Training Log Archive: AliC

Little run first thing in the morning. Felt good! No real twinges or anything...

I don't really like resting the day before big races, but I know I need to be well rested for Sat so I took today off. Good thing too, as it was a busy day at work/with errands.

Woke up. Thought about going for a run, and got myself out there. Just a nice easy one, recovery from yesterday- and I figure the worst thing I could do at this point is to be too tired for Saturday. So easiness it is.

Warm up around Uni Parks- met up with Rune and wife halfway around.
Also includes rest between intervals, and warm down!

(2 min, 30s rest, 2 min) x 2
6 min
(2 min, 30s rest, 2 min)

Each set with 3 min recovery.

The women's blues team (minus Emily) did this session sticking together, getting used to running around each other for Saturday. Felt really good to do this and think about working together. Hopefully will work well!

I felt good, the intervals were very much in control, and my stomach was much better than last week.

Warm up for circuits- just ran around New College Sports Ground as it was already dark and thus banned from Uni Parks. Running for first 12 minutes, then some drills.

OUOC circuits. With lots of people, and good exercises! Some good hamstring ones from the danish duo and yeah, impossible side plank variants too. I'm fine with normal side planks, but anything else and I immediately collapse!

Preview of next Saturday's Varsity match course at Wimbeldon Common. 4 of the 6 women were there, 6 out of the 8 men, and we all ran the men's course togehter, although got lost on the extra loop in the men's course- glad I don't have to run that loop! I feel like I solidly know the women's course, and that's the important thing.

It's an awesome course, in places, a real *cross-country* course- I'm hoping to be strong in the more terrain-y bits from orienteering! In any case, I should be faster than last year, when I hadn't really been in training for running at all, and only got told I was running in the race the day before!

Running hither and thither at Shotover for II-IVths varsity!

It happened. No major issues. Fantastic. Can't believe it's my turn next week!

Warming up around Headington Hill park, the jogs down beween intervals, and a warm down around South Parks.

Did this first thing this morning- brrrrrrr. Frost everywhere made it slippery!

But! I laced up my shoes another notch, and seems ok- I think I'm finally healing from this foot thing!

2 x my 5 min South Parks interval
2 x my 3 min South Parks interval
3 x 20s on the steepest bit

Felt pretty good. Was happy to get a good session in with all the stress about II-Vths varsity tomorrow. Basically, I'm not going to do any work today, too many things to sort out!

Meant to go do something at the track, but felt pulled up Headington Hill, so went that way, got a bit tangled on my way down, finally ended up at Iffley, but then just checked in and said hi to the people doing the session before I had to leave and get ready for my first High Table dining experience- didn't quite imagine it was really that involved! Yikes-a-roni!

Warm-up and down and stuff in between intervals.

Finally, finally got to a Tuesday reps session. All the girls on the Blues were there, so it was really good to run together!

We did:
2 x (2min, 3min, 1min w/ 30s rest) w/ 3 min break
6 min w/ 3 min break
then another
(2min, 3min, 1min w/ 30s rest), although I stopped after the first 2 min one as I really needed a bathroom break. Tummy was not happy with the flapjack I ate at 11am I guess.

Running on the flats is so different than on hills/ in terrain. Hurts differently.

Quick run in nastiness. Have to meet advisor during circuits, which is way unfortunate!!

Short warm-up jog.

Maulden Woods Event.

Ran in trainers, with the right one only laced up halfway. Really need to get the foot able to wear shoes... hopefully before cc varsity!

Race: I was a wuss in the brambles! Others were consistently quicker getting through them. Did a few stupid things, mostly notably going far too upstreem for one control, getting stuck behind an unpeneratrable holly bush (ok, not really a mistake- the holly bushes simply weren't mapped in that area), and mistaking a bit of brambles for an open clearing...

Was fun running around Ian for the last 3rd of the race. Totally thought he lost me twice, then he made mistakes too, so we were pretty close the whole last bit.

Right shoe only fell off once, which is pretty damn impressive as it was only half-tied!

Warmed-up to do the hills session, then my foot-bone was really hurting so I bailed! Bah. Went home, and realized it was just becuase my socks were too tight.

Seriously??
I can't run in tight socks?? Most bizarre...

Core stuff. In my room, listening to Cayote Ugly soundtrack... Can't fight the moonlight! Oh jeez...

A final run in Grenoble before I had to leave!

Ran around, over to the way up to the Bastille, ran up until it was blocked off (not open til 9), did some short hill-strenght pieces, then came down and ran around town some more. Bit cold!

Woke up, did strength.

10 min abs, 2 min side, 2 min back, boufous (oh yeah!), and 10 real, 10 fake push-ups.

Back out running from the university in Grenoble. Fun- remember the way from my runs here during the summer school last year.

Ran along the river path- staying on the trail, not the paved path. Ran into a stick, straight in the middle of my forehead, so I came back to lab with a wound, always making good impressions...

5 min, 3 min, 5 min, 3 min

5 minutes on trail, 3 min on paved track- just wanted to feel really quick for those 3 minute ones

Felt ok. Still a bit tight from Cuppers/ travelling?

1) I love mountains. Today, I went out as the sun was setting and the snow on top of the mountains turned an amazing color of pink. So gorgeous.

2) The foot. It's not better. Still have to run with the laces undone at the top, and it's better if it's the top two, not just the top one, although it kinda just feels like I'm wearing a slipper!!! Mom says it'll just take awhile to heal, bones are slow like that...

Another day off. Maybe the foot will heal more, plus I just worked from dawn to dusk and didn't really want to run in the dark in a strange city!

Travel to Grenoble! Had to catch the 7am bus to Stansted. Bah!

Event: Oxford City Race 2007
 

Warm up before Cross-Country Cuppers! Started in flip-flops as I forgot my shoes in the carpark, then ran in normal running shoes with the top laces undone on the right shoe- no serious pain, which is good!

Cross-Country Cuppers

Around Port Meadow and the Nature Reserve. A different course than usual- perimeter of the nature reserve (about 2.5k), a loop in Port Meadow (about 2.5k) and a final little loop in the Nature Reserve (about 1k).

I started out just staying with the lead pack (with Court off the front), then felt like I couldn't stride out on the back bit of the nature reserve loop while running behind the others, so took the lead, and think I just kept opening it as I kept going... It was really helpful to have Court ahead to have my eyes on- finished only 8 seconds back from her, but she was spooked by a horse in Port Meadow!

C • congrats! 1

Warm down.

Wahoo! Finally, finally got out running again! Was about to go into that endorphin-deprived depression I think...

Whatever is still really wrong in my foot (slowly healing? must be...), but it doesn't bug me if I just don't lace the top four eyes of my running shoes. This makes it a lot more work for my foot/ankle to keep the shoe on, but at least doesn't hurt, so shouldn't be injuring the foot further.

Did club run with Scott, Lucy, Lisa- round the Nature Reserve in the dark!! Maybe a little ambitious for a club run, as it was really quite dark with no moon, and nature reserve was damp from today's downpour. Then I headed out to the track, did 3 400s to get something like speed back, then ran home.

3 x 400

Just to try to feel fast.

I was going to take today completely completely off to heal, but I just couldn't- it really doesn't hurt to run in my flip-flops!! But I know I can't run in flip-flops without injuring something else, so bah!

Few laps around the college gardens, including some stair climbing on the mound.

Came home, was so psyched to go out for a steady. Put shoes on, went out the door, and ouch! Foot not happy! Hurts right in the same place. I think I should have been smart and not raced, or bought new shoes before racing Sunday... sometimes too damn stubborn for my own good!

So I pranced aroudn the house doing 'aerobics' for a good 21 minutes. Housemate came home in the middle of it and gave strange looks, which honestly, I completley deserve.

10 min abs, 2 min back, 2 min sides

Bah!
Not happy- put on my normal running shoes, and the tendon hurt. So I took them back off, and did my warm-up jog in flip-flops. I'm still going to go with the approach that it's just a very deep bruise, and hope it gets better as long as I don't aggravate it more. A bit worried, because it wasn't this bad after the mountain marathon- running Sunday in the inov8s made it worse...

OUOC Circuits, indoors-style

On 40-20 time, which is good. Scamper up, round the room, then next exercise. I need to focus doing the ab exercises to make them actually do something- 40sec of sit-ups isn't that tough- need to be trying to see how many I can do in 40sec! And I think I need to add more push-ups at the end, or maybe a woods workout 100-80 set! Leg strength stuff was really good today though.

Jogged around a bit for a warm up, but feet were not happy to be back in the inov8s.

Actually, just the right foot- 1) heel bruise, but that's been a recurrent prob and I know what to do about it, so not too worried about that. 2) tendon on the top outerpart is definitely still aggravated from last weekend, which is not good. This is what hurt so bad the first day of the OMM that I told Stephen I didn't think I could run any more... not cool that it's still a problem a week later!!!

Bah! Mispunched a really, really close control to the one I was supposed to be going to. I'm actually not that annoyed, since it doesn't really matter- they're so close, I really did run the same course as all the other women, and it's now more drilled in my head: Check Control Numbers, ALWAYS!

I was a bit frustrated today, it was easy to run fast, but I just didn't flow well from control to control. Was a bit hesitant making route-choice descisions, and then still managed to make mistakes... Still an ok time, but totally believable that someone beat me by 12 minutes!

#2- ran past initially, but not badly, probably getting re-used to 1:15 after last weekend at 1:40
#3- almost got completely confused here! mistook first clearing on the left for the first, ran to a control on a knoll instead of my pit, ran back out to the trail and came back in properly
#6- inexplicably ran through the heather after the pond instead of taking the nice path right to the control, totally silly.
#7- The Mispunch. Oops. Was really in the right spot. dot knolls are far too annoying, so I was just running around looking for the control. should have used the distinctive tree, and been more patient.
#9- up to the pond, then thought I was on the right track, flew downhill, but was actually on one of the barely-visible dark-yellow rides! ended up by #5, and running back over to #9. annoyed at myself for this one!
#13- not sure what happened, entirely- came way to far over, finally found the earth wall, and ran back along it's base.

Gorgeous day! So happy to be outside- warmed up around Headington Hill park, then over to South Parks for the intervals, and warm down afterwards with Ellie and Alex around South Parks.

(2 min up, down for a bit, 30 sec up) x 4

Felt pretty good despite some lack of sleep the last few nights. Actually, first one felt awful, but don't think I was warmed up properly. So good to do intervals with others- definitely push it more!

From lab to Florence Park (under 20 minutes!) After the Mini-League event, back to Iffley Sportsground, to pick up an insurance letter for permission to use Shotover for cross-country II-Vths, then home and presto-chango into formal dress for dinner!

Mini-League #4: Florence Park

Fun! First just did the basic course Helen had set, then we played the map memory exercise. It was such an eye-opener. I would look at the map that was posted at the previous control, find out generally where I had to go, but then realize on my way there that I didn't actually remember where the control was supposed to be! So had to about face, go back and actually try to remember! Really good stuff. We should play more often!

Warm up and down around South Parks.

2 x 10 min tempo in South Parks. Made a loop so as to do the hill twice each time. Felt ok, but not amazing, probably still recovering bit from the mountain marathon- but all muscles and my heels felt good to go, so think it was appropriate to actually start working out again!