A Peaceful World
A running world is a peaceful world. –Eliud Kipchoge Did you know that a large number of Americans actually agree on most issues? According to a recent Gallup Poll, 79% of Americans believe abortion should be legal. Three-quarters believe the government should expand its coverage of health care. And I doubt anyone woke up and said “Gee, I hope the police kill some more black people today!” Our similarities are greater than our differences. How did it get to the point where we’re shouting angrily and unfriending people for voting differently then we did? I blame it on our current political system. BOTH Democrats AND Republicans are more interested in increasing power in their own parties than passing effective legislation. And it’s actually in their (once again, both Democrats and Republicans) best interests to keep issues alive rather than doing anything to solve them. Keeping people riled up increases voter turnout and gives politicians a platform to run on. I know there are some congressmen and women who are exceptions, but the ones in power are only going to keep this system as is because it works in their favor. But it doesn’t work for the people they are supposed to represent. That’s my rant! I don’t know the solution, but I believe it can be solved if we can elect some younger, more forward-thinking people (hello, Andrew Yang!). I voted for Joe Biden in this election. But my biggest wish is for a peaceful world, and a running world.
Fun with weights
I just love lifting weights! … said no runner, ever. I think we all can definitely see the benefits (in theory) but when it comes to actually doing it, it’s so hard to fit into our schedules, it makes our legs sore, and most importantly, it just isn’t running. I’ll bet there isn’t a single person reading this who would rather go into the weight room instead of outside for a run. I mean, we run because we love it… we lift weights because we have to. My own strength training has been pretty lame lately. Mostly bodyweight stuff like planks, side planks, pushups, glute bridges, but it’s been a while since I actually did weighted squats or deadlifts. And I have no excuse, because I have that equipment at home. In this podcast Steve Sisson gives a GREAT explanation of why lifting weights is so important. First off, he’s not a fan of bodyweight exercises. He says if you want to look great on the beach, do bodyweights, but if you want to become a better runner, you have to lift actual weights. The way he explains it is, when you lift weights you balance and enervate all the muscles around the key movers (glutes, quads, hip flexors) which leads to optimal biomechanics when running. Running with better biomechanics leads to fewer injuries. He recommends Olympic-style lifts like squats, deadlifts, hip thrusters, and step-ups, and advises if you’ve never done them before, find a strength coach who can show you the proper form. Or, you can go to a website like strengthrunning.com and get free programs. Years ago, when I was dealing with a different running injury, I worked with a personal trainer who showed me how to lift weights. I’m sure I could use some touch-up sessions, but right now I’m going with what I remember. I’ve started squats and deadlifts again, and am doing weighted glute bridges (I need a bench and a step so I can start doing hip thrusters and step-ups.). I even took out my arch-nemesis, the pullup bar… Sigh. Years ago I worked hard with the pull-up bar but eventually rage-quit because after months of trying, I still couldn’t do a single pullup. I was doing assisted pullups and one day the band broke, which I took as a sign from the universe that I should give up. But here’s the thing. Now that I’m coming back to it as a beginner, I can appreciate how much stronger those muscles in my back were back then, even though I wasn’t doing actual unassisted pullups. It turns out doing three sets of eight assisted pullups is much, much better than doing zero sets of zero reps of nothing. One of the reasons I’ve never liked strength training is that no matter what I do, I still feel like I’m weak and puny. Now I can appreciate that just doing it, even if the weights I’m lifting aren’t as heavy as they “should” be, is still making me stronger, much stronger than not doing it at all. One last thing I’m doing is the Gauntlet Plank workout. Oof. This one hurts, but is a good one. I can see doing this when I get back to running, on days where I’ve finished a run and have just a little bit of time to add something extra. One last things Steve mentions in the podcast is that if you come to the weight room with a bad attitude, you might as well not do it at all. So I’m trying, TRYING to embrace it. Especially now, when I can’t run. There’s no more excuses. As they say, “If you can’t get out of it, get into it.”
