Back to the Track...and some hail.

I'm pretty sure today was my first track workout since 2013.  So...it's been awhile.  Can't say I've missed it...but it's time to add some speed work that isn't just running hard up a bunch of hills because by now my body has more than adapted to the hills and it doesn't really work for me anymore.  And given the lack of flat-ness here in Lewisburg, the only real way to do a flat speed workout is to go to the track.  I've known for awhile now that I needed to start going to the track, but my return was delayed by that silly sprained ankle.  I didn't want to do any speed work until I was sure it was strong enough to take the extra pounding.  Today seemed like a good day.

It was a very eventful week of running...recap of each run after the week's summary...

This week : 

M : 6.6 / 7:47 / 476 ft

T : TRX arms & abs 18:25

W : 9 / 7:54 / 853 ft

R : TRX arms & abs 18: 25

F : 6.2 / 7:32 / 472 ft

Su : 4.9 / 7:10 / track workout

total miles run : 26.8

Monday
I found out mid-afternoon that WVSOM was finally going to have their memorial for my friend and running buddy Daryn at 5:00, so I went running around 3 instead of going to the Pub Run at 5:30.  My legs were sore/tired and it was really windy so I didn't try to push the pace at all.

Wednesday
I decided it was time to try a long(er) run.  And I really wanted to run hills, so I looped through just about all the best hills the neighborhoods of Lewisburg have to offer.  One of those great hills is in a neighborhood I rarely get to, so it was nice to go somewhere "new."  And I ran a hill near the end that I "enjoyed" so much I looped back and did it again.  It was a warm sunny day and I loved being outside to enjoy it with a run!

Friday
Rain was in the forecast for most of the day, but after a bit of rain in the morning, nothing much seemed to be happening.  The sky showed both brilliant blue and some ominous dark gray, so there wasn't really any telling exactly what would happen. I decided to ignore the clouds and count on the sunshine.  My last check of the weather a few hours before my run showed no more than a 20% chance of rain.  I started hearing thunder in the middle of the 4th mile, but it wasn't particularly loud or scary sounding.  Then it started raining lightly at the end of the 4th mile.  I knew that thunder and rain in the springtime was a recipe for hail.  It started raining harder.  I prayed it wouldn't turn to hail.  It was really windy, and I was getting pelted.  It didn't take too long to realize that rain doesn't sting quite that much even when the wind is driving it into you.  It was hailing.  I prayed the hail wouldn't get big enough to hurt me.  Luckily, it didn't.  But the wind got stronger, and the raindrops got bigger.  The sudden onslaught of fierce wind and rain had water rushing everywhere.  I could barely see where I was going.  I prayed no cars would come because I doubt they would have been able to see me any better than I could see them.  Standing sill didn't seem like it would be any better than continuing to move forward, so I kept going as best I could.  Of course the whole thing was over within about 5 minutes.  Probably the scariest 5 minutes of my life, but only 5 minutes.  Soaked to the skin, I finished my run through giant puddles while trying not to get sprayed by passing cars.

I felt like a drowned rat, but I guess I didn't quite look like one.

I just ran through a hail storm but I am still smiling...because what else can you do?!

Sunday
Back to the Track.  I thought about various different workouts.  Should I start with a 1600 and descend in distance, or should I pick a distance and repeat it?  Eventually I decided that the torture of the day would be 800s.  I was hoping for 6, with a switch in direction halfway through.  I ended up doing 4, because I was really struggling to maintain the pace on the 3rd one, and I wanted quality over quantity.  My infrequent training over the last few years has lost me the ability to judge my pace very well, so I switched the display on my watch to show pace, and used that to stay as steady as I could.  The goal was to do the 400s at a 6:20-6:30 pace.  I did a 1600 warm-up jog, then 4x 800 with a 400 jog in between, then 1600 cool-down jog. My 800s ended up at 3:17, 3:20, 3:21, 3:15. I did push a bit harder on the last one,  knowing it was my last, and not wanting it to be my slowest.  Didn't realize it would end up my fastest... Breathing was my main limiting factor.  Holding a consistent pace was also hard because the wind was strong enough to effect my effort differently on different sections of the track.

I'm pleased with the workout, especially knowing it is my first in so long.  As I get further into training and my lungs get stronger, I will be able to start feeling my pace better, and I won't use the pace setting on the watch anymore.  I do prefer to run by feel, but I felt I needed the watch today to make sure I didn't go too fast while my lungs were still working and then lose the pace too much when they stopped.

4 months of work building up my lungs has gone down the drain

Ugh.  So, I'm running again.  My ankle doesn't hurt at all for walking/running, it only hurts if it has to twist (basically, it only hurts if I unclip from bike pedals).  I discovered pretty quickly that my lungs are right back where they were 4 months ago when I started building them back up from my last bout of tendonitis.  I have 2 weeks to strengthen them before my next race.

This week : 

M : sweatfest 33 minutes / 9 miles / 16.4 mph

Pub Run 3.1 / 7:48 / 0 ft

T : 17 min TRX

run 3.4 miles / 7:28 / 39 ft

W : bike 20.8 / 18 mph / 1512 ft

R : 17 min TRX

run 5 miles / 7:42 / 147 ft

Sa : run 6.2 / 7:22 / 343 ft

Su : run 5 miles / 7:06 / 335 ft

total bike miles : 29.8

total run miles : 22.8

My heart rate was through the roof on my runs this week.  I guess it's understandable for today's run at a 7:06 pace after my time off, but my 5 mile jog on Thursday resulted in a heart rate profile that looks like one I would normally see after a half marathon, not after a jog!

This is my HR profile for a run on February 19 at the same pace as this Thursday's run.

This is Thursday's HR profile

And this is Sunday's.

Saturday's is similar to Sunday's except the bars are longer and the suffer score is higher, because it was a longer run.  And it says "Extreme" instead of "Tough"...

My heart rate made it above 200 a few times this week...it never got that high in the 10 mile race I did in February...weak lungs are making my heart work awfully hard right now!  My solution to this problem is to run as hard as I can, every time I run, until my lungs are beaten into submission.  It was working great until halfway through today's run when my legs decided it wasn't fun anymore.

Cake Smash Photo Session

Holly and I have been looking forward to Harper's 1st birthday cake smash for a very long time.  Possibly since she was born, but maybe not quite that long.  We anticipated epic smashing, a big mess, and lots of funny photos.  Turns out, Harper is not interested in smashing cakes.  She spent most of the session trying to wipe the icing off her fingers.  Oh well.  We did get some fun photos though!

she liked the candle a lot more than she liked the cake

tipping the cake over is apparently more fun than smashing it

I love the look she is giving the cake in this one!

Mommy likes the icing more than baby does.

More biking, and revisiting TRX

Last Sunday I decided to temporarily ban myself from biking in addition to running.  Unclipping from the pedal was very clearly making my ankle worse instead of better.  Twisting motions are not great for sprained ankles...  I succeeded in taking off both Sunday and Monday, but by Tuesday afternoon I was getting very restless and craving exercise.  As much as I wanted to go for a run, I also really wanted to be smart and not run too soon.  After two days without biking, the swelling was finally receding, but I could tell my ankle still wasn't strong.  Finally, it occurred to me that I could do a light TRX workout.  Way back when I had a gym membership years and years ago, I used to do a 5:30 AM TRX class 3 times a week, and I loved it.  At some point after I stopped being able to justify the monthly membership expense, I made my own TRX straps at home, and rigged them off my pull-up bar.  I used them for awhile, then moved on to other things.  They collected dust for a long time, until I decided to get back to it this week.  TRX can be as hard or as easy as you want to make it.  I kept it pretty simple this week, not adding jumps to any of the exercises, because of my ankle.  I found out very quickly that my core is even weaker than I thought it was, so hopefully I will be able to commit to doing TRX a few times a week now, so that I can strengthen my core.  It will help a lot with the biking back pain!

I spent a good bit of time debating whether or not I wanted to switch the pedals on my bike.  I didn't really want to go to the trouble, but I also suspected that my ankle really wouldn't be able to handle unclipping for awhile, and I knew I was going to want to supplement running with biking as I try to ease back in. I finally made the decision when my friend Lauren texted Wednesday morning to ask if I wanted to bike that afternoon.  I told her I would if I could get my pedal situation resolved in time.  My beloved cage pedals were on the old Schwinn bike, which is stashed in the hall closet, waiting for the day when I might feel like riding on the river trail.  Thankfully, Merrick had a pedal wrench with him at school, and I was able to bring it home.  I was skeptical about how long it would take me, but it was supposed to be easy.  (Generally I run into problems when things are supposed to be easy, and they end up being very time-consuming, frustration-creating, and tear-inducing before I finally get them done).  It ended up taking longer to unearth the bike from the closet than it did to get the pedals off.  So that was a relief.  Then I turned to the SuperSix to take off the clip pedals.  And immediately discovered that the pedal wrench was the wrong size for them.  But, since I now only had one bike to deal with, I didn't mind riding it down to the shop, with the cage pedals in hand, so Stu could switch them out for me.  Mission accomplished.

me being skeptical about the task ahead

cage pedals look so monstrous after the little tiny clip pedals...

This week : 

T : 30 min light TRX

W : bike 20.7 w/Lauren / 16.1 mph / 1588 ft

R : bike 11.1 / 16 mph / 1119 ft 

15 min TRX

Sa : 20 min TRX

sweatfest 35 min / 16.2 mph

Su : sweatfest 1:30 / 14.8 mph

bike miles : 63.5

Both Wednesday's and Thursday's rides were very windy.  Lauren and I had a great ride on Wednesday.  It was the first time we ever rode together, and I am looking forward to many more rides together, I think we will really be able to push each other out there.  The wind made the ride harder than it should have been, and it made it hard to talk much, because I could barely hear anything over the wind!  On Thursday, it was even windier, and I had to give up after just a short ride, because I was afraid I was going to get blown off the road or into a car, and the last thing I need right now is more injuries...  The rest of the week was various combinations of cold, windy, and rainy, so I decided to play it safe and bike inside.  

It is supposed to be rather chilly this week (why is the first week of spring colder than the last week of winter?!) so I'm not sure what biking will end up looking like.  I do plan to try running again, starting with tomorrow's Pub Run.  I haven't run at all since the Pub Run 2 weeks ago.  I will see how tomorrow goes, and then decide what to do from there.  Walking is painless, and I just happened to run down the stairs while I was doing laundry yesterday, and that didn't hurt either.  So I imagine running will be fine as long as I am very careful with the terrain.  No jumping into ditches allowed. 

Adding up the Bike Miles

Ugh, injuries.  I don't think my body likes being healthy.  Why else would it decide to break right after the best long run I've ever had?

It's debatable at this point which is harder on my ankle, riding or running.  So I probably should have taken the week off from both, but I'm not good at that.  So I've been riding.  I even gave up the 5k race yesterday, which was disappointing, but probably the better choice.

This week : 

M : Pub Run 3.1 / 8:36 / 0 ft

T : bike 20.5 / 18 mph / 1499 ft

F : bike 24.3 / 17.5 mph / 1847 ft

Sa : bike 27.3 / 16.2 mph / 2283 ft

total run miles : 3.1

total bike miles : 72.2

My ankle actually felt really good on Monday's run.  So good I was really tempted to run further, but I decided to be smart and stop after 2 laps like everyone else.

Tuesday's ride was good, and my ankle didn't seem to be strained too badly, but then I was stretching afterwards and apparently moved my foot just the wrong way, because my ankle was suddenly filled with stabbing pains.  So that set me back a good bit, and resulted in 2 days off.

My back did some complaining on Friday's ride, and even more on Saturday's ride.  Not really surprising, given how many miles I rode this week after not riding much at all for months.  I'm going to have to stretch it a lot more until it gets into better bike shape.  Which hopefully won't take long, because Spring is here and I will be on the bike more often!  (I think.)

The world hasn't turned green yet, but it was warm and sunny all week!

Sunrises

I absolutely love a gorgeous sunrise.  But they are seriously hurting my productivity.  9/10 times that go into work early, I end up getting far less done than planned, because I just can't resist those gorgeous sunrises!  There are of course, worse problems to have!

At least I still get more done than I would if I didn't come in early at all!

Sunrise 3/10/2016

Sunrise 3/3/2016

I'm sensing a theme.

It appears that Thursdays are gorgeous sunrise days. 

Lazy Week a/k/a Recovery Week

Because I don't believe in taking days of for injuries, I went for a run on Monday.  I taped up my ankle first, but that still doesn't necessarily mean that it was ok to run on it.  I didn't actually have a visible ankle bone at that point... However, it seemed to loosen up throughout the run and seemed no worse for the wear.  I told my friends that my body has magical healing powers because it knows I don't believe in rest.

It was warmer out on Tuesday, so I took the opportunity to bike.  The twisting motion of unclipping from the pedals was uncomfortable for my ankle, but it survived.  (The swelling was down enough for my ankle bone to reappear by now)

On Wednesday I decided to take the day off.  I stayed late at work trying to get ahead instead.  It seems the harder I try to get ahead, the more I find to do.  So in the end, I never really get that far ahead.  I would love to get ahead enough that I can start working on the yearbook during school hours, instead of relying on snow days (of which there may not be any more) and weekends.  Wishful thinking. Stayed til 5 on Wednesday, and went in at 6 AM on Thursday, and I still ended up getting sucked into the yearbook vortex this weekend.  On the plus side, I do enjoy working on the yearbook.  It may not be my first choice of a way to spend my weekends, but at least it's fun!

I went for a run on Thursday, and felt pretty good.  Friday morning when I woke up my ankle informed me, through various aches and pains, that just because I could  run, didn't mean I should run.  So I didn't run again for the rest of the week.  And I have been faithfully icing, elevating, and wrapping my ankle all week long!  And taking ibuprofen occasionally, just in case it will help.  I'm impressed with my new-found powers of taking care of injuries.

The weather wasn't nice enough for me to be tempted to bike on Friday or Saturday, so I didn't exercise.  I was hoping the temperature would reach 50 on Sunday for a bike ride, but it only got a little bit above 40.  I spent several hours debating whether or not to bike.  I eventually decided I wasn't going to, and started my Sunday cooking-fest.  Then the sun came out and even though it was still only about 41 degrees, I decided exercise was a much better option than 3 days off in a row. So I biked.  It snowed a few times this week, so the roads were covered in extra grit and gravel, which was highly annoying, but it didn't actually cause me any traction problems.  Probably because I was being extra careful.

This week : 

M : run 4.3 miles / 8:09 / 284 ft

T : bike 18.4 miles / 16.5 mph / 1457 ft

R : run 5.3 / 7:29 / 420 ft

Su : bike 17.7 miles / 17.7 mph / 1329 ft

total bike miles : 36.2

total run miles : 9.6