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I’m doing a bad job at following a schedule lately, however, I am enjoying running just for the sake of running and mapping out distances after the fact. Gas prices are certainly having an effect on my running, as they are on many people’s leisure activities I am sure. I’ve taken to running around the block (as much of a block as it is) rather than driving to the various trails that I enjoy running on. On the plus side, this leaves me little choice but to run multiple hills on my routes, rather than seeking out a flat section of trail, so hopefully my body will benefit. So far this is the weirdest summer weather I’ve ever experienced, yesterday was the 4th of July and I was cold at night, granted it was perfect for my run as there was almost no humidity and I don’t think temps were much higher than the mid-70’s, but still…my brain just can’t really accept this upstate NY weather that passes for summer. Yesterday’s run was enjoyable, I had a route mapped out but changed it midway through and extended it by about a mile and a half, I was feeling good, so I figured why not. I think I’m going to start incorporating the school’s playground into my route to mix things up a bit, run up the slides, make my way across the monkey bars, climb a cargo net, I’m thinking if I do that at both the school and the park’s playground it could provide for an interesting sort of circuit training workout, which would be especially useful if I’m going to be running these same routes over and over again because I don’t want to drive anywhere else. Considering where I live, it’s really not a bad spot to have to walk out your door and run; once I’m off the main road there are a variety of back roads that all sort of loop together so I can decide how long of a run I want to do. The only downside is that half the time I’m going to be running uphill at the start and finish of my runs, but I suppose what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right? Speaking of which, I need to get new shoes or I’m going to kill my knees. They’ve still got some life left in them, but I’m starting to feel that knee twinge that I got when I first started running and I was using my old crappy tennis sneakers. Hopefully I’ll make it down to the LRS sometime this week and pick up a pair for a reasonable price. I like my Mizuno’s but I’m thinking I’ll be open to trying something else, I’ve been getting blisters on my arch, though otherwise they’ve been great to my feet. Most of the races I’ve got planned are trail races though and I’m thinking that I would like to get something a little more suited to that terrain.
We’ll see, I’m starting my new job next Thursday and hopefully this schedule is going to be flexible enough to give me time to run and not feel like I’m neglecting the rest of my life, and if I’m really lucky the extra money might allow for two new pairs of running shoes, trail and road, now wouldn’t that be nice! I’m excited and anxious about the position. It’s definitely going to put me outside my comfort zone, hopefully in a good way, as it is nothing like I’ve ever experienced or done before. It’s a step in the right direction though and I really needed to be doing anything other than working in the same place I have been. I’ll have more thoughts after I start next week I suppose. That same first day there’s a women’s 5k race in the town over that I think I’ll run. I had wanted to do it last year but couldn’t because we were going out of town for the weekend. Looking at last years race, there appears to be a lot of walkers, I think due to the nature of the race as a woman’s festival, so at least I can count on not being DFL! The course has rolling hills, so the routes I’ve been running around my house should be a good approximation of what to expect. We’ll see what happens, I’ll have another RR to post next week at the very least. The week after that is the Forest Frolic trail runs, I’m still up in the air as to whether I should do the 7 or the 15k, I was told it wasn’t a bad course and that I shouldn’t have trouble with the 15k, but judging by my running lately I think I’ll stick to the 7k and concentrate on getting myself on track for my fall HM. Bonus! I just looked at the race description again and if I preregister it’s FREE this year in honor of their 20th running of the race. Sweet! I’ve never preregistered before because I never know what will happen that might distract me, but this is too good to pass up! This post is sort of all over the place, so I think I’ll call it here, but I should have more to post than usual in the coming couple of weeks here.
Coming out of yesterday’s race I really feel that I learned some valuable lessons for future races and for my training in general. In the interest of those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it, I figured it would be worth my while to lay out some of these lessons so that I can come back to them in the future.
1) If I’m in a race, I need to race. Yesterday was the first race where I was alone on the course for long periods of time, as a result I got complacent and was definitely moving slower than I was capable of, how much energy I had at the end was a testament to that fact, as well as the story that my times tell. There were no mile markers on the course but I was wearing my watch and glanced at it periodically as I went along. The first mile was about 12 minutes, including several starts, stops and slow downs due to congestion. The next mile, straight uphill took a little over 20 minutes, the next two about another 30 minutes. The first mile and a half of the backstretch returning down the hill accounted for another 20 minutes, this is where the girl behind me caught up with me and I realized how complacent and slow I had been running. I did the last mile and a half of the race in about 15 minutes (granted downhill for part of it), my fastest part of the entire race. Yes, I was going downhill, but really it was the competition of having someone else there that I wanted to beat. Somehow I need to capture that mentality and keep it with me throughout a race whether or not I can see my competitors.
2) Running, alone, isn’t enough. What’s sore today is not my legs, though I am of course feeling the race in them a little. What I needed to rub IcyHot on was my shoulders and upper back. The trail running makes your body move around a lot more than a flat road course where you just keep chugging straight on ahead. I need to get back in the habit of doing my core routine regularly and strengthen my body so that the running will become easier as well. Same goes for hopping back on the weight-loss bandwagon. I was doing well at both of these and then just kinda stopped. It’s an ongoing process, I can’t just do it once and assume it will help for the rest of my life.
3) Training is the key. I’ve been really slack as of late in my running, and I need to get myself back on a schedule if I want to not hate myself every time I do a race. Yeah, I knew I could finish yesterday, and even with training I probably would have still walked that steep uphill at the start, but I think it would have really made a difference on the middle section where it was up and down and my legs started feeling really dead. I’ve only been doing short runs and my legs knew and I knew it and my time showed it.
Obvious, yes, but sometimes it’s worth the while to write something down just to make sure you remember it and to take that excuse away in the future that you didn’t know any better or didn’t expect what was coming. Here it’s all laid out in the open and I either learn, or quit bitching. One thing is for sure, trail races are very different from road races, but also a whole lot more fun, I’m excited for the others I have lined up for the summer and I’m gonna get my ass out there training and hopefully set a couple of PR’s while I’m at it.
Sometimes I really just have to make myself do things or they’ll never get done. I woke up this morning at 7:30 and looked outside to a grey and drizzly looking day and almost went back to bed. Instead I found my running clothes and got myself out the door and downtown to the Tortoise and Hare 10k. Not only was this (finally!) my first 10k after missing the first 2 I had planned, but this was also my very first trail race and I have to say that that aspect was greatly underestimated by myself.
Despite the dreary forecast there was a good turnout for the event and they ran out of official race number bibs as I was standing in line to register, so instead I got 1002 scrawled on my hand in sharpie (it’s just like a triathlon they joked) and a yellow piece of paper to give to them at the end if it didn’t disintegrate in the rain along the way. I made my way back to my car to stow some stuff and then a bathroom stop (no long lines, sweet!) and then headed over to the starting area to stretch out and warm up a little bit. I listened to people talk about the course and knew in the back of my head that the hardest part was going to be right at the beginning. The race description said that it was 400′ over about a half a mile but really the entire 2nd mile was pretty vertical with a couple of short flat stretches thrown in, all in all the climb over the race is closer to 600′ and that really made a difference.
The start of the race was somewhat comical, we all lined up on one side of the ballfields and the R.D. yelled “Ready, set, go!”; and we all raced off across the field only to reach the other side where the trail started and it was room for only one abreast and therefore the mass of us had to stop and walk for a minutes while we formed a single-file line. This first mile was by far the prettiest part of the whole race, we ran through a huge field full of purple and white flowers that were beautiful and fragrant and absolutely magical. Keep in mind that I hike around this park a lot and I saw things on this race that I hadn’t seen before which was really an awesome part of the experience and one of the reasons that I really enjoy running, it truly does open my eyes to things that I might not otherwise see. This part of the course was pretty flat and there was a group of us all moving at about the same pace, a few muddy spots, I quickly wound up with mud on my legs and wet shoes, but I figured at least I got that out of the way and I wouldn’t have to worry about avoiding mud puddles for the whole race. As we reached the exit of the trail we were on the first of the kids one mile fun run entrants raced past us on the way to their finish line, which threw me off a little, but I figured that we had had to slow down and walk or stop a couple times due to congestion, so that would account for some lost time there. Back across our starting line we went, over the bridge, through the parking lot and onto the service road is where the climb began.
I had decided before I was even sure that I was going to do this race that I was going to use a run/walk strategy. Just hiking up the trails from the lower to the upper falls can be tiring depending on the trail, and the race followed pretty much the steepest way up the hill that I knew of. Considering that my running and training has been spotty at best lately, attempting the 10k was going to be challenging enough, attempting to run the uphills I knew would be cause for defeat. There was a brief moment as I went through the parking lot that I thought maybe I should just go to my car and head home, maybe I shouldn’t be trying to run this race, in the back of my mind I was worried about finishing DFL and didn’t want that to happen, the part of my brain that said that DNF’ing was worse than DFL won out though and on I went. As I reached the trail that would take us to the top of the lower falls, I slowed to a walk and kept myself moving, concentrating on my breathing, making sure that I was pushing myself just the right amount. There was a girl about my age in front of me who had been moving at my pace and I pegged her as the one I wanted to finish ahead of, she was slowly jogging up the hill, but slowed to a walk as well when I passed her while I was walking. A woman in a yellow shirt was the next one ahead of me and I soon passed her too, she seemed to be having trouble catching her breath and kept stopping as a result. Ahead of me I could see another woman in a yellow shirt that I was hoping to pass, but I never did, from this point of the race I was pretty much on my own, which had its ups and downs.
I got passed by a couple of men during this stretch of the race and really didn’t know how many people were behind me except for the two women that I had passed. I tried to run the few all too brief flat stretches that were thrown into this climb, and shortened my stride and hiked up the steep parts, but it was definitely tougher than I had imagined and I knew that the time I had in the back of my mind to shoot for was pretty much out the window already. When I reached the first aid station I gladly took a cup of water, my throat was feeling very dry and I slowed down to drink that as well, as I couldn’t see anyone behind me or in front of me. As I crossed the street and headed onto the next trail I was only a minute or two down the trail when I saw the frontrunner coming blazing down the trail breathing hard with a look of determination on his face. To see someone on their way back to the bottom that soon into my race was a little disheartening, but at the same time, as more people started to pass me on their way back down their encouraging words to keep it up and good job really helped keep me going. The second guy to pass me was a few more minutes further into the trail and I knew there was no way that he was going to catch the first guy to pass me, but he still went by with that same blazed look of determination. As I continued to run by these racers (jumping to the side of the narrow trail to clear room for them) I realized that as tough as I was finding the race, I still was not pushing myself as hard as they were, not that I think I could have pushed myself that hard without keeling over, but still the sweat coming off of them, the gasping of their breath as they swooshed by, they were definitely going all out and racing whereas I was kind of just chugging along hoping to finish, a very different mentality and I liked the layout of this course for the opportunity it gave to show the experience of these runners to me.
Although the steepest part of the course was finished with, this next leg continued to roll up and down and had a lot of roots criss-crossing the ground to contend with, I ran most of it, slowing a couple times on some steeper uphills, but wanted to be running whenever anyone passed me so mostly kept my slow pace going. Eventually the trail split off to make a loop before it would rejoin at that spot for the return journey and so I stopped seeing the other racers at that point and was instead again on my own plodding along for better or for worse and I started to wonder where the hell the next aid station was going to be (at the end of mile 4) I could see and hear the people at the aid station long before I got there as I was up on trail along the ridge and had to come down and circle around a couple of roads before re-entering the park and gladly accepting a cup of Gatorade that I again slowed down to drink. At that point it had taken me about an hour to reach that point and I hadn’t seen anyone in a while, in front of or behind me, and I was jogging along rather complacently as if it was any other run really. I finished the loop and rejoined the main trail that we followed up and down and actually passed another runner still on his way up the trail I was happy to offer a smile and some words of encouragement and it was a nice feeling to be on the other side of that experience.
Around that point, I knew that the arches of my feet were developing blisters, my left foot especially was bothering me and I kept considering stopping to adjust my shoes, but not wanting to stop since I was so close to nearing the finish. I had finally decided to just deal with the problem already and was about to stop when I heard something behind me and turning my head back I saw the first girl that I had passed, the one that I had pegged as being my competition to beat to the finish. With her that close on my tail, suddenly I realized how complacent I had gotten in my solitude and how slow my pace had dropped to. I forgot about my feet and instead picked up the pace again staying just ahead of her. I was conscious of her presence, but didn’t want it to foul my game plan either so I still slowed to a walk on what was really the last of the steep climbs during the race, right about the 5 mile point and I was glad that she slowed there as well, finally breaking the silence with “All downhill from here, my butt.” I laughed and agreed with her and on we went, myself a little bit ahead of her so that I couldn’t see her, but I knew she was there. As I grabbed another cup of Gatorade at the last aid station with just under a mile and a half to go she stayed just behind me and asked what time it was that we were running. I told her it was an hour and half on the dot, at this point she picked up her pace a little bit and slowly passed me. I held off the urge to fight her for the lead, as I could hear that even as we were essentially on a downhill for the rest of the race, she was breathing much harder than I was and I was pretty sure that on the flat homestretch of about half a mile at the bottom I would be able to take her as long as I didn’t let her get too far ahead of me. We exchanged a few more words back and forth, this was her first trail race as well, she didn’t think she was going to be doing another one. Despite the fact that my pace was ridiculously slow and the race was much tougher than anticipated, I knew that I would be doing more in the future, I was having fun. I saw her slow down on a slick spot in front of me and I went to slow as well, but it was too late, I went down scraping up my hand a little, but nothing bad. To her credit she stopped and turned around to ask if I was okay instead of speeding off, I said I was fine as I picked myself up and we continued on with her still just a bit ahead of myself.
Going into the race I knew the uphill was going to be tough, but I also knew that the downhill was going to be tough because it was very steep and wet and slippery from the rain as well. Anticipating that I had thought about how to run downhill and had read up on others thoughts and experiences as well on KR the day before. As we headed into the steepest part of the course the girl in front of me slowed a little, not wanting to fall, and that is when I passed her again for the final time. I picked up my pace, quickened my turnover and leaned into the hill and went all out. She was quickly left far behind me as I charged out of the trail onto the access road, back across the parking lot, the bridge and across the finish line at the playground for a final time of 1 hour 40 minutes. I certainly hadn’t made my goal time but I wasn’t DFL, I had beat the person I had picked out to beat, and I had completed a 7 mile run and learned a lot along the way. A successful day to be sure and it wasn’t even 11 in the morning yet.
(cross posted from KR from a few weeks ago)
I left work yesterday, stowed my things in my car, making sure I grabbed my keys and my cell phone (I had had visions of locking my keys in my car which would’ve locked me out of both my house and my car) and headed out for the run home. One block into it I almost got hit by a car, I’m not used to running on roads with much traffic, the car was making a left onto the street I was crossing, I looked at her and waved her to go ahead but she came to a stop so I figured she was letting me go, as soon as I started in front of her she hit the gas to go herself, from now on I won’t go unless the driver waves me on. After that it was pretty uneventful for the first few miles, there was a soft shoulder to run on most of the way which was nice on my feet and although it was a slight uphill incline I felt that I was making pretty good time, though I had told myself I wouldn’t check my time until I reached what I thought was the halfway point. The exhaust from the cars was a little stinky at times, though the loudness of them driving by was more disconcerting to me. I covered my ears whenever a big truck went by and an ambulance. My race is being run on a street with traffic (although a slower speed limit I think) so I figure I need to get used to running when there are vehicles around. As I reached my halfway point I checked my time and found that I was right on pace for what I wanted and my 5k time just keeps dropping as I do these longer runs, making me itch to find a 5k around here and really test myself. I’m on a mostly flat stretch for the next couple miles and marvel at myself as I make the turn onto my street and how easy my legs are moving now without any thought as to what I was doing. My pace had picked up a little and I felt good, a feeling that I’m not really getting out of my shorter runs lately for whatever reason. I had about a mile and a half to go from that turn and it was mostly downhill from there, so I was cruising along the shoulder, when all of a sudden I was hitting the ground hard. I picked myself up and brushed off, thankful that I hadn’t fallen into the road or traffic and took a few steps. I could feel the palms of my hands stinging a bit and my knee felt funny, pulled up my pant leg and yup my knee was all sorts of bloody, on top of that I had ripped my favorite running pants. With just under a mile to go I figured I could make it home and so I started running again the stinging fading away as I went. Finally I was running on the bridge over the creek and there was my house, I grabbed the empty trash can by the road and headed for the house where I promptly asked DBF to perform gravel extraction surgery on my knee. Stung like a bitch and my knee is sore today as well as the side of my leg and my hand, but when I mapped it out with the car it was a full 6.5 miles and my finish time made the goal I had in my head for my upcoming race seem totally doable. That realization made the whole thing worth it, now as long as I don’t wipe out during the race everything should be good.
A choppy badly written post stolen from my 10k training thread on kickrunners. No sooner did I wish for a training group to support me a couple weeks ago then I looked online the next day and there it was. We’re all doing our races around the same time though we’re following different plans and are at different places. I wanted to remember this run from Monday night, though I don’t feel like typing up a real report this far after the fact, it was just one of those perfect feeling runs that left me feeling good for the rest of the night and reminded me of why I keep on running and pushing myself just that little bit further…
I’m getting up there in mileage on my shoes too and am going to need a new pair soon; breaking them in before my race would probably be a good idea too…
I did my long run today, 4 miles, and also followed it up with a full body weight workout since I was a day behind on my training schedule, just couldn’t get myself moving yesterday. I was starting to get worried about my 10k because my last few runs on the treadmill have all been so not fun and hard to get through. Fortunately the weather smiled on me today and was in the low 40s and perfect to run in. Unfortunately snow is back on the forecast tomorrow. Being outside today really made a difference though, not only was the 4 miles the easiest 4 miles I’ve run so far, but I was really enjoying myself and was at least a minute per mile faster than I have been on the treadmill, and that was without an mp3 player or anything, just me and the road. Yay! I’m feeling good again about the race.
I’ve been lax about creating entries here as of late. I’ve actually been more active than usual but somehow that hasn’t equated to more writing. Partially I’ll chalk that up to the fact that now that I have been devoting an hour on average 6 days a week to some sort of exercise, I haven’t wanted to further isolate myself at home by typing away on the computer when my boyfriend wants to be spending time together; it also feels good to be getting this much me time on a regular basis which makes me want to spend more together time with him.
I did wind up joining the gym I tried out in my last entry; I liked the feel of the place, the location and the price, so all in all it seemed like a good deal. When I signed up one of the trainers walked me through some of the weight machines and showed me a basic full body weight routine that I can do in a fairly short period of time. I’ve been doing it as the strength days in my training schedule and it seems to be working alright for me. I would like to get a second opinion on what I should be focusing on as a runner, but for the time being I think this one will do for a newbie like me. I’ve been doing well at sticking to my training schedule now that I have no excuse to skip workouts because of the weather or not having something to crosstrain on. The downside is that it’s easier to talk myself into running on the treadmill inside than it is to talk myself into running outside. It’s idiosyncratic because I don’t enjoy running on the treadmill, while I do enjoy being outside and covering ground, nevertheless it’s hard to overcome the desire to not freeze my ass off running on snow covered streets. I’m trying to keep a balance and do my short runs inside and pick the nicest day of the week to do my longer run outside where I won’t be mind numbingly bored. My 10k is a month away (5 weeks) and I’m a little nervous right now about how I’ll do, but that’s to be expected I suppose. As I kick up my mileage in the next few weeks hopefully some confidence will settle in as well.
Continuing on my 10k journey today, I needed to get a run in and unfortunately the weather outside had already turned miserable, wet, cold and slippery by early afternoon. I left work early for a doctor’s appointment about my mysterious back pain again. The doctor seemed fairly stumped by everything I told her and didn’t have much to offer in the way of a diagnosis, possibly indigestion of some sort. She gave me some new medication to try and scheduled another appointment for a month from now to see if it helps. It’s frustrating because like with the physical therapy, I didn’t have an episode during the month that I was doing the therapy and so they called it a success and sent me on my way, however the pain is just not that predictable. Maybe it’ll happen this month, maybe not, how am I to know if the medication is really the cause if I am pain free for the month? The only thing I do know is that if I do still have one of these episodes while trying this medication the Dr. is going to send me to a specialist of some sort because I’ve got her totally stumped. But anyway, I digress, after the appointment there was a coat of snow on my car and I decided to finally check out one of the gyms around here and see what they had to offer. I was going to go to the Y but chickened out when I saw a lot of cars in the parking lot and instead I went to the Lakeshore Fitness center instead. I was a little unsure where to go at first when I got there, the place was fairly deserted, but once I got pointed in the right direction the guy at the fitness desk was very helpful and was able to answer all of my questions for me and let me work out for free today to get a feel for the place. I mentioned that whenever I drive by the parking lot is always full and he confirmed my suspicions that those cars are mostly for soccer/hockey/lacrosse games that are held at the facility and that the fitness center itself doesn’t tend to get real crowded most times. I’m still going to check out the Y, but right now I’m thinking that I’m going to go with this place, the rates are pretty reasonable and after I settled into my run at the treadmill I felt comfortable in the space. Unfortunately I got my training schedule mixed up (only on the 2nd day, that takes talent) and I only ran 2 miles when I was actually scheduled for 2.5. Running on the treadmill was something I hadn’t done for years and so it took me some getting used to to figure out the right speed and incline for me and such, but as usual once I got a mile into the run I settled down and felt pretty good. After running outside in the cold for the past couple months though I got hot and sweaty real fast in that space. Definitely a note to self to wear less clothing next time I go. Since I mixed up my days I figure I’ll just substitute the 2.5 I was supposed to do today for the 2 mile run that is on the schedule for Thursday. Tomorrow though I’m somewhat stumped as to what to do. It’s my first cross training day and it’s certainly not going to bike riding or hiking sort of weather outside as the snow and sleet is supposed to continue all night and all day tomorrow. I might go to the Y after work and see if I can get a look at that place and use the equipment there for a free workout tomorrow. Unfortunately, I’m not too familiar with all the advances gym equipment has made since the last time I stepped foot into one (high school?). I’m sure I can figure out any cardio equipment, but I hate looking foolish in front of people, even if I don’t know them. I am very self conscious by nature and it’s a hard flaw to fight.
By the time I finished my run at the gym it was still earlier than I would have gotten out of work had I not left early and so I headed home and got in my full weights and core routine which made me feel really good to be getting back on a schedule after the last couple of weeks. Now however I feel a migraine coming on and I’m just hoping that doesn’t throw off all of my plans for tomorrow. I was kinda hoping for a snow day but the weather just isn’t that bad out there for all the hype the weathermen were giving this storm, so we’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.
I decided to take a mental health day on Friday to clear my head of all the personal matters that have been at the forefront of my mind constantly lately. Even so I found myself awake fairly early in the morning and wound up passing some time browsing the Fingerlakes Runners club website again for races. I checked the date for the Skunk Cabbage classic and plotted the course into the gmap pedometer and reassured myself that it would be an easy course and that I would be able to handle it when it came around. I realized then that with just about 2 months to go until the race I really needed to buckle down with my training and start seriously getting in my mileage every week. This line of thought then brought me to the Hal Higdon 10k training plan and as I compared it to the calendar, I realized I was perfectly aligned to start the plan and have my race fall on the day the plan lays out for a 10k race. I loaded all of the workouts into Google Calendar and set reminders for myself to keep on track. I wish I had a support group like I had when going through the C25k, as I’ve noted before being held accountable to someone else (whether there are any real repercussions or not) really helps to keep me motivated and chugging along. Unfortunately for all the entertainment that Kick provides, training group support like I found on CR just isn’t there. I might have to browse some of the other running boards that are around and see if there is a community like what I’m looking for somewhere.
Technically the 10k training plan starts on a Monday with stretching and strength training, however I decided to do a 3 mile run this weekend since that is what my first few weeks of weekend runs are during this plan. I had picked up some new warm running clothes at Target on clearance and so I headed out to the bird sanctuary Saturday afternoon, figuring that I hadn’t run there in a while. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was still a good bit of snow on the trails there and so I bundled up and started off as flurries fell from the sky along with icicle drops from the trees above me. My first few laps were uneventful if slow, I’m hoping that it was just running on the snow and ice that was slowing my pace down, I know my mileage hasn’t been where it should be, but I feel like I’m getting slower lately rather than faster. I can’t wait for spring to finally get here so that I can really get out of the house and do some serious running. On my third lap I was nearing the end of the boardwalk section that is a long wooden bridge sort of structure that runs over a swampy section when I felt my balance get thrown off, I reached out with my left arm and grabbed the railing I was running alongside and managed to slide a little bit prevent myself from actually falling. My shoulder definitely felt wrenched a little bit, but not too bad. I continued on my run and as I reached my arm up to stretch it out and make sure that my shoulder was in fact okay, I came around the last turn of the boardwalk and down again I went, this time totally busting my ass and landing hard on my right wrist. I was more annoyed with myself for getting my new running jacket dirty than I was about falling so I figured that meant that I couldn’t be too badly injured and dusted myself off and threw myself into the final lap of my run. On the last go around I was extra careful on the boardwalk and managed to avoid any further injury to my body or my dignity and finished my run without any further incidents. After that run I think I might have to swear off this particular trail until the snow melts, I haven’t broken any bones thus far in my life and I don’t really see any reason to start now.
Stretching and strength training today, getting back into the routine that I was doing during the VRAA, tomorrow calls for an easy 2 mile run but unfortunately the weathermen are calling for a winter storm warning and several inches of snows coming down all day tomorrow. I’m thinking I’ll bring my running clothes to work with me and head to the Y after work and get in those two miles. It doesn’t cost much to go there just for the day and it’ll be worth it to use a treadmill and also to check the place out and get some rates to see if it will be worth my while to join, especially since I don’t want to miss workouts as I head towards my first 10k race. On the other racing front Sara and David want to run an adventure race with me! Yay! April 20th is The Savage sprint adventure race down in Delaware and looks like it will be a lot of fun and a good learning experience for future adventure racing endeavors.
I just found this draft hanging around figured I would post it up rather than deleting it even though it predates my last entry.
