How to get your mojo back

It’s taken a while but my motivation is back! Thank God! To be totally honest the marathon took a lot more out of me than I expected. Well, not just the race itself but the 18 weeks of training. I was tired and a little sick of running. So what I should have done was take a full two weeks off and enjoyed some rest. But what I did instead was take 4 days off and then start freaking out about my next half marathon. I did a couple of runs – that were all terrible – and ended up with my stress response and some unplanned time off. This actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

No early mornings. No runs in the dark. Lots of rest and recuperation. And now, a little over a month later my mojo has reappeared – 5.40 AM wake up calls, working out almost everyday and I’m loving it (well not first thing when I wake up) and here’s how I got it back.

1. Make your workout part of your schedule. I don’t know about you but when a work meeting is on my schedule it is non-negotiable. I cannot miss it. And when I’m planning my week my workouts go on my schedule and become non-negotiable. I look at my day planner and it becomes another item that I have to do. I don’t have to think about whether I’ll go to the gym or to yoga class – it just happens.

2. Make it easy for yourself. My yoga studio is half a mile from my house. My gym is on my way to work. Same for my local pool. It is easier to go than not. Especially if I change into my workout clothes at work. Or have my swimming gear already in my car. Or have my yoga mat and outfit waiting by my bed. Don’t give yourself the time to talk yourself out of going.

3. Wants and needs. Sometimes – OK a lot of times – when my alarm goes off or when I’m finished work I WANT to go home. Then I have a little talk with myself and woman up. I try to remember how good I’ll feel once I’m done, and try to think long term. But sometimes you NEED to take a break. Some days you need to have that extra hour in bed. Or that ache could benefit from a days rest. Be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling – do you want to or need to take a break?

4. Find a buddy. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? Plus, friends can turn into great accountability-buddies. Lucky for me, J is a morning person. In fact, I used to think that he was crazy for getting up early to workout. How times have changed! But when he’s up and getting ready for yoga class in the early hours it’s a lot easier for me to get up and follow him.

5. Set mini goals. For this break from running I wanted to do a different form of cardio, so I picked swimming. I’ll tell you right now that I am not a swimmer. Sure, I learned the basics when I was a kid but I never swam in high school (high school sports are not a thing in Ireland unfortunately) or college. So basically I had no idea what to do in a pool. I found a 6 week couch to 1 mile swim program. A short program with designated and progressive workouts finishing in a one mile swim. That is perfect for me (although it might not work for everyone) and gives me a short goal to work on while I get back to running.

6. Treat yourself. I don’t know about everyone else but I love cute workout gear. So after a couple of swim sessions in my very old swimsuit (and after my goggles broke right at the start of one workout) I hit up the REI sale and picked up a new TYR suit and goggles. And I was excited to go and try out my new gear- > added incentive to workout!

7. Develop a habit. Being consistent is the number one key to getting and staying fit (whatever fit means to you). Like most things those first few workouts are going to be hard. But it gets better. You might have to force it at first but once you develop those habits it’s easier to keep them going.

So, I’ve got my mojo working for me! I hope you have found yours!

A tentative return

Running injuries suck – I think everyone can agree with that. But one of the hardest things about an injury (at least for newish runners like myself) is knowing when it’s OK to start running again. For this I rely on my doctor’s advice (REST REST REST) and listening to my own body. I took two weeks completely off from running – but supplemented with swimming and biking which were completely pain free. After the first week my foot (diagnosed with stress response AKA if you don’t stop this will become a stress fracture) was feeling great so I decided to test it out. 1 mile on the treadmill – and it felt fine. The next day I was a little achy but this went away pretty quickly. So I kept it up – running every second day with a 5 min walking warm-up and followed by lots of stretching and foot strengthening exercises.

I bumped it up to 1.5 miles this week and my foot is still feeling good (total mileage 7.5 miles for the month). But I am freaking out about every little ache or pain – hypochondriac right here. On one hand I want to get back to running ASAP but I do not want to injure myself in the process. The day after my second comeback run my shins were feeling sore – then I remembered that I have the tightest calves in the world and need to remember to stretch them everyday. And volia – shin pain disappeared. But (there is always a but) my foot still doesn’t feel quite right. I can’t quite figure out what is wrong (and it’s definitely not the stress response issue) so I might have to rest a little more. Or at least continue with my constant body surveillance and decide for myself when an ache is really a pain.

But workouts are still happening.

Sat: 1.5 mile run + strength session at gym

Sun: Swim (1500 yds) + yoga (first class in 4 weeks!)

Mon: 1.5 mile run + strength

Tues: Swim (1500 yds)

Wed: 1.5 mile run + strength

So lots of swimming (I’m about 2/3 of the way thru my 0 – 1 mile swim program) and lots of core + leg work. I’m actually feeling pretty good and like I haven’t lost that much fitness. Also, today was the first time since the marathon where I’ve gotten up before 6 AM to workout. Of course, I did pick the coldest day of the year to do that. But it seems like I’ve suddenly got my energy and motivation mojo back. And if you live with me that means baked goods.

Chocolate chip zucchini bread and pumpkin granola AKA breakfast this week.

AAnd some non- homemade treats.

I did use the dough to make the cookies and it was amazing. Fresh made cookies need to be eaten with ice cream.

And because John was out of town all last week (and I was somehow way more busy than usual hence my complete lack of posting) I managed to catch up on my new favorite shows – How to Get Away With Murder and the Mindy Project.

It seems like today is our first real taste of winter out here in SLC – I am currently wearing a million layers to stay warm – but we were treated to some beautiful sunsets last week. Luckily for me my offside is west facing and I get to take in the view before I leave for home (in the dark).

From work last week.

On the way to yoga on Sunday.

Any tips for returning from injury?

It’s official – October is just not my month

I had hoped to post about my first experience running with a local running group after finally having the time (and inclination) to meet up for one of their Saturday group runs……………but life had other plans. So let’s rewind to the start of the week.

Monday: Strength workout

Tuesday: 4 mile easy run around 9 min/mile pace. This was mentally a struggle but got it done.

Wednesday: I finally figured out how the lap function on my Garmin works so I decided I’d try to do a couple of mile repeats – and I mean literally a couple as in two. One mile warm-up. One mile at 7.14 min/mile pace. Half mile recovery. One mile at 7.10 min/mile pace. Half mile recovery and then an easy run home. It felt hard but in a good way and I was excited to move fast again.

Thursday: Slept in and skipped an early morning run. PM strength workout.

Friday: 15.1 miles on the stationary bike.

On Thursday I woke up with an annoying pain in my foot that got worse as the day progressed. I made a call pretty early in the day to take a rest day from running. But by the evening (and after my gym session) I couldn’t put any weight on my right foot and I was freaking out. A quick google search only increased my freak-out levels. My pain had a sudden onset and was in the exact place where you get a stress fracture.

On Friday, I called to get a same day appointment at a local clinic (yay for fall break and working on a university campus!). The doctor checked me out and was convinced that I didn’t have a fracture…………YET……….but all my symptoms suggested that if I didn’t take a break from running it would only be a matter of time…………Her advice: two weeks with no running. Then try some short distances but stop if there is any pain. Still good to bike, swim, ellipticise. No yoga, climbing or single leg exercises.

Bummer! I’ll have to pull out of the Snow Canyon half marathon due to injury for the second year in a row. In October 2013 I ran exactly ZERO miles. This year I’ve done a little better (about 50 miles) but that is me done for the month. It seems like my body just gives out after 10 months of solid training. Stupid overuse injuries.

On the plus side I have lots of options for getting cardio in. The weather was so beautiful in SLC this weekend – blue skies in the 70s – that I biked to work (and the pool) on Saturday, and then to the gym on Sunday. The distances are pretty short but man, everything is uphill! But it makes coming home a lot easier.

I don’t feel much pain. The doctor was able to move my foot around with no problems so she’s pretty confident that I’m in the earliest possible stages which means faster recovery and I have the OK to take ibuprofen if I need to.

I’m actually a little relieved. Ssssh don’t tell anyone! I guess I was a little more burned out from the marathon than I realized, and knowing that I had a potential half marathon coming up I couldn’t truly relax. No that the race is off the table and I’m under doctor’s orders to NOT run – well I can do that.

Most importantly – I’m so glad that this happened AFTER the marathon. I can’t even think about how bummed I’d be if I had trained for 18 weeks and had to pull out of my goal race for a stress fracture (which I don’t actually have – a stress response is what she called it).

So as much as it sucks to be injured – it has happened at the best possible time and as far as injuries go – it’s one of the milder ones.

Plus my trail running buddy is also on the injury list so we can be comeback buddies in a couple of weeks.

So I spent the weekend biking around town – just because it is so beautiful outside right now and in a couple of weeks I know that winter will hit hard. I found a Couch-to-1 mile swimming program that I can do at the pool right by my work – that at least gives me some idea of what I should be doing in the pool. Day one was 4×100 yds, 4×50 yds and 4×25 yds. A nice warm up to the pool. I started this last year when I was injured but never got as far as a full mile so that is my goal this time around. Sunday was 6.2 mile on the elliptical followed by a bunch of core stuff – including a 3 minute plank which is probably the longest I’ve ever done.

And in case you were worried the health center were on top of things and asked if I had recently traveled to West Africa. I got the all clear from Ebola but made sure to get my flu shot.

This weekend was mostly a solo one for me – which means lots of delicious eats. For some reason, when I’m cooking for myself it always involves fries – sweet or regular oven fries. And I’m a little obsessed with brussel sprouts right now. I also got to catch up with some new shows – How to get away with Murder – so awesome.

New wok!

Crockpot chicken drumsticks.

Chicken tenders with sweet potato fries – plus all the toppings.

Homemade fries, roasted brussel sprouts and homemade fishsticks.

Breakfast sandwich: Baby spinach, tomato, avocado and fried egg. I think I’d eat this everyday if I could.

And last night I persuaded J to come and see Gone Girl with me. I loved it – although I think a lot of people were not happy with the ending. In return, we visited a local beer bar before the movie.

Delicious!

And did I mention that the movie theater is a bar…………I’m not sure why this isn’t the general rule for all of them?

Anyone had a stress fracture before?

Do you have special food you cook when you’re flying solo?

Anyone else seen Gone Girl? Opinions?

Returning to normal………….

The post-marathon PR glow has finally subsided and things are getting back to normal around here.

I finally got to a yoga class. So many lunges and downward facing dogs – my legs were loving it. My calf tightness is gone. Yes! Lesson for me: do not stop doing yoga when training for a marathon – your calves will thank you.

Love my yoga studio. Not quite sure why he’s standing on a baby though.

This class also worked on half-moon pose which is my absolute least favorite yoga pose ever. But the teacher made it seem pretty fun – that or I was just so excited to be back on my yoga mat.

If only I looked this good.

I also did a one night camping trip in American Fork Canyon. The fall colors up there are spectacular. And you’re just going to have to take my word for it as my iPhone is acting all weird at the moment.

This is pretty much what it looks like right now. Not my photo.

I also managed to put up my tent all by myself – which I think means that I am now an adult. Usually, I just hold things while J does all of the hard work. It was a pretty great Saturday night hanging out by the campfire. But my God – during the night there was heavy rain, howling winds, thunder, lightening and hail. I did not sleep much – I was too worried the tent would fly away and carry me to Oz.  It was still raining by 7.30 AM (camping mornings are always early) so we packed up as quickly as possible. This meant more driving through beautiful autumnal scenery followed by the most amazing brunch at Sundance Resort.

On Saturday morning I headed out on my first ‘long’ run since the marathon. This was 8.85 miles of not-fun running. I wanted to some mileage in because I will be running a half marathon on Nov 1st – thank you kind race folk for letting me defer after last years injury combo (sciatica and hip bursitis).

So my carb loading continues………………..

Local brewery. Utah has weird liquor laws so they opened a place in Denver.

Kale and mushroom-stuffed lasagne rolls.

I am beyond obsessed with skinnytaste (that is where this recipe is from) and just got her new cookbook as a gift. I am so excited to try out some recipes this weekend.

Am I am still waiting for my new shoes! UPS messed up the delivery last week so I am hoping to get to try them soon.

Finally, I got some marathon photos (at Twin Cities you also get a link to a video showing you cross the finish line). There are a couple of cute ones of J and I running earlier in the race but the finish line seemed to be a little crowded as we were crossing.

