What a frustrating couple of days... I have no idea what this foot problem is, but I'm finding myself frustrated with the need to change my running style after all these years. Unfortunately, it appears to be the only way I can run without being in serious pain. Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad that there's an alternative available that allows me to continue running, but I'm most definitely not enjoying any part of it.
Okay, now I'm just being stubborn. But at least I can acknowledge it. The truth is, I'm not big on change. Never have been, probably never will be. Any major changes in my life have been on my terms, so I'm having a hard time adjusting to the idea that not everything can be my way. Of course, that just sounds ridiculous - I'm fully aware that most things in life aren't necessarily 'my way', but I do like to pretend that I'm in complete control at all times... something I'm sure my husband absolutely loves about me :)
All of that being said, it was great to get outdoors for another gorgeous winter day. I can't even believe the luck we've had recently with the weather. I was forced to take it slow to adjust to running a completely different way and working on not injuring myself further in the process. Nonetheless, I was glad for the excuse to take it easy. It's not often enough that I allow myself an easy day and even with all of my frustrations, I tried to enjoy it as much as possible.
Unfortunately, I know I'm way behind on the training schedule I've been following and I need to find a way to get back on track... here's hoping the next few weeks are a little more consistent.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Day 92 (1/31): 3 miles / 27:48
Well, I suppose not every day can be perfect...
Let's get the first part out of the way - I am in no way disappointed with my time. In fact, considering everything else I had to deal with, my time is the one thing I'm super excited about. I set out for an easy run and felt like I didn't push myself too hard at all. To feel that good after 3 miles at a 9:16 pace says a lot about how far I've come.
Now for the bad news... About 24 hours after finishing my long run on Sunday, I felt a strange pain on the outside of my left foot. It seemed to only be noticeable when I stood or walked on my heel... if I lifted my heel and didn't put any pressure on it, I was able to move my foot in all directions and feel no pain at all. While certainly nervous about it, I wasn't rushing to the nearest ER for an x-ray. At the same time, I appear to have done a number on my right shin... clearly not enough stretching after my long run. It seems to me this discomfort may stick around for a day or so... that'll teach me. Thank goodness it was a rest day.
Unfortunately, today was not a rest day. Tuesday is a short run day for me and I really didn't want to skip it... partly because I really want to stay on track with my training and partly because it was yet another unseasonably warm January day in Cleveland and I was hell bent on getting some fresh air. Sadly, from my first few steps it was clear that this foot pain was not going away. I had 2 options - call it a day, turn around and head home or stick it out and see if I could somehow make it work. I'm not necessarily a fan of making drastic changes when it comes to running style, but if ever there was a time to give it a try, today was that day. As soon as I knew the pain was sticking around for the long haul, I decided to give this whole 'running on your toes' thing a try. There's some crazy research out there that suggests landing heel first when you run can lead to injury and, while it's never been a problem for me in the past, I couldn't deny the fact that every time my heel hit the ground, there was a sharp pain shooting through my foot... and there was no part of me that enjoyed it. I decided to give 'running on my toes' a try for 1 mile to see how I felt and, if I didn't think I could do it, I'd call it a day and figure out where to go from there.
Surprisingly, my first mile felt okay. There was no question that, if my heel didn't strike the ground, I didn't feel any pain. The change in my running style was definitely a strange feeling and I can't say I'd enjoy running like that every day, but I was glad that I was still able to get in my full 3 miles and not feel I was causing myself more problems by doing so. I definitely felt like I worked out completely different muscles than I normally do, which may be a good thing in general, but still, my hope is that this is a temporary fix until I figure out what kind of injury I'm dealing with here.
Now, for the really strange part. On Monday I'd worn flats to work, which I was glad for once the foot pain made its appearance. But, with the need to keep the pressure off my heel, I realized I needed a game plan for work on Wednesday. Oddly enough, in trying on heels, I find that my feet are totally comfortable and pain free. I find this odd because, even in high heels, there is weight on my heel... maybe not as much, but definitely some. To me, this suggests that weight on my heel is not necessarily the problem... any insight on this issue would be greatly appreciated as I do not believe that running the marathon in heels will be an option...
Let's get the first part out of the way - I am in no way disappointed with my time. In fact, considering everything else I had to deal with, my time is the one thing I'm super excited about. I set out for an easy run and felt like I didn't push myself too hard at all. To feel that good after 3 miles at a 9:16 pace says a lot about how far I've come.
Now for the bad news... About 24 hours after finishing my long run on Sunday, I felt a strange pain on the outside of my left foot. It seemed to only be noticeable when I stood or walked on my heel... if I lifted my heel and didn't put any pressure on it, I was able to move my foot in all directions and feel no pain at all. While certainly nervous about it, I wasn't rushing to the nearest ER for an x-ray. At the same time, I appear to have done a number on my right shin... clearly not enough stretching after my long run. It seems to me this discomfort may stick around for a day or so... that'll teach me. Thank goodness it was a rest day.
Unfortunately, today was not a rest day. Tuesday is a short run day for me and I really didn't want to skip it... partly because I really want to stay on track with my training and partly because it was yet another unseasonably warm January day in Cleveland and I was hell bent on getting some fresh air. Sadly, from my first few steps it was clear that this foot pain was not going away. I had 2 options - call it a day, turn around and head home or stick it out and see if I could somehow make it work. I'm not necessarily a fan of making drastic changes when it comes to running style, but if ever there was a time to give it a try, today was that day. As soon as I knew the pain was sticking around for the long haul, I decided to give this whole 'running on your toes' thing a try. There's some crazy research out there that suggests landing heel first when you run can lead to injury and, while it's never been a problem for me in the past, I couldn't deny the fact that every time my heel hit the ground, there was a sharp pain shooting through my foot... and there was no part of me that enjoyed it. I decided to give 'running on my toes' a try for 1 mile to see how I felt and, if I didn't think I could do it, I'd call it a day and figure out where to go from there.
Surprisingly, my first mile felt okay. There was no question that, if my heel didn't strike the ground, I didn't feel any pain. The change in my running style was definitely a strange feeling and I can't say I'd enjoy running like that every day, but I was glad that I was still able to get in my full 3 miles and not feel I was causing myself more problems by doing so. I definitely felt like I worked out completely different muscles than I normally do, which may be a good thing in general, but still, my hope is that this is a temporary fix until I figure out what kind of injury I'm dealing with here.
Now, for the really strange part. On Monday I'd worn flats to work, which I was glad for once the foot pain made its appearance. But, with the need to keep the pressure off my heel, I realized I needed a game plan for work on Wednesday. Oddly enough, in trying on heels, I find that my feet are totally comfortable and pain free. I find this odd because, even in high heels, there is weight on my heel... maybe not as much, but definitely some. To me, this suggests that weight on my heel is not necessarily the problem... any insight on this issue would be greatly appreciated as I do not believe that running the marathon in heels will be an option...
Monday, January 30, 2012
Day 91 (1/29): 7 miles / 1:02:49
After a frustrating week, this is exactly what I needed to complete my second week of marathon training! It was just one of those "I can do anything I put my mind to" kind of days...
I spent the majority of this past week sick with a cold. I had a serious lack of energy and, unfortunately, the last minute details of my son's second birthday party took every last ounce of the limited energy I did have. I was certainly disappointed to not get in a single run since Monday, but I had to accept the fact that my body just wouldn't have been able to handle it. By the time I regained enough energy to run, there just weren't enough hours in the day to fit it in.
So, here I am... it's Sunday and the last day of training for this week. I almost had myself convinced that I shouldn't go ahead with the long run I had scheduled thinking I should probably take it easy. Then I remembered that I'd taken it easy all week and now was not the time to become a slacker. So I bundled up in my winter running gear and headed for the great outdoors (well, I guess the sidewalks of my subdivision don't exactly qualify as the 'great outdoors', but I'll take anything over 7 miles on the treadmill). The newest addition to my cold weather running gear is a pair of running gloves that my ever-supportive hubby bought for me. I didn't think I'd like wearing them, but was surprised to find that they were absolutely perfect... just warm enough to keep my poor fingers from freezing and still light enough to keep them from sweating.
I gave serious thought to running at a slower pace, but again, my lack of training this week made me feel like I'd earned the right to really push myself. I checked my watch at every mile, mostly to make sure I didn't start off faster than I could handle. I was right around a 9:30 pace for my first two miles and really felt like I could keep that pace for the entire run. I was pleasantly surprised at the half way point when I noted my time was about 33:00 and that I still felt like I could keep that pace going. I was pleasantly surprised that the second half of my run was even faster than the first. I'm guessing that my insistence on increasing my speed when I'm on the treadmill has made this a possibility for me. Of course, one might argue that it actually suggests I'm not starting off as fast as I should be, but it's pretty amazing how your body works and what you get used to and I'm a pretty big fan of finishing faster than I started. It doesn't hurt the ego to have faster splits at the end of a long run :)
So, even though I trained for all of one day this week, I can honestly say that I still feel I did pretty well. I'm sure that it doesn't make up for all of those missed miles, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not at all disappointed with my week. I gave my limited workouts all I had and I'll take that over a handful of uninspired workouts any day :)
And now there's just 16 weeks to go...
I spent the majority of this past week sick with a cold. I had a serious lack of energy and, unfortunately, the last minute details of my son's second birthday party took every last ounce of the limited energy I did have. I was certainly disappointed to not get in a single run since Monday, but I had to accept the fact that my body just wouldn't have been able to handle it. By the time I regained enough energy to run, there just weren't enough hours in the day to fit it in.
So, here I am... it's Sunday and the last day of training for this week. I almost had myself convinced that I shouldn't go ahead with the long run I had scheduled thinking I should probably take it easy. Then I remembered that I'd taken it easy all week and now was not the time to become a slacker. So I bundled up in my winter running gear and headed for the great outdoors (well, I guess the sidewalks of my subdivision don't exactly qualify as the 'great outdoors', but I'll take anything over 7 miles on the treadmill). The newest addition to my cold weather running gear is a pair of running gloves that my ever-supportive hubby bought for me. I didn't think I'd like wearing them, but was surprised to find that they were absolutely perfect... just warm enough to keep my poor fingers from freezing and still light enough to keep them from sweating.
I gave serious thought to running at a slower pace, but again, my lack of training this week made me feel like I'd earned the right to really push myself. I checked my watch at every mile, mostly to make sure I didn't start off faster than I could handle. I was right around a 9:30 pace for my first two miles and really felt like I could keep that pace for the entire run. I was pleasantly surprised at the half way point when I noted my time was about 33:00 and that I still felt like I could keep that pace going. I was pleasantly surprised that the second half of my run was even faster than the first. I'm guessing that my insistence on increasing my speed when I'm on the treadmill has made this a possibility for me. Of course, one might argue that it actually suggests I'm not starting off as fast as I should be, but it's pretty amazing how your body works and what you get used to and I'm a pretty big fan of finishing faster than I started. It doesn't hurt the ego to have faster splits at the end of a long run :)
So, even though I trained for all of one day this week, I can honestly say that I still feel I did pretty well. I'm sure that it doesn't make up for all of those missed miles, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not at all disappointed with my week. I gave my limited workouts all I had and I'll take that over a handful of uninspired workouts any day :)
And now there's just 16 weeks to go...
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Day 90 (1/23): 3 miles / 26:30
Today I was pretty excited about mixing up my workout... partly because I'm finding that I enjoy doing different things from time to time and partly because a personal trainer I know was able to give me some tips to help alleviate some of my hip discomfort. I started my workout with a few new stretches and exercises, then headed downstairs for my 3 mile run.
The only disappointing part of today's run was that I wasn't able to get outside like I'd originally hoped. Today was another crazy warm day for January in Cleveland, but by the time I was able to run, the temperature had dropped back into the 30s. Because I've heard too many stories of people getting hit by cars, I rarely run in the street and am completely unwilling to do so in the dark. The warm weather had melted all of the snow on the sidewalks and I was excited about squeezing in an outdoor workout... until the dropping temp had me concerned that the rain on the sidewalks might get icy... and I just didn't want to take any chances. As much as I would have loved to be outdoors, I'll take the safety of my treadmill until the sidewalks are clear.
So, to mix up my run, I decided to do some interval work... and was amazed at just how good it felt. I started out running 1 minute at 6 mph, then 30 seconds at 8 mph, repeating the cycle for the first mile. That actually started to feel a little easier than I had expected, so I kept the same pattern, but stepped it up to 6.5 and 8.5 mph for the second mile. For my last mile, I set the treadmill to 6.5 mph and slowly increased the speed throughout, ending my run at 9 mph... which felt fantastic! Of course, the very best part of today's run... I went the entire workout with zero discomfort in my hip. Don't get me wrong... I know my hip issues aren't gone for good, but I am pretty excited to find that a few new exercises could make such a difference.
Needless to say, I plan to continue working on building up my hip strength and, who knows, maybe I'll get this thing taken care of after all...
The only disappointing part of today's run was that I wasn't able to get outside like I'd originally hoped. Today was another crazy warm day for January in Cleveland, but by the time I was able to run, the temperature had dropped back into the 30s. Because I've heard too many stories of people getting hit by cars, I rarely run in the street and am completely unwilling to do so in the dark. The warm weather had melted all of the snow on the sidewalks and I was excited about squeezing in an outdoor workout... until the dropping temp had me concerned that the rain on the sidewalks might get icy... and I just didn't want to take any chances. As much as I would have loved to be outdoors, I'll take the safety of my treadmill until the sidewalks are clear.
So, to mix up my run, I decided to do some interval work... and was amazed at just how good it felt. I started out running 1 minute at 6 mph, then 30 seconds at 8 mph, repeating the cycle for the first mile. That actually started to feel a little easier than I had expected, so I kept the same pattern, but stepped it up to 6.5 and 8.5 mph for the second mile. For my last mile, I set the treadmill to 6.5 mph and slowly increased the speed throughout, ending my run at 9 mph... which felt fantastic! Of course, the very best part of today's run... I went the entire workout with zero discomfort in my hip. Don't get me wrong... I know my hip issues aren't gone for good, but I am pretty excited to find that a few new exercises could make such a difference.
Needless to say, I plan to continue working on building up my hip strength and, who knows, maybe I'll get this thing taken care of after all...
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Day 89 (1/21): 6 miles / 1:00:19
Today's run felt pretty good... for the most part. There's no question that not smoking makes a big difference in how I feel. But, unfortunately, I think this problem with my hip is one that I am just going to have to deal with for the long haul. With the time I've taken off so far, I would have thought that whatever injury I was dealing with would have been taken care of. Sadly, this is not the case. Instead, I believe I'll need to deal with it as I go and attempt to keep it from getting worse. Of course, I will continue with lots of stretching, which seems to help a great deal. From there I'm guessing I'll need to rely on ice and pain relievers. I'll also continue to try to find new ways to alleviate the discomfort. At this point I'm willing to try just about anything. It's not so much that the pain is unbearable... I'm more concerned with the fact that it will be a very long 26.2 miles (as if that's not already a long way to go) if I have to deal with this discomfort the entire time. Wish me luck!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Day 88 (1/19): 3 miles / 35:19
Today's goal was to keep my run at a leisurely jog... just a little time to myself to reflect on my day, enjoy some music, work up a little sweat, but go easy on my hip just to make sure I'm not overdoing it in my first week of training. The hard part: figuring out how to do that.
The only plan I could come up with was to cover all of the treadmill screens so that I couldn't focus on the numbers. I even covered the speed and decided on my pace solely based on how it felt. Obviously, at some point, I was going to have to keep an eye on how far I was going so that I was sure to get in my full 3 miles, but I was determined to wait until I thought I was at least half way through my run before checking my progress. I was very proud of myself... the first time I checked, I had already run 1.66 miles. Not only was I impressed that I'd held out as long as I did, but also that I was able to so closely guess when I'd reached the half way point. After that, I managed to only check my distance occasionally. I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment alone.
In the meantime, with no numbers glaring at me, I was able to focus on other things. I mostly just listened to my music and my slow pace actually allowed me to sing along to my favorite parts (my husband's Thursday bowling commitment was suddenly a blessing in disguise - I have no doubt my horrendous singing would have been grounds for divorce) and my crazy mix of music even allowed me to bust out some sweet dance moves from time to time (and by 'sweet' I mean 'scary'... I imagine anyone watching might have been concerned I was having a medical emergency and would have likely called 911 if there wouldn't be some question as to why they were watching me through my basement window in the first place).
Anyway, a few months ago I had put together a running playlist and, after today's run, there's no question that it needs some work. I always put it on shuffle and, with my ipod in my arm band, I don't have the ability to skip songs... here's what I got to listen to today:
All Star - Smash Mouth
(one of my favorites from my running playlist)
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow - Alan Jackson
(seriously? I mean, I like country, but this is just silly)
Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
(a little embarrassed to even claim this one)
Lighters - Bad Meets Evil
(love the song... terrible for running)
American Girl - Tom Petty
(not too bad I suppose)
Cooler Than Me - Mike Posner
(oddly enough, I actually love this one)
Ridin' - Chamillionaire
(who's playlist is this anyway? so not me)
My Body - Young the Giant
(a friend's recommendation and by far my favorite from this playlist)
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
(hmmm... I'm not even a Kravitz fan...)
Down Under - Men at Work
(love this song... but I have no clue why)
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
(kinda love this one too)
Needless to say, this playlist could use a serious makeover. There are definitely a few I really like, but with more than half of these being questionable, I'm thinking I need to spend some time working on a playlist I might actually enjoy for my entire run... especially if I plan to use my music to get me through some of my longer distances. Suggestions welcome.
The only plan I could come up with was to cover all of the treadmill screens so that I couldn't focus on the numbers. I even covered the speed and decided on my pace solely based on how it felt. Obviously, at some point, I was going to have to keep an eye on how far I was going so that I was sure to get in my full 3 miles, but I was determined to wait until I thought I was at least half way through my run before checking my progress. I was very proud of myself... the first time I checked, I had already run 1.66 miles. Not only was I impressed that I'd held out as long as I did, but also that I was able to so closely guess when I'd reached the half way point. After that, I managed to only check my distance occasionally. I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment alone.
In the meantime, with no numbers glaring at me, I was able to focus on other things. I mostly just listened to my music and my slow pace actually allowed me to sing along to my favorite parts (my husband's Thursday bowling commitment was suddenly a blessing in disguise - I have no doubt my horrendous singing would have been grounds for divorce) and my crazy mix of music even allowed me to bust out some sweet dance moves from time to time (and by 'sweet' I mean 'scary'... I imagine anyone watching might have been concerned I was having a medical emergency and would have likely called 911 if there wouldn't be some question as to why they were watching me through my basement window in the first place).
Anyway, a few months ago I had put together a running playlist and, after today's run, there's no question that it needs some work. I always put it on shuffle and, with my ipod in my arm band, I don't have the ability to skip songs... here's what I got to listen to today:
All Star - Smash Mouth
(one of my favorites from my running playlist)
Chasin' That Neon Rainbow - Alan Jackson
(seriously? I mean, I like country, but this is just silly)
Boot Scootin' Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
(a little embarrassed to even claim this one)
Lighters - Bad Meets Evil
(love the song... terrible for running)
American Girl - Tom Petty
(not too bad I suppose)
Cooler Than Me - Mike Posner
(oddly enough, I actually love this one)
Ridin' - Chamillionaire
(who's playlist is this anyway? so not me)
My Body - Young the Giant
(a friend's recommendation and by far my favorite from this playlist)
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
(hmmm... I'm not even a Kravitz fan...)
Down Under - Men at Work
(love this song... but I have no clue why)
Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
(kinda love this one too)
Needless to say, this playlist could use a serious makeover. There are definitely a few I really like, but with more than half of these being questionable, I'm thinking I need to spend some time working on a playlist I might actually enjoy for my entire run... especially if I plan to use my music to get me through some of my longer distances. Suggestions welcome.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Day 87 (1/18): 3 miles / 26:51
Well, I guess that'll teach me...
I started out with the intention of simply running 3 miles on the treadmill... no pressure, just get in the miles and call it a day. The problem, of course, is when I get half way through my run and start thinking 'hey, I feel pretty good... maybe I should be going a little faster...' Which is fine... until I start thinking 'maybe I can beat yesterday's time... maybe it was just an off day and today would be a better test of my current fitness level...' So, off I go to better my time. I was so sure yesterday that I could have gone faster, so let's see what I can really do...
Seriously?!? 2 seconds? That's it?!? That's all I managed to shave off my time from yesterday? I'd tell myself to take a deep breath, but I'm bent over and sucking wind so hard I can barely pull myself together.
So this proves it. Regardless of how fast I want to pretend I can go, this is most definitely where my current fitness level is... just shy of a 9:00 mile for a 3 mile run. One might think that, based upon my disappointment in yesterday's time, I would also be disappointed in today's. But, truth be told, I actually feel much better. After 2 days in the same conditions and with the same goal, it turns out that a 9:00 mile is about as good as it gets right now. I have no reason to be upset with that. I'd say that's consistency at its finest.
With that out of the way, it will be my intention to simply run 3 miles tomorrow. No more competing to improve my time. Just log the miles and enjoy the workout. Now we'll just have to wait and see if I can actually follow through on that :)
I started out with the intention of simply running 3 miles on the treadmill... no pressure, just get in the miles and call it a day. The problem, of course, is when I get half way through my run and start thinking 'hey, I feel pretty good... maybe I should be going a little faster...' Which is fine... until I start thinking 'maybe I can beat yesterday's time... maybe it was just an off day and today would be a better test of my current fitness level...' So, off I go to better my time. I was so sure yesterday that I could have gone faster, so let's see what I can really do...
Seriously?!? 2 seconds? That's it?!? That's all I managed to shave off my time from yesterday? I'd tell myself to take a deep breath, but I'm bent over and sucking wind so hard I can barely pull myself together.
So this proves it. Regardless of how fast I want to pretend I can go, this is most definitely where my current fitness level is... just shy of a 9:00 mile for a 3 mile run. One might think that, based upon my disappointment in yesterday's time, I would also be disappointed in today's. But, truth be told, I actually feel much better. After 2 days in the same conditions and with the same goal, it turns out that a 9:00 mile is about as good as it gets right now. I have no reason to be upset with that. I'd say that's consistency at its finest.
With that out of the way, it will be my intention to simply run 3 miles tomorrow. No more competing to improve my time. Just log the miles and enjoy the workout. Now we'll just have to wait and see if I can actually follow through on that :)
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