I had made it 17 days in June, running every day and loving it. June 17th in the evening I started to feel strange. My hips were sore and stiff. I figured it was from running 10K in the morning and then working all day. I guess it could have been anything, all I know is the its the 19th and Im still down.
I didnt run yesterday, or today, and I dont know if I will be able to tomorrow. I dont think I was pushing too hard, I wasnt running 10miles a day or anywhere near that. Most days was a quick 5K or some speed work around the neighborhood. The one day I did run 10miles I felt fantaistic, great like I hadnt even run at all. I woke up yesterday and I couldnt walk. I stood up out of bed and fell over, I thought I was being stabbed, or poisoned.
I dont think it was the running, that seems too likely and almost silly. I was running for just 17days, there is no way that could be it. I have been a runner my whole life and there have been points, playing soccer, that I would run every day for months at a time. I was 17 then but I dont think being 27 is too old to run every day.
I think what took me out was my lack of preparation and cool-down. I would just put my shoes on and run, come home and grab a glass of water and hop into the shower. I wasnt taking time to stretch or walk around at all. That's where the problem is, I didnt take enough care of my body before and after running. And now I am paying the price.
So Im hurt, again, and there is nothing I can do about it except wait. I hate waiting.
Jun 19, 2011
Jun 11, 2011
Reading streets signs is hard
I set up a 5K course using the GMaps Pedometer around my 'hood. My final time was 23:59 giving me an average below 8min/mile. I walked for 45 seconds after what I thought was mile 2. I set it up so I could have a good measure of my mile for mile time. I was shooting to run the miles in 6min, 7min and finally 8min for an overall time of 21min. 21 is my goal time for the next 5K I do.
Where I went wrong was using the wrong signs for my markers. My first mile was measured too short and my second mile was almost a half mile too long. I killed myself on the second mile, I kept checking my watch and saying 'im not going to make it, Im not going to make it' so I pushed faster. In reality I ran my second mile under 6min, but the pace I was running and the extra almost half mile I ran just took everything out of me. I had to walk for a bit.
I was so mad at myself because as I was walking I knew I screwed up. I knew that I had started to push too soon and was on it for too long. When you get so set on a goal and totally miss it there is a lot of mental work that needs to happen to get back in the stream. My last ~mile was very good. Just a nice easy pace that I knew would keep me under 24 min and I hit it bang on.
Its hard to work through those mental blows. Especially when youre tired and still quite a ways from home and the only thing to do is run. And thats the lesson here, just keep on running. No matter what happens or how badly things have gone you just need to keep pushing forward. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Because its when you stop, thats when youve given up and have doomed youself to failure.
Sure, sub-24 minutes wasnt my original plan, but when things feel apart I made a new plan and stuck to it. When in doubt, keep running.
Where I went wrong was using the wrong signs for my markers. My first mile was measured too short and my second mile was almost a half mile too long. I killed myself on the second mile, I kept checking my watch and saying 'im not going to make it, Im not going to make it' so I pushed faster. In reality I ran my second mile under 6min, but the pace I was running and the extra almost half mile I ran just took everything out of me. I had to walk for a bit.
I was so mad at myself because as I was walking I knew I screwed up. I knew that I had started to push too soon and was on it for too long. When you get so set on a goal and totally miss it there is a lot of mental work that needs to happen to get back in the stream. My last ~mile was very good. Just a nice easy pace that I knew would keep me under 24 min and I hit it bang on.
Its hard to work through those mental blows. Especially when youre tired and still quite a ways from home and the only thing to do is run. And thats the lesson here, just keep on running. No matter what happens or how badly things have gone you just need to keep pushing forward. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Because its when you stop, thats when youve given up and have doomed youself to failure.
Sure, sub-24 minutes wasnt my original plan, but when things feel apart I made a new plan and stuck to it. When in doubt, keep running.
Jun 10, 2011
I like this part right here
At some point in a running life you have to wonder, will this ever just be natural? As in, will waking up in the morning and putting on your shoes be as easy as brushing your teeth before bed?
I dont think Im there yet. Its only been 10 (successful) days and Im really going strong, but I think it will take more time than this. Thats not to say it hasnt gotten a whole lot easier to get on the road. Used to be Id need some mental convincing, gearing myself up for getting off the internet and going for a run. That hard descision when youve got an hour before you need to leave for work and you really just want to watch Netflix.
Now, however, its getting easy. I know that I need to go for a run so I budget the time into my life. I know I want to read my favorite blogs/forums and shop for car parts, but I also really want to run. I am planning better and getting into a good head space about everything running.
Today was a short distance day, not because I needed it to be but because I dont want to burn myself out. The last three runs Ive done have all been around 7 miles. Those are not HUGE runs, all under an hour, but I want to pace myself a bit more so I dont kill my legs or my ambition.
Today was a testing day, 2+ miles just around the neighborhood with no music, sunglasses or my watch. Just me, a long sleeve tee, running shorts and my shoes. I couldnt have been happier.
I started out very fast, like 80% speed fast. I wanted to get a feeling for what it was like to over run my legs and lungs an to do that I knew I needed to really run. Since I wasnt keeping track of my time I really cant tell you how fast my first mile came up. I know that my natural pace is roughly 8min/mile and I know I was really pushing hard. I would assume I was running a 6min pace and it felt amazing. When I reached my 'jogging' point I was winded but not ruined, my legs were warm and I didnt need a break at all. I slowed my pace to a more natural rhythm and ran about a mile more. I picked my 'sprint to home point' and this is where I really got trashed. It was only about a 1/4mile but I sprinted hard, I mustered up all my remaining juice and went for it. Much the way you do when you can see the finish line, you pull out all the stops.
I feel really good about today. It was a nice short run that got me running much harder than normal helping me have a better understanding of what it would be like to really push during a race. I want to do some more testing with a 5K course around the neighborhood and run a 6min 1st mile, 8min 2nd and finish the distance back at 6min. If I can get down to a roughly 20min 5K I think I will be in a very good place for my half marathon.
I dont think Im there yet. Its only been 10 (successful) days and Im really going strong, but I think it will take more time than this. Thats not to say it hasnt gotten a whole lot easier to get on the road. Used to be Id need some mental convincing, gearing myself up for getting off the internet and going for a run. That hard descision when youve got an hour before you need to leave for work and you really just want to watch Netflix.
Now, however, its getting easy. I know that I need to go for a run so I budget the time into my life. I know I want to read my favorite blogs/forums and shop for car parts, but I also really want to run. I am planning better and getting into a good head space about everything running.
Today was a short distance day, not because I needed it to be but because I dont want to burn myself out. The last three runs Ive done have all been around 7 miles. Those are not HUGE runs, all under an hour, but I want to pace myself a bit more so I dont kill my legs or my ambition.
Today was a testing day, 2+ miles just around the neighborhood with no music, sunglasses or my watch. Just me, a long sleeve tee, running shorts and my shoes. I couldnt have been happier.
I started out very fast, like 80% speed fast. I wanted to get a feeling for what it was like to over run my legs and lungs an to do that I knew I needed to really run. Since I wasnt keeping track of my time I really cant tell you how fast my first mile came up. I know that my natural pace is roughly 8min/mile and I know I was really pushing hard. I would assume I was running a 6min pace and it felt amazing. When I reached my 'jogging' point I was winded but not ruined, my legs were warm and I didnt need a break at all. I slowed my pace to a more natural rhythm and ran about a mile more. I picked my 'sprint to home point' and this is where I really got trashed. It was only about a 1/4mile but I sprinted hard, I mustered up all my remaining juice and went for it. Much the way you do when you can see the finish line, you pull out all the stops.
I feel really good about today. It was a nice short run that got me running much harder than normal helping me have a better understanding of what it would be like to really push during a race. I want to do some more testing with a 5K course around the neighborhood and run a 6min 1st mile, 8min 2nd and finish the distance back at 6min. If I can get down to a roughly 20min 5K I think I will be in a very good place for my half marathon.
Jun 7, 2011
manydaysofsun
Because everyone in the world doesnt know, its really hot in Minneapolis/ST Paul right now. So hot that its making national news as the hottest place in the country right now. Suck it, Phoenix. What that means for me is running early, like 8am early. I know that doesnt sound like a very bright start to most people, but I dont usually get home from work until 10pm and then after any sort of hanging/beer drinking it gets to 1am very quickly. 8 am is very early in my world.
Rise and shine, its 75 and humid. And by the way, its going to be 90 in 60 minutes.
This has been an odd year for us up here in the Great White, with our very long, desperately cold and snowy winter up to the total lack of spring, we've seen our share of wacky weather. But weather is not what I write about, running is.
So how have I done so far with my 30daysofrunning (even though its only June 7th), very well actually. I fake ran one day, I had to count the 6 blocks I ran to the Ace Hardware store as my run for the day, it would have clocked in at roughly 1.25miles so at least its something, right? The last two days I did quick 5K routes around my house, today I did it in 22min, a personal best. It felt really good, too. I was never really that tired and even at the end I felt like I could have dropped a whole minute or more had I been pushed. I think I could pull off a 20min 5K right now and that is pretty quick for me. I wouldnt win any awards but it would feel pretty sweet to see a 19:45ish on the clock.
Tomorrow starts my weekend, it also starts a cooler streak in weather around here so Im going to hit the road hard, like 10 miles hard. I need to get some big miles under my belt in a hurry here, time is running out (ha!).
Rise and shine, its 75 and humid. And by the way, its going to be 90 in 60 minutes.
This has been an odd year for us up here in the Great White, with our very long, desperately cold and snowy winter up to the total lack of spring, we've seen our share of wacky weather. But weather is not what I write about, running is.
So how have I done so far with my 30daysofrunning (even though its only June 7th), very well actually. I fake ran one day, I had to count the 6 blocks I ran to the Ace Hardware store as my run for the day, it would have clocked in at roughly 1.25miles so at least its something, right? The last two days I did quick 5K routes around my house, today I did it in 22min, a personal best. It felt really good, too. I was never really that tired and even at the end I felt like I could have dropped a whole minute or more had I been pushed. I think I could pull off a 20min 5K right now and that is pretty quick for me. I wouldnt win any awards but it would feel pretty sweet to see a 19:45ish on the clock.
Tomorrow starts my weekend, it also starts a cooler streak in weather around here so Im going to hit the road hard, like 10 miles hard. I need to get some big miles under my belt in a hurry here, time is running out (ha!).
Jun 2, 2011
30daysofrunning
On July 4th I will be running my second 1/2 marathon, the Red, White and BOOM. I did it last year with very little training and lead up, I did well but not as well as I would have like. The problem was the lack of training.
Now its June 2nd and I have yet to really start training, again. I have been running a bit this spring so far, not more than twice a week average. This is not good enough. I now have 1 month to get in shape so I can run the hallowed 90min 1/2 time. I need to get my butt in gear.
I ran yesterday, ran well. I did 6 miles in right about 45 minutes. That would have been a personal best for a 10K had I ran just a bit farther. I stopped because my route was over, not because I needed to . Today will be a bit shorter, Im looking at only 4.
30 days of running.
I figure if I can run every day for the whole month of June, getting my miles up to around 10-12 at least 6 times between now and the 4th of July that I will do very well in the 1/2. My goal really is ~90 minutes, but I have never run that fast the far before, we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
Now its June 2nd and I have yet to really start training, again. I have been running a bit this spring so far, not more than twice a week average. This is not good enough. I now have 1 month to get in shape so I can run the hallowed 90min 1/2 time. I need to get my butt in gear.
I ran yesterday, ran well. I did 6 miles in right about 45 minutes. That would have been a personal best for a 10K had I ran just a bit farther. I stopped because my route was over, not because I needed to . Today will be a bit shorter, Im looking at only 4.
30 days of running.
I figure if I can run every day for the whole month of June, getting my miles up to around 10-12 at least 6 times between now and the 4th of July that I will do very well in the 1/2. My goal really is ~90 minutes, but I have never run that fast the far before, we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.
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