Monday, January 31, 2011

Jan 31st workout and NEWS!!!!

Jan 31 treadmill run 4 miles (FOUR MILES!!) 40:45, top speed 6.4, 2% incline

I broke thru the barrier. The one that said 'you can NOT run more than 3 miles on this treadmill, it will be the worst. experience. ever.'
But today, I tried to push past that. Minutes 30-40 were TOUGH. I kept telling myself 'go ONE more minute, if you want to stop then, fine.'
I think part of the problem is that I am pushing the speed too much. I should probably try to stay right around 6mph, if not closer to 5.7, but the logical side of my brain seems to go to sleep when I think about this one. =)

Also, tomorrow's my birthday. Just thought you should all know. I accept cash or gift cards.

=)

AND.....well...ok, I told my parents I was thinking of getting a treadmill so my dad said, 'just take mine, I dont use it anymore.' and I thought 'YEE HAW!', I was SO excited.

Then I got it.

Let's just say, it was probably some clearance special at the local dime store. Ok, not that bad, but not good. Not good at all. It's a Weslo, had the incline where you have to pull out a little do-hickie on the bottom to raise it up, you increase speed by turning a knob that DOESNT EVEN HAVE NUMBERS. It says things like 'aerobic' instead. The digital read it out is TINY and only reads one thing at a time (calories, then time, then distance etc). And it is LOUD.
I think I may have ruptured an ear drum trying it out.

AND the super sad thing is, my brothers and I bought this for him about 6 years or so ago! How cheap are we?! We knew he wanted one, we pooled our money together, obviously to get him the cheapest one we could find. Lesson learned. Buy dad good stuff so I'll have quality things to use when I borrow from him.
=)

Anyway, so we it got this past Saturday, my super awesome sauce hubby (stealing the phrase from Janae) went down to their house and brought it back for me, now the poor guy has to cart it back down there...I called my mom on Sunday and told her while I was SO appreciative, that it wasn't going to work. The deck is REALLY narrow and the display and 'arms' are VERY low and way out in front-its so weird.

Anyway, I told her I think we are going to save up for one and hopefully be able to buy one by next winter. There was one for about $600 in a local ad that looked good to me.

She called me today and said 'Did you get any money for your birthday yet?' and I'm thinking 'ooookkkkkkk, thats a weird question' and I said 'noooo, why...?' and she said 'oh nothing, its just that I think Dad wants to buy you a treadmill for your birthday.'
After picking my jaw up off the floor, I said 'does he know how much the one I want costs?' (I had told her yesterday) and said 'yeah, he knows, $600 right?'
Um, YEAH!

So it looks like my parents are going to pay for me to get a treadmill!!!!!! I am BEYOND excited!!!!! Can't wait to go shopping!
_________________________

So, question: what details do I look for in a treadmill? I know I want to be able to incline it by pushing a button, adjusting the speed by pushing a button (not a knob), a fairly good size deck and a display front that is more 'in front' of me and not down by my thighs like my dad's =)

Any tips on treadmill shopping?

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Jan 29 and 30th workouts

Welp, it looks like we are getting more snow in the next few days. But I am hopeful it wont be as much as last weekend.

This is hubby shoveling our backyard to make a path to the shed last weekend. A small dog would get lost in that stuff.
He brought in some icycles for the girls to play with. No worries, they were NOT allowed to suck on them and had to wash their hands good after they were done. I am such a boring mom. I don't let them eat raw cookie dough, or lick the brownie batter bowl either. I have to make it up for it by doing cool stuff like building forts and painting 80 fingers and toes. Good mom points, right there.

Our driveway last weekend. I shoveled only HALF and it took me a little over an hour. Thank the LORD for good neighbors who them plowed the rest.

Random picture. This was from my 5yr old. It was actually a school worksheet. We were studying about Japan last year and they were suppose to color in the flag and write a sentence or two about the flag below. She asked if she could draw a doll on it instead and since she really only 'sits in' for this portion of school, I told her she could do whatever she wanted with it.
This is what I got. Not sure if its a picture of a Mommy as a 'funn doll' or Jaidy as a 'funn doll'. Cute, nonetheless.


Made cookies for the neighbors today. The peeps on the left plowed for us last weekend and the peeps on the right always give me extra coupon inserts every Sunday. I 'accidently' made too many, so I had to eat these ones.

Ok, workouts:
Jan 29 outdoor run 4.32 miles 45:32....10:32 pace. 30* no wind. Gear: headband, neck gaiter, CC LS shirt, TK SS shirt, TK LL shirt, CC tights, FILA tights, shorts, tunes, hydration belt *just so ya'll know, I put all this clothes info here for my benefit, it helps to go back and see what I wore in what kind of temps for future runs. I am not posting it to show my (lack of) running fashion*
This run almost didnt happen. I was hyper happy on Friday when the temps soared to a balmy 40 something degrees thinking that it would melt more snow and ice and my run on Saturday would be that much more obstacle free.
HOWEVER.
I forgot one very important point. That the temps would dip low enough Friday night to FREEZE all that snow and ice that melted the day before. Grrr.
I got out the door at 7am. It was still pretty dark though it was JUST starting to get light out.
I noticed what looked like diamonds all over my driveway which, ya know, would normally be an exciting and 'magical' experience. But I knew what that meant. Ice.
I decided to try it anyway thinking maybe my driveway (and street....and sidewalk...) were the exceptions. I think I would have fared better if I had thrown ice skates on instead of running shoes. But I'm not an ice skater. Quads all the way for me baby. I was a rink rat to the EXTREME, showing off my FLY moves and bustin' it all out in the 'dark' skate with my super slick glow in the dark rose.
Dont pretend you didnt love the skating rink. Throwin' down some serious backward skating to Bel Biv Devoe was the bomb.com. THEM was the days, baby....
*ahem* Anyway...
I walked down the street (a hill) and, wow. It usually takes me 5 minutes to walk down the hill and it took me over TWICE that long as it was so slick. I alternated between the sidewalks and the street, which ever place looked less 'magical'.
I got to the end, started the Garmin and started to run on a level side street. The sidewalk wasnt so bad but I had to stop every 10-15' to walk/crawl/slither over large ice patches. It took me FOUR minutes to run .25 miles. I stopped the garmin and reset it thinking I could find SOME stretch of sidewalk around there that would be clear enough for me to do some 'back and forths' on.
I did, plus a hill next to it. So I did that a few times and then decided to get brave and venture further into the neighborhood and by this time the sun had come up and made the world 'normal' again. The sparkles were gone and the sidewalks and roads became much less slippery. I still had to deal with large ice patches from the melted, and then frozen, snow. But at least they were easy to see and slightly spread out versus the slickery everywhere surface of 20 minutes ago.
I wanted to do 7 miles but was pretty fed up by about 4 miles-ish so I called it a day.
Glad to have gotten the run in but boy, I cant WAIT for Spring.
Jan 30 elliptical 25:00 5.25 miles....2/1 intervals.
Warmed up for 10 minutes and then commenced intervals. Two minutes of 'cant hardly breathe I am going so hard' to one minute of ' huffing and puffing trying to get my breathe'. I actually love those workouts.
Hoping to get a 'mill run into tomorrow. Considering actually BUYING one of these bad boys but dont want to spend more than $200-$250 (so, used, obviously)...has anyone bought a 'mill off Craigslist?
Also, what is your favorite running 'workout' (tempo, long run, intervals etc...)?
*dont forget to follow my other blogs at www.passionatemotherhood.blogspot.com and www.momof5learnsfrugal.blogspot.com and check out my new posts!




Thursday, January 27, 2011

Jan 25, 26, 28 workouts

Jan 25 elliptical 9.1 miles 43:00

Jan 26 elliptical 10.5 miles 50:00 0-15min Level 1.....15-35 Level 2.....35-50 Level 3
----It has been nice to workout longer now. I have been getting up earlier to make it a priority and I really enjoy it. I seem to really get into a zone after 40 minutes.

Jan 28 outdoor run 4.15 miles 42:08 pace 10:09
temp: 34* with a windchill of 30*......gear: headband, gaiter, gloves, Chill Chaser LS, Tek Gear SS with a cotton long sleeve on top, jacket, Chill Chaser tights, Fila tights, shorts, hydration belt, tunes
---Was SO nice to get back out this morning. After we got seriously dumped on this last weekend, I was wondering how the sidewalks would be. For the most part, everyone has done a great job of having their walks and driveways clear, though there were a few spots where I had to pull a U turn due to someone not shoveling their walk on the side of their house.

