The Heck With Humidity (ATM Training)

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Coco

I am so ready for fall weather, but the humidity is hanging around and prolonging summer running conditions. This week it seemed particularly bad. Even my early morning dog walks felt miserable. After walking for a mile in the oppressive humidity, I was glad to have the option of running on my treadmill in our cool basement.

(Fit Stanley on my treadmill!)

Even so, it was a rough week for motivation. I had to put in extra-long hours at work which robbed me of relaxation time and led me to skimp on sleep. Still, with the Army Ten Miler on my calendar, I stuck with my workout plan.

Monday: Strength Routine
I did my full strength routine, with a total plank time of 10:30 and three sets of 12-15 reps of different strength moves.

Tuesday: Hill Intervals (Level 5)
I did the hill interval program on my treadmill.  Out of 45 minutes, there is a 8 minute warm-up, 32 minutes of 1/1 hill/recovery intervals, and a 5 minute cool-down, followed by a 5 minute walking cool-down.

Wednesday: Strength Routine
I did the same strength routine as Monday.

Thursday: Treadmill Tempo Run (Level 3)
I chose the random program on my treadmill for 45 minutes (plus the 5 minute walking cool down). After a few minutes warming up, I ran @ 6.3 mph, and covered 4.5 miles running.

Friday: Planks & Yoga
I decided to give my legs a break before my long run, so I did my plank routine and then the Forward Bends program on my Rodney Yee DVD.

Saturday: 8 Mile Run
I ad-libbed a new 8 mile route around my neighborhood, and managed to cover 8.15 hilly miles in about 1 hour and 20 minutes (an average 9:40 min/mile pace). The humidity wasn’t quite as oppressive as it had been earlier in the week, but there was no cool crispness in the air.

It looks like our weather is going to get better this week.


But I’m in San Antonio at a conference.

I guess I’ll be trying out the hotel gym!

Has your weather changed yet?

Posted in Fitness, Training Log | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Doing The Word Of God

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Coco

As Christians, we are taught the importance of listening to and learning the Word of God.

Psalm 119 speaks of the joy of writing God’s laws in our hearts:

I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I rejoice in following your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.

But Jesus showed us that doing the Word of God is just as important. He took time from teaching his disciples and preaching to the crowds to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and feed the hungry.

The Book of James sums it up this way:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

God counts on us to do His Word. To be the hands that help, the ears that listen, the shoulders that share burdens. To help those who can’t help themselves. To love one another.  

James ends his writing with this sentence:

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

We need to listen to God’s Word. We need to learn God’s Word. But we also need to do God’s Word.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Doing The Word Of God

Thirsty Thursday: Pumpkin Beers

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Coco

Rustico restaurant is one of my favorite places to eat and drink.  They have an interesting menu, but I always end up getting the same main course:

Rustico Pizza

Roasted mushroom, spinach and goat cheese pizza on a gluten-free chickpea crust.

They have a huge selection of beers, including plenty of the strong, dark beers that I like best. Since I have a low tolerance and a penchant for beers with a high alcohol content, I really like that they offer 3-4 ounce “taste” sizes of their draft selections. That way I can try more than one beer without passing out at the table.

Last weekend I was surprised to see “pumpkin” beers on the menu, but I guess the “season” for seasonal beers ends with the actual holiday. I hope these beers don’t disappear after Halloween, but stay on the menu at least through Thanksgiving.

I started with the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale

A full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices.

Then I tried Pumking from the Southern Tier Brewing Company.

Pumking

NOSE: Pumpkin, pie spices, buttery crust, vanilla, roasted pecans
FLAVOR: Malty sweetness, vanilla, clove, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, pie crust

After a few slices of pizza, I decided I could taste one more, the Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

Schafly Pumpkin Ale

Our Pumpkin Ale blends the spices of the harvest with full-bodied sweetness for a beer that tastes like pumpkin pie. Pounds of pumpkin form a malty foundation that supports the fall flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.

My husband liked the Pumking the best, but I couldn’t pick a favorite. They all were yummy!

Thanks to Janine for hosting the Thirsty Thursday Drink Up Link Up on her blog (The Purple Giraffe), and giving me a reason to taste all of the pumpkin beers on the Rustico draft menu!

Posted in Food | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Venus, Mars & My Empty Nest (Different Words Wednesday)

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Coco

Even before my son went to college, I knew he would not be as communicative as my daughter, but their responses to my “how are classes going?” text really drove home their Venus-Mars differences.

Texting with my daughter:

20120901-103349.jpg

Texting with my son:

 

 

 

 ~sigh~

Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

September Slog (A Sucky Run)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Coco

I wish I had kicked off September with a kick-ass run. It would have been a great way to set the tone for a month that should bring some nice running weather. But that’s not the way it happened.

I went to bed early and was ready to get up when my alarm went off at 6:00 on Saturday, but I did not have any energy as I pulled on my running top and squeezed into my compression shorts. When the humidity hit me as I opened the door to take my dog out, I knew it was going to be a rough run.

https://twitter.com/Got2Run4Me/status/241847298676633600

I ate my usual pre-run breakfast (a Kashi multigrain waffle with a drizzle of syrup), filled my water bottle with ice and Gatorade, and headed out. Since I knew I was going to be slow anyway, I decided on a hilly neighborhood route and stretched it out to 9 miles.

I never felt miserable, but I never felt good. As I hit mile 5, I thought that I could easily stop right then and crawl back into bed–or stretch out on the cool basement floor under a fan. Instead of motivating myself with thoughts of Starbucks, I visualized taking an ice bath when I got home. As I rounded the last corner, I had my plan:

      • start coffee maker
      • foam roll and stretch
      • run cold water in bath tub
      • fill travel coffee mug and carry full ice maker bucket upstairs

20120901-131928.jpgI’m not sure I had enough ice for the full effect, but it felt good–mMaybe the fact that it felt good means that I definitely did not have enough ice?

I don’t usually drain my water bottle, but I sucked down the last drop.
20120901-131920.jpg

My Garmin told me just how slow I was. I had a few sub-10 minute miles, but this 10:03 average shows that I had more miles that were significantly over 10 minutes. (I usually average in the 9:30 – 9:45 range.)

I don’t regret this run. I’m glad I got the miles in, and maybe this slow run was what I needed for a change–at least my ITB felt OK and I didn’t get any new injuries.

How was your first September run?

 

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments