August Fail

August = grappling with disappointment. I wish I had been able to keep up with blogging and running and dailymile while dealing with my injury but I couldn't bring myself to check any of it.

I took a vacation to Jackson for a friend's wedding and skipped two low milage weekly runs.  I had a 12 miler scheduled the day after my return, and ran it just fine - felt great, in fact!  Two days later I ran 5 miles at a faster-than-usual clip (August 15).   I felt 100% fine after the run, but woke up in the middle of the night to pee, stood up and gasped at the pain.  I could barely walk to the bathroom.  Woah. 

I did the next planned run at the health club alternating 'mill and elliptical.  I also JUST got my new shoes in the mail.  I tried another super-slow 3 miler which was a fail.  Another stint at the health club resulted in 2 full hours on the elliptical.  Boring.

I decided to downgrade my 13.1 Giant Race entry to a 5k race entry (a $95 5k!!!!!!!!!!).  This was a mixed blessing because I got to run the race with my seesters, but had major disappointment.  I'll recap the 5k in another post, but at one point during that weekend the pain became so intense I thought for sure I had just experienced a fracture.

I did another 2 hour stint at the Health Club upon return from the City, and have since logged 3 runs of increasing distance.  The pain is lessening and almost gone.  I've started icing my feet in a bucket after ever run, no matter how short.  I've been stretching my arches and NEVER going barefoot (not that I went barefoot at all really before this injury). 

I believe my injury is Plantar Fasciitis, but don't really know.  I thought it was a stress fracture, but don't believe the pain would be lessening if that were the case.  It could have been caused by my old shoes that had just over 500 miles on then.  It could have been running too fast.  It could have been skipping two runs.  It could have been walking barefoot on a fragile foot. 

It's been a difficult month to bear, and I feel apprehensive about my marathon, which happens in 19 days.  I've skipped a total of three long runs: 19, 13 and 20. This is difficult to swallow because it happened so far out from my actual marathon that my last month of training is tapering instead of peaking.  I've wrestled with skipping the marathon - deferring to next year, downgrading to the half - but decided to just do it.  I've read so many inspirational stories of people who run marathons and just finish them.  I will have to walk, no doubt.  I will have to throw away any and all expectations of time.  I will have to hold my head up high and enjoy the day despite my training not going to plan.  I will have to decide if I want to go through all this again and give myself another shot at running a marathon injury free.  

Lord Sorequad

Yippie Skippy. Just ran 5 miles on the Home Trails (slang for Trails Around My Home). I think I kept a pretty good pace the whole time but didn't bother to use my GPS. I did two hill sprints, and several shorter intervals at 'pace'.

Quads. My quads were definitely feeling it on the uphills, and consistently at the end. Come to think of it, my quads have been pretty ripped and torn feeling since Friday. They're pretty sore - not in a fatigued P90x legs&back way, but in a ripped up way. I wonder if this is due to my lack of ice bath? Squatting is painful in a really really good way. I found myself squatting for a few seconds randomly throughout the weekend at work, just to feel the burn/release.

This is my highest volume week of marathon training, peaking at 36 miles. Looking forward to it!

Training. Running. Period.

I will have 5 period cycles during this upcoming 18 week training cycle. Not many bloggers (or runner's world articles for that matter -- I found one good one here) write about training, running and periods. I'm sure it's mentioned in passing, but it seems to have the potential to be really influential when deciding on a training plan, or even which race to run.

I'm sure many runners are on birth control and have some semblance of control over when they menstruate, whether it means skipping a period on race weekend, or designing an entire 18 week training plan so periods coincide with step-back weeks. But what happens when the race you really want to run falls on your "Red Tent" day, as I call it? How can you really be excited to run your favorite race, or even your weekend long run, when your joints ache, your migraine is in full swing and you're bleeding through tampons every two hours?

Luckily I have light periods. I can plan when they'll start (down to the hour) each month, and can count on them lasting less than 48 hours. I have had relative success with skipping periods a few times in my life, but wouldn't make it a regular event. I also notice that the more I run, the less premenstrual cramps I experience, and the more consistent my energy levels.

It occurred to me as I gaze at my newly printed training plan taped to my fridge that I'd better sit down with my calendar and redo the whole thing. Hal Higdon obviously didn't design this 18 week marathon plan (or any of his plans, as far as I can tell) with menstruation in mind. Or he thinks it should be ignored (?). I don't. I experience pre-menstrual joint pain and migraines, and definite low energy for at least two days. On Day 1, I usually feel light headed and my heart races when walking up the stairs. In short, I don't really feel like running.

I like the fact that running lessens all the potentially negative aspects of my period experience. I know that when runners talk about "going easy" or "taking time to rest" perhaps "period rest" falls under this umbrella. But I think it deserves special mention now and then because it's not something to ignore or sweep under the running rug.

Questions. Do tampons fit in the runner's belt everyone carries? Do aid stations stock tampons? Has anyone ever had a horrible race because they were bleeding out the entire contents of their uterus in one day? Has anyone ever seen a training plan adjusted around a 4 week cycle of step-up/step-down to accommodate periods? Skipped a period when it falls on race week? Why does no one talk about this?

Why I changed my mind about Portland

My last five runs looks like this: 8 mi. -- 6 mi. -- 5 mi. -- 3 mi. -- 2 mi. -- What's next, a 1 mile run? Time to get the mileage back up.

I've changed my mind about Portland. After a bit of contemplation, and lots of research on desert marathons, I realize there's no reason to run in a city. San Francisco waterfront + Giants Stadium, maybe. Portland, nope. I know there are beautiful parts of Portland. I know it's a great city for many reasons. But I don't personally run because I love to run in cities. I run because I love to run in nature. And for this reason I'm going to continue my search for an October marathon I can run in nature, even if it ends up being the Humboldt Redwoods again.

Quite a few people in the last week or so have asked me why I run, and I realize after thinking about it that I run to see nature. I run because it's an awesome way to be outside and to --experience-- my surroundings. Walking, sure it's great, but it's slow. Running is quick and outside and real and smells like outside and feels like outside. It IS outside. That's why I run. Because I love being out.

It's only natural, then, that I choose a marathon that satisfies this in me. I feel wary about not having a set date anymore, but I also feel relieved as Portland is bound to sell out this week or next. I no longer have to worry.

I printed out my training plan to post on the fridge ~ whoopie!

The Blahs

Yes, I've got them. Maybe it's not having a training program going right now. Maybe it's my period week. Maybe it's all the goddamn wind. Whatever. I've got bad blahs.

At 6 tonight I'll head out on my run. I'm 100% not looking forward to it, though it's sunny out, cool and only slightly breezy. If I think hard about it what would make me excited to run? Are they things I can control, or are they things I just have to work with and overcome?

I would want to go for a run right now if I had a new trail. If it was cloudy and cool out, with NO WIND. If I only had plans for 3 miles.

What should I do here? There are only so many local trails, and I don't feel safe running on highway 1. I can't control the weather, and at some point I have to do long runs (and Tuesday is my day!).

Part of running is just -going-. Just tie up your shoes, get some miles down, come home and drink a BEER. Take a hot shower. Just do it. Because you love it.

Sunday Sunday

This week was low mileage for me. But I'll count it as a success because I rode my bike to work & home two times, and I did AbRipper. These are small steps in the world of cross training, but they feel good. The ride home is all up hill, and about 15% mountain bike trail - steep and lots of logs to hop over. It's tough, and both times I had to walk over the worst sections. But I like that I'm getting more confident, -&pretty soon I won't have to walk at all!

I ran a fairly fast paced 5k around the headlands in 27:something and enjoyed the freedom of going fast, knowing it would end soon.

I'm still wrestling in my head with the HH training plan vs. Runner's World plan. They are so different. At least I have a few more weeks to peruse them and figure out which is better for me. I now know one thing - I can not do a long run on Sundays after my work week is over. No Thank You.

The short break from running has me slightly worried about ITB stuff - I resolve to foam roll every day, even if I'm not running. The Studly Runner just posted a review of these compression "knee sleeves". How perfect is that? I've always avoided compression stuff because I don't feel like I need socks, and I don't need shorts... but knee sleeves?? I'll take two, please. You can also insert hot/cold packs into pockets. This is one giveaway I really hope I win.

Put in the Time

I just spend the last hour researching Hal Higdon's marathon training plans and found out that I'm inclined towards novice II. This is mostly because I don't want to run more than 4 days a week, and got by swimmingly running only 3 days for my 1/2 marathon.

I've also set my sights on the Portland Marathon. This week will have to be my sign up week if I'm truly dedicated. Which means....

I'm in limbo. With more than a month until my official 18 week training program should being, I need to fill my time with "maintaining my base" and "cross training" and "strength training".

FUN!

Upkeep

What's come over me? Am I really in training for a full mother-lovin' marathon? Can it be?

I was so stoked after 13.1 that 26.2 seemed like the logical next step. I wonder if doubling 13.1 is the same % increase in hardness as doubling say, 6? We'll soon find out. I set a personal goal of logging a 16 mile long run before June 10. This should be doable, although I may be forgetting how hard long runs are.

The past two weeks since the Avenue of the Giants Half have seen me only complete two runs. One was a 4 miler in Jackson along the Snake River Dyke in cold rainy springtime temperatures. It felt really great after sitting & eating & driving for 6 solid days. My last run was 6 miles along the Big River Haul Road, 3 of which included increasingly bad pain in my right knee. Who knows why this happened. Perhaps my 9 day hiatus from running was too long, or perhaps I was remiss in the foam rolling and yoga dept. Whatever the case, I rolled the crap out of my right ITB last night to the point of crying. It felt great.

___________________________

As I mull over my goals and options for the fall I feel anxious - the only semi-local run that is appealing to me is the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon. Same course, same time, probably same 50 degree temperatures. The Nike Women's Marathon is the same weekend in SF. There are other great races in Napa, Sonoma, Healdsburg, etc in August/September but who wants to run when it's that hot out?

A for-sure race that I've convinced almost my entire family to participate in is the Giant Race on August 27. I'm committed to the half while both non-runner sisters have committed to the 5k, the youngest of which is participating solely for the Tim Lincecum bobble-head they hand you when you finish on home plate at AT&T park.

______________________________

I'll need to revamp my training program for the summer. I'd like to include tempo workouts to see about getting my natural pace up. I'd also like to include more leg and core workouts, which were totally lacking this spring.