Gold Coast HM Training Weeks 1-2 {AKA the time I figured out how to insert GIFs on blogger}

Sooooo where were we? Oh, riiiight I was going to do weekly training posts.  Haha, lol. Did anyone really think that was going to happen?

Lolz even more. Gifs are my life sometimes.

Anyway, as for actual training, the last few weeks I have stayed in the high 40s in mileage. Nearly all my easy runs are in the 8:45-9:15 range, (though getting a tad faster as it gets a little cooler).

I've stuck with one long run per week, and added a tempo at HM pace. I decided (on the expert advice of Kristen) to start small on the tempo, and to only do one workout (tempo or speed) per week. With my injury history, I just really don't think it is wise to try much more.

So without further ado:

Week 1 (10 weeks out from GCHM) 26 April - 2 May:
Sunday: 14 miles easy
Monday: off
Tuesday: 8 miles easy
Wednesday: 8 miles with 2 x 1 miles at HM pace
Thursday: off
Friday: 9 miles easy
Saturday: 7 miles easy.
Total: 46 miles

As for the tempo miles, wowza.  The aim of that run wasn't really to do a workout, per se. It was (1) to test out how HM pace felt, to get an idea of how much fitness I needed to build before Gold Coast HM, and (2) to ease my body into hard running.  I noted in my fastrunningblog that it was this time last year that I jumped from 41 to 50 miles in one week, and added 6 x 1 mile repeats at HM/10K pace. I got a SFx three days later. Eeek! SO, I wanted to be cautious and ease into the harder work.

The 2 x 1 miles were 6:49 and 6:41 with 0.5 mile jog recovery.  Honestly, I had a hard time dialing into that HM pace that used to feel so intuitive. Those miles were faster than what that pace should feel like; they felt much closer to 10K pace! It meant that I needed to aim a bit slower for next time... aaaaand that this slow-poke has lost a little fitness over the year!

Week 2  (3 May - 9 May) saw about the same stuff.
Sunday: 14 miles easy
Monday: off
Tuesday: 8 miles easy
Wednesday 9 miles easy
Thursday: 7.5 miles with 2 x 1.5 miles at HM pace.
Friday: off
Saturday: 6.5 miles easy.
Total: 45 miles

(The 6.5 because I cannot cope with a 0.5 mile hanging over me for the week. Yaaaay OCD.)

The 2 x 1.5 were 6:51 and 6:55 respectively, which is around where I need to be on pace. And I definitely felt the difference in effort!

And I'll go into details next post (AREN'T YOU ALL SUPREMELY LUCKY) but this week I moved up to 48 miles and had an encouraging tempo run. I'll gradually add intervals/distance to these - and with any luck will be able to string a few miles together at that pace come race day!

Overall though, even if I don't, it is just amazing to be back running again healthily. Last year was so mired in injury. Even when I was back running, it was that cautious "bugger-Im-about-to-injury-something" running. It hit me on the treadmill today, that I finally wasn't running in fear. Ugh, that's a terrible feeling.

The one positive aspect of it is that I'm much more diligent about running slowly, stretching, rolling and eating properly than I have been in the past. Especially the latter. I have generally monitored my weight, but for the first time, I've been just focusing on eating enough and whether it makes me feel good running. And I gotta say, running is worlds easier when you have enough calories in your system.

And on that note, I'll leave you with a couple of photos I took from Rozelle/Blackwattle Bay that I frequently run around.

Anyone else find themselves running in fear after a sustained period of injury? Do you feel like you're more conscious of doing all the right recovery things because of it? Does it make you feel more inclined to use GIFs at any and every opportunity?

El Take It Easy

There used to be a Mexican restaurant in San Diego by this name. Brilliant! They served the cuisine of the Guadalupe Valley, which is the wine region of Baja California. And they had tons of mescal martinis. Mescal is sort of tequila’s smoky, piney cousin.

El take it easy is not just an out-of-business restaurant – it was also my training motto this week.

My legs were trashed after the La Jolla Half Marathon. Specifically, below the knees - from clomping down a pretty steep hill at max speed. Calves were tight, shins were sore, and my joints/bones/connective tissue felt generally pounded out. Therefore, el take it easy this week!

Monday, I needed to get in some sunshine before a work trip to NYC. 4 miles easy through the neighborhood.

Tuesday, in NYC. I wasn’t even tempted to run. It was cold, windy, and raining! 45 minutes on the elliptical. Ate dinner at Il Postino, classic NY Italian. Great service, not that impressed with the food.

Wednesday, in NYC. In the morning, I did an easy 3 miles on the treadmill (still raining). Flight cancelled, so in the evening did 30 minutes on the elliptical and a pull-up workout (still raining). Total rain for the day = 5 inches! But I managed to dodge the rain drops to get to Eataly and devoured a delicious pizza!

Thursday, back in San Diego where it was very hot! 99 degrees. 4 miles easy in Balboa Park.

Friday, core/legs at the gym. Another hot day – headed to Fathom for a beer after work. This is a little tap room/sausage place on the pier at Shelter Island.

Saturday, still hot . . . ran 5 hot miles in Balboa Park in the morning, and headed to the ocean for 3 miles of kayaking at La Jolla Shores. Saw sea lions, seals, and dolphins out swimming! So cool!!

So with the race and el take it easy the rest of the week, it was a 30 mile week (not counting the kayaking).

