Last time I blogged I shared my sports massage therapy experience. Since then, I've been able to do forward bends (touch my toes) in one smooth motion for the first time in MONTHS. I still have some tightness but it's much improved. I'm hopeful that one more appointment will finish obliterating the knot.
My update today is less positive. There have been moments of panic, actually, followed by some self-coaching and trying to be calm and logical. Here's what happened.
Friday I had a 7 mile easy run. When I got back I was limping because my big toe on my right foot hurt kind of a lot. There was a small bruise and a tiny bit of swelling. I iced my butt knot (new to JoannaRuns? See the last post explaining this) but not the toe, not thinking all that much of it at first. When Saturday morning rolled around and I was gearing up for my 18 miler, it was still tender. I called RunningFirst (aka Coach Mike, "a walk in the park 4:45") to ask what I should do. He advised running around the block to see if that made it worse. We eventually compromised on a 1.5 mile loop through the adjoining neighborhood to see what happened. When I got back I took off my shoe and walked around for a few minutes. Texted him: No worse. Going out for another 6.5 and will reevaluate." He texted back to take it S-L-O-W and easy.
After the next 6.5 miles (about 8 total) it hurt. It hurt to the touch and hurt to walk on. Without my shoes, I was limping. So I decided to cut my 18-miler short at 8 miles and call it a day. Which kind of broke my heart.
But I have an admission: it also kind of didn't break my heart. I've known for a week or two that I'm on the edge of over-training...for me. By the start of last week I was starting to dread the really hard runs. I still appreciated them after the fact and was glad I could do them, but I craved a break, too. After the forced reduction yesterday and a rest day today, I'm chomping at the bit to get back out there.
But I can't. I was still limping around all day today. It hurts less as the day goes by, but I don't know how long it will take before I can run without re-injuring it. I don't even know what I did to it in the first place. And let me be clear: I am running Martian to PR it. I need to be ready to race in two weeks. So I'm going to do something I don't think I've ever done: an XT Extravaganza (as The Redhead calls it). Hopefully by week's end the foot will be back in business and I can get in one last quality long run before the race. I really hope so. I ordered pace bands and everything.
2 weeks until Martian Half
8 weeks until Cleveland
Showing posts with label RunningFirst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RunningFirst. Show all posts
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
::for the record::
for the record
All the smack talk about RunningFirst and the Challenge is completely in jest. He and I are friends. I harbor absolutely no ill will toward the man, and I believe him entirely about all aspects of the communication gap we suffered. This is meant purely in fun. And as a means of keeping him motivated, which he's told me many times he appreciates. RunningFirst coached me through a horrible injury during my Marathon #1 training cycle--I could never have done it without his help. And he ran Marathon #2 with me--with killer hills late in the race and everything. And he helped me write my training plan for Marathon #3 (Cleveland!!) and gave me some confidence about it. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all of this. All of this is meant purely in fun.
...and the Garmin nominations now include
Forest (in honor of my first running buddy)
The Tattler (because it lets you get away with nothing)
Clepsydra (Greek name for water clock/water thief)
Paula (in honor of both the fabulous TNT Coach Paula, who I miss so much, and my own family, which you can probably figure out if you happen to know my middle name)
I like them all!! Please vote and/or add your nominations!
All the smack talk about RunningFirst and the Challenge is completely in jest. He and I are friends. I harbor absolutely no ill will toward the man, and I believe him entirely about all aspects of the communication gap we suffered. This is meant purely in fun. And as a means of keeping him motivated, which he's told me many times he appreciates. RunningFirst coached me through a horrible injury during my Marathon #1 training cycle--I could never have done it without his help. And he ran Marathon #2 with me--with killer hills late in the race and everything. And he helped me write my training plan for Marathon #3 (Cleveland!!) and gave me some confidence about it. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for all of this. All of this is meant purely in fun.
...and the Garmin nominations now include
Forest (in honor of my first running buddy)
The Tattler (because it lets you get away with nothing)
Clepsydra (Greek name for water clock/water thief)
Paula (in honor of both the fabulous TNT Coach Paula, who I miss so much, and my own family, which you can probably figure out if you happen to know my middle name)
I like them all!! Please vote and/or add your nominations!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Two kind of big deals in one post
One of these things I've been sitting on for a day. The other just happened when I got home today. No preamble is required, so buckle up.
1. The One-Week Challenge Train Wreck
So you remember a few weeks ago when RunningFirst and I accidentally entered into a one week mileage challenge? No? Read it here. Well, we were neck and neck. Then he laid down a 16-miler. And I assumed that this put him ahead of me, hands down, and I accordingly congratulated him heartily (here). Big blue letters and everything.
Then the end of February rolled around and we both posted recaps. His "highest mileage week" made me suspicious. I assumed I was mis-remembering, but checked our Running Ahead user group training log just to be sure. And sure enough, right there it was. By a tiny margin, I had actually won the challenge.
Irather firmly made note of this mentioned this to him on Facebook. And he threw down a big card. He pulled out all the stops. He posted an over-the-top apologetic blog post here. But you know what?? I want a re-match. A chance to properly clear the air. Set the record straight. Get it all out. So...what say you, RunningFirst?
2. Garmin Rocks My Face Off/I Need Suggestions
As y'all know, I mailed The Vengeance back to Garmin last Friday. How surprised was I to come home after work today and find their return box on my porch? That's right. They not only sent me a replacement, but it arrived less than a week after I sent the broken one. They are serious about customer service. I honestly could not be a bigger cheerleader for Garmin right now. Completely, totally impressed.
So this is where you come in. I need nominations for a new Garmin name. So far the list is short: Mr. Joanna suggested the name Forest in honor of my first running buddy, Sherwood.
But I need a bigger pool of names to consider. So put some out there. I wanna hear what you've got!
1. The One-Week Challenge Train Wreck
So you remember a few weeks ago when RunningFirst and I accidentally entered into a one week mileage challenge? No? Read it here. Well, we were neck and neck. Then he laid down a 16-miler. And I assumed that this put him ahead of me, hands down, and I accordingly congratulated him heartily (here). Big blue letters and everything.
Then the end of February rolled around and we both posted recaps. His "highest mileage week" made me suspicious. I assumed I was mis-remembering, but checked our Running Ahead user group training log just to be sure. And sure enough, right there it was. By a tiny margin, I had actually won the challenge.
I
2. Garmin Rocks My Face Off/I Need Suggestions
As y'all know, I mailed The Vengeance back to Garmin last Friday. How surprised was I to come home after work today and find their return box on my porch? That's right. They not only sent me a replacement, but it arrived less than a week after I sent the broken one. They are serious about customer service. I honestly could not be a bigger cheerleader for Garmin right now. Completely, totally impressed.
So this is where you come in. I need nominations for a new Garmin name. So far the list is short: Mr. Joanna suggested the name Forest in honor of my first running buddy, Sherwood.
But I need a bigger pool of names to consider. So put some out there. I wanna hear what you've got!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
One-week challenge wrap-up
BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO RUNNINGFIRST. He did it. He ran a solo 16 miler today (read it here) and with that, has won the challenge. Keep up the good work!! Go get those PR's this spring!
Here's the break-down of the rest of my week's workouts. It was a tough and rewarding week.
Thursday was my rest day.
Friday was a 6 mile pace workout. The plan was to run one warm-up mile, 4 miles at 9:09 and 1 cool-down mile. But I ran the first three miles much too fast. I slowed down almost far enough after that, but the damage was done. The result of the workout was that I was sore last night.
I HATE that I have to say the following. HATE it. But here goes: I had no business trying to run my 12 miler today. For one thing, I had a fever (which I didn't bother to actually measure with a thermometer, but took the sweats/shivers as a sure enough sign). For another, I'm fighting an infection. I'm on amoxicillin for what turned out to be the worst sinus infection of my life. Third, one of the two runs I missed when this sinus infection was a bad cold was the 9 mile long run that was meant to prep me for this step-up in mileage. And finally, I ran entirely too hard yesterday. The end result of all this was a 12-miler that I got through successfully, but it took more effort than usual. Average pace of 10:06, which is right on target. Here I am when I got back to the house.
Here's the break-down of the rest of my week's workouts. It was a tough and rewarding week.
Thursday was my rest day.
Friday was a 6 mile pace workout. The plan was to run one warm-up mile, 4 miles at 9:09 and 1 cool-down mile. But I ran the first three miles much too fast. I slowed down almost far enough after that, but the damage was done. The result of the workout was that I was sore last night.
I HATE that I have to say the following. HATE it. But here goes: I had no business trying to run my 12 miler today. For one thing, I had a fever (which I didn't bother to actually measure with a thermometer, but took the sweats/shivers as a sure enough sign). For another, I'm fighting an infection. I'm on amoxicillin for what turned out to be the worst sinus infection of my life. Third, one of the two runs I missed when this sinus infection was a bad cold was the 9 mile long run that was meant to prep me for this step-up in mileage. And finally, I ran entirely too hard yesterday. The end result of all this was a 12-miler that I got through successfully, but it took more effort than usual. Average pace of 10:06, which is right on target. Here I am when I got back to the house.
I give you this picture as a teaser for tomorrow's post. I have two new product reviews, an update on The Vengeance, and an update to an old product review. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
One Week Challenge Update
Semi-daily update for my One Week Smackdown Challenge with RunningFirst.
Today I had a tempo run on deck. It was, honestly, a lot of fun. I got to run it outside in shorts! It was 45 degrees and lovely. I ran the warm-up and cool-down on sidewalks and the faster part on a 1/3 mile outdoor track, to ensure that I wouldn't get caught at a light and get slowed down. Sometime I will really have to post pictures of the track, mostly for its view of downtown.
Mile 1: 9:48 (warm-up)
Mile 2: 8:55
Mile 3: 8:42
Mile 4: 8:41
Mile 5: 8:41
Mile 6: 10:02 (cool-down, got caught at a light)
After I settled into the workout, I was really consistent on the mile times, and it felt good. This was definitely a confidence booster of a run. And a bonus--since I was basically the only person on the track, I got to switch directions every mile, just as a special shout-out to my ITB.
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