Training Log

Pushed hard to fit this one in as quickly as possible because of a social commitment after work.  Had gone in early to work and worked through lunch to leave early to run.  Felt really good.

Fast run before babysitting.  During the run, stopped by at the vet's office, which is on the running route, to get Carbon's shot records for obedience class, which is later in the afternoon.  The class leader is teaching clicker training.  If I have enough time to work with him every day, he probably could do pretty well.

This run was enjoyable.  There was a strong headwind going down Byhalia Rd, but the temperature was about 58 at 9:30 am.  Took the scenic route so I could stop by the vet's office.  In the last mile or so, I turn back onto Byhalia Rd. now with the tailwind, come over very slight rise, and up ahead is a "rabbit", about a block and a half ahead of me.  I don't get to do this too often and am not sure if I can catch him, but his pace looks more like a fast jog than a run.  So I concentrate on my own pace, and pretty soon the gap is closing, helped by a nice little downhill followed by a shorter uphill.  We cross into the next block, and I can see he has on a Crescent City Classic tech shirt, so he's raced a 10K in NOLA, and I know I'm going to pass him.  He hears me and sees my shadow just as I'm about to pass and looks around, a little startled, but then we smile at each other and each run on to our respective destinations...I have another 0.5 or so to go 'til home and don't see him again after passing him.

6 pm - Started out pretty fast but had some bad stomach cramps in the middle of the run and had to slow down a little.

Still not feeling well with the stomach bug.  Felt tired all day at work and then had to work a little late.  It was really nice weather, though, close to 70 degrees.  It is supposed to go back down to 40 by Wed.  Started the run feeling tired and slow, but just kept going, and was finally able to speed up the last mile or so.

Evening of tornados.  Tornado sirens were on continuously since before 5 pm.  One tornado touched down just south of Memphis in Southhaven, MS and then in Memphis itself at Hickory Ridge Mall and caused injuries to people and a great deal of damage there.  Funnel cloud was photographed at Whitten Road.  Heavy thunderstorms in Arlington with high winds.  The sky out here in Collierville was slate gray to black with fast-moving swirling clouds and lightning.  Collierville sirens and police announcements from the siren loudspeakers telling people that a tornado was in the area and to stay inside and take cover continued until about 8:30 or 9 then started again sometime in the middle of the night. Quite scary.  These were very powerful storms that caused a great deal of devastation and loss of life in the Mid-South.

Got in the miles, a little slow, but felt ok - better than the other night. 

More adventure - Halfway through the first 4-mile loop, there are cars backed up on the main road, and it is pretty dark.  As I get closer, I see that in front of the first car in the lineup are two dogs walking down the middle of the lane, and the woman in the car is trying to protect them from getting hurt by trying to herd them over to the side with her vehicle.  They are walking kind of slow, and at first I thought they were my dogs that somehow got out and made their way over here, but has I get closer and can see them in the headlights, and can tell that they are old dogs about the same size as mine.  The woman yelled out the car window telling me what she was trying to do, so I followed along on the opposite side of the road until I could cross to try to catch them.  When I did cross, they shied away and got up on the sidewalk and started walking back the other way but soon went into the road again near the curb.  By this time the cars that had been lined up behind the herding woman have driven off, and I'm following the dogs to see if I can get them out of the road.  After a few near misses of the dogs by cars and me waving my arms at the cars and the dogs, they finally turn into a church parking lot and cut across the lawn.  It is so dark it is hard to see where they are going but at least they are out of the street.  The poor things were scared of me but not the cars and looked like they definitely were not used to being out on their own - they stuck right together.  The original herding woman drives up from where she had been and is trying to call animal control and the police to find out if someone can come get the dogs but by now they've disappeared into a neighboring yard. So I wished her luck and continued the run.

7 miles at 6 pm.  No adventures this evening  : )

6:30 pm.  Felt a little tired at first but was able to speed up in the last 3 miles or so.  Left heel hurt on a downhill in the first mile.  Might need new running shoes.

Rode 25 miles at 8:45 am.  Had to be back to babysit at 10:30.  It was still pretty cool in the morning, and I came back a little chilled.  Out and back from home to Baptist East. It was a good workout - held a steady pace on Wolf River Blvd, especially coming back.  On the way back, got passed by Memphis Motorwerks racing team.  There were about 9 of them, and they were very courteous, wishing me a good morning as they passed.  They are the fast young guys and were out for a 3+ hour ride.  I saw them later in the day, still riding together at 1:00.

Had to wait until 7:30 pm or so to run since I was babysitting all day.  Felt pretty tired by then, so took it easy, and my heels still hurt, especially the left. Not sure what that is all about; never felt it before.

