So I guess I should get back on board here. I have actually ran some since I last posted. Thais and I went out a couple of times while she was visiting. She ran 4 miles with me (yay) that is the furthest she has ever ran.
I am having issues with our weather and my schedule. Thankfully this census stuff is about done. But I managed to go out 3 times this week. Nothing great all in the 4 mile range but at least a little consistency. I think the longest run I've had since Salt Lake is around 6.5 so I do need to add some distance again. Goodness I sound like I am complaining. Weatherwise, I expect that mine is better than you Okies, but I agree with Kellen on the heat. I think that you have to acclimate somewhat to running in the heat when you are used to cooler weather.
Anyway, that is about it. Groovey shoes Kellen and Ashley. Right now, I think I will stick to my Brooks :)
~Sherry
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
New shoes, new stride


My first two runs this week were less than optimal. Monday I went running in the afternoon and it was HOT. I wore out after 2.5 miles. Took tuesday off and worked some overtime. Yesterday I ran 2.5 miles, after which my medial (inside, near middle of the body) tibia's were aching really bad just above the ankle. It was excruciating and didn't recede for at least half an hour after my run. I started thinking "stress fracture?" But thought it was unlikely that I would give myself stress fractures in both legs on the same run. So today I was unsure of how much of a run I would get in.
After my horrible experience yesterday I went and bought a pair of Onitsuka Tiger (owned by Asics) Mexico 66's. The green ones are mine, the navy ones are Ashley's Onitsuka Tiger Montreal's. I ran five miles in them today, and two things. I loved the fit and my feet couldn't tell the difference. No arch support, no heel support. Just a light, thin rubber sole. Also, I shortened my stride today. I had to do it to prevent the intense pain I had experienced yesterday after my 2.5 mile run. I have been trying this anyways as it is supposedly more efficient. However, today I had no choice. It came natural and all the pain went away. Well sort of. I had more calf and thigh muscle pain. But not in a bad way. In a "I don't usually use these muscles like this" way. Long story short I was able to finish my 5 mile run and if it weren't from muscle fatigue that I attribute to using new muscles in new ways (time will fix that) I could have gone further. Also, I finished the first 2.5 miles faster than yesterday and maintained a similar stride throughout my run.
So far a con of these new running shoes (only experienced by Ashley) is some chafing which led to bleeding on her inner left heel. We got some of that moleskin padding stuff and she is going to try putting that on the spot that chafes. Otherwise, so far so good.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Ouch!
I originally "tweaked" my left ankle, on my last warm-up run in Oklahoma before going to SLC for the half marathon. I taped it up for the marathon and made it thru with no problems. However, it has continued to bother me since then, although it seemed to get no worse (or better). Then the weekend of May 14-16, I ran 5 miles that Friday evening then did a 6-miler on Sunday. The next day, the ankle was pretty sore and had a sort of burning sensation going on throughout the day. It seemed to improve a bit as the week went on but I didn't run all week until Thursday. I ran 4 miles that evening, and after I got home and showered I examined my ankles and there was noticeable swelling in the left ankle.
I'm getting a bit concerned about it now because of this and I skipped running this weekend (the first weekend I haven't run at all since I began running this year). And my intention is to not run any this week. I'll see how it is this weekend and hopefully be able to get a run in then. It's definitely feeling better now than it did at this time last week, so I'm hopeful that a few days of no running will do the trick.
I'm getting a bit concerned about it now because of this and I skipped running this weekend (the first weekend I haven't run at all since I began running this year). And my intention is to not run any this week. I'll see how it is this weekend and hopefully be able to get a run in then. It's definitely feeling better now than it did at this time last week, so I'm hopeful that a few days of no running will do the trick.
Snakes
I have been running about 3-4 miles and I try to go 2-3 times a week. Today I tried to go earlier in the morning because it is starting to get hot and humid here in Oklahoma. I went to the park I run in about 8:30 this morning. I almost always see some animals in the park. I've seen lots of squirrels, rabbits, field mice and occasionally deer. Today as I was running my trail, I saw some snakes. I have seen snakes before but not so many. The first one was really tiny, about 6-8 inches. The second one was bigger, about 12-15 inches and the last one was at least 2 feet. I worry sometime that if I'm not paying attention, I will step on one and get bit.
I invited Kellen to blog since he and Ashley have been running. Where are my sister? They need to post something.
I invited Kellen to blog since he and Ashley have been running. Where are my sister? They need to post something.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Ashley's new running shoes
Ashley has also been logging more and more miles on her skinny legs! She ran 2.5 miles a couple times this week and ran 4.25 miles with a 0.5 cool down walk the morning of my 10 miler. That said, we are both planning on joining RJay in the "barefoot revolution", however are taking a slow approach. I ordered Ashley a pair of Asic Montreals that were designed in the 70's. I admit I was looking for myself, but they had Ashley's size and not mine (mine is over $100 on Ebay, hers were less than $60 brand new). This particular model was used by marathoners in the 70's and has basically no arch and heel support compared to today's shoes. If you have read or are reading "Born to Run" you understand the appeal of this style shoe. She ran 2.5 miles in them today and said they felt pretty good. For myself I am currently looking at Asic Mexico 66's (worn by runners in the 68 Mexico City Olympics) and Puma Speeder M's (designed in the early 70's). After our feet and legs have adapted to less support we plan on transitioning to the Vibram Five Finger's that RJay is sporting. I will let you guys know how this works for us in case any of you guys are interested. For what it's worth I think these classic running shoes are much more attractive than today's clunkers.
