That’s what I say! On Tuesday afternoon I was sitting at my desk wishing it was after 5 so I could get the hell out of the office and go home when I suddenly realized that Labor Day was this coming Monday. Already! It hadn’t even occurred to em that summer was practically over (even though September remains a warm month around here, I still measure summer’s boundaries by Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September). Nonetheless, here we are, another summer coming to a close. I have to say that this summer has been much better than last year (2006 was a lost year for me for a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with running) and I am in a better frame of mind going into this Fall than I was 365 days ago.
Anyway, back to my small epiphany. So there I was, sitting there amazed at how summer is gone when I realized that Labor Day is a federal holiday during which the markets are closed. Ergo, the office will be closed on Monday as well. Long weekend! As Eric Cartman would say, “Killer.” Then I began to think about the opportunity that Labor Day had so graciously afforded me. I had an entire day with which to do something, or, should I choose, nothing. Sunday is looking to be my day of doing nothing for the week, and since Labor Day is supposed to be a holiday, I thought I’d find something to get outside and do on Monday. But what to do? Annie is more than likely working at some point during that day, so doing anything for the entire day was out. Then I got to thinking, I should look and see if there are any races going on in the area this weekend. It would be something outside, early in the morning, and would last only a few hours at most.
So I quickly found the Bay Café 5K, a race being held in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore. It’s going to be a great course because it’s a flat course, ebing right next to the harbor. I’m not sure how mnay people are expected for this thing, but tomorrow after work I have to remember to go and get my race packet so I don’t get screwed out of another T-Shirt! Pick-up starts at 5 PM, so I plan on leaving the office and getting over there by 5:45, hopefully. For those of you not from the Baltimore area, check out my training log at Running Ahead. I’m going to post the course on my log under Courses so you’ll get an idea of where this is going down.
The start and finish are in front of the Bay Café, which is a bar/live music place that’s more of a frat house than anything, in my opinion. Annie and I went to it once, for about 15 minutes and walked out. It was basically a mix of 20-something professionals from Canton and surrounding neighborhoods and 30-something men prowling for the female 20-somethings. Everyone was drinking either Corona, Corona Light, or Bud Light and the place smelled like the inside of a beer soaked gym shoe. Maybe when I was an undergrad that might have appealed to me (as a single guy, it’s always appealing to have girls drinking in a confined space where they can’t easily escape), but as a 25 year old, I expect a little more substance to my social life. While there was a live band that night, they had packed too many people in the place, something that has always kept me from giving a crap about concerts in general. Why would I want to pay money to be packed into a tiny space to listen to music that’s turned up way too loud? I might as well throw my money into the street.
Anyway, I am not a fan of the Bay Café. I get the feeling they think they’re way cooler and a better restaurant (yes, they do try to serve food there, amazingly. It looked gross.) than they really are. Like a douche bag in the form of a bar/restaurant. My apologies if you like the Bay Café. In all likelihood you’re a recent graduate of Towson University or UMBC, so really it’s unavoidable.
I’m almost certain that the Bay Café’s douchiness will not bleed through into the race on Monday. The race is being organized by the guy who owns Falls Road Running, I believe, so I have high hopes. Annie will be able to come and watch the race since it’s at 8:30 AM. She’s not crazy about getting up that early, but she won’t have to be up until 7:45 or so since I won’t have to be there super early to get my race packet. Plus we get food and drinks after the race, so she’ll feel better when I tell her that.
So yeah, I figured, why the hell not? It’s just $20 and I get a technical T-Shirt out of the deal, so it should make for an awesome Labor Day. Later in the day I have my online draft for my fantasy football team, the No Talent Ass Clowns (Google this phrase and read it’s significance to Office Space). This is the third year I’ve brought out the Ass Clowns, and I’m hoping for a better season than last year. After finishing a surprising 2nd in our first season, the team sank near to the bottom of the rankings last year after Shaun Alexander decided not to be awesome. This year, we’re hoping to just go out and play some solid games and get to the playoffs.
