Posts Tagged ‘windy’
Distance: 5.69k on August 19, 10.92k yesterday
Time: 38:39 on August 19, 85:16 yesterday
I managed to get in one more run before I got sick again on the 21st. This time it was a cold, starting with a sore throat and ending with stuffy nose, slight fever, and feeling crappy. I still have a runny nose, but I’m pretty much back to normal. I even jump started my running by doing a long run yesterday. I feel pretty good afterward, and I feel like I got my groove back. Hopefully, I’m done with being sick for a while, so I can get serious about my training to do the half in just a few weeks.
The first part of the run was on my own, running from my house to the Breakwater. It was nice, a bit windy, but still sunny. I only really noticed the wind when I met it head on. It was crowded through downtown, but I think I got there just after the Clipper arrived because lots of people on the sidewalk were dragging luggage behind them. Despite the crowds, I managed to average about 7 minutes per km to the Breakwater, a bit slower than my “usual” but not bad.
I got to the Breakwater just in time to meet Erika, for the other part of my run. We ran from there to Clover point and back, which was just over 5k. It was nice on the way to Clover point, still sunny and the wind was at our back, pushing us along. The run back was a bitch. It went by quickly because Erika and I were chatting, but the wind was so powerful we could barely hear each other. Of course, now the wind was pushing against us, which provided a good resistance. About 1k away from Erika’s car, the huge cloud started rolling in from the West, and it got darker and colder. By the time we got to her car, it was chilly. We did a really quick stretch and warmed up in the car.
I had forgotten how good it felt to have done a long run, even if this time it was only about 11k. I felt a sense of accomplishment and of well-deserved fatigue. Of course I also felt hungry because I only snacked before the run, so then I felt good about being able to eat whatever I want. I’m back to work tomorrow, but I’m hoping to get in a couple of short runs, so I can do another long one next week. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until I finished this one!
Any long runners out there? Do you miss the long runs when you don’t do them for a while?
Related Reading:
Distance: 4.90k
Time: 32:43
Even though this run was one of my slower ones, I’m happy with it. I woke up with a sore and stiff middle back. I haven’t had any back pain for years, and certainly none once I started running. I must have slept funny, or maybe not long enough. I tried a Tylenol, which did absolutely nothing. Then I tried an Advil, which helped but not as much as I thought it would. Only a fellow runner would understand why the next thing I tried was to go for a run. And it worked. The stiffness is gone and the pain is much less. It wasn’t as fast as it could have been, it was easy. And I still managed to outrun the big black cloud coming in.
So, I did not do 30k today. A fellow runner and marathoner sent me a message, “strongly recommending” that I not do such a long run the week before the marathon. She reminded me that, unlike a final exam, you cannot cram for a marathon. You either have done the training or you haven’t. I rather suspect that I’m am closer on the “not” end of the spectrum, just because my longest run so far has been 22k, just over half the distance I’m going to be travelling in a week and a half. But, as she pointed out, I stand a better chance of finishing the marathon if I haven’t pushed too hard beforehand, which would be an ideal condition in which to injure myself. After all, I keep having to remind myself, my goal is to finish the marathon, not to run a set time (although we need to do it in less than 6 hours). So, to TK, thanks for being the voice of sanity.
Incidentally, I just heard the latest podcast from the Gomers last night, and they also talk about the temptation to cram before the marathon, and how that parallels what kind of student you were. I think I touched on this with the last post, but I was kind of a crammer. I thrived on the stress of procrastination and doing it all at the last minute. Of course, part of it was that I was usually so busy that the time I had for preparing ahead of time was limited. Interestingly, that hasn’t changed as much as I thought. Due to work, kids, and other “stuff” I have missed a couple of longer runs, so I fell behind. I also had trouble some weeks with just getting the shorter runs in.
But I can’t discount how far I’ve come since I started this training. Not too long ago, it took me closer to 40 minutes to finish 5k, and now it takes about 32. That’s an eight minute difference in less than 6 months. Also, I remember in December, when 8k felt like a long run, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to run the whole thing. Now, I’ve run almost 3 times as much! That’s quite an accomplishment!
Now I’ve reached the end of the training and although I don’t feel quite as prepared as I would like, I’m confident that I will still finish this marathon. I may have to walk a lot of it, maybe even half of it. I will probably take longer than 5 hours, although I’m still really hoping to finish in less than 6. But I will finish it. I will have my sister with me, so we can help each other and commiserate. I will have my training, even if it’s not ideal. And I’ll have my stubbornness . If nothing else, I’ve learned to never underestimate the power of sheer willpower.
Related Reading:
Posted in Running Marathon | 
Tags: marathon, rain, runners, Running, Two Gomers, windy | 
1 Comment »
Distance: 4.82k Monday, 4.82k Thursday, 7.36k Yesterday
Time: 34:18 Monday, 32:34 Thursday, 52:34 Friday
Monday’s run, just the day after the Times Colonist 10k was just a bit of a recovery run, so I wasn’t going for speed. Good thing, because by the time I got out, there was a full-blown wind warning outside. The good news is that it was a headwind on the way out, so it was a bit easier coming in. The bad news is that it was a virtual wall of wind in places, which really slowed me down. It didn’t bother me as much as usual, probably because I knew it was windy before I set out, so I wasn’t trying to be too fast. I almost didn’t go at all, but I’m going to be running from Tofino to Uclulet in 6 weeks (!), and what are the chances that course ISN’T windy, right? I wore my husband’s kind-of-broken-but-not-really headphones and the wind caused them to blow around so much the volume kept going up and down, which was annoying. I also had to hold onto the cord to keep it from getting snagged.
In contrast to Monday’s run, I did try for some speed on Thursday. I was considering doing 8k rather than 5k, but I was too tired. The first two km were tough, and it took me a while to get into a groove. It was absolutely gorgeous out, which helped. I was actually thinking I would have another 34 minute run, but I managed to get it together at the end to finish at a decent time. This run also put me over the 100k mark for the month, for the first time. Yay!
Yesterday’s run was another really windy run, except this time the headwind was on the way back. I decided to do an extra half loop, because I didn’t do the extra one on Thursday, and I should have just sucked it up and did it then. The wind was so strong just after the turnaround after the bridge that it just knocked all the energy out of me. The first two km were the only ones under 7 minutes, and I felt like I dragged myself back to the car after finishing the half loop. My time was discouraging, but I have to remind myself that I’m not going for time at the marathon; I’m just trying to get it done. It will likely be windy at least part of the way, so I need to be able to run in the wind without it taking all of my energy.
It also looks like I’m going to be getting one more practice race in before the marathon, too. Instead of doing the relay for the Oak Bay Kool 1/2 Marathon, I’m going to do the whole thing. It’s not a distance I haven’t done before (once), and it’ll be a good dress rehearsal for the marathon, since it’s smaller than the Times Colonist 10k, with a cap of only 750 runners. I’ll also get a shiny medal for finishing!
Related Reading:
Posted in Running Marathon |
Tags: earphones, Edge to Edge Marathon, long run, marathon, runners, Running, Times Colonist 10k, windy |
No Comments »
Distance: 4.76k
Time: 35:32
This was a strange run. I went out with the intention of doing a minimum of 10k, and possibly even 15k to get my long run in for the week. It was one of those days when I just had the itch to run as long as I could. I psyched myself up to go for a longer run and was looking forward to it. When I headed out, I felt good about the distance.
