Last Monday I went and saw my sports med doctor. How sad is it that I have a sports med doc? Anyway, he took a look at my X-rays, informed me that I have some arthritis and a bit of a bone spur. He offered to give me a steriod injection which is kind of what I was hoping for. I have tried a lot of other stuff to get rid of this Plantar Fasciitis and nothing was working. After the shot, I walked right out and felt great. He told me that I could go out and run that night but I decided that that might not be a very wise choice. I did get in two runs last week though. On Wednesday, Michelle and I ran 4 miles out by Terry Trueblood rec area. My heel bugged me quite a bit on Thursday but by Friday night felt pretty good. Saturday afternoon I ran 7 miles in 70 minutes. My heel hurt a bit Saturday night and Sunday morning but feels fine today. I am hoping that I have finally hit the turn around point with this PF. I am worried about doing too much and aggravating things but I need to run or I will never be ready for this race. I only have 10 weeks left and I am only up to 7 miles. I am not worried about the aerobic part of the race at all - its the joint pounding that has me concerned. Each time I have run a half marathon, I have been in a lot of pain by the end. I really don't want to feel that way half way through this race. Just keep running, I tell myself. Eventually, I will reach my goal.
Workout total for the week:
Swimming - 5600 yards
Body Pump - 2 times
Running - 11 miles
I plan on running tonight with Michelle. It will be a short (3-4 miles) run and a slow pace. My calves are pretty tight from Saturday's run so I will use this run as an opportunity to shake things out.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
There are less than 3 months to go.
It has been two weeks since I wrote an update. It has been an up and down two weeks. For the week ending on the 15th, I only got in eight miles running total. I had four miles that Tuesday, only two on Thursday, and on Saturday, I also only managed two. Saturday's run was actually the first running of the Shamrock Shuffle here in Iowa City. I figured that I would run the race (I ran it in a slow 18:40 or 45, I don't remember for sure) and then run another 5 miles that afternoon. I didn't but there is a reason. I have Plantar Fasciitis. It hurts. I have had it before and the pain always went away once I stretched and got moving. This time (and other heel) the pain never goes away. Sometimes it is less than at others but it is always nagging. I began to worry that maybe this was something other than just PF. My wife suggested that it might be a stress fracture and that I probably should get it X-ray'd. I couldn't get into see the sports med doctor for a week (my appointment is tomorrow) so I got an appointment with family practice and got it imaged. The good thing is that the X-ray showed no signs of a stress fracture but did see evidence of edema around the heel. No more excuses for me. I just needed to get out and run. However, I have been hurting so badly this week that running has been more daunting than usual and I didn't get out until I made myself do so yesterday. Yesterday's run was 6.2 miles. It was great. I ran north on Hwy 1 from NDAC to Rapid Creek Rd, then up Rapid Creek Rd to NE Lynden Heights Rd. That road goes mainly south until it bends to the east and turns into NE 340th St. I ran up 340th until I hit Taft road and turned around. It was a great run with some hills that were challenging.
I ran a pretty slow pace and really concentrated on technique again. I guess the good thing about PF is that I can't land on my heel - it just hurts too much. I am learning how to run with a mid-foot strike. At first, doing so created a lot of calf pain but yesterday, I felt great. It was a little cold (temps were in the upper 30's with a stiff breeze) for this time of year but I was dressed appropriately and actually had to unzip my pullover.
Totals for the week:
Running - 6.2 miles
Classes - one Body Pump, one Body Attack, and 15 minutes of Zumba.
Swimming - 1250 yards
I have also been cataloging all my food intake using an app called My Fitness Pal. It is helping me focus on how much I am eating. Every day this week, I have been under calories. I worry because it says I should be consuming 2640 calories per day. I think that is the limit if I want to maintain my current weight but I need to lose 25 pounds. I will continue to use this app and see if it helps me lose weight. I am down 2 pounds but we'll see if this really works.
Goals for this coming week:
Running - 13 miles
Classes - 3 Body Pump, 1 Body Attack
Swimming - 3000 yards
I ran a pretty slow pace and really concentrated on technique again. I guess the good thing about PF is that I can't land on my heel - it just hurts too much. I am learning how to run with a mid-foot strike. At first, doing so created a lot of calf pain but yesterday, I felt great. It was a little cold (temps were in the upper 30's with a stiff breeze) for this time of year but I was dressed appropriately and actually had to unzip my pullover.
