New Year of Running - 1/1/11 - 1/15/11

[OakLeaf]

I'll start! :D

I'm feeling better little by little, and I probably would've been dealing with the heat and humidity better today if last night hadn't been New Year's Eve. :cool: Not that I partied all that hard or stayed up all that late, and in fact our celebration wound up including a 2.5 mile walk under the stars with some friends, but just enough alcohol that I know about it today. :rolleyes:

Just 3.7 today, but I'm really grateful I'm able to run at all. It isn't really a "resolution," because I hope to be back on the bike within a week, or two at the most, but I plan to use my time on IR to develop better running discipline.

[limewave]

Started off the New Year with a PR. 7:59/mile for the 10k distance!

[OakLeaf]

Wow Lime, that's terrific! Congratulations. :D

[HillSlugger]

I start my new triathlon training plan on Monday with a 3 mile, easy run.

[7rider]

I really need to sign up for an event so I can have some training with a focus. That worked so well for me for the Celtic Solstice race and I have been aimless and lazy since. My friend Pam dragged me out for 4 flat miles today. My first run (I did walk 2.5 recently) outside since the race.

But this "okay, I'll run twice a week to maintain form and fitness" just won't cut it for me. Part of it is the lack of motivation to wake up at 5:30 to go for a morning run in the dark. Why????

So if any MD folks know of any good 5k or 5-milers in - oh, say mid-March, let me know!!

[indigoiis]

Hi all... I had a great week. I raced yesterday, the "hangover classic" and got 4th in my age group. It was my third best race pace (8:24) and I think/KNOW I can do better. But I'm still fairly happy with it as 3rd in my age group was 7:35! Today I did 6 at 9:04 with hills. 98% of my issues are in my head, I know. Well that and the 10 lbs I could stand to lose. LOL.
Off tomorrow but will probably ride to the bus.

[indigoiis]

Oh yeah, 7 I forgot to mention I like your reference to the song from Godspell - I knew it immediately as I read it!

[OakLeaf]

3.8, plus a quarter-mile walk break after 3. I'm still feeling pretty beat up. The spot below my sternum was bothering me today even without the HR strap - not sure if the bra band irritates it (no going without that), or if it's the movements of running themselves.

I've looked at anatomy charts but I really can't figure out what it is that I bruised in there. I'm guessing the pleura - I feel it in my lungs/bronchi/throat, but I'm not having any coughing or trouble breathing that would suggest the lungs themselves are bruised.

[colby]

I did go for a run yesterday, 4 miles or so with my dog. It has been very cold here, highs in the single to low double digits (F), not really inspiring for running and I was avoiding the treadmill as my Ironman training season begins, well, today, and I hate to use up my tolerance on optional days ;) It was sunny and a crisp but comfortable 20 degrees when we went out.

We're back in the 20s now and insulated with clouds for a few days (the clear sky and sun FEELS warmer but doesn't do much for the temperature overnight). Hopefully some of the ice melts, it's a little treacherous right now. We basically had 10-14" of snow in less than 24 hours and then it got very cold, they plowed most things in the middle of the snow but anything left on the ground froze up and temps too cold to thaw it (or it just re-freezes overnight into a new less attractive shape). Yuck.

[GLC1968]

Great job limewave and indgoiis!

I did my first run of 2011 today. 4.95 miles in 54 minutes. It felt pretty comfortable and I'm looking forward to another 3-4 miles tomorrow.

[indigoiis]

Oak - have you ever had any lumps removed? I did, right at the bra line, years ago, and have scar tissue there now (it's amazing how much scar tissue for the tiniest little incision) and I found it helpful to snip the elastic on all my bras in 4 places: between the girls, under each arm, and in the middle of the back. I snip it only up to the seam - not all the way through. Works wonders.

I had a scheduled 4 miler today. I felt klunky. The line from "Elf" kept playing in my head, "let's face it. I'm just a cotton-headed ninny muggins." That's kind of how I felt. Plus, it was 20 degrees for the first time in days, we went out later than I wanted to so there were more cars (and I hate cars. I don't know why but the headlights bother me - the way they sloowwwwwly drive by - even though I'm lit up like Vegas) and of course, when I'm slow and running with Tom, I feel like I'm really slowing him down. It makes me kind of pissy. All in all a 1 out of 5 on the joy scale. I told him tomorrow I need to run the intervals scheduled by myself.

[skhill]

Had an unexpected moment on this morning's run-- while passing an elementary school, the crossing guard stopped traffic for me. Nice!

5 miles, including a couple laps on the track at the former high school, and it felt like a slog. I think I was going too fast... but I find it hard to slow down when it's so cold.

[katluvr]

I haven't been here for a while. Running has been intermittant, but I have kept up a few runs through the holidays.
Goal was to run 5 miles on New Years day...let's just say I celebrated a bit too much and hand a long walk instead. So Jan. 2nd was a slow and easy 7 miler. Longest run since my 1/2back in Nov. I am planning on bumping up to 9 tomorrow. Again nice and slow. My next 1/2 in Feb will be at an easy pace with my sister, so just trying to log miles and work off holiday pounds. I have a semi-training schedule on the fridge!
It was muggy and warm this weekend. I did like the cool/cold (for FL) morning runs I did in Dec, but hate the cool/cold days. Tomorrow should be 50's.
K

[OakLeaf]

@Indigo - thanks, but no, this is directly below my sternum. I don't even know whether it's properly "chest" or "abdomen." Diaphragm, pleura, fascia, I really don't know, but it pulls and irritates my lungs rather than hurting on the surface.

I took a pretty hard shot there. I remember everything except the actual moment of impact (which, that moment of traumatic amnesia is normal for me), but I was pretty dazed and don't have a good sense of the passage of time - but anyway, when the squad got there they put me on oxygen. I didn't feel like I needed it by then, but maybe I was still having trouble breathing when they first got there, however long that was.

It's been long enough that I am frustrated - two weeks today - but I know from experience :rolleyes: how long soft tissue injuries take to heal, and I can't realistically expect to be all healed up "inside" when I still have a few scabs and visible bruising on my hands. I'm just reallyreallyreally thankful it wasn't worse. And that I run, because from the half-pecan-sized lump that will be on my chin for a while yet, I might've broken my neck if I didn't have good bones.

So anyway, I just did two miles today, for the sake of getting out there and sweating and the "discipline" I mentioned before.

[limewave]

@Indigo - thanks, but no, this is directly below my sternum. I don't even know whether it's properly "chest" or "abdomen." Diaphragm, pleura, fascia, I really don't know, but it pulls and irritates my lungs rather than hurting on the surface.

I took a pretty hard shot there. I remember everything except the actual moment of impact (which, that moment of traumatic amnesia is normal for me), but I was pretty dazed and don't have a good sense of the passage of time - but anyway, when the squad got there they put me on oxygen. I didn't feel like I needed it by then, but maybe I was still having trouble breathing when they first got there, however long that was.

It's been long enough that I am frustrated - two weeks today - but I know from experience :rolleyes: how long soft tissue injuries take to heal, and I can't realistically expect to be all healed up "inside" when I still have a few scabs and visible bruising on my hands. I'm just reallyreallyreally thankful it wasn't worse. And that I run, because from the half-pecan-sized lump that will be on my chin for a while yet, I might've broken my neck if I didn't have good bones.


Could you have possibly knocked out one of your ribs? I'm just throwing it out there. Some of my ribs get pulled out and I have to have them popped back in. It makes it very difficult to run and sometimes bike when they are out. It hurts to breathe and aches.

[OakLeaf]

They x-rayed my chest at the ER and didn't find anything. There's really no pain, nothing feels out of place; it only bothers me when I run, but that's the only thing I've been doing that makes me breathe hard, so I don't have a good sense whether it's the abdominal muscles or the respiratory system that's bothering it.

It'll heal. Everything else is ... it's just taking time. :(

[indigoiis]

Oh, Oak. Duh me. I forgot about your fall.
My friend broke some ribs earlier this year and the docs told her to do deep breathing exercises so she wouldn't develop pneumonia.

[limewave]

5 mile tempo run. Kind of. The roads are pretty slick, so not as much tempo as I had planned.

[OakLeaf]

3.7 for me today and my chest feels much, much better. I had a lot of fatigue in the upper abdominal muscles, but I'll take that.

[Crankin]

Running is on hold. I'm definitely having a flare up of whatever no one can figure out I have. I had a slight sinus thing, and I think impact stuff like running just exacerbates my physical weirdness things. Not giving up yet. I started feeling much better this afternoon, but I even stayed off of the treadmill and trainer. I have a tough interval workout on the trainer tomorrow. Hope to get back to running by the end of next week.
But, on the way home, I saw a guy running up Strawberry Hill Rd, right at the narrow curve in the road. He was dressed in all black, no lights or reflective gear, running with the traffic. Oy. It's the second time I've seen him. Guess he has a death wish to do this on a narrow, country road with tons of rush hour, cut through traffic. I went for a walk yesterday at around the same time and had my head lamp on, just in my neighborhood.

[Bike Chick]

Could you have possibly knocked out one of your ribs? I'm just throwing it out there. Some of my ribs get pulled out and I have to have them popped back in. It makes it very difficult to run and sometimes bike when they are out. It hurts to breathe and aches.

Lime, I have problems with this too and it does hurt. Oak, my doctor told me it could happen from just leaning across the side of the bathtub so it's possible your accident knocked some ribs out of place if nothing showed up on the x-rays. I do hope you heal soon.

Still no running for me. I tried to run New Year's Eve and all I could manage was a hobble. The tendonitis is no better. I've made an appointment with my doctor for next week. Man, I hate going back!

[skhill]

The weather over the weekend looks pretty icky for running, so I got up extra extra early to get in my long run this morning. It was great! The snow started falling within my first mile, and kept falling lightly the whole time. 9 miles, slow enough that I could have gone a couple more if I'd had the time. And I was greeted at my front door by my dog, demanding his walk, so we had a pleasant cool-down at elderly dog pace....

[colby]

Just a couple of 30 minute runs this week, still able to entertain my dog for the time being until my hard work begins. ;) Wet, snow on the ground still, but not as cold. First week in about a month I've worked out every single day, my metabolism already remembers what this is about and is getting fired up. I really need to have my BMR and stuff measured to figure out what I should be eating and how much, I just don't feel like I've got it right.

[emily_in_nc]

Two treadmill runs this week -- 2.75 miles on Wed. and 3.5 miles today. Not very exciting, but hopefully helpful w/the 4 lbs. I gained over the holidays and keeping the bones/heart healthy!

[HillSlugger]

I ran on the treadmill yesterday. My coach gave me this insane workout that alternated 20 second incline intervals (3@7.5, 3@10, 3@12.5) with 2 minutes of walking. The instructions were to do the walking off the treadmill but I couldn't figure out how to do that. I hate the treadmill! :p

[OakLeaf]

Four and a quarter windy miles. I'm feeling lots better - going to wait another couple of days before I try to put the HRM back on, though.

[yellow]

Oak, sorry to hear about your mishap and glad to hear that you are getting better. That "gradual" part always sux, huh?

I am still out here running. I ran quite a bit in November, only a few times in December (did a lot of Nordic skiing), and am now back on a running program. I'm still telling myself that I can Nordic ski on my 2nd day of longer back-to-backs. I will need to switch it over to running in a month or so, though (or both).

So far I am committed to events in March, April (with SadieKate!), and June. Probably also going to do one in May as a training run for the June event. And if all goes well then maybe an event in August, too. We'll see; the farthest I've run since surgery is about 18 miles. I should be fine to train for farther, but ???? I'm having some issues with my left leg, but the docs are pretty confident it has nothing to do with the surgery (um, yay?). I'm just going to take it a week at a time.

Happy running, all!

[Crankin]

I finally got on the treadmill yesterday. Back to starting all over, basically, but I felt fine after Friday's intense interval work out on the trainer, so i thought all was OK. I did 30 minutes of hill walking intervals, interspersed with 3 intervals of 2 minutes of very slow running.
Within 3 hours, I started feeling not quite as good. I am not sure what it is about impact exercise that sets me off. I am sort of OK this morning, but not 100%. Probably going to hike. Grrr.

[indigoiis]

Since Tuesday, the cruddy day, I ran;

Wed. 7 x .3 mile hills plus the 7 x .3 back down the hills. There was a cop at the bottom, the steepest part of the grade, sitting watching traffic. He probably thought I was weird. It worked out to 4.35 and it was hard.

Thurs.: 3.4 in the city. Nice run. Faster.

Fri.: off

Sat.: 5.25 with DH, kinda slow.

Sun.: 11.77 with DH on after-snow-plow roads, with slush and ice, and stupid cars that drive too close and spray you when they hit puddles. Faster than I thought.

