Jump to content

Finally back at it


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 109
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Thanks guys! Here is most of the team... we took these shots tonight.

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/100_4799small.jpg

 

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/runningteamjump.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So on thursday night we did about 10.5k in 57 minutes with someone from our running team. We did the race weekend course plus a bit.

 

Today we did the half course (Todd stopped at around 18k- he's not quite to 21k yet) with another running team member. We took it quite slow, and the first half of it is in an area I am completely unfamiliar with. The first half is also a gradual uphill. I didn't even notice for the most part, but I did feel I was going fairly slow for the energy expended.

 

I don't know if I can make my goal time for the race. I just don't care enough anymore. Last year I was filled with piss and vinegar and rage, and now I'm a lot more mellowed out. My anger made me fast. Now I don't have anything pushing me. I'll definitely be under two hours, but I don't know if i can do sub- 1:50. I guess we'll see.

 

This week, I have planned: 8k or so of speed work on Tuesday, 15k in the morning on Thursday, 10k or so on Friday evening including hills, and 21k again on Sunday morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, it's been a while since I posted here. OK let's see...

 

I took Monday off after the 21k run on Sunday.

 

Tuesday I started a run but ended up aborting it for personal reasons at 2.5K. I walked the last 1.5k of the lap I was doing in tears.

 

Wednesday morning I did a 5k tempo run. I am not used to trying to go fast anymore, so it was hard.

 

This morning I did 14k. The first 4k I did at a good pace, but then when I turned and was headed west the wind was terrible. It was made worse by the fact that I was running across pathways through a succession of parks, so there was nothing to break it. I slowed down big time, and while I finished the run, it was not run the way I wanted to do it.

 

Tomorrow evening I am going to do hills... probably a 2k warm up, 4-5 hills at 1.2k each, and then either a cool down 2k or I'll stop.

 

Saturday I will be off. Sunday I'm doing 21k again. That will be my last long run before the race.

 

I am really struggling with motivation. When I'm out there my head just decides it doesn't want to push, and so I don't. A few times I've actually stopped, and had to force myself to start again. It's not physical, I'm in the best shape I've ever been. It's 100% mental and I don't know quite what to do about it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need some good friends to run with that are in a bit better shape than you are...if you can find any I think that would really help out a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You need some good friends to run with that are in a bit better shape than you are...if you can find any I think that would really help out a lot.

 

There are a couple of guys I've been running with a bit lately, and hope to more throughout the summer. One guy does only runs less than 10k, the other is training for the half like me. Both are faster than me, but the half guy is new to the distance, and the sub 10k guy isn't consistent, so it works out. But both live a ways away, so I still have to do most of my training alone.

 

Todd and I are almost the exact same speed (he's a bit faster at shorter stuff, but I have much more endurance) but we are finding we fight a bit too much when we run together. I hope we can fix that, because we'd both love to be each other's training partners.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm thinking it'll be good if you run maybe only a few times a week together...that way it doesn't spoil the time and can make your runs fill in as real quality time. Do the rest of your runs with someone else....there's gotta be someone...force one of those vegans in your group to run with you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Force... lol yeah, I can be pretty intimidating!

 

We just got in from a run... we did hills. 2k warm up, 2k cool down, and 5k of hills. I'd forgotten how much I love running at night! And how much I love doing hills. I felt really good tonight, really strong, the first time I have in a few weeks. I sprinted up the hills and then used the downs to catch my breath again.

 

This morning I did an upper body work out: 3 sets of 3 arm/shoulder exercises, 100 bicycle crunches, 30 plank crunches. I also did 25 minutes of stretching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning I did a 21k run with my new long run partner, a guy from our vegetarian running team. It went pretty well. We ran together last weekend as well. I think we both want to keep running together for these long runs but the race is in two weeks so no more long runs for now. He's a pretty fast 5-10k runner (20 minute 5k, 43 minute 10k) who is just getting into the longer distances, so he pushes me a bit, and I help moderate his speed so he can actually finish the distance.

 

We completed the distance in just over two hours, which is pretty good since it was just a training run and we did stop and walk for a minute on a few occasions. We also chatted through much of the run. The inside of my left knee is acting a bit funny, so I'm keeping an eye on that.

 

Now I'm warding off sleep. Todd and I are going to go out soon for a walk, probably a few km, and I'm drinking one of my crazy healthy green smoothies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a 6.5k run on Tuesday night. I'm tapering, and also trying to ward off a muscle issue in the inside part of my knee where my hamstring meets my adductor. I'm going to run again tonight, maybe 10k. We'll see how I feel. I'm also spending 25 minutes stretching every day, and I've also done two arm workouts in the past few days and a leg strengthening workout.

