TuhRails, Huff, Puff

Yesterday's cardio was a Wilderness trail not too far from my apartment. I did this run as my first one with all my new running gear: Garmin, iPod shuffle, RoadID. I really liked all my gear and think I found a way to clip on my shuffle so it's not obtrusive and my headphones stay in. I'm really loving the shuffle! Awesome investment. Especially since we got a new roommate who's room is closer to my workout room, so I can no longer blare music in the morning. The downstairs neighbor probably appreciates this as well. The freedom of running around without my giant phone armband is quite enjoyable.

The weather was perfect at mid-60s with a wind that cooled us down in the woods. We needed the breeze because those hills kicked my butt! I'm pretty impressed with our pace of roughly 11:20 for 3 miles since it was a trail run. Not only that, but it was Heather's first and my second ever. Progress! I'm definitely going to do more hill work, speed work, and trails because my half marathon in August is all on a hilly trail. I'm going to need the practice with the elevation change. Since I didn't take my phone on last nights trail run, I don't have pictures of the gorgeous (yet muddy) woods we ran in. I do however, have pictures of our adventures afterwards!

Apparently trail running makes us absolutely crazy. We headed off to WalMart to get supplies to make the greatest concoction you will ever consume: pesto. And made a stop for frozen yogurt on the way. I introduced Heather to it (the random girl in the orange that's driving) and I think I've started an addiction in her!

I also introduced her to the pesto, and pretty much every time she stays over we make it. She's always pining for pine nuts :)

Now now, Heather, wait until we get home! I successfully got the fiance to make dinner for us (he makes the pesto wayyyyy better than I do), and I must say, it was delicious!

The scrumptious result had enough leftovers for lunch and probably dinner tonight. I like to cook in bulk so I don't have to cook as often or wash as many dishes. I loathe washing dishes.

This mornings workout was 45 minutes on the bike. It was hard to wake up but I'm glad I got it in (as always).  The bike is starting to get easier again, and soon I'll be able to go faster with higher resistance. For now though I did a pretty low resistance (like a flat road, maybe a small incline).  My workout consisted of a five minute warm up with seven sets of one minute hard, one minute easy, one minute hard, thirty seconds easy, thirty seconds sprint, one minute easy. It went pretty fast. Sprintervals always seem to make the workout go faster for me. It felt good and really loosened up my legs from yesterdays trail.

 

Tired, but happy! And covered in sweat! Even though we've broken through our heat wave there is still some humidity and being on a second floor apartment makes it a warm ride.

I got called yesterday for a second interview at Dick's Sporting Goods. It was for 10am today and I'm pleased to announce that I have a second job! I'm very excited to start next week, except I'm probably going to want to buy absolutely everything in the store. My running addiction and shopping addiction will combine... I am always buying running shorts and capris with the occasional technical tee. I will have to work on my self control. Or just not bring my wallet to work with me...? That could work!

Later today I'll try to get some Pilates in and tomorrow holds speed work and lifting.

And now for some questions! What terrain is your favorite to run on?

What food do you work out for?

And lastly, what gear do you compulsively buy even though you don't need?

Safe and happy running!

 

Music Makes Everything Better!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday! For me, it was a much awaited rest day and gave the legs a welcome recovery time. They were a little sore from the 7.5 on Saturday.

This morning consisted of a lifting session at home. I like lifting at the gym better because I feel like I work harder when I'm at the gym... Perhaps it's all the mirrors? *flex*flex*pose*

As you can see, I get easily distracted at home lifting. I probably spent half of my time this morning dancing to new music on my iPod shuffle. The fact that I was up and out of bed, garden watered, and working out at 6:00am didn't help. Although I'm a morning person, my mind isn't fully focused quite that early!

 My cat was pretty crazy this morning, too. This is Ollie and he's the cutest little kitten you'll ever meet. His tail in this picture is about 3 times its normal size because he was insistent on sprinting to and fro around the apartment  and attacking the corner of the area rug in the kitchen. He nearly took me out while I was laying down doing my physical therapy exercises! :) I love him to death! And his twin brother Orion, who is probably still sleeping.

After weights came breakfast, and since I don't have all the ingredients to make overnight oats like I usually do, or even a bagel to grab, it was scrambled eggs time.

 

They were so good! I added fresh basil and oregano leaves from my garden and sprinkled Parmesan cheese on them. And I couldn't resist picking more fresh items from my garden to have for lunch.

I made a wonderful salad of romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, basil, oregano, baby spinach, and Swiss chard, all fresh! It looks amazing and smells amazing but I haven't eaten it yet... Although I'm sure it will taste incredible as well!

Since I haven't gone for my run yet today and this is really the only time I'll have to blog, I thought, what could I talk about today that someone would want to read? I know I'm always looking for new music and since pretty much all I've done so far today is listen to music, I figured why not share my playlist with you?!

The songs I'm going to list are oldies, newies (is that a word?), and everything in between. There are some songs in this workout plethora of music that I wouldn't normally advertise that I listen to. Please don't judge me by it. I think anyone with a workout playlist has songs or artists they listen to that they don't want anyone to know about!! That being said, this list is also from last summer. In some other post I will add my newer songs. However, I only added my new workout songs to my shuffle and I don't have that with me right now to see what they are. So here it goes: (Oh, and they're organized by BPM, or beats per minute. Because I'm a nerd like that and a tad OCD)

(99 and below)

85        Asteroids Galaxy Tour – The Golden Age

82        Awolnation – All I Need

95        Awolnation – Kill Your Heroes

98        Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)

78        Cage The Elephant – Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked

93        Cake – The Distance

88        Jessie J (ft. B.o.B.) – Price Tag

96        Miley Cyrus – Party in the USA

98        Rise Against – Behind Closed Doors

(100-120)

118      Bowling for Soup - Punk Rock 101

120      Breathe Carolina – I.D.G.A.F.

118      Britney Spears – Break the Ice

114      Britney Spears – Gimme More (Remix)

115      Britney Spears – Piece of Me

115      Britney Spears – Circus

110      Cage The Elephant – Back Against the Wall

120      Estelle (ft. Kanye West) – American Boy

105      The Fratellis – Flathead

102      Grouplove – Colors (Captain Cuts Remix)

110      Horrorpops – Thelma & Louise

116      Jill Sobule – Super Model

105      Kanye West – Stronger

112      Kate Nash – Skeleton Song

120      Ke$ha – Blow

113      Kelis – My Milkshake

120      Lady Gaga – Poker Face

120      Lady Gaga – Just Dance

106      Lady Gaga – Love Game

113      Rise Against – Saviour

101      Rise Against – Paper Wings

105      Rise Against – Injection

118      Will.I.Am – I Got It From My Mama

110      3oh3! – We Are Young

(121-140)

140      Bette Midler – Miss Otis Regrets

125      Breathe Carolina – No Vacancy

132      Britney Spears – Hold it Against Me

133      Britney Spears – Till the World Ends

132      Cage The Elephant – Psycho Killer

129      Christina Aguilera – Ain’t No Other Man

130      The Downtown Fiction – I Just Wanna Run

127      Edward Maya – Stereo Love

122      The Fratellis – Henrietta

122      The Fratellis – Creepin’ Up the Backstairs

124      Guns N’ Roses – Welcome to the Jungle

130      Hyper Crush – She’s a Freak

128      Hyper Crush – Robo Tech

130      Jennifer Lopez – On The Floor

125      Kat DeLuna – Whine Up

130      Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl

124      La Roux – Bulletproof

123      Lady Gaga (ft. Beyonce) – Telephone

121      Lady Sovereign – Love Me or Hate Me

130      LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It

128      Marina and the Diamonds – Oh No!

128      Martin Solveig – Hello (Original Mix)

126      Porcelain and the Tramps – My Leftovers

138      Rilo Kiley – Portions for Foxes

128      Saving Jane – Super Girl

122      Shakira – She Wolf

124      Shiny Toy Guns – Le Disko

126      Varsity Fanclub – Zero

123      The Veronicas – Popular

135      The Veronicas – Hook Me Up

(141-160)

150      Avril Lavigne – What the Hell

141      Basshunter – I Can Walk on Water

151      Boys Like Girls – The Great Escape

141      Breathe Carolina – Welcome to Savannah

150      Cobra Starship – Guilty Pleasure

150      Drist – Arterial Black

150      Fall Out Boy (ft. John Mayer) – Beat It

150      Fefe Dobson – Stupid Little Love Song

150      Guns N’ Roses – Night Train

144      The Juliana Theory – Do You Believe Me

150      Lillix – Sweet Temptation

144      Lupe Fiasco – The Show Goes On

144      Miley Cyrus – Fly on the Wall

150      Pink – Leave Me Alone (I’m Lonely)

150      The White Stripes – Blue Orchid

146      3oh3! – Chokechain

(161+)

173      Avril Lavigne – He Wasn’t

161      Bowling for Soup – High School Never Ends

175      I Am X-Ray – Pretty Rave Girl

168      Lillix – What I Like About You

168      Matchbox Twenty – How Far We’ve Come

180      Miley Cyrus – Can’t Be Tamed

178      The Pink Spiders – Teenage Graffiti

185      The Pink Spiders – Going Steady

170      Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – Me and Mia

175      The White Stripes – Little Room

Some of these songs swear and have crude language, so if you are sensitive to that sort of thing, preview them with caution.

Before you go, help me out by leaving a comment and answering some questions I have.

What are some of your "can't-live-without" workout songs?

Do you prefer to exercise in the morning, mid-day, afternoon, or evening?

What's your go-to breakfast? Your go-to lunch?

Safe and happy running!

L.S.D. was H.O.T.!

Holy crap it is hot out today! I woke up early to do this long run, hoping to beat the heat. Yeah, right. More on the temperature later though...

This run was really tough to do not only because of the heat and blazing sun, but mentally.  It's been awhile since I've run this far and my mind as like an antsy child, "Are we done yet? How about now? It's only been five hundredths of a mile?! WTF?!" I felt like I was running for hours upon hours. I pushed through it, though, pausing to take a picture at my turn around. I decided to go further on the trail than I have gone before. I'm not even sure this uncharted territory was the trail anymore... I will have to investigate.

See what I mean about uncharted territory?? Believe it or not, that was what the nice, smooth, paved path turned into eventually. Please ignore my sweaty forehead in the corner. I took this picture from my arm band and really had no clue what I was doing, or if I even had anything in the shot...

When I finally got back onto the paved part of the trail, I tried to zone out by looking at all the tree fuzz accumulating on the side of the path and all over the water (yes, this path runs next to a river. It's beautiful).

I think the fluff was actually dandelion fluff, from the white circle ones that blow in the wind, but I'm calling it tree fuzz because this stuff is absolutely everywhere! I had to dodge my head around during the run to avoid inhaling the tufts that were airborne. Anyway, the entire path was lined like this on both sides, and the water had a layer completely covering the surface. Thankfully I don't have allergies!

When I finally returned to civilization, I took a rest in the shade from this blazing sun. Little did I know, my car had turned into a sauna. And although I trust the Garmin's weather report, I don't doubt that my black vehicle, sitting in direct sunlight with the windows up (my mistake) got up to 103 degrees. By the time I whipped my phone out it had dropped to a chilly 102 (sarcasm).

 Note: my car clock isn't properly set. It was 9:28, but am, not pm. I definitely think the 78% humidity had something to do with the fact that I felt like a complete slug. And another factor? My beast of a knee brace! I had to pause and adjust it a couple of times because it literally started sweating off my leg...

