Week 9: Day 2 - February 28, 2017

• easy RUN with one dog = 5.4 miles; time = 1:06:11; average pace @ 12:15
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

Week 8: Day 7 - February 26, 2017

• Paws Fur Pink pet charity 5k walk = 3 miles with two dogs
• easy walk (at home) with three dogs = 1.5 miles
• easy run (solo) = 2.17 miles; time = 26:57; average pace @ 12:25

Running:
Total Weekly Mileage: 19.24
Total Monthly Mileage: 71.27
Total Yearly Mileage: 155.71
Total Shoe Mileage: 178.98

Cycling:
Total Weekly Mileage: 0
Total Monthly Mileage: 67.36
Total Yearly Mileage: 239.26

I did a Paws Fur Pink 5k walk event this morning. I originally had planned to bring three dogs with me, but decided to bring two instead. I thought that I would be the only crazy person with three dogs. But essentially one of my dogs is already struggling to walk "long" distances anyway. When I got to the location, I saw one person with four dogs and another person with three dogs. I think they are married to each other? Maybe they were hanging out together because all seven dogs were of the same breed? They were all Westin Terrier.

After the charity walk, I tossed around the idea of whether I wanted to ride or run. I decided not to ride because I didn't want to be in the rain...although running in the rain wasn't necessarily better or worse than riding in the rain, especially if I'm in the crosswalk or on the sidewalk. Someone could still hit me while I'm crossing a street or jump the sidewalk and run me over. I ended up doing a run...so I can say that I did a run for the sake of running and I didn't have to go more than two days without a run. I did a short, easy two mile run because I didn't feel like doing a longer run. Better than no run.

Week 8: Day 4 - February 23, 2017

• trail RUN with one dog = 5.84 miles; time = 1:16:00: average pace @ 11:59
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

I was going to do a bike ride. I never got around to it. I was feeling lazy, but I really think it's more like I need to catch up on sleep. On top of that, my bike computer needed a new battery. The readings looked really faded and was hard to read...although it would have been okay for one ride, I ended up going to a RadioShack (in a car) to get a new battery instead of going for a ride...just so the readings would be easy to see and read when I ride to work tomorrow. Too bad, the battery isn't rechargeable and there are no chargers for flat, circular battery cells like regular batteries. It would be much cheaper in the "long run".

As a friendly reminder, I'm doing a 30 mile bike ride for "Finish The Ride" event on Sunday, May 21 in Griffith Park. Please consider making a donation on my charity page. Any amount, big or small, and any support are greatly appreciated!

https://www.pledgereg.com/120783

Week 8: Day 3 - February 22, 2017

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 6.24 miles; time = 1:16:21; average pace @ 12:14
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.6 miles

I wasn't going to do a run longer than five miles. Then I realized that I wouldn't be doing a run on Sunday morning because I will be doing a pet charity 5k walk. I doubt that I will do a run after the walk. There may be a very tiny chance that I will, but mainly because I don't plan to ride (bike) to work on Monday. Monday calls for rain in the morning. I want to put in 17 miles this week. I am doing a run close (but not quite) to six miles tomorrow morning.

Speaking of cycling...since I signed up for the Finish The Ride 30 mile "leg burner" ride, I need to start training for that. It really does require training. Since I am only used to an elevation gain of 1,267 feet and the event ride has an elevation gain of 2,585 feet, it is a 1,000 feet difference which is a lot. But I'm at a loss on how to train for it. I may have to give up my Wednesday morning run to do a bike training. While I do have to work on Sundays and Thursdays, I'm not sure if my legs can handle a training ride on a hilly route and then ride to work the next day and I may need a rest day in between. I will have to see how I feel after training day. The hilly trail run that I do with the first 1.4 miles straight up the hill...the trail that I like to run on when I train for a half marathon? I am thinking of training (cycling) on that hill. It may not be the same as 2,500 feet or even close to 2,000 feet, but it is a truly great hill to train/work on. It's like climbing 40 flights of stairs by the time I get to the top. I have two months to train.

