Tag: training

Running in Houston

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I was in Houston for the weekend, so I left my trusty Garmin Forerunner 405CX behind in favor of my favorite, low-cost pedometer, Nike + SportBand. The idea was to get a run in, if not do an official 5K, over the weekend. I knew this was a rather obscene challenge, what with the expectations of family gatherings and oppressive heat.

Thankfully (as expected) there was a fitness center in our hotel, meaning I wouldn’t have to venture out into the heat to get my 20 minutes in. Even in air conditioning, I was dripping with sweat by the end of it. I’m grateful for the fitness center, but I have to wonder, how do people in the southern US survive to exercise during the oppressively hot months? I couldn’t tolerate running on the treadmill more than 30 minutes, even with mind-numbing TV. And seriously, I get a little wonky once I step off a treadmill after half an hour. The world doesn’t quite match with my expectations of movement.

One thing I added to my running day was a bit of light yoga – by this I mean, a few sun salutations coupled with a few transitions flowing in and out of Warrior I and II. This left me feeling good and stretched, and I still feel the muscle benefits two days later. I think I need to do more of this, as well as do some reading as the summer approaches to enhance my fitness ventures.

As always, my fitness buddy Emily is challenging me to join her in a 1/2 marathon in San Jose in August. I don’t know if my training will get me there. I wonder what will. I’m thinking the next couple weeks will be a good challenge to cough up the $85, and see where I can get to, training-wise.

Today was my 30 minute long, slow run. I’m still longing to be faster, but this was a back-off week. Here’s hoping I’ll see some speed in time for the LIVESTRONG Challenge!

The Fad of Five Fingers

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Today I went out for my first run in my FiveFingers Sprint. My fitness buddy, Emily has been running in FiveFingers for awhile, including during the LavaMan Triathlon. OMG!

This is my back-off week, and today was my 10 minute run, so since my regular running shoes (Brooks Women's Adrenaline GTS 10) were packed away for a weekend trip, I decided to give the FiveFingers a chance.

I’ve walked around in the FiveFingers before, but I haven’t really done more than skip and jump in them. What is astounding is the way you really feel in touch with the ground, but the rocks don’t quite hurt the way they would with bare feet. Immediately, when I started jogging, I felt the mechanics of my legs move differently. I pronate with both feet, moreso with my right foot, and the first thing I felt was my inner calves contracting as my foot would come down to push off in a way that it doesn’t usually. I felt the rocking of my foot. I’ve read that the benefits of barefoot running are that it engages your natural body mechanics, and doesn’t mess up the natural balance that you already have. At the end of my short run, I ended up feeling almost like my feet were cushioned more against the ground. No blisters, thankfully, though a little bit of weariness could be felt.

I think I might have gone a little faster overall, but it’s hard to gauge at this point. I’m still not sold, but I will be trying this again.

Scuba and Running

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Today my athleticism was a combination of dry suit diving with Girl Diver at Alki Cove 2 and doing a long run of 39 minutes in my neighborhood.

I’m desperately needing to get back in the water, if only to increase my endurance for kicking. Diving is great for developing all sorts of muscles, from your legs to your arms (for us Northwest divers at least, it’s 50 lbs of gear!)

My long-slow run was slower than I hoped, but actually over all, pretty OK. I didn’t stay as low in my heart rate range as I wanted, which was disappointing. I do have to contend with hills in my neighborhood, though, which makes it hard to keep my heart rate down without slowing quite a bit. I’m still going faster than 12 min/mi, but I am hoping to do under 10 min/mi, especially by late June. I’m finding that my interest in training is flagging quite a bit. I’m wanting a running buddy (not necessarily a group.) I don’t want to feel pressured, I just want to have fun. I also don’t want to drive too far to run. Driving to run? Really?

I’ve neglected hitting the gym and doing yoga. I’ve also been pretty busy doing a number of other things. I hope to be very busy this summer, so it will be interesting to see how that impacts training.

In the end, I’m caught up in my independence.

On a dietary front, I’m really trying to be mindful of carbs. They make me feel sluggish, hungry, and generally icky. Now, I’m speaking mainly of the refined-sugar type. They also make me cracked-out craving them. This is new for me. I’m about 15 or so pounds from reaching my BMI norm. Here’s hoping!

Good Run Thursday

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Yesterday I had a really great run. I walked for 4 minutes, jogged for 22, and then walked for the last 4 – and THEN did some strength training at my gym. Overall, it was a fantastic day, and though I’m achey this morning, yesterday’s work out felt really, really good. Some the the achiness I attribute to the strength training. I need to find a good way to tone my abs, as that I hate most of them, and the ones I don’t hate wrench my back (because I’m doing it wrong, I’m sure.)

My pace for my walk/run averaged at 11:10/mi. My heart rate still got a little high if I want to stay in the moderate training range, but wasn’t too crazy, so I feel like I’m doing well. I look forward to see how my run Saturday will be, since it will be my first 30+ minutes running during a week of regular exercise for a few weeks.

I haven’t managed to make it to a Team in Training practice yet – mostly because I’m still unsure as to my ability to do the event, both running and fundraising-wise.

Slowing Down More

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To say the least, I’m scaling back my intensity. On Friday, I went out for a 30 minute jog – then it started raining. It was already chilly, and I wasn’t really feeling up to a run anyway, but I went out hoping I could shake off some of the sluggishness.

Even though I hadn’t eaten in a few hours, I found that just a few minutes into my jog, I was getting some acid reflux. It was almost enough to make me want to just stop then and there. I moved on, and decided around 12 minutes into the run that I would just give up and head back, and make it a 20 minute jog. I paid attention to my heart rate, and kept it the lowest consistent bpm of recent – which is to say above 145, but below 160. My bunions were generally unhappy, and I was starting to wonder if I am developing arthritis(!).

A coworker of my husband’s who is currently studying Brazilian Jiu-jitsu had told him that all of the guys he trains with view running as a disastrously dangerous sport for the body. I know it doesn’t have to be, however, I’m trying to find a way to make it work for me.

In other sport news – I went to a softball practice for a friend’s corporate softball team. I ended up with tendonitis in my forearm after one practice, and am going to have to bench it for awhile.

The hell? Can’t I catch a break?

I know that really, I should perhaps be going towards gentler body/mind sports, but I like being able to run and be badass. It’s hard to find balance.

Still frustrated, still working. Considering an evening jog on a treadmill to round out the day.