Mysti's Run 10-31-2010

Workout: 45 Minutes
Distance: ??

Not good....Even had to walk some.

I thought I could run after church and be fine, but it was hot and I actually got a little red/pink on my arms from the sun. It was also windy which helped to cool down; however, made it really hard to run or even walk for that matter.

Oh well, I will try again Wednesday.

I might start adding in my elliptical machine on some to help; I don't feel like 3 runs a week are keeping me moving forward.

Michelle's Run 10.31.10

Running Stats:
Time: 30 minutes
Distance: 3 miles (about)

This run was hard.  It was pretty warm out, I ate crappy food for lunch, and my legs were still a little from from cycling.  I wanted to run further than 3 miles, but 3 is better than 0.

Last run of October, it's hard to believe!

Mysti's Run 10-30-2010

Workout: 40 Minutes
Distance: 4 Miles

I really had to push myself through this run...

Hopefully tomorrow will be a little easier since I am planing to run 6 miles. I don't think I could have made it to 6 miles today. The only reason that I can think of that would have made today hard was the fact I only running 2 miles of Wednesday.

Michelle's Cycling Class 10.28.10

Class Stats:
Time: 45 minutes

I was a little nervous before the class started, because I had never taken a spinning class before and I could tell that most of the people there were regulars.  Before the class starts everyone adjusts their bike seat and start spinning to warm-up.  After a few minutes of warming up I could tell that my seat was too far away from the handles, but it was too late.... I just had to stretch to reach the handles.  haha. 

The class was so much fun!  I could feel the burn in the first few minutes, but one I got comfortable with the motions I was able to work through it.  I definitely wouldn't have been able to do well if I weren't in good shape.  It was also a complete sweat fest!  My shirt was soaked, but I loved it because it made me feel like I was really burning a lot of calories. 

I will definitely do the class again.

The Half and Cycling

So, I'm about 80% sure that I am going to run a half-marathon in late April.  I've been thinking about it for a while and I think this would be a good time to do it for a couple of reasons:
1. I have a super flexible schedule right now.  I don't know when I will have a schedule like this again, so it makes sense to train now when I have the ability to set aside large chunks of time to run.
2. It will give me something to focus on.  Between looking for jobs in the Spring, worrying about graduation, and other things that we are going through right now... running and training will be a good escape. 

The reason why I am not a 100% sure right now is the weather.  If we have a winter like we did last year, I won't be able to train and run a half by April.  I have access to a treadmill, but I can not run for very long on it without getting bored out of my mind.  I need the weather to be decent enough for me to run my long runs outside at least.  Since we live in the South they don't have half-marathons after the end of April because it gets hot.  (Half-Marathon racing time is Feb-April and then Oct-Nov)  So far the Fall has been wonderful for running.  Let's hope the winter continues on the same path!

I have semi-developed my running plan.  It's longer than a lot of half-marathon plans because I want to be ready to run the half and not just hoping that I make it.  I also have to add in a couple of weeks of tapering (which you don't have to do with 10k's or 5k's). 

There are two half marathons on April 30th.  One is in Louisville and the other is in Nashville.  I would love to run the Nashville one, but it's expensive ($90)!  There is a half marathon in Knoxville April 3rd, but I heard that it is hilly and sucks a lot!  I'm hoping that some other options pop up between now and then so that I have some better options. 

So that's what I am thinking for my running plans for the next few months.  I won't be officially "training" yet, but I am going to begin to up my longer runs a bit gradually and see how it goes. 

One possible winter weather solution I have come up with is taking a fitness class at the University one day a week.  Tonight I am going to try to check one out.  My Thursday night class is canceled, so I am going to go and check out the cycling (spinning) class.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Michelle's Run 10.27.10

Running Stats:
Time: 41:15
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: 10:18

Pretty good treadmill run.  I was a little surprised that I made it the whole 4 miles, because around mile 2 I wanted to stop.  It didn't help that there were some guys in the workout room that were slapping baby powder around (I guess to get a better grip on the barbells) and I was choking on it! 

Mysti's Run 10-27-2010

Workout: 2 Mile Run
Time: 22 Minutes

Short and Slow !!
Wow, my body and especially my lungs did not like the cool weather this morning.

Mysti's Run 10-24-2010

Workout: 6 Mile Run
Time: 60 Minutes

I think running the last mile in the dark helped my time, because finishing mile five I was at 52 minutes. I started running faster because I knew John would be getting worried.

So excited to have finally ran 6 miles!! I have been wanting to for a couple of weeks but wanted to work up to it slowly so that I did injure anything.

Michelle's Run 10.24.10

Running Stats:
Time: 42 minutes
Distance: around 4 miles

I am proud of myself for getting up on a Sunday morning and running 4 miles.  It was cool out, but not too bad.  I felt really good during the run and probably could have run further... but I needed to take a shower, eat breakfast and get ready before church.

Mysti's Run 10-22-2010

Workout: 40 Minute Run
Distance: ??

Woo Hoo...The weekend and already one of two runs down !!!

Mysti's Run 10-20-2010

Workout: 40 Minute Run
Distance: 4.1 Miles

Overall, a good run. I planned to run 5 miles, but my legs are still a little sore from Monday night's run.
It is crazy that a 4 mile run is a basic run for me (and Michelle) now.
I hope to move up to 60 minute runs either this weekend or next week; will wait and see how I feel Sat. and Sun.

Michelle's Run 10.20.10

Running Stats:
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 54 minutes or so (I forgot to set my watch at the beginning of the run, so this is  bit of a guess)

I ran at the nearby (30 minute drive) Nature Center greenway today.  Since I had driven all the way there, I decided to make my drive worth it by running 5 miles.  I could definitely tell that I hadn't run over 4 miles in a while, but it wasn't too bad.  I had to walk for a little bit because almost at the end of the run there is a part that is very very steep.  Walking was probably just as fast as running.  Next time I will run a little further out on the trail so that my run will end when I get to this hill.  The weather was nice and about 2 miles of the greenway I had never run on before, it's always exciting to run somewhere new.  I also ran without my ipod... just me and nature!

Mysti's Run 10-18-2010

I had a very unproductive day at work thanks to all four of my evening clients missing their appointments !! Eeeeerrrrrrrr, If they would have just called to reschedule I could have been home at 3:00pm vs 6:00pm.

Since, I came home angry I decided a good run would help my mood.


Workout: 2 Miles
Time: 8:20 Minute First Mile - 1 Minute Break - 8:05 Minute Second Mile

Mysti's Run 10-17-2010

Workout: 40 Minute Run
Distance: 4 Miles

It was an exciting weekend with John and Joey at my parents' dairy farm; however, it did not help me get my run in yesterday. Oh well, my run tonight was good even after eating too much all weekend.

Michelle's Run 10.17.10

Running Stats:
Time: 31 minutes
Distance: unknown

So, Michael and I decided to try out a new greenway today on our run.  The Knoxville Parks and Rec website said that it was .8 miles.  Well, we get there start running and when we pass by our starting point we look at our watches and only 3:30 had gone by.... definitely not .8 miles... more like .3 miles.  So just to run 30 minutes we had to run around the think like a bajillion times.  We won't be running there again.

Michelle's Run 10.14.10

Running Stats:
Time: 41:30
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: 10:22

Pretty good treadmill run.  I took it slower the first half and then sped up the second half.  Now the challenge is if I will actually run tomorrow...

Mysti's Run 10-13-10

Workout: 40 Minute Run
Distance: ? About 4 Miles

Despite my crazy busy day, I felt great throughout the entire run.

Today: went to grocery store, cleaned the entire house, put out Halloween decorations, cooked chili for tomorrow night's dinner, cooked fruit pizza for tonight's dinner, mowed and edged the lawn, pulled weeds from flower beds, ran 40 minutes and now about to finish up the fruit pizza and head to our friend's house for dinner !!!! Oh, and I did take a showed.

Welcome to my day off :) I Love Productive Days !!

Halloween Candy Strategy

This isn't a running post, but I wanted to share an article I read today.

Halloween is coming up, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.  Which means there will be a lot of candy and desserts around.  I read this article today that had strategies for not eating all the candy in the candy bowl! I may have to try some of them.  I don't usually eat candy because we don't buy it, but when it's there I'll definitely eat it. 

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/5-worst-halloween-candies-and-10-best-survival-tips

Mysti's Run 10-12-10

Workout: 25 Minute Run
Distance: 2.5 Miles

A Tuesday run !!

My legs felt a little tight tonight. I don't know if it was due to my 5 mile run Sun. night and/or the fact that I didn't stretch too much before the run tonight. Nevertheless, a good basic run.

Michelle's Run 10.12.10

Running Stats:
Time: 41 minutes
Distance: unknown

I'm not sure how I far I ran, but I'm just going to say it was close to 4 miles.  The first half was rough, but I felt better about the second half.  Let's hope I can keep up with running 40 minutes most days.  I'm trying to make 4 miles my base run and then have a longer run on the weekends.

