Made for this

Last week my chiropractor commented, "You have a body made for running."

I like that!

Running is going very, very well. And I couldn't be happier. Running is truly my passion and it feels so good emotionally, mentally, and physically to be able to do what I love again. I still get a few odd aches and pains here and there, but it definitely feels like my running stride is back. I try to reflect back on how it felt nearly 9 years ago to be a new runner. Back then I probably had more aches and pains than I do now. So its all about perspective for sure. Even with my way too long lay-off I need to remember that I'm already much farther along than I was as a beginning runner.

I'm raring to go, but pretty satisfied with just working on my base for now. I bumped up to 4 miles earlier than planned and have settled back into my old schedule of running on Tue/Thurs/Sat/Sun. I'll stay here awhile, but will work on increasing some of my runs to 5 and 6 by the end of the year. No plan yet to add back in a Wednesday run, but that will come in time too. The goal to begin marathon training in January is on track.

In other running news, the non-runner Marc (Can he really still claim non-runner status? I don't think so.) has decided he needs another maniac star. To that end we're spending Thanksgiving weekend in Washington state. First, we'll be in Olympia on Thanksgiving day to celebrate the holiday with my trail running, and all-around good buddy, Sharon. Marc better do some serious carbo loading because then its on to Gig Harbor on Friday for the Wishbone Run (approx. 27.8 miles). Then Saturday and Sunday we'll be in Seattle for the Seattle Ghost Marathon and the Seattle Marathon, respectively. The little guy and I will volunteer at the Ghost. This will bring Marc's marathon/ultra total up to mine (20 combined). I guess I better get busy!

Plugging away

I've finished my second week of 3 mile runs, running every other day. Since I started back to running in July, Marc has come along for all my runs, in addition to running on his own. Today he had to work and I was feeling a little sad that I had to go out on my own. So I decided to go up to the gym where he works and run on the treadmill. I'm such a dork! I normally hate the treadmill, but it was nice to have it to keep my on pace.

Speaking of pace, I've been pleasantly surprised that my running pace has been in the 10:30 range. I was really expecting to come back much slower. I've lost a lot of fitness and still feel tired as I'm nearing the 3 mile mark. But I don't feel like I can go any slower. Another surprising development is I've been getting a little endorphin-high afterglow from my little 3 mile runs. In my previous running life, I didn't get that endorphin high until I started running ultras. So maybe I'm experiencing a bit of endorphin memory. Yeah, I'll take it!

I still have not so good days along with the good days. I still get whacky aches and pains out of the blue. My left side tends to seize up and get tight. I rarely feel much pain when running or exercising....sometimes it just seems like my muscles don't know how to react in response. The good news is: Any "bad" I feel is how I used to feel all this time. I can live with this if I can keep running and exercising. But I do think I'm getting better! What I'm learning is that I need to keep moving. Sitting for long periods of time is the worst. I feel much better after I run or exercise. So I've committed myself to a pretty strict schedule of movement and exercise:

Water Aerobics

I attend a water aerobics class (in the deep end) three days a week...every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 am. The first 40 minutes of the class is cardio based....think of it as calisthenics and plyometrics in the water. I decided the last 15 minutes, working with water dumbells, wasn't a good use of my time. Instead, I hit the jacuzzi for a few minutes. If you ever have a chance to attend a class like this I highly recommend it as a good complement to running. I always come away feeling stretched out and loose. I plan to stick with this class even when I'm back running 50 miles a week.

Weight Training

My goal is to fit this in three days a week. I work out at home on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and then get into the gym one day on the weekend. I'm concentrating on working the big muscles. Not only do I need to tone up (I'm one of those skinny fat types), but working the lower body in particular is what has allowed me to get back into running. My muscles had learned to fail or not respond and I'm re-patterning them to work and respond the way they are supposed to.

Egoscue Pain-Free Workout

I purchased this dvd about a year ago and used to do it every now and then. The dvd contains 45 minutes of back and hip stretches and exercises, based on the Egosue Method. Apparently, it costs a lot of money at the Egoscue clinics to learn the same stuff that's on the dvd and in the book. It's really not rocket science, but I decided to get the full benefit I needed to commit to doing the exercises daily. I wrote down the sequence and I now do it every evening while watching TV. It takes about 35 minutes this way. The only thing I miss from the dvd is some of the encouraging talk. But I say it to myself instead. "Your body has no choice but to react to these exercises in a positive way." (See, I am a dork!) I'm on consecutive day 10 and am pleased with the results so far.

Foam roller and massage therapy ball

Every evening I also spend some time with my foam roller and massage therapy ball. I do a short protocol based on things I've learned reading the Julstro forums. I hit the quads first with the form roller. Then with the ball, work the TLF, glutes, piriformis, spinal erectors, QL and then roll the quads again.

Running

Of course, building my running is my main goal right now. Although I enjoy them all in their own right, the focus of every other activity I do is to support my running. Due to my other activities, this former morning runner has become an evening runner. I'm not thrilled with more cars around, but am glad to have Marc's company (something he wouldn't be able to do in the morning.) I'm still at 3 miles and will stay there for the next two weeks. Then I plan to slowly build. TCM in May is still my goal, but I'll wait to sign up until late December, when I'll have a better idea if that goal is truly realistic. I think I can do it.

Yoga

Something had to give so I'm actually doing a bit less yoga then I used to. Based on the benefits I receive from my other activities, yoga is something I'm willing to let slide for the time being. I still take a class one day a week during lunch, and will try to fit in some yoga time at home. But aside from the class, any yoga I can fit in (I have a ton of dvds and podcasts) is gravy.

It's a good thing I like to exercise because I know this is a lot. It helps that I live, work and workout within a 2 mile radius. Commuting time is non-existent! Of course, I hope to get in some family hikes, skiing and snowshoeing over the winter too. I'm extremely grateful to have an active and supportive family!

First race in 22 months

Has it really been that long? Hard to believe, but it's true. (I'm not counting the 5k I walked in a non-timed 4th of July race this summer.) Today the boys and I were entered in the ORRC Blue Lake 5k. As usual, I had a set of goals:

a) Finish without walking
b) Finish under 40 minutes
c) Finish under 36 minutes

You may think I'm sandbagging. But considering that 4 days ago was the first time I've run 3 miles in the past year and half (and that included walking the first 4 minutes and then running 4 minutes/walking 1 minute), I think my goals were reasonable.

The race didn't start until 11 am so we had plenty of time to sleep in and get fueled, hydrated and caffeinated before the race. It's a beautiful sunny, fall day and was about 50 degrees at the start, with a brisk wind being the only negative factor to the weather. As my goals suggest, I planned to take it easy and see what happened. The first mile I let a lot of people pass me. My time for the first mile was exactly 10:00 minutes. The second mile I sped up a bit with a time of 9:40. I started to pass people that had gone out too fast, but I didn't feel like I was over-doing it. The third mile I was like a horse smelling the hay in the barn. I wanted to get this thing done! My time for the third mile was 9:15. I was enjoying picking off people so I just kept doing it. As I got close to mile three I was starting to feel the pace. I never felt like walking, but I did feel like I was pushing it. But my motto is, if you don't feel like puking at the end of a 5k, then you didn't give it all you had. I guess my "see how it goes" run had turned into a race.

Click to enlarge. The gal in orange passed my right at the finish, but I was able to fend the others off.

At the 3 mile mark I saw a few women just ahead of me. I wasn't sure of their ages, but I know this race gives age group ribbons six deep and I wasn't going to miss out on a ribbon because I didn't kick it in. So at 3 miles I took off and passed all three. One came back and passed me just at the finish, but I felt like puking so I knew I had done my best. Turns out all three were in younger age groups, but it was still fun to kick it in. My time was 29:48 which was good for 70/139 overall and 3rd in my age group. It's way off my PR from 5 years ago (which I think was also my most recent 5k), but I'm happy. If you had asked me yesterday, there's no way I would have thought I'd run under 30 minutes.

Marc and the little guy also had a good day. Marc finished 9th overall and 2nd in his age group with a time of 20:16. The guy who won the age group was only 10 seconds ahead. Unfortunately, Marc miscalculated the finish line and started his kick way early. Who knows, if he hadn't done that he might have had a better chance at catching him.

The LG was 2nd in his age group with a time of 27:41. That's about the same time he ran this summer. He's happy with his effort, although he didn't make his ultimate goal of beating my PR (25:26). But I'm sure its only a matter of time before that happens!

As for how I feel, my left hip feels tighter than the right, but that's pretty normal. So far I haven't been punished for my effort with a pain spike so I think I'm good to go. Up next, I'm going to keep running 3 miles every other day for the rest of this month. If that goes well, I'll start increasing some of the runs with the goal of getting up to 6 mile runs by the end of the year. If I can attain that, I feel like I'll be able to start marathon training for the Tacoma City Marathon in May. Wish me luck!

That puking feeling is starting to wear off. Marc says he collapsed on the ground after he finished so I guess he gave it his all too.