I have a mutinous hamstring

So. The hamstring. Here's the timeline:

Tues, July 10: Injured (although I suspect it started on July 9 with sloppy step ups)
Fri, July 13: next run, a very slow 2 miles
Sat, July 14: Long run, 2.94 miles at the lake with the dog.
Didn't run for a week
Mon, July 23: Dr visit. He said no running for the rest of the week, ease back in next week.
Mon, July 30: Ran/walked 2x for 4 minutes during cardio blast workout. Felt great
Tues, July 31: Ran/walked 1 mile, biked 4, ran 0.5 miles. Felt great while doing it. Not so great the next day.

I haven't run since then. I've biked every time that I'm supposed to run (usually 2x the mileage). I've just about come to the decision that my hamstring is really just screwing with me. One day, it's perfectly fine. Then this weekend, it hurt badly enough that I was almost limping. I had planned to trying gently running again tomorrow, but I think that might be a bad idea. I'm supposed to run 2 miles on Friday, so I may try it again then, or I might wait until a week from tomorrow (scheduled 4 miles).

I just don't know what to do. One day, it's fine. The next, it's not. I'm not running. I'm icing it after biking, and sleeping with a heating pad on it at night. I try to stretch it frequently, but it seems like it hurts worse if I stretch it than if I don't. I bought a stick thing last night, and I'm going to use that too. I realllllly like it.

Back to the hamstring, and the obvious problem. I have a half marathon coming up on Oct 7. I have already paid for it, and the hotel has already been reserved. It's a week before my birthday, and I want to participate. Today starts week 4 of our training plan. The long runs are not yet longer than my longest distance (this week's long run is 5 miles). Week 7 is where the long run exceeds my longest distance (a 10K). I'm pretty sure that I need to sit out this week, and possibly next week too. But at what point do I have to decide that I can't run the race? I never intended to actually run the whole thing-I planned to run/walk it. I essentially have no running base now. I have a decent biking base (and a sore behind), but I don't think one translates to the other.

I'm fairly certain that Dallas is out. My running partner isn't sure she'll run it (half or full), and we may try for the Cowtown Marathon in Ft. Worth on Feb 24 instead. It does have a cooler name. If I run the full in Feb, that might derail my plans to run the Memorial Marathon at the end of April.

Here's my training plan, to date. Last week I finally managed to do all of my workouts, even if I didn't do what I was supposed to do. Yellow means I did the scheduled workout; blue means that I deviated (usually meaning bike instead of run).

 

Runs, just to keep my shoe mileage up to date:

July 31 (Tuesday): 1.5 miles (split 1, .5 by a 4 mile bike ride)

Riversport Challenge, Half Marathon Training, and a bit of insanity

On June 30th, I participated in the OK Riversport Challenge on the OK river at the Chesapeake Boathouse. The race was a 500m kayak followed by a 5K run. It was incredibly hot, but still a lot of fun! I've never kayaked before, and this is my first 5K race, so it was an automatic PR. Here's the breakdown:
Total time: 44:21
Kayak: 6:48
5K: 37:33
9th of 10 in my age group (25-29)
52nd of 66 women
101st of 127 overall

Obviously, there's room for improvement. But it was hot, and it was my first time kayaking. I got caught up in a jam with another girl who had never kayaked before, so that took a lot of time. I decided while running that a slower time was better than heat stroke. There were only 2 water stops-one at the beginning/end and one at the turn around. I think they should have had one in the middle because the temp was over 100F that day. Here is a pic of my running buddy Angie and me after the race:

I unofficially started half marathon training about 2 weeks ago. I wanted to gently ease myself into the schedule of working out almost daily. Unfortunately, I pulled my right hamstring last Tuesday. I iced it that night, and rested it Wednesday and Thursday. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. I ran 2 (very slow) miles on Friday, and while it hurt, it felt better after stretching. Because of that, I thought it was ok to run 3 miles at the lake on Saturday. That was a bad idea. Between that and being on my feet for a full shift on Saturday and Sunday, it got fairly angry. I put heat on my hamstring and kept it elevated for several hours on Sunday.

My friend Gnome and I are going to run the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon in Lawton, OK, on October 7. We officially started training on Monday. Here is my training plan, altered a little bit from Hal Higdon's Novice I program:

On Monday, I worked out my arms and abs in the group training class (and they still hurt, btw). I rested yesterday. The trainer, Kelie, said that it is ok for me to bike instead of run, but I've decided to just take the entire week easy. I've been putting icy hot patches on my hamstring and am putting heat on it at night. My plan is to avoid running this week, and try biking next week. I might try the bike on Friday and see what happens, and maybe get on a treadmill for a few minutes on Sunday to see how it feels. I'm super worried that it won't heal and that I'll suck in the half. I'm really OCD and schedule-oriented (think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory), and this deviation from the schedule is stressing me out big time.

Now, on to the insanity portion. Gnome's husband has suggested that it is possible for us to train for the marathon in Dallas, rather than the half. We could pick up on of Hal Higdon's novice supreme plans around week 22, and be right on schedule. If my hamstring gets straightened out, there's a pretty good chance that I'll try the full. Crazy-talk, that is.

Here's a recap of my runs since I blogged last:

6/19/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 2.31 miles in 30:04
Notes: Continued walking dead, season 1 ep 1

6/23/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 4.17 miles in 54:56, pace 13:09, ave speed 4.56mph. At hefner with Angie

6/26/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.41 miles in 45:01.
Notes: also, rowed 2511 meters in 15:30, 2:48 500m/m, resistance at 6. Walking dead, ep1, 2.

6/30/12 (Saturday):
Stats: Riversport Challenge. 3.1 miles in 37:33
Notes: also, 500m kayak in 6:48

7/3/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.1 miles in 38:24, ave sp 4.8.
Notes: walking dead ep 2 & 3

7/7/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 4.1 miles in 50:21, ave sp 4.9
Notes: Once Upon A Time: world w/out magic

7/10/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.1 miles in 38:07
Notes: Grimm. Injured my right hamstring.

~~NOTE: This marks 139.12 miles on my shoes~~

7/13/12 (Friday):
Stats: 2.0 miles in 30:46
Notes: Hamstring still not happy.

7/14/12 (Saturday):
Stats: 2.94 miles in 43:45 with Jake at Hefner. Pace=14:53.
Notes: Hamstring not better. Also, Jake is an enthusiastic runner who expends all of his energy at the beginning and lags at the end. Also, note that he is scared of bikes. 2nd also: came back to a flat tire.

My running schedule sucks, but I am lifting weights

My running lately has been terrible. I haven't been running much at all, although I am doing a group fitness class at least once/week since May. I think the cross training will help me. I'm already lifting bigger weights than when I started, so I'm making progress. My gym also recently got a rowing machine, and I plan on cross training on it too.

This is a recap of my running since I last blogged:

5/15/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: Treadmill class in work gym. 2.57 miles in 29:26. Hills, sprints, basically death on a treadmill. Sucked majorly. lol.

5/22/12 (Tuesday):
Stats: treadmill. 1.3 miles, 19:11. (2) 30 sec sprints at 7.0, walked up one hill-30 secs at 5.0 inc, 30 secs at 10 inc. Ave speed=3.7mph. Teacher wasn't available for treadmill class, so I tried to do it on my own.

5/28/12 (Monday):
Stats: at Hefner with Angie. Forgot to set MMR app for first half, so numbers are estimated: 3.8 miles in ~1hr. Approx pace was 12:55.

6/7/12 (Thursday):
Stats: 2.3 miles, 30:03, ave speed=4.6.
Notes: Watched Walking Dead season 1 ep 1. Not a good idea to watch a scary zombie show in a gym with headphones on. The opening door could be mistaken for monsters attacking and will raise your heart rate.

6/9/12 (Saturday):
Stats: Hefner with Angie. 4.25 miles, 12:11 pace.

I have plans to run with Angie again this Saturday morning. I think having a running partner who is counting on me to show up helps me actually show up.

Now on to some exciting news. A few weeks ago, I registered for my first half marathon. Gnome and I will be running the Spirit of Survival half in Lawton on Oct 7. Our half training officially starts on July 16 (28 days away). I think I will be able to force myself to run once I am officially training. Next week, I am also going to register for the Dallas Half Marathon (formerly the Dallas White Rock) on Dec 9. I am currently working 70hrs/week in order to get out of debt. We will pay off the last of our credit cards on Nov 30. What better way to celebrate than to run a half?

I am also thinking about running the Memorial Marathon at the end of April next year.

The mother of all update posts

I'm just going to list my runs, and get that over with. Lately, I haven't done much running, but I hope to get back in the groove. I am going to start going to a treadmill class at noon on Tuesdays, and maybe a group fitness class at 12:30 on Tuesdays and noon on Thursdays. Hopefully that'll help keep me motivated to run. Without a race ahead of me, I've struggled with motivation.

3.18.12 (Sunday):
Stats: .97 miles in 13:03. 4.4 ave mph, 14:37 pace
Notes: Swollen ankle, felt light-headed.

3.20.12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 5.05 miles in 66:15. 4.5 ave mph, 14:07 pace w/out CD. 3 min runs at 5.5, skipped 20 and 35. Walked rest at 3.7.
Notes: 1.5 Once Upon A Time Episodes

3.22.12 (Thursday):
Stats: 5.00 miles in 63:20. Burned 636.9 calories, 4.7 ave mph, 13:10 pace. Ran 12x for 3 mins each at 5.5, plus 20 secs at end, walked rest at 3.7.
Notes: Finished Once Upon A Time: Heart of Darkness, started Biggest Loser Hawaii episode.

3.25.12 (Sunday):
Stats: 5.0 miles in 63:55, 4.6 ave mph, 13:36 pace. Ran 12x for 3 mins each at 5.5, plus 55 secs at end, walked rest at 3.7.
Notes: I think 1 run was 2 mins instead of 3 towards the end. Finished Biggest Loser.

3.27.12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 1.25 miles in 16:00, 4 ave mph, 13:12 pace. Ran 3x for 3 mins at 5.5, walked the rest at 3.7.
Notes: Once Upon A Time: Hat trick. Got overheated, hence the short run.

4.3.12 (Tuesday):
Stats: 3.15 miles in 42:06. Ran from 20:00-27:30; walked from 27:30-30:00. Ran 8 mins, walked 2. 4.4 ave mph, 13:59 pace.

4.10.12 (Tuesday):
Stats: Joined work gym. 2.40 miles in 30:54. Ran 8 mins at 5.0, walked 2 at 3.7.

4.12.12 (Thursday):
Stats: 2 miles, 26.25. Ran between 4.7 and 5.0. Ran when I felt like it (including one 10 min run).

4.15.12 (Sunday):
Stats: Redbud classic 10K. 6.1 miles in 1:15:31. 12:10 pace.

4.22.12 (Sunday):
Stats: 2.08 miles in 26:01, ave speed 4.8 mph. Ran an entire mile in 12:10. Running at 5.0, walking at 3.7.

4.25.12 (Wednesday):
Stats: 3.1 miles in 40:02. Running at 4.8-5.5; walking at 3.7 when needed. Ave speed=4.6.

4.28.12 (Saturday):
Stats: 4.01 miles in 52:01. Running at 5.0, walking at 3.7 when needed. Ave speed=4.6
Notes: Bones

5.7.12 (Monday):
Stats: 2.01 miles in 27:26. Ave speed=4.4.
Notes: Bones

First 10K recap

I survived! It wasn't all that bad either! I was really worried that I'd have a horrible experience and hate running forever. I had one minor cramp in my calf that worked itself out around 4.5 miles or so, but other than that I didn't have any trouble.

Here I am before the race, a bundle of nerves:

The last sign for pace was a 9 min mile, so I went to the very end. My normal pace is somewhere in the 13 min mile. I couldn't even see the starting line from where I was standing (it's slightly beyond the second light pole, btw):

The race finally started (I stood for at least 45 minutes, waiting for it to start). It took me a while to get to the starting line, but DH kindly took a pic of me as I walked by:

 The route goes through the nichols hills area of OKC, which is a very affluent neighborhood with mansions everywhere. There were people sitting in their yards and cheering us on. There were also 3 live bands on the route. Thankfully, there were several water/powerade stations along the route. I alternated drinking water and powerade.

Fast forward a little over 6 miles, and here I am finishing:

My whole goal for the race was to beat the time of one of my friends from last year. His time was 1:33. According to the clock, I finished in 1:17. I think my time is probably a minute or 2 less than that since it took me so long to actually get to the starting line. This is the pic I sent him, just to rub it in a bit:

I'm so glad I ran it. I need to find something to run between now and the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon on Oct 7. I'm a bit apprehensive about running in the Oklahoma summer heat though. We had a mild winter, so maybe we'll have a mild summer. The weather seems to go in cycles like that. I'm also planning to run the Dallas White Rock half marathon with my friend Katie on Dec 2. I suppose it's only a matter of time before I end up trying to run a marathon.

