I looked at the course map for the half-marathon the other day. Maybe that was a mistake. It’s a little scary to be able to put an actual route to the 13 miles we will be attempting in January. I think that the only thing that made me feel a little better was looking at the insanity that is the marathon course and being glad that I am only attempting half of that. Of course, the half-marathon course goes directly past my apartment around mile 7, then again at mile 10. I can’t imagine it won’t be terribly painful to actually run past it at that point instead of heading upstairs for a nap.
Monday’s 20 minute run was pretty awful. It started out well, but it turned ugly pretty quickly. Instead of driving somewhere to run, I just headed from my apartment down towards the bayou and ran along there for a while before heading back. I started out at a decent pace, but at around 7 minutes into the run it started to feel like someone was stabbing a knife into my side. I slowed to a walk for about a minute to try to work out the cramp, then started again. Unfortunately, the cramp would go away and then come back in a couple minutes, just as strong. I ended up needing to slow to a walk every couple of minutes to work out the pain.
It was a very frustrating run, and I felt pretty awful when I finished. James was kind enough to remind me that I am still really new to this, and that sometimes there will be setbacks. His support really did make me feel a lot better.
I was a little worried starting out on Tuesday’s run, but I had done some research about how to keep the “side stitch” at bay (I found all kinds of interesting information on why it happens and how to deal with it when it occurs – yay for the internet!). Kelli and I met out at Rice to do the loop. I started out feeling ok, and when the cramp did start to come back, it was at least something I could deal with. Instead of the stabbing pain, it was a much more manageable pain that I could run through. It made for an unpleasant run, but at least it didn’t force me to walk. I think that some of the breathing techniques and whatnot that I tried were effective, and I can only hope that things will continue to get better. I need to work out my core muscles a bit more, I think.
Anyway, Kelli and I made it to our 30 minutes without walking, making it the longest we’ve ever run without stopping. I didn’t feel great at the end of it, but I have definitely felt worse. I actually managed to eat afterwards, which is an important improvement for me.
I am a bit worried about hurricane Ike. We have a 5 mile run scheduled on Saturday, but I am guessing we won’t make it if we’re being hit by a hurricane. I don’t think I want to miss a run right now, so I guess I had better come up with a contingency plan.
Track night tonight!
2 comments:
Yay! Your running sounds like it is progressing well! It may not feel like it, but from your accounts it seems like it.
The side stitches can be annoying, I use to get them alot, then I found out it was because when I run, I would land right foot and breath out. Switching to breathing out on left foot hitting down, I reduced the side stitches I get greatly. Something you may want to take note of, if you've not run across that in your research on side stitches.
Keep it up! You are doing great Kelsey!
Yeah, I read about the breathing thing. I've tried to change it, but as soon as I start concentrating on anything else, it goes right back to the right foot.
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