Tuesday's Run ~ Only 22.34 miles to go!

This morning's run was all outside. I didn't have to run any on the treadmill because the sun is finally coming up earlier. There were heavy clouds so it wasn't shining on me but it was daylight. I ran to the turn in and back which is about 1.45 miles then I went down the road toward the barn. The closer I got to the barn the louder the moos became. Yesterday two loads of calves were taken to the sale so the mother cows were looking for their babies.

By this afternoon the cows will have forgotten all about the babies and will be busy eating grass. At first it seems sad that they are looking for their lost calves but their brains are so small that within 24 hours they no longer remember.

I saw one coyote on my run but it ran away quite fast. It didn't take any chances that I could possibly get close to it. It was a small coyote too. I'm not sure if it was a teenager or just small. The coat was a nice sandy brown and it seemed healthy. So many coyotes have mange and their hair is missing from large areas.

The Heifer

This picture cracks me up! I just wish I could see how he got her in that car.

May is Here!

I did it! I did it! I completed 40.50 miles for the month of April. I shouldn't doubt myself anymore because I know I can do this. I have to not skimp on my schedule with either skipping a run or reducing the mileage. I also have to keep a watch on any "flat tires." You know, those mornings when the night before was either a) a late night or b) partnered with too many cocktails!

This month my last 4 miles scheduled will be on the 31st, Monday, Memorial Day. That's a work holiday so I can get up, run the last 4 miles (or hopefully less) then off to the bar-b-que!

I'm getting way ahead of the month though. In the morning I have a 40 minute incline run for 3.0 miles. I have two options for this incline run. I can watch the DVD Runtervals where an instructor leads five runners on a run with different incline pyramids. I can't quite keep up with them but I get my own really good hill workout. The other option is to use a pattern that I wrote out on the back of an envelope that is basically a 6-8% incline for 2 minutes, 0% for 3 minutes repeated for 35 minutes. A five minute warm up equals 40 minutes. I listen to my ipod "running" playlist for this workout.

Wait! I have another option. The treadmill has quite a few pre-loaded workouts that have inclines. These are all only 30 minutes but that's okay.

Wait! There is one more option. If I wait and run when I get home tomorrow afternoon I can run to the bottom and go up the hill 2 - 3 times. That's always a great incline workout. The only problem with this option is timing. By the time I get home I'm usually too tired from the day to run with that much effort. I usually run to the bottom (which means I go down a rather tall hill) on the weekends and it is in the morning. That might not be the best option for tomorrow.

Hmmmm...choices and decisions......

Under My Shoe!!

Only 2.51 miles to go to complete 40 miles for the month of April!! Then guess what? Saturday, the first of May starts the 40 mile ticker all over again. The board wipes clean and it's back to mile zero. This will also mean that four months out of 12 have 40+ miles completed and under my "shoe."

Tomorrow morning I have a 3.40 mile run scheduled. Unless something weird happens then I should be good to go. I will have completed 40.89 miles for April. Wooo Whooo!!

In May I'm going to incorporate more cross-training in my schedule. As my long weekend runs increase then I need less mileage for my weekday runs. I will only run Tuesdays and Thursdays and add only one Monday which is Memorial Day with a 4 mile run.

Running & Thinking

Only 8.42 miles to go for April!

I am so impressed with my running. I ran 5.63 miles yesterday. That's the longest distance I have ever run in my life. In. My. Life. I mean, in MY LIFE! And today I'm not sore at all. At the end I was running out of steam but that could also be because my brain knew it was the end. I had entered in my Nike+ sensor 4.20 miles.

As I was running and thinking, I counted up what my weekend mileage goal was supposed to be. I had scheduled 3.10 miles for Saturday and 2.50 miles for Sunday for a total of 5.60 miles. Since I didn't run Saturday (chalk that up to staying out too late Friday but I didn't have any flat tires) I would go into the week behind if I didn't run the total of 5.60 miles yesterday. Then I would run the risk of not making the 40 miles for the month. I didn't have much choice but to run the whole 5.60 miles in one long run. But it felt great! I'm so glad I ran it.

I ate a couple of GU Chomps. One at the 1 mile mark and another at the 4 mile mark. Those little chewy guys gave me lots of energy. I'm sure that's what helped me to sustain the mileage. I'll try those again my next long run. Heck, I might even eat one tomorrow morning at 5:45am before my 40 minute speed run.

That's the way I like it!

14.05 miles to go for April! Five more scheduled runs to go in April!

What a great run yesterday morning. I was in my stride as soon as the running began (after a 3 1/2 minute warm up walk). The 40 minutes did really seem to "fly by." I only walked three times during the 40 minutes.

I listened to a podrunner podcast at 177 bpm titled "Portable Epic" from DJ Steve Boyett. This podcast has great drums and the beat really quiets the monkey mind. Actually all of DJ Steve's podrunner podcasts are great.

I was hoping this would be my last treadmill run for the week but since we got rain last night and more is on the way today and tomorrow, I'll have to tough it out a couple more runs. The gravel roads will be too muddy to run on. Unless I want to grow several inches taller.

I might go into town and run around the park track. It all depends on the rain.

Inside or Out

Only 17.48 miles to go!

Yesterday's run was a hills run for 40 minutes and 3.52 miles. Last month I purchased a DVD called Runtervals. This is a treadmill run using the incline for hill work. I can't quite keep up with their speed on the inclines but I had a good work out. I was out of breath and sweating.

This morning's run was an easy run for only 30 minutes and 2.51 miles. This run was sandwiched in between two 40 minute runs. Slowly but surely I'm making up the miles from getting behind the last two weekends. Let's hope I stay on schedule. There are only six more scheduled runs for this month.

This week I'm running in the morning so that means I'm on the treadmill since it's still very dark when I get going. Last week I ran to the "bottom" so I was on the trails, roads and hills.

This time of year I really love running on the farm. The birds are out and singing. Everything is green and leafed out. The cows are grazing. When the baby calves see me running, they jump up and run off with their tales straight in the air. I laugh every time. They are so cute. I always keep an eye on the mother cow. You never know when she will feel her baby is threatened and come after me.

10 Days Remaining in April

One of my goals for this year is to run 40 miles every month. So far the first three months have gone great. January's total was 40.60 miles. Yeah! February's total was 40.36 miles. Yeah again! And then March's total was 41.57 miles. Whoop!

For the month of April as of the 20th, I have completed 20.01 miles. I'm only 19.99 miles away and I have seven days scheduled to run. I sure hope I don't flounder.

These isn't any room to listen to my monkey mind telling me it's okay to skip a day. Nope! Since I listened to that monkey mind the last two weekends and didn't run, I am behind coming into this week.

It's good to have a little pressure.