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Running Toward Health

Running Toward Health: Week Six

by Megan on October 16, 2010

This will probably be my final weekly running recap. I’ve been recapping my runs as I’ve trained for my first ever 5k, but after this point, I’ll be running to run, rather than running to race. (Though I may run 5k’s and 10k’s in the future.)

I ended up taking Sunday off, but I ran on Monday. It was warm (85-degrees) and the sun was beating down on me. I hadn’t eaten much all day, so after about 1.5 miles of running, I was feeling dizzy. I stopped for a minute to catch my breath, and I continued running for a little bit. I ended up running 2.05 miles at a 10:17/mile pace. I went home and drank tons of water and scarfed down a huge dinner. I think most of my problem had to do with dehydration.

Tuesday, I definitely didn’t want the same thing to happen, so I fueled properly by drinking plenty of water and eating well. Sometime in the afternoon, though, I hit a wall, and I was suddenly very exhausted. When I got home, I immediately changed into my running clothes so I could get a quick run in, but I ended up falling asleep on my couch. When I finally woke up, I wasn’t going to run. After a minute, though, I decided that running might actually make me feel better, so I headed out. I ran 2.34 miles (my longest run yet) at a 9:51/mile pace. It really felt great to run, and it boosted my energy. I felt like I could have ran more, so that made me feel good about running a 5k.

I took Wednesday off because, though running feels great, it’s really exhausting sometimes. I was still feeling a bit under the weather, and I needed a break from everything that was exhausting me, and that included running. I wanted to run at least one more time before my 5k, so I ran on Thursday. I wanted to try for three miles to make sure I was ready for today. The run went great. Closer to the end, though, I felt like I couldn’t go much farther, but I needed to hit 5k, so I kept going. After I hit the 5k, I stopped to breathe for a moment and then I kept running until I made it back to the car. I ended up running 3.25 miles at a 10:03/mile pace.  I was so proud of myself for hitting my goal and then some!

Friday, I was exhausted again, so I allowed myself to have a rest day. Husband and I made the trip to Farragut, TN to get my running packet, and then we went to the movies and saw The Social Network. (Very good movie, by the way.) When we got home, we ordered dinner and watched Adam. (Another good movie.) I went to bed a little after ten, and I didn’t sleep too well. I tossed and turned, thinking I would miss my 5:30 a.m. alarm this morning. I was actually wide awake in my bed when my alarm went off. I showered, ate a light breakfast of Greek yogurt and a wheat waffle with almond butter, and we made the hour drive to Farragut for the Free to Breathe 5k. I was nervous, so my stomach was doing flips. Eventually, we were lining up to start the run.

For the first few seconds, I was stuck in the group and everything was congested. I quickly found my way through some people, though, and I left some of the congested area and we started to spread out some. The route had some hills to it (though the website said it would be “flat and fast”), but running downhill was a plus. About halfway through, I started to hit a wall, but I paced myself with the girl in front of me, and I kept going. Eventually, I got through my “moment,” and everything went well after that. I was amazed at how easy it seemed after that. I actually crossed the finish line with my brother-in-law (who had arrived late and sprinted to catch up with me at the last bit). My Nike+ app said I actually ran 3.3 miles, but we’ll go with the official results: 3.1 miles in 31:40 (10:12/mile pace). I’m happy with the results. I really didn’t care much about my time (though I was hoping to run it in less than thirty-five minutes). It was something I just wanted to do in honor of my Granny, so I was just glad to finish. Husband caught this cell phone picture of my brother-in-law and I just a few seconds from the finish:

So, what’s next? Well, I’m going to give myself a couple rest days. I really have fallen in love with running in the past six weeks, so I plan to continue. I don’t know if/when I’ll run another 5k, but I know I only plan on running if it’s for a charity of some sort. Otherwise, I’ll just run for fun.

Total Miles:
Week One: 3.04
Week Two: 3.57
Week Three: 4.41
Week Four: 2.11
Week Five: 7.72
This Week: 10.74
Total: 31.59

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Running Toward Health: Week Five

by Megan on October 9, 2010

I decided that I needed to push myself a little bit more after not running much last week. So, I started on Monday by running 1.13 miles at a 11:02/mile pace. It was chilly and windy, and it was the first time I had ran in cold weather. By the end of the run, my legs started to lock up a bit so I immediately iced them when I got home. By Tuesday, I was ready for another run, so I went to the park and ran 1.48 miles at a 10:54/mile pace. The weather was beautiful–in the low 70s–and my legs felt much better.

Wednesday, I told myself I needed to run at least two miles. After I hit the 1-mile mark, I started to feel some leg pains, but the more I ran, the less my legs hurt. I ended up running 2.04 miles at a 10:38/mile pace. I was proud of myself for picking up the pace a bit and only stopping to walk two or three times (for just 30 seconds to a minute to catch my breath).

I took Thursday off and spent the evening with Husband, my sister, and my brother-in-law. Friday morning, though, I was ready for another run. My sister went to the park with me, and I ran 1.04 miles at a 9:46/mile pace.  I felt great because I could have ran longer, but I had some errands to run, so I needed to get home to get a shower. This morning, I told myself I needed to run at least two miles once again. Husband and I went to the park, and I took the long track around. (I usually take the short track.) I ended up running 2.03 miles at a 9:30/mile pace.

Total Miles:
Week One: 3.04
Week Two: 3.57
Week Three: 4.41
Week Four: 2.11
This week: 7.72

The Free to Breathe 5k is exactly a week from today, so I’m glad I was able to run more this week. For the next week, I’m hoping to get my distance up to three miles so that I’ll be ready for the 5k. It’s really amazing that I am able to easily run two miles now when just a few weeks ago, I could barely run half of a mile. I really love seeing the progress I’m making, and I’m so glad that I’m falling even more in love with running each day.

P.S. Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer of American men and women. As you know, I’m planning on running a Free to Breathe 5k on October 16th in honor of my Granny who passed away on August 6, 2004. If you have spare change, please donate to help me reach my goal of $300. The money will go toward raising awareness for lung cancer.

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Running Toward Health: Week 4

by Megan on October 4, 2010

If you have any questions for me, leave them in the comments or email me. I’m gathering some questions for a FAQ page on my blog.

I usually try to get these running recaps posted over the weekend, but my weekend was somewhat busy. Friday, Husband and I went on a date. It was our first dinner and a movie date in a long time, and it was nice to spend some time together. Saturday, Husband went bouldering with a friend, so I decided that I needed to take a personal day. I planned to get a pedicure, eat lunch, and then go to the book store for Starbucks and studying. Well, during my pedicure, I realized I had locked my keys in my car, and I was an hour from home. I ended up getting my keys out by using a screwdriver and a long wire from a Halloween decoration that I found at Target. Since I was delayed for a little over an hour, I met up with Husband and his friend for lunch at Panera, then we parted ways, and I went to Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte and studying before heading home. The rest of the weekend was spent studying, taking tests, and relaxing on Sunday evening. Now, it’s Monday, and I’m ready to recap my runs from last week.

As you know, I ran for the first time in four days on Tuesday. I wouldn’t call it a run, though. My Nike+ sensor wasn’t working, and I probably didn’t even run .5 miles due to my back pain. I was feeling frustrated, and I ended up taking Wednesday off. My back was actually feeling better by Thursday, so I realized that not running for a few days is what was causing it to hurt so much. After my “run” on Tuesday, I think everything loosened up, and I was only feeling minor pain. Since my back pain wasn’t as bad as I had thought, I decided to run on Thursday. I usually run at the park, but I don’t feel comfortable running there by myself (it’s somewhat secluded), so I ran on the sidewalk on the highway near my house. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but my legs were in so much pain. I ended up only running 1.09 miles at a 11:10/mile pace. It felt as if I had started all over with my running due to not really running for a week, so I immediately iced my shins and knees when I got home. They were hurting big time after my run, but after I iced them, everything felt great again.

Since I’m off on Fridays until November, I decided to run that morning (well, it was late morning). The temperature was around 68°F with a slight breeze, so there was no way I was about to pass up a run in that beautiful weather. I ran the same route as Thursday’s run. I wasn’t able to push myself as far, though. My legs were really locking up, and I ended up running 1.02 miles at an 11:26/mile pace before walking the rest of the way home. Since my legs were hurting again, I iced them as soon as I got home, and they felt fine after that.

I’ve decided to kick it up a notch this week since last week wasn’t so great. The weather is supposed to be nice, and I have less than two weeks before I run my Free to Breathe 5k, so I’d really like to get as many runs in as I can before then.

P.S. Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer of American men and women. As you know, I’m planning on running a Free to Breathe 5k on October 16th in honor of my Granny who passed away on August 6, 2004. If you have spare change, please donate to help me reach my goal of $300. The money will go toward raising awareness for lung cancer.

{ 4 comments }

Running Toward Health: An Injury

by Megan on September 29, 2010

Yesterday, I had a bad run.

About an hour after I got home from work, Husband and I went to the park so I could run. I started off by doing my usual stretches, and I was in a decent mood. I always start out walking a little bit to stretch out and sync my Nike+ sensor to my iPod. Of course, my iPod wouldn’t detect my sensor. I did all of the troubleshooting, and I just started to get frustrated. I really wanted my run tracked. After getting a little too upset over ridiculous technology, I just decided to run without worrying about how far I ran.

I started off a little slow. During week two, I hurt my hip during my Friday run after landing on my foot pretty hard. When I said hip, it was mostly my lower back toward the tailbone. Last week, the pain progressively got worse, but I just chalked it up to normal aches and pains that come with running. I ended up taking four days off (Friday through Monday) this past weekend to let myself heal a bit, just in case it was worse than I thought. Actually, during Thursday’s run of last week, it was hurting–but after I ran a little, it started to feel okay.  It had been hurting while walking at work yesterday, but I thought running would loosen it up. During yesterday’s run, though, it wouldn’t stop hurting. I was running horribly, and I couldn’t keep track of my breathing, so I  became easily overwhelmed. I don’t even know what I ran, but it was most likely less than .5 miles. I ended up telling Husband that I was “over it” and wanted to go home. I was probably more upset than I should have been, but I was really looking forward to a good run yesterday. Mentally, I think I could have had an amazing run, but my body just wasn’t having it.

Basically, I’m not sure what’s wrong. I really don’t want to have to take anymore days off because my Free to Breathe 5k is in just a little over two weeks. However, if I really want to feel okay enough to run that 5k, I guess I need to let my body heal a bit. I have noticed that the pain is worse after sitting for long periods of time, which isn’t ideal since I work in an office and sit for most of the day. (The pain is actually nonexistant when I first wake up in the morning, but after I sit in my car and drive to work, it’s hurting again.) I’ve been walking around every so often and doing some stretches at my desk, but I’m not sure it’s helping.

Any ideas on what could be wrong or what could help?

P.S. Lung cancer is the #1 cancer killer of American men and women. As you know, I’m planning on running a Free to Breathe 5k on October 16th in honor of my Granny who passed away on August 6, 2004. If you have spare change, please donate to help me reach my goal of $300. The money will go toward raising awareness for lung cancer.

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