10K: Week Two

Upon going back to look at the training plans I'd picked out at the start of this journey I'm having trouble figuring out what I did. I had planned to do the Hal Higdon 5k and 10k novice plans but upon going back to the website and inspecting them, they're not what I remember. Did they change or am I taking more liberties with tweaking them than I remember? The 5k plan I did seems to be a combination of the 5k and 8k plans? I haven't done anything wrong, I like the training plan I came up with. I'm consistently training and it's worth it. That's what matters. I will have to tweak things more as we go along. I'm just not an expert at knowing how to train myself for longer distances than 5k. I don't know what specific workout combinations will help me safely build mileage, mental toughness, and endurance for longer races. I can get myself close, It just won't be as fine tuned as it could be. This makes me nervous, but I have confidence in myself.

Mon 2.5mi+core- Wayne and I had the day off together so we went to a local Chinese buffet that we've been wanting to try. It was delicious and I tried lots of things I've never had before. However, something I ate didn't agree with me and I got sick and puked it all up. I felt much better after and had hoped to at least go bike at the gym but we decided to go look at a home for sale that was a decent commute away and didn't get back in time before the gym closed.

Tue 30min split+strength- Oy! I got a week ahead of myself again. Instead of splitting the run with some biking Wayne and I just ran 35min on the trails at work to make up for some of the time I missed on my feet yesterday. It was a fairly relaxed pace but I feel my hamstrings are doing more work then my quads and gluts again.

Wed 2mi run- Ran my usual 2mi loop in the opposite direction around Mount Holly so that I ran the steep elevation change uphill instead of down. It felt a little kinder to my knees

Fri 40min split+core- I was running a little late to the gym again. I did a 20min run in the park plus a 15min stationary bike and then finished with a final 5min run around the gym under the street lights so I could see. Our neighbor works at the gym and I forgot to renew my membership payment at the town hall but he was nice to let me in anyway just this once. I  bumped up the resistance level to 6 a little more often this time over the duration of the biking. Perhaps because I was only doing 15min and trying to make up for not quite doing 20. I felt like my legs where working well, and all the right muscles where working in the right amount and ways. My gluts, quads, foot stabilizers and, leg imbalances are working themselves out more. I can feel my left leg catching up.

Sat 3.5mi- I did a little core and foam rolling but I should do it more often. I focused on having light feet and relaxed arms moving in the direction I'm going. I had to shake out my arms and neck to stay relaxed. I'm also trying to stare down at the ground less, and out more. Mentally it can seem hard to look ahead at how far I still have to go but the view is prettier. When staring down I stay more focused in my head on the current moment on how my form and other things feel. I feel my feet and hip stabilizer muscles getting stronger my form is slowly improving.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this training plan. I don't like that my longest run is split up between running and biking. It doesn't boost my mental toughness or confidence to do two shorter runs. As much as I try to jump on the bike as quickly as possible after the run, I still have to sign in at the gym or take off a layer of clothing. It doesn't allow the two exercises to feel like a sustained effort. I don't want my heart rate to slow so much between activities.

I do understand the value of running the day after my longest run (or split run in this case) so that my body knows what it feels like to run when it's tired. But I don't know that it's working well with my recovery. The 10k plan was designed the way it is for a reason. I have tweaked it a bit to fit my weekly schedule and to try to adapt it to match up with and continue from the 5k plan I just finished. My body has gotten used to the 5k plan that I was doing and I'm having trouble knowing where to meet in the middle. What change is good for the 10k race?

After going back and reading the instructions that come with the 10k plan. It states that the Sunday runs it has listed  (I'm doing this weekly plan shifted a day earlier) are the long runs. In my mind I've been treating the Sat cross/split days as my long runs. The plan says cross training days should be recovery effort. When I finished the 5k plan I was doing long runs of 5-6miles so it seems silly to me to do a 3mile long run now. However the 10k plan does have much more cross training planned in then the 5k plan which is why I had chosen to make the cross train days split with running. The plan changed from 4days of running with a day of weights and cross training to 3 days of running with2 long cross train days 2days of weights and a day of core. I guess I found myself a little overwhelmed. But, hey, That's what this blog is for, so I can sort out my thoughts and have you lovely readers keep me accountable. Perhaps I'll give this one more trial week and If I still don't like the split run days maybe I'll run the whole time of the first cross train day, and then cross train the whole time of the second? Perhaps I should try to lighten up a bit on those long cross train days too. We'll see...Here's to the future and brave new adventures!

10K: Week One

This first week will be a little experimental trying to figure out how to best tailor the training plan to fit my week. This is what I've come up with so far. I may make a few tweaks like possibly switching my fri and sat runs so I'm still doing my long run on sat as the last run of the week.

Mon 2.5mi+core- Just did an easy 2.5mi around the whitewater channel loop and hawfield road. I'd never measured the Hawfield road bit before. It's nice to know it's longer than I thought. I may use it more.

Tue 30min split+strength- Happy St Patrick's Day! Ran for 15min around the park and then stationary biked in the gym for 15min also. Since I didn't do core yesterday I'm gunna ease myself into doing more weights and core with this 10k schedule by doing the RW hip and core workouts.
This wast the first day of the year I've run at the peak of 80 degree sunny weather- I need to hydrate more. After the run the bike resistance I've been using felt a little easy so I bumped it up and down a few times while still concentrating on using the right muscles. I noticed that wearing different shoes affect height of seat because they have different stack heights or sole thicknesses.

Wed 2mi- A fast two miles around Mt Holly. I pushed the pace in hopes of holding better form. I could feel my quads and especially gluts working more during this run. I do have a small amount of achillies pain after the run today that I'll need to keep tabs on. I had the same at the beginning of the 5k plan but it seems strange to occur now with less running mileage and more cross training.

Fri 40min split+core- Happy First Day of Spring! YAY! ran around the park for 20min Then used the stationary bike in the gym for 20min. I bumped up the resistance again at the beginning but then kept it at a more standard pace for the rest.

Sat 3mi- Oops. I got a week ahead of myself in the plan again and did 3.5mi. My right ankle and left knee are quite sore after. Perhaps it's because by body isn't used to running the day sfter my long run? I'll try to do core tomorrow.

I'm not quite pleased  with my asics running shoes. I feel like the thick heel is causing a little runners knee. My feet are wanting to contact the ground under and slightly behind my body. Hopefully doing more weights and core will help strengthen weak muscles and improve this. They'll probuby be good for long runs but not so much shorter training runs. If this struggle continues I may try to go ahead and acquire my next pair of running shoes that will satisfy more of the requirements that I was trying to work toward with my current running shoes. I hope a lower heel drop and more flexible shoe may help when mixed into my running routine.

Not quite sure how I feel with just a lower mileage taper week between these two training plans. I guess that will be part of this experiment too. I will likely add at least 3 days if not a full rest weekbefore starting the half marathon plan.

Color Me Green 5K: Race Complete!

At first, I wasn't so sure how I felt about doing a color run. I don't really believe in the idea of spreading colorful powdered stuff out into the environment to be washed into the soil and water systems. "The Color Run" uses powdered paint that I'm sure is not good for the environment. But, I was pleased to discover that the USNWC , since it is an environmentally conscious place, used something with a more natural chemical makeup. Simply- corn starch dyed with food coloring. So, what is it about a color run that's so interesting? How fantastic can running through clouds of green corn starch be? Especially on a rainy day? Well, it was more interesting than I thought it would be.

 

 They had two different shades of green a lime and a forest color. The corn starch didn't taste bad at all, it almost melted away since the powder is so fine. I also didn't experience any interference with my breathing especially as we ran through the huge cloud at the start. However, I did have slightly green boogers for the next two days.  It also took two showers to wash all the green off my skin. I looked like I was turning into the hulk in tiny little splotches on the fronts of my ankles, my left collar bone, and my left wrist. I may have been stained in more places if I hadn't washed it off so soon after the race. Because of the cooler and wetter weather than expected, before the start of the race, I ran the first 300meters in my rain coat. It is still caked with green powder even though I took it in the shower with me after the race. My white t-shirt that I wore during the race is still a little tie-dyed even after washing it. You can see the nice white square where my race number was pinned, red clay mud spots on the back from my shoe,s and swirly colors of green.

 

This was an untimed event with prizes given to the top five male and female finishers and the cleanest and greenest runners. I tried to be one of the cleanest runners to make it to the finish line. I realize now that maybe I cheated without meaning to by wearing my jacket at the start through the largest amount of green that we encountered during the race. But I didn't have time to wait around for awards anyway because I knew the locker room showers would get swamped quickly. Luckily I was one of the first people in before the long line formed and I even had time to help with cleaning up the start/finish line before I had to clock in for work.

 

 The race was quite light hearted because it was untimed and focused more on the colorful clouds of green. Mike Kafsky, our USNWC Guest Experience Director, dressed up as an aproximatly 6'5" tall green painted, red hair dyed, top hat and contact lens wearing leprechaun who started the race with us on a cruiser bicycle. The race also kicked off our first festival of the year- The Green River Revival. Though I have worked at the USNWC for over two years now this is the first time I've gotten to witness the water turning green. It's so brilliantly neon green your eyes can hardly believe it!

 

 

I went in undecided about how to run the race since, in the grander scheme of things I'm just starting this journey, and am technically just barely beginning to build mileage. Should I run casually just to see how my body would act in a race environment or did I really want to race and try to place in the top five ladies? I kind of settled somewhere in between. I knew that with an untimed race, and a very muddy, wet, and rainy day anything could happen. Without chip timing chances are most of the runners would be casual runners there just to have fun getting colored green. I decided I would start toward the front of the starting line but I tried to go out at my own pace and not get caught in race start adrenaline. I did run at least a few steps with my eyes closed and my breath slightly held  as we passed through the foggy shower of buckets full of green just after the start. It stopped raining almost exactly when the race started and I got warm quickly so I chucked my rain coat on our land sport office deck as we ran past to begin our journey on the trails.

 

I am glad, and it makes sense that, the race was mostly on the service roads instead of our single track trails. The USNWC closes it's trails depending on how wet they are so that runners and bikers don't cause terrible erosion problems in muddy conditions. The service roads are much wider an allowed us to have room to pass people and hop back and forth on the trail to avoid some of the deep puddles and small rivers of water. I noticed that the powder would clump a little, perhaps because it had gotten wet In the rain, so when I got green thrown at me it was like watching a small green comet with a powdery green tail and you'd get hit with a small soft mass. I did start to wonder if my face got more serious the further along in the race I went because It seemed that the green starch throwers weren't as interested in dousing me.

 

We did run on small section of single track trail downhill and I got a little frustrated when I had a dad and his two smallish (early middle school age maybe) kids in front of me going slower than my long legs wanted to go. The final straw was when a gal passed me and the family by cutting across the inside of a sharp turn. The competitive side of me snapped and I kind of tried to jump over or around the little guy  on the last steep part of the down hill and nearly knocked him over. I'm sorry little guy, you where doing awesome! And your dad was being an awesome parent to run with you and your sister to encourage you guys to run the whole race.

 

I paced behind the gal and then a guy who passed me on the next long, rocky, muddy, loose gravel downhill, that intimidated me a little- but I didn't mentally let them go. I stuck behind them for the next quarter to half mile until we got back on the main gravel loop around the white water channel to return to the Finish. I managed to gradually pick up the pace beyond what I'd physically expected to feel, and kick it in a lot harder than I'd anticipated I would.  I passed the guy and gal and then several other people who tried to stick with me to the finish. When I rounded the final corner to the finish and could see a general time clock running, I notice it had just rolled over to 24 minutes and I suddenly found one more gear before crossing the finish line. As soon as I crossed the line Adam Bratton, our Sponsorship and Events race guy at the USNWC, showed up in my field of vision and handed me a certificate and medal along with a sticker that he told me to take to the sponsor tent to pick up a pair of free socks. I thought he was just being nice since I know him and work there because, before the start of the race they made an announcement that if your race bib had a sponsor logo sticker on it you could go get a free piece of merchandise.

