Topic: Tempo running and tempo drinking
Key Words: Tempo, "Working from Home", Double Fisting
Next Likely Topic: 15 Miles and Some Furniture
I've been saying I would describe my Chicago travel plans for a few days ... but I still don't have Chicago travel plans! Getting close to having them though ....
Last night (Thursday), I went to Memorial and did a tempo run; 1 mile easy, 2 miles hard, 1 mile easy. I wanted to run the easy miles around 10:30 to 11:00, which is the pace I should be running my Saturday long runs, and bang out the fast part in about 9 min/mile. It was kind of hard to keep my foot on the brake, but I did the slow first mile in about 10:45 and then struck out for the fast part. I can say that for the first 3/4 of a mile, I could tell I hadn't ran "fast" since Alaska .... my lungs were protesting. I stuck through it, started my "just run to the next tree" trick, and my body slowly stopped protesting. The next two miles were 8:56 and 8:43. Though I was BLASTED after that (and completely drenched), it was good to run fast. No terrible pain, and today, I feel pretty good. I contribute the two post run Shiners to my legs feeling good today (I took the first one easy, trying to pace myself as if it were a long spell of drinking, then I hit the next one hard, trying to improve on my VBeerMax).
Tomorrow is 15 miles ... I'm not terribly excited! I think it will be a challenge for me given my lack of mileage over the past month. The goal ... nice and slow and even. I hope to make it to at least 12 miles before things get rough.
And for good news ... I'm at home at 2PM on a Friday! We had a lunch downtown, and my planning co-worker asked the boss if we could both head home "to work" after the lunch .... he said sure ... and here I am ... working :o) Actually, I'll double fisting; I have the work laptop up and running in case something comes up.
If you've got running plans this weekend, have a good one!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Speed Workout Update
Key Words: Clean Running Shorts, Polar or Garmin, Nail Gun
Word Count: 400
Next Likely Topic: Chicago Travel Plans
Well I'm glad to say I survived the day after the speed workout! Unlike last weeks speed workout, which was much less grueling than yesterday's Yassos, today brought only mild leg stiffness, and that can probably be attributed to the fact that it was my first run in eight days! I'm still experiencing some pains in the hammy, but I think the healing progress is still progressing; a good thing. Hopefully the next few long runs will go well, and then I can pronounce myself well, and just maybe consider stepping it up to four runs a week.
Today was just a short bike ride, but tomorrow will hopefully be some kind of tempo run (I hope I have clean running shorts :-o ... better go check). Oh, and to follow up on the late birthday gift I was to get myself, one of the girls at speed training had a version of the Polar watch I was thinking of buying .... still got to figure out if it's time to step into the world of high tech running, and then whether Polar or Garmin.
Now a new feature: the Leon Tax update! As I may have mentioned before, the Leon Tax is the high cable bill I have since Leon loves his TV. I've been trying to get more out of the tax by cruising the movie channels late at night (which is hurting my sleep time; I really need to stop). Last night's flick - Final Destination 3! You may have seen the first one (not bad, for a blood and gore movie), but I think this one went straight to DVD. Still though, the occasionally dismissal from this world via nail gun is just plain funny! It's one of those movies where you find yourself yelling "LAWD GIRL, DON'T FALL ON THE NAIL GUNNN .... dang, helluva way to go." Oddly entertaining! Unfortunately, I'm a sucker for Star Wars movies, Matrix movies (even the bad ones), and "V for Vendetta" .... hopefully, in the name of sleep, none will be playing tonight. Oh, and if you get a chance to watch "Thank You for Smoking", do so, it's a really good flick that most everyone seems to like once they watch it.
Word Count: 400
Next Likely Topic: Chicago Travel Plans
Well I'm glad to say I survived the day after the speed workout! Unlike last weeks speed workout, which was much less grueling than yesterday's Yassos, today brought only mild leg stiffness, and that can probably be attributed to the fact that it was my first run in eight days! I'm still experiencing some pains in the hammy, but I think the healing progress is still progressing; a good thing. Hopefully the next few long runs will go well, and then I can pronounce myself well, and just maybe consider stepping it up to four runs a week.
Today was just a short bike ride, but tomorrow will hopefully be some kind of tempo run (I hope I have clean running shorts :-o ... better go check). Oh, and to follow up on the late birthday gift I was to get myself, one of the girls at speed training had a version of the Polar watch I was thinking of buying .... still got to figure out if it's time to step into the world of high tech running, and then whether Polar or Garmin.
