Running through the Tulips - April

[Selkie]

Happy April!

Started off the month with my longest run since 1996 -- seven miles. Sunrise start, kinda chilly (mid-40s) with a brisk east, chilly wind. Felt pretty good, particularly energy-wise. I had a horrible swim on Saturday and ended up napping in late morning and then sleeping 9 hours last night.

I didn't post much in March for fear of boring all of you w/my unexciting runs, but I had a good month. Consistently, I ran 4 days a week, logging between 20-25 miles total. It was fantastic, weather-wise, as I got to wear shorts a lot!!! Watching spring arrive--cherry trees in bloom, the earth greening up, blooming of daffodils, tulips, etc., has been a treat. In addition, I did well in the St. Pat's 8K in DC (placed in the top 25 in my age group), and improved my time/pace from my finish on the Jingle Bell 8k on the same race course.

[Blueberry]

There is a possibility of running in my future again (I've been banned since Halloween due to an ankle tendon issue)! Yay!! I'm supposed to start walking a lot again, and then in 2 weeks my PT will observe my running. At that point, I think I'll be able to start working towards building up again (run/walk intervals). Happy dance!!!

[Selkie]

That's terrific!

I came back from a similar injury, so you can and will do it!

[katluvr]

7 miles today. A bit slower than yesterday. First 1.6 miles in my minimalist shoes (down my street & back). I am not getting enough time/mileage in these but still building slowly. Finished the rest of the 7 in my reg shoes. Started off slow and built pace some, but not like yesterday. Last mile nice and slow cool down. Overall OK pace, but could be better. Wasn't too pooped at the end. H0pe to get in a nice bike ride this evening.

K

[limewave]

I just did 7 miles. It felt a bit stiff but it was nice to be out running again. The weather is absolutely gorgeous today.

[skhill]

My usual weekday running routes take me through parts of the University of Kentucky's campus, and I was very interested to see how trashed the place would be after last night's game (GO CATS!). Other than the aroma of spilled beer, it was looking really good; some poor folks must have been working hard to clean up after the exuberant/rowdy street parties that broke out. Didn't go through the area with the shooting and garage-burnings and general riot, though. It's supposed to be a mess...

6 miles, and I'm feeling the effects of Sat.'s HM. And it smells like I stepped in a puddle of beer in the dark...

[Bike Chick]

My training plan called for speed work yesterday. I've stayed away from any kind of serious run intervals in the past for fear of hurting myself or because I was nursing an injury so I gave this a whole-hearted try and it was actually quite fun. It kinda broke up the monotony of running the same road every day. I did 16 X 30 second intervals with 30 second recovery and a warm-up and cool-down to equal 40 minutes. My fastest interval was 7:30! I never thought I could ever run that fast--even for 30 seconds! It felt great to push myself.

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm *still* rehabbing my IT band, but I've been gradually able to add time and distance while continuing to make improvements. This past Sunday, I did my longest run since my IT started acting up: 1hr20min. I felt some tension starting to build in the IT band in the last 15-20 minutes, but no real pain. Plenty of foam rolling and I was fine the next day.

Last week I ran 5 days! This week has 4 on the calendar ranging anywhere from 20 minutes to 1hr30min.

[limewave]

I think I am sick in the head. I am considering running sand dunes today . . . Quick! Someone talk some sense into me!

[emily_in_nc]

I have not been able to run for awhile. Last week we were traveling, then this week I had a series of issues...hangover Mon. morning after a beach birthday party with an open bar (and wine, which I never get here since it's so $$$), then on Tuesday, a few fire ant bites on my right foot caused it to swell, and I'm still suffering from that. I guess I am really allergic. Ugh! My shoes on that foot are all too tight, and it itches like crazy, despite Benedryl, cortisone cream, and epsom salt poultices.

My friend just got back to Belize from a visit to the US and brought me my cool new running gear -- a water flask belt, a sports watch with stopwatch, and some new Swiftwick socks, and here I can't even use 'em. If my foot is better tomorrow, I will try a short run; otherwise, I'll wait for Monday as I have other activities planned for Sat. and Sun.

Feeling like a real slug...

[Susan Otcenas]

Today I did my longest run since injuring my IT band: 8.3 miles. I am in the aerobic base building phase right now (Hadd's Phase 1), so these are slooooow miles at very low heartrates. Today I averaged 11:28 per mile at 139bpm. It's surprisingly hard to run this easy, but that's the whole point.

[Artista]

Today I did my longest run since injuring my IT band: 8.3 miles. I am in the aerobic base building phase right now (Hadd's Phase 1), so these are slooooow miles at very low heartrates. Today I averaged 11:28 per mile at 139bpm. It's surprisingly hard to run this easy, but that's the whole point.

Now let's look at what you did through the eyes of a total newb runner. I started running "regularly" on 3/8. I'm doing a C25K program and have managed 6 runs altogether. So far I've logged a TOTAL of 8.5 miles. I started at 13:45 minutes per mile. I'm thrilled that I managed 11:59 today. It's surprisingly hard to start running even though I'm in good shape from cycling. I can't even blame an injured IT band. I can claim a broken ankle from last fall but seriously, I don't think that my ankle is responsible for my newb stats at this point.

It's all a matter of perspective Someday I'll be very happy to accomplish what you did today. On the other hand, I'm proud that I've run more in the last month than I have since I was 5 years old

[Susan Otcenas]

It's all a matter of perspective Someday I'll be very happy to accomplish what you did today. On the other hand, I'm proud that I've run more in the last month than I have since I was 5 years old

Artista, congratulations on starting a new running program! I used a similar program when I first started running again in 2008. First week was run 0:30, walk 4:30, do that 7 times. 35 minutes total movement (only 3:30 of which was running) and whooboy was I sore the next couple of days!! I credit that run/walk program with getting my muscles, tendons and ligaments in shape to run successfully, without any injuries! And I lost a pile of weight in the process.

I hope you didn't misinterpret my post to be at all demeaning towards people who are running slow-ish miles or doing run walk programs! It wasn't my intention and I guess I should clarify.... When I wrote that I'm running slow miles, what I meant is that I'm running more slowly that what I'm accustomed to, on purpose. My coach has me working through a protocol that's designed, in it's "Phase 1", to have the runner ALWAYS below her aerobic threshold. The idea is to build a massive aerobic capacity and greatly increase the amount of work that a runner can do while dumping very very little lactic acid into the system. Over time, one will be able to do more work, more quickly, while still being sub-aerobic threshold. Essentially, one is running slower to run faster!

I think most of us have a certain "cruising" pace that feels comfortable to each of us, whether that be 8 minute miles, 10 minute miles, or 12 minute miles. I used to go out and do most of my runs at a 10:30-ish pace. It just seemed to be the pace I settled into naturally. Well, according to this protocol that I'm following, that pace was too fast and my heartrate was too high. To keep my heartrate at sub-aerobic threshold levels (which for me is 143bpm or less), I need to be closer to 11:30 per mile right now. And, I've found this to be surprisingly difficult. It's getting more comfortable, since I've been doing this for ~ 2months now, but I often find myself having to dial back my pace because my heartrate is drifting up and exceeding the target. So, oftentimes I feel like I'm just sort of trudging along when my natural inclination would be to go faster. I have to admit though, that it seems to be working. When I finished that run this morning, I felt like I could have continued on for much much longer. My *legs* were starting to feel fatigued, but aerobically I felt fresh as a daisy and not tired at all. I think that's pretty cool.

If you're interested in reading more on the subject, the coach behind this philosophy (John "Hadd" Walsh) wrote a long paper on it. It's a bit long (OK, it's a LOT long) but it's a really interesting read if you are into that sort of thing.
http://www.angio.net/personal/run/hadd.pdf

Susan

[Artista]

I hope you didn't misinterpret my post to be at all demeaning towards people who are running slow-ish miles or doing run walk programs!

Heavens no I didn't think that you were being demeaning! I hope that I didn't sound like I was lecturing you. It just made me chuckle when I thought of you having to hold yourself back to a speed that's slightly faster than I can maintain for only 3 minutes at a time right now I was also trying to imply that your run is pretty impressive to a new runner. I just didn't make my point very well.

One of my goals in running is to improve my aerobic capacity for mountain biking here in Colorado. Thanks for the link to the paper. I'm always interested in learning how to work smarter, not harder.

[Crankin]

Since my TM run on Monday, which included 2 five minute intervals of running at 10:00 mm, as well as a couple of 3 minute runs at the same pace, I haven't run. I was OK when I was doing it, but I felt awful the next day. I probably won't run again until Monday.
The running at a consistent faster pace seems to bring out my fibromyalgia symptoms. I think I just need to get my body used to this level of impact exercise. We'll see.