Looking back at my running, I am like a roller coaster. I go out for a long run...and WHEEEEE! Spectacular. The next weekend is a cutback week and BOOOOO! Whine-pain-gripe-whine-complain-hurt-whine. And also whine.
So it should come as no surprise that after last week's 13 miles of suck, I had a spectacular 20-miler on Saturday. But now I hurt.
Brace yourself. Here comes the whining.
My IT band? Is pissed again. I've been foam rolling. I'm been doing the hip exercises recommended by my doc. I've been praying to the Baby Jesus. I've offered my soul to Satan.
And it still hurts.
It hurts to go down stairs. It hurts to run. It hurts to brush my teeth. Just kidding...just wanted make sure you were paying attention.
I am running a half marathon this weekend. I'm not going to toss out lofty goals like I did last time, as I am fairly certain that I will PW this race. Nothing like a positive attitude to make it happen. :)
Although I'll be honest. That 2:05 goal is still chillin' in the back of my head. I took Sunday through Tuesday off to rest my legs. I ran 5.5 yesterday, and am not planning on running again until race day. Maybe with enough rest, my IT band will Chill The Fuck Out and we'll run a decent race. Time will tell.
In the meantime, I'll be consulting with Buddah, Allah, Haile Selassie...
AND also my Physical Therapist. Gah.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Oh yeah. Almost forgot to tell you about last night's run. IT SUCKED. The end.
Who am I kidding. That's not the end of the story. I haven't whined about it enough.
The first three miles were pure, unadulterated hell. I was hoping that the skies would open and a bolt of lightning would strike me dead, just so I wouldn't have to be running anymore. I talked myself out of turning around several times. It just sucked. I hurt.
My stride was not natural - I looked like a running pirate. My left leg was stiff and awkward and felt about as flexible and natural as a peg leg. My gait was uneven. But no matter how much I concentrated on good form and even strides, I continued to hobble along. Slowly.
Until I remembered something Coach Ruth told me. When in doubt...stride it out. Okay, she didn't say it as a rhyme, but on one of our long runs, her legs were feeling all wonky (I think that's the technical term) so she sped up and took nice long strides. My awkward clunking along was doing nothing for me...so I decided to give it a try. And wouldn't you know...I started to feel better. Running faster makes me feel better? Who knew.
5/14/08
Mile 1: 10:59
Mile 2: 10:59
Mile 3: 11:07
Mile 4: 10:30
Mile 5: 10:55
Mile 5.5: 5:06 (10:12 pace)
Average pace: 10:50
Total time: 59:38
Average HR: 173
Three words to describe this run: Pain, Ouch, Stride
So it should come as no surprise that after last week's 13 miles of suck, I had a spectacular 20-miler on Saturday. But now I hurt.
Brace yourself. Here comes the whining.
My IT band? Is pissed again. I've been foam rolling. I'm been doing the hip exercises recommended by my doc. I've been praying to the Baby Jesus. I've offered my soul to Satan.
And it still hurts.
It hurts to go down stairs. It hurts to run. It hurts to brush my teeth. Just kidding...just wanted make sure you were paying attention.
I am running a half marathon this weekend. I'm not going to toss out lofty goals like I did last time, as I am fairly certain that I will PW this race. Nothing like a positive attitude to make it happen. :)
Although I'll be honest. That 2:05 goal is still chillin' in the back of my head. I took Sunday through Tuesday off to rest my legs. I ran 5.5 yesterday, and am not planning on running again until race day. Maybe with enough rest, my IT band will Chill The Fuck Out and we'll run a decent race. Time will tell.
In the meantime, I'll be consulting with Buddah, Allah, Haile Selassie...
AND also my Physical Therapist. Gah.
Oh yeah. Almost forgot to tell you about last night's run. IT SUCKED. The end.
Who am I kidding. That's not the end of the story. I haven't whined about it enough.
The first three miles were pure, unadulterated hell. I was hoping that the skies would open and a bolt of lightning would strike me dead, just so I wouldn't have to be running anymore. I talked myself out of turning around several times. It just sucked. I hurt.
My stride was not natural - I looked like a running pirate. My left leg was stiff and awkward and felt about as flexible and natural as a peg leg. My gait was uneven. But no matter how much I concentrated on good form and even strides, I continued to hobble along. Slowly.
Until I remembered something Coach Ruth told me. When in doubt...stride it out. Okay, she didn't say it as a rhyme, but on one of our long runs, her legs were feeling all wonky (I think that's the technical term) so she sped up and took nice long strides. My awkward clunking along was doing nothing for me...so I decided to give it a try. And wouldn't you know...I started to feel better. Running faster makes me feel better? Who knew.
5/14/08
Mile 1: 10:59
Mile 2: 10:59
Mile 3: 11:07
Mile 4: 10:30
Mile 5: 10:55
Mile 5.5: 5:06 (10:12 pace)
Average pace: 10:50
Total time: 59:38
Average HR: 173
Three words to describe this run: Pain, Ouch, Stride
6 Comments:
Don't give up dear. Sometimes running just sucks. You'll do great next weekend at the half though!
Perhaps you should be praying to the grown up Jesus. He had a beard and everything. Talladega Nights!
Keep treating it and pressing on, if its manageable. All running is filled with highs and lows. If you are in a valley now, a peak is only coming!
That striding out trick totally worked for me at mile 25.5 of grandma's where there is a small downhill - I started striding down the hill and it felt ten billion times better than the shuffling I had been doing and managed to finish off the race at the same pace I started at.
Hi Ally
I guess as runners so many of us have to go through peaks and valleys. Good runs and bad runs are certainly the norm for me as well. On those days that you just really have it, you just have to file those in the memory banks or maybe have them highlighted in your running journal. My truly crappy runs end up in the journal as well, but for some reason the writing is smaller and a whole lot less legible.
That ITB will get better.. those things come and go and I would also recomend foam rolling the as much as possible.
Best of luck
Go AllyCat! I'm sending you good heath vibes so you can go and rock your race. Once the gun sounds, I'm sure you'll forget all your nagging injuries and just run a good race.
hoo-ray, i found your blog~ thank the sweet baby jesus for him putting you in my universe a mere few months ago. you are amazing in all things, piss poor attitude at times or not ;) cuz that's life. it ain't all sunshine & roses, and i appreciate the realness you bring to everything. i appreciate the kickass humor too :) rock on, angieallison! you effen rock my runnin' world :)
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