Steady state run

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Aches and pains and the coming taper

I don’t have a body made for running.  I realize this and I wonder sometimes how I do what I do.

I was born with hips that turned inward.  They turned in so much that I had corrective shoes and a bar to hold my hips outward.  To this day if I’m tired my feet turn inward when I walk.

Most days that I run I am in pain.  It got better after my rest weeks following my half marathon, but as I built up mileage for my upcoming marathon the aches and pains returned.  I know, I am 50 after all and I have only been running for 17 months, but I face the fact daily that moderate pain is something I have to deal with.  At least it is pain I voluntarily inflict on myself, unlike so many people who are in pain that they have no control over.

I say all that to say this.  I HATE WORKOUTS.  I am not one of those runners who run a tempo, steady state, or hill workout and think, “wow, that was fantastic.”  Maybe no one likes workouts, but they hurt me physically.

I have used the heat of the summer to avoid workouts before this marathon.  I know, not a good idea.  Well the weatherman laughed in my face this week as the temperatures in the mid afternoon have been in the high 70’s.  Okay.  My excuses are now gone.  I know what I have to do.  Hmmm…

So yesterday I did a steady state run.  I warmed up one mile and then went into my run.  I probably should have warmed up two miles, but I didn’t.  It didn’t go badly.  I got 3 miles under my belt and only had some slight pain in my inner thigh.  My achilles has been acting up also.

So after the 3 miles under 8:00 pace I stopped for a break.  I went inside my house and drank some water and used the bathroom and went back out.  More pain in my inner thigh.  It was to the point that I could have pushed myself, but what if I really pulled something that would affect my upcoming race; so I stopped.

I know tapering is called one of the hardest parts of training for a marathon, but I’m looking forward to it.  I run so much better after an off day.  I assume tapering will help also.  Tomorrow is 3 weeks until the marathon and so I really only have another week or so of pushing it.

Today, hill workouts.  Tomorrow, running with Neill (@BigBigGeek, BigBigGeek.wordpress.com) and Sunday my long day.  I probably won’t have much time to write this weekend, but I will try to “Hang with the dog” at least one day.  🙂

Have a wonderful (pain free) weekend!!!

 

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Good first marathon workout

“You okay”?

I was half way through my steady state run yesterday. The heat index was 103 and I had to take a break in some shade.

“Yes – thanks” was my reply to the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. “It’s hot out here today”, I said as I looked around to see who was talking to me. It was some nice people sitting outside on their porch. I must have looked as bad as I felt at the time. However it only took about 2 or 3 minutes to gather my composure and start back on my run.

I had been dreading this day for some time. Six weeks out from our marathon and we are now starting our workouts. TJ sent me the schedule and I had mistaken that yesterday was to be a tempo run and not a steady state run.

So, being hot out and a bit worried I wouldn’t get through, I set my iSmoothRun app and went out for my run.

Looking back on it, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. My first mile was slow as I warmed up. My achilles has been a bit sore, so I didn’t want to go too fast. After that I went straight into my steady state pace. I am supposed to keep my pace around 8:00, but with the heat, I set my app to 8:30 just to be on the easy side. I didn’t listen to my app.

Here are my splits:

Steady state splits

Steady state splits

Needless to say, I felt good about the run. It was tough, but it gave me some confidence that I can get through my workouts this summer and not pass out. 🙂

This morning I woke up with a sinus infection. That, along with only 4 hours sleep means I will have to take the day off from running today. Oh well. Better safe than sorry!!!

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Running with a new attitude

Great run yesterday. I put into practice my new “No FEAR” attitude and just ran. I did a 1 mile warmup and then ran 3 miles under a 7:30 pace and then my last mile at 8:15.

It was hot, but I felt good. I also drank half a glass of Gatorade before I left and I think that helped.

So I feel much better today about running with my new attitude. Today is cool and sunny compared to out other days lately. I hope to run 7 miles later this afternoon.

Everyone have a fantastic weekend.

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A new workout to prepare for my first half marathon

Okay, 11 days left until our half marathon and things are getting exciting.  We are working hard at our workouts along with tapering them somewhat so we are fresh for the race.  No hill runs until after the big race (yay), but I had a new experience in my running yesterday.  TJ and I ran together and I did a steady state run.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t anything new, but it was new to me.

We started with a warmup mile and then we proceeded to run 4 miles at an average of 7:50 a mile.  This is TJ’s normal pace, but for me it was hard.  By the time I made the 5th mile, I told him that I thought I should stop.  He that I could try one more mile at a cool down rate and then see if I could pick it up after a half mile.  Well, I decided to go with his advice and ran the last mile at an 8:57 pace.  Overall we ran 8:06 which got me a PR for my 10K.

RS got hurt again while running.  He says his foot felt swollen and wisely walked home rather than trying to run on it.  We need to figure out how to keep him healthy so he can continue to run.

Thanks TJ for the help.

I love running.