What a hockey game! That was my main workout of the day.
I warmed up with a long run, duration 1:35, including a few breaks at lights (I didn't stop my timer). I don't know how far it was, but I was going pretty slowly due to residual stiffness from yesterday's dietary mishap, plus a few miles were in/on snow. I've been getting kind of tired of going up and down the Canal, so I tried going by the river for a bit. They don't clear those paths during the winter. It wasn't too bad: it was pretty deep in places but only a few inches of snow were loose. I was wearing the light/soft shoes I'd sawn into earlier, so they weren't waterproof at all, but it was so warm outside, a few degrees above freezing, that I felt fine with wet feet.
I was tired, but it was an enjoyable run. We ended up on firm asphalt again by 1:20, so I decided to push for the last ten minutes (I was going for 1:30 originally). The dog dragged, so I had to urge him on, but it was great to feel so aligned, so strong. Then I felt that I needed a few minutes to cool down, hence 1:35. Then I did a couple of sprints. Those went far better than my last set on Friday, probably since I wasn't on snow anymore.
It was a good run. I'll be happy to stay in the 1:30-ish range for the next while--I think it will be good to continue doing and increasing the fast finish, too. Running back to the barn feels automatic; it's an easy way to sneak in some (relative) speed. I just have to build it up. Eventually, I'd like to do some Daniel's type runs, tempo portions before and/or after easy running, totaling about 9-15 miles or so, 4+ tempo.
This won't be for a while. a true tempo effort is still beyond me, but I can start with minute or so increments once the asphalt totally clears. If all goes well, I'll probably do 2 5K races early this summer: Ottawa race weekend in late May and Emilie's Run in mid-June; perhaps also the Hintonburg 5K in mid-July.
I've never trained specifically for a 5K before; I figure concentrating on that type of effort and stamina, instead of uber-long runs, will put some badly needed ping back into my step. That's coming back a bit, though! slowly, slowly.
Meanwhile, I'll continue stretching (just got out of pigeon pose) and start missing watching the Olympics. I've really enjoyed them this winter.
It was mucky today, at any rate. I had to give the dog a shower afterward.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Day 33/thaw
Thurs: off, just walking
Fri: ran 40 minutes. Tired.
Sat: jogged for 45 minutes, recovery run. Slow but felt pretty good.
And then I ate chips with wheat in them. I knew that some brands/flavours have wheat in them, and this was a new one for me and yet I didn't read the label. Didn't think of it until my arms started to ache--it started with the shoulder that has been achy today, the one that until recently was just stiff or jammed, so I didn't really notice. And then the other shoulder and arm started to ache, and then my shins, and my neck, and then my fingers started getting itchy and swollen--I noticed that when my wedding ring suddenly got awfully constricting, and usually this ring is fairly loose--and my gut pain started coming back (which made me realize that, after a month off wheat, it had finally gone away, though not for long, lol)...and then I figured something was up.
I dug the empty chip bag out of the garbage and read that it had wheat in it.
I've since drunk a lot of green tea in an effort to flush it out of my system somehow. I'm not too worried at this point, it wasn't a lot of wheat. Hopefully I'll be fine tomorrow. It's just kind of disappointing, a stupid error on my part. We've been reading labels, tweaking recipes with various non-wheat flours; we even replaced baking soda and powder with gluten-free brands (yeah, I'd assumed that NaHCO3 was NaHCO3 no matter what, but I guess some of it gets contaminated at factories that also process wheat, or something...) Earlier today, I was remarking that my finger joints have finally gotten back to normal, and my toe joints are nearly so as well, and then I go and blow it. well, we'll see what tomorrow will be like. I hope to attempt a long run, hopefully 1.5 hrs.
Fri: ran 40 minutes. Tired.
Sat: jogged for 45 minutes, recovery run. Slow but felt pretty good.
And then I ate chips with wheat in them. I knew that some brands/flavours have wheat in them, and this was a new one for me and yet I didn't read the label. Didn't think of it until my arms started to ache--it started with the shoulder that has been achy today, the one that until recently was just stiff or jammed, so I didn't really notice. And then the other shoulder and arm started to ache, and then my shins, and my neck, and then my fingers started getting itchy and swollen--I noticed that when my wedding ring suddenly got awfully constricting, and usually this ring is fairly loose--and my gut pain started coming back (which made me realize that, after a month off wheat, it had finally gone away, though not for long, lol)...and then I figured something was up.
I dug the empty chip bag out of the garbage and read that it had wheat in it.
I've since drunk a lot of green tea in an effort to flush it out of my system somehow. I'm not too worried at this point, it wasn't a lot of wheat. Hopefully I'll be fine tomorrow. It's just kind of disappointing, a stupid error on my part. We've been reading labels, tweaking recipes with various non-wheat flours; we even replaced baking soda and powder with gluten-free brands (yeah, I'd assumed that NaHCO3 was NaHCO3 no matter what, but I guess some of it gets contaminated at factories that also process wheat, or something...) Earlier today, I was remarking that my finger joints have finally gotten back to normal, and my toe joints are nearly so as well, and then I go and blow it. well, we'll see what tomorrow will be like. I hope to attempt a long run, hopefully 1.5 hrs.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 30
This morning was slushy and damp from all directions--several inches on the ground, more flung from above. I decided to leave the dog at home.
I did what I hoped to: run 45 minutes. 20 out, 19 back, and a bit of a cooldown. I was trying to tap into a more solid yet easy effort; I didn't want it to be another recovery run. My breathing was still easy for most of it, and then I picked it up a bit coming back. My muscles were still a bit sluggish, but not sore. I'm still getting used to things being aerobically easy and muscularly tough; I don't really like it, of course! I'm not quite sure what the solution is, apart from time, but I suspect that some short sprints might reawaken muscle fibers that have been dormant. So I did one 8ish second sprint. Not much, but I have to get back into it slowly.
I figure I'll do another similar run on Friday, and then perhaps a longer run on Sunday. Next week, maybe I'll add another five minutes.
Resistance exercises afterward--the pushups I still have to be careful with because of a shoulder issue I'm recovering from. I'm not entirely sure what it is except for another reaction/inflamed joint/swollen lymph node somewhere in there--I also got small blisters on it at first. It's not so much sore as stiff, but it's getting better. At any rate, I'm up to 25 full sit ups. I've been told over and over again that crunches are just as good, but I'm finding that I'm getting a lot more out of the full sit ups.
I did what I hoped to: run 45 minutes. 20 out, 19 back, and a bit of a cooldown. I was trying to tap into a more solid yet easy effort; I didn't want it to be another recovery run. My breathing was still easy for most of it, and then I picked it up a bit coming back. My muscles were still a bit sluggish, but not sore. I'm still getting used to things being aerobically easy and muscularly tough; I don't really like it, of course! I'm not quite sure what the solution is, apart from time, but I suspect that some short sprints might reawaken muscle fibers that have been dormant. So I did one 8ish second sprint. Not much, but I have to get back into it slowly.
I figure I'll do another similar run on Friday, and then perhaps a longer run on Sunday. Next week, maybe I'll add another five minutes.
Resistance exercises afterward--the pushups I still have to be careful with because of a shoulder issue I'm recovering from. I'm not entirely sure what it is except for another reaction/inflamed joint/swollen lymph node somewhere in there--I also got small blisters on it at first. It's not so much sore as stiff, but it's getting better. At any rate, I'm up to 25 full sit ups. I've been told over and over again that crunches are just as good, but I'm finding that I'm getting a lot more out of the full sit ups.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 29
Recovery run...I was quite sore this morning. I'd planned to jog for 20ish minutes or whatever felt right. It ended up being 16:30ish. All of a sudden, my quads started to get stiffer, so I walked for a bit. Tried running again after a few minutes, but it didn't feel good.
I also bought a yoga block today. I should have bought one years ago: it's hard to stay in dragon pose (lunge, knee down) without it. As I tend to have tight hip flexors, this pose helps a lot! But I don't get the same effect without support under a hand or butt--I can't stay in the pose as long, and my muscles are too activated to get to connective tissue. The block allows me to relax.
Anyway, with the easy jog, a bunch of walking, and a bunch of stretching, I feel a lot better. Hopefully tomorrow I can try a longer run and my resistance exercises.
I also bought a yoga block today. I should have bought one years ago: it's hard to stay in dragon pose (lunge, knee down) without it. As I tend to have tight hip flexors, this pose helps a lot! But I don't get the same effect without support under a hand or butt--I can't stay in the pose as long, and my muscles are too activated to get to connective tissue. The block allows me to relax.
Anyway, with the easy jog, a bunch of walking, and a bunch of stretching, I feel a lot better. Hopefully tomorrow I can try a longer run and my resistance exercises.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 28
My recovery has been pretty good! I slept well, no night sweats or pain, and got up this morning feeling somewhat stiff but ok. I decided to try a recovery jog, about 20 minutes...it ended up being about 18. I loosened up nicely and then things were starting to stiffen up again so I decided to stop.
I tried using ujayi breath again, just for kicks...I was kind of shocked by the effect this time. When I get into a good recovery jog zone, my muscles generally feel kind of chilly as they loosen up (I also get this during yin yoga sometimes). This morning, I was going slowly enough that I had decent technique, ocean sound, loose back of the throat, etc (still have to work on the abdominal lock, and for running in general, lol); a couple of breaths into it, my body suddenly flooded with heat. Especially in my quads--they're the most sore as well, so probably not mere coincidence. That is what the breathing technique is supposed to do, raise the heat in the body or however they put it, but I never feel it much during yoga. I could maintain the breathing technique for just a few minutes at a time today, but it was fun and I think it really helped get into the proper recovery zone because I had to stick to 4-4. once I sped up, I couldn't maintain the technique. I'll be experimenting with this in the future. It's not said to be a restorative thing during yoga practice, but maybe it is during running? I don't know.
I tried using ujayi breath again, just for kicks...I was kind of shocked by the effect this time. When I get into a good recovery jog zone, my muscles generally feel kind of chilly as they loosen up (I also get this during yin yoga sometimes). This morning, I was going slowly enough that I had decent technique, ocean sound, loose back of the throat, etc (still have to work on the abdominal lock, and for running in general, lol); a couple of breaths into it, my body suddenly flooded with heat. Especially in my quads--they're the most sore as well, so probably not mere coincidence. That is what the breathing technique is supposed to do, raise the heat in the body or however they put it, but I never feel it much during yoga. I could maintain the breathing technique for just a few minutes at a time today, but it was fun and I think it really helped get into the proper recovery zone because I had to stick to 4-4. once I sped up, I couldn't maintain the technique. I'll be experimenting with this in the future. It's not said to be a restorative thing during yoga practice, but maybe it is during running? I don't know.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Day 27/Winterman!
Post-op PB, yay, me!
This was my first race since my minor heart operation back in September. Last time I raced was Emilie's Run in June, I think.
I use the term 'race' loosely, but it was a good effort today. Recovering from the operation in September hadn't been too bad, but the three-month gluten challenge/celiac test afterward was horrible. I was expecting that eating wheat every day would result in more gut issues; I was not expecting the inflammation. It got worse and worse. Some days it hurt to walk and I had to take pain killers so that I could sleep. My long run withered from 2:45 post-op to the 40-45 minute range, and not every week, either; it didn't seem productive to run in pain for much longer, but I had to run something. Last month was the worst--I didn't run much more than 17.5 miles in January. That's about a third of my weekly mileage the year before.
Fortunately, things started to clear up a few weeks after giving up wheat in late January. Last weekend, I was able to jog for 1.5 hrs comfortably albeit slowly: 8.5 miles. I was debating giving up the Winterman race entirely, but I thought about it a bit and decided to switch to a shorter race and not feel obliged to finish. I'd hoped to complete the 1/2.
Which I did!
I was visiting/ice fishing yesterday; it was a blast but I didn't eat very well. There was a bit of ground pepper (my other dietary nemesis, a minor henchman to wheat) in the soup for lunch--it was just a few flakes, and the soup tasted good and I was hungry, and I think it was prepared especially for me and my wheat issues and I wasn't going to be rude by turning it down. Things were a little liquid this morning, but ok. No pain! Supper was salad...there was nothing else I could eat at the restaurant. Salad is definitely not a good pre-race option. Nor is booze and ice fishing, but it wasn't going to be a stellar race anyway!
I walked to the race this morning, pondering the lack of timing chip in the race package. Did it fall out? Should I have triple-checked? Or was I supposed to pick it up at a separate table yesterday? I decided I didn't really care about getting timed. I got to the race about 20 minutes before the start. This was a little later than I'd hoped for, but it was better than last year (I'd arrived after the gun had gone off). Fortunately, I also passed the timing chip tent and recollected that this was the same deal as last year: line up before the start to get a velcro timing chip thingy around my ankle.
There was a light dusting of slightly greasy snow. I was wearing trail shoes on my way to the start, but they felt too stiff to run in, and the grip wasn't that good on that type of snow anyway. I decided to wear the lightweight speedwork shoes I'd cut up a bit a few days ago. My foot felt fine, but I wanted to pamper it with soft shoes.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to use the bag check--the crowd was so thick I couldn't see where it was--so I lined up for the bathrooms. They were much more important. There wasn't anything valuable in my bag except for a change of clothes. if someone stole my bag, I could jog home before I cooled off too much. I figured I'd dump my bag close to where the relay teams had themselves and their stuff sprawled out.
On the way back from the bathroom, I walked by someone writing numbers on sticky labels and putting them on bags--score! So my bag was secure.
I ate a banana and drank a can of coffee; I decided to carry the other can for at least 10K. I'd had juice for breakfast--my stomach was too messed up for anything solid then--but the banana and coffee went down well so I was optimistic.
I had no idea how slowly I'd go--my miles have been somewhere around 10:30, or slower, this winter. I went near the back of the pack, but ended up passing a bunch of people at the start. Still, I was nowhere near the front.
My legs were stiff but not sore. This is an important distinction! Just stiff, compared to what I've been through this winter, was a relief. I had a watch on but decided not to look at it. I would just go at whatever pace my body chose. I ran the full marathon last year, 8 loops--I knew the course well. This time, I had to do just four loops and the little bit at the end to make up the last 1.1K.
Knowing that I was going to be done in just four loops made the race go by pretty quickly. The ground was greasy in spots, and sometimes there was wind and snow, but it was ok. The neat thing about that course is the slight hills; there's two rises, and they break up the course nicely. The best one is the bigger and later hill on the way back: at the top of it, you can see the race start/end of the loop! It's still about a mile off, I think, but it's all downhill from there! This wasn't something I'd fixated on much last year, but it really helped me this year. Get over one hill, coast, get over the other, coast and turn around, and then back, get over one hill, coast, get over the other, and the loop's pretty much done.
