Hill Pyramid

Today's run...8.15 mile hill pyramid : 1 hr 02 mins

So my run today looked like this:



 

I started off with a warm up mile @ 8:12 pace then increase my speed to 8:06 pace and set my incline to 1%.  Every 2 minutes I increased my incline by .5% until I reached a max of 4.5% incline then I decrease the incline by .5% every 2-4 minutes until I reached a flat and cranked up the speed.  I finished with a 6:48 mile then cooled down, stretched, and foam rolled.  I was on an incline for most of the run and my quads and hamstrings were definitely feeling it from TRX last night.  One thing I have noticed is that my SI joint really does not like steady hill climbs and I have to really protect my joint and foam roll it out after I do hill runs.  Thank goodness my husband has been great and can adjust my SI joint for me! 

So now I am off to lacrosse practice and it is 60* here in Delaware today.  We have our first scrimmage tomorrow and I cannot wait to see how we look out there.  I am so proud of my girls already and I can see the progress coming along!  I am very lucky we have some extremely speedy girls and they NEVER complain about running!

Do you run hills?  What is your favorite hill workout to do?

Happy Running!

TRX Tuesday

Lately my TRX classes have been really kicking my rear!  I had to go to TRX after lacrosse practice today since I worked until 8 am and sleep was definitely much need!  I am use to taking this class with a bunch of highly motivated,  ready to work individuals and this group of nighttime TRXers was completely opposite!  I love the instructors and have worked with them for quite a while so they definitely push me and make me work hard but I am a little competitive and feed off of the energy of my a.m. class.  We did a lot of push-ups, planks, single leg exercises, and cardio burst intervals.  I still got an amazing workout but I really love the group dynamics and positive energy in my other class.  If you haven't tried TRX I highly recommend you do or even just check it out on YouTube!

Happy Running!

Love getting the Mail

Today's workout : 9 recovery miles in 1 hr 10 mins.

I tried to keep my miles between 7:40 - 7:50 to help shake out my legs from yesterday's long run.  Everything felt great and I really wanted to pick up the pace but I reminded my self to look at the big picture and stick with the pace.  I have been trying to train smarter this marathon cycle and listen to my body.  In the fall I was in physical therapy from September to December for an SI ( sacroiliac ) joint injury that was pretty tough to overcome.  Thank goodness I had amazing resources and great therapists that got my to the staring line of the Philadelphia marathon (Nov. 20), the Rehoboth Beach half marathon (Dec. 10), and Disney's Goofy's Challenge (Jan. 7-8). 



So when I got the mail today I was beyond excited!  I love when my runner's world comes as well as anything that is not a bill.  I was even more excited when I saw the Newton's article.  When I was in Disney for Goofy's Challenge I was able to talk to the Newton's shoe rep and learned a great deal about the shoes.  I had thought about getting a pair for a while but I couldn't find a store that carried them here in Delaware.  I am the type of person who has to try things on before I buy them especially running shoes!!  So when the rep told my to take the shoes and were them around the expo for a while I was in love.  I still wanted to get the feel of running in them so we went outside to the Wide World of Sports and I went for a little run.  They just felt "right" and I got a great price for them also. 



Now after reading the article I love them even more.  I felt like I was at a crossroads in my running shoes prior to trying on the Newton's Distance but now I feel like I have found my stride!



And I love the bright colors too!

What shoes do you train in??

Happy Running!

It "pays" to run sloooooow!

Today's run was my LSD (long slow distance) with my two best running buddies!!  We headed out around 7:30 am and our plan was to run 16-18 miles.  I had the 18 miles to do and ideally wanted my pace in the low 8's...Angel and Dawn had 16 miles at 8:30 pace.  I absolutely love my runs with my girlfriends!!  We talk about EVERYTHING and anything.  Dawn has some killer hills back by where she lives so our goal was to hit some big hills early on then loop back grab our water then reverse the run to end with the monster hill!  



This is Dawn and Angel charging those beast hills!!  They are a pain to go up but a blast to come down.  I love this route because it is challenging and preparing me for Boston but also because of the surrounding.  There are tons of horse farms, rolling hills and usually very little traffic.  One thing I noticed today was the amount of litter on the side of the roads..people are so rude sometimes and it is just careless to throw out McDonald's bags and 40 oz bottles!  I am thinking of join the road cleaning crew or adopting a highway especially after finding this on the side of the road...



This will definitely go to a good cause!  Dawn and Angel also got some green bills too!

 After I stretched and showered my brother took me and my boys to Atlantic City for the day. I believe this was my 1st time there and we had a blast!  There was lots to see and do especially shopping.  We had lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe and meet up with some friends.

  

After lunch we went down to the shore and checked out the ocean.  This is when the boys spotted this.....



Which had this inside....



NO I did not buy this!!!  Even though there was some begging... I gave up candy for lent and had to walk away for this beauty!

Have you ever found $$$ or anything unusual on a run??

Happy Running!

North Star Saturday

Today started off at 6:30 am with a nice big cup of coffee and then I was headed out the door to lacrosse practice.  The skies opened up and started to pour rain just as we headed out for the run.  We finished 1.5 miles and headed inside to run some stairs.  Oh boy, I forgot had hard running stairs actually is!!  26.2 miles no problem but 15 minutes of stair running no thank you!  Indoor practice is one of my least favorite things...extremely bouncy balls on a hardwood floor x 35 girls = total chaos.  So we worked with what we had and got a lot of work done. 

After practice I planned on running 8 miles but when the time came I wasn't really in the mood.  This rarely happens to me...so I decided to listen to my body and I went to the gym and cross trained.  It was exactly what I needed!  I did get to talk about running and shoes with a new runner at the Y! 

Once I was showered and looked somewhat human again we headed out for a wild saturday night at church followed but dinner at North Star Bar and Grill with the Fam!   

 

 I am very lucky that all my aunts and uncles and cousins all live within miles to 45 minutes away.  I have a pretty amazing family who is so supportive of one another and we all actually get along!

 

Thanks Angel for suggesting this beverage!  It is very rare that I have a drink but I figure it is sort of carb loading for my 18 miler tomorrow, no?

Does your family live close by or miles away?

Happy Running!

Rest Day Not So Much...

So today was my rest day since I worked last night and have to coach this afternoon...but when I got to practice the girls special requested a specific route to run which takes them off the lacrosse fields and off school property.  So needless to say I joined in the run.  Today's run for them was a LSD run which consisted of 3.75 miles in 30:40.  Not awful but definitely could use some improvement.  We worked a lot on skills and fundamentals and actually broke the team up into varsity and j.v.

Following practice I met up with my hubby, boys and my mom for a bite to eat.

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This was truly delicious!! 

Hope everyone has a fantastic friday night.

Happy Running!

Speedwork and First Day of Lacrosse!

So here is how my speedwork went today:

2 mile warm-up @ 7:53

4 x 800 @  6:33 with .25-.50 recovery pace of 7:47

1 mile @  6:30

1 x 800 recovery pace of 7:53

I followed up this run with lots of foam rolling and stretching.

Today is March 1 which marks the beginning of High School Lacrosse season 2012.   I absolutely love the sport of lacrosse and the skills it takes to play.  But even more than the sport I love leading the girls thru their runs and agility work.  We started off the season with full field ladder runs x 8!!  The girls had to run and a moderate pace when I blew the whistle they had to accelerate to a sprint until I blew the whistle again.  Oh my...We have some very speedy girls this year and they really impressed me today.  I had them follow-up the run with some agility work and mainly focused on foot speed.  I am really excited for this season especially after seeing their current abilities and potential.  Today was a beautiful day for lacrosse!!!

Now it is time to head to work for my 11 pm to 7:30 am shift :-(

What is your favorite speedwork drill??

Happy Running!