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Intervals & Personal Space May 29, 2008

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , add a comment

Today Sherene and I did our treadmills.  I decided to do intervals for 45 minutes: 2 minutes jogging/2 minutes running. That turned into 4 minutes jogging/2 minutes running after about 20 minutes.  After I noticed how close I was to 5 miles, I upped the time by 7 minutes. See? There’s that competive thing…  This just further reinforced that I do much better with a distance goal rather than a time goal.  Anyway, I do feel I was successful in balancing out medium intensity with high intensity running.

I still haven’t taken any measurements or weighed myself. Maybe tonight…

I have discovered a pet peeve I have with the treadmills: People standing between them to talk LOUDLY with their friends.  There is really only about 5-6″ between the treadmills to begin with, so when super-skinny-loud-cackling chick is standing less than a foot away from me while I’m running, I get annoyed.  I kept hoping I would drip some sweat on her so she’d get the picture.  Even Sherene noticed that you would probably need ear protection in order to cary on any kind of conversation with her over a length of time.

On a positive note, the new tank worked GREAT!  It’s my first technical tank, and I love it:

You can get it at www.title9.com.

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Pom-pom shaking, part II May 28, 2008

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This weekend has been one of self refelction. I’ve been dealing with two areas of frustration: 1) my exercise coupled with lack of weight loss and 2) my procrastination rut with my horse.  I think I have a plan for #1, now it’s time for #2…

My track record for working with my horse has been miserable.  The reason?  Lazy.  Yuuuuuup.  It’s either too hot, too cold, I’m too hungry, too tired, etc…  When I do go out to see him, I have a great time. He rarely gives me a hard time (in fact, I’m having trouble recalling him giving me a hard time ever).  We have our little mounting issue, but there’s a plan in place and I know we can work through that.  My rides on him have been great.

So, here’s my GOOOOO TEAM for my pony: It’s time for some miles.  My goal is to work him at least 3x a week. Even if I have to go out in the evening, I need to carve out some time for him.  He’s so much happier when he’s in regular work.  It’s time to give him a job.

Today I lunged him and he was great. I tried first without the lunge whip, but he needed a little more “inspiration”.  I picked up the lunge whip, and before I could even extend it I got the big blowy OH-MY-GOD-WHAT-IS-THAT-IT’S-GOING-TO-EAT-ME-SAVE-ME-BEFORE-IT’S-TOO-LATE reaction.  Now the funny part is, Tigger wants to jump in my lap when something scares him. Imagine now that he wants to jump in my lap, yet I’m holding scary thing.  He’s quite the crack-up. (Save me! No, wait, run away! No, wait, hold me! No, wait, run away!) Anyway, after 30 seconds he realized that the “whip of doom” was not something to be feared.

We ended up with some really nice work.  His walk/trot and trot/canter transitions are still developing, even though our work hasn’t been consistent.  And he is BEAUTIFUL.  I know people adore their own horses, but I had several moments of, “Is this horse really mine?”  I fall in love with him again every time.

*shake-shake-shake*

A Happy Medium? May 28, 2008

Posted by kimayars Run Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 1 comment so far

Today at the gym with Kristi I tried out what I think is a happy medium.  I wanted to try and get the “slow burn” but still feel like I did something.  I set a distance goal and ran negative splits: first mile was 5.5mph, second mile was 5.7mph, third mile was 5.9mph, and the last mile was 6.1mph.  I did not wear the heart rate monitor today because it hurt. I’m still raw from yesterday and I just could not find a comfortable spot for it. Couple that with some sweat and the bugger really stings.

So I left happy that I ran well and got some good exercise in. Now I need to tackle the second challenge of the day: eating.  I *think* I can convince myself that I don’t need a latte today.

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Kinda makes your head spin… May 27, 2008

Posted by kimayars Ramblings Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 4comments

So I’ve had the entire day to think about this heart rate/zone strategy for running.  I’ve come to a few conclusions:

  1. Running at a lower heart rate sucks. I really need a distance goal. Just running at a certain heart rate for a perscribed time makes me want to spike my water bottle with a hard alcohol.
  2. If you are sendentary, then the “fat burning zone thing” works, but I think possibly works only because you were sendentary.  My guess is that anything over your resting heart rate would make a difference.
  3. The only way to really tell when you make the transition from aerobic to anaerobic is to invest in one of those fancy-schmancy expensive VO2 MAX test. This involves running with a mask hanging on your face. I’m just too vain and too cheap for that.

So, where does that leave me? Well, I need to continue doing what I like to do (as that’s what keeps me running) but maybe make some small changes.  In particular I need to up the length of my workouts. I’ve been doing 30 minutes here, 30 minutes there.  I should shoot for at least 45 minutes.  When I walk with Kristi in the morning I need to increase the intensity a little.  She has mentioned seeing a trainer and doing some weight training. If she does that then I’ll do that too. (You may ask why I don’t just do it on my own, but you’d have to understand our friendship to know why I won’t.)