Totals for the week:
Running - 6.2 miles
Classes - one Body Pump, one Body Attack, and 15 minutes of Zumba.
Swimming - 1250 yards
I have also been cataloging all my food intake using an app called My Fitness Pal. It is helping me focus on how much I am eating. Every day this week, I have been under calories. I worry because it says I should be consuming 2640 calories per day. I think that is the limit if I want to maintain my current weight but I need to lose 25 pounds. I will continue to use this app and see if it helps me lose weight. I am down 2 pounds but we'll see if this really works.
Goals for this coming week:
Running - 13 miles
Classes - 3 Body Pump, 1 Body Attack
Swimming - 3000 yards
Monday, March 10, 2014
Pushing through the pain
Another week in the books. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as last week. Last Sunday (March 2nd), I got up early, got bundled up and shoveled snow. When I came in, I took my boots off and started to go downstairs in my wool socks to wake up one of my boys to get ready for church. Apparently, my daughter had thrown a bunch of towels from the upstairs bathroom down onto the stairs instead of taking them all the way down to the laundry room. My first step down was onto a couple of the towels and that was the last step I took. My feet slipped out from under me and I slid down the stairs on the left side of my body, introducing various body parts to each step on the way down. Other than being scrapped up a bit, I thought I was okay - until Monday morning. When I woke up Monday morning, I was SORE. Couple that with my Plantar Fasciitis and whatever has been wrong with my elbow for the last two months, and I was a physical mess. I didn't run or swim until Thursday night. I did, however, manage to teach Body Pump both Tuesday afternoon and early Thursday morning albeit with drastically reduced weights.
I did my run after dropping Brenden off to work at the gym. I ran from the gym, down North Dodge to Scott Blvd and down Scott to the Budda (or whatever that odd sculpture is) near Rochester and back. It was a 4.7 mile run. I felt pretty good although the run back was starting to get a bit icy due to the sun going down. I ran a slow steady pace and concentrated on proper running form. After my run, I swam 800 yards. When I got home, I was feeling pretty lousy so I got a sub for my Body Attack for Friday morning. Not wanting to get too far off my schedule, I knew I needed to get a run in on Saturday as well so Saturday afternoon after teaching Body Pump once again, I ran from the gym down to Scott, to 1st ave., to Rochester, to Scott (past the Budda), and down Scott to North Dodge and the gym. This was the first time I have run that route although I had mapped it out several years earlier and thought it was 6 miles. Unfortunately, I was wrong about the distance and it only turned out to be 5.33 miles. That means that I only ran just over 10 miles last week. I need to do better this week.
My goal this week is to run 3-4 miles tonight, 4 miles Wednesday night, and run for 80 minutes on Saturday. I only teach three classes this week so this running schedule ought to be very doable.
I am still Mt. Dew free and am continuing to try to eat a more natural diet but I am not losing any weight yet. Actually, I gained a pound over the last two weeks. That is frustrating but I just have to keep reminding myself to take the long view and be patient.
The weather is finally starting to look good. We are supposed to top 50 degrees today. Perfect running weather.
I did my run after dropping Brenden off to work at the gym. I ran from the gym, down North Dodge to Scott Blvd and down Scott to the Budda (or whatever that odd sculpture is) near Rochester and back. It was a 4.7 mile run. I felt pretty good although the run back was starting to get a bit icy due to the sun going down. I ran a slow steady pace and concentrated on proper running form. After my run, I swam 800 yards. When I got home, I was feeling pretty lousy so I got a sub for my Body Attack for Friday morning. Not wanting to get too far off my schedule, I knew I needed to get a run in on Saturday as well so Saturday afternoon after teaching Body Pump once again, I ran from the gym down to Scott, to 1st ave., to Rochester, to Scott (past the Budda), and down Scott to North Dodge and the gym. This was the first time I have run that route although I had mapped it out several years earlier and thought it was 6 miles. Unfortunately, I was wrong about the distance and it only turned out to be 5.33 miles. That means that I only ran just over 10 miles last week. I need to do better this week.
My goal this week is to run 3-4 miles tonight, 4 miles Wednesday night, and run for 80 minutes on Saturday. I only teach three classes this week so this running schedule ought to be very doable.
