Don't Stop, Get It Get It

Spare some energy sir?

Let's get straight to business. Last night was Pint Night at Fleet Feet. Hanson Plan called for 8 easy miles.  I left at 5:40pm and took a long way to Fleet Feet in Lincoln Square, 5.5 ish miles in about 43 minutes. I got to meet Eric (This Hobbit Runs), I Heart Pikermis and her boyfriend, Jake...from State Farm.  The Wurst Running Club ever grew in size and we had a group photo + 1 random person running near us that jumped in for the photo:

The first half of our fun run, ~1.5 miles was done at a group jog, and the return trip Pete and I threw caution into the wind and decided to start booking in.  Here was our little progression:

Note: Lincoln Square is not the ideal area to sprint

I knew I was burning fuel that I would need for my strength run, but I felt I had some to spare. My stomach had started acting up all evening, so I went light on the food.

Note on status of my leg: No hard pain to start, but my problem area felt a bit fatigued/weak with some occasional aches.

Got home around 9pm and went to bed to sleep around 10:15pm.

Alarm time: 3:40.snooze...3:50 okay okay I'm going...

Hanson Plan for Tuesday: 3 x 2 mile repeats at 10 seconds below marathon pace. I should be hitting about 13:46 splits.

I was tired this morning and my stomach was a mess. I was going to be flirting with danger this morning.  Not even having 9 hours rest since my last run finished, my energy was questionable. I popped some stomach medicine and crossed my fingers.

The highlight of the run was to get in part of my warm up miles with Erin.

The run was one of those runs you just want to get out of the way. The wind at first wasn't too bad, but once I hit Belmont, the wind out of the south felt like something fierce. I was determined to not let any of splits fall due to wind. Dig deeper, don't stop, get that ****.

My stomach started to get mad and the bathroom alarms started to go off. My breathing was a little off as I tried to keep my head turned to keep my breathing normalized. I thought for sure my pace dropped, but I got it.

On the turn around, I was hoping to feel that wind at my back...but the wind felt like nothing at all, blah. At least the effort was much easier.  More bio flares were going off and I just wanted to get to the restroom, I wasn't sure I'd hit my time...dig deeper, got it.

Restroom reached! Let's finish this run off.

My 2 mile split times: 13:35, 13:44, 13;42. Add a +/- few second margin of error for the GPS and  I still hit my goal time or ran it even faster.

My stomach still isn't very happy and I'm exhausted. Gotta muster a little more energy for my lunch time gym visit for core and weights.

I'll update this blog if any more photos surface from last night.

Have a great day!

These streets will make you feel band new

Second time writing this. First one got lost in draft...

I hesitated writing this post in the thought that I'll jinx myself. Since my run on Friday morning, I have felt... normal.. Like pre injury normal.. at least when I am not running. I walked around after my run Friday with that feeling I so dearly missed.. Feeling like I wanted to run again, not crawl into bed feeling like crumpled tin, hoping my body would repair itself in time for my next run.

I did my 90 minute physical therapy session, and then did my video gait analysis.

My review: I was already fatigued from my morning run and therapy.   They had me warm up then do some marathon paced miles. I was impressed by their stance on this.  They didn't want to push shoes, inserts, or doctors.  They wanted to see the problems and work with you instead. Good feeling to know they had no sales agenda.  The gait analysis therapist and my physical therapist talked about the inserts I bought and said that is basically to get me through the marathon if I find that I'm still getting strains without them. We'll see what happens!

Preliminary Findings: My legs, my right more than my left swings around and causes me to run with one foot in front of the other, causing the knee tapping and that fraying of the inside of my sneakers I find. Initial suggestions, increase my steps per minute by 5%, from 180 to 189 during my marathon pace, this should help me not have time to do that swing and fix up my pace.  I follow up next Friday to get the full analysis.

Saturday: 10 miles at easy pace per Hanson Marathon Method. I get out around 5am. And for the first run since July... I had no mountain of rough pain or strains to break through to run. I'm going to pause and let that feeling hang there...

I was normal, at least to start. A big mental relief.

I still had some periods of tightness and aches through my run, but that happens in all my easy paced runs.  I saw Mrs Fueling Strong as she started her CARA run and we exchanged our normal cheery hello!

Here are some photos from the run:

And for those of you who are here for a photo of my kid, here she is rocking her new fall jacket:

Only down side to the run, I focused too heavily on trying to watch my feet and how my legs were moving and flared up something in my upper glute. Some foam rolling has since helped.


Sunday: Cut back weekend, so just another 10 miles at easy pace. It was raining today and I started pain free again, which was great! My pace was felt fresh, and I just ran at whatever felt good for that mile, and ended with a sprint for the last few blocks which felt great. No blogger sightings today.

Will I be pain free again tomorrow?

Tomorrow is also Pint Night at +Fleet Feet Sports - Chicago , who is going and if so, at which location?

Now for your Sunday motivational picture:

I hope everyone had a great weekend and thank you for your feedback on how to race the marathon.  I have to fiddle around with the comfort level on the sliding scale of  enjoyment speed vs training speed, as it is my first marathon.. but I don't know what I'll do in the future for races.  I haven't found myself addicted to them yet. I love running, but I'm not sure I like races yet..

Edit: Also! BIG NEWS EVERYONE! Yesterday I went to Lickity Split for my 70th time Since October 2011 while checking in with the Belly Card! I'm kind of a big deal.

I'm not that Groovy Baby

Last night my family unit went out for some tasty Ethiopian food then some frozen custard with another pretty famous running family.

Mrs Speedy holding A and K!

My last few attempts of running after Ethiopian food doesn't produce the most amazing results, but hey, maybe I just ate the wrong dish that didn't give me wind beneath my wind the next day.

This morning I had a pace run on plan per Hanson Marathon Method. Warm up, 9 miles at marathon pace, cool down.  I got out around 4:20am, so I would only be able to do 12 miles and have time to stretch after my run. This at least would be what the plan called, but I was hoping to get a longer warm up and cool down in.

When I was walking around before my run, I felt surprisingly....normal.  I began to feel a slight glimmer of hope that I would be on the upswing finally of my rehab period.

Get outside, temperatures dropping, run started at 62 degrees, was 54 when I got home. 10-15+ mph wind out of the north.  The waves were angry, frothing with strength, and eating the beach.  The path just south of Fullerton was not safe until you hit the sand again.  The waves engulfed the entire path like it was a game.

I felt a little brisk, but quickly warmed up. First few steps, that glimmer of hope quickly faded as I felt giant knots in both of my calves.  Neither were in areas that I had pain/aches in over the last week. New day, new trash to deal with. First mile, they barely get better. I start thinking of a plan B for the day. Maybe I'll just do some easy miles today, and hope that therapy works out the kinks in my legs, and I can try the pace run again tomorrow. I stop to stretch, try to calm my brain down, and tell myself I'll try speeding up slowly at 1.5 miles and then make a last minute call.

Legs slowly warm up better... I'm not saying they were normal, but they didn't hit the danger zone.  Time to man up and just do it. And do it I did.

The first 4 miles of my pace portion of my run was pretty unstable. Maybe it was because the wind was at my back, but I couldn't get in my pace groove. My half mile splits were going like 6:40, 7:11, 6:20, 7:15, 6:18 and so on. I tried to settle in the zone, miss it, then think I just sped up a little, but apparently I threw on some nitro.

I couldn't find my groove baby!

On my turn around, it was an entirely different game. The wind was now my foe. At least the wind evened out my pace. The extra resistance to running was overshadowed by the change in breathing as the wind continuously punches your throat.

I had one near fall down near North Ave, I didn't see the sand spill over into the path and nearly last my footing/twisted my ankle! Yikes.

The run went well on the way back.  Took a bit more effort, but I had it in my to give.  I also saw one boss of a runner, who is very friendly, knocking out 6:45s like he was just having a fun old time! You go bro!

When I was about to get off the path, I took a moment to soak in the sky. The lake looked like it was on fire, the dark black clouds, and just a small open window of red breaking off the lake made it a magnificent view. As usually, my phone doesn't do it justice.

And for those interested in the actual stats, here are the splits:

Total time for my 9 mile pace portion, 1:02:48.

Today I also have physical therapy and my run gait analysis. I may be needing a nap by dinner time!

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Another Edition of Thursday Thoughts

Welcome to Friday eve, let me seduce your mind with my deep thoughts and links:

I have no organization going on today in my brain, so if you were to peak inside, this would be your reaction:

First lets start with some motivation!

Do yourself a favor and read this epic race recap from Annabelle @ Fluency's Folly who placed first!

Now you want legit running links? See Hillary's blawg post here @ Tongue in Chic.

Need a funny running quote? got it for you here:

Now for training/running thoughts at my end.

31 days to the Chicago Marathon and I feel both excited and worried. Excited to see where my training has placed me, worried to see where my injury will leave me. I keep reminding myself I'm healing a bit more every week and I should be at least at 90ish% come race day, but having random days of extra tight spots on your muscles really messes with your mind  This makes me question my race day plan multiple times throughout the day.

Should I even have a goal time for my first marathon? Should I just focus on finishing? I don't think I picked a training regimen that catered towards - just finish, but is it smarter to do? I do have goal finish times, but I really can't settle on it until the week before the marathon on my last pace run to see where my strain and rehab has put me. And speaking of rehab, I contacted my sports doctor and got him to order an official run gait analysis at my physical therapy location.  Has anyone done one at therapy? Did it help you?

That should be enough for today. Tomorrow the Hanson Plan calls for 9 miles at marathon pace, so a 12-14 mile run. The weather should be cool and hopefully redeem my pace that had dropped a good 20-30 seconds with the heat this week.

Have a great day everyone!

Solo Wednesday Run

Wednesdays I usually add a few miles the plan to have a fun run with Erin. Today some things got switched around so I went out solo.

I decided to make best and do the actual plan which just called for a 6 mile recovery run.  Over the last 24 hours I've had a bit of tightness/ache flare up in problem leg.  Nothing earth shaking, just enough to take note of and report to my physical therapist today.  I imagine it is just fatigue on a leg on the mend.

Got an extra 40 minutes of sleep due to the shorter mileage, although it didn't feel that much more restful.
74 at 4:50am, better than yesterday. Allergies have been killing me lately and I wonder if any of the breathing and dry mouth is due to it.

I had no pace goal, just get miles in without making anything worse.

Accomplished. Quiet run and only thing interesting was a dragonfly flew into my face and hit my nose.

Also forgot to mention yesterday, I saw 3 raccoon on the fence north of the tennis courts trying to flee my monstrous presence.

And now a few photos for you:

Where are you sending me dad?

Photo at the end of my run today

And as we all take time to reflect today the tragedy of 9/11, please also take a moment to hold those feelings, the sadness, anger, and hope and reflect on our humanity.  A humanity that is felt too sharply and heavily by many nations too often.  By a people with much less to lose, and yet lose more too often and  tragically, be it by war, terrorism, or the conflict trap. Take this moment and share your heart and try to relate to your fellow humans across the globe, not just the US.   It is a world media shields us from until we see humanity at its brink for survival and it can get scary.

Share your love today, we all need it.

Happy Pre Friday Eve!

Toasty!

Two days, two hot runs.
Monday plan, 6 miles at recovery pace. I took the day off from work to tend to some things.  This allowed me to sleep in and took the kiddo with me for my run.

That is a dragon in her arms

Nothing to note about this run.

Side note, I flaked on my physical therapy appointment. I thought I had it on Wednesday and Friday... Had it this morning... Woops! Rescheduled.

Later in the day we went to +Fleet Feet Sports - Chicago  in Old Town so I could get a run gait analysis. The recommended some Orange Superfeet Insoles for my sneakers which seem to work nice. Time will tell.

The kiddo missed her normal nap and with 95 degree weather... She started getting cranky. She fell asleep for like 20 minutes on the way home, woke up like the Kraken.

Tuesday, Hanson Marathon Method called for 2 x 3 miles at marathon pace minus 10 seconds, with a 1 mile recovery jog in between.
Got outside at 4:20am... 82, SW winds around 8mph. The air quality sucked hard.
My will was there, energy, strength as well... But breathing was shot.

The breeze was at my face both ways which dried my mouth bad and my lungs just weren't having it. I was tempted to switch today to my easy run and do the strength run tomorrow, but the weather would barely be better. Let's just get this done.

I managed to pull a few miles at recommended pace. But this run was better measured by effort. I won't bother giving you the screenshot of my splits.  On the second set of three miles, even doing marathon pace +10 felt like hell. I was giving it my all and the weather just wasn't letting me have it. Mental strength right?

I calmed myself mentally by telling myself how much time you can lose with heat. The run was a struggle for sure.

I reminded myself to live to run another day. The run was exhausting, but am glad it is done. Looking forward to Friday with highs in the 60s rather than mid 90s.

Another story I forgot to share, Friday on the way home from work, a lady on the bus came up to me and asked if I run... I was recognized from my morning runs! I'm pretty famous. She starts her run when I am ending mine. Autographs will be given folks.

Did you skip to the end cause it was too much to read? Well this is what the runs were like:

I'm going to nail this run hard...nope

Have a great day!

(P.S. I'm behind on my blog reading, I'll catch up soon!)

Weekend in Review

Weekend review time!

Saturday - 8 miles @ easy pace. Gentle run. Not too many kinks to work out. General fatigue and tightness from the previous day's hard run. Got out around 5:15am. Still trying to figure out if my ankle is rolling and if so at what speeds.  I fiddled with my foot planting and found the strikes that cause it in my right calfish area.

I saw Mrs. Fueling Strong start her long run and we exchanged a side five! I also got to finally meet Bethany @ Accidental Intentions on my way home.

After my run, I rounded up the household and we went to Ikea for the day to buy some new furniture for our place when we move. Upon trying to collect the couch, there was a second couch that was stuck to it and made the task a bit of a scare. I felt like this trying to hold it up:

My stomach was a bit of a blah in the evening, so my dinner was rather small.  My energy levels for my long run would face the consequences.

Sunday Plan - 16 miles @ 7:43ish pace. End Result: 16 miles @ 7:40 pace.

My first 10 miles were a little fast as I tried to ease into the pace. The slightly faster speed resulted in better posture and foot planting.  The small dinner and humidity at this point started to bear down on me.

My splits started going on pace or maybe a little slower.  I didn't mind as this would help my overall time get closer to the target time rather than finish too fast (TWSS).

I also got to run for a minute with Pete who took another graceful photo:

 

I got back home with drenched sneakers and have been slowly refueling since.  I'm hoping to make it out to Runner's Edge this evening to get a recheck on my sneaker needs.

Have a great evening!