My Christmas Present!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that all I wanted for Christmas was a treadmill. I know...I don't want much, right? I also mentioned that we went to the super special treadmill store just before Christmas to order the one I wanted. It finally came on Sunday! I felt like I had to wait forever! Okay, maybe it was only two weeks, but seriously...it's cold out there.

Side note, can you believe they deliver on Sundays? Nick was talking with the setup guys and they said during the winter they're delivering seven days a week! They were delivering treadmills the day before and the day after Christmas. And in the summer time it can be so slow, they sometimes take whole weeks off.

We can officially claim that we have a home gym now. There's the weight bench (not mine). Then there's the stationary bike, row machine, and now the treadmill. I have laid claim to all the cardio equipment, although technically Nick had the stationary bike before he even met me... technically (it's really mine).

The basement is full of awesome workout equipment and toys! This is nice because it's cold outside. The cold doesn't usually bother me, but it's starting to bother me a little. The actual running in the cold is fine, but afterward I'm freezing for the rest of the day. Also, my skin is so ridiculously dry that every time I take a shower it stings. I know, I know, suck it up, right? Anyway, the cold and snow also means I can't use the running stroller so the treadmill is awesome!

Have you been wondering which treadmill we picked? Our general selection criteria was how well it will stand up to beatings. I like to really test the durability of cardio equipment. My parents like to tease me; technically, I broke two pieces of their cardio equipment when I was younger. So durability was important. Also, I don't need a lot gadgets or gizmos. Speed, incline, pace, that's all I need.

In the end, Landice came out on top. These treadmills are pretty sweet. There's a full one year warranty that includes labor, and a lifetime warranty on all the treadmill parts, ALL the parts...that's rare. There are two downsides to the Landice brand. One, there are no bells and whistles in regard to the electronics. Something I don't care about, but others might. And two, it is expensive, but these treadmills last so long that when you fill out the warranty card there's a space to name a person to inherit the treadmill warranty when you die. Okay, that sounded only slightly morbid, but still, durable. In case you're wondering, I've endowed my treadmill to Kaylee.

In other news, Christmas went well, but my workouts fell off a bit. Not so much because I couldn't fit them in, but more because I didn't feel well. Saturday I had actually laced up one sneaker and was beginning to lace up the other, when I decided I was too tired and opted to take a nap instead. This is very uncharacteristic of me, but for whatever reason I was ridiculously tired. I did get in one good run last week. I did a nine miler, started at 8:34 pace, worked my way down to 7:00 pace, and wound up averaging 7:59 pace. The rest of the week was pretty much a flop.

Training Journal 12/21-12/26
Total Miles Run: 16.6
Total Time Running: 2:17
Average Pace: 8:15
Total Time Stationary Bike: 4:10

Running with Asthma

Asthma, as defined by moi, is a big bad bully standing between me and my running. That's all there is to it. Asthma is simply my own personal irritating obstacle that I plan to eliminate. I'm working out the details.

I was diagnosed with "moderate persistent" asthma just after Kaylee was born. Symptoms popped up during my eighth month of pregnancy and were severe enough that I had to take prednisone for it. I was hoping the trigger was hormonal, but it didn't go away after Kaylee was born. Eventually I went to an allergist who tested me for every allergy under the sun, but to no avail. It seems my trigger is not allergy related.

I probably had mild asthma as a child, but not bad enough to actually get a diagnosis for it, and I only ever had an inhaler when I was extremely sick. Now though, it's a completely different story. Sometimes it's worse than others. Over the summer, I thought maybe the whole asthma thing was getting better, then came September. When I visited the Allergist in late September and told him I was having more trouble but no trigger that I could pinpoint, he suggested the temperature change. "Really?" I asked skeptically "because 60 degrees doesn't seem all that cold to me." To which he replied "True, but a few weeks ago it was 80's and 90's." I was training for a marathon at the time so we went through what my game plan should be, which mostly consisted of me taking my various inhalers at the appropriate intervals. The marathon did not go well. Asthma being a big factor to the over all badness (although admittedly not the sole factor).

After the marathon, I diligently stuck with the inhalers, but was still having issues. I tried a week hiatus from exercise, still no better. A week after that, I stopped taking the inhalers. They weren't really helping anyway. That same week I decided I'd still exercise, but only what I could do without wheezing. A "just keep moving" approach. I think it worked. That first week was hard. My chest felt tight all the time and my running/biking was extremely slow, but the next week the tightness was a little bit better and I got a little bit faster. Then I threw in some workouts, which went well too. On Thanksgiving, I ran a 5K and did fairly well for someone who couldn't breath a few weeks earlier. I did use both my Advair and Albuterol inhalers the morning of the race and I did wheeze a bit for the rest of the day, but overall the race was a success. Since the 5K I haven't been taking either of my inhalers. My chest is still tight when I wake up in the morning, but I'm not wheezing, so whatever. I think some of the chest tightness might be from the dry air. Winter time is so much drier and the heating system makes the air even drier.

Just keep moving is my new asthma treatment. For me that means at least 60 minutes of cardio a day (running, biking, rowing). It doesn't have to be hard, but it has to get done. The day before the 5K I did 80 minutes on the bike and totaled 9 hours of cardio that week. I'm sure there must be a scientific explanation of why this is helping. I don't know what that explanation is though. I'm also sure that what I've done isn't the solution for everyone, and I would never suggest that anyone exchange needed medication for exercise. I am pleased that I seem to have discovered a method of dealing with my asthma without constantly being on drugs.

What are your thoughts? Anyone out there have asthma? Do you think I'm crazy?

On another note...I only got 30 miles in this week. Arg! That Sunday snow storm threw my schedule my schedule off.

Training Summary for 12/14-12/20:
Total Miles Run: 30.5
Total Time Run: 4:21
Average Pace: 8:33
Total Stationary Bike Time: 4:45

Training 12/07 - 12/13

Running last week went fairly well. It was tricky with the snow. Last Monday the snow was melted enough that I was able to run with the running stroller, but then on Wednesday we got slammed with another eight inches of snow. The fuzzy photo to left was taken with my phone mid Wednesday morning. Thursday it was about 40 degrees, but there was too much snow to run on my narrow busy road. I wound up driving to a wide quiet back road and used the stroller there.

My days of running stroller use are numbered. I've been lucky that there have been a few warmer days. I don't feel comfortable running with Kaylee if it's under 40 degrees. Without the stroller, it's hard for me to run much more than 28 miles a week, but...we went treadmill shopping last week! I'm excited to report that we ordered a treadmill. I knew which one I wanted before we went to the store. I called ahead of time to make sure they had a floor model to look at and run on. And I ran on a few others too just to make sure! I'm crossing my fingers that it will be in before Christmas, but not holding my breath.

I know as runners the treadmill is a last resort, but where I am in my life without a treadmill my running is going to be severely limited. I'm really excited to have one. I've been slowly trying to make my up to 40 plus miles a week, but the weather, lack of stroller use, and early darkness are getting in my way. It's ridiculous because I'm not training for anything right now, but thinking about how I'll get in my miles actually stresses me out.

Do you get stressed if you can't run the miles you'd like to (even if you're not technically in training)?

Training Journal Summary
Miles run: 36.4 (14 with the stroller)
Time running: 5:19
Average pace: 8:45
Time on stationary bike: 4:00
Pushups: 4 x 20

I Found a Garmin in my Dresser

True story. Hmm, where should I start. I'm hopeless. That's a good start. When it comes to gadgets I can be utterly hopeless. I did in fact find a Garmin Forerunner 101 in my dresser drawer a few days ago. I'm not sure what I was trying to find, but out came a Garmin. And I remembered immediately that my little brother (who's nearing the end of his training to be a helicopter pilot in the Marines) gave me that Garmin four years ago! And at the time I thought, "Oh that's cool." But then I never wound up using it. Like I said hopeless. Now since I've been doing an abundance of running blog reading, the whole idea of a Garmin has started to intrigue me. So when I found it in my drawer I was all "Oh look at this! I have a Garmin! Woo hoo!"

