Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Two Things New To Me

Yesterday I was finally able to return to work and running. Kaitlyn seemed to finally kick the flu and my foot started to feel better.

Guess a few rest days were beneficial to both of us :-D

I am not going to lie. I was nervous. I promised myself that if my run went badly, I would take another week off. I had 4 miles on the training plan.

I started out at an 8:34 pace with a 1% on the treadmill, my usual"warm up" speed. Almost as soon as I started running I was aware of an uncomfortableness in the ball of my foot. Nothing excruciating like before though....After a while (maybe a mile? I cover up all time/distance indicators while I run) the feeling subsided and I was chasing the biggest running high I've had in a long time!

To bust treadmill boredom, I usually turn up the speed by .1 every time a song finishes. Since I wasn't trying to really push myself, I kept the speed at 7.3 for two or three songs....then the crazy runner came out. I wanted to go faster and faster! I knew that I'd regret it if I hurt myself though, so I tried something I don't do very often (read: once or twice a year!). I ran a STEEP hill on the treadmill.

The treadmill climbs by .5% increases. I kept going up and up and up until I was finishing up my run at a 5% incline, with an average pace of 8:14. Yay to me! Not only for choosing to climb a hill but also for controlling my speed!

As far as my foot is concerned, I am going to take it easy. I'm pretty convinced that what I'm experiencing is some sort of tendinitis, similar to Plantar Fasciitis. I know PF pain usually manifests in the heel, but the symptoms fit so I am going to use the same plan of attack: Rolling my feet on a baseball (This hurts SO good) and icing my foot 1-3x a day, Ibuprofen if needed and sleeping in that
ridiculous (but essential) boot.

I've also ordered some Brooks Pure Cadence
 
 How beautiful are these??

(Yeee!! I love new shoes!!)I choose these shoes a) because the amount of people who have experienced PF and found relief by switching to the Pure Cadence is intriguing and b) Brooks is amazing!

The idea behind this being that I need to strengthen my feet muscles by running in a "minimalist" shoe. Only this is the "minimalist shoe that offers support". I am very excited!!

This week's training is supposed to be:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday:Cross Train
Thursday: 8 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 8 mile PACE run
Sunday: 17 miles

I don't see this happening. I am not going to go into any of these runs with a specific number of miles in my head. I am going to take my time and listen to my body. If I need to stop, that's exactly what
I'll do.

13 comments:

  1. I'm impressed with your incline work! I am a total slacker when it comes to hills :/

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    1. Thanks! I don't do too many on the treadmill but my neighborhood has a TON of hills (I run outside/treadmill about 40/60) so they are never too bad for me.

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  2. Hi, Lauren! Wow - great goals for this week's training. :)

    http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/

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  3. Ooh- thanks for the tip on the cadence. I am struggling with PF (mild and tolerable, but still annoying and persistent), so I think I will pick up those shoes today. Hooray for living a mile from TWO running stores!

    Great job on the treadmill. 5% incline is no joke!!!

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    1. Thanks! Too bad I only did 4 miles today and could barely tolerate a 2% incline....lead legs.

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    2. I bought the Cadence today, and I am breaking them in now. So far, no heal pain/PF pain walking around the house. I am hopeful that these are the shoes that I've been looking for!!

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    3. SO EXCITING!! Please let me know how they work for you! I ordered mine online so I have to wait:-( Hopefully tomorrow!

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    4. Love them!!!! I even wore them to work yesterday!! Let me know when you get them.... I hope that they work well for you too ;)

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  4. I LOVE when I hit the groove on the treadmill. If you don't, it is just so blah and boring. Congrats on a kick butt run!

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    1. I completely agree. If I can manage to "zone out" it's amazing. If not, it's SO hard.

      Thank you!

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  5. Aw man. You're making me feel guilty about not being a good icer for my glute/back problem! (I need the guilt trip though so I actually do it).

    Glad you are back in action with a great run!

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    1. haha! Anytime!

      Thanks, I'm glad to be feeling so great:-)

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