Went to the doc yesterday to have my ankle checked - he recommended that I take some time off. He also sent me to have my bone mass checked. I guess I should have considered the fact that I do not drink milk or eat yogurt over the past 3o + years and taken some calcium supplements to keep my bones strong. It has been almost a week since my last run and the waiting is certainly not good for me. Running relieves most of the stress which comes from trying to balance career, playing super mom, housekeeper, wife, friend, and marathoner. So what am I to do now...
I am hoping that things will start feeling better soon - I am going to try and get out on Thursday and see how it goes. If all goes well I will proceed with my plans to run the Rock n Roll half marathon on Sunday. If not, I will just continue being my bitchy self for a while longer. Hopefully Jeff will be able to tolerate me in that state for a while longer.
That's all for now...
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Training this week
The only thing I have logged so far this week is 3.1 miles on Monday. I seem to have some sort of injury in my left heel / Achilles that doesn't seem to be going away with rest:( I have an appointment tomorrow to have it looked at and I'm hoping for an answer that will allow me to just take some pain meds and get on with my training. It sucks just sitting around waiting, falling behind on the mileage that is so important to this training program.
This Saturday is supposed to be a 14 miler with the run club. I will be majorly PO'd if I can't make this run due to a stupid injury. I am totally looking forward to exceeding my longest run by .9 miles! Heck - I might just do it even if advised not to. The last time I was injured was before the half-marathon on June 7th. I had to take the three weeks leading up to the race off! It was scary standing at the starting line with ZERO miles of training done in the three weeks leading up. I made it through though - and the injury seemed to be fully healed. That experience is what is keeping me sane right now. There is no way I will not do this training and finish the marathon on October 4th. I really just want to be able to do it to the very best of my ability - and fear that will not be the case if I have to miss this very important time in training when mileage is being increased to levels I have not reached yet.
Anyhow...another update to follow after I see the doc tomorrow.
This Saturday is supposed to be a 14 miler with the run club. I will be majorly PO'd if I can't make this run due to a stupid injury. I am totally looking forward to exceeding my longest run by .9 miles! Heck - I might just do it even if advised not to. The last time I was injured was before the half-marathon on June 7th. I had to take the three weeks leading up to the race off! It was scary standing at the starting line with ZERO miles of training done in the three weeks leading up. I made it through though - and the injury seemed to be fully healed. That experience is what is keeping me sane right now. There is no way I will not do this training and finish the marathon on October 4th. I really just want to be able to do it to the very best of my ability - and fear that will not be the case if I have to miss this very important time in training when mileage is being increased to levels I have not reached yet.
Anyhow...another update to follow after I see the doc tomorrow.
Monday, July 20, 2009
12 mile run
The group run on Saturday was our longest so far - 12 miles. The weather couldn't have been better. It was in the low 60's with no humidity. Typically I'd say that is way too cold - but when running I really appreciate the milder temps. The run felt fantastic! I made sure I was well hydrated and eating enough on Thursday and Friday and that made a huge difference. We ran the 12 miles in 1 hr 55 min averaging 9:39 per mile. If it wasn't for the speed work during the last mile - I think I could have kept going at that pace for a few more miles at least.
What really sucked about this weeks long run was my Nike+ didn't work. So, the 211 miles showing to the right should really be 223 miles. My trusted Forerunner did work though - so here is the proof - 12 miler w run club .
During my training I continue to think about - and alter - my goal for the marathon. First it was to sign up, commit to training, and simply finish. Then it was to average 10 minute miles which would bring me in around 4:20. Then it was to qualify for Boston - ROFL:) And lately I have been toying with setting a 4 hour goal but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. Wouldn't it suck to train for months - go out there and run for 4:10 - cross that finish line and be disappointed that I went over my goal by 10 minutes??? So, I think I have decided that my main goal is to finish averaging 10 minute miles - and anything faster than that will just be a bonus.
Next weeks long run is 14 miles - which is farther than I have ever run! I am very very excited about it. I do need to get more disciplined with my training during the week.
75 days and counting:)
What really sucked about this weeks long run was my Nike+ didn't work. So, the 211 miles showing to the right should really be 223 miles. My trusted Forerunner did work though - so here is the proof - 12 miler w run club .
During my training I continue to think about - and alter - my goal for the marathon. First it was to sign up, commit to training, and simply finish. Then it was to average 10 minute miles which would bring me in around 4:20. Then it was to qualify for Boston - ROFL:) And lately I have been toying with setting a 4 hour goal but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. Wouldn't it suck to train for months - go out there and run for 4:10 - cross that finish line and be disappointed that I went over my goal by 10 minutes??? So, I think I have decided that my main goal is to finish averaging 10 minute miles - and anything faster than that will just be a bonus.
Next weeks long run is 14 miles - which is farther than I have ever run! I am very very excited about it. I do need to get more disciplined with my training during the week.
75 days and counting:)
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Update
I feel like it's been a while since my last update - but there have only been two runs:) I will begin with a "lesson learned (or not)".
Every Saturday for the past 5 weeks and the next 11 have been and will be the same. 5:30 alarm - get ready - meet the group for the long run. I feel like I have sabotaged 2 out of the 5 so far with Friday night festivities. I have 11 more tries to get it right - should we place bets on how many more times it will take before I learn the lesson "playing on Friday night makes Saturday run miserable"?
On Friday we went to see the US World League Men's Volleyball tournament play against Italy. It was fun - seats were great - we had access to the "good bar" where we could get non-miller products. Then we went to the Sugar Toad in Naperville to find out what it was all about. The wine was yummy but the food was too fancy for a burger eating gal like me.
Saturday was only 8 miles so I didn't feel there was too much to worry about. OMG was I wrong. I am not sure how many steps you take during an 8 mile run...but that is how many times I said to myself "oh this sucks, I want to quit!" That is the beauty of running with a group. If I was running alone I would have quit before I rounded the corner at the end of the block. But, there's no way I am going to let my group see me quit and fail. Though, I bet if I tried I would be pushed to finish by our fearless leader. And if she knew why I was in so much pain she would have made the run even harder. Maybe that is why she has 25 marathons and and Ironman under her belt. I bet you don't get to brag about stats like that by being a quitter.
Justyna, Jeff and I did some jogging around the lake in Michigan on Monday. It was a beautiful morning - we didn't push it too hard - got to run some hills - a no pressure, easy does it jog. Justyna is going to run her first 5k in a couple of weeks and I'm sure she will do great. If she survived the hills in Michigan she will be a superstar in the flats of Chicago with the added excitement of a race. I'll send a post-race update.
Every Saturday for the past 5 weeks and the next 11 have been and will be the same. 5:30 alarm - get ready - meet the group for the long run. I feel like I have sabotaged 2 out of the 5 so far with Friday night festivities. I have 11 more tries to get it right - should we place bets on how many more times it will take before I learn the lesson "playing on Friday night makes Saturday run miserable"?
On Friday we went to see the US World League Men's Volleyball tournament play against Italy. It was fun - seats were great - we had access to the "good bar" where we could get non-miller products. Then we went to the Sugar Toad in Naperville to find out what it was all about. The wine was yummy but the food was too fancy for a burger eating gal like me.
Saturday was only 8 miles so I didn't feel there was too much to worry about. OMG was I wrong. I am not sure how many steps you take during an 8 mile run...but that is how many times I said to myself "oh this sucks, I want to quit!" That is the beauty of running with a group. If I was running alone I would have quit before I rounded the corner at the end of the block. But, there's no way I am going to let my group see me quit and fail. Though, I bet if I tried I would be pushed to finish by our fearless leader. And if she knew why I was in so much pain she would have made the run even harder. Maybe that is why she has 25 marathons and and Ironman under her belt. I bet you don't get to brag about stats like that by being a quitter.
Justyna, Jeff and I did some jogging around the lake in Michigan on Monday. It was a beautiful morning - we didn't push it too hard - got to run some hills - a no pressure, easy does it jog. Justyna is going to run her first 5k in a couple of weeks and I'm sure she will do great. If she survived the hills in Michigan she will be a superstar in the flats of Chicago with the added excitement of a race. I'll send a post-race update.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Double Duty
I will start by saying how much I LOVE rest days. The only drawback is that I can not eat unlimited amounts of food without guilt. I go from eating a cheeseburger for breakfast and quesadillas and beer for dinner without thinking twice, to eating a banana and toast for breakfast.
Yesterday I pulled a double workout and loved every minute of it. I did my very first track workout in the morning. It was much different than just getting outside and running. It was a group so I had people to compete with pushing me beyond what I would have done on my own. First - we started with a 1 mile warm up, four easy laps around the track. Then we got serious...it was 1200 m day. We did 4 sets of 1200 m runs. The most difficult part for me was to figure out how to pace that. Each set is only 3/4 of a mile so I wanted to run pretty fast - but with only a 3 minute break in between how quickly could I recover? By the third set I figured out that I could do about an 8:30 pace and have enough left in me to pick it up a bit during the last half lap. I don't know if that was the right thing to do but it felt right. After the 4 sets we did a 1 mile cool down...so I started to shuffle around the track. I looked at my handy Forerunner to check my pace and I was "shuffling" 10 minute miles. This normally feels like a decent jog - but after running faster felt very slow and easy. Hmmmm...interesting how that worked.
At 6:30 yesterday evening I met with my run club. On Thursday's they break into three groups - 3 mile, 5 mile, or 7 mile. I went with the 5 mile group and we had a nice easy run along the riverwalk and around downtown Naperville. I seriously considered not doing it since I already got a workout in - and as always I was proud that I fought off that urge and completed the planned workout.
Reward time!!! Yep, I headed straight from the run to the Foundry to watch my volleyball team play while relaxing with a nice big Summer Shandy and chicken quesadillas. I love the rewards:)
Yesterday I pulled a double workout and loved every minute of it. I did my very first track workout in the morning. It was much different than just getting outside and running. It was a group so I had people to compete with pushing me beyond what I would have done on my own. First - we started with a 1 mile warm up, four easy laps around the track. Then we got serious...it was 1200 m day. We did 4 sets of 1200 m runs. The most difficult part for me was to figure out how to pace that. Each set is only 3/4 of a mile so I wanted to run pretty fast - but with only a 3 minute break in between how quickly could I recover? By the third set I figured out that I could do about an 8:30 pace and have enough left in me to pick it up a bit during the last half lap. I don't know if that was the right thing to do but it felt right. After the 4 sets we did a 1 mile cool down...so I started to shuffle around the track. I looked at my handy Forerunner to check my pace and I was "shuffling" 10 minute miles. This normally feels like a decent jog - but after running faster felt very slow and easy. Hmmmm...interesting how that worked.
At 6:30 yesterday evening I met with my run club. On Thursday's they break into three groups - 3 mile, 5 mile, or 7 mile. I went with the 5 mile group and we had a nice easy run along the riverwalk and around downtown Naperville. I seriously considered not doing it since I already got a workout in - and as always I was proud that I fought off that urge and completed the planned workout.
Reward time!!! Yep, I headed straight from the run to the Foundry to watch my volleyball team play while relaxing with a nice big Summer Shandy and chicken quesadillas. I love the rewards:)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Oh my aching butt...
I don't know if this pain I am feeling is from the hills we ran in Michigan over the weekend or from my run on Monday. I am guessing it must be the hills. It feels like muscles developing which I think is awesome....unless I end up with a big runners bootie! Oh my - the choice between a medium flabby or a big muscular rump - neither of them sound appealing. Oh well, I can't quit the marathon because of this. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what I end up with and learn to love it.
This week is going well so far. I got out on Monday night and ran a 5k at personal record speed - 27:41. I am excited to get out and run a 5k race - it would be awesome to shave another minute off of that time and the competition of a race could push me to do that.
On Tuesday morning I did a 5.5 miler - which is when I began feeling "the pain". It was a good run though - temperatures were cool - I got to watch the sun rise - my average pace was 9:28 minute miles. Conditions were perfect - what a great way to start your day.
Today I am going to rest up for tomorrows double run. I plan to run with the track club in the morning and then do a group run with my run club in the evening. I will totally earn myself a guilt free cheeseburger and beer! I can't wait.
This week is going well so far. I got out on Monday night and ran a 5k at personal record speed - 27:41. I am excited to get out and run a 5k race - it would be awesome to shave another minute off of that time and the competition of a race could push me to do that.
On Tuesday morning I did a 5.5 miler - which is when I began feeling "the pain". It was a good run though - temperatures were cool - I got to watch the sun rise - my average pace was 9:28 minute miles. Conditions were perfect - what a great way to start your day.
Today I am going to rest up for tomorrows double run. I plan to run with the track club in the morning and then do a group run with my run club in the evening. I will totally earn myself a guilt free cheeseburger and beer! I can't wait.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The 4th is for parties - not running - right?
The original plan was to head to Michigan after the scheduled 10 miler on Saturday. Plans changed - we left on Friday fully intending to get up Saturday and get that 10 miler done - just the hubby and me along the lake. Well...
Friday turned into a bit of a party. Grams pouring drinks upon our arrival - that rolling into long islands at Captain Jacks (if you've never seen a Captain Jack long island - it is served in like a yard glass - YUP - you have to either stand up to drink out of the straw or lower the glass to your lap in order to drink from it:) - which turned into more drinks while playing Wii and even more as we were waiting on the boat for fireworks. Guess what...? We missed the fireworks while playing Wii inside!!! Good thing Friday was just a practice run and there were more fireworks on Saturday.
