All not according to plan, Part 2

And now for Part 2:

Firstly, we flew down to California (again!) on Saturday for my final dental appointment (and of course to see family!) We needed to get 8 miles in sometime over the weekend, and I wanted to get it over with on Saturday, since we had a Birthday Party to go to on Sunday. (Birthday parties are important when you’re 4 and 6!) I was just planning on having us run along the beach, like we did the last time we were down here, but J wanted to try something new. So he talked his friend into driving us down to South Orange County (Aliso/Laguna area) to try out a trail. Not the best choice.

J thought the trail would start with an uphill climb, then level off when we got to the “top”. The trail started out friendly looking enough, but that didn’t last very long. It definitely took off with a very brutal climb. We didn’t run this first section. (I’m pretty sure I would have tripped and died, if we had.) So we waited for the summit, but it never came… Eventually we started running, but after 1 mile of climbing straight upward, we called it quits, and made our way back to the parking lot. I was kind of upset. I really wanted to get a quality 8 mile run in this week, since last week was such an utter failure. So we decided to wait and try again on Sunday.

After the party on Sunday (about 5pm), we finally headed out for our run. I was a little nervous to start so late in the day, especially down here. (It’s hot for us!) But it actually turned out pretty well! We took off straight from my mother-in-laws house, and made our way to the the mighty Santa Ana River (lol). There is a dirt/rock path that runs alongside the “river” with beautiful views of a playground, a plant nursery, and a sewage treatment plant! We even got to wind our way over to Costco, and run under the 405 freeway. What beautiful scenery! (Sense any sarcasm? We are definitely blessed in the NW!) The first half of the run was kind of rough with the sun on our backs, very little breeze, and minimal distractions in the form of scenery. But, when we turned around, the run got much better! There was a heavier (and very welcome) breeze that cooled us off immediately. We were also able to refuel with Espresso Love Gu. (Better than Mint Chocolate!) We somehow lost J’s Gu, either along the way, or in the house, so we ended up sharing. I definitely want to try other refueling sources during our next several long runs. I’m still not completely sold on Gu.

We made our way back feeling pretty good and very accomplished. We ran 8 miles today! That’s farther than we’ve ever run before! Here are our splits:

Mile 1: 9:55
Mile 2: 10:27
Mile 3: 10:23
Mile 4: 10:11
Mile 5: 10:14
Mile 6: 10:01
Mile 7: 10:15
Mile 8: 9:46

Maybe not our most consistent run ever, but we were still able to negative split it! (Thank you wonderful breeze!)

Sunday:
8 miles (10:09 avg pace)

I’ll leave you with some pics of our failed run on Saturday:

The very beginning of the trail, with nice shady trees and a flat path (this section was quite short):
Stupid Hill:
Pretty view:
More view:
J, after we quit, on the stupid hill:
Bunny:
Later that night

We fly back up to Portland on Tuesday. Here’s a rough schedule for our week:

Monday:
Rest Day in Cali

Tuesday:
Track (probably)

Wednesday:
Easy 3 miles

Thursday:
First Thursday

Friday:
Rest Day

Saturday:
Work :( / BBQ

Sunday:
10 miles (Double Digits!)

All not according to plan, Part 1

I started this week by shifting some runs around early on, but really, the whole week was one big mish-mash, which is kind of disappointing, since we had a not so great finish to last week’s plan.

J really wanted to do a track workout on Tuesday, with some of the people we had met the previous weekend when we were volunteering. I had wanted to add in some speedwork this week anyway, so I acquiesced. This meant, however, that we would be running 3 days in a row (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) which would be our first time ever doing that. I was a little nervous about how my legs would handle 3 days in a row (the first day being a “long run” and the third being a track workout), but they performed beautifully.

Monday:
3 miles (10:07 avg pace)

Tuesday: (Track Workout)
This was planned as a 5 mile run, with some speedwork added into the mix. We decided to join a group at the track. This was our workout:

11x600’s with 20-25 sec rest at T pace

Here’s where it gets really good. J had checked out the sheet that was supposed to list our T pace for 600’s, based upon our 5k PR. It is clear that we are faster than our current 5k PR at this point, so we had used McMillan’s calculator to convert our 10k PR into a more “accurate” 5k time (27:01). J saw that we were supposed to finish each 600 in 2:56. Now, I am a Garmin newbie. I could not figure out at the right time, which buttons were supposed to be pushed when. Luckily, J had our “back-up” watch, and was keeping track of our splits, with which we were dead on. (I always held a very consistent pace when I was swimming; I think it’s rolling over into running, too!) The one time I think I had the Garmin doing what I wanted it to, it told me we were running at 8:00 avg pace.

Hmm… “J [heavy breathing] I think we’re going too fast… [heavy breathing]… aren’t we supposed to be holding 9’s…?” “No, we’re doing great!” Well, we later found out that the chart must have had a wee bit of a typo in it… Like, it told us to do each 600 in 2:56, when what it probably actually meant was 3:56. OOPS! So, that means were were holding 7:49 avg pace, which is probably why I kept telling J how much I hated him during each rest break… Truth be told, I didn’t know I could run that fast, so that’s exciting! And I was able to hold the same pace the whole way through; 4.1 miles! Looks like I’m going to have to push a bit harder in these 5k/10k races!

Summary:
1.71 mile warm-up
4.1 mile tempo @ 7:49
0.25 cool down (I’m thinking this should be more, next time)
Total: 6.06 miles (That’s longer than last week’s “Long Run”! :)

Wednesday:
Rest Day

Thursday:
GOTR 5k (Oh boy…)

So, it’s not that I didn’t have fun, but it’s not exactly what I had hoped for. I showed up on time and met my girl with plenty of time to spare. She was very hyper and energetic as we were waiting for the 5k to start. She was a bit clingy, which was a little weird, but J has 6 nieces and nephews, so it’s not my first time around the block. Soon enough, we all headed over to the “starting line”. My girl wanted to line up at the front, which I am always hesitant about, because I never start up there, and she didn’t seem to be in the best of shape… Well, I couldn’t deny her, since the leaders were telling everyone to move in. Before you knew it, we’d started. We started running, hand-in-hand. I was surprised; she was holding a decent pace, not sprinting with all her life (like some of the other girls). I heard my name called from behind me, just after the start, and it was Alisa. I wish we could have chatted, but my girl was still charging ahead, so I waved instead. Soon, we were at the hill, and that was when the running stopped…

My girl had a side cramp. I told her my tried and true solution for this (smell the roses, blow out the candles), and soon her cramp was gone. We were walking at a nice relaxed pace, made it up the hill; “water!” Our first water stop of the day, 1/2-way through the first of 8 3/4 laps. We continued walking and finally finished the first full loop. “How many more do we have to go?” “Only 7 and a little bit.” “7!!!!!?????????? We can’t do that!” [Insert super bubbly and motivational Marya] During the second lap, she had a calf cramp, but she was able to walk it off. The next few laps go by without much of a difference. More walking; slow walking. During the 5th lap (and the remaining laps) we have to take a standing rest break on the hill. Since we were at least 45 minutes into this thing, my motivational pep talks were needing their own motivational pep talks, and we were only halfway through!

Eventually, other volunteers jumped in (Hallelujah!) and tried to inspire her. We got nothing. She continually told us that she wanted to quit, but I kept telling her, “No way! We can do this! We’re gonna keep going until we’re finished!) Well, as we were nearing the finish line along the loop, and had but 1 lap to go, one of her coaches ran up and said “This is it! You’re almost done!!” I slyly replied, “We still have another lap to go.” You could see the defeat in the coaches eyes. “Well the van is leaving, so this has to be it.” So we finished our less-than-5k. Yes, we were the last to finish, but J says we were probably only 1 lap behind the next to last finisher.

Well, chances are I won’t have to worry about being physically drained the week before our Half. Emotionally? I hope we can finish the Starlight Run 5k! I was sad that my girl’s family wasn’t there, like some of the other girls’ families, but from what she told me about them, I’m not surprised. I would be surprised if they showed up at the Starlight Run… I guess that’s why she’s in this program!

It was a good experience, and I’m sure I’ll try to do it again next year. We’ll see what the Starlight brings!

Summary:
3-ish miles of walking (I’m counting it! I was definitely on my feet, emotionally drained, and I certainly wasn’t going to run after that!)

Friday:
Happy Hour :)

I’ll recap the weekend in a separate post, since this one is already so long (and the weekend is not yet over!)

Weekly Recap

Last I left you, my Garmin had just arrived in the mail. Well, we’ve gotten to try it out on a few runs, and so far, I’m loving it! I love seeing my pace while we’re running. No more of these conversations:

Me: “Hey J? How slow do you think I’m going?"

J: “Probably 14:00’s.”

Me (through loud, forceful breaths): “Thanks…[breathe]…Jerk!”

I also love that it keeps track of our distance. I like being able to see how far we’ve gone (and how far we have left…). It’s so nice not having to map new loops on the computer before, or after, the run!

So far, my Garmin = my new love. (Sorry J)

Anyway, here’s the recap of the week (including Garmin’s pace readings!)

Monday:
3 miles (pre-Garmin)

Tuesday:
Rest Day/Pushups

Wednesday:
3 miles (9:57 avg. pace)

Thursday:
3 miles (9:35 avg. pace)

Friday:
Rest Day/Pizza Binge

I already recapped Monday.

Tuesday we got back into Week 5 of the 100 Pushup Challenge, and subsequently failed to continue past Day 1. Oops! Well, we’ll (hopefully) continue next week…

Wednesday, we went out onto the Springwater Corridor. We were very excited to wander around on a different path than our normal waterfront loop. Well, it wasn’t all that great, but then again, we only went about 1.5 miles in before turning back around. Our first 2 miles were 9:53 and 9:45, but mile 3 was 10:10…stupid shoelaces… (I’ll try to explain my shoelace problems in an upcoming post…if I remember)

Thursday, we did our normal waterfront loop. Our splits were 9:50, 9:27, and 9:26 (double-knotted those laces!) and felt really comfortable. I think I might be getting quicker! Yay!

Friday (today), we ate pizza, and it was good!

Saturday (tomorrow), we’re planning a 5 mile run, and we’re gonna give the Springwater Corridor another try. Afterward, we’re headed to the zoo for my mom’s birthday. Yes, you read that right. ;)

Sunday, we’re working the bag check (and maybe the finish line) at the Fort Vancouver Run. I’m excited. It will be our first volunteering opportunity for a race, and should be a fun time. And, if nothing else, there’s free beer when we’re done! Win!

I’ll update after our adventures. Until then!

Sidelined

Well, week one of "Operation Fix Shins" is over. That means I have (at least) one week left. So far, my shins don't seem to be much better. For the first part of the week, I was starting to think that I may have caused myself some stress fractures, which I was none too pleased about... But I decided to try massaging the posterior tibialis muscles, and I found both sets to be quite tender and bumpy! I worked them out quite a bit on Wednesday and Thursday. I also had J work on both sets of calves. (Those guys were also quite tender and bumpy!)

I had been good about taking ibuprofen and wearing my orthotics, but I stopped doing both by the middle of the week. I stopped taking the ibuprofen since it inhibits bone healing. This became important, not only as I grew more and more concerned about stress fractures, but because I'm pretty sure the damage is at the muscle to bone interface. I stopped wearing the orthotics because I was getting sore from wearing them. It might have been too much, too soon, as far as they go. I'm still wearing them in my rain boots, when walking around town. My work shoes are easy spirits, so they are fairly supportive and comfortable throughout the day.

I continued the cross-training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monday and Friday were done on the recumbent bike. Unfortunately, on Wednesday, some lady was on the recumbent bike...forever. So I attempted the elliptical trainer. I was afraid...of gravity. This was the day I was most worried about possibly having stress fractures. My shins didn't really hurt too bad, but there were definite twinges. I ended up stopping only about 25 minutes in because I was so worried I might be causing more damage. Tuesday, Thursday, and today (Saturday) we continued with our strength training: planks, wall sits, hip abduction (leg lifts in sidelying), hip extension (leg lifts while prone), and the 100 Pushup Challenge. Here's the stat wrap up:

Monday:
10.1 miles, 16-17 mph averaged over middle 30 minutes

Wednesday:
25 minutes on the elliptical (Blech!)

Friday:
10.7 miles, 17 mph averaged over middle 30 minutes

The running break will continue through at least Thursday. If I'm still feeling twinges then, I will extend the break at least another week. :( I hope I don't feel any twinges...

Week 6: Run 1

Run 9 minutes
Walk 2 minutes
Repeat 2 times
Run additional 8 minutes
30 minute "run"

Run stats:
Distance: 2.64 miles
Pace: 11:22/mile

Run Review: Ok. So it didn't feel "good", but it also didn't feel "bad". It was "ok". My calves warmed up after the first run, so that helped. I also didn't feel exhausted like I did last Friday. J's knees were better today. I taped them with some cheap-o sports tape, but he thinks it helped, so we'll keep doing that for a couple more weeks. We lacked on our stretching and foam rolling this (Holiday) weekend, but we got back into the flow of things again today. One cool thing of note is that we ran 30 minutes with only 4 minutes of walking! That's only 13% walking!

The weather was also "ok"; it wasn't raining, but it was pretty chilly at 43°. (Although it did warm up considerably after we started running!)

Week 5: Run 3

Run 8 minutes
Walk 2 minutes
Repeat 3 times
30 minute "run"

Run stats:
Distance: 2.59 miles
Pace: 11:35/mile

Run Review: Well, today didn't feel "good", but it didn't feel as bad as Wednesday. My calves warmed up...eventually. Overall, though, I just felt exhausted. I wonder if it could have been that large meal last night...Thank you Thanksgiving dinner! :)

Just for good measure, we stopped by Voodoo Donuts for an after-run pit stop. If you ever visit Portland, it's definitely a spot to check out! They have some very creative donuts, and they taste pretty good, too! I had the Portland Cream Donut and bought a Dirty Donut for later. :) Mmmm.

Later, we stopped by a local running store to purchase a foam roller. I'm using it for my calves and hamstrings (and IT band for my own protection), and J will be using it for his IT band, which will hopefully stave off any more knee pain!

No more running or working out until Monday! See you then!