2016 Wrap-Up

Goals = Nailed.

• break 30min at Women's 5K
• crushed a sub-30 a month earlier at Hearts and Soles
• 10K PR at Peachtree
• PRed the month before at a different race
• break 25min 5K
• crushed this in 23:37 mid-year
• run 4:30 marathon
• finished Chicago in 4:17:43

By the Numbers

• 1,459.07 miles run (113mi PR)
• 231:53:47 total hours spent running
• 9:32/mi average pace for the year 
• runs were affected by illness or injury 32 days
• 5 new PRs
• one stroller win, one stroller podium
• 3rd Place AG Grand Prix
• 4 AG awards

Looking to Next Year, Goals

• full year of 2 x 30min strength sessions, either group classes, personal training, or DIY programs at home
• mile PR (currently 6:33, Resolution Run 2015)
• break 23:00 in a 5K (current PR is 23:33)
• run a race in just a sports bra and shorts

Looking to Next Year, Race Schedule:
italics = tentative

• 1/1 Resolution Run One Mile: time trial
• 1/21 PTree City 8K
• 2/11 Hearts and Soles 5K
• 3/5 Intown 10 - Stroller 5K?
• 3/18 Water Drop Dash
• 3/25 Pound the Pavement for Peter - Stroller 5K
• 4/15 Warrior Dash with work
• 5/5 Flying Pig One Mile
• 5/6 Flying Pig 5K
• 6/17 Braves 5K
• 7/4 Peachtree Road Race 10K
• 8/19 Atlanta's Finest 5K
• 9/23 XC Classic
• 10/13-10/14 Bourbon Chase Relay
• 10/22 10 Miler Cardiac Hill Challenge
• 11/23 (or thereabouts) Thanksgiving race of somekind
• 12/? VA Highlands Xmas Run?
• RunningNerds one mile race series (June-September)

Monday
Did: 4.16 @ 9:19/mi, 10000 steps
Explored the new boardwalk with B; found ourselves running a bit faster while we rattled off stories from our holidays and had to slow down; saw friends at the end :)

I ended up getting sick (pretty much our entire extended family was sick this weekend, passing it from one person to the next) that afternoon and sleeping/feeling awful from about 11am until 7pm, got up for dinner, and was able to somehow hit 10000 steps before crashing again at 8pm and not waking up until 4:30am. THE STREAK LIVES ON!


Tuesday

Did: 6.33 @ 9:35/mi avg, 10000 steps
Brandi and I have done a 10K EVERY. SINGLE. TUESDAY. this year. So proud of us!!! 

It's sooooo nice to not have a pace goal for these runs anymore. I enjoyed an "out" with the girls and my FIL, and split the "back" between the faster guys and the slower girls. Probably should have done some striders this morning since I have the 1mi race on Sunday, but I was already feeling the lack of sustenance in my stomach (from being sick yesterday) by m4 and just took it easy. 

What a great 2016!

Wednesday
Did: 3mi easy + bootcamp = 3.6mi @ 9:21/mi avg, 10000 steps
Had a hard time running this morning- just felt a little nauseous (like maybe I shouldn't just hop out of the car and start running immediately after finishing my granola bar) and like everything above my ribs didn't want to move. Still had a respectable pace.


Thursday
Did: 3mi + 5 strides, 10000 steps
The universe tried to tell us this workout shouldn't happen. 

• winter break = locked HS track --> had to find somewhere else for speedwork
• 95% chance of thunderstorms had us rethinking doing a workout on a completely dark track surrounded by woods that none of us had ever been to, but whose school admins had granted us written access to it
• thought about swapping Friday workout with Thursday speedwork... but tomorrow's forecast is a "feels like" of 24... 
• opted to meet at bootcamp, just before it started, and determine what to do based on current weather conditions
• weather at 5:25 was fine, but still had wet pavement (bad for speedwork) and conflicting weather apps that warned of anywhere from 35 to 85% chance of thunderstorms in the coming hour
• opted to still do speedwork (because we didn't want to do it tomorrow in 24 degrees), but use B's fitness center and treadmill together
• B's keycard didn't work and no one else was around to let us in >_<

We ended up just doing three easy miles with striders around the streets instead. 

