Today was a Good Day

Today felt like it was a lot better even though it didn't necessarily show up in my time. I ran 3 miles in 34:03 which although slow is an improvement over earlier this week. My tempo and pace felt better and I didn't have to do the "fat man shuffle" at all with the exception of one moderate incline. It's finally coming back to me...hopefully. Additionally yesterday i got in 30 minutes of cross training on a bike. Eventually I'll build back up on the bike but I wanted to save my legs for this mornings run.

I haven't felt this good after a run in quite a while. Combination of finishing strong and actually getting a good nights sleep first probably helped. I haven't been using bandaids though and my nipples are raw...(oh man so many things I could say there but none of them are great...like Brittney Spears on dollar night--but that's not good enough--I was thinking maybe a Miley Cyrus reference but she's too young). Also my shoes are finally getting broken in so thats a plus too.

Plan for Saturday is 5 miles.

Sweet Moses

The goal for the day was 4 miles...simple enough right? I got up at 430 but had to make a pit stop in the little boys room so I didn't get out the door as early as I planned so with my lack of speed lately I figured I would have to push it to get my 4 in or just go for 3. Going for 3 made more sense so off I went.

I started out like I hadn't missed basically 3 weeks. Pace and speed were even a little faster than before for the first 1/2 mile or so but then I just hit a wall. I slowed way down just so I could keep going. 1.5 miles in Lady need to tinkle and instead of just dropping the leash as I normally do (she catches up) I inexplicably stopped too. Then we walked. We walked for a while and then ran for a while then walked for a while then ran for a while then finished by slogging (slow jog) to the finish. It was ugly. It was pretty muggy out and today was my first back to back runs in 3 weeks or so plus I worked in the yard for a couple hours last night but seriously I need to get back to running.

It's all mental...at least where I am right now. I need to get my mind right.

Windy Beast

Wow it was windy this morning...seriously windy. It seems like the entire last mile was straight into the wind. Combine that with the fact I still haven't figured out how to run again and it wasn't a pretty run at all. Jury is till out on the shoes but it'll take some time to get them broken in...just hope I didn't waste my money. Anyway did 3 miles in a very sluggish 34:52. Hopefully at some point this week I remember how to run because right now I'm slow, I mean real slow. Like so slow I may have to reenact the role of a "Sooner" during the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 (there you just learned something) if I plan on finishing a marathon in under the time limit by sneaking out the night before.

4 miles tomorrow. Keeping on rocking.

Saturday, July 26

Today, as promised, I went to Gary Gribble's Running Sports, my friendly local running store to inquire about some new shoes. They measured my feet, watched me walk and had me try on several different pairs of kicks. I tried on a pair of New Balance, Brooks and a pair of Saucony. I ended up going with the Saucony ProGrid Omni 7 which should help my overpronation that the nice people at Gary Gribble's educated me about. I'm excited to try them out on Monday...

Missing those two weeks has killed the 18 week training schedule I was following so I going to repeat and build up from there. The plan for this week is as follows:
Monday 3
Tuesday 4
Wednesday Bike
Thursday 3
Friday off
Saturday 5
Sunday off

Ugly...Just Plain Ugly

When I stepped out the front door this morning the ground was wet and it was sprinkling a little. The first mile started out well and I was on my normal slow 10 minute mile pace. About 6 minutes in I realized it was gonna be ugly so I slowed down (yeah I know slowed down from a 10 minute mile) and kept going. Around 1.2 miles the sprinkle turned to a rain or what I thought was rain however at 2 miles it really started raining. I contemplated cutting it short and heading home but Lady and I were already wet so why stop now. I kept on slogging (slow jog) for the full 3 miles. Finished in around 35 minutes which is the slowest I have ran in a very, very long time but I finished with no knee pain at all so that's the plan.

I haven't ran 3 miles in 3 weeks and oh my could I tell. I finished and that's all that matters but seriously it took forever. I'm planning on going to a running store this weekend and checking out some new kicks that better suited for big boys.

Keep on keepin' on.

Sweetness!

I ran 2 miles today with no knee pain...I was very happy about that. Every day this week I have woke up around 4 with no alarm just wanting to run. It's amazing how much better I feel on the days that I get to get out there and move a little bit. Ran it in 20:34 which means I haven't lost all of my speed (please not the sarcasm). 3 miles on Friday then back at it on Monday. I'm not sure where to pick up again on the training but I have a few days to figure that out.

Thought for the day while I was running...I wonder where I'll be the first I poop my pants while running? I bet I'll be close to the house thinking I can make it back but I bet I'll be wrong.

Not bad...not bad

I woke up at 430 this morning but resisted the urge to go run...my knee feels good today so that means I'll plan on running 2 miles tomorrow and see how that goes. Hopefully I'll have no knee discomfort and then it'll be so on...

Start Slow

Did 2 miles this morning on a combination run/walk. I'm trying to start back slow so my knee doesn't balk at the idea. It went pretty well, it bothered me a little bit but not bad enough to turn back. I got home and iced it for a bit then hit the showers. I"m going to rest it tomorrow then try to run 2 miles on Wednesday and see how that feels. Then if all goes well run 3 on Friday then try to get back on schedule.

It felt really good to run...I've missed it a lot. Back on Wednesday.

Monday

Tried to run this morning but my knee bothered me almost immediately. I found some strengthening exercises to do for runners knee so I'm hoping they'll help but that means I may miss another week of running. I'm going to try again on Wednesday though. If I take this week off to do the exercises like I should than I'll be 3 weeks behind on my training...not looking good for October 18th but who knows. I do know that I need these runs but I also need my knees.

Knee Update

My knee is feeling much better but still not quite 100% so I've decided to wait and try to run again on Monday. I'm trying to let me knee dictate when I start up again. It's amazing how much I actually miss running...who knew? Weird. That's all for now.

Knee Suck

My knee still hasn't recovered from whatever is ailing it...I tested it a little yesterday but yeah that was stupid. I'm going to give it a couple days and then get it checked out...boooooooo.

Poopy

A recurring theme on a lot of the running blogs is listen to your body. My knee was still bothering me this morning so I decided not to run this morning. Hopefully 2 days of rest will let it get back to normal then long run on Saturday. I hate missing days and this entire week has been a struggle but these things happen so I have to stay positive. No pessimistic Pete at this blog.

Hope everyone has a safe 4th!

Make Up Run

Since I was such a slackass yesterday I decided to run today instead of just doing some cardio. I still struggled getting out of bed but I did get up early enough to get in 3 miles. Finished in 33:03 which is slightly faster than a 3 legged turtle but it was pretty windy. I ran my first mile under 10 but it was wind aided. For some reason the last two miles seemed to be directly into the wind which is not pretty.

About half way through the day yesterday my right knee started hurting a little bit. I wore my strap running this morning so hopefully that will take care of the problem.

4 miles tomorrow and extra sleep tonight so I can actually get up in time to finish.

well...

Well I hit the snooze bar once then turned off my alarm clock...2 hours later it was time to go to work. I missed my first scheduled run in 14 weeks today. I guess it happens but I'm not proud of it. Gotta get back on the horse tomorrow. Boo me boo.