I declare it "Cross-Training Week"

I have decided to take a running break this week leading up until the 5K on Saturday.

I attempted a 12-13 mile long run this weekend which was over before I even hit 5 miles. My knee has been consistently bothering me for a little over a week now. It even hurt during my little 1.5 mile run on Monday. It has bothered me in different shoes, on the road, on the treadmill. Adding more stretching helps, but not enough. So, I have decided to try resting it for 4 days (it has been a while since I took 4 consecutive days off running)! I did some spinning at the gym this morning and plan on doing some light weights & swimming tomorrow followed by 2 days of complete rest. It better feel good during my 5K or I don’t know what I will do about the half marathon…it is less than a month away!

100 Push-ups...Week 3 Done

W3D1(9/25) - 17,19,15,15,23 = 89
W3D2(9/26) - 20,25,15,15,26 = 101
W3D3(9/30) - 22,30,20,20,21 = 113

Week 3 Total = 303

I didn't make it to the "at least 28" for the last set...just couldn't do anymore pushups today. This is the first time I haven't reached the plan though, so I am going to move on to week 4 and give it a try.

100 Push-ups...Week 2 Done

W2D1(9/16) - 12,12,9,7,12 = 52
W2D1 Redo(9/19) - 14,14,10,10,21 = 69
W2D2(9/22) - 14,16,12,12,20 = 74
W2D3(9/23) - 16,17,14,14,19 = 80
Week 2 Total (excluding 9/16) = 223

This is about where I gave it up last time. I am going to try really hard to stick with it this time. It obviously is working, since I was nowhere close to these numbers during the first attempt. Next up is an exhaustion test to see which level I am doing for week 3 (which by the way looks pretty difficult).

12 Miler...

I had an interesting 12 miler this weekend. It was a little tough, but I realized later when I entered it to my log that I ran it a little faster than I have most of my long runs lately…because I pretty much ran the whole distance! I took a fuel break at 5.5 (the fruit powerbar gel is MUCH better than the chocolate, so I sticking with the fruit from now on) and a potty break at 6 (I would have combined if I knew how close I was to a restroom, but I was kinda lost at the time). I continued running after that until almost 10 miles then had to take a couple walk breaks from there until the end.

I had a bit a twinge in my left knee on & off throughout the run, but nothing that felt serious (or even painful at all for that matter). The last mile was pretty tough, but pushed through and finished the 12 miles. As I was walking back to my car, I suddenly got stung by a bee on my shoulder-blade area (or something…I didn't actually see it). Wow - that was a completely unprovoked attack! It freaked me out so much that I pulled my shirt off and was flapping my arms and turning in circles...would have been pretty funny to see…luckily no one was around to see it.

Well, the sting healed with no problem…just sore for a little while. But my knee got progressively worse throughout the day. It just tightened up. I kept icing and took Sunday completely off (no run scheduled anyway). This morning it was feeling better so I ran 4 miles on the treadmill with just a couple random speed intervals thrown in - nothing hard really. The knee felt fine the entire run - until I got off the treadmill and I could feel it tightening up already. I am icing it again (luckily we have a well-stocked break room here) and it feels ok but I don’t know what that is about. I have never had knee issues before. It doesn't hurt at all to put weight on it…it hurts when I bend/unbend it. It just seems strange that it doesn’t hurt while I am running…just afterward when it tightens up. I guess I will have to spend some time today finding stretches for that area.

Back on the 100 Push-up Bandwagon

I ended up taking a rest day on Monday and I had a decent 4.25 mile easy run this morning on the treadmill. Nothing special to write about, just a decent run. I did notice something odd though…my nose has been running constantly starting yesterday morning, but it stopped while I was running. I had tissues with me, expecting to need them, but I didn't need one until I stopped the treadmill. Just an odd observation…

I got sucked back into the 100 push-up challenge - hopefully I will stick with it longer this time. A bunch of people on the RWOL BF are doing the challenge. The good news is that I started with quite a few more push-ups this time than the first time I started. Here is the summary for week 1:

W1D1 (9/12) - 10,10,8,6,16 = 50
W1D2 (9/13) - 12,12,10,10,11 = 55
W1D3 (9/15) - 15,13,10,10,17 = 65
Total week 1 = 170