One Year Later

Yet again, I managed to drop the ball on blogging last year. This is mainly due to the fact that 2010 didn't exactly shape up to be "the" year for my running that I hoped. While I didn't shed a pound nor dip under 7:00/mile in races as planned, I will say last year was MUCH more productive than 2009. Though it took a last minute decision to run a fall 1/2 marathon, I did manage to get in several 20+ mile weeks, something I hadn't done for quite some time. Along with those weeks came some of the longest long runs I've done in a while (10 miles!) and a notable drop in pace of my easy runs (under 9:00/mile!). Not too shabby, but still, fairly disappointing.

Last year showed me that I can, in fact, motivate myself to get out the door and run pretty far; something I wasn't sure about before. Running regularly also brought back a sincere appreciation for the sport. There have been points over the past 4.5 years where I thought I was really starting to love running again but then I'd get injured or bored or frustrated and I'd forget about how great running was. However this fall I actually wanted to get out the door most days. This was shocking for me. Not since maybe middle school had I felt that way. Maybe I'm actually recovering this time from years of resentment for the sport and learning to like it again. I think mostly this stems from the fact that this fall, I wasn't running for anyone but myself. No coaches, no team. Just me. Now if only all that training and new-found appreciation had turned into an excellent 1/2 marathon race. (Ok, I did PR (1:58:11 down from 1:59:42) but given how much work I was doing I would've liked to see more than a minute and a half shaved off.)

I suppose this is where 2011 comes in. With last year teaching me how to train and like running for myself again, this coming year I will look how to train smart, efficiently, and consistently to ensure improvements in races. I'm also looking to expand my training to include more strength and conditioning which'll help my overall fitness. Last week I took a first stab at a 30-minute strength class at the student fitness center. What a workout! I'll definitely be returning this week. These training plans along with a plan to cook more and eat out less (probably the biggest reason for the lack of weightloss last year) I will hopefully drop some pounds too. Then maybe, just maybe, by year's end I'll be ready to seriously tackle some PRs.

So here we go again. Take 957 on Chelsea's grand return to running. Truthfully though I do believe good things could happen this year. I know, I know. We've heard this before but I believe it for this year more than ever.

Uh Oh Spaghettio...

Last Sunday I ran 6 miles--the longest run I've run since the fall. Dear lord was it painful. Of course the fact that it hurt so much and wasn't even that "fast" (51 minutes and change) was frustrating but I got over that pretty quickly.

What I haven't been about to get over is this pain on the outside of my right foot. The pain is a dull ache and extends from just above my ankle to my pink toe. It aches even when I walk on it. It doesn't necessarily hurt while I'm running but after words, holy @#%!.

I've done a little web research and have asked some of my friends who are versed in human anatomy and athletic injuries and it sounds like it might be peroneal tendonitis. One website said it's onset usually occurs "when the patient returns to activity after a period of time of." Hmm. Sounds a smidge like myself. I'm considering going to a doctor and/or sneaking into seeing a trainer to get a proper diagnosis but i think it's atleast safe to say I have some type of tendonitis in my foot that may be related to the pick up in training I've done. Another possibility is my new shoes. This would be odd however since I've run in the same model for years now, though it should not be ruled out.

Sick last week with a moderate cold, I took an extra day off from running which gave me 3 days in a row of no running. My foot was feeling better to walk on so I thought maybe I had nixed the tendonitis and that maybe running today wouldn't be so bad. Wrong. I just finished icing it but am wondering if it's worth it to proceed with training. If I were working towards a 5K or 10K, maybe I could take a week of rest, but because I'm planning to run the half marathon, I'm a little nervous to take that much time off since that didn't really work out for me so well last time. I don't necessarily have a tremendous desire to run the half except for the fact that it would be fun to do it with Kara. She's still really up for it and I would feel pretty bad letting her down like that.

I guess my dilemma is that I want to run the half marathon because I want to run it with Kara but I don't know that I can train at the level I need to to get to a place where finishing a half marathon in one piece over these next few weeks. Kara doesn't have any interest in going fast or have any goal time so if we dogged it and ran 10:00 pace, I'm sure she'd be just as happy as she would be if we ran 8:30's (my goal). I guess I'm just stuck on the fact that it's 13-frekkin'-miles and if running 6 miles leaves me with foot pain, what would 13.1 do? The other thing is that I tried the running-a-half-marathon-with-no-training thing. While running it got me a PR, it also floored me for several weeks with IT and quad problems. I'd like to avoid that so as to avoid yet another set back and to progress with running. I guess the bottom line is that I probably shouldn't run the Great Bay half. The problem now is how to tell Kara. Bah. I hate these situations...

Identity Crisis

I confuse myself sometimes when it comes to what I want out of running. Yesterday I had lunch with a former teammate of mine, Kara. While Kara is still a student at UNH, she is not running on the team this year. She however still runs (sort of) and, as I found out yesterday, wants to run a half marathon before she graduates in May. She then proceeded to tell me we were going to run the Great Bay 1/2 Marathon on April 5th. I liked the idea and agreed to do it. Hold the phone, you might be thinking, aren't you running like 9 miles a week right now? How do you expect to get in 1/2 marathon shape in 6 weeks? A good point. I guess I don't expect to get in good 1/2 marathon shape, but have managed to write up a little program that, if followed, I think could get me a 1/2 marathon PR. Kara and I also will be training together for this atleast 1 day a week which should encourage consistent training on my part.

The fact that I want to jump into a 1/2 marathon without much training isn't all that strange, in fact the enthusiasm required to make such a commitment can be seen as positive. The weird thing is is that same day, I was supposed to go out and run 3 miles. Three miles. What didn't I do? Run three miles. Why? I just didn't feel like running. I had been up late the previous night working on a presentation for a conference I'm going to next week and was exhausted. I also was cranky for reasons unknown but a bad mood rarely makes me want to run.

This "runner schizophrenia" has consistently been an issue for me and has consistently made me frustrated with myself. On one hand, I want to take on the world of running by challenging myself but on the other hand, I am incredibly lazy and view running almost indifferently. I would love to be one of those people who just LOVE running. One of those people who, if they don't run, their day is ruined. But I can never get to that point. Truth is, I really don't enjoy training all that much. In general, I do like the way I feel after I run in that I feel healthier but never do I just want to go on a run to run. The one thing I love is racing. I love to compete and be fast and love the atmosphere of road races. The only thing that sucks is that without training, I know I won't do well at races and, if I don't do well at races, I get super disappointed. I guess I just wish it was easier for me to get out and train and that I could find something that motivated me to do it. While trying to run fast again should do it, it doesn't. I've signed up for races thinking have something on the horizon will get me going and it doesn't. The only thing that kind of works is running races and seeing how slow I am. That and sometimes the fact that many of my clothes from even last year don't fit anymore and that the scale reads over 180 lbs when I step on it. These are usually temporary motivators though; I'll usually train solidly for a few weeks after a race or "weigh-in" and then get bored/tired/busy/stressed and take a week+ off. I just wish I could take the enthusiasm I have about challenging myself in races and apply it my training.

This weekend's the Inauguration Day 5K. I know it's going to be awful (current goal: break 26:00) but the proceeds benefit UNH Track and Field and there's free wings and beer afterwards so I predict the morning won't be so bad. My boyfriend, Zach, is running the race too and it'll be his first (but hopefully not his last) 5K which I think'll be fun. Atleast it will be for me. Hopefully it'll motivate me to train these next 6 weeks.

Training for Something

I realize how silly it is of me to make a training plan for an entire year. Since my last post, I have already made changes to it and will likely make changes to those changes as the year progresses. The latest changes involve adding a fifth day of running in May to get some more mileage and to better prepare for the 200-mile 12-person relays I plan to run. This addition bumps my weekly mileage up in the summer without requiring me to run more than 5 miles on weekdays, which is good.

I have also decided I want to run a half marathon in the fall. The chosen race is the Seacoast 1/2 Marathon slotted for November 8, 2009. My original plan to stick with 5Ks this year was boring and left me with nothing to really work towards; I know I can finish a 5K but also know that I won't be running any PRs this year so there were few goals to set. On the other hand, I have only run one half marathon (The Sun 1/2 Marathon) and did it without the proper training. I'd like to drop my 'PR' from 1:59:42 (9:08/mile) to sub-1:45:00, or sub-8:00 pace. I think this is more than doable especially if I actually train for this half marathon. Another goal would be to not walk. I ended up walking a significant portion of the last 7.1 miles of the Sun half mostly because I had absolutely no endurance at the time (my longest run prior to the Sun half was one 8-miler with most of my runs between 3-6 miles). As I have it planned, I will have run several 10-milers and several weeks at 30 miles prior to the Seacoast half which'll hopefully help that problem.

In other training news, I have been doing well following my training program these first few weeks of 2009. There were even a couple days that I absolutely did not want to run but made myself. Interestingly enough, these were some of my best runs in a while. I also feel really good physically; my IT band issues that flared up after the Sun half are gone and I'm feeling strong and energized. The only quasi-lame thing is that my runs have essentially all been on the treadmill because of the conditions of the roads and sidewalks. Fortunately, I've loaded my iPod with some new running tunes that are keeping me entertained on the 'mill for now.