Thank Goodness for more Daylight!

It is so nice to be able to go running after work and have it not be dark.

Went to EC and ran on the trails for 5.5 miles. It was pretty warm out so I had a difficult time. Hopefully I will acclimate to the heat ASAP before Boston.

Because of the heat tons of people were at the park. It was nice to see so many people being active! EC really is a nice park. Runs right along the creek which is gorgeous and has plenty of things to do besides the trails.

First track workout of the season

Ahh the wonderful feeling of burning lungs, tired arms, and overworked muscles! Must be spring, finally!

It was so warm tonight (around 70) and sunny. Not my ideal weather for a track workout but much better than 32 degrees and covered in snow like it was this weekend.

I didn't do so hot tonight but I will take it.

Did a mile and a half warm up.

Then 4*800 and 2*400

Then a mile cool down.

Splits in order

3:09
3:17
3:29
3:28

1:44
1:27

The last quarter I pushed it and I was cruising until I came around the last curve and got Slammed by this huge gust of wind. I don't think I have ever felt anything like that. I was so focused on running fast (trying to stay with the guys since they were doing an 800) when that wind hit me it felt like everything instantly drained from me including my focus. It was really bizarre.

I stretched a lot today before and after the workout and my IT Band didn't feel too bad.

I also had a huge lunch today, I think I almost lost that on the third 800.

My calves are tight and sore. So I think some ice in order.

Pilates

Didn't manage to find time to run yesterday but decided I needed to do something before heading to bed so I got in an abs pilates workout. I also did some stretching for my IT Band and heated it.

My left calf is a little tight again. Do the frustrations never end

I am going to try and keep it stretched out today and hopefully I will have a good run tonight.

Boston Info

Oh I completely forgot I got my Boston welcome packet and I am bib number 13052. There are going to be over 20,000 runners this year! Completely nuts! I am starting to get really nervous, especially because I am not healthy.

I know it will be awesome no matter what. They are so high tech now. I can set up 6 of my friends/family to receive text messages when I pass every 5k mark during the race (plus the halfway mark and the 20 mile marker) Also they now take not only photos of you, but video too so I can order a DVD with coverage of me running in the marathon!

It is definitely going to be a day I will always remember

Running with Rammstein

Got out today by myself in the afternoon for a run. Couldn't drag myself out of bed for the SERC or TNT run. It has been a blah kind of weekend. I spent most of it sick and laying on the couch. But at least I got caught up on some crappy TV ;)

I managed to get off the couch finally this afternoon, did a thigh and abs pilates workout as a warm up then headed out for my run.

I managed to get in 6 miles today without too much trouble. I just ran from the apartment out 3 miles and back. Took my MP3 Run out with me. I desperately needed some motivation. The injury and horrible weather have been bringing me down this weekend. So I uploaded some choice songs from Rammstein's Mutter CD to my mp3 player and headed out. Something about German Heavy Metal just seems to help me get into the groove. I especially like Feuer Frei!, they used that in the XXX soundtrack, pretty sweet. The knee held up pretty well. I have been heating my IT Band at night to loosen it up, not sure if it is helping but it isn't making it any worse. The knee was a little sore but it stood up to the workout despite the hard core winds. It was supposively 42 out but the windchill had it at 28. It was very windy to say the least.

After the run David and I went to the pool. I did some drills and swam some laps with the pull buoy, but my arms were really sore, no idea why though...

We had a huge winter storm this weekend starting Friday night sometime. We had three power surges on Saturday which kicked off our pilot for the heater. Didn't notice until we woke up this morning shivering. Thankfully they are really good about coming out to fix things as soon as we call.

Hope everyone had a warm and safe weekend!

Windy!

Got out tonight an ran 4 miles easy. My IT band started to get sore after about 15 minutes but I stopped and stretched and that helped a lot.

I think I am going to survive. It looks like I will put up with the pain until Boston then I need to get off my running legs for about a month. Which shouldn't be too hard between all the swimming and cycling I am going to need to do to get ready for Memphis in May.

It was still warm out tonight but it was incredibly windy! I swear the wind actually blew me up the last hill

Quick Run

The weather was so lovely tonight I just had to get out and run. The new shoes feel great. My IT Band was fine for the first 15 minutes but then that familiar nagging pain started. I stretched it out and it didn't feel too bad. I only did a half hour tonight just so I could get out in the fresh air. Hopefully I will be able to tough out the rest of my workouts until Boston with some patience and stretching.

One Week Hiatus

I took 6 days off from running and didn't do too much else this week. Unless you count working and eating ice cream

Went out walking yesterday and got new running shoes. Tried them out today for 30 minutes. They felt okay. But my IT Band is still sore.

Not sure what my next step will be. Maybe an IT Band strap...a strap that wraps around your leg above the knee that helps prevent the IT band from rubbing over the knee.

Bad Day

Today was not a good day for me. Maybe the worst run ever.

Got out early to get in 8-10 miles before the official SERC start time. I had planned on getting in 20-22 miles today. And then getting in one more 20-22 next Sunday. It was around 35 degrees and raining. I started out in yoga pants, a short sleeved technical shirt, a long sleeved technical shirt, a light jacket, gloves, and ear warmers. I lost the jacket and gloves within the first mile. I was pretty warm but soaked to the bone. On Sundays I usually run between 8-8:45 minute miles. This morning my legs were pretty tired and I was dragging between 9-9:45 minute miles. I stopped to tie my shoe around 7 miles and starting back up my IT Band didn’t feel good at all. Got back to the truck after 8 miles threw off my jacket and drank some Gatorade then headed back out with A, planning on getting in another 12-14.

I felt okay for the next 6 miles we were going a little faster and my IT band was just a little sore. We stopped at the water stop and when I tried to start back up again my knee hurt so bad I physically could not force myself to run. I guess the inflammation was just too much…we walked for a few minutes and I tried to run again but it was a no go. So A and I walked 2 miles back to the bagel shop. It was probably getting close to 32 degrees and was very windy and still raining. I changed as soon as we got back but I was shivering for about an hour afterwards.

A is an awesome friend for sticking with me.

I am pretty frustrated but I can only blame myself. I upped mileage too soon and now I am paying for it. On top of that I haven’t gotten a new pair of running shoes in ages so that is probably adding to the problem.

Everyone in the club gave me a lot of good advice today. I am very grateful to have such good and knowledgeable running friends.

The new plan is to take off at least a week, maybe more. I may try and get in a few short runs but if my knee hurts at all I am stopping. Hopefully I have a good enough base to get through Boston. I really would like to get in another 20…we will see. In the mean time I am going to be doing lots of swimming, icing, and stretching.

Bricks

Gotta make this quick.

Got out and did a brick workout with TNT today. Everyone did great! I got in about 19 miles on the bike and a 2 mile run.

My IT band is a little sore but not too bad. I will definitely be icing before tomorrows long run.

7 miles

Got up at 4:30 and went running with the girls from SERC this morning. We did a 7 mile loop. VERY HILLY! My IT band was not too happy with me. My legs were having a battle for tempo, my IT band wanted to go fast (less pain when running quick), but my quads and hams wanted to go slow, too much lactic acid in them from yesterday.

In the end my IT Band won out, we were cruising around 8:25 pace, not too shabby for hills. B is a good running partner for me because we push each other without realizing it.

My IT band is pretty sore but I figure it isn't going to get truly better until I get off of it for good for a couple of weeks and that is going to have to wait until after Boston!

Wed and Thur Routine

I intended to do a track workout last night when I got home but crashed as soon as I walked in the door...not good considering I haven't really run since last Wednesday. I managed to do some light weights and an ab workout to save some face.

This morning was absolutely crazy. Everything that could go wrong did.

But I managed to get a short track workout in. 1 mile warm up, 4*400 at 1:40 and 1*800 at 3:50, 1 mile cool down. With the recovery runs in between the repeats I got in about 4 miles.

Tomorrow I need to wake up early to go run with the girls.

Indoor Triathlon

Yesterday I "competed" in an indoor tri with several of the Team in Training gals. Everyone did a great job. The race logistics were interesting. They didn't have indoor bikes with computers so everyone got an equal amount of mileage on the bike and you just had to do an indoor spinning class.

So basically you swam for 20 minutes and someone counted your laps. Then you did a 20 minute spinning class. Then you did 20 minutes on the treadmill which calculates your distance.

The spin class was hard! This guys kept coming around and turning up your resistance if he didn't think you were going hard enough. I was dying!

Since the bike wasn't really counted I ended up 1st in my age group and 2nd overall! That would have been way different if they counted the bike, I haven't rode in awhile and I definately would have lost some distance on that. I did have a great swim though, and an okay run.

This week I really need to focus more on running, only 5 weeks till boston so only 3 weeks till taper. I would like to get in two more 20 milers for sure and at least a couple track workouts for sure.

Swimming in the AM

Almost didn't get up this morning. I must have been in deep sleep mode because when the alarm went off I just hit the snooze as usual. After two times I realized there was a reason I set the alarm that early and it was because I needed to actually get up when it went off to make it to TNT swim practice this morning. Luckily I had laid out everything I needed last night so I made it just as the workout was starting.

I was a little apprehensive about going today because I have only swam like 3 times since Chicago and I didn't want to embarass myself. But I did fine thank goodness.

We did a 150 meter warm up, then some drills, and a set of 6*100 alternating which 25 or 50 was fast in the 100s. Then we did a 200 meter "relay" to finish off the workout. Of course there was 5 of us so that doesn't really work out. So being a mentor I got to be a 1 woman relay team...I was already pretty tired but I managed to hold my own and not get completely smashed by the two other teams of 2. Coach K probably thought this was pretty funny. Maybe in a couple weeks I will be able to win ;)

I am glad I got in the pool twice this week because I am doing an indoor triathlon on Sunday and I didn't want to be completely out of touch with the swim. My marathon schedule calls for an 18 miler this weekend but I have no idea how I am going to swing that with everything else going on...we will see.

cross training

Just did two winsor pilates workouts and some stretching. The DVDs are only like 20 minutes each but man they really work the area you are focusing on. I have been doing the ab workout and the buns and thigh workout dvds. Mostly because I have no definition in my abs and I am hoping the buns and thighs pilates will strengthen my upper legs muscles resulting in less injuries. And if they start to look more tone in the process cool bonus!

I gave up my spot for St. Anthony's Triathlon so now I will get a break after Boston. I am signed up for the Memphis in May Triathlon May 22nd now and I loved the Chicago tri so much that I signed up for that again. I am going to continue mentoring for the fall season as long as they will have me since they are doing Chicago again. So my spring and fall race seasons are pretty full. No more marathons for awhile after Boston though.

Checked out the Youngstown results. Man I got my a@@ kicked in my age group. The next closest girl was about 8 minutes ahead of me, yikes! I don't think I could have run that fast on that course if I was racing and I was healthy. I tied for 7th in my age group. Most road races I have done my age group hasn't had many competitors, I have run slower pace in a 5 miler and gotten first in my age group. Oh well. I guess I still have some goals to aspire too next year

I am pretty sick of winter. We got a bunch of snow dumped on us the past two days. I am seriously ready for some sunny 50 degree days! Maybe then I can kick these injuries and start running faster!

Morning Run

Left the apartment this morning at 5am to go meet the girls from SERC. We did a 7 mile loop on the roads. Good course for Boston training, a few hills to keep it interesting. I lost my glove around mile 6 and went back for it so I probably got in more like 8 miles with about one mile of tempo trying to catch up (straight up the biggest hill in the loop). My IT Band is still sore, surprisingly the best it felt today was during the tempo.

It was pretty cold and my winter tights were still damp from doing laundry last night so I just had on a thin pair of tights and a thin pair of wind pants. Not ideal but I survived.

G brings her dog Austin. He didn't bark the whole way and was so good. I couldn't believe it. She says he can do around 20 miles.

30 minute swim

Woke up yesterday morning and got in 30 minutes in the pool. Did some drills and a few intervals. I am way out of practice. Now I am off to freeze my butt of in the elements.

Youngstown 1/2

This is me and another runner I met at the Youngstown half marathon yesterday. We ended up finishing together. B is right in front of us during this shot. She placed 1st in her age group as well as my other friend that went with us. (I did not place) teehee

The weather was okay for the race yesterday. Pretty chilly when the wind was blowing. But I opted for shorts after changing about 6 times. And B was nice enough to loan me her underarmour shirt because all I had was a tank and a fleece.

I ended up keeping a pace slightly faster than what I want to run in Boston which was the plan. I was happy with that because this course was full of hills. The first 3 miles were rough and just before the third we went up a very steep hill, nicknamed "The Bear." As you are going up the clearly labeled hill (like we needed a sign to inform us of that) you notice the 9 mile marker and realize I have to do this twice, great!

That was the only hill that really got to me because my IT band did not feel good on it either time I went up. But I ran really well and kept a consistent pace despite the hills so I was pretty happy with my time. 1:47:and x seconds...not really sure because the start was a little odd.

We started at a top of this very narrow hill, well they must have decided that wasn't very safe in light of the icy conditions so we all walked down to the bottom and at some point we realized that we had started running, so I don't know if where I started my watch was the actual start or not.

I am glad I ran the race even though the hills were tough and my IT band is sore today because I feel better prepared for what Boston has to offer now.

Last night was our Running Club Banquet. I had a blast and ate way too much food

Trail Runnning...

Against my better judgement and against my own free will :)

A and I went to Peninsula this morning again and met up with our new running friends. We all decided the towpath was not a good idea since last week that was pretty crappy running conditions.

So we decided that the roads would be a good idea. We followed SERC out and everything was going as planned for almost a mile until they suddenly turned off the road and ran across a snow covered field to a snow covered trail. We ended up running on the trail for about 25 minutes. It was pretty brutal. Bad footing, and my back was achy. One of my toenails also was a little troublesome, it wasn't cut short enough and all of the foot turning caused it to stab my other toe. But we managed to make it out and were able to takes roads downhill all the way back, now that is my kind of running!

So we got in a little over 5 miles.

I took one of my husbands 800 mg Ibuprofen this morning because my bone still felt bruised this morning. Well the ibuprofen didn't do anything for that but my hip and IT band felt great today, no problems, knock on wood. So I am not sure if they didn't hurt because I took the ibuprofen or if they didn't hurt because all the stretching and icing I have been doing has finally paid off. I am going to take 3 regular ibuprofen before the race tomorrow and then Tuesday I will try going out without anything to test and see if I am better. If it hurts Tuesday I will have to make an appointment with the doc to see if we can properly diagnose everything and decide if I need to be taking a prescrip to make it through till Boston. Lets hope that nothing hurts though!

4 miles last night

Went out and ran a little over 4 miles last night with the guys. My IT band didn't bother me at all so that is good. My left "hip" or whatever that is did however and it keeps getting progressively worse. Coach thinks that might be my left IT band because that runs from your hip joint all the way to your knee. Today the back of my hip bone hurts too. Who knows what the heck is wrong with me.