Big Hill, Tired Legs, Creaky Joints

Workout

October 22, Thursday
11:59 a.m. PT
Warm up: .5+ mile walk
Distance: 1.53 + 3.12 = 4.65 miles
Duration: 52:50.7 [18:19.6 + 34:31.1]
Pace ave: 10:46
HR ave 157, max 182
Cool down: .5+ mile walk
@start: 61, 95%, cloudy, calm
@end: 65, 70%, partly cloudy, NNW@3
Shoes: Green Pegasus 25

Ran up & down, up & down, halfway up, walked down the mongo hill where Cathedral of Faith is located and then tacked on a 5k run. The hill was okay until the third trip up. Still not fully recovered from the half marathon. Legs and joints are a bit creaky.

Hill Repeats, 3 Fat Cats, 1 Sick Cat

I weighed my cats today. The last time I'd done so was in August of last year. Yes, they are fat, except Mary. I don't know what to do about it other than tie them to the treadmill. They eat light food and don't get treats or people-food.

Marvin: 18.6, previously 18.0, previously 16.2.
Mary: 13.8, previously 15.8, previously 16.6.
Rooney: 16.6, previously 15.8, previously 15.4.
Simone: 16.0, previously 15.6, previously 15.0.

I took Mary to the vet today & she was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. They gave her subcutaneous fluids & sent me home with some Royal Canin special food for cats with kidney problems, my pocketbook $167 lighter. The cat I had before these four, Zubie, had kidney failure & after a few months had to be put to sleep. :-(

Workout

June 11, Thursday
6:45 a.m. CT
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Run 23:09 - HR ave 142, max 154, pace 11:11
Hill Repeats 18:06 - HR ave 144, max 174

               HR     HR     HR     HR
Lap    Time    End    Max    Avg    Min

Run  0:45.8    167    168    149    124
Walk 2:04.6    114    168    134    110

Run  0:47.1    171    171    154    118
Walk 2:05.3    113    173    139    113

Run  0:46.1    171    172    152    113
Walk 2:16.1    122    173    145    122

Run  0:52.5    168    169    156    129
Walk 2:22.8    121    170    139    119

Run  0:50.0    170    171    156    125
Walk 2:15.4    125    172    145    124

Run  0:50.3    172    172    157    125
Walk 2:10.1    119    174    146    119

Run 22:54 - HR ave 159, max 167, pace 11:03
Distance: 4.14 + 1.32 = 5.46 miles
Duration: 1:04:09
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 68, 93%, cloudy, WNW@3
@end: 68, 94%, cloudy, SW@5
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Gack! The weather was definitely less than optimal today, although it was better than yesterday. I guess dry and 50's is gone for a while. Bummer. The 4th trip up the hill liked to killed me. Ugh. Was surprised to do the trip back home more quickly than I did the run to the hill. The first mile after the hills was pretty tough, but then things just seemed to start feeling better.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 150.8, post run 149.0
bf: 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

Cool Hill Intervals

Workout

June 4, Thursday
6:33 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Run 22:49 - HR ave 138, max 150, pace 11:01
Hill Repeats 14:31 - HR ave 143, max 171

                HR     HR     HR     HR
Lap    Time     End    Max    Avg    Min

Run   0:47.1    166    168    123    102
Walk  2:03.2    118    168    136    116

Run   0:47.2    165    165    142    119
Walk  2:01.9    121    170    143    120

Run   0:46.0    170    171    149    121
Walk  2:06.1    127    171    147    127

Run   0:49.3    166    168    151    127
Walk  2:08.1    125    170    146    125

Run   0:53.5    167    168    153    125
Walk  2:08.6    117    169    141    117

Run 23:05 - HR ave 157, max 166, pace 11:09
Distance: 4.14 + 1.1 = 5.24 miles
Duration: 1:00:25
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 56, 85%, cloudy, NNE@11
@end: 56, 86%, cloudy, NNE@13
Shoes: Yellow Pegasus

I made a concentrated effort to keep the speed of the first couple trips up the hill at a reasonable pace so I wouldn't completely die on the others, although the 5th one was tough. Added one repeat this week. Will work up to 10 or so. I was surprised that my legs felt pretty decent since they've been sorta not with the program all week. The hardest part of this workout is really the two mile run home after hauling myself up the hill a bunch of times.

Weather was great! It's supposed to be even cooler tomorrow morning. I'd like to take advantage of it, but need to rest the legs. A walk would be good or maybe a bike ride.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 147.8, post run 147.2
bf: 30%, 29%
pulse: n/a
bp: n/a
bg: n/a

First Hill Intervals of the Year

This evening, I went down to the Granary in New Harmony for my neighbor's son's graduation party. It's fabulous place! Of course, I didn't eat all that well, but I didn't plan to eat well, in the first place, so that's that. It sure tasted good, too!

Workout

May 22, Friday
9:25 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Run 22:25.8 HR ave 155 max 170 pace 10:49
Hill Repeats 12:27

Lap   Lap Time  HR:End    Max    Avg    Min
Run   0:00:42.9    174    176    155    127
Walk  0:02:13.8    125    178    151    123
Run   0:00:45.2    177    178    160    125
Walk  0:02:14.7    134    178    149    130
Run   0:00:51.3    174    174    161    137
Walk  0:02:30.7    135    175    151    130
Run   0:00:54.2    173    173    160    135
Walk  0:02:14.4    128    174    151    128

Run 13:29.8 HR ave 164 max 172 pace 11:15
Total Distance: 3.25 + .88 miles = 4.13 miles
Cool down: .5 mile walk
@start: 75, 61%, sunny, SSE@1
@end: 81, 46%, sunny, calm
Shoes: Pegasus 25

This was my first hill intervals/sprint workout of the season. I really surprised myself with the time on the first one since I was purposefully holding back a little. Obviously, I didn't hold back enough since my legs pretty much died on the last two. I cut the run short on the way back. Legs too fatigued. They'll get stronger quickly, though. In a twisted sort of way, I like hill sprints. At least, I like them after the fact. Not so much when I'm doing them. :-)

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 149.0 , post run 147.6
bf: 30%
pulse: 48
bp: 113/68

bg: 96 [higher than I'd like to see after 12 hrs of no food ... maybe it's because supper was at 8:30-ish and consisted of a cupcake with a ton of icing and maybe 1/4 oz of nuts and a small glass of punch at a graduation reception]

Chilly Hills + Princeton Ends Regular Season Undefeated

I went to the Princeton@Pike Central boys high school basketball game tonight. Princeton won 70-51 ending the regular season undefeated and ranked #1 in the state in class 3A. The JV won, as well. The varsity didn't play particularly well for most of the game. There were a few bright moments, but there were far too many turnovers, particularly unforced ones. Makes me wonder if they are getting to be a bit mentally fatigued. The sectional is next week.

Workout

February 27, Friday
11:18 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk
Distance: 6.94 miles
Duration: 1:14:34
Pace ave: 10:44
HR ave 162, max 180
Cool down: .45 mile walk
@start: 39/30, 79%, cloudy, NW@14/gusting to 21
@end: 38/32, 80%, cloudy, NNW@9
Shoes: Pegasus 25

I did four loops in Northbrook Hills with the last two being a chore. The average pace surprised me, though. I felt like I was running slower than that. The dog bite wound didn't seem to bother me at all while running, although it's a bit tender if I put pressure on it.

I stopped by Gran & Granddad's for a few minutes on the way to & from the loop since they live on the corner at the entrance to Northbrook Hills.

At 9:45 p.m., I'm very, very tired. Guess the run took it out of me in a big way.

Food

I had some "dirt pudding" at the game, but aside from entering in a recipe I found on the web, have no clue as to the nutritional content (or lack thereof, aside from sugar, fat, and lots of calories).

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

n/a

Spirit of the Marathon

Today started off sort of blah. I volunteered in my aunt's class, went by the recycling place to drop off what I'd accumulated over the past few weeks, went to Hallmark and Walmart, then headed home. For the most part, once again I didn't want to run, but after eating sufficient quantities of junk, I felt better and hopped to it.

Workout

February 5, Thursday
7:38 p.m. CT

Treadmill hill interval pyramid
Warm up: .5 mile walk
Distance: 7 miles
Duration: 1:20:00
Pace ave: 11:25
HR ave 162, max 183
Cool down: .5 mile walk
Shoes: Pegasus 25

Surprisingly, today's run turned out to be really, really good. I ran the entire thing at a leisurely 5.3 mph (11:18 pace ... although the total time indicates a 11:25 pace, so I think my treadmill is off a little). My initial plan was to run a mile, do 3.25 miles of hill intervals [(1/4@3%/5%/7%/9%, 1/4@1%) and back down], and then run another 3/4. As it turned out, I was feeling pretty good, so I ran 2.75 miles instead of .75 at the end.

I guess eating 800 calories of junk between 1 & 2 hours before running is a good thing. The new meal for champions is beef jerky (not all that bad for you except for the ton and a half of sodium), Cool Ranch Doritos, Hershey's Kisses, and Whoppers. That one's been building for several days. Doh!

Watching Spirit of the Marathon while I ran helped, too, especially when they were showing the elites at the head of the race. It just seemed easier to run "with" them. I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and recommend it to all. If the movie hadn't been ending, I probably would have done another mile and had my week's long run in. Will do it Saturday or Sunday instead, hopefully outside.

Aches and pains-wise, my left ankle seems to be mostly okay. It's not as flexible at the right one now. My left hip flexors are still pretty achey, especially after a run. They rarely bother me when running, but afterwards ... ow ow ow.

Food

My Food Diary on CalorieKing.com

Morning Stats

weight: 150.4

bf: 29%

bp: n/a

pulse: n/a

bg: n/a

for (i=1; i<=8; i++) {run(up); walk(down)}

Today, I took my dogs to the vet for their annual shots. They are both doing well, especially for being old, especially Brutus who is 15.

I felt pretty darn good all day until I went to my grandparent's house around 5. Mom was there going over Granddad's prescriptions with him & telling Gran what she could make for supper since Granddad is supposed to limit his potassium intake for a couple days. Of course, Gran couldn't remember what she was supposed to make for more than about 5 minutes. Granddad doesn't feel very well. Most of the time, I don't get down by how much they've changed the past couple years, but this evening was just flat out depressing.

Workout

September 23
8:15 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk.
Run 22:55.2 - HR ave 141, max 169, pace 11:04.
Hill Repeats 23:32.3 - HR ave 149, max 178.

                 HR     HR     HR     HR
Lap    Time      End    Max    Avg    Min     Pace
1.     0:44.4    164    166    140    105     6:43
2.     2:04.0    113    169    137    113    18:47
3.     0:46.3    171    171    144    113     7:01
4.     2:01.6    121    171    143    122    18:25
5.     0:46.9    167    167    153    129     7:06
6.     2:02.3    124    170    146    124    18:32
7.     0:46.7    171    171    154    124     7:04
8.     2:08.7    127    172    149    127    19:30
9.     0:48.3    168    168    154    127     7:19
10.    2:08.5    135    170    151    133    19:28
11.    0:51.8    166    166    154    136     7:51
12.    2:12.1    132    170    151    131    20:01
13.    0:52.1    167    168    147    132     7:53
14.    2:13.9    136    171    153    136    20:17
15.    0:50.2    164    169    158    136     7:36
16.    2:14.5    129    172    152    129    20:22

Run 23:30.3 - HR ave ~158, max 166, pace 11:21.
Distance: 4.14 + 1.76 = 5.9 miles.
Cool down: walk .45 mile.
@start: 61, 80%, sunny, ENE@3.
@end: 73, 57%, sunny, ESE@7.

Gads, 10 degrees warmer than during the last set of hill repeats on Thursday. HRM was flaky again on the run back. I really need to get a new strap.

So, these repeats were faster than last week with all of them coming in under 53 seconds, but HR recovery between repeats wasn't as good even with taking a few more seconds. That might be due to the warmer temps as well as the faster repeats. My legs felt a WHOLE lot better this week than last, though. I didn't feel very energetic on the run back, though.

Here's what the HR profile looks like in the Polar software tool. The top curve is the HR, the bottom is the altitude. I'm going up and down the same hill, so it's mystery to me why my HRM doesn't show all the ascents and descents exactly the same. Oh well. You get the general idea, though.

The hill is about .11 mile in length with an approximate 5.5% average grade.

Food

Pre-Run: 7:50 a.m. banana.

Breakfast: 10:00 a.m. watermelon, green grapes, clementine, 8 oz protein shake with cinnamon & 2 packets Splenda.

Lunch: 1:00 p.m. big salad - baby lettuces, radishes, carrot, grape tomatoes, red bell pepper, celery, avocado, 1/2 oz sunflower seeds, feta cheese, raspberry balsamic vinegar; Diet Dad's Root Beer.

Afternoon Snack: 4:45 p.m. watermelon, Diet Coke.

Supper: 6:10 p.m. black beans & wild rice, a few bites of strawberry Haagen-Dazs, Diet Dad's Root Beer.

Evening Snack: 8:40 p.m. 1/4 oz almonds.

Too much artificial sweetener, again.  Gotta be better for me than a cinnamon roll, kettle corn, corn dogs, and so forth.

Morning Stats

weight: 147.0 (post-run, about 1/2 way through breakfast)
bf: 29%
bp: n/a
pulse: 44
bg: n/a

Hills, Hills, Hills

Workout

September 18
7:08 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk.
Run 22:52.7 - HR ave 139, max 164, pace 11:02.
Hill Repeats 23:39.9 - HR ave 144, max 194.

            HR   HR   HR
    Time   Ave  Max  End
run  0:46.4 137, 163, 163
walk 2:00.9 136, 165, 110

run  0:47.8 143, 180, 167
walk 2:01.1 144, 168, 114

run  0:46.9 145, 168, 166
walk 2:04.3 148, 169, 124

run  0:48.7 148, 169, 169
walk 2:06.9 147, 174, 126

run  0:55.0 171, 194, 166
walk 2:10.2 144, 168, 121

run  0:56.8 143, 165, 163
walk 2:07.8 144, 165, 122

run  1:01.9 142, 163, 160
walk 2:02.2 142, 166, 119

run  0:57.6 144, 169, 169
walk 2:05.4 142, 170, 115

Run 22:48.5 - HR ave 159, max 175, pace 11:00.
Distance: 4.14 + 1.76 = 5.9 miles.
Cool down: walk .45 mile.
@start: 50, 95%, partly cloudy, ENE@1.
@end: 62, 83%, sunny, NE@3.

Approximately 2/3 of the way up the 4th repeat, my legs just refused to respond. That's a new one on me. All the repeats felt a bit more difficult than last week even though the HR info/speed was similar for most repeats, the main difference being I ran yesterday and didn't the day before the hills last week. Hmmm.

Note sure what the deal is with the HR info for the 5th repeat.

My left ankle once again felt a bit "twinge-y" toward the end of the run back home and during the cool down walk.

Food

Pre-Run: 6:45 a.m. 1/2 banana.

Breakfast: 9:00 a.m. 1/2 banana, pear, clementine, 1/2 oz almonds.

Lunch: 11:40 a.m. big salad - mixed baby greens, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, yellow bell pepper, cucumber, green grapes, feta cheese, 1/2 oz sunflower seeds, fat-free Italian dressing.

Afternoon Snack: 3:50 p.m. 6 Triscuits with honey; 4:15 p.m. watermelon, leftover potatoes & peas in some sort of white sauce, 1/4 oz almonds.

Evening Snack: 6:00 p.m. @jewelry party - 3 mini sandwiches, 2 cookies, some sort of apple desert stuff.

I went to a jewelry party in Mt. Carmel tonight with my aunt and her teacher's aid. It was a nice evening out & forced me to be sociable. There were a couple pieces I liked, but since I already have a bunch of jewelry that I like but rarely wear, I figured I really didn't need any more.

Morning Stats

weight: 146.6, post-run 145.0
bf: 29%
bp: n/a
pulse: 46
bg: n/a

Another Hill Day

I slept pretty well last night and for nearly 8.5 hours. I could stand a couple more nights of 8+hours of sleep, though. When I woke up, my chest felt heavy, meaning it felt a little difficult to take a very full, deep breath. A few coughs, and it seemed okay. This afternoon I took a rather long nap to the "sleeping channel" (Weather Channel) and woke up with the same feeling in my chest as this morning along with a headache.

Workout

September 11
7:35 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk.
Run 23:50.6 - HR ave 136, max 151, pace 11:30.
Hill Repeats 17:19.7 - HR ave 145, max 169.

            HR   HR   HR
 Time   Ave  Max  End
run  0:46.5 138, 166, 166
walk 2:02.8 140, 167, 112

run  0:47.6 141, 168, 168
walk 2:00.9 144, 169, 117

run  0:48.1 144, 168, 168
walk 2:00.9 149, 169, 125

run  0:49.4 147, 167, 167
walk 2:04.1 149, 168, 127

run  0:52.0 149, 167, 167
walk 2:07.5 147, 168, 125

run  0:53.8 148, 166, 166
walk 2:06.1 146, 167, 121

Run 23:58.2 - HR ave 156, max 163, pace 11:34.
Distance: 4.14 + 1.32 = 5.46 miles.
Cool down: n/a
@start: 61, 81%, partly cloudy, E@3.
@end: 66, 76%, sunny, ESE@7.

The first four repeats were about 3 seconds faster than two weeks ago, the 5th 1 second faster, the 6th a fraction slower. My quads were really feeling dead the last two. I'd planned on 8 repeats, but at the end of the 6th I noticed it was 8:30 & I needed to have my car in Evansville for a 10 a.m. oil change appointment. I headed back and ditched the cool down walk, too. My runs to and from the hill were a bit on the pokey side, and my breathing during the repeats was a little ragged. All in all, I thought this was a decent workout, but not great.

Food

Pre-Run: 7:15 a.m. 1/2 banana.

Breakfast: 9:00 a.m. 1/2 banana, 9:30 a.m. green grapes & 1/2 oz almonds.

Morning Snack: 11:20 a.m. nectarine.

Lunch: @parents' - 12:00 p.m. raw broccoli, a smidgen of Ranch, two BBQ fried chicken breast strips, Cheetos, black grapes, 1/3 chocolate-iced long john donut with nuts on top, Diet Coke.

Afternoon Snack: n/a.

Supper: 6:05 a.m. dried apricots, Amy's Lentil Vegetable soup, 6 Triscuits, grape tomatoes.

Evening Snack: 8:35 p.m. 3 Dark Kisses.

Morning Stats

weight: 149.6, 148.8 post-run
bf: 29%
bp: n/a
pulse: n/a
bg: n/a

Up Hill, Down Hill

Workout

August 19
7:35 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk.
Run 23:39.1 - HR ave 143, max 157, pace 11:25.
Hill Repeats 17:22.4 - HR ave 141, max 180.

