Today was a run day, and the weather was particularly beautiful for January (sunny & ~40deg), so I decided to run outside at Winnekenni instead of on a crappy treadmill. Technically I was supposed to log a 3mi run today according to the half marathon training schedule I made for myself, but since I've been feeling really crappy running on the treadmill (and barely able to make it 1 or 2 miles) I decided to just try to "have fun" (as much as that is possible for me when running is involved) and just see how far I could go. Was pretty psyched about how good I was feeling. It was super muddy (way more than I was expecting) and there were actually tons of large icy patches that I had to stop and carefully walk over. There were also a few streams to jump over, but this is why I prefer trail running to road running. At a certain point on the trail, I kind of knew I was in the neighborhood of 2.5mi (from having run around Winnekenni before), and I made the mistake of looking at my iPhone with the Nike+ GPS app tracking my run. I was right, 2.58mi, so at that moment I knew that I had just short of 0.5mi until I actually made my (non-goal) goal (no matter how hard I try to convince myself I can have no goal, I always actually do have one). Of course as soon as I realized that I only had half a mile left, my legs turned to complete stone and it was like the worst half mile of my entire life. I checked the phone again at 2.61mi, 2.63, 2.68, 2.73, 2.75 (at which point I was like "ok, a quarter of a mile left, that's like once around a track, I can totally do that - I'm not looking at the phone again until I'm definitely over 3mi") so I ran and ran and ran and decided that whenever I hit another super bend in the trail I'd look at my phone again...and I did, and I was at 2.91 - seriously?? At that point I essentially stared at my phone until I hit 3mi and stopped and stood still for a few seconds so I could try to log a "stop" in the GPS tracking and get my pace for the run part later on after I stopped. Of course, I can't seem to view the nike+ website on Safari, so I'm guessing it's not supported, but that's a real bummer because I'd love to know my real pace. I think I remember seeing that it was 37+ mins when I stopped, but I had a technical snafu at the beginning and started the run on the nike+ app before I was ready (maybe about 30 seconds or so) and I also had to stop a lot to avoid the glaciers, but I'm guessing I was still only about a 12:00min pace and I'm a bit disappointed by that because I swear I was running faster than that. I really tried to pick it up in places just to see how fast I could get my pace, but according to the app my fastest pace was 10:32 and I'm sure I only kept that up for a few hundred yards at best! Oh well, I'm not really that disappointed overall because I never thought I was actually going to be able to run 3mi non-stop today, so YAY for that! That last half mile sucked big hairy balls, but that's ok. I hope it's nice for my run tomorrow too, so I can run outside again because the one thing that today clearly indicated is that I loathe running on the treadmill. I know it's all mental, but it's SO much nicer to have scenery!! (and obstacles to make it fun). Wait, did I just suggest that running could be fun?? What is wrong with me??
Anyway, when I did start walking back to my starting point I was feeling pretty darn good about myself. And I can't wait to go out to dinner tonight for Michele's birthday and order whatever I want because I totally deserve it now!!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Not so rest day
Considering I've totaled about 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours (Pickle, you did NOT live up to your end of our deal. Can I sue?), it definitely took a LOT of effort to get through today - and that's without any workout! I actually did hit the gym for a little while, but only stretched in the stretching area for about 30 mins (SO SORE today!), and it was really just to offload the boys in the babysitting room for my own sanity. I realize I must sound like Mother of the Year in these first several posts here (italics being the "official" sarcasm font), but in my defense this has been one trying week. Greg has been away since pretty much Monday (technically he came home Tuesday night, but essentially just to crash in bed and he was up and out for his trip before the next day even started), but he travels a lot and I'm pretty used to it, so that wasn't even really it. The big one has entered a phase where he literally doesn't listen to a word I say and just laughs at me or collapses in a giant temper tantrum if he doesn't like what he hears, and the little one is in that "I'm going to drag anything I can pull to stand on to reach the" [fill in the blank - hot stove, sink full of dishes, knife block, sharpies in a pen jar to scribble on the fridge, giant scissors in the clutter drawer, etc. etc. etc.] phase - (big enough to accomplish huge physical feats, and independent enough to hear you say "No!" and completely ignore you), so you just have to chase him around the house 24/7 to keep him from killing himself. Anyone who's had a pre-2 year old knows this phase all too well. And I'm thinking I might want another one some day? Really, what am I thinking?
So the day started off with a trip to Babies 'R Us to take advantage of their trade-in sale. Traded in the stroller part of my Chicco travel system that hasn't been used in 2 years. And I think that the infant car seat part of that travel system would actually expire too soon if I did, in fact, want to use it for a potential third baby, so I probably wouldn't have use for the stroller anymore anyway. I feel slightly guilty not donating it to charity, and I admit I have no idea what Babies 'R Us does with all the trade-ins. But I managed to score a new Sit 'n Stand stroller and saved almost $60, so despite the fact that I almost let my kids get rides home with strangers for misbehaving so badly, I considered it a successful trip.
After Babies 'R Us we went to the Y, the boys went in the babysitting room and then they went crazy in open gymnastics. Went home for lunch. My MIL came to take the big one to the library, and I attempted to put the new stroller together (although Pickle made that VERY difficult). After the library, my MIL offered me a little time to run out by myself (angels singing in unison - AHHHH!!! "alone time"....) to buy some new sports bras (really need them!) only as soon as I park, I called the hubs to find out his ETA and he informs me that he lost his car keys. We don't have a spare. Great. So my running errands time turns into driving to Chelmsford to pick up the hubs and trying to come up with a workable plan on how to get everywhere we need to be separately over the weekend with only one car. The hubs makes a million phone calls to everywhere he could have possibly left his keys and also to local dealerships to see if he could have a new key made STAT. Turns out the car would have to be present at the dealership, so it appeared a tow was going to be in our future. Ugh. But then, just as I was a few minutes away from his office, lo' and behold, he locates his keys after checking his bag for the umpteenth time. Angels singing again because we don't need to pay for a tow. I don't even care about missing out on sports bra shopping (really need to though!) and the wasted drive (almost) all the way to his office. I got a little quiet time in the car and that was pretty worth it.
It's 9pm and the hubs is already snoring like a chainsaw. Poor guy had a pretty tough day. He spent the morning at the spa relaxing, reading his book, and getting a massage and then had a grueling 2+ hour drive home from the Omni Mt. Washington Resort in the afternoon. Geez, no wonder he can't keep his eyes open long enough to finish our episode of The Mentalist.
I'm beyond exhausted though and already dreading that I have to run tomorrow. Ugh. I despise running. What was I thinking???
So the day started off with a trip to Babies 'R Us to take advantage of their trade-in sale. Traded in the stroller part of my Chicco travel system that hasn't been used in 2 years. And I think that the infant car seat part of that travel system would actually expire too soon if I did, in fact, want to use it for a potential third baby, so I probably wouldn't have use for the stroller anymore anyway. I feel slightly guilty not donating it to charity, and I admit I have no idea what Babies 'R Us does with all the trade-ins. But I managed to score a new Sit 'n Stand stroller and saved almost $60, so despite the fact that I almost let my kids get rides home with strangers for misbehaving so badly, I considered it a successful trip.
After Babies 'R Us we went to the Y, the boys went in the babysitting room and then they went crazy in open gymnastics. Went home for lunch. My MIL came to take the big one to the library, and I attempted to put the new stroller together (although Pickle made that VERY difficult). After the library, my MIL offered me a little time to run out by myself (angels singing in unison - AHHHH!!! "alone time"....) to buy some new sports bras (really need them!) only as soon as I park, I called the hubs to find out his ETA and he informs me that he lost his car keys. We don't have a spare. Great. So my running errands time turns into driving to Chelmsford to pick up the hubs and trying to come up with a workable plan on how to get everywhere we need to be separately over the weekend with only one car. The hubs makes a million phone calls to everywhere he could have possibly left his keys and also to local dealerships to see if he could have a new key made STAT. Turns out the car would have to be present at the dealership, so it appeared a tow was going to be in our future. Ugh. But then, just as I was a few minutes away from his office, lo' and behold, he locates his keys after checking his bag for the umpteenth time. Angels singing again because we don't need to pay for a tow. I don't even care about missing out on sports bra shopping (really need to though!) and the wasted drive (almost) all the way to his office. I got a little quiet time in the car and that was pretty worth it.
It's 9pm and the hubs is already snoring like a chainsaw. Poor guy had a pretty tough day. He spent the morning at the spa relaxing, reading his book, and getting a massage and then had a grueling 2+ hour drive home from the Omni Mt. Washington Resort in the afternoon. Geez, no wonder he can't keep his eyes open long enough to finish our episode of The Mentalist.
I'm beyond exhausted though and already dreading that I have to run tomorrow. Ugh. I despise running. What was I thinking???
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Holy Bootcamp Batman!
Well, there were only 3 of us in bootcamp tonight and Tom totally kicked our butts! I actually didn't mind though. Tomorrow is my rest day and now I feel like I deserve it! Plus, my kids were driving me beyond bonkers (do I detect a theme here?) and I would have pretty much endured anything to have a few moments to myself!
Took the kids swimming before bootcamp, so I pretty much rocked it today. Perhaps this will become our normal Thursday afternoon plan. It was pretty awesome to see them having so much fun, and I was very impressed with how much they've been getting out of their swim lessons. (I guess I should sign them up again next session and get them back into it!) Of course all the enjoyment experienced with them in the pool quickly flew by the wayside when they turned into crazy little hell raisers in the locker room and I vowed never to take both of them swimming by myself ever again. Of course I'm sure "Momnesia" will kick in by next Thursday and we'll be back in the pool again.
I am happy to report though, that although I had no dinner plan yet again after bootcamp (and had to leave so early for swimming that I didn't have time to prepare anything ahead of time), I did avoid Burger King (which I heard Kyle refer to as King Hamburger). I opted to cook omelets with raisin toast instead. Not exactly the healthiest dinner I suppose, but a hell of a lot better than King Hamburger! By the by, blogger is refusing to let me spell omelet o-m-e-l-e-t-t-e, which is how I would normally spell it. And a quick google search shows me that Wikipedia agrees with me, so it must be right!
Oh, I definitely regretted my o-m-e-l-e-t-t-e decision though, when I turned my back for ONE second and my rascal of a 20-month-old got hold of the leftover eggs and smashed them on the kitchen floor and then proceeded to stomp around in the raw egg before I could reach him. Awesome. Oh well, sleep through the night Pickle and all will be forgiven. Ok? Crap, it's 10pm already? Where oh where did my night go?? Blog out!
Took the kids swimming before bootcamp, so I pretty much rocked it today. Perhaps this will become our normal Thursday afternoon plan. It was pretty awesome to see them having so much fun, and I was very impressed with how much they've been getting out of their swim lessons. (I guess I should sign them up again next session and get them back into it!) Of course all the enjoyment experienced with them in the pool quickly flew by the wayside when they turned into crazy little hell raisers in the locker room and I vowed never to take both of them swimming by myself ever again. Of course I'm sure "Momnesia" will kick in by next Thursday and we'll be back in the pool again.
I am happy to report though, that although I had no dinner plan yet again after bootcamp (and had to leave so early for swimming that I didn't have time to prepare anything ahead of time), I did avoid Burger King (which I heard Kyle refer to as King Hamburger). I opted to cook omelets with raisin toast instead. Not exactly the healthiest dinner I suppose, but a hell of a lot better than King Hamburger! By the by, blogger is refusing to let me spell omelet o-m-e-l-e-t-t-e, which is how I would normally spell it. And a quick google search shows me that Wikipedia agrees with me, so it must be right!
Oh, I definitely regretted my o-m-e-l-e-t-t-e decision though, when I turned my back for ONE second and my rascal of a 20-month-old got hold of the leftover eggs and smashed them on the kitchen floor and then proceeded to stomp around in the raw egg before I could reach him. Awesome. Oh well, sleep through the night Pickle and all will be forgiven. Ok? Crap, it's 10pm already? Where oh where did my night go?? Blog out!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
First 2-in-1 Training Day
Granted, it was barely 2-in-1, but I love a catchy headline! So I decided to offload my kids in the babysitting room for a little while before Pilates (just needed a little extra time to myself!) They were driving my bonkers today!
Decided to super take it easy on the treadmill though and set the treadmill to 2% incline and 13:02 min mile. Only had time to run 1 mile, but at that pace I probably could have gone longer (quit while you're ahead!) My big toe on my right foot did start aching pretty quickly again though...really need to address that - don't want any injuries!
Went to Pilates after and was still super sore from bootcamp yesterday, so I had to do a lot of the exercises in the "modified" positions. I don't care though, still feel like I'm getting something out of it!
Really wasn't psyched about not getting home with the boys until almost 8pm, but at least I was smart enough to put out their jammies ahead of time!
Decided to super take it easy on the treadmill though and set the treadmill to 2% incline and 13:02 min mile. Only had time to run 1 mile, but at that pace I probably could have gone longer (quit while you're ahead!) My big toe on my right foot did start aching pretty quickly again though...really need to address that - don't want any injuries!
Went to Pilates after and was still super sore from bootcamp yesterday, so I had to do a lot of the exercises in the "modified" positions. I don't care though, still feel like I'm getting something out of it!
Really wasn't psyched about not getting home with the boys until almost 8pm, but at least I was smart enough to put out their jammies ahead of time!
