March Recap

So, I know that it has been forever since my last post.  I cannot explain how crazy life has been the last few weeks.  I have been slammed at work, and trying to keep my running going with all the other things going on in my life has been hard.  But I've done it!  After I do my run today, today will make day 80 of my running streak!  And on Day 62, I broke 200 miles!  I have wanted to give up so many times, but I haven't let myself yet.  And usually on the days that I really want to quit, I'll force myself out there and after the first mile, I am so glad that I did.

So for a very brief recap of my running highlights over the last couple of weeks...

On March 1, I ran the Beignet Bash 5K here in Huntsville.  A friend (you know who you are) was supposed to join me, but she had to cancel at the last minute.  It should have been a new PR, but I was not on my game that morning.  I have kept my new 5K time under 30 minutes though.  I finished that one in 28:46 for an average pace of 9:16.

Then, on March 15, I ran the Rocket Run 10 Miler in Mooresville, AL with one of my partners.  We finished in 1:44 for an average pace of 10:16.  It made me feel good about my upcoming half in a couple of weeks.

I followed that with a 10 mile run the following Friday night.  It was tough and required a couple of stops to catch my breath and not throw up.  However, I never stopped for more than a few seconds, and my running accumulated to 10 miles in 1:37.23 for an average pace of 9:44 (which probably explains my struggle.)  This was by far my fastest long run yet!  I don't want to get my hopes up for the half because I never know what sort of issues I may be dealing with on race day, but I am wishing this is a sign.

As I was finishing this particular long run, I had a welcome committee at my "finish line."

This particular track and park are where Fleet Feet does their fun runs and training, so there are markings all along the course.  This one is my favorite.

Sometimes the message is simple.

Finally, this past weekend, I was in Birmingham and participated with my friend, April, in the Mountain Athletics Running/Peak Bagging clinic at Railroad Park.  It was sponsored by the local Mountain High Outfitters and The North Face.  I thought it was going to be a clinic on running form, but they combined the two sports into one serious workout.  I could barely keep up.  It turns out that I am very weak (okay, maybe this is not a surprise).  April, on the other hand, has been doing cross fit for a year now, and she was killing it!  The clinic was Saturday afternoon, and I can still feel the pain in every muscle of my body!  There was no long run this weekend.  So, I guess my taper will start a little earlier than planned.  Hopefully the strength training will step up my game though!  And we got a bunch of cool swag at the clinic as well.

Okay, that should bring us up to date.  I'm sorry I let things go for so long.  I'm going to try to get back on track now!  

Weekend Recap - It's a Girl!

I realize I'm a little late on this post, but it was a very busy and exhausting weekend.

Friday morning started with a very early two mile run before going to physical therapy at 8:00 a.m. and then straight to work.  I finally left work a little after 5:00 p.m., ran a few errands, packed some clothes and picked up Tully, then headed to Gardendale.  When I finally arrived home around 8:30, my friend came over to relax and hang out for an uneventful Valentine's evening.  That was all about to change, though.

I checked my phone around 9:45 and saw the text message that my cousin, Maddie, was in labor.  Yay!  I cleaned up our dinner and said goodbye to my friend and left for the hospital.  When I found my family at about 11:30, I was just in time to be sent home.  They had just broken her water and weren't expecting a baby until 3-4:00 a.m. at the earliest, and then there would be a two hour bonding period for the parents.  So, we all headed home for a few hours of sleep.  After a restless few hours in bed, I received my next text at 5:03 a.m.  It was simple:

I was up!  I left my house, grabbed a large latte from the 24 hour McDonald's outside of St.Vincent's and was back in labor and delivery in an hour.  

She was is perfect!  Weighing in at a tiny 6 lb. 6 oz., she was a light weight by Weber standards.  And with a head full of dark hair and blue eyes, she is absolutely adorable!  And such a content little thing (at least that morning).  I was so honored to be one of the first people to meet this blessing.  I introduce you to Annalee Elizabeth Lott!

Isn't she beautiful?  Needless to say, she had a couple of exhausted parents, so we all left the hospital around 8:00 a.m. to let them try to get a little sleep.

 I had a day full of plans with girlfriends, though, and no time to waste.  I went straight to the park for a 3 mile run.  Then I went home to get ready for my friend to pick me up at 11:00.  We met our other girlfriends at the outlet mall for lunch and an afternoon of shopping, then on to a party full of games (our husbands were invited to his part only).  The Dance Dance Revolution at 11:00 p.m. was a hysterical end to a very long day.

I planned to get up Sunday morning and go watch some of the Mercedes Marathon/Half in Birmingham.  But the weekend just filled up too much.  However,  I did make sure to keep up with all of my friends running in it, and they did great.  When my husband and I met friends for lunch and a movie the next day, I was rather jealous of all of the runners I saw in their race shirts.  But I am going to "trust the taper," so I kept reminding myself that the Gulf Coast Half was in one week.

Whew!  By the time I finally made it back to Huntsville Sunday evening, I was beat!  I hammered out a 10 minute mile just to keep my streak alive, then collapsed on the couch to finally watch some House of Cards.  I told myself that I would use the first three days of this week to get some good runs in before I rested at the beach (we leave on Thursday!).  

It was raining and very dark when I finally left work yesterday, so I hit the treadmill.  As a tradeoff for not taking to the street, I pushed myself on the 'mill.  A 5K in 29:33 isn't too shabby.  Is it possible that I might have finally reached the point of continuous sub-30 5Ks?  

5 days until the Gulf Coast Half!  And I am so stoked to trade in snow for sand!!

A Not-So-Long Run

Since I ran a 5K race yesterday (woo hoo new PR), I planned to do my long run today. I waited until the weather "warmed" up after noon. Then I set out to run about 10 miles. I fell a little short of that goal though. 

Today marked Day 30 of my streak. I have definitely seen improvement since I started, including an increase in speed. However, I can definitely feel fatigue from it. With no real recovery days, my legs are exhausted and almost constantly sore. And my joints are starting to wear. 

Last Thursday, I went to a free injury screening at Fleet Feet in Huntsville. My knees, especially the right one, have been extremely bothersome and painful on long runs. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't about to seriously injure myself just before the Gulf Coast Half. A physical therapist checked me over and said that my knee was not the problem. Apparently, my right hip is rotated inward causing my stride to fall funny and put excess strain on my knee (or something like that.)

She informed me that it was nothing serious and could be easily corrected. She said that I could continue my training and race without concern. However, I would benefit from some PT to prevent long term injury. Now I realize that her job in this is to drum up business, but the pain in my knee is real. So if my insurance will cover it, I'm game to improve my health. I am supposed to call tomorrow to see what the consensus from BCBS is, then hopefully go to my first appointment. I'll let you know. 

Anyway, back to today... My hip and knee were still hurting from yesterday, and my legs were just generally tired. They've been working hard this last month. So, instead of forcing out a painful 10 miles, I chose to cut my run short at 7. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself when I first finished: "Why couldn't I go 8?" "I should've pushed for the full 10." But I ran 7 well. I fact, I maintained an average of a 10 min pace for the full time to finish in just under 70 minutes. 

I ran my fastest 5K ever yesterday morning. I have streaked for 30 days. My half is in 2 weeks. I think maybe it's okay to give my legs a little break. Maybe there is something to be said about a taper. A recent Runners' World article spoke of a study showing that cutting mileage the 3 weeks leading up to a race does nothing to decrease one's fitness as long as he or she continues to run and train. So this time I'm going to try to trust the taper. And come on, 7 miles still counts as a long run doesn't it?