May Review

Oof what a month it has been!  Today was the last teacher work day of the year and now I am officially on summer vacation!  As I was falling asleep on the couch around 7:30 PM I suddenly realized that it was the last day of the month.  When I managed to rouse myself, I checked Strava to see how many miles I had run this month.  I learned that I only ran EIGHT times this month.  For a total of 53.5 miles. 

I did take 2 full weeks off after the marathon, on purpose.  Only running 4 times in the past 2 weeks was...less intentional.  But still ok.  There has been an awful lot going on this month and overworking my body by trying to come back too soon post-marathon would probably do a lot more harm than good.  Now that I am on vacation and "mostly" settled into my new house* though, I'm hoping to get back to some kind of running/strength training business-as-usual. 

*Anyone ever tried cramming a 5 day school field trip, a marathon, moving out of an apartment and into a house, wedding planning, and the last month of school before?  I don't recommend it.  But I wouldn't change a thing.   Also, I am in love with our house, and I survived much better on inadequate sleep at the end of the school year than I would have thought possible.  Even with absolutely terrible allergies driving me completely crazy. 

Anyway, I'm taking it one day a time.  I'm gonna spend the next week getting everything in the house into it's proper place.  And hopefully I will run more than twice.

Week 1 : 5/1 - 5/6 : run 35.6 miles
2 flat runs in Georgia in the midst of full days of kayaking in paddle boarding, and then the Pittsburgh Marathon.  My body was so beat by the end of all that!

Week 2 : 5/7 - 5/13 : nada

Week 3 : 5/14 - 5/20 : nada

Week 4 : 5/21 - 5/27 run 9.6 miles
After 2 full weeks off, I thought it was time to run again.  I did a nice easy run with the group on Monday, and planned to do the same on Tuesday.  But the Tuesday group was doing a track workout.  I should have just run by myself, but of course I went with the group instead.  I did their relatively-easy 1600, then did the 800 a bit faster, but not as much faster as them.  Then I knew there was no way I was going to make it through their whole workout (a bunch of 800s and then a bunch of 200s) and a cooldown, so I did a 400 and a 200 and then called it quits on the workout.  And then somehow I didn't manage to run again all week.  I could have run on Sunday with Coby but I took a nap instead while he ran in the rain...

Week 5 : 5/28-5/31 : run 8.3 miles
Week 2 of trying to come back.  On Monday we did our first run from the new house.  Only one questionable dog encounter.  Then I did the smart thing and did not go to run club on Tuesday.  (It was a really smart thing, because apparently the group did a timed 5k on the track.  Ew.)  Easy group run on Wednesday, and now here I am falling asleep on the couch again while Coby runs in the rain.  I think I'll run tomorrow...

March Review

I'm a little late with my March review...but there have been other things on my mind the last few days with getting engaged, Easter, and trying to catch up on housework over the 4 day weekend!

I'm still having to take training one day at a time, since getting hit with a head cold towards the end of the month.  I've thought a lot about not going to Pittsburgh, but I hate to back out of a race I've already signed up for, and so I mostly keep reminding myself that I don't have to "race" it, I can just use it as a long run and try to have fun out there!

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Week 1 : 3/1 - 3/4 : run 16.5

A successful 10 miler!  I took Coby along for his first long run...slowly turning him into a distance runner like me.  He'll never like running more than biking, but that won't stop me from pretending to try and turn him to the light side. 

Week 2 : 3/5 - 3/11 : run 30.9

On Tuesday I returned to the track for a workout : 6x800.  I didn't try to run them too fast, but was pleased with my consistency at 3:07, 4x 3:04, 3:01. They were consistently faster than the last time I did 800s way back in June, which was also pleasing.  On Wednesday we were hit with more cold snowy nastiness, but I still ended up with a successful 11.6 mile run. 

Week 3 : 3/12 - 3/18 : run 32.3

Spring Break this week!  I passed my NASM CPT test on Tuesday, and on Wednesday I got back to marathon mode with a successful 16 mile run. On Saturday Coby and I ran the Celtic Knot 5k in Lewisburg, with him finishing in 21:00 and me hot on his heels 1 second behind.  (He outsprinted me in the finishing stretch...)

Week 4 : 3/19 - 3/25 : run 25.1 

On Tuesday the weather was chilly with freezing rain, and I did not dress properly for the run.  2 miles in my head was hurting from being cold and wet, and I called it quits when we passed my house at 3 miles.  By Thursday, I was feeling pretty sick (and I wasn't the only one who ended up sick from running in that stupid weather...).  I took the weekend off to try and recover. 

Week 5 : 3/26 - 3/31 run 23.2

Had to start out running pretty slow this week to not anger my lungs which were weakened by a bad cough.  Still managed a good 8 mile run on Tuesday though, which replaced the speedwork we had planned.  My legs felt pretty dead on Wednesday and Thursday so I didn't run again for the rest of the week, though I did hike on Saturday and bike on Sunday. 

This month has been a constant back and forth of snowy cold weather and warm springtime weather.

February Review

A pretty light month of running, and none of the serious marathon training I expected to do this month, but of course taking care of myself is more important!  I've eased my way back into consistent running as slowly as I could, and I'm now about 2 weeks pain-free and ready to try a 10 mile run this weekend.  Still taking training one day at a time though.  

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Week 1 : 2/1 - 2/4 : run 4.6 miles, bike 10 miles
I ran in an icy crunchy winter wonderland on the 2nd, which was also a snow day for me!  I was on a 2 hr delay when I headed out for the run.  When I came back I decided to scrape the very thick layer of ice and snow off my car before showering, and halfway through the job I got the snow day call. 

Week 2 : 2/5 - 2/11 : run 22 miles, bike 10.6 miles
I started out the week with a brand new pair of orthotics!  I went for a run as soon as I got home from the appointment.  The run felt pretty good, but the very next day my foot hurt worse than it had in awhile, so that was rather worrying.  It didn't stop me from trying them out in a different pair of shoes the next day though.  I meant to take it easy all week as I knew the orthotics probably wouldn't be a magic instant cure, but somehow ended up sprinting a tough uphill on Tuesday and flying through a 5.5 run at sub 7:30 pace on Friday. 

Week 3 : 2/12 - 2/18 : run 26.3 miles
On the 13th I decided that my foot was strong enough to try a 6 miler.  It felt so good to do more than 4-5 miles!  By then I could tell that my trail Hokas were the best pair of shoes I had for my feet, and no longer trusted my Brooks, so I bought a pair of Hoka Cliftons.  I got to try them out in gorgeous 65 degree weather on the 15th.  Two days later I was running around Lewisburg in a mix of snow and rain. 

Week 4 : 2/19 - 2/25 : run 28.5 miles
This week was gloriously warm, and I loved getting to run in summer running attire!  I tried out an 8 mile run on Tuesday, had a really good 5 mile pick-up run ending below 7:00 pace on Friday, and did a good hill run on Saturday.  Breathing was getting a bit rough by the end of the week...I'm blaming spring allergies. 

Week 5 : 2/26 - 2/28 : run 16.8 miles
Not quite so warm this week, but at least it's not hat and gloves weather again.  Yesterday the guys said we were going to do 3 miles at 6:45 pace.  I wasn't sure how that would go for me, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.  The first mile was 6:25.  The second mile was 6:40, and I was struggling hard, but I managed to pull a 6:36 for the third mile.  (1.5 slight downhill, 1.5 slight uphill)  It's always a win if I can prevent the uphill mile from being the slowest!

Summer in February, what's not to love?

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Year to date:

total run miles : 215

total bike miles : 76

January review

Well, January started out really strong, and ended really weak, but I at least managed to get 100+ miles in the bank and I'm still feeling strong even if I haven't been able to run much lately.  Tendonitis pain came back in my left foot after Wytheville, and I've had to take it pretty easy.  I've got an appointment to get new orthotics on the 5th, and until then I'm just trying to hold my foot together without completely quitting running.  There's been a lot more time spent on the bike trainer than I would like, but oh well!  I'm glad I have the trainer so that I have something to do other than run.  I also went to the gym to use the rowing machine once, and that was a nice change of pace.  

I like that the rowing machine is a full-body workout!  

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Week 1 : 1/1 - 1/7 : run 35.7 miles
What a week!  I can't imagine a stronger start to a new year than this one!  A nice easy New Year's Day run with a friend, a spectacular 4 mile tempo run paced by feel (all 4 tempo miles ended up under 7:00), an extra long wandering run around Bristol (8.8 solo, 6.5 with friends), an easy 5+ miler on tired and sore legs, and then finished out the week by running a few more easy miles with a friend.  Somewhere in there I also tried a circuit workout with my balance discs for the first time and all I can say about that is ouch! Great workout, but I was feeling it all through my 15 mile run and the 5 mile shakeout.

There have been some very cold days this month!

Week 2 : 1/8 - 1/14 : run 35.5 miles
Another really solid week!  Started off with a nice group 7 miler, had a great pick-up mile repeat session on the track at school after a circuit workout with co-workers, got introduced to a fun new hill, ran a mountainous half marathon and then kept going for 3 more miles to get a 16 mile long run, and finished out the week with a 2.5 mile shakeout. 

Week 3 : 1/15 - 1/21 : run 23.5 miles, bike 20 miles
Started off with some easy group 6-8 mile runs, then had a snow day and did easy AM miles in the snow and then a short group run in the evening.  By the end of that day, I knew my foot pain wasn't going to go away and I made the decision to take time off from running.  The rest of the week involved 2 trainer rides, a TRX workout, and a hike. 

Week 4 : 1/22 - 1/28 : run 13.3 miles, bike 25 miles 
I started off the week with a trainer ride and a circuit workout, then tried a run. Meant to ease my way back into running but got overly excited to run after 6 days off, ran 3 days in a row, and then had to take more time off because clearly my tendonitis is back.  Those three runs were each only 4-5 miles, and I tried to take them easy, but my foot started hurting about 3 miles into the first run.  It didn't hurt the second day, perhaps because I was wearing my Hokas and they are more cushioned, but by the end of the third run I could tell it needed more time off. I finished out the week with the rowing machine, a flat photo-walk, and another trainer ride.

Not my favorite way to exercise, but grateful for the option!

Week 5 : 1/29 - 1/31 : run 9.3 miles, bike 10.2 miles
Now that I've made an appointment to get new orthotics, short runs every other day feel like an ok idea.  So, easy run Monday, trainer Tuesday plus circuit workout, then an easy run on Wednesday.  Didn't really feel any pain today so I may run tomorrow, especially since I know I won't have time for exercise on Friday. 

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Year to date:

total run miles : 117

total bike miles : 55