Monday, June 28, 2010

4 Weeks to Go!

Four weeks to go and I can’t believe it. Where has the time gone? How am I feeling? A little nervous to tell you the truth because I’m still recovering from my injury and I need to build up my mileage to run the half marathon successfully.

Last week I did complete my running schedule and I feel OK. My hip is still a little sore but it’s not painful. Planning to go to the chiropractor this week to get worked on to see if that helps now that I’m running again. And I’m still using a styrofoam roller – thanks Judy – that I affectionately call “Dr. Pain.” I can’t take credit for that name I read it somewhere online and it’s absolutely accurate.

This week’s running schedule is: 3-5-3-8-3

You’ll notice I’m increasing the frequency of runs as I need to get my mileage built up in a short amount of time (4 weeks!). I just added a short 3 mile run which should be doable. It’s really heated up this last weekend – it was 106 yesterday – so I need to make sure I run really early now or run on the treadmill.

And, I wanted to say a special CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Liz and her husband Ken who completed their first half marathon “Seattle Rock n Roll” this past weekend. Good for you and hopefully in four weeks I will have done the same!

SF Half Marathon Here I Come,
Suzanne

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Been awhile

So sorry that I haven't posted in awhile. Let's just say life has been pretty busy for both myself and Jenn.

Just returned from nearly a week long business trip and I'm trying to recover. Simply put I'm exhausted and am realizing that writing a blog entry right now may not be the brightest idea?!

Was not too good on keeping with my running schedule while travelling but I'm back on track this week - I promise!

Ran 3 miles on the treadmill on Tuesday. Felt OK and surprisingly my cardio was good. The rest of the week I will run 4 miles, 3 miles and 6 miles. For the first time I walked without any hip pain and/or aches last week.

And, I was able to officially change my registration from the full marathon to the half marathon. I'm going to do the first part of the SF marathon as everyone told me it's the best as you get to run across (and back) the Golden Gate bridge. So I'm looking forward to that.

I've also decided that I will continue to run after my half marathon adventure and I'm starting to look for races(5k, 10k)to sign up for that will give me something to look forward to. We will see how I feel after the half marathon if that is something I want to do again or if I somehow feel inspired to do a marathon someday (I'm thinking that is highly doubtful after this whole hip injury thing).

This weekend I promise to blog about how my running is going and how I'm feeling. In a way it kind of feels like I'm starting over with training. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing but I'm ready to go.

Hope everyone is having a good summer!

SF Half Marathon Here I Come,
Suzanne

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Suzanne Makes an Important Decision

As the title indicates I’ve made a major decision. After a lot of thought and careful consideration, I’ve decided the smart and sensible thing for me to do is to run the SF half marathon instead of the marathon on July 25th.

Obviously, I’ve had to start considering this when my hip did not immediately heal. I really didn’t want it to come to this as it makes me feel like a little bit of a failure as this was not the original goal. However, I’m starting to come to terms with it and am slowly realizing that completing a half marathon is still a major deal and accomplishment! It just so happened that the deadline to make any changes to your registration was this past Friday.

Had I not run into my hip problem I think I could have done the marathon. However, I’ve basically lost almost 3 weeks of training (where the mileage is intense now) and I don’t have enough time and am not physically healthy/strong enough to safely train and prepare for the full marathon. Maybe one day…we’ll see.

This week I went to the chiropractor – my first time ever – and it is helping. The pain isn’t constant anymore. She asked me to rest this week to let it fully heal and I’ve been good and have done so. It does feel better everyday and not sure if it’s due to the rest, my visits to the chiropractor or both, but I’m thankful nonetheless.

Now that I’ve decided to do the half I need to revise my training schedule and it’s on my to do list tonight. The plan is to resume running Wednesday of this week, which coincides with my travelling for work. Basically, I have 6 weeks of training left.

This week’s training is: 3-4-3-6

Thanks everyone for all your support and advice. Let’s just hope that I can get healthy again so I can complete the half marathon. That’s still an accomplishment in itself and I hope I can indeed achieve it.

And good luck to Jenn on her first week of marathon training!!

SF Half Marathon Here I Come,
Suzanne

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Good Luck Jenn and Week 10 for Suzanne

Good luck to Jenn as she starts her first week of marathon training while working in Las Vegas. Go Jenn GO! Enjoy the Bellagio (even though I know that will be tough when you’re working) – it’s one of my favorites in Vegas!

This week was interesting. I was able to run 4-7-4-8. One run was cross training on the elliptical. My long run was a battle. While I’m excited to be running again and my cardio is surprisingly good, it’s a mental battle to get back into the “zone” of running. Before I had to slow down due to my hip I was getting to the point where 5 miles felt like nothing. Now…not so much.

It kind of feels like I’m starting completely over and it’s a little discouraging. Don’t worry though I had my pity party – during my long run I might add – and I’m ready to keep moving forward. My hip has been OK. A little sore here and there, some aches but no pain while running (although I still feel like I’m running scared waiting for it to hurt). I was sore yesterday after my long run but the soreness was not there today, which was what it used to be before I got hurt. So let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Week 10 Training is supposed to be: 5-8-5-16. Instead I’m going to try to achieve the miles but in 4 longer runs: 6-10-6-12

I’m going to try to be smart about catching up to my training calendar. I don’t want to be an idiot and try to immediately run 16 and risk getting injured. So I’m going to keep building my miles up and hope to catch up in the next 2 weeks. I’m open to other suggestions others might have from their own experience with dealing with injuries during training. I’m still determined to run the marathon.

And Jenn I’ll be dealing with the same thing as you in a few weeks as I’m travelling for most of the second half of June for work (two separate work trips). Of course, right when training really kicks up for our longest runs. So I’m going to have to do some major planning to fit it all in. We can do it!

SF Marathon Here I Come,
Suzanne

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Randomness According to Jenn

1. I'll be in Vegas for a work conference the week Marathon training starts. (And I'm part of the team working the conference, vs. attending the conference, so I'm going to have to push myself to stay on schedule.)

2. The fitness center at the Bellagio does not open until 6 a.m. What the hell?

3. Looks like I will kick off Marathon training by running on the Las Vegas Strip.

4. I saw three women at the gym today pretending to work out. Full make up, done-up hair, jewelry and perfume. Really?

5. I am tired, it's been a helluva a week at work. So yay for me that I ran 4 miles today.

6. My new favorite pre-run snack: Luna Smores Bar.

7. Days until the Chicago Marathon: 126.

8. A lot to celebrate in October . . . I turn 40 four days before the Marathon . . . and four days after the Marathon my husband and I celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.

9. I'm a little worried about Suzanne's hip. Glad she is taking it easy.

10. Favorite running song today: One Republic's "All The Right Moves"">