treadmill

snow love

January 27, 2013 by Kristy 13 Comments

Yes, snow love.

As much as I whine about running in the winter (and whine even more about running in the snow), Saturday’s long run changed my perspective a bit.

This week was abnormally cold. Bitter, biting, down-to-your-bones cold. Thankfully this isn’t the norm in Philly or I would have to relocate to San Francisco.

On Monday I took advantage of the “warm” weather and day off and knocked out 10 miles with Abby.

Tuesday through Thursday, I stayed indoors. I took 2 barre classes, did a quick run on the treadmill, and took a rest day. All strategically planned around the weather.

On Friday I braved the cold for 9 miles. It wasn’t so bad.

We got a few inches of snow on Friday night and I thought I may have to treadmill my way through 16 miles on Saturday. I can’t even fathom being on the treadmill that long (I don’t know how some of you do it…it’s impressive).

I hit the trails, Yaktrax in tow, and figured if the cold/snow/ice was really bad I could always finish the run on the treadmill (or call it day).

I was pleasantly surprised!! It was wonderful…definitely one of my top 10 long runs ever. I didn’t want it to end.

My version of playing in the snow.

It may not be the Marin Headlands, but I’ll take it.

Did you brave the cold this week and run outside? How did you stay warm? I wore my ski gloves with a pair of those cheap stretchy gloves underneath. As long as my hands are warm, I stay warm.

'Tis The Season

December 14, 2011 by Kristy 18 Comments

Last week it was in the 60s and I was running in shorts. This week, treadmill running made an appearance.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing is better than running outside. Nothing. I have no idea how (or why) people run on a treadmill year round.

I can’t complain – my treadmill is in my basement in front of a large TV. I can watch any show or movie I want with the volume jacked all the way up. This helps…but not all the time. Some days I just can’t bring myself to run on it.

This week I’ve been pretty busy at work and had to get in early (7:30ish). I’ve opted for treadmill runs on both Monday and Tuesday. I do have certain runs that I can do on the treadmill and certain runs I refuse to do on a treadmill. It’s very scientific…

YES
– easy runs of no more than 4-5 miles
– speed work

HELL NO
– long runs
– tempo runs
– longer easy runs

(via)

I could never train for a distance race solely using the treadmill. It’s just too easy. You never learn to pace yourself, deal with varying weather conditions and terrain, and run downhill. You reap so many more benefits by running outside.

Treadmill – yay or nay?

If you use a treadmill are there certain runs you refuse to do on it?

A Whole Lotta Randomness

March 23, 2011 by Kristy 19 Comments

Happy Hump Day!

Warning: this post is very random.

1. I was featured on SkinnyRunner today! Holy blog views! Thanks SR! I’m officially a cat lady; I’m honored!

2. This is what I had for lunch (clearly I am no food blogger). Here’s proof that green beans are truly my favorite (a Friday Favorite, in fact). Brown rice + green beans. Looks disgusting but it’s not. I go through a bag of green beans in 2 days. No lie.

3. Today was supposed to be an easy run on the treadmill (it’s raining here) but I had no motivation to run on the treadmill (even with a new episode of Teen Mom 2 on the DVR). To me, treadmill season is OVER! So tonight it’s yoga and tomorrow an easy run when again it’s likely to be raining. This weekend I’m back up to 18-20 miles. It’s the final stretch to the taper.

4. Someone was referred to my blog by seaching for St. Joseph’s University Hawk Hill. Seriously?! Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Quick Update

March 6, 2011 by Kristy 1 Comment

3/6/11

5 miles EASY!

10:00 pace

My legs felt really good today. Must have been that refreshing ice bath yesterday. Since it was raining, I did my easy run on the treadmill and just set the pace to 6.0 mph (10:00 pace) and caught up on Big Love. It was nice to zone out and not worry about split times.

In the afternoon I went to see Jack Daniels talk. So. good. He is unbelievable. I took notes like a nut and have lots to share with you but I’m way too tired to pull it all together now. I promise to have an update tomorrow.

Good night!

Impromptu Long Run

February 24, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

2/24/11

13 miles

1:56

8:55 avg pace

So what prompted me to knock out 13 miles after work on a Thursday?! Let me walk you through the inner dialogue I had with myself this morning (don’t be scared)…

OK, long run on Friday morning. Need to check weather. Crap, 100% chance of rain all day and lots of wind. Well maybe I can run 13 miles on the treadmill? Oh that will really suck. I could barely stand 8 miles on Wednesday.

I can’t move the run to Saturday morning since I’m going to Sarah and Aidan’s basketball games (my niece and nephew). I could run after the games but I know that will set me up for a bad run.

I could do it really early on Sunday morning and come home, shower super quick, and head to brunch (I have plans to go to brunch with my friends). But I want to sleep in on Sunday…

WAIT. I can do it today after work. 13 miles is practically a short run these days. Weather is perfect too.

And there you have it. Please tell me other people think this much about their running schedule!

I had a really good run. Which was surprising, given my dislike for running after work. My training plan called for 9:00 average pace but I really wanted to keep it under 9:00. I’m pleased 🙂

This is a drop-week in my training plan, meaning my long run (and thus overall mileage) is decreased to allow my legs to rest. The intensity is still there – I still had a speed and tempo run this week – but the mileage is lower. It’s very similar to tapering before a race. But it’s back to business on Monday.

For the rest of the night, I’ll be doing this:

Matt took this picture after the Philly Rock n’ Roll Half last September. You would have thought Hawk ran the race too!

Tempo Wednesday

February 23, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

2/23/11

8 miles tempo

1:11

8:52 avg pace

I woke up at 5:00AM not really wanting to do this workout. Most of that had to do with running on the treadmill. I’m so over it at this point and can’t wait to get back to running outside in the mornings.

1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 8:24 pace, 3 miles @ GMP (8:45 pace), 1 mile cool-down

I’m glad it’s done and out of the way because….

today is Mr. Hawk’s birthday! Our little furball is turning 1! We have some birthday activities planned tonight so I’ll be back later to post some pictures.