My legs never got any worse. They stayed stiff, heavy, but not in pain. My breathing was pretty slow for a while, and then it started to pick up on the uphill sections, and then the last two miles or so, I was breathing 2-2. Effort-wise, I was kind of mailing it in above the hips, but I didn't feel like squeezing more out of my legs. The last time I was able to run roughly the same distance/duration was on December 6th; that day, I covered just 11.2 miles in two hours. I knew from the 5K splits that I was running faster than that today, and I was happy with that. My PB for the 1/2 marathon is 1:41...not a big deal to push for under 2 hrs or whatever. I'll save it for sub-1:40 (and, yes, I really want to try for that down the road!)
My 5K splits, as far as I remember:
30:xx
59:xx
1:28:xx
1:57:xx
So a sub 2-hr 1/2 wasn't going to happen but my miles were under 10 minutes!
Finish: 2:03:xx, I think. 11 out of 17 in my age group. Last year, I was the 2nd woman overall for the full marathon, but I have to restart somewhere.
Oh, yes, I almost forgot: this time, I made through the proper finishing chute! I've done two loop races before, this one last year and the Delaware marathon, where I went over the wrong mat at the finish and had to go back to go over the right mat...anyway, I was on my way to the finish, and some guy yelled "finish, go left", thank goodness, and I did.
My heart feels a little raw now...this was something I noticed during my recovery from the operation whenever I increased the difficulty of my workouts. The first time I ran after the operation, it was for five minutes and my heart felt raw. Next time I ran, it felt raw after 10 minutes or whatever, and so on. With every improvement, it felt raw but adjusted, got stronger, and then sometime in October or November, I stopped feeling it. And now I feel it again today. It makes me think that I am once again improving, after a few months of going backwards. This makes me feel really good. The team that performed the operation was top-notch; I'm really grateful for their work and it's proper and satisfying to put it to use. What's the point of getting a fancy operation and then letting things fall apart? There have been times these past few months, mainly those days where I struggled through 20 minute jogs, that I regretted getting the operation. What was the point? All that time, skill, and effort was wasted on me. Someone else could have benefited from the operation more...well, now I won't believe such things anymore and I will use my revamped heart to its fullest potential.
My plans--short term, eat, watch Olympics, lol...long term, I would like to gradually increase mileage, reintroduce speedwork (what's that, eh?) and aim for Emilie's Run. At this point, I don't know if I'll be able to PB, but if I can resume tempo runs by then and do an honest tough 5K, that would be great. I think I'll do the Army 1/2 in September.
And, definitely, I want to do one of the Winterman races next year, the full or the 1/2 depending on how I feel. I like the course and the people who work on it do a great job--I find it has such a fun, friendly atmosphere.
This was my first race since my minor heart operation back in September. Last time I raced was Emilie's Run in June, I think.
I use the term 'race' loosely, but it was a good effort today. Recovering from the operation in September hadn't been too bad, but the three-month gluten challenge/celiac test afterward was horrible. I was expecting that eating wheat every day would result in more gut issues; I was not expecting the inflammation. It got worse and worse. Some days it hurt to walk and I had to take pain killers so that I could sleep. My long run withered from 2:45 post-op to the 40-45 minute range, and not every week, either; it didn't seem productive to run in pain for much longer, but I had to run something. Last month was the worst--I didn't run much more than 17.5 miles in January. That's about a third of my weekly mileage the year before.
Fortunately, things started to clear up a few weeks after giving up wheat in late January. Last weekend, I was able to jog for 1.5 hrs comfortably albeit slowly: 8.5 miles. I was debating giving up the Winterman race entirely, but I thought about it a bit and decided to switch to a shorter race and not feel obliged to finish. I'd hoped to complete the 1/2.
Which I did!
I was visiting/ice fishing yesterday; it was a blast but I didn't eat very well. There was a bit of ground pepper (my other dietary nemesis, a minor henchman to wheat) in the soup for lunch--it was just a few flakes, and the soup tasted good and I was hungry, and I think it was prepared especially for me and my wheat issues and I wasn't going to be rude by turning it down. Things were a little liquid this morning, but ok. No pain! Supper was salad...there was nothing else I could eat at the restaurant. Salad is definitely not a good pre-race option. Nor is booze and ice fishing, but it wasn't going to be a stellar race anyway!
I walked to the race this morning, pondering the lack of timing chip in the race package. Did it fall out? Should I have triple-checked? Or was I supposed to pick it up at a separate table yesterday? I decided I didn't really care about getting timed. I got to the race about 20 minutes before the start. This was a little later than I'd hoped for, but it was better than last year (I'd arrived after the gun had gone off). Fortunately, I also passed the timing chip tent and recollected that this was the same deal as last year: line up before the start to get a velcro timing chip thingy around my ankle.
There was a light dusting of slightly greasy snow. I was wearing trail shoes on my way to the start, but they felt too stiff to run in, and the grip wasn't that good on that type of snow anyway. I decided to wear the lightweight speedwork shoes I'd cut up a bit a few days ago. My foot felt fine, but I wanted to pamper it with soft shoes.
I figured that I wouldn't be able to use the bag check--the crowd was so thick I couldn't see where it was--so I lined up for the bathrooms. They were much more important. There wasn't anything valuable in my bag except for a change of clothes. if someone stole my bag, I could jog home before I cooled off too much. I figured I'd dump my bag close to where the relay teams had themselves and their stuff sprawled out.
On the way back from the bathroom, I walked by someone writing numbers on sticky labels and putting them on bags--score! So my bag was secure.
I ate a banana and drank a can of coffee; I decided to carry the other can for at least 10K. I'd had juice for breakfast--my stomach was too messed up for anything solid then--but the banana and coffee went down well so I was optimistic.
I had no idea how slowly I'd go--my miles have been somewhere around 10:30, or slower, this winter. I went near the back of the pack, but ended up passing a bunch of people at the start. Still, I was nowhere near the front.
My legs were stiff but not sore. This is an important distinction! Just stiff, compared to what I've been through this winter, was a relief. I had a watch on but decided not to look at it. I would just go at whatever pace my body chose. I ran the full marathon last year, 8 loops--I knew the course well. This time, I had to do just four loops and the little bit at the end to make up the last 1.1K.
Knowing that I was going to be done in just four loops made the race go by pretty quickly. The ground was greasy in spots, and sometimes there was wind and snow, but it was ok. The neat thing about that course is the slight hills; there's two rises, and they break up the course nicely. The best one is the bigger and later hill on the way back: at the top of it, you can see the race start/end of the loop! It's still about a mile off, I think, but it's all downhill from there! This wasn't something I'd fixated on much last year, but it really helped me this year. Get over one hill, coast, get over the other, coast and turn around, and then back, get over one hill, coast, get over the other, and the loop's pretty much done.
My legs never got any worse. They stayed stiff, heavy, but not in pain. My breathing was pretty slow for a while, and then it started to pick up on the uphill sections, and then the last two miles or so, I was breathing 2-2. Effort-wise, I was kind of mailing it in above the hips, but I didn't feel like squeezing more out of my legs. The last time I was able to run roughly the same distance/duration was on December 6th; that day, I covered just 11.2 miles in two hours. I knew from the 5K splits that I was running faster than that today, and I was happy with that. My PB for the 1/2 marathon is 1:41...not a big deal to push for under 2 hrs or whatever. I'll save it for sub-1:40 (and, yes, I really want to try for that down the road!)
My 5K splits, as far as I remember:
30:xx
59:xx
1:28:xx
1:57:xx
So a sub 2-hr 1/2 wasn't going to happen but my miles were under 10 minutes!
Finish: 2:03:xx, I think. 11 out of 17 in my age group. Last year, I was the 2nd woman overall for the full marathon, but I have to restart somewhere.
Oh, yes, I almost forgot: this time, I made through the proper finishing chute! I've done two loop races before, this one last year and the Delaware marathon, where I went over the wrong mat at the finish and had to go back to go over the right mat...anyway, I was on my way to the finish, and some guy yelled "finish, go left", thank goodness, and I did.
My heart feels a little raw now...this was something I noticed during my recovery from the operation whenever I increased the difficulty of my workouts. The first time I ran after the operation, it was for five minutes and my heart felt raw. Next time I ran, it felt raw after 10 minutes or whatever, and so on. With every improvement, it felt raw but adjusted, got stronger, and then sometime in October or November, I stopped feeling it. And now I feel it again today. It makes me think that I am once again improving, after a few months of going backwards. This makes me feel really good. The team that performed the operation was top-notch; I'm really grateful for their work and it's proper and satisfying to put it to use. What's the point of getting a fancy operation and then letting things fall apart? There have been times these past few months, mainly those days where I struggled through 20 minute jogs, that I regretted getting the operation. What was the point? All that time, skill, and effort was wasted on me. Someone else could have benefited from the operation more...well, now I won't believe such things anymore and I will use my revamped heart to its fullest potential.
My plans--short term, eat, watch Olympics, lol...long term, I would like to gradually increase mileage, reintroduce speedwork (what's that, eh?) and aim for Emilie's Run. At this point, I don't know if I'll be able to PB, but if I can resume tempo runs by then and do an honest tough 5K, that would be great. I think I'll do the Army 1/2 in September.
And, definitely, I want to do one of the Winterman races next year, the full or the 1/2 depending on how I feel. I like the course and the people who work on it do a great job--I find it has such a fun, friendly atmosphere.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Day 26/Day before Winterman
I picked up my bib today: 105. I was 5 last year; the full marathon numbers start at 1, and the half marathon numbers start at 100, I'm guessing. It's kind of a nice coincidence.
I still feel sort of down about not being able to do the full, but it seemed foolish to try considering the extent of which inflammation has limited my runs this winter. Yes, it was amazing that much of it suddenly cleared up last week and my long run went from an iffy 40ish minutes to a nice 1.5 hrs just like that...that definitely doesn't mean that I can as easily extend to four hours. Two hours might be ok, though. The course is a 2.5k out and back, a good course for a re-intro to races. Convenient for quitting if I have to.
So, goals:
A: finish
B: 3 loops
C: 2 loops
D: 1 loop
The weather looks decent. Might be windy, but otherwise ok. The roads are clear, knock wood....chance of precipitation later on tonight. I figure I'll wear pretty much what I wore last year, but will bring a windbreaker just in case.
Food...I got some canned coffee and some bananas. Theoretically, since it's a half, I shouldn't need any nourishment, but pre-gluten free I usually started to run out of steam at mile 11. Not sure what will happen tomorrow, especially since I was out visiting today and was limited as to what I could eat during lunch and supper. I'll walk down to the start, have a banana and some coffee and water (it takes a while for my appetite to wake up, so better to exercise a bit and then eat), and have more during the race. They've said that there's no drop off table this year, but I figure I can tuck a bag somewhere like last year.
Well, best get some rest!
I still feel sort of down about not being able to do the full, but it seemed foolish to try considering the extent of which inflammation has limited my runs this winter. Yes, it was amazing that much of it suddenly cleared up last week and my long run went from an iffy 40ish minutes to a nice 1.5 hrs just like that...that definitely doesn't mean that I can as easily extend to four hours. Two hours might be ok, though. The course is a 2.5k out and back, a good course for a re-intro to races. Convenient for quitting if I have to.
So, goals:
A: finish
B: 3 loops
C: 2 loops
D: 1 loop
The weather looks decent. Might be windy, but otherwise ok. The roads are clear, knock wood....chance of precipitation later on tonight. I figure I'll wear pretty much what I wore last year, but will bring a windbreaker just in case.
Food...I got some canned coffee and some bananas. Theoretically, since it's a half, I shouldn't need any nourishment, but pre-gluten free I usually started to run out of steam at mile 11. Not sure what will happen tomorrow, especially since I was out visiting today and was limited as to what I could eat during lunch and supper. I'll walk down to the start, have a banana and some coffee and water (it takes a while for my appetite to wake up, so better to exercise a bit and then eat), and have more during the race. They've said that there's no drop off table this year, but I figure I can tuck a bag somewhere like last year.
Well, best get some rest!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 25
I jogged for twenty minutes in my modified shoes yesterday and it was promising. It was relaxing and my foot felt fine. I will probably saw down the grooves a little more once the shoes dry off. This experiment has made me think about foot strike a little differently. I've been reading various articles and looking at various pictures of barefoot v/s shod running. One of the postural differences is the location of flex in the foot: in shoes, the foot usually flexes upwards at the ankle whereas without shoes, the toes flex and the ankle remains pointed down. For whatever reason, there has to be some flexing motion in the foot region prior to hitting the ground; if the sole doesn't permit the toes to flex upwards, then the entire foot flexes upwards, and the heel hits the ground before the rest of the foot has a chance to land. Maybe. It's said that the increased heel cushioning in some running shoes and the resulting higher heel profile promote heel striking. I suspect that the stiffness of the sole has a great role as well. Fortunately, it's not my job to figure out the mechanics save for my own, which I can suss out by feel. Flexible soles, truly flexible soles (meaning I can bend the shoe in half) feel much better and seem to prevent injuries. The stiffer the sole, the more quickly I get injured.
As for the foot issue, now and then I feel an ache, but it seems to be getting better. I've decided to skip running today and tomorrow in preparation for the big jog on Sunday.
In general, I'm feeling a lot better. It feels like my iron levels are still a bit low, but I think they've improved already. I'm still a bit sluggish at times, though I haven't needed any naps since cutting out wheat; I generally have more energy and I'm not getting that post-meal narcolepsy anymore, thank goodness! I've been taking 60-90 mg of iron a day and probably will get my iron tested again in two months when I return to my nurse practitioner.
As for the foot issue, now and then I feel an ache, but it seems to be getting better. I've decided to skip running today and tomorrow in preparation for the big jog on Sunday.
In general, I'm feeling a lot better. It feels like my iron levels are still a bit low, but I think they've improved already. I'm still a bit sluggish at times, though I haven't needed any naps since cutting out wheat; I generally have more energy and I'm not getting that post-meal narcolepsy anymore, thank goodness! I've been taking 60-90 mg of iron a day and probably will get my iron tested again in two months when I return to my nurse practitioner.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Day 23
Just 25ish minutes today. It was supposed to be a recovery run but I didn't get into it for some reason. I hadn't realized that there was fresh snow on the sidewalk. It's been so clear this winter and I'm in a bind as to shoes right now: I have 4 pairs of trail shoes for winter, but they're really stiff on pavement and my feet are starting to get sore. I also have a few pairs of lightweight trainers for speedwork and races, two stiff and one new (I'm saving it for this summer). So I spent about 10 minutes sawing through one of the old pairs making the soles more flexible. This is an experiment. There's not much to these shoes, so I don't notice the cushioning breaking down, but the soles get stiff and then I can't stand them. The only lightweight shoes that didn't do this were Nike Frees, and I wore them for a very long time until the uppers were falling apart. I've been deliberating ordering another pair--definitely, I have to get some new shoes--meanwhile, I'm going to see if cutting grooves in the soles of old ones will extend their life.
I was going to see that today and have a very relaxing run in 'slippers'...well, that didn't happen! Maybe tomorrow I'll tap into the recovery run vibe better.
I was going to see that today and have a very relaxing run in 'slippers'...well, that didn't happen! Maybe tomorrow I'll tap into the recovery run vibe better.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 22...sort of
I had about a cracker's worth of wheat (I guestimate) on Sunday; I had stomach issues and inflammation soon after, but those went away after a while. Admittedly, I seem to be a bit stiff and tired still. Jogged 40 min and did resistance exercises.
Sunday was a rest day, and Monday was also an easy day. I didn't feel up to doing 40 minutes, so I jogged 20 and skated about 45 minutes later on. That was sort of tiring, but fun!
Sunday was a rest day, and Monday was also an easy day. I didn't feel up to doing 40 minutes, so I jogged 20 and skated about 45 minutes later on. That was sort of tiring, but fun!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Day 20
Soaked up the Olympic vibe, or a good chunk of iron, or something...
I had a great run today. I think the last time I had one so exceptional was in August.
No muscle soreness, no stiffness, nothing, just a bit of fatigue (I hadn't slept much) which went away as I got into the run. It felt good. It's been so long since a run felt that effortless.
My husband skated the Canal this morning, before the crowds hit it. I was a bit lazy in getting out, and still skateless; I had figured on doing 40 minutes, maybe 60 if I felt good. I felt good. After about five minutes, I got bored being on the same old path I've always been running on: 20 min out, turn around at the construction, etc.
So I got on the ice. It was a bit of a yard sale out there, but fortunately we've had a few light dustings of snow, including one still going on, and the plows hadn't gone to the very edge. There was a great rough strip next to the wall with hardly anyone on it. The snow falling also made the ice itself comfortable to run on, where there wasn't a layer of older snow.
I made note of my watch, meaning to turn around at the 30 minute mark. well, at 27:XX, I decided to go to the end of Dow's lake and turn around there, but I kept the border on my right, meaning that I would have to cross the Canal to get back...but I didn't. I went on to the locks, and then back on the opposite side, all the way down to the other end, and back around again until I was where I had started. I stopped my watch at exactly 1:30:00. no joke! It was a bit of a shock.
I'd covered only 8.5ish miles, but there was a fair bit of weaving and running slower on ice, and I had to stop to walk a couple of times to get through the crowd...at any rate, I'm really really pleased with it. This is the sort of run I'd do before the whole gluten trial thing without much fanfare or cause for concern, an average run...I'm not quite recovered yet, I'm still slightly muscularly weak, but this run was a huge step in progress.
This is bad news for the dog, though...he's not on the Canal. I might be ditching him more often because it's much more interesting to run on it than beside it.
I'm pleased to see many more food vendors on the Canal this year...sadly, I can't eat most of that stuff, but it's still better that there's more to eat than fudge and Beavertails. I might have fries next time.
I had a great run today. I think the last time I had one so exceptional was in August.
No muscle soreness, no stiffness, nothing, just a bit of fatigue (I hadn't slept much) which went away as I got into the run. It felt good. It's been so long since a run felt that effortless.
My husband skated the Canal this morning, before the crowds hit it. I was a bit lazy in getting out, and still skateless; I had figured on doing 40 minutes, maybe 60 if I felt good. I felt good. After about five minutes, I got bored being on the same old path I've always been running on: 20 min out, turn around at the construction, etc.
So I got on the ice. It was a bit of a yard sale out there, but fortunately we've had a few light dustings of snow, including one still going on, and the plows hadn't gone to the very edge. There was a great rough strip next to the wall with hardly anyone on it. The snow falling also made the ice itself comfortable to run on, where there wasn't a layer of older snow.
I made note of my watch, meaning to turn around at the 30 minute mark. well, at 27:XX, I decided to go to the end of Dow's lake and turn around there, but I kept the border on my right, meaning that I would have to cross the Canal to get back...but I didn't. I went on to the locks, and then back on the opposite side, all the way down to the other end, and back around again until I was where I had started. I stopped my watch at exactly 1:30:00. no joke! It was a bit of a shock.
I'd covered only 8.5ish miles, but there was a fair bit of weaving and running slower on ice, and I had to stop to walk a couple of times to get through the crowd...at any rate, I'm really really pleased with it. This is the sort of run I'd do before the whole gluten trial thing without much fanfare or cause for concern, an average run...I'm not quite recovered yet, I'm still slightly muscularly weak, but this run was a huge step in progress.
This is bad news for the dog, though...he's not on the Canal. I might be ditching him more often because it's much more interesting to run on it than beside it.
I'm pleased to see many more food vendors on the Canal this year...sadly, I can't eat most of that stuff, but it's still better that there's more to eat than fudge and Beavertails. I might have fries next time.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Day 19
Just 20 minutes jogging with the dog today--we went out a bit early and it was still -16C without the windchill. A bit cold for him.
I'm envisioning a longer run tomorrow, although today's run was quite easy and I could probably have a pleasant longer run this afternoon when it's nice and warm and sunny. I would have waited until then to run, but I wanted to exercise the dog before I left this morning.
Diet-wise, I'm still adjusting. My guts felt touchy yesterday--I'd made gluten-free bread, but that still upset things. I suspect that I will just have to lay off processed flour/baked stuff like that for a bit until things simmer down, even if none of the stuff is wheat. On the other hand, I'd been avoiding milk (not cheese or yoghurt, just straight milk) because I was told I could be sensitive to that for a bit too...well, my guts hurt, I drank a glass of milk to settle them like I used to do for years, and it worked. LOL. One less thing to worry about! Nice how it balances out.
I also discovered a pretty good option for breakfast--scrambled eggs, cheese, and kale.
I'm envisioning a longer run tomorrow, although today's run was quite easy and I could probably have a pleasant longer run this afternoon when it's nice and warm and sunny. I would have waited until then to run, but I wanted to exercise the dog before I left this morning.
Diet-wise, I'm still adjusting. My guts felt touchy yesterday--I'd made gluten-free bread, but that still upset things. I suspect that I will just have to lay off processed flour/baked stuff like that for a bit until things simmer down, even if none of the stuff is wheat. On the other hand, I'd been avoiding milk (not cheese or yoghurt, just straight milk) because I was told I could be sensitive to that for a bit too...well, my guts hurt, I drank a glass of milk to settle them like I used to do for years, and it worked. LOL. One less thing to worry about! Nice how it balances out.
I also discovered a pretty good option for breakfast--scrambled eggs, cheese, and kale.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Day 18
Well, maybe the sluggishness of yesterday was a sign!
Yesterday was a poor night for sleeping: got aches and a bit of sweating again. It was highly discouraging but today I'm sick. Not gut sick, but regular sick.
Hopefully this will go away soon!
Yesterday was a poor night for sleeping: got aches and a bit of sweating again. It was highly discouraging but today I'm sick. Not gut sick, but regular sick.
Hopefully this will go away soon!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Day 17
I broke my resolution last night.
I went to class yesterday evening armed with a bottle of flavoured water, two clementines, and my supper: lentils, chickpeas, rice, kimchi. I figured that if I grazed through my class, instead of eating supper before, I wouldn't be so hungry after it. I'd had cereal, yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, and chili for lunch, plus snacks...it seemed to be enough.
I ate my supper and it was as if I hadn't--I got home and I was starving again. I tried to restrain myself and fill up on water, but I ended up polishing off a good portion of a block of cheese and some fruit. I tried!
It was progress; hopefully, tonight will be more moderate still. I'm still tired, not in an achy way, but dully, and I suspect it's caused in part by going to bed with a full stomach. On the other hand, my body is seriously craving food as it recovers and gets used to more running. I've been taking iron supplements, and eating meat usually 2X a day (chili (ground beef and lamb), and then when that's gone we'll make beef soup; we also have lamb shanks and a chicken waiting this week).
Anyway, I was sluggish getting up today as well, but jogged 40 min with the dog. My legs were leaden but I wasn't sore at least. It wasn't the best run, but better than a few weeks ago. And it was a gorgeous day to run, sunny and not too windy. I was a bit overdressed--it was only -6C. I had a hat, thick tights, two long-sleeved shirts, and a windbreaker which I took off a few minutes into the run. Afterward, I did resistance exercises.
I went to class yesterday evening armed with a bottle of flavoured water, two clementines, and my supper: lentils, chickpeas, rice, kimchi. I figured that if I grazed through my class, instead of eating supper before, I wouldn't be so hungry after it. I'd had cereal, yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, and chili for lunch, plus snacks...it seemed to be enough.
I ate my supper and it was as if I hadn't--I got home and I was starving again. I tried to restrain myself and fill up on water, but I ended up polishing off a good portion of a block of cheese and some fruit. I tried!
It was progress; hopefully, tonight will be more moderate still. I'm still tired, not in an achy way, but dully, and I suspect it's caused in part by going to bed with a full stomach. On the other hand, my body is seriously craving food as it recovers and gets used to more running. I've been taking iron supplements, and eating meat usually 2X a day (chili (ground beef and lamb), and then when that's gone we'll make beef soup; we also have lamb shanks and a chicken waiting this week).
Anyway, I was sluggish getting up today as well, but jogged 40 min with the dog. My legs were leaden but I wasn't sore at least. It wasn't the best run, but better than a few weeks ago. And it was a gorgeous day to run, sunny and not too windy. I was a bit overdressed--it was only -6C. I had a hat, thick tights, two long-sleeved shirts, and a windbreaker which I took off a few minutes into the run. Afterward, I did resistance exercises.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day 16
No run today...it's a rest day anyway and I felt sluggish waking up. It's been like that the last few days; I'm assuming it's part of the recovery process and it's better to sleep so soundly than not. At any rate, resuming fairly regular jogging, however slight, will take getting used to. No point in getting tired out from the in-between runs.
Instead I walked briskly with the dog and did some sit ups and pushups. It makes me blush to admit that the latter have dwindled to 2 or 3 proper ones, but hopefully things will improve. The sit ups seem to be getting easier at least.
Last night was another round of my favourite game: "what the heck did I eat?" Something didn't quite agree with me. It wasn't bad, just cramps, but made me wonder. I had rice crackers last night--the package says 'gluten free', but it also says that there's maltodextrin, but I've also read that maltodextrin is such a highly processed thing that apparently none of the offending protein remains even if it originally came from wheat. So then I thought, hey, the cheese tasted a bit peppery--the label said it didn't contain pepper, but it did contain P.roqueforti, which sometimes tastes peppery, and maybe that had something to do with it? It is supposedly high in glutamate which is not a gluten protein, but could be cause for sensitivity, especially during the sometimes somewhat sensitive recovery process...
And then I realized that I was so hungry after my evening class that I'd plowed through popcorn, cheese and crackers, fruit, and perhaps other things too, shortly before going to bed. DUH!
I'm going to try to remember to stop eating 2-3 hrs before sleeping. It makes sense that my digestive system is going to be a little more sensitive as it detoxifies, no need to stress it further by shoving a whole load of food into it and then lying down.
Otherwise, things are going well and I seem to be recovering!
Instead I walked briskly with the dog and did some sit ups and pushups. It makes me blush to admit that the latter have dwindled to 2 or 3 proper ones, but hopefully things will improve. The sit ups seem to be getting easier at least.
Last night was another round of my favourite game: "what the heck did I eat?" Something didn't quite agree with me. It wasn't bad, just cramps, but made me wonder. I had rice crackers last night--the package says 'gluten free', but it also says that there's maltodextrin, but I've also read that maltodextrin is such a highly processed thing that apparently none of the offending protein remains even if it originally came from wheat. So then I thought, hey, the cheese tasted a bit peppery--the label said it didn't contain pepper, but it did contain P.roqueforti, which sometimes tastes peppery, and maybe that had something to do with it? It is supposedly high in glutamate which is not a gluten protein, but could be cause for sensitivity, especially during the sometimes somewhat sensitive recovery process...
And then I realized that I was so hungry after my evening class that I'd plowed through popcorn, cheese and crackers, fruit, and perhaps other things too, shortly before going to bed. DUH!
I'm going to try to remember to stop eating 2-3 hrs before sleeping. It makes sense that my digestive system is going to be a little more sensitive as it detoxifies, no need to stress it further by shoving a whole load of food into it and then lying down.
Otherwise, things are going well and I seem to be recovering!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Day 15
Yesterday was a rest day.
Today, I jogged 40 min with the dog and did resistance exercises. The run was ok. I feel a little fatigued, but not so much as yesterday--that's probably due to the tougher run on Saturday. Sad that 1/2 hr @ 9-9:30/mile is a tough run these days, but at least it's still aerobically easy. It'll just take some time for my muscles to catch up. My iron stores are probably still low, but I'm taking about 90 mg of supplements with vitamin C (it helps absorption), plus eating red meat pretty much every day. Hopefully, I'll feel the benefits soon.
At any rate, I'm feeling tired, but not joint-achey! Today I felt like I used to the day after a tough run, which is sort of true. It didn't feel like I was already in the midst of a long run, three or four hours into it. That a big improvement.
I focused today on keeping my breathing easy and unimpaired within my body (no holding or clenching). It was mostly a comfortable 4-4, which was encouraging. When I had more joint/muscle pain, somehow most runs were 2-2 though I wasn't moving fast or feeling aerobically strained--I think moving such fatigued muscles required that much oxygen. Today was the first day I was in the 4-4 zone. It's a useful zone so I'm happy. I picked it up near the end. It's still surprising to me how much faster I can move and yet stay within the 4-2 effort...faster is relative, though! I also tried to keep my ankles relaxed, not so much flexing.
Tomorrow I'll jog for 15-20 min, easy. I'll see how keeping 'hard' days to 40 min feels this week; maybe next week I'll move to 45 min on one run. Will see!
The more pressing matter is that of Winterman...I should decide soon if I'm going to try to move down to the 5K, or if I'm just going to forgo it altogether. I'm more tempted to do the latter. I was the 2nd woman in the (rather small field) marathon last year; it'll be interesting for my pride to accept being in the middle or end of the 5K race this year. That might be a good place to start, a solid way of ditching all my previous PBs and the expectations attached to them. On the other hand, I am still recovering, still attempting my own thing, and haven't even rejoined my run club, much less racing. But on the other hand, I would like to participate....maybe the solution would be to lose myself in the back of the pack and just enjoy a 1/2 hr of communal exertion, if not chatting.
At any rate, I feel like I'm recovering!
Today, I jogged 40 min with the dog and did resistance exercises. The run was ok. I feel a little fatigued, but not so much as yesterday--that's probably due to the tougher run on Saturday. Sad that 1/2 hr @ 9-9:30/mile is a tough run these days, but at least it's still aerobically easy. It'll just take some time for my muscles to catch up. My iron stores are probably still low, but I'm taking about 90 mg of supplements with vitamin C (it helps absorption), plus eating red meat pretty much every day. Hopefully, I'll feel the benefits soon.
At any rate, I'm feeling tired, but not joint-achey! Today I felt like I used to the day after a tough run, which is sort of true. It didn't feel like I was already in the midst of a long run, three or four hours into it. That a big improvement.
I focused today on keeping my breathing easy and unimpaired within my body (no holding or clenching). It was mostly a comfortable 4-4, which was encouraging. When I had more joint/muscle pain, somehow most runs were 2-2 though I wasn't moving fast or feeling aerobically strained--I think moving such fatigued muscles required that much oxygen. Today was the first day I was in the 4-4 zone. It's a useful zone so I'm happy. I picked it up near the end. It's still surprising to me how much faster I can move and yet stay within the 4-2 effort...faster is relative, though! I also tried to keep my ankles relaxed, not so much flexing.
Tomorrow I'll jog for 15-20 min, easy. I'll see how keeping 'hard' days to 40 min feels this week; maybe next week I'll move to 45 min on one run. Will see!
The more pressing matter is that of Winterman...I should decide soon if I'm going to try to move down to the 5K, or if I'm just going to forgo it altogether. I'm more tempted to do the latter. I was the 2nd woman in the (rather small field) marathon last year; it'll be interesting for my pride to accept being in the middle or end of the 5K race this year. That might be a good place to start, a solid way of ditching all my previous PBs and the expectations attached to them. On the other hand, I am still recovering, still attempting my own thing, and haven't even rejoined my run club, much less racing. But on the other hand, I would like to participate....maybe the solution would be to lose myself in the back of the pack and just enjoy a 1/2 hr of communal exertion, if not chatting.
At any rate, I feel like I'm recovering!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
oh, yeah
...admittedly, I'm a bit hyper these days. Having energy and proper nutrient absorption has given me quite a bit of energy as well as optimism, and a long list of ideas about improving running.
Since I've still got a long way to go before I get back to my usual running volume, I've been thinking about form a lot. I've written about various things before, most recently keeping a strong core and a loose jaw. This has been reinforced by going to umpteen yoga classes.
Most of the yoga I do is Yin. The poses are held for longer and though they're not as muscular as those in other forms, there is tension, and part of the practice is recognizing where it moves to, and loosening that up. For example, if I'm targeting my hips, after a while, other parts tend to tense up, particularly my shoulders and, yes, my jaw. Surprise, surprise! It's so much simpler when different things coincide like that.
Another thing which yoga has helped with is the core. Yoga helps strengthen this, but it also helps activate it. Some of the core exercises in Matt's Fitzgerald's book are designed to increase awareness about as well as exercise certain deep core muscles. When you know about them, and can feel them, you can keep them activated more readily. I'd played with this on and off.
And then recently I went to a power yoga class. I used to do power yoga a lot when I first took up yoga 8 or 9 years ago...it had been a while since I'd been to a class. And, actually, I wound up in the class by accident (can't remember if I've already written about that here), but it was a really good experience and a good chance to practice Ujjayi breath and the lock. Ujjayi breath keeps the back of the throat loose--I tried and failed to do it while running, but even thinking about it helps keeps air intake more open, I think. I forget what the lock is called--it's basically a Kegel exercise combined with sucking the gut in. Well, this sort of thing helps with running too!
The third thing I've been thinking about recently is foot strike. I suspect that I tend to flex my feet perhaps too much before landing; it's wasted motion. I'm not a heavy heel-striker but I've still gotten into this habit. I'm trying to be more lazy about tilting my feet upwards. My toes, ok, but the whole foot can be a little more lazy.
Since I've still got a long way to go before I get back to my usual running volume, I've been thinking about form a lot. I've written about various things before, most recently keeping a strong core and a loose jaw. This has been reinforced by going to umpteen yoga classes.
Most of the yoga I do is Yin. The poses are held for longer and though they're not as muscular as those in other forms, there is tension, and part of the practice is recognizing where it moves to, and loosening that up. For example, if I'm targeting my hips, after a while, other parts tend to tense up, particularly my shoulders and, yes, my jaw. Surprise, surprise! It's so much simpler when different things coincide like that.
Another thing which yoga has helped with is the core. Yoga helps strengthen this, but it also helps activate it. Some of the core exercises in Matt's Fitzgerald's book are designed to increase awareness about as well as exercise certain deep core muscles. When you know about them, and can feel them, you can keep them activated more readily. I'd played with this on and off.
And then recently I went to a power yoga class. I used to do power yoga a lot when I first took up yoga 8 or 9 years ago...it had been a while since I'd been to a class. And, actually, I wound up in the class by accident (can't remember if I've already written about that here), but it was a really good experience and a good chance to practice Ujjayi breath and the lock. Ujjayi breath keeps the back of the throat loose--I tried and failed to do it while running, but even thinking about it helps keeps air intake more open, I think. I forget what the lock is called--it's basically a Kegel exercise combined with sucking the gut in. Well, this sort of thing helps with running too!
The third thing I've been thinking about recently is foot strike. I suspect that I tend to flex my feet perhaps too much before landing; it's wasted motion. I'm not a heavy heel-striker but I've still gotten into this habit. I'm trying to be more lazy about tilting my feet upwards. My toes, ok, but the whole foot can be a little more lazy.
Day 13
I did my resistance exercises yesterday, mostly a resistance program I've used before from Matt's Fitzgerald's book Brain Training for Runners. I need more core stability. I'm also doing push ups and sit ups.
Sadly, I'm off the sun salutations in the morning routine--it wasn't clicking with me. I might be better off with something less vigourous and/or less head below the heart. That doesn't feel right when I'm still waking up. However, what was working this week is heading out for a run first thing. :)
Today, the run wasn't quite first thing, but close enough. My husband, dog, and I ran for almost a 1/2 hr, and I mean run. It wasn't terribly fast, but it wasn't jogging. My husband's comfortable pace is 9-9:30/mile (slower than that, and he finds it jarring); I was really glad to do that. It was revealing: my aerobic capacity is still ok, I was maintaining an easy run breathing pattern (4-2 or 4-4) comfortably; however, the muscular end of things, though improving, still has a way to go. I still don't have the juice I should have--either my muscles are weaker or less of them are working as hard (or at all?). Definitely, I have a weakened core, which could eventually lead to ITBS if I'm not careful. Still, it was a very encouraging run.
Especially encouraging since yesterday was a bad gut day. I'm still adjusting to the no wheat diet, which is easy in my house, but not so much out of it. I went with my husband to the Officer's mess, and the main course was breaded catfish. I went there hungry, but there were mashed potatoes without ground pepper so I filled up at least. We were going out for dinner to a pub, and I figured I would fill up on fries if worse came to worst, so I didn't have much to eat after lunch. Well, this pub didn't have fries. I ordered nachos. They were covered by a salsa with ground pepper in it--I'd forgotten to ask beforehand. Since my only other option at that place was a salad, which probably also had ground pepper in the dressing (I've been tripped up by that before), and I was starving, I ate the nachos. For a while I figured that, hey, not subjecting my innards to wheat made them more durable. And then the cramps, heartburn, and nausea hit. It was bad. I felt like I was coming down with food poisoning or something; for a while I was kind of worried that there was more happening than just the ground pepper...anyway, I nursed a ginger ale and breathed deeply and calmly and hung out in the loo a bit. Things got better after a while; this morning was still a bit rough, but ok. Usually, I back off of anything at the first hint of ground pepper--often such a slight hint that I doubt myself until I actually see a stray grain of pepper--so this was the most pepper I'd eaten in eons. It was a good wallop.
I have to figure out how to manage socializing a bit better! Giving up beer kind of sucks, but I miss the breaded bar food a lot more!
But the run today went well so I feel that I'm not giving these things up in vain. I'm definitely feeling more energetic in general. I hope the muscle tiredness wears off soon. Last time, it took about a week and a half, I think, but things were worse this time so I'm not expecting the recovery to be that quick.
Meanwhile, I'm hungry. Very hungry. I took iron supplements after the run and ate chickpeas, lentils and rice, usually quite filling, but I'm still craving meat. So we got a couple of nice dry-aged steaks for supper :)
Sadly, I'm off the sun salutations in the morning routine--it wasn't clicking with me. I might be better off with something less vigourous and/or less head below the heart. That doesn't feel right when I'm still waking up. However, what was working this week is heading out for a run first thing. :)
Today, the run wasn't quite first thing, but close enough. My husband, dog, and I ran for almost a 1/2 hr, and I mean run. It wasn't terribly fast, but it wasn't jogging. My husband's comfortable pace is 9-9:30/mile (slower than that, and he finds it jarring); I was really glad to do that. It was revealing: my aerobic capacity is still ok, I was maintaining an easy run breathing pattern (4-2 or 4-4) comfortably; however, the muscular end of things, though improving, still has a way to go. I still don't have the juice I should have--either my muscles are weaker or less of them are working as hard (or at all?). Definitely, I have a weakened core, which could eventually lead to ITBS if I'm not careful. Still, it was a very encouraging run.
Especially encouraging since yesterday was a bad gut day. I'm still adjusting to the no wheat diet, which is easy in my house, but not so much out of it. I went with my husband to the Officer's mess, and the main course was breaded catfish. I went there hungry, but there were mashed potatoes without ground pepper so I filled up at least. We were going out for dinner to a pub, and I figured I would fill up on fries if worse came to worst, so I didn't have much to eat after lunch. Well, this pub didn't have fries. I ordered nachos. They were covered by a salsa with ground pepper in it--I'd forgotten to ask beforehand. Since my only other option at that place was a salad, which probably also had ground pepper in the dressing (I've been tripped up by that before), and I was starving, I ate the nachos. For a while I figured that, hey, not subjecting my innards to wheat made them more durable. And then the cramps, heartburn, and nausea hit. It was bad. I felt like I was coming down with food poisoning or something; for a while I was kind of worried that there was more happening than just the ground pepper...anyway, I nursed a ginger ale and breathed deeply and calmly and hung out in the loo a bit. Things got better after a while; this morning was still a bit rough, but ok. Usually, I back off of anything at the first hint of ground pepper--often such a slight hint that I doubt myself until I actually see a stray grain of pepper--so this was the most pepper I'd eaten in eons. It was a good wallop.
I have to figure out how to manage socializing a bit better! Giving up beer kind of sucks, but I miss the breaded bar food a lot more!
But the run today went well so I feel that I'm not giving these things up in vain. I'm definitely feeling more energetic in general. I hope the muscle tiredness wears off soon. Last time, it took about a week and a half, I think, but things were worse this time so I'm not expecting the recovery to be that quick.
Meanwhile, I'm hungry. Very hungry. I took iron supplements after the run and ate chickpeas, lentils and rice, usually quite filling, but I'm still craving meat. So we got a couple of nice dry-aged steaks for supper :)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Day 12
Jogged 40 min with the dog--didn't have time to do resistance exercises but will hopefully get those in later today.
I'm tired, but I'm taking iron supplements again. That will do the trick. I was kind of surprised at how low my iron had gotten despite eating so much during Christmas vacation and not exercising much. I guess I need the iron supplements. LOL
I'm tired, but I'm taking iron supplements again. That will do the trick. I was kind of surprised at how low my iron had gotten despite eating so much during Christmas vacation and not exercising much. I guess I need the iron supplements. LOL
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Day 11
I seem to be recovering!
I talked with my nurse practitioner today. She said that, since the aches and other symptoms go away when I stop eating wheat (as they are now), then I should continue to avoid wheat, at least to see if everything clears up. She also said that the blood tests aren't 100% accurate, the biopsy is the way to tell, but that's invasive and, at any rate, the solution would be the same: no wheat. There we go! I still have a bit of soreness, and a few tough lymph nodes in my neck, but things already feel a lot more normal.
So, on the one hand, I feel like I've gone through a bunch of pointless discomfort these past few months, but it had to be done. I wish I'd noticed the connection years earlier, but better late than never. Maybe one day I can run a marathon with actual normal glycogen stores. Actually, I have: last year's Winterman. I ate rice noodles for supper (was eating those a lot back then), and then nothing for breakfast except juice because I was in a rush, and then during the race I had bananas and coffee, and some sports drink, and I had very little wall and no loss of speed. My last 5K was the fastest.
This year's Winterman....well, unless I make a miraculous recovery in the next couple of weeks, it's probably not going to happen. Although, pretty much every run has been beyond the wall since late last summer so I'm totally used to running with low glycogen stores...I'm not counting it out completely, but I figure I'll wait and see if I want to switch to a shorter race, if possible, or get out and jog 5-10K and then DNF. will see!
I would like to be able to do a decent 5K by June, for Emilie's Run. This seems to be a reasonable goal, assuming that things continue to improve. I would also like to run the Hintonburg 5K in July...well, anyway, I'll see!
At any rate, I jogged for 40 min yesterday, and just 15 today--I was a little bit tired and I was in a pair of shoes and socks which didn't agree with each other! I never have socks pull down and collect under my feet, but they were doing that today. Very annoying!
I talked with my nurse practitioner today. She said that, since the aches and other symptoms go away when I stop eating wheat (as they are now), then I should continue to avoid wheat, at least to see if everything clears up. She also said that the blood tests aren't 100% accurate, the biopsy is the way to tell, but that's invasive and, at any rate, the solution would be the same: no wheat. There we go! I still have a bit of soreness, and a few tough lymph nodes in my neck, but things already feel a lot more normal.
So, on the one hand, I feel like I've gone through a bunch of pointless discomfort these past few months, but it had to be done. I wish I'd noticed the connection years earlier, but better late than never. Maybe one day I can run a marathon with actual normal glycogen stores. Actually, I have: last year's Winterman. I ate rice noodles for supper (was eating those a lot back then), and then nothing for breakfast except juice because I was in a rush, and then during the race I had bananas and coffee, and some sports drink, and I had very little wall and no loss of speed. My last 5K was the fastest.
This year's Winterman....well, unless I make a miraculous recovery in the next couple of weeks, it's probably not going to happen. Although, pretty much every run has been beyond the wall since late last summer so I'm totally used to running with low glycogen stores...I'm not counting it out completely, but I figure I'll wait and see if I want to switch to a shorter race, if possible, or get out and jog 5-10K and then DNF. will see!
I would like to be able to do a decent 5K by June, for Emilie's Run. This seems to be a reasonable goal, assuming that things continue to improve. I would also like to run the Hintonburg 5K in July...well, anyway, I'll see!
At any rate, I jogged for 40 min yesterday, and just 15 today--I was a little bit tired and I was in a pair of shoes and socks which didn't agree with each other! I never have socks pull down and collect under my feet, but they were doing that today. Very annoying!
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