Tag Archives: injury

Janathon 2012 – Day 7

Posted on by Run DMT
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I made it to 9 miles.  I was a little worried about my heel, but it didn’t give me trouble until about mile 8.  Before my run, I walked about 0.5 mile and stretched.  I also stretched through the run so I guess all that helped.  Although hours later now, my heel is giving me some trouble, so it’s time for the frozen water bottle trick.

Speaking of water bottles, I left my water bottle at the 1 mile mark, so there weren’t many water breaks during this run.  I actually ran about 7 miles without water, which I think is pretty amazing.  Granted not the smartest move, because I usually get pretty thirsty throughout the course, however, I was surprised at how far I could go with a water break.

9 miles

Time 1:41:40

Ave Pace 11:18

Max Pace 8:51

Just to do something different, I decided to run the Gasparilla Distance Classic 15K this year instead of the half.  Out of curiosity, I looked up my stats from the Minnie Marathon 15K to compare my past time today’s run.

 Minnie Marathon Chip Time  1:28:12

Yep, I got my work cut-out for me this year.

Random Thoughts about Joining the Janathon

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5

Janathoon 2012 Participant LogoIt’s been over a week since I last ran.  I caught a really nasty cold a few days before Christmas and then my Achilles started bothering me again.  Even though I wasn’t running, I wore my running shoes to help my heel.

Christmas Eve, I spent a lot of time on my feet cleaning the house barefoot and I think it only aggravated my Achilles more, which I find so ironic.  With all the talk about barefoot running, you would think it would help the situation.  I seem to experience the opposite whenever I spend my days barefoot.  It only makes my Achilles feel worse.

Not running for a week combined with bad eating habits made me feel weak and sluggish, so I decided to break my week long break with a three mile run this morning.  I also wanted to test out my newly refurbished Garmin.  With my foot still giving me some trouble, I was a bit slow-moving to get out the door.

Weather.com forecasted a 50% chance of rain by 8:00, but an orange-pink sky appeared to say otherwise.  Then about halfway into my run, the wind picked up and the sky began to turn dark gray.  The storm rolled in right on time which soaked me and my new-to-me Garmin.  Great.  Let the Garmin corroding began!    

3.24 miles

Time 35:08

Ave Pace 10:51

Max Pace 7:37

The  Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon is only five weeks away and after this morning’s pathetic run, I’m not feeling very confident about my performance in that race.  It may be time for an intervention.

Suncoast Running is offering a boot camp training program plan designed specifically for the short turn-around time for this race and I plan to find out more about it at the informational meeting tomorrow evening.

Obviously, priority number one is to get back into a regular running routine.  I’m hoping the Janathon will help with that.

I joined the Janathon for my second year.   Basically, all participants commit to running or some work-out every day and log it online at Free Running.  Lord knows, I need the accountability aspect of the Janathon to help me stay focused and motivated.  Although this year, I doubt I’ll win any prizes as I’m having my wisdom teeth extracted on January 13 and I’ll be down for a few days after the surgery.  Nice, huh?  Yep, I already have an excuse in place for slacking off.

As for getting back into a regular running routine, I plan to run 4 miles tomorrow with some intervals later in the week, followed by 6-7miles on Saturday.  I just need to get moving again.

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

Random Thoughts about Revving It Up

Posted on by Run DMT
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Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor.Opens in a new windowThe other day, I sent my Garmin Forerunner 305 to be refurbished or replaced.  Seeing how the face fell off to unveil its completely corroded innards, I believe it’s beyond repair.  Once it’s returned to me, I’m looking forward to knowing how far and how fast I’m running again.

Since I’ve become so attached to my Garmin over the years, I’m pretty lost without it. Maybe it’s the holiday hullabaloo, but I can’t seem to remember when I last ran.  Normally, I just look at my stats when they’ve downloaded to my computer and it’s all there.  But with no Garmin, I have to remember to track my runs on Map My Run, but I never remember to do that and my absentmindedness leaves me with absent runs.

Part of the problem is also waking up and determining if it’s a run day based upon the pain in my feet due to my plantar fasciitis.  Some days, I can walk and other days I can’t stand up with falling over.  The last two mornings were definitely “I can walk” days which immediately became “I am going to run” days.

I remember I ran last Thursday because I ran 3 miles for Julia with the Suncoast Striders and my friends, Jackie and Faith.  It was Julia’s birthday and she would have turned five.  Faith and I wanted to be there for Jackie and remember sweet Angel Julia.

My flaky brain and pathetic feet just need to get with the running program again because Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon is only two months away.  That’s 8 weeks to improve my half
marathon performance.  Eight weeks to rev it up to Rock ‘n Roll!

Yesterday, I ran an easy 3 miles.  Today, I decided to take on some speedwork to help improve my overall time.  Boy, did my body balk that idea!  I ran one easy warm-up mile and then attempted four ¼ mile sprints.  After the first ¼ mile, my hamstrings started to hurt and then I got stitch in my side.  My body was not onboard with the whole revving it up idea.

But it could also be the baker’s dozen I’m carrying in my backside that’s weighing me down and holding me back, because there has been a lot of baking and a lot of tasting going on here.  So much so, that my backside is starting to look like a Snickerdoodle.

However, the sprints got easier after the first one.  Easier is the wrong word choice because the sprints were certainly not easy by any means.  I mean, I think I took the first ¼ mile sprint a little too hard and I didn’t push quite as hard on the second, third and fourth sprints.  I pushed myself, but not to the point where I got a cramp in my side.  (If only I had my Garmin to know exactly how fast I ran!)  After all the sprints, I finished my speedwork with a mile cool down.

Overall, the speedwork felt good.  My legs hurt, but in a good way.  And thankfully, I can walk.  Hopefully, tomorrow morning will be an “I can walk” day too so I can run 6 miles with Tracey of Suncoast Running.  And hopefully, the rest of the week will be filled with more “I can walk” days so I can run and rev it up some more.  Now if only I can remember when I do.

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

Random Thoughts about Some Challenges, My Heeling Process and a Footnote

Posted on by Run DMT
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For the month of October, I committed to the Unprocessed Challenge and by doing so, I swore off processed foods.  Basically, participants had to refrain from eating foods they couldn’t reproduce, bake or cook themselves, such as foods that can only be produced in a factory.   Thankfully, store-bought beer and wine were acceptable.

Seriously?  In October?  What was I thinking?  I freaking love candy corn and other Halloween candy.  I think I ate even more of it because I knew I couldn’t on account of the challenge.  It was tough and I think I lasted (at most) two weeks.  And then I devoured some Tyson hot wings.

For November, I’m participating in the 30 Day Giving Challenge for the third year.  I love this challenge, but I’m not going to lie.  It’s hard, even when I plan out all my gifts for the month, because schedules change, kids gets sick and sometimes things just don’t always go according to plan.  I’ve done well though and I’ve given 15 gifts and then some in 15 days so far.

Speaking of gifts, my t-shirt giveaway didn’t attract as many people as other giveaways have in the past.  I tweeted, Facebooked, linked up at giveaway blog hops but still only 4 people entered the contest, including my SIL, Kirsten and my friend, Chrissy, who won as a result to all her entries.  Obviously, she had the best chance, which is what you hope for when hosting a giveaway.

Has anyone else noticed a drop in giveaway participants?

I had this whole 12 Days of Christmas giveaway plan in the works, but after this giveaway, I’m rethinking the idea.  It’s a lot of work and if it doesn’t generate a response, I’ll be disappointed.  Oh well.  But I’ve got other fun bloggie Christmas plans in the works, like a blogger ornament exchange and a virtual cookie recipe swap!  Stay tuned for more details!

This Sunday, as part of my giving challenge, I’m volunteering at the Women’s Half Marathon water stations with Suncoast Running.  I’m so excited to give back to a sport that has given me so much.  I’m looking forward to cheering and encouraging all the runners while handing them a cup of cold water with a smile.  It will mean the world to each participant, whether it’s their first half marathon or the fiftieth.

