Training Tuesday: new post-injury distance PR

This week was a bit "off" for me.  I hate making excuses for missing workouts, but I definitely didn't get in everything I should have.  I've been sick for over a month, my son had his play this week, and there were a couple days that I just wanted a break. Plus I did Monday's run on Sunday, which threw off this week. Basically, all I did was run.  And my feet hurt.  A lot. Threw in some stretching and one bike ride, but the cross training was meager at best.  All-in-all, it was still a decent week with another post-injury distance PR, so I'll take it.  I'm *thisclose* to pulling the trigger on one more big race for 2012. 

Monday 11/11 - REST

Tuesday 11/12 - REST (not a good trend - haven't had 2 rest days in a row in forever)

Wednesday 11/13 - RUN Windy mile repeats run (2 x 1600 at 8:48 pace).  Did 4 miles in 37:52 (9:28 pace) but my repeats were all over the place (8:17 and 9:13).  I need to work on consistency.

Thursday 11/14 - BIKE 8 miles in 39 min.  This was a very easy ride while I watched Nashville on my iPad.  I knew I needed to do something but had no motivation to work hard.

Friday 11/15 - REST (normally a swim day but I had family coming up for dinner and then D's play, so I scooted home to cook right after work).

Saturday 11/16 - LONG RUN 12.12 miles in 2:12:29 (10:55 pace) - this run was HARD but more so from a mental standpoint than a physical one.  I had a lot of heel pain after but the hip hasn't been feeling as bad, so I'm considering this to be progress.  I wore my 2012 Newtons with heel cups that a friend loaned me and I didn't have the numbness in my toes that I've experienced with my 2013 Newtons.  Starting to wonder if I need a different style shoe, which makes me sad.

Sunday 11/17 - STRETCH/ROLL.  Worked a lot on my calves in an effort to make my heel not hurt so much. 

I'm going to be working this week on adding some extra speedwork into my plan (or at least being a bit more consistent).  I've heard really good things about short, slow-paced hill-work sessions on the treadmill, so those might start making an appearance.

How was your week? There were a lot of races around here (our season is coming to a close). Anything fun to report?

Training Tuesday: Double Digits!

I hit a recovery milestone this week - my first double digit run since the end of August!  Was it perfect or pain free? No.  But it was a move in the right direction and knowing that I can hit that distance still was a huge confidence boost going into the end of the year.

Monday Nov 4 - RUN 4 miles in 43:23 (10:50 pace).  Not a great run, but miles banked.

Tuesday Nov 5 - STRENGTH/STRETCH Did my hip exercises and some yoga.

Wednesday Nov 6 - RUN 4 mile tempo on a mix of the track and treadmill in 38:51 (ave 9:42 but the tempo miles were around 9:00)

Thursday Nov 7 - REST while I watched my diver qualify for the conference finals in diving.

Friday Nov 8 - LONG RUN 10 miles in 1:45:18 (10:31 pace).  I decided to move my long run to Friday afternoon and it went alright.  Running at 4:00 for almost 2 hours meant I finished right before dark.  I'll need to do this again in a couple weeks because I'll be out of town on Saturday, only then I need to do 12.  I might be doing my 6 mile route twice.

Saturday Nov 9 - REST while I watched my diver qualify for regionals!! She finished 9th out of 28 in her conference and I couldn't have been more proud.

Sunday Nov 10 - RUN 5 miles in 47:41 (9:32 pace).  I moved Monday's run up a day because I was awake and it was a beautiful but very windy morning.  Not sure where all that speed came from but I'll take it.  Some soreness during the day but a much better run than any other this week.

Do you switch around your training plans like this?  I think it's making me a bit more flexible.

Training Tuesday: step-back week

This week was supposed to be a step-back week and I think I stepped back a bit too much.  Mentally I think I needed the break.  After PT on Thursday, I ended up running a longer run on Saturday than I'd planned so we'll call it a wash.  Overall, I think the week was a success and I'm feeling less pain in my hip after each run.  (My heel and some new issue with my foot are a different story, but my PT isn't concerned and I'm trying to follow his lead.)

Monday Oct 28 - RUN 4 miles in about 44 minutes (10:55 pace).  This was disappointing but was also my 3rd run in 3 days so I'm going to chalk it up to tired legs.

Tuesday Oct 29 - Stretching and rolling for about 20 minutes.  I should've done more but it is what it is.

Wednesday Oct 30 - RUN 3.14 in 32:12 (10:15 pace).  A much better run on some little hills.  Legs were still tired but I pushed through and got some hill work in at the same time.

Thursday Oct 31 - REST.  I'm not sure why I took a rest day other that being lazy.  I had PT earlier in the day and he did a bunch of stretching but I can't really count that.

Friday Nov 1 - SWIM - 1700 in about 56 minutes.  Faster actually since I didn't stop my watch for rests between sets.  It was a decent swim.

Saturday Nov 2 - RUN 6.04 in 1:05:31 (10:50 pace).  I'm calling this a good run because I was out way before dark to run and was feeling less than great from going out Friday night.  I didn't sleep so it's a win.

Sunday Nov 3 - REST.  I needed a mental health break as much as a physical one.  I was lazy and watched TV all day, except for the 3 mile walk I took in the afternoon.

This coming week is going to be tough.  I have my first double-digit run coming up on Saturday and I'm thinking back to where I was a year ago when I was training for Disney's Wine and Dine. I'm planning the same route that I ran for my last long run before Disney.  That 10 miler went great and had me thinking I'd have a huge PR in Orlando.  That ended up being far from the case. It's ironic that this year's race is also coming up this weekend.  Been remembering that weekend a lot.  I wish I could go back and do it again.

Training Tuesday: such high hopes

This was supposed to by my highest mileage week post-injury, but I didn't count on getting sick and spending all day Saturday in bed with a fever.

Monday 10/14/13 - RUN 3.1 in 32:11 (10:22 pace), then STRENGTH - some arms and abs

Tuesday 10/15/13 - BIKE just under 14 miles in an hour. Didn't really have much oompf and I think this was the start of feeling sick.

Wednesday 10/16/13 - Didn't feel up to much.  Stretch, ice and roll for 20 min was all I did.

Thursday 10/17/13 - RUN 4.5 miles in 44:32 (9:52 average). This included two 1600 sprints at 8:5x pace, plus warm up, cool down and 800 job in between the intervals.

Friday 10/18/13 - SWIM 1400 yds in 47 minutes.

Saturday 10/19/13 - nada, zilch, zip, nothing.  Had a fever that started Friday night and stayed with me all day.  This was supposed to be an 8 mile run. Sad.

Sunday 10/20/13 - I volunteered at the Grand Rapids Marathon for about 5 hours.  I don't think handing out water counts as exercise.

Went to the doctor today and I have a sinus infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will get me feeling better soon.  I'm still running (ran today and yesterday) but I definitely don't feel 100%.

Training Tuesday

Since I'm not officially training for anything, I'm not sure what to call these posts.  I'm following a half marathon plan but haven't signed up for any races.  Feel free to give me suggestions.

Monday 10/7/13: Run 3.14 in 33:47 (10:45 pace) - this was supposed to be an "easy" run but felt awful. Moving on.

Tuesday 10/8/13: Crosstraining - I mowed the lawn for over an hour.  Probably doesn't really count but I bet I walked 3 miles.

Wednesday 10/9/13: Run.  My first attempt back at speedwork.  I had a 4 mile tempo run on the schedule with the middle 2 at 9:22 pace.  I didn't think I'd be able to accomplish this outside in the dark, so I went to the gym at zero-dark:30.  WU and CD 2 miles in 21:38 (10:48 pace). 2 mile tempo in 18:35 (9:18 pace).

Thursday 10/10/13: Strength 45 minutes.  Did a bunch of stuff that I don't remember.

Friday 10/11/13: Swim 1700 yds (about 1 mile) in 50:21.  I have a workout I'm following that's a mix of WU, CD, some swim/kick/pull drills and sprints.  It works and it kicks my ass.

Saturday 10/12/13: Run. My longest run since getting injured and I picked a beautiful trail to run.  You can see pictures in yesterday's post.  I managed 7.25 miles in 1:15:37 (10:25 pace).  Lots of stuff hurt and I hobbled around the rest of the day, but it seems the hobbling isn't quite as bad as it was.  Made sure to get up and stretch throughout the day, which seemed to help.

Sunday 10/13/13: rest day.

Overall, I think this was a pretty successful week.  I ran over 14 miles and managed a little bit of cross training and strength.  I can definitely say my injuries are improving but not gone yet.  I'm obviously not a very patient person so following the PTs plan and upping my miles this quickly makes me happy in some twisted way.  Probably because I get to run.  Knowing it's going to hurt is the hard part.

Training Tuesday: back at it

I haven't posted a training recap post in awhile because I haven't been training for anything. I'm still not registered for any upcoming races - except the Shrinking Jeans Ghostly Gallup 10k in a few weeks, but I'm starting to feel healthier and I work best from a plan.

Here's how the last week played out:

Monday 9/30/13 - CROSSTRAINING 30 minutes on the ARC Trainer and then went to PT.

Tuesday 10/1/13 - RUN 3.1 miles in 33:13 (10:40 pace).  Ran pre-dawn and enjoyed the stars, some hills, and a few sprinklers.  STRENGTH Did my PT exercises and some planks

Wednesday 10/2/13 - RUN 4.08 miles in 44:16 (10:50 pace)

Thursday 10/3/13 - OFF

Friday 10/4/13 - SWIM 1700 yds in about 50 minutes.  Felt really good and I'm planning to keep this Friday swim session as long as I can.

Saturday 10/5/13 - RUN 5.78 in 1:00:55 (10:32 pace).  My longest run in over a month!  Felt good during the run but got pretty tight and sore as the day went on.

Sunday 10/6/13 - STRETCH Did my PT exercises, planks and some stretching and rolling before I hung out on the couch and watched football.

Overall, I'd say this was a positive week back to training.  I ran about 13 miles and while I was still feeling the injuries, I'm finding the pain is less and I'm recovering faster.  This coming week I'm adding speedwork back into the mix, so I'm hoping the positive trend continues.

How was your week?  Around these parts it's marathon season - did you race or do you have a race coming up soon?

The Fred Relay: a #racereport

Where does one begin to recap one of the best adventures ever? How do you describe the feeling of pride and elation when you realize you and 9 of your running buddies just ran 200 miles in 33 hours and 29 minutes - a 9:53 average pace? Is it possible to convey how I still haven't processed running 17.7 miles in under 24 hours, slightly broken, on poor nutrition and little sleep?

I don't think I really can, but I'll do my best.

Bottom line? Stop Looking At My Caboose 2 kicked some serious ass last weekend! I am so proud to have been included in this group and in crossing that finish line 33 1/2 hours after I started us off as runner number 1 at 6:30 Friday morning.

I'd say we look pretty dang happy!

Stop Looking At My Caboose 2

I should back up a bit though. This adventure actually started several months ago when my friend Jenn suggested I join their relay team. Me? Run a relay? Live in a van for two days? After thinking for about 5 minutes I decided to go for it. We had enough runners interested to make 2 teams so our captains did much of the planning together and we had a few fun meetings to go over the details.

Thursday night, we decorated my van and took part in a little carb loading.

Jen decorating while Mike and Andi play Tetris

Isn't she pretty?

I drove home that night (with my van all pimped out) into one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. I took this as a very positive sign!


At the butt crack of dawn, I met my team at the start and at 6:30 I set off on my first leg - 4.3 miles which I finished in 41:39 (9:41 pace).

That's me in the orange Newtons and black hat.

It was awesome to run with Tim for a bit (he was a part of SLAMC1). The 5 of us who started chatted a bit and then the tall guy in grey who was running the first 3 legs & the girl in yellow took off. I kept the girl in my sights but never caught her. No worries. I got to the end of my leg, smacked Jenn's ass & she was off! We decided ass slaps would be more fun than a baton :)
We were having a great time hanging out and getting to each exchange point. We cheered for everyone. We rang cow bells.  After van 2 took over, Mike, Glenn, Jenn, Andi and I got some breakfast (lunch for me since it was around 11 am) and then headed back out to cheer some more for van 2 and the other teams.

Glenn getting ready for his leg with Jenn in the background.

Mike giving Glenn a good smack.

We made it to the Reed City, where I would take over again, a few hours before my next run. I tried to lay down and rest but I never really slept.  I did some foam rolling and cheered other teams coming in.

About 71 miles down, 129 to go!

At 4:51 pm, it was my turn to run again. There was a big difference between running at 6:30 am and almost 5 pm. SUN and HEAT. This 7.1 mile run (an out and back section) was brutal. I encountered loose dogs and a snake - 2 of my biggest running fears - during this leg.  I also ran out of water 4.8 miles in and did a lot of walking on the way back. The only things keeping me going were texts encouraging me, the breeze that kicked up, a bit of shade, and high 5s from runners heading out on that leg. I finished my 7.1 in 1:12:29 (a 10:16 pace) which blows my mind since I walked so much in the 5th mile! My teammates quickly got me Gatorade & put water bottles on my neck to cool me down and before long I was back to my chipper self. Even though the route was insanely hot, it was also beautiful.


Several legs (or "spurs" for this race since it was railroad themed) of the 200 mile course were 2-track, gravel and grass. Thankfully I didn't have any of those spurs.  I'm not sure how I would've handled running on anything other than pavement.

Glenn, Jenn, Andi and Mike

Night began to fall and we got our safety gear ready. Jenn finished our second stint just before 11 pm by running around Lake Cadillac.  The relay was half way done!

I can only imagine how gorgeous this park and lake must be in the daytime.

We went in search of dinner & beer, then headed back to Reed City where I would take over again sometime before dawn. I started my 3rd spur at 4:44 am after attempting a couple hours sleep in the van. I have to say, this was by far my favorite leg to run. The number of stars in the sky was simple astounding. I wanted to take my lights off and just stare at the sky, but instead I just ran and watched Orion rise over my left shoulder. The first couple miles were SLOW from being cramped up in the van and having already run 11 1/2 miles, but I managed to chase a girl down & I got my first road kill 4 miles into my 3rd run by hitting a 9:35 pace! I could hear water running somewhere too & the run was so peaceful. Just my music, the sounds of the night and a few other runners blinking head and behind me.  I finished my 6.34 mile run in 1:04:49 - a 10:13 pace. I handed off to Jenn again and Glenn got a couple pics for me.

Paris, MI isn't nearly as glamorous as Paris, France, but boy was I happy to be there!

Give this girl a beer!

I was one very happy little runner to get that beer before 6 am! It took me a few hours before I realized I had run 17.7 miles across 3 runs in under 24 hours at a 10:06 average pace!  I'm still trying to

The sun finally came up and Glenn took over, then Andi ran her last leg. Andi slapped Mike on the ass to send him off on his final run and off he was - that dude is crazy fast! After running over 12 miles on his last leg (Mike did 2 back to back), van 2 took over again and SLAMC2 van 1 was DONE!

Mike coming in hot!

We drove down to cheer on van 2 a bit more and then headed back to Comstock Park and the finish line.  We might have celebrated with more beers and a Bloody Mary while we waited for van 2 to finish.  But that's just how we roll.

Getting to run across the finish line with my team was such a thrill. I still can't believe we ran how much we did and managed to come in 7 seconds per mile faster than predicted (that's 23 minutes over the course of the race!).  I even amazes me how close to pace we all stayed!

SLAMC2 and SLAMC1 at the finish!

I can't wait to run this race again next year - or maybe another relay.  I thought I would hate this experience but I really loved it.  Having such a great team and supportive van mates made this adventure truly special.


How about you?  Are you ready to run a relay?  Want to add me to your team?

Motivation Monday: Fred Relay Teaser

I'm still recovering and trying to process what my team mates and I accomplished during the amazing adventure that was the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail 200 Mile Relay. I promise a full recap but here are a few teaser pics. What doesn't kill you really does make you stronger!









I'm blogging over at Shrinkingjeans today also about running a relay. Go visit!

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