Instead, I ended up only doing 5, for several reasons, only one of which was run-related. Firstly, I got called to switch my day shift at work tomorrow for a night shift tonight, so I thought doing a long run just before a night shift was unwise, especially since I needed to try to fit in a nap before work. In fact, I got the call to switch my shift while I was running, which totally messed up my RunKeeper, since the program paused when I took the phone call, and then wouldn’t start up my music when I resumed the tracking. I ended up having to pause it a couple more times to get my music going again. Then, the weather started to change from sunny and warm-ish to cooler and threatening rain, with a pretty strong wind. I was only wearing a long-sleeved shirt and crops, so I was not dressed for colder weather or rain. Finally, my knee was hurting. Again. All of this just took the wind out of my sails, and after 5k, I was done. It was a bit discouraging, but I was more disappointed with my time. Why so slow again?
And, this whole knee pain is really bumming me out. Sometimes, it is sore for the rest of the day after a run, and even into the next day. Other days, it stops hurting once I stop running. Now that I’m working three night shifts in a row, I decided to use that time to take a mini-break from running. I know I won’t run between nights, because I need to sleep. I’m not sure if I will be able to fit in a run on Saturday, because my husband made plans that afternoon, and I’ll be asleep all morning. So the next day I know I’ll get in a run is Sunday, which means I won’t run for 4 days. That is a long time for me now; I usually get antsy after 2 days of not running. But I’m hoping that taking the time will give my knee a chance to heal, and maybe I’ll get in a pain-free run. The real dilemma I have is whether to take it easy for this run, or to take advantage of having a good rest and try to do a long run. I’m leaning towards doing a shorter run, because I also work Sunday night, but then I probably won’t be able to do my long run until next Tuesday. That seems like a long time, and I’m still behind my training schedule.
I’ve actually considered trying to switch from the marathon to the half instead in June, but when I really think about it, I know I can do it. I mean, I should be able to run the distance of a half in about a month, or even less. I’m just a bit worried because I’m still behind on my long run distances with my training plan, and my knee pain may put me even further behind. Also, my sister had pretty major surgery a couple of weeks ago, and I’m worried about when she will feel up for running again, that she will need time to get back to where she was before the surgery. Maybe I just worry too much.
Distance: 5.16k
Time: 35:52
This was the slowest time for a run I’ve had in a long time. There are many things I could potentially blame, such as the cold, windy weather, or my (still) sore knee, or my still having a bit of a cold. But all those things were there on Sunday, and I got my best time. So, I’ll just have to blame it on running slowly. In spite of the time, this was one of the best runs I’ve had for several days. There’s no single reason why, but I felt better after this run than I have in a while. My knee was sore, but it actually got better the longer I ran. My foot pain from Sunday night vanished, despite wearing my old runners, and my toe pain on my left foot (which I haven’t really talked about) was gone, too. I think most of that pain was due to pulling the laces on my shoes too tightly. I loosened the laces for today’s run, and my feet feel much better. I had actually thought it was due to the shoes being too narrow, so my new shoes are wider, but I think I can tighten them up a bit, once I start wearing them.
I think part of why this run felt so good was because of where I was mentally. I’ve had a lot of stress the past few days, worrying about getting this job, and about getting enough hours at work. Although I was hoping to be working today, I decided to let it go and just enjoy the day off. I also wanted to really enjoy knowing I have this job, because even though I’ve known about it for a week, it didn’t feel real until I found out my schedule yesterday. I kept worrying that something would happen and I wouldn’t get it. Now that I have a schedule, it finally feels real to me, and I’m letting myself be happy. Also, I had to leave a lot of stuff up in the air pending this job, because I didn’t know if my schedule would change, like the Times-Colonist 10k in April. So, I got to go on my run without the burden of all this stress weighing me down.
Oddly, I’m not worried about the Edge to Edge Marathon in June, although I probably ought to be. I’ve already booked it, and I don’t know yet if I’m supposed to be working. I just have a feeling that it’ll work itself out. I think I’m less concerned because it’s still 3 months away, so I have time to figure something out.
Again, I’m hoping to be called in to work tomorrow. But if I don’t, I’ll probably go for another run. Maybe this time I can go a bit faster!
Related Reading:
Posted in Running Marathon |
Tags: Edge to Edge Marathon, knee injury, marathon, New Balance, runners, Running, windy |
No Comments »
