Please Don't Judge Me

Today is Halloween so it's a bit crazy. My sweet 3 YO kept me up until 3:00 am sad and crying with a fever. So I missed my run this morning.


It wasn't easy but I managed to fit in a run while dinner was cooking. I went in my full witches costume makeup which I'm sure looked ridiculous. Oh well I got my run in.


And now I'm handing out candy still in my running clothes because there isn't time to shower and I put on a sweat band so my sweaty running clothes look like a costume. Like I said. Don't judge me.

Nice bright red lipstick!

All for a Pumpkin Bar

Today I decided to add about 20 extra minutes to my spin workout because I simply ate too much last night.  I really wanted a pumpkin bar - I just LOVE them!  

I'm a big fan of the whole exercise thing in order to enjoy my favorite treats.  I do try to eat healthy most of the time but as the holiday's are coming there will be lots of yummy treats around. Plus my favorite winter comfort foods are higher in calories. So...I have been thinking about what it takes to burn off the food I eat.  

I burn about 100 calories each mile I run.  If I eat 1 serving of a pumpkin bar (w/yummy cream cheese frosting) it's about 300 calories then I have to run 3 miles to burn it off.  Is it worth it?  Sometimes yes.  Sometimes no.  When I go to Cold Stone for a treat my calories add up fast.  Sweet Cream Love it: 530 + Oreo cookie mix in: 120 + Caramel: 90 = 740 calories total or 7 1/2 miles. WOW!  

Of course I can look it another way too.  On a typical week I burn between 3150 - 3550 calories.  So as long as I am smart about the majority of my meals I'm fine with date night treats and splurging once a week guilt free.  

Today's Workout - Cardio Circuit.

Set 1:  

Fast flat

Seated hill (high tension)

Standing hill sprint  

1 min. of each @ level 1 intensity (50%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 2 intensity (75%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 3 intensity (100%)

2 min. jumps @ level 3 intensity (100%)

1 min. rest

Set 2:

Sprint w/speed bursts

Isolations

Standing Run

1 min. of each @ level 1 intensity (50%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 2 intensity (75%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 3 intensity (100%)

2 min. hill sprints @ level 3 intensity (100%)

1 min. rest

Set 3:

Sprints - speeding up every 10 sec.

Seated hill - add tension every 10 sec.

Standing hill spring - less tension/more speed every 10 sec.

1 min. of each @ level 1 intensity (50%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 2 intensity (75%)

30 sec. rest

1 min. of each @ level 3 intensity (100%)

2 min. hill sprints @ level 3 intensity (100%)

1 min. rest

Then last minute I added about 4 more songs of hill sprints/seated hills/speed work just to burn off my calories and just went with the music.

Nike+ vs. Garmin 305

I was asked if I like running with my Nike+ compared to my Garmin so I thought I'd do a full write up about both of them.  I have the Garmin 305 and I have run with it for years and I love it.  This year my work did a contest and for every 1000 miles we ran/walked we donated a scholarship to kids in Malawi Africa.  So I got a Nike+ to be part of the contest and tracked all my miles.  Just for the record I was in the top 10 overall on miles and the #1 corporate employee with the most miles.  OK back to my comparison...

Accuracy.  The garmin gps seems more accurate than the Nike+  since it only uses a pedometer (unless you use your iPhone then it adds gps - but I don't run with my phone).  At first my Nike+ was off quite a bit but I have calibrated my Nike+ a few times and it is much better since I did that.  I'd say on average it's about 0.1 mile off.  When I run on the treadmill my Nike+ is exact with the treadmill so I don't know exactly where the discrepancy is.

Ease of Use.  The Nike+ requires two pieces - the foot piece and a piece that goes into my iPod.  If you run with your iPhone you don't have to have the 2nd part.  I don't run in Nike shoes so I got this little shoe attachment for the pedometer (I hear they have wrist ones too - but I'm not sure how that would work and my foot piece was free from work).  I just move it to whatever shoes I'm wearing and I'm good to go.  With my garmin I just throw the watch on and off I go.  However the watch is very bulky and sometimes it annoys me when I'm running.  It also makes it difficult to take off extra layers when it's cold outside.  My Nike+ doesn't take any time to locate satellites either.

Post Run Information.  I never hook my Garmin up to my computer so this might be an inaccurate comparison.  I upload my Nike+ data almost everyday and I can look at my total miles, set goals, look at each miles pace breakdown, put in details about my run (weather, hills, etc).  I really like the constant feedback from my Nike+ and the little shout outs it gives me when I hit specific goals (fastest mile, furthest run, you hit 1000 miles, etc).  I'm sure the garmin does more of this but it just isn't as convenient to hook up to my computer as my iPod is.  

Additional Information.  One thing that I've noticed is different running with Nike+ instead of my garmin is that I'm not nearly as OCD about watching every detail during the run.  I run and it tells me when I've hit each mile.  It counts up to half way then down which I like and other than that I am just running along with my music.  I never look at my pace to speed up or slow down. I feel like I can run at a more comfortable pace when I only have my Nike+ on.  And I haven't slowed down a bit if anything I'm a bit faster than I was last year (but I don't think that has anything to do with my Nike+).  However, that goes both ways.  When I'm training hard the Nike+ doesn't push me hard enough or tell me any details so on tempo runs or speed work it doesn't work and I wear my Garmin. 

I love that my Nike+ hooks up to my nano and most of the time I just have my music on really softly in 1 ear so I can chat with the girls but I'm so used to have it with me that if I'm struggling on a run or going up a tough hill I can turn up the tunes and push myself.

P.S.  I didn't realize how dirty my shoes are.  I am so embarrassed :)  

A goat on a leash?

Fun things about today's run:

• We saw a woman walking a dog and her hubby walking a goat on the trail.  Hilarious.
• A crazy kid rode his skateboard down "suicide hill" and stopped by jumping into the grass and his skateboard flew across the street under the tires of the car that had to stop quickly.  A little scary.
• I ran with Todd.  This never happens.  Never I tell you.  We both plugged in both earphones and didn't talk at all but it was great to have him running with me.  Don't tell him or he  might not run with me again - but I loved it!
• Todd was a stud on the run.  He ran in the morning instead of the night and high altitude instead of sea level where he normally runs and has already put in 23 miles this week.  I'm so in love!
• Perfect scenery on the run.  The fall leaves are amazing right now and Todd ran with his shirt off.  Two of my favorite sights!!
• I made up the route as we went and because I have put so many miles on the road here we ended our 10 miles within a block of our house.  Perfect.
• I burned 1000 calories (Todd burned 1400 - no fair) so I can enjoy date night tonight guilt free.

 I am now blogging while enjoying a chocolate/peanut butter shake made in the Blendtec I won at the Pink Series half-marathon.  Life is good!

The bad things about today's run:

• I forgot to glide and am a bit chaffed from my sports bra.
• My hip was bothering me for most of the run (hopefully the roller, stretching and advil will take care of it).
• I didn't drink enough water and now I have major tummy cramps.  I know better!
  
• And I'm too exhausted to do any of my to-do list!

Today's Quote

I saw this on twitter and thought I'd share.

Run your OWN race....the easiest way to get BURNT out of life, is by trying to keep up with somebody else!

I really like this quote and I actually chant "run your own race" to myself all the time during races.  It's easy to just go with it during training runs but sometimes when I get out there in a race I start to either doubt myself or push myself too hard or not push myself hard enough.  It is really so important for me to remember to just run my own race.   

Running Faster

Today's workout was a tempo run.  6 miles total - warm up then 4 miles @ 8:25 pace then cool down. It's all about learning to run faster. Right?  When I first set my Boston goal I talked to my big sister (who is my running idol) and she told me one of my goals needs to be to get very comfortable running at an 8:00 min/mile pace and tempo work is one of the ways I'm doing that.

I wore my garmin today to watch my pace since we were running outside (something I've been trying not to do much lately because I am trying to run where I feel comfortable and then let my nike + tell me my pace when I'm done). The 4 miles at tempo ended up being an 8:13 pace average and the full 6 miles was an 8:24 pace. Hooray!! 

During the tempo portion I kept thinking we should slow down but it felt good and we were holding the pace fine so we just ran that tempo. It felt good to push it a little more than normal. Plus the only way I'm going to qualify is if I learn to run faster!

X-Training Workout

Today I taught spin.  I thought endurance sounded like fun and since I control the mic that's what we did.  :)

Here's the workout:

10 minute hill - tap up the tension every minute.  Mix up seated and standing and occasionally when the music is good speed up.

5 minutes of hill sprints - 1 minute sprint followed by 1 min slow seated hill with high tension

2 minutes low tension high speed

5 minute hill - tap up the tension every 30 seconds until maxed out

1 minute hill isolation

5 minute tempo work on the hill - mix up seated and standing and do speed bursts

1 minute recovery

tempo endurance interval set:

4 minutes medium tension & speed

3 minutes higher tension & faster

2 minutes higher tension & even faster

1 minute higher tension & as fast as you can go

1 minute recovery

5 minute hill work - high tension w/ a good pace adding in 15 & 30 second speed bursts

After spin I did 25 minutes of weight training & finished it all off with a nice big recovery shake for breakfast.

A great buy

While grocery shopping I saw a sale on one of my very favorite winter runner items.  Black stretchy gloves.  4 for $5 - how can you go wrong?  I keep lots of them around the house so that I always have a pair even when I haven't done my wash (not that this is a common occurrence in my house... hee hee).  I love these for races too because it will be cold at the starting line and for the first mile or two then it warms up and I can just throw them away without any cares at all.

Seriously, if you see these gloves and run outside in the winter, or fall or spring buy them.  You won't regret it.

P.S.  today's workout was an "easy" 5 mile run.  I didn't sleep great last night and wanted sooooo badly to sleep in but since I didn't run last Monday I knew I couldn't dog out 2 weeks in a row.  I love the guilt of having running buddies waiting for me to keep me going!

1000 miles & Race Shirts

Today on my 9 miler I hit the 1000 mile mark for 2011!! It has been so fun tracking my miles. A great goal for any runner to set.

Here's a question for you. Do you wear your race shirts?

I have a long sleeved one that is one of my very favorites but other than that one I never wear them. I don't know why. Maybe because they are short sleeves and I prefer tanks? Maybe I don't like being tagged to a race? I really don't know.

I wore my Ragnar shirt today because it was a little too chilly for a tank. Half the run I thought about why it was the first time I've ever worn it. 

Pink Half Marathon

Last week I ran the Pink Series half marathon in Park City, UT. This is the first all women's event I've ever done and I have been looking forward to this race for months. I even did several long runs in different cute pink outfits trying to decide which one would be best for this race and then the week of the race it all changed. A cold front came in and ruined all my cute outfit plans.

The morning of the race it was 32 degrees with an awesome snow/rain combo coming down. I changed my outfit a few times and was very worried that I would freeze since all I had were capri's and no full length tights. I ended up wearing capris, a long sleeve shirt, my sleeves (which only lasted 5 miles), a water proof vest, gloves, a hat & ear warmers. I didn't take my camera with me so I only have a few iPhone pictures.

The girls and I huddled up before we got on the bus

The race itself was tough. The conditions were probably the worst I've ever run in and Park City is at a very high altitude and pretty hilly. I was so not looking forward to running in the cold that we sat on the bus until minutes before the gun went off then after the gun went off took off my sweats, threw my bag in the trailer and started running. I wasn't too worried since it was a chip run. The only bad part about doing that was that I had to weave around people for much longer than I like to at the start of the race.

After all 4 of us finished we were so cold that we didn't stay and mingle at all. The after race party looked like so much fun but it was just too cold. I didn't even get an after race picture until we were back at the hotel. The faces are just to show how we felt about the weather not the race.

Cuddled up in bed trying to get warm post shower - I love it!

I saw this quote on twitter yesterday and I think it sums up exactly how I feel about this race and running in general.

We may run a lot of miles, but it is important to take our friends with us along the way. The road will be a sweeter path

Day 1 of official training

Today I did speedwork. It's been a few years since I've done it and it felt great. I am using a program from Smart Coach on runnersworld.com to train for the marathon. It's not a typical 12 week program you start to get ready for a race. It just starts you as soon as you go online and you train from start until your race no matter how long. The sooner you start the faster & stronger you are for the race. I put in my age, gender, typical weekly miles, how hard I want to work and past marathon time (you can use any distance) and it spit out one heck of a plan for me.

Today's workout was 4 miles. Warm up for a mile then 1600 meters at 7:53 pace two times with 800 meter recovery. Rather than try to pace it using my garmin I met the girls at the gym and we did it on the treadmill. I actually loved doing intervals on the treadmill. I am a treadmill hater normally but it helped me set and maintain my pace without thinking about it. Plus I could do my quick 25 minute strength training workout right after and still get home in time to get the kids off for school.

I'm back

I haven't been on this blog in a while but it's time for me to get serious so I will now be blogging more frequently. I have decided that I am going to go for it. I'm going to do everything I can to qualify for Boston next year. I have signed up for 2 marathons. I turn 40 next year and I have a really hard program created that I am going to follow. I will get faster. I will get stronger and I WILL QUALIFY!