Glorious Weekend

This weekend was FANTASTIC!  I don't know about the areas you live, but here in Maryland it was a gorgeous with sunny weather!  I got in my long run on Sunday, but took Saturday off.  Friday, the bottom of my left foot was really bothering me, which kept me from doing anything over a walk..  Saturday I was going to head out, as my foot just had a slight soreness to it, right around the high end of "usual."  My wife suggested that I take that as a hint/warning to take another day of rest.

Well, I have been saying I was going to do my build up differently this time, haven't I?

Needless to say, by Sunday I was definitely ready to be out there on the road! 

#janathon - Day 5 - The long run!

I used to hurry a lot, I used to worry a lot
I used to stay out till the break of day
Oh, that didn't get it,
It was high time I quit it
I just couldn't carry on that way
Oh, I did some damage, I know it's true
Didn't know I was so lonely , till I found you
You can go the distance
We'll find out in the long run
(in the long run)
The Eagles, The Long Run

So today was on the schedule as my long run.  Of course, I don't really have a schedule, as I have found that I stress it when I miss something, then get hurt trying to play catch-up.  I suppose it was more of a "plan."  A plan based on the fact that its Saturday, so I can run while it is still day light out, which means I can GO OUTSIDE!!!!!  We ran our assorted errands (See the previous post for details,) got back to the house - and I gave my phone a chance to charge (after all, if it doesn't get logged in Runtastic, and posted on Facebook - a run doesn't really count!) and got ready to head out the door.

And my neighbor stops by.  I love my neighbors.

Cross training with Curb-Found Treasure!

So yesterday was my rest day.  Unfortunately I am finding that I really don't like having days of no exercise.  Maybe it's because I am staring at calories on my phone whenever I eat, or maybe it is simply knowing I'm not doing anything - but either way I have become one of those people who is driven batty by doing no exercising. I also feel bleh if I do NOTHING.

[caption id="attachment_1420" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="My Daughter Demonstrating our Elliptical"][/caption]

Last night I ended up staying late due to its being a board meeting night, and was headed out not to long after - due to it being cub-scout night.  I decided to tackle the elliptical for a simple 20 minute window.  Now there is a short background story on this elliptical.  I have a tendency to notice when my neighbors put big things out on garbage day, and also to consider whether or not it should have a place in my house. (My wife insists these things must take place after dark however..)  Well, we lost some fantastic neighbors about a month ago and in the process of their moving out some things appeared at the curb.  A never-before-used elliptical was too good to pass up.  This treasure still had the plastic covering over the display!  Now it isn't a high-end elliptical, but I thought it would be a fantastic tool to see if a good one was something my wife and I should pick up.  This one has multiple reviews on walmart.com, that mostly point out it has a short stride length.  As my wife is only 5' tall, this isn't a bad thing!

Running the Hills with Dr. Denton

Maps are awful flat.. The running route was not!

[caption id="attachment_553" align="alignright" width="300" caption="My trusty water bottle, you can see on the back side where the fabric was that I could keep under my hand - while the strap was on top of it. It bounced a bit more than I may have wanted, but did work."][/caption]

A nice short run of ten miles was in the cards for yesterday so I used mapmyrun.com and figured out a route that was 10 miles that would end at my parent's house. ( Yes, even in my mid thirties I am mooching off my parents, although for this day it was simply some water and a ride home!)  I filled up my water bottle and headed out the door.  The last time I ran with my water bottle, the water quite warm shortly into the run.  I thought cool water might be nice while running, so this time around I decided to toss some ice-cubes (Brilliant aren't I?)  Shortly after starting - I had  another brilliant realization - holding a bottle of ice water in your bare hand makes for a cold hand! (Man, I could so be a rocket scientist with cognitive abilities like these!)  I thought of  "I Run Like a Girl's" recent frost-bite experience, so I switched how I was holding the bottle.  I changed it so that the fabric of the bottle was between my hand and the bottle - It wasn't terribly comfortable, but it did avoid frost bite in July.

My big learning moment

3 miles with some small hills.

As my last post discussed, I have been looking at how to run hills.  Going up them hasn't been a problem, as that doesn't change too much between minimalist shoes and traditional running shoes.  But downhill... Well, that's been a whole new can of worms.  I went for a nice run last evening.   Due to my recent injury rate, I am no longer worrying about how fast I run.  My new focus is on trying to run injury-free, instead of trying to run faster/further.  I think that this may help me to be running MORE, and enjoy it more at the same time.

So last night I headed out with the plan of doing 3-4 miles, depending on how my hip felt (I had inguinal hernia repair in January, and

Downers (Now I am referring to hills)

About a month ago, I pulled my left calf muscle while doing a long hill run.  I hit the top of the mile or so long hill, looked around to enjoy the scenery and headed back down.  As I started down the long, steep hill it suddenly occurred to me -

[caption id="attachment_405" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Obviously, the runner pictured here is not me. Heck, I don't even know the person!"][/caption]

I don't know how to run down hill in Vibram Five Fingers.

A quick google on my phone let me know that you needed to move your feet fast, and control your speed by leaning. I made it down the hill, ran a ways longer and felt that *SNAP* feeling in my calf that you can read about - if you google "runners calf strain."  

Enough back ground, now the neat part.  As I obviously wanted to learn HOW to run downhill in the VFFs in a way that didn't end with me calling my wife to come get me, I did what we "computer geeks" do - and started googling online.  Believe it or not, I couldn't find any good information.  I found conflicting information on stand up straight, or lean forward/back.  This made me decide to go to everyone's favorite resource:

Learning to run hills again.. and being sidelined.

So, yesterday I had decided to run up to the golf course for the first time this year. The reason this is even worth mentioning is that the Golf course is a 7 mile round-trip run,  that is on the top of a VERY large hill.  I was a little nervous about it - as it was my first big hill run post-surgery, as well as being my first big hill run in my Vibram Five Fingers.  I headed out slowly, as I fully expected to have to walk a couple of times, and to really be wiped out.  I reached the bottom of the hill (that is about 1 and a half miles from my house) and headed on up.

Climbing Hills Raises the Level of Fun!!!!

Ok.. So most people don't really view hill running that way,  but "back in the day" when I ran Cross Country, I used to love hill running.  In a race, it was a fantastic time to pass people.  I would come up from behind, seeing another runner bent forward, slowing down, gasping and wishing that they were anywhere on the course - but a hill.  As I approached, I would stand a little straighter and speed up as I hit the hill.  As I would pass them, you could hear comments, gasps of surprise and depression - basically you would mentally beat them by blowing them away on the hill - or even worse, bursting over the top.  (Thanks Mr. Hyland for teaching that!) It could be better than passing the person in the last 10 feet of the race!

Most people, especially if left to train on their own, have a tendency to avoid hills as much as they avoid speed work.  They are far more work, less fun and wear you out in no time.  But these things are the very reasons to DO hill workouts.  Something to think about - many races have hills, and if you don't train on them, how can you run a race on them?  Especially if it is a half marathon or full marathon?  Not to mention the obvious benefits to strengthening calves and quads! (one good hill workout lets you know you are indeed doing THAT!)

I started thinking about my training plan for the Marine Corps Marathon, and realized that I didn't know what sort of hills were on the course.