11/22 & 11/24

4.28 miles outside with Neil on Saturday, feverish & in bed all day Sunday, 4.5 miles tonight on the treadmill at 9:35/mile. At least I did it.

11/20

Easy run today--and boy was I tired! Foot still aching and I've been having some recurring problems with my right calf muscle.

3 miles; 9:24/mile

11/19

No run yesterday because my foot was aching so much. :-(

Speedwork today 8x 400-meter repeats. Not quite at my 5K pace at the beginning but I was getting there by the end! Had to start slow as always to stretch out my foot, so I did 8:34/mile for the speed part and 9:40 for the recovery. Worked my way up gradually until I was able to do 8/mile and 9:13/mile. As always, my stride feels so much more natural once I pass 8:30/mile or so--just like everything is working as it should.

Totals: 4 miles and 8:53 average pace for the whole run

11/17

I haven't updated in forever, mostly because it's been pretty glum running-wise. I did have plantar fasciitis, and it has been sheer hell. I had to cut running down to a couple of miles once a week, and it was awful every time I ran. I'm to the point now where I can run 4-5 times a week and do longer distances, but I'm still much slower than I used to be (I also managed to gain about 10 pounds--lack of running + depression about not running and then eating because I felt sad. Lots of biking and strength training just wasn't the same for me as running).

Anyway. I've missed charting my runs and I need the motivation it gives me; last week I ran 4 times but missed one of my planned runs and I just need to be accountable.

So.

4.5 miles on the treadmill today; 9:05 overall pace (I have to start no faster than a 10-minute mile and gradually work my way up over the first mile, otherwise my foot hurts too much to keep going). Stopped for water at 30 minutes when I was at 3.3 miles, which gave me a good point to time the last little bit, so 8:56/mile for the last 1.2 miles.

Racing injured

I did a 12K trail race tonight and oh man, it was the hardest terrain I've ever run! There was a tiny stretch on pavement and then the rest of it was in trees along the river, which meant that there was deep sand interspersed with muddy sand, giant roots, fallen trees, and super-slick pounded sand dotted with deep puddles. There were a couple of creek crossings where you basically slid all the way down. I LOVE trail running but I've always run before on hard-packed dirt, mud, wood chips, or rock...never sand!

With about three miles to go I felt a distinct "pop" in the arch of my left foot, which has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks, and then this CRAZY shooting pain that felt like I was jumping on a knife every time my foot touched the ground.

I quickly evaluated my options--basically alone in the woods (there were only 29 runners and we were really spread out) and no support teams, so I had to get back on my own. I realized that I was better off going as fast as I could so I could minimize the time I was on my feet, so I just ran on my little knife-foot for the next 3 miles until I finished up and then peeled off my shoe to check out the swelling. My awesome running buddy who had crossed a minute before I did (she was ahead of me before the foot-pop and I'd told her to just go) has a PhD in nursing so she quickly grabbed a cup of cold water and had me hold it against the swelling, then she drove us home & got me set up with KT tape and ice. But yowza this thing hurts SO bad! It's been four hours and I still can't walk. This could be pretty interesting. I'm about 80% sure it's plantar fascitis but I'm worried about that pop.

(PS--what got me through those last 3 miles was a) being intent on passing the girl ahead of me--and I totally smoked her by 4 minutes--and b) wanting to make sure that NOBODY passed me and c) thinking about Scott Jurek winning the Western States 100 & the Hardrock 100 when he was injured. If he can run for 100 miles with an ankle the size of a grapefruit, I can run for 3). If I recall correctly my last mile was about 8:30ish because there was no way I was letting the people trail me slip past (it was also finally out of the sand so I could finally run normally!) In a weird way I almost felt stronger running through the pain, because I was like, whatever, this isn't going to stop me! (And when I saw somebody gaining on me I totally started trash-talking myself. I thanked her after the race for motivating me and she laughed and said, "Well, I finally realized I wasn't going to catch you!" I love the running camaraderie--everyone is racing but everyone is still SO nice and yelling out things about mud pits or fallen trees to avoid, etc.)

12K; division place 2 (the #1 in my division won for women overall and was CRAZY fast!!), sex place 4, overall place 16; 1:12:34 and 9:44/mile. Definitely not one of my best times, but a much harder run than I'd anticipated...I've never run on such deep sand (or any sand!) and I can definitely see the gap in my training!

7/2

Well, I'm doing the runs, but it's really hard recording them all!

8.63 miles through the woods tonight. Lots of hills and a beautiful run! Around 9:02/mile.

6/24

Tempo run today, starting at 10/mile and up to 7:47/mile and back down ending at 8:49/mile. 30 minutes; average pace 8:49 over the course of the whole run. I've got to drop a few pounds to get my speed back up.

6/23

Only managed to run one other day last week--6 or 7 in Chicago (I did walk about 10 miles there too).

3 tonight on the treadmill, alternating intervals. Average pace was just under 9/mile.

6/18

Speedwork late tonight on the treadmill. Half a mile to warm up and then 5 x 400 alternating between 8:19 out and 10/back, then another half mile running and half a mile walking to cool down.

Oops

I have done a sincerely terrible job of posting around here. So...I ran a marathon. And it was awesome. And now I need a new one to train for, and it's time to go run right now. My goal this time is to get faster faster faster--I need to get back under a 6:59 mile!

2/20

Still doing an awful job logging everything! I'm still sticking to the schedule. I'm a little worried about not being able to run outside much, but I did finally get outside on Saturday for 5.25 miles in the snow and it was great. I'm hoping the monotony of the mental effort required for the treadmill will help in the race itself.

15 mile long run last week was pretty hard--I did a lot of hills and I really felt it. This week I ran 4 on Monday, 8 on Tuesday, rest on Wed, and then ran 16 tonight. I just kept it at incline 1 the entire time (TMI alert, but I was having some random bleeding out of the blue so I took a couple of iron pills and just tried to take it easier than I would have normally). Took breaks at 4.2, 9, 12, and 14.5 for water and energy shots.
Slowly sped up over the last seven miles--I really was feeling pretty strong (impressive since it's midnight and I have been super dragging for days...I think the iron made a HUGE difference already) and finished at 8:00/mile. 9:36 average pace.

2/6

4 miles of hill repeats--ran half a mile to warm up, then 2 minutes at 6% incline, 2 minutes at 0, 1 minute at 7%, 2 minutes at 0, and then repeat. I did four sets and I was so nauseated that I just ran the last few minutes at 0 to cool down. Then I laid on the floor until the room stopped spinning and the urge to vomit passed. Running, I love you!

4 miles hill repeats 9:19/mile

2/5

Not doing a great job logging these! Still doing all the runs...I guess I'll just write down what I write down and call it good.

7 miles today, tried to replicate the marathon course's hills again. 8:51/mile

1/31

Half-marathon tonight. Didn't start until almost 9:30 PM and I'd been exhausted all day. Took it slow and focused on trying to approximate the race course, which meant I made myself run some really nasty hills. The last couple of miles was all uphill.

Stopped at 4.1 for water/gel, 6.5 for the same (then 6.6 when my mom called to tell me my sister was hospitalized), then 10 for water/gel, then 11.1 for a screaming baby who demanded to be nursed and rocked and carried. It was SO hard to start again...but I did and finished out the 13.1, average pace 9:26/mile.

1/28

4 miles (scheduled for 3 but whatever) at 8:33/mile. Definitely felt more tired than I did yesterday. Did some strength training afterwards.

1/27

6 miles on the treadmill (no stops). 15 minutes of hills; rest at incline 1. Pace 8:31/mile; felt super strong for the first two or three miles and like I could sprint the whole time, but then started feeling more fatigue as it went on (was scheduled for 3 but went ahead with 6).

Some day it will be safe to run outside again...getting really sick of the polar vertex. It's -25 out there right now, I think.

1/25

One hour, forty-seven minutes, and forty-four seconds on my treadmill yesterday. There's no way a long run is happening outside when it's -25, winds at 50 mph, and 3-4 inches of snow (all of which are blowing wildly creating blizzard-like conditions). So yeah, I'm just glad I have a treadmill.

12 miles @ 8:59/mile; ran the first six and then stopped every couple of miles for water and energy gels

On Wednesday ran 3 miles of hill intervals (90 seconds at 6, 90 seconds at 0, 60 seconds at 7, 120 seconds at 0, repeat repeat repeat etc.)

1/21

Oh gosh, I'm doing terribly at keeping up with my log here. I'm still getting every run in, but I'm definitely not where I'd love to be...so tired all the time! I've been working to balance out my antidepressants (which are giving me insomnia) and hopefully I will be able to sleep more and run more strongly with the increased energy.

6 miles tonight; 8:45/mile

1/10

3 Tuesday and Wednesday, according to my training plan. So glad that I had a day off yesterday because I was feeling achy and completely exhausted--my period started again for the first time in almost 2 years and I'd forgotten how wretched and miserable that is.

10 tonight on the treadmill after a looooong day. I just took it really slow and I was so tired (which makes sense since I finished at 11:30 PM)! Just didn't feel like I had much to give. I did 3 minutes of hills every mile, stopped at 6 for water and grabbed a Reese's and ate a bite every couple of miles to give myself a sugar boost for the last 4 miles.

10 miles, 9:29/mile average pace

1/6

6 on the treadmill today. My hip was really hurting last Saturday and I'd already run more than my training schedule called for, so I took Saturday & Sunday off (although they ended up being the kind of super busy days where I was aching at the end of the day anyway!)  Ran 4.5 and then stopped for a bathroom break; was so achy when I started again that I had to slow way down before I could speed up to finish at 8/mile.

6 miles; avg page 8:55/mile

Long run

9 miles on the treadmill tonight--there's 5 inches of snow outside and it's -2 degrees. Not great running weather.

Ran 5 miles and then stopped for water and a Gu. I was pretty tired (I wish I'd been able to run earlier, but I don't want to take time away from my kids for such a long daytime run). My back, right knee, and right hip were all aching.

Ran hill intervals and speed intervals for the first 5 miles (6.5 mph and then a 7.0 mph for a couple of minutes, plus 3 minutes of hills every 7 minutes). When I started up again I was really tired and took it slower for a couple of miles and then sped up gradually (no hills). Decided to try a training technique I read about and finished the last mile upwards of 7.0 the whole time and then ended at 8/mile.

9 miles; 9:06/mile

1/1/2014

Looks like I've forgotten to do a lot of updating! I ran Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to bring the total to 26 for the week. We drove up to Michigan Saturday and my Monday/Tuesday runs were outside over snow-covered ice. Beautiful and a little scary--I definitely used muscles I don't usually need to stay stable on the incredibly uneven terrain (a foot of snow that had been rained down to a couple of inches, then covered with ice, then more snow, so it was pretty rough going).

Anyway, Monday's run was one of those where you just want to keep going forever. I seriously did not want to stop and kept adding little detours. 5.25 miles, and then I walked another 3 later that day over some of the same icy terrain with my family (carrying Nathan in the front carrier...totally killed my back and I was so achy the next day! I also fell on the ice twice when I was walking and ended up with giant bruises covering both kneecaps and one elbow).

On Tuesday I literally could not roll over in bed because my back was so painful, but running helped SO much! I ran a beautiful 4 through falling snow and a headwind...when I first started out each step was splashing snow up inside my pants and I was so cold, but after a mile or so it didn't bother me anymore. When I got back I realized that the inside of my pants up to my knees were coated in ice and my skin was completely numb! Looks like it's time to swap out the loose-bottomed spandex yoga pants for some real running tights (I did get a really sweet tech jacket for Christmas that I LOVE).

Today (Wednesday) I ran a slow 6, about 9:25/mile. I had to stop twice to take care of a very grumpy Nathan (who is currently yelling). But I hit my goal of running every day from Thanksgiving-New Year's Day (except Sundays) and my total was 145.25. Not too bad.