Run 5 mi! Unless your Garmin craps out.

Well, don't blame the almighty Garmin gods... it was my fault.  Blame it on ignorance and the fact that I didn't care to read about laps on pre-set workouts and blah blah.  Turns out, the Garmin turned off after I had completed the workout and yeah, didn't record my last 1.5 mi.  It's alright, but when you're working your ass off for the extra 1.5 mi and your heart is all like, "THIS BITCH IS TRYING TO KILL ME!", you have to get at least somewhat upset.

I guesstimated and redrew the map only to get frustrated and so I'm counting it as 5 b/c I know I covered more than that with walking and all.  ANYWAY, my first 5 miles since injury!!!  I got a bit scared b/c I thought I felt my knee hurt.  I almost had a heart attack but then stretched and so far, no pain.  I'll foam roll later and tomorrow.  I have a race on Sunday that I can skip b/c it's FREE and not really that important.  It's just super fun and you get to race!

It rained on us, but after the run.  We were walking back home and were a block away.  The raindrops were super cold and my daughter didn't enjoy them as much as I did.  The sunscreen washed into my eyes, but other than that, it was pretty awesome running in the rain.

I burned, from my calculations, around 500 calories.  Seems about right, 100/mile.  I guess that means I burned off the bread I ate yesterday, heheh.  It's fine, I thoroughly enjoyed that dinner with the people I love the most.  I wish Christmas is just as good (which will be, b/c hey, NEW PHONES!).

I should've taken a picture of the day, it was bizarre.  On one side, pretty sunshine, on the other, impending rain.  Pretty awesome.

For today: more stretching, foam rolling and cleaning up my dirty apartment.  My husband says nothing but I can't be a slob around him.  We're married, after all.

Weeks 1-2 in review

I still can't believe I can blog about running again.  It is amazing what a wonderful type of therapy running has become for me, there's nothing compared to it and I can't imagine how I survived those 4 months without being able to run more than a mile without pain.  It's cra-cra.

I am happy to say that I've kept up with all the stretching and strengthening that I used to avoid pre-injury.  It is no wonder I got myself injured, I was... let's just say "naive," to think that I could JUST RUN.  No, sorry, Nike Ads.  You can't just get out there and run nonstop.  There are walls you have to respect and climb them, not just bust your head on them!  Seriously, it's encouraging and motivating to keep those posters around but they LIE.  They lie, yes.

Anywho, so far:

Miles walked: 5.5 mi
Miles ran: 16.19 mi
Strengthening: 40 mins.
Stretching: 1 hour 51 mins.
Foam rolling: --

I don't know how much time I actually spend foam rolling, the pain takes my breath away and apparently, my ability to keep track of it.  I do know I have been foam rolling at least once every day.  I skipped some at the beginning but, with the addition of more miles, it's becoming harder to leave alone.  I want to add cycling (at home, is there a better name?) but I haven't been able to purchase the new (comfortable) seat.  It's Christmas shopping time right now, I'm not venturing in any store any time soon.

Also, I have a race coming up!!  Well, two.  A free 5K and a for realz one on December 1st.  It's a 10K and I don't think cycling may help my legs during the next two weeks.  I don't plan on setting any new personal records but who knows, I may end up with really sore legs if I'm not careful.

The virtual half-marathon at the end of January is pretty exciting.  Yes, it'll be by myself, but it's a pretty cool medal.  I'll have three by then!  Just three, but that's a whole lot.  I may even have to buy/make/get a medal rack.  Now, that's cra-cra!

5 mi planned for tomorrow and that'll end my second week of training.  My mom will watch my kid at the park while I go around and around.  It'll be nice running without the jogging stroller.  Those kids are heavy.

Day 3-6: Still running

The schedule follows a really easy to understand training days: Stretch/Strengthen, Run short, Cross train or run short, run short, REST, Cross train, finally, run long.  I'm doing well following it and have stretched e/day.  I have also added foam rolling but it's hard to do 3x a day with the kids trying to climb on me.  I did an ITB yoga session yesterday from DoYogawithMe.com.  It was 26 or so minutes and it's recommended to hold e/pose as long as you want, but since it was my first time, I just followed along.

It is crazy how many more stretches and levels of difficulty/results there are!  I am going to add more to my cooling down routine now that I've practiced them at home.  A 3 miler is planned for tomorrow and so is a picnic with my parents and kids.  I hope they let me run while they watch the kids at the playground, efficiency!!  It's also nice to run without the jogging stroller, it tires my arms out.

Today is a CT for 40 minutes, it'll be a walk and more stretching before going to sleep.  The stretching helps me fall asleep faster, I need all the help I can get.


Eating isn't stellar, but I'm getting there.  It's hard to be great at all aspects of running with a full mommy-job. The 6 mi race is coming up in December 1st, my parents are signed up to see me finish it AND eat the after party food.  Those two, they'll drive to take a picture of me finishing a race anywhere.  I love them, they're my fans.

I tried calibrating my foot pod three times!  It didn't work, I'm not sure what happened, the satellite signal was fine b/c it recorded the 0.75 but the recalibration still failed.  Re-calibration, it's a word.  I don't know.  I ran the rest of the workout in the gym b/c it was chilly and dark.

Besides those riveting news, my training is going well.  My right leg is definitely tighter than the left but I'm working on making my whole body more flexible.  I can honestly say I'm giving it my best to not get injured.  You can only prevent, right?

Day 2: Run 3 mi

Whew... today's run was one of those runs... you know, the ones that really push your limits without notice.  It was windy, rainy, and my arms or legs were tired.  I'm not sure what went wrong but the run felt just BLEH!  I wanted to stop at mile 1 and then at 2.  I felt bad b/c I was in a bad mood and hurried my husband along like I do all the time.  My anxiety just kept going up and up reading the weather report and staring out the window.

The kids got some time to play at the park while I struggled to finish today's 3 miles.  I wasn't going to skip them and I didn't want to walk any of them.  I don't know why I insist on running each planned workout, I can walk part of it and not be any less of a runner.  Technically, at the fastest pace I "run," I'm jogging.  Eh.

Stats:

I felt like I burned twice as many calories...

I have been doing laundry and regular housework with about 1/8 of the tank there... or any at all.  I'm super sleepy but want to spend time with the husband but then there's the game and well, I haven't gotten a chance to really talk to him without the kids, tv or cat messing up the conversation.  LOL, married life.

I have one load cooling off in the dryer that I need to hang up before it wrinkles.  I'm ready to lay in bed and watch something dumb on tv.  Also, cross training tomorrow!  Cross training or 2 miles?  No, thanks.  I'll skip those 2 optional miles.  I want to be ready for the 4 coming up on Friday and not break.  I have some more stretching to do tonight and will walk with the kids and hubby tomorrow.  More foam rolling and then just relaxing.  

Until then!

Is it safe to say?

It's been now a grand total of four (FOUR!) runs w/o pain.  I still can't believe it, I did nothing but whine about it and foam roll a little.  The ITB is a horrible little thing.  But that's in the past, I learned what I had to learn.  I'm even more motivated this time around.  It took around 4.5 months but my legs and mind are on the same page, ready for some real training.

My latest run was this morning, I met up with my running buddy I met at one of the end-of-the-month free races.  We did an easy 2 miles, I think our pace was at 13 min/mi?  I'm not sure, we talked the whole time.  I woke up at 6 a.m.!  We met up at 6:40 after I got lost, though the park was literally 5 minutes away.  Some mean early morning drivers around here, dangerous.

I liked the area and I was surprised by how bright it was.  I mean, I was expecting it to be all dark and scary.  I attached my headlight to my pouch.  Didn't need it, but hey, better prepared than sorry.  I also kept on my long-sleeve shirt.  It was early and I was sleepy, which means I get cold.

I'm joining her and her group for another 3-4 miles.  I'm resting tomorrow and walking some on Sunday.  I'm doing a virtual halfie by January 31st, 2013.  I'm doing it on the last day of the date range b/c I'll need all the training I can get.  I'll walk/jog but still, 13.1 miles is a LONG distance for me right now.  I can't wait to start hitting the double digits!!!