Run run run 11/08/09 - 11/14/09

I thought I'd start this week's thread off. I ran in my new Vibrum classics on the trail I will be running a race on in a couple of weeks. I took my time and went gingerly as the rocks and acorns and roots - they do hurt when stepped on, there's no way around it. Although it was really good to run this way and keep everything relaxed and learn to bend my knees and up my cadence and all that. I will be racing in trail running shoes, though, for sure. What's good is that I mapped out the trail in my head, and I know that if an injury is going to happen, it's going to happen because I'm wearing shoes! Lots of ankle-twisters on that trail. With the VFFS, I was really keen to avoid ankle-twisters but in a race situation I'm not going to be able to scan ahead so easily.

I am glad I bought the VFFs! Thanks to all here for the inspiration. I probably overdid it at 8.5 miles but I am not hurting now (wait til tomorrow?) :p

Riding tomorrow and Tuesday, and running on the road on Wednesday and Thursday. Maybe a short trail run Friday.

Indy

Indi- I'm glad you are enjoying the VFFs. I agree with your assessment though, there are definitely advantages and disadvantages to wearing them. While I am logging more miles in mine, I don't think they will be my primary running shoe. The awesome part is how it helps correct your form so that when you do wear standard running shoes again your form reflects that.

When is your trail race?

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny 60F day, I wasn't planning a run but when we get days like this in late fall it's a must. So, I slipped on the VFFs, my new LS tech-top, my hydration belt and hit the street with the goal to go as far as I wanted/felt good. As it turned out it felt fantastic & I had difficulties ending the run at a little over 11miles. That's my longest run in the VFFs. Everything in my body felt/feels amazing accept for a few blister spots. Unfortunately my running "thorn" is that I blister easily. It seems every runner has their issue & that is mine. I still haven't figured out what I need to do to prevent them.

I'm not quite ready to try VFFs (yet! :)), but I did run a lap today in my new training flats, just to start getting used to them. It was quickly apparent that my left foot still heel strikes ever so slightly (but not like it used to!). I could actually hear it in my cadence- pretty darn cool IMO. I hadn't noticed it previously in my normal running shoes.

I think switching to less structured shoes will pay off in the long run, but I'm being really cautious with it for now.

It's World Run Day! :)

Mile repeats for me today, x 2. I was kind of sore from the beat-down I got on the bike yesterday, but managed to keep a reasonable pace.

70 degrees, sunny and only light wind. Wowza.

I'm posting cross weeks here...technically my Sat. run belongs in last weeks thread.

Sat. AM did a 4 miler. I was still very tight from my workout with personal trainer (or is it the miles I am logging?)
I felt pretty good. (Slept in til 7:30 ish). 43:30 total time. So pretty good. But was very stiff after. Darn tight hamstrings!

Sunday was a 7 miler. I did have 2 big (and strong) beers Sat. night (I need to quite that). But not sure it was the libations that did me in. (I have some gatorade before bed to help w/ the dehydration). I was just tired. Legs heavy, tight. I decided to keep it really slow. But for a 7 miler all I wanted was to get it done! Did not enjoy at all. Took to long (30 second-ish) stretch breaks. It as slow and not very pretty!
Very glad to put running shoes away for a day!

Goals for this week:
More rest
Keep on schedule so I don't run 4 days in a row
Keep all runs "slow" and "easy" this week. (Even hill night)
No beers on Sat. night before 9 miler.
Total mileage this week will be 28 miles.

Didn't run at all this weekend--was working and didn't really have time. This afternoon I had a CPR class at work and decided to run there and back (a distance of probably 2.5 miles each way). It was a good way to get my workout in as part of something I had to do anyway, and good practice for running on the roads. It's fun using running as another transportation option, but I still like trail running better than city running--having to deal with people and traffic makes a run less of a stress reliever.

I didn't run this weekend either. Was waaaayyy too busy standing up in a wedding. The rehearsal and dinner was Saturday and the wedding on Sunday.

Today was my wedding weekend recovery day :D

Went to a wedding this weekend and did my long run in Seattle (Woodinville, actually) on the Sammamish River Trail. Awesome running weather - 40s and overcast, some sprinkles. I am convinced this is the weather I was born to run in. It may help that I was born in Seattle. ;) I went Woodinville through Marymoor Park a little ways past and back. My father-in-law mapped it out for me. I would totally recommend it for running/riding. I was happy to see so many runners/riders out! Our trail is pretty much deserted over here.