I am still Mt. Dew free and am continuing to try to eat a more natural diet but I am not losing any weight yet. Actually, I gained a pound over the last two weeks. That is frustrating but I just have to keep reminding myself to take the long view and be patient.
The weather is finally starting to look good. We are supposed to top 50 degrees today. Perfect running weather.
Monday, March 3, 2014
It was a tough run
After teaching Body Step on Saturday, I was tempted to call it a day. It was a tough class and I was tired. However, I needed to get a long(er) run in. I am afraid that if I deviate too far from my plan that it will all implode and I will be lucky to even finish a half marathon. At 2:30, I dragged myself upstairs and got dressed to run. It is still very cold here (it was just under 20 degrees F at 2:00) but I tend to over heat very easily. Judging by the race in Cedar Rapids the week before, I dressed in a long sleeved tech shirt, my North Face winter pullover, a pair of running skins and my running pants. Instead of a hat like I wore at Freeze Fest, I decided to wear an ear band. With my wool mittens, I felt pretty good.
Since I was a bit tired from teaching, I decided to run a completely flat course. My goal was to run for one hour or about 6 miles. I drove down the the Terry Trueblood recreation area and started my run south on Sand Rd. The air temp wasn't too bad. I could feel a bit of wind at my back which I knew might be a problem when I turned around. By the time I was about 1.5 miles into the run, I actually felt pretty good. For the first time in years, I was running with music. It did a great job taking my mind off the run. My heel was hurting but as long as I kept a good mid-foot strike, I was okay. I ran about three miles out and turned around. I knew within about a minute that I might be in trouble. The wind was blowing harder than I anticipated. Sand Road is pretty wide open so there is plenty of room for the wind to pick up a good head of steam. I felt like the wind was cutting right through both layers of clothing and freezing my sweat to my body. Within 5 minutes, my upper arms and lower torso were stinging. I didn't dare stop or slow down. At times, the wind was blowing so hard that I had to lean into it. Thankfully, there wasn't much snow or ice on the road. The pain from the cold became distracting to the point that I was no longer paying attention to the music. With about a mile left, the stinging sensation started to go away. That got me worried. When I returned to the car, I lifted my shirt and my torso was bright red. I quickly got the car started and the heat going. Other than being much too cold, it was a good run. It was slow but I ran the entire way and did not develop any soreness over the weekend.
With that run, my weekly total was 12 miles. Not much yet but it is a good start.
My goals for this week is to have two short runs (one 3 miler and one 4 miler) as well as a 70-80 minute run. I am really hoping the weather starts to warm up. It's hard to believe that it is March 3rd and the high today was 13 degrees. I don't mind the snow so much but the cold is just so hard to deal with on such a long term basis.
Since I was a bit tired from teaching, I decided to run a completely flat course. My goal was to run for one hour or about 6 miles. I drove down the the Terry Trueblood recreation area and started my run south on Sand Rd. The air temp wasn't too bad. I could feel a bit of wind at my back which I knew might be a problem when I turned around. By the time I was about 1.5 miles into the run, I actually felt pretty good. For the first time in years, I was running with music. It did a great job taking my mind off the run. My heel was hurting but as long as I kept a good mid-foot strike, I was okay. I ran about three miles out and turned around. I knew within about a minute that I might be in trouble. The wind was blowing harder than I anticipated. Sand Road is pretty wide open so there is plenty of room for the wind to pick up a good head of steam. I felt like the wind was cutting right through both layers of clothing and freezing my sweat to my body. Within 5 minutes, my upper arms and lower torso were stinging. I didn't dare stop or slow down. At times, the wind was blowing so hard that I had to lean into it. Thankfully, there wasn't much snow or ice on the road. The pain from the cold became distracting to the point that I was no longer paying attention to the music. With about a mile left, the stinging sensation started to go away. That got me worried. When I returned to the car, I lifted my shirt and my torso was bright red. I quickly got the car started and the heat going. Other than being much too cold, it was a good run. It was slow but I ran the entire way and did not develop any soreness over the weekend.
With that run, my weekly total was 12 miles. Not much yet but it is a good start.
My goals for this week is to have two short runs (one 3 miler and one 4 miler) as well as a 70-80 minute run. I am really hoping the weather starts to warm up. It's hard to believe that it is March 3rd and the high today was 13 degrees. I don't mind the snow so much but the cold is just so hard to deal with on such a long term basis.
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