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