Out with Old in with the New

Yesterday Jer and I went for our weekend long run and I cut mine slightly short.  I began to walk at 11.67 miles while Jer successfully completed the 12.5 we were going for.  Unfortunately, we left the door later than we would've liked and if you are familiar with Savannah, you need to get as many miles in as you can before the sun finds you!  I was so hot and out of water so I cut my run short, SAFETY FIRST!

NEW SHOES!

A couple weekends ago when I went to Fleet Feet for the injury clinic, I also got re-fitted for shoes.  I hadn't purchased new running shoes since last October and for some reason they felt.....like they shrunk?  My toes would get blisters at the tips and would be sore after long runs.  Once I got re-fitted, turns out, they are at least a 1/2 size too small!!???!  Holy moley.. no wonder my feet would be sore (I wonder if my grandpa foot from a previous post has anything to do with this?)  I was re-sized and video taped on the treadmill with my current, too-small, worn-out shoes and then video taped in new shoes that aren't worn out and fit.  Let me just tell you what a difference they made!  My shoes are so broken down that my regularly neutral form was no longer.  My right foot remained neutral while my left began pronating.  Once I put new shoes on, re-video taped and compared videos, my left foot didn't pronate NEARLY as far (poor shoes a contributing factor for my left knee IT Band syndrome?).  Amazing.  I visually witnessed the need for new shoes.  These shoe people are not just trying to sell you new ones for the heck of it, they know what they are talking about!

I am a Mizuno gal and before I purchased the newer version of the Wave Rider that I currently have, they want to try my in the Elixir.  Unfortunately, they didn't have my size in stock and so they special ordered it for me to try (they are so great here in Savannah..they go above and beyond and genuinely focus on building a healthier, safer, you).  They haven't come in yet so I am still squishing my toes into the too-small worn-out ones and keeping my fingers crossed I get them in this week....Pics to come when they do!
 :-)

Ouch!

Whew!!  What a busy couple of weeks.  My apologies for not posting sooner but I will let you know what was missed....

My first diagnosed running injury

A couple of weeks ago (most likely since my last post) I had been experiencing some knee pain, specifically my left, when I would run or go down stairs.  I figured I must have landed on it funny but the steps thing threw me off.  I could go up them with little to no pain, however, I could barely get down!  I also live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building and for some reason, my dog, Lucy, wouldn't take herself to go...,"outside" ..by herself, even though she must've known I had trouble going down.  I even tried to hand her the leash so she could carry it herself!!  Nope..wouldn't go without me.  Lazy bum:

Cute as can be!!  Worth the pain to take her potty

Fortunately, Fleet Feet Sports here in Savannah does a free injury clinic once a month and I decided I should at least get it looked at.  Turns out I have a very common injury, "I-T Band Syndrome" (feel free to look it up.)  The Dr. was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about this and gave me the best news ever:   

I DIDN'T HAVE TO STOP RUNNING!!!  

Oh man, that would've been awful.  Instead, he gave me instructions on specific stretches, icing and recommended Kinnesio tape for any run longer than 8 miles.  Since I had a 12 mile run the very next day, he have me some extra strips to hold me over until I could get my very own roll...Here is how my Sunday morning 12 mile run looked:

Ignore the crazy look on my face, it was early and I was tired!

FYI - Don't try to stick, remove, stick, remove 3-4x before running..the sticky part will no longer stick.

The run itself went great until my Garmin lost it's charge about 11.5 miles into it.  I didn't charge it the night before but a couple hours of running needs it!  It was our longest run to date and went well :-)  

This past week though, I took a few days off in an effort to heal my leg a little more and it really helped.  I can actually move down steps without cringing and feel more confident in training with a peace of mind my leg won't split in 2 places.  I also bought some beige Kinnesio tape so it doesn't stand out like a sore thumb...er...leg ;-)

REST CAN BE GOOD

Rolling through Training, Foam Rolling, and Rolling Back Time

Where are we in training??
According to our marathon training plan we have reached the end of week 6 of 18!  YAY!!  Is it all downhill from here?  I am very proud of Jer and I for sticking to the plan day by day for the last 41 days so far..:-)

Making break time at work productive

My dear friend introduced me to something I had not used nor seen before: a Foam Roller.  Is this common?  How had I missed this?  Anyway, as she introduced this tool to me complete with an excellent demonstration, she proceeded to say how much it, "hurt so good".  Now, with that description, I was a bit skeptical what to expect..Have no fear, the more you use it the better it feels, or so she says.  Being the good sport I make the effort to be, I agreed to give it a try during a break at work...

Here is VTB looking all innocent before she said anything about pain

Turns out, rolling out my hamstrings were the most tolerable :-)

Well, she was right, it did hurt..but compared it to getting a deep tissue massage.  Let's just take a moment think about getting a massage.. ::::::::::::moment of peace::::::::::::::.....

OK we're back! Well, I didn't "roll" very long because I still had a 5 mile run that evening and was afraid my quads or t-bands would tear into pieces, so I stuck with the hamstrings..which DID feel good :-)
Speaking of massage though...I haven't had a professional massage in a couple years and being an "elite athlete" and all, technically, I am supposed to have them frequently...right??

Pace adjustments..another form of feeling good about training 

After these weeks of training, I looked back at the history saved in my Garmin (which I LOVE and HIGHLY recommend) to see how my avg pace has changed from before training began, beginning of training, and after 6 weeks of diligent running.  Wow, this was really neat and made me feel like the training program is really working! Currently, I am running about 10:30+/- min/miles when going anywhere from 3 miles all the way up to 9 miles consistently (exceeding 9 miles the time was slightly higher).  Towards the beginning of training I did about 11 min/miles and months ago before training began, I avgd at 11:30-12:00ish min/miles.  It was SO COOL to see that although my distances are increasing, my time has been decreasing! This was hugely motivating and really gave the mental part of the training (just as important as the physical part) the boost I needed to continually give the extra effort each time I put my running shoes on.

Watch out Savannah Rock N Roll speed racers!  Here I come!

I LOVE Clif Products!

Usually people only write about products/services when they are dissatisfied (see my post below regarding my less than satisfactional armband), however, I also like to make sure credit is given where credit is due.  In this particular case I am referring to the Clif Company:  http://www.clifbar.com/

Not only are they are an organic and all natural food/wine producing company, good for the environment and sustainable, their products are UN-MATCHED.  As you may have seen in previous posts, during long runs, we have used sport beans and GU's, neither of which really stood out in flavor, however, both gave the energy needed.  This week, during our longest run to date (10 miles) we brought with us Clif Shot Blocks (thanks VTB!!!)................

WOW!!!!

These not only gave us the energy we needed but were also DELICIOUS!!!!!!!  Now, we are regular consumers of the Clif Bars (Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Crunch) and we also enjoy their Cabernet pouches:

 

Camping in WV..around the fire, by the lake, with a delicious glass of wine

However, after the run today we will also purchase their energy products.  What an amazing company and I highly recommend them to anyone and everyone for all of their products!!  Job well done!!

Car trouble, old feet and dirty legs!

Whew..what a week this has been.  No blogging = trouble.  For those of you who know me personally may be aware that my car had recently broke down ::insert pouty face::  This was 5 days ago now and the car is still in the shop.  This has caused me to ask favors for rides to work and carpooling for basic necessities like getting groceries..thank you to everyone who has helped out!! I greatly appreciate it!!

What have you missed???

Last Saturday (July 30) Jer and I went to Rails to Trails at Ft. Pulaski in Savannah, GA to run our 9 miles..went great (avg pace: 11:29, 966 calories burned, and 1 hr 43mins)!  I did stop at the porta-potty at mile 7 (way to go Ft. Pulaski for keeping this toilet-paper stocked!).  Other than that...awesome time and beautiful scenery..infact..I tweeted this pic w/the hashtag #seenonmyrun for @Runnersworld to hopefully RT (didn't happen, but at least I tried!):

Good morning Savannah!

We also completed our necessary 3 miles on Tuesday but ended up rearranging the rest of the week to accommodate the car troubles and work schedules:  Wednesday/Thursday - Rest, Friday - 5 miles at the YMCA (HOTTT Weather), Saturday - Rest and today, Sunday....longest run so far...

Today, Sunday, August 7, we (Jer & I) completed our longest run to date: 10 Miles!!  Avg: 11:51 pace, 1,037 calories burned and finished in under 2 hours (1 hr 58 min).  This was completed in Pooler, GA and once finished, it revealed some new insight to what comes with long running.....

Let's back up..

When I get ready to run, for some unknown reason, my left shoe always feels looser than my right and I always end up tightening it.  In doing so, my right shoe then feels looser and I adjust accordingly.  This causes a long battle and well, you get the point..endless attempting for 100% and equal shoe comfort on both feet.  Well, this morning I ran into the status quo with my left shoe feeling loose and proceeded in tightening my left shoe to match the right.  As usual, it then felt tightest, however, I wasn't going to fall in to the normal trap and simply left it the way it was....tight on the left, loose on the right.  Well, after 10 miles of sweat...we returned to our apartment and began to stretch.  This is the time when we noticed some physical differences in ourselves from when we left, to when we returned.....

What's wrong with that left foot?

Is that a tan line??

Picture 1:

OK - these are my feet.  I was quite startled when I was stretching and immediately noticed that my left foot was very old, white and wrinkled looking.  My right foot.... - Normal?.  I didn't recall leaving my left foot in a hot tub to soak while the rest of me left for a long run...however..I was definitely a bit baffled by this conundrum and referred to my dear friend: www.google.com.  This frantic search revealed that a combination of lots of sweat and TIGHT SHOES can cause old, wrinkly-looking feet...oopss..lesson learned.  I promise to no longer tighten my loosely-felt left shoe that I continually struggle with a minimum of 4 days a week.  Besides, this may save me more time in the mornings anyway

Picture 2:

These are Jer's legs and they appear to have gained a tan line near the ankles on our run in the sun.  However, this is no tan line...this is how our legs look after our long trail runs.  We run, we kick up dirt, we stomp through mud puddles and by golly we like it!  Our evidence though, it quickly removed after the shower that immediately follows the training run. 

Something that has certainly helped us was joining the YMCA!  This is perfect for cross-training days or short runs when early morning doesn't fit our work schedules or it is 112 degrees outside.  YAY for www.groupon.com for featuring a discounted membership!  I LOOOVVEEE Yoga and group classes!!  I will try to fit them in any time I can :-)

All in all, I would say the training was a great success and I can't wait for the upcoming week!  

Go DNation!!!!