Tired

Shins felt better today but overall I was very tired. I need more sleep.

Not happy, not happy at all

Watched this movie with the kids this week:

And while I may feel like this after a good run:

My shins have been acting like this:

Not happy, not happy at all. I talked to a PT friend last night and he gave me instruction on what causes shin splints and the best way to rehab them:  RICE plus one specific exercise.  It was a very helpful conversation because he also explained why they hurt more when I run downhill, less running uphill and less while running faster, like a hard training run or a race.  So here's the best way to rehab the shins:  Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.  And here's how tonight's run went:

Recovery run

I'm taking the day off work today and heading out of town with the family. So I slept in and then ran before breakfast. My shins were not happy. But I managed. I took the rolling pin to them when I got home and that seemed to help.

Midweek long run

Beautiful weather today, and only a few raindrops. I'm going to be too busy this weekend for a long run so I did it today. I was secretly hoping to hit 12 miles, but I was under strict instructions to be home by 5:45.  Even though it ended up that being home at 5:55 would have worked.  I still had time to run 1 more mile, but I didn't, I was tired.  I ran a strong pace, 8:21 average, 7:53 min, 8:44 max.  I stopped twice in the middle to walk for a few seconds and gulp water.  Hit the spot.  I tried my Gatorade energy chews after I finished.  I'm not sure if I noticed anything from taking them, except stomach pain about 10 minutes later.  I'm not so sure I'm convinced that energy gels, chews or beans are for me.  Water is just fine, maybe Gatorade would have been good today.  Now, for a very easy run tomorrow, take Friday off and maybe a very short run on Saturday.  I'm already over 20 miles for the week!

Easy run

A nice and easy 4 mile run today after my tough 6 mile tempo yesterday and in advance if my long run tomorrow.

Tempo run in new shoes

New route record. But it was super duper windy. The wind wasn't directly in my face or at my back, but it was very strong, and nearly blowing off my new running hat.  The temperature was perfect, and the wind kept me from being soaked in sweat.  It might have been a tiny bit at my back for the second half of the run.  I started off running by feel, but checked my times at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 of the way done.  By 3/4 I was fairly certain that I was running a new record on my 6.0 mile route, 46:19 or 7:43 average pace.  And I did, by 25 seconds.  That's the kind of result I've been waiting for.  No shin trouble at all.  Can I say again that I think my shin trouble was caused by my old shoes? 
Now, for an interesting week.  I'm taking a family trip Friday and Saturday so I don't know if I will have time to run.  So I'm running easy tomorrow, long on Wednesday, then easy again on Thursday.  

NEW SHOES!

I finally bought a pair of "real" running shoes today. I started having shin trouble again this week, and I'm sick of it. I was going to try and hold out until next month, but today was the last Saturday until mid-May that I had free to do it.  So I took them for a run this evening.  I probably shouldn't have gone 7 miles with them on the first run, but the first 100 yards felt great, and the first 2 miles felt good, so I kept going.  And no shin trouble.  I did notice a few other places that felt tight, or getting worked more than usual- my outer ankles, hips and quads little.  So here's my workout info, and I'll put together a post about my new shoes-- and my new hat!  I finally bought a running hat.

Tired shins

My shins are acting up again. I'm ready to blame this pair of shoes.  Looking back, I should have taken an easy day between my two 6 mile tempo runs.  But I didn't because I always run better the second time on a back-to-back when I do that route.  I'm going to check my shoe mileage and see how soon until I buy my first real running shoes.

Easy run

New route at Hummel park- 3.38 miles. Very easy run today. My legs were definitely stiff and tired from yesterday.

Like this activity

One of my long distance running buddies liked this run in FB before I could even blog about it. It was a good run. I did the same as yesterday but ended up one second slower than my best route time. I ran very hard on the last mile, 7:27.  Tomorrow will be a well-deserved easy day.

If it weren't for traffic...

...I'd have a new route record today. I easily lost 30 seconds total waiting at one intersection I crossed twice.  The temperature was nice, the sun was shining, the only trouble was the strong winds.  I ran into the wind much stronger than I thought I would.  But the thing I hate about running into the wind for the first half of my run is that as soon as I turn around for the second half, I instantly feel way hotter and I start sweating a lot more.  But otherwise it was a good run.  My heel was sore all day but felt good once I started running.  I think I'll try the same run again tomorrow.  

It happens to the best of us

Bathroom emergency.  I started off running and within 1/4 mile I knew I needed a bathroom.  So I turned around after 1/2 mile, ran back to the park where I started and used the restroom.  Thankfully it's open this time of year.  Phew!  It would have been hard for me to go in the bushes because I was wearing my fluorescent orange long sleeve running shirt.  But once that was done I felt better, and lighter.  So I ran kind of fast for a couple of miles (7:25, 7:47, 8:04) and figured out that my legs were tired.  So I coasted in the last two, for a grand total of 6 today.  I should have been more realistic when I planned this week.  If I had really wanted to have a good long run today I should have taken yesterday off, or cross trained or something.

Very slow very easy

A very easy run today in preparation for tomorrow's long run.  I'm not sure how far I will run tomorrow.  I was considering trying 12 miles, but my legs don't feel that great today.  But I'm really tired today, so maybe some good sleep tonight and a restful day tomorrow will have me ready to run tomorrow afternoon.

