Christmas Week

Monday: 45 min spin

I worked from home today so was able to make the noon spin class with Jen. This class was awesome, I wish I could do it every week! We did a lot of hill work with increased speeds on the hills. It really wore me out (in a good way).

I went to physical therapy this afternoon. My knee is feeling so much better. My knee was hurting during the lunging exercises and I was only able to do 1 set of 10. I need to start building those muscles and do more of the dynamic exercises at home.

Tuesday: Gym weights
20 minutes of the elliptical followed by 30 min of weights. (I don't remember exactly what weights....)

Wednesday: Walnut Creek Run
I ran with Mark Richards and Cheri this morning at Walnut Creek at 6am!!! I am so proud of waking up for this, I was tired all day from waking up so early though. The run started in a light fog and light drizzle, but by the end it cleared up and was beautiful. We ran the BMX loop, followed by the Windy loop and some of the Maze course.

Thursday: Christmas

Friday: gym
When I got to the gym today I wasn't feeling well so I cut my workout short. I did legs and started to do biceps and back but had to end that early since I wasn't feeling well.

I also did so much walking today since I am dog sitting Roxie.

Saturday: 1 hr run St. Edwards
I went on a run with Jon this afternoon at St. Edwards. We went straight up the hill, and into Forest Ridge. It was my first time into Forest Ridge! I want to go further next time to explore more but this will have to be a morning run instead of a late afternoon/early evening run. It was a great day. My knee started hurting a little for the last 15 minutes so we took it down the hill easy. Jon and I both were tired today for this run.

Sunday: 2 hr hike Pedernales & Weights
Paul is town so Jon, Domingo and I went hiking with him in Pedernales.
In the evening before the gym closed, we all went to the gym for about 50 minutes. I did weights.

Dec 15-21 Workouts

Monday: rest day

Tuesday: 30 min elliptical, weights
biceps, back exercises

Wednesday: 5 mile Christmas light run
Ran with Jason, Jon and Layla in the FarWest neighborhood to see Christmas lights! I didn't have a walk, but incorporated some walking breaks. My legs felt good. I went to bookclub after at MaryAnne's after the run.

Thursday: not feeling well
:(

Friday: 20 min elliptical, weights
Went to the downtown PureAustin after seeing the "mouse" movie with Jeanne. I really like the Quarry Lake location so much better! I did a warm up on the elliptical machine and then did some chest and tricep exercises.

Saturday: 7 mile run Town Lake
I was suppose to meet my training class for a run at Barton Creek this morning but didn't wake up in time for the early morning workout. So instead I ran the 7 mile loop at Town Lake doing a 10 minute run/1 minute walk. My knee felt great, but I started feeling it at about 35-40 minutes into the run. It only got to a level 1 pain during the run and felt good after the run.

Sun: weights
I am going to start doing a full body weight workout 2-3 times a week. Today I did:
leg presses (one leg at a time), hamstring curls, seated calf raises, hip abductors, lat pulldown, bicep curls, front shoulder raises and abs.

Dec 14 Barton Creek 45 minutes

I had planned for today to be an off day but it was such beautiful weather and I wanted to get in some trail time. It is hard to get trail time in during the week, especially since I haven't been going to my Rogue class. I started at the Barton Creek Spyglass entrance at 5pm and planned to run about 45 minutes, 6 min run/1 min walk. My knee felt great the whole time, not really hurting at all but I was starting to feel it after about 45 minutes. I was the only runner at that time, but there were a few hikers, some mountain bikers, and lots of rock climbers! The rock climbing looked like fun. It was great being on this trail again and the weather was perfect!

Dec 13 Bandera 1 1/2 hours

Jon and I drove out to Bandera at 4:15am to meet my class for running. The sunrise was beautiful, almost worth the drive just for the sunrise. I wanted to take pictures but forgot my camera. The plan was to run an hour, but since we were running slowly and stopping a lot since we weren't sure which way to go a couple of times, I extended the run a little. We went a total of 5 1/2 miles. I walked most of the uphills and downhills. After the run, we went hiking with Domingo for about 1/2 hour. My knee hurt some during the run, but nothing over a level 2. I was worried about my knee hurting during the long drive back to Austin, but it was ok. It helped that we stopped in Boerne for breakfast and in San Marcos for a snack.

It was a lot of fun but the time in Bandera went by way too fast!!!

