My spirit is willing, why won't my flesh cooperate??

The good news--I did 7 miles!! The not so good news: I did it in 1 hr 31 mins; my average pace was 12:58 & my fastest was 9:00! This is one of my worst runs. My right ankle & Achilles tendon again *sigh*. But today, my left knee & calf started bothering me the last 2 miles. I want so much to increase intervals from 2:1 to 3:1, but I have to get adjusted to the extra mileage before I do. So, I soaked in cold water for about 15-20 mins. I was feeling pretty confident about this whole MM thing until we got to 5 miles. My body is giving me fits--from this continuous cough I can't shake to the aches & pains of my legs & feet. This is going to get better, right????

Sports Injury Hypochondriac

Firstly, I did not do any yardwork because it rained--forgot that was supposed to happen. I didn't go to the "Y" to XT, either. My left shin was bothering me as was my left foot in the arch area. Immediately, I'm thinking, "Shin splints, tendonitis & plantar fasciitis--I'm not going to be able to do 26.2 miles." Got a bag of frozen peas to put on my shin for about 15 mins & it felt better. I need to quit reading anything about sports injuries because each time I do, I swear I start feeling the pain.

Also, I'm considering changing my training schedule to this:

Sunday: XT
Monday: long run
Tuesday: XT
Wednesday: long run
Thursday: XT
Friday: Rest
Saturday: longer run

Yeah, I cut out the Tuesday short run. I'll try it next week and see how that works. Hoping a day or two of rest between long runs might help. Happy Training Everyone! :)

New Pains

Well, I didn't quite make it to 5 miles yesterday (4.97, though--I'm calling that good enough) thanks to a most annoying cramp in the muscle in my shin (didn't feel like shin splints). more of a jabbing pain. Another new pain was my left hamstring--I just had to brag about never having any hamstring problems during training :( And, my face was covered in salt!

Learned some new stuff & not so new stuff:

1. Wash your face immediately after training. I wondered why I felt like a teenager again with acne flare-ups.

2. Change out of the clothes you ran in IMMEDIATELY!! Ladies, you may feel me on this. I won't go into detail (TMI). It's common sense, but I forgot!

3. Cold baths really do help with aches & pain. Just have to get past the initial shock.

4. If you get a side stitch, lean into the aching side as you're walking/running and take deep breaths. It DOES go away faster!

Think I'm going to do yard & house work for today's XT. I have 6 buds on one of the gardenias and both could use fertilizing/weeding, need to prepare to plant tomatoes, prune the azalea bush and move the tulip & daffodil bulbs elsewhere & make a raised bed for them. I've neglected the yard long enough.

Took it slow

I made sure I was well hydrated before I attempted my 3 mile goal yesterday. I stretched for a longer period of time & it seems that did the trick. It felt great, although my right ankle & Achilles tendon ached initially, but as time went on, it was OK. I took a cold bath immediately afterwards & feel pretty good today. Today, I will attempt 5 miles and Thursday 6 miles. Then I should be ready for Saturday's 7 miles. That's the plan.

Forced Rest Day :(

I HATE that I had to miss today! My legs are still sore from Thursday's run & I didn't want to risk further injury. Maybe Monday, I can try for 6 miles. *sigh*

The Agony of "De Feet"

Saturday's 5 mile run at the "Y" was great! I did it in about 1 hr & 5 mins. Monday's 5 mile run also felt great. Did that one in 1 hr 6 mins exactly. Did I mention BOTH of those runs felt great???

Logically, I was looking forward to another great run. I stretched as usual, then set "The Toy" for 2:1 run/rest intervals and took off. Felt like I was going in slo-mo--I couldn't pick up my feet for anything and it seemed the 1 min rest intervals were only 30 seconds in length! After 2 miles, I wanted to quit. Then I realized "I am a marathoner" & kept going to just over 5 miles & did it in 1 hr 8 mins. My calves, ankles & achilles tendons were sore!

I took a cold bath for only a few minutes because the shivering & clattering of my teeth pulled rank over my poor feet & calves need for relief. But the hot water felt heavenly (ahhh). TGIF (yay, rest day!) and we're doing (*gulp*) 6 miles Saturday! Happy Day of Rest! :)

Distractions. . .

My husband is allergic to just about anything with fur. So, we have 2 betta fish named KR & Carotene (Caro for short). Anyway, Caro's been sick for a few days so I called PetSmart to see if they had any kind of medicine for bettas. The lady who answered said I was the first person to ever call for that (she probably laughed after she put me on hold). But, they did have a variety of remedies! After work, I picked up some medicine, treated the fish and went to do a 5 mile run. I finished in just over an hour, but in the dark--don't like running in the dark.

Yesterday, I planned on doing 5K. Unfortunately, I had an auditor at work who didn't seem to realize that when the clock says "5:00" it's time to shut down. Plus, he didn't seem to believe me when I told him I couldn't run the report he needed & so I was at work an unproductive hour after closing. Finally, I got home & got dressed to run. The phone rang. My husband helped a damsel in distress with her vehicle and left a 15 passenger van in Madison somewhere which he needed me to help him retrieve. So, no workout yesterday :( Not happy about that. But at least Caro is doing much better. :)

My Brother, The Marathoner

My baby bro Craig (he's 2 years younger) lives in NYC & has been running in marathons for years. He was surprised to find out I planned on doing Chicago and asked why & I explained. So, he was eager to give Big Sis some tips. His first one? Run your OWN race. (Now, where have I heard that before??) His next response was "Yeah, another marathoner in the family!"

Craig & I got along pretty well as siblings for the most part. Honestly, I kind of envied him because things seemed to happen so easy for him with his tall, athletic good looks, while I was the geeky big sister who wore braces & (thick) glasses & was socially inept. We used to watch Ironman competitions together & wonder if we could even possibly dare to dream. Years later, he tells me he's going to run the NYC marathon. I had my doubts because he didn't leave himself much time to train (about 4 mos), but he did it in about 4 hours & 23 mins. Not bad for a first effort. :) A little part of me was jealous that he ran a marathon before me, but, I was still proud that he did it. And now, it's nice that we have something else in common that we can talk about.

He & his wife Jovi (of Panamanian heritage--shout out to Kayra) are expecting their first child in May, a little girl to be named Alexa. My first niece! :) BTW, we do have a younger sister named Kendra who had a brief stint as a hurdler in middle school and she has a son named Nicolas who's full of energy and thinks he's fully grown at the ripe old age of 6.

Happy Training Everyone. :)

Five Miler, Woo Hoo!!!!

Made it out to the Rez. Darned if it didn't start thundering & lightning the second I stepped out of the mini monster truck. So, after milling around for a minute or so, I headed back home. :(

Then, once I got onto 220, the sun came out. Thinking it makes no sense wasting good sunshine, I headed to the "Y"! Is it just me or is this getting easier by the week?? \o/

Have fun all you "Run from the Sun-ners!" (and don't hurt yourselves.)

Friday the 13th--Muahahahaha!!!!

It's a slooooow day at the office. *sigh* I did weight machines yesterday and my quads were still sore from Wednesday's run (yes, I changed the schedule). Gonna take it easy today.

I got on the scale at the "Y". It said 160 lbs!!!!!! AUGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Ok, I was 154 when we started and now I'm UP 6 lbs????? What's happenin' here???? I'm not even eating as much!

Looking forward to running in the rain tomorrow. Happy Day of Rest!!!!

OUCH!!!!

Yesterday, I ran 2 :1 intervals on the levee (thanks Mark for helping adjust The Toy) for about 3.5 miles. When I was done & began stretching, my quads just CRAMPED something fierce! I could barely walk! I took deep breaths and walked around as much as I could thinking it was lactic acid build up (??). Then, I had to climb into the "mini monster truck" & head home. This am, it feels like nothing even happened, thankfully.

I opted not to do "Run From the Sun" for fear of injuring myself. Usually, I don't get hurt from running (step aerobics is another story--always twisting my ankles!) & would like to keep it that way.

I am a lazy bum

Saturday was good! It was fun getting to know Nancy (HEY!!) and run with her. We did the "run 2 minutes, 1 walk minute" intervals. :) Just hope I can remember we're running on the rez next weekend.

And, that was the only training I've done thus far :( with the Easter holidays and whatever this cold/flu/allergies thing I have that seems to come & go. Then, the migraines struck. Ugh!

Hoping tomorrow I can feel better & do some training!

Slowly, but surely. . .

I did 2 miles today, ran one of them. Felt pretty good after being under the weather for a few days. Thought it would be a good idea to start slow. Tomorrow I'll try for 3 miles. It was nice running on the levee. I'm so thankful for the rain! :)

Oh well, back to the taxes *sigh*. Happy training everyone! :)