Green Miles

Run: 4.5
Time: Approx. 48:00 (first 4 at 11 split)
Mood: Strong

Awesome run at the gym with the help of Green Mile. I plugged in and covered the mile display and just ran. Was only planning on 4 but did the extra half mile b/c I wanted to see the part of the movie where John Coffey saves the warden's wife. Again, punched out the last half at an 8:15 pace.

I read that the average person gains 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years. I'm not making it up, really. Honestly, after we had our house Thanksgiving dinner last night, I can totally see how it happens.

This is not allowed. I figure I burnt around 500 calories on my run yesterday (not including to the two hours of leaf raking) so that at least puts a dent in dinner. And this shall be the strategy going forward. Days when there is festive intake, shall contain grueling output.

Can't wait for real Thanksgiving.

"Make Winter Your B*tch"

Run: 3.1
Time: 32:Something
Mood: Visible

Things we learned at the gym last night:

• Wearing day-glo yellow in the gym...not such a hot idea. Not only are you highly visible in the mirrors, but when you're switching from machine to machine trying to find one that has a working monitor, people will see you. Not only see you, but SEE you.
• Pay no attention to the kid mumbling to himself on the treadmill next to you. He's harmless.
• I need to start doing upper-body strength training. It's embarassing.

Ended up doing a 5K last night on the treadmill. While I may be generally grumpy about having to run indoors, I'm trying to make the best of it by using the speed pace effectively. As my runs come to a close, I crank up the speed. Finished last night's 3.1 at an 8:14 pace...which feels so freaking fast when you've been doing an 11/10:30 split.

Winter slump is setting in. When it's cold out, I don't want to walk to the gym - didn't run on Monday for that exact reason.

But we are gonna crack down. Finalizing my training calendar as we speak.

To quote a new blogger (Ben Does Life) I just discovered, I'm going to make winter my bitch. :)

Side note: I'm trying out the whole "5-6 small meals a day" thing, and it's working out well.

Damage Report

I've run twice since my last post. 4 miles on the treadmill, and then 2.5 outside today. Today's run was supposed to be a long one, 5 or 6 miles, but I started hurting around mile 1. My right hip flexor is definitely screwed. I'm a little pissed about it.

Also, there's an insane hill on the route I took today. No lie. Legit hill. Went a little slowly.

The three glasses of wine last night prolly didn't help either.

Bah.

Run: 3 miles
Time: I have no idea
Mood: Crankarific

I had to run on a treadmill. Inside. Enough said.

I forgot that gyms surround you with mirrors. I don't want to talk about it.

P.S. Preeeetty positive there is something up with the hip flexor. Sore again today. But only sore immediately after a run.

Back at It!

Run: 2 miles
Time: 21:08
Mood: Scrumtrulescent

Some of you may have noticed that I haven’t posted in a week...and…well…that’s because I haven’t really run in a week. That’s right, took some time off after the 10K. Say something.

This week starts the working-up-to-ten-miles stage of training. I’m making a new calendar for the next three months, and it will involve running five times a week (up from the previous three) and working mileage up to ten miles, then back to six, then back to ten – it will cycle this way until about four months before the 2011 MCM. At that point, I start tacking on mileage to build up to 26. But for now, we focus on the big 1-0.

Today, thanks to daylight savings, I was able to run at 6:30 this morning. It won’t last long, and it’s getting dark at 5:30 now – so we get a gym membership this week to use the treadmill. I still plan on doing my long runs outside on the weekends to get the cold air in my lungs. Today’s run felt great though.

Side note: We may have the beginnings of our first injury. The week before the 10K my right hip flexor was bugging a tiny bit, and after the 6.2 both of my hips were sore. This morning’s run triggered that bugging again and my right flexor was sore after I finished. I don’t think it has anything to do with my new shoes, but I’m trying to stretch it as well as I can and not overdo it. I’d rather baby something like this now, than ignore it and have a bigger injury in six months.

Next race on the horizon: Cherry Blossom 10-Miler (if I can get registered through the lottery).