Health

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Results – Running soon!

I got great overall news yesterday when I went an orthopedic sports medicine doctor.

My concerns were my hip, which hasn’t recovered since my marathon and my achilles which we really bad a couple weeks ago when I tried running.

He took X-rays and I told him about my desire need to run.  I told him how I weighed 100 lbs more that I do now just 2 years ago and running was the major reason I am where I am physically.  He seemed impressed and wanted to help.

For my hip, he said I had bursitis.  He said he wanted to inject it and then have me put heat on it and an anti-infamitory cream.  He also wants to send me to a physical therapist to get some help. So he came in with a needle and went to inject me.  At the point I thought he was numbing it, he was done.  No pain from the needle!  By the time I got into my car, I was in less pain.  For the first time in a long time, driving my stick shift didn’t bother my hip.  My walk yesterday afternoon felt great and, though I wanted to “try it out” running, I didn’t.

My achilles does have a spur on it.  He said he could operate on it but that could end my running completely.  He said it looked fine and I think the PT will help me with that some also.  He just said to stretch well use ice.

Before I left, I asked him if there was any reason I couldn’t run immediately and he said no, I can run as soon as I want.  He did say not to run hard for a bit, so no workouts – darn! 🙂

Everything checks out.  I figure I’ll keep walking through the weekend and maybe start running slowly starting next week.

Enjoy your running weekend.  I’ll be right there with you soon!!!

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Who says running isn’t good for you!?!

Yesterday was a fitting way to enter my vacation and this weekend’s marathon.

I went to my doctor for a physical.

It was two years ago that I went in and was told I was pre-diabetic and if I didn’t start getting some sort of exercise that my future was not going to be hopeful.  Thinking back on my physical in 2011 I remember the following info:

  • Blood Pressure: 150/100
  • Weight: 268
  • Pulse: >90
  • Sugar: high
  • Cholesterol: Good was low and bad was high – Overall high
  • About a third of my blood test was going the wrong direction

Yesterday, two years and 2000 miles of running later, here were the same stats:

  • Blood Pressure: 100/60
  • Weight: 182
  • Pulse: 64
  • Sugar: Normal
  • Cholesterol: Good is high and bad is low – Overall it was good.
  • My blood test was in the normal range on every item.

My doctor made an interesting statement.  He said he was amazed that I had done so well.  I told him that he shouldn’t be surprised since he was the one who told me to begin exercising.  He said, “But no one usually listens to my advice”.

What a difference a couple years make.  I am heading out tomorrow not only excited about my race, but also excited that I probably just added about 30 years to my life.

I guess it was worth an hour a day of hitting the pavement.

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OrthoLite Fusion Insole Review

I am hard on my running shoes.  I love my Saucony Fastwitch shoes, but they seem to “feel” worn out after 120 – 150 miles.  My solution… Purchase them on clearance from runningwarehouse.com at a great price and get 4 or 5 pair at one time.

I now, however,  have another option that doesn’t involve having to replace my shoes almost every month.  I was sent a pair of insoles in the mail from a company who saw my running blog.  I have never gotten  anything free from writing my blog, so it was pretty neat to get these and give them a try.

So, here are the details:

The insoles are “OrthoLite Fusion” insoles and can be found in many of the top athletic shoes such as Nike, New Balance, UnderArmour, Merrell.

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be much to the insoles.  “They are just insoles”, I thought to myself.  “I wonder how these will feel or will they even help?”

They helped a lot.

First I took out my old insoles from my Fastwitch’ and noticed how flat and worn they were.  Hmmm.  Maybe there is something to this.  Then I put in the Ortho Lite Fusion insoles into my shoes, tied up my laces and went out for my run.

I’m really not saying this for any reason than other how they felt…  It was like I had a new pair of shoes on.  Seriously, I have struggled with wearing out my shoes so much that this was like a gift to me.  I loved them.  I ran great that night and two days later had the best long run I’ve had ever.  I’m not saying that all of this is because of new insoles, but I was able to keep going strong for 3 – 4 miles longer than the week before.  Something helped, and I’m sure these were part of the solution.

Here is some info I got with the insoles:

OrthoLite Fusion Insoles

  • OrthoLite Fusion insoles are available at ortholite.com or amazon.com for $19.99. Features include:
  • Designed to fit all athletic and outdoor shoes or boots
  • Made with open-cell foam, allowing air to circulate around the foot, keeping it cooler and drier inside the shoe
  • Wicks moisture away from your foot leaving your foot cooler and drier
  • Unique spring-back technology ensures that your insole won’t flatten out and it will retain over 95% of its thickness over time
  • Our patented anti-microbial formulation (approved by the EPA and FDA) fights fungus, bacteria and shoe odor
  • Lightweight and fully washable
  • $1 from each purchase goes to  directly to the Level Field Fund, a grant-giving program that strives to bridge the gap in funding to uniquely talented athletes.

So, I will be using these insoles in the future when my shoes are low mileage, but the insoles are worn.  It made a huge difference in my running.

I hope this has been helpful to you also!

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Did running in compression socks make me dizzy?

You might be able to tell from the title of this post that it was a rough run yesterday.  I was so excited to try out my new compression socks that I got from a local retailer and see how they would help my running.  Specifically I want to try and help my legs on long runs to have better endurance.  The sales guy from the local store said these socks are made for running and specifically long distance runs like a marathon.

Here is a list of several things that may have contributed to my difficult run:

  • Hottest day of the week.  Monday it was in the high 70s and Tuesday in the low 70s.  Yesterday it was back up in the high 80s.
  • I didn’t drink as much water as usual.  I drank 64 oz of water rather than my goal of 96 oz.
  • I had a bad night sleep.  I woke up at 1:00 AM and did manage to get back to sleep, but it was not a very restful sleep.
  • Low carb eating.  I was at my lowest weight ever (176 lbs) and have eaten very few carbs.  Usually if I get below 180, I have difficult runs.

That said, I have NEVER felt as I did yesterday.  I ran a bit fast in the beginning which was not good.  Then as I hit the 3 mile mark, I got light headed and felt really strange.  It was almost like I was in a dream as I ran.  I tried to keep going and did for another half mile, but I got weak and really tired, so I gave up on the run at that point.  After I got home and rested, I felt fine.

So it could be a coincidence that I got so dizzy in my new compression socks.  I know others who swear by them and several other bloggers have suggested I try them.  I will say that my legs felt more relaxed and it seemed to me that I didn’t need to put as much energy into my legs in order to run.  At least that was my impression.

So did my compression socks cause this problem or was it circumstantial?

I have a 7 mile run today and I plan to use them again, so I guess I’ll find out the answer… maybe.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

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My running “adjustment”

A quick update as I need to get to work and didn’t get a chance to write this last night…

The Chiropractor went really well.  He took x-rays and said that everything looked great.  He did an adjustment that really did seem to help, but I was sore afterwards.  He then gave me some exercises to do and said that if I get my muscular issues taken care of, he thinks my pace will improve quite a bit.  I hope so!

One interesting thing.  This morning was the first morning in a LONG TIME that I walked down the steps after I woke up and had almost no pain!  Don’t get me wrong, my hip is still hurting a little, but my body wasn’t sore and my legs felt good.  That could the be the Chiropractor or the fact I’ve had 3 days off from running.  Either way, I’ll take it!!!

So he told me to take yesterday off and that I could run again today.  He then called me last night to see how I was doing.  I go back tomorrow morning for another round of adjustments.

Today, after work I’ll be running for the first time since Sunday.  I really thing this has been a good thing.  I felt like my body fell apart Sunday and I hope seeing this Chiropractor will begin getting me back in the running mode for the marathon.

BTW, I forgot to mention we have signed up for a 5K this weekend.  It is a fun race at 6:00 in the evening.  Summer evening, 5K, in the South – I can’t wait.  If I have too, I’ll walk the course; but I don’t think that will happen.  🙂

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Yesterday’s run and injury update

It was a good run yesterday with my friend Neill (@BigBigGeek).  I do enjoy running with other people rather than the lonely road by myself in my neighborhood.  It can really get monotonous running by yourself all the time, so when TJ and I can run together or I meet Neill to run, it is usually a much easier and more fun run for me.

Neill and I met at the mountain lake to run the trail, which is always fun.  Not only is is different running trail runs, but we also have a lot in common to talk about.

I got to the parking lot about 15 minutes early and it was pouring.  I wanted to warm up a bit so that my achilles and hip wouldn’t bug my on the trail, so I ran about half a mile around the area before Neill pulled up.  After we got ready to head out for our run, we decided that the trail may be a bit too muddy and slick to run and so we ran the road instead.

We did about 3.2 miles together and I did about a half a mile, so I was close to 3.75 miles for the day.

All that to say, I am still hurting a bit.  My left hip is still giving me problems from when I tripped over a sidewalk crack last week.  I am hoping that my reduced mileage this week will help calm it down and I am stretching it a bit.  I guess I should be putting ice on it also.

I admit that I am concerned  that with my marathon being less than 10 weeks away I feel this banged up.  There isn’t much I can do, but take it easy and stay off the sidewalks!!!

Anyway, thanks Neill for the great run.  Always a pleasure.

I may take today off and hope that tomorrow things feel better.

Sigh.

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Vacation / running / record month

It was a great weekend thanks to HM.

For Father’s Day HM took my lovely wife and myself to Chattanooga, TN.  He paid for the hotel, food and gas.  It was a great time and nice to get away for a couple of days.

Of course, as I planned this trip, I had to figure out where to run.  I looked online and found out that there is a bike/pedestrian path that runs next to the river appropriately called, “Riverwalk”.  So Saturday morning at 6:00 I went out to find this Riverwalk and to run my 8 miles.

It took a while for me to find the beginning of the main path, but some nice people on bikes pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way.

I had a great run.  It was beautiful, peaceful, and the course was relatively flat, especially compared to my neighborhood.  Here are some images I took with my phone as I ran…

The Riverwalk path

The Riverwalk path

The view from the Riverwalk path

The view from the Riverwalk path

My run on Saturday went really well.  I took Friday off running as I had run the 9 days prior and we had to travel after I got off of work.  So Saturday my legs were fresher and I felt much better than I had the past week.  It also didn’t hurt that it was about 30 degrees cooler than the last day I ran in my neighborhood.  So I pushed myself a bit, which I haven’t done in a while because of the heat.  I worked a few miles at trying to keep my marathon pace and was fairly successful.  To be honest, if it weren’t for my trying to find this path in the beginning, I would have averaged in the 8:00 – 9:00 range for the whole 8 miles.  Alas I ended up at 9:02 pace which isn’t bad.  In fact it is the best pace I have had since the heat kicked in serval weeks ago.

Sunday was different.  I woke up at 3:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep.  I really didn’t “feel” like running.  I was tired and sore, but I went out anyway and ran the Riverwalk.  It wasn’t nearly as fun, but I still managed a 9:58 pace for 8 miles.  My goal was to run 15 miles, but I ran out of time as we had to eat and check out of the hotel.  Also I was just tired and couldn’t do the extra miles, even after we got home yesterday afternoon.  So, sadly I missed my first 200 mile month by 7 miles.  Still it was my first month over 150 miles, so 193 isn’t shabby.

Looking forward, I think I will cut back this week and try to let my body heal.  My achilles is better, but did bother me yesterday.  Also during my Thursday run/walk in 101 degree heat, I wasn’t paying attention and tripped in a crack in the sidewalk.  I lunged forward and had to catch myself.  It really messed with my left hip which hasn’t been a problem since the half marathon in February.  It was better Saturday, but much worse on Sunday and last night I woke up in pain.

So, with 1o weeks to go to my marathon, I am having to pull my training back to recover.  On the bright side, it is not supposed to get out of the mid 80’s here for the next week.

Today is another planned off day and I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.

Thanks again HM for the trip!

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Summer running – 4 ways to make running more tolerable

What was I thinking?

Marathon training in the South and in the summer.

I had a great run with TJ yesterday and actually ran my 8 miles 5 minutes faster than Monday.  But my pace is still down and the heat is really difficult.

There are ways to enjoy running in the summer.  Okay, maybe not enjoy, but to make it more tolerable.  I have been trying to tweet articles as I have come upon them, but they mainly seem to “boil” down to the same things:

STAY HYDRATED:  Personally I try to drink at least 96 ounces of water a day before I go running and preferably 128 oz.  I can feel the difference, even in the winter, when I haven’t had enough to drink.  I began drinking half my body weight in ounces of water back when I was dieting and have been able to keep it up.  The way I do this is to drink 32oz (1000 ml) of water as soon as I get to work.  I just down it quickly and get it out of the way.  Then I drink another 32 oz before lunch and a final 32 oz after lunch.  I try to finish my last 32 oz about 2 hours before I go running, if at all possible.

