GETTING BORED

 

I'm itchin' to do an event...so much that training is actually becoming a little boring. This training plan started way back in mid-October and I've been off track several times since then, but kept on going, making some progress. Now I'm just plain bored and want to do an event to see where I am time-wise. I know I can run 7 miles, hopefully a little more if I don't let cycling take over. Which is what happened last year - my running suffered because I changed my focus to cycling mostly and running was secondary. This year I plan to continue with running 3 days a week and doing quality runs instead of riding like a maniac (which I'll probably end up doing anyway). We'll see how the season progresses.

The good thing is that Tom and I are registered to run the 8K Shamrock Run in Portland on March 14 so I have something to look forward to. Then it seems that all the events will start rolling around FAST! Spring Classic Du, Monster Cookie Metric Century, RACC...and the list goes on and on and on!

Been trying to get out on my bike though, the last month has been so rainy that it isn't even worth it to slap on the fenders and go out if it's miserable. Running might get me wetter quicker, but I would be done sooner than if I were riding a decent route for a good workout complete with climbing hills (love climbing!) It's all a matter of perspective. Ride or run in the rain you still get WET! Also, it's hard working during the prime cycling hours of the day which really means during my work hours. It's a very sad thing to see the club riders go zooming past the station. Oh well, soon enough I'll be bike commuting more regularly.

Bike commute this morning was 26 degrees with a slight breeze...oh so very COLD, and sloooow! It was good though, no car today! Well, later on I'll be driving, but I can't guarantee how happy I'll be behind the wheel...hahaha...look out people...angry woman hits the road!

Here's looking to an exciting running/cycling season in 2010!

just running

This has been a bare minimum week with just my runs on Monday & Wednesday. No spinning or anything else. I guess I'm just trying to get back on track after a disastrous training week last week.

Tomorrow is long run day so we are leaving from our house and going to the station via SC Trail then up HDA. Should be a good wet run!

Lazy Streak

Ultimately, the best runners are the ones who are willing to work very hard but who have a little bit of a lazy streak in them.  Benji Durden, Coach

I like this quote. Not because I think I’m the best runner because I’m not, but because I think I have the lazy streak thing going on. That would be this week, totally lazy. Last week was a total work out week, running on Monday & Wednesday, cycle class on Tuesday, Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday. By the end of the week I was a little tired. Friday was not the last of it though, I still had a long run to do – which was on Saturday morning. A 5½ mile run from our house thru Felida and on back roads to 94^th Street and to HDA. It was a really great run! Loved it! Oh, for the record - we did not run up the hill from the SC trailhead...that would have been completely crazy!  

Then the LAZY set in.

Okay, so last week was the work very hard week. This week was definitely the lazy streak week. I liked resting on Sunday so well that I thought I would extend it to Monday. When I started to think about the rest of the week I thought that running on Tuesday and Thursday made sense since I needed to move my Saturday run to Sunday so I wouldn’t be all freaked out about WHEN I would run Saturday knowing that we had to be at a seminar at 9. So I decided that a run right after church on Sunday would work best. I really like a good plan!  I really took the lazy to the extreme though – nothing until yesterday! What do I do for my first run of the week? SPEED-WORK! Then spin class this morning – HILLS…ugh. I’m a little tired now, but that’s okay I get tomorrow off! I’ve had my share of rest and laziness this week so I’m good to go for next week!

So, a Lazy Streak is a GOOD thing, right?

Slow & Steady...

This week and the last couple of weeks have not been all that great. There have been a few stressful things that have taken my attention away from running and the running that I did do just didn't feel good. Today was different though, I finally made peace with the fact that I have been so waaay off my training plan, that I just need to restart from a point that I feel comfortable with and then just move forward from there. So, with that decision made and out in the open, today's run was probably the best run I've had in a long time. The BEST! We ran what I call the Fred Meyer loop, from our house - going down 139th/134th Street and cutting thru at the library and then thru a couple of neighborhoods to get back on 149th Street. It took a lot for me to keep going, I had the urge to stop and walk (there's no shame in walking), but I knew that I could run so I kept running. It's always a good feeling to finish a run knowing that I did the best that I could do and I finished strong. So yeah, today's run was the BEST...INDEED!

Tom and I are planning to run the 8K Shamrock run on March 14, so I'm pretty confident that we'll make that distance, not quite 5 miles, so that's a good thing. Still need to build up endurance though for the Spring Classic Duathlon. It's time to start paying attention to some strength training or at the very least going back to doing the one hundred push-ups challenge that I started late last summer. That's doable because I can do that in the comfort of my own home instead of touching equipment that has been touched my numerous other germ infested people LOL! Also, even after a couple of weeks of doing push-ups I could tell the difference during my runs and while riding...amazing! The experts know what they are talking about when they say that core strengthening is important. Interesting...

Will be trying to throw in a spin class here and there also. My lunch rides have not been happening due to the crummy weather and I'm not in the mood to put the fenders on my bike just yet. If I can get away with not slapping them on then all will be good. This upcoming week is looking promising so I might have to schlep my bike to the station tomorrow sometime - YAY!

I'm pretty excited though, running has come much easier this year than last year so things can only get better if I stay consistent. My goal at this point is to finish this training plan and then go and get a plan for maintenance purposes so that I don't end up losing all my running condition even during cycling season - dreaming big again!

So, overall, even with the loss of motivation since Christmas I've decided that slow and steady is the way to go. I'm feeling much better about my running plan for the moment.

Run-Baby-Run!

Daily Doubles

Yes...this officially marks my cross-over into insanity! WHY would anyone do daily doubles? I'm not sure, but I thought I would try it out and see how things progress.

On Monday I did my run on the treadmill at work and then after work did some weight training at the gym while waiting for a treadmill to become available - when will the January crowd finally die down? Anyway, after about 30 minutes one of the mills opened up and I got myself upstairs VERY quickly and got myself a second run in for the day. Now, I was feeling pretty good and would have like to have done more than a mile, but there were people waiting and there is a rule limiting time when the treadmills are in demand, so I did a  mile, cleaned my cooties from the machine and let the next person take a turn.

Today, Tom and I went to the gym early and I ran again while he went to Beth's cycle class (she's awesome, by the way!). I had intended to run 3 miles, but my brain was still in bed when I was programming my time and I went way short...OOOPS! Still, got 2.25 miles with a decent pace so all is good. I always look forward to my long runs on Saturdays though, we always run out on the road or on a trail. It's quite refreshing!

Since the weather people said that today would be a decent day, I loaded up my bike and all my gear into the car last night to do my lunch ride. With most days being wet since the first of the year, I have no interest in riding in the rain - so I might be running twice a day for a while. Not exactly what I'm hoping for, but the good weather will be back again in no time at all.

I'm not sure how long these daily doubles will last, but so far so good. I figure it's not that different that when I'm riding to and from work anyway, so I may as well get ready for that...bike commuting opportunities will be here before I know it!

This year is going to be filled with so many fun events, I can hardly wait to do the first one! Shamrock Run baby!

January Cycling Chart - still have a ways to go to catch up to last years total, but looking good over 2008!