Sep 29

FIT:
Sep 28: 8x100m of hill + walk down. Total of about 1.3 mi when you add the warmup/cooldown. At 10pm. The "nature trail" in my backyard was too dark even with the flashlight. My knees were really testy @ work today, but it was itching for a tough workout by night. My right knee was twingy for for the last few, but I pushed it to get my 8. I must've been a sight, running hill repeats on the median of the road at 10pm in my sports bra in 68 degree weather.

Sep 29: 40 min strength. Time went by fast, feels like I did nothing. Inner right leg pain again due to yesterday :( Head hot/sick again. 2:30 plank, 30/45 leg lifts, 1:15 side planks, 200 crunches/side. Cool in house so no sweat. Aspirin for head/inner leg/knees. Look trim.

Sept 26

FIT:
Soooo much catchup, so little internet.

Sept 16: 3.1 mi (3xEHS loop). Right butt/lower back still hurt from a couple days ago, but I really wanted to run, since I had been inactive for 2 days. Maybe a dumb decision to run injured, but I was desperate. But what do you know, I felt better the next day, especially after trying to sit with better posture. My right leg hurt when I tried to do a shuffle to the right after a mile warmup, but it was fine for normal running. In the last mile, though, I felt like something was in my sock right over my left ankle. I found out psotrun that I was bleeding all through my sock there.

Sept 17: 30 min strength. 75 hip extensors lying over a chair, 150 crunches/side hard... strange after knocking out 250/side not long ago - maybe b/c mroe back muscle to lift now?, 2 min 6 in, 45 med-speed pushups, 40/50 of inner and outer leg lifts, 15 tricep dips. Knees hurt post plank temporarily.

Sept 19: 5 mi hike - Crowders Mt. Probably my favorite trail so far! There were cool rock formulations you had to climb. My legs were fine and felt good enough to run for about 0.5 mi at the end in my hiking boots. It was humid nad buggy in the lower 70's. A good time with my dad.

Sept 21: 2.3 mi in 20:00 on a treadmill. That may be my first non-competition extended treadmill run! My left ankle was still bleeding from before and hurt to walk, but it was fine running on. It was hot in the fitness room, so went in bra. Upper back still sore from new pullup bars I got, even after 3+ days!

Sept 23: 3.1 mi (3xEHS loop). XC singlet, 76 degrees, 82% humidity, ok. In the first 1/2 mi, knees were a bit poundy, for the rest of the run it was fine. Not as tired on teh last mile this time. Hopefully that means I'm improving. I tried 2x50m striders afterwards, but my knees were testy after the 2nd, but otherwise (muscle-wise, cardio-wise) felt I coudl do more.

Sept 24: 5 x 6 (3 free, 3 breast) laps for 0.6 mi total. Splits: 6:33, 6:40, 6:30, 6:37, 6:30. Water was cold. Left knee and right ankle bad at first. Then both okay. Then right knee problems for the rest. Booo!!!! After this long, still issues? I tried hard, but finished in the same time as before, like from a month ago. Maybe because I'm coming down with a baby cold - my nose had been runny today, and for a couple of weeks, I've been feeling like my immune system is down.

Sept 25: 40 min strength. 2x50 calf raises, 2:30 plank, 45 quad dips hard for my left knee, 45/50 leg lifts, 35 med-speed pushups, 2 min 6 in, 25 tricep pushups. Sick today - runny nose, head hot/disoriented. Felt temporarily better after the workout, though.

Sept 26: 2.9 mi in 25:21. Stoplight route splits> 8:15 p, 8:33 s, 8:32 p. That's even slower then how I ran it on Aug 1 in 91 degree temps!!! It was 64 ish degrees. I can't believe it. Oh well, I guess 25:21 isn't bad, considering I'm sick and that I was running in a pouring t-storm. Yes... the fact that I was running in a t-storm while I was sick, is sick. I pushed at the end but just wanted to finish uninjured. I added a 100m hill run at the end as I was walking back to my apt.

GEAR GUIDE: Visor

You can recognize me from a mile away by my visor. It's a wonderful all-purpose accessory. Mine's made of cotton and isn't one of those new tech-fabric types, but it's still comfy, and even after many, many washes, it still fits pretty well.

I wear it...
IN THE SUN - I fear destroying my eyes. Frisbee (and most other sports) are really bad for that, since you have to look up to catch balls/discs. Even when just looking straight ahead, it's good to not have the sun blinding part of your vision. Even though the visor technically blocks out part of my vision, you can see at least the lower part so much better without the sun's rays overwhelming most of your view. Not to mention all the benefits of preventing sunburn.
IN THE RAIN - It's even more of a must in the rain than in the sun. When you're running or playing, you don't have rain dripping into your eyes, making you wish you had windshield wipers on your face. It blocks out all of that so that you can just focus on running without having to rub your face dry all the time. It was critical in frisbee games, and it adds a lot of comfort to runs.
IN THE COLD - It keeps your head warmer while blocking the sun.
INDOORS - I even wear it indoors all the time. People must think I'm crazy. I like how it keeps my hair out of my face, though. I like it. Deal with it.

Sep 13

FIT:
Sep 9> 3.1 mi - 3 loops around EHS, last two replacing the woods w/ an extra double soccer field. Very dark at 8pm, esp w/ the clouds.

Sep 12> 3.3 mi - RHS (1.8ish) and then RMS (1.5ish), wandering mostly. 68 degrees @ 9am but still sweaty. Tired by end. Poor heart.

Sep 13> 3.1 mi - 3 loops around EHS after church @ 1pm. 77 degrees in bra. Noticeably more muscle mass in legs - esp quads and butt. I guess that's why I've been slow and tired. I lost all my power during the injury time and the muscle mass imperceptibly atrophied.

Lower right back and leg hurts for the next 3 days like it did when I first injured myself. Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Sep 8

FIT:
No internet = Lots of catchup.

Sep 2 - 3.1 mi run. I did that plus a little extra... baseball field and track on the third lap, but minus the woods on the last lap because it was dark. Found the course when I was exploring to check out the track's condition. Unfortuantely, the track is like chalky concrete and not ideal for knees, but I happened to see some lines on the grass. At first they seemed like pipe markers, but they continued, and I realized that it was an XC course! It's nice and almost all grass. The woods are dark at 8pm when I ran after Bible Study, and there are roots. It's also varied in elevation, making it even more difficult without depth percerption.

Sep 3 - 33 min swim, usual 3 free, 3 breast in the 18m pool. Splits> 6:43, 6:42, 6:37, 6:47, 6:34. Middle lane.

Sep 5 - 7.5 mi hike. Sprained ankle on way back but it should be runnable maybe starting tomorrow. It was steep, so I'm thankful my knees made it fine.

Sep 7 - 45 min strength, including 250 crunches/side, 3 min plank.