Monday, February 28, 2011

93.2 Miles for February!!!!

As February draws to a close, I tally my miles for the month....and logged a total of 93.2 miles!!!!  Wow!  This is the most yet....could I really BE a runner now?  I think I might!  Pace was a little slower overall @ 11:11/mile average, but I'm ok with that because I was focusing on making what used to be my long run into my medium run.  I even had to change some of my titles for my saved routes on my log site, lol! So...Goals for March....Hmmmmm....keep running, try to get a 2 or 3 + 10 milers in, stay healthy.

Go Turtles!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

I love it when it all comes together!!!!

A truly awesome feeling run is a rare thing for me.  Sure, I have plenty of good runs (& plenty where I think death would be sweet release :s) but to feel the groove where my feet are clipping along at a faster pace than I planned & feel like I can sustain it over the course of my run is truly a gift for me.  I woke up this morning early, said goodbye to my in-laws who are headed back on the road in their quest for the Florida sun, drove my dear husband to the airport (where he gets to go to the Florida sun for a conference...sigh), launched the teenagers outside to shovel the driveway & threw on my gear.  Mother nature, in her typically manic depressive way lately, dumped another foot of snow on us friday & 4" overnight....THEN hiked the temp to the high 30's this morning.  That's close enough to Florida sun as I'm getting, so threw on the running gear (no toque, yay!) and headed out.  Got to the 3k mark at my usual 11 min/mile pace and started to feel my groove & picked it up a bit.  Thought I'd see if I could do a couple kilometers of speed intervals.  Well, I hit the 6k mark striking around a 9:50 -10 min/mile pace & feeling warm, not bogged down by extra layers....decided to go for it.  Finished the 10K in 1:04:48!!!!!  Felt GREAT!  One of these days I'm going to break the 1 hour mark, but I'm shedding time bit by bit and I'm excited!!!! 

Also, I'm happy to report that I've logged 88 miles this month....my most yet!  Maybe, just maybe, 1000 miles is within my grasp for this year?  I don't know, but todays 6.2 were groovy :-D

Come on spring......

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

From balmy to snowstorm & back again...

What a week it has been!  Last friday, it was pushing 60 degrees and I was out in shorts & loved it SOOOOO much! Mother nature must have heard me because she said 'hold it, sister...don't get used to it' when she dumped a foot of snow overnight sunday.  Sigh.  Don't mind running outside, but until the plows have their way, its either off to the gym or nothing.  Decided to mix it up a bit and got on the bike instead on monday.  The gym has these Expresso bikes...anyone ever tried them?  They are killer & I did 9.5 miles of hard hills and I thought my butt was going to seize up! lol!  Good workout though....and good for the gluts, which an article I read stated that runners have underdeveloped gluts & this is the source of many injuries....Well, I don't know about that, I've seen my booty & it doesn't look underdeveloped to me...but ok....whatever gets me to the finish line in October.

Got back outside yesterday. Sure didn't break any land speed records (Turtles of the world - Unite!!! :D), but I got some ok mileage in before heading back to work tomorrow. I decided that I'd take it easy and just do what I could without regard for time this week since I'm still a little sniffly from last weeks plague.  VERY excited to tell you that today I broke the 70 mile mark for the month!!!!! Now, I'm thinking that if I can get away from all the company coming this weekend, I might be able to break 80 for the month! Think I can do it?  I'm so close I can taste it! 

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I'm back in the saddle again....

or "I'm just stubborn enough to run anyway".  Either way, I have slogged through 2 decent runs.  Yesterday I was just so mad (scared? I've been derailed by smaller things in the past) about being down and out on days that should have been run days.  Hell, I only have 3 days a week that I can run that it really torques me to miss one...even if I am really sick and running really isn't an option.  Anyway, yesterday I learned that 5 miles & cold weather really clears the sinuses.  Yeah, I know that's gross, but when your best friend becomes Vick's scented tissues because it's the only thing you can smell, even a temporary reprieve to the smelling world is something I was gratetful for! I wasn't out to break any speed records...just to get out there and survive.  I did. 

So today, I discovered, after sitting around the house all morning waiting for the cable guy to fix my internet, that it had turned into a gorgeous warm day! 35F....holy crap! That's practically balmy...I threw off my sweatshirt and left the house with only a long sleeve shirt & my running jacket.  What a thrill to run without the bulk of what I call my 'staypuff marshmallow' outfit...quite a relief for the folks I pass too, I'm sure ;-D  So out I go.  I had asked my teenager, who runs everyday after school at track practise about the bike path they run on so set my Nike + for 10km and out I went.  It turned out to be icy in patches, but the weather was so nice I found myself deaking down other streets here and there just because I was enjoying the sun so much.  I got to 10km and was still about 3km out so obviously I HAD to do those extra 3. Trouble was, once I did the 3, I thought 'wow, I'm close to 10 miles...it's only 3 more'. So, yeah, I did 16km or 10 miles.....OR SO I THOUGHT.

Now here's my beef with the Nike + system....which I normally love & has been my new favorite gadget since Christmas. I love the voice prompts & encouragement along the way...my own personal cheering squad.  I especially love the days Lance Armstrong congratulates me on a good run ;-D. (Why is a cyclist doing this????)  Anyway, I digress.  Like anything, I am certainly aware of the limitations of this gadget and that it is not exact....but boy it just bugged me that I thought I was going to see 10 miles when I uploaded it....nope....9.97miles.  Crap, I did the math wrong!  Then I thought I'd map it on my log site and it was even worse! Geez...can't a girl get a break?!? 9.9 miles.....well, now I know. I'm going to try to stay positive and say that it was the longest run of the year, so far, and I didn't feel like I was going to hack up a lung. 

Now that I can feel the hint of spring...even though it is still very faint...I need to start searching out some races.  I think a half-marathon in April/May is in order.

Happy Running!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Withdrawl

Being sick sucks.  And not running is pissing me off!  I had such a good running week last week...22 miles and 2 long runs....even did 2 treadmill workouts without wanting to kill myself! Ugg! My couch has an indent the shape of my ass...it's just WRONG! I couldn't even go to work yesterday for fear of being the hospital's very own Typhoid Mary.  2 years of perfect attendance down the drain. I think I'm on the upswing now. I hope so.  It took me so long to get into the swing of running that it scares me to have to time and not do it.  I miss running :-(

Friday, February 4, 2011

Happy Birthday to me :)

Today is my birthday & I think I just had an "OMG, I think I really AM a runner" moments!  I just rolled out of bed and the thought rolled around in my head that maybe I could just skip my run and relax a while since I have a lot to do today.  Then I thought "Nope, I NEED to run".....this is a revelation for me.  Running & need are a combination I never thought I'd see come together but there it is....NEED. I know I will feel crappy if I don't get out there.  So off I go.....a little present to myself :) 

Thursday, February 3, 2011

A bright sunshiney day...

Ok, I almost had a heart attack when I got home from the hospital last night and found I had a follower that I didn't know!  Who knew someone would actually read this?!?  Oh well...onward bound & Hi Mike!

January is done & I logged a respectable 63.5 miles in the freezing cold & the big news is that I finally (FINALLY!!!) logged a monthly average pace sub 11 minutes!  Yup, an average of 10:56 minute miles.  I know, all you turtles out there are jealous ;-D.  I'm feelin' like a speed DEMON these days! lol!  Could it be that the tempo runs & intervals actually work?

The 'big storm' is finally over here in the Northeast.  The kids are back at school after the heaven of 2 consecutive snow days & I finally have a day off after 2 days of harrowing trips back and forth to the hospital...no snow days for nurses...sigh.  I'm looking forward to getting outside for a nice easy run.  It's sunny, and since the schoolbus had to come down the street this morning, the road is finally plowed and the ice scraped down to a manageable surface.  Now where are those socks....