Limited Running :(

Figures ... just when I'm finally getting a desire to run and have actually been enjoying my runs ... I get told I have to limit them.  GRRRRRRR!!!!!

Last week I ran 7K on Wednesday and Saturday.  I included lots of walk and/or stretch breaks, gradual warm-up with stretching before and lots of stretching after, and I walked all hills to minimize use of my calf. Yes, this did increase the tightness in my calves & feet, but I felt like I was easing into it.

The doctor told me to limit my runs to just once a week for now, and less distance is better.  Also no Bosu Ball class.  This is not what I wanted to hear.  But I've gone to him long enough to know that he does not give me this advice lightly and he supports continuing with activity whenever possible.  He's always told me when I can and can not continue to run through my treatment.  So I have to trust him.

My next appt is on Friday, so I plan to do a run on Wed as my "mid-week" run.  I did run a bit on Sunday, but less than 2K, very slow, and walking hills.  I have however been doing a fair bit of walking, which I hope is OK.  My heels are tender after walking, but my calves don't feel as tight.

Upon the doctor's recommendation I have placed an order for a pair of Soles:

order from:  https://secure.yoursole.com/ca/footbeds/softec-ultra/

These are supposed to be really good and I remember a fellow blogger once posted very positively about these insoles as well.  I hope they help!  

The more people I talk to about this I am amazed how many have suffered from plantar fasciitis.  I didn't realize it was so common.

Funny how when something is taken away from you, it's the first thing you want to do.  If the weather would smarten up I could maybe add in some cycling, but at this point I'm not eager to do that in the rain. :(

Heidi

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Gua Sha (the evil, wonderful tool!)

The tool that my massage therapist (chiropractor / ART ???) is using on my foot is called a Gua Sha, or maybe the method he is doing is called Gua Sha and this is one of the tools of the trade.  I'm not sure.  But either way, this is the tool he is using.  Below is an image of it (the item on the right).

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The first day I believe he used it on the narrow edge, kind of like a knife, and rubbed it along the bottom of my foot (holy mother of bright rainbows!!!!).  The last two times he used the flat wide edge, like a plate.  That way is not quite as painful, but still hurts a ton (yes Mother, worse than childbirth, but thankfully not nearly as long).  I am generally a pretty tough chick and can suck it up if I know it's going to hurt, but I still have the odd tear sneak out and have resorted to things such as biting my arm, gritting my teeth, and even SINGING to avoid screaming out.  I do not sing in public!

After my 2nd appointment he suggested I try a different shoe and strongly suggest I check out Asics.  However, at my last appointment he told me hold that thought a little longer.  He said he wants to do some manipulation with my arches and then will give me some shoe recommendations.  He's trying to avoid me having to get orthotics which I really appreciate, and he doesn't believe that's the best route if we can avoid it.

He's also suggested that I back off the Bosu Ball classes I've been taking until we get things going well again.  I realized the other day that I've probably had the most pain during these classes than during any other type of exercise.  Which makes sense considering your foot is very, very unstable and the foot is prone to over-stretching the arch on the bosu.  However I'm clear to do any other types of activity as long as I don't see and increase in pain.

As such, and in honor of a few rare rays of sunshine .... I decided to go out for a run after work.  I've only got 10 days until my 10K run.  I'm calling it a run, not a race, because to me it is not a race. I decided to take my big dog and go out to my favourite trail.

As luck would have it, on my way home from work we got hit with a nasty little spring shower - complete with thunder and lightning.  I waited a bit, then drove out there, and ended up sitting in the car for about 20 minutes waiting for the storm to pass.

Eventually it did, and we managed a nice 6-7K run, with a rest and extended stretch session halfway through. It was nice.  While my feet felt good, my calves were noticeably tighter.  Will have to mention that at my next appointment.

Anyhow, it was a nice run and I felt good about it.  I also have a couple runs planned with friends this weekend too.  Love this feeling!

Heidi

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Dates with the Devil

I know I haven't been around here in a while.  Thank you Fran for checking on me. :)

All is pretty good in my world.  Here's a bullet point list of what's going on with me:

* Had one glorious day of warm sunshine in March and took the doggies on a 3 hour walk.  Exhausted them, but we all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

* Went away for the weekend to visit my husband's friend for this 70th birthday.  It snowed a couple inches ... April Fools!  This spring has been weird.

* Also went camping for 5 days over the Easter weekend.  Weather was gorgeous and I went out for lots of walks with the dogs.  Despite the typical camping diet, I somehow managed to drop a couple pounds.  This seems to be typical for a while now.  Perhaps something is telling me I need to vacation more????

* Haven't attended as many fitness classes this past month.  Lots of stuff getting in the way and other pressing matters that had to be attended to.

* However ..... have done a couple runs (5K-ish).  A friend convinced me to try out a run club she found.  I've gone once.  The people seem nice, even if it did just end up that my friend and I ran alone.  I'll go to a few more before I decide if the group is for me or not.  But the positive thing is I've done some running!!!

* I'm strongly considering entering a small race.  The above group hosts a little run at a location I've never been to, but always wanted to go.  It's only $10 so I figure why not go and just do it.  I'm not in 10K shape so will be taking it slow and walking as necessary.  You're not even allowed watches for this race as they do a  prize for whoever can guess their time closest.  I will surely be well over an hour.

* The biggest positive .... I have FINALLY gotten myself into the massage therapist!  I've been struggling with significant foot pain for quite a while (a good year).  It's the same issue I've had for a while and if left it just gets worse and worse.  However, funds didn't allow me to go for most of last year so I pushed it aside, and also didn't do any self treatment which was downright stupid.  Recently it's been really bad and I was struggling to get through short walks, runs were excruciating, and had to stretch frequently during fitness classes.  My therapist said I'm developing plantar faciitis. If you look at what causes it, there are many factors that I fall under, including:

- very tight calf muscles
- overpronation
- not wearing supportive footwear at all times (yes I run in good shoes, but my daily shoes are crap)
- overweight (duh, this seems to be a no-brainer)

I've been in for a couple treatments now and have at least a couple more to go, but I'm already seeing significant improvement.  My therapist did use this tool (I'll have to find out what it's called) as he said I have a fair amount of scar tissue in my arch.  Let me tell you ... this thing is the DEVIL, but an Angel at the same time.  The first time he used it I literally bit my arm and held in the biggest cursing spree ever.  It was easily the most pain I have EVER felt.  The 2nd session I was a little more prepared, but it still hurt SO much.  I told him repeatedly how much I hate him.  He smiled :).  But whatever that tool is, it seems to have made a big difference because I'm in way less discomfort already and have minimal to no pain in the morning for the last few days.

I know once I get through this more intensive treatment I will have to go in on a regular basis for maintenance. This shouldn't be a problem from now on.  I have a date with the devil today ... yay! ( <---- sarcasm)

So that's where I'm at right now.  I am still desperately seeking that running spark, but at least the flame is still there.

Heidi

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How's it going?

The funny thing about setting goals is sometimes life decides to come along and knock you flat on your ass.  That pretty much sums up my first week of March.

I was all gung-ho to kick off my new running goals, and then it hit me ... the cold from hell!  Everyone in my house had already caught it, but I naively thought that maybe, just MAYBE, I might be able to escape it.  My sister came into town on Friday night, and YUP ... guess when it hit?!  By Friday evening my eyes were watering spontaneously from blocked sinuses.  Fun stuff!  Saturday I muscled through the day, which included an evening of bowling to celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday.  She has had this cold for over a week now and over the weekend was suffering pretty bad (Happy Birthday!!!)

So needless to say, running and most exercise has been a bit on the back burner.  Yesterday I finally started to begin feeling a bit better.  I (mostly) survived the night without medication and am trying to get through the day without it too.  I'm going to try for a run after work today.

Here's an update for March to date:

Running:  1.5 miles  (Month Goal 40)
Fitness Classes:  2  (Month Goal 8-12)
Weight Loss:  -1.2 lbs (Month Goal 7)

I'm not too worried about being a bit behind on these goals.  I have lots of time to catch up and I'm eager to pound out those miles.

Heidi

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March Goals

So here's something you haven't seen from me in a LONGGGG time ...... GOALS, and not just goals, but

A RUNNING GOAL!

My goals for March

Run:  40 Miles

Fitness classes:  8-12

Weight:  Lose minimum 7 lbs.

Now let's break this down ...

Running - I've recently got a few decent runs in where I didn't feel like slitting my throat.  They've all been about 2 1/2 miles (4K), so not exactly huge distance.  But the most important factor is for the most part I have enjoyed it, even if they have been more challenging than I would like.  I feel with each one I have made some improvement, and this is encouraging.  I have been doing periodic walk intervals, and a few times have added in a little burst in pace.  This has encouraged me to finally add a mileage goal onto the radar again.  I've set it at 40 miles (65 Km), but feel that if I keep steady and gradually increase distance I should be able to reach more like 50 miles (80 Km).  At one point that was not far off of a weekly mileage, but I'm trying not to look back there.  Forward ... One Step At A Time!

Fitness Classes - Still strong and steady on those.  On any given week I have been doing a variety of Bosu Ball, Zumba, Abs Butt & Thighs (pretty much a step class), Bootcamp, Abs Only and the odd spin class.  I love the variety of these and will continue with these.  Lately I have done a couple of runs before a class and that works out pretty well.  Makes the class a little more challenging, but not too bad.

Weight - I think I'm really ready to tackle this beast.  There's just really not a whole lot of point in putting all this time, effort and money into exercising so hard if I'm not going to face the other side of the equation.  OK, yes, I guess there still is a point because if I dropped that stuff I'd gain a sick amount of weight in a short time frame and be very, very unhealthy.  But it's just really, really silly to do so much hard work and undo it by eating crap.  My whole family needs a nutritional makeover and it's time to clean up.  This is the goal that scares me the most.  I have had a major difficult time dropping even half a pound for more than a day or two for some time, and gaining has been easier than ever.  The goal I've set should be easily achievable with reasonable effort.  If I really put my foot down I could exceed it.  I didn't want to go too easy on this one because this is the most important of the 3 goals.

So there you have it.  Goals from Heidi!  Gee, been way too long.  I'll be back periodically to update on my progress.

Heidi

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1 down, many to go

So I DID get out and try out my new jacket!!  Monday after work it was slightly drizzly, so I threw on my jacket and a hat and set off.  I wish I'd taken a picture.  I was quite the sight!  Hot pink long sleeve shirt (the kind that slips over your hands with the thumb holes).  On top of that was my bright yellow (green??) jacket, and then a hat in a different shade of green.  I looked like the Neon Queen from the 80's (which is rapidly coming into fashion!).

But ... the more important thing, I ran AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDD I used my earphone (yes, just one, I don't believe two are safe).  To be perfectly honest I actually quite liked listening to music.  It kept me well distracted from the running part.

I may have mislead some of you in my last post.  I haven't actually signed up for a race, I've just been thinking about it.  I do have a race in mind, but I don't think that one is going to work out due to logistics.  For now I'll just be keeping my eyes open and if something comes up that I find interesting I'll sign up.  The most important thing is I'm going to keep running now!  The hiatus has to come to an end.

Tonight I have Zumba (which I freaking LOVE!).  If I could afford to do this 4 or 5 days a week I totally would.  There is a small time gap between from when I get off work and when Zumba starts.  Normally I waste that time with a little shopping or something.  Tonight I'm going to grab a treadmill and do a short run before class starts.  Gotta keep this going.

Heidi

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10K?

My year to date mileage is somewhere around .... hmmm, let me add it up.

 Give me a minute here.

Wait, maybe a minute more (this could take a while).

Ah yes, here we got it.

Less than 6 miles.  Yup, a whopping six miles for the entire 2012 so far.  Go ME!!

So why on earth did I suddenly get the urge today to want to do a 10K race in April?  Not that I can't.  I know I can.  But yeah, not sure where that came from.

Maybe it's because my hubby bought me this running jacket from Old Navy.  (He's been hinting pretty strongly that I need to start running again)

It's bright!  And has some reflective stripes on it.  It also has built-in headphones in the drawstrings which is kind of a neat feature.  Though if you know me much at all you'll know that I've been pretty against the whole "running with music" thing.  I've always said I enjoy listening to nature.  But perhaps this is the thing to draw me back in.  Time will tell!

Old Navy Jacket

Heidi

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