First I'll start by wishing all our readers a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope you are enjoying your day.
Last night, we played hockey after I got back from Minneapolis. While in Minneapolis, I did quite a bit of Wii Fit, which was nothing special, really, but at the same time, I was still somewhat active. At hockey last night, it was pretty obvious I haven't played in awhile. My passes were off, my skating was slower, and girlfriend even commented that "you seem to have a weight on your shoulders". I didn't take this well and even had thoughts of leaving the ice; something I haven't wanted to do in many many years. Eventually I straightened my game out and played decently; scoring a goal right on the doorstep by catching the rebound off the end boards and another one by getting my own rebound and being paitient with the puck. At some point in the game, I took a puck off the ankle that I had surgery on back in high school. I was worried about the implications it would have on my run.
This morning, we ran in the Turkey Trot 4 mile race in Denver. Both girlfriend and I were apprehensive about running in this race; we haven't run in a long time and it was ass-cold outside. Plus, we were both tired. Nevertheless, we got to the race site and began warming up. Well, first we walked around and took in the sights. More on that in girlfriend's blog later.
We warmed up and decided that we would go in the 10:15 wave, rather than the 10:30 walk/run wave. No issue with that. We started out nice and slow, a very very slow pace. Coming up on mile 1, I stumbled and nearly rolled my ankle. The same one that I hurt playing hockey the previous night. I fought through it and we kept going. Made it to mile 2 and began slowing down. My ankle was beginning to act up again and we slowed even further. At mile 3, we walked a little bit; girlfriend needed to reattach her timing chip and we could both use a break. As we came up on the finish line, we actually stopped. Not by choice, but the race, poorly organized, was so jam-packed at the finish line that we had to walk the finish. Not cool, man.
I think our time was in the 47 minutes. Which honestly, we are both ok with. Should we be? Probably not, but for now, we're fine.
In the meantime, time to give my thanks for the year:
- My family who has always been there for me
- My friends who I can always rely on
- The fact I have a job in a rough economy
- My wonderful darling girlfriend who is WAAAAAY too good to me
Enjoy your turkey day people!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Hockey, Turkey Trot and FOOD
Okay, so I didn't get a chance to upload pictures until today OR blog, so I'm doing it now as I have a few minutes before working CC/AFA hockey (and after working the insanity that is starbucks across from a factory outlet mall on black friday. omgCRAZY).
First things first - hockey. Brandon and I finally got a chance to play hockey again on Wednesday night. Since drop-ins are usually late at night and I typically work early in the morning, it's half-impossible to play hockey. However, it worked out Wednesday.
It was a decent skate (or so i thought - boyfriend thought differently) for being the first time skating in almost two months. I did take a shot off the arm that hurt like hell at first but is fine now - not even that swollen anymore. I tried to get a picture of it to show y'all, but couldn't get a good one.
Anyway, after getting to bed at almost 1am, it's understandable that neither Brandon nor I wanted to get out of bed Thursday morning to go run 4 miles. We almost backed out, but figured since we had already paid, we may as well go. So, we dragged our butts out of bed, ate a small breakfast and headed to Wash Park to join 4,000 of our closest friends in running four miles.
Brandon pre-race prepping.
When we got there, it was understandably crowded (and cooold).
With Gobbles the Turkey mascot.
The line to get free Starbucks. They ran out by the time we got there post-race. Boo.
We decided to go visit the bathroom and then warm-up and stretch out. By this point, we're feeling marginally better about the race.
Not many port-o-potties for 4k people, eh? There was one more cluster near the finish line.
After stretching out and deciding we'd line up for the 4mi run start (as opposed to the 4mi run/walk start), we made our way to the start ... where we sat for about 20 minutes before the stupid race finally freaking started.
Start line ... and people!
Brandon waiting. Obviously not ready to start yet as there's not many people around us quite yet.
Brandon and I waiting for run. Look! We're finally excited!
Some guy's turkey hat. There were quite a few crazy costumes/hats.
After what seemed like forever, the race finally started. Despite having to walk pretty much until we got to the start mat, the race started out pretty well. We started off on a 10:00min mile pace ... but that died soon when my retarded timing chip fell off my shoe. Yeah, the zip ties they gave us were of a really good quality. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, we were a little sore, but we held up okay throughout most of the race. The course was primarily flat with a few "hilly" areas though I really am loath to use the term. We got overheated and our pace progressively slowed some, but we kept, well, jogging along until right around the three mile mark where we gave it up and walked for a few minutes. It wasn't long, however and probably only seemed bad because I stopped to put the stupid chip back on my shoe.
