On both Saturday and Sunday, I went for an easy 10 miles. I thought about going 15, but I sort of ran out of time because I had to work both days from 3 to 11:30. Also, I didn't really want to go 15. Especially on Saturday, when the wind was getting me in the face and making my head really cold because my stocking cap is not that warm, although it is puffy. It is deceiving. One would think that the hat would be warm, but it was not. My ears were cold too. The pants worked good, though. They are good pants to have. Good pants to run in.
Regardless of how cold it was (windchill of 24), it was an okay run. It was a fast-ish run for me. Yes, I used to blaze by in 5:20 when running 5ks, but now my pace is 8:00 or a little slower. But, on this cold day, with a cold head, I averaged about 7:42. I was glad that it was a little quicker, the run was, glad that it was quicker and that I did not feel overly exerted. It is a good feeling, it really is.
On Sunday, I was glad that it was 30, with hardly any wind. But then the wind changed directions on me, so that every way I went, the wind was getting me in the face. I don't know how this is possible, especially since I don't think it is even possible for the wind to blow from the north for 50 minutes, then blow from the south for 16, then blow from the north again, then blow from the west. It was always getting in my face. But at least the head wasn't cold, not cold like Saturday, when my head was so cold that it felt like I had a headache.
The pace was good, relaxed. My left hip flexor, I think, it is sort of hurting today. I bet it is from the flutter kicks and leg levers on Thursday. I guess I tried to do too many. It is stupid, my hip flexor hurting from PT. I will have to be careful this week, because running is more important than PT, and if I get injured it should be from running, not PT. Not that I am planning to get injured. I have been luck thus far. I don't think I will be injured, anyway, not with the slow pace and low mileage. I think it is a plan that will bring me luck. It will bring me the luck of the Irish.
Another thing about the pace was that it made me feel like a horse. I felt like a horse pulling something heavy, or maybe a dog pulling a sled across the tundra, maybe one of the dogs who pulled all that medicine and stuff up to Nome, Alaska, when they had that disease outbreak. That is what I felt like. It was a good clip, a nice pace, a nice trot, like a horse. Or like a dog pulling a sled. That is what the pace felt like. It was funny, though, because when I tried to speed up, the legs didn't want to. They felt sluggish when I tried to run fast. But also, equally strange, when I tried to run slower, the legs did not want to run slower. They protested and tried to churn churn churn like they were making butter. This phenomenon is why my pace was even, like a good trot, like that of a horse pulling a heavy cart, or a dog pulling a sled. I am a sled dog. I am a heavy cart horse.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Thursday, Week 4.....Flurries!
Cold day to run. 36 degrees, wind chill 24, flurries, light drizzle. First "snow" that I have seen this year. Fortunately the running pants came yesterday. Fools messed up and sent me navy instead of black.
Ran a total of six miles in the country, on trail, and around the park. Face was cold a bit; glad that I am growing the beard out again for winter. I will look like a grizzly in no time, I hope.
Right before the last mile, my left calf got sort of tight and I didn't like it. I stopped to stretch a bit. Will do a PT workout later. Right now I would, but I have the hunger so I will eat now and do the workout in the afternoon.
•••••
Was going to do the same superset as I did on Tuesday, but decided to do a 1-10 pyramid with 1x pullups, 2x pushups, 3x abs...threw in 25 bodybuilder pushups, 40 neck, 70 flutter kicks, 70 leg levers, 30-25-20-15-10-5 dips, 2x90 arm haulers.
It was cold cold outside. 34 degrees, with a windchill of 24. I did the pyramid in shorts, though. And when I did the bodybuilders, I ripped off the shirt to see what it felt like. What it felt like was cold. My handsies got cold from the stone tiles of the patio.
Was going to shoot for 100 flutter kicks, but just couldn't do it. Yes, I basically quit, but I was feeling it in the abs like someone was branding me, and I didn't want to overwork the hip flexors either. Got the two 15 milers this weekend. It would be good to play it safe.
The dips were AWESOME! I love the burn! On each one, I struggled with the last 3 to 5, so each set was pretty much as hard as the last, even though the reps were less. And the arm haulers made the back feel awesome too...now I can feel it...the muscles want to lay down and have a good night's sleep.
