Cooler Weather & Darker Evenings

Ran around four miles last night with the yellow lab and felt pretty good. It was not all that bad out - around 50 degrees last night. I think the slow gradual cold will help with outdoor training. Although I felt better when I was running out, I realized that I needed to invest in some reflective gear - it does get dark pretty quickly around 6:30 pm.

Back on the Horse

Ok - four months, two grad classes, and endless new house projects later... I'm back on the horse. I've really wanted my running routine back before the cold struck again, but wouldnt you know, the last Saturday of October and it snows. So, after the big move and getting to know my way around our commity (which has sidewalks everywhere), my husband and I finally decided to join a 24 hr gym. Its nothing fancy, but it has all of the nice equiptment our former LifeTime Fitness did that was way overpriced.

So on Sunday - my big yellow (out of shape) lab and I ran about 2 miles and briskly walked back. #1, out of shape from not regularly doing cardio and #2, trying to adapt to breathing in cold air. I've read that it roughly takes 2 - 3 weeks to train our lungs to handle colder air. Then I went to the gym to try out my first day of weight training.

Monday - we ran about 2.5 miles and briskly walked back just in time for the trick-or-treaters. I was a little sore from the weight training from the day before, but felt a lot better running today. No more halloween candy for me.

7/12

Where have I been???

Between traveling for work and signing on a new home and moving, I've been a busy bee with some running in between.

Between the last two weeks, I've ran only 3 times. Does moving boxes count - its exercise, right?

I'll update as soon as I get more running into my week!

6/15

Definately much better today. Ran 4 miles, but an easy 4 with the dog.
I am preparing for the Autism Speaks 5K on July 4th. What I remember from doing it last year was that it was pretty flat with some grades of hills towards the end. I am hoping to improve my time from 8:25 from last year. Running with a group of people definately motivates me to run faster than the person in front of me. Supposed to rain most of the day tomorrow, but we'll see if its going to be an outside run or a treadmill run.

6/14

Not a very productive day with running. I decided to try out the track by myself and started with a half mile walk then ran for a mile and a half then severe stomach cramps. I tried stretching while running, then when that didnt work, I ended walking it out for another half mile. So all in all, I walked/ran 2 1/2 miles.

Tomorrow's goal - 4 miles

6/13/11

Loving this low humidy in DC! Its definately making my runs much easier. I ran 4 miles (w/ dog) and warmed up with 1/2 a mile.

I have noticed my diet being much healthier. By sqeezing in workouts, I am not tempted to sit in front of the tv and be a couch potato or sit (more) on the computer; I sit enough at work.
What also helps me be always mindful and concious is reading articles from active.com or msn.com about health and medical studies, etc. I also use the runtastic app and the active.com app while I am on the go when I am not driving.

6/11/11 & 6/12/11

Saturday 6/11:
Ran in the morning with low humidity at the start, however became much more hot and humid by 9am
Ran 4 miles w/ dog on trails (reached my end of week goal)
Walked 1 mile

6/12:
Ran in the evening with low humidty. I came to the conclusion that I like to run in the evening much better because it tends to cool down as the evening goes on.

Ran 3 miles w/ dog
Walked 1 mile


Recap for the week 6/6/11 - 6/12/11
Total milage: 15 miles

• Monday -3


• Tuesday - 3


• Wednesday - 2


• Thursday - Off


• Friday - Off


• Saturday - 4
  Sunday - 3
  
  Overall, I felt pretty good about my first week running. My goal for next week is to reach 5 miles and include some more weight training on my off days. One thing that really helped me out this week was using my andriod phone app runtastic. I've tried a couple of run apps that was basically a gps device that tracked distance and calories. This app goes into a little bit more detail on how your run went - hot, sunny, rainy, feeling while running, injuries etc. I really do like this because it tracks history so you're never second guessing yourself on how many calories burned or distance ran.