The more I run, the less I blog - Training week 17

This has been an amazing, soul-sucking semester for me.  I am in school full-time for the first time in 8 years, this time with 2 kids who only go to school half days and I've been training for my first marathon.  I don't know what possessed me to set this sort of schedule for myself, but I've almost gotten through it.  I haven't met my mileage goals but my legs feel strong and I know I'll finish.  Many factors will depend on how long it will take.  I'm looking forward to focusing on some trail halfs for the summer after this.

Last week:

4/1 - 4 miles
4/2 - 4 miles
4/3 - 5 miles
4/5 - 3 miles
4/6- 19 miles

Total: 35 miles

Legs feel strong, with some tightness my posterior tibial tendon and IT band.  I go to PT every week and things are improving and I've been able to continue to increase mileage.  I don't think the Saucony Kinvaras will work out long term, but its too late to switch shoes now for Big Sur.  They are just a little too restrictive and stiff for me... I'm looking at trying out some Skoras next but I'm not sure if any of their models are grippy enough for trails... I haven't seen them in person.

Almost to taper time

So, after that awesome 18-miler the fall I had a few weeks ago really affected me.  I ran probably 5 times in between the fall and when the real pain started.  I went on a 4 mile hilly run in the middle of a warm, sunny day and was probably breathing harder than I usually do.  At the end of the run I could barely breathe because my ribs hurt so badly.  I got an X-Ray to make sure nothing was broken and was forced have light mileage for a couple of weeks because it hurt to both inhale and exhale.  I even went to the doctor twice because I was so frustrated about the pain and wanted them to do SOMETHING besides pain medication but there is nothing you can do for chest wall injuries.  I'm doing much better now and back on plan for my   Here are weeks 14, 15, & 16:

3/11- 6.16 miles
3/12- 4 miles
3/14- 9.37 miles

Total: 19.5

3/20- 6 miles
3/23- 20 miles

Total: 26 miles

3/25- 4 miles
3/26- 5 miles

Total: 9 miles (hah)

The last week can't be blamed on injury.  Getting back to it this week. 20 miler on Sunday!

Big Sur Training Week 13 of 20

I feel like this past week marathon training got real.  I had my longest run to date- 18 miles!  Man, that's a long run no matter how you slice it. It made me feel slightly more confident about Big Sur but it was a flattish 18 miles so I still need to hit some hills on one of my 20-milers before the race. I also fell doing speed (SPEED WORK KILLS) and messed up my knees, my hand and actually went to the doctor to see if my ribs were broken.  It still hurts but I didn't miss any runs and it's not actually bothered by running .

Last week:

3/4: Yasso 800s- 3 miles w/ 8:28 mpm. Fun! Until I fell. I averaged 7:35 pace for my fast intervals and even hovered around 6:40-7:00 for 1/4 mile before I ate pavement.
3/5: 6 miles @ 9:58 mpm 347 ft. elevation gained
3/6: 8 miles @10:00 mpm
3/8: 2 miles @ 11:45 mpm (horrible shin cramps)
3/9: 18 miles @ 10:18 mpm

Total: 37 miles

As far as fueling, I felt like I should have taken another gel (I took 3 Gu packets) and have more water/electrolytes but I was missing the cap for one of my water bottles and my Nathan vest mouthpiece tasted horribly of plastic so I ended up only taking 16 oz of water w/ Nuun tablets and 8 oz of water.  I also super hydrated before, to the point I was peeing clear before and during my 1 of 2 bathroom stops during the run.  Good thing I ran by some bathrooms! I'm hoping I can balance hydration so I don't have to stop so much during the race.

Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve

Last week was a cut back week in my marathon plan so I hit the hills on my 10 mile long run at Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve in Woodside, California. I never get used to how beautiful the trails are in the San Francisco Bay and if you are willing to brave the elevation changes the rewards are great.  The preserve is located on the western side of the Santa Cruz Mountains and you can even see the ocean from the northern part of the preserve. I ran down the Harkins Ridge Trail to the Bay Area Ridge and Craig Britton Trail down into the base of the canyon to the Purisima Creek Trail and then back up the Harkins Ridge Trail.  I stopped to take pictures every few miles because it was so beautiful but the poor white balance on my iPhone dulled the bright green of all the trees so just imagine everything much more saturated than this.  It was pretty slippery with mud in some places, I look forward to coming back when it hasn't been raining so I'm not slipping and sliding down the hills.

 

Big Sur Training Week 12 of 20

2/26- 5 miles
2/27- 8 miles
3/1- 5 miles
3/2-10 miles

Total: 28 miles

I ran Purisima Creek Redwood Preserve today! Over 1800 ft. elevation gain over 10 miles... what a beating.  I will post pictures later.

Week 11 of 20

2/18- 3.07 miles

2/19- 4.87 miles (supposed to be 5, GPS went crazy and I went by time)

2/20- 8 miles

2/23- 16 miles

Total: 31.9 miles

I had some cramping issues with my left shin this week... including the first 4 miles of my long run.  It gets painfully rigid and I had to stop every mile or so. 

Week 10 of 20- Big Sur Marathon Training

Halfway there! Trying to hit lots of hills this week in preparation for Hurricane Point.

Wednesday 2/12- 6 miles / 602 ft. elevation gained / 10:18 average pace

Thursday 2/13- 7 miles / 275 ft. elevation gained / 9:48 pace

Saturday 2/15- 6 miles / 105 ft. elevation gained / 10:00 pace (end of a long day in the dark)

Sunday 2/16- 9 miles / 572 ft. elevation gained / 10:44 pace

Total: 28 miles

I'm feeling pretty fatigued this week.  It's another week of my highest weekly mileage so far and I'm slacking on the nutrition area.  I'm hungry but instead of eating high quality protein or anything good I'm eating a lot of ice cream sandwiches.  I'll work on that this week.

Big Sur Training Week 9 of 20

21 of my miles last week were done in the rain.  I missed some runs last week but considering I was switching shoes that probably isn't a horrible thing.  I don't mind running in the rain too much... the rain in the San Francisco Bay is a light drizzle that last for days and not the spurts of downpours I grew up with in Texas.  Pretty easy to run in, but I do wear a hat on rainy days.  This week I'm trying to run more hills in preparation for the killer hill in the middle of Big Sur, so I'll start adding in elevation information for each run as well. I'm going to try to run trails on my weeks of shorter long runs because that's where I love running most but I have to work up to some of the challenging hills the area's trails provide and I'm not quite ready to run 14-16 miles with huge climbs.  I tried out a 6 mile run with maybe a hill 60-70% as challenging as the hill in the marathon with regards to grade and length and it was a beating.

Week 9 of 20
2/5- 4 miles (243 elevation gained)
2/6- 7 miles (203 ft. elevation gained)
2/9- 14 miles (686 ft. elevation gained)

Total: 25 miles

Picture of cherry blossom trees, of which I saw many, around mile 10 of my long run last week:

Big Sur Training Week 8 of 20

I guess I have to change the name of the blog because I bought a pair of non-minimalist running shoes.  I've been in physical therapy the past few weeks because of posterior tibial tendonitis after the week I ran all my miles under 9:00 min/mile.  I had a gait analysis done and to my horror, I was still heel striking- 3 years into barefoot/minimalist running.  I was shocked and upset.  I have some other issues-overpronation, hyperdorsiflexion, asymmetry in several areas.... I'm doing strength training to improve where I'm weak. But the wear on my minimalist shoes show that I'm heel-striking even when it feels to me like I'm landing mid-foot.  I still am pretty sure I don't heel-strike while actually barefoot because I doubt I would have been able to run 14 miles barefoot while heel-striking and not have some sort of insanely bruised heel.  After I got over the inital shock, what concerned me more when viewing my gait videos was the collapsing in of my right ankle.  That's where I've been feeling consistent pain and on my last 12 mile long run I could really feel my form falling apart and being unable to prevent it from collapsing in.  If both ankles were doing it to the same degree I would be less worried about it but my right is doing it significantly more than my left.  So, after much thought I'm trying FOR THE FIRST TIME in my running career, some more "traditional" shoes.  I'm not sure if my body is just not cut out for barefoot/minimalist running or if my goals just don't coincide with it at this point.  I am super nervous to switch over to a different type of shoe- who knows if I will be trading my current injuries for new ones.  Only time will tell.  I definitely think the Bikilas aren't the shoe for me for marathon distances.  I'm only interested in running as many pain-free miles as possible right now.

Anyway,  I got some Saucony Kinvaras and am going to be slowly switching over to them for the marathon.  I tried on several low-heel drop shoes at a local running store and the Kinvaras feel pretty comfortable, though it is odd to run on these pillows of comfort.  I only wore it for my 5 miler Saturday.... no real difference in speed, which is good.  If I was suddenly running 1 minute per mile faster I would be more worried about injury.

Miles this week:

1/28: 4 miles
1/29: 5 mile trail run
1/30: 6 miles
2/1: 5 miles
2/2: 7 miles

Total: 27 miles

Big Sur Training Week 7 of 20

1/21- 3 miles (barefoot)
1/22- 3 miles (barefoot)
1/23- 5 miles (VFF)
1/25- 3 miles (VFF)
1/26- 12 miles (VFF)

Total: 26 miles

I went for a couple of barefoot runs this week, as my achilles issues seem to disappear when I take the shoes off.  I'm still doing most of my training in VFFs and will probably do the marathon in them as I don't have time to build my plantar skin back up to do it bare.  I'm also hoping the exercises my PT gave me will help with any issues I'm getting from the switch to VFFs.

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 6 of 20

Nearly back to where I need to be.  If I hadn't been derailed by the flu Friday.  I probably should not have even run today as I have had horrible body aches and a fever.

1/13/14: 6 miles
1/15/14: 3 miles
1/16/14: 4 miles
1/19/14: 8 miles

Total: 21 miles

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 5 of 20

Last week was still light on the mileage due to my posterior tibia tendonitis but I think I rested the perfect amount and was able to go for a very enjoyable 6 mile trail run today. I've been resting, ice, compression, elevating, stretching, etc... and will try to really run my easy runs "easy" from now on. I have a PT appointment Thursday and hopefully they can tell me what else I can do to prevent injury while I build mileage.

Week 5 of 20:

1/7/14: 3 miles @ 9:04 min/mi pace
1/9/14: 4 miles @ 9:45 min/mi pace
1/11/14: 3 miles @ 10:09 min/mi pace

Total: 10 miles

Big Sur Marathon Training Week 4

I probably ran too fast last week for my ankles because they feel horrible this week. I have an appointment with an ortho and PT clinic and have had to severely reduce my mileage.  I think its several things but mainly posterior tibial tendonitis.

Two runs- 4 miles, followed by lots of pain and a few days off and 3 "ok" miles today in compression socks.