Training Log Archive: kissy

Drove over to the Snowy Mountains today for a change of pace. Skied a beautiful loop at a Scout Camp. The trail was not groomed for skating, so it was a little difficult, but the weather was beautiful. Then we drove over to a snowmobile trail which was more open but had many moguls all over it. Not my favorite, but it was still fun. Tonight is watching the Giants game, praying they lose so my beloved Redskins can clinch the division title.

C • NFC East 1

Went back out to Happy Jack trails. It was much, much, much windier today and my face felt very frozen. Opted out of a trainer session to take another hot shower and make a tasty dinner of shrimp risotto.

The weather was not quite as nice as it has been. It was clouded over, windy and cold. I added a new, more difficult loop to my repertoire. I also figured out that when you skate ski you get a lot more power if you center your leg again before each push...duh! And did I mention it was windy??!! It was so windy, a truck was blown out of the parking lot, down a hill. I'm just glad that wasn't our truck!

Since I was freezing beyond belief after skiing, I opted out of a trainer session and *for* a hot shower to warm up and then some shopping in downtown Laramie. Unlike Peggy, I will *not* log it as training!

C • shopping 1

It was very windy today! I felt a little clumsy today for the first half of the outing, but fell into a better rhythm towards the end. Although windy, it was a beautiful sunny day with deep blue skies.

Rode a little harder on the trainer today since I wasn't out as long on skis. Since I had read both of my "Outside" magazines, I turned to my book "Guns, Germs and Steel."

C • Are you in Laramie? 5

Decided to skip skiing today and just get in a run. Ran in to town and back. It was definitely colder today, and I'm still feeling a little bit of the altitude. However, it was nice to go for a run.

I was reminded today by a very interested party that I hadn't yet disclosed my new toenail polish color. I decided to go with "Blushingham Palace," a saucy little sparkly plum color. Quite festive for the holiday season.

C • Polish 2

Back out on the Happy Jack trails. Not only did I manage 4 loops today, two of them had an added little loop tacked on. It definitely felt smoother today, with more of the flowing feeling showing up. It was a beautiful day, evidently much warmer than it should be. I don't mind that anomaly at all!

Back on the trainer today. Still reading "Outside" magazine, with today's article about the controversy on the death of Gunther Messner, brother of famed mountaineer, Reinhold Messner. It was pretty interesting.

Today was my first time on cross-country skis in 18 years. Plus, my first time ever on skating skis. It was a bit of a humbling experience. I spent the first 30 mins. just figuring out how to move my legs and arms in some sort of synchronized fashion. Then I did a few loops around the campground trails at Happy Jack. I was about to attempt a third loop when I realized my arms felt like spaghetti and maybe it was time to call it a day. Tomorrow, though, I do three loops!

No TV this time. Read an article in "Outside" magazine about a Christian fitness guru who is preaching that everyone must take care of the vessel that God gave them. An interesting way to get more of the population in shape.

Travel day. Spent 2 hours sitting on the tarmac at O'Hare airport, just to take a 1:45 hour trip to Denver. At least they showed a movie while we were waiting..."Willy Wonka" with Johnny Depp. My favorite.

Just a quick jaunt through the neighborhood. My hamstring is back to hurting when I run. Stupid ice!

Yes, the usual weight training stuff.

Did my usual trainer session. My shin is still swollen from when I smashed it on Saturday. I'm hopping the cycling will help get rid of some of the swelling. The TV viewing tonight was "Wife Swap" and "Two and a Half Men"...both quite entertaining.

The boys and I went to Riverbend Park for a local meet. I bet them venti mocha frappacinos that they couldn't beat me. We all started at the same time with Graham on Yellow, Tanner on Orange, and me on Red. I made a few errors, the worst of which was on the shortest leg! I ran right by the control, didn't see it, hit the trail on the other side. Ran up the trail a bit, matching everything perfectly. Came back down the trail thinking "it should be right where I came over the saddle." I looked back up to where I came over, and lo and behold, there it was. I hate that! Needless to say, the boys enjoyed their massive drinks on the ride home.

Went out on the trail loop I have been running lately in PWF with Valerie, who was measuring the distance with her GPS thing. Unfortunately, what the park trail posts had measured at 9.8 miles, she measured at 9.25 :-( So now I have to tack on more trail to get to 10. And now I realize I wasn't moving along quite as swiftly as I had thought.

It was a nice run but the trails were still icy in many spots, but not too muddy. We moved with extra caution, but not carefully enough across this one little bridge. I slipped on some ice and my right shin smacked down on the edge of the wood. I almost cried and probably would have if Valerie hadn't been there. I now have about a 6" scrape sitting on top a linear bruise that is swollen. Should be beautiful by tomorrow.

All in all, though, it was a nice run. I get set in my running ways when I'm always running by myself, so it's nice to run with someone new who will make me push myself when I might normally not.

C • Pictures? 10

I have been a ginormous slug this week, but today that ends!

After a rather busy week at work, I decided it was time to get out there and do something. So I did my new little pick-up workout (sliding some 5 min. intervals into the middle of a workout). It was freezing cold and the roads and sidewalks were very slippery. Of course, with my first step, I slipped and totally pulled my hamstring that I've been trying to nurse back to health :-( I guess it's back to the heating pad and Vitamin I.

Did my usual hour on the trainer, but made it a resistance workout versus a spinning workout. It just makes me feel like I've worked harder...which I think I have!

Went back to Prince William Forest with other folks from QOC to survey the terrain as compared to the LIDAR base map. Walked a section of an area near Turkey Run Ridge. This really helped determine what we need to do to be able to use this for making a base map. I had to cut out early to get home for when the boys came back from camping.

C • LIDAR 3

It was a little chilly today so decided to go for a swim. Plus, the boys are gone for the weekend at a scout campout, so I can pretty much do as I please...not a common occurence over the past few decades...it's a very nice feeling. Anyway, I had to stop a little sooner than planned because my toes kept cramping up so bad...ouch!
3x200 (50free/50kick/50drill/50free); 3x100 (25kick/50free/25kick); 10x25 drill; 8x100 free

Just a short run through the neighborhood. It ended up being a game of dodge-em with the cars. Since the sides of the road are now banks of snow, I have to run in the road, and these roads are pretty narrow. So, everytime a car came, I ran on the other side of the road. And when two cars came at once...I ended up in the snow. Brrr!

Nothing special. Just did some weight training.

Went out to run on a road that is flatter than those near my house so I could do some pick-ups. I've decided I need to work on getting out of the rut of running the same speed all of the time. It felt ok, although my hamstring wasn't so happy. I ran 11e/5f/5e/5f/5e/5f/14e.

Yahoo! We are getting the first snow of the season. We have about 4" already here in Stafford, and it's still snowing. This is pretty early for us to be getting snow, but that's fine with me. In celebration, I hopped on my trainer tonight and watched "In Good Company" with Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, and Scarlett Johansson. I could only watch the first half because it's my bedtime, but I'll try to catch the second half another time. It seemed like a good movie. I really like Scarlett Johansson; she was good in that movie with Bill Murray...what was that called again?

C • Just as proof people are reading... 5

Ran the same trail run I did last weekend, and took almost the exact same time. It was a bee-yootiful day today after heavy rains last night. The sun was shining and it was in the high 50's when I started running. I could definitely have been in shorts rather than the tights I had on. I felt very good running out there, concentrating again on picking up my feet...I didn't fall at all! I ran all the hills except for one that is so steep it has stairs cut into it. I'll see how my hamstring feels tonight...right now it's just a little sore.

Ran one of the Green courses from the US Champs at PWF. I thought it was going to be pretty cold, but it was just about perfect. The sky was grey and heavy with the forecasted snow, and the temperature was about 37 degrees. I had a little trouble with the navigation, coming in on the wrong spur to one control and completely blowing a control later in the course. I'm not even sure I ended up in the right ditch. I did, however, do a good job with woods running. I have a tendency to drag my feet which leads to many falls. So today I concentrated on lifting my knees high and I didn't fall once! I also took smaller steps so as to not aggravate my hamstring, and it didn't hurt very much at all.

Since I'm still trying to rest my hamstring, I decided to do my weight session tonight. This is really a combination of free weights and core strength training, with some stretching in there for flexibility.