Running is fun again!

Sunday I did about 4.5 miles and had fun doing it! Woo hoo! I ran again on Tuesday and that was also fun. Well, it was sort of boring because I ran 3 miles of laps at the track. But, I'll take boring over painful any day. I even spent some time catching up on my Daily Mile posts and updating my calendar with my running and workouts. In addition to running I managed some boot camp sessions too. And I did some of my PT exercises. I can feel myself getting stronger again. When the hubby and I walked to the close Starbucks I didn't feel tired or like I was working to keep up with him. Yay!!

Now, I must keep going. The Georgetown to Idaho Springs half is August 11th. That's only 4 weeks or so away. Yikes! I need to not miss anymore long runs. And I also need to listen closely to my body. My knees don't like running laps so much. The treadmill is ok, especially at the Y. I just have to keep up the maintenance miles. (I missed yesterday.) I can do this. Even if I have to walk parts of the half, I can do it.

I still need to find a stretching or yoga class. That's still the missing piece to this puzzle. Those classes at the Y are not at a convenient time for me. Darn this working for a living business.

This Heat is Depressing

There have been a few distractions keeping me from my blog writing duties. First things first...

Miss Ava Nicole arrived on the planet about 2 weeks ago. :-)

She is my step granddaughter and is the most beautiful baby ever. She's a good sleeper and we all enjoy holding her. She visits us often. :-) I've skipped at least one run just because I was holding her. :-)

I also spent one week (the same week Ava was born) playing host to about 40 polar librarians. Here we are at a tour of the National Ice Core Lab.

That was a big distraction and was also the reason I didn't register to run the Estes Park half marathon this year.

I also tried to start wearing contacts last week and that didn't go well at all. It just made me frustrated and gave me headaches. I was hoping they would be a more comfortable alternative to wearing my glasses when I work out but, with the heat and the fires, this just wasn't a very good time of year to try them out. And speaking of...

The heat has been ridiculous. We've had record setting temperatures. For some reason, I am unable to cope with it these days. I had a headache for a full week as I tried to acclimate. We had one day at work without air conditioning. That didn't help at all. I had a bit of a melt down, feeling sorry for myself because I felt crappy for a full week. I thought about giving up on this running season until it cooled off. But then I got some uplifting advice and good suggestions from the running club and decided I should just relax a bit.

My knee is also still in recovery mode but feels pretty good at slow, short, easy distances. But, I've still been very inconsistent. I went to physical therapy on the Monday after the conference. I have 3 exercises and 1 stretch that I am supposed to be doing once a week for 3-4 weeks. I have a follow up appointment to keep me honest. It has been hard to keep up with it but I've got about 2 weeks before the next appointment so I'd better get going.

I'm trying to start up at boot camp again. I now have a membership to the YMCA and will attend the 9am MWF boot camp in Boulder. I've also run a couple of times at the Arvada Y. I think that will help with my weak glute muscles the PT says I have. And I got registered for the FitLinxx which is a computer program that records which fitness machines you use, your reps, how much you lift, and all sorts of stuff. That should keep me honest too.

I'm still registered for the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half but I'm not super focused on it right now. I really just want to get consistent and healthy. I'm no longer focused on the 2:30 goal. I am still focused on the Bear Chase trail half though. It's September 30th so I have more time to prepare for that one. But we shall see how things play out.

So, tomorrow I'll be running 4-5 slow miles with the club. And after that, I will celebrate with beer and french fries at the Arvada Beer Company with my love. :-)

First Run of the Summer Season

I met the club and my sister at 7am for the first training run of the season. I'm starting on the beginner plan which called for 2 miles. We did a run/walk combo on and out and back route. It felt good to be out on the road again. My knee started to hurt just a little right at the end of the route. But, I'd brought my bag of frozen peas for my knee and that really helped. We did a little bit of stretching after the run as well and had a cool down walk at the end too. I probably should have stretched more. I need to remember to ice tomorrow too. I've been prescribed two weeks of icing whether I work out or not.

Tuesday we'll be going to track to run laps. Then I need to run one more day this week totaling three training runs for the week. And, I also need to call to make my PT appointment.

Day one in the books.

Recharged and Focused

Ahhh... vacation... It was awesome! Spent some quality time with the hubby. Visited with my dad in Houston and celebrated with my mom in New Orleans. Yay!

 And now, to the task at hand...

I had my second visit with the ortho doc. She is great. I'm so glad I lucked out and picked the sports medicine doctor. She thinks it's probably patellar tendinitis. She couldn't find anything structurally wrong and nothing hurt when she manipulated and pushed on my knee. She's recommended PT to strengthen the smaller core muscles to help keep the knee from working harder than it has to. She also prescribed ice for 2 weeks not just after a workout. And suggested really easing back into the training so I don't over tax things or make things worse. All of that is what I was expecting her to say and was the best case scenario really. Based on all of what we talked about, it sort of fits into what I was thinking. I'm not training properly.

Since stopping boot camp however long ago it was that my fabulous trainer moved away, I have been responsible for my own cross training. That never goes as well as when I have a good trainer, even though I know all the routines and what I should be doing and how hard I should be working. I just don't do as well on my own. So, I lost some of that core running strength I'd built up with her. Then, I lost my consistent running partners to their other activities. So, even my running was inconsistent. Things started to hurt just enough when I joined the ARC, just enough to make me slow down and feel bad about it. So, that led to the injury.

It's a new season now though. The ARC starts their summer training session this Sunday. I plan to be there running as a beginner and training for my next half marathon. For the first time, I am actually training for the same race that the rest of the club is training for. So, I don't have to make anything up. I just have to show up. And, one of my original boot camp buddies has been working out at the Y near work and she likens it to the good ol' days. I'm going to go to those sessions with her as often as I can.

Life is still pretty busy with work and stuff but if I want to be better, faster, and stronger, I just have to focus on the work and get it done. It's go time. And it's my time. I'm excited to get going again. :-)

Half Fanatics

http://www.halffanatics.com/

The half is still my favorite distance. I hope to fall in love with it all over again soon.

:-)

Good news, bad news

Today I ran the Westminster Women's Classic 5K. It's a race open only to women and was held on Mother's Day (today). There are 3 events - a 10K, 5K, and 2 mile walk. A while back I'd planned to run the 10K since I was, at that time, in half marathon form. But, today, I was glad to only have to run the 5K.

The good news? I ran my second fastest 5K ever - 33:22! The bad news? My knee hurts (still) and I walked some towards the end. WTH?

I'm not sure what's going on but it seems to be something related to how tight I am. When I went to the ortho doc after the Platte River half, she said I needed to rest and stretch and ice. I rested. I'm really really bad about stretching. I iced. I also didn't run much between that race and my next one - Greenland 8 mile. See that race report for my woes during that event.

I didn't run again after Greenland until today. My knee started hurting almost immediately, within the first mile. I almost stopped and quit. But, I didn't. I don't think I slowed down right away but I probably did. The route was part cement trail and part dirt/gravel trail. Once I hit the halfway, I just sucked it up. But, during the last mile, I had to take some short walk breaks. That sucked mentally but, there wasn't much else I could do at that point.

I'm thinking of taking to the stationary bike for a bit and picking up the crossfit again. I need to follow the doctor's instructions (and the sports masseuse from today as well) and stretch, foam roll, and strengthen my muscles around the knee. I read in a Runner's World article that mini burpees are good for strengthening the knees. Burpees are my kryptonite. It's time to face it though.

All of this begins after the vacation which begins one week from today! Woot!

Greenland 8M Report

Well, I finished. Still waiting for the official results. My Garmin says I did 7.72 miles in 1:51:04.

It wasn't a terribly difficult course. Wide single and double track, sandy and gravelly, no shade, one loop (for the 8M) with one hill. If only I had trained....

The course was not technical at all. Wide single and double track lanes easily accommodated the runners (and their dogs). The start was mostly sandy and gravelly. Yuck. I should have worn gaiters. I hate getting rocks in my socks. The sand made it fairly tough going. I stopped a few times to pull the small bits of gravel out of my socks. The first three and a half miles were relatively flat. Gradual uphill for the most part that had one minor noticeable hill.

The first aid station was at the start of the one hill in the loop. I didn't think it was too terribly steep. I would have really enjoyed it if I had trained properly for this one. At the top of the hill was this:

It seemed a fairly ominous sign. But, stopping to take a photo of it made me think back to all of my "first" races when I was just out to have fun, enjoy the moment, take pictures, and finish. While stopped, I was taking some self portraits when another runner asked if I wanted her to take my picture for me. She said she wasn't in a hurry and happily took two shots of me. She was running the 50K so we were both at about the halfway mark of our races. I wonder how she did?

When I started up again after the short break, my knee started hurting. :-( I was afraid of that but was surprised it happened so quickly. There was a smaller hill just beyond this one, which was the actual peak. At the top, I high-fived the guy cheering us at the top and started to run down. Only three more miles to the finish and it was to be all downhill. However, my knee did not like it at all. I was sad to find that I couldn't run the downhill finish.

Here are some photos of the course:

 I also ran this race with my new trail shoes. I bought a pair of Montrail Mountain Masochist trail shoes. I'd only worn them one time before this race. They still looked brand new and very clean at the start. I was worried they hadn't been broken in enough to wear them but they worked out just fine. The trail though, wasn't very technical so the shoes with the rock plate did seem a little stiff. I think the shoes will be great on more technical trails like the Bear Chase trail half. :-)

The last three miles were the hardest I've ever done. My knee and hip were hurting quite a lot. I would try to run for a bit but there was no way I could manage it. I tried to stay out of the way of the other runners making their way to the finish. It was the longest 3 miles ever. Eventually, the finish line appeared and I ran to cross it. 1:59:16 was my official finish time. Phew. It was over.

It wasn't the way I planned to finish my first trail race but, I'll take it. And now, for a much needed break. My vacation begins in one week.