Running + Training

By kilax, June 18, 2017 9:51 pm

Highlight of the Week: A long run with Dad / an adventurous ride / hiking somewhere new with Steven!

Monday | June 12, 2017: 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: hood, Temp: 75°/75°, Time: 42:04, Pace: 10:31 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: two dumbbells, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, sweaty
Tuesday | June 13, 2017: 11 m run (w/Dad on bike)
Loc: to Lake Andrea and back, Temp: 64°/69°, Time: 2:04:45, Pace: 11:20 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just tired!
Wednesday | June 14, 2017: 1.9 m run (w/Mike)
Loc: Chicago, Temp: 89°/88°, Time: 22:07, Pace: 11:39 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | June 15, 2017: 3.1 m run
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 88°/84°, Time: 33:30, Pace: 10:48 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: fine, just hot!
Friday | June 16, 2017: teaching strength class + 51.9 m ride (22.77 mi + 29.15 m, w/Kim & Steve)
Strength: two dumbbells and BOSU, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Kettle Moraine, WI, Temp: 69°/76°, Time: 1:25:25, Pace: 16.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: good
Loc: Kettle Moraine, WI, Temp: 74°/79°, Time: 2:03:53, Pace: 14.1 mph avg, Difficulty: medium/hard, Felt: good then horrible
Saturday | June 17, 2017: 3 m run (incl. 5×1:00) + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: hood, Temp: 66°/65°, Time: 30:51, Pace: 10:16 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: decent, just super sweaty
Strength: Cardio, Core, & Boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (but a bit tight from my ride)
Sunday | June 18, 2017: 2.5 m hike/walk (w/Steven)

Notes:

• Mom and I got a ton of steps in at NeoCon on Monday – she had her highest ever! What a great way to start the week.
• I was able to fit in one last run/ride with Dad on Tuesday before they left. Yay! I got to show him the area where the Olympic Triathlon relay I am participating in next week will be.
• Blah, the flats I wore to work on Wednesday really did a number on my feet – matching blisters at the heel and under the big toe on both feet. Ouch! Luckily my cycling and running shoes didn’t bother them.
• My goodness, I am not having good luck with my bike lately! My friend Kim (another trainer at Efit and awesome cyclist) was nice enough to offer to take me to ride hills in Wisconsin on Friday (to get ready for RAGBRAI). A friend of hers, Steve, came along too. We were 22 miles in to our planned 60 and I was powering up a hill when my derailleur jockey pulley snapped apart – something that should NOT happen. I was pleased that I unclipped in time and didn’t hurt myself, but my bike was un-rideable (Steve offered me his and said he’d ride single gear but we didn’t have any tools). So Kim cycled back to the car (10 miles) and came and picked us up and took us back to the bike shop we started at. The shop couldn’t fix my bike so I rented one. By that point it getting later and hotter. And the new bike only had one water bottle cage (I have two on my bike) and the seat kept tilting, so… I was dehydrated, worn out, and completely frustrated. Ugh. But I got some miles in! And am thankful I was with smart people when that happened AND that it didn’t happen during my tri relay next week! My bike is back in the shop.
• This is the week that during the last two years I’ve hit 1000 miles run for the year. Not this year! I’m at 693.8 and purposefully not running as much this year.
• Steven and I picnicked and hiked in a new-to-us park in Wisconsin on Sunday – Petrifying Springs Park. It was actually recommended to me by a Target cashier, ha ha. We both really liked it. There is a hiking trail in the forest and a paved trail too. And lots of shelters and recreational areas. And the park surrounds a golf course. I think we’ll be back! I’d like to run there, too!

Link to Training Week 399

Life, Work + Design

By kilax, June 15, 2017 6:22 am

• I made it to a 1,000 day streak in DuoLingo (in Spanish)! And… that means nothing other than that. I finished the app so long ago that I’ve just been repeating the lessons over and over. If I really want to improve, I should practice speaking with someone in Spanish!

• I forgot to mention in my training recap that a few students said really nice things about me to my mom when she was at Fitness Boxing. That made me feel good!
• We had a great time with my parents! They arrived on Friday (my mom’s birthday!) and stayed until Tuesday am. We ate (cooked and went out), played games, did projects, worked out, went to the beach, went to NeoCon, and hung out. It was a fun visit and a treat to have them visit for so long!

“Usie” in front of someone else’s car

• I am so tired after their visit, though! I woke up early (to workout) and stayed up late (to have fun!) every day they were here. And I wasn’t sleeping well because Khali played most of the night after hiding all day long (that has nothing to do with my parents – Khali still has her stray cat instincts to hide from people she doesn’t know!). I finally got (more than!) eight hours of sleep last night!

Just chillin’ with my slippers

• The whole purpose of my parent’s visit was that my mom wanted to go to NeoCon (National Exposition of Contract Furnishings) – a huge design trade show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. I go for work each year, and generally don’t enjoy it (crowded, sales-y, overwhelming, etc.). It was completely different with my mom. I loved experiencing it through her excited, fresh eyes! And she LOVED it and is already talking about coming back for it next year! I’ll write a separate post about our NeoCon day!

Us and the Merchandise Mart

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 136

Running + Training

By kilax, June 11, 2017 10:11 pm

Highlight of the Week: All the workouts with my parents!

Monday | June 5, 2017: 1,134 yd swim + 4 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: FitNation, Time: 25:15, Pace: 2:14 min/100 yd avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great once I warmed up
Loc: hood, Temp: 63°/63°, Time: 39:51, Pace: 9:57 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: surprisingly good, annoyed with the flies
Strength: two dumbbells, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just too hot in the studio
Tuesday | June 6, 2017: rest
Wednesday | June 7, 2017: 3 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 68°/69°, Time: 28:25, Pace: 9:28 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, hot
Thursday | June 8, 2017: 5.5 m run (incl. 1,2,3,4,5 up ladder + 5×1:00)
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 51°/59°, Time: 56:19, Pace: 10:14 avg, Difficulty: easy enough, Felt: good!
Friday | June 9, 2017: teaching strength class + 15 min walk & swim w/Anne + 3 m run
Strength: two dumbbells & BOSU, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake Pool, Time: 20:02, Pace: 1:58 min/100 m, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 73°/71°, Time: 29:36, Pace: 9:52, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, then starting seeing stars at the end
Saturday | June 10, 2017: 8 m run (w/Dad on bike) + teaching fitness boxing (Mom came!)
Loc: VP Woods loop, Temp: 62°/71°, Time: 1:25:36, Pace: 10:42 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great, consistent
Strength: light dumbbells and boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: great
Sunday | June 11, 2017: 32.5 m ride (w/Dad) + 672 yd swim (w/Mom)
Loc: Trevor, WI, Temp: 71°/79°, Time: 2:40:36, Pace: 12.2 mph avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: … not super in to it
Loc: FitNation, Time: 16:36, Pace: 2:02 min/100 yd, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• When I went to ride my bike Thursday one of my tires was completely flat! Gah! Thankfully I looked at it before my ride on Sunday. I’d had the same tubes and tires for four years and was planning to get them replaced this month. To the shop it went! My mechanic was super excited to put newer “faster” tires on my bike, ha ha.
• A freaky thing happened after my Friday swim – one of my ear buds stayed in my ear when I took my headphones out, and I couldn’t get it out with my fingers! Anne tried too, and no luck. I figured I’d just have Steven use tweezers when I got home, but after it dried out a bit (about ten minutes later) I was able to get it out. Phew.
• My parents were here this weekend and we worked out together all weekend! Dad rode with me while I ran Saturday am, then Mom came to Fitness Boxing. She hits HARD and is a natural!
• On Sunday, Dad and I did the Ramble – an organized ride out here put on by the Bicycling Club of Lake County. We were aiming for the 30 or 50 mile option (there were routes over 100 miles!) and ended up with 30. We both felt a bit wiped out by the small inclines and annoying wind. But that wind was probably a good thing this weekend – it was in the 90s here and I think that’s the only thing that didn’t make it miserable! The event was very well organized, and the volunteers were great. It was fun to ride with Dad, but I am used to RAGBRAI where we can ride next to each other because there are so many cyclists we take over the road. We couldn’t do that on this ride, so we didn’t get to be as social.

Link to Training Week 398

Running + Training

By kilax, June 4, 2017 4:49 pm

Highlight of the Week: Swimming outside with Anne / Running with Rachel / a fun Fitness Boxing class!

Monday | May 29, 2017: 5 m run + 798 yd swim
Loc: Gurnee, Temp: 70°/72°, Time: 54:07, Pace: 10:49 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fine, just hot
Loc: FitNation, Time: 16:32, Pace: 2:04 min/100 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good to swim after a hot run!
Tuesday | May 30, 2017: 12 m ride + 4.5 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 41:10, Pace: 17.5 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 64°/64°, Time: 44:10, Pace: 9:48 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Wednesday | May 31, 2017: rest!!!!
Thursday | June 1, 2017: 2.5 m walk (w/Steven)
Friday | June 2, 2017: teaching strength class + 1,110 m swim (w/Anne) + 4 m run (incl. 4 hill repeats) + 3 m run
Strength: mixed mode circuit & Leberts, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: Grayslake Pool, Outdoor Temp: 56°, Time: 22:20, Pace: 1:55min/100m, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 67°/72°, Time: 41:16, Pace: 10:34, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just hot and sweaty!
Loc: hood, Temp: 76°/74°, Time: 31:43, Pace: 10:34 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just warm
Saturday | June 3, 2017: 10 m run (w/Rachel)
Loc: Seven Waters Trail, Temp: 63°/71°, Time: 1:44:29, Pace: 10:27 avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt: decent, happy it was overcast!!!
Sunday | June 4, 2017: 3.5 m run (incl. 4×400) + teaching fitness boxing
Loc: Lake Andrea, Temp: 69°/69°, Time: 35:41, Pace: 10:11 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: decent, happy there was shade during my repeats!
Strength: step and boxing, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good (but so hot in the studio!!!)

Notes:

• On Monday I did a warm run then immediately did a swim. What a refreshing combo! I hope I can time it that way again.
• It was nice to have a Monday night off from teaching, for the holiday!
• Tuesday’s run was so bizarre! It was pouring rain and cold when I started, then the sun came out and it was buggy and I was too hot, then there was a refreshing light rain at the end. All in the span of 45 mins. Ha ha.
• I had intended to run Thursday but felt completely exhausted and took a nap after work instead. I wanted to do something when I got up and was happy Steven said yes when I asked if he wanted to go on a walk!
• I did my first outdoor lap swim of the year Friday! It was a treat to feel the fresh air on my skin while swimming. A few notes:
  • I forgot a towel! I grabbed my normal pool bag, forgetting the fact that the gym I swim indoors at has towels. Luckily I had one in the trunk of the car. I think I will leave one there for the season!
  • I was curious to see how my first outdoor lap swim pace of this year compared to my last one of last year… 1:55 min/100 m vs 2:35 min/100 m. I’ve definitely improved since last year (and have become more comfortable with freestyle – I was still swimming mostly breaststroke last year at the outdoor pool).
  • I didn’t wear my headphones since I was swimming with Anne, and man, I got so much water in my ears. Eek!
• It was lovely to run with Rachel and catch up on Saturday! We had a muggy weekend here, and I felt lucky it was completely overcast for our run.
• It was so wonderful to do speedwork on Sunday knowing I don’t have any running races coming up, and can just do as much or as little as I feel like!
• I always rely on music to get my students pumped up during Fitness Boxing class (gotta have the right tempo for punching!). This week, I also let the music dictate what we were doing, a bit. In the hour class, I had four songs with the words “Jump” in them, and whenever one of those songs came on, everyone had to stop boxing and get on a step and do a plyo workout for the whole song (I called out moves and we did them for about 20 seconds then moved on to another). The students didn’t know when the songs were gonna play, so the timing was a surprise! Hopefully they thought that was fun. I did (even though I knew, ha).
• My mom is coming to Fitness Boxing next week! And my dad and I have plans to ride, and I hope he can ride with me for a run or two. I am looking forward to seeing them!
• Monthly recap time! In May I ran 121.3 miles (26 runs), cycled 142.45 miles (8 indoor rides, 1 outdoor ride) and swam 6,069 yards (6 swims). My coldest run was 42°F and my warmest was 82°F. I taught 8 strength classes, and 2 fitness boxing classes. I tried two new classes in May – a Spivi cycling class, and a water aerobics class.

Link to Training Week 397

Life, Running + Training

By kilax, June 2, 2017 8:27 am

• Lap swims outside – I did my first one this morning with Anne! It was refreshing to swim outside!

• Meeting Rachel for a run
• Finishing some spring cleaning I started last weekend – it will feel good to have it done!
• [Broken Record] Outdoor rides! Weather permitting, I have three planned for the month.
• Lots of Fitness Boxing classes
• My parent’s visit next weekend!
• An Olympic Triathlon relay with friends! (And the massage I will get before it!)
• Eating outside… until it gets too muggy and gross
• Maybe meeting my fave coworker’s baby?!?! (he was born last week!)
• Fresh peaches
• Staying home for the month – this will be the first month of the year without any overnight travel (personal travel… there may be work travel).

What’s on your list?

Life, Work + Design

By kilax, June 1, 2017 6:22 am

• I’m having a hard time getting in to the Starbucks book after reading the Rockefeller one. The Rockefeller book required so much concentration. The Starbucks one does not and I find my mind wandering more!
• I hate the phrasing “we apologize for any inconvenience.” Just say “we apologize for the inconvenience,” because if you are saying the first phrase, there probably was one.
• I love getting my teeth cleaned. I love the process and the way they feel after! I had a cleaning on Tuesday and elected to get the fluoride treatment… which completely ruins that fresh, clean teeth feeling, by making your teeth all tacky. Wah.
• My mom and Steven and I had a fun discussion about our interpretation of yesterday’s quote. What do you think it means?

• I’ve been busting my butt at work with special requests, and the recipients aren’t acknowledging them. It makes me feel extremely frustrated. I’d LOVE a thank you, but ANY response would be great. I suppose I will receive one in a few weeks when they finally look at my work and decide they want something else done.

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 135

Running + Training

By kilax, May 31, 2017 7:01 am

I’m glad I happened to see a group on Facebook posting about this race – it was well run, and we got a lot of bang for our buck! $25 + registration fees got us:

• a cute cotton shirt
• a finishers medal
• LOTS of post race chocolate and Kringle
• entry in to the Chocolate Festival

The Chocoholic 5K was in Chocolate City, USA (aka Burlington, WI), the home of Nestlé, on Sunday May 28. I originally planned on going to it alone, but when I mentioned it to some friends at Efit, they were interested. So I made it a group event and ten of us (plus two kids) ended up running! Awesome!

When I signed up for this race, my intention was to run it faster than my last 5K (25:08). But I didn’t train for that, so I planned to do a tempo, and hopefully average under 8:20s.

I’m glad I wasn’t expecting much for speed – the weather was a bit challenging. It started raining an hour and a half before the race, and continued for the entire race. Luckily it wasn’t a downpour during the race (just before) or windy!

Waiting in the rain at the start. I am actually in this photo, but I’d be surprised if you could find me!

I ran without headphones – on purpose this time

The race began in a park and had two bridge crossings, which I was cautious not to slip on*! We ran on streets for a bit, through the Chocolate Festival (by all the smoking employees, thanks, guys) then on a sidewalk along a commercial road. I was surprised (and slowed down!) by the incline there!

The fun was at the end. The majority of the last mile was on a crushed stone trail that had A LOT of deep puddles in it, thanks to the pre-race rain. Most people ran on the grass to avoid as much of the water as possible, but I ran straight through the puddles. I was happy I had decided to wear my regular shoes, and not my racing flats. I was also happy to get off the trail and on to the street and paved trail for the finish!

I finished in 25:19, and ran positive splits – 8:03, 8:19, 8:34 (eek!). I really thought I’d run the last mile a bit faster since it was flatter, but running on the wet trail didn’t help. I still met my goal and averaged 8:18s! The course measured a bit short on my Garmin (3.05), but that doesn’t mean much.

The rain stopped shortly after I finished (of course!) and I had fun cheering all my friends in at the finish line!

