busy good Saturday

Saturday I got up early (for a Saturday) and read a little, then drove to Richmond. I hung out with Sunni, then we went with the grandparents and one aunt to visit my other aunt in the hospital (recovering from surgery). From there we went to lunch, but it took a while because the internet lied to me about the location of the Turkish restaurant and there was lots of yelling about where Chester is and how we weren't in Chester and in the end we just stopped at an all-American joint. Which turned out to be just fine, because Grandma really liked her meal and that's what counts. After lunch we went back to the house and I did some more reading.

Then I left and drove back to Charlottesville, but only to pick up Josh. Then we drove to Harrisonburg. That's where a co-worker had us over for dinner, and it was lots of fun. We ate chorizo cooked on the Portuguese pig, delicious goulash, and homemade "choux" pastries. We also had coffee, brewed in a "coffee balloon." It was like a science experiment, and the perfect way to end the meal. Plus the coffee was necessary to help get us back to Charlottesville.

bumps in the road

So last week when I ran fifteen miles I apparently hurt my right foot in the outer ankle region. It hurt some after the run and I was hobbling just a little, but I didn't think much of it because I always hobble just a little after a really long run. But it came back during Tuesday's run.

Tuesday Josh tried to get in the fifteen miles he'd missed on Saturday. He tried this after work, a dental appointment, and taking a test at school. He ran seven miles, then I joined him to run my eight. Once I joined him we were going pretty slow, but he wasn't going to make it his full fifteen. So after about four and a half miles (eleven and a half for him) he headed back to the car while I took off to finish my eight. I ran my final four miles with sub-nine minute miles, which is pretty fast for me. And I think that's what really did my ankle in. The next morning I was definitely limping into work.

So here's where we stand: Josh is going to switch gears and aim for running the half marathon, and I am currently injured.

UGGHHH.

I didn't run on Wednesday or Thursday, but I tried on Friday. I went to a park and jogged very slowly in soggy grass. I made it two miles, but then decided I'd really better stop. Then I cried.

After crying and talking through my frustration with Josh and reading up a little on running injuries (and how common they are for beginning marathoners and how missing a week or two of training won't be the end of the world) I headed to the gym at Josh's apartment. I rode the bike for four miles and did some weight training. I was reminded that missing a workout on Wednesday didn't turn me into mush. I felt better.

Today I was determined to get a workout in that was somewhat comparable to the sixteen-mile run I was missing. So I went back to Josh's apartment gym (which is different than the gym we usually go to after work) and rode the bike again. For three hours. Thirty miles. It still wasn't nearly as intense and exhausting as the long run would have been, but my thighs (and rear end) were sure sore. And luckily the bikes there aren't super boring, and my rides were through computer animated scenes like a beach at sunset, Mayan ruins, and a redwood forest. I feel well traveled.

Now we're crossing our fingers that my ankle will heal quickly and I can get back into training later this week. Please.

the weekend

This weekend's marathon training was a 15 mile run, which I had to do by myself. The saying "misery loves company" is sure true because it's nice to be able to moan and groan toward the end of long runs with Josh, but by myself the moaning and groaning is just depressing.

The plan was to meet at our usual spot near UVA and run at 10am, but at 9 he called to say his back was hurting (flair up of an old injury) and there was no way he could run, much less roll over comfortably in bed. So I re-mapped a different run leaving from my place and set off at 11.

I haven't mentioned it here yet, but the marathon I'm planning on running is pretty intense. There are multiple mountains involved. Go big or go home I say. So I'm trying to train on hills around town, but they don't really compare at all to what the real race will be like. I'm going to have to figure something else out, which might just end up being medium runs on the treadmill at a steep incline. Anyway, there is a pretty substantial hill (with an observatory on top) in town, so I ran up that twice. Afterwards I was pretty tired and achy, so I stopped in a building on campus for some water and to stretch, and a few minutes after running again I took a GU gel. This was the first full gel I've ever taken, so I'm not really familiar with them or how to notice if it worked, but I think it helped a little. At this point I had about 4 miles to go. When I had only 1.5 miles left I started to get a cramp, and I was going pretty slow. When I finally stopped at 15 miles I still had several blocks worth of distance to walk back to my apartment (which didn't look that far when I planned it on the map, it looked like a nice cool-down walk), and it was miserable. I was achy and thirsty and really wish Josh had been there to commiserate with me.

So yesterday's run was hard and didn't feel excellent at the end, but I will say that I wasn't nearly as stiff and rickety the rest of the day like I was after last week's 14 miles. That seems like improvement.

Then yesterday afternoon Josh and I drove to Richmond, where we visited with my family. In the evening I hung out with Grandpa and my aunt, then watched a bunch of tv on my own (when I probably should have been reading). This morning I read, visited Grandma, and then the whole family went out to lunch. After lunch Josh had his back popped in hopes that it will feel better soon, we took naps, did a little more homework, and then drove back to C'ville. Now I need to read more and then I plan on watching Downton Abbey.

Overall a pretty good weekend.

this and that

Sorry for the hiatus.

We're still running. And I'm still really excited about it. Saturday Josh and I ran fourteen miles. That was the farthest either of us had ever run. From here on out in our marathon training that number will just keep going up, and I will keep thinking to myself, "wow, that's the farthest I've ever run!"

I went ahead and got a sports watch with GPS. Now we can see how far we've run as we're going AND see our pace, and after plugging it into my computer it will show us the route we took, the elevation changes, how many calories I burned, etc. etc. etc.

So let me report on tonight's seven miles:

mile ave. pace
1 -- 9:49
2 -- 8:49
3 -- 9:48
4 -- 8:33
5 -- 9:49
6 -- 9:17
7 -- 8:37
Summary: total time 1:04:41.5, distance 7.00, average pace 9:15

In other news, Josh's birthday was yesterday. Saturday we had dinner at a German restaurant with his grandparents, Sunday I took him to dinner at a South African restaurant, and last night I made him a mango lassi, per his request. Next time I will puree the mango better and use a little less sugar. But overall it was still pretty good.



And finally, let me remind you that school is back in session. I'm going to class (in Fairfax) once or twice a week, and Josh is in class (not in Fairfax) twice a week. And we have jobs. So things are busy around here. Hopefully I'll still find time to blog, but you may have to suffer through mostly posts about marathon training. Get excited.