I will of course post a detailed race report on Monday afternoon (with pictures, hopefully) to revel in my finishing in the back of my age group. Should be worthy reading.
Killer.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Means-Variance Running
Yesterday I had a great run. It started out great and got better as the distance wore on. Yesterday was the first day of my newest mileage increase from 3.5/6.0 to 3.85/6.6 and was an easy run of 3.85 miles. I was initially going to do it at my long run pace of 5.7 mph (~10:30 min/mile) but at the last moment decided to suck it up and do it at my easy run pace of 6.0 mph (10:00 min/mile). I also made an effort to run correctly on my left foot to prevent the burgeoning shin splints I dealt with on Saturday’s long run. I also decided to begin working on my focus. The last few weeks I haven’t been doing so well in this department. When you’re running in place at a gym, there’s a lot going on around you to distract you. There’s the other people working out around you and moving around, the gym music that plays at various levels depending on which gym employee turned it on, the music blasting from the various classes being taught at that particular time, the TV’s on the walls, and pretty girls walking around in little shorts and tank tops just to name the biggest distractions. It’s just as challenging as running outdoors in terms of helping you lose focus on the running and thus make the run seem much longer and more difficult than it is.
So, yesterday I decided to really work on maintaining focus on my running and my internal dialogue. It seemed to work! I concentrated on just listening to my iPod, getting into a comfortable running rhythm, and maintaining focus on a section of wall across the room in front of me. I did pretty well ignoring the various distractions, which probably helps explain the good run.
Anyway, there’s another 3.85 miles waiting for me at the gym tonight after work so we’ll see if I can replicate that great run from yesterday.
OK, so on to the subject of this post. I’ve heard many people describe running as a balance between physical ability/training and mental toughness and determination. After all, there’s no one around who’s going to drag you out the door to the gym or onto the road each day to get your miles in (unless you have a personal trainer, in which case the balance is artificial because you’re missing that mental determination). You and you alone can decide to run 4 miles or run 2 miles or not run at all. You can decide to run hard, run slow, etc. I agree with this sentiment, and would offer my own corollary to this thesis.
While running requires a balance between physicality and mentality, it is often the proportions of this balance or ratio that dictates our feelings towards the sport. And for a runner to get the most out of their sport, there is a specific ratio that must be reached. The various ratios (unique for each runner and for each individual’s goals for that particular run) can be referred to as the Efficient Frontier of Running. For those of you who aren’t finance geeks or don’t read finance books for fun (I know, it’s too bad I’m engaged, otherwise I’d have to keep the women off with a stick), the Efficient Frontier is an aspect of Modern Portolio Theory. The Efficient Frontier is a line on a graph the delineates the points at which a set of portfolios will gain the most return for the least risk. I think this would be better named the “Bang for Your Buck Ratio” but then again, I didn’t think this thing up so I guess I’ll go with the boring name instead.
This concept of the Efficient Frontier can be applied to running pretty easily. For a set of runners (novices just starting out to elites who are competing at the highest levels and every level in between) there is a set of points where one maximizes the returns (i.e. physical benefits and mental reward) with the least exposure to risk (i.e. injury, poor pacing, unable to get into rhythm, etc.). While in finance this frontier can be measured quantitatively, in running it is more of an instinctual thing. I can’t watch someone complete a 4-mile run in the rain through muddy trails with lots of hills and automatically say that it was a poor run. Maybe they like running in the rain, prefer trail running and had set out to do some hill training that day. In that case, it would most certainly be closer to an “efficient” run in the eyes of the runner.
Nonetheless, we all have runs that are good and runs that are bad. And we have them for various reasons. And I think they can all be related to the Efficient Frontier of running, even if that Frontier is more abstract than its financial predecessor.
So, yesterday I decided to really work on maintaining focus on my running and my internal dialogue. It seemed to work! I concentrated on just listening to my iPod, getting into a comfortable running rhythm, and maintaining focus on a section of wall across the room in front of me. I did pretty well ignoring the various distractions, which probably helps explain the good run.
