Run run run week of October 4th through October 11th

[indigoiis]

Howdy. With the crud weather I have been uninspired, but I was inspired to try a trail run so did today on a rucky rutted road - 2.8 miles and I was slow but had a blast. Ran in the VFFs. No ankle issues. How's everyone else doing?

[Jolt]

Crud weather is right! Tomorrow is supposed to be even ickier but I plan on getting a good hard trail run in anyway--I need one bigtime. This job search is stressing me out beyond belief...it's been one giant demonstration of Murphy's law lately. (Who is this Murphy anyway? I'd like to punch him right now!) I'm about to send a resume for a job in a part of the country that I really didn't even want to consider (a place that sounds like it would be way too hot for me) but that supposedly would consider a new grad interested in cardiology which I am. Still hoping something works out in the Northeast but that may or may not happen. Didn't mean for this post to turn into a vent but that just goes to show how much I need to exhaust myself running tomorrow!

[GLC1968]

We are having nice weather. :o

I did another 3 mile run last night after work. It was cool and breezy and I really enjoyed myself. I ran the first half at basically race pace because I feared I would run out of daylight but as I realized I was fine, backed off quite a bit. I have no idea how long this lovely weather will stick around, but I am making sure I appreciate it while it's here!

[OakLeaf]

We get both. The morning started off crummy (so my friend and I blew off riding and I had to run instead), and by the time I was back from my run, now it's sunny. :)

Three minutes @10K pace/three minutes easy jog x 5, plus WU/CD.

Eleven days to race day. I don't feel ready. :(

[indigoiis]

Jolt - I feel for ya on the job search. Good luck and don't settle.

Oak - you will be ready. Don't forget that your body also needs relaxin' so easy peasy days are good, right?

Me: I wimped on my lunch run because it was pouring. Instead did six sets of 109 stairs in my building.

[kacie tri-ing]

Jolt! Sound like you should go jump over more stuff :p Hot is not too bad! Mean the winters are better :o

Oak! I feel like it is impossible to really feel ready until you are out there! You will be great!

I had a good/hilly 8 miler tonight. Decided that I can't ignore hills between now and IM St. George. Must seek them out whenever possible!

[solobiker]

I ran on one of the local trails. It is about 5 miles long with quite a bit of climbing. My lungs don't like the hills that much so I hope the more I do it the stronger I will become. I always seem to have an easier time with trail running vs road. I think it is because it is far more interesting to run on the trails. I want to increase my running to 3x/ week but I am not sure if my legs will handle that. I used to do a lot of running all through HS and into my 30s. My hamstrings and knees just don't like it that much any more. Hope everyone has a great week!

[Jolt]

Well, I did get out for a run today but it wasn't quite as good as I hoped. Mostly because, as you would probably expect from the weather we've been having, the trails were a slop-fest and therefore slippery, and that made it harder to get into a good rhythm. I also managed to land in a very large, deep puddle when my foot slid out from under me in the slick mud at the bottom :o. (Might as well have gone swimming). Despite the ickiness though, it still felt good to get out and I probably would have stayed out longer had I not been extremely busy today and had to get back and get some things done. Probably a good idea now to give the trails a couple days to dry out before going back there to run...

[WindingRoad]

Hi girls! I haven't forgot about you. Been running just too busy to stop and write about it. The grad school life. :)

[Dogmama]

Today I did 8.05 miles at a blazingly fast pace of 11.5. Working towards a HM in mid-November.

I remember when I started biking - I wasn't fast but I could go pretty far. Like the old song about the girl with the roller skates, "I got a brand new pair of roller skates, you got a brand new key" or something like that. I still can't believe how difficult running is after riding for so long. I know physiologically why but psychologically I keep thinking my inner-wimp is showing. :D

I'm going to try for 3 runs/week. One 5K just for fun, one 6 miler for intervals and one distance run. That's the plan as of today. :p

[Christopher]

Did about 3kms entirely on grass in the local park yesterday. Took about 30 mins including warming up and down. Need to stretch more. The park is far from flat so attempted some interval training up the steep bits, mixed with running on a lovely flat bit next to the river. Was as tired after this as after a 3 hour ride!

Will try and get out into the country more and run the footpaths as I get fitter...

[kacie tri-ing]

I fell on a run last night! I was stupidly dwelling on being afraid of injury and I crashed! Alas, I finished up running!

[OakLeaf]

Ouch Kacie! Hope everything's okay.

I've just been digging out my cool-weather gear and musing on the holes in the palms of my gloves and the knees of my tights. Thinking how falling was such a regular occurrence for me not even a year ago. And how thankful I am for the yoga and the foot and hip exercises that have (so far, touch wood) kept me from falling for several hundred miles, including a BIG stumble around mile 15 at the Cleveland marathon.

[kacie tri-ing]

No problems here :p Just a little cuts and scratches. Mine is all about focus and the places I let my mind wander. My body does not appreciate when I let my mind doubt myself, and I was in a very serious place of self doubt (looking at my next year of work ahead). The last time I fell was on an unpainted speed bump in the dark in a new place. I really believe this one was my body telling my mind to stop doubting my abilities and just get back to work :D

[limewave]

I ran my usual 6.7 mile loop. For fun's sake, I looked up my average pace on that loop for this past year:

Bear Lake Loop
2/28 10:03/m
3/14 10:10/m
4/20 10:20/m
6/6 9:49/m
8/8 9:51/m
9/9 9:14/m
10/8 8:58/m

[OakLeaf]

Lime, that's terrific! What an improvement! :D

[GLC1968]

Limewave - that's an impressive improvement! It's inpsiring!!

I did another 3 mile easy run. I can't believe that I've managed to stay on track with this new plan. Last night it was cloudy and cool (perfect running weather) but for the first couple of minutes of the run, all I wanted to do was stop running and sit down. Odd! I didn't though and it ended up being an enjoyable run.

[skhill]

Today was supposed to be a long run (12 miles or so) and I just totally wasn't feeling it. So I decided to just go 6, and then see how I felt about going on. I'm glad I didn't push it, because after about 3 miles sharp shooting pains started around my left achilles. That's a new one for me. The pain died down after a while, but it got my attention. Ended up going just 5 miles, and the last 2 were quite slow.

BTW, it's not hurting any more, and I've been on my feet all day. I'm hoping it wasn't anything serious....

[OakLeaf]

Ouch. Hope it was just a fluke skhill!

I did not quite 5 at a moderate pace. Eight more days... The race director did an online chat this noon, and reminded me of all the excitement at the start when I ran the half last year. Cleveland had nothing .... It was enough to make me start getting excited - a little - even though I've had something going on with my stomach all week and really hoping it sorts itself out very soon ...

[emily_in_nc]

I finally got to run outside at lunchtime today - perfect weather, 72 with bright sunshine! Only went about 1.5 miles as my right achilles has been a bit tweaked since my last treadmill run (Tuesday), but it was nice just to be running outside since it had been too hot & humid for SO long, then too rainy. Now it's just right, just like baby bear's oatmeal! :D :p

[Bike Chick]

I have a diagnosis on my foot issue and after 3 weeks of no running/cycling, I finally can run again. My first day back in my running shoes was participating in a local biathlon (5k run/17.5 bike) and it felt great to run again. The foot's a little sore this morning but if I nurse it along, I should be able to keep running!! Yeah! BTW, even though I was one of the last one's to finish the run I had a PR--32 minutes. Good for me!

[Bike Chick]

I ran my usual 6.7 mile loop. For fun's sake, I looked up my average pace on that loop for this past year:

Bear Lake Loop
2/28 10:03/m
3/14 10:10/m
4/20 10:20/m
6/6 9:49/m
8/8 9:51/m
9/9 9:14/m
10/8 8:58/m

Great job, Lime! You inspire me! I just dropped to the 10-11 mm range and see that there's hope.

[kacie tri-ing]

Great 12 mile trail run this afternoon. It is SO pretty outside!

[OakLeaf]

Nine for me. It's hot again... supposed to be warm all week.

Who watched the Chicago marathon this morning? Amazing finishes for both Sammy Wanjiru and Lidia Shobukhova, in totally different ways. The cat-and-mouse between the men in the last mile (http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/237467-2010-chicago-marathon/359189-amazing-mens-finish-at-2010-chicago-marathon) was just stunning.

BikeChick, glad your foot's feeling better, and way to go with the PR! :)

[katluvr]

Didn't run much last week, too much fun, bad food & beverages. But did my 8 miler on sat as scheduled. Did first half at comfortable pace, then kicked it up to around a 10 min mile for miles 5,6 & 7. Funny when I passed folks in this running group they thought I was "smoking". I guess when these short legs run a 10 mim mile I must look like I am going much faster! But it was motivating to hear the comments. Cut about 3 mins off my total time compared to the last time I did 8 miles a few weeks ago. So I was happy with that & overall I felt great on the run.
I work this coming up weekend so it is 10 miles for me on wed.
K

[GLC1968]

Did another 3 mile run on Saturday. It was raining but we went anyway. It was actually nice - when it's raining, there aren't too many non-serious exercisers out there so the MUP was nice and quiet. I took my husband with me as well and once again had to hold him back from starting out way too fast. It was a pretty good run overall. It felt good to finish my second week of 3 runs per week. This week, I go to 4. :)

[limewave]

I ran as hard as I could for 3 miles last night. It really helped me pound out some stress :o

[OakLeaf]

I did 4 and change, with the middle part close to race pace. One of the taper plans I was looking at recommended this as a big confidence booster, and I have to agree. It felt so easy when I'm well-rested and well-fed.

