Non-running cardio

To give my bum foot a rest, I decided not to run today, but instead get my heart rate up with other exercise.  I started out with the foam rolling and mobility work from Show and Go and then did some laundry and kettlebell work.

Nobody want to hear about my laundry, but this is what I did with my 20# kettlebell:
Swings for 60-50-40 (2-handed) and 30-20-10 (alternating, total reps, not per side)
Cleans for 6-5-4-3-2-1 each side
Turkish Getups for 3-2-1 each side

My left side is definitely weaker for the TGUs.  It's harder to keep the elbow locked on that side.  So I get up more smoothly on the right side.  In fact, I'm rather happy with my right side TGU!

I'm thinking a heavier kettlebell might be in my relatively near future.

Overdressed for my run

Even after dilly dallying way too long, I got out for 2.25 miles this morning.  Better than nothing!  I was overdressed, though.  It was 39F out.  I think if it had been 40F I would have dressed lighter.  I had on warm running pants, a long sleeve running shirt with hood, a Buff around my head and ears, knit gloves, and a breathable rain jacket.

My feet were fine, but I'm still worried about my right foot.  I can feel something move around in there when I slowly step forward on my toes.  Who knows, I might have to end up walking Saturday!  I guess that wouldn't be the end of the world. I'll make sure I have fun no matter what.

Hurting toes... bad shoes??!?!

This is the second time it has happened.  About 3.75 miles into my cross-country course run, the right three toes on my right foot went numb and then started hurting.  It happened at about the same distance and course location as before, so I don't know if it is the course or the distance, but it seems related to the shoes.  Hmmm.  This is not good.  The run is only a week away and I need to figure out what shoes to wear!  I could go back to my regular trainers.  They probably wouldn't be the best idea for the water and hills, but with them, I've never had this issue.

I got out to the cross country course and did 4.2 miles.  I chose a route that kept going over the steepest hills.  At first I had to stop to catch my breath every now and then, but I didn't stop at all for the last lap.

Toe issues...

Ok, so NOW it's my TOE!  I stubbed it on the carpet.  Yes, on the carpet.  Nothing exciting like the wall or the chair, just caught it on the carpet.  It was surprisingly painful that day (Saturday) and now, on Tuesday, it has lessened, but it's still there.  So, I cut my run short this morning so as not to make it worse.  Actually, mother nature was calling, which helped seal the deal.  When I woke up, it was raining, but by the time I got outside, there was a clearing in the rain.  There was no lightning this time, which has been a rare situation lately.  I ran (what little that was) with Podrunner.  I hadn't done that in a while and I miss it!  In that short run, I saw three bunnies.

After the brief  (<0.5mile) run, I went to the basement to practice some kettlebell stuff.
With the 20# bell:
20 swings
20 alternating swings
10 L cleans
10 R cleans
20 swings
Then I tried some Turkish Getup stuff.  Those are definitely harder than they look.  Unweighted is fine.  With 20#?  Lots of stabilization required.  I might try for a while with a lighter dumbbell just to get the form down.

Another foot issue?

So, this time it's the other foot and a completely different issue.  It's pain in my right arch, after I've run a bit.  *sigh*

After reading more about plantar faciitis, I'm thinking it might not be the correct diagnosis.  Hmmm...
I think next time I'll need to take it easier and maybe do more of a walk/run combo.

I ran and walked 1.6 miles today.  The foot issue started at about 1 mile in.  Interestingly, it was about the same geographic location as last time, but not the same distance.

20k! The Dam to Dam is done!

It wasn't looking pretty this morning.  My brother and I left home at about 4:45am and it was looking ominous.  There was lightning in the distance and as we neared Des Moines, it started raining.

We waited in the throngs of runners (nearly 8000) for a spot on one of the dozens of school busses they had carrying us to the start line.  Eventually we got one and the ride took around 15-20 minutes to the side of the first dam.  Then we had a "1 mile scenic" walk to the starting line... and past the various pace signs that were all faster than we were planning to run.  We continued walking back to the Porta Potties.  What looked like a very long line only took 6 minutes.  My digestive system thanked me tremendously for helping it out at that point.

Then we dropped off our clothing bag with our jackets and made our way, still in the rain and wind, to the masses waaaay behind the start line.  After several minutes, we finally crossed the start line.  We were on our way!  (...at about 7:15am!  I think the actual start for the fast people was around 7:05am.)

Overall, the rain and wind wasn't too bad.  It was actually better than a hot, humid, and sunny day.  It didn't hail and there was no lightning once we got to the course.  We kept a rather steady pace, averaging 11:35min/mile over the course.  We finished in about 2:25 hours.  I'll take it!

We got a nice medal.  I'm going to display it proudly for a while, I think.  After finishing, it seems like not a big deal.  But, you know what... it is!  12.4 miles is nothing to sneeze at!  I could definitely do another half-marathon (which this basically was) but right now, a full doesn't look too attractive.  I'm starting to get sore in places and I'm rather tired, but over all, I feel surprisingly well.  I felt really good the whole race, too.

Before we left home, I had a small bowl of oatmeal, a cup of coffee, and a banana.  I had two "Just Plain" Gu gels on the course, which have some caffeine in them.  I had never tried that flavor, but it actually wasn't bad at all.  Along the way, I drank plenty of water and one cup of Powerade.  Afterwards, I skipped the beer. (Coors Light is rarely attractive to me, but at 9:30am after running that far, the thought of it made me feel like retching.)  I did grab a pork sandwich, a banana, and an apple.  That hit the spot. 

I wore my compression shorts and my shirt with the zippy pocket.  I wore my regular Saucony shoes and didn't have any blisters.  I also didn't have any of the issue with my foot that made me pause my training.  I couldn't be happier with the way my body handled it, really.  I noticed that my upper body didn't show any signs of tiredness until around mile ten or eleven.  I find it is really important for my upper body to hold good form, otherwise I get lots of aches and pains in my shoulders and back.  I think lifting has really helped strengthen my core and the rest of my body.

I'm really pleased that my brother came out to run with me.  We joked around, which made the miles past much quicker.  Wonderful time!  I think I'm already looking forward to next year!

Two runs to report!

So far, the runs are going well.  I've been taking ibuprofen and icing my foot, like the podiatrist recommended.

Thursday, I ran 3.5 miles. 14 bunnies.
Today, I ran 5.5 miles.  It was a beautiful morning.  Sunshine and tweeting birds!  Topped it off with a cup-o-joe from Cafe Milo.  Nice!

Starting back up

I went out for a 2.5 mile run tonight.  So far, it seems to have gone well.  I might still take an ibuprofen to ward off any irritation.  Maybe I should ice, too.

I just ran.  No music.  No worry about speed.  I ended up running a 10:33minute pace, which is on the faster side for.  I felt like I was flying.  I definitely missed my runs these past couple weeks!

Now, I have to plan how I can best use these last three weeks before the 20k.  I think I'm going to try 4-5 miles this weekend.  Then I'll try a couple 3 milers during the week and maybe a 6 or 7 mile next weekend if I can.  These next few weeks are going to be crazy busy.  The main thing is I need to take care of the foot.

Long bike ride, sore foot, doctor visit, 1/2 a lifting session

After my run last Thursday, my foot soreness didn't go away as I had hoped.  So, I stopped running until I find out what's going on.  Sunday, I went for a 32 mile bike ride with the family.  I towed my son on the Trail-a-Bike.  When he really helped, I could tell it!  In fact, a couple times I had to tell him to hold back.  When he didn't help, well, I was towing 50 lbs of dead weight!  It was a nice ride.  When we got to our destination, 1-1/2 hours from home, we heard thunder, so we had to head right back rather than browse around the Iowa Arboretum, as we had hoped.

Yesterday, I got in to see a doctor.  He looked at my foot and didn't see anything obvious, which was not surprising to me.  So, he ordered an x-ray and referred me to a podiatrist.  I'll see that doc on Monday.  Until then, I'm going to take it easy.

I had been thinking about what I could do without aggravating the foot too much.  I realized most of my lifting is supposed to be done with most of my weight on the heels.  Since my foot issue is in my forefoot, I decided to lift today.  I started off with 5 minutes on the elliptical.  I realized that also doesn't stress my forefoot, at least as long as I don't reduce the incline too much.  I might try to do some of that until I know I can run again.

Today was half of Fat Loss III A5.  I did half of the sets, except both of the hanging leg raise sets.  No increase in weights, since it has been a couple weeks between workouts.

Warm up - 5 minutes elliptical, DLs 5@50#, 5@100#, 5@120#

Deadlift - 2x10@140#
Push-up - 2x10 regular on floor
Bulgarian split squat - 2x10@15# each hand
2-pt dumbbell row - 35# one hand at a time
Deadlift - 20@120# (it's amazing how much easier 120# is when you are coming off of 140# DLs)
Dumbbell bench press - 20@25# each hand
Walking lunge with side bend - 20@20# each hand
Cable seated row - 20@71#
Hanging leg raise - 2x10