            HR   HR   HR
   Time   Ave  Max  End
run  0:49.7 128, 172, 165
walk 2:01.7 133, 165,  99

run  0:50.1 122, 168, 167
walk 2:00.8 140, 169, 112

run  0:51.3 130, 168, 168
walk 2:01.5 144, 170, 118

run  0:52.4 136, 167, 167
walk 2:00.5 146, 169, 123

run  0:53.5 145, 170, 170
walk 2:04.6 148, 170, 122

run  0:53.5 143, 180, 168
walk 2:02.8 147, 169, 120

Run 23:15 - HR ave 157, max 166, pace 11:13.
Distance: 4.14 + 1.32 = 5.46 miles.
Cool down: .45 walk.
@start: 57, 87%, sunny, calm.
@end: 72, 61%, sunny, ENE@3.

I slept only 5 1/2 hours last night. Got to bed late & woke up around the same time as usual (not to an alarm ... I just wake up whenever). I wasn't very optimistic for this run when I started it. I just didn't feel like I had any oompf. The hill repeats were tough on my legs. They were screaming at me. My cardio conditioning seems to be improving, though. Oddly enough, I felt pretty good the whole way back home.

Food

Pre-Run [7:20 a.m.]: green grapes.

Breakfast [9:20 a.m.]: blueberries, apple, 3/4 0z almonds.

Morning Snack: n/a

Lunch [1:00 p.m.]: wild rice, hummus, celery, radishes, cauliflower, crenshaw melon.

Afternoon Snack [3:45 p.m.]: Diet Coke.

Supper [7:45 p.m.]: shredded chicken breast, peas, au gratin potatoes, pasta, green grapes, red wine.

Evening Snack: n/a.

Morning Stats

weight: 148.0, 145.6 post-run
bf: 28%, 28% post-run
bp: n/a
pulse: n/a
bg: n/a

Good Hill Session

The weather is just fantastic at the moment. Yeah, 50 in the morning would be better than 58, but 58 is so incredibly much better than 68 or 78!

Workout

August 12
6:54 a.m. CT
Warm up: .45 mile walk.
Run 25:13.8 - HR ave 142, max 153, pace 11:28.
Hill Repeats 15:54.4 - 4 quick/2 slower, HR ave 147, max 173.

            HR   HR   HR
    Time   Ave  Max  End
run  0:48.7 141, 168, 168
walk 2:01.7 142, 170, 119

run  0:52.7 145, 169, 169
walk 2:01.4 144, 171, 120

run  0:52.3 147, 171, 171
walk 2:04.5 150, 173, 127

run  0:51.7 156, 172, 172
walk n/a    n/a, n/a, n/a
[hit stop instead of lap on my watch :-(]

run  0:57.8 160, 171, 171
walk 2:16.4 143, 171, 128

run  0:57.8 150, 169, 169
walk 2:09.4 147, 170, 122

Run 23:26 - HR ave 164, max 172, pace 11:19.
Distance: 4.27 + 1.32 = 5.59 miles.
Cool down: .45 walk.
@start: 58, 88%, partly cloudy, ENE@4.
@end: 66, 80%, sunny, ESE@5.

I spaced on the way out & went up a block too far which added about .13 to the run to the hill. About halfway through the first repeat, I thought "rawt-roh ... too fast." On the second repeat, I thought "rawt-roh, forgot to eat anything before I headed out." All in all, though, it was a good session. My times were on average faster than last week, my recovery a little better, and my max heart rate for the repeats was down a bit. And I added one repeat.

Food

Breakfast [8:30 a.m.]: fruit salad - banana, blueberries, grapes, kiwi; 1/2 0z almonds.

Morning Snack [9:30]: Diet Coke.

Lunch [1:30 p.m.]: salad - mixed baby greens, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, fat-free Italian; homemade vegetable beef soup; cantaloupe; 2 Walkers Shortbread cookies.

Afternoon Snack: n/a.

Supper [7:00 p.m.]: grilled chicken breast, wild rice, corn, cherries, V8.

Evening Snack: carambola, 1 square Ghirardelli 86% cacao Midnight Reverie.

Walkers Shortbreads ... YU-U-U-U-U-MMY!

Ate a lot today. Just seemed hungry.

Morning Stats

weight: 147.4
bf: 29%
bp: n/a
pulse: n/a
bg: n/a