My first post
Hey all! Well I've been running much further than I had been previously so I figured I might as well join the gang. Prior to finishing the now legendary "Born to Run" I had considered myself more of a middle distance runner with my standard workout being 2.5 miles in about 18:30-19:15 depending on different variables. A couple of weeks ago I decided I was going to skip my goal of 2.5 miles in the 17 minute range and go ahead and run three miles with my workouts. However, the day I had planned on 3 miles I ran 3.75 (the park trail where I run is 1.25 and marked in 0.25 increments). The next day I ran 5, then had to work all weekend.
So, I started this weekend with a little bit of a fire in my belly and really wanted to do another 5 mile run by today when I had to go back to work. Monday and Tuesday I ran 3.75 miles and judging by the playlist on my ipod (not timing my exact pace yet, I have distance work to do first) I ran pretty much the same pace both days. My shins and calf muscles were killing me afterwards and I was wondering if I could make 5 miles when I started out Wednesday.
Well, it was lightly raining when I went to run Wednesday and I decided what the hey? A little sprinkle never killed anybody. By 2.5 miles it was your typical Oklahoma rain storm and I was soaked! At 5 miles I felt great and was as wet as I could possibly be so I figured lets keep going. At 7.5 miles my left earbud in my ipod was crackling so I threw it in the car and finished the last 2.5 miles of my first 10 mile run with the rain letting up and the birds chirping. It was great! I felt 10 times better after my long run than I did on either of the previous two! Hopefully I can keep up the pace and run a half marathon this fall. Anyways, sorry to take up so much space! I've just been eager to share my exploits.
So, I started this weekend with a little bit of a fire in my belly and really wanted to do another 5 mile run by today when I had to go back to work. Monday and Tuesday I ran 3.75 miles and judging by the playlist on my ipod (not timing my exact pace yet, I have distance work to do first) I ran pretty much the same pace both days. My shins and calf muscles were killing me afterwards and I was wondering if I could make 5 miles when I started out Wednesday.
Well, it was lightly raining when I went to run Wednesday and I decided what the hey? A little sprinkle never killed anybody. By 2.5 miles it was your typical Oklahoma rain storm and I was soaked! At 5 miles I felt great and was as wet as I could possibly be so I figured lets keep going. At 7.5 miles my left earbud in my ipod was crackling so I threw it in the car and finished the last 2.5 miles of my first 10 mile run with the rain letting up and the birds chirping. It was great! I felt 10 times better after my long run than I did on either of the previous two! Hopefully I can keep up the pace and run a half marathon this fall. Anyways, sorry to take up so much space! I've just been eager to share my exploits.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Fast!
I had to post after my run yesterday. I ran 5 miles Friday evening. I was a bit under 46 minutes, so the pace was a little over 9 minutes a mile, which is about what I've been averaging lately. Yesterday I went to the park by Sarah's house and ran 6 miles in 48 minutes! Do the math...okay I will--that comes to exactly 8-minute miles. I'm still not sure how I managed that. When I started off, I knew I was running faster than my usual pace but I felt good. Still, I expected to begin feeling winded quickly, which is usually what happens if I go too fast, but I didn't...ran the first mile with no problem, looked at the Nike+ app on my iPod and my time was 7:56 just shy of the first mile.
Granted, I didn't actually run 6 miles straight. I pause the Nike+ app if I stop, so it only tracks my running time. I stopped three times during the 6 miles. After the first mile I stopped and put my toe-socks on since I started without them on. That was about a 2-minute stop. Then I had a ~1-minute stop after the 2nd mile for a bathroom break. And I stopped after 4 miles for some water...another 1-minute break. So with the breaks I was a bit over 50 minutes for 6 miles. Still, this was by far my fastest pace. I think a previously had a pace of about 8:30 on a short run of a couple of miles.
I wish I could tap into that feeling and the energy I had yesterday at will, because it felt so effortless. My 5 mile run Friday was a good run, but it felt like a lot more work than my much quicker 6 miles yesterday! If you could run that pace for a half-marathon, even with a couple of bathroom breaks, you could easily break 2 hours.
Granted, I didn't actually run 6 miles straight. I pause the Nike+ app if I stop, so it only tracks my running time. I stopped three times during the 6 miles. After the first mile I stopped and put my toe-socks on since I started without them on. That was about a 2-minute stop. Then I had a ~1-minute stop after the 2nd mile for a bathroom break. And I stopped after 4 miles for some water...another 1-minute break. So with the breaks I was a bit over 50 minutes for 6 miles. Still, this was by far my fastest pace. I think a previously had a pace of about 8:30 on a short run of a couple of miles.
I wish I could tap into that feeling and the energy I had yesterday at will, because it felt so effortless. My 5 mile run Friday was a good run, but it felt like a lot more work than my much quicker 6 miles yesterday! If you could run that pace for a half-marathon, even with a couple of bathroom breaks, you could easily break 2 hours.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
5K
I haven't run as much as I should since our SLC marathon but last Saturday I did a 5K in bricktown with a girl from work. She talked me into it because she had signed up but didn't want to do it alone. I haven't seen my official time but the time when I ran over the finish line was 29 minutes and about 50 secs. I could do better but it wasn't too bad. I ran by myself because my friend is alot slower than me. We also got rained on. Last week I didn't run any...had a busy week but plan on doing better in the coming week.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Postscript
We decided to keep the blog going I am going to add to it. Since our race, I have ran 2 times for a grand total of almost 6 miles. Sandpoint has decided to have rainy/windy weather for the last week and a half which hasn't been conducive to running. Well, perhaps I should say, my running. I thought maybe today, but it doesn't look like it is going to happen, so maybe tomorrow. I think that I need another "goal" so that it keeps me moving. I will have to work on that.
I had a wonderful time with my brother and sisters. It was fun and we should definitely do it again.
I had a wonderful time with my brother and sisters. It was fun and we should definitely do it again.
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