Anyway, there’s another 3.85 miles waiting for me at the gym tonight after work so we’ll see if I can replicate that great run from yesterday.
OK, so on to the subject of this post. I’ve heard many people describe running as a balance between physical ability/training and mental toughness and determination. After all, there’s no one around who’s going to drag you out the door to the gym or onto the road each day to get your miles in (unless you have a personal trainer, in which case the balance is artificial because you’re missing that mental determination). You and you alone can decide to run 4 miles or run 2 miles or not run at all. You can decide to run hard, run slow, etc. I agree with this sentiment, and would offer my own corollary to this thesis.
While running requires a balance between physicality and mentality, it is often the proportions of this balance or ratio that dictates our feelings towards the sport. And for a runner to get the most out of their sport, there is a specific ratio that must be reached. The various ratios (unique for each runner and for each individual’s goals for that particular run) can be referred to as the Efficient Frontier of Running. For those of you who aren’t finance geeks or don’t read finance books for fun (I know, it’s too bad I’m engaged, otherwise I’d have to keep the women off with a stick), the Efficient Frontier is an aspect of Modern Portolio Theory. The Efficient Frontier is a line on a graph the delineates the points at which a set of portfolios will gain the most return for the least risk. I think this would be better named the “Bang for Your Buck Ratio” but then again, I didn’t think this thing up so I guess I’ll go with the boring name instead.
This concept of the Efficient Frontier can be applied to running pretty easily. For a set of runners (novices just starting out to elites who are competing at the highest levels and every level in between) there is a set of points where one maximizes the returns (i.e. physical benefits and mental reward) with the least exposure to risk (i.e. injury, poor pacing, unable to get into rhythm, etc.). While in finance this frontier can be measured quantitatively, in running it is more of an instinctual thing. I can’t watch someone complete a 4-mile run in the rain through muddy trails with lots of hills and automatically say that it was a poor run. Maybe they like running in the rain, prefer trail running and had set out to do some hill training that day. In that case, it would most certainly be closer to an “efficient” run in the eyes of the runner.
Nonetheless, we all have runs that are good and runs that are bad. And we have them for various reasons. And I think they can all be related to the Efficient Frontier of running, even if that Frontier is more abstract than its financial predecessor.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Back to the Grind
After a relaxing weekend, I am refreshed (relatively) and ready for another workweek. With Annie’s dad visiting, we were both exhausted (her more so than me, of course) from last week. Luckily, we got to sleep in a little each day and yesterday we spent the day visiting my parents and taking it easy out in West Virginia. As school approaches for her, and my LSAT studying begins in the next few weeks, we’ll have less and less time to relax on the weekends.
Anyway, Saturday morning we got up and went to the gym around 10 AM. Annie wanted to go to the 10AM spinning class and I wanted to get my long run in for the week. I set out on the Magic Treadmill of Fun for my 6-mile destination at a nice 10:30 min/mile pace. Most of the run was fine without any real problems. As I increase my mileage my endurance will expand as well. At this point, I didn’t get really physically tired until around 5 miles, and even then, I was able to rally and felt like if I had to, I could have kept running for another mile or so.
About mile 4 I started to feel my left shin splint starting to act up. I realized that I was pronating in such a way that I was putting too much pressure on the outside fo my foot (a leftover of a foot surgery I had several years back) and stressing those outside muscles. So, I spent the next mile or so trying to correct that and by the time I hit 5 miles, the pain was gone and didn’t return.
All in all, I was very pleased with the run. Anytime I get tired and feel the temptation to quit and then push through it to the end, I’m happy. Of course, I took two hydration breaks (at 2 miles and again at 4 miles), which was nice because I use that time to briskly walk while I take a few drinks. I’ve gotten those breaks down to less than a minute, so they don’t really impact my overall performance too much. And anything over 4 miles requires at least one hydration break since they say you should drink for every 20 minutes you’re running or something like that.
So, going into this week I’m feeling pretty good. I’m increasing my mileage by 10% so my normal runs will be 3.85 miles while my long runs will be 6.6 miles (approximately). I’ll stay at those levels for another two weeks before increasing again. Slow and steady is my motto. I’m already running more than 5K each day, so I’m no longer worried about running that distance at a decent pace like I was back in July before the Run to Cooperstown. Every mileage increase is a step in the right direction towards my first half marathon sometime early next year.
Anyway, Saturday morning we got up and went to the gym around 10 AM. Annie wanted to go to the 10AM spinning class and I wanted to get my long run in for the week. I set out on the Magic Treadmill of Fun for my 6-mile destination at a nice 10:30 min/mile pace. Most of the run was fine without any real problems. As I increase my mileage my endurance will expand as well. At this point, I didn’t get really physically tired until around 5 miles, and even then, I was able to rally and felt like if I had to, I could have kept running for another mile or so.
About mile 4 I started to feel my left shin splint starting to act up. I realized that I was pronating in such a way that I was putting too much pressure on the outside fo my foot (a leftover of a foot surgery I had several years back) and stressing those outside muscles. So, I spent the next mile or so trying to correct that and by the time I hit 5 miles, the pain was gone and didn’t return.
All in all, I was very pleased with the run. Anytime I get tired and feel the temptation to quit and then push through it to the end, I’m happy. Of course, I took two hydration breaks (at 2 miles and again at 4 miles), which was nice because I use that time to briskly walk while I take a few drinks. I’ve gotten those breaks down to less than a minute, so they don’t really impact my overall performance too much. And anything over 4 miles requires at least one hydration break since they say you should drink for every 20 minutes you’re running or something like that.
So, going into this week I’m feeling pretty good. I’m increasing my mileage by 10% so my normal runs will be 3.85 miles while my long runs will be 6.6 miles (approximately). I’ll stay at those levels for another two weeks before increasing again. Slow and steady is my motto. I’m already running more than 5K each day, so I’m no longer worried about running that distance at a decent pace like I was back in July before the Run to Cooperstown. Every mileage increase is a step in the right direction towards my first half marathon sometime early next year.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Eyes on the Prize
I am so close to reaching my 5 run week! I had three good runs at the beginning of the week (Sunday through Tuesday) and have taken the last two days off while Annie’s dad has been in town. He left this morning to visit her sister in Washington for a few days so it;’s back to the gym this evening after work. If I get a run in tonight and then my long run in tomorrow, that will make 5 out of 7 days this week that I’ve run for a total of 20 miles. While it’s not Olympic marathoner mileage, I admit, it’s a step in the right direction. Now that I have finally completed two weeks of intensive running at these distances (3.5 miles for easy runs, 6 miles for long runs) I can increase my mileage by 10% (3.85 miles easy, about 6.6 miles long) safely.
Quick injury update: My arch pain has all but disappeared thanks to my new kicks. I only feel a few twinges here and there, but it’s not nearly as painful as it was and I think that in another week my foot will have healed enough that I’ll feel good as new. My shin splints have been kept at bay and I think taking the last two days off was helpful to totally healing them. Nonetheless, I plan on continuing my post-race icing regimine to minimize future occurrences. Other than that, no real pain to report! I’d say I’m about 90% at this point.
So, I’ll get another 3.5 miles in today after work. Since it’s Friday, there shouldn’t be too many people in the gym, which will make the run go faster. Whenever there are people walking around the gym or when it’s busy, I find it more difficult to concentrate on things like my form and pace. This is also why I like doing my long runs on the weekends when there are even fewer people at the gym. Speaking of which, Annie is going to the 10AM spinning class tomorrow, so I will probably go with her and do my long run while she’s in the class. We’ll go a little early so hopefully that will give me enough time to complete the 6 miles at my long run pace of about 10:30 min/mile.
I mailed my registration in for the Great Strides Against Prostate Cancer 5K yesterday, so I’m officially committed. It should be really fun and will be a good opportunity to see my improvement from the 5K I ran back in July.
Which reminds me! I still haven’t gotten my T-Shirt for the Run to Cooperstown 5K! Well I learned my lesson and will get to my next race early enough to assure myself a shirt. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame…on you…no me…YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!
Quick injury update: My arch pain has all but disappeared thanks to my new kicks. I only feel a few twinges here and there, but it’s not nearly as painful as it was and I think that in another week my foot will have healed enough that I’ll feel good as new. My shin splints have been kept at bay and I think taking the last two days off was helpful to totally healing them. Nonetheless, I plan on continuing my post-race icing regimine to minimize future occurrences. Other than that, no real pain to report! I’d say I’m about 90% at this point.
So, I’ll get another 3.5 miles in today after work. Since it’s Friday, there shouldn’t be too many people in the gym, which will make the run go faster. Whenever there are people walking around the gym or when it’s busy, I find it more difficult to concentrate on things like my form and pace. This is also why I like doing my long runs on the weekends when there are even fewer people at the gym. Speaking of which, Annie is going to the 10AM spinning class tomorrow, so I will probably go with her and do my long run while she’s in the class. We’ll go a little early so hopefully that will give me enough time to complete the 6 miles at my long run pace of about 10:30 min/mile.
I mailed my registration in for the Great Strides Against Prostate Cancer 5K yesterday, so I’m officially committed. It should be really fun and will be a good opportunity to see my improvement from the 5K I ran back in July.
Which reminds me! I still haven’t gotten my T-Shirt for the Run to Cooperstown 5K! Well I learned my lesson and will get to my next race early enough to assure myself a shirt. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame…on you…no me…YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Two Little Clouds on my Feet
That’s how I would describe my new running shoes, purchased on Saturday afternoon. After much hemming and hawing, I finally sucked it up, realized that my foot would only get worse, and bought some new shoes. I went to Falls Road Running, which has been labeled as the best running store in the area. I have to say I was mighty impressed with my inaugural visit. It’s tucked away in a pseudo-shopping center in Mt. Washington off of Falls Rd and I found it only by exploring the area a little and coming upon its small sign. The store itself is crammed into several rooms and when it’s busy (which it probably always in on Saturday afternoons), it can be hard to move around because the doorways connecting the rooms are narrow. However, these are trifling matters because you’re there to buy running stuff.
So I got there and a salesperson came up to help me because I must have looked like I had no idea what I was doing, which was the correct assumption. He put me on a machine where you stand on these pads and a computer shows you where you put the most pressure on your foot. He also had me balance on one foot to see what sort of stability I needed in my shoe. I tried three different pairs on and eventually settled on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7’s. From the title of this post, you can surmise how comfortable they are. It’s a whole different running experience from my Adidases. While they were comfortable, there wasn’t a whole lot of cushioning or support. My new shoes have a gel insole that molds to your foot shape, as well as additional support in my heel and arch to keep the arch pain away. And since I registered for the Baltimore Running Festival, I got a 15% discount on them. Not bad all in all.
So I got to try them out yesterday for the first time. Normally I use Sundays or Saturdays as my long run days, but since these were new shoes, I just did an easy 3.5 miles. While I’m confident that I won’t get blisters like those I had last week (they’re all but healed now; I had to pop one over the weekend but there’s no soreness or redness involved so I think I’m in the clear), I thought it prudent to wait until next weekend to do anything longer than the usual mileage. So, tonight after work I’ll get another 3.5 miles in.
In terms of running this week, Annie’s dad is coming to visit on Wednesday and Thursday so I don’t know how much running I’ll get in on those days. Wednesday evening we’re going to the Orioles game (against the Rangers, which would have at least allowed me to see Mark Texeira, who I think is a great player, until they traded him to Atlanta. Thanks Texas.) and then Thursday night we’re going to Obrycki’s for crab. So, I’m thinking I might have to get up early Wednesday morning to get some miles in and then take Thursday off before pushing through Friday to a long run on Saturday because we’re going to visit my parents for the day on Sunday. That’s the basic plan I just made up right now as I type. We’ll see how it goes.
