The much-awaited-for update

Okay, I'm kidding... I know that no one is really waiting on pins and needles for me to update on how things are.  My close friends know how I'm doing because they've asked.  But I figured I might as well write a blog, seeing as I have so much free time.

Because, you see, I haven't been running.  Shocker (at least to some people!), I am actually listening to advice and resting right now.  I didn't run for six straight days, which really did feel like an eternity.  I actually had to unfollow all of the running pages on Facebook so that I didn't get upset every time I logged on and saw posts about running.  Meanwhile, I did my exercises and stretches... and that was it.  Oh, one day I did do some light-weight arm strength work (biceps, triceps), but I did them seated so as not to tax my legs in any way possible.  I wanted to bike... I wanted to swim... but my doctor recommended just doing nothing.  

Yep, I've been resting.  But I finally went for a run on Wednesday morning with a few of my favorite training partners who were willing to go whatever pace I needed (Tamara and Allison S.).  The run was... just okay.  Nights and early mornings are actually worst for me.  The less I move, the more my injury bothers me.  So things like sitting for extended periods of time (more than 5-10 minutes)... oh, and SLEEPING... yeah, those aren't good.  Hence, when I first wake up in the morning, I'm very tight and even walking is uncomfortable until I've been up and moving for a bit.  I feel best in the mid-afternoon, as I don't sit at all from around 12:30-2:30 PM (when I teach for two straight periods).

Back to the run, though.  The first two miles felt like I hadn't ran in, well, in a week.  Cinder blocks on my feet.  Calves tight.  Plodding at best.  I started feeling a little more like myself in mile 3.  My hip wasn't painful... it was there, maybe slightly achy, but not awful.  By the fourth mile, I had finally settled into my normal gait, thank goodness, and that mile flew by (unlike the first 3).  I definitely could have ran more, but our loop ended, and I had to decide if I wanted to run more or go home and stretch and foam roll before work.  Stretching and foam rolling won (see how SMART I am?).  The fact that I felt better after mile 4 than I did after the first couple of miles, coupled with the fact that I feel best when I've been up and moving during the day, allows me to hold out hope that this marathon may actually happen.   
I was more concerned with how I'd feel after the run, though.  Honestly, though, my groin didn't hurt as much as my super-tight quads did.  I tried foam rolling them out, but for the next 24 hours they were causing me to walk funny, they were so tight.  On Thursday afternoon I finally got to see my awesome chiropractor again, and he did his magic.  A super-duper painful hip adjustment and some awful manipulations, plus Graston on my poor quads.  But when I got off that table, I felt like a million dollars.  Dr. A knows his stuff!

Dr. A used that huge one on my quads!

I felt like a million dollars until I got home and half-tripped over the little wooden border on the floor that separates the kitchen from the play room.  I didn't fall, but catching myself really pulled on that hip flexor.  OUCH, like big time.  I did this again at school two more times on Friday (Caylan's binder during 5th period, and an empty box in the office after school).  Each time, I could feel my hip flexor straining and each time, it hurt reallllllly badly, and it took a couple of hours for it to feel okay again.  I need to pick up my feet or something!  I told my friends that I need a plastic bubble to live in for the next week.

My bubble!

So... where does that leave me now?  My friends and coach keep saying, "Just think of this as a super-awesome taper."  Easier said than done, though. I am all too familiar with over-tapering (from swimming), so the idea that I could be resting TOO much is definitely at the forefront of my mind.  I have a "long" run scheduled for tomorrow... 5-6 miles.  It is the last long run of the training cycle.  I am going to try my best to be grateful for each step.  I miss my training partners so much, so I will be happy to be with them again.  This is what we've been dreaming about, our taper when we would be able to say, "ONLY  10 miles today!"--that's how far they are running tomorrow; I'm obviously not going that far.  So I will stay within the run, and try not to think about what I will be doing in just 8 more days.  I will also try to not overanalyze how my body is feeling.  My race strategy will undoubtedly be a race-day decision, and I'm okay with that.  There won't be any A/B/C goals from me.  This time, the goal is to finish the race, hopefully with a smile on my face.  I can't ask much more from my body than that.

Déjà vu (subtitled: Internal temper tantrums)

Déjà vu, (ⁱ/ˌdeɪʒɑː ˈvuː/; French pronunciation: ​[de.ʒa.vy]) from French, literally "already seen", is the phenomenon of having the strong sensation that an event or experience currently being experienced has already been experienced in the past

I can't think of a better way of describing my life right now other than the words and definition above.  Every day this past week on my Facebook "On this Day" post and in my Timehop app, I have seen reminders of what I was going through a year ago today.  For my newer followers, on March 31, 2014, during a tempo run I suffered what I know now was a severe calf muscle tear with a simultaneous stress reaction/fracture just under four weeks before my marathon was to be ran.  I spent 10 days getting different doctors' opinions, going to physical therapy several times and running on an anti-gravity treadmill, getting crazy things like "dry needling" done to my leg... all for naught.  I realized on April 9, 2014 (yes, one year ago today) that I was not going to be able to run the Glass City marathon at an 8:20/mile pace and get my Boston Qualifying time.  I finally gave in, and just let my body rest.  I didn't run for 49 very long days.  

Definitely how I felt during my 7 weeks off from running...

Fast forward to the present.  Just one week ago today, I ran my second 20-miler and was only 3 weeks away from finally running in my third marathon.  I didn't have any pain at all during that run... I think I remember my groin area was feeling a bit tight once we stopped, but that's it.  I came home, and realized that my groin was actually hurting when I got out of the car.  I had trouble lifting up my leg to get out.  I stretched quite a bit after I got inside, put on my CWX compression tights, and iced throughout the day.  I grew more and more nervous as the day went on, as I realized that I couldn't really lift up my leg when I was seated or laying down.  Flexing my hip HURT.  I figured maybe I pulled my groin or something.  I've never had pain in that area before.  I had a lot of trouble sleeping on Saturday night, as rolling over was very painful (like a 7 or an 8 on a scale of 1-10), but I was still pretty surprised on Sunday morning that the discomfort hadn't alleviated at all.  I iced more, stretched more, went to a yoga for runners class, and tried to be positive.  That night I took an Epsom salt bath, which did nothing to help.  

When I woke up on Monday morning, I actually felt pretty good, overall.  My friend Allison said if I wanted to wait one more day before I ran, she'd run with me Tuesday, but I knew that I couldn't run on Tuesday because I have Hunter.  I decided to go ahead and run.  I planned on 5 miles but our loop ended up being a bit short, so we stopped at 4.2.  The run itself didnt feel awful.  In fact, my hip/groin area really didn't hurt at all... til we stopped.  I felt it immediately upon getting into my car, when I had to lift up my leg.  I didn't know what to think at this point.  I had a rough day on Monday at work; getting up after sitting for more than 10 seconds was very painful, and I would limp for the first 3-4 steps that I took.  On Tuesday I decided to call my sports med doctor, as I was concerned about running again the next day.  The pain was definitely less than it was on Monday, but I barely slept at all on Monday evening and I hoped I'd be given a strong pain reliever, at least to help me sleep or something.

Unfortunately, my normal doctor wasn't in till Thursday, so I took the first available appointment that day, which was with my former doctor, Dr. Bright.  I don't have a super-great opinion of him, but he is a doctor and I knew that he would at least be able to tell me whether or not I had a stress fracture.  His opinion was that it was a hip flexor strain. I was pretty sure he'd say this, as typically with runners who have hip pain, the hip flexor is the culprit.  However, most of my research online had me convinced that this wasn't a hip flexor issue.  Even though I didn't agree with him, I decided to go ahead and rest one more day, and I was glad that I did, as things felt better as time went on.  I saw my chiropractor on Wednesday afternoon, and he agreed that it was a psoas muscle problem (the psoas is one of the hip flexor muscles).   

This is the psoas muscle (and exactly where my issue seems to be)

He did a rather painful adjustment, but afterwards I felt pretty good, and I felt fine during my dynamic stretching pre-run on Thursday morning. I met up with Tamara for an easy 4 miles to test things out.  I felt okay for the first mile, but as the run went on, I felt a dull ache deep in my hip.  It radiated down my inner thigh.  This was new... the first time that I actually felt my injury during a run.  I tried hard to stay chatty with Tamara to keep my mind off of the run, but all the while a voice resonated in my head... "You're running an easy 4 miler... this feels crappy... how on earth can you run a marathon in a few weeks like this???"  Stupid voice.  After Tamara dropped me off at my car so she could do a couple more miles, I started to sob.  Why me?  WHY ME?  

This is where the "internal temper tantrums" started.  I came up with this term, and it totally fits what I have been going through mentally over the past few days.  I've been smart.  I did it right this time.  I ran slower.  I followed a plan.  I took a yoga class. I did my physical therapy exercises 2-3 times every week.  I cross-trained a couple of times a week, but never too hard of an effort.  I took extra rest days when I felt tired.  So, again I ask, why me?  Why am I the one who continues to get injured?  

Me...

I sit here and see friends who run much more than I do. Friends who run fast (for them) almost every single run.  Friends who don't cross-train.  Friends who run instead of rest, just to get in more miles with their friends.  And them? They are fine.  They continue to run and train and do whatever they want.  In my head, I am screaming and kicking and just so mad at the world!!!  I feel like a 3 year old... or a 13 year old (not much difference lol!)... having a temper tantrum.  It's not appropriate for an adult to do these things, so I must keep my tantrums internal.  It doesn't make them any easier to deal with, though.

Back to what's going on, though... I had the same deep pain every time I tried to get up from a seated position all day on Thursday after my run.  On Thursday night my friend Lynn evaluated me at Fleet Feet.  She's a physical therapist, and her opinion was that I actually have a movement disorder called femoral anterior glide syndrome.  In layman's terms, this is when the ball of the hip joint isn't moving correctly, and puts pressure on the tissues at the front of the hip.  Everything I read about this syndrome sounded accurate. Lynn gave me four exercises to do 3-4 times a day to help correct the movement issue.  

I decided to go ahead and call my doctor on Friday, since Dr. Bright said to do so if anything changed.  Since it actually had ached during the run on Thursday, I thought it warranted a visit to Dr. Dimitris, as I still wasn't sure that I didn't have a stress fracture.  A couple of friends who have had hip stress fractures had similar symptoms to mine, and this scared me.  I saw Dr. Dimitris on Friday afternoon, and she said that she agreed with Dr. Bright and my chiropractor, that it was a hip flexor strain.  So at this point, I had conflicting opinions to deal with... three doctors who felt that I was dealing with a hip flexor strain, and a very good PT who felt that it wasn't exactly that.  Fortunately, all four of them recommended the exact same thing, which was rest.  Lynn and Dr. Dimitris both suggested 6-7 days off, and so that is my current plan.  I skipped today's long run (14 miles planned), and I won't run on Monday either.  I hope to be able to run on Wednesday.  Right now I am definitely feeling better, as far as my hip goes.  I am doing the exercises/stretches that Lynn prescribed, and doing my best to just rest.  Dr. Dimitris said no swimming or biking, so I'm feeling pretty crappy as I really can't do anything at all.  If resting works, though, I'll do it.  I'll do anything to make it to the starting line this time.  I'm okay with throwing a BQ attempt out the window, but I won't make that decision until the day of the race.  

The start of Glass City in 2012

Training recap (3/28-4/3)

Week 17 (hold on body, just hold on!):

Monday--Even though it is my spring break, I could simply not pass up the chance to meet up with a few of my MIT buddies for a 6@5 run.  There were a couple last minute cancellations, but most of us made it, and the easy miles were perfect for my body today.  Overall pace: 10:08.

Tuesday--With being off from work, I decided to do my strength workout today rather than Monday night as I usually do.  I was able to get in a nice hour-long workout after breakfast: 20 minutes of glute strengthening exercises, 25 minutes of core/arms/leg strength, and 15 minutes of yoga stretches.  My body felt so much better after doing this!  I was feeling tired and sluggish, but all of the stretching really helped to "wake me up".

Wednesday--4:30 AM was the start time for our 9 miles today, as I couldn't fathom doing this one alone and my training partners don't get a spring break.  We did 2 miles of warm-up, then 6 x 4 minutes of tempo intervals (7:40-8:00 pace) with 1 minute of jogging between each, and ended with a 3 mile cool down.  For some reason this workout felt harder than the other tempo ones have felt.  Allison L. and I struggled getting settled in our paces; we'd look at our watches and see 7:50, and then we would be at 7:20!  But we did hit the overall intervall paces.  Our six intervals were: 7:43, 7:40, 7:34, 7:45, 7:29 (downhill), 7:34.  Overall pace: 8:39.

Thursday--We left for a short family vacation to Indianapolis on Wednesday morning, so this run took place on the hotel treadmill.  I wasn't too thrilled with the prospect of 5 sweaty miles, and it was just about as bad as I figured it'd be.   I was bored (no friends to chat with, and I left my iPod shuffle in the car) and hot (small room, no ventiliation, and I left my water bottle in the car).  I couldn't wait for it to be OVER.  Heavy legs for the first mile or so, but felt fine after that.  Overall pace: 9:24.

Friday--"rest" day... not really a lot of resting!  We went to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis on Thursday, and to the Indianapolis Zoo on Friday.  Lots of walking!!!

Saturday--We arrived home at dinner time on Friday, so fortunately our little trip didn't interfere with my long run plans.  Allison needed to be finished by 9:00 so this run had to start at 5:30... ugh.  No one loves that!  Fortunately we had a great crew running today: me, Allison, Jess, Megan M., Megan B-F., Jenny V-S., and my old high school friend Craig (who I haven't seen in almost 20 years and who is training for something like his 6th 100-miler!).  I mapped out two big loops (12 and 8 miles) starting from the rec center so as to avoid the countless out-and-backs that we usually do on the Genoa Trail.  I even planted water bottles along the route for us!  Unforunately, my plan backfired on us as Allison had some really awful GI issues at around mile 6.  Luckily we were not far from my house and I was able to detour us to a construction site where I knew there would be porta-potties for her.  

I myself did have one bout with GI distress, and the porta-potty at around 11.5 was a definitely godsend. I actually felt great the rest of the run as far as my stomach went, thankfully.  I figure that if it happens during the marathon, I will need to just get in and out of the porta-potty as fast as I can.

No marathon-pace miles this week, but we did do several short pick-ups through the run.  Our splits were:
9:13, 9:07, 9:08, 9:05, 9:13 
9:11, 9:13, 9:16, 9:07, 9:14 
9:05, 9:03, 9:13, 9:03, 9:10 
8:56, 8:55, 9:00, 9:30, 9:14

So, overally, pretty darn consistent!  I was so excited at mile 18 to meet up with Allison S. and Sharon--totally on accident, but it was fun to finish together!  Overall pace for this run: 9:09.  My body feels like... well, like it just ran 20 miles.  Right now my biggest concern is my hip flexor (at least, that is what I think it is... I've never had any hip flexor issues before, so I'm guessing based on the area of the pain).  I think I tweaked it a week ago, and I've felt it a  little bit all week (mostly after each run, but nothing more than a 1 or so on a scale of 1-10). After this run, however, it's been bad.  Certain things hurt worse than others... lifting up my bent leg when I'm in a seating position, for example, causes an 8 or a 9 in pain.  Walking isn't really painful, though. I am hoping that it's just a minor thing and that starting taper will help.  I see my chiropractor on Wednesday and I know he'll have some ideas as well.

Sunday--Stuck to yoga today for my cross training. I was hoping it would help to stretch out my hip flexors.  Sadly, it doesn't really feel any better today. I will decide tomorrow morning if a run is in the cards.  I will not run if it hurts... so I may be taking a few days off.  Praying this is minor!!!

Training recap (3/21-3/27)

Week 16: 

Monday--AM: This became an unplanned rest morning, as I had severe insomnia on Sunday evening.  I blame the fact that I got 11 hours of sleep on Saturday night... and maybe the can of Coke I drank at 7 PM on Sunday evening as well!  I texted Jess to cancel... I don't do that often, but I still felt bad.

