Dodging cars, adults, kids, and a few runners (believe it or not) made for an interesting Wed night training run. I did 8.6 miles in 1:19:45. Still slower than I'd like, but oh well, I wasn't racing it and I was watching my stride, my form, and everything around me. About mile 2.5 the spooks started coming out in Macon. Mostly younger children with their parents. Too cute! As it got darker, the bigger kids came out. Bigger than ME! Trick or Treating. I almost ran into a boy about twice my size talking on a cell phone. They were everywhere....walking, running, in golf carts, on bikes. I don't recall ever running on Halloween night before but I could be wrong. Seems like I've always been at home or at the gym or it was a weekend night.
My hip feels a little tender but I'm about to jump in the floor and stretch so we'll see. This is the longest run I've done in exactly 2 weeks. Two weeks ago tonight, I had a sleepless, painful night. I pray I don't tonight. Depending on how I feel after work friday, I will attempt 12-14 miles. Tomorrow, I may just do some quick cross training. Gotta cook for another birthday party at work. Ugh! Tis the season for the Sales & Marketing Birthdays and holiday lunches.
Goal: Get Faster!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
I helped make a "quota" today!!!!!!!!!
I wasn't even going to post today but it started out so CRAPPY. First of all, in the last 2 months I've had this feeling that something was going to happen to my car. I've paid it off and I've just had this gut feeling something was going to happen, an accident, a speeding ticket, etc... Well, at least it wasn't an accident. I got a speeding ticket! It's quota time, baby!!! End of the month and I was selected. Oh, I'm not saying I wasn't speeding, I was...as a matter of fact, I was trying to go around someone so I sped up right there in the middle of Manchester in front of the Goodwill. You see, I live right off Hwy 55 in Tullahoma so I can go through the base or go up 55 to work. I take 55 in the am and the base in the evening. Well, from here on out, I'm taking the base both ways. I tend to drive near the speed limit there, it's a two lane hwy and it's WAY more scenic. I'm an idiot but hey anything I can do to support the city of Manchester. ha! I won't even say how much it is but it was OUTRAGEOUS!!! I've had 4 speeding tickets in my life. The last one was in 2001 on the interstate and this one was almost as expensive as that one!!! I'm passed being pissed now and maybe it was God's way of saying, "slow down Lisa".
Also, my snack drawer at work is becoming "too public". I'm sorry, I don't make enough money to feed everyone. Sorry, if someone from work stumbles upon this blog but it's the truth. Now that I have this HUGE ticket to pay, I definitely need to make cuts. Lisa's snack drawer is off limits. My "100 calorie" snacks are expensive!!!
Ok, on a MUCH BRIGHTER note, I've lost another pound since last week. I'm 3+ lbs lighter than a week and a half ago. :) Devin, the gym mgr, said my face looks thinner. Was it chubby before? :(
I did a tinsy bit of speedwork at THS tonight. 4 X 400s and I jogged in between. With my warm up and cool down, I think I got in about 2.29 miles total. Still not too proud of the times but I was faster than last week. Amazing at how much faster you can be once you know you aren't running on a fracture or anything serious like that! :) I kept my strides short and choppy like Grady said to do and it seemed to keep the pain away. As soon as I felt my stride lengthen, I pulled it back in.....once I'm healed, lengthening the stride will surely increase my speed. I then went to the gym, (stretched, yoga ball crunches, free weights on my arms, and some light leg weights). I was hungry so I went to Kroger for some fresh fruit and some sandwich stuff. I bought some Organic strawberries.......good until I got to the middle of the batch and found a rotted one. I'm easily grossed out so I cut up what I could and threw out the rest. YUCK!
So, it's a tuna sandwich, strawberries, cottage cheese with pineapple, half a pimento cheese sandwish as a snack, small bar of cheese, and a "100 calorie" snack or two tomorrow. I have to eat every 2 hrs or my stomach goes crazy. I probably eat 5-7 times a day. No heavy dinners, except on weekends. I'm not really missing the m & m's or snickers that I was eating just about every other day in the afternoons. Seriously!
Breakfast is usually a healthy bowl of cereal and/or a whole grapefruit, yogurt, or piece of toast or all of the above if I'm starving. :)
(in the last couple of months, I've been drinking way too much coffee at work!)
Sometimes I eat those oatmeal squares when I'm in a rush to get to work and SPEED MY ASS OFF......
So, getting back to the speeding ticket.....I was going to punish myself monetarily by NOT going to the Jag game on Nov 11th. Well, low and behold I had made an "offer" on a set of tickets and the person accepted. I got the email after I got to work. UGH! So, I am going or I'll give them to my sis and her husband for Christmas and stay at home for once.
Tomorrow is a new day.....a slow driving day. :P
Also, my snack drawer at work is becoming "too public". I'm sorry, I don't make enough money to feed everyone. Sorry, if someone from work stumbles upon this blog but it's the truth. Now that I have this HUGE ticket to pay, I definitely need to make cuts. Lisa's snack drawer is off limits. My "100 calorie" snacks are expensive!!!
Ok, on a MUCH BRIGHTER note, I've lost another pound since last week. I'm 3+ lbs lighter than a week and a half ago. :) Devin, the gym mgr, said my face looks thinner. Was it chubby before? :(
I did a tinsy bit of speedwork at THS tonight. 4 X 400s and I jogged in between. With my warm up and cool down, I think I got in about 2.29 miles total. Still not too proud of the times but I was faster than last week. Amazing at how much faster you can be once you know you aren't running on a fracture or anything serious like that! :) I kept my strides short and choppy like Grady said to do and it seemed to keep the pain away. As soon as I felt my stride lengthen, I pulled it back in.....once I'm healed, lengthening the stride will surely increase my speed. I then went to the gym, (stretched, yoga ball crunches, free weights on my arms, and some light leg weights). I was hungry so I went to Kroger for some fresh fruit and some sandwich stuff. I bought some Organic strawberries.......good until I got to the middle of the batch and found a rotted one. I'm easily grossed out so I cut up what I could and threw out the rest. YUCK!
So, it's a tuna sandwich, strawberries, cottage cheese with pineapple, half a pimento cheese sandwish as a snack, small bar of cheese, and a "100 calorie" snack or two tomorrow. I have to eat every 2 hrs or my stomach goes crazy. I probably eat 5-7 times a day. No heavy dinners, except on weekends. I'm not really missing the m & m's or snickers that I was eating just about every other day in the afternoons. Seriously!
Breakfast is usually a healthy bowl of cereal and/or a whole grapefruit, yogurt, or piece of toast or all of the above if I'm starving. :)
(in the last couple of months, I've been drinking way too much coffee at work!)
Sometimes I eat those oatmeal squares when I'm in a rush to get to work and SPEED MY ASS OFF......
So, getting back to the speeding ticket.....I was going to punish myself monetarily by NOT going to the Jag game on Nov 11th. Well, low and behold I had made an "offer" on a set of tickets and the person accepted. I got the email after I got to work. UGH! So, I am going or I'll give them to my sis and her husband for Christmas and stay at home for once.
Tomorrow is a new day.....a slow driving day. :P
Monday, October 29, 2007
Temptation...
Ok, I'm talking about the chocolate toffee at work today and the fact that I feel so freaking good that my mind is wandering back to the Team Nashville 1/2 even though I've been WARNED NOT TO DO IT by many people. I'm thinking of doing the Huntsville 1/2 the very next Sat, Nov 10th. (and add a few miles afterwards to it for maybe 15 that day) It will be a game time decision. :)
The game was slightly boring yesterday as for action in the game but we had a hoot of a time sitting with a bunch of guys who were on a "guys weekend". They were all from New York. They had been in Lynchburg for the bbq the day before. They were a hoot! They told Hannah and me that we were "hot". (Ok, maybe they were a little drunk but they seemed surprised when I told them I was 40. :) The Coyote Ugly breakfast was even more awesome than it was the last time. (more fruit!)
I bought a really nice fleece pull over on the street for $20. Hannah bought a cool light weight jacket for $30. We are already trying to decide what to wear to the Dec 30th game at the RCA dome. I may wear the new Titan's fleece but I will be waving my OLD Peyton #16 UT jersey from the stands. :)
I took a pic of Hannah marching with the TSU band with my phone. The sun was in the back so it didn't turn out so good. Thank God, I now have a NEW camera.
Tonight, I ran out East 6.14 miles in 56:51. It felt good as long as I kept my stride short. As soon as I lengthened my stride I felt a tinge of pain in my left hip. Grady, from the strider's message board, said to shorten my stride. IT WORKS! I can deal with this for now. He said it would make me a little slow but until it's healed don't lengthen the stride if you can help it. That is something I really watched at the Halloween Hunt 5 miler. Melodie said she was diagnosed with this bursa issue 2 yrs ago and got a shot in each hip. She said it's just something you just have to deal with.....stretch, ice, roll your hip over a tennis ball, ibuphren, etc.......
I did 30 mins on the elliptical, some yoga ball crunches, and stretched. I felt pretty good!
Tomorrow: Going to attempt some speedwork at the track if there's no game and cross train.
Wed: 8 miles if all goes well.......
Thurs: Maybe 4 miles and some light cross training.
Friday: I'm tempted to do 12-14 miles right after work...just so I can go to Carla's pilates Sat morning. We shall see how the week goes!
The game was slightly boring yesterday as for action in the game but we had a hoot of a time sitting with a bunch of guys who were on a "guys weekend". They were all from New York. They had been in Lynchburg for the bbq the day before. They were a hoot! They told Hannah and me that we were "hot". (Ok, maybe they were a little drunk but they seemed surprised when I told them I was 40. :) The Coyote Ugly breakfast was even more awesome than it was the last time. (more fruit!)
I bought a really nice fleece pull over on the street for $20. Hannah bought a cool light weight jacket for $30. We are already trying to decide what to wear to the Dec 30th game at the RCA dome. I may wear the new Titan's fleece but I will be waving my OLD Peyton #16 UT jersey from the stands. :)
I took a pic of Hannah marching with the TSU band with my phone. The sun was in the back so it didn't turn out so good. Thank God, I now have a NEW camera.
Tonight, I ran out East 6.14 miles in 56:51. It felt good as long as I kept my stride short. As soon as I lengthened my stride I felt a tinge of pain in my left hip. Grady, from the strider's message board, said to shorten my stride. IT WORKS! I can deal with this for now. He said it would make me a little slow but until it's healed don't lengthen the stride if you can help it. That is something I really watched at the Halloween Hunt 5 miler. Melodie said she was diagnosed with this bursa issue 2 yrs ago and got a shot in each hip. She said it's just something you just have to deal with.....stretch, ice, roll your hip over a tennis ball, ibuphren, etc.......
I did 30 mins on the elliptical, some yoga ball crunches, and stretched. I felt pretty good!
Tomorrow: Going to attempt some speedwork at the track if there's no game and cross train.
Wed: 8 miles if all goes well.......
Thurs: Maybe 4 miles and some light cross training.
Friday: I'm tempted to do 12-14 miles right after work...just so I can go to Carla's pilates Sat morning. We shall see how the week goes!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Halloween Hunt 5 miler, the skirt, the hip, and an award???
Ok, sometimes when I take pressure off myself, I do better, go figure?
Last night, after running out to the Lynchburg bbq with my sis, I went up to the gym and did 1 hr on the elliptical and stretched. It was official, I felt good enough to do a 5 mile race the next day.
Got up this morning after a restless night of sleep, did a few errands, and drove to Long Hunter State Park. Nervously warmed up, stretched, and went to the bathroom. It's so GREAT that this race is only $10 when you register on race day and opt NOT to get the shirt, I might add! There were the usual state park runners there. Terry was making his rounds and talking smack. (It's true Terry, you are "smack"! Ha) I wore one of the Nike running skirts that I had bought recently. I figured this would be a good race to test one of them. Well, both skirts are really too big around my waist but Melodie (who had one on) told me to roll down the waist band. This is what I get for being short waisted and just plain SHORT! Personally, I think the tights under it could be tighter, but that's just me. I should have bought the small, I guess...
Anyway, I'm standing there chit chatting at the start catching up with people that I only see at these races when Tomas starts the siren. He's so cool! He makes the perfect dracula every year at this event. There were more people dressed up this year than at the last two HH races that I've ran. When we did the costume awards, we had the Tin man, a Girl Scout, a guy dressed as a girl cheerleader, the power bar girls, a Geisha girl, Superman, and an Olympic swimmer (he was nearly naked standing there in goggles and a speedo!) The Guy cheerleader won. I wish I had a pic of him. He had this huge wig, glitter on his eye lashes, and this tiny little cheerleader outfit. He was probably 14-16 yrs old. Terry said that he heard the cheerleader's rustling pom-poms behind him. The cheerleader passed him on the course!! So, this boy was really fast with a huge wig on his head and carrying pom-poms while running!!
I did the first mile slow or I thought I did it slow. I tried to make myself keep it even, keep it comfortable. I even allowed people who I would normally not allow to pass me. Tomas was calling out the first mile times. Mine was 7:50? Good grief, it felt more like a 8:30-8:50. Anyway, I'll take it........so, mile 2, mile 3 went by uneventful. I ran with a tissue in my hand simply because I tend to cough up stuff when the seasons change and I did not want to be spitting all over the course. I'm so glad I took that tissue because I sure did use it. Mile 4 seems to come up quickly. It's a rather curvy course and I know it well. I ran straight lines as much as I could and the last mile, I kept hearing this person breathing hard behind me. I had no idea who it was...didn't care but for some reason I decided to stay ahead of whoever it was.... When I finished, the man introduced himself and told me that he had been pacing off me and the last mile he wanted to try to catch me but I turned it on the last half mile. (Ok, thanks?)
I ate half a hot dog off the grill, got some diet coke, and a banana. I was cooling down quickly and got COLD. I put some fleece on and walked around. I heard Kellie A. call my name. She did the Staggerwing Du this past Aug. GREAT RUNNER! She's 35 and already has a Boston Marathon under her belt. As a matter of fact, she seriously should have won the duathlon this past Aug. Due to a Newbie guy who got disqualified, she got penalized for passing him. Anyway, that soured her big time but now she says she has a good mind to come back and try to win it next year. Go Kellie! She advised me that it would NOT be wise to do the Team Nashville 1/2 with the hip issues going on.....wait till next year, it ain't going anywhere. John S. said the same thing so next year, the Team Nashville 1/2 will definitely be on my schedule.
A few of the FAST women that I've had to contend with this past year after I turned 40 have turned 45. Yippee!! They are out of my age bracket for now finally! This is the only way I knew I could get an age graded award anyway. Low and behold, I managed to get 2nd in the 40-44 age bracket. (Right behind Melodie) I guess if Jeanine had showed up, I would have got 3rd. My time was about 40 seconds slower than last year, I think... I kept it well under 43 mins but I'm not at all sure what my time is right now. I just know I've got a cutsie award to add to the collection. Yippee!!!!!!!! :)
Anyway, great day for a race and I'm glad I went. I took ibuprophen and I mowed about half the yard just to clean up the leaves. I'm going to ice my left hip after I stretch it a little.
Tomorrow should be fun......I hope to buy a new camera after the Raider's game is over.
Last night, after running out to the Lynchburg bbq with my sis, I went up to the gym and did 1 hr on the elliptical and stretched. It was official, I felt good enough to do a 5 mile race the next day.
Got up this morning after a restless night of sleep, did a few errands, and drove to Long Hunter State Park. Nervously warmed up, stretched, and went to the bathroom. It's so GREAT that this race is only $10 when you register on race day and opt NOT to get the shirt, I might add! There were the usual state park runners there. Terry was making his rounds and talking smack. (It's true Terry, you are "smack"! Ha) I wore one of the Nike running skirts that I had bought recently. I figured this would be a good race to test one of them. Well, both skirts are really too big around my waist but Melodie (who had one on) told me to roll down the waist band. This is what I get for being short waisted and just plain SHORT! Personally, I think the tights under it could be tighter, but that's just me. I should have bought the small, I guess...
Anyway, I'm standing there chit chatting at the start catching up with people that I only see at these races when Tomas starts the siren. He's so cool! He makes the perfect dracula every year at this event. There were more people dressed up this year than at the last two HH races that I've ran. When we did the costume awards, we had the Tin man, a Girl Scout, a guy dressed as a girl cheerleader, the power bar girls, a Geisha girl, Superman, and an Olympic swimmer (he was nearly naked standing there in goggles and a speedo!) The Guy cheerleader won. I wish I had a pic of him. He had this huge wig, glitter on his eye lashes, and this tiny little cheerleader outfit. He was probably 14-16 yrs old. Terry said that he heard the cheerleader's rustling pom-poms behind him. The cheerleader passed him on the course!! So, this boy was really fast with a huge wig on his head and carrying pom-poms while running!!
I did the first mile slow or I thought I did it slow. I tried to make myself keep it even, keep it comfortable. I even allowed people who I would normally not allow to pass me. Tomas was calling out the first mile times. Mine was 7:50? Good grief, it felt more like a 8:30-8:50. Anyway, I'll take it........so, mile 2, mile 3 went by uneventful. I ran with a tissue in my hand simply because I tend to cough up stuff when the seasons change and I did not want to be spitting all over the course. I'm so glad I took that tissue because I sure did use it. Mile 4 seems to come up quickly. It's a rather curvy course and I know it well. I ran straight lines as much as I could and the last mile, I kept hearing this person breathing hard behind me. I had no idea who it was...didn't care but for some reason I decided to stay ahead of whoever it was.... When I finished, the man introduced himself and told me that he had been pacing off me and the last mile he wanted to try to catch me but I turned it on the last half mile. (Ok, thanks?)
I ate half a hot dog off the grill, got some diet coke, and a banana. I was cooling down quickly and got COLD. I put some fleece on and walked around. I heard Kellie A. call my name. She did the Staggerwing Du this past Aug. GREAT RUNNER! She's 35 and already has a Boston Marathon under her belt. As a matter of fact, she seriously should have won the duathlon this past Aug. Due to a Newbie guy who got disqualified, she got penalized for passing him. Anyway, that soured her big time but now she says she has a good mind to come back and try to win it next year. Go Kellie! She advised me that it would NOT be wise to do the Team Nashville 1/2 with the hip issues going on.....wait till next year, it ain't going anywhere. John S. said the same thing so next year, the Team Nashville 1/2 will definitely be on my schedule.
A few of the FAST women that I've had to contend with this past year after I turned 40 have turned 45. Yippee!! They are out of my age bracket for now finally! This is the only way I knew I could get an age graded award anyway. Low and behold, I managed to get 2nd in the 40-44 age bracket. (Right behind Melodie) I guess if Jeanine had showed up, I would have got 3rd. My time was about 40 seconds slower than last year, I think... I kept it well under 43 mins but I'm not at all sure what my time is right now. I just know I've got a cutsie award to add to the collection. Yippee!!!!!!!! :)
Anyway, great day for a race and I'm glad I went. I took ibuprophen and I mowed about half the yard just to clean up the leaves. I'm going to ice my left hip after I stretch it a little.
Tomorrow should be fun......I hope to buy a new camera after the Raider's game is over.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Weight loss and smaller feet?!
Ok, so freaking out about taking it easy on the hip this week, I decided to seriously watch what I eat. If I could make myself watch my diet, I'd be rail thin, seriously. Low and behold, I've lost 2+ lbs inside of a week and my feet have shrunk. My shoes are all loose! I put on some running shoes last night to cross train in and they felt like Bozo shoes. I almost could NOT walk in them. My feet must stay swollen most of the time, SERIOUSLY!
Anyway, I'm about to turn 41 in Dec and I really need to look into "watching what I eat" more often anyway. My whole life has been a free for all, eat all you can, etc... I weighed 105 lbs all through high school, 98 lbs in college, 107 when I got married at age 22, the weight went all the way up to 138 the last 2 yrs of my marriage (my highest weight EVER!), then back down to 121-122 after my divorce, and it's been a roller coaster ever since. Stress takes weight off of me, I have noticed that. My weight varies 3-5 lbs at any given time but I try very hard never to go over 130. I'm not one to get on the scales all the time but I can always tell in my clothes and how I feel when I do drop or gain. Being 5 ft 4 inches tall, small boned, a few lbs makes such a difference on me on and off. The smaller feet thing is probably due to the NOT running so much this week. Feet are not swollen. Nothing is swollen but my left butt cheek is still sore from the shot.
I feel good and I feel like I could run tomorrow the 5 miles at Halloween Hunt no problem. Even with last years finish time, I doubt I'd get an age graded award anyway. So, I'm going and I'm having fun! After last night's cross training, I feel ok so........
Below is my plan for the next week depending on the hip issues.
Tonight: I may burn some calories on the ellpitical (just 30 mins) and stretch
Sat: 5 miles at Halloween Hunt (STRETCH)
Sun: Oakland Game
Mon: 6 miles and some light cross training
Tues: Depending on how the hip feels-some speedwork and cross training
Wed: 8 miles (STRETCH)
Thurs: 4 Rec miles (STRETCH)
Fri: Rest
Anyway, I'm about to turn 41 in Dec and I really need to look into "watching what I eat" more often anyway. My whole life has been a free for all, eat all you can, etc... I weighed 105 lbs all through high school, 98 lbs in college, 107 when I got married at age 22, the weight went all the way up to 138 the last 2 yrs of my marriage (my highest weight EVER!), then back down to 121-122 after my divorce, and it's been a roller coaster ever since. Stress takes weight off of me, I have noticed that. My weight varies 3-5 lbs at any given time but I try very hard never to go over 130. I'm not one to get on the scales all the time but I can always tell in my clothes and how I feel when I do drop or gain. Being 5 ft 4 inches tall, small boned, a few lbs makes such a difference on me on and off. The smaller feet thing is probably due to the NOT running so much this week. Feet are not swollen. Nothing is swollen but my left butt cheek is still sore from the shot.
I feel good and I feel like I could run tomorrow the 5 miles at Halloween Hunt no problem. Even with last years finish time, I doubt I'd get an age graded award anyway. So, I'm going and I'm having fun! After last night's cross training, I feel ok so........
Below is my plan for the next week depending on the hip issues.
Tonight: I may burn some calories on the ellpitical (just 30 mins) and stretch
Sat: 5 miles at Halloween Hunt (STRETCH)
Sun: Oakland Game
Mon: 6 miles and some light cross training
Tues: Depending on how the hip feels-some speedwork and cross training
Wed: 8 miles (STRETCH)
Thurs: 4 Rec miles (STRETCH)
Fri: Rest
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Diagnosis Day
Got a shot in my bursa tissue today? How many people can say that? ha!
Nothing is stressed and yes, I've NOT been stretching my hip area like I should. I've been too focused on my tight calves and feet. If I were not training for Rocket City, Dr. Stevens said, "I would NOT recommend the shot but you are training for something and this should speed up your healing a little." He said that I should ease back into running by taking it easy for a couple more days. He said that Sat, if I felt like running, do a few miles...(my thoughts turn to the Halloween Hunt 5 miler and I think that's just enough to be considered a few miles) Ok, so I'll run it slow and more than likely, I will NOT get an age graded award at that race for the first time but heck, I'm missing the Team Nashville 1/2 due to this injury and this 5 miler is cheaper anyway. He did advise against Team Nashville for sure because I flat out asked what he thought. I did not tell him that the Dec race was a marathon and I probably should have...honestly, I just said, "I have a race in Nov and Dec." when he asked if I had some coming up. We talked about my schedule, when I run, how much, cross training, etc... He said, "At least you did not suffer for months and then come hobbling in here like most of the runners do. At least you are not someone who thinks they have to run every single day during your training." I took that as a compliment but I'm injured for a reason and I guess it's just the fact that I probably forced myself up some hills a little too fast and I was not stretched out for them.
So, diagnosis, irritated bursa tissue that probably has caused some tightening of the hammys this past Saturday. Hammys feel ok the last few days.
Solution, take Wed night off, cross train lightly Thursday after work, and rest Friday. Sat morning at 8am, decide whether to go to Long Hunter State Park. Race is at 11am. If I decide not to go, I will run some and I will cross train but if I do go, I will enjoy myself. Listening to my body.
Tues night was just too tempting and I'm a sick gal for admitting this...I love the rain and cooler temps and I could NOT resist getting out in it. I went to THS. There was NO game! I warmed up by looping a couple of parking lots and the school for a mile. Then I hit the track for some "slow" speed work. I won't embarrass myself by posting splits. ha! Anyway, I ran 4 X .25 with one lap walking in between. It was misting rain at the end and it felt so GOOD! I did a .75 of a mile cool down around the school and back to the car. I probably ended up with 3.5 miles when I decided to head to the gym.
I got on the Elliptical for an hour and 10 mins....but didn't do the speeding I did on it Monday night! I watched the Jeff Fisher show while on there. Then I made myself stretch in the yoga room. I'm trying to find new and unique ways to stretch out this mess. The great thing is....I'm starting to feel more flexible again!
The next few weekends are looking a little overwhelming.
Oct 27: Some serious cross training or some serious running (If the hips feel good, Long Hunter State Park, here I come...)
Oct 28: Raiders game
Nov 3: NO Team Nashville 1/2 due to injury (Depending on how I feel, I will probably do at least 12 miles this day)
Nov 4: Carolina game
Nov 10: Hopefully a long run if my hip is better...14 miles? (fingers crossed)
Nov 11: Jaguars game (working on tickets for me, my sis and her husband)
Nov 16: Off from work, possibly 15-16 miles
Nov 17: UT - Vandy game
Nov 18: Short rec run-5 miles
I have to start packing for Thanksgiving trip this weekend!!!!
Nov 21-25: Flying to Philly, Cheryl's picking me up and we're heading to Jersey.
Trips to Atlantic city and NYC. I'm so excited I cannot stand it. I have not seen her since 1993!?
Dec 1: Tim's ford 6 mile race (still.....depends on my hip situation)
Dec 2: Texans game (still looking for tickets)
Dec 8: Rocket City (God willing my hip is healed and I can handle it!)
Dec 9: Chargers game (haven't even tried looking for tickets yet)
Dec 15: Recovery run of 4-5 miles
Hoping to see Arlene for some shopping, dinner, and movie (been too long my friend)
Dec 16: Not sure about a game this day but if I run RC, I'll probably cross train a lot this day. I have to start packing for San Antonio!
Dec 20-26: Early morning dr's appt and then flying to San Antonio for Christmas.
Dec 29-30 or 31: Driving to Indianpolis for the Dec 30th Titans - Colts game at the RCA dome.
Throw in a trip to Dr. Swansons (dentist), Dr. Capps (migraines), and Dr. Fleenor's (yearly exam) All DURING DECEMBER, a few Christmas parties that have NOT been scheduled yet, and God forbid anything else, I may get to breathe Jan 1st. (ya know, I'd love to do the Resolution 5k....)
Nothing is stressed and yes, I've NOT been stretching my hip area like I should. I've been too focused on my tight calves and feet. If I were not training for Rocket City, Dr. Stevens said, "I would NOT recommend the shot but you are training for something and this should speed up your healing a little." He said that I should ease back into running by taking it easy for a couple more days. He said that Sat, if I felt like running, do a few miles...(my thoughts turn to the Halloween Hunt 5 miler and I think that's just enough to be considered a few miles) Ok, so I'll run it slow and more than likely, I will NOT get an age graded award at that race for the first time but heck, I'm missing the Team Nashville 1/2 due to this injury and this 5 miler is cheaper anyway. He did advise against Team Nashville for sure because I flat out asked what he thought. I did not tell him that the Dec race was a marathon and I probably should have...honestly, I just said, "I have a race in Nov and Dec." when he asked if I had some coming up. We talked about my schedule, when I run, how much, cross training, etc... He said, "At least you did not suffer for months and then come hobbling in here like most of the runners do. At least you are not someone who thinks they have to run every single day during your training." I took that as a compliment but I'm injured for a reason and I guess it's just the fact that I probably forced myself up some hills a little too fast and I was not stretched out for them.
So, diagnosis, irritated bursa tissue that probably has caused some tightening of the hammys this past Saturday. Hammys feel ok the last few days.
Solution, take Wed night off, cross train lightly Thursday after work, and rest Friday. Sat morning at 8am, decide whether to go to Long Hunter State Park. Race is at 11am. If I decide not to go, I will run some and I will cross train but if I do go, I will enjoy myself. Listening to my body.
Tues night was just too tempting and I'm a sick gal for admitting this...I love the rain and cooler temps and I could NOT resist getting out in it. I went to THS. There was NO game! I warmed up by looping a couple of parking lots and the school for a mile. Then I hit the track for some "slow" speed work. I won't embarrass myself by posting splits. ha! Anyway, I ran 4 X .25 with one lap walking in between. It was misting rain at the end and it felt so GOOD! I did a .75 of a mile cool down around the school and back to the car. I probably ended up with 3.5 miles when I decided to head to the gym.
I got on the Elliptical for an hour and 10 mins....but didn't do the speeding I did on it Monday night! I watched the Jeff Fisher show while on there. Then I made myself stretch in the yoga room. I'm trying to find new and unique ways to stretch out this mess. The great thing is....I'm starting to feel more flexible again!
The next few weekends are looking a little overwhelming.
Oct 27: Some serious cross training or some serious running (If the hips feel good, Long Hunter State Park, here I come...)
Oct 28: Raiders game
Nov 3: NO Team Nashville 1/2 due to injury (Depending on how I feel, I will probably do at least 12 miles this day)
Nov 4: Carolina game
Nov 10: Hopefully a long run if my hip is better...14 miles? (fingers crossed)
Nov 11: Jaguars game (working on tickets for me, my sis and her husband)
Nov 16: Off from work, possibly 15-16 miles
Nov 17: UT - Vandy game
Nov 18: Short rec run-5 miles
I have to start packing for Thanksgiving trip this weekend!!!!
Nov 21-25: Flying to Philly, Cheryl's picking me up and we're heading to Jersey.
Trips to Atlantic city and NYC. I'm so excited I cannot stand it. I have not seen her since 1993!?
Dec 1: Tim's ford 6 mile race (still.....depends on my hip situation)
Dec 2: Texans game (still looking for tickets)
Dec 8: Rocket City (God willing my hip is healed and I can handle it!)
Dec 9: Chargers game (haven't even tried looking for tickets yet)
Dec 15: Recovery run of 4-5 miles
Hoping to see Arlene for some shopping, dinner, and movie (been too long my friend)
Dec 16: Not sure about a game this day but if I run RC, I'll probably cross train a lot this day. I have to start packing for San Antonio!
Dec 20-26: Early morning dr's appt and then flying to San Antonio for Christmas.
Dec 29-30 or 31: Driving to Indianpolis for the Dec 30th Titans - Colts game at the RCA dome.
Throw in a trip to Dr. Swansons (dentist), Dr. Capps (migraines), and Dr. Fleenor's (yearly exam) All DURING DECEMBER, a few Christmas parties that have NOT been scheduled yet, and God forbid anything else, I may get to breathe Jan 1st. (ya know, I'd love to do the Resolution 5k....)
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
GREAT cross training!
Ok, going to try to be positive here. :)
I got in some great cross training last night. I tore that ellipitical up with just a hair over 7 miles on it when I got off. I had to turn down the resistance and the incline to avoid stressing out my left hip but it was a good work out. Supposedly, 700 calories, but who knows if that machine was calibrated correctly but I'm going to be POSITIVE here. :)
I did some very light weights, crunches, and stretched and then I stared at the treadmill....
I got on with the full intentions of walking a mile and then I looked at my watch and realized I really needed to get home so I started running. So, yes, I walked maybe .3 and ran the rest.
I'm going to the track tonight and if there's a game going on, I will run around the high school. I have no idea how many miles I'm going to do but I'm going to get in some miles before I see Dr. Stevens in the morning. (Yes, I moved the appt up to tomorrow!)
On the bright side of things, I will be getting new glasses tomorrow. The last pair I got was nearly 2 yrs ago and I left them at Rollin's never to be seen again.
We lucked up on some club seats for the game this weekend. Really more than I wanted to spend but tickets were so expensive for this game for some reason. After Sundays miraculous win off Bironas' foot, I had to go! What a couple of season's he's had! NFL records all over the place. So, I'm looking forward to this weekend and who knows....maybe I can run! :)
I got in some great cross training last night. I tore that ellipitical up with just a hair over 7 miles on it when I got off. I had to turn down the resistance and the incline to avoid stressing out my left hip but it was a good work out. Supposedly, 700 calories, but who knows if that machine was calibrated correctly but I'm going to be POSITIVE here. :)
I did some very light weights, crunches, and stretched and then I stared at the treadmill....
I got on with the full intentions of walking a mile and then I looked at my watch and realized I really needed to get home so I started running. So, yes, I walked maybe .3 and ran the rest.
I'm going to the track tonight and if there's a game going on, I will run around the high school. I have no idea how many miles I'm going to do but I'm going to get in some miles before I see Dr. Stevens in the morning. (Yes, I moved the appt up to tomorrow!)
On the bright side of things, I will be getting new glasses tomorrow. The last pair I got was nearly 2 yrs ago and I left them at Rollin's never to be seen again.
We lucked up on some club seats for the game this weekend. Really more than I wanted to spend but tickets were so expensive for this game for some reason. After Sundays miraculous win off Bironas' foot, I had to go! What a couple of season's he's had! NFL records all over the place. So, I'm looking forward to this weekend and who knows....maybe I can run! :)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Injured Lisa drags her hip around Kroger....
Ya know, I HATE Walmart, but they are WAY, WAY cheaper than Kroger. I used to refer to Kroger as the rich man's grocery store. It did not used to be that way when I was little. I remember the days that I hung onto the end of the buggy as one of my parents pushed us around Kroger. It was always an adventure! ha!
I got fed up with the lack of good produce last week at Walmart and vowed I would go to Kroger this week. I somehow managed to miss the grapefruit but I'll grab some at Food Lion later. It amazes me at the selection of organic foods. So EXPENSIVE! I did buy some organic ingredients for a good, BIG salad today. I'm craving greens. The atmosphere is so much better than Walmart, also. It's never busy in our Kroger but then again, I rarely go in there. (Maybe 5-6 times a year!) I opted for some chocolate frozen yogurt instead of the nutty buddies. Why can't those be fat free???!! I did something that I have NOT done in a long time, I bought some "lean cuisines". I got so burned out on those when I lived in Germany. When I was locked down on an Army post for like a month and a half (Gulf War), the only sources of food was the commissary or Burger King. I ate "lean cuisines" like a crazy person. I've had them since then but only when I was not running so much. Well, since my left hip isn't cooperating, I'm going to really watch what I eat this week.
Yesterday, I was too chicken to even try to run. My good sense finally kicked in to take another day AWAY from running. I have not taken 3 days off in a row from running since late July. I went to the gym, did some light leg weights and then Carla came in for her Pilates class that she teaches every Sat. She called it "Carlates". ha! Since she indicated it was a lot of stretching, I decided to go on in and it was GREAT. I enjoyed it. We did a lot of hip stretching. (Was that on purpose, Carla?) :) We did that and core strengthening and I feel it in my arms today. I learned how to massage my hip on the floor. Cool! After class, I did the elliptical for 1 hr 5 mins, then the bike for 32 mins (all somewhat slowly). Then I went shopping in Murf....got a black Nike running skirt dirt cheap with my frequent buyer discount at FF. It was on sale! Bought cliff shots to try out when the hip gets better and a reflector light made by Brooks. Cool! I did some much needed clothes shopping for work. Yeah, I MADE myself try on clothes. I'm not a big time shopper so that was torture. Ross' and Old Navy....and I got EVERYTHING on sale. Yippee! Hip still feels good at this point in the day so I make a mental note to myself that I will definitely try to run in the am. I have to add, that it feels so much better than it did Wed/Thurs. I wish I could see Dr. Stevens tomorrow instead of Thursday, though.
I got out about 7am this morning for a pitiful 3.1 miles. I don't believe that I would have caused anything positive to happen with it if I had run longer so I stopped. I listened to my body and stopped. I immediately headed to the gym for 1 hr 5 mins on the elliptical, some yoga ball crunches, light arm weights, and stretches. I tried to do the stretches we did in pilates yesterday. Some guy in the yoga room asked me how far I ran this morning. I was perplexed?? I had never seen him in there ever... (I had noticed him watching me before I went into the yoga room!) He acted like he wanted to talk and I was in no mood. :(
Whenever I'm injured, I always start hating how my body looks. I stared at myself in the yoga room mirror thinking that my abs looked ok, borderline defined, but the little fat deposits just above my waist band were UGLY! I guess that's the age thing creeping in...5-10 yrs ago, I had nothing around my waist band like that. YUCK! My sides feel a little sore from Carla's class so I know we worked some AB muscles that I have not been working so that's cool!
If my cousin Patti (in Michigan) reads this I want her to know that I'm incredibly proud of her Detroit Free Press Half marathon finish today. She says she thinks she finished around 3 1/2 hrs. This was her first Half. She's done a few 5ks in the past so this was BIG for her. If I could have been there for her finish today, I would have....I hope this starts an addiction with her. :) Congrats Patti!
Let's hope that after the Tide ass stomping on UT in Tuscaloosa yesterday that the Titans can get a win in Houston today. Looks like Fisher isn't going to allow VY in the game. Kerry Collins is not an "out of pocket" guy. I sure hope he gets the coverage in that pocket. Looks like Brady and Moss are showing no mercy on Miami today. That score is already 28-7. SAD! It's been predicted that the Patriots will go undefeated this season. Peyton, watch out!
I got fed up with the lack of good produce last week at Walmart and vowed I would go to Kroger this week. I somehow managed to miss the grapefruit but I'll grab some at Food Lion later. It amazes me at the selection of organic foods. So EXPENSIVE! I did buy some organic ingredients for a good, BIG salad today. I'm craving greens. The atmosphere is so much better than Walmart, also. It's never busy in our Kroger but then again, I rarely go in there. (Maybe 5-6 times a year!) I opted for some chocolate frozen yogurt instead of the nutty buddies. Why can't those be fat free???!! I did something that I have NOT done in a long time, I bought some "lean cuisines". I got so burned out on those when I lived in Germany. When I was locked down on an Army post for like a month and a half (Gulf War), the only sources of food was the commissary or Burger King. I ate "lean cuisines" like a crazy person. I've had them since then but only when I was not running so much. Well, since my left hip isn't cooperating, I'm going to really watch what I eat this week.
Yesterday, I was too chicken to even try to run. My good sense finally kicked in to take another day AWAY from running. I have not taken 3 days off in a row from running since late July. I went to the gym, did some light leg weights and then Carla came in for her Pilates class that she teaches every Sat. She called it "Carlates". ha! Since she indicated it was a lot of stretching, I decided to go on in and it was GREAT. I enjoyed it. We did a lot of hip stretching. (Was that on purpose, Carla?) :) We did that and core strengthening and I feel it in my arms today. I learned how to massage my hip on the floor. Cool! After class, I did the elliptical for 1 hr 5 mins, then the bike for 32 mins (all somewhat slowly). Then I went shopping in Murf....got a black Nike running skirt dirt cheap with my frequent buyer discount at FF. It was on sale! Bought cliff shots to try out when the hip gets better and a reflector light made by Brooks. Cool! I did some much needed clothes shopping for work. Yeah, I MADE myself try on clothes. I'm not a big time shopper so that was torture. Ross' and Old Navy....and I got EVERYTHING on sale. Yippee! Hip still feels good at this point in the day so I make a mental note to myself that I will definitely try to run in the am. I have to add, that it feels so much better than it did Wed/Thurs. I wish I could see Dr. Stevens tomorrow instead of Thursday, though.
I got out about 7am this morning for a pitiful 3.1 miles. I don't believe that I would have caused anything positive to happen with it if I had run longer so I stopped. I listened to my body and stopped. I immediately headed to the gym for 1 hr 5 mins on the elliptical, some yoga ball crunches, light arm weights, and stretches. I tried to do the stretches we did in pilates yesterday. Some guy in the yoga room asked me how far I ran this morning. I was perplexed?? I had never seen him in there ever... (I had noticed him watching me before I went into the yoga room!) He acted like he wanted to talk and I was in no mood. :(
Whenever I'm injured, I always start hating how my body looks. I stared at myself in the yoga room mirror thinking that my abs looked ok, borderline defined, but the little fat deposits just above my waist band were UGLY! I guess that's the age thing creeping in...5-10 yrs ago, I had nothing around my waist band like that. YUCK! My sides feel a little sore from Carla's class so I know we worked some AB muscles that I have not been working so that's cool!
If my cousin Patti (in Michigan) reads this I want her to know that I'm incredibly proud of her Detroit Free Press Half marathon finish today. She says she thinks she finished around 3 1/2 hrs. This was her first Half. She's done a few 5ks in the past so this was BIG for her. If I could have been there for her finish today, I would have....I hope this starts an addiction with her. :) Congrats Patti!
Let's hope that after the Tide ass stomping on UT in Tuscaloosa yesterday that the Titans can get a win in Houston today. Looks like Fisher isn't going to allow VY in the game. Kerry Collins is not an "out of pocket" guy. I sure hope he gets the coverage in that pocket. Looks like Brady and Moss are showing no mercy on Miami today. That score is already 28-7. SAD! It's been predicted that the Patriots will go undefeated this season. Peyton, watch out!
Friday, October 19, 2007
Evaluating and regrouping.
My left hip still has a very dull, deep pain but not as bad as it was yesterday or Wed night. I did not run last night and I didn't even cross train. When I do absolutely nothing, the guilt does get to me. Last Fall, I battled shin splints and it worked on me mentally. I basically told myself then to just try to get through the marathons the best that I could and I did but barely getting in under 5 hrs is not good enough for me. Chickamauga in November was basically just a training run for me. I got it in just a mere seconds under 5 hrs with my left shin wrapped in an ace bandage. The course was not entirely flat and I hated the way the roads would curve to one side for a minute and then to the opposite side and then back again. It's hard to explain unless you've been to the Chickamauga battlefield, walked the roads, etc... BEAUTIFUL area, but not my cup of tea for a marathon. I was only doing it for motivation and to get in a long training run so no big deal.
Exactly a month later in Huntsville, the shin pain had not totally gone away, I ran just a few minutes under 5 hrs. My worst Rocket City time ever and I was mad at myself. I told myself that I'd never run again injured and here I am one year later and I'm freaking out over this hip pain that has reared it's ugly head in the last week.
For the record, my shin pain gradually came on sometime in the fall last year and it did NOT completely go away until late Jan/early Feb. By that time, I had totally changed shoes and I was getting fired up about more races. I basically ran through the pain, aqua jogging when I could get into the pool, and riding the ellpitical trainer. What caused this shin pain? I deducted that I was running in motion control shoes, which I no longer needed (Plus running every weekend at Tim's Ford was not a good thing). I had battled plantar fascittis in the summer/fall of 2004. My PF had been long gone and truth be known, I really needed to get reevaluated. I had bought shoes at the Huntsville FF and in Brentwood but nobody ever offered to let me try a different shoe. I didn't know any better. I figured I was doomed to motion control shoes FOREVER. Lesson learned the hard way.
Christi, at the Brentwood FF, put me in stability shoes, the Saucony Omni's & Brooks Adrenalines. The shin pain was all but gone by early Feb '07 and I was HAPPY again! Now here I am with a totally different pain. I'm running in Adrenalines, Omni's, and the Trance now. The Trance is very much like the Adrenalines so I'm about 99.9% sure it's not my shoes this time. I did wear them this past Sat out at the Lake and I do remember jarring myself and losing my footing in an area that Carla fell down at last fall but I was ok. We all lose our footing and then regain it at some point in our runs sometimes. My middle name is definitely NOT "Grace". So, who knows...maybe that little jolt to my stride did cause this but I was already having a miserable run out there at that point anyway with my concrete calves but I had not started walking any at that point. I was maybe 3-4 miles into the run and I felt like my body was trying to loosen up.
As I ramble on about this obsessing over something that may only last a few days, I realize that for the sake of my sanity, I need to make an appointment with a sports med doc. I have an appointment with Dr. Stevens in Tullahoma next Thursday. The pain may be totally gone by then or it may be worse but you can bet, I will definitely test it out before next Thursday. I was told by a runner/doctor who frequents the nashvillestriders message board that it could be something called, trochanteric bursitis. Dr. Trent Rosenbloom is always so happy to offer advice on everything. He even went as far as saying that an orthapoedist could inject meds into the bursa to help the healing but I hope to avoid that with rest, ibuprophen, ice, massage therapy, and cross training. If there's still pain there next Thursday, hopefully, Dr. Stevens, will have something to offer....we shall see.
Running is not the "end all, be all, meaning of life for me" sort of thing but it sure makes my life easier when I can do it. I will never forget my roller blading, broken wrist incident of 2003. My whole attitude changed when I was sidelined. My personal life was a mess but "He's gone now" and I'm a much better person for not being with "that person". ha!
At one point, I even ran a few miles on a treadmill at DW Wilson with 4 screws coming out of my wrist. I think I freaked everyone out because one fall could have set back my healing wrist for a very long time but I had to do it for my sanity. 5.5 weeks later when those screws came out, I could NOT wait to get back into running shape! I wanted to "race". Even though I had already raced in a couple of races before the roller blading accident, I REALLY wanted to train/race now. Looking back, it was something I had to do to prove something to myself.
I seriously do NOT know how people do it when they are permanently injured, paralyzed, never being able to do what they did before their accidents, etc... My heart seriously goes out to those that go through that kind of hell. It can happen to anybody. It's scary but we can't constantly live in fear of the "what ifs". We run and hope for the best. That may have to be my philosophy once again in Dec. Run and hope for the best because once again, I know I can't give my best because of my stupid luck in the fall. If for some reason, I barely get in RC under the 5 hr mark, I will swear off that marathon for a very long time. Lord knows I'm not a huge fan of the course but it's "local". It's the flattest around here that's for sure but there's always the chance there will be headwinds and it could be 18 degrees at the start one year and 30 degrees the next. I've experienced both! It's not known for it's crowd support but if that's what gets you through a marathon then you really do need to train harder and be more focused. The marathon is a journey. It's not something to take lightly and I've made that mistake a couple of times. I've completed 7 of them and not all have been pretty! :)
So, anyway........getting my eyes checked for new glasses next Wed and getting my left hip checked out next Thursday. I pray for the best on Thursday!
Exactly a month later in Huntsville, the shin pain had not totally gone away, I ran just a few minutes under 5 hrs. My worst Rocket City time ever and I was mad at myself. I told myself that I'd never run again injured and here I am one year later and I'm freaking out over this hip pain that has reared it's ugly head in the last week.
For the record, my shin pain gradually came on sometime in the fall last year and it did NOT completely go away until late Jan/early Feb. By that time, I had totally changed shoes and I was getting fired up about more races. I basically ran through the pain, aqua jogging when I could get into the pool, and riding the ellpitical trainer. What caused this shin pain? I deducted that I was running in motion control shoes, which I no longer needed (Plus running every weekend at Tim's Ford was not a good thing). I had battled plantar fascittis in the summer/fall of 2004. My PF had been long gone and truth be known, I really needed to get reevaluated. I had bought shoes at the Huntsville FF and in Brentwood but nobody ever offered to let me try a different shoe. I didn't know any better. I figured I was doomed to motion control shoes FOREVER. Lesson learned the hard way.
Christi, at the Brentwood FF, put me in stability shoes, the Saucony Omni's & Brooks Adrenalines. The shin pain was all but gone by early Feb '07 and I was HAPPY again! Now here I am with a totally different pain. I'm running in Adrenalines, Omni's, and the Trance now. The Trance is very much like the Adrenalines so I'm about 99.9% sure it's not my shoes this time. I did wear them this past Sat out at the Lake and I do remember jarring myself and losing my footing in an area that Carla fell down at last fall but I was ok. We all lose our footing and then regain it at some point in our runs sometimes. My middle name is definitely NOT "Grace". So, who knows...maybe that little jolt to my stride did cause this but I was already having a miserable run out there at that point anyway with my concrete calves but I had not started walking any at that point. I was maybe 3-4 miles into the run and I felt like my body was trying to loosen up.
As I ramble on about this obsessing over something that may only last a few days, I realize that for the sake of my sanity, I need to make an appointment with a sports med doc. I have an appointment with Dr. Stevens in Tullahoma next Thursday. The pain may be totally gone by then or it may be worse but you can bet, I will definitely test it out before next Thursday. I was told by a runner/doctor who frequents the nashvillestriders message board that it could be something called, trochanteric bursitis. Dr. Trent Rosenbloom is always so happy to offer advice on everything. He even went as far as saying that an orthapoedist could inject meds into the bursa to help the healing but I hope to avoid that with rest, ibuprophen, ice, massage therapy, and cross training. If there's still pain there next Thursday, hopefully, Dr. Stevens, will have something to offer....we shall see.
Running is not the "end all, be all, meaning of life for me" sort of thing but it sure makes my life easier when I can do it. I will never forget my roller blading, broken wrist incident of 2003. My whole attitude changed when I was sidelined. My personal life was a mess but "He's gone now" and I'm a much better person for not being with "that person". ha!
At one point, I even ran a few miles on a treadmill at DW Wilson with 4 screws coming out of my wrist. I think I freaked everyone out because one fall could have set back my healing wrist for a very long time but I had to do it for my sanity. 5.5 weeks later when those screws came out, I could NOT wait to get back into running shape! I wanted to "race". Even though I had already raced in a couple of races before the roller blading accident, I REALLY wanted to train/race now. Looking back, it was something I had to do to prove something to myself.
I seriously do NOT know how people do it when they are permanently injured, paralyzed, never being able to do what they did before their accidents, etc... My heart seriously goes out to those that go through that kind of hell. It can happen to anybody. It's scary but we can't constantly live in fear of the "what ifs". We run and hope for the best. That may have to be my philosophy once again in Dec. Run and hope for the best because once again, I know I can't give my best because of my stupid luck in the fall. If for some reason, I barely get in RC under the 5 hr mark, I will swear off that marathon for a very long time. Lord knows I'm not a huge fan of the course but it's "local". It's the flattest around here that's for sure but there's always the chance there will be headwinds and it could be 18 degrees at the start one year and 30 degrees the next. I've experienced both! It's not known for it's crowd support but if that's what gets you through a marathon then you really do need to train harder and be more focused. The marathon is a journey. It's not something to take lightly and I've made that mistake a couple of times. I've completed 7 of them and not all have been pretty! :)
So, anyway........getting my eyes checked for new glasses next Wed and getting my left hip checked out next Thursday. I pray for the best on Thursday!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Revelations from a night of hip pain....
I think I got maybe 2 hrs here & 2 hrs there for a combined total of maybe 4 hrs sleep last night. I could NOT get comfortable. My left hip hurts deep in the tissue. Ever since last Wed/Thur, it's been a very slight pain & lets face it, if I let a little slight pain slow me down, I would never run/train for anything. Of course, I felt pain in both hips Sat out at the lake. Kirby worked me over Monday after work. No pain Mon or Tues, although, Bob (in accounting) said I had the look of pain as I walked up the stairs on Monday...ummmm.... Why are some of us(myself!) so prone to ignoring signs of pain?
I've decided after getting so little sleep last night that I'm due two days of NON-RUNNING activities. Depending on how much caffiene I get in me & how I feel after work, I may try to crosstrain at the gym. I had planned 5 rec miles around my neighborhood but that's not happening. I ran out East area last night my planned 10 miles but the first 3-4 miles were almost excruciating. I could not get my calves to loosen up & then there was the hip pain, mostly in my left hip. I kept going & going & thinking that I should cut it off at 8 miles & I didn't....I kept going. I finally hit 10 miles SLOWLY at my car in front of East. An old friend, Christy Glenn, was there dropping off her daughter for cheerleading practice. I hopped in her car & we played "catch up" with each other. It was nice! I've known Christy since the dawn of time! :) I told her about my hip pain & she said, "sciatic nerve" but everything I read points to back injuries when I look up sciatic nerve issues. My back feels fine. It also points to pain in the legs. Well, my calves have always had the tendency to be very tight & they really do NOT hurt. I'll keep worrying about this if Sat morning rolls around & my left hip is still hurting.
As I tossed & turned trying to get comfortable last night, I thought about EVERYTHING. Where my life is going, where I want it to go, the holiday travel I have coming up, the Rocket City marathon, 2 friends that have tested my friendship the last few months, how there are NO men within 100 miles of me that are "my type", and I realize, "I think too damn much!" ha!
If the hip keeps me awake tonight, I'm taking a sleeping pill. I'm not allowing myself to stress about this anymore. My 2 best marathons were done without any 20 milers at all. (not saying I don't need them, but...) If I only get in 2 - 20 mile training runs before Rocket City then so be it.
TGITHURSDAY (Grey's Anatomy!)
I've decided after getting so little sleep last night that I'm due two days of NON-RUNNING activities. Depending on how much caffiene I get in me & how I feel after work, I may try to crosstrain at the gym. I had planned 5 rec miles around my neighborhood but that's not happening. I ran out East area last night my planned 10 miles but the first 3-4 miles were almost excruciating. I could not get my calves to loosen up & then there was the hip pain, mostly in my left hip. I kept going & going & thinking that I should cut it off at 8 miles & I didn't....I kept going. I finally hit 10 miles SLOWLY at my car in front of East. An old friend, Christy Glenn, was there dropping off her daughter for cheerleading practice. I hopped in her car & we played "catch up" with each other. It was nice! I've known Christy since the dawn of time! :) I told her about my hip pain & she said, "sciatic nerve" but everything I read points to back injuries when I look up sciatic nerve issues. My back feels fine. It also points to pain in the legs. Well, my calves have always had the tendency to be very tight & they really do NOT hurt. I'll keep worrying about this if Sat morning rolls around & my left hip is still hurting.
As I tossed & turned trying to get comfortable last night, I thought about EVERYTHING. Where my life is going, where I want it to go, the holiday travel I have coming up, the Rocket City marathon, 2 friends that have tested my friendship the last few months, how there are NO men within 100 miles of me that are "my type", and I realize, "I think too damn much!" ha!
If the hip keeps me awake tonight, I'm taking a sleeping pill. I'm not allowing myself to stress about this anymore. My 2 best marathons were done without any 20 milers at all. (not saying I don't need them, but...) If I only get in 2 - 20 mile training runs before Rocket City then so be it.
TGITHURSDAY (Grey's Anatomy!)
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, adjustment, massage, and 3.15 @ THS
After my much needed adjustment and massage, I drove over to THS thinking I could use the track. I should know by now that it's rare that a game of some sort isn't going on during the Fall over there. You'd think?! Anyway, I didn't want to run anywhere else so I parked, got out, and hit the garmin. (I'm still trying to learn the bells & whistles of this thing and I have not even pulled out the heart rate monitor yet. Sad!) I took off, dodging cars, kids, etc... I ran the outer parts of the parking lots. I now know how far the loop is that I've run so many times from the ball field to the front of THS and back. (About 1.02) I had guessed it at about a mile several years ago. ha! I only wanted 3 miles but ended up with 3:15. It was slow and easy at times and then at others, I felt like I was sprinting but the time was only 29.45.
I told Kirby, my massage therapist, my hips had hurt me really bad on Saturday out at the lake and she stuck her elbows in my glutes. I thought I'd come up off her table but when I walked out of that office, I told her it was one of her BEST massages on me. It was fabulous! Today, I'm going to take a much needed cross training day at the gym. The usual elliptical, yoga ball crunches, light weights, and a lot of stretching. I wish there was a 30 min yoga class on Tuesdays. I can never make those classes it seems...just too busy! Met Carla on my way into the gym after I ran @ THS. Bless her heart, she had filled in for another aerobics teacher. She had taught a 30 min AB class, someone else's aerobics class for an hour, and then her 1 hr kick boxing class. Yikes! I jumped on the elliptical for 20 short mins to help stretch out my calves. The gym mgr showed me how to do the "back" weight machine properly, and I stretched my calves a little more. I decided watching "2 1/2 Men" was going to be on my agenda tonight so I left. ha!
Wed-I'm going to attempt 10 miles and I'm hoping for a fairly decent pace out East. I'm guessing the last 4 miles will be in the dark in Tara but that's ok.
Thurs-I'm going to try to do 5 around my neighborhood and head in for the evening.
Fri-Rest
Sat-I will attempt 20 miles fairly flat. I'm thinking I may head into the base. If I hear a bunch of hunter's guns going off, I'll turn around and head towards East Middle and just gauge my mileage back to the house. I may call Wayne and see if I can start out with him Sat morning. He's not going long but he'll be running early.
Sun-If I get my 20 in, I will be resting and/or some very light cross training. If I don't get my 20 in, then I'll probably punish myself by driving out to the lake again for a hilly run. :P
I told Kirby, my massage therapist, my hips had hurt me really bad on Saturday out at the lake and she stuck her elbows in my glutes. I thought I'd come up off her table but when I walked out of that office, I told her it was one of her BEST massages on me. It was fabulous! Today, I'm going to take a much needed cross training day at the gym. The usual elliptical, yoga ball crunches, light weights, and a lot of stretching. I wish there was a 30 min yoga class on Tuesdays. I can never make those classes it seems...just too busy! Met Carla on my way into the gym after I ran @ THS. Bless her heart, she had filled in for another aerobics teacher. She had taught a 30 min AB class, someone else's aerobics class for an hour, and then her 1 hr kick boxing class. Yikes! I jumped on the elliptical for 20 short mins to help stretch out my calves. The gym mgr showed me how to do the "back" weight machine properly, and I stretched my calves a little more. I decided watching "2 1/2 Men" was going to be on my agenda tonight so I left. ha!
Wed-I'm going to attempt 10 miles and I'm hoping for a fairly decent pace out East. I'm guessing the last 4 miles will be in the dark in Tara but that's ok.
Thurs-I'm going to try to do 5 around my neighborhood and head in for the evening.
Fri-Rest
Sat-I will attempt 20 miles fairly flat. I'm thinking I may head into the base. If I hear a bunch of hunter's guns going off, I'll turn around and head towards East Middle and just gauge my mileage back to the house. I may call Wayne and see if I can start out with him Sat morning. He's not going long but he'll be running early.
Sun-If I get my 20 in, I will be resting and/or some very light cross training. If I don't get my 20 in, then I'll probably punish myself by driving out to the lake again for a hilly run. :P
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Eeeew, doesn't look good.....
.....the Titans in Tampa, that is...and my run on Sat. Vince just got injured and I feel injured!
First of all, I don't have too many consistant running buddies. Everyone has their own thing going on and I totally understand that. I don't have kids, I'm the one training for the marathon here, and I choose not to get up extra early during the week to run, etc... So, Sat morning, I still felt tired from my week. Work was not exactly stressfree this week and I didn't get to bed as early as I wanted Friday night. I just flat out felt tired. I ate enough on friday, but probably should have opted for some pasta instead of the very light salad I had friday night. I felt weak and almost "light headed". Someone told me I looked like I had lost weight but the scales don't show it. I do know that my NIKE running skirt is a little loose on me and it's a medium. Some of my running shorts look like curtains on me. I am happy with the way my body looks but right now, I feel like I could eat forever but can't stomach just anything. Ever have one of those weeks? Ya know the weeks where you want to eat but just don't know what you want?
Needing some motivation just to get out the door Sat morning, I took my shuffle and drove out to Tim's Ford lake. I knew I'd be sacrificing pace on those hills. I've only run out there once since June and that was a slow 5 miler with Carla on a Wed night back in Aug or early Sept. When I took off, I felt my hips aching. I thought to myself, "I am warming up and it will go away". It didn't. I knew the 11.5 miler and the 6.18 miler had made me a little tired but friday was a rest day.
I felt like I was climbing mountains. Again, I realized I was sacrificing pace by going out there on hills I have not been running lately. I ended up doing 11.17 instead of the planned 15. It felt like 20 when I got in my car. I was sore from the hips down. So, I went to the gym to see what the problem was......I loosened my legs for 30 mins on the elliptical slowly and 30 mins on the bike SLOWLY. By the time I left, my hips felt better but I was hungry, sleepy, and just completely exhausted. Needless to say, the rest of my Saturday was very lazy. I called Terry to see how the first state park race went and I complained to him about how I was feeling. He said he's had those days before not to think too much about it. He didn't place at the Montgomery State Park trail race but he said he had a pretty good run. I heard some people fell and one person ended up in the ER. I'm not a trail runner for those reasons. I'm too clumsy!
Anyway, my time out on the Tim's Ford bike trail was 2:03:31 for 11.17 miles. I admit, I walked about 4-5 minutes drinking gatorade. So, this morning, I got my butt out and ran 5:03 in 47:02 for a recovery. I'm going to head to the gym later this afternoon and try to do weights, crunches, and some serious stretching. I'm still planning on a 20 miler this Sat but it's looking very tempting to put it off till the 27th and running it with Wayne. This would mean that I would have to blow off the Halloween Hunt but that's ok. I may end up going to the Oakland Game at the last minute on the 28th anyway. Too much driving around in one weekend wears me out and I did that last weekend. Not too much fun being on the road both weekend days.
I have a chiropractor and massage appt tomorrow so not sure what I'll do on Monday. I do know I need another mid week long run either Tues or Wed, probably 10 miles. I will go on how I feel this week and I will watch what I eat and try to get some good carbs in my system.
I think I've let Wayne talk me into the Team Nashville half. Heck, what have I got to lose at this point with the last two half marathons being my worst ever?! I will NOT run in my Trance shoes because both Lana and Terry told me that socks and shoes would get dirty on the cinder trail. I will have to really watch my footing and slow down on that trail....it's a new race to me and I have to go with the intent to have fun. :)
First of all, I don't have too many consistant running buddies. Everyone has their own thing going on and I totally understand that. I don't have kids, I'm the one training for the marathon here, and I choose not to get up extra early during the week to run, etc... So, Sat morning, I still felt tired from my week. Work was not exactly stressfree this week and I didn't get to bed as early as I wanted Friday night. I just flat out felt tired. I ate enough on friday, but probably should have opted for some pasta instead of the very light salad I had friday night. I felt weak and almost "light headed". Someone told me I looked like I had lost weight but the scales don't show it. I do know that my NIKE running skirt is a little loose on me and it's a medium. Some of my running shorts look like curtains on me. I am happy with the way my body looks but right now, I feel like I could eat forever but can't stomach just anything. Ever have one of those weeks? Ya know the weeks where you want to eat but just don't know what you want?
Needing some motivation just to get out the door Sat morning, I took my shuffle and drove out to Tim's Ford lake. I knew I'd be sacrificing pace on those hills. I've only run out there once since June and that was a slow 5 miler with Carla on a Wed night back in Aug or early Sept. When I took off, I felt my hips aching. I thought to myself, "I am warming up and it will go away". It didn't. I knew the 11.5 miler and the 6.18 miler had made me a little tired but friday was a rest day.
I felt like I was climbing mountains. Again, I realized I was sacrificing pace by going out there on hills I have not been running lately. I ended up doing 11.17 instead of the planned 15. It felt like 20 when I got in my car. I was sore from the hips down. So, I went to the gym to see what the problem was......I loosened my legs for 30 mins on the elliptical slowly and 30 mins on the bike SLOWLY. By the time I left, my hips felt better but I was hungry, sleepy, and just completely exhausted. Needless to say, the rest of my Saturday was very lazy. I called Terry to see how the first state park race went and I complained to him about how I was feeling. He said he's had those days before not to think too much about it. He didn't place at the Montgomery State Park trail race but he said he had a pretty good run. I heard some people fell and one person ended up in the ER. I'm not a trail runner for those reasons. I'm too clumsy!
Anyway, my time out on the Tim's Ford bike trail was 2:03:31 for 11.17 miles. I admit, I walked about 4-5 minutes drinking gatorade. So, this morning, I got my butt out and ran 5:03 in 47:02 for a recovery. I'm going to head to the gym later this afternoon and try to do weights, crunches, and some serious stretching. I'm still planning on a 20 miler this Sat but it's looking very tempting to put it off till the 27th and running it with Wayne. This would mean that I would have to blow off the Halloween Hunt but that's ok. I may end up going to the Oakland Game at the last minute on the 28th anyway. Too much driving around in one weekend wears me out and I did that last weekend. Not too much fun being on the road both weekend days.
I have a chiropractor and massage appt tomorrow so not sure what I'll do on Monday. I do know I need another mid week long run either Tues or Wed, probably 10 miles. I will go on how I feel this week and I will watch what I eat and try to get some good carbs in my system.
I think I've let Wayne talk me into the Team Nashville half. Heck, what have I got to lose at this point with the last two half marathons being my worst ever?! I will NOT run in my Trance shoes because both Lana and Terry told me that socks and shoes would get dirty on the cinder trail. I will have to really watch my footing and slow down on that trail....it's a new race to me and I have to go with the intent to have fun. :)
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Best laid plans sometimes turn out BETTER than expected!
I was going to do my usual slow 6 miles tonight thinking I'd be sore as heck from the 11.5 last night. My 40 yr old "cooling system" didn't even have to kick on. Yes, my hair was wet when I finished tonight's 6.18 in 56.45 but I felt like I could run forever. I hit the route that leads me into the Fairways past the country club. It's got hills that I do NOT run enough. I soared up those hills going out. Coming back I did slow down and yes, my hips did hurt the last mile coming back to East but this was not suppose to be this fast tonight. :) I may pay for it tomorrow or even Sat morning but I don't care. My pace needs to come down, seriously.
Tomorrow, my sis is cutting my hair and I'm resting. I plan to get out no later than 7am Sat for 15 miles. I hope I can keep it well UNDER 10 min miles, especially now that it won't be NASTY HOT outside.
Sunday, I plan to cross train...depending on how my legs feel, I may attempt a slow 3-4 mi recovery Sunday.
OKAY, time for "Grey's Anatomy"!!! :)
Tomorrow, my sis is cutting my hair and I'm resting. I plan to get out no later than 7am Sat for 15 miles. I hope I can keep it well UNDER 10 min miles, especially now that it won't be NASTY HOT outside.
Sunday, I plan to cross train...depending on how my legs feel, I may attempt a slow 3-4 mi recovery Sunday.
OKAY, time for "Grey's Anatomy"!!! :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ahhh, coooooollll dooowwwnnnnn....
I LOVE the cool down. My legs love the cool down. My body does NOT have to work near as hard to run because of the cool down.
I got in a nice little cross training night Tues night. The usual elliptical for an hour, light legs weights, free weights for my arms, yoga ball crunches, and I stretched. It always feels so good but not as good as tonight's cool down....my recently miserable pace dropped a little and I felt pretty darn good. I ran 11.5 miles in 1:49:45 (9.33 pace). I probably should have pushed it a little harder but I ran the first 3 miles while it was still pretty warm and the sun was still up so I took it easy. As soon as the sun started going down and the temp dropped, the pace started dropping. What I would have given for this weather this past Sat morning or on Sept 22nd. :(
Tomorrow, I'll probably do a 5 or 6 mile recovery run around my neighborhood and a little bit of cross training at the gym. Friday will definitely be a rest day. Sat should make for a great morning for my 15 miles. I have to find some time to clean out the attic this weekend. I've got some much needed organizing to do around here.
Debating whether I want to do the Team Nashville Half...part of it is on a cinder trail. I've had a few people tell me they didn't care much for that trail. I'm also wondering if I want to do the Halloween Hunt 5 miler at Long Hunter State park. I think I've got a 15 miler scheduled for that particular weekend. As October rolls on by us, I realize.....the holidays will be here soon and I've got something going on nearly every single weekend. Yikes!!!!
I got in a nice little cross training night Tues night. The usual elliptical for an hour, light legs weights, free weights for my arms, yoga ball crunches, and I stretched. It always feels so good but not as good as tonight's cool down....my recently miserable pace dropped a little and I felt pretty darn good. I ran 11.5 miles in 1:49:45 (9.33 pace). I probably should have pushed it a little harder but I ran the first 3 miles while it was still pretty warm and the sun was still up so I took it easy. As soon as the sun started going down and the temp dropped, the pace started dropping. What I would have given for this weather this past Sat morning or on Sept 22nd. :(
Tomorrow, I'll probably do a 5 or 6 mile recovery run around my neighborhood and a little bit of cross training at the gym. Friday will definitely be a rest day. Sat should make for a great morning for my 15 miles. I have to find some time to clean out the attic this weekend. I've got some much needed organizing to do around here.
Debating whether I want to do the Team Nashville Half...part of it is on a cinder trail. I've had a few people tell me they didn't care much for that trail. I'm also wondering if I want to do the Halloween Hunt 5 miler at Long Hunter State park. I think I've got a 15 miler scheduled for that particular weekend. As October rolls on by us, I realize.....the holidays will be here soon and I've got something going on nearly every single weekend. Yikes!!!!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Sunburnt and it's still HOT!
I had a great time @ the Falcons game even though it seemed that neither team really wanted to win. ha! I like Keith Bullocks description of Albert Haynesworth's sacking of Byron Leftwich, "He looked like a bull frog jumping in the air like that." Too funny! This was by far the hottest game I've ever went to and my neck and shoulders show it. I'm burnt and I have not been burned in a while. Hannah got it a little worse I think. I had sunscreen on my face and I don't think she did. Anywho....we sat in the party section of the North endzone, apparently. We got on the Jumbotron a few times and then we noticed Erin (Wayne's wife) on the Jumbotron WINNING the "guess the game time temp" game. She won 2 round trip tickets on Delta airlines. Cool! All we could do was point and scream at the tron, "ERIN, THAT'S ERIN!!!!" Too funny! We had some guy dressed in the "Titan Man" uniform (like superman) near us at the end of the game. He had to have been miserably hot.
I will say that the food at Coyote Ugly was much better and cheaper than the Wildhorse Saloon that's for sure.
I ran 6.02 miles in basically 57:40, I think...I accidentally turned the freaking garmin back on before I went back into the house so I'm not sure. I just know it was well under 58 mins. My legs felt heavy the first 3 miles but as the temp started falling a little and the sun was going down, I felt like I was "taking off"! I know I ran the first 3 miles slow but I'm guessing I did a MUCH better on the last 3, possibly a negative split. I got on the elliptical for 30 mins to stretch out my legs and then I had some stuff to do around the house.
Today, I'm cross training. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to hit about 11 in the East Middle area. Thursday, I'll probably do about a 5-6 mi recovery and some light cross training. Friday, REST.
SAT-15 miles, probably alone.
The rest of the week weatherwise looks FABULOUS! :)
I will say that the food at Coyote Ugly was much better and cheaper than the Wildhorse Saloon that's for sure.
I ran 6.02 miles in basically 57:40, I think...I accidentally turned the freaking garmin back on before I went back into the house so I'm not sure. I just know it was well under 58 mins. My legs felt heavy the first 3 miles but as the temp started falling a little and the sun was going down, I felt like I was "taking off"! I know I ran the first 3 miles slow but I'm guessing I did a MUCH better on the last 3, possibly a negative split. I got on the elliptical for 30 mins to stretch out my legs and then I had some stuff to do around the house.
Today, I'm cross training. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to hit about 11 in the East Middle area. Thursday, I'll probably do about a 5-6 mi recovery and some light cross training. Friday, REST.
SAT-15 miles, probably alone.
The rest of the week weatherwise looks FABULOUS! :)
Saturday, October 6, 2007
New Personal Worst 1/2 but an award...uhhhh, thanks?
I hate to sound ungrateful and yes, I should be very grateful that my age group was so weak and full of walkers that I won my age group (40-44). With the Mountain Mist, Chicago, & an 8K that the striders were putting on this weekend, I knew it would be a weak race for me, anyway. The inaugral Music City 1/2 had roughly 300 people in it. Well, guess what...usually with those numbers, I sometimes place in my age group. I don't mind that at all when I do well, personally. I did well Memorial day weekend at the Urban 10k & won my age group, but with other races going on & it being a holiday weekend, I was well aware that there were some fast women in my age group missing! BUT I felt I did well personally & when I got my award, symphony tickets, Urban 10k bag, key chain, tech shirt, etc....I felt good about it. I cannot feel good about the cutsie statue award I won this morning with a Personal worst of 2:05:59. Ugh!!!
Ok, the evaluation: Cons for me
1: The weather sucked again. If we had this race last Sat, I would have done better. I think??
2: 8am start, NOT good in this sucky, HOT weather
3: My body is still reeling a little from the 20 miler last Sat, seriously...
4: I did NOT wear my fuel belt thinking we'd have plenty of gatorade. I took some in at the half point & then again coming out of Shelby. Should have been more gatorade but oh well...
5: There was a rough patch on the course that was hard to get around on...it reminded me of an area of Rocket City a few years ago that was under construction. Just really rough to run on.
6: A lot of bikers, cross country team from Brentwood, & walkers not in the race on the course...had to avoid them. Parts of Shelby are narrow, I know this..not a surprise.
Pros:
1: Small, low key event & I do like those.
2: Most of Shelby was shaded & I could seriously feel a difference when I was in the shade.
3: It made me push my pace which I've not been doing too much lately on med-long runs.
4: I won my age group even though I'm not that happy about it.
5: Except for the hill coming out of Shelby....flat...
I got curious before I started this post & looked up ALL my 1/2 marathon times just to make myself feel better. :) I totally realize that when training for a full marathon, sometimes, long training runs can conflict with how well you do in a "shorter" race. Yes, you need a race every now & then but sometimes doing one right in the middle of Marathon training will not make you very happy. You've not been training specifically for "this" race...your long term goal for the training is the Marathon, not "this" race. Yet, you do want to do well & when you don't it does something to you.
2007: Not great times at all.
Oct 6th: Music City 1/2-2:05:59 (Personal Worst)
Sept 22nd: Murf 1/2-2:03:59 (I will NEVER do this race again. Sept will always be too hot for me to do a 1/2 marathon)
Mar 17th: Tom King 1/2-1:58:13 (fell 2 days prior on fire escape @ work, left hip bruised badly)
2006: One 1/2 Marathon with my PR
Mar: Tom King 1/2-1:51:25-(I fed off the cold weather & felt good the entire time)
2005: Good Times
Nov: Huntsville 1/2-1:56:37-(Headwinds got me & my knees hurt, got new shoes that day)
Oct: McMinnville 1/2-1:55:37-(Hilliest 1/2 EVER, but I was extremely happy with this time & won my age group)
Mar: Tom King 1/2-1:58:12-(just thrilled to get it in under 2 hrs)
2004: 1st 1/2 marathon
Apr: Country Music 1/2-2:01:something...wanted 2 hrs but happy with my FIRST 1/2 time.
I'll be at the Falcons game tomorrow & I do not foresee doing any cross training. My projected schedule for next week below. I'm sure I'll adjust it but hopefully not too much.
Mon: 6 miles
Tues: Cross Train
Wed: 11 miles
Thurs: 5 Rec/Cross train
Fri: Rest
Sat: 15 miles
Ok, the evaluation: Cons for me
1: The weather sucked again. If we had this race last Sat, I would have done better. I think??
2: 8am start, NOT good in this sucky, HOT weather
3: My body is still reeling a little from the 20 miler last Sat, seriously...
4: I did NOT wear my fuel belt thinking we'd have plenty of gatorade. I took some in at the half point & then again coming out of Shelby. Should have been more gatorade but oh well...
5: There was a rough patch on the course that was hard to get around on...it reminded me of an area of Rocket City a few years ago that was under construction. Just really rough to run on.
6: A lot of bikers, cross country team from Brentwood, & walkers not in the race on the course...had to avoid them. Parts of Shelby are narrow, I know this..not a surprise.
Pros:
1: Small, low key event & I do like those.
2: Most of Shelby was shaded & I could seriously feel a difference when I was in the shade.
3: It made me push my pace which I've not been doing too much lately on med-long runs.
4: I won my age group even though I'm not that happy about it.
5: Except for the hill coming out of Shelby....flat...
I got curious before I started this post & looked up ALL my 1/2 marathon times just to make myself feel better. :) I totally realize that when training for a full marathon, sometimes, long training runs can conflict with how well you do in a "shorter" race. Yes, you need a race every now & then but sometimes doing one right in the middle of Marathon training will not make you very happy. You've not been training specifically for "this" race...your long term goal for the training is the Marathon, not "this" race. Yet, you do want to do well & when you don't it does something to you.
2007: Not great times at all.
Oct 6th: Music City 1/2-2:05:59 (Personal Worst)
Sept 22nd: Murf 1/2-2:03:59 (I will NEVER do this race again. Sept will always be too hot for me to do a 1/2 marathon)
Mar 17th: Tom King 1/2-1:58:13 (fell 2 days prior on fire escape @ work, left hip bruised badly)
2006: One 1/2 Marathon with my PR
Mar: Tom King 1/2-1:51:25-(I fed off the cold weather & felt good the entire time)
2005: Good Times
Nov: Huntsville 1/2-1:56:37-(Headwinds got me & my knees hurt, got new shoes that day)
Oct: McMinnville 1/2-1:55:37-(Hilliest 1/2 EVER, but I was extremely happy with this time & won my age group)
Mar: Tom King 1/2-1:58:12-(just thrilled to get it in under 2 hrs)
2004: 1st 1/2 marathon
Apr: Country Music 1/2-2:01:something...wanted 2 hrs but happy with my FIRST 1/2 time.
I'll be at the Falcons game tomorrow & I do not foresee doing any cross training. My projected schedule for next week below. I'm sure I'll adjust it but hopefully not too much.
Mon: 6 miles
Tues: Cross Train
Wed: 11 miles
Thurs: 5 Rec/Cross train
Fri: Rest
Sat: 15 miles
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Sore Right calf and crappy HOT weather....
Those will be my excuses Sat morning. :(
I think the 20 miler the weekend before this half marathon may not have been the best thing I could have done but the damage is done. I jogged a slow 3 miles at Waggoner Park and the Industrial Park in the 87 degree heat. My right calf was sore, tight, and achy the entire 3 mi jog. My time was 31:45.
I'm going to ice the devil out of my calf and stretch. I just took 3 of ibuphren.
If I do another miserable 1/2, I'm jumping into the Cumberland river when I finish. (nahhh, not really...)
On Sunday, maybe I'll get to LP Field early enough to stalk Fisher on his pre-game run....Coaches are such creatures of habit. :)
I think the 20 miler the weekend before this half marathon may not have been the best thing I could have done but the damage is done. I jogged a slow 3 miles at Waggoner Park and the Industrial Park in the 87 degree heat. My right calf was sore, tight, and achy the entire 3 mi jog. My time was 31:45.
I'm going to ice the devil out of my calf and stretch. I just took 3 of ibuphren.
If I do another miserable 1/2, I'm jumping into the Cumberland river when I finish. (nahhh, not really...)
On Sunday, maybe I'll get to LP Field early enough to stalk Fisher on his pre-game run....Coaches are such creatures of habit. :)
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
It does NOT look good....
....the freaking Sat morning weather, that is.... One weekend, NICE, the next weekend "summertime HOT". All I can do is give this next 1/2 a good shot and see what happens. I don't think it will be quite as hot at the start but we have an 8am start instead of a 7am start. Yikes!!!
So, I'm going to start out slow and hold back the first few miles. I know this course like back of my hand. I've done numerous strider's training runs on it, I've run the Tom King 1/2 on it, and I've walked on parts of it MANY times during Titans games. It's not the prettiest course but it does take us deeper into Shelby park near the water area than Tom King does, which I very deliriously remember from the marathon course. I'm praying for some kind of breeze out there. Anyway, I can't do any worse than I did in Murfreesboro so I'll stop whining right now.
Tonight, I got in some much needed stretching, yoga ball crunches, 1 hr on the elliptical, some light weights on my legs, and some free weights on my arms. Tomorrow, I will attempt a slow 4 or 5 mile run out at East and then I'll make myself go to the yoga room at the gym for more stretching.....then I'm coming home for "Grey's". I've got to get to bed early. Friday-REST!
So, I'm going to start out slow and hold back the first few miles. I know this course like back of my hand. I've done numerous strider's training runs on it, I've run the Tom King 1/2 on it, and I've walked on parts of it MANY times during Titans games. It's not the prettiest course but it does take us deeper into Shelby park near the water area than Tom King does, which I very deliriously remember from the marathon course. I'm praying for some kind of breeze out there. Anyway, I can't do any worse than I did in Murfreesboro so I'll stop whining right now.
Tonight, I got in some much needed stretching, yoga ball crunches, 1 hr on the elliptical, some light weights on my legs, and some free weights on my arms. Tomorrow, I will attempt a slow 4 or 5 mile run out at East and then I'll make myself go to the yoga room at the gym for more stretching.....then I'm coming home for "Grey's". I've got to get to bed early. Friday-REST!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
My checklists...
Here lately I've been keeping mental checklists and some I've actually logged on my calendars at work. (get car waxed, run "x" amount of miles, register for this or that race, oil change, schedule dr.'s appt, call this or that person, buy computer, etc....) I made a promise to myself that I would do some things this year that I've never done before, afterall, I'm 40 now!!
First of all, I wanted to do some races that I'd never done.
Purity 10k (good run with Wayne, he got a PR)
Urban 10k (I got a PR on a HARD course)
Friday night 5k in Sheffield, AL with Terry Quillen (I almost puked in the heat)
Franklin Classic 10k (miserable run)
Murf 1/2 (miserable run)
Music City 1/2
and possibly the Team Nashville 1/2
In July, I also got a wild hair up my butt and sold my house in less than a week. I do NOT regret that at all and I'm in no rush to buy one until I'm totally ready and can get EXACTLY what I want, where I want.....location, location, location...
I've been promising an old friend from my years in Texas that I would visit her in New Jersey one day. One day will be coming soon during Thanksgiving! I have not seen Cheryl since 1993, I believe, and I've never seen her girls. I'm so excited! I will be flying out the Wed night before Thanksgiving and coming back Sunday afternoon. She's in Brick, NJ and can pick me up in Philly in just over an hour. I've never been to Philadelphia. :) We are going to see the ocean in Atlantic City and spend a day in New York City. I've only been through NY via the JFK airport on my way to Germany many, many years ago in another life. ha!
During Christmas, I will be spending the better part of it in San Antonio, TX (Go Spurs!) with my nephews, sister, her husband, and Toby (the beagle). I'm extremely excited about that, too. San Antonio is a nice area of Texas, unlike the Ft. Hood area where Cheryl and I had to live so many years ago. When I get back from Texas, Hannah and I are going to Indy for the Titans vs Colts game on Dec 30th in the RCA dome.
So, my days are not only spent running and working 40+ hrs a week, I've been in various stages of planning and checking things off my lists. Oh yeah, I am typing this on my brand new Dell that is AWESOME! I loaded the Garmin on it earlier. I now live in this century, finally.
Helping mom do some home repairs at this time and enjoying the fact that I'm not living alone.
Ahhh, and the man issues...well, let's just say that he's not arrived yet in my life. Until he does, I may keep Rollin on the back burner. With my schedule, seeing my old Kentucky beau will be sort of difficult. He suggested we go somewhere this month so I can run him to death. ha! We'll, see if that pans out....
Tonight was 8:05 miles in 1:18:59, definitely not one of my best 8 milers but my legs are still sore and I'm still tired from the 20 miler. I moved this training run to Tuesday this week instead of Wednesday so I could recover the rest of the week. Tomorrow, I'm going to cross train at the gym and Thursday, I will do only 4 or 5 recovery miles. My calves felt tight the first 4 miles of tonight's 8. It was not until I actually hit the 5 mile mark that BOTH calves loosened. My RIGHT calf has always given me trouble, always tight! I need to take my "stick" to it and see if I can work out the stiffness. It wasn't a good run at all and I did it by myself but hearing the cheering at the Sports Plex at East Middle was refreshing. You can definitely smell Fall in the air and the excitement of the season. When I finish my mid-wk longer runs now, it's almost completely dark now and I don't care. It's cool and I feel better. No nausia. No heat. No sunburn....and when my calves aren't tight, I feel faster.
Life is Good!
First of all, I wanted to do some races that I'd never done.
Purity 10k (good run with Wayne, he got a PR)
Urban 10k (I got a PR on a HARD course)
Friday night 5k in Sheffield, AL with Terry Quillen (I almost puked in the heat)
Franklin Classic 10k (miserable run)
Murf 1/2 (miserable run)
Music City 1/2
and possibly the Team Nashville 1/2
In July, I also got a wild hair up my butt and sold my house in less than a week. I do NOT regret that at all and I'm in no rush to buy one until I'm totally ready and can get EXACTLY what I want, where I want.....location, location, location...
I've been promising an old friend from my years in Texas that I would visit her in New Jersey one day. One day will be coming soon during Thanksgiving! I have not seen Cheryl since 1993, I believe, and I've never seen her girls. I'm so excited! I will be flying out the Wed night before Thanksgiving and coming back Sunday afternoon. She's in Brick, NJ and can pick me up in Philly in just over an hour. I've never been to Philadelphia. :) We are going to see the ocean in Atlantic City and spend a day in New York City. I've only been through NY via the JFK airport on my way to Germany many, many years ago in another life. ha!
During Christmas, I will be spending the better part of it in San Antonio, TX (Go Spurs!) with my nephews, sister, her husband, and Toby (the beagle). I'm extremely excited about that, too. San Antonio is a nice area of Texas, unlike the Ft. Hood area where Cheryl and I had to live so many years ago. When I get back from Texas, Hannah and I are going to Indy for the Titans vs Colts game on Dec 30th in the RCA dome.
So, my days are not only spent running and working 40+ hrs a week, I've been in various stages of planning and checking things off my lists. Oh yeah, I am typing this on my brand new Dell that is AWESOME! I loaded the Garmin on it earlier. I now live in this century, finally.
Helping mom do some home repairs at this time and enjoying the fact that I'm not living alone.
Ahhh, and the man issues...well, let's just say that he's not arrived yet in my life. Until he does, I may keep Rollin on the back burner. With my schedule, seeing my old Kentucky beau will be sort of difficult. He suggested we go somewhere this month so I can run him to death. ha! We'll, see if that pans out....
Tonight was 8:05 miles in 1:18:59, definitely not one of my best 8 milers but my legs are still sore and I'm still tired from the 20 miler. I moved this training run to Tuesday this week instead of Wednesday so I could recover the rest of the week. Tomorrow, I'm going to cross train at the gym and Thursday, I will do only 4 or 5 recovery miles. My calves felt tight the first 4 miles of tonight's 8. It was not until I actually hit the 5 mile mark that BOTH calves loosened. My RIGHT calf has always given me trouble, always tight! I need to take my "stick" to it and see if I can work out the stiffness. It wasn't a good run at all and I did it by myself but hearing the cheering at the Sports Plex at East Middle was refreshing. You can definitely smell Fall in the air and the excitement of the season. When I finish my mid-wk longer runs now, it's almost completely dark now and I don't care. It's cool and I feel better. No nausia. No heat. No sunburn....and when my calves aren't tight, I feel faster.
Life is Good!
Hyper....and frustrated.
I'm in class two days this week at work so things on my desk have to sit a while, which is no big deal since I don't have much on it right now anyway. I'm all about learning new things but I'm such a creature of habit! ha!
Got my new computer yesterday and hooked it up. Now I think my surfboard modem might be fizzling out. Thank God, I've got a great friend who is a wizzard at anything electronic looking at it this afternoon. I was so disappointed when I could NOT get my new Dell going! :(
I even cut my 5 mi recovery run down to 4:08 so I could have more time to mess with the computer. My time was 41:32. Slow, YES, but my left hip and ankles were achy and I didn't want to push it. Afterall, this is what a recovery run is for, right?! I still plan on doing 8 miles tonight but if the computer issue isn't resolved, I may shorten it or push my 8 miles back to Wednesday. This week is my "easy" week so I'm not stressing over milage. Someone pointed out on the strider's board recently that it's the miles you have at the end of the month and not necessarily the miles you have at the end of each week. I agree...but one leads to the other. :)
Got my new computer yesterday and hooked it up. Now I think my surfboard modem might be fizzling out. Thank God, I've got a great friend who is a wizzard at anything electronic looking at it this afternoon. I was so disappointed when I could NOT get my new Dell going! :(
I even cut my 5 mi recovery run down to 4:08 so I could have more time to mess with the computer. My time was 41:32. Slow, YES, but my left hip and ankles were achy and I didn't want to push it. Afterall, this is what a recovery run is for, right?! I still plan on doing 8 miles tonight but if the computer issue isn't resolved, I may shorten it or push my 8 miles back to Wednesday. This week is my "easy" week so I'm not stressing over milage. Someone pointed out on the strider's board recently that it's the miles you have at the end of the month and not necessarily the miles you have at the end of each week. I agree...but one leads to the other. :)