ChiRunning

The ChiRunning workshop was very interesting. It left me sore for the rest of the week, but it was goood! The only downside was that we were outside all day long in very little shade. I was a little worried I would get shingles if I my face got sunburned. Fortunately I keep sunblock in the car and was able to stay mostly unburned. There were a couple of spots I missed, but I'm fine now. (S, unfortunately, got burned and is having an unpleasant reaction to something; I don't think I've ever had hives but Oh Noes! that much be uncomfortable.)

We started the day practicing proper alignment. We did one exercise where we stood as we normally do and had a partner pull down on our shoulders to see how stable we were. Now no snickering, but I was not stable at all. I said no snickering! Then we were to stand in the proper alignment. It was really neat to feel like I didn't move at all. As a massage therapist I know about proper body positioning and how people should be aligned so that our bones support us and not our muscles, but it's a little different to actually put it into practice. We also talked about how working on proper alignment helps to actually align your body. So if you are a pronator like me but you are focusing on proper foot/leg/body position your muscles will get stronger without specific strength training and your arches will get stronger. Just in the one day's work I noticed a difference in how my shoes fit. (I like people like Danny Dreyer who fit my philosophy; most people who "need" orthotics do not need orthotics forever if they strengthen the areas that are lax and create proper balance.)

Another exercise that really brought home to me how to change my foot landing from heel striking, which is what my current problem is and which is what's making my shin splints act up, was to do some heel kicks (or butt kicks) while standing and then to keep doing that while running. I cannot kick my foot all the way out to land on the heel when I get my feet up to my behind. Hooray! It was nice to be able to finally get my feet to land where I'm supposed to, which is right in the midfoot where your arches are. Your arches are your natural shock absorbers. Your heel has no shock absorbers. This particular exercise is what caused me to be sore all week!

We also talked about how your cadence should be consistent. It's recommended that your feet hit the ground 85-90 times per minute. You are more efficient when you spend less time in contact with the ground. We broke into groups and tested where our natural cadence is. I run at a cadence of 83. After the triathlon I am going to focus on getting my cadence up to where it's supposed to. I bought a metronome to help. It's a little loud, even on it's softest setting, so I need to find a way to muffle it a little.

During our lunch break we talked about running shoes, and how shoes are getting thicker in the heel as the shoe companies attempt to correct the heel striking, and yet people still heel-strike and the injuries have not decreased. He uses a neutral shoe or a racing flat. One of the assistants is gearing towards running barefoot and had on these really funky shoes to help prepare her for that. The shoes are really cool and I want a pair! I just can't tell whether I like the slate blue/green or the bright blue ones.

If you are experiencing running injuries I suggest you at least read through the book, even if you aren't interested in the workshop. I think it's good stuff. I'm looking forward to implementing it.

Workshops and Triathlons and Training, Oh My!

Well. I have not been remiss in training, even though I have been quite remiss in posting! I'll start from today and go back in time.

I received my new Terry bicycle seat in the mail today! I will shortly be putting the Butterfly Tri on my bike. I may or may not get to ride it today, but I will ride it before the weekend is out!

Also, I am planning to sign up for a ChiRunning workshop. I'll attend with S, and it'll be led by the master dude who wrote the book. I am still having issues with running, and a workshop should really help.

Yesterday I ran 3.5 miles. I was going to attempt 5, but then the sun was going down making it too hard to see so I was going to settle for 4 miles, but then my body rejected that notion after 3.5 miles so I walked the remaining .5 mile back to the car. This is why I need to do the workshop!

Tuesday I went for a 25 mile bike ride. I wanted to turn it into a brick workout, but didn't have enough time to do that and still get ready for work. Pleased with myself, though!

Monday I got 50 minutes in the pool. I was focusing more on backstroke than worrying about freestyling since I'll probably be doing more back work than crawl work in the race, but toward the end I was working on freestyle and did 5 laps free, one lap back, and 10 laps free, so I was pleased with that. My goal is to go camping this weekend (still need a tent and to decide which campground I want) to practice open water swimming to the extent I can.

Sunday I sherpa'd for S at the Irongirl Columbia MD tri. It's fun getting up when the sun still hasn't thought about making an appearance. I managed to cheer for her at every leg, although I didn't get pictures for the run or the bike. I also cheered for everyone I could on the bike leg, since I remember how much it helped my state of mind when people I didn't know cheered for me.






Last Saturday I went on a long bike ride with S's husband J through Rock Creek Park. We did about 26 miles! It's nice to train with someone.

Last week... what did I do? I know I went to Lake Beltzville to get some swimming in. There were a lot of people so that made it less fun. Which is why I need to try it again before the lakes closer swimming options after Labor Day. I got a 3 mile run in on Sunday. I know I got some pool time in, and I know I got some bike time in. Don't remember much more than that!

The Last Hurrah Before T-Day.

I very carefully followed the nutrition advice this time, and I didn't bonk on the bike! Hurray!

I woke up this morning and had a pretty big bowl of shredded wheat 'n bran. Four hours later I had a bagel with cashew butter and cherry preserves. I think for the tri itself I'll do it on regular bread so my yummy goodness doesn't fall through the hole. I didn't quite make it out the door and onto my ride until 2 hours later, but I figured I had enough stuff with me that it would be ok.

