5.5 miles in the hills

After taking a few days off to help my knee recover, I decided to run the swanky Beverly Hills run again. I cut a mile off of the route I did the last time just to avoid pushing it too much.

Apparently I was more than ready to get back on the horse:

5.5 miles at an 8:11 min/mile pace

I feel better already.

Trying to kick asthma's ass

I'm now taking Singulair at the recommendation of my doctor in the hopes that it will aid in further opening of my bronchial tubes. I'm hoping I'll notice this more when I'm running uphill...

Speaking of running uphill, my most recent run has officially rendered my knee nearly useless. My doctor recommended that I take a week off and go easy on my runs, especially since my knee was swollen when he examined it. He prescribed Celebrex to attempt to reduce the swelling a bit on a temporary basis.

Nothing like a marathon to increase your trips to the pharmacy 10 fold...

A swanky 9.5 miles

Last Thursday I decided to try this route that I found online that winds through residential Beverly Hills. It's close to work and I thought it would be a nice change to run in the daylight before dealing with my commute.

By starting at work, I'd add on about 2 miles (there and back). I was looking forward to a completely hilly, non-flat run that would involve mile-long inclines.

I changed in my car and had a slight panic when I realized that I had left my inhaler at home...I opted to run without it since I wouldn't be running more than 10 miles. It was definitely noticeable, especially when I was churning up the hills trying to reach Sunset Blvd. I'm happy, though, that my lungs can handle this much exertion even without the inhaler. The run was sunny and pleasant and I got to drool over some of the most stately homes I've seen in a while.

When I got back to work, I checked my pace and discovered that I ran at an 8:45 min/mi pace on average, despite feeling like I was running slowly. Woohoo!

1.84 miles of UNGHH

I decided to see if anyone had actually mapped out their run of the Big Sur marathon with their cell phone GPS so that I could get an idea of what I'm gonna be up against in a few weeks. I've obviously researched all of this and know what's ahead and have seen the photos...but I wanted to see the hard data.

This is what I found:

Well...

I guess I don't need any additional validation for all of the crappy hill training I've been doing.

Burn, baby, burn!!

Back in the saddle

I ran 4 miles last night at an 8:26 min/mi pace and felt awesome afterward. No knee pain today so I'm happy that I didn't piss off my joints by pushing it last night.

Fingers crossed my knee is back to pseudo happy status!

Poopsticks

My knee has been swollen since my big run on Sunday. I've been cutting all of my runs in half this week and have been going nice and easy.

6 more weeks...

15.97 miles

UGH!

Let me say that again. UGGGGHHHHH!

I finally understand what people are talking about when they hit "the wall". I ran 16 miles today along the beach, utilizing the extra hour of daylight. The sun was warm but not oppressive. The weather was probably low to mid 60s which I think is the perfect running temperature. I was excited and ready to go and set out with my nerdy hydration belt. I planned on doing an out and back path...not my favorite since I think it's a little boring, but I didn't want to have to coordinate a ride if I did a one-way run. Maybe next time I'll try and do that...

Anyway, the first 8 miles were really good. I felt great, my stride was open, and my breathing got steady and rhythmic after the first few miles, as per usual. I ran along the creek and it was bright and pleasant and I felt relaxed. When I reached the halfway point and turned around, I immediately realized my error: I'm now running directly into the wind coming off of the ocean.

FUUUUUUU

For the next 4.5 miles I went headstrong into moderate winds. My eyes were tearing up from the breeze and my hands were frigid. I have no idea how much this slowed me down since I wasn't checking my pace, but I tried not to think about it. By the time I got back to the path that parallels the beach, I was extremely cold but felt energized now that the wind wasn't right in my face. I refilled my water bottles quickly at the water station and hustled along the final 4 miles. Right around mile 15 or so, I started to feel brutally tired. My muscles weren't sore and my breathing wasn't raspy...I just felt physically drained. The desire to lay down on the ground and take a nap was high. I just had to stop in my tracks for a minute and stretch my legs and arms for a mental refresh. I didn't have any source of calories with me, so I just dug in and ran the last mile back to my apartment. Mind over matter!

When I got home, I was wobbly and tired; I didn't feel energized like I normally do after a run. I stretched for a long time and then took a very hot, bubbly bath. My legs were pretty sore the rest of the night and stairs were rough.

I think I'll try eating some of the Gu Chomps around mile 14 on my next long run and will make sure if I'm running around sunset that I have some sort of gloves to keep my hands warm. That was way more distracting than I would have expected!

6.71 miles

I got home from work today and discovered that my rear rotor was totally gauged and my brake pad is worn almost all the way down. These are nearly new brake pads, so I think something is messed up with my caliper. Hooray!

It was a crappy day at work and I opted to run off some frustration. Did some laps around my neighborhood in the cold and somehow pushed an 8:20 min/mi average pace. Maybe running angry should be my strategy?!

Eh.

I was supposed to run 4 miles but decided instead to get my eyebrows waxed, watch Game of Thrones and bake cookies.

Sometimes you just have to say no.

I almost forgot!!

Gu is NOT for me.

I just can't do it. The texture and the sweetness are just too much for me. I couldn't get it down without chugging a huge amount of water and then I had an unsettled stomach from the water amount and felt sloshy for the first half mile of my run. I've heard different flavors have different results but it's really the texture that totally weirds me out. It just seemed like the packet was never going to end.

Ew, eww, EWWWWWWW

Hot Tamale

It was 85 today.

No, let me clarify...it was 85 by 9am today.

My 14 mile run just did not come to fruition. I made it 12 miles. I drank the entirety of my hydration belt 3 times and at that point decided that it was probably healthier for me to just stop running in the direct sunlight instead of finishing my run.

Muscles feel fine. Knees feel fine. Breathing was as expected, tricky in the beginning and then it balanced out. I think it would have been a relatively good run at a solid pace had it not been SO. FREAKING. HOT.

Thank god the marathon starts at 6am; heat is apparently my running weakness.

Bizarro run

Ran 7 miles tonight along the beach. Felt TERRIBLE.

I could attribute this to one of several things:

1. New shoes that I haven't broken in

2. Used my inhaler too close to the start of my run

3. Felt cold the entire run

4. Tried to run with music for the first time in months and got extremely angry at my ear bud wire entanglement and the fact that my sweaty ears caused them to constantly slip out. UGH.

The weirdest thing ever about this run, however, was that I ran at an 8:10 min/mi pace...which makes me wonder how well I could be running if I didn't have all of these issues tonight?!

Also? No knee pain. It's gotta be the shoes. Not to advertise, but I bought a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 sneakers which are supposed to be great for overpronators. Looks like I won't need to have an IV of ibuprofen after all...