Every day I'm strength training

I've been doing a lot of this lately:

 I've been biking to work and around town more, which is great. Although one day the hour bike ride home from work aggravated my IT band and caused some hip pain. But it's feeling better now.

Overall, my IT band is still a bit sore, but I'm running. Not at the levels to do serious marathon training, but at a level where I'm happy. I think the consistent strength training is helping me recover faster, and it certainly makes getting up at 5 AM four days a week worth it. I think at this point, the marathon is too soon for me to train and reach the mileage levels where I'll have a good race and not threaten injury. I don't have the base I was hoping for, and while 12 weeks out is enough for some people to train effectively, not a first time marathoner with a recent IT band injury. So I'm going to find some 10 mile training plans and kill it on the Twin Cities 10 Mile on October 6.  My plan last year prepared me pretty well, so I may go back to that one.

 It's getting to the hot point of summer, where my lunchtime runs may have to move inside or in the morning. Sam thinks it's hot out too.

Coming up:
TBD... probably more structured than I've been the last two weeks

past few weeks:
June 24 - Strength training; 2 mi
June 25 - Strength training; bike to/from work (20 mi)
June 26 - Strength training
June 27 - Strength training; 2 mi
June 28 - yoga
June 29 - biked to the Twins game
June 30 - 1 mi, biked downtown to the Pride parade
July 1 - strength training; biked to/from work (20 mi)
July 2 - strength training; 2.5 mi
July 3 - strength training
July 4 - rest
July 5 - strength training; 3 mi
July 6 - canoe trip
July 7 - 27 minute run with Sam (my Garmin wouldn't sync), yoga
July 8 - strength training; bike to/from work (20 mi)
July 9 - strength training; 2.5 mi
July 10 - strength training
July 11 - strength training; 3 mi

TCM training - Week 3

I went to my physical therapist on Monday, all set to describe my new left IT band issues, and she said, "Yeah, that happens sometimes." Well. Wonderful. It was supposed to be our last appointment, but she's extended our sessions through October and the Twin Cities Marathon, to help with this new issue and anything else that comes up.

I went for a test run that afternoon, to see where things were with my knee. I couldn't make it a mile without stopping in pain. It's really demoralizing to spend so long thinking about something and working towards that goal, only to be held up before training really even starts. This last week had 21 miles on the schedule, and I did 1 mile. On the other hand, I also woke up at 5 AM and did my strength training routines 4 days, additional strength training Nike Training exercises, and biked the 10.5 miles to work (up hill both ways!) on Wednesday. So it's not a complete waste, but not anywhere near the mileage I was hoping for.

After taking another rest week, I cautiously went out today to see how my knees/IT bands were doing. Success! I made it 2 miles without having to stop. There was some lingering pain, but nothing that forced me to stop. I'm cautious about running through the pain, and finished the two miles in good shape. So that was an awesome turn of events - I'm going to be laying off increasing mileage and will incorporate more rest days than I planned this week so I don't backslide. I was also reminded, by my good friend Matzke, about increased cadence and a shorter stride as to land midfoot instead of heel striking. I made a deliberate attempt to have fast turnover and shorter strides today also. I also need to be better about foam rolling, too. No consistency with that at all.

We'll see how this week goes, but today's run was enough to make me feel like I still have a shot at a good training cycle and preparing for the marathon. I also had an itch to do a sprint triathlon (YWCA Tri in August), but we'll see how that fits in if marathon training continues as planned...

Last week:
Monday: 1 mile, AM - routine 1
Tuesday: AM - routine 2, Nike Training workouts (Butt Buster and Ab Burner)
Wednesday: AM - routine 1, bike to and from work (round trip 21 miles, ~120 minutes). My abs were so sore on Wednesday, either from the Ab Burner or biking.
Thursday: AM - routine 2 (only one set)
Friday: rest
Saturday: biked around town
Sunday: rest

Week to come:
Monday: AM - routine 1, 2 miles (minimal pain!)
Tuesday: bike to work, strength training
Wednesday: Run attempt
Thursday: Run attempt or strength training
Friday: yoga
Saturday: rest or run attempt
Sunday: bike to yoga/rest

Week 2 of TCM training

Well, considering I had 18 miles on my schedule for training last week, I ran 1.75 of them. Awesome, IT band. Way to go.

I went out for my three miles on Monday, cautiously optimistic about the state of my left IT band. I could barely make 1.75 miles, which may or may not have ended in an epic sobfest on the trail that runs along the river in downtown St. Paul. My sister says the only thing I get emotional about is running (it's true). So I had a good 45 second cry, then sucked it up and started doing hip/glue strength training exercises.

I think I need to be more consistent about strength training. I do it regularly when I can't run, and then get sloppy when I start upping my mileage and training. I started getting up a half hour early four days a week to do a mix of core and glue/hip exercises. This is to go on top of my regular training, and really be a habit that sticks with me regardless of what I'm doing.

I'm seeing my physical therapist tomorrow morning, and hopefully she'll give me some insight as to what happened with my left IT band.

Last week:
Monday - 1.75 miles
Tuesday - Routine 1 in the morning, more strength training at noon
Wednesday - Routine 2 in the morning, went to the gym with my Bolder Options mentee and we rode bikes and lifted some weights
Thursday - Routine 1 in the morning, some stair running and stretching at noon
Friday - off
Saturday - indoor rock climbing with Andrew
Sunday - Biked 50 minutes to and from yoga, 1 hour vinyasa yoga class.

Week to come:
TBD

Oh hey, IT band

So I wrote my last post Thursday morning pre-run. I went out at lunch for 3 miles, and lo and behold, at mile 2.5, my LEFT IT band starts feeling irritated.

For fuck's sake.

I spent all winter/spring rehabbing my right IT band/glutes/hips, and on literally week one of marathon training, the other IT band gets irritated. I would laugh if I weren't so pissed off. Is this a thing? Alternating IT band problems?

So I'm going to take it easy and make sure I do my hip/glute strengthening physical therapy exercises equally on both sides, and try to keep up with the marathon training program as best I can.

Thursday - 3 miles, irritation set in at miles 2.5.
Friday - Supposed to do 3, but rested and just did a 75 minute yoga class.
Saturday - 4.5 miles. Irritation set in at around 3 miles, stopped, stretched and massaged my left IT band. It kept me going for another 1.5 miles, but the distance between stops kept getting shorter and shorter.

Here's the plan for next week:
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - cross training
Friday - 3 miles and yoga
Saturday - 6 miles

We'll see how much of that actually gets done, but I'm going to try.

Bacher out.

Week 1 of Twin Cities Marathon training

I've decided to use this space to track my training for the Twin Cities Marathon. It would be the 4th place I'm tracking (in addition to my running log, my mileage calendar at work, my run/strength training calendar at home), but hey, what's one more?

This is after last year's Twin Cities 10 Mile race, which has been my best race to date. I trained well, I felt strong during the race, I had negative splits and ran pretty aggressively the last 6 miles. While I'd like to think I can repeat that level of performance, 10 miles isn't 26.2. It's an entirely different ball game and I'm not kidding myself. My IT band issue flared up again last winter, and am still shaking off the last lingering effects of that.

I've modified the Green Bay Marathon training plan for this race. The first 3-4 weeks are similar in distance to what I've been doing the past month, and this gives me a level of confidence in my base training. I was worried that my IT band injury was going to leave me at 0 at the beginning of the training plan. I've got 7-8 weeks of base training, in addition to the first 3 weeks of the marathon training. The marathon plan adds an additional day of running per week, but since the daily mileage is similar, I'm not worried about it.

This week so far:
Sat/Sun - off. I decided to take a break and sleep in before 18 weeks of long early weekend runs.
Mon - 3.5 miles, hills. In St. Paul, there's some big elevation gains from the river up to the Cathedral (260 feet). The route follows the last half mile or so of the Twin Cities course, so I like to imagine that I'm finishing the marathon when I do this route.
Tues - 3 miles, and I did some of the physical therapy/strength training routine from my physical therapist and a few yoga stretches for my hips.
Wed - Strength training. I've started using this Nike Training Club app to vary my strength training, since I was getting a bit bored. I'll let you know how I like it. I did the 15 minute Ab Burner workout.

Plans for rest of the week:
Thurs -3 miles, easy. I have to learn how to run easy - every run tends to turn into a tempo run and I have to give myself a break some of the time.
Friday - 3 miles, easy, plus yoga. I actually think my IT band re-flare up from mid May was because I had not gone to yoga for three weeks in a row.
Saturday - 5 miles
Sunday - rest

just because i can

We're all moved into our new place and putting the finishing touches on a few things, like hanging pictures, etc. Plans are in the works for an awesome island for the kitchen, ala Erich. I'll have to post a picture of the table he built (once Andrew gets all his computer stuff off of it) and the rest of the place. 

I really wish Sam would act happier and more pleased with our new place.

 

No appreciation for what he's got. Except for a very, very dirty tennis ball and a stick. He had a stick in the sun and a stick in the shade, and would move between the two to chew on them.

Also, this is Sam trying to play Andrew's harmonica:

I went to my physical therapist yesterday. He did a deep tissue massage (so good!) and put some kinesthetic tape on my leg from below my knee up to my hip. I went out for 4 miles today (longest run since March 4), and it seemed to help somewhat. The first half felt great; the second half I could feel irritation in my knee. I did some stretches and iced it, and I don't feel any pain or soreness right now. So we'll see how it goes. I'm optimistic for my prospects - I'm on the fence about trying the Cellcom, but I think I'll be in good shape for the Bellin. Either way, I was so excited to be running today. I was running and felt tired and thought about turning around early, but then reasoned that being tired means shit. I can keep going if I'm tired. If it was painful, that's a different story. But tired? Keep going, just because I can.

Anyway, time for a nap. Bacher out.

holding pattern

Soooo, my IT band is still on-again, off-again irritated. The IT band wrap didn't help so I'm just resting, not running and doing strength training. I don't know where that puts me for the Cellcom, but I'm hoping I can do a run/walk thing and still participate. Any thoughts of improving on last year's time are out the window... now it's mostly a hope that I can do it at all.

We are moving to a new apartment in less than a month! I'm quite excited. Of the list of things I wanted in a new place, it meets 90% of them - two bedroom, fenced in backyard, non-coined operated washer and dryer, plenty of counter space... just no dishwasher. But I can live with that. I'm anxious to move and get out of this current place... a backyard! Room to invite people over! A dining room!

In preparation for the move, I've been sorting through my stuff and decluttering. I found my old high school journal yesterday, which was sort of fascinating. I'm slightly amused at the things I found important enough to write down and how different my interests were then compared to now (for example, I was talking with an old high school friend a few weeks back and she thought it was amusing how I would do anything to avoid gym class in high school but now I'm a runner). It also seemed like each day was either THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE or omg, life is SOOO terrible. I never felt like I was particularly moody and I felt like I was pretty even-keeled emotionally, but that could be my current outlook projecting back on how I imagine I should have been. But I suppose at that point, I was invested in my friends or the shit I did at school, and investing yourself in something can lead to being hurt. Maybe I've made better choices now (and had better options) about the people I surround myself with and the activities I choose to do, but I haven't really felt emotionally distraught now the way I seemed to feel frequently back then. Or maybe I deal with them better. Either way, it's certainly interesting to have my feelings stored and preserved in that fashion compared to just regular hindsight.

I've been feeling like I waste too much time online (specifically on Facebook), so I went through and deleted pretty much anyone who wasn't family or a past roommate (with some exceptions). I really don't care about random people I used to know and what they're doing... if I did, I would know about it, right? So already I can tell I'm spending less time on there. It took me like 3 hours to delete nearly 400 people... my hand felt like I was getting carpal tunnel.

I think these pictures of my dog are funny:


Bacher out!