And the exhaustion has finally taken its toll...

After 3 months of grad school and adjusting to a new and better role in my company, I have finally begun to truly feel the effects of exhaustion. All this week I've barely been able to get out bed, only to have drunk so much caffeine or gotten my mental state so worked up that I can't sleep. Today was the last straw. I got home and promptly fell asleep on the couch instead of running. Upon waking, I realized that I had to get the run in or not run until Saturday, which is a long run. I drag my poor tired body to the Greenway, and sure enough didn't have the energy to continue running past a mile. It was a good 11:40 mile, but my energy was gone. I did try to run some more after taking a couple walking breaks, but after about 25 minutes I gave up and just walked. Some good things came from it though...

I saw 6 deer! Holy cow that was cool! And they were really close too. The sad part is that they must be so desensitized to humans to have come so close to me, but they were beautiful. I also saw a cute little squirrel about two feet from me. Again, sad that he let me get so close, but he was cute!! I realized how awesome it is to run outdoors today. You don't wish you had brought your camera running inside a sterile gym.

I think I have discovered the cause to my post-long run headaches. I don't know if I've mentioned them yet, but after my long runs on Saturdays I have been getting killer headaches. They're not dehydration (as long as I'm mindful of my water intake) and they're not migraines (I get an aura before migraines start). Turns out they're tension headaches. I figured that out last week. Now I think I know why I'm so tense. Not only do I have a tendency to be stiff with my upper body when running (thanks to Coach Jim for pointing this out), but I think I'm lifting my head too high in an effort to not look down. I've had it in my head so much to stop looking at the ground that I think I'm overcompensating. I guess it was good that I was able to walk today and have some time to figure this out.

New shoes reviewed

I've said this a million times, but if you haven't gone to a running store yet and you're serious about running, go now!!! I had no idea that these shoes would as awesome as they are. I mean, they felt great at the store and around the apartment, but running with them was a totally different experience. These shoes have given me more motivation to continue running. Keep in mind that my old shoes weren't bad. They just didn't give as much arch support as I needed (they were neutral shoes).

So let me tell you about the run today. I was supposed to run 25 minutes, and it was supposed to be challenging. Since I went back to the Greenway, which is nice and flat, I decided to try to run really fast. I ran the first 12 minutes covering about 1.5 miles. You wanna talk about hard! I don't think I've ever run that fast! That's an 8 minute mile! Needless to say the next 13 minutes were a bit slower. Overall I think I covered about 2.5 miles in 25 minutes, maybe a tad more. It's better than my race pace in 5ks, although I don't know if I could have kept it up for another .7 miles (maybe I could have, but I don't need to know right now). Because I pushed myself so hard my exercise-induced asthma kicked in post-run, but it was worth it. I now know that I have improved with speed (although that's not my focus) while I've been working on endurance. It takes longer I think to work on distance, however it's truly worth it. The rewards are greater in the long run. Speaking of long runs, I think I've come to really appreciate them. You really get some good training during those runs, and you can really focus on things like form and pace.

So lessons learned? Go get real running shoes that have been fitted by professionals and while speed was fun, it really sapped my energy fast.

Inflated portion sizes

We've all heard that portions are bigger now than they were a generation ago, but actually seeing the pictures is mind-boggling. No wonder obesity is a problem now! We're just so desensitized to portion sizes these days that we think we're bring ripped off if we don't have more than is humanly possible to eat on our plates. The key to eating, and even to life, is moderation. Enjoy yourself! Have dessert occasionally. Enjoy that mac 'n cheese. Just don't overdo it.

If you don't believe me, check this article out. Wow!

Awesome training run and new shoes!!

Let me just say that a change in scenery and the right running buddy make all the difference. We went to the Greenway this morning, which is a flat, shady, and beautiful trail that follows a creek in Alpharetta GA. Anyway, our mission this morning was to run 50 minutes, and we did! What made it so great was that the weather was good, if a little humid (this is Georgia, it's always humid), we ran a consistent pace, and because we didn't have hills to contend with our energy levels stayed consistent. In fact, we ended up running the last part of the run faster than the beginning! What a great way to start the weekend :)

Since I had some time and I've been meaning to get new shoes for a long time, I finally made it to the running store. After having my stride analyzed (I roll my feet in a bit as I run), it was determined that I needed some more core stability. I tried on three pairs of shoes, and I decided on a pair of Asics. I'm wearing them around the apartment to get a better feel for them, but I think I'm sold. The arch support is great, they are light and flexible, and they're blue! I would have bought them in any color, but the fact that they're blue is really cool. I love blue, can you tell?

So today has been a great day as far as running is concerned. The only downside? Homework! GAH!

Coming to terms with training

You know, even though I say things like you should take training easy and it takes time to improve, I find myself sometimes pushing myself really hard because I feel like I should be doing more or faster or longer. Here's what prompted this post....

I've been running at my local park for some time now, and I've been using the trails as my main running path for a while. There are a lot of hills on this trail. Now that I'm building up my mileage with my training program, those hills have become really obscene. I think that's why I'm also seeing more problems with my shin splints. I am trying to push myself up those hills because I don't want to lose speed (even though we all know speed is not the game right now), so I push off with my toes a lot. This causes my calves to be tight, which causes shin splints. Poo!!

I had to miss my training run last night because I needed to finish up some stuff at work, but tomorrow morning I will be meeting my running buddy for a run at the Greenway. It's a really flat trail with lots of trees. I'm looking forward to it. Tomorrow is the only Saturday that the training group is not meeting, so I'm looking forward to sleeping in until 7:00. I usually get up at 6, so the extra hour makes a difference.

Anyhoo, all of this was to say please learn from my mistakes! I pushed and pushed and pushed and now I'm afraid I'm close to burn out. I've got to be careful so I can avoid injuries more severe than the shin splints I have now, and I need to keep my motivation high. I'll fill everyone in tomorrow about the training run!