Monday, March 23rd: 30 minutes on exercise bike.
Tuesday, March 24th: 3 miles in 30 minutes on treadmill. I did pause about every ten minutes to re-stretch my legs which were feeling pretty tight.
Wednesday, March 25th: 2 miles at high school track. I did a few easy laps, then decided I'd see how fast I could run a mile. I ended up finishing in 7:46. It took every ounce of will power I had to not blow chunks. I'm looking forward to the coming months and trying to beat my time.
Thursday, March 26th: Rest.
Friday, March 27th: Rest.
Saturday, March 28th: 6 miles in 70 minutes. We spent the weekend camping with the Coopers at Valley of Fire near Mesquite. Mel and I were feeling ambitious and decided to run the 3 miles to the Visitor Center and back in mid-day heat. We walked around 2 of the 6 miles so we were happy with our time.
Later in the evening I went on a long mountain bike ride through a scenic loop which was absolutely beautiful. I think I tried to do it too fast though, and didn't feel the greatest afterward. There is a marathon, half, and 10k on November 21st at Valley of Fire. Being such a scenic area, I think I'll have to participate in one of those runs.
Check out this short video of a runner's experience at the Valley of Fire Marathon. 100 5th graders were there to run the last mile of the marathon. It's exciting and inspiring.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
28 Weeks To Marathon
Sunday, March 15th: 6 miles in 50 minutes. My church teaches that Sunday is a day of rest. I did not heed that council this day. We were camping with family at Valley of Fire State Park. In the evening the temperature was perfect and the red rocks surrounding us were beautiful. I couldn't resist going on a run. I headed down the road and I was in the groove. Then my funniest running experience to date occurred.
I was running on the side of the road and heard a car approaching so I looked up. A split second later I see this punk 20-something year old pop out the window and he proceeded to soak me with a water bottle. That gave me a chuckle for the rest of the run.
I stopped along the way around 8 times to take pictures (incredibly my 50 minutes includes picture taking). Here are a few from my run:
Monday, March 16th: Rest.
Tuesday, March 17th: 3 miles in 32 minutes on the treadmill.
Wednesday, March 18th: Running group at the high school track. I'd guess I did about 4 miles, and was really happy to have Mel join us.
I hit a running milestone that night: I kept up with speed demon Liz Dansie for a lap! (Disregard the fact that she kept going for another lap at least as fast as this one, while I stood off to the side watching my life flash in front of me.) It was a small sign that I'm slowly making progress.
Thursday, March 19th: Rest.
Friday, March 20th: 21 minutes on exercise bike. I decided to ride a little shorter to conserve energy for Saturday's long run. A good Jazz game makes the exercise bike much more enjoyable.
Saturday, March 21st: 7 miles in 64 minutes! I ran with Mel for the first three miles and pushed the girls in the exercise stroller. After Mel took the stroller I felt like 20 pounds had been lifted from my legs and I was able to haul. I'm so thankful my body held up as well as it did this week.
I was running on the side of the road and heard a car approaching so I looked up. A split second later I see this punk 20-something year old pop out the window and he proceeded to soak me with a water bottle. That gave me a chuckle for the rest of the run.
I stopped along the way around 8 times to take pictures (incredibly my 50 minutes includes picture taking). Here are a few from my run:
Monday, March 16th: Rest.
Tuesday, March 17th: 3 miles in 32 minutes on the treadmill.
Wednesday, March 18th: Running group at the high school track. I'd guess I did about 4 miles, and was really happy to have Mel join us.
I hit a running milestone that night: I kept up with speed demon Liz Dansie for a lap! (Disregard the fact that she kept going for another lap at least as fast as this one, while I stood off to the side watching my life flash in front of me.) It was a small sign that I'm slowly making progress.
Thursday, March 19th: Rest.
Friday, March 20th: 21 minutes on exercise bike. I decided to ride a little shorter to conserve energy for Saturday's long run. A good Jazz game makes the exercise bike much more enjoyable.
Saturday, March 21st: 7 miles in 64 minutes! I ran with Mel for the first three miles and pushed the girls in the exercise stroller. After Mel took the stroller I felt like 20 pounds had been lifted from my legs and I was able to haul. I'm so thankful my body held up as well as it did this week.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
29 Weeks To Marathon
Monday, March 9th: 3 miles in 32 minutes on treadmill. I watched Nacho Libre while I was running. FYI, it's hard to laugh and run on a treadmill at the same time.
Tuesday, March 10th: 30 minutes on exercise bike. While riding I watched the Jazz beat the Pacers 112-100. There were a few times I'm sure my blood pressure was raised during that game.
Wednesday, March 11th: 3 miles at high school track with the running group. I was still trying to baby my pulled hamstring so I took an easy day and walked or jogged slowly for most of the time.
Thursday, March 12th: Rest.
Friday, March 13th: 30 minutes on exercise bike. Watched Glenn Beck sob like a school girl through most of his "We Surround Them" television special.
Saturday, March 14th: 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. I was thankful that my muscles held out and didn't cause too much of a problem for this run. I felt good afterward.
Tuesday, March 10th: 30 minutes on exercise bike. While riding I watched the Jazz beat the Pacers 112-100. There were a few times I'm sure my blood pressure was raised during that game.
Wednesday, March 11th: 3 miles at high school track with the running group. I was still trying to baby my pulled hamstring so I took an easy day and walked or jogged slowly for most of the time.
Thursday, March 12th: Rest.
Friday, March 13th: 30 minutes on exercise bike. Watched Glenn Beck sob like a school girl through most of his "We Surround Them" television special.
Saturday, March 14th: 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. I was thankful that my muscles held out and didn't cause too much of a problem for this run. I felt good afterward.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
30 Weeks To Marathon
Monday, March 2nd: 3 miles in 34 minutes. I am a fool. Less than two minutes into my run, something snapped in my right hamstring. I wasn't real excited to feel shooting pain and knew I strained a muscle. Gosh. It hurt. It was just out of the blue. I didn't even have a good excuse for hurting myself.
Then....in an act of utter stupidity....I kept running for the remaining 2.8 miles. The majority of the damage was done with the initial strain, but I'm sure running another 2.8 miles didn't help. I deserve to be slapped.
Tuesday - Thursday: Nothing. I iced my thigh a few times. I wanted to go out and do something active but resisted because I knew it would make matters worse. I deserve to be slapped.
Friday, March 6th: 30 minutes on the exercise bike.
Saturday, March 7th: 2.5 miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill, then 20 minutes on the exercise bike. My leg still hurts but it is slowly starting to ease up. I'm going to take it easy for the next little while to make sure I don't re-aggravate things. I deserve to be slapped.
Then....in an act of utter stupidity....I kept running for the remaining 2.8 miles. The majority of the damage was done with the initial strain, but I'm sure running another 2.8 miles didn't help. I deserve to be slapped.
Tuesday - Thursday: Nothing. I iced my thigh a few times. I wanted to go out and do something active but resisted because I knew it would make matters worse. I deserve to be slapped.
Friday, March 6th: 30 minutes on the exercise bike.
Saturday, March 7th: 2.5 miles in 30 minutes on the treadmill, then 20 minutes on the exercise bike. My leg still hurts but it is slowly starting to ease up. I'm going to take it easy for the next little while to make sure I don't re-aggravate things. I deserve to be slapped.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
31 Weeks to Marathon
Monday, February 23rd: 30 minutes on exercise bike.
Tuesday, February 24th: 3 miles in 29 minutes. I went the opposite direction on my 3 mile loop this time to do a different direction on the hills. I think both ways are hard. In our subdivision, if you start from home, no matter where you run, you finish going up a hill.
Wednesday, February 25th: 6.25 miles at the track. I ran with the neighborhood weekly running group at the high school track. I really appreciate the Dansie's for organizing this. It's fun to get together with everyone. I felt decent after six miles and decided I would do one more lap to beat my distance record.
I did not feel decent Thursday. All the muscles in my legs ached. My knees hurt. My back was tight. It felt like my movement resembled a robot. But not a cool robot. More like a lame, rusted robot that accidentally got left in the back yard for the winter. I realized I had made some errors with Wednesday's run:
Tuesday, February 24th: 3 miles in 29 minutes. I went the opposite direction on my 3 mile loop this time to do a different direction on the hills. I think both ways are hard. In our subdivision, if you start from home, no matter where you run, you finish going up a hill.
Wednesday, February 25th: 6.25 miles at the track. I ran with the neighborhood weekly running group at the high school track. I really appreciate the Dansie's for organizing this. It's fun to get together with everyone. I felt decent after six miles and decided I would do one more lap to beat my distance record.
I did not feel decent Thursday. All the muscles in my legs ached. My knees hurt. My back was tight. It felt like my movement resembled a robot. But not a cool robot. More like a lame, rusted robot that accidentally got left in the back yard for the winter. I realized I had made some errors with Wednesday's run:
- I didn't stretch hardly at all before/during the run.
- I didn't stretch at all after the run.
- I didn't drink hardly at all before/during/after the run and I think I let myself get dehydrated.
- I didn't eat anything after the run or for the rest of the evening.
I paid (wait....am paying) for my mistakes and will try to take better care of myself.
Thursday, February 26th: Rest. Thank goodness.
Friday, February 27th: 30 minutes on exercise bike.
Saturday, February 28th: 4 miles in 42 minutes. Mel wanted to come with me on the Saturday run so we went to the high school again where the kids could play while we ran. We did most of the distance together then I did the last 3 laps a little faster. Mel only recently started running and was proud that she was able to jog the whole time without stopping. I am seriously impressed with the dedication she has put into staying in shape. We've both noticed feeling really good by being more active.