Shin splint

Ok, I may have pushed myself a little the last couple of weeks and now I am paying the price.

Two weeks ago the weekend weather was so nice and considering the loooonnnggg  winter I was desperate to get out for a real bike ride. I have not been on the trainer in a month and half and decided to go out for a 95 km ride by myself on Saturday as Mr. LOTC was out for his solo century ride.  I rode to my brothers, then to my parents and back home.  This was a tough ride.  There was a headwind all the way to my brother..  uuggh! Riding to my parents I thought about asking them to drive me home, but I didn't.  I would have hated myself if I cheated. 



Bike route to my brothers

Then on Sunday the weather was iffy at best.  While eating breakfast it was snowing, then raining, then snowing.  Hmmmm, this was going to be a very interesting run.  When we got to the meeting spot for the Road Rebels group there were only three of us that showed up.    Of course I could not keep up with John and the other runner so they ran together and left me in the dust.  I ran the 16kms all by myself and with longer run/walk times then normal.  I ran for 20min and walk for 2.  I usually will do 10 and 1's for my long slows.  The good news is that the snow and rain stopped and held off for the whole run..... Sweet!  I didn't notice my shins too much at that point but my legs were spent for the 7kms runs on the Tuesday and Thursday. The following Sunday I ran 18.5kms and that is what did me in as the group threw in hills.  Right,,,, I have not even worked on hills this year. Plus, they ran a faster pace then I am comfortable with!!  I couldn't even walk up the stairs without some strong discomfort. So last Tuesday was my last run and decided that it was time for some much needed to rest and healing as my half marathon that is only 31 days away. Wait, what...   OMG... that crept up fast!!!  AAGGHHHH.  I am not ready....  hee hee whooooo  (labour breathing...  LOL  ;) )
I ran last night for the first time in a week and the pain is still slightly there.  Once I got going I hardly notice it.  I will take it easy and swim tonight and run again tomorrow. 

This Saturday the forecast looks great so I hope to get out for another 90km ride.  Dear Mother Nature, please be kind and let it be warm and not windy..... we've had enough wind.... REALLY!  :)

So far, so good

I am still suffering from my respiratory infection but it is getting better so I decided to try some short 20min cardio/core (Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred) videos last Thursday.  The result was that I was sucking wind 5 minutes in.  Someone had jumped up and sat on my chest again..... but I pushed through and finished the workout.  When I woke up the next day, OMG, my legs were so sore (squats and lunges galore).  So I decided I was going to torture myself some more and did the video again.  Sufferfest! lol

Hiked to Dundas Valley peak with our boys - January

On Saturday, John was going out for a long 4 hour rail trail mountain bike ride so I decided that I was going to go out as well and enjoy the beautiful day with our boys.  They got their bikes out of the shed, pumped up the tires, lubed the chains and made sure the gears were working ect.....then we were off for our own 2 hour rail trail ride which ended up to be about 30 kms.  Again, with my infection/cold I was coughing up a lung but I endured.  It was fun to be out together but I don't think my youngest enjoys the sport much.  His bum hurts!  hehehe

Yesterday, our running group was scheduled for a 16 km long slow run.  I was hesitant to join as I knew my lungs were about to burst and I have not ran anything over 10km on my long weekend runs and during the weekdays I would run anywhere from 5km to 8km.  But I decided to go anyways and John said if I need to walk more then usual or at slower pace then so be it.  As long as I get the kilometers in right!  In the end it was NOT an enjoyable run, not that I was expecting anything other then just that.  I used about 20 Kleenex's to blow my nose, my lungs were telling me to slow down and I did.  By the end I think I was running 8 and 2s, maybe less.  LOL   My muscles were a bit tender from adding this much distance but nothing out of the ordinary or worrisome. 

Tonight I went to the pool with John and I swam 2000m.  I was worried about how I would feel in the water with my breathing but surprisingly enough it was not too bad.  All in all, not a bad couple of days.  Hope I can stay on this wagon and enjoy the ride!  :-)