Marathon Training: Week Five

Training is getting better. My sprained ankles are almost back to normal. Now I'll just have a few weeks of correcting imbalances that have cropped up from favoring my injuries. I'm excited to start running for real again on the earthen ground and in the outdoors.

Mon 2.5mi run + 20min cross- 20min bike and then 25min elliptical plus, I did a few back and leg extensions too.

Tue 30min bike+ strength- Wayne and I spent our day off together walking through IKEA and other furniture stores dreaming about decorating this home we're about to purchase. We got caught up and I got to the gym too late to bike for a full 30min but, they where nice enough to allow me to stay for an extra 5min and do 25min total. I pushed the pace a bit in hope of  making up for some of the lost time.

Wed 2mi tempo + 10min cross- I got called off work today and was allowed a second day in a row off from work with Wayne. I did a 10min bike and then 20min elliptical in the gym. I tried not to take a break in between exercises in order to increase the duration of cardiovascular exercise.

Fri 50min run + 20min cross- Today I went to the gym before work to do my "long run" on the elliptical. I'm feeling guilty that Wayne had to clean the house and pick out anniversary desserts for my parents while I was at work and the gym. I did a 20min easy bike than did lunges, and stretched before hopping on the elliptical for the rest of the time. I managed to get off work a little early and had time to run home and shower before my parents came to visit and we went out to dinner at a small family Italian place with awesome pizza in Belmont called Simonettie's.

Sat 2.5mi run + 35min cross- Happy 17th Anniversary to my parents and Happy 57th Birthday to Dave! My achillies complained and popped a bit throughout the run. Even though I'm gradually increasing the running impact my legs are no longer happy with my running once a week. The tendons aren't keeping up with the difference in strain between real running and cross training. Starting next week I will increase my number of running days per week by one so that in 5 weeks I will be running a bit on all 5 of my weekly training days.

Sun Roll and Ice- Again I didn't get to an ice bath today but I did a few session of rolling and local icing throughout the week.

5k: Week Three

I started feeling grumpy, sore and exhausted on Sunday. I need to improve a lot of things before I really feel back in the swing of running. I have so many weak stabilizer muscles that I'm afraid will cause my form to break down and cause injuries early. I also need to get a lot better at staying hydrated when at work. I should probably go back to using my hydration back pack.

I wonder if switching my 1.75mi and 1.5mi runs last week did hurt my recovery and contribute to soreness at the start of this week?

2mi run- My leg muscles are super tight and I don't feel recovered at all. I started getting menstrual cramps during the run (sorry probably TMI) but this is a good thing. It may explain why I'm feeling so exhausted and could mean I might be over this crummy mental and physical feeling by the end of the week- Here's hoping.

20min cross train+strength- I do feel better after the biking. My legs have loosened up a bit. Again I only did a small amount of strength training but I'd still like to try to ad in a second day later this week.

1.5mi run- Felt much more rested and recovered today. My form is still off and my hamstrings are tight because of the shoe change I guess (see link in second to last paragraph). I'll definitely be doing more lunges and squats to strengthen my gluts and hips.

2mi run-I felt really good today and was able to open up my stride a bit to have better form.

40min long run- Definitely an LSD (long slow distance) run but I can feel slow improvements in my form. My gluts are starting to even out and my quads are starting to get a little more use.

I found This Article this week and had a small ah-ha! moment. I did take the arch supports out of my shoes last week, maybe Wednesday, and I bet that is affecting my legs and causing my calf and hamstring soreness. I took them out because over time when I wear out my shoes I start to run so far on the outside of my foot that I nearly rolling my ankle every time I land a step...so I guess I really need to get those new shoes and start a slower transition into them.

At the beginning of this week I had so many of my fears com out. I'm afraid that I'm only 3 weeks in- barely over 1/4 of the way through just my 5k plan- and my body may not let me reach my goal. The thought of potentially doing three marathons seems especially daunting right now, let alone making it to the starting line of one. I must maintain a positive mental attitude. I have to remind my self to take things one day at a time, and to just do what I can. Recovery is an important part of training- something I've never been good at.