6:45-7:29/mi for strides

It felt hard to run again today, maybe because I'm still working back into a normal eating plan after Monday's illness. Strides felt fun, but I wondered how I had ever kept anywhere near this pace up for real speedworkouts back in marathon training season. I do NOT have high expectations for Sunday's mile... Maybe a low 7? Also, my hamstring felt a little unhappy on the last set of strides, so perhaps I'm not entirely healed. I'll probably avoid pushing on speedwork for another couple weeks, and just be grateful to be able to run happily in the meantime.

Side note: it's a good thing I looked at my watch before bed! I still had 200 steps to hit 10,000 for the day. Eek,

Friday
Did: bootcamp, 10000 steps
Another great day of bootcamp, but we only made it out with 2500 steps. >_< Took a personal day from work and ran errands for another 6000 steps, and finished up on the treadmill. 


Saturday
Did: 3.2mi @ 9:53/mi avg with the stroller, 10000 steps
Thank goodness 2016 is almost over. I'm ready to be done with this 10000 steps a day stuff; it's so much work. :P 

I had a little right calf/hamstring soreness behind my knee this morning, but didn't feel a thing on my run. Probably should have opted for some striders or something because of the race tomorrow, but it didn't happen. I did feel like I could've gone faster with the stroller, but there was no need to push away from the crew. Besides, I'll want all that speed tomorrow for the race. ;) 

Finished the morning with barely 3000 steps, and then got home from a football watching party with 6500 and had to step in place for the last 3500. UGH. Got it done, though. Thanks for a great year, 2016! 

"Dashing Through the Snow"... or not, because I live in Georgia

Weekly Goals:

• 3x boot camp- check
• 5x stretching - check
• One Starbucks trip max (didn't make this one last week)- YASSSSSSS
• Healthy breakfast each day-- I've gotten into a bad habit of swinging by Sbux/Panera for a sandwich/coffee or just drinking coffee from work :P - 6/7

Monday
Did: 2.77mi @ 9:03/mi, boot camp, 10000 steps, stretching
Breakfast: peanut butter w/banana on toast = check
Had my brace on today, and felt ZERO anything in my hamstring! YAYAYAYAYAY. B and I ran a little less than 3 before bootcamp, enjoyed a challenging 4x circuit, and finished off with a 2x "fence run" (around 0.2mi from the door of bootcamp to a parking lot fence). I felt awesome (especially considering I was running easy for that... at a <8:00 pace), but, when I got out of my car at home, my left calf felt a little wonky. Note to self: stop being a show off and running in the cold when you're only in shorts. It's BAD for you. >_<


Tuesday
Did: 6.33 @ 9:04/mi, 10000 steps, stretching
Breakfast: 2 eggs w/triscuits, hot chocolate
I had zero problems today. No calf trouble. No hamstring trouble. Just a cool, beautiful run with friends. :)

I never have pace ambitions for runs these days, but usually just try to run comfortably, and stay with the bulk of the group. Today's run felt like I had to try to stay with people at times, but, considering I was already at the tail end of the group, there wasn't much to be done about it if I wanted to run with people. We ended up being a LOT faster than usual.

Um, what. Half our miles were under a 9:00?!?!
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Maybe it's the two-week "taper" I've had while injured, but it's been great to be running these faster paces lately. I was a little disappointed that, during marathon training, it always seemed like I was stuck at the 9:30-10/mi range. Perhaps 2017 will be the year I finally make a 9:00 my go-to comfortable pace. 

Wednesday
Did: 10000 steps, 1mi treadmill @ 9:34/mi, 2mi stroller run @ 8:59/mi, 1mi stroller walk/run
Breakfast: failed on this one... 3 triscuits and a Chestnut Praline Latte
Sick baby boy + limited sleep + having to go into work early because I need to take over on baby boy care from Jerry this afternoon = no morning boot camp. It was a serious struggle to get work done and still get in steps. If I hadn't set my 10000 step goal, I would have just sat on my bum inside with baby boy all afternoon. 

...but, since I had to get steps in, I found a way to make it happen. 

Step 1: Attempt to run on treadmill while baby plays in playpen
I started off thinking I would just walk, but then realized it would take a lot longer, so I ran. This kind of worked... for a mile. Then baby boy was no longer satisfied with his ball pit.

Step 2: Stroll/Roll
I set baby boy up in his stroller and set out to log some steps. Again, walking seemed perfectly fine, but it would just take so ---- long, so I ran. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be... until I got to some of the hills. Oof. What kept me going was: 1) wanting to put on a good show for all the cars driving by, and 2) knowing I was absolutely crushing my pace... and feeling easy... WITH A STROLLER. 

Step 3: Walk... but then run again
After I hit the 2mi mark, I decided to walk for a bit, but then couldn't help myself and wanted to run some more. :) I did 0.2 walk/0.2 run, 0.1 walk, 0.1 run, and then 0.05w/0.05r for a bit. 

and we found the neighborhood GIANT reindeer

Thursday
Did: 3mi run @ 9:04/mi avg + bootcamp + 10000 steps
Breakfast: cereal
Awwwww, yeah. B and I had a fabulous 3 miler at 5am (9:38/8:56/8:38), followed by our first true weights class at bootcamp. Bootcamp does pure weight workouts T/Th, and, since we simply cannot miss 10KTuesday, I figured it was worth taking a single Thursday to try it out and see if we wanted to change our speedwork day. 

We had all kettlebell exercises. These are definitely the sort of things I'm looking to get more of-- LOTS of arm work! I had to use a whole range of weights since I needed ~40lb KBs for some of the leg-intensive exercises, but barely kept form with 10lb KBs for more arm-based exercises. Fortunately, our instructor, Matthew, was really vigilant and offered adjustments and modifications for us all class long to ensure we got a good, safe workout. 


Friday
Did: bootcamp + 10000 steps
Breakfast: cereal pre-workout, greek yogurt after
<3 bootcamp. B and I have gotten at least a bit stronger in the past two weeks of attending. We were able to do straight-leg push-ups during all the required circuits today and yesterday. This is a huge accomplishment for me. Usually, I'm able to do 2-3 straight-leg before I have to switch to modified (knees, aka "girl push-ups"). Another victory this morning: I've remembered how to jump rope (past two times we've had this in our circuit have been a miserable failure)! 



Saturday
Did: 7.5mi run on the greenway with baby boy in the stroller @ 9:54/mi avg, 10000 steps
The first few miles of this run were tough, namely since I'm not used to doing much stroller running. I usually lock my front wheel for stability, but, with all the curves of the greenway, opted to free roll today. It was so much easier! Maybe my tires are flat, or baby boy is heavy, or I'm out of shape, but it felt like, when the wheel was locked, there was a brake on it as well. Unlocking it was definitely necessary today. I don't think I would have made it as far as we did if I'd been combating the lock/brake/whatever the whole way.

Things I liked about this run:

• awesome company and conversation
• baby boy loved to point and announce dogs as they approached us
• saw a buck and two does
• amazing weather (plus, since I had the stroller, I was able to shed my top layer after m1 without penalty!)
• greenway was beautifully peaceful and quiet
• B ran a little more at the end, since her watch was at 7.85 when mine was barely closing in on 7.5 (>_<). Baby boy clapped as she finished <3 So sweet

Sunday
Did: rest, but still got 10000 steps with a long walk
This 10000 step streak thing is hard. >_< 

December. Blergh.

No matter what I do, late December seems to always be a sort of "no man's land" when it comes to training plans/running. In 2013, I was in a walking boot after a 10mi run left me stranded 5mi from home with a Grade II calf strain. In 2014, I was fine, but chilling after a solid PR half. In 2015, I had a newborn at home. Now, I'm just "half-injured". 

Goals until the year's end:

• Attend 2 strength workouts each week
• Get 10,000 steps every day
• Spend 5min dedicated to stretching 3x a week minimum
• One Starbucks trip a week max
• Don't eat crap. No more snacking on Jerry's Poptarts or Oreos. Plan shopping trips/meals so that I have healthy things to eat. Note to self: an entire wheel of brie doesn't count as healthy.

...and hope to be healthy enough on Jan 1 to run a time trial mile to see where I'm at. 

Monday

Did: 10000+ steps, 5min stretch before bed

Was traveling for work. Got 5k steps in the airport before my flight, 3k on-site, and another 2k before departing. 

Tuesday

Did: 10KTuesday @ 9:31/mi avg, 16000+ steps
The hashtag does it again. Yet another morning where I did not want to get up and, once I got up, didn't want to run. Once I started running, I didn't want to run a 10K. Thanks to the hashtag, I did.

Hamstring was alright until m5 this week, then started feeling tight. Spent some time stretching it out before my shower (that's new), and it felt fine the rest of the day. 

Wednesday

Did: 0.25mi run @ 10:24/mi, Boot Camp (with three run rounds), 10000 steps, 5min stretch
Man, I love me some boot camp. Today was bodyweight day. We didn't do a single thing I can't do by myself at home, but I need the group motivation, playlist, and Matthew's cheerful timing callouts to keep myself going. 

After Friday's workout, I was sore until Tuesday. Looking forward to another few days of soreness and knowing I'm working towards my goals. :) 

Thursday
Did: 0.75mi WU, 4x600/200, 1.25mi CD- 9:08/mi avg, 10000 steps
I haven't been to the track since the first week of October, and, man, it is GOOD to be back. It was another coooooold morning, and, with my ham, I opted to just meet the girls at the track instead of chancing a climb up the YMCA hill. 

I'd thought about skipping the workout and just running easy around the track, but figured it wouldn't hurt to do part of their workout (6x600/200) and just push a bit on the 600s instead of going for a time/split. 

...and it worked out really well :) 

I wasn't sure how my hamstring felt on the tail end of the third one, so I cut it at four repeats and just ran an easy mile the "wrong" way around the track, cheering on the others. That's something a few of us have done when we've been injured or otherwise not doing the prescribed workout. I remember how much it helped me to hear cheers from a friend, and was glad to be able to do the same for others. :) 

Friday

Did: Boot Camp, 10000 steps, 5min stretch
Another day of bootcamp! Today's workout was: broad jumps, Boso planks, ab wheel roll-outs, hamstring curls and fly sliders, tricep pulls, weighted wall sits, heels-to-heavens, lateral raises, and mat sprints. I was able to kill about half the exercises, modify the other half (tricep pulls and roll-outs), and do 1-2 of them as specified. We were supposed to close out with about a half mile of running, but it was 25 with a "feels like" of 21. Brandi and I made it about 0.05mi out the door and decided we were NOT dressed for that (I was in shorts and a halter workout top). 

Instead, we had our instructor give us yesterday's "finisher" workout and we did 2/3 repeats of that. We got a lot more from that upper arms, glutes, and abs workout than we would have from another ~5min of running.

I'm working from home today, so it's a LOT harder to get steps in. I only got about 2000 from the bootcamp workout, so, every hour, I decided to hop on my treadmill and get a half mile walk in to stay "on track". 

DIY treadmill desk: 2x4 haphazardly laid over the rails

This was the only thing that "saved me". 

Saturday
Did: 10000 steps, 5min stretch, 0.5mi @ 10:00/mi treadmill
What's even harder than getting 10000 steps on a work-from-home day? Getting 10000 steps without boot camp on a day that you're spending time with family doing not-so-active things. 

Jerry had a training run with ATC, so I was solo with the little man. It was nice to hang out inside and play with him, but, I soon realized that chasing a toddler around doesn't really get you many steps (even though it feels like it!). We did a short walk around the neighborhood to make a big dent in the day's step count before spending time with my family picking out a tree. I was able to finish off my steps with 1.5 on the treadmill before bed that night, 0.5mi of which was run to test out my new hamstring brace/wrap.

Sunday
Did: 5.1 @ 9:07/mi
It was 66 degrees this morning. When I opened my garage door, I was hit with a wall of humidity to boot. No matter how long I've lived in the south, this will never feel like Christmas weather to me. :P 

I had minimal expectations for today's run. The original plan was to stroller run with Running Mamas, but 80% chance of rain had us opt to bail on the run + playground and do a mid-morning breakfast playdate instead. So, I joined up with the Sunday Runday crew, hoping that I'd be able to keep pace with them. I figured I'd try for 5-6, and let my hamstring be the guide on pace and distance. 

The run went marvelously. My hamstring did just fine (not sure if it was the weather, the brace, a placebo effect from the brace, actual healing, or something else/a combination thereof). It bugged me a little when we switched pace a bit in-run, so I resumed what I had been running comfortably, but, apart from that, this was exactly the run I've been hoping for since Thanksgiving. :) YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. 

Locomotive Half: Race Week... and injured :(

Monday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: coffee date with B
Stretched hamstring 10x, and commited (w/B) to hit 10000 steps every day until Jan 1.

Tuesday
Scheduled: #10KTuesday
Did: 6.22 @ 10:00/mi
I didn't expect to be able to run the whole thing today, but dressed for it anyways, hoping to at least make it two miles, like I did on the 'mill last Sunday. I felt 100% fine to start off. In fact, I felt pretty awesome (and so relieved/happy that I could have cried) until just before mile 3. Then the wonky feeling in my hamstring came back. 

I told the crew I was turning around early, and tried to focus on shortening my stride and upping my cadence (to keep load off the hamstring). It worked and I was able to make it back to my house without much trouble. The troublespot moved around a lot during the run, and didn't feel like a tight ball so much as a stressed location/knot. I stopped a few times to stretch. Stretching didn't help much, but doing a trigger point exercise my masseuse showed me did... a lot. 

I've got a follow-up with him today, so I'm at least hopeful that I can return to running on a regular while I continue to stretch and strengthen. The important thing is that hills and speedwork are to be avoided as much as possible... which kind of takes some of the run out of running. I'll take what I can get at this point, though. 

I can't believe my hamstring held up for this entire run. :D


Massage update:
Things went really well at my appointment. Tony said he felt noticeable improvement, which was a great corroboration of what I felt on this morning's run. We talked about Loco, and both agreed that it wasn't worthwhile to do the half marathon. I'll get nothing out of just being out on the spectator-devoid course in the cold, in the rain, and worrying the entire time if my ham is going to give out or if I'm doing more damage that will prevent me from being where I want to be in January.



Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: 10,000 steps :)


Thursday
Scheduled: 1WU, 2x1600/400, 1CD
Did: 2mi on treadmill @ 9:51/mi
I'd had tentative plans to meet the girls at the track and just run easy laps while they did a workout. However, I had a few things that kept me home:
1) I'd gotten home late from my site visit to FL, was on baby duty for the night, and a 4:20am alarm didn't sound good
2) I hadn't gotten to see baby boy much and he's going to his grandparents' for the weekend, so I wanted a morning with him
3) I'm still scared to run. Even just easy, flat laps on a squishy track.

I've gained almost five pounds since the marathon, and am feeling blobby. Being injured and unable to log more than 2-3 miles at a time does not help. :(

I decided I could fit in a few miles this morning at home and still get time with baby boy before work. To avoid cold + hills on my ham, I used our treadmill for a morning workout for the first time since maternity leave (hooray, it's still a worthwhile purchase!). My legs felt different from one another again, but I didn't get any sort of ball/knot in my hamstring. I did have something in my left calf early in the run, but it worked itself down and out over the course of the run. 

I kept myself slow (10:00) for the first mile, and then clicked up one notch each lap for the second mile. The less-than-20min run seemed like it took forever. Two miles used to be just a blink of the eye; now it's all I'm comfortable to do. 

It's easy to get sucked into the "woe-is-me-injured-runner-pity-party". I'm trying to remind myself that not running right now will not hurt my 2017. I look at my other runner friends and remind myself of their injuries/breaks, and how strong they came back. This isn't the end of running for me; it's just a (physically) needed break. 

Tomorrow is Brandi's/my first day of strength training classes together. I'm hoping that that and my re-commitment to healthy (and suitable portion sized) eating will be just what I need to get back to feeling like a strong, confident athlete while I wait for this hamstring thing to heal.


Friday
Scheduled: strength training
Did: strength training!!! YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
We did it! After talking about it forever, Brandi and I finally executed a strength workout. I had all the excuses in the world for not doing it (poor sleep, late night at office, baby boy being gone this weekend, early deadline at work, etc), but knew that if I didn't do it now, I'd just keep letting myself make excuses. There's never a good time to start anything new. You just have to jump in and do it.

Plus, having an awesome accountability partner meant that, if I didn't go, I'd be letting someone down. 

exactly two months after our marathon, we made it to the gym
shirts = "Not Running Sucks" and the Chicago Marathon shirt

We found this place by searching Groupon for active deals located between our homes with 5:XXam classes. Pickings were pretty slim, but the place we ended up at seems like it's going to work out well. Workouts vary based on day of the week. Today's was a circuit of 43s active, 12s rest (to change stations). B and I cycled through: sprints, modified pullups, box jumps (I did step-ups due to my hammy), sit-ups, ladder work, step squats, mountain climbers, and plank rollouts. Then, we finished up with 3x (25 squat jumps, 70 bicycle crunches, 15 hand-down push-ups). OOF.

I got a LOT out of the class, and having B there. We motivated each other, and were motivated by the other participants. I think this is just what we need to help us get into the workout groove. 


Saturday
Scheduled: rest
Did: easy 2.48... at 8:49/mi (yeah... that felt easy. WHAT!)
I was soooooo sore when I woke up this morning. Like, more than I ever imagined I would be. I thought I was in decent shape, but, OOF. My abs, back, and arms were awful, while my legs were just a little sore-- a clear indication that my upper body is sorely lacking in strength compared to my legs. Looking forward to more workouts and building up that strength!

We had the #10KTuesday photo shoot this afternoon, which was sooooo much fun. I still can't believe that a casual FB post with that hashtag has turned into such a sensation. :D

Afterwards, Brandi and I did an easy run on the track. I didn't even notice or remember that my hamstring was hurt until she brought it up and asked. :D IMPROVEMENT!!!


Sunday
Scheduled: 13.1 @ 8:50/mi
Did: 3.27 @ 9:25/mi
Had a nice easy run with Jerry this morning. It feels good to be able to just go out for a run and I'm hoping that I'm closer to being back to normal. Lots of friends raced their goal halfs this morning. Here's hoping that this next week brings back more mileage and that I can have the race I want on New Year's Day. 


Total Mileage: 13.97 :P

Locomotive Half Training: Two Weeks Out... and injured

Monday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest
I'm feeling okay about this "taking a break" thing... at least for now... after not even a single undesired day of rest. 


Tuesday
Scheduled: 6ONB
Did: 5K walk + 5K walk = 10KTuesday
When you wake up at 4:30am (after a few baby wake-ups during the night) to pouring rain with a mildly strained hamstring, it's pretty easy to decide to skip your run and stay cozy in bed. However, today is Tuesday, which means it's 10KTuesday.

So, I rocked some galoshes, swishy pants, and a rain jacket and walked a 5K while the rest of the crew 10Ked. At lunch, I did another 5K walk on the treadmill (SOOOOOOO BORING. OMG.). Why? Because #10KTuesday is no longer optional. #itsathing

Wednesday
Scheduled: rest/strength
Did: 1.5mi walk sports massage
I felt fine today, and considered cancelling my massage. I'm glad I didn't, because, on the way over to Tony's, I felt a little tightness return. He was able to locate a tight spot and go at it hard with the little metal "torture device", give me some stretches, and provide a little hope that I'll be able to run again next week. 

Thursday
Scheduled: 1WU, 2x1600/400, 1CD
Did: nothing :'( 

This rest day hurt me. The normal crew went back to the track today, for the first time since our hellhound encounter in October. So bummed to have missed it.... 

Friday
Scheduled: 30XT
Did: rest
I'd tentatively planned on getting up early to workout before a day of sitting, but didn't bother to set my alarm. I figured if I woke up in time, I'd work out, and, if not, I'd let my body sleep. Sleep won.

Saturday
Scheduled: 7 easy
Did: 15min elliptical plus 35min weight lifting
Woke up sans alarm at 5am, so I headed to the hotel gym. I felt a difference between my two hamstrings on the elliptical, but don't know how much of that was "med student syndrome" since I was looking for it... no pain, just a difference. 

I followed up the warm-up with TON of weight lifting. I wish I'd had more of a gameplan when I went down to the fitness center, but, not knowing what equipment they had beforehand made that difficult. I ended up doing whatever exercises I could think of and attempting 3x10-12 of each:

• 15# dumbbells - chest press
• jackknives
• 10# db - bicep curls
• 5# - tricep kickbacks
• 10# - tricep extensions
• 15# for 2 sets, 10# for last- goblet squats
• 30s mountainclimbers
• elbow to full plank progressions with inchworms
• 8#  medicine ball- twists
• 15# - oblique/side raise
• 5#- arm extensions
• 5# db- single leg reverse fly
• and probably a few more that I can't remember 

Hoping to be a little sore tomorrow, and a little less antsy having to sit all day for work/driving home. 

Sunday
Scheduled: 3 easy
Did: 2 easy on treadmill at 9:16/mi
I'd hoped that a week off would set me up for a normal, healthy run and bring back my confidence for a good performance at Loco this next weekend.

Nope. For the first mile, I felt the same as yesterday-- fine, but like there was something a bit different in my left leg. By 1.5mi, I felt some of the same tightness coming back. Finished out my 2, painfree (so that's a plus, at least), but I am not optimistic about Loco next weekend. At this point, I don't even know if I'll be up for the distance. The last thing I want is to get on that course and have to walk it out, or, worse, DNF. 

I've resolved to stretch 10x a day (sounds like a lot, but when you remember it's only a minute or two, it's manageable), do self-massage once a day, and we'll see how I'm feeling on Tuesday. I'll go out again with the 10K crew with the intention of running. If it creeps back, I'll stop and walk home. Loco will be a gametime decision. :/ 



Reflections
In the past two years, my body grew and birthed a tiny, healthy human (and allowed me to run over 1000 miles while doing it), PRed at every single distance I've raced, and got me through a near 1-hr-PR marathon... with only one injury scare (which, itself, only required 2 days off). 

That's pretty awesome. 

Distance running is like any sport. Chances are good that, sooner or later, you're going to have an injury. If now's my "turn" to need to take awhile off, I'm okay with that. I achieved my goals for the year, and have a little break before YOT5K. 

The thing that does bother me is that being injured keeps me from my friends. If I can't run, I don't get to see my training crew during the week. I hate knowing everyone's running and training and I'm not. It's this weird FOMO and worry that I'll be forgotten or replaced. I'm sure that's not the case. After all, no one has forgotten about other members of our group when they've had to take some time off (including me, when I had baby boy last year). :)

Locomotive Half Training: 3 Weeks Out... and injured :P

Monday
Scheduled: 3-5 easy
Did: 3 easy @ 10:06/mi
Was planning on a rest day after yesterday's PR, but opted into a recovery run with B. With a forecast of 35 degrees (feels like 26), I opted to sleep in my running clothes to make it a little easier to get out of bed in the morning. Excellent call.

Tuesday
Scheduled: 8ONB
Did: 6.25 @ 9:52/mi
My legs are still feeling Sunday's PR, so I scrapped my 8ONB for the day and ventured to a new part of the city to join a different ATC crew on their "Turkey Tune-Up" run, in preparation for the Thanksgiving Half. Most of the group was only doing ~3mi, so I was grateful for my friend Ino who volunteered to come early and get a second loop of the course done with me at 5:30am (I would not have run solo in that area otherwise). 

It was great to run with a friend I don't see much anymore, especially since he knew the area. We ended up all over the place pace-wise: 10:21 warm-up mile (mostly due to treacherous hex tile sidewalk), 9:14 second mile, and then 9:46 third mile (return of the hex tiles and street crossings). On the second loop, we were joined by another friend (from W5K), who made the next 5K go by sooooo quickly. 

The morning finished off with coffee and blueberry muffins, and, while I missed my normal crew and route, it was nice to change things up... and get a new pin on the #10KTuesday map.

not pictured, but still pinned: Dubai and Börtlingen

Wednesday
Scheduled: rest
Did: rest

Thursday
Scheduled: 1000m repeats of some variety during the Thanksgiving Half
Did: 13.1 @ 9:04/mi... a new PR
I arrived at Turner Field intending on fun running the half. I planned to start with the "sub-2 crew" (a group of ATC-ers who were hoping to pace one of our own to a sub-2/PR) for company, but expected them to leave me to my own devices within a mile, and for me to run the bulk of the race alone. 

Instead, I had one of them walk up to me and say, "So, you're going to PR today, eh?"

"Um, no."

"Yeah, you are! I'm going to pace you to a PR!"

"Um... ok? I was kind of feeling a fun run. I did just PR at a 5K on Sunday.... I don't think trying to PR every race like Judy does is for me."

"You're totally gonna do it!"

"..."

ATC Fall Distance Crew

Within a mile, the main trio of our "sub-2 crew" had gone ahead, and I had zero inclination to keep up with them. This was NOT my goal race. I stuck in with Courtney, a bit behind the main group, and Brad, the PR-instigator, running what felt comfortable- a little less than a 9:00 (!!!). Confident, I suppose, that Court and I would continue on, Brad dropped back to help some of our other friends who had slowed even more than us. 

When we hit the first bit of hills leading into mile 4, the sub-2 crew got well ahead of me. I didn't care. I didn't want to run up those hills any faster than I wanted to run up those hills. ;) It was really nice to just run for me. While Courtney and I stayed "together", it was more like playing leapfrog. She'd get ahead on the uphills, and I'd catch her on the downs. We both knew this wasn't a goal for the other, and had no need to stick with each other. 

Going into the park (about miles 6-7), I saw the sub-2 crew ahead of me. I didn't know it at the time, but I ended up passing them somewhere in the park. As we hit the worst part of the course (m8-11, 10th-->Juniper/Courtland-->Irwin), I found myself constantly hating running. 

This sucks. Why am I doing this again? I thought this was supposed to be a fun run... It's not easy to run for fun when you know that everyone's going to ask about your time... and be able to look it up on the internet FOREVER. You're on target for a PR if you keep going. You're supposed to be a sub-2 runner. If you keep running, you should hit sub-2. Ugh. I don't want to keep running. I want to walk. Is it YOT5K yet? I can't wait until I only have to push for 25min...

I kept going, really only out of peer pressure/stubbornness, though. I really, really wanted to walk up the beast of a hill before m11, but I made myself keep going. What if you miss 2:00 by 10s? Won't you be sad? Yeah... yeah, I would.

I started counting down the miles at 8, and was beyond grateful when I hit the "less than a 5K" mark. I heard our Head Coach cheering for everyone as she rode the ATC ElliptiGo along the sidewalk, and that gave me a little boost as I rounded the corner of m11. 

... and then I walked.

...and it felt so good. I've had so much pressure this season (all self-inflicted) to hit paces, to perform, to nail splits, to not walk, and it was a huge weight off my shoulders to let myself take a break on Oakland. It wasn't long, just a hundred paces, but it was enough to regroup and then continue on, knowing that, if I kept a 10:00, I would break 2:00.

It got really hot at mile 12. Really, the whole race was hot. The past few times I've run this one, it's been 18 and 26 degrees, respectively; this year was 56... at the start. Knowing I was probably going to hit a PR, I let myself take my tank top off for the last mile (I think I may have gone against my own creation of the "Aggregate Hotness Scale"; finish line pics will tell... >_<), and channeled my focus into my arms. 

Arms are something I never engage for distance, even though I know I should. One of our fellow Run Leads always reminds me of this when I run near him, and, man, it makes a huge difference. I clocked sub-8/mi for the last 0.1 going into the finish. 

m11 had the walking in it
strong finish, thanks to my arms

Chip time: 1:58:41... a 19s PR. :)

post-race celebrating with the #10KTuesday MarathonMusings crew
<3 my training team

Friday
Scheduled: strength
Did: 1.5mi walk with family

Saturday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 4 easy @ 9:17/mi
First run with Jerry in FOREVER! :) I felt really good clocking along at whatever my body would do (which was a sub-9 pace, btw), until about m2, when I had a little bit of tightness/soreness creeping up in the bottom of my left hamstring. It felt eerily similar to my calf strain from a few years ago (just in a different part of my body), so I iced the heck out of it when we got home... and didn't notice it the rest of the day.


Sunday
Scheduled: 4 easy
Did: 3.71 @ 10:12/mi
Yep. I'm definitely injured. I felt okay enough this morning to go for a run, but, about a mile and a half into my run with Jody, the hamstring tightness/ball/soreness came back, and we turned around early. I iced and wrapped it for the rest of the day. I can walk without noticing it, but am pretty certain I've got a grade 1 strain and plan on taking about a week off from running to let it heal up. So much for starting strength training workouts next week...