Posts Tagged ‘running’
9/18/10 – A 2 mile Run! – I had a little help from my friends…
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on October 2nd, 2010
So, after such a wonderful experience with the race, I figured I would up my training with a longer run. I also invited my husband to join me, and he did. I’m glad he did because I was not quite as up to the task as I was last week at the race.
We started running downhill toward the waterfront where we live. I truly despise running downhill because it is so jarring to my knees and back, even though I was wearing my stability shoes. However, here we were going downhill, which does lend itself to speed. The terrain leveled out at the water, and we began to run along a long flat stretch. I was really flagging. So, I decided in my head that I would run one mile and take a 1/4 mile breather/walk before starting my second mile. I told my husband to be prepared b/c I was going to walk. He encouraged me to keep going, but I was tired and a little scared that I might over do it and cause my posterior tibial tendon to flare up again.
So, I walked at my one mile mark.
I then decided to run the last mile.
OMG – that was so hard! What a mind game! I ran a half mile, gave up, but my husband urged me on. Then at the last .1 mile to go, I completely gave up. My husband did not. He placed his hand on my back and began to literally push me to finish. So, I did.
That two mile run was one of the most difficult ever. I know that I upped my training from an easy 1.5 miles with walks in between to trying to do 2 miles straight through, but, seriously, that was intense.
I am happy to report that I did not have a tendon flare up, and the rest of my body (right shoulder included) did just fine.
Not so sure I’m keeping 2 miles as my training distance, though….
8/23/10 – Run 9A – 1.5 miles :-)
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on August 29th, 2010
On Monday (8/23), I ventured forth to run my longest run for the summer:
walk 1/4, run 3/4, walk 1/4, run 3/4.
After not having much luck in this area for the past few runs, I was not overly confident that I could make it. However, I did! But I did break the “if you have symptoms, stop†rule on the run. For the last 1/4 mile of running, my right knee was “complainingâ€. I really wanted to make this distance, though. So, I powered through to the end.
I iced as soon as possible on my right knee, my left posterior tibial tendon (for good measure) and my right shoulder (more on that later). You should try icing all those at one time; it’s a very entertaining balancing act.
Anyway, the next day, I did not have any trouble with my right knee, nor did I have issues with my left posterior tibial tendon. I did, however, have a problem with my left shoulder, which had been building over the last month.
Well, at least I made my distance!!!
8/14/10 – Run 8A – The HEAT! The HEAT!
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on August 14th, 2010
Having changed locations from the lovely and cool northwest to the much hotter and more humid southeast, i.e. Tennessee, and I must run in the wee hours of the morning so that the temperature is below 80. However, early morning is not necessarily my strength. So, I was out by 8am and 80 degrees. OMG.
Goal today:
walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4, run 3/4, walk 1/4.
Actual run:
walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 0.2, run 0.62, walk 1/4.
It was great running today! My ankles felt awesome, which could have been partially attributed to the gravel I was running on rather than the usual concrete/asphalt combo. Still in the stability shoes and orthotics. The great challenge was surviving the heat.
Not only is the temperature higher, the intensity of the sun is also much greater! So, when I was not in the shade, the sun was beating down upon my head. It felt like my head was going to explode.
I was really close to the goal and had there been a few more trees providing shade, I might have made it. Also, I could have gotten up an hour earlier 😉
Anyway, a success to me.
8/8/10 – Run 6A, One Mile! No Stride-Outs.
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on August 10th, 2010
Finally, one mile feels good! I did the usual:
walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4.
The run parts felt really good. No fatigue in my feet! Still in my stability shoes and prescription orthotics.
I decided not to do stride-outs because I think my quads need a little more time to heal and stretch. I am not interested in actually tearing them. So, I figure I’ll get to the stride-outs soon.
All in good time, my pretty. All in good time.
8/3/10 – Run 5A with Stride Outs? NOT!
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on August 7th, 2010
So, on Tuesday after I completed my workout, I decided to meet up with my friend and do another run:
Walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4.
The run went really well! I am still wearing my stability shoes and prescription orthotics. The run felt good – my ankle was happy. All was well….that is, until I decided to do some stride-outs.
We headed down to a park with a long stretch of grass, and I put on my barefoot shoes. I started the sprint and my quads were stretching to the max. As I ran faster and faster, my quads felt as though they were truly tearing. I stopped about 50 feet in and could run no more.
The pain was excruciating. I was afraid I had really torn my muscles, except for the fact that I was still standing, and I could, in fact, walk.
Stretching at this point was out of the question. The pain felt as sharp as a knife – a good knife with a well honed blade.
Needless to say, I limped home and moved as little as possible.
Now I was so ready for my chiropractic appointment and massage.
This process is really trying on one’s determination. Sometimes I feel like I take two steps forward and three steps back. The quads feel like three steps back. Just as I get to the higher distance, I’ve gone and screwed something else up. ARGH!
Anyway, my feet feel awesome! 🙂
7/29/10 – Run 4A – 0.75 miles!
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on August 1st, 2010
So, I finally recovered enough by Thursday to run again. It was also the first run for me where I was going to increase my mileage as follows:
walk 1/4, run 1/4, walk 1/4, run 1/2, walk 1/4 wearing new stability shoes and prescription orthotics.
I made a deal with myself that if I had pain, I would stop no matter what. So, I began.
The first 1/4 mile was cake. The walk was needed and wonderful. The 1/2 mile actually felt quite good. My left ankle did fatigue a little, but nothing painful. So, I ran the entire 1/2 mile.
I am so excited about running actual distance again! I admit that I am not ready to run a solid mile, I don’t think, but I will be able to very soon!!! Woohoo!!!
No stride-outs this time as I had guests in town, and being a tour guide requires walking. So, I figured I’d play it safe and skip them.
Also, I had to skip the weekend run due to guests and too much fun with said guests 😉
Will get back in the routine on Tuesday.
7/21/10 – Run 2A – Exactly 1.0 miles with 0.5 miles running :-)
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on July 22nd, 2010
So, I went with Option 3 (as proposed by my Physical Therapist, Travis): I kept the stability shoes and the prescription orthotics.He says, “The symptoms really might just be some increased soreness with breaking in a new pair of shoes and getting use to less support. Â If you continue to have symptoms, again, you should not be increasing mileage, but rather staying at the same level until you are able to complete that distance symptom free.”
He also suggested that I continue the exercises for the “strengthening”, and I could also add stride outs (that he suggested a long time ago) with my Vibram Five Fingersâ„¢ after each run. “Stride outs are brief stints of running ~60-100 yards, where you slowly pickup your tempo until you are at or near top speed running on your toes.” Travis also said that the stride outs would increase strength, while the orthotics and stability shoes during the sustained runs will provide support to help my feet adjust to the impact of running for a longer time.
Ok. This totally makes sense to me, and I, thus, I opted for Travis’s suggested Option 3.
I am really excited about the stride outs, but I did not do them on Run 2A. Those will happen on Run 3A, and I will tell you all about them in good time.
Back to the run at hand. My friend and I had a limited amount of time. So, we found that we could really only squeeze in one mile total.
We walked the first 1/4 mile and ran the second 1/4 mile. Just like last time, this felt really good, but I was really winded. My body was definitely feeling good, and I now need to get my lungs up to speed.
Then, the second 1/4 mile walk, which is when pain will show. I didn’t have any!! None! Woohoo!!! My left foot felt fine, and my right foot was ready to keep going. So, onto 1/4 mile #2.
This one was just as good, and my breathing was getting better (as it does once you are a little more warmed up). At this point we had to stop and go home to get to a bellydancing class, which is a story for another time and blog.
On the way to class, I felt fine. All was well with feet, hips, back, shoulder, etc. I had a difficult time due to fatigued quads in bellydancing, but other than that, the running seemed to be just fine for my feet.
I am thinking that another go of just two 1/4 mile runs with three 1/4 mile walks. We shall see what the next few days bring!
7/19/10 – Run 2A – First Run for New Shoes: The Beginning of the Experimental Stage
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on July 19th, 2010
Today was the inaugural run for the new shoes. I was really excited to get out and see how they work. Let me just say that I definitely am surprised and unsure.
Run 2A was the same and the first run – walk1/4, run 1/4, walk 1/4, run 1/4, walk 1/4 – and this time I was joined by two friends!
Keep in mind that I am wearing my new stability running shoes WITH my prescription orthotics. That will be important later….
Of course the beginning of the run was fine. I was having difficulty maintaining (ok, let’s be realistic – getting to) a mid-foot strike as the shoe and my orthotics were working against me. So, I kind of gave up on that and focused on my muscles staying active during the run.
Specifically, I was trying to engage glutes, hamstrings, core, quadriceps and big toes during each step and push-off. This takes a lot more concentration that I thought it would. However, I could tell a difference when I was making sure I was pushing off with the big toes and when I was not.
The second 1/4 mile run was a little more difficult. I noticed that my feet, specifically, were getting quite fatigued. The rest of my body seemed to be all set to move more.
After the third 1/4 mile walk, we had enough distance to do a bonus 1/4 mile run and still have a 1/4 mile walk for a cool down.
I really wanted to do the bonus run, but after walking almost the entire 1/4 mile, I discovered that as my endorphins thinned out, I began to feel that my RIGHT arch was killing me! You see, the combination of orthotics and brand new, apparently very high stability shoes was just too much together.
On a daily basis I do not really notice the orthotics at all, unless my feet are particularly sore or inflamed, then I am relieved that the orthotic is taking so much work off of my feet. When I feel the orthotic it is usually because it is doing too much.
So, this brings me to a very interesting place:
Do I keep these shoes and try to run without the prescription orthotic and maybe add a pre-made more supportive insole?
OR
Do I keep the orthotics and exchange the super stability shoes for shoes with less stability?
What to do?
I truly have no idea at this point. I have 60 days to return my shoes. I’m considering getting the pre-made supportive insoles and giving those a try, but which option GETS ME CLOSER TO MY GOAL?
Not a clue at this point.
Stay tuned….
Run #3 – 5/5/10!
Posted by admin in Training (running, cycling, etc.) on May 6th, 2010
A blog on time! Watch out!
So, this morning, I struck out on the bigger run – Day 3: Walk 1/4 mile, Run 1/4 mile, Walk 1/4 mile, Run 1/4 mile, Walk 1/4 mile.
Yes, I could tell I was running an extra 1/4 mile. My right leg took to it like a duck out of water. However, my left leg made it great the first 1/4 mile, but I could tell it was lagging on the second. Talk about foot slapping the sidewalk on that side. I am thinking that I might stick with this run for more than prescribed if my left leg doesn’t respond any better than this quite soon.
Otherwise, I am feeling really good! Between my running, foot Physical Therapy exercises, and Personal Trainer exercises, I am beginning to feel very strong for the first time in a very long time. It is such an exhilarating experience!
Stay tuned because the video will be up before the weekend!!! It’s finished and waiting for me to pick it up 🙂