Weekly Rundown- Blarg.
Well, it was another week of ups and downs! We wouldn’t want life to be boring, would we? I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for this weekly rundown. Let’s get started! Monday I started the week off with a 30 minute yoga flow class- Denis Morton on the Peloton app as usual! Tuesday First things first- Becs Gentry’s Core for Runners class (again, Peloton app) and then I did a warmup of hip circles and lunges. Then a three mile run in my new shoes! I wore the Topos Phantom 2, and they felt good. For the most part. I was feeling my left foot (the one with plantar fasciitis) a little, but I put that down to residual fatigue from my long run on Sunday. Wednesday After my usual warmup I did a four mile run. This run was back in my Hokas, and everything felt good. Afterwards I did a 15 minute yoga flow class with… you guessed it… Denis Morton. Thursday This is my usual strength training day, and I decided to do a 45 minute power yoga class with Denis. Obviously, I like his classes! His instructions are clear, his voice is calm, I like his music, and the power classes are hard. I definitely count them as strength training. Friday Okay. Here’s where things got a little wacky. After a warmup I went for a three mile run. It was earlier than I usually run, the sun was barely up so it was cooler, I was wearing the Topos again and I felt great… …for the first 2 and 1/2 miles. But in the last 1/2 mile I suddenly felt a sharp, pulling sensation on the side of my PF foot, down close to my heel. OH. CRAP. I slowed down, I modified my stride, I somehow got to the end of the run. I had to take my daughter to school so it wasn’t like I could just stop and mess around. I was aware that my foot wasn’t feeling good, but I kept moving- got her to school and then decided to do a quick yoga flow class. The yoga usually makes my foot feel good. Not this time! When my foot was still hurting by the end of the class, I knew it was messed up. I had to go through the whole day at work with it hurting, and, well, it sucked. Not only was it physically painful, but every step down was like a knife through my soul… telling me “you won’t be able to run.” SIGH. Saturday Usually on Saturdays I do a power yoga class, but I was afraid to risk it with my foot. My foot felt better than yesterday, but still hurt. I slept a little later and then did Bec’s Core for Runners class before work. Here’s a weird coincidence- I had just mentioned Janae’s blog in my last post, and on Friday she posted that her plantar fasciitis had also flared up. On Saturday she posted a video by Brad Kearns, showing two stretches to get rid of PF. Here’s the video. The comments are overwhelmingly positive, and Janae and I (she doesn’t know we’re a team here) are now doing these stretches multiple times a day. I’ll let you know how it goes! Sunday Since Janae and I are taking a couple days off to stretch and let our feet heal (once again to clarify- she has no idea who I am, but we’re working together here!) I got back in the pool. I did a 60 minute pool run and oh yeah, I forgot- pool running is hard! So… that was my week. In retrospect, I shouldn’t have tried out new shoes. I still think the Topos are great, but there was something about them my foot didn’t like. BUT… the real issue is, I’ve had plantar fasciitis for over a year and that’s not cool. in Brad’s video, he says he had it for FIFTEEN YEARS. And he was a professional triathlete. He demonstrated how he would have to hobble out of bed each morning, prior to getting his foot warmed up so he could run, and my husband said, “Hey, he looks like you!” Yes… that first-thing-in-the-morning hobble/limp/hop is no fun. But I’m feeling encouraged- If Brad got rid of his, I can too. Once again here’s his video. He explains why these stretches are different and why they work. He’s an entertaining guy, so I encourage everyone to check it out! I hope everyone had a great week of running! Have you ever had plantar fasciitis? Do you like to try different shoes, or stick with the same thing? – From now on I think I should stick with the same thing!
Things That Make Me Go “Hmmm…”
Hello everyone and happy Friday! Today I’m sharing a few things that baffle me… and I’m interested to hear your opinions on them as well! Here we go… Sports bras with removable pads. I don’t understand this concept. I have three bras right now that I love, except for the removable pads. Why are they removable? Every time I put them on, I have to adjust the pads, which have bunched up in the wash. Sometimes they come out completely in the washing machine. There are worse things in the world, but I don’t understand the point of making the pads removable. I’ve tried removing them completely, but then the bras just don’t look right. Are there people who like the fact that you can take them out? Is it cheaper for them to make it this way? Could I pay five extra dollars to get the pads to stay in place? I guess the solution is to make sure the bras I buy in the future do not have this feature. It just irks me that bras I otherwise love, have these pads. Grr. Re-wearable workout clothes? With all the anti-odor technologies for workout clothes now, I’m noticing that it’s a “thing” to wear them several times before washing. Now, I get this in a way- if I do a short yoga flow and don’t sweat, I’ll wear those clothes again. But running clothes??? On the Let’sRun forum, people are confessing that they wear their socks 4-5 times before washing them. One guy said that after a run he puts all his clothes in the dryer for 20 minutes with a Bounce sheet, then washes everything after three or four runs. Ew. A couple people pointed out that it’s better for the environment to do less laundry, and some people said they were trying to preserve the expensive fabrics of their clothes by not washing them as often. Okay… I get that, but… I think I’ll just stick with doing things the old fashioned way- I throw my clothes into the laundry and do wash multiple times a week. Wearing your running clothes all day. I see this all the time! Just yesterday the amazing Janae, of Hungry Runner Girl, posted about her awesome workout- 20x400s at the track. Eesh! Then she took her kids to a gym class, and after that met a friend for lunch. As she said, “just one of those days you are still in your running clothes until 2 pm.” Now… No criticism of Janae at all here, because she always looks beautiful and her running clothes are so cute. And I’m sure she doesn’t smell as bad as I would if I tried to do that. But I would be SO UNCOMFORTABLE. Maybe it’s because I live in Florida where every run is a sweatfest, but I can’t stand being in my running clothes once I’m done running. At the very, very least I need to change out of my soaking wet clothes. If I’m in a hurry and can’t take a full shower, I give myself a quick rinse. I would be so miserable if I had to wear my running clothes for hours and hours. Do you re-wear running clothes, or wear them all day? –No judgment if you do… I’m just curious to know how you make that work! Removable pads… yes or no?
Things I’ve Changed My Mind About
Don’t worry! Unlike last week’s post where I shared Deep Thoughts about vaccines, this post is all running-related! Let’s dive right in with this first one: A few months ago I found myself craving lemonade on my hot, sweaty trail runs. Then I discovered this product. It’s like a gel, but more liquid-y. It seemed like a dream come true… until I tried it. I hated this!!! First of all, no big surprise here but it was obviously hot by the time I was trying to ingest it out on the trail. Who wants hot lemonade? But let’s look closer at that last sentence… I was TRYING to ingest it. In other words, it was hard to get it all down. The whole point of a gel is that it’s quick and easy- you squirt it into your mouth and it’s done. This just went on and on. It was too thin, too much liquid, and too hard to drink it all. Blech. The best part is, in my infinite wisdom I bought a box of twelve. I’m trying to think of how to use them up. Maybe squeeze one into my water bottle? But then every sip I take will be lemon flavored and that could get old. Possibly I could freeze one? After thirty minutes in the heat it will probably just be hot again. Well… I’ll think of something. Here’s the next one: This time, I went the other way. I initially did NOT like LMNT. It’s really, really salty and some of the flavors are bizarre (chocolate salt? Lemon habanero?) The first time I tried one, it made me nauseous. I decided to stick to my Nuun. Then my husband bought a box of the watermelon salt flavor. It’s still a little weird, but it’s growing on me. I’ve found that if I drink half of one, it’s perfect. On a shorter run day, I’ll drink half after my run. On a long run day, I’ll drink half before my run and half after. It’s definitely working great- I used to feel a little headache-y and depleted later in the day after my long runs, and this seems to have solved that problem. Okay, here’s the last one… shoes. After running in New Balance for years, I decided to branch out. Well, I should specify that I usually alternate between the Hoka Cliftons and New Balance 880s. I’m always on the lookout for shoes with a wide toe box- the problem is that a lot of them are also zero drop, and I just can’t do that right now with my plantar fasciitis. Darlene has been mentioning how much she loves her Topos, so I decided to try them! I got the Phantom 2, which is a neutral shoe with a 5mm drop. I would prefer an even higher heel to toe drop, but my Cliftons are 5mm so I knew these wouldn’t be too low. I ran in them for the first time today and I like them! They feel light and peppy, with plenty of room for my fat feet. I do have one complaint, however… let’s look at them again. What is up with these colors? I wish I could have been at the meeting where someone said, “How about teal, orange and fluorescent yellow?” and everyone said “Yes! That sounds perfect!” I guess it’s…. cheerful, but I think this color combination is hideous. But that’s okay- I don’t care what my running shoes look like, as long as they’re comfortable. The only thing is, when I’m done running in them I like to be able to wear them to work. I won’t be wearing these to work. What things have you changed your mind about lately? Do you care what color your running shoes are? What’s your favorite running fuel?
Weekly Rundown- That Was Weird
Well, this week was…. interesting. I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever be able to string together two consecutive weeks where nothing goes wrong. Fingers crossed… maybe someday. Thanks as always to Kim and Deborah for hosting this weekly rundown! Before we get started… Last week was so great that I went into this one thinking something like this: “I’ve finally figured out the ideal balance between running, strength training and yoga! I have the perfect method to activate my glutes before every run! The yoga is going to cure my plantar fasciitis! I have solved all my problems…. I am INVINCIBLE!!!” Ha ha. Here’s how the week actually went: Invincible Monday I did a 20 minute yoga flow in the morning, and a 20 minute restorative yoga class in the evening. Can’t wait to get this amazing week started! Ahem. Tuesday. Last week I was doing a short Peloton Strength for Runners class before each run. Today I didn’t do an actual class, but some of my favorite moves from the classes I’ve taken in the past. I started with the Matt Wilpers giant hip circles- love those! This felt great and I also did some front and side lunges. I felt strong and ready to run. Then I walked out the door. I was suddenly seized with the strangest pain. It kind of felt like something slipped out of place in my right hip/glute/low back area, and it ached intensely with every step I took. Although I was startled, I didn’t panic right away because it just felt like if I could somehow… adjust… something… back into place, it would be okay. I’m not saying that’s what was actually happening… that’s just what it felt like. I tried stretching it out, but the pain continued. It wasn’t a sharp pain, but a very, very strong ache in my right glutes. Now, I know a lot of people would have canceled that run immediately, but apparently my motto is “better sorry than safe.” I was determined to see if I could somehow run. After trying out a few different things, I found that getting into a very low lunge position seemed to ease the pain somewhat- so I did that for a bit and then started a cautious run. After the first ten steps or so, the pain eased up and I was able to run! I actually had a good run, and when I stopped and walked back to my house afterwards I was pain-free. I thought the problem-whatever it was- was gone. I felt so good that I thought I would carry on with my plan of doing a strength class. I had planned to do Becs Gentry’s Core for Runners (on the Peloton app) since I did that one last week and liked it so much… but just to be on the safe side, I tried a couple of the moves I knew were in that workout. NOPE. As soon as I bent forward I could feel it again. At first I got worried that it was in my SI joint- I’ve had that before, and it’s bad news. But I was able to determine that it was along the top of my glute. Doing a strength class was asking for trouble, so I skipped it. My right glute was achy all day, and when I went to bed I considered taking an Advil to help me sleep. But I wanted to make sure I didn’t sleep in a position that would aggravate it, so I didn’t. Sure enough, I had to experiment to get into a comfortable position, but finally found one (with the help of three pillows) and slept like that all night long. Wednesday Ahhh! Top of the morning! Obviously my glute pain was all cured. Ha ha… we’ll just see about that. It was another running day, so I cautiously, CAUTIOUSLY did some warmups. I did the giant hip circles again, very, very slowly. There was a point where my glute hurt, but I found that if I slowly pushed through the motion, it got better and not worse. Instead of lunges I did some split squats- also very slowly. Everything seemed… okay… so I left the house again. AGAIN, as soon as I started walking, the pain came back. WHAT IN THE WORLD. I pictured the running gods looking down at me, laughing hysterically, saying “we’ll make this happen every time she tries to walk down the street! She’ll never be able to figure out what’s going on!” This time I was undaunted. I did my low lunge stretches and stubbornly began my run. Again, after the first ten-twenty steps, the pain disappeared. I had another great run. Thursday Now I was in a quandary. Thursday is usually my day reserved for strength training. But I didn’t know what was causing my pain (other than walking out the front door.) Honestly, I considered just sleeping in and not doing anything, but it was one of my daughter’s early days at school so I had to be up anyway. So… I did a short Matt Wilper’s Strength for Runner’s class. I had done this one before and knew what to expect. I figured I could handle it, and of course I would have stopped if anything hurt. But all was well, and since that went okay I did a short yoga flow afterwards. I just wanted to see if I could get through all those moves, and I could. Hmm! Friday Another running day. Although my glute was still achy, I could tell it was better. I did a warmup and then, with some trepidation, walked outside… everything felt fine. Yay! I was able to walk normally and had another really nice three mile run. I did a short yoga flow class afterwards. I could feel my glute aching at work later in the day, but… well, what can I do. Nothing I do seems to be hurting it, and yet it hurts.