Now a new feature: the Leon Tax update! As I may have mentioned before, the Leon Tax is the high cable bill I have since Leon loves his TV. I've been trying to get more out of the tax by cruising the movie channels late at night (which is hurting my sleep time; I really need to stop). Last night's flick - Final Destination 3! You may have seen the first one (not bad, for a blood and gore movie), but I think this one went straight to DVD. Still though, the occasionally dismissal from this world via nail gun is just plain funny! It's one of those movies where you find yourself yelling "LAWD GIRL, DON'T FALL ON THE NAIL GUNNN .... dang, helluva way to go." Oddly entertaining! Unfortunately, I'm a sucker for Star Wars movies, Matrix movies (even the bad ones), and "V for Vendetta" .... hopefully, in the name of sleep, none will be playing tonight. Oh, and if you get a chance to watch "Thank You for Smoking", do so, it's a really good flick that most everyone seems to like once they watch it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Lassoing Some Savings
Key Words: Quasi-Oprah, Yasso, Squeezing of Furniture
Word Count: 607
Likely Next Topic: Travel Plans
Today was sprints on Lamar High's nice, 400m track. "Headband Man", the Fall sprint coach, is now advocating that we do Yasso sprints; the theory goes like this - take your marathon goal time in hours and minutes (e.g., 4:30), and do the sprints of a 10x800mx400m in that amount of minutes and seconds. So if I can do 10 repeats of 800m, with each at or under 4:30, then I should be able to do a marathon in quasi-Oprah time (about 4:30)! Runner's World had a Yasso article this month, and they said it isn't based on physiology, it's just a tough workout with some mathematical appeal.
So off I went, doing our 4x800mx400m Yassos, hoping for each to be around 4:15. As seems to happen when I run with Anna, I ran the first a bit fast, 3:56. I then forced some time off, and ran the next three in 4:20, 4:16, and 4:13. I think doing the Yasso will be a challenge in this heat, but I'm going to go for it; gotta build from four repeats to ten! The weather looks to be building up for rain on Thursday, but I hope to belt out a five or so mile tempo run if possible.
On to moolah, cheese, cash, green backs. As I stated before, my rent is going up $62.50 a month. Since this is a static or non-varying cost, it becomes a fun exercise to try and eliminate an equal amount of other static, non-varying costs. My philosophy is that I'll do this if I can do it without changing my quality of life; unless I'm saving up for a house or something big like that, I'm not switching from Shiner to Schlitz ... it ain't gonna happen. Jon pointed out that I could probably save this amount by taking lunch to work, and he's probably right. However, that requires pro activeness, and I know I'll fall off the wagon; better to make it something where I don't have to think. Thus far, I've eliminated my unused NetFlix subscription, $10, switched to Verizon, $8, and Comcast is indeed Comcastic, as my bill went down by $2. $20 bucks a month, a nice $240 a year, with no pain; Verizon is actually better than Cingular, life is better! The big enchilada of money savings is my storage unit; I pay $32.50 a month to store a couch, a dresser, and my kick ass fake ficus tree. So I went to the storage unit Monday, measured everything, and think I've found places in the apt. to shoehorn all my stuff. It will be a tight squeeze, but for $32.50 a month, I'll squeeze. So if I can get the moving van from the storage place on Saturday, I'll follow my 15 mile run with an hour or so of manual labor (and why do I wonder how I hurt myself).
This "squeezing of furniture" will get me close to my goal; a switch to DSL, which I may not have the heart to do, is the last step in saving the $62.50 a month. Regardless of that switch, I'm going to have to either toss or give away a Wal-Mart bookcase and trendy but somewhat broken desk to make room for the new stuff. If some wants this, let me know. Better yet, if some wants to pay me $10 a month to rent it, so I don't have to switch to DSL, let me know ASAP :)
Word Count: 607
Likely Next Topic: Travel Plans
Today was sprints on Lamar High's nice, 400m track. "Headband Man", the Fall sprint coach, is now advocating that we do Yasso sprints; the theory goes like this - take your marathon goal time in hours and minutes (e.g., 4:30), and do the sprints of a 10x800mx400m in that amount of minutes and seconds. So if I can do 10 repeats of 800m, with each at or under 4:30, then I should be able to do a marathon in quasi-Oprah time (about 4:30)! Runner's World had a Yasso article this month, and they said it isn't based on physiology, it's just a tough workout with some mathematical appeal.
So off I went, doing our 4x800mx400m Yassos, hoping for each to be around 4:15. As seems to happen when I run with Anna, I ran the first a bit fast, 3:56. I then forced some time off, and ran the next three in 4:20, 4:16, and 4:13. I think doing the Yasso will be a challenge in this heat, but I'm going to go for it; gotta build from four repeats to ten! The weather looks to be building up for rain on Thursday, but I hope to belt out a five or so mile tempo run if possible.
