It's amazing what a complete disregard for speed is doing for my running. Working only on increasing distance, which I am doing very slowly, has allowed me to focus on other things while I log my target miles for the day. Like my form, for example.
When I first started running a year or so ago, I wanted to be one of those gazelle-like runners with long, powerful strides -- legs reaching out strong in front of me and stretching long behind me. Well, a couple of shinsplints and a jacked-up knee put the kibosh on that pretty quickly. My injuries forced me to do some actual research and I found out that I was going about it all wrong -- my stride was way too long and I was landing on my heel, which apparently is a no-no, especially for old broads with creaky joints. Like me.
I've been trying to pay more attention to my form ever since, but as anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not a multitasker. Like, at all. If I'm trying to focus on distance and speed and interval times and whatever all at the same time, I am not only completely failing to do that, I also don't have any brain juice left for anything else.
So during my runs so far this month/year, with nothing to worry about but logging a set number of miles on any given day, I've really been trying to focus on my form -- taking shorter, lighter steps, and landing on my mid-foot instead of my heel. And I'm trying to watch my posture as well -- I tend to lean forward, tense my neck and shoulders, and sink too low in the hips when I'm tired or really trying to push. Fortunately the simple act of taking shorter steps and landing mid-foot seems to have corrected a lot of this already -- I've noticed that my back stays straighter and more upright and I don't swing my hips as much when I'm paying attention to what my feet are doing. As long as I remember to relax my upper body, I'm good to go!
I'm noticing a couple of benefits from doing this. One is that, as I had hoped, I'm not getting as much hip/knee/shin pain post-run as I was when my form was all sloppy and weird. The other is that I'm finding it much easier to get into the "zen" of running once I'm in the correct form. Maybe it's like that yoga thing where you pay attention to your breathing? I don't know, but when I'm taking those shorter, lighter steps and my back is straight and my shoulders are down where they belong instead of up around my ears, I kind of feel in the zone. I forget that I'm running and my mind just wanders, or I enjoy whatever music I'm listening to, and I don't think about how fast I'm running or how far I still have to go or what my time is.
Yes, that's right. When my form is correct, I am One with the Treadmill. Nirvana can't be far behind, right?
Showing posts with label perspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perspiration. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thankful
All of the conditions were right on Thanksgiving for me to have a fibromyalgia flare. I'd spent a lot of time standing in one place doing repetitive motions like peeling potatoes and chopping vegetables, I'd been hauling around heavy roasting pans and pots of gravy and whatnot, I'd over-indulged in rich food, and to top it off a massive cold front roared through at midday, dropping temperatures by more than 20 degrees in 20 minutes. If that's not a recipe for flare, I don't know what is!
But somehow, miraculously, I managed to avoid one. I'm not sure how it happened, but I am immensely grateful. (Maybe it was all the tryptophan? I ate a lot of turkey. Hmm.)
At any rate, I didn't run on Thursday but I had a couple of great (treadmill) runs Friday and Saturday! I did a mile on Friday and a mile and a half on Saturday, running hard both times because that's what my body wanted to do. I was completely exhausted by the end of each run and my hips were really feeling it, but in every other respect it felt great to just go all-out and work up a sweat.
I'm taking today off but already thinking about tomorrow's run! I'd like to work in a distance run sometime this week (for me, distance = anything over 2 miles). With no upcoming race to train for, I'll just have to see whether my legs feel like running hard or running easy!
But somehow, miraculously, I managed to avoid one. I'm not sure how it happened, but I am immensely grateful. (Maybe it was all the tryptophan? I ate a lot of turkey. Hmm.)
At any rate, I didn't run on Thursday but I had a couple of great (treadmill) runs Friday and Saturday! I did a mile on Friday and a mile and a half on Saturday, running hard both times because that's what my body wanted to do. I was completely exhausted by the end of each run and my hips were really feeling it, but in every other respect it felt great to just go all-out and work up a sweat.
I'm taking today off but already thinking about tomorrow's run! I'd like to work in a distance run sometime this week (for me, distance = anything over 2 miles). With no upcoming race to train for, I'll just have to see whether my legs feel like running hard or running easy!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Recovery
Well, that took longer than expected! Today is the first day I've laced up my running shoes since my 5K on the 7th. I was super sore the next day, but by the third day out I felt like I might be able to run again. Or my legs and hips felt that way, anyway -- the rest of me, not so much!
Unfortunately I came down with a wicked cold and cough just as I was recovering from the race. It started out feeling like allergies, which made sense because there is a bunch of stuff in the air right now that I'm allergic to and I was out running around in it (instead of on my treadmill) for 45 minutes, plus the time my husband and I spent at the pre- and post-race activities that morning. Within a couple of days post-race, though, it was pretty obvious it had morphed into a rotten cold. Ugh! Just my luck!
Anyway, after taking it very easy for a week, I'm finally feeling much better today so I hit the treadmill again. I only did one mile, and only ran about half of it (at a very easy pace). My right hip, which had really bothered me during the race, was a little bit twingey when I first got started, but by the time I'd finished my mile the hip was feeling great and so was I!
I don't have any other races on the horizon right now, but I am really happy to be running again! With the stress of the holidays, I know my treadmill is going to get a major workout over the next few months. I'm so grateful to have my climate-controlled, steps-away-from-the-bathroom, no-hills-unless-I-want-them treadmill at this time of year, although I certainly won't rule out some outdoor runs when the pollen levels aren't too bad.
Onward!
Unfortunately I came down with a wicked cold and cough just as I was recovering from the race. It started out feeling like allergies, which made sense because there is a bunch of stuff in the air right now that I'm allergic to and I was out running around in it (instead of on my treadmill) for 45 minutes, plus the time my husband and I spent at the pre- and post-race activities that morning. Within a couple of days post-race, though, it was pretty obvious it had morphed into a rotten cold. Ugh! Just my luck!
Anyway, after taking it very easy for a week, I'm finally feeling much better today so I hit the treadmill again. I only did one mile, and only ran about half of it (at a very easy pace). My right hip, which had really bothered me during the race, was a little bit twingey when I first got started, but by the time I'd finished my mile the hip was feeling great and so was I!
I don't have any other races on the horizon right now, but I am really happy to be running again! With the stress of the holidays, I know my treadmill is going to get a major workout over the next few months. I'm so grateful to have my climate-controlled, steps-away-from-the-bathroom, no-hills-unless-I-want-them treadmill at this time of year, although I certainly won't rule out some outdoor runs when the pollen levels aren't too bad.
Onward!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Race report: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Austin 2010
Well, I did it! I ran my very first 5K! And I survived!
I was so nervous and excited about the race last night that I had a little bit of trouble sleeping. I guess it's a good thing I was only running a 5K instead of a marathon or something, eh? Fortunately I did remember to set my clock back by one hour last night, but when my alarm went off at 6:00 it still seemed awfully early to be getting up on a weekend. I downed some green tea, a couple of eggs and some whole-grain toast and then my husband and I hit the road at 7:00, leaving our sleeping teenagers and dog behind.
We ended up parking near the finish line and walking past it just as the first of the timed 5K runners were coming in. It was in the 40s (I was wearing the outfit you see below, complete with hat and gloves) but they were all absolutely dripping with sweat. That's when I started to get a little nervous and to wonder if I should have layered a little better, but then I reminded myself that these guys were finishing in approximately a third of the time it was going to take me to finish and were working a lot harder!
For the untimed racers there was a rolling start over a two-hour period, which was nice, except that there were a LOT of walkers and they were all over the road instead of staying to the right. I started out jogging kind of slow but I had to move up into the weeds several times to get around people. I felt pretty good about my start, though -- I wasn't getting too winded or feeling too sore.
At around the one-mile mark there was a company handing out ice cream! That was pretty cool. I didn't get any, though. I'm lactose intolerant so that wouldn't have been a good thing, especially with two-thirds of the race still left to go!
Somewhere before we hit the two-mile mark I started feeling it. My lower back, right hip and right sacroiliac joint had been kind of tweaky for the past couple of days; I did some yoga yesterday to try and work the kinks out, and it helped some, but not a lot. By mile two my right hip was feeling pretty crunchy and I knew I was going to have to walk more than run for the rest of the race. There were a lot of hills on this course and I don't do incline work at all when I'm on the treadmill (because it hurts my hips! oh, the irony) so I wasn't really prepared for them.
The two-mile mark is also where I took my first water break. Not long after that a group of guys wearing pink shorts and sparkly women's tops passed me carrying a boombox that was blaring Van Halen's "Panama". That made me laugh and gave me a little bit of a second wind, but I still tried to save my hip for the homestretch.
At around 2.5 miles, I started getting a little emotional for some reason. There were so many people walking and running around me that had the names of loved ones they had lost to breast cancer on their shirts. I started thinking about my mother-in-law, who lost her battle with the disease just a few months after my husband and I were married, and about the void her death left in the family. And I thought about my sister-in-law and how afraid we all were when she was diagnosed, and how she kicked cancer's butt, proving herself once again to be one of the strongest people I know. There was a radio station truck at that point along the course playing some sort of inspirational pop music, like the kind you hear on The Biggest Loser when everyone is crying, and that didn't help! So I slowed down a bit and took a little moment there, but then I kept trudging uphill toward the finish. And right after that some guy with a tiny little Pomeranian on a leash passed me, calling back to his dog that there was only half a mile left to go. Again, it kind of cracked me up and I started walking a little faster.
I had known from when we were walking past the finish that there was a turn in the course just before the three-mile mark. When I reached it I picked up my pace so I could jog it in across the finish line. There were so many people standing alongside the course, cheering us in. I spotted my husband but he didn't see me and didn't have the camera ready, so I had to work my way over to the edge of the pack and wave to get his attention. He ended up chasing me down with the camera to get some shots of me finishing. I was so happy to be crossing that finish line!
After the race I grabbed a bottle of water and a banana from the post-race tents and then my husband and I made our way back to our car. My right hip was hurting bad enough that I was limping by that point, but luckily he had some ibuprofin in the truck so I took a few of those on our way to our favorite breakfast spot. A lot of other people from our end of town must have run this race, because there were race shirts galore at the restaurant even though it was pretty far from the actual site of the race. After a couple of cups of decaf, some chicken-fried bacon and a big skillet breakfast I was feeling very little pain. But no shower has ever felt as good as the shower I took when we got home!
So that was it -- my first 5K! I'm so glad I was able to run this race. I was hoping to finish in 45 minutes and that was pretty much my exact time, so I am super happy about that. It was so inspiring to be around so many people whose lives had been touched by breast cancer. There were a lot of survivors walking and running the race and my hat is off to them.
I ran this race for my mother-in-law Phyllis, my sister-in-law Sue, my friend Jenny and my mom's friend Virginia. But I also ran it for me. If you had told me a few years ago, when I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was in so much pain that I couldn't even walk to the mailbox without limping back, that someday I'd be running a 5K I would have laughed in your face. But today I did! I walked about two-thirds of it and ran about a third, and I finished in the time I was hoping for. Five whole kilometers! Me!
Thanks so much again to everyone who donated money and helped me blow right past my fundraising goal for this race, and to everyone who sent good wishes and words of encouragement. Special thanks to my husband for getting up early on his day off to serve as my chauffeur, photographer and pack mule, and to my parents for always encouraging me in everything I have ever wanted to do. There was a time when I never would have believed I could do something like this, and I couldn't have done it without you all!
I was so nervous and excited about the race last night that I had a little bit of trouble sleeping. I guess it's a good thing I was only running a 5K instead of a marathon or something, eh? Fortunately I did remember to set my clock back by one hour last night, but when my alarm went off at 6:00 it still seemed awfully early to be getting up on a weekend. I downed some green tea, a couple of eggs and some whole-grain toast and then my husband and I hit the road at 7:00, leaving our sleeping teenagers and dog behind.
We ended up parking near the finish line and walking past it just as the first of the timed 5K runners were coming in. It was in the 40s (I was wearing the outfit you see below, complete with hat and gloves) but they were all absolutely dripping with sweat. That's when I started to get a little nervous and to wonder if I should have layered a little better, but then I reminded myself that these guys were finishing in approximately a third of the time it was going to take me to finish and were working a lot harder!
For the untimed racers there was a rolling start over a two-hour period, which was nice, except that there were a LOT of walkers and they were all over the road instead of staying to the right. I started out jogging kind of slow but I had to move up into the weeds several times to get around people. I felt pretty good about my start, though -- I wasn't getting too winded or feeling too sore.
At around the one-mile mark there was a company handing out ice cream! That was pretty cool. I didn't get any, though. I'm lactose intolerant so that wouldn't have been a good thing, especially with two-thirds of the race still left to go!
Somewhere before we hit the two-mile mark I started feeling it. My lower back, right hip and right sacroiliac joint had been kind of tweaky for the past couple of days; I did some yoga yesterday to try and work the kinks out, and it helped some, but not a lot. By mile two my right hip was feeling pretty crunchy and I knew I was going to have to walk more than run for the rest of the race. There were a lot of hills on this course and I don't do incline work at all when I'm on the treadmill (because it hurts my hips! oh, the irony) so I wasn't really prepared for them.
The two-mile mark is also where I took my first water break. Not long after that a group of guys wearing pink shorts and sparkly women's tops passed me carrying a boombox that was blaring Van Halen's "Panama". That made me laugh and gave me a little bit of a second wind, but I still tried to save my hip for the homestretch.
At around 2.5 miles, I started getting a little emotional for some reason. There were so many people walking and running around me that had the names of loved ones they had lost to breast cancer on their shirts. I started thinking about my mother-in-law, who lost her battle with the disease just a few months after my husband and I were married, and about the void her death left in the family. And I thought about my sister-in-law and how afraid we all were when she was diagnosed, and how she kicked cancer's butt, proving herself once again to be one of the strongest people I know. There was a radio station truck at that point along the course playing some sort of inspirational pop music, like the kind you hear on The Biggest Loser when everyone is crying, and that didn't help! So I slowed down a bit and took a little moment there, but then I kept trudging uphill toward the finish. And right after that some guy with a tiny little Pomeranian on a leash passed me, calling back to his dog that there was only half a mile left to go. Again, it kind of cracked me up and I started walking a little faster.
I had known from when we were walking past the finish that there was a turn in the course just before the three-mile mark. When I reached it I picked up my pace so I could jog it in across the finish line. There were so many people standing alongside the course, cheering us in. I spotted my husband but he didn't see me and didn't have the camera ready, so I had to work my way over to the edge of the pack and wave to get his attention. He ended up chasing me down with the camera to get some shots of me finishing. I was so happy to be crossing that finish line!
After the race I grabbed a bottle of water and a banana from the post-race tents and then my husband and I made our way back to our car. My right hip was hurting bad enough that I was limping by that point, but luckily he had some ibuprofin in the truck so I took a few of those on our way to our favorite breakfast spot. A lot of other people from our end of town must have run this race, because there were race shirts galore at the restaurant even though it was pretty far from the actual site of the race. After a couple of cups of decaf, some chicken-fried bacon and a big skillet breakfast I was feeling very little pain. But no shower has ever felt as good as the shower I took when we got home!
So that was it -- my first 5K! I'm so glad I was able to run this race. I was hoping to finish in 45 minutes and that was pretty much my exact time, so I am super happy about that. It was so inspiring to be around so many people whose lives had been touched by breast cancer. There were a lot of survivors walking and running the race and my hat is off to them.
I ran this race for my mother-in-law Phyllis, my sister-in-law Sue, my friend Jenny and my mom's friend Virginia. But I also ran it for me. If you had told me a few years ago, when I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia and was in so much pain that I couldn't even walk to the mailbox without limping back, that someday I'd be running a 5K I would have laughed in your face. But today I did! I walked about two-thirds of it and ran about a third, and I finished in the time I was hoping for. Five whole kilometers! Me!
Thanks so much again to everyone who donated money and helped me blow right past my fundraising goal for this race, and to everyone who sent good wishes and words of encouragement. Special thanks to my husband for getting up early on his day off to serve as my chauffeur, photographer and pack mule, and to my parents for always encouraging me in everything I have ever wanted to do. There was a time when I never would have believed I could do something like this, and I couldn't have done it without you all!
Here I am jogging it in and laughing at my husband because he had to run to get ahead of me.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Get your cross-training where you can
My husband and I have a treadmill in our house, and we absolutely love it. It's in the guest bedroom right now and since we only have guests maybe once every two years or so, we have visions of turning that room into a home gym complete with a weight machine and a stationary bike so that we can alternate the treadmill with other cross-training activities. But seeing as how we're not made of money, all that will have to wait for just a little while.
I've been using my Wii Fit
sporadically for cross-training -- the yoga in particular was really helpful when I injured my knee a while back -- but it's kind of a pain to set it up and find the balance board and all of the little feet that keep it level (we do have a place for all of this stuff, but let's just say that with two teenagers in the house, there's no guarantee that it'll all be where it's supposed to be on any given day!) plus it seems to take forever to actually get to the exercises and there's a lot of downtime when switching from one to another.
So I decided to get a workout video, and the one I was hearing the most about was the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred
. It arrived in the mail the other day and holy cow, this thing is HARD! I had thought I was in pretty good shape, but I wasn't even able to keep up with Level One of this thing, and I was following the modified (for out-of-shape types) exercises! It's not that it's hard to follow at all -- the instructions are very clear and it's a high-quality video -- it's just that it is really a super-intense workout. The actual workout only lasts 20 minutes but you are constantly in motion and keeping your heart rate up for that entire time. My abs in particular were really sore for two days after my first workout!
I had my doubts as to whether I could truly cross-train while using an exercise video, but those doubts have evaporated. I am really looking forward to using this thing on the days I don't run. There are three levels to the workout but right now my short-term goal is just to get through Level One without needing a break!
I will post a full review of this product once I've worked my way up to Level Three, assuming that ever happens.
I've been using my Wii Fit
sporadically for cross-training -- the yoga in particular was really helpful when I injured my knee a while back -- but it's kind of a pain to set it up and find the balance board and all of the little feet that keep it level (we do have a place for all of this stuff, but let's just say that with two teenagers in the house, there's no guarantee that it'll all be where it's supposed to be on any given day!) plus it seems to take forever to actually get to the exercises and there's a lot of downtime when switching from one to another.So I decided to get a workout video, and the one I was hearing the most about was the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred
. It arrived in the mail the other day and holy cow, this thing is HARD! I had thought I was in pretty good shape, but I wasn't even able to keep up with Level One of this thing, and I was following the modified (for out-of-shape types) exercises! It's not that it's hard to follow at all -- the instructions are very clear and it's a high-quality video -- it's just that it is really a super-intense workout. The actual workout only lasts 20 minutes but you are constantly in motion and keeping your heart rate up for that entire time. My abs in particular were really sore for two days after my first workout!I had my doubts as to whether I could truly cross-train while using an exercise video, but those doubts have evaporated. I am really looking forward to using this thing on the days I don't run. There are three levels to the workout but right now my short-term goal is just to get through Level One without needing a break!
I will post a full review of this product once I've worked my way up to Level Three, assuming that ever happens.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ups and downs (and I don't mean hills)
So here is my week in review, running-wise:
Monday
Had kind of a terrible morning and did not feel like running at all. Got on the treadmill anyway and once I got going, I felt great! I did about a mile and as I was doing my cool-down I thought, "You know, I'm not really ready to stop." So I ended up doing another mile and my attitude afterwards was 100% improved. This was proof to me that running is no longer just something I want to do, it's something I need to do! I am just a happier person when I've put in a good run.
Tuesday
Too busy to run. Not good!
Wednesday
I decided to map out (with CardioTrainer on my phone) a new route that was slightly longer than the 1.84-mile triangular route I had run the week before. I wasn't going to try to run it, just walk it in order to map it (there were trails involved so I couldn't drive it and map it that way). Well, about a third of the way into my planned route it became obvious that my GPS wasn't working again. This was so super frustrating and if I had been smart, I'd have picked up my pace and started running to get out my frustration. But I didn't; I just took a shorter route (walking) home, fiddling with my GPS settings and cursing under my breath the whole way. It was super humid out and it was also trash day in my neighborhood, so by the time I got home I was in a really foul mood, soaked to the skin with my nostrils still full of garbage smells. Not what you would call a good walk/run!
However, I did have a major highlight on Wednesday! I hopped on the computer when I got home and was going to write out my frustrations on Facebook when I saw that I had received a few donations to my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It turned out I had exceeded my fundraising goal by $30! It really helped put things in perspective to learn that while I was off having a miserable, short, frustrating walk my friends and family were rallying to the cause and helping support me in my upcoming race. So Wednesday ended up being a good day after all!
Thursday
I gave myself a rest day and felt okay about it.
Friday
I made darn sure my GPS was working and set out once again to map a longer route around my neighborhood. I told myself I would walk it but decided I would see how I felt and run some of it if I wanted. I did end up running about a third of it, which felt great. I only ran the sidewalk/road portions and walked the trail portion, and it's a good thing I did because the trails were really washed out and rutted due to some flooding that we had in the neighborhood last week (courtesy of Tropical Storm Hermine, which dumped 15 inches of rain on us in a 24-hour period). I was slipping all over the place just walking it. While I was on the trail a woman about my age blew past me, light and nimble as a gazelle. Sometimes I wonder if other runners feel as weightless as they look! I am a healthy weight for my height but I definitely feel gravity pressing down on me when I run, especially outdoors in the humidity. Anyway, I was hoping this new route would be close to the 3-mile mark so I could use it for 5K training, and it turned out it was 2.7 miles. Not quite as far as I would have liked, but I think I can make up the extra distance by entering a different trailhead than the one I used this time. Oh, and I was able to maintain an overall pace of 14:22, even with all the walking I did on the trail!
So all in all, Friday's run/walk was pretty darn productive and I was feeling good about it. Then I came home and opened my email to find that my "big" 5K that I have been training for all this time had been canceled. It was to take place on a different trail system near here that received much more flood damage than we did, and the trails are just in awful shape right now so they can't do it. That was a little bit heartbreaking, to tell you the truth. I had been looking forward for months to my very first 5K, and this one was going to be perfect because it was happening right in my neighborhood and right after my birthday. Combine that with the fibromyalgia thing and it really felt like a significant milestone. Oh well!
So now I'm setting my sights on the Susan G. Komen race in November. I signed up for the untimed 5K and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do. I would kind of like to pick up another 5K before that, but all of the ones I've learned about in my area are taking place on weekends when we're just too busy to fit anything in.
This week was definitely full of ups and downs, but I am looking forward to next week. The Komen race is all roads and no trails, but I'd still like to work on my trail running a little bit and this will give me time to do it and still recover before the race in November. Onward and upward!
Monday
Had kind of a terrible morning and did not feel like running at all. Got on the treadmill anyway and once I got going, I felt great! I did about a mile and as I was doing my cool-down I thought, "You know, I'm not really ready to stop." So I ended up doing another mile and my attitude afterwards was 100% improved. This was proof to me that running is no longer just something I want to do, it's something I need to do! I am just a happier person when I've put in a good run.
Tuesday
Too busy to run. Not good!
Wednesday
I decided to map out (with CardioTrainer on my phone) a new route that was slightly longer than the 1.84-mile triangular route I had run the week before. I wasn't going to try to run it, just walk it in order to map it (there were trails involved so I couldn't drive it and map it that way). Well, about a third of the way into my planned route it became obvious that my GPS wasn't working again. This was so super frustrating and if I had been smart, I'd have picked up my pace and started running to get out my frustration. But I didn't; I just took a shorter route (walking) home, fiddling with my GPS settings and cursing under my breath the whole way. It was super humid out and it was also trash day in my neighborhood, so by the time I got home I was in a really foul mood, soaked to the skin with my nostrils still full of garbage smells. Not what you would call a good walk/run!
However, I did have a major highlight on Wednesday! I hopped on the computer when I got home and was going to write out my frustrations on Facebook when I saw that I had received a few donations to my Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It turned out I had exceeded my fundraising goal by $30! It really helped put things in perspective to learn that while I was off having a miserable, short, frustrating walk my friends and family were rallying to the cause and helping support me in my upcoming race. So Wednesday ended up being a good day after all!
Thursday
I gave myself a rest day and felt okay about it.
Friday
I made darn sure my GPS was working and set out once again to map a longer route around my neighborhood. I told myself I would walk it but decided I would see how I felt and run some of it if I wanted. I did end up running about a third of it, which felt great. I only ran the sidewalk/road portions and walked the trail portion, and it's a good thing I did because the trails were really washed out and rutted due to some flooding that we had in the neighborhood last week (courtesy of Tropical Storm Hermine, which dumped 15 inches of rain on us in a 24-hour period). I was slipping all over the place just walking it. While I was on the trail a woman about my age blew past me, light and nimble as a gazelle. Sometimes I wonder if other runners feel as weightless as they look! I am a healthy weight for my height but I definitely feel gravity pressing down on me when I run, especially outdoors in the humidity. Anyway, I was hoping this new route would be close to the 3-mile mark so I could use it for 5K training, and it turned out it was 2.7 miles. Not quite as far as I would have liked, but I think I can make up the extra distance by entering a different trailhead than the one I used this time. Oh, and I was able to maintain an overall pace of 14:22, even with all the walking I did on the trail!
So all in all, Friday's run/walk was pretty darn productive and I was feeling good about it. Then I came home and opened my email to find that my "big" 5K that I have been training for all this time had been canceled. It was to take place on a different trail system near here that received much more flood damage than we did, and the trails are just in awful shape right now so they can't do it. That was a little bit heartbreaking, to tell you the truth. I had been looking forward for months to my very first 5K, and this one was going to be perfect because it was happening right in my neighborhood and right after my birthday. Combine that with the fibromyalgia thing and it really felt like a significant milestone. Oh well!
So now I'm setting my sights on the Susan G. Komen race in November. I signed up for the untimed 5K and I'm looking forward to seeing how I do. I would kind of like to pick up another 5K before that, but all of the ones I've learned about in my area are taking place on weekends when we're just too busy to fit anything in.
This week was definitely full of ups and downs, but I am looking forward to next week. The Komen race is all roads and no trails, but I'd still like to work on my trail running a little bit and this will give me time to do it and still recover before the race in November. Onward and upward!
Monday, September 6, 2010
A nice surprise and a new running buddy
Yesterday morning I once again ran the route around my neighborhood that I had run last Friday, when my GPS didn't work. But this time it did! It turns out my wonky multi-block triangular route is 1.84 miles long. I was kind of surprised because I have been taking it way easy with my treadmill runs and am lucky to get to 1.5 miles including cool-down with those lately. Even more surprising was that I was able to maintain a pace of 14:20 while running (and walking, quite a bit) that 1.84 miles! I know that might not sound very fast, but that is a really good pace for me over that distance.
When I got home my hips were on fire (in the bad way) but my knees felt fine. I downed some ibuprofin with my post-run hydration and today my hips are totally pain-free. This has me feeling so confident about my upcoming 5K! I've been in a bit of a panic given the way my treadmill runs have been going, but now I really feel like I can do it. I'm also determined to get off the treadmill and get out on the sidewalks and trails more often from now on.
Speaking of which, I've acquired a new running buddy who will make all that sidewalk and trail running a lot more fun. His name is Rascal, and he is our new standard poodle puppy! We just brought him home on Saturday, after having put a deposit down with the breeder a few weeks before. (I am all about getting a mutt from the shelter, but my husband and kids have severe allergies so we had to go purebred/hypoallergenic this time.) He is too young to hit the road with me just yet, but I have high hopes that he'll be running and walking by my side in another year or so. Can't wait!
When I got home my hips were on fire (in the bad way) but my knees felt fine. I downed some ibuprofin with my post-run hydration and today my hips are totally pain-free. This has me feeling so confident about my upcoming 5K! I've been in a bit of a panic given the way my treadmill runs have been going, but now I really feel like I can do it. I'm also determined to get off the treadmill and get out on the sidewalks and trails more often from now on.
Speaking of which, I've acquired a new running buddy who will make all that sidewalk and trail running a lot more fun. His name is Rascal, and he is our new standard poodle puppy! We just brought him home on Saturday, after having put a deposit down with the breeder a few weeks before. (I am all about getting a mutt from the shelter, but my husband and kids have severe allergies so we had to go purebred/hypoallergenic this time.) He is too young to hit the road with me just yet, but I have high hopes that he'll be running and walking by my side in another year or so. Can't wait!
Friday, August 27, 2010
The good, the bad and the ugly (not necessarily in that order)
Let's start with the ugly: My kids went back to school on Tuesday of this week and I've been so busy buying last-minute school supplies and driving this kid here and that kid there and re-stocking our pantry and whatnot that I've had no time to run whatsoever. And it shows in my mood, big-time. I really need to do a better job of making time to run, even if it's at a weird time of day. I can take two or three showers a day if I need to, right? Sigh.
Now the good: I did get to run this morning! In fact, it was so nice and cool this morning (coolest morning since ... I don't know, May sometime?) that I hit the sidewalks in my 'hood for the first time ever. Well, I mean, I have walked on them before, but I've never run them. I live in the 'burbs and my neighborhood streets are not laid on on a grid; the "blocks" are all oddly shaped and wonky-sized and oblong and weird and huge. So I picked a route that would take me around a very big block. And it was mostly slightly downhill -- bonus! I am sure I looked like a dork with my two knee straps and my phone in an armband and my earbud cord poking out of my shirt (I stuff the excess cord in my bra when I run so I don't get tangled in it) and my water bottle strapped to one hand and the extremely slow pace with which I run, but I don't care. It was kind of nice to get out in the elements for a change, especially with the deliciously cool temperatures!
The bad: MY GPS DID NOT WORK, ARGH! I used the CardioTrainer app to keep track of my time and distance and to map my route, and it has worked for me before for walking the trails and stuff, but this time it completely failed. Did not record a single thing. I know, I am running for fun and not to be competitive, yadda yadda, but for my first time running that particular route I was really hoping to find out how far it was and what my pace was. Maybe the treadmill has spoiled me but I like to know how far and how fast I'm going, even when I'm just having fun with it and not trying to up my numbers. So I was super disappointed about that. I guess I will have to fiddle around with my GPS filter settings, or else find a new app. Anyone have a favorite running app for Android? Does RunKeeper have music integration? Because I need my music when I run! Lack of music integration is a definite deal-breaker.
And finally, one more good: So far I do not appear to have injured myself at all while running today! I was really nervous about that because I have only run on the treadmill since recovering from my knee injury a couple of months ago. Plus my first 5K is looming and I really don't want to blow out my knees and miss it, you know? On the other hand, the 5K course is on a trail that is partially crushed granite and partially sidewalk, so if I don't want to blow out my knees during the race then I will have to get used to that environment beforehand. Anyway, all seems well -- nothing hurt while I was running and nothing hurts now that I've stopped. Fingers crossed!
And this might be considered an ugly since I am hitting you up for money, but the money is not for me so I prefer to think of it as a good: Don't forget to sponsor me in the Susan G. Komen Run for the Cure! I am doing the untimed 5K in Austin on November 7th and I am running the race for my beloved sister-in-law, who is a breast cancer survivor. If 25 people give $5 each I will have met my goal of raising $125, which is enough to pay for one mammogram. Any amount you can give will help tremendously!
Now the good: I did get to run this morning! In fact, it was so nice and cool this morning (coolest morning since ... I don't know, May sometime?) that I hit the sidewalks in my 'hood for the first time ever. Well, I mean, I have walked on them before, but I've never run them. I live in the 'burbs and my neighborhood streets are not laid on on a grid; the "blocks" are all oddly shaped and wonky-sized and oblong and weird and huge. So I picked a route that would take me around a very big block. And it was mostly slightly downhill -- bonus! I am sure I looked like a dork with my two knee straps and my phone in an armband and my earbud cord poking out of my shirt (I stuff the excess cord in my bra when I run so I don't get tangled in it) and my water bottle strapped to one hand and the extremely slow pace with which I run, but I don't care. It was kind of nice to get out in the elements for a change, especially with the deliciously cool temperatures!
The bad: MY GPS DID NOT WORK, ARGH! I used the CardioTrainer app to keep track of my time and distance and to map my route, and it has worked for me before for walking the trails and stuff, but this time it completely failed. Did not record a single thing. I know, I am running for fun and not to be competitive, yadda yadda, but for my first time running that particular route I was really hoping to find out how far it was and what my pace was. Maybe the treadmill has spoiled me but I like to know how far and how fast I'm going, even when I'm just having fun with it and not trying to up my numbers. So I was super disappointed about that. I guess I will have to fiddle around with my GPS filter settings, or else find a new app. Anyone have a favorite running app for Android? Does RunKeeper have music integration? Because I need my music when I run! Lack of music integration is a definite deal-breaker.
And finally, one more good: So far I do not appear to have injured myself at all while running today! I was really nervous about that because I have only run on the treadmill since recovering from my knee injury a couple of months ago. Plus my first 5K is looming and I really don't want to blow out my knees and miss it, you know? On the other hand, the 5K course is on a trail that is partially crushed granite and partially sidewalk, so if I don't want to blow out my knees during the race then I will have to get used to that environment beforehand. Anyway, all seems well -- nothing hurt while I was running and nothing hurts now that I've stopped. Fingers crossed!
And this might be considered an ugly since I am hitting you up for money, but the money is not for me so I prefer to think of it as a good: Don't forget to sponsor me in the Susan G. Komen Run for the Cure! I am doing the untimed 5K in Austin on November 7th and I am running the race for my beloved sister-in-law, who is a breast cancer survivor. If 25 people give $5 each I will have met my goal of raising $125, which is enough to pay for one mammogram. Any amount you can give will help tremendously!
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Mojo restored
When I first started running (after having walked religiously for a year) I didn't have much of a plan. I just wanted to run. I'd hop on the treadmill, cue up my fitness playlist, and if a song came on that made me want to run, I ran. When I got tired or the tempo changed or I just wasn't feeling it anymore, I dropped back to a walk. I'd do that until I got tired or until the clock forced me to jump in the shower and get on with my day, and that was it. That was my training plan.
Then I decided to run a 5K and felt like I should be doing "real" training -- interspersing speed intervals with distance work and whatnot. And that was fun at first. It made me feel like a real runner and forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone. However, the longer this went on (read: about a week)(I have the attention span of a gnat on meth, I swear) the more anxious it made me about my upcoming race. I kept thinking I should be progressing faster and hitting better numbers, and suddenly this whole running thing began to feel like WORK. And anyone who knows me knows that I am the furthest thing from a workaholic. In fact, I'm sort of allergic to anything resembling work.
With my recent medically induced hiatus and my unsuccessful attempt to jump back into hardcore training followed by two days of enforced rest (yesterday and the day before, just too busy), I've had a lot of time to reflect on why in the heck I'm doing this in the first place. I wanted to run because I wanted to run, period. For years I didn't think I could run with fibromyalgia, and I wanted to see if I could, and then I did, and I absolutely loved it. I wanted to run a 5K to prove to myself that I could, and I decided to publicly document my training leading up to the 5K to show other fibromyalgia sufferers that it was possible and to give them hope that someday they could be active again. My only goals when I first decided to run a 5K were to finish and to not be last. Then I started getting fancy ideas in my head about finishing under a certain time, and running mile-long stretches without stopping, and ... well, see above re: WORK. In short, it stopped being fun.
So today I got back on the treadmill. I left my phone, with its fitness apps and its amped-up playlist, on the charger and instead grabbed my old mp3 player with my original fitness playlist (a mix of classic rock, '80s dance tunes and all kinds of random stuff). I ran during the songs that made me feel like running and walked (and sang along, and snapped my fingers) during the songs that made me feel like walking. I didn't watch the clock or my distance or any of that -- I just ran (and walked). It was so much fun! That's why I started doing this. And, I've decided, that's how I want to keep doing it.
I'm still running the 5K. I know I can finish, and I really don't think I'll be last. But now I have a new goal: to have fun with it.
Speaking of fun, here were my two Laughs of the Day (or maybe Laughs of the Run would be more accurate):
Then I decided to run a 5K and felt like I should be doing "real" training -- interspersing speed intervals with distance work and whatnot. And that was fun at first. It made me feel like a real runner and forced me to push myself out of my comfort zone. However, the longer this went on (read: about a week)(I have the attention span of a gnat on meth, I swear) the more anxious it made me about my upcoming race. I kept thinking I should be progressing faster and hitting better numbers, and suddenly this whole running thing began to feel like WORK. And anyone who knows me knows that I am the furthest thing from a workaholic. In fact, I'm sort of allergic to anything resembling work.
With my recent medically induced hiatus and my unsuccessful attempt to jump back into hardcore training followed by two days of enforced rest (yesterday and the day before, just too busy), I've had a lot of time to reflect on why in the heck I'm doing this in the first place. I wanted to run because I wanted to run, period. For years I didn't think I could run with fibromyalgia, and I wanted to see if I could, and then I did, and I absolutely loved it. I wanted to run a 5K to prove to myself that I could, and I decided to publicly document my training leading up to the 5K to show other fibromyalgia sufferers that it was possible and to give them hope that someday they could be active again. My only goals when I first decided to run a 5K were to finish and to not be last. Then I started getting fancy ideas in my head about finishing under a certain time, and running mile-long stretches without stopping, and ... well, see above re: WORK. In short, it stopped being fun.
So today I got back on the treadmill. I left my phone, with its fitness apps and its amped-up playlist, on the charger and instead grabbed my old mp3 player with my original fitness playlist (a mix of classic rock, '80s dance tunes and all kinds of random stuff). I ran during the songs that made me feel like running and walked (and sang along, and snapped my fingers) during the songs that made me feel like walking. I didn't watch the clock or my distance or any of that -- I just ran (and walked). It was so much fun! That's why I started doing this. And, I've decided, that's how I want to keep doing it.
I'm still running the 5K. I know I can finish, and I really don't think I'll be last. But now I have a new goal: to have fun with it.
Speaking of fun, here were my two Laughs of the Day (or maybe Laughs of the Run would be more accurate):
- I did look at my time/distance when I was done, before turning off the treadmill, and it turned out I covered 1.8 miles in 31 minutes. That is a faster pace than any I ran the whole time I was doing my "real" training!
- Right toward the end of my cool-down, "Road to Nowhere"
by The Talking Heads came on. While I was on the treadmill, which is literally a road to nowhere. Oh, the irony!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Not feeling it
So I'm back on the treadmill after my oral surgery hiatus and I seem to have lost my mojo a bit. Monday was my first day back at it and I ran intervals for 2 miles, yesterday I did a brisk 5 kilometer walk, and today I was not. feeling. it. At all. I ended up only running intervals for about three-fourths of a mile and then walking for a bit to cool down. Better than nothing, I guess, but not at all what you would call a good run!
Monday my right knee was a little twinge-y so I wore a patellofemoral strap and everything seemed fine. Tuesday it was my right hip that started feeling wonky around the two-mile mark, so I slowed my pace and stretched the heck out of it afterwards. Today the hip was fine, but my left shin was acting like shin splints were imminent. Argh! It's always something. And as I've said before, fibromyalgia amplifies the body's pain signals and sometimes makes non-pain sensations read as pain. So I never know if I have an actual tissue injury or if the fibromyalgia is taking some random soreness or muscle spasm and amping it up to eleven. Very frustrating!
My original plan was to do 2.5 miles of intervals today. It became obvious after half a mile that there was no way that would happen. In addition to my shin hurting (which came and went as I ran and feels fine now that I'm done) I just felt so sluggish and unmotivated and blah. Maybe that 5K walk yesterday was a bad idea, who knows? I spent most of my brief run arguing with myself about whether I should push through it and do my planned 2.5 miles, but in the end I decided to call it quits for the day. I reminded myself that even though I'm off the heavy-duty pain meds, my body is still recovering from something fairly traumatic and I probably just need a little more time to heal from that before I'm back to my usual form.
That's my story, and I'm sticking with it!
Monday my right knee was a little twinge-y so I wore a patellofemoral strap and everything seemed fine. Tuesday it was my right hip that started feeling wonky around the two-mile mark, so I slowed my pace and stretched the heck out of it afterwards. Today the hip was fine, but my left shin was acting like shin splints were imminent. Argh! It's always something. And as I've said before, fibromyalgia amplifies the body's pain signals and sometimes makes non-pain sensations read as pain. So I never know if I have an actual tissue injury or if the fibromyalgia is taking some random soreness or muscle spasm and amping it up to eleven. Very frustrating!
My original plan was to do 2.5 miles of intervals today. It became obvious after half a mile that there was no way that would happen. In addition to my shin hurting (which came and went as I ran and feels fine now that I'm done) I just felt so sluggish and unmotivated and blah. Maybe that 5K walk yesterday was a bad idea, who knows? I spent most of my brief run arguing with myself about whether I should push through it and do my planned 2.5 miles, but in the end I decided to call it quits for the day. I reminded myself that even though I'm off the heavy-duty pain meds, my body is still recovering from something fairly traumatic and I probably just need a little more time to heal from that before I'm back to my usual form.
That's my story, and I'm sticking with it!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Humming along
Everything is going pretty good this week, training-wise. I've been running intervals every other day and either walking or just resting altogether on the days in-between. Feels like very slow progress, but I've been able to add an extra running interval every day that I've done them, so I guess I am progressing!
I'm going to be taking a couple of days off, though, and I'm a little nervous about that. Today was a rest/easy day for me anyway, but tomorrow morning I'm having oral surgery so I'll be out tomorrow and probably Saturday, too. I'm pretty sure the treadmill falls under the heading of "heavy machinery" that I'm not supposed to operate while taking narcotic painkillers, and I don't relish the thought of being arrested for public intoxication if I attempt to hit the sidewalks/trails near my house! Besides, if you saw the way I careen around like a drunken emu while sober, you'd know that any attempt on my part at ambulation while under the influence is just a sprained ankle waiting to happen.
So yeah, a few days off makes me a little nervous. The thought of running this 5K in seven weeks, on a trail with a bunch of other people, in the heat and humidity, makes me a lot nervous! I think I've figured out why the trail busted up my knee a while back, though. In addition to side-to-side stabilization issues, I have to pick up my feet a lot more on the trail than I do on the treadmill. That translates to more impact on my knees. So within the next couple of weeks I'm going to head to the running store for some trail shoes and try some short trail runs while wearing knee straps on both knees (along with stretching, stretching, stretching). I've got to get acclimated to the trail somehow if I'm going to survive, much less finish, my 5K!
Talk to you all after the pain meds wear off!
I'm going to be taking a couple of days off, though, and I'm a little nervous about that. Today was a rest/easy day for me anyway, but tomorrow morning I'm having oral surgery so I'll be out tomorrow and probably Saturday, too. I'm pretty sure the treadmill falls under the heading of "heavy machinery" that I'm not supposed to operate while taking narcotic painkillers, and I don't relish the thought of being arrested for public intoxication if I attempt to hit the sidewalks/trails near my house! Besides, if you saw the way I careen around like a drunken emu while sober, you'd know that any attempt on my part at ambulation while under the influence is just a sprained ankle waiting to happen.