I immediately looked it up, and found even though it's the oldest of the models it works just as well. It just doesn't have the bells and whistles. Things such as a PC connection option. Needless to say I was excited. From what I've read, the biggest complaint of the Garmin Forerunner 101 is the batteries. They take AAA's, and only last approximately 13 hours. When I opened her up, there were no batteries inside. A great stroke of luck for me given that four years of old AAA's could have been a complete disaster!

And we had AAA's in the house (score)! I just threw in some batteries and went running! I didn't even need to read any instructions. Well, I don't read instructions anyway. Whenever I get something new I just pull it out of the box, turn it on, and go from there. This is not the way Nick works. He does read instructions. I'm not allowed to setup gadgets for the home. He says my methods are...less than ideal. Usually I just stand over him giving him friendly encouragement like "just turn it on already!" and "is it ready yet!" Anyway the Garmin worked as soon as I turned it on.

I was so excited because for the first time last week I had to run on a route that I hadn't mapped out. It snowed again on Wednesday and this time we had eight inches, so my street isn't safe to use with the running stroller. People drive fast on my narrow road and with the snow I can't just jump into a neighbor's yard when someone comes at me fast. Thursday I drove to a set of quiet back roads and ran there. I had no idea what the distance would be, and here is where the marvelous Garmin came into play! It told me I ran 6.9 miles at 9:07 pace, which I thought was very considerate of that Garmin especially considering how I've ignored the poor thing for the last four years.

I took it to work on Friday and ran my usual 7.5 miles, curious to know how accurate Mr. Garmin would be. The Garmin reported 7.6 miles at 8:10 pace. Hm, pretty darn close. And it's not like my work loop is a certified course. We drove the car around the complex to figure out how long a loop was (not the most accurate method perhaps but good enough for training purposes). Nick and I have also figured out where the 1/4 mile mark is (we did this through trial and error no measuring at all). The Garmin says it's actually 0.24 not 0.25, which is too close to even argue. We've also identified the 5K spot. Again, we didn't measure it. You just a get a feel for things running the same loop over and over. The Garmin said we were being a little conservative there and identified our 5K spot as being 3.2 miles rather 3.11 miles.

In short, Garmin passed the test. I'm so excited to run all my home loops with it now. When I run at home I'm so much slower, but home is also a lot hillier. I'm wondering if I was too conservative when I figured out the distances (which I did using Google maps, but I'm not sure that tool was made with runners in mind). We'll see!

Hey little brother, it took a while for me to figure it out, but I love your Christmas present! Thank you so much!

Do we have any Garmin lovers out there? What do you like best? Have you found it to be accurate?

Winter Running

This was the view from our kitchen window on Sunday. New England is so crazy. The fall has been so temperate that I forgot winter was coming. And boom December comes in with some snow right away! This particular storm was fairly mild. We only had 3 or 4 inches, but it was that wet heavy snow that stuck to everything. I did go running on Sunday. It is hard to run in the snow. The streets were clear, but people drive like lunatics, there aren't many sidewalks where I run, and it's slippery. So there you have it...not my favorite for running. What really irritates me, though, is that once it snows the running stroller isn't safe to use. I did manage a run on Monday with the stroller, but only because most of the snow had melted. Now without the flexibility of the running stroller, my running becomes trickier. Sigh.

If it weren't for the snow (leading to my inability to use the beloved running stroller), I would love running in the winter time. The way I see it, you can always put more clothes on when it's cold out, but there are only so many you can take off when it's hot. But alas, I can't control the weather (shakes fists at the heavens).

So what's a running girl to do? This running girl has asked for a treadmill. I used my sweetest voice and said, "I would really like to get a treadmill and here are my completely logical and sane reasons for needing wanting one...blah blah blah." It might interest you to know that somehow I included less likely to get injured on my list. To which Nick replied nervously (because one must be delicate with a running fanatic), "Ah, really? Because I thought that running less would lead to less injuries." Silly man! "My logic is sound," I replied. "I don't disagree with your logic...it's just that sometimes, you, ah, have control issues when it comes to running." I smiled, "Don't worry about that! I'll make sure to increase my mileage appropriately. And it's all I want for Christmas!" Ultimately, he agreed. So it looks like we'll be adding a treadmill to the basement to go along with the row machine, stationary bike, and weight bench!

Oh, and look at that...it's snowing again. I wonder if I can get that treadmill before Christmas...

Running at Work

Okay, the picture has little to do with the post, but it's cute, right? And I did take it this week after a run. Alright back to the topic...

Some of my best running days are at work. Work can be flexible (obviously as I only go in two days a week). As long as I can work around any meetings I'm free to go nuts running at lunch time. Of course, this is only made possible by the gym and locker room we have. Yes, I am spoiled. Anyway, for me, it's the best time to run. I don't have to worry about the weather or the running stroller. This week, however, I had a class. I had exactly 55 minutes at lunch. What to do, what to do...Eat lunch? Check email? Visit the hubby? Go running? I opted to run a quick 4 miler, which was tricky given that I had to change, run, shower, and eat something in 55 minutes. I made it back to class with like two minutes to spare and a gross protein bar from the vending machine.

A few co-workers noticed my lunch fare and the questions started rolling. I'm one of five ladies in my 60 person department, and I'm probably 15 years younger than the average. As a result, I have a tendency to get noticed even without the running factor. Running, though, really piques everyone's interests. They talk to me with awe in their voice like I'm a member of a new species of humans that...run. It's cute really. They asked how far I ran, how fast, how often, what races I do. Of course, starting that line of questioning was their mistake because I love talking about running (and myself) so good luck getting me to stop fellas! I do find it funny that they're so interested. For instance, the how fast do you run question, I'm just not sure what a pace actually tells a non-runner? I certainly don't mind the discussion and generally enjoy being the center of attention (for things like running anyway), but I don't think they really understand.

There are also the guys at work that go to the gym. Now those guys are hardcore. Some of them do an IronMan every year, others do the half IronMan, a few run marathons. These guys are more like 20-25 years older than me, but they're awesome and so much fun to talk with! Because I'm one of the few ladies around, I attract a lot of attention there too. They're always so impressed with my times, which is funny because many of them run about the same times as me or faster. For whatever reason though, they think I'm crazy. Nick tells me that he has street cred now that he runs with me at work. People feel bad for him. He tells me this is a compliment. I trust him.

Anyway, I'm so lucky to work at a place where there are runners to chat with! And even the non-runners show interest. Do the people you work with show an interest in running? Do you ever run at work?

Training log:
Monday:

• Stationary bike workout
• Warm up
• 8 x 3 minutes hard
  
• 3 minutes easy between intervals
• Cool down
• Total time: 90 minutes

Tuesday:

• 4.4 mile run at 7:39 pace
• 60 minutes easy on the stationary bike
• 2 x 20 pushups

Wednesday:

• 4.4 mile run 8:18 pace
• 60 minutes on the stationary bike (6 x 2 minutes hard)
• 4 x 20 pushups
  

Thursday:

• 7 mile run at 10:10 pace (with the running stroller)
  

Friday: Rest

Saturday:

• 7 mile run at 8:45 pace
• 2 x 20 pushups
  

Sunday:

• 7 mile run at 9:45 pace (snowy and icy translates to slow)
• 1 x 20 pushups

Total Running Miles: 30
Total Bike Time: 3:30
Total Pushups: 9 x 20

Training 11/23 - 11/29

Monday I did my first track workout in...I don't know how long. Probably since college. Although I can't argue that there are tangible benefits to running track workouts, I'm not particularly fond of them. I opted to do the workout because there was a time when I could run the 5K much, much faster than I can now, and I want to be fast again. That means track work. As I was running circles, I came to realize that if I really want to be fast again I'm going to need to join a running club. Track workouts by myself just aren't going to do it. I need other runners around me. My local running club actually meets at the high school track that I did my workout on, which is running distance from my house. Not a bad deal.

The aftermath of my college running days prevented me from joining a running club or even racing for a number of years. Don't get me wrong. I LOVED running in college. I loved my team and my coach, but after academics I gave them everything I had left. When I graduated I was a hobbled mess, with no desire to ever race again. I never stopped running though. After having a baby, the desire to race again has re-emerged. I've run a few races here and there, but I haven't honestly used the best methods for training. I need to commit to a real program. I need other runners around me that share my passion.

I won't be joining a running club immediately. I have some other priorities, but sometime in the not too distant future I see myself running with a group. For now, I want to concentrate on slowly increasing my mileage and running properly. I'm not going to worry about speed. Once I'm happy with my base, I'll think about getting faster.

Oh, back to the track workout, I had planned to do a 400 m, 800 m, 400 m, 800 m, 400 m, 800 m, 400 m with 200 meter jogs in between intervals. It's a great speed workout before a 5K. I wound up skipping the last 800m and my jogs wound up being 400 m. I just haven't been on the track in such a long time. Also, I despise 800's. I've never been able run a decent 800 workout. It always left my college coach puzzled. Besides slow 800's and longer rest than I should have taken, the workout went well. I wasn't wheezing afterward and the legs felt good. And my turkey trot went well, so it was worth the effort.

Monday:

• Track workout
• 1.5 mile warm up
• 400 m = 1:25, 800 m = 3:06, 400 m = 1:26, 800 m = 3:14, 400m = 1:28, 400m = 1:28
• 400 m jog between intervals
• 1.5 mile cool down
• Total = 6.25 miles
• 6 x 20 pushups
  

Tuesday:

• 80 minutes easy on the stationary bike
• 4 x 20 pushups

Wednesday:

• 80 minutes easy on the stationary bike

Thursday:

• 5K race
• 1 mile warm up
• 3.1 miles at 6:31 pace
• 2 mile cool down
• Total = 6 miles

Friday:

• 7 mile easy run at 9:50 pace

Saturday:

• 80 minutes easy on the stationary bike

Sunday:

• 7 mile easy run at 10:20 pace (with the running stroller)
• 5 x 20 pushups

Total Running Miles: 26
Total Stationary Bike Time: 4 hours
Total Pushups: 15 x 20 sets

5K Turkey Trot

First off, Happy Thanksgiving! I ran a local 5K turkey trot this morning. I was a little nervous coming off a bad marathon in October, a groin pull, and having had a recent flare up of asthma. I wound up doing great though! I ran 20:15 by my watch, but the official results say 20:19. There were timing chips, but they must not have used them. Arg! Regardless it was a great run. It's been eight years since I've broken into the 20 minute range. Now I'd like to get back into the 19 minute range!

I crossed the first mile at 6:20, and felt awesome. I was holding back a bit because if I go out too fast I could wind up wheezing my way through the last two miles. I felt good the whole run. It's been a long time since I felt strong running a 5K. It was nice.

My parents ran too. My mom's first 5K debut was last year at the same race. This year she ran with my dad and crossed the finish line a whole 4 minutes faster than last year! Go team Mom and Dad!

I hope everyone out there running turkey trots had a great day! Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some stats:
Overall finish: 31/692
Age Group: 2nd
Pace: 6:31

Training 11/16/2009 - 11/22/2009

I've been working hard to fix my running form. The last year or two I've developed huge strides and an arm swing fit to knock out a boxer. As a consequence, I land hard on my heel and well in front of my pelvis leading to all kinds of irritating injuries. The last two weeks I've focused on reeling in the stride and not worrying about speed. I've noticed that when I force my myself to have a shorter stride my arm swing automatically calms down. Ugh. It hasn't been easy though. I feel awkward. At this point, running the wrong way doesn't feel right, but running the right way doesn't feel quite right either. I'm committed though. If I can fix my running form anomalies, perhaps I can kick this injury thing and go back to running more miles.