Smiling and looking for the camera (for once). I think this might have been mile 14?

Crossing the finish line – and so relieved to be done.

Marathon recovery

It’s been 5 days since my first marathon and I’m finally starting to feel normal again. Honestly, I had no idea how my body would cope with running 26.2 miles but wanted to write a post for any other first timers about what they can expect for the post-marathon week.

Towards the end of the race itself I knew I was going to be sore. My legs felt SOoooooo tired – my left calf and both quads were busy letting me know how pissed off they were for subjecting them to this race. And they pretty much stayed that way until Tuesday night (the race was Sunday morning).

The muscle pain was similar to what I’ve felt after a particularly hard half marathon (avoid all stairs + sit down as much as possible in work) but it feels as if there’s a whole extra layer of muscle fatigue that I’ve never experienced before. My legs feel heavy – although this is slowly improving.

So what have I been doing?

Sleeping! 7 AM wake-ups for me and usually in bed by 10 PM. That is a lot of sleep for me but I totally need it right now. No 6 AM runs or gym sessions.

Drinking a ton of water. I’m hydrating like it’s my job.

Eating better. A 3 week vacation followed by carb loading has left me feeling a little squishier than I would like. With training volume WAY down and no longer having daily access to cheap Chianti I’m getting my diet back on track. Lots of veggies, not much meat and as unprocessed as possible.

Some cardio. On Wednesday I was itching to get my legs moving again so I went to the gym and did 5.5 miles on the stationary bike. Very easy and nice to flush all that crap out. After work on Thursday I jumped on the treadmill for 3 easy miles. My legs were still feeling pretty heavy but it felt good to be running again.

Foam rolling. I have a huge knot in my left calf that I’m trying to get rid of using my foam roller. It’s the right kind of hurt. Plus lots of stretching.

Cross-training. Marathon training takes up a lot of time and I definitely had to sacrifice other activities.I haven’t been to yoga or to my rock climbing gym since the start of August (!). Hopefully, that will be changing next week. My hard-won arm definition is long gone so I’m hoping to get in more strength training time.

So what’s next? Well, last year I signed up to run my second half marathon (Snow Canyon half) but had to pull out due to injury. I emailed the race organizer who said I could defer my entry until 2014. That means in theory I should be running a half on Nov 1st. Originally, I was pretty excited about this. I could use all of my marathon training to bang out a new half marathon PR. Plus it’s a really fast and pretty course.

Well – I’ve tried to get back in touch with the race organizer and so far no dice. I’m also feeling a bit meh about racing again. I figure if I hear from her I’ll run it but if the deferral isn’t going to work out I’m not going to care that much.

But what I have signed up for – the Ogden Marathon – May 16th 2015. I ran the half marathon at this event as my first ever race back in 2013 and want to go back and do the whole thing. That day was pretty miserable – non-stop rain from 1 hour before the race until after I crossed the line. But it was a beautiful course down Ogden canyon. It’ll be a complete U-turn after Twin Cities but something to get me motivated to go running on dark February mornings.

And finally, my reward to myself for finishing my first marathon. New shoes! What else could a runner want.

I’ve been interested in trying out some Altras for a while but wanted to wait until after the marathon to transition into zero drop shoes. Plus they were $50 on amazon. I’ve bought a couple of shoes through amazon. Usually they are sold directly through the company (these are from Altra and are $15 cheaper than their own website) and can be Prime eligible. Hopefully, these guys will be waiting for me when I get home from work later today.

Twin Cities Marathon Recap

Take two: My browser just crashed before I could save my 1000-word recap.

Wow! What an experience! My first ever marathon on a beautiful course with the most amazing crowd support. And a race that went as perfectly as I could have hoped.

My main goal going into this race was not to hit the wall and have a miserable time. The plan was to go out slowly and keep even splits and maybe speed up in the second half. I did have a time goal – which is not recommended for newbies like me. But it was a very loose goal and I wasn’t going to beat myself up if I was falling behind. I wanted to feel comfortable for the first 18 miles and the goal was to run by feel. I did pick up a 3.45 pace band at the expo but only started to look at it at the halfway point where I was 2 minutes behind target pace but was pretty sure I would finish sub 4 hours. I actually only hit the goal mile splits at mile 26! I wanted to enjoy the race but also to get the most out of my 18 weeks training and get a race time that I could be proud of. For my first full distance I decided to be conservative and it definitely paid off (hello – almost 3 minute negative split!).

Now to the race details. Race day started at 5.30 AM with a breakfast of toast and a little bit of water (I ate half a granola bar at 7 AM). I was feeling surprisingly relaxed – maybe because I hadn’t put too much pressure on myself and I would have J running the entire course with me. We left at 6.15 AM and parked in downtown Minneapolis about two blocks from the race start.

The weather was a little cooler than I had expected –  38 F at the start with a high of about 50 F for the day. The morning was pretty sunny and I wore shorts with a long sleeve shirt plus some running gloves that I kept on for the whole race. My fingers and toes were a little numb for the first couple of miles but after that I felt fine. We dropped our sweat bags at 7.45 AM and headed to our corral. We placed ourselves between the 3.35 and 3.45 pacers and waited for the start. We crossed the line at 8.02 AM and headed towards downtown.

I had expected to feel pretty emotional at the end of the race, but it was actually at the start where I got a lump in my throat. Being surrounded by 8000 runners and ready to see where my 18 weeks of training would get me – I was already on a high.

The first couple of miles were through downtown Minneapolis and some of the nearby suburbs. We went out slower than goal pace and were just trying to take it all in. There were a couple of smallish hills and plenty of spectators lining the route. I felt sluggish for these first couple of miles and was a little worried that I was going to have a bad day. Then I remembered that it usually takes me 3-4 miles to warm up on my long runs and I just tried to relax and talked to J about all of the cool things that we were seeing on the route.

Mile 1: 8.48

Mile 2: 8.54

Mile 3: 8.29

After mile 3 we headed towards the parkway that runs around some of the lakes.

They don’t call this the most scenic urban marathon for nothing. Most of the race had views of the lakes and the parks that surround them. There were also beautiful houses (we made a game of finding our dream house as we ran) and people out biking and running on the trails. It was so scenic – although these roads are normally for one way traffic and at some points turned a little narrow which made it a little difficult to pass people.

And the crowds! Holy crap! They were amazing. There were people out in their front yards blasting music, holding up some pretty funny signs, offering plenty of free high fives, fruit, popcorn, beer. We ran under a balloon arch, by drum bands, brass bands, a guy playing bagpipes, a guy playing a piano. Everything you could imagine. It was immensely humbling that people would give up their Sunday morning to watch people run 26.2 miles. It felt like we were running through a whole bunch of block parties. Being my first marathon, I have nothing to compare it to but it’s hard to imagine better spectators.

I’ve read a couple of race reports that say the first half of the marathon always goes by really fast, and as hard as it sounds it’s definitely true. The first half was pretty flat and maybe a little downhill. I was feeling good – just a little tight in my hip flexors – but overall very comfortable.

Mile 4: 8.36

Mile 5: 8.36

Mile 6: 8.39

Mile 7: 8.43

Mile 8: 8.31

Mile 9: 8.37

Mile 10: 8.23

Mile 11: 8.22

Mile 12: 8.25

Mile 13: 8.28

We went through 13.1 miles in 1.53.46. I knew that we would be crossing the bridge into St Paul at mile 19 so we kept a steady pace and tried to take everything in.

Mile 14: 8.36

Mile 15: 8.26

Mile 16: 8.28

Mile 17: 8.33

Mile 18: 8.28

Mile 19: 8.28

Mile 18 was the first place that I started to feel tired. On my long runs I had started to tired as early as mile 14 so I felt confident that we were going at a pace that we could keep until the finish line.

If you look at the elevation profile for this race, there is a monster hill from mile 20-23. I made a deal with myself that I would push through this hill and then hold on for the last three miles (which are downhill). Luckily for me, all of my hilly training runs around Salt Lake paid off, and to me this section was largely a non-event hill wise. Sure there was one short, steep section but overall it was fine. If you did any hill training you would be totally fine for this section.

Mile 20: 8.20

Mile 21: 8.13

Mile 22: 8.32

Mile 23: 8.30

Mile 24 is where things stared getting tough. My legs were tired. I knew that if I dug deep I could keep my pace for two more miles. And that’s the game I played with myself – you can run two miles, 1.5 miles, one more mile. Just before mile 26 we turned a corner and suddenly saw the Capitol building and the finish line. I looked at my watch and saw that I had two minutes to finish under 3.45 – so I went for it.

Mile 24: 8.20

Mile 25: 8.26

Mile 26: 8.18

Second half in 1.50.51 and a finish time of 3.44.37 (average pace 8.35 min/mile).

I think what helped during those last few miles was a familiarity with being uncomfortable. I had done long runs on tired legs, tempo runs where I had to really push to finish, trail races where I had to run up and then up so more. My training really got my used to reading my body and knowing the difference between real pain and when I was tired but could still keep going.

Once we were done I ate everything in sight – chocolate milk, fruit cup, chicken and veggie broth, chips, and clif bars. We then picked up our sweats and tried to stay warm (they give you a foil blanket when you get your medal). I also got a massage (would recommend) before picking up a finishers shirt and heading to the beer garden for a celebratory can of Summit beer.

My calves and quads were not happy and are still sore today but I can live with some muscle pain after such a great race. I couldn’t have asked for a better debut. I surprised myself by actually ENJOYING it way more than I thought was possible. I’ve even signed up for my next full in May 2015. This may be the start of a major marathon addiction!

Check-in and check-up

Can you believe that I’m a quarter way through my marathon training plan? 4.5 weeks done. And so far so good. Although it looks like sh*t is going to get real in the next couple of weeks.

Saturday started with a 6 mile pace run. What I learned from this is that I am a terrible judge of my own pace and that I can’t math. Somehow I figured my first mile was 8.15 (I was aiming for around 8-8.05 min/mile) (Spoiler: my first mile was actually 7.12 min) so I decided I needed to pick up the pace a little for the next two miles (7.35 and 7.27). That’s when I figured I needed to slow the hell down. My last three miles were at a more reasonable pace (7.46, 7.53 and 8.06). D’oh! I definitely need to work on even splits. Overall 6.15 miles at 7.41 min/mile average – and a great way to ensure some tired legs for my long run on Sunday.

Breakfast turned into a berry fest – raspberries and Greek yogurt, strawberry/banana smoothie and blueberry scones.

We had plans to bike downtown to the Utah Arts festival in the evening so we fueled up on grilled cheese and roasted broccoli pasta salad.

The festival was by the City and County building. And you got $2 if you rode your bike and left it with the bike valet.

We checked out some bands, drank some beer, ate some ice cream and browsed the artists’ booth. We also saw a really cool performance by the local ballet company.

Afterwards we decided to hit up a local bar. That’s two Saturday bar trips in a row. I was telling J that we are now party animals. Party animals that are home by 9.30 PM!

Then a quick bike trip home (and uphill) to catch up with Game of Thrones.

Sunday was my scheduled long run: 12 miles. I have only ran this distance twice before in training, and it kinda felt like the first real long run of marathon training. My plan was to start slow and finish strong. And it felt pretty good. I took a Gu at mile 6 and by the end felt like I could have kept going for even longer. Plus my miles 8-11 were all in the 8.25-8.35 range. The only downer is that my Garmin doesn’t take into account time spent waiting for traffic lights – and by my calculation this was at least 5 minutes over the course of the whole run.  Oh well – Garmin says 9.07 min/mile, I say 8.47 min/mile.

That run brought my weekly total to 31.85 miles which I think is my biggest week ever. And my June total to 115.6 miles – my second highest month ever.

I had made it a goal at the start of the year to run 1000 miles in 2014. So at the halfway mark I’m at 555.65 miles – on target! Woohoo!

Monday was an after work yoga class. Tuesday an easy 4 miler (8.49 min/mile). And this morning – 7 miles (my longest midweek run ever) at 8.42 min/mile. This run felt sluggish. One of those runs where you feel like you are really pushing the pace until you look down at your watch………….and not so much. For some reason, it took me about 4 miles to properly warm up and  then it felt great.

