Winter’s Making a Comeback

February 26, 2023 by 26 Comments

After an amazing stretch of mild weather for February, we came crashing back to reality this week as Old Man Winter made it clear he was not ready to leave the party. Icy conditions and a sub-zero wind chill meant spending some quality time with my treadmill. Here’s a peek at how the week played out.

Winter’s Making a Comeback

Monday — 2.5 miles & Core. While I don’t usually run back-to-back days, I wanted to shift to my new workout schedule so a Monday run was needed. I had the day off for Presidents’ Day and it was 50 degrees so it really wasn’t too hard to get out the door for a short loop.
Tuesday — Rest day
Wednesday — Upper Body Strength, Core & Hip mobility. This class was recommended in one of the Peloton Facebook groups, and it’s become an instant favorite!


Thursday — 3.5 miles, Core & Hip mobility. An ice/snow mix hit early in the morning so this was a treadmill run.
Friday — Peloton bike, Core, & Lower Body Strength
Saturday — 6 miles. My longest run of 2023…and on the mill no less! Temps in the teens before factoring in the wind chill made running outdoors a hard “No” for me. I’m not going to lie – this many miles on the mill for me was not easy.
Sunday — On the plan: Peloton Bike & Yoga. I keep saying I need to get to my yoga mat…today’s the day!

The highlight of the week was hitting my February goal of returning to a 6-mile “long run”. The slow and steady mileage build seems to be paying off and I’m excited to see what March will bring. The forecast for the week ahead is filled with snow and freezing temps – I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can get outside for next week’s long run.

In Case You Missed It:

My February Runfessions

Is it feeling like winter where you are? How do you feel about treadmill running?

I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down. Join us!

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Filed Under: treadmill run, Weekly Run Down

Wrapping up Black Cat Week 1

January 7, 2018 by 42 Comments

The first week of the new year is in the books so it’s a good time to get back to weekly updates. I’m linking up with Holly and new host Wendy for the Weekly Wrap – this a great link up to find support and motivation, so be sure to stop by and check out how everyone spent their first week of 2018.

For me, this week marked the start of my training for the Black Cat 10 miler. While I was all fired up to hit the pavement, Mother Nature had something to say about it.

Monday – New Year’s Day & a rest day

Tuesday – Strength training. While I usually run on Tuesdays, a quick glance at the weather and the snowstorm coming on Thursday had me juggling my schedule so I could keep an every-other-day run schedule.

Wednesday – Bitter temps settled in and with hill repeats on my plan I ran my first miles of the year on the mill.

Thursday – Cross training by way of shoveling 12 inches of snow thanks to the “bomb cyclone”.

Friday – Sub-zero temps and ridiculous winds meant I was heading back to the gym for another run. The highlight was having my son join me!

Saturday – I was feeling very beat up after Friday’s run (happens often to me after mill runs) so I was happy to have a rest day.

Sunday – Yeah it was 1 degree so back to the gym I went. 6 more miles on the mill.

So while I would have preferred to have run outdoors, I’m happy with 13 miles to kick off this training cycle. The forecast shows a warm-up into the 30s this week so I’ll look forward to hitting the road.

So how was your first week of the year? Are you training for anything?

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Filed Under: Black Cat 10 Miler, training, treadmill run, Weekly Wrap

Weekly Wrap – Embracing the mill

February 12, 2017 by 22 Comments

Happy Sunday!

As I type this, the wind is picking up and the snow is falling. The second significant snow storm in just 4 days. School’s already been cancelled for tomorrow, and I’m trying to re-configure my work day.

But before I get to dealing with that I’m linking up with Holly  and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

Between the snow, icy conditions and a hectic schedule, it was all about the gym and time on the mill this week. And, the 5 min/day planking streak continued!

Monday — Rest Day
Tuesday — Speed work- While I’m not a fan on running on the mill in general, I don’t mind doing speed work on it. Just set the pace and go!
Wednesday — Strength day followed by a much needed massage!

Thursday — Shoveling snow counts for cross-training right?
Friday — Back to the mill for 800 meter repeats
Saturday — Rest day
Sunday — 4 more mill miles as once again the left knee/calf wasn’t really not interested in doing a long run – which is problematic when you’ve got a half marathon just 5 weeks away….but let’s not think about that right now!

The left leg was pretty unhappy all week and required a lot of special attention. At the urging of my massage therapist (she’s convinced I’m out of alignment), I’m going to try to squeeze in an appointment with the chiropractor this week. I really don’t want to take any more time off from running, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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Filed Under: left knee, treadmill run, Weekly Wrap

AlterG – Treadmill Love!

