Yesterday I decided to go for a run for the fourth day in a row. I set my sites on my four mile loop, and was actually pretty pumped for it. I hit the road and almost immediately knew it was going to be a struggle just to get through a mile. As hard as I tried to focus on my stride it just all felt awkward. And my body showed it to me. My calves have been very tight during some runs recently, and after a couple runs I've felt slight shin splints (say that five times fast; did I really just write that?!).
Anyway, I toughed out 3 miles when I probably shouldn't have, and my shins hated me for it. I iced them and took some advil which helped, but today I worked a shift at the restaurant and I could feel them slightly throughout the day. I'm so worried this could stop me from running for any significant time that I've been reading reviews about compression sleeves and other such remedies online hoping for a magic pill. I realize that the montra is spare a day to save a week, spare a week to save a month yada yada yada. I really don't want to rest. I have an awesome 8 mile run planned this sunday down the west side of manhattan and I have no intentions of skipping it.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Over 100 in 2011
Well I just finished a 5.5 mile run that put me over 100 miles for 2011. Given that we're a quarter of the way through the year (hard to believe) that puts me on pace for 400 this year. I think that is a pretty realistic goal especially as we approach better weather (hopefully!).
It really kills me how one day you can feel so natural at this, and the next feel so out of sync it seems its your first time running. Yesterday Rhyan and I decided we wanted to keep the miles a little low for our sunday outing but hit a hilly route. We set our sites on lake barcroft and ran all the way around it (5 miles). We tried our best to pick up our pace up the hills and slow it down as we leveled off or went down hill. Every step my body felt awkward and wanted to stop, so in that way it was a really invigorating run because I pushed through and finished despite my body crying to stop. Today on the other hand, I set a course that I had calculated to be about 4-5 miles. It ended up being 5.6 miles but my stride felt so natural and fluid I could have gone another 2 or 3 I think. I guess it's typical with everything in life though; some days your on, some days your not.
It really kills me how one day you can feel so natural at this, and the next feel so out of sync it seems its your first time running. Yesterday Rhyan and I decided we wanted to keep the miles a little low for our sunday outing but hit a hilly route. We set our sites on lake barcroft and ran all the way around it (5 miles). We tried our best to pick up our pace up the hills and slow it down as we leveled off or went down hill. Every step my body felt awkward and wanted to stop, so in that way it was a really invigorating run because I pushed through and finished despite my body crying to stop. Today on the other hand, I set a course that I had calculated to be about 4-5 miles. It ended up being 5.6 miles but my stride felt so natural and fluid I could have gone another 2 or 3 I think. I guess it's typical with everything in life though; some days your on, some days your not.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
New PR for the 5K!
I just got back from a four mile run around the neighborhood and I actually set a new personal record for 5K. 27:06 was the time and I averaged 8:46 a mile. Pretty good considering I got stuck at a couple of lights, and had to wait for a truck to back up into the FSI complex. Earlier this week I started reading Danny Dreyer's book ChiRunning. I'm only 3.5 chapters in, but I did try and focus on a couple things he has talked about. First I tried to use gravity to my advantage by keeping my body straight but leaning forward so that my foot strikes occur under my center. Second I tried to keep my cadence the same, and only alter my pace through the size of my stride. This was harder to grasp and I hope he has some good exercises to try and accomplish this.
My calves are still pretty tight, so if any of the three of you out there reading this blog have any good suggestions about loosening them up or stretching them I would love to hear it. I am going to try and get another 3-4 miles in tomorrow before Rhyan and I do a longer run on sunday. Hopefully I'll feel pretty loose by tomorrow morning.
My calves are still pretty tight, so if any of the three of you out there reading this blog have any good suggestions about loosening them up or stretching them I would love to hear it. I am going to try and get another 3-4 miles in tomorrow before Rhyan and I do a longer run on sunday. Hopefully I'll feel pretty loose by tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
MOTIVATE ME!!!
It's clear I'm in desperate need of motivation. I just got off of a shift where I was on my feet for 6 hours and I need to go for a run. It's about to thunderstorm so I can't take music. My calves are going to be sore almost immediately, and I just want to chill on my couch. I have over 10 miles logged this week (don't mind the daily mile widget, it starts my week on monday and I haven't been able to change that) so I'm thinking with a 4 mile run tomorrow, and then again on friday I could feel good about my output for the week. Do you see all the excuses I can make up? JUST GO RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
New Balance Minimus
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Monday, March 21, 2011
First 8 Mile Run!
Last week was less than ideal for me in the mileage standpoint. I only ended up running 13 miles throughout the week (my running week starts sunday) and while all three were really positive runs, it just wasn't even close to the 20 or so miles I wanted to do. That being said, Rhyan and I decided to start this week off right with our first 8 mile run. Previously my farthest run has been 6 miles so this was going to be record setting for me. The last three times I ran 5 miles or so I got stronger the farther I went, so I really didn't think doing 8 would be all that bad. I was wrong.
We started by parking at Roosevelt island and running from there across the key bridge into Georgetown and meandered through shoppers along M Street down to Pennsylvania ave. Both Rhyan and I were feeling pretty strong as we made our way down to the mall and past the Washington Monument. I think through the first 4 miles our pace was under 9:00 miles, and our fastest mile of the day was our 2nd at 8:20. We got to the Capital building and turned back around and decided we would try to go past the Jefferson Memorial. We figured this would add 1.5 to 2 miles to the run, but what the hell, we both were feeling pretty good. Its amazing how quickly that can change!
As we made our way across the George Mason Memorial bridge back into VA, my left hip started to get a little sore. Nothing serious, until we crossed the bridge and got on the Mt. Vernon trail along the potomac. It was about at the 7.5 mile mark that I realized how mentally tough running a half marathon is going to be, let alone a full marathon. None of the pains I was experiencing individually were bad enough to stop me, but with all of them going at once it was slowing me down to a shuffle. It was so laborious just to put one foot in front of the other, and all I could think about was how close to the car we were. But alas, I gave in after 8.59 miles and just had to walk. I didn't want to put myself out for a long period of time, and I want to get another 12 miles done this week.
I'm so sore right now. My gluts, my calves, my feet. I wanted to get 2-3 miles in today just to try and loosen up but I don't see that happening. tomorrow maybe, but not today.
We started by parking at Roosevelt island and running from there across the key bridge into Georgetown and meandered through shoppers along M Street down to Pennsylvania ave. Both Rhyan and I were feeling pretty strong as we made our way down to the mall and past the Washington Monument. I think through the first 4 miles our pace was under 9:00 miles, and our fastest mile of the day was our 2nd at 8:20. We got to the Capital building and turned back around and decided we would try to go past the Jefferson Memorial. We figured this would add 1.5 to 2 miles to the run, but what the hell, we both were feeling pretty good. Its amazing how quickly that can change!
As we made our way across the George Mason Memorial bridge back into VA, my left hip started to get a little sore. Nothing serious, until we crossed the bridge and got on the Mt. Vernon trail along the potomac. It was about at the 7.5 mile mark that I realized how mentally tough running a half marathon is going to be, let alone a full marathon. None of the pains I was experiencing individually were bad enough to stop me, but with all of them going at once it was slowing me down to a shuffle. It was so laborious just to put one foot in front of the other, and all I could think about was how close to the car we were. But alas, I gave in after 8.59 miles and just had to walk. I didn't want to put myself out for a long period of time, and I want to get another 12 miles done this week.
I'm so sore right now. My gluts, my calves, my feet. I wanted to get 2-3 miles in today just to try and loosen up but I don't see that happening. tomorrow maybe, but not today.
Friday, March 18, 2011
First Bib!
My first bib of the 2011 running season! It was a perfect day for running and I finished out this 8K in 43 minutes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Running
Over the last two years I have taken up running as a way to get exercise without having to go to the gym. It seemed easier to step outside and just go running rather than driving to the gym, doing some cardio followed by some sort of weight training, and then drive back home. Some how I have made it possible to look at running in a lazy way! The truth is that I have never been much of a runner (in the long distance sense anyway) and still hate doing it to this day. But I recently discovered that I also love running. It's that first 1.5-2 miles that I really hate. Your body is getting used to doing this god forsaken exercise, and your breathing hard, hitting the pavement, trying to get into a groove, and its just miserable! But then something funny happens. You see something that takes your mind off of it for a second, or you hear a song you like and the next thing you know you're in a groove. Your feet start hitting a tempo, you aren't breathing as hard, and you even discover that you can pace a little faster without exhausting yourself. It's then that I love running, because at that moment you know you can hit your goal, and you even start thinking of trying to go beyond it.
I recently registered to run the Marine Corps Marathon with my friend Rhyan. It is run on October 30, 2011 which gives me seven months or so to train for it. It is a very beginner friendly marathon (whatever the hell that means) and as long as I stay motivated I think I should have no problems building up my miles in order to be ready to do it. Along the way I plan to do as many races as I can, from 5K to half marathons, and I plan on trying to blog about all my running endeavors.
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