Absense makes the heart grow fonder

I am still trying to recover from a very sore knee. Today, I did a 4.2 mile walk with my mom at a reasonable 17min pace but my knee seems to be getting worse. Again I don't think I stretched enough in the after portion of the work out and am become more and more concerned.

I've done a little bit of research and found that the soreness I am feeling is not uncommon and can be improved or even repaired with strength training to the muscles around the the offending appendage.

In this case:

Exercises for the muscles that surround the knee include quadriceps strengthening exercises, hamstring strengthening exercises, and calf strengthening exercises.

For now, it's ice and rest (as much as that frustrates me).

Tomorrow I plan to hit the gym and do the eliptical which will reduce strain on my knee and hope for the best.

HOT HOT HEAT

The JAM was great last night. We ran late and then I was requested for a command performance of the Happy Birthday song. :)

I got to try out my new song which played great with the band (I loved the drum beat Mr. Boyfriend came up with). Came out very Alternative Rock but I really need to work on those changes because that verse is killer on the wrist. I also got to play standing (which I don't usually do) but found it much easier than in the past ... I'm going to have to do that more often in the near future.

This morning we crawled out of bed at noon and by the time I was awake enough to even think about working out I walked outside to find the HOT HOT HEAT.

It felt as if I'd walked outside onto another planet.

IT WAS SAHARA HOT!

If you have never been in such heat it is very uncomfortable to even be outside.

I have also noticed that although I run mostly in the afternoon and at sunset I have still managed over the last two weeks to manage to get a tan. Considering that I have only run about 4 times in that time and never much longer than an hour it is very disturbing. The tan is quite noticeable and I've even recieved a couple of compliments.

I am going to have to look into some sort of sun protection in the very near future. But as for today, the gym is going to be my trainer for today.

I've got a shorter run planned for today, just over 3 miles. Still taking it easy because of my knee soreness. I plan to stretch heavily before and after and hope for better results.

For tomorrow I have a longer run planned of at least 5 miles with my mom coming along for the ride. Quite fitting being that it is Mother's day.

The family that runs together, stays together :)

Getting Back On The Horse (Delusions of Grandure)

Well, It was a short vacation, a total of 5 days in all but it feels like I haven't worked out in a month.

Right before leaving, I was starting to see improvement on my time and distance which caused me to second guess whether I should go or not.

Upon my return, I had two terrible demoralizing workouts that made me begin to rethink if I could do this at all, but in the end I think it has more to do with wanting to do it than being able to do it.

People do things they shouldn't be able to do every day. There are people walking around on the street who are cancer survivors who were told you have three months to live and years later are still walking around. Mothers lift cars of baby's fueled by adrenaline rushes. I think I can manage a tiny little marathon.

Although, it's not just a marathon ... I have delusions of grandeur and of one day completing an Iron (Wo)man competition. Mind you, I don't know how to ride a bicycle and I'm want you call a good swimmer in shallow water only! But I still day dream of one day finishing an Iron Man course and getting a little Iron Man tattoo to commemorate the accomplishment.

I did have a much better workout on the third try (can't beat my persistence) but my left knee is a bit sore and I am considering taking a rest day. I checked my running log and it seems like I can afford a rest day, although being that I started almost 3 months late on a year goal of 1000 miles every little bit helps.

I suspect my soreness is caused by not stretching properly after my runs and the fact that I am STILL not taking my Glucosamine Chondroitin & MSM as I should and the fact that I am still a little heavy for a runner. All things that can be resolved with a little effort and persistance.

Persistance is one thing I've got.

Race Report: Mercedes Benz Corporate Run 2009

I finally made it to the Mercedes Benz Corporate Run yesterday. Last year, I had signed up and even trained but was unable to make it to the event. This added a little extra uncertainty so by the time the race came I had tied myself in knots of nervousness.

According to the counts there were over 17,000 people present and taking part in the event. The streets were clogged with people chatting and waiting for the race to start.

Once the starting gun went off the mass of people began to move painfully slow. It took a full 10 minutes for my part of the mass to reach to the starting line at which time I started my stopwatch and began to maneuver through the crowd.

I started to try to jog, thinking everyone around me eventually would but it wasn't happening. The people around me kept walking and pleasantly chatting on their cellphones during the race. I could barely get two steps before running into someone.

I noticed people were jumping over the concrete barricades in hopes of getting around the masses of walkers. I told my race partner I was going to jump the barricades too and she followed. I was a little apprehensive being that I had never had an active childhood hence I had never jumped over anything in my life. I expected to topple over or worse yet immediately get arrested by the police (Yes, my mind works in mysterious ways) but neither happened. I was pleasantly surprised by my agility and was able to jump over a several barricades quite easily.

Nearing the bridge we were finally able to get into a gentle jog, our feet rattling the bridges metal side walks after jumping the barricades yet again before finally rejoining the mass of people.

The entire run consisted of this stop-start jog-run obstacle course around and over people and barricades.

I yielded a respectable 00:37:19

I know I can get a better time on a 5K but considering the added obstacle course I think I did reasonably ok but my goal will be to get a sub-30 5k in the near future.

Achy Breaky Joints

Since last night, my left knee has been feeling sore. I don't know if it's due to the nervousness of the race or the nervousness of that fact that after that race we are leaving on our road trip. I feel butterflies welling up in my stomach as I write :)

I iced my knee for the night and am wearing my knee brace now. I am going to double up on my Glucosamine Chondroitin & MSM dose (which I haven't been taking as religiously as I should). As far as I know you have to take it pretty consistently for over 30 days to really start getting the full benefit.

I haven't decided if I am going to go ahead and run the race as of yet. I will make my decision throughout the day. I am inclined to go ahead and run being that this is the second time I sign up and have yet to run the course. I have an abnormally high pain threshold which usually causes me to bite off more than I can chew. But rational may win out on this one.

My Next Race

I've hardly been able to catch my breath from all the excitement of the 7 Mile Bridge Race and I'm already off to my next Race: The Mercedes Benz Corporate Run on April 30th, 2009.

The whole company comes out for this one so I am anxious to show my co-workers what I've got :)

Yesterday I had a great run. Did 4.41 miles even though I had been suffering from a migraine all afternoon. I became a little worried being that we are currently suffering from outbreaks of Swine Flu and Meningitis and some of the symptoms are headaches and soreness of the neck but I trusted my gut and went with Occam's razor (Loosely put: The simplest explanation is always best) and decided to go for a run in hopes of releasing enough endorphins to quash my migraine.

It worked.

It did take me a while to get started. I walked almost a full mile before getting the urge to jog a bit and after that the rest is history. I maintained a steady 12 min mile pace the rest of the way.

Towards the end I picked it up a bit and passed a couple I thought I knew ... ended up being my cousins (on my mother's side) and we had a nice catch up session while we cooled down.

What a great run!

Race Report: 7 Mile Bridge Race

I just survived the 7 Mile Bridge Race (April 25, 2009).

You can't tell from the picture but I had a thoroughly enjoyable time. (Please pardon the blurry nature of the photo but I only came out in a background shot unfortunately.)

Now, I'm not a particularly fast runner (not yet anyway). I've only been training for about 2 months. I've run in the past but not consistently or for any extended period of time.

I average a 15 min mile on my regular practice runs and had never run less than a 13 min mile since starting my training. Another quirk I seem to have is that I seem to have a steady pace through out which to me is seems to be quite strange considering that it would make sense that your miles take you a little longer as you go along.

I made the run in 1:21:20 which averages out to an 11:58 min pace per mile. Adrenaline really does cut a whole minute off you run.

I was so happy I could have screamed for joy.

FEMALE AGE GROUP: 30 - 34
AGE GROUP PLACE:  96
OVERALL PLACE:    1359
NET TIME:         01:21:20
PACE:             11:58 

My mom ran the race too. She did get picked up by the bus but she did excellent, completing well over 5 miles. I'm so proud of her And the best part is she's all excited about next year and is training her little heart out to be ready for the next race :)

Some pertinent information if you intend to run the 7 Mile Bridge Race in the future:

• The actual distance is not a whole 7 miles, it's actually 6.79 miles so about a half mile over a 10K.
  
• There is a large bridge starting about half way through the second mile and ending about half way through the third mile which seems to have caused some people to stop and walk, so train accordingly.
• The race is run North to South directionally; starting at the end nearest to Chappy's Restaurant.
  
• If you pick up your race packet the evening before at the dinner remember to bring your own baby pins (There were none in the Race Packet).
• This year the bus started it's run about 5 minutes early, so you don't get exactly ninety minutes to run the race ... more like 85 minutes.

Another Great account of the race is located here:
http://www.spacecoastrunners.org/articles/seven_mile.html