Another Update

I know I said I probably wouldn’t write again before the half but I just had to share some good news with you. My appointment with the chiropractor went swimmingly well and I could not be happier. He told me that my injury (sprained sacroiliac joint, which is the joint between the pelvis and sacrum) was already healed. Yay! Something he estimated 2-3 weeks to heal took only 9 days. That makes me so incredibly happy. I had been feeling really good the day of and was hoping he would have some positive feedback for me- I think that’s about as good as it gets.

While I was there he did make some other adjustments helping to put me back into correct alignment. He made adjustments to my first rib (left side) and second rib (right side)- which was a weird feeling, both my tibias, my left knee cap, my left ankle, pretty much every bone in my left foot, and some back, hip and neck adjustments. Nothing major, just tweaks. He didn’t see any underlying acute injuries or any muscle issues that could affect my run on Sunday. Actually he told me that I was going to kill it Sunday. I definitely appreciated his vote of confidence.

While I was there he asked if I wanted some acupuncture to help with my cold. I, of course, said yes. I had never had acupuncture before but have always been open to the idea. My chiro, Dr. Root, considers himself a minimalist acupuncturist- his goal is to be as effective as possible with the fewest needles possible. So for my cold problem he only needed 6 needles to treat me. I didn’t mind them one bit. It was actually quite relaxing. I almost fell asleep in his office. It was nice.

I left the appointment feeling uber confident in my physical health and recovery from this stupid cold and knowing that I will, in fact, kill it on Sunday J

This morning I woke up feeling pretty great leg/hip wise and with just some slight congestion lingering from the cold. I used the Neti pot, which helped tremendously, before I headed to the gym for my last run before the half. I only wanted to run a couple of miles, just enough to test out my leg, and I am happy to report it went really, really well. 2 miles in 23 minutes. 2 comfortable, pain free, super happy miles. At one point when ‘Gonna Fly Now’ (from the Rocky soundtrack, trust me- you know this song) came on I started to run faster and envisioned myself running across the finish line. I even worked on trying to smile while sprinting- I have to get ready for the cameras.

Yesterday was a great day and I am super excited to have received great news from Dr. Root. The run this morning was just what I needed to give me a little more reassurance in my health and training. I know I am ready but I definitely needed to quiet those little voices in the back of my mind trying to psyche me out. I can’t wait to see Tricia today for Thai Yoga therapy, which really is like the best thing ever, and then take a nice warm Epsom salt bath after. Such a great way to ease into what I hope to be a super relaxing few days leading up to the moment I have been waiting for.

“It has never been, and never will be easy work! But the road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination.” ~ Marion Zimmer Bradley

Week 12 Training Recap

Week 12 was a great week for running. And since my week 11 long run took place on Sunday (instead of Saturday due to rain) I actually logged over 31 miles running over the course of those seven days. That is the most mileage I’ve logged in a week to date so I am pretty excited, especially because physically I feel so great.

Here is my recap of my training runs not including Sunday’s (9/30) 10.37 mile- even though it falls in this calendar week I consider part of week 11’s training and already wrote about it last week.

Tuesday, October 2nd: Interval B Routine

5 minute warm up, 6X 1.5 min fast/ 2.5 min recovery, 5 minute cool down

I have been focusing on trying to jog during my warm up and cool down as well as for 1.5 minutes of my 2.5 minute recovery. Ultimately I am working towards not needing to walk during my recovery. This also means I need to make my fast intervals a little bit slower but I am ok with that.

I was super happy with this run especially because I ran further that day than I had the previous week on the same routine. The difference is this week I ran it outdoors, not on the treadmill.

Wednesday, October 3rd: 4 mile easy-paced run

Since my normal neighborhood loop is just over 3 miles I decided to run a new route for the 4 miler (and the following day’s 5 miler) and it worked out well. I focused on running slow, keeping my heart rate low, and being very, very comfortable with this run.

It felt great.

Thursday, October 4th: Tempo B (5 mile) run

This was my first five mile tempo run. Previously I had been doing 3 mile tempo runs so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was cruising along during the first half. It was a little rough starting out (always is) since I start off running uphill but at about three quarters of a mile in it switched to downhill and I was flying. It felt great.

Until I had to turn around and come back.

Uphill.

Ugh! Between 2.5 to 3.25 I didn’t think I would make it. My legs were dying as I just tried to keep running uphill. Of course at this point my running was probably a slow walking pace. But I kept pushing. And I am so glad I did. It wasn’t easy so when I was finished I felt like I just achieved something great. It feels good to push yourself and work harder than you think you can.

 Another great run in the books!

Saturday, October 6th: 9 mile long run

On September 1st, I ran my first ever 9 mile run. I did it in 01:57: 32 which is a 13:04 min/mile pace. When it was over my body felt tired, my legs felt worked. I was spent. I went home and took my first ice bath which really helped my recovery.

Fast forward five weeks and I am out for my second 9 mile run. This time around I ran it in 01:44:10 which is an 11:34 min/mile pace. Afterwards I felt great. I still went home and took an ice bath because I believe it really helps my recovery. But overall physical well being- drastically improved between the run on 9/1 and the run on 10/6.  It’s amazing that my pace improved so much over such a short amount of time especially since I was still running at a comfortable, slow pace. On my long runs I never go out there and push myself, I go out there and settle into an easy pace I can maintain for a very long period of time.

But I shouldn’t be surprised though. From everything I’ve read, by running slowly during my long runs, I should expect to see improvement as my training progresses. It seems counter intuitive but it’s true, you have to slow down if you want to get faster. And looking at my numbers is proof enough for me.

Now, as far as my other weekly goals go…well, let’s just say they weren’t as great.

At least 5 homemade dinners and all breakfasts/lunches during the week also homemade/not takeout- 5 homemade dinners, yes. But I ended up eating out twice for lunch this week; once for Paul’s going away luncheon and the other for a work birthday. For the week I would give my eating a B-

Yoga- yes, I was able to get in one hot yoga class but that was it. Wish I could have also squeezed in my yoga for runners DVD but I did not. C

Complete core routine 4 times; straight-arm plank, one minute crunches on balance ball, one minute leg raises, forearm plank, one minute crunches on balance ball, one minute leg raises- Big fat F! I didn’t do this once last week. Not good at all. Need to work on this.

Week 13 Goals

This week is going to be a bit crazy. Thankfully I am in a recovery week for my training so my runs won’t be too demanding. Thursday Paul and I are heading to Austin to see Band of Skulls at La Zona Rosa then spending the night because the next day we are heading to the Austin City Limits Festival. I am beyond excited but I know that being out of town will make it more difficult to prepare homemade meals. So I have to tweak my goals for this week.

-Complete all my training runs; 5K (completed yesterday), Interval A routine, 3-4 mile easy-paced run, Hill A routine, and a nice 4 mile long run on Saturday- yay for recovery weeks!

- Complete core routine 3 times; straight-arm plank, one minute crunches on balance ball, one minute leg raises, forearm plank, one minute crunches on balance ball, one minute leg raises

-Make the best food choices possible. I’ll leave it at that.

Today I’m heading to see Tricia for my Thai Yoga therapy appointment after work and I am so looking forward to this. She basically resets my body so I feel like a new person afterwards and I get to talk about running, food, and all sorts of other fun stuff for the 2 hours I’m there. It’s quite cathartic.

What’s on your agenda this week? Are you training for anything?

“The future depends on what we do in the present.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Half Marathon Training: Week 8 Recap

In last week's post I mentioned that my normal Saturday long run for week 8 is actually being run on Sunday because of the Alamo City Challenge - Mission Possible 10K. Because of this, my training runs for week 8 are complete. Here is a recap for you.

9/1/2012: 9 mile long run

By the end I was definitely feeling it in my legs. I managed to run the entire nine miles, slowly but still. And when I got home I took an ice bath. The cold was slightly painful but damn did it feel good. And come Sunday morning I felt like a new woman with a happy pair of fresh legs. Ice baths are my new best friend.

Since I walk for 5 minutes before and after my actual time for the 9 mile run was 01:57:32 which is a 13:04 min/mile. Not too shabby for my first 9 mile run. Next 9-miler is scheduled for 10/06 so we will see if I can improve that time at all.

After the run I went by the PX and bought a Garmin. I wasn't sure if I wanted another gadget but man am I happy I bought it. I love it! I snagged the 310XT which is a triathlon model. It comes with a heart rate monitor AND it's waterproof. Can't wait to test it out in the pool! So, going forward I will post screenshots of my activity from the Garmin site. I love that I create custom workouts, send them to my watch, and then download all the details wirelessly.  This watch is so cool!

