Running slow, but finally consistent! (23.8M)

Monday, December 29th
AM: 50' bike (avg HR 156 bpm)
PM: 50' bike (avg HR 155 bpm)

Tuesday, December 30th
40' run w/ 20" surges
Getting sick - sore throat, headache, and slight fever. Also, really bad shin pain in the morning. Moving the run to later in the week and taking a complete rest day.

Wednesday, December 31st
6M run + 7x20" strides (avg HR 160, avg cadence 174, avg pace 8:25 - GREAT run)

Thursday, January 1st
Rest day
40' run with 20' at 75% effort, then 20' of uphill running at 80%, recovery to 70% (Made up the 40' run from Tuesday. First 20' at 8:10 pace!!!, avg HR 156, 2.45M; second 20' at 8:28 pace, uphill running at 3% incline, avg HR 162, 2.36M - GREAT day)

Friday, January 2nd
3M run + 8x15-20" strides. (25:40, avg pace 8:33, avg HR 160, avg cadence 175 - Another good run. I keep feeling like I'm crawling, but I finish the mile and my split pops up on the screen and I am moving at a solid pace! 8:30, 8:35, 8:32 today.)

Saturday, January 3rd
6M run w/ steady segment (2M easy 8:55 going out, 9:34 coming back up on Katy Trail, avg HR 160, avg cadence 172; 4M steady in 8:27 (downhill), 8:43 (half down half up), 9:12 (uphill), 9:03 (half up half down), avg HR 168, avg cadence 172 - About time for a bad run. Katy Trail in general makes it really hard for me to do these HR runs. I really hope I start to manage the inclines better so I can actually have decent runs out there!)

Sunday, January 4th
4M run + 4 strides (Avg pace 8:41, avg HR 160, avg cadence 173. Left shin pain.)

Finishing up our two weeks of travel (29.5M)

Monday, December 22nd
30' easy + strides (3.27M, 9:10 avg pace, avg HR 160, cadence 170 - Felt like total trash; no pains, just thought I was moving good and instead I was crawling; May have been humidity as it was early morning in Hull)

Tuesday, December 23rd
60' aquajog
50' with 20" fartlek (20' easy at 8:35 pace for 2.33M, 152bpm; 30' of ~20" surge, recovering to 155bpm, 3.4M averaging 8:49 pace, 162bpm)

Wednesday, December 24th
60' aquajog

Thursday, December 25th
50' with hilly fartlek + drills (5.46M, avg pace 9:09, avg HR 157, 20' easy, then surged uphill to reach 168bpm, recovered downhill ensuring HR dropped to 155 or less)

Friday, December 26th
30' easy (3.41M, avg pace 8:48, avg HR 157, cadence 172; ran on the Town Lake trail in Austin on our way home... I love it there. Nothing hurt the whole run until the end when my ankle started bothering me; felt almost as if I'd sprained it but I don't remember doing anything to it)

Saturday, December 27th
32' with steady portion after 15' (15' easy at 75% - 1.72M, avg pace 8:43, avg HR 159, cadence 172; 17' steady at 80% - 1.89M, avg pace 9:00, 82' elevation gain, avg HR 168, cadence 171)

Sunday, December 28th
8M easy at 75% (avg pace 8:57, avg HR 162, avg cadence 171)

A week in Phoenix (22.3M)

Monday, December 15th
Rest day

Tuesday, December 16th
40' elliptical (avg HR 147)
40' run with 20" fartleks at 80%, recovering to 70% (4.57M, avg pace 8:45, avg HR 157, cadence 173, got in 12 total surges)

Wednesday, December 17th
25' easy + strides (2.8M, avg pace 8:56, avg HR 157, cadence 175, 6 x 10-15" strides averaging 5:30 pace)

Thursday, December 18th
40' run with hilly fartlek up to 80%, recovering to 70% (4.4M, avg pace 9:05, avg HR 156, got in 8 hilly segments each about 45"; set the incline to 3% and climbed until HR hit 168, then leveled it off to flat until HR dropped to 155)

Friday, December 19th
1M run easy (8:21 pace, avg HR 141 - Shins were a bit achy and it was going to be an "extra" run, so I just dropped it)

Saturday, December 20th
25' easy(2.85M, avg pace 8:46, avg HR 160, cadence 172 - Was supposed to be a steady run but I was feeling sick and my stomach was super unsettled)

Sunday, December 21st
60' easy + strides (7.08M, avg pace 8:28, avg HR 160, cadence 172 - Ran at Seabrook trails; super pretty and felt great for the first half, then had to slow down to keep HR in range. First three miles were 8:25, 8:13, 8:14)

Training by HR again! (16.7M)

Monday, December 8th
35' run @ 60-75%(3.83 miles; 9:08 avg pace; avg HR 156; avg cadence 176... Nothing hurt too badly during the run; shins were sore and right hip/ glute is still bugging me)
50' bike @ 70-80% (avg HR 156)

Tuesday, December 9th
60' bike @ 60-75% (avg HR 156)
30' elliptical @ 60-80% (avg HR 139)
Weights
*Left shin is KILLING me today. Could be the weather though?*

Wednesday, December 10th
90' bike @ 70-80% (avg HR 155, which includes 5' w/u and 5' c/d. HR was above 160 most of the ride)

Thursday, December 11th
20' run @ 60-75% (2.66 miles; 9:24 avg pace; avg HR 154; avg cadence 173... left shin is better today than yesterday, but still sore, as is the outside of my right hip)
40' bike @ 70-80%
40' elliptical @ 70-80%
Weights
CES appointment
***I learned today that I have been doing a few things wrong with this HR training. 1) My max HR is higher than what I predicted, so my runs should range between 141 and 162, whereas I've been trying slowing down every time it got up to 157. Going forward, I'll wait to slow down until it gets up to 162. 2) Since my runs are going to be so easy, I should be doing 6 to 8 x 10-15 second fast but easy strides after all easy runs to balance out the effect it has on my biomechanics. 3) I should be letting my effort go up to 80% twice a week by doing 50-100m surges. This means my HR can go up to 168 on those days. I should also be doing 2 sets of 20m drills on these days.There's a lot more, but those are the most important things for now! :) Taking notes from Roy T. Benson's book "Coach Benson's Secret Workouts: Coachly wisdom for runners about effort-based training".

Friday, December 12th
Rest day

Saturday, December 13th
20' run @ 70-80% effort (1M warm up with avg HR 156, pace 9:25; 1.8M steady with avg HR 166, cadence 173, avg pace 8:42)
25' shakeout run @ 60-75% effort (3M, avg pace 8:25, avg HR 161, cadence 175)

Sunday, December 14th
40' run @ 70-80% effort (4.4M, 9:05 pace, avg HR 160, cadence 175)
60' elliptical @ 70% HR (avg HR 154)

Down week (16M)

Monday, December 1st
60' elliptical before work (avg HR 155) 
60' easy bike after work (avg HR 125)
Felt beyond exhausted all day... took multiple horizontal breaks!

Tuesday, December 2nd
4M run before work (last 2 miles in 15:17, didn't get a time for the first 2 miles... pressed the wrong button on my watch; shins hurt to start but got better during the run)
60' elliptical during lunch (avg HR 162)

Wednesday, December 3rd
60' bike during lunch (avg HR 140. shins hurt too bad to run this morning)

Thursday, December 4th
4M run before work (I think we averaged about 7:15 pace on the first 3M of the run... It was more like tempo effort for me, so I backed off the pace after Jake's girls stopped. Shins hurt, but not nearly as bad as yesterday)
40' elliptical during lunch (avg HR 149) + 20' strength work

Friday, December 5th
Rest day

Saturday, December 6th
4M run in the morning (DBU trail; right hip and right ankle hurt really bad?!?!; avg HR 159, cadence 173. Trying to keep my HR under 160 for most runs for the next month or two.)
60' bike in the evening

Sunday, December 7th
4M run in the morning
30' bike in the morning
60' elliptical at noon

Happy Thanksgiving!! (23M)

Monday, November 24th
60' bike at lunch
60' bike in the evening
(right ankle/ achilles hurts really bad)

Tuesday, November 25th
90' bike at lunch (still too much achilles/ ankle pain to run)

Wednesday, November 26th
60' bike before work
5.5M run during lunch (7:54, 7:33, 7:27, 7:30, 7:10 for middle 5 miles; still have the achilles pain)

Thursday, November 27th
5M run while Jake races + 4 sets of bodyweight strength circuit

Friday, November 28th
Rest day - SORE!!

Saturday, November 29th
6.5M run at Katy Trail (first 3 miles averaged 8:45 pace, then 7:50, 7:20, 6:54 for the last 3 miles)

Sunday, November 30th
5M run on the grass track (fatigued and had mild to moderate shin pain)

Happy and I know it! (21M)

Monday, November 17th

60' cross training before work (elliptical/rowing/stairs) + 60' bike after work

Tuesday, November 18th

5M run and 20' elliptical before work + 60' bike during lunch

Wednesday, November 19th

4M run and 30' elliptical before work + 60' rowing after work (upper hamstring tendon pain on left leg)

*CES appointment with shin work... may be compartment syndrome

Thursday, November 20th

4M run and 30' elliptical before work + 60' bike during lunch

Friday, November 21st

30' elliptical and 20' core before work + 30' elliptical after work

Saturday, November 22nd

6M run

Sunday, November 23rd

3M run in the morning + 70' bike in the evening (really bad pain on the inside of my right ankle)

My husband is a rockstar (19M)

This weekend my husband's women's team won their 8th consecutive conference championship! They now have the 2nd longest conference winning streak in all of D2; the only team with a longer streak is the number one team in the nation, Grand Valley State! He works so hard and I couldn't be more proud of him!

The plan this week is to add another 2 miles to last week's total. I'm really excited to be running 5 days per week again and I believe it's only a matter of time before consistent runs will start to improve my fitness.

Monday, November 9th
4M run + 2 hill sprints. Ran on the gravel trail for 20 minutes and the grass track for the last portion. Shins were hurting again, but I imagine that's from pavement on Saturday and Sunday. Going to take extra good care of them all day! Strength-wise, it wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday's run. I didn't feel fast or light by any means, but my legs didn't feel like concrete. :)

Tuesday, November 10th
60' cross training before work + 30' cross training during lunch. In the morning I did 30' elliptical, 15' rowing, 15' stair climber. My heart rate was around 155 on the elliptical and stair climber, and around 135 on the rower. Got in a 30 minute bike during lunch. Left shin is still sore today, but I'm taking care of it.

Wednesday, November 11th
5M run. Ran on the Katy Trail by myself. Only got one mile split (used the quarter mile markers on the trail towards the middle of my run) and that mile was 7:30. Total run was probably about a quarter mile short of 5 miles though because I started very easy. Shins hurt but other than that I felt good.

Thursday, November 12th
Rest day.

Friday, November 13th
50 minutes in the pool. I did pool running for the first 30 minutes, then switched to form drills and such in the shallower end because my flotation belt was bothering me. The high knees and butt kicks, etc were still a good workout.
4M run. Ran on the track in Columbus... Today is my dad's birthday so some of my extended family and myself are here to celebrate. First two miles were really relaxed... It's been in the 30's all day so my shins especially were stiff. When I turned around halfway it was 17:50; finished the run in 33:25 with an 8:15 mile then a 7:20 mile. The whole run felt very nice effort wise... Just need to knock out this shin pain.

Saturday, November 14th
50 minutes in the pool. 45 minute aqua jog followed by 5 minutes of deep stretching.
5M run. I ran through some neighborhoods by the track in Columbus. Shins hurt really bad the whole time, also my left groin/ quad, and the outside of my right knee were hurting. I'm hoping things were just flared up from the cooler weather. I didn't necessarily feel bad on the run, I just had so many pains that I didn't run as smoothly or with as much pop as I would have liked.

Sunday, November 15th
1M run. Made it through a mile and decided I was being dumb and immature by still running. My shins are really bad, and now is not the time to be pushing through pains. The whole point of the remainder of this year is to knock out all of my aches and pains. Hoping for better luck Tuesday!

Still holding on! (18M)

Last week was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of running, but I have really positive feelings about it! I had several aches and pains pop up or get worse, which is the negative aspect; but at the same time, all of them got better as I worked into my runs, so I was able to get everything in! Part of me thinks I'm going to have to run through some of these aches for a little while in order for them to go away, so if I can keep the effort easy and mileage progression slow, I should be able to clear everything up before I am ready to train in January. I want to add a 5th run to my week and don't want to add more than 2 miles a week, so this week will be a repeat of last week's breakdown, just with an extra 2 mile run.

Monday, November 3rd
3M easy run. I ran with Jake's girls on the grass track. We started fairly easy (probably around 8:20 pace) but it felt like Sarah and I were moving pretty good for the second half. It was an unmeasured run so I just ran for time. The only thing that hurt today was my shins. This time the right one was worse than the left one, but my IT band didn't bother me on the left side either. Weird, but I'll take it!
20' in the pool. Spent about 15 of those minutes aquajogging, the rest of the time was kicking or stretching. Stomach was really bothering me and with my flotation belt around my stomach it made it feel really hard to breathe. Super weird!

Tuesday, November 4th
3M easy run. Ran with Jake's girls on the grass track again! Shins are still killing me and the side of my left knee is super sore to touch. Doesn't hurt too bad on the run, just very tender. Working on knocking out both of those spots! Runs have felt good though... Feel like I am running, not clumsily and uncoordinated-ly jogging. :)
15' HARD bike + 3 sets of push-ups and calf raises. I know this sounds like a wasted workout; but, it got my heart rate way up, muscles shaking, and whole body sweating, so I give it a thumbs up!

Wednesday, November 5th
45' AM cross training. This morning I did 25 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the rower, and 10 minutes on the stair climber. I worked at a very high intensity at each machine. Hoping to get in some time at the pool or our bike at home later today if my stomach and IT band will take it!
*follow up note: no cross training later in the day due to stomach issues. not sure why, but it gets messed up every single day now.

Thursday, November 6th
4M easy run. Ran with Jake's girls again! It rained a ton on Tuesday and Wednesday so we weren't able to use the grass track, but I did spend half of the time on our gravel trail, which was super soft from all the rain. Shins didn't bother me until about 10 minutes in, so I think the oils I was using made a big difference! I will try to be more consistent with using them. Really good run though and I followed it up with a few drills which was nice. 

Friday, November 7th
Rest day... Neck hurt too bad to run.

Saturday, November 8th
5M run. Ran with Sarah, Jake's assistant coach. There was a nice bike path right outside their hotel that we used. It was pavement, but my shins didn't bother me the entire run. The first time I felt them was later in the morning when I was running at the cross country meet. The run itself was just right going out, but on the way back it completely drained me. Not sure if that was from pace and lack of fitness or the wind that was against us; but I was beyond glad when it was over!

Sunday, November 9th
2M easy run. Quick little shakeout on our neighborhood loop. Aerobically I felt great, but man, every.thing.else. felt like poop. My arms and my legs felt like concrete blocks. Extremely sluggish today. Shins were sore, but nothing too bad at all. 

Keeping the focus on January (16M)

I'm trying not to let myself panic or feel rushed right now. Last week is the slowest 5k I've run since high school and it felt absolutely terrible. I am extremely out of shape right now, that's for sure.

BUT. We decided a while back that I would take everything day by day and very slow until January, even if that meant not running. I AM running, so I need to take that as a positive and keep my focus on January. No sense in panicking over a slow 5k when I have done nothing to merit a decent 5k. You can't run 2.5 to 4 miles nice and relaxed every other day and still expect to run a respectable race. That's the whole point of doing workouts and building up mileage!! Keeping things laid back and under control this week - Just like we planned!

Monday, October 27th
4M easy. I ran the first three super slow like I did on Saturday, but since I was on the track and could manage my pace, I decided to run the last mile at tempo pace (~30" slower than 5k pace). First three miles were just under 9:00 pace (~2:00 slower than 5k pace, but that was not intentional), and last mile was 7:30 on the nose. I was extremely surprised by how nice and easy it felt to drop from 9:00 pace to 7:30 pace and I think I will make this a more regular habit. Shins were still a big pain but feet are feeling better.
60' aquajog.

Tuesday, October 28th
Rest day.

Wednesday, October 29th
4M easy. I ran in the neighborhood and didn't wear a garmin, so mile times were based on where I recall the 2M marker to be (I ran to the 2M area, then turned around and ran it backwards). 18:40 thru two miles...Shins were KILLING me on the first mile, then felt better after that. Next mile was around 8:50 and last mile was 7:15... Felt just as nice as Monday's last mile. I have travel legs and travel fatigue from waking up at 4:30 this morning and driving 4 hours back to Dallas!

Thursday, October 30th
3M easy. I ran 25 minutes on the grass track this morning. Jake's girls were with me for the first mile which was about 8:00 pace. After that, I had like 6 minutes solo and then I finished it out with one of his juniors. Was never a "relaxed" run in the sense that I was having trouble holding conversation, but was also not so hard that I needed to stop when we finished. I think I have a hard time getting my legs and breath back under control when I start runs at a higher effort than I should. Shins are still sore (they get better as I run) and I also have a strong, pinpoint pain just below my left knee.
40' aquajog. Stopped 20' earlier than I planned because of my left hip flexor and the spot below my knee.

Friday, October 31st
Rest day.

Saturday, November 1st
Rest day on accident. Started feeling nauseous on Friday afternoon and went to bed feeling that way. Barely slept because I started actually having pains in my stomach, not just feeling queasy. Didn't get better all day - the pain spots just jumped around. At one point I thought I had appendicitis! Definitely couldn't run! It's a good thing my weeks run Monday to Sunday now!

Sunday, November 2nd
5M easy. Ran 45 minutes at WRL which was well over 5 miles, but I wanted to be extra sure I got the full distance in. I had a lot of aches and pains on this run, but I think it was because of the weather (the feels like temp was below 40). Most of the stronger pains were on my left side, and I think 3 of them were all tied to my IT band, so if I can clear that up, it will knock out of lot of the aches. Both shins are still bad, but I see my CES on Tuesday so I am feeling confident it will pass shortly. :) Super excited to have gotten in all my runs this week, including this 5 miler! 

New shoes and a flotation belt! (14M)

Last Saturday is probably the first run I remember in a while where I had NO pain!!! Seriously one of the most joy-filled runs I can remember! I'm definitely looking forward to this week! I was tempted to pick up my low mileage plan from senior year in college this week, but I think that's unnecessary at this point. The goal is to be ready to train in January, not tomorrow. Sticking to my plan for now!!