Do you remember that almost 21 miler I did a couple of weeks ago with little to no pain?  I even survived walking around Universal Studios the next day (minus a hamstring pull from 25 pound toddler squats all day).  Then, I didn’t run for two days to rest.  I ran about 3 miles on Tuesday and then on Wednesday, I ran almost 10 miles.  And that’s when it all went downhill.

I had some serious heel pain, like my heel was being stabbed with a knife.  I’ve never had this pain before, but I knew it wasn’t good.  I researched about heel pain and learned that I have heel spurs possibly as a result from increasing miles too quickly or running in old shoes (shoes without support). I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter because I’ve been pretty careful to not push myself too far too quickly.

As for healing my heel, everything I’ve read recommends taking a week off from running.  But, my marathon is in 12 days.  12 DAYS!  And I can’t run or even taper!

So now, I need new shoes.  But new shoes need to be broken in before I attempt to run 26.2 miles in them.  Plus, I don’t have any extra cash at the moment and I was really hoping Santa would bring me some new running shoes.  My friends over at Suncoast Running told me that they will have some great Black Friday specials. But I’m still nervous about running a marathon in new shoes.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be a week since I last ran and it still hurts to walk or put any pressure on my right heel.  I tried some light hiking when we went camping over the holiday weekend and the pain would gradually increase.  I’ve read that I can do alternate work-outs like cycling or very low impact aerobics, but I don’t think my heel could handle any impact.  Plus, I’m still scared to get back on my bike.  So resting and yoga is the plan for a few more days until I get some new shoes.  It seems my running plans have become a footnote and I’m not liking it all.

Oh and there’s this other nagging other issue I keep forgetting to do.  I haven’t booked a hotel room for the race yet.  I know. I know.  What am I waiting for?  I was waiting until I registered, which was delayed until I knew I could come close to a marathon distance again post-baby number 3.  Well, I’m officially registered (as of October 22) for the Space Coast Marathon and now I can’t find an available room.  But it doesn’t matter really because it appears that I will have to buy shoes instead of a securing a hotel room.  Looks like I’ll be sleeping in my car the night before the marathon. Yay.

As you can see, lots of challenges lie ahead this month.

*Proudly submitted to Stacy Uncorked, because when I blog about my training, it’s usually pretty random.*

Stacy

The Happy Campers Strike Again

Posted on by Run DMT
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Now, that I’ve crawled out from under my never ending pile of laundry, I can write about our camping trip.  Of course we had a fabulous time!

 

Camping_Nov09

 

This was our second camping trip to Hillsborough Rive State Park, which I feel is the perfect campground for families.  Our friends and we reserved campsites in the second loop which circles the playground.  Our children played all day on the playground while we sat around and drank beer always staying in our line of sight.  The restrooms are also located in the middle of the loop, which is very convenient too.

 

The moderately sized campsites offer a decent amount of shade provided by large pine and oak trees.  With our camping limited supplies, my family and I don’t require a lot of room.

 

Hillsborough River State Park always offers a number of hiking trails, with the Florida Trail being the longest at approximately 3.6 miles.  Saturday morning, I woke up with an obsession to run one of the trails at the park, but I really don’t know what possessed me to run the Florida trail by myself without my camera or mace.  Along the path, the trail narrowed and I found the uneven terrain very challenging since I am used to running on flat paved surfaces.  With several steep inclines, lots of overgrown weeds and trees roots, this trail definitely seemed to be the trail less traveled.  The Florida Trail followed the river with an occasional rickety bridge to run across and some trees bent over the trail required a limbo move while I ran.  The scenery was gorgeous, however, I couldn’t really enjoy the view because I was too busy watching my step as I stumbled over tree roots.

 

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As I ran along the overgrown trail, I cleared the path for the next hiker or runner by running through spider webs.  At one point, I completely lost my footing and wiped out.  I fell to the ground and rolled.  Fortunately, I suffered minor scrapes.  I bounced back up, shook it off and kept running.

