Comments (3)

By kilax, February 21, 2016 12:15 pm

Highlight of the Week: Doing all of my runs outside!

Monday | February 15, 2016: 15 m ride + 13 m run + teaching strength class
Indoor Ride Time: 57:37, Pace: 15.6 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: town loop, Temp: 26°/27°, Time: 1:58:46, Pace: 9:08 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great to run outside!
Strength: body bars and resistance bands mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt:good, sleepy
Tuesday | February 16, 2016: 7 m run 
Loc: To Van Patten Woods and back, Temp: 29°/29°, Time: 1:01:27, Pace: 8:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Wednesday | February 17, 2016: rest
Thursday | February 18, 2016: 6 m run (incl. 9×400)
Loc: 9th Street, Temp: 26°/26°, Time: 51:31, Pace: 8:35 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: decent
Friday | February 19, 2016: teaching strength class + 7 m run
Strength: body bars and resistance bands mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: To Van Patten Woods and back, Temp: 55°/55°, Time: 59:25, Pace: 8:29, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good
Saturday | February 20, 2016: 5 m run + teaching indoor cycling + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: around “town,” Temp: 39°/48°, Time: 42:44, Pace: 8:33 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Indoor Cycling Time: 54:31, Pace: 22.8 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: boxing and light free weights, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but off/distracted
Sunday | February 21, 2016: 20 mins strength + 13 m run
Loc: to Lake Andrea and back, Temp: 36°, Time: 1:57:32, Pace: 9:02 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: really good

Notes:

• Well… we’ve reached the burnout phase of Frosty Footrace training – which happens every year. I’m happy the race is only a week away and I can quit with the focused 5K speedwork and do whatever (speedwork) I feel like!
• Holy cow my Friday run was WINDY. 33 mph winds with 43 mph gusts. I-N-T-E-N-S-E. There were times running in to the wind that I didn’t feel like I was moving. And times it pushed me sideways. And forwards (those times were okay, ha!). I wouldn’t have gone out in those high winds but it was in the 50s and I wanted to enjoy the weather – and I did!
• The nice weather continued through to Saturday am. It was still sunny and warm, and a bit less windy. And I was teaching two indoor classes and wishing a little bit that I was outside. HA! But I’m not quite ready for warm temps yet. I was happy when it went back to overcast and cooler on Sunday.
• I woke up Saturday with a bit of a cold and am taking Mucinex to cover it. I hope it doesn’t get worse. Blah!
• Sunday was the first time I ran from the new house to Wisconsin and back. The roads were mostly quiet and I felt safe (I checked out the road my neighbors gave me a tip on!). Yay for new running routes!!!

Link to Training Week 330

Comments (27)

By kilax, February 19, 2016 4:13 am

Well, this will take some time to figure out/get used to.

Country road running. Lots of it on shoulders.

When you leave suburbia, you leave the suburbia running safety net – aka, sidewalks (and streets with low speed limits!). Ha.

We basically live in the country now. We’re really close to the head of a local 31 mile trail but I can’t quite run on that until the snow clears (the shaded parts of the trail are sheets of ice). The closest neighborhoods are miles away (yay!). So that means I am running on the shoulders of the road. Roads with HIGH speed limits.

Which cancels out running in lots of conditions. Dark? Bad idea. Heavy rain or snow? Bad idea. Rush hour? Also a bad idea. You get the… idea.

I knew this is how it would be. And I’ve already started to learn which roads are safer (read: less trafficked) than others. And it’s FUN to find new routes and run in new places!

But it’s so different than what I am used to.

And that’s good. Change. Is. Good.

Another change? We’re so close to Wisconsin! I can leave my house and run to the state line in 1.5 miles! My tracking sheet is going to start getting really complicated as runs go from Illinois to Wisconsin and back!

Our neighbors to the west stopped by yesterday (and brought a huge Kringle for us!) and gave me LOTS of tips on where to cycle/run around the new house. They’re cyclists and workout enthusiasts, which is awesome! And they know everyone on the street and gave us a lot of history. Talking with them really made me look forward to knocking on people’s doors and saying hello this weekend!

Comments (12)

By kilax, February 14, 2016 5:51 pm

Highlight of the Week: The sleep I got instead of running / cycling in our new basement / teaching Valentine’s Day Fitness Boxing!

Monday | February 8, 2016: teaching strength class
Strength: two dumbbell and core with cardio, Difficulty: easy, Felt: decent
Tuesday | February 9, 2016: rest
Wednesday | February 10, 2016: 7 m run + 10 m ride + 10 mins strength
Loc: Lindenhurst Park District, Time: 58:55, Pace: 8:25 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good – needed to run
Indoor Ride Time: 35:19, Pace: 17.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | February 11, 2016: 3 m run
Loc: new hood, Temp: 19°/18°, Time: 23:21, Pace: 7:47 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: surprisingly good
Friday | February 12, 2016: teaching strength class + 8 m ride + 6 m run (incl. 5×800)
Strength: body bars and bands mixed mode, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Indoor Ride Time: 27:04, Pace: 17.7 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Lindenhurst Park District, Time: 49:17, Pace: 8:13, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: okay, but too tight on the track
Saturday | February 13, 2016: 14.5 m run
Loc: Rec Plex, Time: 2:09:16, Pace: 8:55 avg, Difficulty: physically easy/mentally tough, Felt: decent, sore from too much indoor running
Sunday | February 14, 2016: teaching fitness boxing
Strength: boxing and body weight movements, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great

Notes:

• I started my week off EXHAUSTED from moving and unpacking Saturday-Monday! I skipped my Monday afternoon run in favor of a nap and think I could have slept until Tuesday morning. Ha! I took Tuesday off from running, too. Then my mood was HELLA off from not running for two days. Blah.
• Bobbi and I rode to the indoor track together on Wednesday (but didn’t run together). The track is elevated over the open gym, and there was a Jazzzercize class with great tunes going on for our entire run, so I didn’t have to wear my headphones! The class looked SO fun – I want to try it out! Running so many laps in one direction bugged my outer knee a bit when I stopped running (to get a drink or go to the bathroom) but it was fine after the run.
• I wonder if I’ve had my bike trainer resistance too high for some time – when I set it back up at the new house I had it looser and I felt like I was flying, and could hit a high cadence in a middle gear (which is how it should be).
• This was just NOT my week. I got a massive headache on Thursday and had to take the afternoon off. I felt better when I got up and went for a short run, but it was not the mileage I wanted to get in. Friday and Saturday were really cold, so I took my run indoors. I thought I was cheating doing my repeats indoors on Friday and not in the wind like last week but I think I’d take the wind over those tight corners! 7 laps to the half mile! I only did 5×800 (and skipped my 8×1:00). Honestly, 800s on that short of a track did NOT feel safe.
• On Saturday I went to a bigger track for my long run – 6 laps to the mile. We all know how that went. Ha. My body is not a huge fan of running in the same direction over and over – it makes my feet and lower legs sore. And the track got a bit crowded, later in the day. Let’s hope I don’t have to do that again – too many runs indoors this week!
• At least my week ended with something awesome – fitness boxing! I encouraged the class to wear red, pink or black and brought in cookies from Maria’s Oven for everyone! Hopefully next week will be less nutso…

Link to Training Week 329

Comments (9)

By kilax, February 13, 2016 10:33 pm

Because I have no proprioception, and then this happens, from banging my elbow in to the track* rail over and over:

My only hope is that I’ll still be able to do plank-ups in my fitness boxing class tomorrow! I know my class would hate it if I took those out because I couldn’t do them with them, ha!

Who else got a bit emotional watching the Olympic Marathon Trials today?! Gawd, it was so hard to see the fourth place finishers – my heart broke for them! My predictions for the women were right, but in the wrong finishing order! For men, I had no idea, other than rooting for Meb and a few who didn’t make the team. I hope Rio isn’t as hot as LA was today…

*I was on an indoor track where the inside lane was for running, and overlooked an open gym – hence the rail I bumped in to a zillion times.

Comments (4)

By kilax, February 7, 2016 7:06 pm

Highlight of the Week: Going on a run from our new house with my dad!

Monday | February 1, 2016: 10 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 42°/36°, Time: 1:25:14, Pace: 8:31 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: mostly good – mad stomach from junk eating
Strength: two dumbbells, core and cardio, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired and low on energy
Tuesday | February 2, 2016: 13 m ride (w/Tina)
Indoor Ride Time: 50:18, Pace: 15.5 mph avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: crummy – headache
Wednesday | February 3, 2016: 8 m run 
Loc: Gages Lake/Gurnee, Temp: 34°/34°, Time: 1:11:32, Pace: 8:56 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | February 4, 2016: 18.5 m run (incl. 6 hill repeats) + 20 mins strength
Loc: hood to Heather Ridge, Temp: 23°/23°, Time: 2:51:01, Pace:9:15 avg, Difficulty: harder with each repeat, Felt: decent
Friday | February 5, 2016: teaching strength class + 7 m ride + 3.5 m run
Strength:two dumbbells, core and cardio, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, energetic
Indoor Ride Time: 29:15, Pace: 14.4 mph, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 27°/28°, Time: 29:47, Pace: 8:31 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Saturday | February 6, 2016: rest (moving!)
Sunday | February 7, 2016: 6.5 m run (incl. 8×400, w/Dad on bike)
Loc: hood, Temp: 39°/39°, Time: 57:36, Pace: 8:52 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: held back by the wind

Notes:

• Gah, I totally overdid it on Monday, without realizing it until it was too late. I’ve often run longer distances before teaching class and it’s been no big deal. But I’ve figured out why this class is so hard – the core work has cardio bursts with it that really jacks your heart rate up. So that, coupled with a ten mile run before class did me in! Oops!
• 5K course PR training this week:
  • I was crunched for time so I did my 6 1-mile hill repeats as part of my long run.  That was tough! I think I’ll focus on shorter (in distance, not elevation) hills for the rest of the month.
  • Speedwork for the week was 8×400. The first and last one were in to 20+ mph winds, so… yeah, that was fun. Ha!
• This week was a bit loco with the move, but I am happy with what I fit in! And always very grateful that Steven is supportive of me taking the time to work out (cause it keeps me sane!).

Link to Training Week 328

Comments (22)

By kilax, February 4, 2016 6:04 am

• We actually have a close date – tomorrow! FINALLY! We have movers set up for Saturday! THIS SHIZ IS GETTING REAL, YO!

Why yes, this creepy room is in our basement!

• Work has been nuts for a few months, but it’s reassuring to know that I can always let my boss know when I’m overwhelmed – and that she’ll get it and help me out. She’s been so understanding about the house and health stuff. I hope she’s my boss for as long as possible (people move around a lot at my office).
• I haven’t run with anyone yet this year! But I have cycled six times with Steven and twice with Tina (and once with class). I think the run stat will change soon – my parents are visiting this weekend to help with the move, and it should be warm enough for my dad to cycle with me while I run. Yay! (Other than that though… I really enjoy my solo runs.)
• Since I know you guys are super interested in my first no chip manicure (ha), I have to report it is no more. By Sunday five of the nails had peeled off, so I picked the rest off (which you are NOT supposed to do!!!). So it lasted two weeks and a few days. Even though it didn’t last a long time, I would think about getting it again, because it was nice not to have to worry about my nails chipping (just peeling off).
• Do any other iPhone users have issues receiving texts from Android phones? Every few days I won’t receive an Android text, and I’ll know because a group convo won’t make sense, and because the messages show up a day later. Restarting my phone helps, so I need to remember to do that each day. But… wtf. It’s annoying.
• Did you guys hear about that college that requires all the students to wear a Fitbit (article here, pdf here)? The students that go there have always been required to track their exercise via a point system each week, and now the mandatory Fitbit makes it easier to track. Interesting!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 84

Comments (25)

By kilax, February 2, 2016 6:16 am

My mom gave me this Gap vest sometime in fall of 2011. She probably gave it to me because it’s orange (my fave color). Ha.

I wore shorts for my run yesterday – on February 1, in Illinois! Crazy!

I remember when she gave it to me, I had NO idea what I’d use it for. What did the Gap intend people use it for? Hunting? Was it supposed to be stylish? Ha! I don’t think it’s intended to be fitness gear.

But that is what I use it for and I use it ALL THE TIME. Seriously, this thing is constantly in the wash, or hanging on the side of my laundry basket so it will be mostly dry when I use it the next day, heh.

The vest is great for keeping my core dry when running in the rain. Or keeping my core warm when it’s windy. Or keeping me the right temperature in the winter when it’s too warm for a jacket but too cold for only one layer. The two pockets are huge and can hold a ton – my phone, keys, chapstick, gels, arm warmers, a face mask, gloves…

Yeah, I love this vest.

And I’d like another (since I use this one so often). But all the ones I see for fitness are fleece or heavier. I want something nice and thin like this, that’s wind and water resistant. Let me know if you ever run across something like that! (And yes, I DO like obnoxious colors – visibility is good!)

Comments (16)

By kilax, February 1, 2016 6:23 am

1. Moving (at some point)!
2. Taking a few days off work to settle in at the new house (and finally showing it to you guys!!!). The long Presidents’ Day weekend.
3. Seeing my parents… when they come to help with the move… I hope?! Ha!
4. Seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens again (haven’t seen it since December 31st!!!).
5. Spending time with friends.
6. Watching the Olympic Marathon Trials on February 13th.
7. Valentine’s Day boxing class! I’ve been working on a fun playlist. (And really, I am excited for all my classes.)
8. Setting up our home gym at the new house!
9. An already scheduled pre-race massage, and
10. My first race of the year!
11. Documenting house projects/doing projects with Steven! I’ll explain more after we close, but we got a special type of loan that includes money for home improvements that will begin shortly after we move in! And there are MANY projects that Steven and I will do together (now, and over the years!).
12. And… seeing what the month brings!

What are you excited about in February?

Comments (8)

By kilax, January 31, 2016 3:28 pm

Highlight of the Week: Having fun running hills / a fantastic long run / teaching fitness boxing.

Monday | January 25, 2016: 8 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: Gages Lake/Gurnee, Temp: 28°/28°, Time: 1:12:48, Pace: 9:06 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but sleepy
Strength: two dumbbells and cardio, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | January 26, 2016: 14 m ride
Indoor Ride Time: 58:43, Pace: 14.3 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: too hot
Wednesday | January 27, 2016: 11 m run (incl. 5 hill repeats) + 15 mins strength
Loc: Heather Ridge, Temp: 24°/22°, Time:1:37:18, Pace: 8:51 avg, Difficulty: easy then harder, Felt: good
Thursday | January 28, 2016: 6.3 m run (incl. 4×800, 6×1:00)
Loc: Gages Lake, Temp: 37°/38°, Time: 53:01, Pace: 8:25 avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: held back by the wind
Friday | January 29, 2016: teaching strength class + 5.3 m run
Strength: Two dummbells and core, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good, like we were working hard
Loc: Gages Lake, Temp: 27°/27°, Time: 46:14, Pace: 8:43, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but too full!
Saturday | January 30, 2016: 6.3 m ride (w/Steven) + 15.6 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 25:14, Pace: 15.0 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Around Grayslake, Temp: 43°/41°, Time: 2:15:42, Pace: 8:42 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fantastic!
Sunday | January 31, 2016: 3.8 m run + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: hood, Temp: 36°/34°, Time: 32:05, Pace: 8:27 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: boxing and body weight movements, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great

Notes:

• My class was hyper and chatty Monday night and it pumped me up! Sometimes people are having a Monday (understandable!), so it was nice to see everyone in a good mood!
• 5K course PR training this week:
  • Wednesday: 5 1-mile hill repeats
  • Thursday: 4×800, 6×1:00. GAH, all but the last 800 were in to the wind. Good training in case the race is windy (it often is).

• To take the photo from Friday’s run I walked up a hill that I thought was covered in snow, but the freeze/thaw cycle had turned it into a sheet of ice! I took one step down when I got to the top and fell right on my butt. Ha! My leg got the brunt of it (scratched in the photo below) but it was fine the next day. And I don’t regret taking the photo – the reflection of the sun was so cool off the snow/ice!

• My long run this weekend was randomly fast for  me – it was a bit under marathon pace! I had to wait to cross several streets, and stopped to get water twice, so it’s not exactly a true test of pace (since the overall time was higher than moving time) but, it is encouraging! I was planning on going after my half marathon PR sometime this spring, so I seem to be on track for that!
• Teaching fitness boxing really pumps me up (broken record)! I am happy I was able to teach a class this weekend (since we weren’t moving like we thought we’d be… maybe next week?!).
• Monthly recap time! The first month of the year was stellar! In January I ran 230 miles and cycled 98 miles. I taught 8 strength classes, 4 fitness boxing classes, and 1 indoor cycling class. I rode my bike 10 times outside of class, and also did 6 strength sessions at home. My coldest outdoor run was -1°F and my warmest was 43°F.

Link to Training Week 327

Comments (15)

By kilax, January 25, 2016 4:03 am

The RABGRAI route announcement party was on Saturday night! And the course has gone to the southern part of Iowa, as many thought it would:

RAGBRAI is the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It’s a seven day bike ride from the western to eastern side of Iowa. The course changes each year – in 2014 it ended in the town my maternal grandma lives in, and in 2015, the course went through the town my paternal grandma lives. Both of these courses went through northern/central Iowa, hence why many thought the course would go to the southern side this year.

You can sign up for the entire week of RAGBRAI, or get day passes, as we have in the past. In 2014, my dad and I rode the last day – Saturday. Last year, we rode the days before and after the overnight town that my paternal grandma lives in – Dad and I rode Wednesday, and Dad, Will (Christina’s husband) and Julie (Will’s sister) and I rode Thursday.

This year, I am really hoping we can ride the last day, Saturday. The tricky part is getting to the start, and getting home from the finish. The start is an hour and forty minute drive from where my parents live. If someone was kind enough to drive us there in the early morning (leaving at 6:00 am), we could start the ride around 8:00 am. Then if they followed us on course, and met us in Muscatine, we could all drive to my parent’s cabin in Guttenberg, after, which is just over a two hour drive… totally doable… if someone wants to follow us in a car (as they have in the past). Ha!

Or, I told my dad we could just ride our bikes there, ride the course, then ride back home. Ha. Ha ha ha.

RAGBRAI ends the day before my birthday this year, so maybe I’ll pull the “but it’s my BIRTHDAY” card to get everyone on board. Nah, I think they’ll want to do it, despite the hassle. It’s a total blast to ride RABGBRAI!