So where have I been?

My Fall marathon didn't happen. I had what I thought was a great second 20 miler, but it fell apart in the form of patellar tendinitis and ITBS on my good knee. I think I dodged and jumped too many puddles on that long run. I tried aggressive PT, but it just wasn't to be.

At the same time, my dear Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. He is doing great now, but it has been a difficult winter with multiple hospital stays and lots of road trips back and forth for me.

And then there was the Polar Vortex. Missed school days, too cold icy conditions just made the running option not a good for me.

So I'm calling a do over.

I've gotten in 3 runs and 2 strength training workouts per week for the last two weeks. I'm up to running 5 miles without pain (fingers and toes crossed).

I'm running the Monument 10k on Saturday with my long run being 5 miles, so no goal like last year's awesome PR. Just running smart and healthy before heading to a work conference across country later that day.

And that 5 mile run, I wasn't smart and ran yesterday when it was 70. I waited until today where the the high was 49 with midday run. I should have had plenty of time to beat the rain. Why do I believe forecasters? The rain started in earnest even before my halfway point. I sucked it up and finished strong with NO puddle jumping. Wet feet are better than knee pain any day. I ran a little faster than I wanted to by a minute per mile too fast. Oops.

And here's the wet look proof. Glad I had another layer on over my Tough Chik long sleeve.

And the reward to warm me up from the inside. The temps dropped 10 degrees while out there.

And then my dear hubby surprised me with these from Carytown Cupcakes. Oh, I love cupcakes but I certainly didn't run far enough to justify even one of these.

Here's to another week. Here we go!

Jilly Bean

One more week before the 10k

3/19 - 2 mile Run (22')
3/20 - 0.6 mile Elliptical (15') & Gluts & Abs (40')
3/21 - 3 mile run (31') - so needed this run to escape a horrific preschool meltdown
3/22 - Silent Auction with running group. I almost didn't recognize many of the girls not in running clothes. 😃
3/23 - planned day off, but lots of jumping around while watching the Tarheels
3/24 - 6 miles (68') with the Mother Runners on the reverse route for the race
3/25 - Lots of stretching and some push ups

11.6 miles
1134 calories
2:56 total time
4 workouts

Weel in Review 3/12-18

3/12 - 2 mile Run (21') - another sucky run, the cadence alarm went off way too much
3/13 - Family in town & I needed a nap from the time change
3/14 - Gluts & Abs (40') - awesome burn
3/15  - 2.5 mile run (26') - awesome run with major cadence improvement
3/16  - 0.7 mile walk (13') before UNC basketball, something is better than nothing
3/17  - 5 hilly miles (57') with the Mother Runners
 3/18 - Lots of stretching and some push ups

10.2 miles
 1299 calories
 2:33 total time
4 workouts

Week in Review

3/5 - Planned Rest
3/6 - 2.01 mile Run (21')
3/7 - Gluts & Abs (40') & Elliptical (10')
3/8  - Unplanned rest - too much work and family in town visiting
3/9  - ACC Basketball - I got some exercise jumping around in front of the tv
3/10 - 4.1 mile run (46') - horrible run, lots of hills, couldn't find my cadence
3/11 - Lots of stretching and some push ups

6.1 miles
956 calories
1:57 total time
3 workouts

What went well:  Made the choice to do the strengthening rather than logging the miles.  I must do this to get stronger and keep the pain away.
What went wrong:  The long run sucked.  I know 4 miles is not long for most runners, but this is baby steps for me.  I need to learn when I can't get my cadence to realize it's okay to walk and reset what I'm doing.  I think if I can do that, I can run longer without stressing my ITB.

Week in Review 2/27-3/4

2/27 - 2.01 mile Run (21')
2/28 - Elliptical (15') & glut and core strengthening (40')
2/29 - 2.01 mile Run (21')
3/1   - 2.59 mile Walk (42'). Gorgeous day for an outside walk.
3/2   - Planned rest day  - well day home sick with no voice.
3/3   - I decided to take another day off while I battled sinus/throat issues.
3/4   - 4.1 mile (Run 42') treadmill run with haywire GPS that thought I was outside.

11.28 miles
987 calories
3:01 total time
5 workouts

In a fog

Allergies have descended into my sinuses and throat like a thick fog. My voice started going on Friday, so for once I did the wise thing and stayed home. I was able to get quite a few projects done that normally I can't at work due to interruptions. Wish I could have 1-2 days a month working from home, but usually too many meetings for that to work.

Anyway, back to the story. I skipped Saturday's group run because they were calling for morning rain. I didn't feel too bad when I woke, but running in the rain was probably not a good idea. We laid low most of the day including a little family movie time to see The Lorax. Then the excitement started. I am a die-hard Tarheel fan and UNC had their final regular season game at Duke. UNC lost a heartbreaker last month on a last second shot, so they needed redemption last night. They found it with an 18 point win on Duke's Senior Night. And now I am back with a scratchy voice from cheering them on.

I tossed and turned last night with a sore throat and stopped up nose. When we all were up, hubby left for a short trail run. Now what am I going to do? The temps were in the low 40s, so usually perfect running weather, but I opted for the treadmill instead to help keep me away from any more pollen.

