Today I decided to swim laps in my pool during ‘quiet time’ since hubby was home and could watch over the kids as they rested.

I headed down around one and began lap swimming. Our pool is not huge, so I get about nine to ten strokes and have to turn around. It’s functional, though, and works out well in a bind when I don’t want to head over to the gym for a workout.

As I was resting between several laps, I heard this faint knock, knock, knock. I looked up at my bedroom window and saw there my oldest daughter, tapping lightly on the glass, holding up her thumb in a “Way to go mom!” salute.

At five, she understands the importance of exercise, and my need to do so on a pretty daily basis. She’s cheered me on at the finish line of several small races and one marathon, and she’s talked to me about running and her desire to do so when she’s older. We even ran a half mile race together last fourth of July.

And today there she was, cheering me on again. My biggest littlest fan. I love that kid. When I got in from laps she said, “Did you see me holding up my finger? I was saying, Way to go mom!”

I hope that she is always at the finish line to watch me cross, and I can’t wait until she is old enough to cross her own!

My workouts have been off this week. My husband is off work doing some renovations around the house so we’ve been staying up late and doing things together, like taking the kids to the movie one particularly sweltering day to escape the heat. I got in a twenty five minute swim today, I missed my biking yesterday, but my runs have been okay. Back to the gym in the morning, unless I get up early and run here. I think I may do that since I want to get in at least 5 and I hate the thought of 5 on the dreadmill! Though I’m getting more used to it, and enjoying it more, I certainly don’t want to have to do it for 45-50 minutes.

Basically I’m missing one biking this week and yoga last night; the biking I may try to make up tomorrow at some point since he  will be home again, and I need to continue my yoga each night, though that, too, has been off this week. I am considering myself on vacation and not being too hard on myself for missing these things. Life does go on, I see, when you don’t get in those workouts. It’s not the end of the world, right?

In non running news, I’m back to work. I just designed a unique wordpress themed site for a celebrity interviewer at www.intriguedshow.com. We are putting the finishing touches on the site this week, and I can’t wait to hear some of her interviews. I’ll reveal the name when the site goes live; I’m not sure she is ready for that just yet.

Happy Friday running! I’m hoping for a great 5 miler tomorrow AM.

I have always believed the best way to a great body - one that is in shape and fit - is through cross training.

Yet as a runner, I’ve often ignored the other forms of training and stuck with my Saucony’s only.

When we do only one sport at a time - running, cycling, weights - we limit the capacity to change and enhance the other muscles in our body.

For instance, if we concentrate solely on running we are neglecting many important body parts - our arms, which help shape and define our upper bodies, and that make us strong and allow us to carry, lift, and support.

If we neglect stretching and yoga, we are not allowing our bodies to recover fully before pounding the pavement again.

If we run and don’t cycle. only certain muscles in our legs are working. We become imbalanced.

I’ve found that I am much stronger, and much less injury-prone, when I am cross training.  In addition, if you are attempting to lose weight, you’ll find that through cross training - running one day, swimming the next, cycling the third - you’re likely to lose weight just as quickly if you are only jogging or only cycling; and sometimes, it will fall off even faster. Your body will respond because you are constantly putting it into new challenges. You are using different muscles with each exercise and so targeting more of your body than when you do one thing only.

Cross training doesn’t mean you have to get out there and hit the pavement every single day, though. I have run two marathons and I still take a day off each week. I also am no longer doing one particular exercise two days in a row, other than one short run following my long run. I found when I attempted to run three days in a row my knee started to hurt and, in all honesty, I burned out mentally by day three. I simply wanted the run to end.

Cardio-wise, I’ve found swimming to be right up there with running. I enjoy cycling though I don’t think it burns as much as quickly; however, when I used the spinner in the gym yesterday I had one hell of a workout that consisted of sweat pouring onto the floor, much to the dismay, I’m sure, of the other exercisers!

Pair cardio with a weight bearing exercise, or work on your abs. My regular routine is as follows:

Sunday - long run only with stretching at night
Monday - short recovery run and then abs and arms
Tuesday - swim, legs and abs
Wednesday - midsize run, yoga at night
Thursday - cycling, ab work
Friday - run, shorter but faster, abs and arms
Saturday - rest day

I’ve also found that having this gym membership allows me to be a little ‘lazy’ if I want. I can sleep in and hit the gym later if I need to, and this has been a saviour. With two young children, some nights just aren’t good nights - but if I head to the gym in the afternoon, by that time I’ve recovered from no sleep!

Plus, being a gym member gives me the opportunity to switch up my workouts when I want. Instead of riding my bike on the flat neighborhood roads, I can head to the spinner and sweat my buns off as I pretend to climb hills while listening to my man Dave Grohl.

And the treadmill has helped me to really practice my running - I can go faster or slower, I can go up an incline, I can see how fast I’m going and how far I’ve gone and I can push myself more than I can at times outside.

In other news, I may be doing a 5K on July 4th with some friends. My time has been way down. I’m working on some speed again, but it is hot in this humidity. How have your runs been now that it is hot out?

Happy Running!

So last night I took my first yoga at the Y class, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. I’d signed up for a few pilates classes and didn’t like them as much - they just didn’t offer what I was really looking for. This class, though, was well worth the one hour spent.

It’s amazing how tight your body can be without your realizing it. When we worked on hamstring and calf stretches I could actually feel my knee pulling. I’ve felt all along that my knee issues were caused by tight hamstrings, and now I’m about 100% sure. I can’t wait to continue some of these stretches I learned, along with the class itself, over the next few weeks to see if it resolves some of my knee issues.

Some runners skip over any type of yoga and stretching practice, but this really is a detriment to their running routine. Yoga not only helps improve flexibility, but it can:

• work out any kinks in the back and neck you get from those long distance jaunts
• improve injuries to the knee, glutes, hamstrings, etc by gently stretching the muscles that are causing the pain (but if you are in real pain, don’t start yoga without a physician’s recommendation as you don’t want to pull anything more out of whack than it already is!)
• teach you great breathing methods - I use these on many of my runs, whether I’m sprinting or going out for the long haul
• allow your body a chance to rest and rejuvenate, especially if you are working on a lot of long runs

I believe a lot of times we as runners get so wrapped up in the running that we skip over the necessities of keeping our body in condition - such as stretching and relaxing. Running can be a ‘hard’ sport - it can hurt our knees and ankles and feet if we don’t take care of our bodies while we’re doing it. Yet we spend so much time on the pavement we forget to stop and do something else for our bodies in the interim.

If you haven’t taken a yoga class, do it.

If you have and you have stopped, go back.

The benefits of yoga - not just for runners - are immense. But the gentle stretching and relaxation techniques you learn during a class can really hold over into your running and make you less prone to energy and stronger all the way around.

Today is Tuesday. I will only do an ab and arm workout later today. It was nice sleeping in today. Tomorrow, up early for a run and then to the Y for a swim. I have to fit it all in before company arrives at noon - but am hoping that Thursday morning I can get a good biking session in. However, I have a great friend coming to visit from California so the wine we drink on Wednesday night while catching up on each other’s lives may just make me sleep in on Thursday morning!

Happy workouts today!

I’ve run into a new problem since moving to the south: Heat and humidity.

Okay, I guess those are two problems, but down here they go hand in hand like chocolate and peanut butter.

I’m having a tough time adjusting. I hate the heat; always have. I hate it even more, now that I’m older and running.

I should have done 10 miles today  - I did 7.

I couldn’t handle the heat. (Can’t handle the heat? Get out of the . . . well, the Saucony’s, I guess.)

I’m bummed.

I’m wondering if I will acclimate, or if all of my hard work on higher mileage over the past few months is going to tank during this steamy summer. And it is only June. I still have July, August, and brutal September to suffer through.

Did I say I hate the heat?

We knew it would be hotter here, but had no idea this hot. We miss the west coast, with its milder temperatures. I’d even like to see a few snowflakes if possible. Our next move will definnitely be to a cooler climate. For  now, I’ll try to suffer through, potentially using the treadmill more than I first thought to get through these months.

So my question of the week is this:

Do you cut back on mileage when weather heats up, or do you just drink more and keep going?

During today’s run I was incredibly thirsty and I had to stop and walk a few paces a few times. I was angry at myself for this, but knew it was better than dropping from heat stroke.

Did I say I hate the heat?

Along with your answer for today’s question, share your hot weather months running strategies - tell me how to get through this so I don’t end every supposed long run with tears!

In other news, since I only did 7 today, I’m going to swim for a while this afternoon. That is the one good thing about our new house -the pool. So, if I have to trade in a few miles on my sneakers, I’m glad I can do so with my bathing suit on - the next best thing to running, for me, is swimming.

Perhaps that is what will get me past these next several months.

Happy Running!

I know you must be asking did she or didn’t she join the Y after my last post. Come on, it has kept you up at nights, right?

I did it. I joined.

And I have to say, this first week of working out at the Y has been quite successful.

Let’s begin with this: I enjoyed the treadmill more than I thought I would, and I did not fall off as the picture above shows.

I only did four miles, when normally on Friday I would do 5 or so, but I did 4 hard miles and it felt more like 7. I realized a few things that stand true for me about why, for me, the dreadmill is so difficult a run.

1. You go at the same pace, rather than running flexible speeds. Outside I may average a 9:22 or so, but I’m going from 8:45 to probably 10 minutes per mile at a time. I’m not doing  a straight 9:22. On the dreadmill, I’m running at a straight clip, so when I set it for 9:30 I wasn’t varying at all. And I was tired! I think it’s going to be a great way to really set a race pace, and to work on holding a pace for a longer time.
2. I am way more competitive with myself on the dreadmill. I stare at the clock, speed, and how far I have gone all the time. I even had headphones on and couldn’t stop staring at the damn machine! Someone help me!
3. I get really, really hot running inside. Even more hotter than I do outside on a humid day! Not sure what it is, because I”m pushing myself so hard staring at that damn clock?!

