Back on the Track

feeling much better apparently :)

after suffering badly on Monday's long run, I then struggled to find time to get in my regular running :) between long work hours and the school Music Festival time alone was hard to come by and after a week where I could have an hour a day (if I got up early) to do that run, I really miss it. Here Scott isnt home more than 2 mornings a week and then weekends runs can be later IF there isnt too much going on SIGH.
Today was better; after I dropped the kids off at School I had some time to myself; I even went to the office and there was NO ONE there Lol sure I should have stayed and worked but instead I went running :)

I thought I would go to the TACC grounds and do some intervals there. After all those laps of the "compound" I hoped track work would be easier. It actually wasnt too bad.

3 km warm up running to the track; 8X400 intervals with 200 m jog in between and then 3 km back to the college. Total 10.6 km in 1:06:16. Im not sure if I should be doing long runs a few times a week or shorter km but more often so for now it is just going to depend on what I have time to do.

This morning felt really good. Im sure its helpful that I had 2 days rest. Im sure it helped that Ive had time to recover from travel. Im sure its helped that I had walk breaks and take off my coat breaks and really there werent 10.6 km of constant running. Intervals are hard tho! lol

PLANNING a nice run tomorrow :)

LSD 14 km

and OMG what a 14 km it was. UGH.

Im not sure if this is remains from my Saturday run after ball hockey Friday Night which seemed ok but as Saturday went on I felt worse and worse and more and more sore; So sore I didnt want to move. Which lead to Sunday feeling like crap and not so great plus more than tired. Exhausted.

So today was only a little less sore and a little less tired. Am I coming down with something, have I already been through it and Im on my way back up, or is it just all that travel catching up?

Did the 14 k run because tomorrow and the next few days look awful and putting it off never makes it better and I just dont have the time to be skipping weeks. The Cabot Trail Relay is just a few weeks away.

Run was awful. Was dragging butt for most of it, and although still felt great at 7 km, by 9 I was like Really? 5 more to go? And although it didnt feel as bad as it was, the time was awful. pace of 6:47 for the 14 km ended up 1:35 minutes. UGH. I hope I can get some sleep and have some good speed workouts this week. I obviously need more rest ;) about 100 km for the month so far; have 4 days to bring that up to the average of 120 ish. I can do that ;)

Rest tomorrow or an easy 5 k? Depends on the weather SIGH.

Home in the North again

SIGH that lappy run ended up being the last Florida run. I likely could have gone the morning we left GOD KNOWS I didnt sleep much but I was kinda upset that we were leaving and stressed about getting the kids and us packed up and going on time that I didnt feel I should induldge in a run. Turns out we were ready early AND the run might have helped my stress for the day so a run might have been good but oh whatever I didnt go and I regret it SIGH.

Friday we got up super late and I didnt do a thing til late. I mean nothing. I didnt get dressed. I didnt do anything. LOL After supper there was a Ball Hockey game and boy could I ever tell that I hadnt done a thing LOL I ran like crap and played pretty poorly too.

So Saturday morning I get up and figure its sunny I should run, I should run the 8 km loop and I should do it in shorts LOL. Cannot let go of that Florida mindset. I eventually did drag my butt out for that run, did do the 8 km loop, and did it in shorts...and was chilly and didnt really love it lol. It was nice to see grass growing and buds on trees but it was windy and I was sad it wasnt 15+ C and sigh Im back in the great "white" north.

8.2 km in 52:26 slow slow minutes lOL dont forget the hills tho!

Some reminders of my awesome long run in Florida SIGH
Where I did all those laps. I would have had to do 8 laps to get in 12 KM BORING!

Ran here...no sidewalks so I huslted lol


I loved Champions Gate - a big ol resort/golfing area where the landscaping was perfect and the sidewalks perfect :)

Champions Gate
Finished right up the road from here. Its a hill. Nice.


Crossed Masters Blvd lol had to get a photo of Mr. Masters on Masters Blvd :)


Very cool mossy woods that reminded me of a movie :) I wanted to run through (there seemed to be a trail) but Scott freaked; that's where snakes live! hahahah

Outside the fence of our "compound" lol there was a trail around it and I did go on it once...out and back was about a km....but how many times can you do that before that also becomes a little dull? Lol

Missing ya, Florida!

More Intervals on laps around the Compound

More laps this morning on Intervals; 7X400 m as fast as I could go ;) which was slower as I went along :) 1 km warm up. Was planning to do 6 but decided to tack on one more. Felt pretty dead after 6 but after the 7th actually felt really good....finished up 2 more km at a decent pace with cool down at the end for a total of 7 km in 43:11 minutes.
About 18 C at start and end; the heat isnt too hard to handle :) wish it seemed that easy at home. Heat seems to bother me more there than here.
Conclusion- laps are boring.

Florida Long Run :D:D:D

Was absolutely amazing :):) Even if it was hot.
Started out late because I just could not drag myself out of bed so I got up and had some breakfast and then headed out. It was dreary and I was concerned I might get rained on. No worries :) The sun came out and it was nice and muggy :) Mugggggy.

picked a route with mostly sidewalks :) the sites along the way were SO cool :) Scott dropped me off and left me running alone; guess he got over his worries about what I might "meet" LOL. The sun came and went and it was hotttt. I wished for some water lol.
There were quite a few hills; I was surprised it was as hilly as it was. All uphill, Im sure ;) It was neat running past the trees with the moss in them; looked spooky as a movie :) There was a trail through; I SO wanted to check it out! A lot of water, tonnes of birds; TONNES. Great big birds. Big white cranes, some sort of hawks, and little crow like birds. There was a section without side walks that was a little disturbing because the first thing I saw was a few dead snakes; one of them was large and black and white striped; I think it was a California King Snake; the others were unidentifiable ;) I also think I might have seen a small crushed Armadillo on the road; didnt stop to look too closely LOL. Saw some squirrels and a few dragonflies. Prett harmless wildlife actually ;)

Ran through some very "posh" areas where the landscaping was amazingly perfect :) there were people working on it everywhere :) SO pretty. I love the smells of summer although I wishI could figure out which plant/shrub smells like dog doo. I would stear clear. Lots of that yesterday.

12 km in 1:16 ish not the greatest pace but it WAS really hot and I felt pretty crappy right near the end with a climb up a hill and the sun came out very hot; still one of my most enjoyable runs ever :):):)

Short Run

After a day off yesterday did a short run this morning; so happy to get back out there :) Just a little 3.25 km in 20 minutes; That's a little more than 2 times around the "compound" lol to loosen up. Yesterday without running I found I was more achy and sore than I have been any of the days I ran :)
Tomorrow is long run :) And then maybe shopping ;)

Third Florida Run

Whew ran again this morning, it was a little bit cooler and nice :) went across the street to an ungated community and it wasnt bad; saw a lot more people that early but didnt feel less safe; no side walks LOL

Tempo Run at 5.2 km total (.6 km warm up, 1.5 km cool down (ish) and tempo in middle of up to 5:10) in 32 minutes total time. Was fairly tired at the end; its all getting to me. Rest day tomorrow and sleeping in; amusement park in the afternoon/evening :):)

More Laps

Yeah went out of the gated community and ran on the side walk around the trail but didnt really go far; it was a short out and back and still had to run 2.5 laps of the "compound" to get in 5.2 km this morning in about 33 minutes (steady run;))

I do love Florida!

Florida Running

SUPER nice in Davenport this morning; Im shocked tho how long it stayed dark!
Ok well I did get up an hour early thanks to an error in alarm setting but anyway; it was 18 C and slightly breezy, and very dark.
Not sure where to go and what is safe in the dark so I stayed in the gated community. That means laps. Its not THAT big.
That is what every inch of it looks like ;)

The place is a big rectangle with roads crossing it, and I ran the circumference 4.25 times. It is 1.5 km around. I can give more stats hahah but will leave it for now!

did 6 intervals of 400 meters each around 5:30 average time (some were faster, others slower). Warmed up 1 km and cooled out 2. Stretched in the driveway under a Palm Tree Wheee! Time was 40 minutes.

