Yes, I know that once again, it has been a mighty long time since I posted, well, anything at all.
And it's not really because I have nothing to say. I just don't have any bloody time to say it!
In the last few weeks, I have been given the lead on a new project at work, but unfortunately, my old duties still exist, as well. Needless to say, my running during the week has gone to pretty much nothing.
But the important thing (for now) is that my weekend long runs have been continuing, albeit at a pretty dang slow pace. This past weekend... 12 miles. And it was the longest run of my life.
No, really. My previous longest run was 8 miles. And I learned something.
Twelve hurts.
On the plus side. my leg has been feeling fantastic! I'm definitely ready at this point to get back to some good running. Hopefully, I'll be able to hit the gym tomorrow (there's a Nor'easter tearing through the area right now, so running outside is somewhat less than optimal). And this weekend is the next race in my fall series... the Disney Race for the Taste 10K. Stay tuned for more info, and hopefully pictures!
Oh, and the title? If you're not keeping up with college football this year, Auburn upset Florida in the closing seconds this past weekend, and we were in The Swamp watching it happen. My wife went to Auburn, so I've become quite a fan. It was probably the second most exciting game I've ever seen (see UVA-FSU '95).
Monday, October 1, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Another Brick in the Wall
So now I know. When you've been taking training easy for weeks, do not try to go out and run like you should be able to.
Saturday's long run was actually not bad. Only five miles, and I was sticking with the slower group, since I was still wearing the old shoes and no orthotics. Hopefully, that will change for this week's run. However, I decided to give the new shoes a try for the race that night. Yes, I know you shouldn't do things in races you hadn't done before, but dangit... those old shoes just aren't working out for me.
The new shoes felt great! There's a lot more cushion in the heel, and that was obvious from the beginning all the way to the end. The front of the foot is a little wide, and had my insert (which I bought for a much smaller shoe) sliding around a bit. The new orthotics don't seem to have that problem when I did wear them in those shoes, though, so that shouldn't be as much a problem when I start running with the orthotics.
Speaking of running with the orthotics, that should be starting any day now! Hopefully, I can get out tomorrow and get some good running time in -- assuming we aren't in the middle of a monsoon, like we were today. It's rough getting up early to be greeted by loud, rumbling thunder. The pillow seems extra inviting when that happens.
Getting back to the issue at hand, though, the shoes felt great. What didn't feel great was my legs. Not the shins... the muscles. I said I was going to run it easy. I didn't. I ran the first couple miles at a fairly aggressive pace for me (about 9 min/mile). As it turns out, without the training, running five miles in the morning and then attempting to jam out 5 more miles at night at such an ambitious pace was, how do you say, idiotic?
At the turnaround, I was hurting. It was pretty obvious that at that point, I couldn't keep up that pace any longer. On the plus side, I was there in just under 23 minutes... pretty dang good for me! However, when I hit three miles, I lost everything.
Now, I had never really hit "the wall" before. I'd heard stories, but it's hard to do when running 5k races. This time, I think I finally get it. My legs simply would not do anything I told them to do! I had started out running a 3/1 ratio, but I finished up running 1/1, and even that was excruciating. And the second half of the run... 31 minutes. Ouch. Most of it was in the last two miles.
So, my results:
I can't wait!
Saturday's long run was actually not bad. Only five miles, and I was sticking with the slower group, since I was still wearing the old shoes and no orthotics. Hopefully, that will change for this week's run. However, I decided to give the new shoes a try for the race that night. Yes, I know you shouldn't do things in races you hadn't done before, but dangit... those old shoes just aren't working out for me.
The new shoes felt great! There's a lot more cushion in the heel, and that was obvious from the beginning all the way to the end. The front of the foot is a little wide, and had my insert (which I bought for a much smaller shoe) sliding around a bit. The new orthotics don't seem to have that problem when I did wear them in those shoes, though, so that shouldn't be as much a problem when I start running with the orthotics.
Speaking of running with the orthotics, that should be starting any day now! Hopefully, I can get out tomorrow and get some good running time in -- assuming we aren't in the middle of a monsoon, like we were today. It's rough getting up early to be greeted by loud, rumbling thunder. The pillow seems extra inviting when that happens.
