Running: First Week of March 2010

[limewave]

Ran my 7-mile loop yesterday afternoon.

I apparently have super-human powers the first day of my cycle, because I averaged almost an entire minute-per-mile faster than the last time I ran it!!!!
:D

[skhill]

Way to go, limewave!

And it's not just you, I ran my favorite 3.5 mile loop yesterday my fastest yet, on my first day also...

[WindingRoad]

Just did a 6 mile run and was extremely pleased to see I went sub 10:00 average for that distance for the first time. It wasn't by much (9:56) but still glad to know I can do it and I wasn't putting it all out to do it either. That makes me smile. :)

[Aggie_Ama]

5.5 miles even though I was supposed to do 10 miles. My feet are still healing from blisters I got from heels in Vegas, I decided to not over do it. :(

For those of you marathoners, how long is your training? DH and I want to do a marathon and will likely have three solid months. Since he is coming off mountain bike racing and a natural athlete I think this is enough. I have time to continue long runs after my half on March 27. We are planning to use his bike coach because none of the groups do long runs on Sundays and he works Saturdays.

[limewave]

For those of you marathoners, how long is your training? DH and I want to do a marathon and will likely have three solid months. Since he is coming off mountain bike racing and a natural athlete I think this is enough. I have time to continue long runs after my half on March 27. We are planning to use his bike coach because none of the groups do long runs on Sundays and he works Saturdays.

You'll be fine with 3 months, especially given your base fitness. Especially if you're already doing 5-6 mile runs.

[Grog]

I had a rest week for the most part last week, as far as running is concerned anyway. We were quite taken by the whirlwind of the Olympics and I was post-half-marathon.

Now I'm picking up the training again, truly starting to build towards my first marathon in May. I should have four workouts this week including a 23km long run on the weekend. Woah....

[indigoiis]

Hi all... still healing from my sprain. I am walking though, a half to one hour every day, and doing exercises the PT recommended, plus some strength training. It is healing. I am going to try a run/walk on Saturday, long ride on Sunday.

[OakLeaf]

12.6 today. This is a retrenchment week, planned, although I'd planned to do a little bit longer of a run today. :o It was okay though and I managed to dodge the raindrops.

Hang in there Indi.

[Urlea]

Oak- What are you training for? I keep trying to guess by your mileage, but I can't figure it out. :p

13.4 for me today. Went very well & I managed not to slip on the obnoxiously icy sidewalks. Yikes! Trying to scale up the weekly mileage in a peak/valley method this week. 20+ miles starting at 4am planned for Saturday so my midweek run will need to be shorter.

[Jolt]

Between the rotten weather lately and being busy, I haven't been running or posting much lately! Today has been a nice day though--partly sunny and 45 so I finally ran outside and boy did it feel good! Much better than the last run (which was on that tiny indoor track at the Y, with some random dude also using it). The only bummer was that I didn't even think to wear my VFFs today, when it would have been warm enough to do so. Realized that halfway through the run and wanted to kick myself for that particular brain fart. On a different topic, those of you who say you run better on the first day of your cycle, what is your secret? I always feel really icky on my first day (cramps, tired etc.) and usually can't even motivate myself to attempt a run. If there's a way around that, I'd love to hear it.

[OakLeaf]

Oak- What are you training for? I keep trying to guess by your mileage, but I can't figure it out. :p

That's because it's my half-assed marathon training plan. :p

Cleveland, May 16. Although... some things are going on right now that it's possible I won't be able to. :( If everything turns out OK I know I'm ahead of where I need to be with my long runs, but that was planned, too, so that I'd be able to adjust if smaller things came up.

[katluvr]

So I have not run since the marathon. Mostly d/t the ugly toenail/sore toe issue. I plan to run tomorrow since my feet/toes all feel better. Goal is 30 min. Just get back to the run. Nice and easy w/ no "gadgets" to see pace or distance. Also test the ITB, I did an hour walk and felt a little "tinge"--so we shall see! We are having another "cold" front so I suspect it will be a chilly run for FL this time of the year. Hopefully I'll have a run to post tomorrow!

K

[Susan Otcenas]

20+ miles starting at 4am planned for Saturday.

