Tuesday, March 29, 2011

last minute half

About this time last week I decided to sign up for a half marathon. I had been seeing the ads/invite on my facebook sidebar for the Chi Town Half Marathon and 5K for some time but couldn't take the financial plunge. I've said it before, I have an issue hitting the submit/confirm button when it comes to signing up for races. Anyways, I had 14 easy on the schedule, the race was 3 miles from my front door, and along the path I would have to run my long run anyways. I figured I might as well get a shirt and a medal out of a long run! I saw that it would be cold but I was half hoping weather.com was lying because really - what do they know ;)?

Race morning was freaking freezing! I guess they weren't lying this time around. My husband woke up early to drop me off about 30 minutes before the start so I could pick up my ankle chip. I thought there might be a line... It took under 30 seconds. Then I stood around freezing because the real feel temp was around 19 degrees.

Nothing too exciting to talk about this run. It was a local, very small race but well supported for its size. I primarily "raced" to motivate me in completing my long run because well, I haven't wanted to run lately thanks to the weather. I also wanted to see where my endurance was and if I could hold my desired marathon goal pace after coming out of the boot 6 weeks ago. It didn't feel as good as I had felt in previous races but with some self bargaining and thanks to a random runner at mile 6 who unknowingly paced me I held onto my goal marathon race pace. Can I hold that for a marathon? No, not right now. But I'm not disappointed. I finished in 1:58:19 (9:01 pace) and exactly halfway overall, crossing the line in 322nd place out of 644 finishers. Definitely a first for me! I was happy to come in under 2 hours and while this is not my best race it's definitely not my worst. Really that's all you can ask for coming off an injury and randomly signing up for a race! Another reason not to be upset - I had an amazing mid distance progression run 2 days (less than 48 hours) prior to this race ;)


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Crampy Calves

I'm back... briefly :) I have quick question before I have to pop out again.

So this training cycle (yes, I'm out of the boot finally and back to a regular running schedule!) I find my calves are much more sore / tight / prone to cramping than in the past. I have had problems but never like this time around. I'm following a slightly amended, less mileage more focus on getting my "speed" back training plan, my diet/food intake hasn't really altered much, I'm taking in my vitamins and eating enough potassium, I'm probably doing more cross-training, I wear my compression socks, etc. What gives? It's getting to the point where I am being woken up regularly (2-3 times a week) due to the cramping or the beginnings of what could turn into a very painful charley horse in my calf. I've also woken up screaming in pain and then my calf is tender for the next few days. It is so frustrating.

Do any of you suffer from weird cramping after running? How do you deal or what have you done to alleviate the problem?