I nailed the first mile with my cadence between 178-180. Then I noticed my pace was over 20 minutes per mile. What the heck? My fancy watch thought I was outside instead of on the treadmill. I reset my watch for the last 2.5 miles. I averaged 174 for that distance with only a little glut/ITB awareness.

I'm glad I didn't let my head get the best of me and completely bail on any workout today. I really went into the run thinking I would stop after the first mile if I wasn't feeling it. And that just didn't happen ... stopping that is.

Week Recap 2/20-26

2/20 - 2.01 mile Run (21') and survived in a regular bra. Need to start double-checking my gym bag.
2/21 - Skipped this two weeks in a row. I must take better care of my butt.
2/22 - 2.01 mile Run (21') with a consistent cadence. I WILL figure out how to get this cadence thing down.
2/23 - 2.52 mile Walk (45'). Should have been outside for this one because the weather was gorgeous, but didn't leave work earlier enough to be in daylight. :(
2/24 - Planned rest day
2/25 - SCAN 5k 3.14 mile Run (32') awful wind and a three lap course weren't great, and the ITB wasn't happy at the end. But great cause against child abuse and my little guy ran is first one mile race. Made it all worth it.
2/26 - 60' Intermediate Yoga for Runners video. Oh my gosh. Tough lunge series, but just what I needed.

Only one missed workout, but must get those strength exercises in this week.

9.68 miles
809 calories
3:00 total time
5 workouts

Week Recap 2/13-2/19

I am trying to hold myself more accountable for getting in all my planned exercise.  So here goes:

2/13 - 3.06 mile Run (33') terrific cadence
2/14 - Unplanned rest day, should have been abs/gluts day
2/15 - 2.19 mile Run (24') last day of run/walk intervals
2/16 - Another unplanned rest day, let work get in the way of walking
2/17 - Planned rest day
2/18 - 2.06 mile Run (22') this was almost too easy. First run without intervals in way too long.
2/19 - Planned rest, wasn't brave enough to try a hip hop class this morning.

Gotta do better next week.

7.21 miles
641 calories
1:19 total time
3 workouts

Week Recap 2/6-12

I am trying to hold myself more accountable for getting in all my planned exercise.  So here goes:

2/6 - 2.45 mile Run (28') still run/walk intervals
2/7 - 40' Gluts & Abs workout for core fitness (and to help with the ITB)
2/8 - Off to celebrate my best friend's birthday (missed a 30' walk here, but spending time with her was well worth the miss)
2/9 -  2.43 mile Run (27')
2/10 - Planned rest day
2/11 - 1.84 mile Run (22') almost the end of run /walk intervals
2/12 - 60' PITAIYO w/ cardio intervals at Lululemon (I love these classes because you have a different instructor each week, and often a different type of yoga or activity.  Nothing like keeping your body quessing.)  This workout deserves it's own blog post.  It was insane, but fun.

Not too bad for a crazy work week and a birthday celebration.  Only missed one walking workout.

6.72 miles
599 calories
1:57 total time
5 workouts

A well deserved day off

My big girl job has left me exhausted and drained. Things are looking up as we have filled several open positions so now I won't have so many hats to wear. And I have been a single parent for almost 10 weeks as my husband has been out of town for training. I have a new found respect for single moms everywhere. So, since hubbie was coming home n Friday and I thought I could wrap up a big project, I planned for today off. And it worked. I do have a hard time completely disengaging from work, so I did respond to some emails, but no phone calls. Baby steps for me.

So what did we do on our day off? The boys slept in until 9. I can't believe monkey, who is 4, slept that late. He did stay up to watch the entire Super Bowl. I had a nice breakfast and read while they slept. Hubby and I chatted while he ate. Monkey made himself breakfast because he is mister independent these days, and then played with race cars. Hubby went to check out a new school for monkey to make sure we are in agreement, and yay we are.

Then I went for my short run. 28 minutes and no ITB pain. It is hard to get my steps per minute up. My max for this run was 174, but I was closer to 166 for much of the run. Who knew 180 was so hard to achieve?

I also treated myself to a herbal body retexturizer. It was a Groupon from a local spa. I prefer trigger point therapy but this was great for my dry skin.

And finally on tap for the day was a quick nap at hubby's insistence. Not a bad day. I should do this more often.

10K Training, Week 2

The second full week of 10K training is done. I did much better this week with getting all training in. 3 run/walk intervals, 1 walk, and 1 day of dedicated strength training. I also did well with extra glut strengthening and foam rolling.

My goal on my steps per minute is to get as close to 180 steps per minute as possible. I hover between 170-175 when I run by myself, street or treadmill. I did not have the same luck running with the group today. I started near the back of the beginner group and the pace was too slow. According to my watch, I was right around 160 with almost a 12 min/mile pace. Too slow to even get my legs stretched out. I was finally able to get closer to the front and work on the turnover rate. Who knew running was going to be so difficult? I have to say, times like this make me wonder why I don't give up running for something that isn't so difficult to do without pain, but I do love it.

This is my third year with the same running group. My frieds that I drug along are now in the intermediate or advanced group with the advanced group running 6 miles today, almost the full 10K. I am so proud of how far they have come. It seems like only yesterday that they were cursing me for making them do this.

Hope this week is just as easy to get the training in now that my husband is back from his 10 weeks of training. I even get to start back with Lululemon yoga tomorrow. I have so missed that dedicated hour of stretching/relaxing.

HOpe you have a great week too.