Ryan tried to convince me to run faster than 6.1; he planned out my whole 3 miles with a max of 1.5 miles at 6.5mph. So while I tempted to toss his input aside instead I churned it over and by the time I got on the treadmill I decided I would take his input and turn it into my own plan: 6.1mph (9:49) for one mile, 6.3mph (9:31) for one mile, 6.5mph (9:22) for one mile. For the last 1.5 miles I wanted to quit every step of the way.
When I was done I spent a few moments balancing on the trampoline. Then I did a number of crunches, rested shoulders on the exercise ball and raised 10lb weights over my head and back to the stomach a good number of times (between 20-30), did a few other reps with my arms, and stretched.
New Miles: 3.5
Total Miles: 104.5
Miles Remaining:1395.5
Weight: 147.2
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
100 Miles Journeyed!
I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and purchased some new shoes yesterday. After some contemplating types I ended up with the Nike LiveStrong Lunarlon gray and yellow shoe.
Tonight I broke them in with a 3.0 sustained run at 6.0mph (10:00 minute pace) at 1% incline. And actually I managed to keep going for 3.25 without stopping. For the entire run my left foot hurt which always happens when breaking in new shoes, I think it's because I put a lot of weight on the outside of my foot and I don't think shoes are designed for that. Regardless of the discomfort followed by some numbness I kept going. I did 3.5 in 36:25.
Then I opted for some hard-run work. 1 minute at 6.5mph followed by 30 seconds at 5.0mph. Then I did one minute at 7.0mph with 30 seconds at 5.0mph. Then instead of doing a similar workout as the other day I glanced the incline and thought to myself "Instead of increasing the pace, increase the incline." And thus I did and did 30 seconds at 5.0mph followed by 1 minute at 7.0mph and repeated for 1%, 2%, 3% and 4%. Total: 4.5miles 46:50 726 (plus 0.15 2:00mins walking cooldown).
I then balanced for a few minutes on the trampoline. I then took the exercise ball and rolled out the yoga mat on the living room floor and did the following: arched back, shoulders on ball, 5lb weight held up in one hand and the other hand took the 10lb kettlebell and did 10 reps, switched hands then repeated (40 reps total). Then I did some butterflys on the ball with 5 lb weights, rolled out onto the ball and rested my thighs on the ball then did 20 push-ups, then rolled back and rested my chest on the ball and did reverse crunches.
New Miles: 4.5
Total Miles: 101.0 (Milestone: 100.0 Miles!!)
Miles Remaining: 1398.5
Weight: 146.4
Tonight I broke them in with a 3.0 sustained run at 6.0mph (10:00 minute pace) at 1% incline. And actually I managed to keep going for 3.25 without stopping. For the entire run my left foot hurt which always happens when breaking in new shoes, I think it's because I put a lot of weight on the outside of my foot and I don't think shoes are designed for that. Regardless of the discomfort followed by some numbness I kept going. I did 3.5 in 36:25.
Then I opted for some hard-run work. 1 minute at 6.5mph followed by 30 seconds at 5.0mph. Then I did one minute at 7.0mph with 30 seconds at 5.0mph. Then instead of doing a similar workout as the other day I glanced the incline and thought to myself "Instead of increasing the pace, increase the incline." And thus I did and did 30 seconds at 5.0mph followed by 1 minute at 7.0mph and repeated for 1%, 2%, 3% and 4%. Total: 4.5miles 46:50 726 (plus 0.15 2:00mins walking cooldown).
I then balanced for a few minutes on the trampoline. I then took the exercise ball and rolled out the yoga mat on the living room floor and did the following: arched back, shoulders on ball, 5lb weight held up in one hand and the other hand took the 10lb kettlebell and did 10 reps, switched hands then repeated (40 reps total). Then I did some butterflys on the ball with 5 lb weights, rolled out onto the ball and rested my thighs on the ball then did 20 push-ups, then rolled back and rested my chest on the ball and did reverse crunches.
New Miles: 4.5
Total Miles: 101.0 (Milestone: 100.0 Miles!!)