The other big event this week was my visit to the physiotherapist. I wanted her opinion on my right knee pain and left foot pain (both of which flared up in the last 2 miles of my long run) and to get the go-ahead to continue with marathon training.

So after a detailed description of all my running aches and pains and a hands-on examination of my legs, she came to a couple of conclusions.

1. My right leg is significantly weaker than my left leg in terms of muscle strength, muscle mass and stability.

2. This means that my muscles aren’t strong enough to keep my knee pad in its correct place when I run long distances. This makes my knee hurt……..

3. I then compensate by using my left leg more making my foot hurt because I have crazy tight calves.

The good news is that if I work on strengthening my right leg all my problems should go away. So plenty of single leg work and keep doing yoga.

And I can continue to run if the pain is not getting any worse (this is exactly what I wanted to hear!). Interestingly, she said that if my knee starts to hurt when running, I should focus on engaging all my leg muscles in that leg and concentrate on using that leg more. So that’s what I did on this morning’s 7 miler – and it felt so much better. I have 5 weeks until the next appointment and she seemed pretty optimistic that I should be able to fix everything and run pain-free in the not too distant future.

Bonus: she taped my knee-cap so all my coworkers think I’m a crazy, badass runner. Or just a crazy, constantly injured runner.

Now, I just have another day and a half of work to get through before J and I head off to Nevada for a much needed camping trip. I’ll be throwing in my trail shoes and seeing what I can find!

Eureka!

Why doesn’t every race do this? Free digital downloads of your race photos!

I think I’ve mentioned before about my distinct lack of photogenic-ness in race photos. But, I actually really like this photo of me finishing my last half marathon. I didn’t even notice the photographer at the time, so this was a genuine “Wow – that race went really well” smile. Plus I can always remember my outstanding race fashion choice.

But this is the photo that has given me my Eureka! moment.

I’ve been having chronic knee issues in my right knee since February(!). Some days are better than others, but despite doing all my glute strengthening exercises I’ve reached a plateau (but have a nice muscly ass – so there’s that). And this has been extremely frustrating.

But if you look at this photo, and particularly my right foot, you might notice that it’s at an angle. When your foot lands it should be straight and in line with your leg (see top photo and left foot), and not at a 20 degree ankle. No beuno.

I think this foot rotation might explain my lingering knee issues, so for the past couple of runs I’ve been concentrating on my foot placement. Note: thinking about running while running is exhausting! But I think I’m noticing an improvement. Or else, I’ve just convinced myself that I’ve figured it out. In either case, I’m booked in to see the physiotherapist on Tuesday and I won’t be leaving til she’s fixed me!

Automatic PRs!

On Saturday I ran my first ever 5K race. Automatic PR baby – 23.33!

The race is part of a series of trail races aimed at getting people into trail running. The course wasn’t technical – mostly old jeep roads with only the smallest section of single track. But a couple of things make it tougher than your regular 5K. First of all, Park City is at an elevation of 6700ft – which is about 2000ft  higher than Salt Lake City. And let me tell you that the difference will really kick your butt. Secondly, trail races mean one thing – hills, hills and, uh, more hills.

My legs were feeling heavy – not helped by going out way too fast (7.05 first mile). Looking at my Garmin elevation data – it doesn’t seem look that bad but I felt that the second mile was non-stop uphill (7.45). I hung in for the third mile – getting passed by two high school girls in the last quarter mile (7.31). I was so glad to be done – 5Ks are no joke.

The race itself was awesome. Race-day packet pickup which took about two minutes. Instead of a race shirt – you get a pint glass. Plenty of Nuun, water, bagels and bananas at the finish. Plus, an awesome raffle (with an extra ticket if you carpool). The only downer is that there is no chip timing, but there were only about 280 people in the race so that it’s not too big of a deal.

So my 5K PR is now 23.33 (although I measured it as 3.18 miles). 8th woman and 1st in my age group. Age group winners get to pick a prize from the raffle table. I opted for a compression foot sleeve (basically a toeless sock) to help with the minor foot pain I’ve been having recently. And you know – the more compression the better, right? Next up is a 10K around the same trails on July 12th.

The rest of Saturday was spent brunching, shopping and figuring out what to do with all the greens from our CSA.