Weight loss

So I've been stuck at the same weight for a few months now.  It's a little frustrating, especially now that I can run more than 10 miles, and with my bike rides included, I burn lots and lots of calories every week.  But no change.  I tried giving up soda on March 1st.  I did really good for a few weeks, now I'm back on.  I decided to go back to soda because when I was off of it I was pigging out on everything else: donuts, licorice, candy bars, fast food.  And my weight went up.  So back on the soda and my weight leveled off.  Yesterday morning I hit a weight I never thought I would see again: 208.  I was shocked and dumbfounded.  I'm not sure what reminded me, but I realized I hadn't been drinking enough water.  So yesterday I drank a lot, at least 100 ounces.  And today close to the same.  And my eating habits have stayed about the same.  And this morning I weighed 205.  Huh?  3 pounds lost in one day?  How can that be?  I also weighed myself tonight after my run, and chugging 20 ounces of water.  203.  Huh?  So here's what I've concluded.  When I don't drink enough, I retain water.  These kind of weight changes can only be due to fluids.  I think my body has been in preservation mode because I wasn't drinking enough water.  And now that I'm hydrating, it's not retaining water any more.  I also read an article today about how when you are dehydrated, your kidneys don't function properly.  So your liver does their work removing toxins from the body, and doesn't have the additional capacity to metabolize fat.  So here's my conclusion:  Drink lots of water, let my kidneys run at maximum capacity, and hopefully my liver kicks in like crazy and metabolizes lots of fat.  We'll see how it goes.  Sound like a good plan?

Running again

I think today's run was at exactly the right speed and distance. I ran fast enough that I was taking a decent stride, my breathing and heart rate were up a little and I was sweating. But I won't be sore tomorrow and even though my shins were a little tired, they didn't bother me enough to make me stop.  I felt strong and comfortable running today.  And at 5 miles it was just the right length.  I would rate this workout as less than tempo pace, but more than slow long distance.  I'll take another short run tomorrow to keep loose before my long run on Saturday.  Tomorrow will be a very easy 4 mile run.

Cross train bike part deux

Another day on the bike. I pushed a little more than yesterday but I definitely didn't go all out.  I still have a little soreness from Monday's run, but it's mostly gone.  Tomorrow I should be ready to run again.

Cross train bike

I was very stiff and sore this morning from yesterday's long run.  I planned to ride my bike today because I knew I would need a day or two off because of how hard the run was.  So I took my mountain bike on the paved trails for a nice and easy ride.  My only goals were to get my heart rate up, get my legs pumping and loosened up and do it for at least 30 minutes.  Mission accomplished.

Easter Monday

It's Easter Monday so I get the day off work. Thank you collective bargaining agreement! (If only the CBA included stipulations about actually earning your pay). So I got up about my usual time and went for a long run. A little chilly at the start but otherwise the weather was perfect for a long run.  Last night when I planned my route I figured it out so that I could run 13.1 today if I wanted to.  But when I got to about mile 9 I knew it wasn't going to happen.  So I turned around and finished it off at 11.2 miles.  My longest run ever.  This one was hard.  I was definitely harder than the 10.48 mile run I did last month.  My average pace for that run was 8:33, for this one it was 8:26.  I strategically place my water bottle so that I drank from it between miles 4-5 and then again at miles 7-8.  Maybe if I had another one place between miles 10-11 I would have been able to go the distance to 13.1.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.

Around the lake

I took the day off work so I decided to run this morning, even though I had a hard run last night and I wasn't planning to run today. And to mix it up I ran around the lake. I walked, then ran, then walked. I probably should have ran slower, but the downhills are harder to run slow.  Now, time for a few days off.

Tempo run route record

A difficult run. This was my tempo run, 1 mile sort of easy, then 5 miles tempo around 7:30.  I ended up averaging 7:47 for all 6 miles.  Take away the first mile and the average pace drops to 7:44.  But my laps were 7:30, 7:30, 8:00, 8:00, 7:35.  I still have work to do.  The hills in the middle are tough to handle, I had to stop and walk for a few paces at least 3 separate times during this workout.  But in the end, a new route record for this 6 mile route.  I bested my previous record by 4 seconds.  I set that record on Feb. 7, almost 2 months ago.  Between the flu and my shins I haven't been running consistently enough to beat it.  I'll take it.  And I'll enjoy the next 2 days of very easy runs or walking workouts.
The threat of rain kept the posers away, but I didn't get rained on at all.

Added a mile

My slow and easy run yesterday was... slow and easy. So I did the same today and added another mile in the end. Distance : 5 miles, average pace: 9:12.  I'm looking forward to my 6 mile tempo run tomorrow.  Wow, it was hot today.  I sweat a lot.

Easy run

It's still tough for me to feel fine, feel strong and feel 'ready to go' but still run slow. I still think it's the most difficult workout for a runner. It's a mental challenge.  I'm learning to appreciate the mental aspect of running.  I would love to run fast every day, but that's not physically possible. So running slow gives me a chance to rest, go easy, and get ready for my next hard run.  If I have only one awesome run every week like the one I had on Saturday, I'll take it.  I thought I was doing a good job with recovery between runs, but I wasn't.  I was always trying to run my fastest time on a route, maybe an easy day later in the week, then a progressively longer run on Saturday.  But it caught up to me, at least that's what I think my shins have been telling me.  They were a little grumpy today, but since I ran so slow they were fine.  Definitely didn't set any records today.