June 16, 2012

Sunrise run

When I woke up at 5:00 this morning, I really wished that I hadn't made plans to meet Jessica and Stephanie at the State Park. I just wanted to go back to sleep! But that's the beauty of having a running partner that you've agreed to meet--they were counting on me being there, so I had to go.

I didn't want to eat breakfast before running, so I just had a cup of tea. Grabbed my hydration belt and headed to the park to meet them at 6:00. Stephanie was already taking a couple of sunrise photos when we got there. Despite being a humid 70 degrees that early in the morning, it was gorgeous!
Stephanie is a fairly new runner. Remember when I ran the half-marathon in April, and Stephanie walked the 5K at an insane speed? She walked and finished in 40 minutes!! Anyway, after that race, she decided to take up running. She completed Hal Higdon's 5K training and ran her first 5K race. Now she is doing a 10K training plan, and today was her long run--4.5 miles.

Jessica and I were going to run that with her, and then continue on to do 10 miles total (we have a 10-mile race next weekend). The bugs were out in full-force this morning. Good thing I didn't eat breakfast, because I probably ate my weight in bugs. Yum.

I'm a very sweaty beast in that photo
I was literally dripping with sweat just a couple of miles in, because it was really humid--and warm for being so early!  Just as I expected, my knee started to hurt at mile 2.25 ish. It wasn't horrible, just noticeable. I'm really wanting it to heal, so I planned to walk if it got bad. But it never really got to that point!

After Stephanie finished her 4.5 miles, we did about a half-mile walk to the car, and then Jessica and I headed back out. That short walk was great for my knee, and I was able to do the rest of the run without a walk break! I was SO happy about that. We finished just short of 10-miles (9.6 total, not including the walk), and I only had to do the one break. Maybe all this strength training, foam rolling, and stretching is starting to pay off. I certainly hope so! I wasn't even limping when I was done :)
I had no idea that Stephanie was taking pics of us!

On the way home, I stopped at a new bakery that just opened by our house. There is one about 20 minutes away, and Jerry is obsessed with their donuts. So I bought three donuts--one for Jerry, and one for each of the kids. I was tempted, but decided to save those calories for tonight when we cook on the grill.

I came home and made an unusual-for-me smoothie. It consisted of:
3/4 cup water
1/2 an avocado
1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
handful of blueberries
1 Tbsp. almond butter
8 ice cubes

Sounds very strange having the avocado in there, but it was actually pretty good! The avocado gave it a very smooth, creamy texture, and the prominent flavor was the blueberries. It kept me full for a really long time, too, even after the 10 mile run I did beforehand. 

Okay, I need to figure out what dessert to make tonight. Something fun to spend my 917 burned calories on! ;)

*Thank you, Steph, for the pictures!!*

10 comments:

  1. Ugh. It was incredibly humid this morning. I decided to save my workout for after dark, hoping the rain would cool it off, but the rain missed us. We got all the humidity, though. :-P I was drenched from head to toe. I set the shower to "barely warm", and my boyfriend had an icy glass of Crystal Light waiting for me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha, ha, I thought everyone knew that wherever I am, I am probably taking pictures! ;) I can't help myself--it's a sickness! I'll try to warn you next time. ;)

    You don't look like a sweaty beast, and I'm SO glad your knee felt good after the first leg of the run--yay!! Hope that bodes well for the rest of the summer!!

    Thanks again--it was a blast!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Humidity is miserable! It's definitely become an issue with running here in Tokyo. I've started to run late at night when I get off work to avoid it, because I'm a big baby about it. So glad the knee didn't give you too much trouble though! Mmm, grillin on a BBQ sounds delicious right now... :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good for you getting up and doing it!! Running partners can really help with that. I had planned to get out and do my 9 miles early but didn't end up leaving until 8am. It was warm and sunny by then. But I like a good hot run every now and then.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It has actually been pretty breezy and cool here. We were freezing at relay overnight Friday night, but thankfully it was not raining and we got to be outside for it.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 17, 2012

    You are worrying me with your talk of knee pain in your blog posts lately! Have you considering going to get an official gait analysis? It sounds like perhaps you need to be fitted for a new pair of shoes? I was having knee pain recently because I changed my inserts in my running shoes (to something a little less supportive). As soon as I changed back to more supportive inserts - voila! No more knee pain! You shouldn't have to deal with that nagging knee pain...running should be enjoyable...please get it checked out girlfriend! It's so worth the time and money! Life's too short. :)
    p.s. I am running in the Women Rock 1/2 marathon too - I hope that I will see you there!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad your knee didn't bother you too bad. Hopefully that's a good sign! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm curious about your knee pain as well. I was fitted for running shoes in Jan and while they made a big difference, lately my knees have been hurting, my right one in particular. I had neutral running shoes and I agreed that I was neutral. I thought if anything I was more on the outside of my feet and they don't make shoes for that. The support shoes stop you from going too far to the inside. Well my knee was really starting to be chronic. I decided to try a new pair of shoes before I decided if I would continue to run or not (My dr said not to run lol). I went this weekend to a different running store. The guy analyzed my walking, my running and the wear pattern on my old shoes. He pointed things out to me on those shoes that I did NOT see. I was rolling in. I was toeing off off-center. He said I was a neutral+ and needed some support. We tried many shoes. I ran in a few that we narrowed down. He watched me walk in every single pair to help narrow them down. Then we'd put one shoe on one foot and a different on the other for him to compare. When I walk barefoot and in my old shoes my ankles have a lot of motion. My husband could even see it - especially when I put my old shoes on. So I ended up with a support shoe. I decided to break them in on the treadmill yesterday. I want to be able to stop and not have to walk home if I couldn't make the distance. :) I did three miles. DEFINITE difference. My left ankle was screaming at me because it couldn't move like it use to. That doesn't surprise me. I ride horses and I have stirrups that allow some mobility otherwise my ankles scream. So this will take some breaking in and getting use to. The ankle shut up about 2 hours after the run. The best part? My right knee feels fine! The guy told me that my knee is probably in a chronic state and I still need to ice it all the time and rehab it. I suspect if I ran outside it would have still hurt. But he told me that the knee has to track correctly and lots of things affect that. Tight quads, calves and hamstrings. Even the IT Band can affect it. But also the way your feet track and mobility (or instability basically) in the foot/ankle. So I'm sure you've been fitted. But I do know that we can change our stride over time. I have a friend that is a life long runner and he has told me how he has changed over time and so have his shoes. It might be worth having someone knowledgeable watch you run/walk just to see.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That sunrise is so pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great post, Katie! Once again you have inspired me on the food thing. Also, from reading your blog, I found out about Garmin watches and bought one for my husband for Father's Day. I bought the 405 since it was the best deal, but I can see why consumers comment on the bezel issues when I read reviews. But, we've just locked it when we use it and seems to solve the problem. Great job on the donut will power!!!!

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive