Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 7

Well, it's week 7 and this is the week that I have been a little worried about. It's the week that we suddenly have to run for 10 minutes straight -- twice as long as any other week.

My little gang and I have just come in from our Sunday night run and, honestly, it went pretty well! We've been lucky that our summer weather -- including tonight -- has been unusually pleasant. Running in the cooler evening temperatures has helped as well. But the 10-minute run was still surprisingly do-able. I hope you have the same experience.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.


Week 7

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 10 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 5 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 2: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 3: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down



Week 8 (easy recovery week)

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 10 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 4 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 2: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 3: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 7 times. 5-minute cool-down


*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!

Cross-Country Adventure: women re-enact historic road trip

Finishing off this road trip-themed week, here's an interesting bit about women who have re-enacted Alice Ramsey's historic cross-country road trip of 100 years ago. Alice, a bold 22-year-old, was the first woman to drive coast-to-coast in a day when driving was a physical activity. Alice had some friends along for the big ride and the women recreating her feat are no different.

Emily Anderson and Christie Catania spent a chunk of their summer in a rebuilt 1909 Maxwell DA, speeding across the country at a crazy 35 miles per hour. The two followed in Alice's wheel ruts and made a documentary about their experience.

To read an article about their efforts, click here.

To visit Emily and Christie's site, click here.

To read more about their film, click here.

The Sky Ledge: A Glass Balcony -- 103 Stories High

I touched on this in my list of things to do in Chicago but, honestly, it deserves a little more attention. The Sears (OK the WILLIS) Tower has just installed new balconies with glass floors that they are calling "Sky Ledges." The big selling point here is that the Sky Ledges are 103 stories up. Click here to read a story from the Associated Press and to see some impressive pictures. Click here to visit the home of the Sky Ledge. The top picture on the Sky Ledge page gives me vertigo and I'm sitting in a chair 800 miles away.

My Favorite Road Trip: DC to Yellowstone

A couple of weeks ago someone asked me to describe my favorite road trip. I had to think a bit because I LOVE road trips and every couple of years I mark out a section of the country, load "Stella," my car, with maps and books on tape and family members and hit the interstate. We've covered a lot of territory over the years but here's one of my all time favorites.

Starting Point: Washington, DC
Ending Point: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

First stop: Chicago, Illinois
I grew up in this town and, though I may be biased, it tops my list of best cities in the US. I think it's the combination of architectural interest, gorgeous lake, abundant cultural happenings and very friendly residents. These are a few of my family's favorite spots:
Sears Tower (yeah, yeah, they changed the name but I'm still calling it Sears. Check out the Sky Deck 103 stories high, and the brand new glass-bottom Sky Ledge),
Millennium Park (beautiful fountains, the Cloud Gate--aka "bean" sculpture, outdoor concerts), Buckingham Fountain (regular water displays & nightly light shows),
Magnificent Mile (walk this vibrant stretch of Michigan Avenue),
Tribune Tower (the base of this building features stones from around the world: the Great Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, the Parthenon...),
State Street (Chicago's traditional retail shopping district), Water Tower Place (upscale high-rise shopping with fun fountains on Michigan Ave),
Navy Pier ( great city view from huge Ferris wheel, events & food),
Museum of Science and Industry (all kinds of cool stuff!),
Wrigley Field (once a Cub's fan, always a Cub's fan),
Garrett's Popcorn (when I was a kid they only had one location and my friend, Pam, and I spent a lot of time in the line outside that store).

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Imagine combining a town, an amusement park and a carnival and you have the Dells. Lots of fun, water and fudge. A great stop on your way to...

the Spam Museum, Austin, Minnesota
You don't have to be a fan of potted meat products to enjoy this kitchy place. Interactive exhibits, goofy games, a solid sense of humor and the occasional sample mean that you'll spend more time in this museum than you thought possible.

Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota
More than a century ago, someone in Mitchell thought creating a mural from the local harvest would be a good idea. It was such a hit that the citizens have kept the tradition ever since -- designing and assembling brand new images each year. The artists use 13 different shades of corn give the enormous work of art it's distinctive appearance. I can tell you that the Corn Palace is worth a look.

The Bad Lands, near Wall, South Dakota
If you have never been to the Bad Lands then you will have a hard time imagining this exotic landscape. Shaped by erosion, the region is a great sweep of hills and valleys, subtle hues and bursts of color. It is seemingly barren but surprisingly full of life (we had an interesting encounter with a rattle snake). Since there's no way I can describe the Bad lands, I'll send you to blogger Seabrooke Leckie who has some nice images in her post about the region. Click here to see her pictures.

Wall Drug, Wall, South Dakota
One of the craziest tourist traps you'll ever see, Wall Drug with its famous ice water and ice cream is perfectly positioned just off the road through the Bad Lands. There's no way you can miss it because you'll have seen at least one of their hundreds of signs before you come within 50 miles of the place. I saw a Wall Drug sign in Amsterdam the last time I was in that city.

