still healing

I'm trying to keep my activity level to a minimum.
Finally, something that's not difficult to accomplish ;)

I am going to the gym this weekend. I'll focus on my upper body and on my abs.
While I may be a step back, physically---I don't need to have a mental set back either.

I think I need to buy a bigger ice pack.

Sidelined (?)

I have had an uncomfortable pain around my right thigh for some time now. It's fine if I sit or sleep but walking immediately aggravates it. I feel like there is some tendon that has to "pull" my leg along. Yes, quite gimpy, I know. In the beginning, it was fine to run on but that's passed. It's not a stinging pain but rather more like discomfort that disrupts my normal gait. I haven't run since Tuesday and that was only 2 miles instead of the usual 6. I think that was worse than just taking time off. This is not a case where it's beneficial to at least do "something". From what I can figure out on the internet, it's best to rest it or do exercise that doesn't bother it at all.

I wrote to my team coach asking for his advice. In the meantime, it seems I just have to rest and then when I do get back into the swing, I have to spend a lot of time focusing on certain stretches.

Sure, part of me is thrilled for the time off but honestly I am just frustrated and annoyed. I do have about 8 weeks until the race so that is still plenty of time to rebound. Hopefully, I'll heal nicely.

That's the update for the end of March.

The ice melted and I ran 8 miles

It truly was a wonderful feeling. Saturday's run was just one of those times when I felt optimistic, my legs were ready and my head was focused. I ran about 3.35 miles and then walked a tenth up a steep hill, then I ran to the 6 mile mark, walked maybe another small tenth and finished just as the rain started to come down. What great timing!

Spring was everywhere. Red-winged blackbirds fluttering. Cardinals darting through trees. Beavers swimming along the shoreline. Fluffy baby swans dotting the horizon. So much water. The lake was shaking off its last vestiges of winter's grasp and the clear water was swelling and burbling and fanning out in the entirety of the park. What a positive start to the day!

Then my productivity carried over to the home front. I came home and cleaned my bathroom, finished 3 loads of laundry, caught up on phone calls. It's like my mom has always said: you really do accomplish more when you get up early. So very true.

Then like all highs, there is a bottom. I stayed up too late Saturday night (for the first time this year) and spent more time than usual breaking into Sunday. So no 3 mile run that day. Well, nothing to squawk over. I pumped out a quick two miles on Monday. What a gorgeous day here in southeast Michigan.

Today I am aiming for 6 miles out at Kensington. A partner from my group is supposed to meet up with me. That would be nice. However, the thunderstorms loom like melancholy witches about to zap my fun. We shall see....

plugging away

Yesterday I ran 3 miles on the treadmill at the gym. I haven't been inside the gym in weeks. The gym is so crowded, stuffy and boring. Everyone is robotic and plugged into their machines. I am really developing a new appreciation for running outside, even when the weather is not ideal. There is something earthy and refreshing about it---feeling a part of the natural rhythm of things.

I downloaded a free Mates of State song from some magazine's website and the last echoing line implores You can surely try to be more alive. I relish those words during a run. Very invigorating.

The one positive aspect of the treadmill is the digital console alerting you to the efficiency (or lack thereof) of all your body's capabilities. Sure, there's also a smug little high in seeing that you are outrunning the little old lady next to you and then, commensurately, the deflation of feeling yourself dwarfed by some Ben Johnson sprinting at a 7.5 pace for miles.

I wanted to try and pick up the pace of my 3 mile run. I managed to eek out 31:30 and it was a toughie. My quads were already on fire from the 6 miles of hills of the day before. My lungs were bursting and I was gritting my teeth in the determined I hope to god this is over in 3 minutes type of way. It wasn't exactly enjoyable. Really, with all this training, I'm just happy to get the miles in without worrying too much about pace. Baby steps...

there are more accomplishments than the final race

My six mile run was yesterday and I decided to go to Kensington since it was a relatively nice day. It's refreshing to see lots of snow melting away. I ran the first 3.25 miles ,walked probably two tenths and then ran the rest of the way. I guess that's a total of about 5.8 running miles. Not too shabby. Although, there's a big difference between saying I ran 5.8 miles and having you all think my chest is puffed out and I'm one bad kitty. Not quite the case. It was a struggle on the second half. I was determined not to stop and I alternated with running backwards at times for some variety. I was singing songs to myself (like, Helen Reddy's I am Woman) and making up crazy nonsensical songs, like

one two three four
I am Alex, here me roar
five six seven eight
Don't you know my ass looks great.

Ha. Yes, it's totally ridiculous but I was trying to distract myself from the thoughts of wanting to walk the remainder of the way. Sometimes I think if 6 is this difficult, how will I ever do 13? Then I have to stop and tell myself that every day is an accomplishment that is slowly building to that finale. Afterall, now I can run 3 miles effortlessly on my easy days. There was a time when I would have thought that was impossible. Every day I'm chipping away just a little bit more towards the athlete I dream I can be.

HELL-acious 8 miles

I know they say spring will arrive on Wednesday. For now, it's still wicked winter in the Midwest. I thought I was done with my running cleats but that was a bold assumption. I sure wished I had them out at Kensington this weekend. I also wished it were above 25 degrees. Oh well.

The loop that we run out at Kensington is an 8-mile loop from start to finish. Since my runs haven't called for that distance I've never run the full course. For the 5 mile days, I run to the 2.5 mark and then turn around. For the 6 mile days, I go to the 3 mile mark and turn around. Etc. This week I got to trot the full 8 miles and we started from the informal "finish" mark and did the course backwards. These were some nice changes that I thought would add spice and freshness to the usual plodding along. Well, I don't mean that. It really is a great course out there. It's very scenic over wooden bridges , circling the lake, and that sort of naturalistic vibe.

Well, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

My head just wasn't in it. I knew my sister was running her 5K so I figured that I owed it to her to at least do that much myself before pausing. Then I figured I'm her older sister so I had to go a bit farther. Therefore, after 3.5 miles I hit my wall. After that it was a tedious arduous brutal battle of my spirit vs my legs. I'd run .5, walk .25, hobble, shuffle, walk, walk really slow, attempt to run .25 and so on until finally I was back to where I had started. That trek took me nearly 2 hours. UGH! Obviously, not the best effort of the last two months.

But I move on. I congratulate myself for what I did accomplish---getting up earlier than I do during the work week, not going out the night before, completing the entire circuit, basically not throwing in the proverbial towel as my vacation malaise was so begging me to do. Then Sunday I had 3 miles which, after that hellacious 8, seemed like a breeze.

Now, I am sore. My calves, hips, butt, hamstrings. All of it. Thankfully, today is a day of rest and tomorrow I'll be back at it. Hopefully, I can power out the expected 6 miles tomorrow with a little better of an attitude.

getting back on track

8 mile run tomorrow.
Missed Kensington the last two weekends.

The most recent long run I had was 7 miles on the Saturday before
I left for Florida---two weeks ago.

It will probably be good to get to bed at a decent time,
eat a decent pre-run breakfast and just power through.

I'll think of my sister Mart running her 5k tomorrow and tell myself
that I can't get tired until I've done at least 3.2 miles.

Who knows what I'll tell myself for the remaining 4.8???????

Tired (but at least I have a tan)

Hello!
I am finally back from a too short vacay to the Gulf Coast. It was wonderful. It was heavenly. It was depressing to come back from :(

I managed to squeeze in a few runs. The house in which we stayed was part of a larger community. The path all the way around that was 3.4 miles which made for an easy figuring of distances. I had two 3-mile runs and one 5-mile run. In addition, we biked about 3 different times. So, yes, I am glad that I was still active. Although what I did was pretty short of what I was expected to do in keeping with the schedule. I won't beat myself up though. I was on vacation and I am not even to the halfway mark in training. I will get back in the groove of running under Michigan grey skies and preparing for sad weather forecasts.

That being stated, I should run 3 miles after work tonight. *Hopefully* the rain holds off long enough for me to accomplish that. To be honest, I'm not very psyched. I want to lay on my couch and watch movies and curl up with Jason and be immersed in my total vacation mindset. Alas, life goes on. My 8-mile run on Saturday looms like a lurking, swollen, gray cumulus cloud harboring in the sky....

One more frigid run and then...SUN!!!!

In keeping pace with the training schedule, I shall run 7 miles tomorrow morning. Albeit, I won't be going out to Kensington for the (supposed) group runs. We want to get rolling and it will tack on another hour for me to drive there. I've mapped out a 3.5 mile there-and-back route around my city. (Anyone can do this online.) I'll get up at 6am, chow down some yogurt and hopefully finish the circuit within a rough hour or so. The temp will be chilly chill at that hour. Probably in the teens. Nothing new. I'll just do my best to suit up and power through it with fantasies of Florida sunshine and shorts and bathing suits. I have every intention of getting in some runs while I am down there. I might not be too diligent about matching the schedule mile-for-mile but I won't abandon all running.

That's about it for now, folks. I probably won't be updating while I'm away. Cheers!

"vacation, all i ever wanted
vacation, all i ever needed"

Overdoing it a little

After my run on Tuesday night, I did a measly two minutes of a legs dvd. I didn't think two minutes was anything egregiously vigorous but compounded with not really stretching and then the 5 miles I did on the trails at the park yesterday, my legs are battered. I mean all the way from my calves to my inner thighs and hamstrings. It's brutal. Standing up from my chair or lowering down for the bathroom is a serious chore.

Jason saw me groaning and wincing this morning and thinks I am foolish to try and run again today. He said I should rest for two days so that I can power out 7 miles on Saturday morning. I don't want to have two days off---but, at what expense? I don't want to aggravate anything worse and then just be incredibly miserable as I cramp up in the car for some 20+ hours either. I thought about maybe just walking at the gym? Or doing the elliptical? I even considered going to Bikram yoga tonight. The wringing out of my muscles could be refreshing; however, whenever I do go there it is always inevitably my hamstrings which are the sorest afterwards. So, maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. I'm torn. Literally.

Then my friend Emily wisely reminded me that stressed legs are a recipe for injury. I can't afford that. I think I will do some light walking today and stretch for a good long time. I'll take off tomorrow as usual. All this will be in hopes that I am primed and pumped for a 7 mile run on Saturday before I leave for Florida. That run is more important than the 4 miles I'll miss tonight.