Apparently watching TV at the gym isn't my strong suit. Last night after work I headed to the gym to get a couple quick miles in. Except that instead of just listening to my iPod as usual, I just happened to end up at a treadmill where ESPN was playing on the TV. I was happily running along going nowhere watching the ticker scroll by with all sorts of interesting sports news when all of a sudden ... I had to get off or risk barfing. It pretty much came out of nowhere, but all of a sudden, I felt really sick to my stomach.
I started walking for a minute to see if I could start running again, but it just wasn't in the cards. I only really had 45 minutes at the gym and wanted to use them wisely, so I went to check out the other cardio equipment. I thought maybe I'd do the elliptical, but they were all taken so instead I did the Arc trainer for all of 15 minutes. I still wasn't feeling that great, so I ended up using my last 10 minutes for stretching. Which is probably something I need to do more of anyway.
I was really bummed that I wasn't feeling so hot, especially because Drew and I had tickets to the Knicks/Raptors game last night, which ended up being a really exciting game! After eating some pretzels and drinking lots of soda, I finally was coming around and feeling back to normal.
All of that was probably a big sign that I need to get out of the gym and back outside! Even though it was 24 degrees outside this morning (with the windchill, felt like 13), I got up and went for a run. I finally got to test out my new Garmin, which was exciting. Although it did take a while for the satellites to find me. Or me to find the satellites. I'm not sure which way it works. Finally, after telling the Garmin that I was not indoors or hundreds of miles away from my last location, it started working!
It started working at just about the perfect moment, too ... right as I was walking into Central Park (I started walking instead of running in the hopes that the satellites would find me more easily if I was moving slower). I decided to run on the Bridle Path for a number of reasons. First, because this marathon I'm signed up for is partially on a bridle path, so I thought I should get used to it. Second, because I've never been sure how far it is since Gmap Pedometer is lacking the Bridle Path route in Central Park.
The funniest thing about today? Turns out I've been properly guessing the miles all along. Who needs this fancy technology? Either way, I think I liked the watch. I still need to upload the software to my computer and see all the fancy stuff it can tell me, but I liked it. I had set it to auto-lap after each mile, so it was nice to have that beep at me. I did notice, however, that it's not so great at auto-pausing when you're totally stopped. It takes it a while to catch up to the fact that you're stopped. Which isn't a problem unless you're running on streets (like from the Park to my apartment) and you get caught at a lot of lights. I'm wondering if I change the auto pause from stopped to a very slow pace if it'll catch on more quickly?
Either way, I've got a lot of tinkering around to do still before I can really say what I think. For now, I'm glad I have it and I'll leave it at that! The one very basic thing that I've forgotten the last two times I ran outside is my Road ID. I'm wondering if I shouldn't just strap it to my shoe so that I can't forget it! Something about not having it on my wrist makes me more nervous when I'm running. But I never remember until I'm already far enough away from home that I can't just go back and grab it.
Wednesday Gymnasium
Running: 2.0 miles in 21:30 (10:45/mile)
Arc Trainer: 15 minutes
Thursday Central Park Running
Time: 56:09+5:00 = 1:01:09
Distance: 5.06 + 0.50 = 5.56 miles
Pace: 10:59/mile
Showing posts with label Bridle Path. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bridle Path. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Same Temperature, But Colder
Normally when I'm a bad blogger, it means I've also been a bad exerciser. Not so today! I'm actually doing really well with my mileage so far this week. Funny how that works when you actually stick to the plan. I keep looking back on my past weeks and feeling down on myself about lots of missed miles. But, let's get to the actual workouts...
Yesterday I was supposed to run 8 miles, but I wasn't quite sure I'd have enough time for that. The past few mornings have involved some version of the following events:
1. Alarm goes off
2. I press snooze
3. Alarm goes off
4. I press snooze
5. Drew wakes up and says, "You should get up!"
6. Alarm goes off
7. I press snooze
8. Drew pokes me and says "You need to go running!"
9. Alarm goes off
10. I press snooze
So, you know, I've been waiting until the last possible second to get out of bed and actually get some miles in before work. Hoping to do a better job on that next week, but in truth, I'm just bad at waking up.
Yesterday it was 50 when I was leaving and I threw on a long-sleeved shirt and capris. I wasn't really sure that I needed to be wearing capris, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might want to wear them for the marathon, so I figured I should get in some practice runs. I headed to the Westside Path and had a nice run down and up the island.
The big news from yesterday is that I ate a Gu. And it didn't even give me any stomach issues like it has in the past. I had a free Gu from the swag from my Central Park Biathlon and wanted to try it on a shorter run so that if I did have any issues, I wouldn't be ruining a long run. The flavor I had was Vanilla Bean and I wasn't sure how it would taste. Tasted kind of like frosting and as soon as I ate the first bit, I wasn't really sure I wanted to be eating frosting while running. But then my tummy seemed okay with it, so maybe I actually do want to be eating frosting while running?
I'm hoping to give this another shot on this weekend's "long run", which is actually a step-back week, so long is only 13! I'm hopeful that the added calories will help me feel better (and maybe less thirsty?) at the end of these runs.
Today was also 50 and since I was a bit warm yesterday, I wore a slightly thinner long-sleeved shirt and capris again. Except that the wind today was a bit crazy and I was really glad to have on as many clothes as I did, especially while starting running and waiting to warm up! This morning I decided to go to the Park and was thinking I'd do the same run I did on Wednesday.
Except that when I got to the Reservoir, I realized that I haven't run on the Bridle Path in quite some time, so I decided to do a loop around there and then head back home. It rained like crazy last night and the puddles on the path were pretty huge. I felt like I added on an additional half mile just running back and forth around all the puddles!
When I was running today, I was thinking about marathon and those missed miles that I have. I can't go back and redo those weeks and I certainly don't think I can try to make up for them. So, I just decided that I'm going to try to take a new outlook on the situation and say that every mile I run from now on will make the marathon a tiny bit easier. We'll see how long this lasts.
Thursday Running, Westside Path
Time: 1:15:00
Distance: 7.10 miles
Pace: 10:35/mile
Friday Running, Central Park
Time: 54:40
Distance: 5.10 miles
Pace: 10:48/mile
I can't believe how close to the end I'm getting of the Wardrobe Challenge. I know that being busy with work and running have really helped time fly by.
Wednesday night (Day 24), I went out after work to the Ingrid Michaelson concert and felt obligated to take a photo to show you my after-work outfit. Purple long-sleeved shirt, black v-neck sweater, jeans, silver circle earrings and gray Converse:
Thursday, Day 25: Gray skirt, green turtleneck, gray tights, green and silver earrings. Worn with black flats (my right pinky toe is sore and the flats were the most comfortable shoes).
Friday, Day 26: Black pants, blue sweater, diamond earrings and two gold bangle bracelets. Worn with the high-heeled mary janes, of course!
Yesterday I was supposed to run 8 miles, but I wasn't quite sure I'd have enough time for that. The past few mornings have involved some version of the following events:
1. Alarm goes off
2. I press snooze
3. Alarm goes off
4. I press snooze
5. Drew wakes up and says, "You should get up!"
6. Alarm goes off
7. I press snooze
8. Drew pokes me and says "You need to go running!"
9. Alarm goes off
10. I press snooze
So, you know, I've been waiting until the last possible second to get out of bed and actually get some miles in before work. Hoping to do a better job on that next week, but in truth, I'm just bad at waking up.
Yesterday it was 50 when I was leaving and I threw on a long-sleeved shirt and capris. I wasn't really sure that I needed to be wearing capris, but I have a sneaking suspicion that I might want to wear them for the marathon, so I figured I should get in some practice runs. I headed to the Westside Path and had a nice run down and up the island.
The big news from yesterday is that I ate a Gu. And it didn't even give me any stomach issues like it has in the past. I had a free Gu from the swag from my Central Park Biathlon and wanted to try it on a shorter run so that if I did have any issues, I wouldn't be ruining a long run. The flavor I had was Vanilla Bean and I wasn't sure how it would taste. Tasted kind of like frosting and as soon as I ate the first bit, I wasn't really sure I wanted to be eating frosting while running. But then my tummy seemed okay with it, so maybe I actually do want to be eating frosting while running?
I'm hoping to give this another shot on this weekend's "long run", which is actually a step-back week, so long is only 13! I'm hopeful that the added calories will help me feel better (and maybe less thirsty?) at the end of these runs.
Today was also 50 and since I was a bit warm yesterday, I wore a slightly thinner long-sleeved shirt and capris again. Except that the wind today was a bit crazy and I was really glad to have on as many clothes as I did, especially while starting running and waiting to warm up! This morning I decided to go to the Park and was thinking I'd do the same run I did on Wednesday.
Except that when I got to the Reservoir, I realized that I haven't run on the Bridle Path in quite some time, so I decided to do a loop around there and then head back home. It rained like crazy last night and the puddles on the path were pretty huge. I felt like I added on an additional half mile just running back and forth around all the puddles!
When I was running today, I was thinking about marathon and those missed miles that I have. I can't go back and redo those weeks and I certainly don't think I can try to make up for them. So, I just decided that I'm going to try to take a new outlook on the situation and say that every mile I run from now on will make the marathon a tiny bit easier. We'll see how long this lasts.
Thursday Running, Westside Path
Time: 1:15:00
Distance: 7.10 miles
Pace: 10:35/mile
Friday Running, Central Park
Time: 54:40
Distance: 5.10 miles
Pace: 10:48/mile
I can't believe how close to the end I'm getting of the Wardrobe Challenge. I know that being busy with work and running have really helped time fly by.
Wednesday night (Day 24), I went out after work to the Ingrid Michaelson concert and felt obligated to take a photo to show you my after-work outfit. Purple long-sleeved shirt, black v-neck sweater, jeans, silver circle earrings and gray Converse:
Thursday, Day 25: Gray skirt, green turtleneck, gray tights, green and silver earrings. Worn with black flats (my right pinky toe is sore and the flats were the most comfortable shoes).
Friday, Day 26: Black pants, blue sweater, diamond earrings and two gold bangle bracelets. Worn with the high-heeled mary janes, of course!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Please Follow Directions
This morning I woke up and set out for my second run of the week. I knew that I'd never hit the total miles, but I also didn't want to be a complete slacker. Of course, I didn't really have a plan either.
I decided to head to the Park, wearing my Fuel Belt again. I have been doing a lot of flat running and I need to do some running on hills, which the Park is kind enough to provide.
I'd now like to take a few moments for some ranting. First up: the Fuel Belt. Still like it and I'm glad I have it. Not as much in love with it today (the second use) as I was after the first use. I felt like it rode up a LOT more today than it did before. At the end of my run, I wondered if that was because the first time I had tucked in my shirt and today I didn't, so it was riding up along with my shirt? Must test this theory out in future uses.
Second rant: Gmap Pedometer. I heart this service with a capital H. More than any of those Map-My-Run services. Except for one thing. The lack of the Bridle Path in Central Park. I wouldn't think it'd be that hard to just slap it on the map, but even in the satellite photos you can't tell because of all the tree cover. Gmap people, if you're out there, can you work on that?
End ranting (at least on technical issues). I decided to run up the Bridle Path and go from there. It was pretty warm here today and I figured the shadiness would do me some good. There were actual horses on the Path today, which was fun! I wonder where you get a horse or keep your horse to ride there? And do the horses get bored on such a short path?
After running all around the Bridle Path, I decided to do a loop on the Reservoir Path. Good day for path running, apparently. Except here's where I have to start ranting again.
No one was following directions on the Reservoir Path. Mainly in the direction that they were running or walking. I actually thought I was making this up, but then I started counting and it was true that there were more people going the wrong direction than the right direction. I tried to tell myself that a lot of them were probably tourists and I should give them a free pass, but I spent some time really looking at the signs posted an they're very clear with pictures even if you can't read English.
I pretty much got to my breaking point at the north-western corner when 12 people on bicycles entered the Reservoir Path. Um, no! That's just not okay. I just looked at them and yelled, "No, no, no!" I tried to tell them to take their bikes back on the road, but they all stared at me like I was crazy and kept on trying to head in the wrong direction, of course.
OK, done ranting again. But, really, is it that hard to follow an arrow? The run was okay. The weather keeps catching me off guard. It's cool and lovely at night, but hot during the days! At some point I'm sure I'll go back to complaining about it being cold, but this heat is a bit of a surprise. I was glad I had the Fuel Belt for that reason!
I haven't been wearing my heart rate monitor strap for the last couple runs since it keeps giving me this horrible chafing mark in the middle of my chest where the transmitter sits. I keep thinking that I'll try wearing Body Glide and seeing how that works, but I haven't wanted to test the waters yet. Maybe next week.
Running
Time: 1:29:10
Distance: ~8.00 miles
Pace: 11:08/mile
I decided to head to the Park, wearing my Fuel Belt again. I have been doing a lot of flat running and I need to do some running on hills, which the Park is kind enough to provide.
I'd now like to take a few moments for some ranting. First up: the Fuel Belt. Still like it and I'm glad I have it. Not as much in love with it today (the second use) as I was after the first use. I felt like it rode up a LOT more today than it did before. At the end of my run, I wondered if that was because the first time I had tucked in my shirt and today I didn't, so it was riding up along with my shirt? Must test this theory out in future uses.
Second rant: Gmap Pedometer. I heart this service with a capital H. More than any of those Map-My-Run services. Except for one thing. The lack of the Bridle Path in Central Park. I wouldn't think it'd be that hard to just slap it on the map, but even in the satellite photos you can't tell because of all the tree cover. Gmap people, if you're out there, can you work on that?
End ranting (at least on technical issues). I decided to run up the Bridle Path and go from there. It was pretty warm here today and I figured the shadiness would do me some good. There were actual horses on the Path today, which was fun! I wonder where you get a horse or keep your horse to ride there? And do the horses get bored on such a short path?
After running all around the Bridle Path, I decided to do a loop on the Reservoir Path. Good day for path running, apparently. Except here's where I have to start ranting again.
No one was following directions on the Reservoir Path. Mainly in the direction that they were running or walking. I actually thought I was making this up, but then I started counting and it was true that there were more people going the wrong direction than the right direction. I tried to tell myself that a lot of them were probably tourists and I should give them a free pass, but I spent some time really looking at the signs posted an they're very clear with pictures even if you can't read English.
I pretty much got to my breaking point at the north-western corner when 12 people on bicycles entered the Reservoir Path. Um, no! That's just not okay. I just looked at them and yelled, "No, no, no!" I tried to tell them to take their bikes back on the road, but they all stared at me like I was crazy and kept on trying to head in the wrong direction, of course.
OK, done ranting again. But, really, is it that hard to follow an arrow? The run was okay. The weather keeps catching me off guard. It's cool and lovely at night, but hot during the days! At some point I'm sure I'll go back to complaining about it being cold, but this heat is a bit of a surprise. I was glad I had the Fuel Belt for that reason!
I haven't been wearing my heart rate monitor strap for the last couple runs since it keeps giving me this horrible chafing mark in the middle of my chest where the transmitter sits. I keep thinking that I'll try wearing Body Glide and seeing how that works, but I haven't wanted to test the waters yet. Maybe next week.
Running
Time: 1:29:10
Distance: ~8.00 miles
Pace: 11:08/mile
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Shouldn't The Short Ones Be Easy?
This morning I set my alarm in order to wake up in time for the Terrier run. When my alarm went off, I looked at the workout online, saw that it was speed work, rolled over and went back to sleep.
I ended up sleeping until 8 and left the house with Drew at 9 (he was going to work). I probably shouldn't have waited so long today because it was really hot and gross out there. It's not the first time I've done this and it certainly won't be the last.
I walked up to the Park and then decided I would run on the bridle path because it's shadier than the regular road. I didn't love this run. I am trying to save my legs for my long run tomorrow, so I decided I would just run for 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. However many miles that ended up being was fine with me.
The first 20 minutes were okay. The second 20, not so much. It was in those minutes that I was cursing myself for not having a lot to drink yesterday (the perils of vacations). I just kept telling myself that the faster I ran, the sooner I could get home and have my smoothie from the freezer (Drew makes them for us every morning, but I put mine in the freezer before leaving for the run). I admit my logic was flawed, since I was running for a set number of minutes, not miles, but it helped me pick up my pace.
I definitely needed a reason to do that today. I thought the short runs were supposed to be easy, but so far I think I like the longer ones more. I was counting down every minute of today's run. I probably should have done the speed work as it would have mixed things up a bit. I couldn't do it when I went later because there were cars in the Park then.
I never really know how far I've gone on the bridle path. Today's miles are my best estimation. I don't generally want a Garmin, but when I run on the Bridle Path, I do. Of course, maybe I don't since it might be sad to know that all my miles have been way off for a long time.
I'm going to look at nutrition belts this afternoon. Then the big test will be on tomorrow's long run!
Running
Time: 40:00
Distance: 3.75 miles
Pace: 10:39/mile
Calories: 361
Maximum HR: 182 (86%)
Average HR: 167 (79%)
I ended up sleeping until 8 and left the house with Drew at 9 (he was going to work). I probably shouldn't have waited so long today because it was really hot and gross out there. It's not the first time I've done this and it certainly won't be the last.
I walked up to the Park and then decided I would run on the bridle path because it's shadier than the regular road. I didn't love this run. I am trying to save my legs for my long run tomorrow, so I decided I would just run for 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. However many miles that ended up being was fine with me.
The first 20 minutes were okay. The second 20, not so much. It was in those minutes that I was cursing myself for not having a lot to drink yesterday (the perils of vacations). I just kept telling myself that the faster I ran, the sooner I could get home and have my smoothie from the freezer (Drew makes them for us every morning, but I put mine in the freezer before leaving for the run). I admit my logic was flawed, since I was running for a set number of minutes, not miles, but it helped me pick up my pace.
I definitely needed a reason to do that today. I thought the short runs were supposed to be easy, but so far I think I like the longer ones more. I was counting down every minute of today's run. I probably should have done the speed work as it would have mixed things up a bit. I couldn't do it when I went later because there were cars in the Park then.
I never really know how far I've gone on the bridle path. Today's miles are my best estimation. I don't generally want a Garmin, but when I run on the Bridle Path, I do. Of course, maybe I don't since it might be sad to know that all my miles have been way off for a long time.
I'm going to look at nutrition belts this afternoon. Then the big test will be on tomorrow's long run!
Running
Time: 40:00
Distance: 3.75 miles
Pace: 10:39/mile
Calories: 361
Maximum HR: 182 (86%)
Average HR: 167 (79%)
Monday, June 21, 2010
Back At It
Although last Wednesday was a good day for a quick bike ride, the rest of the week was a bit of a bust. Which ended up being just fine with me. I wasn't feeling well at all Thursday or Friday and then we were away over the weekend, so I didn't get anything in while we were gone. I did spend a lot of time thinking about what my decisions will be about these upcoming triathlons and the truth is that I'm still deciding.
I think what I really need to do is see what I'm capable of this week. All week long. I just need to get one really good week of workouts in and see how I feel at the end of it. I need to decide about Timberman next week, so after this week I should have a good measure of where I stand. In an effort to erase this weekend and get a good start, I went out for a run this morning.
Drew told me afterward that he was really surprised that I actually woke up and went running, but I did indeed! Drew and I signed up for a race this weekend that is 5 miles and I was a little bit worried about it, so I decided to see what I could do today.
I took what is sort-of becoming my regular route. I ran up the road in the Park, heading north, until I got to the Reservoir. From there, I ran on the Bridle Path around the Reservoir and then back south again. Nothing too notable about the run. Except that I didn't run all the way. I ran about 20 minutes and then walked for about a minute. Then when I finished getting back around the Reservoir, I walked again for another minute or two, even.
I had a rough idea of how far the distance was and I was trying to finish up in less than 10 minute miles, even with the walking breaks. And I did! I'm really proud of that fact, especially since I'd estimate that I spent at least 3 (but maybe 4) minutes walking instead of running. Ever since I had been doing some power walking, I think that's really helped me.
Since I started really running again I've decided that if I feel like I need to take a walking break and catch my breath a bit, I should do it, but I should also not drag my heels and do regular walking, I should try to push myself and power walk and remember all the times before when I was power walking and all I wanted to do was run. Something about that makes me pick up my feet and start running again.
In order to try to keep myself accountable for this week, this is my rough plan for the rest of the week right now:
Tuesday: Terrier run
Wednesday: Biking
Thursday: Terrier brick and 3 mile Wall Street run
Friday: Gym day?
Saturday: 5 mile Central Park run
Sunday: Terrier swim
Some of this is dependent on the weather, so I'm going to go ahead and keep my fingers crossed!
Running
Time: 45:30
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 9:53/mile
Calories: 450
Maximum HR: 188 (89%)
Average HR: 174 (82%)
I think what I really need to do is see what I'm capable of this week. All week long. I just need to get one really good week of workouts in and see how I feel at the end of it. I need to decide about Timberman next week, so after this week I should have a good measure of where I stand. In an effort to erase this weekend and get a good start, I went out for a run this morning.
Drew told me afterward that he was really surprised that I actually woke up and went running, but I did indeed! Drew and I signed up for a race this weekend that is 5 miles and I was a little bit worried about it, so I decided to see what I could do today.
I took what is sort-of becoming my regular route. I ran up the road in the Park, heading north, until I got to the Reservoir. From there, I ran on the Bridle Path around the Reservoir and then back south again. Nothing too notable about the run. Except that I didn't run all the way. I ran about 20 minutes and then walked for about a minute. Then when I finished getting back around the Reservoir, I walked again for another minute or two, even.
I had a rough idea of how far the distance was and I was trying to finish up in less than 10 minute miles, even with the walking breaks. And I did! I'm really proud of that fact, especially since I'd estimate that I spent at least 3 (but maybe 4) minutes walking instead of running. Ever since I had been doing some power walking, I think that's really helped me.
Since I started really running again I've decided that if I feel like I need to take a walking break and catch my breath a bit, I should do it, but I should also not drag my heels and do regular walking, I should try to push myself and power walk and remember all the times before when I was power walking and all I wanted to do was run. Something about that makes me pick up my feet and start running again.
In order to try to keep myself accountable for this week, this is my rough plan for the rest of the week right now:
Tuesday: Terrier run
Wednesday: Biking
Thursday: Terrier brick and 3 mile Wall Street run
Friday: Gym day?
Saturday: 5 mile Central Park run
Sunday: Terrier swim
Some of this is dependent on the weather, so I'm going to go ahead and keep my fingers crossed!
Running
Time: 45:30
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 9:53/mile
Calories: 450
Maximum HR: 188 (89%)
Average HR: 174 (82%)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
I Like To Move It, Move It...
This morning Drew and I walked through the Park up to where he was supposed to be meeting his trainer, Billy, for Billy's Saturday morning Park class. While we were walking, we were watching the 10K that was going on in the Park. There were some little kids with their dad (it was a women's only 10K) and the kids were doing some cheering. And some singing! They kept singing, "I like to move it, move it..." It was really cute and sort-of got that song stuck in my head for the rest of the morning. I dropped Drew off and went off for a run.
I wasn't really sure what my plan was, but I knew I just needed to get out and run. The race was mostly over by the time we got to the Park, but I was dropping Drew off at 86th Street, so I figured I'd just run north and see what happened. When I got near Lasker Pool, I decided to get off the road and run through the North Woods.
So, it was ridiculously nice there. Actually, the whole experience was a little bit ridiculous because as soon as I started running there, it's all these paths and I didn't really know where I was going, but I figured it didn't really matter. At one point I was in the woods running and then came out onto this meadow area, which was filled with flowers and plants. It was just really beautiful. I couldn't figure out if this whole experience was enhanced by the rap music playing on someone's boom box or not?
Eventually, I got out of the woods and ended up on the upper loop of the Bridle Path. The one I almost never ever take. So, I figured, why not? I'll just do that loop too. When I finished that loop, I had been running for 30 minutes. I wasn't quite sure what to do at that point. I was on the Bridle Path, in between the Reservoir Loop and the tennis courts. There is a lot of grassy area there and I figured that it seemed like a decent place to try out this barefoot running stuff everyone keeps talking about.
So, I took off my shoes and started running. I didn't run very far in any one direction. I just kept running back and forth over the same patch of mostly flat ground. I actually couldn't really notice any real difference in how I was running (my foot hitting the ground), but it didn't take very long before I noticed that my left calf was bothering me. I decided that about 5 minutes of that barefoot running stuff was enough for me, so I put my socks and shoes back on and figured out what to do next.
I figured that I was still feeling good, so I might as well just keep on running! Since I was at the top of the Reservoir path, I figured that I'd just run around that Path until I got to the 90th Street exit. From there, I could run South until it was time to meet Drew. I ended up running South, then running around the Great Lawn to see if I could spy Drew and his group. I didn't see them, so I circled back to the meeting spot and they weren't there. I still had some time to kill, so I figured I'd do a couple of 200 meter sprints while I was waiting. I think I got two of those in before I saw his group heading back to where we were supposed to meet each other.
So, I have no idea how far I ran today. I pedometered out the parts I know for sure and I have no doubt that I ran at least 5 miles. Maybe more. But, whatever the distance was, I felt great while I was running. My calf seems to still be a little bit sore after that barefoot business, but it was tolerable. I guess that's why they suggest that you start out small!
After going home and showering, we headed out to run some errands. Both Drew and I got new running shoes! Mine aren't quite ready for use yet. I'm waiting until I really figure out what I'm doing with my summer training wise before I start tracking the miles on these new ones. Here they are:
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If you think they look identical to my old ones, that's because they're indeed the same shoes. Except this time I went with navy laces instead of white. Drew ended up getting some Mizuno's as well. I hope that he likes them! We'll have to test out our new shoes soon!
Running
Time: 55:07
Distance: 5.00 - 5.50 miles?
Calories: 563
Maximum HR: 193
Average HR: 177
I wasn't really sure what my plan was, but I knew I just needed to get out and run. The race was mostly over by the time we got to the Park, but I was dropping Drew off at 86th Street, so I figured I'd just run north and see what happened. When I got near Lasker Pool, I decided to get off the road and run through the North Woods.
So, it was ridiculously nice there. Actually, the whole experience was a little bit ridiculous because as soon as I started running there, it's all these paths and I didn't really know where I was going, but I figured it didn't really matter. At one point I was in the woods running and then came out onto this meadow area, which was filled with flowers and plants. It was just really beautiful. I couldn't figure out if this whole experience was enhanced by the rap music playing on someone's boom box or not?
Eventually, I got out of the woods and ended up on the upper loop of the Bridle Path. The one I almost never ever take. So, I figured, why not? I'll just do that loop too. When I finished that loop, I had been running for 30 minutes. I wasn't quite sure what to do at that point. I was on the Bridle Path, in between the Reservoir Loop and the tennis courts. There is a lot of grassy area there and I figured that it seemed like a decent place to try out this barefoot running stuff everyone keeps talking about.
So, I took off my shoes and started running. I didn't run very far in any one direction. I just kept running back and forth over the same patch of mostly flat ground. I actually couldn't really notice any real difference in how I was running (my foot hitting the ground), but it didn't take very long before I noticed that my left calf was bothering me. I decided that about 5 minutes of that barefoot running stuff was enough for me, so I put my socks and shoes back on and figured out what to do next.
I figured that I was still feeling good, so I might as well just keep on running! Since I was at the top of the Reservoir path, I figured that I'd just run around that Path until I got to the 90th Street exit. From there, I could run South until it was time to meet Drew. I ended up running South, then running around the Great Lawn to see if I could spy Drew and his group. I didn't see them, so I circled back to the meeting spot and they weren't there. I still had some time to kill, so I figured I'd do a couple of 200 meter sprints while I was waiting. I think I got two of those in before I saw his group heading back to where we were supposed to meet each other.
So, I have no idea how far I ran today. I pedometered out the parts I know for sure and I have no doubt that I ran at least 5 miles. Maybe more. But, whatever the distance was, I felt great while I was running. My calf seems to still be a little bit sore after that barefoot business, but it was tolerable. I guess that's why they suggest that you start out small!
After going home and showering, we headed out to run some errands. Both Drew and I got new running shoes! Mine aren't quite ready for use yet. I'm waiting until I really figure out what I'm doing with my summer training wise before I start tracking the miles on these new ones. Here they are:
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If you think they look identical to my old ones, that's because they're indeed the same shoes. Except this time I went with navy laces instead of white. Drew ended up getting some Mizuno's as well. I hope that he likes them! We'll have to test out our new shoes soon!
Running
Time: 55:07
Distance: 5.00 - 5.50 miles?
Calories: 563
Maximum HR: 193
Average HR: 177
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Not A Japan Day Run
Today was supposed to be my 8th NYRR run this year. It was supposed to be a 4-mile run in the Park for Japan Day. Except, I totally forgot about it. In self-defense, I didn't get a handy reminder e-mail from NYRR telling me where and when to pick up my packet, and somehow without that reminder, it just slipped my mind. Oops. There goes $18 down the drain. Plus I'll have to sign up for another race.
Instead, I ended up doing a whole hodge-podge of things. Drew and I went to the gym and decided to go for a swim first. I started out doing freestyle down and breast-stroke back. That way I could watch Drew a little bit and give him some pointers. After a while, he seemed to be doing okay, so I just decided to do some swimming on my own. I think my elbow is almost back to normal now. It definitely still hurts if I try to lock it, but I can stretch it out almost all the way without saying "ouch".
All of that means that swimming seems to be a go for now. I can't even tell you how great it felt to be back in the water and going along at a decent clip. Granted, my times still aren't that great in total, but a lot of that is because I was stopping to chat with Drew and in the beginning I wasn't really testing myself at all. Next time I'll hopefully get in a slightly better swim.
After Drew had reached his tiring point in the pool, we got out and headed down to the weight room. Drew was doing arm stuff, so we did one-armed things. He just did both arms (but separately) and I just did my right arm. I have to say that my right arm was definitely tired by the end of all this. This is what I did:
Right Arm Cable Pulls
15 reps @ 40 lbs / 15 reps @ 45 lbs / 15 reps @ 50 lbs
Seated Row (Right Arm)
10 reps @ 30 lbs / 2 x 10 reps @ 40 lbs
Back Extensions
2 x 20 reps
The cable pulls in the beginning were probably too light for me, but I didn't really feel like overdoing it. I also didn't really feel anything from the back extensions. I felt like I could have done them all day long and still not felt anything. Drew tried to explain that I was supposed to be feeling something in my lower back, but I didn't feel that. He said I could try holding onto some weight to make it harder, but I just wasn't in the mood for all that today.
Truthfully, what I really wanted to do was run. It was so nice outside (okay, it was pretty warm), but when the weather is nice, it just seems like such a waste to be indoors. Drew agreed to go running with me in the Park after some negotiations about how far we would run and how fast we would run. We settled on about a 4-mile course. So, at least I got my run in even if it wasn't how I had originally planned.
We ran along the Bridle Path (for the shade) up to the Reservoir. Once we got there, I said that I was going to continue running along the Bridle Path, but if Drew wanted to do one loop of the Reservoir, that was fine with me. We could just meet up together where we had started from. He said he'd like to the Bridle Path loop around the Reservoir as well, so we both took off at our own speeds. The run itself was fairly uneventful. There is something nice about running by yourself and not having to worry about going too slow for the other person.
When I was making the turn to head back west, the Bridle Path was blocked off, so I had to run along the Reservoir in the wrong direction. Sorry everyone! I'm normally such a stickler for the rules in the Park, so I felt pretty bad breaking them. But, I'm not sure what my other options were, other than extending the run longer, which wasn't really an option for me.
I was definitely getting tired by the time I got back and met Drew. I had also run into our friend, Lisa and then we ran into her again together, so the three of us chatted for a few minutes before we all went off on our runs. Drew and I started running back home. I told him that I wasn't sure I would make it all the way home and I definitely didn't. We ran for about 10 minutes and then I called it quits and we walked the rest of the way home.
I'm a little bummed that running 4 miles was such a hard undertaking. 4 miles used to be a quick and easy little run! I'm realizing that maybe I should have been doing more in the past five weeks than I had been doing, but honestly, at the time, my heart just wasn't in it. I'm sure I'll be paying for that later, but for now, I'm just going to try to rebuild slowly and carefully. Of course, I'm still not technically supposed to be running, so there's that aspect. This was my longest run since the triathlon, so I've got to keep everything in perspective.
Swimming
Time: 28:03
Distance: 720 yards / 0.41 miles
Pace: 68:24/mile
Calories: 158
Maximum HR: 178
Average HR: 128
Weight Lifting
Time: 20:39
Calories: 126
Maximum HR: 162
Average HR: 121
Running
Time: 46:09
Distance: 4.20 miles
Pace: 10:59/mile
Calories: 620
Maximum HR: 202
Average HR: 187
Instead, I ended up doing a whole hodge-podge of things. Drew and I went to the gym and decided to go for a swim first. I started out doing freestyle down and breast-stroke back. That way I could watch Drew a little bit and give him some pointers. After a while, he seemed to be doing okay, so I just decided to do some swimming on my own. I think my elbow is almost back to normal now. It definitely still hurts if I try to lock it, but I can stretch it out almost all the way without saying "ouch".
All of that means that swimming seems to be a go for now. I can't even tell you how great it felt to be back in the water and going along at a decent clip. Granted, my times still aren't that great in total, but a lot of that is because I was stopping to chat with Drew and in the beginning I wasn't really testing myself at all. Next time I'll hopefully get in a slightly better swim.
After Drew had reached his tiring point in the pool, we got out and headed down to the weight room. Drew was doing arm stuff, so we did one-armed things. He just did both arms (but separately) and I just did my right arm. I have to say that my right arm was definitely tired by the end of all this. This is what I did:
Right Arm Cable Pulls
15 reps @ 40 lbs / 15 reps @ 45 lbs / 15 reps @ 50 lbs
Seated Row (Right Arm)
10 reps @ 30 lbs / 2 x 10 reps @ 40 lbs
Back Extensions
2 x 20 reps
The cable pulls in the beginning were probably too light for me, but I didn't really feel like overdoing it. I also didn't really feel anything from the back extensions. I felt like I could have done them all day long and still not felt anything. Drew tried to explain that I was supposed to be feeling something in my lower back, but I didn't feel that. He said I could try holding onto some weight to make it harder, but I just wasn't in the mood for all that today.
Truthfully, what I really wanted to do was run. It was so nice outside (okay, it was pretty warm), but when the weather is nice, it just seems like such a waste to be indoors. Drew agreed to go running with me in the Park after some negotiations about how far we would run and how fast we would run. We settled on about a 4-mile course. So, at least I got my run in even if it wasn't how I had originally planned.
We ran along the Bridle Path (for the shade) up to the Reservoir. Once we got there, I said that I was going to continue running along the Bridle Path, but if Drew wanted to do one loop of the Reservoir, that was fine with me. We could just meet up together where we had started from. He said he'd like to the Bridle Path loop around the Reservoir as well, so we both took off at our own speeds. The run itself was fairly uneventful. There is something nice about running by yourself and not having to worry about going too slow for the other person.
When I was making the turn to head back west, the Bridle Path was blocked off, so I had to run along the Reservoir in the wrong direction. Sorry everyone! I'm normally such a stickler for the rules in the Park, so I felt pretty bad breaking them. But, I'm not sure what my other options were, other than extending the run longer, which wasn't really an option for me.
I was definitely getting tired by the time I got back and met Drew. I had also run into our friend, Lisa and then we ran into her again together, so the three of us chatted for a few minutes before we all went off on our runs. Drew and I started running back home. I told him that I wasn't sure I would make it all the way home and I definitely didn't. We ran for about 10 minutes and then I called it quits and we walked the rest of the way home.
I'm a little bummed that running 4 miles was such a hard undertaking. 4 miles used to be a quick and easy little run! I'm realizing that maybe I should have been doing more in the past five weeks than I had been doing, but honestly, at the time, my heart just wasn't in it. I'm sure I'll be paying for that later, but for now, I'm just going to try to rebuild slowly and carefully. Of course, I'm still not technically supposed to be running, so there's that aspect. This was my longest run since the triathlon, so I've got to keep everything in perspective.
Swimming
Time: 28:03
Distance: 720 yards / 0.41 miles
Pace: 68:24/mile
Calories: 158
Maximum HR: 178
Average HR: 128
Weight Lifting
Time: 20:39
Calories: 126
Maximum HR: 162
Average HR: 121
Running
Time: 46:09
Distance: 4.20 miles
Pace: 10:59/mile
Calories: 620
Maximum HR: 202
Average HR: 187
Monday, May 31, 2010
A Monday Stroll In The Park
This morning we woke up and Drew asked me if I was going to go to the gym. I told him that I didn't want to go to the gym but that I'd do something outside. My plan was to basically do what I did on Saturday. Walk up to the Reservoir, run one loop around, and then walk home. Drew ended up tagging along with me.
Since it was so warm out this morning, I decided that I wanted to try to stay on the Bridle Path for as much of the walk/run as possible since it's much more shaded than the road is. Seemed like the best plan to me. We were walking along and it was more like a stroll in the park than a workout for me, but I didn't really mind. It was nice just to be outdoors and chatting with Drew.