I also need to pay attention to what I’m eating, how much, and when.  As much as I REALLY want to be the person who exercises enough so that they can eat anything, I’m just not that person. (I still hold out hope that someday this will be true.)  So, it’s time to dust off the trusty food journal and cut out the usual suspects: high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated-anything, artificial sweeteners, and “white stuff”.  Portion control also needs to be obeyed.

And finally, we have accountability.  Tomorrow night I plan on updating my measurements on my “You on a Diet” page. Yeesh. Can’t say I’m all that excited about that. Pfffttt.

*sigh* Why does this need to be so much work?  :-)

On a positive note my new tanks from Title 9 arrived today. Woo-hoo!

Plod, plod, plod. May 27, 2008

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I’m not sure I like running for hear rate.  This run I found myself needing a goal to hit.  A “finish line” so to speak. Previously, that finish line was a set distance that I set out to achieve.  Instead I was just gently plodding along watching the clock tick by.

My time in the “zone” today was 36 mintues. I kept going above the top of the zone (146bpm) and any time up there doesn’t count.  My legs were unsually tired today, even for a double workout. I am blaming the fact that my stride is shorter and it feels as if my cadence is faster.  There just feels like there is more impact on my legs.

I was also reminded why I hate the telemetry strap: I have some lovely rub marks from it.  I hopped in the shower this afternoon and nearly howled when the hot water hit it.  Time to invent some sort of anti-chafing thing for the strap.

Anyway, I’m going to keep up with this and see how it goes.  A few people have recommended adding some strength training.  I agree I need some, but I’m not sure where to fit it in.  I admit, I’d much rather run that lift weights.

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In the “Zone” May 27, 2008

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This morning I met Kristi for our walk, and decided to try keeping my heartrate in the zone that I calculated yesterday.  I configured my Polar & the treadmill for a target heart rate of 140.  I discovered that my walks with Kristi were probably doing nothing for me.  After 5 minutes, the treadmill (in an effort to elevate my heart rate) cranked up the incline to 12.  It felt like rock climbing.  I realized that if I wanted to get my heart rate up I would need to run.

So, I set the treadmill at a comfortable 5.5mph and let the gentle incline adjustments keep my heartrate in check.  In total I spent 36 minutes in “the zone” of 130-146bpm.  Surprisingly I covered a little over 3 miles in this time.  I have to admit I didn’t expect that.

It felt a little too easy, but I’m willing to give it a try.  My only concern now is that I may be sacrificing endurance and speed for fat burning.

I have a run with Sherene in a few hours.  We’ll try this again!

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Goooooo TEAM! May 26, 2008

Posted by kimayars Uncategorized Digg! this story! Digg! this story. , 5comments

Time to put on my cheerleader uniform (at least it’s not a cape).

Today I was talking with my husband, Jeff, about the fact that I exercise a fair amount yet don’t really see any results.  I’m packing on the pounds, my clothes are getting tighter, and I’ve lost pretty much all the progress I gained last fall training for the LVHM. Hmph. What’s up with that?

I fully admit that I don’t eat particularly well, but I don’t think I eat that BAD either.  Certainly from a calories-in/calories out perspective I should at least be maintaining.  Jeff cooly replied, “Well, no.”

What?  What do you mean, NO. A calorie eaten, a calorie burned, right? Maybe not so much.

Here’s the deal:  I’m either taking it slow and easy or running my little heart out.  When I take it slow, I’m not hitting some “aerobic threshold” or some techno-babble thing like that (according to Jeff).  When I run hard, I’m burning only carbohydrates.  The end result: I’m not burning fat, yet I’m pretty darn hungry.  I can’t tell you how much I think that sucks.

The good news is, it’s an easy fix:  My “easy” workouts need to have a little more effort, and my “hard runs” need to be better balanced with a lower intensity workout.  In a quick Google, I found the “Karvonen Formula“.  Looks simple enough…

220 - 36(age) = 184
184 - 59(resting heart rate) = 125
125 * 65%(low end of heart rate) OR 85% (high end) = 81.25 OR 106.25
81 + 59 (resting heart rate) = 140
106 + 59 (resting heart rate) = 165

So essentially, for fat burning I need to stay around or under 140bpm, and for cardio I need to work within 160bpm.  I stopped wearing the telemetry strap a while ago, so I have no idea what my heartrate is.  I can guarantee that it’s higher than 160bpm on my higher-intensity runs.

So, here’s my “RAH-RAH Go Team!”:  I’m going to focus more on the way I run than just blindly running.  I’m also going to pay more attention to what I’m eating and how much.  Six months ago I tackled the “You On A Diet” program and really liked it.  (I’m not doing it now because I like lattes and apple fritters better.) Time to shake those pom-poms.  :-)

3 Mile Run with … SHERENE! May 25, 2008

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I had a lovely 3-mile run with Sherene this morning. We started at the library and ran the Snoqualmie Valley Trail to the golf course and back.  Beeeeaaaauuuuutiful run.  Lots of bunnies were out to cheer us on.

I definitely think that Sherene has been selling herself short.  She has billed herself as “slow” but her natural pace was about 10min/mile.  That’s perfect for me!  I had a great time and look forward to our next run (nudge-nudge, wink-wink).

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