Sunday, February 27, 2011

Knees?

Someone asked me this week how my knees were doing since I hurt them. I hadn't thought much about them until she asked, but they are definitely feeling better--not completely, but better. They don't feel tight anymore like they used to and definitely don't hurt when running. In fact, they only hurt when they crack, which happens sometimes when I bend down. I get some clicking, from the ligaments moving around, but that's about it. Not a lot of pain. Thank you!! So glad I didn't injure them!!!

This Week's Training

It's been an interesting week for training, since the weather has been kinda crazy. Monday was a rest day... Tuesday I was forced to run inside because of the snow and nothing being cleared enough to run. I didn't do so hot. I've been spoiled running outside... I ran 1 mile on the indoor track, then planned on doing 2.5 miles on the treadmill. I failed... I ended up doing 3.25 total miles, but I had to walk some of it. I know for sure that if I ran outside I could have done it all, but the treadmill is not my friend.

Wednesday was cross-training. I did 30 minutes on a stationary bike at the gym. Not too bad.

Thursday's run was great. 3.5 miles outside, in the neighborhood's near the Y. Weather was nice, and the run wasn't too bad. Refreshing.

Friday was a rest day.

This weekend I'm supposed to do 5.5 miles and 40 minutes of cross-training. Due to some OT at work and schedule conflicts, I didn't get to do anything yesterday. I'm going to do the 5.5 miles today (rain, please hold off until I'm done!) and then I'll use tomorrow's rest day to make up the 40 minutes of cross-training. I'm looking forward to getting out today. I'm feeling that pre-run rush and can't wait to get out.

Next week is a step-down/race weeks, so I won't have to do as far. Sunday is a 7k race for me that will hopefully have hubby and the kids cheering for me at the finish line. I heard the weather is supposed to be nice next week to... After next week is when the weekend long runs start to increase by a mile at a time. Yikes!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

I did it!

I didn't really doubt that I could do it, but there were times during the run that I wanted to quit. Hubby did a 25k this morning and when he was done, I went out on the same course while he stayed with the kids. Since I started so much later, I didn't see anyone on the course for the first three miles so I had to talk to myself... not outloud, but I kept telling myself that this was two runs... a two mile run and a three mile run (or vice versa). It actually wasn't bad.

My pace for the five miles was 11:03, with a total time of 55:18. That pace is amazing for me. I was hoping for somewhere between 11:30 and 12:00. No music this time. I had my mp3 player with me and had my earband on. I went out so quickly that I forgot to put my headphones on. It would have been too much work to do while I was running so I just went without. Unfortunately, I had my phone in my pocket and it bounced annoyingly in my pocket the whole time. Uch!

Mother Nature held off for me too. As soon as I got back in the parking lot, the snow started to fall slightly. By the time I got back to the kids and hubby, the snow was coming down big time.

So, how is my knee? Great! I didn't really feel it until about 4.5 miles in. After I was done I felt it a little, but my thighs hurt more than anything else, from riding my bike on the trainer yesterday. Feeling pretty good right now! I'm on a high. Five miles... never thought that would happen....

Anticipation of Milestone

This weekend I'm scheduled for a 5 mile run. I'm actually really excited about hitting this milestone. Last year before I got pregnant and completed a couple of 5k's, I was thinking it'd be pretty exciting to be able to run five miles. Now, it's approaching and I'm so excited! It's a big accomplishment in my book and I know I'm well on my journey to the half-marathon. Hopefully the weather will hold up until at least noon or 1:00. We're supposed to get snow and ice. I don't mind running in the snow, but it's the ice that'll be the problem. Hubby is running a 25k this morning and the kids and I will meet him when he was done. The original plan was to all play on the playground but with the threat of the weather, I want to get my run in as soon as I can.

On another note... does anyone read this?

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Good news

So, on Super Bowl Sunday I fell on the ice. I didn't think much of it until Wednesday when I was traveling to the Chicago area for work. Each time I got out of the van my knee stiffened up and was pretty painful. It seemed to be getting worse, and began to hurt more during the day. Finally today, after dealing with it long enough, I visited our Athletic Trainer at work. He helped me through the tendonitis I had in my knees two years ago, and I was fearful that's what I had again. After his examination, he determined it was slightly swollen, with a visible bruise. The ligaments are not damaged and it's probably just some bruising under the patella. Phew! I was worried. I have to take it easy during my runs, make sure I warm up first and ice when I'm done. Hopefully the pain will go away soon. But thankfully, it is NOT what I thought it might be--tendonitis.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Music

I need some good, motivating, upbeat music to run to. Anyone know some good downloads?

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Busy Week

The title says it all... It's been a busy week, but I've managed to get all my workouts in. Here's the rundown:

Tuesday: went to the Y and got measured for body fat %, BMI and waist-to-hip ratio. After this, I felt good about myself. I was in the normal/recommended range for all of them. Yes! So then I ran 1.5 miles on the indoor track and 1.5 miles on the treadmill for the full 3 mile training.

Wednesday: I was traveling for work but luckily it was a cross-training day. My plan was to get to Berkeley (Illinois, near Chicago), go get dinner with my co-workers, then ride bike for 30 minutes in the fitness center. Instead, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I thought I would get a cramp from eating so much before but I did not. In fact, the training called for 25 minutes and I went for 30.

Thursday: Got up at 5:00 Chicago time and ran 3 miles on the treadmill in the fitness center. It was 6:00 our time, so even though I got up "early" there, I slept in an hour and a half later than usual and still got my training in. For some reason, it was easy to do the three miles on the treadmill there. At the Y I have problems doing it for so long.Maybe it was the time of day or the show I was watching, but it was really easy to do.

Friday: rest day!

Saturday: I switched up today and tomorrow and did my long run today and will cross-train tomorrow. I did 4.5 miles today, which is the longest I've ever run. I knew I'd have a mental block with this so I told myself I was two runs of 2.25 miles each. Believe it or not, it worked. I was doing an out and back run again so I knew that once I hit the 2.25 mile mark, I'd turn around and start my "second" run back home.

This time I ran down the country roads to a new bridge being built. Half of it is open, so I ran to that, and just to the bottom of the other side was 2.25 miles. At the bottom, I turned back around and climbed back up to the top. Unfortunately the wind was not my friend here. The long stretch on that road, the wind was at my face on the way home. Luckily when I turned back onto our street the wind was at my back and the last half mile was one of my fastest splits.

Overall it was a good run. I wanted to give up, but I didn't. Like I said, it was all mental. I had to push myself through the times I wanted to stop. I did it and was proud of myself. Looking forward to the 5 mile milestone next week!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Week One Complete

It's been a good week of training. This is week one, done. To continue where I left off... Wednesday was a cross-training day but since we were snowed in I was stuck with doing an exercise video. That's fine, but I was looking forward to getting on a bike at the gym. Oh well. I did Tae Bo, with Billy Blanks. It was 27 minutes of kickboxing-type exercise. My sister and I used to do this one back in college, so I watched the latest Biggest Loser episode while I exercised. I have the whole thing memorized so Billy was just in the background motivating me.

Thursday was another three mile run. This time I did two miles around the indoor track at the Y then another mile on the treadmill. I get bored pretty easily so the first two miles were rough. I wish I could have turned around half-way through too but that's not how it works there. I felt pretty good though. I just wish I could learn how to slow myself down to finish what I need to.

Friday was a rest day. Gotta love those! :) Nothing exciting there.

Saturday was a 30 minute cross-training day. We got another 6 inches of snow dumped on us, so going anywhere was out of the question. I decided to pull out Billy Blanks again, but this time his Boot Camp work out. 55 minutes of kicking my butt, TaeBo style. Wow. I hadn't done this one more than a few times so I forgot what it entailed. Lots of ab workout and punching and kicking. Yeah... I'm feeling it today. Wow! My abs are killing me!

Today was the first "long" run of my training. It called for four miles. I've done that once before but that's the longest I've ever gone. It was 32 degrees out, with a slight snowfall. Beautiful day to go running. There was a little wind so my fingers were cold for the first mile but warmed up after that. After being informed that the half-marathon will be going over highways and overpasses, I decided I'd better train myself going over bridges and things. Luckily, we have an overpass on our road, so I went out two miles and back two. The overpass is just shy of one mile from our house, so I went over it twice. Once at the beginning and once at the end. It actually wasn't too bad. I didn't have to psych myself up to do it.

My pace today was pretty decent. I stayed right around 11:15/mi in all of my 1/2 mile splits. I'm pretty happy with that pace. There were times I was going around 10:00/mi but had to slow myself down in order to make sure I could finish the run. I did it, and am looking forward to future longer distances.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Training: Day 2

So the first day of official half-marathon training went extremely well (okay, it was a rest day, but I loved it!). Day two went pretty well too. I was worried since my knees had been bothering me, but during the run, they weren't bad.

I started off on the indoor track at the Y and did a mile there. The ramps around the curves are not necessarily fun to run over and over (it's 16 times around for a mile) and I started to get annoyed. After that first mile I moved on to a treadmill and did two more miles. I wore my Garmin with the footpod and realized that the speed on the treadmill has been wrong this whole time. I set it on 5.0, which the treadmill says is 12:00 miles. My Garmin said it was 11:30, so this whole time I've been going faster than I thought on the treadmill. That makes me feel a lot better about my indoor training.

The last two miles on the treadmill were okay. I got bored pretty easily and started the mental game again, thinking about how warm I was getting (I don't sweat right, I don't think) and what hurt (it was my shins at that point), and that I should stop. I pushed my way through all of this and finished the three miles in 34:54. Not bad for indoor running, I guess.

After I got done running, my knees hurt pretty bad. It was hard to walk a little but then they got better. All evening they bothered me a bit when I'd bend down or walking up and down the stairs. They've been cracking a lot more too when I bend down or get up. I hope this is just a temporary thing.

Today is cross-training, which is good since the Y is closed and we have about a foot of snow here. I'll probably go for some Tae Bo today. Hopefully the rest of the week's weather will cooperate for the planned training runs. Outside is best for me mentally, but we're supposed to get more snow and cold temperatures this week.