Saturday, October 29, 2011

I hate that friggin car

In a rare weekend run, I took the long route from the house to Goodyear to pick up our piece of crap car. I hate that thing. There is a chance that I ran with a decent pace because the hate was fueling my legs. I can't wait to sell it. I hate it. And, yes. I know that I just used hate three times in three sentences. The boys and I have been talking about what "hate" means because they saw or heard it somewhere and now Meatball says it. (I know. Get used to it, right?) What I've told them is that "hate" means that you wish something were dead and that it would never come back. That's why we don't say it when it comes to people. However, for this car, I believe that it's safe to use the term.
Stats: 4 miles in 41:50 for a 10:28mpm pace

Friday, October 28, 2011

Tourists

Brrrrr!!! My fingers never warmed up today. That's pretty cold. Otherwise, it was a great run! We got a good hill in, decent distance, and had enough to talk about for the entire run. AND, I always feel like such a bad ass when we pass people who are all bundled up and look like they would rather die than walk in the cold weather. We had a nice little patch down by the Salt Palace when we passed a few groups of visitors from an Asian country (probably Japan). By the way they were dressed and the location, they are all probably here for some kind of convention, but that's not my point. They were all so very nice - it was almost a chorus of "Good Morning" from each group! The locals are never that happy or friendly!
Stats: 6.68 miles in 1:13:23 for an 11:00mpm pace

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pants. Pants!

I actually had to wear pants this morning, and my bum is still cold almost an hour after my run! Yes - it was 33* when I left the house, and only about 35* or 36* when I went for my run. I know now that I have to make my Wednesday runs a bit longer than other days because it's the ony day I can do it (except for the weekends when I could go really long if I would get my butt out of bed). So, although I only wanted to do one lap of Sugarhouse this morning, I made myself do two. My legs were tired after yesterday's weight workout, and I had to really concentrate on keeping my pace for the last mile. I'm happy to report that I was successful.
Stats: 7 miles in 1:13:56 for a 10:34mpm pace

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Mixed up routine; not pretty results

It's official. Our weight lifting instructor hates us.
Because I carpool, and she wanted to sleep in, we ran after weight class today. We usually do a quick three miles before class, and then we're done. Today we did three miles NON-quickly, and it seemed that we would NEVER get done. Seriously, this run took at least 18 hours. My inner thigh/groin muscles did NOT want to lift my legs, and I'm lucky that I didn't trip on the many uneven cracks in the sidewalk. My shoulders and pecs are so tired that I wanted to just let my arms flop around by my sides. Waaaaa, waaaaa, waaaaa!
Stats: 3.06 miles in 34:36 for an 11:19mpm pace

Monday, October 24, 2011

LOVE Mondays! (At least the running part)

Does it sound crazy when I say that I love Monday morning running? There's always so much to talk about that the run seems to fly by. Today, we covered job promotions (or in my case, not), spouses, current events, spouses, pacing, health, progress in our push-up/sit-up challenge, spouses, holidays, costumes, and spouses - not necessarily in that order. Monday morning is the time that I get an un-biased opinion, an open set of ears, calm to temper my anger/passion, and a good dose of reality. Greatest running partner ever.
Stats: 5.08 miles in 55 minutes for a 10:50mpm pace

Friday, October 21, 2011

Much better

Now, THAT's more like it! As much as I didn't want to run this morning (and neither did Carol), we hammered out the downtown loop anyway. At the halfway point, I commented to Carol that we would probably be the same pace or a bit slower than the last time we did this loop. Here's the thing: do NOT tell Carol you're about to be slower as it just causes her to speed up! We definitely ran a negative split. I would have been happy to just meander around blissfully unaware that my pace was sucking pond water, but not her! She rocks! AND, she keeps me on my toes - literally.
Stats: 5.46 miles in 58:28 for a 10:43mpm pace

Thursday, October 20, 2011

You would think...

I only had time to do a fast run before yoga, so I donned my jacket and headed out the door. Yesterday with a long-sleeved technical and a jacket, I was roasting before two miles. So, this morning I had a short-sleeved technical and the jacket. At the halfway point, I had to take off the jacket again. This took forever because I had my watch on top of my jacket sleeve and my pepper spray (running alone), so I lost some valuable time. (Yes, I run for time all of the time. I know that I'm supposed to just go to "go," but I'm addicted to my watch.) I felt great for about 3/4 mile, then I was cold again. I didn't have the time to waste to put the jacket back on. You would think that with 29 extra pounds of body fat, I wouldn't have this problem...
Stats: 3.1 miles in 34:38 for an 11:11mpm pace

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I may have to let go of my shorts...

