Women's training and recovery thread - 8/9/09

It's tomorrow! But thanks for the well wishes, I'll keep them in my head as I nervously go towards the theatre, I hate general anaesthetics sooooo much - I'm soooo nervous.

What is Crim and how long is it? Good luck! :)

Humbled, a week is a week. You did 50 (plus? So tantalizing...) miles, dammit. Good for you, especially in crap summer weather.

I would also like to know what Crim is -- is that a race?

Good week for me again:

http://raceslikeagirl.com/2009/08/09/summer-basebuilding-week-6/

Track chick, I'll be thinking happy, healing thoughts for you tomorrow. I really hope this surgery solves your problem. Don't wait until next Sunday to let us know how it went.

Humbled - that reads pretty far from a slacker's training plan :) Good luck with it, and with Crim. I'm guessing that nobody's killed anybody on your family "vacation" yet? :D (you are a brave woman)

Track chick: good luck tomorrow with the knee surgery!!!!!!

RLAG: very nice week. I'm glad things are back on track!

I'm eagerly awaiting a report on how WATC's 5K went...

As for me, I hit a new mileage peak of 95 miles this week. One more week of this, and then the the great mileage experiment of 2009 is over; I drop the mileage, up the speedwork, and see where I am.

Week looked like this:

Monday: 11.5 miles. In the morning, 7 miles easy outside (8:25 pace) with fartleks, plus strength training. In the evening, 4.5 miles very easy outside (8:23 pace)

Tuesday: 11 very easy miles on the treadmill (9:07 pace) with fartleks, plus yoga class (7 miles before class, 4 after).

Wednesday: 19.5 miles total. In the morning, 14 miles on treadmill, including a seven mile tempo at 6:54, and 6 quarter mile intervals at 6:08 pace, with quarter mile jogging recoveries. In the evening, 5.5 miles easy outside (8:26 pace).

Thursday: 11 miles total. In the morning, 6.5 miles very easy outside (on slippery dust trail in rain – 9:07 pace), plus 10 sprints of 13 seconds each up a hill of 17 % incline, and also strength training. In the evening, 4.5 very easy miles outside (8:30 pace)

Friday: 11 very easy miles on the treadmill (9:07 pace) with fartleks, plus yoga class (7 miles before class, 4 after).

Saturday: 14 miles easy outside (8:17 pace), plus 10 sprints of 13 seconds each up a hill of 17 % incline.

Sunday: Approximately 17 miles on the treadmill, including three tempo intervals of 3 miles each at 6:49 pace, with slightly less than 3 minute jogging recovery between each, plus a “practice kick” of .2 miles at 6:00 pace immediately after the last interval. Also four sprint intervals of .1 mile each at between 5:12 and 5:43 pace, with full recovery between each.

It's been a while since I've posted on this thread, but no news is usually good news with my running. Let's see, I ran about 10.5 or 11 miles this morning, which was the longest I've run in probably 3 years (sad, huh?). It didn't feel great, but it's a start. I've still been stuck in my 35ish mpw stage mostly because I had other stress in my life, looking for a job, moving, etc., so I couldn't focus. Well I did finally get a job a couple of weeks ago in Boise, Idaho, with a high school sports website (coachesaid.com). It's kind of crazy because my first visit to Idaho was only about a week before I got the job and now I live here. A few weeks ago I was here to join my relay team to drive to Washington to run the Rainier to Pacific Relay. We won the whole thing, despite starting 3 hours after some of the other teams. It was my first time to run a relay like that and I had so much fun. Now I want to do Hood to Coast, etc. It also has motivated me a bit to do some actual training. I just need to figure out what I want to do.

The "Crim" is this years USATF National 10 Mile Championships for women. It has always been my favorite race - well, maybe until last year when it was in the 80's at race time. This is the 32nd year, held in Flint, MI, for Special Olympics, and now is a Festival of Races. Years ago my 13 year old son wanted desperately to run the Crim, so my husband drove him to Flint - about a 3 hours drive. We all ran the next year and became hooked on the excitement. It was first organized by Bobby Crim, who was Michigan Speaker of the House (still runs).

I've enjoyed following this thread, so I thought I'd jump in myself.

I'm training for an October marathon (8 weeks to go) with a goal of qualifying for Boston (3:40). This will be my 4th marathon and I've really stepped up the training this time. The previous two weeks were 50 miles each. Last sunday I did a 10 mile race in 76:16 (7:38 pace).

This week was:

Monday: 6 miles easy after 10 mile race the day before

Tuesday: Tempo Intervals - 9 miles total. 1.5 mile warm-up; 1x2 mile, 1x1.5 mile, 1x1 mile, and 1x.5 mile with .5 mile recovery jog between each; 1 mile cooldown. This was a little tough. It was pretty warm/humid and I was definitely still a little tired from the race (intervals were from 7:30-7:47 pace). Did this run based more on effort than time.

Wednesday: 10 miles easy (8:59 pace). This felt very good...nice and easy.

Thursday: Day off

Friday: Tempo Run - 8 miles total. 1 mile warm-up; 6 mile tempo (average 7:25 pace); 1 mile cooldown. This was faster than expected. I was very happy with it. Great run.

Saturday: 5 miles easy. Planned to do 17 miles but ran in the middle of the day which didn't agree with me so I had to cut it short.

Sunday: 17 miles. Very warm and humid (heat advisory today!). Didn't worry about time...just wanted to get it done. Not quite sure how I made it, but I did! Averaged 9:16 pace which I think was pretty good for the conditions.

Total of 55 miles for the week...highest mileage so far.

BQ, welcome and good luck. Michigan Granny, thanks for jumping in with the Crim explanation. For those of you who haven't done it - it's really a great race. Flint isn't exactly a garden spot, but the course is interesting (even pretty in parts)and the way the community turns out is amazing. I'm really excited that it's the women's 10 mile champs this year . . . and only slightly bummed that I won't be in the first corral. (To get a "seeded" number, you need to run a qualifying race of at least 10K at 7:00 pace or under. That lets you warm up with the elites.)

Darkwave, 95 miles?!? Wow.

wow, i'm eighth on the thread this week, and there have only been positive reports thus far. excellent! track chick, do let us know how your surgery went -- we're all pulling for you and your knee.

welcome aiming for BQ and welcome back tx and michigan granny.

it's been sort of a low week for me, with way more aches and pains cropping up than i'd prefer -- and this at a time when i should be feeling perfect after eight weeks off the feet and on the bike. new this week is a posterior tibialis-based arch issue, a groin thing that doesn't seem aggravated by either riding or hiking (which i've started incorporating), and calf/back of the knee soreness on one leg from calf raises (this, though, is already passing, as i knew it would). i'm taking this all as a message to pull back a bit, so i curtailed my miles on the bike to just 160 last week plus a couple of just-an-hour fast-paced hilly hikes. hopefully i won't feel as discouraged in two weeks when i test out the running thing again as i am now.

also helping me fix my head was a conversation at our annual runners' club picnic yesterday. i was speaking with a couple of runner/tri friends, both seven years older than i am, who cheerily said 'welcome to middle age.' damn. i'm plain not ready for that. but then i look at them and how well they train and compete (both with each other and younger women), and i figure i have no alternative than to keep a good attitude, take what comes my way, and try to be smart about it all.

Hola Chicas,

Sounds like a very upbeat week with pretty high mileage from some of you gals.

Another consistent week here though really feeling the hot dog days of Summer....

52 miles in 6 days, a couple of 10 milers while I spent a few days at Hilton Head Island, managed to get so overheated on one of those I was chucking ice down my jog bra, fortunately I found a cooler of ice near some tennis courts and that saved me.

A solid pool run of 60 mins with 20x60secs pick ups and the same recovery is now a staple work out and one I will do today, it feels so refreshing to run in water!

A speed day of 8x90 secs hard with 60 sec jog will also become a staple I think and add a couple of reps each week until I am ready for something different.

All in all it sounds like most of us have come a long way, and though for me there is a ways to go I am delighted to be heading back in that direction, able to goal set and dream some dreams again :o)

I am 13 weeks on iron supplementing now and plan to get my Serum Ferritin re-checked in a couple of weeks just to see how high things have come from my very low value of 12.

Trackchick keeping you in my prayers re surgery, it will be worth it to get back into the sport you love and miss and we will all be here to cheer you on :o)

Never ran the Crim always thought it would be good one besides the fact it is so blazing hot there in Aug.

Have a great week gals :o)

Hi All-

Great thread! Welcome back Tx, Track Chick, and Granny. Also, welcome BQ! Looks like you are right on track. I am running with a friend with a similar goal and she is running about the same paces as you. You just need decent weather and a good course!

Track chick - sending healing thoughts your way! DW - in awe of your mileage, as always. I feel like a slacker training for a marathon on less mileage than you ladies are running for basebuilding/maintaining, but my 2 fractures make me want to get back to the higher stuff very slowly.

Humbled - I love Crim! I have done it twice and it is never nice to me, but I love the course and the event. Good luck!

NLS- hope you get through the aches and pains. Maybe more ART would help? I am going next week for work on a nagging calf knot.

Sarah - I hear you on the heat! I did my first (of this cycle) 20-miler and it was so hot and humid that the ice bath actually felt good.

My 5K turned into an easy effort after a long day at work and a horrible traffic jam getting there. I didn't have the mental energy to race. 57 miles this week for me with 2 workouts that felt great (2x2 miles faster than MP, and 12 w/last 4 at MP) and a 20-miler. This week is 70 miles with a 10-mile race on Sunday. Hoping to manage 7:00 pace and maybe even get a little faster the last 3. I will need a little better weather than we had this past weekend, though - heat and humidity city! Chicago is coming up fast and I'm hoping my race will be a good gauge of fitness. I'm also hoping my faster-than-me training partner takes the "W" for the women so she can get some new shoes with the prize $! Have a good week, all!

Exciting reports. TxRunnergirl, congrats on the new job and new location, sounds exciting!

Almost 60 miles this week (almost) with a workout of 3 x 1.25 miles; and a very beautiful and hilly 13.5 miler in the Hocking Hills. Honestly, there is no place on earth I would rather run than there, simply beautiful. Ran with a guy friend and enjoyed the conversation - ended up running it much fast than I have been able to do in 6 years.

Once I get around 60 miles I get cranky, and my family noticed. This week I have to go to North Carolina for family reasons and that should bring on extra crankiness for me.

starting back to work in the next few weeks and will be shipping a son off to Americorp next month - more anxiety and more crankiness! Enjoy your week everyone.

16x - are you in Ohio? I live in Columbus and the Hocking Hills was the site of my first running date with my now-husband! What a beautiful place. Glad you had a good run there!

txRUNNERgirl: Congrats on the new job!

Aiming for BQ: Welcome! And yes, it's been miserably hot and humid (I use the term coined by RLAG: "dryer vent" weather)

NLS: I also look to those older than me for inspiration. I hope those aches and pains subside.

WATC: maybe it's not that you're a slacker, but that I'm pathetic for needing high mileage in order to run faster (but still slower than many others) :) Good luck on your race!

Sarah: I don't think it could ever be hot enough for me to put ice cubes in my sportsbra. Brrr!

16X: I sympathize with the cranky -- I've definitely been fighting the mileage grumps. Chocolate helps!

What about the cats wrote:

16x - are you in Ohio? I live in Columbus and the Hocking Hills was the site of my first running date with my now-husband! What a beautiful place. Glad you had a good run there!

sure am, live out here in Granville, Licking County. Most of my training partners are in Lancaster.

Hello! OK, here's the report. The general anaesthetic went fine, totally different to last time. They did both knees. In the right they found scar tissue and stuff that needed doing, they did that. I don't really know total detail bc they told me after I had it done and I don't remember totally correctly but I have photos and a DVD (lol) of the operation for my physios to look at. In the left they found a meniscus tear that didn't come up on the mri (there were 2 on the mri but those were stable ones). The main thing they found was in my left knee instead of having 2 menisci I had one big meniscus, which is an abnormality from birth, but it was all inflamed and there was scar tissue there as well as a tear on the underside, so they did a meniscus resect which means cutting it in half.

Because I had both knees done at the same time I am still on crutches and can't really walk, but my main concern is the long term health of my knee, which I need to talk to the physios about.

The other small prob was my blood pressure which hours after the op was around 80 over 40 which meant they wouldn't let me go home so I had to stay 15 hours!

I guess all in all I have mixed feelings about it, they found NO arthritis which deep down was a big fear of mine, but I didn't expect the op on my left knee to be so major and the surgeon said he wasn't sure if I would be able to return to my previous level of activity which to be honest was a scary thing to hear, especilly given my age (young! not old).

However, he did say it was possible, and when I spoke to my physio he said you're young and it "should be OK"

Anyway, this has turned into the longest post I've ever produced on here so thanks if you made it all the way through.

I hope you all had good weeks!

Laura

Track chick, I can't remember which was the "problem" knee (right?), but it sounds like there were major problems with both.

For what it's worth, my fiftyish partner had surgery about 10 years ago for torn meniscus/scar tissue -- this was way before he was running seriously -- and he's running fast marathons these days with no knee issues.

Also, I've often observed that surgeons have a tendency to hedge their bets and sound less than optimistic in order to manage their patients' expectations in case post-op doesn't go well.

But you've got youth, discipline and determination on your side. Just make sure you get good physical therapy if that's called for. You can regain strength, but you don't want to lose mobility.

Track Chick-

I'm glad you made it through OK. Thanks for posting because I was wondering a lot. It is scary that there were more problems than you thought, but best to deal with them now and then get back to running! I bet you can be back to your old level of activity. I think RLAG is right htat your doc probably just doesn't want you to expect to be right back at it ASAP. Keep telling yourself the Joan Samuelson story - didn't she win the OT or Olympic marathon a couple weeks after knee surgery? Even if you don't bounce back quite that quick, here's to finding out what's wrong, fixing it, and returning to running!

Track Chick, so good to hear that your surgery is done. I would echo what RLAG said - I think surgeons are cautious in predicting activity levels. (Which is odd, because they're generally pretty arrogant.) Your youth is a huge, huge advantage. I hope your recovery is fast and smooth.