September 16, 2008
Name that Bike
My bike is the one in front - silver with dark teal accents. This picture was taken before my ride on Monday night. You know, the ride where I had my first spill on this bike? Note to self: do not attempt to ride through a muddy patch on the trail with a road bike. NOT GOOD. I couldn't get unclipped, so not only did I fall, I fell in mud. Blech. Luckily I only had a scrape on my hand - nothing serious.
During the whole ride, I kept thinking about how I need to name my bike. Kelli has such cute names for her two bikes (Ruby and Olive), but mine doesn't really have a distinctive color to it. I have an idea (my twitter friends already know it) but what do you think? Name that bike!
Posted by zarah at 8:02 PM | Comments (8)
May 25, 2008
Concreteman
It's official! Matt and I are signed up for the Concreteman triathlon in almost exactly 2 months. It's a sprint-distance triathlon: 500m swim; 12.5 mi bike; 2 mi run. I think I'm going to do a trial run of all three distances tomorrow - hopefully the weather will cooperate!
Posted by zarah at 9:18 PM | Comments (5)
May 8, 2008
Out of Bloffice
The weather is warm... the birds are chirping... and I just can't get that excited about blogging these days. I'm sure once the humidity hits 95% I'll be a lot more excited about it. =)
In the meantime, I'll be running, biking, and swimming to train for the Concreteman sprint tri in July, knitting a little bit, taking a trip to Austin, attending a fiber festival, and making a quilt for my friend Brianne's daughter's 1st birthday, and generally spending as much time outside as possible.
I'll probably pop in to post pictures from time to time. See ya!
Posted by zarah at 5:50 AM | Comments (3)
April 10, 2008
I'm here!
Wow, it's been a while since I posted..... Let's see, what have I been up to?
- Trying to stay really focused at work so I don't leave any loose ends when I jet off to Florida next week for a aviation legal issues conference. (And a bit of knitting with the Sweet Stitchin' Betties!)
- Knitting bits and pieces of various projects. I'm not really feeling super-focused on any one project, although I am happy to report that I blocked the H-E-double hockey sticks out of it, and it looks MUCH better now. I finished sewing the hooks and eyes on just a few minutes ago at Knit Together, so I should have finished photos pretty soon.
- Running! (Well, when we aren't getting torrential rains, that is!) I think I've picked out my next triathlon, so I'm pretty excited to get back to swimming and biking, too. I swam last night for the first time, and I felt pretty good. I know it's a stupid thing, but I've finally figured out how to get my googles to quit leaking. Hooray!
Posted by zarah at 7:55 PM | Comments (1)
March 13, 2008
Still on the run!
It is a little hard to believe what a difference a running partner makes for me! Just like last week, I ran 3 days this week.
I meet Heather 3 mornings a week at a park near our houses, which is on the Galloway Trail of the Ozarks Greenways trail system. I feel really lucky to live so close to such a great trail system. We run through a wooded area of the park, then the trail runs along the road for a while. We pass an interesting mix of businesses - antique shops, a quarry, an architecture firm, and a restaurant/bar that caters to the trail-users in the warmer months. The trail turns to cross under Highway 60, which is our turnaround point. Total - three miles.
When the weather gets warmer, I think we might meet at a different location one day a week to do some hills.......... (so not fun, but so good for getting in shape!)
ps - I had this great idea to carry my phone with me and take pictures on my morning runs. But... I forgot about the time change! It is D-A-R-K when I am running! So that will have to wait for a while. Luckily, I'm having lots of fun finding fun running-related pictures on Flickr.
Photo credit to Janny Brocken via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 9:22 PM | Comments (3)
March 7, 2008
Quick running update
I went running 3 times this week! If I can survive the time change (dark, dark mornings) next week, then I think I'm back on track. (ha ha. Bad pun.)
Have a great weekend!
Photo credit to EricNixon via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:55 AM | Comments (1)
February 29, 2008
This time I mean it.
Back in January or so, I was all jazzed up with New Year's Resolution spirit, and I posted that I was going to start writing every Friday about my running and other fitness pursuits. Since then, I have posted exactly ZERO times on that subject, and actually exercised.... maybe 8 times? Not good.
I want to thank Kelli for gently reminding me in the comments about my running, and double kudos to Heather (Ravelry link) for getting up at the crack of dawn and running with me this morning! She's pretty committed to working out on a regular basis, so I'm really excited to have her as a new running partner.
So anyway, I am recommitting to running and blogging about it! I (finally) got a cellphone with a camera, so I might start carrying it with me on my morning runs. It's such a peaceful, pretty time of day. Plus, pictures always motivate me to blog.
Have a great weekend! I know I will. My sister is coming to visit me! Don't forget the Knit-In tonight at Simply Fibers if you're in the Springfield, MO area. I won't be able to make it this time, but there should be lots of other friendly faces there.
Posted by zarah at 7:20 AM | Comments (4)
January 11, 2008
Running Fridays are back!
Yes, that's right - I am getting all blobby so I really need to start working out again! I think trying to post every week will - hopefully - keep me on track! I want to do another triathlon in May, so my plan is to do some base training this month, focusing on swimming to avoid the bad weather.
Every once in a while, I check the goings-on of the Ozarks Multisports Club just to see what other triathloners in the area are up to. About a week ago, someone posted that the Springfield Parks Department was offering a "Stroke Mechanics" class.
I went to the first class last night and it was really great! There is only one other person in the class, who is another woman that I've seen at lots of local races. The instructr really focused on helping us improve our stroke efficiency and form. She's keeping track of all sorts of stuff o she can tell us how we're progressing over time. We swam 950m, which is pretty far for me.
Now I just need to get excited about running.... biking will have to wait for a little warmed weather (except the exercise bike at the gym - gag!)
Posted by zarah at 6:36 AM | Comments (5)
August 22, 2007
Republic Tiger Tri
I'm still waiting to get pictures from the race, but here's a quick tri update....
The race went great! The swim (300m) went really quick, and I got to meet some nice people and hear about other local races while I was waiting to start. (It was a pool swim with a staggered start.) The bike section (12 mi) was definitely hilly, plus my bike is more of a mountain bike hybrid than a road bike, but I just cranked it down to a low gear and slowly but surely made it up those hills! It was pretty hot by the time I started the run (5K), but luckily that course was nice and flat.
I was felling pretty tired by that point (should have trained more on the bike - I knew it!) but my background is in running, so I just slogged through it. Luckily there were water stops on the course, because I realized after I'd run out of the transition area that I really didn't drink enough water while on my bike.
The best thing about racing (of any kind) is that it always inspires me to do better next time. I've already been out for a 20 mi. training ride (only the second time ever I've gone that far) and I swam 850m last night. I can't wait for to do another race! There's one in about a month (Trail of Tears Tri - Cape Girardeau MO) that I might try. The distances are similar, except the swim is a half mile in open water instead of 300m in a pool. Hmmm.... can I do it?
Posted by zarah at 6:33 AM | Comments (8)
July 13, 2007
BRICK
Triathlon training continues... this week I did my first "brick" workout! That is a combined running and bike workout. I hadn't done any hard workouts this week, so I decided to get in a little speed workout: 1/4 mile jog, 2 mile fast bike ride, 1/4 mile sprint around the track. Rest and repeat. I could only do two repeats because I had an 8:30 hearing in a town about 45 minutes away. But that was plenty - it still kicked my butt.
On the swimming front, things seem to be going pretty well. I'm getting better with my stroke, so now I"m going to work on swimming more than one length of the pool without feeling totally winded.
Posted by zarah at 6:13 AM | Comments (5)
July 6, 2007
What do you think?
Yea or nay? Does this pattern (My So-Called Scarf) suit this yarn? I think the Manos yarn that's used in the pattern has much shorter color repeats. I'd love to hear what you think.
Oh yeah... it's Friday - I'm supposed to be writing about my triathlon training! Well, I finally went swimming. I am definitely going to need some practice in that area. I've got the breathing down pretty good, but I have trouble remembering to kick and move my arms at the same time.
This weekend I'm planning to go for a long bike ride on Saturday, then on Sunday I get to splurge by eating homemade ice cream at Grandma's house! (I'm hoping she'll have ripe tomatoes, too.)
Posted by zarah at 6:40 AM | Comments (13)
June 29, 2007
Training Time
Last Friday, I started writing about my latest challenge for myself: run a sprint-distance triathlon in late August. A lot of you expressed amazement in the comments, but I'm just trying to finish, not break any world records. I've run in a lot of races, including 5 half-marathons, but I've never EVER swam or biked competitvely. So, this is just a personal challenge and a fitness goal for me.
Just like when I'm training for a half-marathon, the first thing I did after I made up my mind to do this thing was to make a training schedule. Including this week (I started training on Monday), I had 8 weeks to get ready.
The race is a 300 yd. swim, 12 mi. bike ride, and 5K run. Most of the beginner plans I saw recommend training in each discipline two times a week. I don't have a gym membership yet, so I'm putting off swimming until next week. (I signed up for some lessons at the Y. I am truly clueless when it to swimming.)
So... for what's its worth, here's my plan for at least the next 4 weeks.
Monday - Bike (8-9 miles)
Tuesday - Run (3-4 miles)
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Swimming lesson
Friday - Run (3-4 miles)
Saturday - Bike (12-14 miles)
Sunday - Rest
So far, so good this week. But... want to hear something crazy? My husband decided he wants to do the triathlon too. (He's not exactly the athletic type.) He even went running with me one morning this week. Here's hoping he keeps it up, or he's really going to be hurting on that 5K.
Posted by zarah at 6:35 AM | Comments (6)
June 22, 2007
And away we go!
The bicyclus pedalus in its natural habitat.... nesting in my garage. Yeah... I've been a slacker in the exercise department lately! But I have a plan. I really like to challenge myself to try new things, so I think I'm going to try to do a triathlon. Crazy, huh?
I've been checking out beginnertriathlete.com for training plans, and I signed up for swimming lessons at the Y, and I think I've found my race! It's a "sprint distance" triathlon in August.
Next Friday.... the training plan!
Posted by zarah at 6:17 AM | Comments (6)
November 22, 2006
Race Report: Route 66 Half-Marathon
Running a race in a different city is much more than the few hours it takes to run the race. You've got the traveling, race expo and race packet pick-up, finding a place to stay that's close to the race but not too expensive, getting up early, actually RUNNING, post-race celebration, and the long trip home.
First up - the drive to Tulsa. It's only about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Springfield, on a toll road even, so it's a really easy drive.
Plus, you get to see the world's biggest McDonald's (over I-44 near Vinita, OK).
When we got into Tulsa, we went immediately to the race expo to pick up our race numbers, timing chips, and race shirts. The expo was pretty small, but it was the first year for this race so it was to be expected. Still, Emily and I were on the hunt for matching race gear so we headed to Target to check out their selection. (Last spring when we ran a race in St. Louis we saw girls with matching shirts and it was really cute.)
We found some matching pink jackets, and then headed over for window shopping and people watching at Utica Square.
We headed over to my uncle's house for dinner - yes, we "carbo-loaded" with some yummy spaghetti and meatballs! We watched Seabiscuit for inspiration and went to bed early - race starts at 8am!
Here's our pre-race photo - it's the best we'll look for the rest of this post!
We got the the start line about 30 minutes before the start of the race. It was pretty easy to find parking close to the start - another benefit to a new, relatively small race! I think about 4,000 people participated in the marathon, half marathon, and marathon relay.
Here we are part-way through the race - either at mile 7 or 9. My uncle came out and took some pictures of us while we were running, which was very handy.