If you are feeling generous, please make a donation on my charity fundraising page. Any amount, small or big, and any support are all greatly appreciated!

Week 8: Day 2 - February 21, 2017

• easy road RUN with one dog = 5 miles; time = 58:46; average pace @ 11:45
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

Week 7: Day 7 - February 19, 2017

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.6 miles; time = 56:37; average pace @ 12:18
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

Running: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 18.50

Total Monthly Mileage: 52.02

Total Yearly Mileage: 136.46

Total Shoe Mileage: 159.73

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 24.13

Total  Monthly Mileage: 67.36

Total Yearly Mileage: 239.26

I was going to do a bike ride today, this afternoon, but because of a minor injury on my hand that I got on Friday, I decided that my hand would hurt more than necessary. It is okay now, but I feel or think that I would put too much pressure with any weight on my hand on the handlebar during the ride. At least running doesn't require the use of hands.

Week 7: Day 4 - February 16, 2017

• hilly trail RUN with one dog (PART 1) = 3.8 miles; time = 47:16; average pace @ 12.26
• hilly trail RUN with one dog (PART 2) = 1.1 mile; time = 14.16; average pace @ 12:58
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles
• bike ride (for fun) = 24.13 miles; time = 1:54:48; average pace @ 12.6 mph

The two hill trail runs that I did today...I like doing them for fun or when I'm training for a race, but I won't be doing them next week because of the amount of rain that we are getting between tomorrow and Monday. And I don't feel like running in mud or want to.

Since I don't plan to ride (bike) to work tomorrow because there will be lots of heavy rain, I did a ride today instead. My legs felt like jello at the end of the ride and I am now tired/a little sleepy now. Clearly, I worked out hard enough between a bike ride and two runs.

Week 7: Day 3 - February 15, 2017

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.5 miles; time = 53:28; average pace @ 11:53
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.6 miles

Just because I don't have anything to say, I am just posting this for the record.

Week 7: Day 2 - February 14, 2017

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 4.5 miles; time = 53:25; average pace @ 11:52
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

I don't plan to do another race of any distance until October and that is a BIG maybe. While I will run for fun or train for a race during the months of March to September, I rarely ever do races during those months. Those are the months that get warm or really hot, and most races generally start at 8am. It's harder for me to start a run after 6am because I get hot very easily. I cry, whine, complain and kick dirt when I get hot, which is why I do races during the months of October to February when it's cooler or cold....and I start my runs at 5am in June and July.

Week 6: Day 7 - February 12, 2017

• Firecracker Run (10k) with one dog = 6.21 miles= 1:16:49; average pace @ 12:22
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

Running:

Total Weekly Mileage: 20.96

Total Monthly Mileage: 33.52

Total Yearly Mileage: 117.96

Total Shoe Mileage: 141.23

Cycling:

Total Weekly Mileage: 20.43

Total Monthly Mileage: 43.23

Total Yearly Mileage: 215.13

Official Race Time for 10K run is 1:16:49. I probably could have done a little better if I didn't stop to take pictures. I didn't run or train on any challenging hills very much this year because of how much rain that we had during the last month and a half because I didn't want to run in mud on any of my usual hilly (very challenging) trails. The course this year was definitely different from last year's course and it seemed more challenging. After being so used to a challenging course from previous years where the hills felt like mountains (mountains in my mind) that last year felt too easy and I was disappointed. It was hilly, but they didn't feel like mountains to me. Since I didn't run on hilly trails for this year, I did well on the hills. There was this one very steep yet short hill at one point of the run. I was the only one running and passed by a lot of people who walked. I'd like to think that the many, many hours that I spent riding my bike last year to and from work (which had hills during my rides) had helped greatly.

I was going do a bike ride for fun today, but I don't feel like doing it anymore.

Week 6: Day 5 - February 11, 2017

• L.A. Chinatown Firecracker Bike = 20.43 miles; time = 1:35:11: average pace @ 12.9 mph
• easy walk with dogs = 2.1 miles

I can't really compare my time from last year to this year. I forgot to put up a blog post about this event and I forgot to add this event to logyourrun.com (which is where I record my runs and rides). logyourrun.com is similar to mapmyrun.com. But anyway, the course from today was different from last year (I do not know why it was changed). Last year's course was different from 2015 because last year there was road work to what would have been the same route as 2015. The course this year seemed easier. I can't if it is because it was a different course or because of the many, many hours that I spent riding last year (the ride last year was on Feb. 20, so I started my many hours of riding after that.) or a little of both? I felt that I could have pushed a little harder at some parts of the ride, but when I am sharing the road with vehicle traffic and other riders, I can't do whatever I want to jeopardize my safety (or other people's safety). The roads didn't close for us bicycle people and we had to obey traffic laws. I've come to realize why many cyclists prefer actual competitive race. Do roads close for competitive cycling races and multi-sporting events (duathlons/triathlons/Ironman/etc)? I think I will try the 30 mile ride instead...although I may have to request the whole day off from work instead of half day. It is an extra eight miles and the course is more challenging. I saw the course map at the rest stop during the event today and the elevation profile for the 30 miles was 1,800 feet max elevation vs 588 max elevation for the 20 mile. My commute to work/home when I ride is 1,071 max elevation anyway, so what's 800 more feet in elevation? Why not?

I forgot to mention that my bike computer wasn't working during the first half of the ride. I don't know what happened, but I think it was wet? I don't know? Because it was working just fine up (while I was walking my bike around) until the few minutes before the ride started. It was in the rain for awhile (the rain stopped one hour before the ride started). I guess when it start "recording" at the halfway point, that was when it dried up? But at least I had my garmin watch. Too bad, the run is the only with the auto pause/start. So my watch kept running the time which included any red stops and being at the rest stop/area. It was a good thing that I had a lot of green lights and the red lights that I did get weren't that long. (The above mentioned time does not include stopping at red lights or rest area.)

Week 6: Day 4 - February 09, 2017

• hilly trail RUN (part 1) with one dog = 3.6 miles; time = 45:26; average pace @ 12:37
• hilly trail RUN (part 2) with one dog = 1.1 miles; time = 14:44; average pace @ 13:24
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

For a month and a half to two months, I had been avoiding my hill runs because of all the rains that we had been getting during this time frame. There are three hilly (mountains in my mind) trail runs that I can do, one which I normally/mainly do when I'm training for a half marathon. The other two when I'm training for a 10k and at the beginning of my training for a half marathon....sometimes for fun. I know that one trail (at a local junior college) is still muddy for a few days after rain. I never attempted the other two after rain (until today at least for the really short one), so I never knew how muddy they got. The last time that I did the hilly trail run at school after rain, it was only muddy in certain spots. It was muddy everywhere on that trail this morning and I was so mad/frustrated. Running on hills is already challenging enough. I generally don't like to run in mud. It is slippery and I don't want to pull a muscle. I also don't like the added weight on my shoes. If I am going to walk or run with extra weight like from wearing a weight vest or something similar, I want to do it on my own terms. I had to stop twice because my shoes got heavy and it made my legs more tired. I almost fell forward going down a hill because one of my shoes almost got stuck in the mud. I'm really complaining about running in mud because I really don't like to. My other hilly trail run was much better. It was the first time that I did the run after rain and it wasn't muddy at all, so now I know for future reference.

I was going to ride my bike this afternoon, but after fiddling around with my bike tail light, I gave up and lost motivation.

Week 6: Day 3 - February 08, 2017

• easy trail RUN with one dog = 5.65 miles; time = 1:11:36; average pace @ 12:40
• easy WALK with three dogs = 2.6 miles

I like it when the weather forecast is right. They said that it would stop raining around 6am this morning and it did. I did my run with my dog just fine.