Eventually, we started to see the finish line which meant the end was in reach. Woo! As a result, we decided to be nerds and take pictures of the other running.
Brandon running along.
Go me!
The finish was actually the most disappointing part of this race. Because of the vast volume of people running, the finish line was a complete bottleneck - in short, it was the first race I haven't been able to sprint across the finish line which disappointed me. Even in the tri this year where I about melted and walked the majority of the run section, I still pulled out a sprint finish. So, to not be able to do that sucked. Hard. The one silver lining about it? I was able to get a shot of the finish line.
Finish line. Stupid walk finish.
In any case, we were glad to have run the race, even though we think we may just do a smaller 5K next year because this was just ridiculous. Oh well, it's one of those Denver races that everyone does/knows about so it was fun to do for that reason. Plus we got sweet coffee mugs from Runners Roost which made the entry fee almost worth it.
Oh, and we ran it together, although Brandon's official time has him finishing ahead of me by one second. Loser pants. Anyway, I personally had a time of 48:26 for a 12:06.5 mile. Not great, but hey, it's the longest run I've done to date so I'm okay with it.
Post run.
Besides, running made us feel marginally less ... bad about eating dinner. Although, thinking on it, I really didn't eat as much as I have on Thanksgivings past. Still, it made the deep-fried turkey a little more enjoyable (yes, our family deep-fried a turkey. we also baked one. 34 total pounds of turkey at our house. i know, i know.).
As my brother put it, Kentucky Fried Turkey.
Back again tomorrow when I actually have time to put in a decent workout.
First things first - hockey. Brandon and I finally got a chance to play hockey again on Wednesday night. Since drop-ins are usually late at night and I typically work early in the morning, it's half-impossible to play hockey. However, it worked out Wednesday.
It was a decent skate (or so i thought - boyfriend thought differently) for being the first time skating in almost two months. I did take a shot off the arm that hurt like hell at first but is fine now - not even that swollen anymore. I tried to get a picture of it to show y'all, but couldn't get a good one.
Anyway, after getting to bed at almost 1am, it's understandable that neither Brandon nor I wanted to get out of bed Thursday morning to go run 4 miles. We almost backed out, but figured since we had already paid, we may as well go. So, we dragged our butts out of bed, ate a small breakfast and headed to Wash Park to join 4,000 of our closest friends in running four miles.
Brandon pre-race prepping.
When we got there, it was understandably crowded (and cooold).
With Gobbles the Turkey mascot.
The line to get free Starbucks. They ran out by the time we got there post-race. Boo.
We decided to go visit the bathroom and then warm-up and stretch out. By this point, we're feeling marginally better about the race.
Not many port-o-potties for 4k people, eh? There was one more cluster near the finish line.
After stretching out and deciding we'd line up for the 4mi run start (as opposed to the 4mi run/walk start), we made our way to the start ... where we sat for about 20 minutes before the stupid race finally freaking started.
Start line ... and people!
Brandon waiting. Obviously not ready to start yet as there's not many people around us quite yet.
Brandon and I waiting for run. Look! We're finally excited!
Some guy's turkey hat. There were quite a few crazy costumes/hats.
After what seemed like forever, the race finally started. Despite having to walk pretty much until we got to the start mat, the race started out pretty well. We started off on a 10:00min mile pace ... but that died soon when my retarded timing chip fell off my shoe. Yeah, the zip ties they gave us were of a really good quality. *rolls eyes*
Anyway, we were a little sore, but we held up okay throughout most of the race. The course was primarily flat with a few "hilly" areas though I really am loath to use the term. We got overheated and our pace progressively slowed some, but we kept, well, jogging along until right around the three mile mark where we gave it up and walked for a few minutes. It wasn't long, however and probably only seemed bad because I stopped to put the stupid chip back on my shoe.
Eventually, we started to see the finish line which meant the end was in reach. Woo! As a result, we decided to be nerds and take pictures of the other running.
Brandon running along.
Go me!
The finish was actually the most disappointing part of this race. Because of the vast volume of people running, the finish line was a complete bottleneck - in short, it was the first race I haven't been able to sprint across the finish line which disappointed me. Even in the tri this year where I about melted and walked the majority of the run section, I still pulled out a sprint finish. So, to not be able to do that sucked. Hard. The one silver lining about it? I was able to get a shot of the finish line.
Finish line. Stupid walk finish.
In any case, we were glad to have run the race, even though we think we may just do a smaller 5K next year because this was just ridiculous. Oh well, it's one of those Denver races that everyone does/knows about so it was fun to do for that reason. Plus we got sweet coffee mugs from Runners Roost which made the entry fee almost worth it.
Oh, and we ran it together, although Brandon's official time has him finishing ahead of me by one second. Loser pants. Anyway, I personally had a time of 48:26 for a 12:06.5 mile. Not great, but hey, it's the longest run I've done to date so I'm okay with it.
Post run.
Besides, running made us feel marginally less ... bad about eating dinner. Although, thinking on it, I really didn't eat as much as I have on Thanksgivings past. Still, it made the deep-fried turkey a little more enjoyable (yes, our family deep-fried a turkey. we also baked one. 34 total pounds of turkey at our house. i know, i know.).
As my brother put it, Kentucky Fried Turkey.
Back again tomorrow when I actually have time to put in a decent workout.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Turkey Day!
Will blog later about hockey last night (pain!) and the 4-mile race this morning (more pain!) AND include photos ... but for now, I've got to finish a column.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving! (or, for those elsewhere, happy random thursday!)
Hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving! (or, for those elsewhere, happy random thursday!)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Frozen Ears
So I ran today. Should have worked out yesterday as it was the first day since FRIDAY that my legs didn't hurt (too badly; okay, i tried to do squats in the bathroom randomly and my hamstrings still whined), but boyfriendpants left me and I was whiny and yeah.
BUT, since I have a crazy FOUR MILE RACE on Thursday, I figured I better get off my butt and run.
Well, that, and I got two pairs of running tights (that i can wear under shorts) at the Nike outlet - one full-legged and fleecy and the other cropped and non-fleecy - so I wanted to test them out. Turkey Day's supposed to be rainy and I want to be WARM.
So, I laced up the ol' sneaks and headed outside in the cropped, non-fleecy pair of tights, a pair of Maine hockey shorts that I picked up when visiting colleges and a Nike dri-fit long-sleeved shirt that I think I'm going to have to toss as the sleeves are about two inches shorter than they probably should be.
What I realized I forgot and probably should have worn about two minutes into the run was my fleecy running toque (that has a hole for my ponytail even). See, one thing you should know about me (and, in all honesty, i've probably already mentioned in a hockey post) is that when the surrounding air is somewhat cold - well, cold enough to make my ears feel frozen - and I exert myself, my sports asthma gets accentuated. Don't ask me why. As a result, I realized soon into my little jog that it might not go as well as initially thought.
Initially I wanted to do at least a good two miles, since I'll probably be running the longest distance of my life to date* on Thanksgiving. Buuuut, due to the cold (temp. thing inside house said 53 out ... weather.com concurs) that reallyisn'teventhatcoldnow and the way my body reacts to said notreallycoldness, I trimmed down my mileage to a less-ambitious 1.35 miles which I completed in 13:32 for a crappy 10:01.48 mile.
A crappy 10:01.48 mile, I might add, that I would be THRILLED with should it turn out to be my average on Thursday.
HOCKEY TOMORROW!
*which, if you think about it, is pretty sad as in THEORY, I should have been running like six mile distances in my triathlon/5k prep. yeah, not so much. that is to change though next spring if the feet hold up though!
BUT, since I have a crazy FOUR MILE RACE on Thursday, I figured I better get off my butt and run.
Well, that, and I got two pairs of running tights (that i can wear under shorts) at the Nike outlet - one full-legged and fleecy and the other cropped and non-fleecy - so I wanted to test them out. Turkey Day's supposed to be rainy and I want to be WARM.
So, I laced up the ol' sneaks and headed outside in the cropped, non-fleecy pair of tights, a pair of Maine hockey shorts that I picked up when visiting colleges and a Nike dri-fit long-sleeved shirt that I think I'm going to have to toss as the sleeves are about two inches shorter than they probably should be.
What I realized I forgot and probably should have worn about two minutes into the run was my fleecy running toque (that has a hole for my ponytail even). See, one thing you should know about me (and, in all honesty, i've probably already mentioned in a hockey post) is that when the surrounding air is somewhat cold - well, cold enough to make my ears feel frozen - and I exert myself, my sports asthma gets accentuated. Don't ask me why. As a result, I realized soon into my little jog that it might not go as well as initially thought.
Initially I wanted to do at least a good two miles, since I'll probably be running the longest distance of my life to date* on Thanksgiving. Buuuut, due to the cold (temp. thing inside house said 53 out ... weather.com concurs) that reallyisn'teventhatcoldnow and the way my body reacts to said notreallycoldness, I trimmed down my mileage to a less-ambitious 1.35 miles which I completed in 13:32 for a crappy 10:01.48 mile.
A crappy 10:01.48 mile, I might add, that I would be THRILLED with should it turn out to be my average on Thursday.
HOCKEY TOMORROW!
*which, if you think about it, is pretty sad as in THEORY, I should have been running like six mile distances in my triathlon/5k prep. yeah, not so much. that is to change though next spring if the feet hold up though!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A day off, but not really
After shopping for delicious holiday items such as turkey, stuffing ingredients, and green bean casserole items, girlfriend and I left her mom at the store and walked home. Total distance of 1.55 miles. We did it in about 20-25 minutes, so a decent clip. I like the long walks with girlfriend because we talk about serious stuff, which is good since we are normally two dorky kids!
Since we were sore today, I think that's about all we're gonna get, but you know what??? It's ok. It still was a decent workout.
Since we were sore today, I think that's about all we're gonna get, but you know what??? It's ok. It still was a decent workout.
Stretching the Legs
The family (okay, mom, brandon and i) did our Thanksgiving day grocery shop today before everything gets crazy and we can't find turkeys anymore.
Anyway, thanks to the crazy workout from yesterday, both Brandon and I are sore-pants. As a result, we didn't want to do anything too strenuous as it would be counterproductive to muscle repair. So, Brandon and I decided to just walk home from the grocery store - about 1.55 miles. It took us a little over 20 minutes and we actually started working through some of the soreness which is good.
In other news, we, perhaps misguidedly, signed up for a 4mi race on Thanksgiving - the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot. It will be interesting and it will probably not go as well as say, the Autumn Color Run, but we're planning on doing it together which will be good.
That, and it'll help us justify the turkey, pumpkin pie and assorted other goodies we devour later that day.
Anyway, thanks to the crazy workout from yesterday, both Brandon and I are sore-pants. As a result, we didn't want to do anything too strenuous as it would be counterproductive to muscle repair. So, Brandon and I decided to just walk home from the grocery store - about 1.55 miles. It took us a little over 20 minutes and we actually started working through some of the soreness which is good.
In other news, we, perhaps misguidedly, signed up for a 4mi race on Thanksgiving - the Mile High United Way Turkey Trot. It will be interesting and it will probably not go as well as say, the Autumn Color Run, but we're planning on doing it together which will be good.
That, and it'll help us justify the turkey, pumpkin pie and assorted other goodies we devour later that day.
Friday, November 21, 2008
My Poor Hammys
So, yeah, the streak ended ... go figure. But, we went back to the gym today since I was off (and am off until tuesday).
Started out with the typical warm-up and then did 15 minutes of intervals on the treadmill (the 2/3 pattern three times). I'm thinking something went wrong during this part of the workout because after we lunged, my hamstrings started being achy ... and they usually don't get achy right away. I'm thinking it was either a.) I pushed myself too hard during intervals ... given that I'm sick and I tried going crazier than boyfriend at first (weird) or b.) my feet didn't like the fact that I was wearing my gym shoes which are my OLD running shoes. In any case ... mmmrrraaaa.
After we did some crunches, we decided to scrap the leg press thanks to my stupid hamstrings and just moved on to calf raises. Pounded some of those out and then it was on to upper body. We did lat pulldowns where I ended up doing FOUR sets of 10 instead of three - started at 40lbs and moved all the way up to 70 so yay.
After that, it was dumbbell fly(e?)s, dumbbell chest presses and standing tricep extensions before we boogied on out.
My hamstrings are going to kill me tomorrow and especially Sunday, so I'm thankful I'm not working for a few days so I don't constantly have to bend over to grab stuff.
Started out with the typical warm-up and then did 15 minutes of intervals on the treadmill (the 2/3 pattern three times). I'm thinking something went wrong during this part of the workout because after we lunged, my hamstrings started being achy ... and they usually don't get achy right away. I'm thinking it was either a.) I pushed myself too hard during intervals ... given that I'm sick and I tried going crazier than boyfriend at first (weird) or b.) my feet didn't like the fact that I was wearing my gym shoes which are my OLD running shoes. In any case ... mmmrrraaaa.
After we did some crunches, we decided to scrap the leg press thanks to my stupid hamstrings and just moved on to calf raises. Pounded some of those out and then it was on to upper body. We did lat pulldowns where I ended up doing FOUR sets of 10 instead of three - started at 40lbs and moved all the way up to 70 so yay.
After that, it was dumbbell fly(e?)s, dumbbell chest presses and standing tricep extensions before we boogied on out.
My hamstrings are going to kill me tomorrow and especially Sunday, so I'm thankful I'm not working for a few days so I don't constantly have to bend over to grab stuff.
Big gym session
To prevent talking ourselves out of going to the gym, which has kind of been a staple for us lately...we wrote down last night what we wanted to do at the gym today. My main thing was LIFTING! I haven't lifted in awhile, and my muscles have been feeling it.
Here's the list of what we wanted to do:
- 5 minute warm-up and stretch
- 15 minute treadmill workout
- Lunges
- Situps
- Leg Press
- Calf raises
- Dumbbell Flys
- Dumbbell chest presses
- Triceps
- Lat Pull downs
- Curls
We did most of those. We left out leg pressing due to girlfriend having a sore hamstring and left out curls, because I was getting some pointers in my left wrist (has been a problem for awhile now, but no big deal, really).
My body was kind of screaming at me today, saying "what the hell is going on up in here? You haven't pushed me this hard in a LONG time!" I think that's a good sign...and an even better sign is how much working out we have done this week. Is it where we were at in May/June? No. But at the very least we are maintaining.
Here's the list of what we wanted to do:
- 5 minute warm-up and stretch
- 15 minute treadmill workout
- Lunges
- Situps
- Leg Press
- Calf raises
- Dumbbell Flys
- Dumbbell chest presses
- Triceps
- Lat Pull downs
- Curls
We did most of those. We left out leg pressing due to girlfriend having a sore hamstring and left out curls, because I was getting some pointers in my left wrist (has been a problem for awhile now, but no big deal, really).
My body was kind of screaming at me today, saying "what the hell is going on up in here? You haven't pushed me this hard in a LONG time!" I think that's a good sign...and an even better sign is how much working out we have done this week. Is it where we were at in May/June? No. But at the very least we are maintaining.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Call Me Coach T
I don't want to get all of our hopes up ... but I/we've worked out every day since Saturday. Only four days, but that's impressive given my crappy, crappy track record lately.
Today was ridiculously warm out for Colorado so Brandon and I were thinking of going for another run ... until our mutual friend Jimi texted Brandon. Jimi coaches pee wee hockey (9- and 10-year-olds) and asked if we wanted to help out tonight. Since the two of us haven't played hockey in FOREVER (mostly in part due to my crappy schedule), we jumped on the opportunity.
So, we got a little over an hour in of skating, passing and shooting. It wasn't all that strenuous, but I still managed to work up a little bit of a sweat, so yay. :)
Today was ridiculously warm out for Colorado so Brandon and I were thinking of going for another run ... until our mutual friend Jimi texted Brandon. Jimi coaches pee wee hockey (9- and 10-year-olds) and asked if we wanted to help out tonight. Since the two of us haven't played hockey in FOREVER (mostly in part due to my crappy schedule), we jumped on the opportunity.
So, we got a little over an hour in of skating, passing and shooting. It wasn't all that strenuous, but I still managed to work up a little bit of a sweat, so yay. :)
Monday, November 17, 2008
RUN OUTSIDE! OMG! INBD!
Ok, maybe it is. Since I have not run outside since October 20th, this is actually a big deal for me. Nearly a month of not running outside. Sure, I've tried keeping up with the cardio (and failing) at it, but every now and then I've gotten some in. But really nothing beats running outside for the workout. Espeically for my mind.
So in any event, girlfriend had an eventful day, as you can tell by her blog. Mine, not so much. Instead, I laid around and cleaned up our room. WHEEEE! When girlfriend got home, we cuddled a bit and then went running together. We did the classic Lodgepole Loop. I was able to run it in 11:51 which is actually surprising and not bad.
I hope this starts me on the right track again. I need to step it up.
So in any event, girlfriend had an eventful day, as you can tell by her blog. Mine, not so much. Instead, I laid around and cleaned up our room. WHEEEE! When girlfriend got home, we cuddled a bit and then went running together. We did the classic Lodgepole Loop. I was able to run it in 11:51 which is actually surprising and not bad.
I hope this starts me on the right track again. I need to step it up.
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