Proud Moments

The run I did last night was the first of the TCIGTR workouts where there was just one large chunk of running instead of alternating running and walking. I am excited to say I ran for 15 minutes without stopping, which was about 1 and 1/3 miles. It felt great, especially when I looked back at that first day when I could barely even run for 5 minutes without stopping! I also can't believe that just two weeks ago I was nervous about doing the workout that required that I run sets of 3 minutes with walking in between! Woohoo!

On Tuesday, I went to The Lift. Because it's The Lift Plus, we do lots of jumping jacks, etc. like I mentioned in a previous post. I found after the first set of jumping jacks that a person battling shin splints probably shouldn't do them. I was able to modify much of what we did but it was frustrating because I felt like I could be doing more if it wasn't for my stupid legs! So it goes, I guess.

Today is a "day of rest" where I'll be spending some quality time with my ice bag and the Olympics. I'll hopefully be getting up early for a run in tomorrow morning, but I make no promises.

Power Song(s) of the Day: "Do Somethin'" by Britney Spears. I know. Just shut up.

"Soul Sister" by Train. This is not necessarily a good song for running/cardio, but Stephanie always plays it in The Lift when we're doing abs at the end and it is great for that! Although this song is rapidly becoming overplayed, I love it.

Shin update #2,378

Are you guys tired of reading about my shins yet? I'm tired of writing about them! I'm feeling optimistic that the insoles will help because my right leg feels GREAT today! My left leg is hurting a bit but ice and Ibuprofen are helping immensely. Not too much pain on my run last night either. According to TCIGTR as long as it doesn't hurt while you're actually running it's ok to keep going. Tonight I'm going to The Lift and then running again tomorrow so I'll update you again after that.

Last night I ran a total of 1.3 miles. Not as close to my goal of two miles as I'd like to be by now but I think I'll make it!

Power Song of the Day: "Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued" by Fall Out Boy. FOB generally changes their sound a bit with every new album, and From Under the Cork Tree is the album with the sound I like the best. Additionally this song has lots of power chords and funny lyrics.

I LOVE The Runner's Edge!

OK, the last thing I want is for my blog to turn into a big advertisement for anything, but I have to give some serious thanks to The Runner's Edge.

Because my shins have still been bothering me, I swung in yesterday to see if I should try different shoes. (Yep, they'll take back the shoes they sold you even if you've worn them.) However, because Brooks are awesome, the man who helped me didn't recommend new shoes. Instead, we're going to try some insoles. Here's where The Runner's Edge being awesome comes in: not only did he recommend a product that will help me, but he actually put them in my shoes and let me walk around. Apparently the arches of my feet are farther forward than most people's, because it took four or five pairs before we found one that hit me in the right place. Further, he trimmed them down to fit my shoes perfectly, taught me how to mold them to my feet using my oven, and then said, (here's the best part) that I can still return them if they don't help! What? That's amazing!

He also let me run on their in-store treadmill and watched my stride to make sure I wasn't doing anything funny. (I'm not.)

In other "shin" news, they are definitely still sore. I am starting to ice them three times a day, which every single person I've talked to about this recommends. (That's right, I will be sitting on the floor of the University Branch of Missoula Federal Credit Union's break room during my lunch break icing my shins. Sweet.) The guy at The Runner's Edge said I'm probably OK to keep running as long as I ice a lot and use anti-inflammatories. (Yes Mom, I'll stop if it gets too bad...I'll know if I'm hurting myself, I promise!) He recommended running every other day and cross-training or resting in the off-days to allow them time to rest/heal in between.

It's frustrating and scary because I'm really enjoying running and I'm really excited to meet my goal. The pain is by no means unbearable. In fact, it doesn't even hurt that bad. It's more like a nagging soreness. It's the fear of stress fracture/other injury that's stressing me out. So keep your fingers crossed that the insoles solve the problem!!

On a completely unrelated note, everyone wish my friend Allison luck as she runs in the Snow Joke half-marathon this coming weekend. Read about it here: http://www.cheetahherders.com/snowjoke.html Seriously. Read the entrants guide. It's amazing.

Power Song of the Day: "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance. The lyrics are funny and it's got a good melody. Plus it's fairly short which is good for my ADD.

Crunch time!

My half-marathon training classes start in 17 days and I'm starting to get a little nervous. I'm nowhere near being able to run 2 miles without stopping. I'm definitely able to run more than when I first started though. Last night TCIGTR directed me to run 8 minutes, walk 3 minutes, and run 8 minutes again and I was able to do it. It wasn't fun, but I completed it and was even able to push myself to run an extra 30 seconds on the last set of running. I just don't want to hurt myself again! I think cross training will be key for me in the next five months.

The good news is my legs/shins didn't hurt at all when I was running last night. I did ski a (very) little bit on Monday so my calves were a little sore which definitely made the run harder. However I'm happy to say the only pain I felt was muscle fatigue. What a relief!

Power Song(s) of the Day: "Ohio is for Lovers" by Hawthorne Heights--This song is depressing as hell but it has a really good beat and is fun to listen to LOUD which I like when I'm running.

"Hum Hallelujah" by Fall Out Boy--FOB in general is good running music, but this song in particular is great for working out. It's very complex with a lot going on all at once which I find distracts me from thinking about how much my quads are burning or how tired I am.

Obivouly if you don't like emo you probably shouldn't take music advice from me.

Side Note: Shaun White amazes me. Seriously.

What Not to Eat...

So, today I learned a very important lesson: do not eat a ginormous lunch less than one hour before you run. It does not feel good. My tummy was turning by the end and I didn't have as good of a run as I think I could have had I eaten earlier and perhaps hydrated myself a little better. (Apparently two cups of coffee and one large iced tea does not a hydrated woman make. Who knew?) So not my smartest day, obviously.

Nausea aside, I had another good, tough run today. There was very little pain in my lower legs, though they're a little tired now. The Runner's Edge training classes start two weeks from tomorrow and I think I'll be ready. I can't believe how fast time is flying!!

I would like to start doing yoga again. Since I had some extra time after my run today, I did a lot more stretching than I normally do. (Though I do always stretch post run.) I noticed that my muscles, particulary in my legs have gotten a LOT tighter since I quit doing yoga every week. My utadasana, or inverted mountain pose, was not looking good! (Utadasana is standing with your feet pointed slightly inward at the front of your mat and leaning forward at the hips to touch your toes. I'm not a yogi so that description is probably way off but just go with it.) A few months ago, I could put my hands almost flat on the ground in this pose with my knees straight. Today, I could barely brush the ground with my fingertips and my knees were even a little bent. Damn! I did a few Downward Facing Dogs and those felt good, so once I get into a good training routine I'm going to try and go back to my Monday night yoga classes.

Anyway, in an earlier post I mentioned my running power song, but I realized today when I was running that I actually have a number of good power songs for working out, so I'll start closing my blog posts with a song that inspired me recently. Most will come from my iPod but a few might come from what Stephanie plays in The Lift or what I hear in spinning. A few disclaimers, though: 1. It's been a long time since I've had a fully functioning computer, so the music on my iPod is way old. 2. I really prefer punk and rock music so I don't recommend downloading these songs for your small children or impressionable friends.

Power Song of the Day: "Billie Jean" by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. While I'm a die-hard MJ fan and would normally be offended that anyone would even try and cover Billie Jean, Me First does a nice job of turning it into a punk song and giving it a good beat for working out. The original is obviously better for any and all other situations, though.

Back in the Game

Well, I didn't write much last week because, frankly, I wasn't doing much of anything last week. I decided to take it really easy and aside from one day on the elliptical I stayed away from the gym. My legs feel MUCH better. Last night I was able to complete another tough run. My legs didn't feel GOOD when it was over but they didn't feel scary-hurt either. I think it's just a matter of strengthening my lower-leg muscles and not trying to run 4 times a week. (Seriously. What was that guy thinking when he wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running??)

Last night's run was great! The workout was walking 5 minutes, then alternating running 5 minutes w/ walking 2 minutes, then walking 4 minutes. A few weeks ago, when I first decided to "become" a runner, I tried to run for 5 minutes. I did make it through the 5 minutes that time, but just barely. Last night I was able to stand upright without holding on to the treadmill, (a change from that time a few weeks ago!) and while it wasn't super easy, it wasn't as hard as I expected either. Exciting!

Tonight is The Lift class, tomorrow night spinning, maybe a run on Thursday, and hopefully some swimming this weekend. My friend Amy and I are thinking of doing a Bootcamp class at The Women's Club so that would be great cross training. (Though 6 a.m. class 3 days a week is a BIG committment for me.)

Side note: I found my power song: "She is Beautiful" by Andrew W.K. I KNOW, RIGHT?! So weird. I guess your power song picks you, not vice versa.

In Stitches and Splints

Recently, I bought The Complete Idiot's Guide to Running, (hereafter referred to as TCIGTR) which has, among lots of other information, a set of workouts that build up to running 30 minutes without stopping. Since I run a pretty slow mile, this will enable me to run more than 2 miles comfortably by the time the marathon training classes start in March. Since they start the training at 2 miles, I figure this will guarantee that I don't embarass myself.

The workouts started with walking ten minutes, alternating running 1 minute with walking 1 minute for ten minutes, then walking ten minutes. They build up from there, adding more running and less walking until eventually you're running the entire 30 minutes. Ideally, it should take 4 weeks of running 4 times per week.

Well, I have good news and bad news. I, like Wesley in The Princess Bride, am a firm believer in bad news first. However, in this case, the bad news is really the main topic of this post so we'll start with the good news.

The good news is I made it through the toughest run yet in the TCIGTR plan. I was very nearly positive I wouldn't make it through this one on the first try, so I'm stoked that I did it. It was really tough, I won't lie, but I'm really glad I didn't give up.

On to the bad news. My shins are killing me. KILLING ME. I asked the trainers at The Women's Club about them, and they gave me some advice: stretches, strengthening exercises, crosstraining, and cutting back my running to 2x per week until they heal.

I'm really bummed that I am having this set-back in my training. Part of me wants to push through the pain and do it anyway, but I know that's a terrible plan. The LAST thing I want to have happen is a stress fracture, which according to TCIGTR can develop from shin splints. So I'm taking it easy this week, doing The Lift tonight and maybe swimming on Thursday, then a short run on the weekend. I'm hoping to add in spinning next week and a bit more running if my legs feel better, but I'm not going to try for four in one week until the week after next. This still gives me just enough time to get to 2 miles before training starts. So expect lots of cross-training posts in the next two weeks.

I'm kind of panicking with how quickly time is going. The marathon will be here before I know it! I also didn't use strong enough wording in the last paragraph: I'm really damn frustrated that I can't run as much as I want to!! (Mom and Dad, pick yourselves up off the floor. Yes, I just said I WANT to run. Don't feel bad, I surprised myself, too.)

Anyway, to my running friends, if you have any advice on shin splints and/or how much or how little I should be running, I would love to hear it!

A side note: A HUGE thank you to the ladies at The Women's Club, who are so knowledgeable and nice. I've never had a gym that had certified trainers at the front desk who you could talk to without an appointment and without shelling out one red cent. Amazing.