Building a Base

Building a base is hard work. Being out of the running game for over a year has put the hurt on me. So I've spent the past two weeks (and next week) building up my mileage so I can run the St. Jude's Half Marathon.

After last week's just-under-15-miles week, my hamstring and knee were bothering me. So I took Sunday off.

On Tuesday, I ran a fast 2 mile run. I forgot to take a picture of my stats since I did the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge after my run.

Here's how it went:

Distance: 2.0 miles
Time: 20:05
Average Pace: 10:09
Best Pace: 8:17
Calories: 173
Average Cadence: 174

The ice bucket challenge was the fastest cool down I've ever had. I do think my co-worker enjoyed dumping ice water on my head a little too much.

When I got to work Wednesday, we found a knot in my left calf the size of the Titanic. We each took turns trying to work it out. None of us could break it up. I now have a bruise on my calf. No pain, no gain.

Yesterday's run was super nice after the first couple of miles.

I forgot how much better it feels to run passed the 2-3 mile mark. I've always felt like I don't get warmed up and feel good until after 3 miles. It was totally true of my long run this week.

Stats for this week's long run:

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 46:52
Average Pace: 11:43
Best Pace: 10:46
Calories: 343
Average Cadence: 172

I had negative splits for each mile, and mile four was my fastest. I was nervous about the Titanic sized knot in my calf and my nagging hamstring/knee injury, but everything kept it together. And I can still walk today. It's the little things.

I have a date with my foam roller, and I'm going to a yoga class to help workout some of this muscle tightness. I'm looking forward to a solid recovery day.

And I think I need to take Annie to the dog park....

Since she's been perched on the side of my computer since I started this post.

Up and Running

Half marathon training is in full swing. I'm currently working on building up a nice base before I set out to start my training plan.

This week has been full of accomplishments and a couple of set backs. All good things mostly with just a hint of nervousness.

I have been battling an injury for over a year. Apparently running isn't always nice to you. You have to do other stuff with it. You can't just run, and I always just want to run. Nothing else. And I have to work on changing that.

I logged just under 15 miles this week. That's huge considering I've been good to get five or six miles in a week. I've gotten some new running swag that's made it all the sweeter.

I went for a trail run on Sunday. Conner Park to River Mountain Park. Up a .6 mile massive hill that made me rethink my decision-making skills. And then down Cantrell, which is every runner's nightmare.

It was a beautiful evening run.

I got a little beat up, but it was totally worth it. Set out to do a 3 mile trail run and ended up doing a little under 5 miles. I love it when that happens.

On Tuesday, I did a ladder speed workout with a half marathon training group from work. After a nice warm up, we did a 400, 800 1200, 1200, 800 and 400. Each one had a rest period, and it was an awesome workout. I felt strong. Only had some minor twinges of pain in my knee area.

I was under my usual 11-minute mile pace by quite a bit. My 400s and 800s were in the mid-9s, and my 1200s were right at 10:30. My last 400 was right at 8:30. 

It felt good to run fast, but the minor pains I felt in my knee and hamstring area were on my mind. Lots of soreness on Wednesday. I did a lot of foam rolling and stretching and finally felt a little more normal until I ran this morning. 

I met my running friend Denise for an easy 3 miles. 

Easy turned into terrible real quick. My two 5 mile runs earlier in the week put the hurt on my ole legs. I felt tired the entire time. My legs felt like they weighed 1,000 pounds each. We both struggled, which has never happened since we've been running together. I blamed it on Tuesday. And the fact that I was due for a tough run.

My hamstring/knee has been sore/tight/achy/bothering me again. So that's my main concern. I just want to run and healthy and feel good about it. It's really hard when I've already trained for a half before and had no problems. Thankfully, I have wonderful people around me that are helping and encouraging me to make to race day.

I can't promise I will post every day. But I will do my best to post my workouts for the week, as well as how I'm feeling about it. This space will be my training log, and I hope you follow along.