Dodging the Jab

I was watching a UFC fight the other night.  One fighter came out strong, looking good, and then got tagged hard with a right hand.  He was rocked pretty good, but he did all the right things.  He covered up, stayed cautious, and took his time engaging until he was back at full strength again. Then he waded back in, back to full confidence, and promptly ate another right hand.  At this point, he looked more aggravated and frustrated than hurt.  

That's me right now.  My back started giving me problems about 2 weeks ago and I did all the right things.  I cut way back on the running, iced it, went to the chiro, etc. etc. I knew I wanted to take care of this so it didn't linger and continue to affect me.  Finally, I felt I was back to normal and was eager to pick up my training again this weekend . . .and I got a lousy cold.  (The funny thing is that I had just realized last week that since I started running, I haven't been sick - at all. So much for that.)  The usual annoying head cold/lassitude/tons of tissues cold.  Enter the aggravated and frustrated feeling.  

I said to heck with it on Sunday and went out for a run anyway - and felt better during the run than I had all weekend.  So that was pretty cool.  I purposefully emphasized the 'slow' part of the LSD with a plan of just enjoying the run.  It really worked.  I also focused on my breathing a lot more than I have in the past and that seemed to really make a difference.  It's amazing how someone's offhand comment about something they do during their run can spark an epiphany.  Now, that I did that, I think I tend to hold my breath at times, which obviously isn't good.  

So, on the plus side, good run and no back pain at all.  Bring on the second round . . .        

Back Talk

I've had a really lackadaisical training schedule this past week or so.  My back started bothering me out of nowhere - a weird tightness, semi-spasm thing.  It's all right when I run, but I seem to pay for it afterwards, so I've basically laid off.  Did an easy 5K yesterday, but nothing at all over the weekend.  It's annoying!

So, with my free time since I'm not running, I'm naturally reading about running.  I'm about halfway through "My First 100 Marathons: 2,620 Miles with an Obsessive Runner" by Jeff Horowitz.  It's a great easy read.  Jeff explores the question of 'why we run' interspersed with training tips and descriptions of a multitude of marathon courses.  It reads like sitting down with a good friend and having a long heart-to-heart about running and how it has touched his life - complete with humorous stories and intimate details.    As, I said, I'm only halfway through it, but I've already jotted down a few exercises, a few tips, and nodded my head more than once over what he has said.  

I've also just started, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami.  Very different fell to it than the previous book, and yet still seems to attempt to answer that same question, "Why do we do this?"  Just starting it, so I'll talk more about both of these once I get through them.    

Free from Bondage!

Happy days! I was diagnosed today with a neutral gait!

When I got fitted a year+ ago, when I was first getting into running, I had a fairly decent degree of overpronation. (There is something weird about talking about this in a internet blog - - it feels like chatting at a cocktail party about a colonoscopy. Not that I'm stopping, mind you.) So, my last three pairs of shoes have been motion control (specifically the Nike Structure Triax 10/11). I have liked them, but they've always felt a little hard and a little clunky, and just not easy to run in. Neutral shoes were cool, fast, hip. Motion control shoes are for the guy struggling along at the back of the pack. Yes, I know there's no basis in reality for that comment, but it's my blog. My feeling was though, if they are preventing me from having pain though, I'll take it. Then I had a setback in December with Runner's knee/tendonitis, and also got a custom insole (which sounds better than orthotic . . . because between 'orthotic' and 'motion control', I felt like my next step was a walker and a hospital gown flapping in the breeze).

So, I'm back in business and running again. Because of the knee, because I think too much anyway, I pay way too much attention to how things are feeling from the knees on down. Yes, while I'm running, I'm thinking about how my feet are striking the ground, how well I'm rolling from back to front, am I heel-striking vs midsole striking, kicking up in back, etc, etc. Well, lately, it just hasn't felt right; it felt like I was on the outside of my feet much more than I should be. Now, when I got my insole, the doc said that maybe I should look at other shoes. I was getting close to my half marathon though and didn't want to change anything. Maybe what he said just stuck in my head and I imagined the whole bit about the outside of my foot, but I'll humor myself and pretend that I really am THAT in touch with my stride.

So, today, race over with, I went in and said, "Am I wearing the right shoes?" We went through the whole thing again with the treadmill etc. and the answer was pretty clearly, 'no'. Even without the insole, my overpronation was all but gone. It was actually a little freaky. Anyway, she said that between the insole and the motion control shoes, I was probably being forced too far out, which could aggravate my knee, my IT band, my hips. . . (I TOLD YOU!!! It's so much fun writing in hindsight.)

Quick comment regarding where I went. West Stride is a fairly new running store in Atlanta. Jenny (who may choose to spell her name differently than I have) spent a ton of time with me going over the mechanics of my stride, discussing how the motion control shoes affect it, how the orthotics affect it, and ways to continue to develop strength and prevent injury. She went through the strengths and weaknesses of the various shoes, and her personal experiences with them as well. If she is any indication, this is going to become a store with a very large, very loyal following.

So, I now have a new pair of shoes, which compared to the Triax, feel like they are made of clouds, feathers, and trampoline springs. I can't wait to go for a run tomorrow.

"Don't forget the break in period though . .."

"What? I didn't hear you."

What a Pain in the . . .Shins

Bleah. I'd forgotten that feeling.

I did intervals yesterday for the first time in a long time. I've just come off of the half-marathon training program (Hal Higdon) and it basically had no speed work in it. That was perfect for me because I had some problems with my knee back in December so I wanted to just gradually work up on mileage. Good choice apparently because I was really happy with my race. Thanks Hal.

