Out With the Old and... In With a Newer Version of the Old

I got new running shoes about a month ago and, after the hassle of getting them ordered, I was thrilled to have them and wear them. It was good to feel a fresh new cushion of a new pair of kicks. They were pretty and with my SuperFeet inserts they felt great.

Me in my Brooks after fording the muddy
stream to reach Penasco Blanco at Chaco
Canyon, New Mexico. No one died of
dysentery or lost any shoes. 

I switched back and forth with my old and new shoes while I wore the new ones in, mostly because the new ones were ever so slightly more neutral than my old ones. The people at my gym were probably pretty happy when I stopped wearing my old ones since I had worn them in New Mexico tromping around in the mud at Chaco Canyon with my bff in early February. I was still spreading bits of ancient desert with every step.

Once I was running every run in my new shoes, though, I started having pain. Every run brought pain. At first I chalked it up to not being diligent enough with my training. Then once I was back on track with training (after losing my job), that excuse didn't make sense. I ran races in pain. I ran training miles in pain. 

Until this point, my running life had been minimally painful (thank all things good!). I had a (fortunately) short-lived case of runner's knee in November and got stronger thanks to the physical therapy exercises my doctor told me to do. My original shoes saw me through every run of my newbieness until I started getting shin splints consistently around 350 miles. Even the fact that I broke my left foot twice in college hadn't stopped me. (The second time I broke it I got fired for it!) Sure, it hurts when the seasons change, but as long as it's not black and blue and as long as I don't feel "that" pain, I'm okay. (I know what it feels like all too well, sadly.)

Finally this week I was forced to do something about my pain. Track Tuesday with my running group went well. I felt great and did my speed pyramid without much trouble. That night my shins hurt and the fleshy part of my foot that should be an arch, but isn't, hurt. Both feet were mirrored images of pain. I iced my feet and went to bed. 

The next day I felt okay... sort of. I ran on the treadmill because we had some stellar thunderstorms brewing. I got to a mile and felt okay, but after that my legs hurt so badly that I had to stop. I got off and stretched and nothing felt better. I tried to walk on the treadmill and even that hurt. A lot. So I went home and hobbled around to make dinner, all the while wondering what the heck I'd done to myself. 

My concern grew because I now have about three weeks until my first half marathon (May 5th!). I also knew that being sidelined after just 1.5 miles is NOT okay. Something was really wrong.

I did a little investigation online about overpronation, the shin pain I was feeling, and causes. I emailed the coaches for my running group with my hypothesis. They confirmed it. "Go back to your original brand and style," they said. 

I took my new shoes back to the store and, thankfully, they were willing to exchange them. I'm very pleased that they were so kind about it (even though I felt like I was being a total pain). I'm confident that the new shoes--a newer version of my old ones--should help me feel normal again. 

I'm ready to get back to running without pain. I mean, I've worked SO hard to get to the point that I can run and breathe well... it's time to be able to enjoy that! :)

Crack of Dawn

Morning runners baffle me.

I can get myself out of bed to drive two hours to a race--because the last four races I ran in 2012 were all in Ohio--but I can't seem to find a way to get myself up to meet my running group at 7 a.m. on Saturday mornings for long runs.

Right now it's still 25º at 7 a.m. That's a kicker for me because I can't breathe as well in that cold. (Plus cold is cold, and I'm soooo sick of cold weather...) But I can't even get myself up to go to the gym. And it's warm in there.

Since I missed the run this morning (I definitely slept till 10...), I'm going to meet a friend and run with her this afternoon. It'll be at least 45º by then, but probably warmer.

I don't know how you morning runners do it. Maybe it's because I don't have someone waiting there to guilt me about it. I haven't really bonded with any of the other runners in the group very well, so it's not really like any of them are expecting me to show. I don't know. My coach will probably mention it on Tuesday night, but I am still doing the miles today, so I don't feel bad. In fact, the route my friend has planned for us today is tougher than the flat trail we were supposed to run this morning, so I think it's a bit of punishment for skipping out.

Some of you who set your alarms crazy early seem to thrive on it. How do you do it? Is there a drug I need to know about? The literal "Crack" of dawn? Help me out, guys. I feel like I'm missing some vital part of being a runner because I can't drag myself out of bed at crazy hours of the morning to run.

