Out for the count

I tend to forget my injuries...not while I have them, of course, but in retrospect I can't think of them.

I know after I'd only been running a few months, my IT bands were so bad that I stopped running for a while. Once I got them healthy and strengthened, I was good to go...although I still have to baby them with the foam roller pretty frequently.

I've had the normal aches and pains...shin splints (love compression sleeves for those), a weird pain in my left big toe (my dad has the same pain), a weird pain in my right heel (current problem...worrisome because my mom has battled PF for nine months now and hers ruptured...but it seems to be doing better)...and that's all I can really recall.

On a similar note...I am so sore! It's like starting all over. It's been 3 weeks since surgery, and I had to take most of last week off from walking or running because of my heel. I walked 1.75 and ran 1.75 Monday (broken up into walking/running intervals...longest run was 1 mile). It felt pretty good then...but I'm pretty sore now. I've already used the foam roller today and taken ibuprofen. I think I'll continue with that and hope for the best :)

Training plans

I'm using a Runner's World Smart Coach training plan for the Dallas Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. I'm pretty happy with it. I like the basic outline of a plan...easy run on Monday, speedwork/tempo run on Wednesday, long run on Saturday. I usually throw in a short, easy run on Friday as well. It works for me. I am not sure about the times it gives me to run. I used my 10K as a basis for the plan, and it gives me some pretty slow (even in my standards) times for completing my runs. And it has me finishing my half marathon in 2:25.

So I thought I'd mess with it. I used my White Rock Marathon Relay time (roughly 5 miles in 50 minutes) to see what would happen. It's better. Not perfect. But better. It does change some things though. It gives me shorter distances for the speedwork/tempo runs, which I like. It gives me longer long runs. It gives me a Thursday run (which could easily be my Friday run). It still has be going pretty slow on some of the runs, but it's closer. And it has me finishing my half in 2:16. Now, I like that!

I think I'm going to do a combo of the two. I haven't quite decided what that means yet, but I'm working on it.

I ran 3 this morning (plus a warmup/cooldown) in the cold garage. I have a feeling, though, that the cold I felt this morning won't even compare to the cold I'll feel out there Wednesday morning! It should be in the single digits at that time. Lovely.

I'm having a little ache in my lower left leg. It's not exactly a shin splint, but it's not my calf either...somewhere in between. I have no idea what it is. It only hurts with certain movements, and not all the time. I can't "make" it hurt, so I can't really figure it out. I need to put on my Phiten discs (which, by the way, I tried one day last week and really liked...even my principal said she felt like they worked after she some of mine last week for some shin splints) and my compression sleeves tonight.

I'm hoping for a late start tomorrow due to this storm moving in. I don't like losing days, so we'll just hope for a late start. It's amazing what I could get done with a little extra time tomorrow.

I haven't done weekly goals in a while...oh, ok, since that first one a few weeks ago, so we'll try again...

1. Hit my workouts (2 core, 3 runs including the 8-miler on Saturday)
2. Try new foods (ok, I'm only putting that one in there because I tried brussel sprouts for the first time in my post-kid days and actually liked them and I have polenta to try later this week).
3. Keep the house picked up after last week's marathon cleaning session

Which reminds me of a great post I read today on Run Like a Mother Book. Check it out here: Picking up the Pieces Go ahead, look...really! Now, isn't that the truth?! That's my life in a nutshell...pick it up, put it away. But I like the correlation to our running/fitness...pick up the pace, put the race away...pick up the feet, put the road away..pick up the candy bar, put the calories away (LOL)...ok, I know I'm stretching it a bit, but it works. For me, at least.

Speedwork!

As I posted as my Facebook status this morning, I conquered my nemesis speedwork for the week this morning! I actually followed my training plan for once...I ran my 4x800 with 400 recovery. I think I ran it faster than I was "supposed" to though, but I have a hard enough time figuring out my speed on the treadmill as it is. I hit 7mph and hoped it was close to the 4:24 half-mile I was scheduled to try. I think, if my math is anywhere close to right, I actually ran my halves in about 4:15...and I survived! Feeling stronger already...

I'm a little worried about a couple of injury-like issues after the 3-Day. My left knee is still unhappy, walking during the day or running. It's not painful, so to speak, but it's definitely talking to me.

And then there's my right foot. I'm not entirely sure I don't have a stress fracture on the inside top bones. It doesn't hurt all the time. Certain movements hurt worse than others, but not consistently. I was able to run just fine. And I'm being stubborn. I'm not having it checked out until after the relay marathon Dec. 5. If it still hurts then, I'll have it checked out. That should still leave me time to train for the half marathon even if it does turn out to be something. Smart? Probably not. Nobody claimed I was.

Getting there

After Saturday's walk, I was very, very sore. As in, it hurt to move sore. I should have taken an ice bath, but I didn't. And I'm pretty sure I was dehydrated. But, I'm getting better. I went to bed with a heat pack on my back last night and it's a little looser today. I rolled every possible part of my body as well last night. I got some compression sleeves yeseterday and wore them for a few hours yesterday and taught in them most of today. And I have to say, I'm a believer. My calves are much better this evening. I'm going to use the foam roller again tonight.

My plan is to stay hydrated, get and stay loose, and get two easy runs in this week. That's it. That's not what I had planned originally for this week, but it's all about adjusting to what happens.

I still have no idea what I'm going to run in this weekend. I wanted to find a longer running skirt, but it looks like my capris may win out again. I'm hoping a 7:30 run is cool enough for that.

I didn't get to experiment as much as I wanted with Gu, sport beans, and other fuels. I think I'll stick with the beans for now. And I'm considering a couple of things: 1. running without an iPod and 2. running with a water bottle. And now, I've got my compression sleeves to consider. Wow...I just have not gotten this down yet.

I go walking...

My Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure team had a long training walk yesterday...a scheduled 18 miles that may have been closer to 20...still up for debate. I can't believe how hard it was! I thought my being able to run 6 miles at a time would make walking 18 not so bad. And I was wrong!

It uses a completely different set of muscles. My back is so sore. So are my calves. My quads were killing me yesterday after one rest stop. I really felt like I had cords in my legs. They aren't so bad this morning, but my calves are making up for it. It feels like I have tennis balls back there.

And blisters...wow. I felt them coming at about the 2-mile mark yesterday and covered them one set at the 3-mile mark. Then I covered another set at the half-way point while swtiching socks. I think they'll heal ok without lancing them, but I'm watching them closely.

My biggest fear is that I won't be able to run my 10K Saturday well. I'm going to take tomorrow off of running for sure. I'm hoping to do an easy run Tuesday and Thursday though. We'll see. I'm going to foam roll my legs and back, use Biofreeze and/or Icy Hot, take ibuprofen, and hopefully go get some compression sleeves for my calves.

I have no idea how I'll walk 20 miles three days in a row in November. I know that after this 10K, I'll work on more long walks. It's just that different than running.

It really was a lot of fun though. There were 6 members of the team there yesteray and it was funny watching us all walk around town, fanny packs on, hands in the air...silly stuff!

"Hills"

After sleeping in yesterday, I knew I needed a run this morning. However, the kids both ended up in bed with me by 3:30 this morning. Hubby was sleeping on the couch (and no, he wasn't in trouble) because he's got a cold, so I didn't mind. At least it wasn't too crowded. However, it took me until 4:15 or so to get back to sleep...and that darn alarm clock went off at 4:50 as planned. I hit the off button...sat there...and finally climbed out of bed. I hit the treadmill for a "hill" workout...or at least an attempt.

I warmed up for a few minutes (which is really when I wake up, get a drink and get the iPod situated). Then I rotated 3 minutes on an incline with 2 minutes at 0% through a 2%, 4%, 6% and back to 4% before finishing up. I should have gone longer. But I did it.

My only problem right now is I'm having some pain in my shin/calves. Most of the pain is on the inside top of my shin, to the inside of the bone before the actual "calf" muscle starts. I'm a little worried about it because I can't identify the source. It even hurt when I kneeled down in my son's floor to pick up a jillion cars. It hurt at the beginning of the run but seemed to handle the "hills" ok, but then they hurt again at the end with the calf tightening up pretty quickly.

With my 10K a little over a week away, I'm getting nervous. I'm just not sure I've done enough. I never did get that core training habit down. And I know my abs need to be stronger. Seriously stronger.

I have decided to walk the 18 miles on Saturday and see how I feel. If I'm up for it, I'll run a long run Sunday morning and then run Tuesday/Thursday before the race. If I can't run Sunday, I'll run Monday/Tuesday/Thursday before the race. Can't believe it's this close!

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.

Setback?

I did speedwork Wednesday in my new Saucony shoes...I don't know what did it, but I am now hobbling along, even walking. It's my shins and calves. There are knots in my calves and shin splints. Lovely. I have no idea which did the damage, the speedwork or new shoes, or if it was a combination of the two. I'm supposed to run 3 miles in the morning, but I barely made the grocery store walking this morning. So, the question is...take the day off? walk/run what I can? run anyway? Hmmm....