Shamrock 5K Recap

Well let’s get into it, shall we?

Unofficial 5K Results...):

Watch time: 27:41 (Um, can we say, PR!!! by a lot…)

Official Time: 27:40 (8:55 average pace, what!?)

75/988 Age Group (25-29)

288/4450 Overall Females

992/6400 Overall

And now, the recap:

My mom wanted to watch us run, so she parked over by our house (to avoid the crowd that would inevitably be conglomerated near the race start/finish area) and we walked to the starting area. We arrived with about 10 minutes to spare, got a “before” pic taken by my mom, then separated from her to find our pace group. We decided to line up in the 9-10 min/mi pace group, since that fits our PR pace, but there were too many people. We couldn’t even line up in the street, we were standing in the grass behind rows of people in our “corral”. Luckily, we didn’t get stuck on the grass while people in slower pace groups passed us by toward the start. It did take us at least 8 minutes to cross the starting line, which I’m sure could have been worse, but it soon became evident that either we, or those grouped around us, were not lined up in the appropriate pace group…

Mile 1:

After crossing the starting line, it was again time to dodge, duck, dive and dodge. Maybe people were starting out slow, but why were some people walking? And why were some people (ok, one guy) stopping in the middle of the stampede to tie their shoes. I mean, come on! I almost took out a photographer early on, trying to get around the shuffling runners. It started to dawn on me that maybe, just maybe, many of these people haven’t run a running race before (not that that’s a bad thing), and that maybe they don’t know what a 9-10 min/mi really is…

Anyway, I’m sure it could have been worse, but I would rather use the energy I wasted dodging people, you know, on running. The first mile was spent mostly just jockeying for position. I’m fairly certain we were passing people in earlier pace groups…oops! I had written the cross streets for the mile markers on my wrist, so I was able to keep track of our pace throughout the run, although I had to use some mad math skillz to get it done. (Happy Pi day by the way!) Mile 1: 9:20 (stupid dodging)

Mile 2:

Mile 2 was definitely the most difficult. It is almost entirely a gradual uphill climb, for 1. whole. mile. We haven’t done much hill training, but I don’t think it will hurt us to start! This is where my lungs started talking back to me. I was definitely tempted to walk, especially seeing other people struggling, but I pushed through. J was with me the entire time. He kept looking back in such great spirits. His lungs didn’t hurt. Jerk. (J/k!) We continued passing people while going up hill. Let me tell you, dodging people while you’re struggling is even harder than when the road is flat! I could see our turn coming and couldn’t wait to get there. From there on out it was either downhill or flat, a very welcome relief. Mile 2: 9:10 (take that you stupid hill!)

Mile 3:

Finally we turned off Broadway, and my spirits rose; the worst was over! And what did I see coming up? A water station! The first one I’ve ever experienced in a race. Huzzah! I just had to try it (and I was thirsty before we had finished mile 1!) I was already running on the left side (where the water station was located). I slowed down, just slightly, to meet the pace of the other runners coming through the station. I grabbed the cup, some water splashed out of the cup and hit my hand, but most made it through the ascent to my lips. I took my sip, tossed toward the trash can (there’s a reason I’m not a basketball star ladies and gentlemen) and then someone stopped dead in front of me. I had no choice but to slow to a near halt to glide around. Another women, who I assume had been following me until this point, then ran into me me. Ahh, this must be the joys of the water station. Luckily everyone made it out alive. Sorry’s were exchanged. And the race continued.

After the water station, we found our way on to the most glorious downhill in all the land. It really wasn’t long, but we had definitely earned it! We took off, allowing the hill to help us back down to Naito, the final stretch of the race. There was definite crowd dodging to be had, and some sudden stops as people abruptly started walking. (Really?! It’s downhill, you’re almost to the end!) Alas, the hill ended far too soon, but as we turned I could see the finish line ahead. And let me tell you, it looked so far away!

I was definitely suffering during the last mile. But I knew I had to keep pushing because, looking at my watch, we were definitely on track to smother my sub-29:00 goal. My lungs were burning the most. I couldn’t feel any pain in my legs. But oddly enough, my right shoulder hurt, and my right arm was numb. I hypothesize that this is due to me using my right arm as my “shield arm” as I was dodging people, just in case someone took an unexpected turn while I was passing! Finally we were under the bridge. Only 0.1 mile to go! Mile 3: 8:30 (whoa! This might not be completely accurate as my brain was swimming by this time. But if it is inaccurate, it would have to be too slow, as you will see in our final 0.1 mile split).

Last 0.1 mile:

We were almost there, it just didn’t look like it to my eyes. My lungs were burning really bad by this point, but I wanted to finish as strong as I could. I set my legs into “final kick mode”. We were dodging people all the way through the finish chute, but we did it! I looked at my watch after I stopped it. 27:41! Holy moly! Now that would put our final 0.1 miles at 40 seconds which is a 6:40 pace. Accurate? Will never know. All I know is we were really flying at the end!

We removed our chips and exited the crowd. I was spent. I know I left it all out there on the road, as it should be. J on the other hand said he could have gone faster…Maybe that’s because I beat him by 1 sec ;). As we were exiting the chute, this older guy came up to us and told us he saw me taking good care of J. LOL. I guess all men need to be taken care of sometimes! ;)

We found my mom, miraculously! Found the beer, miraculously! (The race was sponsored by Widmer and there wasn’t any Drop Top?! FAIL!) We finished refueling/rehydrating, then headed home. A fairly successful outing if I do say so myself!

In other news (as promised in yesterday’s post): We are officially signed up for the Bridge to Brews 10K! Yay! I’m so excited. After we finished today, we realized we are totally ready to expand our racing repertoire! And to top it off, it takes place April 18, which just so happens to be our 1 Year Anniversary!! We are officially running dorks! Hopefully, since this race ends at Widmer’s frickin’ brewery, there will be some Drop Top to enjoy!! :)

Additionally, after all of my awesome, most likely slightly inaccurate, pace calculating today, we have decided to take the plunge and get a Garmin. I’ve been wanting one, but what with being injured and all, it didn’t seem worth the price. But I think I have mostly recovered (as long as I continue to take care of myself!) and we have now officially completed 4 runs this week, PAIN FREE!!!! We ordered it today, so hopefully we’ll have it up and running in a weeks time!

I know there’ll be some pictures of us at the race, so I'll post them once I get them!

Shamrock Prep!

Tomorrow is our first Shamrock Run and our second 5K. I'm pretty excited and of course I have some race goals, but first a recap of the week!

Monday:
3.94 miles (oops!)
10:37 min/mi

Wednesday:
2.85 miles
10:04 min/mi (oops, again!)

Friday:
3 miles
10:04 min/mi (not as big of an oops!)

For the past several weeks, instead of mapping our runs out before or after our runs, I had been using the (free) MapMyRun app on my iPhone to measure our running distance. At least I was until last Monday. When we finished our run, my phone said that we had completed 3.5 miles, which I was ok with. Later, when we returned home, I checked it out online, and it said that it was 3.36. I looked at the map and saw that it had skipped half a mile and had us swimming across the river. Hmm...something might not be working...

When I saw that, I mapped out our path manually and it said 3.94, or basically almost 4 miles! Oops! I wasn't sure I was ready to go that far yet, but luckily it turned out ok. No lingering pain or anything! No problem! We continued with ~3 miles for our remaining runs, and finished them at about 10 min/miles. Not bad, and no worse for the wear! I figured it would be best to keep the mileage low, what with a race on Sunday!

Speaking of which, tomorrow is race day! So, without further ado, race goals! For our first 5K, our main goal was to finish without walking. This time is different; we have a PR to beat! Therefore, our goal is to PR! Not too fancy, but we want to at least beat 29:16. I don't think we'll have a problem with it, although the whole second mile is a slight uphill which might hold us down a bit, but we're hoping for the best!

I'll post our results tomorrow, and I've got some additional news to share, so stay tuned!

Still holding on

So far so good. I successfully completed 3 runs last week, pain free!! We continued running along the grassy section of the Waterfront, to be safe, but upped our mileage to ~3 miles/run. Here’s a quick recap:

Monday
2.91 miles
10:52 min/mi

Tuesday
3.01 miles
11:28 min/mi (not sure about this one…outlier!)

Wednesday
3.15 miles
10:41 min/mi

As you can see, not only did the distance increase, but so did the pace! It didn’t even feel like I was pushing it too far or too fast, but I still tried to hold back, a little…kinda. I didn’t experience any calf cramping this week, but I did experience a tiny, itty-bitty bit of “sensitivity” in my shin yesterday during work, but before we even ran. It was weird. It didn’t hurt when I was weight bearing. It only hurt when I was sitting down. I hadn’t run since Wednesday (a day and a half previously), so it didn’t seem to be connected to my running. It wasn’t a full on “pain”, either, it was just a mini-ache. Weird. It didn’t bother me really at all during yesterday’s run. About halfway through I felt…something…in my shins, but it didn’t get any worse, and I don’t feel it today, so I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.

That’s what I’ve noticed. I’ve been benched for so long with this stupid self-inflicted injury, that I read into any little tweak as potential injury. I got shin splints from over-doing it and pushing through the pain for 2 weeks. I’m a very goal driven person. I was 2 weeks from finishing this 10-week-plan and 2 weeks from my very first official running race. I was so focused on finishing the ride, that I didn’t stop and take care of myself. It is infinitely more idiotic since I should know better. I mean I’m a PT for goodness sakes!

I am definitely going to try to be smarter now. Any real pain (“bad” pain) and it is an automatic 2 day rest and a prescription for ice. Random knee pain during the middle of the run that goes away after half-a-mile, yeah, not “bad” pain, just weird (random yesterday’s-run happenstance). I just need to be better about listening to my body, and not pushing myself beyond my own limits.

So, now that I have a plan…You (Who? J? I realize no one else is reading this. ;) may have noticed some additions to the race calendar. Next Sunday, is, of course, the Shamrock Run. Originally, I was planning on running the 8K race, increasing our distance, trying something new, but we all know I don’t have the base for that, so 5K it is!

One month after Shamrock, there is a local run that looks really fun. (aka Beer at the end, you will soon notice a trend!) Bridge to Brews can be either an 8K or a 10K. I will try to decide on the distance once I successfully complete the Shamrock run. Successful completion = Pain-free. Once that has been accomplished, we’ll sign up for our April race.

Yesterday, at dinner, J and I started eyeballing something a little bigger, and I’m not talking about our meal. I’m talking about a Half Marathon. Before my shin splint set-back, I had already been contemplating this possibility, with the same race actually. The Helvetia Half is scheduled in June. I found a 10 week plan (which I hope we can successfully complete) that would have us start our Half Marathon training on April 5th. The schedule seems do-able. (That’s what she said?) Of course it’s hard to estimate what will be or won’t be “do-able” in the future, but I really think we can do it. And worse case scenario, Helvetia Half is supposed to be a great marathon for walkers as well. And the Drop Top 10K is run right alongside the Half, and both races end with a nice brew (see!) and a burger. And to top it all off (enough with the “ands!”) Drop Top is our favorite beer! How could we not participate in some way!

Thus far, the half is still tentative. First and foremost, I have to be successful with the upcoming Shamrock 5K. Once that happens, we’ll start really planning on these races (i.e.. signing up!) Today we had our packet/shirt pick-up. (By signing up with a large team we each saved $5 on registration; WIN!) I’m really excited (and not just about the beer at the end! I <3 beer!)

So far so good

*fingers crossed*

I ran 3 days last week, all over 2 miles, and no worse for the wear! (YAY!) Here's a wrap-up:

Monday
2.2 miles
11:59 min/mi

Tuesday
2.19 miles
12:20 min/mi

Wednesday
2.52 miles
11:40 min/mi

The paces are pretty slow, but I'm trying to hold back a little, so I don't injure myself. I'm trying to build up the miles to at least 3 at a time, then I'll hopefully be able to pick up the pace. (I also like to blame the pace on the fact that we're running on muddy grass :P)

I've kept up with my post-run ritual (pictures to follow at the end of the post, please excuse my pastiness), and it seems to be holding me together, pretty well (*fingers crossed*).

Step 1: Stretch calves with a straight knee, towel roll to add more stretch.


Step 2: Arch supported soleus stretch (knee bent).


Step 3: Roll out my calves, one leg at a time.


Step 4: Roll out my inner-calves.

Slow progress

Well, its been awhile. Ok, 1 week, but still, I've got some catching up to do...Let's see. Last I checked in was a week ago today, when I experienced only minimal pain during my run. Well I noticed on Tuesday that I had some lingering pain, so we took Wednesday off (which worked out ok, since we were fasting anyway) and started up again on Friday. Friday was even more pain-less than Monday. There may have been a few twinges, but overall, it was the least amount of pain I can remember having during a run. We managed 1.93 miles, at an unknown pace. (I forgot to stop my watch...Oops!) So, slowly, but surely I am upping the length of my runs!

The weather here has been amazing over the past week. There's been clear skies and it's been pretty warm (60° in February is warm!). It has been so nice, in fact, that trees have begun blossoming...It's only February guys! J and I took advantage of the weather on Saturday and went exploring further into Forest Park. There were a lot of people out enjoying the weather on the trails that day. It was kind of fun to people watch while climbing through the trees.

I completed my second relatively pain-free run today. I wouldn't say my calves/shins felt "painful", they just felt "tight". We've kept to the grass along the waterfront and today completed 2.20 miles at about a 12:00 min/mi pace. I've been purposely keeping it pretty slow to ease my lower legs into running again, hopefully a little better than I did before.

I've really been babying the lower legs after each run (and after the hike on Saturday). I start by going through my Yoga stretches. Since I've been having so much trouble with my shins, I have added some calf stretches to the end of this routine. I stretch 2x on each leg with a towel roll under my arch for at least 30 seconds. I stretch a little bit with the knee extended, but then focus on stretching with my knee bent as well. I am starting to believe that this muscle (namely the soleus muscle) is what has been giving me the most trouble. Since I've begun focusing on stretching this way, I've noticed a lot of improvement in pain. I've read out in the internet world that they believe the soleus is one of the muscles most culpable for shin splints, and thus far it appears to be the biggest troublemaker in my case.

The culprit. Soleus. Look at him, just sitting there behind the Gastroc all nonchalantly. "Who me?"


After I am all stretched out, I get the foam roller out and roll out my calves. I start by rolling on the back of each calve (one at a time) than turn my leg inward to roll out the innermost calf/shin, where I've had the most tightness and pain over the course of my injury.

After the foam roller, I rub out my shins (over the bone in front as well as the innermost portion) to try and keep my muscles from forming knots and causing pain. After all the torture, I reward my shins with ice (20 minutes for each leg). After the ice, I'm done. So far (you know...the last 4 days) it's been working pretty well for me. We'll see how my legs feel going into Wednesday's run. (I'm hoping I continue to be pain-free, and am able to complete the planned run!)

**After reading through all that, I notice that it may be easier to understand what I am doing if I post pictures vs. write out confusing directions. I'll try to have J take pics of my hot legs when I go through my routine next, so I can post them to lessen the confusing words...***

In other news, we have officially signed up for our second 5K, at the Shamrock Run! Originally, I had wanted to run the 8K, but since we haven't been able to up our mileage thus far, we're sticking with the 5K. Hopefully my legs continue to feel ok, and we can go for a PR! *Fingers crossed!*

Hesitant return

Well (knock on wood!) I think I am easing back into the running game. Friday we started with an EASY run along the grass at the waterfront. We went 1.79 miles at a whopping 13:03 pace. It was slow, but my shins felt ok during the run, and more importantly, ok the day after the run. They didn't exactly feel great or even pain-free, but they do appear to be much better than they were before the hiatus.

We ran again today (Monday) with similar results, at a slightly quicker pace (1.84 miles, 11:21 pace). Again, not quite pain-free but pretty close, and we did a lot of walking afterward without any increase in pain, so I'm hopeful this will keep up! (*fingers crossed*)

I've formulated a new post-run ritual: 1) rub out my inner shin muscles (which always seem to bunch up terribly, but may actually be getting better...wishful thinking?) 2) ice! Thus far this has helped immensely, hopefully the results continue!

In other news, we had a 25% off coupon at a local running store (Fit Right NW), and we made good use out of it. (Well I did at least...) First, I got some new capri pants (Adidas Supernova Glide 3/4 Tights). I have a pair of running pants (they're probably more yoga pants, really) that I've used up until this point, but I wanted something tighter that would stop dragging along the ground behind me. I tried on some full running tights, but they seemed a bit too warm for the weather at this point, so I held off on purchasing them for now.



I also got 2 new pairs of shorts (Nike Tempo Track Shorts and Puma shorts in Kelly Green that I can't find anywhere online). I didn't previously own any "running" shorts, so I was wanting to stock up in preparation for warmer weather.

I tried to find a top to buy, too, but I couldn't find anything that drew my interest, so that will have to wait for another day.

I'm really looking forward to trying out my new gear on Wednesday, and I'm very hopeful that my shins will continue to hold out. I'm going to continue at this distance and pace through Friday, and if my shins continue to be symptoms free, we'll start increasing the distance next week. Here's hoping my plans work out!

One week to go...

Well, I am NOT back to running yet. I'm giving it one more week. My shins are actually feeling pretty good, but due to the occasional twinge, I don't wanna push it too soon. So, one more week and then I will (hopefully) be back in the game!

I continued with the stationary bike on Monday and Friday. (We skipped Wednesday due to bad news on the job front for J.) I had Friday off (since I'm working Saturday the 13th) and it was such a beautiful day (especially for February) so we decided to head up to Forest Park / Wildwood Trail for a nice hike.

We started at Lower Macleay Park, as we did last time. We headed up on the Wildwood Trail, but instead of turning right toward the Audubon Society, we continued along the Wildwood Trail, crossed Cornell Rd, and continued up to Pittock Mansion. There was a great view from up there! Here's some pics from my iPhone camera (probably not the best) but here they are anyway!

Pittock Mansion


Willamette River (I believe...)


City of Portland
Hike Stats:
4.4 miles (estimated from web search) in 2hrs15min.
850ft elevation gain (and then loss)

Hopefully I'll have a run to report on next week. I'm hoping to start next Friday. Fingers crossed that I don't have any setbacks, and get back into the game nice and healthy!