sooooo, another missed run...

So, today was my birthday, and I had the pleasure of sitting through yet ANOTHER work team retreat about "What does success look like?" Well, to me, success would come from actually getting to sit at my desk and DO some work rather than just meeting to TALK about doing work. OY!

Anyways, that's the long wind-up to me working until 7:30 tonight and it being too late to get in a long run (had to finish up a few things before heading out of town). Now here it is, 11 p.m. and I have a 6:15 a.m. flight that I haven't packed for yet.

Thankfully, the hotel has a gym w/ treadmill so I can get my runs in regardless of conditions or time of day. It's not perfect but I'll absolutely take it...

Did 5-easy on the treadmill at the gym last night (was 94 in the shade when I left work). Got in a good cooldown and stretch, then spent some more quality time with the foam roller to keep ahead of my ITBS. I swear, the reason folks say that thing works is because the muscle soreness and bruising you get from using it distracts you from the actual ITBS.

I tried out my new sneaks last night - Brooks Adrenaline. I like them. They have a different feeling ride from my Saucony, although I can't really describe it. They're definitely a little looser in the heel, even w/ the narrow size I bought, so might need to work on the lacing a bit. Pretty good so far, though.

SRD (scheduled rest day) for me today. Back at it tomorrow with an 8-miler. We're supposed to cool off by then, so back outdoors for my hilly 8-mile route.

new sneaks!!

I just had the most yummy blackened chicken breast for lunch... Granny smith apple for a late afternoon snack, and I'm fueled up for my 8 tonight.

I bought myself some new sneakers at lunch (brooks adrenaline GTS 7). I buy running shoes like my non-runner friends buy fancy shoes, i.e. I can never have too many. ;-) The Adrenaline have a little less stability than my Saucony Grid Omni 5s, so it'll be good to have a little variety. I'm also going to start using my Grid Trigon Rides again for short runs (3s and 4s). I used to run in a cushioning shoe before I packed on the pounds a few years ago. Now that I'm back to fighting weight, so to speak, I think rotating stability and cushioning should be fine.

I'll keep you posted how this works out. ;-)

Monday Monday...

Phew, the weekend is over... Usually a cause for sadness, but I'm happy to be back to the weekdays and some routine so I can get my runs in. Had houseguests up from NYC this weekend, and we had a great time, but no time to run while they were here.

Saturday:
* drive up through the mountains and a steep twisty notch to get over to Stowe, nice lunch on an outdoor terrace w/ great view of the mountains.
* window shopping in Stowe
* drinks lakeside in Burlington (Lake Champlain)
Sunday:
* brunch outdoors on the Burlington marketplace
* shoe shopping in Burlington
* 2 hour scenic boat ride on Lake Champlain
* quick dinner
* saw Ryan Adams and the Cardinals at Higher Ground - catch him if he's in your area. He's immensely talented.

Dropped my guests at the airport at 5:30 this morning. OY.

Back at it tonight w/ my 8-miler long run that I didn't get in over the weekend.

shuffling it all around...

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time fitting all my runs in. Sometimes it's because I'm scheduled up to my eyeballs, other times it's because I blew off a run early in the week and then get caught up with shuffling things around to make my remaining runs fit.

This week, for example, I had a work event Tuesday night. Wednesday, I ran 3 miles, testing out the ITBS, felt fine. Last night, I stopped by my Mom's house to help her w/ something and of course got persuaded to stay for dinner - sorry, I can't really run after a steak dinner.

Now here it is, Friday afternoon, I can run tonight and tomorrow, but have houseguests arriving at noon and won't be able to run on Sunday.

So, I'm doing my long run tonight (8 miles), and will try to do 3 tomorrow a.m. I've never done an evening long run followed the next morning by short distance. I'll report back on how successful that is. :-)

If nothing else, shifting my long run to Friday THIS week helps w/ next week's scheduling. I'll be on the road starting next Friday a.m., so will do my long run on Thursday. Phew, too much to think about this far in advance...

It's a beautiful morning...

Well, it's absolutely gorgeous out. Blue sky, dry as a bone, nice temps. Darn shame I'm not a morning runner. Somehow, I just can't get going in the a.m. Mentally, I'm there right away. Physically, not gonna happen... :-)

Did 3 last night on an absolutely flat course to avoid irritating the ITBS, and I ran pain-free. I'll try 5 again tonight, my loop w/ 2 mild hills, and see how that feels.

If all goes well, I'll plan on my long run Saturday a.m. I think I have 9 scheduled for this weekend. Might run to my WW meeting (5 each way) for 10 roundtrip.

Well, I've ordered myself a foam roller (aka torture device) from amazon.com and will add that into my daily routine to hopefully help with the ITBS.

I'm scheduled for 5-easy tonight and will do my 1-mile loop x 5. Boring but flat and no downhills. Actually, depending on temp/humidity, I may be on the treadmill. I think I'm one of the few people who don't mind treadmill running. Access to water and bathrooms is not a bad thing. :-)

already?!?

Well, here we are, 2 weeks into training season for my fall marathon, and I'm in slight panic mode because my IT Band is acting up.

I've had this once before, back in 2000 when I did my first marathon. Just a little discomfort during training season, didn't even know what it was, shrugged it off and kept running - that is, until race day, when after a mile-long downhill coming off the 59th street bridge, I was doubled over in pain. Walked the last 10 miles to finish the race, and two weeks post-marathon, when I was still in horrible pain just walking, gave in and saw a sports medicine guy who promptly diagnosed me with ITBS. Took about 5 months to recover from it.

Now here we are, early in the training season, and I'm already past the mild discomfort stage. Am icing off and on during the day, being very faithful to my stretching, and will hope for the best.

In the meantime, I'm getting recommendations for sports medicine doctors in my area. Harrumph (as she stamps foot in annoyance)...

Getting out the door...

I find the major challenge in my running is getting out the door at all. It's a real struggle for me sometimes to get out there after a sh*tty day at work, and there are MANY of those right now. It's just a matter of remembering how fantastic I feel both mentally and physically after a run. The person who could bottle that feeling would be rich indeed.

On the positive side, I'm getting much better at pushing myself and my limits during my actual run. Someone on another running board I follow has a William James quote in his siggy: "Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. " I'm trying to live by that now - hey, my legs might be tired, my lungs might be about to burst on a tough hill, but darn it, I'm going to keep going - and sure enough, once I reach the top, I've completed it and I'm still moving. Hills, distance, speed, I'm trying to work that "second wind" mojo on all of them, and am gratified to find it holds true more often than not.