Snowing again

I missed my scheduled 7K last night because of a Christmas Party. I didn't drink too much though, so it wouldn't be as hard to run the 8K tonight.

The problem is it's snowing here again, so I'll have to run at the track. As I mentioned earlier in the week I won't be able to keep tabs on my pace since the watch doesn't work indoors.

So I'm going to shoot for 12 laps at 1:20/lap, followed by 8 laps at about 1:10/lap, then 12 more at 1:20.

It will be a good run, assuming I can keep it up after last night's break.

Back at it

After a 48 hour break I’m back on the training regime tonight with a 6K run; 2K at 5:40, 1K at 5:15, 1K at 5:00 and the last 2K at 5:40.

Then a 7K tomorrow, and 8 on Wednesday…d’oh! Let’s hope it warms up.

My mathematical mind

We got dumped on here yesterday. There was probably only 5-10 cms of snow, but as the day went on the temperature dropped, and by 8 p.m. when I was ready to run it was too cold and there was too much blowing snow to run outdoors. So I went down the road to the local recreation centre. Along with a pool and hockey rink, it has a 250-metre track.

Unfortunately my GPS watch didn’t work indoors, so I was stuck trying to figure out the math of my run in my head. Now math was one of the subjects (along with running) that I was not very good at in school, so I’ll spare you the details, but after a remarkably long time doing some basic manual calculations I figured I needed to run each lap in about 1:20 to come close to the 5:42/km pace Rob had set for me for the
8K.

So I started. I kept going. I passed a team of pre-pubescent girls and a wide assortment of elderly people. My knee felt tender at times and I wondered if I should stop, but Rob’s positive reinforcement and words of encouragement (“Don’t be such a pussy…fight through the pain Mary!”) pushed me to keep going.

I tried to stay on pace, and ended up doing the 32 laps in 44:03. Very close to my target. I can’t say I’m a fan of running on the track, at least not a small track like this one. The amount of running on the corners wears on you, and this morning I could feel it in my right ankle. And I think because I was paranoid about the effects of the turning on my knee, I was compensating with my other leg. But from a stamina perspective I felt great.

Anyways I got home last night and iced my knee, but this morning I could really feel it while walking. Rob’s got me doing runs of 6, 7, 8, 5, and 9 K between tomorrow and Sunday, so hopefully it’s feeling better by tomorrow. And hopefully I can get back outdoors.

7K and feeling good!

Tonight I ran my longest run yet: 7K. One-third of the half marathon I plan to run in May.

Rob had me doing intervals of 5:50/km, 5:20 and 5:05. But I settled in around 5:00/km and it felt pretty good, so I stuck with it. When I completed the first two kms at under ten minutes, I decided I'd try to do the 7K in under 35 minutes.

I pushed myself and finished in 34:28. But I don't think I could have kept it up for another kilometre. It's clear I have some work to do on my distance. No real problem with the knee. I put some ice on it when I got home.

Tomorrow night I'm scheduled to do 8K at 5:42/K.

Does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body? I don't know.

I’d like to address something that the commenter on my last post brought up: running through the pain.

First of all, running through the pain is for idiots. If there is actual pain, it’s because there’s a problem. If you keep going you risk making the problem worse. (Unless of course it’s minor pain unrelated to your running. In that case, don’t be a baby!)

Second, there is a difference between pain and fatigue. I will always persevere through fatigue. Giving up when you’re tired is also for babies.

Not so with pain. If I know I have a recurring condition and that running will make it worse, I’m going to stop!

In closing, to all my readers: don’t leave idiotic comments!

Iran. Iran, so far away.

Well I ran the 6K last night with no immediate physical problems. But I did have a technological breakdown: the batteries on my GPS watch died around the 3K mark so I couldn’t time myself exactly. I ran what I thought to be about 6K (it ended up being a bit longer) in about 33 minutes. So a little slower than the overall time Rob had planned for me.

But the important part was that at no point during the run did my knee force me to stop. Around the 4K mark I could feel something, like a tightness, but just when I’d start to notice it, it would go away. Then it would come back. Then it would go away. Etc etc. I kept going.

I felt nothing for the rest of the night, but this morning after walking to the bus stop there was a twinge of pain. Nothing serious. Maybe there was some swelling overnight, and the walk irritated it. I’m going to ice it tonight and keep it elevated today, so hopefully I can get out for the 7K Rob has planned for tomorrow.

6K

Tonight’s my first big test for the IT band: Rob has me running 6K. It’s my first run over 5 since starting. I’ll let you know how it goes.