Sunday: Run 5 miles and 10 kitties, I guess. That's what my log says.
Hmm... I remember nothing about this run.
Monday: Run 5 miles, 2.5 mi. warmup, 2 mi @ 7:48/mi, 0.5 mi cool.
This was the first workout of spring marathon training. Since my back was still feeling a little tight (no pain, just off), I decided to cut it a little shorter and put in a cool down. I will be running a half marathon on this trail in late February too so it was nice to have a refresher in how much uphill the first half is going to be and it’s darn pretty.
This run outside of Ashland was gorgeous. We followed the Bear Creek Greenway (we ran a half marathon on the lower part of this trail last Sept.) to Lithia Park. I’m pretty sure we need to come back here and live permanently. Matt’s company has an office in Medford so this might have to go on our list of possibilities for a “forever home”. Somewhere on the park portion, I tripped over a downed tree and bruised the top of my right foot (the same foot I dropped a box onto three days before the 50K) and it had a nice bruise on it. Icing it helped and it barely hurt the next day.
Wednesday: Snowshoe 6.25 mi.
Catching Crater Lake on a calm and sunny day in the winter is like spotting a unicorn. This is the kind of winter I love!
Thursday: 5 miles easy in 44:32, 8:54/mi.
Foggy day on the greenway. The air felt so good! Even though there’s an inversion, it had been mixing out every afternoon, so the air quality was still good. A+ Medford.This was the first day that I noticed my back beginning to improve.
Got a sports massage. April found all kinds of knots in my neck and shoulders. Surprise surprise, whiplash was still there.
Saturday: Run 14 miles, 2:03:02, 8:47/mi. 32 kitties.
This one started out with a very tight right arm and shoulder (Pro
tip: Don’t knit for four hours the night before) and it felt like I was
dragging a tree branch on my right side. Eventually things loosened up
and the rest was easy and super consistent. Our planned water station at
miles 3,5,9, and 11 was out of order due to a broken water main.
Instead, we did a quick mental reroute and found the nearest water stop
that brought us a drink at mile 7 instead. I love how nonchalant our
long runs have become. Oh 14 miles? No big deal, I’ll grab a Gu for
emergencies and out the door we go!
Matt kept running into me the last few miles as he gawked at a gorgeous orange and pink sunset. I love that we get to share all of these moments! I’m not sure we would be the runners we are today without each other.
Miles: 45.25
Kitties: 42
Notes: After the run on Monday, I decided to cut all speed work. I spent a lot of quality time with my Ibuprofen and Arnica salve at night to help me sleep that week. The slow and easy runs helped loosen me up for the rest of the day, but anything hard or fast proved to be detrimental to my recovery.
Matt kept running into me the last few miles as he gawked at a gorgeous orange and pink sunset. I love that we get to share all of these moments! I’m not sure we would be the runners we are today without each other.
Miles: 45.25
Kitties: 42
Notes: After the run on Monday, I decided to cut all speed work. I spent a lot of quality time with my Ibuprofen and Arnica salve at night to help me sleep that week. The slow and easy runs helped loosen me up for the rest of the day, but anything hard or fast proved to be detrimental to my recovery.
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Week 2:
Sunday: Run 8 miles. 1:13:37, 9:14/mi. Strength: Core, legs, shoulders.
I ran with Terri on some gentle logging roads. This easy run after my long run didn't feel that easy. It was great to visit with someone new on my run. The real highlight of my day came later:
Monday: Run 5.1 mi, 45:07, 8:54/mi.
Late afternoon run with Rachel and Brandon. These two are so much fun. It's like a double running date.
Tuesday: Run 10 mi, 1:29:08, 8:54/mi. 24 kitties.
Apparently, 8:54/mi is my default IDGAF pace. Same exact tempo as the previous day. Instead of talking about this run, let's talk about my rooster. We tried to emasculate him by naming him Henny Penny but apparently it didn't work. He gave his first concert before dawn that morning. I'm not sure it was appreciated. Keep it up buddy and your days are numbered.
I had forgotten how sore chiropractic adjustments make my body. In hindsight, I shouldn't have planned such a difficult workout for this day. Two adjustments in one week and trying to run speed workouts was too much.
Thursday: Run 6 mi, 50:22, 8:24/mi. 19 kitties, including one set of sexy time kitties.
Another visit to the chiropractor. This time he packed me up with Rock Tape and told me to run whatever I wanted. Instead of a marathon pace run this week, I decided to keep a steady tempo and only pick it up if I felt good. The last three miles were into a very swift wind but felt strong. My shoulders felt tight, but my lower back was okay. In my usual hunt for kitties, Matt and I spotted our first kitty sexy time. So woo! New PR!
Friday: Rest.....unless stressing over what to do about race day counts as exercise.
Saturday: Run 8.25 mi. including Patrick's Point 5K.
Patrick’s Point 5K
24:30, 7:53/mi.
Instead of thinking about how frustrating this recovery period has been, I spent all twenty four minutes of this race thanking my lucky stars that I can run at all while I recover.
Thoughts:
1. I was assigned bib #1! This has never happened before and I was totally stoked about it! I’m #1 guys!
2. My mental game needed this day so badly. I don’t even care that my time is slower than a well-trained, healthy Karen can run. I ran my goal marathon pace on a very slow course, which is one workout I had missed this week.
3. I had some glorious positive splits, which if we’re being truthful, that’s what a perfectly even effort is supposed to be: 7:40, 7:57, and 8:05, then a 7:30/mi for the last 0.11 mi.
4. Not a peep from my back. I felt the normal fatigue set in on the later hills, but there was no pain. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
5. I could tell I was on the edge of making it hurt, but didn’t let myself cross that line. I’m realizing that I’m a much smarter runner than I give myself credit for. Of course, with the idea of missing out on Boston for an injury in the back of my mind, it’s not all that difficult to back off. :)
6. Since I aged up (woo, Female 30-34), I won my age group.
24:30, 7:53/mi.
Instead of thinking about how frustrating this recovery period has been, I spent all twenty four minutes of this race thanking my lucky stars that I can run at all while I recover.
1. I was assigned bib #1! This has never happened before and I was totally stoked about it! I’m #1 guys!
2. My mental game needed this day so badly. I don’t even care that my time is slower than a well-trained, healthy Karen can run. I ran my goal marathon pace on a very slow course, which is one workout I had missed this week.
3. I had some glorious positive splits, which if we’re being truthful, that’s what a perfectly even effort is supposed to be: 7:40, 7:57, and 8:05, then a 7:30/mi for the last 0.11 mi.
4. Not a peep from my back. I felt the normal fatigue set in on the later hills, but there was no pain. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
5. I could tell I was on the edge of making it hurt, but didn’t let myself cross that line. I’m realizing that I’m a much smarter runner than I give myself credit for. Of course, with the idea of missing out on Boston for an injury in the back of my mind, it’s not all that difficult to back off. :)
6. Since I aged up (woo, Female 30-34), I won my age group.
Miles: 48.25
Kitties: 45
Notes: That week had a lot of high and low points. On Wednesday, I wasn't sure why my recovery seemed to be regressing. Was I pushing too hard? After figuring out that a lot of that soreness was from the chiro and not running, I decided to give myself a few more easy days in the hopes that I could run pain free at the race. I didn't want to start the club running season injured.
2 comments:
Glad your recovery is progressing steadily, even if there seemed a couple hiccups. You ARE a smarter runner!
(an aside - I was totally trying to remember which spring marathon you were doing until DUH! It hit me. some days my brain is just off haha)
Giggling like crazy at your new sexy time kitty pr :)
Bobbi, I have always loved your comments, I'm so glad you're back to interacting even though you're not blogging anymore yourself (....or are you and I haven't noticed?). Sexy time kitty PR is one of my favorites.
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