Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Updates!

So it's been a minute since I posted since I've been crazy busy with my new job. Long story short, my routine is a little shaky. Combine that with the insanely hot summer we are experiencing so far, and I'm full of excuses not to run. What was my solution to that?

I'm signed up for the All-State half marathon in October! I'm really excited since it'll be a challenging course (Atlanta is known for heat, hills and humidity!). This will get me motivated like a race usually does. I ran tonight even though I didn't feel like it.

My goals for this race are to train better (including more focus on form) and achieve a better time. I was directed to a cool site with tons of free training plans that I will share in another post.

Hopefully Red and I can run together soon. It'll be good to have a running buddy again. Woohoo!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Getting some rest

So I ran the Celebrate America 10k on Memorial Day, and it went pretty well. I finished in 1:15, which is pretty good for me. My calves were a little tight and my left heel was tender but I felt good. Fast forward to the next day and I tried to run 3 miles. HA! That did not go so well. I ended up cutting it back to 2.5 miles and walked most of it. My legs were really mad at me. Then I tried walking the dog around the neighborhood the next day and my right leg was really hurting. Even my knee hurt, which is unusual for me.

Because of the issues I've had after the 10k, I'm resting. I might ride my bike a bit, but I'm trying to give my legs some time off. I think a few things have caused these problems.

I need new shoes. I'm noticing that I definitely roll my feet in when I run, and that's causing the majority of my leg issues.

I need rest. After pushing myself on the half, the 10k might have been a little too much. It was fun though.

Driving sucks. Not in that I hate driving my car, but I went from no driving for over a week to sitting in my normal hellish commute to work. That does usually make my right knee a little achy, and I think jumping right back into commuting and running made my knee mad at me. How do you ease into driving and sitting more? That's like the last thing I want to do.

Anyway, I'm going to rest a bit and do some light cross training. Then I'll get some new shoes (I am considering the minimalist shoes), and we'll start running regularly again. Red is going to start training for her half soon, so I'd like to join her on some of her runs. It'll be fun!

For those that are not familiar with running shoes, here is a link that can help you choose the right shoe. The best thing to do, however is to go to a running store near you and be fitted in person where an expert can watch you run.