Return to Running

Today was my first run in two weeks, and my heart was filled with joy.  With a steady rain and temperatures in the 30's, I chose the Y treadmill option to try out my leg.  At the outset my senses were assaulted, but eventually I found myself easing into my own insulated, bubble world with mindless pop music and a rhythmic pace.

The treadmill was situated on the small, elevated, indoor track with a view of the gym below where two simultaneous children's basketball games were being played with cheering fans on the sidelines.  Balls hitting the exposed racquetball courts behind me echoed off the walls.  Runners ran in circles in front of me on the track.  I turned on Mumford and Sons to an unsafely loud level to cover it all.   While I noticed the noise and commotion, I was happy to be on the treadmill and focused intently on the feel of my right calf with every footfall.

After several miles without a hitch, my concern turned to joy.  I was so elated that I told myself I should run 10 miles, which would give me a nice psychological boost.  Common sense returned, and I reminded myself to be safe; I'm just trying to make it to the starting line.

I remembered good gym member etiquette of using a machine for only 30 minutes when others are waiting and flirted with the notion of running a couple of miles on the track, but instead insulated myself and kept moving.  I wore my hot pink leg compression sleeves, which will likely be permanent training and recovery accessories from here on out even if just for the good luck they brought today.

I finished strong and found a friend cycling on the track.  From our discussion and her evident concern, I decided I will see a physical therapist this week to work on whatever is causing my calf problems.  I had been in a holding pattern, hoping I would be okay after two weeks of rest.  I was myopic about where to go from here as I focused on staying positive each day.

Mon.: cycling class + 1 hr. elliptical
Tues.: 1 hr. bike
Wed.: cycling class + yoga
Thurs.:  90 mins. bike
Fri.: cycling + yoga: no workout/conflict
Sat.: 8 miles treadmill at 10 min. pace

Cross Training for Boston

I was nervous as I began a conservative 15 mile run on the flat American Tobacco Trail last Saturday.  I ran into my Boston training companion by chance on the Trail and told her I was hoping for the best (which was to complete this run pain free).  She wished me well and then sped away to continue her long run at race pace.

At 3.75 miles I felt a pop in my right calf, my problem calf.  I was stunned; I was at the beginning of a flat, slow run and had felt fine when I returned to running earlier in the week.  I stopped, walked, and was stretching at the time that members of a men's college team ran past.  When the group approached, I was pushing against a bench with my legs outstretched more as an outlet for my emotions than as relief for tight legs.   I knew I would be walking the mile back to the parking lot, but I couldn't resist the urge to try to jog after the pop.  Futile.  Utterly futile.

When I got home, I counted the weeks of training that had passed and the weeks until Boston. Nine weeks down and nine weeks to go.  And I counted the minimum number of long runs and speed workouts I would miss if I can recover quickly: four weeks worth of long runs and speed workouts.  In those four weeks I should have been increasing my weekly mileage and the duration of my long runs.

This time I will cross train for two weeks, but I have now lowered my expectations for race day.  How low they go is yet to be determined.  At this point, let's just say that I'm delaying buying plane tickets.  I said a while ago that if I made it into the Boston Marathon, I would enjoy the sights and take it all in.  Then I changed my attitude and was going to race Boston to the best of my abilities.   If I am able to make it to the starting line and finish this race, no matter what my time, I will be grateful indeed.

Resumed training after injury:
Mon.: no workout
Tues.: 5 hilly miles; 9:23 pace
Wed.: 7 hilly miles; 8:58 pace
Thurs.: 8.84 miles; 4 miles treadmill at 9:15 pace and 4.48 miles of hills and trails at 9:11 pace
Fri.: cycling class + yoga
Sat.: 15 conservative miles; 3.75 miles completed


Resorting to cross training (again) after re-injury:
Mon.: 1 hr. elliptical
Tues.: no workout (traveling on vacation)
Wed.: cycling class + 45 min. bike
Thurs.: bike for 55 mins.
Fri.:  cycling class + yoga
Sat.: cycling class + 1 hour bike

Caged

I have been reminded twice this past week how fragile we are, yet how strong the spirit can be. Encouraging words and prayers of a dear friend have helped lift me through the week.  I was reminded again to be thankful for the capability of my body and for the motivation to use it to run for my physical, mental and spiritual well being.  Running is a gift.

My Thursday run was a gift, but I didn't realize it in the moment.  I was anxious about how I would feel and how far I could go, so I chose to run on a treadmill.  On the cardio balcony at the Y, I felt caged.  The sides of the treadmill wrapped around me, and black netting hung in front of me to protect me from children's stray balls.  A man on the elliptical machine next to me worked at a frenzied pace for 30 minutes and then left me in peace.  It was cold outside, and I thought the run, if I could do it, would be a reprieve from the elements.  Instead, it reminded me of how much I love to run outside.

Boston Training:  Week Nine

Monday:  50 mins. bike
Tuesday: 1 hr. bike + 1 hr. elliptical
Wednesday: cycling class + yoga class
Thursday:  rest
Friday:  8 miles on treadmill
Saturday:  90 mins. bike
Sunday: rest

Minor Injury

Last week I felt tightness in my right calf.  I had a massage to work it out and went about my training for several days. This Thursday the discomfort returned, and I decided to visit a sports medicine doctor.  His assessment is that this is a minor injury, probably a pulled muscle or tear, and he recommends one to two weeks of cross training.  This next week I will take a break from running to heal.  If something like this was to happen, I'm glad it's happening now and not closer to the race.


Mon.:  6 miles; 9:53 pace plus 6x100 m strides
Tues.: 7.5 miles;  7:57 average pace for 5 miles plus warm up and cool down
Wed.: 50 mins. bike
Thurs.: 10 miles; 9:15 pace (not completed) Did weights instead. Felt pain at the start of the treadmill run and went to Sports Med. doc.
Fri.: cycling + yoga; not completed because discomfort still present.
Sat.: 16 miles with 9 miles at 8:20 race pace; not completed per doc's advice.  90 min. bike instead.

Aerial7 Sounddisk Sports Beanie Review

Back view of the Aerial7 Sounddisk Sports Beanie

My husband is a techie, a runner, and a bargain hunter.  Naturally, he found the Aerial7 Sounddisk Sports Beanie on a discount website and bought two of them.  It doesn't matter that he takes a break from running in the Winter; he couldn't pass up the deal.  Retail price for this hat with built-in earphones is $45, but he got it for a steal.

When he showed me the royal blue hat, I was intrigued, but when he tried it on, it was one of the most unfashionable items I had ever seen.  It's one size fits all, and a giant could probably wear it.  It has extra fabric at the top that, to me, makes it look odd.  I wouldn't be wearing one, I commented, and  I continued wearing my headband that covers my ears on cold runs.

Facing a long run today with temperatures in the 20's at the start, I reasoned that I should probably wear a hat.  In years past on runs in the teens and 20's I have resorted to wearing my decade-old, powder blue,  Land's End fleece hat that looks smart with a car coat.  That could not be any less fashionable either on a running trail, so I decided to give the Sports Beanie a try.

Front

My husband helped me fold the extra material on the back of the hat so that it looked like a good fit. That solved my problem with wearing the hat.   A downside is that it doesn't have a hole for a pony tail, but it has so much room, that I was able to wear a braided pony protruding from my head and push all of my hair up and under the hat.  The neat feature is the built in earphones.  They worked well, and only once during my 17 miler did one shift away from my ear.  The user has the option to wear her ipod in the pouch on the back of the hat or attach it elsewhere using an extension wire.  The tech fabric is so lightweight that I didn't feel like I was wearing a hat (unlike my bulky blue standby).  This was the way to go on this cold morning.   I would recommend this hat, and I was a naysayer.

Cold, crisp morning in Umstead State Park

Boston Training: Week 7

Monday: 8 hilly miles; 8:54 pace
Tuesday:  50 minutes bike + weights
Wednesday: 9 hilly miles; 9:01 pace
Thursday: 6 miles easy; not done because of tightness in right calf. Message instead to work it out.
Friday:  cycling and yoga; only yoga class today because of 2 hr. school delay, etc.
Saturday: 17 hilly miles; 9:35 pace

Remnant of a rare snowfall in Raleigh, NC

This Umstead Run Was a Gift

I had a great run today in Umstead State Park.  Fog shrouded this solo run, and the temperature was an unseasonably warm and welcome 50 degrees.  As my legs powered me through the hilly park, this run was like a gift to affirm  my joy of running after a week that did not start well.

On Monday I fell in the darkness, skinned my knees, and tore a small hole in my favorite running pants.  I thought I had cleared a pile of yard waste curbside, but a stray, long branch tripped me.  I was stunned.  The fall felt like I was in slow motion.  When I went down with about a mile and a half to go, I wanted to stop, but I trudged on, slowly.  I can't remember the last time I skinned my knees.  I found renewed compassion for small children who fall and skin their knees.  We adults hug them and tell them they are fine, but they must be shocked, and darn, it hurts!

The Tuesday run did not go smoothly either.  During my track workout, I had technical difficulties with my watch and my Garmin.  It's challenging for me to use those in the dark when I am pressed for time.  I hit my paces even though I don't have a good number of laps recorded.  I was able to settle down and remind myself to quit taking myself so seriously.  Really, again, what did it matter?

On today's run wearing shorts and a t-shirt, I enjoyed the feel of the moist air on my skin with water droplets collecting in my hair making it a fuzzy mess at the end of my braid.  The fog softened the contours of the hilly course and enveloped me with a sense of having the park all to myself except for the moments when oncoming runners appeared briefly through the fog and quickly receded back into it.    
This was running at its best.

Training this past week:

Monday: 6 miles; 9:38 pace
Tuesday: 7.5 miles; 4 miles alternating between 8:20 and 7:40 pace
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 7 miles; 8:47 pace
Friday: cycling class + yoga
Saturday: 16 hilly miles: 9:28 pace
Sunday: Rest

New Perspective on Marathons in the New Year

Once in a while, I look at what has accumulated in my nightstand, specifically selected to hold reading material.   On New Year's Day, I counted 11 unread books and didn't bother to count the magazines (many of which, except for Runner's World, I tossed).  My unread Runner's World collection dates to 2011.  I flip through the pages and read each for a few minutes the day it arrives in the mail and plan to read the rest at another time. I stopped then and read the January copy with its Special Report "After the Storm: What the NYC Marathon Mess Means For Races -- and Runners."

Each month Runner's World is inspiring and informative and contains an article or two about serious topics such as dog attacks, doping, abuse of athletes in their youth, etc.  Two articles stood out for me in this issue: "Are We Running in a Bubble?'' and "Does Running Have a Blue-Collar Problem?" The first article suggests that we marathon runners live in a type of bubble world. We converge in cities en masse, take up space in local restaurants, and create havoc for locals while 26.2 miles of road are disrupted for our race.  While in the host cities, we celebrate ourselves and expect others to do the same.   The writer suggests that there is and has been an underlying disdain for marathon runners, and Hurricane Sandy merely allowed this to come to light.  The Blue Collar article relays that not only do we disrupt the locals' lives, but also remind some that they have less discretionary income than we do. We have the means and are willing to pay $100, $200, or more to run 26.2 miles, not to mention the credit cards we use in the restaurants and hotels.

While not uplifting articles, it is good to have this perspective.  I had never thought of marathon runners (myself included) in this way, but apparently others do.  I was talking with a friend and former Bostonian recently, and her comments about the Boston Marathon were that she didn't have fond memories of it because her commute to work on that day was indeed disrupted.  I must admit that this look in the mirror makes me a little uncomfortable, but being able to understand, relate and adapt in some way because of others' views and criticism is essential.

This has me thinking that many groups beyond marathon runners could benefit from a look at how others view them.  I can think of numerous examples -- especially revolving around politics and religion.  How many of us live in our own bubble worlds in those realms?  How could we and others benefit if in the leading publications in these areas of our lives, the editors have the courage to hold up a mirror and point out how others perceive us?  How might we change and create more good for all?

Training this past week:

Mon.: 5 miles; 9:31 pace
Tues.:  Happy New Year!  Day off
Wed.: 7 hilly miles; 9:27 pace
Thurs.: 4 miles; 9:23 pace plus 6 X100m strides (not done because of poor time management)
Fri.: stationary bike 40 minutes + yoga class
Sat.: 12 miles; 9:05 pace
Sun.: rest