 

Todd took some pictures of me this morning for another reason, but I thought I'd post a couple here.

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/pamelafront.jpg

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c78/pamelaswitzer/pamelafrontonweights.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So tomorrow is my half marathon. I have a pinched nerve of some sort in my knee. It has really hampered my training the past few weeks (although technically I have been tapering.) I expect it will hamper the race too. I'm going to do my best. Mentally I'm in a pretty good place, and physically too other than this nerve issue. But I'm not counting on a faster time than last year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys!

 

Good luck Pamela!!! I'll be at the race cheering you and my cousin's husband on!

 

Keep an eye out for those of us in NCVA t-shirts! Here's our team photo and a story that appeared in the Citizen:

 

http://www.ncva.ca/uploads/Race%20Weekend%20Teams.pdf

 

I hope to definitely finish under 2 hours. If I don't, it will be because my knee flared up. My long shot goal is to beat my October time, 1:53. I have no idea how I'm going to do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope to definitely finish under 2 hours. If I don't, it will be because my knee flared up. My long shot goal is to beat my October time, 1:53. I have no idea how I'm going to do.

 

I hope your knee behaves itself. Good luck. I believe you can do it!! You've trained well and have what it takes!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sigh. Well I definitely didn't get the result I wanted, but given everything that came in to play it isn't horrible. Here's the race report I wrote about the race. (BTW I finished in a disappointing 2:04)

 

 

 

As I waited to have my chip removed after finishing the ING Half Marathon, I struck up a conversation with a girl beside me who had really fantastic hair, even after running 21.1k (impressive!). She said she was from North Bay, and told me that the Ottawa event is her nemesis, the event she always struggles with, but that she comes back every year to try and break the curse. She confided that this year wasn’t the year for her. It definitely wasn’t the year for me either.

 

I ran my first half marathon back in the fall after running for only a few months. I ran the race of my life, finishing in 1:53. I’d hoped Ottawa would be my chance to better that, so I ran all winter, through the cold and through the 400+ cm of snow that got dumped on Ottawa. I ran so much I ended up straining my hip flexor. Years of not being athletic in any way meant my unstretched muscles just couldn’t handle the 60 kilometre weeks I was demanding of it. Many sessions of physio and ART massage and months later I conquered that problem, but then illness ravaged my body for several weeks in February and March.

 

When I finally started running again after weeks off and months of inconsistency I felt like I’d never done it before. But I persisted, and worked my way back to 20k training runs, doing two of them with my new pal Rob Thomas (who finished his first half marathon yesterday in an impressive 1:39!) But two weeks before the race I developed a pinched nerve in my left knee.

 

The night before the race I caught maybe four hours of sleep, tossing and turning for hours. Certain female issues kicked in. And then halfway to the race I realized I’d forgotten my pre-race fuel, so I bawled my eyes out and by the time I arrived I had decided not to bother running. But once enveloped in the race atmosphere I started going through the motions and stuffed myself into the corrals with 9,000 other runners with a plan to just do the best I could.

 

I got off to a good start; at 5k I was around 27 minutes. But exhaustion was setting in. I had stopped to walk at around 7k when the 1:50 pace bunny passed me. Then I heard a quiet voice from behind me say, “Keep going, you can do it.â€

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations on training for, running and finishing the half marathon Pamela! That is such a huge accomplishment in and of itself! I'm sorry you didn't get the time you wanted but you'll do it next year!

 

I hope you have a great rest and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

 

I guess since you ran 21k today, the least I can do is go to the gym. :P PMS is making it hard but I have to ignore it and just go.

 

Thanks for the inspiration!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't that the best? When you have people encouraging you ?

My friend did that to me. In fact he was running and yelling at me with excitement. I pushed to the end. He wasn't even in the race. Just out of the crowd. It was funny !

That's awesome Pamela you rock girly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys. I think it's just always disappointing to not live up to your potential. Right now my #1 goal is to learn how to love running again. I think that's going to be easier now that I don't have so many negative connotations and bad memories associated with it.

 

Since my race, I ran 9k on Thursday night, 8k Saturday afternoon, and 5.5k on Sunday evening. I'm easing back in to it. They were all good runs, and I felt great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well the sports medicine doctor says to stop running for a week to see if I can't get my knee thing to heal. And then I need to ramp back up again. Ugh, I am so freaking tired of doing that. It's spring/summer, the weather is beautiful, I just want to run!! Anyway, I'm dealing with it a lot better than I did in January, when I thought the world was going to end when I stopped. I'm trying to see it as an opportunity to be a bit lazy and maybe be less hungry therefore eat less and save money!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share




×
×
  • Create New...