I have been moving my long runs to match marathon start time (8am, thankfully not earlier), and got out by 8:30. The "out" of the out and back felt really great. I was not watching miles/watch, just running at long run effort, and I must have been cranking. I turned around at the turnaround approximate 10 mile point and came back, I want to say my watch was more like 1:30 or 1:35 than 1:40. I stopped at the turnaround to drop some trash and this is when the bad news hit - my hip flexors instantly started tightening and I felt the shortness in my abdominal area. NO more stopping for any time period at turnarounds, EVERY time I've done that this happens. Don't stretch unless you need to!

I stopped a few miles back into my return trip and stretched over a fence (lengthening the core of my body like I would over a stability ball) and that REALLY helped! I felt good again, but I know I was slower than the "out" portion. I had so much extra time on the "back" that at about 2 miles to go I stopped at the bathroom, ate my last gel, stretched. I made it back at 3:20 almost on the dot - if you figure I dawdled for a total of 5 minutes stretching and bathrooming, that's more like 3:15 and a 9:45 mile. Of course the "out" was between 1:30 (9 min) and 1:35 (9:30 min) and the "back" between 1:45 (10:30 min) and 1:40 (10 min), but I'll take what I can get. (Devil on shoulder says she's not convinced I can run 26.2 without stopping to pee, but I think I earned it)

I hope next week's (FINAL) long run goes this well! I'll be psyched for the 4-hour marathon I'm going to run on the 29th! (Working on the visualization)

Battle scars: I got a blister last week on the long run that hardened but made it so there was tough and soft skin next door to each other and the soft skin made new blisters. Time to file down the feet, patch the blisters. I did pretty well on bodyglide, there's a couple spots where my sports bra made my skin sad (in the shower that was OMG ouch) but I have had MUCH worse in weeks past so I'm learning.

Time for eating and sleeping now. Eat, sleep, run, work. ;)

Great run Colby!
I am waiting for more comfort and ease to come into my runs (especially as I move out the distance).
No rain from Ida so was about to gout out and do my 4 miles this AM. Took it easy. Did not look at pace.
After reading Oak's thread about easier training schedule I am thinking that there is an option to drop 1 run (Sat.) and maybe bike then long run Sunday. But get in all the others. We will see. Too early in the game to make that decision.
I'll stretch tonight and hopefully no rain tomorrow evening so I can do my "hill" run.

Didn't run today because I rode all the way in at a good clip. Plus, Pilates last night was a killer!

So, I was looking at the site for the trail race I am running in two weeks (here in RI - 8 miles), and checked the stats from last year. 250 runners, the winning time being something like 53 minutes. There were only about 15 women total. The best female time was 1:05. The last runner came in at 1:45.

I did this same trail last weekend in VFFs in 1:33. Now granted I did take my time, because I was tentative with the new VFFs, and stopped to pet a dog or two. But I am worried, because will shoes really make that much of a difference with my time?

I am wondering if I should go out and do the trail this weekend in my trail shoes, or should I do another trail? I would like to be more middle-of-the-pack time-wise, and considering so few women participate, to be able to win in my age group! ;P

Maybe I shouldn't worry, and just run it and have fun.
Anyhow, that's what's going on in my head. Maybe I shouldn't have checked those times!

Oh, I was looking at the 1998 results! Nevermind!
Now the first place runner did it in 46:31, top female in 54.45.
Middle of the pack is about 1:12.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by indigoiis

Didn't run today because I rode all the way in at a good clip. Plus, Pilates last night was a killer!

So, I was looking at the site for the trail race I am running in two weeks (here in RI - 8 miles), and checked the stats from last year. 250 runners, the winning time being something like 53 minutes. There were only about 15 women total. The best female time was 1:05. The last runner came in at 1:45.

I did this same trail last weekend in VFFs in 1:33. Now granted I did take my time, because I was tentative with the new VFFs, and stopped to pet a dog or two. But I am worried, because will shoes really make that much of a difference with my time?

I am wondering if I should go out and do the trail this weekend in my trail shoes, or should I do another trail? I would like to be more middle-of-the-pack time-wise, and considering so few women participate, to be able to win in my age group! ;P

Maybe I shouldn't worry, and just run it and have fun.
Anyhow, that's what's going on in my head. Maybe I shouldn't have checked those times!

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I am an information junkie - I would run the trail in my trail shoes and VFFs both and see what the difference is. Though, it's likely you couldn't JUST run in your trail shoes since we know your VFFs improve your running posture, it might be useful to know for racing, and for the last one or two runs leading up to a race. :)

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Originally Posted by katluvr

Great run Colby!
I am waiting for more comfort and ease to come into my runs (especially as I move out the distance).
No rain from Ida so was about to gout out and do my 4 miles this AM. Took it easy. Did not look at pace.
After reading Oak's thread about easier training schedule I am thinking that there is an option to drop 1 run (Sat.) and maybe bike then long run Sunday. But get in all the others. We will see. Too early in the game to make that decision.
I'll stretch tonight and hopefully no rain tomorrow evening so I can do my "hill" run.

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From what I've read, bike miles count 2:1 to run miles (2 bike miles is 1 run miles) as far as endurance goes... so if you're active, you're active. One day won't kill you as long as you get your key workouts in. If you think 5 days a week is too much for you, it's better to go back to 3 or 4 and enjoy it than it is to do 5 and cry (or injure, or tire of running and put your shoes on the shelf).

It may also make a difference where your days off are. My current plan has the days before and after the long run off. I've done others where 2 days before is off, the day before is a short run or ride, and the day after is off. I guess I've always been on 5 day a week plans (6 days for Ironman with day after consecutive long ride/run off, but so much variety there).

Don't hesitate to play with it a little, but since you started from scratch you will still need to get most of the time in. :)

Oops, forgot to log. 5k run today with some extra time after, the previous 5k wasn't a fluke and I ran today in 23:45 again (it was easier this time, for what it's worth; last time my HR was closer to the max I'm comfortable running, this time it never was).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colby

I am an information junkie - I would run the trail in my trail shoes and VFFs both and see what the difference is. Though, it's likely you couldn't JUST run in your trail shoes since we know your VFFs improve your running posture, it might be useful to know for racing, and for the last one or two runs leading up to a race. :)

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Thanks! I think I will run it on Sunday in my trail shoes and try to race pace it... the last two miles are on pavement, so I am thinking I will really book it once I get to that pavement. The rest of it is all singletrack woods trail with bridges over swampy areas - not a lot of room to pass. With 300 runners, this is going to be interesting.

Running 3 today at lunch, 5 tomorrow, 3 Friday. Saturday off.

I did a 4 mile trail run and it was hard the entire time. I went on a different trail than usual; it's part of the national park, so no roots or rock gardens. I just struggled, don't know what else to say, except I kept at it, took lots of walk breaks for about 10 seconds on the way out, which was a small uphill most of the way. Felt better on the way back, but still my leg were like lead.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Crankin

I just struggled, don't know what else to say, except I kept at it, .... Felt better on the way back, but still my leg were like lead.

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Hey, sounds like we had the same kind of run today! :o My training plan called for 66 minutes. I did it, but it was a struggle. I felt like my feet were barely getting off the ground today.

Coulda been a couple of things...
1) I was a little hungry, even though I had some yogurt ahead of time. I'm back in loss mode again with my weight. I've put on 2-3 pounds, which I know is no big deal for most people, but I'm extremely conscious of the "slippery slope" effect. I need to nip it in the bud. I worked so dang hard to get it off that I can't let it come back. The trick is to find that delicate balance of getting enough calories to perform well, but few enough to have a small calorie deficit at day end.
2) I had my VO2 Max done yesterday. Both bike and run. Those were really hard efforts. My legs don't feel fatigued exactly, but there's definitely no zing either.
3) I didn't get enough sleep last night. I work too many hours, which means I get home late, eat late, and then have difficulty finding more than 6 hours for sleep. Not good.

If only the days had a few extra hours in them....

40-minute trail run today, it was just OK.

We are getting a very bad nor'easter which the weather people are calling "The Storm of the Decade." 60mph wind gusts and hurricane level tidal flooding are keeping me and everyone else in the house. All of the schools are closed.

I would just like to take a moment to thank Hurricane Ida for bringing in the low weather system from the south and the standard high weather system from the North Atlantic which has been hanging around for this "perfect disaster."

Batten down the hatches! Sorry about the storm... it sounds really bad. My folks are in NC and Mom says the rain is nonstop.

I didn't run yesterday, because lunch ended up being at my desk. I'm swamped!

This morning I ran for a half hour in the back pasture where my DH mowed a trail that is a small track size. I don't know how far around it is, but it takes me about 3-4 minutes to get around at a regular pace, so it is probably a third of a mile? Anyhow, I ran without a light and so roots, rocks and holes were basically ankle training. Tried to keep everything relaxed. It was good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ASammy1

We are getting a very bad nor'easter which the weather people are calling "The Storm of the Decade." 60mph wind gusts and hurricane level tidal flooding are keeping me and everyone else in the house. All of the schools are closed.

I would just like to take a moment to thank Hurricane Ida for bringing in the low weather system from the south and the standard high weather system from the North Atlantic which has been hanging around for this "perfect disaster."

