OK - once again I know I didn't do enough during the week. It's really tough getting back into work after the summer off...and getting the kids back on schedule. My house looks like a tornado blew through. Here's the problem with during the week - when I walk in the door, the kids are already home with Chris. He is trying to figure out what to make for dinner...the kids are running around like lunatics...and for some reason instead of changing right away and heading out, I feel like I immediately have to unpack everyone's stuff, assess homework and start packing lunches & snacks for the next day. By the time I'm done, I'm wiped out, it's time for dinner and will be too dark to run outside alone. SO - the plan is changing. This coming week I'm running immediately and will pack snacks/lunches AFTER dinner. There is no other way.
The long run was supposed to be on Sunday but we had a family birthday party on Saturday afternoon and honestly, I just wanted to have a few beers and not obsess about hydration for a few hours. Due to this, I decided to do my long run early Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather on Saturday turned out to be close to 90 degrees and extremely humid. I do not like this kind of weather! But it is what it is so around 7:45am I headed out. My friend/neighbor, Chris, happened to be walking his dog while I was setting up my pit stop porch so I got a big cheer from him...and then another neighbor opened her door regardless of the fact that she was still in her nightgown to yell, "You got this! You can totally do this!" Love them.
I started on my way with what was supposed to be a 20 miler. Although slow, my first few miles were ok. I seem to be averaging under 11:30/mile while running and 15 min/mile when walk breaking. Miles 4-8 is when the foot pain increased. It wasn't so bad that I felt the need to stop but I really started to worry about stress fractures. So much so that I "lost" 40 minutes of my run. I mean, I don't remember those 40 minutes passing. Very strange.
Mile 12 is where I got really uncomfortable. Other than the fact that I was soaked in sweat, the humidity & the gnats were pissing me off. I was also feeling tired and really, really worried about my foot. My walk breaks turned to more like 16 min/miles. Unacceptable. I sent a quick text to friend/teammate Yvonne for guidance...she said, "Stop. Ice & Rest. Don't push it and turn this into something really serious." Good idea. But in order to stop I had to finish my loop. The PSE&G guys were out working and they'd been cheering me on every time I went by...this time they could tell I was hobbling.
14.75 miles and I'm on my front porch crying my eyes out from frustration. Chris is sitting with me telling me to be smart and don't get so upset. Hello??? I've been busting my ASS and I'll be damned if this is a fucking stress fracture and I'm told not to run. No. No. No. I sit there crying with an ice pack on my foot for 10 minutes...wiggle my toes & foot and realize the pain isn't too bad...Screw it - I'm doing another loop.
18 miles is all I could do. "ALL I COULD DO" - that's funny to me when you also see the number 18. Last summer 1.8 miles was ALL I COULD DO. I could've probably hobbled out a few more miles but since I had been moving SO SO slow - I was now short on time to get showered for the birthday party.
I'm showering and thinking, "I'm getting DEEE-RUNK today!". HAHAHA! Didn't quite happen that way. At the party I drank about 8 bottles of water....then filled a pint glass with water twice. Had some food. Had a Captain & Coke made for me which took me over an hour to drink since I fell asleep in a lawn chair. Ate a piece of cake....came home..had 1 beer and went to sleep.
So much for my big plan to drink away my frustration.
And the OCD in me woke up to continue my obsessive researching & self-diagnosing of my foot issue. For those of you who don't know me well - I am the master self-diagnoser. I have considered applying to med school. No joke - I am always right. This has led me to assessing the movement & pain in my foot and what it appears to be is a friggin' bone spur. Annoying but manageable.
I will be more consistent with my weekly runs...and am looking forward to "only doing 12" next weekend.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Week 10 Done!
This week flew by. I know for sure that I didn't get enough runs in during the week...but I did manage to add in late night (this would be 8pm for me during the school year!) pilates. I really tried to keep sufficiently hydrated too.
The long run was going to be the most I've ever done but I wasn't feeling too worried about it since last week's run was only 2 miles less and that ended on a good note. But things don't always go my way.
