« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
December 27, 2005
For Someone Who Loves the Holidays So Much, I'm Sure Glad They're Over
Wow, am I overtired (I don't even know the difference between overtired and tired, but overtired seemed like a stronger word). That is probably why I'm battling a cold. The holidays are always such a whirlwind that when I have a chance to sit and relax, I realize that I just want to do nothing. I have a lot of cleaning up to do, including putting gifts away, but I'd rather do anything but that right now.
My running schedule for the last few days was altered somewhat to accommodate the holidays. After a recovery 45 minute run on Thursday, I decided to move things up a day so that I wouldn't be doing a tempo run on Christmas. Therefore, on Friday I did my 45 min. AM/45 min. PM double. Saturday's tempo run was on the treadmill due to road conditions. I did a 20 min. warm-up and cool-down and my tempo run was increased to 25 minutes. Luckily, I was watching a good movie so that helped kill the time. On Christmas I did a 45 min. run when we got home at 8 pm. This was the first time that I've ever run on Christmas. It's not that I have anything against running on Christmas, it's just that I don't want to think about it, and we open presents way too early to run and shower before the festivities begin.
Yesterday I did a 90 minute run with Brad. I didn't think I'd make it because of my cold, but I felt better after the first 25 minutes, so I stuck with it. If I wasn't running with Brad, I probably would have turned around before then. I fell apart at the end though, so I didn't run with Brad for the last 20 minutes or so. We're trying to add some more volume in different places besides my long run because I'm struggling at the end of my long runs. My legs just feel like jello for some reason.
Today was my day off. Brad was off from work and since I have the whole week off we were able to spend the day together. We went shopping and used some of our gift cards. Tomorrow I'll have to motivate myself to do anything but sit around. I also think I'm going to toss any leftover desserts or chocolate because I can't even look at them anymore. I finished my book, so I'm going to need a new one. I'm not sure I have anything in mind. For years, I've had a list, but I may actually have finished it. I can't think of anything I've been dying to read. Hopefully, something will call out to me. Any recommendations (mindless books included)?
Posted by Caitlin at 09:02 PM | Comments (4)
December 21, 2005
Money Talks
Johnny Damon is leaving us for the Yankees. How could he? He's only going to make $3 million a year more than what the Red Sox offered him. But the Yankees??
I'm in pain from lunges. I started a lifting routine on Sunday night because I haven't done any strength training in a long time (more than 2 years). I'm paying for it now. Monday's day off and massage helped. So did the ice bath. I wasn't even in pain during Tuesday's 70 minutes on the treadmill, but I was sore after.
Today I had a hill workout. It's been a month since I've had one, since the last time I was supposed to have one, Brad decided to give me a rest week. The workout was 10 x 75 second hills. They were ok. Nothing to rave about and nothing to complain about. I did a 20 minute warm-up and a 20 minute cooldown.
I'm pretty tired from the daily happenings surrounding the holidays. I'm ready to crash and sleep for days.
Posted by Caitlin at 07:14 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
Dog Encounters
I haven't posted in about a week, so first I'm just going to list my runs for my log, which I haven't updated in a while. Then, I have a few things to say.
Monday- 45 minutes treadmill
Tuesday- off
Wednesday- 70 minutes treadmill
Thursday- 70 minutes with 10 downhill strides
Friday- 70 minutes treadmill
Saturday- 45 min. AM/ 45 min. PM
Sunday- 1:50
I had no choice but to do more runs on the treadmill than I wanted to, but it's impossible to see the ice in the dark. I only like to do one (maybe 2) runs per week on it, but I got more benefit from the treadmill than trying to run outside. I moved Friday's workout to Thursday because of the big storm we were supposed to get on Thursday night(that wasn't so bad). I figured I better do it while the conditions were ok, since I haven't figured out a way to do downhill strides on the treadmill :-)
Saturday's double got me really mad. I was chased by a large german shepherd. Luckily when I yelled, "sh--!" it thought I yelled "sit" and actually sat. Then it started chasing me again. I was doing an out and back and had to turn back when my time was up or I'd never get back home. I reluctantly turned around and grabbed a stick on the way. I'm not sure what the stick was for, but it made me feel in control. I avoided the dog on the way back though, because I was smart enough to cut through some open land, so it didn't see me. I ran into Brad, who was in the middle of a tempo run, and talked as fast as I could to warn him of what was ahead. Later he said he never saw the dog. Brad did the second run with me and wanted to go the same way. We didn't see the dog on the way out, but we saw it (as it chased us)on the way back. Now I never want to run this way again. Brad's thinking of stopping by and talking to the owner. He did this once before when he was chased by the same 2 dogs everyday. He very nicely asked the owner not to let the dogs out from 5-7pm, when he typically went by. The owner was nice and agreed, and Brad never saw the dogs again. Since I have never owned a dog (and am afraid of dogs I don't know), does this seem reasonable or obnoxious?
Posted by Caitlin at 07:49 PM | Comments (4)
December 11, 2005
Nothing But Treadmill
We ended up with a foot of snow according to my ruler and the estimates on the news. I woke up quite sore yesterday after having shoveled for nearly three hours. The plow had come through our parking lot once, blocking in our cars. I took care of that and then proceeded to shovel half of the parking lot, so Brad could get in easily when he got home. Hey, I had to say I did something on my day off and I actually like shoveling (at least early in the winter).
