Fantastic Workout, Craptastic Knee

Goal: 15x1 min on/off
Actual: 11.5 miles total, 15x1 min on/off, hurt IT Band/Knee

After procrastinating about 8 hours of the day away at the timeshare on Newport Coast, I finally got ready for a workout. This was difficult to do considering that all I did today was watch Discovery Channel, read Franzen's book The Corrections, eat food, and take a nap. Once my parents drove off to pick Sally up in Long Beach, I decided 3:30pm was a good time to go running because 1) it had stopped raining and 2) I would finish before the sun fell below the ocean line.

I ran down the mountain that defines Newport Coast Drive and made my way to the Crystal Cove State Park, where I ran along the cliffs overlooking the ocean. I enjoyed watching the sun drop lower and lower until it finally seemed to touch the ocean and reflect its brilliance straight into my sensitive eyes (I forgot my sweet new Nike sunglasses Garrett's parents gave me at the timeshare).

I noticed for the first 5 miles of my warmup that the wind was terribly strong going one direction, so I started my fartlek with the wind at my back to make it easier. For the first 9 minuters, I ran with the wind. I felt really good and my legs felt like they had lots of bounce to them. However, everything changed once I turned around when the wind was in my face. It was difficult to get my legs up, I was leaning forward too much, and my hair was blowing all into my face. I'm sure I looked like a terrible mess. I finished out the workout, and slowed to a stop, and knelt down to stretch for a moment.

As soon as I stood up, all my confidence from having a good workout slipped away as a sharp, persistent pain pulsed through my knee. A pain that literally came out of nowhere worried the crap out of me, and I wondered if I could even make it home the next three miles. The sun had already set and I knew that if I were any tick past 5:30, my parents would be really worried. Fortunately, the pain seemed to subside just a bit so that I could run to the bottom of the big mountain. I walked/jogged up the mountain and counted down every second until I made it to my temporary abode. As soon as I walked into the timeshare, I grabbed some ice and stretched.

Online research commenced and the pain worsened. I determined that my IT Band was rubbing against the side of my knee, causing inflammation and irritation. I could tell there was excess fluid in the attachment of the IT Band and the knee. I decided to take the next two days off and figured rest, ice, and massages from my mom would do the trick. I could only wait and see if it would actually be a magical formula to recovery.

18 Mile Progression Run

Goal:

18 miles with 50-60 minutes uptempo

Actual:

16.04 miles: 1:48:55 @ 6:47 ave
1st 8 miles: 56:46 (7:06 pace)
2nd 8 miles: 51:46 (6:28 pace)

After exchanging several emails on Christmas day with Bill Sumner, coach of Corona Del Mar High School and at the Cal Coast Track Cub, I finally linked up with Juan and Juan...two runners of the CCTC. Bill Sumner was really helpful and I am really grateful for him linking me up with people to do 16 miles with! He has the most wins of any high school coach in California history. Cool stuff!

I met up with the two Juans at 830am at the Back Bay and I soon learned the plan was to do 8 out and back. After that, I was going to run back to my sister's house which was a perfect 2 miles away. We started out with a 7:15 mile and that would be our slowest mile split of the day. For the next seven miles, I enjoyed the view of the snow covered mountains in the backdrop and the beauties of UC Irvine's campus. At 8 miles, we began to dip under 7 minute pace for a progression run. It wasn't anything that we had verbally agreed to, it just felt good for our legs to gradually pick up the pace, and so we did. My legs felt great until about miles 14-15, where they began to feel fatigued. My breathing became more labored, but I had enough in me to finish up right around 6:00 for the last mile.

One of the Juans has never run a marathon and asked for some advice. I told him to go out so slow that he feels like he needs to rip his hair out it's so boring. The other Juan is 41 years old and looks like he is 30. He was the 2010 masters champion at the LA Marathon this year. It was cool running with such a local stud! He told me that he "liked marathons best because they are like a journey." I never had thought of it like that, and I liked his analogy. I'm going to remember that when my marathon training cycle starts for the Olympic Trials.