Well, now I'm looking at the summer 5K and 10K races and trying to up my game a little bit. So, back to speed work. That said, the speed wasn't the problem. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it. What I DIDN'T enjoy was the nasty pain in my shins that gradually increased around the 4th rep. I made it through the speed interval, then all but collapsed on the slow jog. I was frantically stabbing the slow down button, practically holding myself up with the bar. I don't think it's shin splints; it feels more like the muscles tightening up unbearably. It relaxed after I walked and stretched, then came right back again by the end of the next speed interval.

And . . . this has happened before when I was doing speed work. I don't know what it is emanating from. Not stretching enough? Not stretching the right way? Misalignment of the planets?

It's really frustrating when pain, as opposed to lack of endurance or training, is causing a slowdown.

Home is Where the Heart is

I was talking with my dad recently and I mentioned that he was one of the reasons I finally started running.  

There were really a few things that got me started.  The first was watching my friend Matt at work get involved (nay, immersed) in running.  I casually tossed out my tried and true, "I hate running.  Always have."  and he just nodded and said he understood.  Then he would occasionally mention things he was doing to gradually work in to running.  Run/walk combinations, even when he felt like he could just run.  Going into the run slowly so his body had a chance to get used to it.  Not running to exhaustion and pain so he wouldn't dread the next run . . .  All of these came as 'aha' moments to me.  Every time I had tried running in the past, I had gone out and  . . . ran.  Not sprinted, but a good fast jog until I couldn't do it anymore.  Then I'd stop.  And try it again the next day.  In my slightly too small running shoes that I got off of the clearance rack.  And I'd usually get shin splints, and I wouldn't increase as fast as I wanted (meaning at least a mile a day or some other such random stupid thought) and I'd quit, because 'I hate running.  Always have.  See, I even tried it again and still hate it.'  

So, I continued to listen to him, never preachy, never pushy, just sharing things he was doing . . . . and finally took a trip with him to Big Peach Running Company and got fitted for a pair of running shoes.  

It's a revelation when the saleswoman looks at you and says, 'you were running in THOSE?'  She put me on the pressure pad and showed me how high my arches were, and explained what that could mean with regards to how my foot strikes the ground.  Then she took a video of my stride on the treadmill, and showed me how it compared to a neutral stride.  Then she put me in shoes that made a difference.  So now, I've got the immediate boost of knowing I'm in the right shoes and Matt's given me the tools to start correctly.  Because I don't just like, I require, gadgets, I went out and got the Nike+ so I could track my runs from day to day.  Now I don't have to measure the distance beforehand, calculate my pace while I'm running, record it afterward; it's all done for me.  And all of a sudden, I'm running, and I'm enjoying it.  Life is good.  

So back to my dad.  One of the things that helped push me to actually start is memories of my dad running when I was younger.  I told him that I remembered my sister and I going to the track with him and he nodded fondly.  I remember going out running with him (one time) and it was fun just to watch him set off.  Another fond nod.  And I ultimately wanted to get to the point where I could run the Peachtree like he did, at least once . . . and he got a quizzical look on his face.  

Dad: "I never ran the Peachtree."

Me:  "Yes, you did; I remember at least twice!"

Dad: "Noooo.  I only ran one 5K race and that was it.  Remember that t-shirt with the heart on it?  That was the one."

Me:  "Really?  Huh.  Oh well, thinking you did got me running."

ING Half Marathon

I've finally given up on my home-grown blog at flipya.us (not that I updated it that often anyway) and moved to this infinitely easier one.  Because while I do enjoy running, and I do enjoy sticking my thoughts out there, I don't feel like spending too much time doing it.

As has been said many a time, I'm posting this for me - to remember, to train, to dwell on later; and if you get something out of it - fantastic.  If not, hopefully I will at least . . . .

For a variety of reasons, laziness being the primary one, I have skipped posting anything about my training leading up to the ING Georiga half marathon on March 29th.  Maybe I'll talk about it in comparison to other training I do in the future, but it seems kind of silly to go back now, because...

I finished my first half marathon!!!!

What a fantastic race.  Major kudos to the race directors for this one.  It was beautifully organized, plenty of food, water, gatorade, great crowd support - I just had a blast running this one.  The only negative was the temperature - it was 40 degrees and windy, which was miserable for the hour before the race started and just unpleasant after it ended.  On the plus side, it is impossible to be tired at 6:00 AM when you're that cold!  Also, it was great weather for running once the race actually started.

As I said, the crowd support was fantastic.  I hope everyone out there supporting the runners realizes just how much it matters to have someone cheering.  Not just the ones in costumes, with instruments, with signs, with music . . . it's also the kids sticking their hands out for a high five, the woman walking her dog that keeps stopping to clap and exhort us on . . .what a major lift.  

    

I was shooting for a 2:11, 10 minute miles, or that is what I told everyone.  Naturally, I had a personal goal I kept a little quieter about; I was really hoping for 9:45s.  Well, how 'bout me, I crossed in 2:02:43, a 9:22 pace!!  I was ecstatic when I crossed the finish line.  I took about five steps beyond the finish line and this smile spread across my face that I honestly could not stop.  It was a great feeling.  (Of course five minutes later, I was thinking, "If I could only have cut 2 minutes and 44 seconds off my time, I could have had a sub two...." 

 Sad, so sad.