First summer session oVeR!

Today was the dreaded chemistry final, and it was not easy by any means. I think I did reasonably well and should pull out an A in the class, but it was the kind of test that left you a little uncertain of your answers, and made your brain hurt by the end. But it’s over, which means I get a worry-free weekend before the new session starts Monday. And to think that I almost had this next session off… haha, it’ll be worth it in the end to get these classes out of the way and put me in line to get the second degree w/in a reasonable amount of time.

Anyways, running is what I really want to rave about.  It has been so nice being able to get a full week’s worth of running/training in.  It’s not completely pain free, but the few trips a week to the chiro are atleast keeping things manageable.  Hopefully the pain will go away for good soon.  Today was really my only unsuccessful run, and I’m proud of myself for just letting that go and not dwelling on it… afterall, I picked a horrible time of day to run and the humidity pretty much killed all the fun. 

The week’s workouts went a little something like this:

• Sunday- 30 minute test run to check out the SI joint– success!
• Monday- 40 minute run with teammates that went really well! Afternoon 30 minute elliptical.
• Tuesday- 15 min elliptical, 25 min morning loop to the hill, 2 sets of 5 steep hill repeats, then a quick run back to the rec
• Wednesday- another run with teammates (42 minutes), pilates in the pm
• Thursday- a wonderful 1600 yards of swimming laps
• Friday- 47 minutes/ 6.25 mile run in the awful humidity. 2 rest stops just to cool down… some leg and arm lifting upon return.
• Saturday- looking at an easy run or off

Total mileage: 23 or so miles running, not a lot, but I’m getting there!

I probably shouldn’t have stopped the two times I did and just sucked it up so that I could get some more toughness built up that I have lost from not being able to train a lot the past couple years, but I also have to learn to take things slowly and give my body a break once in a while! I’m going to take it easy this weekend and then attempt the longer run again Monday morning when I have teammates to run with and much cooler temps.  And next week is the Fourth of July, which means the annual Rotary Run 5k race! This week’s workout is a 10-15min tempo, so to keep the pace up there where I’d like it, I think I’ll just race the first 2 miles or so of the race and keep it around 6:00 min miles, then branch off before the finish.  Plus, that will save me $30 I really don’t need to be spending   I’m actually really excited to get in some 400m repeats this coming week to see how my speed it… it’s been probably a month and a half since I last did speed and that is my weakness, so I’d really like to get it back so I can hang with my teammates in workouts and races this year.  Yeah, I’m super pumped!

Let’s see, a look at the weekend ahead:

• Friday- driving home for the Relay for Life event, I’ll probably walk an hour from 10-11 or so.
• Saturday- working 8-6pm at the zoo (gross gross gross), followed by a 7:30 Crew game where my mom scored us seats in her office SUITE with catered food! Awesome!
• Sunday- working 10-5, then back to BG for a new week of classes. Joy.

***Hopefully catching some TF Olympic Trials on tv this weekend! So excited!

I’d totally NOT work at the zoo anymore if I could get more hours at the rec at school. Such is life, though.

The Halfway Point of Summer, already?!

Well, technically today is the FIRST official day of summer, but in terms of summer vacation, my first 8 week session is nearly over and the second 8 week session is about to begin.  Too bad I haven’t gotten in the running I had been hoping to… boo! A minor set-back with the funky hip pain, but that wasn’t so bad and I was back in 4 days. Now I have this SI joint mystery. 20 minutes into a great run a couple weeks ago and the mysterious pain began and has gotten worse since, despite NO running.  I was glad to see Dr. Noftz and have him send me to a chiropractor because the simple pelvic adjustment she performed cleared up a lot of the radiating pain that had me wincing just when walking.  But there is still some lingering tailbone/SI pain that I’m hoping will get aleviated with a follow-up adjustment today. In any case, I think I’ll attempt a run next week. I’m really eager to run with my teammates and coach who meet in the mornings, and then get some good workouts and long runs in.  I’m feeling strong and ready so now I just need my body to cooperate!  One thing that I’m super pumped about is my new lifting program created by MY SISTER!  I have performed it twice now and it is super awesome!  Kicks my butt and that’s what I like! 

Chemistry is going very well also, far exceeding my expectations.  Had my third exam today which I hopefully pulled out an A on, then a final next Friday.  And…. one more lab! Thank goodness!  Lab drives me crazy, especially with the room being an icebox.  Oy.

Low key weekend for me. No work at the zoo, just helping out at the rec for a couple hours, then watching some hardcore Olympic Trials on tv (gymnastics).  Should be nice, and I’m going to take advantage of the time to sleep in and whatever.  Love it.

That’s all for now, folks!

Summer training has officially begun!

Ahhhh, I love when summer training begins for xc in the fall. In fact, I’m not quite sure what I am going to do with myself next year when I will be done with college running… yikes! I guess I’ll have to pick a fall marathon, lol. Well, actually, that’s not a joke, and I think it is reasonable to consider doing the Columbus marathon next fall, or at least the half that I was planning on doing this year but am choosing to skip in order to get in some more xc races as an unattached runner.  I figured I might as well take advantage of so many home meets and try to get some of my times down from the past few years when things have not been going so well.  Plus, I love xc races, not going to lie.

Well the first week of training started off a little sketchy since my hip was feeling a little weird last week and I decided to take some time to crosstrain as a precaution, but after a ten minute test run yesterday I took my legs for a spin this morning for 5 miles and it went well.  Actually, I felt pretty light on my feet and ready to get at it, so that’s a really good sign.  Edit: I also went for a quick 2.7 mile “morning loop” run today and it was crazy how good I feel… yay! I’m still going to be very cautious, though, and pay close attention to my body’s signals that tell me when to back down.  I was going to race a 5k this weekend, but decided that I’ll wait until the July 4th run just to be safe since that would be 20 minutes or less of pavement running on myhip.  Especially since I plan on putting the stress fracture business behind me and staying strong and healthy through my entire last year of college running.  And the major goal is to be at peak form when indoor and outdoor track roll around and I will have my red-shirted eligibility to use.  It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to compete in a MAC meet for a podium finish and I’m really craving an awesome race…

Other than that, my summer class/lab is going well.  I just need to really buckle down for this next exam and really make sure I know what I’m doing! I did finally get my heart rate monitor put up for sale on eBay this morning, though, so hopefully I can make some money on that since it has just been sitting around.  Or else I could end up losing money if eBay keeps charging me fees for putting the item up for sale, who knows! I’m living on a thread right now (okay it’s not that bad), but I am definitely not willing to give up any money.  Anyways, hopefully next time I check in I’ll have more good news…