Sunday's long run...sorta

For some reason I've been digging my Sunday run rather than my Saturday run this time around. Last week hubby and I went out on Sunday for our runs and I felt pretty good about it. This week, my hip killed me Thursday and Friday, so when I woke up pain-free Saturday, I decided to let rest it one more day.

Got up today to run. Hip hurt. Ugh. What the heck?? I didn't let it stop me. I did my stretches and added in some new ones. Nothing more that I can do but stretch and hope for the best.

I went out to the same area I ran last Sunday for 4 miles. As soon as I started running I had pain. Pain in the outside of my left calf/ankle. WTF??? I had one tiny little twinge in my hip, but it lasted seconds and then nothing. Instead, ankle/calf pain for 25 minutes.

I lasted 25 minutes (Garmin was dead [though I didn't know that until I got there. Ugh] so I used my Nano run app for time). Yes, 25 minutes out of 60. So disappointing. But, I decided to call it a day because I have never had pain in that area and it didn't go away. I'm still in the early going for The Love Run training and I don't want to make something worse.

Came home and iced the area. I'm hoping it helps and that I can try again tomorrow.

Higgy the cat helping ice my calf/ankle.

What do you do if something starts to hurt during a run? Do you gut it out or call it a day? Does how close to your goal race is make a difference in your approach?

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4 mile run

I had a four mile run scheduled for Saturday. It snowed a bit Friday night, so I decided to push it off until Sunday thinking an extra day for people to clean sidewalks and the sun to melt some of the snow would make for a better run.

I got out there this afternoon and it was actually warm! It was over the freezing mark. Shocker! Hubby and I were going to run together. It did not go well. I saw him match my gait and it was a horrible sight. I did not like seeing my speed. Not even half a mile in, I sent him on. There was no way I could watch him run my pace and not feel like the biggest poser.

Here is where the run kinda went off the course. Here are all the things that messed with my head today:

1. The running between areas of clean sidewalk and running on snow/ice. Yea. That was fun.

2. My left ankle hurt almost the whole run. I stopped multiple times to stretch it out.

3. Garmin lost satellites at one point and got off by .12 of a mile. Ugh.

4. I borrowed hubby's Garmin because I didn't realize mine wasn't charged. I also forgot that he did not have the same intervals I have on my Garmin and didn't have my half mile walk breaks.

5. Two separate dogs came up to me on my run because their owners didn't have them on a leash. I normally don't care, but for one of the dogs this was the second time this happened and he scratched my leg.

6. I got back to my car at 3 miles with one left to go and had no desire to do one more. I talked myself into it. I then had to talk myself into finishing that one mile two more times. I really wanted to turn around and just be done.

Multiple times on this run I had to tell myself my issue was mental. My legs didn't hurt. My breathing was ok. I just wasn't with it mentally. I kept coming up with excuses to stop running today. All of the reasons I came up with seemed reasonable to me. But, I didn't cave to them. I kept running, even if it was slow. I wanted to do 4 miles in 55:00 and I came close. I probably did actually run it in under 55 minutes with all the cars I had to stop for and the two dog incidents.

So, one more long run completed for Anthem Shamrock Half Marathon. Next Saturday is 10 miles. I hope whatever messed with my head today is gone by then. I need to get my times faster and need to get more confident in my runs.



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Running pain

Sadly, I am a runner with injuries.  Well...let me rephrase that.  I am a runner with a chronic health issue - a herniated disc and three bulging discs.  I have no pain (generally), but I have numbness down the back of my right calf and the right side of my right foot.  Sometimes I can tell my right foot isn't thrilled with running, but never anything major.  Though, I can say my right leg/foot is weaker than it used to be due to the pinched nerve from the herniated disc.

But, today's post isn't about that.  I just need context.  I went out for my "long" run this past Saturday.  Jeff Galloway's plan had me running 2.5 miles Saturday, which I thought was kinda funny to call a long run.  But, it was a step-back week from the previous 3, 4, and 5 mile weeks I had done.  I did all the normal warm-up stuff and headed off for what I thought would be a simple run.  About half a mile in, my left ankle/calf area seemed much tighter than it should be.  So, I stopped and stretched it out.  First time I've really ever done that, but I couldn't run with the way my ankle felt.  Then off I went again.  And the ankle kept hurting.  So, I started extending my walk breaks from 1 minute to 2 minutes, hoping a little extra down time would help.  Nothing.  So, I stretched again.  And it still hurt.  At about 1.75 miles I realized I was limping.  This is when I knew I had to stop.  I read recently that if you stop during a run to stretch or take a walk break and the pain does not go away, it's more than just a little tweak.  You should stop.  After limping, I decided it was worth stopping.  I do admit I walked to about 1.8 miles and then ran until 2 miles.  I was soooooo close.

What's weird is this pain didn't happen while walking.  My ankle felt fine afterwards.  I haven't had any pain since my run doing normal activities.  Hubby thinks it could have been from all the walking on vacation, then the laid back Friday we had.  Could be.  Hoping having a couple days off helps it.  I have a 30 minute run tomorrow morning.  I guess that will help determine if Saturday was a fluke or if there is something actually wrong with my ankle.

Any thoughts?  Tips?  Advice?