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

Nope. I'm not doing it.

I'm still not running. It's not about laziness or cold weather or whatever. I'm still injured. Before I had taken close to 4 weeks off. But I found out quickly that it wasn't long enough. It didn't matter how long or short the runs were, my hip region was still irritated afterward. It wasn't a problem during the run though. So it's quite tricky. Usually if you're injured, the discomfort hits you while running. But that's not my issue. I can still run. And I had run as much as 10mi with the injury. But it's after the run that would kick my ass. It's been, what, six weeks now? It has improved a lot. But it's not 100%. So I'm still not running. Part of me really wants to go out for a spin. I miss running. I really do. But I don't want to re-injure myself by not giving it enough time.

In the meantime, I'll keep up with my cross training. Well, somewhat. I got caught up watching the Australian Open at ridiculous times of the night and morning. It completely threw my schedule out of whack. So there was a week that I did absolutely nothing, not even yoga. But the tournament is over now. Back to business as usual. I've skipped my Y classes simply because I don't feel like going. But I replaced them with some kick ass Jillian Michaels dvds. I did No More Trouble Zones a couple weeks ago. And I was sore from head to toe. Everything, except my face, hurt. I did it again today and I have no post workout muscle soreness (yet). I also did 30 Day Shred a couple times. It's a lot less painful, yet effective. Next, I plan to tackle Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism. Something about it scares me. I gotta feeling I won't be able to lift my leg. But we'll see.

Whatever I've been doing for the past few weeks has definitely been effective in the strength training department. You know why? Because I can do push ups now! I can't do a bunch. But I can do more than ten at a time. That, to me, is HUGE. My arms are easily cut because I don't carry my weight there. But my strength (and weight) is in my legs. Previously, I could only do modified push ups. And that alone, was enough work for me. My, have things changed. I hope that all this other stuff will make me a better runner once I get back to it.

Speaking of running again, I am seriously considering buying a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. There's something to this barefoot running thing. Heck, my dad even brought up barefoot running the other day. He's not a runner. I'm hoping it will cure whatever I got going on, if I start slowly. I read somewhere that it can be good for those who were jacked up but now coming back to running. I can't see running in them all the time, but it would be a great training tool. And I've seen a bunch of blogs/training logs of VFF runners who adore them. It's worth a try. But first, I need to stop being lazy and measure my foot. Where's my ruler?

It's Been How Long?

I know, I know. I've done a terrible job at maintaining this blog. For one, I'm always logging everything on dailymile. It posts to Twitter and Facebook. So if you follow me on there, you know what I'm up to. Two, I was in a funk. I took some time away from all things running..my blog, your blogs, and of course actual running. In the midst of the funk, I had an injury too. It's still here. So I've cut my mileage way down. Yeah, I ran 113mi in August. Then ran less than 30mi in September. Big difference. Gained a couple pounds from inactivity. I even stopped hitting the club while in my funk. If you know me, you know that I love to dance and that I dance hard (like hard running in a race). But it's cool. I'm active again and those couple pounds are gone. And I was out last night wearing a groove in the floor. So all is good. I ran today and it was cool. Pretty graphs below. I also pulled out my bike for the first time in ages. It was a short ride (3.24mi). I was riding to the track to get a run in, but there was a football game going on. I took the scenic route home and ran in the park instead. As far as my current running state goes, I am not following a plan. Maybe another time, but not now. No need to pressure myself, especially when there's an injury involved. If I feel like running, I run. If I'm not feeling it, I don't. Usually my hip lets me know anyway. It can go from being sore, to being okay, to feeling like I've been shanked. Gotta play it by ear. But my goal is to run 3 or 4 days a week, allowing plenty of rest. In the meantime, I've spent a lot of time swimming and doing yoga. I had my last swim class a couple weeks ago. And I'm really keeping up with my practice. I'm at the pool 2-4 times a week. If I have the time, I swim for at least an hour. I have two yoga classes this session on Mondays and Wednesdays. The Monday class is 90min long and more intense than Wednesday's 60min class. The classes really help my home practice. Yes, I'm doing yoga on my own too. I feel strong. No, I'm not balancing my whole body on my finger tips. I may never do that (too much junk in the trunk for all that). But my arms look like I hit the free weights. And we all know how I feel about strength training. HATED IT! Another thing I've been doing in my spare time is belly dancing. No, I'm not taking classes. I bought another dvd. Yes, another. I have one from a few years ago, but it's not very good to learn from. But the instruction on this new dvd is on point. Love it! That reminds me, I'm signed up for Zumba next session. We all know how I love all things Latin. Along with that, I'm signed up for more yoga (the same two classes), a chisel class (because I hate strength training but really should), and a step/sculpt class. I'll be busy, busy, busy and hoping to love every minute of it. Why am I all YMCA class crazy? Because it's free with my membership of course. It may not always be like this, so I gotta take advantage when I can. On that note, I've done all the catching up I'm gonna do for now (because I'm tired). I hope all is well. And I plan to catch up with y'all soon. Well, that's if my Google reader hasn't exploded :) Activity Route: Park Elev. Avg: 26 ft Location: Willingboro, NJ Elev. Gain: -27 ft Date: 10/11/09 Up/Downhill: [+173/-200] Time: 02:10 PM Difficulty: 1.8 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 64 F temp; 42% humidity 64 F heat index; winds NW 8 Performance Distance: 5.00 miles Time: 0:45:47 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 09 /mi Heart Rate: 172 bpm (Avg) Calories: 561 189 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 17m 36% 1.92 mi Zone 4 160 - 180 0h 25m 54% 2.71 mi Zone 3 140 - 160 0h 07m 14% 0.70 mi Zone 2 120 - 140 0h 00m 0% 0.04 mi Zone 1 100 - 120 0h 00m 0% 0.03 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' 39 +0' 30 6.2 -0.3 153 -49 ft 2 9' 24 +0' 15 6.4 -0.2 169 0 ft 3 9' 08 -0' 01 6.6 +0.0 175 +13 ft 4 8' 55 -0' 16 6.7 +0.2 181 +13 ft end 8' 39 -0' 30 6.9 +0.3 184 -3 ft Versus average of 9' 09 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com