 

Then, I heard some rustling behind me and out of the corner my eye, I spotted a long bushy tail.  After reading flyers posted around the park with warnings about coyotes, I became nervous that I was being followed by one.  After being spotted, the fluffy tail creature hopped into a tree.  Now, I worried that whatever creature I saw would pounce on me and drag my bloody carcass through the woods never to be found again.  Thankfully, that never happened and I lived to tell my tail trail run tale.  (Later, I learned from my friend John that I probably encountered a Red Fox.)  But I had to laugh about all these silly events during my run which made me think of my running partner, Tiffany, who detests nature and running through it on our Starkey Trail runs with the Striders.  I felt a bit like that as I ran along the Florida trail on my own.  I had nature all over me!

5 Miles

54:12

Ave Pace 10:50

 

Later that morning, everyone went canoeing.

 

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Our friends headed south down the river but we went north in the wrong direction.  Our little detour led us to some small rapids which we may have missed if we followed the crowd or if a Park Ranger caught us.

 

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The scenery along the Hillsborough River is much like the scenery along any Florida river with large canopies of large Cypress trees and Cypress knees popping up along the river banks.  We saw a few large hollowed Cypress trees in the middle of the river which reminded us of something from a fantasy novel.

 

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There were also these beautiful overgrown lavender wildflowers that I had never seen before and they attracted a variety of butterflies.

 

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Of course, during our canoe trip, we spotted the usual Florida inhabitants such as turtles, gators and several herons.

 

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Eventually, we caught up to our friends.

 

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One set of friends had white knuckles as it was her first canoe trip and rumor has it that they flipped their canoe.  Their faces have been blacked out to protect their identity.

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Like, I said in my Mr. E’s Beautiful Blue’s post, this year’s camping trip was something out of a bad slapstick comedy film.  Later that evening, one friend stumbled into a fire pit.  We believe her fateful fall may have been caused by her blood alcohol level and the Benadryl another camper slipped her to help with her allergies.  Before she plummeted face first into the fire pit, another friend caught her, but not before she singed some of her hair.  Thankfully, she was fine and didn’t suffer any burns, but it was still scary.  This photo was taken before the fateful fall into the fire.  Again, the faces have been blacked out to protect the identity of the fallen and her drug pusher.

 

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With all the ups and downs (literally), we had a great time.  We’re already planning our next camping trip with mace and minus the Benadryl.

 

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Got Chocolate Milk?

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David, our fearless Strider leader, shared an interesting tidbit in last week’s newsletter. 

 

Ok, a quiz, do you know the # 1 recovery item that all exercise experts say works the absolute best in your recovery?…..Are you ready? It’s Chocolate Milk. Yes, chocolate milk. One Strider Saturday soon, Karen and I will treat you all to the glorious taste of 1% or 2% Chocolate milk and I guarantee you will feel the difference.

 

What’s this?  Now I can run for beer chocolate milk.  Pinch me.  Please tell me I’m not dreaming!

 

So, is it the chocolate or the milk?  I prefer to believe that it’s the chocolate that offers the healing.  My DH, Allan, supported my hope theory when he reminded that Brits eat chocolate when they are sick or under the weather.  In fact, J.K. Rowling even hints at this cultural tradition in several of her Harry Potter books as Nurse Madam Poppy Pomfrey often gives sick Hogwarts students chocolate to heal them.

 

Most runners understand the importance of carb loading before a run; however, upon researching this magical chocolaty elixir, I learned the importance of carb and protein loading after a run, which sports drinks simply cannot match.  After an intense work-out or a long distance run, your body becomes depleted of glycogens, therefore, it’s important to replenish those lost minerals with some carbs and proteins.  The potassium, magnesium and calcium found in an 8-ounce glass of chocolate milk offers a substantial amount of minerals needed to rebuild tired muscles and offer some recovery.  Water rehydrates while sports drinks replenish fluids and electrolytes, but chocolate milk rehydrates and rebuilds.

 

But would it work for me?  As you may recall, I pulled a quad muscle a couple of weeks ago.  I suffered through several short runs until I read David’s chocolate declaration.  I decided to test this chocolate milk theory to see if it would help me.  After a 3.5 mile last Friday, my left thigh throbbed.  I iced it and then drank some chocolate milk.  I thought for sure I would be feeling some serious pain the next day or two, and much to my surprise, I was wrong and David’s chocolate theory held true.  Now, I am believer and I have been drinking chocolate milk (and even chocolate soy milk) after each run since last Friday.

 

So, David gets the credit for sharing the benefits of chocolate milk in his Strider e-mail and although it was news to me, it’s been a well known fact in the fitness community for some time.  You can read more about the benefits of chocolate milk at ehow, at Medpage Today and CBS news.

Getting Down to Bizniz

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5

“Half Marathon training officially begins tomorrow. Bring it on,” read my running mommy friend’s status update on Facebook.

  

Her status update startled me like a loud buzzing alarm clock waking me from a sound sleep.

  

What the?! What half marathon?!  Which half marathon is twelve weeks away?! 

 

Is the Women’s half only 12 weeks away?

  

I opened my Outlook calendar to count the number of weeks until the Women’s Half on November 22.  Counting this Sunday, the race is only 11 weeks away.

  

ELEVEN WEEKS!

 

 Holy pacing, Batman!  I need to get back into the game!

 

I thanked Laura for the reminder and the motivating update to help me focus and rev up my training again.  I downloaded Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Half Marathon Training Plan, posted it on my fridge and e-mailed a copy to Tiffany with the subject line “we are so screwed” to prepare her as well.  Considering that Tiffany and I ran 6 miles last Saturday albeit pathetic at best, we still attempted it and it starts us right where we should be according to my almighty Hal.

 

The upside to this sudden and urgent desire to get training again will also get me on track with the Longleaf Triathlon International Relay, which is only 6 weeks away.  As the runner on the relay team, I need to finish a 10K in less than 50 minutes to place at least third according to last year’s stats.  And for the simple fact that my team is relying on me, I need to pick up the pace for sure.  Then, there’s also the Race for the Cure 10K in 3 weeks, which will provide me with an opportunity to determine how I will perform at Longleaf.

 

So this morning, I jumped out of bed at 6:00 a.m. to run 3 miles.  No more lying in and complaining about time off from my injury, the dark, allergies, asthma, my DH’s new schedule or my kid’s school schedule!  It’s time to get serious and down to bizniz!  With that, I decided to run my “race pace” in the dark.

 

3.16 miles

Time 30:54

Ave Pace 9:47

 

Not exactly my race pace, but it’s an improvement from Monday’s run.  I’ll run another 3 miles tomorrow morning and then, Tiffany and I will go for 6 miles again this Saturday with the Striders.

My Fizzling Four

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2

I read somewhere that it takes two weeks for every one week you miss of a work-out.  Given that logic and the fact that I was out of play for 3 weeks due to some nasty bruised ribs, it will take me 6 weeks to catch back up to where I was before my spill and boy, does it ever feel like it will take me that long.

 

Last week, I seemed to be a bit better about getting up for my runs before my family woke.  I was on fire.  Back to school and back into routine and it felt good.  I felt balanced again. 

 

Not so much this week, because I’ve had a really hard time getting out of bed.  I’ve been working out and running, just not during the dark hours like I did last week.

 

This morning, I couldn’t get out of bed once again, but I was determined to run.  Typically, if I don’t run in the wee hours of the morning, then I just do another work-out, like kickboxing or boot camp stuff.  But this morning, I really wanted to run.  I needed to run and by golly I was going to do just that!  So, what if it was 9:30?  I can handle the heat.

 

Or so I thought…

 

About a mile into my run, I thought I was going to pass out from the heat.  Plus, my asthma was kicking because I forgot to take a few puffs from my inhaler before running.  All that wheezing caused me to get a cramp in my side and I needed to walk A LOT.  At least my feet and knees felt great, thanks to my new shoes!

 

What was I thinking?  I know better than running that late in the morning in the Florida heat.  I think all the wonderful tweets about fabulous fall weather on Twitter have confused me and I’ve forgotten that I live in the subtropics where no signs of fall ever grace our pretty palm trees.

 

Despite the heat and the wheezing, I finished 4 miles, but oh Lord, was my time sad.  Really, it was.  I’m not even going to post my stats because I am too embarrassed. 

