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...

More Bleepin' Changes

My race schedule has changed yet again. A few months ago I emailed a bunch of UNH women xc/track alums about running a team in the Reach the Beach relay. Initially there was a good amount of interest but that seemed to wane as people checked their schedules and bank accounts. This includes myself who's bank account is not exactly in the best shape right now. With RTB off the schedule, September opens up in terms of races. As I have it now, I plan to run the Fox Point Sunset 5-miler in early September (official date yet to be announced) and the Eliot Festival Day 5K on the last weekend of the month. I ran the Eliot Festival Day 5K last year and loved it; it was a great course and great atmosphere and the food spread at the end of the race was unbelievable! Needless to say I'm pretty happy I'll get to run it again this year.

I got my new runnings shoes Monday and am looking forward to taking my first run in them. That was supposed to happen today but have decided to take today off. I am incredibly sore as a result of some harder runs at the end of last week (Kara kicked my ass! -- in a good way of course though) and dodgeball. Yes, dodgeball. The first game of the new season was last night and, while it was fun, it was surprisingly (read: embarrassingly) hard on the bod. In addition to my legs, my 3rd toe on my left foot is also sore. Why? In a act of grace, I dropped the base of my blender on it. All I wanted was a milkshake and I ended up with a bruised and potentially broken toe. Fortunately it doesn't bother me when I walk since it's in the middle of the toe line and doesn't get used all that much. It should therefore be ok to run on, but I figured and extra day away from running couldn't hurt. (For the record I did still make the milkshake and it was delicious).

No Race, But Motivated

So last weeks Inauguration Day 5K didn't happen for me or Zach. The alarm went off then it was turned off and then it was 8:30--an hour before the start. Since it takes 20-30 minutes to get to Durham and there were still things to be done (walk the dog, eat breakfast, etc) we decided to nix the race. That and it was freezing outside and the bed was warm. I was a bit disappointed I guess but in a way I was relieved; Knowing the race wasn't going to be pretty awful I figured I spared myself some frustration and embarrassment.

I did do most of the running I had planned for last week though despite not having a slow 5K time to motivate me. Running this 1/2 marathon with Kara is proving to be motivating in itself, especially since I'm meeting Kara to run two days a week, one of which is today. It also didn't hurt that I was in Virginia Beach last week for a conference. On Wednesday, while NH was getting slammed with snow and freezing rain, I ran along the beach in 70-degree weather wearing a t-shirt. It was glorious.

I have updated my race calendar yet again as well as my training program. I hoping it doesn't continue to change this drastically again (i.e., that another random 1/2 marathon sneaks it's way into my race calendar). I'm also updating my shoes this week. I've had my current pair since May (yikes) and am starting to notice shin splints and foot pain which I can only associate with old shoes. I ordered my new pair a couple weeks ago (birthday gift from mom and dad) and am expecting them this week. I'm hoping the new shoes and the new running buddy are enough to get me running consistently again. They atleast can't hurt my training!

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.

2009 Training Plan

I've been taking my running slowly, running 3 days a week, 2 miles a day for the past two weeks after a semi-unplanned 3 weeks away from running ('semi' since I was aware that 1) finals + holidays = little time to train and 2) holidays + several rounds of bad weather=university closure=no gym/treadmill access and 'unplanned' because I had hoped to work around all of that). These 6 mile weeks are the first two of my 2009 training program, a self-designed running schedule that runs through December 2009. My program calls for the same 6 miles this next week but will add a mile each day the following week (Jan 12-18th). I run this 9 mile week for three more weeks before adding a mile to Sunday's run (my long run day) as well as a 4th day of running (2 miles), bumping my weekly mileage to 12 miles the first full week of February. As it's written, I continue to gradually progress, to a maximum mileage of 24 miles by mid-July. I sustain this mileage until the 2009 Turkey Trot at which point I drop to what I'm calling my 'winter' mileage (15-20 miles). Throughout all of 2009, I run only 4 days a week, cross-train on 2, and take the 7th off. I don't plan to start workouts until the first full week of April, running only fartleks and tempos until mid-June when I add hills and track workouts. Dotted in the plan are races I hope/plan to run, most of which are listed in the column to the right with the exception of two adventure 12-person relays I hope to run (Spokane to Sandpoint in August 2009 and Reach the Beach in September 2009) provided the money's there to fund them.

Why I like my plan:

• Four days a week of running - I've shown myself that I get bored and tired very quickly and think aiming for four days a week of good running with two days open for other forms of exercise is a good and perhaps more attainable goal than shooting for 5 or 6 days of straight running.
• It drops my mileage in the winter - I'll admit it, I am more of a fairweather runner. This is largely due to the fact that I have exercise-induced asthma that flares up when running in the cold, but I also just generally don't like running in the cold with a million layers on. There's also the New England factor. While it is beautiful here, the winter brings short days and frequent, debilitating storms making running outside challenging. Basically what this all means is that most of the time between December and March I'm running on a treadmill and, since I can't really stand the treadmill for more than 4 miles, lower winter mileage is inevitable.
  
• No more than 5 miles a day a weekdays - I'm a busy grad. student who gets paid to do her research and, while I'd like to, I really shouldn't be taking more than an hour (run+shower) out of my day to run (though apparently it's acceptable to take 9 hours to blog during the workday!).
  
• No more than 9 miles for a long run - Any longer and I get bored.
  

Why I don't like my plan:

• No accountability - I wrote it, who's going to care if I don't do whats written?
• Super slow progression - This is actually really frustrating. Most of me feels like I should go super slow to stay injury free. However, a lot of me is also impatient and eager to get out there and knock out a good, long, hard run. Looking at my program I sometimes think I wrote it as if I have never run in my life, where in fact, I have been running for sometime.
  
• Low weekly mileage - While the mileage comes with the fact that, at my max, I'm running 5 miles 3 days a week and 9 miles one day a week, it's a bit frustrating to stay below 30. At 24 miles/week I don't feel as though I can really run a 10K+ well. While I enjoy 5Ks, I like the idea of getting good at the 10K. I also would like to take on another half marathon and try to run it well, though that would mean stepping up the long run, which is not likely to happen this year. And that marathon I talked about earlier? Definitely not going to happen on this plan (which is probably for the better).
  

I guess I'll stick with what I've written for now. If I stay consistent and start feeling good, maybe then I look to make adjustments. This self-coaching thing is difficult!

I Feel Fat

While at home last week for Thanksgiving, I decided it would be a good idea to hop on the scale. I figured that because I had been running fairly consistently this fall and walking more, that I may have lost a few pounds. Instead I found out that I had actually put on another 8 since August. This puts me up almost 30 pounds from my college running days.

Now, I didn't expect to stay the weight I was in college. I wasn't running 30-40 miles a week, running two days of hard workouts and competing in meets every weekend anymore. But I was running 10-20 miles a week and, after getting my dog, was walking a mile or two a day. I will say that my diet is not great. I do eat out a lot (despite have virtually no money) opting for chinese or pizza most of the time. I guess I have also been drinking more frequently then I had in college, which is probably the opposite for most. Not to say that I get drunk more now but now I'm more likely to have a beer or glass of wine with dinner, go to a happy hour, or meet friends out mid-week for a drink to catch up.

Still, all things considered, I don't feel like these things should cause a 30lb increase. Sure, maybe if I was doing all of that and not exercising at all, but I have been running and walking.

It's things like these that get me really down on myself and my efforts to get back in shape. All I see is that even if I try to be good and consistent with running, I still end up with a net gain in weight. I guess the only thing to do is to nix all the bad eating habits for a couple months, keep running, and see what happens. Easier said then done; especially for a PhD student who turns to food when stressed.