On to moolah, cheese, cash, green backs. As I stated before, my rent is going up $62.50 a month. Since this is a static or non-varying cost, it becomes a fun exercise to try and eliminate an equal amount of other static, non-varying costs. My philosophy is that I'll do this if I can do it without changing my quality of life; unless I'm saving up for a house or something big like that, I'm not switching from Shiner to Schlitz ... it ain't gonna happen. Jon pointed out that I could probably save this amount by taking lunch to work, and he's probably right. However, that requires pro activeness, and I know I'll fall off the wagon; better to make it something where I don't have to think. Thus far, I've eliminated my unused NetFlix subscription, $10, switched to Verizon, $8, and Comcast is indeed Comcastic, as my bill went down by $2. $20 bucks a month, a nice $240 a year, with no pain; Verizon is actually better than Cingular, life is better! The big enchilada of money savings is my storage unit; I pay $32.50 a month to store a couch, a dresser, and my kick ass fake ficus tree. So I went to the storage unit Monday, measured everything, and think I've found places in the apt. to shoehorn all my stuff. It will be a tight squeeze, but for $32.50 a month, I'll squeeze. So if I can get the moving van from the storage place on Saturday, I'll follow my 15 mile run with an hour or so of manual labor (and why do I wonder how I hurt myself).
This "squeezing of furniture" will get me close to my goal; a switch to DSL, which I may not have the heart to do, is the last step in saving the $62.50 a month. Regardless of that switch, I'm going to have to either toss or give away a Wal-Mart bookcase and trendy but somewhat broken desk to make room for the new stuff. If some wants this, let me know. Better yet, if some wants to pay me $10 a month to rent it, so I don't have to switch to DSL, let me know ASAP :)
Monday, July 30, 2007
Quality Miles
Topic: All The Miles From Here to There
Key Words: Incontinence, Virgin, Curse or Hex
Word Count: 599
Next Likely Topic: Saving $62.50 A Month - A Progress Report
Happy Birthday to Lynette who turned somewhere around 25 or so today (hee hee, welcome to the club :). I personally think that until at least until around 50, there's something good to look forward too. At some point though, the shadows of incontinence and apple sauce for dinner loom large; until then, many good milestones to pass.
No running since Monday of last week because of a) the nasty weather, b) a bit too much sympathy for my hammy in my right knee after sprints, and c) VEGAS BABY, OH YEAH! My return to gambling after a respectable hiatus went fairly well; I lost $36 over the weekend, and I'm quite sure I drank more than that, so I finished in the black. Too give a nod to timing and lady luck, my only winning session came at the craps table when I stumbled across a college kid who had clearly never played before ("What are these dice things?"). Legend has it that "Craps Virgins" will made loads of money for you, since the casino gods bestow them with luck to hook them into the game for life. This kid got his share of luck, as he was unable to do anything other than make me and everyone else money! So keep plugging away at whatever you are doing, you never know when a Craps Virgin will come along!
Back to running. I looked over the remaining weeks until Chicago; they are getting fewer and fewer. Since I have a short amount of time, and since I'm nursing my 27 year old body (you know 27'ish) through this training season, I'm going to focus on "quality miles". I don't really care how many miles I get in a given week, I just want some variety, and I want them to count for something. Therefore, the random four miler at Memorial that would likely do little than anger a body part is probably out, at least until I feel more capable. Instead, I'll try to cross train by doing things like riding my real bike, the stationary bike, or slogging away on the elliptical machine; these things will give me some aerobic kick, but none of them have proven to anger my legs very much. I would like to get in a speed run, a tempo run, and the long run every week. I could have ran today, but I started off this "quality over quantity" phase true; I rode my bike for an hour instead. The question of "How many miles do I need to run a week to get ready for the marathon?" is most appropriately answered with "As many as it takes." I could probably use another run every week, but I think this plan will surely get me to the starting line, and will hopefully have me healing up more as I get there.
I finished Harry Potter while on the plane to Vegas. Very good book; I think she ended it well. There were only a few times when I thought "Now that's mighty convenient" when some random thing would save some random person from a random curse or hex; I think she really did think things through and setup the final in a crisp way ... and in a way that will make people want to read the old books if they haven't! What will I ready now?!??
Key Words: Incontinence, Virgin, Curse or Hex
Word Count: 599
Next Likely Topic: Saving $62.50 A Month - A Progress Report
Happy Birthday to Lynette who turned somewhere around 25 or so today (hee hee, welcome to the club :). I personally think that until at least until around 50, there's something good to look forward too. At some point though, the shadows of incontinence and apple sauce for dinner loom large; until then, many good milestones to pass.
