Posts
July 19-August 4, 2012 posts
August 4, 2012
I
haven't been able to run in a few days...even though I wanted to. I
went back to work at school and then helped one of my daughters move to
Nashville. 13 hours in a Penske rental truck! After getting her moved
in and helping her buy a few necessities like a dresser and desk I was
able to get a sort run in at the hotel. I haven't run on a treadmill in
quite a while, so I forgot how different it is from running on the
road. I walked and ran on the treadmill--walked 2 miles and ran 2.5
miles. My calves were killing me when I was done, probably from the
harder surface or maybe my pace? I'm not sure. But it may be due to
the fact that I walked 4 minutes, then I ran for 20 minutes straight! I
felt ok, so I just kept running. Then I did a cool down with walking
and a little more running. At least I am making progress. If I can run
farther or longer, that is progress. So, it was a good run.
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June 29, 2012
Today
I ran a little farther on my normal route. It is my last day off for
the summer, since I return to work on August 1. I ran 4.3 miles and
actually had a pretty good pace for each mile. It felt pretty good to
run this. I was able to run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute; then I got braver
and did 4R / 1W and 5R / 1W. It felt great to be able to go longer
running than I did before. Yea! I forgot to take an antihistamine
before I walked, and my nose was runny...I have got to remember to take
that little pill before I run. It does help.
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July 28, 2012--FHC Twilight Run
 The run began with a gunshot, starting earlier than I expected, but that was probably because I had my watch search for GPS too soon, and it had exited the timing mode. I was madly trying to get GPS back on when the gun went off. I somehow managed to get it going and started before I crossed the start line. People were cheering us on as we ran down the road, which was somewhat exciting. Luckily the hills on this run were minor compared to what I run in the neighborhood. I ran for 3 minutes then walked, and realized that I usually start with walking, so my calves were a little rusty. I need to remember to walk more before beginning the next run. I felt great running so I made my running sections longer, such as 4 min., 5 min,. 6 min., while keeping the walking portion at 1 minute. My goal was to do the 1st mile in 13 minutes, and I was under that! My daughter tried to stay with me, and realized I was running faster than normal. The only troubles I ran into were trying to drink water while running--it doesn't work very well, and passing a house with a smoker standing outside--that made my throat close up, nose run, and coughing start. While I wanted to walk at that point, I also wanted to get away from the smoker as quickly as possible! I finished the run with the crowd cheering, and actually cut 5 minutes off my last race time! I still placed mid to low in my age group-- 8th out of 14...but that doesn't matter. My goal was to beat my last time, and I did! I remembered today to thank the volunteers that were helping direct us while running. I think some were a little surprised when I yelled out, "Thanks for volunteering and being here." A highlight was a house with 5 small children sitting on the sidewalk. I watched as a runner in front of me gave a couple of them a high five, so I ran to the right to do the same. I made sure I high-fived all of them (while bending down of course) and one yelled out "Yea, now I've got 19!" How cute! The weather finally caught up with us, and poured before the last runners came in. We raced to a gazebo and watched the end of the race there. I made sure to cheer on the final group of people since the audience had cleared away and they didn't have the cheering section. Luckily the weather was short lived and the rain moved out quickly. This was my most enjoyable race so far. Probably because the course was well laid out, but also because I was more prepared for it than the other races I had run. FUN! |
July 25, 2012
Motivating
myself and my husband was hard today. I had worked hard with projects
around the house and basically hadn't sat down except to eat lunch. I
convinced myself to get my running clothes on and waited for my husband
to get home. We headed out, and it was a beautiful evening! The
weather today had been much cooler, so running this evening was nice. I
even wore my HRM strap, and it didn't seem to bother me as much as the
other day. So I am not sure why it sometimes bothers me and sometimes
it doesn't. I was able to get my whole 3 mile run in tonight using 3"
running / 1" walking. I was a little slower than last time--I'm not
sure why since I was doing more running! But it felt great! I even ran
close to 8 minutes at the end to finish the run (without inserting walk
breaks). I am so glad I made sure to fit this in today. My breathing
was pretty good tonight, maybe that is why the HRM strap didn't bother
me as much.
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July 23, 2012
Today
the whole family went for a walk/run. It was pretty humid and still
hot. I began by warming up with walking. I felt pretty good when I
ran, so I changed my 2 minute run/1 minute walk to 3 minute run/1 minute
walk. I was able to keep that up the whole 3 miles, so that was
great! I am trying to push myself to be faster. When I am at the 5K
races, my difficulty reading the course and cones, the excitement of
just being at a race, and my nervousness of running with a bunch
of people makes me do worse than I think I can. I am so afraid of
falling on my face, or just running out of steam before the end of the
race that I don't push myself like I should. Still the most difficult
part of running is the feeling in my lungs. I have the feeling in my
lungs that something is there that needs to come out...but it won't. I
know this is part of the asthma, but it is a constant reminder. I've
read that it is good to breathe through your nose while running, but
with my allergies, it will just start running. If I forget a kleenex
(brand name, I know...I have always called tissues kleenexes) then my
shirt is not only my face wipe, but my nose rag too! Gross. I also get
so wrapped up in counting "1 thousand 1, 1 thousand 2" while breathing,
that it becomes harder to breathe naturally. (another strategy I read
was to count while breathing to help it become a natural act....) So
many issues I have! Also, note to self, when the watch says 30% battery
left, it is not enough to do a 3 mile run. The GPS shut off after 2.5
miles because of low battery! Ha ha. But, at least I ran 3 miles. And
yes, I say RAN even though I walked part of it, because I am running!
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July 21, 2012--Christmas in July
Last night it rained, no make that, poured! It kept me awake for a while, with my mind thinking things like, "It'll be raining tomorrow morning like this...oh no" or "If it is raining like this tomorrow, I'll have to run. I've talked my whole family into joining me and I'll have to be cheery about having to run in the rain" I finally fell asleep close to 1 or 2 in the morning. Our alarms went off at 5:30 since the run was about an hour from our house. We groggily got moving, dressed in running clothes, and grabbed our change of clothes for afterwards.Then we headed out to another 5K--my second one this year. I should have thought a little more about was a huge storm can do to the weather...it was only in the 60s this morning! And it was misting--at least it wasn't raining cats and dogs! I grabbed a athletic jacket I keep in the car (I am perpetually cold where ever I go) and we headed out to pick up our packets. The course was gorgeous, located at Great Meadows in The Plains. But, the rain had left the grass/hay wet and slick and most of the grass was pretty tall and thick. Many people must have chosen not to come since the numbers people were wearing went from 1 to 200 something, but they announced that only about 80 runners were there. The DJ was great and had fun while we ran. I need to work on my navigation skills since I somehow got off track twice while running and ended up running 3.23 miles instead of 3.1 At one point I had gone so far on the wrong side of a fence, that it was faster to climb the fence and then jump down without slipping in the grass and breaking a leg or something. My daughter ran up to let me know that I was on the wrong side of the fence and coaxed me into jumping the fence. I also told the people behind me to go to the other side so they wouldn't have to jump the fence. The fence by the way, was about 5 feet high, so I had to climb it first! I bet that was a funny site from the finish line--because of course this happened right before the end of the race! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet my goal of breaking my last 5K time, but that is ok. I have another race next Saturday!
This is my family (minus a son-in-law) after the race. I am on the far right.
July 19, 2012
Today was hot and humid. I puffed my preventative two puffs of my inhaler--holding my breath for 10 seconds before exhaling and waiting the required 1 minute between puffs. Afterward I rinsed the taste from my mouth and sipped some cool water. I put my new GPS watch on, strapped the heart monitor strap to my chest, and headed outside with my sunglasses. While the watch searched for GPS, I warmed up by walking. Once my GPS was found, I turned on "Mamma Mia" on my iPod and hit the pavement. I usually walk for 4 minutes at the beginning of my workout, but today I thought I had walked enough waiting for the signal. Nope. My legs seemed a little stiff as I ran my 2 minute segment. During my 1 minute walk, I let my legs stretch and warm up. Slowly the stiffness faded and running was just running. By now, my shirt and shorts were soaked, my face dripping, and my breathing hard. I am not sure I can use the HRM (heart rate monitor) strap every day when I run. Today it seemed to press more on my lungs, or maybe I was just struggling more with breathing today. I didn't bring my inhaler since it was going to be only about a 30-40 minute run. I continued my 2" run / 1" walk as much as I could. I had to slide in a longer walk a few times, but that is ok. Besides struggling with my breathing, I felt pretty good. It felt even better as I ran the last few minutes toward my house and a breeze floated up from the river a half mile down the road. What felt even better? That I had run again today! Today--3 miles, Saturday--3.1!
