about running.
I've been increasing my mileage and working on running longer distances without stopping, and I've been feeling good. I feel like my asthma is under control, so I can breathe (no more gasping for oxygen); I bought new running shoes to replace my old, worn-out pair; I'm icing my shins after I run and my orthotics really seem to make a difference. I can run without my shins killing me, and my shins aren't hurting after I run, either. Such an improvement!
I had ten minutes to run today (LMS was asleep, but mom had to leave in ten minutes) so I tried to run a mile in ten minutes. Not a challenge for lots of people, I know, but given my current fitness level and the pace I've been running (12 minute miles when pushing LMS in the stroller), it was a challenge for me. The unfortunate thing is that the half mile out from our house is hilly, which means that the half mile back is also hilly- almost a full mile of up and down, up and down. Not the best for trying to do some speedwork for the first time in who-knows-how-long, but it did add to the challenge.
The results? I'm seriously out of shape. The faster speed really took it out of me. While I managed to run the first half mile in 4 minutes, I did not have the juice left to keep my pace up for the second half mile. So, I need to do more speedwork to get my body used to faster speeds, and I need to work on my endurance. I used to (many years ago) be able to run for miles without problems. I wasn't fast, but I could keep going for quite awhile. I need to get my body used to running more miles and going faster. I want to get my pace at least down to 10 minutes per mile.
I've been trying to decide on a major race or two to work towards, but there's a lot of variables to consider. I'd like to run the half marathon that I did last year, but it's in the middle of August and I don't have the mileage base for it yet. This also means I don't have the mileage base for the marathon I did last year, which is run in September. I do want to run it again, but I want to be properly trained for it so I can get a really good time. In order to have the time to build up my mileage base, I need to be looking at a half marathon in October or November. Unfortunately, we don't know where we'll be living at that point, so it's hard to choose a race. I don't want to have to spend a lot of money traveling to and from the race, so it needs to be fairly close. I think I'll pick one in each of the areas that I think we might end up, and then wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I'll start running some 5Ks and maybe a 10K or two.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Progress with my shinsplints?
I finally was able to see a chiropractor about my shin splints, and we're going to hit them with a two-pronged approach. I'm going to get orthotics, which will help line up my body properly, thereby reducing stress and strain to various other parts of my body (including my shins). I'll go in and she'll work on my shins and legs to align everything and reduce scar tissue and gristle. My first appointment was last week and she was massaging my shins and commented on the graininess present (I have very bumpy shins). She said it's a sign of scar tissue and gristle forming, and she'll be working to break it up. She's using deep tissue work (very painful!) and ultrasound therapy (feels good) to accomplish that. So hopefully between all this I'll be able to increase my mileage without massive amounts of pain and finally be able to lose some weight.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Busy, busy
Today and Tuesday I rode my bike for half an hour. I think I've said it before, but I am amazed at what a huge difference the clips and bike shoes make. I can maintain a consistently faster spin, I can feel more muscles in my legs being used, and I work up quite a sweat from the extra effort, even though I don't actually feel like I'm using that much more energy.
My shins have been sore from the run on Saturday, so I didn't run or walk on Monday, though I did go for a four mile walk yesterday. The weather was really nice, so I took Little Miss Sunshine out with me. While I really like seasons, and winter, I am enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we've had off and on. It means I can get outside and exercise without freezing my tookus off. We do have days where it's really cold, but since we haven't had enough snow to do anything (like skiing or snowshoeing), this winter has been a bit of a bust.
I've been busy working on the cover for LMS's car seat, but haven't managed to finish it yet. Last night I managed to overload my bobbin, causing it to lose its shape and consequently not work properly in my sewing machine. I spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out what was going on before giving up and going to bed (at about 1 :30 am). This morning I looked at the problem again, and compared the bobbin to some others and figured out what had happened. Put a new one in, and voila! No more problems. Now if I could have just figured that out before I wasted all that time last night....
My shins have been sore from the run on Saturday, so I didn't run or walk on Monday, though I did go for a four mile walk yesterday. The weather was really nice, so I took Little Miss Sunshine out with me. While I really like seasons, and winter, I am enjoying the unseasonably warm weather we've had off and on. It means I can get outside and exercise without freezing my tookus off. We do have days where it's really cold, but since we haven't had enough snow to do anything (like skiing or snowshoeing), this winter has been a bit of a bust.