I kept one of the gels taped to my frame from Friday, but it fell off on the trail. Oops! I stopped to pick it up but didn't consume it. I had one bottle filled with water/nuun, and one bottle filled with cytomax. I cycled for 22 miles. I was mildly contemplating making it a 30 mile ride, but stopped myself because the goal was to do a brick workout. I didn't quite calculate the time because I forgot to set my timer. I did 20 miles in an hour and a half, and didn't count the first 2 miles (probably add on 10-12 minutes). I finished both bottles before I got back to the car.

Hopped off the bike and put the bike on the rack, put the lock on the bike, and put on my running shoes in 2.29 minutes.

And then came the run. Oh man have I not practiced bricking enough! My legs did not love me. Also, I got bodywork from my friend Andrew on Saturday so my legs were still a little sore. He found a little tear in my gastroc, so every time my right foot landed I could feel that spot ache. I gave up on trying to run 6.5 minutes with a .5 minute rest like I've been doing for my 5 mile runs. I ended up with about 3 minutes with a .5 minute rest and every now and then a few minutes rest when I needed a break. I had three 7 oz flasks - two water and one cytomax. I consumed all the fluids plus one clif shot block either cranraz flavor or strawberry. (I need to pick up more of the margarita ones - they're yummy and have extra salt!) It took me 40 minutes to run/walk 3 miles. Not my best effort ever.

I was pretty hungry afterwards so I headed over to Panera to refuel my carbs/protein. I had half a chicken sandwich of some sort, potato chips, and a bowl of turkey chili. Delish! I did think it was funny when the cashier asked me if I'd just done a triathlon. Her cousin does them so she recognized the gear, I guess.

Then I came home and hopped in the tub for about 20-30 minute soak, mostly my legs, in cold water to help reduce inflammation. Brr! Ended my shower with a cold water bout too.

After Philly I am definitely going to practice bricking more. I just have to make sure I eat enough day of and get bodywork when I need it so I won't be injured or exhausted.

Two Months To Tri

I'm a little less than 2 months away from my first triathlon. Meep!

I have continued to do more swim workouts than biking or running for fear of injury. On May 8 I visited my friend Andrew so he could use myofascial release to release the pressure in my calves. The words "why are you being so mean to me?" may have come out of my mouth, for it was a painful process. Necessary, but painful. Since then my calves have felt so much better! I need to follow up with him for more work, but just one session helped enormously.

On Mother's Day I went for a 20-mile bike ride. I didn't have food in the house so I didn't really eat beforehand, which was a dumb thing to do. I did have a vanilla flavored gel with protein at the 10 mile mark. It tasted like warm super sweet frosting. Yummy? I was very cognizant of my heel position, as I am not interested in screwing up my legs again. For the first 10 miles I was riding against the wind, so that was not quite so much fun. The return trip was much easier with the wind helping me along. Still, that last 1/2 mile was excruciatingly difficult to do! I completed these 20 miles under two hours, which is pretty good for me. I'm going to attempt to get all the way to Manayunk next time.

I started at Betzwood (number 3 on the map below) and biked a little bit past the Spring Mill train station (number 8 on the map) before turning back.

Yesterday (May 14) I did a little running on the treadmill. Earlier this week I bought some new shoes, to have backups when my Saucony's get too worn out (which I don't think they actually are yet). I got another pair of Saucony ProGrid shoes like my current shoes, and I opted to get a pair of Nike Structure Triax 11 shoes instead of the Mizuno Wave Rider(?) shoes. They both felt comfortable in the store, but the Nike's felt a little more comfortable I thought. Skip back to yesterday's run, and boy are those Nike's not comfortable! I don't know what the problem was, but my feet got very hot and uncomfortable. I stopped at one point to loosen the laces, then I stopped again to pull out the insole. Even that didn't really help. I ran about 3 miles all said, but they were the most uncomfortable miles for my feet. I'm going to see if I can take them back to the running store and exchange them for the Mizunos.

I bought some flippers, a nose plug, and some ear plugs last Saturday, which really helped my last swim session! I can even breathe while swimming, some times! I will keep plugging away at the swim; in fact I'll be swimming again today, and hopefully tomorrow. After that the summertime hours kick in, unfortunately.

Mostly Swimming

After my last brick workout on April 19th, my shins have been really hurting. I think I have a little exercise-induced Compartment Syndrome. When I first started running in October 2007 I could feel a lot of pain in my soleus muscles. After a while there wasn't nearly as much discomfort, although it is a consistently weaker area for me. I think the combination of new pedals (and possibly the wrong orientation of clips on my shoes) and running created too much injury. Consequently, I refrained from any biking or running last week and instead went to the pool 3 times. I also worked on stripping the muscles (firm pressure along the muscle fibers), had one of the chiropractors I work with do some ultrasound and muscle stripping, and also did some fascial work to break up the adhered layers. I need a lot more of that kind of work, especially because when I touch the skin on my calves it puckers which means everything is stuck together. You'd think as a massage therapist I would take better care of my muscles, but alas. Happily I am getting some bodywork next week. Woohoo!

If I make it to the pool tomorrow morning I will have swum 3 times. On Monday I didn't get to the gym on time because I was spacey, so instead I did some lat pull downs. I did the pool and lat pull downs and 1.5 mile very very slow paced jog on the treadmill on Tuesday, to see if my legs would cooperate. It was sore, but I made it through. On Wednesday I did the pool and lat pull downs and 30 minutes on the bike. I didn't make it through the entire 45 minute spin because I wasn't feeling great. I still have some paresthesia, and I'll feel the muscle cramp, but overall it's been tolerable. I hope to do maybe some running or biking outdoors on Saturday. Not both, it's too soon for that.