 

I gave Adam a high five and then turned around and gave the guy that finished behind me, and had tried to stay with me, a high five too. He asked what my finish time was and said he saw maybe 25min15sec on the clock when he finished. I began to clean off a small spot on the bottom of my bib number and stuck on the sticker Adam had given me, when the gal I had paced in the race came up to me to say good job as well. When she did, I congratulated her too and noticed she was also carrying a paper certificate. When she walked away I looked down at the things I was holding in my hands and read the paper which to my complete surprise read second female over all! Yay! I had no idea! I was just climbing people during the whole race and I felt pretty comfortable and relaxed. Not my usual stressed-outness that I get. I am rather proud of myself that I didn't allow anyone to out pace and pass me over the net distance.

 

I forgot to stop my watch after the race but, my race time was something under 25min I think. Not fast but ok for where I am in my training now. The purpose of running the race in my training plan is to get used to the racing mindset again and to establish a baseline race time to gauge future training runs on. I found myself thinking about the fact that there wasn't much difference in my race practice training run and the actual race. This makes me think I would definitely benefit from doing a  little speed work. But, at the same time, with my ultimate marathon goal being to break 3hours35minutes in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, the race pace for that is 8min miles- which I'm not too far off of now. There is a big difference between 3.1 and 26.2 miles but I will build endurance over my time training.

 Here's some footage on the USNWC's YouTube channel from last years Green River Revival

5K: Week Nine

I extended the 8 week Hal Higdon training plan by a week so that I could run a slightly later race at the USNWC with my staff discount. My body is ready for this taper week before the race on Saturday.

Mon 3mi- It's been warm (in the mid 60's) for the past two days and the trails finally dried out enough to open. I ran the 3mi pink loop, which I believe will be the race rout, and was pleasantly surprised to find it felt rather short and easy. I probably should have stuck closer to the exact race rout posted on the website, but if I did run less than three miles I can't imagine it was much less. I felt like I was running rather slow. My quads and gluts are having a little trouble engaging again. The change in running shoes and form is working different muscles. I'm humbled and reminded I'm still just building mileage. Maybe it's good this race won't be timed. I'm running more slowly and timidly down hill than usual for me which may be causing some excess impact forces, slight runners knee, and tight hamstrings.

Tue 20min XT+strength- I was without a running car today so I took the road bike to the gym which took me about 6 minutes. I got lucky with the traffic light. I did a 15min bike in the gym because I figured the bike to and from the gym would make up for the 5min I didn't do on the stationary bike. I also did the lite weight circuit I've been doing in the gym. It's always nice to leave the gym with my muscles shaking a little. Reminds me that even though I don't feel I'm doing much it's maybe more than I think. I noticed a difference from skipping the weights in the previous week. Need to do more core.

Wed 2mi- Beautiful 70 degree day with a light misty rain. Was likely a brisker pace but It's my last training run before the race and I couldn't resist letting loose just a little bit. The imbalances in my legs seem to be evening out a bit. My mental attempts to monitor my supination is a little exhausting though.

Fri 15min easy- A little frustrated with myself. I should have run at work as soon as I got off but I had some other errands I needed to run and I lost the daylight. I decided I didn't want to run in the dark cold rain so I went to the gym. Running late, I only did 11 min on the very old elliptical machine which has a very unnatural running stride. I should have just run on the treadmill instead.

Sat Race!- I went in undecided about how to run the race. Do I run casually just to see how my body acts in a race scenario? Or am I in it to try win it. I eventually chose something in between. I knew that with an untimed race and a very muddy wet and rainy day anything could happen. I started toward the front of the starting line but tried to go out at my own pace and not get caught in race start adrenaline. I paced one guy and girl that passed me for about a half mile but I managed to kick it in a lot more that I'd anticipated I would, and I passed them and several other people to the finish to be- to my surprise- the second female over all. Yay! I had no idea. I was just climbing people during the whole race.  I am rather proud of myself that I didn't allow anyone to out pace and pass me over the net distance. My race time was something under 25min. Not fast but ok for where I am in my training now. I do feel bad I almost trampled a little guy trying to pass on a tight turn.  The race course was different than I'd expected- more on the service roads than single track trails but I think it made it a little better- easier to pass people. I seem to be better mentally prepared for racing than last year when I ran the Frigid 5k.

I'd like some arch support when not running. I'm trying putting arch supports in a pair of my minimalist racing flats from high school. The arch supports don't seem to be too much since the shoes are flexy. I'm hoping they'll allow my feet to get stronger and move as there supposed to. I like the combination so far but I feel like wearing these for more than one day in a row doesn't work. I wobble a little funny when I walk and have to think about using my feet the right way.

5k: Week Eight

One more week till the race! Very Excited. These are my first and last weekday training runs over race distance. Just after the 5k last year is the place where I fell out of training but, I feel much better this year physically and mentally. I don't have five months filled by a stressful 80hour work week job that doesn't let me live with my husband ahead of me. The year is off to a great start!

Mon 3.25mi- It got too dark after work so instead of running outside I went to the gym and did my 25min bike. No weights in the gym since we were going to try to make it to the rock climbing gym. Because I was in a bit of a hurry (not that I can speed up time by pedaling faster) I don't think the biking was as quality as last week. I don't feel like I used quite the right muscles. Hamstrings tight after.

Tue 25min bike+strength- Ran 3.25mi after work to the local park and back. Found myself getting frustrated with Wayne. The purpose of our runs is different. I'm trying to run this weekly plan and build form and go easy when i'm supposed to vs. he runs once or twice a week whenever he "can" and each run is a speed challenge. When I go slower than he wants he starts jumping over bushes and weaving back and forth through trees like football or military drills. Makes me feel inadequate because i'm not ready to go that fast. I have to take a deep breath and remind myself not to push the pace too much so early into my year of training so that I won't get injured. Some days i'm better at running my own pace than others.

Wed 2mi- Small loop around Mt Holly's main streets with Wayne. I think the shorter distance allowed me to not mind the faster pace but I also tried to keep my own pace more.

Fri 3.25mi- Ran to Tuckaseegee Park on my own again. The run has made my quads more sore than I'd expect both times. there's a half mile of steady downhill on the way there and then steady uphill on the way back. I think that's what affects my legs most on this rout. I'm ready to run on softer surfaces. I'm a little tired of having mud and puddles in the grass everywhere.

Sat 60min- Ran a nice long stretch of the Carolina Thread Trail. It was quite muddy in spots which is why the USNWC's trails are still closed due to all the rain and snow we've had over the last few weeks. The race next week is on wooded trails and I decided I should run trails today to prepare for race conditions. My form in my new shoes is, I believe, better but my body is adjusting. My knees are a little sore after the run. need to do more core and stabilizer exercises.

I stayed up pretty late the last three nights this week and don't think my body's recovering as well. I do need to be better about getting sleep and hydration especially in the days leading up to the race.

I'm also rather frustrated with having a second week in a row where I'm changing up the plan. Maybe not quite as much of a change since I'm still doing all the planned mileage but I don't know how it will affect me one week before the race.

What is underpronation?

I grew up with a mother who worked on her feet a lot. And as many of us who work on our feet know, it can make them complain. Over her career my mother tried to keep her feet happy and went the rout of arch supports, insoles, etc. Growing up I thought of my mom as all knowing- kind of like this song from Disney's Tangled: Mother Knows Best. I love you Mom, you did teach me what you knew and thought was right.

But, because she believed arch supports and insoles where so important so did I. And because having good shoes is one of the key parts of running, I took arch supporting to the extreme with stabilizing pronation control shoes with added stiff cork high arch supports inside. This is what I ran on for years- from my freshman year track season in high school to my sophomore year of college at least. I'm discovering now that in my attempt to preemptively prevent injuries I may have caused some- possibly some of my achillies tendinopathy, and certainly my sprained ankles, because I land so far on the outside of my foot. I have forced my feet to change from neutral or possibly very slight over pronation (which probably would have improved on its own as I got stronger in running) to, at times, extreme supination or under pronation.


So, is there a right amount of pronation? There certainly is something to strive for. Your feet affect the use of joints and muscles as well as the impact on the rest of your body. Therefore normal pronation, which perhaps should be called ideal pronation, is an important part of an efficient runner's form.

Pronation is the inward rolling movement of the foot as it supports your body weight and absorbs shock. Ideally for normal pronation the arch should only roll, or compress, about fifteen percent in order to help you push off evenly from the front of the foot. The size of a runner's arch can affect its ability to roll. If you have a "normal arch" (indicated in the picture above), you're likely a normal pronator.

I definitely do believe that arch supports have a valuable place in low activity footwear for walking. And I wont deny that my feet feel so much happier when I put on my high arch supporting Birkenstocks. But, I think for now I'm gunna let my feet do what they want to while running, without the extra support. There's got to be a way to work with your feet instead of against them. Our body and feet have evolved over thousands of years, and humans where running long before high-tech shoes where invented. I'm not completely a minimal forefoot running convert. I don't know if my lower legs could handle it after all I have forced them to do over the course of approximately six years. But the research I've done on this topic suggests that as long as I make some transitions slowly I can become a healthier, less ridged and more efficient runner.

For an awesome article on foot mechanics, see this article by the British Journal of Sports Medicine brought to my attention by a Facebook post from my mother today. Thanks Ma! It uses a lot of scientific jargon but it's an informative read about the differences between running and walking and the roll the arch of our foot plays in our evolution. The article suggests foot exercises and addresses the barefoot minimalist shoes idea.

So, what is under pronation?

I found this really awesome RW video HERE.  It seems kind of crazy to me, to watch this video and notice that the runners muscle development is shaped so much like mine. Imagine that, foot strike shapes muscle formation! Click the link to read the full length article. It describes all styles of pronation and, by reading you can determine your own pronation type too!


I bought my last pair of shoes right after moving to Charlotte. That was a year an a half ago! While I haven't done any long term training plan in them, I have been a recreational runner averaging probably 1-2 runs a week over that time in them. Getting new shoes was long overdue. I've heard shoes should last up to 6 months or 500 miles. I'm certain I've exceeded both of those marks.

Inside of the fore foot doesn't touch the ground anymore

Wear is more noticeable along the outside edges

Each foot/shoe supinates differently

Choosing a pair of new shoes recently was very stressful for me. I discovered there are actually shoes made for people who supinate. Duh, there's a product for everything. But I had to decide how to choose shoes to aid in my transition to a more natural running gait.

Attributes of stability control shoes I'm trying to steer away from:

• Stability shoes have a thick ridged foam or plastic piece as part of the shoes sole under the arch of your foot. It prevents the inside part of the shoe from compressing over the use of the shoe and it holds up the arch to prevent over pronation. 
• Varying degrees of stability shoes are meant to have the runner heel strike. They have an angle cut into the outside edge of the heel intended to help your foot track through each foot strike, from the outside of your heel through to the middle toe at push off.
• Due to stability and motion control properties of these shoes your foot may not be able to bend and flex as it naturally should because the shoe is inflexible.
• Because stability shoes are intended for the runners wearing them to be heel strikers there is often a LOT of padding under the heel which causes the shoes to almost be like high heels. The idea is that having a higher heel will take strain off the achillies and calves. But this is not the natural evolutionary intent for our running form.

How do I transition slowly enough to prevent fatigue or injury from my body getting used to less structure in my shoes? How do I choose a shoe that will hold up to the mileage I plan to put in them between now and September when I run the half marathon? When buying my newest pair of running shoes last week, I struggled with deciding how light and flexible, how soft and squishy, how low the heel drop (diff in height between ball of foot and heel in sole thickness), and how neutral to go.

I ended up choosing an Asics gell-evate 2. The brand Asics is now slightly scary to me because that's what I have been wearing for most of my running career. I have a negative association with the brand and the over compensating I've been doing. But these shoes are neutral, even slightly supination minded shoes. I will not put my stiff cork insoles in them and we'll see what my foot does naturally. These Asics shoes are not as flexible or squishy as I'd hoped, nor do they have a lower heel drop but, I felt that they would be more durable than some of the other soft foam easy flexing shoes that I tried on. These shoes are a small step in the right direction and I'll meet more of the natural foot movement enabling criteria with my next pair. Hopefully a fresh start will reduce imbalances.

5k: Week Seven

Just two more weeks till the Color Me Green 5k race and I'm starting to get excited! Having run mostly distances 5k or less in high school and college, I'm having to over come mental barriers when thinking about racing and training for longer distances. The focus is no longer speed so much as quality mileage and recovery. But I'm not even past the 5k yet, right? So no need to worry. Remember, just take it one day at a time.

Mon 3mi- The number 3 was more of a mental milestone than I thought it would be. It made me kind of nervous before I set out on the run. This is the first day I ran race distance. I just reminded myself that I ran 2.75mi twice last week and that's only a quarter mile less than three. Besides what am I thinking getting nervous? I ran like six miles on Saturday last week. I am not quite recovered from my extended long run last week. I ran an extra 5min more than I was scheduled to and, though 5min doesn't seem like much, I am feeling it. My calves are rather tight and my achillies started to ache just a tiny bit. I'll try to allow for recovery on the bike and strength training tomorrow.

Tue 22min bike+strength- What a day! woke up to a half inch of SNOW on the ground! We did our annual Simulation-X ( X for extreme!) at work. It was quite fun running around the Whitewater Center with snow on the ground and not a guest in sight (closed to guests on winter Tuesdays). Part of our challenge was to have the group collectively run or walk 26.2miles. Everyone on the team had to do at least one mile....I'm pretty sure I did about 10 (ran 5-6 walked 4-5).  I realized during SimX that I wasn't going to get my planned workout done because I had a CPR/First Aid class to attend after work so I got to exercising while I could. Think I won't run tomorrow but will go to the weight room.

Wed 2mi- Well as a recovery decision I'm not running today but went to the gym to lift weights. My gluts are super-duper tight and my achilles tendons are complaining a bit because of the running I did in my high top hiking boots yesterday.Considering a light jog tomorrow to work ot the kinks.

Fri 3mi- Oy, what a stressful emotional rollercoaster of a day! I dream of a rustic little two story cob house in the woods. We tried to put a bid in on a house up for auction but the price shot about $25000 over our maximum price. Sigh...I guess we'll eventually find the perfect place... eventually. This house is all we've been thinking about for the past few days and I'm finding it hard to motivate myself to run today. I wanna eat my feelings, or go do some retail therapy, or just curl up and sulk. But, I'll be happier if I just run. It's beautiful and sunny outside. Three miles again presented a small mental hurdle to get out the door and have faith I can do it well enough.

Sat 61min- Because I took two recovery days in a row off of running this week my brain struggled a bit to maintain it's mental confidence for my long run. I got ahead in my training schedule last week and did 60min long run so I had to remind myself I could do it again this week too. I ran the same rout I ran last week as further proof by comparison. I was excited to find that I closed about a 30 second gap with another lady running on the Whitewater Parkway within somewhere between a half to full mile's distance. Point being, it felt nice to have a chance to race someone a little- in my head for my mental confidence. My form continues to improve. Imbalances in my legs are lessening and my foot strike is becoming less supinated. felt my hip flexors and stabilizer muscles in my feet knees and hips working today. It's really nice to feel improvement. The gradual differences build confidence too. I feel less tired after doing more running when my form is more efficient and improved. Left achillies tendon tight after.



Not excited about Pink-ness

Finally picked up a pair of new shoes! Buying buying them was a little frustrating. I'm wanting to switch to a more natural or neutral shoe from the over correcting I've done for years. I ended up buying a pair of Asics, similar to what I've been running in since high school. I'm afraid of them, that they'll continue my bad habits and foster bad form even though they are a cushioned neutral shoe instead of a stability shoe. I ended up choosing what I did because I feel it will last longer than a softer foam shoe would but I'm afraid the rubber is still too ridged and will be controlling. I'd also hoped to get a shoe with less heel drop. But I'll make more changes and progress slowly with my next pair of shoes I guess.