Hard to get used to a new climate so quickly. Reminds me what is coming; summer! :P

Getting in an LSD run before we leave for Vacation!

This morning weather was perfect and timing was right for a great successful long slow run!
Nothing slow about it; ran with Margie and she ran ahead, keeping me to a nice 6:10 pace over the 10 km for a time finish of about 1:02. Which is good today; I feel like i could have gone a lot further on that pace. :):):)
Weekend was not successful for running lol really wimpy I am.
Friday was rest day; planned a run for Sat and one for Sunday although I knew our long run would be today; Saturday we left at dawn for HFX for swimming meet and hockey tournie for the kids; I went to the pool with little T and after sitting in that sauna for 9 hours (Im not exagerating; it was so hot I had sweat running down my back and my clothes were soaked. Poor Annika was hot too :() I really didnt feel like running. It was chilly out and i was chilled and hot at the same time and SO drug out from the heat and the sitting. Plus we had company (mother) so I didnt run.
Sunday off at dawn again for just hockey this time. PLanned to be home around lunch time, get in a run between the packing. UGH came home collapsed on the couch and was out for hours lol. ANd when I got up it was still sunny but windy windy (had been all weekend) and I wimped out. I despise wind. SO HATE it. So I stayed home. I dont want to start hating the runs because of the weather.

SO LSD Monday showed up sunny and only a little windy. It is always windy to a point here. Our first few km were pretty chilly then it warmed up fast and we were hot; the wind at one point was in our faces for a few km and we slowed a lot...but it was still a good run with lots of energy left over. I am hungry tho.

That diet last week; I dunno. I did lose about 4 pounds over the 3 days but I know its not going to stay off because its likely a lot of fluid, empty GIT, illusion of weight loss that will come back when I eat normally....but I learned a few things and remembered others:
1. Its ok to be hungry. I don't have to be full all the time. That grumbly feeling? That's ok.
2. I hate water on an empty stomach. Im really dehydrated.
3. the food choices made for me did an awesome job of keeping my "blood sugars" level. There were so many less peaks and valleys than usual. I was hungry but it was not that "Feed me before I die Im shaking and irritable and irrational" hunger. I was just hungry.
4. The food choices made for me were NOT ok to train on. I cant run like that. Which leads me to believe I should not try to do that diet with me on vacation. Eating like that and spending 14 hours a day following 3 kids around Disney isn't reasonable. But I can count on #5:
5. We eat way too much. The portion sizes were adequate. I was never really unsatisfied "volume wise" with the food I was eating. Just psychologically unsatisfied after the cup of Cottage Cheese (yuck) or the cup of broccoli (knaw knaw) and I guess I can work on that. SO while Im away I will strive to eat sensible portion sizes. I realise that is going to be hard. I will likely repeat the diet when I come back. Ive 10 pounds I would love to drop.

So for now that is where I am sitting. Getting faster. Getting smarter. Off on vacation ;) (Im taking my running clothes!)

Regular Run

Plan A said 5 km steady run; Plan B said 4 miles and strength training; so I did 4 miles but Ive yet to do any strengthening. LOL

OH the weather was awesome (tad breezy tho) but sunny and warm :):):) unfortunately this American Heart Association diet Ive been following for 2 days has left me with little energy for running (despite my cheating)...and it wasnt the best run Ive ever had :) 6:15 Pace for 6.4 km on the trail.

Only one more day and then I can eat normal for 4 and hope to feel better. Unfortunately my "eat funny" days will be on a couple of my run days . And next week when we are away Im not going to stick to it; imagine eating like 1160 calories and following 3 kids around Disney for 10 days? Naw. sheesh . hahhahaha

Rest day tomorrow :):):)

Hills X 3

Kinda had a choice of runs today with one program calling for 2.5 km and 3 hills, while the other called for 5X800 repeats at 5 K pace. I might go do that one tonight. LOL because we picked the hills one (Margie and I) and I dont feel it was enough lol. less than 300 calories (what a poor way to decide if one has worked hard enough). :)

4.25 km in 26 minutes = 6:07 pace (3 hills).

ON a bit of a cleansing diet after the crap I was eating over the weekend (chocolate, pretend chocolate, etc). Feeling like crap with no energy and all.

Im not sure where this program comes from; one a friend has us all doing ;) ive already cheated on it. I cannot run on half a grapefruit and a slice of bread. hahahahah. Im not so much for losing pounds as feeling better so as long as I can get my workouts in, i will excuse the odd granola bar. It calls for black coffee/tea/etc so rather than my morning coffee Ive had tea all day. I dont want black coffee.

But supper this evening has no appeal for me hahaha!

Ran with Lavinia

who is so very speedy :)

Wanted to run this morning because this evening was 4H meeting and it was supposed to get rather breezy (and it did) so get that run out of the way.

Running Room training plan said 4 km tempo run.

Higdon training plan said to run 6 mile steady run.

Now usually these two plans match up pretty close so that only a little adjustment needs to be made. But these are 2 runs that do not really go together in any way. lol

So Lavinia says Lets do 10 K. IM all like um just did that.

And she said ok well this loop is almost 8 km....if we do that its somewhere in between. And off we went.
She was pushing Miles in the stroller and still was much faster than I...she claims not to mind but I dunno how she couldnt hahaha at least I dont run with her every day so she can get her speedy runs in when Im not around. That little 8 K run...she could always go again later (and who knows maybe she did heheheheh)
8 km in 49 minutes so a 6:07 pace :)

Haven't Fallen off the Face of the Earth or anything

Just having such a tiresome week! omg! I hadn't run since Tuesday! That doesn't mean I have not been doing anything, just didnt get out for a run!

Wednesday scheduled a run but didnt fit it in the morning and by the time labs were over in the afternoon it was rather close to the time for our semifinal hockey game which we won 1-0; tough game, that score. Stressful.

Thursday morning I had planned to go for a run; really I had lol; just was very tired and I got to thinking "self, you're tired. More tired than usual. There is a really late hockey game tonight (the finals) that you have to win. You have school work to do. Screw the run and rest, get some work done, play hockey well."

So that's what I did. Left the run again and worked all day before playing hockey at night. And we won that game too....Deuville's 4 on 4 champs again this year :) another jersey and more bragging rights ;)

Excuse the terrible photo :)

This game ended Very late and there was some celebration so Friday morning was a bit of a sleep in :):):) up in time, however, for a bootcamp session in the park. There was a free session and I had wanted to see what they do so I went. It was a lot of stuff Ive been doing just intense and there were people watching so naturally I did the best I could possibly do hahahah and voila; sore today. lol apparently I need to do more of that.

Which finally leads to Saturday morning (now) and since it is Easter weekend and we dont really want to be doing the long Sunday run on Easter Sunday, we did it this morning. It was cool and foggy ; very foggy; and we did 10 relatively easy km around Bible Hill/Truro. I slowed Margie marginally and we did the 10 km in 6:21 pace which is a lot closer to the 6:34-7:23 pace the training program calls for ;) And I think that was hard for her to do. I dont want to tell anyone how they should be running; Im simply pointing out that the program she is following suggests these paces and maybe we should be somewhere in the middle of them heheehe

It was perfect conditions for a run and the route wasnt too terrible hilly; it was a good morning and felt way easier than the last 2 9km runs on the trail.

But Im feeling pretty sore right now. Heading out to finish up some Easter stuff and then coming home to relax and do some more raking.

Shorter, gentler run planned for tomorrow to start off a new week.