Tamy

Hurt too much to run (or walk) several days after the marathon. 

Didn't run much in the three weeks between these two marathons because I was nursing injuries, but I hoped I could shave a few minutes off the OC race.  I set out to run a pace that would get me a 4:15.  I was about 2 minutes ahead of that pace most of the race.  I used up those two minutes in the last mile and eeked out my 4:15 without too many seconds to spare.  :)

I'm frustrated because I haven't even gotten through my first week of 6-days-a-week running and my chronic knee pain has flared up.  I'm sitting here icing wondering how to proceed.

Found it too easy to rest my knee for two days because work was so busy.  Just ran a two-mile test run after I got home at 10pm.  Knee feels ok.  Maybe I'll try to get in six before work tomorrow.

Yea!  Morning run accomplished.  Knee pain negligible. 

Ocean swam for an hour before my 6 miles today.  Then my running partner pushed the pace.  Made for a great workout.

Tired legs but I did it.

Got new shoes and needed to calibrate latest Nike+ sensor.  Not a serious run.

Ran around Mile Square Park.

Just did this for fun, and it was a piece of cake.  It's not timed with a chip, and I didn't cross the start for almost a minute after the horn.  Note to self:  If I start closer to the front and really try to run fast, I could probably be competitive in my age group at this race.

Went in the heat of the day, but it felt good.  A chronic pain in my foot is threatening to rear its head.  Need to remember to ice when I ice the knees even if it doesn't hurt.

Experimented with getting up early to run before work.  Felt OK but I didn't give myself enough time to get in all 6 miles.  How can I get up even earlier when I start running longer runs?  How do you people do it?

Ran in the morning again.  My first mile is slower than my average because my body is stiff.  But then I worry about being late to work, so once I'm warmed up, I run almost a minute faster than my average pace.  Not sure if any of this is good or bad.  It sure feels good to have my run out of the way at the start of the day; there's no worrying about whether I'll get my run in today or not.

9:33/mile avg.

1:07 total time

Ran at Mile Square Park

Chronic foot pain is flaring up.  Probably need to ease back on the weekly miles.  I'm also going to investigate shoes with more cushioning in the forefoot.

When I run first thing in the morning, my first mile is a minute or more slower than my average pace, but because I am anxious about getting to work on time, I end up running the remainder of the miles about half to 3/4 a minute faster than average pace.  Wonder what's good or bad about these facts.

Did a short hike this morning but didn't feel like it was enough to get out of running.  So, I tried running my usual 6, but my legs were dead.  Of course it was 85 degrees at that time, so that could've been the problem.  Hope to get back in my rhythm tomorrow.

1:06

Swam 1 mile on my day off from running.

1:06 total

9:29-ish avg.

1:06

9:29/mile avg.

I haven't even tried but have run the last three 7 milers in the exact same time.  Like clockwork.

Ran this 7 miler at the beach and stopped midway to watch the US Open of Surfing in HB.  Good times. 

Ran a little slower today because it was the middle of a hot day.  1:12 total with a 10 something average pace.

Swam a mile instead of running.

Felt good after doing a swim yesterday instead of a run.  I'm torn between taking off two days a week to recover and running six days a week

Loved the overcast skies that made for a cool run this morning.  Have I mentioned that I am doing all of my weekly runs in the morning these days?  I get up at freakin' 6am to run.  A life-long runner, I never thought I would be an AM runner.

Another cool overcast day; loved it! 

1:06 total time

Ran at Back Bay with the running group.  We had some slower people, so I ran slower than usual, which was probably good for recovery.  I'm thinking of taking 2 days in a row off before starting on 8 milers.

I was planning to rest today, but I bought new running shoes and couldn't wait to try them out.  Plus, why waste a weekend day on resting when it's so hard to get runs in during the week?  Shoes felt ok, but I still feel like I've got a bone sticking out of the bottom of my forefoot when I run.  Hmmm.

Swam 2000m this morning.

Even though I'm uping my mileage, my pace is getting faster without even trying.  Guess I'm getting fitter.  Foot pain still threatens to throw a wrench in it though.  :(

Run felt good today, but my knees are talking to me.  It's interesting how I've learned to understand what my body is telling me.  Before when my knees felt the way they do today, I would freak out and say, "I'm injured.  What am I going to do if I can't run? Whaaaahhhh!"  Now, I understand that I just need to take a rest day tomorrow, ease up a little.  I'm not injured, but the knees are asking for some recovery.  Yea, I'm bilingual!

Swam instead of running.  I miss running!

8 miles before surfing today!

Enjoyed a nice evening run but don't like not running in the morning now because it's hard to find time to fit it in as the day goes on and on.

Cool morning 8 miler in 1:15

Tried to run really slow today since I had extra time.  I still averaged about 9:40/mile.

I took a rock climbing class yesterday.  It didn't seem like much of a workout because it was just a first lesson, and I only climbed for a total of about 30 minutes.

But on my run today, I was planning to do 7 miles but only did 6.  My legs were dead, and I just felt puny.  I hope it was from the extra little workout yesterday. 

Ran with a group that pushed my pace a little.  Averaged about 9:20/mile on this 8 miler.  Felt good, but shins a little sore afterwards.

  Biked 12 miles with a friend who can't run and didn't get my run in.  :(

I just love running. Seriously.  I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuvvvv it!

Good run, but I had pain in both feet and knees for the rest of the day.

Instead of running with the strong-support shoes, I ran with the neutral shoes and feet and knees felt fine during the run.  Now, the pain on the outside of my left foot is acting up.  I first felt this pain the day after my last marathon.  It went away but has come back as my miles increase.  It's really annoying.

My foot hurt before I even started running today, but as soon as I started running, it felt better.  Awesome!

I did an unfamiliar route.  It started up a windy hilly road that just kept going up.  I thought, "Fine, I'll just do an intense hill workout today."  But then I saw a dirt path up the side of a hill and decided to veer off the road.  I got about half-way up the hill before I had to stop and walk.  There was a nice view at the top that I enjoyed while catching my breath a little.  I planned to run down the hill, but it was too steep and slippery.  So I ended up walking down as well.  By then my legs were kind of shot, and I just didn't feel like putting in the full 8 miles.

I'm going to start including the trails I'm running on.  I ran my usual loop but can't currently remember the stupid name.  Guess I'll start including the names next time.  :)

I did my first hard rock climbing workout last night and my legs were still pretty heavy today.  The run felt good but my pace was a minute slower than usual: 10:20/mile.

I ran the last half of my running group's 18 miler.  They were understandably tired and slow, but their pace was too slow for me.  I averaged 10:24/mile on this run, and that doesn't include some walking I did while staying with one guy.  Wasn't that fun for me, but at least I got in some really slow miles.  Should make for good recovery.  :)

I ran 8 miles this morning at about 9:50/mile pace.  Then I rode my bike about 12 miles this afternoon.  I'm taking tomorrow off.  It'll be a long day with no running.  :(

Felt great running today after not running yesterday.  I so miss it on my days off.  Did 9 miles in about an hour and a half.  Gonna have to start getting up earlier to make time for the extra mile....

Annoying pains in foot and knees threaten to derail my progress.  Grrrrrr.

I played with pace at the end of the 8 miles today.  Did about 8:40/mile the last few miles.  It was good to get my breathing going a little more than usual and also to see that I could sustain that for several miles.

Ran faster than I needed or wanted to again today:  9:10/mile.  Guess hitting 50 miles a week for the first time isn't wearing out my legs too much.  But I don't think I'm ready to run a 3:45 marathon yet which makes me wonder if I ever will be....

Ran slow at first and then a few of the miles near the end at about 8:45/mile pace.  Felt good.

9:40 pace

It was already hot at 7:30am when I started.  I did not want to run because I knew it was just going to get hotter the whole time, and it did.  By mile 2, I wanted to quit, but I just made myself keep going at an easy pace.  I found a shady street and went back and forth on it.  I'm glad I made it the whole 8.  Now, I'm going to the beach to take a nap and work on my tan.  :)

This run puts me over 200 miles for the month!!

I didn't look at the time during the whole run. I decided to see what pace I would do without knowing. I ran a comfortable pace for the first part and then picked it up at the end. And I was shocked to realize how SLOW I ran it. I averaged 10:50 a mile. What a slow poke! Oh well. Other than that, it was a nice run.

1:27 total

I didn't run yesterday, but both Monday and today I had a hard time running under 10 minute miles.  I was really wondering what was wrong with me.  Then after about the 4th time clearing my throat mid run, it occurred to me that I shouldn't have been ignoring the apocalyptic-looking sky and sun; they were warning me that the air quality is not good due to the fires burning around LA.  Maybe less oxygen in the air is actually affecting my pace.  Hmmmmmm.

I made myself pick up the pace even though it was hard today.  I ran it in about 1:25 with 9:24/mile avg.

Had a good run at the beach, nice and flat.  Did the 10 in 1:31:51 which was a 9:08 avg.

I did the exact same run I did yesterday, down at Huntington Beach.  Today I did it at noon in the heat of the day and it took a couple minutes longer:  1:33 total.  Also, I ran into a kid (literally) on a bike who turned in front of me at the last second.  I hurt my hamstring a little from stopping so suddenly but kept running.  The kid was fine, by the way.

1:13 total

Shins were throbbing a little in this run.  May take tomorrow off, and I'm thinking of making this week a regression week.  I've increased mileage for 4 weeks in a row.  Maybe dialing it back a little this week would be good.  Question is can I resist increasing mileage again?

After not laboring to run on Labor Day, I got in a good 10 miler today.  I did it in 1:33. 

 I've decided to try doing some Yasso 800s tomorrow.  I think I should start with only 4 since I haven't done any speed work.  Then I'll go up to 6 next week and so on up to 10.  As I ran the close-to-9-minute miles on my 10 miler today, I felt like I could definitely keep that pace for 26.2, but I'm not sure if I could do 8:38s, which is what's needed to qualify for Boston.  I'm hoping the Yasso 800s will give me a better idea of where I am.

Did my 4 Yasso 800s today with a 400 jog in between.  Before doing them, I did a 2 mile warm up and then a few more miles afterwards though I didn't feel like going the full 10 today.

As I said yesterday, I only wanted to do 4 800s today since I'm just starting out.  Good thing too cuz the hamstring I kind of irritated running into the kid on the bike last weekend is kind of irritating me again after the 800s.  Hopefully, it's not going to get worse....

Anyway, 3:45 was the goal pace for the 800s and they went like this:

3:20--too fast

3:24--still too fast

3:43--perfect

3:36--I'm sure I was strong enough to do 6 at 3:45 if I'd not gone out too fast on the first two.

Overall, it was a nice confidence booster to see that I've got some speed to work with.  Now, to increase it....

Arrgggghh.  My hamstring was tight the whole run.  I was planning to do an easy 10 but decided it wasn't worth risking a pull to keep going.  I think I'll swim tomorrow instead of running.  Then I'll try again Saturday.  I had planned this to be a light week but for rest not for injury.  Arrrggghh.

This entry is entitled: Tamy's Hamy

Hamstring, that is.  I almost skipped my run today because the hamstring was so messed up yesterday.  But I went and got a massage, and when I finished, I felt like running.  When I started the run, it still felt very fragile like it did yesterday.  So I took it easy and stopped 1.5 miles in and stretched really well.  Midway through the run I was feeling really good and doing about 9:15/mile.  I finished the 10 miles in 1:32.  Considering yesterday I ran 8 miles in an embarrassing 1:33, I was very pleased with today's run.

1:33 total

Hamstring felt fine after not running yesterday.

I finished this run with two donuts and don't feel guilty about it.

I thought being on vacation I'd take advantage of having plenty of time to run.  Instead, I find myself being kind of lazy.  I can't pull myself out of bed to run before the day starts the way I do when I'm working.  I finally got myself out there to run around noon but never was really in the mood for it.  I miss my routine. 

I did the 9 in 1:24.

Why must my shins start hurting now?  Glucosamine solved the knee problems, a little rest healed the hamstring, but I know of no way to keep training once shin splints start.  My shoes don't have too many miles, and I didn't increase mileage too quickly; what else would make my shins start hurting?  Icing and hoping...

1:21:00 on the 9 miles today

9:04/mile average

Did 6 Yasso 800s today aiming for a 3:45 pace with a 400 jog in between each one.

