Running Chick

I’ve been back to running for a solid month now, applying my plan of action.  My runs have been short and sweet - 2 miles here, 3 miles there maybe a slightly longer run on the weekend.  I’ve missed a couple of runs due to weather, but so far I’ve been able to keep up with the schedule.

I’m really digging the three times/week thing because I don’t feel like I’m such a slave to the running.  And having the extra rest days seems to be keeping my tendonitis at bay, too.  Speaking of that evil stuff, things are okay in that department.  I’m not in any pain during my runs, but things do get achy.  I’m managing it with lots of stretching, ice and the occasional Advil.  The really good news is that I don’t get any after-run or next-day pain.  Last summer, when the tendonitis was at it’s worst, four miles was about as far as I could go without some serious hurt.  And then, I would hurt for the next two or three days before it would go away, only to start all over again once I started running.  As far as I’m concerned, this is 100% better.

The only thing that’s bumming me out is that I’m not gaining as fast as I did when I was running four times/week.  I’ll have one good day where I’m running in the 9s and 10s and then the next time I’m barely able to break 11.  That’s depressing.  But, I suppose I’ve really only been back for a month, so I shouldn’t get too stressed out.

This month, I’ve decided to start adding one hill day to my plan.  In theory, if it doesn’t kill me, it’ll help boost my cardio level and build up my legs.  Of course, if it causes anything to flare up, it’s getting kicked off my schedule.

This month’s totals:  26.12 miles @ 11.09

Didn't it involve stuff like drinking copious amounts of beer, eating copious amounts of food and doing copious amounts of nothing?

When did it evolve into an all-out fitness bonanza?

Friday: 10 mile run; 2 mile canoe

After a good run a few days earlier, I decided that I would try to get in a long run just to see how my legs would handle it.  I was secretly hoping for 12 miles but I decided that if I got to 10, I’d be happy.

It turns out that 10 was about all my legs could take after making the mistake of taking the route with the biggest hills in the area. 

Check out the elevation profile:

Up, down, up, down, up, down, UGH.  The tendonitis didn’t bother me at all, but my quads and hamstrings pretty much started screaming bloody murder around mile 8.  I pushed through to 10 and ended at the park looking and feeling like hell.  Afterwards, I took an ice bath/waded around in Lake Gogebic for 30 minutes or so and my legs felt as good as new.

I wasn’t terribly pleased with my pacing (11:21) , but considering all the hills it could have been worse.  But bonus, I was able to make it up each hill without stopping, which is a personal victory in itself.

Later that evening, Josh and I canoed our way down to the local tavern and celebrated our first day of vacation with a few pints.

Saturday: 18.50 mile bike

I averaged 15.1 mph on this down-and-back route, which is pretty fast for me.  I almost didn’t make that because there’s a long gradual climb about four miles from the finish that knocked me down under 15 and I really had to grind away to get my speed back.

Sunday: 50.25 mile bike

aka The Big Ride.  Last year when I rode 50 for the first time, I almost died.  This year, I felt so good when I completed my lake loop (38.5 miles) I decided to push onward to the big 50.  It probably wasn’t the best idea to stop for an hour and have a couple of beers and bar food before the last 12 miles (THANKS JOSH :-/), but it only took 10 miles for my legs to loosen up. :-)  Except for feeling the need to eat every damn thing in the camper when I got back, I felt great afterward.  And, I’m happy to report that my average speed was 14.9.

I did another lake loop later that night with Josh as we did our annual Lake Gogebic bar crawl.  I was significantly slower that time around. 

Monday: 3.00 mile run; 3.75 mile canoe

This was my back-on-schedule run after being off my official schedule for the last two weeks.  My legs felt a bit heavy from the previous day’s ride so it was a bit of a struggle, but I didn’t have any tendonitis pain.  That’s two pain-free runs in a row, for those of you keeping track.  Am I cured?  Who knows.  All I know is that it didn’t hurt.  I’m going to pick up my schedule and see how things turn out.

Later in the morning, Josh and I canoed a few miles down the Slate River.  We got lots of pictures of critters and other things along the river.  There’s lots of pictures in the gallery.

So, that boils down to:

13 miles of running; 70+ (including the three 4+ miles of cruiser rides down to the store) miles of biking and 5 miles of canoeing. 

Whew, I need a vacation from my vacation.

We finally took the camper out for it’s maiden voyage last weekend.  Thank goodness because I was really itching to go.

We headed down to Marquette on Friday and set up camp at Tourist Park.  We did a little shopping then headed to dinner at a restaurant called L’Attitude.  The restaurant was relatively new (about 2 years) had good reviews, so we were excited to give it a try.

Epic fail. 

We’ve had bad experiences at restaurants before, but never so bad that it inspired us to write a scathing review on tripadvisor.com, but that’s just what we did.  About the only good thing our review said was that our bottle of wine was good.  If they hadn’t comped our meal, except for the wine, I don’t think we would have even said that.  Get your shit together L’Attitude, and thank you UpFront & Company for serving great food after 10pm.

James was racing in the Ore to Shore MTB race as well as mooching on our campsite, so after he took off for the start, I took off for my 8 mile run around Presque Isle Park.  The humidity kept my pace about 30 seconds/mile slower, but I was okay with that.  Also, my legs were feeling so much better then they had on Wednesday so running was good that day.  Here’s a few shots from my run, and the rest of the weekend.  There’s more in the gallery.

Presque Isle

Presque Isle

Presque Isle

Presque Isle

Josh and me after about a billion attempts at a couple photo

On Sunday, we participated in the Gordon Lyon Memorial Cruiser ride.  This was a cruisers-only ride, no fancy road or MTB bikes allowed.

My bike was the cutest one there, no question

Cruisertini ?