Showing posts with label TTT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TTT. Show all posts

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Three Things Thursday - An Unexpected Run

I went for a run today!


NBD, except the last time I ran was wayyy back in the beginning of March. A couple of big hikes left my knees feeling pretty achey, so I've been doing a lot of swimming and other low impact workouts lately.

Today's run wasn't exactly planned.

When I was packing for our current trip to the US, I packed some fitness gear for swimming, yoga, hiking in Boulder and the possibility of a run or two. My knee has been very happy with the break from the pounding it takes while running, so going for a run wasn't super high on my list. Sad, but true. I made the choice to bring my wave horizons because they are pretty multi-purpose.


Bringing my running shoes turned out to be a good decision.

Three things about today's run:

1) The hotel fitness options are pretty poor. The small swimming pool is closed for maintenance and on my first trip to the fitness room I was disappointed to find that 2/2 treadmills were not working. Today I was fully expecting to do another elliptical workout, but was surprised to find one treadmill operational. I didn't waste a second getting on that thing.

2) Since the treadmill faces a wall, I opted to listen to music rather than mess with the built in TV. I went with a playlist called Grrl Power 2 from Rock My Run to listen to while I ran. I used it during my first Reach the Beach relay and it has stayed one of my favorites.

3) Intervals seem to keep my knee happy, so I stuck with what works: run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute. My interval timer was programmed for 8 sets, but I stopped after 7 when I had reached 3.14 miles. My legs felt kind of awkward at first but eventually they loosened up. I was running pretty slowly (5.0 then I bumped up to 5.2), but it's not about that anymore. It's about what makes my knee comfortable.

This run made me realize that I miss running. I like that my knee has been happy, but I'm not quite ready to hang up my running shoes yet. For now I will focus on getting ready for my next official race: the Queen Bee 4 Miler in Cincinnati in the fall.

Do you use hotel fitness centers when you travel?
Have a favorite playlist?



Thursday, February 22, 2018

Three Things Thursday #2 - What's New?

Some new things happening lately.

I started a new book recently (Thanks to Jennifer for mentioning it to me). After I read the blurb, I knew that I needed to read it. When I used to train for half marathons, I noticed that I always ran much better at the beginning of my period which seemed like an odd thing to me. Apparently not. Sims basically explains how our (women) hormones affect our fitness performance and results, and the ways that we can make the most of it. Have you read it? What did you think?


I was hoping to break in my new hiking shoes today, but it was raining (affiliate). I'm very picky about my shoes. These are really trail running shoes, so I'm hoping that my feet will like the lighter weight and the cushion. I've tried traditional hiking shoes in the past only to have tired and achey legs after big hikes.


So instead of hiking, I ended up getting my nails done. Picking a nail color is as hard as picking a wall color because the colors always look different on than they do in the bottle or in pictures. Most of the time I leave knowing definitively that I like or don't like the color I chose. Today, I'm on the fence.



What's new with you?



Thursday, January 25, 2018

Three Things Thursday - My Run

I'm super excited that I got my run done today!


Tuesday's run was scrapped because I slept terribly the night before and my legs were sore from strength training. For some reason my sleep has not improved ---> I am waking up between 2-4am and then laying awake for an hour or two, ugh!

Today's run will be my only one for the week because we leave tomorrow morning for our weekend trip to Harbin, China. We're part of a tour group so our time will be packed, PLUS the temperature in Harbin ranges from -10F to 14F this time of year not counting the windchill.

Back to today's run. When I went to bed last night, I said a little prayer that the weather would play nicely for an outdoor run today and it did!


I headed out for my normal 5K route. A little over halfway in and struggling with my pace, I changed the route to avoid going through the park because it looked busy with school kids and I didn't have the energy for zigzagging. Instead I doubled up on the promenade and then followed a side street out to the big hill I have to climb at the end.

Here are three things about my run that made me HAPPY:

1) It was outside! I absolutely love where I run. Being able to run along the water definitely makes even the tough runs good ones. Today the wind gusts made the water a lot rougher than normal making it feel like the water was talking to me.

2) There were hints of blue sky! The arrival of strong winter winds (monsoon) yesterday cleared the air for a brilliant day and we were fortunate to feel the remnants this morning. Cloudy skies during the winter can become quite the norm as a result of the seasonal sea breezes. The sun teased me a few times during my run (I really didn't need those sunglasses) and then

3) I got through it! I think I was so excited about running outside that I let my pace get away from me. I started to get a side stitch and fizzled a bit. I took more walk breaks than my running shoes (affiliate) are used to (one every mile), but somehow still finished my 5K with a good time.


Tell me something about your last run that made you happy!



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