Posts Tagged ‘stride outs’

8/3/10 – Run 5A with Stride Outs? NOT!

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! 🙂

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7/26/10 – OUCH!!!

The stride-outs huuuurt! That means they are AWESOME 🙂

For posterity, I am going to detail what’s going on.

Yesterday, my feet, specifically, my left posterior tibial tendon all the way up my calf and my right posterior tibial tendon – not in the foot, but up the calf. Despite this, I insanely agreed to go on a three mile walk through a park.  OMG.

We went down to a beach to look at a lighthouse. It was maybe 1/2 mile of downhill and steps. That motion is, I think, part of the eccentric move of my posterior tibial tendon. For those who don’t know, eccentric in this case is the lowering of the foot, toe to heel. When working the muscles that way you can get twice the strength. Conversely, when walking downhill that way, you can get twice the pain.

When we got to the beach, I was in so much pain that I really would have liked a winged monkey to come and carry me back to the parking lot. However, we were half way through the hike, and you can’t quit there – you have to hike out. AAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Needless to say, I was hobbling by the end of the night. When you sit down and rest, those angry muscles just get tight and truly testy.

My wonderful husband gave me a massage that revealed some knarly knots in my calf muscles as well as along the posterior tibial tendon in the left foot. The right foot and leg mostly had the knots in the calf muscle itself. The bottoms of both feet hurt with the left being much higher. I’d say this was a 7.5 out of 10.

Today, I woke up feeling slightly less tight, but still OMG sore. I hobbled around the apartment until time to go, and my absolutely, overwhelmingly awesome husband drove me to work because I don’t think I could have walked there.

I had this delusion that I’d be able to go to the gym and do my workout today, but that was so not in the cards. I am still hobbling.

Due to the run and consequent pain following, I have not done my personal training workout, and I’m supposed to meet Melissa again on Wednesday. I’m thinking I need to rest again tomorrow, but I am really feeling the need to move. Perhaps a swim?

However, this ouch is clearly a sore muscle ouch, not an inflamed ouch. It is getting better much quicker, and I am looking forward to continuing everything by next weekend at the latest.

Perhaps 2 stride-outs next time, rather than 6….

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7/24/10 – Run 3A This time with Stride-outs!

Yeah! This run was awesome! We headed out to the lake with the awesome gravel trail. Once again, a 1/4 walk, 1/4 run, 1/4 walk, 1/4 run, walk the rest of the trail (approx 2 mi). All was excellent during this session. I decided not to up the mileage because I wanted to start the stride-out routine, and I figured more mileage might put me over the top. I believe I made the correct decision!

For the stride-outs, I picked a nice stretch of grass and changed from the stability shoes with prescription orthotics to the Vibram Five Fingersâ„¢. As described by Travis, I ran on my toes starting slow and ending the 100 (or maybe less) yards as fast as I could.

I did 6. It felt so good to run that fast in essentially bare feet. I could feel my legs and feet working in ways I had not known was possible. I also noticed that I was hesitant to go faster as I knew that I would have to call on back and ab muscles to help hold me up. However, they were strong enough to do their job with no problem! I was able to hold good form and enjoy going faster than I thought I could.

Of course, my husband totally kicked my butt, but, hey, he just ran a marathon. Not to mention, he’s also got perfect feet.

Today, I can still feel the sciatic nerve, but it is not worse than Friday. My quads are happily sore, and my posterior tibial tendon is sore, but in that I-got-a-workout way, not the I’m-inflamed way.

So, overall, very successful training! Hooray!!!

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Latest Run (#?) 5/20/10

So, I am going through Travis’s running program of W (walk) 1/4 mile, R (run) 1/4 mile, W 1/4 mi, R 1/4mi, W 1/4 mi with running increments increasing slowly over time.

Today was the W 1/4, R 1/2, W 1/4, R 1/2, W 1/4. I am still working on lengthening my stride, which is getting much better! I have not started the “stride outs” in the Vibramâ„¢ Five Fingers, yet, as my ankle does not seem to be strong enough to handle that. I think I could do them in my super stiff running shoes with orthotics, but not “barefoot” – yet.

Anyway, I successfully completed the first R1/2, but on the second one, about 1/4 mi in my left foot started to hurt on the top above the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th toes. I decided that was not an “I’m tired, but can keep going.” Instead, I felt that this was a “OMG STOP RUNNING! I’m not ready! I’m NOT ready!!!” So, I stopped. I completed 3/4 mile running, though, which is good for now.

However, I will say that the walking 1/4 mile between running is truly magical. It is just enough time for my feet and legs to recover and go again. I would never have thought that was really necessary. I have no idea how I was running before….oh wait, yeah, I was running like  a little old lady 😉

Never the less, I was a little bummed that I didn’t make my goal today, but I did get through the first 1/2 mile. I will try this run again, but not until after Wednesday of next week.

Remember that hamstring I was telling you about. You know, the one on the left leg. Well, it is really starting to become a problem. I have enlisted the Village, though. Travis is going to look into this and pull some magical tricks out of his bag on Wednesday of next week. After that, I will start the running again. So, until then, more cardio indoors (blech) and more weightlifting (HOORAY!).

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