Well, I was just trying to get three miles in. I didn't have a particular route in mind, so I just wove in and out of streets around the workplace since I was running on my own. It was cold! Remember last week when I said that I wasn't going to give up my shorts yet? I may have been mistaken about that. It really was cold. I warmed up quite a bit (especially my pecs/shoulders/abs) after our weight workout. I've got a full day of joy and fun ahead of me in the form of testing, meetings, and process improvements. It's a glamorous life!
Stats: 3.09 miles in 33:22 for a 10:48mpm pace

Monday, October 17, 2011

Blame it on the screwdrivers

After being lazy all weekend, this run felt pretty good to me. Carol, as usual, is a machine. She ran a 1/2 on Saturday and then hiked in the snow and mud at Brighton for a few hours. She rocks. My weekend consisted of sugar, fast food, bloody marys, and screwdrivers. Yeah. Not exactly the picture of health and fitness. All of that crappy food is surely to blame for the fact that I forgot my regular bra today. No biggie - I have an extra in my drawer, right? Wrong. I forgot to replace it the last time I did this, so it's stinky jog bra all day long. Luckily, I don't have many meetings, and I can spend my day in solitude stinking myself out at my cubicle.
Stats: 5.21 miles in 58:48 for an 11:18mpm pace

Friday, October 14, 2011

Damn candy corn

Well, I had to make up for yesterday somehow! So, I ran the Sugarhouse loop so that I would have to run hills. I really pushed for a negative split, and managed a sub-11 pace overall. I also froze my butt off. It's time for long-sleeved shirts. I'm not going to give up on my shorts quite yet, but the short-sleeves are a thing of the past as long as I'm running this early in the morning. I also decided that I'm tired of being the fattest person in yoga/lift/start line of any race. I'm just sick of it. And, I know that it's the sugar. When I start to eat sugar, I don't stop at just one bite. I have to eat the whole bowl of candy or the whole candy bar or the whole whatever. Damn candy corn.....
Stats: 5.5 miles in 59:36 for a 10:51mpm pace

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Quit your yammering!

Shut it! I talked for the entire run about the schools that we visited yesterday with the boys (trying to figure out where they will go to school next year). It toally slowed us down! I even had a rest day yesterday, so I should have been able to do MUCH better! Bless Carol for listening to me; she should have given me a kick in the butt instead!
Stats: 3.04 miles in 35:21 for an 11:38mpm pace

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

continued progress

This run was not as fast as yesterday's run, but that's probably a good thing. We still had some energy for the butt whoopin' that we got in our lift class. Luci (aka Carolyn, aka Lucifer) is a really good trainer. She's fun, too, which is saying something for this type of class. We are wishing her luck at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco this weekend!
Stats: 3.25 miles in 36:09 for an 11:08mpm pace

As a side note, my BMI is down one point and my body fat is down 1.5% from where they were on 6/15/11. That makes me happy. I can also see my biceps when I flex, and if I do it just right, I can see some muscles in my back.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Chilly

This was a chilly but nice run on the downtown loop. We both had a lot to talk about, so the miles passed quickly. I'm glad that I have this outlet for my frustrations. Right now, Carol has a LOT going on, so I'm happy that I can be there for her.
Stats: 5.46 miles in 58:07 for a 10:39mpm pace

Friday, October 7, 2011

had to break out the long sleeves!

It rained and snowed (SNOWED!) all day yesterday, so I didn't run. Carol and I only did yoga, and decided that running in a downpour would not be as much fun as running in some sprinkles like we did earlier in the week. This morning, the temps had plummeted (should be even colder tonight!), so I work my first long-sleeved tech shirt of the season. We both still wore shorts, although much colder than today's 40*, and I'll have to break out the tights. We ran in Sugarhouse this morning, and it was crowded! The ROTC folks were out, and all of them seemed to be doing fast paces. We joked about drafting off a couple of them, but we just weren't fast enough! It was a nice (but cold) run.
Stats: 5.5 miles in 1:02:41 for an 11:24mpm pace

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Friggin' cheese curd....

Carol and I did a loop this morning that included road that we rarely run on. It was an exercise in concentration for me because I am suffering a cheese-induced "episode" of the spins. (Yes. Cheese. I didn't really think about it because, well, it's just cheese. I bought some curd last week when I was in Logan. I know that cheese has salt, and I know that curd has more salt. To make matters worse, I bought a bag of smoked curd! HELLO? It's not like I think about cheese's salt content because, really, who has more than just a couple of slices on a sandwich from time to time, right? But when it's curd, and it's so easy to eat, and the kids love to snack on it... Well, then this is what you get: nausea, hearing loss in one ear, sleeping upright in a recliner, overall miserableness.) Anyway, I had to REALLY focus and concentrate on not falling down while running. Is road running the smartest off-kilter activity I could find? Well, no, but whatever. I sweat a lot, so it helps to flush the salt out of my system, and we need the miles. So, I just watched the white line of the bike lane and tried not to get run over. It was a thrill. Carol was watching out for me the entire time.
Stats: 5.75 miles in 1:04:57 for an 11:18mpm pace

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Rainy run

Carol is back from vacation! Yay! She had a great time, but I'm happy to have her back. Runs seem to fly by when we can chat. We ran in the rain today - the first time in a LONG time. It was actually nice except we had to slow a bit because Carol couldn't see through her rainy glasses. It was good to be out. I haven't run since last Friday because I slammed my bad to into the floor on Saturday night and it was swollen and immovable for almost two days. I'm dreading that surgery which will probably be sooner than later.
Stats: 3.5 miles in 39:14 for an 11:13mpm pace (with dull pain shooting up the top of my foot the entire time)