Partner Up: CrossFit 07/25/2014

(This was taken during our dynamic stretching session in Tuesday's class)

My one goal for this week was to go to CrossFit three times. I am happy to say that I met that goal. Sounds simple, but I was really dragging by this afternoon. I had to tell myself, 'just one more thing to do this week and then I can relax', so that helped motivate me to get there tonight. I also rode on Wednesday and Thursday (both jumping lessons) and today at lunchtime (conditioning ride/gallop). So, with three CF sessions, three productive rides and a full work week under my belt, I'm pretty satisfied with my week overall.

I've spoken before about how I am not a big fan of "Team Night", I doubt that I ever really will be. But I have to say that it has gotten easier for me. I think it also helps that 6:30 PM on Friday tends to be a pretty small class, so it feels a little more relaxed and not so overwhelming.

Posted workout for Friday, July 25th:

Warm-Up:

Run 800 meters

What I did: Same. I got an early start, as I like to do when there is a running warm-up. I ran the 600 meters "around the block", but then ran past the entrance, around the side of the building and back again to make it 800 meters. I didn't walk, but it sure was hard to keep running past where the block usually ends. 

30-20-10 repeats of:

Lunge Steps
Sit-Ups

What I did: Same.

Performance / WOD:

"Shoot, Move, Communicate"

Partner Up, AMRAP 20:00 (as many reps as possible in 20 minutes):

400 meter Run (partners alternating intervals of 100 meters -- so each partner ends up doing this twice per round)
30 Front Rack Lunges (135lbs men/95lbs women)
20 HSPU (Hand Stand Push Ups)
(repeat the rounds until the clock runs out)

What I did: I partnered with Caroline tonight. Coach Jen had me scale the Front Rack Lunges to lunges with a 10lb Kettlebell in each hand because my right knee is a little unstable during lunges (it's sort of odd because I really don't have trouble with squats, but lunges seem to put too much stress on the one knee. It doesn't hurt, just doesn't feel stable). Instead of the HSPUs, Coach Jen had me do push-ups (from the knees), only I had to double them. I did the running as prescribed.

For the running we alternated 100m at a time as prescribed, then we broke up the lunges in groups of 5 (alternating until we reached a total of 30), and then for the HSPU/push-ups, Caroline did 5 HSPUs at a time, I did 10 push-ups at a time. We got through a total of 4 rounds, plus one 100 meter run (Caroline). 

Cash Out: 5 minutes in a weighted plank.

What I did: Well, I didn't do it weighted and I didn't do 5 minutes of it, but I did do a few planks. 

Some Notes:

• I have actually improved my running quite a bit in the past month and a half. I did this workout on June 6th where we had to do partner alternates of 100 meter runs and I could hardly do it. I barely could keep running and felt like I was going to pass out! But tonight I really didn't have any problem. I was slower than everyone else, but I also did an actual "run" on my repeats and not a "jog." So it's getting there. 
• My arms were really shaking on that last round of push-ups at the end. I'm not sure if I could have done another round, so I'm thinking it's good that the clock ran out when it did. 
• I'm trying not to care that I can't do everything that everyone else can. Usually it doesn't bother me too much, but it's a little harder on Team Night. As I said to Caroline tonight, "I just have to keep on showing up."
• Planks are hard. 

When To Back Off

I've been struggling with some achilles pain for a few weeks. I've been really encouraged by my improvement in running and with the jump rope, as well as my ability to get through a WOD at CrossFit without taking as many breaks. But this achilles soreness has been plaguing me for a while and is taking some of the satisfaction out of my improvement. It's all related to running, I'm sure. I've been through this before, it's just one of those nagging overuse things that seem to crop up when I start running again. I've certainly started and stopped running enough times over the years to know.

So, now I am in a quandary. Do I back off and try to heal up? Or do I continue through it? It can be a fine line sometimes, am I doing the right thing for myself and giving my body the rest it needs, or am I wimping out? I chose not to go to CrossFit on Friday because the WOD was calling for a lot of running, jump rope and rowing, all of which aggravates my achilles. But I have been kicking myself all weekend for not going and am second-guessing myself. I still can't decide what the best thing is to do. I have tried some of the treatment documented in this article, and have been icing and wrapping my ankle. I don't think it's getting any worse. But I also don't think it's getting any better.

So, here I sit, couch surfing, trying to decide, 'Will I run a couple of miles on the treadmill today? Will I go to CrossFit tomorrow?' I just don't know.

A Little Bit of Running Progress: CrossFit 07/09/2014

I don't normally go to CrossFit on Wednesdays as this is usually a riding lesson night for me. Riding was canceled today, however, as my barn was hosting a horse trial/show. I had also told someone at the barn that they could take Ruby to the show. I figured that it is probably good to go to CrossFit on different nights sometimes as each day of the week seems to have a different focus (Monday is High Bar Back Squats, Tuesday is Dead Lifts, Friday is Team Day, etc.) So, it's a good thing to get in some different strength practice. The WOD, is constantly varied, so that is always going to be a shake-up, regardless of what day of the week you choose to go! But the strength focus does have some structure throughout the week.

Posted workout for Wednesday, July 9th:

Warm-Up:

Run 600 meters

What I did: Same. And I ran ... Every. Step. The last time I did this loop (oh, probably about a month or so ago), I had to walk a bunch. Not tonight, I ran the whole way. And it also included that (-stupid ass-) hill. I actually set out for my running loop early, before the rest of the class started their warm-up because I'm so slow and I really just wanted to focus. I felt this was the right strategy and so will probably do that again when there is a run scheduled for the warm-up. Anyway, I'm happy that I've made this bit of progress. On a downer note, my left achilles has been a bit sore for a few weeks from the running, so I would be happy if I wasn't dealing with that. But I'm encouraged that the running has gotten a bit better overall. Especially as I am not really working through any real running program. 

Reps of 15-10-5:

Wall Balls: No Squat
Inchworms
Double Unders/Triple the # of reps, if you do singles

What I did: Same -- including the tripling of singles! Progress! (of course there was no real time cap, so that helped)

Performance / WOD:

A (Strength). Push Press 1RM (Translation: Work up to your 1 rep maximum for the Push Press).

What I did: I hadn't done the Push Press since my Ramp Up, so I had Coach Ben review the movement with me first. I decided to go back to the 15lb training bar for this, since I hadn't done it in a long time (I have been using the 33lb bar for the lifts I do every week). I started with just the bar and then worked my way up to 65lbs. My one rep with 65lbs was a bit shaky, so I rested a bit and tried again. The next one was marginally better, but not perfect. Anyway, I am calling my one rep max for the Push Press 65lbs. I'll work from that baseline for this lift. 

B (WOD). "Dancing Deb"

(Editorial Note: Cute title, but I am sure that they didn't have me in mind when they named the workout. Actually, I think I saw something on Facebook about a "Deb" who works out in one of the morning classes, so I am sure it was named for her. Anyway, I digress ... )

5 RFT: (Translation: 5 Rounds for Time)

10 Kettlebell Swings (53lbs men/35lbs women)
10 Box Jumps (24" men/20" women)
10 Push Ups

What I did: 5 rounds of: 10 Kettlebell Swings, 18lb kettlebell (Note: I should have used a heavier one), 10 "Box" jumps -- for me this was two 45lb stacked plates (Note: those freaking box jumps scare me!), 10 Push Ups from the knees (Note: this was the first round of Push Ups I've done at CrossFit where I haven't pushed up from a box or a bench. A comment about the CF Push Ups: The reason I've been doing them from a box is because CF wants you to do a Push Up that works the triceps more than your traditional variety. So, you are required to have your hands closer together under your chest. These are HARD! I can do the regular Push Ups, sort of, but the CF Push Ups are harder and so I've been scaling them with the box until now). 

My time was my score: 7:22.

C (Cash Out). 5x300 meter row

What I did: Same. 

I have to say again that I am pretty happy that the running has gotten a little better. I think if I could follow through with my plans and do a few runs during the week that it will only help me. I've been doing some active trail walks with my dogs and did run on my treadmill last night for two miles (alternating 1 minute walking with 1 minute running for the session), but I have to motivate myself to do a little more. Not a lot, but a little. I think three times a week for 30-40 minutes would be perfect for where I am right now.

A final note about my jump rope: I FLOVE it! I know it was pricey, but I think it was worth it. And I really like having my own jump rope for the workouts. Plus, it's snazzy!

Another workout in the bank.

Time to Start Again

I think it is time I started using my blog again. I've recently started CrossFit and would like to write a bit about my experiences, as well as my continued riding and other experiences.

Just a short summary for now:

CrossFit: After a year or so of waffling, I recently signed up for a one-on-one ramp-up program with a CrossFit affiliate in my town. Yesterday I completed session 6 (of 6) and now will join the regular classes. I am overwhelmed and scared, but also excited. I think CrossFit is going be a great program for me if I can stick with it and get hooked. I have to say, after a good CF session, I feel much the way I used to feel after a hard Spinning class, depleted and noodle-y, but elated and strong. So I am very much encouraged by that.

Riding: I am still riding and I still own Ruby. I am not currently showing, however, for a few reasons. Probably the biggest is that it is such a big chunk out of any weekend and I just wasn't enjoying it much with my work schedule. I found worrying about and gearing up for a show just added more stress to my life than I really needed and then the show weekends never left me with enough down time. I am also terribly out of shape and have vowed to only do a show when I will not be horrified to see the pictures afterwards. Of course, more importantly, I need to be able to pilot my horse galloping around a cross-country course in good shape and without gasping for air.

With all that said, I continue to work very hard on my riding skills, as well as training and conditioning Ruby. Our Dressage work, in particular, has come a long, long way. Ruby is now capable of a powerful working trot pushing from behind and working over her back. Because her trot has gotten so much stronger and more powerful, we are now able to accomplish fair collection around the short end of the ring and corners which can result in an adequate lengthening. Sometimes. It's a work in progress.

Running: Well, I haven't been running. But now with the CrossFit program, many of the warm-ups and WODs (Workout of the Day) include running intervals, so I am thinking that I may want to introduce some running into the days I am not doing CF. I am thinking just sessions of thirty minutes three times a week for now. It's not going to train me any kind of running event, but that's okay.

So, that's the update, I will post more detail as it comes!

On Running

I haven't really written much of an update on my running program. Well, let's face it, I haven't really written much of an update about anything much in a long time. But I did want to sketch out the highlights.

I went through the beginning running schedule through the class that I was taking with my local Y. For the most part this worked out pretty well and it did a good job of generally keeping me on track. Having each week's requirements in black & white and not wanting to fall behind were very good motivators to keep me on the schedule. I think the max of straight running that I was able to do (running without a walk-break) was 26 minutes. The goal of the class was to be able to run for 30 minutes straight (they assume that in that 30 minutes you're covering about a 5K -- nice try), so I fell a little short in the end. To be honest, however, I never did go out there on the last week of the class and attempt the 30 minutes, so I very possibly could have done it, but at that stage the class schedule had gotten me to the basic place where I wanted to be and I was satisfied enough with that.

Around the last week of the class I participated in a local 5K at Mine Falls Park, which was a fun thing to do. I was very disappointed with my time and, even more than my time, I was disappointed in how poorly I paced and pushed myself during the race. But it was fun to be out there again and it was a perfect day for a race. I had forgotten how great I used to feel on a Saturday or Sunday morning right after participating in a race. There were a few years while living in NYC where this was pretty common weekend activity for me. I had had plans to do another 5K on Thanksgiving Day at the same location, but, between every muscle in my body being unbelievably sore from hunting the day before, and the race starting at the ungodly hour of 8 AM (previous race had started at the more civilized hour of 10 AM), I never made it to the start. I wish there were some other local races coming up that I could target, but the race calendar around here is pretty sparse this time of year. I find that if I have something that I'm working towards that it helps me focus a bit. I may not be going for some big personal record (PR), but not wanting to be embarrassed and not wanting to disappoint myself are usually good enough motivators to stick with a training plan to some degree. But, with nothing coming up, I'm going to have to find other motivators. Already I am finding the colder weather to be a big challenge, most of my runs over the past couple of weeks have been on the treadmill. There is nothing wrong with the treadmill, I guess, but I worry a bit about keeping the running going through the entire Winter if I'm only using that.

