And So It Begins… again

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Raven

Week one of Half-Marathon training is upon me! Day one… a rest day. I can dig that!

I put in a little over 4 miles on Saturday morning, and my legs were noticeably heavy. Not quite sure what the exact problem was, but I am thinking it was due to lack of proper hydration and supplementation; a wagon that I have fallen off of as of late. I am a preacher of drinking water. Drink at least your 8 cups (64 oz) of water a day, and more than that during the summertime. The injury got me off my game with training and with the above theory; I have just not been cognitive of my water intake. My food intake, yes I have been mindful of, but hydration has been forgotten. Bad me!

I made it through the run, but did have to walk almost a mile at the end. Walking breaks are fine, but when it is something that you have to take suddenly, due to performance issues, you have got to look at the “why”.

Today I am looking at training schedules. It was easy with the marathon training because I had a couple of books that were dedicated to the topic. However with a Half Marathon it is a little more tricky to find solid tried and true advice. It’s out there, but you have to weed through the web to get it. I believe I am settled on one of Hal Higdon’s. I may just be overly cautious due to the fact that I am coming back from an injury. I’m going to take this slow. REPEAT. I am going to take this slow.

For now, here is an inspirational quote –

“I don’t love broccoli, and I don’t love the treadmill, but I love the way I feel when I’m healthy and strong. It empowers me in all facets of my life. So remember, that although something may not be fun in the moment, remind yourself of the ultimate reward, and allow that to motivate you through the tough times. ”

—Jillian Michaels

MapMyRun Stats 9/09/10

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Raven

The day after heavy ran is never fun to run in, ESPECIALLY in the Texas summers. I just could not get comfortable in my breathing. The air was thick and steamy. It did not help that I kept encountering lawn maintenance guys mowing down all the grass from the heavy rains. The exhaust about made my lungs freak out.

I made it though. 3.3 miles in 39:12. I had to walk a lot of the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile.

Fresh Start

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Raven

Woohoo!!!

I am super excited to announce that my training limbo is coming to an end, and that my Half Marathon training schedule begins this MONDAY! My foot has finally healed enough for me to feel comfortable with hitting the pavement again. I have been running an average of 5K (3.11 mi) three to four times a week, and walking the same distance a couple of times a week. Those have all been on my lunch hour at work. In the EARLY mornings I have been taking our new pup on walks at least five times a week, so that has also added to my weekly mileage.

At first I started back up with my foot wrapped and taped, to help support my arch and to also stabilize that problematic navicular bone. I have gone through about six rolls of athletic tape in the past three weeks! Ace Bandage should send me a Thank You card!

In the past 5 days, I have successfully ran two days without taping my foot at all – one was 3.21 mi and the other was an accidental 4.21 mi run. I say accidental because I got a little lost and extended my mileage more than I intended. My plan is to still tape my foot on the longer runs just to play it safe, but for the 3 to 4 mile runs I feel safe enough to skip the tape and just go.

I’m going over the 12 week training schedule, and looks like this is all going to fall into place!

MapMyRun Stats 9/01/10

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Raven

The summer heat makes it REALLY difficult to get running in. Now that my mornings are filled up by walking the new pup, I have to get my running time before the hottest time of the day. Even at noon it is just AWFUL. The humidity keeps a thick film on your skin, and it feels like you can never get relief.

Today I was lucky enough to take an early lunch and get my running done before 11:30. It still was a steamy run, but at least I didn’t end up feeling like my shoes were melting to the pavement.

I did notice that my breathing was feeling a little tight at 1.5 miles. This was reminiscent of when I was bike commuting to work one day in September of ’08. I ended up having an allergy induced asthma attack that lasted over 45 minutes. Definitely a scary situation that required an emergency trip to an Urgent Care facility, along with a breathing treatment, and an inhaler prescription. Luckily this was not the same thing, it just felt as if it was going to start happening. I was able to normalize my breathing and make an attempt to not stress over it. That helped me get past the sensation and the subsequent flash-back.

I finished my run and again felt no pain in that bone in my foot, that was injured the first weekend of July.

3.61 miles in 44:14
Avg speed – 4.9 mph
Avg Pace – 12:15 min/mile

I am going to focus more on getting on a training schedule to compete in the Half Marathon portion of the White Rock Marathon. I still believe I can accomplish this! I will set my sights on doing a full marathon after this hurdle is crossed.

MapMyRun Stats 8/30/10

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Raven

A Good solid outside run!

After wrapping and taping my foot, I took off for a solid pavement pounding run. I ventured into a neighborhood which I had not really explored before, and ended up running up some surprising hills. As I cut over on one street, I caught sight of something that really bothered me; a squirrel and her baby in the road.

At first I thought that they were both dead, but as I slowed down, I realized that they were both alive, but for some reason were not moving. After carefully investigating, I found out that the momma had a hurt leg, and it looked as if it laid there to watch over it’s baby. I truly believe that she would have died laying there just to be nose-to-nose with her baby.

I dribbled some water at their mouths from my water bottle, and immediately after that the momma took off across the road, dragging an injured leg behind her. I carefully picked up the baby, and took it over to where the momma was hiding. I tried to just speak calmly to the momma, and gently pet the baby in my hand. It was sweet when the baby closed it’s eyes, as if it were completely comfortable. Of course when I stopped petting its little neck, it started squeaking REALLY loud! Scared the crap out of me at first!

SQUIRREL!!!!!!

After careful consideration, and a semi-anxious phone call or two, I decided that it was best to leave the lil one with his momma. She needed him, as much as he needed her. Luckily they were able to get into a secluded spot in some bushes.

I really hope that they are ok!