Everything You Didn't Want to Know About My Runs

After my personal half marathon Saturday night, I woke up Sunday morning with a sore lower back.  I don't think it is caused by running--it is more about weak abs and sleeping.  I iced it for a while and that helped a little.  As it started getting a little numb, I started feeling my hamstring so I iced that as well--which really helped it.  I really had trouble moving around all day.  I pushed Cami around in a stroller (she broke her foot Friday) while trying to chase Josie around the neighborhood and I just couldn't go very fast at all.

I slept better last night--tried to stay in fetal position as long as possible.  The back wasn't as bad, but it was still difficult to get out of bed.  I decided to try running an see how bad it would be.  No problem at all while running.  I still had some stiffness from Saturday.  My right IT band was tight.  My shins were fine, though, and I didn't even feel my hamstring until the latter part of mile 4 and even then, it was only slight.

After the run, the back was stiff again.  It is crazy.  I felt almost great running.  I mean, after four miles, I feel like I can just go forever.  Then, after it is done, I can barely walk.  I probably need an ice bath.

Strava 

Timex 

Just ran easy.  I noticed that I was coming down too hard on my feet if I relaxed too much.  I tried to focus on being light on my feet whenever I noticed I was stomping.

Strava

Training Peaks 

3 Mile Benchmark

Felt stronger today.  I think I'm recovering from the blood donation, but not all the way back yet.  Endurance is an issue.  I was running out of gas towards the end of the third fast mile. I think I had a stronger 2nd mile compared to the rest--which is unusual because it is the most difficult.  It helped that I figured out the half-way point which helped me focus on intermediate goals since I just don't have as many rabbits out there to chase on these cold dark mornings.

Date	Mile 1	Mile 2	Mile 3	Total
10/31/12	9:28	9:30	8:28	27:26
10/17/12	9:45	10:08	9:00	28:52
9/5/12	8:50	9:24	7:50	26:04
8/15/12	9:32	9:36	8:24	27:32
8/1/12	9:16	9:42	7:58	26:56
7/18/12	9:20	8:56*	8:46*	27:02*

* Different course with less uphill  

Strava 

Slow.  Recovery run on the 6 mile buffalo route which isn't really a recovery route, but then, none of my 6 mile loops are.  I suppose I could do 6 laps on the Cameo Park mile loop, but that is boring unless I'm seeing how fast I can make it around and that isn't recovery either.

I've been trying this app/online community called strava.  What I like is that after you log a run, you can take any part of it and record it as a segment.  Then you get a list of all the people who have run that segment using strava and their times and where you rank on the list.  It is a cool way to keep track of how you do on noteworthy segments, such as a brutal hill climb, that you run often.  Workouts can be logged through an app or from Garmin.  Unfortunately, I don't have a Garmin so I am recording my runs on my Timex and my phone right now. 

Strava

Training Peaks 

Quite a bit colder this morning.  I was slow getting going, but once I warmed up it was pretty good.  I ran my 6 mile route with the nice long downhill.  That usually gets me running well.  I hit the right cadence going down the hill and then kept it up on the next mile.  It all seemed to click and just felt right at that tempo.  I felt great.  Running down that hill just does that for me. 

Strava

Training Peaks 

Finally got to 40 for a week.  No going back now.  It was nice to run in the afternoon sunshine. I don't know how many days like this we have left this year.  I had a hard time with the cadence this time.  I just tried to run easy.  I thought I was going a bit slower than I really was.  This was a pretty good run.

I signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon in June.

Strava 

Training Peaks