Two Little Runners

Kristen

ran / rested / ran / rested / recovered

So last week's big deal was the 16K trail race with over 1000 feet of elevation gain. And > 1000 feet loss. All in one course! This produced SORE QUADS and a lingering fatigue even after the soreness was gone. But then . . . some thing cool happened ~~~~~~~

Day after the race – MONDAY the 14th of April 2014 – I did a 4.5 mile easy (and very, very slow) run through my neighborhood – MISSION HILLS – and tried to avoid those HILLS! But really, you can’t. It's hilly EVERYWHERE. Then I hopped on a plane to NYC. 6 hours later, I emerged an angry (temporary) New Yorker.

TUESDAY (4/15) – I had a quick workout at the hotel gym (Affinia 50, pretty nice). 20 minutes elliptical (very easy) and some yoga. LEGS SORE. Especially the LEFT Quad.

Noted, NYC just isn't as fun without Penny. :-(

WEDNESDAY (April 16) – complete rest. And another 6 hour flight back to SD. Ah, the joys of work travel. LEGS still SORE.

THURSDAY (the 17th!) – Soreness almost gone, but I underestimated the LINGERING FATIGUE in my attempt at a THRESHOLD RUN OF 6 MILES AT GOAL HALF MARATHON PACE (6:50!!) = 9 miles total. I didn’t hit G-HM-P at all! Not a single mile:  1 - 6:54, 2 - 7:08, 3 - 7:11, 4 - 7:04, 5 - 7:18, 6 - 7:03.

Reasons?

• Well, I was not well fueled (ran at 2:30 p.m., supposed to run at 1 p.m. but CONFERENCE CALLS interfered!!!). 
• And I was tired from my quick, 36 hours trip to NYC. 
• Legs were still wrecked from Sunday’s trail race. 
• It was also windy, and I ran in Balboa Park – which is quite hilly . . . 
• and I afterwards, I felt that I was not fit enough for this tough workout, given my low mileage in February, March, and April (only 20 miles most weeks). 

The thought went through my HEAD: the 1:30:xx may not be in my FUTURE just yet . . .

FRIDAY, April 18 – core/legs/whatever weights workout at THE GYM.

By Saturday (19), I felt awesome! Easy run along Ocean Beach bike PATH. 7.5 miles at an effortless 8:10ish pace.

Sunday 4/20 – LONG RUN of 13 miles on Ocean Beach bike path to the Ocean Beach Pier and back. Did most miles at 8:15ish and last 2 miles MODERATE at 7:30 + slightly uphill. I was floating through this run. Legs felt strong again!!

Is this CrAZZzzzY? I think that 16K trail race that I ran 8 days ago made a noticeable improvement in my fitness . . . could those hills (up and down!) have really made an impact already??? ? ??

Perhaps the 1:30:xx at SD RnR Half (jUne 1) is STILL possible ? ? ? ?

Two Little Runners ~ Kristen

PS - it's boring without a picture. The HILLS of MissIOn hIlLS

Copycat 1Q 2014 Update: Running, Running.... Injury Again

Its been a long time between posts; longer than usual! My life in Sydney has finally settled into a bit of a routine. All our stuff arrived from America only a few weeks ago, and up until then we had been using a cardboard box as a couch, and eating with plastic cutlery. Not exactly a third world situation, given this occurred in an inner city high rise apartment, but not the funnest.

When I began this post, my first sentence was "The last two months have been a good mileage build up for me." And they have been.... until three weeks ago.

So lets go back a step. As I canvassed in my last post about recovering from injury, my mileage in January was: 28, 26, 32, 35 miles for each week. Mostly all easy. I had two notable attempts at tempo runs (2 x 2 miles at HM pace), which came in around 6:50-6:55avg paces. Not great, but not terrible given the amount of time I had off running. I also tried another treadmill speed workout: 6 x 800m at 5K pace with 400m jog recoveries (1.5% incline). Wow. Yeah... so these still hurt as much as I remembered them. But I was very pleased with the result. I ran 4 of the 5 at 6:27, then the last at 6:20. It was hard, but not vomit-inducing hard, so that was encouraging.

And February saw some good running, especially after we moved into our new place. I even took a few pictures of my new routes. We live in the center of the Sydney CBD, so my running takes me all around Sydney harbor, over all the bridges, around the Opera House and through the Botanical Gardens. Having run all over my two fabulous countries, I have to say this city is the most beautiful running city I have lived in so far. It truly does have everything; the sights of New York, the weather of San Diego... doesnt quite rival the hipness of Melbourne, but getting there ;)

You can run right around the Opera House, to my delight!

Several of my routes take me directly beneath or over the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Part of the 'Domain' run, which takes you through the Botanical Gardens and down towards the Opera House

Harbor bridge from the Opera House

One of my many bridges; this is Victoria Road bridge, part of the Iron Cove run

Iron cove run. My photography sucks. But this was stunning.

February mileage: 42, 44, 44, 38 (a down week)

March mileage: I made the jump to the 50s: 51, 50... aaaaaand 10. Before I tell you what happened, I did have one great workout in there... 6 x 1 mile repeats at an average of about 6:40 pace, which was great. About the same pace before my injury last year, so I was at least back to my old fitness levels, pre-hip injury.

Now. Cue the judgey "look at that mileage bump you idiot" faces.