Officially doing another race!
Today I officially signed up for my first half marathon! I've been considering it for a little while now ever since I knew I'd be signing up for the marathon, and today I decided to stop hemming and hawing. I think it will be the best way to make sure I really start getting my butt in gear and start training for the full marathon (since it's all the way in October and knowing myself, I KNOW I would totally keep putting it off since October is "forever away"). So by May 6th I need to be ready for 13.1 miles. That's less than 15 weeks away. Whoa.
Of course now I'm hemming and hawing over my training schedule. (Apparently, I always have an internal debate going on about something...) Before the marathon ever became a reality, my workout routine was Mon/Wed Pilates and Tues/Thurs Bootcamp, and I get so much out of both of them I really don't want to give them up. I figure I'll run both days of the weekends too. So, to get a third run in every week I either need to double up on a Pilates or Bootcamp day (most likely Pilates, since the idea of going on a run before having to endure bootcamp makes me break out in hives!) or give up my one rest day (which means running 3 days in a row...) The second option doesn't really seem like the best idea because I feel like I need to spread my runs out a bit more, but in theory, today would be my 'add in a run' Pilates day because doing that on Mondays would still mean 3 days in a row of running. Honestly though, my body is really feeling my recent workouts today - just about every muscle is screaming out in soreness. I hope I'm not getting in over my head here! Maybe I should rethink it, but this is what I'm planning for training after cross-referencing a bunch of suggested training plans:
Monday - Pilates 1hr (stretch & strengthen day)
Tuesday - Bootcamp 1hr (cross-train day)
Wednesday - Run & Pilates 1hr (stretch & strengthen day plus run)
Thursday - Bootcamp 1 hr (cross-train day)
Friday - REST DAY
Saturday - Long Run
Sunday - Run
I'm most nervous about having a run day in between 2 bootcamp days, and I kind of feel like it will have to be a short run day, but then that means I have my medium and long runs 2 days in a row...Ugh, maybe I'll have to rethink whether I can continue with both Pilates & Bootcamp 2 days a week...
I wasn't going to add my midweek short run in yet, but my kids are driving me bonkers today. Perhaps I'll bring them to the Y with me early and run on the treadmill for a bit to get a break from them!!!
Here are the websites I used to research training plans for the half marathon:
Hal Hidgeon's Novice Half Marathon Training Program
Jeff Galloway's Half Marathon Training Schedule
Runner's World Ultimate Half Marathon Training Plan
Marathon Rookie Half Marathon Training for Beginners
Of course now I'm hemming and hawing over my training schedule. (Apparently, I always have an internal debate going on about something...) Before the marathon ever became a reality, my workout routine was Mon/Wed Pilates and Tues/Thurs Bootcamp, and I get so much out of both of them I really don't want to give them up. I figure I'll run both days of the weekends too. So, to get a third run in every week I either need to double up on a Pilates or Bootcamp day (most likely Pilates, since the idea of going on a run before having to endure bootcamp makes me break out in hives!) or give up my one rest day (which means running 3 days in a row...) The second option doesn't really seem like the best idea because I feel like I need to spread my runs out a bit more, but in theory, today would be my 'add in a run' Pilates day because doing that on Mondays would still mean 3 days in a row of running. Honestly though, my body is really feeling my recent workouts today - just about every muscle is screaming out in soreness. I hope I'm not getting in over my head here! Maybe I should rethink it, but this is what I'm planning for training after cross-referencing a bunch of suggested training plans:
Monday - Pilates 1hr (stretch & strengthen day)
Tuesday - Bootcamp 1hr (cross-train day)
Wednesday - Run & Pilates 1hr (stretch & strengthen day plus run)
Thursday - Bootcamp 1 hr (cross-train day)
Friday - REST DAY
Saturday - Long Run
Sunday - Run
I'm most nervous about having a run day in between 2 bootcamp days, and I kind of feel like it will have to be a short run day, but then that means I have my medium and long runs 2 days in a row...Ugh, maybe I'll have to rethink whether I can continue with both Pilates & Bootcamp 2 days a week...
I wasn't going to add my midweek short run in yet, but my kids are driving me bonkers today. Perhaps I'll bring them to the Y with me early and run on the treadmill for a bit to get a break from them!!!
Here are the websites I used to research training plans for the half marathon:
Hal Hidgeon's Novice Half Marathon Training Program
Jeff Galloway's Half Marathon Training Schedule
Runner's World Ultimate Half Marathon Training Plan
Marathon Rookie Half Marathon Training for Beginners
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