Aahh, gotta love those 4am runs! :D

Sunday, I went out with the local run club and did a 2 hour trail run on the Clackamas River Trail. It was a beautiful sunny day. I'd never been on that trail before and it was amazing. Views of the river, and lots of waterfalls along the way. Very challenging trail with few flat sections and lots of uneven footing, so it was a real effort for me. I enjoyed it, but OOPS, Sunday was supposed to be my rest day. ;)

Monday morning, I had an hourlong speed workout on the treadmill. I thought I would totally suck wind due to the effort on Sunday, but in fact, I ran all my intervals at a higher speed for the given heart rate targets. Go figure.

My legs definitely felt sore last night after hard efforts 2 days in a row!

12 mile long run on the calendar for tomorrow a.m.

Susan

[Bike Chick]

4 miles this evening.........I'm still running on sore legs. Sure hope this gets better.

[Aggie_Ama]

Did 40 minutes of intervals, then just 5 minutes tempo since I was at the back of the park. :) I have to remember now that I have to take my allergy medicine to up my water intake since I am so cotton mouthed.

On a random note, I am seeing a lot of people running in Vibrams. They are quite interesting to see.

[skhill]

This morning, I ran a sub 8 minute mile for the very first time (7:58, to be precise)!!!! then I slowed down, and ended up averaging 8:49 over the whole 3.5 miles. That's a new best also, by a long shot.

Now, if spring would just get here for real....

[limewave]

This morning, I ran a sub 8 minute mile for the very first time (7:58, to be precise)!!!! then I slowed down, and ended up averaging 8:49 over the whole 3.5 miles. That's a new best also, by a long shot.

Now, if spring would just get here for real....

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
----------------------
I just did:
1 mile wu
3 x 1600 @ 9:30 m/mile
800's easy between
1 mile cd

I am pooped.

[Bike Chick]

This morning, I ran a sub 8 minute mile for the very first time (7:58, to be precise)!!!! then I slowed down, and ended up averaging 8:49 over the whole 3.5 miles. That's a new best also, by a long shot.

Now, if spring would just get here for real....

Woo Hoo! Good for you!

[WindingRoad]

Well I have been getting bored with the same routine so I mixed it up today. Me and my best friend (who is a walker) went out on the trail together. The scheme was I run out 8 minutes and back 2 minutes while she walks my way. When we meet we do pilates: (roll ups, cork screws, scissors and leg lifts) and repeat. We met 4 times for pilates sessions and did 3 sets of each exercise with 8 reps. I ended up with 5 miles and OMG what a workout. I would have her run for a minute with me very slow to get her some intervals in too. I am so shocked how sore my quads are now. It ended up being a great workout for both of us which is awesome since we enjoy getting together. :)

[Susan Otcenas]

My 12 mile run became a 10 mile run this a.m. I've run 25 miles in 4 days and I'm pooped. I need a serious nap.

[HillSlugger]

I had a right Achilles problem start back in June, kept running through July, and then shut it down completely. Started PT in September and then started back toward running in October. I've been taking it very slowly and gently. The heel feels OK, but my legs feel dead and running is a huge drag. On Monday at my tri club meeting there was a demo for a new running shoe concept called Somnio Running Shoes (http://www.somniorunning.com/). There's a base shoe that has many insert option combinations to account for pronation, arch height, etc. My running is so bad right now that I'm willing to give this a try (with a 30 day money back guarantee). My immediate thoughts were that they feel very different from my motion control New Balance with a custom orthotic; not sure yet if it's good different or bad different. They definitely feel springier than my current shoes but that could mean that my current shoes are dead (even though they only have about 150 miles on them). My first run this week will be Friday. I wore them all day to start getting used to them. They are definitely tweaking my feet and legs in a different way and they have my right knee feeling a little "strained". So, should I run them on Friday?

[OakLeaf]

I have a cold. I keep reading that it's okay to do an easy workout with a not-too-bad-cold, but that just isn't my experience. I thought I was being too much of a wuss and I'd give it a test on Tuesday even though I had the pinpoint scratchiness in the back of my sinus that's the way URIs always start for me. Within two hours of the end of my run, my entire respiratory system was burning, and it's only gotten worse. It's not too awful, but it's bad enough, and I'm just not going to run today. So there. :o

MD... I would think that if those shoes are a radical adjustment, you're going to need to ease into them just as you would with orthotics or barefoot running. Half a mile to start with... What I've been doing with barefooting is doing a little at the end of some of my shod runs or on active rest days.

[spindizzy]

Treadmill Tabata again.
WU 15 minutes, then some stretches
10% grade, 7 mph
20 sec run, 10sec rest X8 (total of 4 minutes of work)
5 minute easy run
Repeat
Cool down
Then off to CrossFit for a workout.

[HillSlugger]

MD... I would think that if those shoes are a radical adjustment, you're going to need to ease into them just as you would with orthotics or barefoot running. Half a mile to start with... What I've been doing with barefooting is doing a little at the end of some of my shod runs or on active rest days.

So, should I step back from the 2.5 miles I'm doing and start over? :(

[Bike Chick]

4 miles this evening and I'm sitting in the recliner with ice packs on my legs. Ibuprofen and ice are easing the soreness and inflammation. I go for a massage tomorrow evening and am running a 5K Saturday. I'm halfway through my HM training schedule and the next 6 weeks look grueling. I'm starting to get discouraged and am wondering if I am going to be able to do it or if I'm just too old to be trying this. I'm pretty bummed.

Oak, I hope you get to feeling better.

[WindingRoad]

Bike Chick,

I did go through what you are describing last year. My BF who is also a PT suggested I recuperate for a week and not run. All I did was spinning, swimming and walking for that week. The following week I returned to running, started a little lower in miles from where I had left off. I did help, it wasn't 'perfect' but I felt a whole heck of a lot better. I know now part of the issue was I was running on concrete which beats me up terribly. The other part of the issue was that I was a new runner and my bones and joints hadn't kept up with all the new pressure I was putting on them. They needed some extra healing time. I was icing and using ibuprofen too but sometimes your body needs extra recuperation time. I hope you start feeling better, don't be bummed you are doing great but maybe you should take it easy for a week and heal.

[WindingRoad]

As I up my miles I notice I'm getting super cold lately? The higher my miles get the colder I get. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this too?

[limewave]

As I up my miles I notice I'm getting super cold lately? The higher my miles get the colder I get. Just curious if anyone else has experienced this too?

I have been increasing the intensity of my workouts and my runs. I've noticed I've been getting terrible chills afterwards.

Sometimes its so bad that after I've showered, put on thick socks, 2 heavy shirts, long underwear, drinking hot tea . . . I'll still need to draw a hot steamy bath or run a space heater directly on me.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have had the chills too, I have to draw a hot bath.

I did my first true trail run today, 5 +/- miles at one of local mountain bike spots. It was fun, a bit hard. Some twisty single track, rocky hills, some roots and creeks. But it was also a great change of pace. :)

[colby]

You gals have had a productive week so far!

I was traveling this week and it was pretty rough. The hotel we stayed at had a co-operative gym membership last year that let us go to an actual gym, but discontinued it sometime since then. That left us with their "fitness center" - 1 treadmill, 1 elliptical, 1 recumbent bike, free weights, weight bench, and weight machine, all in a space the size of a small hotel room. Close quarters, humid, and usually you had to compromise or wait for the equipment you wanted.

I only wore FiveFingers the whole time I was traveling (it was a conference where we were on the expo floor with other software/hardware vendors giving demonstrations of our stuff), except when we went out to our nicer dinners and I'd have got the stinkeye for doing so. I stood in my Sprints all day, and exercised in my KSOs in the mornings. Elliptical the first day (treadmill busy), bike the second day, and treadmill today. Because I'm not used to standing all day and we ate late dinners, I was not able to stick to my normal schedule and just tried to get the time in and be close to the schedule rather than stress about not doing the exact program for 3 days. It was my first time wearing them on the treadmill, which took some adjusting. I was tired and it was a weird treadmill, so I just tried to relax and get the workout in.