1--3:48

2--3:36

3--3:37

4--3:46

5--3:35

6--3:33

Two comments about these:

1) 3:45 is too easy of a pace for me. 

2) I need more practice hitting a target pace when doing speed.  I was trying for 3:44 or 3:45 on each of these (except the last one), and never got it.  Happy with the workout though.  :)

Next week, I'll do 8 800s.

I helped my neighbor run his first two miles today.  He started running this week and was able to do 10 minute miles.  He was surprised by how much easier it was to run with somebody.

After that two, I did another 7 but kept it at the same easy pace. 

I came close to getting hit by a car while running in a crosswalk at a 4-way stop in a school zone.  I did a Heisman Trophy pose (minus the football) while bracing for impact.  Fortunately, the lady decided to look in front of her and stopped but not before traveling completely through the crosswalk and forcing me a couple feet outside of it.  Everyone stay alert when you're crossing streets. :)

Ran a nice loop around the Back Bay in about an hour and a half.

Update:

I drove this morning's route and confirmed that it was 11.2 miles, not 10 as I originally thought.  So that explains why it was about 8 or 9 minutes slower than my usual 10 milers.

*******************************************************************

My distance-measuring device needs a new battery, so I had to estimate today's distance.  I think I did about 10 miles, but it may have been more because it took me about 1:40.  My legs were kind of dead; I think it's because of some serious hills (on Jamboree) I was forced to run because of a detour (trash clean up on the trail) at Back Bay yesterday.  So maybe the 10-minute/mile pace today is accurate.  I'll drive the route later to confirm.

Only had time for 8.5 today because I had a big job interview this morning.  I didn't skip the run though because I knew it was the best thing to make me feel like myself and it did.  :)

Going to the beach now to relax.

Did 10 in 1:33 at HB.

I did a slow 3 miles to warm up and then did 8 Yasso 800s on a track with a 400 jog between each one.  Afterwards, I did a slow mile home.  The 800 goal pace was under 3:45.  They went like this:

1.  3:38

2.  3:33

3.  3:31

4.  3:41

5.  3:31

6.  3:37

7  3:29

8. 3:33

All well under goal pace, so I'm happy.  I didn't start getting winded until the 6th one, but even then, my breathing was controlled.  And legs didn't start feeling tired until the 8th one.  Next week, I'll do 10 800s under 3:45.

Waited too late to run today so it was 80 degrees when I started and 90 when I finished.  I ran around the Los Alamitos and Seal Beach military bases.  I stopped to buy some Gatorade and bought a 32 oz one because it was a better buy than the smaller one.  But then I was stuck carrying it while running because I couldn't drink it all and didn't want to waste it.  I drank it all within the next mile and then felt too full, but I kept running and it quickly disappeared from my stomach.  I ran the 11.5 in 1:44  which certainly isn't speedy, but considering all the distractions, I'm glad it's not worse.  Tomorrow I'm doing 12 early with a group.  I hope that'll be a stronger run.

By the way, I got the job I cut Monday's run short to interview for. :)

I ran the first 10 miles with a group who pushed me because they would go slow until I caught up to them and then speed up.  I got tired of it so I blew by them.  The guys eventally passed me, but they had to leave the other girl behind to do it.  She ended up tanking.  I ran the 10 in 1:27 and then did the last 2 miles easy with a friend who is new to running.

After the run, we went for a hike and then went to the beach.  Great Saturday!

Wow, my legs were still dead after yesterday's activities even though I got over 7 hours of good sleep. 

I ran the 10 miles nice and easy but the legs were heavy the whole way and my chronically weak left achilles was a little achy.  Look forward to just taking it easy today.  Hopefully, another good night's sleep will have my legs feeling more recovered tomorrow.

Legs were still tired today, but I did my 10 miles.  Yea!  Left shin is still sore but doesn't make me limp.  Did the run in 1:31 and came close to getting hit by a car again at the same intersection I nearly got hit in a couple weeks ago.  I keep telling myself I'm going to write a letter to the city, but by the time I finish my run, I'm like, ehhh, whatever.  Guess running really does mellow me out.

Back to work after a 3-week vacation, so I ran at 6am (which is dark now) near my work in Irvine.  Ran a nice loop that connected with the Back Bay and had some big hills.  Finished in 1:33.

I did my first mile-repeats workout.  I really had no idea how to do it correctly, so I decided to shoot for 7:40 per mile, 20 seconds added on to two 3:40 half miles (I know I can do repeated 800s at 3:40). After doing a couple miles to warm up, I did the first mile in 7:10 (too fast), the second mile in 7:08 (didn't need to compensate for slowing down as much as I thought I did), the third mile in 7:41 (yikes, didn't compensate enough), fourth mile in 7:25 (pretty much emptied my tank).  I did a 400m jog between each mile and a few more easy miles after the track workout. 

Though the miles were all over the place in time, I'm happy with the workout.  I know I can still after all these years run a sub-7-minute mile.  And I know that my 5K pace is probably close to 7 minute miles.  Yippee.  But the big question still is what will my marathon pace be?????

My legs felt good today after not running yesterday.  Ran it in 1:26.

I'm putting a link to the route I ran just to see if I can.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/irvine/237125450290146193

Update:  I did 5 more miles in 48 minutes for a total of 14 miles today.

So far I've done 9 miles today, but I plan to do 5 more.  I'm just waiting at my office until my car work is done.  Then I'll run back to the shop to pick up my car.  Did the first 9 in 1:27.

It's gotten chilly at night so my 6:30am runs require sleeves now.  I'll be sad to put away the tank tops for winter.

1:30 total

Ran a little different route and thought I was going fast.  Then I thought I was farther along than I was so I thought maybe I wasn't really going fast.  My legs started feeling tired so I was a little frustrated.  But I just mapped it, and instead of doing 10 miles, I did 11.76.  Time 1:43.  So that's ok.

Did a track workout today with a mile warm up and mile cool down.  I did mile repeats with a 400m jog in between.  The miles were all under 7:30, ranging between 7:10 and 7:25, and I did 5 of them.

10 miles in 1:30 and it felt good. 

Have had a kink in the interior of the outside side of my calf this week.  Can't quite find the proper stretch or way to massage it.  It's not really painful, just feels tangled up.  Will keep trying to work it out.

By mile 2, I knew this was going to be a hard run, not because 18 miles is long for me but because my legs just felt dead.  I had to will myself to keep going for the last 16 miles, but I did it.  I'm not going to feel too badly about how it didn't feel like a good run.  It's probably just a little fatigue that won't last.  Did the run in 2:46.

Even after taking yesterday off, my legs still felt a little sluggish today, though not nearly as sluggish as they were on Saturday's long run.  Ran a usual route in 1:33.

Same usual 10 mile loop.  It was cool and misty.  Glad I didn't let the rain keep me in bed.  1:31.

Ran my loop in the rain again.  It was coming down pretty hard when I woke up, but I didn't let it stop me.  Yea!  Ran it in 1:32.

Ran the loop instead of doing the usual Wed. speed work because I didn't want to slip on the track, so I'll do speed work tomorrow.

I did a mile and a half warm up and cool down, but the workout was 6 x 800 at about 10 seconds faster than 5K pace with 200m jogs in between.  I did all but the first one right at 3:30/3:31 and was really feeling it on the last couple.  Even got that "if I do this much longer I will spew" feeling on the last one. 

Feel a little bad about not getting in more miles today, but my knees are hurting so the relative easy day has its benefits, I think.

Did the usual route in the usual time but I can tell my legs are tired.  I have been sitting at just under 70 miles/ week for a couple weeks now, and I just don't think I'm going to go over 70.  At least not in this training cycle.  I'll try to do 20 miles tomorrow.  Then I'll just have 2 more upper 60-mile weeks before easing off a bit before the marathon.  I'm hoping that keeping going while fatigued for just a couple weeks won't hurt me but will just make it feel really nice when I ease up.

