Ugh

Last night I headed out for a 30 minute or 3 mile run. I wasn't sure which it would end up being. I had hoped for 3 miles since it's not all that long.

Sadly, that's not what happened. I worked Wednesday afternoon, like usual, and didn't drink much. I was really dehydrated. My tummy had been bugging me a bit today. Nothing too serious, but enough to know it was there. Both of these things did not make my run very fun.

I then had to deal with pain in my left Achilles. I get this randomly. I can run weeks in a row with no issue. Then I'll have a run and just cannot shake it out. I stopped multiple times on tonight's run, but could not get it to stop hurting. I decided 30 minutes would be the goal. Even if I had to walk the last 10 minutes.

I was able to run most of the last 5 minutes. I got 2.11 miles in 30 minutes, which is slow ever for me. But, I spent a good amount of the last 10 minutes walking, stretching, and not feeling good.

On the positive side, seriously there is one, I got out there for an after-work run. I can't remember the last time I did that. I spent my entire afternoon and car ride home saying, "you are going for a run tonight." It took me saying that and hubby coming downstairs saying he was going for a run for me to get off my duff and run. But, I'm glad I did.

I can't run again until Sunday. I thought I could squeeze the run in before the wedding we have Saturday afternoon, but I thought the wedding was around 4:00. Nope, 1:30 p.m. Makes a bit of a difference. So, my 5 miles this Saturday will be run on Sunday instead. Eh. No biggie. I just won't be able to run the 2 mile run scheduled for Sunday. I'll skip that and just go with what Monday says.

Ever have a bad run? Were you able to find anything good about it?

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Creature of habit

Pre-run photo. Please forgive the funny face. The sun was brutal!

I am a creature of habit. I think most runners are. We eat the same things before long runs/races. We do the same things on race morning to prepare. We have the same routine to prepare for a run. Once we find something that works, we keep it up.

Today, I was scheduled for 8 miles as my last run before Zooma Annapolis next Sat. (June 1). I had it played out in my head - where I would run, which direction I would go in. how far out before turning back. As I came to the cross street where my parking lot is, I was stopped. There was a 5k going on and I was being redirected. I couldn't park in my lot. I couldn't start my run at it's normal spot.

I was re-directed away from the race, so I parked my car in the next town over where I was planning on going. But, I had no idea what to do with myself. I had never done this before. I always run to Mt. Wolf, not start there.

And here is why I say I'm a creature of habit. I had to figure out an 8 mile run on the fly. Yea...it didn't work. I managed to find 2 miles, then turned around for 2 more bringing me up to 4. Yea! Just 4 more to go. But, now I had no idea how to get those 4 more miles. I tried. I managed one more mile before becoming so frustrated with the run, my time, and my hamstring that I stopped. I went back to the car. I came home.

Oh that hamstring comment? Yea. My right hamstring, right behind my knee hurt randomly throughout my run. It's the same hamstring I pulled back in 2010 after I ran the Baltimore Marathon Relay. It's the leg that my herniated disc effects. I have one week until Zooma Annapolis (have I mentioned this?) and I will not mess around.

So, today's run was not what I wanted. It was slower than I hoped. It was a bit more painful than I anticipated. It was frustrating. What I'm hoping is that it gets the bad run out of the way. This got the kinks out and come next Saturday while I'm running around Annapolis, I will have a great run! It will show today what a good run is.

But it sure does suck on the day of the crappy run....
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Alright, it wasn't that bad out there, but it was definitely colder and snowier than I anticipated. I checked weather this morning and it said 36 with a wind chill of 23, plus flurries. Well, I could see the flurries out the front door. I'm ok with flurries. I'm good with cold. And I'm good with wind chill.

This run just did not go well. Honestly, it had nothing to do with the weather. I wish I could blame it on the weather. Sadly, it all comes down to me. I haven't worked out all week, minus the trainer session on Monday. I've eaten like crap. Then I thought I could go out there and run 6 miles. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....you get the idea. Instead of 6, I ran 3 (slower than last week's 5k on a super hilly course).

So, this is an obvious wake-up call. I need to get back to going to the gym, getting my 30 minute weekday runs in, eating healthier, getting more protein, ingesting less sugar. Yea. That's the way I've been rolling lately....doing NONE of the above. *Insert eye roll here*

It's not going to be easy over the next two weeks - Christmas Eve, Christmas, 11 year wedding anniversary, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. But, I don't have to be perfect. I just need to be better than I've been the past 6 months. Then come 2013 get back to what worked. I know what to do. If I want to finish the Shamrock Half Marathon I need to start doing them.

Plan B

Saturday's are long run day.  Since I'm not training per se for a long race right now, it has been running about 3 miles since Shamrock.  Which is fine.  Maybe not for someone else, but for me.  Fine.

I woke up this morning though and my stomach didn't feel well.  Maybe it had to do with the junk I ate yesterday before the Orioles game (which they won!) or afterwards at dinner.  I don't know.  What I know was I felt off.  Not awful, but off.  But, I waited it out for an hour and thought I felt better.  So, I geared up and headed out for my run.

I am going to publicly apologize now to everyone running the Movie Madness Half Marathon in Manchester and Mt. Wolf this morning.  I normally park my car at the high school and run from there.  I drove up to the school and realized there was something going on.  There was no one directing traffic or telling me what to do, so I turned onto the road.  And that's when I realized I was on the race course.  Ugh.  The first side street I came to I tried to turn off.  That one was blocked off by cones.  Lovely.  I finally was able to turn off at the next side street.  I felt like a heel.  Seriously.  I completely apologize to everyone running.  I do not apologize to the organizers, because COME ON!  Why was the main road leading to the runner's course not blocked?  Why was there no volunteer standing there?  How was I even able to get on the road in the first place?  Why did you not have a sign at the other end of the road warning about the half marathon going on?

Anyway...I went into Mt. Wolf to run instead.  I parked the car at the elementary school there and headed out.  And realized this may have been a mistake.  My stomach started hurting quickly into the run.  Apparently that hour didn't really do anything.  But, explain this to me, I ran fast.  I stopped for my half mile 1 minute walk at 5:51.  Uhhh...what???  And the stomach hurt.  But, I kept going hoping it would stop hurting.  Yea...no.  Still hurt.  I got to a mile and again what?  11:54.  I can count on one hand the number of times I run a mile under 12 minutes.  Insane.  And this is when I realized I needed to call it a day.  I felt like I was going to get sick on the sidewalk.  I walked back to my car kinda feeling bad about the whole thing.

So bad that I decided to try a couple things at home.  I broke out the stationary bike and rode for 60 minutes.  And I felt fine.  Then I tried one of the workouts I've downloaded to my Kindle.  I tried the Daily Cardio workout.  I set it for 10 minutes (which is the max time on it) and tried it.  I made it through 8 of the 10 workouts before dying.  LOL!  Each exercise is 1 minute each and I definitely broke a sweat.  I think this will be a fun little workout to add into the mix and it's something I can work up to since I died after 8 exercises.

So, Saturday's normal long run kinda sucked, but I at least tried to make up for it.

Finally!

I finally got 2 weekday runs in this week.  It has been ages since I've done that.  It's kinda embarrassing.  But, I've made a commitment to run all my runs til the Philly Half Marathon on November 20th.

It wasn't a good run by any stretch of the imagination.  I realized shortly into it I had to go to the bathroom. Oops.  It was not pleasant to be honest.  Note to self: remember to go to the bathroom before going for a run of any distance.

Then, as I was almost done, a little girl started yelling behind me.  I normally ignore people yelling around me, but all of a sudden a small dog went tearing past me.  Apparently, she wanted me to stop her dog.  Oops again.  So, I took off trying to catch up with this little dog.  I was no where close to catching him!  But, I did my best to help her corral him and eventually she got him.  He got distracted by other dogs behind a fence and she was able to grab him.  All this chasing after the little dog sure didn't help my running, but it did help the little girl, so I suppose it wasn't all bad.

What we're taking away from this is I got 2 runs in this week.  Huge step for me.  It's been too long.  Next up: 12.5 mile run Saturday, my last long training run until the Philadelphia Half Marathon.  Eep!

Weekday Run

I went for my first weekday run in ages this morning.  And the above photo is what it felt like to me.  I am so not a warm weather runner.  To be honest, I'm not a warm weather type of person per se.  Sure, I like hitting the beach and sitting out on a deck for dinner.  I like going out on a boat or playing mini-golf.  But, I've never been a fan of heat or summer.

The body just isn't used to heat yet.  We've had such a cold winter and just this past month, it's just been rainy and chilly all the time.  Having several days where the temps are warm and the sun is out is...odd.  I don't know what to do with it.

But, I went out this morning for a run because my last one was such a disaster.  And sadly, this one wasn't much better.  I got in 2 miles in 29:25.  I'm sure that's faster than Saturday, but it's not where I would like to be for 2 miles.  I've done 2 miles several times in the 26s, and many, many times in the 27s.  I'm not happy with 29 minute 2 miles.  Which means, as awful as it sounds, I need to run more.  Bah.

The rest of the week shapes us thus:

Wednesday: Bike (12.5 miles)
Thursday: Run (1 mile interval)
Friday: Bike (11 miles)
Saturday: Run (2-3 miles)
Sunday: Rest

What's up with awful runs?

I must apologize in advance.  I did not run on Saturday.  I had a couple adult beverages on Friday evening and was no quite up to running Sat. morning.  LOL! 

But, I did not let that deter me from running this weekend.  I got up this morning and decided to go out before we took my MIL out to lunch to celebrate Mother's Day.  I put on a pair of my new capri pants (that did not have a liner!) and headed to the local park.  I wasn't wasn't feeling the run today, but since I had swore I would run this weekend, I had to go.  So, my decision was to see how fast I could run a mile.  I headed to Shelley Park and walked to the start of the path. 

I started off at a good clip.  I was excited thinking I was making good time as I ran.  When I got to the end of the path to turn around, I was at 5:54 for 1/2 mile.  This was a great time for me!  I think the best I have ever done at the 1/2 mile mark is 5:45 and that was sometime last spring.  So, I was psyched!  I turned around to return to the start and felt pretty good. 

Then I hit the hill.  I kinda forgot about the hill.  It's really steep and I've been running on fairly flat side walks lately.  I was totally unprepared for the hill.  And the run went down hill from there...well, I wish, but you know what I mean.  I felt awful going up the hill and wanted to stop with every step.  I continued on though and finally got back to the start.  And had the worst 1 mile time I've had in ages...13:24.  :-(  It has been a very long time since I have run a mile in 13 minutes.  I had gotten used to running the mile in the low 12:20s and had hoped to be around that when I hit the end of the path. 

Yes, I will chalk a good bit of that up to the hill, but it still doesn't take the sting out of the disappointment I felt when I hit the stop on Garmin and saw that number.  I'm thinking I may try to run a mile on Sunday mornings just to see if I can improve that time.  I just know that I was really sad when I saw that time...

What an awful run

So, it's been awhile since I hit the pavement for a run.  I have been saying all week I'm heading out, but not once had I actually done it.  I kept saying I would, then I would come up with some excuse not to.  I'm really good at excuses.

Last night, I said to a friend she needed to kick my butt into running today.  This of course is figurative as said friend lives in NY and would have a real tough time doing it.  BUT, said friend said she expected to see something somewhere saying I ran today and honestly, I think if I didn't, she might have come down from NY and kicked my butt.  She knows where I live.

I got myself up this morning and decided to go for a run (cause my butt's been through enough with that whole falling incident a couple weeks ago).  I put on my new capri running pants and one of the two new running shirts I got at the Broad Street Run (I did not run, my hubby did, in 80 degree heat.  He rocks!).  Headed off to my new running area, just the nice sidewalked neighborhood near the HS here in town.  Parked the car and walked to the spot I like to start.  There's no reason I like to start at a certain spot, I just got into a habit of starting there.  Got to the cross walk and waited for a truck to turn.  I don't think I stand much of a chance against a truck.  Then I started to cross the street.  There was a car coming, but it was fairly far back and there is a four-way stop at this intersection.  Well, apparently this car didn't think the stop sign meant them as I almost got hit by the car.  He never slowed down and just swerved around me when he got to the intersection.  So, the run did not start out well.

I got myself together and started my run.  Shortly into the run, I realized the capri pants I was so excited to run in are lined.  Lined pants are not fun to run in when it's sunny and 70 degrees.  I knew this was going to be a hot run.  But, I persevered and kept going.  I was about a mile into my run, glanced down at the Garmin and low and behold, it died.  Ugh.  No idea when, so I have NO idea how far I actually went today, though my guess is not more than 2 miles.  So, frustrated at almost getting run over, the heaviness of the pants, and now THIS? I decided I would get back to the car and stop.  And just as I decide this, my shuffle dies as well.  What a mess! 

Not one of my best runs and I suppose this is what you get for not making sure your equipment is ready after a LONG hiatus.  But, I got out there.  I got about 2 miles in and the positives were my shirt was awesome.  Barely felt like I had one on it was so light.  And, as I got past mile one, my breathing calmed down and I felt good.  I probably could have hit three miles today...had things gone better.  Which means, I will be out there Saturday morning running.  Not sure if I'll stay in town or head up to Harrisburg again.  I kinda liked running up there and it is such a nice flat run...

Tuesday Update

Yup, I am updating on a somewhat daily basis. LOL! It's helping keep me on track and since that's the WHOLE POINT OF THIS BLOG, you'll have to deal. ;-)

Yesterday was ok. I did get all my water in. Thank heavens! It was a struggle on Monday. I did have more fruits and veggies than the last two days, so that's a positive. I stayed within points...actually I was short one. I hate when I end up with an uneven number of points at the end of the day. So much of what I have is even points value. So, I had 5 points left after dinner and so much of what I have it 2 points. Ugh. Ah well. It's never a horrible thing to be one point under. I'm sure I've been over by one point at some point to even it out.

I went to the park last night to run. The goal was 4 miles. I'm easing down to the 5k I'm running this Sunday in Baltimore. I did 5 miles on Sunday, wanted 4 miles on Tuesday and 3 miles on Thursday, then the race Sunday. Well, the run didn't go as well as I hoped. I got to 2 miles and wanted to stop. But I somehow had to talk myself out of it. So, I turned around and ran back the way I came in the hopes of getting another mile in. I was just over 2 miles and my toe started to hurt (I have a nice bruise on the side of my foot just below my big toe). And my knee started bothering me. I gutted it out and got another mile in before I just kinda gave up. I figured I'm only running 3.1 on Sunday, if my runs Tuesday and Thursday reflect only that, then so be it. Hopefully Thursday's run will be better. Hopefully...

So, that was Tuesday. Today will be interesting as we have our last Indpendent League baseball game of the season tonight. I always get a turkey burger with 2 pickles. So good! And that's what I'll get tonight. Just have to be on points until we leave. I can do it!