Long time, no blog.

So, um, it's been a busy couple of weeks. I managed to survive the move and my final (and got an A in the class!), and still get five workouts in. (You should have seen me studying on the elliptical--it was a good time.)

I ended up not running at all during moving week to give my ankle a break, but I did discover the wonder of the elliptical machine in the process. I've always been a little wary of them because I wasn't sure I'm coordinated enough (I am) and because it always looks like the machine is doing most of the work when I watch other people (it's not). I love it.

I joined the Y out here on Monday, and I think it'll work out great. It's less than ten minutes away, and their weight machines are hooked up to this program called Fitlinx. You enter a PIN when you start your workout, and there are computers on the machines that keep track of your sets, reps, and weight. They also tell you where to set the seats and where the top and bottom of your range of motion are. It is SO cool.

Here's how this week looked/is looking...

Monday--moving recovery!
Tuesday--2 mile run, 25 min elliptical
Wednesday--hour swim
Thursday--6 mile run (outside! yay!)
Friday--elliptical, weights
Saturday--hour swim
Sunday--8 mile run

I have a couple of grilling adventures planned for this weekend (beer can chicken and flank steak with almond cilantro pesto). I'll keep you posted on whether they turn out.

Aw, crap.

So I got up to run this morning, went outside and warmed up, realized I forgot to put on sunblock (yes, I wear it even when it's cloudy), came back inside and SPFed up, and found that it was raining when I went back outside. Grrr. Since wet feet didn't really appeal to me or my shoes and socks, I headed to the Y for a loooooong 7 miles on the treadmill. At least I know my pace was consistent, though. ;-) (And did you know that they automatically shut off after an hour? Because they do.)

This week is a cutback week for me, but I think I'm going to take even more of a break than the schedule sets (cross training instead of running). My ankle is still being fussy--it doesn't hurt when I'm running, but it hurts for awhile after and it's kind of stiff and creaky. (Plus, I don't think walking around Ann Arbor alllllll day on Friday helped. Duh--should've gone easier today.)

Monday--hour swim
Tuesday--schedule calls for 4 miles, but I'll do weights and stationary bike or do drop-in spinning (if I can find a suitably early class) instead
Wednesday--rest!
Thursday--I'll give the 4 miles a shot, but do something else instead if it seems like it's going to be rough
Friday--hour swim
Saturday--4 miles, maybe weights
Sunday--moving day. (Hauling boxes counts as cross training, right?)

In other news, I found this today:

http://www.krispykremechallenge.com

I'm simultaneously repulsed and fascinated. Apparently, you're not actually required to eat the dozen donuts to participate in the run--I would do the donut-free run just for the t-shirt and people-watching factor if it weren't, you know, all the way in North Carolina.

three random tidbits.

1. I did manage to slow my seven miles down yesterday, probably due to a combination of factors:

• slower music.
• gross humidity (it was only 70 degrees, but was it ever sticky).
• my ankle hurting toward the end.
• rain for the last third (I did see a rainbow, though!).

I wore my stubborn pants and finished the whole thing, though.

2. The prompt for the "homework" segment (listeners send in e-mail or voicemail stories on different topics) on All Things Considered tonight asked for stories about facing down a fear. I think I'm going to submit an e-mail about the whole bike-riding escapade.

3. Has anyone ever gone to the Playmakers sidewalk sale? I think I might go bright and early Thursday morning--is the shuttle bus really necessary?

I was poking around on runnersworld.com while I was covering the reception desk at my internship today, and read up on pacing. My schedule has paces listed and they're quite a bit slower than what I can do, but I didn't realize why until I started reading some of the training articles. I've been doing my long runs and some of the easy runs too fast (not necessarily on purpose--I just have trouble gauging), so tomorrow I'm going to really concentrate on slowing it down. I made another playlist with some slower but still steady/driving songs, and I'm going to try the one-breath-for-two-strides thing. If that doesn't work, I'll probably end up playing around with a treadmill to see if I can figure out what it's supposed to feel like that way.

This week's plan...

Wednesday: rest!
Thursday: 5 miles, weights
Friday: spinning with Linda, abs
Saturday: 7 miles
Sunday: hour swim
(I might have to swap Saturday and Sunday if it's raining when I wake up, but I'd really rather not. I'm hoping I get out early enough to beat it.)
Monday: spinning, weights
Tuesday: 2 miles, 40-45 min swim

Further Proof of My Geekiness, or Another Reason to Love NPR

I heard this story on All Things Considered tonight. It's about how Eugene, Oregon became Tracktown USA, and they talk to an archivist at the University of Oregon who put together an exhibit that's running in connection with the Olympic trials right now. It doesn't look like there's a transcript on the site, but it's worth a listen if you have a few minutes.

Wednesday: rest day
Thursday: 5 mile run (The schedule called for 2 miles at a 9:05 pace with half-mile recovery jogs after each. I did the other two miles at 10:00.), weights
Friday: bike ride (I haven't decided where, but I should probably figure that out before I go to sleep. :-p)
Saturday: hour swim
Sunday: 7 mile run
Monday: spinning, weights
Tuesday: 2 mile run, half-hour swim if it's not too crowded

This morning's run was challenging, but good. I didn't think I was going to need the full half-mile on the recovery jogs, but I did.

Last weekend's culinary adventure was tempeh, vegetable, and parmesan stuffed peppers. I don't like rice, so I subbed quinoa for the brown rice. I also subbed mushrooms for the chopped peppers in the filling. (Why stuff a pepper with more pepper?) I was really happy with how they turned out, but I think next time I'm going to do the baking part on the grill because it was hotter than hades in my apartment when I finished. This weekend, I'll be rocking a whole-grain blueberry cobbler to take to my parents' house and a buttermilk marinade recipe I picked up in one of my meetings this week.

Oooh, and I found a good time to swim at Parkwood--9 am on a Sunday. I had a lane to myself for the whole hour I was there, the lifeguard had the oldies radio station on loud enough for me to be able to hear it, and nobody yelled at me. Score! ;-)