The “I” Word
Everything was going so well. I had been consistently running forty miles a week with one speed day and a nice long run on Sundays. Everything felt good, other than a slight, nagging foot pain. A few months ago I started to feel a pain in the bottom of my left foot for a few minutes after getting out of bed each day. A couple years ago I had plantar fasciitis in my right foot, so I was pretty sure I knew what this was. But it only hurt first thing in the morning, so I ignored it. Over time it gradually got a little worse, tightening up when I sat for any length of time. I started to focus more on ankle mobility and trying to loosen up my left soleus, which has always been tighter than my right. Otherwise I didn’t worry about it too much because it never hurt while I ran. A couple weeks ago it became extremely hard to step down first thing in the morning. I would be limping for the first ten minutes or so, then it would loosen up and I could walk normally, and thirty minutes later I would be out the door. Remembering how painful it was when I first got up I would think “HOW AM I EVEN RUNNING RIGHT NOW?” but still, it didn’t hurt while I ran and continued to feel good for the rest of the day, so I managed to convince myself that running was actually stretching it out and keeping everything loose. I doubled down on my stretching and started to roll the bottom of my foot with a golfball every time I sat for an extended period. I tried different sleeping positions and used the dreaded plantar fasciitis sock that pulls your toes up at night, but is so uncomfortable that you can’t sleep well. Funny how we’ll do ANYTHING OTHER than stop running… right? By the time Sunday rolled around I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a good idea to do a long run. But as my husband said, “That’s never stopped you in the past.” I had a sixteen-mile run on the schedule, a new playlist, this podcast with Jared Ward, and a cold brew coffee-flavored Gu. What could possibly go wrong??? The run was amazing. I started early and ran in the dark for the first hour (remember I live in Florida where it’s still hot and humid) then ran to a nearby park, where I ran on the cross country trail for the middle part of the run while listening to my podcast, then ran home. I felt a few twinges, and a couple times I stopped at a water fountain for about thirty seconds and when I started up again, it hurt. But then the endorphins (and caffeine from my Gu) would kick in to mask the pain and all was well again. I knew I would pay for it later… but it was worth it. As expected, the rest of the day was horrible. I limped around painfully until I finally found some relief by digging out some old inserts from the last time I had PF, and put them in my old running shoes- at least I could maneuver myself around the house that way. I had a small fear that I had seriously injured my foot, but the next morning all was well again. Meaning, I could barely put any weight on it first thing but then it loosened up for me to walk almost normally again. Almost. Because I’m not a complete lunatic, I finally called it. I called off running for the week and called my doctor. I’m going to go in for a couple treatments this week and see what happens. Yes, I should have done this a long time ago. To paraphrase (horribly) an old saying, the best time to take care of this would have been four months ago. The second best time is now. The dreaded “I” word… I’m injured again.
Run for the Pumpkins 10k
One of the great things about a pandemic (wait… what?) is that when you make up your own “race” since all the real races are canceled, you can name it any ridiculous thing you want. This morning I ran my own personal “Run for the Pumpkins 10k.” I haven’t run a 10k in years and years. There just aren’t that many of them around here, for one thing, and it’s kind of an odd distance. There are always 5ks and half marathons, and I’ve run plenty of those. Even when the 10k distance is offered I shy away from it. I know (more or less) how to pace myself for a full or half marathon, and I’ve made it my mission to get better at the 5k distance so I have a pretty good idea how to run that race. But the 1ok is too long to go really fast and too short to go slow- it’s confusing. Lately I’ve been doing a weekly tempo run but am having trouble nailing down the pace. I based it on my latest 5k (also a time trial, run on July 4th), which I plugged into an online pace calculator to get my 10k and half marathon equivalents. I’ve been trying to run my tempo runs anywhere between my 10k and half marathon pace (depending on how I feel that day) but it all seemed very nebulous. I decided I needed a true 10k time trial and “Run for the Pumpkins” was born. Unlike the 4th of July, where my husband and I ran our “race” together, I did this one on my own. He hasn’t been doing any speedwork at all, so at this point he would rather do a slow ten mile long run on the weekend than attempt a 10k. I got up in the dark and rain, reflecting on my odd idea of fun things to do on my day off (I actually get up earlier on Sundays than the days I work). Luckily the rain stopped and the temperature was at a miraculously low 73 degrees (remember I live in Florida). After mile warmup and some strides, I started my race. Wow, it was hard to get the pace right at the beginning. Maybe because I was fresh off the strides, but I started much too fast, faster than my 5k pace. I managed to reign it in, but that first mile was my fastest. But guess what my second fastest mile was- the last one! And I had a kick for the last .2 miles! I ran two loops of 3.1 miles, and quickly took a swig from my hidden water bottle in the middle (I didn’t stop my Garmin- I figure you always slow down a bit when you take water so it was similar to what happens in a real race). Overall my average pace was 9:05 per mile. I know… that’s not fast. But it felt fast to me! And that kick at the end made me feel like my speed is coming back. Just for reference, I have a sub-48 minute 10k PR, set in the old days, before kids. I know it was a long time ago and I’m older now, but I really believe I have it in me to set a new PR. Not now of course. But you have to start where you are… and now I know where I am. You know what the hardest mile was? MY COOLDOWN MILE. My entire body really, really didn’t want to cool down- it wanted to lie down. But I did it. I reached 30 miles for the week, and this was a cutback week. So I’m happy! Next up will probably be a 5k or 10k on Thanksgiving, and then either a full or half marathon in the winter- in person or virtual, depending on when races come back. But when they do come back, I’ll be ready.