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New Week…New Month…New Goals

Recap of October:
 Goals – 60 miles,  a 5K race & a PR , a 10 K race – I ran 68.5 miles (the most ever in a month!!). I ran 2 5k races, no PR but 29:10 (my 2nd lowest time!!).  I signed up & trained for a 10K but was too sick to run it.  I won 2 giveaways!

Recap of  last week:
My weekly goal was 18 miles. I did 18 miles!

This week’s schedule:
Mon – tennis after work
Fri eve – Party in LG
Sun – volunteer at 15k race, mah jongg dinner

This week’s running:
Tues– 4 miles after work
Wed- 3  miles after work 
Thurs – 4 miles after work
Sat –  9  miles

Weekly Running Goal = 20 miles
November Monthly Running Goal = 65 miles, a 5k race, a PR
Yearly Running Goal = 300 miles ( I passed it, I even passed 500 – New Goal is 600)
 
Happy Running!
 
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Happy Halloween

This was a fun weekend. Saturday night, my hubby & I went a party in Lake George. I was a witch & he was a judge.

me

my hubby

at the party

our friends Ed & Kathi

our friend Jim

This morning, we went out to breakfast with our friends and then headed home.  I had promised to take my mentee, Amanda, her boyfriend & her son Richard out trick or treating.  Richard was Iron Man.  He was so CUTE!!

Eichard, Amanda & Matt

Richard

I took them to our friends in Slingerlands who had their great niece & nephew coming over and because their neighborhodd is popular for treat or treaters.  We all had dinner afterwards.  A good time was had by all.

Happy Running.  Hope you had a great day!

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Virtual Pink Dress Run

sponsored by Dutch Girl Gets Healthy :

As October is breast cancer awareness month I think it is a good idea to do a virtual run together for Pink Ribbon.

The “rules” are simple:

  • Run on Saturday October 30 or Sunday 31.
  • The distance is up to you.
  • It doesn’t have to be a race, a training counts too.
  • Mention on your blog or in a comment on my blog when you ran, the distance you ran and the time you ran.

And the most important rule: Wear something pink and post a picture of you in your running outfit.

and I did (see photo below) wear pink (pink skirt, pink socks, pink running shoes, pink RoadId wristband, pink  Nathan’s belt, pink sweatband) on my 8 mile RUN on October 30.

Running in pink

Happy Running and thanks to Fran for the challenge.

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The Dunkin Run

Nope, it’s not a race report.  I didn’t do the Dunkin Run 5k/10k in September (which used to be the Bruegger’s Bagel Run).

It was a cool fall afternoon, sunny when I started. I’m still debating my distance running future so on the weekend I’m trying to do a long run, if possible. Today was 8 miles…

At around 3.5 miles, there was a Dunkin Donuts so I stopped and bought a bottle of water, a French toast Bagel twist (yum) and a pumpkin donut hole.  I’ll call it my re-fueling stop.

I continued to the shopping plaza a 1/2 mile away and then turned around and headed home. It was cloudy most of the way, drizzled for a while and then the sun came back out.

I tried to look periodically at my Nike+ to check my times. I wish I had had a Garmin now (The Garmin 205 was ion sale at Amazon for $98 the other day & I hesitated & missed it.)

Stats:
5k = 31
10k =1:04
8 mi=1:23

All in all, I felt great.  I only walked at the hill at mile 7.

Now I have have to get ready to go to a Halloween party in Lake George.

Happy Running, Happy Halloween & Good Luck to all those running in the Marine Corp Marathon esp Amanda!

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3 Things Thursday

  1. Last year, I ran approximately 209 miles.  This year, my goal was 300 miles.  I then upped it to 500 miles.  I just realized that I already surpassed my new goal!  Should I go for 600?? YES!!!

     2. Look what I just won:

Thanks Forward Foot Strides!

3. This is the longest week ever…is it only Thursday??

Happy Running!

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Ice Cream & Night Running

  1. I love ice cream.  I particularly like soft ice cream.  I have it when ever I can. That’s about once a week in the summertime until they don’t sell it any more.  It’s not so bad because I just order a small cone and that’s it. However, when I recently went grocery shopping, I bought 2 pints of Starbucks ice cream.  You guessed it. Last night when I came home after running, I ATE THE WHOLE THING!!! That’s 840 calories. Wouldn’t it have been nice if I ran a half marathon and burned that many? Nope, my iPod said I burned 370 calories. On the bright side, I could have eaten the whole pint of ice cream while watching TV.
  2. It gets dark so fast.  I got home from work and decided to go for a run.  Before I knew it, it was getting dark.  It was almost 70 degrees & a great evening for a run so I put on a bright yellow shirt & a white hat and off I went.  My neighborhood has no lights but it is pretty safe and many of the houses have their lights on.  The road to the next neighborhood is very dark…so dark that you are either blinded by the headlights coming at you or you can’t see where you are running. I quickly entered the next neighborhood and planned to return the way I came.  I must have turned left instead of right or something and it was too dark to read the street signs.  Anyway, I made it out but not the way I entered and my 3 mile run turned into 4 miles.  It felt great. I enjoyed the warm air.  I think I should probably buy a headlamp and reflective clothing if I want to run outdoors at night.  Or there’s always the dreaded treadmill!!

Happy Running!

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Volunteering

This is a week of firsts:

  • 1st DNF – actually did not start
  • 1st EKG
  • 1st Cat Scan
  • 1st 7 mile run
  • 1st Volunteer Assignment

Yep, I will be volunteering at the 15k Stockadeathon in Schenectady on Nov. 7.  If you are racing, I will be at the finish line pulling off those chips!

As much as I would like to be running in this race, I still have not raced in a 10K so I don’t think it would be wise to try a 15K – at least not yet!!

My blood pressure has been normal, my headache is gone but I still have a stiff neck.  I played tennis last evening and felt fine.  I plan to run after work today!! The weather has been crazy.  Today it’s supposed to be 70 degrees!

I’m still contemplating my racing future….there’s are a few 5ks coming up on Saturdays (Oct 30, Nov 6, Dec 4).  I could sign up for them.  But then again, I’m trying to run short distances during the week and a longer run on Saturday just in case…you know what?!

For now, I’m a volunteer!!

Happy Running!

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Monday Goals

Recap of  last week:
My weekly goal was 17 miles. I did 16.
10K Race – too sick to do it! 😦

This week’s schedule:
Mon – tennis after work
Wed – dinner with a friend
Fri – mah jongg after work
Sat – eve. halloween party
Sun – Lake George am.

This week’s running:
Tues– 4 miles after work
Wed- 3  miles before work 
Thurs – 4 miles after work
Sat –  7  miles
Weekly Running Goal = 18 miles
October Monthly Running Goal = 60 miles
Yearly Running Goal = 300 miles ( I passed it – can I make 500?)

Happy Running!

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The Virtual Great Pumpkin Challenge

me starting my virtual race

I got up, took my blood pressure and it was perfect so I decided I would run yesterday’s race – at least the 5k.  Unfortunately it was raining. Anyway, my hubby said that I was nuts and he wasn’t gonna pick me up off the pavment.

When it did stop in the afternoon, my hubby left to play tennis & I set out on my virtual race (wearing the race shirt)  & to the drug store to pick up 2 prescriptions.

I guessed that to the pharmacy & back would be a 10k. Actually it was 3.5 miles so I ended up doing 7 miles.

Stats:

lst 5k – 31:20
2nd 5k – 34:55
10K – 1:06:15
7 miles – 1:15:56

As you can tell, I ran the first 5k and walked a lot during the 2nd.  I didn’t stop the clock waiting for lights to cross streets but did stop for 10 minutes in CVS (and stopped the clock).

Still sad that I missed the opportunity to run a 10k…I probably shouldn’t have waited so long since the running season is limited from now til next spring.

Happy Running! Hope everyone had a good racing weekend!

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Great Pumpkin Challenge 10K Race That Wasn’t

  

This was supposed to be my first 10k!!!!!!!!!!!

I signed up months ago so I would be motivated to train for it… However, 5k races & boating got in the way so I did what I could. 

I was tempted to switch to the 5k but my friend Mary after she finished her half marathon said she would sign up and would pace me.  I still wasn’t convinced but then 3 of the women in the beginning runners group (they did their 1st 5k in June) signed up.

I was too embarrassed to back out. 

I wasn’t afraid that I couldn’t do it since I ran my first 5k after only running 1 mile without stopping. I was nervous that I would push myself and get injured –that  bump knee & those old age aches & pains.

Well, everyone said I could do it and my friend Mary promised to drag me through it.

It was COLD in the 30’s. I couldn’t decide what to wear but I opted for shorts and long sleeves. I would wear sweats until the race began. My hubby had picked up my race packet yesterday so I didn’t have to arrive too early.

This is where the bad part starts. 

People had been dropping like flies at the office but not me, I said!! I have my first 10k.  I started feeling lousy Thurs eve.  Sore throat.  All day Friday, I had a headache.  I didn’t sleep much Fri eve and I felt worse.  When I got up on Sat, I actually felt a little better and was very excited to get to the race.

My friend Mary called and we agreed to meet.  I parked my car and waited through 3 shuttles to get to the start which was about a mile away. When I got there I immediately bumped into 2 friends from the running group.

All of a sudden, I got this really intense HEADACHE! I mean I couldn’t move.  I wanted to start the race but I couldn’t. I called my hubby & cried on the phone to come get me.  The shuttle driver was nice enough to take me back to my car.

Depressed about the race, I rested on the couch for the rest of the day & felt a little better but then the pain started to come back so my hubby took me to the doctor.  He gave me a shot & the pain went away but the doc was very concerned that my blood pressure was high and ordered me to the ER. 

My blood pressure got even higher there  -197/109.  They did all kinds of tests – blood work, EKG, Cat Scan and ALL WERE NEGATIVE!!! They gave me something to lower my blood pressure and sent me home (at 3am).

Today I took my blood pressure and it’s 120/80.  I can’t wait to run again.

Yesterday I was so DISAPPOINTED about the race!  Today I’m just happy to be healthy…There will be other races!!

Happy Running!