During the last run of the week, I finally started to feel more comfortable with a shorter stride. It's also the first run in a long time that I've run at home without the tiny tyke in tow, and she was not happy about me running without her. She, with her squinty eyes, informed me that she wanted to run with mommy too in her running stroller. Then she gave me sad eyes. Finally she agreed to play with daddy, and of course she had a great time with the big guy while I was off pounding pavement.

I'm still crossing my fingers, and hoping that I can pull off a reasonable 5K turkey trot time. I'm hesitant to share a goal because I'm just not sure what to expect coming off an injury and a bad marathon. Last year I ran 21:15. I'd really like to break 21:00. I'll let you know how it goes!

Training Log:

Monday:

• Off. Well sort of. I spent the day (7:30 am - 5:00 pm) re-grouting our tub/shower area. My hands are sore, and did you know...grout is messy, like really messy?
  

Tuesday:

• 7.5 mile easy run at 9:00 pace
• Stationary bike workout: warm up/cool down, 3 x 1:20 hard, 4 x 2:00 hard, 2 minute rest between intervals, total 53 minutes
• 2 x 20 pushups
  

Wednesday:

• 7.5 mile easy run at 8:11 pace
• 60 minutes easy on the stationary bike
• 5 x 20 pushups

Thursday:

• Stationary bike workout
• Warm up/Cool down
• Intervals: 4 min, 3 min, 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min
• Half rest
• Total time = 90 minutes
• 5 x 20 pushups
  

Friday:

• 90 minutes easy on the stationary bike
• 1 x 20 pushups
  

Saturday:

• Row workout
• 20 minute warm up on stationary bike
• 5 K row at 19:58
• 20 minute cool down on stationary bike
• 2x 20 pushups

Sunday:

• 7 mile easy run at 8:33 pace

Total Miles Run: 22
Total Bike Time: 5:33
Total Rowed Miles: 3.1
Pushups: 15 x 20

Me and My Food

Just for reference, I'm not one to obsess over food. I like to eat, and I'm not biased. I enjoy the fruits and veggies as well as the brownies and cupcakes. I'm an equal opportunity eater. Running helps too. It's much easier for me to maintain a healthy attitude towards food when I'm running.

When Kaylee started eating solid food, I started paying closer attention to food labels and ingredient lists. As it turns out, Kaylee has an issue with soy called FPIES, and you wouldn't think so but soy is in everything. Specifically soy bean oil and soy lecithin. This means we can't eat out unless we bring food for Kaylee. The result has been we eat out much less than we once did, and most of our food is made from scratch.

So I'm thinking, hey we eat pretty darn well. Then I read this blog post, where Mary Iron Matron eats 5 servings of fruit and 7 servings of veggies everyday! Holy cannoli Batman! And here I thought I was doing okay with my struggle to eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies combined. As a result, the last three weeks or so I've made a huge effort to increase my fresh fruit and vegetable intake. Now I'm up to 9 servings combined on most days. My biggest fear with increasing fruit and veggie intake was convenience. I don't have a lot of time to cook and salad can be irritating to prepare as well. I've been eating things like apples with peanut butter and baby carrots with hummus. Oh because that was the other fear, not being satisfied. I don't have time to eat all day long and I'm grouchy when I'm hungry, but peanut butter and hummus keeps me satisfied.

Now that I've gotten accustom to the routine, I'm enjoying it. I didn't make the change to lose weight (although I wouldn't mind if I lost a couple pounds). I just want to be healthy and set a good example for my tiny tyke. I do think it's making a difference in how I feel. To be fair though, the family has been sick on and off since the end of September, so I might just be feeling good because I'm not sick anymore.

