Intervals

Actual running location! Pretty nice, hey?

10 degrees at 7:45am this morning - a perfect temperature for running!

What I did:

Warmed up with 10 minutes of steady jogging.  Tried a few "fast" intervals of 20 seconds this morning, interspersed with 2 minutes of jogging. 5 minute slower cooldown. 30 min, 46 seconds; 3.77km, average pace 8.09 min/km (getting closer to that magical 7...pace!).

How I felt:

I felt better than Sunday! Got into a nice rhythm. Tried to focus on keeping my upper body relaxed, arms not crossing over and keeping past my hips. Tried to push it a bit for the intervals, but not too much.

Playlist highlights:

Let's Get It Started - Black-eyed Peas (and the beat keeps running, running...)

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

Inspiration:

Blackmores Sydney Running Festival Videos - have a look at Peter Brett's Correct Running Technique

Sunday run

Chilly Sunday morning (8 degrees), but at least it wasn't raining like it's been all week. So I put on the long sleeved shirt and long tights.

What I did:

Just started running. I figured I would try to take it easy, not too fast, relax and see how far I could go. It's been a few weeks since I ran. Out and back at Mollymook - 26 minutes, 3.26km, 8.11min/km.

How I felt:

It felt tough, but I eased into it. I seemed to struggle to get into a rhythm, but I guess that is to be expected. I could feel the hip a bit by the end, but I've done lots of stretches.

Playlist highlights:

Hurts So Good - John Cougar Mellencamp

Tubthumping - Chumbawamba

Inspiration:

Blackmores Fitness Challenge - will I make it to the Blackmore's Running Festival (can't see myself doing the 9km run now).

One arm in front of another

OK - back into it! Between the hip and real life, I've had a week off. 

But I don't want to give up.

I want to keep achieving my goals.

So, I headed over to the Blackmores website and signed up for a Fitness Challenge. 

So, yesterday I swam 50 (that's right, 50!) laps. OK, so it was a 25m pool, but that's still 30 minutes of swimming. And I really enjoyed it - very "zen", once I got back in the groove.

Tomorrow I run again. I promise I'll take it easy and ease back into it :-)

Sidelined...

Grrr. Just getting into the swing of things and my stoopid body lets me down! 

Yesterday I felt every day of my 42 years old - my hip(s) were that sore. So, I (begrudgingly) need to listen to my body and not run this morning (and it's a beautiful morning - no wind, sunny, and I bet there would be dolphins!).

Very frustrating!

But, I know if I don't give it a bit of rest, I'll be sidelined for even longer. So I will stretch, ice and maybe do alternative activities for the next few days - stationary bike, swimming, walking (although even that hurts at the moment).

Anyone else had hip trouble?

Ease Into 10K - Week 3 Day 2

I did this run yesterday...

What I did:

5 minute walking warmup, 5 minutes running/1 minute walking x5, 5 minute walking cooldown.  It has been very windy here, so I skipped Tuesday and ran Wednesday instead - a nice lull in the wind and a very pleasant morning!

How I felt:

Sore! My right hip is sore. It wasn't too bad when I was running, but sure is sore now. Lots of stretching (and maybe some icing if I get a chance). But the run itself felt good - building up my endurance.

Playlist highlights:

Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez

Never - Moving Pictures

How far I went:

4.77km - just a tiny bit less than last run, but I'll take it! Getting closer to the magical 5km mark.

Inspiration:

Dolphins and whales (yes - whales!!!) off the beach! Difficult to capture on the iPhone, but how lucky am I to have such a great place to run?

Ouch!

Running is a stressful thing for the body.

The first week of C25K was hard work on my lungs - I thought they would burst!

I had a knee reconstruction a few years back after I tore my anterior cruciate ligament skiing. So for the first few weeks, my weak knee gave me a bit of curry.

My quad muscles needed a few weeks to get used to the whole concept of running and being used.

A year or so back I got bad plantar fasciitis from wearing thongs (flip flops, not underwear!) and standing all day teaching. Lots of ice, stretching and massage and orthotics fixed that. I felt twinges of it when I started running, but stretching it out has meant I've kept it at bay.

After I graduated from C25K and was trying to get a bit faster (I'm sooooo slow!) my calves were sore. I focussed on shortening my stride and really stretching them well after running and they seem OK now.

Now I am suffering from sore hips. I experience "sciatica" after housework regularly, but this feels like a combination of that plus my hip joint. Lifting my right foot from the accelerator to the brake is excruciating. Interestingly, it's not that sore when I'm actually running. I've Googled it (as you do), and I think it really sounds like piriformis syndrome. It's possible that is what my sciatica has been that all along.

I've found some good stretches and I'm hoping that this makes a difference.



And I'm hoping I don't continually find new and exciting ways to inflict pain on myself!!!

Ease Into 10K - Week 3 Day 1

Not a bad place for a Saturday morning run!

What I did:

5 minute walking warmup, 5 minutes running/1 minute walking x5, 5 minute walking cooldown.

How I felt:

I tried to take it a bit slower than last workout where I really pushed the running pace. I think the GPS goes a bit haywire, because it says my running pace (8.12min/km) was slower than my walking pace (8.09min/km)! I kept running up the big hill, so I know that was pretty slow, but seriously my walking was NOT faster!

After watching Chi Running videos on YouTube, I focussed on landing midfoot and keeping my stride short. Definitely feels better.

Playlist highlights:

All Fired Up - Pat Benetar

Rock This Party - Bob Sinclar

How far I went:

A total of 4.79km today!

Inspiration: