Staying busy

Well despite the best of intentions, my running suffered quite a bit over the last 6 weeks. Work was crazy and my foot gave me lots of issues, not to mention the crazy weather we've been having in the Atlanta area. I swear there has only been one dry weekend since I last posted.

So now I think my schedule will begin cooperating with me. My foot is better after a few trips to the podiatrist. Unfortunately it still hasn't stopped raining but oh well. I am still running a half marathon in October, so I have to get back into training mode soon. I am looking forward to that since I can tell I'm about to start gaining weight back if I don't start doing something more active than sitting.

Some things I will try this summer:

• Speed work - I attempted it last summer and it seemed to help
• Hills - I can run 3 miles on a flat surface, but for some reason hills get me right now. Must work on that to build stronger muscles
• Strength training - I didn't realize how good it was for training until I stopped

So those are my goals. Let's see how I do!

Catching Up

Alright, it's been a while......that happens a lot, but here I am!

So here's how the final leg of my training went for the Georgia Half Marathon. Basically I jumped into training too quickly without maintaining a good base, so that caused a few issues. The first issue was my knee, which I wrote about earlier. Basically my right IT band was being strained, which caused the outside of my knee to hurt. An IT knee strap helped a lot. I'd rather not have to rely on a knee strap to run, but it's been helpful so I'll keep using it while focusing on strengthening my IT bands on cross training days. The second issue was my left foot. Last year I started to get heel pain, and it was finally diagnosed as plantar fasciitis. I wear a boot when I sleep, and I've been trying to wear more flats at work instead of my usual pumps and incorporating calf exercises during cross training. Unfortunately it's still painful. I need to get back to the podiatrist so I can deal with it more directly.

Considering everything though, I did pretty well at the half! I tried out KT Tape, which is AMAZING! I mean, it's just a band-aid for the injuries but it did help me finish the race in a decent time. My time ended up being 2:40, which is only 8 minutes longer than my PR. If I can keep up training this summer I can run other races in a decent time.

All in all - I'm doing okay. I just need to address my foot issue and make sure I stay on top of a bare minimum with my running. I've been doing a lot of cross training too, and I've been improving my strength. It's time to research how to make it more challenging without just adding more and more reps. It has helped my running quite a bit, and it's helped me lose some weight. Woohoo!

And the Verdict is....

Jackpot! 

So I bought the knee strap and tried it that day with an easy two mile run. The run went really well, and my confidence was up. I tried six miles again last weekend, and while it was a very slow six miles I did run the whole thing with no issues. Afterwards I stretched, used the foam roller, and then iced my knee. So far so good!

This week due to the weather and work schedule conflicts I only ran Wednesday evening, but it was a good three miles. The sun is beginning to stay up a little later, so it's becoming easier to run after work. Since I didn't have a chance to run seven last week I opted to stick with my training schedule and run eight today. The first seven miles were fantastic, albeit a little slow, but the final mile was brutal. The final half mile was especially hard! After the run I waited a long time before using the foam roller and icing, which probably contributed quite a bit to my knee bothering me. I did stretch, and my muscles were super tight. Maybe I should take up yoga at some point. I'll need something to force myself to stretch more. 

So that's it so far! In just a few short weeks the Publix half marathon will be upon us, and I am super excited.  It's a well organized race and the expo is super awesome. It'll be a great way to start the spring and summer seasons!

There Goes My Knee

The rumor among non-runners is that running is bad for your knees. Well, it's only bad for your knees if you don't take necessary precautions. Like strength training. Or increasing mileage safely.  Or wearing the right/fresh shoes. Or running on the right surfaces. But it's just like any other part of your body. Take care of it and it will take care of you. This is true of any exercise, sport, or activity.

So here's the story with my knee. I went for a run Sunday, and the pain in my knee was so bad I had to turn around and walk the rest of the way back. UGH! I was super mad. But I did some reading on runner's knee and it turns out that I am experiencing this pain for two reasons: I amped up my mileage too fast (duh, I have a half to train for!) and my quads are under developed/my hamstrings are too tight. The latter causes your knee cap to veer off course, and since our muscles compensate for us while we use them I had no clue this was a problem until it became pretty painful. Darn my super smart muscles!

What am I do to?

1. Strength train. I've already started incorporating some simple exercises to help my quads. 

2. Stretch more. Or really I should stretch more effectively. I do stretch after all runs, but obviously not frequently enough or well enough. This is why yoga is often recommended for runners. We're notorious for having super tight legs. 

3. Get a knee strap so I can keep running. This is what I'm referring to if you don't know what I mean. You've probably seen them on other runners before. Please note I don't advocate any particular brand. 

In the meantime, I've been taking it easy and icing/taking anti-inflammatories when needed. The ice is super awesome but pretty inconvenient while at work. This means I've pretty much experienced all running injuries except black toes. EW! Knock on wood! =)

My Heel Really Hurts

So I have been experiencing a pain in my heel since around April when training for the Chicagoland Half Marathon. What started as a bruised feeling after long runs morphed into pain after most runs and has finally evolved into "yeah you're not gonna want to walk now".

After finally caving in and agreeing to see a real podiatrist about it (instead of playing Diane MD right down to the limp - that was a reference to the TV show House MD if you didn't know), he confirmed what I had already suspected: I have plantar fasciitis. Treatment includes wearing a boot at night on the affected foot, orthotics in my shoes*, taking anti-inflammatories and a neat trick with a frozen water bottle after runs.

*I'm only wearing the orthotics in my casual shoes as they don't really fit in dress shoes and I'm not putting them in my running shoes. Call me stubborn, but I run better in the less supportive shoes and this all stemmed from the more supportive ones I trained in last time. Hmph.

The boot seems to really help, although it is about as far from sexy as you can get and is a little uncomfortable to sleep in. I tend to rip it off in my sleep a few hours in. Taking ibuprofen is already something I was doing for various reasons, mainly headaches. After today's long run I did try the water bottle trick.

What is the water bottle trick? It's awesome! Freeze a water bottle and after the run, take your shoes off. Then roll your affected foot/feet on the frozen bottle. Works really well! I used it on both feet, even though it's my left that is causing me problems. Because I'm sitting a lot after the run my foot still gets stiff so when I took my obligatory post-long run nap today I slept with the boot. I also took more ibuprofen than I normally do after a long run. I usually take a few for exertion headaches.

So why the stubbornness about putting the orthotics in my running shoes? They really do help with my casual shoes. Because the Brooks Pure Cadence shoes have helped my form so much I am running much more efficiently than ever before. I'm afraid that if I put something in my shoe it'll alter my foot strike, which will alter my form overall. I'm not sore anywhere else but in my heel. Even after running 10 miles today. The last thing I need is to trade heel pain for back and hip pain, which has caused issues in the past.

So we'll see how this goes. I have a couple more weeks until race day, so I'm not easing up on the running until then. I still want to run a half on Thanksgiving Day, but if my heel doesn't agree with me it just doesn't agree with me. We will see.

In the meantime, I'm going to ice my foot every evening, wear the boot, and work on cross-training again. I let that part of my routine slip a couple weeks ago and haven't brought it back. I felt my abs working hard today, which means I need to focus on core workouts again. Planks really help!

Happy running, and try the frozen water bottle!

A Breakthrough!

Alright, here's the story since the last update....

I've been running sporadically, but with little success in getting my long runs in. The longest I had run was 6 miles, and it was okay. Then I missed a weekend so no long run. I was sort of keeping up with mid-week runs, accomplished very little speed work, and even dropped some cross training. All of this on top of the fact that the few runs I had were mostly awful led me to believe that today's long run would be horrible. I was determined to complete it, even if it was miserable. And it was....

Awesome! Okay - I really felt it was going to be bad. It had all the makings of a bad long run. Seriously. What made it so successful? A few things:

1. I finally paced myself. I started slow, let myself warm up, and then didn't let my pace get too fast. I really had the slow and steady mentality. It works!
2. I focused on good form and just put one foot in front of the other. The new shoes helped with form as well. 
3. I didn't allow myself to think "if I make it to mile X, I can reward myself with a walk break". That's been a huge obstacle of mine, and I've suspected for some time now that if I could get rid of the mental blocks and challenges then running would be easier. This allowed me to run all 8 miles this morning. No stops!

Post-run I actually feel really good too. The only issue I have is my left heel is really tender again. I have got to see a doctor about it. This pain started around April, and it's not going away. 

That's it so far. Hopefully this momentum keeps up!

Training Plans

As promised, here is the post with the information about training plans. My boss told me about Hal Higdon and his free training plans. I took a look and liked what I saw so much I think I'm going to use one for my next half marathon training.

Speaking of training, I keep having pain in my right shin. It's definitely a shin splint, but I don't know why it won't go away. I've not been running really, so I dunno. I'm going to take it easy a few more days and see.

I'll have to brave this insane heat and my right shin soon though because I need to rebuild my base before training officially begins. I also need to break in my new shoes! Since I'm in the middle of half marathons, I am taking advantage of the lull by trying some new shoes. They have a lot less padding which will help me with my form. They also mean my calves require some time to adjust so I've got to ease myself into them. They are amazingly comfortable though! As soon as I've had more time in them I'll post a review.

And on that note, have a happy holiday week and be safe in this heat!

Forced to take a break

So work was crazy last week. I had a huge conference to attend, which threw off my training schedule a bit. Last Thursday's run was cancelled, and I forgot to wear my compression leg sleeves on my long run last Saturday. Let's just say I paid for my forgetfulness.

Here's what happened. So I forgot my leg sleeves. No big deal, right? Yeah, my calves are dealing with the biggest adjustments out of all my muscle groups, and the leg sleeves help with the swelling. Why is that important? Shin splints. Because I have been properly fitted for the right shoes and they're fairly new, I know that's not the cause. My form has improved, which has helped significantly in many areas. What gets my calves is the increase in mileage. And since muscles swell a bit when they're used, that can sometimes cause some discomfort. I had a lot of discomfort during and after the long run. Sometimes even my left foot will go numb, but it does get better as I run. The leg sleeves decrease the amount of time I'm bothered by soreness, tightness, and numbness, and they also help recovery. I'm not saying everyone needs compression gear, especially since it can be kind of pricey, but I love it.

So anyway, because I was hurting I skipped the recovery run Sunday. Then it stormed Tuesday, and since I don't like to run back to back during the week I didn't run again until Thursday. My run yesterday went well, but I have noticed something about myself over the years. If I take a break, I often have to break down a lot of newly built mental blocks. Yesterday, I just didn't feel like running. I finally had to tell myself about half a mile in that I needed to get over my self pity and just run, damnit. Funny enough, once I picked up my pace (I was dragging) everything went fine. It's like I have to prove to myself again that I can run. Note to self: after the half marathon don't stop running! I've got to keep up some regular running or else I'll fall off the wagon again.

Long story short, take care of your legs and don't let the mental blocks get you. Tomorrow's long run: 10 miles!!

Running or walking on uneven surfaces

If you've done any significant training on a road, you probably noticed that your hips, back, and knees don't like it after a while. The problem isn't the running (unless you've increased your mileage too quickly). The real problem is the uneven level of the road itself. It seems flat, but roads are actually sloped just enough to allow for drainage when it rains. So long story short - unless you're running in the very middle of the road, which is a death wish, then you're running on an uneven surface.

I run/walk on the left side of the road, which allows me to see oncoming traffic (and leap out of the way if necessary). This causes my right leg to be slightly higher than the left. A handful of times doesn't mean much. Since I've been walking around the neighborhood exclusively for the past couple of weeks almost every day, I think it's beginning to cause some slight pain in my right knee. It's not runner's knee. I know running has a reputation for being hard on the knees, but it's always been my belief that if you train properly you can avoid that issue (assuming you don't have a previous knee injury).

What's the next step? I will try the greenway again, however I will be out of luck once the sun starts setting early. I'm not sure what I'll do then but I have a few more weeks before it gets really dark too early. If only my neighborhood had sidewalks...

I am a running fiend!

I had my first double run on Saturday. I ran 2 miles that morning before taking care of my errands, and then I ran another 2 with Rex that evening. I felt like such a pro LOL! Surprisingly I felt pretty good too. I had to use the "stick" to work out the lactic acid in my thighs, so Sunday I was feeling pretty good. Rex's shins were bothering him a bit, but it's mostly because he keeps using his running shoes as his every day shoes. Big nono! I now have to get him another pair of running shoes. The cure for that pain? Ice! Sunday he felt great. My Sunday? Well...

Let me state up front that this is not a running-related pain. I was vacuuming my house like crazy on Sunday. To get the tumbleweeds of kitty fur under my couch, I had to get on the floor and use the extended wand on my Dyson. Much twisting and contorting later, I felt my knee get tight and then pop very loudly. It didn't hurt much, and didn't bother me again until that night when I went to see Hot Tub Time Machine (omg hilarious!). I iced it and went to bed.

Fast forward to today, and my knee is just tender. Tonight's run may be downgraded to a walk to make sure I don't aggravate it. Treatment calls for more ice, since that seems to have helped the most.

Running Hiatus

This headache has stayed with me for nearly a week now, and I can't run until it's gone. Any rise in blood pressure causes the pain to increase dramatically to the point I feel like my head is going to explode. Exploding heads are not favorably viewed in polite society. Exploding heads in zombie movies, on the other hand, are awesome. I have a feeling this is more than my original theory of low blood sugar.

