Weekly Wrap – Embracing the mill

February 12, 2017 by 22 Comments

Happy Sunday!

As I type this, the wind is picking up and the snow is falling. The second significant snow storm in just 4 days. School’s already been cancelled for tomorrow, and I’m trying to re-configure my work day.

But before I get to dealing with that I’m linking up with Holly  and Tricia for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training and life happenings!

Between the snow, icy conditions and a hectic schedule, it was all about the gym and time on the mill this week. And, the 5 min/day planking streak continued!

Monday — Rest Day
Tuesday — Speed work- While I’m not a fan on running on the mill in general, I don’t mind doing speed work on it. Just set the pace and go!
Wednesday — Strength day followed by a much needed massage!

Thursday — Shoveling snow counts for cross-training right?
Friday — Back to the mill for 800 meter repeats
Saturday — Rest day
Sunday — 4 more mill miles as once again the left knee/calf wasn’t really not interested in doing a long run – which is problematic when you’ve got a half marathon just 5 weeks away….but let’s not think about that right now!

The left leg was pretty unhappy all week and required a lot of special attention. At the urging of my massage therapist (she’s convinced I’m out of alignment), I’m going to try to squeeze in an appointment with the chiropractor this week. I really don’t want to take any more time off from running, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

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Filed Under: left knee, treadmill run, Weekly Wrap

Two steps forward, One step back

February 5, 2017 by 35 Comments

It’s just been one of those weeks…

Monday – More time with my new BFF, aka the Arc Trainer, but I did get outside for a brisk walk for the Winter Challenge. Oh, and day 9 of the 10 x 10 plank challenge.

Tuesday – Work and family schedules collided and my run didn’t happen. It was the final day of the Winter Challenge and I enjoyed a snowy walk, plus finished the plank challenge. Whew…10 minutes of planking was a-l-o-t!

Wednesday – Strength training with Trainer Stacy. Quite simply, this workout kicked my arse…and I loved it! Stacy really challenged me and I left feeling really strong…and sore 🙂  Planking continues – going for 5 mins/day for February.

Thursday –  Once again my schedule was crazy, but I was able to squeeze 30 mins in on the Arc Trainer.

Friday – Hill repeats – enough said, right?

Saturday – DOMS hit me hard so hello rest day.

Sunday – The plan called for 8 – I barely hung on for just over 5. After feeling so strong after Wednesday, and having a strong run through those repeats, I was hoping to crush this run…instead, my left knee/calf started talking to me within the first half mile and let me know this was going to be a grind. And a grind it was.

So…going to have to say this week was a Cha-cha. Let’s hope there’s less “dancing” this week and more running.

I’m linking up with Tricia and Holly for the #WeeklyWrap. Please be sure to head on over and check out all of the great ladies sharing weekly training, life happenings, motivation and encouragement!

 

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Filed Under: half marathon training, left knee, Weekly Wrap

RnR Philly Training Week 3

July 17, 2016 by 24 Comments

While my goal this week was to ramp up the mileage, the nagging discomfort in left leg, quickly made it clear that I needed to play it smart and go easy on the running for another week. So how did things go?

Monday, 7/11: Strength day

Tuesday, 7/12:  3 easy miles, plus squats (the challenge continues).

Wednesday, 7/13: Strength session with Trainer Stacey. Wednesdays have really become my fave workout day of the week lately.

Thursday, 7/14:  An unscheduled rest day. I woke up just feeling really off and it never got better, so I passed on my 6 mile cutdown run and skipped the squats.

Friday, 7/15: 4 miles on the mill – I just was not up for dealing with the oppressive heat, so off to the gym I went. Oh, yes and there were squats.

Saturday, 7/16: Rest day scheduled. It was parents’ visiting day at my son’s overnight camp so this “rest” day included 4.5 miles of walking and hiking the trails in and around the camp.

Sunday, 7/17:  8 miles scheduled – 5 miles done. Saturday’s camp fun followed by a 3+ hour drive home left me feeling pretty beat up Saturday night. I should have rolled, but instead I crashed on the couch and caught up on House of Cards. When the alarm went off Sunday morning, my legs already felt tired. The nagging pain in my left leg returned in the 4th mile, and as I reached mile 5 I knew it was better to listen to my body and stop. I walked another mile until my husband came by to pick me up.

What’s so annoying about the left leg is it only gets aggravated on hills…and it’s practically impossible to run in my town without encountering a hill.

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Icing and rolling does help – so guess what I’ll be doing this week?! I’m also headed to the massage therapist – always a good thing! The RC coaches are tweaking my plan (there will be no hill repeats, as originally planned), and I’ll give 8 miles another go next weekend.

So that’s my #WeeklyWrap! Thanks to Holly and Tricia for hosting this linkup!

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Filed Under: left knee, RnRPhilly, training, Weekly Wrap

MRI update

May 27, 2015 by 13 Comments

 

It’s been 3 weeks since I first went to see the orthopedic doc and she said I needed an MRI to get to the bottom of my left knee issues. The real question – is there a meniscal tear?

Let me just say it’s been a long three weeks people! One’s imagination can be a dangerous thing…I’ve imagined being told of tears and the need for knee surgery…of being told no running for unbearable lengths of time. I’ve been trying to keep the negative thinking at bay, but I’ve definitely had my super cranky moments – just ask my family!

Well, I’m very happy to say that the final verdict is a good one – all of the cartilage is just fine! I do have a little osteoarthritis to deal with, but at least it’s something that can be managed. I have a green light to return to running and build my mileage (slowly!) and will continue with my strength work, plus add in some PT.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief here and am ready to get going!!

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Filed Under: injuries, left knee

Stepping Back to Move Forward

May 6, 2015 by 16 Comments

Back in January, I thought I had strained my left medial meniscus. Rest, icing, foam rolling and PT exercises seem to get me back on track. That is until about a month or so ago, then the knee started to not feel so good again, but I could manage it, with some days being better than others. After a miserable 4-mile run a week ago I had to face reality that something else might be going on.

So I went to see an orthopedist and she confirmed that it’s that pesky meniscus again. She’s pretty certain there’s a tear, but only an MRI will confirm it for sure. Then we can figure out the next steps – “We’ll get you running right again” she assured me. I liked that she’s a runner too – we chatted about running and racing – she gets it.

But for now I have to take a step back – she confirmed my suspicion that running the Newport 10-miler is not a good choice. We’re going to play wait and see on the RTR 5-miler.

Am I frustrated? Absolutely – I love that Newport course. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say part of me just wants to have a big ole pity party. But, I’m taking a long-term view…my goal race for this year is Rock ‘n’ Roll Philly…and my overall goal is to have a long-term relationship with running.

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The good news is  while I wait for my MRI, I can continue to do my strength workouts, cardio (hello Arc Trainer!), and short easy runs, (as long as there’s no pain).

So I do what I need to do now, so I can do what I want to do later.

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Filed Under: injuries, left knee, Newport 10 Miler, RnRPhilly

May’s Ultimate Coffee Date

May 2, 2015 by 28 Comments

The Ultimate Coffee Date

It’s May! And I’m getting this month started by joining one of my favorite link-ups, The Ultimate Coffee Date. Thanks to Coco, Lynda and Deborah for hosting!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that the forecast is finally showing real signs of consistent spring weather, and I cannot wait to get into my garden this weekend and start planting. Despite the harsh winter, many of my plants look to be in better shape than I thought they would be, but I’ve still got a fair amount of work to do!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that while this week started off a bit hectic, that seeing my son start to feel better, a massage and spending the afternoon doing a little retail therapy with a friend helped to turn things around!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m actually looking forward to my appointment this week with the orthopedist, cause I need someone to help me get to the bottom of what’s going on with my left knee. Running continues to be a real challenge and I’m not feeling good about my two spring races.

fiveIf we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that believe it or not my blog turned 5 this past week! It’s really hard to believe that I have been running, and writing about it, for five years! I so appreciate all of you who have been hanging out with me during this ride 🙂

If we were having coffee together, what would you tell me? What have you got planned for this weekend?

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Filed Under: gardening, left knee, massage, milestones, Ultimate coffee date

April Runfessions

April 24, 2015 by 21 Comments

I feel like I say this at the end of every month, but seriously, where did April go!? Well, it’s the last Friday of the month so I’m linking up with Marcia again for another edition of Runfessions. Join us!

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Runfession #1 –– While I appreciate having the flexibility of running midday (thanks to working from home), I am clearly an early morning runner. As I returned to early morning runs this month, I really find I’m just much more settled during the rest of my day.

Runfession #2 — I cut both of my runs short this week thanks to some discomfort in my left knee. Truthfully, something didn’t feel good about half way through the BAA 5K and the knee hasn’t felt great ever since.

Runfession #3 — There are 44 days until the Newport 10 miler and I am not where I want to be…sigh.

Runfession #4 — On the good side, I’m still rocking the plank challenge and my strength days at the gym are my favorite days of the week!

So tell me, what’s your Runfession? What’s your preferred time of day to run?

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Filed Under: early morning runs, left knee, Runfessions

Back to Weekly Recaps

March 3, 2014 by 5 Comments

One of my main goals for the month of March is consistency in my training. And, I think a return to holding myself accountable here on a weekly basis will help.

So how’d last week go?

My goals were to get 3 solid runs; daily strength and core work and at least 1 day of cross-training. I ended up giving my knee some extra TLC at the beginning of the week so I got 2 runs instead of 3 – but Saturday’s run was a glorious 5 pain-free miles that had me smiling the rest of the day! I did get a day of cross-training and strength and core exercises happened 5 out of 7 days. All-in-all not too bad.

After speaking with Coach Bennett on Friday, we’ve decided to return to an earlier (read easier) week in my training plan and see how things go. So I’m off to hit the bike for 40 minutes this morning – the rest of the week will include 16 miles of running, yoga and those all too familiar strength exercises. We dodged the snow here so while it will be bitter cold, I’m determined to stick to running outdoors!

 

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Filed Under: left knee, training

Friday 5 – This and That

February 21, 2014 by 15 Comments

What a week of juggling this has been! This was the first time since my boys started school that they’ve had different vacation schedules: my 8-year old was off this week while my middle schooler was not. So you can probably appreciate why I’m clinging to my coffee mug this morning 🙂

No Running — That’s right in the midst of this somewhat chaotic week I couldn’t turn to my runs for a sanity check. I’ve been resting my knee since I was hit with that surprise pain during last Saturday’s run. I had originally planned to wait until Thursday to run, but it still wasn’t feeling close to fabulous so I’m holding off until tomorrow.

Strength & Core — In the absence of running, I’ve been squeezing in core work and doing the strength exercises Coach Bennett wanted me to do. Doesn’t do nearly as much for the sanity-levels but oh so important!

No Toeing the Line — Thanks to all of you who weighed in on my question about my upcoming 10-miler. As you’ve probably guessed by now, I’ll be taking a pass. So it looks like I won’t be racing until April when I run the B.A.A. 5K and the Newport 10 Miler – gives me time to get this knee to behave.

385Great Gesture — Speaking of races, I got a great email last week from the race director of the Narragansett Summer Running Festival. He had come across my recap from last year and loved that I had run this with my son as his first race. He invited us to return this year with complimentary registrations! Seriously, how cool is that! My son was psyched so we’ll be running this one again 🙂

AltrasNew Shoes — After eyeing these for a while I finally decided to order a pair of Altra Intuitions! Given that these are zero-drop and I’ve been running exclusively in Kinvara 4s, I will be rotating these in slowly, starting with shorter runs. More to come!

So tell me, how was your week?

I’m once again linking up with the DC Trifecta – be sure to swing by and show them some love! DC_linkup

 

 

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Filed Under: Altra Running, crazy week, Friday Five, left knee, school vacation

First race and a Tweeked Knee

February 17, 2014 by 12 Comments

heart-medal1My quest for #14in2014 got underway this weekend. My training plan called for some race pace miles for Saturday’s long run so it seemed like a perfect time to put some of those miles towards the Stop Stroke Shuffle 5K. I had so wanted to do this run on the road but after taking a quick trip in my car to survey the roads there was just too much ice.

So I headed to the gym – not to self NEVER go to the gym on a Saturday at 9! I finally got a treadmill, did a quick warm up  and then got started. It was a fairly uneventful run until the final half mile or so – that was when I felt the first twinge in my left knee. It was soon followed by another that lasted longer than the first. Not good….and I knew by the time I finished my knee was really unhappy. I still had miles left to do but when I tried a cool down run it was pretty clear that I just needed to pack it in.

Since then there’s been a lot of ice, a compression knee sleeve and rest. I passed on Sunday’s recovery run in favor of more shoveling as cross training.

Race #2 is just two weeks away and at this moment I’m not feeling very confident about making it to the starting line – it’s a 10 miler and thanks to cutting Saturday’s run short, the longest run I’ve logged so far is just 6.5 miles. While it’s not a goal race, I’m not loving the idea of heading into a race under-trained….on the other hand, I’m not crazy about passing up the chance to run this 10-miler. I’ll be checking in with Coach Bennett this morning to get his take on it.

WWYD – Would you run or sit this one out?

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Filed Under: #14in2014, left knee, listening to your body, race report