There it is. In all it's beastly, unflattering-tan-line, sweaty, stinky glory. By the time I finished I had a sweat river running down my shin. I know, disgusting. It did it's job though, because my knee actually feels really good for having gone 7.5 miles. My quads are a bit fatigued and will probably be sore tomorrow, but that's why I schedule my rest days on Sundays! To recover from a hard training week :)

I know the big thing I was curious about for this run was giving my Garmin a good test. Since my iPod shuffle wasn't here this morning I ran with both my phone and Garmin to see how close they were in measuring distance. I'd say they were pretty spot-on.

Really, not a bad difference seeing how I paused my Garmin when I fixed my brace or took a picture but not my phone. Therefore my phone would also have my short wanderings (a few steps each time I stopped) while I tried to get the gumption to start running again. This also accounts for the time/pace difference between the two. When I was running the first couple miles, however, my phone and Garmin were just one hundredth of a mile different (0.01). The Garmin being slightly behind. But for accuracy, I'm severely impressed with both the Garmin and my app! One hundredth of a mile is nothing when it comes to distance discrepancy. The app I used, by the way, is Endomondo. I highly recommend it; it has served me well.

Something else I wanted to address in this post was that little red dot on the outside of my left knee. I wasn't aware there was anything there until I jumped in the shower and it began stinging. My first thought was chafing from my brace. And then, as any rational person would do, my mind immediately escalated to flesh eating virus, or something of the like. Eventually I settled on it being a blister from my devil of a knee brace. However, if you are familiar with or have experience with flesh eating viruses and similar ailments, please let me know what this looks like to you. I'm still not totally convinced on the blister theory...

When the fiance and I went to leave the house sometime mid-day, I noticed a package on my doorstep!! Yipee! My iPod Shuffle that wasn't expected to arrive until Monday the 3rd got here sometime while I was worrying about my flesh eating virus... I mean, my blister. :) Also, my RoadID got here yesterday, and I haven't taken it off yet. One never knows when an emergency will strike!

Speaking of things arriving in the mail, soon a Sweaty Bands headband will arrive for me, courtesy of 'Ello Honey Bee! I won it in one of her giveaways :) To follow her and enter in her giveaways, go to her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElloHoneyBee her Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElloHoneyBee or her Website: http://www.ellohoneybee.com/

I'm so excited to get another package in the mail! And if you've made it this far in the post (I know, it's a long one) I'll post my laps for this run. If you're anything like me, you like to see where you rank against other runners. Although my running journey is mostly about personal goals and doing the best that I can, I still wonder where I stack up to the general running population.

There you go! I like to think of the splits in the "Moving Time" category as the ones that count, seeing how that's when I was moving. As opposed to not moving...

Oh, and one more thing before I stop. While running, some man had a dog that was on it's leash when I passed, but shorty afterwards, the dog came charging up behind me, scaring the bejeezus out of me. Thankfully the dog was just curious and moved along. However, if you run with a dog or are in an area with a lot of pedestrians (runners or not), PLEASE keep your dog on a leash!! It could be the friendliest dog in the world, but from the pedestrian/runner point of view, WE DON'T KNOW THAT! Having a strange dog approach you is a scary thing. Also, if anything like a bite (or worse) were to happen, your dog may have just picked a pedestrian/runner that wants to take legal action. So to protect yourself, your animal, and your community, PLEASE keep your pets on leashes! I changed it to pets because what if someone has a Kimodo Dragon? That would probably scare me more than a dog if I were approached. So any animal should be controlled in some way when outside. Thank you.

And now, if you have made it all the way to the bitter end, please leave me a comment answering some questions of the day:
Do you own a pet? What is it?
What's your farthest run? Your fastest mile?
And finally, how do you avoid insane heat when getting active in the summer?

Safe and happy running!