Adrienne Langelier Racing

How does one hurt their knee without direct impact or touchng a thing? I myself have no idea, but somehow it happened. I have a bruised/broken vessels in my knee, and what makes them weird is that it seems to be on the underside of the skin on my knee (kinda gross, I know). There is nothing external to it. This was something I noticed as I tried kneeling next to a client I was working with the other day. My theory is that my kneecap caused some kind of damage somehow somewhere...all I know is that I keep rebruising it when I bend it-ugh! Strange, annoying, and vaguely painful if I'm not expecting it.

Besides odd injuries, I managed to get in my recovery run of 3 miles yesterday, and did low impact and upper-body strength training today. I also got in a light mile with a client this afternoon. No early morning appt. tomorrow, so I think I will find another route around town in the AM.

So I was planning on getting up and running in 7Hills' Dog Days 5k this AM. That was before I had made plans to go to Surfside Beach (not running this time!) next weekend, making getting in a long run difficult in the time frame I want. I decided to modify my plan and go for the long one today, shortening the mileage next weekend. I did drive by the runners on the way to the park; spotting Ken, Curtis, True, and others. I politely refused Ken's offer to get out of the car and join in! (Sorry Ken!)

I hit the rather hot trails at HSP this morning and put in about 12.5. I decided to end it a little earlier today due to some discomfort in the shoulder area, probably from the heat. Better to end strong than feel like you have just run across hell with pine trees. I saw some interesting things out on the trail. First, it was a busy morning in the park-cyclists were everywhere. They provided me with a couple rest breaks in order for them to pass on bridges. I also nearly got flashed by a woman who apparently decided to change right out on the trail! I think I scared this group of recovering runners as I passed. Standing with your back to the trail is good ettiquite, for sure!

All in all, it was a good week: I finally finished the first draft of my thesis proposal and my workouts were good. Thurs. I put in 1.25 with my client and did another 8.5-9 on my own. Yesterday was "rest Friday" and tomorrow = recovery run!

This morning, I did my usual at the HKC track. I began with a 5-minute cycling warmup, followed by core exercises and some lower body work (lunges, calf raises, leg extensions, wall sits, leg curls). To avoid boredom, I ran a 2-mile easy run to warm up on the treadmill at an 8:30/mi. pace. Then it was up to the track...

The speedwork consisted of the following:

5-min easy prelude
10 mins. of 30-30's (roughly 2500m or so)
90 sec recovery jog
3 x 400's (wanted to do more but short on time)
200m recovery between each
10 min cooldown

I'm estimating putting in a total of 4.5 miles, give or take, on the track. I'm doing better with making sure to not short-change a warmup or cooldown.

On another note, I've expanded my running affiliation, as I have recently joined HARRA. I will run two other organization-sanctioned races besides the Houston Marathon in order to gain some points.

After resting Friday, I took in a good 15 or so-miler consisting of several Huntsville town loops. I must admit some laziness in strategically avoiding the big hills on this one! This was probably one of the best long runs I've put in within the past few weeks. I felt strong throughout and found it enjoyable with a steady supply of electrolyte fluid for the heat and Mp3's for entertainment. I listened to everything from Miranda Lambert, to Duffy, to the Foo Fighters and everything in between.

During a later trip Saturday to College Station, I picked up a new pair of Mizunos. I couldn't resist taking them for an initial spin, so I did an easy recovery run of about 3 miles on the treadmill this morning. I am also in the process of getting a fuller season schedule planned out, I am probably going to run the HMSA Classical 25K in November and the Lakes of Williams Ranch 30k in Dec. to round out my longer races leading up to Houston.

Today marks 6 months from the start of my first (and hopefully many more to come) big-city marathon. While it is still pretty far out-I am still pretty excited. I still can't believe how quickly the race filled up, like it was one day at 60 percent and the next: 99%! I am thinking about, time permitting, registering for another smaller marathon after Houston, but haven't decided which yet. Groveton? Who knows? I'm open to suggestions.

As far as training for the thing, I will slowly be increasing my long runs as it cools off; but that's for another day. At least for July/Aug. I don't need to go over the distances that I already do (and sometimes get laughed at for:)) . My hope is that by maintaining a 13-15 mile long run almost every week will equal making the 18-21 milers feel like old hat when the time comes.

Today just may be a rest day before probably taking in a long run tomorrow morning. I think I will try a different park route, who knows?

Happy Friday!

It is a well-known fact that I enjoy my Starbuck's, but geez! I came across this article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25464987/) the other day about New York's posting of caloric amounts on restaurant items. Some of the figures were crazy big. Wow, as a whole, we Americans could use some nutritional work!

After my very brief respite, I went for a 9-miler yesterday morning around the perimeterish of greater Huntsville. I made it a point again to make sure and warm up and cool down sufficiently, which has not been very easy for me for some reason, historically. For hydration, I tried some little $3 PowerBar electrolyte shots; those things seemed to work pretty well for me. I drank one packet prior (after my necessary AM coffee), and one during the run. Besides the salty taste, I responded well and felt strong in the mid-morning temps.

This morning went down at the HKC. MP3's were back up and running so I had a tad more external motivation for this one (or more Dopamine, in psychspeak!) After a warmup of cycling and body-weight calesthenics and core the workout went like this:

2 mile warmup (10:00-8:00 mile)

Track:

3x800 (2:47, 2:51, 2:56, roughly)
1 min recovery jog in between each
5 mins: 30/30's (I wish I had time to do more, I liked these things!)
10 min cooldown jog

Distance: who knows exactly?!

So, after a tough Sat. morning run, I decided it was time to take an extra day off from running. My legs and lungs have been begging me to do so. For me, it is a difficult thing to do-what can I say, I'm an addict! Sunday was the complete day of rest for me; my only objective was officially starting my thesis proposal, which I accomplished! Nice to get that monkey off my back.

7ish this morning I hit the HKC for some cross-training. The track and treadmill were calling my name, but I refrained, opting for the stationary bike and Octane Fitness Trainer instead (the built-in TV's on them are a plus). I put 45 min. total in with some relatively easy cardio and did a full upper-body and core workout. Two objectives accomplished these past two days: take more rest and start that long and lengthy document (boring, I know!).

Have a nice Monday, if there is such a thing! :)

I put in about 14 yesterday morning at the state park. I took a slightly different route this time than usual, running over the dam and taking the inner loop before taking the outer back to the road and parking lot. This one was pretty painful-I waited too long to get out there, and the temps were not very forgiving. I could also have stood to take in more electrolytes beforehand. I guess this is something to take note of for future summer longs. It did feel good at the end to get it done, and the rest of the morning I pretty much studied and lounged around.

In the afternoon, I returned to the park for the Seven Hills meeting and picnic. I left with a stack of entry forms for the Huntsville Half Marathon to distribute around the HKC and various other SHSU locations.

Friday I put in a 5k route and a 20 minute swim. I took a wise coach's advice and took the time to warm up and cool down longer (~about 12 min. ea.)...seemed effective. I used the somewhat unforgiving HKC 5k route-not as fast or nearly as flat as the one's I've ran out of town lately!

After months of saying "Yeah, I'll try it" about yoga and never following through, I had my first full yoga workout last night. A friend and I did some beginner moves for about 20 min after studying. I have to say, it is rather awesome. Good for running, good for stress, and overall good for your well-being. Hopefully this will become a weekly thing. I need some work still in the flexibility department.

Now, nothing says relaxation and rejuvination like speedwork! This morning, I partook in a pretty hard one. I ran a warmup of 2 miles and did some core and lower body strength work.

Workout consisted of:

2 mi. warmup on treadmill (flat to .5%)

5 min warmup jog
3 x 800's (finished all 3 under 2:50)
1 min recovery jog in between
3 x 400's (all within or under 1:20)
3 x 200 strides to round it out
5 min. recovery jog

...apparently, I was in the mood to do things in 3's today. Just to guesstimate, I put in 6.5ish today.

Now, off to class and later work from home!

After receiving a rather stressful prognosis last week concerning school and work for the next few months, I have found myself thinking about how to meet the challenge. Come next month, I will be starting a new position, officially writing my thesis, taking a class, and starting psychotherapy practicum: all this, plus my training!

At this juncture, I feel that the running is an integral part of my life, it helps me manage this crazy thing called my schedule. It pulls me away from the laptop and books. It is one of those few activities where I can think about everything or nothing at all. As painful as it can get, it's almost essential. It was on yesterday's run in Sugar Land where I started thinking about my goals through the end of the year and the Houston Marathon (even if I am in a zombie-like state come then).

The ones that are more "certain" are as follows:

-Place at least first in my age group in the Beneezy Purple Monkey 10k with a sub-41:00 time.
-"Defend" my position in the Huntsville Half with at time of 1:30 or less.
-Run the Houston Marathon in less than 3:30 (previous time: 3:36:12); top 15 finish in my AG. *The big goal
-Maintain at least 40 miles/wk. with the exception of race weeks.
-Finish races of any distance I have not yet completed: this includes 10k, 30k (Sugar Land in Dec.), 5-mile, 10-mile.

I guess I'll make up others as I go along.

To do this, it will be an experiment at first. I believe most mornings of the week will be met by an early alarm clock. Luckily, I have had enough practice this summer with that already! Most of this stuff in the fall will fall within the hours of 9 to 6, so it just may be possible-and less hot. Apparently, I am a magnet for responsibilities!

Happy early 4th of July everyone! I have always enjoyed this particular holiday, don't know why really. Perhaps a day off of work? Who knows? Tomorrow I'm off to visit family for the weekend, I have not seen my sister since she got married. It will be nice to see her, new last name and all!

As for workouts for the rest of the week, I have been fairly ambitious for one reason or another. The HKC has been opening later (which means less training clients this week) so I have opted to run instead on days I usually cross-train. One week won't kill me, I think! Yesterday, I used the apt. gym for a slow 3 mile treadmill run and dumbell strength training. I also did some core moves on the floor. I'm already over the 30-mile mark for the week.

Today I was off again to the park trying to get some weekday runs in before time runs out. I start another course at the Univ. beginning next week, tying up my time a little more. I completed just shy of 9 today, with no scary wildlife run-ins this time. I also registered for the Beneezy Purple Monkey 10k in Alvin coming up in August. I have yet to run a 10k, and Jon has suggested to me recently to kind of "collect the whole set" of running distances. From what I see, the race should be flat and fun.

Anyhow, back to work before completely checking out mentally for the next three days!

After a fairly rough start to my day, I went off to the park to get in a rare weekday long run. Being in a funky mood, I felt like beating myself up today but I refrained from doing so.
I put in pleasant 15ish, running just shy of a couple hours. I'm looking to maintaining at least half-marathon fitness through the summer to be fall season-ready. After years of running, it still amazes me how activity can brighten your mood.

I also had my first snake sighting since I began running at HSP just shy of a year ago. Coming off the outer loop, there it was between slats on the first boardwalk-of course I see it at the beginning before having to cross the whole thing! From what I saw, it was at least a medium-sized snake and it seemed more afraid of me, since it promptly slithered in the water. This is ironic because just a few days ago Ken and some of us had discussed seeing (or not seeing) these things on the trails.

Besides the somewhat unnerving bridge crossing, it was a decent run. Respecting wildlife is something to be mindful of, I guess. I will now proceed on my other tasks for today: studying for counseling class and drinking Starbuck's.