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Tell me about it. I've not run since Sunday, and I've got a half marathon on Saturday. At least I'll be well rested!

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Originally Posted by divingbiker

Tell me about it. I've not run since Sunday, and I've got a half marathon on Saturday. At least I'll be well rested!

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OMG!!! You will definitely be well rested. Stay dry!

Good luck divingbiker!

Intervals for me today, 6 x 1:30. Just enough to say I ran... yard work has been taking up all my time and energy.

Wow, that weather sounds awful. Glad it's a taper week for you, divingbiker! :)

Intervals today, 5x3 minute efforts. Some nice stranger walking their dog told me that I am fast. How sweet of her! Another stranger saw me stop at the end of an interval for my rest walk break ("passive recovery" for the fancypants out there) while out for his morning walk and told me "hey, you're not supposed to stop!" ;)

I was at work until late last night which made them a total grind. I didn't get my normal 8-9 hours of sleep and have felt tired all day. Sleep, the fourth discipline in endurance racing. (Eating would be the 5th) Tomorrow is an easy pace run for 30-45 min, then Sunday the LAST long run of 22 miles. Weather was in the 30s and chilly today, I hope it's in the 40s for the weekend (weather forecast says no such luck, mid 30s, but no snow that day, only cloudy).

Off to nap... or find coffee.

I did 1.87 miles on the treadmill with my trainer today. Jogging still hurts my knee, so we didn't do much. Instead I walked with the incline set at 15% with a 30 pound bar on my shoulders. THAT was fun. :rolleyes: The next set was more incline walking, no weight, but a much faster pace. I think it has healed enough that I can do some walking outside now.

It's weird how jumping rope doesn't bother it, but running does. I set a new PR jumping rope the other day - 226 jumps in a minute.

Veronica

Veronica, it's interesting that walking on a 15% incline with weight didn't bother your knees, either. I am finding that when I walk or hike, which always involves some steeper inclines of 10-20% for me, my knees hurt the next day. I feel it just walking around and when riding or running. However, even though running might hurt me all over, it doesn't bother my knees.
I had to stop using the elliptical trainer on an incline last year, as it was seriously affecting my knees. But, I can't figure out how the stress of walking up an incline is worse than running up an incline.

Good luck to those of you racing this weekend! :D Hopefully you will have pleasant weather.

I ran home from jiu-jitsu class last night. I like this routine. BJJ gets me warmed up for the run so it usually feels pretty good even though I'm tired. It was hard, but I kept my pace around 8:50 for the 5.6miles door-to-door.

As for my wknd run, I am not racing, but I will be getting on the trail aroun 3 or 4am to practice running with the headlamp again. At least 1/2 of the 100miler is going to be in the dark so I need to be well trained in it. Should be fun! :)

The elliptical alone is hard on most people's knees, especially women with our greater Q-angle, because you have to keep your feet so wide apart. Could be the incline exacerbates that? And/or could it actually be the descents that bother your knees hiking? Descending is typically harder on people with PF misalignment.


Urlea, you never cease to amaze me.


Hmmm... long run today (last chance before the weekend) and tick off DH? Or yard work? :rolleyes:

I have a 15K trail race tomorrow, which should be fun! The off season is really nice, even if I am still training plenty. It is just nice to be doing the kinds of distances where friends will actually join you for a run!

Good luck racing this weekend!

45-minute trail run this morning--figured I'd better get it in before it starts raining here!

Today is the 3rd day in a row that we are having this storm which means that this is the 3rd day in a row that I'm stuck inside... Cabin fever has set in, but I'm one of the lucky ones... There is a neighborhood not too far from me where people are wading through waist deep water to evacuate their homes. 150,000 people are without power and the news people are estimating $10s of millions of dollars worth of damage.

Oh and there's a 600 ft barge that broke it's tie ropes that ran aground in one of the resort areas... It's probably going to take out a pier...

My coach wanted me to hit paces for intervals, so it was off to the gym this morning for a treadmill workout. Turned out to be a good thing, as it was pouring down rain this morning. Glad I had an excuse to be inside!

ASammy - stay safe and dry!

I ran 5.5 today road and trail. Took me an hour. A lil shluggish.

I worked it like this - my daughter got her license Monday so I told her she could drive by herself down to the park and ride and catch the bus. I had a 9:30 dr. appt. so after she left, I waited til she called and said she was there, then I left and ran down through part road and part trail to the park and ride. She had parked perfectly - you could have measured to the inch - nice and straight between the lines! I'm so proud! Then I drove a block to the Y, showered and changed, and drove to my Dr. appointment. Nice!

Now that she is driving, I am looking forward to more of these hybrid drive-share commutes! Yay!

Got my easy 35 min run in before the snow came today! Yay! (Not ready for snow!) It was in the low 30s but not windy, so I wore my insulated racerback top and standard issue tri shorts and long sleeves and was just fine.

I got new shoes yesterday, I know I waited too long. It felt good to run on them (though the muscles in my feet/ankles were a little confused afterward). I risked it and went down 1/2 size because I think the others might have been a little too big - my first time running successfully in womens shoes, so I sized generously. Turns out it wasn't a bad decision last time to go bigger, but I think the smaller size might be fine. My toes can juuust feel the edges of the shoes (width wise, not length wise) but aren't cramped even after warming up so I know I can't go any smaller. I will do the full test on Sunday and decide for sure.

The running shoe store I went to last that recommended these shoes told me I'm a size 8, normal width, borderline D... Until I stood up in a shoe, then they told me I needed to size 1/2-1 size up and get a EE width. ;) I'm now in the Brooks Ariel, size 9EE (previous pair was a 9.5, which corresponded roughly to the mens size 8EE I was wearing before).

Massage guy told me to practice upper body relaxing this week because my biceps/trapezius keep stiffening up, so I'm on it. Floppy wrists, shoulders away from the ears (thanks to yoga, I am pretty good at that). Blisters are all but gone and now I think I can keep them at bay until race day.

Good luck Kacie!

Andrea, stay safe and dry. :(

Colby, snow? I ran in shorts and a very light top today. It's unseasonably warm and sunny here.

12 miles, easy. My longest run in the hills, so far. Although it wasn't as hilly as last week's climb-fest. And I didn't even catch any cr*p for taking the day off yardwork. :)

We got our treadmill yesterday (put together by the owner of a LBS who is known as a perpetual stoner; I guess he has a contract with the company).
So, at 6 AM I got on and did 3 miles. Apparently something wasn't right, because I felt pretty crappy up until I just finished breakfast. I ate half a Luna bar before running and drank plenty. I think the fact that it felt a lot hotter in the room than running in the cold outdoors had something to do with it. I felt like this when I ran five miles outside last summer in what seemed like perfect 75 degree weather. It totally did me in. I pulled out a fan and set it up, so next time, hopefully, this won't happen. I guess I pushed myself a little, too, in terms of speed.
Well, I'm glad it's here, since the nor'easter is doing its job outside.

Hey all. Just got back from the Richmond half marathon, where I spent the night at Tulip's and got to meet Shiloh. He's a sweetie. Tulip was great, handling all the logistics of getting me to and from the race. What a great relief that was.

I am really happy overall with my half mary. I walked some every mile, and my knee started killing me about 5 miles in and never let up.

But, drum roll please, I finished in 2:46, 17 minutes faster than last time! and I averaged 12:39/mile, while last time it was 14:00/mile. So I'm happy.

The weather wasn't great, 50ish (nice) but drizzly so 100% humidity.

The men's winner passed me about a block from the finish. He ran twice as far in a half hour less time. Amazing!

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Originally Posted by divingbiker

But, drum roll please, I finished in 2:46, 17 minutes faster than last time! and I averaged 12:39/mile, while last time it was 14:00/mile. So I'm happy.

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Wow, that is a lot of time to drop off of a 1/2!!! Nice job. :D Way to hold it together through the knee pain, no fun.

Was on the road at 3am & on the trailhead by 4:30ish this morning! A drizzle that turned into a steady rain made the sky/trail really dark so I was happy to have a handheld flashlight in addition to the headlamp. Wet feet & wet gear didn't damper the run much though, the rain keeps my sweaty red face cooler so I like it. Everything was decent about the run today other than a few sections of the trail that were close to the gravel road that was much busier than it should be at 4AM kind of intimidated us (two trail-mates today) a little bit. We are in the woods, during prime hunting season and anybody up that early is there to hunt/ has at least one gun & has probably drank a 6pack. Thankfully we were done running our 10mile loop by the time the sun was up enough to see for hunting.

Congrats divingbiker! So glad you had a good race! All that resting through the week did you good :D

OK, I lied. My official time is 2:47:02, not 2:46. Still happy.;)

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Originally Posted by divingbiker

But, drum roll please, I finished in 2:46, 17 minutes faster than last time! and I averaged 12:39/mile, while last time it was 14:00/mile. So I'm happy.

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Sweet! That's a HUGE improvement! You should be super proud of yourself. Celebrate. :D