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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Plantar Fasciitis: The Bitch is Back



In my first incarnation of this blog, I wrote a lengthy post about plantar fasciitis, lovingly entitled The Plantar Fascia - That Fickle Bitch.  Well, as Sir Elton so colorfully sang, The Bitch is Back.  Yep, I've been struggling with one of the Five Horsemen of the Runner's Apocalypse (the others being (1) "Runner's Knee" (patellofemoral pain syndrome), (2) illiotibial band syndrome (ITBS, which I have also suffered from), (3) achilles tendinitis, and (4) shin splints)).

For anyone else who has suffered from plantar fasciitis (which I'll call "PF" because it's a pain in the ass to type out), it isn't always an incredibly painful ailment (although it certainly can be), but it is an annoyingly nagging injury that is really, really hard to get rid of (short of just not running... which isn't really an option for me, since I have the Twin Cities Marathon and the WDW Goofy Challenge coming up).  And, if you're afflicted with this asshole of an injury, you're willing to try just about anything to alleviate, and hopefully heal it.

I am no exception.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Back in the Saddle




It's been over two weeks since I ran last... but this morning, I dragged myself out of bed early and ran an easy 3.5 miles.  It went mostly fine, but my plantar fascia (PF) is still hurting me... I really hope I can kick this before I get into heavy training for the TC Marathon.


Enjoy your Tuesday!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Updates

You may have noticed a lack of posts about training since I ran the Lincoln Half Marathon earlier this month... Well, that's because I haven't run (or done anything physical) since that race.

As you may have surmised from some of my posts, I have been very busy with work all Spring, and I've been using the past couple weeks as a chance to get in a bit earlier to work and to rest up and (hopefully) get my plantar fasciitis and my ITBS mostly healed before I start training for the Twin Cities Marathon.

Here are my blogging and running plans for the next few weeks... in case you cared:
  1. Start running again  - I'm going to do a couple easy runs this week, (hopefully the first tomorrow morning), and then a long-ish run this weekend (7-8 miles).
  2. Injury Updates - sharp-reading fans of the blog will notice I slipped in references to plantar fasciitis (PF) and illiotibial band syndrome (ITBS) above... yep, I've been suffering from these two maladies, which are two of the most common suffered by runners (other than sprained ankles).  I've already done a pretty extensive post on PF (back when I experienced it back in 2009), but I plan on writing a follow-up on what I've been doing to try and treat this condition this spring and summer.  I'll also do a similar, semi-detailed write up on ITBS.
  3. TC Marathon Training Plan - this will be a bit more in the future (mid-to-late June), but I want to write up my training plan for my first marathon (eeek!).
  4. Running Goals - finally, I started the year with some running goals for 2012.  I want to see where I stand with them (hint, I've already achieved a couple of them), and I want to reevaluate and modify them as necessary.
Thanks for sticking with me so far... I hope you enjoy the "ride" (the boring, long-winded, ride)

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Goofy Updates: Marathon Course and REGISTER NOW!

A couple of Goofy-related items have come to my attention today.  First... the NEW course for the WDW Marathon was announced this morning, along with a cool RunDisney video:



The BIG news for this is that we get to run along the Walt Disney World Speedway and through the baseball stadium at the Wide World of Sports (the same stadium the Atlanta Braves do their spring training).  In fact, the baseball stadium will be where the Mile 20 Spectacular (to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the WDW Marathon)will take place.  Check out the course below (or go here for a BIG map)



I'm pretty excited about this... having never run a full marathon (although that will have changed by January), I think this will be an awesome course.

The other bit of news is the fact that the Goofy Challenge is already over 60% full....

So if you are considering being F$&%ing Goofy along with me in January, you better sign up soon!

Enjoy your day!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

2012 Lincoln Half Marathon Race Recap

I assure you, my official time was NOT 2:00.1
Half Marathon number three is in the books.  Although it wasn’t my best race, I still achieved a new PR, and I got to run through my childhood home town with great crowd support.

(Check out the rest of the Race Recap after the jump)

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Hey, I, I'm Still Alive






I'm sorry for the radio silence since last week.  I've been really busy with work.  I have been slowly chipping away at my race recap for the Lincoln Half Marathon, and I should have it up within a day or two (I just need to compile the pictures from the race, particularly the ones that my dad took of me).

Thank you for your patience.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Lincoln Half Marathon - Race Week

Race week finally arrived.  Here is a summary of the final workouts and the race (full recap to follow later this week).

Mon. Apr. 30  - Rest - Rest day after the previous days' 8-mile tune up run   

Tues. May 1 - 6 x 400 m Intervals (4.31 mi, 42:56, 9:58/mi avg) - Basically just a chance to get the blood pumping hard for one last time, but not so much that it was a huge workout.  My goal for each interval was 1:43.
Splits
1) 400 m - 1:36
2) 400 m - 1:37
3) 400 m - 1:36
4) 400 m - 1:35
5) 400 m - 1:38
6) 400 m - 1:39      
(Check out the rest of the week after the jump)

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Lincoln Half Marathon Training Summary


This morning, I ran my last workout as my training for the 2012 Lincoln National Guard Half Marathon.  The following is a quick summary of the training.

Like I did for the Disney World Half Marathon, I used the Run Faster, Run Less training program and followed it very well when it comes to the almost religiously with respect to the running workouts (on the other hand, I was pretty lax for the cross-training workouts, as you will see).  This training program was pretty long, but I think it did a good job of mixing up the workouts so that it didn't get too boring or repetative.  Anyway, here is my training program, by the numbers:

  • Total Running Workouts 49 (There were supposed to be 53, but I was injured in February, so I had to skip several running workouts, some of which I made up for in some easy runs.  This broke out into 15 track interval workouts (16 planned), 14 tempo runs (16 planned), and 14 long runs, and 1 long-run race (the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, which was a workout for this training program)
  • Total Running Miles - 344.22348.66 (that's a bit over four miles further than the running I did for the Walt Disney World Half)
  • Total Running Time - 2 days, 6 hours, 15 minutes, 43 seconds (54:15:43)  (Which was almost 3 hours less than the amount of time I spent running for Disney.  That's pretty sweet... more distance, but less time... yay, I'm getting faster)
  • Longest Run 15.04 miles, Apr. 6
  • Slowest Long Run 10:03/mile (Feb. 5, 9 miles) - this was the first long run after I injured my calf in February, so I was supposed to take it easy.  My next slowest was a 9:57/mile 12-miler a few weeks later (Feb. 26)
  • Fastest Long Run - 8:42/mile (twice: Apr. 15, 10 miles and Apr. 22, 12 miles) - It was only toward the end when I was really able to push my long run pace.  We'll see if it translates to a good race.
  • Slowest Short Tempo Run - 9:26/mile (not including warmup and cool down) (Feb. 3, 3 miles) - As I described in my review of the Run Less, Run Faster book, there are 3 types of tempo runs: short (or fast) tempo, Mid-tempo, and long (or slow) tempo.  There were only 3 total short tempo workouts.  This was also the first tempo run after I injured my calf, and I don't think my body was fully ready for a tempo run.  I walked a lot.
  • Fastest Short Tempo Run - 7:49/mile (Apr. 27, 3 miles).  This was the last tempo run of the whole program.  This pace was also 24 seconds per mile faster than my fastest short tempo run during my Disney Training
  • Slowest Mid-Tempo Run - 8:38/mile (Sept. 15, 5 miles (not counting warmup and cool down).  Basically the same as my fastest mid-tempo run from my Disney training.
  • Fastest Mid-Tempo Run - 8:02/mile (Apr. 13, 2x2 miles) - This one is a bit misleading because it was a set of two 2-mile intervals.  My fastest continuous mid-tempo run was an 8:13/mi 5-miler on Apr. 4.
  • Total Workout Time - 2 days, 11 hours, 39 minutes, 43 seconds  (almost 2 and a half days of sweating for this one race)
Let's see if it pays off on Sunday.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Lincoln Half Marathon - iPod Playlist


Today, I put the finishing touches on the playlist that I will will be listening to while I run the Lincoln Half Marathon this Sunday.  This was the first time that I have ever tailored a running playlist to the race that I am running, including the specific course.  I put together a playlist of my "running" songs for Disney, but I just listened to it on shuffle, rather than having any kind of music "plan."

This time around, I took both the specific course and my race plan into consideration (more on that later when I write my race recap... but like Disney, I'm using a Races2Remember pace band with the "Modified Warm Up" Strategy).  For example, I don't want to go out too fast, and I want to make sure I hold back a bit for the first 2-3 miles, so I included some "lighter" songs that are intended to keep my mellow and tamp down on the adrenaline rush associated with the start.  Also, based on some race recaps I'd read (most notably Emily's at the Pursuit of Healthfulness), I knew there was a big/steep hill at the end of Mile 8-Start of Mile 9, so I included some music that I know will keep me motivated going up the hill and down the back side.

So, here's the list, in order, with some explanations for some of the songs.

Early Stages - Miles 1-2 (Goal: Get motivated! But take it easy)
1. Beautiful Day by U2 - this is always one of my motivation songs, and it just makes me feel good.  I love starting a race running to this song
2. Go the Distance (from the Disney Hercules soundtrack) - seems a bit obvious.  Plus, it's slower, so it should help me keep my pace down
3. Breath Me by Sia - totally mellow, but also has a good beat for keeping a pace
4. Long Day by Matchbox 20 - I'll still be in Mile 2 when this song comes on, because I want to remind myself that there's a long way to go.
5. Crooked Teeth by Death Cab for Cutie - I just like this song.  It's catchy, so it will help me feel good, but it's slowish, so it will keep me grounded.

(Read the rest of the playlist after the jump)