Okay, now I know I'll never be the fastest runner around. So my pleasure derives purely from pushing my limits and seeing how fast and far I can go. It's personal. And weirdly happy-making.
On Tuesday, we had what could have been our last spin class, except it looks like it will be extended another four weeks. I'm happy to stay inside. I want it not to be cold before I get outside riding in the early morning. (I know, Nath, I just need to dress better! But I'm a cold-wimp on my bike. Or maybe just a wimp.) Anyway, started Tuesday with spin class.
In the afternoon, I led a little running club of neighbourhood kids (including two of my own) on a 3km training session. The pace was not blistering, but the kids were thrilled to have made it 3km. It took us 20:52 (or thereabouts). I was wearing my GPS watch which greatly added to everyone's pleasure. "How far now?" We also stopped and walked for one minute between kilometres. I must say, the pace was so easy it wasn't really like runinng, for me. But it was super-fun.
And then, about an hour later, I took my daughter to soccer practice. And I got to run again. Again, my GPS watch greatly added to the pleasure. I'm getting rather addicted to it. I decided to run 5km as quickly as I could manage. There was a stiff wind and the loop was hilly, but hey. That meant sometimes the wind was at my back, sometimes in my face; couldn't complain. For the first kilometre, I didn't push too hard. But as I went on, I started to see my /km time on the watch drop, until I was running fairly consistently at 13km/hr. I got it as high as 14 with the downhill, and tried to keep it better than 12 even on the uphills. My goal was to finish 5km in less than 24 minutes. And I did it! The last km was brutal, but I kept my feet turning over as quickly as I could. I even passed two cyclists (admittedly, they weren't going very fast, but they looked pretty surprised). My time was 23:54. And then I ran two more kilometres, just to make it an even 10 on the day, and finished 7km in 34:35. So the pace definitely slowed, but it also felt easy. I used the last 2km as a cool-down.
What I loved about the run was imagining training myself to run comfortably at the 4:40 pace. That would make 5:00 pace feel easy. And then I could conquer the marathon in 3:30! Of course, I was pushing to my limit to keep it going at that pace, but, still. My limit used to be 5/km. It's all in the training. Training myself to accept new normals. And I'll need to add endurance training in too.
The next morning, early, I ran another 7.7km, for a total of nearly 18km in just over twelve hours. See? Happy-making!
But I've neglected my strength exercises. Must add these back in. Start watching TV again? I need to do pair them with something because I find them so boring, it's next to impossible to motivate myself now that my hip feels fine. But I could easily slip backwards, and I know it, if I get neglectful.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
More running
How much have I run this week? I know it's more than I've run since January, and I'm happy about that. None of my runs have been longer than 9km, but that's okay. I'm working my way up slowly to the longer runs. I keep doing the shorter runs at a fast pace -- as fast as I can push it -- and I'm not sure I even remember how to do a long run anymore. I will have to moderate my efforts slightly when I add those back in. Waiting to get an okay from the dr before attempting any.
Meanwhile ...
From Sunday to Saturday: 4.5 + 6 + 9 + 6 + 8 = 33.5km
That's not quite at the 40km/week I was aiming for back at the beginning of the year, but it's getting closer. A few of those runs were done very much against what I was feeling like doing, but I just decided to take opportunities and go. In addition to the running, I also went to one spin class, one spin + kettlebell class, and one kundalini class. So mostly running, really. Running is my favourite thing to do, even though it's really hard. Today, I ran trails during my daughter's soccer practice. I tried to keep my pace at 12km/hour. Uphill my pace would fall off. Downhill it would amp up. I'm still lacking in endurance, but I managed to keep my pace consistent for 8km, which I completed in 40.42 minutes. That's off my hoped-for 10-km race pace by a bit ... but on the other hand, it wasn't a race, and it involved some very big hills. I find myself trying to run virtually every time as if I were in a race. I'm not sure how to turn off that part of myself. I actually enjoyed my Thursday evening run, in a slightly twisted way, because I wasn't in the mood to run so I just set the goal very low: just get out and run, for as long as I could stand it. I felt physically kind of miserable. My GPS watch was not working. So I just ran, without glancing to see my pace. I think that was good for me, mentally. Probably worked less hard, but also kind of enjoyed the laid-back-ness of it, and appreciated myself just for trying.
I've been really tired, however. Never fully felt awake this week. I hope it's a temporary energy lull.
Meanwhile ...
From Sunday to Saturday: 4.5 + 6 + 9 + 6 + 8 = 33.5km
That's not quite at the 40km/week I was aiming for back at the beginning of the year, but it's getting closer. A few of those runs were done very much against what I was feeling like doing, but I just decided to take opportunities and go. In addition to the running, I also went to one spin class, one spin + kettlebell class, and one kundalini class. So mostly running, really. Running is my favourite thing to do, even though it's really hard. Today, I ran trails during my daughter's soccer practice. I tried to keep my pace at 12km/hour. Uphill my pace would fall off. Downhill it would amp up. I'm still lacking in endurance, but I managed to keep my pace consistent for 8km, which I completed in 40.42 minutes. That's off my hoped-for 10-km race pace by a bit ... but on the other hand, it wasn't a race, and it involved some very big hills. I find myself trying to run virtually every time as if I were in a race. I'm not sure how to turn off that part of myself. I actually enjoyed my Thursday evening run, in a slightly twisted way, because I wasn't in the mood to run so I just set the goal very low: just get out and run, for as long as I could stand it. I felt physically kind of miserable. My GPS watch was not working. So I just ran, without glancing to see my pace. I think that was good for me, mentally. Probably worked less hard, but also kind of enjoyed the laid-back-ness of it, and appreciated myself just for trying.
I've been really tired, however. Never fully felt awake this week. I hope it's a temporary energy lull.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Up, Down, Up, Down
Okay, to begin, Friday to Tuesday record of exercise (since I missed posting earlier):
Friday: physio, strength exercises, 6.5km run
Saturday: strength exercises
Sunday: strength exercises, 7km run
Monday: swim 2800m
Tuesday: spin 1 hr, run 7km
Wednesday: run 7.5km, physio and strength exercises
Thursday: spin and kettlebell class, strength exercises
Friday: run 7.5km (34 minutes)
Saturday: played soccer with my kids
Sunday: 25 minute trail running within a 90 minute hike, strength exercises
Monday: NOTHING
Tuesday: spin 1 hr
:::
So here's the physio scoop. When I saw her last week on Wednesday, she gave me a small set of strengthening exercises to continue working on, almost all core exercises with one glute exercise too. And she said she wouldn't need to see me for a few weeks, so I arranged to see her before seeing the sports doctor, which is at the end of this month. She will do a running assessment at that time. When I asked about long, slow runs, she said they would be at a lower cadence. But down the road, as my fitness improves again, I might be running my long slow runs at a pretty fast cadence. It's all relative.
I had an awesome run on Friday afternoon. I kept getting faster with each passing kilometre, and my GPS watch was working. At each kilometre, the watch shows me how fast my pace was for the last kilometre. I did one kilometre lap in 4:38, which is fast for me. I felt no pain, just felt like it was really hard work. Really really hard to keep my feet moving at that quick cadence.
I don't feel in terrific shape. This morning's spin class felt tough, much tougher than it seemed it ought to. I think, however, that I was feeling the after-effects of the trail running I did on the weekend. I rolled my ankle several times on that run, and after the last time it really hurt. I probably should have iced it. It was very stiff yesterday, and is still fairly painful today. I was feeling it during spin, not agonizing pain or anything, just discomfort. But I was also feeling my calves on both legs. I must have been using them on the hike, perhaps more than I should have--seems like my glutes should have been working harder than my calves.
It's a new week, but I've got a kid home sick, and it doesn't feel like a new week yet. And I don't have that it's a new week energy either. Sometimes it's all about hanging in and getting through, and sticking with the plan. Haven't decided whether or not I should run this evening. But I definitely need to do my strength exercises. Definitely. I felt a bit lost without a weekly visit scheduled with my physio--I think that was keeping me honest re the exercises. Now I have to keep myself honest.
Have not been to yoga in way too long. Missed this Monday for an Easter dinner, and last Monday because we had a complicated food pickup. My body is missing that stretching, that's for sure.
Friday: physio, strength exercises, 6.5km run
Saturday: strength exercises
Sunday: strength exercises, 7km run
Monday: swim 2800m
Tuesday: spin 1 hr, run 7km
Wednesday: run 7.5km, physio and strength exercises
Thursday: spin and kettlebell class, strength exercises
Friday: run 7.5km (34 minutes)
Saturday: played soccer with my kids
Sunday: 25 minute trail running within a 90 minute hike, strength exercises
Monday: NOTHING
Tuesday: spin 1 hr
:::
So here's the physio scoop. When I saw her last week on Wednesday, she gave me a small set of strengthening exercises to continue working on, almost all core exercises with one glute exercise too. And she said she wouldn't need to see me for a few weeks, so I arranged to see her before seeing the sports doctor, which is at the end of this month. She will do a running assessment at that time. When I asked about long, slow runs, she said they would be at a lower cadence. But down the road, as my fitness improves again, I might be running my long slow runs at a pretty fast cadence. It's all relative.
I had an awesome run on Friday afternoon. I kept getting faster with each passing kilometre, and my GPS watch was working. At each kilometre, the watch shows me how fast my pace was for the last kilometre. I did one kilometre lap in 4:38, which is fast for me. I felt no pain, just felt like it was really hard work. Really really hard to keep my feet moving at that quick cadence.
I don't feel in terrific shape. This morning's spin class felt tough, much tougher than it seemed it ought to. I think, however, that I was feeling the after-effects of the trail running I did on the weekend. I rolled my ankle several times on that run, and after the last time it really hurt. I probably should have iced it. It was very stiff yesterday, and is still fairly painful today. I was feeling it during spin, not agonizing pain or anything, just discomfort. But I was also feeling my calves on both legs. I must have been using them on the hike, perhaps more than I should have--seems like my glutes should have been working harder than my calves.
It's a new week, but I've got a kid home sick, and it doesn't feel like a new week yet. And I don't have that it's a new week energy either. Sometimes it's all about hanging in and getting through, and sticking with the plan. Haven't decided whether or not I should run this evening. But I definitely need to do my strength exercises. Definitely. I felt a bit lost without a weekly visit scheduled with my physio--I think that was keeping me honest re the exercises. Now I have to keep myself honest.
Have not been to yoga in way too long. Missed this Monday for an Easter dinner, and last Monday because we had a complicated food pickup. My body is missing that stretching, that's for sure.
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