I Have the Monday's

Hi everyone,

It's about time for my weekly update, but I am running short on time here at the office, so I shall keep it very brief.

I went back to the PT on Tuesday for further gait-analysis. I only ran 0.7 miles total while there, and when I got back to the office my foot was in serious pain again. So I called her on Wednesday to see what she thought, and she told me to stay off of it for a few days--no running in either form, and when I started back again to only do 1 mile in my old form. So instead of running, on Wednesday  I did a series of jumping jacks mixed with crunches, triceps dips, squats, lunges, Russian twists, calf raises, push ups, and planks. It was a workout, but I did it at home, which is always less satisfying than the gym.

Thursday I did a 35 minute bike ride, unenthusiastically.

Saturday my foot seemed okay, so I set out for a 6 mile run (yeah, so I didn't listen to the PT) and I had to stop at 5.56 miles because the pain was so bad. The weird thing is that as soon as I give it any rest--even if it's just 15 minutes-- it feels loads better. I don't understand it! So! I  have decided, after discussing it with my PT (who called me this morning to check in--how awesome is she??) to not run for the next 2 weeks. I can bike, because it doesn't bother my foot, but absolutely no running.

It would be a shame for me to update this blog without mentioning the CT shooting. My heart breaks for those sweet babies and their families and for the teachers and administrators who died bravely protecting the kids that they loved. Violent acts like this have been becoming increasingly more "normal" over the past 100 years. Read Ben Stein's thoughts on what has contributed to this change here and see if you agree. I hope everyone is keeping those affected by this horror in their thoughts and prayers :(

Gait Analysis/Berry College

Hello readers, and Happy Monday!

My trip the the PT to have a gait analysis done last week was very informative. I learned that my gait is not as horrendous as I assumed it would be. I do heal strike, but the force of impact was moderately low (so I'm a "quiet" runner). After videotaping me with my shoes on and playing it back for me, the PT asked me to take my shoes off and run, focusing on angling my foot down so that I landed on my midfoot instead of my heal. I was amazed at how easy it was to make this transition without wearing shoes (cue all barefoot adherents nodding smugly). I really didn't even have to think about it! The PT went into great detail explaining why the form I ran with barefoot is more beneficial to my body, but it basically boiled down to this: When we heel-strike, we hardly use our calf muscles at all. Those muscles really ought to be used to cushion the blow of the impact your foot makes with the ground.

In order to use my calf muscles to their full potential, I'm going to try to make the switch from landing on my heel to landing on my midfoot all the time. I'm going to start in these shoes and then maybe buy some more minimalist shoes in the weeks/months to come. PT told me not to run more than a mile in the new form for a while, so that I could build the appropriate muscles in my calves. PT also said I could run more in the old style to keep up with my training for the Mercedes HALF marathon (which I am now signed up for.)

This weekend Rob and I went to visit Rome, GA and Cartersville, GA--two possibilities for our future home. We went for a run around Berry College on Saturday morning. It was a dreary day, but I LOVED running through the campus. There were so many miles of trails (paved) with no cars in sight. It was really great, and I was so glad to have Rob running with me. I'm thrilled that he has agreed to run the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon with Brian and me in June.

I ran the first mile with a midfoot strike, and the last 4 miles in my old form. The PT told me to expect my calves to be sore, but they haven't been. But--the outside of my left foot started to hurt very badly after we got back to our hotel... it hurt to walk for the rest of the day :( It seems to be okay now, so I'm hoping it was just a muscle thing related to the new form. I'm going to ask the PT about it tomorrow.

Although I liked the college in Rome, I think I might have liked Cartersville a little bit better. It's a tough call, but since neither of us wants to live in Georgia for more than a few years there is no point in really stressing about it.

Thanks for reading! :)

Reindeer Run Half Photos

5k and Half racers all started at once--very chaotic 

There were many more, but I of course only chose the most flattering. There were some where my face showed clearly the pain I was in at the time :)

I have GREAT news: The Mercedes Marathon organizers have agreed to let me switch to the half marathon AND get a refund for the difference in cost. So now I am much less stressed about wasting my money on a marathon that I won't be running.

I did a 30 minute run last night, which translated into 2.8 miles (I don't know when I got so slow!) Today, I am very excited to go to the PT and have a gait analysis done to see if I can avoid injury in the future. I am also thinking about doing regular Pilates/Yoga classes--does anyone in Birmingham have good recommendations for studios?

