Training: Week 8

Week 8: Sun: 2 hours of Spin; Mon: REST; Tues: 3 mi increasing speed run on new treadmill, Weds: REST; Thurs: 4 mi run; Fri: REST; Sat: REST.

Week 8 started out attending an all day (9am-5pm) Indoor Cycling workshop through AFAA on Sunday.  I was using this workshop as an add on to the group fitness certification that I already hold.  The gyms I had been hired by wanted to see me have this additional training before giving me my own spin class.  It was great and I learned a lot!  It was also work because we completed a one hour ride in the morning and a one hour ride in the afternoon....double duty!  I sure put my body to the test as I had just finished my 18 mile run about 16 hours prior, whew!  I felt my body handled it really well though and I think that is a good sign for the grueling test that 26.2 miles will do to me in just a few short weeks!

I am so excited to begin teaching Spin/Indoor Cycling because I feel it is such a great workout and excellent cross training for runners.  (Sprints on the bike really get those fast twitch muscle fibers fired up!)  I finally invested in a pair of indoor cycling shoes (Pearl Izumi) and I am so happy that I did.  I can really notice the difference that I have a lot more power all the way through a revolution on the bike, the down stroke and upstroke.  I got some great music ideas as well.

Monday, I gave myself a well deserved rest and our brand new treadmill got delivered. (big smiles!)

Tuesday, I decided to take the new treadmill for a spin and did my 3 mi run on it and tried to continually increase the speed through the end of the three miles.  It made for a great workout. And I took Wednesday as a rest day (but Wednesday was still exciting as I auditioned and was offered my own class at the Bethesda Chevy Chase YMCA called Extreme Fit 6am Weds mornings!)

Spring has sprung?

Thursday, I set out to do my 9 mi mid week run and at mile 4 developed some terrible knee pain.  It was on the interior inside of my knee, where the tendons are.  Every few steps, I would get a sharp pain that actually caused me to yell out in pain.  I tried a few more times to get going after stretching out and the same thing happened.  I finally realized I was going to have to walk the four miles back home, I could not run it.  I let my husband know and he came and picked me up.  I felt pretty down about not being able to complete my 9 miler and really, really nervous about what it could possibly be/mean for getting to the finish line in a few short weeks :-(.   The one bright side of the run was seeing daffodils along my route.

I had planned to also attend a spin class that night and nixed that just to let my knee rest until I could figure it out.  I did lots of online research (what did we do before the internet?) and determined it to possibly be a meniscus tear.  This terrified me and decided first thing in the morning I would call an Orthopedist.  

Friday, I took off from activity until I could see the Ortho.  I was able to get an appointment that afternoon.  He determined it to be Knee Bursitis.  Pretty much, the remedy is rest and anti-inflammatories.   Rest is not something you want to hear when you are only four weeks out from race day.   Saturday was meant to be a hilly ten miler, but I had originally planned on moving this to Sunday and using my leg of the marathon relay as that run.  But with my knee, I was thinking I probably shouldn't run my leg of the relay.  My two team mates, came down with bad colds and so as a team on Saturday night, we all decided not to run the GW Birthday Marathon Relay Sunday morning.  :-(  That was the first time I had ever bowed out of a race I had signed up for due to injury.