"Barefoot" Running

Here's how I feel about it so far. I'm noticing that my calves are less irritated after each "barefoot" running session. I've had 5 so far. I ended up running back to back days to avoid the treadmill. I knew we had rain coming, so I did a 4miler yesterday instead of today. My calves are a little sore, but nothing serious. Considering that they had no rest, they feel great. I'm still not hobbling downstairs or busting out the liniment. When I ran in my stability shoes last Saturday (to supposedly give my calves a break), my left foot got irritated. I've been cracking my left ankle ever since. It was harder to run properly on my forefoot. With that being said, I think I'll be switching to EVOs (Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot EVO) as my primary running shoe. They just feel better. I'm still easing into the EVOs and back into running in general. So I'll be increasing mileage slowly. Don't expect a 10miler from me any time soon :)

In case you care, here's what I did since my last post. And yes, I'm still going strong with yoga, 13 days straight. Namaste.

3/9 - Yoga Meltdown Level 1 (34min)
Swim (1700yd - 49:09)

3/10 - Yoga: General Practice w/Backbends (38min)
3mi Run (27:36 - 9:12 pace)

3/11 - 4mi Run (See below)
Weights (11min)
Yoga: Hip Mobility (30min)

3/12 - Shimmy (21min belly dance)
Yoga: General Practice (46min)

Activity Route: Track Elev. Avg: 36 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/11/10 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 04:42 PM Difficulty: 1.7 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 59 F temp; 64% humidity 59 F heat index; winds N 5 Performance Distance: 4.00 miles Time: 0:37:21 Speed: 6.4 mph Pace: 9' 20 /mi Heart Rate: 172 bpm (Avg) Calories: 448 193 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .55mi Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 180 - 200 0h 07m 19% 0.83 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 28m 75% 2.99 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 03m 8% 0.32 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 00m 1% 0.04 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 45 +0' 25 6.1 -0.3 159 0 ft 2 9' 29 +0' 09 6.3 -0.1 173 0 ft 3 9' 16 -0' 04 6.5 +0.0 176 0 ft end 8' 49 -0' 31 6.8 +0.3 182 0 ft Versus average of 9' 20 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

So Far, So Good

I've run three times since my last post. I have to say, I really like the EVOs, despite the pain they cause. I've hobbled down the stairs for a couple of days due to sore calves. I had to put a liniment on them and everything. But it's all good. I ran in them again last night, and my calves feel fine today. Maybe they're quick learners. On Saturday, I gave my calves a break and ran 3mi in my old bricks. Talk about being aggravated. It was probably a bad run in general, but the bricks didn't help. I know I'm coming back from a long break, but I just felt so slow. It took so much effort to maintain a pace that was once easy. But it's to be expected. Unless you're Super Athlete, you're not gonna pick up right where you left off. I'm over it. I had a good run in my EVOs yesterday, where I felt almost normal. Sub 9:00 paced short runs were a distant memory. But after last night, I left the track feeling like I'd be back there sooner than I thought.

But I must confess, I've had hip irritation after my second run. It's only after a run, never during. Then a fellow runner, Dan, posted an article that may be helpful. The first injury mentioned describes what I've got going on. So I've been doing weighted side leg raises since Saturday (2x15, 5lb). I'm going to keep up with that and see how it works. I won't consider any serious mileage or races (not like I like racing) until I get that figured out.

So with the muscle soreness I had going on, I've been that much more on top of yoga. Yesterday made 9 days straight of yoga practice. And with every session, I see improvement. It's nice to be able to measure progress without having to depend on the scale. The scale hasn't been my friend lately anyway. I'm convinced it's mostly muscle. I am stronger. And I see that when I finally master a pose I couldn't do. Or improve my swim stroke. Or by doing something as simple as pushups, because Lord knows, I could only do them on my knees. I'm not busting out my jeans or running skirts, so it's all good.

Snapped a quick pic yesterday before hitting the track.

In case anyone cares, here's a recap of what I did since my last post. I'm so happy to share because I have NOT been slacking!

3/2 - Yoga: Hip Mobility (30min)

3/3 - Yoga: Power Yoga Total Body (1hr)
Swim (43:21 - 1500yd)

3/4 - 2.36mi Run (23:00 - 9:44 pace)
Yoga: Hips, Legs & Feet (43min)

3/5 - Yoga: Power Yoga Total Body (1hr)
Shimmy (21min of belly dancing)

3/6 - 3mi Run (27:44 - 9:14 pace)
Yoga: Hip Mobility (30min)

3/7 - Swim (30:45 - 1150yd)
Yoga: Wringing Out the Old (36min)

3/8 - Yoga: Power Yoga Total Body (1hr)
3mi Run - Awesome stats below :-)

Activity Route: Track Elev. Avg: 36 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/08/10 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 05:50 PM Difficulty: 1.5 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 57 F temp; 30% humidity 57 F heat index; winds W 6 Performance Distance: 3.00 miles Time: 0:27:27 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 09 /mi Heart Rate: 181 bpm (Avg) Calories: 335 198 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .43 Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 180 - 200 0h 19m 71% 2.17 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 07m 25% 0.72 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 01m 3% 0.09 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 29 +0' 20 6.3 -0.2 169 0 ft 2 9' 11 +0' 02 6.5 -0.1 185 0 ft end 8' 47 -0' 22 6.8 +0.3 190 0 ft Versus average of 9' 09 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Are You There, Running? It's Me, Christie.

It's been 10 weeks...10 LONG weeks since my last run. My hip/pelvic bone thingy needed some me time. Your body talks, you listen. In the meantime, I've been cross training. Thanks to Jillian Michaels, I've been introduced to plyometrics and other painful things. I figured if I could jump around my living room with no irritation, then I could go out for a spin. I just needed my new kicks first.

Speaking of kicks, instead of VFFs, I went with EVOs. I ordered them last week. They're shipped out of Jersey, so I got them the next day. Too bad they run small. My toes came to the top without socks. So I sent them back for a size up. I got them today. I was excited to try them out, BUT I had to get rid of my headache first. Damn headaches. Luckily, I didn't have swimming on the agenda. The slightest headache + swimming = DISASTER.

Now on to the actual running...I hit the track with Week 6 Day 1 of the Couch to 5k programmed into my Garmin. I wanted to start back slow. And I had to remind myself that I'm starting back with a somewhat barefoot running shoe. That should take some getting used to. I started the 1st running interval on my toes. I didn't want to come down too hard on my foot. About time the 2nd interval comes around, I'm landing more on the whole foot. I'm also noticing that my calves are getting a serious workout. Guess that means I'm running correctly. Now I'm on the last interval. I started out fast, not trying to be fast. I was completely warmed up at this point. Come the last 30sec, I speed up for a strong finish. I'm sort of running on my toes again, actually the ball of my feet really. It felt good. It made my other kicks feel like bricks.

Alright, so I blink and the run is over. I cool down. And all I'm thinking is that my calves could use some me time with yoga. Actually, they were chanting, "Yoga! Yoga! Yoga!" Again, my body talks, I listen. So yoga it was. Now that I'm running again, I bet no one cares that I swam 3 times last week. Or that I did a strengthening yoga routine yesterday that still has me sore today. So feel free to scroll down to my pretty graphs below. It's been months since I've posted them. Come on. You know you really wanna.

I'm truly excited to be running again. Even more excited about the new kicks I'm running in. And I'm doubly excited that I have my cardio of choice back. I have about 3 weeks to get it together before I hit Miami. Yes, I'll be in Miami for the Winter Music Conference + 3 more days just to chill. I'm UBER excited about warm weather and getting my tan back. Glad I don't have to wait for the weather here to act right. If I see one more snow flake, I'm gonna go postal.

And on that note, I'm out. Happy running, walking, biking, yogaing, chiseling, shredding, lifting, dancing, swimming or whatever it is that you do! Just do it!

Activity Route: Track Elev. Avg: 36 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/01/10 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 04:58 PM Difficulty: 1.4 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 47 F temp; 43% humidity 47 F heat index; winds NW 9 Performance Distance: 2.36 miles Time: 0:24:00 Speed: 5.9 mph Pace: 10' 10 /mi Heart Rate: 169 bpm (Avg) Calories: 247 194 bpm (Peak) Notes Cool Down = .45mi Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 180 - 200 0h 09m 36% 0.95 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 08m 36% 0.87 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 06m 25% 0.50 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 01m 4% 0.08 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 38 +0' 28 5.6 -0.3 159 0 ft 2 10' 18 +0' 08 5.8 -0.1 173 0 ft end 8' 44 -1' 26 6.9 +1.0 188 0 ft Versus average of 10' 10 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com