general musings

Vacation and running coexist

September 1, 2010 by Michelle 5 Comments

After multiple hours in the car, two straight days of walking every inch of Hershey Park and eating “park food,” to say I am in need of a run is an understatement!

I had planned on trying to run at least one morning while we were in Hershey, but sharing a room with Thing 1 and Thing 2 hyped up on all things chocolate made early morning runs on the treadmill not a happening thing!

So on to plan B…..

We’re now in the beautiful finger lakes of Upstate NY. I got up and out nice and early this morning and ran the rolling hills along the lake. There may not be a prettier sight than watching the sun come up over the water! There was a nice breeze coming off the water and aside from the occasional woodland creature, I had the road all to myself! A nice contrast to the last couple of days! And a nice way to say hello to September!

Filed Under: general musings

A little weekend rambling

August 29, 2010 by Michelle 5 Comments

Some days just call for bullets points…..

Ran 7 miles for the first time this morning….and best of all, I felt really good afterwards!
It’s funny how much farther 7 miles seems than 6. I’m sure I’ll feel the same way the first time I do 8!
There is something to be said for how going to bed early (vs. falling asleep on the couch) positively affects the next morning’s run.
I love that when I got home my kiddos were sitting there waiting for me and broke into applause when I came through the door!
Chocolate milk has definitely become my post-run drink of choice!
I am thankful that yamuna body rolling helps keep my left leg in check.
We’re off on vacation tomorrow and I’ve been obsessed about how to get my runs in! (I spent over an hour on Google maps trying to plot out a couple of runs.)
I’m debating whether to sign up for another 5K that will be held 2 weeks before the Tufts 10K – is there any downside to running the two so close together?

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

Filed Under: general musings, training, Tufts 10k

Chatter brain hits the track

August 19, 2010 by Michelle 3 Comments

Training plan called for speedwork this morning so off to the track I went….and chatter brain was there waiting for me.

My abs can still feel the effects of last night’s pilates class – love my pilates instructor but I think she was trying to kill us!
Hmm… maybe the post-class glass of wine wasn’t the best idea.
Hey look a family of bunny rabbits…aren’t they cute.
Shoot…what lap am I on?!? OK enough warm-up time to bite the bullet and go.
How many of these 800’s am I suppose to do!?!?
I’m not going to make it….yes you can….No really I can’t!
If this doesn’t kill me it will make me faster (I think I repeated this to myself for at least a solid lap!)
I really hope there’s some coffee in my house.
Left knee is NOT happy!!
OK, last 800…and the perfect tune (“4 minutes” my fave tune of the moment happened to come up in the random shuffle on my iPod)
I really, really hope there’s coffee at my house!

Anyone else suffering from chatter brain?!

Filed Under: general musings, track work, training

First encounter with the dreaded ‘Mill

August 7, 2010 by Michelle 2 Comments

I’ve gotten a glimpse into what my winter training will look like and I gotta say…I’m afraid! Let me explain…I did my first run on the treadmill. (cue the cheesy horror movie shrieks!)

Yesterday morning for the first time since starting my early-morning-beat-the-heat runs, I slept through my alarm. By the time I woke up and realized the music I was hearing was not a dream but my alarm, it was too late to go for my scheduled run and get my kiddos ready and off to camp. Once I dropped the kids off, it was soupy humid out…a run outside was out of the question! So I was faced with a dilemma, put off the run and try to squeeze it in this morning before a family outing or head to the gym now and face the treadmill. I know there are many people who can log many a mile on the ‘mill…..let me be clear when I say that I am not one of them! But I decided to head to the gym…better to have the run done I reasoned, and besides, once winter comes I’m going to have to embrace the indoor run, right?

Well…I get to the gym, pick out a secluded treadmill and off I go. Immediately I notice that the A/C is barely cranking…yes it’s better than being outdoors, but not by much. No matter I’m just going to keep going I tell myself. Then the “bouncing bunny” arrived….this woman comes bounding up and despite the fact that there are 8 other people in the whole gym, she picks the treadmill next to mine. Well she starts to run….or rather bounce. Now I am in no position to judge someone else’s form but honest to goodness I don’t know how she stayed on the treadmill – she was literally bouncing up and down! Then when she wanted to take a break she’d jump higher and do a split landing on the side rails straddling the moving belt. It was so distracting! But I didn’t want to be rude and move….just keep running I told myself. But that’s when I heard the woman in the row of ‘mills behind me let out the first of several “whoo hoos”. Really…is this happening? Apparently she was very into her music and must have been unaware that she was now singing along loudly! So I’ve got the hopper, the singer and little A/C on top of being on the ‘mill? I started to wonder if there were a full moon somewhere!

I lasted my scheduled 3 miles and quickly headed for my car chuckling and wondering who I’ll encounter the next time I’m forced indoors while also vowing not to sleep through my alarm again!

Filed Under: general musings, training, treadmill run

Sunday morning solitude

July 18, 2010 by Michelle 3 Comments

Despite my overwhelming desire to sleep in on a Sunday morning, this is quickly becoming my favorite day of the week to get a run in!

Early on a Sunday morning, there’s is no commuter traffic to dodge. Instead “traffic” this morning consisted of a rabbit, a couple of squirrels, and a family of Canadian geese. No need to try to tune out the trucks making early morning deliveries. Instead, just the birds having an animated “conversation” and the sound of my own footsteps. Even my Chatter Brain decided to sleep-in. It was a rare chance to just tune in and enjoy the rhythm of the run.

Even when I return home, Sundays are the rare day when I can come back home to a quiet house…only the dog is waiting for me…wondering why I didn’t take him along. To not be greeted with a barrage of “Mom I need”‘s is a beautiful thing indeed! Sometimes, like this morning, I’m even lucky enough for the solitude to extend through a post-run shower – definitely not happening during the week!

I remind myself of the solitude that awaits me when I feel that urge to hit the snooze. The peaceful, almost meditative state of a Sunday morning run sets a great tone for the day ahead!

Filed Under: general musings, observations

Chatter brain

July 9, 2010 by Michelle 1 Comment

Maybe it was the shock of the early hour (first time before 6!) or maybe it was the humidity but my brain was in overdrive this morning…..

how can it STILL be this HOT!?! And why am I out here?!?
ok you’re out here so you can either whine about it or try to enjoy it
it’s cool to watch the sky brighten as the sun rises higher
actually feeling pretty good….kickin’ Mother Nature’s fanny!
love listening to the Black Eye Peas
what am I packing the boys for lunch today? Really need to hit the grocery store
hmmm what should I make for dinner….
now why did I have to run by the bank….sometimes it’s better NOT know how hot it is
wonder whose idea it was to have banks display the time and temp….what does that have to do with money? just sayin’…..
this last half mile seems to be going on forever
ok am I actually singing along with Kanye West out loud…oh the neighbors will love that!
hello Mother Nature…I take back the fanny comment – maybe we could call it a draw

Have a great weekend!

Filed Under: general musings, observations

random observations from the road

June 15, 2010 by Michelle 3 Comments

Hit the road this morning to start the final week of the C25K program . It was an absolutely picture perfect morning and I actually turned my iPod off (gasp!) and just took in the run.

it is amazing how many drivers are busy doing something else other than looking at the road
every one should walk or run along the road once, it would make them more considerate when behind the wheel!
6:30 am is too early for a young girl to be waiting by herself for a school bus
older men are far more courteous (read – say “good morning,” move aside on the sidewalk, etc.) than their younger counterparts
running through puddles is inevitable
there are too many hills in my town
do hills ever get easier?
love that I no longer feel so wiped out after a run!

Filed Under: C25K, general musings, observations

Another first – a rain run

June 13, 2010 by Michelle 1 Comment

I am seriously what you could call a “fair weather” runner and have used the weather as my excuse for why I couldn’t run. “It’s too cold,” “It’s too hot”…or (the most often used) “It’s raining!” That is until this morning. I had planned to run at 6 but woke to the sound of steady rain which easily justified me rolling over to go back to sleep. I clung to my pillow for as long as possible until Thing 1, Thing 2 and the dog made that impossible — time to escape the chaos and go run!

When I came downstairs to head out, my hubby informed me that according to weather.com’s hourly forecast I had a break before the next showers were to begin. Sounded good to me so out the door I went – but I decided at the last second to leave my iPod behind just in case I didn’t want it soaked. Well… let’s just say Mother Nature has a sense of humor cause I was no more than 2 minutes into my run when the rain started again. As I hit my first hill, it was now a steady rain and I was quickly getting soaked. But instead of turning for home, as I might have done in the past, I decided to just embrace it. Besides I kept telling myself, you can’t control the weather the day of the race so you might as well see what you can do in the rain! Without my iPod (another first for me!), I just listened to the rain fall and my own breathing — it was very peaceful. And as I hit my second hill I was feeling oddly good, my pace was still steady and my left leg was cooperating. The rain subsided and the rest of the run felt good…I even managed to shave a little time off from my previous runs this week! And….drumroll please….I actually didn’t mind running in the rain!

So week 8 of C25K is in the books – final week coming up and still 2 weeks til race day!

Filed Under: C25K, general musings, race, training

Cross-training Mommy Style

June 8, 2010 by Michelle Leave a Comment

So does playing soccer with my 4 yr-old while simultaneously playing football with my German Shepherd count towards my cross-training for this week? Or, given how much running back and forth across the yard I did with the dog, maybe I should count it as speedwork 🙂 The beauty of having kids and a dog is that you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a workout built into every day…maybe not always the one you planned, but a workout nonetheless! Tomorrow I’ll be back in the gym for a weights session with Trainer Mike – only three more training sessions scheduled so I plan to make the most of them!

Check out the new “Great Giveaways Going On” addition to the sidebar – there are some fun things going on in the blogosphere!

Filed Under: general musings, giveaways

My First Award? How cool!

May 21, 2010 by Michelle 1 Comment

Just about a month since I started this blog and I have my first award! Big shout out and thank you to Erica at I Run Because I Can for sending this my way! So I’m suppose to list 7 things about myself and then pick 15 bloggers to pass this on to.

7 things about me?