Seen On My Run and a House Update

I hate speed work.

I know it is pretty much the best way to get faster, but damn, it's hard! 

Tuesday was supposed to be my speed work day, but it was pouring pretty much all day long, so I shifted it to Wednesday.

My training plan called for 8x400m repeats, so I set my watch (I love that it keeps track of intervals for me) and dragged myself out the door. The area around our house is decidedly not flat, and I don't like to have to drive to a track to do speed work. I run a warm up mile to the flattest part of our neighborhood and do my repeats there instead. 

It was actually a really successful speed work session: all my repeats were between 6:19 and 7:30 pace. The 6:19 was my last repeat, because I like to push the limit on my final interval. 

This is my triumphant/exhausted face before I headed off for the mile back to the house. 

Every time I run by this I think about taking a picture to show you guys:

That's not alive. There are taxidermied animals in the trees in someone's yard. Like, more than one. There's also a tiny old cemetery back between the trees and that red building. 

It's weird. 

The sheetrock guys packed up on Wednesday and the addition is really starting to look like a house!

The master bedroom:

The stairs to the attic:

The new attic space:

Now we're talking paint (like, actually going to buy it) and flooring. It's pretty exciting!

A Fast Run!

A quick blog pet peeve: when you have so many pops ups (ads, newsletter sign ups, etc.) I can't read the post I was genuinely interested in reading. It's the quickest way to get me to hit the x in the corner, not make me want to subscribe to your newsletter.

I REALLY did not want to run yesterday. I was super tired, and oddly sore. My training plan called for a tempo run, and I wasn't sure I was up for it.

Tom was taking Buddy out for a couple of miles, so I decided to go with them and see how I felt. Once I was warmed up, I actually felt pretty good and decided to keep going.

I'm so glad I did, because I ended up having a really good run, and even hit a 7:58 minute mile in the middle of my 3+ miles! It's the fastest I've run in a while, and I needed that boost after some lackluster runs lately.

I was definitely slow on my run today, but it was supposed to be a recovery run anyway. I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm not instantly ready to go the day after I do speed work. Maybe that means I am finally pushing myself hard enough. I definitely fall into the habit of doing all my runs at a moderate pace, even though I know you're not supposed to.

Hard days should be hard, and easy days should be easy, right? Right.

I got a new pair of slippers today (my olds ones are falling apart). They're super cozy and extra stylish with my running tights ;)

Buddy has been making paths in the snow. It's pretty funny to see his patrol area, he really follows the same track most of the time when he goes out.

Tom made pad thai for dinner last night (I helped by cutting some things and generally staying out of the way). It was a combination of several recipes and turned out really good!

Dinner tonight is pizza, because time got away from us and we didn't feel like cooking.

What are your favorite pizza toppings? My absolute favorite (lately) is onions. Tonight we're getting meatball, mushroom and onion.

ALL the Cookies!

It's impossible for me to walk past new Oreo flavors. I can't help myself.

These ones are really good - I like the cinnamon cookie - though I do question if it's really an Oreo if it isn't chocolate.

Tom made really amazing clam chowder for dinner last night.

I may have had more than one bowl.

My run on Tuesday was 6x400m repeats at 5k pace. Every repeat was into the wind and it was super cold out, but I did it. Apparently it took more out of my than I thought it did, because my run today was insanely slow. It was supposed to be an easy run day anyway, so I didn't push it, but I haven't run that slow in a long time.

Does anyone else lounge around after a run rather than actually showering and putting on clean clothes? That's not just me, right?

Yoga camp has been great this week (and the whole month, really)! It has been more mellow and less power yoga, which feels great and has helped improve my mood on more than one occasion.

Buddy hasn't been able to go running lately because the roads are covered in salt right now. He looks so sad every time I leave without him, but I don't want the salt to hurt his paws. I also don't want him to eat any of it. I periodically chase him around the yard instead, which he seems to accept as an alternative.

He's so cute.

Buddy vs The Peanut Butter Jar

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I love when Buddy lays like this. Crazy frog legs.

He was following me all over the house and driving me crazy earlier. I gave him a peanut butter jar so he would get out from under my feet.

It worked.

So, I got another pair of fun tights. But, in my defense, they were free! Victoria's Secret was having a sale where if you bought a sports bra, you got a pair of workout pants for free! Plus, I actually needed a new sports bra. They're super comfy, and they're thicker than some of my other tights.

They apparently also glow in the dark.

I had to shift my runs around for the week so I could spend hours at the laundromat yesterday. I had put it off longer than usual, so everything took forever to dry. I can't wait until we have a washer and dryer again!

My post-laundry sock collection was pretty impressive.

These Balega socks are definitely my favorite running socks. Tom gets me new ones every Christmas. I have THESE and THESE. They're the best.

My run today was a kind of loose-y goose-y tempo run. It was only supposed to be 30 minutes, so I ran comfortably hard (such a runner term) for the middle 15 minutes. Aside from the headache I got from breathing the freezing air, it was a really nice run. As much as I always dread speed work, the more I do it, the better I feel about it.

Would you rather do speed work or run long? I will run all day long - just don't make me sprint!

Winter Warrior

There's something extra tough feeling about running when it's stupid cold out. I mean, not really stupid cold, I did wait until the "feels like" temperature was above zero.

After having a freezing pair of legs on my run yesterday, I tracked down my serious winter tights (this is the newer version of what I have) - they're fleecy on the inside! They feel super restrictive at first, especially compared to the shorts I was wearing a few weeks ago, but they definitely do the trick when it's frigid out.

My training plan had speed work for today. Running faster is so much more mental than anything else for me. I get in my head and convince myself I can't do it. I can't run fast. Woe is me.

But I know I can if I try. I figured out how to set intervals on my watch (which I didn't know it could do) and ran my warm up to the flattest area in our neighborhood to run some 400m repeats.

The repeats were supposed to be at 5k pace, but I haven't run a 5k in so long I just ran them comfortably fast (if that makes sense). I don't know if I could maintain that pace for a 5k right now, but I was happy with my repeats, and now I have a baseline to compare future workouts to. The training plan I'm following alternates repeats and tempo runs every week.

I baked a potato in the wood stove tonight. It's hard coming up with one person meals with our limited cooking options. Tom has been working in the city this week, so I've been on my own for dinner the last couple days.

I tend to have snack meals when left to my own devices. This mish mash was my lunch today.

Grapes, strawberries, almonds, bell pepper, chips and queso. Don't be like me.

It was delicious.

Are you an all weather runner?

What's your favorite dinner? I need inspiration.

Weekend Update

I'm not sure where the weekend went. Pretty sure it was just Friday!

Buddy looks really small in this picture. He's been having a great time running a few days a week, and had a pretty speedy two miles on Friday. 

Tom bought a tractor.

He's been pulling bushes out and moving heavy things like wood and our new wood stove.

It was a bit of an adventure getting this beast into the house, but it does an amazing job warming the place up. Don't worry, we moved all the flammable things out of the way.

On Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to drive down to see my old running group. It's about a 45 minute drive, but the roads are pretty clear at 7am on a Saturday.

I'm so glad I made the trip, running with people is so much fun! It helps me run faster, and the miles just fly by. Not to mention the amazing trails we run on. There's really nothing like the trails at The Rockefeller Preserve.

I'm going to make an effort to get down there at least every few weekends.

When I got home I lounged around and drank coffee for a while. It felt like a lazy morning even though I drove a ways and ran 7 miles.

Today I actually ran some intervals with my new gadget. Let's be honest, there's no way I'm running intervals by myself out on the roads. I used to run them on my treadmill, but it's buried in the garage right now.

Having the Moov tell me my pace and when to start and stop my intervals was much better than trying to run and stare at my watch at the same time. Especially since I haven't mailed my watch off to get fixed yet.

I have some serious running goals for next year that I've been contemplating, and I think cross training and speed work are going to be a necessary part of reaching those goals.

Speaking of cross training - you'll probably be surprised to know that I completed day 28 of 30 or my 30 days of yoga challenge. I haven't missed a single day, and I am seriously loving the Yoga with Adriene channel on YouTube.

You're Welcome

I did another solo run around the neighborhood yesterday. It really is much nicer than the basement has been lately. Ever since it started getting warm out, the basement has been super hot, even with the fan. Now if only the neighborhood was a little less hilly...