Ok, so let me explain. I had read some really good research demonstrating that the 10% rule is just as likely as anything else to generate injuries. A better injury prevention technique is actually to use down-weeks. You can increase your mileage by, say, 5-6 miles (my jump from 44-50) by inserting down weeks. Seemed like a good plan, and I actually still believe in it.

The real reason I got injured was that I was failing to do all the other stuff you need to do while increasing mileage to avoid injury. I basically completely wagged stretching and foam rolling, because I didn't want to waste valuable running time. I was fueling right, and still strength training pretty well, but the other recovery stuff was not happening. Let me tell you, as soon as I got on a foam roller after my injury... OW. Yeah. Silly girl.

So, the injury itself happened in a fairly miserable way. I stopped running at 10 miles into a very hot 14-miler, with foot pain. Up til that time, I had been reeeally dehydrated, and was not feeling good at all. I tried to call a cab, but couldn't get one, so called my husband to come and get me. Then it started pouring rain.Oh, and the city was celebrating St Patricks day, so it took us about 45 minutes to drive 4 miles home. Kill me.

Anyway, the self-diagnosis is plantar fascitis. I knew it as soon as I felt it.

As anyone who has had this injury knows, its on its own healing schedule. I feel glad that I stopped running when I did; its been three weeks since I last ran, and my foot is finally feeling a lot better. I am going to take another week of non-impact exercise before I try running again. I'm super paranoid about it because my husband has had this injury for years from his time in the Marine Corps, so I am not going to tempt fate with it!

So....enter the pool running! We have a really lovely pool in our apartment building, and my morning workouts there last about 45-60 mins, and I always always do intervals! Favorites so far are:
Sprints: 20 x 1 min hard, 1 min easy;
Ladders: 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 mins hard, with 1 min easy in between
Blocks: 8 x (2 mins hard, 1 min hard with 1 min recoveries)
(always with 5-10 mins warmup, then 5 mins cool down).
I like adding 10 x 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy onto the workouts if I'm feeling good. With these, I go as hard as possible, with a real focus on using my core. Its a great core workout!

I have been doing those about 5 times a week (as often as I run) with one strength day, and one rest day. Its not running, but it keeps me sane... and its actually a really pleasant way to start the day! I attach my ipod mini to my head band, put my flotation belt on, and try to ignore the extremely odd and bewildered looks I get from the poor fellow who has to clean the pool in the mornings. As much as pool running is the best workout for injured runners... its not a sight we need to share with the world.

So there you have it. The beginning of 2014: was injury recovery, running, running, injury again. Such is the life of a distance runner, right?

All work, no play . . . 1Q2014

In the good old days, I posted on my training weekly – more or less. Recently, work has been positively insane (travel to Chicago, NY 2x, and DC already this year), impacting not only the frequency of my blogging but also my training. I haven’t posted on my training all year, and my training has been widely inconsistent.

So here it is my 1Q 2014 training report.

January – weekly total mileage 49 (15K PR), 34, 18, 23 (Half Marathon PR), 9.

     Year started off right with two weeks of consistent training and a 15K PR! Then my hip started acting up, but I ran a Half Marathon PR notwithstanding. Finally got into the doctor in late January, and hip issue (bursitis) no big deal. Immediately and completely resolved by an $80 insole.

    Traveled for work to Chicago A/K/A Chi-beria. BRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!  Stayed at the Langham downtown - one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at. Awesome rooms, great restaurant, embarrassingly good service. 

Swanky room at the Langham in Chicago. The window
between the tub and bedroom frosted with the flip of a switch!

February – weekly total mileage 27, 14, 32 (10 mile PR), 27

     Strong first week. Then a trip to Las Vegas took a bite out of my mileage during the second week of the month. I stayed at the Cosmopolitan – which I really enjoyed. Loved the Chandelier Bar. Maybe loved it too much – stayed out until 5 a.m. Who am I? 

Huge chandelier drapes around the 3 story bar.

Cosmo rooms pretty nice for Vegas. Great view. 

   
     Next week was good solid training week - with a 10 mile race PR!  Last week of February, I had a scare with my joints. I ran a 13 mile long run to Cabrillo National Monument and Rosecrans National Cemetery, and the route has a lot of rolling hills, many of them steep. My joints felt achy for almost a week. Looked back at my training logs, and I ran this route just days before I sprained my ankle last year!

     Meanwhile, I traveled to New York for work for a week. I took zero pictures, which I take to mean that after 7 years of traveling to New York regularly, I’m no longer a tourist there. I’m just an angry, pissed off (temporary) New Yorker.

March – weekly total mileage 14, 34 (5K PR), 13, 15

     Two more work trips this month, to New York and DC, taking a toll on my mileage. Plus just insane hours ruined me – busy, busy, busy! 

I happened to be in DC during the few days that it was in the 60s/70s.
Ran on the Capital Crest Trail at sunset. 

      Ran a relatively high mileage week the week of the San Diego 5K, where I smashed my PR on a downhill course. 

My first trophy!

     Last two weeks this month, between being buried at work and having the flu, I could only squeeze in a few runs. Missed the San Diego Hot Chocolate 15K due to the flu. 

***

So training has been inconsistent – swinging between 30 mile weeks and 15 mile weeks. But I’ve still managed to PR every single race I’ve run so far this year. I am beginning to think I am a low mileage runner. 

Two Little Runners ~ Kristen 

Big week to medium week to crap-my-hip-hurts week

Medium week:  Following my big 48 mile week, including a PR 15K!, I cut back a little bit for a 35 mile week and also began my pull up workouts. I was feeling energized, great, and positive. Looking forward to the Carlsbad Half (on Sunday 1/19)!

Su 1/5

Needed a REST DAY post-race. Did Yoga For Athletes DVD, felt amazing!

M 1/6

RUN: 8.75 miles easy in the morning.

PULL UP: Workout #1. 3x10 assisted pullup, 3x15 low row, 3x15 3 way shoulder raises, 3x10 assisted dips.

Tu 1/7

RUN: Legs and core workout.

W 1/8

RUN: 7 miles easy, but hilly, in the morning

PULL UP: 2 miles easy on treadmill as warm up to pull up workout #2. 2x20 pushups, 3 sets cable rows, 3 sets military press, 3 sets pullovers, 2 sets 3 way plank

Th1/9

RUN: Speed workout on treadmill 6.5 miles total with 6 x 0.6 at 9.0 (6:39 pace) with 0.25 rest intervals at 6.0 (10:00) @ 2%

F 1/10

RUN: 2 miles easy on treadmill

PULL UP: Workout #3. 3x15 bar pull ups, 3x15 supinated pull downs, 3x15 upright rows, 3x15 close grip bench press

Sa 1/11

RUN: 8 miles easy

Crap-my-hip-hurts week:  So I went on a 15.5 mile long run on Sunday. Goal was a confidence boosting run for the race. After, my legs felt cranky. You know--sore, tense, curled up. By Monday, I noticed stiffness and soreness in my right hip.

Then Tuesday I sat on an airplane to Chicago for 4+ hours. Sat in meetings all day Wednesday and then another 4+ hour flight back to San Diego. Not good for el hippo.

I consulted Penny, who suggested it was hip bursitis, and then I consulted the internets, which pretty much confirmed it. 

I came across a Dr. Metzl video on Runner's World website on hip injuries, which I think EVERY RUNNER NEEDS TO WATCH!!!!!!! Hip injuries are potentially very serious, as we've all learned from Penny's femoral neck stress reaction. In short, pain in the front of the hip - bad, bad, bad! STOP RUNNING!!! Pain in the side of the hip - you're probably alright. Usually a case of too much too soon. 

Please, please, please watch the video!!

So I laid low the rest of the week. Doing tons of yoga, stretching, rolling. And I'm feeling pretty decent! Race day is Sunday!!

Su 1/12

RUN: 15.5 miles

M 1/13

RUN: 3 miles easy on treadmill.

PULL UP: 3x20 push ups; 3x15 single arm rows (20 lbs); 3x15 front raises (10 pound plate); 3 way planks 2x30 seconds.

Th 1/14

RUN: legs and core workout.

W 1/15

Traveling, etc. for work. No workouts.

Th 1/16

PULL UP: 3x10 assisted chin ups, 3x15 low rows, 3x15 3 way shoulder raises, 3x6 dips (unassisted), 3x15 bar pull ups, 3x30 sec 3 way planks.

F 1/17

Yoga, stretching, rolling

S 1/18

Yoga, stretching, rolling

Kristen 

Going Home(Grown) and Getting Running (And Moo-ed At)

I'm still alive! Hullo hullo! As promised, coming to you at approximately 3 a.m. U.S.-Pacific time

Obviously everyone gets vaaaay busy over the holidays. This becomes exponentially more ridiculous when you're moving countries, packing up your crap, finding new places to live, leaving old jobs, beginning new ones... AND BEGINNING RUNNING AGAIN OMG. 

So, yar, beginning running again would probably have been even more exciting that moving countries... if it wasn't for my renewed ability to cuddle THE CUTEST NIECES AND NEPHEWS IN THE WORLD OMG. 

LOOK AT THAT FACE

For the first couple of weeks here, I stayed at my parents' place in country Victoria (cuddling said nieces and nephews). My parents are avid gardeners and apparently are also trying their hand at forestry. I am actually being serious. Parts of the property are getting that kept-wild look.

 Here is the civilized side: roses...pretty lawn...solar panels...

 

 And out the back, the veggie garden, "orchard" and beyond...

Aaand...gah, forest!

There is a garage here somewhere...

Anyway, parentals, as I know you are reading this, the place looks GREAT. And I have certainly been enjoying the "fruits" of your labor. My running has been fueled by all-sorts of home-grown goodies. Snow peas, broccoli, mini squash (actual squash, not pumpkins... look up the difference Americans)... all different types of lettuce, apricots, cherries...

It's pretty amazing to be able to walk outside to "gather" together your lunch!

Running has been going well also. I spent December building up from my run-walks on the Pfizinger plan, to unbroken runs, which felt like a real victory! As Kristen said, the last 10% of healing seems to take forever, and building mileage through that is a frustrating experience. But it's rewarding when you take it reeeeeally slow, and just focus on being healthy, before being fit.

Mileage wise, my first week running was 3 miles, then 10 miles, both in November, 2013.

Weeks 1-4 of December were: 8.5 miles, 14 miles, 15 miles and 22 miles respectively. Frankly, I haven't been off running too long, so the weekly mileage is not a big deal (in terms of taking it slow building up again). Going from 0 miles to almost 30 (presently) has felt like nothing in the rest of my body; no soreness or the stiffness I got when I first started running distances. All of the distances were run at a high-end easy pace... around 8-8:30min/mile.

What HAS been crucial, is keeping each run slow, and relatively short in order to not to put too much stress on my recently healed hip. I am very careful in building up the distance/intensity of individual runs, and making sure I have rest days between runs, and most especially if I've just run more than I have before. Initially my runs were 3-4 miles, then 4-5 miles, now they are between 5-11 miles (more on recent training later).

All in all, I would say its been a successful recovery, hurrah! Occasionally I have nearly panic-texted Kristen in the middle of the night (her time) whole-heartedly believing I've reinjured myself, but they always turn out to be phantom pains. The ONLY redeeming feature of these sorts of bone injuries, is that the bone actually heals stronger than it was originally. Good consolation prize, I reckon!

And I'll leave you with a picture of the road I spent most of my December runs on. Sun, trees, a very open road...and cows that seem to moo at my running in either a mocking or encouraging fashion... I can't really tell which:

~ Penny

Did I really find a way to complain about January temps in the 70s? And the complaint is that it caused me to run too much. Yep.

I commented on Gracie’s “Obligatory ‘I went running in the cold’ Post” that it’s been so beautiful in San Diego. It is perhaps too cruel to even mention that for the last two weeks we’ve been experiencing June in January while the rest of the country is frozen in.

Or perhaps not.

It’s been gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! January is absolutely the best month to run in San Diego. The sun is out, the skies are clear, but the temperatures are mild. Mid 50s in the mornings and low 70s at noon.

My mom texted me a weather report on Monday:  it was -45F in Illinois.

Conditions in Chicago

Meanwhile in San Diego, it was 75F.

Conditions in San Diego the same day (a view from the reading
room at our new central library).

130 degrees warmer . . . cRAzY!

Never-ending gorgeous days, however, have their own hazards! Having just come back from cold, snowy, icy Illinois for Christmas, I ran every single day the first week of January, resulting in a 49 mile week that included a 15K race – which I ran pretty hard.

Feel sorry for me?

Race week – 49 miles…oops!

12/29 (Sunday) – 13 mile long run on OB bike path and in Mission Bay. 8:30s and 8:00s at the end.

12/30 (Monday) – 6 mile easy run on treadmill. 8:30s mostly. +yoga

12/31 (Tuesday) – 6 mile easy run in Balboa Park + 6 short, steep hill sprints (about 40 steps). These left me sore for days. +yoga

1/1 (Wednesday) – 8.5 mile easy run on OB bike path and Presidio. Never saw another runner the entire time!

1/2 (Thursday) – 4 mile easy run on treadmill. Upper body/core. +yoga

1/3 (Friday) – 2 miles easy on treadmill as warm up to long yoga/stretching session.

1/4 (Saturday) – Resolution Run 15K. 9.4 miles at average pace of 7:08. 

two little runners
Kristen

Wanted: Half Mary Training Plan

I want to find a training plan for my next goal race (March 9, San Diego Half). So far, I've been generally base building and increasing mileage slowly, preparing for harder workouts in late December, January, and February.

Last half I trained for, I followed Jeff Galloway's half marathon plan. But I can't really evaluate the results because of bad weather conditions at that race (epic winds). The cornerstone of the Galloway plan was lots of speed work (weekly). Also weekly long runs, and less emphasis on tempos. I think the plan got me into great shape. But given my recent injury, doing all that speed work would put me at too high of risk for re-injury.

Anyone have a reco for a half marathon training plan???

As I already reported, I had a pretty good showing in the 3 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving! Last time I ran a race, back in April at the Carlsbad 5000, I remember my joints aching beforehand and my body generally complaining afterwards. And then I ran another 5 miles.

{{{shuddering}}} at the foolishness.

A few weeks later, to my great surprise (at the time), I sprained my ankle. Likely because my joints were not recovering from my 55 mile weeks, but I pressed on with 10 mile tempos, epic speed workouts, etc.

I learned from my mistake, the hard way (as usual): I cut back in mileage for the race. I ran only three days, but they were all outdoor runs. No treadmill! This is my highest outdoor mileage so far this training cycle.

Still base building - race week/cut back week: 18.5 miles

Monday – 11/25

     Legs/core weights

Tuesday – 11/26

     Stuck at work all day/night.

Wednesday – 11/27

     Travel to Illinois.

Thursday – 11/28 THANKSGIVING!

     Ran a 3 mile race in 19:19.  + warm up and cool down for 5 miles total

Friday – 11/29

     Bowling with my fam, does that count as exercise?

Saturday – 11/30

     5.5 miles easy with 10 strides of about 100 m. Strides made me sore!! 

Sunday – 12/1

     8.0 miles easy.

two little runners
~Kristen

Running . . Flossing . . Running . . Flossing

Last week I wrote that I was thinking about running the San Diego Half Marathon in March. I instantaneously became intense about training. In fact, this feeling of intensity has been building since I racked up a couple of 20 mile weeks in a row back in October. I poured over the pages of Raceplace Magazine, writing down in my training journal many exciting race possibilities.

My first race is going to be this week! A Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning back in my hometown in Illinois. My dad and I are running it together! Forecast is in the 30s, but sunny. Brrrrrrr! And I've registered for the Carlsbad Half - as a training run ONLY. I am pretty confident I'll be able to easily cover the distance by then. 

A big part of my recovery from my sprained ankle has been lots and lots of stretching, balancing work, and voodoo floss. 

You read that right - voodoo floss. It's a rubberized wrap that you can place around a joint (or muscle). Then you do range of motion exercises. The theory behind voodoo floss is similar to foam rolling - but on a smaller scale. As I understand it, the wrap is supposed to break apart scar tissue, which ultimately allows for greater range of motion. It's working for me!! I wrap my ankles up really tight and point, flex, point, flex for about 90 seconds and then write the alphabet with my toes. This takes about two minutes, and my shins are absolutely on fire at the end. 

Trying to hold back on training has been hard, but I started off my ~16 week training cycle for the SD Half with a great week of base training. 4 running days, equal amounts of treadmill and outside miles, for 25 total miles. And lots of rolling, yoga, and flossing. 

Base building - 25 miles

Monday - 11/18 

     Legs/core workout. 

     +yoga

Tuesday - 11/19

     6 mile progression run on treadmill. 9:00-8:00 with last 0.5 at 7:00. 

     +yoga

Wednesday - 11/20 

     6 mile threshold run on treadmill. 3.1 threshold miles at 7:24 pace. That's a 22:12 5k! Very excited about this workout. The 7:24 pace felt challenging at the end, but I definitely could have gone faster. 

     +yoga

Thursday - 11/21

     Yoga class

Friday - 11/22

     Rest (or, more accurately, chained to desk day)

Saturday - 11/23

     4.5 mile easy run on Embarcadero at about 8:30.

Sunday - 11/24

     8.5 mile long run on Ocean Beach bike path at about 9:00. Longest outdoor run so far!

     +yoga

two little runners 

~Kristen

Progress Progresses

Wow, I last reported in late October. Now it’s late November…where does the time go? Of late mine’s gone into the deep black, soul crushing hole of work. 

I spent a week in New York, which was made better by a weekend hanging out with Penny!

We spent an entire day shopping and neither of us bought ANYTHING! 

Except brunch at Serafina's, where we both ordered poached eggs on brioche. It was a gorgeous afternoon, so warm that we even sat outside!

I flew home on the day of the New York Marathon and watched the entirety of ESPN’s marathon broadcast on the plane. I really enjoyed the coverage, especially the exciting chase in the women’s race!

I ran 20 miles that week, 17 of which were on the treadmill. I upped my frequency of runs, even running three days in a row with no pain.

10/29 – 4.5 miles (treadmill)

10/30 – 4.5 miles (treadmill)

10/31 – 4.0 miles (treadmill)

11/2 – 4.5 miles (treadmill)

11/3 – 3.75 miles (outside, back in San Diego)

Next week was 15 miles with two runs outside. Outdoor runs are much harder on my ankle than the treadmill. So I was really pleased to get in two outside without any damage.

11/5 – 4.5 miles (treadmill)

11/6 – 5.0 miles (outside)

11/9 – 5.5miles (outside)

Last week, I spent a good chunk of time in Omaha where it was seriously cold! 9 degrees people! I managed to get 17 miles total, with two medium-long runs. INCLUDING ONE 8 MILE RUN! I am almost a runner again!

11/12 – 3.0 miles (treadmill)

11/14 – 8.0 miles (treadmill)

11/16 – 6.3 miles (outside)

So I've managed to continue steady progress in building back my running. I've had nearly two solid months of 12-20 mile weeks, and I'm ready to train for something! I'm thinking of putting the San Diego Half Marathon on my 2014 agenda. It's March 9 - almost 16 weeks away - and very conveniently located in downtown San Diego. 

One thing I've learned from previous training cycles is that it's best to allow for a long training period. This, I think, is especially applicable now as I will be simultaneously building back my strength and training for the race.

two little runners

~Kristen

The Little Runner Who Almost Could

two little runners ~Kristen 

For the last two weeks, this has been a regular scene in my office. 

Professional, no?

Even though our firm’s San Diego office is very California casual, the foot up on desk with frozen pea ice pack on the ankle was probably taking it a step too far. So I invested in a little Velcro ice pack doohickey. Now I’m icing like the consummate professional that I am.

Why yes, that is a foam roller under my desk. 

After two weeks of NO RUNNING – I was itching to get back on with marathon training. I checked Hanson’s, and after taking two weeks off, one is advised to ease back into training slowly, as a lot of fitness gains and neuromuscular adaptations are lost with this much time off. This advice was especially applicable, as my ankle, while having improved immensely, was not back at 100%.       

Sat. 5/4

Easy run in Balboa – 3 @ 8:30. Ankle felt mangled.

Sun. 5/5

Easy run in Balboa – 4 @ 8:30. Ankle improved from mangled to sore.

From my weekend easy runs, it was apparent that I would not be able to transition back to the Hanson training plan’s tough runs – longs, tempos, intervals – before the marathon. My best chance at running it would be to continue aerobic training primarily with cardio machines, supplementing with running when I felt up to it.

Mon. 5/6

Stair climber 60” (365 floors/7.8 miles)

Easy run on treadmill – 3 @ 8:30. Ankle okay.

Tue. 5/7

Rest

After a rest day, I ventured out for another easy run, and felt surprisingly good, so I upgraded to a tempo run.

Wed. 5/8

Tempo run in Balboa – 7.5 w/ 6 @ 7:15

And there were no consequences! I continued to feel great. Maybe I could pull off this marathon after all . . . So staying conservative, I trained on the stair climber again, followed by a few miles with tired legs on the treadmill.

Thu. 5/9

Stair climber 60” (350 floors/7.5 miles)

Easy on treadmill – 4 w/ last 10” @ 7:30

Fri. 5/10

Rest

Success! Still feeling good. Soooo, time for a real test. An attempted long-ish run. I set out on Sat. morning, tentatively planning 10 miles. I headed for the trails near my house, thinking the ankle would appreciate a soft surface. But the trail, normally smooth, flat, and lovely, had been torn up in places by construction trucks. It looked like it had been plowed, and by mile 5, my ankle was back to feeling mangled. Then it was 3 more miles back to my house.

Sat. 5/11

Easy run in San Dieguito Lagoon (trail) – 8 @ 8:00

Nail in the coffin – no marathon.  In fact, the ankle continues to feel unstable and sore. Sat.’s trail run set me back in my recovery by at least a week. Without a looming marathon, hopefully, I’ll exercise self-restraint and stay off the damn thing until it's all better!

Acceptance? 

two little runners ~Kristen 

A Runner’s Five Stages of Injury Grief

two little runners ~Kristen

Step 1. Denial.

          I’ll just finish up the last 5 miles of this interval workout, even though my ankle feels weird. Ahh, it’s nothing. It’ll go away in a couple of minutes . . . maybe in the next mile it’ll loosen up . . . maybe it’ll feel fine when I start the cool down. Yeah, that’s right, the cool down. It’ll feel just right when I cool down.

Step 2. Anger.

          WTF?! Ojai* is in 6 weeks. And I have a f-ing sprained ankle. I am to be in peak training now. RIGHT NOW!

* Ojai "Mountains2Beach" Marathon I am scheduled to run on May 26!

Step 3. Depression.

          There is just no way I’ll be able to run this marathon, sigh. Sad face. And even if I can run it, it won’t be fast. I’ve put 400 miles into this marathon training cycle, all for nothing. I might as well stay out of the gym too. What’s the point of trying to maintain aerobic fitness? I hate cardio machines. I’m never going to be able to run this race. Never!

Step 4. Bargaining.

            Well, then again . . . maybe if I am extra good. And I do all the things I am supposed to do, maybe I can run this race. I’ll do all those stupid balancing and stability ankle exercises. I’ll ice and elevate. And even trampoline running, I’ll do it, okay? I’ll run on an f-ing trampoline. That’s fine. If I do all these things, I can run the race! Yah, and I’ll even do the stationary bike. And the stair climber – for like an hour – I’ll maintain my aerobic capacity. And then I can run the race!

Step 5. Acceptance.

          Ummmm . . . I am still in the bargaining stage, haha! I’ll let you know when I get here.

This week – week 2 off of running from the ankle sprain – I stopped feeling sorry for myself and got to the gym for some weights, rehab, and cardio. And trampoline. 

During a training cycle, there isn’t a lot of time (or energy) to devote to weight training. Normally, I am in for just one leg workout per week and some core here and there. And upper body every full moon. This week, I was able to hit the core nearly every day and the upper body got worked three times in one week.

The ankle rehab continues. For a sprain, or at least a minor on like mine, you are not supposed to baby the ankle all the time. I’m trying to heal the sprained ligaments through balancing and stability exercises. Lots of one leg balancing on various unstable surfaces. I’ve never had a sprained ankle before, so I didn’t really understand how these exercises could possibly be good for me. But I am seeing some improvements.

And I’m back to some cardio. Stationary bike and stair climber. Just kill me please!

And then there is the trampoline running. This is more ankle rehab than cardio. I take the trampoline to the most remote, dark, and dankest corner of the gym and then hope that no one sees me. It’s just embarrassing.

Hey Trampy, meet me in the dark corner at 6.

4 weeks out (0 miles)

I usually don’t post my weight workouts and yoga, but that’s all I got again this week!

Sat. 4/27

Core and upper body weights. 

Yoga.

Sun. 4/28

Ankle PT workout. Core. 10” trampoline.

Yoga.

Mon. 4/29

a.m. Core and leg weights. Ankle PT workout.

p.m. 40” stationary bike (11 miles); 15” trampoline.

Yoga.

Tue. 4/30

40” stationary bike (11.3 miles); 20” trampoline.

Yoga.

Wed. 5/1

a.m. Ankle PT workout. Full body weights.

p.m. 60” stair climber (375 flights, 7.8 miles).

Yoga.

Thu. 5/2

60" stair climber (331 flights, 6.9 miles).
Ankle PT workout.

Yoga.

Fri. 5/3

Full body weights. Ankle PT workout

two little runners ~Kristen

And.... Cue obsessive weather checking, new phantom injuries...and a mystery solved!

So.... last week before I run New Jersey Marathon (Sunday, May 5). Taper week.

Most people describe the taper crazies as their legs popping out of their skin, wanting to run. This phenomenon sounds kind of nice. I have not experienced it. Instead, taper feels like my legs are still heavy, I gained 10 pounds from all the lovely carbs (not really, but they do make me feel a bit bloaty). It includes obsessively checking the weather, and always, always developing a new injury that WILL NEVER HEAL BY RACE DAY AND WILL RUIN EVERYTHING AND ALL THAT TRAINING WAS FOR NOTHING. Except it will probably be fine. And I am just a drama queen.

