Never Too Late To Learn

Last night I attended a running seminar held at a nearby Lululemon Athletica about running injuries and prevention. The class was led by a physical therapist, and went over the difference between muscles, tendons and ligaments, common runner injuries, and how to treat and prevent injuries from happening. I’m a huge nerd and read and read and read about a topic until I either a) am really comfortable with it, or b) I get bored. So I’ve read a lot about running and injuries… heck, I’ve had enough injuries from my dancing days, I just might have hit each muscle group. I was familiar with a good amount of topics, but there was a good amount thrown in that I wasn’t aware of before.

Shin splints: did you know these aren’t caused by the muscle in your shin, but a muscle deep in the calf called the ‘soleus?’

If the soleus is too tight, it can pull back on the bone and cause pain out front. One way to stretch out the soleus is to do a form of a regular calf stretch, but bending the knee at least 30°.

I’ve done this stretch before this class, not knowing what its real purpose was, and thought it was stupid. I couldn’t feel a stretching in my calf, so I stopped doing it. But the stretch goes a lot deeper than a regular wall stretch, and I’m pretty sure a tight soleus is one of the causes of my crazy foot pain the other week.

The physical therapist also went over IT band issues. Since mine is acting up a bit, I was all like HOORAY! She did some foam roller demos, as well as a couple standing/floor leaning stretches.

Overall, I enjoyed the class. Many of the attendees were just starting out (after the seminar series is over, the group is starting a running club that’ll build up to a 5K), but the info was useful to beginners and veterans alike. One of the seminar organizers even had some questions, and she was a highly seasoned runner.

Hey hey hey listen

The YouBar Giveaway ends tomorrow night! Get yo entries in!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. I’m going to get back to enjoying my Alphabet Juice (apples, beets and carrots). Yum!

Woahhhh I’m Halfway There

I finished my 10k training yesterday with a 6.15 mile run in 1:02:11 (including a walk break around mile 4 for foot pain purposes). So today is the official start of my half marathon training. There’s now less than 10 weeks until the race! And I love my Garmin. I tried not to look at it too much as I ran, as I knew that if I saw my pace go over 10 minutes I would kick it up. Why? I don’t know. A 10:00 pace is like an evil barrier to me. I want to stay under it for no reason other than hubris.

That being said, I think I’ve been pushing myself too hard and that’s why I’m getting all these rebellious injuries. As much as I hate myself for it, I’m starting to seriously consider switching to a run/walk program until I build a stronger base. It’s not worth it to run through injuries, I’m just getting hurt over and over. The Galloway Method suggests a 3:1 run/walk ratio for my pace. Eh, I can’t imagine just running for 3 minutes then walking… and doing that for almost an entire race. But I can try it out on my next long run and see how it works. Maybe I can push myself to a 9 minute pace for those 3 minutes? (hahaha look I’m not even done with this post and I’m already thinking about pushing myself. Silly Kera. This is why you’re a klutz.)

The spin bike is going to be a big friend of mine this week. I haven’t done some good cross training in a while, which may also be a fast track to Injuryland®, home of the beloved character Mickey Ouch.

I’m coming up with a list of anti-resolutions that I’ll post here. They aren’t “things I’m going to change in 2010″ because I feel like most of those are always doomed to fail. They’re like fad diets; sure they’ll work for a while, but sooner or later you’re going to change back to your old habits and gain all the bad stuff back. I’m glad I have my new running tights, as I’m sure I’ll be running outdoors until February when all the “going to the gym” resolution people have dropped like flies.

Oh my lunch is almost gone. Okay okay I’m getting back to work now.

Carry On My Wayward Run

YES! It’s just a muscle strain. Just? Just. I got a prescription for some heavy duty Aleve and the number of an orthopedic doctor/athlete nearby. Maybe I’ll just save it for the next time I need a date. Or the next time I’m injured. Whatever comes first.

I was told to ease back into things- focus on cross training and don’t increase distance. You have my word that I’ll try to not increase distance. But this really only holds until Sunday when I’m supposed to do 5.5. Maybe I’ll ease up on the pace. Maybe.

The doctor also told me that I’ve lost 6 pounds since July. Uh? I eat constantly, so this was a shock. Thanks, increased training schedule.

So of course I’m running tonight. If I didn’t have to get to work right after my appointment, you better believe that I would have been all ready to run home in my Sauconys, jeans, and down jacket. Anything to protect you from that lovely 8°F weather, right? It’s warmed up to 20°F now, maybe I should go tanning on the deck…

Injuries and Adrenaline

So long story short, I’ve had a nagging sharp pain in my inner hip for quite a while now (I’m talking a few months here). Up until recently, I only felt this pain if I did hip adductor strength exercises, and I sort of wrote it off as being a tight muscle. But it started acting up the other week while I was running, and caused a decent amount of pain in the 24 hour window after I ran. I did my 5 miles on Sunday afternoon (sidenote: hooray for another milestone!), and I’m still feeling the pain. It’s worst when I’m climbing stairs or when I move from sitting to standing. I have an appointment with my doctor on Thursday morning, and hopefully nothing too bad comes of it. Since this has been such a lingering, unaddressed problem, I’m taking all precautions I can to make sure this isn’t something more serious. I have a friend that is working through a femoral neck fracture now, and he’s out of running commission for quite a while (though that didn’t stop him from doing the Santa Speedo Run on crutches, gotta love that determination). So yeah, I’m petrified of ending up with something like that.

Not satisfied to just sit back and take the whole week off, I’m going to try to focus on upper body and core strengthening. I always sort of push this off to the side, which I know is wrong. It’ll help me in the long run (haaaa it’s like a pun).

Okay that’s enough whining for one post.

Back to my 5 miler, I completed it in 48:36! I’m beginning to really understand the concept of a runner’s high, especially when you’re going distances you never have before. Every time I hit/pass my previous furthest distance, I can feel the adrenaline kick and am able to increase my speed. This has been the pattern for my last few runs, so I’m especially excited about race day. The furthest my training takes me is 12 miles, so I can only imagine what a rush those last 1.1 will be. Maybe I’m glorifying it and it really won’t be all that spectacular because I’ll be so tired… but I’m choosing to believe the former right now :)

What about you guys: what was the biggest adrenaline rush you’ve felt during a run? Was it during a race, or simply on your own?

Good News, Bad News (Sprained?!)

Yesterday was my rest day. And what a wonderful rest day it was… I got a job offer! Yaaaay!

On a less happy note, last night I came downstairs to grab my laptop, and stubbed my little toe on an ottoman. Um, ouch. I immediately put ice on it, but it’s still super painful and bruised. It actually woke me up, and now I’m sitting here writing a blog post at 5:30am, wide awake. I’m pretty sure it’s sprained… I can move it around and everything, but I still can’t put full pressure on it without limping. So I definitely can’t run. Ugh. UGHHHHHHH. I’m going to try to work around it and use the spin bike for cardio today and the elliptical for my 3 miles tomorrow. The elliptical isn’t one of my favorite pieces of equipment, but at least it’ll prevent my foot from repeatedly pounding on the ground.

I cannot tell you how frustrating this is. Aside from the week of the race, this is the absolute LAST time I want to be injured. I’m trying to look at it this way: at least the distances are still easily manageable at this stage in my training, and I can shorten or lengthen them should I need to completely rest for a week.

In the meantime, ice and ibuprofen are my best friends. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS.