Weekly Rundown- More Trail Adventures
Hello! Hope everyone had an awesome week! I had some fun runs on the trail and increased my mileage a bit. That lingering pain in my foot has moved to a different area (WHAT) and I’m taking the advice of no doctor ever- ignoring it until it goes away. So far so good! I’m linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Rundown. Here’s how it went! Monday Day off as usual. Once again I did the Somatic Movement routine for plantar fasciitis every day this week. Tuesday Ran 3 miles. I decided to run on the trail as much as possible, which only amounted to two days this week. For this run on the roads (as well as all my other pavement runs this week) I wore my Hokas- because a rule of life is, “If your foot hurts, wear Hokas.” My foot felt fine, as it did for every run this week (it’s only when I’m not running that I feel it.) Followed this run by Runner’s Touch exercise. Wednesday Trail run!!! On Wednesdays I have the option of running after I take my daughter to school, so I ran on the trail (I’m not going to run on the trail super early in the dark, obviously.) But first, since I had the time, I did some strength work- walking lunges and single leg squats. When I started my run I could feel the fatigue in my quads- it must have been from the squats. I was trying really hard to get down to where my thigh was parallel with the floor, and it was challenging. This was supposed to be a four mile run, but when I started and my legs were already fatigued, I decided to make it five. Ha ha… I know. It made no sense. I guess I just figured I would make it an extra-hard day! I also was on a mission to try and figure out where I could make the trail loop around, rather than just turning back the way I came. No luck on this day- I ended up doing an out-and-back. Thursday Not surprisingly, my quads were REALLY SORE. I did an easy 3 mile run and called it a day. Friday This was my day off from running, and I had planned to do squats and deadlifts. But my quads were still sore- I really know how to trash them. Instead I did Runners Touch (which targets glutes and hamstrings) and pushups. I do the Runners Touch barefoot so it also works the muscles in my feet- yay. Saturday 3 miles followed by Gauntlet Plank workout. Sunday I love Sundays!!! I went back to the trail for a planned 7 mile run. This time, I ran far enough so that I got to an option to turn onto a more wilderness-y path. Yes! Yes! I’ll take it! Although there was this sign… After a brief hesitation, I decided we’re more a threat to them than they are to us (since they’re apparently endangered) so I took that path. I did not see any Indigo snakes. After a bit, this dead-ended into a road I was 99.9% sure I recognized from last week, when I had taken the other direction on the trail. If my calculations were correct, I could take this and loop back around to where I started. However! I was exactly at 3.5 miles. I could go back the way I came and know for sure I would run seven miles. OR, I could attempt to loop around… knowing it could be longer. I decided to loop! After running a little ways on the new road, I realized I had committed myself to running a couple miles (at least) on pavement. And it was sunny, and the wind was blowing strongly against me. Grr… But then! I looked to the side and saw that if I ran down a hill, there was a dirt path running parallel to this road… not sure if that path linked up to where I would need to be eventually, but it looked way more pleasant than the road I was on. I ran on that dirt path all the way back to where I needed to link up to the last bit of trail that would take me back to my car… and there was a canal separating the two. It didn’t look deep… I could maybe wade through it (I wonder if Indigo snakes can swim?). I decided to find my way back up to the paved road that I knew linked back to the path I needed. I also knew I was going to go longer than seven miles, but I didn’t care. Up until this point, it was my favorite kind of run. Not knowing where I was going, exploring different paths, being out in nature… the miles ticked by easily… UNTIL THE LAST ONE. Actually, more like the last 1.5. I was now on the part of the trail I knew, and I was tired. It’s been quite a while since I’ve run long enough to really feel fatigue at the end of the run, but I felt it now. I used two tricks to get through it- first, I focused only on getting to the next landmark. Just get to that rock… now just get to that tree… now just get to that puddle… nothing actually happens when I get to these places, only that I pick the next landmark to focus on. I’ve used that on long runs and it’s a great distraction. Then for the last half mile I used my mantra reserved for these moments: “I’m strong. I’m good at this. I can do it.” Over, and over, and over again. I’ve had long runs where I hit a bad patch and literally said that mantra again and again, for an entire mile. It never fails- by the time I get to the next mile, I feel like a new runner. But this time
Things to Feel Good About
It’s been a gloomy year, and for many, an especially gloomy winter. With all that’s been going wrong, here are a few things that I’m hoping will provide some cheer. 1. The Olympics are happening!!! The IOC has announced that the Summer Olympics will be held in Tokyo from July 23rd to August 8th, 2021. “There is no plan B and that is why we are fully committed to make these games safe and successful,” stated IOC President Thomas Bach. That’s something to look forward to! I’ll be watching as much running as possible, as well as swimming and, obviously, gymnastics. Here’s a question though- are we calling these the 2020 Olympics or 2021 Olympics??? 2. “A Quite Possibly Wonderful Summer.” This article takes an optimistic view of what the summer could look like. A recent study from Columbia University leads researchers to believe that, due to the incompetency surrounding testing efforts, the actual number of Covid infections in the U.S. is likely five times higher than reported. This would mean about one in three Americans has already been infected with SARS-CoV.2, which, combined with the vaccinations, could bring us to herd immunity even before summer. Pandemic expert Juliette Kayyem has stated, “I have plans to travel abroad in August. I feel like the world will start to move well before then.” WELL?… could it be true??? 5. What you’re doing right now. As I finished my run this morning, I was listening to a Rich Roll podcast with author Jedidiah Jenkins. Their conversation was slightly meandering, very interesting, and Jedidiah reminded Rich that there’s someone in a hospital bed somewhere who’s hoping and praying to be able to do what you’re doing right now. I was walking back to my house; there was a cool breeze blowing and a drizzle of rain. I thought how lucky I was to be walking like this instead of in a hospital bed, and also thought “good thing I’m not listening to this while cleaning the toilet or taking out the garbage!” Then I remembered an article by Leo Babauta entitled “How to Be Happy Anytime.” It’s a short read and well worth it. Leo states “Life will suck if you are always wishing you’re doing something else. Life will rock if you realize you’re already doing the best thing ever.” It was one of those Florida mornings where it’s rainy and sunny at the same time, and I tried to find a rainbow. A picture of a rainbow would be perfect to tie this all up in a neat little bow! I couldn’t find one, but that’s okay- the feel of the rain on my arms and face was enough. What do you guys think? Anyone hoping to travel this summer? What’s your favorite Olympic sport to spectate?
Weekly Rundown- I’m Getting There!
Ah, Florida… you can be so cruel. My husband- along with thousands of other runners, no doubt- is lamenting the fact that this weekend’s weather couldn’t have happened last weekend, when the Ft. Lauderdale Marathon and Half took place in the humid 80 degree (plus) temperatures. This morning was dry, breezy, and in the 60s. I took advantage of the beautiful day to do some rare trail running! But first… I’m joining up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Rundown! Here’s how the week played out. Monday Day off, as usual. But I will mention that I did the Somatic Movement exercises for plantar fasciitis every day this week, as I talked about in this post. Tuesday Ran 3 miles, followed by Gauntlet Plank workout. It’s come to my attention that the eleven plank variations in this workout don’t include a side plank- so I added that in. Wednesday Ran 3 miles, followed by walking lunges and more planks. Thursday Ran 3 miles. Did not do any strength work, due to the Incident of the Lost Cat (she showed up innocently at the door two hours later, as if nothing had happened.) That’s okay… I don’t like strength work anyway. There! I said it out loud. Friday Oh, darn. Day off of running so I did… strength work. The instructions for the Somatic Movements I’m doing- to reset and loosen the muscles in my low back, calves, and feet- include the advice not to do any intense stretching or strengthening exercises, for the time being. Well… I’m not sure if any of my strength training could be considered “intense,” but just to be on the safe side I stuck to all bodyweight exercises this week. On this day I did the Runners Touch and pushups. My current pushup routine is to do 54 of them (matching my age- next month I’ll have to go to 55!) – not all at once, but in sets of ten, divided between regular pushups, diamond pushups (your hands are making a diamond) and… my arch-nemesis, tricep pushups. I was really sore the next day! Maybe I need to do pushups more than once a week. Saturday Ran 3 miles (again) followed by Gauntlet Plank workout (again.) Sunday Ran 6 miles! SIX! Hooray! I went to a trail I discovered by accident last spring. I’m still trying to figure it out. I know that if I continued out on part of the trail I would be in the Everglades, but I’m not sure how far it goes. I also haven’t figured out an official access point to these trails, one that doesn’t require me to park in an empty field next to a “No Trespassing” sign and duck under a barrier. My husband pointed out that I could probably find a map of these trails somewhere… I COULD, but I could also just keeping trying to figure it out on my own. That seems like more fun! The portion of the trail above was disappointingly paved, but most of my run was done on dirt or packed gravel, and my foot really liked that. You would think stepping down on an uneven surface would be bad, but it somehow feels good. Maybe it’s helping to release the tightness in that foot. That was the week! My foot is holding steady, and I increased the mileage a bit. Anyone else have any fun trail adventures? Or was it all treadmill? I know the weather in Florida seems unfairly beautiful, but the tables will be turned in a few months. We have our challenging season as well!
The Pain Relief Secret
“You must expect to improve over time instead of gradually breaking down as you age. You must understand that you’re supposed to feel wonderful and comfortable in your body throughout your life.” -Sarah Warren, author of The Pain Relief Secret: How To Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain I first heard of this book when I heard Sarah Warren speak on the Running Rogue podcast. Since then, I’ve visited her website, read her book and have been practicing the somatic movement exercises to loosen tight muscles in my feet, calves, and back that, according to Warren, lead to plantar fasciitis. “‘The great phase in man’s advancement is that in which he passes from unconscious to conscious control of his own mind and body.” -F.M. Alexander F.M. Alexander (who developed the Alexander Technique) and Moshe Feldenkrais were early pioneers in the field of “somatic education,” a general term describing methods used to address physiological issues by changing habitual motor patterns and sensorimotor awareness. What does all this mean? Well, the book goes into a nice amount of detail on how the nervous system works, including illustrations showing different parts of the brain, muscles and nerves. It’s presented in such a way that you don’t have to become a neuroscientist to understand it. The basic principal underlying Somatic Education is that most painful conditions are caused by learned muscle patterns. Your muscles are controlled by your nervous system. When your nervous system notices that you’re repeating movements or postures over and over again, it makes those movements automatic. It does this to be more efficient- you wouldn’t want to have to figure out which muscles to contract every time you try to walk. Eventually when the movement (or posture) becomes completely automatic, control over it shifts to a different part of the brain, leaving the part of your brain that consciously focuses on movement free to learn new things. So far so good! But, you can also hold your muscles in an unnatural positions. Sitting all day, hunching your shoulders over a computer, or holding a body part in a tensed position for another reason (such as, to protect it from the pain of an injury) are all postures and movements that your nervous system becomes efficient at as well. It notices that these movements are repeated and will start to contract those muscles all the time. Furthermore, sensory adaptation will come in to play- the same way you stop noticing a smell after a while, you will stop feeling how tense those muscles are. Their state of permanent contraction will eventually feel normal. This state of perpetual, and unconscious muscle tension, according to the theory of Somatic Movement, is responsible for most of the painful conditions people experience as they age- including carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, TMJ pain, tension headaches, frozen shoulder… to name just a few. “Practicing Clinical Somatics exercises will help you regain conscious control of your mind and body and give you the freedom to change old habits that have been keeping you in pain.” -Sarah Warren Thomas Hanna took the ideas of Alexander, Feldenkrais, and others in the field and developed a series of movements designed to reset the nervous system. These exercises are the basis of Somatic Education. They involve very slow eccentric contractions- which is when your muscles are contracting under a load; for example when you’re lowering a dumbbell while doing bicep curls, that’s an eccentric contraction for your biceps muscle. The movement is performed very slowly so your nervous system has a chance to sense the movement. One of the movements I’ve been doing is for the calf, and it’s easy to describe. You start with your feet two to three feet away from a wall and lean forward with your hands on the wall. You should feel a very slight stretch- if it’s too much or too little, you adjust your feet accordingly. Then you raise up on the balls of your feet so your calves are contracted, and then slowly, slwoly lower down until your heels are on the floor. You can see how the calf muscles are eccentrically contracted under a load this way. These exercises do not involve strengthening or stretching- as a matter of fact, Warren explains that stretching does not help loosen tight muscles, at least not permanently. The muscles may temporarily loosen up by being stretched, but the only way to permanently loosen them is to reset the nervous system. In Warren’s book she provides links to videos demonstrating each routine, and in the video she talks you through it so you understand how slowly to perform each movement- it’s really slow. The plantar fasciitis routine involves loosening your calves, feet, and low back. She actually says plantar fasciitis stems from tension in your low back. “You must learn to be self-sufficient, and appreciate how incredible it is to be able to take steps to improve your health instead of hoping that others will fix your problems for you.” -Sarah Warren I became interested in Somatic Education because I’ve been looking for something to help with my plantar fasciitis. I’ve been struggling with it for about six months now. Originally I took some time off running and received shockwave treatments. My doctor felt that the tissue had softened up enough for me to return to running, but I have lingering pain that I haven’t been able to get rid of, in spite of rest, stretching, massage, and various other treatments. So… did the Somatic Movement exercises work??? I wish I could say that after a week of doing the exercises, all my pain is gone. But in the book, Susan says that since you’ve spent your whole life developing the patterns that led to your pain, it’s not going to go away overnight or in a couple weeks. The information I’ve learned from this book has made me aware of how much tension I’m carrying in that foot constantly, which most