Great!

As you were typing those words, Nat, I was cycling and dripping with sweat. I really like the class. The leader often follows the rhythm of the music switching between speed work and hill training. It's exciting and moves fast. Amazingly enough, I haven't been sore. That seems so strange to me since those muscles deep in my gluteus maximus have not been challenged so much with cycling. Unexplained.

In spite of having the English CA this weekend, I was able to run Sat morning. There was a couple that stayed with me and I actually thought we'd be hanging out talking til late (since I'm kinda socially deprived I take advantage of every opportunity, haha). But they were ready to turn in early. And the CA is right across the street from where I live. Takes about 8 minutes to get there. I had not excuse not to run...let me rephrase that...I had a great opportunity to run.

Running is good. I've been running about 3 miles at a slower pace than normal. The biggest issue for me is the heat. It's a sizzling 90F in the mornings (100F mid-day). I've been sleeping with the air on at night which helps to be cool before going out in the mornings. With the rainy season beginning soon it should cool down a bit. I'm giving myself 2 weeks and then I'll start speed work.

How's your training?

????

Hi
Julie,
How is your training program coming along? How do you like the cycling class?

City Run

When I started running in 2003 I was running in Nike's that were too small. After damaging my big toe, going to the foot doctor to get a hole drilled in it and subsequently losing my toe nail, I made a shopping trip to Front Runner. I had never heard of Mizunos but they were the perfect shoe for me. Light and bouncy. Arch support. Cushion. Every time I went back I ended up with another pair of Mizunos. Thursday was the dawn of a new era. Well maybe not that big of a deal. But I am not running in Mizunos anymore. My new pair of road shoes (drumroll please)
Sauconys.





































Shonda and I explored a bike path along the Olentangy River in Columbus.
After warming up we did some interval training.
Interval training is our code for "let's run a bit and walk some
then run a little bit more" :)
Considering that the path bordered Ohio State Campus
it felt remote compared to running through neighborhoods.

















We even found a few dirt trails that are great for off-roading. It's going to be a great place for us to run together while training for the Muddy Buddy. I'm going to take my bike up with me so we can try it out there as well.

84 and SUNNY!

Wow! How pretty is it today??

I met my goal on Monday. I ran without stopping for ONE mile. Yay me!! My goal for next week is two miles without stopping. After work I'm going for a run. It is so pretty out that I would love to go to Strouds or Sells but it is still super wet so I'm going to stay on Eddy Road and do a few laps.
Tomorrow I'm talking Shonda into going for a run with me. Maybe in her neighborhood or if there is a trail, perhaps along the river.
Next week, hopefully, I'll be able to do a loop trail in Sells Park. And if it is dry enough I will take my Trek for a spin.

I am really getting my head around running again. Monday I bought new socks and a new running shirt. Thursday I'm going to Front Runner to pick out new road shoes. The Mizunos I'm running in now are pretty worn out. I subscribed to Runners World and Fitness. Hmmm what's left to do??
Oh yeah, run.... (hahaha)

Cycling

I joined a gym today for 2 months. There's a cycling class that's pretty good and thought it would be the way to train. I've never done much cycling before so it'll be good to get this training. The class is pretty good. It's 50 minutes long and the leader has you change the resistance throughout so it's as if you're going up and down hills. I know it's not quite the same but it's something. It was really fun. I kept visualizing the race, going up hill and pushing through it. Of course I imagined passing many people walking their bikes up. haha

Hope I'm not too sore tomorrow. I'm planning to run 3 miles Wed morning and another cycling class that night.

Early morning runs

So I'm feeling a lot better now, thank you. I hope the Pestilence of April 2010 didn't harm anybody too bad. I've actually been on a pretty good running schedule for the past week. I've been getting up at 5:30 and running before M.W. here at Wallkill. I marked off 3 miles in 1/2 mile segments with the car, and I've been running 3-4 miles on three mornings a week.

One thing that I find hard is determining how far to go each time. I know you have to listen to your body, but honestly, at the start of a run, I never want to make it a long one. Only when I get going to I get enthusiastic for distance. But on Wednesday, when I did a 4-mile run, I had to stop every 1/2 mile on the way back, because I was just spent. And although I did a great 3 miles on Monday, my 3 miles on Thursday was just plain pathetic.

Just goes to show that starting out again is tough, and being in a good routine makes all the difference for making it happen.