It was close. I ate 6 homemade lemon cream puffs while thinking about it. Did I mention that I'm a stress eater?
Then - I made my break for it. Grabbed my running gear and got in the car before anyone noticed I was missing.
Drove to the Seawalk for my long run - 1 hour. The first 3 kilometers were dreadful.. All my Easter food indiscretions were yelling at me from my stomach. I timed myself from kilometers 4 to 6 and it was 15 minutes 15 seconds - an average of 00.07:75 per km for easy run. So I ran for an hour - 8 km.
Monday, 25 April 2011
What A weekend Routine undone!
Day 5 Good Friday April 22, 2011 Tempo Day
Woke at 6:30 to my youngest granddaughters calling "Grandma - where's Grandma?" Those are some of the best words in the world. Lots of chatting from my bed, then my son Byron brought me coffee in bed. This is the life!
Got up to play with my granddaughters Katie and Eva who had arrived from Abbotsford the night before. We played cats. Byron turned our couch in the livingroom into a sailboat complete with red blanket sail. We had alot of adventures including cat overboard, swimming of the boat. What fun! Thoughts of running are quickly becoming a dim memory.
Finally as it was getting close to breakfast I mentioned that I was supposed to do a tempo run today. Byron said go and that got me out the door. Once again I drove to the Seawalk. Ten minutes easy to warm up, then my first kilometer tempo - 6:45. Goal was 7:00. Second kilometer was 6:33. Now it was time to do easy back to the car. Thought I would time my easy kilometer just to see what an easy run was for me. 6:30. That makes no sense. Or does it? I was warmed up and very relaxed because it was just easy running and I was concentrating more on form.
Home to 7 minutes cycle. That was it. There were now 6 grandchildren playing lego on the floor next to the stationery bike. Called it done for the day.
Day 6 April 23, 2011 Cold -2 C Easy day
A 15 minute easy run seemed doable. Played with grandchildren then popped out the door before breakfast and was back before anyone noticed I was missing. On to making breakfast and other grandmotherly duties so the next part - my cycling and exercises went by the wayside. Besides the room where my bike and exercise mat are has become Lego central with intricate structures and lots of activity.
Day 7 April 24, 2011 Easter Sunday. Long run
Got up at 5:30 am dressed in running gear and set up the table with all the Easter bowls with candies and presents for the family. Everything looked so festive. Figured I could get my 1 hour long run in before the family got going. Shortly after 6:00 I heard Katie and Byron. They had a sleepover and now Katie was excited to get up. She loved her purple bunny and candy. Soon Eva and Jen were here. More excitement. If breakfast was to be at 8:30 my window for a long run was quickly closing. Besides, its not every day I get to spend Easter with Byron, Jen, Katie, Eva and James. I stared making the fruit salad while Jen put the Pulla in to bake. Sausages and bacon sizzling, more family up or arriving. Lots of excitement. Easter breakfast was a family success!
Quiet - family has gone back to Jen and Jerry's to get ready for church. Can I fit an hour in before church? No. Then I talk to my brother on the phone. Haven't talked since Christmas. Lots of news to exchange. Get off the phone and realize that church has already stared and I'm not there.
Well, I will do my run now. No, its time to make lunch for everyone coming back from church.
Quiet in the house again. Nap times for little ones, play times for older ones, time to run? No. Its time to get the roast ready to go in the oven, make the sweet potatoes, make the Easter Pie, get the other vegetables ready, set the table with tablecloth and good china and silver....Dinner is at 5:00 pm. At 4:30 pm I take off my running gear and accept defeat. There is always tomorrow and a celebration of the Lord's triumph over the grave with all my family is better than anything.
Day 7 Easter Monday Long Run (because I didn't do it yesterday)
Byron, Jen, James, Katie and Eva left to go home today. Alex was up at 6:30 to make fresh apple muffins for them. I played with the girls and we had a special tea party using the best china teacups, teapot etc.
Just after 7:30 am it was time to say goodbye. I got really cold standing outside in just my Tshirt while waiting for them to say all the farewells, I came home chilled. Wrapped myself in a heated blanket and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up again the day was well underway, the cleanup on and so I pitched in. Now it is 3:45pm and I am trying to make excuses for not going for a run. We'll see.
Woke at 6:30 to my youngest granddaughters calling "Grandma - where's Grandma?" Those are some of the best words in the world. Lots of chatting from my bed, then my son Byron brought me coffee in bed. This is the life!
Got up to play with my granddaughters Katie and Eva who had arrived from Abbotsford the night before. We played cats. Byron turned our couch in the livingroom into a sailboat complete with red blanket sail. We had alot of adventures including cat overboard, swimming of the boat. What fun! Thoughts of running are quickly becoming a dim memory.
Finally as it was getting close to breakfast I mentioned that I was supposed to do a tempo run today. Byron said go and that got me out the door. Once again I drove to the Seawalk. Ten minutes easy to warm up, then my first kilometer tempo - 6:45. Goal was 7:00. Second kilometer was 6:33. Now it was time to do easy back to the car. Thought I would time my easy kilometer just to see what an easy run was for me. 6:30. That makes no sense. Or does it? I was warmed up and very relaxed because it was just easy running and I was concentrating more on form.
Home to 7 minutes cycle. That was it. There were now 6 grandchildren playing lego on the floor next to the stationery bike. Called it done for the day.
Day 6 April 23, 2011 Cold -2 C Easy day
A 15 minute easy run seemed doable. Played with grandchildren then popped out the door before breakfast and was back before anyone noticed I was missing. On to making breakfast and other grandmotherly duties so the next part - my cycling and exercises went by the wayside. Besides the room where my bike and exercise mat are has become Lego central with intricate structures and lots of activity.
Day 7 April 24, 2011 Easter Sunday. Long run
Got up at 5:30 am dressed in running gear and set up the table with all the Easter bowls with candies and presents for the family. Everything looked so festive. Figured I could get my 1 hour long run in before the family got going. Shortly after 6:00 I heard Katie and Byron. They had a sleepover and now Katie was excited to get up. She loved her purple bunny and candy. Soon Eva and Jen were here. More excitement. If breakfast was to be at 8:30 my window for a long run was quickly closing. Besides, its not every day I get to spend Easter with Byron, Jen, Katie, Eva and James. I stared making the fruit salad while Jen put the Pulla in to bake. Sausages and bacon sizzling, more family up or arriving. Lots of excitement. Easter breakfast was a family success!
Quiet - family has gone back to Jen and Jerry's to get ready for church. Can I fit an hour in before church? No. Then I talk to my brother on the phone. Haven't talked since Christmas. Lots of news to exchange. Get off the phone and realize that church has already stared and I'm not there.
Well, I will do my run now. No, its time to make lunch for everyone coming back from church.
Quiet in the house again. Nap times for little ones, play times for older ones, time to run? No. Its time to get the roast ready to go in the oven, make the sweet potatoes, make the Easter Pie, get the other vegetables ready, set the table with tablecloth and good china and silver....Dinner is at 5:00 pm. At 4:30 pm I take off my running gear and accept defeat. There is always tomorrow and a celebration of the Lord's triumph over the grave with all my family is better than anything.
Day 7 Easter Monday Long Run (because I didn't do it yesterday)
Byron, Jen, James, Katie and Eva left to go home today. Alex was up at 6:30 to make fresh apple muffins for them. I played with the girls and we had a special tea party using the best china teacups, teapot etc.
Just after 7:30 am it was time to say goodbye. I got really cold standing outside in just my Tshirt while waiting for them to say all the farewells, I came home chilled. Wrapped myself in a heated blanket and promptly fell asleep. When I woke up again the day was well underway, the cleanup on and so I pitched in. Now it is 3:45pm and I am trying to make excuses for not going for a run. We'll see.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
122 days to Marathon Day!
Day 4 April 21, 2011 Easy Day, Cold and sunny outside 1 C
When one lays things out the night before to be ready to run in the morning - make sure that includes everything. I hopped into my toasty heated running gear then- oh oh where are my gloves? Where is my hat? Not where I dropped them when I returned from my run yesterday. Someone has tidied up. Not me. 5 minutes wasted trying to find two items that at 1 degree C I was determined to not leave without. Note to self not to let that happen again.
Its my Easy Day - 15 minutes. I started out stiff and creaky but settled into a really easy gait. Still working on form. Went as far as 5th Ave and back - 16 minutes. Came in, did the coffee and water grab and onto the stationery bike. Did my 7 minute bike, 3 minutes exercise times 3 and then hopped into the sauna for 20 minutes. Oh that felt good! I added another pushup to my routine. Shouldn't be too impressed with myself as these are still ladies pushups! Oh well, I have to start somewhere.
Just remembered the other decision Jerry and I made about my training. We decided for me to train by time rather than distance. He thought that would be less stressful than worrying about getting my kilometers in each day. Most programs tell you how many kilometers or miles to run each day. The one other time I trained that way, I had my personal best for a marathon.
The other special thing about Jerry, he asks me every day how my run went . It makes me feel accountable.
When one lays things out the night before to be ready to run in the morning - make sure that includes everything. I hopped into my toasty heated running gear then- oh oh where are my gloves? Where is my hat? Not where I dropped them when I returned from my run yesterday. Someone has tidied up. Not me. 5 minutes wasted trying to find two items that at 1 degree C I was determined to not leave without. Note to self not to let that happen again.
Its my Easy Day - 15 minutes. I started out stiff and creaky but settled into a really easy gait. Still working on form. Went as far as 5th Ave and back - 16 minutes. Came in, did the coffee and water grab and onto the stationery bike. Did my 7 minute bike, 3 minutes exercise times 3 and then hopped into the sauna for 20 minutes. Oh that felt good! I added another pushup to my routine. Shouldn't be too impressed with myself as these are still ladies pushups! Oh well, I have to start somewhere.
Just remembered the other decision Jerry and I made about my training. We decided for me to train by time rather than distance. He thought that would be less stressful than worrying about getting my kilometers in each day. Most programs tell you how many kilometers or miles to run each day. The one other time I trained that way, I had my personal best for a marathon.
The other special thing about Jerry, he asks me every day how my run went . It makes me feel accountable.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Countdown to Marathon - the journey continues
Day 3 April 20, 2011 Speedwork day Cold outside
Dressed in my heated running gear, grabbed gloves this time, and watch, and drove to the Seawalk. Usually I would walk, but I didn't want anything to mess up my program.
10 minutes easy run, then 1 kilometer fast - goal 6:35. Timed my run start and finish - 5:53! Finished off with more easy run to make 20 minutes total. Really felt the 1 km speed work, but it was doable. Kept thinking that maybe the seawalk stretches so its a longer 1 km. Doubt it!
Home to cycling and exercises. Its already becoming a routine. Take off outer clothes, grab coffee and water and hit the bike. 7 minutes, 3 minutes planks, 7 minutes, 3 minutes pushups ( added 1 more to make 7) and situps, 7 minutes, 3 minutes stability. Again time for shower and off to work.
Oh, and I weighed 161 lb today. How does a person lose 1.5 pounds overnight? No wonder people are told to trust measurements over scales. Waist is 35 inches.
I was thinking how smart Jerry is to start me off slowly. I think if I had to run more than 15 minutes Monday or Tuesday I would have been ready to give up.
Dressed in my heated running gear, grabbed gloves this time, and watch, and drove to the Seawalk. Usually I would walk, but I didn't want anything to mess up my program.
10 minutes easy run, then 1 kilometer fast - goal 6:35. Timed my run start and finish - 5:53! Finished off with more easy run to make 20 minutes total. Really felt the 1 km speed work, but it was doable. Kept thinking that maybe the seawalk stretches so its a longer 1 km. Doubt it!
Home to cycling and exercises. Its already becoming a routine. Take off outer clothes, grab coffee and water and hit the bike. 7 minutes, 3 minutes planks, 7 minutes, 3 minutes pushups ( added 1 more to make 7) and situps, 7 minutes, 3 minutes stability. Again time for shower and off to work.
Oh, and I weighed 161 lb today. How does a person lose 1.5 pounds overnight? No wonder people are told to trust measurements over scales. Waist is 35 inches.
I was thinking how smart Jerry is to start me off slowly. I think if I had to run more than 15 minutes Monday or Tuesday I would have been ready to give up.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
18 weeks until Reykjavik Marathon
Another marathon with Team Diabetes coming up - my 11th. Apprehension - my last few marathons have been dismal - not enough training, too many things taking priority. I want this marathon to be different.
Son-in-law Jerry to the rescue! Sunday night we sat down with about 10 different marathon training programs in front of us and looked at the pros and cons of each one. Jerry is great. He helped me decide what training style I wanted e.g. run 3 days a week, run 5 days a week, run every day. I chose every day. I think I am going to need the consistency of getting out the door daily to stick with a program. Next we chose our 3 main focuses, the long run, speed work and tempo. All the other days would be built around them. So it is going to be Wednesdays Speed work, Fridays Tempo and Sundays long run. Next we filled in the rest of the week with easy runs. We looked up times to see what would be reasonable times for speed work and the tempo run. Based on my Sunday's performance of 1:09:13 for a 10k we decided for 6:35 minutes for 1 k for speed and 7 minutes (1/2 marathon pace) for 1 k for tempo.
A real issue that is effecting my running is the excess weight I am carrying. This is something that we both agreed I would have to address. Jerry says apples and carrots. Also suggested me getting my bike out of the shed and that I ride to work each day. My weight is 161.5 lb.
The next part is getting me out the door. The reality is that I am NOT a morning person, BUT if I don't run first thing in the morning the chances of getting a run in diminish as the day goes by. Also, as part of my training Jerry has added 7 minutes of fast, low resistance cycling on the stationery bike followed by 3 minutes of exercise X 3. Working backwards from when I have to be at work we figured if my alarm went off at 6:45 am and I was out the door at 7:00 am I could fit it all in. Last words of advise from Jerry - lay your clothes out the night before. He sleeps in his socks so thought I would try it.
Day 1 Monday April 18, 2011 Easy Day 15 minutes easy run Freezing outside
I slept in my socks and when the alarm went off walked straight to my clothes. I had piled them inside a heated blanket so they were toasty warm. Couldn't find a working watch, no problem, out the door to do my regular 15 minute route. Stiff - everything seized up. Must be the after effects of 10 k race day before. Tried for some form in my running, a shuffle was the best that I was coming up with. Started out too fast. In no time was down to walking. What's happening? I'm out of breath and have only gone a few blocks. On I went to turn around. The hill - again, had to stop to walk. I feel old and creaky. Ran the last few blocks home. 23 minutes! for my usual 15 minute run. Good thing this was an easy day!
Now to change to shorts and top for cycling. Find yoga mat for exercises. Got organized and began cycling. 7 minutes. 3 minutes doing planks.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing push ups and sit ups.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing stablizing exercises.
Still cold so decide to spend some time in the sauna. 30 minutes of sauna and I am not going to make it to work on time. Make arrangements to arrive late. Shower and off to work. Gained a pound overnight, now 162.5. Must have been all of Becky's birthday cake.
Day 2 Tuesday April 19, 2011 Easy 15 minutes Freezing outside
Slept in socks but didn't heat my clothes. Won't make that mistake tomorrow. In an effort for time efficiency tried wearing short sleeve top under long sleeve, shorts under long windbreaker pants. Wore my Newtons to practice form running. Wore a watch as well!. Concentrated on form. Have been trying to learn the Chi Running technique. About a block out, my hands were frozen. Had forgotten to grab gloves. Now I know why runners will be running in singlets but still be wearing gloves! 15 minutes seemed to take forever. I kept watching my watch to see if it was time to turn around to come home. By the time I was getting near home, I was starting to feel a bit like a runner again.
