Going the Distance: Training for a Half Marathon

The Dr. says...

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:47:00 +0000

It looks like a stress issue with my bone and cartilage... and that I should lay off running for 2 weeks and then just start up again VERY slowly. 2 weeks?! This is the part where having a gym membership would REALLY come in handy so I would have an alternate means of cross training. As it stands now, it looks like walking may be my only option. The good news it doesn't SEEM like there's any "major" issue like a stress fracture or tendonitis at this point. He also said I needed to work on my flexibility because apparently that's pretty bad too. (Though I already knew that!) So, I go back to the Dr. in 2 weeks so he can check on my progress. If it still isn't better after that point, an MRI could in be in order. But that's apparently pretty pricey, so let's hope rest and ice does the trick. Unfortunately it looks like a half marathon is out of the question for December... Maybe in 2008 :(

Improvement?

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:55:00 +0000

Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2007
Temp: 65-ish - nice and cool!
Location: Frisco, TX; 7:00 p.m.
Distance: 2 miles, slow

Went out for a quick (slow) jog this evening to see how the ol' knee is doing. First mile felt pretty good, but I didn't want to push it so I turned around. Started experiencing some mild discomfort into the second mile, so I kept it short. Feel's like it might be getting better... We will see. This is my favorite time of year - the weather is too perfect to not be running!

Discouraged, but hanging in there...

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:57:00 +0000

Tell me I can't have or do something, and it makes me want it more. Kind of like when you're a child and your mom tells you she's not going to buy you that candy bar at the store. It goes from being this simple little thing that you thought sounded yummy to being the biggest crisis in the entire world. You start throwing a tantrum, stomping your feet and and asking, "why not? why not? why not?" until you're blue in the face. The chocolatey goodness runs through your mind, and your mouth starts to water. Well, that's about how I felt this week. I hadn't run since last Saturday in an attempt to help my knee heal, and it's all I could think about! Unfortunately, all the begging and pleading in the world wasn't going to get me what I wanted, which was to be able to run just a few miles without being in pain. I tried to go for a short run tonight, just to gauge where I'm at in my recovery. The first half mile or so felt alright, then the pain started coming back... I made it a little less than 2 miles, having to do some walk/running to make it back to my house. Time to ice again! I'm feeling slightly discouraged... but still hoping for the best. If only it was as easy as pouting my lip, sporting the puppy dog eyes, and asking "Pweeeeaaaaaase?" to fix this (hopefully temporary) crisis....

Long Run - 9 miles!!

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:19:00 +0000

Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007
Temp: 70-ish degrees and sunny - perfect!
Location: Chisholm Trail - Plano, TX; 7:45 a.m.
Distance: 9.1 miles
Time: 1:35:07

6:30a.m. - alarm goes off. I really want to hit the snooze, but know I have a friend waiting on me at the trail, so I manage to get myself out of bed. 7:00am - Text message from friend saying she's not running until later. Great. Now what - go back to bed or get it over with? Just do it.
7:45a.m. - I'm on the trail. This morning could not be more perfect. It's cool, a nice little breeze, the sun is making its way up, and I'm feeling great and ready to get moving!

The first few miles feel great, and as I'm approaching mile 4, I notice a slight pain in my knee. Eh, I'm tough... I'll run it off. Mile 5 - wow, this is getting kind of excruciating. Is this in my head? Do I secretly just want to stop and walk or is this real pain? Mile 6 - this is real pain. I find that if I just keep my knee slightly bent and put the majority of the pressure on my right leg instead, it feels mildly better. Also, going uphill is easier than going down. Go figure. Mile 7 - it still hurts, but I've come too far now. I can practically smell victory. Mile 8 - ok, it's just throbbing now, but what's one more mile?? I've come this far. I finally finish 9.1 miles, and am excited about my newest accomplishment. I'm slightly annoyed that my knee (for the first time EVER in my running career) is starting to act up, bc if it hadn't hurt I really think I could have gone farther. I wasn't physically exhausted, just in pain. The other part of me wonders if having something to occupy my mind kept it from thinking about the fact that I was running 9 MILES. Because let's be honest - when you start running long distances, it's not a physical game. It's a mental one.

All in all, I feel great. I stopped at the CVS and picked up some Icy/Hot and my knee is currently in a state of relaxation... I hope it feels better tomorrow, because I can't wait to get back out there.

Week in Summary...

