Asleep on the Job

On Monday my calves were still a little stiff, especially after sitting at my desk at work for too long. The blister/callus thing on my right big toe hurt, which made me walk funny, which made my right hip hurt.

Tuesday I felt better, although my toe still hurt.

Wednesday I went to my last physical therapy session (for now) and went to track. No, I didn't do any speedwork. I did the warm-up drills and then ran a nice, easy 5K around the track.

Post-Marathon Workout by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Apparently it wasn't easy enough, though. I feel worse today than I did on the day after the Milwaukee Marathon!

My legs felt like lead last night during the drills. Galloping and skipping were rough.

And today I could totally fall asleep at my desk.

I brought my stuff for a lunch time run. Maybe that will make me feel better, maybe worse. But there's no way to tell unless I try.

Oh yeah, and I still need to make a decision about Las Vegas. If I'm doing the full marathon I need to figure out a training plan! Any suggestions?

Pick Up

I left work on Wednesday with a killer headache, a nagging worry about my left leg (now my knee has started to act up), and a general sense of malaise. I seriously debated skipping track and just curling up in bed.

But, as always, I changed into my running clothes and went out to meet my friends at the track. I'm telling you, if you want to stick to a routine find a group of people that expect you to be there. A group of people who will wonder where you are if you don't show up. A group that will want to see you so they can tell you "good luck" on your upcoming race.

So, I did my stretches and talked about last weekend's race and did my warm-up and drills and got my adjusted workout from Coach Holly. While everyone else was killing themselves with 800s I got to do 400s.

It's been awhile since I did any kind of speedy intervals like that. Whoa. I was trying to hit 5K pace or just below in order to remind my legs what it's like to run fast. I think they may have gotten some of that on Saturday so I tried to push it a little faster. Not too fast, though.

And, like usual, when it's been awhile since I've done intervals I forgot how to use my Garmin. So I don't have a split time for my first interval but I'm guessing it was around 1:40something. Which felt like death. I went out of the gate too fast and was fading hard by the 200 meter mark. I really enjoyed that 400 meter rest.

The second 400 was slightly easier and I finished that in 1:47. My legs were starting to remember what to do.

The third and fourth 400 felt even better and I hit both of those in 1:50. Not my fastest 400 times ever, but exactly what I was aiming for. Still, I was glad to be done and to move on to my cool-down mile. My knee behaved itself as long as I focused on my form so that's good, too.

As I walked to my car from the track everyone told me "good luck" for Sunday. I left with no more headache and a slight smile on my face. And that's why I convince myself to go even when the bed looks so inviting.

OPRC Track Workout by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Math Fail

I've never been great at math. I graduated high school with a perfect GPA by the mere virtue of the fact that my high school didn't use the plus or minus system. Meaning a score of 90 was the same as a score of 100. So while I had a 4.0 GPA in math it wasn't without a lot of toil, tears, and our GPA system. And the fact that my freshman year geometry final exam didn't count toward my final grade. I didn't study and got a D. Lowest grade of my entire life.

In college the only final grade I ever got that was lower than a regular A was in my pre-calculus class first semester freshman year. I got an A-. So, I'm definitely not BAD at math. I'm just not great. Math skills don't come intuitively to me like so many other subjects.

But, counting usually comes easily. I mean, you learn that even before you're in school. At least you do when you watch a lot of Sesame Street, which I did.

Somehow, though, my counting skills abandoned me on the track last night. After our usual stretches we did a 12 minute warm-up. That was easy; just watch the time on my Garmin. 1.29 miles later I was all ready for the workout. And what was my workout? 5x1200 meters with 200 meter rest intervals. 1200 meters is three laps around the track, by the way.

I started and quickly found myself alone. Faster than the back of the pack, slower than the front. Fine by me. Let's me zone out. And zone out I did. I was supposed to be running between 10K and 10 mile pace. Since my 10 mile PR pace is faster than my 10K PR pace I figured I'd aim for between 8:30s and 8:40s. Yet I kept seeing 8:0X on my Garmin. Hmmm. Time to slow down.

But I was in a zone. I managed the first 1200 with little incident except for running an 8:03 pace. I walk/jogged my 200 rest interval and took off on the next 1200. I did my three laps at an 8:20 pace (better) and was feeling fine. The night was cool enough to necessitate capris and a short sleeved shirt and the humidity was low. Perfect running weather.

Which may be why the next laps got all screwed up. As I went past Coach Holly I yelled out, "I've lost count!" I had no idea what lap I was on out of 1200 and only a vague idea of what set out of 5 I was doing. So when my watch beeped a mile I realized I'd run 1600 instead of 1200. At an 8:33 pace. I guess I got one part right!

I did my 200 meter walk/jog and chatted with Coach. "I *think* that was my third set," I said.

"Do you feel tired?" She asked.

"No, not really."

"Then keep going."

So I finished my 200 and took off again determined to get it right this time. Cue the epic fail. I tried to keep count on my fingers but somehow thought I was on lap three when I was really on lap two. So I did 800 (at an 8:10 pace) instead of 1200 before I slowed to a walk. I realized I'd screwed up when I saw my lap time. 1200 in 4:11? I don't think so. I suppose I could have kept going but I figured I'd run longer on the previous set so I could make this one shorter.

Sigh.

After finally figuring out I was on set 5 I made sure to do 3 laps. At an 8:12 pace. Argh! Too fast! Why was I having such a hard time with this workout?

I guess that's what happens when I get in a zone. My legs just want to go and my brain doesn't want to think. Who cares about math and counting and pace when you're in your happy running place.

OPRC Track Workout by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Straights and Curves

Image Source

The workout that we do at the beginning of each training "cycle" this summer is called "straights and curves". As I understand it, we do this to get our bodies used to running fast without jumping into the super speedy stuff too quickly.

A track is basically two parallel straight lines connected by shallow C shapes at each end.

When we do straights and curves workouts we do drills on one straight side and then strides on the other straight side. I explained strides last week and the drills consist of doing alternating laps of forward drills (high knees/butt kicks or skipping) and lateral drills (side gallops, karaoke). And then you jog (or walk) super easy on the curved parts. Last night we did 8 laps total.

Sound complicated? It's not, really. And it makes the workout go by quickly. Last night I ended up doing a total of four miles. One mile warm-up, 8 laps of straights and curves, and then a one mile cool-down. Holly also mentioned that I looked a lot better than last week. I'm telling you, it's the cool weather.

I foam-rolled both before and after running because my right IT band started feeling a little funky after my run on Monday. Not pain, per se, but just off. I've also been stretching and icing so that I can hopefully nip whatever this is in the bud. It didn't bother me while running, though, so that's a good sign. I need to stay on the straight and narrow and not get thrown any curve balls.

OPRC Track Workout by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Multicolored

Ever wonder why most running shorts and pants are black or at least dark colored? Most of mine are black. I have a few exceptions, most notably my two pairs of pink shorts. I always wondered why exercise shorts trended towards dark colors. Until last night. Basically, this is what I saw when I got home:



Yeah. That's kind of gross. I guess black shorts hide the sweat absorption a little better.

Anyway, last night's workout was a little tough. It's been awhile since we've done our usual drills and it's definitely been awhile since we did strides. As in, on the straight part of the track you pick up speed until you're running all out as fast as you can for about 20 meters.

First we did a two mile warm-up, though. It took a mile for my calves to loosen up but even then my legs still felt like cement. I blame the weight lifting I did on Tuesday night. Or maybe I just didn't eat enough during the day. Or maybe it's that it was so freaking humid outside. Who knows.

What I do know is that when it came time to do my first set of strides Coach Holly was standing at the spot where we should be running all out shouting "You can go faster!" So, I went faster. And then she laughed at me. "You have so much more speed in you, girl." I think we agreed I might be the fastest person on the track....for 20 meters. Too bad that's not a standard race distance.

At one point, though, I hit that 20 meter mark and something just clicked. I felt like I was flying. "Holy crap," I said under my breath. Unfortunately I wasn't able to repeat it. Reminds me of the time I was taking singing lessons and I was able to really let go and a beautiful sound came out of my mouth. I'm still trying to recapture that feeling.

What I don't want to recapture is the look of two-toned shorts after a sweaty workout. I think I'll be sticking to my black shorts on humid days from here on out.

Race Pace

I totally should have worn my shirt that says this

In the email our Coach sent us about Wednesday night's track workout she told us to pretend we running a race. Do all our normal pre-race things and think about our race strategy. Many of us are running the Four on the Fourth four mile race on Monday so we were prepping for that. In addition to our usual warm-up stretches I did a 1.25 mile jogging warm-up with a few speedy parts at the end. Pretty much what I like to do before any race.

The goal of the workout was to focus on "switching gears". Running comfortable and then picking it up. We did 1200 meters (three times around the track) and moved right into 800 meters (no break). The 1200 meters were supposed to be at 4 mile pace and the 800 was supposed to be at 5K pace.

I'm not entirely sure how fast I can run 4 miles. I know that my 5K PR pace is 8:00 minute miles. My 3.5 mile PR pace is 8:02 minutes per mile. I ran the Four on the Fourth last year but bonked hard so my current 4 mile race pace is 8:41.

The McMillan Pace Calculator thinks that based on my 5K PR I should be able to run 4 miles at an 8:09 pace. I'd be happy with an 8:15. So that was my goal for the first part of Wednesday's workout.

Except I totally failed at Garmin. I can tell you I did my first mile in 7:53 but beyond that I'm not sure. So, basically, I also failed at pacing. I'm so bad at this! I'm going to have to try REALLY hard on Monday not to go out too fast at the start of the race.

After the 2000 meters we moved on to 3x200 meters with 200 meters of jogging in between. I ran this pretty fast, clocking in between 45 and 50 seconds for each of them. Again, Garmin fail. The third one was kind of rough and I probably should have stopped at 2. Of course, I didn't realize that until 100 meters in.

Overall it was a good workout. Did I learn what I was supposed to learn? Well, I did focus on trying to push through even when tired. And I learned I'm still bad at starting slow. So I think as long as I keep those two things in mind on Monday I'll be good. Now, it's just too bad the race doesn't start at 7:15 PM instead of of 7:15 AM....

Fast Faster Fastest

When Coach Holly emailed us this week's workout my brain apparently couldn't take it. I thought we were going 3 or 4 400s really fast. Like, faster than 5K pace. Possibly faster than mile pace. I was all set to bust out some super fast 400s.

When I got to track I realized the workout was actually 3 or 4 800s with 6 minutes of recovery between each.

Gulp.

That's a little different. Really fast 800s? Um, okay.

At least the weather was almost perfect. In the low 60s and drizzly. A little windy but it held off until the last interval.

We did our usual stretches and then 15 minute running warm-up and drills. Then it was time to start going FAST.

I settled into my group and somehow found myself at the front. Uh oh. Sure enough, I got passed during the last 200 meters. Still, I hung in there and managed a good time.

I went out a little slower the second time around and finally seemed to find my groove. I didn't get faster each time, but I ended up running well overall. Take a look:

1st 800 - 3:33
2nd 800 - 3:31
3rd 800 - 3:31
4th 800 - 3:31

Holy even splits, Batman! Sure, my rest intervals got longer as the workout went on, but they were still all between 5:30 and 6:30 so I think that's okay.

Also, here's one of the great things about keeping a training log of some sort. I just looked back at my 800 times from last summer. My fastest one was a 3:40something. Major improvement!

We decided that the first half of the second lap always felt the worst. I could definitely feel my butt and my quads getting tired. But that's the point of this workout. Learn to run when all that lactic acid is building up in your muscles. Learn to push through.

400s in the House

Good things about Wednesday night's track workout -

1. We did 400 meter repeats. I like 400 meter repeats.
2. I was told to run fast. Okay!
3. My left knee had been bothering me earlier in the week but it didn't bother me during the intervals.
4. It rained. I like running in the rain. When it's warm. And it was warm.
5. My 400 times were nice and even and faster than last summer!

