Week Nine - Keeping it going

Week nine - wow.  I've come this far without an injury, and I hope to keep it that way.  I accomplished all my scheduled runs this week, along with my cross-training/strength training. I seem to be running at a significantly slower pace, but that may be key to keeping injury-free.  Slow and steady finishes the race!

I have adjusted my schedule and I will see how it works.  Most weekends I prefer to do the long run on Saturday, and I had those scheduled for Sunday.  The change allows me to enjoy Saturday evenings without the the worry of what I'm eating and how that will affect the next day's run.  Also, usually the day after a long run (not the day of) I'm starving, and when I do my long runs on Sunday, I end up at work without enough to eat. Monday's are difficult enough without being continuously hungry! There may be a few Saturday's I'm unable to do that, but I'll adjust.  I've also added an occasional extra run in - it depends on how I feel.  I want to keep the enjoyment of running going, so if I feel like going for a run, I will.  And again, flexibility with my schedule is a key part of continued success.  I may have to switch up a few weeks due to family obligations, and that's OK.

This is a rather boring entry, but when things are going well, there's not much to say.  I did have one interesting run this week.  I knew the rain was coming, and I enjoy running in the rain.  The thunder was OK, too.  I was smart and, after my 3-mile loop, instead of doing a second one (I was aiming for 6 miles), I stayed in my neighborhood, running on every side street.  I was a block or so past my street and planning to run to the stop sign at the entrance to my subdivision.  As I said, thunder is OK.  Pouring rain is OK too, and it actually felt quite refreshing.  Then, there was lightening.  I don't do lightening!  I turned around and quickly ran back home.  I cut my run short by .4 of a mile, but safety is paramount!

No Excuses  / Gotta run

Week Eight - Still Running

I finished with week eight of training. Usually by this time in my schedule there have been some minor issues or injuries, causing me to pause training for a week.  So far everything is going very well.  I have to be careful to not tell myself that, since things are going so well, I can step it up beyond my scheduled training.  Pushing myself is when I end up getting injured.  I think it is helping that I haven't registered for any local races during the training. When I run a local race, I sometimes feel I have a reputation to keep up (I often place or win in my gender/age group) and I push myself too much.

That being said, I have done two things I said I wouldn't in that first paragraph.  I signed up for a 5K in early August.  It's close but technically not local, it's a women's only race, and it raises money for a good cause.  It will be late enough in my training that I think I'll be trained enough and disciplined enough to avoid injuries.  I'm scheduled for pace training the day before, so I'll adjust and make the race part of that training.

Also, I added a run this week.  Because I switched and did my long run on Saturday, I had an extra day.  Monday was a holiday, so I met up with one of my friends and we ran.  Originally we discussed the idea of running the local July 4th race, but decided to just go for a fun run.  That was a good decision. We had fun, saw some local wildlife, and didn't push ourselves like we do when we race.

I adjusted my long run schedule again this week.  One of my friends is visiting her family (she lives out of state), and had a scheduled long run for Saturday. I decided to again switch to Saturday so I could run with her.  And a funny thing happened on Friday - I was out for a short "shake out" run (scheduled, not extra), and ran into her.  So we ended up running together two days.  It's a great way to catch up on whats going on. 

As far as cross training, I missed one session.  I'll simply repeat last week and get it in.  As I've said, flexibility in a training schedule is key for me.  We had out of state family in town, and we had a last minute dinner invitation.  That was more important than one session of weight training.  The week was so busy that there was no other time to fit it in.

In the past, I would obsess about having to get in that training, possibly causing myself injury by not allowing myself enough recovery time from running.  Now I've learned to relax and realize that the only way any training program will work for me is if I allow enough flexibility to actually live my life too.  Running is a regular part of my life, not just when I'm training for a marathon, and I want to keep it that way.  A few years ago I got pretty burned out and didn't enjoy running.  I won't let that happen again.



No Excuses  / Gotta run

Week Seven - Already?

I'm writing this one day early.  I adjusted my schedule due to the holiday and an event we will be attending.  If anyone reads my blog, remember I write these entries AFTER my long run, when my brain is not working quite right :)  Training went well this week and I was able to get in all my planned activities.  My knee is holding up, and I don't feel as sore as I used to when I ran almost every day.

Three things I learned this week:

1.  Putting my runs and other training events on the calendar really helps.

2.  With the calendar, I still need to remain flexible with my schedule.

3.  A middle-aged woman cannot (or should not) move a bookcase upstairs by herself.

Further explanation follows.