[skhill]

Enough winter already! Monday was 5 miles on the treadmill, today 7. The mp3 player makes it more tolerable, as do the VFFs, but still... With the forecast for the rest of the week, I just might be doing a long run on the treadmill this weekend...

[HillSlugger]

I've got another treadmill hell workout tomorrow, like last week but faster!

[emily_in_nc]

4 miles on the treadmill today - my longest ride in maybe a year or close to it? Coolio! :D

[limewave]

6.5 "easy" miles for me yesterday. I started going to a group trainer ride on Tuesday nights. It's brutal. My legs feel like jello that night and lead the next day. I'm dually training for a 25k run and a 35 mile mountain bike race.

[GLC1968]

I've been blowing off my runs lately for some reason, but last night I started up again. I did an easy 5K+ on the treadmill.

For christmas I got a foot pod for my Garmin. Last night was the first time I tried it on the treadmill. It confirmed my suspicions. Our treadmill is uncalibrated. The belt moves faster than the console indicates. The treadmill would say I was running at a 5.0 (12 min/mile) but my garmin had me at a 10:30 min/mile. Based on running out on the road, the Garmin numbers feel more correct.

My guess is that this is not easily fixable and it might be a good excuse to upgrade our treadmill. ;)

[skhill]

Ah, the treadmill... Today was supposed to be a 10 mile long run, ended up stopping at 9, my longest treadmill run ever. We have a 30 min. limit at the Y, but as long as there are treadmills free, I just reset it and keep going. But 9 miles of that was plenty.

But it's warming up this weekend! so maybe next week will be mainly outside running.

[OakLeaf]

GLC, did you calibrate your footpod on the road first? There was a very large difference between the default calibration and what I came up with when I calibrated mine. I need to do mine again, but I'm holding off until I feel like I'm completely recovered from my crash. I was running really heavy for a while.

I've been walking more than running the past few days (minor stomach issues, cold weather, etc), but my last run yesterday felt MUCH better. I've walked pretty much every day I haven't run, including walking the 2.5 miles each way to the spa for the whole day of pampering DH gave me for Christmas. :) Brisk on the way there, a languorous walk back.

I'm planning intervals for tomorrow and I'm sure I've never looked forward to intervals the way I am these! :D I hope it feels as good as I think it will.

Also, I signed up for the Warrior Dash in Ohio in June. :eek: Some people from my gym are going to do it, and that was the nudge I needed to get me to sign up. It had actually filled up while I was dithering, but they added more waves. It'll be ... something.

[GLC1968]

GLC, did you calibrate your footpod on the road first? There was a very large difference between the default calibration and what I came up with when I calibrated mine. I need to do mine again, but I'm holding off until I feel like I'm completely recovered from my crash. I was running really heavy for a while.

I did. I'd be more skeptical, except that it basically gave me confirmation of what I suspected just based on feel for the past few months anyway. Then I did some research and our particular treadmill is not known for it's ability to last. We've been using it for 8 years now...so I'm not surprised.



Also, I signed up for the Warrior Dash in Ohio in June. :eek: Some people from my gym are going to do it, and that was the nudge I needed to get me to sign up. It had actually filled up while I was dithering, but they added more waves. It'll be ... something.

Cool! I just signed up to do it here (next Sept) and I can't wait! I'll be curious to see how your experience goes.

[colby]

I ran a few times this week, once was on the cross-trainer at the gym (so not really running, but it's not exactly like an elliptical either) for about 50 minutes, today in LA after the sun started to set. I came from 6" of snow to 78 degree days, it's disorienting. And warm. But I got an hour in no less. ;)

[indigoiis]

This week was weird. I had a great 3 mile run on Tuesday afternoon, and then we had a snowstorm Tuesday night and all day Wednesday. I shoveled for three hours on Wednesday (had to shovel parts of the paddocks to boot the animals out.) The snow is deep here so on Thursday the roads had no shoulders, so I felt nervous so I didn't run. Friday I didn't have time. So today I ran 5.2. The roads were slippery from packed down snow, but heck, it was a run.

[indigoiis]

Did a hilly and slip-slushy 8.23 today and really felt good so pushed it. I like when runs go like that!

[limewave]

7-mile snowshoe run. Well, walk-run. There was more running than walking.