I Agree

It has certainly been an interesting week of running, or not running. I think I ran only 5 miles in total last week, but it was a nice 5 miles.

Planning to get back in the saddle this week. I did an hour on the elliptical today and it felt really good. I am completely stressed out with my job market paper and presentation and the gym is pretty much the only thing that makes me feel better. Will try to do 6 tomorrow, but it might have to be indoors due to early darkness.

I can't believe the Half is less than 3 weeks away! I hope I am still in shape... it's been a battle since the Arc Half!

about 9 miles...but need to get back on schedule

It's been very busy this week, and I neglected running too much. 3 weeks to go! yikes!

I need to pick up my mileage a little bit, but really just run more frequently. I have to not be afraid to do 2 days in a row running, but I also need to avoid injuring my knee again (which was giving me some trouble on the last mile of my run today). Back to the quad exercises too!

Can't believe it's only 3 weeks away!

A bit of this and a bit of that

I ran 7.2 miles two days ago, and rested yesterday. It felt good to run outside again, which I don't get a chance to do except on the weekends. It's tough with 3 kids, running hither and yon. Feeling good about the half-marathon, although I have to say that the last mile of my 7 was a bit dragging. Mid-day runs are not the best for me, I think because it is hard to figure out when I should eat and how much.

Four Weeks to Go

Can't believe that Newport will be here in 4 weeks! That is crazy.

Over the weekend, I did a 9 mile run. I was in NH for a wedding and found a running club in Portsmouth that meets on Saturday mornings. It was a nice run, but my knee was absolutely killing me by the end.

Today I went out rollerblading, but only lasted for a half hour. My body is physically (and mentally) exhausted. I also don't think that wearing heels all weekend helped.

Have to drive back to Syracuse tomorrow, so I am not sure if I will be running.

Busy

Just wanted to write a quick post. This week I was in recovery mode from last weekend's half. My legs are still quite sore and I've experienced some pain that I've never had, so I wanted to take it easy. I ran 4 miles on the treadmill on Tuesday and did 40 minute elliptical sessions Thursday and Friday. I am going to Maine for a wedding this weekend. I want to meet up with a running club in Portsmouth, NH tomorrow morning at 8. They do an 8 mile run. We'll see how feasible that is with everything else going on! Happy running!

More treadmill

Because of time, I have only been able to run on the treadmill, but I did do 4 miles last night. I totally prefer running outside. I wonder if there is a way I can get over the darkness during the winter, so that I can run outside over the hard months.

Back in the saddle

6 mile run yesterday, no pain, yay! I was a bit winded, and I got the side cramp for a while in my run (what causes that anyway?), but knees and feet fine. My friend Plantar started acting up a bit last night.

First Half!

I made it! I completed the ARC half marathon in 1:55 today. It was a great running day and the course was pretty flat. This is the first race that I've run where I kept a positive attitude throughout! I am really excited but definitely ready to pass out right now.

Five with the Roommate

As I have stated here before, I dislike running in the morning. Today I was faced with a five mile run on my training schedule, but no time to run this afternoon. I had two choices, scrap it or suck it up and get out of bed early. Normally I would have scrapped the run, but right now my classmate Ryan is living on my couch and he is a morning person who just happens to have been running 5 miles several times per week. So, I made Ryan drag me out of bed and go running this morning. We did 5 miles from the apartment and we did it at a pretty good pace.

The foot wasn't too bad during the run, but now when I walk around it hurts quite a bit. I have a massage this afternoon, so I will see if there is anything the massage therapist can do for me! Day off tomorrow and my first half marathon on Saturday!! The weather is supposed to be cool and cloudy-- perfect!

Cross Training Yesterday, Intervals Today

After taking Sunday off and icing my knee and ankles, I did an hour of cross training on the elliptical on Monday. I actually felt better than anticipated. After about 45 minutes or so, I started to get a little knee pain and that same pain near my left ankle. Iced when I got home and kept a compression sleeve on the knee for awhile last night.

This afternoon, I went back to running. Today was a tempo interval day, so I went to the gym. I did a total of 6 miles, 1 mile warm-up and 3 x 1.5 miles at 8:40 pace and whatever was left over to recover after the tempo runs. I had zero knee pain which was nice, but my left foot is still screwed up. It hurts when I push off, under my ankle bone and kind of through the arch. Overall, I was pretty satisfied. Off day tomorrow.

Time to start applying for jobs. Scary.

5.2 yesterday...no knee problems

Did a 5.2 yesterday, no motrin, and no knee problems all day (until late in the day, when I was running around with kids playing football. Not a good idea). Did my leg workout tonight, and feeling good. First day of school tomorrow! I'll do a run tomorrow night to celebrate. Perhaps an hour on the treadmill, because I probably won't be able to get out before dark. I've got to look back at the half-marathon training schedule, to see how far behind I am!

12 Down 1.1 to Go

On Saturday night I ran 12 miles. The course took me out to DeWitt and then back to the city on rolling hills, and it seemed a lot more uphill than downhill. This is the farthest I've ever run, and after running 12 I question whether I could ever run a full marathon. The first 7 or so miles weren't too bad, but on the way back I had to run on sidewalks because it was pretty dark and that just absolutely killed my knees. It is really frustrating to feel fully in control of your cardiovascular system but not in control over the aches and pains in the knees, ankles, etc. Oh well, I suppose with a little (or a lot) of Motrin I will be able to get through 13.1 next weekend.

Surprises

So it's been a bit over a year since I started running, and I think it is time for a bit of philosophizing or psychoanalysis. Looking back at the old posts, like this one, I can see how far I really have come. I just ran 30 straight minutes, and could probably run farther if I wasn't watching my knee.

There have been a number of surprises about running for me. I always expected that running was limited by your cardio-vascular system, and that having asthma growing up I'd never be able to do it. Even when my asthma went away, I always thought that running would be too strenuous for me...but I never thought that it would be my legs that would give me the hardest time. This plantar injury, and then the knee issues have really taken me by surprise. I hope that in a year I can look back at this and be like me looking back at this other post, with a slight grin of knowledge and experience.

Finally, I am surprised that I actually like running, that I miss it when I can't do it. That to me is the most remarkable thing, and I still don't completely understand it. But it is now the longest I have maintained any exercise regimen, and not without some hurtles!

At last!

So I finally am to the point where I ran 3 miles without ending in a limp (I did the treadmill, just in case). Icing my knee as we speak (or, rather, as I type). I feel totally out of shape, but it probably isn't as bad as I think. And I have several weeks to go to get back into the swing of things. Now I have to start worrying about my classes...

Crazy Week

Just a quick summary of the week's running related activities. Did a 10 mile rollerblading outing on Monday night. Tuesday did 5 miles on the treadmill alternating 1/2 mile 8:00 min mile pace and rest periods. Hamstrings were sore after that. Took Wednesday off and played a little golf. Today I was thinking about doing a long run, but had five hours worth of meetings and it was too late to go outside for a run. Went to the gym and did an elliptical workout instead. That's about it.