Tomorrow calls for a sunny sky. So I get to run without getting wet. I won't be riding (bike) to work on Friday because there will be rain in the forecast, but I may ride for fun tomorrow.

Week 6: Day 2 - February 07, 2017

• easy trail RUN (solo) = 4.4 miles; time = 53:09; average pace @ 12:05
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.6 miles

I didn't take my dog with me on the run this morning. While my dog would have been fine and little wet because it was lightly misting, I was a little paranoid and thought that it would rain a little heavier. I guess I'm just a little lazy to dry off my dog. It's not like she can change out of her wet fur coat and put on a dry fur coat that easily. It finally stopped raining/misting by late morning that I got a good walk in with my dogs.

Week 5: Day 7 - February 05, 2017

• easy road/trail RUN (solo) = 6.86 miles; time = 1:25:05; average pace @ 12:24
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.6 miles
• bike ride (for fun) = 22.80 miles; time = 1:52:35; average pace @ 12.2 mph

Running:

Total Weekly Mileage: 15.8

Total Monthly (January) Mileage: 84.44

Total Monthly (February) Mileage: 12.56

Total Yearly Mileage: 97.00

Total Shoe Mileage: 120.27

Cycling: 

Total Weekly Mileage: 86.19

Total Monthly (January) Mileage: 171.90

Total Monthly (February) Mileage: 22.80

Total Yearly Mileage: 194.7

Between Thursday and Friday, I was finally able to catch up on sleep. I think this was what I needed and why my motivation was starting to go bad. I'm feeling so much better now.

I didn't run with my dog this morning. I got a little paranoid that it would rain and I didn't feel like making my dog run in the rain with me (I don't care if I run alone in the rain). It was all okay after all and it didn't rain. My dog didn't need to do a 6.8 mile run with me anyway. She did a 6.7 mile run last Sunday, and a 5.7 mile run on Thursday. Our next "long-ish" run will be 5.3 or 5.5 miles, so I know that she is capable of running with me at the 10k race next weekend.

My normal "bike to work" days are Mondays and Fridays....but the weather calls for rain tomorrow (Monday) and this coming Friday, so I don't plan to ride to work in the rain tomorrow or Friday. I decided to ride today instead. I was a tiny bit concerned about the sky/clouds looking pretty dark and gloomy. I really didn't want it to rain on me during my ride. While I was a tiny bit concerned, I also knew that I would be okay at the same time and I would make it home without getting rained on.

I am doing my Firecracker 20 mile bike next Saturday. Hopefully, the weather is correct that it will be mostly sunny on Saturday. If there is rain on Saturday, I won't do the ride even though I paid money to be there. The roads will not close for us bicycle people, and the event still goes on rain or shine. I don't want to take a chance of getting hit by a car during the event. The 10k on Sunday is also a Firecracker event. Click here for more info. My bike computer had a dead battery last year, so I can't compare this year with last year (bike rides do not have chip timing). I suppose I can compare this year with 2014...Just out of curiosity, I checked to see my time for 2015. I try to record every run and every bike ride. I somehow did not record and document both the 10k and bike ride from 2015...at least on my blog. I didn't record the bike ride on logmyrun.com. I'm sad by this. Oh well. I guess there is one way to find out if I've improved since 2014?

Week 5: Day 4 - February 02, 2017

• trail/road RUN with one dog = 5.7 miles; time = 1:08:21; average pace @ 11:58
• easy WALK with dogs = 2.6 miles

I took a rest day yesterday. I had a doctor's appointment in the morning anyway, so the timing was very helpful because I needed a rest day. I felt much better running this morning. I was also finally able to take a nap after my run. A nap was nice. Tomorrow calls for rain, so I don't plan to ride (bike) to work. I would have if it was dry. I don't think this will happen, most likely not, but I might try to do a short run late afternoon/early evening. But it's a really big maybe, depending on how much motivation I have.