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April 20, 2006

Catching Up

My twin sister and my Mom came to visit me last Thursday and Friday and then I went away to Boston for the weekend so my blog has been neglected for awhile. Here is a quick update of my running adventures over the past week.

Wednesday 4/12: Ran 7-8 miles with Jen and did 4 sets of 2x200 and 1 x 400 at 89-92 seconds.
Thursday 4/13: Ran 9 miles in the morning, Upper Elmore Loop felt pretty good, ran 6 miles in the evening with Liz who is four months pregnant and runs faster than me! :)
Friday 4/14: Ran 4 mile loop around the Lake with Liz, again Liz had to slow down for me. Very very sore on Friday.
Saturday 4/15: Sugarbush Triathalon, ran 7 miles and 5 miles in the race at 7:15 pace, my quad hurt the entire time, then biked 10+ miles in the race, the last 4 miles were uphill, again my quad hurt a lot.
Sunday 4/16: Ran 4 miles in the morning and 5 miles in the evening.
Monday 4/17: Ran 15 miles at the State Farm in MA, Mark ran the Boston marathon in 2:45, last 5 miles were TOUGH!
Tuesday 4/18: Ran 8.5 miles with Alison in Boston around Fresh Pond, very fun to catch up, running in Boston reminded me of running in San Francisco, lots of cool running paths to run on that you would never know were there, ran three miles in the evening with my friend Jen.
Wednesday 4/19: Ran 10 miles in the morning and then got a massage, my back and legs are all knotted up.
Plan to take today easy to loosen up after the massage.

Posted by mary at 8:35 AM | Comments (5)

April 11, 2006

Recovering

I have to admit that I am not as sore as I usually am after a long run but I am as tired as I usually am after a long run. The parts of me that are sore and ache are the odd part. My body has thrown a curve ball at me but then again besides the 100k, I ran 2 years ago on pavement and the marathons I have done this is the longest pavement run I have ever done. Well, the first place I am most notably sore is in my right wrist because of carrying the water bottle; this is a little pathetic and embarrassing. Secondly, I am sore in my knee joint but I have to admit this may be caused by the bike ride I did Sunday afternoon after the long run. Around 5 p.m. on Sunday I road 14 miles on my bike because it was so sunny and warm out and I thought it would feel nice on my legs and surprisingly I had the energy and motivation, a great sign after feeling horrible all week. Well my knee aches in the area that tends to hurt when my bike pedal clips are on too tightly. I really did not stop and unclip all that much but it is the same area that does that motion that hurts so I am very frustrated about that because that was avoidable. I learned an important lesson: specificity, focus on one aspect of training on an intense training day such as Sunday was. The last place I am sore is in my foot where my foot flexes up. I noticed this was bothering me a bit on the run and I would stop and loosen my laces and figit with it, I did this two or three times and finally just forgot about it. Apart from the wrist ache, knee ache, and flexion ache, I am just tired.

I ran a mile with the middle level students on Monday and did not demonstrate anything. The thought of jumping was painful. I then ran an easy three miles on the fields and trails around our school. It felt ok but I did not have any desire to do more. It was just really nice to be outside because it was about 60 degrees.

Today I ran a mile with the middle level students and then ran five miles with two of the high school athletes. We ran a very easy pace. I thought they would have trouble keeping up with me but I had to slow down to keep up with them. I am definitely feeling better, my knee ache is gone but my wrist and foot flexion pain is more pronounced, I think it is DOMS: delayed onset muscle soreness. I cannot complain too much because usually it is my quads that are aching and considering I have a major quad problem that is not noticeable right now, I am happy.

I guess the reality for my training is what Blondie suggested that I would have to back off before my long runs and after my long runs. The focus of my training will have to be those long runs and the middle week in between the long runs so that my body does not break down. I wish it were warm enough to swim because going in a warm lake right now would feel so nice. Tomorrow I may try my first morning run for the week if I wake up and am not sore.

Posted by mary at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

April 9, 2006

35 Miles in Today!

On Saturday I was planning to do a workout but my friend was still sick so instead I ran an easy four mile with her and one of the athletes I coach, Jennie. It was the first time all week I felt great. I was tempted to run more and would have but we all talked so much after the run that by the time we realized what time it was we all had things to do. Saturday was technically still grouped in my easy week category so I was not worried about it and I was just relieved to feel good.

This morning I got up and drove to Burlington with Mark. We arrived at 8 a.m. and there were at least 20 people at the health club for the morning long run. I was happy to find three people running my pace (8 minutes) for 20 miles and decided to join them. I ran the first 20 miles with two individuals who are training for the VT City marathon. I felt great. I had had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast and finished a large bottle of water during the 20 miles. The temperature was great and I was definitely over dressed but I did not feel terribly uncomfortable. I could have worn shorts and a t-shirt but instead had tights and a long sleeve shirt. I spent a bit more time refilling my water bottle with 1/2 water and 1/2 poweraid and gathering my snacks (half a peanut butter sandwich and some jelly life savers) and lost about 10 minutes of time (I was also socializing). I suddenly knew I had to go. I went back out on the bike path for another 15 miles. I slowed my pace down a bit because I was worried about being really tired at the end of the run. I was running 8.15 which felt really slow but I knew I could finish at that pace. I ate a 1/4 of my sandwich at 3 hours and then nibbled on a few jelly life savers every 20 minutes or so. I was waiting to hit the wall. My goal was to finish half of my drink in the first hour and the second half in the last half. I was able to do this and experienced no cramping. The only pain I felt was a bit in my calves with three miles to go but then I ate some jelly's and felt fine and in the final down hill my knees were sore, otherwise I had great energy.

All in all I ran for about 4 and a half hours, maybe a bit less, 4 hours and 20 minute. Ideally I wanted to run for 5 hours but I was really pleased with 35 miles and especially happy with how I felt. I liked running on the bike path because I saw people the entire way and having company for the first 20 helped so much. I talked the entire time. I feel like I could run a good 50k right now. I feel more confident about the 100k coming up but know I will have a few more miles to add. I think the rest week helped a lot because I felt fresh and energetic and I don't think I will feel too beat up tomorrow. The flat terrain makes the recovery a bit easier. In May I will do my super long runs on the trails and try to continue a 20 mile run once a week in Burlington for company and to feel some turnover. I am very happy to get this first long run out of the way because I was procrastinating for much too long. I do have one little blister on my toe but it is the one area where I always get one. It should be fine for tomorrow but I plan to monitor it. Now, time to rest for a bit. Oh, I think I ran more today than I did all last week! :)

Posted by mary at 2:16 PM | Comments (7)

April 7, 2006

Two Big Rest Days.. Now I feel ready to Go!

I have really tried hard to listen to my body and back off this week and I think it is paying off. Yesterday I felt like my flu was going to arrive and hit me hard but somehow I managed to hold it off. I ran an easy three miles on Thursday morning with the dog and another easy 5 miles at night with my friend Jen who also does not feel quite right. We both talked about taking Friday off from work. I was excited about this opportunity to have a free day to catch up and stay off of my feet. However, my plans were spoiled when I realized I had a parent meeting at 8 a.m. that I really did not want to reschedule and I did not have the heart to miss track practice on only the third day. I did however compromise and decide not to run at all except the little bit of running I do at the middle level practice. I think it paid off because now I can't wait to run tomorrow and I actually feel more energetic than I have felt all week. I am sure I cut my mileage totally in half this week, running 30-35 miles. I am happy about that but only wished I planned it. Next time I will. Tomorrow I have to teach in the morning at the community college and then have a workout scheduled in the afternoon of 400's and 200's at 90 second pace with my friend Jen. It should not take too much out of me. And Sunday I have my 5-6 hour run planned for Burlington so I will have company for at least the first half of the run. I plan to run hard for the next three weeks with long runs this weekend and on the 23rd when I run the 100k. The timing should work out perfectly because I will have a rest week after the 100k where I will cut my mileage in half like I did this week (unintentionally) but that week I will actually plan it. Today was a rainy dreary day which contrary to most people I enjoy running in. More tomorrow.

Posted by mary at 7:03 PM | Comments (3)

April 5, 2006

Fighting off a Cold

I have decided that I am definitely trying to fight off a cold or flu this week. This past weekend Mark had a fever of 104 which stayed with him for two days. I was not with him for the worst of it but I suspect a bit of it is trying to manifest itself within me and present itself. I am hoping that by backing off a bit I can hold it off. I predict this because my lower back and joints are sore and I feel creaky.

This afternoon I held the first middle level track practice. There were about 20 athletes who showed up and for about an hour and a half I introduced them to our warm up routine, drills, core body circuit, indian sprints, and a quick 4 x 100 relay, followed by a cool down. Practice flew by. There are a few energetic boys but they respond well to what I have to say so I think it will be manageable.

After practice I took the dogs for their evening walk/run. I only had time to take them for a mile and then I met my friend Jen for our workout. I was playing it by ear because I had no idea how I would feel. We were scheduled to do a tempo run at seven minute pace and since jogging was bothering me I had no idea if a faster pace would increase my current level of irritation. I was so relieved because the snow had melted from the track and we were able to run on the track.

In high school I hated running on the track. However, once I became a 10,000 meter runner in college and learned to pace myself and know splits I started to really enjoy the constant and reliable feedback I received from the track. When I am really good I only need to check my splits every 800 or mile and I can usually be within a second. These days I check about every 200 meters and tend to still be right on except for the first 200 meters.

