Emily's training blog

It's time to get back to it. I've taken more than my fair share of time off.  This morning I paid for it.  It was a rude awakening!  I felt clunky and tight.  I expected it though.  Mentally I am ready to start training again.  I've definitely lost some fitness over the last few lazy weeks.  I think it will come back fairly quickly.  I do need to be a little careful about jumping into hard stuff too quickly.  7:26 pace.  Costco loop with added loop in the neighborhood.

So, what's a girl to do when her silly baby wakes up at 4 for a cuddle?  Why, go running really early, of course!  It was dumping snow, and I didn't feel like taking my life in my own hands by running in it.  I went to the gym for a treadmill workout.  It was a good one.  I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 10 x 2 minutes on/ off.  I eased into them, starting at 6:15 pace, and upping the tempo .1 mph every interval.  I finished at 10.5 mph or 5:42 pace.  It's true.  The treadmill told me so.  It got pretty tough for the last 3.  My body hasn't moved that quickly in quite some time.  My recovery was at 8mph.  I cooled down until I hit an hour total running time.

Yesterday afternoon I developed a random pain in my lower left leg.  It is on the outside of the leg, below the knee, where the knee hinges.  (Don't you love my scientific terms.)  I've been trying to figure out why it hurts there.  My workout yesterday wasn't too hard, and I didn't feel any twinges or anything during the run, or even in the hours following the run.  Impact doesn't seem to bother it.  It's more range of motion.  I think it might be tied into my hips, but it doesn't really feel like an IT band issue.  Hmmmm . . . 

I warmed into my run, slowly.  I felt a bit sore from yesterday.  It's cold.  It took 3 miles to warm up.  Once I got into a groove, it was a nice run . . . even if it was dark, cold, and windy.  7:25 pace.

No sign of pain in the knee today. I really don't think it was something running related.  Weird.  It seems to be gone, though.

Teren is out of town, so I was stuck on the treadmill again.  The happy news is that Myles played contentedly in the daycare for my entire run!  I was really bored during my warm-up, so I decided to get things over with more quickly and run a tempo run.

3 miles warm up.  25 minute tempo run (4.1 miles. I went through 4 at 24:20)  cooldown to eight miles.  

It was an incredibly beautiful day for a run this morning.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect.  I got to run a little later in the morning because Teren was home.  It's nice to run when it is actually light outside.  I ran to 4100 S, down to the river trail.  My body must have been loving the warm weather  and later start time because my average pace was a relatively brisk 6:58.  

The weather was so nice this morning that I ran a bit longer than my originally planned ten miles.  I was a little chilly to start, but started shedding layers as the run progressed.  I ran 7800 S down to the river trail at Gardner Village.  On the way back I saw a man standing on a bridge with his daughter on his shoulders.  They were just out enjoying the morning.  I thought it was cute.   6:58 pace for the total run.  I'm ready for a day off!

I'm happy with the way my first post-break week went.  My plan is to gradually increase the mileage.  I'll probably try to keep the workouts shorter and faster to get ready for 5k-10k type races.  I still don't have a solid race plan, but I will run a Turkey Trot, and then aim for some of the early circuit races.  I just want to enter next year's summer/fall training in really good shape!  Here's hoping for healthy running!

I thought I would go out to the Oval for a speed workout since it is lighter and somewhat warmer than it is outside.  I drove out there to find that the oval is closed for the entire week.  Grrr.  I hate when my plans get ruined.  I drove home, and found I had no motivation to run a workout outside.  So, I just went for a run.  It might have been a good idea since my first 4 miles were pretty slow.  Muscles take some time to warm up when it is 30 degrees.  

I dropped my i-pod and cracked the screen.  Grrr.  (I'm doing a lot of growling this morning!)

Later AM:  I went to take the Total Body Conditioning class taught by my friend Kim.  Kim is a 2:52 marathoner and gears all of her strength classes towards runners.  Unfortunately, 25 minutes into class Myles had a freak out and I had to leave.  Grrr #3!  I made it through dead lifts, shoulders, and bench press before I had to go.  I have a goal to get stronger, and hopefully run faster as a result. Teething babies don't care about running goals.  

It's been a crazy last couple of days.  Myles got into toilet cleaner and developed a large third degree chemical burn on his little arm.  We spent the day at the pediatrician's office, followed by the burn unit at the University of Utah.  Between that and sleepless nights up with the baby, there has been little time for running.  I'm sure I could have fit it in if I really focused on it.  However, my mind and heart hasn't been in it the last couple of days.  

I did a fartlek workout this morning.  I warmed up two miles and then ran 7 x 3 minutes on/off.  I had originally planned 8-10, but kept having dizzy spells.  I must not have eaten enough before running this morning.  I cooled down until I hit eight.  This week is a bit messed up.  Sigh. 

Wow.  It's been one thing after another this past month.  I know this is a training blog, not a journal, but running is how I deal with my stresses and feelings.  Therefore, I think it is entirely appropriate to post the events in my life that effect me.  Besides, it's my blog and I can write what I want.  (except for bad language or Sasha will kick me off.)

So, we found out Saturday night that Teren's brother has cancer.  It is in his plasma cells.  That has been hard to wrap my head around.  He is only 44 with 5 kids.  Today he finds out how widely the cancer has spread in his body.  Something like this changes your perspective, quickly.  In addition, Teren's dad had triple bypass surgery around Halloween.  Then, there's our little adventure with the toilet bowl cleaner . . . It's a crazy time for our family.  I think the holidays are going to be rough.

It felt good this morning to pound out some stress and organize my thoughts.  Running is definitely therapeutic, and I am so thankful for that.  I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 12 x 1 min on/off.  Then, I ran 5 hill repeats up the Canal Road Hill (about 200 meter hill) and then ran home.  My paces were not spectacular.  ( I really need to get back in shape!)  But, it felt really good to move.

I broke down and busted out the Christmas music this morning.  I just felt like something different to run to.  So, I put my ipod on the Christmas music station.  The music was fun.  The dj's however are far too perky for 5:30 a.m.   I'll probably return to AC/DC and Eminem tomorrow.  

I ran my Costco loop extended to 6200 S, and back along the canal road.  It was so warm this morning.  I was shedding layers the entire run.  I'm still dressing like it's normal Utah November weather.  7:31 pace.  The 4 miles uphill into the wind slowed me down.  

Extra early running this morning.  I warmed up 3 miles and then ran a 4 mile tempo.  I originally planned 5, but I was not feeling it at all this morning.  6:05 average.  Then, I cooled down for 10 minutes.  Now I'm done.  The end.  So much excitement this morning.

It was drizzling when I woke up. I contemplated going back to bed, or getting on the spinning bike, or running on the treadmill.  Then, I just decided to toughen up and get outside.  It wasn't bad for the first half of the run,  The drizzle turned into a pretty steady downpour by the end of the run.  Winter rainstorms aren't quite as pleasant as summer ones.  But, I'm glad I went out and ran.  

We mention a lot on this blog about making "deposits rather than withdrawls" during our workouts.  Today, I was thinking that running in adverse conditions provides a different type of deposit.  It's a deposit into our "mental toughness" bank.  When race time comes around, we can draw strength from all the times we pushed through rain, snow, wind, heat, sore legs, upset stomachs, sleepless nights, or tough times in our personal lives.  I like knowing that I can do hard things.  Nothing in a race is as difficult as the day to day commitment to training.  

Now, I just need to remember this when the temperature drops 20 more degrees!  It really wasn't too bad out this morning!

Easy run + Zumba.  There is a free zumba class next Friday at my health club if anyone cares to join me!  I'm sure you are all going to be beating down my door to come!

I met Jenny for a run this morning.  We tried out the horse park loop.  It was a nice place to run. We made three laps before we got bored and headed out on the roads.  We did a loop through Holladay, and then back to Cottonwood Complex where our cars were parked.  

I've decided that the worst thing about cold weather running is that it takes the rest of the day to warm back up.  I'm still shivering!

Zamboni dodging at the Olympic Oval.  I decided today was a good day to get back into some speed workouts, so I headed out to Kearns.  I like the light and the climate control, but I was quickly reminded why this is not my favorite place to work out.  There is just so much traffic on the track!  The one that really annoyed me was the girl who was running in lane one in the opposite direction of everyone else.  They now have designated lane directions that switch daily.  Today's direction was "backwards". (not running backwards, just clockwise instead of counterclockwise.)    I had to recalibrate my distances since it's not a 400 meter track.

My workout was 4 x (600-400-200) with 2 minute, 90 seconds, 1 minute recovery inbetween.  I usually just jogged a 200, or actually a 240 inbetween.  

Set 1:  2:06, 81, 39

Set 2: 2:03, 80, 38

Set 3: 2:02, 80, 38

Set 4: 2:02, 81, 38

I couldn't really seem to break out of that 80-81 pace.  Still, I recovered quickly and felt pretty strong.  This workout was designed to get some turnover going.  I'm trying to regain some leg speed after a summer of marathon training.  I actually love running track workouts.

Short cooldown.  I wanted to get out of there before 7 to beat the traffic on 5400S.

My achilles were sore from the track yesterday.  Achilles soreness is okay.  Achilles strains are not okay.  I tried to warm them up properly before running, which is tough to do.  They take so long to get warm.  I will have to be careful as I incorporate speed work into my training again.

On the plus side, I feel much better than last week . . . a lot less clunky and out of shape.  Next week is going to be a challenge for training.  Teren will be traveling for work.  Time to hire all the teenage girls in my neighborhood for babysitting!

Cleaning your house from top to bottom counts as cross training, right?

Thanksgiving morning run with Jenny from Murray Park to Wheeler Farm.  It was an enjoyable start to the holiday with one of my favorite people.  My brother in law joined us and managed to get 8.5 miles in.  He's only been running 3-4 a day, so I think he's going to feel it tomorrow.  

I really need to get some new running shoes.  I'm not sure I can brave Black Friday to buy them.  Nothing like following up gluttony with greed!  (Can you tell I'm not a fan of Black Friday!)

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggers!

Instead of getting up early to shop, I got up early to run.  I wanted to get my workout done in time to take zumba with some of my family.  I decided to run on the treadmill in order to avoid both the smog, and crazy shoppers speeding down the road to get to their deal.  I arrived at the health club to find that it didn't open until six.  (Come on.  It's called 24 Hour Fitness for a reason!)  

Finding myself with 20 extra minutes, I drove next door to Sport Authority.  I figured that if I needed new running shoes I might as well get a deal.  I watched people park and get in line either at Sport Authority or JoAnne's.  I made a game of guessing who would get in which line.  The ladies in mom jeans, turtleneck sweaters and 90's bangs:  definitely JoAnne's.  The homies in basketball shorts, hoodies, and backwards baseball caps:  Sport Authority.  I'm so easily entertained.

After purchasing my early Christmas present, I headed to the gym.  My hips and achilles were thanking me for the new footwear.  I felt so much better!  I warmed up 2 miles and then ran 8 x 3 minutes on/ 2 minutes off.  I started at 6:07 pace, and ended at 5:40 pace.  My recovery was at 7:30 pace.  This workout fell somewhere between a tempo run and a speed workout in effort.  I'm working my way up to 10-12 repeats.  8 was good for today.  I cooled down until I hit 10 miles.  67:43 for the entire workout.

Later AM:  Zumba with my sisters-in-law.   Lots of fun!

It was such a beautiful morning, albeit pretty chilly to start.  I ran with Jenny on the wonderful Jordan River Parkway.  We ran 4.5 miles north and turned back.  Then, I ran another 1.5 south and back.  Only 2 turns in the whole run.  What excitement!  I felt pretty good, and it's nice not feeling so pounded.  Before I got new shoes, it felt like I was running in ballet flats on my runs.  It's nice to be getting rid of some of the aches and pains.  It showed in the run.  6:44 and 6:36 for the last two miles.  7:10 average pace.