April 20-26 Runs

[Susan Otcenas]

My long run was scheduled for Sunday, but after a serious climbing workout on my bike on Saturday (Delorme said 6600' over 41 miles, though I'm skeptical), I decided to push my long run until Monday. Glad I did, too! After feeling how tired my legs were during my Sunday swim class, I knew I'd made the right choice.

I ran the same 7.25 mile course for the 3rd week in a row. Averaged 10 minute miles, which I was very pleased about.

One small problem was that my Achilles tendons felt a little sore after mile 5 or so. I tend to get really sore achilles tendons on very long bike rides or after 3-4 consecutive days of riding. My bike fitter says that comes from a tendency to drop the heel when tired. So, I imagine yesterday's achilles issues were actually from Saturday's ride, not the run itself.

I'm glad I have until October to train for the 1/2 marathon. It will allow me to build my mileage very very slowly, which will hopefully keep these minor aches and pains to a minimum.

[OakLeaf]

I did a little over 10 yesterday. I was all stressed out and didn't have that great of a run, but I really tried to keep a serene outlook, focused on form, energy and gratitude.

Moving day tomorrow. I packed up my bike and took it to FedEx yesterday. I might get a little run in the morning, might not.

Weird Susan, my Achilles trouble comes from dropping my TOES when I ride, pushing off with the toes when I run (both of which I'm really really working on) and toeing off in aerobics (pretty much unavoidable, I'm not really looking forward all that much to going back to the gym). Working out the trigger points in my calves really helps (lots of them ), but not creating them to begin with is even better.

[yellow]

Susan, I'm with you. The 20-somethings at the Crossfit gym don't understand why I do the whole mileage build, rest weeks, tapering, etc. Could I make the distance? Sure. But would I want to undertrain and be totally wiped out for days afterwards or injured? No. But I also need to be careful about too much training and getting the proper amount of rest. The line between undertraining and overtraining is so very thin. I learn a lot every time I take on a new challenge.

Oak, good luck with the move. I hate moving. I'd rather have a root canal.

After my rest week last week, it's back at it this week. Lots of crosstraining...I've ended up replacing one of my running days entirely with an intense crosstrain day, which I think has ended up making my legs much happier. There is a Fat A$$ trail marathon here this weekend and I might do most (or all) of it (it's in my 'hood, so I can drop just about anywhere and walk home). I am scheduled for a 22-24 miler, so I could use it as a training run and have some company. The hardest part of the long runs for me is staying focused and motivated; much easier to accomplish with a group of people needing the same sort of company.

Happy running, everyone!

[jesvetmed]

Yellow: The company on your long run sounds like a good bet. Over 6 miles and I am BORED (although the focus on trying to breathe helps ). Good luck either way!

I only had 3.5 miles on the schedule today -- a warm up, and #16 x 30 sec sprints, followed by 30 sec "active rest". Today, I took that to mean fast walking . As I get more sprinting in I'll jog that section, but not today! It actually felt VERY good. I was surprised. 16 sprints sounded daunting going into it.

So far, so good... all injuries at bay. But, as Yellow and Oak mentioned -- smart training and taking care of problems BEFORE they occur will be the key. Otherwise, you get forced rest weeks... several in a row! I'm hoping to be done with that!

Happy Moving Day, Oak!

[Crankin]

Riding 3 days in a row last weekend wiped me out! Spring allergies are in the air and I am swamped with work for grad school.
Monday I "rested" by walking 3 miles in the Patriot's Day parade with the military family support group. Marching over the Old North Bridge with people clapping for us and saying "thank you" made up for my aching body.
Yesterday, it was raining. I went to the gym, hoping I would run, but as soon as I got on the treadmill, I knew it was a no-go. I did 15 minutes of a run-walk interval, about 1.5 miles. I did the run at 5.7 mph and I walked at 4.0 mph, at a 3% incline. Then I went and got on the elliptical for 15 minutes and did intervals in terms of both resistance and intensity. Then I lifted weights and did all of my core/stretching.
Today is beautiful out and I have to go into Cambridge to work on a group project. By the time I get back, it's probably going to be raining . I had hoped to ride, but it looks like I might be doing a short run.
I don't know what I will have time for tomorrow....

[SJCzar]

I've been reading these weekly run threads for awhile now so I guess it's time I joined in too.

I'm in week 13 of a 16 week half-marathon training program (my first). It's been going fine so far but now that the mileage has increased so much I'm finding it harder to schedule the runs around work, all the cycling I'd like to be doing, other competitive events, and family obligations. I'm sure that every other one of you experiences this same problem.

I've learned to be flexible and not be so hard on myself if I don't stick to the program exactly as it is. Moving my long run day or speed work day forward or back won't cause me to loose all the progress I made so far .... at least that's what I try to tell myself. I'm taking some vacation time tomorrow morning so I can get in my 8 mile tempo run to stay on track for this week. I have never loved running like I love cycling so using vacation time for that is definitely not something I would have thought of doing before I started all this. Oh well, I'm sure I'll think it's all worth it when I hopefully cross the finish line (with a smile on my face)

[Susan Otcenas]

Speedwork on the treadmill this morning:

1.0 mile warmup @ 11:00/mile
1.0 mile @ 9:48
0.5 mile @ 11:00
1.0 mile @ 9:48
0.5 mile @ 11:00
1.0 mile @ 9:48
1.0 mile cool @ 11:00
0.35 walking
Total distance = 6.35mile Time = 70 minutes.

This workout was one additional mile at race pace than the last speed workout I did 3 weeks ago. About halfway through the 3rd fast mile I was ready for it to be done, but I managed to hold the pace without my form falling apart.

SJCzar - my solution is getting up really stinkin' early. I'm out there by 5:30a.m. typically. I'm working up to a half as well, but mine isn't until October.

My long run day is Sunday, but sometimes I'm just too tired after my Saturday ride to make it happen. I'll swim on Sunday and take it relatively easy the rest of the day (I'm not a big kicker, so swimming doesn't tax my legs that much.) Then, I'll do the long run on Monday morning instead. Monday is supposed to be my rest day, so doing it Monday doesn't really throw off my schedule (since I'm basically resting my legs Sunday instead.)

Be flexible and don't be too hard on yourself. A missed workout here or there, in the grand scheme, doesn't usually amount to much lost. Sometimes we just need a break.

Susan

[Crankin]

Well, I am more than half way through my week from H*ll. Did a quick run this morning, 2.2 miles. It was cold, 39, but I was dressed right for once.
Didn't wear my Garmin, didn't care, either. Actually, I decided to go up the steep side of the hill, a first for a run. Then I found out why I don't usually do this; my right knee was really complaining, so I walked to the top and then ran down to my driveway.
I am still obsessing on the nice weather I will miss when I am in class all weekend, but I will be able to get a good ride in tomorrow. Not long, but enough to make me feel like I rode. I will probably run Saturday when I get home. I've actually thought about riding into Cambridge on Sunday, on my Jamis, but I know that when we are done at 4 PM, I will want to get home as quickly as possible and the ride would probably be 1 hr. 15, given the city riding in the beginning, going through a couple of busy areas after that, and riding a heavier bike, loaded with my books. So, I'll probably ride when I get home.
I'm testing out the WIFI on the commuter train. Pretty cool.

[Urlea]

Meshing the busy work schedule with a busy training schedule is difficult. Getting up at 5am to run actually worked out well this morning, feels like I have a lot more hours in my day.

Decent run, warm weather & nice company. I only went 5miles as I am starting to taper for the marathon. Trying to still maintain some HIM training while tapering is a trick. So far so good. My left hamstring has been tight most of this week, not sure why, but it has happened before. Thinking I just need to baby my muscles a little bit & make sure I am stretching.

Great job getting out there & running so far this week ladies! Keep it up!

[yellow]

My running has been a little "off" this week, but this made me feel better. And then I started to watch a bunch of the other ones from Running Superfans.

Looking like rain for tomorrow. I'm not running the trail mary (portion) if it's raining!

[Urlea]

LOL! I love those! Somebody on twitter tipped me off to them last week, I laughed so hard.

[Susan Otcenas]

Meshing the busy work schedule with a busy training schedule is difficult. Getting up at 5am to run actually worked out well this morning, feels like I have a lot more hours in my day.

Yup! That's why I get up so dang early and do my workouts. It's the only way I can get more hours in the day!

4.4 miles this morning. After a few weeks of a warming trend, it was back to 33 degrees again this morning. Had to whip out the warmer tights and run tuke.

The last couple of weeks I've been dragging Jeff out of bed so he can go do some early morning run/walk workouts on his own. (That man is NOT a morning person ) He has some knee issues so he generally tries to take it easy. He ran 40 minutes without a break this morning. I was so proud of him! But also a little jealous. It took me nearly 3 months of effort, 3 days a week, to work up to running that long. And his legs are sooooo long that he covers much more distance in that time period that I can. *sigh*

I watched the final of the women's Boston marathon. I was struck by the height (and leg length) difference between the two gals who finisihed first & second. What this tells me is that I need to suck it up and not use my stubby little legs as an excuse, eh?

Susan

[michelem]

Another whacky-weather day here in N. CA! So, early last week it was in the 50's and low 60's, then bang! it was 80. Then, it got up to 96 on Wednesday this week! Yesterday it was 75. Today, woke up to rain. It cleared, got up to about 70, but quite windy. Well, I had my heart set on a run after work, so I went anyway! I headed over to the river trail and started out at about 70 with wind gusts at around 25mph. The wind was in my face THE WHOLE WAY, out and back! I kept telling myself that when I turned around at the dam to head back I’d have the wind at my back! HAH! It didn’t work that way. Maybe it was a cross-wind. Whatever. It felt like I was running in slo-mo. But, I made it the whole approx. 6.5 miles, hills included (and there were plenty) in under an hour. Not great, but not horrible considering I’ve been concentrating on P90X and not running. Saw a coyote, lots of wild turkeys, and a few geese as well. The dark clouds were rolling back in as I got back, so I’m thinking perhaps more rain tonight. We’ll see. I think we are safely out of the heat wave for now!

Wishing you all a Happy Weekend!

[OakLeaf]

Hills. Wind. Heat. Three days with no cardio. 6.25 miles, easy, just to let my legs start to remember what hills feel like. Think I'll slack off the speedwork for a couple of weeks while I get reacquainted with elevation change. Ack.

[Urlea]

Kudos to those of you running in the wind & warmer temps this week. That is tough!!! It has been windy here as well, but it was a warm wind so I really shouldn't complain.

This morning however, was a different story. No wind thankfully, but no warmth. I was back to wearing tights, beanie, gloves & fleece jacket. I along with many running the Fargo Marathon still have no idea what gear we are going to be able to wear, but Lord knows we've gotten the opportunity to try every possible outfit at least once since the temps have been fluctuating between 30-80 degrees.

Unfortunately my marathon training program ended a week short, it somehow had me running my next Sunday, but it isn't for another 13 days so I called up Maggy my running buddy (it's awesome to have a running buddy now) and found out what time the marathon training group was leaving from the LRS & how far they were going.

Ran a very pleasant 13miles with them @ at 10:45 pace today. Felt great. I had to take my first unallocated rest day in three months yesterday to give my legs a break. Did me a world of good, I got home from running wishing I could have gone farther. But I'll be doing that soon enough, for now I'm trying to obey the taper. Argh.

I don't know about all of you, but I'm getting excited to read some more race reports! It's getting to be that season.

Happy running this weekend ladies!