Monday June 22nd to Sunday June 28th

Well Blogger since we last spoke I was headed out for a 35 minute run on Sunday the 21st of June. That run went well and this Sunday I increased my long run up to 40 minutes without a word from my knee. I am still running every other day though due to a disastrous attempt on Monday the 22nd to run on consecutive days. I could not finish the scheduled 20 minutes and after a minute of trying to ignore the building pain finally had to stop 30 seconds short.

-Monday was a disaster stopping at 19:30 of a 20 minute run Plus weights and leg rehabs

-Tuesday was core/stretch and I also saw my Chiro. for some Active Release Therapy and discussed the Pros and Cons of running using The Pose Method.

-Wednesday had me running 25 min. with 3x2 min repeats and 2 min recoverys on the grassy edge of the track. The repeats felt so good that I declared "Life is Good...Again". Plus leg rehabs x3 and pull-ups

-Thursday was core/stretch

-Friday was 25 min. on grass Plus weights and leg rehabs x3

-Saturday was a total day off

-Sunday was the BIG 40 minutes with a bit of Fartleking thrown in to break up the speed. Plus leg rehabs x2 and forgot pull-ups

I am excited also that this Wednesday is the 2009 Limestone Mile Road Race. This race will be my focus over the next year as I plan on running it in 2010.

Going To The Well...For Cupcakes?

In my short 1 year of training I have prided myself in my ability to squeeze that last bit of effort out of every workout. My coach who has been at this running stuff just a bit longer then myself(his 7000 plus runs compared to my 500? runs) often uses the term "going to the well" when describing putting in that extra effort. He has advised me on numerous occasions that "going to the well" should be done sparingly and certainly not on every workout. I on the other hand had been advancing so quickly in my speed and endurance that I continued to push for every last drop of effort and even berated myself when I did not. So after one year of continually progressing and a bunch of PR's to show for it I find myself struggling with a bad case of runner's knee. I can't help but wonder if I may have gone to the well too often, wanting to be too fast too soon, and am now somehow paying for my "Greed". Funny how all the extra effort, all the extra pain gets turned around and now just looks "Greedy" on me. I must confess that I can honestly see how going to the well on those many occasions was in fact greedy. To say it quite simply, I wanted to be FAST FASTER. I believe also that my naivete had a part in leading me to this end. Like a child who greedily eats an entire plate of cupcakes not realizing that she will have an agonizing stomach ache in an hour. The pain is not immediate so she keeps on eating. So like the child, I have enjoyed my cupcakes and now as I sit here in pain I have also hopefully learned my lesson to always leave a few cupcakes on the plate to enjoy later.

Welcome To My Testing Blog

Welcome to what will eventually become my "Training Blog", however what I am doing now cannot really be called "Training". It can more aptly be called "Testing", so with that said then, "Welcome To My Testing Blog". With the guidance of my Coach and Chiro. I have been testing my knee to see what sort of punishment it can endure before it begins to "BARK" at me. "RUNNER'S KNEE" can be very insistent when it comes to wanting one to STOP and at this point in my recovery the 30 minutes on Thursday is my record. Today I am going for 35 minutes. It is really hard to believe that my Sunday long runs have been cut back to all of 35 minutes. Wish me LUCK, 35 minutes here I come.

Running @ 45 Is An Uphill Battle

Yesterday I turned the BIG 45!! Why the "BIG" 45? Well because I am planning on living to be 90(anything past that will be gravy) so 45 is halfway... HALFWAY THERE, HALFWAY OVER, HALFWAY TO GO, HALFWAY IN BETWEEN the BEGINNING and the END. I have this nagging feeling that the "BIG 45" is going to be an UPHILL BATTLE as many of the signs are telling me that I am going downhill(IE. more silver hair then blond. more loose skin then tight etc., etc. please don't make me go on). Luckily for me I have always loved running UPHILL as even though it may be the hardest part of a run it can also be the most satisfying. Of course no matter how hard I run up that slippery slope I know I will inevitably find myself at the bottom. However, just maybe I will stay on the hill a bit longer then I otherwise would have if I hadn't decided to turn around and run back up.