Running Jewel

I'm in week 7 now. Today I'll be completing day 2. Week 7 is three runs of 25 minutes plus warm up and cool down. I'm using the Podrunner mixes this time instead of Ullreys. While Ullrey's mixes were helpful the first time around, I didn't enjoy the music so much. Podrunner mixes feature techo/dance/house music that has a nice heavy beat. I get into a rhythm much easier with these.

I'm scheduled to do a 5K race August 9. I'll be done week 8 by then so I think I should be in good shape for it. Certainly it will go better than my May race. I also signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10K on August 31, 2008. 25 cities around the world are holding actually races. Unfortunately, Philly is not one of them so it'll be a virutal race for me using Nike+. But still I think it's a fun thing to do and for charity.

Labels: C25K, Nike+ Human Race, Podrunner

Posted by Julie at 5:32 AM | Permalink | Comments

I recently received an invitation to Rue La La which is an online store that features "boutiques" of designer clothes, accessories, and home decor, etc at discounted prices. (From what I've seen so far) Some of the deals they offer are extremely good. The prices are significantly marked down but the number of items is small. Things seem to sell out fairly quickly. Shipping is a little high but no worse that JCrew. :) I placed my first order a few days ago and have been very happy with the service. Anyone who wants an invitation, send me an email.

Labels: online shopping, Rue La La

Posted by Julie at 5:25 AM | Permalink | Comments

I think it's time to dust this thing off, shake out the cobwebs and see if it still works. :)

It has been a frustrating year. The new year started with a nagging hamstring injury and led to nagging IT band issues which led to knee problems. One thing after another. I was afraid that I would never feel healthy again. Stupidly I spent most of the first quarter trying to run through it and just cut down my mileage. Around April I started to wise up and by May I stopped running altogether. I did run/walk a 5K in May because I promised my best friend that I would run it with her. My time was a dismal 38+. I couldn't get any push off from my left leg at all. My lungs were all ready to go but my leg said no way.

So the rest of May was out. I substituted the elliptical and stationary bike for my runs. I started feeling better in June. A couple weeks ago I decided to restart with the Couch to 5K program.

My thinking was to start back very slowly: low mileage, slow pace, no hills, no sprinting. Just an easy 30 min run/walk, 3 times a week. So far it's going very well. I'm starting Week 5 tomorrow.

Hopefully I'll continue to feel well. I have a couple 5Ks and 10Ks I'd like to do this fall. More to come... :)

Labels: C25K, injuries, restarting

Posted by Julie at 8:07 PM | Permalink | Comments

When I first started running one of my friends warned me that injuries were a matter of when not if. Well when is now. I've been dealing with some soreness and pain in my right hamstring since last Sunday after my long run. I took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. After trying to run on Thursday my hammy hurt all day on Friday. I've been resting it since then, icing and taking ibuprofen. I feel some definite improvement today but have a PT appointment tomorrow to see if it's tendinitis. That would probably mean an extended break. Right now I have plenty of time for the half-marathon. I think even if I have to take the rest of the month, I'll be okay with my training. But we'll have to see.

Labels: Half-marathon, hamstring, injuries, tendinitis, training

Posted by Julie at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments

I love studies that validate two of my favorite things. Key to longer life?

Brilliant!

Labels: exercise

Posted by Julie at 8:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

M: Rest
T: 5 mi, Easy
W: Rest
T: 5 mi, Tempo
F: 4 mi, Easy
Sa: rest
Su: 8 mi, Long

Total Mileage: 22 miles

Labels: 10K Training, Half-marathon

Posted by Julie at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

This week has been a struggle for me with motivation. I was hoping the cure would be my long run along the river and I was right! The first mile or so, as always, was not so great. It really takes me about 15 minutes to get into my groove. I'm following a schedule from Smart Coach on Runner's World and I was supposed to do my long run at 12:24 per mile. I'm dreadful at pacing myself so I just decided to try to keep my HR around 140. That's about 70%. Well that ended up being a 12:10 min/mile pace. I felt comfortable for the whole run, never short of breath. So I don't know if I should slow down next week or just keep this pace. I guess I can see how I feel tomorrow. If I'm really wiped out then I probably need to slow down a touch.

But all in all, it was a great run. I did 8 miles in 1:37 minutes, my fastest time by almost 10 minutes. I can't wait for the days to be long enough so I can run after work again.

My total mileage for the week: 19.9 miles

Labels: 10K Training, Half-marathon, long run, mileage

Posted by Julie at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments