Week 7, All Days

Okay, I'm now back from Spring Break and pumped to finish out my college career and my 5k training at a run, so to speak. The new inserts have kept my knees from hurting during all of my runs and at PT on Monday, Chris gave me a few more exercises and told me that it seems that our time together is at an end.

Run summaries:

W7D1: This was my first run with my neat-o new running gear (since it rained the day after I went shopping). I went with my mom (who'd taken the day off work to spend it with me) to a local park that has a new trail around it and was pleasantly surprised at how well the run went for my first 25 minutes. I've found that it's always rocky until minute 10, when I seem to finally settle into the run with my pace and my breathing. Up until then, I always want to just call it a day and go home. Sadly, after the 25 minutes, it was too cold to keep walking/jogging, so go home we did. Still, new gear and inserts = SUCCESS!

W7D2: This run amused me. I had PT that afternoon and had no car, so instead, I left my apartment and ran on the bikepath (2.7 miles) to Jon's work to use his. This run felt great (again, only after I had hit the first 10 minute mark) and it let Chris see my knees right after the run. Despite the fact that my patella is still not tracking 100% properly, we're done for now, unless something starts hurting again. Funny anecdote: I jogged behind a woman pushing her baby in one of the really cool BOB strollers. As such, I ended up being on mitten patrol since baby kept flinging things out onto the path. I really have to give a kudos to parents who run with their kids and push the stroller--I don't know about you, but some days it takes all my energy just to get myself up and out of the house. I bet it's exponentially more difficult to not only get yourself motivated and ready, but to get the baby and stroller as well.

W7D3: This was last night's run. Jon wanted to push himself to do 8 miles for his half training, so I decided to push myself as well. Well, actually, the 25 minute run was really difficult for me this time. It wasn't until I hit the 25-minute mark that I felt that I could keep pushing on with my steady jog. All told, I ended up jogging at about an 11-minute mile pace for 45 minutes, completing the 4-mile circuit that I was on. During my run, I felt like I was really in a stride and doing really well. Unfortunately, after my run, I ate dinner and went to bed a few hours later, only to keep waking up feeling gassy and bloated. Has this ever happened to anyone? I ate a normal dinner (salad and a serving of my turkey meatloaf) and had had a power bar before running, but still. It wasn't until 2:30am when I finally ate a fiber One bar that I was able to go to (and stay) asleep for the remaining 3 hours. Now, today, I'm a little sore--I'm thinking of staying home and going for a walk or doing some Pilates tonight instead of another heavy workout. Then, it's on to Week 8!

Next up, recipe for fun Turkey Meatloaf Muffins and a few NSVs!