Monday, October 20th

50' aqua jog with 9 sets of 10", 20", 30", 40", 50" fartlek on a 1' cycle during lunch. Finally got my flotation belt and this workout went great! Felt the old familiar pins and needles in my legs on the drive home!
25' run on the Katy Trail after work. New shoes = Nike Lunar Glide! Jake ran this one with me, which was nice, but other than that it was an all around miserable run, haha! Stomach issues, fatigued from the pool workout, started too fast, uphill on the second half, etc, etc, etc. We didn't have a garmin, but once we made it to the trail we had quarter mile splits. Jake clocked us at 7:38 thru the first mile (too fast for me) and 7:32 for the last mile... Not sure about the in between part. No major pains, just the usual ankle and shin slight aches!

Tuesday, October 21st

Rest day... upset stomach

Wednesday, October 22nd

25' run + 4 strides. No major pains still!! Ran with Jake's girls on the Trinity Corridor in Dallas. 

Thursday, October 23rd

2M warm up + 5k race. Went out way too hard (can't judge pace yet) and shut down after the first mile. 6:24, 7:02, 7:26, kick = 6:56 average pace. Feet hurt like crazy after the race but that's my fault for wearing new shoes. My whole body knotted up during the last mile to the point where I don't think I could physically have gone faster if I had to. Just completely empty. I know I'm anemic because I was on my labs in June and August and I have not taken any supplements, but I never would have expected to feel like that on a 7:26 mile.

Friday, October 24th

Rest day.

Saturday, October 25th

3M easy run. Ran on the track in Columbus. My calves and hamstrings are so tight... not muscle soreness, but like a dehydrated feeling. Kept the entire run creepy crawly slow. 26:40 for 3 miles. Shins are really sore too.

60' aquajog.

Sunday, October 26th

40' aqua jog.

Adding some quality (13M)

Last week went really well despite being out of town! I am only adding 5 minutes this week, but I am trying to make my runs more quality so I think it will be plenty for now!

Monday, October 13th
25 minutes progressive. Ran in our neighborhood on my usual loop. Each mile I cut down and then after I finished the third mile I just jogged it out to finish up the 25 minutes. 8:44, 7:28, 6:46 for the three mile splits. The inside of my right foot hurt really bad again, but only for the first mile or so. After that, the pain fizzled out and I didn't notice it anymore. My ankle and lower shin are a bit stiff and sore now though, so I will be applying oils every 2-3 hours today. Same ol' same ol' with the left hip flexor.
45 minute aqua jog.

Tuesday, October 14th

Super intense CES session working on rectus femoris and TFL. Both have a lot of strong scar tissue.

Wednesday, October 15th
20 minutes progressive. 8:51, 7:45, 6:36 pace for the last 3:23. I worked hard on the last portion, but it really only added up to half a mile so the run as a whole ends up being a normal pace, averaging 7:58. Lots of tenderness in my left rectus femoris insertion at the hip, and some weakness on the outside bottom portion of my left knee. 

30 minute aqua jog. Planned on 45 minutes but that hip flexor/ rectus femoris pain is pretty intense after yesterday's work.

Thursday, October 16th
25 minutes easy + 4 strides. Hip flexor/ rectus femoris insertion was little better today. Energy wise I felt fantastic, but I kept it nice and easy. Ran in lane 8 on the track to avoid temptations to time myself! One thing I want to focus on while my mileage is so low is cadence. I know mine is too slow, and I also know that can contribute to an increase in injury risk.

Friday, October 17th

8M bike ride in the morning + 5M bike ride in the evening.

Saturday, October 18th
30 minute progressive run at the lake. 8:17, 7:31, 7:07, 6:54. I was definitely working myself on that last mile, but my goal was to get in 4 miles so I knew it had to be around 7:00 for that last mile. Snuck in the full 4 and had a few seconds to spare! Nothing hurt on this run. :)

Sunday, October 19th
Rest day.

Balancing structure with patience (90 minutes)

I have returned from injury the wrong way time after time over the past 4 years. I don't think I have trained consistently for more than 6 months before having to rest for injuries again.

In saying that, I realize that 1. I am still young for a female distance runner and 2. I am not going to get any younger. If I do want to work my way back to a competitive level, I can't afford to keep stopping and starting for new injuries... I need to be able to train consistently for multiple years in order to really get where I want to be. In order to do that, I have to do my build-up right; I can't rush my body into training that it's not prepared to handle.

Luckily, like I said, I'm still young for a female distance runner. I have time to go slowly and really listen to my body. The former competitive athlete in me wants to be on a schedule and have a plan. I thrive on structure and would be thrilled if I knew today exactly what I would be running three months from now. At the same time, it's schedules and plans that tempt me to cross lines my body isn't ready to cross.

So... Here is my plan. Set a conservative "schedule" outlining when and what to run during the week, but being flexible enough to swap days and trim runs when I feel I need to. I am going to be honest with myself for the sake of having a good, long training season when I get back into things!

Monday, October 6th
40 minute bike with Jake followed by 20 minutes running. Shin hurt (right was worst) and left groin is still bothering me, but ankle was completely normal so no issues there! My "groin" hurts without weight bearing. If I am sitting on a chair and lift my knee toward my chest I have strong pain in the spot that hurts.

Tuesday, October 7th
Rest day. Bad rib cage pain on the right side - maybe gallbladder?

Wednesday, October 8th
25 minute run + 30 minute aqua jog. Ran on the track in yucky weather for 7 am in October! 75 degrees and 99% humidity! Broke the run into thirds - easy, moderate, hard - and ran 9:20, 7:40, 6:55 then jogged it out to finish the 25 minutes.

Thursday, October 9th
Rest day. Fasting for abdominal ultrasound.

Friday, October 10th
20 minute run + 3 strides + 25 minute aqua jog. Ran in downtown Columbus so no measurements. I felt like I was moving pretty good, but my legs were super heavy and tight so I may have been going slower than it felt. Inside of right foot hurt pretty bad in the middle, but it gradually eased up. Left groin is still hurting; not just when running. Any time I bring my knee up towards my chest I have the same pain.

Saturday, October 11th
25 minute run + 35 minute aqua jog. Ran on the track in Columbus again. Broke up the run into 5' easy, 10' of 1' hard/ 1' easy, 8' steady, 2' easy. Mile splits were 8:20, 7:20, 6:55, then I just jogged around the parking lot to finish out my time. No new aches at. Same pain in left hip flexor.

Sunday, October 12th
50' aqua jog.

Ready for another week! (45 minutes)

Last week I was able to get in two measured runs, both of which were sub 8:00 pace! I'm happy to know I'm not crawling out there! I still have 3 months left to build up the durability of my body and get ready to tackle a normal training season, so I'm only adding 5 minutes and some strides this week. Slow and steady progress! :)

Monday, September 29th
60' bodypump class.
20' run. Nothing crazy here. No major pains, just the same sore arches and achy left groin. Definitely nothing to be concerned about!

Tuesday, September 30th
90' at home workout from Fitness Blender.
*Chiropractor appointment. Lots of deep, deep, deep massage on my butt and hip flexor - My glutes are not activating right now due to tension in places it shouldn't be, so I have some homework to do!

Wednesday, October 1st
45' spin class.
25' run + 2 strides. Same as Monday in terms of aches, but this run was definitely faster. I ran on my 0.27M loop for six laps and then made a bigger loop; but I hit that sixth lap at 11:59, which means I was plenty under 8:00 pace for the first half of the run. Followed it with some drills and two quick strides, which I felt nice and strong on.

Thursday, October 2nd
30' spin class + 30' core class.
*Corrective Exercise appointment.

Friday, October 3rd
Rest day.

Saturday, October 4th
Unplanned rest day. Tried running but had bad ankle pains and had to walk home after about half a mile.

Feeling great!! (85 minutes)

My feet, ankles, shins, knees, etc feel the BEST they have felt in ages! I feel like a kid when I run because it is totally pain free! I love it! Since I have so much time until we plan to start training again, I am going to INCH my way forward! I got in 75 minutes of running last week - This week I'm planning on 85! :)

Monday, September 22nd
20' run + strength circuit. Nice comfortable run on the grass track, followed 2 sets by a new strength circuit. Entire workout was at noon so I felt a bit sluggish and my stomach was uncomfortable. Other than that it was a good workout.

Tuesday, September 23rd
60' cycle class. This is my favorite cycle class every week. Definitely the most challenging cycle instructor I go to.

Wednesday, September 24th
45' cycle class + 20' run + strength circuit. Running after cycle class has actually been great for me. By the time I start my run, my HR is already elevated and I'm plenty loose. I knocked this run out on a loop in the 24 hour fitness parking lot and I timed each loop. I started out running around 2:10 for the loops and the last 4 were closer to 1:50, so I assumed it was pretty close to a quarter mile. Checked MapMyRun and it showed 0.27M! Obviously that's not 100% accurate, but that means I ran somewhere between 7:40 and 8:00 pace. For me, the longer the run is, the easier it is to average a solid pace; so to average sub 8 for such a short run was very exciting! Still not in any pain, though I did feel a little uneven today. Felt like my left leg was moving differently than my right leg.

Thursday, September 25th
30' cycle class + 30' core class + 20' run. No issues with my workout this morning. My throat is hurting pretty bad right now though, so hopefully that passes today!

Friday, September 26th
Rest day. Was in Columbus with my parents, so I went to the pool with my mom and got in some light aqua jogging and pool strength!

Saturday, September 26th
25' run. This ended up being a great run! I can only run on the track when I'm by myself in Columbus (I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to dogs in the country!), so I decided to do 3 miles on the track, assuming that would be about 25 minutes. I ended up coming through 3 miles in 23:38, so I just ran easy to finish out the last minute or so. Super happy with this week of running! 20 to 25 minutes is not much, but if I gradually inch up my minutes and I continue running 8:00 pace or less, I will eventually work my way back to decent mileage at a decent pace!

Sunday, September 27th
Rest day. Travel back to Dallas from spending the weekend in Columbus!

Building fitness (75 minutes)

I am hardly running anything at all (just over 12 miles last week), but I honestly feel so much more fluid than I've felt in a long time. My stride feels clean and natural, and for the past several months it felt choppy and uncoordinated. I think 90% of the changes in my stride are from Dr. Rhonda Grubb's corrective exercise work. I'm really encouraged by the pain-free starts to my runs and hope to keep making very very small progress each week.

Again, I don't plan on running any further once I start to feel aches or pains. It's taking a lot of self-control, but I don't want to cheat myself and not be ready to train with a fresh body in January.

Monday, September 15th
60' bodypump class + 30' elliptical + injury prevention

Tuesday, September 16th
60' cycle class + 25' run

Wednesday, September 17th
40' cycle class + core + 40' brisk walk

Thursday, September 18th
30' cycle + 30' strength + 25' run

Friday, September 19th
rest day

Saturday, September 20th
25' run + core

Sunday, September 21st
Quick round of core work - fighting a sinus infection

Not much running yet (106 minutes)

I'm still not going to do much running this week. I felt fantastic on my first run last week (after a week and a half off), but each subsequent run something new begin to ache again. My foot came back first, then my shin, then my left thigh, then my hip flexors. That being said, nothing was bad and I'm not running hard, often, or long, so I don't believe I can make anything worse. I'm going to stick to 3 runs per week this week and keep them broken up and short.

Monday, September 8th
40' of 5' running, 2' walking + 2 x 2k rowing + 3 x 12 lower body weights

Tuesday, September 9th
60' Cycle class + 3 x 12 upper body weights

Wednesday, September 10th
40' of 7' running, 3' walking + 2k rowing + core

Thursday, September 11th
Rest Day

Friday, September 12th
Rest Day

Saturday, September 13th
28' of 3' running, 1' walking + 22' elliptical + core

Sunday, September 14th
25' running + core

Back to reality (68 minutes)

I'm back in the swing of things and my feet are fully recovered from San Diego! :) I have made it a goal to get back in the habit of at least 60 minutes of cardio five days a week. I've also decided to only run when I feel no pain (soreness and new aches are okay; just no "pain" or recurring aches). The goal is to be ready to train with a clean bill of health in 2015!

Sunday, August 31st
Rest day (SUPER sore from the Nike Training Club class!!)

Monday, September 1st
Core circuit + 20' rowing + 20' running (treadmill) + 20' spinning
*No foot, shin, knee, or hip pain while running*

Tuesday, September 2nd
60' Spin class

Wednesday, September 3rd
30' of 4' running, 1' walking (outside) + 60' Nike Training Club class
*Slight foot pain (L), hip flexor pain (L,R), knee pain (R) towards end of run*

Thursday, September 4th
20' core circuit + 60' Spin class

Friday, September 5th
60' Total Body Conditioning class

Saturday, September 6th
30' of 8' running, 3' walking (outside)

San Diego trip - No running

I spent four days this week standing ALL day on concrete floors at the San Diego Convention Center and my feet were literally mush by the end. Every single step hurt and there was no was going to run while they felt that way! Ended up taking 90% of the week off!

Sunday, August 24th
20 minutes of drills and weights. Went down to the hotel gym to run, but my feet were so sore I opted for a short weights session and that's it.

Monday - Thursday, August 25th - 28th
Nothing!! Thought I got in over 20,000 steps every day since last Friday so it doesn't count as rest. ;)

Friday, August 29th
20' rowing + 30' lower body weights.

Saturday, August 30th
20' rowing + 20' stair stepper + 75' Nike Training Club class at 24 Hour Fitness.

Week 11- 12M running, 150' x-training

I leave for San Diego this week!! This week and next week will be really rough when it comes to fitting in workouts. I leave on Thursday for a conference that I'll be volunteering at, and our hours begin at 6AM and end at 9:30PM with no "long breaks" (no leaving the building). That means sleep will be minimal and if I want to fit in cross training it will have to be even more minimal. My first priority while I'm gone will be the 20 minute runs; after that, I'll do whatever I feel I can get in without compromising health.

Sunday, August 17th
20' run on the treadmill. Started at 8:27 pace and finished at 7:40 pace (bumped the pace by .2 every 4 minutes). Felt pretty good; still really loose and much more fluid than I have been lately. My foot is aching a bit on the outside where those shooting pains were.
30' rowing + 10' elliptical. Stopped the elliptical because my foot was hurting on it.

Monday, August 18th
20' run in the neighborhood. Another good one in terms of motivation and energy. I ran the hilly neighborhood loop and finished the run nice and tired. Same aches, nothing new.
30' rowing.
Ladder lower body weights. 12 reps - 8 reps - 6 reps - 4 reps - 3 reps - etc until I could not do more. I started with the weight slightly heavier than I've been doing for the higher rep sessions and bumped it up every time until it got too heavy.

Tuesday, August 19th
Impromptu rest day. Feel like I'm getting sick (sore throat, feverish) so no workout in the morning. Had my appointment with the Correct Exercise Specialist in the afternoon and she told me not to workout after seeing her.

Wednesday, August 20th
20' run in the neighborhood. Stride was a little choppy and some additional aches that weren't there earlier this week, but that could in part be due to rolling out of bed and starting right away. I usually spend more time "waking up" first. Back of my heels, side of my foot, my right ankle were the pain aches. Energy was still good though.
30' rowing.
3 x 8 upper body weights.

Thursday, August 21st
20' run on the treadmill. Started at 8:20 pace and worked down to 7:53 pace (I forgot that I have been changing the pace by .2 every four minutes and I only changed it by .1). Heels were fine today and ankle didn't hurt while I ran, only in my drills prior to running. 
30' rowing. No time for weights this morning as I had to log in for work at 7 due to travel this afternoon. After 10 minutes easy, I alternated 30 seconds all out rowing with 60 seconds easy rowing.

Friday, August 22nd
20' run on the treadmill. Got in 2.5 miles on the nose and cut down every 1/2 mile. Started at 8:20 pace and finished at 7:30 pace.

Saturday, August 23rd
20' run on the treadmill. Exactly the same as yesterday - 2.5 miles with the same pace changes.

Week 10- 16M running, 130' x-training

Still keeping all runs at 20 minutes or less. I'm seeing a corrective exercise specialist that wants me to do some rowing, so I will be adding cross training and weights this week.

Sunday, August 10th
5' core, 20' easy run, 60" plank. No soreness whatsoever from yesterday. Still same aches, but I am now confident enough to run through the shocks in my foot.

Monday, August 11th
5' core, 20' easy run, 60" plank. Feeling super drained and tired. Shins seem to be easing up a little, but my quad is aching pretty bad.
90' session with corrective exercise specialist. Very helpful. I believe this is going to help a lot in clearing out my current injuries and preventing future ones. I learned a ton and think it's going to help my quad out as well.

Tuesday, August 12th
20' easy run. Still feeling empty on the run. It's like running through quicksand and running into a brick wall at the same time. :) Everything feels significantly better pain wise, though - so I think whatever she did yesterday made a difference.

Wednesday, August 13th
30' rowing, 100 reps of 4 lower body exercises, 20' elliptical trainer. Six sets of 15 plus one set of 10: Leg press, hamstring curl, calves, leg extension. Nothing to hard on the rower because I was focusing on using the right muscles; kept my HR above 160 on the elliptical. 
3' core, 20' run on the grass track. Left shin and the outside of both feet were today's main aches. Everything else was very minimal!!

Thursday, August 14th
30' rowing, 30 reps of 5 upper body exercises, 20' elliptical trainer. Three sets of 10 with 2 minute rest between each set so I could do heavier weight: Chest row, tricep pushdown, side shoulder raise, assisted pull ups, bicep curl. Kept HR at 160 or higher on the elliptical again. The inside of my left leg is really hurting still.
10' run. This was supposed to be 20 minutes but my stomach was killing me. Felt like a thousand knives stabbing me! Oh well... Kept the daily run streak going. Back at it tomorrow.

Friday, August 15th
20' run, 30' rowing, 100 reps of 4 lower body exercises. Ran first thing on the treadmill to cut down the risk of stomach problems. :) Averaged 8:09 pace but it felt really relaxed and easy. I started at 8:30 something and every four minutes bumped the pace by .2. The last four minutes were 7:40 pace. Left foot is kind of aching where I was having those shocks last week. No problems rowing. Did the same leg weights as on Wednesday but 4 sets of 20.