I'm starting to develop a freckle line where my watch sits. I don't actually tan, so there are just lighter and darker freckles instead.

Today's run was a tempo. I did a 1 mile warm up, ran 5 miles @ 8:34 and a 1 mile cool down. The basement was ridiculously hot, but I got it done.

I am still doing the lunge matrix and leg swings before my runs, and I've done the myrtl routine after every run this week. After last week's race, I'm determined to finish faster at my next half. If a little strength/cross training helps, then I will absolutely do some.

In other news: here's a picture of a dog butt. You're welcome.

I hope you're having a great week!

Practically a Habit

I was crabby when I got home today, so I decided to do my run rather than later.

I had mile repeats on the schedule for the day, so I did a quick change and hit the basement. I started off with the Lunge Matrix and some leg swings (that's 2 days, it's practically a habit now, right?). After a 1 mile warm up, I ran 3 mile repeats with 1/2 mile jogs in between followed by a 1 mile cool down - 6 miles total.

My overall pace wasn't anything too impressive (9:17 pace), but my miles were 7:54, 7:42 and 7:30! One of the podcasts I was listening to was saying that people tend to not slow down enough to actually recover during recovery periods, so I made an effort to really slow down in between miles.

My repeats were tough, but I felt strong today. It was a nice turn-around from my crabby morning!

Buddy has been up to his usual lounging today. He would really like it if we would stop taking pictures of him.

The pollen around here is SO bad right now. My car has a yellow hue to it every morning, and this was the crystal clear view out the windshield this morning.

Pretty, no?

Mile Repeats and More Mud

I've been all over the place the last few days.  

Thursday's speedwork got pushed to Friday, and I almost didn't run at all. But, as usual, I'm glad I did. I ran 6 miles total, including a 1 mile warm-up, 3 x 1600 @ 7:54 with 800m jogs and a 1 mile cool down. 

I was pretty psyched to get my repeats under an 8:00 pace - as an added bonus, I didn't even want to die at the end! :)

Buddy was a little sleepy and napped while I ran.

This morning I was up dark and early to meet up with the group to run. I started off with some coffee and toast with peanut butter and banana.

It was 38 degrees and raining for our run, but compared to the negative wind chills we've gotten used to, it wasn't too bad out. Plus, there's something fun about running in the mud and rain, once you just commit to being drenched.

We ran a slightly shorter loop than usual, since a lot of the trails are still covered in ice/snow. 5.8 muddy miles at a 9:18 pace.

Buddy is enjoying the fact that some of the snow is finally gone.

With the snow melting we can finally see the damage the plow guy did over the winter. Looks like we need some new curbs.

This afternoon I helped assemble swag bags for the Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon. I'm not running it this year, but since my running club (Rivertown Runners) puts it on, I wanted to help out. We had a bunch of people show up, so stuffing 1,000 bags went pretty quickly. Plus we got to have pizza. There's nothing like carbs to get runners to show up!

Snow, Peanut Butter and a Tempo Run

Our "heat wave" was short lived - it snowed again today. The snow was wet and the roads were a mess. I spent a lot of time yelling about drivers who had no business on the road. Please take your convertible that you didn't bother to clear the snow off of back home if you're not comfortable going any faster than 5mph. Thankyouverymuch.

I had a much more successful tempo run today. There were still a couple of breaks, but that was because I can't drink water on the treadmill without spilling half of it. I ran 6 miles with 4 @ 8:00 pace. I'm pretty happy with that.

Buddy is perfecting his invisibility game. I came upstairs from my run to find him impersonating a pillow.

Nothing to see here, move along.

There was a ton of old ice building up in the freezer, so I decided to put it to good use by taking an ice bath. And then I had to add hot water because it was so cold that it instantly caused physical pain and there was no way I was sitting down with it that cold. It was still plenty unpleasant, so I feel like it did its job.

I think my fitbit is confused. I'm not sure how I ran 6 miles and only have 9 active minutes.

And let's not talk about how many of these I ate today:

Now that I think about it, I've had a lot of peanut butter today. I had some at breakfast on toast, some with an apple for a snack and an unknown number of peanut butter m&m's. I'm a peanut butter lover, I haven't joined the masses of almond butter lovers yet. I've tried it, it just isn't my favorite.

