So I haven't posted in awhile, but I have been running still.
This week I ran 20 miles total. 4 miles on Tuesday, 5 miles on Wednesday, 3 miles on Friday, and 8 miles this morning. Still maintaining around a 10:00 minute per mile pace.
Last week I also did 8 miles on Saturday, but didn't run on Thursday or Friday.
My knee has started hurting; getting sore and stiff; hard to walk down stairs and things like that. It's okay usually when I'm just walking around. So I've started trying to focus on that. I'm soaking it in hot water more often which seems to help.
The shin splints haven't really come back, so that's a good thing. Started to get a blister on my big toe this morning, so I need to watch out for that. Not good when I'm planning a fairly big hike next week. Going to hike Mt. Whitney with my brother-in-law and some of his brothers-in-law next Wednesday; doing it all in one day, which is pretty crazy. Should be fun, but crazy.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Upping the Ante
I ran 4 miles on Wednesday, 3 miles yesterday, then 6 miles today. First time I've ever run 6 miles. Was unsure of a route to run, so I looked on the map and decided on a 3-mile out and then reversing course for 3 miles back. Unfortunately the map did not reveal that the initial 3 miles were pretty much all up hill. Steadily increasing hills, not entirely uphill. But pretty brutal nonetheless. I only walked at the very end of the last hill for about 20 seconds, other than that ran the whole way. Still focusing on good form; the shin splints have not come back, knock on wood.
I did the first 3 miles in about 35 minutes; not bad for mostly up hill. The return 3 miles I did in about 30 minutes. All in all a really good workout.
That makes 17 miles this week. Most ever.
Next week will run 5 days and try for 20 miles total.
I did the first 3 miles in about 35 minutes; not bad for mostly up hill. The return 3 miles I did in about 30 minutes. All in all a really good workout.
That makes 17 miles this week. Most ever.
Next week will run 5 days and try for 20 miles total.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Out in Nature
good 4-mile run this morning over the trail and up to the cinder knoll. Good work-out. Increasing my pace a little as I get better at my form.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
running route
here is a link to a nice 4-mile running route over to a scenic cinder knoll that I plan to run tomorrow: LINK
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Good Week
So this has been a good week of running. For the first time I ran four times in the same week. Also I have run the most distance of any week I've run before.
I ran 3 miles on Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday (still getting used to running back to back days), 4 miles on Thursday, then somewhere between 5 and 6 miles today. We are in Hurricane for the weekend and I went running with my brother-in-law, Wade, today. I let him pick the route, and he picked some crazy off-road running up and down some cinder knolls located close to the house here. Jogged a bit up some really steep rocky terrain before walking. Most of the running today was on soft dirt paths, but we had to be careful to avoid twisting an ankle on all the rocks. It was a fun run overall with a good bit of walking; we didn't push it too hard.
Most importantly, I feel really good with where I am at with my shin splints. Like I mentioned on Monday, I have been trying out some new stretches and also trying to correct my stride when I run, trying to focus more on rolling the foot (landing on the back half of the foot and then rolling it forward consistently) rather than just slapping the ground with my feet. So far it appears to be working. I have not had any significant shin splints or tightness. I'm optimistic that this will be the solution to my problems.
When I first started the new and better technique, my ankle muscles were getting pretty sore and I had to stop and walk more than I care to. Also I have been running at a slower pace than I'm used to, just trying to focus solely on training my body to run with correct stride and technique. So far so good.
I think that I will try to run 5 times next week with normal distances and paces, to see how my body adjusts and reacts.
I ran 3 miles on Monday, 3 miles on Tuesday (still getting used to running back to back days), 4 miles on Thursday, then somewhere between 5 and 6 miles today. We are in Hurricane for the weekend and I went running with my brother-in-law, Wade, today. I let him pick the route, and he picked some crazy off-road running up and down some cinder knolls located close to the house here. Jogged a bit up some really steep rocky terrain before walking. Most of the running today was on soft dirt paths, but we had to be careful to avoid twisting an ankle on all the rocks. It was a fun run overall with a good bit of walking; we didn't push it too hard.
Most importantly, I feel really good with where I am at with my shin splints. Like I mentioned on Monday, I have been trying out some new stretches and also trying to correct my stride when I run, trying to focus more on rolling the foot (landing on the back half of the foot and then rolling it forward consistently) rather than just slapping the ground with my feet. So far it appears to be working. I have not had any significant shin splints or tightness. I'm optimistic that this will be the solution to my problems.
When I first started the new and better technique, my ankle muscles were getting pretty sore and I had to stop and walk more than I care to. Also I have been running at a slower pace than I'm used to, just trying to focus solely on training my body to run with correct stride and technique. So far so good.
I think that I will try to run 5 times next week with normal distances and paces, to see how my body adjusts and reacts.
Monday, May 19, 2008
So it Begins ...
I haven't posted in awhile. We had a family emergency that kept me from running for about a week. I ran 3 miles on Monday, April 28, and didn't run again until Tuesday, May 6. That week I ran 3 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Thursday, and 5 miles on Saturday.
Last week I ran 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 3 miles on Friday. That was the first time that I ran 2 days in a row. I intended to also run Saturday, but I was sick and my shins were really tightening up, so I skipped Saturday and Sunday.
I need to develop an ability to run multiple days in a run in order to be able to stick to my marathon training schedule, but I don't think I'm there yet. I'm hoping that my shin tightness is simply my body telling me that I'm not ready to run so many consecutive days yet, something that I can build up to through training, and not an indication of some more serious injury or anything. The big concern would be that the tightness is not just "normal" shin splits, but some kind of micro fracture that would prevent me from running for a long period of time.
St. George Marathon
I found out last week that I was not selected through the lottery system to run in the St. George Marathon. I was very disappointed, but decided to try my luck through the charity system. Each year the St. George Marathon gives away a certain number of entries to different charities to distribute how they please. Some charities simply auction off their entries to the highest bidder on ebay. I was lucky enough to get a spot with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which does not auction off its entries, but rather requires its participants to raise at least $500 for the charity in order to secure the marathon entry.
Marathon Training
So according to the 20-week marathon training schedule I've found, I should start today and I should be able to run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday this week. I'm not to that point yet, so I'm going to modify the schedule to my abilities. I think that this week I will run today and tomorrow, take Wednesday off, then depending on how I'm feeling, I'll try another back-to-back running on Friday and Saturday, or I'll just run Thursday and Saturday, and wait to try multiple back-to-back running for next week. I think that no matter what I should run 4 days this week at least, and not drop below that from here on out.
I've also found a 16-week training schedule for first time marathoners which seems to be a little less strenuous, so I think that I'll cater the training schedules to my ability and work my way up to a 5-days-a-week schedule over the next 4 weeks. We'll see how it goes.
Last week I ran 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 3 miles on Friday. That was the first time that I ran 2 days in a row. I intended to also run Saturday, but I was sick and my shins were really tightening up, so I skipped Saturday and Sunday.
I need to develop an ability to run multiple days in a run in order to be able to stick to my marathon training schedule, but I don't think I'm there yet. I'm hoping that my shin tightness is simply my body telling me that I'm not ready to run so many consecutive days yet, something that I can build up to through training, and not an indication of some more serious injury or anything. The big concern would be that the tightness is not just "normal" shin splits, but some kind of micro fracture that would prevent me from running for a long period of time.
St. George Marathon
I found out last week that I was not selected through the lottery system to run in the St. George Marathon. I was very disappointed, but decided to try my luck through the charity system. Each year the St. George Marathon gives away a certain number of entries to different charities to distribute how they please. Some charities simply auction off their entries to the highest bidder on ebay. I was lucky enough to get a spot with the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which does not auction off its entries, but rather requires its participants to raise at least $500 for the charity in order to secure the marathon entry.
Marathon Training
So according to the 20-week marathon training schedule I've found, I should start today and I should be able to run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday this week. I'm not to that point yet, so I'm going to modify the schedule to my abilities. I think that this week I will run today and tomorrow, take Wednesday off, then depending on how I'm feeling, I'll try another back-to-back running on Friday and Saturday, or I'll just run Thursday and Saturday, and wait to try multiple back-to-back running for next week. I think that no matter what I should run 4 days this week at least, and not drop below that from here on out.
I've also found a 16-week training schedule for first time marathoners which seems to be a little less strenuous, so I think that I'll cater the training schedules to my ability and work my way up to a 5-days-a-week schedule over the next 4 weeks. We'll see how it goes.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Slow but Steady
Back in the saddle again ... ran Monday and this morning, a relatively slow pace on just over a 3-mile course.
It seems like whenever I am focusing on one thing in particular, I start to see that thing all over. For example, the other day we recorded a Nova special on a group of people training to run a marathon. And I heard on the radio a 68-year-old guy who ran the Boston marathon for the 13th time and for his 49th overall marathon. Wow.
It seems like whenever I am focusing on one thing in particular, I start to see that thing all over. For example, the other day we recorded a Nova special on a group of people training to run a marathon. And I heard on the radio a 68-year-old guy who ran the Boston marathon for the 13th time and for his 49th overall marathon. Wow.
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