The post race treats were awesome – boxes and boxes of snack size candy bars, trays and trays of Kringle, and bananas. We all hung around for the raffle (someone from our group was the first winner!) and awards. The top men and women got candy bouquets! Unfortunately, the chip timing on  the bibs got messed up due to the rain, so they couldn’t do age group awards on-site, but I saw later that I placed second in my age group.

We had originally planned to go to the festival after the race, but since we ran through it and saw it was basically a carnival (with rides and games), we passed, and drove back toward home and had lunch at HuHot instead! Nom.

I’m happy I mentioned this race to my friends and that so many people wanted to do it! It was fun to have a big group there, and especially, to cheer people on at the finish! I’m going to look in to other races this company does – I wonder if they’re all this fun and affordable?

*In the post race survey they mentioned they’re going to reverse the course next year to avoid congestion on the bridges 

Running + Training

By kilax, May 29, 2017 9:38 am

Highlight of the Week: Spending Sunday morning doing a race with a bunch of Efit people, and grabbing lunch after!

Monday | May 22, 2017: 5 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: VP W00ds, Temp: 67°/69°, Time: 53:03, Pace: 10:36 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired and a bit hot, annoyed with the bugs, ha!
Strength: changing modes circuit & Lebert Equalizers obstacles, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | May 23, 2017: rest
Wednesday | May 24, 2017: 1,008 yd swim + 4 m run
Loc: FitNation, Time: 21:35, Pace: 2:09 min/100 yd avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: steady but slow
Loc: hood, Temp: 53°, Time: 39:00, Pace: 9:45 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, fresh legs!
Thursday | May 25, 2017: 7 m run
Loc: VP Woods Loop, Temp: 52°/53°, Time: 1:19:21, Pace: 11:01 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but tired legs
Friday | May 26, 2017: teaching strength class + 2 m run (w/Anne) + 504 yd swim
Strength: changing modes circuit & Lebert Equalizers obstacles, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, sweaty
Loc: Grayslake, Temp: 51°/52°, Time: 24:08, Pace: 12:03, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: FitNation, Time: 9:57, Pace: 1:58 min/100 yd, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but ready to leave – headache
Saturday | May 27, 2017: 20 m ride + 3 m run + teaching fitness boxing
Indoor Ride Time: 1:20:13, Pace: 15.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just tight calves
Loc: hood, Temp: 58°, Time: 31:27, Pace: 10:29 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Strength: boxing & core moves, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | May 28, 2017: Chocoholic 5K
Loc: Burlington, WI, Temp: 61°/63°, Time: 25:26, Pace: 8:18 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: okay!

Notes:

• We did a running in place move in my classes this week that destroyed my calves! I actually had to get The Stick out and use it to massage my legs. It’s odd that it affected me so much. As a result of it, I felt pretty sore on Tuesday and Saturday, and was concerned it would make me feel horrible during the race on Sunday. Luckily, it didn’t!

Link to Training Week 396

Life, Travel

By kilax, May 25, 2017 7:25 am

• We finished the Rockefeller book! I will eventually post the long list of words I had to look up. There are only a few I recall without looking at my list: sobriquet, scion, and platitudinous, and only one I am using daily: scuttlebutt.
• Next up in the “book club for two” rotation is Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time and if we like that, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul.
• Last weekend was our quick trip to Dallas! We had a great time with our otra familia, and got super pumped planning our next trip together (a week long summer vacation)! The Dallas trip almost didn’t happen though – our flight out of Milwaukee was canceled and there weren’t any other options out of there. Luckily American Airlines hooked me up with flights at the same times out of Chicago and back. American Airlines was so helpful and pleasant! I was stressing the eff out and they calmed me down. (Well, that, and a quick run.)

