Ummm.. my hip is fine. Hopefully by next season I will be over my injury paranoia.
Really all that happened is that I pushed my speed last weekend and got sore in a place I didn't expect. I might have lengthened my stride quite a bit because both hip flexors were complaining this week. However, even with my regular workouts this week, including a treadmill 5K this morning, it's been a little bit better every day. Today I have hardly felt a thing.
My plan is just to run my race at whatever pace feels comfortable. I just really want to enjoy myself. And if that means I am last to finish, so be it!
I picked up my packet. The windbreaker and hat are really nice, and I also bought a "Will Run for Chocolate" sweatshirt for $20. Couldn't resist... and besides, the $20 is actually kind of a steal.
Wish me luck on Sunday! I can't wait.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Injury rears its ugly head. AGAIN.
I did a nice 5 miler with my friends from the racing team last Wednesday. We decided to keep meeting through the winter, using our own version of the workout schedule. Since continuing through the winter makes us feel hard core, we dubbed ourselves the Wednesday Warriors.
Friday I did 5K on the treadmill, as per usual.
I had originally intended to only do 5 miles or so this weekend, along with a bike ride. But because both weather and ridiculous bike rental rates mixed the bike ride idea, I decided to go for ten miles again. I got pretty tired near the end, and decided to quit once I knew I was near my race distance of 9.3 miles. When I got home, I mapped my route and discovered I had done about 9.67 miles at a 9:40 pace. No wonder I was tired, right?
I felt fine the rest of that day and most of the day Sunday, but then Sunday night my right hip started to hurt. Not constantly, and not really in response to movement or weight bearing, but every once and a while it would start to ache deep down in the joint, then it would fade in 10 minutes or so.
This made me so mad I could hardly function. It was not limiting my mobility, nor was the pain all that bad. But the location of it made me think it might be a bone thing rather than a muscle thing, meaning I should really not run on it. I couldn't believe another injury was going to mess up my last race of the season.
I got up Monday and there was no pain, so I did a 5K outside. Unfortunately, my hip bothered me the rest of the day. Same kind of pain, and not in response to any particular movement.
Today, I haven't felt anything but a few twinges that may have just been psychological. I'm still not sure if yesterday's issues were due to my run that morning, or just lingering from before that.
I haven't decided exactly what I am going to do. I really, really want to run my race.
I'm so annoyed with myself and just life in general. I just HAD to go for that last ten miler.
If I don't have any pain tomorrow, I'll probably go running with the racing team people tomorrow evening. If it flares after that, I might have to sit the chocolate race out.
Friday I did 5K on the treadmill, as per usual.
I had originally intended to only do 5 miles or so this weekend, along with a bike ride. But because both weather and ridiculous bike rental rates mixed the bike ride idea, I decided to go for ten miles again. I got pretty tired near the end, and decided to quit once I knew I was near my race distance of 9.3 miles. When I got home, I mapped my route and discovered I had done about 9.67 miles at a 9:40 pace. No wonder I was tired, right?
I felt fine the rest of that day and most of the day Sunday, but then Sunday night my right hip started to hurt. Not constantly, and not really in response to movement or weight bearing, but every once and a while it would start to ache deep down in the joint, then it would fade in 10 minutes or so.
This made me so mad I could hardly function. It was not limiting my mobility, nor was the pain all that bad. But the location of it made me think it might be a bone thing rather than a muscle thing, meaning I should really not run on it. I couldn't believe another injury was going to mess up my last race of the season.
I got up Monday and there was no pain, so I did a 5K outside. Unfortunately, my hip bothered me the rest of the day. Same kind of pain, and not in response to any particular movement.
Today, I haven't felt anything but a few twinges that may have just been psychological. I'm still not sure if yesterday's issues were due to my run that morning, or just lingering from before that.
I haven't decided exactly what I am going to do. I really, really want to run my race.
I'm so annoyed with myself and just life in general. I just HAD to go for that last ten miler.
If I don't have any pain tomorrow, I'll probably go running with the racing team people tomorrow evening. If it flares after that, I might have to sit the chocolate race out.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Almost done with long runs!
I set out last Saturday with the intention of running about 8.5 miles. I didn't know exactly how far I had to go to get to that mileage, so I decided to go by time -- I ran 50 minutes out and 50 minutes back. It was a really nice day!
When I got back, I went to gmap-pedometer.com to see if I could figure out how far I went, and I discovered that they had added the lakefront path to their maps! Very exciting. And even better, I estimated that I actually ran about 9.5 miles in 1 hour 40 minutes, a pace of about 10:20 per mile! Very speedy. I think running on the treadmill might be helping my speed because it's getting my body used to a ten-minute mile again.
Volunteering at the marathon last Sunday was wicked cold. It was in the low thirties for most of the day. That was good for the runners, but bad for those of us standing still for 6 hours holding chilled liquids. But, I survived, and I had a lot of fun. My left hand was a bit frostbitten but otherwise I was no worse for wear.
Last Monday I ran 5K on the treadmill, remembering to change the incline this time.
Wednesday I went for a short run with my friends who were recovering from the marathon. Then we had a beer. Best speed workout ever. :-)
Friday I did another treadmill 5K.
Saturday I got up and looked at the weather and radar. The radar was pretty clear, and the forecast said there was about a 15% chance of rain all morning. So, I figured it might sprinkle a bit, but it would be fine if I wore a hat to keep it off my face.
So, I started running, shooting for 10 miles. And for my 5 miles out, it was really nice. Then, exactly as I was turning around, at the furthest possible point from home, know what happened?
You think it started raining, didn't you?
Oh no. It didn't start raining. IT STARTED HAILING.
It was small hail, but it still was a "what the..?" kind of moment. But, I didn't have my train card or any cash, so I had little choice but to keep running.
Five minutes later the hail stopped. But then it started to rain.
With about 4 miles to go, I was running on the part of the path that is directly next the lake. The waves were crashing up onto the concrete and I was running into the wind. The water was starting to sink through my shoes. I should have been miserable. But you know what I was thinking?
"Hot damn, I feel alive!"
It was actually a lot of fun running through the rain! I felt like I was doing personal battle with Mother Nature and winning.
With about a mile and a half to go, it stopped raining, and then I felt kind of uncomfortable because I was wet and cold. But I finished my ten miles in just under 1 hour 40 -- a ten-minute mile pace!
All in all, not such a bad day for me.
Today I did another treadmill 5K -- totally uninteresting. But at least I had a good story to tell.
I'm planning on running about 5 miles next Saturday, plus a bike ride, as a taper for the Hot Chocolate 15K. Then the following Sunday is the race. Then no more long runs til the spring!
When I got back, I went to gmap-pedometer.com to see if I could figure out how far I went, and I discovered that they had added the lakefront path to their maps! Very exciting. And even better, I estimated that I actually ran about 9.5 miles in 1 hour 40 minutes, a pace of about 10:20 per mile! Very speedy. I think running on the treadmill might be helping my speed because it's getting my body used to a ten-minute mile again.
Volunteering at the marathon last Sunday was wicked cold. It was in the low thirties for most of the day. That was good for the runners, but bad for those of us standing still for 6 hours holding chilled liquids. But, I survived, and I had a lot of fun. My left hand was a bit frostbitten but otherwise I was no worse for wear.
Last Monday I ran 5K on the treadmill, remembering to change the incline this time.
Wednesday I went for a short run with my friends who were recovering from the marathon. Then we had a beer. Best speed workout ever. :-)
Friday I did another treadmill 5K.
Saturday I got up and looked at the weather and radar. The radar was pretty clear, and the forecast said there was about a 15% chance of rain all morning. So, I figured it might sprinkle a bit, but it would be fine if I wore a hat to keep it off my face.
So, I started running, shooting for 10 miles. And for my 5 miles out, it was really nice. Then, exactly as I was turning around, at the furthest possible point from home, know what happened?
You think it started raining, didn't you?
Oh no. It didn't start raining. IT STARTED HAILING.
It was small hail, but it still was a "what the..?" kind of moment. But, I didn't have my train card or any cash, so I had little choice but to keep running.
Five minutes later the hail stopped. But then it started to rain.
With about 4 miles to go, I was running on the part of the path that is directly next the lake. The waves were crashing up onto the concrete and I was running into the wind. The water was starting to sink through my shoes. I should have been miserable. But you know what I was thinking?
"Hot damn, I feel alive!"
It was actually a lot of fun running through the rain! I felt like I was doing personal battle with Mother Nature and winning.
With about a mile and a half to go, it stopped raining, and then I felt kind of uncomfortable because I was wet and cold. But I finished my ten miles in just under 1 hour 40 -- a ten-minute mile pace!
All in all, not such a bad day for me.
Today I did another treadmill 5K -- totally uninteresting. But at least I had a good story to tell.
I'm planning on running about 5 miles next Saturday, plus a bike ride, as a taper for the Hot Chocolate 15K. Then the following Sunday is the race. Then no more long runs til the spring!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
getting colder...
Well, I've started wearing long pants and sometimes even long sleeves on my runs. I think it's officially fall.
I forgot my watch when I went to speed work last week, so I have no idea whether I succeeded at the 200m cut downs. I ran four sets though, when the coach only suggested three, so I felt ambitious. Most of the rest of the team is tapering for the marathon, and there's really no reason for me to do that.
I did 5K on the treadmill on Friday at a 10-minute mile. I forgot to change the incline, though, so it didn't really mimic running outside. Oh well.
I ran 8 miles on the lakefront path on Saturday morning. I felt pretty good doing it, too. I didn't get tired until the last mile. I think my pace was somewhere between a 10- and 11-minute mile.
Then I ran 5K outside on Sunday (I didn't want to have to run Monday morning because my mom was staying with me Sunday night). I went around the parks again -- it's a nice route. Eventually I might experiment with running through the parks, but I might have to get a GPS for that because otherwise it would be hard to know how far I was going.
I went to speed work last night. We did a mile repeat, then a 1000m repeat, then an 800m repeat. It's supposed to be a really good workout for preparing for the marathon Sunday. My friends left after that, but I did 3 more easy laps to get my mileage for the night up to 5 miles. I'm a control freak like that.
Tomorrow I need to do another 5K, then Saturday I'm shooting for 8.5 miles. Then Sunday I am volunteering at the marathon, which entails being on my feet for almost 8 hours and becoming completely covered in Gatorade. Yet I'm really looking forward to it.
I forgot my watch when I went to speed work last week, so I have no idea whether I succeeded at the 200m cut downs. I ran four sets though, when the coach only suggested three, so I felt ambitious. Most of the rest of the team is tapering for the marathon, and there's really no reason for me to do that.
I did 5K on the treadmill on Friday at a 10-minute mile. I forgot to change the incline, though, so it didn't really mimic running outside. Oh well.
I ran 8 miles on the lakefront path on Saturday morning. I felt pretty good doing it, too. I didn't get tired until the last mile. I think my pace was somewhere between a 10- and 11-minute mile.
Then I ran 5K outside on Sunday (I didn't want to have to run Monday morning because my mom was staying with me Sunday night). I went around the parks again -- it's a nice route. Eventually I might experiment with running through the parks, but I might have to get a GPS for that because otherwise it would be hard to know how far I was going.
I went to speed work last night. We did a mile repeat, then a 1000m repeat, then an 800m repeat. It's supposed to be a really good workout for preparing for the marathon Sunday. My friends left after that, but I did 3 more easy laps to get my mileage for the night up to 5 miles. I'm a control freak like that.
Tomorrow I need to do another 5K, then Saturday I'm shooting for 8.5 miles. Then Sunday I am volunteering at the marathon, which entails being on my feet for almost 8 hours and becoming completely covered in Gatorade. Yet I'm really looking forward to it.
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