I've been in Tennessee for a few days now, with a few days left to go. I woke up late (or so I thought) yesterday morning, and decided maybe I didn't have time for a run. After half an hour I realized that my phone, while set to automatically detect the time, was still detecting Eastern time and not Central. With my gained hour I strapped on my shoes, with needing any external motivation, and hit the roads for a small 3 mile loop. It was fantastic. The new scenery was certainly welcome, but it just felt good to be back out there. So good, in fact, that this morning I did the same loop - but faster. Bringing my grand total to 6 Tennessee miles this trip so far.
NDH and I have been scheming for our upcoming joint races, and I am overly excited about the prospects of a road trip to Nashville. I've even added camping in the Smokey Mountains to our agenda, with or without his approval.
This is my last trip in a series of escapes lately, and I think I'm finally straight in the head. Thanks to all my friends who have put up with me this month, and especially to NDH and LDH who have both suggested several times that getting back out there for a run would help. Though I dragged my feet about it for a while, of course you were right. This may be the motivation I need to do a small run every morning - days that start with a run have been insanely better for me lately.
This song somehow snuck onto my iPod shuffle in amongst the GirlTalk, but...it was much appreciated and struck a chord with me yesterday morning. Thank you, Fleet Foxes!
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
A 20-month hiatus from blogging, but here I come to revive our blog! There's a lot to catch up on, and I'll start by admitting that our blog name is a little outdated. LDH is still up in New Brunswick, but YJP has moved from ATX to Baltimore, MD - technically, the same coast as LDH. But, but, still different time zones, different countries, so technically she's on the east coast of Canada where I am on the east coast of the US. So, the name stays!
In an attempt to get us up to date - one year ago I moved to Baltimore, MD. In October of 2011, I completed my first full marathon. My good friends from Boston trained with me all last summer, and came down to run with me in the fall. We can use "with me" loosely, because I pulled up the rear with a final time (WELL UNDER my estimate of 6 hours) around a 5:55 first marathon. But I finished. And we looked good, didn't we?
After conquering the distance, I decided to step back and work on my speed. I figured I could get faster, so I spent the winter working on that. I spent much time on the treadmill inside - because it turns out that it's cold and snowy here in Baltimore! I was working my way down quite nicely, and was encroaching upon 9:30 min miles, quite the accomplishment from the 11:30 that I started with. I had hopes of completing a sub-hour 10K, and it looked in reach. Until my leg imploded. I ran with moderate to severe leg pain for a bit over a month, completed the 10K in 1:07, walking much of the second half (I finished the first 3 miles in 29 minutes).
I then spent the spring not running, but going to sports med doctors, physical therapy appointments, and the like. I was diagnosed with a pretty decent stress fracture. The PT determined it was due to my weak hips, and my attempts at getting faster. Without my hips and butt muscles to act as shock absorbers, my legs were taking way too much force, this combined with the gloomy darkness of winter (I still blame this since the blood work turned up a vitamin-D deficiency) my leg couldn't take it.
Finally, mid-summer, I graduated from both the sports doctor and the physical therapist and began a very slow Return To Running schedule. I began with one minute of running and one minute of walking. It was annoying, but after nearly 3 months of no running, it was just about where I needed to be. As I began to finish this, and be able to move into a regular running/training schedule, life began to throw me a few curve balls. After a few weeks straight of various catastrophes including threats on my life (thanks lightning and other disastrous events), threats on other people's lives, broken hearts, and even a middle-of-the-night police invasions, I was in a pretty low spot running wise. There were other daily activities I was struggling to keep up with, that running was so far off my radar.
Until yesterday! I decided it was time to get back out there. Thanks to some pretty consistent motivation from NDH, I strapped on my shoes and got out of the house. And what a fantastic run it was! I made it just about 5 miles, and it felt great. So great, in fact, that I did the same route again this morning. And it was easier, and a smidge faster. Thanks, NDH, for your help this weekend, the past few weeks, and in general being an inspiration of how to turn bad situations into some more positive healthy goals.
This song came on my mix while I was running - and I may have listened to it twice. It's not necessarily directed at any one person or situation (seriously), but I found the message of this song to be exactly the pick-me-up I needed in the last mile of yesterday's run. I needed the reminder that my problems, while real to me, are mostly inconsequential in the grand scheme. I am truly a lucky person, with plenty of wonderful people cheering me on in almost everything I do. It's about time to get things back on track and stop feeling sorry for myself. Time to turn this month around and come back swinging!
And swing I will. I plan to keep my miles low for a bit, and get my lungs and legs back into a groove. I think I can be consistently around 10 minute miles, and will still aim to comfortably finish a (maybe not official raceday) 10K in under an hour. Then I will tackle adding on some miles to meet my next two race goals - an half marathon in Austin in February, and the full Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April. I think NDH has agreed to go to Austin, and maybe even LDH! And then, NDH will definitely be in Nashville with me. It's time to get some training schedules into the calendar. My new method will CERTAINLY include a focus on cross training. I need my hips and butt behind me (literally) to keep my leg in line.
It's good to be back.
After conquering the distance, I decided to step back and work on my speed. I figured I could get faster, so I spent the winter working on that. I spent much time on the treadmill inside - because it turns out that it's cold and snowy here in Baltimore! I was working my way down quite nicely, and was encroaching upon 9:30 min miles, quite the accomplishment from the 11:30 that I started with. I had hopes of completing a sub-hour 10K, and it looked in reach. Until my leg imploded. I ran with moderate to severe leg pain for a bit over a month, completed the 10K in 1:07, walking much of the second half (I finished the first 3 miles in 29 minutes).
I then spent the spring not running, but going to sports med doctors, physical therapy appointments, and the like. I was diagnosed with a pretty decent stress fracture. The PT determined it was due to my weak hips, and my attempts at getting faster. Without my hips and butt muscles to act as shock absorbers, my legs were taking way too much force, this combined with the gloomy darkness of winter (I still blame this since the blood work turned up a vitamin-D deficiency) my leg couldn't take it.
Finally, mid-summer, I graduated from both the sports doctor and the physical therapist and began a very slow Return To Running schedule. I began with one minute of running and one minute of walking. It was annoying, but after nearly 3 months of no running, it was just about where I needed to be. As I began to finish this, and be able to move into a regular running/training schedule, life began to throw me a few curve balls. After a few weeks straight of various catastrophes including threats on my life (thanks lightning and other disastrous events), threats on other people's lives, broken hearts, and even a middle-of-the-night police invasions, I was in a pretty low spot running wise. There were other daily activities I was struggling to keep up with, that running was so far off my radar.
Until yesterday! I decided it was time to get back out there. Thanks to some pretty consistent motivation from NDH, I strapped on my shoes and got out of the house. And what a fantastic run it was! I made it just about 5 miles, and it felt great. So great, in fact, that I did the same route again this morning. And it was easier, and a smidge faster. Thanks, NDH, for your help this weekend, the past few weeks, and in general being an inspiration of how to turn bad situations into some more positive healthy goals.
This song came on my mix while I was running - and I may have listened to it twice. It's not necessarily directed at any one person or situation (seriously), but I found the message of this song to be exactly the pick-me-up I needed in the last mile of yesterday's run. I needed the reminder that my problems, while real to me, are mostly inconsequential in the grand scheme. I am truly a lucky person, with plenty of wonderful people cheering me on in almost everything I do. It's about time to get things back on track and stop feeling sorry for myself. Time to turn this month around and come back swinging!
And swing I will. I plan to keep my miles low for a bit, and get my lungs and legs back into a groove. I think I can be consistently around 10 minute miles, and will still aim to comfortably finish a (maybe not official raceday) 10K in under an hour. Then I will tackle adding on some miles to meet my next two race goals - an half marathon in Austin in February, and the full Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April. I think NDH has agreed to go to Austin, and maybe even LDH! And then, NDH will definitely be in Nashville with me. It's time to get some training schedules into the calendar. My new method will CERTAINLY include a focus on cross training. I need my hips and butt behind me (literally) to keep my leg in line.
It's good to be back.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Day 4 of Pain
So, apparently both Jenni and I suck at blogging on a regular basis. This could also be due to the fact that we both suck at training alone. If we lived in the city, we would be logging miles like there was no tomorrow. Unfortunately, with no training partners, I think we are both lagging in our half marathon training.
I have been running a reasonable amount of times per week, but have been sucking in the mileage department. I just can't convince myself to go out and run 10 miles in the freezing cold. Once school let out, I was determined to get my ass into gear. On Christmas eve day, I ran 10K, which was not as much as I needed to do, but at least a start in the right direction. A few days later because it was too snowy and icy outside, I decided to run the stairs in my building at work. I figured a 5 minute warm up jog around the building, then 20 minutes of running stairs, followed by a five minute cool down jog. No problem, right?
Bahahahahahaha.
Boy was I wrong. Not only did my legs shake for 6-8 hours afterward, I woke up the next day with CRIPPLING calf pain. So bad, in fact, that the act of going downstairs for breakfast took about 5 minutes because I had to pause after each stair to keel over in agony. The only thing that has ever caused me this much pain before was snowboarding. It hurt to make the slightest movements with my legs. Even just walking was torturous, so I spent most of the day in my office chair.
I woke up on Day 2 after running the stairs and the pain was even worse. I didn't know that it was possible to feel more pain in ones calf muscles than I had felt on Day 1. I decided that my problem was my lack of activity the previous day, which had not allowed my muscles to unclench themselves, or whatever was going on. My brilliant plan of action was to go for a run. Easier said than done. I attempted to start running a few times, each resulting in so much pain that I had to stop immediately. I figured the least I could do was walk the route I planned on running. After about 10 minutes of walking, I tried running again, and while painful, it was not unbearable this time. I ended up walking and running 3 miles. Unfortunately, the running did not help to alleviate the pain because it was basically the same on Day 3
Today is Day 4 since the fateful stair-running day, and I am still in pain. Today I managed to run 4 miles, and it was not terrible. I hope that within the next couple of days I will be able to move up and down stairs without wanting to die. One can dream....
I have been running a reasonable amount of times per week, but have been sucking in the mileage department. I just can't convince myself to go out and run 10 miles in the freezing cold. Once school let out, I was determined to get my ass into gear. On Christmas eve day, I ran 10K, which was not as much as I needed to do, but at least a start in the right direction. A few days later because it was too snowy and icy outside, I decided to run the stairs in my building at work. I figured a 5 minute warm up jog around the building, then 20 minutes of running stairs, followed by a five minute cool down jog. No problem, right?
Bahahahahahaha.
Boy was I wrong. Not only did my legs shake for 6-8 hours afterward, I woke up the next day with CRIPPLING calf pain. So bad, in fact, that the act of going downstairs for breakfast took about 5 minutes because I had to pause after each stair to keel over in agony. The only thing that has ever caused me this much pain before was snowboarding. It hurt to make the slightest movements with my legs. Even just walking was torturous, so I spent most of the day in my office chair.
I woke up on Day 2 after running the stairs and the pain was even worse. I didn't know that it was possible to feel more pain in ones calf muscles than I had felt on Day 1. I decided that my problem was my lack of activity the previous day, which had not allowed my muscles to unclench themselves, or whatever was going on. My brilliant plan of action was to go for a run. Easier said than done. I attempted to start running a few times, each resulting in so much pain that I had to stop immediately. I figured the least I could do was walk the route I planned on running. After about 10 minutes of walking, I tried running again, and while painful, it was not unbearable this time. I ended up walking and running 3 miles. Unfortunately, the running did not help to alleviate the pain because it was basically the same on Day 3
Today is Day 4 since the fateful stair-running day, and I am still in pain. Today I managed to run 4 miles, and it was not terrible. I hope that within the next couple of days I will be able to move up and down stairs without wanting to die. One can dream....
Saturday, November 27, 2010
I suck at training alone
So, one of the reasons Jenni and I started this blog was to encourage each other to keep running from a distance because we were so good at encouraging each other when we were together. We have both been way too busy to blog lately, so this method seems to be failing. Also, I am failing at sticking to my training schedule. I had a friend in town, then it snowed, etc., etc. I can always seem to find an excuse. I haven't done a "long" training run in a while. All of my recent runs over the past month or so have been between 2-3 miles. According to my training program for the Austin Half Marathon, I should have run 10 miles today. Ha! So, it appears that I am very behind. I did run today (and two other times this week) and all three of these runs have been quite good. I feel invigorated and happy to be back running regularly. Today I planned to do 7 miles and wasn't sure if I would succeed since it has been so long since I have cracked 3 miles. But, I did it! And it felt good!
The snow is mostly gone right now, and it isn't supposed to snow again all week, so I am going to try to get in as many runs as possible before I have to retire to the treadmill for the better part of the winter. I have never really used a treadmill to train with because I find them BORING, but my dad reassures me that if there is a TV to watch or something, I will be find cranking out 10 miles on a treadmill. We will see.
Today was cold (-1 Celsius) and there were some ice patches when I was in the trails. This resulted in me doing weird tippy-toe hoping movements every so often, and if anyone was watching me, they would have thought I was crazy. I ran around the Waterfowl park for part of it and it looked really cool all frozen with the sun shining off of it. I will try to get a picture some time soon.
For now, I am going to do my best to get back on track, training-wise. I am going to do another 6 or 7 miles on tuesday, and then try for 8 next weekend. I still have almost 3 months until the race, so I am not too worried...yet.
P.S. Jenni - you need to write about the Warrior Dash!
Distance: 7 miles on pavement and trails
Number of stars: 4
Lessons learned: I suck at training alone
Song that rocked my run: The entire "All Day" album from GirlTalk
The snow is mostly gone right now, and it isn't supposed to snow again all week, so I am going to try to get in as many runs as possible before I have to retire to the treadmill for the better part of the winter. I have never really used a treadmill to train with because I find them BORING, but my dad reassures me that if there is a TV to watch or something, I will be find cranking out 10 miles on a treadmill. We will see.
Today was cold (-1 Celsius) and there were some ice patches when I was in the trails. This resulted in me doing weird tippy-toe hoping movements every so often, and if anyone was watching me, they would have thought I was crazy. I ran around the Waterfowl park for part of it and it looked really cool all frozen with the sun shining off of it. I will try to get a picture some time soon.
For now, I am going to do my best to get back on track, training-wise. I am going to do another 6 or 7 miles on tuesday, and then try for 8 next weekend. I still have almost 3 months until the race, so I am not too worried...yet.
P.S. Jenni - you need to write about the Warrior Dash!
Distance: 7 miles on pavement and trails
Number of stars: 4
Lessons learned: I suck at training alone
Song that rocked my run: The entire "All Day" album from GirlTalk
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Damn nature, you scary!
I intended to write a post with this title after a recent experience in which a moth or something like it flew directly into my face, startling the crap out of me, a pheasant ran out of the bushes when I ran by, startling the crap out of me, and then flock (gaggle?) of Canadian geese started hover over me like they were plotting to dive bomb me, scaring the crap out of me. That was a lot of scariness for a 3 mile run.
Today I set out on a 4.5 mile run. My training plan called for 5.5, but I planned out a perfect 4.5 mile route, and I didn't run all week, so I figured I could cheat a bit. (THIS IS WHY I NEED A RUNNING PARTNER!) Most of the time I run through trails near my house, but because I wanted to be able to track my mileage, I decided to try a new route. I told D about my new route and said, "Just in case I don't come back because I got eaten by a dog, you will be able to find my body." To which he said, "Oh yeah, there are dogs up there. They stayed on their property when I went by, but they are not on a leash, and they were growling and barking." Oh great! So I set off on my run and within 5 minutes I was confronted by my first off-leash growly, scary dog. My immediate reaction was to cross my arms so that it couldn't bite my hands. Surprisingly, it did not leave its property. I wonder if they have the magic invisible fence or if it is just really well trained? Then the next house also had an off-leash dog. It barked at me, but did not move either. My route started to take me in to more remote parts of town, and some people had what looked like bear-proof trash boxes. I mean, maybe they are just to keep out the racoons, but it looked like it was to prevent bears, which made me nervous. Also, there were lots of bushes, a few abandoned houses and barns, and a large cemetery. I really started to feel like I was in a horror movie. Good thing I never watch them because my imagination might have gotten the better of me. After a couple more scary dogs, I was back on Main Street, where I could relax again.
The route was also VERY hilly, something I normally try to avoid, but which is largely unavoidable here in Sackville. I think the adrenaline from my fear really helped me because I ran up almost all the hills with no problems. There was one huge one that got me though, and I had to walk to the top. Other than that, I was pretty pleased with my hill running abilities. Jenni wouldn't even recognize me any more!
Distance: 4.5 miles on pavement
Number of stars: 4
Lessons learned: Stick to the main streets when running around here.
Song that rocked my run: Hey Ya by Outkast
Today I set out on a 4.5 mile run. My training plan called for 5.5, but I planned out a perfect 4.5 mile route, and I didn't run all week, so I figured I could cheat a bit. (THIS IS WHY I NEED A RUNNING PARTNER!) Most of the time I run through trails near my house, but because I wanted to be able to track my mileage, I decided to try a new route. I told D about my new route and said, "Just in case I don't come back because I got eaten by a dog, you will be able to find my body." To which he said, "Oh yeah, there are dogs up there. They stayed on their property when I went by, but they are not on a leash, and they were growling and barking." Oh great! So I set off on my run and within 5 minutes I was confronted by my first off-leash growly, scary dog. My immediate reaction was to cross my arms so that it couldn't bite my hands. Surprisingly, it did not leave its property. I wonder if they have the magic invisible fence or if it is just really well trained? Then the next house also had an off-leash dog. It barked at me, but did not move either. My route started to take me in to more remote parts of town, and some people had what looked like bear-proof trash boxes. I mean, maybe they are just to keep out the racoons, but it looked like it was to prevent bears, which made me nervous. Also, there were lots of bushes, a few abandoned houses and barns, and a large cemetery. I really started to feel like I was in a horror movie. Good thing I never watch them because my imagination might have gotten the better of me. After a couple more scary dogs, I was back on Main Street, where I could relax again.
The route was also VERY hilly, something I normally try to avoid, but which is largely unavoidable here in Sackville. I think the adrenaline from my fear really helped me because I ran up almost all the hills with no problems. There was one huge one that got me though, and I had to walk to the top. Other than that, I was pretty pleased with my hill running abilities. Jenni wouldn't even recognize me any more!
Distance: 4.5 miles on pavement
Number of stars: 4
Lessons learned: Stick to the main streets when running around here.
Song that rocked my run: Hey Ya by Outkast
Saturday, October 9, 2010
running out the rage
I think I've said it before, I run best when I'm angry. Once, last December, I was in IKEA and I got a text message that filled me with rage, and I came home and ran 10 miles. Just like that. There's something about it, being so pissed off, and then just running. Running it out. You can think about whatever you want, you can play out awful scenario after awful scenario, and as you do, the miles just roll by. What happens, usually, is by the end of the run, whatever was making you so upset is also gone.
I remember one time in high school, I'm pretty sure it was my senior year, and my JV field hockey coach had us each write down one goal for the game. Mine was probably something like "stay on your man" or "stick down when you stop the ball", or some other terribly obvious thing that I could never quite do right. And she had us put them in our right shoe, and every time we took a step, we were supposed to think of that goal. And dammit, if that didn't just work well! I think I do a similar thing with running when I'm angry. I focus all of my energy on that one thing, and by the end of the run I just don't need to worry about it anymore.
Lately, I think I've forgotten this. I mean, it sounds silly, to focus on all the bad stuff. But, it's gonna be there anyway, may as well do something constructive with it. This week, the last few weeks, have been particularly bad. Personal things, professional things, things completely out of my control, things completely under my control - and I've just ignored it all. This morning I was supposed to do Wilke Hill with my group, but I didn't. I say I slept through it, and that is the truth. Honestly though, the alarm went off and I woke up. And as I lay there contemplating whether or not I was going to do this (as I do every morning), I must have fallen asleep for an hour. Because at 7:15, I was waking up again. Oops.
But, I ran anyway. Not Wilke. A new route that I've never done before. And I ran away the rage. I ran for everything that's been bothering me, stressing me out, and making me want to yell. And, it totally worked. 8 miles later, and I was feeling great.
I took LD's advice, and I switched up the tunes - a great idea. My iPod must have known exactly what I needed, because we started with some of the angry Eminem and Alanis Morrisette. But the run ended with Dar Williams singing about Better Things. Man, it was just perfect.
Song that rocked my run: Not Afraid by Eminem.
4 star run, rage gone!
I remember one time in high school, I'm pretty sure it was my senior year, and my JV field hockey coach had us each write down one goal for the game. Mine was probably something like "stay on your man" or "stick down when you stop the ball", or some other terribly obvious thing that I could never quite do right. And she had us put them in our right shoe, and every time we took a step, we were supposed to think of that goal. And dammit, if that didn't just work well! I think I do a similar thing with running when I'm angry. I focus all of my energy on that one thing, and by the end of the run I just don't need to worry about it anymore.
Lately, I think I've forgotten this. I mean, it sounds silly, to focus on all the bad stuff. But, it's gonna be there anyway, may as well do something constructive with it. This week, the last few weeks, have been particularly bad. Personal things, professional things, things completely out of my control, things completely under my control - and I've just ignored it all. This morning I was supposed to do Wilke Hill with my group, but I didn't. I say I slept through it, and that is the truth. Honestly though, the alarm went off and I woke up. And as I lay there contemplating whether or not I was going to do this (as I do every morning), I must have fallen asleep for an hour. Because at 7:15, I was waking up again. Oops.
But, I ran anyway. Not Wilke. A new route that I've never done before. And I ran away the rage. I ran for everything that's been bothering me, stressing me out, and making me want to yell. And, it totally worked. 8 miles later, and I was feeling great.
I took LD's advice, and I switched up the tunes - a great idea. My iPod must have known exactly what I needed, because we started with some of the angry Eminem and Alanis Morrisette. But the run ended with Dar Williams singing about Better Things. Man, it was just perfect.
Song that rocked my run: Not Afraid by Eminem.
4 star run, rage gone!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
W-W-W-W WILKE!
Oh man. The time has come. I just got the newsletter with our Saturday route and Ironman Janice said the dreaded word. WILKE. For those of you unfamiliar with Wilke, it's a hill. And I use the term hill loosely. It's a torturous deathtrap of a hill. One that should only make an appearance in your worst nightmares, and not in the midst of a 7.5 mile Saturday run with a group questionably too fast for your abilities!
In sum, Wilke is only 0.16 miles long, but it climbs 108 feet in elevation - a 20% grade. I totally can't wait.
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