Nine more just like that. :)

But I have to re-calibrate my footpod. Should've done that today. I can warm up and do 800 meters tomorrow without messing up my taper, I think. :p

[colby]

I took my (happy) dog and did 45 minutes tonight, a little chilly but not bad. I got back from Europe yesterday and had an acceptable night's sleep but it felt like I was sleeping when I should have been awake. That was followed by my work computer completely DOA (died yesterday) and feeling like I was supposed to be sleeping during the latter half of the day. So, while I felt good, the run told me how I was REALLY feeling - tired. Low heart rate but no desire to go faster. A re-acclimation day.

I'll be spending the rest of the week debating whether I go for the marathon Thanksgiving weekend or postpone to something later than that and just run the half. It's not like I've been entirely slacking - half of my vacation was riding 50+ not-flat miles a day for 5 days and the other half involved 5-10 miles of walking each day - but I haven't been running in a couple of weeks and that shakes me a bit. We'll see how my re-acclimation and long run goes, I might be fine.

Great running this week (and last week, I guess, since technically this is last week's thread), everyone. Stick with it :)

[skhill]

Welcome home, Colby!

Thankfully, the ankle pain that had me worried last Friday hasn't returned. That ankle is always stiff first thing in the morning, and it's been taking longer than usual to loosen up, but no pain. Whew....

Saw something that caught my eye this morning: we have a bunch of highly contested political races around here, and the campaign signs have been sprouting like dandilions. There's one house I went by today that had a passle of signs for democrats and left-leaning candidates (our city offices are non-partisan), but also had a sign for our tea party republican senate candidate. Makes me wonder.... It's also pretty apparent what neighborhoods are primarily republican, and those that are primarily democratic.

Anyway, today was a relaxed 6 miles, somehow with almost all green traffic lights. A good start to the day!

[Bike Chick]

Welcome back, Colby! I get jet lag just flying across one time zone. I can't imagine what it would feel like trying to reaclimate from Europe!

It was 46 degrees this morning! Brrrr! It was cold at first but felt great after the first mile. I did 5 easy miles this morning. It was a confidence builder. If my feet hold up, I will be able to do the half marathon in December.

Good luck this weekend, Oak!!!

[OakLeaf]

Welcome back Colby!

I don't know about you, but I actually get much less jet lag on trips to Europe than I do within the USA. I get good and sleep-deprived on the transatlantic flights, and then it's easy to re-set my biological clock by the sun at my destination. I don't get that option when it's only a two or three hour difference.

Thanks for the good wishes BikeChick! Good luck with your HM training. (On your other thread - it was easy training for a HM and a big bike event simultaneously last year, but I don't know that it's the same thing with triathlon. I do know lots of people who incorporate 5Ks and 10Ks into their long runs, though.)

I re-calibrated my footpod yesterday. I needed to do that since I'd moved it back to my shoelaces, because it was having trouble picking up from the pocket inside my shoe. I ran the prescribed 800 meters "blind" at what I thought was about a 9:00 pace, but it turned out to be 8:14. :rolleyes: My target race pace is 9:20. I wish now that I'd spent more time trying to nail that down, but with my watch to keep me honest, hopefully it won't be too unnatural for my legs.

[GLC1968]

Oak, based on that run if you do your race by RPE, you'll probably set blazing new PR's! ;)

Welcome back, Colby!

I was having some serious stomach distress yesterday (actually, it was lower intestinal distress) and I really, didn't want to run and find myself in the middle of town with no public bathroom in sight. I opted to wait and do my run at home on the treadmill, just in case. I'd forgotten how boring the treamill is! I did manage to get the 3 miles done though. This will be my first 12 mile week, so I'm curious to see how my body handles it.

[colby]

Thanks for the kind welcome, everyone.

I found the most basic sleep schedule reacclimation not too bad, because we did basically as Oak said. We ended up getting SO messed up that we just started over. For a few days, though, I still feel like I'm not sure when I should be eating or what I should be doing, it was like half of me knew it was the middle of the day and the other half thought it was the middle of the night. I just keep sticking with it and each day gets easier. The sun, exercise, and eating schedules all help. It totally reminds me of the run part of a triathlon (of course, because everything connects to a triathlon!) - just keep running even though you feel like mush and eventually your brain/legs will catch up.

I can tell my body's not quite there because today's 1/2 mile repeats were awful. Intensity was okay, but speed was not okay. I can run entire half marathons faster than my 1/2 miles were today. ;) I just continued on the grind until I got all 6 of them done. It feels good to run.

I am switching back and forth between my well-worn KSOs and the Bikila. The Bikila feel maybe 1/2-1 size too long but I can't go any smaller, they also feel narrow. I have to undo all the velcro, I don't need the strap at all, I may need to switch to mens sizing. I can definitely tell the difference in how things feel on the ground between the two shoes. I like that the Bikila don't get my feet wet as fast and have that nice interior lining, but they need to be broken in at the very least and may not be right for my feet.

As an aside, I hope to upload my Italian cycling adventure photos somewhere other than Facebook soon to share with you all. :) I did not get a chance to run, but there were a lot of roads we rode where I thought "this would make for an awesome run." Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time in most of our evenings for me to go back out and run.