STAY COOL:  That may seem like a stupid thing to write about running in 100 degree heat, but it is true.  Anyway to keep yourself cooler during your run is very helpful.  I have gotten a hat and shirt that cool as they get wet (or sweaty).  I also have heard that just running your hands under cold water before you head out of the house goes a long way in helping you stay cooler.  Some people will run early in the morning or in the evening to make sure that they don’t run in the heat of the day.  Unfortunately I can’t do that with my schedule, so I have to come up with other ways to cool off.  I have even gotten to the point of going inside after the first half my run to drink some water and cool off a bit before continuing.

RUN SLOWER:  This is a hard one on me.  I worked all Fall and Winter to move my pace up and was pretty successful. Now as we begin with the heat of the summer, I am happy with 45 to 60 seconds a mile slower pace than during the winter.  The psychological effect of this is the most difficult to get beyond.  But now I have resigned myself that slowing down now will keep me alive for another run tomorrow, so that is good. 🙂  Basically as you run your blood goes to your skin to help cool your body.  This is blood that used to be available to your muscles.  So you will run slower in the heat because your body has to cool itself.  Just slow down and enjoy the run!

BE SMART: Pay attention to your body as you run.  Don’t push beyond what you can handle, even if it is less than normal.  Heat isn’t something to play games with.  Drink a sport drink or something equivalent right after exercising and rest.  If you feel at all nauseous or have weakness or other unusual symptoms during a run, call someone to pick you up.  TJ, RS and I have begun texting my Lovely Wife when we leave and when we expect to get back.  That way if we are out too long, someone knows to come look for us.

This isn’t an exhaustive list – obviously.  Just a couple of things I have picked up throughout the past several months.   I am not a doctor, but I like to learn from experience. I hope this helps.

Enjoy the summer.  Enjoy your runs.  Enjoy life.

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Achilles fix? Maybe!

93 miles in 2 weeks.

43 miles last week.

13 miles on Sunday.

That is a lot of miles for a 50 year old who has been running just over a year.

Many of you know that I have suffered with achilles issues for some time now.  I haven’t been writing about it because my ice baths for my foot after running has been keeping the problem in check, but it has still been difficult at times.  One bad moment was when I was getting up from sitting and hit my heal into the back of the chair I was in.  That sent me through the roof.  An hour later I was out running and the run was okay, but I had more pain.  That was Friday.

I had been thinking about the logic of stretching my calf to relieve the pain in my achilles. Everyone says to stretch by leaning forward with the foot on the ground.  Yes I can feel the stretch in my calf, but I also feel the pull on my achilles.  Then I thought, many people will tell you to take time off from running and let it rest to get past the issue.  So why am I stretching and pulling against it if it needs to rest?  Finally I got a foam roller to roll on my calf.  I am to roll until I feel a knot and then hold the knot until it releases.  This I did.  But it is hard for me to spend more than a few minutes doing this along with other stretching, running, family, work, dog, etc.

All that to say, I did something Saturday night that allowed me to begin my run on Sunday with NO pain in my achilles.  I ran 8 miles until I began to feel a little pulling.  It was amazing to me.  It is like when it is hot outside for weeks and one morning you go out and it is cool.  Wow, what a difference.  You notice it right away.  That was my run yesterday.  Zero pain.  Ahhh.

So what did I do?

I laid in bed while TJ and my Lovely Wife and I watched the first Spirit of the Marathon.  I put my left knee up with my foot on the bed.  I took my right leg and set my calf directly on top of my knee.  Then I dug in.  I could apply as much pressure or as little pressure as I wanted.  I finally found a spot on the outside of my calf that hurt a lot, so I worked that area for over an hour.  It hurt, but it was easy to continue.  I just watched a movie and did about 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off of allowing my knee to massage and kneed my sore calf muscle.  That was it.

The next morning (Sunday), I got up out of bed for the first time in a long time with no pain.  I knew I did something right – finally.

I’m not saying that I am fixed.  After my run yesterday my achilles was pretty sore, so I did some more work on it last night, but not much.  I feel asleep too fast.  Still, I now know an answer that I hope will permanently fix my achilles.

Time will tell.

It was a good long run by the way.  I did well until the 12th mile and then stated to fade.  Much better than last week.  So I am making progress.

12 weeks until the Lehigh Valley Marathon!  I hope I’m ready.

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Running workout – Not yesterday!

The best laid plans…

I went out yesterday for my workout (1/4 mile repeats at 6:30/mile).  I was a bit hesitant since I had almost no sleep the night before and I was tired.  So I decided to set out for my 2 mile warmup and play it by ear.

Well I messed up.  I started way too fast.  About a half mile into my run I could feel my achilles again.  I got a bit overconfident and pushed to hard to soon.  By the time I got back home at the 2 mile mark, when I should have been putting on my racing flats, I decided the workout wasn’t going to happen.  My achilles wasn’t too bad, but I could feel a tug and I just don’t want to mess things up this close to the 5K.  I was wearing my Saucony Fastwitch shoes (which are becoming my favorite everyday shoe), so I changed into my Saucony Mirage since they have more support.

I did well for the next half mile – no pain and felt good.  Then I felt the tug again.  I threw in the towel.  I stopped at 3 miles, went inside, got a bucket of ice water and soaked my foot for 15 minutes.  TJ asked if I had used the KT Tape, which I hadn’t.  Not because I didn’t want to, but because I forgot.

So I will try my workout today if I feel up to it.  I did get better sleep last night, however my family is passing around a virus that I am desperately trying to avoid and I don’t want to wear myself down and take a chance at getting sick right before the race.  TJ has already gotten over his virus and RS just got it yesterday along with my Lovely Wife.  HM is still in the middle of his infection.  The bad thing is it gets into your chest, which isn’t good for running a 5K.

So I will try to stay healthy and not push too much.  After the 5K on Saturday I’ll probably take several days off and walk or (as Strive Balance suggested) ride a bike.

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It took 13 months before I got injured running…

Every once in a while I have a day where I don’t feel like running, but I go out anyway and have a great run.

Yesterday was not one of those days.

I was tired and just wanted to skip my run, especially since it was “hill run Thursday”.  I did what I always do, I got home, changed and went out for my run. It began well enough.  I ran relaxed and got  2 miles into my run and my achilles started bothering me.  So I just tried to keep relaxed and the pain subsided, so I kept running.  By now it was hot and I was a bit tired and finally got to the hill that I run.  I rested a bit and then started my reps.

I got to the top of the hill and heard a dog barking.  I hear dogs barking all the time on my runs, so I ignored it.  As I ran, the barking got louder and I had the realization that the dog was behind me.  As I turned to look, I noticed a large doberman right behind me and it didn’t look happy.  My first instinct was to stop running and start walking.  I knew I needed to get past its house, but if I kept running, it might get bothered.  As I walked and kept my eye on the dog, I heard a voice of a woman calling for the dog.  I looked up and there was a woman sitting on a porch.  She called to me that it was her neighbor’s dog and she didn’t know why it was out.  I yelled to her, “Am I safe?”  Her reply was, “I’ve never known it to bite anyone”.

I finally got to the point where the dog went home and I started running again.  I decided to run at the top of the hill through the community a bit to figure out what to do.  You see, this hill was the only way out of the neighborhood and I had to go right back past that dog.  I was a bit concerned.

Finally I decided to make my trek back down the hill.  About a hundred yards before the house with the dog, I started walking.  I quietly walked past the house and never did see the dog.  I started running again and finished my run in the rain.  By the time I finished, I was cold, tired, my achilles was hurting again and I wished I had just stayed home.

Now here I am writing this.  My achilles still hurts, the top of that same foot hurts and my opposite hip hurts.  It has been 13 months of running with no injuries and now I feel totally beat up.  On top of that, we have our 5K in 2 weeks.  It is the last real 5K I want to compete in since I need to start training for the Lehigh Valley Marathon in September, my first marathon and hopefully my Boston qualifier.

So, I am taking at least today off and possibly the whole weekend.  I will see how I do.  I definitely don’t want to be out of running long because I was stupid and kept running on a hurt foot.

Oh well…  As I mentioned in the post yesterday, I learn by experience.  Sometimes that is a positive thing and sometimes it isn’t.

The joys of running.