I tried a few classes. Not real impressed yet, but the one class I really heard rave things about, a boot camp style ab class (which will soon be followed up, by the same instructor, with a boot camp style lift class) was cancelled. I can’t wait to try that, or the yoga on Monday nights. The other classes I attempted didn’t work out for me. They were geared more toward the elderly, where 5 crunches was max and then it was rest time.

I love the pool, and the fact that my children have a fun place to go and play and watch tv (okay, I’m not crazy about the tv part since we are a family that really limits television watching - but hey, it’s beyond my control and you have to let some things go, right?) really makes me happy. I know when I’m working out, they are playing. It makes me a happier mommy to have gotten to sleep in an hour and a half longer a few days this week, and to workout in the early morning rather than at dawn.

I do have to say, though, I still love my early morning runs and they will continue. Sunday, Monday and Wednesday will be early morning runs. Thursday, an early morning bike around my hood. Tuesday will be swim at the Y, and I have several classes I’m planning to do throughout the week as well. All in all, a successful join, and I’m glad I did it.

Running Report: My mileage went down some this week. I think I’m going to stick around 24 until I get closer to race time. I am enjoying cross training, and my body feels like it worked hard this week with the added weights, ab work and yoga I did at the gym.

So I have been absent lately.

Let’s blame that on summer.

You see, now I have two kids 5 and under at home, underfoot, fighting and screeching.

I have my business that I’m trying to stay on top of.

I have no or limited nap time each day.

And I have no personal time, since I’m waking at 5 just to get my workouts in before the kids wake up - and since they get up by 6:30 or so most days, that’s been pretty hectic!

Hence, my decision to join the Y.

I drove there yesterday and parked outside. Almost went in. Had my clothes, too, and a class I wanted to take. Had two kids int he backseat saying Do it! We want to play here!

But I turned around.

What are my issues?

1. The cost. Yes, $65 is not exorbiant, but right now work is slow as is the economy, so every penny saved helps.
2. The schedule. I find mos tof the classes I want to take conflict with my already running schedule. And it is tough to be flexible when you have two little kids.
3. However, issue three is this: I could run on the treadmill at any time of the day if I joined the Y but I hate treadmill running! I dread the idea of it, even. So, do I go ahead and join and just learn to love it, do I vary up my days on and off the dreadmill, or do I stick with what I am doing?

The answer is not the last one, stick with what I am doing. I’m tired. I need to sleep in past 5 some mornings. Right now I get up 5 days a week at 5 AM to work out, and by the time the kids wake up at 7 or so I am ready to go back to bed!

The Y has advantages. They have a great kids club, they have some kid activities in the early evening that my oldest could attend, and they have two pools. When it turns colder here, I’d be able to continue my swimming workouts, which I love.

So, I’m going to do it. Yes, yes, yes I am! Today. Right now. Really, I’m getting up as we speak.

Then I’ll report back and let you know for sure :0)

In other news, running is going well. I’m still doing two 5 milers a week, one 5 miler and a longer run of about 10-12. However, I am going to drop back on Fridays, esp. if I join the Y, and do a shorter run of about 4 and work on speed because my times are suffering right now.

My knee is hurting after each bike ride. The bike I”m riding feels fitted, but maybe not? I don’t know if it is just the turning motion of the pedaling or if it is the bike or what. I need to continue to roll it out. I’m up to 10.5 miles on the bike and would love to get up a little higher so I could do some fun beach bike rides when the girls go back to school. That will be in January, but by then I should be at 20 miles.

And that is it! My first tri is still scheduled for September, my next marathon I hope in November, and until then I am plugging along, possibly, no really going to, join the Y!

Thoughts for today:

• Cross training on the bike is not as fun as running. Or swimming. I can’t seem to get the cardio benefits from it and I’m wondering if it is hurting my knee. Yesterday after my ten miler I had some knee pain. Thoughts about this? When I ride my husbands bike it hurts my knee becuase the seat is too high. I can feel my knee actually click as it goes around. But on my bike, I don’t feel this, and so far it has been okay (up to 8.5 miles). Yesterday I did ten and it hurt when I ran today (and last night, but I rolled it out).
• Swimming rocks. I love it. It has to be the best cardio after running. If I ever become too injured to run I am going to swim.
• I might join the Y. I hate indoor treadmill running, but the heat may get intense this summer. Even if I don’t use the treadmill there, I can go to yoga and pilates classes, which would be nice and would definitely help this knee issue with the stretching. Plus my kids could go to the gym’s daycare, and then to a few of the classes and the pool they have on campus.
• Creating a birthday party based on fairies and 5 year olds may be tougher than running a marathon. Maybe. I’ll get back to you on this one!

Happy Running!