THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

Did 10 miles first in 1:29:25.  I wanted to go faster today, but about the second mile my ankle was grumbling and wouldn't stop unless I slowed down and ran on the right side of the road.  As long as I ran slow it didn't complain.  Took water at mile 5.  Came home, got Jesse, and did one mile very slow in 11:18.  Jesse was struggling with the wind, but he finished so I am proud of him.  Came home after that and dipped both legs from the ankles down in ice water for 5 minutes, took ibuprofen, and then a hot shower.  Ankle feels fine now so as long as I listen to my body I should be okay.  I don't want another injury.  It will probably be all slow, easy miles this week until my race on Saturday.

4.1 very easy on my own, then one mile very easy with Jesse.  10 minute ice bath for feet and ankles afterward, and motrin.  Left ankle is still grumbling so I am taking it easy.  Hopefully it appreciates my efforts and quiets down.  I have a race on Saturday so I would like to be in top condition.  Will take it even easier and possibly a few days off if need be.

5 miles easy today.  Ankle grumbled a little but it is definitely better than yesterday, so I am glad.  Boy was it windy!  The headwind was horrible.  I did not fight it, just ran ever so slowly through it, then when I would round the loop and get the tailwind it was like flying!  It was very cold this morning, 20-something degrees but probably colder with the wind chill factor.  At least it was dry! My quads are a little sore after this run, strange because my quads rarely get sore--usually it is my hamstrings--I am wondering if it is from running into the wind?  10 minute ice bath for my feet and ankles afterward and then off to a hot shower./  I think the ice baths are really helping my ankle and keeping the tendonitis at bay.

My run started out bad.  Legs were stiff, ankle was twinging, and I was contemplating cutting the whole run short and going home, and maybe not even racing on Saturday, and then suddenly at around mile 2, BAM, everything seemed to warm up.  Ankle quieted down, legs loosened up, and I was able to cruise quite comfortably for the rest of the run.   Note to self, if I feel bad Saturday just keep warming up until I feel good!  Stretching, 10 minute ice bath, motrin, and hot shower afterward.  Now I am off to a very long day of work.

Usually I jog a few miles the day before a race but in light of my ankle woes this week I am going to take the day off and hopefully everything is fresh and ready to go tomorrow morning.  Will do lots of ice and gentle stretching, however.  I am walking around the house in running shoes with little gel heel inserts and they are actually very comfortable.

That was ROUGH.  I am absolutely thrilled with my time though!  I am glad I took yesterday off, my ankle was doing great today.  It was thirty or so degrees outsided but no wind today.  I felt my ankle a little bit when I started jogging around to warm up, but it warmed up very quickly and did not bother me during the race.

There were no splits called so I am not sure of my pace the entire race.  I know the first mile I felt like I took off a bit too fast.  By the time we started the second mile both my calves began to really bother me.  They were incredibly tight and aching, and stayed that way the entire race.  There were many times when I felt like I really should be going a little faster, but my tight calves wouldn't let me.  I concentrated hard on leg turnover and trying to relax my shoulders and arms.  I passed the lady ahead of me in the third mile, but coming into the fourth mile some other girl passed me.  I surged, passed her, but she surged and came past me again.  I started running pretty hard but I could not catch her.  At this point I entered the puke zone, and stayed there for the rest of the race.  I felt like I was crawling and not running very fast, but figured since I had to throw up I was running as hard as I really could.  The last mile was very hard.  I felt like throwing up and I was quite miserable.  I finally heard the cheers, came round the bend, and saw 29:14 on the clock and sprinted as hard as I could(which wasn't much faster than I was already going).  I walked off the nausea within 5 minutes of finishing.

This is definitely the worst I have felt during a race, which I believe is because this is the hardest I have pushed myself.  My goal was under 30 minutes so I am very happy with my time!

6.4 very easy.  My ankle is still grumbling.  I have decided that the objective this week is recovery.  I will run 6 to 7 miles each day at an easy pace--no long runs and no even semi-fast running.  At the end of the week we will see how my ankle is and then I will decide whether or not to shelve the January 1/2 marathon or  not.  I refuse to run my first half-marathon injured!  I would like to get in a few 15 milers and some long tempo runs before the 1/2--but I can't do it if this ankle continues to complain. 

Anyway, my run was interesting today.  I decided that I wanted to stay on the soft dirt roads to lessen impact, knowing that I would encounter dogs.  I did encounter the usual dogs, but a new twist was added today--I was tagteamed by a dog and a GOAT.  That's right, a goat.  A dog I've been harassed by before came running at me and right behind him was his sidekick, a fat goat.  So anyways the dog would jump around and I would shoo it off and then the goat would come running at me with its head lowered like it was going to butt me or something.  So I would veer out of the goat's way and be dealing with the dog again.   I was actually almost laughing because it was so ridiculous.  I'm sure if anyone was watching it was a pretty ludicrous sight.  At least  I got to practice some fancy footwork drills....

Wow that was quite an experience.  A winter storm blew in last night.  Today is all blizzardy with heavy wind and snow blowing all over the place.  The temperature when I ran was sixteen degrees with the wind chill factor--I think it is colder now!  Anyways I drove into town and ran up and down a one-mile stretch of road 3 times.  Running north I would go straight into a headwind and the snow would sting my face and it was very difficult and unpleasant.  Fighting the headwind was exhausting.  Running south, the tailwind would carry me and I would marvel at how beautiful all the blowing snow was and all the whiteness.  I got to finish running south enjoying the sight!  Overall it was a good run.  I kept a nice easy pace and my ankle is much better today.  10 minute ice bath for feet and ankles afterward, stretching, and off to a hot shower and then to work.

8.4 miles easy in 1:16:00/9:03 pace. I know my plan was to only go 6 or 7 miles a day easy this week but after the 6.4 loop I felt so good and was enjoying the snowy ground so much I didn't want to stop, so I did two more miles up and down through town--I did keep the pace easy though! I did not push the pace and kept very comfortable the whole time. Ankle felt fantastic! It is not 100% but there is definite, noticeable improvement. I took out the orthotics and instead put in the little gel heel things and I was actually much more comfortable. No more orthotics. They give great support for my high arch but I think I am rolling off them too far on the outsides of my feet and they are making me underpronate even more severely than I already do naturally. Anyways the temperature was 29 degrees with no wind when I started, and had warmed a few degrees by the time I was done. The varying footing made the run interesting. I would go from packed snow to soft snow to slick flat ice to crunch bubbly ice, etc...It kept me occupied and was actually kind of fun! Did some gentle stretching and then a 10 minute ice bath for feet and ankles. Topped of the morning with a HUGE breakfast of cubed potatoes, an over-easy egg, and pancakes with peanut butter and syrup(I was conservative on the syrup but put the peanut butter on thick--I love peanut butter)

Ran the first 1.3 with Jesse then continued on for 5 more--all at an easy pace.  I was going really slow for about 4 miles before my legs even loosened up.  I felt good at the end and wanted to keep running but my ankle is doing good and I don't want to ruin it so I came on home for my foot-and-ankle ice bath and stretching.

7.5 in 1:03:02/8:24 pace.  I started out slow, and everything felt stiff.  About halfway through I was beginning to feel energized, so I took off into a comfortable but snappy pace for the rest of the run.  It felt good to run a little harder!  My ankle is doing great!

Got down to the church early and did 4.2 before Rachelle got there, then not quite a mile with Rachelle.  Her asthma was giving her a lot of trouble so we had to stop.  Went to my house afterward and drank coffee, and ate toast with grape jelly and scrambled eggs.  It was actually very nice.  I was thinking about doing a few more miles this afternoon but have now decided against it.  It is time to rest, reflect, and make some decisions.

Longest run ever today.  It went really well.  It was 6 degrees when I started and 9 degrees when I finished.  I felt strong through the whole run and  never felt like stopping.  My husband met me 3 times with water and that is all I did for fuel.  I never felt fatigued, although my legs were a bit stiff at the end.  Breakfast was one of my nutrition-packed homemade granola bars and some coffee a half hour before I started running.  I now know I will be able to finish my half-marathon!  Time was 2:06:30 for 14.07 miles--8:59 pace.  Ice bath for feet and ankles and hot shower afterward.

WOW!  My run today was totally crazy!  A winter storm rolled through and it snowed all night and was still snowing this morning.  We live out in the country on dirt roads so there is no plowing or salting on these roads!  I didn't want to mess with digging my car out and driving into town to look for dry land so I decided to be a snow bunny.  I had to run incredibly slow but it was still a challenging workout.  At times I was literally hopping up and down through snowdrifts, and at other times I was zigzagging through tire tracks that weren't completely snowed in yet trying to find the best traction.  The traction was terrible.  It was almost like running through slippery sand.  Twice a car actually came down the road and I could run in the fresh tire track for a few minutes to get some better footing.  I wasn't enjoying it much in the middle, and got a little disconcerted when I realized that the blowing snow had frozen my eyelashes together.  I felt like I was on an episode of an extreme running reality show.  Towards the end though, I was feeling quite gleeful and very thankful that God has blessed me with such a strong and healthy body, despite the abuses I have inflicted on it in the past.  I finished with a sprint through the powder in my driveway and came in the house covered in snow and ice with a big grin on my face.  10 minute ice bath for feet and ankles, nice hot shower to defrost my face(Ah, that felt nice), and, once again, a massive breakfast cooked by my wonderful husband(eggs, jalapenos, salsa, bacon, and potatoes all mixed in a bowl and cup of hot coffee).  Soon it will be off to work, which I am not looking forward to.  People will be driving too fast and wrecking their cars.  Last night at work I had a fatality and it was just a teenager driving way too fast for the conditions.  His poor parents.  My partner is in his rookie year and needs to have this experience so I gave him the pleasure of putting on gear and crawling underneath the heap of twisted metal with a flashlight and stethescope and reaching up to see if the kid was alive or not.  Needless to say the kid's injuries were incompatible with life so we pronounced him on the scene.  I hate it when they are so young and the tragedy is so preventable.

6.15 miles today/8:51 pace.  I ran in town on the sidewalks--not the greatest traction, but nothing like yesterday--and no blowing snow!  In fact it was 18 degrees, which is downright warm compared to the rest of this week.  I was actually getting too warm toward the end and wishing there was somewhere I could ditch my jacket.  I started out slow and it took a long time to warm up.  I tried to pick up the pace for the last couple of miles but it wasn't happening.  I need to do a 5 or 6 mile tempo run this week, maybe Friday?  It looks like the weather will be warming up and I may have decent roads to run on by then.

It was foggy today so I decided to run in town on the sidewalks so I wouldn't get run over by a car.  There was also freezing drizzle so there where a lot of slippery spots, particularly on patches with not enough snow to give some traction.   It all made for a very slow run--it was treacherous to run fast.  I slipped and fell once but didn't get hurt.  It is starting to warm up though, and may be above freezing this afternoon and tomorrow, so perhaps the roads will be decent enought for a tempo run tomorrow!

Tempo run day!  A south wind came through starting yesterday evening and melted all the snow!  It was so bizarre!  By the time I left work around midnight the snow was almost all gone and it was wet!  When I got up this morning the roads were dry and it was twenty-something degrees--good day for a tempo run.  I ran my whole run on dirt roads--4 miles of my half marathon will be dirt and gravel so it would behoove me to stay acclimated.  I picked a route that incorporated the most hills that I have around here--they are not very steep but are about 400 meters each at least.  I jogged slowly one mile, then launched into a 5.4 mile tempo which I completed in 42:52/7:56 pace.  I was pretty happy with that.  Jogged a slow mile to cool down.  It was a great run--my legs were fresh and ready to go.  The second half was harder(hills and wind), but I am not exhausted and could have gone further.

Windy today with temperatures plunging down to single digits and maybe further--no snow though!  Did 6.4 very easy at recovery pace--did not bother to time the run or bring a watch.  I found a nicely priced polyester long sleeve running shirt at Target yesterday and wore it with a t-shirt over it and it kept me warm--even with the wind!  I am pleased with my purchase.  Felt great today--nothing hurts--taking it easy though since this is a new level of mileage for me and I am trying to be careful!  Day off tomorrow and long run Monday(weather permitting).

14.07 in 2:06:41/9:00 pace-- about a second per mile slower than last week.  Weather today: 8 degrees, 6 below 0 with windchill factor.  Cold, but no snow or ice.  I started off SLOW.  I just didn't feel like putting any effort into it, and I didn't for most of the first half.  The second half I kicked it up a notch(not much), but enough to pick up some of my slack from the first half.  My husband met me 3 times with water just  like last week.  I felt pretty good except for a stiffness creeping into my legs toward the end.  At the first stop my husband told me there was frost on my face.  I didn't know it was there so I guess it didn't bother me!  Came home, stretched, showered, and then ate a huge breakfast(two over-medium eggs, a piece of toast, an orange, and coffee with cream).  Pre-run was half a cup of coffee and two pieces of toast with jelly.  I am sometimes amazed at the amount of food I am putting into my body on some days.  I lost 12 pounds in the first 3 months or so after starting running in August, but since then have held pretty steady at my current weight.  I would like to weigh 105(pre-pregnancy weight--I am only 5'1"), but I am not in any rush to get there.  I figure as long as a eat to appetite and try to pick the right foods my weight will be whatever it wants to be!  

6.4 nice and easy today. The wind out of the south was pretty harsh--a steady 25-40mph according to the news. It wasn't as cold as yesterday, though. When I first got up the outside of my left knee hurt pretty bad and I thought I was in trouble, but after it warmed up a bit it was fine. It's a tad sore now but nothing like it felt this morning. Probably leftovers from yesterday's long run. I will have to take it very easy for a couple more days at least. Christmas is almost here! Yeah!

Started out bad, but finished good. Knee is definitely better this morning, but still iffy. The run started out pretty rough--iffy knee and my calves were in knots. I was running very slow and jerky, and had myself all prepared for a miserable run. Right at about mile 2.5, it was like somebody suddenly flipped a switch, knee stopped hurting, calves loosened up, and my running smoothed out to normal. I felt so great that I considered doing a tempo run, but decided against it--I think my body needs a few more days of easy running. Merry Christmas Eve everybody! Unfortunately EMS does not close for the holidays so I have to work(I'm at work right now but we're not on a call)--hopefully it is slow! I have to work tomorrow but not until noon so I can spend all morning with the kids and be there when they open their presents.

Merry Christmas everybody! I spent all morning with my family before going to work so no run today-I'll run a few extra miles tomorrow! We are having a wonderful Christmas and I hope everyone else is too!

The plan today was 1 mile warm-up, 6.5 mile tempo on the dirt roads, and one mile cool down. It didn't happen. On the one mile warm-up my calves were tight and would not let up. I started into the tempo and realized that the roads were muddy and a bit slippery--which was making my calves hurt worse, so after running half the tempo on dirt and mud, I turned onto asphalt instead of doing a 180 and running back. I ran an altered route which cut out .5 mile but got me out of the mud for a couple of miles. My calves stayed tight the whole time and it was really hard to maintain pace, but I made myself keep trying to run hard. 6 mile tempo was in 47:48/7:58 pace. I was wanting to stay under 8:00 pace for the tempo so I barely made it! One mile cool down and inside for some major stretching! The weather today was unbelievable--in the FIFTIES! I wore a running skirt and short-sleeve t-shirt and got HOT! Only in Kansas can the weather be below 0 and several days later be 60 degrees higher....

 p.m.  My sweet little Ian's 7th birthday was today, so we took down the Christmas decorations, put up the speedracer stuff, blew up balloons, and had a birthday party!  We do this every year the day after Christmas!  I had cake and ice cream like a trooper, felt horribly bloated, and decided to run a couple miles.  Brandon ran the first one with me.  I let him run at his pace which was a pretty good clip, pretty close to my tempo pace with a 200 meter or so sprint at the end, then he went in the house and I ran another one nice and slow.  I feel better now.

Easy run today--wore my new running shirt--it was thirty degrees and windy and the shirt kept me plenty warm. It was a great run today--I felt great! If I had known I would feel so good I would have saved the tempo run for today. Oh well. It is snowing now but doesn't seem to be sticking..yet.

p.m.  one mile with Brandon 

11.8 in 1:46:51/9:03 pace--I actually think the pace was a bit faster since I was stopped multiple times for stoplights--much longer than usual on the stops.  Felt strong and good.  I didn't do the full 14 plus, considering my knee woes all week.  I decided to make the long run a little shoulder and run a few extra miles throughout the week.  The plan is a 14 or 15 miler next Monday and then that will be the last really long run before my half marathon.  Hope everyone is ready for the new year!  I am!

7.5 at a gentle 9:10 pace.  I felt good and restrained myself so I would run a true recovery pace. I wrote the check and mailed the registration for my first half-marathon today so it is officially a go!  My knee is only mildly sore so I am glad I cut the long run a little short yesterday.  Came home and my husband and brother-in-law had cooked a massive breakfast of hash browns, eggs, bacon, and toast.  They have been staying here since the weekend so we are a a house full of 4 adults and 7 children--fun times!  All the younger kids have been running in a pack and having a blast.  Almost time to ring in the new year!

6.2 easy at 8:43 pace.  I ran on asphalt today instead of dirt roads--it confirms my suspicions, that for the same effort I run faster on asphalt.  Hmm.  Anyways busy day today--gotta drop my daughter off, get my tb test read, and make it to work on time for a night of New Year's insanity.