I meant to do 20 miles today but I didn't map it very accurately before I ran it (no GPS), and I just mapped it carefully and found it to be only 19 miles.  Bummer.  But on the bright side, this 19 felt much better than the 18 I did last weekend.  I didn't feel labored until the last few miles.  Did the run in 2:53.  That is 9.105 minutes per mile; not sure how many seconds .105 minutes is, but I know it's not many.  So that was a decent pace.  :)

Ha, ha.  I only did 2 miles today.  I just had to take care of my real life a little bit and skip the running.  Looking forward to my 10 miles before work tomorrow.

Did 10 very slow miles this morning.  1:35 Shins are sore these days.

1:35 for my 10 miles.  Slow again.  I just don't feel like running faster this week.  I've got speed work tomorrow; that should be fun.

Somehow I forgot today was speed day and drove to the wrong place.  So I just did a routine 10 miler.  Still feeling sluggish though. 

And my left calf has been tight and feeling twisted for over a week now.  Today after stopping at a traffic light around mile 9, and when I started up again, the calf kind of spasmed as if it were going to pull but didn't.  I just kept going, but I really don't think it should be doing that on a routine run.  May take tomorrow off despite already taking Sunday off this week.  I do not want to get hurt 3 weeks before my qualifying event.

Did a track workout today.  Was shooting for sub 7:30 mile repeats.  Did the first one slow cuz I wasn't very warmed up for the cool morning: 7:38.  Then I did a 6:50, a 7:08, a 7:15, and a 7:12.  I did a 400 jog between each one and about a mile warm up and cool down.  Had thought about resting today but didn't just because I'm so in the habit of getting up and running.  May rest tomorrow or may not.  Definitely doing a long run on Saturday.

After not running this morning and sleeping a much-needed extra hour and a half, I couldn't resist running this evening.  I went for a 7.5 miler just after sunset.  I did it in about 68 minutes which is faster than I've run all week.  My legs are still a little tender.  I can tell they're beat.  It will feel good to get this marathon over with in a few weeks.  Still planning to get in 22 miles tomorrow, but I may make that my last really long run  until race day.  I'll keep my weekly mileage over 60 until the marathon, but I may decide I benefit more from spreading miles out more instead of beating myself up with a 20+ run on Saturdays.

This was supposed to be 22 miles, but it's a little short.  That doesn't bother me.  I finished feeling like I could probably do 8 or 10 more miles at that pace.  Time was 3:23.  Had fun on most of this run.  Ran on some uncharted territory in north Irvine.  Here's a map of it: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/irvine/378125641173410370

Felt pretty good after yesterday's 22 miler.  I slipped on a curb though and kind of twisted my ankle--the same one attached to the cranky calf and achilles that have been bothering me.  So the whole leg is kind of gimpy now.  Nothing serious, just annoying.

1:35 Enjoyed the sunrise.

1:34  It was our first cold morning.  I didn't realize it was in the upper 40s, so I was only wearing shorts and short sleeves.  Hands froze.

Cold again, but I wore a long-sleeved shirt which made me more comfortable, go figure.  I'm being a bit of a cold wimp because this is my first winter as a morning runner.  Morning runs in the summer were great because it was the best temperature of the day, but now it's the worst.  And all my winter clothes are in storage since I haven't had any time to go get them out yet.  Anyway, 10 miles in 1:34.

1:32 

Awe, the final long run before the marathon.  So glad it's over.  Did 24 in 3:44, coincidentally, the time I'd like to run the marathon in.  Surely, I can squeeze 2.2 more miles in to that time to qualify for Boston.  This is also my first 70+ mile week ever.  Overall, I'm feeling pretty darn good. 

Ran in the evening.  1:20 

My chronic problem in the left calf caused a lot of pain.  It's worst when I go from standing to running (such as at a traffic light); the first couple of steps are really painful before I get back into an even stride.  It doesn't hurt much when I'm not running.  :(

I had pain the entire run today.  I think the calf is finally getting worse.  I was almost limping but not quite there, so I kept going.  This is the second to last week before the marathon.  I had planned not to cut back on any of my weekday running and just shorten the long run on Saturday thereby only dropping my weekly mileage to around 60, but I may have to shorten the weekday runs to get this calf under control.  Time was the same today despite the pain: 1:33.

Rested the leg yesterday.  It killed me the first 5 miles today and then sort of eased up.  Don't know what to do....

Day 1 of self-imposed rest due to self-diagnosed (with the help of fellow bloggers) muscle strain in calf. Icing it now and several more times today. Will try not to run tomorrow too, but I'm already hating this not running with marathon 9 days away. :(

Day 2 of not running.  Been icing several times a day and taking Ibuprofen.  I am considering trying to run tomorrow.  I feel lonely because I'm without my friend, running.

First run since Wed.  The calf didn't hurt as bad as it did before the days off, but it still felt weird.  So I only did 3 miles.  And my right shin is still hurting.  I notice it more now that the calf pain is lessened.  I noticed when the calf was hurting really bad, it made the shin pain less noticeable. 

Was only going to do 5 miles on this second day back from injury, but I made my loop too big and ended up doing a little over 7 mile.  The calf and shin were a little sore the first couple miles, but the calf is definitely better than last week.  But from mile 3 on, my legs just felt fatigued.  This after resting half of last week.  I don't get that.  The pace for the 7 miles was 11 min./mile.  I haven't run that slow in years.  I hope I'm just off because of the rest and that if I keep running short runs this week, I can get my rhythm back before Sunday. 

Went farther than planned again but got my pace back under 9 min./mile for the last half. 

Felt so-so.  Looking forward to Sunday.

Not a great run for my last pre-marathon run.  Just felt sluggish and slow.  Had planned to run a couple tomorrow, but I think it's better to just rest. 

Oh well, I'll hold my head up because I trained really smartly and consistently and am proud of that.

Didn't BQ or break 4 hours.

I was 7 minutes ahead of BQ pace for much of the first half, which was flat.  In fact, my first half was 1:53, 30 minutes faster than my half marathon PR.  Then the hills started.  By mile 20, I was hurting.  By 22, I knew I wasn't going to make the BQ time.  Pain and cramps in my stomach, calves, lower back, and butt made me start walking a little.  I felt awful and knew I could pretty much walk the rest of the way and still PR, but I wanted to break 4 hours.  So I ran as much as I could tolerate with short walking breaks.  By 24, I was done, but I could still taste the sub-4-hour time.  I used up everything in my tank and crossed the finish line in 4:00:20.  Ugh!  Oh well. 

It occurred to me that this marathon was as hard as my first marathon.  The ones in between were much easier.  Maybe the first time trying to BQ is like the first time ever running a marathon.  Maybe if I tried to BQ again, it'd be a lot easier.  I need to know the answer to that question because I absolutely do not want to make myself suffer again like I did today.  It wouldn't be worth doing that again, but if just having an intense run like that under my belt means I'm that much more experienced next time, it might be worth it....

http://www.j-chipusa.com/results.php?bib=60&eventid=2784&p=

First post-marathon run.  Did it pretty slowly.  Had to stretch the left hamstring a couple times cuz it's still really sore and tight.  Glad to get back out there.  Hope to feel comfortable doing 10 milers by the weekend.

My marathon pains still bothered me even after another 3 days of rest.  But the hamstring felt better.  It was still that mysterious muscle in the front outside of my lower left leg that really hurt during the marathon.  Being a new nuisance, I didn't listen much to it; I simply told it to shut up. 

So tomorrow, I will get back to my regularly-scheduled before-work runs.  I may not do 10 milers yet just to take it easy, but I aim to get back to those in a couple of weeks.  Eyes peeled for another BQ race....

Didn't try to push it too much.  Cold morning; should've had long sleeves.

Felt more like my old self today, despite lingering marathon pains, particularly at the beginning.  Ran the 8 miles at a 9:43 avg. pace and felt high on the second half.  Smiled a little while I ran.  Love that feeling.

My right shin is still acting up.  Top of left foot too, but it's the shin that threatens to hault my running.  Did the 8 miles at around 9:20 avg. pace.

Had a fun run on a new trail.  Started at UCI and took University to the 405.  Ran parallel to the 405 on the Sand Canyon bike trail to Sand Canyon Dr.  followed the trail into Shady Canyon and had to ask people for directions to get back to UCI.  Lots of hills and nice scenery.  1:22 total  and 9:37 avg pace.  Shin still hurts.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/irvine/828125936558959297

I've taken off another 3 days of running to try to rest my shin.  I swam yesterday and today to give myself something to do.  I also bought some orthotics that I'll try running in tomorrow.  Can't wait to be back to running pain free.

Well last night I read everything on the Discussion Board about shin splints.  Today I threw a lot of solutions at them and had pretty good success.  The only problem is I don't know which thing or things helped.  I ran with some orthotics.  I worked on making sure my lower leg was relaxed when my foot touched down, a maneuver that kind of requires me to dangle my foot before touch down.  And I walked around on my heels last night and massaged the whole lower leg. I'm just glad the shin felt good enough to let me run.  Did about 10 min./ mile avg.

I think the shin is finally healing, but the whole lower leg is still kind of screwed up.  Funny, the left leg was screwed up before the marathon, and the right one is after.  I could've done 10 today, but I'm going to try to take it easy.  May swim instead of running tomorrow just to be safe.

After swimming a mile and staying off the legs yesterday, I ran 10 miles today for the first time in a month.  The shin felt ok but the rest of the lower right leg complained most of the run.  Nothing severe, just a little uncomfortable.  But I think it just got sore from my unusual running form on Tues.'s run.  Today's run was also pretty slow.  10:17 avg. mile pace, but I wasn't trying to go fast.  I was so grateful to be running my usual loop that I didn't mind the discomfort or the slowness.  I just enjoyed the run.

Ugh, struggled through 7 painful miles at a slow pace.  The pain is only a 3 on a scale of 10, so I'm trying to work through it, but it's about as much as I can handle without quitting.  I'm thinking about trying acupuncture or physical therapy.

It was raining so I ran on the treadmill.  The shin hurt and I was bored, so I quit after 2 miles and got on a bike.  Then I just rode the bike for another 10 minutes and called it a day.  30 minutes of exercise is better than nothing, right?

Not healthy but still running.  Apparently, that's the best I can hope for for awhile.  I'm trying to decide if my leg situation is one of those work-through-it kind of minor injuries or one of those cautionary injuries in which I should be resting it lest I soon encounter something serious.  I don't like the results of erring in either way, so what to do?  Except for a little discomfort, it felt great to run this morning.

Yea, I had a pretty nice run.  The calf is still tight and sore, but I think it's finally getting a little better.  I wanted to do 10, told myself I should limit it to 6, and then compromised with myself and did a little over 8.  If I can do another 8 miler tomorrow without too much pain, I'll consider myself back in the saddle.  Yea, yea, yea!!!!!

Just lifted weights yesterday because my leg hurt pretty bad after Friday's 8 miles.  Ran 7 today and felt pretty good.  The leg pain is sure to flare up again later today.  Knees started hurting for the first time since May.  I think it's because I got lazy about taking my glucosamine.  I'm back on the full dosage and hoping the knees will go back to cooperating.  It really is always something....

57 minutes

still painful

1:15, not a bad time.  Being out there for more than 6 miles was great for my head, but the leg was still painful the whole time.

Had a beautiful 10 mile run this morning after convincing my leg to cooperate.  Since the leg cooperated, I didn't push it.  Just enjoyed the warm sun and blue sky and felt grateful to be doing 10 milers again.  1:41

Had to wait for the airline to deliver my bags which carried my running shoes to Texas, but they finally arrived, and I got to try out my new Forerunner 405CX.  Felt pretty good running.  Ran it in 1:00.

It was a chilly 34 degrees when I started, but I wore lot of clothes today and stayed toasty.  The run felt good.  I think I'm finally on the mend.  1:25 total

Could only run 2 miles in the blowing snow and slippery streets.  Will try to do a long run tomorrow

The ice still hasn't melted but there was less traffic this morning, so I was able to run 6 slow miles in 20 degrees.  Then had a nice breakfast casserole to eat with my family post run.

Enjoyed this run but the shin was a little achey still.

Ran a short slow run with an old friend who can't run anymore because of a bad knee.  She's almost 50 and out of shape, but she was able to do 10 minute miles for 3.4 miles.  I was impressed.  I'm flying home tomorrow and may not get a run in then.

Loved being back in warm CA!!!  Nice 6 mile run on a bike trail in shorts and t-shirt--needed a tank top--it got hot!