I've been busy working on the cover for LMS's car seat, but haven't managed to finish it yet. Last night I managed to overload my bobbin, causing it to lose its shape and consequently not work properly in my sewing machine. I spent about 45 minutes trying to figure out what was going on before giving up and going to bed (at about 1 :30 am). This morning I looked at the problem again, and compared the bobbin to some others and figured out what had happened. Put a new one in, and voila! No more problems. Now if I could have just figured that out before I wasted all that time last night....
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Little Miss Sunshine and I started the year out with a race. When I was in high school my family participated in a 'Resolution Run' every year on New Year's Eve. The race started at a quarter to midnight and afterwards we sat around in the gym and won door prizes and such. It was a lot of fun. We haven't found a race like that here unfortunately. However, I did find a race that starts at 10 am on New Year's Day. An added bonus: they have kids' races of various lengths (25 yds, 200 yds, 1 mile) beforehand. So LMS ran the 25 yard race and had a great time. She was very excited to be running a race and she thought the finisher's ribbon was pretty cool. This is a blurry picture; my mom's camera has some better ones, I need to get them from her.
Notice how she's already working on her form: arms bent and swinging, knees high, big smile. My mom came along to watch her while I ran. Luckily there was a good playground right there at the finish line, so LMS was able to have fun while waiting.
I had the option of running a 5K or a 10K, and you could actually change your mind a mile into it, when the 10K-ers went one way and the 5K-ers went another. I knew from the beginning I was only going to do the 5K though, since I really don't have my mileage up higher than that.
While running, I realized several things:
1. I really need to do some hill work. The first half of this race was all uphill, and it was tough! (It was an out-and-back course, so that also meant that the second half was downhill, but still...)
2. I am not ready to run a half marathon in two weeks. I had planned on doing so, but realized I really do not have enough mileage to be properly prepared. I could do it anyway, but I want to be able to run the whole thing, not have to stop and gasp for breath/rest my tired legs every little bit/have problems with my shins.
3. While increasing my mileage, I also need to strengthen my calves and shins more. I didn't wear my compression sleeves during the race and only had a small twinge in one shin, but it was also only a three mile race.
4. Luckily I have options. There's a half marathon the first weekend of February I can do, but it's rather hilly, so we'll see how my hill workouts go before I make a decision on that one. There's several 5K/10K and 5M/10M races this month and next, so I'll be able to prepare for the half marathon that I will be doing the first weekend of March. I can definitely be ready for that one.
Notice how she's already working on her form: arms bent and swinging, knees high, big smile. My mom came along to watch her while I ran. Luckily there was a good playground right there at the finish line, so LMS was able to have fun while waiting.I had the option of running a 5K or a 10K, and you could actually change your mind a mile into it, when the 10K-ers went one way and the 5K-ers went another. I knew from the beginning I was only going to do the 5K though, since I really don't have my mileage up higher than that.
While running, I realized several things:
1. I really need to do some hill work. The first half of this race was all uphill, and it was tough! (It was an out-and-back course, so that also meant that the second half was downhill, but still...)
2. I am not ready to run a half marathon in two weeks. I had planned on doing so, but realized I really do not have enough mileage to be properly prepared. I could do it anyway, but I want to be able to run the whole thing, not have to stop and gasp for breath/rest my tired legs every little bit/have problems with my shins.
3. While increasing my mileage, I also need to strengthen my calves and shins more. I didn't wear my compression sleeves during the race and only had a small twinge in one shin, but it was also only a three mile race.
4. Luckily I have options. There's a half marathon the first weekend of February I can do, but it's rather hilly, so we'll see how my hill workouts go before I make a decision on that one. There's several 5K/10K and 5M/10M races this month and next, so I'll be able to prepare for the half marathon that I will be doing the first weekend of March. I can definitely be ready for that one.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Asthma problems
Running in the cold yesterday hit me harder than I expected. I did expect the cough that I got: that always happens after running in the cold; residual asthma effects from when I was younger. When I was practicing my flute last night though, I found myself having to breathe after every measure, which is very uncharacteristic. I also couldn't take a deep breath, no matter how hard I tried. This isn't good, because that means my asthma was acting up. I haven't had problems for more than 10 years, so I really hope this is just temporary. I don't want to have to take asthma meds again. This morning my lungs felt better, but my throat was feeling worse and I felt crummy. I've had a scratchy throat off and on for the past few days, but yesterday I felt fine. Today, not so much. So I didn't go running today in hopes that I'll be feeling better tomorrow.
Today my brother got the ok to go back on his mission. While he was in the MTC he messed up his knee and had surgery, but it never healed and he was having problems walking, so when the rest of his group went to Korea, he came home. He had physical therapy once he got home, but at that point it had been almost 2 months since the surgery, so it was too little too late. He ended up having another surgery and this time started PT 3 days later. He can now walk without any problems. He had to be able to walk 5 miles without pain before they'd let him go back out, and he was finally able to do that. He's been home almost a year, but he's been able to get some other medical problems taken care of, so that was good. He doesn't have to go back to the MTC, he'll be heading straight to Korea the first week of January. He's very excited because he didn't think he'd be able to go to Korea, he was afraid they'd send him somewhere else.
Today my brother got the ok to go back on his mission. While he was in the MTC he messed up his knee and had surgery, but it never healed and he was having problems walking, so when the rest of his group went to Korea, he came home. He had physical therapy once he got home, but at that point it had been almost 2 months since the surgery, so it was too little too late. He ended up having another surgery and this time started PT 3 days later. He can now walk without any problems. He had to be able to walk 5 miles without pain before they'd let him go back out, and he was finally able to do that. He's been home almost a year, but he's been able to get some other medical problems taken care of, so that was good. He doesn't have to go back to the MTC, he'll be heading straight to Korea the first week of January. He's very excited because he didn't think he'd be able to go to Korea, he was afraid they'd send him somewhere else.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Running in Hawaii versus here
It was super cold Sunday morning- my car thermometer read zero degrees on the way to church. Yikes! It also read zero on the way to the in-laws for dinner, but their thermometer said 10 below, so I wonder if my car thermometer can't do negatives...
I didn't go running yesterday like I had planned, but I did go today. I went in the afternoon while Little Miss Sunshine was napping. I figured it would be warmer then, which it was, but it was also windier. As I was running I was thinking about how much running I've done lately. It was a bit of a shock to realize it's been a month since I was running consistently. I did go running once in Hawaii, but there just wasn't a good route that was clear of obstacles and not super close to traffic. I try to err on the side of safety when I have LMS in the stroller with me, so I didn't go on any mo
re runs after that. It was a nice run, physically, though. I wore my compression sleeves, and my shins didn't hurt at all. My calves got fatigued pretty quickly, but that should help strengthen them, which should in turn strengthen the muscles in my shins, right? I'm sure hoping that's the case. Anyway, my lungs didn't bother me at all- no problems breathing- of course, we were at sea level, so about as much oxygen as you can get. The two miles I did today showed me that 3 1/2 weeks at sea level followed by a return to higher altitude takes longer than a week to re-acclimate. I took a week off, hoping that would be enough, but I was gasping for air by the time I hit the 1.5 mile marker. Add fatigued calf muscles (compression sleeves again), and it was a tough run. It felt good to get out there again, but I'm going to have to really stay motivated to get past the altitude issues and the fatigued calf muscles. Hopefully it doesn't take too long.
I had planned to do a 10k race this Saturday, but for some reason it hadn't clicked that it was so soon. I need to run the 10k race as prep for the half marathon I'm doing in January, but I'm tempted to do just the 5k. After how cold it was on Sunday, though, I may not be running it at all. I really need to see how my lungs react to really cold, higher altitude air. Today was in the 30's, so warmer than it may be on Saturday. We'll have to see how cold the next couple days are.
Still haven't decided if I'm doing the race on Saturday, but if I do, I'm pretty sure it'll only be the 5K. I'm just not ready for a 10K at this point, which is unfortunate. Sure hope I'm ready for the half in January.
Upcoming Races
I had wanted to run a turkey trot while in Hawaii, but the only race I could find was 6 am on Thanksgiving, and it was a 10 miler. I only wanted a 5K... Plus, I wasn't ready for a 10 miler. So no race in November. My December race is this weekend, but I still have to see if I'm re-acclimated. January is my next half marathon. February is a 5 miler or a 10 miler (we'll see how I feel after the half). There's another half I can do towards the beginning of March, but it might interfere with some other stuff going on, so we'll have to see on that one. If we haven't moved cross-country, I have another half I can run in April. I'm not going to start looking for races past that point, since we don't know where we'll be.