Miles Remaining: 1398.5
Weight: 146.4
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Think and Daydream
After my last run I decided I would tackle my running with some strategy so I could see my progress and feel the progress. I will run 3.0 miles without stopping and over time increase the pace at which I run it.
So before I treaded it up today I told my scheme to Ryan and then Ryan told me to increase my pace to 6.0mph. I told him that was too drastic of an increase, I just completed my first non-stop 3.0 at 5.4mph, and yes it felt doable but 6.0? I don't think so. My thought was that I would increase my pace by 0.1 each time I did 3.0 eventually working my way up to 6.0+. Ryan has other plans for me; he's a good challenging alter-ego.
And so I compromised between Ryan's unreasonable expectations and my realistic plans, and ran at 5.7mph 10:31 mile pace. I did the first 1.75 at 0.5% incline and the last 1.25 at 1.0% incline; completing my 3.0 in 31:33. I had walked .25 warm-up then did another .25 cool down; doing 3.5 miles total in 39:02 564cals. The pace felt good; which is why I increased the incline for the last part.
Running for a while gives you time to think and daydream and then think again. And amidst the thinking parts I somehow thought it was a good idea to do a sprint workout after I ended my 3.0 run. This is what my brain came up with: Run at 6.0mph for 1 min, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 7.0mph for 1 min, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 8.0mph for 1 minute, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 8.5mph for 1 minute, recover for 1 minute at 5.0mph, run at 9.0mph for 1 minute, recover. This aggressive thinking lead me to do one more mile for a total of 4.5 miles in 48:25 724cals (at 1.0% incline). Then I spent 0.5 miles recovering.
The internet later informed me that 9.0mph is 6:40 mile pace (since I hadn't had time to look while doing it); but one minute of that was more than enough and I think I only managed it because unlike running on earth the treadmill moves the earth under your feet - so as long as I kept picking up my feet I could assure myself I wouldn't fly off the back of the treadmill at 9.0mph.
Total Workout: 5.0 miles in 55:21 803cals.
I then balanced on the trampoline for 1.5 songs; focusing most of my effort on my weak right ankle, even adding in some one-footed jumping to see what that was like (it was weak and sad). Then I rolled out my yoga mat on the living room floor and did 20 girl push-ups and 100 crunches and then stretched out and drank some water. Within 15 minutes I already got sore; leaving me to believe that my "off day" tomorrow may feel interesting.
New Miles: 5.0
Total Miles: 96.5
Miles Remaining: 1403.5
Weight: 147.2 (post-workout weight: 145.6)
So before I treaded it up today I told my scheme to Ryan and then Ryan told me to increase my pace to 6.0mph. I told him that was too drastic of an increase, I just completed my first non-stop 3.0 at 5.4mph, and yes it felt doable but 6.0? I don't think so. My thought was that I would increase my pace by 0.1 each time I did 3.0 eventually working my way up to 6.0+. Ryan has other plans for me; he's a good challenging alter-ego.
And so I compromised between Ryan's unreasonable expectations and my realistic plans, and ran at 5.7mph 10:31 mile pace. I did the first 1.75 at 0.5% incline and the last 1.25 at 1.0% incline; completing my 3.0 in 31:33. I had walked .25 warm-up then did another .25 cool down; doing 3.5 miles total in 39:02 564cals. The pace felt good; which is why I increased the incline for the last part.
Running for a while gives you time to think and daydream and then think again. And amidst the thinking parts I somehow thought it was a good idea to do a sprint workout after I ended my 3.0 run. This is what my brain came up with: Run at 6.0mph for 1 min, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 7.0mph for 1 min, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 8.0mph for 1 minute, recover for 30 seconds at 5.0mph, run at 8.5mph for 1 minute, recover for 1 minute at 5.0mph, run at 9.0mph for 1 minute, recover. This aggressive thinking lead me to do one more mile for a total of 4.5 miles in 48:25 724cals (at 1.0% incline). Then I spent 0.5 miles recovering.
The internet later informed me that 9.0mph is 6:40 mile pace (since I hadn't had time to look while doing it); but one minute of that was more than enough and I think I only managed it because unlike running on earth the treadmill moves the earth under your feet - so as long as I kept picking up my feet I could assure myself I wouldn't fly off the back of the treadmill at 9.0mph.
Total Workout: 5.0 miles in 55:21 803cals.
I then balanced on the trampoline for 1.5 songs; focusing most of my effort on my weak right ankle, even adding in some one-footed jumping to see what that was like (it was weak and sad). Then I rolled out my yoga mat on the living room floor and did 20 girl push-ups and 100 crunches and then stretched out and drank some water. Within 15 minutes I already got sore; leaving me to believe that my "off day" tomorrow may feel interesting.
New Miles: 5.0
Total Miles: 96.5
Miles Remaining: 1403.5
Weight: 147.2 (post-workout weight: 145.6)
Monday, February 21, 2011
My Conscience Named Ryan
As I slumped on the couch mindlessly watching a hockey game I thought I would be going to bed as soon as it ended. And then my conscience named Ryan said "I think you should run 2.0 miles." And I said "I think I should too, but I am going to bed." This followed from an earlier conversation during the night where I found myself telling him how I've struggled to run more than one mile consecutively, and though I like stopping I feel as though I will never get truly fit unless I string together multiple miles. And so after my conscience said this he left me to idle on the couch and ponder, which I did for 20 minutes mustering up the "Yeah, I'm gonna go do two miles without stopping!" courage and energy.
So lo and behold I found myself on the treadmill at 10:30pm. Walked 0.25 for a warm-up then stretched, took a deep breath, and set the pace at 5.4mph (11:06). I put my head down and avoided tracking the time or distance, telling myself that in 5 songs I would look up and see where I was. So at 4.5 songs I looked up and was so close to having completed 2.0 miles without stopping. And at that point Ryan's other words went thru my head "I try not to stop so my body doesn't get used to stopping; I wanted to stop at 2.0 yesterday but kept going for 3.0." And I was feeling good, plowing along at a moderate pace, not breathing heavily and having concentrated on playing slower songs to match my pace. And so my own conscience spoke up and told me "Do 3.0." and so head down again I kept going. At the end of 3.0, meaning I ran 33:18 without stopping, I cooled down for .25 to round out the workout. Total Workout: 3.5 in 40:36, 3.0 of which was a venture in the world of non-stop movement.
New Miles: 3.5
Total Miles: 91.5
Miles Remaining: 1408.5
Weight: 147.4
So lo and behold I found myself on the treadmill at 10:30pm. Walked 0.25 for a warm-up then stretched, took a deep breath, and set the pace at 5.4mph (11:06). I put my head down and avoided tracking the time or distance, telling myself that in 5 songs I would look up and see where I was. So at 4.5 songs I looked up and was so close to having completed 2.0 miles without stopping. And at that point Ryan's other words went thru my head "I try not to stop so my body doesn't get used to stopping; I wanted to stop at 2.0 yesterday but kept going for 3.0." And I was feeling good, plowing along at a moderate pace, not breathing heavily and having concentrated on playing slower songs to match my pace. And so my own conscience spoke up and told me "Do 3.0." and so head down again I kept going. At the end of 3.0, meaning I ran 33:18 without stopping, I cooled down for .25 to round out the workout. Total Workout: 3.5 in 40:36, 3.0 of which was a venture in the world of non-stop movement.
New Miles: 3.5
Total Miles: 91.5
Miles Remaining: 1408.5
Weight: 147.4
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Go with them
The Gospel reading at mass today was Matthew 5: 38-48 which includes the line "If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles." Now no one is forcing me but myself, but I opted to live this line today and completed a walk/run/jog 2.0 miles followed by a .5 walk. 1.0 12:51; 2.0 23:40; 2.5 31:00 411cals.
I then balanced, sockfooted (as in no shoes but yes socks), on the trampoline and realized my right ankle is much weaker than I thought it was and I need to strengthen it more and thus my added goal will be to use the trampoline more often.
I attempted to do several push-ups but my right arm's nerve is still not feeling great and so I successfully did a push-down multiple times; I did get about 10 "girl" ones in. I also butterflied - legs out and up 6 inches with arms wingspanned out and behind my head then curled in my legs and brought back my arms. Those felt surprisingly good and as though my abs muscles were saying "This is what you want to do? I can do this."
Seeing myself close in on 100.0 miles journeyed my goal is to get to that 100milestone by the end of February.
New Miles: 2.5
Total Miles: 88.0
Miles Remaining: 1412.0
Weight:148.4
I then balanced, sockfooted (as in no shoes but yes socks), on the trampoline and realized my right ankle is much weaker than I thought it was and I need to strengthen it more and thus my added goal will be to use the trampoline more often.
I attempted to do several push-ups but my right arm's nerve is still not feeling great and so I successfully did a push-down multiple times; I did get about 10 "girl" ones in. I also butterflied - legs out and up 6 inches with arms wingspanned out and behind my head then curled in my legs and brought back my arms. Those felt surprisingly good and as though my abs muscles were saying "This is what you want to do? I can do this."
Seeing myself close in on 100.0 miles journeyed my goal is to get to that 100milestone by the end of February.
New Miles: 2.5
Total Miles: 88.0
Miles Remaining: 1412.0
Weight:148.4
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Singing Mile
Walked 1.0 in 15:31 128cals while singing along to Taylor Swift. That ought to offset some of the bacon and egg calories I consumed for breakfast.
New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 85.5
Miles Remaining: 1414.5
Weight: 147.4
New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 85.5
Miles Remaining: 1414.5
Weight: 147.4
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Minimum Requirements
So I went ahead and readjusted my concept of a the minimum requirement for a distance that counts. Instead of thinking 1.0 as the minimum the new minimum is 0.5 miles. I did this (a) because I just walked this amount and (b) it seems acceptable. So in cases that I can justify doing just 0.5, like in instances where I am very sore, then I will be adding the 0.5 increment to my total.
I walked solely because I felt like I needed to work out some soreness in my legs and it did the job. 8:29 51cals 0.5 miles.
New Miles: 0.5
Total Miles: 84.5
Miles Remaining:1415.5
Weight: 149.8
I walked solely because I felt like I needed to work out some soreness in my legs and it did the job. 8:29 51cals 0.5 miles.
New Miles: 0.5
Total Miles: 84.5
Miles Remaining:1415.5
Weight: 149.8
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
6.5 miles
In Maryland for work, worked out for 1.5 hours during The Biggest Loser. Inclined to 0.5% and I walked/ran until the treadmill apparently decided my workout was over after one hour and forced me to do a 5 minute cool down. Fortunately I was able to squeeze in 5.0 miles in 64:15.
1.0 13:42
2.0 25:27 -- 6.8mph for .25
3.0 39:00 315cals --7.0mph for .2
4.0 49:19 436cals --7.0mph for .3
5.0 64:14 522cals
Since the show wasn't over and I was excited to put a max of 5.0 behind me I continued, with a minimum plan to do 5.5. But there was no reason to stop so I did 6.0 in 11:54 and then another 0.5 miles in 20:23. Total Workout: 6.5 miles in 85-ish minutes.
New Miles: 6.5
Total Miles: 84.0
Miles Remaining: 1416.0
Weight: Unknown
1.0 13:42
2.0 25:27 -- 6.8mph for .25
3.0 39:00 315cals --7.0mph for .2
4.0 49:19 436cals --7.0mph for .3
5.0 64:14 522cals
Since the show wasn't over and I was excited to put a max of 5.0 behind me I continued, with a minimum plan to do 5.5. But there was no reason to stop so I did 6.0 in 11:54 and then another 0.5 miles in 20:23. Total Workout: 6.5 miles in 85-ish minutes.
New Miles: 6.5
Total Miles: 84.0
Miles Remaining: 1416.0
Weight: Unknown
Monday, February 14, 2011
Miles 2.0
Ran 1.0 in 11:01 162cals then another .5, 16:14 236cals, then walked .5 miles. Total workout: 2.0 miles in 23:39 320cals.
Most motivational song heard during the workout: Brad Paisley "Playing with Fire"
New Miles: 2.0
Total Miles: 77.5
Miles Remaining: 1422.5
Weight: 147.4
Most motivational song heard during the workout: Brad Paisley "Playing with Fire"
New Miles: 2.0
Total Miles: 77.5
Miles Remaining: 1422.5
Weight: 147.4
Friday, February 11, 2011
Calf Cramps
February 10 - Set out to do some amount; not sure how much. Set the incline to 1.5% and off I went. .25 mile warm-up then jog-ran thru one mile in 11:48 166cals and by-passed my usual stop at the end of mile one and continued running thru mile 2 in 22:14 331cals. My calves burned and burned and it was quite difficult to not stop. So once mile 2.0 came along I stopped running and started walking but then my calves cramped up, so to avoid that pain I started jogging and they felt better. I went 2.5 miles in 29:54 389. I had planned on stopping there but my legs still didn't feel great so I slowed it down and walked on thru to 3.0 in 38:27 436cals.
Then plopped myself on the living room floor and turned on The Biggest Loser and did a few crunches and then 40 girl push-ups.
New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 75.5
Miles Remaining: 1424.5
Weight: 148.8
Then plopped myself on the living room floor and turned on The Biggest Loser and did a few crunches and then 40 girl push-ups.
New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 75.5
Miles Remaining: 1424.5
Weight: 148.8
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Inclined to Incline
Reading can be exercisily dangerous - as I read about 50 more pages of "Marathoning for Mortals" which led me to desire to walk a mile. So at 10pm up I got from my snug hole on the couch, changed from my comfy pajamas, put on workout clothes and then went and froze in the Journey1500 gym for one mile's worth of time.
16:07 193cals 1.0 miles - mainly 3.5mph pace with an increasing incline of up to 10% and then a few fractions back down the pyramid to 8%; total elevation gain of 346 feet. In a quest to determine what that "elevation gain" would equate to in a non-practical real world example Wikipedia by way of Google informed me that the Qwest Building, formerly known as the Northwestern Bell Building, in Minneapolis, Minnesota was originally 346 feet tall until 1958. So basically in my one mile of walking I starting at the street and reached the top of this building.
New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 72.5
Miles Remaining: 1427.5
Weight: 148.8
16:07 193cals 1.0 miles - mainly 3.5mph pace with an increasing incline of up to 10% and then a few fractions back down the pyramid to 8%; total elevation gain of 346 feet. In a quest to determine what that "elevation gain" would equate to in a non-practical real world example Wikipedia by way of Google informed me that the Qwest Building, formerly known as the Northwestern Bell Building, in Minneapolis, Minnesota was originally 346 feet tall until 1958. So basically in my one mile of walking I starting at the street and reached the top of this building.
New Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 72.5
Miles Remaining: 1427.5
Weight: 148.8
Monday, February 7, 2011
Push the Pace
.25 mile warm up. then .25 at 5.5 and 6.1mph then .5 at 6.6mph (9:05 mile pace) in 10:48 158cals. Then I did interval training - .25 run then 20 squats for 1.0 miles.
.25 @ 7.1mph (8:27); 20 squats
.25 @ 7.5mph (8:00); 20 squats
.25 @ 7.8mph (7:41); 20 squats
.25 @ 8.0mph (7:30); 20 squats and lots of sweating and huffing and puffing and water
Total 2.0 miles in 19:02.
It felt challenging but good to force myself to go fast. The fact it was intervals of only .25 had me pushing thru as I pushed the pace. And it was a mental and physical accomplishment to see myself going at 8.0mph.
After that I cooled down and jogged .3 @ 5.4mph then walked .2 @ 4.3mph. Didn't feel cooled down yet so walked another .5 @ 4.0mph. Total 3.0 miles in 32:40 475cals. Then I did 100 crunches.
Most motivating song heard during the workout: M-Clan "Vuelve"
New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 71.5
Miles Remaining: 1428.5
Weight: 146.6
.25 @ 7.1mph (8:27); 20 squats
.25 @ 7.5mph (8:00); 20 squats
.25 @ 7.8mph (7:41); 20 squats
.25 @ 8.0mph (7:30); 20 squats and lots of sweating and huffing and puffing and water
Total 2.0 miles in 19:02.
It felt challenging but good to force myself to go fast. The fact it was intervals of only .25 had me pushing thru as I pushed the pace. And it was a mental and physical accomplishment to see myself going at 8.0mph.
