To run by the lake! I wish I had pictures, but yesterday was a glorious day. Temps in the low 70s, beautiful blue skies, and I had the day off! Dave had the great idea that I should run the route for my upcoming race, so I headed out to Montrose Harbor and ran most of the race course.
One of my favorite things about running is that there is no commute time. You head out the door and go. However, I have to admit that running the lakefront path makes the extra time worth it.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
My New Coach
Sue and my Garmin have helped me diagnose my biggest running issue -- I'm going too fast. Even though I've been trying to go at a moderate pace and keep myself from going too fast, I obviously don't know what different paces feel like. Enter my new coach.
I did a test run earlier in the week, but today was the first run in alert mode (at a 12-14 minute pace). It was very hard to keep my pace in the zone; it kept beeping at me and telling me to slow down. Overall, however, I did pretty well staying in the zone. I only took one walk break and ran for 1 1/4 miles before taking that break. Even though my time was slightly longer than typical for this route, I ran far more than I usually do. Success!
Now I just need to find the volume control so my coach doesn't yell at me so loudly.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Post-Race Blahs Anyone?
As you can tell from my lack of posting I've been struggling a bit after the race. I've still been running and have had all good intentions to post, but work and life have been extra hectic, and I've been in a bit of a running funk. I resolved on this morning's run to post today, and the stars have aligned to make that happen.
Two days after the race I traveled to Puerto Rico for a conference. It was productive and fun, but tough for running. Shifting from 50 degree weather in Chicago to 90+ degrees and high humidity was not the best for my body. Also, PR is beautiful but far hillier than home. I did get out for a few runs, but tried to listen to my body and took it fairly easy because of the heat. When I returned home I did lots of research to find a continuing training plan post-C25K and to find a June race to run. I had a plan, but it just did not come together as I had hoped. I decided not to do the June race (which would have been today) because it seemed more realistic to focus on July. In short, I'm not running as often or as far as I should, but I'm still getting out there and plan to step things up in the next month to prep for the July race.
Enough of the downer part of this e-mail. There are some fun things to report!
Dave got me the book "Run Like a Mother" for Mother's Day, and it is fantastic! I love to learn by reading, and it is so accessible and informative. I highly recommend it. (The website is in my links section.) Dimity McDowell, one of the authors, was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, and I got to meet her at a reading of the book. She and all of the mothers there were very inspiring.
Today I went out for my early morning run with a new attitude and a new outfit -- running skirt (love it!), RLAM t-shirt, and a Moving Comfort sports bra. I may have felt hot and tired this morning, but I looked like a cute athlete.
Then came my big surprise. I got a Garmin Forerunner as an early birthday present! Thanks, Sue! I can't wait to learn how to use it and take it out on the road. It's almost exciting enough to make me want to do a second run today. Almost.
Two days after the race I traveled to Puerto Rico for a conference. It was productive and fun, but tough for running. Shifting from 50 degree weather in Chicago to 90+ degrees and high humidity was not the best for my body. Also, PR is beautiful but far hillier than home. I did get out for a few runs, but tried to listen to my body and took it fairly easy because of the heat. When I returned home I did lots of research to find a continuing training plan post-C25K and to find a June race to run. I had a plan, but it just did not come together as I had hoped. I decided not to do the June race (which would have been today) because it seemed more realistic to focus on July. In short, I'm not running as often or as far as I should, but I'm still getting out there and plan to step things up in the next month to prep for the July race.
Enough of the downer part of this e-mail. There are some fun things to report!
Dave got me the book "Run Like a Mother" for Mother's Day, and it is fantastic! I love to learn by reading, and it is so accessible and informative. I highly recommend it. (The website is in my links section.) Dimity McDowell, one of the authors, was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, and I got to meet her at a reading of the book. She and all of the mothers there were very inspiring.
Today I went out for my early morning run with a new attitude and a new outfit -- running skirt (love it!), RLAM t-shirt, and a Moving Comfort sports bra. I may have felt hot and tired this morning, but I looked like a cute athlete.
Then came my big surprise. I got a Garmin Forerunner as an early birthday present! Thanks, Sue! I can't wait to learn how to use it and take it out on the road. It's almost exciting enough to make me want to do a second run today. Almost.
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