Friday, May 29, 2015

Oh No A Setback! Training Update

I have been developing a sore throat, low grade fever and headache.  I will need to take a few days more off hard training!  Moving tasks, horrific storms forcing me inside, and now I have a virus.  Hopefully more rest will take care of this disappointing annoyance, and By June 1 I can get my training back on track!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Weather Or Not, I Need to Get Moving!


Literally, I need to get ready to move and also to move!  How do you sell, pack up your house, move into an apartment and a new house at the same time as you are training for the biggest race in your life?  Not easily.  This is where the past training and runs will be helpful.  I have not wanted to start the serious build up with speed work yet.  I don't want to peak at the wrong time!  It is a gradual process.  I have postponed the acceleration the past week due to the terrible storms we Texans have endured, and the fact that I need to have our belongings sorted, separated and packed for Atlas Moving Company to tend to in 2 weeks.  When planning on the Senior Games, I did not plan on this move, at this time.

The last few days have been very productive as far as our move goes.  I have sorted, tossed, donated, sold, organized and packed.  I have spent time with people who are important to my time here in many ways.  When you are seriously ill, you find out who your real friends are.  You find out who really cares about you, when you can do nothing for them at all.  The few that hang in for the long haul, they will be held in a special place in my heart forever.  They know who they are.  They are also among those who cheer me on now.  It means so much to me, when those who saw me struggling now see me moving forward, doing something not everyone gets a chance to do.  I am not an elite runner, nor am I a past Olympian, but I pledge to take care of my home and move to support my husbands career choice even if it means less time to train.  The storms we have been hit with have not helped at all either, but yet I feel confident.  I know what I have to do.  I know I have to start to get more involved in the training if I am going to have the best race I can have.

I am not going to have as much time to train as I had planned.  But thats ok.  I have been working hard in other ways, to clear the path to get back on and get running.  Today I was supposed to do a 5mile run.  I had to put that off.  Getting ready for the moving van, and taking care of business issues were pressing.  By the time I got to where I felt ok to stop working for today, it was time to start dinner.  This is reminding me of how hard it is for the working people with life challenges to find time to train or work out.   I did manage to ride 6 miles on the stationary bike and do 5 mins of squats yesterday.  My plan now is to get as much done before June 1st and then start training in earnest for one month, move or no move.  Currently the plan is to be out of our home June 23 for the most part and move into our interim apartment, then I will drive to the new home on June 25 to meet the moving van and unload and settle what we are taking.  If all goes well, we will only need to keep our stuff in "storage" for 1 or 2 days, and if thats the case, they may leave our belongings on the truck until delivery.  Other wise it constitutes two moves!  One into van then into storage warehouse, and Two back into van and to the new house.  Two moves, two times the price.  Ah, now some of you see why we have been paring down and running fast to get our things in order.  I have until Monday to finish up the bulk of the tasks.   Monday will signal the training plan on a daily basis to build up speed, stamina and confidence.  I am tired enough and have a sore throat tonight I am going light on posting pictures.  Yes, I need rest and to get back into the pace!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Trudging Ahead, Weather Or Not!

I use the term " trudging" but it feels more like swimming lately.  We have had so much rain and thankfully the drought is over, but with the rain has been bad storms and incredible humidity.  This does not make for great outdoor training in Southeast Texas.  I found a sunset run preferable to running when the sun is out.  Early or not, sun with the humidity makes an unpleasant run.  Today, I was able to head out at around 8am, and run on the outdoor track I prefer.  It has much shade, and is the crushed granite that is easier on joints, so I managed to get in a 2.5 mile run at a 9min/mile pace average.  When I felt overheated, I walked into the Wellness Center, and finished the additional mile that I was aiming for on the indoor track.  AHHHH air conditioning!  This is how I got through last summers training runs.  It is necessary to be acclimated to some heat and humidity.  Minneapolis in July can have some warmth and humidity too.  I checked today the average temps for Minneapolis in July.  Accuweather.com indicated that the first week in July the temperature highs ranting from high 70s to low 80s.  The low temps average low 60s.  That sounds heavenly to me today, but depending on the weather the morning of the race (8am) and the wind or elevation of the route, the you must consider that the weather can be your nemesis, and you must train for it.  Todays NIKE training goal was to do 3miles.  I did 3.5, and plan a stationary bike ride this afternoon, and Barre Class tomorrow. Time to ramp up the miles and the muscle strength.  My aim for now until mid June is conditioning.  Mid June until race day, my focus will be speed work at the 4 mile mark.  My thought is that if I can maintain my goal training speed at 4 miles, the 3.1 on race day will not be out of my reach to be competitive.

Hydration is key as well.  I have downed a gatorade, and bottle of water.  Twice what I would drink in cooler days.  Hydration and nutrition is from now to race day also part of the program.  Before we eat anything, we stop and think about what our training bodies need nutritionally.   Breakfast before the run today was a banana.  Potassium is an important electrolyte sweating depletes.  Post run protein food was a Greek yogurt.  14 grams of protein, and calcium which is necessary for bones, muscle functioning and metabolism.   Mindful eating can't help but be good for us!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Training Program Begins

Having been getting a house ready to sell, making crazy life changing decisions rapidly, intermittent traveling blended with rest, stress and running has not made for good race prep.  I am only one day into the Nike the program,  and no matter what life puts in the path, I am determined to  stay on target.  53 days until the biggest race of my life.  The program is just a formal nudge.  I know what I have to do.  So does Ben.  It actually started 1st week of 8 to race Monday, with Cross Train.  We were house hunting and traveling, so the cross training we did is not ideal.  Yesterday was a scheduled day of rest.  Today is supposed to be a 3 mile run, according to NIKE, but due to our crazy schedule and recent inability to maintain our usual maintenance runs, we decided to head out for a slow longer run.  From now on, we are staying on track. 



At 75 degrees, and nearly 100% humidity  Ben and I headed out this morning after coffee and yogurt, for a slow start off run, longer than 3 miles.  A run to slowly program the body for increased endurance.  No speed work.  Just a slow ramp up to the race pace.  Planning helps to be sure you do not peak too soon or at the wrong time.  It is hard sometimes to rein yourself in, as the medal race is never far from your mind.  It is so important to prevent injury as you are training.  Thats why I really prefer to do training runs alone.  I don't feel the need to keep pace with anyone, if I feel a need to slow down or feel like an extra burst of speed I can do that.  I run by how I feel.  My husband runs by his experience in training for races over his lifetime.  It all works, but individuality needs to be considered for the best outcome.   I wanted to slow to a walk after 4 miles today as I felt an unusually tight area in my left quad.  I had done about 15 mins of Yoga and stretched a bit before we headed out, so this surprised me, but looking back, I have had lots of tightness and tension in my back lately.  The leg bones connected to the hip bone, etc.....

The rain had stopped, but the air was so heavy, it was hard to enjoy the run.  What I did enjoy was seeing the wild blackberries ripening, and the wild grapes covered with small bright green unripened fruit.  Along the lake and ponds we saw momma ducks rounding up their babies so that was the enjoyment today.  
 It does feel good to finally be taking the steps closer to the National Senior Games.  

Friday, May 8, 2015

Last chance for rest.......

I am sure a few of you are wondering if I went off the grid......in fact after selling a house, finding a temporary place to call home until we figure out what we will call home next, I did take a few days to  do nothing but recover.
A few people have asked how I am going to train in earnest for the upcoming big road race.  A few days of rest, and then I prefer to train alone.  I know what I need to do, and I prefer to listen to my body, and follow good health principles while keeping strong.   With a 5K road race it is a long 3.1 mile sprint.  Pace is as important as the toned twitch muscle fibers.  Slow twitch (type1) muscles help enable a lower intensity, higher endurance movements such as distance running, while fast twitch muscles (type 2) fatigue faster, but are used in more powerful movements such as sprinting.  For Marathon, train your slow twitch muscle fibers.  For 5k, you need some slow, but more fast twitch muscle fiber power for speed.  Learning to balance pace begins the "road dance".

Many friends have wished me luck on my " Marathon" and I usually correct them.  It is not a marathon in the true sense of the word.  I began my running with the 5K, thinking that was a good place for me to start, and I found that I am a sprinter at heart, and I loved the distance for speed.  It is challenging in that if you go all out a the start, you will be "finished" before it is over.   My aha moment was at a 5K in Tampa before my inter cranial  bleed when I met a friend that runs with me every time out. "Morton" presented on my running scene, after I was intent on a prize on a cold damp early morning around Tampa Bay.  I realized they were not going to award prizes for the age groups, but for the first 3 men and women to cross the finish line.  As a competitive 50 something year old, it fired up something in me and I went all out.  So far out, that I set a personal best time, even though the last 8 yards or so seemed incredibly long and nauseatingly hypoxic and felt like slow motion.  At the time, the 24 mins was a huge accomplishment for me, no medal was given for it, and I had begun a journey with "Morton" to take home instead as my souvenir.  Morton's Neuroma is a common annoyance of runners.  It is a painful condition that effects the ball of the foot (my left) most often in the area between the third and fourth toes.  It begins feeling like you have a small pebble in your shoe.  It involves a thickening of the nerves leading to your toes, can and often causes sharp burning pain in the ball of the foot.  Switching shoes can help.  Some companies sell pads to tuck under the ball of the foot in your shoe.  What helped me most was cortizone injection.    I was concerned I may have caused a stress fracture in my foot and when the pain did not go away, I sought out a great podiatrist.  Dr. Neil Burrell in Beaumont.  This was not the first doc I had seen for this , but this injection session was a miracle for me.  This latest injection hardly hurt going in, and the relief has lasted so long, I can't remember the month I had the appointment.  It was 2014, I think!  That damn memory!!  But the pain is all but a memory now.

Running hard on concrete is not the best for the body.  Thats why my choice of running surfaces is a crushed granite track.  My friend " Morton" is a reminder for me of the importance of pace.  That race I nearly didn't finish cause of my lack of pace control   Since then, I have learned to pace.  My pace is my pace that is comfortable to me.  I can breathe, I feel fine when I finish.  That is my usual training pace.  I have it easily between 9 to 10 min/mile for 3 to 5 miles.  I put in a few speed training spots ( where I run as fast as I can from one point on the track to another, then slow back to training speed to recover.  When I catch my breath, I do another.  I can tell where I am pace wise by checking my iPhone Nike program, or listen to the verbal cues via the earphones.  At a steady 9 min mile I know I cannot medal in the Games.   I know I need to be as close to an 7 to 8 min mile pace to have a chance.  I am realistic.   Running a 5K in 22 mins. is not on my horizon.  I will be a winner if I finish, meet or beat my personal best, and if by chance the luck, conditions are in my favor, may have a chance at the top 5.  My Nike Prep Program starts on Monday, with intense training up until the few days before the race.  But in the mean time, I have allowed myself a chance to recharge and rest up.  Next week begins the ramp up to the race.  Rest is part of the training.  This will be another challenge, as to terms of our home sale, we must be out for buyers needs two weeks before the race.  We agreed as another buyer may not come by in this market in our current neighborhood.  We will rent until after the race.  Too much change, too much stress not good for the race, and we have planned on this for too long to walk away.  This will challenge our brains to stay focused, stay relaxed and be our personal best!




Sunday, May 3, 2015

How Does Yoga Help Runners Run Better?

If your muscles are tight, you are much more prone to injury.  If you are a type  A runner and you just can't be still, you may think yoga is just sitting on the floor meditating.  Stretching is very important after you run or work out, and Yoga is a way of getting your work out in and lots of stretching at the same time.  Golfers do yoga to relax and tone the back muscles.  It works to the runners advantage as well.

* It helps reduce lactic acid which is produced when carbs are broken down by the body to supply your muscles with energy, and it is formed in the muscles using oxygen.  When you increase your active exertion intensity, your body is using its fast twitch muscle fibers which use more carbs and  produce more lactic acid.  Deep yoga stretches help the sore muscles relax and recover.

* Practicing Yoga helps with detoxification and improved blood  circulation of the body.  Deep slow breathing combined with stretches brings fresh oxygen to the cells you have been using to help rejuvenate them and  put more spring in your next run steps.

*  It tones and strengthens muscles.  Some poses require you to hold a contracted position for at least one minute.  Your own body weight is shifted to different areas during poses.  This tones muscles and builds endurance and core strength which improves your running.

Head to the mat for some yoga cross training and you will see and feel the benefits.  With 2 months until the Senior Games, I am incorporating it weekly. Sorry no new pictures.  I am on the road!   Namaste!

Friday, May 1, 2015

People who get in your way in life.

Why do people have to try to take advantage of others?  Why do people think its ok?  Why do people think the golden rule applies only to those dealing with them?  You know who I mean.  The bullies in life.  They push and push until you finally push back or explode.  What makes them think they don't have to follow the rules, or human decency?  Why are they so special they can exploit others and not have trouble sleeping at night?

People are flawed.  We all are.  Some are just more so than others.   Take unfair advantage of no one. Play fair.  Deal fairly.  Respect others property, person and space.  This has not much to do with running, but yet running is how I personally deal with those in my space that don't respect others or me for that matter.  Money is not the end all folks.  You can't take it with you and it can't buy you peace, happiness;  hearses don't have luggage racks, and trying to cheat someone out of something for personal gain is just plain despicable.  Have some self respect people who do this!  You are embarrassing yourself and any good you may have done previously in your life.

You don't want what I am selling?  Take a hike!