By putting my runs, etc. on my calendar, it's always with me (I use google calendar so it's on my mobile phone).  It helps when I'm scheduling things - I can look and see what training is on the calendar and work my activities around it.  It is an attempt to make my running and training a top priority (as much as possible).  Also,  I share my calendar with my spouse.  He will say something like "so today is strength training, right?".  It helps him motivate me and also gives him an idea what I'll be doing that particular day.  As we have entered middle age, our memory isn't as good as it once was, so any tools are useful!

Even with the calendar, I have realized that flexibility is important (not only physically, but with schedules).  For example, this weekend is a holiday weekend. It is also one of our friend's annual birthday party.  Normally I do my long run on Sunday.  That means on Saturday I have to watch what I eat, drink, etc.  The party is today (Saturday).  I want to enjoy the party, so I altered my schedule enough and did my long run this morning.  Not only does it allow my to be able to not have to watch my food intake quite so carefully, but it also insulates me against some stress I may feel, as I'm not an extremely social person.

Now to the last one.  I was rearranging my office, and I needed a bookcase for all of my running, fitness, and computer books (I teach computer classes part-time in addition to my full time job).  I cleared off a bookcase downstairs, and decided to not wait for someone to help me take it upstairs.  I diligently removed the shelves and proceeded to try to carry it up the stairs.  I was up one stair when I realized what a mistake that was.  I was forced to wait for my husband, and we got it upstairs without further incident.  Unfortunately,  I strained my back to the point it was a little swollen when I went to bed.  I was able to run today without an issue, so that is good news.

Of course along with physical and mental training, food is important.  Our local grocery store has 1/2 price produce on Thursday evenings, so this is how my refrigerator looked after shopping:

Look at all of that fresh fruit!  It's so good.  But, this is what I was doing after Thursday evening's run:

Flexibility is important with diet too.  And the brownies tasted so good!

And this is what running is all about.  After a nice morning run, I feel insulated from the stresses of the day.  I know I have done something just for me.  And when I can run outside (most of the time I can), I experience the beauty of nature.  Here are some sights during my runs this week: 

That's about it for today's blog.  I know it rambles, but most runners will understand!  

No Excuses  / Gotta run 

Week Six - Sticking With It

This week seemed a little easier - not the runs themselves, but getting out there and starting the runs was easier.  It's helping with just 3 runs a week.  I'm not so tired, plus it's simply easier to schedule only three runs. And, I don't feel as sore after each run.  My knee definitely is better with this new "less is more" type of program.

I also started the strength training program.  It is an 8-week program for runners, then there are maintenance plans to choose from once the 8 weeks are up.  I am surprised at how much strength I've lost in the past six months or so.  It's definitely a program I need!

This is me after today's 12-mile run.  It was hot and I am tired.  My friend, Laura, joined me on 5 or 6 miles of the run, and that made the time go quicker.  Something happens on long (and especially hot) runs - my mind doesn't work as well.  In the past (before I had a Garmin), I was known to run extra miles on a long run, since I seemed to lose the ability to accurately calculate my distance.  I knew how far it was between different points, and I would forget or run one twice.  The Garmin has pretty much fixed that (except sometimes I forget how long a specific loop is and end up with a little extra, since I'm too far from home).  But the long runs still affect me.  For example, this morning I was running in my subdivision, close to my house.  I needed another 1/2 mile so I decided to go past my street (it's a cul-de-sac) and run the next street.  It's a street I run or walk on every day.  Well, I was partially up the street and suddenly NONE of the houses looked familiar.  I thought maybe I had taken a wrong turn, but I knew I hadn't.  I rationalized that it was just my brain getting overwhelmed as it does on long runs, realized that even though the houses didn't look familiar I was really on the correct street, and did the proper loop back to my house.  Then when I got home, I called my Pomeranian Sasha - his  name is Tucker, and Sasha is a female dog we had a few decades ago. 

So, if today's blog rambles more than usual, I'll blame it on the long run.  I'm eating and hydrating now, so I think I'm better :)

The bottom line is - this new program is working better for me.  I have all the runs and now the strength training sessions scheduled on my calendar, with some built in flexibility.  Having it on my calendar makes it easier for me to plan, and to tell myself I need to do it!   I'd like to add some yoga or cross training; once this training plan has gone well for a few weeks I will put something on my calendar. 

No Excuses  / Gotta run

Week Five - Getting Better

I started the first week of my "new" training program.  I didn't get all the strength training and cross training as planned, but this week was a new start!  I researched on what kinds of strength training is better for runners, and I ended up with two new books.  I skimmed them both, and have a plan set for this week.  So, with that I feel accomplished.

It's been several months since I've run a longish (10+ miles) run, and today I was able to finish 10.1 as scheduled (technically 10 was on the schedule, but oh well).  I had to take a few walk breaks and loop back home for a bio break, but I finished, I feel OK, and, most importantly, my knee feels better than last week.  Goal one accomplished (being able to run without additional knee pain).

In addition to a new training plan, I've also changed some other things during my runs.  When using headphones, I used to listen to music exclusively, and I still do that on some runs.  However, one of my sons introduced me to podcasts (thanks Christopher).  I find these particularly helpful on longer runs. These help me keep my mind engaged, and I feel like I am working on both mind and body.  The only issue is that occasionally I feel the need to stop and make some notes about a particular subject, book, or speaker!  One I particularly enjoy is freakonomics.  Another is NPR Hidden Brain.  These podcasts have given me some interesting ideas, and I often end up researching and reading books/articles by some of the people contributing / profiled in these podcasts.

I'm still struggling with motivation.  Putting the scheduled runs on my calendar, and having a goal to update this blog weekly both help with that.  The next step is to schedule strength workouts.  I sometimes think there is some sort of underlying depression creeping in, but the best way to combat that, for me at least, is exercise and reachable goals (marathon in September).  I've also scheduled a physical to make sure there are no underlying health issues.  I'm learning some other techniques and motivators as I listen to those aforementioned podcasts!

Now it's time to schedule that strength training!

No Excuses  / Gotta run

Week Four - Time for Re-evaluation

I completed week four of my marathon training.  This week has not been the best.  My knee (yes - "that" knee that kept me out of running for about three years), started hurting much more.  It is also making a clicking sound, like it did those years ago when I first had the knee issues.  I don't know if it is the volume of running, the fact I may have twisted it while mowing the lawn, not enough down time in between runs, or some combination that is causing the issues.

I decided the best thing to do, if I want to continue to train and to run, is to cut back the number of days I run.  I searched for and found a program that is geared toward senior runners, and at 58 I certainly qualify as a senior runner!  There are only three runs per week, but they are very specific runs.  The rest of the days are a combination of cross training and strength work.  Due to the fact my marathon is about 14 weeks away and this is technically a 24-week program, I had to make some modifications.

I took two days off before today's longish run.  I did some stretching and strength training specific to areas that are know to help with knee issues.  Today I was able to run 8.5 miles, and my knee is not clicking and feels only moderately sore.  I know it will never be pain-free, but I was cleared to run several years ago with the caveat that even though running won't cause it any more damage, it is going to hurt at times.

I started the week discouraged, and I have ended it on a high note.  I feel much better after today's run than I expected.  It's been a while since I've gone over 6 miles.  And I feel this new program will give me a little more freedom - I can get the mid-week run in during an evening or an early morning, depending on the weather and what's going on in life.  The other two runs are on days I have off (for now at least), so I think I will actually get more sleep with this program!  Even though I love to run and would run every day if I could, I can still get outside and walk, bicycle, hike, etc. and keep my knee from being too much of an issue.

No Excuses  / Gotta run

Week Three - and so it continues

I have finished week three of my training, and I missed one day.  I had TWO alarms set.  I accidentally turned off the first alarm.  I woke up about 1/2 hour before I was supposed to start work (luckily for me it was one of my "work from home" days).  That second alarm I set - well I set it to p.m. instead of a.m.  It's early in my training so missing one day isn't much of an issue. I ran an extra mile on Saturday and about an extra 1/2 mile on Sunday, just because it was nice outside.

This could be a tough week.  I'm going to attempt to work four 10-hours days.  It will be great to have Friday off - I can sleep in a little bit perhaps, and it's an additional day I can run outside.  It will be difficult getting used to the long days though.  I may be tired by the end of a day, especially since by the time I finish work, I will have been up for about 13 hours on the days I start with a run.  I have a few more weeks of Monday's off, so I can sleep in (until 4:30), and my plan never has a run on Wednesday, so it won't be too bad I suppose :)

I didn't get a good start on that nutrition yet.  This week it's a definite - with the long days, I will have to take food with me to eat.  I hope I have good things to report back next week.

I'd love to run outside every day, but evenings are just too busy, and a morning run makes my day much better.  I feel it inoculates me from the stresses of life (work, family, etc.), and helps me filter out what is and what is not important.  It's the best way to start the day!  I don't feel safe running outside as early as I must on the days I work.   I used to run with my dog, but his hips are too bad now for that.

If anyone is reading this, thanks!  If not, as I've repeatedly said, this is a good way for me to keep myself honest with my training, keeps me on track, etc.  I'll use it to post any issues I have as the tougher parts of the training begin!

No Excuses!