you should be singin' that title ac/dc style.
so apologies for it being a while. i haven't had much to say because i've been a bit injured and i get super cranky when i'm injured, so i've mostly been updating through the ole facebook page where I can keep it short and sweet.
so....after my "successful" long run two weeks ago, i got myself a bit of a calf strain. it was probably something that had been building up but i hadn't noticed and perhaps my speedy run set it off. i wasn't able to get into the physical therapist until this past monday, so for one week i just rested and didn't do anything but ice and use the torture device aka roller.
so when i went to see the PT monday, that is when i was diagnosed. the good news was that i could still run - just not fast (absolutely no speed work), not too many hills (no hill training), and not too long. weeeeeell okay then. i was also to stretch and roll before running and also 3x a day, as well as trying to get to the gym for some reduced weight calf raises.
on wednesday morning i went out for my first one and it felt pretty shitty. it doesn't hurt like sharp shooting pain - it's more of a tight dull ache that makes it feel as tho the calf muscle doesn't have a complete range of motion. this made me feel a bit like i was hobbling, even though i wasn't really compensating judging by my gait. it just felt weird. i ran 3.4 miles and gave myself a good stretch but felt very stiff and therefor discouraged all day wednesday.
wednesday's mileage: 13.3
time run: n/a
season mileage to date: 183.5
thursday i felt better - it seemed as though maybe the run had done the stiffness good.
friday after work i went back to the pt where he did more soft tissue work (aka super painful massage/pressure stuff) and some exercises. i wanted to see if i could get away with running 10 miles this weekend, but when i told him that jersey was hilly, he said he would prefer if i maxed out at 8. okaaaaay. it's hard to be good.
i decided to run today because i got out to jersey late on friday and saturday promised on and off rain all day. i got a late start, mostly because i didn't sleep well. i mapped out a course that was a bit over 7 miles, and decided if i was feeling awesome i could always tack a little more on at the end.
i didn't really feel awesome at any point of the run. there were points where i felt way better than others, but i can feel that i haven't run in a bit, and that coupled with feeling very "gimpy" left me feeling very awkward and uncoordinated. the first 3 miles were the worst. i felt hot, winded and lopsided.
things got better as i went, and my mid-run gatorade definitely helped me out, leading me to believe i did not hydrate properly saturday evening (full disclosure: i did have a few sugar-laded cocktails saturday afternoon that i probably could have done without considering i was running the next day).
when i got to the turn off to head back to the house, i took it, knowing that i have plenty of time, and pushing my injury is not going to do anyone any good. i had my watch on for hydrating purposes but was very slow, so probably shouldn't have timed myself, as it is damaging to my psyche to be running so slowly.
but now, i've stretched and rolled some more, and had some grilled french toast cooked up by my man and we'll see how the week goes!
today's mileage: 7.3
time run: 1h25m
season mileage to date: 190.8
Showing posts with label jersey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jersey. Show all posts
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Saturday, August 01, 2009
up the downhills, down the uphills
i am tired of talking about the weather, damn it. seriously. too hot. too rainy. too humid. blah blah. from here on out, unless i'm running in SUPER unusual or dangerous weather, or unless it affects my run in a *specific* way, i am hereby not allowed to talk about it.
today's route took me out the usual way, but this time i went backwards along the what is the end of my typical route, and then looped around the lake for a whole new section which is awesome since i'm definitely getting bored with my route.
so hills that i usually run up, i ran down. hills i usually run down, i ran up. i also had almost 2 miles that were flat (happy days!), and some new hills - one of which, was quite frankly - a bitch (see leading up to mile 9 on the elevation chart part of the course map). however looking at the route overall, i liked it. most of the early part was in the sun which was find because it was cool, and then the last 6 miles or so were mostly shady and a little cooler which is nicer later in the day.
the run was a solid one - a bit slower, but i can live with that considering the elevation. i seriously feel like rocky sometimes when i'm fighting my way up a hill. then i imagine in my head how slow i'm probably going and it makes me crack up how UNlike rocky i must look in actuality. i really must do a flat run next weekend when i'm back in the city to see how swift i can be - these hills must be making me way stronger.
i am definitely feeling them in both my hips and knees but i've stretched once, and i'll stretch again later. i MUST run tomorrow because when we're out here on the weekend no matter how i try i never mange to run on Monday night. so a quick one tomorrow, then that'll be it until tuesday's practice when we should be doing - yeah, you guessed it...more hills.
today's mileage: 11.2
time run: 2hr 13m
season mileage to date: 158.0
today's route took me out the usual way, but this time i went backwards along the what is the end of my typical route, and then looped around the lake for a whole new section which is awesome since i'm definitely getting bored with my route.
so hills that i usually run up, i ran down. hills i usually run down, i ran up. i also had almost 2 miles that were flat (happy days!), and some new hills - one of which, was quite frankly - a bitch (see leading up to mile 9 on the elevation chart part of the course map). however looking at the route overall, i liked it. most of the early part was in the sun which was find because it was cool, and then the last 6 miles or so were mostly shady and a little cooler which is nicer later in the day.
the run was a solid one - a bit slower, but i can live with that considering the elevation. i seriously feel like rocky sometimes when i'm fighting my way up a hill. then i imagine in my head how slow i'm probably going and it makes me crack up how UNlike rocky i must look in actuality. i really must do a flat run next weekend when i'm back in the city to see how swift i can be - these hills must be making me way stronger.
i am definitely feeling them in both my hips and knees but i've stretched once, and i'll stretch again later. i MUST run tomorrow because when we're out here on the weekend no matter how i try i never mange to run on Monday night. so a quick one tomorrow, then that'll be it until tuesday's practice when we should be doing - yeah, you guessed it...more hills.
today's mileage: 11.2
time run: 2hr 13m
season mileage to date: 158.0
Saturday, July 25, 2009
cinderella lost a bottle
i left the house around 8:30 this morning with high hopes for my long run. this was not a great week for my training schedule, so i was hoping to have a great run to mentally make up for it. i needed to add at least 2 miles to my last run of 9 miles - the schedule called for 12, but with the crazy hills, i always take that with a little leeway given the hip factor. i plotted out a 11.5 mile course that was part new, part old, essentially again widening the circle i would run, with the trusty gas station in the middle.
i left the house with my legs feeling pretty springy - unlike last weekend - and headed left instead of right out of the park, and looked at the ginormous hill that was my first challenge of this run. i had driven, but not run up this one before, but i predicted it would be hard but not back-breaking. i was right and feeling pretty okay most of the way up. as i neared the top, i reached back to grab my left water bottle which, to my surprise, was not there. shit.
i wondered to myself where i could have dropped it without noticing and the most likely place was unfortunately the grassy front lawn. shit. shit. shit. i thought for a minute if i could possible do the run with only 1 8-oz water bottle with 1 possible place to refuel and the logical answer was a definite no. shit. there was no solution but to trace the path i had come to get the lost bottle. grrr.
the run more or less went downhill from there. indeed when i got back to the house - there was the bottle sitting tauntingly on the front lawn. since i was here i ran inside to refill the first bottle and to see how far i had run so i could figure out how best to adjust my run. a bit over 2 miles...so i could then headout and do the same 9.5 mile route as last week. okay fine.
running back to one's house is no way to start a run, and it put a damper on my previously chipper mood. it was such a tease to have to go back out there again!
the run was going fine but a little slow, which i chalked up to the hills. miles 3, 4 and 5 passed without incident. i mentally mapped out the hard parts of the run that remained...that hill, and then the big downhill must be taken easy...then its rolling until that monster...okay cool this is nothing. and it was all fine until i took my 2nd gel somewhere between miles 8 and 9, for that is where my tummy betrayed me.
tummy aches and running tend to go hand in hand. ate something dumb the night before or the morning of your run? belly ache. goo didn't set well? belly ache. new flavor of gatorade? belly ache. running too fast? punishment: belly ache. the belly ache can also happen "just because". see, when you're running, all your organs are getting all jostled about in there, and that can cause some..."discomfort". well into my training for a 4th marathon, the sort of belly aches you can get from running are not new to me. luckily for me, usually i might get waves of the aches, but usually they pass after a moment or two.
not today.
as soon as i took my 2nd double latte power gel and washed it down with some gatorade i had a sense it was not going to go well. while i felt the instant rush of energy that usually comes with taking a gel, i also felt it instantly in my stomach. ugg. and this time it was not easing up. i managed to run along for another mile and a half or so, and then it was just NOT happening. every time i ran i could practically picture my insides sloshing around and so i ended up settling for a segment of run/walking for the last mile-ish.
usually something like this would cause me to be super grouchy but my legs were feeling fine so...i've been able to shrug it off. there is no way i could have run the last bit outright so i'm considering myself lucky to have made it all 11.7 miles with my legs feeling just fine - even if other parts of me weren't.
today's mileage: 11.7
time run: 2+ hours
season mileage to date: 140.8
i left the house with my legs feeling pretty springy - unlike last weekend - and headed left instead of right out of the park, and looked at the ginormous hill that was my first challenge of this run. i had driven, but not run up this one before, but i predicted it would be hard but not back-breaking. i was right and feeling pretty okay most of the way up. as i neared the top, i reached back to grab my left water bottle which, to my surprise, was not there. shit.
i wondered to myself where i could have dropped it without noticing and the most likely place was unfortunately the grassy front lawn. shit. shit. shit. i thought for a minute if i could possible do the run with only 1 8-oz water bottle with 1 possible place to refuel and the logical answer was a definite no. shit. there was no solution but to trace the path i had come to get the lost bottle. grrr.