No running since Monday of last week because of a) the nasty weather, b) a bit too much sympathy for my hammy in my right knee after sprints, and c) VEGAS BABY, OH YEAH! My return to gambling after a respectable hiatus went fairly well; I lost $36 over the weekend, and I'm quite sure I drank more than that, so I finished in the black. Too give a nod to timing and lady luck, my only winning session came at the craps table when I stumbled across a college kid who had clearly never played before ("What are these dice things?"). Legend has it that "Craps Virgins" will made loads of money for you, since the casino gods bestow them with luck to hook them into the game for life. This kid got his share of luck, as he was unable to do anything other than make me and everyone else money! So keep plugging away at whatever you are doing, you never know when a Craps Virgin will come along!
Back to running. I looked over the remaining weeks until Chicago; they are getting fewer and fewer. Since I have a short amount of time, and since I'm nursing my 27 year old body (you know 27'ish) through this training season, I'm going to focus on "quality miles". I don't really care how many miles I get in a given week, I just want some variety, and I want them to count for something. Therefore, the random four miler at Memorial that would likely do little than anger a body part is probably out, at least until I feel more capable. Instead, I'll try to cross train by doing things like riding my real bike, the stationary bike, or slogging away on the elliptical machine; these things will give me some aerobic kick, but none of them have proven to anger my legs very much. I would like to get in a speed run, a tempo run, and the long run every week. I could have ran today, but I started off this "quality over quantity" phase true; I rode my bike for an hour instead. The question of "How many miles do I need to run a week to get ready for the marathon?" is most appropriately answered with "As many as it takes." I could probably use another run every week, but I think this plan will surely get me to the starting line, and will hopefully have me healing up more as I get there.
I finished Harry Potter while on the plane to Vegas. Very good book; I think she ended it well. There were only a few times when I thought "Now that's mighty convenient" when some random thing would save some random person from a random curse or hex; I think she really did think things through and setup the final in a crisp way ... and in a way that will make people want to read the old books if they haven't! What will I ready now?!??
Friday, July 27, 2007
Swimming to Vegas
Not much running after sprints this week. Wednesday I was to run 10, but lightening put off my 6PM start, but created a nap starting at 5:45PM. When I awoke at 7:45PM, my chance had pass ... time to eat, no running that night. Actually could have ran last night, but opted for the bike instead as mother nature was supposed to be angry. A couple of weeks ago I had thought this weekend could be a running rest, and it has turned out to be so; hopefully a good thing. 250 pages to go in Harry Potter. Working on my dice throwing wrist snap. Hopefully will be a good weekend!
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Modified Schedule
I ran sprints Monday night (6 x 60 seconds x 60 seconds; wanted to test the hammy with sprints, but not destroy it) and then went to the gym for a workout. I shouldn't have gone to the gym, I was blasted and didn't really want to, but off I went; running and working out must be squeezed in where they can be due to upcoming travel plans. Anyway, the run was going smashingly well, with me covering 200 meters in a normal 50 to 53 seconds when the hamstring started hurting. Today, the knee opposite the hammy, as has not been uncommon, is the only real thing in pain. Hopefully a Craig Biggio grand slam, some libations, and a night with friends (by the way, who corrupted Dave?) will heal what ails me, as I need to run 4 miles and then 10 miles over the next two nights. If I can pull that off, then I will have been true to my training program while still making time for baseball and Vegas.
Serious Hags musings to come, but not tonight. Perhaps another chapter of Harry Potter VII, then sleep.
Serious Hags musings to come, but not tonight. Perhaps another chapter of Harry Potter VII, then sleep.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
HoustonFIT - Been a While
Topic: A Weekend Retrospective
Key Words: Yikes, Babies, Market Turmoil
Word Count: 637
Likely Next Topic: Running a Modified Schedule
My first HoustonFIT run in a while was yesterday; 12 miles. Though I had thought about breaking the route off to just run 10, I ran out with Anna and we made it to the GRB and back to mile 8 before things got a bit more challenging. I knew it felt like I was going to fast come about an hour in, and I had my thoughts confirmed when Anna stated, "I started out with the Greens, but thought they were a bit too fast." Yikes! The speed of the first eight miles, the weather, and a desire to not push the hammy too far too soon compelled me to bid farewell to Anna 80 minutes in and start running 5-1's for the rest of the way. Pretty slow going once the 5-1's started, but I finished without much leg pain, so all in all it was a success. Unfortunately, my toes took a pounding; I figure I'm going to lose a nail from the run :( Though I had thought the size 11's in these new shoes would be OK, I think I might step up to 11.5's in the next pair. I used my Endurolytes on this run and I'm happy to say ... I couldn't really tell a difference! Obviously, these things would only stop me from feeling real bad, so there shouldn't be a major "ah ha!" revelation. I'm glad though that they didn't cause any kind of stomach distress (they're are basically just salt and some vitamins; nothing to exotic). Don't buy them from a store if you are interested, because if you buy them online from Hammer Nutrition, they send you all kinds of extras to try as a gift for a "first time buyer".
Random thoughts and musings:
You ever realize that runners are like babies? At about mile 10, I thought to myself, "I better walk for a bit and have a bottle." Much akin to "You better give that baby a bottle or you're going to have problems."
My Harry Potter VII book hasn't arrived. I actually don't think Amazon promised delivery on Saturday, but it would have been nice. I wouldn't have had much time to read it, but it would have been nice to have the option. Should be here tomorrow; gotta keep avoiding reviews and random conversations about "Did you hear what happened to Harry ....."
I'm selling my stock, well, most of it. I was spooked by the drop on Friday, and I fear, more so than ever, that the market might become more prone to decline what with the mortgage mess that is still brewing. This is just my few little funds outside of my ROTH IRA; since my time horizon in the ROTH is still about 30 years away, a little turmoil in 2007 is easy to stomach. I've made good returns on what I've purchased since March, so I'm basically locking that in, and I'll probably move most of it to CDs. This may have taught me that, outside of the ROTH and my work savings account, that I don't have much tolerance for market turmoil. I still want to invest in some real estate funds, but I think the time for that is still far away. An energy fund though, with prices of oil looking like they might push to $90 a barrel by year end, might be a good play ...
Alaska picture time! Note the woman to the left and you'll see what I do when I'm healthy ... I BEAT CANADIANS to the finish line!!!
Key Words: Yikes, Babies, Market Turmoil
Word Count: 637
Likely Next Topic: Running a Modified Schedule
My first HoustonFIT run in a while was yesterday; 12 miles. Though I had thought about breaking the route off to just run 10, I ran out with Anna and we made it to the GRB and back to mile 8 before things got a bit more challenging. I knew it felt like I was going to fast come about an hour in, and I had my thoughts confirmed when Anna stated, "I started out with the Greens, but thought they were a bit too fast." Yikes! The speed of the first eight miles, the weather, and a desire to not push the hammy too far too soon compelled me to bid farewell to Anna 80 minutes in and start running 5-1's for the rest of the way. Pretty slow going once the 5-1's started, but I finished without much leg pain, so all in all it was a success. Unfortunately, my toes took a pounding; I figure I'm going to lose a nail from the run :( Though I had thought the size 11's in these new shoes would be OK, I think I might step up to 11.5's in the next pair. I used my Endurolytes on this run and I'm happy to say ... I couldn't really tell a difference! Obviously, these things would only stop me from feeling real bad, so there shouldn't be a major "ah ha!" revelation. I'm glad though that they didn't cause any kind of stomach distress (they're are basically just salt and some vitamins; nothing to exotic). Don't buy them from a store if you are interested, because if you buy them online from Hammer Nutrition, they send you all kinds of extras to try as a gift for a "first time buyer".
Random thoughts and musings:
You ever realize that runners are like babies? At about mile 10, I thought to myself, "I better walk for a bit and have a bottle." Much akin to "You better give that baby a bottle or you're going to have problems."
My Harry Potter VII book hasn't arrived. I actually don't think Amazon promised delivery on Saturday, but it would have been nice. I wouldn't have had much time to read it, but it would have been nice to have the option. Should be here tomorrow; gotta keep avoiding reviews and random conversations about "Did you hear what happened to Harry ....."
I'm selling my stock, well, most of it. I was spooked by the drop on Friday, and I fear, more so than ever, that the market might become more prone to decline what with the mortgage mess that is still brewing. This is just my few little funds outside of my ROTH IRA; since my time horizon in the ROTH is still about 30 years away, a little turmoil in 2007 is easy to stomach. I've made good returns on what I've purchased since March, so I'm basically locking that in, and I'll probably move most of it to CDs. This may have taught me that, outside of the ROTH and my work savings account, that I don't have much tolerance for market turmoil. I still want to invest in some real estate funds, but I think the time for that is still far away. An energy fund though, with prices of oil looking like they might push to $90 a barrel by year end, might be a good play ...
Alaska picture time! Note the woman to the left and you'll see what I do when I'm healthy ... I BEAT CANADIANS to the finish line!!!
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