Sunday, January 13, 2013

Week 2: 34 miles

Mon: 6 miles roads from YMCA
Tue: Anything Goes Class
Wed: 6 mi TM ; Spin class PM
Thu: 6 mi roads while doing laundry; 4 hill sprints on Wildwood
Fri: 2 mi TM + 1 mile YMCA track with drills
Sat:  Pisgah with Grif, LOG 8
Sun:  5 mi TM

Not a bad week...increased mileage a little bit while keeping a spin class in the mix. Also did hill sprints and drills - I think they are really helping my strength and stride efficiency.  Feel like I'm getting a little weight off and can feel my fitness slowly making an appearance...very slowly.  Will try to keep the drills/hills in next week while getting a few more miles.  Can get to a couple spin classes this week before school starts- won't have time when classes/lax begin so I need to take advantage of it while I can.  It's a process, and I love it.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Week 1: 29

On new years day I went for my first snowshoe run of the year with Griffin.  We did an out and back on the 4-H trail and made a stop at the beaver pond.  I wore Gregs snowshoes and felt surprisingly good.  It was a nice day and a nice start to the new year.

Thursday did my running drills with some treadmill followed by a spin class in the evening.  Saturday I ran with Ramona up Gunn road...a long, good hill that I can get to from KSC and will use for future workouts. 

Today I went back out in my new snowshoes with Griffin.  We did an out and back on South Woods for 6 miles.  Narrowly missed some snowmobilers as we went from Horseshoe Road onto south woods - Grffin hates snowmobiles and has a tendency to chase them in full greyhound mode.  Didn't pass any on the way out either. Whew!

Work starts up tomorrow...will try to ease into it while also increasing mileage.  It's a process, a new year, and I love it!

2012 roundup and the new year....

Couldn't bust out another 20 miles for an even 1600 miles for the year, but still my highest miles in the last three years of keeping track (1580). 

Made it to 1000 miles 7 weeks faster than 2010 (don't know when in 2011);

21 races (3 fewer than in 2010), only one PR (Pisgah 23K), but two new distances- the marathon and 25K. 

The marathon has to be the highlight of my year.  I went out like gang busters at the beginning of last year and it paid off.  That's not happening this year.  I do want to do another marathon, but will wait til the fall when hopefully I will have a better handle on work. 

For the new year I am a little up in the air as far as specific goals.  Work is going to be brutal this spring with teaching 3 classes that are new to me and covering lacrosse which starts january 28th.  I know I could PR in the half marathon someday and would like to get my 5K under 22 minutes.  But I feel like I'll have to attack each goal seprately and do some really specific training.  Not sure I am up for it. 

So as the year starts I am just taking day to day.  I am super psyched about snow shoe running and even got some new Atlas Run snow shoes- love them- they are pictured above and I plan to sleep in them much to Gregs dismay.  Mainly I want to get a few more pounds off and see what my schedule brings me.  I have DH Jones, New Bedford, and Caumsett 25K on my running schedule so I better start running more miles!  Maybe work on the 5K after New Bedford. Eh who knows.  I guess I'll just try to stay healthy and happy while things work themselves out.  This is supposed to be fun afterall.  It's a process, with little focus, but I love it!

Weeks 46-52

Week 46: 22 miles and Lil Rhody (1:10)
One spin class, an anything goes class, minimal road running, and a couple runs in Pisgah with Griffin.  End of the week we were in Rhode Island to kick off the holidays with our "Rhode Island Thanksgiving" with Gregs family.  Of course, this includes the Lil Rhody Runaround.  It was a nice day.  I didn't run as well as I wanted- or could expect really, but I didn't wipe out like a couple other people did and I did better than last year.  Still not a PR though.  Maybe next year.  Greg won again and we all ended up at Jonny's for dinner afterward before the drive back to NH.

Week 47: 18 miles and Pie and Glove 5K (23:05)
Hit the row machine again nad elliptical, anything goes class, Pisgah with Grif and a spin class.  Also went to NY where we ran the Pie and Glove 5K in Corning again for Thanksgiving.  Not quite the family affair like in Rhode Island...maybe next year we'll get more family out there, but as it was it was just me and Greg.  Greg had a great race and I felt okay about mine too.  Not a PR- although the perfect place and weather to do so.  But considering my lack of training I think it was good- even out kicked someone at the end...gotta try to do that more often, didn't know I had it in me.  Was one place shy of a pie - thankfully.  I had been maintaining my weight all fall, so I thought, and got on the scale and almost lost my mind.  Ooops!  Not a fun feeling right beofre the holidays, but I will have time for doubles once school is out.  Anyway, we did get the family out for a hike in the Finger Lakes National Forest - that was fun.  They host a 50K every summer that we may have to consider- usually close to July 4th though.  We'll explore more of that area in the future I hope. 