Totals:
330 + 70 + 70 = 470 abs
220 + 25 = 245 push
110 pull
105 dips
180 arm haulers*
40 neck
A nice, good day of PT!
•••••
I found out this afternoon that Anton sprained his ankle. That is too bad! Poor little Anton, has to hobble around for a couple days (or maybe he won't; maybe he will just tough it out...I wouldn't be surprised!).
Well, set-backs are inevitable...all we can do is start over again...but it is during that next time when we want to achieve our goals even more! So even a "bad" thing may actually have some "good," because it can "breed" motivation in the culture dish we call our lives.
•••••
I hope someone else writes in their blogs soon :(
Ran a total of six miles in the country, on trail, and around the park. Face was cold a bit; glad that I am growing the beard out again for winter. I will look like a grizzly in no time, I hope.
Right before the last mile, my left calf got sort of tight and I didn't like it. I stopped to stretch a bit. Will do a PT workout later. Right now I would, but I have the hunger so I will eat now and do the workout in the afternoon.
•••••
Was going to do the same superset as I did on Tuesday, but decided to do a 1-10 pyramid with 1x pullups, 2x pushups, 3x abs...threw in 25 bodybuilder pushups, 40 neck, 70 flutter kicks, 70 leg levers, 30-25-20-15-10-5 dips, 2x90 arm haulers.
It was cold cold outside. 34 degrees, with a windchill of 24. I did the pyramid in shorts, though. And when I did the bodybuilders, I ripped off the shirt to see what it felt like. What it felt like was cold. My handsies got cold from the stone tiles of the patio.
Was going to shoot for 100 flutter kicks, but just couldn't do it. Yes, I basically quit, but I was feeling it in the abs like someone was branding me, and I didn't want to overwork the hip flexors either. Got the two 15 milers this weekend. It would be good to play it safe.
The dips were AWESOME! I love the burn! On each one, I struggled with the last 3 to 5, so each set was pretty much as hard as the last, even though the reps were less. And the arm haulers made the back feel awesome too...now I can feel it...the muscles want to lay down and have a good night's sleep.
Totals:
330 + 70 + 70 = 470 abs
220 + 25 = 245 push
110 pull
105 dips
180 arm haulers*
40 neck
A nice, good day of PT!
•••••
I found out this afternoon that Anton sprained his ankle. That is too bad! Poor little Anton, has to hobble around for a couple days (or maybe he won't; maybe he will just tough it out...I wouldn't be surprised!).
Well, set-backs are inevitable...all we can do is start over again...but it is during that next time when we want to achieve our goals even more! So even a "bad" thing may actually have some "good," because it can "breed" motivation in the culture dish we call our lives.
•••••
I hope someone else writes in their blogs soon :(
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Wednesday, Week 4.....Yoga, Wind, and Fire.
Got up and felt tired, but Nacho was there all peaceful looking so my spirits were uplifted. Got out of bed and rummaged around for a while. Drank a glass of water. Took a dump. Then did some yoga. I felt refreshed.
Then I decided that it would be fun to go run. The weather was nice, sunny, and the wind was blowing, it's way of singing lullabies to us. It was beckoning for me to go outside. But when I got downstair my bed invited me to get back in. After declining this offer, the bed became more vicious. The blankets attacked me, it's cottony tentacles wrapping themselves around my neck, trying to drag me across the room.
I stabbed at the blankets with blade hands. You know the hands I make, the ones I make when I am trying to be a ninja. "Cha-ching, ching!" I say. "Cha-ching!"
•••••
The run was an easy 6 miles. I took a walking break half way through. Coming back was straight into the wind, making the effort more than I wanted it to be.
There was a combine harvesting corn. A dog, I saw, almost ran into the turbine-scissor things, but then I realized that the dog belonged to the person operating the combine. The dog knew not to run into the turbine-scissor things. It was smart dog. It had studied mathematics, the humanities, and a survival-in-the-wilderness manual.
I saw a truck. It was a truck of the electrical company. I think they were going to fix something. If I had to guess, I would say that they were going to fix a transformer or a downed power line. The electrical company fixes things like that.
•••••
Once back home, I drank a glass of water then headed outside to stretch. I actually decided to do yoga again. I would attribute my current state of relaxation to having done two sessions of yoga this morning.
Then, I ate a bowl of oatmeal. I added chocolate chips, milk, and applesauce.
Then, I realized that I am the only one who blogs anymore, and I started crying.
•••••
You wonder why I entitle this post "Yoga, Wind, and Fire?"
Well, the answer is simple: I did yoga, it was windy (15 mph from the south, specifically), and I listened to Stravinsky's "The Firebird" during the run. The piece is 50 minutes, so that's all I listened to. Hooray!
Then I decided that it would be fun to go run. The weather was nice, sunny, and the wind was blowing, it's way of singing lullabies to us. It was beckoning for me to go outside. But when I got downstair my bed invited me to get back in. After declining this offer, the bed became more vicious. The blankets attacked me, it's cottony tentacles wrapping themselves around my neck, trying to drag me across the room.
I stabbed at the blankets with blade hands. You know the hands I make, the ones I make when I am trying to be a ninja. "Cha-ching, ching!" I say. "Cha-ching!"
•••••
The run was an easy 6 miles. I took a walking break half way through. Coming back was straight into the wind, making the effort more than I wanted it to be.
There was a combine harvesting corn. A dog, I saw, almost ran into the turbine-scissor things, but then I realized that the dog belonged to the person operating the combine. The dog knew not to run into the turbine-scissor things. It was smart dog. It had studied mathematics, the humanities, and a survival-in-the-wilderness manual.
I saw a truck. It was a truck of the electrical company. I think they were going to fix something. If I had to guess, I would say that they were going to fix a transformer or a downed power line. The electrical company fixes things like that.
•••••
Once back home, I drank a glass of water then headed outside to stretch. I actually decided to do yoga again. I would attribute my current state of relaxation to having done two sessions of yoga this morning.
Then, I ate a bowl of oatmeal. I added chocolate chips, milk, and applesauce.
Then, I realized that I am the only one who blogs anymore, and I started crying.
•••••
You wonder why I entitle this post "Yoga, Wind, and Fire?"
Well, the answer is simple: I did yoga, it was windy (15 mph from the south, specifically), and I listened to Stravinsky's "The Firebird" during the run. The piece is 50 minutes, so that's all I listened to. Hooray!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tuesday, Week 4: Churn, New Superset, Nausea
Woke up a little after 7:00 am, planning to make this Tuesday muy productivo. Decided that I was not hungry for breakfast, so I drank a cup of coffee instead before heading out the door for an easy 6 miles at 8:10 am...since the time changed the sun was already up in the sky. Listened to the Rite of Spring again. I think if I were to compose a piece of music, it would be sort of like Stravinsky's. Churned out the miles like they were cream in a butter churn. Enjoyed the wind on my shirtless body.
Did a different kind of superset when I got back. 10 sets of 8 pull, 20 abs, 20 push, 10 dips. Did 5 different kinds of pull and abs, 3 kinds of push. Only 1 kind of dips: I guess there is only way to do them. After set 6, my arms started feeling really weak on the pullups and dips, but I did not let the fatigue defeat me. I pushed through, hanging from the branch like an ape and keeping my form.
After the workout, I felt like I was going to throw up, so I layed on the ground for about 15 seconds. That made the nausea even greater, so I forced myself to get up and walk around the yard and around the house. My mom called me over and showed me 4 cardinal nests in a bush. That distracted me and probably made me feel a little bit better! Gracias, madre!
I think maybe my workout was hard because of the poor food choices last night. Candy fucks you up, man. It makes you feel weak. Plus, I didn't eat breakfast, which was also probably a bad choice, but I simply wasn't hungry.
At least, I didn't quit. Ha, pain! Can't fuck me over!
Morning Totals:
6 miles
80 pullups
200 abs
200 pushups
80 dips (would have been 100, but I know that some of the dips didn't count...)
•••••
BONUS COMMENT!
I just bought a pair of North Face Arnuva 50s for $42 including shipping and handling. They regularly are $105. Fuck. Running is good stuff. Frugal Backpacker is the place I bought them from. Check it out for some slap-you-silly sales.
•••••
Later in the day I threw in 2x35 neck, 2x85 arm haulers, and an ab workout. It was one I had never done: 2 sets of 10 hanging knee ups, 30 regular situps, 30 oblique both side, 30 atomic, 30 crunches, and 30 reverse crunches. Each set was 190 abs for a total of 380.
•••••
Totals for today:
6 miles
580 abs
200 push
80 pull
80 dips
170 arm haulers
70 neck
Did a different kind of superset when I got back. 10 sets of 8 pull, 20 abs, 20 push, 10 dips. Did 5 different kinds of pull and abs, 3 kinds of push. Only 1 kind of dips: I guess there is only way to do them. After set 6, my arms started feeling really weak on the pullups and dips, but I did not let the fatigue defeat me. I pushed through, hanging from the branch like an ape and keeping my form.
After the workout, I felt like I was going to throw up, so I layed on the ground for about 15 seconds. That made the nausea even greater, so I forced myself to get up and walk around the yard and around the house. My mom called me over and showed me 4 cardinal nests in a bush. That distracted me and probably made me feel a little bit better! Gracias, madre!
I think maybe my workout was hard because of the poor food choices last night. Candy fucks you up, man. It makes you feel weak. Plus, I didn't eat breakfast, which was also probably a bad choice, but I simply wasn't hungry.
At least, I didn't quit. Ha, pain! Can't fuck me over!
Morning Totals:
6 miles
80 pullups
200 abs
200 pushups
80 dips (would have been 100, but I know that some of the dips didn't count...)
•••••
BONUS COMMENT!
I just bought a pair of North Face Arnuva 50s for $42 including shipping and handling. They regularly are $105. Fuck. Running is good stuff. Frugal Backpacker is the place I bought them from. Check it out for some slap-you-silly sales.
•••••
Later in the day I threw in 2x35 neck, 2x85 arm haulers, and an ab workout. It was one I had never done: 2 sets of 10 hanging knee ups, 30 regular situps, 30 oblique both side, 30 atomic, 30 crunches, and 30 reverse crunches. Each set was 190 abs for a total of 380.
•••••
Totals for today:
6 miles
580 abs
200 push
80 pull
80 dips
170 arm haulers
70 neck
Monday, November 3, 2008
Monday, Week 4.....Candy!
Week 4 began with no running, and no PT. It was a planned day off from running, and I just didn't feel like doing PT.
Instead of doing physical activity, I had to go to work. It was sort of boring the first half. The second half was better, and at break I stumbled upon some candy in a bowl. I'm talking about the little Hershey's bars, the mini Kit-Kats, and the single Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Damn, that is some good stuff, and I sort of got out of control. I ate 2 of each in about 15 minutes. Then later on I passed the bowl again and almost stopped myself, but decided that it was predestined that I was to eat 2 more.
Planning an early morning PT, and a run around 9 am. Yes. Fun. Yes. Candy is good. Great Danes are good.
•••••
Ben asked if needed new shoes, if the calf was tight, or if the plantar fascia acting up...
No, no, and no. The shoes have just under 200 miles on then, the calf is okay, and the plantar fascia is good. I think the foot was just a little sore from 40 miles of pounding over 2 days...I think it hurts less now...and I am confident that it will feel better tomorrow.
Thanks for asking, though! It's good to know that someone cares about my foot woes.
Hope your running week is full of goodness!!!!!
Cat.
Instead of doing physical activity, I had to go to work. It was sort of boring the first half. The second half was better, and at break I stumbled upon some candy in a bowl. I'm talking about the little Hershey's bars, the mini Kit-Kats, and the single Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Damn, that is some good stuff, and I sort of got out of control. I ate 2 of each in about 15 minutes. Then later on I passed the bowl again and almost stopped myself, but decided that it was predestined that I was to eat 2 more.
Planning an early morning PT, and a run around 9 am. Yes. Fun. Yes. Candy is good. Great Danes are good.
•••••
Ben asked if needed new shoes, if the calf was tight, or if the plantar fascia acting up...
