Balls & Curves

Last night I met some co-workers after work to come up with a name for our Junior Achievement Bowling Team. We threw a couple of names around and eventually settled on: Britney Spares & the Federlanes. Pretty good, right? My original suggestion, Bowl Movement, was a little too lowbrow, but pretty funny, IMHO. After a drink I left to go meet Nick at Ian and Staci's house for Ian's 32nd birthday get-together, but I randomly ran into 2 of my summer kickball teammates and joined them for a quick beer. By the time I made to Ian and Staci's I was off to a good start. Anyway, Staci made a delicious Angel food cake, and I went 3/4 in my bracket games last night, so overall it was a good night. Tonight I'm hitting the gym for a hill workout, and then Nick and I will make dinner and watch our first Netflix dvd: Death at a Funeral.
Tomorrow is a FitCorp run- I believe it's 16 miles, but I'll have to check the schedule. I'm hoping it's warm enough to wear my new Race Ready shorts, but it doesn't look like it's going to break 40 degrees tomorrow... Have a good weekend!

Looking for a Good Run?

For the past 3 years, Nick and I have participated in Boston's Run to Remember. It's a 5 mile or half marathon course that starts & finishes on Seaport Blvd in South Boston. The half marathon course takes you through downtown and along the Charles, and is a fun and scenic run. The race is extremely well-organized. There's a running Expo the day before the race where you can pick up your numbers & t-shirts, as well as discounted running gear. Also, after the race there is a TON of food- cookies, bagels, chips, juice, fruit, etc. Not bad for $50. It's sponsored by the Boston Police Department and Boston Police Runner's Club and "benefits Kids at Risk Programs throughout the City of Boston." Anyway, the point of this post is that registration is open and usually fills up, so if you're interested in running a fun race for a good cause, you should register soon. The only bad part is that they take photos of you while you're crossing the finish line, and 13 miles later- no one looks good. (See below.)

TGIF

Last night I spent 30 minutes on what seemed to be a bastardized version of an elliptical machine. It was slim pickings for machines last night and I had to take what I could get. This thing looked like one of those old sketches that people might have drawn before there were airplanes (minus the crude wings attached to it.) Anyway, I tried to find it's name, but it just said "Cybex" across the front. I just did a Google search, and it turns out I was on the Total Body Arc trainer. It also turns out that I was wrong in thinking that I was on an elliptical machine, because there's an article explaining why the Body Arc "gait simulator" (you learn something new everyday) is FAR superior to the elliptical machine. Well, maybe I have a lot to learn about gait simulators, but I felt ridiculous on this contraption...

Tomorrow is 16 miles... yikes!

Wednesday Quarter Mile Repeats...

Anyone who watched tennis in the 90's knows the terrible sound that followed her swing...

I have the quarter mile repeat workout again tonight. It will be the same schedule that I posted last Wednesday. After everything was said and done, it wasn't that bad, but it's a long time to spend on a treadmill without getting kicked off during busy season. Last week was OK, so hopefully even more people have already forgotten about their resolutions. Last night I did another 30 minute hill workout at level 10. The workout was fine, but the guy next to me was basically the Monica Seles of the elliptical machine. That is, he was a grunter. He must have been at a very low (if any) resistance level, because his feet were flying around so quickly he looked like the Road Runner. Every once in a while it would just be too much for him and he'd run his hands quickly through his hair to shake out the sweat (gross) and make some terrible guttural sound. He got off the machine about halfway through my workout, but then didn't wipe his machine down... Come on, people! It's cold and flu season! Be courteous.

American Idol was pretty good last night- but I liked the San Antonio auditions better. Last night, my favorite was the single dad who's son was his mini-me.

Many Thanks!

I received donations from my friends Leah and Candice yesterday! Thank you!!! The total raised so far is $760.00- and thanks to my generous friends and family I am more than 25% to meeting my goal (and it's only January!)

Last night, I enjoyed my "rest day" and a fun dinner with Sharon. Tonight's workout is a light 40 minute run, and then Saturday is a 10.5 mile run with the FitCorp crowd. It will be the same route as 2 weeks ago- from the Woodlawn T stop back to One Beacon Street. The weather is a high of 35, so it's going to be pretty chilly out there. Oh, and wish me luck with this week's GU flavor- Lime!

Let's see how this goes...

This is my quarter mile repeat shedule for tonight

Sitting around, minding my biz

Milo Turk

How funny was that Milo Turk on American Idol last night? I almost fell off the couch when he started singing, "No sex allowed!" A quick Google search shows that this guy was just performing an established act. It was the first time I saw it though, and it was hysterical (especially the look on Simon's face.) I'm not a huge American Idol fan; however, I do try and watch the audition shows, because the terrible people are funny and it's heart-warming to see the talented ones get a yellow (golden?) ticket and celebrate with their families.

Anyway... I decided to skip the comfortable bike for the elliptical machine last night. I did 30 minutes of "rolling hills" at level 10 (out of 20.) Level 10 wasn't terribly difficult, but it wasn't easy. Level 20 must be like trying to pedal through cement. Tonight I am going to take my wind sprint workout to the treadmill. I think it will be easy to program, but let's hope the high speeds don't throw me off the thing! In high school, my friend's dad was on a treadmill and he tried to take his sweatshirt off while still running... He fell off the treadmill, landed on his back and had to reassure the staff that he hadn't in fact suffered from a heart attack as was originally suspected, but was simply a victim of poor judgement.

Rest Day

I had a headache for most of the day yesterday and wasn't able to really do too much. I think it's because I didn't drink enough water on Saturday after the run and drank a few Labatt's during the Pat's game. I have been trying to drink more water during the day, but sometimes it's hard to remember- especially if I don't feel thirsty. But like my book likes to point out: If you wait to drink water until you're thirsty, it's too late.
I did manage to go to EMS, and although they didn't sell the spandex I was looking for, I did get 2 different kinds of running gels to try instead of GU. I have high hopes for the Clif shot- their bars actually taste good. And while I do enjoy regular Power Bars (cookies and cream, especially!) I just have a feeling that the Clif will go down easier.
Tonight I'm going to do a 40 minute light run, and tomorrow I was going to do a FitCorp hill workout; however, Boston is being blanketed with snow now, so I'll probably stick to the treadmill this week.

Yesterday was a Rest Day

My book gave me the option of 30 minutes of cross-training or a rest day, so with my knees still bandaged, I chose rest day. Instead I got a haircut, which was relaxing. At work we receive a 15% discount at Aveda, which is a little bit fancier than where I'd normally go to get a haircut, but the discount evens things out more or less. The best part is the head, neck and shoulder massage- makes me wish I needed a haircut at least once a month.

On Saturday I'm doing a 14 mile run with the FitCorp group. 14 miles is a mile longer than the farthest I've ever run, so wish me luck! The weather for Saturday looks awesome- 46 degrees and sunny.

First Long Run is Out of the Way

First off, thank you to Mom for her generous donation!

Thanks Mom! (Seen here with her friend Carol)

On Saturday I ran 10.5 miles with the FitCorp crowd. We took the T to Woodlawn (2nd to last stop on the D line) and ran back to One Beacon via the marathon route. You had the option of meeting other runners at FitCorp (located at One Beacon St) or meeting everyone at Woodlawn T stop. I took the bus to Copley and the D train that I caught coincidentally had everyone who had met at One Beacon. There were about 100 runners; in other words, a train full of spandex, water belts and Vaseline-d body parts.

The run was awesome and I did my best to take my time and not try and keep pace with the fastest group (which appeared to be some folks running for Liver Research. They were also followed around by a guy recording their training and the T ride down.) For Heartbreak Hill, I just kept my head down and it wasn't bad at all, but we'll see what happens after 20 miles vs. 6 or so. I finished the run in 1:37:37- so about 9 minute 24 second miles, which is faster than I should have been going for my long run. Next week is a 12 or 14 mile run, and I'll try to keep my time a bit slower.

Sunday was "rest day" and Nick and I went to Costco and Jordan's Furniture. Jordan's in Reading is only slightly less fun than Disneyworld. They had a trapeze school, liquid fireworks, and a giant animated Wally that ate a Yankee player. Tonight, per my schedule is a 40 minute jog. Nice.

Tonight's run

Tonight I ran 3.5 miles- the first 2.5 at 6.8 mph at a 1.0 incline and then the last mile at 6.6 and 1.5 incline. I had wanted to run a bit more; however, I just wasn't feeling it. I have to remember to bring a snack with me for the afternoon, otherwise I'll run out of steam. Tomorrow I will try and do some cross-training (maybe the elliptical machine) and then on Saturday I am going to do a 10.5 mile run that's organized by FitCorp. As part of Team Eye & Ear I get to take part in these long runs on Saturday, hill runs on Tuesday night and different lectures on nutrition, etc. Plus you get a t-shirt! Not too shabby.

Christmas

Christmas was fun. We went to CT for Christmas Eve and day, but came back last night because I had to work today. Tomorrow evening we're leaving for Buffalo to see Nick's family for Christmas and we'll be back on Sunday evening. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any workouts in while we're in Buffalo, so I'm going to go to the gym tonight and am aiming for a 7 mile run, which is 2x what I'll run in a normal workout. I still have to read most of the book, but I think we'll have some down time in Buffalo and hope to finish it this weekend. I told my family that I'm training for the marathon and they were surprised, but supportive. Fortunately, I got some great cold weather running gear for Christmas and now I have no excuse to get out of longer weekend runs.