And the post-run headaches are back

For some reason I can't seem to manage my eating very well after running in the morning. I try to be good and not overeat, but I am starving and don't eat enough. This happened Saturday, but usually the headache goes away after I go to bed that night. Unfortunately this one stuck around until Tuesday. That's right. Tuesday. It turned into a full-blown migraine. Ugh! I think my shoulders were a little tight during the run too, which is common for me.

The reason I'm sharing this is because you should definitely monitor how you're feeling post-run. If you're hungry, then eat! If you feel tightness in your shoulders, try to get a massage. Both of those things would have helped tremendously. Because I haven't really trained since the Peachtree last summer, I'm realizing that I forgot some of the issues I faced then. It's moments like these that training logs really help. I need to be better about keeping one.

Back to running

Since I couldn't do anything weight-related on Saturday, and that's when Rex and I usually meet up with friends to work out, I spent my time on the treadmill. I had originally planned on running outside but with hail and snow we decided it was best to stay in. Treadmills have always felt like hamster wheels to me. You keep running and go nowhere. Luckily my friends spoke to me occasionally so that helped pass some time. I ended up running for 13 minutes straight, which at a 12 minute mile pace was pretty good. I took a quick two minute break and ran another 5 minutes. All in all a quick run and an improvement from my last run, which saw me running for 10 minutes straight in the first part of the run. I made sure to stretch and was a little stiff today but overall was feeling pretty good.

Of all the different workouts I've tried I still find that running is the best one for me. It works a lot of muscles, burns a lot of calories, and I feel like I've accomplished something. It's different in my mind to say "I ran 3 miles" vs "I did 30 push ups". They both have their place, and push ups help you a lot, but running makes me feel better overall.

An update on my armpit - it's still bothering me, but it's getting better. Once the pain is gone I will do a little research to see how I can strengthen my upper back to prevent another injury like this. It's a little embarrassing to have to adjust every action so your left arm hangs there like a decoration lol.

My arm pit hurts

Okay that sounds gross. What I mean is, I somehow injured my latissimus dorsi muscle under my arm and now when I sneeze, cough, lift anything, or just generally put weight on my left arm it hurts. A lot. If you clicked on the link above, do you see how the muscle ends just below the arm pit? Yeah, that's where it hurts. How did I do this you ask? Well, after a few weeks of trying to work on some intense upper body exercises, I tried to catch an apple pie that was falling on Friday. Little did I know that the weird pull I felt under my arm at the time was the precursor to all this pain I'd start to feel. The worst part is that my nasal allergies have been kicking into high gear with all the dust inside buildings and my home, so I sneeze constantly. Which means I am in pain constantly. Ouch!

Long story short, it looks like my circuit training days are over until this heals. Like any running injury, I will employ ice, rest, and anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen). I guess this means I'll have to focus mainly on running until this is cleared up. When I ran on Saturday I felt no pain, which is interesting. Yes, that means I haven't run since. School has a nasty habit of just getting in the way. If this doesn't get better in a few days I'll go see a doctor. Until then Rex will have to be content knowing that there's not much we can do at this point (he's been harassing me to see a doctor).

I've joined the masses...

and got a gym membership. It's a really really cheap membership ($39.90 for me and Rex each month), and we're not locked in a contract. Please learn from my experience and never, never, never sign a commitment to any kind of fitness facility. We did that several years ago and paid dearly for it because we quit going. It just wasn't doing what we had hoped (tae kwon do classes). I was excited because it was a way for me to connect with my heritage, but the classes just weren't doing it for us physically.

So this new gym is beginning to offer some classes, which is good. Rex is excited for the boot camp classes, and he will check one out tomorrow while I'm at school. They have a great selection of machines, cardio and weight, so I can get some good circuit training in. I can also start focusing on treadmill running when I can't go outside, and let's face it - it's cold right now. Georgia has been getting an ungodly amount of rain lately too which doesn't help. My favorite trails and parks are flooded almost constantly. By the time they dry out it rains again.

The gym is also 24/7, so I can go whenever I feel like it. I will probably keep sane hours, but if I feel like working out at 5 am, I can. If I feel like a midnight run, then it's available for me to do so. I'll stick to mostly cardio for now. Somehow I hurt a muscle in my armpit....but it wasn't from working out! Now whenever I sneeze or cough it tightens up like crazy and is very painful. Rex is telling me to see a doctor, but we'll see how it goes for the next few days.

At-home gym equipment

I found a good article listing which popular home workout tools we should keep or toss and why. While many runners focus solely on running, it's proven that good cross-training helps improve overall health and can help a runner be faster, less injury-prone, and handle longer distances. I say this knowing that I'm probably the worst example of cross-training.

