A List Post: Things And Stuff

Blogging is difficult when it's nice out. It's clearly meant for evenings in the summer when it's overwhelmingly hot, the mosquitos are ravenous and the a/c is blasting.


So you're getting a half-a'd post, but with pictures!


Revelation: thinking about your arms getting smaller will not, in fact, make them smaller. You actually have to, you know, do stuff.


Chiropractors can be good guys. Mine are (there are now two sharing the pleasure of strategically cracking my back) are working wonders on me. My back is straight, which means my hips are straight, which means my legs are even, which means I'm not abusing my legs and my shins are happy. If you need a recommendation for one, I've got one.


I love spring. In case you didn't know.


I got a new job! Well, an old job back, but with new and multiplied appreciation.


We missed my Runniversary! As of March 1, I've been running for 2 years! 2 years?! How'd that happen? Happy Runniversary to me!


We also missed hitting 10,000 page views on that ticker over there on the right (look over and up a bit). Whee 10,000!


I did interval training to other for my running workout. Not Ye Olde 5:90 intervals of jogging and walking. Nope.


Here's the app-generated Facebook status update I posted tonight:
Just finished an interval training workout.
Walked for a few minutes.
10:00 jog/warmup
0:30: High
1:30: Low
Repeat 8 times
5:00 jog/cool down
Walked for a few minutes.
Total time: 46:00 + a few minutes.


Ps, if you haven't added me on faceboook, please do! More to Love Running on Facebook.


Picture time!! From tonight's workout.

The pond at the TQL running path. Makes for a nice view every lap.

The interstate screaming by right next to the lake. Talk about having an audience while you're running.

Bonafide sweat drops in front of my bench after my workout. As in dripping from my face...rapidly. it's fun to be warm after running instead of freezing.

See? Sweaty face! Threatening nose-sweat drop, sweat 'stache and sweat eyebrows.

Drip!

Obligatory shoe-and-fountain shot.

Sunset over Lake TQL

Good workout. Challenging and easy all at once. Definitely a repeat. Oh, and it cracks me up that a 10-minute jog is now my warmup. That shh cray.


And with that, this post is complete. So much for half-a'd. I'm such an overachiever.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

DST FTW!

Happy Daylight Saving Time, everyone!

I commemorates this momentous occasion with a fabulous 3-mile jaunt at Lunken this morning with Caitlin. It was her first time running there--and her first time running in 2 weeks--and she kicked my butt. Well, at least for miles 3 and 3. :)

I started at quite a speedy clip, but dragged at the end. I could feel the longer stride helping during that first mile.

I could also feel the 90-second walk breaks letting my leg muscles get cold. I'm starting to really believe that running straight through us less painful for the legs. Any thoughts in that? Seasoned and new runners alike...bring on the feedback.

Anyway, here are today's iMapMyRun screenshots:









There's a chance I'll get out for a walk later today. I just can't let this weather and extended daylight go to waste! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

It's official. The day Daylight Saving Time begins is now my favorite day of the year.


Found this lovely little poster on Wikipedia Commons this morning and, I have to say, I agree. Though I'm not sure what hoe I'm supposed to be getting ready. But the dancing clock is cuuuuute!

So, while I've found that several people disagree with me on this, I still believe Daylight Saving Time is the greatest thing ever. I can't wait until I can come home from work and not feel the pressure of beating the sunset. Running is easier during DST. The couch becomes less appealing and the park has more draw than ever before. 


I keep talking about how I'm ready to kick my running back into high gear, but I haven't done it yet. I think I've been unintentionally waiting for DST. And, you know, things have been busy during the week for me lately. 


But now...I'm READY! Bring it on!


Happy Spring Forward Day, everyone! And stop fretting about your "lost" hour of sleep. You only lose it for one day and your body will adjust in no time. 

A Speedy Revelation

Good run this evening!

I still don't fully trust the distance tracking on the iMapMyRun app, but I'll go with it just for fun. Why? Because it told me my first mile was completed in 12 minutes flat, that's why. Don't think I've done that before, accurately or not.

I did have a bit of a revelation, though. Sometimes--SOMETIMES--running faster makes for fewer leg cramps.

I started wondering about that while pounding away on the treadmill at the gym this winter. I noticed that my stride got longer as I got more comfortable on the machine. I also practiced the ever-so-slight forward lean I read about in Runner's World recently. (I think this is the article. Let me know if the link doesn't work; got it while I was on the iPhone.) The forward momentum seemed to help too.


Anyway...stride length. Something to think about.

Here are my stats and running path from this evening:








The weather was perfect tonight, which is wild considering I scraped snow from my car yesterday morning and frost from my windshield today. I love Cincinnati this winter. Love it.

I almost didn't finish before dark tonight, though. Good thing that's about to change! Why?

Because DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BEGINS SUNDAY NIGHT!!!!!

My favorite day of the year!

Okay, I'm done doing my back stretches...on my back on the floor. Typing on a phone while facing the ceiling is a little tough.

Nighty-night, y'all!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Quickie: Two Miles, Wish List, Time On My Back

I've been spending some extra time on my back lately. Yep. My chiropractor told me to. 

Looks like this. Only with a couch. And an iPhone for entertainment. And two cats circling your head for attention.

It helps my lower back issues, surprisingly, a lot. Just, you know, lying on the floor. It's shocking how difficult it is to remember to get low, get low, get low and get on the floor to stretch, though. And then to stay there, being still, for 10-15 minutes. But it works. I'm going to get low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low here shortly.


Oh, and it's the perfect opportunity to pick up my hand weights and do a little work on my arms. Whee multitasking!




NEXT


I have a new wish list item. Shoes and extra "girly supports" are always on the list, but I've decided I want a Garmin GPS watch. 

Garmin Forerunner 405CX. Image from Amazon.

After reading some of my friend Anne's latest blog posts about her half-marathon training and running the Disney Princess Half Marathon this past weekend (GOOD JOB, GIRL!), I've decided I want to be cool like her and get one. The GPS in these is much more accurate than the cell tower GPS of an iPhone or other smart phone.




NEXT


I totz just ran 2 miles tonight without stopping and kept my pace under 13 minutes/mile. Woohoo! Haven't done that in a long time! It felt really good. My legs didn't cramp up. My breathing was A-OK (probably because it was about 65 degrees and breezy...on February 29 in Cincinnati...no complaints). My back and hips felt fabulous (probably because of my fabulous adjustment just before the run...praise be to the chiropractor).


Good run. Fun run. Again, should have kept going. Here are the basic stats from MapMyRun.com:

LASTLY


Hey, go become a fan of my Facebook page, y'all! If you don't have a Facebook account (weirdos), you can still pop on and look at it at your leisure. 

facebook.com/moretoloverunning

Do it! All the cool kids are!


Oh, and in case you didn't know (because I didn't until recently), if you are a "fan" of a page like my More To Love Running page on Facebook, the owner of that page (me, in this case) can't see anything on your profile other than what is already public. 


For example, if you have Fort Knox-style security set up on your personal account (like yours truly), then if you go and "Like," oh, I don't know, New Kids on the Block, Danny, Donny, Joe-Jon-Jordan can't see your pictures from that NSYNC concert you went to.


So what I'm saying is, don't be scared of reverse stalking from More To Love Running's Facebook page.  =)


Cheers!

Back Outside And Data-Schmata

I ran outside tonight. I was so excited to get back outside to stretch the legs and feel the fresh air. Too bad it didn't feel as good as I wanted it to.

Blah.

Heavy legs, heavy stomach (Chinese food for lunch), shin attack. Hmm...not fun. It was one of those runs where I was asking myself the whole time, "Why do I do this again? I think I'll give up this running business now."

Turns out I didn't actually do too terribly bad, at least according to my iMapMyRun app. Not good, but not as bad as it felt. I ran the whole first mile, aside from a brief stop to tie my shoe. Second mile, some walk breaks.

Anyway, as mediocre as it felt and as "meh" as the results were, I just had a little fun playing with the stats on MapMyRun.com. (The iPhone app stores your run info on their site. You should definitely sign up. It's FREE!)

Mark it in your record books, I'm about to say something earth-shattering.

I've lately been enjoying--wait for it--data. Analyzing data.

What what?

Analyzing data. Me. A writer. Creative-type person. Numbers frighten me.

Somehow, though, when numbers are about me, I can dig it. For example, playing with the analytics tools on Blogger to see how many visitors I get and where my visits come from...fun. Looking at the data about my workouts. FUN! Especially since the data on MapMyRun.com includes maps and graphs that move and stuff. Ooh, shiny! 

Data. I'm slightly ashamed of myself. I know a few of my friends who will be ashamed of me to. 

Bah, anyway, here are some screenshots from my latest run on MapMyRun.com. Exciting stuff!

Oh! And before I forget, I went ahead and set up a fancy-pants Facebook account dedicated to More To Love Running! So, you should definitely go to the page and click "Like." It's a work in progress, but it'll likely be updated more frequently than the blog. And you know, pictures and stuff. Wheee! www.facebook.com/moretoloverunning

Quitter

I have a little extra time this morning so I thought I'd post an update.

I quit twice last night. I'm a quitter. But I consider one of those quittings to be a positive.

First, I quit the gym. I've had this planned since I started back in October. The gym was away for me to bridge the time between fall and spring. To get through the dark and cold months. Turns out the dark and cold months weren't so dark and cold this year. I can honestly say this is the best February I've ever had. I know it's technically still February and I risk jinxing myself by saying it, but it's true.

I didn't make a whole lot of progress at the gym. I think I half expected to see some improvement. And I did, a little bit. I saw my weight fluctuate slightly, enough to notice that it went down on the weeks that I worked the hardest and went up when I slacked. What a novel idea.

Though I don't think I am proved my endurance while I worked out at the gym, I did see the drastic difference in my endurance from the last time I belonged to a gym until now. I was also reunited with Step Aerobics. So much fun!

But now it's time to move on. March and Daylight Saving Time are right around the corner and I am so excited to get back outside and run. I miss it so much. Thanks to such a mild winter, I've been able to get out inexperienced those runs of little bit here and there, but I can't wait to get back into some kind of outside running schedule.

Speaking of Step Aerobics, I quit that last night too.

That was not a positive quitting experience.

I just lost my breath somewhere around the 30-minute mark, and despite a few breathers, I couldn't get my lungs to start functioning properly again. I would take a break ,try again, lose my breath, take a break, try again... my lungs seemed unwilling to pull in air.

I'm okay with it though. I had a good 30 minutes. Oh and my friend Amy did an amazing job on her second attempt at Step Aerobics. She looked like a pro.

In with that, I am out of time. Probably a little late actually. Oops!

Later gators!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone