I have a lot to say today. But it's all jumbled up in my head. This may be an overly long or rambling post. Or it might be both. You have been warned. Proceed at your discretion. I think the appeal of any blog is in the eye of the writer. We write for ourselves. It's a variation on 'thinking out loud'; a practice that helps sort things out or focus. When a reader indicates enjoyment or benefit from a blog it's a pleasant, inspiring bonus. I've said it here before -- for me, knowing that someone is reading, keeps me smiling and moving. Ok without further ado .......
Part I: Halfway There
Six months ago, give or take a week, I began the effort to train for the Ocean City New Jersey Half Marathon. I started with 1 mile. Today I ran 7 miles for the second time. I have six months to go to event day (9/29/19). 7 miles puts me just past halfway to the full event distance. Thinking about that makes me shake my head.... a lot.
The good news, is that for the most part it's all good news at this point. There have been ups and downs but more ups. I'm a little ahead of where I originally thought I'd be. Although being super mindful of my wonky right hip flexor, I am not injured. And I'm not afraid of the next 6 months.
I am hyper (perhaps obsessively so) aware that I have some time management issues in August, but I'm not afraid. If all goes well, I'll be at 12 miles before our vacation at the end of August. I may have to run on Fridays or Sundays to manage it but I will. It is not likely that I will get any running in while on vacation but I hope to put in some miles the Friday before we leave and resume the day after we return.
Vacation means 9 days off. And a month to go before the event. I'm expecting that my current schedule of 3 weeks on; one week off will help with that. I haven't felt any ill effects with the week off. In fact, my return after each break feels good. The difference is that my week 'off' right now involves hiking and other non-running activities. Vacation won't have that. I still think I'll be fine.
I'm halfway there!!!
Part II: Today's Run
To sum it up in word, I choose WOW! After last week, I was concerned. Last week I bonked. I felt pretty bad mentally and physically most of the day after. And immediately after, my right foot hurt like ..... well it hurt a lot.
It was fine during the run but on the drive home it started to ache. The pain got so bad I had to do Lamaze breathing to relax enough to drive. When I got out of the car I could barely walk to the front door of our house. Elevation and rounds of icing followed by some heating pad action later relieved the pain. But I had no idea why it did that. I still don't know. However, it is my right side which is where my wonky hip flexor is. And my hip was bothering me during part of the run last week.
So this week, I increased my efforts to stretch and strengthen the hip, glutes and core. I had been doing exercises after work/evenings. And admittedly I missed some days. Well this week I did not miss any days and I added two sessions during each workday by escaping to the handicap restroom stall at work. *Shug* Whatever works. I won't do planks in there but there is enough room to do a variety of standing exercises and squats.
Today I ran pain free across all body parts. :)
I also made sure I hydrated better today. Although last week to this week is like comparing an apple to an orange. While last week was warm, sunny and dry; today was cool, cloudy and damp. Still, I think making sure I sipped at EVERY walk break helped. I also had a piece of toast and peanut butter before leaving the house and had 2 fig newtons during a walk break at the 4 mile mark. I don't know that I needed all of that but it didn't' hurt.
Today I ran well. No bonking. I felt strong with no breakdowns physically or mentally. I had a little left in the tank at the end even.
No photos during training runs but I had my phone with me so after, Perki and I walked back to the stone ruins along the River Trail and took this. It was cloudy the entire length of my run - from Valley Forge Visitor Center parking lot across Sullivan's Bridge and then out and back along the River Trail. The sun was breaking through just as we finished.
Part III: Final Thoughts (for today)
For the last couple of weeks I've tried to convert from my interval counts to my pace and time. This involves taking the number of intervals multiplying by 4 adding in leftover minutes from any unfinished interval and dividing by the number of miles entering the resulting pace into a calculator to see how long it might take me to do the half marathon. The numbers have not been encouraging. For the past three weeks, I've been consistently coming out at a 3 hour half marathon. This is depressing on multiple points.
Point 1 - the race has a 3 hour and 15 minute time limit. That is not a lot of wiggle room. :(
Point 2 - it's frustrating to think that I've gotten that much slower. It's been a few years since I ran a half but back then I was finishing well ahead of 3 hours. Yeah I know it's been a few years but still ...
Point 2a - if I'm honest, this race is about more than just running in a place that I love and doing the 10th anniversary race of an event that I really like. It's also about turning 60 at the end of the year and needing to prove to myself that I can still do this. I don't need to break any records but getting swept off the course for taking too long would be pretty devastating. I know it's a 'first world problem' and I'll survive but ....
Well the good news is (I told you it was all good news when I started this, remember?) it turns out I was figuring things wrong. In the brain fog after finishing my runs I was making a big mistake in counting my intervals. When the timer reads 86 for example, that means the last complete interval was 87 not 85 (it counts down not up). Anyway, I re-worked last weeks numbers and my short runs this week and then did the math (correctly this time) on today's run and I'm pretty solidly in the 2:45 half marathon time. Whew!! Lots of wiggle and break down room.
Keep Smiling Keep Moving
-Paula
