Race Day Is Upon Me

Well I have successfully trained for the half. I can say that now, even though the race is still a week and a half away, because I have already run my longest training run of 12 miles this last weekend. And that was in the "heat" (70 degree weather is a little too warm for hot body me), and around the uneven terrain of Tierrasanta. So 13 miles game day along the flat Coronado Strand at likely 65 degree overcast 7am weather with several water stations and a gel packet halfway through should be cake. I am pretty proud of myself considering right when I was supposed to be ramping up my long runs (and shortly after finally getting my hip healed and catching up to my training schedule) I had to take a week and a half off for a terrible chest cold that got into my lungs, messed up my voice and gave me a chronic cough that still burdens me. I would love to finish in under 2 hours but I'm not sure that is going to happen, seeing as how my average mile including my little stretching and water breaks amounts to a 11 min mile. But given the right circumstances, I'm staying optimistic I can do it! Because I can comfortably run an average of 10 min miles even for my long runs, and pushing it I can get a mile or two down in the 9 min mile range.

I also talked to my dad and found out that he used to run cross country in high school and had always loved running in his younger years. I never knew since he'll be 70 next year so for the better part of my adult life he has been old and can't comfortably walk more than a mile now.

Overcoming Injuries... And Easing Back Into It.

Everything was going great. Until August 17th. Taste of Tierrasanta. Too much to drink. Too many old people dancing to an awesomely cheezy cover band egging me on to dance. Somehow (my memory is a little fuzzy here) I threw out my hip really bad. I couldn't walk strait. Needed to lean on a wall or handrail to walk up stairs. It was really bad. So I had to let it heal for a week. Almost there, and I twisted my ankle which twisted my hip out again. Back to square one. Another week of healing, good to go. Ok finally going to get running again. End of August, I aim for a 3 mile run. On mile 2 my hip goes out on me. Then I have to walk home, likely further injuring myself. Ok I'm starting to learn my lesson. I wait until it feels ok to walk - about a week and a half. Lots of stretching throughout the day. I realize now I will have to slowly incorporate exercise at all, so I start with a nearly 1 mile walk. Frustrated that I can only walk a mile and my hip feels swollen and hot but try to feel encouraged that I couldn't walk without pain just a week before. Continue to stretch, and walk a little more each day. Throw in a little bit of jogging after a walking warm up. Start jogging for more of the distance while simultaneously adding length to the workout. Lots of stretching, and leg strengthening exercises, and paying a lot of attention to how my hip feels. Yesterday I was able to run 4.25 miles. Sweet! I'm not quite as far behind as I thought I would be since I've been able to add miles faster than I thought I would. Today is supposed to be a 5 mile run and I'll have to take a break since I ran the last 3 days. Sunday is supposed to be my long run which should be up to 7 miles. But as long as I don't have any re-injuries I should be able to add miles enough to catch up in my training schedule by race day.

Mizunos Saved My Life (She Says Dramatically)

Mizuno Women's Wave Rider 16

In sheer desperation, I went into Roadrunner for another assessment to see what they recommended for footwear (I had been assessed years ago but honestly don't remember what the results were and never purchased shoes based on them). Seeing as how I had tried everything I could find or think of and my shin split kept coming back, I was at my wits end. I rested it. I iced it. I took anti-inflammatory medicine. I taped it. I massaged it. I got my leg adjusted by my chiropractor. I rolled my foot over a golf ball. I rolled my shin over a fitness roller. I did leg raises and toe flex exercises daily. And while those all helped, and my injury didn't get worse, it still didn't fully heal either.

In the process of researching my injury and trying various remedies, I also realized that my running technique needed improvement. Namely, my stride was too long, which was causing me to heel strike. This typically exacerbates shin splints, so I knew I had to change up my stride. I shortened it, and this helped measurably. However, to be comfortable I was having to land entirely on my forefoot, which was awkward, and caused blisters around my big toe, even at short distances. This is what finally brought me into Roadrunner. I was pretty sure it was my stride that was the main culprit, and thought that I needed a different pair of shoes that fit better and wouldn't give me blisters.

I was fitted, and found out a number of interesting things:
1. I carry 60% of my weight on my right (the injured) side. It is my dominant side, but this is a very large discrepancy of weight distribution between the two legs.
2. I was wearing too large of shoes. (I was in 7's and I should be in 6.5. My left foot is actually a 5, my right a 6 and your running shoes should be larger but not that much so)
3. Although technically my feet are not wide (they measured me twice) I do need wide shoes, and longer laces to go with them. I must have puffy, 3 dimensionally large feet, if normal width across.

I was given three shoes to try, and the Mizuno Wave Rider, which came in wide ended up being the right fit. Funny thing, if you didn't know, this happens to be the same shoe that Wendy Davis wore for her famous 13 hour filibuster. I swear, I'm not copying her or trying to be trendy.

Anyway, I got these shoes, along with the custom orthotics they made for me. (I have a pair of customs already for every day use, but I figured it was good to have a full foot length one for running, and as an added bonus I wouldn't have to switch them out every time I went running, or go without them if I forgot them that day.)

My first run was heaven. I felt like I was running on clouds. I felt like my feet were weightless and nimble. And I didn't need to run on my toes - I could strike mid-foot and there was no pain in my shin. My third run was a 5 mile run and it felt fantastic. I think I finally have it all sorted out and I finally have traction for my half-marathon goal. Whoot Whoot!

Sugar Free(dom)

I didn't realize I had not updated on my Sugar Eradication post. The two weeks was easier than one would think. I didn't have to decide anymore - the decision was already made. I wasn't eating sugar. For instance, someone brought in cookies one day. I normally would have taken one, then had to decide if I was going to eat it before or after breakfast. How long I would try to hold off before eating it. If it wasn't amazing, would I throw it away or finish it? If it was amazing, would I go back for a second one? (Sometimes even a third?) How soon could it be appropriate to go back for the second one? And how long would I let it sit on my desk before I ate it?

This internal dialogue would happen sometimes several times a day, as I was confronted with sugary temptations at every step of my day. I did a great job at keeping these things out of my house but honestly, I spend less than half of my time there and most of it is spent sleeping. So skipping to the end result saved me that entire conversation with myself. And I realized that my battle was not with choosing to eat it, it was how much I felt I deserved to eat. And I didn't feel that I ever really deserved it because the weight of all the donuts, bagels, slices of cake, pieces of bread, servings of pasta that I had ever eaten before weighed heavily on my conscious, and I wasn't fully enjoying whatever I was splurging on in that moment.

I didn't have any withdrawals - the biggest obstacle was just deciding to quit. And let me tell you, it was the most freeing decision. I was free from sugar and it's addictive hold on me. And at the end of two weeks, while I did lose a few pounds, the biggest change was in my thought process about food, specifically treats and foods I knew were splurges, and my cravings for them. First, I didn't want them like I did before. I stopped having a ravenous appetite for them. In fact, I was craving my protein, my vegetables, my healthy fats. I could pass up something that I knew I didn't really want or need - even at parties and events! And those times that something came up that I knew was amazing or I really wanted to taste, I could - and stop at a bite or two. And often even that was too cloyingly sweet for me. I feel as if my system has been reset. My ideas of portions for treats are appropriate now; there is no way I could down a big bowl of ice cream or have a large piece of cake at this point.

I am looking forward to seeing how my cholesterol has been affected too. At last check it had crept up to 190 (very high for me - it can be as low as 150 for me normally) and there is increasing evidence of sugar consumption being linked to high cholesterol levels (among other heart related diseases).

*UPDATE* My cholesterol had dropped back down to 157 when it was checked in August.

Sugar Eradication

Father's Day was not a proud day for my eating habits. Despite my best attempts, over the course of the day I ended up devouring 4 donuts, a brownie and an ice cream cone. Healthy choice fail. Add another sugar binge to my list of shameful moments. And every item after that first one I felt guilty and ashamed about eating. Every bite. My weight has crept back up a little bit lately, and though I have toned up a lot getting back into working out, that still makes me unhappy. And I know I have been eating too much sugar, although I have done a great job of decreasing my carb intake in general, and replacing processed carbs with complex ones. Soooo, with a really fancy wedding (Ryan's cousin Jason) on July 6th, I decided it was the perfect time to go on a sugar elimination diet for a few weeks.

Can I just say how much happier I am? Its not as hard as you think it would be. Resolution actually makes the process easier. Knowing that I have decided not to eat any sugar is freeing. I don't have to decide if I "can" have something or not, or how much to have, or how fast I can eat it while trying to enjoy it instead of gorge it... The decision has been made, so its not a debate for me. And now, a little over a week in, I don't think about sweets like I used to. I would randomly have a craving for some treat several times a day, and I don't have it anymore. Moreover, white carbs don't taste as amazing as they used to. I stop when I am "full". I don't have the urge to eat past my satiety. And if there is not enough protein or veggies in a meal, it tastes too heavy and pasty for me - I actually crave the good stuff. Yeah I know that sounds like a cliche.

In fact, it is going so well I have been thinking about cutting out sugar forever... how strange that option seems... How realistic is that? Of course the ideal solution would be to get to a point where I could have a bite or two here and there and be satisfied. But I don't know that I can do that. Will I fall off the bandwagon with just one bite? Is my sugar addiction like it is for alcoholics or druggies? Because one drink or one hit for them is NOT an option.

I don't know. At this point I'm just going to take it one day at a time, and see how it goes.The wedding is still a week away and I want to be really good on the carbs this week to get as cute as I can for the wedding.

Not So Fast...

So I thought my shin had healed... not so much. Or at least, not entirely. I started slowly. I was walking only. Then adding in some exercises. Then slow running. And it was there, a dull ache. But it wasn't painful, so I thought I just needed to stretch it out a little as I got back into it. And since then I have added on everything I could look up to help with them. I'm taping them with Rock Tape. I'm taking ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory). I'm doing specific exercises like leg lifts to strengthen my muscles. I got a foam exercise roller to massage my legs. All that was just keeping it at a dull ache while running, so I think I have finally realized that I need to do all of that AND rest for a bit longer to let them fully heal.

The bright side is that I get to enjoy this amazing San Diego weather and start a new book to read on my lunch breaks!

On a side note, I completed my first 5K in a decade. And I was pretty pleased - I only added a minute and a half to my total time, at about 9:30 per mile, not too shabby. If I can just get this damn shin healed I know I  can blow that out of the water with some real workouts!

First Half Marathon

Well my leg finally healed. There was a time I thought it might not, it was going so slowly. But its finally there and I am easing back into working out and running. In all of my excitement and enthusiasm in getting back out there, and Abby finally being at the age and temperament that I could foresee training and aiming for one of my life goals, a half marathon, I decided to go for it. Summer would be terrible since I die (seriously die) in heat, so the new year would be the earliest I could do it. A friend of mine who is a seasoned marathon runner (she has done 10 already and I don't even know how many half marathons), knew offhand that the Tinkerbell Half Marathon was in January and that would be good timing. I thought that would be perfect; what better race for my Disney fairy obsessed daughters to cheer me on for than a Tinkerbell themed one at DISNEYLAND????? So here I go. This week I did my first all running workout. It was almost 3 miles. LOL I have some work to do! I signed up for UCSD's 5K in June for practice and to get a baseline for what my times are like, and work up from there. Registration for the THM is not up yet, I think it opens next month or so.