the run more or less went downhill from there. indeed when i got back to the house - there was the bottle sitting tauntingly on the front lawn. since i was here i ran inside to refill the first bottle and to see how far i had run so i could figure out how best to adjust my run. a bit over 2 miles...so i could then headout and do the same 9.5 mile route as last week. okay fine.
running back to one's house is no way to start a run, and it put a damper on my previously chipper mood. it was such a tease to have to go back out there again!
the run was going fine but a little slow, which i chalked up to the hills. miles 3, 4 and 5 passed without incident. i mentally mapped out the hard parts of the run that remained...that hill, and then the big downhill must be taken easy...then its rolling until that monster...okay cool this is nothing. and it was all fine until i took my 2nd gel somewhere between miles 8 and 9, for that is where my tummy betrayed me.
tummy aches and running tend to go hand in hand. ate something dumb the night before or the morning of your run? belly ache. goo didn't set well? belly ache. new flavor of gatorade? belly ache. running too fast? punishment: belly ache. the belly ache can also happen "just because". see, when you're running, all your organs are getting all jostled about in there, and that can cause some..."discomfort". well into my training for a 4th marathon, the sort of belly aches you can get from running are not new to me. luckily for me, usually i might get waves of the aches, but usually they pass after a moment or two.
not today.
as soon as i took my 2nd double latte power gel and washed it down with some gatorade i had a sense it was not going to go well. while i felt the instant rush of energy that usually comes with taking a gel, i also felt it instantly in my stomach. ugg. and this time it was not easing up. i managed to run along for another mile and a half or so, and then it was just NOT happening. every time i ran i could practically picture my insides sloshing around and so i ended up settling for a segment of run/walking for the last mile-ish.
usually something like this would cause me to be super grouchy but my legs were feeling fine so...i've been able to shrug it off. there is no way i could have run the last bit outright so i'm considering myself lucky to have made it all 11.7 miles with my legs feeling just fine - even if other parts of me weren't.
today's mileage: 11.7
time run: 2+ hours
season mileage to date: 140.8
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Yin-Yang of an Out-and-Back
This morning was my "big" 5 mile run in lovely New Jersey.
I had debated between just running in the boys neighborhood and fining a park/trail/etc but the latter was proving too difficult, so I plotted a 5-mile out-and-back course from the house. It was a simple route without too many turns since I don't know the neighborhood that well and didn't feel like getting lost in the wilds of New Jersey.
As everyone anywhere around here knows, the weather today was spectacular. I left the house around 11 and temp was on an upward climb from 65, but there was a gorgeous breeze that kept the heat from getting to me. (I am *not* a hot weather runner. Not a bit.)
What I didn't look at in my google plotting was the elevation, and while I knew this somewhere in the back of my head, I didn't really think about all the ups and downs I would potentially encounter. Thus...the roller coaster of emotions that comes with a hilly out and back course. For every uphill you encounter, there is a spark of joy that later, oh later!, you will get to run down that beast. And yet alas! Especially on the way out, each lovely downhill you float down, you know will come a reckoning, for you will have to run back up that monster to get back home again.
And so went my run. Lots of swearing under my breath as I encountered another hill. My turn around was a road that would basically loop around, and I laughed when I realized that I had chosen "Vista Drive", which as the name implied, was one long and windy road uphill.
I won't lie, I took three little catch-my-breath walk breaks over the course of the run, those being after I valiantly battled a hill. But I felt good about the run just the same. I increased my mileage by 40%, which is a big jump, and I think if it had been more flat I would have been a.o.k. So I'll take it!
Today's mileage:: 5.0
Mileage this week:: 15.5
I had debated between just running in the boys neighborhood and fining a park/trail/etc but the latter was proving too difficult, so I plotted a 5-mile out-and-back course from the house. It was a simple route without too many turns since I don't know the neighborhood that well and didn't feel like getting lost in the wilds of New Jersey.
As everyone anywhere around here knows, the weather today was spectacular. I left the house around 11 and temp was on an upward climb from 65, but there was a gorgeous breeze that kept the heat from getting to me. (I am *not* a hot weather runner. Not a bit.)
What I didn't look at in my google plotting was the elevation, and while I knew this somewhere in the back of my head, I didn't really think about all the ups and downs I would potentially encounter. Thus...the roller coaster of emotions that comes with a hilly out and back course. For every uphill you encounter, there is a spark of joy that later, oh later!, you will get to run down that beast. And yet alas! Especially on the way out, each lovely downhill you float down, you know will come a reckoning, for you will have to run back up that monster to get back home again.
And so went my run. Lots of swearing under my breath as I encountered another hill. My turn around was a road that would basically loop around, and I laughed when I realized that I had chosen "Vista Drive", which as the name implied, was one long and windy road uphill.
I won't lie, I took three little catch-my-breath walk breaks over the course of the run, those being after I valiantly battled a hill. But I felt good about the run just the same. I increased my mileage by 40%, which is a big jump, and I think if it had been more flat I would have been a.o.k. So I'll take it!
Today's mileage:: 5.0
Mileage this week:: 15.5
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