Monday afternoon, we ran on the UT Tyler trails right after work. It was 96F, heat index of 102. Which was clearly horrible.
According to this week's schedule, we were supposed to run for 30 minutes. Well, between the heat index, the rigorous nature of the trails, and my sadistic hormones, I made it just over 25 minutes. (Hormone issues: I have some kind of recurring ovarian issue which seems to be nothing serious, as doctors can't detect anything. They believe it might be recurring cysts or fibroids, which I basically just have to "deal with". It's usually fine, but sometimes when my hormones and my running schedule line up JUST wrong, I experience a sudden sharp pain which makes me stop running).
I stopped for a quick walk break to allow my side pain to subside, but the heat had drained me so much that I couldn't start back up.
A part of me feels disappointed because it's the first time since I started up this training program that I haven't completed a goal. On the other hand, I have absolute confidence that I ran as hard as I could for as long as I could on Monday.
We definitely made the decision that the trails are probably out for the rest of this training season. Last summer saw 80+ days over 100F, so this summer is likely to heat up pretty quick.
We're probably going to transition to evening running along the official Tyler Half course near our house.
Showing posts with label trail running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trail running. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday run
Found a great video on of the UT Tyler trails where we run. It's filmed on a mountain bike, but it gives a great preview of the trail nonetheless. I love this trail. Turns out its about 5 miles long in total, but it's not marked very well so I have no idea how far we actually run on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Monday's run (week 7 of the Cool Running Couch to 5k program) was a hard won success. The training schedule called for 25 minutes of "jogging" or 2.5 miles (we opted for 25 minutes). We typically run at about 11:00min/mile, so factoring in an extra minutes per mile due to the trails and temperature, I'm going to guess that we ran just over 2 miles.
Good news: Breathing was good and steady. We kept up an "ok" pace, although it flagged a bit around the 3/4 mark. I mentally dominated this run, although I had some initial doubts about my breathing.
Bad news: Last week, I noticed some pain in my right plantar fascia while running. It subsided by the next morning, but I was pretty spooked. This run definitely aggravated it again, although less acutely. I know plantar fascitis is a very common (and very frustrating) running injury. I've never experienced it before (I just need to try them all apparently). I'm going to try to preempt any long-term injury by incorporating some foot strengthening exercises and tendon stretches into my work day.
UP NEXT:
Wednesday's run is another 25 minutes. I'm taking the day off, so we won't be near the trails. This might be a great opportunity to run at Rose Rudman park.
Good news: Breathing was good and steady. We kept up an "ok" pace, although it flagged a bit around the 3/4 mark. I mentally dominated this run, although I had some initial doubts about my breathing.
Bad news: Last week, I noticed some pain in my right plantar fascia while running. It subsided by the next morning, but I was pretty spooked. This run definitely aggravated it again, although less acutely. I know plantar fascitis is a very common (and very frustrating) running injury. I've never experienced it before (I just need to try them all apparently). I'm going to try to preempt any long-term injury by incorporating some foot strengthening exercises and tendon stretches into my work day.
UP NEXT:
Wednesday's run is another 25 minutes. I'm taking the day off, so we won't be near the trails. This might be a great opportunity to run at Rose Rudman park.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday run and confronting the mental block
I've decided to make a regular habit of running on the cross-country nature trails at UT Tyler during the week and sticking to my neighborhood on weekends. I work at UT Tyler in the archives, so this makes it easy to get in a quick run before I get home (and get all nappy).
I love trail running because it lets me feel like a wild woman, bounding over sticks and stones as I dodge overhead branches. The atmosphere is beautiful (also, cooler temperatures) and I feel much more mentally engaged. Trail running is not *easier* than road running by any means; it requires significantly more effort to cover the same mileage, and my body has to constantly readjust to the demands of the trail.
I'm hoping that the elevated effort will pay off on Saturday when my husband and I return to the road. We'll be ramping up from 10/3/10 to straight 22min run.
Wednesday's run was very successful (you can see my log on Daily Mile). I'm pretty nervous about jumping up to 22 continuous minutes. The biggest obstacle I expect to face on Saturday will be mental - convincing myself that I CAN do it, even if I haven't run that long continuously in months (since the last time I injured my groin). I know training my brain will be critical for success in the Tyler Half Marathon.
In order to reward my brain, I am going to set up some "prizes" for myself over the course of the training. These prizes will be set up on a monthly basis, contingent upon successful completion of my training schedule. So, watch for a wishlist later this week.
(PS)
I have to confess to my sometimes readers that I fell behind this week on cross-training. I skipped my Tuesday karate class. Very lame. It was beginning to storm around the time I was supposed to leave, and I got really panicky at the idea of driving in the rain. So, I stayed home, had a mild panic attack, and took a nap. Did I go work out later? No. Even more lame. Anyway, I have a chance to make up for that tonight. Just thought I should share, to stay accountable.
I love trail running because it lets me feel like a wild woman, bounding over sticks and stones as I dodge overhead branches. The atmosphere is beautiful (also, cooler temperatures) and I feel much more mentally engaged. Trail running is not *easier* than road running by any means; it requires significantly more effort to cover the same mileage, and my body has to constantly readjust to the demands of the trail.
I'm hoping that the elevated effort will pay off on Saturday when my husband and I return to the road. We'll be ramping up from 10/3/10 to straight 22min run.
Wednesday's run was very successful (you can see my log on Daily Mile). I'm pretty nervous about jumping up to 22 continuous minutes. The biggest obstacle I expect to face on Saturday will be mental - convincing myself that I CAN do it, even if I haven't run that long continuously in months (since the last time I injured my groin). I know training my brain will be critical for success in the Tyler Half Marathon.
In order to reward my brain, I am going to set up some "prizes" for myself over the course of the training. These prizes will be set up on a monthly basis, contingent upon successful completion of my training schedule. So, watch for a wishlist later this week.
(PS)
I have to confess to my sometimes readers that I fell behind this week on cross-training. I skipped my Tuesday karate class. Very lame. It was beginning to storm around the time I was supposed to leave, and I got really panicky at the idea of driving in the rain. So, I stayed home, had a mild panic attack, and took a nap. Did I go work out later? No. Even more lame. Anyway, I have a chance to make up for that tonight. Just thought I should share, to stay accountable.
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