Needless to say after the party on Friday one of us runners was not feeling very well. I will not point any fingers. We did finally get up and out - drove to the big lake in search of a Chicago style running / bike path. Seems like common sense to have something like that - right? Nope - not in Michigan. Instead they build multi-million dollar homes on the beach front. We made the best of it and ran the streets and surrounding neighborhoods. I only accomplished about 6 of the 10 miles - and I am still trying to make peace with that failure - but I'll make up for it this week.
I was going to make Friday a rest from running day - but Jeff suggested I get a run in and I'm glad he did. I dropped the car off to get two new tires put on - and then jogged home. I do lots of complaining before runs - but I never regret it once I'm done. I feel pretty great 99% of the time afterwards.
After this week I will be done with 25% of the training. I am feeling good and excited about the process.
Friday turned into a bit of a party. Grams pouring drinks upon our arrival - that rolling into long islands at Captain Jacks (if you've never seen a Captain Jack long island - it is served in like a yard glass - YUP - you have to either stand up to drink out of the straw or lower the glass to your lap in order to drink from it:) - which turned into more drinks while playing Wii and even more as we were waiting on the boat for fireworks. Guess what...? We missed the fireworks while playing Wii inside!!! Good thing Friday was just a practice run and there were more fireworks on Saturday.
Needless to say after the party on Friday one of us runners was not feeling very well. I will not point any fingers. We did finally get up and out - drove to the big lake in search of a Chicago style running / bike path. Seems like common sense to have something like that - right? Nope - not in Michigan. Instead they build multi-million dollar homes on the beach front. We made the best of it and ran the streets and surrounding neighborhoods. I only accomplished about 6 of the 10 miles - and I am still trying to make peace with that failure - but I'll make up for it this week.
I was going to make Friday a rest from running day - but Jeff suggested I get a run in and I'm glad he did. I dropped the car off to get two new tires put on - and then jogged home. I do lots of complaining before runs - but I never regret it once I'm done. I feel pretty great 99% of the time afterwards.
After this week I will be done with 25% of the training. I am feeling good and excited about the process.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
And we're back!!!
I did a lot of sniffling about taking 2 1/2 days off and not being able to find the motivation needed to get back on track. Well - I am out of those woods for now! I went for a run last night and it was fantastic! It's as if the time off generated some greater version of the running me.
I went out with a goal of 3 miles in mind - but it felt so good once I got out there that I quickly changed that goal to 5. I don't know if it was the cooler weather - the guilt I felt for taking so much time off - running away from my fussy children - but whatever it was worked. Typically I log 10 minute miles - last night it was 9:16 per mile. Could the little bit of speed work we did on Saturday really improve my time by 44 seconds per mile? If so, sign me up for more of that! I am now extra excited about starting the track workouts on Thursdays. And of course, for a very brief period, I couldn't help but try to figure out what it would take to qualify for Boston. 8:37 minute miles - which totally sounds doable - right? All that's needed is to shave 39 seconds off my mile time and do that consistently for 26.2 miles. Hmmmm. Okay - just a dream - but I will get there someday.
To view my awesome run from last night click here.
I am so excited that we have a long weekend to look forward to. We are going to take the kids to Arlington on the 3rd to watch the pony's race and the firework show. Then on Saturday after my group run we will head to Michigan. Hopefully the weather will warm up so the kids can spend the afternoon playing in the lake - and then we'll catch some more fireworks Saturday night.
Happy 4th of July!!!
I went out with a goal of 3 miles in mind - but it felt so good once I got out there that I quickly changed that goal to 5. I don't know if it was the cooler weather - the guilt I felt for taking so much time off - running away from my fussy children - but whatever it was worked. Typically I log 10 minute miles - last night it was 9:16 per mile. Could the little bit of speed work we did on Saturday really improve my time by 44 seconds per mile? If so, sign me up for more of that! I am now extra excited about starting the track workouts on Thursdays. And of course, for a very brief period, I couldn't help but try to figure out what it would take to qualify for Boston. 8:37 minute miles - which totally sounds doable - right? All that's needed is to shave 39 seconds off my mile time and do that consistently for 26.2 miles. Hmmmm. Okay - just a dream - but I will get there someday.
To view my awesome run from last night click here.
I am so excited that we have a long weekend to look forward to. We are going to take the kids to Arlington on the 3rd to watch the pony's race and the firework show. Then on Saturday after my group run we will head to Michigan. Hopefully the weather will warm up so the kids can spend the afternoon playing in the lake - and then we'll catch some more fireworks Saturday night.
Happy 4th of July!!!
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