 

What’s that?  You won’t judge.  You’re here to support me, you say?  All right then, I post them, but you have to promise not to laugh.

4 miles

Time 41:51

Ave Pace 10:28

 

I told you I walked a lot.  O.K., so my stats are not that bad.  Hey!  You promised you wouldn’t laugh!

Obsessed With Omni

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7

When I crashed my bike a few weeks back, I managed to tear a hole in my running shoes.  Somehow, the crash ripped a small hole in the mesh on the inside of my right shoe, but it didn’t hinder my ability to run in them.  Well, if you saw my pace, you would think differently, but it really had nothing to do with the shoe.  I swear.

 

Then, last Friday I felt that familiar knee pain that usually occurs when a shoe has seen its last mile.  It’s been nearly 6 months since I bought my last pair, therefore, the timing seemed about right and honestly, I was pleased with the coincidence.

 

As much as I loved my Brooks Infiniti, I believe my weird toe pain may have been caused by a narrow toe box.  Therefore, Lee at The Running Center fitted me for a new shoe: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9.  I loved the width of the shoe and when I tested them on the treadmill, the shoes seemed fine despite having less cushion than the Infiniti.

 

Saturday morning, I couldn’t wait to test out my new shoes.  I went for a short 3 mile run, but as I drew closer to 3 mile mark, I felt a sharp pain in my heel.  I immediately stopped running and walked home.  Obviously the wrong shoes for me, I boxed up the bad boys and took them back to store.

 

Once I returned to The Running Center, I explained to staff that I loved the width of the Brooks Adrenaline, but I needed something with more cushion.  Then, entered a new option: Saucony Pro Grid Omni 8.  This shoe has lovely cushion for the pushin’, but I especially loved the stretchy mesh side panel.  However, my big toe hit the front of the shoe, which meant I had to go up a half size.  With the next size up, I felt the shoe slipping on my heel, so my new BFF at The Running Center taught me this nifty lacing trick, which incidentally also happens to be the way my running partner, Tiffany, laces her shoes.

 

 

So, in my short running career (almost three years now), I have grown a half size bigger and I’ve tested and tried 7 different styles of shoes: Asics 2130, Asics Nimbus, Asics Kensei, Asics Kanyano, Brooks Infiniti, Brooks Adrenaline and Saucony Omni.  My DH believes I’m evolving as a runner and my needs are changing.  Um…yeah…sure, we’ll go with that. 

 

This morning, I ran with my new shoes.  No weird toe pain.  No knee pain.  I only felt my happy heel hitting a nice, comfy cushion.  Too bad my BFF Sharon Mann tortured me the day before with a kickboxing and several reps of squats.  My feet and knees felt great but my quads were killing me!

 

3 Miles

Time 31:17

Pace 10:25

Stay Seated

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5

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve done a lot of sitting.  Although I’m finally back on my feet and running again, I’ve retained a lovely leftover spread on my backside from all the sitting. 

 

It’s such a great spread.  It should have “Land O’Lakes” written all over. 

 *Insert rim shot*

 

But, sitting upright and staring at the computer seemed to be the only position that caused little pain.

 

Being a SAHM on the run, (like so many other moms) I rarely have time to sit, but my recent injury forced me to sit on my ass A LOT.  Even back in my teaching days, I rarely sat.  I constantly moved around the classroom to assist my students.  I don’t know how my DH and other poor saps in Cooperate America sits and stares at a computer all day.  Just thinking about it numbs my badunkadunk again.

 

This week, I’ve gradually started running again starting with slow and short distances, but from all that sitting, my muscles feel flabby and mushy from a lack of any physical activity.  I need to recondition them again.  Which made me wonder…Are there any sitting exercises to help tone and shape muscles?

 

Well, of course there are! 

 

This work-out video would have been very useful a few weeks ago when I felt so antsy and wished to work-out again.  The leg lifts would have helped conditioned my muscles, however, I might have skipped the triceps dips depending on how badly they impacted my ribs and torso.

 

So, sit up and get ready to make it burn from the comfort of your own computer chair for this week’s Five Minutes for Fitness.