Running Chick

CRIPES.

Just once I’d like to head into a race completely healthy.  I’d like to not have any shin splints, hamstring pulls or calf strains.

JUST FREAKING ONCE.

But no, it’s just not in the cards for me because my shins are pissed off again.

ARGH.

So, I probably won’t run any more before the HM.  I can grti through 3 miles with aching shins but 13.1….

No. Freaking. Way.

Bah.

Well, at least I can say I got two runs in this week, so all is not lost.

Tuesday’s run: 3.25 miles @ 35:28 - 10:55 ppm. Average bpm 165

Today’s run:  3.00 miles @ 28.33 – 9:31 ppm.  Average bpm 175

There’s always the bike and killer yoga, I suppose.  And the One Hundred Push Up Challenge which I started the other day.  I’m on week 1, day 2 and my arms are slightly sore, but nothing too bad.  We’ll see how I feel next week.

I finished my final long run on Friday afternoon.  I was supposed to run on Saturday, but the forecast called for rain all weekend so I decided to take a rest day on Thursday and do my long run on Friday.

It was a balmy 67 degrees, so I wore shorts.  I’m sure the oncoming drivers appreciated the glare from my alabaster white legs.  I ran to Chassell and tried to stay on the trail the entire way, but parts were completely swamped and I got tired of running up & down driveways working my way around the water, so mostly I just stuck to the road.  My shins are a little pissed off about that but they’ll get over it.

And, since I’ve been running in frigid temps the last four months not worrying too much about hydration, I completely blew the amount of water I took and ran out around mile 8.  Fortunately I was able to refill my bottle in a car repair shop (unbeknownst to them).  I was totally going to ask permission, but nobody was at the front desk and the water fountain was right there, so I did a quick refill and took off.

Anyway, I ended up doing 11 miles at 10:42.  I was originally intending to do 12, but I was dumb and wore my heavier winter socks instead of my lighter summer ones and I felt hot spots on my feet around 10 miles.  I didn’t want them to turn into monster blisters, so I decided I’d better quit while I was ahead and finished up once I hit 11.  Had it not been for the blisters, I could have made 12 with no problem.

In my quest to collect every single GPS running device Garmin makes, I bought the Forerunner 305 last week when I noticed that the price came way down.  This one’s got a heart rate monitor so I’m able to collect even more data that I have no idea how to interpret!  My average heart rate for this run was 171.  I have no idea if that’s good or bad but I didn’t keel over from a heart attack, so I can only assume it’s okay.  The chest strap is pretty comfortable, I completely forgot I was wearing it once I left the house.

New toys are fun!

This week’s totals:  19.58 miles @ 10:36

Next week’s schedule calls for 16 miles with a long run of 6.  Depending on how my shins are feeling, I might end up cutting back, we’ll see.

After next week, I have two short runs for 5 miles then it’s off to the races!

I think Mother Nature is getting a good laugh at us poor Yoopers right about now.  She gave us a gorgeous 70-degree day on Friday and then turned around and dumped over 10” of snow (some areas got around 15-20" - check out Josh's place) on us in the span of 2 days.

My yard, which was snow free on Sunday, looked like this on Tuesday morning.

Ha, ha. Not funny.

I did get a giggle out of these little tracks on my parking lot.

Even the seagull was probably saying "What the hell!" Join the club, buddy.

Here’s hoping that this little weather blip is our last of the season.

I was able to run on Monday (2.5 miles @ 10:19), although with the mix of snow & rain, I got pretty drenched.  I ended up cutting my run short because it was getting pretty nasty and I didn’t fell like getting run over due to poor visibility.

I also ran six lovely pain-free miles today (@ 10:32).  I didn’t intend to run the entire six, but my shins were feeling fine, I was feeling fine, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the roads were bare.  Usually at this point in my training, I’m so beat up and tired that I find myself questioning my sanity every time I lace up my shoes.  Today I was reminded why I run in the first place.  It was perfect.

Now, I just hope my body doesn’t pull a Mother Nature and unleash some sort of injury avalanche on me.  Speaking of not funny…