Thursday, December 31, 2009

3 Things Thursday: New Years Eve Edition!

Happy New Years' Eve!! I can't believe that tomorrow starts 2010!

1. I ran to the gym this morning and then went to spin class. Now my legs are dead! I probably will need a nap this afternoon so I can stay up till midnight!

2. December saw me run 58.9 miles (compared to 50.1 in November) with lots of cross training and one indoor triathlon. Hopefully January and 2010 will see more miles! This new year will be the first full year that I can totally dedicate to running!

3. This is the first New years that Brian and I will be together. Last year he was in Florida training for swimming with his college team. Hope everyone has a great time tonight and stays safe!


**Hello to all my new followers! Thanks for stopping by!!**

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Christmas Blizzard!

Although we had no snow for Christmas (only lots of rain), we now have at least a few inches with more expected later today! The temps read about 11F and I will not be going out to run in that weather today!

Sunday I was able to get in my longest run yet, 5.6 miles at 8:25 min/mile pace. Yesterday I headed out again in the early morning and had an ultra slow run because of snow covered roads and sidewalks. It was good that I went slow so that it was a recovery run from the previous day.

Since Lisa at Lisa Yarns has unveiled her latest knitting, I thought I would share the baby blanket I made for my co-worker and the scarf I crocheted.

Baby Blanket

Scarf

And me caught in the act of crocheting!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I can't believe 2010 is 3 days away! Next I will be posting my resolutions and running goals for the coming year! Happy Tuesday!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

3 Things Thursday: Christmas Eve Edition!

1. Yesterdays run after work with my co-worker was awesome! We ran 3.25 miles and she and I just talked the whole time! It went by so quickly and I can't wait to run with her again!

2. I am at work this morning - we have to work 4 hours. There is really nothing to do though so I am just reading blogs!

3. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Good thing I ran this morning

Because I just ate way too much! We had our holiday lunch and it was so delicious! I am officially in a food coma for the rest of the afternoon. This one guy made these wonderful chocolate cookie balls! I could only eat one because I was already stuffed BUT I did sneak one for tomorrow's lunch! I confronted him and asked him for the recipe:

1 block of cream cheese (I think its about 8 ounces?)
1 package of oreos
A few Herseychocolate bars

Instructions:
Put oreos in food processor and blend then mix with cream cheese. Put chocolate in microwave until smooth. Form oreo paste into ball forms and dip them into chocolate, then place on wax paper and refrigerate until hard! They are absolutely amazing!!


This morning I did run and it was very cold for the Winter Misery One Mile (22F feels like 8F). I ran over into the neighborhood across the street and did 5 hills to make sure I was warmed up. As I was running up the second hill, I almost got run over by a 4 point deer. It had to be less than 4 feet from me and just ran across the street. Once I got over my shock and finished the hills I made my way to my unofficial start line.

I had mapped out a route that led me back to my apartment and just started running. I felt good most of the way. The last 100 feet were the worst as I was sucking some serious wind. I hadn't run that fast in a while. My goal was to run sub 7 minutes and I ran 6:39. My total run was 2.85 miles.

As I was about halfway through my mile I made a promise to my legs, and God too, that if I didn't fall on the icy sidewalk I would foam roll when I got home. Well I didn't fall and so I got out my new orange foam roller that I just bought 3 weeks ago and rolled away. IT HURT A LOT! My IT band on both sides was quite painful and my legs ached for most of the morning but now I feel ok!

Tonight I am meeting Kaylie for spin class with The Goddess and then tomorrow afternoon I have a running date with a girl who works at my company!!

2 more days until Christmas!! Merry Tuesday!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Its cold outside!

I have been a cold weather wimp, a morning runner fake! It has been almost two weeks since I have run outside! Saturday morning, Brian had a haircut appointment and I planned on running to the Barber's but it was really cold out (8F) and I have this nagging cold so I stayed in and rested instead.

I really feel like my mileage is slipping! I was steadily increasing my mileage but since Thanksgiving I have started to decrease again. I have been lacking in desire to get out there and run the mileage. I have become more friendly with the stair climber machine and also the Thursday night spinning class at the gym.

The Thursday night spinning class is taught by this "goddess" and she like never sweats! Last Thursday I met my friend Kaylie at the gym for the class and she worked us HARD! The whole time we are dripping with sweat and dying, she is just continuing along like its nothing! She is really awesome!

Is today reall the first day of winter, the longest day of the year!!? I can't even believe how fast time flies! Have a great week!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Lots of Stuff

First off - I went to the gym this morning to run since it was icy outside. I am running along at a comfortable pace when a girl steps onto the treadmill next to me. She increases the speed rapidly and soon she is cruising along. I can't quite see, but I think she was going faster than my 8:30 min/mile pace. As she runs she holds onto the top of the treadmill. I cast weird glances at her wondering what she is doing!! This is the second woman I have seen at the gym do this! I just don't understand! Why are you holding onto the treadmill for dear life!!!?? Just turn down the speed!!

Second - I just finished a new book and a Christmas one at that! The Christmas Tree By Julie Salamon is a super quick read with just 115 pages. It was heart warming and a lovely story! Taken from Amazon.com:

The chief gardener at Rockefeller Center dreads Christmas because one of his responsibilities is the selection of the center's giant Christmas tree, which is not an easy job. Thus, he is thrilled one spring to have found the perfect tree so early and foresees no problem in persuading the nuns who own the property on which the tree stands to let him have it. Then he meets Sister Anthony, who came to the convent as a young orphan and made a close friend of the Norway Spruce she calls "Tree."


One last thing - It's getting cold outside! Check out this giveaway from Lisa Yarn's for a chance to win a hat and scarf!!!


Special Thank You to Tall mom for the Christmas Card! It made my day!!
Another special thank you to Lisa at Early Morning Run!! I won her holiday music giveaway and got the package this week! I brought all the CD's to work and have been listening to them while I do my mindless paper work!

Today is a super busy day! Enjoy the rest of the day!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Indoor Triathlon Race Report

Sunday morning I woke up at 6am and got my stuff together. I had my bathing suit on and then brought a small towel to dry off with during the first transition along with my shoes, water bottle and bike/run clothes. I knew going from the swim to bike would be the hardest since I would be soaking wet.

The Tri started at 7am with heats of 10-12 people going off every 20 minutes. I was set to start at 7:40 in lane 7 of the pool. I got to the YMCA just after the first heat started. Each person had a score card that followed them throughout the tri and was used to record laps and distances for each portion.

As soon as the second heat had cleared the pool we were allowed to get in. I was in the same lane with a boy who looked like he swam for a local college. On the other side of me was a teenage girl who I knew swam. I did a few laps to warm up and then we set to go.

As soon as the horn sounded to start, the girl and guy on either side of me took off! It was hard not to start out fast with everyone around you swimming fast but I forced myself to slow down after the first lap. My legs were burning by the 5th lap but I just kept going. I could see the clock as I swam so I knew how long it was taking me to swim down and back in the pool.

I settled into a good rhythm and just kept going. There was once or twice where the college kid in my lane almost hit me! He may have been a swimmer but he did not know how to stay on his side of the lane! With just under 2 minutes to go I was determined to get in two more laps and so I picked up the pace. I came in with time to spare (6 seconds) and jumped right out of the pool. The guy who was keeping track of my laps yelled the number out to me and I scampered off to the locker room to change.

In the locker room I changed out of my bathing suit and tried to dry off as quickly as possible. I had some trouble getting my clothes on but somehow made it out to the bikes with 2 minutes left in the 5 minute transition time. I had totally forgotten that I would need to change the bike seat height and also strap my shoes in. I barely got one sneaker in when it was time to start.

About 30 seconds in the one shoe that was strapped in came out and I lost some momentum getting it back in the strap and then started peddling again. The guy who had swam next to me was also next to me on the bike. He was rocking the bike and I was trying to stay with him.

The bike had to be my least favorite part. My shoe ended up coming out of the strap again with about 9 minutes left so I just put it on top of the peddle and kept going. The seats were uncomfortable and I just wanted this part to be over because my legs were so tired. The best part of the bikes was that the YMCA people had pulled out the spinning bikes and put them right near the enterance so that we had a good crowd cheering us on and some good music playing!

