LONG MAY THEY RUN

I have to say that this past week was my favorite of training so far. The weather was incredible and I had some great 6 mile runs to the gym. I’ve been running the three miles there relatively quick (7:45 pace) and then running back at a slower pace (8:45). I want to work on my speed, but also be realistic about my marathon goal pace.  Had an amazing spin class on Wednesday evening where I was just in the zone and feeling real strong. Also did a couple good hours of strength training spread out throughout the week and made sure to get in at least an hour of stretching/ab work every day.  Sunday I was hoping to do an 18 mile run, but like always went into it expecting my knee to start hurting way before then. But for whatever reason everything just came together perfectly and it ended up being my best long training run yet. I did about 3 laps of my normal aboretum/pond route adding an extra lap or two around the pond here and there. Once I was approaching 15 miles I was still feeling great and had hardly any knee pain. I decided to just go for it and ended up doing 20 miles! Still felt great at the end of the run and more than anything it made me confident that I can definitely get through 26.2 Something about running 20 miles was really empowering to me. I’ve had such a frustrating few months of training that my expectations of these long runs are always pretty low, always thinking in the back of my mind that my knee won’t hold up and I’ll have to quit. But conquering 20 miles in 3:06 made me feel so good. I have been so determined overcome this knee injury and now to actually see real, true progress is the best thing that I could hope for. I have a renewed sense of confidence in what I can accomplish if I truly work for it. Can’t wait to get back out there and run again tomorrow. 

I have to say that this past week was my favorite of training so far. The weather was incredible and I had some great 6 mile runs to the gym. I’ve been running the three miles there relatively quick (7:45 pace) and then running back at a slower pace (8:45). I want to work on my speed, but also be realistic about my marathon goal pace. 

Had an amazing spin class on Wednesday evening where I was just in the zone and feeling real strong. Also did a couple good hours of strength training spread out throughout the week and made sure to get in at least an hour of stretching/ab work every day. 

Sunday I was hoping to do an 18 mile run, but like always went into it expecting my knee to start hurting way before then. But for whatever reason everything just came together perfectly and it ended up being my best long training run yet. I did about 3 laps of my normal aboretum/pond route adding an extra lap or two around the pond here and there. Once I was approaching 15 miles I was still feeling great and had hardly any knee pain. I decided to just go for it and ended up doing 20 miles! Still felt great at the end of the run and more than anything it made me confident that I can definitely get through 26.2

Something about running 20 miles was really empowering to me. I’ve had such a frustrating few months of training that my expectations of these long runs are always pretty low, always thinking in the back of my mind that my knee won’t hold up and I’ll have to quit. But conquering 20 miles in 3:06 made me feel so good. I have been so determined overcome this knee injury and now to actually see real, true progress is the best thing that I could hope for. I have a renewed sense of confidence in what I can accomplish if I truly work for it. Can’t wait to get back out there and run again tomorrow. 

Okay so I’ve gotten a little shoe obsessed. I had been running in Brooks Adrenalines since this past fall but recently figured out that they weren’t quite right for my feet. Since then I moved on to the Saucony Kinvara 2’s which I really, really love - but by the end of the New Bedford half this past weekend my feet were a little bit sore. So now I’m hoping to find something that has a tiny bit more cushioning than the Kinvaras but is still a light-weight, relatively minimalist shoe. 

I stopped by Marathon Sports in Brookline this past week and with the help of a knowledgeable employee decided to purchase & try the Saucony Cortana. Put them on for a 6 mile run to the gym on Tuesday but after less than a mile I had to run back home to switch shoes because they felt awful. My calves ached almost immediately after I started running and my foot felt like it was just slapping down on the ground. Definitely returning them ASAP. 

So I’m still searching. I almost decided to go with the Brooks Pure Cadence, but after wearing my Brooks for most of the day today (Kinvara’s are currently being switched out for a larger size, leaving me with just Brooks for now!), my feet are sore and my heels hurt. So I’m thinking maybe I’ll try something other than Brooks.. maybe New Balance?

And then I found the New Balance 1400’s. They sound like exactly what I’m looking for and they get great reviews from distance runners. I just ordered a pair and can’t wait to try them out. Plus they’re so pretty!!

Best green juice yet. Includes an entire bunch of spinach, 1/2 head of romaine lettuce, kale, ginger, pineapple, granny smith apple. So good.

Best green juice yet. Includes an entire bunch of spinach, 1/2 head of romaine lettuce, kale, ginger, pineapple, granny smith apple. So good.

Daily supplements .. women’s multivitamin, fish oil, B & C with iron, glucosamine chondroitin (for joint pain) and 600mg of ibuprofen 2 times a day. Think I need one of those plastic pill organizers. 

Daily supplements .. women’s multivitamin, fish oil, B & C with iron, glucosamine chondroitin (for joint pain) and 600mg of ibuprofen 2 times a day. Think I need one of those plastic pill organizers. 

Well, it’s been a good while since I updated. That’s mostly due to the past few weeks being the most frustrating & discouraging of training thus far. The ups & downs of this whole process are pretty intense and I’ve come to learn that training is as much mental as it is physical.  My knee injury got better, and then got worse. I am now dealing with patella tendonitis as well as patella maltracking. The tendonitis causes pain in a different part of my knee and also makes my knee pretty darn swollen most of the time. My long run the past two weekends has left me in excruciating pain and I’ve only been able to do about 12 miles. At this point in my training my mileage should be higher than that, but I’m trying to listen to my body and be smart about ending the runs when necessary.  But yesterday I ran the New Bedford half marathon with my brother and didn’t feel any pain until mile 11, which was a great accomplishment. We ran the race in 1:50, a pretty good time considering I was still a bit sick from the cold I caught earlier in the week (of course the only cold I get this winter came a few days before a race). Our time could have been a bit better, but like with most races the first 2 miles were packed with people and hard to run at a proper pace. But once we broke out of the pack we kept a pretty steady 8:15 pace for most of the race.  My half marathon PR is 1:45 from last year’s More Marathon Women’s Half in NYC .. and I’m hoping to beat that this year. I haven’t been doing much speed work these days, but am going to try and incorporate some intervals into training over the next few weeks.  One good thing that’s happened over the past few weeks is that I got new shoes! The Saucony Kinvara 2’s. I love them so much. They have a very minimal heel-toe drop distance, so it encourages more of a forefront stride and puts less pressure on your knees. I could tell a difference the first time I ran in them. They are also incredibly light weight which makes a huge difference.  Right around the time I got these shoes I found myself in a place where I was mostly frustrated about training/constant knee pain and wasn’t looking forward to running every day. So I decided to ditch the garmin and my iPod and do a week of relaxed, low pressure runs. This turned out to be exactly what I needed. I focused on my breathing, enjoyed the warm weather, and remembered why I started to love running in the first place. I’m trying to keep these feelings at the forefront of my training and not get consumed by the fastest pace or the furthest distance. The past week has been a lot better and I’m truly looking forward to 34 miles of running this week. 

Well, it’s been a good while since I updated. That’s mostly due to the past few weeks being the most frustrating & discouraging of training thus far. The ups & downs of this whole process are pretty intense and I’ve come to learn that training is as much mental as it is physical. 

My knee injury got better, and then got worse. I am now dealing with patella tendonitis as well as patella maltracking. The tendonitis causes pain in a different part of my knee and also makes my knee pretty darn swollen most of the time. My long run the past two weekends has left me in excruciating pain and I’ve only been able to do about 12 miles. At this point in my training my mileage should be higher than that, but I’m trying to listen to my body and be smart about ending the runs when necessary. 

But yesterday I ran the New Bedford half marathon with my brother and didn’t feel any pain until mile 11, which was a great accomplishment. We ran the race in 1:50, a pretty good time considering I was still a bit sick from the cold I caught earlier in the week (of course the only cold I get this winter came a few days before a race). Our time could have been a bit better, but like with most races the first 2 miles were packed with people and hard to run at a proper pace. But once we broke out of the pack we kept a pretty steady 8:15 pace for most of the race. 

My half marathon PR is 1:45 from last year’s More Marathon Women’s Half in NYC .. and I’m hoping to beat that this year. I haven’t been doing much speed work these days, but am going to try and incorporate some intervals into training over the next few weeks. 

One good thing that’s happened over the past few weeks is that I got new shoes! The Saucony Kinvara 2’s. I love them so much. They have a very minimal heel-toe drop distance, so it encourages more of a forefront stride and puts less pressure on your knees. I could tell a difference the first time I ran in them. They are also incredibly light weight which makes a huge difference. 

Right around the time I got these shoes I found myself in a place where I was mostly frustrated about training/constant knee pain and wasn’t looking forward to running every day. So I decided to ditch the garmin and my iPod and do a week of relaxed, low pressure runs. This turned out to be exactly what I needed. I focused on my breathing, enjoyed the warm weather, and remembered why I started to love running in the first place. I’m trying to keep these feelings at the forefront of my training and not get consumed by the fastest pace or the furthest distance. The past week has been a lot better and I’m truly looking forward to 34 miles of running this week. 

(Pictured above - Woodberry forest track team, circa 1910)  This week has been tough for me mentally. I scaled back my runs in a pretty major way, and of course have been feeling guilty about it. But after Sunday’s long run my knee just wasn’t happy and I did some serious thinking about how I’ve really pushed myself the past 8 weeks to keep up with my training schedule and pretend that I don’t have a relatively serious injury. But in all reality I should really give my body more time to heal. Just read this on another running blog .. ‘It’s not always easy to be a smart runner, but it pays off in the end.’ Need to keep telling myself that.  I’ve done a few short runs (3-4 miles) as well as some spin classes, strength training and yoga. I’ve gotten pretty obsessed with spinning over the past couple of months. It’s been such a huge help in keeping up my overall fitness level and getting in a good cardio workout when I haven’t been able to train as much as I would like. It rarely irritates my knee, which is one of the best parts. Once marathon training is done I’m excited to take spin classes more than just 2 times a week.  We’ll see how far I get on my long run this weekend. Currently I don’t have much of a plan .. just run until my knee doesn’t want to go anymore. Hopefully this week of resting will let me get through 12-14 miles. 

(Pictured above - Woodberry forest track team, circa 1910) 

This week has been tough for me mentally. I scaled back my runs in a pretty major way, and of course have been feeling guilty about it. But after Sunday’s long run my knee just wasn’t happy and I did some serious thinking about how I’ve really pushed myself the past 8 weeks to keep up with my training schedule and pretend that I don’t have a relatively serious injury. But in all reality I should really give my body more time to heal. Just read this on another running blog .. ‘It’s not always easy to be a smart runner, but it pays off in the end.’ Need to keep telling myself that. 

I’ve done a few short runs (3-4 miles) as well as some spin classes, strength training and yoga. I’ve gotten pretty obsessed with spinning over the past couple of months. It’s been such a huge help in keeping up my overall fitness level and getting in a good cardio workout when I haven’t been able to train as much as I would like. It rarely irritates my knee, which is one of the best parts. Once marathon training is done I’m excited to take spin classes more than just 2 times a week. 

We’ll see how far I get on my long run this weekend. Currently I don’t have much of a plan .. just run until my knee doesn’t want to go anymore. Hopefully this week of resting will let me get through 12-14 miles. 

So let’s see .. the past few days … Thursday I decided to run to the gym for strength training class instead of drive since it was almost 50 degrees out. It’s a 6 mile roundtrip run and it felt great (other than running in the dark which I don’t normally do). I’m excited to start doing this more often.  The girls working at my gym told me I should really consider taking some TRX classes. My gym started offering them about 6 months ago and I’ve been curious, but haven’t tried it out yet. But they were pretty convincing so I think I might try it just to change up my strength training routine a bit. Plus they have a half spin - half TRX class on Saturdays which sounds amazing.  Friday it was cold and raining, but I got through about 6 miles before heading up to New Hampshire for the weekend. My mom and I had planned to go on a hike/walk with the dogs on Saturday, but it ended up snowing a good amount Friday night and also on Friday a guy from our town got attacked by a coyote in the exact spot we were going. So we decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea to take a bunch of dogs there. We went out for breakfast instead.  Sunday I did 12 miles pretty easily. My knee didn’t feel too good, which was discouraging, but I got through it. Sunday runs are nice because everyone is out walking their dogs and I’m easily entertained by that. Except when the owners don’t pay attention and their dog runs across the path and I almost trip over the leash … that happens way more than it should.  Speaking of dogs .. spent some quality time with mine Sunday afternoon post run (see above photo). Think I’ll skip any sort of cardio today to give my knee a break, but I can’t wait til yoga tonight. 

So let’s see .. the past few days … Thursday I decided to run to the gym for strength training class instead of drive since it was almost 50 degrees out. It’s a 6 mile roundtrip run and it felt great (other than running in the dark which I don’t normally do). I’m excited to start doing this more often. 

The girls working at my gym told me I should really consider taking some TRX classes. My gym started offering them about 6 months ago and I’ve been curious, but haven’t tried it out yet. But they were pretty convincing so I think I might try it just to change up my strength training routine a bit. Plus they have a half spin - half TRX class on Saturdays which sounds amazing. 

Friday it was cold and raining, but I got through about 6 miles before heading up to New Hampshire for the weekend. My mom and I had planned to go on a hike/walk with the dogs on Saturday, but it ended up snowing a good amount Friday night and also on Friday a guy from our town got attacked by a coyote in the exact spot we were going. So we decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea to take a bunch of dogs there. We went out for breakfast instead. 

Sunday I did 12 miles pretty easily. My knee didn’t feel too good, which was discouraging, but I got through it. Sunday runs are nice because everyone is out walking their dogs and I’m easily entertained by that. Except when the owners don’t pay attention and their dog runs across the path and I almost trip over the leash … that happens way more than it should. 

Speaking of dogs .. spent some quality time with mine Sunday afternoon post run (see above photo). Think I’ll skip any sort of cardio today to give my knee a break, but I can’t wait til yoga tonight. 

I eat pretty much the same things every day during the week. Breakfast is always low fat yogurt with fruit & granola & honey or a kale smoothie. Lunch is a salad with some sort of protein on top .. usually tuna salad or grilled chicken. And then dinner is whatever Aaron ends up making with the vegetables we have in the fridge combined with brown rice or quinoa pasta or some other grain. Surprisingly I don’t get bored of this. There’s the weekly eating out that keeps things interesting as well of course. Oh and fresh juice every day .. pictured above is my current favorite - blood orange, strawberry, apple, ginger. 

I eat pretty much the same things every day during the week. Breakfast is always low fat yogurt with fruit & granola & honey or a kale smoothie. Lunch is a salad with some sort of protein on top .. usually tuna salad or grilled chicken. And then dinner is whatever Aaron ends up making with the vegetables we have in the fridge combined with brown rice or quinoa pasta or some other grain. Surprisingly I don’t get bored of this. There’s the weekly eating out that keeps things interesting as well of course.

Oh and fresh juice every day .. pictured above is my current favorite - blood orange, strawberry, apple, ginger. 

So here’s a confession .. I wear workout clothes almost as much (if not more than) regular clothes. I work from home, run a few hours after I wake up, and then go to the gym a few hours after that .. so why change 4 times a day? Plus I really like workout clothes a lot. I have to restrain myself from spending all my money on them. Seriously. So here are some of my favorites.. Even though they are pricey, I swear by these Lululemon pants right now. They’re the perfect rise, have pockets, and keep me warm when running in chilly weather. I also really like these tank tops by Lululemon .. the fit is great and they don’t ride up.  Also real into Gap Fit .. they’re stuff is pretty cheap and you can always seem to find it on sale in the store. Current favorite is … American Eagle Outfitters. They’re stuff is cheap and comfortable and fits great. Plus they have this ‘Vintage Campus Collection’ line that I’m really into .. even though I didn’t go to any of those colleges. I found a AE hoodie at Goodwill last weekend and have been wearing it on nearly every run.  Okay that’s my round up for now! 

So here’s a confession .. I wear workout clothes almost as much (if not more than) regular clothes. I work from home, run a few hours after I wake up, and then go to the gym a few hours after that .. so why change 4 times a day? Plus I really like workout clothes a lot. I have to restrain myself from spending all my money on them. Seriously. So here are some of my favorites..

Even though they are pricey, I swear by these Lululemon pants right now. They’re the perfect rise, have pockets, and keep me warm when running in chilly weather. I also really like these tank tops by Lululemon .. the fit is great and they don’t ride up. 

Also real into Gap Fit .. they’re stuff is pretty cheap and you can always seem to find it on sale in the store.

Current favorite is … American Eagle Outfitters. They’re stuff is cheap and comfortable and fits great. Plus they have this ‘Vintage Campus Collection’ line that I’m really into .. even though I didn’t go to any of those colleges. I found a AE hoodie at Goodwill last weekend and have been wearing it on nearly every run. 

Okay that’s my round up for now! 

Well I had dry needling done last night and it was …. uncomfortable. She basically stuck a small needle into a trigger point in my quad muscle where everything is all knotted up and then moved/poked it around until the muscle spasmed and released. It was a pretty strange & awful sensation. Much different than any other kind of needle I’ve had stuck in my body. We could tell right away that my muscle was significantly less tight and the woman who did the needling seems to think I responded really well to it. She warned me that my leg would feel like it got punched really hard for the rest of the evening and she was very right.  But today the soreness is much less so I went on a 5 mile run this afternoon and my knee felt really good. I was even able to incorporate a few big hills without much trouble which feels sooo nice since I had to cut out all hills from my route a few months ago due to them severely irritating my knee. Today I could definitely tell that my quad/IT band responded well to the needles which of course is the ideal outcome. It’s still a bit tender so I’m going to skip out on spin class tonight and let it heal more. But I’m excited to run more later this week and see how it feels!

Well I had dry needling done last night and it was …. uncomfortable. She basically stuck a small needle into a trigger point in my quad muscle where everything is all knotted up and then moved/poked it around until the muscle spasmed and released. It was a pretty strange & awful sensation. Much different than any other kind of needle I’ve had stuck in my body. We could tell right away that my muscle was significantly less tight and the woman who did the needling seems to think I responded really well to it. She warned me that my leg would feel like it got punched really hard for the rest of the evening and she was very right. 

But today the soreness is much less so I went on a 5 mile run this afternoon and my knee felt really good. I was even able to incorporate a few big hills without much trouble which feels sooo nice since I had to cut out all hills from my route a few months ago due to them severely irritating my knee. Today I could definitely tell that my quad/IT band responded well to the needles which of course is the ideal outcome. It’s still a bit tender so I’m going to skip out on spin class tonight and let it heal more. But I’m excited to run more later this week and see how it feels!