Dark and Stormy Night.

Not much else to do when the weather is lousy.  I'm entering a treadmill run into the record:

That's right, I went there.  That's about where the treadmill is located in the building... in the basement... in the corner... sort of sad, but it's cheap and it works. 

It may not be the best place to work out, but it works in a pinch.  $4 gets you in for the day ($21 for the month, I think).  The selection of equipment is fairly limited (and dated), but it's very close to the house.  I stretched before, at the 1 mile mark, and after the 2nd mile.  I also tried to vary my workout a bit, too.  I ran the first mile at a 10 minute pace, but fluctuated on the last 2.75.  I would pick it up to an 8 minute pace, then down to 9 for a quarter mile each.  I bumped it up to a 6:30 pace for a quarter mile at one point (hence the 191 HR).  All in all, not my best workout.  It's nice to be able to watch basketball games while you're running though.

The weather is nice tonight, so hopefully I can get some sort of "month end" run in.  I still need to spell out my training plan (gaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh), so hopefully that comes out tonight as well.

That's it.

D

Running Total:
February: 10.38 (lost month)
2012:  63.28

Wow, what a February (lost month)

Well, sorry for not keeping this blog up to date.  In my last post - titled "Nagging" - I discussed a little about the pain I was in during my last run from January.  I really did something to the quad muscles on my left leg.  Strain, pull - not sure.  Basically, I haven't been able to do a lot since that day.  It's been HARD.  I've been so demoralized since that incident.  I see the days flying off the calendar, and I knew that I wasn't doing ANYTHING meaningful to get me to my goal.  The date that I was supposed to start my formal training came and went, and it's been a journey just to be able to run again.  It hurt just to walk around my office.  My bro-in-law is training to become a P.T., and he gave me some good advice about stretching and targeting the muscles in question.  Well, I'm happy to report that I think he was right, and the stretching seems to be working!

So what have I been up to?  I've been swimming twice - about a mile each time.  I've also done the exercise bike 2 tiems as well - for 30-45 minutes a shot.  That said, I've still played soccer (indoor) - 2 times this month.  Something about the soft rubber surface that doesn't hurt.  Probably contributing to my muscle tightness.  I've already decided that this will be my last session.  :(

I've gone "running" on two separate occasions - once on a treadmill at the Merriam Community Center, and once around the indoor track at the Mission Community Center (this past Wednesday).  Well, the latter gave me some confidence.  After a LOT of stretching over the past from weeks, I decided to go for it on their rubber track.  Results:  No pain.  It was a GREAT feeling!  It's been so tough, mentally over the last few weeks that.... I can't even tell you how wonderful it was.  I ate dinner with a smile, I laughed more, I broke into spontaneous song and dance - what a feeling!  So that takes me tonight:

My first run in, well, a pretty damn long time.  Felt good...

Nothing too special - relatively flat, but it marked progress.  I stretched a lot before I got started, after the first mile, and at about mile 3.  I just wanted to make sure that everything was staying loose.  My big toe on my right foot was hurting a bit, so I will continue to stretch my calf muscles more - pretty sure it's all connected.

I talked to Erin earlier tonight - we're going to lay out our marathon plan tomorrow.  She went on an 8 miler today (which I think is about right), but we both agree that we need to step our game up if we're going to do this.  This will mean committing to 3 runs during the work week and getting that long run in on Saturday.  I plan on biking a lot for my cross-training, as that plays nicely into my triathlon training goals.  I hope to put something in print on this blog (my training schedule) so that I can go item by item as the days go by to check on how I'm doing.

Okay - lots to do yet tonight - soccer game at 9:15.

D

Running Total:
February: 6.63 (lost month)
2012:  59.53

Nagging...

So, my leg is not getting any better.  I'm not sure what I did, but my left quad is hurting - often when I'm just walking around.  I was thinking I'd get to 75 miles this month, but now I'm not so sure.  I'll have to snap out of this funk right quick if that's going to happen.

I believe my formal training program will start on Feb.13th - 18 weeks of ever escalating mileage totals and such.  I'm still deciding on the actual order that I want to do things in - i.e. long runs during a week night, etc..  It is my goal to have a concrete post of ideas and a schedule by next week so I know what I'm looking at in the months ahead.  I'd also like to solidify my other athletic events in the coming week.  There are several triathlons/runs that I want to train for, and I need to start incorporating that in.

Perhaps it's time to be proactive about rehabbing this injury too, or at the very least, find some other exercises that don't seem to bother it.  At some point, I'll also need to hop into a swimming pool.  Guuuuuuu, I wish I was feeling better.  I don't want to try to "run through" this injury without understanding what it is.  Time to seek help, I guess.

Okay - hoping to have some workouts to show forth in the coming days, even if it's just a map of a swimming pool.  :)

D