Running without music is like...

It's like watching television without my glasses.  Not especially entertaining!  I went to the park to run and got all set to start before I realized that I had forgotten my headphones.  I had my iPod but no way to listen to it.  I figured that I'd use it anyway because I have my C25K app on it and I could just keep an eye on the screen for the cues to run and walk (luckily they are available in addition to the audio cues) when I remembered that my iPod Touch has a speaker.  Since I have a rather odd playlist, and I don't really like to share, I decided not to use music and just use it for the audio cues.  It seemed to work out fine, but I have to admit that I think I move along a little more easily when I have something to listen to - and less other stuff to contemplate.


I realize that running with, or without, headphones is a controversial topic, and I can see the benefits of foregoing the headphones.  There were a lot of people (A LOT) who indicated that they were "passing on (my) left" that I could easily hear without music applied directly to my eardrum, but I do try to keep the volume to a minimum so I can hear what's going on around me. Having no music just left my brain free to think "OMG! I don't think I can wait to get to that patch of shaded path up there! I think may collapse right here and turn into a big puddle of goo on the sunny trail" and "Hmmm... wonder what I should eat for lunch!" 


Once again, I found people in the MetroPark to be very friendly.  Well, there was one guy who did not say "good morning" to me and looked like he was having about as much fun that I was at that particular moment.  He probably was at the end of a 20 mile run, though, where I was just beginning.  Lots of people walking, running and biking, alone, with friends and with dogs.  I have to say that I really do enjoy seeing people out enjoying the not-quite-as-cool-as-I-would-like mornings and getting some fresh air and exercise.  


I re-ran my run from yesterday with 2 shorter running segments and will do the next one, with a single, longer, run on Tuesday.  Tomorrow morning, my boot camp class starts at 5:30 am so I'll be running on days other than boot camp days (MWF). Going to the orientation today, with my preliminary evaluation, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I will accomplish in the next 4 weeks!

Quiet Saturday run, with a slight twist!

I woke up to run yesterday and it was raining. Hard!  Accompanying it was a lot of lightening and thunder and I considered whether or not I would be wearing anything that was conductive.  Maybe I would go out despite the weather to keep on track.  It then occurred to me that I wear my iPod on my arm and none of my running clothes have pockets.  That much rain would surely not be good for my iPod, so I opted to postpone yesterday's run until tomorrow.  I was already scheduled to run today so I'm tacking it on to the end of the week.  


Today's run was quiet, but I was really surprised when I realized that this week not all of the runs are the same. Wednesday it was split into 3 runs, with short walk breaks in between.  Today it was two longer runs with only one walk break! The next one is one long run with no breaks, but I think I'm going to repeat today's run when I go tomorrow, then do the long one on Tuesday.


I was a little concerned that I seem to be progressing kind of slow, knowing that I have 5Ks scheduled and I REALLY want to be able to run the whole 3+ miles. I'm less worried now that I see that I am moving on to longer runs, but still.  I need to try an not worry about that and just follow the program and give it 100%.  


Detroit Free Press Marathon 5K in 78 days
Run of the Dead in 91 days
Jingle Bell Run in 106 days


I'm really excited that I got a new book!  John "The Penguin" Bingham's An Accidental Athlete: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age.  It was scheduled to be released in September and I pre-ordered it forever ago.  I was thrilled to learn that it would be released early, but still didn't think I'd get it until about a week into August.  The 1st book of his that I read, The Courage to Start, was a huge inspiration for me to start running.  My new book arrived last night and I'm in a quandary:  I just came in from running... do I shower or start reading?  Maybe I should shower THEN start reading, but I had all I could do to not start the book when I got home last night, which would have kept me up much past my bed-time.

I am dedicating this post to my wonderful dog, Roxie, who we lost a few days ago.  In the past, this would have been the time that I would have taken a nose dive when it came to exercise and healthy eating, but I have maintained my schedule and my diet throughout the week.  She always greeted me at the door and helped me stretch when I came in from running. I miss her so much!

64 degrees - where have you been all my life?

Or at least for the last 6 weeks that I have been running consistently?  I set out this morning at 5:50 am and it was a wonderful 64 degrees (18 celsius) with a slight breeze.  It was paradise!  Then I started running!

Actually, the run wasn't bad at all.  I moved up a level in C25K, so the total time running didn't change much, but breakdown did.  It felt good and I was challenged toward the end of the last running segment, but I felt that it went well.  I heard that the sunrise was to be a spectacular sight, but I was done and back in the house stretching before it broke past the horizon.  By that time I was more interested in finding a fan than seeing a pretty sunrise.

I saw a guy leaving his house in his pickup truck while I was doing my first run portion and we waved good morning.  I was figuring that he was headed toward the entrance of our neighborhood and thought that, if I saw him again before he got out of the neighborhood, I hope I'm not walking!  I didn't want him to think that I gave up on running and had to slow down.  Then it occurred to me that the only way that he would still be nearby when I got around to the front entrance would be if he stopped at another neighbor's house for breakfast.  Since it looked like he was actually headed to work, I guessed that I wouldn't actually be seeing him again this morning.  Of course, a short time later I actually did see another neighbor while I was walking.  I was running the last few times that I've seen him in the morning so I keep wondering it he thinks that I just couldn't handle it.

So, all in all, a good day to run.  Once again, I didn't break any records, or even have any PRs, but I do feel really good about what I have accomplished so far.  I'm thinking that I might even buy some real running clothes that match and everything, rather than wearing my old t-shirts with yoga pants.  Today was a combination of pink, lime and black that weren't intended to be worn at the same time!

Until next time...

Two for the price of one!

As I was out running this morning, I realized that I had been so busy this weekend, that I never wrote after Friday's run.  I didn't write after Wednesday's run either, but that was because I skipped it.  Actually, I skipped 2 days last week, which isn't good at all!  Wednesday it was really hot out and I hadn't slept well, so decided to pass on the morning run.  Sunday, I was just lazy and decided to sleep in on the last day of a busy weekend.

On Friday, though... I had an amazing run!  I was going along and it came time to walk, but I was feeling pretty good and decided to keep running.  Then it was time to run again, and then time to walk again, but, again, I didn't really feel like I needed to walk, so I kept trotting along.  I only took ONE walk break, and it was the last one during the program.  Who would have thought I could run for  more than 15 minutes, straight?  Not me, for damn sure!

As I said, I skipped yesterday, but was out bright and early this morning.  I opted to do the program as scheduled, walk breaks included, because on Wednesday I'm moving on to the next level.  It felt good - not effortless or anything like that, but good!  I find, however, that I have one thing that bugs me more and more each time I run.  Headphones!  Earphones, earbuds, what ever kind I use and what ever they are called, I hate them!   They are never really comfortable.  They fall out all the time!  I find that I have to poke them back into my ears every 15 seconds or so, otherwise they pop right out.  I've tried using different sized silicon ear inserts.  I've tried the kind that hook over your ears.  There are the kind that go over your head and the ones that go around the back of your neck.  I don't know how many different kinds I've tried, but I haven't found any that I like yet.  It's very frustrating.  I know, I know... there are a lot of people who feel that you shouldn't use them at all while you're running, and I can see the reasoning for that.  I find music very helpful in these first stages of my running routine, and also use the audio cues on the C25K app on my iPod Touch.  At times when there is more activity, I do have the volume down or use only one ear.  I like to know how out-of-breath I sound when I say hello to my neighbors.

One other thing, today... You may have noticed that I actually used the word RUN without quotes around it.  Now that I am actually running more than half of the time/distance that I go each time, I feel that I can call it running.  Quite the milestone for me...  I'm a runner!

When did I move to Alabama?

Seriously!  I checked the temperature before I headed out the door to "run" this morning and was certain that something had gone awry in my computer.  It's usually 64-68 degrees at 6 am, but no matter how many times I refreshed the screen, it kept saying 81 degrees.  When I stepped out the door, it was like walking face-first into a solid wall of yuck!  It really was 81 freaking degrees with 87% humidity!

I was tempted to just walk, and skip the running segments of today's program altogether.  I mean, that seems completely reasonable when it feels like it's about 163 degrees out, right?  But... I had already entered today's exercise in my food/activity journal, so I decided to continue on, alternating walking and speed-shuffling, as prescribed.  I didn't go particularly fast, but stayed steady and worked on my breathing.  I'm happy to report that, not only did I do pretty well with the whole breathing-while-jogging thing, but I continued to breathe when I finished - and am still doing so!  I saw a couple of cars, but no people, dogs, cats, bunnies... I didn't even see any worms or ants!  They were all, sensibly, inside! 

Yesterday I was visiting with family and my oldest brother was telling me how running is bad for you and that, it will ruin my knees and ankles.  He probably said something about my legs falling off, or something.  I stopped listening, so I don't know what he thinks is going to happen to me.  He's been giving me a bit of a hard time about running, as only an older brother can do.  I would have normally given it right back to him, but it was his birthday, so I let it slide (because I'm awesome!).  He also told me that my new tattoo is ugly - because he's NOT awesome!

So, I got through today's program and feel good a bout it, even without any major advancement.  I'll be back out again on Wednesday morning, hopefully with better weather, but that's not looking very promising.  It's probably my brother's fault!

Downhill doesn't really feel any easier than up hill!

Woo hoo!  Went to the MetroPark today to start my next level of C25K and it nearly doubled the "running" time in my routine.  As you can tell, I didn't die!  I thought I might a couple of times - and wished I would at one point, just to get it over with, but I actually came away unscathed and feeling pretty good.  Plus I earned DOUBLE the Weight Watcher's Points that I usually do!


The extra"running" trimmed 1:05 off my pace, giving me a new PR.  At this rate, I'll have Paula Radcliffe chatting at me weekly!  I'm hoping to hear from her again later this week.  There were lots of people out running, riding, walking and blading this morning.  When we headed out of the house it was 68 degrees, but the sun was up and knew it would be warming up quickly - and it did!  I was heading down a small hill, during one of my faster moments, and there were 3 runners coming toward me up the hill.  They were running faster up than I was down and still head the breath to say "good morning" to me.  Show offs!  By the time I got back to the car, they had run to the end of the park and were on their way back, but I saw that they lost one of their team-mates.  With friends like that...


I find that the most difficult thing for me is breathing.  Sometimes I forget to and then try to take deep breaths but it can be really hard to do.  I need to work on some deep breathing exercises a couple if times a day, I think.  My understanding is that when they call cadence, while running in the military, it helps keep them breathing properly.  It occurs to me that I could just sing out loud, along with my iPod, while I'm out, but that may disturb the neighbors at 5:30 in the morning.  


All in all, I felt good about this morning's routine!  I'll be out again before work on Monday to see how I do in my own neighborhood, where it's just me and the road.  I wonder what the next week holds.

What do runners do when they forget something?

Jog their memory!  Okay... quit groaning!  I didn't actually forget anything this morning, but thought I'd start out with a bad joke to pull you in - and now you're reading, aren't you?

Started a little later again this morning - 6am - but there were gorgeous pink streaks of cirrus clouds in the east!  Once again, I couldn't have asked for a better morning to head outside.  I stayed pretty close to the same pace as past few days and have now fully repeated this week of my training, so I'm going to move on tomorrow.  Next week will mark a pretty significant increase in the "running" portion of my program, which will be interesting.  Well, at least "interesting" is one word for it!  I can think of a couple others, as well.

Tomorrow's plan is to go to the MetroPark and I'll go one direction, on foot, while my hubby heads the other direction on his bike, and we'll meet up later.  Then we'll go to breakfast!   I will consider tomorrow's outing a sort of preview of the week to come, then will hopefully be able to move on to the next level a week from Monday.  Since I'll be moving faster for longer periods of time, I would imagine that a couple of PRs will be in there, too.  Currently I have my warm-up and cool-down walks as part of my routine on my Nike+, so I can just imagine the improvement I'll show when I stop doing that!  Adding 10 minutes of walking to the total doesn't help my pace at all!