I didn't go running yesterday like I had planned, but I did go today. I went in the afternoon while Little Miss Sunshine was napping. I figured it would be warmer then, which it was, but it was also windier. As I was running I was thinking about how much running I've done lately. It was a bit of a shock to realize it's been a month since I was running consistently. I did go running once in Hawaii, but there just wasn't a good route that was clear of obstacles and not super close to traffic. I try to err on the side of safety when I have LMS in the stroller with me, so I didn't go on any mo
re runs after that. It was a nice run, physically, though. I wore my compression sleeves, and my shins didn't hurt at all. My calves got fatigued pretty quickly, but that should help strengthen them, which should in turn strengthen the muscles in my shins, right? I'm sure hoping that's the case. Anyway, my lungs didn't bother me at all- no problems breathing- of course, we were at sea level, so about as much oxygen as you can get. The two miles I did today showed me that 3 1/2 weeks at sea level followed by a return to higher altitude takes longer than a week to re-acclimate. I took a week off, hoping that would be enough, but I was gasping for air by the time I hit the 1.5 mile marker. Add fatigued calf muscles (compression sleeves again), and it was a tough run. It felt good to get out there again, but I'm going to have to really stay motivated to get past the altitude issues and the fatigued calf muscles. Hopefully it doesn't take too long.I had planned to do a 10k race this Saturday, but for some reason it hadn't clicked that it was so soon. I need to run the 10k race as prep for the half marathon I'm doing in January, but I'm tempted to do just the 5k. After how cold it was on Sunday, though, I may not be running it at all. I really need to see how my lungs react to really cold, higher altitude air. Today was in the 30's, so warmer than it may be on Saturday. We'll have to see how cold the next couple days are.
Still haven't decided if I'm doing the race on Saturday, but if I do, I'm pretty sure it'll only be the 5K. I'm just not ready for a 10K at this point, which is unfortunate. Sure hope I'm ready for the half in January.
Upcoming Races
I had wanted to run a turkey trot while in Hawaii, but the only race I could find was 6 am on Thanksgiving, and it was a 10 miler. I only wanted a 5K... Plus, I wasn't ready for a 10 miler. So no race in November. My December race is this weekend, but I still have to see if I'm re-acclimated. January is my next half marathon. February is a 5 miler or a 10 miler (we'll see how I feel after the half). There's another half I can do towards the beginning of March, but it might interfere with some other stuff going on, so we'll have to see on that one. If we haven't moved cross-country, I have another half I can run in April. I'm not going to start looking for races past that point, since we don't know where we'll be.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Running in the snow is fun
After not getting much done yesterday, I got a lot done today. I've noticed this tends to happen. I take some time to relax, and I'm much more productive.
Despite cold weather and flurries, we went for a run this morning. My shins were hurting, so I only ran/walked two miles, but it felt good (other than my shins). It wasn't super cold, which is why I made sure I got out and went running. Once the weather gets colder, I need to keep running, and not wuss out, so hopefully if I ease into it, it won't be too bad. I used to love running in the snow and rain in high school, but that was a long time ago. I need toughen up so I can do it and enjoy it again.
After my run, I took some stuff out to the storage container and got our suitcases out. I talked to my Army Guy, wrapped some presents, and cleaned our room. After lunch, while Little Miss Sunshine napped, I worked on the travelmate. I got it mostly done, then ran into a problem with some of my hardware not fitting quite right. I'll fix it tomorrow and get pictures posted. Then I played with LMS, sorted some hand-me-down clothes for her, added 10 inches to some ties I bought for my brother (he's so tall that ties aren't long enough for him), did laundry, and practiced my flute.
Despite cold weather and flurries, we went for a run this morning. My shins were hurting, so I only ran/walked two miles, but it felt good (other than my shins). It wasn't super cold, which is why I made sure I got out and went running. Once the weather gets colder, I need to keep running, and not wuss out, so hopefully if I ease into it, it won't be too bad. I used to love running in the snow and rain in high school, but that was a long time ago. I need toughen up so I can do it and enjoy it again.
After my run, I took some stuff out to the storage container and got our suitcases out. I talked to my Army Guy, wrapped some presents, and cleaned our room. After lunch, while Little Miss Sunshine napped, I worked on the travelmate. I got it mostly done, then ran into a problem with some of my hardware not fitting quite right. I'll fix it tomorrow and get pictures posted. Then I played with LMS, sorted some hand-me-down clothes for her, added 10 inches to some ties I bought for my brother (he's so tall that ties aren't long enough for him), did laundry, and practiced my flute.
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