Saturday, August 16th
20' easy run + 23 reps of upper body weights. I stayed in our neighborhood and had a really great run. I felt really good energy wise and my legs felt nice and loose. I even ran down our steep hill so that I could come back up it. I was pretty tired by the end of the 20 minutes, but it was good none the less. Weights were great as well. I did 3 sets of 8 chest row, lat pull down, tricep push down, bicep curl, deltoid fly.

Week 9- 13M running, no cardio x-training

Weird week.

I got sharp, shock-like pain in the side of my foot about 20 minutes into my first run of the week. It happened twice within about 30 seconds, and even though nothing else was really bothering me, I had no choice but to stop. Those split second shooting pains were strong enough that I couldn't convince myself to run through them.

The next day I made it through my entire 15 minute warm up with no problems, including a one minute surge at my tempo pace (6:44). I took a quick stretch break, started the tempo portion of my run, and in less than 60 seconds I had two more of those shooting pains again so I shut it down. As I walked to the trainer's room, it happened again.

The trainer said it's probably a nerve that's being aggravated by an inflamed base to my fifth metatarsal. He said running on it could add more trauma to what's already there and said the shooting nerve pain is the first indicator of a Jones Fracture.

That being said. I'm laying low another week. Max of 20 minutes easy per day. Nothing on my toes - no surges, hills, or strides. No pavement. Stopping if I get any shooting pains.

I don't mind cross training, but I have a really really sore hip flexor/ groin on the left side right now and I can't get in to see the doc until Monday, so that rules out quite a few options.

Sunday - Rest day
Monday - ~21 minutes on the trail (shooting pains started after about 20 minutes)
Tuesday - ~16 minutes on the treadmill (got in a 15' warm up and 1' of the tempo before getting the shooting pains)
Wednesday - 20 minutes on the grass track (dull ache, but no shooting pains; left hip hurt at the end)
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - ~15 minutes in the neighborhood (same shooting foot pain stopped me early)
Saturday - 15 minute warm up, 2 strides, 5k fun run in De Leon, 4 minute cool down (no shooting pains during the race - final time of 21:10 which is about 6:50 pace)

Week 8- 11.5M running, 300' x-training

Spending another "week" in the pool to baby my quad/ femur and shin a bit more. Hopefully this isn't going to be a recurring theme, but I want to take a small trip for a race with Jake next week, and that means no risks injury-wise. I plan to aqua jog/ swim all week, and then hopefully do my hills on Friday and long run on Saturday.

Sunday, July 27th
Rest day!

Monday, July 28th
90' in the pool. 60' aqua jogging, 30' lap swimming. Quad still hurts, but only really when I'm aqua jogging; I don't notice any pain while lap swimming.

Tuesday, July 29th
10' bike.
40' lower body weights.
30' lap swimming and pool running.

Wednesday, July 30th
30' bike.
40' upper body weights
40' lap swimming.

Thursday, July 31st
30' bike.

Friday, August 1st
30' bike.
30' easy run. Same aches, but nothing bad enough to stop the run or mess with my stride. I actually felt really good energy wise. Got in 3.8 miles averaging 7:52 pace, give or take a bit due to trees.

Saturday, August 2nd
60' long run. Everything hurt on this one, especially on the way out. Thankfully I woke up on the way back and started rolling again. Mile splits were 8:34, 8:16, 8:12, 7:48, 7:47, 7:17, 7:08, 7:06 pace for the last 0.7.

Week 7- 30.5M running, 270' x-training

Woohoo! We did it!! Last week was my highest mileage week since 2013 and I couldn't be more happy about that! Each week I want to add something to my training to move it forward a bit - This week I want to add core work. :) I plan to do some structured core, rehab/ injury prevention, and general strength work throughout the week.

Sunday, July 20th
Rest day!

Monday, July 21st
15' warm up, Mono Fartlek (2 x 90"/90", 4 x 60"/60", 4 x 30"/30", 4 x 15"/15"), 10' cool down. I woke up exhausted (sleepy exhausted) and considered going back to sleep and using the treadmill during lunch; then when I actually started running, my arch and shins hurt enough that I considered just doing 30 minutes easy and trying the workout tomorrow. Luckily my first mile was 8:15 pace and didn't feel hard, and that was enough to convince me that I should run the workout today. :) I did butt kicks and high knees for 30 steps each and then started the workout (no strides). Needless to say I was shocked to look down at 60" and see sub 6:10 pace! I allowed myself to slow down the last 30" of that rep knowing it would be a long workout and I didn't want to jog the easy portions. I decided staying in my warm up pace range was good enough for the easy portions, but then looked down and saw 7:07 pace midway thru the first recovery. Wow! It didn't stay that comfortable for the whole workout (not even close), but those first 10 minutes today were enough to keep the flame burning in the back of my mind. I ended up averaging 6:52 pace; hard segments were generally between 6:00 and 6:20 pace with two outliers. Recoveries were in the mid to low 7's for the longer reps, then slowed down to low 8's for the shorter reps.
40' pool running.

Tuesday, July 22nd
30' easy run + hill sprints. I woke up at 5:30 with the intention of running, but while doing the toe walk and lunges in my warm up circuit, I knew that wasn't smart. Last night I taped up my arch and ankle/lower shin and it provided immediate relief so I thought I would be okay to run today. I think I need to play it safe and just aqua jog though. This pain is strong enough that I'm pretty sure it will eventually force a day off, and I would rather that day be a 30 minute easy run considering the rest of this week is 60' runs and hills.
Life happened and it got the better of me today. Car problems left me stranded all day, arch is still aching, and my I'm on day 4 of an upset stomach. Tomorrow is a new day...

Wednesday, July 23rd
60' long run. Made it just a little bit farther today than I did on Saturday - 7.72 miles averaging 7:47 pace. Definitely a harder way to do it though. On Saturday my first 3.5 miles were between 8:05 and 8:40, then I dropped it on my way back. Today my first mile was 8:15 and the rest were mid 7:30's to high 7:40's. My arch is really the main problem this week. TFL/ IT band is manageable, but the arch is pretty painful. Also, I had to stop at 48 minutes today for a breather. I was really panicking too because I felt like I needed water (80 degrees when we left our car to run), but there were no fountains nearby! I'm bummed it wasn't a continuous run, but I felt like I was getting overheated and new I was about to fall apart if I didn't do something to salvage the rest of the run.
50' pool running. My arch even hurts doing this?!?!

Thursday, July 24th
30' easy run. Made up Tuesday's easy run today. Got in 3.78 miles which was a pleasant surprise. I wanted to keep it easy because I had a lot of aches and was running in the heat (89 degrees according to the garmin), so I choose not to look at pace on the entire run. The first time I checked the watch was after the 3rd mile beep to see how many minutes I had left (I was expecting only 2 or 3), and the time was around 24 minutes! Averaged 7:56 pace for the run and didn't feel too bad energy wise. Big time aches today though. Both shins (left is worse), right arch and heel, and left quad.
60' aqua jog.

Friday, July 25th
15' warm up, 8 x 60" uphill, 15' 10' cool down. This was definitely one of my more miserable runs- at least for the warm up and cool down. On the warm up, my shin was the biggest pain, but I actually stopped the cool down early for my quad, not my shin. It was getting progressively more painful on the cool down and by 9 minutes I knew I wasn't being smart. The hill reps were about the only good thing about the day. Going up the hill I really didn't have any pain, just fatigue! ;) Going down all the pains came back, haha. I averaged 6:12 pace for the uphill portions, which is over 20 seconds faster than what I averaged on the 90" hills last week!
60' aqua jog.

Saturday, July 26th
60' aqua jog.
60' long run with 1', 1', 2', 1', 1', 2' surges on a 5' cycle. Ran on the treadmill so that Jake and I could sleep in after a long day yesterday. I started the run at 8:35 pace, then knocked the speed down by 0.1 every five minutes. I started the surges at 7:30 pace and then knocked the surges down by 0.1 every time as well. My last 10 minutes of the run were 7:30 pace for the first 5 minutes and 7:21 pace for the last five minutes. My last surge was 7:03 pace. Next time I will want to start the surges at 7:00 pace and go down from there. The treadmill ended up being a great option for this run, too. I'd like to do this workout on the treadmill again. My left quad and hip flexor are the worst they have been thus far. They hurt when aqua jogging as well, though they didn't hurt the first week that I was aqua jogging.

Week 6- 28.5M running, 250' x-training

Back to running this week! I'm excited to see how everything feels! I'm really hopeful that the TFL and shin issues will be in the past and I can get back in the swing of things with a clean slate!

Sunday, July 13th
Rest day! No cross training or running!

Monday, July 14th
15' w/u, 8 x 1' moderate to hard/ 1' easy, 15' c/d. I felt great energy-wise, but my shin started hurting about 0.6 miles in and my TFL/ knee/ IT band (whichever it is) started hurting after the first stride. I do feel like I kept my effort level in the right range for the entire run though, so I am pleased with that. Warm up averaged 8:36 pace and cool down averaged 8:12 pace. The fast 1 minute segments were between 6:00 and 6:20 pace, and I averaged 7:29 pace for the full fartlek time. I ran much slower than I should have on the easy minutes, so that will be the first area I want to improve on next time.
60' bike. 30' x-training. I biked for 15 minutes but it was hurting my TFL so badly that I switched to the elliptical. The elliptical hurt my left quad which has been sore for the past week or two. I decided I was better off skipping the full x-training session and not furthering any inflammation or damage that was already there. I will stick to the pool until I get these things cleared up.

Tuesday, July 15th
30' recovery run. I felt great when I started this run - I actually felt like I was moving quick and sort of felt like myself as a college runner. I am not looking at my Garmin at all on runs right now, only after the mile beeps. When the first mile beeped, I looked down and it was 9:09 pace!!! :( Yikes!!! The next miles were a little better, but according to my Garmin I never went below 7:42 pace on the entire run! The rest of the miles were 8:22, 8:06, and 7:56 (for the last five minutes). Got in 3.55 miles for the day. I skipped the strides because my TFL/ knee was the worst it has been so far. It really feels like I could step on it at any moment and it break in two at my knee.
60' aqua jog/ lap swimming. I alternated 15' pool running with 15' freestyle swimming again. I have no pool running belt, so it's a little more strain on my hip flexors than it was when I did long pool running sessions; hence the lap swimming breaks. The swimming is probably very good for my lungs and hear though... It is not easy on me by any means.

Wednesday, July 16th
15' w/u, 10' @ sub 7:00 pace, 15' c/d. Not a bad day... a big thanks to God for the nice weather this morning! Warm up averaged 8:22 pace and even though I felt my shin and knee, neither were as bad as yesterday. Did one set up high knees and butt kicks and two short strides, then got started (stayed in my trainers). I came through the five minute mark averaging 6:41 pace and finished it off averaging 6:33 pace, so I definitely cut down on the last five minutes. My garmin says 6:37 thru the mile, 6:24 pace for the remaining minutes. Cool down was the 2:30 easy, 30" quick again... Since it was 15 minutes I did five sets. The surges ranged from 5:30 pace to 5:46 pace and I averaged 7:34 pace for the entire cool down.
60' aqua jog/ lap swimming. I actually only got in 56 minutes today. Apparently they have an aerobics class at 9:00 three days a week, and since I couldn't get in right at 8:00, I lost a few minutes. Not a big deal at all, but I can be kind of anal about time... I don't like to finish on random numbers. ;) Still a good workout regardless. 

Thursday, July 17th
60' x-training. I am trying to extend the length of time that I actually aqua jog, so today I did 20 minutes aqua jog, 20 minutes lap swimming, 20 minutes aqua jog. Ideally I'll start doing fartlek intervals next week. It's just so much extra strain without the flotation belt that I don't want to start adding extra forces until my hip flexors and everything have adjusted to the easy pool running.

Friday, July 18th
15' w/u, 6x90" uphill, 15' c/d. God is being extra kind to us this week! Upper 60's this morning - In July - In Texas!! Warm up felt nice (8:27 average pace), hills were killer hard, but very good for me (ranged between 6:33 and 6:39 for all but the 5th one, which was 6:46 pace). I tried to keep a higher effort on the recovery portions today compared to on Monday's fartlek, but next time I will just relax on the recovery. These will definitely be very good for me though. 15' cool down was nice and uneventful (8:09 average pace). Got in about 6.5 miles today. I used the cream again and once again had minimal pain on the side/back of my knee. Makes me really excited! Now just to figure out a way to cover the shin pain. :)
60' aqua jog/ lap swimming. No swim. Somehow I managed to get swimmer's ear in the last week and a half. I bought drops this morning to get rid of it, as well as ear plugs to use in the pool from now on. :)

Saturday, July 19th
60' long run. Good run, bad knee. :) Covered 7.6 miles in 7:53 pace; the last four miles were between 7:25 and 7:34, so I am happy. This was my first continuous run over 6 miles... every other time I have stopped mid-way for a workout or a pit stop. Making progress!
60' 40' aqua jog/ lap swimming. Still no lap swimming yet, but I did go pool running until my knee told me it was time to stop for the day (40'). For the time I was in the pool though, it was good. I hate going and I hate doing it and it's one of the most boring things ever, but I do think it has made a huge difference in the short two weeks I've been doing it. I just feel smoother and more fluid. Not more fit, but more natural in my form/ stride.

Week 5- 10M running, 350' x-training

This ended up being an impromptu vacation and a recovery week. I spent the week with my parents who live on a ranch in the country. They have access to a heated indoor pool with a deep end and aqua exercise equipment, plus the pool is open 24/7. I have had really bad shin and TFL pain for a while now, and on my first rest day of the week, when my mom and I went to the pool I noticed I didn't have any shin or TFL pain while running in the water. After talking with Jake we decided to make it a "recovery" week and spend the rest of the week in the pool while I had access to it.

Sunday,  July 6th
4M run + 9 x 8" quick strides. First run with my new Garmin 220! Mile splits were 8:24, 8:02, 7:45, 7:34. I ran on the dirt trails at Jenkins Park in Baytown, then did my drills and sprints in the parking lot. Lots of TFL and shin pain still, but energy-wise I felt good.

Monday, July 7th
3M easy, 1M time trial, 2M w/ 150m surges each lap. I stayed on the track for this entire run. I'm scared to death of dogs, so when we are at my parent's house I prefer to stay on the track. :) I felt good on the warmup and on my drills, but the mile killed me. I wanted to stop after about 900m! I came thru at 89, 3:01, ?, 6:09. I was too tired to look down after my third lap. :) I didn't necessarily have pain while running, I just felt completely out of gas and by the third lap I had pretty bad lactic acid. I was really crushed to see 6:09 after knowing how hard it was for me to run it. I guess that explains my struggle on the tempo runs though.

Tuesday, July 8th
60' pool running

Wednesday, July 9th
60' pool running

Thursday, July 10th
80' pool running

Friday, July 11th
60' pool running

Saturday, July 12th
90' pool running/ lap swimming. I alternated every 15 minutes and kept the lap swimming at around 2:20/ 100m. It was a good workout and went by really fast. My left quad muscle still hurts though... even after a week of no running!

Week 4- 24M running, 240' x-training

Hello!!
This week Jake and I are heading down to his family's place on Wednesday night. Time to workout will be pretty limited and I won't have access to a bike or weights, so the second half of the week will be really light. Since I know that in advance, I'm planning cross training every day that we're in Dallas so I can still get a decent amount in.

Sunday, June 29th
55' bike + 35' elliptical for a total of 90' cross training.

Monday, June 30th
4M + 8 x 8" hill sprints. First 2 miles with Jake in 16:04, finished the full run in 31:02 for a 14:58 last 2 miles. I ran did a 180 turn every mile (I wanted to make the first 2 miles be the same route/ wind as the last 2 miles). My shins were really bad today and my left heel was hurting, but the TFL was manageable.
Cross training. And today is a PERFECT example of why I schedule cross training every day it's possible... because there is always a chance I won't be able to get it done. I managed to get into my doctor's office early this morning (I've been fighting stomach pain for about 2 weeks), and that meant I could bike before work, and I had to drive home from Plano during lunch so I couldn't bike then. Plus I work until 7 now and by that time my stomach was hurting bad again (it's worst at night). No worries... It's supposed to be a light week anyways and I have a big workout tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 1st
7M w/ 3M tempo (start at ~6:55 pace) and 4 x 2:30 easy, 30" hard during last 2 miles. Warmed up, did 3 strides, and got to work. Jake paced me again and we ran 6:54, 6:51, 6:49 (6:52 avg). I'm glad that I maintained for the entire run this time, but I'm still really frustrated with how much trouble my lungs are giving me. It's like I'm breathing through a straw. The 30" surges were all faster than last time.. Two of which were in the low 5:20's. I felt really strong on them. Shins & heels still hurt; right TFL is still bad too, but always much worse after stopping and restarting.
Weights. 3 x 6 of the same circuit I've been doing. Added a 60" plank in between each set.
45' cross training. This was a crummy day for cross training. I lost access to the gym I've been using, so I had to wait until my lunch break to workout. Then all the bikes in my new gym were broken so I tried an elliptical. It's a different kind than the one I usually use and was really hurting my TFL, so after 13 minutes I resorted to my only remaining option... uphill walking on the treadmill. Did that for 27 minutes (making my 15 minutes late for work, but allowing me to at least get 45 minutes in). Bleh.

Wednesday, July 2nd
Long cross training day. Got in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I'd like to work my way to 2 hours for my long cross training days, so this was a good stepping stone. It went by pretty quickly because I changed machines every 45 minutes - recumbent bike to elliptical and back to recumbent bike. I feel like I get the best workout on the elliptical, but people have told me they aren't very good for you (messing with your hips and stuff), so I am trying to use the bike for most of my time.

Thursday, July 3rd
4M 5M + 8 x 15"/15". Brilliant me decided I didn't need to double check my calendar this morning, so I ran one extra mile on accident. I also skipped the strides. My right TFL was really bothering me bad today, so I went through some drills and called it a day. I'm basically going to get "strides" 3 out of 4 days this week, so I figure it isn't too big of a deal. There is a 24 hour fitness less than 10 minutes from where I'm working today, so I think I will actually get to fit in some biking during my lunch break! They have a pool, too, which would probably be best for me - but I didn't bring my goggles down!

Friday, July 4th
8M w/ 8 x 2' hard, 1' easy. This was a pretty crummy run.. Slow and broken up.. But I got in the mileage and I got in the 2 minute higher intensity intervals. My TFL was the worst it has been and I contemplated stopping several times, but I ended up getting everything in at the end of the day.

Saturday, July 5th
Basketball at Seabrook Trails while Jake runs! :)

Week 3- 24M running, 270' x-training

We are back from one of the most tiring trips I have ever been on, haha! Lots of travel issues and late nights! Despite it all, my husband and the athletes he coaches ran personal bests and we had a lot of fun! I managed to get in all of my miles last week and kept the paces in their correct ranges, so two weeks are officially in the books! Just have to keep the ball rolling and let it build up!

This is the lady he coaches just after she qualified for the US Olympic Trials. She ran 1:14:56!

This is my husband finishing out his race. He qualified for the US Championships with a time of 1:08:48.

This is a group of the Texas runners that were in Duluth for the race! We have such a fun group of friends!

This is my husband's best friend, whom he also coaches. Both ran PR's in their matching Adidas kits. :)

Sunday, June 22nd
60' bike before a long day of travel. Still lots of pain on the outside/ back of right knee. Super sore on both calves as well?!

Monday, June 23rd
5M easy run + 6 x 8" hill sprints. I ran on the gravel trail at DBU. Kept things nice and relaxed, and I felt really good energy/ strength-wise! Same problem with the outside/back of my right knee, and both shins were a bit sore, but not too bad.

Tuesday, June 24th
Rest day.

Wednesday, June 25th
Full chiro warm up.
2M warm up, 2M tempo, 2M cool down. 16:24, 13:05 (6:27, 6:38), 15:30. Did the entire workout on our neighborhood loop with Jake as a pacer (he is THE best!!)! The warm up went off without a hitch. Really kept things relaxed on the first mile (8:45!!!) and then on the second mile I threw in a few surges and tried to pick it up a bit. Did some drills and two strides and then we started the tempo. I felt GREAT thru the first half mile, but then lactic acid started to hit. By the time I finished the first mile, I was empty and felt like I was running through quick sand! Yikes! Ended up averaging 6:32 pace, which is actually the slow end of my adjusted pace range for 75 degrees, 91% humidity. Since the "tempo" (more like a race) was not as good as we hoped, we added 4 x 2:30 easy, 30" quick to the last two miles. Those paces were upper 5:30's to mid 5:50's. 
60' bike. I mimicked the run, so 20' easy, 20' high effort, 20' easy.
3 x 6 weights circuit A. Too tired to do this in the morning so I knocked it out at lunch.

Thursday, June 26th
90' bike. I did 60' before work and 30' during lunch since I overslept. It worked out for the best though because I was still a bit fatigued for my morning bike, but I killed the lunchtime one. I did 2:30 easy, 30" hard for the entire 30 minutes and really pushed the tempo.

Friday, June 27th
5M easy run + 6 x 8" hill sprints. Got it all in. Nothing crazy to report. My shins were KILLER today (both), but especially the left!
60' bike.

Saturday, June 28th
8M progression. Got in the run, but took a massage/ stretch break after 4 miles and 6 miles. My TFL has really gotten bad and always seems to be much worse out at the Trinity Loop. No Garmin, so I had to go by loop splits, and brilliant me didn't get the 3rd split and deleted the times after my run. Based on the overall time, I averaged 7:56 pace and my last ~2.2 mile loop was 7:03 pace. The first loop was like 8:50 average!! :/ TFL and stomach were the worst today. In fact, not even doing weights, core, or my bike because of my stomach. Hopefully it's better tomorrow!
3 x 6 weights circuit B.
60' bike.

Week 2- 23M running, 280' x-training

We are flying back to Duluth this week! Jake is racing the half and we have some friends running the half and full as well. I'm not sure what kind of fitness center I'll have access to or what our schedule will look like, so I'm squeezing weights in before we leave and scheduling cross training for every day we're there in case I have to miss it once!

Last week was my first full week of training without lots of aches and pains! It gave me such a boost of confidence that Jake and I sat down and put together a real training plan instead of the novice one I was following. The truth is, I wasn't going to get back to the fitness level I want to work back to by running 20 miles a week. The new plan is a mix between the Hanson's structure and Hudson's philosophies. I'll be on a three day cycle of rest, easy, quality, and I'll keep short hill sprints, long runs with quality, and fartleks from Hudson's plan.

Here's a pic from after he finished the Full Marathon last year! 2:30:43! Was on pace for 2:24:xx thru 24.5 miles and then crashed over the last mile and a half. Looking forward to seeing him crush 13.1 this week!!!

Sunday, June 15th
Full warmup.
80' on the stationary bike.
3 x 6 strength circuit A.

Monday, June 16th
Rest day. In order to get the 3 day cycle to fit next week's schedule, I needed to push things back a day. An extra day of rest before I get started won't hurt anything though! :)
20' cross training during lunch. I had nothing to do and this was a good way to pass time. :) 10 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes rowing. Kept the biking very relaxed but really pushed on the rowing!

Tuesday, June 17th
Full warmup.
4M easy + 6 hill sprints. I stayed in the neighborhood for this one so I would have easy access to hills for my hill sprints. I don't have splits because about 1.2 miles in there was a car parked in an alley that I didn't want to run by and I left my measured loop. The first mile was 7:52 and the "third" mile was 7:43 according to Jake's garmin (he ran with me for his cool down). Hill sprints were okay but I didn't feel as powerful and poppy as I felt last week. Both shins hurt today, but that's about it.
60' on the stationary bike after my run.

Wednesday, June 18th
6M easy with 10 x 1' @ 5k effort, 2' easy. Fort Worth trails today! I only had 8 surges planned, but I finished the 8th one with about a mile to left and I didn't want to run easy the whole time. I felt pretty good on the run thanks to a very windy morning (13+ mph), but my both of my shins still hurt. I also had to stop after my first ~2 mile loop to massage my right IT band... For some reason that knee stiffens up and hurts really bad every time I go to this loop. Ended up averaging 7:52 pace for 6.4 miles. 
3 x 6 strength circuit B.

Thursday, June 19th - Flying to Duluth
50' cross training. That's all I could fit in before heading to the airport and we didn't get to Duluth until after 11 thanks to weather delays and cancelled flights.

Friday, June 20th
.5M easy, 4M run + 6 hill sprints. LOTS of shin and knee pain today, but other than that it was a fine run. I did it on the treadmill (including the hill sprints, which was really hard). I averaged 7:52 pace for the 4M run. I actually ran 4.5M continuous, but I ran so slow the first 1/2 mile that I decided to count it as a warm up.
70' cross training.

Saturday, June 21st
6M long run with 3 x 8' steady, 2' recovery. 2 miles in 16:46, then stopped to stretch because I almost called the run quits due to so much shin and knee pain (more like outside hamstring tendon on the back of my knee). Then 4M with the long fartleks; I progressed the pace each time, so the first one was .5M at 7:30 pace, then 7:19 pace for the rest of it. Second one was 7:19 pace for 4 minutes, then 7:09 pace for 4 minutes. The last one was 7:09 pace for 4 minutes, then 6:59 pace for 4 minutes.
2M easy. I ran out of time to finish my run before Jake's race, so I snuck in the last two miles while the marathon was going on. This is the only run I did outside while in Minnesota.
No cross training because the outside/back of my knee was so painful.

Week 1- 20M running, 110' x-training

21 weeks out from what will hopefully be my peak fall race!

Last week I hit 20 miles for the first time, so this week we're looking for a repeat... but without the unplanned double I threw in last week! Instead of doing 4, 4, 3 + 3, 6; I'm looking to do 4, 6, 4, 6, still taking three days off for the week. As I've told Jake, I am really tired of running and not getting in better shape, so we decided to focus on lengthening the runs a little sooner than Hudson's plan calls for. Of course, I will definitely back off if I feel it's getting too risky health-wise.

I needed this reminder. Hope it helps a few of you as well. :)

Sunday, June 8th
Total rest day. My left quad muscle has been killing me and I think it's from the split squats I did in Friday morning's strength workout. Trying to nurse it back to health so no cross training distractions! :)

Monday, June 9th
6M + 5 x 8" hill sprints. This run was like an unexpected early present on Christmas Eve! It was 69 degrees (instead of the usual upper 70's), a cool breeze, clouds covering the sun, AND I wore my Sauconys instead of my clunky Hoka's. All of that combined and I had my most natural run since starting back. I felt like myself again and it was SO nice! I ran on the gravel trail at DBU, which is about 1.3 miles. Assuming 1.3 is accurate, I ran 7:24 pace for the last 5.2 miles of the run! Which means even if the distance is off, it was still a solid pace! I felt really strong on the hill sprints too!

Tuesday, June 10th
4M w/ 8 x 150m surge, 250m natural after the second mile.8:18, 8:06, 7:37, 7:27 for 31:28 total. I am so grateful for these two cooler, lower humidity days. They have given me a vote of mental confidence so I don't feel as discouraged about my training. I didn't run as hard on the 150m surges as I did on the 100m surges last week, but it was still a solid pace change and it allowed me to maintain a normal run in between each one.
Full body strength. 3x8 from the same strength plan I've been doing.

Wednesday, June 11th
Rest day.

Thursday, June 12th
Full chiropractor warm-up. I've actually been doing this every day but decided if I start including it on my notes it will hold me more accountable. :) It takes about 15 minutes so it's not terribly quick.
40' steady cross training during lunch. I spent 33 minutes on the bike and 7 on the elliptical. For some reason it was causing pain underneath my knee on the inside. For the middle 20 minutes I kept my HR above 160, the rest of the time it was between 145 and 160.
30' fartlek cross training after work.
3x8 full body strength. Session 2 from my same strength plan.

Friday, June 13th
Full chiropractor warm-up. Timed it today and it took exactly 15 minutes. Definitely gets my HR up!
4M + 5 x 8" hill sprints. I want to work to where all of my daily runs are sub 7:57 pace (McMillan calculator's slow end of the easy run pace range for a 1:25 half). I don't expect to run that every day from here on out, but I do want to be consistently there for the last two months before race day in November. With that in mind, I started a little quicker than usual and ran 7:40 for my first mile (probably closer to 7:55 since my loop is about 30m short) and kept the pace pretty steady finishing in 30:11 (again, probably closer to 31 for the full four miles). 31 minutes is 7:45 pace which is well under my range! Feeling full of gratitude for the health God has given me this week! It has been so rejuvenating to go out for runs without terrible pain the whole time!!
60' cross training. I spent the first 40' on the bike and the last 20' on the elliptical. No surges, just a good steady effort for the full hour.

Saturday, June 14th
Minimal warm-up. The warm-up my chiro gave me involves a lot of laying down or putting hands on the ground and there was glass on the concrete, etc.
6M w/ 3 x 5' steady, 2' recovery after 25'. I wore my Hoka's and ran on the gravel loop in Ft Worth. Bad combination!! A little shin pain, but other than that, just a hard run. I found a training pace chart that allows you to enter the temp and humidity and get equivalent paces. My first 25' easy needed to be between 7:52 and 8:12 and the steady states needed to be between 7:11 and 7:31 (without 75* and 85% humidity, paces would be 7:38 to 7:57 and 6:58 to 7:18, respectively). My first 25' averaged out to 7:59 pace; 5' steady segments were 7:24, 7:13, 7:22. I ran the 5' parts very poorly though... Killer first 2 minutes, then coast the last three minutes. First time in a Garmin this training season though!

Trying a fartlek this week!

How about a little motivation to start the week with?! :)
PS. That picture in the background is the entrance to my neighborhood. Pretty nice, right?

Sunday, June 1st
30' bike + 30' elliptical. Still feeling super fatigued. Keeping things relaxed all day so I'll feel better tomorrow.

Monday, June 2nd
4M w/ 8x20" pick-ups. Since 20" pick-ups are so close to 100m, I just went to the track and did 1M easy, 2M of 300 easy, 100 surge, and then 1M easy. Mile splits were 8:40, 7:53, 7:34, 8:26 for 32:33 total time. It was ridiculously windy so I had to really work in between the surges. I got really discouraged when I came through the first two miles. Even though the instructions said "easy" I still have a hard time being okay with my current easy pace. Definitely have to change my mentality!
30' bike. 2' easy, 30" hard for the first 25 minutes. Then 20" hard, 10" easy for the last five minutes.

Tuesday, June 3rd 4M easy + 5 x 8" hill sprints. I stayed in our neighborhood as the hill at DBU still has some construction going on at the bottom. No clue what pace I was running through the neighborhood, but I do know I had the IT band/ knee pain from last Saturday on my right leg again. That was really the main ache today; everything else was good enough to work with. I still feel ridiculously slow and out of shape, which I am not a fan of! Hah!
Full body strength. 3 x 10 (week 2) from the strength workout plan I posted a link to last Thursday.

Wednesday, June 4th
Rest day.

Thursday, June 5th
Rest day.

Friday, June 6th
3M + 5x8" hill sprints. Best feeling run in ages. Hardly any aches at all. Still feeling very fatigued and uncoordinated, but I'll take that over aches any day! 8:00, 7:50, 7:34 for the miles. Hill sprints were nice and strong.
Full body strength work. 3x10 of the exercises for the second workout of the week.
3M easy on the treadmill at lunch. This was supposed to be a cross training session, but I really really didn't want to bike or elliptical and Jake said an easy 3 wouldn't hurt if I didn't have pain. :) 8:27, 8:19, 8:12 for the first half, 7:47 for the last half of mile three.

Saturday, June 7th
6M, last 3 miles moderate. Icky run. HOT, humid, super windy. Left quad muscle is really hurting bad (after the run) and right knee bothered me during the run. I actually stopped and paced around about 30 seconds twice over the course of the last 3 miles. Just had to regain breath and cool my face. 25 minutes out, finished in 46:20 something.

Jake's Birthday Week! [Week 3: 16M]

Highly recommend this book! This is where my new training plan came from!

I mentioned this briefly in my last post, but since it was a late post, I'm re-covering it here. :) Last Tuesday I picked up on week 2 of Brad Hudson's 5k Level 1 training plan. It's only 12 weeks, only one week is over 20 miles, and most weeks only have 4 runs. It is a VERY conservative plan, which is exactly what I need! I'm really excited to have something structured and with a little bit of quality that still keeps risk minimal!

I prefer to have long runs on Saturday so I don't have to have busy mornings before church, so I've pushed Brad's schedule back a day to make everything fit. It makes the mileage totals funny for a few weeks, but it's still the same workload. You should see a lot more cross training cardio from me as well. With such an open schedule last week, I was able to get in the habit of 60 minute cardio sessions and I really think that will help bridge the gap for my low running mileage. Since my last two weeks matched Brad's first two weeks of the plan, this is week 3 out of 12! Here we go!

Sunday, May 25th

3M relaxed + 4 x 8" hill sprints. Really strong pain beneath the inside of my knees, but the bottom of my feet felt sooo much better being back in my Hoka's! The hill sprints felt better than anything I've done in a long time. No pain at all on them. I wanted to do so many more!

30' spinning.

Monday, May 26th

30' elliptical + 30' recumbent bike. Kept heart rate between 158 and 168 for the most part.

Tuesday, May 27th
4M easy run + full body strength workout. Felt super stiff and achy at the start but loosened up okay about 20 minutes in. I still don't feel like I could take off sprinting if I had to. Just too tight and painful in my knees. But, I did go to the chiropractor after my workout, so I'm hoping that when I head out to run on Friday they'll feel better! :)

Wednesday, May 28th
60' elliptical. Nothing to report. I will say that music makes all difference on cross training days!

Thursday, May 29th
Rest day. First one in about 2 weeks!

Friday, May 30th
3M run + 4 x 8" hill sprints. Felt much better than most of my runs lately, but my right hamstring was really bothering me. I tweaked it a bit on Tuesday morning doing one-leg russian deadlifts and I think it needs a bit longer before I try stretching it or doing any more leg swings.
Full body strength session. Day two from this circuit (I did day one on Tuesday).
30' fartlek bike. 2' easy, 30" hard for the first 25 minutes. 4' tabata intervals at the end with 20" hard, 10" easy.

Saturday, May 31st
6M run with last 10' moderate. Absolute worst run ever since coming back! I think it mostly had to do with the humidity and warmer temps, but it was rough for sure. Terrible knee/IT band pain as well. Spent all morning doing intense lawn work after I got home, so no cross training. This body needs a rest!

Vacation week! [Week 2: 18M]

I'm posting this a week late, but we were in Michigan Tuesday thru Sunday and I didn't want to pull out my laptop on the trip! :) It was one of the most relaxing, enjoyable trips I've been on in a long time!

Here's a couple quick pictures from the NCAA championships (where we were). The athlete in the pictures is my husband's athlete and she ended up placing as an All American in the 3k Steeplechase! 

Onto last week's training! I found a plan that I can follow for the next 12 weeks. It's from Brad Hudson's plans and it's his level 1 5k plan. Seems weird to follow a level 1 plan, but the mileage progression is so conservative that I think it's the perfect way to work back into things! Since his plan only has 4 runs most weeks, I'm going to try getting ~60 of quality cross training at least three days every week.

Sunday, May 18th

5M easy on the gravel trail at DBU. I was achy and tired, but I still got the full run in. Trusting that the chiropractor will help on Monday!

Monday, May 19th

Crummy 3M on Katy Trail in Dallas. Still very achy and stiff. I don't feel like I could sprint away from a dog if I had to!
Lots of new work done at the chiropractor. Weird stuff, but you never know!

Tuesday, May 20th

60' elliptical + upper body weights and core. Kept my heart rate between 160-165 the entire time. Didn't feel bad during the workout, but felt really queasy the rest of the night!

Wednesday, May 21st

4M moderate on the tack in Michigan. Chiropractor stuff must have been magic! No knee pain at all and very minimal shin pain! 8:18, 7:40, 7:44, 7:27.

Thursday, May 22nd

60' elliptical + lower body strength and core. Kept heart rate between 155 and 160 this time and felt good. Knee/ calf/ achilles started getting tight and sore towards the end, but that's to be expected when you do a new exercise for so long!

Friday, May 23rd

60' elliptical + extra stretching. Very tight calves, but I used a cream on them and they felt better by the evening.

Saturday, May 24th

6M run on Kent Trail in Michigan. I ran nice and easy to the trail (about a mile), moderate on the trails (averaged under 8:00 pace), easy back to the hotel. Bottom of feet hurt and knees/ shins were back similar to how they felt on Sunday. Good thing it's almost time to go back to the chiropractor! The bottom of my feet probably hurt because I only brought one pair of shoes on the trip and they're older than I'd usually wear.