Yep, setback

I woke up and got out of bed this morning and my legs felt a whole lot better...so I got dressed and headed out the door. I gave jogging a try...and made it 10 steps when I realized that wasn't going to work. My shins are just too painful. I don't think it's true shin splints because the pain is low and on the outside, more like the connection between my foot and shin. However, it doesn't matter because I still can't run. No long run for me tomorrow :(

This is so disappointing because my runs last weekend and week felt amazing...well, except fot that devil called speedwork. I don't think I'll be doing that kind of speedwork again. I'll stick to tempo runs, fartleks, and interval runs. And hills, but I'm only going to do that once while I'm training for this 10K.

I really needed that run this morning too. It was my first day back to school for inservice, and I could have used an outlet. I always hate going back...I miss the kids, I feel guilty for craving routine again, I regret all that we didn't get done. And on top of that, there are other things causing a little case of the blues. A run would have done me good. But instead, I have an injury to regret as well.

I'll try to think of this as a rest. Granted, it's sort of mandatory at this point, but I wouldn't have had time for a long run tomorrow anyway. So, rest it is.

Week 1 Down

Week 1 of 10K training is done, and I didn't skip a workout at all! My workouts this week looked like this:
Monday-3 miles
Tuesday-cross train (bike)
Wednesday-tempo run (3 miles)
Thursday-strength train
Friday-3 miles
Saturday-4 miles
Sunday--a much anticipated rest day!

My run this morning was aweseome. Yes, I got up at 6:30 on a Saturday morning to run, but I was rewarded in so many ways for my effort. First, it wasn't too hot. Second, the sunrise was beautiful. Third, the breeze was nice. And fourth, when I saw that I had a mile to go, my thoughts weren't "Are you kidding me? I can't do this." Instead, they were "Awesome! I can do this!" And I actually ran faster! In fact, when I hit 4 miles, I still had my legs, so I ran to the end of the block for a total of 4.25 miles. Felt amazing.

I love that last stretch of my run. It's not always my last stretch I guess, but most days it is. It's about a 1/4 mile of straight residential street, shady, with some cute houses. It slopes downward very gradually and there always seems to be a breeze blowing up that street. The stop sign at the end is always my goal.

I just feel amazing after my run. I didn't walk at all. I had planned on walking at 2 miles, but felt good so I kept going. I didn't go fast, that's for sure. But I kept going. I am going to be doing some good stretching this afternoon to keep the soreness away...probably a little Icy Hot and foam rolling, but it's not pain.

I am looking forward to a day of rest. I have a feeling I will want to do something tomorrow, but stretching (and maybe some ab work) is all I'm going to do. I didn't used to mind a day off, but here lately I find myself wanting to go for a run in the afternoon even when I ran in the morning.

This week's plan looks like this, I think (I'd have to look for sure):
Monday-3.5 miles
Tuesday-cross train/strength train
Wednesday-speed work (on the track...I haven't done that in 13 years or so)
Thursday-strength train
Friday-3 miles
Saturday-4.5 miles

Should be interesting, especially with me headed in inservice on Thursday and Friday