Progress + Injury Prevention

After my not-so-awesome half marathon performance in NYC in March, I was rattled. I even blogged about passing on a fall marathon because of my finishing time of 2:14:09. When I was planning my spring races, I thought it was feasible to run sub 2 in NYC and potentially shoot for a PR, six weeks later in Brookings.

Instead of panicking (other than that blog post, of course) I reassessed my training. I had zero speed work. I had no fast finish long runs, or long runs with pickups in them. Both things I could add that would make my legs speedier and drop some time off my half marathon.

But I was TERRIFIED of speedwork. Anytime I do speedwork I break. And I didn't want to break.

It was around this time that I was reading yet another running book, and there was a whole chapter on running form. Oh yes, let me read on. One of the pictures in the book was identical to my running form, and of course it was a big no-no. Grr. But in reading on, it explained that someone with that form likely has weak glutes causing the hips to collapse, pulling the legs all wonky on their follow through, LEADING TO IT BAND ISSUES, HIP PAIN, AND KNEE ISSUES. Oh yes yes yes, tell me more!

I started searching for glute strengthening exercises. I bookmarked this one from runners world (click here to go straight to the video) on my iPhone. I also bookmarked this hip stretching exercise and had been doing the leg swings before all of my long runs, and it was helping considerably. I also found a "never get injured" set of exercises from runners world that also got bookmarked on my phone. (I also forwarded most of these to every injury prone runner I know, we're in this together, yo!)

The glute exercises were so hard. They still are, but they've gotten easier. My booty was BURNING when I finished them the first time. The guide says to do them 2-3 times, reps of 15 a time, twice a week. I usually end up doing them on my rest days, so 3x a week. I continue to do the hip exercises, particularly the leg swings, and hurdler exercises before long runs and speed sessions.

Before the St. Patty's 5k, I made Jenn hang out with me as I did dynamic stretches that we did in track practice: high skips, low skips, high knees, butt flicks, kick outs, carioka (lolz, up until five seconds ago, I thought this was karaoke, bahahha). She felt dumb, but my legs felt great. Every time we hit the track, we run our warm up mile and then do that same run through before we hit our hard miles. And it's seeming to work! I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to do these sooner. I did them every day before a run for 6 track seasons. Derp. (these explained here, mostly)

Better late than never, right?

So in six weeks time, I feel like the strongest runner I've been in a really long time. Taking 12 minutes off my half marathon time in six short weeks is the sort of progress that used to come when I was a newbie runner. But I'm confident that if I can keep injuries at bay, continue to do these strengthening exercises, I can get back to speedy Jeri very very soon!

Weekly Reads: Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity is a book I've wanted to read since it was awarded a Printz Honor in 2013. I begged and pleaded for enough copies to be added to our libraries' collection so we could discuss it for my Young @ Heart bookclub and we finally got to read and discuss it for our May meeting! Most of our book selections for bookclub are fairly easy reading and comprehension level, and usually suck you in from the get go. These are some of the reasons that I devour YA books so frequently! I need to be hooked and inhale the book. This book does NOT fall in that category. I likened it to trudging through knee deep mud in your big brother's size 13 boots. I spent so much time reading this 330 page book. But it was so, so worth it.

If you're in to history (or even if you're not!), and you want a book that will make you think and properly digest the information you are given, this is absolutely for you. But be aware that it is fairly slow moving, PUSH ONWARD WHEN YOU WANT TO GIVE UP. :)

My rating: 4.5 stars

P.S. The follow up book Rose Under Fire came out this winter and is supposed to be just as great. I need to get to it asap!

Goodreads Summary:

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

Recovery Week Training + Weekend Shenanigans

Monday and Tuesday I spent foam rolling and eating all the food. That's how you recover best right? Good. 

Wednesday my legs felt great so I decided to give my speed work session a go at the track with Jenn J. 

We had 800s on the schedule, and I was excited to do some real speed work. We did our one mile warm up, stretched, and set out for our first 800. My legs felt like LEAD. I realized 200 meters in that I didn't do my dynamic stretches and hoped that was why my legs were so heavy and my hips so tight. After the first 800, I stopped to do those stretches and then got back to work. The next 800 caused pain in my left hip, so I threw in the towel after that one. No sense getting hurt with marathon training just around the corner!

We may have spent more time stretching/talking/race planning post-workout than we spent *actually* running. Oh well, you need those sorts of runs sometimes, right? We both left the track feeling defeated, but made promises to do the same workout + an additional 800 the following Wednesday as punishment!

Saturday I had to run to get my car after I had two beers too many to drive my vehicle home the night before. Thank goodness we chose a spot that was only a couple of miles from my place instead of a long run's distance away. Uff. I had a headache and Jenn telling me to hustle up and come hang out with her. Without realizing it, I was hauling and just kept pushing it. I let myself cooldown the final quarter of a mile.

Friday I counted down the hours until 6pm when I was done with work and could meet up with Jenn and Megan. We met for dinner and drinks and lots of catch up, and Otto snuggles.

Photos taken 10 months apart, from not even yet an inkling of a bump to a fresh new baby!

My favorite ladies.

Me and aforementioned giant beer. Mmmmm.

Two of my favorite people, Jenn and Otto.

Saturday I met Jenn at the lake and met up with Megan shortly after.

We had fancy celebratory bubbles. And in classy South Dakota fashion, the price tag was written on the bottle in permanent marker. 

More Otto snuggles.

She couldn't be a more gorg mommy.

NBD, Otto just fell asleep holding my hand. *i die*

Can every weekend be a Megan/Jenn/Jeri/Otto weekend plz??!?!

Ode to Oiselle's Mac Rogas

I've been on a quest to find the perfect pair of shorts for the last couple of years. I'm no longer the little runner chick who's thighs aren't on a first name basis, let alone in the same area code as each other. Just kidding, I've never been this girl. Even when I was teeny tiny runner girl, my legs have always been close BFFs, it's the way I'm built. Thank goodness I wasn't aware of the "thigh gap" craze when I was growing up and had horrible insecurities about my body, that would've just added additional ridiculousness to the pile.

My legs are big, and strong. And that's a-ok with me.

Anyway, I've suffered from some monster inner thigh chafing over the past year, primarily due to the grad school diet (I reward myself through food, yes, that probably makes me a dog, preferably a pug). The good news is that I have such impressive scarring on my inner thighs that I know *precisely* where to apply body glide for my runs and races, when I remember. #silverlining

Last fall I suffered from the worst of it, particularly on days that weren't super super hot, so I'd forget to apply body glide. Big. Mistake. Turns out, those are the days I need it the most! Interesting fun fact: my sweat is so intense that it allows me not to chafe if it's ridiculously hot out. Cool huh? (sarcasm) However, if it's just slightly warm, or even cool and I'm still sweating, my legs+inner short seam will destroy my legs.

I combatted this issue by wearing some somewhat inappropriate booty shorts for some of my mid-week long runs. No fabric, no seam, no chafing. Thighs can be bffs without issue. But unfortunately I can't wear booty shorts on the regular. Or in daylight. Probably.

Enter Oiselle's Mac Rogas.

I had seen everyone and their dog proclaim their allegiance to the Rogas in the past few years, and I just wasn't sold. They're cute, don't get me wrong, I just didn't get their sparkle unicorn status.

But when the Mac Rogas were unveiled, I took notice. The same cute shorts, in shorty short lengths? Now you have my attention, Oiselle.

I treated myself to some new running duds for my spring races (and for hitting yearly mileage marker so far) and two pairs of the Mac Rogas made it in to my shopping cart: fresh green (really yellow) and indigo. (Also, the green flyte tank, because, well duh.)

The verdict: I feel like I'm wearing booty shorts (in a good way, I like to feel like I'm running in nothing for some reason) but I (along with my butt cheeks) am/are fully covered.

The tests: Mile repeats at the track--great. Riverrat Half Marathon 40-50 degrees, fairly sweaty--great. Brookings Half Marathon 30-40 degrees (the true test IMO since I chafe most when it's cool and I sweat but it dries semi-fast)--great.




Now these just need to come out in a true green (that doesn't show swass) and I'll be a happy runner girl.

**Disclosure: I paid for this Oiselle gear with my own money and wasn't asked to write anything. I just wanted to pass along some info on shorts that might help runners with a similar STRONG shape as me!

10k Scratch

I had originally planned to race a 10k tomorrow. Which would be my third race in three weekends. For someone who's injury prone, they sure didn't think that planning through, did they? I've been planning to try to run the automatic qualifying time to gain a guaranteed entry to the Houston Marathon, and knew I wasn't going to hit a 1:52 in either of my halfs, and thought maybe, juuuuuust maybe, I could run the 51 minute 10k requirement.