One final note: I signed up for the Phidippidations Global Couch to 5K Program. Basically, it’s an online program that you can register for. It’s being held on the weekend of October 13-14, 2007 and all you have to do is register and run in a race on that weekend. They also have the Global Half Marathon for that weekend, but I’m not quite at that level yet! So the Untied Way 5K that I’m running as part of the Baltimore Running Festival will be my Couch to 5K race. You can go to the website and see everyone who’s registered (you can find my entry by organizing the list by city and finding Baltimore).
Go to: Worldwide Half
I found out about this by listening to the Phidippidations podcast that I read about in July’s Runners World magazine. I encourage you to check that out too. Here’s the link to the producer, Steverunner, website:
Phidippidations
Alternatively, you can download the podcast off of iTunes. I’ll write an entire post about Phidippidations another time.
So I got there and a salesperson came up to help me because I must have looked like I had no idea what I was doing, which was the correct assumption. He put me on a machine where you stand on these pads and a computer shows you where you put the most pressure on your foot. He also had me balance on one foot to see what sort of stability I needed in my shoe. I tried three different pairs on and eventually settled on a pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7’s. From the title of this post, you can surmise how comfortable they are. It’s a whole different running experience from my Adidases. While they were comfortable, there wasn’t a whole lot of cushioning or support. My new shoes have a gel insole that molds to your foot shape, as well as additional support in my heel and arch to keep the arch pain away. And since I registered for the Baltimore Running Festival, I got a 15% discount on them. Not bad all in all.
So I got to try them out yesterday for the first time. Normally I use Sundays or Saturdays as my long run days, but since these were new shoes, I just did an easy 3.5 miles. While I’m confident that I won’t get blisters like those I had last week (they’re all but healed now; I had to pop one over the weekend but there’s no soreness or redness involved so I think I’m in the clear), I thought it prudent to wait until next weekend to do anything longer than the usual mileage. So, tonight after work I’ll get another 3.5 miles in.
In terms of running this week, Annie’s dad is coming to visit on Wednesday and Thursday so I don’t know how much running I’ll get in on those days. Wednesday evening we’re going to the Orioles game (against the Rangers, which would have at least allowed me to see Mark Texeira, who I think is a great player, until they traded him to Atlanta. Thanks Texas.) and then Thursday night we’re going to Obrycki’s for crab. So, I’m thinking I might have to get up early Wednesday morning to get some miles in and then take Thursday off before pushing through Friday to a long run on Saturday because we’re going to visit my parents for the day on Sunday. That’s the basic plan I just made up right now as I type. We’ll see how it goes.
One final note: I signed up for the Phidippidations Global Couch to 5K Program. Basically, it’s an online program that you can register for. It’s being held on the weekend of October 13-14, 2007 and all you have to do is register and run in a race on that weekend. They also have the Global Half Marathon for that weekend, but I’m not quite at that level yet! So the Untied Way 5K that I’m running as part of the Baltimore Running Festival will be my Couch to 5K race. You can go to the website and see everyone who’s registered (you can find my entry by organizing the list by city and finding Baltimore).
Go to: Worldwide Half
I found out about this by listening to the Phidippidations podcast that I read about in July’s Runners World magazine. I encourage you to check that out too. Here’s the link to the producer, Steverunner, website:
Phidippidations
Alternatively, you can download the podcast off of iTunes. I’ll write an entire post about Phidippidations another time.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
D-Day
So, today was D-Day. I had my first dentist appointment in more than 2 years. Yes, that’s right, I successfully avoided the dentist’s chair for 2 years. The time before that I managed to stay out of his office for FIVE YEARS. In retrospect, this is not something I am proud of. In fact, I like the feeling of having my teeth cleaned. I hate the anxiety that going to the dentist and sitting in that chair as they stick METAL PICKS in my mouth creates. Honestly, if there was an easy way to completely sedate me so I could wake up refreshed after the 30 minute cleaning, I’d do that every time.