PM: I needed to get in today's easy 5 miler, so I set out for a solo run as soon as my husband got home from work.  I never very very rarely run solo.  It's simply not safe to do so in the wee hours of the morning when I typically run, so I just don't do it.  I started out and the first thing I noticed was the sun (yay!)... and the second thing I noticed was that my legs were heavy.  I don't have time to dwell on heavy legs when it's 5 AM; I just run.  I sighed and resigned myself for 5 long, slow miles.  I told myself that I would just go with it... run relaxed, listen to my music, and not care about my pace.  I didn't even look at my watch until it buzzed at me to indicate a mile had passed.  I was literally shocked when I saw my split: 8:22.  What the what?!!  There was no way that an 8:22 felt like THAT.  I figured that I would continue to run the same way and see what happened.  The miles clicked by... 8:17, 8:13, 8:05, 8:01.  Obviously my legs eventually loosened up, but not once did I really feel like I was pushing during this run.  If I had been asked to predict my splits, I'd have said 9:00-9:30.  My overall pace was an 8:12.  That's my goal marathon pace!  This run was such a confidence builder for me, even though it was NOT planned that way.  I realized that I may just have a 3:35 marathon lurking in these legs!

After I got home, I did my 20 minutes of glute strengthening exercises as well as about 10 minutes of stretching.

Tuesday--No more yoga class, boo hoo!  I've signed up for the next session, but it doesn't start until April 12.  Tonight I did a quick strength routine (35 minutes) consisting of squats, push-ups, planks, wall-sits, core work, triceps and lunges.  

Wednesday--AM: Drop back week means no speed work.  Met Allison and Meggie at Hoover again for 6 miles.  We did a 30 second pick-up at the start of miles 2-6.  Overall pace: 9:10.  

PM: Back to the pool!  Now that basketball is over, I can go swimming on Wednesday nights again.. at least until soccer starts up in a couple of weeks LOL.   I picked a doozy of a day to return, as Robin had a test set planned.  We did a warm-up, and then started the test set (400 free, about 10 minutes of easy swimming, then a 200 free).   Last time, I did the 400 free in 5:32 and the 200 free in 2:38.  I didn't think I would go any faster (and assumed I'd go slower) since I haven't been in the water much at all lately.  I surprised myself with a 5:27 and a 2:36!  It helped that my friend Megan came to practice tonight, as we are almost the exact same speed and she pushed me... once a competitive swimmer, always a competitive swimmer! (Her times were identical to my times from the last test set!)   Total yards: 1700. 

Thursday--AM: Treadmill miles with Allison S. because her knee was bugging her a bit and she was concerned that she might slow me up if she had to walk.  I didn't mind as I've missed running with this lady!  We actually met up super early so that we could hit up Starbucks afterward for even more chat time, since I only had 4 miles on the schedule.  Overall pace: 9:30 (kept the treadmill on 6.3 the entire time).

From Allison :)

PM: 25 minutes of glute and calf strengthening work followed by a 15 minute yoga for runners video that I found online.  It was very similar to what Marcy has us do at class, but a lot shorter obviously.  Still felt good to stretch out!

Friday--Rest day!  AND the first day of my spring break, so it was pretty much the best rest day ever :)

Saturday--Long run day!  Since it was a drop back week, Paige only had 13-15 on my plan.  My partners were planning on 12, so I figured I'd do 14 and just run the last couple solo.  Allison thought she might join me for the final 2, but she was having some cramping/breathing issues, so I did end up running the final two miles alone.  Of course, par for the course, I met a couple of guys to chat with for the final half-mile ;)  I just can't run without meeting a friend!

We came across a raccoon who was not-quite-right and had to call the cops!

Splits: 9:11, 8:54*, 9:02, 8:50*, 9:01, 9:01, 8:53*, 8:55, 8:51*, 8:58, 8:58*, 9:01, 8:55*, 9:36 (miles with an * were ones where I did the pick-ups, and the final mile was when I met the couple of guys... their pace was a bit slower).

Sunday--Easter takes precedence, but I was able to get on the bike for an hour between the kiddos finding (and devouring) their baskets and candy and heading to my aunt's house for lunch and the egg hunt.  The sad part is that it's a gorgeous day here in Central Ohio (mid-70's all afternoon!), so being stuck on my trainer wasn't cool... but again, Easter takes precedence.

Other miscellaneous notes:

I can hardly believe that the race is just 4 weeks away!  Last year, this was the week that my season-ending injury occurred... just under 4 weeks before the marathon.  Of course that's on my mind.  I feel stronger than I did a year ago, but mentally it is hard to not think about it.  This week coming up is my last high-mileage week, and then the tapering will begin.  I have told myself this entire training cycle, if I can just make it to the starting line, then I will be grateful.  And I still feel this way.  Yes, I want to qualify for Boston.  More than almost anything.  But I've realized over the past year that for me, qualifying will mean that the "perfect storm" must happen... great weather, no GI issues, strong legs, spot-on fueling... and if something is amiss in this pie, it just may not happen.  But that doesn't mean this training cycle was all for naught.  I have loved the miles with my friends, and am so very grateful for the ride that this 20 weeks has taken me on.  

Training recap (3/14-3/20)

Week 15:

Monday--AM: Back to Powell to run with Jess today--missed our weekly early run together!  6 miles with an overall pace of 9:11.  I loved loved loved wearing shorts and a tank today!!!

PM: My normal 45 minutes of glute/calf strengthening and "other stuff" like squats and lunges and push-ups.

Tuesday--It was the final night of my Yoga for Runners class--boo!  I really do love this class.  Marcy said that they will start another session in a month.  Meanwhile, I think I am going to have to find some good yoga videos on Youtube!  It won't be the same though.

Wednesday--AM: Super-early start to get in all 9 miles today before work.  The plan was to do tempo cut-back intervals (8 min-6-min-4min, with goal paces in the range of 7:55/7:45/7:35).  Met up with Tamara and Megan F. (so thankful for peeps who will meet me at 4:30 AM for a run!).  

The return of the selfie!  Love my new phone/camera!!!

We did 3 miles to warm-up (and get past the stupid Polaris "hill"), and then started the tempo part of the run. Paces were 7:47, 7:37, 7:29.  Loved feeling strong!  Overall pace for the run: 8:44.  Only bad part was that I had to go to the bathroom starting at around mile 2.5... not fun!  

PM: 30 minutes of glute/calf work.  After 9 early miles this morning, this was all I had in me.

Thursday--Perfect recovery run with my sweet friend Becky!  

The big pineapple that we never noticed before lol!

5.1 miles at an overall pace of 9:13.  I love it so much when we can meet up for a run.  Out-and-back on High Street (our central meeting location) with lots of much-needed catching up on life.  I had zero bathroom issues, yay!  I cut whole wheat out of my diet starting yesterday morning, as a friend thought that might be the culprit.

Friday--Another rest day that I ROCKED :)  I actually woke up today with this super-odd knee pain in my left knee.  The reason that it was super-odd is because I have had no knee pain this training cycle, and I felt nothing during my runs this week or at all on Thursday.  I kept thinking maybe I slept wrong on it???  So weird.  I tried to ice it a few times and hoped for the best.  It only hurt when I would bend my knee beyond 45 degrees,and only a level 1 or 2, so not really bad. Just weird.

Saturday--I woke up and prayed that my knee would feel okay, and it did!  I felt it a teeny bit when I was doing my pre-run dynamic stretches, but not at all during the run, thankfully!  Post run, it feels about the same-- a tad sore, maybe a 1 or 2 on pain (only when I bend it too far).  Continuing to ice and monitor the "middle-of-the-night injury".

Originally my plan called for 16-18 miles, with miles 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 at marathon pace (8:10-8:20).  My friend Amy didn't get to do her 20 miler a couple of weeks ago when it was on my original plan (she and my other pals are still mostly following it), so she wanted to do 20 today.  I asked my coach if it was okay for me to do 20 with her, and she agreed!  This was my furthest distance in over a year, so I was super psyched.  It was chilly out (real-feel of 31), and after a week of warm temps I was not pleased to have to wear gloves and multiple layers for this run.  We had to start super-early as well, as Allison needed to be done with 18 by 8:30 AM.  No one likes to set their alarm for 4:45 AM on a Saturday morning, but we are a team and we run together!  

The run went like this... 2 miles out and back (4), pick up Megan for another 1 mile out and back (2), fuel and water and pick up Jess, 3 miles out and back (6), fuel and water, 3 more miles out and back (6), and then one final mile out and back (2).  4 + 2 + 6 + 6 + 2 = 20 (thank goodness I'm a math teacher LOL!).  

Lucky for such sweet friends!!!

Other than the goal-pace miles, I wanted to keep the miles nice and easy.  Always tricky especially once we start to run faster miles and have to slow down again!

Miles 1-6: 9:15, 9:10, 9:12, 9:10, 9:21, 9:23 
Miles 7-12: 9:20, 9:06, 8:12, 9:05, 8:11, 9:06 
Miles 13-20: 8:12, 9:07, 8:12 9:00, 8:11, 8:58, 9:09, 9:01

I felt good on this run!  Like, really good!  I didn't have the urge to go to the bathroom til around mile 16 or 17, which is a definite improvement... however, when I got home I had some real issues.  TMI (runners are good for TMI lol), I had diarrhea three times, and it wasn't pretty (there was some blood the second and third times, which scared me!).  Then my stomach started to feel gross.  I am thinking I might have caught Aaron's stomach bug (he had a short-lived one on Thursday morning).  I tried to rest and not eat much (but drank a lot of water) the rest of the day.  

Sunday--Usually Sunday is a bike and strength day, but at this point (11:41 AM when I'm typing this) I am planning on nothing at all.  I haven't eaten much at all since my run yesterday (only about 800 total calories), and my body is starving.  But my stomach says to take it easy on the food.  Ugh, the conundrum!  Hopefully I'll be back to my old self tomorrow!  

Training recap (3/6-3/13)

Week 14:

Monday--AM: My normal Monday run partner, Jess, wasn't able to run this week, so I met up with Amy, Allison, Meggie, Tamara and Jennie at the rec center to get in my 6 miles.  I was worried about getting in all 6 by 5:50, so I decided to go early and do a mile solo before the others arrived.  Smart thinking on my part :)  Loved the warmer weather!  Overall pace: 9:13.

PM: Normal strength training (25 min of glutes + 20 min of other stuff like squats, push-ups, etc.).  Adding on more reps to my stair-step heel taps as well as my side plank leg-lifts--getting stronger!!!

Tuesday--Skipped my bike trainer ride for the third week in a row (just NOT feeling the 4:15/4:30 AM wake-up more than 3x a week right now!) and just did my hour-long Yoga for Runners class tonight.  I am really going to miss this class when it ends next week... it seriously is what my body is needing!!!

Wednesday--AM: On the plan was 7 miles, with 5 x 4 minute repeats at 7:45-8:00/mile (1 minute of recovery jogging between each repeat).  Met Amanda, Amy, Megan B., Megan M. and Allison for this one.  Haven't ran with Amanda in ages, so it was great to see her!  2 miles warm-up, intervals, 2 miles cool-down.  Overall pace: 8:26.  Loved loved loved wearing shorts today!!!  Only issue: (TMI) I had to GO after a couple of miles.  It made for an uncomfortable run.  Not sure what's going on as this usually doesn't happen on my shorter runs.

Thursday--AM: Becky and I planned on running up and down High Street, but the downpour at 4:30 AM led us to cancel. I was all set to hit the gym for 5 treadmill miles when Allison messaged me and asked if I wanted to meet her and Meggie to run at Hoover Dam.  It ended up being a great decision, as the rain wasn't too bad at all.  Overall pace: 9:06.  Major gastro issues again towards the end of this run... gotta figure this out. Soon.

PM: Basically the same as Monday night's strength training :)

Friday--I really, REALLY love Fridays.  Sleeping in till 5:25 is amazing when you're up at 4:15/4:30 most other days.  And my body loves not doing anything physically taxing!

Saturday--Another long run in the books!  This week called for 16-18 miles.  Allison needed to be finished by 8:30, and none of us wanted to start before 6 AM, so I opted to do 16 with her.  We needed to do one middle mile and 2 of the final 3 miles at 8:10-8:20 pace.  Splits were 8:12, 8:13 and 8:10 for those three miles; the rest of the splits were between 9:06 and 9:15 (final mile was 9:00).  Overall pace: 8:58.  The miles didn't feel bad, especially at first.  However, once again my gastro issues struck (despite taking 2 immodium pre-run), and I had to go badly starting at around mile 10-11.  Fortunately we did out-and-backs and were back at the UDF at mile 13.  Again, I really really need to figure this out.  Blah.  Also, my calves felt AH-MAZ-ING for the first several miles, but then started to get tight on and off for the final half of the run.  Half of me thinks it is purely mental... the other half of me is just waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop and my muscles to once again fail me.  It is hard to stay positive when I've been through so much to get to this point, and I'm used to bad things happening when things are going well.  Definitely need to work on this mental aspect of things as well.  I mean, when I feel good, I feel GOOD. But when I start dwelling on the what-if's, I doubt myself.

