(Long and Less Long) Runs - 1/20 to 2/4

[KSH]

Hello Ladies!

It's our thread of the week!

Well, it's my first week on my tri coach's schedule. I am suppose to run 11 miles this week. We will see how it goes!

[KSH]

3 miles down. I did it in 31 minutes on the treadmill. I was suppose to do a slow run, and probably should have gone slower, but the treadmill is torture.

3 down, 8 to go.

[yellow]

THE DREADMILL! AAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHH! Hopefully the remaining 8 will be outside!

Here, you'll appreciate this (from the Albuquerque Tribune (http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/mar/15/steve-brewer-dreadmill-torture-lasts-an-eternity/?printer=1/))

Random thoughts from a typical workout on the Dreadmill:

Remember when exercise was all about having fun? When did it become drudgery? Here I am, bored out of my skull, walking to nowhere. Let's not think about how that's a metaphor for Life.

God, my legs are going to fall off. If they did, could I get new ones grafted on? Ones that already had muscles? Then I could skip the workouts and still look better in shorts.

These days, doctors can transplant most anything, including faces, from one human to another. Too bad they haven't mastered personality transplants. I can think of some people who'd benefit from that.

What is that huffing sound? Oh, it's me.

If Americans keep living longer and longer, will huffing and puffing eventually become the background music of life?

You know you're older when "getting lucky" refers to the last piece of cake.

How come we have angel's food cake and devil's food cake and who decided which is which? Do they serve those in heaven and hell? If so, I'll go with the chocolate, even if it means eternal fire.

Mmm, cake.

What the heck is manna? You always hear about "manna from heaven." Does it come in chocolate?

How come Death's always pictured as a specter in a hooded cloak, carrying a scythe? At new year's time, the long-bearded Old Year carries a scythe, too. Is he related to Death? How do you use a scythe anyway?

What's that awful smell? Oh, that's me, too.

The bravest person who ever lived was the one who first ate a lobster. Here's this creature, looks like a big bug, comes armed with clacking claws. Drop it into boiling water and it turns bright red, a sure warning sign. And yet, somebody was the first to say, `Hey, let's eat this thing.'

Mmm, lobster.

Is that the phone? Probably another telemarketer. Here's the perfect thing to say to get rid of telemarketers: "So. What are you wearing?"

Is that a chest pain? Nah. But what if it was? I'm all alone here. Could I get to a phone and call for help before it's too late? Would my family find me here, hours later, face down on the treadmill? Would I have big black rubber burns on my face? I'd better start keeping my cell phone nearby.

I could use my workout time to talk on the phone, if people didn't mind the puffing. They'd probably hang up, thinking it was an obscene call. "It's that breather again."

Mmm, breathing.

Time's almost up. Just a few more minutes of agony, then I can get off this machine and get on with my day. Assuming I don't pass out first.

Wonder how much liposuction costs?

[KSH]

HA! HA! Very cute! Thanks for sharing!

It inspired me to post the following on my Training Log on BT:

Random thoughts while running on the treadmill

Inspired from something else I read on my TE forum. I pondered... what did I think about while on the treadmill? Here it goes:

~ Cover the display with the towel, so you can't see how far you have left to go. Gotta peak. Damn. Only, .50 out of 3 miles done? Crap. This is going to be a long run.

~ I should speed up.

~ I can't speed up. Dang cramp in my torso. WHY DO I GET ALL THESE FREAKING CRAMPS? WHY??? Rub it out. Rub it out. Rub it out. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Stay at the same slow speed.

~ I think I feel that chaffing under my arm again. I wore a shirt to stop that. Dang my arms are fat. I need to do some weights tonight. Fat and flabby arms.

~ I'm tired. My legs feel tired. Ugh. Suffering... this is suffering. Keep going. Don't stop.

~ OH! It's a good song... yea!

~ OH! It's a slow song... need to fast forward on my iPod (I listen to 2 hour DJ sets)... ****! *Ooopss! Said that outload!* Dang it. It went to the next track. OH well, find a new DJ set to listen to.

~ Yes! 1 mile left to go. WHOO-HOO! Speed up. Must speed up. I can do it. Must get this the hell over with. No cramps. Good. Keep it going girl... on your measly 6.0 till the end.

~ 3 miles! IT'S OVER!

~ Ouch, my knees hurt. I'm tired. Now, off to do the weights... to help my flabby arms some.

