Rest Day

That is probably a bad title for this entry.  I did not get any sleep today after work at all.  Extremely stressful phone calls.  This was the second day in a row with no sleep.  My resting heart rate was higher than after a typical workout just from the stress alone.  I wonder if that would count as a cardio workout!

I go home tomorrow so my workout for the day was doing laundry, packing, and trying to get rid of my stress.  Watched a little of Big Bang Theory to get some good laughs, had a great dinner, and now I am simply watching the temperature drop and drop and drop.  Down to -31 now.  Even Hello Kitty looks kind of horrified.  "Spring? " She says!

 I can't wait to get home.  Even if it is still below freezing, I'm running outdoors and biking outdoors and skiing outdoors.  Then off to Spain for the Rock 'n' Roll Madrid Marathon, and biking across Spain and Portugal.

Still running for a cure http://www.race4cancer.org/

5 Miles

Another 5 miles on the treadmill. Seemed like I was dragging a bit today. I think I am really ready to head home!  The treadmill is ok but running outdoors is so much better.  I'll be happy if I can just run at the sports center track again.  At least I don't have to stay in one place.  It's still 20 below zero today so probably not a good time to run outdoors.  It's up to 44 at home though, so it would be perfect temperature for running outside.  Hoping to get in some skate skiing and maybe even biking when I get home on Saturday.

Another 5 Miles on the Treadmill

I couldn't sleep this morning, then when I finally got to sleep a phone call woke me up.  So to catch up, I slept until 4:30.  But I still finally managed to get in a 5 mile workout on the treadmill. I've been keeping track of the food I eat lately because it is too easy to overeat up here in Deadhorse.  When I keep a food diary I am really surprised at how much I actually eat.  Although especially with the running, I am still at a calorie rate of well under 1000 calories a day.  I would like to take off about 5 pounds.  Maybe I will reach that goal by the time I get to Madrid.

It was -42 when I got off work this morning.  Not many signs of spring out there. It's a gorgeous evening here tonight, forecast to be in the -40's again.

Finally

I finally got in a decent workout.  Still only 5 miles on the treadmill, but it was a lot better than only 2 or 3 and certainly better than NONE, which has happened several times recently.  For a change, I didn't have a bunch of stuff that needed to get done during my few waking hours. 

I am really tired of the treadmill.  When I get home I'm going to run outdoors if at all possible.  It has warmed up considerably there so the snow should be disappearing quickly.  But I hope to hit the snow itself with my skate skis too.  I will only have two weeks before heading to Spain.  I'm really looking forward to running through the streets of Madrid next month. 

Running to find a cure http://www.race4cancer.org/

Crazy Day!

I ended up doing a very short workout today.  Once again I woke up too late.  I need my sleep so hate to force myself to get up too early.  As it is, I usually don't get enough sleep when working up here in Prudhoe Bay.

I did a 1 mile calibration run because my Nike+ with GPS has been way off lately.  Then I did a nice 2 mile run with lots of sprints.  Even though it was short I think it was a really good workout.

I lost some time today fiddling with the company car's block heater plug.  Tried to add a lighted adapter to it and it refused to go on all the way.  But I found the right tool, a really big oil worker guy who managed to put it on as if it was child's play.  I got a good laugh out of it anyway.

Maybe tomorrow I will get in the long run that I really need.

After all, Running is my middle name!

Very Short Run!

I don't know what was wrong today but I seemed to do a whole lot more sweating than running.  Even with my fan, I was dripping wet.  I ended up stopping after only 3 miles.  I have had a really hard time sleeping the last few days and that really messes up my workouts. 

I do get an extra couple of short workouts each day right now though.  The company car's block heater broke and I am without a car.  So I have had to walk back and forth to work.  It's not very far, about a half a mile.  But at -40 or today with only -18 with a -50 wind chill, it seems a whole lot farther!  It has been kind of a challenge doing the short trek without getting hypothermia or frostbite or both.  I have a pretty good setup to keep me warm.

At least I don't have to walk alone.  I call this photo

"Hello Kitty and Her Ninja - Walking to Work"

I finally reached my official Team In Training fundraising minimum - with my own credit card.  But I still my own goal of $10,000 although my real goal is $100 million or a cure, whichever comes first. 

It's not too late to donate.  Just click Here!

A Little of Both

I only ran 3 miles today on the treadmill because I really need to get busy on the stationary bike since I am doing a bike ride in Spain and Portugal next month.  Needless to say, I have not been able to ride my bike at all this winter, and certainly not here on the North Slope in the minus 40 temperatures on the snow.  My legs are pretty tired from doing the Kilimanjaro climb workout on the bike.  Steep hill workout.  I figure that's what I need because there are lots of hills in Spain.  I would love to hop on my bike and do a 50 mile bike ride somewhere.  Maybe I will get lucky and when I get home in two weeks the bike trails will be clear enough to use.  With the record snowfalls in Alaska this winter, I suspect I will only be riding my bike indoors on its indoor riding apparatus.  I won't be breaking any speed records in Spain, but I will be stopping a lot to take pictures anyway.

I'm a little sore so I must have gotten a good workout even if the run was pretty short.

St. Patrick's Day today so gotta go GREEN! 

Click on the shamrock to help fight cancer.

5 Miles Total

My Nike+ GPS calibration was way off at first so I stopped my first run after 1 mile and reset it.  Then ran another 4 miles and it seemed right on.  It sure is a lot more accurate when it is actually receiving a GPS signal.  But the exact amount of time or miles is less important than the effectiveness of the workout.  Today was good.  I was feeling very stressed and I feel much better now. 

No matter how bad my personal stress may be, it will never come close to comparing to the stress of those who suffer from blood cancers.  The goal of curing cancer is more important than how quickly I can run 26.2 miles.

I still need about $900 to meet my goal. 

PLEASE HELP! 

Very Short Workout!

I really had the best intentions! I planned to run 5 miles even though my waking hours have been filled with disturbing phone calls and E-mails. But after 2.5 miles on the treadmill I got yet another one of those phone calls which totally interrupted my run.  So I continued until I hit 3 miles and decided to call it good.  By then it was getting kind of late. 

I would really like to go for a 20 miler on the treadmill in the next week.  I bought a small fan to put next to me so that I don't drown in my sweat in that exercise room.  It really helps keep me cool.  Funny that I need to worry about keeping cool when it is 40 below zero outside!  But I'm just not tough enough to run out there. 

I'm closing in on my deadline for reaching my fundraising goal.  Thank you to Ree and Carolyn who just donated in the last couple of days.  No worries though, if I don't reach the goal, I will donate the rest myself.  I wish I was a multi multi multi billionaire so I could donate many of my billions towards ridding the world of cancer.  But since I am just your average hard worker, I will just keep on running with Team In Training and asking for little bits of help from everyone.  $1 from a billion people adds up to a billion dollars!

If you want to help, click on the Team In Training logo below.



Long Run

I did a tough long run today of 15 miles on the treadmill.  It really gets warm in that exercise room and I felt a bit overheated.  Running indoors you dont have the advantage of wind or even the wind generated by your own movement. I'm thinking of buying a small fan and taking it with me to the treadmill from now on. 

I am really hoping to get in a 20 mile long run before I leave here, but it is hard to imagine doing it on the treadmill.  I did do an 18 miler on the treadmill last year.

I'm still nearly $1000 short for meeting my fundraising minimum.  The most important race is the one to cure cancer. I have only one month left to raise the money. 

Please Help with a donation!

An Extremely Stressful Day!

Another day of crazy phone calls and E-mails that totally destroyed my entire day's sleep.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow.  I did get a fairly good 5 mile workout on the treadmill.  That helped!  I'm still tired, but I don't feel quite as stressed as before.

It's 40 below zero with a 60 below zero wind chill, so the treadmill was just fine!!!!!

$1000

I got my IRS refund today so decided to donate $1000 of it to my Team In Training fundraising page, since I am not getting any donations anymore.  I still need close to $1000 to meet my fundraising minimum. 

I did another 5 miles on the treadmill at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel today.  It is so cold outside, -25 with a -50 wind chill, yet it is like a sauna there in the hotel exercise room.  I don't think people would be happy if I just opened the outside door to the exercise room though. I guess I might not like that much myself!  I'm looking forward to being able to run outdoors again.  I hope when I get home in April it has warmed up enough to run outdoors and ride my bike on the bike trails. 

I could sure use some more help in my fundraising to cure cancer. Please click the Team In Training logo below to donate:

10 Miles on the Treadmill

30 below with a -60 windchill.  Yep, gotta do my run on the treadmill.  It sure gets hot in that exercise room running for that long.  But I need to get in some longer runs so I have no choice.  Watched a couple of TV shows and listened to Juanes on my iPhone.  That helps to pass the time.

I'm looking forward to the marathon in Madrid.  Maybe if I pretend I am running with the bulls, I will pick up my speed!

5 Miles

Today has been really stressful, trying to sort out all of the red tape connected with Mother's estate.  Between the stock broker, the tax man, and the attorney, maybe one day we will get it all straight.  My head was spinning, so I headed to the treadmill for stress relief.  It's amazing how a 5 mile run can reduce the stress of such a quagmire of confusing stuff.  Perhaps by Monday I will have all of that sorted out.  I'm still feeling the tiredness that goes along with switching from sleeping at night to sleeping during the day, especially with stressful phone call interruptions.  I know I wasn't breaking any speed records on the treadmill today, but that's ok.  I'm just working on the important goal of a cancer cure.

In The Far North

I'm back up in Prudhoe Bay now for the month of March.  Adjusting to working nights again.  I just did a fairly slow 5 mile run on the treadmill.  I was pretty tired because as usual, my first day sleeping was not the best.  I'm a bit short on sleep today but glad I got in a run.  I don't like to fall into the excuse habit.  It's warmed up to about -30 from the -47 this morning when I got off work.  Definitely time to use the treadmill and not attempt anything outdoors.  It's downright brutal out there!

I'm still far behind on fundraising.  No matter what, my primary finish line is the one that brings a cure to cancer.  Please make a donation to my Team In Training fundraising page.  Just click on the Team In Training logo below to donate.

Thanks!