Getting back to the issue at hand, though, the shoes felt great. What didn't feel great was my legs. Not the shins... the muscles. I said I was going to run it easy. I didn't. I ran the first couple miles at a fairly aggressive pace for me (about 9 min/mile). As it turns out, without the training, running five miles in the morning and then attempting to jam out 5 more miles at night at such an ambitious pace was, how do you say, idiotic?
At the turnaround, I was hurting. It was pretty obvious that at that point, I couldn't keep up that pace any longer. On the plus side, I was there in just under 23 minutes... pretty dang good for me! However, when I hit three miles, I lost everything.
Now, I had never really hit "the wall" before. I'd heard stories, but it's hard to do when running 5k races. This time, I think I finally get it. My legs simply would not do anything I told them to do! I had started out running a 3/1 ratio, but I finished up running 1/1, and even that was excruciating. And the second half of the run... 31 minutes. Ouch. Most of it was in the last two miles.
So, my results:
258 456 61 Bill, 35, Jacksonville, FL 54:10 10:50Still, there is one bright spot. I still beat my time from the winter beach run (54:54), despite running five miles in the morning. I'm definitely improving as far as endurance goes, if not in my pacing. I just need to make sure to get back to running more as soon as it's safe for me to do so.
I can't wait!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
AUUUUUGH!!!
Yes, that's right. Augh.
Why augh? Well, for one simple reason. I still can't run!
So, I went to the doctor's office the other morning to pick up my orthotics, and they were in. And they feel great -- a little strange, still, but it actually feels like there's some stability. And then the doc told me this little tidbit:
"Don't run in them until at least the second week".
Yeah, I figured there would be some break-in time, but I'm getting really frustrated at my inability to run! And here I am, still having to go forward with any running that I might do without my brand-spanking-new, mighty expensive, custom orthotics. Now, the bonus is that on a short run, I guess I can start up running with my new shoes and the old inserts, but it's just not the same. Plus it won't help with the long runs this weekend.
Oh, yeah -- I did get new shoes, too... Saucony Progrid Omni 6. I'll have to post a review after running in them for a while, but just walking around in them yesterday felt great! There's a lot more cushioning in the heel than my current (read: old and cheap) New Balance shoes. I'm fairly excited to try them out.
And yes, some of you may have picked up on the fact that I said "long runs" up above... that's for a simple reason. The training group is running 10 miles in the morning. My wife and I will be doing half that (5 miles, for the arithmetically impaired) for a training run, and then Saturday night is the Carrabba's Summer Beach Run. It's a five mile out-and-back run on the sand, and it should be pretty good. It's the same course as the four miler for the Tour de Pain last month, just extended another half mile south.
Yes, I'm running a race.
No, I'm not going to push very hard. I'm going to make sure to take things pretty easy.
But I sure do wish I could have the cool new feet in the race, too.
Why augh? Well, for one simple reason. I still can't run!
So, I went to the doctor's office the other morning to pick up my orthotics, and they were in. And they feel great -- a little strange, still, but it actually feels like there's some stability. And then the doc told me this little tidbit:
"Don't run in them until at least the second week".
Yeah, I figured there would be some break-in time, but I'm getting really frustrated at my inability to run! And here I am, still having to go forward with any running that I might do without my brand-spanking-new, mighty expensive, custom orthotics. Now, the bonus is that on a short run, I guess I can start up running with my new shoes and the old inserts, but it's just not the same. Plus it won't help with the long runs this weekend.
Oh, yeah -- I did get new shoes, too... Saucony Progrid Omni 6. I'll have to post a review after running in them for a while, but just walking around in them yesterday felt great! There's a lot more cushioning in the heel than my current (read: old and cheap) New Balance shoes. I'm fairly excited to try them out.
And yes, some of you may have picked up on the fact that I said "long runs" up above... that's for a simple reason. The training group is running 10 miles in the morning. My wife and I will be doing half that (5 miles, for the arithmetically impaired) for a training run, and then Saturday night is the Carrabba's Summer Beach Run. It's a five mile out-and-back run on the sand, and it should be pretty good. It's the same course as the four miler for the Tour de Pain last month, just extended another half mile south.
Yes, I'm running a race.
No, I'm not going to push very hard. I'm going to make sure to take things pretty easy.
