Wednesday was a well-deserved rest day after 4 days of running. That meant that today was back to the grindstone. Except that I didn't really feel like getting up this morning to go running. Which was okay, because I felt like I had a new tactic in going to the gym after work. I'd simply wait a bit (like an hour or so after getting home from work) and hope that it thinned out a bit by the time I got there.
Turns out that's not really the case. It's just busy all the time in the evenings, I guess. Either way, I was determined that since I had gotten back on the plan on Tuesday that I'd continue that trend tonight. Which meant that the plan was 6 miles, including 4 x 2:00 AI + 6 GP. Okay - that's not too bad. I figured I might just go ahead and skip those intervals, but I actually don't mind the pick-ups, so I figured I would do 6 miles + 6 pick-ups.
Except my lower body didn't really feel like that tonight. I've been thinking for a while now (about a week or so), especially as I've watched that mileage ticker increase over there on the right hand side, that I was probably about due for new shoes. My shins have not been all that happy, my arches have not been all that comfortable and my right knee seems to be weird every now and then. All of this adds up to the fact that when I started running tonight, it was bad. Everything that could hurt did hurt.
I tried slowing down from 6.0 to 5.0. I tried taking the incline down to 0%. I tried walking for a few minutes. Nothing helped. After two miles, I realized that this was an exercise in futility and I should just quit. And that's what I did. I'm not proud of it and in fact, I'm annoyed at myself for not realizing the shoe thing earlier (or, more accurately, not acting on it and buying new shoes!).
So, I'm a quitter. I went from thinking that 32-34 miles this week was actually obtainable to thinking that I'll be lucky to hit 20 miles this week. And I'm really frustrated about that. Of course, it's snowing like crazy here in New York and we're supposed to be going to Michigan this weekend to visit my family and friends, so if we do in fact actually get to fly there tomorrow night, I won't have time to buy new shoes this weekend. If we don't get off the ground and spend the weekend here, my first order of business will be to head to Jack Rabbit and get myself some new Mizunos!
Running
Time: 24:22
Distance: 2.00 miles
Pace: 12:11/mile
Calories: 258
Maximum HR: 172
Average HR: 157
Showing posts with label Knee Pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knee Pain. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Turns Out That 28 Is Still Cold
Last night Drew asked me if I was planning on going to the gym today. I answered "no." Then, when my alarm went off around 5:00 this morning, he was really confused about what was going on because he thought I wasn't going to the gym. Which was true. I was planning on running with Terrier today instead of the gym. So, I got up out of bed at 5:23, ate and got dressed. The weather on my phone said it was 28. The very first time I went running with Terrier last year, it was 28 as well and I couldn't help but think back to how nervous I was and how worried I was about what to wear.
Today I wore running tights, shorts, tank top, long-sleeved shirt and my windbreaker along with gloves and a hat. This turned out to be not quite enough. I never ever really warmed up, even though I was sweating, which in turn was just making me colder. I think if I had worn a warmer long-sleeved top or a short sleeved shirt instead of a tank, I would have been better. My knees were also really, really cold.
I ran to the regular meeting spot and instead of doing our normal stride drills, we did a whole lot of other drills instead. The very first one we did was to squat down and then walk like that while still squatting. Which did not go over very well with my right knee. The first step I took didn't feel good and it never really felt better. I didn't time the drills today since it wasn't really like running. It was just more like moving your knee around into funny positions while walking funny.
After the drills were over, we all ran over to the Start (the "S") in order to do some speed work in our workout for the day. The main workout was a 3-2-1 workout where we would run hard for 300 yards, run easy for 100, run hard for 200 yards, run easy for 100 and then run hard for the remaining 100 yards (total 0.50 miles). Then we would do a recovery jog back to the S. So one mile in total for each one. And we were supposed to do six of these. Which, I'm going to be honest, sounded like a lot to me.
It also didn't really sound that different than the plan that I was actually supposed to be doing today, which was: 3 miles / 3 x [2:00, 2:30] AI / 2 miles. I ended up doing only three miles of the main set instead of six because Nature called and I don't trust the park bathrooms enough to make it worth it, so instead I just headed home. I also didn't think that my knee was really hurting, but I also knew that it was really cold and I could barely feel my knees, so I knew that if it was hurt, I probably couldn't tell either way and I'd much rather play it safe than sorry.
These are my mile times:
Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 10:11
Mile 3: 10:23
Obviously, I was getting slower as time went on. Mainly because I was really jogging slowly on the recovery jog back to the S. In total today, I ended up running total of 6.30 miles, so it's probably pretty equivalent to the actual workout I was supposed to do, so I'm going to call it a day and be fine with this.
I know that I should have gone home and maybe iced my knee, but that seemed really silly as it already felt frozen, so instead I chose to do nothing. And it took me a couple of hours for me to feel like a normal temperature again. Next time I'll definitely wear more clothes. I'm going to keep an eye on my knee and see how it feels. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off since I have an early eye doctor appointment and I won't have time to do anything before work. And just because I think I should rest up my knee, I won't do anything after work either.
Run to Park
Time: 13:00
Distance: 1.30 miles
Pace: 10:00/mile
Calories: 162
Maximum HR: 183
Average HR: 172
Run to Start ("S")
Time: 10:58
Distance: 1.20 miles
Pace: 9:08/mile
Calories: 151
Maximum HR: 191
Average HR: 182
Main Running
Time: 30:08
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:02/mile
Calories: 420
Maximum HR: 189
Average HR: 183
Run Home
Time: 9:06
Distance: 0.80 miles
Pace: 11:22/mile
Calories: 107
Maximum HR: 179
Average HR: 169
Today I wore running tights, shorts, tank top, long-sleeved shirt and my windbreaker along with gloves and a hat. This turned out to be not quite enough. I never ever really warmed up, even though I was sweating, which in turn was just making me colder. I think if I had worn a warmer long-sleeved top or a short sleeved shirt instead of a tank, I would have been better. My knees were also really, really cold.
I ran to the regular meeting spot and instead of doing our normal stride drills, we did a whole lot of other drills instead. The very first one we did was to squat down and then walk like that while still squatting. Which did not go over very well with my right knee. The first step I took didn't feel good and it never really felt better. I didn't time the drills today since it wasn't really like running. It was just more like moving your knee around into funny positions while walking funny.
After the drills were over, we all ran over to the Start (the "S") in order to do some speed work in our workout for the day. The main workout was a 3-2-1 workout where we would run hard for 300 yards, run easy for 100, run hard for 200 yards, run easy for 100 and then run hard for the remaining 100 yards (total 0.50 miles). Then we would do a recovery jog back to the S. So one mile in total for each one. And we were supposed to do six of these. Which, I'm going to be honest, sounded like a lot to me.
It also didn't really sound that different than the plan that I was actually supposed to be doing today, which was: 3 miles / 3 x [2:00, 2:30] AI / 2 miles. I ended up doing only three miles of the main set instead of six because Nature called and I don't trust the park bathrooms enough to make it worth it, so instead I just headed home. I also didn't think that my knee was really hurting, but I also knew that it was really cold and I could barely feel my knees, so I knew that if it was hurt, I probably couldn't tell either way and I'd much rather play it safe than sorry.
These are my mile times:
Mile 1: 9:34
Mile 2: 10:11
Mile 3: 10:23
Obviously, I was getting slower as time went on. Mainly because I was really jogging slowly on the recovery jog back to the S. In total today, I ended up running total of 6.30 miles, so it's probably pretty equivalent to the actual workout I was supposed to do, so I'm going to call it a day and be fine with this.
I know that I should have gone home and maybe iced my knee, but that seemed really silly as it already felt frozen, so instead I chose to do nothing. And it took me a couple of hours for me to feel like a normal temperature again. Next time I'll definitely wear more clothes. I'm going to keep an eye on my knee and see how it feels. Tomorrow I'm taking the day off since I have an early eye doctor appointment and I won't have time to do anything before work. And just because I think I should rest up my knee, I won't do anything after work either.
Run to Park
Time: 13:00
Distance: 1.30 miles
Pace: 10:00/mile
Calories: 162
Maximum HR: 183
Average HR: 172
Run to Start ("S")
Time: 10:58
Distance: 1.20 miles
Pace: 9:08/mile
Calories: 151
Maximum HR: 191
Average HR: 182
Main Running
Time: 30:08
Distance: 3.00 miles
Pace: 10:02/mile
Calories: 420
Maximum HR: 189
Average HR: 183
Run Home
Time: 9:06
Distance: 0.80 miles
Pace: 11:22/mile
Calories: 107
Maximum HR: 179
Average HR: 169
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Not Quite According To The Plan
Well, we made it home safe and sound from Barcelona and that means that it's back to the old grindstone as far as half-marathon training goes. I woke up early this morning in order to make up a little bit of the mileage that I didn't do and since I could have probably gone to the gym yesterday when we got home (Drew managed to go) and I opted to sit on the couch and catch up on the DVR, I figured that even though Wednesdays are typically rest days, I should suck it up and get running.
Right as I was walking out the door, I realized that I had no idea what the plan was for today. I ran back in, looked at a print-out I have at home, and then headed off to the gym. Except, apparently I'm a really bad reader since I thought that I was supposed to be doing this: 4 miles, including 4 x 1:00 AI + 5-6 GP when in fact I should have been doing this: 2 miles / 5-7 x 1:00 AI / 2 miles.
