And I'm Done

And that was the end of my running this week. I was sore today when I was on the way to the gym to run but I was determined to run anyways. I wanted to do a speed workout so I got on the treadmill to do 100m sprints at 7.0m with my slower speed being 5.0. About 3/4 of the mile through, I knew I was done and had to really push myself to hit the 1 mile mark. I did and immediately hopped off the treadmill and cried. It literally feels like someone was stabbing me in the side of the calf / shin with a knife. I hobbled over to stretch a bit and wait for Frank. I was so sore that I cried while stretching and he couldn't believe how bad I looked when he walked over. I haven't felt pain like that in so long. I was so sore I couldn't even rely on my leg to hold me up enough to compete with Frank in our "plank" challenge. I walked out of the gym limping from pain and knew that I had hit the point where I needed to rest again for a few days. Sigh, this injury is going to be a challenge for me and I'm really feeling defeated today.

Today's Miles: 1.0
Total Miles: 31.5

Day 2

I made it to the gym again today to get my second consecutive day of running in. I was a little tender from yesterday but was determined to get another good workout in. I got about 2 miles into my run before I realized that I didn't want to push it through the pain and stopped running. I had to wait for Frank to finish his workout so I spent a little time on the bike hoping that the low impact exercise would be good for my leg. I ended the hour with a significant amount of stretching, one of the few things that has yet to hurt my leg :)

Today's Miles: 2.0
Total Miles: 30.5

Finally Running Again

For the record, shin splints are the more painful "injury" ever. I've been dealing with a lot of pain in my left shin that's been getting progressively worse and it's finally been diagnosed as shin splints, one of the worst runner's injuries. I needed to give my legs a rest ... mostly so that I could get the pain to go away and I wasn't able to do much of anything anyways without excruciating pain. I was going crazy not running!

Well, I'm home now in CT for Christmas break and Frank bought me a gym membership for the week as a Christmas present (yes, I know that's frowned down upon by many but not me!). I was excited to get back out to the gym and on the treadmill, although I was a bit hesitant on how my legs would feel and was worried that I would experience the pain again. I got on the treadmill and got running and got 2 miles in and was feeling pretty good ... so good that I ended up running a pretty strong 5k. I was a little tender afterwards but I felt so good to be running again. Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow.

Today's Miles: 3.0
Total Miles: 28.5

Oh No ...

Okay, this injury is really bad. I ran a little bit on Thursday ... and by run ... I mean I mostly walked because I was in so much pain. I was hoping to run the last session of hill repeats this morning but knew when I woke up limping that it wasn't going to happen. I still came out to Cottonwood Park to meet the group and wanted to help out and encourage everyone else while they ran their hill repeats. I wasn't aware that it was a 2 mile walk out to the place we were doing the hill repeats and that walk made me pretty sore. So sore that I couldn't even walk back a few hours later - I drove back with Coach Kelly. This is really, really discouraging. I'm going to give myself a break from running next week and hope that everything heals so I can get back on track soon.

Thursday's Miles: 2.0
Today's Miles: 2.0
Total Miles: 25.5

Track on the Treadmill

Well, for anyone that hasn't heard me complain about it yet, Colorado is experiencing one of the coldest weeks I've ever felt. Sub zero temperatures, snow, high wind, etc. Truly one of those weeks that makes you only want to curl up in bed under the covers or in front of the fireplace. After looking at the weather forecast for tonight (see below), Coaches Ben and Kelly cancelled track practice for tonight.




I really enjoy track practice. I may miss Saturday morning group runs or skip the runs I'm supposed to do on my own during the week but I NEVER miss Tuesday track practices. I really like the variation, I like to push myself a bit and I love feeling accomplished when I hit a pace. Thankfully, Ben gave me the track workout for the day and I bundled up and went over to the treadmill at the apartment complex to do it on my own. 800(E) warmup walk, followed by 800(T), 800 (I), 800(R), all with 400(E) between. It was nice to set a pace on the treadmill and just run, it took the variation out of my own speed while running around the track. I did miss the rest of the group tonight, and I did skip the plyometric workout at the end of the run. That darn calf pain is starting to come back and I really want to get back and ice them ... ironic since it's so darn cold outside!! I'm hoping it warms up slightly the next few days so I can get back to running outside and back to running with the group on Saturday!

Today's Miles: 3.0

Total Miles: 21.5

Darn

Darn, I totally missed my favorite run at Garden of the Gods this morning. We even pushed practices back to 8am starting today because it's still a bit dark and cold at 7am on Saturday mornings during the winter. I was passed out cold until 11am today. Yes, I was dealing with some things last night and didn't sleep that well, and had a pretty stressful week, but still, I couldn't believe it. Didn't even hear the alarm go off. Darn. I finally got up and got going and ended up running on the treadmill in the afternoon. Nice, easy, 2 mile jog, followed by a pretty intense new strength workout that I'm starting a few times a week. I'm glad that I still got up and ran on my own because that's been something I've struggled with lately but totally bummed out I missed the group run this morning. Darn.

Today's Miles: 2.5
Total Miles: 18.5

Track Practice

Well, my Quinn's running was a little bit short lived. We started track practices again tonight. Don't get my wrong, I'm very excited to be running track practices with the team but darn, I really wanted that t-shirt. Ben said that he's make up a track practice training shirt for me - let's see if he pulls through! It was darn cold tonight at practice - it's supposed to snow tomorrow so it was bitter cold - that's so hard to run it. It really didn't help that I grabbed my capri pants instead of my tights from my closet so my shins were a bit chilly. We did a pretty easy track workout - 1600(T), 800(I), 400(R) with 400(E) in between. It was so amazing to get back to our strength training afterwards - it had been so long since I'd done a squat and doing them next to Jim was even more motivating! I was a little sad to see everyone with their head lamps running by us doing Quinn's run but maybe once I get in better shape again, I'll do that run before coming to track. Jim did it .. Ben says we're not supposed to but we'll see. I want that shirt :)

Today's Miles: 4.5
Total Miles: 16.0

The Dreaded ... High Chaparral

I was successful in avoiding it all of last season but now that I'm a "leader", I couldn't continue it any longer ... I had to attend a training at High Chaparral Open Space, home of the worst hills in Team in Training history. It's an absolutely beautiful spot, with great views of Pikes Peak and Garden of Gods off in the distance, as you can see by the picture below.




The physical beauty is an absolute distraction from how killer the hills are. Coaches bring participants here in the beginning for some early hill workouts to build strength. Three hill runs are all people can handle. I was truly planning on running with the group this morning and pushing myself but a head cold really prevented me. I had been knocked out for the last few days and just didn't feel up to it. I went out and helped out and "mentored" the group and walked but honestly, didn't have it in me to run. Still got some time in on the feet but a little disappointed. Maybe one day when I really need a good workout, I'll drive myself down there and run the hills on my own .. maybe ..

Today's Miles: 2.5
Total Miles: 11.5