This week was a busy week at work, and I worked very odd hours. I'm sorry to have not updated my blog - but I'm sure you have figured out that's what I spend my weekends doing!
I did take an extra day off on Thursday, because I frankly ran out of time to exercise, but I do have a Wednesday night run to report.
Wednesday I ran about 2.2 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
I got home late from work, but the great thing about having a gym close is I have a free, safe outlet to exercise - even when it's dark out. Clint has "taken a few weeks off" from being my Wednesday night workout partner, but it doesn't mean he doesn't encourage me to go...even when it's 8:30 at night and I'm in a food coma from dinner.
I ran 2.2 miles, jumping up to 7 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. This is a very comfortable pace for me, and I think I could manage to go a long distance at this interval - but I'm sure I will challenge myself to kick it up a notch!
Although next time I exercise after dinner I will wait a bit longer. Stomach cramps are not a nice distraction while you are jogging.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday Night: Season Premiere of THE HILLS
Today I ran about 4 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
Tonight we started running The HIlls of Mt. Soledad, and will continue to do so every Monday until race day as part of our marathon training.
When I first drove up I felt nervous because I'm not known for purposely running hills, especially for long distances. But there always has to be a first time, and I'm glad it was with Team In Training!
We started in PB, and went up into the neighborhoods in North PB/Mt. Soledad area. Right away I could already feel the pressure in my legs, but had no idea what was in store.
Because it still gets dark early I really have no idea the route we took...we weaved up so many streets and culdesacs, and kept going higher and higher. My original fear was I'd get lost in the darkness. Luckily I had runners ahead of me and behind me, and the TNT mentors and coaches have a very methodical way of keeping a good head count and making sure everyone is on route. I don't know how they do it. The middle of the run was definitely the hardest. At times I could hear myself breathing so hard that I was hoping others around me weren't noticing. Each hill became harder then the next and I'm sure there was some mental complaining...but at a certain point, my body just accepted what it was going through and I got into a great zone.
This run is hard and challenging, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Here's a few reasons why:
1. Steve wasn't joking when he talked about the view. Even though it was dark, as we were climbing the hills we could see all of the beach and boardwalk lit up. It was a clear night, and the Orion constellation was directly above us (as were others I'm sure, but this has been my favorite since 4th grade - and the only one I can recognize easily). I can't wait for Daylight Savings Time - the view will only get better and I heard from others tonight you can enjoy a really nice sunset. The neighborhoods themselves hold some of the most beautiful houses in San Diego. I have never really been exposed to this area, but enjoy all that there is to keep my eyes busy while my feet are.
2. Running with other people is extremely motivating. There are times when I'm at my own pace and running by myself, but it's great to be at the same pace with someone for awhile and get to know your other TNT Teammates. I ran with this one man for a bit (probably around 20 or 30 years my senior) until he completely took off on one of the hardest hills. He is a machine and had such a motivating pace - and I tried to follow his as best I could. I hope one day I can keep up with him. I ran a lot of the course with a new teammate Katie - who was a great accountability partner, and who joined TNT for many of the same reasons I did. I also appreciate all the coaches and mentors running by to ask how I'm doing, or giving me a "Great Job" along the way. And once again, thank you for not letting me get lost!
3. On the way back - you get to go downhill...Hallelujah!
4. I was able to complete almost four miles (most of it up hill!), with just a few stretching breaks (and no walking!), and if you would have told me I would do so two months ago I wouldn't have believed you. When Coach Everett said at the beginning of the run we were going to complete about four miles I was hoping he was joking. Now I say "Bring it on!"
I can't wait until the next episode of The Hills. I know it will be hard, and I know I'll be tired, but I know I can complete it and it makes me more prepared for the Rock 'N' Roll!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
A month of training...completed!
Today I cross trained for 30 minutes in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
Today was a cross training day, and unfortunately the pool heater still isn't working! I went back to my old friend the elliptical. I worked out for 30 minutes, and felt like I had really good energy, even after yesterday's run. I now see the point of cross training. My legs got a great workout, but feel stretched out - not sore, and my knee benefits from the break. It's also a nice distraction, so I can look forward to running again on Monday.
Today also marks the last day on our training calendar in our first month of training! It's hard to believe it's already been four weeks since I began. Looking at my new training schedule, there will be a lot of new challenges this month - but I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow night we start a weekly hill run (yikes!), and in a couple of weeks we will be starting intervals. On March 7th I'll get a taste of race day by running the Race for Literacy in Balboa Park, and by the end of the month I will be running 8 miles on Saturdays! I can't wait to tell you all about it...
