Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Nine Weeks Out

I have the sniffles.

I can't remember the last time I was sick, but I'm ending the weekend with a stuffed up nose, scratchy throat, and a sleepy head.  But on the bright side, I got all my runs in.

Saturday morning was my 16 miler, and when I set out with Frank, it was so humid you could practically see the water hanging in the air.  My plan was to take him out for five miles, drop him back home, then head back out.  But when we were done, and after I gave him a treat, I realized how much nicer it was in my house, so I hopped on the treadmill in my quiet basement, to finish off the last 11 miles.   It went really well, I watched some of the movie Say Anything, which was on HBO, as well as some of the MTV Video Music Awards.  Anyone else catch Adele's performance of Someone Like You?  It seriously gave me the chills.

At the 14 mile mark, I had to take off my shirt, it was so full of sweat that it made a TWACK sound after I tossed it on the floor.  Gross, but a great indicator of my hard work.

I have to say, I love my treadmill, always have.  I run on an incline of 1%, to mimick an outdoor run, and I love to watch the miles tick by.  I think the longest run I've done on my mill is 14 miles.  I've been thinking more and more of doing my long runs on the treadmill, I mean, why not?  I will definitely do my longest training run of 20 miles outside, but I don't see any real disadvantage of spending training time on the treadmill, a la EMZ.




Can you think of any?

I felt good after I was done, did the whole ice bath/compression sock recovery.  The weird thing was, Sunday morning, I woke up, and my left knee was hurting.  It was pretty stiff, so I popped some advil, and pulled one of my compression sleeves up, and over my knee.  We took the kids to play mini-golf, then went to the pool, I swam a short 200 meters to loosen my knee up a bit, and when we were finally home for good, I iced on and off for the rest of the night.  Monday, it was perfectly fine, and I was able to do my scheduled 5 miler.

Weird, right?

Tomorrow the kids go back to school, Eliza is starting kindergarten, and I'm very sad that my little one will be heading out into the world.  On Thursday, for me it's.......back to work!!!!

And in NINE short weeks, it's marathon time.

Those weeks are going to fly right on by.

Thanks to everyone who entered my YMX giveaway, as usual, I used random.org to choose the winner, Tracy, from Our Life With 3 Guys and a Doll!

Congrats!  Send me your deets and I'll get you set up!



19 comments:

Christi said...

I did most of my training runs on a treadmill and didn't have any real issues. But you do have to make sure your body can handle the pounding of pavement. I did my long run on trails and that didn't help me when the pounding came along. Does that make sense?

Teamarcia said...

Good luck to Eliza and to mommy! Big day!

Nice training week. I agree with Christi. Do enough outside training that your body can handle the pounding. I broke up most of my long runs between outside and mill due to heat and wow I am SORE after banging out 20 outside the other day.
Congrats to Tracy!

Runners Fuel said...

I love running my long runs on the tm beacuse it helps keep my pace without having to look at my Garmin. hope you feel better soon!

Tricia said...

You run on a 10% incline the whole long run?!? Youre hardcore

I was under the impression a 1% incline mimics a flat outdoor terrain. I usually run between 1-2 for my "flat" treadmill runs, and increase for hill workouts.

great job with training!

Jill said...

I run a ton on the treadmill....but holy crap, 10%??? I do 1% b/c I found some chart that said 1% mimics true pace. I do bump it up at times to get in some hills, but I don't think I've ever hit 10. Nice job girl!!!

Back to work? WOOHOO! What will you be doing? Did you go and do the personal training gig? I remember you suit post but can't remember what you said you'd be doing. Good luck!! :)

J said...

I think if you are comfortable with the treadmill, keep doing your long runs on it! I did 10 miles once and it was so tough! I like to just take it easy on the treadmill and zone out and watch tv. Speed work on the treadmill while awesome is so much tougher than running outside!

Liz Mays said...

You have lots of practical experience running outside, so I see no reason why some of your training can't take place inside! Go for it!

Johann said...

I'm still a treadmill virgin after 30 years of running. :) I'm just grateful for our fantastic weather that allows me to run outside always.

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

Great job twinsie. My stomach did a little flutter for you thinking about your approaching marathon!!!!!!!!!

So excited for you!! And hope you are feeling better!

Elle said...

I cannot imagine running that far on a treadmill unless I had a fan set up - that lack of breeze is what makse me run on a treadmill only as a last resort.

Funny how we all have different opinions about it.

ajh said...

Good luck at work. Hope the week goes well for you and Eliza.

Lisa said...

'Mills are good for your body - less shock on the joints AND there's AC - yep, I say win-win!!

Great job. 9 weeks - eek! You'll be awesome. I'm loving be on the journey with you.

Glad your knee is feeling better.

Michael said...

It's weird to me how different people can be when it comes to running. I absolutely hate, I mean loathe the treadmill and will do anything to avoid it. I find it so much harder to run and I run even slower on the treadmill than I do outside.

Keep channeling that inner EMZ!

Heather said...

I think I would go crazy on a treadmill for that long! A movie might help but I always feel so trapped.

Suz and Allan said...

I do a majority of my running on the treadmill especially as hot as it has been this summer and I haven't seen the sore knees that I was expecting. We are doing 5 Days of Giveaways on our blog this week if you or any of your readers want to stop by!

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I read two different articles recently, both stating the same thing and heard it from a clinic put on by an olympian.

The basics were, we dont use ice/heat properly, we ice things, but we never use heat to loosen it up. They said to ice for 15 minutes, wait 15 minutes, then apply heat, like a heat pad for 15 minutes, they both claim is quickens the healing process, *knock on wood* I havent had to try this out, maybe it might be an option to you

Tara said...

Let's see, disadvantages of doing my long run on the treadmill. Hmmmm. Dying of boredom? Tripping over my own feet because I am not paying attention to what I am doing because I am dying of boredom?
I am just kidding. You should be fine on the treadmill girl!

I love Adele, she has an absolutely amazing voice and she is beautiful. I didn't see the awards show, but I bet it was an awesome performance!

*~*~* Tracy said...

I'm glad your knee is behaving!

And hoo ya! on winning your give away!! Email is on it's way!

Erika said...

I'm glad your knee is feeling better, and i hope you're sniffles clear up soon! Isn't it crazy how big kids grow so fast?!?!