Where I have been...

So before I start on where I have been for the past couple of months, I need to vent about something...

Today I went to the gym at my apartment, and this guy kept throwing me looks while I am huffing and puffing on the treadmill behind him, because I apparently was being too loud while he was talking to someone on the phone.

1. I was there first.
2. Why are you on the phone in the first place!!!!

Why do people insist on talking on the phone while they are "working out"? Seriously, you're not working out. All you are doing is yelling over machines and annoying everyone else around you.

The other thing that has me a little worked up it the other gentleman at the gym. As I was leaving, this guy stops me and says that I am running incorrectly. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for learning new running techniques, so I asked what he meant and he said that I need to be hitting my heel first. I then kindly said, "Isn't that heel striking?" He told me yes and that was how all the best runners ran. I told him I would look into it. Honestly though, I don't. Heel striking is quite possibly the WORST thing you can do as a runner. It will lead to more injury and I actually find it extremely unnatural to run that way. I posted a youtube video to show you how to run correctly and help you recognize if you heel strike.

Rant is complete. Now onto the good stuff.  

Basically I stopped posting after I did the Iron Girl run. I have still been running, I have just been lacking on the whole blogging part. I got a little busy with work and the holidays and when those passed I just forgot about blogging.  I did do another run after the Iron Girl. I completed the Color Run. It was a lot of fun and I was able to run with my friend from work, Val. By the end of the run we were both completely covered from head to toe in colored powder. It was AMAZING! I am also doing the Firefly run in April and I am seriously looking forward to it. I am actually going to dress up like a firefly. It's going to be epic. :)

On to the bad part (kind of), I am no longer using the app Learn to Run on my phone. I was having a lot of problems with not only the app, but with the stupid phone too. I decided that I was not going to be a slave to a crappy phone anymore; I decided to get a more reliable iphone. It kills me to say it, but I love my iphone and I have not had any problems since purchasing it. Buying a new phone meant that I had to get a new running app. I spent about 2 or 3 days researching different types of running apps for the iphone and I think I have found the most perfect app. It is called Run Training (the paid version is Run Training Pro and costs $3.99). It has 5k, 10k, half marathon, and full marathon training on it, and instead of running to beeps, the app voices the instructions.

As of right now, I just completed the first day of 10k trainer. The 10k trainer is 13 weeks of running 3 times a week. It is definitely doable and there is not much of an excuse not to go run three times a week. So far it is pretty easy (1 minute runs with 2 minute walks), so I am sprinting on the treadmill during the runs to make myself work harder and hopefully it will make me a faster runner in the future.

I am also now a vegetarian (for lent anyways). You can read that blog for my feeling on it and recipes! Just click here!

Day Nine: Practice 5K

You may have noticed that I did not run on Wednesday. I ended up getting a minor surgery on Wednesday so I took the day off so I could recover and run today and Sunday. Instead of doing a run for the app I decided to do a practice 5K run so I could gage how I will do for the Iron Girl race. I am very happy with how today went. I was able to run 2 miles straight without any walking breaks! I am extremely excited/happy with that. I am looking forward to Sunday and I plan resting up tomorrow.

Day Eight: Pre-Run and Post Run

So as you may have noticed I did not run much the past two weeks. I have been battling injury and sickness. I decided today that I was tired of not running and that even though I am sick, I am going to go and run. While I was running today, I remember when I thought running 3 minutes was a pain; I can now run 5 minutes straight without a problem. I can go past that, but since I am doing training, I walk when the program says to. I In order to make my workouts more vigorous, I sprint the last minute. It wasn’t so bad tonight, but I may be in for a rough tomorrow.

Day Seven: Pre-Run and Post Run

Today was my first day back running after injuring myself on Thanksgiving. I was a bit nervous to start running again. The last thing I want/need to do is to further injure my right knee, but I decided that I cannot live my life like that. I decided to wear my brace and compression pants in order to keep everything stable. It seems to have worked.

I was not able to go running until almost 8pm, so I decided that today would be a perfect day to work on pacing while running. I decided that during the times I ran I would only go 3.3 (roughly an 18 minute mile). I will say that today was the only time I was able run without feeling completely wore out by the third run. I decided that at the beginning of the week, I will be going to the gym and doing a pace check for the week. I am hoping that it will help take care of the pacing problems that I currently have. Time will only tell. 

Took A Short Break: Now I'm Back

Okay, so I had to take a couple days off running. On Thursday night, I ended up twisting my ankle when I was getting out of the shower. What I did not realize at the time was that I ended up twisting my knee in the process. This is extremely bad for me. I already have tears in the tendons in my right knee and I do not want to further injure or tear the tendons. I made the decision to not run for a couple days to see what happened. When Sunday rolled around, I decided that it would be best to postpone running until Tuesday, that way I had more time to heal. Injury and pain is something that I am always going to have to deal with, but I also know that when I am experiencing more pain in different areas, that it is time to take a break and let things heal themselves. I am glad I took the five days off, and I am ready to hit the ground running (literally).

Day Six: Pre-Run and Post Run

Today was an amazing day. I was feeling pretty good and I was looking forward to coming home from work so I could go for my run. Who knew it would become so addicting so quickly? The only issues that I have been having are: extreme tightness in calves and a bit of knee pain. This is to be expected, and I think either a massage or more stretching. I would not mind a massage… hint, hint.

Today I went and ran around a neighborhood. I try to map out my routes before I go, but I noticed that I am not giving myself enough distance to run and I have to improvise after I reach my starting point. I also have noticed that I am not pacing myself very well. I start out running pretty fast (for me) during the first interval, but I progressively become slower and slower with each interval. Other than that, I am fairly happy with the way things have been going during my runs, now I just wish I could run faster. I feel like I am running at the same speed I am walking.

Day Five: Pre-Run and Post-Run

I was actually looking forward to running today. I might just be coming around to this whole running thing (fingers crossed). I was feeling a little bit tight in my calves, but it wasn't as tight as it was during the first week (pretty exciting, I think). I am slowly, but surely weaning off high fructose corn syrup. I am still getting cravings and I am still somewhat on edge, but it has been getting better. Hopefully by next week, I will no longer be cranky and irritable.

I was planning on just running around the ASU campus today, but I was waiting for the Orbit bus for almost 10 minutes (it's free, so I guess you get what you pay for). So I decided to run to the school instead and then go halfway around campus. During my run today, my app decided not to work for two sets. I was so upset. I had to use the timer on my phone to keep track of my time for two sets. Talk about a hassle! I finally got it to work, and I was able to resume activities as normal. I was dying during the five minute portions if the run. It may be only two more minutes than I am used to running, but that extra two minutes is a killer! I'm usually ready to give in at the three minute mark, but I push myself into completing everything. I know when I get to that three minute walk, I deserve it!

I am becoming somewhat concerned for the Iron Girl race. I am not sure if it will be possible for me to run the 5k without stopping. I know I have a couple weeks left, so I'll just have to train even harder.