WHEN WORKOUTS DON'T WORK OUT...

 

 

Heidi

 

OK, so I am training for this little thing called the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  It is in mid September and the longest run I have done so far is 10 miles...2 weeks ago.  I am nursing a hip/leg issue right now which is making my runs a bit difficult.  Let me add, this will be my first half.

 

I ran 6 miles last Thursday.  It was a glorious, no humidity, low heat morning.  If my leg wasn't hurting, I could have run forever.  (Or at least 10 miles.)  Then Thursday night I hopped in my friend's car and we drove from Pennsylvania to Orlando, Florida with a 5 year old.  I had every intention of running while there but instead of being Grumpy, I was a bit Sleepy and couldn't drag myself out of bed before 8 am.  The weather there was not so glorious.  Totally hot and humid.  No way was I running that late in the morning.  So there went my idea of running on nice, flat ground. 

 

I flew home yesterday and had every intention of running this morning.  It was cool with no humidity.  But again I was Sleepy.  Plus for whatever reason, my hip and leg were killing me.  I have no idea why because it wasn't like I ran while in Florida.  While I was debating my run vs. sleep this morning, (sleep won, by the way) I decided I would ride my bike with Kristen tonight instead.  BUT NO!!!!!  My husband made an appointment for me to get my blood drawn for our new life insurance policy.  (Kristen could only ride between 4 and 6 and this lady was coming at 5.  UGGHH.)  So I guess I was back to running instead.   I might add this would be the second attempt at this blood thing.  I am a very hard stick to say the least.  Which leads me to this horror story...

 

I really was going to run after the blood incident.   I WAS!!   I was just too weak.  See, while my blood lady was changing the vile, the damn needle came out of my arm and blood went everywhere.  How could I possibly run after seeing that?  I mean really, blood all over my kitchen table.  MY BLOOD!!!!!!  So instead of running or biking with Kristen, I took my two sons and dog to get ice cream.  I am pretty sure that made the blood incident all better.  Not sure how it will help me get to 13.1 miles in September, however.  Workout foiled again. 

 

So tomorrow I shall get up at 5:30 and try again.  To run that is.  Hopefully.  Yes (Kristen) it will be almost a week since I last worked out or even ran.  The good thing about me is I can go with the blood  flow.  Can't workout today??  No problem.  I will do double tomorrow.  Not sure when I will get my long run in this week but hey, I still have a few weeks left.  I am sure my coach  friend, Kristen will wake me up to get it done...

 

 

 

Maybe I should Run Happy and not Run Sleepy...





Week in Review

Kristen

My kids were traveling most of the week so I had no reason not to run.  Happily, I hit 500 miles for the year this week!  I also ran 5 times which I never ever do, so that's great too.

Monday:

Bike 13 miles with Heidi

Tuesday:

Run 5 miles at 9:09 pace

Wednesday:

Run 6 miles:  warm-up mile, 3 hill repeats, cool down mile, 9:33 pace

Thursday:

6 miles-tempo run-8:58 pace

Friday:

5 miles:  warm up mile, 8x400 400 recovery-8:33 pace

Saturday:

Rest

Sunday:

10.5 miles-9:33 pace

So overall I ran 32.5 miles, which is great for me.  Hopefully, I can keep it up next week!  Now off to unpack the kids and have a nice relaxing Sunday evening.

Why I Run

 

Heidi

 

 

I started running for two reasons.  The first one is because I saw my friend Jackie do her first Triathlon five years ago.  I decided then I wanted to do one.   I swam year round my whole childhood, so that was no big deal.  I could ride a bike, so that wasn't an issue.  Running??  I would need some serious training to be able to run a 5k.  Not to mention, I was overweight and had not worked out seriously in years. 

 

So fast forward to January 2012....I started working out with my good friends Kristen and Jackie.  One day in February we all were on the indoor track at the local YMCA and they made me run.  Yes I said "made."  Intervals of course because I couldn't do more than a small lap without walking (and huffing and puffing).  Then Kristen had the great idea to sign up for our first race....The Kennett Run....a 5k in May 2012.  What could go wrong??  So I trained and I walked/ran it.  I was slow, but I finished....and not last. (I also signed my three children up to run it with me.)

 

I was hooked.  I hated every second of it while doing it.  When I was finished, I had the most amazing feeling.  I totally understood that Runner's High.  Since then I have run several races including my first Sprint Triathlon in June 2013.  Mission accomplished.  Now I have so many more races I want to do.  So the second reason I run is because my good friends Kristen and Jackie "made" me run.  I should thank them everyday for giving me this gift!! 

 

 

 



 

Heidi with her children getting ready to run the Kennett Run 5k 2012...





Why I Run

Kristen

I am married to a runner so people assume that I as well have always been a runner.  This is not true.  What is true is that I run to have a hobby with my husband.  We never run together, mind you, I am much too slow for that.  But we do have a common denominator after 15 years of marriage. 

The other reason I run is purely selfish.  It allows me to eat whatever I want to eat.  Ice-cream every day?  Sure.  Donuts at breakfast with the kids?  Why not.  Don't get me wrong-it's not all sugar, but it makes the middle age years a lot easier to handle. 

And finally, as my running has slowly improved I find that I actually enjoy it.  I enjoy it much more in the summer months when I wake with the birds and am home and drinking coffee by 6:30.  There is a peacefulness to starting your day with the sun.  There is a calmness to that part of the day-you know that in most of the houses you pass people will be sleeping for hours.  I for one am ahead of the game!