So yeah, a few days off makes me a little nervous. The thought of running this 5K in seven weeks, on a trail with a bunch of other people, in the heat and humidity, makes me a lot nervous! I think I've figured out why the trail busted up my knee a while back, though. In addition to side-to-side stabilization issues, I have to pick up my feet a lot more on the trail than I do on the treadmill. That translates to more impact on my knees. So within the next couple of weeks I'm going to head to the running store for some trail shoes and try some short trail runs while wearing knee straps on both knees (along with stretching, stretching, stretching). I've got to get acclimated to the trail somehow if I'm going to survive, much less finish, my 5K!
Talk to you all after the pain meds wear off!
Friday, July 30, 2010
The F word
Take a giant dose of stress, throw in a 3-night lack of sleep, shake vigorously with several days of low barometric pressure and what do you get? A fibromyalgia flare! For those of you who've never had the joy of experiencing one, I can only describe it as a full-body toothache meets the flu. You wake up in the morning feeling as though you've been beaten with a baseball bat, and every time you move, every muscle in your body exhibits the raw-nerve sensation of biting on an abscessed tooth. Exercise is completely out of the question. Surviving it is pretty much the only goal.
This latest flare was mercifully brief. It hit Monday evening, laid me low Tuesday and Wednesday, and finally started to subside sometime yesterday morning. On a scale of one to ten I'd say it averaged around a 5. The most frustrating thing, of course, was not being able to run and work toward my goal of running a (slow) mile without stopping, which I was hoping to reach by the end of this week.
I really didn't feel like running this morning, but since I was sure the flare was 99% gone, I forced myself to hop on the treadmill. I had no plan in mind whatsoever -- walk a slow mile? Try to run just a little? Who knows? But once I had my earbuds in and the Prodigy exhorted me to "Smack My Bitch Up"
(look for a post about my running playlist soon), I felt like trying a couple of running/walking intervals like I did on Saturday -- running for 30 seconds, then walking for a minute. I was thrilled to find that not only did it not hurt, it felt fantastic! So fantastic that I didn't want to stop. I did two miles altogether, including warm-up and cool-down. That's almost two-thirds of a 5K!
So my goal has changed. Forget running a mile without stopping. That hurts, and my body doesn't like it, and it was an arbitrary goal anyway. I'm just going to add intervals until I'm up to the distance I need. What I'll do after that, I don't know, but that is my new short-term goal -- build up intervals until I'm doing at least 3.1 miles total at a time.
Alrighty! Onward and upward!
This latest flare was mercifully brief. It hit Monday evening, laid me low Tuesday and Wednesday, and finally started to subside sometime yesterday morning. On a scale of one to ten I'd say it averaged around a 5. The most frustrating thing, of course, was not being able to run and work toward my goal of running a (slow) mile without stopping, which I was hoping to reach by the end of this week.
I really didn't feel like running this morning, but since I was sure the flare was 99% gone, I forced myself to hop on the treadmill. I had no plan in mind whatsoever -- walk a slow mile? Try to run just a little? Who knows? But once I had my earbuds in and the Prodigy exhorted me to "Smack My Bitch Up"
(look for a post about my running playlist soon), I felt like trying a couple of running/walking intervals like I did on Saturday -- running for 30 seconds, then walking for a minute. I was thrilled to find that not only did it not hurt, it felt fantastic! So fantastic that I didn't want to stop. I did two miles altogether, including warm-up and cool-down. That's almost two-thirds of a 5K!So my goal has changed. Forget running a mile without stopping. That hurts, and my body doesn't like it, and it was an arbitrary goal anyway. I'm just going to add intervals until I'm up to the distance I need. What I'll do after that, I don't know, but that is my new short-term goal -- build up intervals until I'm doing at least 3.1 miles total at a time.
Alrighty! Onward and upward!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Sunday run
Today I worked on endurance. I did a mile and a half, with a half-mile total of warm-up/cool-down, and alternated running .8 laps at 4.2 m.p.h. and walking .2 laps at 3 m.p.h. for the remaining mile. I feel really close to my goal of running a mile (at an easy pace) without stopping! I think it's more a mental hurdle than a physical one, so I'm going to set a goal of busting through it by this time next week. You all are instructed to hold me accountable!
Some days I finish a run and feel so glad that it's over. I don't even want to think about running after I'm done, and the next day it's usually a struggle to get back on the treadmill. Other days I finish a run feeling fantastic and can think about nothing else for the remainder of the day except when can I run again?!
Today was definitely a running-obsessed day. I got off the treadmill this morning feeling tired but accomplished and have been full of energy all day long, able to think about nothing but getting back on the treadmill and seeing what else I've got in me. I know better than to overdo it like that, though, so I made do with watching Spirit of the Marathon on Hulu (it made me cry!) and poring over the August issue of Runner's World magazine.
One other running-related thing I did today was make a decision about the two 5K races coming up in my area in September. I've decided for sure to register for and run the "real" 5K that takes place the weekend after my birthday. I checked the website for the race today and it got me all excited with its mention of race packets and t-shirts and whatnot. I still haven't decided what to do about the other 5K, the one for which I was originally training, that takes place the weekend before my birthday. Since that one is a free Fun Run and all you have to do is show up, I'll probably make that decision as it gets closer.
Now that I know for sure I'm running a real race, I am super excited about my training. My only goal, honestly, will be to not come in last. I don't think that will be a problem because I've been told it's a family-friendly race with lots of walkers, but I'll let you know if any toddlers end up lapping me!
Some days I finish a run and feel so glad that it's over. I don't even want to think about running after I'm done, and the next day it's usually a struggle to get back on the treadmill. Other days I finish a run feeling fantastic and can think about nothing else for the remainder of the day except when can I run again?!
Today was definitely a running-obsessed day. I got off the treadmill this morning feeling tired but accomplished and have been full of energy all day long, able to think about nothing but getting back on the treadmill and seeing what else I've got in me. I know better than to overdo it like that, though, so I made do with watching Spirit of the Marathon on Hulu (it made me cry!) and poring over the August issue of Runner's World magazine.
One other running-related thing I did today was make a decision about the two 5K races coming up in my area in September. I've decided for sure to register for and run the "real" 5K that takes place the weekend after my birthday. I checked the website for the race today and it got me all excited with its mention of race packets and t-shirts and whatnot. I still haven't decided what to do about the other 5K, the one for which I was originally training, that takes place the weekend before my birthday. Since that one is a free Fun Run and all you have to do is show up, I'll probably make that decision as it gets closer.
Now that I know for sure I'm running a real race, I am super excited about my training. My only goal, honestly, will be to not come in last. I don't think that will be a problem because I've been told it's a family-friendly race with lots of walkers, but I'll let you know if any toddlers end up lapping me!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
It's supposed to be fun, right?
I decided to change things up today. I did a mile and a half on the treadmill, with one lap each of warm-up and cool-down. So, one half mile of that altogether. For the remaining mile I alternated running 30 seconds at 5 m.p.h. (a pretty good clip for me) and walking one minute at 3 m.p.h.
Holy fun run, Batman! That was an absolute blast! Each running interval ended with me feeling like I could do more (hello, I was in labor with my daughter for 80 mostly unmedicated hours -- I can do anything for 30 seconds). So I was really watching the clock during my one-minute walking intervals, eager to get back to running again. Loved this workout!
This has me kind of re-thinking my training plan. Maybe I should alternate days of doing this with days of running for longer distances at my usual (slower) speed of 4.2 m.p.h.? I'll have to play around with it over the next few days and see if I can work something out. Anything that gets me to my goal of running a mile without stopping or getting injured is fair game right now!
Speaking of goals, I just found out there is going to be a "real" 5K in my area one week after the 5K Fun Run for which I've been training. The second 5K is on a USATF-certified course and has an entry fee and everything, whereas the fun run is free and a lot more casual. Now I'm wondering if I should do the second one instead, just to feel like I'm putting a little more weight behind my goal and taking it a little more seriously. Or is it unrealistic to think I might be able to do both? The timing of both races is auspicious; my 44th birthday happens right between them. They're a week apart, so if I don't kill myself on the fun run I should be able to do another 5K a week later, right?
Right now I'm leaning toward registering for the "real" 5K, doing that one for sure, and seeing how I feel when the fun run comes up. If I'm up to running 3 miles a few days a week by then, maybe I will do both!
Holy fun run, Batman! That was an absolute blast! Each running interval ended with me feeling like I could do more (hello, I was in labor with my daughter for 80 mostly unmedicated hours -- I can do anything for 30 seconds). So I was really watching the clock during my one-minute walking intervals, eager to get back to running again. Loved this workout!
This has me kind of re-thinking my training plan. Maybe I should alternate days of doing this with days of running for longer distances at my usual (slower) speed of 4.2 m.p.h.? I'll have to play around with it over the next few days and see if I can work something out. Anything that gets me to my goal of running a mile without stopping or getting injured is fair game right now!
Speaking of goals, I just found out there is going to be a "real" 5K in my area one week after the 5K Fun Run for which I've been training. The second 5K is on a USATF-certified course and has an entry fee and everything, whereas the fun run is free and a lot more casual. Now I'm wondering if I should do the second one instead, just to feel like I'm putting a little more weight behind my goal and taking it a little more seriously. Or is it unrealistic to think I might be able to do both? The timing of both races is auspicious; my 44th birthday happens right between them. They're a week apart, so if I don't kill myself on the fun run I should be able to do another 5K a week later, right?
Right now I'm leaning toward registering for the "real" 5K, doing that one for sure, and seeing how I feel when the fun run comes up. If I'm up to running 3 miles a few days a week by then, maybe I will do both!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Another running injury
Fortunately I don't think this one will impact my training much!
Can you even see it there? That tiny little round dot of a bruise on the very tip of my ring finger? You wouldn't think something that small would hurt very much, but you would be so very wrong.
I love my treadmill, goodness knows I do, but there are two things about it that bug me. One, I wish it had the ability to set a custom speed that could be accessed with one button. For example, I run most comfortably at 4.2 miles per hour (don't laugh). It's such a pain, when I switch from walking to running, to have to hit the "4" button and then the "up" button to increase the speed in .1-mile increments. All I need is a button labeled "custom" that I can set to whatever speed I want, making it really easy to toggle back and forth between my walking speed (3 m.p.h.)(I said don't laugh) and my running speed. Is that too much to ask?
Second, the side rails are so poorly designed. They're too short and too high, and they consist of pretty much just a couple of capped metal tubes that jut straight out from the front of the machine. I can't even count the number of times I've smacked my hands into them while running, but this is the first time I've actually been bruised by one of them. I guess I got a little too windmill-y today! My next treadmill will have curved side rails. Or rubber side rails. Or no side rails.
Anyhoo, apart from my crippling finger injury I had a great run today! Yes, I said run. I did 1.25 miles (five laps) again with a half-lap each of warm-up and cool-down, but this time I alternated running .6 laps and walking .4 in-between. Man, it felt great! So happy to be back to training. I'm going to knock out that one-mile running goal in no time, you just wait and see!
I love my treadmill, goodness knows I do, but there are two things about it that bug me. One, I wish it had the ability to set a custom speed that could be accessed with one button. For example, I run most comfortably at 4.2 miles per hour (don't laugh). It's such a pain, when I switch from walking to running, to have to hit the "4" button and then the "up" button to increase the speed in .1-mile increments. All I need is a button labeled "custom" that I can set to whatever speed I want, making it really easy to toggle back and forth between my walking speed (3 m.p.h.)(I said don't laugh) and my running speed. Is that too much to ask?
Second, the side rails are so poorly designed. They're too short and too high, and they consist of pretty much just a couple of capped metal tubes that jut straight out from the front of the machine. I can't even count the number of times I've smacked my hands into them while running, but this is the first time I've actually been bruised by one of them. I guess I got a little too windmill-y today! My next treadmill will have curved side rails. Or rubber side rails. Or no side rails.
Anyhoo, apart from my crippling finger injury I had a great run today! Yes, I said run. I did 1.25 miles (five laps) again with a half-lap each of warm-up and cool-down, but this time I alternated running .6 laps and walking .4 in-between. Man, it felt great! So happy to be back to training. I'm going to knock out that one-mile running goal in no time, you just wait and see!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Back in the saddle
Well, that was fun. The low-grade fever I came down with on Wednesday evening ended up lingering for several days, forcing me to stop running altogether while I got over it. You haven't seen grumpy until you've seen me sick, and when you add not being able to run into the mix, well. It wasn't pretty.
I've been fever-free since yesterday morning, so this morning I hopped back on the treadmill. What I really wanted to do was pick up where I left off and run my heart out, but I knew that would be stupid with my body still in recovery mode so I took it easy. I did five laps, or 1.25 miles, altogether with a half-lap each of warm-up and cool-down and then alternating half-laps of moderate walking and speed-walking in between. I didn't want any impact on my muscles, joints and whatnot after just having gotten over a fever, but I didn't want to just mosey either. It definitely felt like I was working but my body seemed to handle it okay, so tomorrow I'll throw in some running intervals and take it from there.
I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little nervous about the 5K in September. My training has suffered way more setbacks than I would like. I've been checking online for local races coming up this fall so I can line up another one down the road if I have to punk out on this one, but it really will feel like failing if I don't even try! Fingers crossed that I can reach my short-term goal of running a mile without stopping by the end of July. If I can do that, I think it'll really boost my confidence.
I've been fever-free since yesterday morning, so this morning I hopped back on the treadmill. What I really wanted to do was pick up where I left off and run my heart out, but I knew that would be stupid with my body still in recovery mode so I took it easy. I did five laps, or 1.25 miles, altogether with a half-lap each of warm-up and cool-down and then alternating half-laps of moderate walking and speed-walking in between. I didn't want any impact on my muscles, joints and whatnot after just having gotten over a fever, but I didn't want to just mosey either. It definitely felt like I was working but my body seemed to handle it okay, so tomorrow I'll throw in some running intervals and take it from there.
I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little nervous about the 5K in September. My training has suffered way more setbacks than I would like. I've been checking online for local races coming up this fall so I can line up another one down the road if I have to punk out on this one, but it really will feel like failing if I don't even try! Fingers crossed that I can reach my short-term goal of running a mile without stopping by the end of July. If I can do that, I think it'll really boost my confidence.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Human after all
Well, I solved the mystery of yesterday's crummy run. I'll spare you the list of symptoms, but it appears I've come down with a mild bug of some sort. I run a low-grade fever at the drop of a hat -- I guess that's a convenient signal to slow down -- and I know from experience that I can either heal from whatever ails me or exercise, but not both at the same time. So I skipped the treadmill altogether today and will see how I feel tomorrow. With luck, I won't be sidelined for too long and will at least be able to get back to some easy run/walk intervals soon!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Like running through oatmeal
That's how it felt on the treadmill this morning. I ran the exact same speed/distance/intervals as yesterday (and the day before, for that matter) but for some reason today it was such a struggle. My legs were burning a bit after the first running interval and I didn't think too much of it, but then my precisely timed walk break seemed so unexpectedly short. The second running interval was a definite struggle -- I was fatigued, the air felt thick, I found myself leaning forward while simultaneously landing on my heels more than usual (how does that even work?!), and my calves were burning. The second walk break seemed to last microseconds, and when the third running interval rolled around I found myself thinking "oh no" instead of my usual "let's go"!
My internal pep talk even regressed to monosyllables as I mentally chanted, "Go, go, go. Push, push, push." (Usually my pep self-talks go more along the lines of: "You're strong. You can do this. Just keep moving.") By the time I finished I was panting and wheezing and felt about half dead. It took forever for me to cool down and get my heart rate back to normal.
What gives? I don't know what was different this time. I actually slept better last night than the night before, and had a decent breakfast of protein and complex carbs, but it really was like running through oatmeal today. Maybe it's because it was my third day in a row running the same speed/distance/intervals? Pundits say you shouldn't run every day, but I've found that because of the fibromyalgia, if I don't move every single day my body resets to "zero" and I have to start all over again to build up intensity. It might be time to play around with alternating easy runs vs. hard (for me) runs, though. I definitely don't want to get another injury, and more than that, I want to be having fun!
Yesterday's run was so great, and today it was just torture. Same run, two completely different experiences. Is it the fibromyalgia, or just running in general? Who knows? I just know that for the first time today, with my 5K almost exactly two months away, I started to get a little nervous about it. And that is no place for my head to be while training.
My internal pep talk even regressed to monosyllables as I mentally chanted, "Go, go, go. Push, push, push." (Usually my pep self-talks go more along the lines of: "You're strong. You can do this. Just keep moving.") By the time I finished I was panting and wheezing and felt about half dead. It took forever for me to cool down and get my heart rate back to normal.
What gives? I don't know what was different this time. I actually slept better last night than the night before, and had a decent breakfast of protein and complex carbs, but it really was like running through oatmeal today. Maybe it's because it was my third day in a row running the same speed/distance/intervals? Pundits say you shouldn't run every day, but I've found that because of the fibromyalgia, if I don't move every single day my body resets to "zero" and I have to start all over again to build up intensity. It might be time to play around with alternating easy runs vs. hard (for me) runs, though. I definitely don't want to get another injury, and more than that, I want to be having fun!
Yesterday's run was so great, and today it was just torture. Same run, two completely different experiences. Is it the fibromyalgia, or just running in general? Who knows? I just know that for the first time today, with my 5K almost exactly two months away, I started to get a little nervous about it. And that is no place for my head to be while training.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Baby steps
It's easy to get discouraged while exercising with fibromyalgia. Progress can be unbelievably slow and recovery time unbelievably long compared to what other runners seem to experience. Thanks to new technology that allows runners to share run distances, times, pacing, etc. instantly through social media like Facebook and Twitter, I'm constantly aware of how I compare to other runners I know.
In a word, I am SLOW. And lacking endurance, big-time.
I try not to focus on that, though. The important thing is that I am MOVING. I might be doing it slowly, but I'm doing it! And by golly, that's all that matters.
With that being said, I thought I'd report in on my 5K training, such as it is. I'm still running on the treadmill exclusively (a) because it's hotter than Satan's armpit out there, and (b) because I like the control it gives me. Today I did six laps on the treadmill, which equals a mile and a half. The first half lap (.125 miles) was warmup, then I ran eight-tenths of a lap and walked two-tenths of a lap until I had covered 4.3 laps. The remainder was cool-down.
Is that a lot of running? Nope. But it's a lot of running for me, and it felt pretty damn good!
My immediate goal is to be able to run a mile without stopping. Not fast, just without stopping. After that I need to increase my distance so that I'm eventually able to run three miles with just short walk breaks between miles. And then it'll be time to get off the treadmill and hit the trail where the 5K is taking place to make sure my knees can handle it (not to mention acclimating myself to the heat and humidity, ugh). My fibromyalgia is flared by weather changes so that is a huge hurdle for me, running outside with the humidity and everything and still being able to recover afterwards. I guess we'll see what happens!
In a word, I am SLOW. And lacking endurance, big-time.
I try not to focus on that, though. The important thing is that I am MOVING. I might be doing it slowly, but I'm doing it! And by golly, that's all that matters.
With that being said, I thought I'd report in on my 5K training, such as it is. I'm still running on the treadmill exclusively (a) because it's hotter than Satan's armpit out there, and (b) because I like the control it gives me. Today I did six laps on the treadmill, which equals a mile and a half. The first half lap (.125 miles) was warmup, then I ran eight-tenths of a lap and walked two-tenths of a lap until I had covered 4.3 laps. The remainder was cool-down.
Is that a lot of running? Nope. But it's a lot of running for me, and it felt pretty damn good!
My immediate goal is to be able to run a mile without stopping. Not fast, just without stopping. After that I need to increase my distance so that I'm eventually able to run three miles with just short walk breaks between miles. And then it'll be time to get off the treadmill and hit the trail where the 5K is taking place to make sure my knees can handle it (not to mention acclimating myself to the heat and humidity, ugh). My fibromyalgia is flared by weather changes so that is a huge hurdle for me, running outside with the humidity and everything and still being able to recover afterwards. I guess we'll see what happens!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Pushing through
I am not a natural athlete. Even as a teenager, when I was probably in the best shape of my life, I didn't enjoy sports. I lacked coordination, endurance, talent, motivation -- pretty much everything necessary for success or even enjoyment of most athletic endeavors. My brother was a terror on the football field and my best friend was a star on our high school's cross-country team, and while I was happy to cheer them on from the sidelines, quietly envious of their skill and discipline, I had no actual desire to join them in the ranks of real athletes. When forced to run around the track in high school P.E. class I would drag myself along grudgingly, walking the straights and lurching through the curves in a half-jog, hand clutching the stitch in my side, hating every minute of it.
Twenty-five years, two kids and one fibromyalgia diagnosis later and I am running and loving it. Go figure!
It's easy for me to remember when I first felt the love because it only happened a couple of months ago. I was running on the treadmill and feeling the burn. My shins were sore, my hips were on fire, my left knee felt wonky and I had a weird twinge in the arch of my right foot. I wanted to fall back to a walk, but I had promised myself that I'd run for a certain distance before doing that and I wasn't quite there yet.
So, I pushed through. I kept going even though I wanted to quit. I can't honestly say I had ever done that before with any physical activity (barring childbirth, not that I had much choice there). As strange as this sounds, I'm not sure I even realized it was an option. But this time it was a deliberate choice: my brain threw up a wall, and I decided to crash through it. What I found on the other side was that feeling I've heard athletes refer to so many times -- the second wind, the zone, the endorphin rush. It's a feeling difficult to describe to anyone who hasn't felt it, but it was positively drug-like and I was an instant addict. For the first time I wasn't running because I wanted to be active in my old age, because I wanted to be healthy, because I wanted to prove something to myself -- I was running because it felt amazing!
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that in hindsight it might not have been the best idea crashing through that wall. One of the things fibromyalgia does is magnify the body's pain signals. It also distorts sensory input, telling the body it's in pain when it really isn't. When I first started running, I had no way of knowing whether any pain I felt was the start of an injury or just my central nervous system playing tricks on me. I told myself that real runners pushed through the pain. No pain, no gain, right? They wouldn't say it if it wasn't true! How was I ever going to become a real runner if I stopped every time I felt a twinge?
So I pushed through, and even though I got invited to the endorphin party as a reward, I'm convinced that was the beginning stage of my knee injury. I continued to run on it every day, pushing past the persistent pain signals my body was sending, and weakened my knee to the point that one short trail run was enough to finish it off. Whoops!
I've since become a lot more sensible about pushing through pain. It's still hard for me to tell whether the pain I feel is due to an impending injury or just some random fibro misfire that will disappear as mysteriously as it began, but now when I run and my brain tells me to slow down or stop I do a body check: does anything hurt? Is it a sharp pain or a dull pain? Is it really pain or just fatigue/soreness? No more second-guessing -- if it hurts, I slow down. If I'm just sore or tired, I go a little bit further in pursuit of that elusive but oh-so-addictive runner's high.
I'm not quite there yet, and the going is a lot slower than I'd like, but I can tell I'm making definite progress toward my ultimate goal: no (by which I mean a manageable level of normal-for-me) pain, all gain!
Twenty-five years, two kids and one fibromyalgia diagnosis later and I am running and loving it. Go figure!
It's easy for me to remember when I first felt the love because it only happened a couple of months ago. I was running on the treadmill and feeling the burn. My shins were sore, my hips were on fire, my left knee felt wonky and I had a weird twinge in the arch of my right foot. I wanted to fall back to a walk, but I had promised myself that I'd run for a certain distance before doing that and I wasn't quite there yet.
So, I pushed through. I kept going even though I wanted to quit. I can't honestly say I had ever done that before with any physical activity (barring childbirth, not that I had much choice there). As strange as this sounds, I'm not sure I even realized it was an option. But this time it was a deliberate choice: my brain threw up a wall, and I decided to crash through it. What I found on the other side was that feeling I've heard athletes refer to so many times -- the second wind, the zone, the endorphin rush. It's a feeling difficult to describe to anyone who hasn't felt it, but it was positively drug-like and I was an instant addict. For the first time I wasn't running because I wanted to be active in my old age, because I wanted to be healthy, because I wanted to prove something to myself -- I was running because it felt amazing!
In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that in hindsight it might not have been the best idea crashing through that wall. One of the things fibromyalgia does is magnify the body's pain signals. It also distorts sensory input, telling the body it's in pain when it really isn't. When I first started running, I had no way of knowing whether any pain I felt was the start of an injury or just my central nervous system playing tricks on me. I told myself that real runners pushed through the pain. No pain, no gain, right? They wouldn't say it if it wasn't true! How was I ever going to become a real runner if I stopped every time I felt a twinge?
So I pushed through, and even though I got invited to the endorphin party as a reward, I'm convinced that was the beginning stage of my knee injury. I continued to run on it every day, pushing past the persistent pain signals my body was sending, and weakened my knee to the point that one short trail run was enough to finish it off. Whoops!
I've since become a lot more sensible about pushing through pain. It's still hard for me to tell whether the pain I feel is due to an impending injury or just some random fibro misfire that will disappear as mysteriously as it began, but now when I run and my brain tells me to slow down or stop I do a body check: does anything hurt? Is it a sharp pain or a dull pain? Is it really pain or just fatigue/soreness? No more second-guessing -- if it hurts, I slow down. If I'm just sore or tired, I go a little bit further in pursuit of that elusive but oh-so-addictive runner's high.
I'm not quite there yet, and the going is a lot slower than I'd like, but I can tell I'm making definite progress toward my ultimate goal: no (by which I mean a manageable level of normal-for-me) pain, all gain!
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