Week Nine - In Person 5K!

Week Nine....  This week we had some dropped runs, two appointments with podiatry, a long run of 13.1, an in-person 5K and a double run day.  What a week!

So the frustrating news first.  Training and running is hard on the body and we are well aware that injuries can happen.  Liz has been working through some ankle/low calf area pain that has turned out to be Achilles tendon pain.  I have had some pain to the ball of the foot which I was pretty sure was a Morton's neuroma.  We saw the same podiatrist on the same day.  I saw him second and said "I know you can't tell me this, but I know you saw a runner this morning - we are training for the same marathon and we are a hot mess".  LOL.  Liz was told to rest (worst news ever), ice, stretch - the usual runner's medical advice.  She of course negotiated "how long" to actually rest.  For me, it was a cortisone shot to the foot which is what I was hoping for.  He injected the top of the foot (which I was thinking it would be the bottow, phew).  I asked him "can I run today" followed by "nurses and runners are the worst patients" and he said, UM - your foot will be numb and full of fluid.  Ok fine, tomorrow can I run???  LOL... he laughed and said I could do whatever I could tolerate.  24 hours of rest it was!

 

I am hoping for some improvement in the toe numbness/foot pain with after the cortisone shot.  The new shoes should start to help too.

 

This week we ran the Fitger's 5K in Duluth.  It was the most perfect, beautiful day.  The hills were an added challenge but the course was otherwise a nice route.  The race was 9 weeks to the day of Grandma's 26.2  It was a nice reminder of how much work we have left to do to get ready.  The last few week's challenges have led to dropping some of the long runs - and we know we need to kick it into gear to be able to run the marathon.  After the race, it was the perfect Duluth day to wander around canal park.

Finding this gem in Canal Park was fun.  My goal is literally just to finish!

Jenn powered through a solo 13.1 run this week!  She reports the run went well with no "hitting the wall".  What a great accomplishment anytime - but even more so when you go at it alone!

After the week we had and the recent dropped runs, our big win this week was two 5Ks in one day.  We ran Fitger's in the morning and ran another 5K in the afternoon.  Our times on both runs where very close - which was great since one route was hilly and the other one was a second run after a long break between.  Super fun, I hope to do a few more on the training plan.

Michelle also had a big win this week - with Liz and I out of commission mid-week, Michelle stayed on track and ran a solo six miles.  Nice work Michelle!

Lou and his family on their nightly walk - Sara has made a training photo, YEAH!   

After the 5K, Jenn got out and did some mountain bike cross training.  We are all realizing there are other ways to build up our endurance and we are trying to find ways to stay active in order to be able to run for five hours straight.  I finished a long workout with spin, elliptical, row and weights over the weekend.  That workout was over an hour long and I burned about the same as I would in a 35 minute run.  Such a good reminder how hard your body works when running.

One thing I have learned the past few weeks, I am definitely not eating enough to fuel these runs.  I am SO hungry.  I am working through that by increasing protein, carbs, and overall calories.  I used cuties this week on a run - it feels pretty good to be eating more fruit!

 

We are at the half way point to this training program and I did think I would be a little farther down the road with the long runs.  All things considered, we are doing well and hanging in there.  Here's to hoping for an EPIC week of nutrition, running, and cross training!
Carrie and Crew