ETA: My official time was 1:15:31, and my pace was 12:10 min/mile. I finished 538/651 and 117/136 in my age group. Not bad for my first race! :D

My first race is tomorrow

I have a running log update drafted, but I haven't had time to finish it. I ran 4.5 miles this week. I picked up my race packet yesterday. Here's my bib:

I'm both excited and scared. I'm afraid that I'll suck and will never want to run again. I'm also afraid that I won't beat my friend's time from last year of 1:33, and then I'll have to take back all of the trash talking I did. Maybe it'll be ok. The high is supposed to be 74. Local weather says it'll rain in the am, and weather.com says it'll rain in the afternoon starting at 3. We're having a tornado outbreak this weekend, so hopefully it doesn't rain during the race.

Catchup post, with a few lessons learned

2 jobs are really making it hard for me to remember to blog. I'm behind on both blogs. So this is a major catch up post.

2.25.12 (Saturday):
Distance: I had to start my run on a different treadmill, and I really think that the display is inaccurate on that treadmill. It said I ran .71 miles in 20 mins, when I ran every 5 mins (so 4x). The speed felt off. Once I was able to get on my treadmill, I ran 3.2 miles in 46:30. I ran 9x at 5.5 for 1.5 mins each, walked the rest. 50:00=3.5 miles. 4.0mph, 16:13 pace.
Time: Who freaking knows, thanks to the evil treadmill. 46:30/50:00
Notes: Biggest Loser. This run taught me an interesting lesson about my comfort zone. Take my normal treadmill away from me, and I get all panicky. This worries me with a 10K coming up.
Pic of treadmills below. The Evil Treadmill is the one on the left. My happy place is on the right.

2.28.12 (Tuesday):
Distance: 3 miles in 41:30. 4 miles in 55:30. With CD: 4.24 miles in 60:00, 4.2mph, 15:08 pace. Ran 11x at 5.5 for 1.5 mins each. Walked at 3.6.
Time: 55:30/60:00
Notes: Grimm: Last Grimm Standing.

3.1.12 (Thursday):
Distance: 3.75 miles in 52:20. Ran 10x for 2 min each. With CD, 3.87 miles in 55:30, 4.1mph, 15:50 pace.
Time: 52:20/55:30
Notes: SVU

3.3.12 (Saturday):
Distance: 4 miles in 54:25. Ran 10x at 5.7 for 2 mins each, walked rest at 3.7. With CD: 58:30, 4.19 miles, 4.2mph, 14:45 pace
Time: 54:25/58:30
Notes: Grimm

3.6.12 (Tuesday):
Distance: 4 miles in 51:40. Ran 10x at 5.7 for 2.5 mins each, walked rest at 3.7. With CD: 56:40, 4.22 miles, 4.4mph, 14:31 pace
Time: 51:40/56:40
Notes: Once Upon A Time: Dreamy. I also noticed that I have pretty calves now. Evidence below:

3.8.12 (Thursday):
Distance: the treadmill stopped on me at 11 mins when I stopped to take off some layers of clothing-1 mile, 2 runs. After that, 1.77 miles in 23:35, 4.5mph, ran 4x for 2 min each. 14:10 pace. No cool down.
Time: 34:35
Notes: SVU

3.10.12 (Saturday):
Distance: Bad treadmill: 8 mins, .27 miles (so wrong!). 1 run. Good treadmill: 0:4:10 to get to .27 miles (walking most of that). 47:00, 3.68 miles, 4.7mph, 13:26 pace (w/out CD).
Time: 55:00
Notes: I hate the evil treadmill.

3.13.12 (Tuesday):
Distance: 2.01 miles in 26:17, 4.0 ave mph, 14:30 pace. (4) 3 min runs at 5.8, walked at 3.7. Stopped early because my head started pounding and my face was beet red. Got overheated.
Time: 26:17
Notes: SVU: Child Services. I think the overheating was a combo of pushing myself too much and the a/c not working well in the gym.

3.16.12 (Friday):
Distance: 4 miles in 52:52, 4.5mph, 14:02 pace (Not including cool down). Ran 8x at 5.5 for 3 mins each, ran at 8 min mark for 1.5 mins, skipped run at 43 min mark (felt too hot). Walked rest at 3.6. Did a 20 min cool down because biggest loser wasn't over (.7 miles).
Time: 52:52
Notes:  Biggest Loser. I realized that I can run farther if I slow down. I'm not at the point where I can run for 3 mins at 5.8, but I can do it at 5.5.