Anyway, this weekend is either 12 miles or an easy week re-test of my perceived effort scale, which I will probably run in the VFFs since I only had one other run in them and feel pretty good. In my long run on Sunday (the 28th), I wore shoes for about 11 miles. I am looking forward to being able to run in the FiveFingers almost all the time, especially while I get over whatever it is that bothers my heel so much in shoes.

[Crankin]

You guys humble me.
I keep trying to get back to running; my back/hip hurts no matter what I do, but the yoga up dogs that Knott recommended helps a lot.
I did one of my regular interval run/walks on the treadmill this week. Forty minutes, with 5 intervals of running, for 2 minutes at a 9:57 pace. The rest is walking at 4.0 at various elevations. I found that I no longer am feeling like my breathing is really labored when running at this pace. Not sure why, maybe the winter training on the bike, core work, combined with the x country skiing.
This weekend is the beginning of the outdoor riding season for me. I really want to run outdoors this afternoon, but I don't want to compromise my body for riding. It seems no matter what kind of stretching I do, I am really sore and tired after running.

[limewave]

Another 7-miler for me today. With 3 acceleration strides. So happy to see the sunshine again this week. I do love winter, but I'm ready for SUN!

[Jolt]

I have been increasing the intensity of my workouts and my runs. I've noticed I've been getting terrible chills afterwards.

Sometimes its so bad that after I've showered, put on thick socks, 2 heavy shirts, long underwear, drinking hot tea . . . I'll still need to draw a hot steamy bath or run a space heater directly on me.

That happens to me too! Except mine involves painful white fingers (Raynaud's syndrome) in addition to general coldness--really not fun. I'm ready for spring...

[Crankin]

It was so nice this afternoon when I got home, I did go for a run. No Garmin and I didn't even look at the time when I left. I did 3.2 miles. A third of a mile warm up, then intervals of running and walking, with a lot more running than walking until I was within a half a mile of home. Then the intervals got shorter and closer together. I stretched with the foam roller and did the up dogs when I got home. The hip is moderately cranky, but mostly the same as it always is. I went to the store after I showered and felt zonked. Came home and had a glass of wine and relaxed. Dinner revived me, but I am ready for bed at 8:50.

[WindingRoad]

It was gorgeous out this evening not to mention almost 50 degrees when I headed out :D I intended to do a very slow easy run but got a little outta control with the weather and all and ended up with 3 or 4 speed intervals in there. I cut myself off at 4 miles though b/c I have been increasing mileage this week and Sunday I want to do a 7 miler for my long run.

Oh... started commuting again (2 - 3 days so far), OMG I forgot how much my bike weighs when she's loaded, yikes. Of course it didn't help I ran into some cycling friends on the way home Thursday night who were going to the local brewery and I couldn't resist. I'm trying to ride with people on their cross bikes and mountain bikes with slicks on my lead butt commuter. So needless to say my quads are shot right now. But the beer was great. :)

[Bike Chick]

Bike Chick,

I did go through what you are describing last year. My BF who is also a PT suggested I recuperate for a week and not run. All I did was spinning, swimming and walking for that week. The following week I returned to running, started a little lower in miles from where I had left off. I did help, it wasn't 'perfect' but I felt a whole heck of a lot better. I know now part of the issue was I was running on concrete which beats me up terribly. The other part of the issue was that I was a new runner and my bones and joints hadn't kept up with all the new pressure I was putting on them. They needed some extra healing time. I was icing and using ibuprofen too but sometimes your body needs extra recuperation time. I hope you start feeling better, don't be bummed you are doing great but maybe you should take it easy for a week and heal.

Winding, thanks for the encouragement. It's just good to hear I'm not the only one. I started thinking it's all my age (51) but I'm realizing it's because I'm a beginner too. I think part of it is the weather as well. Once the sun starts shining and it warms up a little, I will get to feeling better.

This is my step-back week so that's good. I only run a 5k today and then I'm going to rest my legs until Tuesday.

Crankin, hang in there girl. We sound like we are in the same boat.

[indigoiis]

Yay! After three weeks recovering from that darned sprain, I finally ran today! 2.6 miles easy peasy in the Brooks with no pain! Yay!

[skhill]

The other day I noticed that the house where I grew up, on the other side of town, is just over 6.5 miles from where I live now. How perfect-- I'm getting ready for a half, and there and back will put me at 13+ miles. So this morning I did it. With a couple detours to check out the old neighborhood, it came out to just under 14 miles, in 2:12 (but I paused my watch when I checked out the playground at my old grade school-- the geodesic dome is still there, and still fun to climb on!).

It's 3 weeks till my first half-marathon, and finally I'm confident that I can do this!

And wouldn't it be cool if there were adult-sized playgrounds somewhere? It'd be a great workout, climbing on the monkey bars and all that...

[Aggie_Ama]

Skhill - It is 3 weeks until my half too! I am scheduled for a 12 mile run but am going to do the whole hike/bike trail I run which is 6.75 miles each way. I need the confidence that I can do the full distance. After today it is already taper time.

[Bike Chick]

Good luck to both of you, Skhill and Aggie. My first one is 6 weeks away. Be sure to post the outcome. I want to hear the details.

I ran 3 this morning and then put those sore legs on the bike and rode 20 miles. It sure did feel a lot better;)

[colby]

Somewhere around 7-7.5 miles today in the five fingers, nothing to write home about. Took my dog out for 3 miles of it, she did really well. I ran some with her on grass where the path ran next to grass worth running on. Running in grass is MUCH easier with the five fingers. Was supposed to be my bike day, but I'll trade them. Not a big deal. The weather was perfect for both today but I felt more like running.

Off to celebrate my brother's 17th birthday... I feel old. ;)

[Aggie_Ama]

I only did 12 miles after all. Didn't realize the new extension of the trail was all concrete, my hip could only take about 1/2 to 3/4 of it. There was a neat thing I saw in the concrete which kept me distracted. The trail cuts between a pond and a creek with woods and a prairie separating them. The animals must of continued business as usual while the concrete was wet as the trail now has tracks from them. I noted geese, ducks, raccoons, dog like prints (assumed coyote and fox) and another bird print I think may have been the blue herons that love the lake. It was cute to me. :) On the opposite end of the trail there are leaf prints from the trees the are over the concrete paths. The rest of the trail is mostly crushed granite which is much more tolerable on the knees and hips.

For the rest of the training I am going to switch to running on the road so my body doesn't scream when I do the race on asphalt.

[colby]

The trail cuts between a pond and a creek with woods and a prairie separating them. The animals must of continued business as usual while the concrete was wet as the trail now has tracks from them. I noted geese, ducks, raccoons, dog like prints (assumed coyote and fox) and another bird print I think may have been the blue herons that love the lake. It was cute to me. :) On the opposite end of the trail there are leaf prints from the trees the are over the concrete paths.

The animal and leaf tracks sound really cool! I bet you could distract yourself over the course of several runs with them. ;) But, really, if you're going to pave a trail, why not pave it with something more forgiving like asphalt? :( I can really tell the difference when I run without regular shoes, I assume I'm feeling it when I'm in shoes, too, but not so directly.

[WindingRoad]

I did it, I dunno how cuz I felt pretty lousy today (girl stuff). I got my long run in today. Did 8.25 according to my Garmin which I dunno if that's actually right. I haven't bought a new one yet :( I really hope it is though:) I ran for an hour and 20 minutes.

[colby]

I did it, I dunno how cuz I felt pretty lousy today (girl stuff). I got my long run in today. Did 8.25 according to my Garmin which I dunno if that's actually right. I haven't bought a new one yet :( I really hope it is though:) I ran for an hour and 20 minutes.

No matter how far, that's a victory worth celebrating. ;)

[Susan Otcenas]

Came home and had a glass of wine and relaxed.

Excellent recovery plan. ;)

Glad to hear you got out on such a beautiful day!

[Susan Otcenas]

Yesterday I ran 6.5 miles of next Sunday's 9.4 mile Shamrock Run course. It's on a route I've never run, and I wanted to know what I was in for. This involved climbing the looooong hill up Terwilliger Blvd, then running back to town via Barbur Blvd. It was quite the climb, but I felt good doing it. I rarely run hills, do this was a big confidence builder for me. I feel pretty good about next weekend's race!

This morning, coach gave me hills repeats.
I did 8 x 1:30 2% 6.4 mph, then 3 x 0:45 at 2% 6.4 mph.
The intervals put me into the bottom of my Zone 4 HR.

Calves are definitely a little sore after yesterday's hilly run and this morning's workout. Feels good!

[Susan Otcenas]

Skhill - It is 3 weeks until my half too! I am scheduled for a 12 mile run but am going to do the whole hike/bike trail I run which is 6.75 miles each way. I need the confidence that I can do the full distance. After today it is already taper time.

I felt the same way before my half last fall. Knowing that you've done it in training will give you lots of confidence that you can go the distance. You're gonna do great!

[WindingRoad]

No matter how far, that's a victory worth celebrating. ;)

Thanks Colby. Sometimes were are our own worst critic I guess.

Eight weeks and counting.:)

[zia]

Completed a half marathon on 2/28. Was naughty and went in the hot tub after, instead of icing as advised. Paying for it, still. Tried to do five miles a few days ago and was miserable and stiff. No more running for a week. Thank goodness I can bike and swim. :) Need to have a recovery strategy for longer distances and not eat/do what feels "good" at the time!

[indigoiis]

2.7 pain-free miles at lunch. YEEEHAAA!

[OakLeaf]

A mile and a half barefoot both yesterday and the day before. Man, was I sore, in a good way. I know this is a little over-enthusiastic, but from the places I'm sore, the previously unused muscles and the imbalances, it sure feels like half the problems in my body come from shoes. Yeesh.

Had to put them on again today for my long run though. "Just" 15 miles, since I just got over that cold plus a busy week with no running and not too much sleep. It was plenty. Back to business now...

[WindingRoad]

Concrete is not my friend. Ran a tad over 4 today downtown and now I feel like I ran 12, ugh. Gonna need to hop on the bike tomorrow to get my legs back to normal now. After I ran my long run Sunday that following Monday morning I went for a nice moderate paced road ride and OMG what a difference that made. My hips weren't hurting, no tender anything after the ride. I usually have sore hips after a long run like that. I just thought it was odd the bike seemed to help so much. Yay more reasons to ride my bike :D Who am I kidding, like I NEED a reason, LOL.

[Bike Chick]

I think that bike ride helped me last Saturday..........at least it helped my state of mind. I was doing something besides running and it felt great and did help my legs. I did 4.5 tonight and my legs are healing I think. They aren't as sore as last week. Let's hope.

[colby]

I think we're technically in the second week of March, but we're flexible ;)

Today I ran 4x 4-5 minute 'gentle' uphill repeats taking me up to my 'zone 4' or LTHR for most of the time. The first few I timed for about 4:15 or 4:30, while the last one I went up and over the hill I was using and it came out to more like 6:00. I think I can, I think I can! After the first one, I had to remind myself that this should hurt and to exert more effort, and I made it much farther on the subsequent climbs.

Next run on Thursday....

[limewave]

8 easy miles for me on Sunday. The weather was beautiful! I should have worn shorts.

Tomorrow I'm doing my long run, as my running partner will be gone again this weekend and we had to move it up. 14 miles. Ready or not . . .

[Bike Chick]

3 miles tonight - in shorts! Woo Hoo!

[WindingRoad]

REALLY should have left that concrete alone Tuesday... legs are still tweeky from that. Ran tonight but never did feel great, legs were eeky, creeky, tweeky poo! Gonna rest tomorrow maybe go for another bike ride. What a week! Thank God spring break has arrived, I have big plans to do nothing, and I plan to do as much of that as humanly possible :D And run of course...

[indigoiis]

3.5 tonight and still pain free... the patience has paid off. :)

[Grog]

Had a 25 km run on the weekend, which felt fine. Massage on Monday, then a spectacular (although really short) run on Tuesday night. Which is special because I always feel awful when I run in the evening. Then tonight I had a running date with a new potential running partner at the track. It was pouring rain and I had to go there directly after work so I was carrying a few things in my pockets, not my favourite set up. Anyway, she stood me up. Never showed up. There I ran, alone on the track in the pouring rain, carrying my phone in my hands.

I was not impressed.

