Friday, June 25, 2010

Running update

I ran the Manitoba Marathon last Sunday. I achieved a 30 minute PB, coming in with a time of 4:01:11. Finishing was bittersweet, as I was aiming for 3:45, but at least with a 4:01 it's still a personal best.

It hasn't been quite a week yet, and I'm cutting my recovery period short. I'm getting anxious about my 50 mile race that's less than a month away. I ran 7 miles yesterday and 4.5 today, with planned back-to-back long runs Saturday and Sunday. My first two runs felt "ok", but the going was a bit slower than normal. I'll have to see what comes of this weekend, and if I can continue pushing myself.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Baby explosion

I just found out what happens when a baby doesn't poo for 3 days. No, the baby doesn't explode. But there is an explosion of a different type.

Monday, June 14, 2010

6 more days

I just want to get this marathon over with... But instead, I need to agonize for 6 more days.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Knee problems

When I woke up last Tuesday, my knee was feeling kinda funky. So I decided to play it safe and skip my run.

Yesterday (being Wednesday), my knee felt fine so I did my usual workout of a short easy run. Everything felt fine.

Today, I had a tempo run scheduled. Everything was great until after my run. Now it's stiffening up, and I'm nervous about my marathon in 1.5 weeks. I don't think it's injured per se, just hurt a little bit. I hope there's still plenty of time for it to heal up and not re-injure during the race. I need to stay injury-free until my 50 mile in July.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Running in the heat

I had my last long run today in preparation for the Manitoba Marathon in two weeks. The forecast said it was a high of 16, so I thought everything was going to go my way. I was wrong.

It turns out it was quite a bit warmer, and quite a bit sunnier than forecasted. Had I known how far off they were, I would have scheduled my run first thing in the morning instead of over lunch. After 12 miles, I knew things were going wrong. My heart was racing, despite my relaxed pace. I had also stopped sweating. I still had about a litre of water left in my water bladder, but every time I took a sip my stomach turned. I already bailed out of one run this training cycle, and I wasn't ready to bail on another one.

Fortunately, my running route takes me through the University of Manitoba. I paused my workout and dashed into the first building I ran by. The air conditioning was heaven-sent. And for some strange reason, this building only had water fountains on the third floor (eep!). This cool-down was going to have to be earned. Managed to cool myself off by dunking my head in the water fountain and standing on an air conditioning vent until I had goose bumps. Heading out with my now cooled-down body, it didn't take long before I started suffering again. With only 3 miles left in my run, I had to take a walk break in a shady section in the hopes I'd cool off again.

With 1.5 miles left, I broke down. I stopped running and rested in the shade of a tree beside the sidewalk. Fortunately, I was able to drink again without my stomach turning. And I felt my heart rate slowing down. After about 5 minutes of resting, I managed to run back home at a normal pace.

I celebrated my failed long run with a punishing ice bath. Good thing Christine & Bean were out of the house, or they would have had to endure my screams of icy pain.