All posts by Lauren @ mostly i run

About Lauren @ mostly i run

Wife. Web Developer. Kitty Momma. Runner. Singer. Triathlete. Shoe Collector. Blogger.

running on vacation

core challenge, i like to run., travel

I’ve always been good about packing my running gear and getting a few workouts in while on vacation. I was apparently extra motivated this time, getting in four runs while in Jamaica.

I hit the gym on Monday morning, our first full day of vacation. The gym was pretty nice — six treadmills, two bikes, elliptical, stairs, weights, etc.  Though the setup was a little odd.  All the equipment faced a mirrored wall … while the windows behind us overlooked the water. Well, it was nice having a view through the mirrors, but I could have done without watching myself huff and puff on the treadmill!

The view from the massage huts. Which is pretty similar to the gym view.

So day one was a little rough. I quickly realized the treadmill I choose was in kilometers instead of miles and found what should have been an acceptable pace. Well, 10-minute miles was a bit more ambitious than I could handle that morning and I turned it down after the first mile. I  ended up finishing a 5K in about 32 minutes. I’ll take it!

On Tuesday I decided to hit the running trail at the resort — a .3-mile loop. I thought maybe I’d set my Garmin to .25-mile intervals and do my scheduled speedwork. But ugh, it was hot! I settled for three miles at just under an 11-minute pace. And then I got back to the room and collapsed under the air conditioner!

Wednesday I needed a break, but was back at the gym on Thursday. I tried a different treadmill this time. Four of the six didn’t have cup holders, so I had to hop off to grab my water.  I didn’t realize this on Monday when I jumped on the first one.

Turns out this treadmill was set to miles, even better. I cranked it up and felt great after my mile warmup, so I decided to do my scheduled 400-meter repeats.   I decided to do .25 fast / .25 recovery to keep the math easy. We’re done with hills now, and had eight 400s scheduled.  My goal pace is 2:02, so I ran them at what the treadmill said were eight-minute miles. It seemed a little too easy so I wonder if the speed was off!

I ran again on Saturday, four miles at a 9:40 pace, which again makes me question the treadmill speed. I usually can’t maintain that pace on the treadmill! But they were nice treadmills, I was pretty comfortable on them.

Now even though I was on vacation, I didn’t neglect the last week of the Core Challenge!

After my Monday, Tuesday and Thursday runs I added a mini ab workout.  I mixed and matched sets of various crunch/curl-up/leg lift exercises for a total of 100 each day. I added an extra workout since I spent less time on them — but I needed to shower, eat breakfast, and hit the beach!

back to reality

travel

For the last seven days, this was the view from my bedroom.

the view

I just got back from a  fabulous week at Couples Sans Souci enjoying great food, fruity drinks, swimming, sun, sand and dessert buffets.

And sunsets. Lots of beautiful sunsets.

Ocho Rios Sunset

Ocho Rios Sunset

Ocho Rios Sunset

Ahh…

Well, I guess I’ve got to get back to work.  There will be more photos once I’ve had some time to catch up!

picking up the pace

core challenge, i like to run.

I had a really great run today!

I met up with a friend for a somewhat long run this morning. We didn’t really have a plan. I was hoping for seven or eight miles at least, but I’m always up for more. We decided to take one of my favorite routes through a waterfront neighborhood.

My friend is a bit faster than me, but usually drops down to stay with the group. Well, since it was only a group of two today, I did my best to keep up! It was probably a comfortable pace for him while a little more effort for me, but I still felt good.

When we got back to our cars it was just under seven miles so  I had to run down the street until the Garmin hit 7.0. I stopped my watch at seven miles, and we walked a minute. He asked if I wanted to keep going.

Of course!

We took a brief walk break and then we started running again. From where we parked, to the water and back is about three miles. My friend hasn’t been running quite  as far lately and started walking just shy of mile nine. I felt good and kept going!

  1. 9:52
  2. 9:09
  3. 9:16
  4. 9:17
  5. 9:14
  6. 9:31
  7. 9:46
  8. 9:26
  9. 9:32
  10. 9:23

Ten miles in 1:34:32 – 9:27/mile average. While we did pause and take a walk break after mile seven, that’s still the best long training run I’ve ever had. My 10-mile race PR is 1:35:02!

Core Challenge Week 3 Day 2

After 10 miles, I wasn’t really in the mood for a long core workout, but I had to squeeze it in. I went back to the Wii like I did for my first workout, but I chose the easy version this time!

This workout was a little simpler:

  1. Curl ups (10)
  2. Crunches with punches (10)
  3. Reverse crunches (10)
  4. Curl ups (16)
  5. Crunches with punches (16)
  6. Reverse crunches (15)
  7. Curl ups (10)
  8. Crunches with punches (10)
  9. Reverse crunches (10)

Since there were no leg raises, I created a custom workout with medium and hard leg raises. I forget if it was 10 or 15 for medium, but the hard version had 20 — you really start to feel it then!

So, it turns out the easy workout was a little too easy … but just what I needed after that run!

the final hills

core challenge, i like to run.

It’s been a busy week, but I managed to get in all my workouts.

Tuesday night was our last hill workout. Twelve 200-meter repeats up a bridge, with a goal of 63 seconds. It went pretty well. In the beginning it felt a little tedious, but got better once we had a few hills competed.

Here’s the rundown:

  1. 57
  2. 57
  3. 60
  4. 61
  5. 60
  6. 61
  7. 60
  8. 62
  9. 61
  10. 63
  11. 61
  12. 61

Well, I wasn’t able to keep them too much under my goal like I could with some of the shorter sessions, but I stayed pretty consistent.

I thought I was going to have a tough time getting a second run and core workout in mid-week. My choir has concerts this weekend, which meant rehearsals almost every day. Fortunately we got out early Wednesday night and I got to work!

First I hit the treadmill. I planned on keeping it a slow run so I could also watch TV on my laptop. I figured I could multitask — I had a bit of a backlog on the DVR and really want to be able to clear it off before I go on vacation. By watching an episode online, that was one more thing I could delete!

It’s hard to watch TV when you’re running fast, so I kept it easy. But I did have to kick it up towards the end. I was watching a recent episode of 90210 where the Glorious Steinums take the stage …

What a great song. I definitely switched from jog to run once that came on! I managed to finish 4.5 miles by the end of the episode.

Core Challenge Week 3 Day 1

I also wanted to squeeze in a core workout after my treadmill run. I didn’t want anything too long, though, since I got a late start. It was the perfect time to try out the 10 Minute Solutions DVD I got as a freebie at Fitbloggin’!

10 Minute Solution boot camp

To qualify for my Core Challenge,  I selected “Six Pack Ab Attack.” This was a fast-paced workout, squeezing a lot of good ab exercises into 10 minutes.  I liked that it moved quickly, and there were definitely some challenging exercises in there. I didn’t really care for the ‘Boot Camp’ theme, though. Saluting and calling the viewers ‘recruit’ and ‘soldier’ seemed a bit silly. It can still be a ‘Boot Camp’ without a military angle!

I also was working out in a small room and it was a little hard to maneuver so I could still see the screen.  Overall I liked it, and look forward to trying the other exercises. These will be great when I only have time for a quick workout!

looking forward

i like to run., triathlon

Since the Goofy Challenge in January, there hasn’t been too much on my plate.  The only other race I ran this year was this month!

Things are going to start picking up. At the end of May, I’ll be running the Maryland Half Marathon. I love the half marathon distance and wanted a spring race, so this fit the bill. It’ll be a hilly course so I probably won’t be going for a PR, but I’m still hoping for a strong race!

In June I’ve signed up for another hilly race, the Baltimore 10-Miler. I’ve heard great things about this event, and they are known for their excellent premiums!

The next big event (so far!) doesn’t come until late August, when I’ll be doing the Iron Girl sprint triathlon for the third time. To help me train, I’ve signed up for a triathlon class at the rec center. It starts in June and runs until the week before the race. While I did well training on my own last year, I didn’t get nearly enough brick workouts in. This once-a-week class seems like the perfect solution!

We’ll be ending our summer once again in Virginia Beach, where I’ll be running the Rock and Roll Half Marathon for the sixth time. My training for this race has been a little lacking recently, since my focus over the last two summers has been the triathlon instead of distance.

But this year it’s going to be different. I’m going to have to incorporate a lot more distance training over the summer to prepare for the Marine Corps Marathon on October 31.

In addition to all these big events, I’ll be participating in one or two 10Ks and quite a few of these 5Ks throughout the summer.

I’m excited!