Attitude is Everything!

OK-  Slow is an understatement.  This was actually a walk to the grocery store and back- but hey it is mileage, isn't it?

Ran a 6 mile neighborhood loop through the river bottom.  This is a great run as it includes quite a few hills as I work my way from the upper edge on the east side of the river to Lampton View on the west side and back over to the east side.  When I got home I took my daughter to the 'riverpark'.  She is just learning to ride her bike (this is day 1 without training wheels) so I walked/jogged/ran the 2 miles to the park.  She is doing amazingly well, unlike my poor back.

Missed the BBK's for the early miles so I went over to the gym instead.  It was probably a good thing because I was only able to complete 1.5 miles running before I gave up (darn knee again).  I moved over to the elliptical trainer and completed another 3.5 miles.  I guess its good to cross train but its not nearly as fun as running.

Ran on the treadmill today.  I had 30 min to complete my run while my little girl was swimming.  I wanted to run at least 4 miles so I had to push it a little.  My knee did great as long as I kept my speed at 8 min/miles or faster.  My last mile was a 6:45.

Ran with the BBK's this morning.  Ran the SJ 5K route 3x.  The warm-up was a slightly shortened version.  I struggled a bit with the warm-up as my right knee was killing me.  The second 5K was much better.  I ran it with Dean- chasing Cheris and Michelle.  I really enjoy running with him- he pushes me.  I think he said we finished it in 22 minutes or so.  The third 5K I ran with Nancy.  It was great getting to know her a little.  I am truly impressed with this group.  The ability level is phenomenal and everyone is so friendly.  I think we finished this one in about 23 minutes.  I keep debating as to whether I should invest in a watch-  I'm always relying on someone else to tell me my times, although, I kind of like going by exertion level rather than splits (is that what you call them?)  I was amazed at how much better my knee felt when I was running at a faster pace.  I have been struggling with it for the past 3 or 4 weeks.  This week I have noticed that when I run slow it hurts but when I pick up the pace it doesn't.  This doesn't make sense to me but when does life make sense?  Oh well- another great day of running. I love the rain!

Ran from my house to the gym to meet the kids and take them swimming.  I'm still struggling with how fast to run.  I wanted to make this an easy run because my legs are a bit tired and I would like to attempt a long run tomorrow.  Running at a pace slower than about an 8:00 min/mile hurts my knee so I end up running faster than I should.  I walked the last half mile.  It's kind of weird- it seems the slower paces caused something (plica maybe) to get pinched between the upper edge of my knee cap and the quad?  The point where the patellar tendon attaches to the tibia also gets a little sore.  When I run a bit faster or walk I don't have either of these problems but my lungs and quads need a break.  What to do?  I'm stuck in either high or low gear and I hate cross-training. 

Met many of the BBK group for a 10 miler, their last before they head off to Boston.  I'm excited for them they are going to do great.  It was fun listening to their plans.

At about mile 4 (the only uphill portion of the run) my quads got a little tired but once we leveled out again I felt great.   My knee did really well, only getting a little sore at times, I think it is on the mend.  I was scheduled to do 16 today but just don't feel it would be a great idea.  I have put in a lot of miles (for me) this week, hopefully that will make up for the shorter long run.  I hope I will be ready to run Ogden in 5 weeks.  Overall another great run.

Total miles 10.6 with an AP of 8.24. 

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ut/riverton/562123929357096818 

Ugh!  Ate way too much junk at the two Easter Celebrations I attended.  When I got home I felt awful, so I talked my husband into going for a run with me.  We headed out at about 8:30 pm and took a nice 4 mile run.  It was just long enough to burn off some of that excess sugar I had eaten and make me feel much better.  I don't know why I have so little self control when it comes to sweets.  They always make me feel awful yet I am a glutton.  On our way home we had a little dog follow us.  We tried to ditch it but it kept up so when we got home we let our little girl and her cousin (who spent the night) play with it for a little while and then we all walked it back home.  It was actually a lot of fun and it added an additional half mile to our workout.

No run today.  Spent the whole day cleaning the house and preparing for my husband to go in for surgery on Wednesday.

Another big fat 0.  I couldn't pull myself out of bed this morning to go run with the group and after work just didn't happen.  I hate it when I can't get out and I'm afraid tomorrow will be another big 0 since its the big surgery day.  Maybe a few days off will do this old bod some good.

Had a soccer scrimmage today.  It lasted about an hour and twenty minutes.  It was different being back on the field and sprinting then practically walking.  It took some time to get into. I'm counting 3 miles although it was likely a bit more than that.

Since my husbands surgery last week I have had a really hard time getting a run or a work out in.  I've finally decided the only possibility is mornings.  We'll see how long I can manage getting up at 4:30, working all day, going to school twice a week until 9:00, taking care of the kids the minute I get home and going to bed around midnight.  I really wanted to have a good showing in Ogden but over the last week life has really gotten in the way.  

My workout today consisted of 4 miles on the elliptical and 2 miles walking- pretty pathetic.  You'd think with all the days I've had off my knee would be feeling great but NOOO-  I tried twice to run on the treadmill, once when I first got to the gym and once after I warmed up, but my knee would have none of it.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a different story. 

OK- I'm done whining, I actually love being busy and any day I can get moving is an awesome day. 

Met some of the BBK group this morning.   I only ended up running a little over 6 miles before I had to leave for work but by the time I had to leave I started feeling pretty good.  I wish I could have stayed and finished another 3.   The first mile or so of the warm-up was tough.  It took everything I had to keep from limping.  Spent some time talking and decided I should probably go see Dr. Toronto and have him look at my knee.  After I stretched my quad it seemed to take some of the pressure off of my knee and I felt much better.  I hope I can get it together and have a good showing in Ogden. 

 Any suggestions for a plica problem? 
 

Had a soccer game today at 10:00.  I had a really hard time getting into it, and played rather poorly until the last half.  The field we played on was very narrow which was frustrating because I was never able to make the runs I'm used too.  Normally I would log 6 or 7 miles for an 80 minutes soccer game but today was only worth about 3.

Went  for a run before dinner.  It felt great to get out.  My knee bothered me for the first half of the run but eased up for the last half.  I ran 4 miles in 30 minutes then did a half mile cool down.

Today I ran a 20 miler by myself and it felt like the longest 3+ hours of my life.  If you count the 10 minutes I stopped for re-fueling and the 2 miles I walked at the end my average pace was 9:23. If you subtract the 10 minutes (3 different stops) and count only the first 18 miles my AP was 8:06.  

This was a very strange run.  I didn't start the run until 11:15 which I think was a mistake because I took off with out lunch- but that's when my little guy went down for a nap and I could escape.   I ran most of the Riverton half route and it felt good.  But after about 2 hours of running I got really bored of being by myself-  it was raining, I was running into a head wind and I was running out of fuel.  I ran down 1300 to the maverick on 10600 where I stopped for a donut and some gatorade.  Yes, a donut-  thats what sounded best at the time.  I then continued for another 30 minutes or so, at this time I was spent and decided to walk the rest of the way home.  

I need a good watch.  I have a Polar RS400 with a footpod that I haven't used for a while because I can't seem to get it calibrated properly.  I decided to wear it today and see if I could get it to work.  It seemed to be fairly accurate for the first 6 miles, but when I stopped for my first gu it quit working.  I don't know if it was the rain or what.  From that point I tried to hit the lap button at major points in the run and figured I could determine my paces using mapmyrun.  After working on it for a little while I gave up and just calculated the info above. 

I have decided I really hate running by myself and that I am in serious need of a pacer (or at least a good watch).   I think I ran too fast when I was running and therefore was unable to sustain it for the full 20 miles.  I sure hope I can get it worked out for Ogden. 

Overall, I am proud of myself for getting out and running by myself.  Now that the run is over I feel pretty good.  My knee felt and feels fine.  I WILL BE READY FOR OGDEN (I hope). 

I really missed the BBK group today. 

Ran/jogged/walked to park chasing my little girl on her bike.  She is still just learning; this would be her third time out.  I hope she gets it soon because helping her is hard on my back.  She is actually doing really well.   Felt good to get the legs moving as they are still rather tired from yesterdays run. 

Ran 4 miles when I got home from work.  Aside from a bit of wind the weather was perfect.  It was so nice to get out in the sunshine.  My legs felt a bit sluggish from Sundays run and my knee still isn't 100% but it seems to be doing a lot better.  Overall this was an enjoyable run.  AP 7:54.

Ran with the BBK group this morning down at Daybreak.  I got there just as they were taking off and had to sprint the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile to catch up.  I was actually amazed- my legs felt pretty good.  I ran the rest of the warm up with Nancy & Duke at a nice easy pace.  I then ran a 2 mile tempo loop with Peggy & Lynette(?)- that was a bit fast, but still felt good. I  finished with an easy jog back to the cars.  Overall, an excellent workout.  I only wish I didn't have to leave early every time.