2/11/2020 – Tuesday. I most certainly didn’t get up to run early. I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night. It was also raining here in the morning. Those are excuses though. I am just tired. I have a lot going on and just wanted to relax for the morning. I did go to the park today though and ran my 4 miles with the metronome. I started at 170 and felt good for the most part but I was tired at the end of it. It is a faster pace than I am used to running. I turned it down to 164 to see how that felt, but it was way too slow. I tried 166 and it was a little better. I did some fartlek training during the run. I ended my last mile with the 170 bpm again and felt good. My heart rate got up to 176 which is pretty good. My average was 169. I know I didn’t hit my MHR.
– Goal for tomorrow – Run 5 miles, easy slow run to help with recovery from today. Count every single calorie. Weigh first thing in the morning.
2/12/2020 – Wednesday. Not a good day. Personal issues in my family today. That took up most of my morning. I have a hurt left quadricep and tried to let it rest most of the day. I got on the treadmill tonight and at least completed a mile to keep my streak alive.
– Goal for tomorrow – Obviously to keep my streak going and run at least a mile. I have a 4 mile run on my schedule for tomorrow, so hopefully I can at least get that done. I’m going to read some of the Running Anatomy book and see what I can do to strengthen my quads or find out what might be going on with it. I’ve never had such unilateral localized pain in that area before…
2/13/2020 – Thursday. I did it. I came home from work and got on the treadmill. I ran my 4 miles very slowly. I was trying to keep at the aerobic threshold. According to the book I am studying, Running Anatomy, my heart rate should be at 138 as my AT. It is no easy feat to run that slowly to keep my heart rate that low. I think I stayed around 144. I walked for 30 minutes at work on the treadmill just to burn a few calories. I tried to eat better today. I did have carbs after my run because apparently, that is what you are supposed to do.
– Goal for tomorrow – Run a quick easy 3 miles. It is supposed to be a rest day but I have a mid-day appointment and don’t see myself getting in my long run on Saturday like I am supposed to. Saturday I will have to rest and do my long run on Sunday.
2/14/2020 – Friday. I only got on the treadmill for one mile today. It is supposed to be my rest day but I needed to continue my streak and close all my rings on my watch today. After all, I am in a competition with my sister.
– Goal for tomorrow – I have a casting thing that I am doing tomorrow early afternoon, so I might break up my run into 2 separate times if I start late… 11 miles is on the schedule. I do think that I might have to give my left quad another day to rest if I wake up and it feels tight like it did today.
2/15/2020 – Decided to make it a rest day today and let my quad feel completely back to normal. This means I broke my streak and will have to start again tomorrow. On one hand, the rest felt nice, on the other, I felt guilty not running.
– Goal for tomorrow – Run my 11 miles all at one time. No excuses. Study from the running anatomy book.
2/16/2020 – My leg started hurting shortly after I started running again tonight. I was only able to run for a little over 1 mile. I am worried about hurting it further and not being able to run the half I have scheduled for Tennessee in March. Perhaps I need to do some strength training for a couple days and let my leg heal over the next few days.
– Goal for tomorrow – Go to the gym in the morning and get in some upper body exercises in.
2/17/2020 – I went to play tennis to “rest” my leg. It didn’t hurt very much which was quite encouraging. Also, my serving is getting much better. I did a little walking to close my rings on my watch.
– Goal for tomorrow – Attempt to run, see how it feels. Incorporate some other strength/endurance exercises for my legs
2/18/2020 – I got up early, but not on purpose today. I decided to try to run a couple miles before work even though my schedule has a rest day for today. My leg felt a tiny bit tender at first but was fine after it warmed up sufficiently. I will be getting back on tonight to run a couple more cause I really missed it over the weekend.
– Goal for tomorrow – Start back with my regularly scheduled runs. Attempt to not wake up early but wake up early anyway and run because, why not, I’m up! Weigh myself in the morning.
Reflections of this past week. I started to lose a little bit of weight and was feeling good about it, so I am happy for logging into MFP and will continue to do so. I also like learning about specific exercises and what do train for when doing them for distance running. I want to start using them in my training. I did have an unusual pain in my leg so I let it rest to try and help it recover. I think I should have stopped earlier but I am happy that I didn’t get very hurt and have to cancel my half. I have to adjust my training schedule next week to do my long run on Friday.