Well, obviously, my time out was uneventful and I don't really have anything fascinating to tell you about, so I'll sign off here.  Stay tuned, though... Next week should bring some interesting tidbits.

OMG!!! I thought my iPod was going to implode!

Okay... I'm speed-shuffling along, listening to Marilyn Manson. If MM doesn't make you move along a little faster - merely because he's frightening! - I don't know what will!  So, I'm going along and the song ends and immediately flows into "I Want Candy" by Bow Wow Wow!  What?  Someday, something like that is going to happen and my iPod is going to catch fire and then POOF - it's just going to disintegrate right there on my arm!  Maybe I should start putting it on my left arm.

I was having a slightly difficult time figuring out why my alarm was going off so early this morning.  Was there something I was forgetting?  Did I have an appointment?  Hmmmm...  Oh yea!  It's C25K day!  I had a little trouble wrapping my brain around that at 5:30am so I ended up not heading out until 6:00, but it was a gorgeous morning.  There was a wonderful breeze and it was 68 degrees.  I saw the sun rise, which was beautiful and produced lovely pink clouds that I'm sure were just for me.  I couldn't have asked for a better day. 

I didn't get any PRs or PBs or PBRs this morning.  I did have a few glasses of water though.  Oh... Sorry!  That's a joke for my craft beer group, not my running buddies.  Anyway, my pace was about the same as Monday's, which was about what I expected.  I didn't feel like I was breaking any records, so I wasn't surprised that there was no notable improvement, but was pleased that I stayed at the pace I was at before.  I'm planning to push it a little on Friday then keep it the same this weekend before moving on to the next level on next Monday.

Another one bites the dust!

So... I skipped out on my "run" yesterday.  I woke up when the alarm went off, but dozed back off and then, when I woke up again, I heard the guy on the radio say that it was 82 degrees out - or something like that.  I turned the radio down and went back to sleep.  And slept in.  A lot!  I  think I slept for a total of 14 hours!  That's like 3 night's worth of sleep for me! I must have needed it because I felt great when I woke up, despite the fact that I finally woke up and went in the bathroom and saw a poster for the 1988 Michael Keaton  movie, Beetle Juice, only to realize that it was my reflection.  Yikes!

This morning, I DID get up as soon as the alarm sounded, and headed out.  It was 77 degrees out and, I have to say, I didn't like it!  I really prefer temps in the 60s, especially for exercising, but since it's barely mid-July, I guess I should be prepared for several more weeks of hot "running" weather.

I was going to write today about speed-shuffling past a half-smoked cigarette during one of my longer "run" segments and considering taking a smoke break while I was out this morning.  No, I don't smoke - and don't promote it because it causes cancer! - but for a break at that particular moment, I considered pretending and sitting on the curb for a little rest.  Alas, I decided that even pretending to smoke was worse than overworking my legs, so I just kept going.  

But, instead of telling you about that, I'll get to my subject line for today's post.  One of the last songs that I heard while I was out was Queen's Another One Bites the Dust (not Weird Al's Another One Rides the Bus) and I was feeling particularly good - like I had gone a little faster than last week... maybe even had a personal record (PR) mile, and was thinking "Yes!  Another one did bite the dust!" Another "run" and, possibly, my last best-time for the mile.  I thought it was an appropriate song to wind down on, and I did, indeed, set a new PR for the mile.  In fact, I trimmed off 32 seconds from my last PR!  Mind you, my time isn't fast, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a significant improvement, and Paula Radcliffe congratulated me, once again.  Woo hoo!

Lazy Song = Lazy morning?

Is it a bad thing when I wake up on my "run" day and immediately have The Lazy Song (Bruno Mars) going through my head?  How about this? 20 minutes after the alarm goes off, my husband nudges me and asks "you gonna run?" (he doesn't put the quotes around the word run).  Apparently it's okay because my answer to whether I was "gonna run" was "yes" (and I may or may not have said "thank you") and I rolled out of bed to get ready to head out the door.  Yes, I was a bit later than usual, and I didn't break any records, but I went out and did my 2 miles at the same pace as Wednesday.  All in all, not  bad.

