It’s Been a While

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a run.  I was supposed to do the Samson Stomp at the Milwaukee Zoo in January, but I was having some things going on, that I just ended up watching, which was fine with me.  It ended up being about 5 degrees out!

Since then I’ve gotten back on track and I ran the Lucky Leprechaun 7K at Hart Park last weekend for St. Patrick’s Day, as well as I did the Fight for Air Climb at the US Bank Building yesterday.  I was pretty sore after the 7K, which is probably since I haven’t really run anything since December, but I was glad I did it – my quads were sore for a couple days, but I got my muscles back into action.  Yesterday the Fight For Air Climb was a lot tougher than I expected.  My legs weren’t sore at all, but it really took a toll on my lungs.  I thought I was going to pass out about halfway up, not sure if it was just overexertion or poor breathing, but I made it all the way to the top.  Today I came down with a cold, so I’m wondering if that had something to do with feeling not quite right yesterday during the climb.

I have another 5K coming up in early May in Door County, and then several other races scattered throughout the summer.  I’m looking forward to it warming up so I can get outside and start training more.

Santa Hustle 5K–Milwaukee

This morning was the Santa Hustle 5K in Milwaukee.  After our rain/snow ordeal this past week, it was icy on parts of the path, but overall not too bad.  When we got there it was about 18 degrees outside.  Thankfully we were able to park under the art museum, which has heated parking.  We hung out in there until shortly before the race.

The race was great, they gave us santa beards, hats, and shirts to dress up in.  There were probably well over a thousand santas running through Veteran’s Park downtown.  The frigid temperatures made it a little more difficult to breathe, I wore a scarf like thing around my mouth to keep the air I was breathing a little bit warmer.

I’m happy to say I finished.  I don’t know what my time was yet, but regardless I made it through, and in those temperatures.  I have another cold run at the end of January at the Milwaukee County Zoo – the Samson Stomp.  I’m expecting it to be even chillier.

Happy running!!

Tackled the Track

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve determined running on the treadmill isn’t for me, yet.  There’s something about it that just kills my calf and shin muscles to the point that I can’t run very long.  I’m sure my form is changed just enough to throw me off that little bit on the treadmill.  Today I made the decision that I’m going to have to toughen up and run on the track.  I don’t like running in front of people, and at my gym the track passes directly in front of a line of ellipticals, bikes, and treadmills.  I started my night out by doing 30 minutes on the recumbent bike to warm up, and then I got on the track.  I walked in circles for about the first 10 minutes before I decided to start running.  Once I got going it was great.  I had to learn to relax and not worry about the other people in the gym who might see me.  Everyone’s there to get healthy, right?  Anyway, I’m glad I overcame another fear and am able to confidently run on the track.  I have to get in shape for all the races I have scheduled in the upcoming year somehow!

Training for Endurance

Up until now I’ve been focused on how fast I can run, although I’m still a rather new runner, and have a long road ahead of me.  This past weekend I signed up for the 13.1 Brewers Mini Marathon, being held at the end of September 2013.  I’m currently at a state where I need to take breaks every so often to walk.  I’ve come to the realization that I need to focus more on my endurance rather than my speed.  I can maintain the speed required by the Mini Marathon even with my walk breaks, so it’s time to shift my attention to being able to run continuously with fewer breaks.

This morning was the start of my new training plan.  I went out for a run this morning and committed to running 10 minutes, and then walking 3 minutes.  I did this 3 times, although I felt like I probably could have done a couple more, I don’t want to overdo it and injure myself.  I’ve had various aches and pains while training over the past couple months, so the more I can keep that under control, the better I’ll be.

I’m looking forward to the Santa Hustle in about 2 weeks, we’ll be running in Santa hats and beards, it should be fun.  As I’m preparing for these upcoming races I’ll also be shifting some of my training indoors.  I’ve managed to get the ambition to run on the treadmill, and while it’s not my favorite mostly because I don’t like running in the gym environment, as well as I feel like it changes my running form, I think it’ll be a must if I want to stay on track.

Tackling the Treadmill

Tonight found the motivation to go to the gym and run on the treadmill.  The thought has scared me in the past since I’d be running on a piece of equipment in front of many other people, whereas when I run outside there aren’t too many people around.  After 10 minutes walking I decided to start running, and it was pretty good.  I have to say my form must have been a little different on the treadmill than it is on the road, because my legs were more sore than usual, but overall it was good.

I’ve decided my training plan is going to be to run at the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, since it’s dark outside and there are no well lit areas nearby where I can run outside after work, as well as it’s getting pretty cold out.  On the weekends I’m going to run outside if the weather permits, otherwise I’ll head inside to the treadmills on those days as well.  I’m looking forward to this winter!

Now this is Cold!!!

A couple weeks ago I commented that it had been in the 30s when I was going for my runs, well that was nothing, considering I think it was in the upper 30s.  This morning it was 25 or so when I left the house, 30 when I returned.  It was cold, but good!  I invested in layers that I was able to wear this morning and other than my legs I didn’t feel that cold.  I’m going to have to get some warmer running pants if I want to keep running comfortably in the cold.

Just about 4 weeks until the Santa Hustle, it’s the weekend before Christmas.  It’ll be interesting to see how cold it is and if there will be snow on the ground.  Either way I’m looking forward to it!

Jingle Bell Run

Today I had the Jingle Bell Run at the zoo.  Overall the run was great.  I was a bit worried that my knee might not hold up, as I started having issues with it a couple weeks ago, but I wore my knee strap and I didn’t feel any pain throughout the run.  I think the toughest part of the run was the hill at the zoo that challenged most runners.  We had to do two laps, and the first time through I made it halfway up the hill before I stopped to walk, and the second time around I made it about a quarter of the way up.  I also ended up with pain in my side about halfway through the run, which happened at the last run too.  I’ve been reading up on it to see how I can prevent it and while I thought it was maybe lack of some sort of nutrient, it sounds like it has more to do with my fitness level and breathing technique.  I’m going to try some of the breathing techniques I found out there to see if it helps going forward.  One of the things I’ve seen repeatedly is to breath deeply and with a rhythm, such as every time you left foot hits the ground.  We’ll see if it works for me!

My next run is in December, the Santa Hustle, but I’m tempted to sign up for a race in between, the end of December is a long ways away.  I’ll have to see how the month goes and where my workouts take me.  Maybe the extra training time is needed to get me better prepared to get out there.