Beautiful Day!

Just wanted to write this down, so I remember how nice of a day we had in November. On Tuesday, I worked in the morning and thought about coming home to take a nap. But it was way too nice of a day, so instead I took advantage of it and went for a run - in shorts and a tank top! It was almost 70 degrees out there and clear blue skies!

I didn't actually run that much, it was probably more walking, but I did run more than I have for a long time. I ran for a few minutes, then walked for a few, then ran again until I was tired, and repeated. Once I got home, I spent the rest of the afternoon outside, cleaning up the yard and gardens. Felt so good to be out in the warm sunshine!

Lazy!

Can you believe it? This lazy bones got herself out for a run again! My latest excuse was that it was too hot out there and HUMID! Gross, who wants to run in that? But this week has been absolutely beautiful, so I had to get out there today. I only ran less than a mile, probably less than 10 minutes, but then I thoroughly enjoyed a half hour walk or so. Just walked along soaking up the sun and checking out what is new in the neighborhood...

I'm back!

I disappeared for awhile which means I haven't been running. Sad... :( I started a job a while back that was pretty physically demanding and I didn't seem to have any energy left to run. But now I'm not working so much anymore, so back to it!

I went running again last night on those biking trails through the woods. It felt really good to run again, except I got eaten alive by mosquitoes. I haven't seen them that bad for a long time. They were terrible! They couldn't seem to catch me when I ran, but they got me good as I was warming up and then again at the end. But they itched the whole time I ran and they still do.

Anyways, I ran for about 15-20 minutes then walked back to safety in the truck - I couldn't stand them anymore!

Tonight, DH and I went for another run. Have to wait until it cools down in the evenings - it's been hot and humid out lately. We ran for about 10 minutes, took a short walk break and then ran about 10 minutes back. I threw in a couple of faster runs in there to try up the speed a bit. I could tell that my thighs and ankles were a bit sore from yesterday, but no big deal

I'm amazed at how good it feels to run again - and I realize how much I miss it. I'm impressed that I was able to run for 15-20 minutes already, since I haven't run for a couple of months. I really have to keep it up.

Through the woods...

I went running through the woods yesterday. DH has been going biking on a mountain bike trail nearby lately. I decided to go with him and run part of it. I ran the first 2 sections - there are 4 sections with a total of 8 miles. I went about 2.4 miles or so. I ended up walking quite a bit of it because it was pretty hilly (and I was feeling lazy). It took a little over 30 minutes to make it through, and then it was about a 10 minute walk back to the parking lot. Kinda fun to run somewhere different. Might have to tag along again sometime.

20 minutes

Ran for 20 minutes today. Let's see, what can I babble about today? After I was done running, I got some weird stomach pain again, and my quads were sore or felt odd anyways. I though about sitting along side the road for a bit, but figured I might as well just keep walking home. By the time I got home 10 minutes later, the pain was gone.

I ran in a tank top today, can't believe it's been so warm lately. No complaints about that from me! We'd all be shocked if it snowed now, even though it easily still could.

I've been switching back and forth between shoes, sometimes my real old pair, and sometimes my new pair that I though was making my knees hurt. I haven't had any knee pain or hip pain for a long time, so knock on wood that it stays that way!

Gorgeous Day!

Today I had to get outside, it was absolutely gorgeous. It was somewhere over 70 degrees and sunny - in March! I first was going to bike up to the post office, but the bike didn't seem to be working too great, so I decided to run instead. Get my errands and exercise done at the same time! :) I walked first to warm up, then ran 5 minutes to the post office. I paid for my stuff and then ran about 8 or 10 minutes back. Not much for a run, so I figured I could rake up some leaves for a little more exercise.

It was so, so nice out. I hope spring is here to stay! I got the leaves raked into piles and then came in to make a Smoothie for lunch. I found this recipe for a smoothie that had spinach in it, so I figured it sounded like a good way to get some fruits and vegetables in. Sounds kind of weird, but you can't even taste the spinach. I fill my little mini food processor up with fresh spinach and about 1/4 cup of water. I puree that up, then add a banana, and a bunch of frozen fruit (1-2 cups). Today I put strawberries, raspberries and blackberries in it. What a yummy way to eat your vegetables! I've been having one daily.