Once the race got closer I realized that I'd have a shot of running the time on fresh, recovered legs, but not on legs that are one week post-half marathon. Since the Brookings half was my goal race for the spring, I decided to scrap the 10k. My stupid luck, I'd try to run the 10k time, fail AND hurt myself. Nope nope nope.

So I'll be entering the lottery like lots of other schmucks and hoping for the best.

But fear not.

There is a 10k that I'm setting my sights on for mid-June as my last spring (uff that's technically summer, huh? Or no..... wait! Only after the 22nd?? Seasons are HARD) hard effort race. Which means more dates at the track working on mah speedz. Whoop! So maybe I'll get that sub 52 this spring anyway. ;)

AND THEN MARATHON TRAINING STARTS. ERMAHGAHHHHD.

Goal Race Week Training Recap

Monday I woke up and hit the treadmill to do my shakeout run from the weekend's half. The crazy wind from the weekend was still upon us and I knew I'd have to walk/run to keep my run a recovery run, so I hit the treadmill instead. My body felt like crap. My left knee started hurting, so I cut it short at 1 mile.

I went home and did core work and glute exercises.

Tuesday the winds were still present, and I had no desire to deal with them or the treadmill Rest day it is.

Wednesday I had an Alexander No-Good-Very-Bad-Day and almost bailed on my track workout with Jenn, but I made myself go, knowing the endorphins would help out my mood. Again, it was cold and ridiculously windy, but man is it easier to only have to run into the wind for 100m at a time!

^Showing off our twinsie iPods, she just got a new one. #teamgreen

I had 2 mile repeats on the schedule. For someone who used to absolutely DREAD mile repeats, I sure do enjoy them (maybe because of my previous mile repeat paces, eeps! those'll be back soon, I'm sure). I was supposed to run them in 8:25 pace, but knew that last week's were closer to 8:20, so I shot for that.

Thanks endorphins.

Thursday Ollie took me on a mini quarter of a mile shake out run. I worked late because I lead a bookclub at work once a month, and I spent the entire morning reading the book so I was prepared for the bookclub! Which means I didn't get my run in. Ollie wanted to RUN on her nighttime potty break, so run we did. It was fun.

Friday I meant to run, I really did. But. I didn't.

Saturday was my PGSPR spring half. Whoop!

Sunday was full on recovery. 12 hours of sleep. Reading, Veronica Mars marathon, two hour nap with the pug. Went to bed at 9:30pm. And a trough full of water. I meant to foam roll but that would've required me to get off the couch. :P

Weekly Reads: Catching Air

Catching Air is the newest book by Sarah Pekkanen. I received an advanced copy of this book to read and was excited to dive in. It was published yesterday, so start tracking it down! I've been reading a lot of "heavy" books and needed something light with a happy ending, I figured Pekkanen would do that justice. The story is set in Vermont in the winter in a B&B. When I say that I usually enjoy Pekkanen's books, what I really mean is I spend 250-350 pages lusting after the setting, and this one was no different. Can I buy a B&B also? Please? This was a good, fast read.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

From the internationally bestselling author of four books, including The Opposite of Me, a vibrant, compulsively readable novel about two married couples who pursue a dream to open a bed-and-breakfast in small-town Vermont.

A chance to run a B&B in snowy, remote Vermont—it’s an offer Kira Danner can’t resist after six soul-crushing years of working as a lawyer in Florida. As Kira and her husband, Peter, step into a brand new life, she quells her fears about living with the B&B’s co-owners: Peter’s sexy, irresponsible brother Rand, and Rand’s wife, Alyssa…who is essentially a stranger.

For her part, Alyssa sees taking over the B&B as the latest in a string of adventures. Plus, a quiet place might help her recover from the news that she can’t bear children. But the idyllic town proves to be anything but serene: Within weeks, the sisters-in-law are scrambling to prepare for their first big booking—a winter wedding—and soon a shy, mysterious woman comes to work for them. Dawn Zukoski is hiding something; that much is clear. But what the sisters-in-law don't realize is that Dawn is also hiding from someone…

Relatable and dynamic, Catching Air delves deeply into the vital relationships that give shape to women’s lives.