Personal notes:
-Only 2 weeks and one day until I will be on my way to Mexico City with the family (Rob included!) for Christmas.
-I am officially an accountant: I am now writing lots of checks. Scary, but much less boring :)
-Rob and I are spending the weekend in Rome/Cartersville GA--possible future home?
-I'm rereading the entire Harry  Potter series and loving it. I just began The Goblet of Fire :)

Reindeer Run Half Marathon Race Report

I've been slacking, sorry. Here is a report of my last week:

I ran a 5-k on Tuesday that resulted in some aching in my left knee. On Wednesday I started feeling a little under the weather and by Friday I was genuinely sick. My boss made me take a sick day because she was worried I would get everyone else sick. The half marathon was in the town where my parents live in Florida. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it or not (all things considered) but I already had the flight down there so I figured I would at least enjoy spending time with my parents. My flight left Birmingham at 5:30 AM, which meant a 3:30 AM wake up. Rob, being the sweet boy he is, got up and drove me to the airport. I felt awful for most of the day on Saturday and any sane person would have skipped the half. Buuuut...I didn't.

I woke up at 6:00 and had a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. The race start was only .7 miles away from my parent's  house, so I walked over for my warm up and got there at 7:15ish. It was 60 degrees and foggy when I left the house, and by the time the race finished it was 75 degrees, sunny and beautiful! A high school friend of mine had agreed to run it with me, even though he wasn't a "runner" (he is now--yay!) I think having someone to run with made all the difference in this race. We hadn't seen each other in years, so we had a lot to talk about which helped to distract me from how miserable I was feeling :)

The course was actually pretty fun for me because it was very nostalgic. Most of it ran through a small state park on the north end of the island, where I had spent a lot of time in high school, brooding. It was also very flat--I would be surprised if the elevation change was more than 30 feet, and even that would be due to a bridge crossing. There was one small section where it ran through some historic neighborhoods, which don't yet have paved roads so we ran on sand. I had some GU at miles 4, 8 and 10, and water/gatorade at every opportunity (there weren't many--it was sort of a low-budget operation).  

I felt pretty good for the first 9 miles, but after that it was a struggle to get to the finish. My RIGHT knee starting aching (all problems until now have been in the left) and I just haven't been doing enough running lately--I hadn't run more than 5 miles at a time in a month! But, we pushed through and made it to the finish. My dad was waiting for me at the finish, using his iPad to take a picture (THAT was a sight.) I was really glad he made it down to the finish, it was nice having him there to congratulate me at the end. I will admit, I felt pretty darn good afterward. Here is said picture:

I know it looks like it says 2:13:xx, but it's really 2:33:xx.

After the race, my right hip was popping and my right knee was aching (both new ailments). All seems to be better today, I only have sore muscles and the left knee feels totally normal (HURRAH!) I have nixed the February marathon in Birmingham, and am aiming for the Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon on June 22. One of Rob's groomsmen, Brian,  is running that one and it will be his first marathon as well, so we are going to do it together. On Thursday I will be going to have a gait analysis done by my PT, and maybe try to make some minor adjustments in my stride to help minimize injury. If all goes well, I'll start training for Seattle in early March, and between now and then just keep a  base of 20-25 miles per week...and maybe do a few other small races and half marathons  when the opportunity arises :)

I ran I ran I ran!

Alright, faithful readers. I have been a major slacker this week. I can blame Thanksgiving for some of it (cooking my first turkey was rather time consuming), but some of it was dread about reporting what I have decided to do concerning my marathon.

The PT surprised me on Tuesday by telling me that the pain in my knee from Sunday was not necessarily a big deal. As Jorge said (shout out to you, because I know you actually read this--thanks for that :)), sitting on the plane and sitting in a car until it broke down and then having to walk on a steep camber to get antifreeze is probably what caused my knee irritation to return. PT still gave me permission to run this week if I wanted to and if my knee felt up to it. =D

I ran 3 miles on Thursday morning around a nearby high school track-- no problems! So then on Saturday I ran 5 miles around a dirt track at my favorite running park. The path included some  hills and cambered surfaces, but still no knee problems. I can't wait to report back to the PT tomorrow!

This Sunday is the half marathon that I signed up for as a part of my training for the Mercedes Marathon. It's scary to think what I should be doing to prepare for this marathon and what I have actually been able to do. I should have logged 20-22 miles this past week...I did 7 and was very grateful for those 7 miles. The question is, do I want to be really stubborn and stick with this plan with a much greater chance of causing myself some serious injury and probably run a crappy race (if I get there), or do I want to take the time I need to build muscles in my knees that will allow me to run a marathon well? I think I have decided that I would rather do the latter. I am going to run the half marathon this weekend (or run/walk it if necessary) because I really want to. After this weekend, I'm going to get a gait analysis at my PT and maybe try on altering my form a bit if he thinks that will help to prevent injury. After that I will try to do some other half marathons up until the wedding. If all goes well, I'll start training for a fall marathon when Rob and I get back from the honeymoon :) (Sidenote: The wedding is really sneaking up on me--where has time gone!)