I really enjoyed the company and might even link up with these guys again for a tempo on Thursday! It's a lot of fun meeting people from other running clubs and hearing about how they work. This club has workouts led by a coach on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I will continue to get more ides from other clubs to hopefully incorporate into the Charlotte Running Club's future.

After the 16 miles were over, I ran 2 miles back to my sister's and we enjoyed the rest of the day at the timeshare. I went in the hot tub for 20 minutes and wanted to alternate hot/cold, but the pool was heated so it was not worth it to jump out of the tub. It's definitely nice to be with my family during the holiday season.

Splits

9 - 6:55
10 - 6:33
11 - 6:37
12 - 6:27
13 - 6:34
14 - 6:24
15 - 6:12
16 - 6:04

6x2 min on/off in California

Goal
6x2 min on/off at 520-ish pace

Actual

~6 miles warmup
6x2 min on/off at 515-525 pace depending on the uphill

2x1 min on/off

~2 miles cool down for 11.5 miles total

I'm on my third day of taking anitbiotics for my bacterial virus, so I took it easy for the first four days of the week. This was my first workout in 7 days, so I had good reason to believe that my legs would feel pretty good on this one. I was right. After I ran from my sister's house to the Newport Back Bay (only half a mile away), I settled into a nice warmup on the bike path towards UC Irvine. I enjoyed the 65 degrees and hoped the sun wouldn't roast my semi-albino skin too much. I did put sunscreen on my face to prevent from aging prematurely since I'm a redhead and all.

Dad and I before the run

I got in almost 6 miles before I decided to pick it up because a guy was trying to "run with me" and I didn't want him to think he was faster than me, so I pressed the lap button on my garmin and I sped away, leaving him in my dust. I rounded the nature reserve in the Back Bay, enjoying the scenery on my rest intervals and practically ignoring it on my fast segments.

For the fourth interval, I even counted all the way to 90 just to help pass the time. The 6th interval was all on the downhill, so my pace for this one was flying: 5:12. I was pretty happy with that one...but then I paid for it because I could barely finish my minuters that I had planned to do. A stark contrast to how my legs felt for the 6x2 minutes, my legs began to feel like they had no power to lift and drive forward. It didn't matter much because I felt like I had gotten in the quality I needed and ran it back in to the house.

Despite having traveled across the country yesterday and staying up for at least 20 hours before I finally made it to bed last night, I felt really good on this workout. Without any company, I found myself mentally tough and tuned in with my body. I quite possibly got a boost from the temperature, the sun, and the excitement of running on new routes. I'm trying to link up with members of the Cal Coast Track Club to run an 18 miler on Sunday.

I'm looking forward to the Christmas festivites tonight and tomorrow with the Quinn family. Best yet, we check into the timeshare tomorrow so I can get in the hot tub to get the soreness out of my legs!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Week in Review

~69 Miles
6 Runs
1 Full Day Off
17 Mile long run

Hooray, Hooray! This week was a success. This is exactly what I've been yearning for, a solid week in the books. After weeks upon weeks of feeling slow and lethargic, my legs are finally starting to come around. Even with a day off on Monday because I was still feeling sick and tired, I was still able to get in almost 70 miles on just 6 runs. While I did feel pretty tired in my 17 miler today, I'm fairly certain it was due to the two hard workouts I had this week. I had company for both workouts, and felt consistent and strong in both. I'm ready for Meagan to be cleared by Coach JSK to run a workout, but with the holiday coming up, it doesn't look like we'll be able to workout together until the new year. Crazy stuff!

The week was topped off with a fun Christmas light run, followed by hot cocoa and cookies at Freedom Park. We had a huge turn out, and it was a great way for Charlotte Running Club members to meet each other. I got to meet Stephen Spada's kids and also keep Thomas' daughter warm! Santa even made an appearance!

In just four days, I will be in the beautiful and sunny southern California, where I hope to focus on my training and get my mileage back into the 75-80 mile range before 2011 rings in.