Archive for February, 2010
Distance: 4.51k (plus how much I ran while RunKeeper was paused because my phone rang)
Time: 33:39 (plus about a minute while RunKeeper was paused)
Snuck in a last-minute run before it got too dark today. It wasn’t too windy, but it was drizzly and grey. I got to try out my new rain jacket, and I have to say I was less than thrilled with it. It was comfortable for the first part of the run, and it kept me dry from the rain, but by the end of my run, I felt like I was wearing a plastic bag. The sweat was a sheen down both arms, and I was way too warm. I took the jacket off on the drive home, and when I put it back on to go into the house, the inside of the sleeves were wet. Yuck. I’m beginning to wonder whether there is such a thing as a rain jacket that keeps the rain out but is not too hot, and is comfortable and nice-looking. Is that too much to ask?
I think that RunKeeper is working better now that I followed the email advice I got to delete the program and re-install it. It still didn’t display the first kilometer split properly, but I think that’s because my phone rang, which paused the program. I forgot that the phone ringing pauses the program so I ran for about a minute before resuming the program, which messed up my time and distance. My only complaint with the program now is that I set up a playlist of podcasts which RunKeeper doesn’t seem to acknowledge, so I’ll have to use the free version to listen to those during my run.
The best news of my run today is that my knee was only a bit sore, and it was better not long after my run. If it holds up, I’m going to try another run tomorrow, because then I go back to work. Speaking of, I’m waiting to hear about a job that I applied for, and not knowing is driving me nuts. I was hoping to hear by today, since the posting closed on Wednesday afternoon, but it looks like I won’t hear till Monday at the earliest. It’s gonna be a long couple of days!
Related Reading:
Distance: 9.83k
Time: 70:25
I’m way too tired from my run today, and my boys waking me up at 6:30 am to write a full post, so I’ll do a list of the good and not-so-good things that have happened run wise in the last two days.
Good:
- I now fit into my lululemon hoodies that I bought way before I got pregnant with my first son. They didn’t fit in between pregnancies, because I could never zip them up over my chest. Now they do, so I’ve been wearing them non-stop. I so missed them. Warm and cozy. When I Tweeted about this, the lululemon Twitter person actually Tweeted me back to congratulate me! Kinda cool.
- I beat my last 10k time on this route by about 2 minutes, although I did not beat my PR from the race last month.
- I’m closer to being back on track with my training plan. I was tired at the end, but from an energy standpoint, I probably could have kept going for another couple of kilometers.
Not so Good:
- I wrecked my knee. Call me stupid, or hardcore, or just plain stubborn, but I was absolutely determined to get the distance in today. My right knee was fine for the first half of the run, but it was screaming again by the end. And the pain radiated through my whole leg, so that my inner thigh was hurting at the end, too.
- I learned that when wearing short-sleeved shirts that I need to put my armband on the other way because the jack for my headphones rubbed the skin just below the elbow on my arm raw.
- RunKeeper totally messed up my splits on my iPhone so that the first 9k had 0 time and 0 distance, but my speed for the last kilometer was 1:19/km. Also it said I only burned 2 calories. Well, I guess if it took me an hour and twenty minutes to run one kilometer, I wouldn’t burn very many calories! Oddly, when I went to the website, my splits were on there for each kilometer, and they looked okay (http://bit.ly/9ZJffu).
So, I don’t know what to do about my knee. I refuse to even consider stopping running, and I really don’t want to even cut back too much, because the marathon isn’t that far away. I tried stretching it more after this run, and I plan to rest it tomorrow. I even considered an ice bath, although I didn’t do it. Any suggestions out there?
Related Reading:
Posted in Running Marathon | 
Tags: armband, iPhone, knee injury, long run, lululemon, marathon, RunKeeper, Running | 
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Distance: 4.84k
Time: 34:00
Today was a good and bad run. Good because I had a good time. Bad because I could have gone faster and further if my knees were okay. My right knee didn’t hurt at all when I started, so I considered running my long run today. That thought left my mind about ten minutes later when my knee started to ache. By the time I was almost done 5k, my knee was screaming in pain. I felt like I was limping although I don’t think I really was.
It’s just so frustrating. It’s like my knees are plotting against me. “Ha ha!” they think. “She thinks she’s going to run 10k today. Boy is she wrong! She’ll barely make it to 5k and she’ll be grateful we didn’t collapse!” Then they laugh evilly. Or maybe I’ve lost my mind.