So, I sat out on the deck, drinking my smoothie and soaking up some sunshine! No complaints from here today!

20 minutes!

I made myself run for 20 minutes today and it wasn't even that bad! I gotta get back to liking this running. The first mile I ran in just a bit over 10 minutes and I was surprised it was that quick. I turned around to run back and realized why. The wind had been pushing me along nicely. So then I had to run back against the wind. A little bit tough, but I managed fine. Felt great afterwards!

Better than nothing

Today was another nice, sunny day, so I figured I better get out there. It was about 50 degrees, a little bit windy. For some reason, I really don't feel like running, so I didn't go far. I ran for only 11 1/2 minutes. Oh well, better than nothing...

Gotta get back into running regularly!

I think I've been being lazy again. Been awhile since I went running. I know I've been exercising some, but I for sure haven't been writing in the blog... It was nice and sunny and warm out today, so I went for a run. Only made it 10 minutes though and decided to stop for some reason. I walked for another 10 minutes, then ran another 3 1/2 or so. Felt good anyways to get back outside.

Back outside!

It's been an absolutely gorgeous week here - around 40 degrees and clear, sunny skies. Feels like spring! I went running on Tuesday, and it felt so good to get outside and run, that I had to go again on Wednesday. I ran about 2 miles both times, about 20 minutes. I didn't get out on Thursday or Friday, but did run again today, another 2 miles. Hopefully the weather cooperates and I can keep it up!

Interval training

I went running at the gym tonight. I thought I'd try intervals again, but I didn't do so great. The main problem was that it was super hot and stuffy in there. Gross. Could hardly stand it. Guess I've gotten used to the freezing cold weather we've been having!

This is what I ended up doing:
walked for 5 minutes
ran for 4 minutes at 5.6 mph
ran for 1 min at 7.0
ran for 4 min at 5.6
ran for 1 min at 7.0
ran for 4 min at 5.6
ran for 1 min at 6.5
then I just walked for another 10 minutes or so between 3.5-4.0 mph. I did put the incline up to 2 at one point for a couple of minutes. I tried to run again at 6.0 for a couple minutes again, but I was dying, so I called it good and walked for another 7 minutes or so to cool down.

My muscles were sore last time I did the interval training, so it definitely does something!

Skating

Looks like I need to up the exercise - I've only been getting in about 1 day a week. Terrible. Shame on me. It's been so doggone cold and that's my excuse. Today though, was beautiful. The sun was shining and it was somewhere in the 20's. So I went skating - figured I better get some Vitamin D while I can. Grabbed my skates, a hockey stick and a puck and headed to the rink. There were a bunch of guys playing hockey, so I skated on the other rink. Not quite as nice, but I had it to myself. They did flood it again since last time I was there, so it was better, but still not smooth. I was able to skate a couple of laps after the guys left on the hockey rink and that was really nice. But I got tired after about 40 minutes and came home. Fun to get outside again!

Interval training

I went to the gym again tonight to run on the treadmill. I was sick for 2 days, so felt good to get moving again. I was reading about interval speed training where you throw in some faster runs for a minute once in a while, so I thought I'd try it out. So this is what I ended up doing:

Walked for 10 min at 3.8 - 4.0 mph
Ran at 5.6 mph for 4 min, then Ran at 7.0 mph for 1 min
Repeated that 3 more times, then ran 3 more minutes at 5.5 mph.
Walked for 7 minutes to cool down.

Total: Ran 23 minutes, Walked 17 min

It felt really good to run faster like that, but I definitely got tired out. We'll see if I'm sore at all tomorrow. When I was running at 7.0, it reminded me of when I first started running and how hard it was. So, I can tell I have improved when I haven't had to work so hard to run now!