No, no, and no. The shoes have just under 200 miles on then, the calf is okay, and the plantar fascia is good. I think the foot was just a little sore from 40 miles of pounding over 2 days...I think it hurts less now...and I am confident that it will feel better tomorrow.
Thanks for asking, though! It's good to know that someone cares about my foot woes.
Hope your running week is full of goodness!!!!!
Cat.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday, Week 3.....The "Not" Death March.
I put off running in the afternoon in order to practice clarinet for 2 hours. Right now, clarinet is more important than running (although both are activities that I "have" to get done everyday). It was a good decision to do so, because then I still could run in the evening. I can't practice after 9 pm or so because my parents get ready for bed and all that (yes, I am temporarily living with my parents...good times...just like the founder of Clif bar...what's his name?).
When it was time to go running, I really wasn't in the mood. "Damn," I thought. "I should have gone earlier..."
But, it turned out to be a pretty nice run. I expected it to be a death march of 15 miles, due to the fact that I had to run alone, around Aurora, which is basically a square mile block. I run the outskirts so I can stay on gravel and grass.
Around mile 12 the lower inner quad started hurting a bit. The feet started to hurt a bit too, which is strange, because at no point during yesterday's 25 miler was there any foot discomfort.
The total time, including a stop for water and half of a granola bar, an urination while walking sideways, and getting crap like gravel and leaves out of my shoes, was about 2:08. I was satisfied with this time. It is probably just around 8:30...a decent pace. I felt very relaxed and could see a lot of stars...I saw this cluster that I used to know what it was called, and got a glimpse of Orion's Belt low in the eastern sky.
The iPod is what got me through, I believe. I listened to these pieces:
Holst: "The Planets"
Stravinsky: "Petrouchka"
Stravinsky: "Le Chant du Rossignol"
Stravinsky: "Quatre Etudes"
Beethoven: "Piano Sonata 31"
What do you listen to while you run?
•••••
This past week was a good week for training. I got in some good long runs, an awesome PFT, and some recovery.
55 total miles
1318 abs
1028 push
222 pull
105 dips
440 haulers
140 neck
As for the vegetarian thing, I think it would be a good idea to eat mostly plant things. Meat is good twice a week or so, but only chicken, fish, and the occasional lamb. Beef...I'm not too sure that that is for dinner, after learning how the kill them at the packaging plants: spikes are driven through their skulls. Now, if it were a snake beaten senseless against a rock, Bear Grylls style, then I'm all for it. Let's go catch us an anaconda!
Hope you had excellent weeks as well! Run run run run run.
When it was time to go running, I really wasn't in the mood. "Damn," I thought. "I should have gone earlier..."
But, it turned out to be a pretty nice run. I expected it to be a death march of 15 miles, due to the fact that I had to run alone, around Aurora, which is basically a square mile block. I run the outskirts so I can stay on gravel and grass.
Around mile 12 the lower inner quad started hurting a bit. The feet started to hurt a bit too, which is strange, because at no point during yesterday's 25 miler was there any foot discomfort.
The total time, including a stop for water and half of a granola bar, an urination while walking sideways, and getting crap like gravel and leaves out of my shoes, was about 2:08. I was satisfied with this time. It is probably just around 8:30...a decent pace. I felt very relaxed and could see a lot of stars...I saw this cluster that I used to know what it was called, and got a glimpse of Orion's Belt low in the eastern sky.
The iPod is what got me through, I believe. I listened to these pieces:
Holst: "The Planets"
Stravinsky: "Petrouchka"
Stravinsky: "Le Chant du Rossignol"
Stravinsky: "Quatre Etudes"
Beethoven: "Piano Sonata 31"
What do you listen to while you run?
•••••
This past week was a good week for training. I got in some good long runs, an awesome PFT, and some recovery.
55 total miles
1318 abs
1028 push
222 pull
105 dips
440 haulers
140 neck
As for the vegetarian thing, I think it would be a good idea to eat mostly plant things. Meat is good twice a week or so, but only chicken, fish, and the occasional lamb. Beef...I'm not too sure that that is for dinner, after learning how the kill them at the packaging plants: spikes are driven through their skulls. Now, if it were a snake beaten senseless against a rock, Bear Grylls style, then I'm all for it. Let's go catch us an anaconda!
Hope you had excellent weeks as well! Run run run run run.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Saturday, Week 3.....The Long Run
Today was an incredible long run. It was a long run of 25 miles. I wore my watch for the first half of the run, just to see what kind of pace I was doing. The pace was a little slower than planned, but oh well. It took a little under 4 hours, probably like 3:52. When I started at 8 am it was 35 and I was in shorts, so maybe that caused the legs to move slowly for the first half hour or so...on the second half of the run, it had warmed up to the high 40s, so I ripped off the shirt and enjoyed the sun.
I took a couple walking breaks, which helped a lot, I think, with keeping the run non-taxing. I did not want to be sore tomorrow. My hip flexors got a bit sore after mile 18, but maybe that is because of the 660 abs yesterday. Regardless, the soreness was good, because it made me make an effort to not focus on the pain and just enjoy the run...
Which I did. It was an AWESOME run: nice weather, sunny, very little wind. I stayed at Lisa's in Kearney, so the new terrain was good to assuage the boredom. Her dad lives right on the outskirts of town, so if you run north for a mile you hit gravel roads.
It was very quiet, as there was no wind to carry sounds of cars and stuff like that. I passed this cow lot called "Moo Cow Lot," which I thought was a good name for a place where they lot the cows. For the entire duration of the first half, I listened to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (a strange piece to listen to first thing in the morning). Before starting the second half, my iPod decided to not have enough battery, so I left it and just listened to the sounds of nature. Carried a water bottle and half of a power bar the second time out.
I sang some songs to keep me occupied, but only 30 seconds or so at a time so I wouldn't keel over from lack of oxygen. Saw a jackrabbit, too, I think. It must have been, because it's ears where incredibly large and it sprinted like a mofo when it saw me coming. Also saw some type of hawk. I made "caw" sounds at it. There were a bunch of cows, too. I made "moo" sounds at them.
Took a nice cold soak afterwards. It probably lasted 15 minutes, or maybe a bit more. I am not sure. I sort of fell asleep during it.
Now, it is evening, and my legs feel pretty good. Ate a lot of cereal and some chips and a gyro. It was the first meat I have had since last Sunday...and it was nothing spectacular. Maybe the meat just wasn't as good as they used to make it, or maybe I am losing my desire to eat meat.
Hope that your runs and other activities went great today!
I took a couple walking breaks, which helped a lot, I think, with keeping the run non-taxing. I did not want to be sore tomorrow. My hip flexors got a bit sore after mile 18, but maybe that is because of the 660 abs yesterday. Regardless, the soreness was good, because it made me make an effort to not focus on the pain and just enjoy the run...
Which I did. It was an AWESOME run: nice weather, sunny, very little wind. I stayed at Lisa's in Kearney, so the new terrain was good to assuage the boredom. Her dad lives right on the outskirts of town, so if you run north for a mile you hit gravel roads.
It was very quiet, as there was no wind to carry sounds of cars and stuff like that. I passed this cow lot called "Moo Cow Lot," which I thought was a good name for a place where they lot the cows. For the entire duration of the first half, I listened to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (a strange piece to listen to first thing in the morning). Before starting the second half, my iPod decided to not have enough battery, so I left it and just listened to the sounds of nature. Carried a water bottle and half of a power bar the second time out.
I sang some songs to keep me occupied, but only 30 seconds or so at a time so I wouldn't keel over from lack of oxygen. Saw a jackrabbit, too, I think. It must have been, because it's ears where incredibly large and it sprinted like a mofo when it saw me coming. Also saw some type of hawk. I made "caw" sounds at it. There were a bunch of cows, too. I made "moo" sounds at them.
Took a nice cold soak afterwards. It probably lasted 15 minutes, or maybe a bit more. I am not sure. I sort of fell asleep during it.
Now, it is evening, and my legs feel pretty good. Ate a lot of cereal and some chips and a gyro. It was the first meat I have had since last Sunday...and it was nothing spectacular. Maybe the meat just wasn't as good as they used to make it, or maybe I am losing my desire to eat meat.
Hope that your runs and other activities went great today!
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