Anyway, the visit was uneventful today, thankfully. I had x-rays taken, which showed no tooth decay and I got a thorough cleaning. I talked to him about my mild TMD and asked some other questions and I was off. My dental insurance pays for two cleanings each year, so that makes it easier to make myself go as well. Saved me over $100 today! Woot. So I go back in February and plan on continuing my no-cavity streak another 6 months.
As for running, that;s another story. So I went to the gym last night after work and ran in my new arch supports. I was going great for a while. They felt wonderful and my heel felt like it was striking a pillow rather than the treadmill. However, about 1.5 miles into my 3.5 mile run I started to feel the end of the support rubbing the bottom of my left foot. Then it started on my right foot. They both got progressively worse and at 1.6 miles I stopped and took them both out for fear fo ripping a hole in my foot. Good thing I did too, because even though I kept running without them (and felt fine for a while), I had rubbed those areas rawe enough to give me minor blisters on both feet. The left was worse than the right and neither was particularly bad since I stopped early and only ran 3.5 miles anyway. But still, I would have been better off never buying supports from the beginning.
I iced my right arch, and the blisters to control swelling and left them exposed to the air overnight. This morning when I got up they were much better. However, to be sure, I put a band aid on the left one and covered that with medical tape to keep it in place during the workday. I’ll take a look when I get home and see how it looks and feels in my running shoes. The right foot feels fine, save for the usual post-run arch pain once or twice today. Nothing extraordinary.
I think, however, that my best bet, and most effective solution over the long term will be to get a new pair of shoes that are specifically designed for my type of foot. I need something that will give me the arch support I need while being light and relatively loose fitting on my foot, which is what I like most about my current shoes. I am not crazy about spending another 80 bucks on shoes, but many runners have several pairs of shoes, so I’m coming around to the idea. This Saturday would be a good day to go because Annie is at work from 9-5 and then we’re going to see the Bourne Ultimatum that night. I have the entire afternoon to myself…perfect for spending several hours at a running store.
Anyway, my hope is that when I get home today, my blisters are healed up enough that I can tape them up and get another 3.5 mile run in this evening.
Anyway, the visit was uneventful today, thankfully. I had x-rays taken, which showed no tooth decay and I got a thorough cleaning. I talked to him about my mild TMD and asked some other questions and I was off. My dental insurance pays for two cleanings each year, so that makes it easier to make myself go as well. Saved me over $100 today! Woot. So I go back in February and plan on continuing my no-cavity streak another 6 months.
As for running, that;s another story. So I went to the gym last night after work and ran in my new arch supports. I was going great for a while. They felt wonderful and my heel felt like it was striking a pillow rather than the treadmill. However, about 1.5 miles into my 3.5 mile run I started to feel the end of the support rubbing the bottom of my left foot. Then it started on my right foot. They both got progressively worse and at 1.6 miles I stopped and took them both out for fear fo ripping a hole in my foot. Good thing I did too, because even though I kept running without them (and felt fine for a while), I had rubbed those areas rawe enough to give me minor blisters on both feet. The left was worse than the right and neither was particularly bad since I stopped early and only ran 3.5 miles anyway. But still, I would have been better off never buying supports from the beginning.
I iced my right arch, and the blisters to control swelling and left them exposed to the air overnight. This morning when I got up they were much better. However, to be sure, I put a band aid on the left one and covered that with medical tape to keep it in place during the workday. I’ll take a look when I get home and see how it looks and feels in my running shoes. The right foot feels fine, save for the usual post-run arch pain once or twice today. Nothing extraordinary.
I think, however, that my best bet, and most effective solution over the long term will be to get a new pair of shoes that are specifically designed for my type of foot. I need something that will give me the arch support I need while being light and relatively loose fitting on my foot, which is what I like most about my current shoes. I am not crazy about spending another 80 bucks on shoes, but many runners have several pairs of shoes, so I’m coming around to the idea. This Saturday would be a good day to go because Annie is at work from 9-5 and then we’re going to see the Bourne Ultimatum that night. I have the entire afternoon to myself…perfect for spending several hours at a running store.
