Weekly Rundown

I had a good week, getting my exercise in, and in some nice weather too.

Spring actually came to our corner of Maine this year, unlike the last two years when it was like living in Seattle (nothing against Seattle, but if I wanted their weather, I’d move there). I got to walk outside in the sun three out of four days at work, which made me very happy. As long as I get some sun and fresh air, I am a pretty happy person.

Monday: an evening walk with my husband and Daisy after work. We did  1.4 miles at a fairly brisk pace, getting ready for our 5K walk on Sunday.

Tuesday: off

Wednesday: I planned on a morning run on the treadmill, but that fell apart. The good news is that I got to run 2 miles out on the road when I got home from work. Outside is always better.  My knee felt very strange as I started down the driveway, badly enough that I decided I would stop if it didn’t get better. It hurts occasionally as I run, sometimes in different spots in the same run, but never for long. This ache was different, but also wore out before I went my first quarter-mile. I have decided that if I can run it out, I will keep going since if I stop every time it twinges, I will never run! Afterwards I did a (very) short yoga session to stretch out.
I follow that immediately, of course, with: if you are seriously hurt and it does not go away in a few minutes, STOP!! Better to rest now than not be able to do anything later! Or permanently hurt yourself.

Thursday: a quick morning run on the treadmill. Now that I have my 2 miles below 18 minutes, if I make my lunch the night before, I can stay that extra five minutes in bed. It’s the small things, really! I did a fairly slow pace, doing the first in 9:10 and the second in 8:40.

Friday: I went out for a long, relaxing run. I did my favorite path that takes me 5.22 miles, and I was surprised I managed to cut off 2 minutes from the last time I ran it. Guess those quick miles on  the treadmill are helping! There are quite a few really large hills in the route, which makes it odd that it is my favorite. I think perhaps I just like that I can do it.  Later in the afternoon I took Christopher Robin out to the riding ring. I rode bareback, and while he did fill out a bit over the winter, hanging on was definitely a good workout for my legs.  He did exceedingly well, considering our normal disagreements about what we should be doing. He must have decided he likes me!

Saturday: I took Daisy out for a brisk 2 mile walk and then did an extraordinary amount of weights. No, it wasn’t really all that much, but seeing how I have been only doing 15 minutes recently; when I stopped and realized I’d done 38 minutes, I was like, wow. I did an extra set of reps and added some floor exercises to my session, which added up. In the afternoon, I slipped a saddle on Charby and went out to the ring with her. It all went well until I spontaneously decided to canter. Christopher Robin, who’d been grazing next to the ring, immediately decided he must race about too. I pulled Charby in before he decided to run circles around us, bucking and kicking. Ponies! I’ve been thinking about fencing the ring, and now I just might.

Sunday: my husband and I went down to Portland for the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk. They push a lot of cardiac research through, and my husband feels (quite rightly) that AHA probably saved his life. We didn’t raise as much as we had wished, but every dollar helps 🙂  As we got out of the car and I stretched, I said “huh, what did I do to make my arms and shoulders hurt?” Then I remembered the weights Saturday. Oops.  The walk was wonderful, however. It was billed as a 5K, but they admitted upfront before they sent us out that it was really 3.5 miles. It looked a bit like rain, but it never did. Which was great because it was pretty warm and we would have baked if the sun had come out.

Weekly Rundown

Last week was a good week, but  it just flew by. I never seemed to have quite enough time to exercise. Looking back, most of my sessions were fast and short, but I felt pretty good after doing them.

Monday: as usual, I took Monday off. I did get home and lunge Charby and do some groundwork for 15 minutes, much to her annoyance. But then I gave her dinner and she forgave me.

Tuesday: I did another morning run on the treadmill. I am still seeing just how much I can push it–although a little less cuz the previous week did tire out my legs. Need a little break before I go too hard again–but this morning I did my first mile in 9:03 (which is faster than my normal first, usually I push harder in the second), and my second was 7:44. I was pretty excited with my first sub-eight minute mile 🙂 When I got home that night, I stretched out with 13 minutes of yoga before heading out to feed the horses.

Wednesday: I hopped on the treadmill to walk before work for a simple 20 minute mile, and it felt pretty relaxing! A good way to start the day.

Thursday: I had planned on a morning run, but of course that didn’t work out. So when I got home I did a quick (9:30) mile, followed by 11 minutes of stretch-y yoga.

Friday: Usually, I have the day off but I worked half the day. And I had a vet appointment for Daisy in the afternoon (which is why I only worked half a day). I wanted to run in town on the rail trail before heading home, but I was worried about being late at the vet. I decided I better run in the morning, so I did 2 more miles on the treadmill in an easy 17:50–I wasn’t paying attention to my splits.  And good thing I did, after running around doing all my errands, I really didn’t have anything left in me to exercise.

Saturday: we had suddenly gotten 200 hundred Christmas trees to plant. I mean, we ordered them, but they called the previous Saturday and said they were ready, and we needed to come get them. I knew I was going to be worn out, so I got on the treadmill early. I decided to see just how fast I could do a 5K. I know I can’t do it out on the road, but one of my friends has a workout mate who did a 5K on the treadmill recently, and of course I wanted to beat her time. Not that I am competitive, or anything 😛 Anyhoo, I did a 25:40 5K, which put me in a great mood for the day. Which is good, because pulling a sled filled with soil amendments and trees around a field, and planting said trees, made my muscles revolt. We only got 138 planted, so there will be more to do later. But I slept exceedingly well that night.

Sunday: I had planned on doing a mid-length run, so I dragged my weary bones out the door, and was rewarded with a deer waiting a mile down the road. It was actually quite a beautiful morning, and I enjoyed the fresh air and blue sky as I ran. I decided to run my entire road, which is 2 miles to one end and back, and 1.4 miles to the other end and back, giving me a 3.4 mile run. I rode Charby later in the morning out in our ring (first time this year), she was very good and seemed to enjoy herself. Even Christopher Robin behaved himself, staying out of our way.  I did sneak in a two-hour nap with Daisy in  the afternoon, but I think I earned it!

 

Weekly Rundown

I spent a lot of time pushing my speed on the treadmill last week. Now, I want to point out, these times are good for me. They are not necessarily good times 😛 And I can’t do them out on the road yet…yet.

But, in all honesty, they make me happy, and they are probably the fastest I have ever run. The good thing the accident did for me is, first, I wanted to get back to running as I had been, and then, second, I wanted to test my boundaries to see what my knee could do. So I actually push far more than I did previously.

And the better I do, the more I want to see what I can do.

Monday: no pushing, I took the day off!

Tuesday: so  a little bit of pushing. I decided to get on the treadmill before work (why, I still don’t know), and do a quick 2 miles. For me, it was quite quick, as the first mile was 9:46 and the second 8:43. I always feel good if it is the second (or third) mile that is faster, because anyone can speed through the first one, but how in shape they are determines how the second mile is run 🙂 Since I worked out in the morning, when I got home I had time to play with a horse. I lunged Charby and did some groundwork with her, before giving her some love and a treat.

Wednesday: weights and yoga. I did 2 x 15 reps, with 7 burpees in between the sets–I’ve been adding an extra burpee a week, so the number isn’t very high right now, but think what it will be in three months. I followed with 12 minutes of stretchy yoga, holding  each pose an extra breath.

Thursday: another morning on the treadmill with a bit more pushing–first mile was 9:10 and the second was 8 flat. Oddly enough, I was even able to walk away from the treadmill without tripping and work all day! That night I did 20 minutes of yoga, with both strength and stretch poses. Felt pretty dang good too.

Friday: I am running a 5K in a couple of weeks and I wanted to get a feel for the hill that it ends on, so I ran on the Rail Trail. I hit the hill on the way out as well as on the way back (it’s a turn off the trail that leads up to the YMCA, where the race will start and end.) Fortunately, it is not a huge hill compared to my locals.  And I was  really happy that I managed to do a hair over 4 miles in under 40 minutes, which was a first for me.

Saturday: I did another 2 miles on the treadmill, but I took it a bit easier, doing each mile at 6.5 MPH in 18:48. I took Daisy out for an easy mile after to cool down.

Sunday: I planned a long, easy run. I really did NOT want to do it, but I made myself and 3.32 miles later I was pretty proud of myself. Of course, it took almost as long as the 4 miles on Friday, but it really wasn’t about the time. In the afternoon I took Daisy for another walk. I figured she was getting shape and we could do a bit longer, so we did 2 miles. Afterwards I took Christopher Robin out for a little ride. I just hopped on bareback, and he has filled out a little bit, which made it easier to hang on with my legs. He was a really good boy, and we had a nice short ride without any resistance from him. We will see what happens when the rides get longer and more demanding!

Sunday

I did NOT want to run Sunday morning.

I finally got up out of my chair to feed the horses, and decided I might as well get moving. Honestly, I felt better as soon as laced up my sneakers–the decision was made. Not that I wanted to go out there. But I was going.

I decided to do just a couple of miles, and do them slowly, to “enjoy” them. Truth was, I had pushed with every run the past week and my legs were tired. By the second of the seven hills in my route, I decided that hills really suck!

But I made it through, and it even felt pretty good while I was doing it. And then I could go on with my day, feeling relaxed and happy that I had run.

Weekly Rundown

Well, it’s better late than never, too? Two weeks late, but I am trying to get back on track! It was my first race week of the year (my goal being 3 5ks).

I was uncertain on the best way to train, finally went for a lot of walking beforehand so my legs wouldn’t feel too tired. While that worked, I think maybe I could have run more? Missed the running. Which, of course, meant I was chafing at the bit on the starting line Sunday!

Monday: I am slowly trying to get myself motivated before work. Since I get up at 4:30 anyway, getting up a bit earlier to get on the treadmill is, um, difficult. But I am getting there. I did an easy mile on the treadmill, walking for 20 minutes. I wanted to lunge one of the horses when I got home, but there wasn’t time.  Which is why I started exercising in the mornings! And I am sure that they didn’t mind getting dinner instead of exercise.

Tuesday: took the day off.

Wednesday: had planned on doing yoga and weights, but as I forgot to look at the plan, I did another mile on the treadmill first thing in the morning instead. I try to plan my week out ahead of time to that it is fairly balanced. Also, on days I don’t have any motivation, it is already planned what I am going to do. This only works when I open my notebook and actually look at what I wrote. Ah well, at least I did something!

Thursday: a quick workout when I got home. I did 2×15 reps of weights, with 5 burpees in between, followed by 14 minutes of stretchy, relaxing yoga (yup, that was yesterday’s plan. I try to be flexible).

Friday: I did a fast 2 miles on the treadmill in 18 minutes before heading off for a long relaxing walk with a friend. We did 1 hour and 20 minutes on our local rail trail. Amazingly, there were still banks of snow down by the river, which was quite high and moving fast. But it was a bright, warm day and we had a great time. When I got home, Daisy gave me a pitiful look, so I took her for a quick mile walk too.

Saturday: another treadmill walk, this one 1.92 miles in 35 minutes. The rest of the day was spent running around with errands.

Sunday: my race! I had a great time with my friends, some of us ran and some walked. But we all had a good time 🙂 After I finished the run, I walked back to find them and walk with them. It was a great cool down. My run was pretty fantastic, and I thought I had a good time for the 3.1 miles. Definitely gives me something to do better than with my next race!