Week 48: 32 miles and Pearl Harbor Masters 5+ Road Race
More row and elliptical, hills on TM, 4 hill sprints, Pisgah with Grif (and Greg), and another trip to RI.  On friday afternoons I like to get home early so that I can go running "with" Greg in Pisgah.  Griffin thinks this is especially fun.  She has taken to starting out with Greg and then feels like she has to come back and check on me.  It just warms my heart when I see her on a hill looking down at me.  It's especially cute when I come around a corner of a turn onto a trail and she's there making sure I have gone the right way!  Once I acknowledge her she takes off for Greggie again (not usually catching him before needing to check on me again)  Greg and I will run 8 miles while she probably gets 12!  Fast!  It's wonderful, but it is getting tough on her- although she wouldn't admit that.  I wish I had an owl's view of her running on the trails through the forest by herself in between me a Greg.  I can't imagine what someone would think if they ran into her- but if someone was out there she'd come and be at my side immediately- always the protector.  Anyway, we trraveled to RI for the URI blue/white meet for Greg to run in.  It was fun to watch and then we hung out with Matty P and Jill for dinner.  The next day I got to do a Master's only race with Pard.  Greg ran along side me while Pard proceeded to kick my ass.  I did outkick someone again to win my age group.  Didn't run tough - Just not that into these days.  Decent mileage comapratively though. 

Week 49: 15 miles and Jingle Bell 5K Run in Concord (23:41)
Cardio machines, couple spin classes, anything goes and one run in Pisgah.  Can't rememebr what was going on this week that kept me from running much.  It was the last week of classes and therefore hectic.  The "anything goes" classes I've been taking on Tuesday mornings is a class at the YMCA in which Bre (instructor) has us do whatever she wants.  Most of the time it is strength- weight I wouldn't normally do myself.  She's a hater when it comes to running, but as long as I say the weight lifting helps my running she tolerates my talk of mileage- although I try to avoid it.  I do think it helps alot, but my other day of strength is more runner specific and will include drills.  This week she had us (it's me an one other person) doing sprints in the gym- again not something I'd do on my own, but probably should.  Anyway, it's a good class and I hope it continues in the new year and maybe will have a couple more people. 

This week we also went to the Jingle Bell Run in Concord.  This is my 5K PR (22:43) course and I won my age group last year.  Unfortunately now that I am in another age group it was unlikely that I'd repeat.  For some reason this race is packed with 40 something females that are way faster than me. So I wasn't too concerned about place but like this course.  It was a really cold, wet day, so I wanted to see if I could at least get close to the Pie and Glove time I had run a couple weeks before on a flat course in perfect weather.  Well, not to be.  I didn't have any kick this week even though the couple females ahead were close enough for the taking. I was about 36 seconds slower than in Corning.  I was tenth overall female....in the top 10, 6 were 40 or older (a 50 yo beat me), including the overall female winner.  The rest were in the early twenties and teenagers.  The first 30 something was a couple minutes behind me.  Funny.  I ended up taking third in my age group since they didn't double awards for the overall 3 and got a cool water bottle.  haha  Greg won again, but not near his time in Corning either.  Overall, for some reason we like this race and will probably do it again. 

Week 50: 29 miles
Ahh classes ended this week.  Last week couldn't have gone any slower.  Now to get some weight off.  Doubled 3 times this week- meaning I ran in the morning and did a spin class in the evening.  Six hill sprints.  Got into Pisgah 3 times including Sunday in which we ran in our first flurries of the season.  Sundays I usually reserve for a strength/cycling class.  Bre- yes, the same girl from Anything Goes class, does a combination class of strength for 45 minutes and then a spin class right afterward.  It's awesome.  The weights are usually bodyweight, stability ball, or light weight in nature because of the number of people.  It's a good workout though- and the spin class afterward usually wards of any soreness that might otherwise occur.  It puts me in a predicament about where to put my long run in my week, but I'll deal with that later....gotta deal with these pounds first!  However, this sunday I couldn't say no to Griffin's little face and the chance to run in flurries in the woods.  It was beautiful. Bring on winter.

Week 51: 32 miles
More doubling with spin classes and sometimes treadmill.  Anything Goes class included sprints on the track.  Started a new "drills" workout at the YMCA.  The Y has an indoor track in which 12 laps is a mile.  So I warm up for 3 laps then do a different drill at the shorter ends of the track on the next 6 laps and then do 3 laps.  I have two miles worth of drills: walking lunges, high knees, bounding, lateral band walks, etc.  I hope to do that weekly.  On Sunday we began the holiday travels to NY but first we run.  So Greg was going to run in Pisgah and I decided to run through Pisgah and then around via Horseshoe road and back to our house on roads.  Well, Greg told me later that Griffin didn't like this at first and as I went the upper road to the Horseshoe parking lot and Greg went the lower road into the park she decided to sprint ahead to where she could take another trail that intersects with the one I was on.  Don't tell me she doesn't know the trails!  So cute.   Anyway, Greg stopped her and then went on their way into the park while I made my way around on the roads.  It was a nice run before a long drive to NY.

Week 52: 18 miles and 1580 miles for the year. 
Only ran once on the orads in Corning NY with Griffin then made it back for a spin class.  Thursday we got our first snow storm so I did a couple DVDs at home (Tae Bo anyone?) .  Got out with Ramona on Saturday for a run on my old marathon training route to Surry Dam.  Low key week.

That's the year.  It's a process, and I love it!!