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 03:10:00 +0000

I should have started this blog long ago but I didn't.. I guess it's better late than never. Hopefully now that it's been started, it will continue! I started training for my first half marathon back in August. I have to admit, my training has been less than strict... and I regret not taking it more seriously to this point. I have been doing some traveling over the last few weeks, and unfortunately I allowed that to interfere with my running. But - I'm back on track now and am more psyched up than ever to hit the streets.

Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007
Temp: 85 degrees
Humidity: Ridiculous
Distance: 1.84 miles
Time: 18:46

After a long 5-hour drive on Sunday, I managed to pound out a short 2 miles that evening. The humidity was still killer, and running during the heat of day probably didn't help matters.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007
Temp: 82 degrees
Humidity: Perfection!
Distance: 8.3miles
Time: 1:25:21

Feeling slightly discouraged from Sunday, I decided to really see what I could do come Wednesday. The weather had cooled, the humidity was finally under control. (Yes, I could walk outside without dripping in sweat!) I knew I wanted to run far... but wasn't sure how long I could actually make it. My longest run to this point in my training was 7 miles, and that definitely felt like a big accomplishment. So, I just decided to go...until my legs would go no more. And 8.3 miles later... I stopped. This was the farthest I'd run since high school... I amazed myself. I was on top of the world. This would normally be the point where I say "I felt like I could run forever..." but unfortunately that was not true. My legs were like bricks the entire last 2 miles. I wanted to stop so badly, but I knew I had to push through, to prove to myself I could do it.

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007
Temp: 80
Humidity: Greeeeaat!
Distance: 4.01 miles
Time: 40:53

Feeling pysched up and rejuvenated once again, I ran again the following evening. I had high hopes of another long run (though not 8 miles...). I ended up being able to run only 4, as my legs were still exhausted from the night before. It was one of the hardest runs physically I'd done in a while. Yet, I'm still pumped up. Decided to take a break on Friday, so my legs would have time to fully recover for my "official" long run on Saturday morning. I'm going to try to go after 9 miles in order to get back on track with my scheduled training... I think I can, I think I can...

White Rock 'N Relay

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:40:00 +0000

Sunday, September 30, 2007
Temp: 90 and sunny Humidity: Dripping
Location: White Rock Lake - 10am
Time: 36:00-ish...

The White Rock 'n Relay sounded like a good time. Me and 4 other team members run a total of 21 miles. We have pink camo shirts, and have named ourselves the "Mathletes." I don't think any of us felt like spending a great deal of time on the team name! Lol. Goal? To finish the race. This was a seemingly simple task. My leg was a mere 3.8 miles. This is 2.4 miles shorter than the 10k I had run the previous week. I was the 3rd leg of the relay. After waiting close to 1:45 to run my portion of the race, I was off! By this time it's nearly 10am. It had started off as a rather overcast and cool morning, but the now the sun was out and shedding its heat on the black pavement! This was probably one of the most grueling runs I'd done to date. I'm sad to say there were many points in the race where I wanted to stop... or even quit. Somehow I pushed through, made it to the handoff, and quickly fell to the ground. I laid on the grass, and felt like my entire body was on fire. I sat there for a few minutes, trying to gulp down the now nearly hot water at the aid station, thinking about how awful that race had felt. I stand up, and I feel light-headed. I decide to walk it off - and luckily Neal (the 1st leg of the race) was there to walk it off with me. We had a whole 3.8 miles to walk in order to return to the start of the race. Here's hoping the next race is a good one... it's got to cool down soon... right?

Pictured: Neal, Me, Amanda and Monika
Not Pictured: Kathy (Behind the camera)

Tour De Fleurs 10k

noreply@blogger.com (alisha elliott) — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 03:54:00 +0000

Saturday, September 22, 2007
Location: White Rock Lake - Arboretum - 7:30am
Distance: 10k (6.2 miles)
Time: 1:00:07

More to come on this race soon.. But the synopsis is this: FABULOUS RACE! I felt awesome - like I could run forever. Almost made me wish I'd signed up for the 20k. Ok, maybe not. I wasn't quite ready for the nearly half-marathon distance just yet. But compared to last year, this race went great. They switched up the course a little. Instead of doing an out-and-back, we went up into the neighborhoods for a bit, and spent the last few miles under the trees and in the shade. I felt really strong and finished in almost exactly 1hr - 9:40 pace. Not bad....