Running Like A Girl

I had read that you shouldn’t really do any intense training/running until 6 weeks after your marathon.  I believe that it will be 6 weeks for me this weekend and I have 2 races this week.  Perfect timing.  Although, I don’t know how intense I will be.  I have a 4.5 mile turkey trot on Thursday.  I love running on Thanksgiving.  I hope to beat last year’s time; which wouldn’t be in doubt except for the fact that I got a lot slower during marathon training.  After I got hurt, I was even slower (much slower than that and I would have been going backwards).  Then on Saturday I have a 10 mile race - the Great River Road Run in Alton, Illinois.

I am feeling great, physically, and think that I have totally recovered from the marathon.  With that in mind, I started a little bit of speedwork 2 weeks ago.  The first week, I only ran 2 400’s with 800’s in between because I only had time for 2 miles as there was a little weather problem.  Last week, I ran 4 400’s and it felt good.  I guess I should skip the speedwork this week to have “fresh legs” for my races.

Yesterday I received an email with a Thanksgiving calorie calculator - SCAREY!  Glad I’m going for a run.

Happy Thanksgiving.

- Runner girl

I run in the cold.  I run in the dark.  I run in the rain.  I run in the wind.

And, really, you get used to it.  After awhile, I think maybe I am numb to it.  The trick is dressing properly.  I know when it is in the 40’s, I can start off in gloves, but they probably won’t stay on long.  And the jacket will most likely come off too; I will wear a long sleeve shirt and a body-hugging cami under that.  And, probably pants; if it’s in the low 40’s anyway.  In the 30’s, the jacket will probably stay on, but the gloves will still come off after awhile.  If it’s in the 20’s, I start out with 2 pair of gloves or else my fingers hurt until I warm up.

I have 2 races coming up next week.  It’s hard to tell what the weather will be like; but I will be prepared with throw-away gloves and a jacket I can tie around my waist.  My son is running one race with me (his first race!) - a ten-miler.  He was very excited about it; that is, until it started to get cold.  I told him he needs to suck it up (I’m very sympathetic).  He is convinced that running must kill brain cells if I think running in the cold is fun.  I just laugh.  Perhaps he’s right . . . or perhaps he’ll come away crazy like me.

Run happy.

- Runner girl

And now for the info on illegal drugs.  I just read an article about a guy trying marijuana for sports-related pain.  We know that over-use of NSAIDs (non-steriod anti-inflammatories; ie … advil) can cause a lot of damage to your body and even death; so the question is:  what about marijuana?  Will it relieve the pain or just make you not care that you have pain??  And isn’t that the same thing?  Does it do less damage than NSAIDs?

Studies have shown marijuana to be a proven painkiller.  There are 12 states that allow medicinal use of marijuana (people use it for things like cancer, MS).  THC is the chemical found in marijuana and studies have shown it to turn off those switches that tell us that we are experiencing pain.  It is a euphoria-inducing product and seems to relieve muscle spasms; has anti-inflammatory properities and won’t give you an ulcer.

That all sounds good.  But then, do you really want to go around stoned all the time??  Oh, yeah, and there’s that illegal part.  And what do you tell your kids?  Oh, and the paranoia.  And your lungs.  And the munchies.  Sigh.

- Runner girl

I am getting back into the swing of things - perhaps not progressing as fast as I would like; but still, it is going well.  I have no major issues/injuries since the marathon - whew.  I did not run at all - or do anything - the first week after.  The second week I ran 3 miles Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  I rode a bike Tuesday and Thursday.  That was enough. 

Last week I decided to bump it up and get back to a more regular routine.  Thus, I ran 3 miles Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  I ran 4 miles Tuesday, Thursday.  I played tennis 3 times; lifted weights 3 times; and rode the bike 4 times (I like to get an hour of cardio in per day).  I ran 6 miles on Saturday.  By Thursday after my run, my legs were really tired.  I should have listened more to my body and taken Friday off and just ran on Saturday; but I ran both days.  I took Sunday off.

Fast-forward to this week.  3 miles Monday, Wednesday, Friday.  5 miles Tuesday, Thursday.  Biking Monday - Thursday (I take Friday nights off before my longer run on Saturday).  Tennis 3 times; weights 3 times.  And tomorrow I will run 8 miles (I am getting ready for a 10 mile run Thanksgiving weekend).  I can tell a difference this week - my legs didn’t get tired.  Also, Thursday when I did my 30 minute leg stretching/strengthening routine, my legs felt much better than they did when I did it on Tuesday and they weren’t as stiff.

Next step, speedwork.  I hope to add that in next week. 

Happy running!

- Runner girl

Wow!  What a historic election!  I am happy to have witnessed this for a number of reasons.  We have elected the first African-American President of the United States.  Even during my lifetime, blacks were relegated to sitting in the back of the bus; drinking from separate water fountains; attending separate schools; and more.  That we, as a country, have come so far in that amount of time absolutely thrills me.  Race relations are not perfect in this country, by far; but this shows our willingness to move forward and be the people we were meant to be.  I read something that I really liked; it said:  when we are young, we think social change is like a 100 yard dash.  As we get older, we think of it as a marathon.  And the longer we are around, the more we see that it is a relay race.

Barack Obama has inspired and energized this country like something I have never seen.  Record voter turnout.  People never before involved in campaigns volunteering.  Internet donations.  Internet volunteer organization.  People believed and hoped and got involved and felt that they could actually make a difference.  Student involvement and turnout.  A grass-roots campaign effort.  I don’t know that we are likely to see this again, but I hope that it is only the beginning.

Barack Obama reached out to the “best” in us; to our hopes, our dreams, our beliefs in ourselves and in our country.  He made us believe that we could be who we always wanted to be.  He reached out to the good in all of us; not to the fear, the divisiveness, the negative.  And isn’t that what we really want?  To live our lives with hope and not fear? 

Now is the time to do the work that needs to be done; to live up to our promise; to be our best selves.  We have the opportunity to be the people and be the country that we always knew we could be.  I am in awe.  Way to go, America!

- Runner girl

A recent article by a UK sports psychologist said that listening to music while running may improve your outlook on exercise (duh) and improve your endurance by 15% (duh part 2).  In his study, he found that most athletes found the exercise more enjoyable and were able to run longer when they listened to music.  He said to think of music as a legal drug to boost your performance - it elevates the positive and reduces the negative.

I love listening to my ipod while running.  Sometimes just the right song will come on and I will be able to get to a good steady pace; so much so that I will often replay the song several times.  And there are times when I feel I can’t go on any longer and some upbeat song comes on that changes my mind.  I have been known to lip-synch the words while running around the track at the gym - I get strange looks; but, given the choice, I think others would probably prefer the Milli Vanilli routine to actually hearing me singing.

- Runner girl

I think that my last good run was that 20-miler three weeks before Chicago.  I got into a good pace - you know, the part where I said that it felt like we were flying?  That is what I like; that is a good run.  Then I injured my hamstring.  The couple of runs I did the week before the race were pretty dismal.  I was so slow!  I didn’t ever feel like I had a good pace going; it was all too much work.

Now here it is almost two weeks after the race and I ran Monday, Wednesday, and then today.  I was pretty darned slow those first two runs and I have been afraid that I forgot how to run.  Maybe I can’t run anymore.  Maybe I’ll never get any speed back.  Maybe I’ll be a turtle forever.  Maybe I’m a hasbeen; a one hit wonder.  Maybe I need to pick up a new sport.  Sigh.  And then today!  I had a good run today.  I did race pace today.  Whew.  I should be able to go faster than that for a 3 mile run, but it’s a marked improvement.  My faith has been restored.  I realize I am going to get it all back.

No one will mistake me for Sinead O’Connor.

- Runner girl

I started running again this week.  I’ve really missed it and am anxious to get back to a normal workout and running schedule.  Still, I figured I should run every other day this week instead of every day.  I am riding the bike on the days I’m not running.  My left leg is still feeling kind of funky, so I think it’s best to take my time and let my body heal.  5 months of training have to be hard on your body.

I’ve thinking a little about what marathon I want to do next.  I had thought about doing one in the spring.  But I don’t want to start on an intense training schedule again really soon.  I guess I will wait until January and see if I’m ready to start training again.  I am going to research possibilities in the meantime.  Should I do a Rock-N-Roll Marathon??  The Flying Pig Marathon??  (I think that would be a cool t-shirt!)  I want to talk to my various running friends and see what they are all planning.  I’ve got a Post-Marathon party with one group this weekend, so that will get the ball rolling. 

Oh, and my infected toe is healing nicely.  I finished my round of antibiotics and the doc said it looks good.  One toenail is now completely off and the other will probably be gone soon.  I had scratches across my stomach (from my fuel belt) and across my heel; those are almost gone. 

The soul feels refreshed and the body is recovering.

- Runner girl

Over the weekend, I ran into a lot of friends at a football game and at a weiner roast where I was able to enjoy my new celebrity status, tell stories, and show pictures of the marathon.  Then I saw family at church and breakfast and I got to relive the glory.  Today I made my first trip back to my gym since the race (I took last week off) and again was able to relish the event and the attention.  The best part about the gym though, was that I ran into someone else who ran the race so we were able to compare war stories. 

I have stayed on my Marathon High so far, but soon enough I will be back down to earth and I can figure out what’s next.  Like Joe the Plumber, I think my 15 minutes of fame might be about up.

- Runner girl 

There are different schools of thought on how soon you should start running again after a marathon.  I have read that it is good to be moving around to get the lactic acid out of your legs.  Also, you really need to listen to your body.  Once I stopped running on Sunday, I was walking v-e-r-y slowly; the legs just did not move that fast.  That evening, my IT bands were still so tight that I could barely walk - I looked like someone recuperating from surgery!  I took a cool bath (didn’t have ice for my ice bath) and put ice on my legs twice.

By the next morning, I could walk better and by Wednesday, I felt pretty normal; all except for one lingering problem.  I may have mentioned that I was losing a toenail - now I’m losing two, possibly three.  And one of the toes is infected.  It was red, oozing, and throbbing.  Lovely.  The doc put me on an antibiotic and by Thursday, the pain had lessened.  That’s a good thing because I wasn’t sure how I was going to run with that toe feeling like that.

I have read that if you are over 40, it can take up to 6 weeks to fully recover from a marathon.  It’s not that you shouldn’t run for that amount of time, but maybe you shouldn’t do any intense running.  I decided to take this week off from everything - running, tennis, weight lifting.  Next week,  I will work some running and lifting weights back in.  The following week, if all goes well, I will add tennis.  And ofcourse, some cross training.

I have been told to beware of the post-marathon blues; but so far I am still on a Marathon High.  I am not wearing my medal anymore; but I admit, I don’t leave the house without wearing a Chicago Marathon shirt.

- Runner girl