Week 4- one month down! How many more?!

Geez I am flogged after this week. It was hot, I was busy at work and I am MOVING next week! Got new diggs over in Perrysburg, next to the Maumee river. So I am trying to balance work, working out, training, and packing. And throw in a weekend trip to run a 10k with my friend Jenn, and a social mountain bike ride later that same day with Art, and I am beat.

So this week:

Sunday: mountain biking with Jenn and Art. Cut a little short (5mi) due to the former and latter being hung over and/or taco-ing their front wheel. You guess who did what.

Monday: OFF. BLESSED BE SWEET JESUS.

Tuesday: Personal trainer session preceeded by 7 mi run inside on treadmill since it was redunkulously hot outside.

Wednesday: Ran 6.2 miles inside again due to Hades-like heat outside.

Thursday: Personal training with sprints again. Maybe another 2 miles running.

Friday: BLESSED BE. OFF AGAIN.

Saturday: 10k Reeds Lake Run with Jenn. It was damn hot still and they totally blew with the water station. I just felt OFF so decided to screw it and run a 9:30 mile. I was never able to get my breathing under control and had all sorts of shit rattling in my lungs, due to the fact that I am allergic to Michigan and Ohio. I had to spit a lot throughout the race, just to clear my lungs. I almost hit this one guy during the race as he sprinted up behind me. I got the "yo, bitch" look from him, which was awesome! Jenn smoked the damn Hall Hill. I kept her in sight until she sprinted Speedy-Gonzalez style at the end. I think I was 58:58 or so which is fine. After all, I am training at a 10min/mi for this marathon, since there's no way in hell I can maintain anything faster for 26.2! So Jenn, myself, and Carrie Gabriellese celebrated out finishes at the post race party. Maybe for a little too long, since when I got back to my car (1 mi away) and went to the high school to shower up, the women's locker room was closed. So I cleaned up as fast as humanly possible- in the men's locker room, which was vacant and open.

Then I ran a few errands and chilled in the cool library in EGR. Met Art for 7.5 mi mountain biking at Cannonsburg Game Area. It was awesome, if not a bit humid and tropical. Oh well, I had already sweated 10# off in the morning, so what was another 5#. Beer was the reward, as well as a 3hr+ car ride home, with a 20 min pit stop in MI somewhere. That was classic since I fell asleep with a towel over my eyes, so they couldn't identify the crazy dirty/smelly/sweaty lady all passed out in her car with her mouth wide open at the rest stop.

So what the hell does that make:

running: 7+6+2+6.2= 21.2 mi

biking: 5+7.5=12.5

so from here, look for it to begin to kick into higher gear with the mileage!

Week 3: The heat is on and the dreaded side-stitch

Ok, so this week really started to kick it in a little, and tried to fix some very bad running habits- namely my shuffle step. This will be more appropriate when I am 80 years old, and I'll be the person you try to find in your long run since they NEVER vary their pace. But right now, I look retarded. So once you have been running a certain way all of your life and you try to switch it, you feel like a blooming idiot. Here I am saying "heel toe, heel toe" over and over to myself in my head like a mental patient.

So Sun I did 5 miles at a 9:30 or so pace

Monday off

Tuesday I worked with my personal trainer and did my sprint intervals on the treadmill at 6min/miles. And I got my ass kicked during the weight training session. Then I ran another 4.5 miles.

Wed I ran 4 miles and then did my 60 min step-crazy-weights-bands class.

Thursday I worked out with the personal trainer again, doing my sprint intervals and massive amounts of upper body stuff, including 15 pullups (yes, you read that right)

Friday it pissed down rain, but then stopped for 3 hrs- so I went for a run after work. Perhaps a bad move since it was 85 degrees and 90% humidity. Walking from my car to the trailhead (100yds) made me sweat my clothing through. I ended up doing 6 miles, at a piss poor 10+ min/mile, but screw it since I freaking finished and dropped 10# in water weight! I ran with a water bottle again and I think this is what had screwed with my shoulders big time, as I clench the bottle really hard. So I had to strategerize how to fix that before it got out of control.

Saturday: Went to GR for FOUNDERS FEST so this was my off day for sure. I would call this a massive carbo loading session when all was said and done. Much fun. Before Founders, I went to the running store and bought a new water bottle that is curved like you hand and attaches via a spandex-y strap that goes around the back of your hand. So no more gripping, or having to have the masseuse jump up and down on my back to unwind my muscles. I am still sore from that!

so tally for the week is: 5+0+4.5+4.0+6.0 : 19.5+my personal training sprints (probably a few miles extra)

Oh and the side-stitch: It is a massive cramping under your right rib that causes you to have to stop dead and try to work it out. I thought it was dehydration (so I nearly pissed myself from drinking too much h20) but turns out I am a shallow breather and I also breathe in on my right step (should be left). Deep breaths, occasional exhalation through pursed lips and more corrections of my idiot tendencies should help.

Anyway, 10k is Saturday and we'll see how that ends up!!!

Knocking knees

so got through my weekend runs in decent enough shape (5 and 4 miles). Got a lot of clicking and shifting going on in my bad knee, but after doing a lot of reading on the Internets about this sound with post-ACL reconstructions, I feel much better. Pretty common and most likely due to some scar tissue in there from the weeks of immobility I had back in the day due to severe nerve damage. Note to self: don't ski Whistler blue runs in a blinding snow storm!

So it's dinner and beer, an ice cream sandwich and the ice bag for me tonight. Oh, and my new best friend is Tylenol PM. I love this stuff. I pass out cold for 6 hrs. 

This week I am focusing on fixing one of the many flaws in my ridiculous running style (ask Graveel about it). I have to focus more on Heel-toe-ing it, so as to not shuffle. Today it worked out much better that way.

Also, trying to figure out if I am super-friendly when I run, as I either nod or wave to the oncoming runners or smiling walkers, even the jack-wads just kinda look pissed. I guess it is what it is. I smile as to get through this crap. 

Week 2-Can a klutz survive marathon training?

okay, so almost to end of week 2 training for this marathon and it's been okay. I travelled to DC this week to review grants so there were a couple of problems, including little time to run and lots of sugar during the breaks. Now, unless you have sat on your ass in a room with 20 other scientists from 8am till 6pm arguing the merits of other people's works, you have no idea how much sugar and caffeine are necessary to keep science chugging along. 

Anyways, managed to get in a run on Monday, and walked about 5 miles in the terminal whilst stuck for 11 freaking hours at Dulles airport. I followed a few of those crazy powerwalking ladies you see around, so I was hauling. 

So I had just boarded the plane, sooooo excited to have made it standby, and I noticed my phone was no longer in my pocketses. The flight attendant let me run back to the terminal to check that it didnt fall out in the seats (it didnt), and then they told me to haul ass back to the plane since they were leaving momentarily. I ran (part of my training) and came around a corner only to fall flat on my face, twisting my left (bad) knee and turning my right ankle. So a-hab here had to have the flight attendant help me over the threshhold onto the plane since my ankle was screwed. Long story short, the damn phone was on plane (under my seat) and I had tweaked my ankle and knee, and has one of those nice damp razberries on my knee. 

Well, good news is, that after some ibuprofen, a lot of stretching and a slow 4 miler on Wed, all is well. I will definately have to re-implement the icing/stretching/ibuprofen protocol from yee ole days of old from whence I blew out my left knee and had the reconstruction. So the real question here is, can a klutz survive all this, especially with a crappy ACL, MCL and meniscus? Tune in folks...

PS: lost another 1.5lbs this week, even with the sugar and beer this week. Damn, this could work out just fine after all. 

PPS: progress this week

Sun- off; Monday 3.5 mi; Tues 5.0 mi (walk); Wed 4.0 mi; Thurs 45 min crosstrain; Fri off; Sat 5 mi run

oh, and I've actually been doing interval training with my personal trainer on Tue/Thu. I am now up to a 6.3 min/mile pace?!!! well, for one minute intervals, for 15 one minute intervals, alternating on lifting weights

Week 1 training

okay, so I just completed the first week of training for the (half) marathon. More on the parentheses later...Anyways, this week I ran:

Sun 3.5 mi

Mon: day from hell working on grant pre-application for 12 hrs (so off)

Tues: personal training for 30 min, then 3.5mi running

Wed: 3.5 miles running, then 60 min step class

Thurs: personal training from hell, with intervals on the treadmill up to 6.3 min/mile pace- wtf!

Fri: drink beer

Sat: 60 min in the pool for class (>1500m) then 50 min running

so I am pretty tired now from all this. But I fell a lot better and it may sound silly, but this goal for October 18 gives me something to take my mind off how much my job sucks and how much I hate being on my own away from family and my friends in Ohio. Weird. 

Anyway, gotta try to stick to the program over the next few days. I have to review grants for DOD down in VA for the next few days so I will have to sneak in my runs in the mornings or evening and i hate treadmills!

k, where the hell did i put the tylenol pm. 

PS: I have a secret: The parentheses up above- it's because I am not doing the half-marathon. I am doing the whole damn thing. I am trying right now to keep it on the low-down until race day gets closer and I know I can do the whole and not half.