Who’s counting? (2)

I hadn’t tallied up my yearly mileage in a decade. Then about half way through 2009, I found out Husband was keeping a running total of his kilometers run. I just had to add mine up after that, so I went through my day planner and started counting. My grand total for this year is 1413 kilometers. That would take me from Lausanne to Copenhagen, or Dublin, or Madrid, or Belgrade; with enough kilometers to spare to tour the city. And that’s not to mention my 21 hours of stationary biking; but since I wasn't moving, those don’t really count, do they?

Gotta run…

Who’s counting?

One of the advantages of being a runner is that you don’t have to count calories. Who cares if there are 480 calories in a slice of pecan pie (without the whipped cream). But since I like counting, I looked up a holiday meal calorie counter just for fun. I clicked on all the food items I had consumed (though I couldn’t find the “Swiss chocolate” entry) and came up with 2545 calories. The site also gave me this useful information: “You will need to walk 25.45 miles, 41.04 kilometers, or 50900 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.” A few more calories and I could have had a "marathon" meal. Pass the pecan pie, please!

Gotta run…

Third time’s a charm

Living less than a mile from downtown has its advantages. Saturday, Husband, Son 1, and I were able to relax at home until 11:30 before jogging down to the old city just in time for the start of the 3rd annual Christmas Midnight Run. We were all bundled up because it was –8°C (20°F); an exceptionally cold night. My Number One Fan ran with me to encourage me up the steep cobblestone hills. We hung around after the race to see if by any chance I had placed this time (after all, most sane runner were home in bed). Low and behold, I was called up first among the “senior” women. My runner-up, who finished first last year, seemed confused that roles were reversed this year. What a thrill to stand on the highest step of the podium!
Congratulations to Son 1 on a race well run also!

Gotta run…

New Recruit

Son 1 asked me to sign him up for tomorrow night’s Christmas Midnight Run. Unlike Son 2, it’s been over 10 year since Son 1 last entered a race. Now, after just finishing eight weeks of basic training in the Swiss military, he's ready to take advantage of his improved fitness. Way to go! When he got home on leave this morning, I told him the sign-up was taken care of. Then he asked, “what time do we run this race anyway?” No turning back once you are enlisted!

Gotta run…

‘Tis the season

Bing Crosby, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Doris Day, and the likes accompanied me on my run this morning. I downloaded 4 or 5 hours worth of Christmas songs onto my iPod shuffle yesterday. Now all we need is some snow. It had been unseasonable warm till now, but today I actually saw a couple of snowflakes. I wouldn't even mind running in the cold if it would just snow.

Gotta run…

Moving on

Having neglected any kind of speed work over the past months in favor of endurance, and with a relatively short run (7.5K) coming up in two weeks, I decided it was time to do some 30-30s. C. swears by these: sprint for 30 seconds, jog for 30 seconds, repeat at least 20 times. The idea is to keep your heart rate elevated without building up lactic acid, or something like that. I think the idea is also to do all 20 in a row, but I did 10, jogged 5 minutes, did 5, jogged 5 minutes, then did 5 more. Regular speed work is supposed to pay off in time. If you ask me, it's only worth it if you actually enjoy doing the speed work.

Gotta run…