Jog for Jess 5K

I signed up for this race with some friends a few weeks ago for fun and to contribute to this great cause.  The community of Wayne has held this run as a fundraiser the past 6 years for a young boy to attend intensive pediatric physical therapy.  The registration link was on All Sport Central, which is my go-to race search site, and I definitely wanted to participate.

I planned on a 10 mile training run Saturday morning, and that just didn't quite happen.  I made it 9 and called it quits.  I had been undecided all week whether or not I would even run Saturday night, or just go along and walk.  Luckily my knee felt just fine after the morning run, and my ego was slightly bruised... so I wanted to avenge those crappy miles with 3.1 more for the day.

The race was supposed to start at 5:00 pm according to the website.  So I packed my Spark/Rehydrate combo and road tripped the 35 miles to Wayne.  There were only 7 of us signed up online, and all from Norfolk.  Come to find out, the race didn't actually start until 6:00pm.  Instead of making us wait around, the event organizers were incredibly nice and let us go ahead and run the route so we could be done and get back home.  This wasn't officially timed or even marked, it was just a fun run on a really nice bike path.  It was an easy out and back.  The bike trail went through some of the area that was damaged in a tornado last fall.  I lived in Wayne for two years in college and had no idea that trail was even there!  

I hadn't ran doubles in a LONG time, and of course hadn't even thought about it post-marathon.  I felt pretty energetic, so I decided to just let my legs go however fast or slow they wanted to go.

Good enough for me!

Our awesome shirts designed by Jess!  I'm wearing it today actually.  I LOVE the neon green!

Our group!

Running Lately

I wasn't sure what to expect out of my legs post-marathon.  I knew it probably wouldn't be pretty for a while...  It's been a difficult few weeks trying to stay patient and work through the really bad runs, and enjoy the handful of really good runs.

I set out for my second double digit post-marathon run this morning and didn't make it.  I stopped at 9 miles and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have even walked another mile.  It was definitely more humid out than last week, and warmer temps, but really it shouldn't have been THAT hard.

The knee deal, well it's getting better.  I've developed my first case of runner's knee post-marathon.  Probably because I did a few too many lunges and squats with weight too soon and my poor quads weren't quite up to it.  I took two complete rest days this week, and haven't done any squats or lunges since Monday.  I don't have pain WHEN I'm running, it usually stiffens after the run, or workout.  Nothing a little ice, rest, and KT Tape couldn't fix up though.  I'm really focusing on stretches and rolling it out like crazy.  I hate not being able to strength train my legs, that's probably my favorite thing to do!  I hope to ease back into it next week, as long as my knee feels OK.

Yeah, those two runs at my OLD pace, I don't know where they came from.  I was soooo happy to be rocking out 8 flats and a few sub-8s again.  It seemed like it's been forever since I saw those lovely numbers, and felt that strong.

Maybe some day I'll be fast again!

Don’t be so hard on yourself

It’s great to have goals, and constantly be hungry for more.  I met my marathon goal, but yet I can’t shake the desire to immediately burn down another goal, aka a half marathon PR.  I have my first half marathon of 2014 in less than a month.  I wasn’t even sure I would register for it post-marathon, but I did, and I don’t have the “run it for fun” mentality that I was supposed to have…

I don’t know that a half marathon PR is even possible at this point.  I trained at a slower pace for the marathon, and that’s just about where my natural pace is now stuck at.  Post-marathon running has been a little rough.  Pace and distance both seem extremely difficult.  But I’m not sure it’s all physical, I think my brain is causing my problem.  My MIND wants to run fast, or run at the quicker pace I was capable of pre-marathon.  My mind immediately gets discouraged when I look at my watch and see a pace much slower than what I feel my effort should be producing.

First run post-marathon.... struggle

 

First double digit post-marathon run

I’m writing this as a reminder to myself, don’t be so hard on yourself.  This recovery process has truly tried my patience.  I want to be back where I was before the race, but the reality is, I’m not, and I need to take my time getting there.  I’ve been dealing with some weird nags in my left knee, so I need to listen that right now.

It’s hard to take my sights off the half marathon PR in June, but I’m doing my best to mentally back-burner it for a while. 

Reverse Taper

I’m not sure which is worse at this point, pre-race taper or post-race taper.  The pre-race taper was actually kind of fun.  It was a well-deserved rest from the grinds of the last four months of training, but that anxious, anticipation state wasn’t so fun.  The post-race taper has been harder on me than I thought.  Granted I was really sore for the first three days post-race, but after that I immediately wanted to be back where I was before the marathon.  I’m not there yet.  I’ve ran 14 miles total since May 3 and that’s been tough, I want my miles back.  BUT, I am trying to be as intelligent as possible during this time and focus on my long term goals (aka another marathon yet this year, more on that later). 

My first post-race run was the Thursday following the Saturday race.  I ran Thursday, took Friday off, ran Saturday, took Sunday off, ran Monday, took Tuesday off, and I’m hoping to get out tonight.  I don’t plan to do back to back running days until next week.  I have a half marathon one month from today, June 14, and I would sure like to PR, but I just don’t know if that is in the cards.  My pace has been pretty rocky on these first few runs back.  I’m not pushing it either, they are just easy, steady state runs.  But my easy pace used to be slightly faster than it is now with the same perceived effort.  Time to be patient I guess.

My Reverse Taper

WEEK 1:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
REST	Walk + Whirlpool	30 min elliptical EASY	30 min elliptical + walk	4 miles! Easy	CXWORX	6 miles + CXWORX

WEEK 2:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Body Pump	4 miles + CXWORX	BP Express + 50 min cardio arc trainer	CXWORX ?? miles	?? miles?	REST	6-7 miles

Next week I plan to start to increase my mileage, slowly but surely, and start incorporating a few tempo workouts.  I have been easing back into strength training, which feels AMAZING!  I have taken two Body Pump classes since the race, and a handful of CXWORX classes to keep my core strong.

The rest of this month is dedicated to my 24 Day Challenge and cleaning up my eating habits.  I started the cleanse phase on Sunday, and so far so good.  I find myself feeling full all day, rather than constantly being ravenous like I used to be.  I KNOW a lot of this is due to my major decrease in mileage.  I am truly committed to this challenge, and I am really anxious to see my results.  A well-nourished and properly fueled body in theory should run faster, right?!