Before Duncan and I get too involved watching the Golden Globes I thought I would just share a li’l recap of my weekend.
Golden Globes? Snooze!
It was the first weekend I had no commitment to anyone. No family get togethers. No friend get togethers. No dates with the boyfriend. Just me and the doodle. We enjoyed some time just before sunset on Friday just running around in the snow. We he ran around and I just took too many pictures watched.
And then for dinner I opted for a healthy combo of cheese, chips, chocolate and some wine.
My version of a healthy dinner
Yesterday I did some cleaning and some finally finished my 2014 running highlights post in the morning and early afternoon and then I made the last minute decision to do my first long run.
looking all fresh BEFORE my run…
I was originally planning on doing the run this morning. But after looking at my weather app although the temps looked to be a few degrees warmer today, there was only partial sun in the forecast. And at 3pm yesterday afternoon the sun was so strong I decided I’d rather have the solar power to warm me so I drove out to the flat path that runs adjacent to the beach. I was 100% right that flat terrain is exactly what I need to keep the knee happy. I covered exactly 7 miles and it didn’t really give me an issue. I also took a few minutes during mile 6 to test out my new iPhone tripod and timer camera app. Enter exhibit A: jumping shots…
up
jumping
All in all I call it a success!
I started off today with laundry, grocery shopping and a little more freelance work and then spent about 20 minutes doing strengthening and stretching exercises for the knee, hips, glutes and hamstrings. Later in the afternoon I met my friend and her dogs for a walk. It’s amazing how fast a day can go when you have no real plans.
Well, it might have taken me almost 2 weeks, but I’m so excited about this post because I love to reflect back on all the fun stuff! As a matter of fact I just might not even mention a thing about my injuries in this post because we all know they were a far cry from a highlight =)
We sure had one very cold and very snowy winter and it was great to have a half marathon to run in the new year while everyone else was home in their PJs watching TV and staying warm. It was 17 degrees that day. I always feel like running in inclement or extreme weather gives you honorary rock star status.
Enjoying some frozen Gatorade
My friend Carey was the only other brave peep with me that day and we ran together from start to finish. She’s such a consistently paced runner and I enjoyed letting her keep us nice and steady.
Carey and me braving the cold for 13.1 miles in Central Park
Today marks my first run of 2015, my first run in 17 days and most importantly my first run of my training for the New Jersey Marathon in less than 16 weeks. Woot Woot! Plus, it was 20 degrees with a “Real Feel” temp of 3.
BRRRRR!!!!
Cold enough to test out the new Nike running vest
I finally got to try out the Nike Aeroloft Running Vest that Mr. SOTSS got me for Christmas. I.LOVE.IT!!!! Really, really love it! I can pretty much guarantee I’ll get tons of use out of it. And it’s quite flattering too.
Nike Women’s Aeroloft Vest
The vest is constructed with 800 fill goose down but it’s so light. And there are thee laser perforated details that allow heat to escape so I never got sweaty underneath. That’s HUGE for me. It blocked the wind from my core pretty well too. And if I did start to overheat I could fold it into the back pocket and strap it to my wrist for easy portability. The only thing it doesn’t have is pockets in the front. Not the end of the world.
I covered 4 easy miles.
The best part of this run is that I really felt happy running! I wish I could say I felt no discomfort at all but my left hammy is still tight….Heck, it’s been tight for years really so I guess I’m going to have to work really hard at fixing that. And the knee held up ok until literally the last 5 minutes of the run. My fault. I should have only run 3 today. I am limited on time today so I ran the neighborhood which does have hills and that might have been too much for this bum patella. I’m DEFINITELY going to do my next run at the beach this weekend where it’s pancake flat and loose gravel. Anyway, I’ve gotta dart. I need to do my strengthening and stretching this minute. And then I’m headed into the city to meet some of my gal pals for drinks and eats. We were supposed to get together last week but then Duncan got sick. So they rescheduled for me. =)
Hope you’ve been having a good week.
What’s the one piece of running gear you get the most out of? Is it Arctic temps where you are? Or balmy? I’d love to hear about balmy….
I’m almost done with my 2014 Highlights post but in the meantime I wanted to share with you a little about my plan of attack for marathon training and knee rehabbing since I’ll be kicking into gear in just 4 days.
Giddy after completing and PR’ing in the 2014 NJ Marathon
I’ll be starting my training cycle this Thursday as I really wanted to give my knee a solid 2 weeks rest. (Thursday will actually be the 17th day of rest. Isn’t it funny how we know exactly how many days we haven’t run.)
First, a little update on the knee:
In these last couple of weeks my knee has felt close to 100 percent and I’ll admit I got a little too laxed with all the icing, stretching and strengthening I said I was going to do so I’m lucky that the rest helped as much as it did. But, I’ve noticed that climbing up and down stairs or hills even while just walking irritates the knee just enough for me to know that it needs more than rest. And on Saturday night Mr. SOTSS and I went bowling. I noticed that irritated the knee a bit too. Bummer. Especially because I beat him in both games and was looking to win one more game before heading home but I opted to shut it down and let the knee retire for the night.
He probably let me win both games. He’s that kinda guy. =)
I’ve been researching some good instructional videos for how to strengthen/rehab the knee so I can get a bit more structured about this. I found this little video and while the audio could be better it’s got a great little collection of exercises. It’s now bookmarked and I’m going to do this every.single.day!
OK, now onto my marathon training plan. I’m calling it the Back-to-Basics plan because I don’t plan on any bells or whistles. Nothing complicated.
Back to Basics Marathon Training Plan
I’m lucky in that NJ is a very flat course. So there will be no hill training. I’m also choosing to let go of any time goals. So there will be no speed work. Basically I just want to get 3 solid runs in per week:
1. One easy run
2. One tempo run
3. One long run
And I’ll add to that a day or two of cross training, some strengthening, stretching and some core work as well on most days. I’m not even focused on the exact amount of miles I cover for my mid-week runs. I just want to ensure I can hit those long runs. And I’ll add in some step back weeks every few weeks recover. This is mainly to ensure my knee, ankle, hamstring, calf….all the weak spots from 2014….have a better chance at healing and not causing me any grief. But also, my life has become just a little bit fuller over the last year and I want to spend time doing much more than training for a marathon. Low key just makes sense for me right now.
I can’t tell you how liberating it feels to take away so many of the rules for this training cycle.
So now that I’ve bored you guys just as much as the doodle….
YAWN! Oh and I’m 100 percent recovered and my momma is SOOOO happy!
I’m going to do something I haven’t done in 18 days…..get ready for work! Holiday vacation is officially over.
Have a great week!
Question: Are you training for anything this Spring? Anything exciting happening this week?
And then for dinner I opted for a healthy combo of cheese, chips, chocolate and some wine.
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