Not really that big of a deal when you look at the total mileage and I don't really know that it matters in the long run, but it does bring up a question that both Kristin and I had about the "including" in the first workout. I thought that they were part of the 4 miles in the above workout not in addition to. I did, however, think that the 5-6 pickups were in addition to the 4 miles. I guess it doesn't really make a huge difference, but I'm going to keep thinking that when it says including, it means including.
So, I did my four miles with 4 intervals thrown in. I did the intervals at 7.5, 8.0, 8.0 and 7.5 respectively. Nothing too exciting. There was some sort of a class going on in the studio in front of the treadmills that kept me entertained for a part of the run. I also tried listening to some different music (a bit more mellow than usual) and somehow that really helped. Not sure it helped my pace any, but it was a nice change.
After the main run, I did my pickups. Apparently I really can't read because in the plan that I thought I was doing, you were supposed to do 5 or 6. And I somehow thought that I was supposed to do 7. Oh well. Didn't hurt anything. Well, that's not entirely true. I did all the pickups for somewhere between 20-30 seconds. I did the first 4 pick-ups at 9.5 speed. Everything was going fine until the 4th one. And then I got this shooting pain right above my right knee.
So, admission: this is not the first time that this has happened. But I just didn't want to think about it before as I thought maybe it was a fluke. It was a similar situation last time as well - when I was sprinting and it took maybe a day to go away (but only really hurt when I pressed on it). Like any good triathlete, I thought that I should just see how it felt if I kept going with the pickups, so that's what I did. I did three more pickups at 8.5 speed and felt fine. I felt a little twinge every now and then, but nothing major, so I was glad that I finished up the workout. I gotta say that these pickups don't do anything for my overall pace since there is so much walking involved as recovery in-between, but I understand the reasoning for doing them.
I'm going to try to follow the actual plan tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. I also should mention that my HR monitor had a low battery and I sent it in for a new one, which is why my statistics are so old school at the moment. I did get an e-mail that it's on its way back to me, so I'm hoping it'll be here by the end of the week!
Running
Time: 41:37
Distance: 4.0 miles
Pace: 10:24/mile
Pickups
Time: 20:37
Distance: 1.65
Pace: 12:29/mile
Right as I was walking out the door, I realized that I had no idea what the plan was for today. I ran back in, looked at a print-out I have at home, and then headed off to the gym. Except, apparently I'm a really bad reader since I thought that I was supposed to be doing this: 4 miles, including 4 x 1:00 AI + 5-6 GP when in fact I should have been doing this: 2 miles / 5-7 x 1:00 AI / 2 miles.
Not really that big of a deal when you look at the total mileage and I don't really know that it matters in the long run, but it does bring up a question that both Kristin and I had about the "including" in the first workout. I thought that they were part of the 4 miles in the above workout not in addition to. I did, however, think that the 5-6 pickups were in addition to the 4 miles. I guess it doesn't really make a huge difference, but I'm going to keep thinking that when it says including, it means including.
So, I did my four miles with 4 intervals thrown in. I did the intervals at 7.5, 8.0, 8.0 and 7.5 respectively. Nothing too exciting. There was some sort of a class going on in the studio in front of the treadmills that kept me entertained for a part of the run. I also tried listening to some different music (a bit more mellow than usual) and somehow that really helped. Not sure it helped my pace any, but it was a nice change.
After the main run, I did my pickups. Apparently I really can't read because in the plan that I thought I was doing, you were supposed to do 5 or 6. And I somehow thought that I was supposed to do 7. Oh well. Didn't hurt anything. Well, that's not entirely true. I did all the pickups for somewhere between 20-30 seconds. I did the first 4 pick-ups at 9.5 speed. Everything was going fine until the 4th one. And then I got this shooting pain right above my right knee.
So, admission: this is not the first time that this has happened. But I just didn't want to think about it before as I thought maybe it was a fluke. It was a similar situation last time as well - when I was sprinting and it took maybe a day to go away (but only really hurt when I pressed on it). Like any good triathlete, I thought that I should just see how it felt if I kept going with the pickups, so that's what I did. I did three more pickups at 8.5 speed and felt fine. I felt a little twinge every now and then, but nothing major, so I was glad that I finished up the workout. I gotta say that these pickups don't do anything for my overall pace since there is so much walking involved as recovery in-between, but I understand the reasoning for doing them.
I'm going to try to follow the actual plan tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. I also should mention that my HR monitor had a low battery and I sent it in for a new one, which is why my statistics are so old school at the moment. I did get an e-mail that it's on its way back to me, so I'm hoping it'll be here by the end of the week!
Running
Time: 41:37
Distance: 4.0 miles
Pace: 10:24/mile
Pickups
Time: 20:37
Distance: 1.65
Pace: 12:29/mile
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