I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything in so long – school has been really hectic. I have been getting in some runs, though.
One really unique run, on March 4th, was my two-mile jaunt around the University of Oklahoma campus. I had planned on running that day, but I knew it would be hard to fit it in due to my schedule of classes. I went to the amazing gym my school has (the Huffman Center) and started to warm-up for a run around the indoor track. Unfortunately my Garmin couldn’t pick up a satellite signal inside the gym. I had forgotten to turn it on before I went inside, and even if I had I don’t think it would’ve been able to hang onto the signal. Oh well. I waited a few minutes for it to try and acquire a signal and decided it wouldn’t work. At this point it was 6:50pm and I had a meeting to go to at 7:30pm, so I had to decide fast what I was going to do. I figured out a game plan that ended up being really fun – I parked my truck on campus and just ran around the campus until it was time for the meeting! One of the things I love about my school is how beautiful the campus is, from the architecture to the landscaping. Anyway, it made for a fun, scenic run of about 2 miles. Because I was in a hurry and stressed out from school I did do a combination run/walk/run which really helps me just blow off steam. It was also cool that by this time it was getting dark outside, it lent a new, unusual element to the run. Then when I finished I ran right into the building for my meeting. :)
The next two runs were on March 8th and March 11th, and they were each 2 mile loops around my condo complex. I thought of Andria and Peanut when I rounded the corner of the farthest building and all of a sudden there was an unleashed dog right there! It was fine though, he was on his porch, just growling a little because I was close to his turf. It did screw up my pace though, so I see why my SILs get annoyed at these dogs. A few more interesting sights along these runs included… a crazy woman on a nearby sidewalk randomly and loudly screaming curse words at no one in particular (I changed directions and stayed away from her) and then suddenly seeing a couple making out through their first floor bedroom window. It’s amazing the things you notice while out for a run.
Finally Spring Break was here on Friday the 14th! Bobby and I went to visit Andria and Chino that weekend. We did lots of eating and being lazy, us usual, but we also got in a run on Saturday morning and again on Sunday morning. For me, the first run was 2 miles and the second run was 3 miles, both around their neighborhood. It was neat to run on a totally new route, even though the weather was really cold and windy. I also figured out that it really takes about 2 miles for me into get into the groove of running, so I enjoyed the 3 mile run a lot more.
After visiting with the Kansas clan, Bobby and I left for Florida to visit my brother and grandmother and then go to Disney World for a few days. As we rode the shuttle buses from park to park Bobby pointed out the marathon route to me, which got me really excited for next January. :) Anyway, I did get in a run while we were staying with my brother, Paul. I made a few laps around his housing complex to complete 3 miles. It was pretty exhausting, though, since the temperature was in the low 80s and it was SO HUMID! It definitely reminded me why I never want to live in Florida again, and why I’m so grateful the Disney marathon weekend is in January. (It’ll still be humid of course, but not as bad.) Because the weather kept tiring me out my pace was much more varied, but I did it!
Now that we’re back from Spring Break and my school workload is higher than ever, it’s been over a week since I’ve run. I really want to get back out there, it’ll just be very hard to make it work from now until the end of the semester (May 9th).
I’ll do my best to keep you all updated. Thanks for reading!!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Raining (and Running) on Sunday
Andria, I thought you'd appreciate the title of this post. :) Yesterday was a rainy day, but thankfully the rain held off until after Bobby and I went for our run. In fact, a few hours after getting home an honest-to-God downpour passed over us, with lightning and a little bit of small hail. We're just glad the tornado watch expired and the power didn't go out.
I had charged my new Garmin in the morning, while Bobby was working, and by the time he got home I was just about ready to go! After donning our running clothes, shoes, Garmins, and bottled waters, we went outside and started walking. Starting out on Classen Boulevard, we went north to Lindsey Street, west to Georges Street, and then turned south until we got to Stinson Street. From here we went west to Jenkins Street, turned south until we hit Constitution Street, and then went east to Classen Boulevard. Then it was a straight shot north back home to the condo complex.
It was great to get outside, and in fact it was my first time doing a run outside, not on a track. The scenery was okay. What was fun was to go past Reeves Park and then the golf course and get a closer look at them. Sadly, I also noted how much trash there was along the road, because fines for littering aren't enforced.
It was a somewhat fast walk, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Unfortunately, I had gotten all psyched up to do my usual routine of run/walk/run, whereas Bobby had planned on fast walking the whole route. It was a bummer for me, but then Bobby explained that slower is sometimes better. He said that by doing the fast walk we will burn much more fat, and thus lose weight quicker - he's already lost nine pounds!