December 8 - 12 Workouts

Monday: PT exercises, abs, 15 pushups

Tuesday: 27 min run/walk
I ran with Jon around his neighborhood. It was a little chilly and very windy.
We did a tempo run of 3 minute run/ 1 minute walk. It was fun! I need to get an inhaler though since I was having trouble breathing after because of the cold air. My knee hurt at about a level 1-2.

Wednesday: 45 min spin with Eddie C, weights
My knee was feeling stiff during the day today and after spin. This morning it is feeling fine though. I am still not having any pain in the night. It is tender when I bend my knee and touch it. I want to start running longer now, I am going to ask about that at PT today. I am mostly worried about it hurting after running if I run for too long.

I got to the gym early and did some weights before spin class started. I did the leg press for 7 minutes, abs, chest press 3sets at 10lbs, tricep machine, tricep dips at 71/2 lbs. That is all I had time to do before spin class.

The spin class only had 6 people in it. Eddie told a lot of stories! We did a lot of long efforts in class, it was a hard class. Eddie mentioned starting a riding group on the weekends. That could be fun depending on what pace they go.

Thursday: PT
My knee was feeling so much better after my session today. I did a lot of quad strengthening today. Ryan said to try 6min run/1min walk and after that I can try progressing to a 10min run/1 min walk.

Friday: 30 min run
I did a run during lunch today along Riverplace. I ran from work to the SunTree park. I ran 6 min run/1 min walk. This was a pretty hill route and I had no knee pain at all! This is the first time in a long time without any pain. I hope my knee continues to feel happy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow Jon and I are going to Bandera to run with the Rogue training group. I am shooting for about an hour run doing 6 min run/1 min walk.

December 6 - 7 Weekend workouts

Saturday: Workout biceps, back, abs, leg press
I wish everyone luck running Sunmart today! I was registered for this race and am sad I won't be able to run it this year.

Sunday: 30 min run/walk
Ran along Jon's neighborhood to look at lights. We did this at a 3 minute run, 1 minute walk. This was my first road run in a long time. It felt good and I felt a need for speed while on Woodrow. I didn't get carried away though. It took awhile for me to feel any pain in my right knee, and it stayed at a level 1 for the rest of the run. I want to bump this up to 35-40 minutes for my next run. I will need to trick Jon on this though :)
Good news - my knee didn't hurt while sleeping on Saturday or Sunday night! Last time it hurt was on Friday night.

December 1-5 Workouts

Monday: 45 min spin
45 minute spin with Gilbert. This class was really good and not very crowded. Gilbert concentrated a lot on biking efficiency and form. It was a hard class but the time went by fast.

Tuesday: Weights legs and shoulders
I did a 1/4 mile run around the lake while walking domingo to test my knee. It didn't hurt at all, so I am hoping to try a 20-30 minute slow run in a day or 2.
Today I did weights. Leg press for 5 minutes, seated calf, hamstring curls 10lbs, wall squat for 1 minute, shoulder press 10 lbs, shoulder rolls 30 sec clockwise 30 sec counter clockwise, shoulder lift 2 lbs, abs and hip flexor exercises.

Wednesday: 1 1/2 mile run
I did a run around Quarry Lake to test out my knee since I have a follow-up appointment with the doctor tomorrow. I ran 2x around Quarry Lake, about 1 1/2 miles. I started to feel my knee but wanted to make sure it didn't hurt after.

Thursday: 30 minute run/walk (2 min run, 1 min walk)
I met with the pt today and had a follow-up with the doctor. The doctor said the injury could take between 6-8 weeks to heal. Originally I thought it would heal a lot faster. I can definitely feel it getting better though. The pt says my hips are getting a lot stronger, so my exercises must be paying off. She also suggested I start doing a 2 min run/1 min walk for 30 minutes and progress up the run time. This worked out well, it only hurt at a level 2 during the run and didn't hurt after. This wasn't even as boring as I thought it would be, I was so happy to be running again!!!

Friday: 30 minute run/walk (2 min run, 1 min walk)
I ran this with Jon at Quarry Lake. The time went by fast and it didn't feel like much of a workout. My knee was hurting some but it was under a level 2 at all times. Jon said he would run with me 3 times a week.

Nov 30 Bike Ride 12 miles

I did a bike ride with Val today starting at her house. We crossed FarWest, went west to Greystone/Mesa, headed south to Balcones, went east on Hancock and then took Woodrow back home. It was about a 12 mile ride. It was great temps but was very windy! There wasn't too much traffic either. This is the first time I rode my road bike in a long time. It felt great riding again! I was so happy to have someone to ride with.

Thanksgiving Week

Monday: 45 min spin
45 min spin with Danielle

Tuesday: 20 min run
20 minute weight assisted treadmill at PT

Friday: 1/2 mile run, 35 min elliptical, Weights chest/triceps
1/2 mile run before knee started hurting
35 min elliptical (cross country, 3.5 miles)
Chest, triceps, abs, 15 push-ups

Saturday: 45 min spin
45 min spin with Ryon. This class was very tiring! I ran into Jeff and Cheri at the gym and they decided to do spin with me. It was nice seeing them again. But Cheri thinks she hurt her knee in the class, I don't know why she didn't stop earlier if it was hurting her ...

It cleared up after class, so Domingo and I went for a 45 min hike at Walnut Creek. It was perfect crisp weather, gorgeous. Domingo made a couple of dog friends. This lady was biking with 2 dogs so we crossed paths with them a few times and Domingo would run around with them.

Also, did PT exercises for knee problem (mainly hip flexor) everyday and abs some of the days.

No 22-23 Bastrop Camping Trip

We had a rogue run scheduled at Bastrop this weekend. So Jon and I decided to camp at Bastrop on Saturday night at the Copperas tent camping area. On Friday night a few of us stayed at JoAnna's parents house in Bastrop. They are so nice, they even let Domingo come! Domingo had a great time there exploring there property. We had yummy stew for dinner and cherry pie from Quacks Bakery. Yum!

Jon and I slept in the next morning. We had the best breakfast at Maxine's Bakehouse in Bastrop. Since my knee was still hurting, we went hiking instead of running. It was about a 5 mile hike. We had also brought our bikes, but because of daylight savings we didn't get a chance to bike. The next morning was really gloomy and a little rainy so I didn't feel like biking then either :)

On Sunday, I went to the gym. I did about 15 minutes on the elliptical machine. I had planned on 30 minutes but it was so boring. Then I did some leg exercises and shoulders. I did abs and the rest of my PT exercises for my hip flexor when I got home. I tested running on my leg on the way home from the gym. I think I will try a 2-3 mile run later in the week around Quarry Lake to see how it feels. I plan to stop running when it starts hurting.

Nov 20 Spin with Ryon!

I took most of the week off to recover from my knee pain. My knee has been pretty inflamed all week. I have been walking a lot, the movement seems to help the knee. I went to Ryon's 6:15 spin class on Thursday. While I was waiting for class to start I did some abs and some of my PT exercises. I have been doing much more core workouts since I have been injured!

Spin class was great! I tried not to crank up the resistance too high but still had a great workout. After class my knees actually felt better then before class. For the next week I plan to do a lot more cross training. I am worried if I don't I will be out of shape for the Sunmart 50k. I can't wait to run again! It is so sad missing all of these night runs ....

Nov 10-14 Recovery week?

Monday 30min elliptical machine. Ugh so boring, but knee felt ok. After that I did some light weights, calves, quads, biceps, triceps, abs.

Tuesday 3 mile run at QL. 1/2 with my dog Domingo, then I ditched him since he was pooped :)

Wednesday 7 mile night trail run at Barton Creek with Hill Country Trail Runner group. Knee was feeling great, but started hurting a little after 4-5 miles. I tripped on a stump at 5.5 miles and fell on my knee - that same knee that was already hurting! It really hurt after that....
This was a great run though if I forget about the knee issue, it was a perfect full moon night and perfect temperatures. I love night running so much. 6 of us showed up for this run. It was pretty easy pace, but not long run easy pace. I ran most of the hills tonight, not HOL though!

Thursday I took a rest day, it hurt walking.... I was feeling very sad about missing my Rogue class and not running. I think it was for the best though since we were going to be doing hill work for class.

Friday 10min elliptical machine warm-up, back exercises, chest, abs, leg press (for knee pain). My knee is hurting a little today, it is very tender to the touch. It hurts most when I walk after having been sitting for a while.

The plan for my long run tomorrow is to STOP running if my knee pain gets above a level 2. I think it will start at a level 2. I am bringing my bike with me so I can bike instead if this happens. If I am unable to do 26 miles tomorrow, I can always attempt it next weekend instead.

I need to start adding more cross training (biking, spin, yoga, weights) into my workout routine. I had also wanted to start adding more road running and speed training, but that will have to wait until my knee gets better.

Nov 8 Barton Creek 23 mile run

I ran my first long run with the Sunmart/Bandera group today. I was out on the trail for about 5 hrs today. First we did a 9 mile loop with the whole group up Hill of Death and to the Powerline. I ran the first loop in a long-sleeve shirt, but warmed up so took it off for the rest of the run. I should have brought gloves since my hands were cold. I always seem to forget those. I would also look to pick up some ear warmers.....

Quite a few of us were planning to go on to do 23 miles total, and one person was doing 35 miles. I ran with Lonnie, Kristin and Patel all the way to Zilker park. We were running at a pretty good pace since this section of trail was fairly flat. We took a short rest here for snacks and to fill up our water. When we started going again (this was at about 16 miles), my legs felt stiff at first from stopping. At around mile 19-20 I started feeling tired and slowed down a little from the pace that Kristin and Lonnie were doing. We lost Patel a little earlier, he stopped to tie his shoe and ended up on the other side of the creek. I caught up to Patel when there was about 1 mile left in the run. We were happy to get to the Hill of Life. The sun was out at that point, so I felt really hot walking up the Hill of Life. This was the hardest part of the run for me! It was such a treacherous way to end the run.

I went to Magnolia to meet Jon for lunch. By the time we got there, my stomach was too upset to eat much :( It always seems to get this way after long runs. After short runs I am starving.

I tried a bottle of spiz for the first time, at half dose, and had 1/2 of peanut butter and honey sandwich. Neither of them upset my stomach. I still need to add some more calories to my run though. So either more spiz, more sandwich or supplement with a gel.

My right knee started hurting after the run. It hurts when I touch it, walk or run. I have been icing it and decided to skip my Sunday run.

Nov 5/6 Massage and Hill workout

Wednesday I had a massage, so didn't run today. Tana worked a lot on my neck since it was bothering. My legs were feeling pretty good already. I had planned to do some strength training and spin this week, but it didn't work out as planned. I have trouble getting up in the morning for them. I hope to do better on this next week!

On Thursday we did a hill workout at St. Edwards. We ran 4x up the hill, and easily jogged down. Loop 3 was the most tiring for me, but Loop 4 got better. I was so tempted to run fast down the hill! I think this run was about 6 miles total. A few of us went out to eat at Mangia after.

Tuesday Nov 4 Barton Creek 6 mile Night Run

Tonight I met some people from my class for a night run at Barton Creek. We ran the power line loop. Most of the trail looked familiar to me, I tried to remember it so I can try it again on my own during the day. I am pretty sure I can retrace my steps....

This was a great run and was mostly in the dark. Yah! We ran for about 1 1/2 hrs. Murali ran out front and I followed behind him. He was running at a nice pace so I didn't have to do any running alone in the dark :)

Monday Nov 3 Walnut Creek Run 30 min

I am getting back into training for Sunmart and Bandera this week. I meet with my new class on Thursday with Robert.

Daylight savings just started, so all my evening runs will be turning into night runs. I did a 30 minute run at Walnut Creek with Jon. It was so much fun - we kept doing a lot of the trail over again since it looked so different in the dark.

Weekend Nov 1/Nov 2 Yoga & 7 mile Trail Run

Saturday 6.5-7 mile trail run Barton Creek Travis country/moonshadow entrance.

Ran with Dano, John K, Bob, Courtney and JoAnna. Dano and John led this run. I didn't recognize the first part of the trail, but when we got to Humpback and Shan's loop that was familiar trail. We did that a lot as part of the Rogue Trail Series class. I fell pretty early on and took it all on my right front arm - very bruised now :( Most of the falls I have had have been on Barton Creek - must be all those rocks! We all went to breakfast at Guero's after - yum!

I went to yoga at PureAustin Quarry on Sunday for Ramsay's class. This felt great. We did a lot of back bends and upper back work.

Thursday 10/30 4 mile Trail Run

I went for a 4 mile trail run from the HOL with people from my Rogue trail class. This was a lot of fun! It was a no-drop run but was still at a pretty good pace. We took a right partway down from the HOL and went up in the neighborhood just south of Rudy's. Then we connected up with the main trail to make a loop back to the HOL.

I brought my flashlight, but the run only lasted an hour so didn't get to use it. Thankfully it is daylight savings on Sunday so next time should be in the dark!!!

Tuesday 10/28 Spin

I went to the 6:15 spin class at Pure Austin with Eddie A. I want to start doing more cross-training and hope to do spin class at least once a week. It was a great workout - nothing really compares to spin class. This is such a high intensity workout and I push myself hard in this class, knowing that I will get to rest after 45 minutes. We did a lot of climbs and jumps.

My left quad is feeling better now!

Monday 10/27 Run

4 mile run, average pace 9:05

I did my first road run today in a long time. I ran an old familiar route in the Riverplace neighborhood near work and my last apartment. This is a hilly and fun course that I am very familiar with, so it felt good to do it again. I tried to stay off of the concrete and onto the paved road since that was softer. I felt good the whole run - running it a little shy of tempo. I should have added in a warm-up and cool-down into this run, but wanted to get home before dark to walk Domingo. I guess walking Domingo was my cooldown :) Also next time I hope to remember to bring my ipod!

Sunday 10/26 Mountain Biking & Yoga

This was an off weekend for me, to rest up from Palo Duro. I got to try out my new mountain biking shoes! They were great, mountain biking is so much better with the shoes. Jon and I went for a 5 mile ride at Walnut Creek. We stayed on easy trail since we both haven't been mountain biking in so long.

After biking, I went to Ramsay's Yoga/Pilates class at Pure Austin downtown. It was more yoga then pilates. My left outer quad is still hurting from sculpting class on Thursday, I hope I didn't hurt it.

Sat 10/25 Easy Run

3 mile easy run this morning at Town Lake. Ave pace 9:27. Perfect fall weather!
Legs still hurt when I walk from thursday sculpt class. They felt fine during the run though.

This afternoon I did a 2 mile hike with Domingo at Walnut Creek.

Pure Sculpt

Thursday 10/23 5:45pm class with Tiziana

I need to start doing this class more consistently since it is a great workout. My shoulders and left quad are a little sore from it today.

Palo Duro 50k Race

The day before the race, I drove down with my rogue classmate Jason. It was fun driving down together and we even listened to some Christmas music. I was very excited about the race and was not nervous at all. My boyfriend and dog were planning to drive to Palo Duro after work on Friday and I would be driving back to Austin with them.

I arrived in Canyon, with some time to relax before the pre-race dinner/packet pickup/speech. We had spaghetti, salad and key lime pie for the pre-race dinner. I have trouble eating spaghetti (never learned how to pick it up!), so ended up only eating a couple of bites of dinner. When I got back to the hotel at 6:30 I was really hungry and thought about going to get something to eat. However, I decided to get my clothes laid out and drop bag ready for the race the next morning since I would be waking up early. I watched some tv and went to bed early (before 10).

Jon called at 2am to get into the hotel. I was happy to see him and Domingo. I had some trouble falling asleep after that, and was very sleepy when I went down to the lobby at 5:15am to carpool with Kelly, Kurt, and Melissa to the race.

We started the run at 7am in the dark. I took off my warmup fleece and ran in shorts, a long sleeve shirt over my sleeveless shirt. I brought my flashlight with me but didn't end up turning it on since the trail was light enough from the other runners headlamps. I should have wore gloves though since my hands were freezing! The first 1 1/2- 2 miles was slow since it was singletrack. After the first aid- station, the course was wide open since this is where the 50 milers split from the 50kers. I ran the rest of the first 10k loop with Brenda, Jim and someone from North Dallas. I got started on the first 20k loop at about 1 hr 15 min after starting. I ran for about 1 1/2 more miles with Brenda, then I let her pass since I wanted to slow down a little. At around mile 10 I started to feel light-headed and tired. This was odd for me, since I don't normally feel bad this early in a run. I keep running at a pretty good pace, and passed some people (mostly 20kers). At 15 1/2 miles, I was at 3 hrs running time. I got back to the start/finish area and left there for my last loop at about 3 hr 30-40 min. My legs were hurting some and I was tired at this point. By the time I got to the aid station at 21 miles, I was feeling really light-headed and nauseous. I waited around here for about 15-20 minutes to see if I felt better, but I didn't. So I decided to quit the race early, and take the 3 mile shortcut back to the start. I was feeling so awful that I had to walk all the way in from there. I am so glad I made the decision to end the race early. After resting for awhile at the finish area and eventually eating something I felt better.

Jon came about 45 minutes after I finished running. We hung around for a little bit and then went back to the hotel so I could shower and play with Domingo. We drove to see the "Big Texan", and then went back to the race to watch the 50 milers come in. When we got back to the race, we went for a walk with Domingo. I think all of the walking I did kept me from getting sore.

This was definitely the most beautiful run I have ever done, and I would love to come back next year!

Lessons:
- Don't go to bed hungry the night before a race/run!
- Wear gloves and maybe ear muffs