At least the last week of training that began poorly, ended with a confidence-boosting tempo run.

April 21-27, 2013
Sunday: 16 miles at 8:37 avg pace, felt like balls.
Monday: 40 mins easy elliptical
Tuesday: Attempted threshold workout (3x2miles at HM pace - roughly 6:55). Actual workout was 1x2 miles (7:12), 1x2 miles (7:25)... and I quit. Felt so slow and hard.
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 10-mile tempo run! Success! Started around 7:25s, finished last mile at 7:08. Avg pace was 7:20. 12 miles total.
Friday: very easy 4 miles
Saturday: 50 mins elliptical + core

Saturday I flew back to San Diego AGAIN for work and yay, met with Kristen for a delicious dinner of fish and sauvignon blanc. New Zealand SB, always.

I then flew up to Oakland, CA (for work again)... to the land of Roserunner!

I met her for dinner! At first I didn't realize this was a blog meetup... cos we had been emailing a little from time to time, and it didn't occur to me that it was a "thing". Then I realized how potentially awkward this stuff is, when my boss asked me how I "met" this friend.  I embarrassingly stammered that errrrmmmmmm, we hadn't actually "met" and we were friends via our blogs. So now he thinks I'm trawling for friend-dates on the interwebs. Awesome.

Anyway! Dinner was great, though we committed a massive blog fail for not getting any photos. Of each other, the food, or weird selfies in running outfits. But rest assured it was a great eve... though I felt like I talked her ears off about running, running blogs and basically a recounting of my entire life story. But she was SO nice, interesting, smart (like you'd expect) and encouraging!! My marathon-induced anxiety rapidly dissipated after our dinner...for 2-3 hours, at least.

One thing Margot mentioned that was totally true...Roserunner is not a 6"2' Amazonian warrior lady! Normal size! Apparently RR thought that I would be bigger too. But after pondering for a while, we have possibly solved the mystery. All race photos have our runners legs fully-extended in stride, poking out of tiny runner shorts. Arms generally in a flailing (me) or professional-looking arm-swing (Roserunner) but extended, nonetheless. SO bodies look bigger in those photos, than say, aforementioned selfies would. Mystery solved? Maybe... I'm going with it.

~ Penny

Ankle sprain - is there a yoga pose for that?

two little runners ~Kristen 

The anklet of pain I felt after last week’s interval work out turned out to be a sprained ankle. Damn. A very minor sprain in the scheme of sprains. And I would very likely not notice it if I weren’t trying to run. The pain is at 0 when I walk. At 1 when I go up and down stairs. At 2 when I stand on one foot. And at 6 when I try to run. Just enough pain and instability to break my form. 

My marathon is in jeopardy. I don’t know how I can possibly run 26.2 miles, when less than 30 days prior to the race, I can only run 2 minutes consecutively.

So no miles this week. I focused again on rest and recovery. The usual yoga, foam rolling, and stretching. And I tried out some new techniques. If only I could rest and recover my way to the start line! 

I’ve been experimenting with restorative yoga poses, which I’ve been reading about in Sage Roundtree’s book The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery: Rest, Relax & Restore for Peak Performance. The basic premise is to hold very easy poses for a very long time. So far I am really digging two poses: legs up the wall and supported back bend. These poses are so relaxing. When I finish, I am in a haze – and I am not a person who easily relaxes! What’s been so interesting about these poses is the tiny muscle releases that I’ve felt 7 to 10 minutes after I start the pose, even though the pose doesn’t feel like much of a stretch at all.

•  Legs up the wall pose is pretty straight forward. I lay down on my back in front of a wall and put my legs straight up the wall (L shape). I give myself a little bit of distance from the wall so that my hamstrings are not strained at all. Palms face up to open the chest. Sometimes I find a pillow under my head and/or hips comfortable, other times not. Bottom line with these poses is that I make myself comfortable because I stay them for 10 to 20 minutes. I try to relax entirely, using only enough energy to keep my legs upright. On this pose, I’ve gotten some low back releases.

• I’ve been doing supported backbend in bed at night and have been falling asleep in the pose. I start by lying down on my back, and then I elevate my head slightly above the level of my hips. I have pillows supporting me all the way from my head to lower back. Then I put my legs in a very loose bounded ankle pose – soles of feet together but very far out so that I feel just the tiniest stretch in my inner thighs. Palms face up to open the chest. I’ve been feeling some inner thigh releases in this pose.

The other restoration technique I tried is called MELT – which is sort of like foam rolling for your connective tissues. I took a MELT class, and although I think it is partially witchcraft and junk science (either that or there is no effort to explain the science very well), I picked up a few new techniques that I am going to put into my repertoire.

5 weeks out (0 miles)

Sat. 4/20 – Yoga.

Sun. 4/21 – MELT.

Mon. 4/22 – Legs. More of a PT leg session. Just getting a little bit of blood back to the sprained ankle’s ligaments.

Tue. 4/23 – Yoga.

Wed. 4/24 – Yoga.

Thu. 4/25 – Yoga.

Fri. 4/26 – Legs and core. Legs were again more of a PT session. Ankle improved a little bit since Monday.

two little runners ~Kristen