No Fools here! running week 30Mar -05Apr

[OakLeaf]

I blew off the club ride since there was a line of thunderstorms coming in. Turns out three of them went out and got a shorter ride in, but honestly I didn't miss the grit and yuk.

So I dragged my sorry *ss out for a run instead. I was just planning to dog it for a few miles, just to get my HR up, but as soon as I started warming up I couldn't justify it. Tried to knock out a 15 minute tempo run anyhow. It was so hot and humid all I could make myself do was just under a 9 minute pace.

With warmup and recovery, right at four miles.

[yellow]

Crankin, I can't imagine running WITHOUT having coffee. I don't typically have anything to eat before runs about 8 miles or shorter, but for anything beyond that I seem to do well with a big protein slug...usually an egg and a Morningstar Farms sausage pattie. Definitely no fruit.

Welp, I did my long run today. Woke up to rain, which was predicted to turn to snow, so I waited until it did and headed out. It's not cold, so I just wore a light water resistant jacket (in the event it turned back to rain). The temps were perfect.

The trails were...a challenge. Some mud, some slushy puddles, and a lot of snow. Several of the areas were wind loaded, so I did a lot of wading through thigh-deep drifts. There was quite a bit of walking today, which is OK since it was going to be the longest run I'd done in a quite some time. I was the first maniac to tackle the trail in many stretches, so my footprints were the only ones in the snow. It was pretty, and very peaceful. The schedule said 18, and I clocked in at 17.77. Close enough, especially with the snow handicap. My quads are quite fatigued!

Off to nap now.

[Urlea]

Completed my longest run EVER today. 16miles. 2miles more than my training program called for, but with all of the closed roads due to flooding & unplowed sidewalks it was the best route I could come up with.

It was tough. I needed every gel I had (btw, Cliff Shot's Apple Pie when frozen tastes horrible & doesn't go down easy.) Considering I biked 30mi. and swam 1.2 yesterday my body did very well on the run today. No complaints. I'm proud of myself for going that far.

Happy long runs for the rest of you this weekend!

[OakLeaf]

Wow, great job both of you! That kind of distance, under those conditions... just wow.

[emily_in_nc]

No running, but I did my first road ride today since Oct. '07. Have been doing mountain biking (very much a beginner, easy trails), a bit of running, and Pilates, but no road riding for so long. Riding on the road again reminded me why I used to love it so very much before a serious accident four years ago. And although I admire and envy many of you on this thread who are able to run as much and as long as you do, I must say that I much prefer riding to running. I didn't realize how much until today's ride. For me, running on anything other than a flat treadmill is a constant struggle, while riding alternates between difficult (hills, headwind) and easy, fun, exhiliarating euphoria (descents, flats with tailwinds). I get much more of a cyclist's high than I ever have experienced a runner's high. I guess I'm just a cyclist at heart....running is great for fitness, and I plan to continue when it makes sense (at the gym at work, on our home trails on a day I don't have time for a ride), but if I never do an "official" race, I won't feel that I missed out.

Kind of an interesting day with some interesting revelations.

[yellow]

Kind of an interesting day with some interesting revelations.

Emily, I am so glad to hear that you went out and rode on the road. I remember the time after your accident and your apprehension. You waited until you were ready, and the reward is huge. I think you'll have many happy miles on your road bike this year.

I am very happy for you!

[Crankin]

Emily, I have come to the same conclusion as you. I like running, but it's overall so much harder for me. I live where essentially, there is no flat, so it's never easy. I can pretty much handle 3 miles, with hills, but I am not sure if I can or will do more. My legs just feel like cr*p if I go to ride the next day, which happened yesterday.
I am not going to stop running and I do envy those of you who can go out and run 10 miles and then ride 50 the next day. Riding is too much a part of my life, in a way that running isn't that it's always going to come first, even if I am getting older and slower.

[Jolt]

Well, I took about a week off because of having banged up the ball of my right foot on a rock during a trail run. That healed, so I went for a run yesterday with my sister (I went to NJ to visit my family for a few days) on a local rail trail. For some unknown reason, that #@*! left IT band acted up, after having behaved itself just fine for the past three months on runs up to 45 minutes. Not sure if it was from slacking off for a few days on my stretches/hip abductor exercises, having started cycling again last week after not doing any over the winter, crashing on the couch in a tight curled-up position the night before (because I had to share the couch with other people also crashing in front of the TV), the change in surface (that rail trail is very hard packed dirt/small gravel, and a lot of it was sloped sideways a little), or some/all of the above. I did find a trigger point in that TFL muscle, which was most likely the direct cause of the ITB getting grumpy. So, it will be a few days of working on those trigger points and stretching like crazy, along with doing extra glute exercises, before I try running again. That should get things under control, I hope. And then no more slacking on those exercises!

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I have come to the same conclusion as you. I like running, but it's overall so much harder for me. I live where essentially, there is no flat, so it's never easy. I can pretty much handle 3 miles, with hills, but I am not sure if I can or will do more. My legs just feel like cr*p if I go to ride the next day, which happened yesterday.
I am not going to stop running and I do envy those of you who can go out and run 10 miles and then ride 50 the next day. Riding is too much a part of my life, in a way that running isn't that it's always going to come first, even if I am getting older and slower.

Yes, I think that I just have to accept that I can't do everything with excellence; there are some activities that will always come easier than others, and some that will always be more fulfilling than others. But it doesn't have to be all or nothing; if we don't LOVE running like we do cycling, that doesn't mean we should just quit running. I think cross-training is the best of all worlds. Running is better for bones than riding, it's better in the winter than riding (for me, anyway, not a fan of cold weather), but much worse in the summer (pant pant). I have access to a free gym at work, so running on the treadmill my lunch break is something I can do since I can't ride mid-day. We can do all of it, just not necessarily excel in everything at once. And that's ok.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I am so glad to hear that you went out and rode on the road. I remember the time after your accident and your apprehension. You waited until you were ready, and the reward is huge. I think you'll have many happy miles on your road bike this year.

I am very happy for you!

Thanks Yellow! I've actually been riding on the road on and off since my accident (April 2005), but MUCH less than before my accident, when I used to do centuries, touring, events, etc. I was actually back doing short road rides just four months after my accident. But I hadn't done any road riding since Oct. '07 since my DH stopped riding for awhile, and I won't ride alone anymore. So it was great to get back to it, and I'm glad DH has caught the bug again! I still have apprehensions (I practically sprinted for a mile uphill on a road he had encountered dogs on once), but I am working on them and trying to stay strong, because riding is just so darn fun!

[OakLeaf]

Welcome back to the road Emily!

Crankin, there's nothing wrong with knowing what your priorities are! Now, if you want to run more but cycling still comes first, I'd say do your long run the day after your long ride, not before; and really emphasize your recovery nutrition after long rides. But this is supposed to be fun eh.

I know for myself I'm really looking forward to getting back to the hills on the bike, but really dreading them for running. We'll see how it goes. The shortest loop from my house is about 8 miles and the hills are pretty steep whichever way I go. I think I can handle that now for my long run. I'm definitely ready for a change from the out-and-back I'd been doing.

In the meantime, I'm still in the flatlands, and I hit half-marathon distance today. Way slow, but oh well.

[Crankin]

Good idea, Oak. Right now, my longest run is 3.2 miles... but I'd like to work up to a 10K, maybe. So, that would put my long run on Thursday this week, since I will be doing a 47 mile club ride Wednesday (gotta prepare the body for all of that matzah Wed. night).
I guess it will depend from week to week. I don't always do long rides during the week. I've been running on Mondays almost every week since January, but I don't feel well today; I was up all night and now I realize I just feel sick, like a viral thing is approaching. Plus I went for my eye exam, and my eyes were dialated almost all day from those drops. I actually took a full rest day. No yoga, either.
Well, I did do 50 sit ups...