Transition to cycling was smooth. Grab a coffee, a glass of water, slip off long sleeve top and outer pants and good to go! I did my 7 x 3 and other exercises as well. Added one more push up - now 6. Finished at 8:00 am exactly. Enough time for a shower and off to work.
Son-in-law Jerry to the rescue! Sunday night we sat down with about 10 different marathon training programs in front of us and looked at the pros and cons of each one. Jerry is great. He helped me decide what training style I wanted e.g. run 3 days a week, run 5 days a week, run every day. I chose every day. I think I am going to need the consistency of getting out the door daily to stick with a program. Next we chose our 3 main focuses, the long run, speed work and tempo. All the other days would be built around them. So it is going to be Wednesdays Speed work, Fridays Tempo and Sundays long run. Next we filled in the rest of the week with easy runs. We looked up times to see what would be reasonable times for speed work and the tempo run. Based on my Sunday's performance of 1:09:13 for a 10k we decided for 6:35 minutes for 1 k for speed and 7 minutes (1/2 marathon pace) for 1 k for tempo.
A real issue that is effecting my running is the excess weight I am carrying. This is something that we both agreed I would have to address. Jerry says apples and carrots. Also suggested me getting my bike out of the shed and that I ride to work each day. My weight is 161.5 lb.
The next part is getting me out the door. The reality is that I am NOT a morning person, BUT if I don't run first thing in the morning the chances of getting a run in diminish as the day goes by. Also, as part of my training Jerry has added 7 minutes of fast, low resistance cycling on the stationery bike followed by 3 minutes of exercise X 3. Working backwards from when I have to be at work we figured if my alarm went off at 6:45 am and I was out the door at 7:00 am I could fit it all in. Last words of advise from Jerry - lay your clothes out the night before. He sleeps in his socks so thought I would try it.
Day 1 Monday April 18, 2011 Easy Day 15 minutes easy run Freezing outside
I slept in my socks and when the alarm went off walked straight to my clothes. I had piled them inside a heated blanket so they were toasty warm. Couldn't find a working watch, no problem, out the door to do my regular 15 minute route. Stiff - everything seized up. Must be the after effects of 10 k race day before. Tried for some form in my running, a shuffle was the best that I was coming up with. Started out too fast. In no time was down to walking. What's happening? I'm out of breath and have only gone a few blocks. On I went to turn around. The hill - again, had to stop to walk. I feel old and creaky. Ran the last few blocks home. 23 minutes! for my usual 15 minute run. Good thing this was an easy day!
Now to change to shorts and top for cycling. Find yoga mat for exercises. Got organized and began cycling. 7 minutes. 3 minutes doing planks.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing push ups and sit ups.7 minutes, 3 minutes doing stablizing exercises.
Still cold so decide to spend some time in the sauna. 30 minutes of sauna and I am not going to make it to work on time. Make arrangements to arrive late. Shower and off to work. Gained a pound overnight, now 162.5. Must have been all of Becky's birthday cake.
Day 2 Tuesday April 19, 2011 Easy 15 minutes Freezing outside
Slept in socks but didn't heat my clothes. Won't make that mistake tomorrow. In an effort for time efficiency tried wearing short sleeve top under long sleeve, shorts under long windbreaker pants. Wore my Newtons to practice form running. Wore a watch as well!. Concentrated on form. Have been trying to learn the Chi Running technique. About a block out, my hands were frozen. Had forgotten to grab gloves. Now I know why runners will be running in singlets but still be wearing gloves! 15 minutes seemed to take forever. I kept watching my watch to see if it was time to turn around to come home. By the time I was getting near home, I was starting to feel a bit like a runner again.
Transition to cycling was smooth. Grab a coffee, a glass of water, slip off long sleeve top and outer pants and good to go! I did my 7 x 3 and other exercises as well. Added one more push up - now 6. Finished at 8:00 am exactly. Enough time for a shower and off to work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)