Mysti's Run 10-10-10

Workout: 5 Mile Run
Time: 53 Minutes

Woo Hoo; A Good Run !!

I really needed a good run today to re-boost my confidence. It was one of those days where everything lined out: restful day at home, ate healthy, drank lots of water and little Dr. Pepper, plenty of time to run and perfect weather. :)

Now, making homemade pizza. Michelle and I's favorite Hamburger and Green Olives !! (John's half only has hamburger)

Michelle's Run 10.10.10

Running Stats:
Time: 31 minutes
Distance: 3ish miles

This run was a lot better than the last one.  Michael and I actually ran together for the first 23 minutes.  Then he ran ahead for the last 7 or so.  It was nice running side by side, even though we didn't talk, it still seemed to help the run go by more quickly.

Mysti's Run 10-09-10

Workout: 25 Minute Run
Distance: 2.5 Miles

I felt pretty good during the first 2 miles and thought my 30 minutes/3 miles was going to be easy. Then I guess the heat/sun got to me; I started feeling dizzy so I head back home. Oh well !!

Michelle's Run 10.8.10

Running Stats:
Time: 26ish minutes
Distance: unknown

This run was HARD!  I think it was a combination of my "I don't feel like running today" attitude and the fact that I hadn't run the hills for a couple of weeks.  Hopefully the next time I run them I won't feel as bad.

I kept thinking during the run, "this is awful I can't believe I ran 6.2 miles a couple of weeks ago."  Oh well, you just have those days sometimes.

Mysti's Run 10-06-2010

Workout: 4 Mile Run
Time: 43 Minutes

I can tell I am not running as much; I am getting slower not faster.

My plan is to run Wed., Sat. and Sun. each week and hope to get a fourth run in at some point during most weeks.

Michelle's Run 10.6.10

Running Stats:
Time: 30:50
Distance: 3 miles
Pace: 10:16

Not the best run ever, but I did it.  My stomach was upset at the beginning of the run and even though I was running at my regular pace, I felt like I was sprinting to keep up with the treadmill.  I'm going to try to run on a greenway Friday, so hopefully it's easier.

Michelle's Walk 10.5.10

Walking Stats:
Distance: 2 miles

I was supposed to run Sunday and Monday.  However, my schedule did not allow for it.  I wasn't going to be able to do anything today, but my night class got canceled.  I thought about running, but decided to walk Murray instead.  We walked about 2 miles.  The weather was amazing. I noticed there are some good and bad to walking instead of running.

Good: no sweat, easier on the knees and shins, didn't feel the need for music, and didn't want to look at my watch every few minutes

Bad: burned about half as many calories as running, didn't get that "I feel great" feeling afterwards

I could have ran instead of walked this evening, but at least I did something instead of just watching TV!  I plan on running tomorrow anyways.

Mysti's Run 10-02-2010

Workout: 30 Minute Run
Distance: ??

It felt like a good run; however, I do not know the distance. I was at my parents house this weekend so my run was on a dirt road with hills. Pleasantly surprised that I felt good the entire run even with hills and did not twist my ankle on any rocks !!

Michelle's Run 10.1.10

Running Stats: 
Time: 43 minutes
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: 10:45

My first run of October was a good one.  Murray and I ran at a Nature Center nearby.  The Nature Center has a 3.75 miles greenway.  We ran 2 miles one way and then 2 miles back.  I wasn't going to take him with me, but when we went to the vet this morning they said he was a little overweight.  I was slightly embarrassed/upset.  We try not to be the people that have a fat dog and in his our defense he doesn't look fat.  After all of that, I decided he needed to go on a run.  So he had a personal distance run of 4 miles. 

For the first 3 miles we were going pretty fast.  Then the 4th mile hit and we were not moving as fast.  The last mile was mostly uphill and it had warmed out.  But, we made it and only stopped for a bit after mile 2 so that Murray could go to the bathroom and rest.

I enjoyed running at the Nature Center.  It was pretty, shaded, and I didn't have to run in a loop over and over.  I ran without music and I didn't miss it at all.  I meant to get pictures, but when we finished running we had to leave so that we could be home when the Cable man got here.

I won't be able to run here or on any of the other greenways all of the time, because they are all at least a 30 minute drive from my house.  However, while the weather's nice I am going to try to run on a greenway once a week or so.