1st 400 - 1:36
2nd 400 - 1:40
3rd 400 - 1:37
4th 400 - 1:40
5th 400 - 1:40
6th 400 - 1:39

Bad things about Wednesday night's track workout -

1. It rained REALLY hard for a bit. Thankfully we were able to stand under a tent during that time. So I guess that's not really bad.
2. I was only able to do 6 400s when I really wanted to try for 8. But my running hasn't been super consistent over the past few weeks so 6 is probably good for now.
3. My left quad started to feel tight and achy. I had an MRI of my pelvis done on Thursday and I see the doctor on Saturday. Hopefully I can get a diagnosis!

So, overall, not too bad of a workout.

Two for One

Source


Since I took Monday off from running (hey, it was hot and I was feeling lazy), Wednesday night's track session was my first run of the week. And what did it have in store for me?

A 2 mile time trial. 2 miles @ 5K pace.

Well, first we did our warm up and running drills, then we did 2x200 to try and dial in on our pace. The best thing about my 5K pace being 8:00 minutes? It's easily divisible by 2 and 4s...perfect for being on the track!

This meant that my 200s should have taken me 1 minute each. My first one was 53 seconds. Oops. The second, though, was 59 seconds. Better!

I did my best not to go out too fast during the first few laps of the 2 miles. In fact, I think I did too well. During the warm up my legs felt like lead and I just wasn't feeling the speed. Whether that's because of all the running I did the week before or the fact that I rode my bike to the track I don't know.

Anyway, my first mile was 8:24. Quite a bit off my goal of 8:00 or 8:05. And I forgot to hit the "Lap" button on my Garmin at the end of each lap so I'm not sure what my splits looked like. I think I picked it up after the first two laps, though.

And I definitely picked it up on the last four laps (second mile). That time? 7:54!

So, total, I ran two miles in 16:15. Fifteen seconds off my goal of 16:00 but I guess that's not too shabby. At least I ran faster during my second mile and didn't crash and burn!

My left shin and calf were a little sore as was my hip flexor area. My PT says I have a strange injury but she promises it will get better. Let's hope so. I've got a lot of stuff on my calendar.

Fast as Lightning

Yep, another Wednesday, another track workout. Originally I thought it was going to be incredibly hot and humid so I busted out my "July" outfit. Skimpy sports bra, easy to remove tank top, and the shortest shorts I've ever owned. I'm not sure how I got talked into purchasing those shorts. Whew.

Anyway, it was certainly warm but it wasn't as hot as some of those track workouts last summer.

We started with our stretches and then a 15 minute warm up jog incorporating all our moving drills. I substituted some of the high knees with a "bounding" drill that my PT told me to do to work on my form. Then it was on to the interval portion of the evening.

We were doing 2:00 minutes at 5K effort followed by 1:15 rest intervals. The last time I did a workout like this it was much colder and we were supposed to be running at our one mile pace. And we got a longer rest interval. But I did 5 of them.

Last night I stuck with the number 5. Originally I was hoping to do 6 repeats but the idea is that you do as many as you can until you feel like you could do one more but don't want to. I definitely didn't want to after number 5. Not only was I tired and things hurt, but there was a huge storm rolling in. During that 5th 2:00 interval I heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance. I finished up that repeat, and decided I'd do one more lap of the track as my cool down.

I ended up booking it back to the start/finish line as I felt the temperature drop, the wind pick up and I realized the sky had turned a very strange color. Everyone grabbed their stuff and scattered. I piled people (and dogs and bikes) into my car so that no one had to walk or ride home and within minutes of pulling away from the track we were in a full-on downpour.

Of course, it only lasted about 20 minutes but I'm very glad I wasn't out in it.

So, I may have only done 5 repeats (even though I originally wanted to do 6) but I think I got in a quality workout. I didn't go out too fast, I stayed even, and I finished strong. Let's just ignore the fact that I think I was running a little faster than 5K effort....

1st 2:00 - .28 miles (7:15 pace)
2nd 200 - .27 miles (7:28 pace)
3rd 200 - .27 miles (7:26 pace)
4th 200 - .28 miles (7:13 pace)
5th 200 - .28 miles (7:15 pace)

Total mileage including warm up and my cool down lap - 3.43 miles

Bye Bye, Brooks

On Wednesday night I joined the OPRC for another track workout. I admit, I was so close to skipping. I was tired and cranky and a little achy. But, Jason was right when he told me I'd feel better if I went.