When the bike was finally over, I grabbed my water and headed up the stairs to the treadmills. They had reserved a full row of treadmills for us to run on and of course the super fast college kid was once again next to me.

This was the easiest transition because I didn't have to change at all and just waited for the run to begin. When the 15 minutes began I cranked up the treadmill to a 7:30 min/mile pace and just set in. I wanted to get comfortable and so I stayed at that pace for about 0.5 miles. Then I just kept increasing it every few tens of a mile. My goal was to get in 2 miles in the 15 minutes.

I hit the one mile mark a little before 8 minutes. At this point I was at about a 7:13 min/mile pace. I felt good, my legs weren't tired and I slowly increased to 7:06 min/mile and then 6:58 min/mile. They had TV's on and I just zoned out and focused on them. When I run on the treadmill I focus on reading the captions to get my mind off the pain of running and it worked well this time too.

The guy who was keeping track of my distance for this part was so nice. He kept encouraging me and telling me I was doing great! When I finished he said to me "That was great Joanna, very impressive!" I could not beleive he had said that to me and it really made my day!

My IT band didn't really bother me too much which was nice. With about 2 minutes left I seriously thought I was going to throw up. I just kept moving my legs and I hit the 2 mile mark with about 20 seconds to spare. The college kid next to me was running SUPER fast and ran 2.9 miles in the 15 minutes!

Once it was finished I jumped on a elliptical to cool down. I think that was the best choice because the next day I was not sore at all. I really enjoyed doing the indoor tri. I know that my college sponsers one in March and I will consider doing it. As for outdoor tris - I don't see any in my future...

Final Stats:
Swim - 36 laps - 900 Yards in 15 minutes
Bike - 7.3 miles in 15 minutes
Run - 2.05 miles in 15 minutes
2nd place in age group
23rd overall out of 97 (men and women)

The girl who came in ahead of me for my age group beat me in the bike by 0.4 of a mile but I beat her in the run by 0.04 and we tied in the swim. The points were based on a percentage with the highest person getting 100 pts. I didn't really think it was fair because the men and women were all together and so my points were based on how far the men went.

I did enjoy doing this tri but I did not like having to rush from one event to another. It was a good experience and maybe I will do one again but I know that my favorite and my strength is running! I went to this alone so I don't have any pictures although there was this one guy who kept walking around and taking pictures but I have no idea if they were going to post them for people to see.

Yesterday I did yoga with kaylie and it kicked my butt. Today I hope to get some strength training in and cardio at the gym. This week I am just taking it easy as I woke up with a sore throat this morning.

Thanks for reading!! Happy Tuesday!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Whirlwind weekend

Here is the weekend in Pictures! First up: making gingerbread cookies Friday night!



Saturday morning I went back to my collage and saw the 1st track meet of the season. I saw a lot of my former teammates and I really do miss having the team to run with but honestly I do not miss the stress of competing! Then Saturday night was my company holiday party! The place was decorated fabulously with these amazing centerpieces on the tables! The food was amazing and Brian and I had a wonderful time!


Sunday morning I was up bright at early at 6am to compete in the tri! I survived and it went well! Full Tri-race-report tomorrow! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Friday, December 11, 2009

Make it a double

After months of being jealous of all you other runners, I got in a double workout yesterday!

Thursday am = 4.5 mile run (on the treadmill - 1st of the season)
Thursday pm = 45 min spin class

Since this was my first spin class I took it easy but really enjoyed it and hopefully I will be able to go back next week!

I have some fun plans for the weekend, beginning with some Christmas shopping tonight. Tomorrow is the first track meet for my college track team and I will be making an appearance. Then Saturday night I have my company Christmas party! I found this awesome red dress from JCPenney (thanks for all the advice!) and it was only $50!


Then Sunday is the big day with the Tri. I don't any goals in mind - just want to have fun and not have my IT band hurt like it has been recently...

Happy Friday!!!

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Surprise!

Each day Christmas gets closer and closer and my list of things to accomplish gets longer and longer!

Last night I went to the gym and had my first of four *free* personal training sessions. It was a joke. The woman even tried to talk me out of running because "it really isn't the best thing for you". Uhhh yeah.

Who watched the Biggest Loser Finale last night? I did and there were some pretty amazing transformations! Honestly I could not believe how Tracey and Danny looked.

This morning it was snowy and sleeting but I braved the roads to the pool and got a quick swim in.

Speaking of swimming - Like the title of this post says, I do have a surprise. I happened to receive a Fleet Feet newsletter Monday morning at work. I quickly scanned through and found this:

Sunday, December 13th (7am to 12pm) - Eastside YMCA Indoor Triathlon.

The wheels in my brain started to turn and by the end of the day (with some helpful advice from Glenn) I was signed up.

NOW before you all go and tell me "I TOLD YOU SO!" I just wanted to make it clear that this does not mean I plan on doing outdoor Tris. I don't even have a bike! I just needed some sort of race and this happens to be an option.

It's a 15 minute swim, 15 minute bike, 15 minute treadmill run kind of thing and I am excited but also very nervous. So please leave your thoughts, concerns, and advice!

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Weekend Workouts!

After my missed run Thursday, I almost didn't get up Friday. I forgot to reset my alarm from 6am to 5am but somehow woke up at 5:25am and still got in a 4.35 mile run.

Then Saturday I woke up and decided to run to the track. I ran about 2.3 miles to the track, ran a few laps around and attempted to run 2x400m (legs felt like lead) then ran back home. I love destination runs!! It was my longest run since my hip problems and my IT band was quite tight after wards.

Sunday I went to the gym with Kaylie for some weight lifting! This morning my hamstrings and shoulders were quite sore but I still went swimming!

The gym that I recently signed up for is about 0.5 miles from my apartment. It is decently nice and the one near me is a women only one but there are others around town that are co-ed. I think I like not having men at the gym especially for the classes and such.

And finally Congrats to ARON on a great marathon this past weekend! If you haven't already, go and read her race report here! Happy Monday!

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Three Things Thursday!

1. I was planning on waking up and running this morning. The alarm went off at 5am and I got up and went straight to the window. I looked out and thought I saw that it was pouring and so headed back into bed for another hour. In fact it was 52 degrees and sprinkling! I really should have checked the temperature and gone running since I can't workout tonight because of a work dinner. This is the first day I haven't done some sort of exercise since starting the HBBC last Monday (11/23).

2. All I want for Christmas is a pretty red Christmas dress. Where are all the good dresses at??

3. Just cause Thanksgiving is over doesn't mean I can't make "pumpkin" inspired dishes! Yesterday I found this Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe!! I can't wait to try it!

Happy Thursday!!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas in the Air

The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived! Here are the pairings for this years Christmas Card/Gift Exchange. Please be sure to contact your partner and exchange addresses to receive your gift and card!

Velma and RunkeraRun
Nicole and Aron
Mel - 2nd Chances and Morgan
Kim (Kilax) and RunningLaur
Marlene and SunsetRun
Megan and Croughwell
Mel (Tall Mom) and Runner Leana
Heather and J
RunKathyRun and Teamarcia
Lacey and Badger Girl
Bethany and MCM mama
Jamie and Christina
Shellyrm and Sam
Alisa and Lisa
Candice @ I have run and Felice
OneLittleTriGirl and Janice {Run Far}
Rio Runs and Marci
myfirst5k and Steel Springs
2 Fat 2 run 13.1 and Luis Bueno (L.B.)
5 miles 2 empty and RunninAround
UPDATED: Frayed Laces and Lauri


**Any problems please let me or Mel know!


HBBC update:
Eating 7 F/V per day = FAIL
Swimming this morning 1500 yards (30 minutes)


I have my Christmas music loaded on my iPod and now I just need to find the motivation to get started on my work!! Hope everyone has a great day!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

December 1

This what what I woke up to this morning:




It was a snowy run (3.1 miles) this morning which made it slow going but it was beautiful out!! Thank goodness I signed up for the gym yesterday! Not sure how much longer I will be able to run outside every morning!

Jury Duty went well - I sat around for 4 hours and didn't get picked so I am at work today!

I went back to my college last night to watch the Women's basketball team play. They played well and won! As I sat and watched the team play, I realized I didn't really miss playing but I did feel the urge to coach! Maybe there will be coaching in my future...

And finally - November running total = 50.1 miles!

24 days till Christmas! Happy Tuesday!