More awesome stretches...

After some additional research, I've discovered exactly what (in my lay opinion) is wrong with my back and hip. The piriformis muscle is a tiny little muscle in the hip that helps turn your hip outward. It happens to run next to the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body running from the spine to your feet. Some doctors theorize that when the piriformis is too tight it can pinch the sciatic nerve (aka piriformis syndrome). I happen to agree with that theory. Once I found this stretch and spent all day stretching, the pain went away! Unfortunately a lot of the other muscles around the top of my thigh still hurt, but I think it's because I've been using other muscles to compensate for the bum hip. Try these stretches out and see if they work for you.

Since I've been able to alliviate a lot of the pain I was in, I'm no longer freaked out. I will still make an appointment to see the chiropractor just to be on the safe side, but I think the Peachtree will be okay. I may have to walk some of it, but that's okay. The rest of this week will be rest and recovery, which means I won't know what to do with myself on running days LOL.

Training Session #8 - What a disapointment!

Okay - I finally admit it. I am injured. Not in the stress fracture or strained muscle kind of injured. I think the tight muscles in my left hip have some how caused a pinched a nerve. I've been struggling putting any kind of major weight on my left leg due to the pain in my left hip/lower back region, and while it's gotten better at times, I have noticed a significant decrease in my performance while running. I thought it was a part of the muscle pain I was experiencing in the rest of my hips, but that's gotten a lot better, even through the additional running. Nope - this is a nerve problem.

I showed up at the Ansley Mall location for Phiddipides for their 6 mile run this morning. Now, I have yet to run a full 6 miles, but I've come close. I think without the hip problem I would have done fine. Although I started out a little fast since we had a large group of people running, I ended up experiencing such sharp pain with every step my left leg took that I had to take a break at each mile. Once I came to the water stop at mile 3, I knew I was done for. The pain was bad, but the disappointment was worse. That hurt more than anything. I've never had to stop and turn back until today. I took a short cut back to the store which shaved about 2 miles from the rest of the run. I thought I could run the way back, but I took 5 steps and had to stop.

This Friday I have the day off from work, so I will have to make a trip to Rex's chiropractor (I guess he's mine now too). I will probably have to skip the dry run of the Peachtree course next Saturday too. Hindsite might tell me that I should have seen this coming, but how? The rest of the hip pain went away with time. I figured this was a muscle issue that needed a little more time than usual. I think I'll be okay to run the big race, but I felt like I had given up this morning. I couldn't let Red or our friend Todd keep waiting for me. They really needed to keep going, but they were kind enough never to say anything.

I think I've finally experienced what most runners do at some point in their lives. When they can't run, they get depressed. Hopefully Friday's visit will begin the healing process that I so desperately need.

Running through the pain...

My hips have been so tight it's crazy. I've been walking like a zombie (to quote Rex) because my left hip is too tight to really put much weight on it. Luckily it's better than last week, and I was able to run all 25 minutes tonight without walking. It wasn't very fast, and it took me more than a mile to really warm up, but I did it. I know it might sound kind of cavalier for me to run through the pain, but I was careful. Sunday's pain wouldn't have let me run, so I didn't even bother. Last week and the week before, Tuesday night runs quickly degraded to a walk due to the pain. This is all from tight muscles, which I do stretch, but be careful folks. You know your body better than anyone else. If you suspect you're injured and not just sore or tired, then please rest! If you think it's really bad, go see a doctor.

To treat soreness or anything else really, try the R.I.C.E. method.

R - Rest
I - Ice
C - Compression
E - Elevation

It really does work, especially if you use it consistently. For instance, I get pain in my shins a lot so icing after every run helps tremendously. Just invest a decent ice pack that you can wrap in a towel and you're good to go. I didn't believe in ice until I tried it myself.

I'm still sore...

I had skipped Sunday's run thinking that maybe all I needed was a little bit of rest before Tuesday's run. Well, I went out back to Will's Park (aka hill central) for my 25 minute run. I hurt the whole time. I didn't even finish running the whole thing (finished the first mile running). I had this odd sharp pain in my left leg that just said "you better stop". My hips still hurt, and I can't think of a stretch that's supposed to help. Hopefully this is just a bit of growing pains while my body gets used to the longer distances.

Want to learn from my mistakes? I'd help you do that if I knew what I did wrong. *sigh*

On another note, White Lightening was suggested as a name for my running buddy. I kinda like it, but it doesn't have that ring to it I was looking for. I think inspiration will hit me when I'm far away from a computer.