jumping back into marathon training into after being injured is a very different game mentally. to put it plainly - i am paranoid of getting hurt again and its affecting how i run.
through out training for the first marathon, there was constant worry over my physical ability to run a marathon - can i really do this? am i crazy? 26 miles is a long damn run! etc. etc.
then after the 2nd, i feel like i had built up some level of confidence in my running, my ability to train and ultimately complete the 26.2. not that i am fast or a good runner but i felt that while hard, and time consuming and full of effort, i CAN run a marathon, and even get a tiny bit faster each time. when i was running last summer, i felt comfortable enough to push myself during training, which, maybe was part of my demise.
the stress fractures have, sadly, killed a bit of my confidence and made me a little bit more cautious as to how i am approaching the running.
not to say that i am not training, but when we're doing repeats or pounding up and down the hills, i will certainly be mindful of how hard i'm pushing until i feel like the danger of inciting the anger of my bones has passed. will this pass? i'm not sure. i certainly hope so, but i think it will only come with time and distance runs that will put me more at ease.
tomorrow, we have a race in prospect park - just 4 miles, easy breezy i think, snow and ice aside! see you on the road.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
1st practice of the season
because of the travel and some other things, tonight was the first official practice i've made it to.
from what i hear, tonight was actually not terrible weather for the practice. it didn't feel too cold, and i made it out of work with plenty of time to make it to our bag drop before practice without working up a pre-run sweat.
today's workout was alternating effort levels between e2 (typically slow saturday run) and e3 (picking up the pace from there, slightly upping the pace) for 1/4 turns. i ended up running with a guy who happened to be in my mentor group and we chatted for some of the run (the parts when we weren't huffing and puffing) and before you know it we had run 5 and 1/2 miles.
i came home a little sore but i happily ate some steak and now am sleepy enough for bed.
today's mileage: 5.5
season mileage to date: 23.9
up next: XT Thursday
from what i hear, tonight was actually not terrible weather for the practice. it didn't feel too cold, and i made it out of work with plenty of time to make it to our bag drop before practice without working up a pre-run sweat.
today's workout was alternating effort levels between e2 (typically slow saturday run) and e3 (picking up the pace from there, slightly upping the pace) for 1/4 turns. i ended up running with a guy who happened to be in my mentor group and we chatted for some of the run (the parts when we weren't huffing and puffing) and before you know it we had run 5 and 1/2 miles.
i came home a little sore but i happily ate some steak and now am sleepy enough for bed.
today's mileage: 5.5
season mileage to date: 23.9
up next: XT Thursday
Saturday, February 20, 2010
kiddie alarm clock
i woke up to three adorable little children sneaking about my room...at 7:30 am. so much for sleeping in!
ah well. it was a good excuse to then get up and run.
i have been feeling a little stiff and today i was supposed to run 4-5 miles - i decided to play it by ear, run down to the pier, see how i was feeling and then make a judgment call then. it was another gorgeous morning (does one ever take this for granted in cali?), a little chill in the air but the rain had stopped leaving just lovely sun shining over the damp ground.
i reached there pier and while, as usual, i was a bit winded, my legs were feeling fine so i decided to go for about 4.5 miles, which was not that much more. the way back towards the end was a little bit of a struggle but i kept it nice and slow and steady since we are supposed to be doing long, slow distance.
i got back, stretched, saw my lovely red exercise face (i can't wait until that goes away) and was glad i had the kiddies to wake me up and get me out of the house nice and early.
today's mileage: 4.6
season mileage to date: 18.4
up next: 30 minutes EZ on sunday or monday
ah well. it was a good excuse to then get up and run.
i have been feeling a little stiff and today i was supposed to run 4-5 miles - i decided to play it by ear, run down to the pier, see how i was feeling and then make a judgment call then. it was another gorgeous morning (does one ever take this for granted in cali?), a little chill in the air but the rain had stopped leaving just lovely sun shining over the damp ground.
i reached there pier and while, as usual, i was a bit winded, my legs were feeling fine so i decided to go for about 4.5 miles, which was not that much more. the way back towards the end was a little bit of a struggle but i kept it nice and slow and steady since we are supposed to be doing long, slow distance.
i got back, stretched, saw my lovely red exercise face (i can't wait until that goes away) and was glad i had the kiddies to wake me up and get me out of the house nice and early.
today's mileage: 4.6
season mileage to date: 18.4
up next: 30 minutes EZ on sunday or monday
Friday, February 19, 2010
*sleepy* run...zzzzzzz
it was so hard getting up this morning. i think the work and stress finally got to me this morning, paralyzing my limbs and not letting me out of bed.
i was supposed to run 30 minutes yesterday but by the time i got done with work it was dark, and all the la folks advised me NOT to run by myself in venice in the dark. i was grumbly but figured if i made up for it today, all would be well.
except today was supposed to be rainy so i forced myself to get up early and i was sleepy. it was overcast and slightly chillier but not much and i did the down-and-back to the pier which was probably slightly longer than 30 minutes but oh well.
the only eventful occurrence was someone on bike yelling "go team!" at the end of my run. i waved back and said hey! the friendly people of team in training are certainly alive and will in california. my left calf was very tight when i got back but after a good stretch, all was well...and i'm more or less ready to run another day tomorrow.
today's mileage: 3.4
season mileage to date: 13.8
up next: 4-5 miles ("long" slow distance) tomorrow or sunday
i was supposed to run 30 minutes yesterday but by the time i got done with work it was dark, and all the la folks advised me NOT to run by myself in venice in the dark. i was grumbly but figured if i made up for it today, all would be well.
except today was supposed to be rainy so i forced myself to get up early and i was sleepy. it was overcast and slightly chillier but not much and i did the down-and-back to the pier which was probably slightly longer than 30 minutes but oh well.
the only eventful occurrence was someone on bike yelling "go team!" at the end of my run. i waved back and said hey! the friendly people of team in training are certainly alive and will in california. my left calf was very tight when i got back but after a good stretch, all was well...and i'm more or less ready to run another day tomorrow.
today's mileage: 3.4
season mileage to date: 13.8
up next: 4-5 miles ("long" slow distance) tomorrow or sunday
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
sunset on the shore
it was a crazy, busy, stressy day. one drawback of being on the west coast, when your office is on the east coast, and your clients are in europe is that the day has to start pretty early. my phone started buzzing at 7:30am, yay!
long story short, i was totally ready for a run at the end of the day today. i headed out just as the sun was setting which provided lovely scenery. i plotted 3-ish mile route to santa monica pier and back and took off in the rosy glow of day's end. the sunset looked just like one of those old 80's postcards of venice beach and once the sun hit the horizon, it sunk heavily.
man, getting *back* into running sucks, i must say. i plodded along, feeling okay but winded, and imagining phantom pains in my shins. the beginning running is always so damn uncomfortable, but one must run through it.
the sun set just before i hit the pier and i turned around, the rest of the run enveloped in dusk. i was glad for the cool air and made it back to the house without having to deal with anything overly painful or exciting. a little stretch and after the shower, had a lovely glass of red...will help with the stiffness tomorrow, right?
today's mileage: 3.4
season mileage to date: 9.4
up next: 30 minutes easy on thursday
long story short, i was totally ready for a run at the end of the day today. i headed out just as the sun was setting which provided lovely scenery. i plotted 3-ish mile route to santa monica pier and back and took off in the rosy glow of day's end. the sunset looked just like one of those old 80's postcards of venice beach and once the sun hit the horizon, it sunk heavily.
man, getting *back* into running sucks, i must say. i plodded along, feeling okay but winded, and imagining phantom pains in my shins. the beginning running is always so damn uncomfortable, but one must run through it.
the sun set just before i hit the pier and i turned around, the rest of the run enveloped in dusk. i was glad for the cool air and made it back to the house without having to deal with anything overly painful or exciting. a little stretch and after the shower, had a lovely glass of red...will help with the stiffness tomorrow, right?
today's mileage: 3.4
season mileage to date: 9.4
up next: 30 minutes easy on thursday
Sunday, February 14, 2010
santa monica in my sights
on today's schedule we were to run 30 minutes. i am sans watch so i ran with my cell phone, this time heading towards santa monica.
may i just pause to say how amazing this southern california weather is? it is seriously sick. i'm not going to say too much more because i know most of my people in the northeast are covered in snow but in just the last few days i have wondered a few times why i'm still living in the north east.
anyway...i ran, and it was hard. i was definitely stiff from yesterday and not running very quickly but i didn't mind. i had read through coach lisa's email this morning and it was a reminder that's its more about time on your feet than distance so i tried my best not to push too hard.