Last week was a bad one. Coming off of the good run at the rec way the previous Saturday I didn’t manage to get a single run in all week, I even fell off of my yoga and core work that I had been doing religiously since the VRAA started. Starting Sunday night I felt somewhat nauseous and that feeling lasted through most of the week. It came and went in waves, leaving me unsure as to whether I was actually sick or not. I left work early on Monday (a day I had wanted to go for a run) and wound up sleeping most of the day and night away. I woke up in the middle of the night still nauseous and threw up finally. I called out of work for Tuesday at that point, but unfortunately it didn’t do much to relieve the nausea. I slept for much of Tuesday as well, again alternating between feeling ok and waves of nausea and dizziness, particularly after I ate food. Wednesday I decided I had to go to work since I hadn’t been sick to my stomach again since Monday night, but the same bad feelings kept coming through the next couple of days. Friday I finally decided that maybe I should see a doctor, and was prepared to go in Saturday morning but I woke up feeling good and have been fine ever since. Weird illness, glad it’s over though I wish I knew what had caused it, the dizziness was not fun to try and work through. This all started after I tried a new weight routine Sunday morning which has somewhat scared me away from my weights and I haven’t picked them up again since that day. I’m trying not to be too hard on myself since I was pushing myself harder in more directions for the VRAA than I had been previously and if this was my body’s way of saying give me a break then I’m certainly going to listen to it. It was just a shame that this happened in the last week of the competition when I would’ve really like to have been putting up points for my team. As it was though, it looked like with the sudden gusto that I had thrown myself into the yoga/core/weights/xtraining stuff I had actually outperformed the BAIT level I had signed up for, very surprising considering my running has been so sporadic with the weather and such. All in all the VRAA was a great motivator and I look forward to the next one in nicer weather where I can really get out there and run, because that’s what this really is all about, the other points were just icing on the cake. It would’ve been nice to win, but I’ll be satisfied with our middle of the pack finish for this time at least. Now to keep the training mentality going when I am again without a group to motivate me onward.
Saturday morning and the temperatures were nosediving, 25 when I checked and not forecasted to get any warmer. I bundled myself up and decided to go somewhere different for a change of pace and set off to the rec way for some off the road running. I gave myself a leisurely 1/2 mile warm-up walk with some vestiges of snow cruching underneath my shoes. I was cold, my fingers especially were feeling it as I set off running. I was surprised by how many people were out and about in the cold, but I guess when you grow up here you have to get used to it or else stay inside for a good portion of the year. There were a bunch of dog walkers as usual and a few parents out with their kids for a hike, happy to trade smiles as I ran by. When I hit halfway down the trail or so I started to come across other runners, mostly going in the opposite direction and giving a nod and a wave. I was feeling good by this time and unzipped the vents on the sides of my jacket and a little further down off came my hat. It was encouraging to know that on my coldest run to date I was dressed more than appropriately and could handle a little bit colder even. I reached the end of the brown trail, the furthest I had run on this trail all summer, touched the gate and turned around to head back. Not long after a girl came up running from behind me and scared the crap out of me, so oblivious was I in my own little soundtracked running world. After that I couldn’t quite get my bliss back I kept feeling like someone else was going to come up behind me which was a somewhat uneasy feeling to run with. By the time I hit the 3 mile mark my legs were getting a little tired but I pushed it out to the 4 mile mark and felt good for having done so. I think in the future I might run from the opposite end to start with because there was a slight gradual incline the whole way back that I really would have preferred on the way out rather than when my legs were getting tired on the return trip. MLK day is tomorrow and so I have the day off from work and will be happy to get another daylight run in. I might try to head to the Skunk Cabbage route for the first time tomorrow since I’ll have the time. Temps are going to be about the same as yesterday, but as long as it’s light out I really don’t mind the cold so much. I was happy to notice this past week that the days are getting a little longer again, when 5 rolls around it’s not pitch black outside yet. After the run I got in my weight and core routine and then passed out for most of the day with a killer migraine. Today I took as a rest day, might get some yoga in later but right now the boys are watching the Packers/Giants game and I don’t think they’d take kindly to me commandeering the TV for that reason.
