Tempo and long run

I did my 7 mile tempo run on the treadmill this week.  I had a movie to watch (Precious, heart wrenching) which helped the miles go by, but I still find it so much harder than being outside.  I don't know if the calibration is off on our machine, or if its the fact that it's 70 degrees in the house, but I sweat so much more, and get winded a lot faster.  I managed the first 5 miles at a 6 mph pace, with breaks about every mile.  The last two I had to go at 5.8 with multiple breaks to get through to the end.  My right big toe joint is still getting sore, but the taping that Clay showed me seems to be helping.  Total miles 43.5

I also ran an 11 mile long run on Saturday.  This was much better than last week.  I fueled better and layered better.  The run started at 18 degrees and a light west wind.  Chilly but doable.  My hip flexors and calf muscles have been tight since the run, but I'm continuing to stretch and they're loosening up nicely. 

Total miles 54.5

Intervals

Today's goal was 6X800 at an average of 9min/mile.  2 min rest in between.  I read an article in runners world by Bart Yasso which states that you can predict success in reaching your marathon pace by looking at your 800's.  When you can run 10 successive 800's at your predicted finish time then you're ready.  I'e  my goal race pace is 4:30:00  so I should run my 800's in 4min 30 sec.  So that's what I shot for today.  I made it for 6 reps.  I'm not sure I could have gutted out another 4 at that pace, but at least I know I'm on target. 

Otherwise, my hip pain seems to have resolved itself with extra stretching.  I've got some tendonitis in my R great toe as well.  Clay showed me a way to tape that seemed to help quite a lot. 

Today's mileage 4:  Total 36.4

Oh, I did cross train yesterday with 50 minutes of yoga.

This weeks running

I ran intervals on Tuesday.  4 X 1200.  It's a learning curve to read my own body and understand what a good pace feels like.  My first interval was too fast and I was unable to maintain the pace for the full 1200.  All of the intervals were hard to maintain.  Todays mileage 3.54/total 18.44

I ran my 5 mile tempo on the treadmill on Thursday.  It was a bit less frustrating because I 1.  watched tv while running and 2. turned the fan on high.  I still find it more difficult than being outside, but given the weather it was a good choice.  Total 23.44

Long run on Sunday.  Started in Newton with the intent of running back to Hesston.  But a weather front rolled in as we were starting out.  The wind turned and was coming out of the West/North, and the temp dropped significantly.  We turned around at the 4.5 mile and turned around and headed back into town.  I really started to struggle after the 8 mile mark, with very tight glutes and calves.  I managed to make it back to our start point.  Ended up with 9.5 miles  Total 32.44

Goal for next week is to make sure I add in the cross training.  I've been slacking on cross training and that needs to change.

Long Run

Ran  8 today with Jen, Dennis, Doug and Janelle.  Overall went well. Pace averaged between 10 and 10:30 which was a bit  faster than I intended but it felt okay.  The last mile was a bit tougher as my hip flexor's were pretty tight.  But I got it done.  My left hip/pelvis is tightening up quickly, so I'm icing and not sitting.  800 mg of ibuprofen are on-board.  We were going to head to Wichita, but we're going to defer that to tomorrow.  I'm off to vacuum/clean, generally keep moving for the next while so I don't stiffen up too much.

Today's miles:8 Total: 14.9

Tempo on the treadmill

It was cold and windy today so I opted to run on the treadmill today.  I find it so much harder to run inside.  I don't get the visual feedback of making progress, there's a bit of slope to the treadmill and I get so much hotter!  I listen to a book while running and even that doesn't help much!  But I got it done and it counts even if it doesn't feel great.

My hip is still sore after exercise.  It doesn't hurt while I run but as soon as I sit for a little while it's hard to move again.

Distance 3.5 miles/total: 6.9

Another marathon

I've decided to bite the bullet and signed up for another marathon.  My friends Jen and Janelle will be joining me as well.  It'll be the Oklahoma City Marathon on April 29th.  I feel like I need a venue to track my training, so I'll be using this site to keep track of miles and how they feel. 

Training #1:  Intervals  8X400's.   Last 4 were tough, but I did them.  Ran with Doug, feel like I hold him back on fast runs like this.  Left hip/pelvis is tightening up again, but I'm going to take a hot bath and see if I can loosen it up.

Mileage total: 3.4 miles

We're home

No, I didn't get sucked up into the void where socks go when they don't come back from the laundry.  I simply lost my blogging mojo somewhere in California.  After awhile it just felt like too much water under the bridge to try to catch up, so I didn't.  Here's a quick recap of where we went after May 14


Redwoods National Forest:  Really big trees and very green.
Oregon Dunes:  Having a quad or dune buggy would have been fun, but walking up and running down was fun too.
Silverton Or: Near Salem.  Went there to pick up my new drop spindle from Jenkins woodworking.  Great spindle and they even gave Erin one, because she was interested.  Oregon botanical gardens were great as well.
Portland Or: Pike's market.  I almost got hit with a halibut.
Mt. St. Helens:  Wow, what destruction!  The scars are evident 31 years later.
Bellingham Washington: Ski to Sea Race.  Stayed with the Laird's, whom we had met at Koinonia farms.  First time while on the trip that we spent any amount of time in a single family dwelling not on wheels.
Pender Island, BC: to visit Ken, Doug's high school bestie.  Took the BC ferries across the straight, played in tide pools. 
Butchart gardens on Vancouver Island:  Beautiful
Carlton Wa: Drove across the Cascade mountains.  Did some hiking up into the snow line.  Hiking in the snow wearing shorts and a tank top is fun!
Okanogan Valley, BC: Gorgeous.  Would have liked to spend more time here.
Lake Louise, AB:  Fall Down Gorgeous!  Did some great hikes, saw lot's of wide life, including Grizzly bears.
Banff:  More touristy than Lake Louise.  Did some hiking/biking here.  While we had our bikes with us, we didn't use them as much as I thought we would.  I think the flat-lander in us was intimidated by the hills.  We should have done more trail riding, it was fun!
Drumheller, AB:  The Royal Tyrell Dinosaur museum was great.  Affordable and big!
Calgary AB:  Visited with cousins that I hadn't seen in at least 15 years!
Rosthern, SK: Doug's home stomping grounds.  Visited the place he grew up, explored to see what had changed, visited with old friends.
Altona Mb: We spent the last 5 weeks at my parents  We parked the trailer and moved into the house.  It was a nice transition.  We spent time at the old cabin, went camping (tent, not trailer), fishing, football game, lot's of family dinners and lot's of great time together.


We arrived home on the 24th of July and we're slowly getting re-acclimated to being in one spot.  Doug and I are both back to work, and the girls are back to school next week.  It's good to be home, but I do miss the adventure of the road.