Back to the Hills

Back on track this week, I hope. Three hill repeats. I thought about going for four but, ever worried about injuries, after the two bum weeks, I figured I would wait. I'm on good time for meeting my goal this week and I'm already only a half mile from last week's mileage.

I cooked some stew today, after my last cooking adventure went awry. (I tried the slow cooker for the first time but am not entirely familiar with its whole deal and was making chili with dry beans. So...just not right.) I got a recipe for Irish Stew from a pub cookbook. Only I substituted beef for the lamb and basically cut the amount in half. The rest of the stew includes carrots, celery, potatoes, onion, and barley. It didn't turn out very much like beef stew, or anything like the picture in the book. But it is full of vegetables and with a little salt, it isn't bad really, aside from looking quite pale. I was going to make some brown bread to go with it but realized I was out of eggs. Maybe tomorrow since I don't anticipate a run.

two bum weeks

So last week I didn't meet my goal either. I had an adjusted goal but didn't hit that either. Babies are a lot of work!

Today I ran 3.8 miles for my long run. Because I haven't been reaching my mileage goals, my weekly mileage goal can't really go anywhere.

This week's goal: 10-13 miles

I can't believe the NYC Marathon is so close! I can't imagine how I will feel on that day. It is going to suck to not be running!

Life Gets in the Way

I fell a little short last week. But only by a bit so I'm moving on. Things happen and life got in the way. Still...I decided to get in my "long" run yesterday and see how my ankle was feeling. Though the weather was cold, dreary, and drizzly, I felt really good after the fall back week. So I extended my distance a bit to 3.4 miles. Not a huge jump but I'm not going for records here. I just wanted to get in a longer run and see how my body felt.

Today I am feeling a bit sore. But I didn't sleep well (baby and cat, of course) and I have NOT been eating well.

Tonight I will head to Whole Foods to pick up a few items. I have a few recipes to prepare over the next few days that actually include...what are they called?...vegetables. Yeah, vegetables.

I can't believe it but I'm starting to identify with the Runner's World articles that talk about Running Mommies, etc. I become more of a cliche each day!

This week's goal: 10-13 miles

good thing

My right ankle has been bothering me and we have been going through some tough times with our cat's health. So this cut-back week has come at the perfect time.

Today is dreary and wet out. But I skipped three days in a row to give my ankle a break and wanted to see where things were at today. I went slowly in an attempt to avoid slipping and to not push the ankle too much. Despite this and a few walks around the sharp corners and several water stops, I still ran about 12 minute miles. Not too bad for a slow run.

Goal Met

Finished out the week with a slow 2.5 miles today. My legs felt dead. And I can't seem to stop sweating. I suppose that means (well, the dead legs part) means that the hills worked?

This week's total: 10.5 miles

I should probably have used this week as a cut-back week. But I suppose I wanted to push up my mileage above 10 before cutting back. Some sort of psychological thing? Perhaps. So next week I will cut back 20-25% or so on my mileage to allow my body to consolidate any gains I have made thus far.

Next week's goal: 7-8 miles

Head for the Hills

So tonight I decided to Head for the Hills. Basically, hill repeat workouts are as follows: find a hill and run up it, then do it again and again. My town is fairly hilly and my long runs in the past have inevitable included hills. But I have avoided hill repeats because, well, they are HARD.

The last time I remember doing hill repeats was with the R2R team last August. I remember feeling down afterwards because I was so far behind the others. Hence my avoidance.

But now I have less time to run so I need to work harder when I am running. So hill repeats will now be in. Tonight there were only three but next week we'll look at doing four.

Only two more miles this week to hit the low end of my goal. So two to four miles in the next two days.

feeling good

Did a 2.5 mile run today without walking! Well, except for a few seconds right after I start that is part of my warming up. It is really hard for me to write that and stay proud of myself. As soon as I write it, my mind tells me all the reasons it is ridiculous to be proud of that: I'm still overweight, I'm still REALLY slow, I have run so much farther than that that I shouldn't be proud of such a short run. But again I try to push those thoughts out of my mind.

Someday I will be able to train for and run another NYC Marathon for the NYC Alzheimer's Association. And someday I will run a race and have my daughter cheering for me. I remember running a half marathon a while back and seeing a little kid with signs cheering on his Mom. I remember choking up and hoping for the day when my child could be out there.

I can't remember if I already took note of this but I washed and dried my stopwatch ring. Since I can't find my regular running watch (maybe I left it at work?) and now the ring doesn't work, I've resorted to running with my Cateye bike computer! It does what I need. But I don't know what my problem is with running watches. I really hope to own a Garmin Forerunner someday. Lots of somedays...

My goal for the week is 10-12 miles. It is only Tuesday and I'm already at 5.6 so I'm doing well.