Training Week 89
Day 617 | June 27, 2011: 4 m run
I wasn’t planning on running Monday evening (a nap sounded nice), but when we got to our hotel, my coworker asked if I was going to workout, and I though, why not?!
There is a path that runs right along the river of downtown Louisville, so I headed west on that. It was actually kind of industrial, but still a nice run.
Distance: 4.0 | Temp: mid 80s | Time: 39:25 | Avg Pace: 9:50 | 1: 9:47 | 2: 9:47 | 3: 9:49 | 4: 9:59
Day 618 | June 28, 2011: .9 m run + 12 m bike + .9 m run
On Tuesday I ran to the bike rental place, rented a bike and rode 12 miles, then ran back to the hotel. It was a total blast!
Day 619 | June 29, 2011: rest
I finally took that nap I wanted on Monday!
Day 620 | June 30, 2011: 5.5 m run
I couldn’t get on an earlier flight to leave Louisville, so I decided to check out another park, and got a nice 5.5 mile run in. I am suprised I did so well running in the heat (and on the hills) in Louisville. Is it less humid there or am I getting used to the heat?!
Distance: 5.5 | Temp: low 90s | Time: 1:01:15 | Avg Pace: 11:08 | 1: 11:24 | 2: 11:28 | 3: 10:28 | 4: 11:17 | 5: 11:18 | 6: 5:17
Day 621 | July 1, 2011: strength
I had what felt like a very early morning session with Brian (our 8th session already!). My flight was delayed the night before, then sat on the runway for an hour when it finally landed… anyway, I was tired in the am. But I think I did pretty well with my workout! It was core-intensive – lots of walking in plank pose and move a kettlebell, boat-pose type stuff with weights on a chair, walking push-ups, squats, leg lifts, etc.
Day 622 | July 2, 2011: 7 m run
I intended to do my long run on Saturday but went to bed too late to wake up early (we drove to IA on Friday night and were up until past 2:00 am). So I started at 9:00 am in the full sun – a beautiful day to be on the river – but a hot day for a run (check out my awesome positive splits)! My dad rode his bike with me, and we ran/rode downtown so he could get a key made, then we ran/rode back and headed out for the river.
Distance: 7.0 | Temp: high 70s – low 80s | Time: 1:12:01 | Avg Pace: 10:16 | 1: 9:39 | 2: 9:49 | 3: 10:13 | 4: 10:30 | 5: 10:23 | 6: 10:32 | 7: 10:50
Day 623 | July 3, 2011: 12.15 m run
I woke up a bit earlier on Sunday and got my 12 in. It was overcast and cooler (but I still drank about 40 oz. of water). Yay! And my dad rode with me again. We ran/rode to the downtown area, then around the two islands in Guttenberg. We saw A LOT of turtles. It was nice to run with my dad. I usually don’t get to spend much time with him. It’s funny – people are really friendly here, so he had a lot of people teasing him about how he should be running, or could he keep up on the bike, or was he too old to ride the bike, etc.
Distance: 12.15 | Temp: high 60s – low 70s | Time: 2:07:49 | Avg Pace: 10:31 | 1: 10:13 | 2: 10:30 | 3: 10:43 | 4: 10:44 | 5: 10:52 | 6: 10:32 | 7: 10:32 | 8: 10:30 | 9: 10:38 | 10: 10:13 | 11: 10:39 | 12: 10:10 | 13: 1:25
Week Summary: 30.45 miles
I find it amusing that this has been one of my highest mileage weeks in awhile, but that I didn’t do any running in Illinois. It was all in Kentucky or Iowa! I guess I like to run while I travel?
Training Week 88
Posting this quite a few days late! I fell behind on writing my workout info because I was so busy.
Day 610 | June 20, 2011: 1 m run + cross
I had planned on doing speedwork on the treadmill during lunch, but decided I would rather give my legs a break! So I ran a mile and did 20 minutes on the bike.
Time: 9:32 | Distance: 1.0 | Incline: 1.0
Bike Time: 20:00| Distance: 3.25 | Level = 3
Day 611 | June 21, 2011: 3 m run
I wanted to fit an outdoor lunch run in, even though I knew it was going to be hot and muggy. So I started out slow and stayed slow, and went north on the lake shore path (where I could remember the location of at least two water fountains). The run ended up feeling really good! The breeze off of the lake made it not so unbearable.