No running today even though it is a relatively nice day.  I'm letting my sore heels rest to find out if that helps.  Worked from early in the morning until lunch time on the bike team web page that I haven't touched since the summer.  Came home and did a lot of work in the yard, clearng out a lot of old wood and taking it to the curb.  Fixed Jacob's bike seat height and tires so he could ride while I was working.  He wanted to help with the wood, too, but some of it was a little big for a 4 year old.  Worked for a few more hours on the bike team pages and made good progress.

6 pm.  Felt pretty good, however my left heel started to hurt after about a mile but then the pain eased up around 3-4 miles.  I tried to keep my left leg from rotating outward, and that seemed to help.  The pain in the left quad muscle also seems to throw off my stride and cause the outward rotation, so will concentrate on keeping the stride straight and stable this week.

7 pm, 26 degrees.  It had sleeted earlier, but thankfully it had stopped, and there was no accumulation on the streets or sidewalks, just on the car as I left work.  Dressed in layers, and didn't feel cold after the first .2 mile.  Left heel hurt again, and I noticed it is when I'm running on the sidewalk (cement) and when the left quad muscle also hurts.  When I'm running on the asphalt road, which is the last 3 miles, it is ok.

It's my birthday!  What a nice day; my co-workers and friends brought sweets and stopped by throughout the work day, and my kids took me out to dinner right after work.  It was fun.  I usually celebrate with a birthday run, but there was really no opportunity to run today. 

Ordered new running shoes online, hoping that will help with the heel pain; they should be here within the next week.  Am I supposed to be alternating between two pairs of running shoes?  Is there really any benefit to that, and should they be the same brand/style of shoes, just alternating days or different type of shoes?

Ok, it's the shoes.  I ran in my everyday Nikes and my heels did not hurt at all.  8 miles 6:30 pm.

Legs felt kind of heavy at the beginning but was able to speed up the last few miles. 

A co-worker asked me to play on the adult soccer league that starts in March.  It would be fun, but I'm not sure I want to join because it seems there would be an increased chance of injury since I'm not an experienced soccer player.  Interestingly, soccer was not that common in the region (and time period) where I grew up, so we didn't play it in school; we played field hockey instead, which has some of the same field positions and similar general rules.  I did get to play indoor soccer while living in Syracuse; however, that was about 15 years ago.  ; )  On the other hand, playing soccer would be good for sprints -  still deciding.

7 miles, 8 pm after a really busy saturday.  Felt a little slow.

8 miles, 4 pm, strong winds.  Did the 4-mile loop twice so had headwinds, tailwinds, and crosswinds.  : )  Felt really good.  Wore the old ASO ankle brace since the Nike shoes seem to have little ankle support, but they are defnitely better on the heels!

Wow...really crazy day at work.  Didn't get home until 8:30 pm.  Ran 4 miles with Carbon, trying to teach him not to pull on the leash as much.

All I could fit in today was 10 miles on the bike at the gym before work.  There was no water pressure in house, and had to call the plumber who found 3 different problems.  Tore the walls apart trying to get to the leak and a collapsed valve.  It looks like the pipes are going to need replacement - poor grade of copper and high mineral content in the water is causing multiple leaks.  Darn.

6 pm, 8 miles at a good, steady pace.  Out and back loop through Schilling Farms for a change.   Kind of chilly.  Trying to get an answer on replacing the copper pipes from the insurance company, but no answer yet.  Walls are still torn apart from the repairs yesterday.

7 miles at 4:45 pm, then rushed off to a meeting at CBU.

7 miles, 6 pm.  Kinda chilly out.

New running shoes got here today.  Saucony Grid Trigon 5 Ride - 7 miles.

7:35 pm.  4 miles with Carbon.  3 miles with Luke.  Both were well-behaved tonight. 

Took Jacob to the Memphis Runners kids running program earlier in the day - he really enjoyed it.  His group, under age 5, played running games and ran on the track.  It continues next Sat. with a race for then the following Sat. during the MRTC Spring Mile event.

Saucony Grid Trigon Ride - 7

total - 14

Rest day.  Very tired - took a nap in the afternoon. : )

6 pm - 7 miles.  Still felt tired but was able to speed up in the last couple miles.

Grid Trigon total - 21

6:30 pm.  Cold and windy.  7 slow miles.  I felt kind of yucky - maybe its the stomach bug that is going around.  Felt like someone hit me in the solar plexus for the first 4 miles or so. 

Grid Trigon total - 28

7 pm, 7 slow miles, 33 degrees.

Grid Trigon - 35

T

5 pm, 8 miles. windy and 57.  Felt tired at first, then felt very strong and pushed the pace.  Book club night!

Germantown Half Marathon is March 16!  Should I do long runs during the next 2 weekends?

Grid Trigon - 43

6 pm, 59 degrees, took it slow at first, then got stronger but did not really push the pace.

Grid Trigon - 51