• I mentioned I tried a spin style class at Gina’s gym on Saturday. What I didn’t mention is that a lady was sitting on the bike I reserved when I got there. You use an app to reserve a seat in advance, then all your bike data from class is linked to your account. Cool, right? Gina politely told the lady the seats are reserved and that if she sat there, all her hard work would be credited to someone else (me). The lady responded with “I’ll make your friend look good.” Ha. Ha ha ha. The lady had major beef with getting off the bike and finding another open one, even though there were other options, and we were helping her by looking at the app and telling her what was available. When we told her about the app (because Gina didn’t also didn’t know about it when she started taking the classes, and wanted to be helpful!) she said “I just work out, I don’t use computers.” OMG. It was so funny… but not really. She finally got off. She was probably annoyed she had to set up a new bike, and that I wanted to sit by my friend that I traveled 1,000 miles to see, but… sorry? I really did want to see my stats! Geesh.
• I finally signed up for the Saturday RABGRAI ride yesterday. I am not sure what took me so long. I saw my dad this week and we discussed signing up, and when we looked at the website, we saw there is a June 1 registration deadline! Eek! I would have been so mad if I missed it. Dad and Gina signed up too!
• Two of our kitties aren’t feeling well. Data has some strange eye booger leakage going on (I have a picture but I’ll spare ya) and Snow has a cut on his chin. Data is seeing the vet tomorrow, and I will ask them what to do about Snow. These kids. They just can’t stay out of trouble.

Data & Khali

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 134

Running + Training

By kilax, May 21, 2017 1:17 pm

Highlight of the Week: Trying two classes with my bestie!

Monday | May 15, 2017: 1,386 yd swim + 4.5 m run + teaching strength class
Loc: FitNation, Time: 30:19, Pace: 2:11/100 yd avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, but wondered if my form is bad for my neck
Loc: hood, Temp: 61°/59°, Time: 46:19, Pace: 10:18 avg, Difficulty: x, Felt: hot & sweaty (because of sun & sunscreen)
Strength: body bars and soft balls, Difficulty: easy, Felt: so sweaty! Still from the suncreen?!
Tuesday | May 16, 2017: 10 m run + 12 m ride
Loc: VP Woods Loop, Temp: 61°/64°, Time: 1:50:43, Pace: 11:04 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just sweaty!
Indoor Bike Time: 40:05, Pace: 18.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, just need to keep my form in check!
Wednesday | May 17, 2017: 2.7 m run (w/Mike)
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 78°/82°, Time: 29:21, Pace: 10:53 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | May 18, 2017: 3.1 m run + 1 m walk (w/Steven)
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 70°/71°, Time: 30:53, Pace: 9:58 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: fine, just hot!
Friday | May 19, 2017: teaching strength class + 2 m run
Strength: body bars and soft balls, Difficulty: easy (half observing), Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 42°/42°, Time: 18:50, Pace: 9:24, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good, needed to run off stress
Saturday | May 20, 2017: spin class (w/Gina) + water aerobics class (w/Gina) + 40 min walk (w/Gina)
Loc: Apex, Time: 47:49, Pace: 17.6 mph avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good, sweaty
Sunday | May 21, 2017: 3 m run (w/Steve, incl. 5×1:00) + 35 min walk (w/la otra familia)
Loc: McKinney, Temp: 61°/62°, Time: 27:53, Pace: 9:16 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: decent, a bit out of breath!

Notes:

• Last September, I had soreness on the lateral side of my right knee that I attributed to spending the month of August working on our attic, and gaining weight. I rarely felt it while running, only while trying to bend that knee in funny positions. It’s been gone for a few months, but Monday night, I bumped that side of my knee hard in to my car and it hurt so bad – it seems like something is still quite tender there!
• I ran with a coworker on Wednesday! We had a fun time AND I found a twenty dollar bill during our run. He must be good luck!
• Our abnormally high temperatures this week were accompanied with crazy winds, which did a decent job of keeping me cool with it so warm! But also held me back from doing speedwork on my normal day.
• I was in Texas this weekend and tried two classes with Gina – a Spivi cycling class, and a water aerobics class. The cycling class was similar intensity to the one I teach, just more fancy – there were screens showing “where” we were riding, and you could see your avatar on the screen, and stats from time to time. I enjoyed it! I was surprised by the water aerobics class. I thought it would be easy but some of the resistance stuff was challenging for me! The teacher could tell I was new and gave me a lot of help (in a nice way). She wanted to make sure I was coming back so she could help me improve, and when I told her I live in Illinois she teased me “well, I guess you can use this if when you take class in Illinois.” That would be a great class to take to help stretch a few times a week!
• On Sunday I finally did my speedwork, and Steve joined me! It’s always a treat to run with him and/or Gina! Next time we’ll all get to run together will be in late July!

Link to Training Week 395