Nein 9

I had this HUGE plan of running 9 miles on Saturday and following it up with some kind of awesome run on Sunday (of unspecified mileage). It was sort of a shot in the dark because there have only been a handful of times I have run BOTH Saturday and Sunday and those times were always with a low mileage run on Saturday followed by a significantly longer run on Sunday.

Well in typical best laid plan fashion, it didn't quite work out. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate humidity? I suppose you would be hard pressed to find a person who loves it (or likes it for that matter). It truly is awful, but that's neither here nor there because I have to find a way to get my body accustomed to it because it's going nowhere and I have a half marathon to train for (followed by a full marathon upon completion of the half).

You know the really weird thing...my hip didn't hurt AT ALL for the 3 miles I did get in on Saturday. I swear it heard me schedule the steroid injection and it got all scared and decided to be good. But enough about the hip...let's get back to my lame 3-miler....I walked the remaining 0.8 miles of the course, then headed to the gym...I did 15 minutes on the elliptical on the glutes program level 12 and then I did 30 minutes on the bike set on a random program on level 12. Overall, it was a good workout.

I guess the important thing to note here is that if I had actually done the 9 miles on Saturday, there is most likely no way I would have had an equivalent workout on Sunday as I did in actuality on Saturday. I sound like I'm justifying my non-strategic backing out of my long run on Saturday, but not really...I mean I was quite disappointed with myself, but it wasn't like I just went home and sat on my booty...I still burned over 1000 calories sweating.

Okay, so that brings us to today with attempt #2 at 9 miles (though technically this weekend's run was supposed to only be my third and final week on 8 miles). Thankfully, I woke up to a most beautiful day with significantly lower humidity. I've mentioned before how this whole running thing is half physical and half mental, you see. It's so true and unfortunately, I let the mental side get to me way too much. I had a different plan in place this go-around. I love running my new route which extends each lap to 3.6 (give or take) miles, BUT since I don't like carrying water or Powerade Zero with me (I leave it on a park bench at the starting point), I find myself completely dehydrated well into my lap. I think that was part of Saturday's problem, actually. With this in mind, I decided it would suit me best to run the 1.8 (give or take) mile path 5 times around and swing by my trusty park bench for some hydration in between each lap. I felt FANTASTIC for the first 2 laps! No hip pain AT ALL! I'm almost starting to question this whole injection thing...I mean if it isn't hurting now, why do it?! The only thing that is nagging at me to continue with the plan is that my hip has done this before and then come back with a vengeance and it really is perfect timing with my vacation. BUT, I digress...so, I swung by the table for some Powerade Zero. After I gulped down the remaining half of the bottle, I went to start running again, but my left knee was vehemently in opposition of the idea. It was the oddest thing...there was zero indication of a problem during my run. I started massaging it, stretching my leg, but to no avail. In fact, it took me a few minutes to be able to walk around without the pain. Finally, I was able to walk on it, so I decided to power walk a lap. Upon completion of that lap, I tried running again, but the ol' knee was still having a temper tantrum, so I felt it best to finish out the the remaining mileage power walking.

Overall, I'm disappointed. It truly sucks that my hip was happy, my energy level was on par, the humidity was significantly better than the day before, there was even a cool breeze on occasion, and I felt like I had that 9 miles in the bank. Too bad the knee decided not to be on board the train with the rest of my body and my spirit. At least I know what 9 feels like...even if I didn't finish it out running. I'm only crediting myself with the 4 miles I did run and will attempt 9 miles again post recovery from the injection. For the record, though...I just want to say that power walking is some serious business, too!

So what is on tap exercise-wise for the rest of the week? Well, I will ice up my knee, then Epsom salt bath my body tonight. I'm thinking of running 3 miles each morning before heading to work - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I will also have Yoga on Monday night. I won't be able to do the Yoga class on Wednesday night courtesy of THE SHOT. From there on (for a week OR SO), I'm gonna be VERY limited in what I can do - hoping to use this opportunity to do some arm weights so I won't be so weak during Yoga.

Oh and I wanted to make mention that Meliska and I went over to Lauren's house on Friday night to watch The Spirit of the Marathon. If you are even slightly into running, I totally recommend it. It follows 6 people who are at varying levels in their running as they prepare for the Chicago marathon. It's an awesome movie! It was a great girl's night with two of my favorite girls, as well!