Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

3 weeks a few more long runs to go

April 9, 2012

On Friday I ran 10 miles. I want to do two long runs between now and the race. So that was the first one I can cross off my list. I ran a new route. I was ready for it, but I encountered a few bumps along the way. About a mile and a half into it I realized my sensor wasn’t tracking my distance. I had to stop my run and fix it. I wasn’t about to run 10 miles guessing how far in was going. I had an idea because I mapped the route ahead of time. After the fix I swore about it to my friend and moved on. I regrouped mentally and decided to shoot for a total time over the total distance. The final time was 1:52 and the distance was 10 miles.

In had my water belt filled and waiting with a gu near my mailbox. However I never made it back to my house to get it. After I ran Cooke road and did my library loop I ran towards my parents’ house. That was mile 6 or so and I was feeling thirsty. I called my mom and had my brother meet me with water. I finished the run on route 17 took a big drink of water at their house on the return trip and headed home. I felt great after the first hour. In fact I only felt good once I got to the hour. Why does it take and hour to feel in the groove. Once there it seems more comfortable. At about 1 hour 20 minutes I was running out of gas. That was about mile 8. In the beginning I had a gu around 50 minutes. I needed another one around mile 8. These are notes I am making for the race. The race will have Gus available at 6-8 miles. I will bring my own for the beginning and will have one of theirs at mile 8.

My plan next is to run a 2 hour 20 minute run next Tuesday. The begin tapering with lots of protein next week and carbs and tapering the week prior to the race.

Getting back into it

April 3, 2012

So I think once again I am fighting off one of the kids colds. I thought it was allergies, but it may be a cold. Who knows, but whatever it is, I think it slowed me down a little bit today. My lungs felt labored. I did 6 miles. I planned to do 6 but it felt more like 12. I was mentally ready for it, but once I got out there my mental game was missing. I was feeling challenged.

Lately I have been questioning my method of training with using the Galloway run/walk/run method. Before doing it, I could run a 5K in just over 28 minutes. Now when I run a 3 mile distance (while doing walk run 4:00/1:00) I am clocking it around 32 minutes! I may have to go out for a run soon and not stop for a walk and see what my time comes out to be. However, when I decided to increase my distance, that is why I used that method. I listened to Jeff’s podcasts, read things on his website, got one of his books and really wrapped my head around the idea that this was the way for me to run to avoid injury and to recover quicker.

My husband asked me while he saw me out on the run and pulled over with the kids, why I stop to run. My timer went off so it was a walk break. I just told him this is the method of training I am doing. He was a sprinter in high school so distance running isn’t something he is interested in. But he also sees marathon runners who run the entire distance and doesn’t see them take walk breaks. Now mind you, I am now 40 years old, am not a professional runner and this is a new endeavor for me. So I am taking the safer approach. I don’t have to justify myself to him or anyone else, but I have been questioning the style for a few weeks now.

However, I do like this style of running. It has allowed me to run 15 miles, my shin splints are completely healed, I can walk the same day after running a long distance, and I feel good while out running. I was told to read about chi running. I think that is the type of running I do.

So after my 6 mile run today, I am going to give my legs and brain a break for 2 full days and head out on Good Friday for a 10 miler in the morning. I’d like to have 2 10 mile runs under my between between now and the half marathon. Once I get this 10 mile run done in a few days I think it will help me build up the courage and mental toughness I need to feel confident about this big race for me.

What have I been up to? The Big 4-0

April 1, 2012

I haven’t been blogging as much as I had a few months ago. What have I been up to? I just turned 40 on March 30. I am still running, and my back has recovered from my recent compression injury. After 5 trips to the chiropractor I am back to my old self again. But during the time of my injury I was beating myself up mentally over it. My first run after 9 days off was a struggle. It was 80 degrees out and I was still recovering from my gut not feeling 100%. I was overheated, but still did a run. I felt disappointed however. I thought that during my 9 days off I lost my desire to run. During my recovery time I was taking walks. The first 2 walks were mentally challenging because I wanted to take off and run. Then I began to enjoy my walks. Since getting better, I sometimes take a walk on my non running day. By my 3rd run back into it, it was coming back to me. My longest run since my 15 miler has been a 6 mile run. It felt good and took me 1 hour 10 minutes. I did run it a little faster and now I want to focus on doing another 6 miles and then 10 by Good Friday. During my 6 mile run I was getting a little intimidated by the race. However, I remind myself that I have already done 2 runs of 13 miles or more, so I know I can do it. I think in my mind I have a finishing time in mind and I think I am not going to make it. I’ll continue to work on speeding up a little bit. So 29 days left to go!

13.1 DONE

March 7, 2012

I haven’t been logging my daily running stats lately, but a summary of the weeks prior to my long run include the normal soreness that I have been fighting with my shins. The week prior to my long run I was using bengay and arnica oil on my shins and using heat on my legs at night. I think this has been a contributing factor to my successful long run.

On Friday, March 2 I ran 13.12 miles in 2 hours 29 minutes! It was long and a little grueling mentally at times, however it was also awesome. I ran a half marathon distance! I met a goal. Now I am dealing with the emotion aspect that I ran a half marathon goal. It was sort of a quiet success. It was just a long run on a Friday morning. It wasn’t a race, I didn’t get anything for it except the personal satisfaction of going my farthest.

Summary of the 13 mile run. It was a 30 degree cloudy morning. My legs did not hurt at all when I started. The part that bothered me was the fact that I was going to run the same route 3 times around. I got into it around mile 5, but I still had moments where I was at mile 7 and 9 and had to break the distance into chunks and tell myself only 5 miles left or only 3 miles left. That did help a litt.e It also helped that Kevin and Adrienne met up with me at the duck pond during my firt pass there and then on my last lap around Kevin, Adrienne and little Kevin were there after they picked Kevin up from school. Seeing the car in the distance with my family there was a boost for me.

When I was finished I was sore in more areas. My lower back was sore, my shoulders were tired. I was tired. I did a cold bath and then a shower and then sat and worked and used a heating pad on my back to comfort me.

The following day I felt great. I stretched the day I ran and did my cold bath and used heat on my legs at night. I took a walk the day after to keep my legs limber. On Sunday, 2 days later it didn’t even feel like I ran 13 miles. I am amazed at the recovery from this distance. It encourages me to go longer on my next long run and keep up this training to see where it takes me.

I did my next run on Monday and I could only do 3.3 miles. I was shooting for 4 except I have a terrible cold and my throat was burning around mile 2.5. Next time I will push and go longer. I puchased a stand to hook up my bike and ride stationary for some cross training. I used it on Tuesday and rode for 25 minutes. My butt feels sore from riding in the seat, but I also feel some muscle soreness in my glutes so that’s good because I did some different leg work. I hope to continue using it on my off days from running.

I printed out some marathon training schedules and may increase my mileage and see how far I keep challenging myself. Next long run planned is 14 miles.

Double Digits!

February 21, 2012

I hit a milestone today. I ran 11 miles. It was a little bit unplanned. I was scheduled to do this run this weekend coming up, but I have plans with Adrienne Saturday and was hoping to do it on Friday. However, the weather isn’t looking all that great for the end of the week and I wanted to have some time to rest on the weekend since I enjoyed a nice weekend with the family last weekend. So after battling a migraine yesterday and not really eating well for the day before a long run and drinking next to nothing I was concerned that today wouldn’t be a good day for this run. When I woke up, it was a different story. For a change, I actually got a decent night’s sleep. I watched the news and the forecast and made a spot decision to go for it. I am glad I did. I had my oatmeal and grapes earlier, took a shower to loosen up and headed out around 10:15 am. I returned home around 12:20. The 11 miles took me 2 hours and 5 minutes. The first 3 miles was intimidating because I knew that I had to run that route 2 more times. I was also stiff then and knew that I had to get into my groove. By mile 6 I was feeling good, but then my mind told me I still had 5 more miles to go. But I kept pushing forward had a packet of Gu and plugged on. Around mile 9 I needed another Gu, had water and made another pass up my long hard hill. I ran out of miles at the end. I mapped it out before I left but ended up doing 2/10 of a mile running around my driveway.

I am so glad I ran this distance today and I don’t feel real stiff. I think running 6 miles on the weekend also helped me stay loose for this run. I did my cold bath and have been stretching out with my roller to keep things from getting stiff. I think I am on target to finishing under 2:30 for my first half marathon. Anything less than that will be a bonus.

Short runs are now 6 miles

February 19, 2012

I went for a shorter run yesterday which turned out to be 6 miles. What used to be short for me was 2 miles. Now I average from 4.25 – 6. I had issues with my back in the morning so I made a call to my chiropractor and was happy they were open on a Saturday morning. Dr. Jen opened up the compressed area and I was ok to proceed with my run. I went out around 12:00. It was a nice day, close to 50 degrees with a light breeze. My calf muscles were tight in the beginning but as I kept going things loosened up. I need to find a way to really get my legs loose before I hit the road. After my run I did a cold bath, had my lunch and then went for a walk with the kids, my husband and my mom at my parents’ house in their fields. That was a good way to keep my legs loose. As the night went on I felt them get a little stiff. At night I did some stretching with my roller and used a heating pad on my calves.

I am happy that this morning, any discomfort I have is exercise tightness and not injury pain. I might finally be on the road to recovery with my shins. This is encouraging.