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August 09, 2005
Running with eyes closed
I've purposely been procrasting on updating on blog because frankly, my runs weren't all that exciting last week. Slow and strained was more like it. Last night, however, was a different story. R. and I had the most exhilarating run. He took me to a new trail beyond Rocky Run Creek and we ran loops all around the nature preserve. It was so peaceful, lush, and heavenly on my feet with the soft mulched and packed dirt trails. We ran easy because I'm still having difficulty breathing with any type of physical exertion. At one point, I remembered feeling especially fast and smooth but was surprised and disappointed when my GPS showed that we were averaging closer to 9-minute miles. I felt like I should have been running 7 or 7:30s. But you know, I'll take what I can get for now. On our way home for the last 1.5 miles, the sky opened up and we were running into a headwind, thunder/lightning and heavy rains. The rain was coming down so hard that I had to close my eyes frequently to do the windshield wiper effect. It was a riot plodding through the deep puddles, and we even passed by another girl who was running in the storm. We were soaked to the bone when we got home. I hadn't felt that "hard core" in a long time, so it was a positive note to end a fun 9.7 mile run.
I wish I could end this entry on that positive note, but I do feel obliged to record the little exercise that I did last week. I'll try not to get whiny about it. After all, it was through this blog that I realized "Wow, according to my latest entries, I haven't been feeling great on my runs." That was my indicator that something was not right in Leilani-land because I'm certainly in decent shape and by no means overtrained. Last week my training plan was a wash, as I still felt very breathless and fatigued in simply walking up stairs. But I'll attempt to get back on schedule this week, even if it means running super slow to prevent inducing a hyperventilating fit.
Monday, August 1
Lifted arms and legs: Included abs, push ups and pull ups. I took an extra day off to see if that would help with the fatigue and shortness of breath. Apparently, this article geared toward athletes says time off doesn't help.
Tuesday, August 2
8 miles on Fairfax Co Parkway: It was nasty hot and humid (mid 90s), but I didn't want to do ALL my runs on the treadmill. I had to walk a couple times to catch my breath, but I managed fine. Then, I rode the bike trainer for 15 minutes on easy gears.
Wednesday, August 3
8.25 miles: Warm up for 2 miles. 3 x 1 mile @ 7:13 with 6-minute jog between. 3 x 1 minute @ 6:53 with 3-minute jog between. One-mile cooldown. I was proud of myself for mustering the paces despite the anemia (or whatever it is). Each successive mile got easier, thankfully. Afterward, we went to dinner at one of the Restaurant Week restaurants (as Nanda did), Ceiba, for one of my best friend's birthday. The food was delicioso and we had sooo much fun!
Thursday, August 4
No run: Another one of those extreme fatigue days. I pretty much came home from work and fell asleep, procrasting on my term paper and packing my stuff to leave town. I may have woke up to eat something.
Friday, August 5
15 miles before leaving for the Reserves: Easy for 3 miles, the remaining 12 miles @ 8:30-8:34 and boy, was I huffin' and puffin'. My goal, had I been feeling okay, was to do 7:45-8s. I wanted to do nothing more than stop in the first hour, but it eventually got easier and I just maintained the treadmill at a .5 incline to give myself a break.
Saturday, August 6
No run: Marine Corps Reserve weekend. I had planned to jump on the hotel treadmill between work and mandatory fun (dinner) with the other officers, but it was a long workday and I ran out of time.
Sunday, August 7
5.5 miles on the hotel treadmill: It took a while to wake up and warm up, but I eventually settled into 8:30s. And that felt like I was pushing it.
I have an appointment tomorrow with a new PT/chiropractor who does ART, so I'll get my right hip and left quad checked out. And in the next couple weeks I hope to see my new doctor (internal medicine), who's supposed to be much better than my current doctor (family practice). The new doc won't look at me like I'm crazy when I tell her how much I run and exercise...her father's a leading sports doc. It's a wait and see and run slowly game for now.
Posted by Leilani at August 9, 2005 02:32 PM
Comments
The cool rain I liked...it was the horse and deer flies biting my legs that I could've done without!
Posted by: R. at August 9, 2005 04:21 PM
Hey there! Your run on Tuesday sounds wonderful! I hope your ART and other doc appointments go well and that the iron starts kicking in and doing its thing! I'm amazed by how much you've still managed to do nonetheless, and your long run pace is still superb, particularly in this nasty weather!
Was Ceiba good? I've been there for drinks but never for food. They are the same owners of Ten Penh (where I went).
Posted by: Nanda at August 10, 2005 11:31 AM