Custer State Park in South Dakota's Black Hills
I love this park! Herds of buffalo and plenty of other wild life are just part of the attraction. The cabins are comfortable and quaint and give you access to hiking, biking, and fishing. There are a number of caves in the area if you're a spelunker and of course it's right next to...

Mt. Rushmore, Black Hills, South Dakota
Amazingly, it looks just like every picture you've ever seen.

Devil's Tower, Devils Tower, Wyoming
Be sure to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind before you visit. President Teddy Roosevelt made Devils Tower the first national monument in 1906.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
You could spend the entire summer in Yellowstone and only see a tiny bit of this stunning wilderness area. There are so many geothermal phenomena in this one park that it's hard to know where to start. Old Faithful is popular but I enjoyed the little mud pots and hot springs even more. Of course there's also the wild life; Yellowstone is know for it's wolves, bears, moose and bison. The waterfalls and lakes worth the hike/drive. Yellowstone is one of those places that you MUST visit at least once in your lifetime.



Image credit: PATAGONIAN ROAD
© Cosmopol | Dreamstime.com

Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 6

Cooling down after your run is an important part of your training schedule. According to The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program * the post-run cool down and stretch is a good way to keep your muscles from tightening and it's the time when you can really work on your flexibility. Your muscles are warm and you'll be able to hold a stretch safely for 30 seconds to 3 minutes. You may find it easiest to stretch an area for 15 to 30 seconds, repeating the stretch 2 to 3 times. Save that 3 minute stretch for problem areas. Always keep in mind that you aren't competing with your running partners. You're only improving yourself. If you can't touch your toes or do the splits, work toward those goals consistently but slowly.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.

Week 6

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 12 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down


Week 7

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 10 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 5 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down


*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!

Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 5

Part of the weekly training schedule is 5 minutes of stretching. I should probably change the wording to say "warm up" and "cool down." I imagine that a lot of you are like me when it comes to the pre-exercise prep period. My group was doing the classic hamstring stretch, some twists and a few lunges (the same-old-same-old) and then heading out. It was interesting to learn that this is not really what the creators of the 13-week program had in mind.

Their feeling is that you're more likely to injure a cold muscle by stretching too much than by running without stretching at all. What they had in mind is a period of truly warming the muscles progressively. Start by walking or jogging slowly for 5 - 10 minutes then follow with light stretching for 3-5 minutes. The stretches should be held for about 10 seconds but repeated 2 to 3 times (making sure to include all the most important muscle groups: calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, back & shoulders). So, from here on out, you'll notice that the weekly schedule shows an 8-minute warm up instead of a 5-minute stretch.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.


Week 5

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times. 5-minute cool-down


Week 6

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 12 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down


*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!

Be a FLAMINGO

In Washington State, there is a group of women who are the caretakers of a lot of pink plastic birds. The flock "mysteriously" migrates from one front yard to another when a homeowner makes a donation to the American Cancer Society. The women, who call themselves the FLAMINGOS: Fun-Loving Adventurous Mothers In Nature's Garden Overcoming Stress, have raised, more than $100,000 so far.

Click here to read more about the Flamingos. Maybe you'll find inspiration for your own Adventure Club.

Obama's Summer Challenge

President Obama wants YOU to get involved! He has formally challenged all of us to spend the summer, June 22 to September 11, helping others and strengthening our country.

United We Serve, the official site for the summer volunteer challenge, promises to make it easy for you to lend a hand in the areas of education, health, energy & the environment, and community renewal. United We Serve will help you register your service project as well.

To get started, click here and visit United We Serve. Enter key words about the type of activity you are interested in or just type in your zip code. After entering my zip code, I had more options than I thought possible. Happily, I was able to narrow the selection by indicating "when" I want to work.

Are you ready for a challenge?

Building a Better You

Building on a fitness and training theme, I thought some of you would be interested in knowing just where you stand -- so to speak. Here are two health challenges that will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know what you need to work on, both provide you with the exercises and inspiration to move ahead

The President's Challenge: (Less adventurous) Reminiscent of junior high school, the President's Challenge tests aerobic ability, strength & endurance, flexibility, and body composition. You can enter all your test data online and receive instant fitness scores along with tips for improving

Outside Magazine's Fitness Challenge: (More adventurous) The magazine helps you determine your levels of core stability, long-range power, strength, rest & nutrition. Take their tests then follow their exercise suggestions to become the woman you always knew you could be. Your challenge begins on page 52 of the July issue.

Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 4

The theme for this week is "rest." The past couple of posts mentioned two of author Ian MacNeill's three rules for training (consistency and moderation). Looking at the training schedule for this week, it's pretty obvious that the author thinks rest is important -- this is our easiest week so far!

According to MacNeill, rest is key because it gives your body time to adapt to the changes you are creating through your physical efforts. These recovery periods are as important as other aspects of your training and should be part of your schedule. (Personally, I think this concept should be applied to life in general -- not just athletic training.) Rest means a stronger, more efficient, you.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.

Week 4 (Easy Recovery Week)

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Do this 8 times. 5-minute stretch

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 2 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Do this 7 times. 5-minute stretch

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 2 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Do this 7 times. 5-minute stretch


Week 5

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 times. 5-minute stretch

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute stretch

Day 1: 5-minute stretch, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times. 5-minute stretch



*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!

AWB Featured on "Blogging Women"

I'm happy to say that Blogging Women is featuring Adventurous Women Blog today. Blogging Women is great directory of blogs written by women. Organized by category, the site aims to be your comprehensive online resource. Check out Blogging Women if you are looking for a particular blog or type of blog. If you're a blogger yourself, you can submit your site for review.

Thanks, Fay for adding AWB to your terrific blog!

Fireworks!

No Fourth of July is complete without fireworks. Being lazy, I thought I'd re-post this AWB classic piece for your reading pleasure:




Fireworksguide.com will show you where to find the biggest, baddest fireworks displays on the planet. There are lots of shows happening throughout the year so keep your picnic basket at the ready.

Want to enjoy pyrotechnics without actually moving from your current spot? Click to watch London's AMAZING New Year's Eve show, Taipei's tower, Syndey's Harbor celebration, Swiss National Day, or a past Disney 4th of July display.



Photo credit: FIREWORKS
© Raynald Bélanger | Dreamstime.com

July 4 Fun: Water Balloons

Next to the Pie Eating Contest, the second most popular activity at our neighborhood Fourth of July party is the water balloon toss. I'm sure you've all filled water balloons and you've all thrown them at your friends in years past but if you've never done a water balloon contest for 100, here are a few tips.

First, fill all your balloons the night before. We fill more than 400 balloons and it takes a looooong time.

Second, float your balloons in a tub of water. You can't pile a bunch of water balloons into a big container because the bottom balloons will burst. However, if you add enough water to your containers so that the balloons float, you can store quite a few without any breakage.

Third, create a BIG finale! Our contest involves your standard 4" water balloon but for the very last round, a brave few get 9" balloons. I don't make a lot of these because they're hard to store.

The competition. Each contestant needs a teammate. Teams start facing each other about an arm-length apart. When you yell, "Go!" player A tosses her water balloon to player B and then takes a step back. Player B tosses the balloon back to Player A. Player B then takes one step back. This continues until the balloon breaks. The team that keeps their balloon in play the longest, wins.

Water balloons are a guilty pleasure for most adults. They act like they're beyond this kind of thing but secretly they're dying to do it. If you have a little kid ask an adult to please be his/her partner in the contest, the adult is sure to say, "yes."

July 4 Fun: Pie Eating Contest

Every year my family celebrates America's Independence Day with a big neighborhood party and one of the highlights of the afternoon is the pie eating contest. The standard "county fair" version of this competition would involve a bunch of big eaters each with his or her own double-crust fruit pie that they would try to consume as quickly as possible without using their hands.

We've developed our own take on this American classic for a couple of reasons. First, if you have read this blog for a while, you know that I can't bake a pie. Second, I didn't want anyone choking on a piece of crust and ruining all the fun. Third, I wanted a contest for all ages.

So, here's a fool-proof recipe for some easy Fourth of July fun:

Get Ready...

Prepare an enormous vat of chocolate pudding (I mix up a bunch of boxes of Jell-o instant pudding in my biggest spaghetti pot).

Buy many tubs of Cool Whip (I use Cool Whip Lite). Make sure to thaw them before the big event.

Purchase some disposable paper bowls and a lot of paper towel.

Get set...

Pick a spot for your contest. I suggest a grassy area or any place that you can hose off after the event.

Set up a table that can take abuse and have several rolls of paper towel nearby.

Make your pies. Add 1 cup of pudding to a disposable bowl. Top with 1/4 cup of Cool Whip. Make sure that every pie is identical so the contest is fair. I make about 10 pies at a time and have a "staff" making more as we need them (we go through a lot of pies).

Go!

Call "Round 1!" We start with 10 year olds. They're brave enough to go first and will inspire the younger kids. We save the adults for the grand finale.

Place a pie in front of each contestant. Have long-haired pie eaters tie their hair back. Make everyone put their hands behind their backs and explain that the first one to completely eat their pie -- without using hands -- is the winner.

Yell, "Ready! Set! Go!"

Stand back

Finally, announce the winner, hand out paper towel (they'll need it) and call "Round 2!"




Photo credit: Mike Scanlon