January Running: starting the New Year on the right (and left) foot

Good job, Kat! There are several blindingly fast women in that age group here, and I'm hoping for a sudden increase in speed in about 7 years now!

It was all of 15F this morning so back to the treadmill. It should have been a long run but I honestly don't have the mental fortitude for that, so just 5 miles. And I learned a valuable lesson: it's good to pack the gym bag the night before, but not good to put it in the car. My shampoo was frozen solid, and shoes and socks were painfully cold to put on.

Maybe I'll run outside tomorrow, if it's as warm as predicted. In hope of staying healthy I'm avoiding running outside in frigid temps. Still have to walk the dog though, and have been bike commuting as long as it's at least 20F.

Ran 6 megsmiles first thing in the morning. It was dark, peaceful and quiet. Thought of everyone taken by drunk drivers...

I get to exercise today! Our mt bike group is going to do a super easy local ride, very flat, so my husband and I talked it over and decided I am well enough to go. I have not coughed in 3 days, and I am feeling very, very much improved. Everyone knows I have been sick so we are going to take it easy. The guys all did a hard group ride yesterday so they go their fix. I will report back.

Have a good ride, RnR.

Hubs and I had a very nice run yesterday on a snow covered (packed) road. We are (once again) in a pollution inversion cycle in the Salt Lake Valley (ick), so we went up to Park City to run. Gorgeous up there, no smog, and my lungs were much happier. 8 slow miles, with a few walk and stretch breaks (I am still dealing with the high hamstring garbage a little and it was a pretty nice day to just scan the hillsides for elk). My hamstring is a little cranky this AM so I am going to take a day off, although I really want to go skate ski given that we are quickly losing our cover; the skiing is what has kind of fired up the hamstring again, though :(

The pollution inversion doesn't sound like fun, glad there is somewhere you CAN go. Your comment about the high hamstring problem caught my attention, are you doing anything for that outside of not running? I am dealing with a bit of that right now myself. It is getting better, and I try running occasionally 0 getting further and further before it starts acting up so it seems to be working itself out. I am doing some hip mobility work to help encourage this to pass so I can get back to my running conditioning work.

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Originally Posted by yellow

Have a good ride, RnR.

Hubs and I had a very nice run yesterday on a snow covered (packed) road. We are (once again) in a pollution inversion cycle in the Salt Lake Valley (ick), so we went up to Park City to run. Gorgeous up there, no smog, and my lungs were much happier. 8 slow miles, with a few walk and stretch breaks (I am still dealing with the high hamstring garbage a little and it was a pretty nice day to just scan the hillsides for elk). My hamstring is a little cranky this AM so I am going to take a day off, although I really want to go skate ski given that we are quickly losing our cover; the skiing is what has kind of fired up the hamstring again, though :(

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Catrin, I typed a big long response and then my internet crashed and I lost it. I will paraphrase it here.

If your hamstring pain is new and not the result of trauma, then I suspect that it will resolve on its own if you don't run or stretch it for a while. Once it's not hurting, have your trainer show you some hamstring specific strengtheners. Don't stretch an angry hamstring. Just don't.

I think my case is a little different in that I have high hamstring tendinopathy (aka rotten tendons, according to my doc) that mostly stays at a specific pain level. I use one of these, massage it, and do some strengthening exercises that my PT gave me. I choose to keep going with mine, and thus far have not used cortisone (I quit using NSAIDS late last summer). Mine is the result of a hamstring tear at the end of July 2012, which I injured 2 more times in 8 months. For the most part it is manageable, although I did take a couple of months off of running in the fall to give it a break (didn't seem to make a difference, though). It hurts a little when I run but mostly when I sit on it and it is often painful in the morning. I usually ice it right after running if I can. In other words, I do what I can to keep it from getting worse. I did PT for months last year and it had no effect (extremely frustrating). At least it didn't get worse! Skate skiing currently seems to be making it angrier than running, which was not the case least year (last year skate skiing was really all I was doing since I reinjured it in Oct '12 and Jan '13).

It's an odd injury, and I suspect everyone reacts differently to different treatments. Give it a few weeks.

Ran 3 mi for megsmiles yesterday. It was on the dreadmill but still worth it.

I'm glad to see you are feeling better, RnR!
Great race, Kat!
Catrin and Yellow - take care of those hamstrings!!

I actually ran yesterday! A real run...not a little 2 mile jaunt on the treadmill just to say I did something. It was 40F and dry with some sun peaking through, so I went out with a plan to just run. No training plan, no target pace. I was thinking I'd do somewhere between 6 and 8 miles since those are my favorite routes but when I hit 1 mile and my left foot (not the injured one!) started twinging on me, I made the decision to keep it at 6 miles.

Funny enough, I was at 5.5 mile when I realized how good I felt and how enjoyable the run had been! I'm still glad I did just 6 (6.3 actually) because I'm starting a new training plan today and I didn't want to get ahead of myself. I think that perhaps...I'm BACK! :)

GLC, welcome "back"!! I started my new program today, too. I haven't missed the spreadsheets but I am looking forward to the structure again (and not having to think about what I am going to do on any given day). While there is snow, my coach has me skiing on two days that would normally be running days (as long as I ski at least 40k total those two days). I think this will help ease my transition back to real training.

I had another nice run on the snow-covered road that hubby and I ran on Saturday. Air is too crappy in SLC proper so I had to get in my car (and add to the problem) to drive up the canyon to run. Finished by headlamp. Quite lovely. Ski by headlamp tomorrow :D

Hope everyone is feeling better soon! There seems to be so much going around, on top of all of this 'lovely' weather (harumph, mumble, grumble)

After my group training today I attempted 2 sets of a 400 meter light jog. In between I walked 200 meters. My hamstring was ok with it, which is a good sign since I did a heavy conditioning workout yesterday that included, among many other things, 24 body weight deadlifts.

Trudging along with my Couch-to-5k plan. I found an app that tells me when to run and when to walk, and that makes things a lot easier to keep track of.

I survived my outing and even got in a short run. I am feeling much, much better. Now we just have to survive the " end of the world" snowstorm. For heaven's sake.

Did 4 miles on the treadmill today -- about 1.75 miles of that was running. I used the "interval" program which automatically changes between a walking and running speed every 1.5 minutes or so. Really works for me as I would not be disciplined enough to do that on the road, especially without music. With all my favorite tunes and a set program, I do very well. I know most people hate the treadmill, but it works for me. :-)

Didn't run yesterday as I had to spend about an hour at my oral surgeon then followed by 4+ hours at my dentist. I actually feel pretty good today. Swollen...I look like a "Whoo" from "Whooville"! No real pain as long as I don't smile. It's a bit chilly here but couldn't miss out on a run on a day off. Kept is easy and did 3 miles. We have quite a chilly north wind that was in my face when I started but it was nice when I turned around and headed back home!

K

Yesterday was 5k on the treadmill. The snow was just starting as I headed over, and the drive home was interesting! I tried to go this morning but my car wouldn't run and it was too damn cold to walk to the gym to run on the treadmill, even though it's less than 1.5 miles. Might make it over later today, even though I hate running in the p.m.