12 miles. Treadmill style.

I had a great plan for yesterday's long run. I was going to meet Bridget for 3 miles at 7:30. Then Elisa would join us for 5 miles. I'd finish with 4 miles by myself. 

Only, that didn't happen. 

See, it was cold this weekend and my body has been rebelling against the cold. Not in a "Oh, I don't like the cold and would rather not go out in it" kind of way. That I could handle. No, it has been rebelling in a "I'm going to kick all of your nerve pain into high gear and I'm going to keep it like that for hours and hours and hours" kind of way.

Not pleasant.

I've learned that if I'm feeling a certain way and it is too cold and windy, my body can't handle it. The pain while I run is one thing -- and, believe me, I can handle pain while I run -- but the lingering pain is another thing entirely. After a cold run, my feet can hurt for a full day. Same with my hands. And my face? It is bad. My face gets a feeling like I've just been shot-up with Novocaine. And it doesn't go away. The worst is my nose. In addition to the pain from exposure, it is red and raw -- some combination of sunburn (the antibiotics make me more susceptible to sunburn) and response to the cold.

Lovely, right? Right.

So, I've more or less learned my lesson and stick to indoor runs when the conditions aren't right. Like this weekend.

Saturday was 5.75 miles on the treadmill. Sunday was 12.3.

So much for a long run with friends!

It didn't bother me too much. After all, I got to run in shorts:

Never a bad thing.

But, you know, treadmill miles can be boring and there's not a lot of fun stuff on TV on Sunday morning. How many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" can a runner really watch? 

So, long run on the treadmill: Done. 12.3 miles. Sure, I wanted to stop at 9. And at 10. And, I really, really, really wanted to stop at 11. But I kept going and even finished strong.

Now, can we just get some warm weather sometime soon? 

Please?

Have a great week, everyone!

 

Running in the morning?

During the week I am an afternoon runner. Ideally, I'd run in the early evening, outside, but that doesn't happen. So, I run in the afternoon, on the treadmill. And I'm fine with that. It works.

Today, though, I shook things up. Like some sort of efficient running person.

I ran in the morning.

Intervals, no less.

Yup. That was me, sipping a quick pre-run smoothie, going straight from robe to running gear, warming up and then dropping down to run speedy intervals.

I wasn't sure how it was going to work out -- I hadn't even had a cup of coffee! -- but it worked out well. I ran a nice and easy mile or so and then ran one of my favorite speed workouts.

14  x 2 minute repeats that looked like this:

• 30 seconds @ 6:48 pace
• 60 seconds slow
• 30 seconds speeding back up to pace

I cooled down for a half mile or so and basked in my success.

But not for too long because I had to hurry up and get clean and dressed before our first playdate of the day arrived. I know, tough life. Hey, it's vacation week and my boys have a busy social schedule -- keeps them active and that keeps me happy.

Let me tell you: Getting a good, slightly tough workout in before starting the day was quite the feeling. I usually don't have that feeling until the weekends when I often run in the morning. So today it was a nice treat. I may have to try this more often!

Do you run in the morning? 

What workouts do you prefer to do in the morning rather than later in the day?

Thanks for stopping by!

Fast 40!

Looking for a way to shake up your treadmill running routine and get fast at the same time? Look now further -- I've got just the workout for you.

I'm loving this fun, fast, 40 minute run. And it really is fun. And will get you fast. And, honest, it just takes 40 minutes.



*     *     *

Warm up for 10 minutes

4 x 2 minute 10K intervals: Run 30 seconds at 10K pace, jog/walk 90 seconds

4 x 2 minute 5K intervals: Run 1 minute at 5K pace, jog/walk 1 minute

4 x 2 minute 10K intervals: Run 30 seconds at 10K pace, jog/walk 90 seconds

Cool down for 4 minutes

Some tips: 

• Use the last 15 seconds of your jog/walk interval to get back up to speed. That way, you start your fast section at the right speed.

• Since you repeat the intervals every 2 minutes, it is easy to keep track of this workout by saying you'll run the 10K intervals at minutes 12, 14, 16 and 18; the 5K intervals at minutes 20, 22, 24 and 26; then back to 10K for minutes 28, 30, 32 and 34. Cool down starting at minute 36.

Enjoy!

Mastering the 'mill.

I'm back to running all of my mid-week runs on the treadmill. And last week I even had to run one of my weekend runs on the 'mill. Better than nothing.

Fortunately, after a few weeks of not feeling my groove at all, I've found it. In fact, last week I felt like I was the Master of the 'Mill. 

My runs have been varied -- fast 5 milers, easy 4 milers, tempo runs of 7+ miles. And, of course, intervals and pick-ups because they are my favorite ways to pass the miles on the 'mill.

If you need any treadmill inspiration, I'll remind you of my favorite workout:

I love this one!

Enjoy. It really is a good workout!

Do you have a favorite treadmill workout?

Thanks for stopping by -- have a good week!

~ Felice

Treading.

For a whole host of reasons, I usually do my three mid-week runs on the treadmill (my two weekend runs are outside. No matter what.). It's just the way it is.

But, I've begun to feel kinda bad about this. Not because I fear I'm getting less of a workout, or that I'm going to develop some sort of over-use injury from the repetitive steps. I feel bad because of the kids.

True confession: I park the kids in front of the tv so I can run.

I know. I know.

It's a new development. For a long time, we didn't have a working tv downstairs (where the treadmill is) so I was constantly jumping off the 'mill to do one thing or another for the kids. Now? With the tv? Uninterrupted miles are mine. All mine! Bwah, ha, ha, ha!

The first time I used the tv, I had 7 miles on the schedule, with 2x2 miles at 8:20 pace. Before tv, I would have probably eked out 5 miles with 1, maybe 1.5 of them at pace. I would have had to hop off the 'mill, probably more than once. That was just a given. With tv, though, there was no such problem. Seven uninterrupted miles. At pace! WOO!

Now my toddler can play with whatever "big boy" toy he wants to (he hasn't been all that interested in the downstairs tv), without Conal taking over. And Conal sits and watches Curious George and Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman (two decent enough PBS shows). He no longer whines that he wants to go back upstairs. He no longer begs me to stop running.

No complaints at all.

And I get to run and run.

So why do I feel like this is a bad idea?

Because I do. I have this nagging feeling that it is just not cool to park the kids in front of the tv just so I can run. I mean, isn't that a bit selfish? It feels that way . . . but, yet, it works. And it allows me to get my proper run in without the kids getting all antsy. Never mind that I don't have to wait until 8:30pm to get an uninterrupted run in.

It's good and bad, I guess.

To lessen my guilt, I've been limiting the tv to one hour of PBS, although I did turn on the Yankees game on opening day last week. And, yeah, the boys loved it and were high-fiving each other all over the place. I also try to encourage them to play with the toys that are downstairs, and they do hop on the trampoline and jump a little, or play in the ball pit, all those things they did before we had the tv down there. The tv is there as my safety net.

It works. Now I just need to stop feeling guilty about it!

Am I the only one who does stuff like this to have time to run? 

Please tell me I'm not . . .

(Oh, and, yes. I ran today. A little over 5 miles on the treadmill while Conal watched Word World and Niall played trains. It was a great run. Great.)

Hope you're having a good week!


~ Felice

Favorite treadmill workout.

When I was training for my April half marathon last year, at least two of my weekly runs were done on the treadmill. It's just what had to happen. Since I find the treadmill desperately boring, I tried all kinds of workouts to help me get through the runs. Some workouts were OK, some were really pretty good, and one was awesome. I fell in love with one awesome, easy, fun workout that I believe helped me finish faster than I had expected. I don't remember where I got the workout, so I can't give proper credit, which is too bad because it deserves it.

For some reason, I stopped doing the workout after the half. I don't know why, other than I rarely ran on the 'mill after April so I didn't need special workouts. Now, training for the marathon, I'm back at it. And I love it.

So, for those of you who have been slogging through treadmill runs, I'll share this bad boy with you. I promise you: It is easy. It is fun. It will make you faster.

Presenting . . .

1 mile warm-up (I start at about 10 min/mile pace and then go to a 9:30 pace for the last quarter mile)
12-15 bursts: 2 minute cycles of 30 seconds at 5K pace (I do 7:12) and then 90 seconds easy (I do 9:30 pace)
1 mile cool-down (I start at 9:30 and slow down each quarter mile)

That is it. 

You can do anything for 30 seconds, especially run at your 5K pace. If you are training for a half or full marathon, the 30 second 5K pace bursts will help keep some speed in your legs. If you're training for a shorter race, you'd probably want to go slightly faster than 5K pace in order to get the most benefit from the workout, and you could probably run fewer bursts. If you're not training for anything but you just want to keep your mileage up this winter, these bursts will take some of the boredom out of treadmill running.

So, have at it, friends. Enjoy!

What's your favorite treadmill workout?

Have a great weekend, everyone!


~ Felice

Running motivation

Icy out there? Too cold? Too dark?

No worries. You can make this the truth:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

~ Felice

Interval training ~ life-with-toddler style.

Yesterday was a beautiful, warm sunny day. But I didn't get to run outside. Sure, I got to enjoy playing baseball-hockey with my boys in the driveway and going for a nice li'l walk but I didn't get to run.

Instead, I ran in the basement on the treadmill.

On the schedule? Easy run.

In reality? Interval run -- life-with-toddler style.

Started smooth -- nice and easy 3/4 of a mile at a warm-up pace of 10 min/mile. Hopped off to retrieve the toddler's soccer ball from under the trampoline.


Bumped up pace to 9:30 min/mile for almost a quarter mile. Hopped off to put together popper "thingy" so toddler could play.


Back on the 'mill, right back to 9:30 min/mile then down to 9 min/mile for just over a half mile. Hopped off to demonstrate -- at preschooler's request -- the "jack-knife" on the trampoline. 


Two dozen jumps later, I was back on the 'mill. Bumped up the pace and ran fast for almost another mile. Hopped off to pull toddler off the stairs.


Back on for a tenth of a mile. Pulled toddler off stairs, again.


Just over a quarter mile -- fast! Back off to demonstrate -- again -- the jack-knife. And a straddle jump. And re-start the popper "thingy." And retrieve the toddler's water bottle from under the couch.


On again for a mile. Nice and easy. Off to console crying toddler.


Back on at a walking pace, while holding toddler (cool-down and weight training!). Hopped off when toddler started squirming, wanting to play again with his big brother.


I did not get back on. After my "cool-down" I was more worn out than my almost 4 mile run would suggest.

That, my friends, is how treadmill running goes for the Happy Runner these days. Run, run, jump on the trampoline, run, run. Yup. That's life with a toddler.

Fingers crossed for an outdoor run today!

~ Felice

You call that a run?!?

My boys were cooperating with me on Tuesday so I DID get that run in. If you can call it that . . .

It started out with me feeding Niall and then speed-changing into some running clothes. I tossed back a sip of water, laced up my running shoes and brought the boys downstairs to the basement.

Then Niall needed a diaper change. So back upstairs we went. Once he was all clean, I put him on the floor next to the treadmill, hopped on, and started to run. Warm-up? What warm-up?

Conal played soccer, Niall laid peacefully and I ran. For about 2 miles.

Then there was a diaper explosion.

I hit the pause button, hopped off the 'mill and brought Niall upstairs to change him. I thought about calling it a run at that point and then shook my head at my folly. I was not giving up on the run. No, sir.

So, back downstairs we went. I put Niall back on the mat next to the 'mill and ran. For almost a half mile . . . until he started screaming. Since I was not giving up, I strapped on the Baby Bjorn, put him in and walked for a bit to calm him. Then, I started all over again.

Another mile. I was going well. Until Conal needed me SO MUCH because he had lost a hockey puck. I hopped off the teadmill, found the puck, and then hopped back on. Felt like I barely broke my stride.

I knew it was only a matter of time before Niall started fussing again so I ran fast, getting in another 2 miles before the boys lost it and I had to stop.

4.8 all together but I almost want to round up to 5, given all the extra curriculars I had to deal with!

But, yes. I do call that a run. At this point, I take what I can get :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Felice

PS: Don't miss my cranberry juice giveaway HERE and my Coolmax EcoMade socks giveaway HERE.

No stride

I couldn't find my stride last night on the treadmill. No matter what I did -- speed up, slow down -- I couldn't get it right. My breathing was off, my legs were funky. In the end, I managed only 3.5 not-so-great miles before calling it quits.

The best part of the run is that I figured out that time on the treadmill goes much faster when you are listening to good music. Why it has taken me all these years to learn this, I have no idea. Now I know. And knowing is half the battle, right?

Eh, big deal. Some runs aren't great. That's just the way it is. Fortunately, there's always tomorrow. In my case, today. I'll get it today. I'm up, I'm at 'em, I've got a busy day ahead. A run will be in there and it will be better than yesterday's run because I say so!

Hope you all have a great day on tap!

~ Felice

PS: Don't forget about my cereal giveaway!

The wrong decision.

OK, so, I've been talking about how I'm getting tough this year and running outside. All winter. In the cold. Like a Toughie McTougherson.

And, um, well, I've been moderately tough. Until today. I made the wrong decision today. It was chilly this evening when Owen got home from work. And dark. And I was afraid that the hilly part of my neighborhood loop, the part that is notoriously icy in winter, would, in fact, be icy. So I decided to run on the treadmill.

All I have to say now is . . . why?!?! Why did I do such a silly thing? It stunk. My run just plain stunk. I couldn't find any sort of rhythm and every quarter mile felt like two miles and it was just all wrong. I ran 4.25 cruddy miles on the 'mill. Ugh.

I have no idea why I often have cruddy treadmill runs. Sometimes I can get a good pace going and enjoy my 'mill runs. But then I have these cruddy ones. And, for some reason, they are far cruddier than the cruddiest outdoor runs.

Chalk it up to making the wrong decision. I hadn't run on the 'mill in ages so I'd forgotten. I need to remind myself that a cold run is most likely better than a treadmill run. And I need to get some of those stabilicers or yaktrax or something so that I don't have to fear the ice.

I don't mean to be a treadmill downer today. Tomorrow maybe I'll hit the roads. Or, considering we're supposed to get a storm, maybe I'll run on the 'mill during the day and it will be better. We'll see!

~ Felice