Well, I got in a couple of runs since my last post. I ran a four miler on Wednesday that I felt OK during. The ankle is a little weak and sore yet, but there isn't much to do but keep icing it down, taking some Advil from time to time, and keep doing leg lifts on just that foot. I know that it is a strength and stretching issue, so that is what I am working on with that foot. It actually isn't feeling too bad today.
Yesterday, I did a nice slow 5 miler. Considering that I took two weeks off while I am supposed to be building up to two 10K's 5 miles is pretty major. I will try much harder to get to the gym starting this week. I need to get some cross-training in to help rehab the ankle, and working with actual weights will help. My plan is to be at the Y at least three times a week, and go running three times a week. I need to get to 6+ miles in about 2 weeks, so I think that will be my goal for this week's long run and next weeks as well. I may actually map out the two races coming up and just "run the races" before the race. Since they both go by my house, I don't need to start off by going somewhere to start from.
If I can get my ankle to stop hurting every time I finish a run, I will add in a day of wind sprints at the track. It is an easy mile jog to the track, do a mile or two of intervals, and then a nice slow jog back home. That should help the ground speed a bit. I just need to get this ankle strong enough to take that kind of pressure. Well, time for me to go do some more leg stretches.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Two weeks off, not how I wanted to train
But hey, that is why I say to be flexible. My left ankle needed the time off that the oral surgeon forced me to take. The look he gave me when I asked if I could run the day after he cut my mouth to ribbons was almost classic. Turns out that when they put large holes in your head they don't want you to ramp up your heart-rate for fear of filling your mouth with copious amount of blood. I didn't push it since my ankle was still giving me fits just walking around. So, I took some time off from running and let my ankle get better. Oh yeah, and my mouth too. Both felt great this morning, and I busted out a 4 miler with no problem. Tomorrow, per my "personal trainer" I will be heading to the Y to get in some weight lifting and maybe some elliptical or rowing machine time. I definitely do not need to put in a lot of cardio time, since that is what the running is for, but I think getting in some different leg work would be good. I think I will be firing the Nike Coach as well. It doesn't have a lot of flexibility to the system, and that is by design, they can't have every runner modifying the system every other day, so they make it fairly static. I will look at some other schedules and go with those.
My Sister-in-law came up for the weekend of my wife's birthday, and we talked ourselves out of running the late July Pikermi in SW Washington. Her boy friend grew up in the town where the race is, and he said that it is not the nicest lake, and the humidity at that time of year would make for a miserable run. So I think instead we will look at doing a 10K on the beach the weekend before. A 9:00 start time in July would be bad anywhere but on the edge of the Pacific. Nothing like 60 degree days and cool breezes to make a nice run. I may still find a pikermi before the one on my birthday, but we shall see. I am registered for the one on my birthday, and I will train hard all summer for that one. There are two races coming in the near future in the town I live in so those will be fun. They are also cheap. Some of these races are pricey to run in, so I have to keep an eye on that as well.
My Sister-in-law came up for the weekend of my wife's birthday, and we talked ourselves out of running the late July Pikermi in SW Washington. Her boy friend grew up in the town where the race is, and he said that it is not the nicest lake, and the humidity at that time of year would make for a miserable run. So I think instead we will look at doing a 10K on the beach the weekend before. A 9:00 start time in July would be bad anywhere but on the edge of the Pacific. Nothing like 60 degree days and cool breezes to make a nice run. I may still find a pikermi before the one on my birthday, but we shall see. I am registered for the one on my birthday, and I will train hard all summer for that one. There are two races coming in the near future in the town I live in so those will be fun. They are also cheap. Some of these races are pricey to run in, so I have to keep an eye on that as well.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Ankles are still sore
I slept in today, and then went out for my long run. This week's long run was another 5 miler, I had to gut it out a bit, and then once I got home, iced both of the ankles. The left is sore from Sunday's run on back roads. I hugged the side of the road and my left foot was constantly striking on the edge of the road, and thus my foot was angled to the side. This stressed the tendons and the joint. It may be a bit sore for a few weeks, but I think I can work through it, we shall have to see.
So today's run was around town on city streets and sidewalks. That makes for a nice place to run, and our little town is pretty quite in the mornings. There are very few cars that one has to contend with during the runs. I stay off the main drags so I only see a handful of cars even when starting out at 9 am. Later on in the summer, that course will be filled in town with the Saturday market crowds, and I will have to adjust my routes a bit, but by then I should be in full Pikermi training, so my long runs will be incorporating a large hill and back roads more and more. I will need to get out a bit earlier to work around potential traffic on the back roads so that I can keep my ankles off the edges. I don't think it will be too much of a problem, but still, I would like to live to see the race.
I just read an article about how much water to drink during the day, and it seems like a crazy amount. Here is a link to that article: LINK. I would say it is safe to assume that we all do not drink enough water. It is easier if you carry a water bottle, but that is a lot of water. I need to be drinking about 100 ounces a day according to that, and if I adjust for my caffeine: I need 95 ounces for my weight, plus an additional 20 for my coffee habit, makes for 115 ounces of water a day. For those of you playing along at home, that means I need to drink a gallon of water every day. I already drink three bottles about everyday, so I need to add in two more. That won't be too hard, but that is still a lot of water.
Next week, starting Tuesday to give my ankles some rest, is 4 miles, 2 miles, 4 miles, a day off, then 5 miles. So I am adding 2 miles to my weekly total next week. Run days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. I just hope my ankles heal up while I move forward. I really don't want to take time off. But, at this point, I am early enough in the cycle, that I would still make it through the next two races, it would just be harder to finish with good times.
So today's run was around town on city streets and sidewalks. That makes for a nice place to run, and our little town is pretty quite in the mornings. There are very few cars that one has to contend with during the runs. I stay off the main drags so I only see a handful of cars even when starting out at 9 am. Later on in the summer, that course will be filled in town with the Saturday market crowds, and I will have to adjust my routes a bit, but by then I should be in full Pikermi training, so my long runs will be incorporating a large hill and back roads more and more. I will need to get out a bit earlier to work around potential traffic on the back roads so that I can keep my ankles off the edges. I don't think it will be too much of a problem, but still, I would like to live to see the race.
I just read an article about how much water to drink during the day, and it seems like a crazy amount. Here is a link to that article: LINK. I would say it is safe to assume that we all do not drink enough water. It is easier if you carry a water bottle, but that is a lot of water. I need to be drinking about 100 ounces a day according to that, and if I adjust for my caffeine: I need 95 ounces for my weight, plus an additional 20 for my coffee habit, makes for 115 ounces of water a day. For those of you playing along at home, that means I need to drink a gallon of water every day. I already drink three bottles about everyday, so I need to add in two more. That won't be too hard, but that is still a lot of water.
Next week, starting Tuesday to give my ankles some rest, is 4 miles, 2 miles, 4 miles, a day off, then 5 miles. So I am adding 2 miles to my weekly total next week. Run days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. I just hope my ankles heal up while I move forward. I really don't want to take time off. But, at this point, I am early enough in the cycle, that I would still make it through the next two races, it would just be harder to finish with good times.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This morning's run
Was scheduled to be 4 miles on a hilly course, run hard on the uphills and easy on the down. It was also very dark on that lovely back-road. I may need to get a clip-on light for my hat in addition to the hand held flashlights. One worked flawlessly, the other not so much. I will be writing the manufacturer and seeing if there is a repair kit or new batteries for it. It just did not want to run both bulbs at full brightness, so I ran with just the "glow-stick" portion on. That reminds me, the new flashlights are cool. They look like over-long glow-sticks. At the front they have a bright white LED for forward light, and the back is a colored LED to illuminate the glow-stick. I have green and red. I ended up with the red one tucked into my reflective harness (vest is the wrong word for it as it is just a few straps). The green one worked great and cast way more light than I would have thought. I think I would still like to have a little more forward light than these produced, but I was able to point the light where I wanted as I was running. I may not need the extra lights if I can get the red stick to work correctly.
I do not know how effective they were at signaling to drivers that I was there, as I only saw three cars between the time I left the lighted, sidewalked sections of my run and my return to those same sections. And they were all in front of my by 1/4 mile or so and going the same direction as I was. However, that doesn't mean that as I approached an intersection that my lights did not alert the driver approaching that intersection from my left that I was there and moving into that intersection in front of him. And on mornings that I go out when it is still dark, I will carry them with me.
My ankles tightened up a little on the last long downhill, but by the time I got done running hard on the last uphill they had loosened up again and as I type this are not feeling too bad. The pain this morning is a more expected inside the ankle and not outside the ankle pain, so I am certain that it will go away by tonight with a little random stretching throughout the day. I also scared the hell out of some unseen animal that was in some tall grass near a stream. It moved, I hissed very loudly and there was lots of splashing in the water. Nothing like a quick shot of adrenalin at just about 2 miles to make the rest of the run seem pretty easy.
All in all, I would say it was a good run, and I will try very hard tomorrow to get up and go to the Y. I feel I need to start working with some weights in the hopes that they will help with the ankle issues. I am trying to find some quality information on that, but all I have found so far is how to treat the issues, not how to train away from them. I will spend more time on that as well.
I do not know how effective they were at signaling to drivers that I was there, as I only saw three cars between the time I left the lighted, sidewalked sections of my run and my return to those same sections. And they were all in front of my by 1/4 mile or so and going the same direction as I was. However, that doesn't mean that as I approached an intersection that my lights did not alert the driver approaching that intersection from my left that I was there and moving into that intersection in front of him. And on mornings that I go out when it is still dark, I will carry them with me.
My ankles tightened up a little on the last long downhill, but by the time I got done running hard on the last uphill they had loosened up again and as I type this are not feeling too bad. The pain this morning is a more expected inside the ankle and not outside the ankle pain, so I am certain that it will go away by tonight with a little random stretching throughout the day. I also scared the hell out of some unseen animal that was in some tall grass near a stream. It moved, I hissed very loudly and there was lots of splashing in the water. Nothing like a quick shot of adrenalin at just about 2 miles to make the rest of the run seem pretty easy.
All in all, I would say it was a good run, and I will try very hard tomorrow to get up and go to the Y. I feel I need to start working with some weights in the hopes that they will help with the ankle issues. I am trying to find some quality information on that, but all I have found so far is how to treat the issues, not how to train away from them. I will spend more time on that as well.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Been a busy week
Last week went well. I did not, however, get up to the Y and do any cross-training. I really need to start that. I got in my three mile run on Tuesday of last week, and then Thursday I got up and chugged out 5 miles! By the end of that 5 miles I was actually surprised in that I felt like I could push a little more if I had needed to. But, after clocking in the 5 in a 10:40 pace, I went home, stretched and showered, and got ready to get to work. I am now shifting my schedule a little to move my "long run day" to Saturday. I won't be able to continue getting up progressively earlier just to keep tacking miles onto the end.
I tracked out a couple of 4 mile paths to run and then I bought some spiffy cool lights to run with over the weekend. I am a going to keep talking about carrying lights when runners are out in the dark until I get a movement started. I see lots and lots of reflective material out on the street, but that means the car or truck has to have its lights on you for the fabric to do its job. If you are approaching an intersection, the driver won't necessarily see you until he is making you into his new Saucony-clad hood ornament. If you carry a flashlight for visibility that is great, the moving light catches peoples attention. But too often I see people out without any sort of light, and they are relying on their reflective clothes and street lights to keep them safe.
Sunday morning dawned slightly overcast and I waited for the sun to clear the Cascades before I headed out onto the streets. I wouldn't be needing my new lights for this run. I wanted to see what I would be running on in the daylight on the new path. After about 3/4 of a mile, I left the sidewalks of my development behind and trucked out onto country roads. Complete with nice goats, cows and llamas to run along side. It will be a GREAT path for the days that the Nike "coach" wants me to "on a hilly coarse, run hard up hill and easy on the down" as this route has about 4 good little hills that I "get" to run up and down. This should be good for helping to build speed.
When I finished my run, my left foot, specifically my ankle, hurt. I applied a little ice and kept it elevated for about a half an hour. I stretched about three times on Sunday and just could not seem to get whatever was hurting to stop. I limped around a bit the rest of the day. Monday came and I had the same pains in the outside of my ankle, but I gave my foot a couple of REALLY good manual stretches and that seemed to help, so I knew that it was tendon related. So, I went to work limping a little and stretched as often as I could. I got home and the ankle was still bugging me a bit, so I decided to look it up. And there, right on the Internet, was what the issue was. Since I was running on back roads with no sidewalks, and it was during the day, so I couldn't see cars coming via headlights, I was sticking very close to the shoulder of the road. This meant that my left foot-strikes were below and angled away from my right. This in turn stressed the tendons and the joint, which were doing their best to get my foot back to square.
I gave my foot the day off today, and I will go out tomorrow for another 4 mile run in the morning. It will be dark, so there will be two differences right off the bat. One I will be able to run more in the road, as I will be able to see the cars coming from further away and around corners, and I get to try out the new lights. Look for a light update tomorrow.
I tracked out a couple of 4 mile paths to run and then I bought some spiffy cool lights to run with over the weekend. I am a going to keep talking about carrying lights when runners are out in the dark until I get a movement started. I see lots and lots of reflective material out on the street, but that means the car or truck has to have its lights on you for the fabric to do its job. If you are approaching an intersection, the driver won't necessarily see you until he is making you into his new Saucony-clad hood ornament. If you carry a flashlight for visibility that is great, the moving light catches peoples attention. But too often I see people out without any sort of light, and they are relying on their reflective clothes and street lights to keep them safe.
Sunday morning dawned slightly overcast and I waited for the sun to clear the Cascades before I headed out onto the streets. I wouldn't be needing my new lights for this run. I wanted to see what I would be running on in the daylight on the new path. After about 3/4 of a mile, I left the sidewalks of my development behind and trucked out onto country roads. Complete with nice goats, cows and llamas to run along side. It will be a GREAT path for the days that the Nike "coach" wants me to "on a hilly coarse, run hard up hill and easy on the down" as this route has about 4 good little hills that I "get" to run up and down. This should be good for helping to build speed.
When I finished my run, my left foot, specifically my ankle, hurt. I applied a little ice and kept it elevated for about a half an hour. I stretched about three times on Sunday and just could not seem to get whatever was hurting to stop. I limped around a bit the rest of the day. Monday came and I had the same pains in the outside of my ankle, but I gave my foot a couple of REALLY good manual stretches and that seemed to help, so I knew that it was tendon related. So, I went to work limping a little and stretched as often as I could. I got home and the ankle was still bugging me a bit, so I decided to look it up. And there, right on the Internet, was what the issue was. Since I was running on back roads with no sidewalks, and it was during the day, so I couldn't see cars coming via headlights, I was sticking very close to the shoulder of the road. This meant that my left foot-strikes were below and angled away from my right. This in turn stressed the tendons and the joint, which were doing their best to get my foot back to square.
I gave my foot the day off today, and I will go out tomorrow for another 4 mile run in the morning. It will be dark, so there will be two differences right off the bat. One I will be able to run more in the road, as I will be able to see the cars coming from further away and around corners, and I get to try out the new lights. Look for a light update tomorrow.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Shamrock Rocked!
Today was the big day. The Portland 32nd annual Shamrock Run. To say this is an event in my little burg is an understatement. There were 21,500 participants in the various events today. They had to stagger the starts so that everyone had a clear stretch of pavement to get sorted out on before the first turn. I gathered up with the 9-10 minute mile group and settled in for about a bit of a wait. The horn sounded and the 5-6's took off, then they moved the 6-7's up, then the 7-8's then 8-9's, then us. All told it was easily 7 minutes after the horn that we were allowed onto the track. So my official time is "horn to finish" but they do use chips, so we also got our net-times, which is pad to pad for each runner.
I started off towards the front of the group by dint of my just kind of not moving to the back of the line when we were gathering up. I dodged and wove my way through slower runners, faster runners, people asking about the kilt, and the general throngs of people that comprise that many people participating in an event. My official, "gun time" was 37:03, my actual "net time" was 29:20. So my estimation of how long we were waiting is just about accurate. It was a little cold at the start, the weather people getting it wrong again, so it was about 6 degrees colder than the predicted 40, but I went with the event shirt (short sleeved and my kilt. I, hopefully will have photos from this one soon, although there wasn't the same level of photo ops as during the Jingle Bell Run. I need to get a photographer to come out to a race so I can get some good shots, maybe in May.
So, today's run counts as my first run towards my training for the two 10K's. Tomorrow I will hit the Y bright and early and get in some serious stretching and some weights. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just toning weights and reps. I am thinking that since Mondays will become a light run day as well, that I may have to look at the whole program and figure out which day(s) will be for rest and which will be for weights. There is a limit to what I can do given my work schedule, but that will be part of the process of this blog, figuring what works and what doesn't. So far, I am very happy with both my efforts and my results. Now, I want to redouble my input and hopefully get that back. I am holding at about 190 in weight, and I ran an 5K today without having to walk at any point during the race. Three months ago, that was not possible, and I was 205 easy. I look forward to the challenge I have given myself, and look forward to the seeing the results.
I started off towards the front of the group by dint of my just kind of not moving to the back of the line when we were gathering up. I dodged and wove my way through slower runners, faster runners, people asking about the kilt, and the general throngs of people that comprise that many people participating in an event. My official, "gun time" was 37:03, my actual "net time" was 29:20. So my estimation of how long we were waiting is just about accurate. It was a little cold at the start, the weather people getting it wrong again, so it was about 6 degrees colder than the predicted 40, but I went with the event shirt (short sleeved and my kilt. I, hopefully will have photos from this one soon, although there wasn't the same level of photo ops as during the Jingle Bell Run. I need to get a photographer to come out to a race so I can get some good shots, maybe in May.
So, today's run counts as my first run towards my training for the two 10K's. Tomorrow I will hit the Y bright and early and get in some serious stretching and some weights. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just toning weights and reps. I am thinking that since Mondays will become a light run day as well, that I may have to look at the whole program and figure out which day(s) will be for rest and which will be for weights. There is a limit to what I can do given my work schedule, but that will be part of the process of this blog, figuring what works and what doesn't. So far, I am very happy with both my efforts and my results. Now, I want to redouble my input and hopefully get that back. I am holding at about 190 in weight, and I ran an 5K today without having to walk at any point during the race. Three months ago, that was not possible, and I was 205 easy. I look forward to the challenge I have given myself, and look forward to the seeing the results.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
C25K is finished!
So today marks the end of my Couch-to-5K training. Cool Running is where it is from and here is the link to the training plan. This is a great starting point for anyone wanting to start running. They also have a Facebook presence and it is large and supportive as well. Everyone wants you to succeed in getting going. There are people from all levels there, including folks training for marathons offering advice and encouragement. Plus it is a great place to brag about your morning run. I am now in the rest period for my race on Sunday, and I will get photos from the race and I will post them here for all to see me in my kilt at the race.
So now is the planning stage for the next two races. Since they are so close together training for one is training for the other, so into the breach I go. Sunday's race will be the first "training run" of the next training cycle. So I have cobbled together the following rough schedule, combining some from here some from there, and tracking it with the ever present and encouraging Nike+ site. I do like that I can look back and see how far I have come in terms of both distance run and time spent doing it.
So the following schedule will be started on Sunday, and I will update this as we go forward, so next week will be:
Sunday --- 3 mile run
Monday --- stretch and light weight work out.
Tuesday --- 3 mile run
Wednesday --- stretching and light weights
Thursday --- 5 mile run
Friday ---- stretch maybe some elliptical time.
Saturday --- rest -- the all important rest day.
Now before everyone flips about the 5 miles on Thursday, this will not be run at 10 minute miles, I am thinking probably more like 12 minute miles, and it will take over an hour to do. This is fine with me. I will just have to get up earlier. The two 3 milers will be at a faster pace, so Thursday is just to log the distance in. Since the goal is to get up to 10K by May, and be able to post a good time in both, I think I can push a little harder than I have. Keeping in mind that I am all about being flexible with this whole thing, I will not go until my feet are bleeding, but I am finishing up my runs feeling pretty good right now, so finishing one a week feeling spent should help me get faster and better as we go.
One of the things that I noticed this morning on Facebook this morning was someone in the early stages of the C25K program asking for advice on leg pains. I have had the knee issues, but actual leg-aches, I have been surprisingly free of them. I owe this, I think, to the amount of water that I drink during the day. I drink at least 2 liters of water everyday, and most days it is closer to 3 or 4. I carry a water bottle with me everywhere, and after my morning coffee is gone, I switch to water, and that is all I drink for the rest of the day. Hydration is key to keeping your body in good shape. That and paying attention to the little aches and pains and not ignoring them. Ice is your friend, those achy knees got wrapped after every run, and now they aren't bothering me at all. Even my ankle is not complaining as much as a couple of weeks ago. I am still mindful of them and am working on strengthening the muscles that support both, you would be surprised at how weak your legs really are.
Well, until the race!
So now is the planning stage for the next two races. Since they are so close together training for one is training for the other, so into the breach I go. Sunday's race will be the first "training run" of the next training cycle. So I have cobbled together the following rough schedule, combining some from here some from there, and tracking it with the ever present and encouraging Nike+ site. I do like that I can look back and see how far I have come in terms of both distance run and time spent doing it.
So the following schedule will be started on Sunday, and I will update this as we go forward, so next week will be:
Sunday --- 3 mile run
Monday --- stretch and light weight work out.
Tuesday --- 3 mile run
Wednesday --- stretching and light weights
Thursday --- 5 mile run
Friday ---- stretch maybe some elliptical time.
Saturday --- rest -- the all important rest day.
Now before everyone flips about the 5 miles on Thursday, this will not be run at 10 minute miles, I am thinking probably more like 12 minute miles, and it will take over an hour to do. This is fine with me. I will just have to get up earlier. The two 3 milers will be at a faster pace, so Thursday is just to log the distance in. Since the goal is to get up to 10K by May, and be able to post a good time in both, I think I can push a little harder than I have. Keeping in mind that I am all about being flexible with this whole thing, I will not go until my feet are bleeding, but I am finishing up my runs feeling pretty good right now, so finishing one a week feeling spent should help me get faster and better as we go.
One of the things that I noticed this morning on Facebook this morning was someone in the early stages of the C25K program asking for advice on leg pains. I have had the knee issues, but actual leg-aches, I have been surprisingly free of them. I owe this, I think, to the amount of water that I drink during the day. I drink at least 2 liters of water everyday, and most days it is closer to 3 or 4. I carry a water bottle with me everywhere, and after my morning coffee is gone, I switch to water, and that is all I drink for the rest of the day. Hydration is key to keeping your body in good shape. That and paying attention to the little aches and pains and not ignoring them. Ice is your friend, those achy knees got wrapped after every run, and now they aren't bothering me at all. Even my ankle is not complaining as much as a couple of weeks ago. I am still mindful of them and am working on strengthening the muscles that support both, you would be surprised at how weak your legs really are.
Well, until the race!
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