Sunday--20 minutes of glute strengthening work  plus an hour on the trainer.  Kept the ride nice and easy today (80-82 rpm) and listened to a podcast from Another Mother Runner to help the time pass by.  I am excited to get outside to ride this spring, but very nervous about riding clipped in!  Did some intensive rolling yesterday and today for my calves.  Just going to keep stretching and rolling and praying!

Training recap (2/29-3/6)

Week 13:

Monday--AM: Switched up my usual Monday routine and met my MIT gals at Steph's house for some "leap day loops"!  Very proud of myself for keeping the pace super relaxed--with their help, of course!  First 5 miles were all 10+ min/mile, and the last one was only a bit faster!  Overall pace: 10:01. 

PM: 20 minutes of glute strenth work plus 20 minutes of body strength work (squats, push-ups, etc.). 

Tuesday--Again, decided to skip my early-morning trainer ride.  I just turned off my alarm and rolled over for another hour.  My body is tired of the 4:30 AM starts, and while I'm motivated to get up and meet friends to run, I'm not so motivated to get up and ride on the bike right now!  I did go to my Yoga for Runners class in the evening.  Great night of hamstring stretching... what runner doesn't need that?!

Wednesday--No speed work this week.  Allison S. and I met up for 6 "easy" miles.  I put the "easy" in quotes because we sucked at keeping the pace slower than 9:15.  3 of the miles were just above 9:00/mile, and 3 were just under 9:00/mile.  Overall pace: 9:04.

Thursday--AM: Tamara, Jennie and I met in Tamara's hood for some nice "recovery" miles.  The first two went well, but then (of course) we sped up a bit.  Overall pace: 9:10.

Fun early miles with these two!

PM: Headed to the rec center for a swim.  I didn't realize that it had been a MONTH since my last swim!  I need to get in there more often.  Legs felt tired at first, but by the end I felt great.  Longer pulling set plus a sprint ladder set that was fun.  2000 yards total (short enough to give me time for a soak in the jacuzzi afterwards!).

Friday--Rest, rest, resty rest day!  Love my rest days.

Saturday--Drop back week... my friends had 12 on their plan, and I had 12-14.  So 12 just made sense!  We were supposed to do miles 10 & 11 at an 8:12-8:30 pace.  Two 6-mile loops from the rec center again.  I'm struggling more with controlling my pace on runs.  I keep speeding up :(  Splits were 9:26, 9:11, 9:13, 9:07, 9:21, 9:04, 9:16, 9:07, 8:11, 8:12, 9:02.  Blah.  I need to be more attentive to my watch, or find slower running partners who will yell at me!   I do love my girls though... today Allison L., Amy, Jess, Tamara and I had Beth join us for the first loop and Megan S. join us for both loops.  Great conversation as always!

My marathon buddies (Allison, Amy, Jess and Tamara) plus Beth, Lindsey, Megan and Mary!

Sunday--I did 20 minutes of my glute strengthening exercises (only the second time this week--boo, I need to do it three times a week!), and then rode the trainer for an hour.  So hot!  I can't wait to get outside!  I do feel my hamstrings and quads getting stronger from my rides, though.  Tried to keep it steady today (81-84 rpm).  

Other miscellaneous notes:

I'm trying to not be too hard on myself that I am not adhering to the 9:15-9:30 pace range that I'm supposed to be doing.  I talked a bit to my coach and she said that I'm getting more fit, which I sure hope is true!  I am going to keep listening to my body and trying to keep things easy when they are supposed to be.  This month is a big one for miles, and the speed work will get faster.  I feel very good right now, and I hope that I can keep things strong (physically AND mentally for the next 7 weeks!