Cautiously Optimistic…

The last time y’all saw me, I was icing my foot and reporting that I’d done something not-so-good to one of my tendons.  I didn’t run at all that week.  Last Sunday, I went for a short jog, and then I did three miles one day during the week.  Spoke to Lloyd last night and his instructions were to try 10 miles today – if things went well, we’d get back into the swing of things.  If they didn’t, we’d rest again this week.

I’m happy to report I did 9.5 miles this morning, with no (so far) noticeable issues, apart from the regular soreness one feels when one hasn’t run in two weeks and one decides to just up and do 10 miles.  (What happened to the other .5 mile?  Laziness.  Lol).

Advertisement

My First Running Injury

It has happened.  I’m injured.

This morning while I was running, I noticed a pain near the bottom of my leg – the more you run, the more you become in tune with what are normal aches and pains and what’s different.  This was definitely different.  I was at about mile 10 or 11, and it wasn’t intense pain that I had to stop – more just something that didn’t feel normal, so I kept running, and finished my 12 miles just fine.

Anyway – later in the day, I realized that the pain was still there.  I started quietly freaking out – had I fractured a bone?  Would I need x-rays?  Lol – you’d think I was a real athlete.  

I’m Alright

Some days the smallest things get you. 3 miles should be a no brainer for me by now. But I struggled this morning. I had to turn on my iPod to get some extra energy to keep me going. But I was so glad I did. Kirk Franklin’s “Road Trip” came in about halfway through the run and I had that song on repeat till I finsihed the three miles. Probably gonna play it all day. 

I get tired, but it’s alright. ‘Cause I see what’s coming. And I’m alright. 

Oh – that three miles? 4 minutes faster than my 5k race on Tuesday. In almost 80-degree temperatures at 6:30 in the morning.  Sometimes when you’re struggling, you really can’t see how well you’re doing.  Just gotta keep pushing through till you finish. 

I’m alright. 

Today Sucked

Image courtesy bsim.org

I found this image and laughed.  This morning I was like “Forget training!”  It was rough out there in those streets, folks!

I got up on time, had my oatmeal, filled up my Camelbak (this is now my absolutely favorite gadget), packed my protein bars and energy gels, and headed out.  The first 8 miles were cool.  Then I decided to be adventurous and do some road running. I headed to an area that seems very flat when I’m driving it.

Note to self:  These streets are not flat!

To be fair, they are definitely not hills, but when your quads are burning, anything that doesn’t stay level feels like a hill.  I had to take two walk breaks between miles 10 and 11.

This is also a head game…

My friend Marlon sent me this picture; he said he thought about me and my running when he saw it.  This could have been me today, actually.  Lol.  I ended up not running today because on Thursday and Friday nights, I was working on some stuff and got only a few hours sleep each night.  We did a quick trip on Saturday, and when I realized we wouldn’t be home until early in the morning – I decided to push my Sunday run, as I totally didn’t feel prepared for it.

Because it’s so hot these days, and because I’m as slow as molasses, I try to get my runs in as early as possible, so that I avoid the heat.  Had I done that this morning, I would have had another night of just four or so hours sleep, and I wasn’t feeling doing 16 miles on a tired body.

100 Days Left!

There are 100 days left until October 8 (it’s actually 99 days now – I should have written this blog this morning!  Lol).  I vacillate between thinking that’s a lot of time and that’s way too little time.  🙂  The one constant thing about time is that it really doesn’t care what you do – it just keeps moving along.  Today I ran three miles; Sunday I will run 16.  That seems mind-boggling to me.  The other day I told Lloyd that I’m feeling intimidated by this race.  He told me if I wasn’t feeling scared, then he’d be worried.  No coddling there. Lol.

Hair Woes

You can find some really stupid advice on the internet.  Lol.  I sweat in my head when I run.  Profusely.   My hair can be soaked when I’m done – especially after long runs, and especially now that it’s summer and hot.  Why is this a problem?  I have a relaxer in my hair.  To keep it healthy, I minimize the heat that I put in it – this includes blow dryers and curling irons.  This doesn’t work out so well if I’m running four times a week, and have to leave my house before noon for work.  Lol.  

Long Run Sunday – Simple Math

Image courtesy Komodomath.com

The other day I had to schedule a conference call: I was going to be in MD, one coworker was in Cali, the customer was in Hawaii, and one other coworker in Germany. It was crazy trying to keep all the time zones straight. After lots of counting, I sent out the invite. And immediately realized that it was the wrong time! I’d subtracted three hours for Cali, instead of adding. Sigh. Lol. 

What does this have to do with my marathon?   I made a similar math miscalculation. After I finished my half on May 7, I was done. I had to cross the road to walk back to my car and I couldn’t even run across the road as the sign turned to “Don’t Walk”. I couldn’t imagine running anywhere else that day. But for some reason, it never clicked to me that in order to run any distance longer than 13 miles, I’d have to run 13 miles first. Lol. Duh Melissa!The realization that I’m gonna be running several half marathons (I’d never thought of it that way) between now and October was a bit intimidating. 

So I went back to simple math. This morning I ran 13 miles. +1. 

June 18 long run. Check. 

Why I’m running Chicago

Speed workout #1 – the recap

I. Am. Dead. 

Somebody come get me. The track at PG. 

The world record for the 400m for women is 47.60 seconds. Marita Koch. I insist this is false news and alternate truth.  No way anyone is running once around that track in LESS THAN A MINUTE.

Hahaha. First one down. And I’m not dead.  Sunday might kill me though. Lol.  Stay tuned for details. 

113 days and counting. 

Why I’m running Chicago. 

On Your Mark…Get Set…Go!

Image courtesy img.spokeo.com

I grew up watching Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses run track.  My dad ran track while he was in high school, and he loved watching track and field, and so we watched too.  He’s actually where I get my love of sports from – we grew up watching basketball (Lakers, of course!!), tennis, swimming…fun stuff.

At every Olympics, I imagined myself a world class sprinter.  I have a great imagination!  Lol.  Evelyn Ashford (first woman to run the 100m under 11 seconds at an Olympic games) was my girl!  I was never a Flo Jo fan though (not gonna make any comments about steroids).

I am talking about track and field because tomorrow I do my first speedwork run in my marathon training.  I am supposed to go to the track and run 400m as fast as I can, rest one minute, then repeat that sequence four times.