A Running Update and Piling on the Miles

I haven't said too much about my lack of running status lately because I don't want to sound like a "Negative Nellie" all of the time but I am going to give you a little update in the most positive way that I can. The last two months since the Disneyland Half Marathon have not been so great. I have been battling some serious issues with my right shin and it just won't seem to go away.  I have icing like crazy, foam rolling, using my stick, taking ibuprofen and doing all of the things that I should be to get rid of the problem. My mileage for the past couple of months kind of says it all and it makes me sad just to look at it so I am not going to look....

I pretty much took a whole three weeks off to give my shins some rest and I think it helped. I have gradually started to run here and there and have been doing lots of cross training like spinning, the elliptical plus other stuff at home like push ups, planks, my PT exercises and stretches. I think I can actually do 50 "real" push ups now and I could only do about 15-20 a couple of months ago. I was lucky enough to run 6.25 miles while on my trip to Santa Barbara and I am feeling really thankful for that. It was a pain free run and I had very little shin pain afterward. That is actually the longest run I have done in almost two months. How pitiful is that? I have really been trying to play it smart this time since I have no races on the books for the remainder of the year. I have high hopes of doing a Thanksgiving 5K and possibly a Christmas 5K with my daughter for fun. We will see what happens but no matter what I promised myself that I will not do anything that I am not fully capable of even though I am craving a run over 10 miles. I should be starting my training for my February marathon right about now but I am not so sure if that is going to happen quite yet so if I have to downgrade to the half marathon or run a slower paced marathon than I would like to, then I have accepted that. 

I have decided that I am going to keep busy whether I am running or walking so I signed up for Pile on the Miles 2012, which takes place from  November 1st through December 1st. Run Eat Repeat is inviting everyone to sign up and you have the chance to win some goodies too! You can read the rules and sign up here. 

Go Ahead and Challenge Yourself!  

I am challenging myself so I won't feel so bad about all of the cupcakes and goodies that I plan to consume during the holidays!

 
If you have ever been injured, what are your alternatives to running to keep yourself sane?

September was a Busy One!

September was a busy month for races but not for running in general. I ran the Disneyland Half Marathon and earned a PR!  I also did a family fun run, the Color Me Rad 5K and then I ran the Girls on the Go 10K. I am still dealing with the pain in my right shin and even though my x-rays came back clean, I am still determined to get to the root cause of this pain. I know myself and I know that it is not right. My doctor seems to think that it is just shin splints but I am not convinced of that so I am not ready to let this go yet. My mileage for September was horrible due to my shin issue so I am a little disappointed. I am considering an MRI at this point since the pain always subsides but returns the day after a run of any distance.

The Long Beach Half Marathon is coming up this Sunday and I am not sure if I am going to run it or not. I really need to get this shin issue under control and maybe take some time off.  I really want to run it to stay on track for my Beach Cities Challenge medal but at this point not irritating my shin any further is more important to me. I am feeling really bummed, I can't lie, since all of the big marathons are coming up and everyone seems to be tapering and preparing to run them. 

Other than running, I made the decision to refinance my house last week. I can save over $300.00 a month and there are no fees associated with the loan. I bought the house two years ago as a short sale and pretty much every room had to be redone/upgraded. The house was kind of a mess inside when I bought it but I loved the floor plan. Just to give you an idea of what it looked like then and what it looks like now, this is a before and after of my son's bathroom:

The loan company ordered a full appraisal before they can decide whether or not I have enough equity to proceed with the refinancing process.  The appraisal company called me on Friday evening and told me that they were coming on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.  What?  I spent much of my Saturday cleaning and moving things around to make the house more presentable.  I did things like clear the counters and hid put things away that would make the house look neater. I felt like I was doing an "Open House." Most of the things we put away belong to my dogs like their beds, food bowls, and toys. I should know by Thursday if I have enough equity to proceed so I am keeping my fingers crossed. Worst case, I lose the appraisal fee but I will know the true value of my home.

 How was your September? Do you have any big races coming up? 

Weekly Recap and Last Chance to Enter My Giveaway

I haven't been doing much running lately. I ran 5 miles on Tuesday and then did the Color Me Rad 5K with my family on Saturday which was mostly speed walking with minimal jogging. My shins are all better but there is a small area on my right shin that is kind of tender to the touch. It didn't help that last night my Pom was screaming under the bed and I jumped out of bed to see what was wrong and hit the hell out of my shin on the side panel of the bed! I think I really did some damage when I hit it! NOT GOOD because now it kinda hurts when I walk on it!  I hope it's not another injury but it is bruised this morning from the hit. I guess I will wait and see how it feels in a couple of days. I am not sure what happened to my dog but thank God she appears to be alright.

Thank you to everyone for the advice on Marathon Training plans. I think I might try the Run Less Run Faster plan which was recommended by many of you since it includes three quality runs per week and cross training which fits my schedule. I will have to commit to the cross training but I know that it is just as important to prevent injury so this seems to be a plan worth trying for me. I am also going to try some fast finishes during my long runs that Terzah, who blogs over at BQby40, recommended. I think this will be helpful when I attempt to tackle those last 6.2 miles of the marathon next February. I may have to make some minor changes to the plan to make sure I can stick with it but I am excited to try something new this time around.

If you haven't had a chance, this is your last chance to enter my GIVEAWAY! It ends tonight at midnight (local time) and I will announce the lucky winner tomorrow. If you haven't entered, go do it now so you can win some of my favorite running things! 

You can find it here.

Weekly Recap and What's Next for Me?

Last week was NOT a very busy one in terms of running. I ran 7.25 miles on the mill on Tuesday night and then did nothing else for the rest of the week. I had a 20 mile week and a 113 mile month which isn't too bad for me.

Due to the pain I have been having in my right shin, I decided it would be best to rest for the remainder of the week since I had plans to run the Disneyland Half Marathon on Sunday. The good news is that it was a wise decision because I had some pretty fresh legs on Sunday which resulted in a mini PR. The bad news is that the darn pain in my shin is back and it hurts more than it did before the race! I think it is best to let the pain settle down before I attempt to run again. 

So what's next for me? Well, I am registered for the Long Beach Marathon on October 7th. I am not feeling 100% ready for it and this shin issue is starting to worry me. I was thinking about downgrading to the half marathon but then I found out that the deadline to downgrade was August 31st!  I was also thinking that I should focus on my half marathon time and works towards my goal of coming closer to a 1:45. That would be ideal for me right now but apparently I registered for Long Beach back in January when I was injured. The crazy thoughts of an injured runner wanting to run so badly!! What was I thinking??

The longest distance I have completed to date is 18 miles which means that I need to to squeeze a 20 and a 22 miler in like yesterday if a marathon is going to happen in the near future! I am working towards my Beach Cities Challenge medal so either way I am running Long Beach but I just don't know the distance yet. Any suggestions on what I should do?

Did anybody race over the Labor Day weekend?  

How was your holiday? 

My Labor Day holiday was very relaxing. We stayed home and BBQ'd and just took it easy.

I'm Losing Body Parts!!

It's always something!  My right shin is super sore and I am starting to panic.  I put some KT Tape on it and I am icing it a few times a day. My hamstring injury was on my left leg and now I have a shin splint on the right one!

It doesn't stop there! My toe nail on my right foot has been super sore and I have been trying to ignore it. Well last night I was kind of looking at it to see if it was going to fall off or what the heck was going on with it and I realized that I had a blister under my nail. Weird, I know. I squeezed my toe and you can just imagine what happened next. After the blister popped, I tried to clean it and off came my toenail. It didn't hurt then but it does now. I have about 2% of my toe nail left.  It is really scary looking so I censored the picture for you! My son says I have a whole in my toe! Sorry if I grossed anyone out but hey it happens!

I was hoping to get a couple of runs in before my half marathon on Sunday but if this shin and toe continue to hurt, I am going to just take it easy so I have a chance of pulling off a somewhat decent run. So my right leg is a mess... I might be hopping on Sunday if I don't figure out how to deal with this right leg/toenail disaster I have on my hands!

Any suggestions on how I can deal with this toe nail fiasco and still be able to run on Sunday without too much pain?

 I don't think a band-aid is going to do the trick this time!

Three Things Thursday

1. I am not a huge fan of McDonald's but I do like their coffee and I also eat their oatmeal every once in a while. I have tried the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal before and noticed that they are now advertising for the Blueberry Banana Nut Oatmeal.  I tried it the other morning instead of my usual morning cup of Starbucks and it was actually pretty good. I liked the idea of the fresh blueberries!

2. My baby nephew, who will be  one year old in June, has figured out how to get around just enough to terrorize my sister's 4 pound Yorkie, Jazzy. I thought the laughter on his face was absolutely priceless!

 

3. Today was supposed to be my last day of physical therapy but it wasn't!! I am pretty much pain free today and I guess if I can run a half marathon and still be standing then I am getting better. I was not released from PT because I mentioned that I still have a tiny bit of soreness in my back of my left thigh/hamstring from my half marathon on Sunday and a bit of soreness in my shin. The pain is a different area of my leg than than it was with the original injury that I was being treated for. The original issue was behind my knee (semimembranosus muscle) and I no longer have pain in that area during or after a run.

I guess they don't want to hear the word "pain" or they keep you! I think these issues are the effects of running a half so I am not too concerned about it since the pain has definitely improved since I started feeling it on Monday. After 15 minutes of the hot pad on my shin, I did a few other exercises and stretches and then I was on my way. I go back to PT in two weeks to make sure that everything is in order and most likely that will be the end of PT.  Yippee!!

The Running Roller Coaster

I had some issues with shin splints last week and was unable to run for a few days.  After a few days of rest and help from my new PT, I was able to get back on track toward the end of the week. I think I had a pretty decent week and I am pain free this morning. I am trying to be patient with the recovery process but it gets frustrating when you take one step forward and then one step back again. I have experienced the ups and downs of the running roller coaster lately but I am thankful that I am able to run again.  My pace is slower than what I would like to see but I have to count my blessings, right?

Here is a Recap of My Week:

Monday: 1 Mile Run and 5 Miles on the Elliptical
Tuesday: REST due to shin splint
Wednesday: REST AGAIN
Thursday: and REST AGAIN
Friday: Ran 6.2 on the Treadmill
Saturday: 3.5 Mile Jog/Walk on the Treadmill
Sunday: Ran 7.3 on the Treadmill
TOTAL MILES FOR THE WEEK: 18 

My weekend was pretty relaxing. We attended a birthday party for a family member and I also spent some time with my mom.  The theme for the birthday party had something to do with Nerf guns so my son went well prepared for battle and had a great time!

This weekend will be a busy one with a couple of exciting events on the agenda. I hope they happen!!

The Physical Therapy Saga Continues.....

Negative Nelly (that's my new name) over here has not been able to run since Saturday!  My hamstring issue seems to be much better but now my darn shin is acting up.  I definitely prefer this shin splint over the hamstring issue since it only lingers for a few days versus a few months!

So I went to physical therapy this morning and found out that my PT is out on medical leave. I guess she is pretty sick but they didn't say why so I didn't ask.  I hope she is okay. Just when I was starting to get comfortable with her, I get the news that I have a new PT (her boss, Joan.) I was telling Joan about the weird pressure feeling that I have been experiencing in my left shin when I run and she is almost certain that it is a shin splint issue.  She suspects that maybe I have changed the way that I run to compensate for my injury.  I think she might be right. She did a little trouble shooting and decided that today would consist of H-Wave therapy, heating pad on the shin and then some strengthening exercises. I did no treadmill running at physical therapy today which was a bummer. I feel so fat lately!

After the H-Wave and heating session, I did a few strengthening exercises. I had to wear this device on my foot that resembles a skate with a weight on the bottom.  Remember the skates that you slipped your shoe into and they adjusted to your foot size? This is what this contraption reminded me of.

So now the plan is to work on strengthening my calves. I can continue to run (Thank God!) but if the problem continues I have to go back to PT. My next appointment is in two weeks which is supposed to be my last and final appointment. I am looking forward to the end of this physical therapy thing and getting back into running.  It looks like it is going to be a very slow recovery process for me. 

 PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE!!!

I'll Take a Shin Splint Any Old Day!

Yes, I have a darn shin splint in my left shin! I am actually pretty excited about it because life could be worse!  I could have that nagging knee pain that had sidelined me for about 10 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes.......you get the message! I have been icing it for the past couple of days and it is getting better but I tell you it is always something these days!! I just bought some KT Tape Pro to try out so I going to watch a video on how to use it and maybe that will help.

Source

I went to physical therapy this morning and did my boring routine on the dreadmill.  I did 3.75 miles in 42 minutes which about an 11:11 pace.  The walking part is what kills my time.  Then I had my beloved H-Wave and Icing Session, which is my favorite part!

The good news is that my PT is now going to allow me to do a bit more.  She wants me to try running, yes I said running, at 6.0 on the dreadmill for 15-20 minutes at a time with 2 minute walk breaks of 4.2 in between!  I will be trying that out as soon as possible.  I think I can consider 6.0 on the dreadmill a run, right? I don't go back to physical therapy for another two weeks and during that time my PT wants me to try to get up to running 30 thirty minutes straight without a break but only at 6.0 and only on the lovely dreadmill! Oh, and no incline! She has way too many darn rules for me to follow but something is better than nothing, right?  I shouldn't be complaining!

I am still waiting for my grade too!  I thought I would know something by now. I guess I have to spend another week worrying about it! On a positive note, today is like my Friday since I don't have to work tomorrow!  Yippee!!!

Have you tried KT Tape?  If you have, let me know what you think of it.

Long Training Run Number 6: NOT!

Weekend Recap
 

This was a very interesting week as my far as running to say the least.  I didn't run for five consecutive days and no long Sunday run for me either. It was more like a long walk at the House of Mouse. My family and I took a trip to Disneyland on Friday and we walked for hours and hours.  We had a great time and we met Duffy, Russell and Doug and checked out all of the new rides at California Adventure. I also enjoyed the new Mickey's Soundsational Parade while I iced my shins!  

Duffy the Disney Bear

Up is one of our favorite movies!

 Yes, I iced my shins at Disneyland....

The plan was to run 15 miles on Sunday but of course it did not happen due to my shin splints.  I promised myself that as long as I felt pain, I would not run and I didn't.  I was starting to feel really irritated and grouchy by Friday due to lack of running so I am glad that the pain went away. I think that my family is glad that I am running again too :) I also made an executive decision to go back to my old Nike Vomero's and be done with it. No more switching shoes, especially in the middle of training! Duh!  I iced like crazy, took Advil and just waited for the pain to go away!  I was pain free on Friday and went for a quick run before visiting Mickey Mouse.

My oldies but goodies!

I basically crammed as much running as I possibly could into a three-day period.  I ran 3 miles on Friday, 8 miles on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday.  I did not complete my scheduled mileage for the week but I feel lucky to be on the road again. Running three consecutive days for me is pretty difficult.  My pace is not as great and my shins don't appreciate it. I usually run every other day so completing 8 miles for two consecutive days is pretty good for me. I really felt challenged on Sunday to say the least! I was dripping with sweat after my run even after I opted to run on the shadiest side of the street. It was kind of gross but it made me feel like I worked hard!

Oh how I love the shade when I'm lazy!

I am still on track for achieving a 100-mile month so I am really excited about it! I am ending this week with 84 miles on the books.  I am 16 miles short of reaching my goal and I think it's going to happen this month.  Can't wait to see that 100-mile month happen!

 Oh and by the way....my new compression sleeves came yesterday so I am excited to give them a try and see how they work for me.

My Worst Nightmare....Shin Splints

I am kicking myself in the "you know what" today because my shin splints are back!  It was a stupid decision to try out my new shoes on a 10 mile run!  Only my left shin that had been bothering me, but now it's both!

This was me on Monday, icing my shins to death and hoping that this was all just a dream, or should I say my worst nightmare! (Please excuse the my dogs' pee-pee pad in the background, but I was too lazy to pick it up for the picture!)  I am so irritated with myself because my last post talked about the great week that I had coming up and how close I was was to achieving a hundred mile month. My running buddy, Shawna, was just getting through this and now it is my turn....again! Like I have said before, shin splints are contagious! People tell me all the time that I should do something else beside running, but I am not ready to retire yet. I have too many goals to achieve before I call it quits.

110% Play Harder

 

I get so frustrated with shin splints because I can't really ice them at work like I need to.  I ice them at night but I don't think that it is good enough.  I was going crazy thinking about the whole icing problem at work and I went on the hunt for a solution. I came across some compression sleeves from 110% Play Harder that have built-in slots for ice sheets.  The thermafreeze packs can be inserted during or after your workout and stay frozen for up to two hours.  They were not cheap ($75.00) but if they help, then they are worth every penny!  I should have them by the end of this week, and once I try them out I will have to let you all know if I recommend them or not.

My First Visit to Road Runner Sports

Shawna and I took a trip to Road Runner Sports during our lunch on Wednesday to see what kind of running shoes "Shoe Dog" would recommend for me. The Nike's that I have been wearing for the longest are classified by Road Runner Sports as "Neutral" shoes so maybe I shouldn't have switched to the ASICS Gel Kayano 17's which are "Stability +" shoes?? I know, I am a mess!

Woof! Meet "Shoe Dog."

Sorry! No photo of me running in my work pants!

I took the "Shoe Dog" test, which required me to run barefoot on a treadmill for 30 seconds while being videotaped from the waist down. The video is then played back in slow motion and analyzed to identify my running style.  My results indicated that a Stability shoe is the best fit for me, so I was happy to know that I did not make too bad of a choice with my new ASICS, which fall into the Stability category.

Shoe Dog's recommendation

Trevor, my kind salesman, made me some custom inserts based on my running style and my arch type.  I found out that I have medium arches, I put most of my weight on my heels and I land on my heels when I run! The inserts were not cheap, but they have a 100% money back guarantee for 30 days! I wasn't obligated to buy them, but I kind of felt bad for Trevor after all of the time that he spent working with me and my feet, so I bought them. Yes, my feet were clean but I did skip my much needed pedicure because of my missing toenail.  I hope he didn't notice it! Trevor also told us that he had a bout with shin splints in the past and he fixed them by using inserts.  Maybe this was just a sales pitch but it's worth a try for me.  He was also telling us about his marathon experiences and the Long Beach Marathon course. He claims that it is not a flat course...great!

I am going to do things right once my shins calm down.  I can't wait to try out the new inserts in my shoes!  Hopefully, "Shoe Dog" got it right and my shins agree with him too!

The One Hundred Push Up Challenge

So for now it looks like I have to spend more time cross training, which I think I kind of hate!  I will now be forced to go to spin class and continue with my stability ball workout at home.  I have to say that since I have started to cross train I have developed a little bit more strength in my arms that I never had before.  Three months ago I couldn't even do a single push up.  Now I can actually do 12 !  Don't laugh!  I am really proud of myself for accomplishing this!! My goal is to be able to do 100 consecutive push ups.  I came across this website onehundredpushups which provides a six week training program on completing 100 consecutive push ups!  First you have to take the initial test and then you follow a six week push up training program based on your fitness level. Now that I can do a few, I think I will try it out to keep myself distracted from my shin splints! How many consecutive push ups can you do? And I mean real push ups...not the "girl" push-ups!

Long Training Run Number Four: 13.3 Miles

Weather Report: Sunny and 65 degrees

Thirteen Miles was on the agenda for today and I ran the same local route where I first experienced my problem with ITBS.  I remember running this route and then all of a sudden I had such a horrible pain on the side of my left knee and I just could not run!  I had to walk/hop/hobble a grueling three miles to get  home.  Since then, I never ran that route again because I did not want to be reminded of that horrible day that changed my ability to run for quite some time. I decided to start today's run much earlier because the warm weather has been killing me lately even though it has only been about 10 degrees warmer! I guess I am just used to running in temperatures of 60 degrees or cooler.  I woke up at 5:30am and was out the door by 5:55am, since I knew this was going to be at least a two hour run.  I had a few new running items to try out today so I was kind of excited to run.

My old running belt was a one size fits all and I don't think that I ever really got it to fit me quite right.  My new one fits so much better and it Velcro's in the back instead of the side. I also purchased a small container, that attaches to my running belt, to carry my GU in. My idea behind this container was to be able to cut the GU packets open ahead of time and not have to waste time struggling to get them open.

I also experimented with Trislide for the first time.  I usually use Body Glide or just plain vaseline on my feet and they have always done the trick for me.  Many people swear by Trislide so I bought a can to try ($17.00). I wasn't incredibly impressed with it but I didn't get any blisters! It is much more sanitary than Body Glide but I would rather save some money and spend it on a race!

I owned the road today!  There were hardly any cars on the street and I was loving it!  I decided that I would start out as strong as I could today and then just slow it down in the end and try to maintain a pace of at least 9:00.  By Mile 2.5 the sun was shining brightly but the temperature was still tolerable. I made sure that I drank plenty of water and I dropped an extra bottle of water off at Mile 5.  On this particular route, I pass the same spot twice so I dropped the water off at Mile 2.

Mile 1: 8:27

Mile 2: 8:05

Mile 3: 8:08

5K: 25:20

By the time I had reached Mile 5, I had almost finished one of my water bottles so I stopped to GU and refill my water bottle with the spare that I had dropped.  It was so convenient to have my GU all ready to use and have a place to put the empty packet. This idea worked out really well for me! To be honest with you, I usually throw the empty GU packet on the ground if there is no trash can in sight! 

Mile 4: 8:01

Mile 5: 8:18

Mile 6: 8:19

10K: 50:08

Miles 5 to 7 were uphill so the GU break came just in time!  I was about a half mile up the hill when I noticed that I was missing one of my water bottles, so I had to turn around and look for it.  This added about a 1/4 mile to my run but those bottles are not cheap so I had to go back and find it!

Found it!

I finally reached the top of the hill, which is Foothill Blvd, at Mile 7.5 and the rest of the route is pretty flat and manageable. I usually feel a sigh of relief when I reach this point, but I had amazing energy today and I wasn't even pushing myself that hard.  I'm not sure if it was the GU, the hydrating, or the spinach I had for dinner the night before???  Whatever it was, I need to repeat it because I don't normally feel this energized at 6am on a Sunday morning!

Mile 7: 8:06

Mile 8: 8:13

Mile 9: 8:12

Miles 10 to 12 were downhill so I caught a break in the end.  I took another GU shot at Mile 10 and headed on home! I was pretty happy with my progress today. I would really love to beat my time at the Disneyland Half Marathon in September and achieve my goal of running a half marathon in under 1:50!  I could have earned that PR today if I had been running a race, but you never know what kind of day you are going to have......

Mile 10: 8:06

Mile 11: 8:19

Mile 12: 8:05

Mile 13: 7:36

       Garmin Stats

I had another good week and managed to get all of my scheduled runs completed.  I have been slacking on going to spin class, but I try to make it up by doing my stability ball workout at home.

I am hoping to have my running partner back with me next week.  I think shin splints are contagious because she is now experiencing them right as mine are starting to get better. She has been taking good care of herself and bought new shoes so I know she will be making a come back real soon!

Obtained from www.cartoonstock.com