09/03/2012: SARR Labor Day Whine Run

I wrote about this race here and if you haven't checked it out please do :)

The hills wore me out a bit at mile 4 but I got my second wind on that last mile. I think it was mostly downhill/flat which helped.

09/06/2012: Intervals

TOM came and threw off my workout schedule. This run was scheduled for Tuesday. Oh, well. That's life right?

Intervals: 5 minute warm-up walking, 1 minute running fast/ 2 minutes recovery x 6, 5 minute cool down walking

09/07/2012: Tempo Run

Thursday's run was pushed to Friday

5 minute warm-up walking, 3 mile run, 5 minute cool down walking.

I tried to maintain a 10-11 min/mile pace the entire distance. I was happy that the few times my watch notified me that I was not maintaining that pace it was telling me to slow down, not speed up.

Disregard that last 18 second segment. Accidentally restarted my watch. Lol!

So what's in store for next week? Here is a look at Week 9 on my training schedule:

09/09/2012: Alamo City Challenge 10K

09/11/2012: Intervals

9/13/2012: Hill work

9/15/2012: 4 mile run. It's a recovery week for me so my long run is short, comparatively

I also have a Thai yoga therapy session this week so I am pretty excited!

How will you be moving this week? Any runs on the schedule?

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars."
-Les Brown

My Favorite Tuesday Hangout

When I made the decision to train for the half marathon this upcoming November I told Paul that I would need to see Tricia, my Thai Yoga therapy practitioner, at least twice a month.   I knew that one of the best ways for me to stay healthy and injury-free throughout my training was to attend regular Thai yoga sessions. My logic is if I am about to push my body harder than I ever had before then I better take every opportunity available to help it recover as best it can.

Thai yoga is great. I think of it as a trip to the yoga studio, the spa (for a massage) and chiropractor all rolled into one.  I found this great website about Thai massage that has a couple slideshows. If you have a minute go check out the site and you will get a better understanding of what my sessions with Tricia are like.

Other than the fact that it makes me feel great afterwards there are many benefits to Thai yoga therapy.

Jongkrak's Thai Massage Academy website lists them as such:

Physical Benefits of Thai Massage
• Help detoxification of the body and boost immune system
• Increase blood circulation, lower blood pressure
• Good for muscle relaxation, increase flexibility in your muscles, increase mobility
• Improve breathing
• Improves posture, balance, corrects body alignments and dissolves energy blockages
• Improves athletic performance
• Help arthritis and back pain,
• Help tone the body, strengthen joints and fight diseases, including chronic joint problems
• Prevents illnesses and alleviates degenerative diseases
• Slows the aging process

Mental Benefits of Thai Massage
• Improve your outlook towards life; builds an emotional balance
• Help with concentration and creativity/ Mind and body concentration
• Clear and calm your mind
• Help you gain mental clarity

Psychological effects of Thai Massage
• Reduce and relieve stress and anxiety
• Help people boost their inner energy levels
• Develop discipline and self-control
• Achieve better health, increases health and vitality.
• Raise the energy level and stamina
• Build internal power (and creates a natural confidence)

Jongkrak’s Thai Massage Academy. (n.d.) The Benefits of Thai Massage. Retrieved from   http://www.jongrakthaimassage.com/Benefits_Thai_Massage.htm

Even if you aren’t a runner wouldn’t you love to experience those same benefits?

Really, I can’t say enough about how much I love Thai. I started going to Tricia about a year ago and I attribute these sessions to helping with my weight loss, my physical strengthening and growth athletically, and my ability to continually push myself and remain injury free.

Thai isn’t just for athletes either. Tricia works with clients who have health issues that limit their mobility as well as clients rehabbing from injuries. If my parents lived here I would sign them both up for weekly appointments J

I hope that you take the time to look into Thai Yoga therapy and see if you can find someone near you to meet with. If you are in the San Antonio area I highly recommend Tricia and will gladly provide you with her contact info. But if you don’t have access to someone like her make sure you find ways to  pamper your body. It deserves it!

“Yoga is the fountain of youth.  You're only as young as your spine is flexible.”  ~Bob Harper