Emily's training blog

I'm just starting back running after my achilles injury.  It is feeling much better, but still gets a little sore.  I've run a few times, and it doesn't seem to get worse, but easy does it.

Right now I am goal-less, except for trying to get back to working out consistently.  My husband has been out of state for 3 weeks, which made it difficult to get out and work out.  Thank goodness for the child care at my health club, or I don't know if I would make it out at all.  Needless to say, this is not the fall I planned on having.

I'm not sure where to go with my running, now.  I guess I'll just take it one day at a time, and focus on being healthy.

I ran 5 miles on the treadmill this afternoon, and pondered why the guy sweating all over the elliptical chose to wear khaki cargo to work out. 

After my run I did 3 sets of 15 eccentric calf raises.  Then, I headed into the gym to do 1-legged squats on the stability disc, which resulted in some dirty looks from two burly neanderthals looking to shoot some hoops. 

So, I start ramping up the running again, and immediately come down with a cough.  I felt better today, though, so it's not serious.   I went to the health club and ran for half an hour on the treadmill.  Then, I got on the elliptical until the lifting class started.  I took a Body Pump class, and quickly realized how out of shape I really am.  My muscles were shaking after the warm up.  It is definitely time to get back into the swing of things. 

Here's to a renewed commitment to consistent training.  I decided to spend these next six weeks before Christmas building my mileage back up, and focusing on my overall strength.  Today was my first outside run in a long time.  It was so calm and peaceful outside.  I've definitely been missing my morning runs. As a bonus, the weather cooperated, and actually felt balmy.  My achilles is feeling great, though my left hip is tight. My hip always gives me a few problems as I get back into shape, but with stretching and strength work, it should return to working order shortly.  When I got home, Teren commented on my heavy breathing.    Yes, I am out of shape.  Half an hour of running has me breathing  like I just ran intervals.  But, it will get better.

I spent all day yesterday feeling excited about getting out again on a morning run.  That's not a feeling I've had in quite a while.  It's nice to feel the spark again.  I was a bit underdressed for my run today.  The closet monsters seem to have eaten all of my gloves, and I could have used a jacket.  But, the run was only five miles, so I survived.

I ran down 4800 to the river trail, over to Millrace Park, and up through the neighborhood to my house.  I thought it would be really dark on the trail, but the half-moon provided just enough light to see.  It was actually very pretty with the moonlight reflecting off of the water.

Now, I'm at home drinking peppermint hot chocolate!  Time to warm up. 

I'm looking forward to hearing from Jake and Andrea at tonight's LDR banquet.  Besides the fact that Teren and I get to go out without the kids.  It's time to remember what being an adult feels like!

I figured that I should make the most of the warmer weather before a winter storm makes it difficult to run outside.  It was pretty windy this morning, but the temperature was very comfortable.  I started shedding layers about halfway through the run.  I ran my six mile 4800 S to River Trail loop.  I listened to quite the eclectic mix of music, which included Kelly Clarkson's new album (very run-able!)  Adele, Lady Gaga, and a few Christmas songs for good measure.  How did I ever survive without a soundtrack to my running. 

Tonight we held the East High cross country awards banquet. (It's banquet week!)  Brad Barton was the guest speaker.  He was very entertaining, combining magic with inspiration.  I highly reccommend him to anyone looking for a motivational speaker.  I felt a little stupid when I asked him if he had a running background, and he said "a little bit of one."  Then, I found out he was an All-american at Weber state and made a USA team.  I would say that is more than a "little bit" of a running background!  Next time I'll do my homework so I don't sound so ignorant.

Today was a treadmill morning, partly because of the weather, and partly because I am alone with the kiddos for the weekend.  Scoutmaster Teren is on a campout.  I'm hoping he makes it out of the mountains in one piece! 

I felt great running, today.  I must run a faster pace when I'm running outside, because most of the run felt effortless.  I haven't been timing my runs since I'm just trying to get the mileage going again.  My initial plan wa 45 minutes of running, but I felt great, so I finished out the last half mile.  I've been noticing that I start feeling my achilles after 30-35 minutes of running, so I probably need to back off a bit.   On the up side, the tightness in my hip is dissipating. 

Dropped the kids at the daycare for a treadmill run.  I started faster than I have been, and increased my pace every five minutes  The run was comfortably hard, which is better than excruciatingly hard, which the same pace was 2 weeks ago.  I had planned to run 45 minutes, and see how much mileage I could cram in.  At about 37 minutes, the day care worker kindly informed me that my Little Lily Poops-a-Lot needed her diaper changed.  So, I finished six miles and headed to the daycare.  It didn't make a lot of sense to stop, take a 10 minute diaper break, and then come finish 8 more minutes.    My achilles felt good until about 35 minutes, and then began to twinge a bit.  My hip was tighter today. 

Since I plan on eating a lot this evening, I made sure to burn some extra calories this morning.  I ran 8 miles, took a 10 minute break, and then took the Thanksgiving Boot Camp class.  Boot Camp is so fun, but extremely hard.  I found that while I can run all day long, I cannot army crawl the entire length of the gym floor.  I looked like the big wimp that I am!  I amused myself through class by listening to two girls describe, in detail, everything that they were going to eat later that day. 

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggers!  I am grateful for a relatively healthy body that can get out the door each day and run.  Running has brought me some of the greatest challenges, but also some of the greatest blessings in my life.  And, I'm grateful for all of those on this blog that share in the misery and elation that is long distance running.

My body is so sore today!  I don't think I was running very quickly, but I was enjoying the nice warm morning.  Plus, when I came home, Teren had french toast waiting for me.  I'm sure the soreness will fade just in time for me to take on another strength class.

I would rather go run than brave Black Friday.  I HATE crowds!

I ran for an hour, and then took a Body Pump class.   I really hate weight lifting, but I think it will help my injury issues if I strengthen up.  But, I can't lift my arms over my head without whimpering.   I am very happy my achilles seems to be doing pretty well, though I plan on another month of just mileage before I try to hit any workouts again. 

We had a major scare yesterday.  My 2-year-old nephew pulled a china cabinet down on himself and the glass shattered all over the poor kid.  He pulled through it pretty well, all things considered.  There is no nerve damage in the face, and the tendon in his knee that the doctors thought might be cut, is intact.  But, he has over 100 stitches, and a full cast on his leg.   During the Thanksgiving weekend it was a huge reminder of what is really important in life.  You can bet that I appreciated my own healthy children even more.