The workout was fine though. But, as my husband says, maybe this will be the running partner that wasn't. :( (Our first date she canceled the night before due to an unforeseen event.)

[colby]

Mile repeats today - 3 mile repeats with 1/2 mile jog between. Whew. I passed a lady pushing a baby jogger and she commented that she was running so slow, I told her "it all counts!" I wish I'd have said "I'm not pushing a baby jogger" or something else, I don't want her to feel bad - I want her to keep running. ;)

Learning about my feet in the FiveFingers. I have been trying to land on the meaty part of my foot with my right foot, rather than rolling onto my toe, which I have found pulls on the inside of my thigh and my hip differently - interesting, considering I injured my hip, not sure if this is new muscle memory from the recovery or a part of the injury we never actually resolved. It does feel like the callous is less of a callous and less tender, so I think I am going the right direction.

Lately (a couple months) I've been having problems knocking my left ankle out of alignment, but it seems to be better in the FiveFingers than it is in shoes. After running on it correctly and stretching my calves well, it seems to draw itself back to where it should be, but still doesn't want to stick.

When I run in shoes, I think I may need to go back to the shoes 1/2 size bigger again. That said, I did all 3 of my runs this week in FiveFingers (about 20 miles), and 2 of the 3 last week (more like 8 miles, but not my long run). I will do my long run in them on Sunday and see how I feel for running in them again on Tuesday. I can DEFINITELY feel that the muscle recovery is different than when I first started running in them. My calves feel a little tired, but nothing like it was that first week (and this is my last training day before my rest day, when my muscles are usually a little tired anyway).

[Bike Chick]

4.5 last night............The legs are doing better but my ankles sure are sore this morning. It seems I get over one pain problem and another one starts. I guess this is all part of beginning running. Do you ever get to the point where you stop hurting?

[limewave]

Running has not gone well for me this week.

I attempted a 14-mile run Wednesday night. About 6 miles in I experienced intense side pain. It did not diminish when I walked, tried different breathing techniques, stretching, moving my arms around, etc.

I guessed it was a ovarian cyst (I've had these before). In all my brilliance, I decided to just keep running until it ruptured then the pain would go away. And sure enough, the pain became very severe and then disappeared.

But by mile 11 I was starting to feel nauseous and had to quit my run.

Yesterday, the side pain came back. I notice it when I'm walking or running up and down the stairs. I tried running early this AM, but the the pain in my side became too intense and had to walk.

I made a dr. appt for Monday :(

[OakLeaf]

Yow, ((((limewave)))) hope it turns out to be nothing serious and goes away quick! :(

5.25 for me today, in the rain. I've been really struggling with motivation... I might not be able to run the marathon I've been training for all winter, and that's made it hard for me to want to run at all. Even though nothing's definite and I might still be able to run. The break in my training for the cold I had last week, and the Bike Week houseguests, was all it took to really set me back.

Anyway, once I got out, it felt good, and unsurprisingly, I'm feeling less depressed now too. First time I'd run in the rain in a long time. Once again, this is one of those rare occasions when I'm glad they put the laundry rooms in the garages around here ... I could just strip off my wet things as soon as I came in the door. ;)

[Grog]

I guessed it was a ovarian cyst (I've had these before). In all my brilliance, I decided to just keep running until it ruptured then the pain would go away. And sure enough, the pain became very severe and then disappeared.


Wow, your pain threshold is amazing. When I had cysts that burst, I just couldn't do anything but sit down wherever I happened to be at that time, fold my body in two, and cry.

[limewave]

Wow, your pain threshold is amazing. When I had cysts that burst, I just couldn't do anything but sit down wherever I happened to be at that time, fold my body in two, and cry.

There wasn't much to do about it as I was on a run and not anywhere close to home when they happened. I kept going.

I'm sure if I would have been at home, I would have been rolling on the floor in pain.:(

[hammertime]

got in a few 5 mile runs this week...

Today I think I'll run 6:D I love running on Saturday when I have the whole day ahead of me... free. Some errands to do afterwards, and then come home and clean this messy crazy house, LOL!!

