So work brings me to India for the week. My Lotus Notes email and calendar functions on my computer have both effectively packed in, a promising start!
However, I do have access to internet (though patchy, but I can get to Google Reader and Blogger so can't complain!) and now find that I have time on my hands to write this entry. And so, a flip side to every coin.
I never quite got to recap on Run for Japan - it was a wonderful experience. I had a colleague and a handful of friends come and run with me, and together we had a great time! I covered 22 laps to finish a shade over 30km. With the rest of the team, we completed a total distance of just under 2 marathons and raised over HKD60,000 (close to USD8000) for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief. It was good fun, meaningful, and was an edifying time for all involved - tick, tick, tick, good job! :)
I then started to have pain in my left foot the next day. A sore, swollen and slightly bruised area appeared at the top of my midfoot, just in front of the ankle. A stress fracture has been ruled out, but it took a good week for it to finally get better. I didn't (couldn't...) wait for the pain to go away all together, but still stayed off the roads (and treadmill) until Saturday (Read - new record, no running for a full 7 days!). Happy to report that after a 10km and 6km respectively on Saturday and Sunday, my foot actually seems better and the pain is almost entirely gone now :) Was it the rest or was it the 'heck, let's just get back to it now!' that did it? Guess I'll never know... but fingers crossed, I'm a-okay now!
I was recently thinking that I run/train the way I live life - planned, controlled, cautious, with a tendency towards over-deliberation and worry... and for all that that means, I am still glad that I can be thankful for 2 things:
- That when I run/race, I can just let go of the angst before and the fretting after... for the most part, when I'm running, I'm free... I'm able to just go and keep going, focusing on the now, living the 'truth'. All the thinking before and after don't change the reality of the run, just as it doesn't necessarily add anything to life.
- That the caution has meant that despite a few minor injury scares that have kept me off running and the last bad flu I had, I've not been off running more than a week due to these. Since running regularly since 2009, I've had niggles with my right groin, right SI joint, left knee and left foot, but all resolving reasonably quickly with just a bit of rest. I am running for the long haul and I don't have to get there today. I am cutting myself the necessary slack, but also making sure I enjoy this journey... I love running too much to do it any other way :)
Have a good week, my fellow runners and lovers of life!
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovery. Show all posts
Monday, 4 April 2011
Monday, 7 February 2011
Back on the seat again...
It was tough going getting back to running again mid last week... easy runs were tough, and yesterday's long run was also trying. However, I'm glad to say that my legs are feeling surprisingly sprightly today, so I'm recovering well from a combined 35km over 3 consecutive days (the full week's tally was 42km). Bodes well. I need to squeeze in 2 30km runs in the next 3 weeks before taper... I say I haven't decided whether or not to run LA, but I am still maniacally working in that direction. Maybe I should just save myself the stress and just throw my heart and mind into it fully now!
A question from the #Reverb10 team:
One month into 2011, what question(s) are you living? Are you living new questions?
My questions...
- Why is it so hard to be a decent human being towards my mother? (ancient and never ending)
- Can I run my first marathon in 6 weeks when my longest run so far has only been 25km? (new and very real)
- Am I allowed so much chocolate and snacking just because I'm training for a marathon and not particularly obsessed about losing any more weight? (kind of but not entirely new ha!)
- Am I lucky or just plain lazy to be blogging while I'm at work? Do I really even care? (not new)
- How am I doing with my 2011 plans? (ongoing... for now, I'm doing ok - most of my running related ones are on track, most of the others are patchy at best so this is a great reminder!)
- Isn't it nice to have already done a PB in the 10km? (new... *smiles*)
- I hate PMS, why won't it go away forever? (another ancient and unanswerable one)
- I'm having PMS, so don't I deserve to have a chocolate bar after lunch? (monthly)
- How far will I go this year? (new)
Some thoughts as we launch into another new week! It's going to be a 45+km week... watch this space!
A question from the #Reverb10 team:
One month into 2011, what question(s) are you living? Are you living new questions?
My questions...
- Why is it so hard to be a decent human being towards my mother? (ancient and never ending)
- Can I run my first marathon in 6 weeks when my longest run so far has only been 25km? (new and very real)
- Am I allowed so much chocolate and snacking just because I'm training for a marathon and not particularly obsessed about losing any more weight? (kind of but not entirely new ha!)
- Am I lucky or just plain lazy to be blogging while I'm at work? Do I really even care? (not new)
- How am I doing with my 2011 plans? (ongoing... for now, I'm doing ok - most of my running related ones are on track, most of the others are patchy at best so this is a great reminder!)
- Isn't it nice to have already done a PB in the 10km? (new... *smiles*)
- I hate PMS, why won't it go away forever? (another ancient and unanswerable one)
- I'm having PMS, so don't I deserve to have a chocolate bar after lunch? (monthly)
- How far will I go this year? (new)
Some thoughts as we launch into another new week! It's going to be a 45+km week... watch this space!
Monday, 31 January 2011
Out of Commission...
So sometimes life throws you a curveball and there isn't a thing that you can do about it. And along with only the mildest annoyance, I can only shrug my shoulders and go "Ah well...."
At what is probably the most critical stage of training for a first marathon (and tell me if i'm wrong, but I was just heading into the 2-3 weeks of highest mileage and longest Long Runs prior to taper), I've fallen sick. And not just blow your nose, feel sorry for yourself sick. It's the worst flu of my adult life, 3 days of unrelenting fever and continuing phlegmy cough sick. And while I think i'm on the mend, I have a feeling it's one of those that I want to send off with caution and respect - I don't think I'm going to running for a couple of days yet, at least.
7 days off running in the middle of an already short marathon training plan (I decided about LA on a whim, so only had about 12-13 weeks)... my longest Long Run so far was about 24-25km. I'm ambivalent - I know I could still go out there and finish it, but I don't know that I will be in form to do my best at my first marathon. I'd like to go out there and do a good solid run... yes, it is about fun but I also want it to be a fight and a victory.
And so, I calm myself down... one step at a time, one day at a time... I just need to focus on getting better... then I start running again... and then I can reassess whether I run LA.
I think I could still do it... what do you think? Any advice?
At what is probably the most critical stage of training for a first marathon (and tell me if i'm wrong, but I was just heading into the 2-3 weeks of highest mileage and longest Long Runs prior to taper), I've fallen sick. And not just blow your nose, feel sorry for yourself sick. It's the worst flu of my adult life, 3 days of unrelenting fever and continuing phlegmy cough sick. And while I think i'm on the mend, I have a feeling it's one of those that I want to send off with caution and respect - I don't think I'm going to running for a couple of days yet, at least.
7 days off running in the middle of an already short marathon training plan (I decided about LA on a whim, so only had about 12-13 weeks)... my longest Long Run so far was about 24-25km. I'm ambivalent - I know I could still go out there and finish it, but I don't know that I will be in form to do my best at my first marathon. I'd like to go out there and do a good solid run... yes, it is about fun but I also want it to be a fight and a victory.
And so, I calm myself down... one step at a time, one day at a time... I just need to focus on getting better... then I start running again... and then I can reassess whether I run LA.
I think I could still do it... what do you think? Any advice?
Friday, 3 December 2010
Celebrations...
I've been surprisingly chilled out this week... haven't done much and haven't really fretted about that fact. I have a 'store' of desire to get out and run, but my body isn't quite ready I don't think.
Weds - 4km plus strength/core - was nice and easy, but my feet hurt just proximal to the balls of my feet, I imagine where a lot of tendons insert to my metatarsals?
Thurs - easy yoga
Friday - spin class - wow this was hard work! my AHR was 154, but taking away the warm up/cool down sections, I think I was averaging around 160 or 87% of MHR. Feet hurt and were crampy again, same area.
Will do an easy run this weekend and depending on how I feel, go for 1-1.5 hours. Can't wait!
Had a couple of Amazon deliveries this week. It's getting close to Christmas and I decided to start Christmas shopping (for myself, fancy that?!!) early! hehe.
In addition to a couple of books I picked up in the bookshop recently, I now have all these awaiting me (and it is all I can do to control myself and not attack them all at once!):
Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man and 50-50
Pam Reed's The Extra Mile
Bart Yasso's My Life on the Run
Elaine St James' Living the Simple Life
Julia Glass' Widower's Tale (one of my favourite authors, Julia Glass - check out The Whole World Over and Three Junes!)
Pauline Chen's The Final Exam
I have the whole holiday season to revel in all that and get inspiration from some more vegetarian recipes (my neighbour just lent me Gourmet Vegetarian). I always think that my life is a story told in the books I read - I like how things are going right now!
Next week, I should get up to 2-3 runs, but will give myself another easy week since I'm going away for a long weekend anyway. After that, I should work back up to 30km pw and then build from there! Happy weekend now!
Sunday, 28 November 2010
1:58:33...
36 hours since my very first half marathon... and I am still feeling the after-glow of pride and pleasure. I had said before that I would be proud no matter what the outcome, but beating my stretch goal certainly makes it all the more satisfying. Not that I ever doubted it... but now I can savour the outcome of what it is like to invest daily and slowly towards a goal that I couldn't see before. And I was lucky because I was relaxed and positive for most of the week, and managed to stay quite cheery even at the start line as you can see! Way to go - a vast improvement from my 10k race just a couple of months back!
It was an early (and not very bright) start... was up at 4am and out the door by 4.45. Arrived at Hong Kong Disneyland by 5.30am, which left me with just the right amount of time to get ready. It was a very nice 19-20 degrees celsius - I reckon anything between 15-20 degrees is optimum, easy to get warmed up and acceptable when standing in line without a sweater on, but not too sweaty/toasty by the end of the run.
My plan was conservative - go out nice and easy at a pace of between 6 and 6:30 (min/km) for at least the first 5km and then just play it by ear (hopefully at least holding pace or speeding up depending on how I felt). I don't recall much of the first few km until we hit the waterfront next to the Airport Express trains - this was around the 5-6km mark when I was starting to wonder about where the first water stop was! I stopped at the water stations around 6km, 9km and 15km (the first and last roughly coinciding with my slowest splits), skipping the one in between because I was feeling slightly lightheaded and nauseous around those few kilometers. Fortunately, that came and went for about 5 km before going away for good, after which I was able to step it up - my last 6 splits were comfortably under 5:50 (which, adjusted for the inaccuracy of my footpod, would have been under 5:35).
Here's me powering down the final few hundred meters. Looking nice and strong huh? You miss the painful scrunched up face from this view! :) All things considered, I was feeling good enough to give it a real push!
Very pleased after the finish...
Note on kit - Running Room vest, Lululemon tights (note to self - there was a threat of inner thighs chafing just below where the shorts ended, may need longer tights in longer races), smartwool socks, Mizuno LSD shoes, Nike running pack (for my ipod Shuffle and my Clif bloks).
Time on my watch... (notice the distance, which was about 5% off). Just finishing would have been a PB, so this was a PB with a big smile! This can really get addictive! :)
It was an early (and not very bright) start... was up at 4am and out the door by 4.45. Arrived at Hong Kong Disneyland by 5.30am, which left me with just the right amount of time to get ready. It was a very nice 19-20 degrees celsius - I reckon anything between 15-20 degrees is optimum, easy to get warmed up and acceptable when standing in line without a sweater on, but not too sweaty/toasty by the end of the run.
My plan was conservative - go out nice and easy at a pace of between 6 and 6:30 (min/km) for at least the first 5km and then just play it by ear (hopefully at least holding pace or speeding up depending on how I felt). I don't recall much of the first few km until we hit the waterfront next to the Airport Express trains - this was around the 5-6km mark when I was starting to wonder about where the first water stop was! I stopped at the water stations around 6km, 9km and 15km (the first and last roughly coinciding with my slowest splits), skipping the one in between because I was feeling slightly lightheaded and nauseous around those few kilometers. Fortunately, that came and went for about 5 km before going away for good, after which I was able to step it up - my last 6 splits were comfortably under 5:50 (which, adjusted for the inaccuracy of my footpod, would have been under 5:35).
Here's me powering down the final few hundred meters. Looking nice and strong huh? You miss the painful scrunched up face from this view! :) All things considered, I was feeling good enough to give it a real push!
Very pleased after the finish...
Note on kit - Running Room vest, Lululemon tights (note to self - there was a threat of inner thighs chafing just below where the shorts ended, may need longer tights in longer races), smartwool socks, Mizuno LSD shoes, Nike running pack (for my ipod Shuffle and my Clif bloks).
Time on my watch... (notice the distance, which was about 5% off). Just finishing would have been a PB, so this was a PB with a big smile! This can really get addictive! :)
I haven't been feeling too tired since the race although my quads and knees have moaned a little going up and down stairs. Other than that, I feel like I could be back to my regular schedule in a couple of days... not the best idea, I'm sure. Today and tomorrow are complete rest days, before a light gym session and 3-4kms on Weds. I'm going to start working in earnest on my marathon training plan - I have a few weeks to play around with before it all starts for real again! :) 26 weeks counting down now... the next couple of weeks will be 'training on paper' - finding the best amalgamation of plans that will become MY plan... I'll mainly work off the Runner's World and Furman plans, while picking up tips from Greg McMillan, Hal Higdon and Running Planet etc.
Next up -
Clearwater Bay Chase 10km in Jan 2011
Sundown Marathon in May 2011
Whee!!!!
Next up -
Clearwater Bay Chase 10km in Jan 2011
Sundown Marathon in May 2011
Whee!!!!
Friday, 10 September 2010
Beginning Today
Fear not that your life will come to an end but that it will never have a beginning
- JH Newman
My life's triumphs have been borne of new beginnings... And these new beginnings? Of loss, of choices, of fearful trepidation proven false, of faith guiding me, of big and of small, of my everyday today.
I have had many lives and many beginnings - girl, Singaporean, rebel, idealist, Christian, escapist in foreign land, life wanderer, patient, Doctor, lesbian, homebody, fitness nut, believer...
This day is a new beginning of sorts. Yesterday morning, my legs were sore, my upper hamstrings were like taut wires connecting the back of my legs into my buttocks... pulling and reminding me each time I stood up and took a few steps. Last night my quads and glutes still burned walking up stairs. I scheduled it to be a rest day, thankfull. and Today I am new again :)
Gym later today, can't wait! 6km easy with some core work after.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)