Training marches on.
My schedule was rather screwy this week, mostly due to the weather, but I managed to get all my workouts in.
Sunday was supposed to be my day off, but the forecast said rain for both Monday and Tuesday during commute times, making the idea of a bike commute on either day less than appealing. So, I went for a bike ride on Sunday, saying to myself that I'd take either Monday or Tuesday off, instead.
On Monday morning, it was not raining, but it was supposed to rain Tuesday morning. So, I went out and ran 3 miles on Monday. (It did not rain during either leg of my commute, so biking would have been fine, but... well, no matter.)
I did not run on Tuesday morning, but by the afternoon they were predicting storms for Wednesday evening, so, with a curse to the fleeting weather patterns, I decided to put my rest day off one more day. The training plan said 4-5 hills, so I ran a mile and a half to a sledding hill near Soldier Field and ran up it 5 times. Then ran home and promptly went in the pool -- it was a hot day.
I ended up being glad for moving all my workouts, because it actually DID storm on Wednesday, with tornado sirens going off and winds that swayed the building enough to make my doors creak.
Thursday I bike commuted. I was a little afraid the path would be impassable in spots because of the storm, but there were only a few puddles.
I took Friday off work, and did my long run. (I knew I would not have time on Saturday.) I knew I only HAD to do 10 miles, but tried to prepare myself for 12. I used an energy gel for the first time (a CLIF shot), which I took after 6 miles. I also stopped every mile or so to take a drink at a drinking fountain, trying to simulate what the marathon conditions would be like. The gel actually worked really well for me. I was able to complete the 12 miles without much struggle, and I did not finish feeling completely drained or ravenous.
Yesterday I went out in the morning and did my last workout of the week -- a four-mile run.
Still no major shin problems. Some smarting today, but I have high hopes that it will be gone by Tuesday when I have to run next.
It's a pretty easy week, actually:
Monday: bike
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: speed work (or 3-4 long hills, if I do it on my own)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 6 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
That's right! The long run is only 5 miles this week! Hooray!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
16 weeks until the marathon
I don't want to jinx myself, but things are going quite well.
After a day off and a day of bike commuting, my shins were feeling fine by Tuesday. I did my usual 3-mile loop around Millennium and Grant Parks in the am. Didn't wear my watch, as I'm not caring much about speed these days.
Wednesday we did a really fun speed workout! We did a 150-meter sprint (which is not so bad, because it's not even half a lap) followed by either 50 meters of skipping or 10 hops on each foot and a slow jog for whatever part of the 50 meters remained. Repeat 12-20 times. As I generally choose the lower end of the range, I did 12 repeats. It was actually a really hard workout, cardiovascularly speaking, but it was short and sweet. It was really perfect too, because my training schedule said I should do a 4-mile Farlek, and with the warm up and cool down runs, that pretty much what it turned out to be.
Thursday I bike commuted (and almost took out a few small children on the Museum Campus, as it is free week at the Shedd).
Friday I was all ready to go do 4 miles outside when an unnervingly loud crack of thunder sent me to the fitness room instead. I did 4 miles at a 10-minute pace on the treadmill while watching them show the opening of the Harry Potter themepark on the news. (Someone take me!)
Today I started early on my 10-mile run. I had some pain in my upper right shin immediately, but I hoped it would go away after a mile or so. After all, I had not had any shin trouble all week, not even during that hopping-skipping madness at speed training! After 1.5 miles, it had not gone away and I briefly stopped to rub the offending muscle. This made no difference. The pain stayed -- not getting worse, but not going away.
Truthfully, I'm not sure exactly what happened after that. I was approaching Navy Pier, and then I got on the part of the path that is literally right next to the water. They were holding a swim clinic of some sort for would-be triathletes, which distracted me, and then I must have gone into the elusive runner's trance. Before I knew it, I was at the 5-mile mark, my turnaround point. I stopped there briefly to assess the situation, but my shin didn't hurt any more, even when I did various jumps and knee bends designed to induce pain. So, I kept going. I did the latter 5 miles without incident, finishing in 1:47 -- under my goal pace of 11-minute miles.
I was leery of it coming back to bite me, though, so I sat still for a while, then showered and read a couple chapters of my book, then took the plunge and walked to the grocery store and back. Still no issues. I won't be entirely convinced everything is ok until tomorrow, but I remain optimistic.
So, the training marches on, and every day I feel a little more confident about my chances of making it to the start line. (The finish line is another matter entirely. I can't yet comprehend repeating what I did this morning and still having 16.2 miles to go. But, one day at a time.)
Here is next week's plan, which is remarkably similar to this week...
Monday/Tuesday: bike/3 miles
Wednesday: speed work (the training plan says 4-5 hills, which is just not going to happen unless we go to Montrose -- so I'm content to just do whatever Coach has planned)
Thursday/Friday: bike/4 miles
Saturday: 10 miles. The plan says 12 miles, with the caveat that if you are training for your first marathon, you can just do 10. If I feel really good after 10, I might keep going -- but let's face it. That's not likely. Seeing as my goal, above anything else, is to avoid injury, I will do the minimum amount of mileage the pros allow.
Looks like the weather may thwart one of my bike commutes, but I'm hoping for the best.
After a day off and a day of bike commuting, my shins were feeling fine by Tuesday. I did my usual 3-mile loop around Millennium and Grant Parks in the am. Didn't wear my watch, as I'm not caring much about speed these days.
Wednesday we did a really fun speed workout! We did a 150-meter sprint (which is not so bad, because it's not even half a lap) followed by either 50 meters of skipping or 10 hops on each foot and a slow jog for whatever part of the 50 meters remained. Repeat 12-20 times. As I generally choose the lower end of the range, I did 12 repeats. It was actually a really hard workout, cardiovascularly speaking, but it was short and sweet. It was really perfect too, because my training schedule said I should do a 4-mile Farlek, and with the warm up and cool down runs, that pretty much what it turned out to be.
Thursday I bike commuted (and almost took out a few small children on the Museum Campus, as it is free week at the Shedd).
Friday I was all ready to go do 4 miles outside when an unnervingly loud crack of thunder sent me to the fitness room instead. I did 4 miles at a 10-minute pace on the treadmill while watching them show the opening of the Harry Potter themepark on the news. (Someone take me!)
Today I started early on my 10-mile run. I had some pain in my upper right shin immediately, but I hoped it would go away after a mile or so. After all, I had not had any shin trouble all week, not even during that hopping-skipping madness at speed training! After 1.5 miles, it had not gone away and I briefly stopped to rub the offending muscle. This made no difference. The pain stayed -- not getting worse, but not going away.
Truthfully, I'm not sure exactly what happened after that. I was approaching Navy Pier, and then I got on the part of the path that is literally right next to the water. They were holding a swim clinic of some sort for would-be triathletes, which distracted me, and then I must have gone into the elusive runner's trance. Before I knew it, I was at the 5-mile mark, my turnaround point. I stopped there briefly to assess the situation, but my shin didn't hurt any more, even when I did various jumps and knee bends designed to induce pain. So, I kept going. I did the latter 5 miles without incident, finishing in 1:47 -- under my goal pace of 11-minute miles.
I was leery of it coming back to bite me, though, so I sat still for a while, then showered and read a couple chapters of my book, then took the plunge and walked to the grocery store and back. Still no issues. I won't be entirely convinced everything is ok until tomorrow, but I remain optimistic.
So, the training marches on, and every day I feel a little more confident about my chances of making it to the start line. (The finish line is another matter entirely. I can't yet comprehend repeating what I did this morning and still having 16.2 miles to go. But, one day at a time.)
Here is next week's plan, which is remarkably similar to this week...
Monday/Tuesday: bike/3 miles
Wednesday: speed work (the training plan says 4-5 hills, which is just not going to happen unless we go to Montrose -- so I'm content to just do whatever Coach has planned)
Thursday/Friday: bike/4 miles
Saturday: 10 miles. The plan says 12 miles, with the caveat that if you are training for your first marathon, you can just do 10. If I feel really good after 10, I might keep going -- but let's face it. That's not likely. Seeing as my goal, above anything else, is to avoid injury, I will do the minimum amount of mileage the pros allow.
Looks like the weather may thwart one of my bike commutes, but I'm hoping for the best.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
17 weeks until the marathon
This week went pretty well.
I stayed home from work on Monday because I was so tired from lack of sleep due to my sinus issues or cold. I slept all morning, and by 2pm I was feeling better but restless, so I went for a bike ride roughly equivalent to a bike commute.
Tuesday I ran 5 forgettable miles in the morning. I don't even remember my pace.
Wednesday I got home from work a little bit early, and decided to do my 4M Farlek run at home instead of going all the way up to the track for speed work. I was glad of that, considering the massive coughing fits I had while running. It was really hot that day, too.
Thursday I rode my bike to work and back. I had my first crisis when the chain came off. But I managed to get it back on and ride the bike home. No lasting effects except some grease still clinging to my fingernails.
Friday I got up at 5 and did my long run. Eight miles. The first two were through rain and thunder, but then it cleared up. I ran at a pretty consistent 11-minute pace.
Saturday I did 3 miles on a hotel treadmill in Muskegon.
Unfortunately, my shins are bothering me today. Not nearly as much as those weeks I was benched, but enough to make me really worry. It feels like a warning sign. I'm hoping the pain is gone by tomorrow.
I may be taking some extra days off this week, but here is the best case scenario plan:
Monday/Tuesday: bike/3 miles
Wedneday: speed training roughly equivalent to a 4M Fartlek
Thursday/Friday: bike/4 miles
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: rest
Dear shins,
Please cooperate.
Thanks, Katie
I stayed home from work on Monday because I was so tired from lack of sleep due to my sinus issues or cold. I slept all morning, and by 2pm I was feeling better but restless, so I went for a bike ride roughly equivalent to a bike commute.
Tuesday I ran 5 forgettable miles in the morning. I don't even remember my pace.
Wednesday I got home from work a little bit early, and decided to do my 4M Farlek run at home instead of going all the way up to the track for speed work. I was glad of that, considering the massive coughing fits I had while running. It was really hot that day, too.
Thursday I rode my bike to work and back. I had my first crisis when the chain came off. But I managed to get it back on and ride the bike home. No lasting effects except some grease still clinging to my fingernails.
Friday I got up at 5 and did my long run. Eight miles. The first two were through rain and thunder, but then it cleared up. I ran at a pretty consistent 11-minute pace.
Saturday I did 3 miles on a hotel treadmill in Muskegon.
Unfortunately, my shins are bothering me today. Not nearly as much as those weeks I was benched, but enough to make me really worry. It feels like a warning sign. I'm hoping the pain is gone by tomorrow.
I may be taking some extra days off this week, but here is the best case scenario plan:
Monday/Tuesday: bike/3 miles
Wedneday: speed training roughly equivalent to a 4M Fartlek
Thursday/Friday: bike/4 miles
Saturday: 10 miles
Sunday: rest
Dear shins,
Please cooperate.
Thanks, Katie
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Back on the road
Well, I was not able to run the River Bank 25K. However, I did manage to come back and run the Soldier Field 10. I finished about two and a half minutes slower than last year, but I'm happy to have been able to run it at all.
Even better, I remain uninjured. I had Coach Leach look at my gait a month or two ago, and the things he told me to change about my form (make sure my feet strike underneath me, not in front of me, and work on bending my knees more) seem to be keeping me from doing any debilitating harm to my shins. While they are still touchy and don't feel completely normal, I haven't had any major pain while I was running or walking in several weeks. And I've been running roughly 20 miles a week.
So, with Soldier Field successfully behind me, it's time to turn my attention to the marathon. I'm two weeks in to a 20-week training plan. I took one from coolrunning.com and altered it to suit me. It had me running 5 days a week, and I reduced it to 4 but added in two days of biking. Each week, on either Monday or Tuesday, and either Thursday or Friday (depending on the weather), I'll be riding my bike to work and back. On the other two of those four days, I'll be doing training runs. Wednesday I'll do speed work with the racing team. Saturday will be my long run day. And Sunday will be the glorious day of rest.
This week is going to be a bit off because I'll be traveling on Saturday and Sunday, but here's my hope of what will go down...
Monday/Tuesday: bike/5 miles
Wednesday: speed work (the plan says 4-mile Fartlek, so I'll shoot for that total distance when I decide the number of reps of whatever we are doing)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday/Sunday: 3 miles/off
I have completely lost track of the miles on my shoes, unfortunately. Maybe I'll try to formulate an educated guess some time before next week.
Here's to remaining injury free for the next 18 weeks and beyond!
Even better, I remain uninjured. I had Coach Leach look at my gait a month or two ago, and the things he told me to change about my form (make sure my feet strike underneath me, not in front of me, and work on bending my knees more) seem to be keeping me from doing any debilitating harm to my shins. While they are still touchy and don't feel completely normal, I haven't had any major pain while I was running or walking in several weeks. And I've been running roughly 20 miles a week.
So, with Soldier Field successfully behind me, it's time to turn my attention to the marathon. I'm two weeks in to a 20-week training plan. I took one from coolrunning.com and altered it to suit me. It had me running 5 days a week, and I reduced it to 4 but added in two days of biking. Each week, on either Monday or Tuesday, and either Thursday or Friday (depending on the weather), I'll be riding my bike to work and back. On the other two of those four days, I'll be doing training runs. Wednesday I'll do speed work with the racing team. Saturday will be my long run day. And Sunday will be the glorious day of rest.
This week is going to be a bit off because I'll be traveling on Saturday and Sunday, but here's my hope of what will go down...
Monday/Tuesday: bike/5 miles
Wednesday: speed work (the plan says 4-mile Fartlek, so I'll shoot for that total distance when I decide the number of reps of whatever we are doing)
Thursday: bike
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday/Sunday: 3 miles/off
I have completely lost track of the miles on my shoes, unfortunately. Maybe I'll try to formulate an educated guess some time before next week.
Here's to remaining injury free for the next 18 weeks and beyond!
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