Patience, the NEW Endurance Sport!

Major breakthrough!  I have learned something!  I have a running plan all mapped out on excel for the next 18 months.  Live the PLAN or DIE!!!  Guess what- I have finally learned to listen to my body and TO HECK with the plan!  I am SHOCKED!  For example, I had my mileage building up for the next month, forever really, and I am not going to do it.  I mentioned yesterday on my blog my plan.  I am going to stick with my cute little 5 miles a day and just increase my long run each week by one mile.  This will give my body plenty of time to adjust to my little cute tempo runs and my sneaky approach to a longer "long" run.  I am also going to go into Dr. Brady each week up until Painters.  I really want to get these neuromas under control, or at least down to a 2 on the pain scale! ;)  I am also going to have him work on my hip and calves.  My calves have been getting tight again.  I really WANT to run Painters and I DON'T want to get injured again.

51:02, 12:45, Laps-12:59, 12:38, 12:12, 12:03

Nice run on the 17 degree day!  THIRTY degrees difference between this morning and saturday!  HOLY COW!!!  My calves are tight and my righ foot is bugging me!  The ice was not too bad up Main Street.  All in all it was not as scary as I thought it might be.  I am a brave running warrior!!! 

2.46 in the snow!  That was an experience!  I think that when the roads are covered with snow AND it is snowing, I may just stick to the treadmill.  The snowflakes were stabbing me in my eyeballs!  It was REALLY hard to run up hill in the snow.  My calves were not enjoying it much.  I am going to wrestle the treadmill out of the laundry room and get the rest of my run done.

I got the treadmill out of the laundry room.  It took about a half hour!  I ran three more miles.  The treadmill wasn't as bad as I remember!  Yipee!  I am going to keep a paper on the tredmill to record my splits.

Alright- I do not like the treadmill.  I should have gone out!  5 miles was TOO long and TOO hot and just plain YUCK!  So the moral of the story is to run outside no matter what and then just call it quits if it is not working and run on the treadmill.  I've got the treadmill if needed, and that is a very good thing!

 I am icing my knee.  Last night it started to hurt, feel a bit weak actually.  It was fine on the treadmill this morning, but as soon as I got off it was there again.  The pain/strange feeling is hard to pinpoint. I am icing the upper outside and back of the knee right now.  I am wondering if my slippy slidy running yesterday maybe did something...or... the treadmill is evil and causes strange injuries.  I see Dr Brady in the morning and will ask him.

Have  a GREAT day!!!

OK- it was just as I suspected- the treadmill is evil!  Apparently on the treadmill, you run differently and I am a loser extreme case.  My calves LOVE the treadmill and my hamstrings hate it.  Dr Brady wants me to run with an incline to get my calves working more and give a break to my hams.  The knee problem is from my hams.  I guess that jumping on a treadmill after No treadmill work can be like having a non runner go and run 5 miles.  The way I run on the treadmill is very different from my outdoor running.  he wants me to ease into the treadmill as not to injure my hams.  He worked my right foot today.  Hopefully this neuromas will give up soon!  He also gave me a new fangled strap thing to correct my something or other in my stride.  I apparently externally rotate my right foot.  Anyway, I'll figure this all out with the amazing expertise of Dr. Brady!  I am going to get two miles on the treadmill today and hopefully some outside.  We'll just have to see.  I'll modify my log if necessary.

*** I did 5 miles on the treadmill with lots of stretching amid running.  I ran 2.5 then fixed dinner and then ran the rest.  I stretched 6 times total, two long bouts of stretching after each 2.5 miles.  The hams feel great and the calves are their usual whiny selves.   Oh, I forgot to mention Dr Brady wrapped my right foot to form an arch support while we wait for the orthotics to come back.  He also put a chinese herbal patch on my neuroma and did an ultrasound and laser treatment on it too.

1:07:51 ave 13:52, best 9:55, Laps- 14:36, 14:04, 13:31, 12:43, 14:35

About 1/4 of the roads were clear, the rest were crap!   I did not go my full five miles because as I was heading into the last 1/4 mile before I turn around and it was a steep downhill with a strong tailwind.   There was NO way I was going to run back up a steep hill on icey roads with a stiff headwind!  I am a wimp!  I had to run a bit creativly to get in close to 5 miles.  Everything felt great, except that I am really going to have to work on loving the winter runs.  They make me sad and irritated.  SPRING NOW!!!  I am moving!

2:32:44, ave 14:01, best 9:17, Laps- 14:16, 13:38, 13:50, 11:57, 13:09, 13:53, 13:36, 13:47, 14:20, 14:54, 16:13

 OK- this is a distance PR and a mental one too.  I tried to talk myself into this run all morning.  I am very disheartened by the weather and am having a hard time staying focused on my goals.  I keep going to the "just run 5 miles a day through the winter and that is good enough."  I really want Painters to go well, but I am a little afraid.  Enough of that!

The first three miles of today's run were pretty blah.  As you can see by my mile four split, my guardian angels swooped in to give me the little nudge I needed to keep going to the half way mark.  I ended up running into a runner at the corner by Peteetneet and asked him how the roads were.  He said that my street was pretty good all the way to Salem, so I went for it.  I have ridden my bike on it before, but never run it.  It was nice.  Once I hit a dead end in Salem, I went up a block and was on the Salem Canal Road, which was clear and wonderful.  There were even signs posted to watch for joggers.  Pretty soon I was to the Woodland Hills Road and needed another mile so I headed up to Woodland Hills.  No sooner had I committed to this than I saw the BIG hill ahead and decided to veer to the right of 10,000 South for the rest of my mile.  At the 5.5 mark I stopped to stretch near some scrub oak and startled a flock of really big somethings.  They flew off behind the bush so I couldn't get a good look at them.  They seemed to be the size of wild turkeys, but they also flew, so really big pheasants?

As a note of interest, my lower back started to twinge about mile 4.5 and is pretty upset with me.  I have never had that before and I am hoping it is some fluke!

I hope y'all got out and had a nice run today.  It was really hard to do this one alone and I am going to be ever so glad I did it!

I just read this article from runners world about illness and running.  I really liked what it had to say.  http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-286--9082-0,00.html