Nine More Weeks

Remember my last post on getting new shoes? Here is a comparison pic: old versus new

I meant to post more on being halfway through half-marathon training, and now we are over half way! We are on week 14 and only have 9 more weeks to go until the Rock and Roll Half on November 3rd! Woohoo!

It's hard to believe that it's getting closer and closer. But it seems like I've been training forever... which, I pretty much have been doing since January 1 of this year. The build up and anticipation is certainly increasing as it gets closer, as well as our weekly mileage! I have no idea how I will handle the crossing the finish line... will I break down into an emo mess and weep like a baby? Or will I finish strong and feel like kicking ass upon crossing the line? Maybe I'll be crawling up the chutes, barely able to walk, and crying from pain!?! LOL Hopefully not that last one. I'm pretty sure lots of catching of breaths will ensue and trying to find water will be the first thing on my mind. Who knows! All I know is that I can't wait to find out!!!

We (the Pooler CREW Training Group) did 8 miles this morning on a dark golf course. It was pretty neat, as I've never run on such a course. It was a great change of scenery - even though the first half of the run was in complete darkness (thankfully the blue moon was still out at 5:30 am!) and there was some dense fog lingering over us. The 2nd half of the run was much better and cooler as the humid fog lifted and the sun started coming up.

Another old vs new comparison... Inside of my overpronating right heel

I've got a new injury this time around... It's called um... *something* bursitis (I will fill in the blank later when I feel like getting up to get the paper in my purse with the correct term)!! It's basically some fluid buildup at the back of my knee from my uneven leg lengths (due to scoliosis) and overcompensation of the shorter leg. It's nothing that inhibits my running, but it is one of those minor aches that gets annoying throughout the day and you'd just rather not have it exist. It only bothers me when I extend my left knee. I feel some minor discomfort at the back of my knee. I went to a free injury clinic at Fleet Feet after the 8-miler today and that's what the physical therapist told me. He suggested icing, compression, strengthening exercises and a heel lift (to lift my shorter leg up a bit). I actually have one from another PT that I threw in a drawer somewhere. I used it a few times, but decided it sucked. I might try to find it. I was apparently using it wrong. I was supposed to put it under the shoe's insert, not over it. (Duh!) Apparently this was caused from over striding from sprinting. With my last few runs, I've been trying to sprint at the end, like the last 1 to 1.5 miles of the run because I have energy saved up and I ALWAYS love to see how fast I can go for however many miles we do... Bad idea!! I need to save that stuff for actual races, not training runs...

Other than that I think I'm really getting stronger - especially with the crossfit class I'm going to. It's pretty intense, but I like a good intense workout where I'm not running on pavement for hours at a time! I'll blog more on that at a later time.

Speaking of getting stronger, I decided to start a Plank-a-Day challenge, where you pretty much just do a plank for as long as you can (time it) every day for a month and see how much longer you can do it by the end of the month. The plank position is one of the simplest ways to increase your core strength and stability – something I know I need in order to further reduce my chances of injury when I run.

I found out about Plankaday via a new blogger that I follow: Cherierunsthis.com! Cherie is a fitness blogger from PA who posts lots of recipes, workout tips and fun photos! Check her out if you can! I can't wait to do the Foodie Penpal this month! (I'll blog about that later too).

But it's another fitness blogger who started the Plankaday challenge: Lea at runningfordummies.net. She's got a leaderboard going and I'm currently #11 at 2:23 minute plank. Not bad for my first time! Lea holds 7+ minute planks!

I'm not sure if I was doing it properly, but my abs (and surrounding areas) were shaking for the last minute or so, so I think I at least got some real plank action going on! I'll have to have Joel check my form tomorrow. Lets hope I can keep this up every day! It only takes a few minutes of your time, so I have no excuse not to do it! Join me!!!

June Summary

June started off on a low note, as I was still in "rest mode" to let my hip heal. I tried to stay active by rowing and starting some bootcamp classes. Upon the followup with my PT, I was told that I could run again, but to take it easy and to continue with my routine of stretches he gave me. I did start of with a few low mileage runs building up to a trial 5k to see how I would do back at my normal distance. I felt fine afterwards and decided that I was ready to join the Fleet Feet C.R.E.W Half Marathon Training Group.

My first run with the group was on Saturday, June 16. Saturdays are our long run days. This Saturday we were scheduled to do 3.75 miles. I ended up doing 4.4 miles due to some course confusion! We start and end all our runs with lots of stretching, but when I come home I still feel the need to ice and stretch my hips and IT band out some more. I feel that by doing this, I am preventing any more issues from arising. It's been working out well so far. I love the group and the dynamic and it really motivates me to get up and run in the mornings!

I am proud to say that in June, I have run a personal record amount of monthly miles: 45! Not bad for coming off a hip injury! I am looking forward to increasing that number each month until my half in Nov!

In the beginning of the month I had started a Jillian Michaels 30-day DVD. I am sad to say that I have only done a few days of it, BUT I do plan to continue to do it until I actually do 30 days of it. I think with the bootcamps and running, I am getting enough exercise throughout the week. I go to bootcamp every Wednesday night and I am thoroughly sore the following days after! I love that feeling! I can tell that I am getting stronger.

I am also sorry to say that I have not been to yoga this past month due to my yoga buddy moving away and well, just not having enough time to go. I still have 5 classes left on my one punchcard with one yoga studio and I just have not been to any Bikram classes at all this month.  I love Bikram, but I think I will have to put it off until the off season. I have way too much stuff going on as it is and $20 a class is a bit much right now!

This month I have a few things going on, such as my 4-mile Race in Atlanta with my coworker on the 14th, and my first (virtual) half marathon RELAY on the 28th. Then in August, I am starting a 5 week Crossfit class with Jen – who has quickly become a great friend and running/workout buddy!

All that PLUS a few other trips and fun things sprinkled in between that I am pretty excited about. This half of the year is starting off on a high note! Hopefully it will continue like this until the end of the year! Happy Half Year!

I ran a half marathon!

...in the course of one week! :) It's a record for me, anyway. 13.6 miles to be exact (really more like 14 miles - see below), from Sunday to Saturday.

I'm excited to have started my official RnR half training with the Fleet Feet CREW Training Group! I had my first run with them last Saturday morning, which was a 3.75 mile course though some neighborhoods in Pooler. There was a little confusion as to which way the course was headed. I thought I studied the course pretty well before I left, but I ended up following the 2 leaders (maybe about 1 minute behind them) and they seemed to get a bit lost! I caught up with them for a while and we realized that we were off course and already reached 3.75 miles with a little more back to the start! I decided to break off and stop my watch at 4, and just slow to a jog to cool down instead of going with then to the end. I was probably pushing myself harder than I should have to keep up with them, coming off of my injury. That's one of my weaknesses... pushing myself too hard. I'm too stubborn and I think I can get back to my 9-10 minute/mile pace right off the bat. 2-3 weeks off from running really regresses the training. :(

Anyway, the course we ended up doing was a total of 4.44 miles! Next run is Tuesday for 2. Then Thursday for 3 and the long run on Saturday for 4 miles. I hope I stick with the course this time!

image via This Princess Runs

In other news, I found an awesome etsy shop that makes running costumes! This Princess Runs makes custom running costumes out of Under Armour... I ordered myself a Wonder Woman one! I love a good running costume and I plan to wear it for the RnR in November! And maybe again for the bridge Run in Dec. She is a fellow mother runner who mainly makes princess costumes - I think she started by making herself a princess costume for the Disney Princess Half. Check out the other costumes she has made!I am pretty darn excited about mine!

Latest Runs and "The Runs"

First of all, my training has been going well. I've been getting out and doing stuff (or in some cases, doing stuff at home). I love my yoga class and I think it's definitely helping with core/balance and stretching out the hips and ITB. I do that twice a week, and I am trying to get some running in at least twice a week as well. And then in between, I am slowly trying to work in some strength training at home. Here is a rundown of my latest runs and yoga workouts:

1.
Newport
January 13, 2012, Friday
12:41pm
3.1miles
32:23, 10:27 pace

2.
Yoga - Fitness Witness, Pooler, GA
January 17, 2012, Tuesday
5:30pm
1 hour

3.
Newport
January 18, 2012, Wednesday
12:40pm
3.1miles
31:05, 10:02 pace

4.
Yoga - Fitness Witness, Pooler, GA
January 21, 2012, Saturday
9am
1 hour

5.
Newport
January 27, 2012, Friday
12:41pm
3.1miles
30:23, 9:48 pace (Note: Fastest 5k time this year, so far!)

6.
Yoga - Fitness Witness, Pooler, GA
January 28, 2012, Saturday
9am
1 hour

7.
Newport
January 31, 2012, Tuesday
1:13pm
3.1miles
30:55, 9:59 pace

8.
Yoga - Fitness Witness, Pooler, GA
January 31, 2012, Tuesday
5:30pm
1 hour

9.
Newport
February 2, 2012, Thursday
12:34pm
3.1miles
31:20, 10:07 pace

10.
Yoga - Fitness Witness, Pooler, GA
February 4, 2012, Saturday
9am
1 hour

11.
Richmond Hill
February 5, 2012, Sunday
6:12pm
6.4miles - Long Slow Distance (LSD) (Note: Longest run this year, so far!)
01:14:00, 11:34 pace


The second part of this post deals with a TMI issue, but I need to address it.

As you see, I did my first long run of the year. I planned on only running  4 to 5 miles, or 1 hour... whichever was longer or what ever I thought/felt I could do. Apparently my mind took over and I felt like a beast who could probably run an entire 13.1 if I had the time. It was Superbowl Sunday, I had no interest whatsoever in the game this year (boring teams - would like to have seen some new teams in the game this year), so I decided to take advantage of the time to go for a run in a new location (my bro-in-law's neighborhood). The weather was AWESOME, had a great view of stars and a full moon. The only issue I had was that it was really dark in some areas. I almost twisted my ankle.

Anyway, my supposed 4-5 mile run turned into a little over a 10k! I seriously felt good. But turns out that my family was worried about me and sent my sis-in-law to look for me! LOL Good thing I made it back before she pulled out of the driveway! Anyway, I got back in and stretched out, then took some time to eat some dinner. Shortly after was when the first "wave" started.

My bowels were cramping up so badly, that I was doubling over in pain. It was awful. I usually had some cramping after running, but this was worse and I knew that I was about to do some "christening" of my brother-in-laws facilities. In total, this happened about 3 times, until my sis-in-law noticed and asked if I was ok. I asked if she had any Immodium AD... and thankfully, after I took that, I was feeling better. She also offered me a Gatorade, which I think helped due to dehydration.

SO... lesson: I don't need to be running this long or far at this point in my training. I think I need to keep doing my 3 milers and try to add distance gradually. Or do shorter LSDs, like 4 to 4.5 miles. The half-marathon isn't until November! I have plenty of time to increase mileage. I just got way ahead of myself. I also need to evaluate my diet and what I am eating before running. I had an entire Snickers bar before the run.. maybe that contributed to the GI issues. Who knows? Updates on this as training progresses...

P.S. The weight gain was a fluke... I am back to my normal hovering between 135#!

Back to Running - Anything is Possible 5k

Did 3.1 miles last Friday to prepare for the Anything is Possible 5k that was this past Sunday:

Ft. Washington Park
November 4, 2011, Friday
5:28pm
3.1 miles
33:26, 10:47 avg. pace

Mostly flat. Kind of chilly. Was not trying to push myself, but trying to do the distance since it was the first time running in 3 weeks.

+++

Anything is Possible 5k
November 6, 2011, Sunday
1:50am
3.1 miles
official times: 37:19 (chip) / 38:02 (clock)
negative net time: -22:42

This race started at 1:50AM (YES, in the middle of the night) on the night of Daylight Savings. Which meant that you ended the race before you started it! I ran with my friend Bonnie and her husband Mike. We were tired and cold in the beginning, but warmed up a little in the car before the start of the race and eventually got into it! The cold felt great as we kept on running. It was really fun and I'm glad we did it! Too bad Shonna wasn't able to make it! We missed you!

I didn't start my watch on time, so I wasn't able to track my mileage on my Garmin watch. D'oh!

+++

Don't know when or what my next race will be. But I do know that both Joel and I will be signing up for the 2nd annual Rock and Roll HALF Marathon in Savannah for 2012. It takes place on November 3, 2012, so I have a year to train. I seriously need to start now! (The 2011 Rock and Roll race was this past weekend, I heard it was chaos!)