When I first started running I used to try and average 10 min/mile because it was easier to do the math in my head, I always thought I should run 6 min/mile pace cause the math would be just as easy. Well I never really got to the point where I just ran 6 min/mile on an average training run so now my new favorite pace is 7:30. The math is pretty easy, not as easy as 6 but easy.
I started practicing drinking water on my longer runs, I used to never have a water bottle with me but I've started just so I can practice and get used to it. I take 2 gulps every 15 minutes, which comes out to about 8 oz per hour. Added Emergen-C to it this morning.
14 miles in 1:45:00 7:30 avg pace. I threw in a couple 6:30's for fun since my legs felt good.
Here is my pacing plan so far for the BigHorn 50. It is open for comment, criticism, or pure viewing pleasure.
I'm glad I didn't have a long run planned today, woke up to a 2' snow drift in my driveway, after 45 minutes of shoveling I tried to get my Mazda 6 up the hill and got stuck. Eventually got it back in the garage and convinced my wife it was more important for me to have the 4 wheel drive today than her since she can walk 200 yards to school. So I got to the gym about 1 hour later than normal, did an easy little 6 mile run but threw in 5 X ~100 m sprints in the final mile just to get the legs moving. 6 miles is all I really had on tap for the day anyway, and the snow shoveling probably counted for strength training of some sort so I'm not really put out any.
Set my alarm for 3:00 am, woke up at 2:50. Why? Is it time for D-News marathon already? Nope, the myth, the legend Jeff Shadley was in town and I heard a rumor of an early long run, 2 words that just get me out of bed and my heart pumpin! Jeff was staying at Rob Murphys house and brought along 2 really fast looking kids Caleb and Gray from Idaho. Met with them at 4:00 and went on the historic guided tour of Sugar House area, up to the Zoo, down the D-News course for a while and around about places I never new existed.
Really great run, I feel bad for bailing out on Ryan but I enjoy the early stuff and thought it would be fun to run with new people.
Very bad choice of shoes, I wore my Free TR winters thinking the roads would be icy, I've never ran that far in them and my feet really hurt, also my Hip started acting up around mile 12 coming back down the hill, but after a quick pitstop at Rob's house it felt fine after that.
Came home and got in the hot tub with the kids, we played Double Dog Triple Dare get out of the hot tub, go make snow angels and then get back in. I actually think it helped with recovery.
Woke up feeling pretty crummy, hip hurt and it feels like I'm coming down with a cold so I decided to just do my scheduled 10 miles on the elliptical trainer. At the 1 hour reset I noticed Riverton Paul and Adrian (who is training for the Riverton 1/2) on the treadmills 3 rows behind me so I decided to go finish off with them. Adrian was doing a 4 mile tempo run so I told her I would run with her for part of it. I ran about 3 miles at her tempo pace and then decided I was feeling good and started doing my own little tempo run, 2 miles at about 6:15 pace. Now I probably went and screwed up my hip even worse, but my stuffy head feels much better, especially after sitting in the steam room for 20 minutes.
My wife is on a Co-ed indoor soccer league, and her team is pretty awful, probably the worst record in the league. Anyway, I always give her a hard time about how bad her team is and she tells me how hard it is. So last night they were short some players and needed a sub for their last game and I said I'd like to try it out. I haven't played soccer since I was 8 years old but I figured I could out run everyone else out there. So anyway I played, I kind of hogged the field cause I was having so much fun and didn't want to stop running, I'm more of a just keep running type guy and sitting on the side line seemed boring. It was about how I'd thought it would be, I had the endurance to play the whole time but when ever I got the ball I didn't have much control. I actually took more shots than anyone else on the team, but the other team had a really good goalie so I didn't make any. I had a lot of fun, we lost 10 - 1 and this morning when I woke up every injury I've had over the last 5 years were re-exposed. I could barely walk from the bed to the bathroom and realized that my 14 mile run was probably a bad idea.
So. 32 laps in the pool, followed by lots of weights. Adductor, and Abductor to help my hip.
Today is going to be difficult, I forgot my wallet, my iPhone, and my TI-85.
Feeling pretty rough still, this cold is just annoying, at least I hope it's just a cold and feeling this achy everywhere isn't normal. Wanted to get my run in no matter what, I did 10 minutes on the elliptical just to loosen up and then 12 miles in 1:34:00. The run didn't feel bad after I got going, but I didn't have a whole lot of energy to speed up.
Feeling 100% better than yesterday so it must have just been some bug wiping my out. I went through 3 treadmills today cause they kept stalling out on me so times and probably distance is estimated a bit but probably close
Great run this morning, slow by design. I ran 4 miles to Ryans house at about a 9:00/mile pace, I was really enjoying running slow on a nice clear cool morning. Saw about 3 shooting stars and the moon was lighting the dirt trail nicely. Got to Ryan's and told him I wanted to go slow, he said great. Apparently my slow is slower than his slow but I just stayed with him, it was still an easy pace about 1 min/mile slower than our normal average. We ran behind Smiths, up to the top of Sun Crest, I was actually very happy with how easy going up hill seemed and felt that I wasn't in as bad of shape as I'd thought I was. Coming back down was a different story, even though I could have ran fast I felt like I was going to blow my hip out so I had to take it down and find a nice controlled pace or I new I wouldn't be walking normal the rest of the week.
Ryan ran past his house about 1.5 more miles with me and then turned around, I made the grueling 2 mile climb up to my house alone. But I was very happy that I had just run 20 miles and still felt I had gas in the tank. I probably could have gone another slow 5 miles but we've got a busy day in the Rohde Residence today.
21 miles in 2:52:30 8:15 avg pace. Not to shabby with the slow start and 1000' climb.
Sadly this was a Threshold tempo run based on how I felt at the end. My hip held up very well, I would say I'm definitely at the tail end of recovery. 3 mile warm up then a progressive tempo run in 32:15 6:27 avg pace, last mile in 6:10. then a 2 mile cool down.
I was going to run 12 but my stomach was giving me problems after the tempo so I called it good at 10.
Busy, busy next 4 weeks, I'm really not sure how running is going to fit in, but I'll somehow make it work.
1 step forward, 2 steps back. Apparently I wasn't ready for yesterday's tempo run, my hip hurt too much to run today, I tried twice. So Elliptical for me followed by weights.
Thursday night I just got smacked with a nasty stomach flu. Still pretty rough, but I managed to make it to the gym and do the elliptical this morning before working for probably the next 48 hours straight.
Finally hell week is over, that was a seriously demanding conference. Hours were 7:00am to 10:00pm every day, I took the day off, slept in until 5:45 sat in the Hottub, took Zach to school and then ran the Bull River trail out around Smiths and back. They are getting real close to having the new trail from my house up to Alpine done and I love it so far. I actually wish they would just keep it dirt. Got home, picked Zach back up, found some Tom and Jerry and took a nap. I plan on using this weekend to catch up on some much needed rest.
Ahh! Spring. Ran 12 easy miles with Ryan from his house around Alpine and back. We are two sorry gimpy old men. A whole week off from running didn't seem to help my hip at all.
48 laps, in the pool. Followed by weights and core stuff.
Today I have to do something I really didn't want to do. I'm going to have to let Walter know I cant pace the Riverton Half this weekend. I thought for sure I'd be well enough by now but I'm not getting any better.
And just for the record, it's not my fault I never see a Doctor. I'm seldom in town and when I am I can't get a hold of a Doctor. I've been trying to make an appointment and all the doctors are too busy or just "out". Well, at least the 2 I've tried.
Let me start by saying, I'm very mad at my wife right now. She is a licensed massage therapist but hasn't really been working for about 9 years since we started having children, now she is going back to school to become a teacher. But....., she still works on friends, neighbors, and occationally me, if it's my birthday or something. Anyway, I've been complaining about this hip thing for about a month now (a year if my last year injury was the same, which now I think it was) last night it was so bad I couldn't walk and I kept waking up in my sleep from the pain, so I begged my wife to take a look at me. She pushed me, bent me, contorted me and within 10 minutes said. Oh, it's your Iliopsoas, we were taught to test for that. 'Really?' so I went to Doctor Google, did a search for Iliopsoas (with the help of Britt) and found Iliopsoas Tendinitis. The cure for this is, of course, rest, stretching, ice, and Active release massage therapy. With a disclaimer "if you do not believe in hurting your patient, even for good, send them to someone who does" Lucky for my, my wife has no qualms about hurting me, so I asked her to fix me. I won't lie, it hurt like a, well it hurt really really bad. Like to the point I thought I was going to puke. She did that for about 10 minutes, then I spent the rest of the evening with an ice pack.
Anyway, slept though the night, woke up this morning and walked almost normal to get ready for the gym. Decided not to push my luck and still did the elliptical this morning but I tell you it is a world of difference today. I can walk normal, get out of my car normal, it's simply amazing.
Good news, I'm about 99% certain it's not a stress fracture, about 75% certain it wasn't a stress fracture last year either. Bad news, I've been dealing with this pain way longer than necessary.
1:30 on the Elliptical. I've actually been enjoying my ellipticalling this week. I got some video books on my iPad for a certification that I'm working on and watching them while working out makes both much more enjoyable. If I were watching them in bed I'd just fall asleep, and if I were ellipticalling without them it would seem like eternity. So it's been a happy compromise. I get to keep some sort of fitness while expanding my mind.
I finally saw a doctor today, it only took me 4 months but I did it. He confirmed what my wife had figured out and told me I have an inflamed iliopsoas bursa sack. (that just sounds gross) He told me he could fix it with either a shot, or try some oral steroids for a week and see if that helps. I've never taken anything other than ibuprophen so I was a little skitish and I don't like shots but I'm willing to try anything at this point, I opted for the oral. The doctor says if this works I should be able to run again within a week.
What a nice day to run outside, to bad for me I ellipticaled inside.
Actually though, I've feeling very optimistic today. I'm very excited to find out my injury is possibly curable short term. Pretty annoyed I went a whole year thinking I had stress fractures in every bone in my legs. I haven't actually learned what bursitis is besides just an inflamed Bursa sack, but why? what causes it? other than over use. And why does it hurt so freakin bad.
14 miles with Ryan in 1:45:28 7:32 avg pace. It's probably good I dropped out of my pacing duties today. 13.1 in 1:38 and I don't know if I could have gone much faster. I was still hurting. But hey, at least I finally ran again. Congrats to everyone who did Riverton today, pretty warm windy day.