After that I cooled down and jogged .3 @ 5.4mph then walked .2 @ 4.3mph. Didn't feel cooled down yet so walked another .5 @ 4.0mph. Total 3.0 miles in 32:40 475cals. Then I did 100 crunches.
Most motivating song heard during the workout: M-Clan "Vuelve"
New Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 71.5
Miles Remaining: 1428.5
Weight: 146.6
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Feet to the Grind
Morning run - .25 walking warm-up then jogged .25 then ran .5 for 1.0 miles in 11:24 119cals. It felt difficult to do.
Grabbed some water and then went to do one more mile, figuring that 2.0 would be my day's max. But somewhere in the next mile I felt better - 21:21 315cals. So I went another one, envisioning each step of my familiar favorite route, zoning out the treadmill, imagining it was summer and I was easily chugging along - total 3.0 in 32:32 472cals.
I liked zoning out so much, head down feet to the grind that I kept jogging another .5 miles - this time heading off mentally in a different direction - 3.5 38:38 556cals. I went to walk the last .5 miles but I wanted to finish under 45 minutes so I jogged most of the rest, walking just the last bit when I was certain I could make it -- total 4.0 miles 44:07 633cals.
New Miles: 4.0
Total Miles: 68.5
Miles Remaining: 1431.5
Weight: 146.8
Grabbed some water and then went to do one more mile, figuring that 2.0 would be my day's max. But somewhere in the next mile I felt better - 21:21 315cals. So I went another one, envisioning each step of my familiar favorite route, zoning out the treadmill, imagining it was summer and I was easily chugging along - total 3.0 in 32:32 472cals.
I liked zoning out so much, head down feet to the grind that I kept jogging another .5 miles - this time heading off mentally in a different direction - 3.5 38:38 556cals. I went to walk the last .5 miles but I wanted to finish under 45 minutes so I jogged most of the rest, walking just the last bit when I was certain I could make it -- total 4.0 miles 44:07 633cals.
New Miles: 4.0
Total Miles: 68.5
Miles Remaining: 1431.5
Weight: 146.8
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Stride 6.1
When I started my workout I thought I'd do 3.0 miles; so I did a 3.2 mile route Ryan made of part of the Pittsburgh Half-Marathon course. I walked .25 then stretched then I ran 2.0 miles non-stop; recording my 1.0 mile split time in stride (1.0 in 11:20 158 cals) and again the same at 2.0 21:10 314; I then kept running til I fully ran 2.0 - so at 2.25 23:27 355cals I stopped and jogged for another .5 so at 2.75 I started walking and walked til the end of the 3.2 mile course. I started a new course and walked .3 more to round it out to 3.5 miles, done in 39:49 552cals.
After 3.5 I felt really good. I discovered that running at 6.1mph felt like my pace, my stride - it felt perfect and effortless to run and like I was in college running again. So I did another 1.0 at 6.1mph in 9:53. Not to miss an opportunity to do a 5.0 mile work out I then walked another .5 miles - completing the last .5 in 7:15.
Most motivating songs during the workout: Will Smith "Switch", The Boondock Saints theme song - listened to both multiple times. The Boondock Saints song took me back to soccer practice and games and Will Smith took me to the gym in the off season.
Total Workout: 5.0 miles in 56:17
New Miles: 5.0
Total Miles: 64.5
Miles Remaining: 1435.5
Weight: 146.4
After 3.5 I felt really good. I discovered that running at 6.1mph felt like my pace, my stride - it felt perfect and effortless to run and like I was in college running again. So I did another 1.0 at 6.1mph in 9:53. Not to miss an opportunity to do a 5.0 mile work out I then walked another .5 miles - completing the last .5 in 7:15.
Most motivating songs during the workout: Will Smith "Switch", The Boondock Saints theme song - listened to both multiple times. The Boondock Saints song took me back to soccer practice and games and Will Smith took me to the gym in the off season.
Total Workout: 5.0 miles in 56:17
New Miles: 5.0
Total Miles: 64.5
Miles Remaining: 1435.5
Weight: 146.4
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