stress, recover, rinse, repeat

Raced the EMARC 5k in Melrose today. Took a while to get there because of the Commuter Rail and Ts but it was sponsored by Marathon Sports so I wanted to do it. Ran basically what I did last week – 19:09. The course was a bit more challenging though – there were some hills unlike last week which was basically plat, so I may have run a bit better even though my time was a few seconds slower. Felt fine after wards so I really wish I pushed myself a bit more. Had way too much energy when I finished. My goal this fall is to race a 5k in sun 19…wonder if I’ll make it? Glad I came all the way here to race (public transportation is a nuisance) – got a gift certificate to Marathon Sports – kind of funny since I work there, but I’ll definitely use it! - as well as some other food freebees.

Ran a lot when I got home too – still had energy, perhaps more because I ate a meal and went out for a nice jog around Jamaica Pond.

Enjoyed the run, not too tired from yesterday.

Worked in the Boston location for the first time – long day because we had a BAA half marathon clinic in the evening sponsored by Adidas and it got pretty hectic. I was running around grabbing shoes and trying to fit/ help people with the little knowledge I have.

Some people are just too much. When we fit a shoe, it’s all about how it feels on the foot and whether it provides adequate support for the customer’s biomechanics. It’s frustrating when we get someone who looks at EVERY shoe we bring out and says “OMG ewww! That’s the ugliest thing! I absolutely cannot put it on my foot. I can’t believe you actually sell shoes this UGLY! I want to look good when I run and I’d be so embarrassed if I wore that.”

Seriously?? These are completely normal sneakers and we sell them, hundreds of them, daily to happy runners everywhere…she said this for every shoe she was presented with. I didn’t get upset though, she was really amusing.

Didn’t run in the morning because I went to a workout with the Greater Boston Track Club in the evening. It was really tough to forego my AM run but I did. The whole day I was super anxious about the workout – was dreading it actually. The ‘professional’ running atmosphere, if that’s what you’d call it, intimidates me! I was also super hungry during the day – not sure if it was anxiety-related? It wasn’t bad though! We went for a 23 minute warm-up run which was very fast! People were huffing and puffing afterwards but I was fine (it’s the power speed I lack, not the endurance). We warmed up around a pond but we didn’t start until after 7pm and it was so dark that I couldn’t see a thing by the time we finished. After some drills we did 1200s.

It seemed pretty unorganized. Everyone broke off into groups but I didn’t know what to do so I just hopped in with a group that ended up running too slow for me because I led the whole time and always finished a fair stretch ahead of the others but wasn’t out of breath at all. There were no lights on at the track which made everything hard! I didn’t time a single interval because I couldn’t see my watch but someone else said we ran them in about 4:25-4:30. I think if I come next time I’d like to run with the faster group. I know I’d be at the back of the pack because they were going pretty fast (maybe early 4:20s?) but I think (or hope) that this would help me improve. I definitely felt like I could go faster in this situation because running with all these girls made me feel not necessarily competitive, but more of a pressure/motivation to perform well.

Ran 5x1200 with 400 rest but I felt like I could do a couple more easily L when will I ever run and feel like I gave a full 110%??

Felt ok on the run this morning considering the speedworkout was less than 12 hours prior. Right ankle is really hurting though - painful to point the toe outward/downward. Pain is ‘inside’ the ankle, more an achy all-over pain. It’s more on the outside toward the heel but generally throughout the whole thing. It actually started hurting before the workout yesterday – I started getting all of these odd pains in my body because I was so anxious before the workout. The ankle felt worse this morning. It helped when the ground was at a slight angle/slope so that my weight fell more on the outside of my right foot. Maybe the ‘injury’ has something to do with overpronation?

Had a good day at work – learned a bit more about shoes and feet. Slowly but surely. Jane came to visit briefly after work which was great to see her since it’s been eons. 

Felt pretty good – surprisingly the speed workout 2 days ago never hit me. I thought I’d feel it today since I didn’t feel it yesterday but nope. I didn’t push hard enough.

I focused on ‘form’ today. Yesterday at work a few of us were talking about chi running / minimalist running and the whole idea of forefoot-striking as opposed to the heel-strike. I am naturally a heel-striker (my feet are flatter than pancakes) so I tried to run and land on my forefoot which was hard. My ankle has been acting up so it hurt a bit here and there but after I got going, it was actually really easy! It felt kind of like I was pounding (perhaps scuffing?) more than I usually do though, which is ironic considering it is supposed to lighten up one’s stride. I also tried to keep my body upright and be conscious about striking when my body was directly over my foot. Ran about 8 or so miles; I need to get better about tracking exact mileage though.

Easy couple miles - race tomorrow

BUSY busy day at work! Absolutely exhausted from being on my feel alllll day. I never sit down (or stop running around for that matter) at work.