I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE training for a race. I love the discipline, I love knowing what I am to do every day, but most of all I love the running. But to do each run I must recover. The recovery is where you get stronger. The run itself just breaks you down... but if you recover, you are stronger because of it.
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| Foam roller, compression socks, & PJs |
When I get into the high miles, I need to recover quickly, so I have a few items that help with that.
- Foam roller! All I can say is this thing needs to take me out to dinner or something because I spend a lot of time with it. The concept is simple. Roll it up and down the part of your body that hurts. It is great to get out knots, and loosen up your IT Band!
- Compression Socks! I wear these all the time! They help my legs (mainly my calf muscles) recover. I run up on my toes, so my calf muscles get a beating.
- Last but not least, my Pajamas! It is important to get enough rest all the time, but especially in training.
I ran just over 43 miles this week, so here is the break down....of the miles, not of my mental state. =) That's for another blog.
9 miles of total running, 7.4 of this at tempo pace (btwn 7:43-8:03). My girls were out of school today and the weather was a bit bad the night before, so I decided to do this run a little later than planned. This meant that I would be doing this run alone, but I'm glad I did start later, because the bridges were still icy when I went out at 1000.
Plan was simple: run down David Taylor, to the greenway, take the new Toby Creek extension, and finish back UP David Taylor for my cool down. Everything always looks so much better in writing. My pace was good, I felt good but I still had to finish up DT in a very tired state of mind. But I did it. I even saw a good friend on the greenway and he ran the last .5 of my tempo pace with me. This was a great run and the weather was just beautiful. I actually could have worn shorts or a skirt instead of my tights. I was a bit warm while I was doing my "fast miles".
Tuesday Swim
I swam 1700 meters today. We warmed up and then did 75s. I could tell I was tired. I know this because I could not get my breathing to even out and my heart rate was high. So while Michelle was going through the water like a beautiful mermaid, I was swimming like a cow of the sea. Ha! Ha! Moo!
Good grief! This was 8xhill. That means I run up hill 8 times....
Who wrote this stinking training plan? Oh, I did!
Michelle and I warmed up a few miles then found the most menacing hill we could find and ran up and down it 7 times. Then we ran to another hill and ran up it. I think this ended being about 6.5 miles.
Thursday is a day of rest! Well from running anyway! I had to clean my house, before going into work. The carpet attachment to my vacuum broke, so I ended up vacuuming the whole house with the bare floor attachment. That was a workout! But you gotta do what you gotta do! I have a dog and there was no choice but to vacuum.
Today I met up with Holly and Michelle and we ran 9 miles at my marathon pace (or a bit faster). The goal was 8:29 but we ended up averaging right under this pace. We did the same route I did Monday.
Who's idea was this? Oh, mine. I guess I can never have too much David Taylor!
Wow! It was warm! I had on a skirt and tank and sweat was pouring off of me. I don't glisten, I sweat! I decided to take water and Gatorade with me. I'm glad I did because I was crusted with salt when I finished. I am trying to get used to drinking the Gatorade because I think it will help me stay hydrated better.
Today was 19 miles of cold and wind! How the weather can change in a day. I decided to do this run down town. I started at the DOWD YMCA and planned to run 3 alone, come back to car, meet Michelle, run the Corporate Cup course (13 miles) with her, come back to car, Michelle leaves, then I run 3 more alone. 19 miles doesn't seem as long when I break it up like this, well at least on paper.
Who wrote this training plan? Man, I must be insane!
So at 0635 I was chugging along to get my 1st 3 miles in. The squirrels must have had it out for me. They kept throwing their little nasty bodies at me. But this did not deter me! I was focused!
At 0700, Michelle and I went back out and started on the course. The wind was fierce! The only way I can describe it was that it took my breath away, and it chilled me to the bone. I was wet with sweat and could feel it hitting me. Yes, I still sweat in the freezing cold! We ran and ran and ran..... Near the end of the course, she suggested we add on a little. So we did a little mile loop to get in some more mileage. When we got back to the DOWD, I was at 17 miles. This means I only had 2 more to go. Yeah!
But here's the problem. Go back to around mile 15. The top of my left foot started hurting a little so I retied my shoe so it wasn't very tight. Well I think this slightly changed my foot strike, due to my shoe being looser than normal. So my IT Band starts protesting. These last 2 miles were a form of torcher that I have never incountered. I could feel my ITB rubbing my knee wrong and locking up. By mile 18, I was having a really hard time getting my left leg to turn over. I am sure I looked pathetic. I did finish, but it hurt! It hurt bad!
Got back to my car, drank my chocolate almond milk, tons of water, and called Matt to tell him I was finished. Then went home to face the foam roller!  |
| Spot showing off his socks! |
But Spot did wear his compression socks. :0) ---->---->