Are you on the almond butter bandwagon?

On Thursdays, We do Speedwork

Buddy is a professional sad face maker.

I had mile repeats on my training plan for the day, and I was starting to psych myself out, so I started my run sooner rather than later. I was worried about my speed since I've been off lately, but it ended up being a good, if tough, run.

I ran 1 mile warm up, and 3 miles (at 8:00, 7:54 and 7:48) with 800m recovery jogs in between and a 1 mile cool down. 6 miles total in 53:06.

I'm glad I pushed past that feeling of doubt, because now I can go into my next speed work session with a little more confidence!

Sweet basement lighting, no?

Random fact of the day: I bought this hairspray so my hair would be presentable for our dressy dinner back in December, but I use it a lot - to control the frizzies when I run.

It is seriously the only time I use hairspray.

We had some snow flurries this afternoon, but it was actually above freezing, so it was just pretty instead of annoying. I'm ignoring the fact that we have a wind chill advisory overnight and it will be around 5 degrees out tomorrow morning when Buddy needs walking. Seriously, I don't even want to think about it.

Dinner tonight was a repeat of last night because I'm lazy and I had leftovers. Plus it was tasty, so there's that.

Now excuse me while I go watch the temperature drop - it's happening at an alarming rate.

What's the weather like at your house? If it's hot there, you can just lie to me, ok?

Babysitting, Cleaning House and Speedwork

Holy cow, I'm tired.

I got up at 6am and haven't stopped moving until now.

This morning was spent babysitting a sick baby/toddler (she's between ages, I think they've decided to call that age "wobblers" now). Most of the time she wanted me to carry her and the rest of the time she was either laying on me, napping, or playing with the remote.

I got home, took Buddy for a walk and wolfed down some oatmeal for lunch. While I was babysitting, someone called to make an appointment to come see the house. We are not as good as we should be about keeping the house clean between showings, so I had quite a bit of work to do.

Buddy hid from the vacuum and I got a nice stair workout in moving things upstairs and down to the basement.

Since it was dark by the time the people came to see the house (and I didn't feel like going anywhere), Buddy and I just walked around the yard (for almost 40 minutes) while we waited for them to get there/leave.

Buddy had a great time smelling everything and really wanted me to let him go chase something that was in the bushes.

Once we were back inside, it was finally time for me to hit the treadmill for some speedwork.

I ran a 1 mile warm up, 3x1 mile with 800m jogs, and a 1 mile cool down - 6 miles total. I did my first two miles at 8:13 and the last one at 8:06. Not a bad place to start this training cycle at!

I was so happy to get through my workout since last week's speedwork was aborted.

Now we're relaxing with some beer and tv. I have a feeling it's going to be an early night.

A little Speedwork and a Fussy Dog

I know speedwork is good for me. It's like strength training or going to the dentist. It's one of those things I just don't like, but I know I should do.

It was stupid cold outside again today so I dragged myself down to the basement to run some 800m repeats.

I did 6x800 with a 1 mile warm up, 400m jogs between intervals, and a 1200m cool down to make it an even 6 miles.

This is what my intervals looked like (pace in parentheses in case you hate math):

1. 4:00 (8:00)
2. 3:56 (7:52)
3. 3:54 (7:48)
4. 3:51 (7:42)
5. 3:49 (7:38)
6. 3:45 (7:30)

I wanted to stop after about 3, but I didn't, and of course I was glad that I didn't quit. Well, glad might be a bit of an overstatement. I would have been mad at myself if I stopped. That's more accurate.

I haven't deliberately done any speedwork since my last race in October, so it was good to do a little before my training officially starts for the West Point half next week. I have an 11 week training plan for whatever reason. It's already on my computer, so it works.

This is Buddy's new favorite thing:

It has been ridiculously cold out the last few days, and once Buddy was blanketed, he didn't move for over an hour. He loves it, and later burrowed his face into the blanket. He's a fair-weather pooch and does not like the cold (or the heat). Fussy dog.

Speedwork: love it, hate it, pretend it doesn't exist?