UGGH

I think I am broken. I managed to get in all 20 miles today, but it was pretty brutal. My left hip is still bothering me and it was really bad today. B thinks it might be my hip flexor so at every water stop I stretched that out. My right knee also hurt pretty bad, worse now then it did during the run of course. The gals think it might be my IT band. Lets hope they are wrong. But they also showed me a good stretch for that.

So the new plan is cut back on mileage and start some serious cross training and weight training and hope that I make it thorugh till Boston and St. Anthony's. Then I am going to need to take a semi-serious break from running. I will just use that time to focus on swimming and cycling for Chicago.

I am beat, I need to eat and then I think I am going to take a nap before my hubby gets back from BG.

On an unrelated note I finished my scarf last night. :) It is pretty funny looking but it will serve its purpose. I will post a pic when David gets home.

5 miles

Went out to Peninsula today and got in 5 miles. We met some new people so that was fun. Ate way too much at breakfast then went to Century Cycles for some bike research. The guy at the shop was really nice and pretty helpful. He is going to get some bikes from the surrounding stores for A and I to try out next time we are down there. It sounds like I can spend anywhere from 1200-2600 on a good road bike for me (not including the pedals, shoes, aerobars, water bottle racks, etc.). I am going to do some more research and try to get out to a couple different shops to try out different brands and check out the range of prices.

My hip wasn't great today but it was probably because the trail was kind of lumpy so lots of jarring. My knee was fine during the run but feels a little off now. So I am going to take it easy (pace wise, not distance wise) tomorrow and see how it feels.

Cross Training

Since the weather was crappy and I am trying to give my knee a break I went to the pool and swam this morning. I did like 15 minutes of drills and then just did some laps and a few minutes of "pool running" for 30 minutes total in the pool. Then I did Winsor Pilates.

My hip is still a little tight but my knee felt pretty good going down the stairs today :) I am still proceeding with caution and trying to ice at least a few times a day. Tomorrow I will probably go for a short run and see how everything feels.

Icing

Icing my knee that is. Got in my 12 mile run this morning but my right knee is not a happy camper. For those of you who know me, you know that it is really messed up because I am taking three days off. Which sucks because only 8 more weeks to Boston. So let's all send positive thoughts to my knee and hopefully, rest, ibuprofen, and some ice will clear this up.

I swear I am falling apart. I am never, and I mean never, training for a spring event again unless I move somewhere that doesn't snow. I do not ever want to run in crappy winter conditions again.

On that note I am off for some knee pampering.

Chili Bowl

Went and ran in the Chili Bowl 5k this morning. I only got about 3 hours of sleep and my stomach was in horrible shape yesterday and this morning. But luckily come race time it calmed down.

I did a 20 minute warm up and a 25 minute cool down. My hip did not feel good during the cool down at all.

My "big dreamin" goal was to break 20 minutes but I knew that was pretty lofty considering I haven't run like that since I was 16. And my "please not any slower than that" goal was 22:30. I ended up running 21:25 which I am very happy with. I am not completely happy with my performance. I wasn't even tired when I got done so I know I can do better if I can just get my head in gear. But I haven't run splits like that in a long time so I know I should be content.

I tried to stay with E as long as I could and ended up with 6:22 for the first mile than I dropped off, just like I always did in high school, for a 7:05 mile and then picked it back up to get 6:42 for the last mile. In order to break 20 I am going to need to run consistent 6:20-6:25 miles. I came in second in my age group and got a cool picture frame so that is nice. But I let 3 people pass me in the last half mile and I should've gutted it out. Oh well, live and learn.

Total mileage today was somewhere around 7.5. Now I am going to catch up on the sleep I didn't get last night.

6 miles

Got out this morning for my 6 mile run. I didn't feel great because I was still tired from last night. Conditions weren't great either. It snowed more, it was windy, and a bunch of plowed snow/ice junk was on the sidewalks making footing terrible.

My left hip/pelvic bone problem is rearing its ugly head and my left toe still hurts. So I am taking tomorrow off in order to hopefully be fresh for Saturday's race.

8 miles in the dark

Got out this evening pretty late but managed to get in 8 miles in an hour and 15 minutes. It wasn't easy to keep a good pace between the snow and ice but I survived.

I really need to work on getting up earlier so I don't have to be running so late and eating dinner even later.

Got a splitting headache at mile 6, that has never happened before. It feels fine now though. My knee also hurt as I was heading out...which is odd you would think that it would have bothered me last weekend, not now. My left toe is definately not happy. It is definitely time for some new running shoes.

Evening Run

Got out this evening before sunset and got in 7 miles in just over an hour. Ran over near Browns Stadium and out the airport drive to the Power Plant and back. It was lovely out this evening and I was in shorts and a t-shirt.
My left big toe pretty much always has a large blister on it but it doesn’t hurt and it is really callused so I don't usually notice it. But today it turned blue...interesting. I guess it turned into a blood blister so I popped it and put on some Neosporin and a band-aid. Hopefully that heals nicely.

My left knee is turning a nice yellowish color surrounded by purple now. And the scrapes on my hands from falling are all infected, lovely.

This weekend I have a race. Looking forward to that. It has been quite awhile since I got out and did something speedy.

Wasn't feeling at all well yesterday so I took the day off.

20 Miler

Got out and ran 20 miles this morning in 2 hours and 52 minutes. I did the 5 and 15 mile loops. I didn't feel great but I survived and my legs aren't in too bad of shape now. But I did earn myself a nap which I am about to go take

Cross Training

This morning I went out to the Tow Path and walked 6 miles with the Team in Training walkers. I am counting this as my cross training for the week. It was a lot of fun and one of my triathlete friends was there too. She also fell this week and bruised her left knee. She fell off her bike though. I am grateful that I have not fallen off my bike yet. I am sure it will happen eventually though.

I felt really good on the walk so I stopped by N. Chagrin on the way home and ran another 6 miles. I stopped and stretched twice but I was keeping a good pace around 9 minute miles.

Was almost at 3 miles and I was coming up on a person walking. I noticed they had something in their hand. I didn't get too close because it looked like a crowbar, slightly unnerving so I turned back and picked up the pace :) This is why I always bring my cell phone with me and tell someone where I will be and how long I will be running for.

I learned today why my fingers always get so swollen when I hike. Apparently swinging your hands by you side is not the best way to walk. :)

I felt like I had a lot more energy today so the carb loading must have helped. My body is sore, most likely from the fall because I can't remember doing anything with my arms to make them sore. Oh wait I did do some pushups two nights ago...not enough to make my arms this sore though I don't think.

Just got the mailing for requests for next seasons mentors for Team in Training. They are doing the Chicago Triathlon again so I am definately going to sign up. I really had a blast in Chicago and I can't imagine a more perfect triathlon.

Sore Knee

Well I went out this morning and ran 3 miles. Unfortunately about 2 minutes from the apartment I took a spill because of an ice patch. No broken bones, but I did give my left knee quite a shiner and it is swollen. Also scraped up my hands and got some minor bruises on my arms and my other knee. Lovely. Other than that it was a great run. Hopefully the knee won't be a problem. If it is I may need to take some of my husbands meds for his back :) For now I am going to try some ice and ibuprofen.

It hurts to walk but hopefully it will be better tomorrow. Also tonight I feel exhausted. I barely made it up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. I am feeling a little better now since we ate dinner but I definately need a good nights rest.

I Will Survive

Oh how I hate running in the winter :)

But luckily it will be spring again soon and I have learned my lesson about training for a spring running event...don't do it! (Unless you live in a more mild climate area than Ohio)

In spite of bad conditions I did get in my run this morning. I just couldn't face the wind and cold temperatures though so I suffered through another treadmill run. 10 miles in one and a half hours...luckily my new mp3 player helped the time pass slightly faster than it normally does. And the distance calculator was pretty close to what the treadmill claimed I had run (there goes my theory about treadmills lying about my pace). I think Islandartist is right I am just a free spirit who finds treadmill running very difficult, because I swear I have to put in two times the effort to get the same results on a treadmill as I do outside.

5 mile recovery run

My quads are still recovering from Sunday's long run and last nights speed workout but I got in 5 miles easy this morning. It was drizzling and all the rain from last night had turned into ice. Really treacherous as it was not visible to the naked eye. But I survived without any slips thank goodness.

Lets hope that tomorrow's run is a little safer :)

My new gadget

So I have committed a huge running sin, I bought an mp3 player/acceleromator. The Nike/Philips MP3 Run.

It is awesome!!! I tested it tonight during my speed workout. It plays mp3's while tracking your speed/distance. Pretty sweet. I took it to the track and calibrated it and it appears to be accurate.

Warm up 1 mile
1 mile hard (7:29) Yuck
1/2 mile Easy
1 mile hard (7:23) Double Yuck
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard (7:07) Slightly better
1 mile cool down

Along with the mp3 player and run stats I can automatically update that data to a nike online training log. I am going to have fun with this :)

Nice day for a run

It is 53 degrees in Cleveland right now. It wasn't quite that warm this morning but it was still very nice running weather. And I took advantage of it. I got to the SERC start at 6:50 and ran 6 (maybe a little shy of) miles with B before the group start at 8, we were flying. Then I ran 12 more miles with B, A, and D. Total time 2 hours and 30 minutes. God I felt great!!! We will see how I feel a little later once the runner's high wears off :)

Beautiful Day

It is absolutely delightful outside today. 45 degrees and sunny! Went and ran with some of the triathletes this morning. Ended up doing 6 miles in 55 minutes. It was nice and there was no snow on the trail today (much better than two weeks ago at the same park).

Now I think I am going to get my truck cleaned (inside and out) go to the library and maybe go shopping!

Rough Morning

Woke up this morning and couldn't locate my husband...his side of the bed was empty, he wasn't on the couch, not in the bathroom, not on the computer...finally found him on the floor beside our bed on his side. Then I went to freshen up and had to unclog the toilet, second time this week. Then went to get some juice and found that my cat had vomited in the living room, also second time this week. This is particularly frustrating because we thought we had solved this problem by giving him more food so he wouldn't feel we were starving him, and in return he wouldn't wolf down the food so fast it would make him throw up, but apparently he has decided that not chewing food is really quite fun...Blah!

The Culprit

On a good note today is my rest day, and after running four days in a row I definitely deserve it Off to work.

Morning Run (s)

Got up at 6 this morning and ran 4 miles, then I headed to N.Chagrin to finish my 9 miles at the park. (It is way too dark to run there until 7)

Total mileage today was 9 miles in just under an hour and a half. I felt really good and even had a negative split today (even with the Metro Mountain (J's slang for really large/steep hills in the metroparks) I added in to mix things up at the 7 mile mark).

My left calf is a little out of sorts again, of course, but I plan on taking tomorrow off so hopefully I will be fresh for this weekends runs.

Pilates

My left hip is a little tight this morning so I am putting off my run until later. Instead I did the "Bun's and Thigh's" pilates workout. I am not sure what exactly is going on with my hip but that workout sure isolates it, hopefully that will help me on the way to a speedy recovery :)

5 miles

Got in my easy run tonight out and back from the apartment. It wasn't too cold out and my legs felt surprisngly fresh. My only problem tonight was my left hand. I think I am developing carpal tunnel or something...hopefully it is just a fluke.

Speeding it up a bit

I left this morning and headed to the Mayfield Heights track to try and get in my track workout but was disappointed to find that they haven't shoveled at all. So I had to put my workout off until this evening. My husband and I went over to the Richmond Heights track which also was not shoveled. I attempted to run anyways but there were parts where the snow drift were up to my knees. So we did some quick brainstorming and drove to the park next door. We measured the parks drive and it was 800 meters so I did my repeats there.

Here's the run down:

1 mile warm up
1 mile hard ~6:20
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard 6:19
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard 6:28
11 minute cool down

So total time and mileage was 50:49 and 6 miles.