Okay, it's been a while since the last posting, but things were a bit hectic. The good news is that the running stayed in place and continues to progress. I'll pat myself on the back and say I've been good about making it a priority. And, I guess it's a relatively easy thing to make as a priority because I enjoy it, but I do tend to push it aside when things crowd in.
Anyway, I wanted to keep hills as an integral part of my training and although I haven't done a specific hill workout in the last two weeks, I have intentionally run some particularly hilly routes and have made an effort to not slack on those sections. The other day I was running with my brother and he started to pull away from me on a hill (not totally atypical) and I said, nope, and made an effort to fight my way up it. So, the strength part is coming along and I think my calves and achilles are benefitting from it and hopefully it should help me stay injury free.
The weather has been pretty good for running...relatively warm afternoons and the rain seemed to be strategically timed this past week. It will stink a bit when the clocks get set back next week, but so it goes.
What else...oh, I left off a while ago saying I was going to continue with a train of thought about why this time around I feel different running. I'll get to that in the near future...
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Hitting the Hills
On Wednesday I planned on doing a track workout, but there was a field hockey game on the infield, so I switched plans and did a hill workout instead. There's a grass hill not far from the track so I headed over with my training partner of the day, Todd. He loves hills, so he was totally game for the switch. The grass hill was great, taking just over 1:40 to go the distance. It started with a steep little incline, then kept rising, but at a much more modest rate. After reaching the top, we jogged down and started over again. This time on the descent, we were met by a not-so-friendly dog. Hair raised, teeth showing, and growling...not very friendly. We attempted another one and were met part-way up the hill by this same guy and realized it was not going to be feasible to try and tempt fate, especially since he was right in our path. We decided it was going to be more productive (and safer) to move to elsewhere. As a side note, I used to be pretty scared of dogs while running--as a result of being bit by one during a run--but I am not as worried as I used to be. So, this switch was realistic and not totally fear based.
We jogged over to a nearby road and tested out it's hill. It took about 77 seconds to run and was a great workout. As I was running, I was reminded that as I return from my layoff, I wanted to make sure my muscle strength was brought along in-line with my aerobic system, in order to prevent the type of injuries that I seemed to be incurring. What better way to work on my muscle strength than hills. I'm going to try and make this a regular part of my training. I used to do quite a bit of hill running and found that I responded well to it. So, hills, hills, hills it is.
We jogged over to a nearby road and tested out it's hill. It took about 77 seconds to run and was a great workout. As I was running, I was reminded that as I return from my layoff, I wanted to make sure my muscle strength was brought along in-line with my aerobic system, in order to prevent the type of injuries that I seemed to be incurring. What better way to work on my muscle strength than hills. I'm going to try and make this a regular part of my training. I used to do quite a bit of hill running and found that I responded well to it. So, hills, hills, hills it is.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Honeymoon Suite
On Wednesday it was cold, dark, and rainy. In other words, it was a trifecta for killing any get-out-the-door-and-run motivation. I was sitting at my computer wrapping up some work and looked at the rain coming down and sighed while I packed up my belongings to call it quits on my work day. As soon as I hit the fresh air, I smiled and felt ready to take on the challenge of getting myself out running on this dreary day. In fact, as I drove to meet a few people for my run and turned my windshield wipers up a notch, I found myself really happy and excited to go running in the rain. Perhaps I'm still in the post-injury honeymoon stage, but I'm starting to think it may be more than that.
On one level, I am excited to be back running--it's simply an activity that I find pleasant. It creates a time and space where I feel alive and at peace. A time and space where I feel both stretched and comfortable. A time and space where everything is simplified, yet welcoming to complex philosophical and theological pondering. A time and place where I feel stimulated and soothed.
On another level, it is exciting to feel like I'm starting over in some regards. I have the opportunity to build towards a challenging goal and test my will, discipline, physical and mental self as I work toward qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. It is comforting to know that I did it before and am familiar with what is needed to achieve that goal, but I am also mindful that I am trying to do it in different conditions. Running with Hansons-Brooks was a huge gift and one that I will always be grateful for receiving. It was an ideal training ground with ideal coaches and ideal teammates and ideal preparation. I may not be in ideal training conditions this time around, but I am enjoying the challenge of creating them and dealing with it when not. Rather than looking at what I don't have in terms of that ideal training setting, I am really appreciating what I do have (and doing what I feel I am "supposed" to be doing with the rest of my non-running hours). Running in the wind and rain on Wednesday, I was all smiles as I ran around the first turn of the track, as I was so happy to have great people running alongside me, sharing in laughs, effort, and goals.
I started to write another paragraph but I was getting into a whole other topic, so I'll save that for another day and just stop short here and say there's at least one more reason I want to share as to why I think this is more than just a honeymoon-stage. Instead, I'll say that my workout on Wednesday went well...I've stuck with doing stuff at 6:00 pace and letting my body adjust to that in small doses. The first time I was on the track, my achilles was pretty tight after, but this go-around I only had a little calf tightness. The pace feels comfortable and I'm ready to start doing some longer intervals and being a little bit more aggressive. My body has been responding really well to what I've thrown at it, so I'm going to stick with this gradual, progressive plan and let things develop in their own time.
Good luck to my Michigan girls (ahem, women) at Chicago this weekend!!
On one level, I am excited to be back running--it's simply an activity that I find pleasant. It creates a time and space where I feel alive and at peace. A time and space where I feel both stretched and comfortable. A time and space where everything is simplified, yet welcoming to complex philosophical and theological pondering. A time and place where I feel stimulated and soothed.
On another level, it is exciting to feel like I'm starting over in some regards. I have the opportunity to build towards a challenging goal and test my will, discipline, physical and mental self as I work toward qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials. It is comforting to know that I did it before and am familiar with what is needed to achieve that goal, but I am also mindful that I am trying to do it in different conditions. Running with Hansons-Brooks was a huge gift and one that I will always be grateful for receiving. It was an ideal training ground with ideal coaches and ideal teammates and ideal preparation. I may not be in ideal training conditions this time around, but I am enjoying the challenge of creating them and dealing with it when not. Rather than looking at what I don't have in terms of that ideal training setting, I am really appreciating what I do have (and doing what I feel I am "supposed" to be doing with the rest of my non-running hours). Running in the wind and rain on Wednesday, I was all smiles as I ran around the first turn of the track, as I was so happy to have great people running alongside me, sharing in laughs, effort, and goals.
I started to write another paragraph but I was getting into a whole other topic, so I'll save that for another day and just stop short here and say there's at least one more reason I want to share as to why I think this is more than just a honeymoon-stage. Instead, I'll say that my workout on Wednesday went well...I've stuck with doing stuff at 6:00 pace and letting my body adjust to that in small doses. The first time I was on the track, my achilles was pretty tight after, but this go-around I only had a little calf tightness. The pace feels comfortable and I'm ready to start doing some longer intervals and being a little bit more aggressive. My body has been responding really well to what I've thrown at it, so I'm going to stick with this gradual, progressive plan and let things develop in their own time.
Good luck to my Michigan girls (ahem, women) at Chicago this weekend!!
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