[yellow]

very good! Now, to prevent a thread hijack, I'm starting a new thread for treadmill musings...so ladies, please share over on that thread!

[btchance]

Very cute treadmill musings - I think I'll be having some of those later this week due to weather.

Since today is supossed to be the warmest day of the week (it's 40), I went on a trail run. Did somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 miles, felt great. Have to work on picking my feet up more so that I don't trip (I almost did one face plant), and then stepped off a rock wrong and twisted the crap out of my right ankle. Oh well, I've taken some naproxen and we'll see what happens. It was fantastic to run through the trees and next to the creek, looking out over the valley. Extremely peaceful.

How are you're runs doing ladies?

[tattiefritter]

btchance: bad luck with the ankle. I'm able to run again after spraining my left a couple of weeks ago. Its still not 100% and was complaining a bit on the climbing wall last night (lots of twisting).

I did 5 miles yesterday with 4 x 2min intervals, 2 minute recoveries in the middle. Concentrated on pacing it so I was able to finish the last one as strongly as the first. It was nice to get my legs moving quickly again.

[Kimmyt]

Only 1.5 yesterday. I wanted to do about 3 but I didn't get to the gym until too late and then halfway through my run had to dart over to abs class, then home to grab some dinner before gym#2.

I'll do better on Thursday! And I'm hoping to do a brick this weekend, if the weather is above freezing!

K.

[colby]

This week has been a practice in how to lose 5 lbs the wrong way. I got up Monday morning preparing for a run, the weather looked great. Got my pack and my shoes, went upstairs to change... ugh... my tummy doesn't feel so good. Yeah, you see where this is going. Wake up Tuesday morning, lost 5+lbs, heart rate is 155 straight out of bed. Over the course of the day yesterday, it finally dropped back to normal. (WHEW!!!!)

Today I took it easy, no running. I can eat dinner, but not breakfast or lunch. I never thought I would want to run so bad... but I miss it.

So, I hope to keep the 5 lbs off, but this time... the right way. Our very nice marketing lady at work says I can get a FEMALE sized polo shirt for trade shows once I don't fit into the extra-small unisex size anymore so now I have real incentive. ;)

[emily_in_nc]

Three miles on the treadmill today -- a little slower than KSH (32:45 just for the running part of my workout), but I'm not in it for racing, just for fitness, heart health, and fat burning, so I don't mind being slow. Also walked .5 miles (I always walk .25 mi before and after running, to warm up and cool down, since I'm old!) Felt pretty good, though I realized that I should have eaten more before starting as my stomach started growling about half-way through - never a good sign. But I made it! Tied for my longest run ever. :)

Colby, that is a lot of weight to lose even being mega-sick - in only one day. Poor you on the illness (but not on the five lbs.!) Hope you feel much better soon.

Emily

[Kimmyt]

I have fluctuated ~5 lbs on a single day. Mostly I blame it on stress and not hydrating enough. I don't like it when it happens, but usually the next day it'll be back.

K.

[colby]

Colby, that is a lot of weight to lose even being mega-sick - in only one day. Poor you on the illness (but not on the five lbs.!) Hope you feel much better soon.

The heart rate was scary. I'm sure the stress of being sick plus the dehydration PLUS the crazy heart rate just put my body into overload and it ditched the weight. I must have drank 4+ liters of water, and STILL lost a ton of weight. I was joking with my husband that this is a great time to try small portion sizes! ;)

[Aggie_Ama]

Emily, I am only running for the health benefits, plus when I am in shape I feel really great after a run. I am definitely in the less long run category. Last night I challenged myself and added a 4th lap at our little .8 mile trail. I ended with 3.2 miles, approx 32 minutes. This distance used to be more short run, I am working on getting to that again.

Tomorrow I might have to hit the treadmill, it is supposed to be cold.

[rocknrollgirl]

Two miles of intervals for me today. This is my easy week of training, so short intervals and I will do an easy run tomorrow, and post my distance.

Easy week...a new concept for me...I think I like it!!!!

[Wahine]

Two miles of intervals for me today. This is my easy week of training, so short intervals and I will do an easy run tomorrow, and post my distance.

Easy week...a new concept for me...I think I like it!!!!

