I gave my pathetic legs some time off and then I took them out for a short run. I think it was only a mile and a half. The pain came back with a vengeance. I talked with my yoga teacher about the location of the pain and did some research online. It turns out that the problem is inflamation of the Illotibial Band where it connects to my knee. It needs to heal. So that's what I'm doing.
I've learned some stretches that target this area so I do those from time to time. I've increased my yoga frequency so that I'm going almost every work day. Hopefully it will recover and I can ease back into it. The Salt Lake City and Ogden marathons coming up are definitely not a possibility. So sad. :(
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Stylin'
I'm blaming my leg pains on my New Balance shoes that I've had for 5? years. Last night I bought some new running shoes from the Running Company. They're Nike Pegasus 25s. Unfortunately as I went running this morning, I still had the pain. Hmm...When I first went to the Running Company, I had my running style analyzed. They said that I have a bit overpronation on my right foot and that my left foot is neutral. So I bought a neutral shoe with hopefully enough cushioning. I'm still not sure where this is leading. I remember watching soccer games in France where someone would get injured. The injured player would be laying on their back wincing in pain clenching their leg. Someone would come out from the sideline with some spray, spray their leg, and suddenly, all was good! I need some of that spray for my legs.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Status: Recovering
I finally got to go outside again since the weather had been a bit nicer. I ran north on the Jordan Parkway until it turned into dirt. The round trip was 4.6 miles and I finished in 55 minutes. I stopped several times to stretch my calves in the hopes that the pain near my knee would be reduced. The pain is right below the bump where my fibula attaches to my knee. It may be some sort of shin splint type injury, a sore muscle there, or a stress fracture. Since it's on both sides, I'm hoping it's not a stress fracture. Hopefully it's just a sore muscle. It seems to be the muscle that holds up my foot when I'm swinging it forward. I'd really like to have my running style analyzed to identify if I am a pronator or not. I figure if I'm going to run for miles, I need to get shoes that fit my style and will keep me from getting injured.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Haven't quit yet
I thought I'd better write something to calm the masses that visit this blog. I had a scare Sunday when I got serious lower back pain. It was exactly what happens before I get a cold. It was also accompanied by some mild congestion and coughing. I thought I'd take it easy a few days while I loaded up on vitamin C and zinc. Also, I've been logging my activity minutes at work for our Live Healthy America project which is like a simple blog. Our team name is "Ctrl Alt Elite". I thought that was geeky enough. So I haven't done any running since Friday I think...
Well today it was time to get back to it. Due to the recent cold weather, I drove to work and ran on the treadmill. I've found that no one else is interested in the 5:30 am time slot in the workout room at my office. As it got closer to 6:30, one guy did show up. I'm really hoping it warms back up a bit because I now have a holster and belt clip for my GPS. I've had this funny feeling that all the movement in my pocket may have been altering the actual distances and speeds measured. Especially since it showed 30 mph as my max speed. I'd have had to jump off a cliff to get going that fast! I'm hoping with it clipped on my waist, it might be more accurate.
There was an article in the Salt Lake papers about finishing up the Jordan Parkway at 3 sections near me. Hopefully that goes through. Especially the section that would go from North Temple to 200 south. It is quite a distance to make up for this missing section. The northern parts missing aren't so bad because at least there is a trail even if it is just dirt.
Well today it was time to get back to it. Due to the recent cold weather, I drove to work and ran on the treadmill. I've found that no one else is interested in the 5:30 am time slot in the workout room at my office. As it got closer to 6:30, one guy did show up. I'm really hoping it warms back up a bit because I now have a holster and belt clip for my GPS. I've had this funny feeling that all the movement in my pocket may have been altering the actual distances and speeds measured. Especially since it showed 30 mph as my max speed. I'd have had to jump off a cliff to get going that fast! I'm hoping with it clipped on my waist, it might be more accurate.
There was an article in the Salt Lake papers about finishing up the Jordan Parkway at 3 sections near me. Hopefully that goes through. Especially the section that would go from North Temple to 200 south. It is quite a distance to make up for this missing section. The northern parts missing aren't so bad because at least there is a trail even if it is just dirt.
Monday, January 19, 2009
My right to run
My work gave me time off today to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day or maybe it's called Civil Rights day. This was the perfect way to start my 3rd week of training. I had planned to do basic core training the first two weeks and I didn't really have a plan for what would follow. I had seen a map showing how the Jordan Parkway connected to the Legacy Parkway and I was curious to test it out. So I set a goal to reach the Legacy Parkway trailhead.
