Still Recovering

Yesterday I decided to take the day off.  Totally, completely, no workout.  Instead, I gave myself a heart attack:

Chili Mac'n'Cheese.  So bad for you.  So yum.

I ate that entire portion, and was so disgusted with myself at the end.  But it was oh so good.  I can't figure out how to rotate the image, so you'll have to rotate your computer screen.  Or your head.  That might be easier. 

I'm still hobbling around today, almost 4 days after my long run.  I'm concerned, so I've made an appointment with a podiatrist.  Hopefully this podiatrist will be better than the podiatrist that my husband went to see, who responded with incredulity to my husband's report of his recent run, "What?!  You ran seven miles?! With your feet?!??"  Ok, maybe he didn't say that last bit, but thats how my husband tells the story, and its so funny.  The podiatrist I am going to see has ran a marathon and handful of local races, plus she hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro with a broken foot.  I'm taking that to mean she's not afraid to push her boundaries, and not that she didn't know her foot was broken (despite all my husband's joking).

Hopefully this doc can tell me whats wrong.  I know what I did wrong--went too hard too soon--but I want to know what I injured, how long it will take to heal, and less importantly, if I can run my 10-mile race on Sunday.  Ok, maybe that last bit is the real reason I made an appointment...because I've already paid the fee and picked up the shirt!!!!  I don't want to DNS (do not start), but I'm bracing myself for the news that I will have to rest, rest, rest.  

And I find it so ironic that all of the podcasts I listened to today and all the blog posts I read have the same theme: Don't think you are superhuman.  Listen to your body and know when to pull back and know when to rest.  Ok, running gods!  I get it!  Please let me run again!!  

Le sigh.  Seriously though.  I do get it.  I hope I haven't done any major damage, but I am definitely taking it slower from here on out.  I recognize that I am not superhuman, even though I have the cape that suggests otherwise.  

Best Day Ever

This is a guest post by little Nugget.


salak ioalsk wk famaoisfva xskvnowhgrgjvblbvsj     askkkslaf pwejf   eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee'ajs 'ijsd ajri
v'dsoj woo!woo! ';KV'P LDS; jpa9iuosdi dslkjwwwwwwwwwwww;     JF LKSLAK V9oLJLKDSAN

[Translation:  Today was the best day ever!  'Ama let me stay up past my bedtime, and we ate ice cream while watching a parked woo!woo! (fire truck).  It was so red!  And whenever I felt particularly inspired, I would yell WOO!WOO! and point at the fire truck, just in case anyone forgot it was there or what it was.  It was so much fun!  I have the best 'Ama! (and my 'Ada is pretty cool too!)]

Reality Check: Lessons Learned from a Long Run

I had an awesome run on Saturday...that actually left me feeling not so awesome.  On Saturday I ran 15.3 miles, which is the longest distance I have ever run.  My goal was 15 miles, and I'm proud that I accomplished it, and then some.  Problem is, I could barely walk after my run, and am still not comfortable on my feet more than 48 hours later.

I started feeling pain in my achilles tendon around mile 8, but nothing so bad that I had to stop.  It got progressively worse during the run, but I was determined to finish my 15 miles.  As soon as my brain registered that I had reached my goal, it sent a message to my foot saying, "Mission accomplished.  She needs to stop now," and my tendon promptly tightened and I wasn't able to run anymore.  I had to walk the mile back to my car.

It was during my return that my arches also starting hurting, particularly in my left foot.  I realized that my feet are not yet strong enough to run long distances in my minimalist shoes.  I pushed them too hard too soon, and they weren't too happy about it.  I should have iced them as soon as I got to my car, but for some reason, that important detail slipped my mind.

So is this really a bad run?  I set a personal best by running 15.3 miles, but I'm still paying for it more than two days later.  Did I do well or did I do poorly?  Was my awesome run really awesome, or not?

View of Lake N. from one of the trails

After spending a good part of yesterday trying to answer this question, I realized the answer is YES.  My run was awesome because I pushed myself farther than I ever have before, AND because this run taught me a lot.  My goal of running to become a better runner means I should really be asking the question: What did I learn from this run?  Because thats what this is all about: pushing my limits, but in a smart way.  This run provided me with great reality (aha!) moments and helpful reality checks:

Reality:  I CAN run 15 miles!  I felt great the whole time.  I was mentally engaged and loving every minute.