Anyway, my hope is that when I get home today, my blisters are healed up enough that I can tape them up and get another 3.5 mile run in this evening.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Running Interrupted
Well, despite my lofty plans to go running during this weekend trip, nothing materialized. In fact, I had plans to run in the morning on Friday before we left for Charlottesville, however this too went by the wayside, although not for lack of desire.
Friday I got up early and decided to get my errands done before going to the gym. That way I would get things done and then not have to go running with that bothering me. My first stop was to get my car tested for vehicle emissions, per Maryland state law. It passed, but took longer than I anticipated. From there it was on to the Wal-Mart to return those too-large insoles and possible get some others. I was successful in finding arch supports that I think will work nicely. However, returning anything to Wal-Mart is a chore. The customer service counter is always understaffed and overwhelmed. This was no different and I eventually just decided to return them another day when I had more time. However, by the time I got home, it was after noon and I had to be ready to go by 1:30 or 2:00. I also had yet to pack and get things in order for the trip so by the time all that was done, it was way too late to go to the gym. Bummer.
The weekend was great, and as a result I lost all desire to get up early and go running. I took my running clothes and shoes, but they never made it out of my bag. We did go hiking in Shenandoah National Park, so I got some exercise. However, at some point along the way I aggravated my shin splints on my right leg, and was hobbling around most of the day yesterday. I think sitting in the car and driving back to Baltimore made it worse. I iced it pretty aggressively last night and rejected Annie’s attempts at making me go on a walk. By the time I went to bed, it was feeling much better and I could walk relatively comfortably. Today it feels fine, although I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to go back to the gym for safety’s sake. I’m not sure if it was the new inserts in my shoes, or if I aggravated it by taking a few bad steps on the steep trail. Regardless, it feels OK today so by tomorrow, it should be fine. I don’t think it was the inserts because I put them in both shoes and I would think that if one leg was hurting that both would at least be a little tender. But my left leg feels great.
Regardless, I hope my arch pain fades and the shin splints can be contained. I’ll start a post-run regime of icing and stretching in addition to the stretching I already do to try to limit future outbreaks. We’ll see. Tonight, however, unless I feel especially confident in my leg, I won’t be going to the gym, unfortunately.
Friday I got up early and decided to get my errands done before going to the gym. That way I would get things done and then not have to go running with that bothering me. My first stop was to get my car tested for vehicle emissions, per Maryland state law. It passed, but took longer than I anticipated. From there it was on to the Wal-Mart to return those too-large insoles and possible get some others. I was successful in finding arch supports that I think will work nicely. However, returning anything to Wal-Mart is a chore. The customer service counter is always understaffed and overwhelmed. This was no different and I eventually just decided to return them another day when I had more time. However, by the time I got home, it was after noon and I had to be ready to go by 1:30 or 2:00. I also had yet to pack and get things in order for the trip so by the time all that was done, it was way too late to go to the gym. Bummer.
The weekend was great, and as a result I lost all desire to get up early and go running. I took my running clothes and shoes, but they never made it out of my bag. We did go hiking in Shenandoah National Park, so I got some exercise. However, at some point along the way I aggravated my shin splints on my right leg, and was hobbling around most of the day yesterday. I think sitting in the car and driving back to Baltimore made it worse. I iced it pretty aggressively last night and rejected Annie’s attempts at making me go on a walk. By the time I went to bed, it was feeling much better and I could walk relatively comfortably. Today it feels fine, although I am going to have to wait until tomorrow to go back to the gym for safety’s sake. I’m not sure if it was the new inserts in my shoes, or if I aggravated it by taking a few bad steps on the steep trail. Regardless, it feels OK today so by tomorrow, it should be fine. I don’t think it was the inserts because I put them in both shoes and I would think that if one leg was hurting that both would at least be a little tender. But my left leg feels great.
Regardless, I hope my arch pain fades and the shin splints can be contained. I’ll start a post-run regime of icing and stretching in addition to the stretching I already do to try to limit future outbreaks. We’ll see. Tonight, however, unless I feel especially confident in my leg, I won’t be going to the gym, unfortunately.
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