on the way back to the house i saw a group of white-shirted runners coming towards me and lo and behold it was a team in training group out for a run. one of the coaches or mentors spotted me and said "go team! looking good!" and i cheered back at her and it was nice to know there's a santa monica or venice team out there running. in fact, i may look them up next weekend.
today's mileage: 2.5
season mileage to date: 6.0
up next: cross-training on tuesday
may i just pause to say how amazing this southern california weather is? it is seriously sick. i'm not going to say too much more because i know most of my people in the northeast are covered in snow but in just the last few days i have wondered a few times why i'm still living in the north east.
anyway...i ran, and it was hard. i was definitely stiff from yesterday and not running very quickly but i didn't mind. i had read through coach lisa's email this morning and it was a reminder that's its more about time on your feet than distance so i tried my best not to push too hard.
on the way back to the house i saw a group of white-shirted runners coming towards me and lo and behold it was a team in training group out for a run. one of the coaches or mentors spotted me and said "go team! looking good!" and i cheered back at her and it was nice to know there's a santa monica or venice team out there running. in fact, i may look them up next weekend.
today's mileage: 2.5
season mileage to date: 6.0
up next: cross-training on tuesday
Saturday, February 13, 2010
venice beach ain't no prospect park
i've landed in lala land for work, and since there will be a bunch of us out here at various points of time, we've rented a small house right near venice beach.
now, the season of summer training has started and between the weather and the crazy work schedule, i will confess that i haven't done ANYTHING yet. but now that i'm out here in cali for a week or so, its the perfect way to kick start training.
i checked out the tnt schedule and today beginners (yes, after the fractures, i have reverted myself back to "beginner") are supposed to run 3-4 miles. we're a few blocks from the beach and the weather is perfect for running - a little chilly in the morning, not too hot.
i headed out around 8:30 to the boardwalk having mapped out a 4 mile out-and-back. until this trip i had never been to venice beach and it is amazing people watching. burnt out hippies with rainbow rvs, a boardwalk full of homeless folks, roller bladers, packs of runners, medical marijuana stands - more eye-candy for a run than you could hope for. between the people watching and the street musicians, the 4 miles - while hard - was quite entertaining.
also it is completely flat. not a bad thing for my first gander back to the running shoes.
at some point the path veers off the beach and i ran through a one way street with other runners, walkers and roller bladers. there were PACKS - and i mean PACKS - of runners all along the route. it was not unusual to see a group of 30 runners jog past. Of course this is california and everyone here does live up to the fit and tan stereo type...well except for the crazy and the homeless.
the other interesting thing about running in venice which was not great was the smells. incense, maryjane and well...human smells...are not exactly conducive to running, especially when say you're struggling through your last 10 minutes. yech.
it was amazing to run in the sun and warm though. good for my soul after the hibernating winter we've been having.
today's mileage: 4.0
season mileage to date: 4.0
now, the season of summer training has started and between the weather and the crazy work schedule, i will confess that i haven't done ANYTHING yet. but now that i'm out here in cali for a week or so, its the perfect way to kick start training.
i checked out the tnt schedule and today beginners (yes, after the fractures, i have reverted myself back to "beginner") are supposed to run 3-4 miles. we're a few blocks from the beach and the weather is perfect for running - a little chilly in the morning, not too hot.
i headed out around 8:30 to the boardwalk having mapped out a 4 mile out-and-back. until this trip i had never been to venice beach and it is amazing people watching. burnt out hippies with rainbow rvs, a boardwalk full of homeless folks, roller bladers, packs of runners, medical marijuana stands - more eye-candy for a run than you could hope for. between the people watching and the street musicians, the 4 miles - while hard - was quite entertaining.
also it is completely flat. not a bad thing for my first gander back to the running shoes.
at some point the path veers off the beach and i ran through a one way street with other runners, walkers and roller bladers. there were PACKS - and i mean PACKS - of runners all along the route. it was not unusual to see a group of 30 runners jog past. Of course this is california and everyone here does live up to the fit and tan stereo type...well except for the crazy and the homeless.
the other interesting thing about running in venice which was not great was the smells. incense, maryjane and well...human smells...are not exactly conducive to running, especially when say you're struggling through your last 10 minutes. yech.
it was amazing to run in the sun and warm though. good for my soul after the hibernating winter we've been having.
today's mileage: 4.0
season mileage to date: 4.0
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