Christie trains....again: EVO

Friday, March 12, 2010

"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
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Heart Rate	Elev Gain
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

Monday, March 1, 2010

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!