I am now trying to come up with some kind of training plan. I would like to run a 10K in the late Spring or thereabouts and I would like to get my weekly mileage up to about 25 miles per week, but I'm not thinking much beyond these two goals. I think I am going to push back the idea of running straight (no walk-breaks) and do some planned run / walk intervals for a while. There are a number of reasons for this decision:

1. I want to keep running as enjoyable as possible. I recognize that I am at a bit of a vulnerable point in my new running program. This is the stage when I very often give up. The excitement of the new program starts to wane, I start to get pissed off over my lack of progress and I get discouraged over how impossible it seems.
2. I want to build some more mileage and I just can't do it the way that I've been running.
3. Run/walk intervals will allow me to include more variety into my weekly schedule.
4. I need to build endurance, while also getting in a good workout for each session. Run/walk will allow for longer training sessions.

I am really trying to come up with ideas that are most likely to make me successful in getting through the Winter. I am not being too ambitious about what I expect to accomplish through March because I want to be realistic. I feel that if I can finish the Winter still running, with a consistent weekly mileage base, even if it's only 20 miles per week, and a long-ish run of around 5 miles. I will feel that I was successful. If I can maintain that through March, then I feel that I'll be in a pretty good position to start increasing mileage a bit and also increase the long run some. That's what I'm thinking anyway.

This is incredibly inspiring.

Self-Doubt & Loathing

I had a bit of a meltdown in my jumping lesson last week. I'm still not even quite sure what happened. I do know that I was nervous all day for the impending lesson, but that's not anything new. I just started riding and I felt like I couldn't ride to save my life. I was full of self-doubt, convinced that I just Cant. Do. This. I'm not really sure where that was coming from.

When we started jumping I just felt so unfocused, not sharp and questioned every tiny decision I was making. I also was sort of hyperventilating a little bit and was light-headed. I was riding a jump course, generally about the height that I have been competing at, with one or two jumps maybe a smidge higher (but not by much). I had jumped half the course, had just finished a line down the long side, when I pulled up and said that I just couldn't do it anymore that day. I really kind of lost it and a week later, I'm still not really sure why. Nothing bad had happened, Ruby was acting fine. I just suddenly had a real loss of confidence for some reason. I don't know, I'm a bit of a freak, I guess.

This sort of illustrates a general on-going refrain in my life overall. Self-doubt, self-loathing, insecurity, lack of confidence that I can accomplish ___ (fill in the blank with whatever I'm worried about at any given point). With my new running program, it's more of the same thing. I am filled with thoughts of 'who do you think you are ... '. As I struggle to complete whatever running intervals that are on the schedule for any give day, I am completely self-conscious and mortified to see other people while I'm out trying to struggle through. It can totally get into my head and kill any ability to continue running. With work? Well, I don't even want to talk about work.

I have to figure out how to create more self-confidence in my life. This really affects everything from, being successful in my job, to feeling like I am able to have the lifestyle that I want to have. I am such a head case, it's just so strange how cyclical this can be. I can be going along, everything is fine and crash! I'm just a mess of doubt and self-loathing. Of course allowing the self-doubt to cause a meltdown such as with the jumping last week breeds even more self-loathing and utter disappointment in myself. It's just a vicious, ugly circle.

Running Program: Week 1

Monday:
Scheduled: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- 30 minutes total.
Actual: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- probably a little more than 30 minutes, maybe 40. *

Notes:
This ended up being harder than I expected it to be, especially after the class on Saturday where, instead of alternating 1 min. running to 2 mins of walking, we alternated laps of the indoor track, so our running intervals ended up being longer than one minute each. By the end of each minute of running on Monday, I was really looking at my watch for the count-down of the last few seconds. I'm not sure if maybe I was running a little faster than we had for the class, if it was the effects of running out on the road, or maybe the humidity (because, even though it was fairly cool, it was also humid), but it was definitely harder on me than I had expected. I was glad to have the plan though that forced me to do this ten times, it definitely pushed me a bit. In order to complete it, I had to overlap the neighborhood loop, but I got it done.

Tuesday:
Scheduled: 30 minutes easy walk.
Actual: 1 hour trail walk with some longer (longer than 1 minute) running intervals.

Notes:
The pressure was off for running since the schedule only called for an "easy" walk. Not sure what they mean by that, but it didn't sound too interesting, nor did it sound like there was much benefit to it, so I figured the least I could do was some good trail walking with some steep bits. I wasn't sure if I was actually going to also do some running until I was out there, but once I was on the trails I did feel somewhat inspired to run. What I did was first run the entire Beaver Path. I had not run this in its entirety in about two years or so, so it was definitely a challenge to me. But managed to do it. Barely. Total running interval was 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Not really all that long, but it was hard for me, I really had to push myself to keep running. Now, there is a fair amount of uphill to this path, particularly in this direction, but still, having this much trouble with 2.5 minutes of running does not bode well for my success with this program. After the Beaver Path, it was some road walking to get to the North East Trail Loop. Some steep and technical walking to the top of that trail and then a lovely, lovely long running interval down the other side. I think this is my favorite place to run on all the trails at work. There is such a nice, long downhill, and then you hit a relatively level part of the trail for a good piece, but because you've got the momentum and rhythmn of the sweeping downhill established that it carries over for a good while on the level parts. This long patch of trail can actually bring me back and remind me of what it feels like to be able to run. I don't like to do it too often because I feel like it will lull me into some kind of complacency, but it sure does feel great when I allow myself this indulgence. I wish I had timed this section, but I didn't think of it in time and so I don't know how long this running interval was. It was longer than the 2.5 minutes though. From there I got on the Rock Ledge trail, technical, rocky & rooty for most of it with lots of steep parts, so I walked it all. And then the fire road where I threw in three more shorter running intervals (1-1.5 minutes each).

Wednesday:
Scheduled: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- 30 minutes total.
Actual: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- probably around 40 minutes. *

Notes:
It was a perfect day for running, cool & crisp with no humidity at all. I found the running intervals easier to do than they were on Monday, hmmmm, interesting. The time also seemed to go much more quickly overall. I chose a running route around the paved roads on the company campus, with one section on a fire road. It was almost completely flat. I did not want to venture onto the trails as I didn't want terrain or hills or anything else to interfere with the intervals. It worked out very well and actually ended up being enjoyable. Imagine that?

Thursday:
Scheduled: 30 minutes easy walk.
Actual: 40 minutes of trail running & walking (appx. 2.5 miles).

Notes:
Work was a little crazy, so I didn't have as much time as I wanted. I decided to do the "Duck Pond" trail loop, I haven't been out there for about two years. It was quite pleasant and I even ran up a bunch of the hills. I also saw a big snake along the way and wished that I had a camera with me. It was a gorgeous day, and a particularly nice one for running. Cool & crisp & clear.

Friday:
Scheduled: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- 30 minutes total.
Actual: 1 minute running, alternated with 2 minutes walking, x10 -- 40 minutes? *

Notes:
I had a real struggle with myself to get out for this one. I had had a crazy, insane Thursday and so spent most of the day pretty exhausted. Plus it was a dreary, rainy, cold-ish, gray day, the kind of day where it's very nice to cuddle with a few dogs on the couch. I work from home most Fridays, so I went out on my lunch hour back to my neighborhood loop and I brought Tig with me. The intervals seemed to go pretty uneventfully, but again I felt that that the running parts were harder than I would have liked. Tig was great, I can run with him holding the leash with one finger and he'll just stick with me, no problem. Of course, he probably wishes we would run more, and faster.

Summary:
I'm pretty happy that I managed to do everything that was on the schedule for this program. It was particularly tough this week because I was on-call for work, so that did throw a few complications my way. I felt that the run intervals for week 1 were completely doable and I felt good enough that I even did some trail running on the days I was supposed to just do an "easy walk". I actually managed to cover a total of 17 miles this week!

I'm concerned, however. Tomorrow we bump up to intervals of 4 minutes running / 1 minute walking. To me, this seems like a huge leap from 1 minute walking / 2 minutes running. After doing my running sessions this week, I am having a hard time believing that I will be able to run for intervals that long. I don't even want to think about the 15 minute intervals that are on the schedule for a couple weeks from now (I guess I'll worry about that when I get to that week). So, we'll see. I'm sure we will doing the longer intervals in class tomorrow morning, so I'll see how doable it really is.

Most of all, I'm proud that I didn't blow anything off. This is why I need this program right now, it gives me that extra push to get out the door. I'm happy that I could do the assigned running intervals and didn't need longer recovery times. At least I know I can continue doing that, if the next step proves to be impossible for me.

(*Note: The time added to the 30 minute interval days was added walking time before and after each workout).

Structuring a Running Program

So, I've been thinking that I have to take this running thing (and cross-training, in general) more seriously. Running is my main focus in this for a lot of reasons: it's an activity that can be done without too much logistical worry, if I can't make it to a gym, I can go out the door at work on a lunch hour, I can use the treadmill at home, or whatever. I feel that it can have a high return of benefit for not a huge investment of time. In other words, you can get a lot out of running for a half an hour. It makes your legs strong and is one of the best things for cardiovascular/aerobic conditioning. And mostly, I really like how I feel when I'm running consistently.

One of my big problems is motivation. I've always struggled with this and getting geared up into a running program for me is particularly tough because it takes me a long time before I am able to run an interval of more than a minute or so at a time. Getting to a point where I can run, say, five miles will take months. Maybe a year. At least historically that's been my experience and that was when I was starting out in reasonable shape. So, the fall-out factor for me is high, it's easy to get discouraged and give up. It also takes me a long time before I'm mostly enjoying the running, I may have a moment of bliss here & there, but runner's high? Nope. That's months & months or work and pain down the road. The only runner's high I'll be feeling is the rush of euphoria once the run is over, although sometimes that is enough of a payoff to keep me going.

So, overall, I like the idea of running, I like the potential benefits, I like the way it makes me feel (both physically & mentally), it is the activity that is probably the easiest to insert into my busy schedule. But I recognize that it is going to take more commitment, planning and mental toughness than I've been expending thus far. So, when I saw that the Y was offering an intro running class ("Run a 5K in 8 Weeks"), I thought that maybe this would help put some structure around my desire.

Today was the first class and I feel like it went pretty well. It's a bit tough to commit to be be at the Y every Saturday morning by 8 AM, but once I was out and about, I actually preferred the early hour. Most of all I liked the company and the camaraderie of the other women in the class (interesting that there were no men). There were about 10-11 of us in varying states of fitness. I would say that I am at the lower end of the scale, although, at each run interval, I was always one of the runners at the front (competitiveness maybe?) For today it was fine, but as we progress through the weeks, I'm sure the disparity in fitness levels will sort the group out more. The goal for today was to run one interval (one lap) around the indoor track alternated with an interval of two walking laps, x 10. When it was finished, we had covered a total of three miles. This was easy, so that was a relief, but I know that it is going to get progressively harder each week and if I'm not doing the necessary work during the week, I'll fall behind very quickly. I am hoping that this will help motivate me to keep going during the week on my own. I want to feel confident going into each class that I'll be able to keep up!

Anyway, so I'm encouraged so far. I hope I can keep my enthusiasm going. I'm also hoping to have a decent enough running program established that I can carry it through the Winter a little more easily. January is a tough month to be kicking off a brand new running program, after all. I am also hoping at some point that it will help me start to lose some weight and that it will also benefit my riding.

On Running

I’ve known for a while that just riding alone is not quite enough of an activity level to make me as fit as I need to be. And I’m not even talking about weight loss here, at this point, thoughts of weight loss are a pie-in-the-sky fantasy for me and if I seriously sit down and think about it as more than a passing idea, I get very, very depressed and start to feel very hopeless, complete with all those wonderful feelings of self-loathing and worthlessness and whatever. Believe me, I have a lifetime of experience with this and would rather not go there, if I can avoid it. So, I’m really right now just thinking about better overall fitness, what I can do to improve my ability to ride and for better stress relief in general. I’ve always felt that running is a high return activity in this regard. A lot of bang for your buck, if you will. You can go out there, throw out a few miles in under an hour for a maximum physical result. Riding probably would be adequate if I could somehow manage to ride five horses a day, six days a week and do a lot of barn chores. But riding only one horse requires that I do something else outside of the horse stuff. Although, I DO feel that I am more riding fit at this point in the season. I’ve noticed that I can do a 10-12 fence jump course and feel just as good and fresh at fence #12 as I did at #1. This was not the case over the Winter. Still, I need work.

The problem has mostly been time. When you work 9-12 hours a day, and when plans to ride require about three hours round-trip, where does one sneak in the time to also add a run or something else? Lately what I’ve been doing is squeaking in a lunch-time run. It requires some planning and some willingness to be flexible and to change plans at the last minute, but so far I’ve managed to eek out a little bit of a run schedule. Luckily at work we have lovely, lovely trails just outside the door. I change in the locker room and have been rediscovering them all over again over the past couple of weeks. Of course running during working hours does have its challenges, like yesterday while standing out on the trail during my run and responding by BlackBerry to a volley of emails that had come in about a customer issue. But that keeps things exciting anyway, and this is the reason why we have modern technology! Of course, my colleague may not have appreciated my showing up at his desk immediately post run dripping with sweat to discuss said issue, but what can you do? (They don’t even notice when I cut off all of my hair, nor when I walk through the office in riding breeches and chaps, so it’s unlikely a bit of sweat registered either anyway).

Let me just say, though, that running is HARD. So, so, freaking hard. I’ve never been a natural runner, I know I whine about this from time-to-time, but it’s true. I am just not one of those people who can go out and bang out a couple of miles at the drop of a hat. It takes a long time to get myself to where I can even run a mile relatively comfortably, even with a walk break or two. So I’m trying not to be too disgusted with myself. Right now I’m just trying to get out there and cover some ground. I run, I walk. I walk, I run. I try to run some past the point where I desperately want to slow to a walk. I pick out landmarks, but once I reach them, I try to run a bit farther (even if it’s only the tiniest bit). I particularly like running on the single track trails. For some reason I find myself running for the longest stretches on those. I think it’s partially because it’s a bit of a mental game, picking through the footing so I don’t fall, plotting my path, etc. As much as possible, I try to run where the terrain allows it and to walk when the tricky footing forces me to be more careful. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that is my goal on most of my trail runs these days.

The other night I even did a run on the treadmill. I have to say, compared to riding and running on trails, running on a treadmill is some kind of mental (as well as physical) torture. I managed to squeak out two miles of intervals. It went something like this:

• 2 minute walk warm-up (16 minute mile).
• 2 minute running interval (12 minute mile).
• Continue walk/run intervals until I hit 1 mile (intervals consisted of 1 minute walk @ 16 minute mile alternated with 1 minute run @ 12 minute mile).
• After the 1 mile mark, I alternated 30 seconds run @ 10 minute mile with 1 minute walk @ 16 minute mile.
• At the 1.5 mile mark I just walked for the last .5 mile (16 minute mile).

I know that all sounds like a completely sad effort, but that is where I am in running ability at the moment. I can barely run a 12 minute mile for one minute. And I can only keep the intervals up for a short time. Still, I ended the session feeling like I had had a really good workout, so I think that my body definitely got something out of it, and I was sore the next day.

I think that if I can get myself outside to run/walk in some fashion three times a week and then do a TM interval session like the above one time a week, that I could see some decent improvement in my fitness. Since I am not really training for any kind of running event and because I don’t want to make myself crazy, I’m trying not to concentrate on distance or speed in any way right now (although, I think speed & distance is something I have to target for an interval work out). I’m mostly focusing on how long I want each running session to be (40 minutes, 1 hour, whatever).

Now if I could also just carve out a little time to include some yoga or pilates during the week …