2015 Running Thread

Atlanta Peachtree Road Race 7/4

I ran 7 miles today, the longest run since my diagnosis. I only have 10 weeks till Tinker Bell Half, so I need to build up mileages. I've been running 3 days a week, Two easy runs (3 miles) and a long run on weekend. Am I running enough? My goal for this race is to finish, but I'm getting a little nervous... For my previous half marathons, I used SmartCoach on Runner's World website to come up with my half marathon training plan. Now they charge monthly fee to use the tool. Can anyone suggest a training plan?

Just got back from Arizona and running the Phoenix Half Marathon with my best friend and husband!!!. I didn't hit my goal of under two hours but did get a personal best of 2:04. Living in NY certainly didn't offer the best training conditions but I'm also wondering if I had an unrealistic goal. Notwithstanding, I am so happy with my results and the run.

I ran the first 1.5 with my best friend to warm up. We knew I would be pulling away since she has a slower pace. I felt great but then for some reason mile 5 was rough. This worried me since I had a ways to go. It also didn't help that Nike app run settings were messed up and I wasn't getting pace updates in my headphones. That would have been fine had they had pace updates along the course but there were none.

Mile 6 and 7 were just fine. Come mile 8 I had to constantly talk to my legs to not give up. I was doing fine cardio wise but my muscles were screaming! Anyway, I finished and I got to see my best friend and husband run by and finish their first halfs. I am so proud of them.

I love running and being able to do it with metastatic breast cancer I believe is such a blessing I have right now. I think I am going to take a break and let the body heal. Maybe do some PT before the Ragnar.

OH AWESOME Rseman, and what a great time!!

Rseman, that is such a fantastic story of triumph! And an awesome time! (If I ever see that time on my Garmin, they should be checking to see I ran all the miles.) Enjoy your well-deserved healing interval and celebrate your PR time! (I'm glad you got some warm days out of the trip too given that you have to put up with even worse weather in NY than we have farther north.

Congrats Rseman. Sounds like you had a great time with your friend and husband at the race.

My PS just cleared me to start running again. YAY!!! Started yesterday and already feel better. My exchange surgery got postponed until September 14, so I was very happy when she said I could run again.

Coaster Run was fun!! It was hard to get up early when daylight saving just began... But I had a great time running inside of the Knott's Berry Farm. There were lots of people with 6 or 7 wave start. It was well organized. I saw a couple dressed like Snoopy Frying Ace & Woodstock at the start line. Charlie Brown and Lucy were cheering for us around Mile 1. At the finish line, we received the Snoopy medal & a slice of Boysenberry pie! I didn't set any time goal. Just wanted to have fun and finish strong. I didn't even look at my watch until I finished. I actually ran 7 minutes faster than last 5k in December, that was 5 weeks after my last chemo. I'm still slower than before BC but I'm so happy to be able to run and that i'm making progress.

Congrats Hockeycat. I love the Snoopy medal and who doesn't love pie???

* high fives HockeyCat*

Ginger48, that's awesome! What exercise did you do to keep fit while not running

Rseman, Galloway has a marathon training plan with 3x runs a week and one walk. You may want to check it. He is also a proponent of run-walk (which we love around here, don't we?) to get better overall time than total burnout.

My wicking socks are Wright socks coolmesh low cut, from the Running Room. I can't switch socks from one time to the next. If I change socks, I have to throw all the old ones out and get all new ones. It has to feel exactly the same every time. Lululemon used to make a good sock but they switched the knit and got all stretchy and they'd creep down in the shoe, so that was the end of them. Threw all the old ones out. I tried these and found they stayed in place, and felt dry and light. I haven't gone past 22km, plus to and from a run, though.

I've had a sore heel (very small spot at the inside edge of the left heel only, sort of where the side of the foot meets the bottom - not the back of the heel, nor the arch. Not like plantar fasciitis location-wise, but the pain is similar. I think maybe it cropped up around the November runs at Disney, when I did the Wine and Dine with heavy, waterlogged shoes and fighting a cranky hip on, yes, the same left side. Anyway, the physio has been unsuccessfully trying to fix by releasing tightness in the tendon on the calf and fussing with the foot itself, and I saw the sports medicine MD, who diagnosed ... "heel pain". hahahahahahah None of us can find the heel cup she recommended I use for daily wear so I am still aching. But we also decided to do shockwave therapy on it to see what happens, and I've had one treatment. Boy, does that feel good ... when it stops. However, the theory of it, as I understand it, is that it takes a poorly healed injury and re-inflames it so that it can heal properly. So no ice or anti-inflammatory medicine during the treatment. One treatment a week for 3 weeks, then wait and see, then another round as needed. It doesn't hurt any more when I run than when I don't, so the pain wouldn't stop me from running but it hurts less the day after I do few steps than days when I do a lot, so I weigh the options. Every injury is a new anatomy lesson. Fascinating!

The inevitable has happened: The Avengers Half at Disneyland has been expanded to add a Captain America 10K and a "Infinity Gauntlet Challenge" combining 10K and Half. Registration opens April 7 for those who are so inclined, and the information is online.

I enjoyed it last year, but I prefer the schedule of the Disneyland Half at Labour Day, so I will leave the superheros to others!