Rapid City not so Rapid

So I had a wedding to attend up in Rapid City, South Dakota. This was the first time I would be doing a training run in another city. Having the Garmin made it so I wouldn't have to map the route unless I wanted to. Having that kind of freedom is awesome.

I made my way out of the lobby and up the road to give myself a nice walk to get my legs moving. I made my way down the Cathedral Rd. and turned right onto a side street. The amount of hills was staggering....upppppp.....dowwwwwn......upppppp......dowwwwwn. I decided to turn right on a street called Terracita because it looked like it went through a nice neighborhood and seemed to have a small incline....holy cow was I wrong.

The road just kept going up and up and up and up. I turned on Alta Vista and went all the way to the top of the hill and literally saw the mansion on top of the hill. The view down was truly amazing and a walked for about 30 seconds to try and soak it in...and back down I went.

I looked at the Garmin to see how far it would be to get down the hill, and by the time I got back to the starting street, it said 1.2 miles. With the two small turns I made, I figure the incline was at least 1 mile up to the top....crazy.

The IT was really pretty good overall. I can't say the same for my right calf. It stayed sore for a few days and took some time to relax during my 3 mile run today. But I felt like I truly accomplished something within those 5 miles on Saturday. It was hot and I was dead by the time I got back to the hotel, but I enjoyed the challenge and the effort.

Nervous Thursday

So Thursdays have been the run day that have given me the most trouble. The IT Band just always seems to be so tender that a half mile in the pain gets rough. I was concerned about how it would go. I have been trying some different approaches to stretching. I am starting to suspect that I am stretching too much too soon and actually making the problem worse. I decided to try not stretching until the end of the run to make sure the muscles is warmed up and a little more pliable. I am also trying to make sure I work my stride so it causes the least amount of pain when I am running.

I would be lying if I said there was no pain for the entire run, but it was a very dull ache that is really easy to manage. It reminded me of the pain I had for a couple of months before the Colorado Marathon. To be honest I am a little encourage....

The fact that I made it through the run without the excruciating pain that had happened the previous two wees makes me happy. I did spend some solid time after the run, stretching and using the foam roller to try and stretch it out. Friday it did not feel great after yoga, but by mid afternoon, I felt nothing at all and that pleases me.

I went to a wedding up in South Dakota and did my Saturday run in Rapid City....I will give an update on that when I get home.

So my mileage for this week:

Tue - 3
Wed - 4
Thur - 3
Sat - 5

Everything is on track at the moment....

4 miles I think

The ol Garmin I was raving about yesterday died on me as I was starting my run. Thought it had plenty of juice but I was wrong. Need to be better about checking I guess. This is the first mid-week run that is of longer length than the Tuesday and Thursday run. It grows at a faster rate than the mid-week runs of the Novice 2 schedule I followed last marathon. I think this will pay off in the long run, although I reserve the right to tinker to try to build more base miles. I have been told by someone I trust that longer mid-week runs is one of the keys to getting better at this so I plan to try to make sure I build more as I go.

The run itself was not too bad. Again I did feel pressure for the entire run, but only a few moments of pain.The place I believe I went wrong was in my strength training afterwards. I need to not try to lift with the legs after a run while I am healing. It really had some adverse affect on me today. I have been battling some pretty solid pain since I got home at 7:10 this morning. It finally died down after about 4:00 PM and feels fine now. I am hoping I will be ok to make it through my three miles tomorrow.

The route.....sort of:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=E+Harney+St&daddr=E+Harney+St+to:Univertsity+of+Wyoming+to:E+Grand+Ave%2FUS-30+to:E+University+Ave+to:41.31437,-105.578249+to:N+13th+St&hl=en&geocode=Fap4dgIdaga1-Q%3BFRGBdgIdr1C1-Q%3BFYBmdgIdXE-1-Q%3BFWBZdgIdluO0-Q%3BFdxhdgIdwfm0-Q%3B%3BFYp0dgId-Pq0-Q&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=16&via=1,2,3,4,5&sll=41.31474,-105.581145&sspn=0.007817,0.019205&ie=UTF8&z=16

3 mile run fun

So I am in the 3rd week of my eighteen week training program. I have had mixed results the first couple of weeks, but continue to forge forward. I had a three mile run this morning and it went pretty well. To be honest...it is 2.7 then I work out a bit...followed by .3 home. I really want to get my body to reach its potential from an appearance stand point. So I do some solid strength training three days a week, and I do core work 5 days a week. I think it is slowly paying off.

The pain in the knee was very mild...more pressure than pain. For that I am grateful. I am trying not to let the need to run faster push me every day. The Garmin has been incredibly helpful with keeping perspective. I can see almost instantly my pace and distance so I can correct accordingly.

I have been getting up early to run and it helps keep the warm temperatures to a minimum. There aren't a lot of other people out and that is a little bit of a bummer. Other runners out always seem to help amp me up and push me. Wondering if other people keep a pattern of just squeeze it in whenever. But anyway....

I did not keep an accurate read of my time because I forgot to start the watch again after I was done doing my core work...so if that is the only reason you check the blog...I apologize. I have 4 miles tomorrow. I am excited....