I did have one harried moment when I saw my life flash before my eyes.  I had slowed down during my cool down walk to take a picture of the sunrise with my iPod and had taken it off from my armband.  I was having difficulty with my earphones (the story of my life with earphones) and they came out of my ears.  In my effort to grab my cords, I dropped my iPod Touch!  Okay, so maybe I saw my iPod's life flash before my eyes!  Regardless, I grabbed the cords as my iPod sped toward the pavement, and just as it was about to hit, my earphone cord went taut and the plug stayed in the iPod.  It stopped, abruptly, about 3/4 inch above the asphalt.  Disaster averted!

I've also realized that, if I'm going to continue to do this "running" thing, I'm going to need more sweat friendly attire.  Running + silky longjohn bottoms = sweaty legs!  Yuck!  Actually,  a pair of the pants that I normally wear during my shufflefest came out of the dryer just before I left, but I already had my Cuddle Duds on and decided to see how they worked out in a pinch.  I decided that that's not a great idea for next time.

Big plans tomorrow for a picnic in Grand Ledge, where I will be taking a long walk, then back to the MetroPark, with the real runners, on Sunday!

This morning's run weather: 68 degrees and wet (apparently it rained last night) but not raining when I was out!

Oops! Missed you!

No...  I didn't miss my "run" yesterday, but I did miss telling you about it.  Not that there was anything all that interesting about it.  Headed out at 5:55 am and it was a nice morning.  For the C25K week that I am on I do two shorter run/walk segments, alternating with two longer run/walk segments.  I have to say that, by the end of the longer runs (more like speed shuffling, for me), I was really grateful for the walk break!  Really!  

I felt great when I got done, though!  And I don't mean JUST the relief that I could stop and the feeling that I didn't have to do anything else the rest of the day!  I felt good, physically and emotionally.  Not only was I energized and awake, but I also felt really good that I have been sticking to my schedule and getting out when I said I would.  Since I started a little later than usual, by about 10 minutes, I saw more of my neighbors leaving for work, and didn't feel quite so uncomfortable about them seeing me.  Of course, I do speed up just a little when I see a car come around the corner or someone leaving their house to get in their car.  Don't want to look like I'm a slacker - then again, I'm out there "running" and they're not!  Besides, if I am going faster than usual, they will either think I'm doing really well, or they won't recognize me.

In August, I'm going to need to adjust my "running" schedule (I'll be able to leave the quotes off by then) because I signed up for a Bootcamp on MWF at 5:30 after work, but realized AFTER I signed up that it's 5:30 AM!  Yikes!  I'll be doing some running there, too, but will switch my runs to Tuesday, Thursday and a weekend day.  It will give me one less day of running, but I'll be adding the boot camp, so I think it will all even out.  And it's only for four weeks.

Run weather:  73 degrees, cloudy and humid at 5:55 am

Well... Wasn't THAT interesting!

Happy 4th of July!  It's a lovely day.  Slightly overcast and 70 degrees when I went out to "run" - actually the sun is out now, and it's going to warm up, but still a beautiful day.


So... we went to the Metro Park and I realized immediately that there were things that I had not considered!  I fully realized that the park isn't the nice flat route that my neighborhood is, so the slight hills were not unexpected.  The thing that I hadn't thought about is the fact that there is a BIG difference between running at the crack of dawn by my house, and at a public park when it is open to all visitors.  Not only were there other people out there that would SEE me trying to run, but there are also RUNNERS out there to compare me to!  Yikes!  In addition there were walkers and bicyclists, not to mention the people out fishing and grilling (yes, people were grilling at 8:00 am - and it smelled GOOD!) 


Add the challenge of comparing myself to other people who are clearly experienced park-exercisers to the fact that I was moving on to the next week of my program today, with longer running segments, and it made it a little harder to embrace.  To make matters worse, there was a guy walking his bike and I didn't even catch up to him while I was running before he got back on to coast down a hill.  Figures!


All in all, the "run" felt good and I feel even better.  First day of my running week and I already got my first one in and it's even a holiday!  Glad to have the rest of the day to just hang out and looking forward to a 4-day work week.  Next update comin' at you Wednesday.


Today's run weather: 70 degrees, low humidity, very slight breeze and overcast at 8:10 am!  Later - fireworks!

It's a most spectacular day!

Yes, It's perfect!


Today, I got up at 6:15, and since I still didn't get a Metro Park permit, decided to just go "run" in my neighborhood.  It was wonderful!  I felt great.  My pace was not as fast as Friday - which is funny, because I realized half-way through that I should have gone to the bathroom before I headed out and I would have thought that would make me run a little faster!  Regardless, there were amazing post-storm clouds in the sky as the sun was rising and it was about 70 degrees with a little breeze.  Music was great - starting out with Queen V and then Joan Jett.  I wore one of my favorite t-shirts that  says "Screw Cancer" on the front and while I was out there reflected on the fact that 4 years ago today I was in the hospital having a large abdominal tumor removed and learning that I had cancer!  I couldn't have felt better this morning!


Just like on workdays, I didn't see anybody else out at that time of morning.  Just me, the robins (who were joyfully chirping) a bunny in a neighbor's yard, and the cat that gives me the dirty looks when I use his street - and even he didn't seem so grumpy this morning (I hope that didn't have anything to do with the feathers that I saw not too far from where he was hanging out).  When I got done with my 2 miles, I went home and got Roxie, our 100 lb. mutt, and we walked for another mile.  Later, we went out for breakfast and drove the route for the Detroit Free Press 5K to see what it was like.


I am so appreciative of all that I have.  Now cancer-free, I have the most wonderful husband and family, amazing friends (many of whom I spent yesterday evening with while watching a mildly ferocious storm with the biggest hail I've ever seen) and still another day off on this long holiday weekend.  I couldn't ask for more!  Later today I'm off to buy my Metro Park pass so I can run there tomorrow morning, then go back to work for a short week.


Today's run weather: 70 degrees, pretty humid, slightly breezy, and beautiful at 6:15 am (on a Sunday!)

Holiday weekend off to a running start!

Got out for my "run" first thing this morning and felt great!  I headed the opposite direction that I normally go so the scenery would be a little different.  It helped, too, that I didn't know exactly where the walk breaks were coming.  I try not to look at the clock while I'm running and just go by the audio cues from my C25K app.  I find that it's better for me to not anticipate when the walk breaks are coming up or when I'm going to have to start running again.  

There was a bit of thin fog and lots of condensation so it was quite pretty out.  I scared up a bunny who I was hoping would hop along with me to keep me company, but he just went under a shrub and hung out.  Lazy rabbit! Then, a handsome cat was watching me from the perch in his window.  I'm pretty sure he yelled to me that I was doing great and starting to look like I know what I'm doing, but I had my headphones on and couldn't hear him well enough to know exactly what he said.  Either way, he had an expression of approval on his face.  I saw another cat, but he was outside and just gave me a dirty look for running on his road.  I did get to hear from Paula Radcliffe this morning when I stopped my Nike+ on my iPod.  She congratulated me for my personal record for a mile.  My pace wasn't great, but it was an improvement so as long as I can continually do better, I'm happy.  Thanks Paula!

My plan is to go out again tomorrow morning at the Metro Park, and then go back there on Monday since it's a holiday and I don't have to go to work after my run.  I figure the park will give me a real change of scenery (instead of the same scenery from a different direction) and the terrain isn't level like that of my neighborhood, so I'll be able to switch things up a bit.  Plus the park trail is so long that I can start at a different spot and it will be all new.  Since it's my 4th "run" this week, I'll repeat today's C25K program tomorrow and then move on to the next week on Monday. 

Schedule 5K countdown:

Detroit (Marathon) 5K - 106 Days

Jingle Bell Run - 134 Days

Today's run weather:  63 degrees with no breeze and a bit of moisture at 5:50 am.