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June, 2009:

Workout Reflections

Jun 30th, 2009
by gazelle.
10 comments

For some reason, I have a blank mind today. I’m sure it’s nothing to do with the work load (both job & school). I have now decided that I loved last week’s schedule of only working two days, and can’t wait for the architect to get re-employed and make eleventy bajillion dollars so I stay home & live the dream of not working very much, and instead having my workouts be my part-time job. Between that & grad school, I would stay busy enough, I think!

I was looking at my workout stats today, since today is the last day of June, and the last day of the first half of the year, and the last day of the fiscal year (although probably not for everyone).

Not including this afternoon’s run (I’m finishing up Wildwood after work! woo!), I have already exercised for 32.25 hours this week, and will likely get in about 60-75 more minutes tonight. That equals nearly 33.5 hours of exercising in just one month (not including any yard work that happened). That is six hours more than I exercised in May, and an average of just over an hour/day. I feel pretty good about that. I think that, despite my whining about my lackadaisical June workout schedule yesterday, that maybe it wasn’t so much a lazy month, just a lower mileage month due to all the other stuff I added in that I wasn’t doing before (swimming, biking, lifting weights).

So – in conclusion, go me! Also, send money so I can continue to work out a lot without having to worry about where my next pair of running shoes are coming from.

Now, if only my doughy midsection would pay attention to my workout schedule, and get all flat & smooth & hot looking.  That would be super awesome. I would like to rock a bikini (where no one will see me, of course) this summer.  Also, my tri-suit is a little on the tight side (for wily boob-wrangling purposes), and I don’t think I need to carry a spare tire for the sprint-distance bike. So, still working on project abs. Project hot legs=success. Project firm arms=coming along nicely. Project nice ass=initial approval from interested parties.

I also realized today that I have run more miles in 2009 (414 after tonight) than I did in all of 2008 (400), which is kind of cool. I mean, I’m not 6 miles away from 1,000 miles (like some crazy women), but I am going to get pretty close (trying not to be jinx it by being too positive) to my goal of 1,000 for the year. I will have to average 98 miles/month for the rest of the year, which might be a wee bit difficult Oct-Dec, but I’m hoping my July-Sept mileage makes up for it. If I meet all of my planned miles for the next six months, I will be at about 1070 for the year…and that would be fantastic.

But, going forward, I will be running distances I’ve never attempted before, and have already beat my previous record, so it’s all a success from now on! Nothing but mileage records from here on out!

I hope everyone else is feeling as positive! What’s your best accomplishment for the first half of 2009?

CONTEST!

Jun 29th, 2009
by gazelle.
1 comment

But not here – you’ll have to go visit the Chic Runner to get all the deets on the $75 towards Zensah compression products. I would prefer it if you DIDN’T enter, because that would lessen my chances, but I did promise to link to the contest, so here it is.

Training Goals for 6/29 – 7/5 (plus half marathon goals)

Jun 29th, 2009
by gazelle.
6 comments

Last week’s recap:

June 22 – June 28, 2009

Monday – trail run, 10+ miles – Check! I did 10.1

Tuesday – swim + mountain bike + push-ups - Check! I swam 1,000 yards, including a set of 800 yards for the 1st time in ages, did an 11.2 mile mountain bike ride with the architect, in which we averaged 8.8 mph, which I was pleased with because my legs were trashed from the previous day’s run & the morning’s swim, and did my push-ups as well – 71 total, in case you care.

Wednesday – weights + easy 3-4 mile run – Weights, check! run, no. my legs were a little wiped out from the Monday/Tuesday workouts, did my push-ups…

Thursday – yoga, maybe a bike, push-ups – Yoga, check! Did not ride, and did the push-ups on Wednesday, so none today.

Friday – trail run, 10+ miles again – Check! I ran 10.75 miles on Wildwood, meaning I have only have 1.75 miles left of Wildwood trails to be able to say I ran the whole thing in 2009! Go me!

Saturday – mountain bike ride, a little further than Tuesday’s, push-ups – Hmmm….I did ride my mountain bike. Not on a mountain, although there was a small hill. And I did ride it to the Organic Beer Fest. Which involved lifting glasses of beer to my lips, which is almost like a push-up, right? Right?

Sunday – long run, 8-10 miles – I did run – 5.15 miles (to even out the week’s totals). I got super lost in the neighborhood I was running in, and couldn’t find any good places to run that weren’t suburban neighborhoods with streets that have never even seen a straight line. The only roads I knew I wouldn’t get lost on were super busy roads with no sidewalks, so I cut my run short.

I ended the week with:

26 miles run

1000 yards in the pool

21.9 miles on the bike

Overall, nearly 12 hours of fitness related activity! Nice to have to only work two days!

June 29 – July 5, 2009

This is a taper week, so I will likely not get 12 hours of exercise in this week.

Monday: strength training (45 minutes), elliptical (15 minutes)

Tuesday: six mile easy run

Wednesday: braving the gym post-work again for a swim & bike brick

Thursday: three mile easy run

Friday: rest day, I think

Saturday: Foot Traffic Half Marathon!

Sunday: swim/bike – I am comtemplating riding my bike to the pool, and then riding home on Leif Erickson. We’ll see how trashed my legs are after the half mary. I may just try for an easy recovery swim.

Before my last half marathon, the only activity I did in the 7 days leading up to the race was one 90-minute yoga session. This time, I have activity planned every day, albeit lighter than usual activity. We’ll see what strategy works best for me.

Half Marathon Goals

I did not train nearly as hard in the last eight weeks leading up to this half marathon as I did in the previous 3 months before the 2009 Hippie Chick Half.  I think that I only did one speed workout, and one set of hill repeats.

I didn’t get in as many miles, either. I ran 100 miles in April, and only 124 in May & June combined. I am not sure how those changes will affect my running on Saturday. I have put in about the same amount of trail miles in May & June (46.25) as I did in March & April (40.18), but I’m just not sure what my legs are going to be doing on Saturday.

I have two shorter runs this week (six & three miles) that I intend to run pretty easy. My yoga class is on hiatus this week, too. I guess my main goals are:

1. Finish strong

2. Run smart (last time I was dehydrated, didn’t carry my water, and sabotaged my pace by not taking enough water)

3. PR (of course, who doesn’t want to PR?)

I’m not sure I can PR with the lackadaisical training I’ve been doing, but I think I can still come close. Even on my long trail runs, my pace is pretty consistently coming in 12 minute miles or less, and on my shorter runs, I’m definitely averaging about a 10 minute mile most of the time….I need to average between a 10:18 & 10:23 minute mile to beat my last time of 2:16:57.

But, if I don’t, it’s not a big deal. There will be another race, I’m sure.

S0 – thoughts on my taper week plans & goals? What are you doing this week?

Slow & Steady

Jun 27th, 2009
by gazelle.
12 comments

Doesn’t really win anything, does it? I don’t care what that hack Aesop says.

BUT – at least slow & steady doesn’t equal a bunch of DNFs.

This has been an incredible week, workout wise. I’ve gotten in two 10+mile trail runs, both of which average 12 minute miles or less, which I’m definitely okay with on trails.

I had a great mt. bike ride, a nice swim (and will soon be adding in swim & bike #2), I did my strength training, did abs, pushups, and did my last yoga in my 10-week series.

In addition to rocking the wheel pose Thursday night:

I also, for the first time in my life (that I can remember, who knows what I did as a child), did this:

Not for very long, but I did it!

WOO!

I feel good this week. I lost 1.6 lbs, too (for a total loss of 3.2 lbs since June 1, so not spectacular, but no real complaints). I’d like to lose about 8ish more in the next few weeks, and 13ish or so more total to bring me to my super goal weight. (It will take 3.5 lbs for goal #1, 8.4 lbs for goal #2, and 13.5 lbs for super goal #3.)

Last night, the architect & I went to Hopworks for the brew review, and were joined by some friends, and we had so much fun!

We then came home & lit a fire and had s’mores.

Life is good :)

Corn Chronicles (Part 387.3)

Jun 25th, 2009
by gazelle.
18 comments

The taller corns grew like weeds this week! The combo of weekend rain and a warmer early week have inspired a humongous growth spurt.

The sun was super bright, so this is kind of a crappy photo, but look how much they’ve grown. This is the corn the first time I stood among it for photos:

On June 3, Carrie Corn was 18″. Last week (June 17), she was 35″. Yesterday, she was 55″! That’s a 3-ft growth in 3 weeks, and a 20″ spurt in just the last 7 days!

On June 3, James Corn was a wee 7″. June 17, he was 20″. Yesterday, he was only 24″, so he is not growing as fast as some of his siblings. I think he’s just not getting much light anymore. Poor James Corn!

I don’t have pics of the rest of the garden for you today, although exciting news! Some of my potatoes are blooming, and that means that somewhere under there, baby potatoes are being born!

The peas are about done. The spinach is nearing the end of its lifespan. A few early onions have been picked & eaten (and I attribute Saturday’s delicious guacamole to the fact that it contained homegrown onions!), and the green beans are approachingn eatability.

The squashes continue to do well, as do the black beans. I expect to see wee baby tomatoes & peppers any day now.

And Tuesday evening, the architect & I had this for dinner:

Surprisingly, there’s a lot of stuff to do at work when you only come in for a couple of days.  Between that & school work, I feel a bit reclusive this week.

Hope everyone’s having a good Thursday!

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