I went to be early and set the alarm. I wanted to get up, have coffee, a little breakfast, potty routine and get out the door. That all happened but not as smoothly as I had hoped. Poop, Period, and Sinus issues were what I woke up to. Damn it. This was NOT going to work in my favor.
I "manned up" and set out. Once again, my front porch became my pit stop...turns out I had to make a pit stop quite often thanks to my numerous issues of the day.
Similar to last week, the first 4 miles were ok. I kept to my ratio for the most part and although I didn't feel great, I wasn't miserable. Miles 4-8 were great. I had a pretty decent groove going so I opted to cut back on the walk breaks. I was really feeling pretty good at this point despite the cramps and rumbling.
Things continued like this until my pit stop around mile 15. I'm not exactly sure what happened here. Maybe it was because I started to be accosted by the Jehovah's Witnesses canvasing the neighborhood. I'm ALL about religious freedom but this pisses me off because it was the same group who told me weeks ago that my family wasn't strong until we joined up with them. These people blocked my path and tried to talk to me & hand me pamphlets. I was RUNNING!! WTF??
Anyway...when I stopped at my porch to get water & GU, Chris came out front to check on me and I burst out crying. I knew I didn't have too much more to do but I had thought I had "hit the wall". Oh no - this is not what hitting the wall feels like.
I kept going. I was glad this last loop was going to be shorter so it would be a different route. To be honest, at this point I was walking more than running. The top of my right foot hurt again like last week. I just had no steam. But mile 16.75 is where I actually "hit the wall". My legs just stopped moving. I came to a dead stop. I groaned and fought back another round of tears. I was not about to call home for a ride when I had a mile more to go. No way. I got moving at the slowest pace I think I have ever moved. I wouldn't even quite call it walking. Whatever it was - it got me home.
My fingers are crossed that next week goes a little smoother.
The long run was going to be the most I've ever done but I wasn't feeling too worried about it since last week's run was only 2 miles less and that ended on a good note. But things don't always go my way.
I went to be early and set the alarm. I wanted to get up, have coffee, a little breakfast, potty routine and get out the door. That all happened but not as smoothly as I had hoped. Poop, Period, and Sinus issues were what I woke up to. Damn it. This was NOT going to work in my favor.
I "manned up" and set out. Once again, my front porch became my pit stop...turns out I had to make a pit stop quite often thanks to my numerous issues of the day.
Similar to last week, the first 4 miles were ok. I kept to my ratio for the most part and although I didn't feel great, I wasn't miserable. Miles 4-8 were great. I had a pretty decent groove going so I opted to cut back on the walk breaks. I was really feeling pretty good at this point despite the cramps and rumbling.
Things continued like this until my pit stop around mile 15. I'm not exactly sure what happened here. Maybe it was because I started to be accosted by the Jehovah's Witnesses canvasing the neighborhood. I'm ALL about religious freedom but this pisses me off because it was the same group who told me weeks ago that my family wasn't strong until we joined up with them. These people blocked my path and tried to talk to me & hand me pamphlets. I was RUNNING!! WTF??
Anyway...when I stopped at my porch to get water & GU, Chris came out front to check on me and I burst out crying. I knew I didn't have too much more to do but I had thought I had "hit the wall". Oh no - this is not what hitting the wall feels like.
I kept going. I was glad this last loop was going to be shorter so it would be a different route. To be honest, at this point I was walking more than running. The top of my right foot hurt again like last week. I just had no steam. But mile 16.75 is where I actually "hit the wall". My legs just stopped moving. I came to a dead stop. I groaned and fought back another round of tears. I was not about to call home for a ride when I had a mile more to go. No way. I got moving at the slowest pace I think I have ever moved. I wouldn't even quite call it walking. Whatever it was - it got me home.
My fingers are crossed that next week goes a little smoother.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Week 9 Done!
After making the decision last week to swap weeks I thought maybe I had made a bad move. I didn't take into account that it was my first official week back to school. Getting into a the early wake up routine is tough!!
I got my weekday runs in though...it's going to be rough keeping up my energy in order to do my runs around 5pm. Looks like I may start drinking a cup of coffee in the afternoon!
Anxiety started to set in for Sunday's long run. I fought it off - no way was I going to play these head games.