Distance: 3.0 | Start Temp: 85° | Finish Temp: 87° | Dew Point: 74° | Time: 30:30 | Avg Pace: 10:09 | 1: 10:12 | 2: 10:34 | 3: 9:40
Day 612 | June 22, 2011: rest
Day 613 | June 23, 2011: strength + 6 m run
I did a crazy workout with Brian – we used short resistance bands that you can put around your ankles/wrists, then did walking planks with those, hopping, weights, stomach core work… it was tough! But fun.
Later in the day, I ran 6 miles through Grayslake with a friend from the running club. It was lightly raining for part of the run, and that felt pretty good.
Distance: 6.0 | Temp: 67° | Time: 1:01:02 | Avg Pace: 10:10 | 1: 9:41 | 2: 10:15 | 3: 10:26 | 4: 10:16 | 5: 10:09 | 6: 10:13
Day 614 | June 24, 2011: strength
I had another strength session on Friday and Brian had me doing more balance/coordination work. This time, I would hold a ball between my thighs/knees and do lots of hopping/jumping, sometimes with weights. He also brought those nunchuck type weighted handle thingys that simulate jumping rope and had me do lunges while swinging those in my hands. We also used a pilates ring thing and did 100s. And lots of other stuff. He has me doing so many different things when he comes that I can’t keep it straight.
Day 615 | June 25, 2011: 11.15 m run
I got to do my long run with Erin! Well, she biked since she had a race the next day and I ran. She took me to the Salt Creek Trail by her house which I LOVED. It was mostly shaded, and went through woods but also by homes. We saw some deer just chilling – it was so bizarre to see them just hanging out and not running away!
I was hoping for 10 minute miles but started out quite slow. But surprisingly, I got a second wind about half way through and really sped up for the last 5 or so miles. I am not sure if that has ever happened to me. It was probably because I was enjoying our conversation so much.
Run stats: I drank 16 oz. of water and took GUs at 4 and 8.
Distance: 11.15 | Time: 1:55:01 | Avg Pace: 10:19 | 1: 10:35 | 2: 10:45 | 3: 10:33 | 4: 10:21 | 5: 10:32 | 6: 10:30 | 7: 10:06 | 8: 10:10 | 9: 10:01 | 10: 10:07 | 11: 9:47 | 12: 1:29
After our run we were good wives and went to watch our husbands autocross… er… and chill out a bit in the sun.
Steven even took me on a ride this time. Well, two rides. The first was one of his fastest times, and he spun out during the second one.
Day 616 | June 26, 2011: mostly rest
We met our friends Eric and Abbie and their daughter Alice at the Ryerson Wood Forest Preserve to hike, picnic and see the animals. I think all the exercise we did was canceled out by the picnic portion of the day.
Side note: why do goat have such freaky eyes?!
F-R-E-A-K-Y!!!
Week Summary: 21.15 miles
I felt like we finally had a nice summer weekend and I was able to enjoy it by being outside. I was really surprised that I got that second wind during my long run. I wonder what went right.
Friday Question #159
Do you like to sleep with the sheets tucked in around your feet, or loose?
I didn’t sleep very well in the hotel at first this week, and then I realized it was because the sheets were tucked in so tight I felt stuck in bed, like I couldn’t move. Apparently I like to be loose and free. So I ripped all the sheets out from the end and slept with them kind of crumpled up on top of me. Much better.
Small talked out
I am so small talked out and ready to get back to Illinois. I spent the last three days with the same people*, and I swear, if I wouldn’t have been talking (at meals and in between meetings) we all would have been staring at each other. I know some people don’t like to chat much, but at meals? Ugh…
Do you ever get sick of making small talk? Do you think it would be awkward to sit at a meal with people you don’t know and not say anything?
Good thing I am seeing my family this weekend – no struggle with small talk there. It’s a struggle to get a word in. Well, with certain people. Muah ha ha. You all (family members) know who I am talking about.
Anyway, our meetings ended early enough for me to catch the 5:30 flight to Chicago… but it was all booked. So I am still on the 8:20. Since I didn’t want to sit in the airport for five hours, I drove to Iroquis Park to go for a run. Holy hills!
Most of the run was on a nice shaded road:
but I ventured on the trails to check out an overlook:
It was in the low 90s, but I felt pretty good. Just took it nice and slow. And I showered off at the end:
I was kind of wondering how I would “clean off” before my flight but knew I would figure something out. Ha ha ha. I am pretty sure that was not the intent of those spray fountains, but it sure felt good to stand in them after my run (yes, Steven, I will take a shower before I go to bed).
You know, I ran more miles this month than last month by about 6 miles. And I ran a freakin’ marathon last month. At least I think I did? I can’t remember… it’s so far away. Anyway, I have been feeling good lately – let’s hope I stay that way so I can keep training for my two (gulp!) fall marathons!
*Client and contractor – my coworker and I can chat it up forever.
Biking in Louisville
It is AMAZING how much you can do during a workday evening when your commute is only 15 minutes. Ah, work travel. I normally get more sleep and a lot more free time than when I am home… but I am away from Steven. Sad face.
Anyway, today we finished work at 5:00, so I went to the Louisville Visitor’s Center (right next to our hotel!) grabbed a trail map and a brochure for bike rental and ran to the bike rental place. The lady gave me a (7-speed, ha ha) bike, a helmet (won’t ride without one) a map to get to a park, and I was off!
Right away on my ride I noticed a tiny little distressed bird laying in the middle of the trail. I was worried about him getting run over so I put him on a piece of styrofoam and moved him off the trail.
I placed him by a tree and that little bugger moved right back over to the middle of the trail and continued to squawk. He (and his body parts) were not around when I came back that way so I hope his parents found him.
I rode on trails then on to roads which mostly had bike lines, then I was on a pretty trail along a river:
I saw turtles sunbathing, lots of fish, other bikers and runners, and a cat and some dogs. I tried to get pictures of the turtles but they didn’t turn out. Sad face II.
The bike path lead to Cherokee Park, which has huge frickin’ hills in it. I saw LOTS of runners there. Go runners go! The park was beautiful:
An older bike rider (think 70s) actually showed me the way and we chatted for a bit while riding.
I rode back the same way and snapped a picture of the Louisville Slugger Field. Anyone know the significance? Andrew, do you still read my blog?
I rode around the riverfront a bit more when I got back. There are a lot of cool things along the riverfront – parks, memorials:
and water features…
This is a public fountain that people play and swim in! WTH?! I am TOTALLY going there tomorrow if it’s in the 90s again. FO SHO. No shame. I have my suit with me. I almost went in with my exercise clothes on today.
After I returned the bike I ran back to the hotel and had time to eat dinner with my coworker, talk to Steven on the phone and video chat and write this post (and make updates to the running club race website (!@#$^&$%*@&!!). Note: I still need to catch up on blogs, emails, and Facebook. Sigh. Maybe I didn’t get that much done after all?! At least I had fun! I would have kept the bike a lot longer if I didn’t have to eat dinner. I told my coworker I would be a half hour late for our dinner (well, meeting time to get dinner) as it was! Oops!
P.S. My black toenail started to come off at some point during this bike ride/run. Gross/exciting at the same time.
Skirts for the summer
I feel like I need to say something on my blog:
I am here!
I am just too busy lately doing stuff (it’s SUMMER!!!). I haven’t been around my computer at all to write blogposts or to read blogs. I’ll get to it. But first…
I am in Louisville again this week for work. And gone for the Fourth of July. Then Steven’s family is in town for five days. So, we’ll see. Be patient with me (please)!
Anyway, it’s so frickin’ hot (sometimes?) this summer, that I decided skirts are the only option (air flow) for work clothing. I went to JCPenney last week and picked up a few new ones for my trip.
I spent $100 and got four skirts and two tops. Gotta love JCPenney. Where do you love to shop for cheap deals?
Here is the skirt I didn’t get. It was more of a pencil cut and a size too small for me. But I thought it was super cute.
If they would have had it in my sister’s size I totally would have purchased it. Sorry Christina, no luck.
The Garden Project: Clumpy Soil
We visited our garden this weekend on Saturday just to take a peek:
And on Sunday to put up the fence and water the garden (yeah, it didn’t rain at all this weekend, but it POURED on Monday).
Some of our tomato plants are looking a bit sad:
Let’s hope it’s okay if the leaves look like that. Here’s where I am placing all of my optimism:
Yep – the green beans. The cucumbers are also starting to pop up (I planted another kind on 6/12, so we have two kinds now):
And the sugar snap peas:
Notice how clumpy our soil is? It’s kind of like clay. It’s not very fine, and it’s somewhat difficult to work with (excuses, excuses). It would be so cool if we had a garden in our yard, and could have someone bring in nice soil and fertilizer. And if watering it meant turning on the hose, not carrying kitty litter buckets full of water back and forth from the water basin (which was mostly empty on Sunday, by the way) to the garden.
It’ll be worth it. When all of those delicious green beans start showing up, it’ll be worth it. Oh yeah, and the other stuff too.
Steven worked on the fence on Sunday while I tried to get water for our crops. It seems that we threw away half of our fence last year and don’t recall:
Oops. We better get out there and finish the fence up before real produce pops up!
Other garden project posts from this year:
The Garden Project: It’s Back
The Garden Project: Getting Our Act Together
Pitch Black
One of the first things Steven bought when he moved in to our home in winter of 2004 was custom blinds for all the windows. But we never bought shades.
Until now! We FINALLY have blackout shades for out bedroom! Look at how much light came in our blinds before (picture above taken during the day, picture below at dusk). The moon would always shine in to our room at night before, as well as the streetlights.
That is no more!
Now all we see is this:
Ha ha. Not really. We have too many electronic devices in the room, so there was still some light in there, but it’s much better than before.
It only took us FOUR tries to find the right shades. Do you know what a pain in the butt it is to take shades home to check the color, unfold them, decide you don’t like them, then try to fold them back up perfectly in to those little plastic containers? Yeah. Steven did that part.
And did you know my title at work is Interior Designer? Ugh. So NOT an Interior Designer. I can tell you how to build a wall, not how to match colors.
Anyway, it is going to be so nice to have these shades to sleep in on the weekends in the summer (when the sun rises at 5:00 am!). And maybe it will confuse Data and he won’t wake me up super early anymore. And maybe I can sneak in for a nap some afternoon and have it be nice and dark. Ahh…
The only bad part is that it is that much harder to get out of bed. And I have really been struggling with getting out of bed lately. Oh well!
Training Week 87
Day 603 | June 13, 2011: strength
Brian came over for our fourth strength session together. We used handweights, a step, and the bench to do a lot of dynamic movements. He also had me do walking planks on the step (from side to side and also up and down), complete with pushups on each side of the step, and some plank holds in the middle. My abs were understandably sore. That is what I am looking for though, so it’s a good thing!
Day 604 | June 14, 2011: cross (3.46 m + 10.50 m)
I rode my bike home from the train station, (fed Data) then rode 10.5 miles in my neighborhood and the neighboring neighborhood (ha ha).
Bike Time: 18:05| Distance: 3.46 | Average Speed: 11.5 mph
Bike Time: 48:41| Distance: 10.5 | Average Speed: 12.9 mph
Day 605 | June 15, 2011: 4 m run (speedwork)
It’s the return of speedwork! Let’s see how long this lasts. Who thinks I can do one session a week until the Milwaukee Marathon (that would be 16 sessions)? Yeah. Don’t hold your breath.
I ran a 10 min warm-up (@ 6.3mph) and 4×3:00 min (@ 7.5mph) with 3:00 min recoveries (@ 6.3mph) with a 5 min cool-down (@ 6.0 mph). This workout was hard. But not in the sense that my body hurt or my breathing was off – it was in the “damn you’re heavy” sense. Or maybe it was just the “Sh*t this sucks; I haven’t done this in awhile” sense. Who knows. Let’s hope next week is easier… 12x400s? Damn. I wish I wouldn’t have looked ahead. Might have to cut that down…
Time: 36:05 | Distance: 4.0 | Incline: 1.0
Day 606 | June 16, 2011: 3 m run
Another treadmill run – despite deciding I hate the thing a few weeks (months?) ago, I decided I would rather sit on my butt in the evening than run. So treadmill during lunch it is. I ran an easy three at 6.3mph. Gah, it is so hot in the office gym! I was absolutely drenched when I was done. The lunch-time shower never felt so good!
Time: 28:35 | Distance: 3.0 | Incline: 1.0
Day 607 | June 17, 2011: strength + cross (20 m)
I did an am strength session with Brian. Lots of dynamic handweight movements, as well as some good core work and planks/pushups. And the return of these yellow bars for pullups:
(photo from April 26 class)
The weirdest thing happened when I was doing pullups. I would do 5, then hold the last one, and Brian would put a weight on my stomach. But every time I tried to hold the position, I would get a very painful cramp in my hamstring and fall to the ground! It was so bizarre! And a bit frustrating. It was a good workout though, especially for my back/shoulders – they were really sore Saturday and Sunday.
In the afternoon I headed to the Millennium Trail for a bike ride. Holy hills:
This is where I will go to conquer hills this summer. If I ever get the guts to run there.
This was the first time I rode to the end of the trail. It’s very pretty, but not as shady as the picture below makes it seem! And I felt like I was riding in to the wind on the way down the trail and back. How does THAT happen?!
I wore my glasses this time, but still had a lot of bugs hitting my face. So I rode with my mouth closed the whole time, except to smile at other bikers/runners. The funny thing is, even when I am riding my bike and NOT injured, it still makes me sad to see other runners – I feel like I should be running too!
Bike Time: 1:32:52| Distance: 20.01 | Average Speed: 12.9 mph
Day 608 | June 18, 2011: cross (9.15 m) + 6 m run
Steven and I rode our bikes to the garden to see how our plants were doing, then went to the park to play catch and chill out, before riding our bikes back home.
When we were leaving the park we noticed these goslings were sleeping in the water, resting their heads on their bodies. Too cute!
I ran 6 miles when I got home. It was supposed to be a tempo run, but I felt too hot (where was the wind from the day before?), so I just made it a survival run. Actually, I think I was a bit dehydrated, because I ran out of water at mile 2, then felt like I could throw up the rest of the time. Not cool. It took me a few hours to feel better after I was done.
I had a few funny encounters during my run – I jumped through a sprinkler on purpose, asked some girls to spray me with their water guns, and had a little boy ask me if I wanted to see a wild turtle (I said yes and gladly took the break).
Bike Time: 55:48| Distance: 9.15 | Average Speed: 9.85 mph
Distance: 6.0 | Temp: 80s | Time: 59:08 | Avg Pace: 9:51 | 1: 9:49 | 2: 9:57 | 3: 9:48 | 4: 9:49 | 5: 9:51 | 6: 9:51
Day 609 | June 19, 2011: 8 m run
I met my friend Yvonne for a run through a path I had never been on near my home. I was hoping for 9:30s, but it was so humid (90%)… or am I just making excuses? Either way, I am happy to run with Yvonne… she is faster than me and keeps me going.
Distance: 8.0 | Start Temp: 62° | End Temp: 65° | Time: 1:19:34 | Avg Pace: 9:56 | 1: 9:37 | 2: 9:42 | 3: 9:46 | 4: 9:39 | 5: 10:15 | 6: 10:06 | 7: 10:21 | 8: 10:02
Week Summary: 21.00 miles
My runs have been feeling really slow lately, and I can’t tell if it’s from being heavier, the hotter weather, or both. Maybe both? Oh well. It’s only going to get hotter (and hopefully I won’t gain anymore weight) so I might as well get used to it now. I will be happy if I can keep my long run around 10:00 minute miles this summer.
Things I am loving lately
- My Shaker Bottle – Brian recommended one for mixing protein powder. I didn’t think I needed one because I was using a spoon, but after many clumpy shakes, I bought one, and damn, it works really well!
- Personal Training – I haven’t lost any weight because of my poor eating habits, but I am really enjoying my personal training sessions. I look forward to them each week!
- Riding my bike outside – so much better than the bike in the gym, and a lot of fun. Yay, crosstraining! Pictures from my ride yesterday:
- Not having anything planned for this weekend and the next one
- Spending time with Steven – we haven’t been around each other much lately
- Running Times magazine – I picked up a copy a few years ago and really didn’t like it. I needed something to read for a flight back in April and gave it another try and fell in love. I think it’s for a higher level runner than me, but it’s full of a lot of useful information, and interesting bios on runners.
- Rain in the forecast – means less time watering the garden (our garden is a 10 minute drive from our house and we have to haul water back and forth from a basin to water our crops)!
I could also make a list titled “Things I am hating lately” but I am going to stick with the positive today. It’s Saturday, afterall!
What are you loving lately?
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! 🙂