On weekends, I like to have a cocktail when I’m prepping dinner. This time – mojito. I used our CSA radishes and turnips to make a salad (tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and lemon juic

e), and dill to make a potato salad.

J and I then biked 1.5 mile to our local microbrewery to taste some new brews.

Sunday was a 8.2 miles long run (8.40 min/mile) and I was not feeling it at all. The race on Saturday was tough and although I met my goal (sub-24), I felt a little disappointed with how tired I was feeling – which is totally stupid. I mean, I ran a half marathon last weekend and am probably not fully recovered. I need to stop putting such high expectations on myself. By the time Sunday rolled around it was a struggle to get out of the door. I did not want to run. Not – I couldn’t run. Physically, I felt pretty good but my brain just wasn’t cooperating. But I did it – and with pretty even split times. It’s in the books now – time to move on.

I also got my yoga groove back on. I haven’t been to a class for a while. Food tendonitis made it a little painful and then I just wasn’t psyched to go to a class. But I was suddenly itching to go – and was so glad I did. It felt so good. I am definitely back on the yoga train.

Sunday cocktail in my race glass!

And then a little Asian inspired grilling – BBQ pork chops, mango slaw and stir-fried mustard greens (not my favorite).

Today was an early morning session on the elliptical (4.3 miles) and finished with an after-work yoga class. A coworker is going on vacation and has offered passes to a yoga class at the University gym. I tried it tonight and it was pretty good (and free!). More like yoga-robics but fun. I can feel a big difference between my two knees but lunges are pain-free and I want to strengthen them back up.

Anyone else race this weekend? Anyone else finding it hard to find their running mojo?

 

 

My first 5K race!

No, this isn’t a flashback Friday where I recount my first ever race experience and how the 5K was a launchpad that set me on my path as a runner. My first race was a half marathon (!) and since then I’ve complete two more halfs, two 10Ks (one road and one trail) and a trail 15K. But I’ve never run a 5K race. Ever.

And it’s not like they are a rare event out here in SLC. Every Saturday I run past a 5K in one of our two local parks. So why haven’t I run one yet? Well, I’m a little cheap and I like more bang for my buck – at my last 10K you could pay $30 to run 6.2 miles or $25 to run 3.1 miles. That’s a no-brainer right there! Plus, 5Ks hurt! When I do tempo runs at 5K pace they are not fun. I seriously question what I am doing. At least in a half marathon you can ease yourself into the HURTZONE, and have a couple (or more) miles at a comfortable pace. But, 3.1 miles – they are all going to hurt.

This summer I signed up for a trail race series – 5, 10 and 15K. Tomorrow is race number 1: the 5K! And that means I’m guaranteed a PR! Woohoo! I’m kinda hoping for a 24 min time but we’ll see – there’s about 250 ft of elevation gain (almost half of which is in the first mile). These races are super fun and have a great raffle so you are almost guaranteed to come away with some kind of running goodie. Race recap on Monday!

The half marathon was only last weekend but seems so long ago. I did just find out that we’ll be getting all of our race photos for free – this is the first race I’ve done that has that option. I haven’t seen them yet but hopefully there’s not too much running-bitchface going on.

I spent an hour on both Sunday and Monday stretching and rolling. My calves are incredibly tight and are causing me foot issues – tight achilles, random pain at the bottom of my foot. I did manage a  2 mile recovery run on Sunday and have been diligently rolling and stretching all week.

I even packed my stick to bring to work today. Lucky I’m wearing long pants so nobody can see the one-legged calve sleeve that I’m rocking.

Monday: 1 hour stretching/rolling

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run at 8.28 min/mile pace

Wednesday: 5.5 miles at 8.35 min/mile pace

Thursday: 4.2 mile on ellipitcal (equivalent to one whole episode of Scandal)

Friday: 50 min strength workout

By Wednesday my foot was feeling pretty crappy so I swapped out running for cross-training on Thursday and am feeling a gazillion (that’s a number, right?) better.

I’ve also had some pretty good eats. Orange chicken (low in calories but tastes so good).

And this quinoa tabbouleh recipe which was amazing. Still not happy with the falafel.

 

Two race weekends in a row! What was I thinking?