Monday, March 25, 2013

Two songs


Beautiful song, beautiful place, beautiful cover.


A new one by an old favorite.

March 18-24

Today's weight: 174.4 pounds.

Workouts:
Monday: Stairs for 40 minutes, abs
Tuesday: Ran 5K in 30:37
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Sprints for 2 miles (up to 8 mph)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Elliptical for 1 hour (5 miles)
Sunday: Off

I hurt myself. Again. This happened at the exact same time last year -- I was even training for the same 10K I'm training for now. I know I've said running is a lesson in patience, but I'm still feeling particularly defeated. In my down moments, I tell myself I wasn't meant to run. That I'll never truly be a "runner." That I get hurt too much, that I'm just not strong enough. But I know that's not true. All the times I've dragged myself out of bed in the dark, made myself run that extra 5 minutes, forced myself out of the house in the cold -- that's what makes me a runner.

But it's still frustrating. I have a stress fracture in my leg, most likely for shin splints I stupidly ignored. I haven't hurt this much since I first started running, nearly two years ago. I read that you get shin splints/stress fractures when you're first starting running and/or when you up the intensity of your runs abruptly. I've been pushing speed a lot lately -- maybe not gradually enough.

So, I'm adjusting my training plan and trying to make the most of it. At least it will push me to do more weight-training. And until my leg feels better, I'm taking my workouts one week at a time, and trying not to worry too much about that 10K. 

Monday, March 18, 2013

March 11-17

Today's weight: 172.8 pounds.

Workouts:
Monday: Strength-training (upper body/core) for 35 minutes
Tuesday: Ran 5K in 29:40
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Elliptical for 5K
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

I had the flu the better part of last week, so I took it easy at the gym. I managed to run 5K in less than 30 minutes for the first time ever. I know that's probably not that fast for some people, but it is for me. I immediately got sick after that. But now I know I can do it. My first timed race in November 2011 was 37:40, so it's been nice to see improvement over time. Especially if I'm ever going to run long races.