or as an adult)? Did you hate them or tolerate them? Were you happy with the results when they were taken off?
Braces were in my destiny – I had a severe under bite and a huge gap between my two front teeth.
Yikes! I think this photo below is actually from the day I got them put on in summer of 1999, before my sophomore year in high school –
I wore the braces until the summer of 2001 – the summer before my senior year.
(I thought it was really funny when I wore green braces to play Sneezy in the community playhouse production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – that is my sister on the left – I think she helped out with costumes).
I tolerated them. I never had much pain that I recall. It was annoying to clean stuff out of them though. I still ate all the stuff I wasn’t supposed to eat.
I was really happy when I got them off though. I loved my smile (still do!). It totally makes wearing the stupid things for almost two years worth it.
(This is the summer (one year) after I got them off, in Spain, with my dad).
It seems like ALL kids get braces these days. I don’t remember it being like that. Okay, sure, me and my two younger siblings had them, but I swear, a lot more kids have them than used to, and at a much younger age! I should let Steven tell his braces story, maybe in the comments…
Six Year Blogiversary! / iTunes Giftcard Giveaway
Ahh! You know what I remembered during my run today*? It’s my six year blogiversary! I’ve been blogging for six whole years. Wow!
I think I say it every year, but the best thing about blogging is the people you meet. I’ve met my best and closest friends through blogging! And there are a ton of you I want to meet in person. Thanks for reading and supporting me!
As a thank you, I am giving away two $10 iTunes giftcards (there will be two winners)!
(Yeah, those are the actual cards – I apologize for any teeth marks on the pink one)
$10 iTunes Giftcard Giveaway Rules
- To enter the giveaway, leave a comment telling me what I should do on my two staycation days next week. If your name is Jen or Bobbi tell me I should come hang out with you and go swimming.
- This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Sunday July 24. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will announce the winner on Monday July 25
- This giveaway is open to all readers.
- There will be two winners.
- Data is not included in the giveaway (sorry, Denise).
*Which went surprisingly well, considering it was 96 out when I started! I ran 8 miles and felt great!
Long Run in CP
This week’s long run will be in Central Park! With Tracy! In the 95°F degree weather (<– ugh, let’s try to ignore that part)! It’s an organized long run, so I have a bib!
The bib says I can run 9:00 minute miles! Ha ha ha.
Ha.
Yeah… I can run that – in the fall! Lately, I am lucky if I can get in under 11:00 minute miles. That works for me! I am just happy to be running injury-free.
Where are you running lately? Do you like to try out new courses/trails?
I love checking out new running places – I just found a new (to me) trail in Indiana this week. And I have not seen much of Central Park OR run in it so it should be an adventure. Especially if Gina comes with me and we go get bagels afterward.
Random Thoughts Thursday II
Ha! Another week of random thoughts:
- Yesterday when Steven was picking me up at the train station, a man approached him (as I was walking to the car) and asked Steven to help him with directions to a nearby hospital/clinic. Steven told the man how to get there, then he said thanks, and that he would walk the 3 miles to the hospital. We got in to our car and I said, “Don’t you think we should offer than man a ride?” It seemed risky (since we had no idea who he was), but with the temps near 100° and it being so frickin’ humid, I thought we should offer. We did, and he accepted. It’s a good thing we helped him because he had the address wrong anyway! If he would have walked, he would have gone a mile or so in the wrong direction. So, this guy took Metra 20 miles north to visit his friend who was ill, and was going to walk to the hospital. My oh my. I could tell he was European by his accent. He is probably used to public transportation being more readily available (or just used to all that walking) – I know I relied on it when I lived in Italy. Anyway, would you have offered him a ride?
- Okay, me telling that story totally reminds me of the time I got me and a friend from Verona to Paris with very little planning except having plane tickets. We ended up riding from the airport (60 miles away from Paris) in to the city with a man and his wife that I met on the plane. Wow (You can read about that adventure here, Feb 3 post) would you have done that (got in the car with two strangers)?
- I got my hair cut yesterday. When I sat down and the stylist started combing my hair she asked “Do you straighten your hair?” I said I used to, but haven’t for months. Then she said “Do you dye your hair a lot?” And I said “No… why?” “Well, your hair is incredibly dry.” Great. Thanks. I don’t even do damaging things to my hair (straighten it, blow dry it, or dye it) and it still looks like crap. Wah wah wah.
- Brian had to cancel our strength session today. I am bummed! That was going to be my only strength workout this week. I look forward to them. Wah.
- I read Dead Until Dark while I was on travel (Erin loaned in to me in the winter). Look at me, reading books – woo hoo (it takes me forever to read a book these days)! Anyway, it’s the first in the Sookie Stackhouse books that the show True Blood is based on. I thought it was a fun read, and interesting (but I am not in love with the book or anything). Anyone else read the books or like the show?
- Oops. I should have read the instructions to my antibiotics before taking them (I didn’t read them until last night). I was totally out in the sun for a long time on Tuesday and have been taking the meds with my vitamins. Antibiotic FAIL.
- Anyone else running in this heat? I went out on Tuesday night in Louisville and put in 5 fun miles. I’ll probably be out there today too.
- I saw this note (below) where I started my run on Tuesday. It was on this plaque about Lewis & Clark. I almost feel like I should submit it to passiveaggressivenotes.com (does someone want to for me?).
- This is the first post in a long time that I have had ready to publish the night before! All of my posts used to be that way. Now they all seem to be on the fly. Do you have your posts pre-written and scheduled to publish?
Favorite workout shorts
Last year when I was shopping at Kohl’s with my mom (for a Workout in the Park outfit for her) I stumbled across these bermuda length workout shorts. I didn’t think anything of it, but I used them the next day at the workout and feel in love with them.
They’re perfect for me – they’re long enough to cover my somewhat jiggly thighs, and they also keep my thighs from chafing when I run! The only drawback is that they get really heavy when you run in them in the pouring rain, but that has only happened once.
Anyway, once I found out how much I liked them, I went back to Kohl’s to get another pair. They didn’t have any. We drove by another Kohl’s later on in the month and I looked – they had one pair in my size, in gray. I got them even though I knew they would have sweat stains when I wear them (they totally do -I’ll spare you that picture). Another month later I was very far from my home and stopped at another Kohl’s and scored another black pair – now I was up to three. But I couldn’t find anymore. Even online. Why do I need so many pairs of workout shorts? Well, I get really sweaty in the summer, so I can’t wear them more than once. And sometimes I workout more than once a day!
I looked for something similar and never found anything even close, so I stuck with the three pairs. That is, until I wandered in to Kohl’s this past Saturday to get my new luggage, and found a pair! In the wrong size. I had hope they would have my size online, and they did (but in a different style pattern – weird)! And only $16.80 a pair (plus you know I had a coupon). So, I did what any sane person would do, and ordered four pairs. Good thing I did – now they don’t have my size online anymore (but if you are an XS, S or M, here is the link)!
They came today, and they are perfect. YAY!
I know I am dorky to share this, but what can I say?! I was excited! And if anyone else is looking for this style of short… now you know where to (maybe) get them.
What type of workout shorts do you prefer to wear?
I can’t wear the bun warmer type ones. Maybe someday (ha)!
And this little piggy…
I’ve been trying really hard lately to not be such a little piggy – I told Steven it was less about eating healthy all the time and more about just eating LESS (at least for now). Anyway, I am traveling, and have been doing pretty good, but damn, I ALWAYS clean my plate! I NEVER seem to leave food on my plate (well, you know, a few onions with my fajitas yesterday, and a bit of sauce with pasta – you get the idea). How do people do it?!
It was really hard last night because my coworker and I finally went to Ramsi’s Café on the World – a restaurant in Louisville that Erin recommended to me a long time ago. They have a huge, varied menu, with a lot of different cuisines, and I had so many vegan options I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. I was so excited I was giddy.
I ended up selected the Egyptian Kitchen, which the menu described as “Traditional dish of Egypt: ditalini, lentils, chick peas, toasted angel hair, white rice, fried onions. Fiery harissa on the side.”
Oh my gosh, it was so good. And just what I love – a bowl full of carbs! It had a very unique taste (some cinnamon in there) and I totally finished it.
And you know we had to try a vegan dessert (sorry for the bad picture):
My coworker and I split the carrot cake (it’s from a local bakery – Sweet Surrender – I must check it out!). We couldn’t finish it but we both left very full, and very satisfied. She wants to go back (they had a lot of meat friendly options too and she got some prawn dish).
Yum yum yum. I wish I would have gone to this place sooner, but we were always looking for food in downtown Louisville before (now we are staying in Indiana, and this place is in Louisville but not downtown). Anyway… it’s back home this afternoon… and back to trying not to be such a little piggy!
Feeling like a human being again
I got extremely ill at work yesterday before my flight left for Louisville. I felt irritated, dizzy, feverish and sweaty, yet had goosebumps and chills at the same time… and a few other symptoms that I will leave out. I was really worried I wouldn’t be able to sit on an airplane for an hour and a half (which turned out to be much more). I sent my symptoms to my sister and Steven, who looked up what I should do and some Urgent Care addresses in Kentucky and Indiana. I downed a bunch of water and miraculously made it through the flight. I was feeling so much better by the time I got off the plane, but I still went to Urgent Care, and sure enough, had an infection. Yay, antibiotics!
The whole reason I am sharing this is because I could not believe how much happier I felt when I got off that plane and was feeling better. I was almost giddy with excitement that I felt so much better, more comfortable and like a human being. I think I sometimes take my health for granted!
New luggage
Ugh. I have to go to Louisville today for work. Again. I am a bit sick of going there. Every trip (this will be the third) has been during one of the nation’s heat waves, and I have just felt so gross and hot and uncomfortable. Ugh.
But! I have something that will make this trip a bit better – new luggage:
Before I was using a carry-on bag that only has handles (the shoulder strap broke off) and while it is good for driving trips where I don’t have to lug it far, it was making me crazy carrying it to the office, and all over the airport.
Hopefully the new luggage will make the traveling part a lot easier. And me a lot less crankier.
Do you have decent carry-on luggage?
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! 🙂
