Wow, it feels like forever since I last blogged...two weeks filled with workshops made for a busy time. We were lucky, everything went very well and we had four full sessions. Now it's back to a normal routine, for the next two weeks, until Mom and Dad arrive here for the communion!
I've been keeping up with my running workouts as best I can, making lots of modifications in days and pretty much getting in the mileage I planned to do. Today I started a 6 week yoga class with my old yoga teacher, which was great! It felt so good to get back into a group and have someone else tell you just what to do with your body - complete relaxation and no need to wrack my brain. Well, for an hour or two at least!
Now it's time to catch up on everyone else's blogs and see what you have all been up to!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
PR at Boston!
Wow!!! How exciting: my brother-in-law Mark managed to get a two minute PR at the Boston Marathon yesterday, coming in at 3:17! Congratulations - well done! Mark is an inspiration to all of us in the family. Can't wait to hear how Bert did!
My run was not so stellar today - a crazy day yesterday, a sleepless night and an unexpected trip to the doctor for a sick kid early this morning... I was a bit stressed, a lot tired. But I thought the run, even if it was hard, would make me feel better and give me more energy (which I think it did). But it was hard, especially since my Ipod died and so I had to listen to the slapping of my feet on the pavement, which was unnerving at first. So I managed to do 5.9 km in 41 minutes, but at least it was sunny and by the end I was listening to the birds and not the slapping feet anymore.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Kidnapped!
No, not me. Not my kids....my computer, kidnapped by my kids, which made it virtually impossible for me to get behind the keyboard this week...not to mention just being busy in general, getting ready for the workshops next week, etc.
Anyhow...I did keep my running/working out committments, even though I didn't manage to blog about them. And this morning we had a great run at the lake. The weather was perfect. We did 8 loops, which comes out to 11 K, and it turned out to be a kind of test run for the upcoming Ladies Run - my goal this year is to improve my time from last year, which was 1:12:00. I also ran a faster 11 K last year in Rijkevoorsel: 1:09:00, but that was a very fast and flat course; the Ladies Run is all uphill the second half.
So we got going and I did notice we seemed to be running at a good fast pace, but it felt fine. We took our usual little one or two minute walk breaks every loop and when we finished we had done the entire 11 K in 1:06:00! I have to say I was pretty pleased about that time! The tempo runs and the conditioning I have built up over the past year seem to be allowing me to get a teeny bit faster, little by little, and without it seeming any harder. Cool! I might even have a sub one hour 10 K in me - just need to find a 10K race to try it out this year! Not easy when they seem to go for odd numbers for race distances here in Belgium.
I hope everyone has a great week, I should be better about blogging this week (kids back in school), and...
I want to wish a huge GOOD LUCK to my brother-in-law Mark and to fellow blogger Bert, who will both be tackling the Boston Marathon tomorrow morning! I can't wait to hear how they both do - it's so exciting!
Anyhow...I did keep my running/working out committments, even though I didn't manage to blog about them. And this morning we had a great run at the lake. The weather was perfect. We did 8 loops, which comes out to 11 K, and it turned out to be a kind of test run for the upcoming Ladies Run - my goal this year is to improve my time from last year, which was 1:12:00. I also ran a faster 11 K last year in Rijkevoorsel: 1:09:00, but that was a very fast and flat course; the Ladies Run is all uphill the second half.
So we got going and I did notice we seemed to be running at a good fast pace, but it felt fine. We took our usual little one or two minute walk breaks every loop and when we finished we had done the entire 11 K in 1:06:00! I have to say I was pretty pleased about that time! The tempo runs and the conditioning I have built up over the past year seem to be allowing me to get a teeny bit faster, little by little, and without it seeming any harder. Cool! I might even have a sub one hour 10 K in me - just need to find a 10K race to try it out this year! Not easy when they seem to go for odd numbers for race distances here in Belgium.
I hope everyone has a great week, I should be better about blogging this week (kids back in school), and...
I want to wish a huge GOOD LUCK to my brother-in-law Mark and to fellow blogger Bert, who will both be tackling the Boston Marathon tomorrow morning! I can't wait to hear how they both do - it's so exciting!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Home Again Home Again
First and foremost, a huge congratulations to my dear friend Joy for her fabulous 5K finish in Illinois this weekend!!! Woo hoo!!! She did her first race here in Leuven, a 4K, so it looks like she is just inching up her mileage K by K - a 6K should be next!
We are all back home now, Florian had a great time skiing, and we had a wonderful trip to London*. Now it's back to lots of work on home improvement (cleaning and painting) and getting ready for the workshops with Linda next two weeks. We had so much response, we had to add an extra one!
We did get out and do 5 loops around the lake while the first coat of paint had to dry - it is absoulutely gorgeous weather. It did feel hard after a whole week of tromping around the city sidewalks, but at least we got out there and did it. Looking forward to getting all my workouts in this week.
*If anyone is curious, this is what we did: Tate Modern (packed with school groups but a fantastic work of art in the big Turbine hall), Saatchi Gallery (modern art from the Middle East and a calm oasis in white), Chelsea Physic Garden (lovely botanical garden with tiny café serving delicious homemade lunch + it is right next door to Gordon Ramsey's restaurant where we peeked in the window - it looked quite posh but we didn't hear any yelling or swearing!), Notting Hill and Portobello Road (lots of tourists and junk shops!), plus a good amount of shopping at places like Muji and Uniqlo. In the evenings we saw: the musical Chicago (risqué and a great view in the third row ;-); an incredible concert by Michael Nyman and his ensemble - he is one of our favortie composers so this was the highlight of our trip; and the play "Death and the Horseman" by Nobel prize winning author Sole Woyinka of Nigeria (whom we had never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed).
We are all back home now, Florian had a great time skiing, and we had a wonderful trip to London*. Now it's back to lots of work on home improvement (cleaning and painting) and getting ready for the workshops with Linda next two weeks. We had so much response, we had to add an extra one!
We did get out and do 5 loops around the lake while the first coat of paint had to dry - it is absoulutely gorgeous weather. It did feel hard after a whole week of tromping around the city sidewalks, but at least we got out there and did it. Looking forward to getting all my workouts in this week.
*If anyone is curious, this is what we did: Tate Modern (packed with school groups but a fantastic work of art in the big Turbine hall), Saatchi Gallery (modern art from the Middle East and a calm oasis in white), Chelsea Physic Garden (lovely botanical garden with tiny café serving delicious homemade lunch + it is right next door to Gordon Ramsey's restaurant where we peeked in the window - it looked quite posh but we didn't hear any yelling or swearing!), Notting Hill and Portobello Road (lots of tourists and junk shops!), plus a good amount of shopping at places like Muji and Uniqlo. In the evenings we saw: the musical Chicago (risqué and a great view in the third row ;-); an incredible concert by Michael Nyman and his ensemble - he is one of our favortie composers so this was the highlight of our trip; and the play "Death and the Horseman" by Nobel prize winning author Sole Woyinka of Nigeria (whom we had never heard of but thoroughly enjoyed).
Monday, April 6, 2009
They Got Me!
Florian seems to be having a great time, judging by the pictures from Austria: ttp://picasaweb.google.be/salcoski Mom pointed out to me that they got me in a couple of shots, too, waiting for the buses to depart on Friday evening (the third album on the site). Yep, yakking it up, that would be me!
Today was our last gorgeous day before the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse. But I still went to the gym, to get some weights in since I won't be able to do that in London. Also got on the elliptical, which is always a fun change from running.
I took advantage of the nice weather for the rest of the day, by throwing the windows open and cleaning the house from top to bottom - what a great feeling! Now I just have to think about packing....
Today was our last gorgeous day before the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse. But I still went to the gym, to get some weights in since I won't be able to do that in London. Also got on the elliptical, which is always a fun change from running.
I took advantage of the nice weather for the rest of the day, by throwing the windows open and cleaning the house from top to bottom - what a great feeling! Now I just have to think about packing....
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Fast Loops
Was it the spring weather and the fact that we didn't have to wear ten layers to run? Was it the sunshine, the daffodils, and the fluffly little ducklings we passed? Was it the tempo runs I added back into my training schedule the past few weeks?
Whatever it was, we have not had such a fast run at the lake in a long time. We did 6 loops (8.4 km) in 51 minutes today. I was huffing and puffing, but made it around in about 8 minutes every time. The fifth loop was tough, and just before the sixth one I lost my rhythm a bit (had to stop and reply to a text from my middle son who just got a cell phone yesterday!) but I finished strong. What a great feeling!
Must be a good weekend for running - Jenny got another PR yesterday in her 10K - a 50:15 - congratulations!
Whatever it was, we have not had such a fast run at the lake in a long time. We did 6 loops (8.4 km) in 51 minutes today. I was huffing and puffing, but made it around in about 8 minutes every time. The fifth loop was tough, and just before the sixth one I lost my rhythm a bit (had to stop and reply to a text from my middle son who just got a cell phone yesterday!) but I finished strong. What a great feeling!
Must be a good weekend for running - Jenny got another PR yesterday in her 10K - a 50:15 - congratulations!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Briefly, Again
Whew! What a week - and don't even ask me about next week! In about 45 minutes we'll be taking my oldest to school to put him on a bus to go skiing in Austria. He is SO excited, we have spent the day packing and getting everything ready, and soon it will be time to leave. I was telling him this is the first time one of my kids is going away so far from me! Anyone who would like to follow what they are doing there in Austria next week can check out their blog at www.salcoski.blogspot.com - I know I will be checking it as often as I can!
Today was a tempo run and some weights afterwards. It went really well, actually, the fast parts felt hard but not impossible. I kept thinking about "embracing the suck", to quote Jenny's running group! It ended up being 40 minutes and 5.7 km altogether, including warm up and cool down.
Today was a tempo run and some weights afterwards. It went really well, actually, the fast parts felt hard but not impossible. I kept thinking about "embracing the suck", to quote Jenny's running group! It ended up being 40 minutes and 5.7 km altogether, including warm up and cool down.
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