[hammertime]

4 miles this evening and I'm sitting in the recliner with ice packs on my legs. Ibuprofen and ice are easing the soreness and inflammation. I go for a massage tomorrow evening and am running a 5K Saturday. I'm halfway through my HM training schedule and the next 6 weeks look grueling. I'm starting to get discouraged and am wondering if I am going to be able to do it or if I'm just too old to be trying this. I'm pretty bummed.

Oak, I hope you get to feeling better.

Bikechick... reading back a few posts here. You'll be fine!!! The thing about racing is you can do it as your own pace!! You don't have to run it in any certain time, you just need to finish! :)

When you're out there doing the HM, don't get distracted about who's running next to you, who's running faster, slower, etc... just listen to your body, listen to how your legs feel, listen to your breathing and adjust your running so "you" are comfortable to go the distance. I have done countless races and I know the 'zone' I need to be in to go the distance. When you're out there training... listen to your body, and find what is 'comfortable' for you... and keep that in your memory... that's how you race, that's how you make it to the end... especially when you are beginning.

Good luck, you will be fine!!, one mile at a time my friend! :D:)

[skhill]

At the last minute, I decided to do this little 3k. After all, it's a fundraiser for habitat for humanity and the t-shirt's cool! And I hadn't raced 3k before, so it was a guaranteed PR.

I had a great time (now that it's over)! I really had no idea of how fast I could do such a short little distance, so I went in without a goal time. I ended up with a chip time of 14:42, gun time of 14:55, and 4th in my age group! And I finished 202 out of 1560, overall.

The (somewhat) disappointing thing is that I absolutely could have been faster. I only glanced at the course map, and thought the finish line was 2 blocks further down the road than it was. So instead of really upping my pace for the last 3 blocks, it was only a 1 block kick.... Still probably wouldn't have ended up 3rd (she was nearly 30 seconds ahead of me), but I for sure would have broken into the top 200. Oh well. Putting it in proportion, last year I thought about doing the race but didn't because I wasn't sure I could run that far...

We had bagpipers at the start line, prizes for best costumes (the kid dressed as a leperchaun was especially cute), and lots of men and boys running in kilts. Maybe it's weird, but I find reasonably fit, good-looking guys in kilts to be incredibly sexy....

[hammertime]

At the last minute, I decided to do this little 3k. After all, it's a fundraiser for habitat for humanity and the t-shirt's cool! And I hadn't raced 3k before, so it was a guaranteed PR.

I had a great time (now that it's over)! I really had no idea of how fast I could do such a short little distance, so I went in without a goal time. I ended up with a chip time of 14:42, gun time of 14:55, and 4th in my age group! And I finished 202 out of 1560, overall.

The (somewhat) disappointing thing is that I absolutely could have been faster. I only glanced at the course map, and thought the finish line was 2 blocks further down the road than it was. So instead of really upping my pace for the last 3 blocks, it was only a 1 block kick.... Still probably wouldn't have ended up 3rd (she was nearly 30 seconds ahead of me), but I for sure would have broken into the top 200. Oh well. Putting it in proportion, last year I thought about doing the race but didn't because I wasn't sure I could run that far...

We had bagpipers at the start line, prizes for best costumes (the kid dressed as a leperchaun was especially cute), and lots of men and boys running in kilts. Maybe it's weird, but I find reasonably fit, good-looking guys in kilts to be incredibly sexy....

Nice job skhill!!

As for me, 6 miles on the treadmill today. Waiting for the boyfriend to get home from work, and I think we're doing pizza and a few beers tonight :)

[OakLeaf]

Way to go skhill! That's a terrific time. :)

9 x 1 minute intervals for me, then a mile and a half barefoot. My feet are definitely getting stronger... and walking back home on the asphalt gets a little less painful every time. :D

[indigoiis]

Ran 3.5 on Thursday and 3.12 today... slowly but steadily getting back on track.

[WindingRoad]

Well I have to feel a bit of a setback after today and my recalibration experience. Come to find out most of my long runs have been about a half mile over and my pace too high. Ugh. :( Wind in my sails officially deflated.

BUT!!! I still went out and ran a true 5.5 miles today in the rain and averaged about 10:30 per mile. Felt pretty good after run even though it was tough getting my pride stomped on :rolleyes: