Sunday, June 5, 2011

Slow 5.

As in, really slow.  My hip flexor is much more aggravated by speed than miles.  Penny told me I could run 5 miles today.  I can't believe how excited I was over a measly little 5 miles.  But I was.

It was warm and muggy, but also raining lightly...which made the weather quite pleasant.  I consciously held myself back and ran around a 9:00 minute pace the entire time.  The hip held up pretty well--I did "feel" it during the last mile, but nothing sharp.  It's coming along, but it's still healing.  We'll see what Penny says tomorrow, but I'm hoping to run 30 miles this week and hopefully get on track for Chicago training.

But it probably won't matter anyway, as I see Dr. Wiebke this week and he's likely going to tell me I need more surgery.  Until then, though, I'm just going along as planned.  I had no abdominal pain during the run, but I did have the shoulder pain. The shoulder pain seems to be getting worse.  It wakes me up sometimes, and it's horrible when I get hiccups.  Something is up with my diaphragm.

Even though I can't run much right now, my...what should I call her...student?...Sara Jane is running well and heading into taper for Grandma's in two weeks.   Today she ran a marathon relay.  Her portion was around 5 miles.  She asked me how she should run it.  I had told her she should race it, but what pace did I think she could hold?  Well, she's on tired legs.  She's at her peak mileage for the marathon, so I thought we should be a little conservative with the pace.  I used the McMillan calculator and figured she should be able to hold around a 9:15 pace.  Well, she blew that away and averaged under 8:30.  And it wasn't that hard for her.  She has mad speed...it's just that she lacks endurance.  I was blown away by her time today, as I've worked her hard these last few weeks.  Like...really hard.  Now it's time for her to rest and explode on race day.

I am enjoying this coaching thing so much.  Mostly because I really like/care about Sara.  And it's so fun to see her improve and reach her potential.  A few training cycles focused on her endurance...and look out, she's going to kill it.

In other news, Tim has a half marathon next Saturday.  He has had a VERY long training cycle.  He's run an obscene amount of 20s (including the marathon with me), done a lot of speed work, and been riding his bike a ton.  He's set for a major PR.  He's like...SUPER fit.  And then there's me :)  Ah, well, I'm excited for him to have a great race.  Expect great things from him next Saturday.

6 comments:

  1. Really you coach someone? I have been following this blog for a while and I really think if anyone had any brains they would not listen to someone like you. Do you really think that you know anything about running? From the way I see it you are the reason people give running a bad name. Again thanks for the all the humor and laughs and in what not to do when it comes to training.

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  2. "Jim": the fact that you "follow for a while" a blog of someone you don't respect (or know?) shows that you are either a) a loser with a lot of time on his hands, b) a creepy nasty insecure stalker, or c) all of the above. Maybe time to reassess how you spend your time. Wendy is incredibly intelligent and talented. Those of us who actually know her - and know that - are lucky. All that said, you are clearly an incredibly unhappy loser who, for some reason, feels better about himself by putting down others. I am glad I am not you. And glad Wendy is my coach and my friend. Oh, and Fu** off.

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  3. Jim: your grammar is atrocious. If you want to comment in my blog, you at least have to know how to use pronouns properly. Ouch! It makes my eyes hurt to read your comment.

    BTW: I'm pretty sure I'm faster you than you.

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  4. Whoooo-weeee....Jim has no idea what he's started...note that she said 'Makes my eyes hurt...'- Your bitch-ass comment didn't phase her a bit, little man, because you're wasting your time if you are trying to get a rise out of this brilliant and very talented young woman. You are a speck of dirt on the bottom of her Nike Frees. Running is for anyone and everyone. Do YOU really think you know anything about running? UGH. Ok, I'm done :)

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  5. SJ - I heart U

    Anonymous poster - please learn to write. It's painful.

    Wendy - keep up the great work!

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  6. Jim your comments are not welcome here. If you were a real man you would reveal your true identity. I second what Sara said Fu** off.

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