There and Back Again

 

 Pre race photo op with "Mik", "AKA Alice" and "Walter"

Sunday was the Shelter Island 5k Run. This is a favorite because there's a champagne brunch after the race. The brunch is held at Humphreys, the same place where Hubs and I often enjoy summer concerts. Sunday's run felt a lot like summer.  I ditched my jacket before the race because it was already warming up at 7 AM. It felt more like July than it did November. I'm still dealing with shin splints in my left shin, but I figured I'd just cruise this 5k instead of race it. I cruised, but I should have cruised a little slower, even though I felt like I was going slow for me. I could not run faster at all, even if I tried. I couldn't even make a mad sprint for the finish line when it was in sight. It just wasn't going to happen. I sort of broke even with my last 5k - July 4th 2010 in Coronado. Sunday's 5k was actually a few seconds faster than Coronado, but still a good 4 minutes away from a PR.

Here's my stats:

Time: 29:19

Pace: 9:27

F 50-54: 12 out of 56 

The fun thing about this particular race is that it sort of feels like one huge party and EVERYONE seems to be in a great mood.  I'm sure the champagne/mimosas helped with the great mood.

AKA Alice and Rich

Hubs and I with my former coworker Darla.  We haven't seen Darla in a  few years!

Hubs had a really good race day.  Even though he really wasn't attempting to go for a PR, he achieved just that...  An all time 5k PR.   He finished in 30:10, a 9:43 minute mile pace.  This is the first time he has broken a 10 minute mile pace.  My friend Rich had a really good run too.  His time was 24:30 - Pace/mile 7:54,  a new PR,  taking about two minutes off of his last 5k race.

 Cheers!  Mimosas makes the shin feel all better!

Photo credit to Rich

A group from RU was also at the run, and I did see my PT Bryan run right past me, but I did not see any of them at the brunch.  They were wearing bright yellow tech shirts, but it turns out they all changed out of their tech shirts after the race. I was looking for a group with bright yellow shirts, which is probably why I never found them.

The next day...


Monday was little bit rough.  My shin is not too happy with me.  I've been doing everything I'm supposed to be doing for it, and it's helping, including this:

I have about eight of these cups and a ziplock bag with homemade blue ice(a slushy ice pack) in my freezer.  I'm foam rolling, massaging, stretching, doing ankle exercises, point and flex exercises, modified squats and lunge matrices. (It's an RU thing - squats and lunges are the cure all for just about everything.) You name it, I'm doing what ever it takes to relieve shin splints.  I've been to the doctor, the chiropractor and my physical therapist.  I appreciate all the advice and kind words everyone has given to me and, trust me, I've been trying it all. 

I've been back to using the old school Bowflex, low weight high rep exercises and utilizing the row attachment seat for some sort of alternative cardio since I don't feel like going into the gym and using their crappy old stationary bikes. 

I have just less than 4 weeks until the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon.  I still need to get in some mileage, and I plan on taking a very conservative approach to it.  I need to put a 10 miler this week, even if I run/walk the entire way. 

Wednesday's Song:
Ramble On - Led Zeppelin - Black Knight

PEACE

Get Over It

Wednesday night, at the RU group workout, we were running an 800 and I tweaked out my big toe on my left foot. I was wearing the wear test shoes. At first it felt like a cramp, but then it got worse. I couldn't do the 800 to my full potential. As I ran by one of the interns, I yelled out that my foot was cramping, but he just said to run through it. I listened to him, but I'm sort of kicking myself for not listening to myself. You would think that, by now, I would know better. After my crummy 800, I continued on with the strengthening exercises without shoes on, but skipped any running, even if it were a slow lap. At the end of the session I put my shoes back on without tightening the laces and hobbled to my car.

Once at home I spent some time RICE-ing my foot/big toe and took a couple of analgesics. I figured I'd give myself a couple of days to see how it felt before seeking any medical advice.

Yesterday I was having my hair cut in the same neighborhood as my chiropractor's office and decided to see if he would see me with such short notice. He fit me in. Not only was the right foot off, but the left foot was more off, and my back was also rather tight. After some massage, he did the necessary adjustments and I felt relief. My foot/toe is still sore, probably from over compensation, but at least I can put a shoe back on my foot without wincing. The foot isn't swollen or bruised, it's just sore. I'm still doing the RICE thing.

This foot issue puts a kink in my plans to attempt a PR at the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon, but I'm pretty sure I'll be OK to start and finish it with no intentions of a PR. At this point, I think I'm allowed to slow down and just enjoy the scenery. It's not like I'm giving up. I'm being realistic.

This also means I don't get to try out Lucinda this weekend. Oh, that's my Garmin's new name: Lucinda or Lucy for short. When I signed up on the Garmin site, it actually asks for a name, and Lucinda was one of the suggestions someone gave me on Facebook. It was the only name I could remember when I was stuck at the Garmin site. I hope I love Lucy...

Tuesday's song:
Cool As Blue - Tina Bridgeman & Hearth

PEACE

Road To Recovery

Activity: Run
Date: 01/15/09 10:57 AM
Distance: 6.18 miles
Time: 1:18:29
Speed: 4.7 mph
Pace: 12' 42 min/mile
Calories: 602

I have a 10K in a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure I could at least handle the distance, even if I went really slow. Today's run just a smidgen off a 10K but it's close enough. I probably could have gone further, at least another 2 miles with ease. I ran the over at the Mission Bay path, and ran on the grass when I could.

Yesterday I went back into my chiropractor's office. I haven't been to see him since before the injury in May, so it was nice to be back at his office. He managed to work out the kinks in my back, and also worked on my feet. I usually love to have my feet worked on, but they were so stiff, and did not feel as flexible as they had been in the past.

Yesterday's song:
Change - Taylor Swift

PEACE

Made Up My Mind

Wednesday I had my usual chiropractic appointment. My chiropractor didn't find anything unusual with me, my Q angle was off but other than that, it was all the usual adjustments. I talked to him about how I was training and that it's different this year. Last year (and years prior) I ran all my distances close to or at marathon pace, whether if it were 2 miles or 20 miles. Perhaps the 2 milers were a little faster, but not my much. This year we're backing off the distance in our taper but we're also doing more speed work at the Tuesday night workouts. It's beating me up. Blogger Jeremy (Keeping It Surreal) sort of reaffirmed what I'm going through in a swimming analogy he had, since that's what he knows:

"I know for swimming that our workouts were a lot more grueling than the other races. Also before a championship meet we would start a taper about 4 weeks before the meet which was a reduced amount of yardage to give our muscles time to rest and repair which had the effect of making us go faster. Not sure if that helps but the different style and "stop and go" parts of your track workout maybe something you're not used to in longer runs and therefore you might be adjusting your stride differently for relatively shorter distances versus the longer runs? Again just putting out my swimming analogy :)"

When you go from longer distances at a slower pace to shorter distances doing speed training, it can beat you up if you're not used to it. The mechanics of how I run changes when I go faster. I'm still feeling beat up. I'm not sure if I'm going to do the 16 miler this Saturday. I'll wait and see.

It's now exactly one month until the marathon.

I've decided not to go with TNT to run in the Nike Women's Half Marathon. There were many reasons, but the big reason was the fundraising. The corporate folks I was thinking about talking to are having problems raising funds for their own charities this year, plus everyone is cutting back on their charitable donations this year. HOWEVER, I do think it is a good cause, and I am going to give my support to Juls (Keeping Pace) in her TNT endeavour for the Nike event.

Yesterday's song:
Ready Made - Beck

Haven't Got Time For The Pain

Happy Wednesday!

No workout or run today.

I had a scheduled chiropractic appointment this morning. My knees were not happy and I was thinking I would need to take a couple weeks off from running, and with about 6 1/2 weeks left until the marathon I was feeling doomed. That long run last Saturday DID offset my right knee, which was causing most of my running problems and my left quad issues. Dr. Carl put everything back. Talk about relief! I walked out of that appointment a happy camper and pain free!

I also did my usual post-chiro appointment routine and went to Costco for the standard home supplies. Today they had things I'd never seen before, such as lactose free Muscle Milk, Adidas running shorts IN MY SIZE, swim goggles, Perfect Pushups Grips with instructional CD, and seasonal goodies, like blown glass solar lights for for the garden. Yeah, I scored, but I also had their annual rebate check and it was my turn to choose how to spend it.

I haven't mentioned here, but I'm participating in another challenge over at Pinkdumbbells.com. My goals are to maintain my current weight or slightly lower and to continue marathon training for a 4:45:00 finish time or better. This includes tracking my caloric intake with even carb/protein ratios, and low fat. 1500 calories is the target number, except for Friday and Saturday, which will be arond 1800+ calories and with a higher whole grain carb ratio. The reason behind the weight maintanance is that I've gained weight in the past with marathon training. I want to maintain, not gain. If I'm dillegent now, it won't be a problem later. Sounds easy enough, but it isn't always as easy in real life as it is in writing.

I'm on day 3 of logging in my food intake on Fitday. Monday I was under my caloric intake and not hungry. Yesterday I felt like I just couldn't eat enough while trying to stay around 1500 calories for the day. It was tough. I'm trying to be good about getting in more protein on Monday through Thursday, then getting in more whole grains (carbs) on Friday and Saturday. Today I'm slightly carb heavy, but the day isn't over yet, and I picked up a nice salmon fillet for dinner tonight, and that should even things out.

Yesterday's song:
Used to the Pain - Keith Urban - Barbie2be

PEACE