Running in the Burrrrggghhh

Hmm, I'm not sure the "Brr" element I was trying to get across in "Burgh is clear especially because the last photo I have of Pittsburgh is from September, but I wanted to share it anyway. But I will be spending the holidays in my hometown of Pittsburgh and getting some runs in while I'm there. It's even colder there than it has been in Philly lately and they've already seen snow fall (Philly had a snow fake-out last week with only about an inch that cleared by the next day).

Running at home is always interesting because I'm from a really, really small town. So small in fact that it's actually a borough. Needless to say, the second you leave the house, you run into someone you know/your mom knows/your neighbor knows, etc. So I try to make sure I don't look like a complete mismatched disaster when I train there (seriously, I look like a box of Nerds running--lime shorts, fuchsia shirt and many variations of these colors).

Aside from trying to match, home presents two real running challenges. The first is hills. Pittsburgh is full of 'em. I live on a massive hill so every workout involves at least a trek up one and a trek down another. I know the hills are good for me, but the hills here crush me. The second challenge is that my town is small so I run out of neighborhood very quickly and end up on highways, which are not conducive to pedestrians. I either end up running laps or back at my old high school track (also running laps).

Despite those challenges, I am so excited to be going home! I'm also crossing my fingers Santa may have brought me a Garmin for Christmas:)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! I hope your running resolutions for 2011 are ready to roll!

Running Wardrobe Malfunction

Nothing is more irritating than too-big running tights on a run. I think I must have stretched them out in the washer or something because the Nike pair I wore on Thursday were falling down the entire time I was braving the cold and all I did was hike them up with every step. I think I need to invest in the drawstring kind. I didn’t give anyone a show, but had I not hiked up those tights, I definitely would have been showing waaayyyy too much skin!

Aside from the running tights, this run was tough! The wind was whipping and it was about 20 degrees. I just never seemed to get my breath. I ended up only staying out for a mile and going home.

Today is a treadmill run after work. I haven’t done more than 3.5 miles in all of December, so I need to bang out 4 today at more of a comfortable pace for me (11:30). I’ve been really focused on speeding up my 5k time before I start half-marathon training in January.

Speaking of the half, if anyone can point me to any training programs you liked, please do!

Tired of Being a Turtle

Last week I was in a complete funk about my running pace. I had a bit of an epiphany on Friday afternoon. I realized that I  never run races like races--meaning that I just roll along at my usual pace with no focus on time at all. So that might be part one of my running plateau problem. Part two is that I just need to pick up the pace and push myself with some speed work and tempo runs.

So Saturday afternoon, I found myself on a university track ready to run a 5k like a race. I finished in 34 minutes, which is faster than my last official 5k race, but not as quick as I would like. My Nike iPod chip tells me I averaged a 10:59 pace, which is faster than I usually run (don't roll your eyes at me you speedsters) but still not where I want to be.

Where do I want to be? At a solid 10-minute mile in 2011. I know, that's not quick either, but it's a pace I think I can live with. Ideally, I'd like to kick it up to a 9-minute mile or so, but progress can be slow (much like my running) so I want to keep things realistic. Needless to say, the treadmill and I have a date after work tonight.

Lunchtime 5k

Ah the treadmill. How I both love and loathe you. You keep me warm on an inside run on a freezing winter day, but you also bore me to tears and running even 3 miles feels endless. Today we got along pretty well. I was happy that I could catch both The Daily Show and Colbert Reportduring my workout. And the fact that I got it in during my lunch hour was even more awesome because now I can go straight home when work ends!

Perhaps what annoys most about the treadmill is that I own one, yet can’t always use it. Why, you ask? Well, first, I live above a pet store with the meanest women who run the store ever. Once I was running on a Saturday and one of the trolls came upstairs (seriously, I don’t even know how she got in) and pounded on my door and told me the lights were blinking on and off downstairs. Oops. The other issue is that the ‘mill isn’t new. The belt shifts all the time and it constantly needs readjusting, which I generally don’t have the patience for.  So I end up at the gym at work. It’s usually OK, though I am often stuck watching Everybody Loves Raymond and the King of Queens, neither of which I ever watched when it wasn’t reruns.

So despite all this complaining, I ran a 5k during lunch. Woot!