2009/03/05 - Camp (12 x 220 yards)

Tonight's workout was 12 220s with a 220 rest in between each. Goal time was 50 seconds for each of the 12 220s. This is the first real speed work that I have done since my knee started bothering me, and it is feeling pretty good after the workout. Not 100% healed, but it does seem to be holding up better these days. Maybe the stretching and exercises are working. Here are the splits:

43s
41s
51s (shoe came untied!)
42s
43s
42s
42s
40s
39s
39s
39s
40s

2009/03/04 - Camp (5.1 mi @46:30)

I didn't make camp last night, so I did the workout tonight instead - 1K at 5K pace repeated 5 times with a slow 220 in between. My goal was to run the 1Ks in about 7 min/mile pace and while I didn't quite achieve that, I'm still satisfied with the effort. My paces were 7:10, 6:50, 6:55, 7:15, and 7:31. Just like in a race, my first 3K is pretty good and then I hit a wall.

Long Run - 2009/03/01 (7.35 mi@1:04:47)

Just a really long run, on a really windy day, around a really big mall parking lot!

ESPN The Weekend 5K (5K@22:17)

Official Results

Overall Place: 55 / 1450
Gender Place: 45 / 753
Age Group Place: 6 / 76

Run (Long) - 2009/02/22 (6.3 mi@1:02:07)

So much for taking it easy! I wasn't going to run at all this week and I ended up putting in 17 miles. This run included about a 1 mile walk starting at about 3.75 miles. My knee was acting up again, and I have at least learned to back off when it starts to hurt. After the walk, I was able to run the rest of the way, so that is a good sign I think. I did discover that when I concentrate on not twisting my foot inward after foot strike, the pressure on the outside of my knee is greatly reduced. Something new to try, but I do plan on taking this week off in preparation for the ESPN The Weekend 5K at Disney next weekend. We'll see!

Run (Long) - 2009/02/22

Run - 2009/02/21 (3.06 mi@26:04)

I had planned on taking today off to rest the knee, but I felt so good on Friday, I decided to give it a go. Besides, we were having coffee and donuts after the run, so I had to be there! It was a crisp, breezy morning, but the sun was out and it was a perfect morning for a run. I didn't push it all the way to the beach, which was probably a good thing. My knee did get a little sore towards the end of the run, but keeping the miles low does seem to keep it from hurting for days.

Run - 2009/02/21

Zoo Fun Run - 2009/02/18 (1.68 mi@14:07)

In preparations for the Stingray Shuffle 3K in a few weeks, The Running Zone is hosting three fun runs at the Brevard Zoo over the next three Wednesdays. The goal is to get the animals somewhat acclimated to people running through the zoo. Even with my knee aching, I decided to give it a try with Mrs. Larry Who. The course is very twisty and is made up of every surface you can think off: dirt, concrete, pavers, mulch, brush, etc. I did manage to make it the whole way, but I could hardly walk afterwards. This knee thing is starting to make me mad! This will be a very slow race given the number of turns and the uneven terrain. I'm still on the fence about actually running in this one. I guess I'll wait and see how the knee is progressing before I decide.

Zoo Fun Run - 2009/02/18

Camp - 2009/02/17 (4 mile tempo run)

Tonights 4 mile tempo run came with a target pace of 7:15/mile. With my knee feeling better, but not 100%, I decided to shoot for 7:30/mile. My splits came out to be:

Mile 1 - 7:28
Mile 2 - 7:21
Mile 3 - 7:38
Mile 4 - 7:30

Not bad. My knee did start to flare up during the 3rd mile, but it wasn't too bad, and I was able to mostly push through it. I'm back on the ice and ibuprofen tonight, and hopefully it will feel better in the morning. It was good to be able to run fast again!

Camp - 2009/02/17

Injured (but, hopefully on the mend)

So I finally pushed too hard, and I hurt myself. All the running books and magazines talk about it - increase distance and/or intensity too fast and you will likely end up injured. Well, I'm proof that this theory really is true. Everything had been going great, but when the running camp started last month, I definitely ramped up the intensity too fast. My weekly mileage didn't change that much, but the twice weekly camp workouts have been tough.

After running the Tiger Dash 5K last weekend in near a near PR time for me, my right knee really started to complain! This is supposed to be for fun and health, and I was in pain. I self diagnosed myself with ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) and prescribed the usual treatment - RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). I ended up working late on Tuesday, so I missed running camp, but I needed more of the R, so I was OK with that.

By Wednesday night I was chomping at the bit to go for a run! Bad idea! My knee hurt, and my whole leg felt like it wanted to collapse on me. I made it 3 miles, but very slowly. So much for healing quickly. I went back to the RICE, but the R part only lasted 24 hours this time. Thursday was camp night again, and I thought I would give it a go. Nothing too hard, just an easy run while the rest of the group did their 330 meter repeats. Well, there was nothing easy about that run. Again, my knee hurt and my right leg had no strength. I only made it 2.5 miles before I gave up and went home in pain.

After more research, I decided to add ibuprofen to the RICE recipe, and I think that did the trick. I hate taking pills, but in this case I made an exception. I kept up with the ice too, and today I was able to go for a 4 mile run with just a little pain. I'm still not 100% (more like 75%), but I feel like I'm on the mend. The leg is still weak, so I'll stick with the ice and ibuprofen for a few more days. Here's to a much better week!

I'll include links to all 3 runs for this week in this entry. None of the runs were worth writing about by themselves.