Reality check:  I should have given myself more time to adjust to my minimalist shoes.  I can do 10 miles, no problem, but I should have gone up to 12 miles rather than jumping immediately to 15 miles.

Perhaps I'm being punished by the running gods for my poor fashion taste?
Or for the fact that I tie my shoelaces like a 3-year old?

Reality:  I LOVE running in the morning.  Provided I can get my butt out the door, once I'm breathing that crisp, cold air, I am in total heaven.

Reality check: I am slower than I thought I would be at 10+ miles.  No big deal.  Just means I have to adjust my goal for the GW Classic 10 miler this weekend, from sub-9:00 to sub-9:15.

Reality:  I LOVE talking when running.  About everything and nothing.  I am a strong introvert, and have mastered the skill of standing awkwardly in the midst of any conversation.  I am horrible at small talk.  But get me running, and I will gab your ear off.  If no one is around, I will talk to myself.

Reality check: Transitioning from road to trail was much more challenging than I thought.  I ran the first 10 miles on paved surface and the last 5 miles on trail.  As soon as I stepped on to the trail after having been running on hard surface for almost 2 hours, my feet practically freaked out.  Every root felt super sharp (!?!), every rock felt like it was out to get me.  I think this drastic change is part of the reason why my feet hurt so much the next day.

Reality: I LOVE running and I AM a runner.

The "river" I need to "forge" on my run.  A few yards down I could just jump across,
but running across this log is so much more fun. :)

Obviously, I took yesterday off, and I will take today off from running too, focusing on core and doing yoga (or at least trying to; I am horrible at yoga).  Hopefully I can run again on Tuesday, but I'm going to play it by ear.  I really want to do well this Sunday, so if that means resting for most of the week, I will.  But at least you'll know why I'm cranky. ;)

Its a wrap

Nugget and I went for a mini-run at the lake, mostly so I could get a feel for the hiker/biker trail.  It is quite nice and I look forward to many more runs with my son there.  However, I really need to incorporate a run-with- jogging-stroller into my weekly training plan, because running with a stroller is no joke!  Especially when you need to sing to keep your kid entertained.  I apologize to anyone who may have heard me; that wasn't a bear, that was just me singing.

We ran 2.6 miles in 28:03 minutes at an average pace of 10:47 m/m.  Man, oh man.  Looking forward to improving that pace!

Short but sweet run, and a great way to wrap up our day.  Will forever cherish these memories of spending time with my son (even though he kept yelling, "I'm done!" every two minutes).

Hydrating after our run.  Its exhausting being so cute.

Nugget's New Trick

My son has a new trick he likes to perform at mealtime.  He will partially chew his food, spit it out on the table, then point to it and say, "What's that?"  Super gross.  Today he took it to a new level by picking up his partially chewed food, and putting it in my bowl.

Line your daughters up, because my son is one class act.

I'm not worried though.  We have 40 years to work on his table manners before his first date.

Hmm, I wonder how this muffin will look regurgitated?

I'm home with Nugget today because his daycare is closed for professional development.  We spent the morning putzing around the house and watching his favorite youtube clip of fire trucks responding (just a montage of the big engines on the road with lights flashing and sirens blaring).  Then we went upstairs where I attempted to do laundry, but got lassoed into reading the most recent issue of Outside Magazine.  Nugget wanted to look at all the helicopters, bicycles and cool shoes, while also spicing up the photos in his own way.

Nugget furnished his own editorial pizazz to Outside magazine.

I hope Outside Magazine does a construction site issue.  The kid LOVES construction vehicles.

The weather continues to be gorgeous, so we went for a walk around the block and to the neighborhood playground.  Sans shoes.  I mean, I was wearing socks, but decided that on such a nice day, shoes were really unnecessary.  Nugget insisted on wearing his shoes, which were also completely unnecessary because he also insisted I carry him the whole time.

And yes, as you may have guessed, my impromptu sock walk was motivated by my intrigue with barefoot running.  I've transitioned to minimalist shoes, but would like something even more minimalist...even less shoe.  So I've taken to walking sans shoe/only sock as much as possible.  Thankfully, DJ Research is also joining me in my crazy (he walked home from the bus stop yesterday in just his socks--carrying his shoes-- and got a few funny looks from the neighbors).

The walk was fine.  Apparently, I am a strong heel striker when walking (even when walking barefoot!), but I noticed my gait really changed when walking on the wood chips at the playground.  I was more inclined to mid-foot strike without really thinking about it, though I'm not sure why.  Maybe I was self-conscious about being shoeless around the group of SAHM at the playground, that I wanted to walk correctly in front of them?  I dunno.

Nugget will awake from his nap at any minute, so I need to wrap this up and get the laundry started.  We're planning on meeting DJ Research at the lake after work, so hopefully I'll have some pictures for you then!

Rocking Elmo to sleep in attempt to avoid his own nap.

For the vanity of it

The weather has been gorgeous recently, and I've been lucky enough to get out for a run on most days.  Wanting to practice proper skin safety (what the bleep is that?), I've been applying 30+ sun block on my face.  And this totally freaks my husband out.  The sun block is Badger Natural Sunscreen, which I bought for my son last summer when he was just shy of a year old.  And while I think its a great product, it doesn't rub in very well, leaving my face exuding a white ghostly glow that my husband just cannot stand.  Its hilarious.  Our post-run conversations are usually face-to-side, because he just won't look at me.  And when he does, he'll stop talking to say, "You look really, really weird right now," and then turn away and resume talking without looking at me.  I think its hilarious that hes so offended by this sunblock, but he doesn't seem to feel the same way.

So anyway, to get my husband to look at me post-run, and because I, like most people, enjoy getting new running gear, I bought a white, reflective Under Armor visor when our family unit was bopping around the new athletic store in town.  And I wore it on my run yesterday.  As soon as I put in on, I felt cool and strong and athletic.  "Wow!" I thought, "This visor makes me feel 10 seconds faster!"

My new visor!

And then I remembered the rest of my outfit:

WTH?

What the hell am I wearing?  Especially those socks with my running shoes?  Ai-yai-yai.  

Luckily, I don't really care what I look like when I run (its true, I don't.  I appreciate looking nice when I run, but I'd prefer that to be a fortuitous accident rather than something that I plan and strategize.  When it comes to fashion, I am totally clueless, as evidence by above pic.)  So off I went for a fast run through that hilly neighborhood near work.  I managed three loops (3.85 miles) in just over a half-hour (33:53), which gave me a good base for realistic goals on this short, quick lunchtime route.  Next time I'm going to try for 3 loops and back in 30:00.

Shoe Shopping

Yesterday, our little fam unit popped into the new athletic store in town, just to check out their goodies.  There, in the center of the store, were the New Balance Minimus Zeros, in all their ultra-lightweight glory.

NB Minimus Zeros via irunfar.com

The sales clerk wasn't sure if they were carrying the road model or the trail model, so the Hubs told him.  "These are the women's trail shoes.  The WT in the shoe code stands for 'women's trail.'"  Oh, DJ Research.  You know the most random things about the most random things.

The Zeros were bleepin awesome.  I wouldn't say they were comfortable, due to the fact that they are super minimalist shoes.  In other words, you could really feel the ground in them.  But thats why they are so awesome.  In my wonderful Saucony XC2 Shays, I can barely feel the ground, and as much as I love them, I think I want an even more minimalist shoe.

Unfortunately, I don't think the Minimus Zeros are the shoe for me.  I am cursed with long, narrow feet.  A shoe that fits me length-wise is usually to wide width-wise.  This is true for the Zeros.  Apparently, NB runs wide, so we were never destined to be together anyway. :(

The Minimus did fit the Hubs, however.  And he LOVED them.  We didn't buy a pair because we do have to discuss the hefty $110 price tag.  But the smile on the Hubs' face as he was prancing around the store was priceless.  The man is awesome.  He really does deserve a good trail shoe.

Of course, Li'l Nugget did not want to be left out.  He kept pulling shoes off the shelf to try on himself, always cognizant to put the shoe back when he was done (usually with our prompting, of course).  While the Hubs tried on the Minimus, Nugget wore daddy's shoes around the store.  He was very proud.


Are there any female runners out there with my same problem: long, narrow feet?  Have you found a minimal or trail shoe you love?