Here's how the Garmin summed it up: 3.31 miles in 54:35, with an average pace of 16:30/mile, an average speed of 3.6 mph, 335 calories burned, and a maximum speed of 6.1 mph (when I couldn't take it any longer and broke into a jog for less than tenth of a mile).
Obviously there's still much room for improvement, and any advice anyone can give me on what they did when they were first starting to run would be much appreciated. I plan on doing lots of reading this summer from the books we've purchased by Runner's World.
Talk to you all later!
Hayley
I had charged my new Garmin in the morning, while Bobby was working, and by the time he got home I was just about ready to go! After donning our running clothes, shoes, Garmins, and bottled waters, we went outside and started walking. Starting out on Classen Boulevard, we went north to Lindsey Street, west to Georges Street, and then turned south until we got to Stinson Street. From here we went west to Jenkins Street, turned south until we hit Constitution Street, and then went east to Classen Boulevard. Then it was a straight shot north back home to the condo complex.
It was great to get outside, and in fact it was my first time doing a run outside, not on a track. The scenery was okay. What was fun was to go past Reeves Park and then the golf course and get a closer look at them. Sadly, I also noted how much trash there was along the road, because fines for littering aren't enforced.
It was a somewhat fast walk, but it wasn't at all what I was expecting. Unfortunately, I had gotten all psyched up to do my usual routine of run/walk/run, whereas Bobby had planned on fast walking the whole route. It was a bummer for me, but then Bobby explained that slower is sometimes better. He said that by doing the fast walk we will burn much more fat, and thus lose weight quicker - he's already lost nine pounds!
Here's how the Garmin summed it up: 3.31 miles in 54:35, with an average pace of 16:30/mile, an average speed of 3.6 mph, 335 calories burned, and a maximum speed of 6.1 mph (when I couldn't take it any longer and broke into a jog for less than tenth of a mile).
Obviously there's still much room for improvement, and any advice anyone can give me on what they did when they were first starting to run would be much appreciated. I plan on doing lots of reading this summer from the books we've purchased by Runner's World.
Talk to you all later!
Hayley
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Free Fitness Training
Finally I’m caught up to the present day on this blog! :) On Saturday (March 1st) I met with a guy named Jarod Virden, a personal trainer here in Norman. This isn’t something I’d normally do, but I had a gift certificate for a free hour of training with him. (It was a free gift that Bobby received after he bought me a gift card for a massage at my favorite salon/spa – this was one of my Christmas presents!)
Jarod came over around 2pm and we got to work. He asked me how old I was, what my fitness goals were, did I have any injuries, and what were my eating habits like. Surprisingly, he never asked me how much I weighed, which I appreciated. He taught me lots of different exercises I could do right at home – core work, exercises to strengthen my back, tone my thighs, etc. Some of them I had done before or had seen other people doing at the gym, but some were new to me. I learned…..the stationary lunge, the side step, the inner thigh squeeze with the stability ball, the leg curl with the stability ball (which was really, really hard because I have no coordination!), the reverse crunch, the bird-dog on the stability ball, the ‘cobra on the ball’, the side crunch, and the glute raise on the stability ball. Over the course of the hour I did 2 sets of 15-20 reps of each of those…I was a little tired afterwards. :)
He also gave me some specifics on how often I should do these exercises and how much cardio I should be doing in order to lose weight. Thankfully, he wrote all this information down for me as he talked and I exercised. Ultimately, my goal is to get my weight down to 150 lbs. According to a few different online ‘fitness calculators’, the ideal weight for my age/height/frame is between 137-155 lbs. I will let you all know once I start seeing consistent losses.
Around 3pm, I thanked Jarod and said goodbye. He said to call him and let him know when I complete my first marathon. :)
I’ve got to say that I am enjoying this new lifestyle I’m trying to establish. I’ll tell you one thing, if I were still a Meteorology major there’s no way I’d have the time for this. So I really feel like this all started at the perfect time in my life – I had just switched to an English major when Andria completed her first marathon and inspired a lot of the rest of the family to complete our own marathons. It was meant to be, in a way, and so I’m optimistic about accomplishing these goals. :)
Time to go to sleep now. After Bobby gets home from work tomorrow we’re going to go for a run together – my first run with the new shoes and the Garmin!! I’m really excited! Talk to you all soon.
