August 16, 2013 by Darlene

TGIF and Fotos

School starts Monday. This week has been about 1L orientation and last minute everything. PHEW!

I did my first ONE MINUTE PLANK today! Woo Hoo!

I have run 3 times since Sunday… nothing amazing but it is done.

Today our marina has a “Customer Appreciation Party” but I am at work 😦

Tomorrow, my tennis friends are having a River House party. I am working 😦

Enough whining…

Here are 5 photos that make me smile:

Ducks in Washington Park pond – white one among the dark ones.

Waterlilies on the Schroon River – just starting to bloom in July.

blue skies on Lake George. Helicopter near the Sagamore Hotel giving someone a tour.

at the end of the Delmar Rail Trail. Taking a slide and a rest.

“Large” flower on the Corning bike path

Happy Running! Have a great weekend!

August 13, 2013 by Darlene

Am I Training?

Last Week:

Monday – another day off – breakfast at the race track and then back to the lake

Tuesday – 3 miles after work in the park

Wednesday – ~~rest – walk – yoga?~~ 2 miles on the track

Thursday – ~~3 miles~~ rest
Friday – rest ~~– walk~~
Saturday – 5 miles on the bike path

Sunday – rest ~~– walk~~ floating around the lake

This Week:

Monday – 4 miles after work
Tuesday – walk or tennis?
Wednesday – 3 miles after work and/or yoga?
Thursday – 3 miles after work
Friday – rest – walk
Saturday – proctor MPREs, 6 miles, lake, river
Sunday – tennis, friends at the river

Back to the question- AM I TRAINING?

I really haven’t decided.

My friend remarked that I am “very Zen.” This what I posted on Facebook:

I have realized a few things: injuries are a part of life, recovery gets more difficult with each one but you just keep moving even if it is at a slower pace.

That being said, my runs are VERY VERY SLOW! My fitness level is zilch. My motivation is lacking. But I keep plodding along. I will not quit because starting over is so painful.

Some days I say: I WILL RUN 13.1 MILES on OCTOBER 13 if it kills me.

Other days, I say: Who needs the pressure of having to do long runs each week. I have run 6 half marathons. I have proved to myself that I can. My friends are already impressed. I will just run for fun and compete in 5Ks.

Right now, I am keeping things open.

The answer is — I AM SORTA TRAINING. SORTA MAYBE. MAYBE NOT.

Happy Running! Are you training?

August 10, 2013 by Darlene

Galloway or Not?

From what I have read, the Galloway method is a combination of running and walking but you run for a set amount of time then you walk for a set amount of time and then you repeat this cycle until you finish your run or race. The exact length of your run interval versus your walk depends on your goal pace.

I have never tried it. I always run and then walk when I am tired. I run down the hills and I walk up the hills or whatever gets me to the end.

I had not run on Thursday because I ran Tues and Wed and then Friday it was raining.

Saturday, I did not feel like running… at all. My hubby went up to the lake and I stayed home to do housework and errands and supposedly run.

After much procrastinating, I headed to Colonie Town Park. It is a bike trail and I hadn’t run on it since winter. And the weather was perfect – sunny, low humidity, slight breeze.

I decided to try the Galloway and use 4:1 ratio. That is recommended for a 9 minute pace which is overly ambitious but what the hell.

I did it for 2.5 miles and then stopped at my car for water.

views from the first half

Then I headed in the other direction and ran my usual run for awhile, walk, run some more, walk, etc. for 2.5 more miles.

views from the second half

Believe it or not, my pace was exactly the same!

Very slow both ways…but to be fair, I didn’t pause when I stopped to take photos or put my iPhone back in my spibelt.

I think It would make more of a difference on a long run because you walk more at the end when you are tired and I would change to 3:1 ratio. Either way, you either lose time at the beginning when you walk when you don’t need to or at the end when you walk because you are tired.

Another reason I chose this place to run is because it is near a great ice cream place… the petunias are awesome too.

reward for 5 miles done!

Sunday was another perfect weather day and of course, I HAD to go up to the lake.

my hubby was already there waiting

We decided to go to Red Rock Bay and tie our boat together with other friends’ boats.

here comes one of our friends’ Pontoon boat

Most of the day was spent floating around in the water.

yup, that’s me in the big chair

We ended the day with a barbecue on one of the islands.

hot dogs and hamburgers with a view

Happy Running! Anyone have an opinion on Galloway?

August 6, 2013 by Darlene

Breakfast with the Horses, Lake George and Running

Yesterday I took the day off from work to have my annual breakfast at the Saratoga Race Track with a former co-worker. We have been doing this every summer for 29 years. The food and the prices have changed (now it’s a buffet) but it is always a fun time.

Molly and her 18 year old daughter Amanda

while you’re eating, you watch the horses training

1st picture taken in 29 years

this is a famous jockey warming up

My friend always like to stop and taste the spring water (which most think is gross tasting)

Since Saratoga is more than half way to the marina and the weather was perfect, I continued north. My hubby was in our boat waiting.

view of Red Rock Bay – 1st time this summer here. The lake is so calm on a Monday.

this used to be our favorite dock – met some nice people from NJ next to us who have a similiar boat

a view and a good book 🙂

It would have been perfect weather to run but I ran on Sunday and just didn’t bring my running gear. At the end of the day, I kinda regretted it since my hubby & I drove two separate cars.

Instead, I decided to run after work today. I chose Washington Park for its scenic value. I usually run there during the spring to view the tulips but it is pretty in the summer, as well.

the lake in the park

with ducks in various colors

a bee on a sunflower

lots of annual gardens

It wasn’t a good run but it was a 3.5 mile run with lots of walking – too much walking. My foot felt fine (different shoes & socks cured the blister.) But I am lethargic and can’t get it back.

I guess I’ll keep trying.

Happy Running!

August 5, 2013 by Darlene

Getting Back on Track (Again)

LAST WEEK:

Monday – rest (sore shin)
Tuesday – rest (sore shin)
Wednesday – 3 2 miles on the track after work
Thursday – rest (ice cream social at work)
Friday – 5 miles: 3 miles running + 2 miles walking during my day off

on the Corning bike path along the Hudson R.

Saturday – rest (on the lake)
Sunday – ~~rest~~ 4 ugly miles & a blister

on the Nisky bike path along the Mohawk R.

Taking it slow…have to make sure that I do not get injured AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The shin feel fine. The quads are OK too. Now if only I can get some stamina back and be able to run more than 1/2 mile without stopping to walk. And glad I tried the new compression socks before a race — polka dot material gave me a blister on the inside of the left foot – ouch! (It’s always something!)

THIS WEEK:

Monday – another day off 🙂 – breakfast at the race track and then maybe back to the lake
Tuesday – 3 miles
Wednesday – rest – walk – yoga?
Thursday – 3 miles
Friday – rest – walk
Saturday – 5 miles
Sunday – rest – walk

Would love to do a 10k on Saturday…..but it is a hilly one!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Running! What you training for? How is it going?

August 4, 2013 by Darlene

Running with Apps

Awhile back I posted about iPhone running apps:

Here are the 10 iPhone apps recommended in Jessica Clark’s post. Please go to the post directly for more details on each app.

Here are a few more that I have heard of:

And some more that I have found:

Since that post, I actually decided to try some of them myself. I am not using my Garmin because I don’t care about pace and just want to slowly ease into running.

Runkeeper – this one is free and I kinda like it. It is is easy to set up. It calls out your distance and pace. You can set goals and you can save a route.

CruiseControl – this one costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I wouldn’t have bought it.) This app pulls in all the music on your iphone according to cadence. You can set your targeted cadence and pace. It then adjusts the music as you run. Personally, this is a waste on me. I don’t choose my music according to cadence especially since I am in recovery mode. I choose music that I like. It has to have a catchy tune and a good beat to run with.

Zombies, Run! – this one also costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I won’t have bought it.) This one integrates missions with your music. It tracks your distance and pace. It is kinda cute. Although I was being chased by a zombie, when I was tired, it didn’t really motivate me to run faster. But that may be just me. If it were free, for a change of pace, I would use it.

Runtastic – there is a free version, I have Runtastic Pro that I got free. The Pro version offers voice feedback , auto pause and intervals. The free version has GPS tracking, measures time, distance and pace, shows a map of your run as well as charts for speed and elevation. I didn’t find it as intuitive as Runkeeper. (I had a hard time even fingering out how to end my workout and didn’t do it. OOPS.)

WalkJogRun – this one cost $4.99. I have it. I am not sure if I bought it or got it for free. This app claims to be the most accurate regarding distance. it allows you to find nearby routes. It tracks your time, distance and pace per lap. It also offers FREE training plans for all distances and all levels. (The plans are worth the cost of the app.)

All the apps above are easy to set up, link to your music and work with the GPS function on your iPhone. You also have the ability to share your runs on Facebook and Twitter, if you desire.

However, with all the iPhone apps, the GPS function is not as accurate as a Garmin GPS. So if you are serious about your pace and split times, you need to use a Garmin. Also using the GPS on the phone wears down the battery. I don’t think it would last on a long run. Plus, I rather have a charged phone if I am out running alone than a GPS.

So probably I’ll use the apps from time to time but when I race or train seriously, I’ll be back to my ipod for music, my iphone for communication & photos and my Garmin for distance and pace.

Happy Running! Do you use apps? If so, which one(s)?

August 3, 2013 by Darlene

I Need an August Race

Well, I don’t need one but I’d like one.

Even with my injuries, I have been able to run at least one race each month.

I am not physically ready for a long one or a hilly one. I also have to work Aug 17. And I am trying to run longer on the weekend. So that really limits things.

Camp Chingachgook 10K in 2012

Aug 3 – Firefly 5K – sold out
Aug 4 – Race the Train (8.4 mi)- NEXT YEAR, too long & hilly for this year
Aug 9 – Schenectady ARC 5k ??
Aug 10 – Camp Chingachgook 10K – NEXT YEAR, too long & hilly for this year
Aug 17 – Jailhouse Rock 5K – NEXT YEAR, have to work
Aug 24 – 5K Run & Peach Festival in Stillwater ??
Aug 31 – Run for the Horses 5K in Saratoga ??
Aug 31 – AIM for Seva 5K in Colonie??

Jailhouse Rock 5K in 2012

Happy Running! Do you run a race every month?

August 2, 2013 by Darlene

Foto Friday: My First Free Race Photos

All the races that I have run, you’ve had to buy the race photos. And they’re expensive. I only have paid money for them if it were a big race and they came out well (such as for my first and last half marathon.)

Other times, I take my own or screen capture the proofs.

The Biggest Loser 5K race this past Sunday wasn’t even a race for me. But I ran whenever I saw a photographer and they took quite a few pics AND they were free to download.

Here are some of them:

I never would buy any of these but I like critiquing my stride…my fat thighs, etc.

Happy Running! Do you often get free race photos or do you buy them?

August 1, 2013 by Darlene

July – Gettin Better All the Time…

I usually hate to rush the summer. But this year, the faster the time goes, the sooner I am running & racing again!!

July Goals:

Continue to heal the broken foot – YES but this is really out of my control.
Follow doctor’s orders and don’t overdo – YES for the most part.
Ditch the crutches – YES but I really did this last month.
Wear 2 of the same shoes – YES!

wore 2 running shoes all month

even wore sandals

Walk – Yes, started with the treadmill, then the track, then the road…

Bike – YES, started with the stationary bike and then ended with a regular bike
Run a little (yes, I am being optimistic) – YES, 1 mile, then 2 miles, then 3 miles… 🙂