M.I.A.

Sorry I've been M.I.A. We've been moving and getting the old house ready for the renters for the past two weekends and unpacking every night after work. I never want to move again. NEVER. Seriously. I feel like we're camping right now and I only know where about half of my belongings are. And, genius that I am, decided that selling our dining room table on Craig's List before we moved would be a good incentive for us to get on the ball about buying a new dining room set. NOT smart. We've been eating off a lovely card board table for the past two weeks surrounded by all of our china packed up in beautiful brown boxes. We're classy like that.

I've been running some pretty good mileage, though and the hip/quad issue seems to be on the mend. Er, well, at least the injury has moved to a new place. My inner thigh...right up by the pubic bone. Which was VERY embarrassing to get worked out by my physical therapist. I was able to complete my first full track workout since July, though, and think that I may be OK in the Fall Marathon. We'll see.

Will update more later!

First 20 Miles and an Ice Bath!

Things seem to actually be getting better with the quad...although I have lost a lot of fitness in the past 5 weeks. I was able to hobble through a 20 mile run today at a 7:56 pace. I couldn't keep up with the fast folks who were pumping out 7-7:30 miles. So, maybe I will be OK with the Fall marathon...I still have 9 weeks. I'm still not doing any speed work except tempos as per Coach's advice.

I did something today I haven't had the guts to do...an ice bath. It was freaking miserable for the first 5 minutes, but I told myself that if I can have a baby, I can stand cold water for 5 minutes. Plus, all of you other ladies are doing them, so I have to (wo)man up! I can't really tell if it made a difference in my recovery, though.

Here's my weekly mileage for the past two weeks:

Monday, August 31, 2009: 7 miles
Tuesday, September 1, 2009: 9.4 miles
Wednesday, September 2, 2009: 10 miles
Thursday, September 3, 2009: 8.6 miles
Friday, September 4, 2009: 6 miles w/ 3 @ 6:15 pace
Saturday, September 5, 2009: 8.6 miles
Sunday, September 6, 2009: 18.5-19.5 miles @ some really really slow pace; it was all freaking up hill!
Total Mileage: ~68.6 miles

Monday, September 7, 2009: complete rest day b/c was exhausted from long run
Tuesday, September 8, 2009: 9.4 miles
Wednesday, September 9, 2009: 9.4 miles am/4.4 miles pm
Thursday, September 10, 2009: 9 miles
Friday, September 11, 2009: 10 miles
Saturday, September 12, 2009: 8.6 miles
Sunday, September 13, 2009: 20 miles @ 7:56 pace
Total Mileage: 70.8 miles (first time breaking 70 miles ever!)

Jane and Tarzan....and CHEETA!

Hi Folks--

I've been a boring blogger lately. Between buying the new house, renting out the old house, and moving; leading a project at work; and being utterly depressed about my lack of progress with the quad issue, I haven't had much to say. I've been able to run, but no speedwork and I usually have a bit of IT irritation after.

I've been a bit heartbroken about this whole quad issue. I remember now why I stopped training 8 years ago. It's so hard to want something, but be unable to physically realize this dream and completely out of control. I was so jealous last week at track of all the healthy runners that were so much stronger at practice than they were 1 month ago. This fall marathon was supposed to be my "one chance" to really train hard and get a sub-3 hr marathon. I was hoping to start trying for number two in January, but now am considering trying for a spring marathon and delaying the procreation process. I guess I shouldn't give up hope. If I run the Fall Marathon (still undecided), I still have 10 weeks.

In other, VERY exciting news...I got Nugget's Halloween costume yesterday....the over-priced monkey suit from One Step Ahead. I LOVE it. Nugget had a different opinion...he spent the 5 minutes I had him in it clawing maniacally at his head. I tried to get a picture, but he was too squiggly. Will post on my next attempt. Hubby has been trying to convince me that we should be "Jane, Tarzan and Cheetah." Um, not going to happen in October. Unless he wants to be Jane. Think we might scare the trick-or-treaters?

Bad bad girl

I did not take it easy last week.

Monday, August 24, 2009: 60 minutes elliptical

Tuesday, August 25, 2009: 10 miles, Body Flow

Wednesday, August 26, 2009: 8.6 miles am, 2.8 miles pm

Thursday, August 27, 2009: 9.4 miles

Friday, August 28, 2009: 10 miles

Saturday, August 29, 2009: 16 miles @ 8:30 pace

Sunday, August 30, 2009: 8.6 miles

Total Miles: 65.4 miles

The quad is feeling pretty good. It kind of ached towards the end of the long run, but yesterday and today it has been feeling great! So, hopefully I am on the mend and will be able to do my first tempo run in a month this Friday. I still haven't decided which marathon I am going to run. I've kind of given up hope on getting sub-3 hrs at this point.

In other news, I think we have rented out our house to a Navy family for the next three years, which is AWESOME. The thought of carrying two mortgages until we could rent out this house has really been weighing on my mind. We close on the new house in 8 days (yipes!) and I have a grand total of ZERO boxes packed. I'm hoping to make good progress this weekend with my mother-in-law here to babysit.

Nugget also has a terrible eye and ear infection. He's quite miserable, poor guy. The grossest thing is that when he sneezes green snot comes out of his tear duct. We just started him on amoxicillin, which I am a little freaked out about because hubby had an anaphylactic response to it as a child. I think I might have Nugget sleep in bed with us so that I don't have to worry about him all night.

And she's BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

The quad is feeling much better and I have been able to run the past three days. I'm having a hard time keeping my running in check...in fact, I've already run 30 miles this week and did my first DOUBLE ever yesterday. Ran 8.6 in the am and 2.8 in the pm. I loved it! I'm going to try and do a double on Sunday, too. I hope to work up to 3 or 4 doubles a week, but I'm going to take a few weeks to build up to it. I'm going to run 14 or 15 this weekend and see how it goes. My inner quad is bothering me a bit, but it doesn't hurt post-run and it isn't affecting my stride, so I'm hoping that it will go away in a few days.

Now, I have to decide which marathon to run. Coach still thinks that I can run the earlier Fall Marathon well, but psychologically (and maybe physiologically) I think I would be better prepared for other Fall Marathon, which is 3 weeks later.

Here are the Pro's and Cons. Please help me choose!!

Earlier Fall Marathon
Pros: Will have others to train with; lots of local support to cheer me on through the race; will be able to sleep in my own bed; will complete a marathon before Nugget's first birthday
Cons: Less time to train!!; weather may be warmer than other Marathon; will have to miss a good friend's wedding

Later Fall Marathon
Pros: Will have 3 more weeks to train; weather may be cooler; will be the first time that I have run this marathon in 9 years (it was my first marathon); will be able to sleep at my parents or sister's house; will get to attend a good friend's wedding
Cons: Will have to travel down to marathon; no-one to train with; prolong the training season when hubby is ready for a break;coach pulled in a favor to get me a comp entry in other marathon and I'll feel guilty not using it

Also, we're FINALLY going to have room in the new house for a treadmill. Do you guys have any treadmills that you recommend?

I'm also trying to figure out how long to breastfeed Nugget. I've already had to supplement with formula for the past two months because he drinks WAY more at day care than I produce. I like it...the soft tug of him suckling, our special time together. I think in some ways I also see it as the end of his baby stage and I'm not quite ready to let it go. My original goal was one year...it's only two months and one week away....

Have you all started thinking about birthday themes, yet??? I've been checking out birthday banners on Etsy....

Still on the bench

I am going crazy here.

My husband made a comment that if I was a thoroughbred horse, they would put me down. Apparently, they go mad if they can't run. He said, "you can't stable a thoroughbred." That's totally how I feel.

I'm thinking about running the a later marathon than the one I originally signed up for even though I won't have anyone to train with for the last three weeks just to give me more time. That is, if this injury ever goes away.

I did absolutely nothing for three days this past week and then did the elliptical and it doesn't feel any better. I have gotten 3 massages. I am rolling and icing 3x a day. I have my own electronic stem machine and am using it 1-2x a day. I did run yesterday, but the quad seized up on me.

Ug.

Sorry I haven't been commenting on your blogs lately...on top of all this, we're moving and I've been put in charge of a project at work and am working WAY more hours than I would like.

In Nathan news, I've been dealing with a food strike. He won't eat food. The only thing I've been able to successfully get him to eat is meat. He loves it. Good thing, because he's borderline anemic and I can't get him to eat beans.

Weekly Mileage:
Monday, August 17, 2009: nothing
Tuesday, August 18, 2009: 8.6 miles
Wednesday, August 19, 2009: 9.4 miles
Thursday, August 20, 2009: nothing
Friday, August 21, 2009: nothing
Saturday, August 22, 2009: elliptical 75 minutes
Sunday, August 23, 2009: 9.4 miles
Total Mileage: 27.4 miles

Still Injured

One week later and I'm still hobbling along. I ran Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday and did the elliptical on the "off" days. I should have just taken the whole week off from exercise and maybe this bugger would be better, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was getting behind on my running. I should have realized that trying to do any sort of exercise was just getting me further in the hole and prolonging my healing. So, yesterday I got a deep tissue massage and I'm doing nothing today. I'm debating whether I should test out the legs tomorrow, but I'm still feeling some kinks in my quads and they're tugging at my knee. I forgot how much I hate being injured. We have a lot going on right now and I'd really like the stress relief of a good run. Arg. I don't know why it is so hard for me to just let go and accept that I can't run through this injury. I guess I just really wanted to kick butt in the fall marathon and feel like I am ruining my chances of doing so!

:<

Weekly Mileage:
Monday, August 10, 2009: 60 minutes elliptical
Tuesday, August 11, 2009: 5 miles, w/ 3 x 800 and 400 laps
Wednesday, August 12, 2009: 60 minutes elliptical
Thursday, August 13, 2009: 8.6 awful miles
Friday, August 14, 2009: 60 minutes elliptical, yoga video
Saturday, August 15, 2009: 75 minutes elliptical
Sunday, August 16, 2009: 8.6 miles
Total Mileage: 22.2 miles