Today was no exception, we ran 2.5 miles and were really consistent, running 7.02 and 6.59, and a 3.24 for the last 800 but I had my friend and I accelerate for the final 100 meters which felt good. The 7.00 minute pace felt like my marathon pace, it was conversational and I forgot about my flu like symptoms. Yet as soon as we began to jog and it was a jog, I felt horrible and sore again. I spent too long talking outside the house after the workout and quickly became chilled making the symptoms worse. I am glad I got the workout in and was able to help my friend and I really don't think I did any damage to make me feel any worse but I do want to take it really easy tomorrow so that I can focus on my training runs over the weekend.

On Saturday I plan to run 15 miles or so and Sunday I'd like to do a five hour run in Burlington. I know I'll have company for the first half so that is what I am looking forward to. I just need to make sure I don't get sick. Tonight I have decided not to do any work. We'll see if I can stick to that plan, my notes for the anatomy class I am teaching will be sitting right next to me so it may be hard not to read them over. Mostly I want to relax and my goal is to feel better by Saturday. Another easy workout is planned for Friday, 200's and 400's at 90 second pace. Another update tomorrow.. now it's time to relax.

Posted by mary at 7:53 PM | Comments (0)

A Few Light Days in the Midst of Snow!

The past two days have been very light days and I have a feeling today will be relatively light as well. In the past when I was training for a big race I would take one week easy every three weeks. I have not really done that during the months of Feb. and March so maybe my body is telling me to back off for a few days. This morning when I was taking the dog for his morning run my legs were stiff and heavy and my body felt slow. I only ran about a mile and a half which is hardly notable. Yesterday I ran an easy two and a half miles in the morning which would have been much longer had I been wearing gloves. After about two miles my wrist were frozen and I had shooting pain going up my arm because I had gotten so cold. I took the fastest route home and decided a shower sounded better than more running. Once I finished my shower I looked outside and saw that an inch of snow had already accumulated on the trees and ground. Suddenly I did not feel like such a wimp. I had no idea it was that cold and obviously was not paying attention to the weather reports. The return of snow has not made me happy. Now that I am tuned into the weather reports I hear that the rest of the week will be cold but the weekend will warm up. In the evening I ran an easy six miles with my friend Jen. We were both feeling a bit sluggish.

This afternoon is the first day of track practice for the middle level so I am looking forward to that. Once practice is over I will be doing a few mile repeats with my friend Jen. We will be running them at a 7 minute pace which is her tempo pace for her 5k training plan. Since the snow is back on the track we will go to a fairly flat road that I usually use for my tempo runs. I hope my legs feel better tonight and I hope I can convince myself that an easier week is good for me.

Next week will be exciting because my twin sister will be visiting me for one or two days in VT so we are bound to have some great runs. I will then visit her in CT for a day or two for the Easter holiday.

For now, I am going to rest and not feel like I am slacking off.

Posted by mary at 7:59 AM | Comments (0)

April 3, 2006

Weekend Update

Saturday's Bike Ride and Sunday's Run and Bike Ride

On Saturday I had time to do only one activity, run or bike. I decided to bike because I knew I could cover more ground in a short period of time. I did a great thirty mile bike ride with my brother in law who lives in Glastonbury, CT. We rode from Glastonbury to Colchester and back. It was a very hilly ride and the weather was quite variable. The morning ride began with gray clouds and then changed to rain and finished with sunshine. It felt great to be out on the roads again for that distance riding at a good pace and it was nice to have the company of my brother in law. The two of us used to ride together in CA a lot, frequently riding up Mt. Diablo on the weekends.

On Sunday I ran 8.5 or 9 miles with my brother in New Haven. We ran up to Woodbridge and back through the Orange Resevoir. It was a nice run, about half road and half trail. We ran at a decent pace, probably about 7.15 pace or so. I had to let my brother run ahead on one steep hill because my quad was in a knot from some of the hills we rode on Saturday. However, once we got to the top of the hill I was feeling better and enjoyed the rest of the run. On my way back to VT I met my brother in law for another ride. We rode for 21 miles. Initially my legs were quite sore from Saturday's ride but once we started riding I was able to maintain the pace and felt pretty good. On this ride we did a loop through Manchester and back. I then drove back to VT.

We have parent teacher conferences all afternoon and into the early evening today so I want to do a quick run now. I am supposed to do a workout tonight with my friend Jen. Hopefully she will be around to run at 7, we'll see. I am looking forward to a good week of training and am going to focus on a 5 hour run for Saturday or Sunday of this week. I think Sunday will work out best because I have to teach on Saturday morning.

Posted by mary at 7:53 AM | Comments (2)