I'm on easy week too this week. I love easy weeks. I was supposed to run yesterday, but I ditched it. the idea of an easy week is to set out some light recovery workouts and if at any point you don't really want to do a workout, you can skip it, guilt free!! So, that's what I did last night. I caught up with some friends and cooked a nice meal, it was fabulous. So no mileage for me yet this week, well, not running anyway. :) :)

[Tri Girl]

Haven't run all week. :( Nevermind that I have a marathon in 5 weeks...grrrrr. I injured my quad somehow and am going to the orthopedic doc today to see what the damage is (might've been when I ran 3 hours on the snow and ice, but I never once slipped, fell, or slid).

Got me thinking...last time I trained for a mary I injured my knee- this time my quad.
9 months of training for an IM and not one injury or pain. Is my body trying to tell me something- do IM's instead of stand alone marys? I sure hope not- IM's are too hard to train for and recover from to do them once a year.

Have fun running, ladies- I'll be virtually running with you.

[Wahine]

Trigirl, it's really easy to strain quad just by having to work harder to stabilize yourself while running on poor surfaces. For this reason, I just won't run on ice. As much as I hate it, I will run on the treadmill on those days. Better hope you've got a good movie.:o

And, the crosstraining of triathlon, does give you increased muscle strength that can help ward off injury. I switched to triathlon from a running background because of knee and hip problems. I added yoga to the mix and now I almost never have hip or knee pain.:)

Let us know how it turns out with the Ortho.

[Bluetree]

Sorry to hear that, Tri Girl. Rets up, heal!

I did a soft week. No running until today. I have a 5k race on Sunday so I downloaded the route and ran it this morning. Rolling hills... yuk. Did the time in 36:11, not the greatest, but at least I am now familiar with the terrain. Ditched the iPod today, too... it's hard to run without music!

[alpinerabbit]

Today was the first run since Saturday. I did not do anything this week, last thing I did was swimming Sunday morning.

I did some speed variations and the same little hill 8x in different styles - felt nice and strong in my legs, but then the lunchtime run is maybe 4K.

[tattiefritter]

4 miles today, was supposed to be 5 with 3 at pace but my legs are so knackered from the weeks riding and running that I barely managed to shuffle round. Need to remember the pacing for Saturdays long run as it was quite easy to maintain. Right calf is really not happy still which is worrying me as if it doesn't get better then I will not be doing the half.

Had a chiro session today and he said my feet are really really stiff (rest of me pretty good though) so maybe that'll explain things

[Wahine]

TF - most people with really stiff feet and who do not pronate a lot, will naturally have tight calves and yours are probably still tight from the footwear issues. I would recommend stretching and seeing a massage therapist for some deep tissue work. It may be enough to get you headed in the right direction. A link for a good stretch is below.

http://www.dcdoctor.com/pages/rightpages_wellnesscenter/homeexercises/back/stretches/exer_back_st_calf.html

The one key thing that is not mentioned on this link is to ensure that your toes and heel are in line and that the midline of your foot (second toe to mid heel) is perpendicular to the wall.

I recommend hoding the stretch for 20 sec, repeat 4 times on both sides and do this 2 per day, until you feel better. Once you're better, you can go to doing this only after activity or every other day (once per day), whichever is more frequent.

I hope this helps.

[tattiefritter]

Thanks wahine I do both those stretches regularly after running but should fit it into my normal day (off to the ladies with me then). My chiro was looking at my feet because of my ankle sprain but he was quite shocked at how stiff they were as he was sure they were ok last time he checked them. He did some work on them and has freed up my left ankle noticeably which has helped and my calves don't feel at all sore today, just tight.

They have a sports massage therapist attached to the chiro practice - did I remember to ask about it - did I heck! Need to give them a ring today

[Kimmyt]

3 miles yesterday! (3.5 if you count my walk warmup/cooldown).

I took an abs class too, and I'm completely wrecked. The woman who has taught class for the past two times I've attended has been a monster. I have a pretty strong core, and after these two 15-minute sessions I am left feeling like I've just been run over by a truck.

Has anyone ever gotten physcially sick from too much ab stuff? Last night I began feeling really bad after I got back from the climbing gym, and I still feel horrid... not sure if it's the abs class or the sushi (hoping it's not the sushi, i like the place i went and would hate to have to stop going!)

K.

[KSH]

3 miles Thursday... 2 miles Friday... all on the treadmill.

Warm weather... please come back to Texas!

[Wahine]

I ran 5.5 miles yesterday. I can't believe how much harder it is to run here with the hills. Yikes.

KSH - I'm sorry you're suffering and obviously you're not used to this weather. But I have to say that it's hard for me to imagine being upset because I had to run on the treadmill for a few days due to the cold. Just teasing, I know it's really cold for you. Life is relative after all. Most people think the PNW is really cold and I think it's almost sub-tropical in comparison to where I lived in Canada. Yet I spoke to my best friend who still lives in Edmonton and she chastized me for b*tching about the weather the other day. How soon we adapt!

[Aggie_Ama]

3 miles Thursday... 2 miles Friday... all on the treadmill.

Warm weather... please come back to Texas!

KSH- It is a little warmer here, so I have been able to run outside. I got in 9 miles for the week. Of course I look at the temperatures and realize I was nutty- it was in the 40's! Treadmill miles suck though.

I really want to ride tomorrow, but it is so cold. All these beautiful new bikes in Texas and the coldest weather I can remember recently. *SIGH*

[btchance]

My ankle sprain scare was just that, a scare. After taking Ibuprofen for a few days and having to stand on it all day (I know, not the best thing), it was acting fine so I went and worked out Friday. It was supossed to be an easy workout, but since I hadn't done anything the past 2 days and knew I was on call today (Sat), I kinda ended up going pretty hard. 4mi on the treadmill, the base pace at 10min/mile, changed the incline around for part of that, then did some work upping the pace to 9:30 and 9min/mi pace. Felt pretty good, except for the treadmill boredom. (Read - I was constantly changing something on that machine, my mp3 player, or people watching and cussing in my head about having to be on it due to wet snow). Afterwards I did an hour long spin class, then immediately ran an easy mile on the indoor track. Ankle held up, and still feels fine this morning.

TriGirl - I hope your quad gets to feeling better. Just take it easy and you should be fine for the mary. Which one are you doing?

Colby - I hope you're feeling better. It's scary to wake up with a HR that high.

[Tri Girl]

The orthopedic doc said it was "probably" a quad strain (didn't do x-rays because he didn't suspect bone). Muscular strain is workable. Will do deep streches all week and see what happens. Will try running today- hope I don't die since I haven't run in 9 days...

btchance- I'm glad your ankle was just a scare! Sounds like you had a great run yesterday!!! Feels good to push it hard, huh?
I'm doing the Shamrock Marathon in VA Beach in March. Should be fun. I can walk it if I have to, but I'd much rather run!

Wahine- temp definitely is relative. I grew up in Yuma, AZ, and when I visited in '94 I almost died from the heat. Funny how you acclimate so quickly to your surroundings. I would die if I lived where you do this time of year. It's in the 20's here and I feel frostbite coming on just sitting in front of the computer (and it's 68F in my house- I'm a cold weenie). :p

[tattiefritter]

My ankle sprain scare was just that, a scare.

Look after it btchance as my sprain has come back to haunt me. I woke up this morning and it was throbbing so had to take some Ibuprofen and it still took a while to stop hurting. I was supposed to be heading out for an 11 miler but I have a rule (after doing some spectacularly stupid things in my early twenties while martial art training) that if I have to take any painkillers to allow me to train then I have no business training. So....I've decided to rest it from running for two weeks which means no half marathon at end of February for me :mad: I think I just overdid it a bit last week and the ankle wasn't up for it. I'll hopefully be able to fit in more cycling to keep my fitness going.

I think I'm going to enter a local half in June which will give me plenty of time to build up my legs/feet in my new shoes - just need to find a couple of 10Ks for prior to June to keep my motivation up.

[colby]

YAY, today I did a 5k! Finally :) The dog was so pleased. Heart rate a little higher than normal, so we took it easy. Beautiful day, 20 degrees and sunny. Sidewalks are pretty much clear where they were shoveled/plowed last, some dicey road crossings but that's about it.

The damage for this week is up to 9 lbs from last Sunday to this morning. :( I just hope I didn't lose a ton of muscle.

I'll take miles 22-25 of one of this week's marathons. Not the most forgiving 3 miles, but progress no less. ;)

[Tri Girl]

Great job, Colby!

Ran 9.5 today. I could tell it's been over a week since I ran. Wasn't pretty, painless, or fast, but it got done. Sometimes injury is a good thing- makes you stretch more and listen to your body more (things I should be doing all the time regularly anyway, but sometimes neglect).

We rock, girls!!! :D

[rocknrollgirl]

Hi Guys,
I was on my easy week, so I just ran two more yesterday. So only a total of 4 this week.

Riding today...brrrrr....

[yellow]

Spring seems to be right around the corner. We got a little snow this week but not enough to boost the XC skiing back up to an activity worth considering (especially since it was 45*F yesterday! :eek: Too warm! Too warm!).

That being said, I had some very muddy trail runs this week and one run on pavement. My grand total for the week was 16. I may go out for a run later today but I have some nonrunning noncycling friends in town that require entertainment (they are not staying with me; they are staying with other friends but for some reason they have all appointed me the activity hostess, even though they know "what to do around here" better than I do :confused: ). So I think 16 is it for me.

[Wahine]

Well, I've had a seriously slack week. I rand 5.5 on Thur. Today I'm going out to do a test set - 1 mile at 9-11 beats below my LT heartrate. I get to jog the the highschool, run my test, then "continue with the rest of my workout". What I want to know is, don't these guys that write this programs know that you're bagged after a test set? What "rest of my workout", I thought that would be it. :mad: I'll run a total of about 1 hour today.

I had a good rest week with some great results on my test sets:

1000 mtr TT in the pool: 17:45 and 10 km TT on my trainer maintaining 9 beats below my LT, 16:47, that's about 35 kph avg. :D :D Of course I'd never be able to maintain that in real life - outside with hills and elements etc, not to mention that the bike portion of the race is, like 18x that long.:eek: :eek:

So it looks like inspite of a couple of years not racing, I'm right back on track. My swim is a little slower than it used to be, but hey, it's early in the season.

[KSH]

Well, 3 more today.

I did all the miles my coach told me to do... a grand total of 11 miles.

Tri Girl- I hope you are OK! Please let us know how the healing goes. Try not to overdo it.

Btchance- Happy to hear you are doing OK, and it was just a scare.

Colby- A 5K! Awesome! 20 degrees? COLD!

Wahine- I didn't understand really what you wrote... but it sounds hard to me!

Aggie- It looks like a nice weather week in Texas is coming up! Today was great... 68 degrees. WOO-HOO! Too bad I was so tired after my run, or I would have gone riding some more (did 25 miles before the run). I am sure I will be outside at lunch running this coming week.

[Grog]

Wow what a wonderful week I've had!

Recovery week, that is. :)

And my six-feet-tall running partner was away for part of the week, so I ran with this other girl who's much shorter and doesn't run so fast. I was in much better control of my heart rate and didn't feel my legs were heavy at any time this week. It's good, once in a while.

Back to the grind on Tuesday morning!!!

[btchance]

I did another 3 miles on the treadmill today. I haven't had to take any ibuprofen and my ankle still feels fine, so yeah!! My grand total for the week was 11miles (I think, if I'm remembering correctly).

TriGirl - glad you were able to get in a work-out and that it went okay. Just don't push it, okay.

Colby - glad you are doing better and was able to do that 5k.

Wahine - what's the reasoning behind doing the test sets on your rest week? I had thought that rest weeks were cutting down on volume and intensity. For your rest week are you just cutting down on volume but not on intensity? Is there an advantage to one over the other? (Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get an idea of different training programs for future use)

KSH - sounds like you've been able to get in some good running workouts. Great to hear.

Good job ladies!

[Wahine]

Wahine - what's the reasoning behind doing the test sets on your rest week? I had thought that rest weeks were cutting down on volume and intensity. For your rest week are you just cutting down on volume but not on intensity? Is there an advantage to one over the other? (Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to get an idea of different training programs for future use)


BTC - the idea is to do your test sets when you're rested so you get a good idea of what your capabilities are with minimal interference from fatigue. The sets are really pretty short in duration so although they are intense, they aren't as taxing as a regular interval workout. I did a running test today of 1 mile and was still able to run a total of 6 miles without difficulty.

Cutting volume and amount of intensity work is important. The test sets are the only intensity you do during the week, so really you are resting with regards to intensity and volume.

[btchance]

BTC - the idea is to do your test sets when you're rested so you get a good idea of what your capabilities are with minimal interference from fatigue. The sets are really pretty short in duration so although they are intense, they aren't as taxing as a regular interval workout. I did a running test today of 1 mile and was still able to run a total of 6 miles without difficulty.

Cutting volume and amount of intensity work is important. The test sets are the only intensity you do during the week, so really you are resting with regards to intensity and volume.

Thanks for the info - it makes sense now. I'm just trying to figure out the training methods and what works best for me.