Parrot Crossing!

I was running a decent run on the treadmill tonight. However, after only 32 minutes into the run I had to stop.

One of our two parrots had jumped down off her cage, walked past the two dogs and one cat, possibly even OVER them since the two dogs had been laying there at the dog gate staring at me as I ran. She came into the den and right up to my treadmill.

Oh well. Glad she was safe. Got a decent run in albeit it was shorter than planned.

Alternated my normal pace for 4 minutes with all-get-out 1 minute sprints. Rinse-lather-repeat.

Again - Ricky Martin to the Rescue

I normally take a day off between runs but I went for an easy 30 minutes anyways. Fortunately, it was easier than yesterday. Although it was a little rough between 12 and 27 minutes it wasn't at all painful or uncomfortable. Just tiring. Then at 27 minutes Ricky Martin's ALE ALE ALE song came on.

As corny as it is, there is something about the lyrics and the beat that really fire me up.

Although the goal was surviving 30 minutes, I ran 45 minutes. I like that.

Pushing Through

Pushing through discomfort and fighting the couch has been the biggest battle since I overdid it on the 10th. Hard to believe that was almost two weeks ago. Losing a week after really set me back.

My Turkey Trot walk/jog is just 31 days and 23 hours from now. Luckily, it is more walking than running according to the girls I will be with. They said that the path along the river is very narrow through woods and 1,000 others will be running up and back on it. All at once.

The Jingle Bell 5K run is 41 days and 22 hours from now. It is a run through the streets of Portland.

A coworker told me to just focus on strong 30 minute runs for now. The adrenaline of the actual 5K will push me through it all.

Who am I to argue? 30 minutes today. Slow pace, but stronger than two days ago.

It's like starting over

I had over a week since my last nonstop run of a mile or more. It was really difficult. Also, my right upper leg/hip flexor is still feeling last weeks 75 minute run. I was so stupid.

Today, I ran 30 minutes non-stop (at an easy pace) and from the 22 minute mark onward, it was AWFUL.

Time is running out and I don't feel very optimistic about the December 5K right now.

Today: 30 minutes nonstop running + 3 one miles walks during work breaks = 665 calories

5 days break

I hadn't run since last Thursday. It was making me nuts. Especially since the 5K is looming so closely. But with a treadmill that is not working on inclines, a serviceman who hasn't called back yet (GRRRRRRR!), and not having the time alone while actually awake and feeling well, it just hasn't happened.

Tonight, even though everyone was home, I did a light workout anyways.

I did intervals of walking between intervals of 5mph and 6mph sprints. It HURT. I can't believe how hard it is after a break of just 5 days.

Total calories burned = 600.

300 on the treadmill + 300 at work (walking three miles during breaks)

Overdid it Monday

Still feeling some of the ramifications of my 75 minute run Monday. Today I just ran really hard for a mile (took another 16 seconds off my best treadmill mile time) and did walking and ifit stuff.

I will NOT be running 75 minute runs again until I lose at least another 19 pounds. My body let me know the last four days that was a mistake. I am adjusting my song list for Monday's accordingly. ;)

Today:

• Walked during breaks: 2.5 miles

• Mile Run: 11 min 16 seconds (awfully hard to do today)

• iFit powerwalk: Max incline 7% and max speed 3.3mph for 30 minutes.

Blaming it on Ricky Martin

Today is my 'long run' day so I was determined to do 45 minutes. I felt strong at first and felt like I could have gone faster but knowing it was early, decided to stay the pace. At 45 minutes I was going to stop except I felt 'okay' and a good song came on - Ricky Martin's "Ole Ole Ole".

"Now is the time, don't ever stop

Push it along, gotta be strong

Push it along, right to the top

The feeling in your soul is gonna take control

Nothing can hold you back if you really want it!"

Well, I wanted it. I was singing at the top of my lungs, fist pumping and then the runners high kicked in FULL force at 57 minutes. Couldn't stop then at 60. Nope. Wasn't happening.

I was at 71 minutes when the music playlist ended. Somehow....that took away my mojo. I was exhausted. I hurt. I didn't want to stop then because that wasn't a number divisible by 5 (don't ask - I can't explain it) so I pushed through the last 4 minutes without music. Each ten seconds felt like an hour. But I did it.

Total run time NON-STOP = 75 minutes.

Music....is important.

Headphones aren't allowed at 5K's.

Utoh.

I. Hate. Mornings.

Really. I need to get over this. Most 5Ks are in the morning. But man oh man...Sunday morning workouts are always the pits.

Did hard intervals today. Really pushed myself and did faster/longer intervals but it is those minute walks in between that depress me. I wish I could run my normal pace AND do those mad crazy all out sprints.

Todays drill:

• walk 1 minute
• run for 2 minutes (1 mph faster than my normal pace )
• walk 1 minute
• run the fastest I can 1 minute (2 mph faster than my normal pace)

Over and over for 30 minutes.

I don't know what I hated most...the 2 minutes running faster than my norm or the 1 minute pushing death. ;)

Faster

Since my last workout was endurance (60 minutes non-stop) today's goal was speed. Could I beat my mile time?

Yup!!! Mind you, my treadmill time shows much slower than my actual track time. Here are some gains I have made on the treadmill in six weeks:

Aug 25th: 1 mile = 15 minutes "hard"

Sep 11th: 1 mile = 12 minutes 34 seconds

Oct 6th: 1 mile = 11 minutes 32 seconds

Goal: 9 minute miles

Total workouts today:

• 2 miles during breaks at work
• 1.46 miles (up hill/down hill) walking home from the auto shop
• 1 mile speed test
• 1/3rd of a mile cool down

60 minute run NON-STOP

WOW! What happened? I was planning on making myself stick it out for 45 minutes and it was a miserable first 10 minutes that didn't get much easier as I warmed up. In fact, my right shoulder started throbbing at 15 minutes.

Still, I was determined to just make it to 45.

Struggling, I made it less than gracefully through 43 minutes. Then a song came on. But not just any song. I was going to play a friends playlist tonight but decided to go with the highest octane list I could find instead and save his for Wednesday's workout. So knowing tonight was a rough one, I chose an 80's playlist some stranger made and right at 43 minutes came - "She's a Maniac" from Flashdance. And oh my! POWER-SURGE! Adrenaline rush. Runner's High!! WOOHOO!! Fist pumping even.

It didn't get hard again until the 56:30 minutes and it hit fast and it hit heavy. But by then, I was committed. I mean, you don't just run 56:30 and stop when 60 minutes is just 3.5 minutes away, do you??

HECK NO!!!!

So I did it. And guess what. Girls sweat. They really do. And old fluffy women carrying an extra 25 pounds AND enduring hot flashes do, too. But, that is okay. Right?

The Problem With Mornings

.....Is they are so early. I just don't 'get' those people who prefer running in the morning to running in the last afternoon. Seriously.

Due to my schedule, if I don't cram a run in on Sunday mornings it will be a four day lapse between the Thursday and Monday night workouts. That is way too long (I am already bummed I don't have every other day as recommended) so I make myself get going and it is not fun.

At least it is practice for those blasted event organizers who set 5k's in the mornings. Thank goodness for those dear souls that set them at night (like the firefly run, the moonlight madness run, etc).

Workout today was weak: 30 minutes of running with one 3 minute walk in the midst and a fast and furious last quarter mile as my self-inflicted punishment. Followed by a 5 minute walk.

Schedules

George just went to work. It is too late for me to work out now as I would be up for HOURS after. Restless leg is bad enough after running right after work, let alone the equivalent of 2 hours after. Running every other day (optimal) is just not possible.

Tomorrow morning I will have to catch up and then again, Monday night.

So - this is what my weekly running schedule is proving to be:

Sunday mornings: before noon
Monday nights: right after work
Thursday nights: right after work

So in reverse, the days it is harder to is Tuesday-Wednesday, Friday-Saturday. That is two sets of two consecutive days a week. In other words, after Monday night, there is NOTHING for 72 hours. Same thing after Thursday. Nothing until the 3rd day then it is two days back to back. No wonder I am having a hard time finding a consistent groove.

So realistically, I get two nights a week and one morning to run with my music cranked loud enough to make the floors hum. Hoping tomorrow morning is a good one as I just signed up for another 5k here in my area.

Also, hoping for much cooler but dry afternoons so I can run after work on the way home - before it is to dark at the high school to do so.

Hot flashes and running

Hot flashes and running don't mix! There I was all ready to have a great workout and 6 minutes into the run *POOF!* thermonuclear blast from the inside. Skin on my face prickling. Heat trying to escape every pour of my body. Hair drenched. And it lasted throughout the first mile. I had it.

Switched to minute long sprint intervals for the next 21 minutes, then did some serious incline walking for an additional 20 minutes (up to 10%). Total workout time = 55 minutes

Keira Knightly

I searched playlists on Rhapsody and thought I would try Keira Knightly's "rock" playlist. Cranked it and away I went. Most of the songs were absolutely NEW to me and I loved that. I saved it to use it again.

Today's "easy" 44 minute workout (since the last one was a 45 minute run):

• Powerwalk - Jillian Michaels programed 30 minutes (24 of it at 3.5 mph on 5%-7% inclines)
• Sprints - 14 minutes alternating 4mph and 6 mph

Here is Keira's Playlist

45 minutes - Nonstop

I was really dreading running today after this dismal workout week, but I made myself do it. I guess you can say that the 580 calorie slice of Key Lime pie at lunch inspired me to JUST DO IT.

Ran indoors on the treadmill 45 minutes without stopping or slowing a single time. In fact, as painfully hard as the first 7 minutes were, as as tedious as minutes 8 through 25 were, the last 20 were relatively quicker and easier. Go figure.

In fact, I sped up the last quarter mile.

I *used* to run 48 minutes a day. Pretty sure that is still a long way off but I AM GETTING THERE!!

BAD week

I am going to count this entire week a loss. A horrid workout Monday, no running time Tuesday or Wednesday due to photo shoot stuff, and dumb me put off last nights work out for this morning.

Little did I know I would wake up to raging painful sinuses today.

And I gained 3 pounds???

Tomorrow I wont have any me time either. This new schedule of George's is a challenge. I won't let it beat me. I have to learn to adapt to it.

Next workout time is Sunday morning.

For now, it is soup and the couch.

Disappointing Run

Can I blame it on having taken Dayquil (for the first time) earlier today?

I don't know what happened but I was just WEAK today. I was really struggling at 7 minutes and it took everything I had to make it a full 20 minute run before I stopped. That is pushing my progress back several weeks. I really wanted to keep going but it just wasn't in me today.

So disappointed.

Treadmill tonight:

• 20 minutes non-stop at a mid-range pace (faster than usual but not sprinting)
• 5 minutes at a very brisk walk at 3% incline
• 5 minutes at a moderate walk at 0% incline
• 3 minute cool down

Total calories burned? 300 according to the machine.

Just Doing It

Woke up to a cold, damp gray morning and had no desire to run. Nada. Zip. But my dilemma was I only have so many hours a week alone to do this without an audience or distractions around me. That is why I don't run on Saturdays. NO TIME ALONE. And I only get maybe 2 or 3 hours alone on Sunday.

So, I made myself get up early. Go down a glass of juice, que some music and just do it.

Did I choose to do one of my longer or more difficult workouts? Nope. It was just 25 minutes of alternating (fast and furious almost makes you lose your balance) sprints every other minute.

Was it easy? Nope. I hurt. All over. Hip flexors, feet, even my shoulders and upper back (from arm swinging). Hurt hurt hurt. I sweat. All over. I wanted nothing more than to quit and go sit and vegetate on the couch.

But did I finish? YES! I did. NOW I can go sit and watch football.

Weight Issues

My goal is to run the 5K in Portland, on December 4th, 2011. That is only 11 weeks and 2 days away. My doctor gave me clearance to run again, but I was told to avoid asphalt/street running until I get to a certain weight. Well, that weight is 22 pounds from now.

I have been running a little over four weeks. During those four weeks the scale has gone up and down and up and down the same three pounds. As of today, total NET loss = 1 pound.

Yeah, I feel so much stronger, my clothes are fitting a little looser and muscle weighs more than fat, but that isn't going to help my knees if I don't lose POUNDS before I hit the asphalt for December's run.

Feeling pretty discouraged about the weight right now. I think of every set of tens on the scale as a decade and I just want to get into my next 'decade' down. I am so close but it just isn't happening yet.

Today's workouts:

• Walked two miles at work (1 mile per break)
• Powerwalk - Jillian Michaels Level 2 week 1 day 3 on the treadmill for 25 minutes (7% incline!)
• Sprint intervals at max speed every other mile for 16 minutes.

31 Minutes Nonstop

Last night I got an email response to my last blog. My friend Yaish offered some advice on breathing and provided a link about "High Intensity Interval Training". In HIIT, a runner would alternate "30-40 seconds of jogging or walking with 15-20 seconds of hard sprinting." I thought that I would do a 1:1 ratio instead of a 2:1 ratio and see how that worked.

For the first 16 minutes straight: I alternated one minute intervals of a light jog with a full minute at the fastest full out sprints I could do. This was really helpful and I was finally was able to exhale out smoothly. Of course, that might not work at two sprint minutes, but I will get there. Thanks, Yaish.

For the next 15 minutes straight: I went to my comfortable jog mode. At the 23 minute mark I was READY TO QUIT. Those intervals earlier wore me out. Then I thought about my Facebook friend Richard. He weighs over 300 pounds, and is out there walking 2 to 3 miles during the hottest times of the day while I am indoors in a dust free, wind free, sun free climate. How DARE I give up! So thinking about Richard working so hard inspired me to work hard. In fact, I even threw in another FULL SPRINT interval at minute #28. Thanks, Richard.

TODAY's SUMMARY:

• Walked 3 miles at work (1 mile per break)
• Ran 31 minutes non-stop indoors
• Had my first success in deep breathing
• Felt my jeans sagging in the hips area today

GOALS:

• Start losing the pounds so I can run on asphalt (doctor set my goal at 16 to 21 more pounds)
• Keep working on breathing