Pre-Run Calisthenics are Pretty Dynamic

Before I get into this post's follies extremely serious training update, I have something VERY IMPORTANT to discuss:

 I discovered that most of you do not see the replies I leave to all your wonderful comments.

So from now on I will respond in 2 ways.

Way Number One:
I will continue to reply in the comments section because I like the idea of keeping the conversation going.  If you want to see when I reply to your comment and see others' comments, you can hit the subscribe button when you submit your comment.

Way Numero Dos:
I will also email you my responses, to make sure that you actually see what I write to you!  So, if you have a Blogger account, make sure you have an email address in your profile.  You can also just leave your email address in your comment!  Otherwise, there is no way for me to respond.

Just thinking about all those replies going unread for the past 2 years...you thinking I didn't care...

Alright, time to move on to the meat of the post.

____________________________________________

Last weekend I joined Ann Marie and Dr. Tim on a nice 7 mile run.

When I left my house it was cold and raining.  When I got to Ann Marie's it was cold, but not that cold, and it was not raining.  I decided that my rain jacket would be too hot so I chose to just run in my long sleeve tech hoodie.  Oh, and my pants. I decided to keep those on too. Gone are the days of pants-optional workouts:

Commando no mo'.

Ann Marie let me know they had started doing "calisthenics" before their runs and asked if I wouldn't mind joining in on our way out the door.  I readily agreed since I've heard that dynamic stretching is important pre-run to avoid injuries.

We started down the hill with Frankenstein Walking.

People were looking at us.

Next, Ann Marie told me were going to look like robbers.  She demonstrated the over/unders.

This is when things started to fall apart.

Nevertheless, I partook, even with people watching us.

I think my form might have been a bit off.

Once the stretching was done I decided to pull up my hood, and just before we took off running, Dr. Tim had a question.

Finally, we started running.  We ran uphill.  For like, the first 2 miles.  Then we ran downhill about half a mile.  Then, it was uphill again.  Then it was reeeeaaalllllyyyy uphill.  Followed by a quick downhill.  Which was then followed by a sharp uphill. And then....well, you get the point.  The elevation chart looked something like this:

*Bonus points if you get the pun in the picture.

By mile 4 it had started raining.

By mile 5 it was Raining.

As usual, we sprinted at the end to the very last step of our run!  Dr. Tim won.  I then looked down at my watch and saw we were 0.4 miles short of our full 7 miles.

We couldn't leave that less-than-half-a-mile out there, so off we went around the block.  Yeah, maybe a little crazy, but those who run in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, right runners?

I'm linking up with Yeah Write again this week!  Go read some amazing blog posts!

UPCOMING POSTS: BIKING, YOGA (oy), AND I WILL BE SENDING YOU OVER TO READ A COUPLE OF GUEST POSTS I HAVE BEEN INVITED TO WRITE!

Running Against the Wind (or Why I Force My Klutzy Self onto the Treadmill)

Over the past month or so I've been easing my way back into running.  You see, after my last half marathon I kind of didn't want to run so much.

But with Ann Marie on the mend from her stress fracture, and thinking ahead to race goals for next year, it was time to start getting serious about running again.

I started with mostly weekend runs, building up to 3 or 4 miles.  When Ann Marie said she was cleared for a 3.5 mile walk/run, I was ready to rock!  We planned to go to the trail around the lake by her house.  It was a chilly day, so we dressed warmly.

The activity itself went very well, as we were able to run most of the way (yay Ann Marie!)  The trouble was the wind.  It was fierce.  And completely unpredictable.  One moment we would be moving along, chatting about her adorable baby niece and nephew, and the next I would be apologizing.

I went running again the next day, and the wind was still an issue.

There were tailwinds.

There were crosswinds.

And there were headwinds.

Because of this, and the fact that it gets dark here around 4pm (seriously, when did I move to Alaska??) I have to commit to running on the treadmill if I want to run during the week.  And if you think that running indoors on a machine is safer, well, you've never seen me run on a treadmill.

For instance, I get very hot in about 62 seconds.

I should put up a splatter screen at the back of my treadmill.

And, I'm easily distracted.

This little incident left me with a bruise the size of a silver dollar on my forearm.

And then, there's this little situation that happened last week:

I went to the gym to do some speed work.  I did a little over 4 miles and kept about 1.5 miles near an 8:30 min/per mile pace.  It was ultra-fast for me and by the end I was drenched in sweat liquid awesome!  So since I'm a considerate person, I went and got the spray bottle and a paper towel to wipe down my machine.

It was super clean.

I saw a girl looking at me strangely but I couldn't figure out why...until I was walking out the door and I realized that I had cleaned the treadmill NEXT to mine.

I haven't been back to the gym all week.





Please tell me you've done something as ridiculous as this in your life!  And if you have, share it in the comments below!


UPCOMING POSTS:   I'm actually not sure yet, but I will be doing more running and swimming soon so that's probably what the subject matter will be.

Finally, thank you to all who commented on the blog birthday post!  I have listened and agree that it is time for a new banner, so stay tuned for that in the coming weeks!!

Linking up once more with the talented folk at Yeah Write. Click on the button below for some great reads!