So now my quandry: 1/2 marathon training.

I really would like to start some sort of 'training' next week as that will put me 12 weeks out from the 1/2. However, I am a morning runner and the only mornings that I have free to run are Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Higdon's 1/2 plan calls for 4 runs a week (I think) and I dont really want to run Saturday, Sunday, Monday all in a row as I havent run 3 days in a row. I was JUST starting to run 2 days in a row this past fall.
Any suggestions? If there is a plan that is 3 days a week, I would love to see it!
I am sure I could run some evenings but I dont want to make that my primary run time.

Any suggestions on what to do??

Monday, January 24, 2011

Jan 24, 2011

Jan 24, 2011....3 miles on the treadmill 31:00, 2% incline.

Ran on the neighbors 'mill today. And I hesitate to say it, but it wasn't QUITE so bad as previous attempts. Still getting dizzy though. I cant see anyway around that though.
I popped up that bad boy to a big fat 2% incline. I was livin' on the edge, Yo!
I think next time I may try 2.5%.
I am hoping to start back with strength training this week, I just need to get up earlier to get both workouts in (cardio and weights).

I STILL haven't signed up for the 1/2 marathon in May. I am just tip toeing around it. I guess I'm worried about signing up and then not getting in the proper training (I cant seem to go longer than 30minutes or 3 miles-ish on the 'mill, I know its a mental thing but my 'mental' is pretty strong willed)...
Winter in Nebraska is about as a predictable as a rabid momma bear.

I know I will be kicking myself if I dont sign up so I should probably just do it. Three gals I went to highschool with are doing it as well, so it will be fun to meet up with them.

So what's your preference? Do you run on the 'mill if its even slightly chilly out or do you try to run outdoors at almost all costs?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Treadmill conversion chart

There's a treadmill conversion chart HERE

I love that I can see what the 'conversion' is....today I ran at a 2% incline and the majority of the run was around 6.0-6.2
My minutes per mile today was around 10:30 according to the clock, but according to this chart, it was more like 9:24.
Dont know how scientific this is, but it sure makes me feel a lot better =)

Here I am!

Sorry for my absence, friends! Life has been busy lately as I have started to watch a baby a couple days a week. We ADORE her, but it has made me have to shift chores and school around a bit during the week and while it is all completely manageable, it has made prioritizing and time usage much more important. Not that you aren't important! I do love you ins a lot! =)
So anyway, here is the low down on the workout front:
Jan 11 elliptical 5 miles 23:00
Jan 12 treadmill 3 miles 30:45
Jan 13 elliptical 8 miles 35:00
Jan 15 elliptical 10 miles 48:00 (I have discovered the treadmill I use doesnt go below 1.5% incline so thats what I have been running at this whole time)

Jan 16 3.5 mile outdoor run 37:45....14* with a windchill of 7*....gear: hat, headband, neck gaiter, buff, Chill Chaser LS shirt, Tek Gear SS shirt, Tek Gear LS shirt, jacket, 2 prs cheapie gloves, Chill Chasers rights, Fila tights, short, hydration belt, tunes

Jan17 elliptical 7.25 miles 35:00
Jan 18 elliptical 6.5 miles 31:00
Jan 20 treadmill 3 miles 31:30 2% incline (kicked it up a notch like, 'BAM!') =)

It felt SO good to run outside on Sunday. The temp was quite cold, but I felt fine and warm enough the whole time, though when I got home and was getting ready to jump in the shower, I noticed my both upper legs were BEAT red and cold to the touch, they didnt hurt or feel uncomfortable though and went away after awile, but it had me worried for about 6 seconds there.
Also, I kept my neck gaiter on for most of this run and on my cool down I kept seeing these 'orbs' and thought I was starting to loose it, or getting ready to have a brain aneurysm or something and then I realized they were ice crystal in my eyelashes from my breath coming up thru the top of the gaiter and onto my lashes where it promptly froze. As I was knocking the icicles off, I had to chuckle to myself. I am SUCH a sissy when it comes to cold and had you told me a year ago I would be running OUTSIDE when there is SNOW on the ground and in below freezing temps while growing icicles in my eyelashes, I would have stamped 'Certifiable' on your forehead.

Now I think maybe I'M the certifiable one.
No need to pick me up in the looney mobile.

I'll just run.

=)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Jan 6, 7, and 8th workouts

Jan 6th elliptical 9 miles in 40:00 (intervals)
Jan 7th elliptical 9 miles in 42:00
Jan 8th 5 mi run in 51:20 temp was 17* with an 8* windchill...gear: everything but the kitchen sink. =)

It felt SO great to get a 'distance' run in this past weekend! Anything under 3 always feel like just a warm-up. Anything 5 and above is icing on the cake. I love running with my Garmin and seeing how far I have gone. There was still a fair bit of ice on this run but it didnt slow me down as much.

That may be my last outdoor run for a bit as our outdoors now looks like this:
Dont mind the random kids, they seem to be in a lot of my pictures.
=)

We got dumped on a LOT today and its still snowing and will continue over night. Tomorrow apparently is suppose to be colder than cold so I am glad we got them out to play in it today.
And my WORD, it is a feat of Olympic proportions to get 5 kids ready to go out in the snow and then an equally challenging task to get them back inside without slopping dirty snow and ice all over kingdom come. But I rose to the challenge. Though our entry way is stuffed full of snowsuits, coats, hats, boots and gloves.
And yes, my 3rd daughter has fuzzy socks on her arms. They dont make the cuffs long enough on gloves and she had 'snow rocks' all around her wrists.
So I 'ghetto-fixed' her.

Sunday was suppose to be my rest day and I wanted to get in an elliptical or 'mill workout today but I was up til after midnight last night chatting with hubby and *ahem* making large batches of chocolate chip cookies which I managed to hide from my chil'rins by putting them on top of the fridge. Sneaky.

Hopefully I will get some decent shut eye tonight and get a workout in tomorrow.

I need to start lifting weight again too as I really think that was helping to keep my weight down. I'm feeling like the Good Year blimp lately and the dreaded 'muffin top' is creeping in on me.
I love me a muffin top, but only if its Betty Crocker.
And on its way into my mouth. =)

Friday, January 7, 2011

I won a HeadSweats hat from Cycle and Style!

YAY! I love free stuff! I entered a give away at the 'Cycle and Style' Facebook page for this reversible, thermal fleece beanie from HeadSweats. It said right on the tag 'Perspiration Technology' so I knew it was right up my alley as I sweat like nobody's business.

My girls think its funny that I have been wearing it around the house.

But I just love it so much =)
I can tell it will keep my head warm without making me overheat. Its also the perfect size and shape to wear under my bike helmet if I elevate to hardcore level and decide to bike in below freezing temps.
Tara at 'Cycle and Style' is so sweet, I highly recommend checking out their Facebook page. They will be having multiple giveaways thru out the year! Good luck!


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Jan. 3, 4, and 5th workouts

Jan 3: 7.5 mi, elliptical 34:30
Jan 4 10mi, elliptical 45:10

Jan 5: 3.9 mi, 43:08, 20* no wind, gear: headband, neck gaiter, buff (yep, I doubled up), Reebok tech short sleeve shirt under a LS Tek Gear shirt, jacket, 2 pr cheapie gloves, Chill Chaser tights, FILA tights, shorts, hydration belt tunes, Garmin....NEW SHOES!!!

Wow, that is a lot of 'gear' as I type it all out!

This was my first run in my new shoes, and the first run in 10 days. I got sick with a cold last Thursday so I knew I needed to stay out of the cold for awhile AND I need to give my legs a chance to recover from their time in the ol' 7 yr old Nikes.

Today's run went well.
That time would actually make me scratch my head most days, but on a day like today I was actually quite pleased.
I set out for my run with no set route and SOMEHOW ended up on a route that took me uphill for the first 2 miles.
On snow covered ice.
THAT was fun. Then I was doing the tip-toe tango over MORE snow covered ice and 'pure' ice, for the next 1/2 of the run off and on. BUT even with all that, it felt SOOOO great to get out there.
Wearing the neck gaiter and the buff was a great idea as well. I'm so smart. =)

Last time I ran with my neck gaiter when it was cold I wore it on my face for the first 15min or so and then pulled it down when I got warm. Well, LATER in the run I wanted it back on my face again, only to discover that it had FROZEN! So I wore 2 today so I could save one for the the last 1/2 of the run. SO glad I did as my first one was frozen STIFF!

I am hoping to get out there again on Saturday for a bit of a longer run. Hope everyone is staying warm!