Running - Week of Sept. 3-9

[kelownagirl]

What, no post this week?

Well I finally got out for a run today after a 2 month hiatus so I HAVE to post it. :) It was hard. I did a ton 'o biking last month and my legs are tight and sore. I took 2 days off and then went for a walk/run today to see how it felt. Walked for 1/2 k, ran for 1 k over a 5k distance. Got in 2.5 of running over all. I can't believe how hard it was to get moving again - it seemed like everything hurt! The good news is - I know I can do it and that if I take it easy for a week or so, I should be able to get back into it again.

So how's everyone else doing?

[Wahine]

I ran 2.25 miles today as part of our Tri club mini tri. It felt like shyte. Hmmmm. Still recovering I guess.

Good job getting back out there KG!!

[rocknrollgirl]

4 miles Monday during an experiment with the Galloway run/walk technique
Brick last night after my ride


New shoes came in the mail yesterday....just in time....

[KSH]

kelownagirl, great job on getting out there and running! It is very hard to get back into running after being out of it for awhile. It's amazing how quickly you lose your running fitness.

Wahine... REST! Gosh lady. You deserve it.

RnRgirl... I hear ya on the Galloway method.

Now, you have been able to run 4 miles before though... right? I was just reading the website yesterday and it said that for "shorter" runs it's OK to just run if you can already run that distance. I know for me I'm only going to work the method on run sessions over 8 miles.

But I did learn last week that if I run an entire 12 miles, I add about 6 minutes to my overall time, versus running/walking.

As for me...

Tuesday- 4 miles on the treadmill. Had to run at lunch because I was swimming at night. Too hot to run at Noon outside. Can't wait till it cools off and I can run the neighborhoods at lunch again.

Wednesday- (Raining) 1 hour spin class and then 2 miles on the treadmill. It was a quick 2 miles at 10:20 minute mile (fast for this turtle!).

Thursday- (Today) I'm going to run 6 miles of hills tonight.

Friday- Rest (even though I should run and swim- oh well I always skip Friday's!)

Saturday- Ride 70 miles

Sunday- Run 10 miles- using the Galloway run/walk method! I'm going to shoot for a 3:1 and see how it works out.

The downside to this week is that I only get to ride outside 1 DAY this week. That is what I enjoy the most. I might try to ride Sunday afternoon after my run. Although, I always feel bad working out all day long because my boyfriend is sitting around waiting to spend time with me.

[kelownagirl]

Are there any websites on running "form" that you ladies can recommend? I have clue on how I should be holding my body and hitting the ground.

[KSH]

Are there any websites on running "form" that you ladies can recommend? I have clue on how I should be holding my body and hitting the ground.

If you are looking for information on a mid-foot plant and the form for that... Evolution Running and Chi Running are both good resources on that. I know you can buy books for each.

I personally worked with a coach to change my form from a heel strike to mid foot plant... did so 4 times a month for 6 months last year. Obviously though, not everyone can do that.

From what I have heard though, Evolution Running is a great resource.

[Deborajen]

Did a 2 1/2 miler yesterday - 10 minutes of warm-up/cool-down with a mile of easy tempo. Still recovering from some knee swelling/pain after a 6-miler on the track about a month ago. No more swelling and no more pain on the outside of the knee, but I think I've got some IT band tightness now. The inside of my knee gets sore shortly into a run and stays really tight for awhile afterwards.

Got to bike to work today - that felt really good.

Keep up the good work everyone! Hearing about everyone else's efforts is the next best thing to actually having a running partner on the path. :)

Deb

[rocknrollgirl]

KSH...I can run that distnce no problem. I am good up to 6 -7 miles. I am trying it, to see if it will work in a race. I am finding that after 1.5-2 hours of hard technical mt biking, my quads are shot, and it makes the run portion of my races really difficult.

So the idea of starting the race using that method appealed to me as long as it does not make me slower overall.

I tested it on a 4 mile run the other day because I knew how long that trail usually takes me.

I was 4 mins faster using the 4 min run, one min walk. I normally run 9 mm on the trail and 10 mm during a race.

I am going to try it again this w/e and see how it goes.

Ruth

[Shiraz]

First chance to run this week. I had a slow 6 mile run. I actually shut my Garmin off and focused on the beautiful fall morning, my music and the fact that I was outside. I was so tired this week post two half marathon two weekends in a row. I hope I can run tomorrow evening and saturday afternoon or evening. This week is just crazy.......

[roadie gal]

Shiraz, I'm impressed. 2 half marathons 2 weeks in a row? Wow.

I just lost my mind and bought a treadmill. So I had to try it out today. I managed 8 miles on it. I'm not sure how that translates to running outside, but I know that I wouldn't have run that far on the streets.

[Wahine]

Wahine... REST! Gosh lady. You deserve it.


I only did it as a test run to decide if I was going to slog through a race this weekend. The idea was not to "race" this weekend but to go out to show support for the race director who's helped our tri-club out a lot this summer. Based on how I felt last night, I decided that I shouldn't even try to slog through it so I will be volunteering. The race director would rather have me doing the race, but he's happy to have me out there in any capacity.

[emily_in_nc]

Just a little 2.75 mile treadmill run (plus .5 walk) at the work gym, but it felt fairly easy, and I managed to run a mile of it at a 10:00 pace, my fastest ever. I think the cross training (road riding, mountain biking, walking, running, sailing, and gym) is paying off. I am definitely a jack of all trades, master of none, but feel fitter than when I was doing many miles of road cycling 5 days a week and nothing else, and I'm never bored! :) And hiking season will be here before too long!!! :)

Emily

[annie]

My first time on the running thread, I think. Nice to see others who like to cross-train.

Running is NOT my exercise of choice. But I know it is good for me. Good for my bones, good for my aerobic system, and good for a change. I'm trying to run at a minumum, once a week. Didn't run at all this summer, just biked. In the last three weeks, I've been running twice each week. Just about killed me the first time out, but is much better now. I am up to a 5K. I'd like to eventually be able to do a 10K. Any ideas on how long I should take to build up to that? No competing in mind here, just keeping fitness over the winter. Thanks!

Annie

[limewave]

Annie--I would say take 3 months to build to the 10k. You could do it faster, say in 2 months if you really wanted to--depends on how motivated you are. Increase for three weeks, then have an easy week followed by 3 more weeks of building, rest week, etc.

Today was hill-repeats for me. There was a huge red blob on the radar just off the coast when I went out, so I kept it short.

Hill-repeat question: What kind of hill (%grade, distance) is good for hill repeat training?

[Kimmyt]

4.5 miserable miles last night after work. Decided to do hills, and in the heat. don't know what I was thinking. Also realized the power of training, ran with a friend of mine I'd done the last tri with, who had just started running then, but now is training for a 1/2, and she really kicked my ***. Ah well, it was all in good fun, and I'm super proud of her, but still. It was a rough night!

K.

[michelem]

We had a bit of a cooldown on Tuesday, so I was able to do an outdoor run in the early evening - yay! :D Did my regular "six mile" loop in an hour and 5 minutes. For the first time, I wore my heartrate monitor (which, did not work - kept fluctuating from 74 bpm's and then up way over 200 and back down again - weird) and looked at the watch that goes with it for my time. Normally, I just look at the clock as I leave home and look at it again when I get back in the house. Anyway, I know the mileage on the streets and for the part of the trail that shows up on Google and it looked as though I was running approx. 9 minute miles, which corresponds with what I've been doing on the treadmill. Odd, I had always thought I was doing more like 12-15 minute miles and was so discouraged at my slowness outdoors. So, I really think that my guesstimate of my loop is off. It's probably more like 7+ miles rather than 6. I wish Google would get it's act together and update their maps to show the area where my paved trail is – the area has been built out for well over two years, with houses, etc., but Google shows it’s just a bunch of dirt.

Okay, enough of that.

Last night it was back on the treadmill as we have been advised not to do outdoor activity due to (fire) smoke. Did about 8.25 miles, plus walked about .25 miles at the end, for a total of about an hour and 25 minutes. I say "about" because the treadmill turns off and loses all data after one hour and then I have to re-start it at 0.

That's it for running this week. Saturday and Sunday will be back on the bike for more hillclimbing! :D

[northstar]

4.3 miles that actually felt great today, Friday. This is the first time I've run over three miles without stopping to walk at least once...maybe I've broken out of my little plateau.

[Grog]

I was on the road at 7 Tuesday morning for a light 30-minute run with a new resident, and now I'm taking a small bunch for speedwork in about 15 minutes. I've had two short but fun bike rides too, so it's been a good week.

Now the long run on Sunday... not sure how well this is going to go! I'll just take it easy I guess.

Thanks for your postings all, it keep me motivated to see others are out there running...

[yellow]

I'm having a bit of a running crisis, and it's making me melancholy.

I've been following a training schedule for a "goal" event in November pretty closely and so far it's been going pretty well (I do better when I am training for something...hence this event). But I'm starting to feel a little out of sorts about it.

I don't think I'll have a problem getting the time/miles in this week, but the next few weeks are making me rethink this whole idea. The schedule I'm using has you do back to back days with a long run and then another one about half the distance of the long run, sometimes more. Today I did 14 and felt pretty bad (I think due to starting too late and having to run in the direct sun a lot of the time, something I've been avoiding most of the summer...and due to a calorie deficit) and tomorrow I do 8. I'm not too worried about that. However, next week is 16/10 (a little scary), week after that is 18/10 (scary), and week after that is 20/10 (really scary). Yikes. I then get an easy week before the big mileage starts (22/10 for two weeks and 24/10 as the BIG ONE). Of course you are also running the rest of the week, with 2 rest days. Running back to back days is one of the standard ultra training techniques as it trains your body to run on tired legs (you always get the following day off completely). And so far I have to give it a thumbs up (at my lower mileages, anyway); I usually feel really good the 2nd day.

But I may bail altogether.

I've been running alone, which means that after about 1.5 hours my head starts to get messy and I feel like I want to quit and go home. DH is not supportive of my effort and in fact thinks that I have a problem (problem: liking endurance activity) and has been a jerk about it, so I have to plan my runs so that they don't interfere with life. And then there are all those other things that I like to do or have planned, like the Tour de Vins with Shiraz the 20/10 week (which I've already signed up for and am really looking forward to) and a mtn biking trip to Moab in October (the first 22/10 week). I think I would still finish the 50k even if I did these things and didn't follow the "schedule", but I'm not sure I have it in me to train properly, schedule or no.

So we'll see. I'm going to try to stick with it, but mentally it's already hard and I'm not even at the big mileage yet. I'd like to do it because I really do love trail running and the 50k is in a beautiful location (Stinson Beach in Cali). Since I train at 6000' elev and up, I will have an advantage running at/near sea level. I can always do the 30k, and I think that might be a nice compromise.

Those people that do 50 and 100 milers are amazing (and most definitely a little off kilter ;) ). I have a whole new appreciation for what they do. They must put in some serious miles the 2 months before an event!

OK, I'll quit whining now. I just wish I felt better about it all.

[Shiraz]

Yellow, you are amazing!!! Don't give up! I know you are capable of anything you set your mind to. I followed your double century ride last year.. WOW unbelievable. We can ride the Tour de Vin anytime if it interferes with your training but of course we support you no matter what you decide. Sleep on it a few days. I know how a training schedule can cause havic on a DH relationship......

Okay, I chose a glass of wine over a run tonight.............. I confess...
I promise I will get serious next week after I am done teaching a class and off call Monday. It is back to training for my Oct 7th 1/2 mary in Boise. The wine is very good :D :D

[yellow]

The wine is very good :D :D
As it should be... my neighbor just called and informed me that we are going to be drinking some wine in an hour or so, after our nightly walk. I love that woman, but this wine indulgence is the reason I'm a few pounds heavier these days... :rolleyes:

Thanks for the encouragement. I am going to ruminate about the 50K for a couple of weeks and see how the training goes. I'm going to come up and do the ride with you 9/29 and have it be cross training. It won't hurt me! And we're running Sunday after the ride, so it fits in just fine.

[KSH]

Yellow... let me address the training first.

Yes, you ran 14 miles today and felt bad. You know why too. Heat, especially if you haven't been running in it... can be a killer. It's been beating me down for months. My performance has suffered. It happens. Don't let it get into your head.

As far as the longer distances... and thinking about them... if you haven't done them before, it can be scary. When I started running 8-10-12 miles for training sessions... just thinking about it, I was scared. Could I do it? Would I be able to make it? What if...??? All you can do is go out there and try it. Right? If you make it great, if not... then that's OK too.

You really have to decide if running those distances and training for this race is going to make you happy. It's hard for some people to run the longer distances... I know for me it is. When I think of running 10-12 miles I get kind of... blah about it. The thought of running for 2.5 hours does not excite me much. It's mentally and physically hard. Do you like the mental and physical challenge? Or is it miserable for you?

Ok, so outside of the training you have your husband who is NOT supportive. That's a really hard one. Especially with the longer distances coming up. It's going to be hard to run 20 miles and not have it affect your home life. Unless you can get up and run before he wakes up.

Is this race and training for it worth the arguements and the unhappy husband? Being married... well, it's a compromise... 50/50... and if he's not going to accept your training for this race that is something serious to think about. With that said... this the very reason why I'll never be married again- ever. I'm not made for marriage... because I would tell him to screw off and deal with... no wonder I'm divorced... eh?