But I sure do wish I could have the cool new feet in the race, too.
Monday, September 10, 2007
I'm still here!!
I know I haven't been posting much lately, but I think y'all know that it's because I haven't been running much lately. Hopefully, that will be remedied soon, but let's start at the beginning.
Previously, on The Starting Gun:
A couple weeks ago, I had gone to a podiatrist to see if there was anything I could do to stop the shin splints that had been hampering me for several weeks. He ended up scanning my feet for custom orthotics and gave me the go-ahead to run again... easily, and being mindful of any pain showing up.
Since then, I actually have run a few times. I went to the gym and tried out the treadmill a few days after the appointment, and it didn't work out too well. I started feeling an aching in my shin, and I wasn't sure if it was just soreness, or if it was the Return of the Splint... so I took it easy and quit after just over a mile. But I was incredibly happy just to run that one mile.
That weekend, I went to the Galloway group long run, which was scheduled for seven miles. I was planning on walking the whole thing, but I ended up running with my wife's group, which runs a 1/1 ratio at about a 16 minute/mile pace. And that went very well -- I barely had any pain in my legs at all! Woo hoo!
I took it easy again through last week, not wanting to push things too hard, especially since I didn't have my orthotics or new shoes yet. So I basically didn't "run" all last week. But this past weekend, I went back to the group for the eight mile long run, still planning on sticking with my wife's group. I figured that it worked so well last time, I might as well try it again!
Before I go any further, I just want to point out that this is not one of my "X Reasons Why I'm an Idiot" posts.
The run actually still felt really great. It was a beautiful run around downtown Jax, including two bridges and the historical San Marco neighborhood. In fact, the bridges we ran were the same ones from the Vestcor 5K about a month and a half ago, and it was much easier this time. Granted, I was running much slower than race pace, too... but I even ran some sprints going up the Acosta.
And what is the outcome of this weekend's run? Nothing worth noting. Sure, I'm sore. But I don't have massive shin pain. I did ice my leg on Saturday afternoon, but it feels fine right now. My right leg is sore as all get-out, so I think I was compensating, but still... nothing bad.
I could not be happier.
Except for one thing. My orthotics are in. I got a call from the doc, and I will be picking them up tomorrow. And I'll be getting new shoes tomorrow at lunch. I'll be careful in the breaking-in period, but I think I'm well on my way back to the running fold.
Insert happy dance here.
Previously, on The Starting Gun:
A couple weeks ago, I had gone to a podiatrist to see if there was anything I could do to stop the shin splints that had been hampering me for several weeks. He ended up scanning my feet for custom orthotics and gave me the go-ahead to run again... easily, and being mindful of any pain showing up.
Since then, I actually have run a few times. I went to the gym and tried out the treadmill a few days after the appointment, and it didn't work out too well. I started feeling an aching in my shin, and I wasn't sure if it was just soreness, or if it was the Return of the Splint... so I took it easy and quit after just over a mile. But I was incredibly happy just to run that one mile.
That weekend, I went to the Galloway group long run, which was scheduled for seven miles. I was planning on walking the whole thing, but I ended up running with my wife's group, which runs a 1/1 ratio at about a 16 minute/mile pace. And that went very well -- I barely had any pain in my legs at all! Woo hoo!
I took it easy again through last week, not wanting to push things too hard, especially since I didn't have my orthotics or new shoes yet. So I basically didn't "run" all last week. But this past weekend, I went back to the group for the eight mile long run, still planning on sticking with my wife's group. I figured that it worked so well last time, I might as well try it again!
Before I go any further, I just want to point out that this is not one of my "X Reasons Why I'm an Idiot" posts.
The run actually still felt really great. It was a beautiful run around downtown Jax, including two bridges and the historical San Marco neighborhood. In fact, the bridges we ran were the same ones from the Vestcor 5K about a month and a half ago, and it was much easier this time. Granted, I was running much slower than race pace, too... but I even ran some sprints going up the Acosta.
And what is the outcome of this weekend's run? Nothing worth noting. Sure, I'm sore. But I don't have massive shin pain. I did ice my leg on Saturday afternoon, but it feels fine right now. My right leg is sore as all get-out, so I think I was compensating, but still... nothing bad.
I could not be happier.
Except for one thing. My orthotics are in. I got a call from the doc, and I will be picking them up tomorrow. And I'll be getting new shoes tomorrow at lunch. I'll be careful in the breaking-in period, but I think I'm well on my way back to the running fold.
Insert happy dance here.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Step 1: Mission Accomplished
After yesterday's adventure at the hospital, I still had my appointment with the podiatrist this morning to see if he could help me out. And I feel pretty good about it. He gave some good explanations about what was most likely happening in my leg, and even some things that can be done about it. The bottom line that he noticed is that I do, in fact, overpronate something fierce. And the running all on one side of the road -- that was dumb. But I'm not in any acute pain right now, and it doesn't look like I've done any real damage.
And the most important thing? I can go back to running. Gradually. And I'm probably going to be even more cautious than he wants me to.
So, when I feel up to it (tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how the burn on my leg feels), I will be heading to the gym to run on the treadmill for a mile and reevaluate after that. I may be able to go up to two, but he told me not to go any farther than that. And yes, Chuck -- he told me not to run on roads if I can at all help it. And, in other news, I will be skipping the long run this week, also, to make sure that I'm happily ready to resume later.
The other outcome was that I'm getting orthotics. Nice ones. Way better than the over the counter ones. At least, for what they're charging me, it better be the best damn feeling in the world. But they should also be a big help. The only downfall is that the doc told me not to go get the new shoes until the orthotics come in (in two weeks -- my follow-up visit). I'm disappointed in that, but I won't be running very far until then, so it'll just have to do.
I'm just happy I can do something running-related again. Hooray!
And the most important thing? I can go back to running. Gradually. And I'm probably going to be even more cautious than he wants me to.
So, when I feel up to it (tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how the burn on my leg feels), I will be heading to the gym to run on the treadmill for a mile and reevaluate after that. I may be able to go up to two, but he told me not to go any farther than that. And yes, Chuck -- he told me not to run on roads if I can at all help it. And, in other news, I will be skipping the long run this week, also, to make sure that I'm happily ready to resume later.
The other outcome was that I'm getting orthotics. Nice ones. Way better than the over the counter ones. At least, for what they're charging me, it better be the best damn feeling in the world. But they should also be a big help. The only downfall is that the doc told me not to go get the new shoes until the orthotics come in (in two weeks -- my follow-up visit). I'm disappointed in that, but I won't be running very far until then, so it'll just have to do.
I'm just happy I can do something running-related again. Hooray!
Code Monkey Get Up, Get Frostbite
or, "Three More Reasons Why I'm An Idiot".
How many times have you ever heard of somebody getting frostbite in Florida... in August? Not all at once, let's just see a show of hands. Let's see... carry the 1... that leads to a total of roughly "zero".
Well, now you have.
For the last several weeks, I've been icing my leg with the shin splints and trying to take care of it. I've been using either ice in an ice bag or this nifty little ice pack that I got in my race packet once upon a time. Some of you can already see where this is going.
Well, yesterday, I decided to ice my leg again while I was at work. The ice pack had been in the work freezer all weekend, and was chilled and ready for me. So, I put it on my leg. Directly. Without a towel (this is mistake #1 -- I'll be keeping track). Since I was sitting at my desk at the time, and couldn't work really well with my leg propped up, I wrapped it to my leg with an ace bandage (mistake #2 -- they're really piling up now). After about ten minutes, it suddenly dawned on me that I couldn't feel my leg anymore. That should be a clue to take the ice pack off, right? Well... I did! Ha! I bet you thought mistake #3 was coming up -- but not yet.
I took the ice pack off, and it was weird. Really. The skin was obviously cold. But it was actually hard. It felt like there was a layer of ice on top of my skin. This is not going to be good. So, I started trying to warm it up. I pulled my jeans over top of it and started rubbing (mistake #3 -- it turns out that you are not supposed to rub such an injury). But it did warm up, and I started thinking that maybe everything would be OK.
A couple hours later, it was starting to hurt. I looked at it, and it was red and puffy. And painful. OK... at this point, I'm starting to get worried. I'm thinking of all those arctic mountain movies that show people's toes breaking off, and it's not making me feel good. So I called my wife and lovingly asked her to please take me to the emergency room. She, being the wonderful wife that she is, agreed, almost immediately.
She picked me up and took me to the hospital -- the same one that recently hosted me for my surgery. There was actually another hospital closer, but we figured that I'm already a frequent flier at the other hospital, so we just went up there. After all, if I get the card punched eight more times, I get a free appendectomy. But then I had to check in, which was fine, except for the box asking what the problem was.
"Froze leg"
Yep, that's what I put. And that was my explanation for the rest of the day. When I went into the triage, the nurse asked me what happened.
"I froze my leg!"
When I got put in the exam room and the nurse came in to look at it:
"I froze my leg!"
And when the doctor came it, it became almost comical. The conversation was something along these lines:
Doc: "What did you do?"
Me: "I froze my leg!"
Doc: "You burned it."
Me: "So, it's OK?"
Doc: "Yeah, you burned it"
Me: "Whew. I was just wondering, you know, because it hurts and all..."
Doc: "Because you burned it"
Me: "So you're saying I burned it?"
Yeah, she wasn't the most bedside mannered doc in the world, but she assuaged my fears. And she sent a nurse in to give me a tetanus shot (since I don't even remember the last one I had... it was a long time ago). The nurse came in and told us, "I'm just so happy I got to go see the guy who got frostbite!"
I might just be a source of discussion around there for a while.
So, two and a half hours after getting to the hospital, I was on my way back to work. With a burned, frozen leg.
So, please... if you are going to use ice packs, make absolutely sure that you follow the directions, and always use a towel or something between the ice pack and your leg. And I do want to point out that while I at least attempted to write this in a humorous way, I do realize that this is a very serious condition, and I heavily urge everyone to take this seriously. Any more mistakes on my part, I could have caused permanent damage. I have definitely learned from this experience.
But trust me, so long as you keep reading this blog, you will continue to see strange, stupid stories like this. They just happen to me. I don't know why. Remind me sometime to tell you the story of getting tackled off of a rope swing.
But hey, maybe it'll increase my readership.
How many times have you ever heard of somebody getting frostbite in Florida... in August? Not all at once, let's just see a show of hands. Let's see... carry the 1... that leads to a total of roughly "zero".
Well, now you have.
For the last several weeks, I've been icing my leg with the shin splints and trying to take care of it. I've been using either ice in an ice bag or this nifty little ice pack that I got in my race packet once upon a time. Some of you can already see where this is going.
Well, yesterday, I decided to ice my leg again while I was at work. The ice pack had been in the work freezer all weekend, and was chilled and ready for me. So, I put it on my leg. Directly. Without a towel (this is mistake #1 -- I'll be keeping track). Since I was sitting at my desk at the time, and couldn't work really well with my leg propped up, I wrapped it to my leg with an ace bandage (mistake #2 -- they're really piling up now). After about ten minutes, it suddenly dawned on me that I couldn't feel my leg anymore. That should be a clue to take the ice pack off, right? Well... I did! Ha! I bet you thought mistake #3 was coming up -- but not yet.
I took the ice pack off, and it was weird. Really. The skin was obviously cold. But it was actually hard. It felt like there was a layer of ice on top of my skin. This is not going to be good. So, I started trying to warm it up. I pulled my jeans over top of it and started rubbing (mistake #3 -- it turns out that you are not supposed to rub such an injury). But it did warm up, and I started thinking that maybe everything would be OK.
A couple hours later, it was starting to hurt. I looked at it, and it was red and puffy. And painful. OK... at this point, I'm starting to get worried. I'm thinking of all those arctic mountain movies that show people's toes breaking off, and it's not making me feel good. So I called my wife and lovingly asked her to please take me to the emergency room. She, being the wonderful wife that she is, agreed, almost immediately.
She picked me up and took me to the hospital -- the same one that recently hosted me for my surgery. There was actually another hospital closer, but we figured that I'm already a frequent flier at the other hospital, so we just went up there. After all, if I get the card punched eight more times, I get a free appendectomy. But then I had to check in, which was fine, except for the box asking what the problem was.
"Froze leg"
Yep, that's what I put. And that was my explanation for the rest of the day. When I went into the triage, the nurse asked me what happened.
"I froze my leg!"
When I got put in the exam room and the nurse came in to look at it:
"I froze my leg!"
And when the doctor came it, it became almost comical. The conversation was something along these lines:
Doc: "What did you do?"
Me: "I froze my leg!"
Doc: "You burned it."
Me: "So, it's OK?"
Doc: "Yeah, you burned it"
Me: "Whew. I was just wondering, you know, because it hurts and all..."
Doc: "Because you burned it"
Me: "So you're saying I burned it?"
Yeah, she wasn't the most bedside mannered doc in the world, but she assuaged my fears. And she sent a nurse in to give me a tetanus shot (since I don't even remember the last one I had... it was a long time ago). The nurse came in and told us, "I'm just so happy I got to go see the guy who got frostbite!"
I might just be a source of discussion around there for a while.
So, two and a half hours after getting to the hospital, I was on my way back to work. With a burned, frozen leg.
So, please... if you are going to use ice packs, make absolutely sure that you follow the directions, and always use a towel or something between the ice pack and your leg. And I do want to point out that while I at least attempted to write this in a humorous way, I do realize that this is a very serious condition, and I heavily urge everyone to take this seriously. Any more mistakes on my part, I could have caused permanent damage. I have definitely learned from this experience.
But trust me, so long as you keep reading this blog, you will continue to see strange, stupid stories like this. They just happen to me. I don't know why. Remind me sometime to tell you the story of getting tackled off of a rope swing.
But hey, maybe it'll increase my readership.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Next Steps
Tom asked a good question in yesterday's comments:
Your shins will recover.
What will you do to prevent them from returning?
Fair warning: I am now going to sound a bit like a politician.
I am aware of the dire problem with my shins, and I have a three-part solution to combat this issue:
1. Get checked out
Next Tuesday, I have an appointment with a local podiatrist/sports doc to take a look at things and see what sort of solutions he might have for orthotics, or whatever else he may suggest. I don't know... that's why he's the doctor.
2. New shoes
After getting checked out, I am going to support my local running store and have them take a look at my running and see what sort of suggestions they might have for new shoes. It's a very good shop, and they have a treadmill in the shop for just this sort of thing. Honestly, I thought my shoes were good enough, but I got them at Sports Authority, so who can really tell. Again... it's all about getting the experts to help me out.
3. Change my running
One of the things I noticed when my shins first started hurting is that I always ran on the same side of the street -- running with my left leg (the one that hurts) towards the outside of the street, where it would get more pounding because of the crowning on the street. I'm definitely going to at least change that up regularly, along with taking some of Chuck's advice and avoiding road running for a while -- treadmills are boring, but they work. Plus, I have nice, soft beach sand here that I can run on also. I'm not sure that would help, but it sure is purty.
I am positive that with the implementation of this plan, I can eliminate the troubles that have plagued my running for these several weeks, so I can focus on the more pressing issue at hand -- that of getting myself ready to run 26.2 miles in less than six months.
Vote Bill.
Your shins will recover.
What will you do to prevent them from returning?
Fair warning: I am now going to sound a bit like a politician.
I am aware of the dire problem with my shins, and I have a three-part solution to combat this issue:
1. Get checked out
Next Tuesday, I have an appointment with a local podiatrist/sports doc to take a look at things and see what sort of solutions he might have for orthotics, or whatever else he may suggest. I don't know... that's why he's the doctor.
2. New shoes
After getting checked out, I am going to support my local running store and have them take a look at my running and see what sort of suggestions they might have for new shoes. It's a very good shop, and they have a treadmill in the shop for just this sort of thing. Honestly, I thought my shoes were good enough, but I got them at Sports Authority, so who can really tell. Again... it's all about getting the experts to help me out.
3. Change my running
One of the things I noticed when my shins first started hurting is that I always ran on the same side of the street -- running with my left leg (the one that hurts) towards the outside of the street, where it would get more pounding because of the crowning on the street. I'm definitely going to at least change that up regularly, along with taking some of Chuck's advice and avoiding road running for a while -- treadmills are boring, but they work. Plus, I have nice, soft beach sand here that I can run on also. I'm not sure that would help, but it sure is purty.
I am positive that with the implementation of this plan, I can eliminate the troubles that have plagued my running for these several weeks, so I can focus on the more pressing issue at hand -- that of getting myself ready to run 26.2 miles in less than six months.
Vote Bill.
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