Jarod came over around 2pm and we got to work. He asked me how old I was, what my fitness goals were, did I have any injuries, and what were my eating habits like. Surprisingly, he never asked me how much I weighed, which I appreciated. He taught me lots of different exercises I could do right at home – core work, exercises to strengthen my back, tone my thighs, etc. Some of them I had done before or had seen other people doing at the gym, but some were new to me. I learned…..the stationary lunge, the side step, the inner thigh squeeze with the stability ball, the leg curl with the stability ball (which was really, really hard because I have no coordination!), the reverse crunch, the bird-dog on the stability ball, the ‘cobra on the ball’, the side crunch, and the glute raise on the stability ball. Over the course of the hour I did 2 sets of 15-20 reps of each of those…I was a little tired afterwards. :)
He also gave me some specifics on how often I should do these exercises and how much cardio I should be doing in order to lose weight. Thankfully, he wrote all this information down for me as he talked and I exercised. Ultimately, my goal is to get my weight down to 150 lbs. According to a few different online ‘fitness calculators’, the ideal weight for my age/height/frame is between 137-155 lbs. I will let you all know once I start seeing consistent losses.
Around 3pm, I thanked Jarod and said goodbye. He said to call him and let him know when I complete my first marathon. :)
I’ve got to say that I am enjoying this new lifestyle I’m trying to establish. I’ll tell you one thing, if I were still a Meteorology major there’s no way I’d have the time for this. So I really feel like this all started at the perfect time in my life – I had just switched to an English major when Andria completed her first marathon and inspired a lot of the rest of the family to complete our own marathons. It was meant to be, in a way, and so I’m optimistic about accomplishing these goals. :)
Time to go to sleep now. After Bobby gets home from work tomorrow we’re going to go for a run together – my first run with the new shoes and the Garmin!! I’m really excited! Talk to you all soon.
New Running Shoes and Toys!!
Friday was such a fun day! After class I headed up to ‘The Runner’, the running store in Oklahoma City. I showed the salesman my shoes and he immediately said, ‘Oh yeah, this isn’t right!’ (See the previous post). He had no problem exchanging them, and was glad to check and see if they had any more of that model in my size.
When he went back to check this I realized I love the smell of new shoes. :) It totally beats a new car smell!
There were none of that model in my size, so, oh darn, I had to pick out a new pair. Bobby’s cousin, Kenny, had recommended I try out Brooks Beast running shoes. He’s also a pronator and he’s been a runner for a long time, so I asked the salesman to try them out. He knew exactly what I meant, even though he did say they have different model names now. I tried on the Brooks Ariel and they felt AWESOME! I was so psyched. In fact, they felt really similar to the other shoes, but with much better cushioning. I went for a run around the parking lot, like last time, and I was sold. :) It’s also kind cool that my name in Hebrew class is Ariel. (We all had to pick out Hebrew names, just for fun, to use in class). So I think it was meant to be, for these shoes to be ‘Ariel’. :) Of course, they were a little more expensive than the last shoes ($119 versus $89), but it was fine by me.
Once that was decided on, I got two pairs of Injinji socks for Bobby that he’d asked me to pick up….And I got my very own Garmin Forerunner 205!!! I had intended on doing this, so I knew the credit card would melt a little that day. It’s so worth it though, and I can’t wait to put it to use! Bobby and I had thought we would share the one he got a couple weeks ago, but that wouldn’t have really been do-able. It won’t let you create more than one user, so our histories would’ve gotten all mixed up. Anyway, between the shoes and the Garmin, now I really feel like I’m good-to-go. I can’t wait for my next run!
On a side note, speaking of running toys, I am loving my new iPod shuffle. That was one of my Valentines’ Day gifts from Bobby, a purple iPod shuffle that is perfect for workouts and runs! It’s a lot better than strapping my video iPod around my bicep and constantly readjusting it!
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend so far. Happy running!
When he went back to check this I realized I love the smell of new shoes. :) It totally beats a new car smell!
There were none of that model in my size, so, oh darn, I had to pick out a new pair. Bobby’s cousin, Kenny, had recommended I try out Brooks Beast running shoes. He’s also a pronator and he’s been a runner for a long time, so I asked the salesman to try them out. He knew exactly what I meant, even though he did say they have different model names now. I tried on the Brooks Ariel and they felt AWESOME! I was so psyched. In fact, they felt really similar to the other shoes, but with much better cushioning. I went for a run around the parking lot, like last time, and I was sold. :) It’s also kind cool that my name in Hebrew class is Ariel. (We all had to pick out Hebrew names, just for fun, to use in class). So I think it was meant to be, for these shoes to be ‘Ariel’. :) Of course, they were a little more expensive than the last shoes ($119 versus $89), but it was fine by me.