Today was a cross training day, and unfortunately the pool heater still isn't working! I went back to my old friend the elliptical. I worked out for 30 minutes, and felt like I had really good energy, even after yesterday's run. I now see the point of cross training. My legs got a great workout, but feel stretched out - not sore, and my knee benefits from the break. It's also a nice distraction, so I can look forward to running again on Monday.
Today also marks the last day on our training calendar in our first month of training! It's hard to believe it's already been four weeks since I began. Looking at my new training schedule, there will be a lot of new challenges this month - but I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow night we start a weekly hill run (yikes!), and in a couple of weeks we will be starting intervals. On March 7th I'll get a taste of race day by running the Race for Literacy in Balboa Park, and by the end of the month I will be running 8 miles on Saturdays! I can't wait to tell you all about it...
Saturday Session Pictures
I'm not sure who takes pictures and posts them on our TNT yahoo group, but I am sure glad they do. I've often thought of bringing my camera to session, but don't know where I'd keep it while running!
Here are some pictures from yesterday's session, compliments of the Green Team...
Our view of Downtown and the harbor while running
The clouds were amazing! I think we all had a faster stride yesterday, trying to beat another downpour.
Here is our guest speaker, the chiropractor, who introduced us to "the stick", and shared with us some good information on stretching.
I learned an important lesson yesterday on stretching - my weakness.
When you only stretch a muscle for 10 or 20 seconds (guilty!), you are just getting it to tense up - therefore not stretching it at all.
When you hold the stretch longer, it tenses up, and then relaxes and loosens.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday Morning at Spanish Landing
Today I ran 4.5 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
I was looking forward to this morning's group run for so many reasons:
I missed last Saturday, I hadn't been to any TNT runs all week, I've been getting increasingly sore and was looking for answers, I wanted to get back on track with my runs, and I knew we were running in a beautiful place!
It was another rainy day, but I woke up and was on my way to meet the group at Spanish Landing at 7:00am (Yes - our times have gotten early to compensate for longer distances we will be running!)
When we met we heard a great "Mission Moment" of one of our teammates who is running in memory of his friend's brother who passed away from blood cancer, and for his five year old son who is currently in remission. I am amazed at how many people are directly affected by Leukemia & Lymphoma in their families. Our fundraising provides hope to these families, and works toward a cure. GO TNT!
During our Coach's discussion he said he had gotten many emails this week about how sore some of us were starting to feel...I felt so relieved! I wasn't the only one! It turns out that all of the teammates i talked to today were feeling the same things that I am. My body wasn't defective like I had imagined. Coach shared with us this is just a part of the process of more force being put on our body.
We had a guest speaker today, a really informative Chiropractor based in UTC (I'm really bad at remembering names - but will ask my mentor for his info!). He talked to us about injury prevention and the tools we can use to keep our muscle tissue conditioned. This is a whole new world for me...who would have known that a special stick and a foam roll could do so much for your legs? I have never seen these items before, nor would I have known what to do with them, but know they will be needed to work on target areas (like my knee) as I increase my mileage in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if I visit Mr. Chiropractor in the future, and appreciate TNT giving us a great contact who supports our program (and even donates back to our LLS fundraising!)
So after our clinic, we warmed up, stretched, and were off on our run! Today my target distance was 4.1 miles.
We started at Spanish Landing and ran down Harbor Drive, and then into Harbor Island. Clint and I used to run here years ago, and I had forgotten what a beautiful area this is!
The views of San Diego's skyline are beautiful - even on a rainy day - and there are so many "landmarks" that are good to keep track of your distance. (You can probably guess this is not a picture I took - we weren't blessed with this much sun today, but I am not going to complain after running in 80 degree heat on Monday!)
My teammate RJ and we ran to Tom Ham's Lighthouse, and then back out of Harbor Island to our starting point. I was responsible for getting a little confused on distance, and my mistake led to us running somewhere between 4.5 and 5 miles! Oops...I guess next Saturday will just seem easier!
I'm looking forward to using this route on my own as I increase my mileage. I would love to get an opportunity to run the whole Harbor Island Loop (down to Island Prime - Yum!), and then out towards our the Star of India and Midway. Today the longest distance people ran was 10 miles - taking them all the way to Seaport Village! I can't believe I will be completing runs like that in only a matter of months.
