Week 6- Back on Track

Yesterday I finished week 6 of my 20-week schedule, and I'm now enjoying a GLORIOUS day of rest.  See, I have a confession....I like running best when I'm not doing it.  Most runners will tell you their favorite thing about running is breaking through the wall of that extra mile, or the feel of the the wind in their face, or the calm and solitude of being out there sweating and panting in rhythm with the road.  Not me!  My favorite thing about running is the feeling I get AFTER I run! Particularly if there's pizza involved.


But I digress.  This week I took it fairly easy, since I'm in the last stages of an ankle-achilles-foot-what-the-hell-is-it-really "injury", that has been bothering me since my first 8.5-miler.  This injury made me bonkers, and I discovered a whole new neuroses.  Poor Jim (super spouse), Andi (super friend), and anyone else unfortunate to ask, "how's the running going?" had to listen to me gripe and help me self-diagnose for weeks.  It never got bad enough to see a doctor, but it was annoying as hell, mostly because I'm still not entirely sure what caused it.  It may have been following my adrenaline and going too fast for my level of training over the Brooklyn Bridge incline.  Or it may have been that my current shoes are too small as my feet expand when I run for more than an hour at a time.  Or it may have been that I insist on wearing the world's most unsupportive street shoes.  Or it may have been that I broke both of my ankles as a teen and should really be strengthening them as I go along.  (And the list goes on...)  Whatever it is- I've vowed to take it a little slower in the long runs, start a program of ankle strength training, buy some decent street shoes, and get fitted for new running shoes.  Guess this injury will always be my achilles heel (pun definitely intended).


But I digress again!  This week I did two 30-minute runs, lots of stretching & ankle strengthening, a 60-minute walk, a long group run of 7 miles, and attended a marathon Q&A at Jack Rabbit.  I also worked on some musicals (not what this blog is about), watched a lot of TV (really not what this blog is about), and went to my day job (I could tell you about it, but you might fall asleep while reading this blog).


I did my Tuesday 30-minute run by myself, in Central Park (that's where you can usually find me running, since I live 6 blocks north of the northwest corner entrance).  I did a usual route- ran up the demon known to me as the Harlem Hill, down to the north end of the the Resevoir, across to East Drive, and down the east side of the Harlem Hill.  My ankle felt fine (finally) during this run, so I was thrilled to be back in business!  For my walk, I walked down 5th Ave 1/2-way to work, and passed the time while catching up with Mom on the phone (thank you free Verizon to Verizon minutes).  For stretching and strengthening, I've been enjoying some "Exercise on Demand" videos that are FREE with my TIme Warner Cable.  I'm currently loving the "Pink Ribbon Stretch" for runners and walkers.  My Thursday 30-minute run was with my brother-in-law Mike, who is also a Couch 2 5k devotee (Note- running is more fun when you run with someone else)!  I introduced him to the 102nd Street transverse, and then we went back up the East Side through the Conservatory Gardens, around the Harlem Meer, and back to where we started, the northwest corner.  As I post these links, I'm reminded what a lucky girl I am to have Central Park as my backyard!  I'm also reminded how much time I wasted living in New York while not being a runner (cue the "wah-wah" sound effect).  


The marathon Q&A at Jack Rabbit was awesome!  The panel included a sports nutritionist, a world-class triathlete trainer, and an orthopedic surgeon-all  three being long-distance athletes themselves.  I met my Galloway training coach and my friend Ed there- he's training for the NYC marathon on 11/1.  Ed's running for Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital, and his mom Mary Belle (Christman) Poulin-Groeschen.  She waged a 10-year battle against cancer; Sarcoma & Breast until December 12, 2008.  I'm proud to say Jim and I have donated to Ed's "Miles for Mom".  He has a little more money to raise before his big race- please consider donating.  I can't wait to watch Ed run NYC!  But best of all, the lecture made me realize I'm not alone.  There were a lot of super-neurotic first-time marathoners there, and they had as many questions as I did!  And did I mention they had free food and a 15% discount on everything in the store?  A great way to spend a Thursday night.


On Saturday morning at 5:30 AM, I woke up, stretched, downed some toast & 1/2 a banana, threw on some pink stuff, and headed out to meet my team for a 7-mile group run.  We ran (4-1 intervals) the Central Park loop (6.2 miles) and added a mile.  I already ignored my vow to go a little slower on the group long run- we were a small group this week and I was the most inexperienced of the bunch, so I pushed myself a little to keep up.  It was ok though- my ankle was feeling fine and I'm excited to get my cardio capacity back up to what it was before I took my injury break.  I really enjoyed getting to know some members of my group more, and the hour and 27 minutes (sort of) flew by! The only downside- I had a fueling problem.  I had plenty of red gatorade (my favorite), sport jelly beans, and water with me- but I started to feel pretty tired after about an hour.  In retrospect, I think I needed more protein before my run. But I'm told that's one of the best things about these long runs in training- you can experiment with and find out what works for you long before the big day.  Next week I'll try some more protein before my (yikes!) 10-miler.


I also paid a little bit yesterday for over-doing it.  I was TIRED and got a little stiff as the day went on.  Around 6 PM, I took a nice walk to 125th St. to suss out some new running clothes.  It think gently moving around was just what the doctor ordered (if I ever actually saw a doctor)! That plus the delicious Vietnamese delivery and 10-hours of much-needed sleep, and I'm feeling good to go today.  Looking forward to week 7!


Sarathon or bust!