I usually start my run near 5 am but with it being the holiday, I didn't start until around 6:40 am. My radio was fully charged and I was ready for whatever it took. It turns out that the Jordan Parkway is paved until the end of the Rose Park Golf Course. After that, it was intermittent frozen snow, frozen mud, frozen grass, and gravel. The trail is nice until about 4 miles in when it runs right next to Redwood Road. It was at this point where I could see the traffic light at the intersection of Redwood and I-215 that I began to think I had gone far enough and long enough. I had to remind myself that it was a holiday and I had all day to get there.
After much running and a lot walking I made it to the Legacy Parkway trailhead. It's almost 5 miles from my house and it took me 50 minutes to get there. On my way back I passed another runner. This was the first person I've passed while running these past weeks. You'd think with Salt Lake City recently being voted as the most healthy city in the nation you'd see more people. Or maybe no one is as crazy as me to be running at 5 am in January.
Thanks to my not so handy GPS unit, my total run distance ended up at 9.5 miles and 1 hour and 50 minutes. That calculates to over 11 minutes per mile. That's something I hope to bring down as my training goes on. My GPS unit also said my max speed was 30 mph so I think it may be swinging around in my pocket a bit much. A belt with a holster might be nice. Really I'd like to get a Garmin forerunner 305 which I'd wear like a watch. It measures heart rate too which is something I haven't kept real good track of.
I'm curious to see if I get sore today after such a long run. I guess you could call it a 15K run. I took an Aleve in hopes that I can still get some things done today like put up my peg board in the garage. I'm also working on organizing the Priesthood Preview this coming Sunday.
I usually start my run near 5 am but with it being the holiday, I didn't start until around 6:40 am. My radio was fully charged and I was ready for whatever it took. It turns out that the Jordan Parkway is paved until the end of the Rose Park Golf Course. After that, it was intermittent frozen snow, frozen mud, frozen grass, and gravel. The trail is nice until about 4 miles in when it runs right next to Redwood Road. It was at this point where I could see the traffic light at the intersection of Redwood and I-215 that I began to think I had gone far enough and long enough. I had to remind myself that it was a holiday and I had all day to get there.
After much running and a lot walking I made it to the Legacy Parkway trailhead. It's almost 5 miles from my house and it took me 50 minutes to get there. On my way back I passed another runner. This was the first person I've passed while running these past weeks. You'd think with Salt Lake City recently being voted as the most healthy city in the nation you'd see more people. Or maybe no one is as crazy as me to be running at 5 am in January.
Thanks to my not so handy GPS unit, my total run distance ended up at 9.5 miles and 1 hour and 50 minutes. That calculates to over 11 minutes per mile. That's something I hope to bring down as my training goes on. My GPS unit also said my max speed was 30 mph so I think it may be swinging around in my pocket a bit much. A belt with a holster might be nice. Really I'd like to get a Garmin forerunner 305 which I'd wear like a watch. It measures heart rate too which is something I haven't kept real good track of.
I'm curious to see if I get sore today after such a long run. I guess you could call it a 15K run. I took an Aleve in hopes that I can still get some things done today like put up my peg board in the garage. I'm also working on organizing the Priesthood Preview this coming Sunday.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Uphill Battle
Uphill Battle
It was a tough one today. To begin, getting out of bed was unusually difficult. I hit the snooze button once which lost me a little workout time. I just felt unusually tired this morning. It didn't help that I weighed more this morning than yesterday. I'd like to say that I'm gaining muscle mass.
I did make a couple adjustments to the routine. I ditched the cell phone which I really had been using as a clock. The GPS unit has a clock that I also use to measure my heart rate. I tied my sweat pants tight because I've been running with the GPS in my pocket which slowly pulls that side down. My goal was to run north today because the parkway trails have been so clear. I got 20 minutes into the run listening to "Radio From Hell" on X96 when my radio quit. The battery was dead. I had left it plugged into the USB port of my computer yesterday but I did notice my computer was turned off. With my radio gone, I was left to listen to a squeaky left headphone and some ducks trying to warn their sleeping peers.
I spent 45 minutes going just over 4 miles but I didn't walk much at the start and walked more at the end. This kind of unbalanced training can't be as good as having a more consistent ratio of walking and running.
It was a tough one today. To begin, getting out of bed was unusually difficult. I hit the snooze button once which lost me a little workout time. I just felt unusually tired this morning. It didn't help that I weighed more this morning than yesterday. I'd like to say that I'm gaining muscle mass.
I did make a couple adjustments to the routine. I ditched the cell phone which I really had been using as a clock. The GPS unit has a clock that I also use to measure my heart rate. I tied my sweat pants tight because I've been running with the GPS in my pocket which slowly pulls that side down. My goal was to run north today because the parkway trails have been so clear. I got 20 minutes into the run listening to "Radio From Hell" on X96 when my radio quit. The battery was dead. I had left it plugged into the USB port of my computer yesterday but I did notice my computer was turned off. With my radio gone, I was left to listen to a squeaky left headphone and some ducks trying to warn their sleeping peers.
I spent 45 minutes going just over 4 miles but I didn't walk much at the start and walked more at the end. This kind of unbalanced training can't be as good as having a more consistent ratio of walking and running.
Monday, January 12, 2009
A New Record
As far as I can remember, the longest distance I've ever ran is 3 miles. I know I've skiied cross country farther but that's much easier when you're gliding on the snow. This morning my GPS measured 4.62 miles when I completed my run. That must be a new personal distance record. I ran/walked for 47 minutes. So my minutes per mile ends up at 10. That's slow for competition but good for rebuilding my base fitness level.
This morning the trails on the parkway were mostly clear of ice and snow. I decided to find out where the Jordan parkway starts again going south after it ends at North Temple. It turns out that I had to go east to 10th west to go under I-80, cut back west on Pierpont ave for about 3 blocks and there was the parkway again. I'm looking forward to getting more distance on these runs so I can explore that path southward and also get up to the new Legacy parkway going northward.
This morning the trails on the parkway were mostly clear of ice and snow. I decided to find out where the Jordan parkway starts again going south after it ends at North Temple. It turns out that I had to go east to 10th west to go under I-80, cut back west on Pierpont ave for about 3 blocks and there was the parkway again. I'm looking forward to getting more distance on these runs so I can explore that path southward and also get up to the new Legacy parkway going northward.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
See Saw
To combat the cold weather, I wore a thermal undershirt, a long-sleeved shirt along with my hoodie. After 20 minutes I was so hot I took off my long-sleeved shirt, gloves, and untied my hood. Of course the temperature was a bit warmer.
I am more sore today but some of it is due to a tough yoga class yesterday. The total run/walk time ended up at 33 minutes. It must have been around 2.5 miles. I ran to the Agricultural building, over to Redwood Rd., turned on 500 North and ran to 1000 West. Then back home on 500 North. I'm going to try for another yoga class on Thursday. The muscles I stretch in yoga really help my breathing on hips which greatly benefits my running.
I am more sore today but some of it is due to a tough yoga class yesterday. The total run/walk time ended up at 33 minutes. It must have been around 2.5 miles. I ran to the Agricultural building, over to Redwood Rd., turned on 500 North and ran to 1000 West. Then back home on 500 North. I'm going to try for another yoga class on Thursday. The muscles I stretch in yoga really help my breathing on hips which greatly benefits my running.
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Year's First Run
First entry, first run, and a brand new year. I set out this morning at 5:30 am with the intention of running to work and using a tread mill in a nice warm room. By the time I got to close to the building, it was 5:45 and I wanted to be back by six. So I did a loop in the 14 degree weather crunching through a few inches of icy snow. My quadriceps seem a little week but I've noticed that in my yoga workouts. My hands, feet and legs were plenty warm but my torso was cold. Half the time I was holding the drawstring on the hood of my new hoodie (thanks John and Clory). The run ended up being a 20 minute walk run with the goal of it being mostly fun. Afterwards I weighed myself. I was surprised that even after some gluttonous holiday eating, I only weighed 160.
Sunday I talked with Sam Brown who has completed the St. George Marathon which is held in October. I had thought about what I wanted to do this year and a marathon popped in my head. The timing and location of the St. George Marathon is perfect. I purchased a Sansa Clip 2GB MP3 player on eBay to help stem the silence while running. It has an FM tuner which may come in handy for listening to some talk radio. I've frequented Jeff Galloway's site and noticed that there is a chapter in Salt Lake City that gets together that follows his running philosophies. The meet at the Jordan parkway in Murray. Between the exercise room at work and the Jordan parkway here, I think I'll just run nearby.
Sunday I talked with Sam Brown who has completed the St. George Marathon which is held in October. I had thought about what I wanted to do this year and a marathon popped in my head. The timing and location of the St. George Marathon is perfect. I purchased a Sansa Clip 2GB MP3 player on eBay to help stem the silence while running. It has an FM tuner which may come in handy for listening to some talk radio. I've frequented Jeff Galloway's site and noticed that there is a chapter in Salt Lake City that gets together that follows his running philosophies. The meet at the Jordan parkway in Murray. Between the exercise room at work and the Jordan parkway here, I think I'll just run nearby.
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