Posts
November 6-November 30, 2012 posts
November 30, 2012
Today
was another cold day. Luckily, I made my fleece skirt the other
night....and it is wonderful! It works to keep my bum warm, but doesn't
feel too bulky over my stomach or anything. I'll add a link on the
left soon with the easy directions to make your own. It probably took
my less than an hour to measure, cut, and sew the skirt. I'm surprised
no one sells these yet!
Back to the run. Today my training plan said to run 15 minutes easy, 15 minutes hard, then finish with 15 minutes easy. The first 15 minutes went well, but of course the hilliest part of my run hits in the 15 minutes when I had to run hard. So somehow I made it through that. Then the final 15 minutes was much better! I ran 4.24 miles in 49 minutes, definitely not bad! I'm slowly improving. I figure if I just continue running, then I am doing good. |
November 28, 2012
I
got home from school as fast as I could and suited up and took my
inhaler. My lungs have been a little bothersome lately, so I hope I'm
not getting sick. Usually I can tell by my drippy nose and coughing,
which I've done more of lately. Although, my husband has commented that
I've been sick a lot less than I was a year ago, so this running has to
be helping. Hopefully my lungs are stronger and I really won't get
sick as much as I used to.
My Gillette training plan said to run today by running 3 minutes easy run then 4 minutes a fast run and so forth. I walked for 3 minutes to warm up then did the 3/4 run. By the time I got home, it was almost dark. I have to figure out a way to be safer while running at night. I already wear bright clothes with reflective strips on them, but I'll need some type of light to help me. I've seen something cool called "knuckle lights" that might work. |
November 24, 2012
It
was COLD today! I've been battling a cold/flu type feeling for the
last week. It really makes running hard since it could make things
worse. Luckily, I followed my doctor's advice (I am notorious for
waiting too long to do what I am supposed to do) and began taking meds.
He gives me an RX for antibiotics that I am supposed to take as soon as
I can tell my sinuses are getting infected. Luckily, I did begin
taking it about 5 days ago, so I have been feeling much better. I have
found that if I don't take cold medicine or RX meds as soon I as I feel I
am getting sick, it only gets worse and then affects my lungs. All the
mucus that I feel in my head and nose tends to drop and get in my lungs
(or at least feels like it is in the lungs).
Even though I ran while the sun was shining, the air was cold! I wore a new hat/neck warmer/face mask type garment that seemed to help some. I haven't figured out how to wear anything over my nose and mouth that doesn't fog up my sunglasses. If I kept running, the cold air would clear the fogged up glasses. But, if I walked, even at a fast pace, the glasses stayed fogged up. Very aggravating. I do remember seeing an ad for a mask that actually looked more like a device for Armageddon, it claims to work without fogging up glasses. Of course, it runs about $50-60. I'll have to see how just these cloth mask pieces work before I decide on that. I ran about 4 miles today and kept a pace of 11:32, which someone surprised me since it was so cold. Maybe subconsciously I decided that if I ran fast, I'd get home earlier and out of the cold! But I felt good running, no aches and pains. Just had to deal with trying to breathe without my lungs dying from the cold. I think I really prefer running when it is warmer. I had on capris, socks, shoes, long sleeve T, jacket, gloves, ear warmers, and the head/face mask. I was bundled up! I guess that is how I will be for the next couple of months. At least I can still run while bundled up! |
November 22, 2012--Thanksgiving!
We
were supposed to run a 5K this morning, but a week or so ago, they sent
us an email saying that they didn't get their permit to hold the run so
it was canceled. I was so bummed. I really wanted to start a new
tradition of running a local 5K in the morning, then eating turkey in
the evening. So instead, we watched a little of the parade and the
beginning of the dog show, then my husband, one daughter, and I headed
out to run. I walked the first 2/10ths of the run and then ran almost
all of the rest for a total of 3.14 miles. The only place I didn't run
was up the steep hill that we have about 1 mile from our house. I kept
an average pace of an 11 minute mile, so it would have been tough to
run the whole way up AND keep running the rest of the way. I felt good
while running, and it was not too cold today.
Happy Thanksgiving! |
November 18, 2012
Finally,
the weekend...when I can run a longer distance in the middle of the day
instead of worrying about the sun going down! Today was a pretty day,
so I didn't have to worry about cold weather gear as much. I planned on
running about 7 miles, but only did 6 miles. When I reached the 3 mile
point, I was startled by one of the neighbor's dogs trotting along next
to me. I tried to get him to go home (he is an older dog) but he
didn't want to. I was worried about a car coming along and hitting him,
so I turned around and led him back to his home. He ran up his
driveway, but then back down and trotted along after me again! I told
him to go home and ran a little faster. Luckily he stayed home this
time. Then when I was only about 1 mile from home, another dog barked
at me and chased me in the road. Of course a car was coming, so I
worried about that poor thing too. Luckily, he decided I wasn't worth
the effort and he took himself back home without getting hit by a car.
So far, I have been very lucky to not have a dog actually try to hurt
me. Most of the dogs I meet want to bark at me, then just follow me as I
run. Some are pretty good listeners and will go home when I say "Go
home!" Most will calm down when I say something like "It's ok, buddy."
So I've had good experience while running with dogs.
