Katie's
Training Log
2008 WINTER/SPRING TRAINING SEGMENT
Goal: St. Pat's Run
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Hello everyone! I am hopping on the blogging band wagon. Actually, I have been wanting to add my training log to the site for a while, but it never seemed like the right time to start. So, how about when I am staring my training all over? That's right – I am starting at zero!
As some of you may know, this July I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. I am 27, healthy, and have no history of the disease in my family. Obviously, it was a bit unexpected! I had been struggling with my running since the end of April and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. As an athlete who is rarely injured for more than a day or two, I was puzzled and frustrated with what was happening. I was equally frustrated when doctors could not figure out what was going on. Luckily, we found the cancer when we did and I have an AWESOME team of doctors and nurses at the St. Louis Cancer and Breast Institute who been taking care of me. Within a week of my diagnosis I had a lymph node biopsy and started chemotherapy. In total, I underwent 14 rounds of chemotherapy over an 18 week period, finishing the week before Thanksgiving. So, for those of you who were wondering who the bald girl was at the Big River events…it was yours truly. Currently I am in the middle of 7 weeks of Radiation treatment and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
After being relatively inactive for 8 months I am so excited to be working out again! I was told that it would take 4 – 6 weeks after chemo for my tissue to start feeling normal again. So of course I hoped on the elliptical after 2 weeks and paid the price. My quads felt like they had been stretched in half and reattached with barbed wire. Translation: it freakin hurt. After that I decided to settle in for the long journey back. My coach Mike Nelson (formerly SLU track coach, now at Marquette University ) and I decided to lift weights aggressively for 3 weeks in order to rebuild my leg muscles. I also got on the elliptical starting at only 4 minutes! In those 3 weeks I build up to about 20 minutes easy on the elliptical. Mike has designed my workouts so that I am running for “minutes run” vs. miles for the first few weeks. Currently I am getting radiation treatment every weekday, so I am trying run or do cardio in the morning before work. Each afternoon after I get “zapped” with radiation, I am off to the gym to lift and/or supplement my cardio with work on the elliptical. If anyone has any questions or comments about my training or cancer treatment, feel free to e-mail me at katiesutton41@gmail.com . If you have complaints, talk to Matt and Ben! So here goes…………
WEEK .5
Saturday January 5: Ok, so I cheated a little bit. I was supposed to start running on Monday, but I decided to take advantage the warm weather to start running. Coach Mike sanctioned this activity, so no worries there. Total 12 min without stopping. My heart rate was about 160 and when I stopped. Some dude passed me while I was catching my breath. He might have mumbled something to me, but I couldn't hear him over the throbbing in my ears. After a couple minutes, I started running again and made it another 4 min. SUCCESS! I am on the road back! Total for the day 16 minutes and stretching (I am giving that stretching thing a whirl this go around. I heard a rumor that it is good for you….)
Sunday January 6: 12 minutes and weight lifting/core work/stretch. It was much less dramatic today and I was able to get in a good weight workout. I am planning on continuing my lifting for the first 8 weeks or so to make sure I don't get injured. When I get in some more miles I will back off the lifting. My routine consists of free weights for upper body and mainly bodyweight exercises for legs. I am also doing a bunch of core exercises to help me get back into shape. I have 2 routines (appropriately named “Day 1” & “Day 2”, I know very creative) that I switch between.
Weekly Total: 28 minutes, 2 runs
Monday January 7: AM - Elliptical 20 minutes, PM – warmed up on elliptical and Day 2 weights.
Tuesday January 8: Woke up to thunderstorms, so I wasn't able to run. PM - ended up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical after work and stretching.
Wednesday January 9: AM - Ran 17 minutes continuously and stretched. PM – 15 minutes elliptical and Day 1 weights
Thursday January 10: AM Ran 16 minutes. I am really checking the watch the last few minutes of these runs! I never knew 16 min could seem like an eternity. PM: 15 min elliptical and the core portion of my Day 1 weight routine.
Friday January 11: AM 10 minutes PM – didn't make it to the gym because we were heading out of town to visit my parents in Rolla , Missouri.
Saturday January 12: Back in the home land! I ran 17 minutes, caught my breath, then ran up the hill to my house. Now first I must explain the terrain in Rolla, it ranges from rolling hills to 75% grade inclines. Unfortunately, we grew up on one of the huge hills in town. It is almost identical in grade and length as the finishing hill at the MO State Cross Country Meet. I used to make my mom drop me off at the bottom of the hill on our way home from practice so I could run up it. After I started driving, I felt guilty that I wasn't doing this any more so I would park the car, jog down the hill just so I could run up it. Luckily most of the neighbors who saw “that crazy girl” run up and down the hill for 4 years have moved away, so when I went huffing and puffing up the hill this time I just looked like “crazy out of shape lady with a bad hair cut” J As I breached the top of the hill and passed our mail box (the official stopping point) I swear I heard Bruce Springsting's “Glory Days” playing faintly in the background…..wait….I think that was a hallucination brought on by oxygen debt……
Sunday January 13: Off ! I ate waffles
Week 1 Total: 60 min running over 4 runs, 80 min elliptical, 2.5 days lifting. Not too shabby, would have liked to get more solid weight lifting in, but I will take it!
Monday January 14: AM - 15 minutes running PM: 15 minutes Elliptical and Day 1 weights. My goal this week is to run 75 minutes and supplement with the elliptical trainer, but not to go over 30 minutes of combined cardio a day. I also went and saw Dr. Matt and St. Louis Injury and Rehab today for an adjustment and tune up. As always – I feel great!
Tuesday January 15: AM - 16 minutes with my Tuesday Morning Group! For 3 + years I have met a great group of runners for a track workout on Tuesday mornings. I have really missed them the last few months. Obviously, I could not do their workout, but I got to run the 2 mile warm up with them. They have been huge supporters of me during my treatments and I am stoked to get to run with them again. Thanks Guys! PM: 15 minutes elliptical and Day 2 weights.
Wednesday January 16: AM - 30 minutes on the elliptical and stretching.
Thursday January 17: AM - Hills! I know that sounds crazy, but it wasn't too bad. Coach Mike and I decided to run some hills in the early part of my training to help get my leg strength back. Plus, you all know there is nothing like running up hill to kick up the heart rate. So, I picked a good hill in my neighborhood (nothing compared to Saturday's mountain) and incorporated it into my 15 min run. I ran for about a half mile, then ran up and jogged down the hill 3 times. I tried to stay steady up the hill with good form. As expected, I was huffing and puffing, but it felt good to change things up a little. I jogged home for a total of 15 min. PM - 15 min elliptical and Day 1 weights.
Friday January 18: AM - Sore! This is the first morning I have been a little dead legged. Luckily, I was only running 10 minutes. PM - 10 min elliptical VERY easy, just enough to get me warmed up to lift weights. Day 2 weights. Hopefully my legs will feel better for my "long run" tomorrow of 20 min :)
Saturday January 19: AM - Wow, it was a day to just bundle up and go! I made it out for my 20 minutes. It went well, but I was tired by the end. When I got home I did some hurdle drills. If my college coach, Coach Waters ever reads this he is going to have a heart attack. I swore I would never do drills, in any form, after I graduated college. My lack of coordination and disdain for drills is legendary and I don't particularly enjoy them. However, I have struggled with some hip flexibility issues for a while and I had to come to the sad realization that hurdle drills are one of the best ways to gain mobility and flexibility. So, where did I do hurdle drills you ask? Duh...in my basement. Doesn't everyone have a set of circa 1990 track hurdles in their basement? No? Well this is another clue that I am a huge track nerd. However, I got them from Coach Mike after he couldn't take them with him to Milwaukee so I think that makes him an even bigger track nerd :)
Sunday January 20: Off
Week 2 Total: 75 minutes running over 5 runs, 85 minutes elliptical, 4 days weights
Monday January 21: AM - I had the day off (woohoo!) so I did everything this morning - 15 min run, 15 min elliptical, and Day 1 weights. It was nice to have time to get in my entire workout.
Tuesday January 22: AM - 20 min run with some brave members of the Tuesday Morning Crew. My legs felt better today than they did when I ran 20 minutes on Saturday. PM - 15 min elliptical and Day 2 weights.
Wednesday January 23: AM - no running today - 30 minutes elliptical at a good clip.
Thursday January 24: WIMP! I totally wimped out this morning. Not only did I for go on my run, but I didn't go to the gym with my husband. I even had a ride and wimped out. Instead I slipped back into my warm bed to dreamed of the run that could have been.... not really, at the time I was completely ok with my decision :) However, if I had dreamed of running does that count as a visualization exercise? PM - I still wasn't totally feeling it this afternoon, but on my way to my radiation treatment I saw my friend and training partner Claudia running, so I was inspired/guilted into going out. I went to Des Peres Park and found a short hill to do some repeats. It was a 30 - 40 meter hill and it was on the grass (or frozen tundra ...which ever you prefer to call it). I did 6 quick "hill ups" in the middle of my 15 minute run - it was brutal! My legs felt good but I don't think my heart stopped pounding until I got back in my car. I had to forgo the gym today because I had somewhere I need to be in the evening. Instead I went home and hopped on my elliptical for 15 minutes. My elliptical at home is the Geo Metro of ellipticals, as opposed to the Cadillacs you get at the gym, but it works in a pinch. I also tried to do the core exercises that I would have done with my Day 1 lifting plan.
Friday January 25: AM - This morning was awesome! For the first time since I started running I actually forgot I was running. I was supposed to run for 15 minutes, but when I glanced at my watch it was already at 9 minutes! I ran for a total of 17:30, so I even picked it up a little on the way back. PM - I got caught up at work and had to miss my evening elliptical and weights :(
Saturday January 26:
AM - 25 minute run! I was a bit tired but it was nice to do something more substantial. Plus, I got to take advantage of the weather. I figure it was about 3 miles. I then went in the gym and did 10 minutes on the elliptical and did a combo of my Day 1 and Day 2 lifting. Since I messed up my lifting on Thursday and Friday I morphed my 2 workouts and just did the exercises I like.
Sunday January 27: Off - ate some more waffles. Specifically, pumpkin waffles with homemade cranberry syrup - they were pretty good, e-mail me if you want the recipe :)
Week 3 Total: 92:30 minutes running over 5 runs, 85 minutes elliptical, 3.5 days weights
Monday January 28: AM - 20 minute run. This week Coach Mike wants me to drop the number of runs, but make them a little bit longer. So, I plan on running 3 x 20 minutes and 1 x 25 minutes this week, but we are going to increase the length of my elliptical sessions. PM - 20 minutes on the elliptical. Well, we are having a few set backs in the lifting department. I have an arm that isn't quite cooperating. Shortly after I was diagnosed, I had surgery to determine if the cancer had spread into my lymph nodes. To do this, they had to make a small incision in my armpit. This incision is known to mess with a nerve that runs the length of your arm and it can take a while to heal. It seems I have aggravated it and it is making lifting upper body quite uncomfortable. So, looks like we will take a little hiatus and see how it feels later this week. Until then, I am upping the abdominal exercises and focusing on more leg stability moves. I have also discovered that the long lay off appears to have caused an even greater strength discrepancy between my right and left leg. So, I am launching and all out effort to fix this problem before my mileage gets too high. The good news is my running and elliptical work seems to going well. I would rather have it that way than be forced to train in the gym and look like I am going for the next Mrs. Universe title.
Tuesday January 29: AM - 20 minute run. PM - 20 minutes on the elliptical and rehab exercises.
Wednesday January 30: AM - 40 minutes on the elliptical. I was pretty excited about this because I figure it will take me around 40 minutes to run the St. Pats 5 miler. I realize that 40 minutes of running is different than 40 minutes on the elliptical but the fact I did 40 minutes of continuous activity was nice.
Thursday January 31: AM - Ran 20 minutes with a group in Kirkwood. My legs felt fine, but I felt like I was huffing and puffing to keep up. Maybe it was because I was having to defend myself from a couple haters in the crowd who were heckling me about my poor grammar and spelling in this blog. Unlike my cohorts, I like to think of this training log as free verse poetry: unstructured, yet refined. However, to make everyone happy, my husband will now proof read my materials....so please direct all complaints to him from now on :) PM - SNOW! I love running in fresh snow. However, I already ran my allotted minutes for the day, so I hit the basement gym for 20 minutes of elliptical training, rehab exercises, and hurdle drills.
Friday February 1: AM - 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym.
Saturday February 2: I woke up really tired, so I decided to take the day off and run on Sunday.
Sunday February 3: Yuck! I had a horrible run. I made it 25 minutes, but my legs were tired and I just wasn't feeling it. I did a couple stretches and ate breakfast. Later in the day I felt guilty that I didn't finish my rehab exercises so I made myself run through some hurdle drills and do the exercises, but I was really tired all day :(
Week 4 Total: 85 minutes running over 4 runs, 100 minutes elliptical, 0 days weights
Monday February 4: AM - Things went much better today - I ran 3 miles. Starting this week, I am converting my minutes into miles. It was quite a shocker when I was discussing this change with Coach Mike and he said "ok...then lets shoot for 15 miles this week" What!? That is all I have been running? It is hard to believe I was running 80 miles when this all started! PM: 15 minutes on the elliptical. I was hoping to start lifting this week, but my arm is still giving me problems. Hopefully by the end of the week I can get back after it.
Tuesday February 5: AM -It was a big day today - my first track workout. It was a doozie - 1 x 1 mile at 7:00 min pace! I really don't know how fast I have been running, so I was scared that I wouldn't make it and be demoralized. Luckily, I was able to run with my Tuesday group and after a 2 mile warm up, Dr. Pete and James paced me to perfectly even splits 1:45, 3:30, 5:15, 6:57 :) It wasn't too bad...but I was not able to talk at the end and I had no desire to run another lap at that speed. I ran a 2 lap cool down and got into my car before the down pour started. Total 3.5 miles. PM - 15 minutes on the elliptical and rehab exercises.
Wednesday February 6: AM - none. PM - 30 minutes elliptical. I was very tired all day so I am just glad I did something.
Thursday February 7: LAST TREATMENT! I repeat LAST TREATMENT! Woohoo! I want to thank everyone who has sent e-mails, thoughts, and prayers my way - they worked! Watch out Lance ..... here I come! PM - Now that I have distracted you all with some great news, I will let you know I actually felt horrible physically today. I got up with every intention of going to work but I quickly aborted mission. I slept until 10 am and then laid on the couch like a slug. My body didn't make its first purposeful movement until noon! Oh well, I figure things can't go anywhere but up from here! Hopefully, Lance isn't actually reading this and getting the mental edge in our battle.
Friday February 8: AM - Ran hill repeats on a long hill in my neighborhood. I warmed up for 5 minutes and then did 10 minutes of hill repeats (steady pace up the hill, jogged down) during which I managed to make it up the hill 5 times. I finished with a 5 minute cool down for about 2.5 miles total. PM: 20 minutes on the elliptical, rehab exercises, and stretching.
Saturday February 9: AM - Long Run Day! Coach Mike wanted me to run 4 miles, which I decided qualified as a long run :) I met up with a group of friends in Forest Park near the corner of Wydown and Skinker so that I could have some company. Before I knew it, I had been running close to 2 1/2 half miles. I turned around and ended up running 4 1/2! I didn't intentionally go over what I was supposed to do (kids - do as I say, not as I do. Listen to your coach), but I am pretty excited about the results. I also stretched and met the group for some Starbucks after they finished their long run (which was actually long). It was just like old times :)
Sunday February 10: AM - 1 1/2 miles. I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical and my rehab exercises.
Week 5 Total: 15 miles running over 5 runs, 95 minutes elliptical, 0 days weights
Monday February 11: This week, my goal is to run 18 miles with a 1.5 mile tempo at 7:00 min per mile pace. Unfortunately, my arm is STILL messed up and I am going to hold off on lifting upper body weights for another week. AM - 3 miles easy. PM - Did rehab exercises, didn't make it to the elliptical :(.
Tuesday February 12: AM - Due to the snow and ice, I decided that the track probably wasn't the best place to be this morning. I slept in :) PM - I decided to make today my elliptical day so I did 40 minutes on the elliptical and my rehab exercises.
Wednesday February 13: AM - I was going to try to do my 1.5 mile tempo this morning but when I got to the track it was still ice covered. I decided to instead run a loop on the roads that I knew was between 1.5 and 2 miles. I figured if I ran it at a good pace, it would be just as good as a tempo on the track, but safer. As I was approaching the home stretch near Kirkwood High School, I was thinking "this isn't too bad. I am glad I am such a smart runner and decided to do this run on the roads instead of on the icy track" The next thing I knew I was spread eagle on the sidewalk. Doh! I guess the up side of the wind chill being near zero was that I had on plenty of layers to cushion my fall and with the ice on the sidewalk allowed me to I slide for 5 meters after I made ground contact. The ironic part of it was I didn't slip on the ice! I tripped over a "pedestrian crossing" sign that was laying across the sidewalk. I guess someone hit it with their car and broke it in half. In all seriousness, I hit pretty hard so after I laid sprawled on the ground for a minute or two then decided to walk home and assess the damage. I ended up with a banged up knee, bruised hip, a lump on my arm and a cut toe (from the metal sign post). So, my total morning workout was a 10 minute warm up and a 9:45 hard run with stunt finish....I will call it 2 1/2 miles. PM - Luckily, I had an appointment at St. Louis Injury and Rehab so Dr. Matt checked me out and decided I would make it :) Actually, my initial assessment of the damage lead me to believe I would be much worse off that I am. I iced the knee and it felt much better. I was able to elliptical 20 minutes and do my rehab exercises that night. The other good news is I think my arm is finally feeling better.
Thursday February 14: AM - I am pretty sore from yesterday, but everything seems to function properly. I ran 4 miles and felt pretty good. PM - Very tired, didn't make it to the elliptical. I think I am still feeling the effects of the radiation. During the afternoons and the evenings I am extremely sleepy and I am finding that if I don't go straight to the gym after work then it is hard for me to get the energy up to do my elliptical training. I hope this gets better soon.....
Friday February 15: AM - I warmed up to the track again and thought about trying the tempo again, but then I decided that I should just leave well enough alone. Instead I did "hills with sprints". These are my favorite type of hill repeats because I think they really help in race situations. I ran up a hill that was approximately 70 meters and then after I crested the hill, I sprinted for an additional 50 meters. These are great because most people shut down at the top of the hills. If you can accelerate for a few steps you can easily put 10 meters on meters before they can react. I pass a lot of gals in races this way. I did 5 repeats, which took me about 10 minutes. With my warm up and cool down I ran a little over 3 miles. PM - I went to the gym and did 20 minutes on the elliptical, but did not fell well at all. I started to do my rehab exercises but I wasn't feeling it....so I went home.
Saturday February 16: AM - Yeah...you know how I said I wasn't feeling well at the gym yesterday? That would be the calm before the food poisoning storm. It was best for everyone involved that I took today off.
Sunday February 17: AM - I felt recovered enough to meet with the Big River group at Grant's trail this morning. My goal was to run 4 1/2 miles, but since the weather was so nice I decided to entertain the idea of running 5 if I felt good. I ran about 2 1/2 miles down the trail with Kris and felt great, but the minute I turned around to come back I felt horrible. I probably was not as recovered from my illness as I thought. I stopped at 4 1/2 miles and walked the rest of it in. I wasn't supposed to run 5 so maybe feeling horrible was God telling me to follow directions.
Week 6 Total: 17 miles running over 5 runs, 80 minutes elliptical, 0 days weights. It was a pretty disappointing week with the fall and then feeling too tired to elliptical some nights. Hopefully next week will be much better.
Monday February 18: AM - Ran 3 miles, got on the elliptical for 25 minutes and then did my rehab exercises. I had the day off so I decided to get up early and get everything done at once. My goal this week is to increase my elliptical time so that my total cardio time is equal to 50 minutes. I hope to keep my running mileage about the same as last week...maybe a couple more if I feel good. Oh - I also got a new pair of shoes :) I am currently running in the Mizuno Wave Rider as my main trainer.
Tuesday February 19: AM - Bad news...my toe hurts. It has been bugging me since I fell last week and now it is officially a problem. Ugh. I decided to can the run today and see if I can go see Dr. Cragg's folks. When I told Coach Mike he made me promise that I would not run until it was well. Let's hope for the best.....
Wednesday February 20: AM
- The official diagnosis for my foot is turf toe. I must have jammed it worse than I thought. It is still sore, but it is feeling much better that yesterday. In an effort to avoid the wrath of Coach Mike, I decided to give the toe another day to heal. I did some abs and my rehab exercises during my lunch hour.
Thursday February 21: AM - I went for it! The toe felt better and I had to get my tempo run in before the weather got too cruddy. It was already sleeting when I left the house, so it was "now or never". I warmed up to the track and launched into a 2 mile tempo at 7:00 min per mile pace. Laps 7 and 8 were not pretty, but I made it through in fairly even splits: 6:57 for the first mile and then I ended up at 13:51 (all of the time I made up on the last mile was on the last lap - I just wanted to pain to stop as soon as possilbe, so I sped up the last 200 meters). Afterward, I really wanted to lay down on the track and stop my heart from pounding.....however the layer of sleet on the ground was an effective deterrent. I jogged home and got in about 4 miles total for the morning. PM - Got on the elliptical for 20 minutes and did my rehab exercises.
Friday February 22: AM - In an effort to avoid falling and injuring myself again, I decided to stay indoors this morning and hit the elliptical. I made it for 50 minutes straight, which I was quite pleased about because my legs were tired from yesterday. PM - Nothing - I didn't make it to the gym :(
Saturday February 23: AM - I ran 5 miles! Woohoo! I realize that is only a half mile more than last week, but it has been a huge obstacle. I am glad to have that out of the way and now I know I can physically make it through St. Pats.
Sunday February 24: AM - Dude, where did this snow come from? I would complain more about it, but poor Coach Mike is stuck in Milwaukee during the worst winter on record. He has no sympathy for me. As it turned out, the snow wasn't too bad, in fact it was rather pleasant. I ran 4 miles easy through my neighborhood. PM - Elliptical for 20 minutes. I also painted our hallway....does that count for exercise?
Week 7 Total: 16 miles running over 4 runs, 115 minutes elliptical, 0 days weights. I was bummed about missing two days of training, which in turn made me miss my mileage goal. I am really hoping to hit next week on all cylinders and get in all my workouts.
Week 8
Monday February 25: AM - Ran 4 miles easy in the morning. Felt pretty good and I enjoyed the "warm" weather. My goal this week is to do what I was supposed to do last week, which is run 18 - 20 miles and increase my total cardio time to 50 minutes per day. There is some good news to report - the nerve in my arm is better! I should be able to hit the weights again this week. PM - went to see the SLIR folks to check out my toe. Everything looked good! Because of the appointment, I didn't get to the gym to elliptical.
Tuesday February 26: AM - I was supposed to go to the track for my tempo this morning but the weather was nasty so I decided to go to the gym instead. I have regretted this decision all day. I don't know why I have turned into such wimp! Part of it is I would rather not fall again, and part of it is the fact that this tempo run is going to be really hard. Now my week is messed up and I either have to do it tomorrow in the cold and alone, or wait until Friday when the weather is good but risk the possibility that I will be tired. Again...I should have just gotten it over with this morning. Instead I did 50 minutes on the elliptical. PM - One cool thing that has happened this week is that I have started working full time again. While I was getting radiation treatment I had to work part time because I had to get zapped by the radiation machine everyday. So, now that I work full time I am able to lift weights during my lunch hour at our mini-gym at work. This will save me a trip to the "big gym" several times a week and, even better, save me from having to hear the bad pop music remixes that the gym pumps out on a continuous loop. I will probably lift weights 3 times a week at work and try to work in my rehab exercises on the days in between. So far, my arm feels great, so I am very thankful for that!
Wednesday February 27: AM - Carpe Diem! I decided to heck with the cold and the wind - I am doing my tempo run. I warmed up for about 10 minutes, then launched into a 3 mile tempo at 7:00 minute pace. My goal was to run two miles and then take it one lap at a time. My first two miles were 7:01 then 6:59 (no joke! I passed the two mile in 14:00:00) then things got interesting. I managed to stay on pace but things got much more labor intensive - my last mile splits were 1:44, 3:27, 5:12 and 6:54. Whew! Obviously I was able to complete it but I was definitely at my threshold. It took me a good 5 minutes of walking to get myself ready to "cool" down. I really didn't care because I was stoked that I made it! As a bonus - I ran a total of 5 miles :) PM - Lifted weights at lunch and then got on the elliptical for 15 minutes.
Thursday February 28: AM - I met with a group in Kirkwood for a run. They run a 5.5 mile loop so I decided that if I felt good I would try to do the entire thing with them. I was tired the last mile or so, but I made it. That is the longest I have run yet! PM - I didn't get on the elliptical - my legs were tired and I thought it would be silly to get on for 6 minutes. Plus I did 15 minutes yesterday and I think I was only supposed to do 10...so it all comes out in the wash.
Friday February 29: AM - Ran two miles VERY easy and then got on the elliptical for 35 minutes. A funny note: when I had finished my run and walking into the gym, a guy on his way out looked at me and said "don't go in there...it is just going to hurt" . I wonder he says that to everyone or if I just looked particularly pathetic? PM - Did all my cardio in the morning so I just lifted weights at lunch time.
Saturday March 1: AM - Hill day. I did the same workout I did 2 weeks ago (see February15) but this time I did 8 repeats. The weather was great - a 30 degree heat wave! In total I ran 4 miles, then got on the elliptical when I got home for 20 minutes. I am done for the week - tomorrow is a needed day off! I am really excited about how this week went - which is good because St. Pats is only 2 weeks away!
Sunday March 2: AM - I didn't run but I went and met the BR long run group at Creve Coeur park and talked to them a little bit about coming back to running from a long layoff. They had a great day to run! They are a great group and run at all paces, so if you are looking for someone to run with for those last few long runs before the St. Louis Marathon I highly suggest meeting up with them. In the afternoon, my husband and I swung by the new store. It is AWESOME you all will have to go see it soon. We ended up staying a few hours and organizing 100s of shoe boxes in the basement. So when Matt and Ben are able to find your shoes at lightning speed - you have Jen, Rob, and me to thank :)
Week 8 Total: 20.5 miles running over 5 runs, 120 minutes elliptical, 3 days weights. Hopefully I can carry the momentum into next week.
Week 9
Monday March 3: AM - I woke up to POURING rain and a sore plantar facia on my right foot! Ugh. So much for the momentum .....I realize that these little things are going to pop up fairly often the first 6 months I am running, so I am trying to not get too worked up about them. I probably should have gone to the gym, but I didn't make it. Oh well. PM - I was going to try to sneak in my run at lunch but the weather was getting worse, so I had only one option left -the dreaded treadmill. I run on a treadmill about once every 3 years - I despise them. Plus, I have issues falling when I am running on non-moving surfaces - treadmills just make things even more complicated for me. Luckily, I managed to make it 3 miles without killing myself and to get in part of my weight routine. Not too bad for a day I was afraid was going to be big zero in the log book. Oh - my plantar felt much better after I ran and stretched - I think my achilles was just tight from the hills on Saturday. I am going to baby it this week and I hope it will be fine.
Tuesday March 4: AM - No snow? I was expecting to have to hit the gym but since there wasn't any snow on the ground I decided to sneak in a run. Good thing I ran when I did, because the snow started half way through my run PM - Well...the snow kept coming, nine inches total at our house! I got home around 2 pm and got in 20 minutes on the elliptical as my warm up for shoveling the driveway. I didn't get in weights today, but I figure the snow shoveling can count. I am again in a pickle about when I am going to get my tempo run in.....I hope to have it done by Thursday.
Wednesday March 5: AM - Nothing! I knew I was going to be stuck on the elliptical today so I snoozed an extra hour in the morning. PM - I lifted weights at lunch and then got on the elliptical for 50 minutes. Also, later in the evening I met with Kathleen Nelson from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who is writing a story about the St. Pats run. For those of you who are not familiar with her work, she is a huge supporter of St. Louis running so make sure you check out her "jog blog" on line.
Thursday March 6: AM - Tempo day! Obviously, the track was not and option this morning but I heard from a very reliable source that the stretch of road next to Meremec Community College is exactly 1/2 mile between Geyer Rd and Couch. So, I decided to use that as my tempo run course. I probably should have checked it out first because it is a huge hill! In the long run, I think was really good for me but it was tough! My times were off from my goal pace, but they weren't too shabby considering the hills and the wind. My splits per half mile were: 3:34, 7:10, 10:51 (i think), 14:27, 18:09, 21:50, 25:28 for a total of 3 1/2 miles of sustained effort. I had entertained the idea of running 4 miles if I felt good, but by the last trip up that evil hill, all I wanted to do was stop. With my warm up and cool down I ran a total of 5.5 miles. I am going to keep this course in the back of my mind for half mile repeats in the future - it was really tough, in a good way. PM - 15 minutes on the ellitical and a really good stretch.
Friday March 7: AM - Wow - I feel yesterday's workout! I did a VERY easy 4 miles and tried to shake out my legs. PM: I got in a really good lifting workout at lunch and then did 20 easy minutes on the elliptical.
Saturday March 8: AM - Nothing! I woke up and contemplated doing my long run but I was feeling a bit tired so I was trying to decide if I should take today off or get the run over with and relax tomorrow. I checked the wind chill and it said 6 degrees ...seeing that was enough to put me over the edge. I made breakfast and stayed in my PJs.
Sunday March 9: AM - I am glad I waited to run my long run because my friend Meghan called me up Saturday night and asked if I wanted to run. So, I had company on my long run. We ran 5.52 miles - I know this because I stole my husband's fancy-schmancy Garmin GPS watch. I bought it for him for Christmas as one of those "this is for you....but really for me too" types of gifts. I have never used one so I figured I would try it out this week and see how I like it. I think it is really going to come in handy for tempo runs, but other than that my husband can keep it. I think it would make me insane and I could easily see myself running circles in the driveway to round out my mileage to even numbers. The neighbors already think I am nuts so I don't want to give them any more data to confirm their hypothesis.
Week 9 Total: 22 miles running over 5 runs, 105 minutes elliptical, 2.5 days weights. Felt really good about my runs this week. I can't believe it is Week 10 already and St. Pats race week!
Week 10
Monday March 10: AM - 3 miles easy and 25 minutes on the elliptical. Coach Mike and I decided we would do one workout this week and then rest up for the race. I feel really silly tapering for this weekend because we are treating it more like a tempo than a race, but it is sort of fun to have the "big race" build up going on this week. I sort of miss it. PM - Lifted weights at noon.
Tuesday March 11: AM - Finally a Tuesday morning at the track without snow or sleet. I did a 3 mile workout on the track where I ran 400 meters "on" and 400 meters "off". The hard 400s were supposed to be between 95 and 97 seconds and the "off" quarters were jogging. I had major problems getting into a rhythm and it was obvious that this was a new pace for my legs. My splits were 96, 98, 94, 93, 95 and 93 and they felt very awkward. Hopefully in the near future I will be running more workouts at this pace range and it will feel more comfortable. For the morning I had a total of 5 miles. PM - 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Wednesday March 12: AM - zilch, I slept in. PM - I had a very good weight lifting session at lunch, which I am going to attribute to the extra sleep I got (I really don't believe the last statement, but I am trying to justify my laziness) After work I hit the gym for 50 minutes on the elliptical. The gym was empty on account of the weather and I was bummed that I had to be inside for my workout.
Thursday March 13: AM - Two days until St. Pats! Is everyone getting excited? I went and visited the nice ladies at the Rio Syrup company today and got my t-shirt. Every year it baffles me as to how a company that specializes in artificially flavored, high-fructose, snow cone goo ends up sponsoring one of the biggest running events in the city. I also like how they put all their products on display in the show room for you to browse while you sign up for the race. I guess if someone walks up and asks for "two race entries, a gross of paper cones, and a gallon of blue syrup" it is best to be ready. As for running, I ran an easy 4-miler this morning and was thrilled that I could wear shorts without freezing my legs off!
Friday March 14: AM - Nothing much today, just a mile and half to shake out my legs and get ready for tomorrow.
Saturday March 15: AM - What a perfect day for the race! First of all, I want to state I did run the race and I did finish - the results are screwed up and it didn't record my time!!!! How ironic is that? Now for the race details! I was very lucky to have Coach Mike, Matt Helbig, and my friend James run with me during the race - they were a huge help and kept me from going out too fast. Thanks guys - owe you one! I will be honest, I didn't really warm up much because the race distance was going to be close to my longest run to date, so Mike and I just jogged to the starting line from the Big River tent. Our goal was to go out in 7:15 - 7:20 pace for the first few miles, then pick it up if we felt good. Here were our splits: 6:52 (at this point I turned to coach Mike and fired him. 6:52? This was not in his contract - I could have going out too fast on my own!), 7:16 (at this point I contemplated rehiring him because we determined the first mile might have been a little bit short), 7:01 (now at this point, someone asked "how does the pace feel?" and I believe I said "it is what it is" but I was really thinking @#*!), 7:08 (now I was thinking.....only one mile to go, I made this far so I might as well give it everything), 6:46 (..........due to oxygen debt and fatigue I wasn't able to think of anything after the last mile!). My total time was about 35:06!!! HOLY COW that was 2 minutes faster than I thought I could run it! I was totally stoked. The last two miles were very painful but I am so thrilled with the finishing time. So today marked my longest run, my fastest mile, and my first race since finishing treatments - not too bad for a day's work. In the end, I decided Coach Mike could keep his job :) Thank you to everyone that supported me and cheered me on. I am so appreciative of the help. Hopefully this is the first of many races to come. Watch out Lance, here I come!
Sunday March 16: AM - Nothing - lets just say I am a little bit sore :)
Week 11
Monday March 17: AM - I ran 4.5 miles easy around the neighborhood. I felt pretty good all things considered, other than my back being a little sore I feel fairly recovered. This week I am going to keep my miles about the same but try to bump up my elliptical time to where my total cardio time each day is an hour. We are also going to change up the workouts a little bit. I think my next challenge is going to be racing a 5k at the end of April, so I need to get some leg speed back! PM - 25 minutes on the elliptical.
Tuesday March 18: AM - Due to the monsoon that blew in last night, I hit the gym for 60 minutes on the elliptical. PM - I lifted weights at lunch and got in a good stretch. Unfortunately, my back is still a bit sore.
Wednesday March 19: AM - Hmmmm it is still raining......so I went back to bed and hoped it would clear up this afternoon so I could get in a quailty workout. PM- I tried to lift weights at lunch and decided the soreness in my back could not be ignored. Luckily the folks at SLIR could get me in today. After an adjustment and some stretching, they said I was good to go. I assume they really meant that, because I went out and ran a workout (I don't normally endorse doing this, but I was way too antsy to wait another day). I went to Hixon Middle School track in Webster Groves, or as coach Mike likes to call it, "The 6 Lane House of Pain". My work out was 3 x 1 mile at 6:45 - 6:50 pace and 3:00 rest between repeats. I am not sure if I was just hyped up from the weekend or if the warmer weather got to me, but I went out way too fast on my first two reapeats and then paid for it on the last one. I ran a 6:38, 6:42 and a 6:47. I was thrilled with the fact that I ran a sub 6:40 mile, but I was dissapointed in myself for executing the workout so poorly. I would have much rather ran 3 at 6:45 pace. I guess "The 6 Lane House of Pain" lived up to its name tonight! I ran a total of 5 miles and since I was getting home so late, I didn't get on the elliptical.
Thursday March 20: AM - I met a group in K-wood for a lively 4.5 miles this morning. PM - I got a massage this evening so I didn't get on the elliptical. Ugh - that is two days in a row that I missed the elliptical, but my back feels great :)
Friday March 21: AM - I did one mile of "straights and curves" at the track. For those of you who are not familar with S&Cs, it is a continuous workout where you stride the straight away's of the track and jog the curves. In the end you end up getting 8 100 meter strides per mile. With my warm up and cool down I ran a total of 3 miles. I also got on the elliptical for 35 minutes. PM - lifted weights
Saturday March 22: AM - I ran 6 miles in the thriving metropolis of Palmyra, Missouri! This is always challenging because from my mother-in-law's house at one edge of town to the power company on the other end is only 2 1/2 miles. Usually, I just head out into the country and run with the cows, but this moring I opted to run in town. To be honest, I had a horrible run, but I don't think it had anything to do with Palmyra. I think I was tired from the week. After my run, in lieu of an elliptical, I got on an exercise bike for 15 minutes.
Sunday March 23: AM - none. Hope everyone had a good easter and ate lots of peeps.
Week 11 Total: 23 miles running over 5 runs, 120 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes on the exercise bike, 2 days weights. I am really happy with the miles, but I really want to make sure I get in my elliptical next week.
Week 12
Monday March 24: AM - I was stoked to get in a good week this week but woke up to a problem. When I started running this morning I had a knot in my hamstring that was not loosening up. I have been doing this long enough to know when a knot is the type that is going to go away or when it is the type that is going to be a big problem. Unfortunately, this was the latter. I turned around and went home and started stretching and icing. I am SO annoyed at all of these little things. PM - the hamstring felt fine all day so I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes and I did not feel a thing. I had a follow up chiropractor appointment at SLIR so I had them work on it and they think it was just tight and will be fine. Because I have had so many little things, Coach Mike and I took a seriousl look at the possibility that I am over training. We honestly don't think I am, but we are going to keep monitoring things and back off if we need to.
Tuesday March 25: AM - I warmed up two miles before my track workout and still didn't feel comfortable with the hamstring, so I jogged another half mile and hit the showers. It felt better than it did yesterday, but not good enough to attempt the workout (4 -5 800s in 3:15). I talked things over with Coach Mike and we agreed that St. Pats took more out of me than we first thought. We decided to treat this week as an active rest week and and get rested up. The plan is to do some light running and elliptical work all week, but nothing intense. Thus, in the afternoon I lifted weights (just light upper body work) and got on the elliptical for 20 minutes easy.
Wednesday March 26: AM - 35 minutes on the elliptical.
Thursday March 27: AM - 40 minutes on the elliptical and then I ran a mile to see how the hammie felt. The hamstring felt really good, just a little bit tight. PM - light weight lifting.
Friday March
28: AM - 20 minutes on the elliptcial. Today I took the day off to go to Columbia Missouri for the Mizzou relays. Coach Mike and his Marquette University team were competing at the meet so I decided to support the Golden Eagles and get a my first dose of track for the spring. PM - I wasn't necessarily going to run, but the afternoon was beautiful and being at the track got me excited. I did 3 miles very easy on the Katy Trail near the Mizzou track. My leg felt great!
Saturday March 29: AM - I met Coach Mike and his gang on the Katy Trail and ran 6 miles at a pretty good clip. The leg felt good and in general the run went much better than last week's 6 miler. I am very happy with the decision to take it easy this week, I think I am going to be ready to roll next week!
Sunday March 30:
AM - Off
Week 12 Total: 14 miles running over 5 runs, 145 minutes elliptical, 2 days light weights.
Week 13
Monday March 31: HAPPY OPENING DAY! AM - Ran 4.5 easy and enjoyed the warm weather. PM - Lifted weights at lunch and ellipticaled 25 minutes. The plan this week is to do what I was supposed to do last week :)
Tuesday April 1: AM - I went to the track this morning to run my 4-5 800s at 3:15 pace. I did a 2 mile warm up and then ran 5 repeats at 3:17, 3:13, 3:13, 3:13, 3:12. These felt tough, but I never thought I was going to fall over and pass out - I took that as a good sign! Also, I drug my husband out to the track this morning! He was the celebrity guest of the day. He ran a portion of the 3rd repeat with us and we think it was his fault that we went through the quarter too fast. After the workout I did a half mile cool down for a total of 5 miles. PM - 20 minutes on the elliptical. Also, happy opening day part 2!
Wenesday April 2: AM - snoozed :) PM - Lifted weights at lunch and ellipticaled for 55 minutes.
Thursday April 3: AM - woke up to pouring rain and a stomach ache :( The tummy kept me in more than the rain. PM - I still didn't feel great, but I managed to run 3 miles in the rain (as opposed to the pouring rain). I also ellipticaled for 35 minutes.
Friday April 4: AM - Today I did my second session of "straights and curves" and it went much better than last time. I warmed up for 2 miles, then did 2k of S&T for a total of 10 strides. I ran about a mile home for a total of 4 miles. I think my workouts are getting better partly becuase I am warming up better. I am trying to get back in the habit of running 2 miles on my tough days and it seems to really be helping. After I got home, I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes to finish up my cardio for the day. PM - Lifted weights at lunch time.
Saturday April 5: AM - I ran 6.5 miles - woohoo! I think I have finally realized that I am running way too fast on my long runs. I don't do it on purpose, I just get excited and end up taking off like a mad woman. So today I made a conscious effort to stay nice and relaxed from the begining of my run. Go figure - I had a very pleasant experience.
GOOD LUCK GO St. Louis Participants!!! I spent the rest of the day at the expo with Matt, Ben, and the rest of the Big River crew. I had a great time, but I think that wore me out more than my run. It was great talking to you all - have fun tomorrow :)
Sunday April 6: Off - but I plan to help with the marathon a little bit in the morning (I am writing Saturday night). I can't stay long because I have to fly out for a business trip. Hope everyone had fun and PRs were abundant!
Week 13 Total: 23 miles running over 5 runs, 165 minutes elliptical, 3 weight lifting sessions.
Week 14
Monday April 7: AM - This morning I found myself running in Central Park in NY City. The last time I was in Central Park was November to watch Ben run the Olympic Trails, but the only running I did was across the course to watch the guys. Yeah...and that nearly killed me, so I am excited for the chance to make some new memories. I went on an easy run this morning in the park for about 4.5 miles. The gym at the hotel was stocked, but thier elliptical was some sort of contraption that looked like a NASA experiment, so I opted for the exercise bike. No lifting today....and it looks doubtful that I will get any weight sessions in this week. However, I went to my first Yankee's game and saw Al Roker!
Tuesday April 8: AM - I ended up having to make today my "off" day so I rode the exercise bike for an hour. It seemed wrong to be in NY and stuck in a hotel gym, but I figured it was best to keep with my routine.
Wednesday April 9: AM - This morning I had an off track workout of 4 x 4 minutes hard with 2:30 rest in between reps. My objective was to run back and forth on the same stretch of trail and try to get farther each 4:00 minute repeat. I set off on my first repeat and quickly realized that I was running up a massive hill ...... for the entire repeat! Now I know what the guys were dealing with during the trials. Besides the fact that my first and third repeats were up hill I had a great workout and I did manage to get farther each repeat (the 4th was killer). With my warm up and cool down I ran about 6 miles and then I hopped on the exercise bike for 15 minutes.
Thurday April 10: AM - I ran a 4 mile recovery run in the park (if you haven't noticed...there wasn't anywhere else to run) and I felt pretty cruddy. I got on the exercise bike for another 30 minutes and hope I feel better tomorrow.
Friday April 11: AM - I decided that since it was my last day in the city I should take advantage of the location and do my long run in the park. My goal was to run 6.5 - 7 miles and my map said the outer loop was 5 miles, so decided to go for it. When I was well into the run I looked down at my watched and saw that I had already been running 40 minutes....and I was just over halfway through the loop. This meant one of two things either a) this run was farther than my map said or b) I am running MUCH slower than I thought I was. Either way I had the same problem - I was nowhere near my hotel! So I kept running....and running. At an hour I figured I should stop and walk the last few blocks. I was very relieved when I found the NY Road Runner's website and found that the outer loop was 6.002 miles long! By accident I ran 7.5 miles. I figured that was a good way to leave the city :)
Saturday April 12: AM - This morning I ran in Ft. Worth Texas - one of my favorite places on Earth. I flew to Ft. Worth to visit some friends and was treated to wonderful weather for my Saturday workout. I ran to a local high school and did 8 x 30 seconds on/1 minute off on the school's high tech artificial turf. For those of you who are familiar with Texas High School Football know that it is serious business and that the have stadiums better than most D-I universities. I was tired from the long run and plane ride, but my legs felt better as the workout went on. In the end I ran about 3 miles ... under the Texas sun :)
Sunday April 13: Off!
Week 14 Total: 25 miles running over 5 runs, 130 minutes on the exercise bike, 0 days lifting.
Week 15
Monday April 14: Sorry for the delayed log update -we had some technical issues and I was out of town again. AM - I ran 4 miles easy in the morning and then hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes. I also got in a good weight session at work during lunch. Ouch! I could tell I didn't lift last week!
Tuesday April 15: AM - From the minute Coach Mike told me about this workout I knew it would be a doozie. My goal was to run 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 with half the distance jog as rest. (ex. after the 1000, I would jog 500 meters). The first three intervals were supposed to be as close to 90 second laps, or 6 minute mile pace, as possible. Officially my range was 90 - 93 seconds per lap. I did a standard 2 mile warm up and some strides and then started the 1k. I was a bit excited and went through the first 200 in 40 seconds! I should have stopped right there and started over but I was dumb and continued with the interval. I ended up running through the 400 in 85 seconds and the 800 in 2:58 - not good. I set myself up to to make the rest of the workout difficult. I ran the 800 in 3:03 (400 split was 91), 600 in 2:15 (400 in 90), 400 in 84 (200 split was 40) and then the 200 was in 39. I was all over the place! Coach Mike gave me an A for effort and a C- for pacing :( In total I ran 5.5 miles for the day. PM - I didn't make it to the gym to elliptical this afternoon :(
Wednesday April 16: AM - 1 hour of elliptical and I lifted weights after work.
Thursday April 17: AM - I ran 5.5 miles easy with my buddies in Kirkwood. All of the talk on the run was about Boston! 3 -4 of the group were racing and the run got me excited for the weekend! PM- I ellipticaled for 25 minutes, which was longer than I was supposed to.....I got distracted. Oops.
Friday April 18: AM - I ran a 2 mile warm up and did 4 x 200 with a 200 jog recovery. Yuck - I felt flat from the get go and ran them all in 40 - 43 seconds. I think my legs were angry at me for going too long on the elliptical last night. I ran a total of 4 miles with my cool down and then got on the elliptical for 30 minutes. Then.....we got on a plane to go to Boston! Our good friend Colleen Casey is running in the Olympic trials and we wouldn't miss it for the world. Plus the next day Steph Hood and about a dozen other St. Louis runners are running the main event, so it will be an awesome weekend.
Saturday April 19: AM - I ran my long run, 7 miles, on a path along the Charles River. I didn't feel good until the second half of the run, but the scenery was great and there was excitement in the air. :)
Sunday April 20: AM - Way to go Colleen! The Trials were awesome! I have never seen such an amazing atmosphere for a marathon. The streets were lined 3 deep the entire loop and even deeper in the start finish area. The crowed seemed to know each runner and cheered on everyone in the field. It was an amazing sight to see Deena come off the Charles River bridge in the lead and then charge home. Even more exciting was watching Joan Samuelson run a 2:49 for her last marathon. She passed about 15 women in the final 2 miles of the race - what a woman! Colleen will admit she didn't have a good day but she represented St. Louis and Missouri well and we are all proud of her. Oh - by the way - it was my off day so I didn't run (how ironic).
Week 15 Total: 26 miles running over 5 runs, 145 minutes elliptical, 2 days lifting and lots of walking in Boston.
Week 16
Monday April 21: AM - After watching yesterday's race, I was ready to run this morning. Since I was in Boston, I decided to run an extra mile today and take advantage of being in the city. I ran down Beacon Street (which is part of the marathon course) to a reservoir near Boston College that had a great dirt path around it. Unfortunately, it took me nearly 2 miles to get there, so I didn't get to go all the way around it. Still it was a great run and I got to see everyone setting up for the race. I ran a total of 5 miles. Later that morning we watched the start of the race on TV and then went out to get our spot at the 24 mile mark. If you have never watched the Boston Marathon, I strongly suggest you make the trip sometime. It seemed we were out there for an hour ....yet by the time we looked at our watches it had been nearly 5 hours! Obviously the highlight of the morning was watching Steph Hood fly by us on her way to a 10th place finish. Steph - you are my hero! Congrats to all the other runners who finished the race!
Tuesday April 22: AM - For my workout today (and last run in Boston) I headed back to the reservoir. I had 3 x 5 minutes hard, with 3:00 minutes rest in between each rep. Each interval I was supposed to make it further than I did the last time (see April 9th for a similar workout). This meant I was going back and forth on the same stretch of trail, rather than laps around the lake. The workout went really well and I felt surprisingly strong. I figured I would be tired from standing yesterday. I made it farther each time and I really liked running on the soft surface. The only problem I ran into was that I ended my workout on the opposite side of the lake (duh...that is what happens when you run an odd number of repeats). I did some quick mental math and realized that I if I jogged all the way back to my B&B, I would run farther than my longest run to date. However, if I walked I would make it difficult to make our plane! I compromised and told myself I could only cool down for 18 minutes and then I would stop and walk. Luckily I found a shortcut or two and only had to walk 5 - 6 blocks and made it to the airport on time. My total for the day was 7 miles. PM - I had intended on getting on the elliptical, but the extra mileage this morning made in unnecessary.
Wednesday April 23: Back at home! I did 1 hour on the elliptical and then lifted weights at lunch.
Thursday April 24: I ran an easy four miles over hills, during which I noticed that my calf muscle was tight and didn't loosen up. Early last week I had a similar issue and I thought it had gone away. Hmmm...this will need monitoring. Despite the tight calf, I got on the elliptical for 30 minutes and it didn't get any worse.
Friday April 25: I don't think I mentioned earlier this week that I am racing on Sunday at the CASA 5k run. Thus, instead of another workout this week, I am trying to get my legs back under me. This morning I planned on running 3.5 easy with some strides, but my calf was still really tight so I skipped the strides. Oh - I almost forgot to mention - I fell again this morning. This time it was a mile into my run and tripped over the sidewalk. It wasn't too bad - on a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 3 - more blood than bruising this time. The funny part was that the house I fell in front of had its windows open and the dog that lived there must have heard me fall because it started barking frantically. I didn't want to be caught laying in their yard at 5:30 am so I had to get up quickly and sprint down the street. When I looped back around to get out of the neighborhood the dog was still barking :( Oops! PM: I ellipticaled for 25 minutes. No weights, I didn't have time because I went to St. Louis Injury and Rehab to get my calf worked on and to make sure I didn't get anything out of whack when I tumbled. :(
Saturday April 26: AM - All I did was a 1.5 mile shake out run. My calf felt much better.
Sunday April 27:
Race Day! I ran the 5k at the CASA Run that was held in Rock Hill. I was really stoked to get out there and race again and to enjoy the nice weather. Unfortunately, the race went horribly! I had hoped to break 21 minutes, possibly even 20:30, but my overall time was slower than that - I think it was around 21:40. I learned that I am NOT in shape to run hills yet, which is a bit disappointing because that has always been one of my strengths. So, I have a new goal - run hills and run them often :) On a positive note - the run was really well done and I strongly suggest it to anyone who is looking for a good run next spring (just realize it will be hilly!) I had a great time and they had some excellent evnets for the kids. They also gave out free frozen custard and beer - the perfect post race breakfast! Congratulations to Brian and Julie on their victories!
Week 16 Total: 28 miles running over 5 runs, 55 minutes elliptical, 1 day lifting. I was a bit dissapointed that I ddn't get another day of lifting in, but all in all it wasn't a bad week.
Week 17
Monday April 28: AM - no running. My calf still wasn't feeling right so I wanted to give it an extra day of rest. I lifted weights at lunch. PM - I went and watched the Festival of Miles. What a night of track and field! That might have been the coolest running event I have ever attended. It was great to see Brigette and the races were awesome. It makes me want to get back on the track ASAP!
Tuesday April 29: AM - I ran 4 miles this morning and my calf felt much better. I am glad I didn't run yesterday. PM – I put in 30 minutes on the elliptical and a had a good stretch.
Wednesday April 30: AM – Speed Day! I guess coach Mike got inspired by watching the miles on Monday night because he had me do some major speed work this morning. We are trying to get some of my speed back so we can start doing longer intervals and higher speeds. We will do some quick stuff for 4 – 5 weeks then start the mile repeats and more bulky workouts. Today was 200, 300, 400, 500, 400, 300, 200 interval set with jogging the same distance I ran as rest (ex: 200 jog after the 200). He wanted the 200s and 300s in 80 seconds per quarter pace, or faster (5:20 mile pace). The 400 was supposed to be in 83, and in the 500 I was supposed to pass the 400 meter mark in 85 seconds. I ran the intervals in 38, 56, 85, 1:52 (400 in 85), 85, 56, 40. Not too bad! I was disappointed with the 400s, but I think my overall fitness was holding me back more than my leg speed because my heart was pounding in between the intervals. I could tell right away I was going to be very sore tomorrow! With my longer warm up and cool down, I ran 5 miles PM – Elliptical 20 minutes and lifted weights. I was feeling pretty tired tonight!
Thursday May 1: AM – Soooooo Sore. I ran 5.5 nice and easy with one of my training groups and it was rough! I also woke up with a sore throat this morning. I would really rather not get sick this week considering I am already going to be a little low on miles.
Friday May 2: AM – Yep, I am sick. I woke up with a full blown cold. Usually with a cold I go ahead and run, but I really don't feel well so I didn't make it out the door. If I feel better later I might get on the elliptical. We will have to wait and see Saturday May 3: AM – I still felt like crud, but I really wanted to run my 8 mile long run. So I met my friends in Clayton for a run in the park. Ugh…I probably shouldn't have run, but I was glad I got through it. I also realized that it has been over a year since I have run a lap of Forest Park – woohoo! I ran a total of 8 miles.
Sunday May 4: AM – Today was supposed to be my off day, but since I didn't do anything on Friday, I decided to try to workout a little bit. Also, I flew out today for an extended business trip in Washington DC , so my reports may be a bit more sparse for the next few weeks. When I arrived in DC it was a beautiful day and tons of people were out, so I decided to try it. I ran 3 miles and felt pretty puny, but instead of stopping I got on the elliptical for 25 minute. Hopefully I will feel better next week.
Week 17 Total: 25.5 miles in 5 runs, 70 minutes elliptical, 2 days lifting, and a chest cold!
Week 18
Monday May 5: AM – I ran 5 miles on the Mall in DC – I love running in DC! Luckily, my hotel has a good elliptical too, so I got on for 20 minutes for an hour of total cardio. PM – I am not going to be afforded my usual lunch time lifting, so I lifted this evening.
Tuesday May 6: AM – Unfortunately, I don't think I am going to be able to get to a track while I am here in DC. They appear to be either a) far away or b) in a scary places. I might start to do track workouts on the weekend, but that is TBD. So, Coach Mike modified my workout to be done off track. I was supposed to do 3 x (400, 300, 200), instead I did 3 x ( 1:30 , 1:00 , :40). He calls this the Tegenkamp special. I ran the intervals as hard as possible and tried to simulate a track workout. I still felt sluggish from being sick, but my legs are feeling quicker. I need a new set of lungs! With my long warm up and cool down, I ran 6 miles. PM – I did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I also want to say hello and good luck to all of the speed work participants - I miss you guys!
Wednesday May 7: Today I did not get to work out in the morning because I had to move apartments. Note, when you get a room by the elevator and think “Hmm…it seems loud, but I think it will be fine” you are wrong. So at 5 am I was moving apartments, not running. PM – I hit the elliptical for an hour then I started my new weightlifting routine. Coach Mike loaned me a strength and conditioning DVD that was made by the coaching staff of the Kansas State track team. It is a great video and it is designed to strengthen the core to help prevent injuries. Um….yeah…it just embarrassed me! It made me realize how weak I am. Hopefully by the time I get back from DC I will have mastered it.
Thursday May 8: AM – I am sooooo sore – I can't decide if I should be mad at K-State for making the video or at Coach Mike for loaning it to me. I made it through 6 miles and finally started loosening up around mile 4. I also jumped on the elliptical for 15 minutes.
Friday May 9: AM – Apparently we are getting the rain here that you all have been dealing with all week. I ran 5 miles in a steady rain with added 4 x 1:00 “pick-ups” in the middle of my run. Next, I did 20 minutes on the elliptical to dry off. PM – Today was my second day of the track video workout – we will see how sore I am tomorrow! If anyone is interested in the details of the video, it is called “Building a Better Runner from the Ground Up” and you can check it out at http://www.runningdvds.com/ I realize I am complaining about it, but I really think it is going to help my running.
Saturday May 10: AM – I woke up early to do my long run and found that it was POURING down rain. I went out anyways, but after I went for about half mile I realized I needed to turn around and get a rain jacket. On my way back to my hotel, I was pondering how I was @#*^ sore from my workout yesterday and I felt crappy from my cold (which I still can't kick). I came to the conclusion that I could do this tomorrow and I went home and got an extra hour of sleep. Technically, I got in a mile!
Sunday May 11: AM - This morning was beautiful, I am glad I waited to do my run. I ran on a trail along the Potomac and did a loop around the Lincoln Memorial for a total of 8 miles. I was still sore from my workout but felt much better than yesterday.
Week 18 Total : 31 miles over 6 runs, 140 minutes elliptical, and 3 days lifting.
Week 19
Monday May 12: AM – I woke up to pouring rain. I decided to elliptical this morning and try to run in the evening. PM – it was still raining pretty hard, so I stayed in. In hind sight I wish I would have gone out. I hate starting the week with messed up mileage. However, I ended up getting in 65 minutes of elliptical in and I lifted.
Tuesday May 13: AM – HAPPY LIVESTRONG DAY! I ran 6 miles on the Mall this morning and my legs were a bit sluggish. I also got on the elliptical for 15 minutes. PM – I met a great group of young survivors at a LiveStrong event this evening. Turns out, several of them were from St. Louis – small world! Hope everyone had a good day and encourage you all to check out the LiveStrong website and join the LiveStrong Army to show your support for cancer programs.
Wednesday May 14: Today Coach Mike wanted me to run 2 x 10 minute tempo, going through the mile in 6:30 . This posed a problem because I don't really have any mile markers identified…… Luckily I found a route on “map my run” that showed a mile mapped on the Mall and I used it as my reference point for the tempos. Unfortunately, from the get go I felt sluggish. My legs were really tired and I went through the “mile” in 6:50 (yuck). I tried to finish it out strong and get on track for the next one. I went through the mile in the next one at 6:40 . I am not happy with the way this morning and I hope things turn around soon. I would like to race this weekend, but I am not sure if I am going to be able to get my legs under me. I knew that starting the new strength workout would make me tired for a while, so I am hoping it is just a matter of my body getting used to the work. Also, I am walking at least 2 miles a day just getting around in the city - I think that is adding up. I ended up running a total of 6.5 miles with my warm up and cool down. PM – I ellipticaled for 15 minutes and lifted weights.
Thursday May 15: AM – After yesterday's workout, Coach Mike advised me to take it easy (actually he ordered me!). I ran 2.5 very easy and laid off the elliptical. I did feel better than I did yesterday…but maybe that was my imagination!
Friday May 16: AM – I ran 4 miles with 6 x 100 sprints in the middle of my run. Oh yeah….It was pouring again! PM – I ellipticaled for 30 minutes and did some light abs and some upper body lifts, but I skipped the hard core workout. I would like to race a 3k this weekend…..hopefully the legs will come around.
Saturday May 17: AM – I did a 2 mile shake out run and I am going to give the race a try tomorrow.
Sunday May 18: AM – Capital Hill Classic 10k/3k – First of all, it was a well organized race and had a huge turn out for the 10k, approximately 2,000 runners. It benefited a public elementary school in the Capital Hill Neighborhood…thus the majority of my 3k competitors were under the age of 12. I ended up being the 2nd woman and ran a 11:28, about 6:10 pace. I went out a bit too fast, but not catastrophically. My legs felt good but I am still feeling the effects of my cold. I felt like I couldn't breathe, especially the first mile. With my warm up and cool down I ran a total of 6 miles. PM - I kept coughing after the race and felt worse as the day went on. I finally decided that I needed to go see a doctor about my chest cold. Well….that quickly turned into a trip the emergency room with lots of fun tests. Turns out, I have pneumonia. Ugh….at least I know why I have been dogging it for the last week or so.
Week 19 Total : 27.5 miles over 6 runs, 120 minutes elliptical, 2 days lifting, 1 race, and 1 trip to the ER.
Week 20
Monday May 19: Nothing – I am letting the antibiotics work their magic.
Tuesday May 20: Nothing – this bites.
Wednesday May 21: AM – Nothing, felt pretty cruddy when I woke up. PM – I felt better as the day went on so I think the drugs are doing their thing. I decided to try the elliptical and get in a weight session. I ellipticaled for 25 minutes and lifted weights….there was some coughing, but I felt pretty good.
Thursday May 22: AM – I gave running a shot this morning – 4 miles easy. My lungs were still sore but my legs felt great. I coughed the rest of the morning.
Friday May 23: AM – after yesterdays not so great run I decided to not run this morning. PM – by noon I felt guilty for not running, so I ellipticalled in the afternoon for 30 minutes and did my weights.
Saturday May 24: AM – I ran 5 miles down on the Mall and across the memorial bridge towards Arlington Cemetery . Everything was decked out for Memorial Day and the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle riders were coming into town. It made for a very entertaining run! I only ran 5 miles for the day, but I ended up walking at least three miles sight seeing. I finally think I am feeling better.
Sunday May 25: AM – None. I decided to take the day off to kick out the last of the sickness. I want to be ready to roll next week!
Week 20 Total: 9 miles on 2 runs, 55 minutes elliptical, and 2 days lifting.
Week 21
Monday May 26: HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! AM – Since I had not done anything hard since last Sunday, I moved my workout up a day and did it this morning on the Mall. I had 6 times 2 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy, which made for a fairly “bulky” workout. After the first one, my lungs were not happy. I was thinking I was going to have to can the workout, but I think they were just getting the last of the sickness out because after the first rest session, they were good to go. The workout went well, but I could tell I was getting fatigued by the end of the later intervals. Still, I made it through and hopefully I am on my way to a good week of training. With my warm up and cool down I ran 7 miles total. I hope all the U City runners had a good race!
Tuesday May 27: AM – I ran a 5 mile recovery run…which was rough. I think all the walking I did this weekend was harder on my legs than the workout! I also put in 20 minutes on the elliptical.
Wednesday May 28: AM – I was hoping by the middle of this trip I could phase out my elliptical day, but each week it seems like I need it. Thus, I did 60 minutes on the elliptical this morning…..it is getting old. PM – Lifted weights and got in a good stretch.
Thursday May 29: AM – Coach Mike wanted me to attempt the 2 x 10 min tempo workout again. The goal was to go through the mile in 6:30 . This time I did the workout on the Mount Vernon trail which runs along the Potomac River . The best feature is it has mile markers. I started the workout and felt much better than last time, but unfortunately the results were exactly the same. I went through the mile in 6:50 and on the second tempo, I timed the last mile that I ran and it was in 6:40 . Again, I felt much better, especially the second tempo. It was very frustrating and I am not sure if I am just not in 6:30 shape yet or if I don't have any sense of pace. I don't want to judge this workout until I have the opportunity to try it on the track. All told, I ran 7.5 miles (it was a long way to the mile marker!).
Friday May 30: AM – I woke up with a stomach ache! I didn't do anything. PM – I ran 5 miles this afternoon around the Tidal Basin, to the Jefferson Memorial and around the reflecting pool, dodging tourists all the way! I also did 20 minutes on the elliptical and did half of my weight workout.
Saturday May 31: AM – I ran nine miles along the C&O Canal Path in Georgetown . The canal used to be a functional channel and now they turned the tow path (where the mules used to pull the barges) into a 80+ mile dirt path for runners and walkers, much like the Katy Trail . It was a great place to do my longest run as of yet.
Sunday June 1: None – took the day off, but walked a few miles.
Week 21 Total: 33.5 miles on 5 runs, 100 minutes elliptical, and 3 days lifting.
Week 22
Monday June 2: AM – This is a race week for me – I am running the National Race for the Cure on Saturday. So, after my workout on Tuesday, my focus is going to be on getting my legs under me for the race. So, I started out the week with an easy 6 miles this morning and hit the elliptical for 20 minutes. PM – Weight routine.
Tuesday June 3: AM - I am doing a workout similar to what I did last Monday, this time I ran 6 x ( 2:30 on/2:30 off). It went really well – either I am getting into shape or I wasn't running my intervals hard enough. To insure it wasn't the latter, I really focused on pushing it the last two intervals. In total, I ran 7 miles for the day.
Wednesday June 4: AM – No running, Coach Mike wanted me to stick with the hour of elliptical. Next week, I swear I am done with it! I also did a modified weight routine, I did one set of every exercise instead of my usual two.Thursday June 5: AM – Ran some easy miles with 6 x 100 meter strides on The Mall. In total I ran about 4.5 miles. I did some time on the elliptical, but only about 15 minutes.
Friday June 6: AM – 2 mile shake out run and a good stretch – I am going to be ready to roll tomorrow.
Saturday June 7: AM – I woke up today to temps almost in the 80s and a dense layer of fog. I don't think I have ever seen a summer fog like this, I couldn't see the top of the Washington Monument . Ugh – it was nasty. Regardless, there was a great vibe at the race. In total, there were 45,000 runners and walkers and I donned the pink survivor shirt for the first time. In the starting corral, everyone was giving me high fives and hugs, it was fun. The race started well, and I tried to settle myself down so that I didn't go out too fast. I hit the mile in 6:30 as planned, but from that point on the race was pretty gross. I didn't slowdown too much in mile two, but the third mile was brutal. I hope it was just because I was not used to the heat, if not, then I am simply not in shape. The good part was that near the end of the race people started shouting “first survivor” – which was neat. I finished in 20:40 , about 40 seconds slower than I wanted, but it was great to be the first survivor. I got to give a lovely TV interview (of course it was about 45 seconds after I finished while I was still panting and covered in sweat) and I got to go through the VIP area and be introduced on stage at the awards ceremony. I didn't know how I would take the whole Komen experience and I found it very moving and all of the women in pink were inspiring. Plus, this race was big time – Condoleezza Rice was the starter, Cynthia Nixon from Sex and the City was there as a survivor, and Vanessa Carlton provided the music. I tried to convince them to let me meet Condi, but I was told she was already gone. Cynthia Nixon was nowhere to be found, and Vanessa Carlton walked right past me. Most famous entity I got to interact with was Vince, Vanessa Carlton's dog – oh well. Congrats to all the survivors out there who braved the heat – by 9:00 am the heat index was close to 100. Way to go!
Sunday June 8: I contemplated running today because my miles were so low this week. However, I really want to get in a good week of training so I decided against it. I did go on a really long walk – probably 4 – 5 miles, so I felt like it was a good recovery day.
Week 22 Total: 25 miles (yuck…too low…I wasn't able to cool down Saturday) on 5 runs, 95 minutes elliptical, and 1.5 days lifting.
Week 23
Monday June 9: AM – ran a good 6 miles and felt better than expected. I also got in 15 minutes on the elliptical. PM – weights.
Tuesday June 10: AM – Started to warm up for my workout and my legs felt really heavy. It was also 82 degrees at 5:00 am – yuck. I made the executive decision to make today my light day and do the workout tomorrow. I ran 2 miles and then got on the elliptical for 45 minutes.
Wednesday June 11: AM – I did another workout on The Mall. This week I finished the workout “trilogy” - 6 sets of 3:00 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy. It went fine…but I am ready to get back on the track next week and be able to do some timed work. Total distance for the day was 7. PM – weights.
Thursday June 12: AM – Ran 6 miles and expected it to be tough, but I was pleasantly surprised – I felt really good. Hmmmm….maybe things are starting to come around. I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical.
Friday June 13: AM – Ran 4 miles easy and did 30 minutes on the elliptical. PM – I am packing to go home so I didn't get in my weight work, bummer.
Saturday June 14: AM – Last run in DC! I decided to go for a 10 miler on the Mt. Vernon Trail and it went really well – I negative split the run! That hasn't been the norm since I started back, so I am very excited. In general it was just a great six weeks of training and I hit my three goals – start a new weight routine, phase out my elliptical day, and get my long run up to 10 miles. I am ready to head back to St. Louis and get to work.
Sunday June 15: AM – None! Day off (unpack).
Week 23 Total: 35 miles over 6 runs (woohoo!), 115 minutes elliptical, and 2 days lifting.
Week 24
Monday June 16: AM – 6 miles in St. Louis ! I also did 15 minutes on the elliptical. PM – Weights.
Tuesday June 17: AM – Track time! I ran two sets of 5 x 400 with 200 meter jog between each rep and 4:00 minutes between sets. It didn't go as well as I hoped – I wanted the 400s to be in 85, instead they were 84,85,86,86,87 – 84, 87, 89, 91, 88. The conditions were perfect, so I think this is an accurate representation of my fitness level. Hopefully in a few weeks the 85s will roll, but I definitely am not there yet. I did a total of 6 miles with my warm up and cool down. PM – I returned to timing the Tuesday night track group – WAY TO GO GROUP 2!! I even did some drills while I was running across the infield.
Wednesday June 18: AM – 2 miles easy. PM – 40 minutes on the elliptical. No weights.
Thursday June 19: AM – I did 8 x 30 second hill-ups in the middle of a 5 mile run. I even had company on the hills when a friend from Tuesday night ran by and joined me for a few hills! I also got on the elliptical for 20 minutes. Friday June 20: AM – 2 miles easy – I want to get my legs under me for the Race for the Cure tomorrow. PM – I did a light weight session and had a good stretch.
Saturday June 21: AM – Race for the Cure!! This was my first St. Louis Race for the Cure and it was a great experience. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the cause, especially Team Sutton. A huge “thank you” goes to Pete, James, Matt, and Andy who ran the race with me – you guys are the best. I wasn't planning to race it, but I ended up running 20:08 (thanks to the guys listed above) and was the first survivor across the line. It was quite a rush to be able to run well in front of the home town crowd and my husband and I will be forever grateful to the running community for all of their support this past year.
Sunday June 22: AM – I ran a great 10 miler and again negative split the run (with the second half being uphill!). Maybe I should just run 10 milers everyday.
Week 24 Totals : 36.5 miles over 6 runs, 75 minutes elliptical, and 2 days lifting.
Week 25
Monday June 23: AM – Ran 3 miles easy. PM – lifted Weights and did 20 minutes on the elliptical
Tuesday June 24: AM – I was on the track this morning for 6 x 500, with 300 meters jog for rest. My goal was to come through the 400 in 88 and I managed hit the times within a second, so I was pleased. I ran a total of 6 for the morning. PM – ran a mile at the track workout.
Wednesday June 25: AM – I wasn't feeling well so I did 3 easy and then 40 minutes on the elliptical. PM – I still didn't feel well so I skipped weights.
Thursday June 26: Sick :( Slept all day!
Friday June 27: AM – Feeling much better, so I decided to get in the workout I was supposed to do on Thursday. I did a long warm up (3 miles) and then did 6 hill repeats on a long hill (about twice as long as last week's). I ran a total of 7 miles. PM – Weights.
Saturday June 27: AM – I made a bad decision…I tried to run a long run with my friend who was an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. Doh! I got dropped like a rock around 6.5 miles and trotted the last 3.5. Though it was painful, I enjoyed the company for the first part of the run!
Sunday June 28: AM – Since I took Thrusday off, I ran 7 today to try to keep my mileage somewhat on track. I was very sore from the hills/lifting/10 mile sprint. I ran it very easy to work out the kinks.
Week 25 Totals: 37 miles over 7 runs, 60 minutes elliptical, and 2 days lifting.
Week 26
Monday June 29: AM – 6 miles and felt much better than I did on Sunday. PM – lifted and did 20 minutes on the elliptical.
Tuesday June 30: AM – I warmed up for my track workout and from the start my legs were dead. I think I overdid it with the lifting yesterday. I told myself it would be fine, but after I attempted my first interval and was 3-4 seconds off the first 400, I decided to bag it. I rarely do this, but I felt horrible and I knew that I wouldn't hit my times. Instead I went on a run for a total of 6 miles and I felt sluggish and sore the entire way. PM – I ran a mile trying to loosen up. Coach Mike prescribed some 200s for Wednesday in hopes of getting my legs back for the mile on Friday.
Wednesday July 1: AM – Due to circumstances beyond my control I wasn't able to run. Ugh! PM – I did half of my weight routine and 60 minutes on the elliptical. Oh well, you win some you lose some. I probably needed the rest more than I did the 200s, but it is still annoying to miss a workout.
Thursday July 3: AM - 3 miles easy.
Friday July 4: AM – Macklind Mile! I questioned my sanity all morning – why did I think running an all-out mile was a good idea? I warmed up with the gals on the Big River team and then ran as fast as my legs would go! I was rather surprised by the outcome – 5:42 . I wasn't expecting to break 6:00 , so I was pleased with the time. Plus, the race itself was a blast, Matt and Ben did a great job putting on a fun event. Thanks to all the volunteers too! I can't wait to do it again next year and set a PR for the course. I did a long cool down with Julie, Jess, Margaret, and Brian for a total of 6.5 for the day.
Saturday July 5: AM – 2 miles in Jackson , Mississippi (on my way to the beach!).
Sunday July 6: AM – Where some distance runners go to the mountains for altitude training, I am going to the gulf coast of Alabama to train in the extreme heat and humidity. I figured it would be good prep work for August in St. Louis . I ran 11 miles and felt surprisingly good after racing then jumping in the car for two days.
Week 26 Totals: Week 23 Total: 35.5 miles over 7 runs, 80 minutes elliptical, and 1.5 days lifting.
Six Month Review – I can't believe I have been running for 6 months! In 6 months I managed to go from 4 minutes on the elliptical to 35+ miles a week. Not too shabby! I am thrilled to be running as much as I am and hope I can continue to improve over the next 6 months. To start out my next training phase, I am going to try to get in 8 weeks of solid training – no races. Coach Mike and I are also making some changes to my weights and schedule. I am going to cut my lifting down to 2 times a week (I think I was overdoing it) and start adding a day of just core work. I am also going to start focusing more on the quality of my long runs. Hopefully I will be able to run some longer races in the fall. The goal is to be at 55 miles by late fall and 60 by Christmas. If all goes well, we will decide at that point when I will run my first marathon. Woohoo!
Week 27
Monday July 7: AM – 5 easy miles on the same flat and boring course – there is not much variety down here!
Tuesday July 8: AM – I drove around town, but could not find a track, so I had to turn my workout into a fartlek. I was supposed to do 6 x 600 meters, with 400 meters jog. Instead I did 6 x 2:15 hard with 3:00 recovery. It went well, except that it was very hard to judge how hard I was going. Also, it was again flat and boring! I did a long cool down for a total of 6.5 miles.
Wednesday July 9: AM – I found a trail! Thank goodness, I was about to go mad running along the same road. My legs were tired, but I had a great 6 mile run where I enjoyed the scenery and the shade.
Thrusday July 10: AM – I returned to the trail for another 6 miles. I also did 8 x 30 seconds strides to work on some turn over.
Friday July 11: AM – Yuck - it was hot and humid today, but I managed to make it through 11 miles on the trail. I had to set up water at my car and run back and forth a couple times. I figure St. Louis is only a few weeks away from this weather, so I might as well get used to it.
Saturday July 12: AM – I wasn't able to make it to the trail, so my last run in Alabama was on the roads. I ran an easy 5.5. Luckily it started raining during the run which made it bearable.
Sunday July 13: Off!
Week 27 Total: Week 23 Total: 40 miles over 6 runs, and ocean swimming!
Week 2 (28)