Renee V. Renee

The start of this week was great.  I got out there and even felt fantastic on my seven mile run on Wednesday and followed that up with an intense back session at the gym with Jeff.  Then came Thursday.  I got up at 6:30am, got out of bed, got completely dressed in my running gear and then went back to bed!  I have never done that before.  Ever.  I was just too wiped out.  A combination of early mornings and kids that have been up in the night and I just couldn't get out the door.  Oh well, we all have those days.  However, when my alarm went off at 6:30a this morning, it took me 45 minutes to convince myself to get out of bed.  I said to myself, "Self!  Get up!  You have a 50K coming up that is not going to run itself!  Just do three miles!"  I got up and wasn't a quarter of a mile away from home when I knew it was going to be one of those long three milers.  Physically I actually felt fine, but my head wasn't in the game.  I made myself do an out and back, because I knew if I got anywhere near my house I'd call it early.  Sometimes that's just how it goes I suppose.  But, I still got out there.  It wasn't the five miler I was planning, but it was better than staying in bed!  

3 miles

34:53

11:38 average pace

Jeff, showing me how it's done.  

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Some runs are good, some bad, and some downright ugly.  Some runs are all three.  Today was all three.  I started off at 5am into my neighborhood feeling very sore from weight lifting yesterday.  Plus, there is so much smoke in the air from the fires in Colorado that the air is dry and unpleasant to breath. I just felt like a lump.  I thought about cutting my run short, but decided that would be, as Katherine would say, "lame sauce." So I put in my ear buds and let Will I Am motivate me to the half way mark.  Once I hit half way, not only was it downhill, but my spirits were lifted and I started feeling fantastic.  It always amazes me how some runs can start out so crappy and end so wonderfully.  Another day, another run owned!

5 miles
57:58
11:36 pace

lap 1
2.5 miles
32:51
13:08 pace

lap 2
2.5 miles
25:07
10:03 pace

Daily Mile

Today should have been an amazing run.  The sun was out and it was so nice that I ran in a t-shirt.  However, my good ol' right leg was playing games and I was kind of limping.  I wasn't in pain, just not functioning properly and that makes for a difficult run.  I did quite a bit of walking and in the end I walked the last two miles.  I tried to just enjoy the sunshine.  Better than sitting in the house, I suppose.  If we're being honest, I'm sick of winter.  Running and training in this cold, snowy, icy, smoggy winter is more than lame.  It downright sucks.  Fall racing is where it's at.  Have I mentioned that before?

6 miles
1 hr 24 min
14 min pace

Daily Miles

Yesterday was supposed to be five miles.  My leg was really giving me grief though, so my five mile run turned into a two mile dog walk.  I was stressing out pretty badly yesterday, but I think I've gotten a grip after today's run was pretty good.

2 miles
29 minutes
14:30 pace

Today I went to the Olympic Oval with a few girlfriends and ran.  I felt a lot better than yesterday and was able to do my whole run without much trouble.  I was pretty slow and Katherine told me I was limping even though I felt okay.  The track at the oval is 442 meters.  I ran 30 times around it, which wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  WAY better than the treadmill.  Plus, the speed skaters practice on the ice which is inside the track.  They are fun to watch, and man oh man do they have the best butts and legs you've ever seen!

8.25 miles
1 hour 58 minutes
1 potty break and about 10 water stops (I think I'll bring my Nathan pack next time!)

Lame cramps

Leg cramps should be called lame cramps. I made it a whopping two miles on the treadmill today before I limped out of the gym and went home with a horrid cramp in my right calf. I was in tears by the time I got home. Luckily a hot bath, vapoRub and some ibuprofen have me feeling as good as new. I also took a multivitamin and drank some coconut water. I think a good multivitamin may now be in my running routine. I have have a few theories as to why I'm all of a sudden getting leg cramps. They include shin splint, vitamin deficiency (from celiac disease), and cold weather. It could be all or none of these, but it helps me get through situations to at least attempt to figure out what is going on. It blows my mind that I can happily run for four, plus hours one day and end up quitting in tears two days later after a measly 25 minutes of running. I guess all runs cannot be wonderful. Let's hope for a good run tomorrow.  And no more calf cramps!

2 miles
Approx 22 minutes
11 min pace