Anyway, I hope that they get their act together soon. I should have done an 11k last week, so I’m now behind on my training. For an overachiever like me, this is borderline disastrous. I’m planning on doing a long run on Wednesday, with as much rest as I can tomorrow and some icing. Maybe some Ibuprofen is also warranted. Do you hear that, knees? I’m the boss! Not you! Pretty please?
Related Reading:
Distance: 5.17k
Time: 35:11
Today was my first run after taking 3 days off, which is the longest time I’ve gone without running for a while. It felt like it had been much longer, especially at the start of the run. I took the extra time partly to help my right knee recover, and partly I had to work two days. My knee still bothered me with this run, but I had to get out there. I just can’t understand why my knee was fine, and then all of a sudden it hurts and not even rest seems to do much. I do know that driving makes it worse, and while I doubt running on it helps, it doesn’t seem to make it any worse. Anyway, I thought it would be packed on the walkway today, being a beautiful sunny Saturday, but I took it as a good sign when I actually got a parking space. There were a lot of dog walkers and people out in packs, but not as bad as I feared.
I had a couple of interesting thoughts today on my run. I thought of my sister, who is recovering from surgery so she can’t run. I also thought of the guys who host the podcast I listen to, the Two Gomers. One of them was hit by a car while running, which is every runner’s worst nightmare and one of the main reasons I run along the Walkway, as there is no car traffic along it. According to reports from Facebook and Twitter, he’s fine, but he won’t be able to run for a while, and may not be able to do the marathon they signed up for, in 6 weeks. So I think I dedicate this run to those runners who couldn’t run today. May you be back on your feet and out on the roads soon.
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Distance: 9.07k
Time: 63:07
Today my sister and I did our last run before she goes in for surgery and can’t run for a few weeks. She did this route on Sunday, and wanted me to try it with her; I didn’t take my iPhone with me, though so my RunKeeper didn’t do a map. It started right by Victoria High School, along Fernwood Avenue and up the hill (a steep hill!) and then along Cedar Hill Road to the Cedar Hill Golf Course. We ran around the golf course, which is gravel and wood chip, with a nasty hill right at the start and a few smaller ones about halfway around. Then, we ran back to the start. It was a gorgeous day out, with only a bit of a wind, and I was way too warm by the end in my long sleeve shirt. I was kind of hoping that we would finish in less than an hour, but I’m still pretty happy with the time. This course had more hills than any other course we’ve done yet, and my knee started to bother me again about halfway through.
I’m still a bit concerned about being off from my training plan, since I should have done a 10k on Sunday, and I’m probably gonna have to take a couple of days off in a row because of my knee. I think I can make it up by maybe jumping from 10k to 12 or 13, and skip the 11k this week, but I don’t want to hurt myself. What I probably need to do is make sure my knee is fine before I even consider amping up the mileage, but what can I say, I’m an overachiever. Also, because of her surgery, my sister is not going to be able to run for at least a couple of weeks, and then she’ll need to come back gradually. So, I don’t want to get too far ahead of her, either. I think I’m just going to try to follow the training plan as much as possible and try not to worry too much about it.
Yesterday, I did something I hate doing: I returned my rain jacket to the Running Room. It did say on the tag that I could return it within a year for any reason, and I confess that I hated wearing that jacket. I only wore it when I absolutely had to (i.e. in the pouring rain) because it felt too bulky. I didn’t know this about myself until I really started running, but I like to run in form-fitting clothes. This jacket was straight in the waist, and I really prefer to run in clothes that come in at the waist more. So, I took it back, even though I bought it in September (yes, I keep receipts). The salesperson did not seem very happy to return the jacket, but she did. I then tried a smaller size, but it still felt bulky, even though it did fit better. Then I tried a couple of other jackets to compare, and realized that what I really hated was the zippers under the arms. They’re there to help vent the jacket when running, but I found them uncomfortable. So, I found another jacket without the zippers, which is more form-fitting, that I think I’ll love. Of course, it’s been sunny ever since so I haven’t had a chance to test it yet.
The other thing I’ve realized is that I need to hide my headphones, because my cat eats them. Yes, he chewed through the wires of my brand new headphones, which I’ve only had for a couple of weeks. Not in one place, but in about ten. Yes, I’ve tried them and they’re beyond dead. Yes, I’m super pissed because they cost about $45. I was keeping them in my running hat, with all of my other running accessories on top of them (gloves, headband, armband), but he managed to dig them out to chew them. So after much cursing and annoyance, I found another pair of (hopefully) better headphones for less money on eBay. The only downside is that I won’t get them for at least a couple of weeks. So, I’ll have to either run with my backup pair, with the way-too-long cord, or run without tunes (not happening). But at least I’ve now tried enough pairs of headphones while running that I could probably call myself an expert.