Once that was decided on, I got two pairs of Injinji socks for Bobby that he’d asked me to pick up….And I got my very own Garmin Forerunner 205!!! I had intended on doing this, so I knew the credit card would melt a little that day. It’s so worth it though, and I can’t wait to put it to use! Bobby and I had thought we would share the one he got a couple weeks ago, but that wouldn’t have really been do-able. It won’t let you create more than one user, so our histories would’ve gotten all mixed up. Anyway, between the shoes and the Garmin, now I really feel like I’m good-to-go. I can’t wait for my next run!
On a side note, speaking of running toys, I am loving my new iPod shuffle. That was one of my Valentines’ Day gifts from Bobby, a purple iPod shuffle that is perfect for workouts and runs! It’s a lot better than strapping my video iPod around my bicep and constantly readjusting it!
Hope everyone’s having a great weekend so far. Happy running!
Battling Some Road Blocks
After the run at the outdoor track with Bobby and Andria, I have since completed two more two-mile runs with my new running shoes. These runs (on February 14th and 19th) were done indoors, around the track at the Huston Huffman Center – that’s my school’s awesome exercise facility. The first run was great, it was certainly infinitely better because I wasn’t wearing old, worn-out shoes.
Midway through the second run on the 19th, however, my right ankle started to hurt. I tried retying the laces, I checked to make sure my socks weren’t bunching up, etc. Then I noticed the problem – there was extra cushioning on the right side of the right ankle that wasn’t supposed to be there and wasn’t equally distributed. It basically rubbed the skin on my ankle really, really raw in that one spot. :( Aside from being painful, it was also just a big bummer to have new shoes that were now useless. I finished the run that day, but since then I’ve only worked out a couple times in my regular sneakers (walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical).
Other than battling the defective shoes, I’ve been battling some very annoying shoulder pain. Bobby and I went blackwater rafting when we were on our honeymoon in New Zealand, and the morning after that I woke up with really sharp neck pains. It then slowly moved to my shoulder and my upper arm and it’s more or less been there ever since – for a little more than two months now. Needless to say, I’m really sick of it. My doctor thinks it is probably a case of bursitis, which is apparently an inflammation of the bursae, a small tissue in the shoulder. He prescribed a steroid medicine to me a few weeks ago, which helped for the first two days, but then made no difference after that. Finally, I had an MRI done on Wednesday. Hopefully it will either confirm bursitis, or maybe show a torn rotator cuff, or something. I’ll feel less crazy once we know what it is, we fix it, and I can finally move on. I’ll let you all know when I get the results.
Anyway, about the shoes, I plan on going back to the OKC running store on Friday (the 29th). Maybe they can fix the shoe, but more than likely I’ll exchange them. I’ll also do some more shopping while I’m there – I’ll keep you all posted!
Midway through the second run on the 19th, however, my right ankle started to hurt. I tried retying the laces, I checked to make sure my socks weren’t bunching up, etc. Then I noticed the problem – there was extra cushioning on the right side of the right ankle that wasn’t supposed to be there and wasn’t equally distributed. It basically rubbed the skin on my ankle really, really raw in that one spot. :( Aside from being painful, it was also just a big bummer to have new shoes that were now useless. I finished the run that day, but since then I’ve only worked out a couple times in my regular sneakers (walking on the treadmill or using the elliptical).
Other than battling the defective shoes, I’ve been battling some very annoying shoulder pain. Bobby and I went blackwater rafting when we were on our honeymoon in New Zealand, and the morning after that I woke up with really sharp neck pains. It then slowly moved to my shoulder and my upper arm and it’s more or less been there ever since – for a little more than two months now. Needless to say, I’m really sick of it. My doctor thinks it is probably a case of bursitis, which is apparently an inflammation of the bursae, a small tissue in the shoulder. He prescribed a steroid medicine to me a few weeks ago, which helped for the first two days, but then made no difference after that. Finally, I had an MRI done on Wednesday. Hopefully it will either confirm bursitis, or maybe show a torn rotator cuff, or something. I’ll feel less crazy once we know what it is, we fix it, and I can finally move on. I’ll let you all know when I get the results.
Anyway, about the shoes, I plan on going back to the OKC running store on Friday (the 29th). Maybe they can fix the shoe, but more than likely I’ll exchange them. I’ll also do some more shopping while I’m there – I’ll keep you all posted!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Running in Circles, but with Better Scenery
I apologize for not keeping up with this blog very much thus far. I know you all understand, though, that being a full-time student doesn’t give me much free time to actually write for pleasure.
Anyway, I left you all hanging at the point when Bobby, Andria, and I all went for a run at the local high school outdoor track. It was on Sunday, Feb. 10th in the late morning/early afternoon that we went, so we had the whole track to ourselves. After we all ate Powerbars (the first one I’d ever eaten; it wasn’t bad), we headed off for our run. I ran 3.5 miles in total and it felt awesome!! I started to play my iPod and recorded the date in my workout log and then began to stretch, like usual. A few yards away, Andria immediately told me to hold it right there! She told me I should never stretch cold muscles because that only increases the chance that I’ll end up pulling a muscle. This was news to me, so I’m grateful she was there to catch my mistake! I know I still have a lot to learn about running, but thankfully I have great family and some great books from Runner’s World to learn from. :)
After fast-walking a warm-up lap (a quarter mile), I did my usual stretches with Andria, including a couple new ones she taught me. Then I took off with my usual routine of run/walk/run. I don’t have any specifics about my pace or anything – like I said I’m really just starting out. I did the first mile in 15 minutes, the second in 16 minutes, and then the third in 14 minutes. All the times are according to my good ‘ol cell phone clock (no runner’s watch yet). What was cool was that my third mile was the fastest one, and during the last lap I was really into a great running grove.
Part of what made the run so great was all the new factors that were introduced – new shoes, new socks, a new bra, and it was my first time running outdoors. The shoes and the bra were awesome but the socks actually weren’t so great. They were thicker than the usual socks I wear, so they felt pretty weird. Also, doing the run outdoors was a lot of fun. For one thing the scenery was much more interesting than running around indoor tracks! The wind was also pretty intense, and this added a whole new element to the run. It sped me up and slowed me down at times, so it was a fun challenge. More than this, it was just great to be outside in the fresh air. Those who know me know how much I love bring outdoors and enjoying nature, so now this whole running thing is a new way to do that. :)
Finally, I walked a quarter mile cooldown lap, stretched again, and by then we headed towards the car. After getting home and showering, we filled our bellies with yummy barbeque from a great place in town. (We figured we should eat lunch while our metabolism was good and high).
That’s it for now, stay tuned for another post!
Hayley
Anyway, I left you all hanging at the point when Bobby, Andria, and I all went for a run at the local high school outdoor track. It was on Sunday, Feb. 10th in the late morning/early afternoon that we went, so we had the whole track to ourselves. After we all ate Powerbars (the first one I’d ever eaten; it wasn’t bad), we headed off for our run. I ran 3.5 miles in total and it felt awesome!! I started to play my iPod and recorded the date in my workout log and then began to stretch, like usual. A few yards away, Andria immediately told me to hold it right there! She told me I should never stretch cold muscles because that only increases the chance that I’ll end up pulling a muscle. This was news to me, so I’m grateful she was there to catch my mistake! I know I still have a lot to learn about running, but thankfully I have great family and some great books from Runner’s World to learn from. :)
After fast-walking a warm-up lap (a quarter mile), I did my usual stretches with Andria, including a couple new ones she taught me. Then I took off with my usual routine of run/walk/run. I don’t have any specifics about my pace or anything – like I said I’m really just starting out. I did the first mile in 15 minutes, the second in 16 minutes, and then the third in 14 minutes. All the times are according to my good ‘ol cell phone clock (no runner’s watch yet). What was cool was that my third mile was the fastest one, and during the last lap I was really into a great running grove.
Part of what made the run so great was all the new factors that were introduced – new shoes, new socks, a new bra, and it was my first time running outdoors. The shoes and the bra were awesome but the socks actually weren’t so great. They were thicker than the usual socks I wear, so they felt pretty weird. Also, doing the run outdoors was a lot of fun. For one thing the scenery was much more interesting than running around indoor tracks! The wind was also pretty intense, and this added a whole new element to the run. It sped me up and slowed me down at times, so it was a fun challenge. More than this, it was just great to be outside in the fresh air. Those who know me know how much I love bring outdoors and enjoying nature, so now this whole running thing is a new way to do that. :)
Finally, I walked a quarter mile cooldown lap, stretched again, and by then we headed towards the car. After getting home and showering, we filled our bellies with yummy barbeque from a great place in town. (We figured we should eat lunch while our metabolism was good and high).
That’s it for now, stay tuned for another post!
Hayley
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