Then we got to the Reservoir Path and I asked if he wanted to stay on the Bridle Path and run around the Reservoir or if wanted to run on the actual Reservoir Path. He chose the real path, which was okay with me, although it's not as shaded. He also decided that he wanted to do two loops, so I told him that he should just go ahead and run at his own pace so that I wouldn't have to wait as long for him once I was done.
I ran my one loop (although I wanted to do two) and then just sat down on a park bench and waited for Drew to be done. And then we walked home after that. Still on the stroll in the park mode, not actual workout mode. I was bummed that I didn't get as good of a workout in as I was hoping -- mainly with the walking. I guess from now on when Drew comes with me I'll have to make it very clear that since this is my main form of cardio right now, I can't really afford to be dilly-dallying around!
Walking/Running
Time: 1:03:16
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 13:45/mile
Calories: 672
Maximum HR: 198
Average HR: 150
Since it was so warm out this morning, I decided that I wanted to try to stay on the Bridle Path for as much of the walk/run as possible since it's much more shaded than the road is. Seemed like the best plan to me. We were walking along and it was more like a stroll in the park than a workout for me, but I didn't really mind. It was nice just to be outdoors and chatting with Drew.
Then we got to the Reservoir Path and I asked if he wanted to stay on the Bridle Path and run around the Reservoir or if wanted to run on the actual Reservoir Path. He chose the real path, which was okay with me, although it's not as shaded. He also decided that he wanted to do two loops, so I told him that he should just go ahead and run at his own pace so that I wouldn't have to wait as long for him once I was done.
I ran my one loop (although I wanted to do two) and then just sat down on a park bench and waited for Drew to be done. And then we walked home after that. Still on the stroll in the park mode, not actual workout mode. I was bummed that I didn't get as good of a workout in as I was hoping -- mainly with the walking. I guess from now on when Drew comes with me I'll have to make it very clear that since this is my main form of cardio right now, I can't really afford to be dilly-dallying around!
Walking/Running
Time: 1:03:16
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 13:45/mile
Calories: 672
Maximum HR: 198
Average HR: 150
Monday, May 24, 2010
Learning New Things
I currently seem to be on the every-other-day workout plan. Which, frankly, isn't much of a plan. Yesterday I almost talked myself into getting up and out for a walk, but somehow I talked myself out of it. Oh well. Oddly enough, I did wake up bright and early this morning in order to get out and go. The truth is that today was Drew's first swim lesson (!), so I walked with him to the Y and then I headed into the Park for my walk.
I decided just to walk along the Bridle Path this morning. And I learned something new! That even though dogs can be off leash in the mornings in the Park, that they have to be on their leashes at all times on the Bridle Path. Of course, the other thing is that no one pays attention to that rule. I am always a little intimated when big dogs are running around on the Path, even though they're generally chasing a ball, I'm always a little nervous they're just going to come up and bite me. After I found out this new rule, I felt like yelling at everyone I saw that they were breaking the rules (I didn't actually do that).
I forgot to wear my heart rate monitor strap today, so I had to go off my perceived effort today. I knew I wasn't going as quickly as I was on Saturday, but part of that is due to the difference in walking on the Road and walking on the Path. There is just so much more to be careful of on the Path - dips, rocks, mud, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just makes for a different walk.
I just kept passing runner after runner (or, more accurately, they kept passing me) and I was just thinking about wanting to run. It really wasn't that long ago that I really didn't love running. It's funny how quickly that can change. I think that I really started to appreciate the simplicity of running after half-marathon training and starting to train for triathlon again. There is just something so easy about grabbing your shoes and heading out for a run. There is also something very cathartic (to me, at least) about getting out some frustrations while running. It's just such a good time to think!
So, I have to confess, I was getting a little down in the dumps about not running, so I decided that I'd just let myself run. Not a lot, maybe about 100 yards, but enough just to get the ants out of my pants. And it worked. I felt a lot better that I could still run! Even if it was really ridiculously short. Something about it just changed my mood. Three weeks of healing down ... hopefully only 3 to 5 more to go!
Time: 1:00:00
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 13:02/mile
I decided just to walk along the Bridle Path this morning. And I learned something new! That even though dogs can be off leash in the mornings in the Park, that they have to be on their leashes at all times on the Bridle Path. Of course, the other thing is that no one pays attention to that rule. I am always a little intimated when big dogs are running around on the Path, even though they're generally chasing a ball, I'm always a little nervous they're just going to come up and bite me. After I found out this new rule, I felt like yelling at everyone I saw that they were breaking the rules (I didn't actually do that).
I forgot to wear my heart rate monitor strap today, so I had to go off my perceived effort today. I knew I wasn't going as quickly as I was on Saturday, but part of that is due to the difference in walking on the Road and walking on the Path. There is just so much more to be careful of on the Path - dips, rocks, mud, etc. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just makes for a different walk.
I just kept passing runner after runner (or, more accurately, they kept passing me) and I was just thinking about wanting to run. It really wasn't that long ago that I really didn't love running. It's funny how quickly that can change. I think that I really started to appreciate the simplicity of running after half-marathon training and starting to train for triathlon again. There is just something so easy about grabbing your shoes and heading out for a run. There is also something very cathartic (to me, at least) about getting out some frustrations while running. It's just such a good time to think!
So, I have to confess, I was getting a little down in the dumps about not running, so I decided that I'd just let myself run. Not a lot, maybe about 100 yards, but enough just to get the ants out of my pants. And it worked. I felt a lot better that I could still run! Even if it was really ridiculously short. Something about it just changed my mood. Three weeks of healing down ... hopefully only 3 to 5 more to go!
Time: 1:00:00
Distance: 4.60 miles
Pace: 13:02/mile
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Playing Outside
This morning I had been planning on heading to the gym for a really boring and long spin bike ride in order to keep up with the half-Ironman training plan. I have to tell you that I thought it sounded pretty hideous to spin for two hours. Although I would have been quite happy to ride my real bike for two hours today! The weather was gorgeous!
Since the weather was so nice and I wasn't so keen on heading indoors anyway for a workout, I decided to go with Drew today. His personal trainer, Billy, leads a Park class every Saturday at 10:30 (which, frankly, is a little late for me to go on a regular basis). But, since I didn't have a bicycle, I decided to just get outdoors and skip out on the real plan for today.
Drew and I walked to the meeting spot on the Upper East Side. Once we got there and Billy arrived, the group headed over to a grassy spot near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And that's when the fun started! Billy had us form a circle and immediately we started doing a circuit of squats, jump squats and squat thrusts. Since that wasn't enough fun, he then had us lie down on the ground and go up into a pike position and then from there, we had to flip-around to a push-up. Don't ask me how that worked. It was a lot easier than it sounded.
In that initial circle we also did a push-up circle where we would all do 5 push-ups, but do them one at a time so that you had to wait for everyone else in the circle to do their push-ups, while holding yourself up. I think we did the push-up circle at least 2 times, but maybe it was three. It's hard to keep track. There was also a ridiculously long holding of plank position.
I have to say that as a kid, circles were always really fun. They generally involved story time or sometimes a parachute. Today's circle wasn't so much fun. Maybe Billy should buy a parachute for these classes? That might make it better.
Once we were done with the circle stuff, he had us do a couple of sprints along the road. The first one was shorter than it was supposed to be because when Billy said "run to the orange cone" the leader did the natural thing and ran to the first orange cone. Not the second orange cone, like Billy had wanted us to do. I have to tell you, I felt bad for the other bikers and runners out there on the road. Here was a group of 20 or so people jogging into traffic and then turning around and sprinting all out. And we were doing it on the wrong side of the road (the non-running side).
When I got done with my second sprint, I was standing next to Drew and I thought he said, "I'm not even breathing hard!" I immediately told him to pipe down! I didn't want Billy to hear that Drew wasn't breathing hard. I wasn't in the mood for another long (slightly uphill) sprint. Except what Drew actually said is, "you're not even breathing hard". He was paying me a compliment. Either way, I didn't want Billy to overhear the whole exchange!
After that, we headed over to the Great Lawn. Billy had us line up in 4 lines while he set up a series of small orange cones (the start and finish lines). We had to do various things - sprints, karaoke, side shuffle, bear crawl, bunny hopping backwards and forwards and try to have our group come in first. Except that it turned out that there wasn't really an incentive to come in first because we all ended up having to do the same amount of push-ups after each round.
Then Billy broke us down into two groups and had us do some more sprints and things. The first one, I was sprinting against Drew -- and I beat him! Okay, technically Billy held Drew back for a couple of seconds while I got a head start, but I think that if he had tried harder, Drew could have beaten me. So I'm still going to put it as a win in my book!
I should also say here that both Drew and Billy were keen to point out that I am a very bad bunny hopper (backwards or forwards - doesn't really matter). Seriously, I have to be about the worst jumper of all time. I am totally incapable of jumping with both feet at the same time. This is why I stunk so badly when Drew and I did our own stair workout and he kept wanting me to jump up the stairs. I am pretty sure it's all a mental block, but whatever it is, it makes me a very bad jumper.
After all this stuff with the cones, we went out onto the loop around the Great Lawn and Billy told us that we'd have to run around the Loop, do 50 push-ups (using a park bench) and 40 dips (also using the bench). I opted to be in the first group and get the running over with. Gmap Pedometer says that the loop is 0.53 miles around and Billy told me that I finished in 4:12, which is super-de-duper fast and I'm not really sure I believe that time, but I'll go with it! I finished up with the push-ups and dips and that was the end of class.
Drew and I went to get Coconut FrozFruits with two other people from the class and we all chatted for a bit. Then Drew and I decided to jog home from the Great Lawn. He'd been asking me for a while now to show him the Bridle Path, so we ran on that for about half of the way home. When we got to Tavern on the Green, I decided that we should run on the Road so that I could show Drew where the "S" was (where we start our speed work in Terrier). I said that once we got to the S, we should sprint the rest of the way to the bottom of the Park. I actually was pretty close behind Drew - he didn't pull that far away from me - so I was pretty proud of that.
All in all, a pretty good workout for skipping a bike ride. I'm just going to go ahead and say that the cross-training will help me in San Francisco and leave it at that!
Park Class
Time: 1:07:40
Calories: 660
Maximum HR: 191
Average HR: 155
Run Home
Time: 11:01
Distance: 1.20 miles
Pace: 9:10/mile
Calories: 126
Maximum HR: 194
Since the weather was so nice and I wasn't so keen on heading indoors anyway for a workout, I decided to go with Drew today. His personal trainer, Billy, leads a Park class every Saturday at 10:30 (which, frankly, is a little late for me to go on a regular basis). But, since I didn't have a bicycle, I decided to just get outdoors and skip out on the real plan for today.
Drew and I walked to the meeting spot on the Upper East Side. Once we got there and Billy arrived, the group headed over to a grassy spot near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And that's when the fun started! Billy had us form a circle and immediately we started doing a circuit of squats, jump squats and squat thrusts. Since that wasn't enough fun, he then had us lie down on the ground and go up into a pike position and then from there, we had to flip-around to a push-up. Don't ask me how that worked. It was a lot easier than it sounded.
In that initial circle we also did a push-up circle where we would all do 5 push-ups, but do them one at a time so that you had to wait for everyone else in the circle to do their push-ups, while holding yourself up. I think we did the push-up circle at least 2 times, but maybe it was three. It's hard to keep track. There was also a ridiculously long holding of plank position.
I have to say that as a kid, circles were always really fun. They generally involved story time or sometimes a parachute. Today's circle wasn't so much fun. Maybe Billy should buy a parachute for these classes? That might make it better.
Once we were done with the circle stuff, he had us do a couple of sprints along the road. The first one was shorter than it was supposed to be because when Billy said "run to the orange cone" the leader did the natural thing and ran to the first orange cone. Not the second orange cone, like Billy had wanted us to do. I have to tell you, I felt bad for the other bikers and runners out there on the road. Here was a group of 20 or so people jogging into traffic and then turning around and sprinting all out. And we were doing it on the wrong side of the road (the non-running side).
When I got done with my second sprint, I was standing next to Drew and I thought he said, "I'm not even breathing hard!" I immediately told him to pipe down! I didn't want Billy to hear that Drew wasn't breathing hard. I wasn't in the mood for another long (slightly uphill) sprint. Except what Drew actually said is, "you're not even breathing hard". He was paying me a compliment. Either way, I didn't want Billy to overhear the whole exchange!
After that, we headed over to the Great Lawn. Billy had us line up in 4 lines while he set up a series of small orange cones (the start and finish lines). We had to do various things - sprints, karaoke, side shuffle, bear crawl, bunny hopping backwards and forwards and try to have our group come in first. Except that it turned out that there wasn't really an incentive to come in first because we all ended up having to do the same amount of push-ups after each round.
Then Billy broke us down into two groups and had us do some more sprints and things. The first one, I was sprinting against Drew -- and I beat him! Okay, technically Billy held Drew back for a couple of seconds while I got a head start, but I think that if he had tried harder, Drew could have beaten me. So I'm still going to put it as a win in my book!
I should also say here that both Drew and Billy were keen to point out that I am a very bad bunny hopper (backwards or forwards - doesn't really matter). Seriously, I have to be about the worst jumper of all time. I am totally incapable of jumping with both feet at the same time. This is why I stunk so badly when Drew and I did our own stair workout and he kept wanting me to jump up the stairs. I am pretty sure it's all a mental block, but whatever it is, it makes me a very bad jumper.
After all this stuff with the cones, we went out onto the loop around the Great Lawn and Billy told us that we'd have to run around the Loop, do 50 push-ups (using a park bench) and 40 dips (also using the bench). I opted to be in the first group and get the running over with. Gmap Pedometer says that the loop is 0.53 miles around and Billy told me that I finished in 4:12, which is super-de-duper fast and I'm not really sure I believe that time, but I'll go with it! I finished up with the push-ups and dips and that was the end of class.
Drew and I went to get Coconut FrozFruits with two other people from the class and we all chatted for a bit. Then Drew and I decided to jog home from the Great Lawn. He'd been asking me for a while now to show him the Bridle Path, so we ran on that for about half of the way home. When we got to Tavern on the Green, I decided that we should run on the Road so that I could show Drew where the "S" was (where we start our speed work in Terrier). I said that once we got to the S, we should sprint the rest of the way to the bottom of the Park. I actually was pretty close behind Drew - he didn't pull that far away from me - so I was pretty proud of that.
All in all, a pretty good workout for skipping a bike ride. I'm just going to go ahead and say that the cross-training will help me in San Francisco and leave it at that!
Park Class
Time: 1:07:40
Calories: 660
Maximum HR: 191
Average HR: 155
Run Home
Time: 11:01
Distance: 1.20 miles
Pace: 9:10/mile
Calories: 126
Maximum HR: 194
Friday, April 2, 2010
Uneven Ground
This morning I actually woke up and got up to do a workout before going to work. If this was yesterday, it almost could have been an April Fool's joke. But it's the truth! I probably should have gone biking, but I just felt like running, so that's what I did. I checked out the course map for tomorrow's 10K and I'm pretty excited about it, but I decided that I didn't want to do the same run two days in a row.
So, when I got to the Park, I decided to run the bridle path instead of the regular road. What a nice change! There was mud, ruts, sand, loose dirt, hard compacted dirt, puddles, rocks, and all sorts of other things to watch out for. I was thinking that because of the uneven ground, it was probably good practice for the portion of the run at Alcatraz that is on the beach.
It was 49 when I left the apartment and I wore shorts (!), a short-sleeved shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. I decided to walk to the Park. I had just crammed a Luna Protein bar down along with a glass of water and I wasn't quite ready for running when I left the house. I needed that 10 minute walking buffer before I started running. I was a little chilly walking to the Park, but was completely fine once I started running.
I don't often take the bridle path route in the Park because it's impossible to figure out how far you've gone. I have searched the internet for answers and I try to Gmap Pedometer the route myself, but the map of Central Park is just so covered with trees that it's impossible to tell exactly where I'm running on the map. I did Gmap Pedometer today's route twice. Once I got 4.8 miles and the second time I got 5.2. I'm going to split the difference and call it 5 miles.
Today after work I'm going to pick up my race number and T-shirt for Saturday's 10K race. I'm going to see how I feel after the race and how the weekend pans out, but I'm hoping to get in at least one long bike ride to New Jersey to tackle some hills. I only have 3 weekends left with my bike before it has to be shipped off to California!
Running
Time: 48:29
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 9:41/mile
Calories: 516
Maximum HR: 181
Average HR: 165
So, when I got to the Park, I decided to run the bridle path instead of the regular road. What a nice change! There was mud, ruts, sand, loose dirt, hard compacted dirt, puddles, rocks, and all sorts of other things to watch out for. I was thinking that because of the uneven ground, it was probably good practice for the portion of the run at Alcatraz that is on the beach.
It was 49 when I left the apartment and I wore shorts (!), a short-sleeved shirt and a long-sleeved shirt. I decided to walk to the Park. I had just crammed a Luna Protein bar down along with a glass of water and I wasn't quite ready for running when I left the house. I needed that 10 minute walking buffer before I started running. I was a little chilly walking to the Park, but was completely fine once I started running.
I don't often take the bridle path route in the Park because it's impossible to figure out how far you've gone. I have searched the internet for answers and I try to Gmap Pedometer the route myself, but the map of Central Park is just so covered with trees that it's impossible to tell exactly where I'm running on the map. I did Gmap Pedometer today's route twice. Once I got 4.8 miles and the second time I got 5.2. I'm going to split the difference and call it 5 miles.
Today after work I'm going to pick up my race number and T-shirt for Saturday's 10K race. I'm going to see how I feel after the race and how the weekend pans out, but I'm hoping to get in at least one long bike ride to New Jersey to tackle some hills. I only have 3 weekends left with my bike before it has to be shipped off to California!
Running
Time: 48:29
Distance: 5.00 miles
Pace: 9:41/mile
Calories: 516
Maximum HR: 181
Average HR: 165
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Off The Well-Paved Path
On Friday I stopped by the athletic gear store (I wanted to write sporting goods store, but all I was interested in were the clothes) and I found a windbreaker that was 42% off the original price, which seemed like a good deal to me. So, of course, I had to try it out today.
The weather this morning was 35, but felt like 31. I wore running tights, tank top, long sleeved shirt, wind breaker, gloves and an ear-band (I couldn't find my running hat). I briefly considered that I probably was wearing one too many layers, but I figured I should just wear what I had on and figure out how I was feeling once I got going. It's a lot easier to take stuff off than it is to put it on when you're not at home.
I jogged to the park (without a whole lot of traffic stops) and right when I got there, I realized that there was some sort of race (a half-marathon, it turns out) going on in the park. That meant that I wouldn't be running on the road and I'd have to figure out some sort of other plan. I didn't really mind. I was just aiming for something between 3-4 miles and figured if I ran around for 40 minutes I'd most likely reach that goal, so that's exactly what I did.
I ran along the bridle path and I really had to guesstimate my mileage since the path not on Gmap Pedometer but I'd guess that I ended up running about 3.70 miles. Maybe it's a little bit more or maybe it's a little bit less, but that seems like a pretty good guess in my mind. The path was filled with people walking their dogs, which was sort-of fun watching all the dogs having fun playing with each other and also sort-of scary.
In the mornings, people don't have to keep their dogs on leashes, which is fine with me for the most part. It just gets a little bit scary when bigger dogs are running around (or straight towards you) and you don't know why. I definitely stopped to walk more than once when I wasn't sure what a dog was doing and I didn't want to aggravate it or surprise it. I've been bitten twice before (nothing serious, thank goodness), but once was when I was running and I'd prefer not to repeat that again!
I basically ran up to the Reservoir then around the bottom of the Reservoir and then back home again. Once I reached the end of the park, I did some stretching to keep my legs happy and then I headed home. I had a lot more traffic on the way home than I did on the way there, so that's why it took me that much longer. I don't think I was running any slower.
My new jacket worked out really well. I was a tiny bit too warm, but nothing that was unbearable, so now I know I probably only need one layer underneath the coat at this temperature, which would have been my guess anyway. Live and learn!
Run To Park
Time: 5:15
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 10:30/mile
Run In Park (Bridle Path)
Time: 39:40
Distance ~3.70 miles
Pace: 10:43/mile
Run Home From Park
Time: 6:07
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 12:13/mile
The weather this morning was 35, but felt like 31. I wore running tights, tank top, long sleeved shirt, wind breaker, gloves and an ear-band (I couldn't find my running hat). I briefly considered that I probably was wearing one too many layers, but I figured I should just wear what I had on and figure out how I was feeling once I got going. It's a lot easier to take stuff off than it is to put it on when you're not at home.
I jogged to the park (without a whole lot of traffic stops) and right when I got there, I realized that there was some sort of race (a half-marathon, it turns out) going on in the park. That meant that I wouldn't be running on the road and I'd have to figure out some sort of other plan. I didn't really mind. I was just aiming for something between 3-4 miles and figured if I ran around for 40 minutes I'd most likely reach that goal, so that's exactly what I did.
I ran along the bridle path and I really had to guesstimate my mileage since the path not on Gmap Pedometer but I'd guess that I ended up running about 3.70 miles. Maybe it's a little bit more or maybe it's a little bit less, but that seems like a pretty good guess in my mind. The path was filled with people walking their dogs, which was sort-of fun watching all the dogs having fun playing with each other and also sort-of scary.
In the mornings, people don't have to keep their dogs on leashes, which is fine with me for the most part. It just gets a little bit scary when bigger dogs are running around (or straight towards you) and you don't know why. I definitely stopped to walk more than once when I wasn't sure what a dog was doing and I didn't want to aggravate it or surprise it. I've been bitten twice before (nothing serious, thank goodness), but once was when I was running and I'd prefer not to repeat that again!
I basically ran up to the Reservoir then around the bottom of the Reservoir and then back home again. Once I reached the end of the park, I did some stretching to keep my legs happy and then I headed home. I had a lot more traffic on the way home than I did on the way there, so that's why it took me that much longer. I don't think I was running any slower.
My new jacket worked out really well. I was a tiny bit too warm, but nothing that was unbearable, so now I know I probably only need one layer underneath the coat at this temperature, which would have been my guess anyway. Live and learn!
Run To Park
Time: 5:15
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 10:30/mile
Run In Park (Bridle Path)
Time: 39:40
Distance ~3.70 miles
Pace: 10:43/mile
Run Home From Park
Time: 6:07
Distance: 0.50 miles
Pace: 12:13/mile
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