Distant lightning

I have now put together a training plan for the next month and a half.  This morning called for 3 miles.

As I got out to run, I noticed somewhat ominous clouds to the south.  After a few minutes, I started seeing lightning.  Normally, I don't run if there is the possibility of lightning, so I kept a close watch on it.  It stayed to the south and I couldn't even hear the cloud to ground lightning.  I decided if it got close enough to hear, I'd head home.  Just in case, I chose my route to be close enough to home that I could book it home in a couple minutes.

I was very glad I had a goal today.   There were several times I could have justified quitting early.  But, I ended up running my goal of 3 miles.  It was a very slllloooooowwww three miles.  I averaged a 12 min/mile pace.  I was going for distance not speed, so I'm not going to harp on that, though.

No problems with my feet or legs!  That is a very nice feeling.  My stomach did feel a bit off before I started, but it seemed to settle during the run.

I tightened the heart rate monitor a little bit and my reading was perfect this time. (see below)

bunnies: 6 (Some were certainly counted twice, but that is their fault. If they didn't want to be counted twice, they should have gotten out of the way the first time I went by!)

A good hear rate reading

Sore lats

Saturday, I got to the basement to lift in the morning.  I did New Rules of Lifting for Women Stage 6, A2.  (Again, this is my second time doing this stage.)  As I was working out, the kids came downstairs and played.  They also watched me some.  I was grunting a bit on the lat pulls and my son, in his infinite wisdom asked me if he should remove some weight to make it easier.  It was funny at the time.  I forgot to alternate the split squats and the push-ups.


Stage 6A2-2

Warm up - FBB (10:00)

Negative Chin-up - 25s @BW, 20x @backpack with 10#, 13s @backpack with 15#

Underhand-grip Lat Pulldown - 10x2 @115#

Barbell Split Squat - 2x8 @60#

Push-up - 2x8 on floor (not the best form, i.e. not quite deep enough toward the end)

Afterward, I foam rolled.

After my son's soccer game and my daughter's gymnastics class, we went with friends on a nice bike ride.  It was from Slater to Ankeny on a bike trail for about 13 miles.  A nice ride on a very nice rail-to-trail path.

This morning, I got out for a run.  First off, I had forgotten to charge my phone, so no music for me.  Pooh.  So, I set out with nothing but the clothes on my back, so to say!  It took me a good two miles to get into the run.  Then my mind started coasting and my legs started going on autopilot. The start was a bit hard because of the soreness in my lats and arms from yesterday's lifting.  That got a little better after about a mile or so.  It was not an overall easy run, but I made 4 miles.  I plan on increasing my long run length over the next few weeks in preparation for my 10k on October 2 and my half marathon on October 17.  I hope to get two 2.5-3 mile runs during the week.

I just purchased a running belt from iFitness.  I got the dual pouch version.  It's not supposed to bounce or ride up and it is also water resistant.  That will be nice when I go to the coffee shop after a long run.  I hate giving them moist dollar bills!  It should also hold my phone and gels.  I'll report back on how it does for me.

Before lifting workout on Saturday, I replaced the battery in my Garmin heart rate monitor strap.  It had been getting some very poor readings lately.  The readings were less sporadic, but there were still some spots where it obviously wasn't reading well.  I probably need to shorten the strap some, since the elastic has stretched some and I'm at the limit of how much I can adjust it tighter.  I have cleaned the contact area, so I don't think that is the problem.  I know for sure my heart rate did not dip to below 110bpm on my run today!

Look at the graphs below for two of my runs.  The red track is my heart rate and the blue track is my pace.

Before the battery replacement (8/27/2010)

After the battery replacement (8/29/2010)

Toe issues

Against my will this morning, I got myself out of bed to run.  I even managed a total of 2.36 miles running and 0.67 miles walking.  I know.  Not too impressive.  That's ok.  Before I ran, I walked quite a ways. My toe kept hurting then feeling perfectly fine, then hurting again, repeat.  I've learned better than to run on an injury in training and make it worse.  But, I tried running a bit anyway, and the slight pain only popped up a couple times and very briefly.  It's very odd.

The Podrunner podcast Definitive helped me along today.  It even was coming to a peak right as I was making my final uphill push towards home.  Felt good!  I was thinking about how I respond to listening to music while running.  I have a long history of moving to music beats.  When I was active in making music, my foot would tap the beat, in marching band of course my feet were dropping in time to the beats, and hubby and I also competed for a while at a lower level in ballroom dancing.  It's no wonder that I like to move my legs to a beat!

I had thought of going to a 5k tomorrow.  I'm not sure my feet are up to that yet.  I know I could finish, but I'm not sure it's the best idea quite yet.

The Zone is Back

The long run zone, that is.  I managed to get in it this morning on my not-so-long run.  I ran for a total of around 2 miles.  There was a twinge in my toe at first, but it went away.  There was, oddly enough, also a twinge in my left toe after a while.  It ended up leaving, too.  I took a short walk after a mile to judge if everything was doing fine and it was.

My legs felt great and I was in time with my tunes. I chose an oldie but goodie Podrunner track called Strong at 153 bpm.

I'd like to see my (admittedly slow) pace and heart rate, but I'm struggling with my Garmin interface to SportTracks right now.

7 bunnies today.  I almost stepped on a bird.  I think it was a baby robin.  Either that, or it was injured.  I wasn't sure what it was (it was dark out and the bird was in the shadow from the street light) so I stepped beside it, then it flew a few feet away!  It was a beautiful 53F out this morning.  No wind.  Not too humid.  Perfect.

After the run, I watched Bret Contreras' new video about the hip thrust.  I've been meaning to give these a try, so I did 2 sets of 20 reps at body weight.  I'm pretty sure I was doing them right, so next time I'll add some weight!

Toe issues...

Ok, so NOW it's my TOE!  I stubbed it on the carpet.  Yes, on the carpet.  Nothing exciting like the wall or the chair, just caught it on the carpet.  It was surprisingly painful that day (Saturday) and now, on Tuesday, it has lessened, but it's still there.  So, I cut my run short this morning so as not to make it worse.  Actually, mother nature was calling, which helped seal the deal.  When I woke up, it was raining, but by the time I got outside, there was a clearing in the rain.  There was no lightning this time, which has been a rare situation lately.  I ran (what little that was) with Podrunner.  I hadn't done that in a while and I miss it!  In that short run, I saw three bunnies.

After the brief  (<0.5mile) run, I went to the basement to practice some kettlebell stuff.
With the 20# bell:
20 swings
20 alternating swings
10 L cleans
10 R cleans
20 swings
Then I tried some Turkish Getup stuff.  Those are definitely harder than they look.  Unweighted is fine.  With 20#?  Lots of stabilization required.  I might try for a while with a lighter dumbbell just to get the form down.