I wish you the best of luck in your decision.

[Grog]

{{{{Yellow}}}}

Hang in there. I know you'll make the right decision.

[rocknrollgirl]

Yellow,
This past winter was the first time that I followed a formal training plan. I started training in January for the upcoming xterra season. There were plenty of times when it was hard, and when I was very tired, and frustrated, but I was never unhappy. I really enjoyed it. I also have an extremely supportive DH that helps me train, so there was no stress from that.

OK so I am feeling about done now with three weeks left to go in my season, BUT, my point is I was never miserable.

I guess what I am trying to say, is that it should be tough, but not suck.

Somewhere in your heart is the answer, it will come to you in time, just listen for it.

Ruth

And once again, I wish we lived closer, so you and I could train together. Oh and you know who else we need Tattiefritter...she is an off road girl too, oh and Limewave. We could start our own off road club for crazy dirt girls....

[yellow]

Thanks, Ladies. You're the best! :)

KSH, I've run long distances before and know how they feel...what I haven't done is stacked another longish run behind it. That's what has me spinning a bit. I've done it at shorter distances, though, and it's usually not nearly as painful as I'm thinking it's going to be, so I'm not sure why it sounds so daunting. Well, I guess because 20 miles in itself is a long way and while I am the opposite and generally love running for hours at a time (at least I used to anyway...), it's still a lot of ground to cover.

RNRG: I've followed plans before and know they work...but I also know that they are flexible. I told myself that this effort was going to remain fun and flexible and if it took a turn another direction I needed to reevaluate whether or not I should be doing it at all. I'm very goal-oriented and do better with a carrot on the end of the stick, and if I do end up bailing I'll probably feel like a pathetic loser for a few days but I'll get over it. :rolleyes:

I think the main issues that are making my head rummy are (1) not having anyone to train with and (2) not having much support in the effort. The other secret item (3) that messes with my head are my what seem to be monthly trail crashes. :p I keep thinking that I'm past that stage but alas...I am not. Yesterday's crash was pretty minor, a knee and quad raspberry and little cut on my hand. I couldn't even find what it was that I tripped on. I started carrying large bandages with me a couple of falls ago.

I'm not making any descisions yet...will give it a few more weeks and see how I feel. Maybe once fall really hits I'll be a new woman. I am so looking forward to cold weather!!

[Tri Girl]

Yellow, hang in there. You can do it. Those long back to back days are supposed to suck just a little. ;) You ultra runners are incredible. A friend of mine just did the Leadville 100 (although he had to drop out at mile 76 because of hypothermia). It's incredible what the mind can do to overcome the fatigue of the body. Mind over matter. You can run those back to backs and be ok- even in the long weeks. During the peak of my training for IM, every weekend was back to back long days (and I really believe the fatigue training paid off race day). I KNOW running only is much tougher on the body, but you're one tough chickie, and you can do it.
If you bail and "only" do the 30K (HA- like that's easy :eek: ), you know you'll be fine. Either way, you're a rock star in my book! :)

[Kimmyt]

Echo to what all the others said. Yellow, I think sometimes the thought of doing something can be so scary, that once you actually do it, you'll be surprised how not bad it is. Or at least I hope your 20/10 will go that way.

I just finished the book Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer, and let me tell you, it's inspiring. If you're ever in a pinch and you're needing some inspiration or something to just push you, this woman was running 130 miles a week and was still not the top lady runner (though she was up there), but her story (and the story of women in running) will certainly light a fire somewhere. :)

Anyway, ran a '5K' today. Got a PR by about 1/2 a minute, which is okay considering the heat and there were some hilly portions. I say okay, because the course measured short on The Boy's iPod (2.8mi vs. 3.1mi) so I don't know which is correct. I'm going to go with the course measurement so that I can feel good about PRing. Also and this is funny, feel free to weigh in on your thoughts on this, but I placed. Third in my age group, and The Boy was crowing and tried to make me wear the medal but you know what? i'm not thrilled. I mean, my time was 27 minutes. He beat me by 2 minutes and didn't place. The next age group up creamed us. It was just that my ag was under-represented. So I'm totally embaressed to have this silly medal that doesn't mean anything to me, and I'm wondering why I'm not pleased to place, but it all just seems rather silly. Sigh.

Well, once I move up to the next age group I'll have no chance of placing unless I get way faster, those lady 30-39ers are some tough chicks! (I guess that NYTimes article is true!)

K.

[rocknrollgirl]

Kimmy,
This is an ongoing issue in off road events, to the point where NORBA, the governing body for a large portion of the mt biking racing series, decided this year to collapse all the age groups for women into two. Under 35 years old and over 35 years old.

Is that fair?

Here is what I think. You showed up to race, if the ag was lite at this race, hey so what, you were still there. Next time that might not be the case.

Where did you finish overall in the women?

Take your hardware and enjoy it. Had you stayed home, you would not have a pr or a medal.

Ruth

[Shiraz]

Kimmy,
I agree!!!! You placed and have a PR!! Way to go. I had the same problem.... a lady in the next age group ran a faster 1/2 mary and took fourth but I gladly took my trophy (the only one I have ever earned). I certainly did not run as fast as I would have liked but the course was hard and it was hot. You did great... 27 minutes!!!

I need to get that book. I am needing some inspiration.:o :o

[alpinerabbit]

Phew....

after our almost-a-century yesterday we did get our acts together and dragged our a$$es to the trail but not much went - 30 minutes in I really felt exhausted, even a bit dizzy so we walked home. Glad I got my circulation going though, might help recovery.

[kelownagirl]

I find the whole AG thing interesting. I had always assumed that naturally the younger girls would be first and so on up the groups, but it is certainly not the case here. When I did my one and only 5k race last June, the top 3 women over all were in MY age group 45-49, then a few in 35-39. I'll never have a chance to place in AG - there are too many elite athletes in that group. :)

Anyway, enjoy your medal Kimmy - you were there, you won - you deserve it!

I had some pretty sore legs etc for 2 days after my first-time-back-running on Wed but I did a second 5k run/walk yesterday and feel much better this morning. I did .5 k walk, 1k run again and it felt fine. I went a little longer on my 3rd 1k run and think I could have continued going for awhile longer but DH was with me and he's just started running so he needed to take it easier. I am planning to do .5k walk, 2k run in a couple days and then probably do 5k after that. It's hard to go slowly...:rolleyes: :D

[limewave]

Kimmy--don't be bummed about placing! You should be proud to wear that medal. I almost always place in my AG even though my best 5k time is 27:30. I'm in the 25-30 AG which I've noticed tends to be the least competitive. I think it's because it's the age where we tend to be buying first houses, starting careers, raising toddlers, being pregnant . . . etc. But, whatever the reason, I'm one of the few who choose to get up at 5 AM to relentlessly pound the pavement, push back the guy packets, and show up on race day. That alone deserves a medal.

Speaking of deserving a medal: I did 3 mile trail run with 3 sets of 4 stair repeats up brutal sand dunes. I had a lovely audience of senior citizens perched on some park benches that cheered me on. This was by far the hardest interval training I've done yet.

[Grog]

Rode 95 km on Saturday, my longest ride in a long time, pulled most of the time in a fierce head wind.... and then went on to run a 10 km on Sunday morning. Ouchie!! I could barely move my legs, I was so stiff.

But I did it.

I have to run another short run tomorrow morning, I shouldn't have cycled this morning... But the weather is so good!

[Wahine]

Kimmy,

You placed 3rd of the people there. The fact that there weren't more people represented in your AG is a sign that you're doing well just to be out there. So first off, be proud that you even ran, because a lot of people didn't. Secondly, be proud that you ran 3rd in your AG. Unless there were only 3 people in your AG then you worked for it. You had to be better than the other girls out there. Even if you were the last one and got 3rd you should still be proud (see first point above).

Finally, if I remember rightly you are in a sub-30 cat. The 30 plusers should be creaming you. 30 to 40 traditionally has been the fastest AG for women in endurance events. It has to do with building an endurance base. And, like KG said, a lot of the elite 30 somethings are now elite 40 somethings and are breaking all kinds of aging myths by getting even faster. Who knows, in ten years maybe 40 to 50 will be the fastest AG.

[KSH]

Kimmy... you did a great job! Congrats on the medal! Look, you got up, you raced and you had a PR! Take it! :D

Well, I ran on Saturday, 9-8-08... my goal was to run 10 miles and try a 3:1 walk/run combo... here is how it turned out:

1h 55m
10.00 miles
11m 30s /mile

It was 5:30 PM and 100 degrees with the heat index, so I headed off to the gym.

Yep, I ran 10 miles on a treadmill. I did a run/walk combo 3:1. It worked just fine. My time didn't suffer at all.

I don't really have any other runs to compare it to though... for that distance... because this was on flats and my other 10 mile runs were on hills, outside.

[crazycanuck]

I ran with our group again this week..I think i ran 2.5km or so.

I am still quite slow and will be for a while!!

C