Metabo journal

I ran on the track today at what felt like a comfortable pace, but I was actually running about 0:45/mile faster than normal (29:11 total, no HRM). Maybe those interval sessions are kicking in. I also felt some different leg muscles working-probably due to the cross training. Followed up with 50 crunches, 50 each forward leg lifts, 15 KB abs, 50 each side leg lifts, 3 x 30 sec planks, and 29 push-ups. HS and I decided to decrease the number of pushups we attempted and instead tried to go lower to the ground. I accidently touched my nose to the mat at one point (disgusting!) so I think we were using better form.

Ran 2 laps around the neighborhood (28:51) while a storm was coming in, so there was a decent breeze out of the south. My HR stayed around 165, and this was just a nice, relaxing run. 

Ran at the field house this morning at a comfortable pace (42:31). I didn't run yesterday because there was a sore muscle in my left leg, but the discomfort was much less during the run today.

Ran 2.33 around the neighborhood with NR and walked the rest. The average pace for the running portion was 10:01 and average HR was 151 bpm. The weather is getting nice...if only spring would come permanently and winter would go away!

Did 7 x 2/1 intervals followed by one mile jogging. The 7 fast laps combined equal one total fast mile. Afterward did 20 bicep curls, 39 push-ups, 50 each obliques (45 lbs), 50 crunches, and 20 KB crunches.

Ran outside around the neighborhood today because the weather was beautiful. As this is my third day of running in a row, and since I had an intense run yesterday, I decided to do some recovery running. I finished in 30-something minutes with an average HR of 161. I noticed that it was difficult to keep my HR down, maybe because I was tired and my legs were definitely fatigued. I had intended to run further, but got distracted by all the tulips and daffodils blooming that I quit running and instead spent some time walking around the neighborhood taking pictures of flowers.

Rode the bike for 30 minutes, including 20 minutes of 30/30 sec intervals. Followed up with 50 ball crunches, 30 bicycles, 25 decline crunches, 50 screwdriver curls (10 lbs), 20 twisting bicep curls, 20 regular curls, 30 tricep extensions, 2 x 12 horizontal row (50 lbs).

Ran 4 miles this morning around sugarhouse with NR. Our average pace was 10:10, which wasn't bad considering the second half of the run was uphill. It was overcast, but the temperature was nice and the run was invigorating.

Ran 2.8 miles this morning as a recovery run and my legs were pretty fatigued. I finished in 27:57, which was faster than I intended to run. However, the weather was GREAT!!! I spent a while in the afternoon walking around and taking pictures of trees and flowers in bloom (4 miles).

Ran outside today with HS and it was another great spring day! We tried to keep the run pretty flat, but ended up doing some light hill work. Considering I have run the past three days, my legs felt decently peppy. Average HR ran around 165 bpm, which was higher than I intended it to be. The most difficult workouts for me are the ones where I try to do recovery runs at HR 150 because I'm too impatient to take it slow. Anyway, my calf was a little tender so I plan to take it easy tomorrow-maybe a walk. Followed up with 50 crunches, 50 each side leg lifts, 3 x 30 sec. planks, 40 push-ups, and 3 x 5 sec holding plank position with elbows at sides. 

Ran in the field house today since it was snowing yet again, even though it's April and it was gorgeous last weekend. Anyway, I tried to push myself to run faster and I finished in 28:10, which is quite a bit faster but I didn't have HR monitoring. I have to start pushing myself again because I signed up for the Bryce Canyon half-marathon on July 18- one week before my wedding. Arby thinks I'm crazy for doing it so close to the wedding, and he's probably right. He can give me a big "I told you so" if I turn into a bridezilla because I'm stretched too thin. There are two major things I am concerned about with the BC race. 1-The race starts at 7600 ft. 2- There is a 2000 ft drop in elevation over the course. I hope my knees can hold up to the downhill running, but they seem to be doing much better in the past 6-8 months. I plan to start doing some training in Park City or at the ski resorts (once this annoying snow stops), and I also plan to start focusing on strength training of the gluts and quads which will help to stabilize my knee when running down hill. The route is down scenic byway 12 though...

Followed up the workout with 50 crunches, 50 each forward leg lifts, 50 each side leg lifts, 40 bicep curls (10 lbs), 3 x 10 sec plank #2, and 50 screwdrivers. 

Got my new computer (PC) today and the thing I really notice is that my 2 yo macbook is much faster than the new PC- probably because it doesn't have to load Norton anti-virus every time I turn it on. To be fair, the graphics, sound quality, and games are better on the PC, but I still prefer mac.

I planned to start my training today, but I wasn't feeling great this afternoon and I started to have stomach cramps when I was running. After 2 miles I decided to quit and try again tomorrow. The goal for this weekend is to get a rough estimate of how well my knees will tolerate downhill running at 4000-5000 ft.

Ran up and back in city creek to gauge how well my knees will tolerate downhill running. During the 3 miles up I ran 11:44/mile and average HR 171 bpm. On the trip back down I ran 10:35/mile with an average HR of 165 bpm. After that I walked a mile to cool down. While going up I only felt fatigue in my hips and didn't feel my knees at all. Going down I did feel some slight dixcomfort in my knees. I checked the change in altitude at the bottom and top of my run -the difference was 460 ft. Averaged on a per mile basis, this should be the gradient I will see at Bryce canyon. Is it better to lean slightly downhill or back into the hill when running downhill?

Ran at the field house today and tried to take easy because there was some discomfort in my knees. Knees were ok during the run, but they began to revolt once I started to do squats (45 x 80 lbs). Did 50 each side leg lifts, 50 each front leg lifts, 50 crunches, 2 x 11 sec plank #2, 3 x 30 sec plank #1.

Ran outside today after work-tried to take it easy on the knees. I was feeling fatigued but I think it was due to having a pretty light lunch and I was tired in general. Knees are still sore from the downhill run on Saturday and the right knee seems to be slightly swollen. Observations about my knees- I can run on flat or uphill gradients without a problem, but not downhill. Squats or anything that causes a bend in the knees closer to 90 degrees tends to make them very sore. There seems to be a pulling sensation on the medial aspect of my right patella when bending my knee. I am seeing a doctor about it tomorrow and hopefully there is something I can do to get rid of this pain. I actually have a different gait when walking downstairs because I expect to feel a stabbing pain in the knee whenever I do. I hope not to get diagnosed again with a very general patellofemoral pain syndrome because I don't think the usual suspects (tracking problem, weak hips, VMO) are causing this pain. We'll see...

Ran outside around lower campus. Went to the orthopaedist today and he told me that my knee pain is not due to a patellar tracking problem. Instead my hips are rotated and my right leg is longer than the left. Also my right ankle is looser than the left, all contributing to right knee pain.

Ran this morning in the 4th Street Clinic 5K because I hope to volunteer at a clinic like this once I become a PA. The weather was overcast, but not raining, which made for a nice running temperature. We ran around the U of U campus starting at the Huntsman Center, so the last mile of the race was a lot of uphill. My average HR was 169 and my garmin read that we ran 2.89, but another runner's garmin read 3.03 so I'm not sure which is correct.

Some important things to note are that I ran with a patellar tendon strap on my right knee and I've been working on adjusting my hips (put my hips in place before and after the race) and strengthening my ankle for a few days now. During the initial downhill portion (which seemed as steep as City Creek) my knees were totally fine, I didn't feel any pain. I tried to keep my stride the same length as on a flat surface, but speed up my steps and lean a little forward. It seemed to work out well and will hopefully stay that way!!!

Ran this morning for Justin and all others who sustain spinal cord injuries...

Ran with the dogs. Daisy made it halfway down the road!