But back to my run, the run was a great run, besides not being long enough. I averaged around 12 minute miles the whole run and felt good while running. It was a great day! |
November 15, 2012
I raced home from school again in hopes of getting in a good run before
it gets so dark the cars can't see me. The hardest thing for me when
running in the twilight is being able to see! I don't wear glasses
regularly (I had Lasik in 1998), but I am still bothered with "low light
vision" which is worse when it is twilight, nighttime, or the absolute
worst--nighttime and raining. The eye doc says part of the issue is the
color of my eyes. People with blue eyes have more issues with low
light vision and sun sensitivity due to the lack of color in the iris (I
think I have that straight). So if a person waves to me (as my
students sometimes do) I really can't tell who they are!
But I did get out there and run today. I ran 3 miles and kept a little slower pace than I did two days ago. The first 1/2 mile still tends to tax my lungs more than any part of my run. I guess I am just warming up. Once I get past 3/4 to 1 mile, then the running doesn't affect my lungs as much. |
November 13, 2012
I
raced home from work and wanted to fit in a short run before the sun
set. This is getting hard to do, the sun is setting earlier and earlier
each evening. I guess once we hit late December, we'll start going the
other way and it'll start getting lighter each day. I was able to do a
2.46 run, and did pretty well with my pace. I kept it between 11 and
12 minutes for each mile. Luckily, i wasn't too cold today, so running
was pretty good. I still am taking my inhaler before running, which
helps me breathe as I run. At least I got out there and got moving!
|
November 11, 2012
Today
was a gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the
60s, and there was very little wind. A perfect day for running. My
husband and I drove to a place in our county called Harris Hollow to
run. A friend had recommended using this road to run on since it is
pretty flat and goes for quite a ways which means you can log a long run
without too many twists and turns. We suited up in our running clothes
and packed some to change into afterwards since we decided to head to
the grocery store after our run. We parked our car in a lot and headed
out.
We started out together which was nice, and stuck together for almost a mile. I continued on and ran 4 miles and then turned around. I was able to complete an 8 mile run in 1 hour and 38 minutes! As usual, the first part of the run was more difficult than the second half. I am not sure if I am just warming up and then once I am warmed up it becomes easier to run or what. I know that the first half mile my lungs are just trying to warm up. Once that happens, then it seems to be much easier. I feel as if I am in a better rhythm and it isn't such a struggle to do each step. The second 4 miles seemed to go much smoother than the first 4. I am not sure if there is something psychological about it or not--I know I've made it half way, so my mind is happy and things seem to go better. But, it is much nicer finishing a run on a happy note instead of a sad or painful note. |
November 8, 2012
Well,
here I am at the hotel, and I decided to run over my lunch break (they
give us a very generous lunch break). I shuffled back after the first
set of morning conferences and changed clothes and headed to the workout
room in the hotel. It was a pretty small, but well equipped room with
three treadmills, a couple of bikes, weights, and other stuff. I hopped
on a treadmill, took a few minutes to figure out how to work it, and
gradually worked up to a running speed. I brought my Nook and watched
the final episode of season 1 of Downton Abbey. I am hooked on that
series.
I am a little leery of treadmills after literally falling off the back side of one once. When running outside, I will close my eyes at times and just feel the rhythm of the road and my feet, but that is not a good thing to do on a treadmill. The one I used about a year ago had no safety clip, so when I closed my eyes, as was a habit, I inadvertently slowed down, which meant I kept going backwards until I completely went off the back side--WITH the treadmill still going. That was an eye-opener (pun intended!). Luckily, I was not hurt (besides my pride) and no one saw me, so I hopped up and hit pause, and tried again. I made me very leery of what I do while I'm running on a machine. Running outside, my biggest challenge is not getting hit by a car. I don't think I've ever actually fallen while running in my neighborhood. Back to the treadmill run. I ran for about 30 minutes, which was all the time I had if I was going to shower before the afternoon sessions. (I didn't think that the conference attendees would appreciate sitting next to a stinky woman who had just had a run.) My mileage wasn't as far as I expected for the time and pace that I ran, but Jeff Galloway mentions on his site that treadmills are notorious for tracking the mileage incorrectly. So, I'm not worried by how far I went, but the fact that I ran for 30 minutes during a very busy day! |
November 6, 2012
It has been a busy week so far. I take my GRE one more time tomorrow and leave for a conference right after that. I've been trying to fit in studying every night and for many hours on the weekend I've had to basically "teach" myself many of the algebra, geometry, and other math concepts because a) I never learned them, or b) I forgot them! So in between all of this, I've tried to continue running. I am hoping that John F. Kennedy was right when he said, "Physical activity is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." Hopefully all this running is helping my brain retain knowledge and stay active!I squeezed in a little running time between last minute studying, packing, and cleaning up. I was able to get a 3.13 mile run in and pushed myself a little bit, averaging an 11 minute mile. Of course, this was the first week after the time change for Daylight Savings, and it really is getting darker much earlier. I am really going to have to leave work right after the buses two days a week to fit in my runs during the week. Or I am going to have to get creative about wearing something that makes me more visible at night. I saw an ad in a running magazine for 'knuckle lights' that you wear on your knuckles and it shines a beam of light in front of you. I wonder if that would work?
But, I got out there, I got moving, and I still got my things packed and did a little bit of last minute studying for my test!
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