Week 14!

The run of the 29th of December was my 45th training run, the last run of the 14th week!  (Week 14: Dec. 23rd-Dec. 29th)

45 runs in, 14 weeks down, 11 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 14 Statistics!

Average Run

• 01:11:18

Average Pace

• 9:24 /mile

Average Distance

• 7.52 miles

Notable week 14 information:

• The Saturday big run this week was 11 miles.  That’s from my house in Lowes Island, down Algonkian all the way to Route 7, and back.  Seems like such a long time….
• Chris and I went to Potomac River Running.  I went specifically for new gloves (I had cheap Champion brand gloves from Target).  I give them 0/5 stars.  First, they were supposed to be useable for touch screens.  That capability went away in the first week, for some reason.  Second, they busted the seams in short order, that was about week 3.  This was with NO holding things, just running in the wind.  BOOOO.  I bought a pair of Saucony gloves, with mitten covers, and the thumb and forefinger pull back to enable you to use touchscreens.  I plan on these lasting much longer.
• I also bought a balaclava, anticipating biting winds and colder temperatures as we roll deeper into winter.  We talked to them about what to wear for cold temps, and we’ve been doing what we’re supposed to do; layers, layers, and more layers.
• I had a big strawberry whey protein shake when I got home, and it tasted really great!  I was happy that I wouldn’t have to choke down a whole jar of stuff I didn’t like.
• I’ve tried out some gels for some calories on the longer runs.  at around 6 miles I pulled out a Montana Huckleberry Hammer Gel.  It did the trick, and I definitely got a boost out of it – and not in a bad, or jittery way.  I just noticed that I had some energy.  The problem was, it had a consistency of thick toothpaste, and it stuck on my lips when I missed (a reality while running and trying to eat).  It tasted well enough though…but I think next time I might try the Cliff Shot Bloks.
• It started to hail around mile 6, and settled into fluffy snow around mile 8.  It wasn’t cold, or if it was I was too warm from running to notice.  I did notice the piece of hail bounce off my eyeball though, that SUCKED.

• Frodo finally reached Rivendell, having faced the Nazgul at Bruinen, and survived with the help of the Elf Lord Glorfindel.  Fabulous reading.

Week 13, and allllllls well (except for my leg, and calves)

        “This sign is delicious”  -Tree

The run of the 22nd of December was my 43rd training run, the last run of the 13th week!  (Week 13: Dec. 16th-Dec. 22nd)

43 runs in, 13 weeks down, 12 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 13 Statistics!

Average Run

• 00:44:54

Average Pace

• 8:31 /mile

Average Distance

• 5.25 miles

Notable week 13 information:

• Week thirteen marks the halfway point in my marathon training!  13 down, and 12 left to go.
• I ran 10 miles on Saturday.  10 miles is a heck of a long way, and my body is telling me about it even now, 5 hours laters.  My hips hurt, and the back of my calves are stiff and sore.  I see a bath in the future, or at the very least some icy hot.  The run itself wasn’t bad, in fact I felt great running it.  It was the last leg of the journey, the last 1/4 that was a killer.  I was feeling it, but not too badly.
• Chris and I still haven’t gone to get the gel stuff for running the long runs, nor are we taking water with us.  We’re heading this week to the running store to pick up some gear and tips.  This morning, about a half hour before I went, I ate a half a banana (chewed extra thoroughly), and chugged a whole glass of water.  I am always cautious now of eating before running, but it worked out fine.  Not a hint of a cramp, and not a hint of dehydration upon return.
• I’ve begun working on protein replacement upon return.  It has to happen quickly – first thing when you get back. I’ve ordered some protein from Dr. Mercola’s website (some organic stuff, with no ingredient whatsoever that you don’t find growing or right out of an animal), but it hasn’t yet got here.  I downed a big glass of milk for protein this time, and fixed two large egg/ham/mayo sammiches, and man were they good.
• I’ve continued on my book journey; reading the Lord of the Rings on audio CD for the 5th time.  Frodo and company have just met Strider in Bree, and shit just got real with some Black Riders.

“..all that is gold does not glitter” – Gandalf

Week 12 – 8 miles is a long way to run.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest that you reap, judge it by the seeds that you plant” – Robert Louis Stevenson

The run of the 15th of December was my 39th training run, the last run of the 12th week!  (Week 12: Dec. 9th-Dec. 15th)

39 runs in, 12 weeks down, 13 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 12 Statistics!

