interval training

I managed another running milestone today.

I cracked 7km.

After dealing with the Achilles issue, weak stabilizer muscles and the development of a particularly nasty (well, for me) case of shin splints on the opposite leg, I never thought I’d get close to my goal of 10K.

But today I did.

I have to thank a friend of mine – he runs marathons, so I believe his advice wholeheartedly. I complained about my shins hurting during a run about a week ago and he told me that if I had warmed up the legs longer, the soreness would likely develop into a dull ache if I kept running. After 3-4km, I had to stop early. I thought he was crazy. Run more on sore legs? Really? Well, turns out he was right. On the next run, I slowed down a bit made myself run through the soreness. Let me be clear, it wasn’t pain. It was just sore. To my surprise, the soreness did indeed develop into a dull ache and nothing more. I also stretched the calves and the shins a lot after that run. And by a lot, I mean, for at least a half an hour, so much so that the next day my hamstrings were feeling it.

I have to say, I was pretty stoked about the whole thing. Over the course of the next few days, the shin splint settled down. I didn’t feel it every time I walked down the stairs. I planned my long run.

I can’t lie. After the first 3 minutes of running, the soreness came back. I kept going. I ran in 10:1 intervals, had to stop a few times at traffic lights and stretched the legs whenever I could. My route had a few hills. I worked hard. About half way, I thought I might throw up; that was something new. I listened to my body and slowed my pace down. I got some energy back and ran for home.

7km! And the shin feels good. Not 100% but definitely on the mend.

Damn, I love running!

I’m wondering if I should start a running blog?

I seem to be writing a lot about running. I suppose one reason for that is the fact that I am on maternity leave and the “medical” part of this blog is not at the forefront in my life right now. That will likely change when I go back to work. Still … can I keep up two blogs? I mean… three? (I have a cross-stitching blog which has been grossly neglected of late.)

Hmm…. something to ponder.

In the meantime, let me tell you about the new little piece of gear I picked up today. Remember that crazy run in the snow I wrote about the other day? Well, today I decided to get some Yak Trax.

Say whaaat? The first time I heard this term, I thought … well, I won’t tell you what I thought.

I called a bunch of stores in my area and most were sold out. Husband wanted to look at some skis so off we went to the local SportChek and bingo! One last pair was available. Now, the weren’t the name brand type as pictured above, but a cheaper version which looked pretty good. (My neighbor who runs marathons regularly showed me the pair he had and the ones I picked up looked pretty similar.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect, so I went for a test run up and down my sidewalk to get a feel for them. I liked the way they gripped the snow on the snowy bits of sidewalk and found they weren’t too slippery on the parts of sidewalk that was cleared. So, off I went.

The plan today was 5.5km. I had hoped to make it a steady, straight run, but by 1.5km it became quite apparent that my calves were very, very upset with me. The short 2km run I did in the snow yesterday came back to haunt me, or I should say, my calves. Anyway, it was a tough run and because of the discomfort, I decided to take some walk breaks and ran 300 m short of my goal; I ended up running the 5.2 km in 10s and 1s. I’m glad it’s in the books but I am sore now, all over. My back, calves, ankles, core — it all hurts. I cringe at the thought of what I’ll feel like tomorrow.

(But, you know what? I am so glad I did it!)

I thought I should share my 10km training schedule. Runners, please tell me your thoughts. I am giving myself 8 weeks.

10K training Feb

10k training – march