Brad and I both had to double and put 30 miles on the treadmill between the two of us. I ran 45 minutes in the morning and about 50 minutes in the afternoon. I'm sure the neighbors loved it! I wasn't bored at all because I was watching a long tv miniseries I had bought on DVD. I knew running outside would be next to impossible because there was too much snow and ice everywhere. Later when we went out, I discovered there wasn't a single sidewalk shoveled. Aren't people supposed to be fined for that?
Today I did a tempo run. I warmed up for 20 minutes, did a 20 minute tempo run, and then cooled down for 20 minutes, all while continuing to watch my movie. Brad ran outside and I almost did the same for my warm-up and cooldown, but I didn't feel like changing my clothes in between. The thing I don't like about running on treadmills is that I find myself not tired at all later on. It's hell doing it, but then I feel fine later. I ran the same pace as I've been running on the track, but had the incline on 1.0. I know it's supposed to be at least on 1.5 (to make up for the lack of wind resistance), so maybe that can be my goal for my next one. Now Brad and I are off to do some shopping!
Posted by Caitlin at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2005
SNOW DAY!!!
I woke up at 6:00am, when a co-worker called to tell me there was no school today. It had barely begun to snow, but the forecast was for 6-10 inches. Brad happened to be getting up too, and was going out for a run. Rather than go back to sleep and have to run on the treadmill later, I decided to run with him since he was going to run "slow." He took me on an 8 mile loop that I hadn't done before. It was nice because we were on backroads and didn't have to worry about cars. During the beginning of the run, we were dealing with a little snow, but by the end, we were running through thicker snow that was pelting us in the face. Due to the increased amount of snow on the ground, the last 10-15 minutes were very tiring. It was nice to be done so early, but I've had a very long, boring day. I can't complain because everyone else is at work. I'd like to go down the street and get a couple videos, but we're in the midst of a whiteout right now. I can't see a thing.
Yesterday, I ran for 45 minutes in the dark after work. It felt really cold when I left, so I layered up. It ended up being fairly warm and I came home soaked from sweat. I can't say though that it was even close to being warm enough for shorts, as Becky had worn on her run yesterday. I laugh when Becky writes that she wore shorts, on days that I think are somewhat cold, because whenever I run with anyone, I'm always the one with the least amount of clothes on, but I don't even come close to matching Becky. Also, it must be interesting when Alison and Becky meet for runs because Alison wears more clothes than anyone I've ever seen. They both must look at each other funny when Alison shows up with three shirts on and Becky has shorts on. Sorry, I think I'm just amusing myself here.
Posted by Caitlin at 02:21 PM | Comments (1)
December 07, 2005
All Over the Place
For the past 2 days, my running has been dictated by my availability to run (or lack thereof). Yesterday, I did my 70 min. run in two parts because I didn't have enough time to fit it all in before I headed to Lowell for a meeting. I ran 45 min. outside before I left, and 35 min. on the treadmill (80 min. total) when I got home at 9:15.
Today was potentially disastrous (I'm exaggerating), but ended up working out. I was going to do a hill workout after work, but took one step outside to get my clothes and decided it was way too cold. I'm not one to shy away from the cold, but I think my decision was partially fueled by the fact that I had a lot of work to do. I decided to do the workout on the treadmill later and stay at work and get as much done as I could. I stayed until 7:15 making it a 12 hour day and went home tired. When I got home, Brad told me to take the day off because he had made a mistake in my schedule and wanted me to take an easy week this week. No arguing here. On the way home I had already been calculating bagging my run and trying to make it up in other places. Now I don't need to feel guilty.
Posted by Caitlin at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2005
Winter Is Here!
On the way to work this morning, I was surprised to see that on many parts of the sidewalk, my footprints were the only ones there. I ran for 1:45 yesterday while it snowed somewhat heavily. I don't mind running in the snow, and I was not about to do my run on the treadmill, so I told Brad it was all his. I was a little tentative at first because I was not sure how slippery the roads were. The entire run I went back and forth between the road and sidewalk depending on the lay of the land. There were parts that barely had snow, parts that had a lot of snow, and parts that had good ole wet slush. I didn't get many miles in, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I should add that prior to going out the door I was worried about exhaustion due to the conditions. I carried my cell phone (it's light and fit nicely into my vest pocket) for the second time ever.
The day before I did a double--45 minutes in the AM and 50 minutes in the PM. On the first run I ran with Brad for 10 minutes before he sped off to warm up for his tempo run. I was able to see him WAY ahead for most of my run so it felt like I was running with someone. Then, he did the second run with me because he was tired from his workout.
I have today off from running which could be a bad day to have off because of the snow we may get tomorrow. Like I've said, I love the snow, but you never know if the conditions will allow you to run outside. All the snow on the sidewalks is currently frozen and it looks treacherous. I can only imagine what tomorrow's run may be like. Don't you just love winter in the Northeast!!?? Oh wait, it's still Fall.
Posted by Caitlin at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2005
TGIF (How Original)
Both today and yesterday I ran for 70 minutes. Both days I did routes that I haven't done in a long time and both days I wasn't excited about running until I decided to be more spontaneous. Running in the dark has its limits, but I made the best of it, and had back to back good runs.
Near the end of today's run, I did 10 downhill strides. If you ever aren't feeling good and have to do strides at the end of your run, I'd highly recommend them. They're not taxing at all -- at least while you're doing them. I do them at the entrance to a shopping center because it's very lit. Cars are constantly coming in and out and I get a few weird looks now and then.
I'm psyched for the weekend. We're not doing anything (that I know of) and it's fine with me. I have a lot to do for work though, but I'm going to make sure I find a good balance between work and play.
Posted by Caitlin at 07:19 PM | Comments (1)