September 17, 2014 by 17 Comments

I have finally found a treadmill I could love!

Yes people…for those of you who’ve been around here for a while and know how I feel about treadmills this may come as a shock…but I’ve found just such a treadmill! The AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill.

AlterG

I got to meet my new love last Friday at Functional Fitness and Physical Therapy in N. Easton, MA. There I met co-owner Sarah Anestam, a licensed physical therapist, who walked me through getting set up on the AlterG. I slipped on a pair of neoprene shorts so I could be zipped into the AlterG’s pressurized air chamber. Sarah started the machine and I could feel the air chamber begin to fill with air. The machine then calculates your weight – (I love that they don’t rely on you to tell the truth!) – and once it calibrates you’re ready to run. Sarah first reduced my body weight to 80% – I instantly felt light and quick. She then took me down to 50% explaining that this closely mimicked running in a pool – but without any risk of slipping or getting stitches wet if recovering from a leg/hip surgery. Sarah soon left me to my own devices, encouraging me to play with the weight, speed and inclines.

On the AlterGRunning on the AlterG felt smooth and effortless. I easily pushed the pace, at one point hitting the 8 min range, while still chatting with Sarah (only in my dreams people!). I could focus on form and turnover without any undue stress on my legs – my cranky ITB was silent!

alterG backThe AlterG allows you to walk and run from 20 – 100% of your body weight making it an ideal tool for rehabbing from surgery or coming back from injury. Sarah also pointed out that time on the AlterG was also very beneficial for runners looking to train longer and faster  – building both endurance and leg strength without undue stress. Yeah sign me up!

In fact, at Functional Fitness, runners can buy time on the AlterG, $25 for 30 minutes or a 10-pack for $200. Sarah noted she sees a lot of runners come in during peak Boston Marathon training! I am thrilled to have discovered this great training resource and, with Functional Fitness a short drive away, I will be putting this to use in the future.

A huge thanks to Outside PR for arranging this demo for me and to Sarah at Functional Fitness and Physical Therapy for being so generous with her time!

 

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Filed Under: AlterG, product reviews, training, treadmill run

Weekend wrap-up

January 21, 2013 by 5 Comments

Since we were heading out of town for a hockey tournament this weekend, I decided to move my long run to Friday. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided on 20 degrees with the wind chill of 9. Now I’ll do almost anything to avoid the ‘mill, but given the frigid temps I really felt like I had no choice. So this would be a first – long run on the mill!

I played every mind game I could think of, varied my pace and the elevation, alternated between music and ESPN, and people-watched the handful of people in the gym who came and went. It took everything trick I could come up with, but I got it done….10 miles….a new treadmill distance PR!

Next we were off to the hockey tournament. While the boys’ didn’t win, the games were hard fought. Truthfully I think the boys all enjoyed the time between the games more – the beauty of staying in a hotel with an indoor pool and arcade! We also got to catch up with family – J’s parents live about a half hour from the arena and my sister-in-law and nephew drove down from Upstate New York to meet us.

Unfortunately, we got home on Sunday to watch my beloved Patriots implode last night in the AFC Championship game  – so I will be running my #MilesofShame this week. (Pavement Runner and NYC Running Mama organized a little runners’ wager on this weekend’s games – if your team lost, you run the point differential. Luckily for me, you had the option to cap your miles, so I’ll only be running 10 instead of 15!)

The kids are off today for Martin L. King Day….and yes of course that means there’s another hockey game! Otherwise, we plan to spend the day hanging out and I’m hoping to get J to come with me to check out a new gym.

How was your weekend?
What’s the farthest you’ve gone on a treadmill?
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Filed Under: #MilesofShame, general musings, Patriots, treadmill run

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

September 8, 2011 by 6 Comments

This morning marks Day 2 of watching the big yellow bus whisk my “baby” off to Kindergarten. Why is it that they never look smaller or more vulnerable then when they’re climbing up those bus stairs?

With both boys now on the same school schedule (cue the angels singing!), I’ve now got a big block of time for client projects, house projects…and to up the ante on my running. Following the Providence RnR, there was major mileage shrinkage in August. But let’s be honest, it wasn’t only the mileage that went down, my enthusiasm for yoga and strength training was non-existant. I was tired and I was getting my tail kicked by ragweed. I was happier just hanging out and enjoying the last weeks of the summer – cocktails were enjoyed and I pretty much ate what I wanted. But, I did jumpstart my training last week and am feel pretty good about the effort I put in. And now, I have more flexibility in getting my workouts in, so I’m expecting big things for this month!

With the weather faucet in what seems like the permanent “on” position, I’m fully embracing the treadmill. I have been known to whine in the past about the ‘mill, but I’ve decided I need to change my attitude. So when I hit the gym now I remind myself to be grateful that I have an alternative to pounding the pavement in sloshy running shoes. The attitude adjustment helps – the runs haven’t felt like such a chore, and I actually like doing my hill work on the ‘mill. Besides, it all gives me a chance to get my fill of ESPN and all things football!

Season kicks off tonight – Go Saints!

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Filed Under: 3 things, back to school, football, mileage shrinkage, treadmill run

Treadmill hills

April 13, 2011 by 3 Comments

Driving rain combined with a little thunder and lightening meant I was heading to the treadmill this morning. To keep it interesting I decided to do a hills workout. I picked the “foothills” workout from Running Planet that I’ve mentioned here before – I like it because it stairsteps up and down through a couple of inclines for a total of five miles, which was the perfect distance for my training plan today.

Basically, after a little warm-up, you pick an incline to start, run 1 mile then increase the incline by 1 and run 3/4 of a mile, increase the incline again by 1 and run a 1/2 mile then increase the incline one more time by 1 and run another 1/2 mile. You then decrease the incline in increments of 1 to return to your starting incline, while running another 1/2 mile, then 3/4 mile and then final mile. For me, this workout really makes the time on the ‘mill fly by! If you’re looking to mix it up a little on the treadmill, I say give hills a try!

Short easy run on the decks tomorrow before my first double digit run on Friday! I hope the weather cooperates, ’cause there’s no way I’m doing my first 10 miler on the lovely ‘mill.

Do you have a favorite treadmill workout?

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Filed Under: hill work, treadmill run

New Day, New Attitude

February 6, 2011 by 6 Comments

Thanks to those of you who indulged me in my little pity party on Friday – I really appreciated the encouragement!

So I’ve shaken off my mini funk, tweaked my plan and am ready to get going again! After a week off, I wasn’t sure how the run was going to feel this morning or how far I was going to go. It was back to the treadmill and after the first couple of funky miles, I finally settled in, found a rhythm and decided that running a 10k would be good for my psyche. 6.2 miles done!

This week’s revised plan:

Monday — Yoga
Tuesday — Easy 4 miles
Wednesday — TRX/Pilates class
Thursday — Speedwork
Friday — 3 miles
Saturday — Pilates Reformer
Sunday — Long Run (7 or 8)

Looking forward to a good week!

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Filed Under: training, treadmill run

Best laid plans….

February 4, 2011 by 8 Comments

The plan was to kick February off with a bang!

After a step back week, I was going to up the mileage this week, I had my strength workouts laid out and the plan was to start and end every day with a little yoga. Sounds good, right?

Yeah well…the combination of Mother Nature, early school closings, no school and the dreaded stomach bug quickly turned this week into the week that wasn’t. So now I sit here, almost two pounds lighter (but I would strongly advise against this diet approach) trying to tweak my plan so I can stay on my goal to improve my 10k time at Hyannis at the end of the month. I must admit that I’m not feeling very confident. I honestly feel like I’ve been getting slower on the treadmill….is that possible or am I just psyching myself out? Well, whatever it is I’ve got three weeks to shake it off…hmmm, better get back to tweaking….

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Filed Under: goals, Hyannis 10k, treadmill run, weather

January rewind

February 1, 2011 by 2 Comments
Good things this month:
  • Logged 56 relatively pain-free miles – ice and foam roller helped to keep the ITB in check.
  • Did not miss one scheduled run despite weekly snow storms of biblical proportion (ok slight exaggeration… or not if you listen to our local weatherman!)
  • Added TRX to my weekly routine and I’m loving it! It kicks my arse in a good way.
  • Finally took on hill work, and on the treadmill no less!
  • Added yoga to my training….ok on the last day of the month, but technically I did add it
  • Completed the first week of the Chopra Center’s 21-day Meditation Challenge. I’m not zen yet, but I’m working on it.
  • 63 of you now following my madness…er…journey — I appreciate the support!
Things I could do without:
  • Treadmill as my new BFF….I need to start keeping better company. I miss the road. I will take the bitter cold temps if Mother Nature will just give the snow show a rest!
  • Shoveling as a form of cross-training…ok I’m done whining.
  • hmmm…that’s it…short list!
On the decks for February:
  • More…more TRX, more yoga and more miles…more ice.
  • Want to do a better job paying attention to what I’m eating – I don’t eat a lot of junk, but I could fuel and hydrate better, especially as I hope to increase my miles.
  • Hyannis 10k

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    Filed Under: Chopra Center, Hyannis 10k, meditation, month in review, treadmill run, TRX, weather