And of course, as always, in the back of my mind I'm wondering...will it help me run faster?

Ode to my Running Stroller

One of my absolute favorite baby contraptions is the running stroller. In fact, it's on a short list of baby devices that I believe are essential to my standard of living. It's right up there with the car seat and crib. Obviously I could live without it, but I'd probably be grumpy. Up until recently, I was running with the stroller three days a week. And last year I was using it five days a week. Most of my marathon training was done with Kaylee keeping me company in the stroller. She has dutifully aided my training by continuing to grow big and adding the essential weight I need for better training (or so I've convinced myself).

Recently though, my love of the great running stroller has waned. The groin injury I have seems to be exacerbated when I run with it. Nick and I did a seven miler with the old stroller today (family run day is imperative). I haven't used it in two months, and immediately noticed the groin twinging when I started pushing it. Nick and I took turns pushing. I noticed that when Nick pushed, his form changed. He started landing on the inside of his foot, rather than the outside. I'm not sure why, but pushing the stroller causes some gait change that bothers me now. It's so sad...I think I'll have to retire the stroller. Sniff, sniff...

Training 11/09/2009 - 11/16/2009

I soooo want to run a turkey trot on turkey day. I'd like not to completely embarrass myself though, yet I'm also recovering from an irritating groin pull AND the whole family has been sick the last two weeks. Arg! Anyway, it was my first week running again and I've felt heavy and blah, but not hurting. Yay! I have absolutely no idea what I should expect to run for a 5K with no speed work and relatively little running to back me up. I have been cross training like an animal and doing a few 5K row workouts. Hopefully they'll help. Only time will tell...

Monday:

• 5K row 19:49
• 60 minutes easy on stationary bike
• 3 x 20 pushups
  

Tuesday:

• 4 mile easy run 8:25 pace 62 degrees and cloudy
• 60 minutes easy on stationary bike
• 2 x 20 pushups
  

Wednesday:

• 5K row 20:20
• 60 minutes easy on stationary bike
• 3 x 20 pushups

Thursday:

• 90 minutes easy on stationary bike
• 3 x 20 pushups

Friday:

• 7.5 mile easy run at 8:33 pace 50 degrees and cloudy
• 2 x 20 pushups

Saturday:

• Stationary bike workout:
• 15 minute warmup
• 2 x 12 minutes hard
• 2 minutes rest between
• 20 minutes cooldown
• 80 minutes total
• 3 x 20 pushups

Sunday:

• 7 mile recovery run at 10:15 sharing running stroller duty with hubby
• 1 x 25 pushups

Total Miles Run = 18.5
Total Bike Time = 5:50
Total Miles Rowed = 6.2

My Running History

I'm not usually so self-absorbed or focused on what I've done in the past. Lately though, I've tried to think back on PR's from high school and college, and I'm forgetting. For instance, I'm pretty sure my PR in the mile was 5:35 in high school and my PR in the 1500 was 5:04 in college, but those results can't be found on Cool Running so I'm not really sure anymore. And I can't for the life of me remember what my PR's were in the 2 mile or 3000 (not exactly my favorite distances). I know I crossed the 2 mile at 11:30 the day I PR'd in the 5000 in college. I'm listing what I remember below, and I've started a search for race results. Perhaps someday Kaylee will want to know her mom's running times.

Personal Records:
1500 meter: 5:04
Mile: 5:35
3000 meter: ???
2 Mile: 11:30
5K: 18:24 (2 times both at Tufts track 18:30 was my next best at PC)

College Race Results

• Codfish Bowl XC Invitational 20:01 5KFranklin Park September 27 1997
• Codfish Bowl XC Invitational 19:35 5K Franklin Park September 26, 1998
• Codfish Bowl XC Invitational 19:38 5K Franklin Park September 25, 1999
• NCAA Division II Regional Cross Country Championship 23:50 6K November 7, 1999
• New England Collegiate Championships 19:19 5K Franklin Park October 16, 1999