I am running again.

I am so stinking excited to be running again, finally. I'm trying to force myself to ease back into it. On Tuesday, I ran 2 miles of the 4 that I was supposed to do. I ran very slowly, and I ran for 1 min at 4, walked for 3 mins at 3. I hate how slow I'm going, but it's much better than not running at all. The hamstring hurt a little bit on Wednesday, but it feels completely fine today. Once I'm completely back into running, I'm going to find some hamstring-strengthening exercises to do. I also need to work on my core.

Here's my running updates:

8/14/12: (Tuesday)
Stats: 2.01 miles in 38:38. Ran 1 min at 4.0, walked 4 mins at 3.0 to ease Sammy the Hammy back into running. (Scheduled to run 4 miles). Watched Grimm.

8/18/12: (Saturday)
Stats: 3.14 miles in 50:01. Ran 2 mins at 4.5, walked 3 mins at 3.5. Scheduled to run 6 miles. Watched Grimm again. Still trying to finish up last season. Proud of myself for not giving into going faster than I should when a guy started running sprints on the treadmill in front of me. My mind was screaming "I can go faster than this, honest," but I managed to avoid kicking up the speed. Yay for willpower.

The plan is to do 3/4 of the mileage I'm supposed to do this week (I did half last week). So I will 3 miles instead of 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. I don't know if I'll try to go faster, but I will do 3 mins running, 2 walking (or more walking, if needed). I'm supposed to run a 5K race in lieu of my long run on Saturday, but I'm going to run 5 miles instead. Then next week, I'll try to do the full mileage for the week, and hopefully be back on track.

Here's a pic of me prior to running on Saturday. I think this is likely what I'll wear in the half in Oct. I was comparing it to my before pics here. A friend said that she can see that I've increased my muscle mass, but I'm not sure. I've been doing strength training/weights for 3 months now, but I'm still not really happy with how I look. I realize how weird that sounds, believe me. I understand that I am quite thin, and in better shape than a lot of people. But I can still find a lot of things to pick apart. Sigh.

But hey! I'm running again, and that's reason to celebrate. 48 days left until the half.

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.