We were right on pace at this point - a bit later in the race my knee started hurting (an old injury flaring up - I'm hoping not!) and we were running against the wind so we slowed our pace a bit.
We made it through the last three miles relatively well and I ignored my knee pain long enough to do my typical sprint to the finish line - I'm a competitor at heart, even when I'm at the back of the pack!
Yay! Here we are after the race, with our finisher's medals! The after-race food was pretty good - fruit, bagels, cookies, powerade - the usual. Also, they randomly were passing out hamburgers and chicken wings for a while, but all the hamburgers were gone by the time we got to that part of the line.
My bagel only tided me over so for long, so after we went back and changed clothes we went to Emily's favorite restaurant EVER - Lanna Thai - for lunch. It was really good - you can't get great Thai food in Springfield, so I was very happy.
And that's the end of my race weekend!
Posted by zarah at 6:18 PM | Comments (8)
November 17, 2006
Working on it!
I am in negotiations with the recipient of this lovely Cambridge Jacket for a photo shoot. In the meantime, here's the best I can do!
Project Details:
Pattern: Cambridge Jacket from Interweave Knits, Summer 06.
Yarn: Tess superwash worsted, purchased at Maryland Sheep and Wool earlier this year. (This is awesome yarn. If you're ever at a festival where Tess has a booth - BUY SOME! Get some sock yarn, too!)
Needle Size: Size 6 (umm... I was fooled into thinking this would be a super quick knit, because the pattern calls for size 9 needles. Apparently someone at IK knits really tight, because FOUR gauge swatches later, I finally got gauge with size 6s. Not cool.)
Skills needed: cast on, knit, purl, decreases, increases, picking up stitches, seaming, sewing in zipper (yes, I did it myself!), single crochet.
Pattern Modifications: I changed the shoulders to short row shaping and used a three-needle bind-off on the shoulder seams. I also changed the way you increased where the ribbing comes in on the shoulders and back - I like to increase using the "knit through front & back loop" method, which makes a little purl bump on the right side of the work, which is perfect for adding the ribbing.
Time to knit: July 18 - November 5, 2006
Final impressions: Yippee! It's done! And it ACTUALLY FITS. Frickin' amazing. I think the thing I am most proud of on this project is the seaming around the armholes. I actually looked up how to join all the different sections with stitches going in different directions, and it looks really nice.
* * * * * * *
In completely unrelated news, my half-marathon is this Sunday!
I've been quite the slacker this week, because the weather has been crappy and my running partner has had to be at work super early. But, I think it will be okay. I've been pretty good about training until now, so I'll just call it a "taper" week.
Send me some good vibes Sunday morning if you're up early!
Posted by zarah at 6:49 AM | Comments (12)
October 27, 2006
Running in the rain
It's been a rainy couple of weeks in the Ozarks. Combine this with pitch black mornings (at 6am) and Zarah is not too excited about getting out of bed in the morning to go running. But, as long as its not too cold out, running in the rain is really not that bad. I never regret it when I do get up and run when its raining.
This morning it was about 55 degrees and just misting. It was actually quite nice, until lightning started flashing and I was afraid I would get caught in a downpour. I groaned, but my optimistic running partner chirped, "Who cares, we're already wet!" True, I guess, but it was way too early for such a good attitude!
I've got a 10 miler on the schedule for tomorrow - here's hoping for clear skies!
On a completely unrelated note: did anyone hear the news story on NPR this morning about the stem cell ballot initiative in Missouri? I didn't hear it, but my sister called me to tell me that they were reporting from a town hall meeting in my small hometown! (Hopefully we didn't come off sounding too hickish.)
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Illustration credit to gaotsin via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:24 AM | Comments (8)
October 20, 2006
Running & Socks
Anyone's who has been reading this blog (or any knitting blog for that matter) knows that this month is Socktoberfest. But not every knitter writes about running... so I had to figure out a way to combine them. I was thinking about today's post and I kept repeating over in my head: running... socks... running... socks....
Well, duh! I should write about running socks! I love this picture* because it reminds me of exactly what my dog loves to do: run away with my socks. But when I think of running socks, I think of my cushy Thorlo moisture-wicking socks that I save for my long runs. We runners don't use a lot of fancy equipment for our sport, but keeping our feet in good shape is very important. I may still be wearing the same ratty running shorts from high school track, but I never skimp on good shoes and socks. Good socks really do make the difference in preventing blisters and black toenails when I'm running high-mileage days.
* PS. The dog is adorable but not mine. I'm a dachshund girl!
I slacked on my running this week, but I've got a 9-miler planned tomorrow, so that should whip me back into shape. I wish it wasn't so dark in the mornings, it makes it really hard for me to get out of bed! (Yet I'm always more tired when I sleep in than when I get up and run, go figure.)
Have fun at Rhinebeck, everyone! Good luck at Blogger Bingo and all the other crazy stuff you have planned.
Photo credit to zoomar via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:08 AM | Comments (5)
October 6, 2006
The Countdown Begins
This is getting serious, folks. The Route 66 Half-Marathon is in 6 weeks. I've been pretty lax in my training so far, but it is time to kick in into gear.
Last weekend I ran a 6-miler. If I increase one mile each weekend, that will have me running 12 miles the weekend before the race. (A half-marathon is 13.1 miles if you didn't know.) I don't think it should be a problem to increase the mileage like that, but I wish I had a couple of rest weeks built in just in case.
Just so you know I'm sticking to my workout plan, I ran three mornings this week and am planning to run 7 miles this Saturday.
Edited to Add: Now I know why more people don't have running blogs. This is probably pretty boring to most of you - it's certainly boring to me! But I love being able to click on the "Running Fridays" category and have a record of how my training is going. I'm trying to think of ways to spice up my running posts. Any requests for training advice or any other running-related posts?
Photo credit to jovike via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:05 AM | Comments (5)
September 29, 2006
Hooray for Running
Is it fall yet where you live? This week, in Springfield, MO, it has DEFINITELY been fall. 40s in the early morning, 70s during the day... perfect, perfect weather for running.
Another great thing that happened this week is that my training partner finished her last business trip for a while and is back in town. I have so much more motivation to go running when I know she's waiting for me. We ran three mornings this week, which I think is pretty good considering I also went to Minneapolis!
This Saturday we're going to start the build-up to the half-marathon by running 6 miles. We are going to have to make some pretty big jumps in mileage between now and our race in mid-November, but I think it's doable. We both have a half-marathon under our belts so we'll be fine.
On a completely unrelated note, did anyone hear the interview with Tracy Ullman on NPR this morning? It was about her new knitting book, how much she loves knitting, etc. It was a pretty good interview, they managed to get through it without making knitting sound like too strange of an activity. Tracy Ullman was funny, as expected, but you can tell she really loves knitting, too. I loved the part where she talks about her nightmare of having her knitting needles taken away at an airport.
"My nightmare is that I'll have done this wonderful piece and they'll say to me, 'You gotta take it off the needles ma'am!'" she says. "No! Please don't make me. 'You gotta pull it off the needles! You can't take that on board.' Can you imagine what a horrible thought? Please not my needles!"
The funniest part to me is that the NPR interviewer was probably looking at her like, "Tracy, you cannot be serious. It's just knitting needles." But Tracy was totally serious.
There's also a link to a free knitted apron pattern on the NPR website.
Posted by zarah at 7:02 AM | Comments (7)
September 22, 2006
According to Gym
Last week I was whining that I’d lost my motivation for training. This week, I got my mojo back – sort of. I did actually work out this week, and I also discovered a few things.
1. I really like to train with a partner. Preferably someone I know well enough to ask to get up and run with me at 6am, but not so well that they won’t tease me relentlessly if I call and cancel at 5:55 so I can crawl back into bed.
2. Getting up when its still dark is hard. I know I can do it but I haven’t convinced my 6am self of that yet.
3. Running on a treadmill all the time sucks, but it does allow me to catch up on ridiculous episodes of Making the Band that I didn’t even know existed!
Since I was too lazy to drag my butt out of bed before work to exercise, I went to the gym several days this week. It’s probably good for me to mix up my routine a little bit – I noticed the day after I did the elliptical trainer that I was a little sore, which normally never happens when I run. I am planning on doing a longer (5-6 mile) run tomorrow morning. Hopefully the storms will hold off until later and I’ll be able to run outside again!
Photo credit to Read! via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 9:03 AM | Comments (7)
September 15, 2006
Where's the motivation?
It was a bad running week.
No running. None. I am such a slacker. I don’t even have a good excuse! Well, my running partner is out of town for work, but that really shouldn’t keep me from running. I am going to run this weekend (maybe twice?) to try to redeem my horrible training week.
The worst thing about skipping my runs is that overall my concern about health/fitness goes down. When I exercise, I want to eat healthy to keep the good vibes going. But when I sleep in instead of running, I have a tendency to write off the day and eat food that isn’t good for me. The day’s already shot, what’s the point of eating healthy? (Ugh, I really need to quit doing that.) But really, I just need to get out of bed and RUN!
I’m looking forward to the weekend, for other reasons than getting a fresh start on running. It will be the first weekend I’ve stayed home for several weeks now, so I’ll get a chance to catch up on housework, laundry, and… knitting! Hopefully I will have some free time Sunday afternoon to relax, watch trashy reality TV shows, and knit. It sounds wonderful. Maybe I’ll have a couple of completed sweater fronts to show you on Monday!
Posted by zarah at 6:42 AM | Comments (4)
September 8, 2006
Music to run to
I promise... I really do still blog about knitting. But forcing myself to post every Friday about running keeps me on track with my training, so you'll just have a endure it for a couple more months.
A few weeks ago I wrote about trying to compile a "Route 66 Mix" to be the soundtrack for my training for the Route 66 Half-Marathon. You guys gave me tons a great ideas of songs to add to my list, so I thought I should share it with you! I may still add a few more songs, but you will get the basic gist. Some of these songs were purchased, some were free downloads so they're a little more obscure. My main requirement for running music is that it has a strong beat. I like all kinds of different music, and this playlist reflects that more than most I've put together.
Ooh La La, Goldfrapp
SOS, Rihanna
Mi Tumbao, Tres Coronas
Closer to You, Brandi Carlile
Easy Love, MSTRKRFT
Love Found Me, DecembeRadio
I Should Get Up, Teddy Thompson
Yo Solo Se Que Solo No Se Nada, Jeremias
Over My Head, The Fray
Girl and the Sea, The Presets
Suzie, Boy Kill Boy
Travelin' Thru, Dolly Parton
It's My Life, Bon Jovi
What You Waiting For?, Gwen Stefani
Mama's Room, Under the Influence of Giants
Light in Your Eyes, Sheryl Crow
Sunshine to the Rain, Miri Ben-Ari
Munich, Editors
Pop Song 89, R.E.M.
The Long Way Around, Dixie Chicks
Wound Up, Office
Surrender, Cheap Trick
Do You Right, Kyle Riabko
Give It Time, Eric Lindell
Bom Bom Bom, Living Things
She's Electric, Oasis
SexyBack, Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland
My training plan this week pretty much went out the window. I was out of town visiting the in-laws on Monday, so I didn't get around to running against until Wednesday (excuses excuses!) I ran 3 miles on Wed. and Fri. mornings with my friend Emily, who is also training for the race with me. I should run this weekend, but I'm going out of town AGAIN so that might not happen.
The good news is my trip out of town should be really fun! I have a bridal shower for my cousin tonight at a winery in Rocheport, MO, then my family is going to a MIssouri Tigers football game tomorrow, and I get to see a couple of my high school friends for lunch on Sunday. Yippee!
And just in case you're not into running, but you still read this far... here's something fun to do with treadmills!
Photo credit to gori-jp via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 7:06 AM | Comments (8)
September 1, 2006
Starting line
Yee haw! There is nothing I love more than a list. Well, I take that back. I really love checking things off of lists. Sometimes when I have little tasks at work that I finish quickly, I put them on my to-do list after they're already done, just so I can check them!
What do lists have to do with running? Well, what is the training schedule, other than a 12-week to-do list? I am proud to say that I've been doing pretty well checking things off my "list" so far - here's a rundown of last week:
Saturday: Ran/walked 6 miles
Sunday: Rest day
Monday: Supposed to lift weights... we'll call it another rest day.
Tuesday: Ran 3 miles
Wednesday: My first day of speed work! I did a mile warm-up, then ran 5 repeats of 400m with about 2 minutes rest in between each one. I was supposed to run at "5K Pace," but I haven't run any respectable 5Ks recently so I just ran fast. I think I was averaging between 7-8 mins-per-mile pace. (I have a nifty little GPS device that tell me mileage and pace. Very handy.)
Thursday: Ran 3 miles
Friday: Rest
Not too shabby, eh? I probably won't be able to run this weekend, since I'm going to KC for a wedding and to visit my husband's family.
Enjoy the long weekend - I'll see you Tuesday!
Photo credit to moojieturtle via flickr.
Posted by zarah at 6:52 AM | Comments (4)
August 25, 2006
Training Time Begins
The time is finally here - it's the start of my official training plan for the Route 66 Half-Marathon. I'm going to try to follow this plan as closely as I can, except I will do my long runs on Saturdays instead of Sundays.
I'm looking forward to having some structure and guidance for my training - it's hard for me to train without some kind of plan. That's probably why I am so motivated by signing up for races - they give me goals to shoot for.
Running this week was a little lax, although I did run a fabulous 8 miles last Saturday! Unfortunately, I made up for my good deed by only dragging myself out of bed two days this week for my 3 milers.
I noticed that the training plan incorporates some strength training, which I always neglect. I don't even have a good excuse - we bought a used weight bench a few years ago so I have access to weights a full 50 feet from my bedroom - no excuses! I could certainly use to gain some upper body strength, too. Every time I try to help my husband move something really heavy, I feel like I'm going to collapse.
I also wanted to thank everyone for the great running music selections! I almost have my Route 66 MIx completed!
Have a good weekend - happy running!
Photo credit to Infinite Ache via flickr
Posted by zarah at 6:31 AM | Comments (6)
August 18, 2006
Music & Running
For each half-marathon that I run, I like to make a mix of songs to train with. I was lucky enough to inherit my husband's ipod nano whenever he just HAD to have a new video ipod, so its really easy to run with music now. (My old ipod was a first generation one, much larger and heavier than the new ones. Plus it skipped when I ran. Very annoying.) So anyway, back to my running music. I've started compiling a Route 66 Mix for the Route 66 Half-Marathon that I'll be running in November. So far, it mostly consists of fast songs that I've downloaded each week from iTunes' Free Downloads section. (This is a great way to get new music that you wouldn't otherwise pay for, fyi). I've got a pretty good mix going, but if it's going to last me an entire half marathon, I need over two hours of music. I was hoping some of you other knitter/exercisers might have some suggestions of favorite workout songs for me. Any ideas? I like all kinds of music - pretty much my only requirement is that it have a fairly fast tempo to keep me moving. My all-time favorite running song is Tainted Love.
Weekly workout update: I must admit, I have been a slacker again this week. But I think Vegas recuperation is a perfectly legitimate excuse for sleeping in.
I ran about a mile and a half on Thursday and I will probably go to the gym and run 3 miles after work tonight. (I ran outside yesterday and it is WAY to hot to be doing that at 6:00 pm.)
I'm meeting some friends to run Saturday morning - they're planning to run 8 miles.... I should be able to run that distance with them. They usually follow the Jeff Galloway run/walk approach to marathon training. That's the "run X minutes, then walk a minute" routine that makes it SO much easier to run longer distances. It's hard to do at first, when you're feeling good at the beginning of a run, but I feel like I have much more energy at the end of the run if I stick to the run/walk schedule.
Posted by zarah at 6:44 AM | Comments (9)
August 11, 2006
Much better!
Hey hey! I'm back and I'm bad.... I ran 2-3 miles EVERY DAY this week! And last Saturday I ran 6 1/2 miles with my running buddies who are training for a marathon. (Of course, I dropped off early from their run, but they convinced me to go just a little farther.)
I have to say, I don't know if I'm getting used to the early wake-up, or those new vitamins I'm taking are really great, or maybe it's just all this running... but I feel great! It's been a long time since I've exercised on such a regular basis and it just makes you feel so healthy!
Enough with the lovefest already. Some of you have asked why I'm running a half-marathon: isn't that like 13 miles or something? Yes, it is. But don't worry, this isn't my first race ever. I'm not going to kill myself. This will be my 6th half-marathon. I started running them during law school, I guess just to have a goal that didn't require reading or thinking. My best time ever is 2 hours 11 minutes at the Spirit of St. Louis Half-Marathon last year, but this year's time was quite a bit slower because I was not in good as well as the year before and I was running with a friend in her first half-marathon. We had trained together, but we ran out of time and never did above a 10 mile run before the race. She had a rough last couple of miles during the race and I was afraid she would enver run with me again. But after we rested for a while, we started talking about our next one! So that brings us to the Route 66 Half-Marathon this fall.
Probably no running this weekend - I'm going to Vegas! I'll tell you all about it when I get back.
Photo credit to seanfraga and The Cat's Jungle via flickr
Posted by zarah at 6:01 AM | Comments (10)
August 4, 2006
The road is paved with good intentions...
Yes indeedy. I would say this picture pretty much sums up my week, fitness-wise. Fun, but not so good for me!
I didn't run on Tuesday with my running group, because I was lazy. Then I had to be at work early on Wednesday... I did actually drag myself out of bed yesterday to run 3 miles. Then I had big plans for getting up today and running by myself, but the snooze bar won.
I don't really have a problem getting up early to run, as long as I am consistent. When I start skipping runs, I stay up later because I'm not tired from getting up early the morning before, and it just spirals down from there.
My running group is meeting on Saturday morning for our long run of the week. I'm definitely going - PROMISE - but I haven't decided how far I'm going to run yet. Let's say... 3-5 miles.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Posted by zarah at 6:31 AM | Comments (4)
July 28, 2006
Running Fridays
I don’t usually post on Fridays. That’s because most of my knitting, and most of my opportunities to take good pictures, are on the weekends. So by the time Friday rolls around, I’ve used up all my pictures from the previous weekend. Since Fridays are normally quiet around here, I’m thinking about starting a new feature each Friday – Running Fridays.
Other than knitting, the only non-work activity I do regularly is run. However, when I’m not training for a specific event I become a real slacker. So, to motivate myself I will post each Friday about what I’ve done that week and my plan for the next week. If you don’t care to read about it, just don’t stop by on Fridays!
The next big event I am planning on running is the inaugural Route 66 Half-Marathon in Tulsa, OK in late November. I’m planning on following the novice Half-Marathon Training Plan from Hal Higdon. It’s only a 12 week plan (I need to start August 28), so until then I’m focusing on regaining my fitness level from my recent bout of slackitude.
This week’s workouts:
I ran/walked for about 30 minutes with my running buddies on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings before work. We ran 2 minutes and walked 1 minute intervals. It was really humid out, but I felt okay since we were going nice and slow.
Next week’s plan:
I won’t be able to run this weekend because I’m going on a float trip at Bennett Springs State Park. But next week I want to run at least 3 mornings during the week and do a slightly longer run on Saturday. I also want to move up to a 3 min run/1 min walk interval.
Posted by zarah at 6:37 AM | Comments (6)