Week #16 - #18 of 24

 I've not been keeping up with recording my workouts.  I have been pretty good about keeping my workouts.  I still have not missed a single workout.  My twenty mile run was really challenging.  It was a very busy weekend with the youth group fundraiser.  My plan was to run early Sunday morning.  I even was up at 4:40 AM.  Due to some female issues I only made one mile and had to turn around come home.  I was so mad.  But I was able to run later that afternoon...and I literally ran all afternoon.  From 2:30 to just before 6.  It was tough around Mile #15.  I need to keep hydrating and taking in nutrition...I can tell when I'm starting to bonk.

My knee and ankle are doing fine.  I did register for the marathon so I am committed!!  

Week #14 and #15 of 24

 Monday (15):  Ran 9 miles in the late afternoon.  Beautiful day!

Tuesday (16):  Stationary bike for 50 minutes & stretching at the gym in the late afternoon while Kara was at theatre practice

Wednesday (17):  Rest.  Kind of a busy day getting ready for ETM at night and transporting kids.

Thursday (18):  18 miles!!  The first few miles were miserable.  Cold. wet, rain.  I was absolutely drenched.  The rain let up about halfway through.  There were so many traffic lights too and I had issues with my phone and headset at one point.  It made the run much longer than anticipated.  I had very little knee or ankle pain.  It help up pretty well.

Friday (19):  Rest

Saturday (20):  Walked the beach with friends in the late morning as I stayed on the coast Friday night.  Was a good cross training workout.

Sunday (21):  I did a five mile pacing run and it was frustrating because I felt tired the whole run.  Like it took much effort to keep going and I had to walk three times.  I felt thirsty and depleted.  I spent most of the evening on the couch and went to bed really early.  It honestly felt like the after affects of COVID even though it's been two months.  I heard it can linger.

Monday (22):  6.14 miles.  Much better run.  I could maintain about a 9 1/2 minute mile pace.  I felt much stronger.  Amazing what another day brings.

Tuesday (23): Stationary bike 50 minutes & weights

Wednesday (24): 6 mile run with Emily at Minto Brown.  We had a great run.

Thursday (25): 13.1 mile run in the morning before Kara and I left for Virginia.  It was a really good run...not much pain.  Did not struggle that much.

Friday (26): 1.5 mile walk along the beach with my mom and Kara.

Saturday (27): Rest

Sunday (28) Rest

Week #13 of 24

 Monday (8):  My birthday!  I did an 8 mile run in the morning while listening to music from the 1970's!

Tuesday (9):  Stationary bike for 45 minutes and weights for about 15 minutes.  I was in a crummy mood due to some issues at work.  I needed to process through it.  It got better as the day went on.  I had a good talk with my teacher coach.

Wednesday (10): 17 miles!  I was so excited I completed this!  My knee held up as well.  It was probably on a pain level of about 3.  It did not get progressively worse during the run but kind of stayed the same.

Thursday (11): Rest

Friday (12):  About 40 minutes of weights/stretches and fifteen minutes of the rowing machine at the gym.

Saturday (13):  Completed the Dirty Leprechaun 5K with Derek!  We had such a great race.

Week #12 and Repeating Week #12

 Monday (22):  I did some stretching, weights, and riding the stationary bike at the gym.  Trying to strengthen my glutes to see if it will help with this lateral knee pain.

Tuesday (23):  Ran 6 miles to Bryan Johnson Park and back.  Some pain but not nearly as bad as I expected.  First time running with the wireless head phones.

Wednesday (24):  Pretty busy day getting ready to leave for Michigan so I did not make it to the gym.

Thursday (25) - Sunday (28):  I was in Michigan/Chicago.  While we were pretty active walking, I decided to not exercise and see if that would help my knee heal.  

The marathon I wanted to do on the Oregon Coast went virtual and I really don't want to do a virtual marathon.  The other one I was looking at that same weekend is on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington which would be absolutely beautiful.  It is like a five hour drive and I don't think I could get that Monday off work.  The one I want to do is in North Bend, Washington.  It has not been cancelled yet and they will make a decision on March 24th.  I am hoping it does happen.  If it doesn't I don't have a lot of options.  I am ahead of schedule training wise so I decided to repeat Week #12.  I figured it can't do any harm--it might actually do some good.

Monday (1):  Lots of walking in Chicago

Tuesday (2):  Rest.  Very exhausted from travel.

Wednesday (3):  Ran 6 miles.  Some knee pain again.  It's like with the rest nothing really changes and in some ways it gets worse because the muscles are being worked.  The dynamic stretching before I run and the stretching afterwards helps.  It makes a pretty big difference.  On a pain scale with 1 being I don't feel any pain to 10 I can hardly run, I would rank it at a 5.

Thursday (4):  Ran 6 miles.  It was  good run and there is knee pain again.  It's not any worse but not better.  It is not throughout the whole run.  Running downhill triggers it.  I would still rank it at a 5.  I am slower and and struggling on the uphill but I think that is due to taking time off.  I also had not drank enough.  I was so thirsty after running I could hardly get enough water.  I felt thirsty the rest of the day.  I have done awesome staying away from soda but I have not been drinking enough water.  I am wondering if I stay on top of it with the PT exercises everyday like when I trained for Arizona, I can keep the knee pain manageable.  I think the next few weeks will determine that.

Friday (5):  Biked 45 minutes and weights at the gym

Saturday (6):  Ran 6 miles and 4 1/2 of that was with a friend.  My knee pain was a 2 today.  I think all the stretching yesterday helped significantly.  I am also seriously thinking of doing the Willamette Valley Marathon here in Salem on May 23.  It would put me right on schedule.  I would not need to miss work or mess with travel.  I could sleep in my own bed.  Rob could watch me start and maybe watch me finish if church let out in time.  If my knee gets worse, I can easily switch to the half or even 10K.

Sunday (7):  Rest

Week #10 and #11 of #24

 Now I remember why marathon training gets intense and starts to feel like a second part time job.  Once you get over the 13 mile mark for long runs, it takes more effort to block out time and plan nutrition for that long of a run.  I am running so well right now.  My ankle doe not hurt all the time and my IT band has been fine.  I am wondering if my pace is too slow, but it might be good in the long run to train at this pace.

Monday (8):  Ran 15 miles!  I ran in the afternoon and around the neighborhood.

Tuesday (9):   Did weights and the rowing machine after I dropped Hailey off from school.

Wednesday (10):  Ran 7 miles with Emily downtown.  It was pretty tough going up some of the hills.

Thursday (11):  Tempo run.  Ran 4 miles in the neighborhood.

Friday (12) through Sunday (14):  Our area was hit with a massive ice storm and we did not have power from Friday night until Sunday afternoon.  Some were without power even longer.  We were pretty lucky.  It was really hard to exercise because we were in survival mode.

Monday (15):  Rest.  I really needed a day to reset and get back into routine.

Tuesday (16):  Ran 8 miles and saw all the damage in our neighborhood.

Wednesday (17):  Weights and rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes

Thursday (18):  4.50 mile tempo run in the neighborhood

Friday (19)  Swam 1500 yards

Saturday (20):  16 miles!  Around 14 miles I am getting with lateral knee pain again on my right knee.  It is probably IT band pain but it feels different from last time.  After I ran last week Monday I didn't really feel it much after I ran.  After this run, I did.  It hurt all day and into the next day.  Not extremely painful but enough that it has me a little concerned.  I am wondering if I am not doing glute exercises as much.  I am rolling now and using heat.  I will have to keep an eye on it.  One step at a time.  Marathon training is not going to be worth it for 12 more weeks if I am in constant pain all the time.  It could be it goes in and out and doesn't get much worse than this.  Time will tell.

Sunday (21):  Rest and some stretching at home.

Week #7, #8 and #9 of 24

 I have been way more motivated to run lately versus go to the gym and do other workouts.  But I guess that is good.  

Monday (18):  Everyone was off school and work due to MLK day.  So I ran in the morning after I woke up and did four miles with a pace of 9:59.  I ran through the neighborhood.

Tuesday (19): Group Ride & weights

Wednesday (20):  Long run.  I went at 10:33 so I could watch the inaugaration.  I ran 12:09 miles with a pace of 10:02 miles.  I especially liked running around Lee Middle School on the track.

Thursday (21): Swim 1,000 yards and weights

Friday (22):  Ran intervals at Wendy Kroger Park in the afternoon.

Saturday (23):  Emily and I ran from Riverfront Park to Bush Park and back.  We did 6.23 miles with a pace of 9:56 miles.

Sunday (24):  Rest  

Monday (25): Ran 4 miles in the late afternoon with a pace of 9:57 

Tuesday (26): Group Ride and weights

Wednesday (27): Ran in the snow!  7.01 miles with a pace of 10:05

Thursday (28):  Long run.  13 miles with a pace of 10:20.  I ran starting in Monmouth and ran to Independence and back.  Then I unfortunately discovered I locked the wrong key in the car.  Rob had to drive all the way to Monmouth and let me back in.  I was able to complete my run in time to get my COVID vaccine.

Friday (29):  Weights and swam 1,000 yard.  I felt really sluggish due to the vaccine.

Saturday (30):  Ran a tempo run with Emily at Bush Park.  I still felt sluggish but better.  We did three miles.

Sunday (31):  Rest

Monday (1):  It's a kick back week.  I ran 5 miles over lunch with a pace of 10:12.

Tuesday (2):  Tried to run a 5K at race pace.  I thought running with the kids while they biked to school would help motivate me.  I could not keep at all.  I had to stop twice and caught my breath.  I felt slow.  My time was 27:02 which is about two minutes slower than what I normally do.

Wednesday (3):  Ran 5 miles at lunch again and felt better.  My pace was 9:42.

Thursday (4):  Group ride in the morning and weights in the afternoon

Friday (5):  So not motivated to swim.  I did weights and then about 15 minutes on the rowing machine.

Saturday (6):  Ran almost 5 miles with Tracy.  Have greatly missed running with her.  Then Derek and I ran 1 mile and practiced obstacles in Independence in the afternoon.

Week #5 and #6 of 24

 I am grateful I can run even though we are dealing with COVID.  I don't know what I would do if I could not get outside.  I do miss the gym, but I can get by without it for a little bit.  Running has helped with the fatigue as well.

Monday = Rest Day

Tuesday = Easy 3.21 mile run in the neighborhood with a pace of 10:53

Wednesday = Morning walk of 1.47 miles and strength training at home

Thursday = Easy 5 mile run with a pace of 10:20

Friday = Hike (about 1 1/2 miles) with Rob on the Skyline Trail in South Salem.  Nice little hike with some rolling hills.

Saturday = Long easy run of 10.02 miles with a pace of 10:44.  It honestly is not hard to do these runs at a slower pace.  I honestly don't think I could do it right now if I had to run faster.

Sunday = Bike ride.  I decided last minute to take a ride through the neighborhood.  I went 7.66 miles

Monday = Ran 4.01 miles.  I went slow because I was feeling pretty fatigued.  I went at a pace of 10:29 miles.

Tuesday = Rest day.  The weather was SO bad.  Constant rain all day.

Wednesday = Long run.  8 miles with a pace of 9:30.  I ran downtown and took the bus back.  First time I ever done this.  It was great.  I would totally do this again.

Thursday = Bike ride in Monmouth.  I did the Highway 99 trail and did 11.17 miles.  The weather was perfect.

Friday = Weights at the gym and intervals at Pringle Elementary.  First time back at the gym. I did 2.28 miles of intervals at a slower pace.

Saturday = Ran 4.14 miles in Keizer with Emily.  Back to my normal pace.  We went 9:10 miles.

Sunday = Went for a walk and went 1.87 miles and did stretching and strength training at home afterwards.