Since the whole point of this blog was to encourage me to follow through with the Mercedes Marathon, do I continue keeping a record of my "progress?" I can't help but feel like I've let myself down. :(

Return of the Knee Pain

Well... the rest of my week went mostly as planned. The only change I made was that I only biked for 40 minutes on Thursday because life got crazy and I ran out of time. I even got up at 5:20 on Friday morning so that I could do my run before Rob and I drove to Atlanta so we could catch our flight to Miami to go to his cousin's wedding.

We flew ATL-FLL on Spirit, because it seemed cheaper at the time. After needing to pay $50 for a carry-on bag (yes, FIFTY!) and gas to and from Atlanta, we probably didn't save enough money to make it worth it. Bonus, the Fort Lauderdale airport is about a 45 minute drive from his parents house. I am so grateful that they agreed to pick us up. We decided to go see Wreck it Ralph at 10:00. Let me say again, I was awake at 5:20 central, so by the time the movie started I was ready to fall asleep, but anyway... I made it through. I love me some Pixar, and while this one wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as others, it was really very clever. Recommended:)

The wedding on Saturday was really beautiful. Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Franco. The groom was sick though--poor thing :(

The lovely bride with her dad.

Our flight back to Atlanta left at 7:40, so Sunday was another early morning for me. The flight went fine, but on our way home my van overheated and we had to walk a half a mile or so to the nearest gas station to get some engine coolant. I don't know what's wrong with it--I replaced the radiator last year because this one had cracked. It overheated three times on my way to work this morning. If it's not one thing, it's another!

Rob and I walking down the highway :)

Sunday is when my knee started being a problem again. I had planned to do 2 hours of biking (good gracious) and after about 40 minutes I was just too bored. So I decided to try the elliptical for a little while. After about 20 minutes my knee started feeling funny, so I stopped at 30 minutes. and today it is noticeably painful. I'm so discouraged...I'm on the verge of throwing in the towel and saying that I won't be able to do this marathon :( I'll see what the PT says tomorrow.

PT round two

Yesterday was my second visit to the PT. Let me tell you, going there inspires me to continue taking care of my body, because the last two times I have visited the therapist literally every other person there is an old lady who has no balance and no strength. I want to be a fit old lady (relatively speaking)!

Chris seems to think that after one more week of biking, we can start talking about working in some running! :) He even hinted that I may be able to run the half marathon I have planned on December 2 in Fernandina. I'm glad he said so, because I have been thinking the same thing. My knee has been mostly okay. I'm still icing it once a day, and for some reason the icing is what causes me the most aching and stiffness. Most of the time I don't even think about it anymore.

So far from this experience, I have learned that you can get a seriously good workout from "spinning". I always scoffed at those low-resistance stationary biking classes that some of my friends are obsessed with, but if you do it right it can really get your heart going! Last night I set the bike at "8" and alternated miles with a 100-105 RPM and 114+ RPM for 11 miles and I was sweating like a pig and huffing and puffing like the Big Bad Wolf. 

I have also learned that I have seriously underestimated the importance of stretching and strength exercises. Yoga moves are particularly awesome for improving flexibility, balance and strength--must continue to do those even after I heal.

Today and tomorrow I'm going to do 45 minutes of biking, plus the strengthening exercises the PT recommended and some foam rolling/stretching/yoga.

Rob and I are flying to Miami on Friday to go to his cousin, Linda, get hitched. I love that I was there when her soon-to-be-husband proposed to her, and now I get to see the result of all of their hard work and planning! I will take my resistance bands to do strength stuff on those days, but I will probably leave the foam roller at home this time. 

Sunday will be another excruciatingly long stationary bike ride (hopefully the last). I'm supposed to be running 11-12 miles, which means an hour and a half to two hour bike ride. Oh my gosh...I'm already dreading it!

Kitchen and Stationary Bikes

Today I was supposed to run 9-10 miles. Since I have not been given the "okay" to run again, I rode a stationary bike for an hour and 40 minutes, making sure to keep my heart rate between 165-and 175 (about what it is on my long-slow-run days.) Stationary bikes are far more mentally taxing than running, easily. My knee feels great, and my legs were shaking when I got off the bike-- so all in all it was a good day.

Rob is putting the finishing touches on our remodeled kitchen, which he completed himself. IT looks so good! We are going to Melting Pot tonight as a biking reward/Kitchen finishing celebration/ I just love Melting Pot visit. We can also make it a celebration of 2.5 years together, which will officially be on Tuesday :)

No meniscus tear. For real this time.

I had my first visit to the PT yesterday, and he did some of the tests that are typically performed to see if there is a torn meniscus (like the Dr. should have...just saying.) Chris (PT) said that I do not have a torn meniscus, but that I do have very poor alignment between my hips, knees and feet. His theory is that when I backpack, I usually irritate my knee just because of the way I move, but after most hikes I rest it so it doesn't get worse. After this hike, however, I continued to run and irritate my knee more and more, until my knee cap popped out of it's usual groove (hence the popping noise). In response, the muscles surrounding my knee stopped working as hard, so as to not further throw my knee out of alignment, and they got weaker (hence the feeling of instability). I am so glad I didn't pay for the MRI! I can visit the PT 10 times for the same amount of money that an MRI would have cost me.

He wants me to take 4 weeks off of running and do daily hip, quad, and ITB strengthening exercises, and that I can still bike for cardio as long as it doesn't make my knee hurt. If the 4 weeks is enough for me to heal and start training again, that will leave me 11 weeks to train for the marathon. I have contacted the race organizers to see what I can do if I don't feel like I can complete the race by February, and they said all I can do is defer my race until 2014. I'm going to do my best to finish it, going into it with a mentality that I might have to walk some of it... but the good news is that I can wait until the Monday before the race to decide if I want to defer it or just give it a shot.

Fingers crossed for me:)

Is running bad for your knees?

I had a confrontation with a friend last night, who is terribly concerned that my "obsession" with running will cause me to become a cripple later in life. Coming from a non-runner who is not a doctor, it kind of ruffled my feathers to be honest.

I started a regular running regimen in July, so I am really in my infancy as a runner. I haven't learned what to do or what not to do, or what the best practices for caring for my body might be. I am not a stranger to knee pain, however. My knees typically start hurting about 3 hours into any backpacking trip that I do. What I have always done when this happens is push through it. The joy of hiking overrides the pain in my knees. My friend's concern is that I run far more often than I hike, so my knees are doomed to simply fall apart.

It's important to note that I have NEVER tried to do anything to alleviate or prevent knee pain, aside from wearing a knee brace on hikes after the pain starts. I truly believe that had I done strength training focusing on the muscles surrounding my knee, I wouldn't have developed this, what I know have decided really IS a torn meniscus--insert foot in mouth HERE. So which view is correct? Is running inherently bad for my knees and will ruin them no matter what I do (so I should therefore just stop running) or can I take steps to prevent future injury by focusing on strength and flexibility?

When running, the knees of a runner absorb a force equal to EIGHT TIMES their body weight. For me, thats 1,040 pounds every step. It seems logical to assume that such impacts over hundreds of miles and years would add up to a person who has joints that simply do not function anymore.

"But over the past few years, an emerging body of research has begun to show the opposite, especially when it comes to running. Not only is there no connection between running and arthritis, the new studies say, but running — and perhaps regular vigorous exercise generally — may even help protect people from joint problems later on."

"In fact, a "normally functioning joint can withstand and actually flourish under a lot of wear," says Fries. Because cartilage — the soft connective tissue that surrounds the bones in joints — does not have arteries that deliver blood, it relies on the pumping action generated by movement to get its regular dose of oxygen and nutrients. "When you bear weight, [the joint] squishes out fluid, and when you release weight, it sucks in fluid," says Fries, explaining why a daily run or any other workout is useful for maintaining healthy cartilage."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1948208,00.html#ixzz2BdjSXFFi

This article cites a couple of longitudinal studies that show the natural assumption that running is bad for your knees is untrue. Now I know, a person could google until their fingers turn blue, finding articles that say the exact opposite. To me, that shows that it is inconclusive...and if this is something that I love to do, and there isn't sufficient evidence to tell me that running is going to ruin my life, I'm going to keep doing it. As soon as my physical therapist gives me the "ok." My training will be more purposeful now, knowing that my knees are a weakness, I will work to make sure that they are strong enough to withstand that 1,040 pounds of force.

Thoughts on this? Particularly from other runners?

This is why I hate going to the Doctor

1. It's inconvenient and time consuming
2. Most of the time I feel like I leave knowing nothing more than I knew going into it.

I understand that the body is a very complicated thing, and sometimes it can be very difficult to diagnose problems. Knees can be particularly tricky, because there are so many cogs to that particular machine. Still, I just spent 2 hours of my time waiting for a doctor to come in, jerk my knee around for a little bit, and tell me that it's not a ligament problem or a fractured/broken bone. He then tells me that I need to come back to get an MRI to see if I have a torn meniscus. MRI's are expensive, even with health insurance!

So, I turned to the next best choice: Wikipedia. Below is what I learned:

1. "The 'Cooper's sign' is present in over 92% of [meniscus] tears. It is a subjective symptom of pain in the affected knee when turning over at night.

Doesn't happen to me.

2. "In meniscal tears, pressing the joint line on the affected side typically produces tenderness"

No tenderness on either side.

3. Bending the knee (into hyperflexion if tolerable), and especially squatting, is typically a painful maneuver if the meniscus is torn.

I did a BUNCH of squats on Friday with no pain.

4. "Currently, the clinical tests we use to detect early meniscal lesions have variable diagnostic accuracy.  A few years ago, the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery published a study which examined the diagnostic accuracy of a new, functional meniscal test, The Thessaly’s test.  The results of this study indicated that the Thessaly’s test, performed in 20 degrees of knee flexion, had a diagnostic accuracy of 94% in detection of medial meniscal tears and 96% in detection of lateral meniscal tears. Other, more traditional tests, performed in this study, had much lower detection rates.

How to perform: The patient stands on a single leg (the effected leg) with their knee bent to 20 degrees.  The examiner helps support them with UE support.  The patient then rotates his/her knee internally and externally.  Complaints of pain, knee locking or catching is considered a + test."

No complaints of pain, knee locking or catching for me.

I'm confused. Why didn't the doctor I went to see try any of this with me? Why didn't he ask me about pain at night, why didn't he have me do the Thessaly's test?

Anyway, I'm not getting an MRI. I would rather buy a GPS watch with that money. I biked yesterday and will bike again tomorrow. Running on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Yoga and foam rolling will continue as well. And I really don't like going to the doctor. The good news is that I know it isn't a ligament tear! YAY!

Over eager

Rob and I started our drive to Gainesville on Friday around 5:30 PM Central, which means we got there around 2:00 AM Eastern. I slept for about an hour and a half on the ride down, and then woke up at 6:30 Eastern and ran a very slow 8 miles. I made the very stupid mistake of doing leg strength the day before my long run (never again) so my quads and calves were sore from the get-go. I ran an 11:04 average without even making a conscious effort to slow myself down to that pace...the combination of little sleep and sore muscles slowed me down plenty. It was dark when I started to run, and as I ran through campus there were already people up setting up their tailgates for the 12:00 kickoff! I got a lot of "Go Gators!" as I ran past...it was quite entertaining. It was very foggy, so I didn't get to see the sunrise I had been looking forward to and it was pretty chilly because I was so damp from the mist.

My knee felt fine during the run...there were times when I thought I felt something weird, but it could have just been my imagination. I was pretty happy about finishing the 8 miler, considering that I haven't run anything over 6 miles since my half marathon in September.

After I ran, I stretched really well and foam rolled. I thought my knee was going to be okay, but I wrapped it just in case and took some ibuprofen. I didn't plan for the amount of walking that we were going to be doing that day, and I think that is what really did me in. Rob and I stayed in a hotel on the northeast corner of campus, and we walked all over for the game yesterday. My knee started really hurting after the game, when I turned awkwardly as I tried to squeeze between two people in a crowded space. It hurt all day today too, and I'm icing it as I type. It doesn't seem to be as painful as it was after my last long run, so I'm hoping I'll get over it soon...but I think it may be time for me to go see a sports doctor (now that I have health insurance--yay!) :( I just want to be able to run this marathon... I really hate feeling so powerless.

This game was much more stressful than 

it should have been!

My exercise plans for this week will depend on how my knee is feeling. I was hoping to do some biking today, but that isn't going to happen. Maybe tomorrow? Hopefully a couple of 30-45 minute runs later in the week.

Gnatty

I did an easy 3 miles today here:

It was a beautiful 70 or so degrees outside, and who could complain about that view? I'm glad I found this spot--it is about 5 minutes from work. The only downside: I probably swallowed enough gnats to satisfy my daily need for protein. My knee feels okay; it doesn't hurt, but it doesn't feel quite normal either. The popping sound is definitely more quiet than it was a couple of weeks ago.

One more day of work, and then Rob and I are driving down to Gainesville for the weekend. We are meeting up with one of Rob's good friends, Brian, whom I haven't seen since the weekend I met both of them! That seems like it was so long ago, and now Brian is going to be in our wedding :)

Virgin Falls 2009

Rob is in the blue jacket, Brian is in the red one.

It was almost a full week, anyway.

Hello everyone! 

After a few days of limping and inactivity and a few more days of an okay-feeling knee, I can't tell you how happy I am to report that I ran today and that my knee seems to be doing okay. Granted, it was only two miles on a treadmill with 0% incline at an 11:00 minute mile, but my knee doesn't hurt and isn't stiff. I still have some popping sounds going on, but everyone I talked to said that isn't a huge concern unless there is pain along with it.

I wore my knee brace while I was running at the gym. When I had finished my run and was stretching an older gentleman approached me to ask what I had done to my knee. I told him that I wasn't really sure, that it had just started making strange noises and hurting one day after a run. He told me that he was certified in corrective therapy for athletes and offered to check out my form (sounds creepy, I know, but he wasn't scary in the least). So he asked me to do a set of squats, which I did, and he said I had surprisingly good gross mechanics, "for a woman". (Apparently, a lot of women turn their knees inward and their toes out, but my legs were straight). He then recommended some arch-strengthening exercises that I could do make my feet less flat, so maybe I'll add those into my new regimen. He also made me late for work.

So, here is the rest of my week, I think.

Tomorrow: Cross training for 45 min. core work, and foam rolling

Thursday: 3-4 miles, very slow and easy, foam rolling

Friday: Leg strength, foam rolling

Saturday: 7 miles (hopefully) really easy

Sunday: Cross train, 45 min.

For those of you interested, my trip to Chicago was windy, cold, and lovely. It was great seeing Laura and her new life up there. I ate wonderful food, got to use my only knowledge of the Polish language ("thank you"), and watched the Gators play with a bar full of other Gators (including one that I had spent some time around during my freshmen year at UF--the Gator Nation IS Everywhere.) I spent far too much money, but it was worth it:)

Chicago, Navy Pier 

Sad News :(

Lately, during my runs I have felt fine. It's afterward that is the problem. My left knee stiffens up and sometimes it hurts. Today was the first day that I was able to pinpoint the location of the pain--it was on the back of my knee, toward the outside of the leg.  I did a little butt kick when it started to stiffen up today, and I felt a sharp pain, and I felt a muscle or something pop over the back of my knee. That doesn't sound like runners knee to me, so I spent some quality time with google and I have decided that I pulled my hamstring. Not badly, because it doesn't hurt all the time--only in the few hours following a run (no matter how easy). So, here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to not run for an entire week, if I can manage. It's going to be awful. I'm going to be bouncing off the walls. I'm going to hate it. But, the alternative is not great either.

Semitendinosus tendon--that's where it hurts!

Given that I've been running on it regularly for about a week and a half, I think that it probably is not a very serious injury, just a little strain/sprain--whatever the medically correct terminology is. I think a week should do it. But really, I know nothing. This is a self diagnosis.

I don't think I hurt it while running. I think I did it while hiking up Blood Mountain on our backpacking trip-- as Rob pointed out, it was immediately after that trip that I started having this pain.

This weekend, as mentioned before, I will be visiting my friend, Laura, in Chicago, so it will probably be easier for me to miss my Saturday long run. I'll do an easy 3-4 miles on Wednesday and Thursday of next week and then a 7 mile run in wonderfully flat Florida next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Pictureless

"It's a treat being a runner, out in the world by yourself with not a soul to make you bad tempered or tell you what to do." --Alan Sillitoe

I ran my 6 miles on Saturday in my new, cushy-but-ugly Brooks, with no knee pain at all! I ran in a park nearby with a nice 3 mile loop. The weather was beyond perfect, and it was one of the best runs I've had in a long time. I didn't even feel tired afterward. It was particularly interesting because there was a race going on--- as far as I could tell it was a 5k for collegiate cross country runners (male). I was embarrassingly slow in comparison, but they were all panting and heaving, and I was just enjoying my run. Every now and then I would be near a runner and one of their coaches or friends would shout encouraging words to them, and I pretended they were for me. The most memorable one was, "I know it hurts, man, but focus on something else! Like the top of your head! Or your shoulders!"

Even though I didn't have any knee pain, my achilles was hurting around miles 4 and 5. My knee also continues to pop regularly when climbing stairs or hills, or standing up from a sitting position. It seems to me that the sound is getting a little quieter though. I went to see the PT at my gym today to ask him if it was safe to run on it and he told me that I should be okay, but that I should start doing some dynamic stretching before I start my runs to get the blood flowing. As far as I have gathered, one of two things usually causes knee misalignment:

1) You have muscles that work together that do not have equal amounts of strength. For example, if your hamstrings are stronger than your quads, the stronger muscle might pull the knee out of proper alignment.

2) Similar to the first, except that one muscle is much tighter than the other, so it also pulls the knee out of alignment.

PT seemed to think that my ITB might be too tight, and he could be right--I haven't focused on it while stretching. Anyway, I was happy to hear that he thought it would work itself out and that I can run if I take it easy.

So here is my weekly plan:
Today- RestRestRest!
Tuesday-3 miles, easy
Wednesday- 3 miles, easy
Thursday- 3 miles, hills
Friday- Rest/strength
Saturday- 7 miles, easy
Sunday- XT

{6 miles in new new Brooks)

Well after, this weeks bout of running, I'm having some serious knee pain. Up until this point I have had twinges here and there, but my left knee keeps doing this weird popping thing every few steps now and it's incredibly painful. I blame it on my shoes.

Brooks PureCadence. I have had them for about a month, after being talked into them against my better judgement by the guy at Finish Line. I know my form. I'm a flat-footed over-pronater, who heel strikes and has bad knees anyway. WHY why why did I purchase these shoes? I'll tell you why. Because they were fluorescent yellow and I liked them for purely aesthetic reasons. Lesson learned...the hard way. It's past my "trial" period, so I won't be able to return them, so I'll have to fork over another $100 for the right kind of shoe. I'm just hoping I didn't do any serious damage to my knee in this learning process.

*Let me just clarify that I am NOT knocking PureCadence in general--just for me. There are a ton of people out there who worship these shoes.*

My runs this week were fairly good, all things considered. I switched the hill and speed workouts around so that on Tuesday I did speed, and yesterday I did hills. I did run on a treadmill on Wednesday to help me go slowly. I took the Bailey girl with me yesterday, just around the neighborhood. That area is so low traffic that I was able to let her off the leash for about a mile, which was great because she would have ripped my arm out otherwise. By mile three she had worn herself out enough to behave on a leash. I want to know how to train her to always run with me, without tugging on the leash or stopping to smell specific patches of grass. Any ideas on how to accomplish that? She would be great company on weekday runs.

I'm going to be totally crazy and do my 6 miler at 5AM tomorrow with a running group here in town. I'm assuming that many of them will be running the same Marathon as me because it's local. Should be an event waking up at 4:15 though! Hopefully my knee holds up.

Best Cross training--hiking the AT

Technically, no running has occurred since the last post. However, 17-18 miles of backpacking over the course of a day and a half did, and I think that counts as some good cross training.

Thankfully, Rob got home Thursday night, so I didn't have to drive to Georgia alone.We left right after I left work on Friday and met Stefani in the REI parking lot around 9:00PM Eastern. After leaving her car at our ending point, the three of us drove 40 minutes south to start our hike at Woody Gap. We didn't hike very far in (maybe a mile and a half) before finding a very crowded campsite. It was already 2:00 AM at this point and we didn't want to go much farther, so we squeezed our tents in there and crawled into our sleeping bags. Almost as soon as my head hit my "pillow" (balled up sweatshirt) one of our neighbors started snoring...LOUDLY. I was just about to bemoan my coming night of zero sleep when my genius fiance aggressively unzipped and zipped the entryway to his tent--miraculously, that stopped the snorer.

We didn't get started until 10:00 Saturday morning, and we planned to do 10-11 miles that day. It was a beautiful day, so the trail was pretty crowded. The first 5 or so miles were a breeze... we knocked them out in no time. Then we did the climb to Blood Mountain, which was pretty tough. Aside from the steep climb, the crowds were ridiculous! The worst part about weekend hikes is that you really can't go anywhere too far removed from outlets to civilization, so on beautiful days like Saturday you cannot escape the crowds. Frankly, an abundance of chatty teenagers really can take away from the experience.

Saturday morning at Preacher's Rock

The hike down Blood Mountain was, predictably, hardest on me. My knees are just pathetic when it comes to rapid descents. I have been paying a lot of attention (probably too much attention) to my running form, so as I was hiking I was trying to focus on not rolling my foot too far inward when I walked. The result was that I twisted my left ankle completely in the opposite direction that is inclined to go, and it hurt me for the rest of the day--that's what I get for over-thinking things! Seems to be okay now though. 

What happened here?

We found a lovely campsite for Saturday night, complete with a black bear and her cub...or so we heard. A hiking passing in the opposite direction asked us if we had seen them and seemed appalled that we had not. "How could you have missed them? THEY WERE RIGHT OVER THAT HILL!" Sorry, buddy. It rained that night and I forgot the rain cover for my pack. So, at around midnight I crawled out of the tent into the rain to put a garbage bag over my pack. All things considered, my pack was impressively dry the next morning. I got a new pack on the way home anyway, because the one I had ripped a few months ago. Thanks to the lifetime guarantee that REI gave me, I just swapped it out for a brand new version of the same pack. I love REI.

The weather yesterday was not beautiful in the same way it had been on Saturday. It was foggy and damp and a little creepy...but I really liked it. There were far less people on the trail that day, so it was very eerie...yet still beautiful. We powered through our last 5.5 miles and made it Stef's car.

Stef and Rob on the foggy morning

On the drive home, Rob and I discussed thru-hiking the AT one day...before we "settle down". I have wanted to thru-hike the AT ever since high school, when I did an 8-day Outward Bound course that took place on the AT in North Carolina. Only 200-300 people complete the AT in a single season every year, and I really think we could do it. Something to look forward to :)

Now I'm back at work (boo) and looking forward to a week of runs. Here's my schedule.

Tuesday: 3 miles (hills)

Wednesday: 3 miles (easy--probably on a treadmill)

Thursday: 3 miles (speed work)

Saturday: 6 miles (easy)

This weekend will be my last weekend at home for a few weeks. Next weekend I will be visiting my lovely friend, Laura, in Chicago. The following weekend Rob and I are driving down to Gainesville to watch the Gator's play, and the weekend after that may or may not be another hiking trip. Then there's a wedding in Miami, and Thanksgiving. Lots of out-of-town runs to look forward to--break away from the old worn out routes:)

Inspiration for this week

Backpacking begins tonight!

Running update

I got a horrible night of sleep on Wednesday, so I decided to do my longer run last night instead of this morning so that I could sleep in. I ran my 5 miles with a 9:54 average, and I made a point to go up the biggest hill in the neighborhood to help prepare me for the elevation changes in the race. I have never done that hill before, and I now I know why! It was really tough, but I'm glad I did it.

Life update

I'm not sore from yesterday, so  I should be all set to go for our hike tonight. We're doing the second leg of the AT, around 17 miles total. The weather is going to be perfect and I am so excited! We decided not to take the puppy though, because we don't think she is really fit enough to handle hiking that much :( I want to get her in shape by taking her running with me, but whenever I try she stops every few steps to make sure that I am still with her, so I'm constantly running into her. Any tips on how to train her to run better with me?

P.S. I tried on my wedding dress Wednesday afternoon and it looks great. If you're looking for a good seamstress in Birmingham, go to Maria. She's fantastic. A little scatterbrained...but knows her stuff.



(Total miles on this pair of Brooks: 47.2)

Here's the Kick in the Butt for today:

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. -Dale Carnegie 

The Marathon

The Marathon 

26.2 miles seemed like an impossibly long distance to run 6 months ago. Yesterday, I signed up for my first marathon. This blog shall follow my efforts to get to a point where I can actually run such a distance (and hopefully help to motivate me to finish the thing!)

First, I have to clarify a few things. I hesitate to call myself a "runner". On REALLY REALLY good days, I can run 3 miles with an 8:30 minute/mile. Typically though, I hover around 9:30-9:50, and I get slower the more miles I add on. I also think it's important to note that I am not going into this thing totally blind; I ran a half marathon September 16th, and impressed myself, to be honest. I ran the whole thing in 2 hours, 16 minutes and 4 seconds. That's a 10:23 minute mile, and much better than I thought I was capable of. You'd think after such an effort I would be exhausted and sore--which I was. But 2 days after my half, I was on the road again.

Almost immediately, I signed up for another half marathon, this one in Florida, where my parents live. A friend of mine from high school has agreed to run this one with me, even though he hasn't run much up to this point. I'm really excited about it! But I started to think...maybe I could do more? After some research, I discovered a marathon training plan that called for a half-marathon race halfway through the training, so I started looking for a full marathon that matched up with the timing of the full marathon plan, keeping in mind that I already had a date for the half marathon. Conveniently enough, there is a marathon right here in Birmingham right around that time. It's actually a week after what it should have been, but it was so darn convenient that I couldn't pass it up. So, here are the details of my upcoming marathon.

http://www.mercedesmarathon.com/marathon.php

Downtown Birmingham on February 17th. Over a month before Rob and I get married, so I'll have plenty of time to stress about the wedding after I run the marathon :)

Concerns:

• It's 26.2 miles!
• I'm going to have to train in cold weather for the most brutal of the runs (January).
• It's not a terribly flat course. Runners will gain and lose 977 feet twice throughout the course.
• Will I have enough time to put in the miles, between working full time, planning a wedding, and trying to get my own small business going?

The Plan

This week calls for a 3 mile run on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and then Saturday is supposed to be 5 and Sunday was to be a cross training day. I'm going to have to adjust a little bit though, because Rob and I are meeting his friend Stefani in Georgia Friday night to do a weekend backpacking trip through the first section of the AT. So, here is my adjusted plan:

Tuesday: Ran outside around the neighborhood. Mapmyrun told me that I ran with a 7:30 pace the first mile (HA!) Luckily, I have run that route enough times to know exactly where 3 miles was...I ended up running with roughly an 8:30 avg (still good!).

Today: I went to the gym during my lunch break and ran 3 miles on the treadmill. I really can't do more than 3-4 miles on a treadmill and keep my sanity, and I only do it on days that I must. Today, after work, I am going to try on my newly altered wedding dress, and it's been getting dark so early here lately that I was nervous I wouldn't be able to squeeze a run in after the dress fitting. I ran it in 28:28 (more normal for me).

Tomorrow: I'm skipping the 3 mile run, hoping that the hiking trip will make up for it

Friday: 5 miles before work--really early wake-up time.

Saturday and Sunday I will be hidden in the woods with boy, my dog, and a good friend :)

Here is the rest of my training program:
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program

(Total miles on this pair of Brooks: 42)