A teammate & I were planning on doing the run together but logistics with kids didn't work out this week so we decided to do it on our own - we'll try again next week.
Weather forecast: RAIN. Damn it. I started out at 9am - no rain yet just cloudy skies. Drizzle started about 2 miles in but there are so many trees in the neighborhood so I barely felt them. I was keeping up my forced walk breaks. I was running 12 min. miles for 6 minutes then walk break for 2. I was having a hard time keeping my walks at a consistent pace. And then something funny happened....my watch started beeping. I was running so I knew I wasn't going too slow - I figured the battery was about to die but I looked anyway. I WAS GOING TOO FAST!! Umm...what?? I was running a 10 min mile!! I slowed down real quick.
First pit stop - GU, a few good sized sips of water, potty break and a gatorade G2 to take with me.
Miles 4-8 were amazing. I was really strong. I gave up on paying strict attention to the walk/run ratio....I kind of just got a feel for the time so I stuck with that. The rain was coming & going. And when it was coming it was a steady rain.
Another pit stop....
Miles 8-12....equally as good. My energy was high and everything felt good. Except for the top of my right foot. It almost felt like my shoe was tied too tight - however I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
Miles 12-15.63....not as strong but there was no crying. I didn't even whimper! When I took my walk breaks (which were a little more frequent), I could feel the tightness in my legs. Hey - at least they held up this long!
My run came to an end with me close to sprinting the last 1/2 miles thanks to the downpour!! I was soaked and freezing. Worried about my ipod & cell phone. I just hauled ass home.
Walked in the door and realized just how soaked I was. Luckily Chris was home so out came the towels....and the icepacks. My legs felt weird. My right ankle was on fire - right in the front where it curves to the top of your foot. Lots of ice - and elevation. And Advil. It's feeling ok right now but I feel I'm stomping around the house instead of walking my usual graceful way :)
'Til next week....
I got my weekday runs in though...it's going to be rough keeping up my energy in order to do my runs around 5pm. Looks like I may start drinking a cup of coffee in the afternoon!
Anxiety started to set in for Sunday's long run. I fought it off - no way was I going to play these head games.
A teammate & I were planning on doing the run together but logistics with kids didn't work out this week so we decided to do it on our own - we'll try again next week.
Weather forecast: RAIN. Damn it. I started out at 9am - no rain yet just cloudy skies. Drizzle started about 2 miles in but there are so many trees in the neighborhood so I barely felt them. I was keeping up my forced walk breaks. I was running 12 min. miles for 6 minutes then walk break for 2. I was having a hard time keeping my walks at a consistent pace. And then something funny happened....my watch started beeping. I was running so I knew I wasn't going too slow - I figured the battery was about to die but I looked anyway. I WAS GOING TOO FAST!! Umm...what?? I was running a 10 min mile!! I slowed down real quick.
First pit stop - GU, a few good sized sips of water, potty break and a gatorade G2 to take with me.
Miles 4-8 were amazing. I was really strong. I gave up on paying strict attention to the walk/run ratio....I kind of just got a feel for the time so I stuck with that. The rain was coming & going. And when it was coming it was a steady rain.
Another pit stop....
Miles 8-12....equally as good. My energy was high and everything felt good. Except for the top of my right foot. It almost felt like my shoe was tied too tight - however I'm pretty sure it wasn't.
Miles 12-15.63....not as strong but there was no crying. I didn't even whimper! When I took my walk breaks (which were a little more frequent), I could feel the tightness in my legs. Hey - at least they held up this long!
My run came to an end with me close to sprinting the last 1/2 miles thanks to the downpour!! I was soaked and freezing. Worried about my ipod & cell phone. I just hauled ass home.
Walked in the door and realized just how soaked I was. Luckily Chris was home so out came the towels....and the icepacks. My legs felt weird. My right ankle was on fire - right in the front where it curves to the top of your foot. Lots of ice - and elevation. And Advil. It's feeling ok right now but I feel I'm stomping around the house instead of walking my usual graceful way :)
'Til next week....
Monday, September 6, 2010
Week 8 Done...sort of
OK - I made an "executive decision" this week. I was feeling really run down - a little low on energy but more achey & sore & tired. My right ankle felt stiff and my calves were hurting even when I tried to go to the basement to switch laundry.
Because of this, I was having a hard time staying mentally positive and confident during my runs - which by the way turned more into walks. I do walk quite fast though - 13:45 min.
The thought of a long run was making me want to cry. I decided to look ahead to next week's training and I saw that next week is more of a rest/recovery week - basically just easier on the miles. Maybe this is not "allowed" but I made the decision to swap this week & next week. Then I see that my teammate, Sharon, ran 20 miles (AWESOME!!)...and Liz & Patrick came out for the weekend and Liz went out and ran 12 miles Sunday morning (VERY COOL)...which only made me feel like crap that I wasn't sticking to schedule. BUT I reminded myself that this is mental AND physical. Considering the pattern of the week it's safe to say my long run would've been crappy. And my legs really, really were just crying for me to take it easy. I'm sticking with my decision and I'm just not going to feel guilty about it.
OH! I just realized that I had been bringing all my stuff back to school (yes - I got recontracted). What you may not realize is that I park my car in the basement garage and my classroom is on the third floor. Just to go from my car to my class is 75 steps one way!! I did this up & down about 10 times on Tuesday while carrying boxes....Wednesday & Thursday I also was up & down just not as often. When school starts officially I'll be up & down a ton - which is great for my legs but I think it was a shock to my legs after the summer off. Perhaps that's why my legs feel beat up this week....The good news is that my butt/hamstring don't really hurt anymore. Maybe a little but not too bad. Right now it's my calves.
I also have another theory....since I'm following the Galloway strategy, which is coming up with a ratio that works for you of running and walking, I had been doing 5 min run/2 min fast walk...but then I increased it to 6 min run/2 min walk...I'm planning on increasing about 30 seconds of run time each week until Marathon day. ANYWAY - the trick with this strategy is that you have to take time to work on walking since different muscles are worked harder. I haven't really been doing that all that much except during my walk breaks. I haven't set aside a day to be a walk day. So maybe since this week turned into more walking than running my legs are feeling it.
Or maybe I just need a little rest.
Because of this, I was having a hard time staying mentally positive and confident during my runs - which by the way turned more into walks. I do walk quite fast though - 13:45 min.
The thought of a long run was making me want to cry. I decided to look ahead to next week's training and I saw that next week is more of a rest/recovery week - basically just easier on the miles. Maybe this is not "allowed" but I made the decision to swap this week & next week. Then I see that my teammate, Sharon, ran 20 miles (AWESOME!!)...and Liz & Patrick came out for the weekend and Liz went out and ran 12 miles Sunday morning (VERY COOL)...which only made me feel like crap that I wasn't sticking to schedule. BUT I reminded myself that this is mental AND physical. Considering the pattern of the week it's safe to say my long run would've been crappy. And my legs really, really were just crying for me to take it easy. I'm sticking with my decision and I'm just not going to feel guilty about it.
OH! I just realized that I had been bringing all my stuff back to school (yes - I got recontracted). What you may not realize is that I park my car in the basement garage and my classroom is on the third floor. Just to go from my car to my class is 75 steps one way!! I did this up & down about 10 times on Tuesday while carrying boxes....Wednesday & Thursday I also was up & down just not as often. When school starts officially I'll be up & down a ton - which is great for my legs but I think it was a shock to my legs after the summer off. Perhaps that's why my legs feel beat up this week....The good news is that my butt/hamstring don't really hurt anymore. Maybe a little but not too bad. Right now it's my calves.
I also have another theory....since I'm following the Galloway strategy, which is coming up with a ratio that works for you of running and walking, I had been doing 5 min run/2 min fast walk...but then I increased it to 6 min run/2 min walk...I'm planning on increasing about 30 seconds of run time each week until Marathon day. ANYWAY - the trick with this strategy is that you have to take time to work on walking since different muscles are worked harder. I haven't really been doing that all that much except during my walk breaks. I haven't set aside a day to be a walk day. So maybe since this week turned into more walking than running my legs are feeling it.
Or maybe I just need a little rest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)