"Just a Short Run" That I Almost Cut... Shorter

Saturday morning greeted me with 25º and frostbitten grass. I took out my dog, warmed up my car, and drove off with my boyfriend to North Park in Pittsburgh. It was one of those mornings that you don't know how to dress for because you know it's supposed to warm up, and you're bound to warm up once you start running, but when you're waiting for the race to start you become certain that you've never been so cold in your entire life. Ever.

I wasn't feeling 100% when we got to the park. On the ride there I had gone through my mental checklist and discovered that I forgot my iPod nano. I wailed in disappointment. I was about to run my second longest race and I had to do it without music?! I have been training with music to help me keep my pace (not too fast, not too slow). NOW what was I supposed to do?! I lamented this fact for about five minutes until I realized that I was really getting on my boyfriend's nerves. So I changed the topic to how glad I was that he was there.

Look how happy I am that the race
is over! I'm sporting sweet Oiselle
gear top to bottom.

When we arrived, I waited in a ladies' room line that coiled around the inside. Fortunately my boyfriend was kind enough to grab my number and chip for me. I honestly don't remember feeling so digestively odd before a race. I don't have to say that I'll spare you the details because, frankly, there aren't any. I can't nail down what was going on.

The race is called Just a Short Run. There's a 5k, an 8.1 miler, a half, and a 30k. The race started uneventfully. The first loop was a 5k with a decent hill, which the race director bragged about before sending us off, and I made it up the hill. It was the downhill that triggered my mental and physical demise. My calves had been hurting since my running group's hill repeats on Tuesday (3/26). I had iced them and stretched them, and worn compression socks, but they weren't cooperating. They cramped up. I tried to glide down the hill so I wouldn't do any damage. 

At the close of the 5k loop, the 5k racers finished and the rest of us crazies kept running. It was at this point I considered quitting. The Chatty Cathies around me had gotten on my nerves. My self-talk had become pretty negative. My calves were yelling at me in their own language, and my guts were already screaming "NONSENSE! THIS IS NONSENSE!" Yes, guts, I know it's nonsense. You're right. But I plodded on.

I really wanted to stop. Then I saw my 5k time. Oh, hell no. I was not letting that be the tone for the day. It would've been my worst 5k time ever. No thank you.

I did a quick diagnostic check: I was warmed up (nearing 40º now?). I could breathe well (for a change). I shed my gloves, my facemask, and my windbreaker, and I pushed onward. 

I tried to get away from the chatterboxes. Most of them had been running the 5k anyway. Fixing my internal problems? Not so simple. I took some Gatorade and a gel thingy at the aid station. I'd have to wait for those to kick in. I tried to stretch out my calves, but no dice. It felt like angry piranhas sunk their teeth into the back of my legs and were holding on tighter with every step I took. 

The next loop in the course was the five mile loop around the lake. I had run this before--twice, actually--in the ten miler I ran in February. But for that race we ran in the opposite direction. I think the course was much kinder in that direction... Sigh. I walked some. I had to. Those piranhas were chowing down. I didn't feel like I was going to pass out anymore, which was an improvement, but my legs were really unhappy with my decision to keep going.

It was incredibly difficult to ignore the physical pain. I can very easily claim that it would've been easier if I'd had my iPod, but I don't know that for sure... 

What I do know is that once I started focusing on my breath--because I could breathe! Oh, joy! I could breathe and not have an asthma attack!--I found a pace I could keep and I rode it to the end of the race.

I finished the 8.1 miles in 1:40:59. I'm not super psyched about the time, but I finished. It is on par with my pace for my ten miler (2:08:29), so I feel good about that. 

I know I need to learn more about how to better fuel myself before races. I also know that I'd prefer to run my races with my iPod... but that I would probably benefit from a few runs without music. 

Spring sprouts!

SPROUTS!

I started some seeds for my spring garden crops last weekend and--lo! and behold!--midweek I had some sprouts!

Plastic greenhouse with grow light
and water spray bottle near my
heating vent. This is gardening, folks.

My setup isn't ideal, but I'm doing my best. I used the little plastic greenhouse tray I kept from last year's "Secret Garden" mishap and decided to leave the lid on only until I got my first sprouts. Last year I ended up with mold and sick seedlings to boot... No one really mentions that on the greenhouse packaging. They just say to keep the seedlings warm and moist... but that *duh* equals mold. No more mold for my seedlings! I have the tray on top of a towel on the ground near a heating vent in my house. (My house is old and doesn't warm up really well... so I wanted to keep the plants warm.) I bought a fluorescent "grow light" to give my plants some faux sun since Pittsburgh is anything but sunny right now... not that I have decently sunny windows anyway. Three-quarters of my house is surrounded with porches, which keeps the house cool all year (whether I want it to be cool or not).

