Monthly Archives: March 2013

Pre-run Snacking

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Yesterday I took a day off from running. We didn’t get as much snow as they predicted (although up in the Shenandoah Valley area, north of us, they got 15+ inches!), but it was really cold and windy. I figured since I had already adjusted my weekly running schedule with plans of taking Wednesday off, I’d just stick to that. Plus I didn’t really care to run in below freezing temperatures with wind gusts up to 50 MPH. I did do my level 2 workout of the 30 Day shred yesterday morning. Our puppy, Scout, sure knows how to spend the morning inside and out of the wind. This is how she slept for about 2 hours yesterday morning:

Before work this morning I did Jillian’s 30 Day Shred, level 2 workout. My legs and shoulders really seem to get a good workout with this level, as they are burning by the end. I think all the jumping moves during the cardio parts work my calves and quads in ways that running usually doesn’t. Kind of the point of cross training, right? I have two days left at level 2, and then it’ll be time to step up to level 3!

The weatherman was way wrong about the forecast today. He said high’s in the mid-40’s and partly sunny. It never got above 32 degrees today and it was cloudy and windy. Good try, though….
 
After work I ran a little over 4 miles with Barry. It ended up being my fastest run of the week, at 9:39 pace. I have been doing something a little different this week, and I think it’s been the reason my running has gone well. I have been eating a snack, such as a granola bar, about 10-15 minutes before I head out to run. I feel like it’s really helping me feel energized, or at least keeping me from feeling like I have an empty stomach. Today I ate a Power Bar before my run.

There’s something exciting happening this weekend (well, I think it’s exciting, anyway) that’s non-running related. You will have to wait and see what it is! I hope it doesn’t end up being a disappointment, haha.

Have you done the 30 Day Shred workouts? What did you think of level 3?

Do you snack before a run? If so, how soon beforehand and what do you like to eat?
 
 

Glad to have that one in the books

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I bet you can’t guess what I did before work this morning. Okay, you guessed it- another day at level 2 of the 30 Day Shred. Sorry… I know that was lame. This was day 6 at level 2, and day 16 overall in the program. I just keep trucking along with it.

It warmed up to the low 40’s today, and then started raining around mid-afternoon. As soon as the rain started the temperature steadily dropped, and was hovering around 38 degrees when I headed out for my 4 mile run after work.

Let me tell you I am glad to have this one in the books. It was cold, windy, and raining/sleeting during my run. I’m happy to be back inside and out of that nastiness. When it gets this cold, I’d prefer to run in snow over this rain that just chills you to the bone. The run itself went pretty well. My legs were feeling tired from yesterday, but I managed a 9:59/mile pace.

My post-run “glad to be done” face

I had another encounter with that white pitbull-mix dog that has been loose lately. He didn’t see me on my way out (and I never saw him), but on my way back he chased me. He ran out into the road, barking and chased me across the road and then continued to chase me down the road. I tried to just keep running to get away from him, but he jumped up and put both of his front paws on my back. At this point I slowed briefly to a walk and yelled at him to go on. A little further down the road he turned around and went back to his yard. I am always afraid to try and hit or kick a dog that’s chasing me, because I am afraid it will provoke the dog. But the next time I run in that direction I am going to bring my pepper spray. If I have to use it I hope it tells the dog to stop messing with me. I hope using pepper spray won’t make the dog react more aggressively.

When I got home I found this much cuter, friendly puppy (Scout) sound asleep in her crate.

Isn’t she cute? Hank was jealous I wasn’t taking his picture, so I took one of him too.

Hank likes posing for the camera

Tonight the rain/sleet is supposed to switch over to snow and the wind is supposed to pick up even more. Tomorrow they’re predicting we will get anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of snow, with the snow and high winds going on until the early afternoon. This is the reason I did one of my weekly runs yesterday, as I am not expecting to be outside running tomorrow evening. We’ll see, though… sometimes the weathermen get really excited and then the storm peeters out or misses us.

If you had to run in one, would you rather run in rain or snow?

Have you ever been chased by a dog while you were running? What did you do?

Do you have any pets??

A change of plans

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Yesterday and today both started off the same, with level 2 of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. These were days 4 and 5 at level 2 (days 14 and 15 overall), and it continues to become less difficult. It’s definitely still very challenging and gets my heart rate way up there at times.

The rest of the day yesterday was spent catching up on recorded TV shows, watching some of the Nascar race, cleaning the house, and going out for Mexican food for dinner. I failed to take a picture of my dinner, but I had a chicken burrito and it was pretty good. Barry got the same thing he got last time, the enchiladas supremas (4 enchiladas- beef, chicken, bean, and cheese), which I think I need to try the next time we go.

The plan this week was to run 4 miles on Tuesday, 5 on Wednesday, and 5 on Thursday. However, they are currently predicting that we are going to get a lot of snow with high winds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Because of that I decided to switch things up a bit and get one of those planned runs done tonight, in case I can’t run on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.

Initially the plan was to just do 4 miles, but that decision was made this morning when it was 26 degrees with gusting winds. By the time I got home from work it had warmed up to 45 and the wind had died down, so I figured I’d do 5 miles instead. Well, once I got out there I felt great, so I decided 6 miles sounded good.

I had a great run, and ran 6.10 miles at a 9:44/mile pace, for a total time of 59:26. Every mile was under 10 minutes, too, except mile 3 (10:06). I did have one incident at mile 2.5 where all of a sudden I needed to go to the bathroom. So I took a detour on a side road, found a spot, and stopped my Garmin. Just as I was about to drop trou, I heard a pickup truck coming down the road. I stepped back out onto the road (cursing him in my head) and jogged slowly until he passed. Then I got back to my spot, did what I needed to do, and kept going with the run.

I failed to take any pictures today, so I will instead share the elevation from today’s run with you. You can click it to see it larger.

What’s strange is we live closer to 2300 feet, so I’m not sure what was going on with my Garmin today, as it seems to think I started at 2700 feet. Here is the elevation profile from when I ran the same route last week, except I turned around a half mile sooner since it was 5 miles instead of 6. I don’t have a clue why they look so different, but I promise today was a hilly run, no matter what the elevation shows. 🙂  

Do you ever adjust your running schedule in advance based on the forecast?

Do you like Mexican food? What’s your favorite dish?

Is it hilly where you live?

A new movie and the bend & snap

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This morning started with a 7 mile long run at 10:40 pace on the trail in town. Despite the slower pace, I felt strong and the run flew by. I plugged in my most recent half marathon time (2:01:00) in McMillan’s calculator and the long run pace is 9:37-10:53, so I guess I’m good to go. I was on my own, since my running buddy is on vacation in Hawaii (!!) and Barry is planning on doing his long run tomorrow. I chose to run just with my thoughts and no music. My mind wandered to some strange and random places, and like having a dream at night and forgetting it the next morning, I can’t recall any of those strange thoughts now. Too bad, because they probably would have made you laugh. The weather was also really nice today- 29 degrees and snow flurries, but no rain and no wind! I actually also saw two other people out on the trail, which is a rarity. I have run up to 90 minutes on the trail before without ever seeing a soul, regardless of the weather conditions.

After my run I headed over to Wal-Mart because I had a few important items to pick up. First of all, I scored my copy of Breaking Dawn Part 2! I read the Twilight series back before the movies came out, and I really enjoyed the books. I’ll admit I probably wouldn’t care for the movies if I hadn’t read the books, but the last two movies (Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Breaking Dawn Part 2) are the best out of all of them in my opinion.

I also finally invested in some hand weights to use while doing the 30 Day Shred workouts. I bought a set of 2 lb. weights and a set of 3 lb. weights. So it’s back to the pantry for my two cans of apple pie filling.

Once I got home from Wal-Mart I put my new hand weights to good use and did level 2 of 30 Day Shred. I used the 2 lb. weights and some of the moves absolutely set my shoulders on fire (the cans I had been using were 1 lb. 5 oz each), while some of the other moves I probably could have used the 3 lb. weights. Level 2 starts off with “walking push ups” which is where you bend down and touch your toes, walk out on your hands to push up position, do a push up, then walk your hands back to your feet and stand up. Every time I do these, I think of the bend and snap from Legally Blonde, even though it’s a slow move.

I am currently enjoying my impulse purchase that I grabbed while standing in line at the register at Wal-Mart this morning.

I love the peach mango and banana colada flavors of Fuze. It took me awhile to try the banana colada one, since I don’t like coconut, but it’s really the texture that I don’t like about coconut, but not the flavor.

What is your long run or workout this weekend?

Do you see a lot of people when you’re out running?

Any Twilight fans? Are you excited Breaking Dawn Part 2 is out on DVD?

I’m excited (even though I already saw it in the movie theater), and Barry will be watching it with me later this afternoon 🙂

Have you ever tried Fuze? Do you like it?

Roanoke 100 Miler

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No, I did not run a 100 mile race, nor do I have one on the schedule. But I am currently participating in the Roanoke 100 Miler. So what is it? It’s a 100 day active living challenge to get the Roanoke/New River Valley community involved in any exercise that is human powered (run, walk, hike, bike, paddle, etc.). The program lasts for 100 days, from January 7 to April 15. Participants keep track of their miles, and pledge to complete, on average, one mile per day, therefore doing 100 miles in 100 days (or more!). Throughout the program, participants receive emails from a guy called “Active Andy”, who is essentially the mascot/fictional spokes person, giving them tips on how to get out there and get active. Active Andy also gives us a heads up when there’s an event, such as a 5K, happening in the area.

With my running schedule, I hit 100 miles in the first or second week of February. But the miles aside, I like supporting this program, which is in it’s second year, because I think it’s a great idea. What better way to help motivate people get up and get active, even when the wather is not ideal, than creating a program that holds them accountable? I’m hoping to hit 200 or more miles by the end of the program.

Plus, you can sign up (an extra $10, I think) for a nifty technical shirt. Although we’re only a little over halfway through the program, the t-shirts had arrived, so they held shirt pick up this week. The shirt is pretty nice, and they offered both adult and youth sizes. Maybe next year they will have women’s sizes as well!

I think it would be awesome if communities across the country had programs like this (and for all I know, they do). It’s a great initiative to help people on their way to an active, healthy lifestyle. I’ve read that running regularly becomes a habit after 3 to 6 weeks, and I imagine it can be the same for other forms of exercise as well. This program is perfect as a stepping stone to developing that habit and it’s rapidly growing. This year there are at least 1,200 participants, and last year over 178,000 miles were logged.

That being said, today was a rest day from running for me. I did do level 2 of Jillian’s 30 Day Shred this morning before work. This was my second day at level 2 and it was still really tough, but not as bad as yesterday. I’d definitely say level 2 is more difficult than level 1, based on my heart rate and the amount of sweat I produced this morning, ha (TMI?). I am fixing stuffed shells tonight for dinner, after seeing Now I Run’s pictures from making them last night. Everyone go wish her good luck in her FIRST full marathon this weekend!!

Does your town/community have an active initiative like the Roanoke 100 Miler?

What are you having for dinner tonight?? I may have to steal your idea for tomorrow night!

Any exciting Friday night plans?