The Dog Days of Summer

The heat arrived a little too early for my tastes. Since I got back from the beach I've been inherently lazy, although I'm not sure that's the right word since I've worked every day...I just haven't done any formal workouts. I have however run several times at work, and in my opinion a short 10 minute run with all that gear on counts for at least triple that amount in running shoes. So I don't feel awful about my inactivity. I plan on running Friday, biking on Saturday and then running on Sunday if all goes well...and the weather cooperates. 

Beach Time!

Enjoying a nice beach vacation! I ran yesterday and found that my gps powered run tracker did not like the highrise hotels along the beach...so back to Nike+ for some of my tracking needs. 

Today I skipped the run and played a round of golf with my dad instead, and did lots of waking on the beach and various shopping areas. 

Tomorrow, I plan to run again!

Fun in Forest Oaks

Last night I went for a run around the Forest Oaks neighborhood. It was relatively warm out at 79 degrees, and I had little sleep yesterday...I wasn't expecting much, but I knew I needed to keep plugging away since my week had been rather light on physical activity. I was surprised when I finished to find I logged my fastest 5k ever, averaging just under 12 minutes per mile and finishing the first 3.1 miles of my run in 36 minutes exactly. I was very happy with myself. I also weighed in yesterday at 162 lbs, which is my lightest weight in over a year...still a long way to go, but I'm pleased.

This morning I put the feet to the pedals and rode a nice long ride, finishing 16.05 miles in touch over an hour. I averaged 15.2 mph throughout the very hilly course I chose, and that's pretty good for me...especially considered I ran a 5k less than 24 hrs earlier.

This coming week I'll be exploring some new running locations while I'm on vacation, sadly the bike isn't going to make the trip...but that's one less excuse to run, so it'll be good for me.

Mud Run!

Well, not really a Mud Run, more like a trail run through nothing but mud. I ran the Chatfield Trail at Hagan Stone Park today...it's been raining a lot lately and the course was just one long mud pit. I still managed good time, with an average pace under 13 mins per mile over the 3.76 mile course. I've felt guilty for not running or biking so far this week, and for logging so few miles last week...I plan on running or biking again later today and then trying to run on Friday and Saturday. With my switch back to night shift, running on working days is going to be harder to achieve.

National Running Day 2013

In honor of National Running Day, I hit the pavement in the neighborhood after work for a nice run. It was hot, it was muggy, and the darkest clouds I've ever seen threatened to unleash their nightmares upon me. But I pushed onward and accomplished a first for me...I ran 3.54 miles. Without any walking breaks. This is the furthest I've been without using the Galloway run-walk-run method. I kept a decent pace, despite some massive hills along my route, and I'm very pleased with myself. If I can, I hope to ride tomorrow evening after work and then run again on Friday...pushing myself even further.

Wild Turkey Trail

Got out and rode today before the storms moved in. Hit the mountain bike trails at Lake Brandt with some friends from work and had an excellent time. We rode the Wild Turkey Trail off the Greenway, it's a 4.5 mile long intense mountain bike trail with some serious curves and hills. After reaching the end, we turned around and rode it again in reverse. All told with the cruise to and from the trail head along the Greenway, I logged a little over 17 miles on the saddle today. Not too shabby. This upcoming week is going to be hectic, I have a lot going on at work, so I'm not sure how much mileage I'll be able to get in...but I intend to do something everyday this week if all goes according to plan.

Vineyard Stomp 5k

I ran the Vineyard Stomp 5k at Stony Knoll Vineyard in Dobson, NC today. This was my first ever trail run, and boy was it harder than I thought it would be. A good portion of the course was through fields of grass that was about 4" tall, and at least half a mile was along a slope which angled left to right, not up and down. I placed 40th overall out of 80 runners. I was pleased I maintained an average ace of 13:22 per mile, completing the 5k in 41:28.