Day 12 Training

Today is supposed to be a run/strength day, but I am switching week 2 and week 3, because I want to run the 'Catch a Leprechaun' this weekend (3/13/2011) for my 5K race Saturday. So, today is going to be a rest day for running and I am just hitting the gym for a strength workout.
I worked chest and triceps today. I am still having some pain in the left shoulder and upper arm. Apparently I pulled a muscle at some point, though I do not remember it happening. I am restricted by the pull in that I don't have full range of motion, so I am having to modify my chest routine by doing a shorter push through. I felt pretty good after doing my routine and I didn't aggrevate the injury any further. I am applying a heating pad to it nightly and this seems to be helping with the healing process. The heat makes the blood circulate more, and this speeds up the healing process.
One thing that I have not written about yet is abdominal work. I don't dedicate a specific day to abs. I work abs every time I do strength training at the gym with the exception of the day that I work legs. Legs is a long enough routine that I don't add on the extra time it takes to work the abs.
My ab workout is pretty simple and is all done on an adjustable situp bench with a 15# dumbbell.

I adjust the bench to it's steepest incline and hold a 15 pound dumbbell and do the following:
3 sets of 12 reps 15# dumbbell

Day 11 Training

Training is going by very quickly - week two already. I used yesterday (Mon. 3/7) as a rest day since my knee is still giving me a pain or two. This morning I took a yoga class for the stretch portion of my schedule, and this one was actually not too bad. The instructor kept it pretty simple, no pretzel poses! Each week the stretches feel so much better; it helps keep all of those tired and sore muscles loosened up, and ready to go the next go round. I felt so good and limber after the yoga class that I decided to go for a legs workout today. I feel a lot stronger, the weight that I was lifting did not feel so heavy today. I had a great workout, and felt a lot more energized. I am planning on still hitting the track tonight for speed work.

Track: Quite a few people have shown up for speed work tonight. I usually do a mile on the track to warm up, and during this warmup I decided that I would run fartlek's tonight. Fartlek's (yes, I know it's a goofy name) means "speed play" in Swedish. It is a form of interval training that puts stress on the aerobic system. Fartlek's are unstructured, so speed and intensity can be varied. Once around the track is 400 meters, so I ran a comfortable 300 meters and intensely sprinted 100 meters. I did 40 minutes of this. I didn't keep track of the mileage, and I actually have not been recording the speed workout nights on Daily Mile. I am getting in a little more mileage each week because of this.
I felt really good after the workout, and I feel like I had a really productive day since I accomplished yoga, leg workout, and fartlek's all in one day. And, the best part of all is that the old "injuries" are actually pretty much under control today.

Day 10 Training

Today I did a three mile run up hills around my house. The first half of the run is a pretty good ascent, and the second half is part downhill & flat for the last mile. It was about 4 p.m. before I could get out for my run, and today the temperature jumped about 20 degrees, so it was 72 degrees outside with bright sunshine. When it is this warm I take a handheld water bottle with some ice and Gatorade. l was dressed a little warm; I had on a t-shirt and capri running bottoms. The weather called for a running tank and shorts, but that's what happens when every stitch of running gear I own is in the dirty laundry. (Dang!)
One thing that helps with the heat, is to try and run in the shade. It's a small thing, but it definitely helps. I was feeling the effects of increasing my running, cycling, & weight training; my legs were sore, and the knee was still bothering me. I had a pretty gnarly cramp going on in my left calf as well. The next few weeks will get better as my body adjusts to the increased training.

**GLOVES**

 

Choosing the right gloves

  It's starting to get really warm here in Las Vegas, but other parts of the country are still buried in snow, so I wanted to share some ideas for some great running gloves. I have four pairs that I like. The Pearl Izumi's are nice for cold, but not freezing weather; these are the ones I probably use the most here in the desert. The Nike's, which are polar fleece, are for colder weather, and I like to use them at races, because they have a nice little key pocket on the inside palm of each glove. The Asics mittens are my go to glove when it is really cold outside. The mitten flap folds back, and you have some nice fingerless gloves, this is great if you need to vent your hands if they get too warm, but that mitten flap also serves as a nice little pocket to put some chemical hand warmer packets in if it is really freezing out. I use these at night a lot during the winter. My secret weapon glove is actually not a running glove at all, but rather a silk glove liner for motorcycle gloves. I figured if they insulated my hands in my leather motorcycle gloves, they'd insulate in other gloves as well. They are awesome! They keep your hands nice and toasty, but are very thin, so you don't feel like you have bulky muppet hands. Sometimes if there is just a little chill, I'll put these on instead of a warmer glove, and they are just right! I love how thin they are and they breath.
Of course if you are needing gloves for a race, and you anticipate not needing them for the entire race--my recommendation is to get some of the cotton stretch gloves for $1.50 at Target or Walmart, that way you won't feel bad if you toss them during the race. Besides, the race directors usually donate leftover clothing to charity anyway, so now you've done a good deed.

Day 9 Training

Does anyone really need to be this flexible???

Stretch & strength training today! I love Monday's, it feels so good to stretch out all of my sore achy muscles. My knee is still sore, but I am keeping muscle rub on it, and taking Advil, so it's under control. I took a yoga class at 8 a.m. this morning, and pretty much did all of the "modified" poses. This particular instructor has the joint structure of a Barbie doll. I am not certain that it is natural to contort the body into some of those positions, and I certainly did not need that kind of a stretch for my training needs. Plus I wanted to be gentle with the knee today; class was about an hour, and then I hit the weight room floor for a leg workout. My workout routine is listed below.

Smith machine squats 3 sets 12 reps 50# total weight
seated leg press 3 sets 12 reps 145#
seated leg extentions 3 sets 12 reps 70#
prone leg curl 3 sets 12 reps 55#
seated leg curl 3 sets 12 reps 60#
hip adduction (inner) & hip abduction (outer) 3 sets each 12 reps each 90#

*Note: there are a lot of different exercises that will work the same muscle group, the routines listed on this blog are what I usually do , but if a machine is tied up or I need to mix it up, then I choose a different way to work whatever muscle group I'm on. It's good to mix up the order, and the types of machines or weights you are using, this results in muscle confusion, and keeps you progressing towards your goal.
If you want to know how to perform any of these exercise, there are a ton of YouTube videos available. A guy named Scott Herman offers some good ones & he performs everything with his shirt off -- {guess that makes him stronger?}

P.S. Don't forget to eat a nutritious breakfast after all of your hard work, here's mine. Bon Appetit

Day 8 Training

Long run Sundays! I really look forward to Sundays, and logging my long run for the week. I've worked hills, and done speed work at the track, lifted weights, done sprints, and by the time Sunday comes I can just kick back into a relaxed pace and enjoy my run. I have time to think, time to plan, time to work things out in my mind. And, I have conversations with God. It is a time for me to turn the cell phone off, and ignore the world. I put my ear buds in, turn on some soothing even tempo music, and look forward to the next hour of solitude.
I decided last week to increase each of my Sunday runs by an extra mile, so this week is a six miler. I have the fitness level to do this, and I feel that I will be more prepared if I have already ran a thirteen mile leg prior  to race day. Sometimes it is that last mile that can take you by surprise, and I want to be prepared for it.
I decided to run in the evening, as I have church from 9 a.m. to noon, and I love my naps on Sunday. I started my run around 6 p.m. and headed out on Grand Canyon. From GC to the stake center on Azure is 3 miles, so an out and back was the game plan. I like running up Azure, because it is a long mild ascent to the church building, which really trains the muscles to accomodate a climb when they are just getting used to an even tempo pace. Mixing it up is a good thing!
I felt really good for the first 3 miles, and then at the top of the hill turn around my right knee started acting up. It is so frustrating. I have been running with this knee issue for so long (like 8 years!) I guess I don't want to have a doctor look at it, because I just know he is going to tell me to stop running and even if it can be fixed I'll have down time. I do not handle "down time" well, I get very irritable. I NEED my running. I often wonder what it would be like to be able to run and not have to baby a dumb knee injury. This knee is the only reason I haven't run a marathon yet. I honestly don't think it would hold out for 26.2 miles. Maybe with duct tape and some serious meds, but I'd pay for it later. I pushed the limits last year when I did a 100 mile bike ride. I was in so much pain afterwards that it about took me down to the ground. I am a glutton for punishment--I'm riding the 100 again this year, but definitely with a different strategy for managing the pain, and the hours of work this knee is going to go through. It holds me back so much. I could be faster, and push harder if it weren't for the pain. As it is, I constantly push it to the edge. I am one of those people who keeps going, even when I'm hurt. I have ran on a sprained ankle, which ended up taking 9 months to heal, because I wouldn't stay off of it. I had plantar fasciitis (this bad boy takes you to a whole new level of pain, just try getting out of bed in the morning and standing on the affected foot.) I ripped my big toenail off, and had major issues with that, but still I ran. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?
Well, the last 3 miles were not so pleasurable, but I kicked into Chi Running (pronounced chee) mode, and made it home. If you aren't familiar with Chi Running, I recommed taking a look at the program--especially if you are prone to running injuries.

Overall, not the best run, but I didn't die, so it's a success. The knee is very sore tonight, and a bit swollen, so I'll ice it for 24 hours, take some Advil, and wear my sturdier knee brace for my long runs.

Day 7 Training

Saturday, last day of week one training and I only need to run 3 miles. I did a quick three mile run on Grand Canyon, and everything went really smooth. The extra miles and cycling have not been a problem so far. I am happy to have finished the first week; now only 11 more weeks to go. I was in a hurry tonight--I had movie plans. I love hitting a new movie on Friday nights, and tonight was "Unknown". It turned out to be an awesome movie. Liam Neeson was great, he made the movie.

Tip for the day: I like to wear different watches when I run, but I don't like how sweaty they become. My watch used to slip and slide on my wrist once it got sweaty, but I didn't like cinching the watch up so tight that it wouldn't move, so I came up with this little idea. I just take a regular old sweatband and place the watch on top of it. No more slippery, sweaty watch. This also works great if you wear one of the big Garmin watches, it snugs up the watch on your wrist, especially if you have a small wrist.

Volunteer - Red Rock Marathon & Half

Today (Saturday 5th) was a very busy day! I volunteered to work the Red Rock Marathon & 1/2 put on by Calico Racing. This race takes place out at the Loop in Red Rock. I don't run this race, because I have a bum right knee and the elevation changes would probably blow it out, and I would be done for. Take a look at the elevation chart - hills, hills, hills!

I like to volunteer for a couple of reasons. Races depend upon great volunteers! I know a lot of people have helped out at so many of the events I have participated in, so I like to give a little back. It's the only chance to see some of the great athletes performing. The guy who won the marathon was a thing of beauty in motion. When he came around the corner to the area I was manning, it was like watching a gazelle run. These hills are steep, and this athlete was stretched out and running like they were nothing. He did not have anyone on his heels, which is a testament to how good he is at his sport. He ran a 6:27 min/mile pace. On hills for 26.2 miles! That is fast.

Another benefit of volunteering is that I get to run for free. Most of the event organizer's will give you running credit. If you volunteer at their event, then you get to run one for free. So, this helps keep my running expenses down, and I can still participate. Las Vegas Running Team does this as well as Calico Racing. You can check out their websites for upcoming events and volunteering information.

http://www.lasvegasrunningteam.com/

http://calicoracing.com/

I've attached a few photos of the event. Unfortunately I was so busy directing & encouraging runners that I didn't take any photos of them at my station. =(  Next time.

It was a beautiful day, beautiful athletes, and a beautiful venue!

The beautiful desert & yucca plants

Driving down the course

Finish chute



Unique sandstone awards for overall and age bracket winners



Happy, but tired racer, displaying his hard earned medal

Beautiful Red Rock Canyon "The Loop"