We did our stretches and the same 12 minute warm-up as last time and then changed out the high knee and butt kick drills for skipping and a drill we call "stutter step". Which is just as difficult to explain as it is to do. And, of course, accelerating strides. For 20 minutes I only ran 3.63 miles, though, as opposed to the 4 I ran last week. Interesting.

The other difference was that we added in some non-running work involving stepping over the steeplechase hurdle for 30 seconds, burpees for 30 seconds, and then we threw in some planks for 30 seconds. For some number of rounds that I didn't count. Whew.

Sadly, when I woke up on Thursday morning I was S-O-R-E. And not necessarily a good sore. So after work I took the number one suggestion from my gait analysis and went and bought new shoes.

Say hello to the Asics Gel Foundation 9:

Apparently my left foot's pronation has gotten worse over time (probably due to my hip issue) so I needed a more stable shoe. I actually haven't run in these yet except for the short treadmill test run in the store but I'm hoping they'll help. The PT seems to think they will. Fingers crossed!

But that means no more Brooks. Which is too bad because I've been wearing Brooks Adrenalines since I got interested in running. I feel like I'm breaking up with a significant other!

The Track is Back

Last night was our first "official" track workout of the season. A mixture of old and new faces showed up to learn how to get smarter, swifter, and stronger. Coach Holly put together a workout to get the newbies accustomed to the stretches and drills some of us had been doing all winter.

Of course, I parked at the track entrance that was locked so I got a short warm-up jog as I made my way to the open entrance to rendezvous with the group. We have quite a diverse assortment of runners. From an ultramarathoner who runs 50 and 100 mile races down to former college 800 meter runners we have it all. On the plus side, if Maribeth has to miss a session I'm bound to have someone else as my rabbit. On the downside, I feel for our Coach who is being bombarded with a plethora of needs, expectations, and personalities. Still, I have faith in Coach Holly and am excited for this year!

After doing all our stretches, we started out with a 12 minute warm-up done in a 5-4-3 fashion. That means we ran 5 minutes easy, 4 minutes a little faster, and 3 minutes even faster.

Next it was on to 20 minutes of running drills. Side gallops, karaoke, high knees, butt kicks, and strides. I like strides. My right knee and left adductor/hip flexor didn't love the running drills. Or at least that's what they told me later. I may need to back off next week. We'll see how I feel after my races this weekend.

Anyway, after all that it was almost 8:00 PM and I needed to get home. I wish I could have stayed for the cool down but I got a few minutes on my own as I ran back to my car.

Overall I did about 4.5 miles (if you count my jog from the car to the track for which I forgot to turn on my Garmin). A nice way to ease back into speedwork after a few weeks off.

OPRC Speedwork by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details

Stable Syndrome

Last year at track I was accused of having "stable syndrome". What the heck does that mean, you ask? Basically it means that I hold back a little bit until the last leg of the last interval and then go all out. Apparently some horses do this when they're racing. As soon as they can see the stable they go all out. I know nothing about horse racing so I have no idea if that's an accurate statement but I do know that it seems to be true for me.

Last night's workout, however, took full advantage of this tendency. After some stretching, a mile or so of warm-up and a half mile or so of drills we started our workout. 3x1000 meters with the first 800 meters of each at 5K pace and the last 200 meters of each FAST. Breaking the workout up like that really worked for me!

My goal was to start out a little easy and then make each rep faster than the previous one. Here's how I did:

Rep 1
800m - 4:07 (8:05 pace)
200m - :55 (7:16 pace)
(600 meter recovery jog @ 10:11 pace)

Rep 2
800m - 3:53 (7:45 pace)
200m - :53 (7:03 pace)
(600 meter recovery jog @ 10:17 pace)

Rep 3
800m - 3:42 (7:28 pace)
200m - :50 (6:35 pace)

I did it! I ran negative splits!

I really liked this workout. It was fun but challenging. It played to what I think are my strengths and was broken down into mentally manageable chunks. The goal was to teach us how to "change gears" like you do at the end of a race when you're getting close to the finish line. I think I'm pretty good at that (hence the stable syndrome comment) so now I just need to figure out how to do it earlier. Obviously I store a lot in my tank. Just need to learn how to tap into it even when I can't see the stable.

Cruise Control

Wednesday night was another speedwork session at the track. Most of us are running the Race That's Good for Life 5K on Sunday so this was a workout targeted for that. The goal? Run one mile at goal 5K pace and try to imprint that feeling in your mind.

I was able to get to the track earlier than usual so I did a 2 mile warm-up on my own. Then I joined others in our group for another mile. Then we cavorted around the track doing karaokes, side gallops, high knees, butt kicks, and fast feet. I admit, I feel less stupid doing the drills on the track than I did doing them on dark residential streets.

After our warm-ups we launched right into our mile. My goal was to hit 8 minutes and I finished the 1600 in 7:56. My first 400 was a little fast but the last 3 were pretty even. Then we did 3x200 to work on leg turnover. Again, my first one clocked in at :52 but then next two were both :56. Right on pace.

We followed that with a 1 mile cool down before I rushed home to make dinner.

Did I manage to imprint that 7:56 pace in my brain and my legs? I don't know. I guess we'll find out on Sunday. My goal is to run as even of splits as possible. I'd like to NOT go out like a bat out of hell. If anything, I'd like my first mile to be a little slow. I'm notoriously bad at this but I'm going to try.

Of course, this all assuming that my newest left leg development gets better and not worse. On Wednesday my PT wrapped a band around my left leg and her hips and then did some crazy maneuvers in order to stretch my hip joint. On my way home after work the top of my left foot started hurting (feels like a tendon thing) and I developed a pins and needles feeling in the same foot. I iced the top of my foot after track because it was killing me. It still hurts today but only when I flex my toes or press hard on it and the pins and needles feeling comes and goes. It didn't' hurt while running last night, just afterward. Very strange. I emailed my PT to see what she thinks. I'm really sick of all these weird pains, though. I just want my left leg to get with the program!

Mile Time Trial

Last night we met at the track for the first time this season. Thankfully the college track team was done with their workout so we had immediate access.

We did our standing drills, a mile warm-up by running around the block and then our usual running drills (skipping, side galloping, strides, high knees, and butt kicks) for another half mile.

Then we tested out our pacing by running 200 meters. Almost all of us ran WAY too fast. Okay, got to learn to dial it back a bit.

Then we moved onto the workout. Run one mile.

That was it.

Just one mile, you're asking? What kind of workout is that?

Well, this was a mile time trial. For those of us who didn't run on a team in high school or college it's a new concept. Run one mile and aim for your best time. Essentially one mile all out.

"But I don't know what time to aim for!!!" I whined.

Coach Holly looked at me and said, "7 minutes."

Gulp.

For reference, I believe the fastest mile I've ever run (if the Garmin is to be believed) was 7:39.

But Coach yelled "Go" and off we went. I hit the 200 meter mark right on target but I admit to slowing down a little bit. Something about the second lap on a 4-laps-to-a-mile track just psychs me out. This is how it goes:

Lap 1: Balls to the wall. Oh wait, don't go out too fast.
Lap 2: Two more of these????
Lap 3: One more after this. I can do it.
Lap 4: Almost done! Push it push it push it.

So my final mile time last night? 7:31

I'm pretty sure that's my fastest mile ever. Excellent.

This gives me a great base to work from. And I think I have a little more in me. I'm looking forward to finding out.

Total mileage plus cool-down: approximately 3.75 (I forgot to use my Garmin for part of the warm up and all of the cool-down)

Almost There

Last night was the last track workout before the Chicago Marathon. Meaning it was the last track workout I planned to run with the group. I really didn't want to skip it. Why? Because I truly love our core track group.

So I went to track, wore my knee strap, and promised to either run slow laps around the track while everyone else did the workout or do the workout nice and easy.

I did a test warm-up mile and NO KNEE PAIN! Woo hoo!

Then it was time to decide. Run laps on my own or do the workout? I decided to go with the workout. My goal? Run consistently at my own pace. Which meant that instead of going balls to the wall and trying for an 8:00 minute/mile pace I decided I'd aim for 9:00.

Warm-up mile: 9:58

1st 800 - 4:35
2nd 800 - 4:30
3rd 800 - 4:24
4th 800 - 4:17

1st 400 - 2:03
2nd 400 - 2:04
3rd 400 - 2:04
4th 400 - 2:05
5th 400 - 2:03
6th 400 - 1:57

Interestingly, while these were my slowest 800s all season, I finally managed to get faster instead of slower on each progressive one. And look at the consistency of the 400s! I may finally be getting this pacing thing down.

My knee held up well and even today it doesn't feel achy. A little stiff but nothing bad. I might try a short jog around the block tomorrow just to keep it loose but other than that, I'm done until the big 26.2 on Sunday!

Tomorrow or Friday I'll be posting my race outfit so that anyone in the Chicago area can keep an eye out for me. I've also been writing a post in my head about things I learned while training for my first marathon. I'm trying to decide if I should post that before or after I actually run the thing. What do you think?

New News

I'm writing this post after my failed attempt at my Wednesday night track workout.

Except it wasn't my left quad that gave me trouble.

The quad felt a little tight but not painful. My right knee, on the other hand, hurt from the moment I started my warm-up run. By the end of the first half of my second 800 pain was radiating up and down my leg and I felt like my knee was going to buckle.

I tried not to freak out. My coach massaged it for me and I kept moving and trying to jog a little bit. I couldn't even make it 100 meters before the pain reappeared.

So now I'm home with a bag of ice Ace bandaged to it. I've foam rolled and stretched. I've taken some Advil. It still aches when I put too much weight on it. And I'm covered in mosquito bites from where they attacked me while I wasn't moving.

I managed to last through a one mile warm-up, one 1600 at 8:16, and one 800 at 3:57. And, of course, that last 400 meters but I forgot to stop my Garmin as I hobbled across the line.

I don't know what happened. Sure, this knee was a little stiff after my 20 miler but I didn't think it was anything serious.

I'm trying so hard to think positive thoughts. I know it's no fun to read emo, depressing posts. I know some of you worry about me. But, to be honest, I'm scared. I'm crying. I'm worried.

Dammit, this had better get better in 17 days. Jason assures me I will finish this marathon and I know I will. Just, like I said earlier, I didn't want to do it in pain. Everything has been going so well. What did I do wrong?

On and Off Track

If my warm-up last night had been any indication of how track was going to go I probably should have just stayed home. My knees felt horrible, my calves were tight, my right hip was achy, and the bottom of my right foot felt like there was some kind of rubber band in it that didn't want to stretch quite right.

I told myself I would take it easy but then, of course, our coach said that now that we're getting closer to race day we should ramp up the speed. Blugh.

And, of course, there was still a soccer game going on at the track's infield so we had to run our four mile repeats at the park before being allowed on the track for our final 4x400s.

Strangely, even after my horrible warm-up, I felt strong for my first mile and all my aches went away.

Warm-up - .82 miles @ 10:40 pace

Lap 1 - 1 mile in 7:39
Lap 2 - .98 miles in 7:42
Lap 3 - .97 miles in 7:40
Lap 4 - .97 miles in 7:55

Walk to track

1st 400 - 1:43
2nd 400 - 1:44
3rd 400 - 1:45
4th 400 - 1:44

I'm a little skeptical of that first mile time. It's what the Garmin says but, really? Really? If that's true then that's the fastest full mile I've ever run in my life. Coming off a half marathon PR and an 8+ mile run that felt like crap.

How very strange.

The last mile felt rough. I could tell I'd slowed down but at least I came in under 8 and that was good enough for the coach.

Once we arrived on the track for the second half of our workout my knees once again began to protest. But as soon as I was running they calmed down. It was weird to run on the track. We haven't run there for the past two workouts so I'd completely forgotten how to pace myself. Obviously, though, I seemed to do okay since my times were so consistent. I really concentrated on pumping my arms. Made me realize I need to do some more upper body strength training! My arms were getting tired by the end.

It was almost dark by the time we were finishing up and for some reason the track isn't turning on their lights. The rumor is they were damaged during July's flooding and haven't been fixed yet. I hope they get them fixed soon! Also, I hope the mosquitoes die off ASAP. I think I got 6 bites as soon as I stopped moving.

And speaking of stopping moving, I'm taking today and Friday off. My legs are sore, the bottom of my right foot still feels weird, and I'm so exhausted I can barely think straight. I just hope that Saturday morning I get a second wind so that I do my very first 20 mile run feeling strong. Wish me luck!

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Note: I'm only posting this for the map which I think it hilarious since I ran in three separate places last night.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 628 ft Location: -- Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 09/15/10 Up/Downhill: [+55/-52] Time: 06:09 PM Difficulty: 2.1 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.78 miles Time: 0:46:49 Speed: 7.4 mph Pace: 8' 06 /mi Calories: 683 Map

Posted from bimactive.com

An Alternate Track

My performance at last night's track session was rather lackluster. Actually, I don't think any of us were pushing it all that hard. Most of us had run long on Saturday and then raced hard on Monday so really the last thing we wanted to do was run fast again. In addition, we were unable to use the actual track due to a soccer game so we were back across the street at the park. Also, since the weather was so cool our coach didn't let us lallygag as much as usual between runs. As a result of those things, my times were significantly slower than the last time we ran at the park.

.93 mi - 8:12
.95 mi - 7:53
.94 mi - 7:58
.96 mi - 8:02

.33 mi - 2:30
.33 mi - 2:36
.33 mi - 2:41
.33 mi - 2:35

Total distance: 5.08 miles
Average pace: 8:22

I think my legs were tired. I'd better rest them so I'm in as good of shape as possible for my half marathon on Sunday. I'm technically running it as a training run but, man, wouldn't it be cool if I could break 2:10? With that in mind, I'm considering skipping my strength workout tonight so I can be as rested as possible. What do you think?

Crash and Burn

Something happened at track last night and I'm not sure what caused it.

As I alluded to earlier this week, I've been feeling pretty exhausted. So maybe that's one of the causes. When I got home from work even Jason could tell I wasn't as gung-ho about going to my workout as usual. I was just feeling blah. Still, I suited up and drove over to the track. Maybe driving versus riding my bike made a difference.

When we arrived the college football team was still practicing so we didn't really get a chance to do a warm-up. That doesn't usually affect me, though.

Our workout was 4x1-mile repeats followed by 4x400 meters. The air temperature was better than it has been but the humidity was high from all the rain we'd had earlier in the day. Our coach was pushing us hard. I busted out three fast miles but then there was the final one.

The first lap felt hard. Harder than it should have. I was 5 seconds slower on that lap than any of my previous laps. Our coach was encouraging us to pick up those 5 seconds. But I just couldn't. My second lap was still slower. And then it happened. 200 meters into the third lap I just couldn't catch my breath. My breathing was ragged. My lungs felt constricted. And I stopped to walk. I didn't walk much but when I started running again it was slower than a speed lap should be. My breathing would loosen up but every time I thought about how I had blow this last mile it would tighten up again. I would be gasping for air and breathing through clenched teeth. I just couldn't relax.

I finished that mile over a minute slower than the other three.

And yet, my 4x400s were fine. I hit all my usual times there. Under 2 minutes each.

Mile 1 - 7:57
1 minute recovery
Mile 2 - 8:01
Full recovery
Mile 3 - 8:00
1 minute recovery
Mile 4 - 9:07

1st 400 - 1:55
30 second recovery
2nd 400 - 1:57
Full recovery
3rd 400 - 1:53
30 second recovery
4th 400 - 1:46

So what happened in that last mile? Yes, my first three miles were fast, but not THAT much faster than previous 4x1 mile repeats. Why did my anxiety-induced asthma crop up last night? Why did that last mile feel so hard? Was my brain just not in the game? Did I just not have the "mental toughness" our coach talks so much about? Does a roasted veggie sandwich and fries not make good pre-run fuel? I don't know.

I'm kind of discouraged but I also know that incidents like that are not the end of the world. There are more important things to worry about. One "bad" mile (which, really, wasn't all THAT bad overall) does not make or break all the rest of the training you put in. You learn what you can from it and move on. And that's what I plan to do.