Happy Pumpkining

This year for Halloween, I wanted to get pumpkins to carve. Then I saw a post about a blogger carving contest and wanted to do it even more.

Last Saturday the hospital I work for hosted a provider outing at Huber's, a local farm and restaurant. I love their fried biscuits and apple butter and they have tractor rides to a pumpkin patch, so I signed up. Unfortunately, there were no fried biscuits and I was sore from my long runs earlier that day, so I decided to pick from the pumpkins at the farm store rather then going out to the patch.

Tonight I carved the pumpkin. I used a pattern, but it's still a lot of work. I haven't carved a pumpkin in years and had forgotten the effort required. I think it turned out great and can't wait to light them for trick-or-treating. What do you think?

Ghost in a Graveyard

Better Week, Better Run

I completed all my runs plus 2 spin classes last week and covered 9 miles on Saturday without much difficulty. I was definitely ready to be done at the end, which makes me a little nervous because my longest run before the race will be 10 miles. However, unless I really fall apart at the end, I will meet my goal of less than 3 hours. I think having Richard with me will help me to keep going. I've also some non-time goals. I want to finish feeling good and stay hydrated during the race.

Today I had a very sweaty interval session at the gym. I'm not a big fan of running on the treadmill, but it's nice for trying to improve speed. I can set the treadmill faster than I usually run and keep it up until the end of the interval. My speed varies so much when I'm outside. I'll start an interval fast and slow down until the end.

I've been checking the weather for Indianapolis and I think I'll need to break out my running pants. So far, I've been comfortable in long sleeves and capris. I have 2 new shirts that I'm trying to decide between. One is a little warmer, so I'll probably take them both and decide that morning.

A Week Of Nots

While I don't feel like I have to stick to my training schedule without any misses or changes, I do notice an improvement in my long runs when I follow my plan. This week that did not happen and my long run today suffered because of it.

Last Saturday I had a pretty good 8 mile run. I finished tired, but felt like I could have done more. My toe was pretty painful because of a blister I had gotten the week before when I couldn't find my favorite running socks and tried a different pair instead. Sunday I went for a 25 mile bike ride. This was my longest ride by 10 miles and while I was excited at the time, it might have been too much of a jump. Or maybe going out on the jet ski after the bike ride was the problem. Either way, I was exhausted Sunday evening and pretty much just sat on the couch watching football. I was still tired on Monday, so I moved my interval run to Tuesday. My toe still hurt, so after the run I didn't go to Group Power as scheduled. Wednesday I worked late and missed spinning. Thursday, we went to the gym, but didn't get there till late and I just really wasn't feeling it. I did the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes and hardly worked up a sweat.

This morning I had 9 miles on my schedule, but my legs felt like they wanted to fall off after 6. I made it to 7 and then walked about 1/2 a mile home. I haven't been eating well this week and I think that also contributed to my lack of energy today. I have 3 weeks to get myself on track. I'll spin tomorrow and repeat last week's schedule in hopes that next week 9 miles really will be 9 miles and while they may not be easy, they at least won't be torture.

The Early Bird Gets Tired

Over the summer I got very used to getting up early Mon-Thurs and going to the gym for 5:30am spinning or Group Power (weight lifting). However, since school started at the beginning of September I have been having a very difficult time making myself get up at 4:30am to get the gym. I've been going to bed around the same time, 9:30pm, but getting up is so much harder. I think it is partly due to a combination of spending more time at work and cool mornings. However, I also think my increased running is playing a role. I'm training for the half-marathon by running 3-4 days per week. This is more often than I have run before and my mileage is increased. This week, I will run 16 miles. Prior to this, my highest was 15 miles because I did 2 long runs in 1 week (Sun and the following Sat).

Since all this running is probably making me need more sleep, I'm going to give myself permission to not go to the gym in the mornings. I learned from the Mini that too much cross-training with not enough running doesn't work. I'm hoping mostly running with some cross-training will work better.

Tonight I went to Group Power for the first time in several weeks. It's a new release that is easier so they instruct you to increase your weight. I stayed where I was the last time I went and felt pretty good. I'm a little sore now which is reinforcing my decision to sleep in and not going to the gym tomorrow morning because I always feel less sore after a good night's sleep.