After some goodbyes and a tasty bagel, I was in my car just as it started to rain again. Saturday's are always a great day to re-energize, re-group and soak up all of the TNT spirit you can! I'm excited for the upcoming week and can't wait to report my progress!
I was looking forward to this morning's group run for so many reasons:
I missed last Saturday, I hadn't been to any TNT runs all week, I've been getting increasingly sore and was looking for answers, I wanted to get back on track with my runs, and I knew we were running in a beautiful place!
It was another rainy day, but I woke up and was on my way to meet the group at Spanish Landing at 7:00am (Yes - our times have gotten early to compensate for longer distances we will be running!)When we met we heard a great "Mission Moment" of one of our teammates who is running in memory of his friend's brother who passed away from blood cancer, and for his five year old son who is currently in remission. I am amazed at how many people are directly affected by Leukemia & Lymphoma in their families. Our fundraising provides hope to these families, and works toward a cure. GO TNT!
During our Coach's discussion he said he had gotten many emails this week about how sore some of us were starting to feel...I felt so relieved! I wasn't the only one! It turns out that all of the teammates i talked to today were feeling the same things that I am. My body wasn't defective like I had imagined. Coach shared with us this is just a part of the process of more force being put on our body.
We had a guest speaker today, a really informative Chiropractor based in UTC (I'm really bad at remembering names - but will ask my mentor for his info!). He talked to us about injury prevention and the tools we can use to keep our muscle tissue conditioned. This is a whole new world for me...who would have known that a special stick and a foam roll could do so much for your legs? I have never seen these items before, nor would I have known what to do with them, but know they will be needed to work on target areas (like my knee) as I increase my mileage in the future. I wouldn't be surprised if I visit Mr. Chiropractor in the future, and appreciate TNT giving us a great contact who supports our program (and even donates back to our LLS fundraising!)
We started at Spanish Landing and ran down Harbor Drive, and then into Harbor Island. Clint and I used to run here years ago, and I had forgotten what a beautiful area this is!
The views of San Diego's skyline are beautiful - even on a rainy day - and there are so many "landmarks" that are good to keep track of your distance. (You can probably guess this is not a picture I took - we weren't blessed with this much sun today, but I am not going to complain after running in 80 degree heat on Monday!)
My teammate RJ and we ran to Tom Ham's Lighthouse, and then back out of Harbor Island to our starting point. I was responsible for getting a little confused on distance, and my mistake led to us running somewhere between 4.5 and 5 miles! Oops...I guess next Saturday will just seem easier!
I'm looking forward to using this route on my own as I increase my mileage. I would love to get an opportunity to run the whole Harbor Island Loop (down to Island Prime - Yum!), and then out towards our the Star of India and Midway. Today the longest distance people ran was 10 miles - taking them all the way to Seaport Village! I can't believe I will be completing runs like that in only a matter of months.
After some goodbyes and a tasty bagel, I was in my car just as it started to rain again. Saturday's are always a great day to re-energize, re-group and soak up all of the TNT spirit you can! I'm excited for the upcoming week and can't wait to report my progress!
Thursday, February 18th
This week flew by! After a nice holiday on Monday, it was a busy week at work, and and my body was not only starting to feel a couple of weeks of training, but I wasn't feeling 100% (or even 70% for that matter!) Tuesday and Friday were rest days as always. Wednesday I was really under the weather, and I had to give myself a day off running. Even though I was in no condition to run, I felt the need to consult many people to tell me it was okay to take a day off. They succeeded in making me feel better, and telling me to listen to my body. I still have a little over three months to train!
So the only day I have to report on is Thursday, February 18th....
Thursday I ran/walked 2 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
So I was still slightly under the weather on Thursday, but by the night time I felt like I had to do something to prepare for Saturday. I went to the gym and was able to complete 2 miles, running 6 minutes, walking 2 minutes. My pace was much slower, but it felt good to complete at least part of my workout for the week. It actually made me sleep better too...Friday I woke up feeling much better!
So the only day I have to report on is Thursday, February 18th....
Thursday I ran/walked 2 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
So I was still slightly under the weather on Thursday, but by the night time I felt like I had to do something to prepare for Saturday. I went to the gym and was able to complete 2 miles, running 6 minutes, walking 2 minutes. My pace was much slower, but it felt good to complete at least part of my workout for the week. It actually made me sleep better too...Friday I woke up feeling much better!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
President's Day Run
Monday I ran/walked 3 miles in Preparation for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!
Yesterday I had off for President's Day, so I was excited to run earlier in the day. The weather was beautiful and it was surprisingly warm for a "winter" day. I decided to go to one of my favorite places in San Diego - the Old Town/Mission Hills area. I used to do walk this route when I was better at exercising regularly.
I start at Heritage Park and go up Juan Street ( a massive hill!) and through the historic district of Mission Hills. The bad (and good) thing about this route is you face your toughest part first - the Juan Street Hill. Needless to say, I did not run this at all, and in fact I spent a lot of the first ten minutes switching frequently from a walk to slow jog. It was just shy of 80 degrees when I went on my run, so it gave me a frightening glimpse into the temperature coming in spring and summer! I was definitely complaining to myself a lot at the beginning of this run. This is my cue to remind myself of the cause I'm running for!
The heat and hills were uncomfortable, and I felt a lot more out of breath than usual, but I was able to work past that because I just love being in this area. The homes in Mission Hills are all so unique, and they represent San Diego's history. If you ever get a chance to walk, run, or drive through this area, I recommend it. I always like to guess what the inside of the houses look like. Maybe one day I'll be lucky to live in one - or know someone who does!
I go about as far as Mission HIlls Nursery, and then wind back through the neighborhood before heading down to Old Town. I used every chance on the way back to run and jog, since down hill is a lot easier to do so. I can't believe in a couple of weeks I'll be doing hill runs!
Old Town was busy with tourists for the holiday weekend. I did a lap around the park, ending my three mile run. I used mapmyrun.com to track my distance before I left the house, just to hold myself accountable for the mileage. My last stop on the route was the new Old Town Five and Dime for a gatorade, and cheap sunglasses (I decided it's too risky to run with my nice ones Clint bought me!)
Sunday Review
I was really sore on Sunday from my ten hour work day and three mile run, so I was glad it was a cross training, easier day. I was excited to go swimming since the weather was nice. Unfortunately, the heater still wasn't working and I couldn't force myself into the cold pool.
I returned home and decided to go for a quick bike ride on my cruiser. I went around the neighborhood a few times, but felt like that wasn't cutting it (although I have a blast doing it!). I felt like I completed a lazy man's triathlon (walk to pool, put feet in pool and "think about swimming", walk back, ride around the block on beach cruiser...not my best workout!)
I remembered Clint showed me this Exercise Channel on Demand, and I thought I'd check this out. I ended up doing about a twenty minute stretching/strength training routine designed for runners and walkers, all in the comfort of my own living room! I really felt better after spending some quality time stretching, and picked up some good stretches I need to do on a daily basis.
After an off day today, I'm back to running tomorrow....stay tuned!
Yesterday I had off for President's Day, so I was excited to run earlier in the day. The weather was beautiful and it was surprisingly warm for a "winter" day. I decided to go to one of my favorite places in San Diego - the Old Town/Mission Hills area. I used to do walk this route when I was better at exercising regularly.
The heat and hills were uncomfortable, and I felt a lot more out of breath than usual, but I was able to work past that because I just love being in this area. The homes in Mission Hills are all so unique, and they represent San Diego's history. If you ever get a chance to walk, run, or drive through this area, I recommend it. I always like to guess what the inside of the houses look like. Maybe one day I'll be lucky to live in one - or know someone who does!
Old Town was busy with tourists for the holiday weekend. I did a lap around the park, ending my three mile run. I used mapmyrun.com to track my distance before I left the house, just to hold myself accountable for the mileage. My last stop on the route was the new Old Town Five and Dime for a gatorade, and cheap sunglasses (I decided it's too risky to run with my nice ones Clint bought me!)
Sunday Review
I was really sore on Sunday from my ten hour work day and three mile run, so I was glad it was a cross training, easier day. I was excited to go swimming since the weather was nice. Unfortunately, the heater still wasn't working and I couldn't force myself into the cold pool.
I returned home and decided to go for a quick bike ride on my cruiser. I went around the neighborhood a few times, but felt like that wasn't cutting it (although I have a blast doing it!). I felt like I completed a lazy man's triathlon (walk to pool, put feet in pool and "think about swimming", walk back, ride around the block on beach cruiser...not my best workout!)
I remembered Clint showed me this Exercise Channel on Demand, and I thought I'd check this out. I ended up doing about a twenty minute stretching/strength training routine designed for runners and walkers, all in the comfort of my own living room! I really felt better after spending some quality time stretching, and picked up some good stretches I need to do on a daily basis.
After an off day today, I'm back to running tomorrow....stay tuned!
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