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?

I broke my boot!

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As I was walking around at work today, I felt like I had something stuck to the bottom of my right shoe. When I looked at the bottom, I found that the bottom flap was actually falling off! I spent the rest of the day making a flapping noise everywhere I went. I’ve had these boots for maybe 4 years now, and I guess I finally wore them out. I know certain people who would put duct tape around it and keep wearing them, but that’s not really my style, so I guess these boots are done. At least I have two other pairs 🙂

I started off this morning with Jillian 30 Day Shred. Today was my first day at level 2, and I thought it was definitely more challenging than level 1. There was a lot more emphasis on shoulders and by the end of the cardio in the third circuit my quads were on fire. Here’s to nine more days at level 2!

This evening I headed out for a 5 mile run. I ran on the roads around our house, which means it was a hilly run. There’s this funny thing that happens when I go the direction I went today that I want to share with you. I call it “waking the neighborhood”. The first four or five houses I run past have between 2 and 3 dogs that are either tied out in the front yard or are fenced in, in the backyard. As I run along the road they all bark one group after the other. The same thing happens at the end of my run as I go back by. It reminds me of the dogs relaying messages to one another in 101 Dalmatians when the puppies get stolen.

Mr. Boy also ran with me for the first 3/4ths of a mile or so and he went and said hello to most of the dogs as we went along. My legs were feeling tired from Jillian this morning, so it was a slower run. I’m glad I went, though, because it was so cold and windy when I got home I really wasn’t feeling it. But I don’t regret it now, which I guess is what all the magazines are always telling us- you usually won’t regret going for a run once you get out there. I am happy to be back inside and out of the wind for the evening, though.

Have you ever had a show blowout?


What was your run or workout today?

Four miles

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Not much to report today. I started off with Jillian 30 Day Shred level 1 this morning. Today was day 10 in the program, so I will be switching to level 2 tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to seeing what level 2 holds. My running buddy told me it doesn’t have any push ups, so that’ll be nice.

This evening I did a 4 mile recovery run with Barry. My legs were feeling tired after yesterday’s tempo run and even though tonight’s pace was easier the run still felt kind of tough. I’ve also had a headache all afternoon (that I still have right now). As we headed out, I was worried I was overdressed. But the sun started to set and the wind picked up a bit and I was glad to have on my tights and jacket.

We saw a hawk flying around while we were out running. Which reminds me, I forgot to mention that I saw four deer, two of which were babies, on yesterday’s run. I actually almost got hit by a deer on a long run once! I was running along a paved bike trail that had woods on either side and a deer shot right across the trail, only about 5 feet in front of me. It was one of those times where you stop and go “did that really just happen??”.
 
Not the actual deer I saw, but this is what they were doing.

One last thing. Have you heard of/seen the singing goat videos? They’re hilarious! There are some breeds of goat that tend to be very vocal, so people took that and meshed it with popular songs. I think the Taylor Swift one at the end of the video is the funniest.


Do you like doing push ups/are you good at them?

What was your workout today?

What kind of wildlife have you seen when you’ve been out running?

"I've opted for fun in this lifetime." -Jerry Garcia