Average Run

• 00:45:23

Average Pace

• 9:03 /mile

Average Distance

• 4.98 miles

Notable week 12 information:

• My injured leg is feeling much better.  It still gets a little sore after a run, but not sore enough that I have to quit, nor sore enough that i can’t make my following run.  I am going to stick with the stretches and keep it limber, and keep going to the chiropractor for adjustments.
• I ran 8 miles on Saturday.  8 miles seems like a long way to go and it is…but I never felt like it was too far, or that my leg was going to give out on me.  I remembered seeing a commercial on television during the Olympics, where a guy was doing running and was listening to books on his iPhone.  I have tons of audio books, I used to listen to them while I worked, so I put the unabridged Lord of the Rings on my phone, and have been listening to it.  What a difference it makes!  I can zone out to the book, and even though i’m running it feels almost like I’m curling up with a good book to get entertained.   I’m almost ready to go run again, if only for the chance to hear the next chapter in Frodo’s saga.

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis

Running Wounded

“Relish the bad training runs. Without them it’s difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones.” 
-Pat Teske

The run of the 1st of December was my 34st training run, the last run of the 11th week!  (Week 11: Dec. 2nd-Dec. 8th)

36 runs in, 11 weeks down, 14 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 11 Statistics!

Average Run

• 41:13 minutes

Average Pace

• 9:13 /mile

Average Distance

• 4.52 miles

Notable week 11 information:

• Injury.  After my five mile run on week 10’s saturday, I had some pain in my hip.  It got pretty bad on Saturday night, but was gone Sunday.  Before my Monday morning run though, during my sleep, my leg hurt and throbbed all night, keeping me up.  I had done stretches and such, but it didn’t really help.  The pain was still there on Tuesday and on Wednesday (leading me to decide not to run on Wednesday, although I had planned to earlier).  I decided to go to see my chiropractor.  Dr. Joe did an excellent job.  He massaged the muscle, put on some penetrating gel (and provided me some for home), and used a cold laser on the area, as well as the typical adjustment.  My leg felt great, the pain was gone, and I ran with no problems on Thursday morning.
• I ran 6 miles on Saturday!  From my house to Potomac View High School’s stone entrance and back.  It seems like a long distance to run just thinking about it!  It felt really good though, and the weather was perfect for a run.  My leg started getting a little sore at around the 3/4 complete mark, but I took an easier pace the whole way (8:53), and seemed to have saved my leg from severe pain.  I stretched it out extra when I got home, put on the gel Dr. Joe had given me, and my pain slowly faded away.

“Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” 
-Dean Karnazes 

 

Week 10! Big Milestone reached

Week 10!

It’s been a big week.  This week was the first week we were challenged to run 5 miles, which we did, on Saturday.  It was exciting to start the run, and I felt great about getting into it.  Mile 1, 2, and 3 went by pretty uneventfully (as I’ve been running this distance almost 10 weeks now).  Mile 4 and 5 were interesting.

I had been keeping up a blistering pace (for me, anyway) – under 8 min/mile, and I felt really good with it.  I decided to try and keep it up for the whole 5 miles.  Usually, I’d fall off towards the end.  I did keep on the gas though, and I started feeling my chest getting tight in the middle of the 4th mile.  By the 5th mile, I was hurting, and as I had designed my route to have a hill at the end I knew it was going to hurt even more.

I ended up having an average pace for the 5 mile run of 7:57/mile (39 minutes, 51 seconds), my best pace since I started running.  I know it’s not all about pace – but it was a minor goal that I was happy to reach.  To the stats!

The run of the 1st of December was my 34st training run, the last run of the 10th week!  (Week 10: Nov. 25th-Dec. 1st)

34 runs in, 10 weeks down, 15 weeks to go and I’ll be running the Saturday Rock N’ Roll Marathon in Washington, DC.

Week 10 Statistics!

Average Run

• 36:01 minutes

Average Pace

• 8:33 /mile

Average Distance

• 4.19 miles

Notable week 9 information:

• As said above, 5 miles run!
• I went walking through the mall afterwards, and my outer groin (right where the hip connects to the inner thigh) was KILLING me.  it hurt for each step.  I’m going to have to investigate which stretches can help me keep this limber to avoid painful runs in the future (especially when I am running further distances).
• If you add up all of the miles over the 10 weeks that I’ve run since starting training with the Runtastic app, it’s 104.21 miles, or past Baltimore and just about to Elkton, MD

I normally end with a quote.  Usually it’s some encouraging words that are relevant to the weeks run, something that is inspiring that might help inspire someone else.  While searching for something this week, I came across this, and have to share, because I found it very inspiring (and I freaking love Bruce Lee).  It also has to do with running, with reaching 5 miles, and with reaching your upper limits.