Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Sweating Like a Pig (actually, pigs don't sweat)

Tracking:  Every morsel
Points eaten:  24 / 21
Activity Points Earned:  6
Hunger level:  comfortable
Morning Weigh-in:  up 0.2 (what the ???)

I did great with tracking yesterday.  We rushed out right after dinner and I didn't get it written down, but after we got home (within minutes of crashing into bed) I still finished writing out the day.

Was disappointed to not see the scale move in the right direction this morning.  Usually it moves a little bit, or at least stays the same.  But I'm not giving up.

Last nights run was TOUGH!  I did 5 miles, including 4 hill repeats.  It's been a bit cooler lately so I left for my run at about 5:30 and it didn't feel so bad.  But I quickly realized how humid it was.  It was one of the hardest runs I've ever done.  I struggled the whole time, my feet hurt and felt like swollen sausages.  I had to stop frequently and when I got home I was completely drenched.

To be honest, I'm not completely certain how hill repeats are supposed to work.  I've "officially" done them once on a drop-in session with the Running Room.  My "plan" called for a .15 mile / 250M hill.  On the route I took, I had the choice of a hill that length, but a fairly low grade ... or a steeper hill that was almost half the recommended length.  I chose the shorter steeper hill because I thought that would be better.  Just flying by the seat of my pants!!!

Before I started the hill section, I kind of thought since it was a shorter length I would maybe do more repeats than planned.  But by my 2nd time up, I honestly didn't think I could do much more.  Maybe it was the humidity, maybe I'm not in as good a shape as I was ... but either way it was difficult and I just stuck to the 4 repeats.  Hoofed it up as fast as I could, walked for about 10 seconds, slow jog down ... then repeat.  After the last one I felt like collapsing.  I also didn't have water with me.  I'll be sure to take some next time.  I'm interested to see how I improve over the weeks.

After the run and some dinner, I went with my husband and daughter for a walk at Crescent Beach.  I found this blog entry which has some great pictures of the area.  I'd love to get out here for a run, maybe in the fall when there aren't so many people.  Last night was so serene though.  And the sunset was amazing.  We have alot of smoke in the outlying areas due to some forest fires (not anywhere near I live, but the smoke blows our way).  While it makes for dismal looking skies, it also makes amazing bright red sunsets.  Too bad hubby still has my camera held hostage. :(

Tonight I'm considering going down to the free drop-in with the running club.  This is really out of my comfort zone to do something like this alone, without a friend ... but that's kind of the whole idea.  We'll see if I actually do it. 

Keep Active!

Heidi
♥♥♥♥♥

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

heidi, i felt the same way yesterday. very slow and sluggish. it must be the humidity!

Marlene said...

Congrats on tracking 100% - the results will come!

Sounds like one tough hill workout. No way could I run in this weather without water, not even a couple miles!

Julie said...

Hi Heidi,
My last few runs have been the same! I have about had enough of this crappy hot and humid weather! My hills were so challenging yesterday and I know that I was moving so slow:(

Hang in there...it has got to get better:)

Syl said...

tracking 100% WTG girl! ONce you get started it gets easier again, I'm loving putting pen to paper, it's so liberating ;-)
That scale will come down I just know it!

99ToGo said...

Running in this humidity is a challenge all by itself. I look forward to hearing how your "drop in" goes!

ajh said...

It would be out of my comfort zone to go to the run club but I hope you do it and it works for you!

Fran said...

Way to go on the tracking and no worries weight will get down.

I think you did a great job on that hill training! You pushed through where others (read ME) would have given up!

Go to that running group, I'm sure you'll meet new running friends there.

Laura said...

I have been taking extra water with me of late...I can't seem to get enough. Awesome job on the run! We start track workouts tonight and it is really humid here...yikes.

Marcelle said...

Good on the tracking 100%...me too!

When I read your entry I see I am not a runner..I have no plan ~ no goal...I just set out and run....

Running group is really great fun.....

Missy said...

I can't give any advice on running hills (lord knows how much I hate running on flat ground - surely I'm not going to tackle hills!!), but I can say it sounds like a great idea to drop in on the running club. Kind of intimidating but I think it'll pay of in the long run...and maybe you'll meet a new running friend!

Anonymous said...

Way to go on the hot run. I know it's hard but you did great. I know for me hill repeats are supposed to be more of like a sprint up and a cool down slower jog on the way down. But I laugh at the thought of me trying to sprint up a big hill. Some of those hills my team and I train on are intense, and I can power walk faster than my jog. I think it's more of a mental thing. If you can do hill practice, then during a race with a hill you will mentally know how to handle it. Keep up the good work Heidi! :)

OldGoogleAccount said...

I love that I get to come here and get tired just reading about your workouts. It's like working out by proxy! LOL.

I hope you do go to the drop in run and have fun doing it too.