I learned a LOT from my garden last year, and I'm taking a new approach to gardening thanks to the stellar class I took through Grow Pittsburgh. (Best $60 I ever spent!) I grew several flowers and vegetables from seeds last year, but I'm going to try to grow all my crops from seeds this year--vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

So far I've started the following seeds:

• lettuce (sprouted)
• broccoli (sprouted)
• lavender (some sprouted)
• Shasta daisies
• lemon balm

I need to get my spinach seeds SOON so I have those seedlings ready to plant when the rest of these seedlings are ready at the end of April/beginning of May. The rest of my spring crops I plan to plant by direct seeding (seeds in the ground, not started indoors for transplanting). But, naturally, I will need to wait for the weather to cooperate for most of those to even have a chance at survival.

This year's garden is off to a great start!

Look at those happy little sprouts. :)

Where I've been, what I'm doing

Oh my goodness, dear readers, I have not forsaken thee. I apologize, blog, that you have gone a full week without an update. For shame!

Working several part-time and freelance gigs is exhausting. Ensuring I have some income, the bills are paid, the dog is cared for, and all the other nuances of life seem more complicated when I'm not going to ONE workplace for a set period of time... and getting a paycheck directly deposited into my account. Invoicing is another element that freelancers don't get paid for that, alas, must be done!

What has happened in the meantime?

I'm excited about the possibilities in store, even if none of them include a full-time job... yet. I'm working hard at accepting what I have, enjoying each day, figuring out what I really want, and pursuing only what I truly desire. That in itself takes more energy than I have on most days, but the allocation of my talent is my own responsibility and if I waste my time and energy doing things I don't like or wishing for things I don't work for, then I deserve what I get. I want to deserve what I get and earn it in the sense that I brush hands with others trying to earn it.

So here's the past week...

I've started kicking my own butt to get to my running group. Tuesday evenings at the track or designated hill (for the beloved hill repeats) are now a must. I have directed my boyfriend to demand that I go when I waver (because goodness knows that I always feel better after I go).

My eyes are closed, but I think I look pretty darn good for
having run seven miles then climbed 45 floors!

Last Saturday I also made it to the group run downtown. It's kind of an expensive long run for me if I don't have other plans in the city before/after it (it's 20 miles there, 20 back), but I went. I ran about seven miles.

After the run, I did the Fight for Air stair climb downtown. Holy moly, stair climbing is a horse of a different color when it comes to exercise... I definitely don't consider myself a stair athlete!

Last week I completed my first set of fifteen freelance articles for a new client. It was a little tough to complete them so quickly without being repetitive, but I did my very best and they were pleased. :)

In the past few days, I've made a few strategic purchases, both of which I will be reviewing in the next few months. Because I have been tutoring a Korean woman for almost a year now and she recently asked me to begin working with her very young daughter, I decided to get Rosetta Stone in Korean. I have some reservations about the program, considering that my background is in language teaching and I have some strong opinions on how people learn language (otherwise how could I teach?!); however, I decided that with the program's guarantee and my current available time that I had nothing to lose.

I also purchased a full month of the Arbonne Fit Kit detox from Becki at Fighting for Wellness. The kit includes protein shake mixes, chews, drink mixes, and a few other items, which accompany an altered diet in order to help the user determine what foods or food entities might be causing distress. I've had issues with food for quite a while now and I'm at a loss for what else to try. I feel uncomfortable no matter what I eat and I don't seem to have enough energy. I decided that I would try the Arbonne detox to try to narrow down some of my issues. Nonetheless, since my half marathon is coming up in just five weeks, I will wait until after the race to begin the detox. I don't want to change anything right now; it's too close to the race. Even if it's for the better, it could affect my running and I might not recuperate properly.

Finally, I started some seeds for my garden! I don't have all the seeds I want yet, so I don't have a full set. I do, however, have lettuce, lavender, lemon balm, shasta daisies, and broccoli planted in my spare room under a grow lamp. Hooray!