I knee-d Zoomy's advice...

The last time I ran was last Wednesday. My knee hurt so bad after that run that I could feel it just while walking for the next 2 days even with my knee brace. That definitely scared me and made me take more time off to rest than I have in the past. Yesterday was my 4th full day of no running which of course is giving me growing withdrawal symptoms.

So my question to Zoomy (or anyone else with more experience than me) is how long should I wait this time before getting back out there? Obviously whenever I run again I will be keeping it short and slow. I already know I can't run tomorrow so if I take today off (or possibly hit the bike today) then Wednesday would be the next day I could run which will have given me an entire week off. Just looking for advice since what I've been doing has obviously not been working :(

New longest run.. and my knee.. again

Ran downtown again starting at 31st and West End and followed part of the route from the Country Music Marathon. We hit 6 miles as we were coming back past Belmont and were actually planning on taking it to 8 or 10, but just before 7 my knee decided it wanted to scream.. VERY loudly.. so I ended up stopping at 7 and walking the last mile or so back to the car.

So I'm happy to have run 7 miles, even happier that I felt like I could have kept going for a while (other than my knee), but pissed off once again that my knee can't keep up with the rest of my body! Of course maybe if I'd run with my knee brace instead of leaving it in the car that would help :)

Cool Springs: Not so much "cool" as "hilly"

Today was my first day running in Cool Springs after work. It probably didn't help that I just took 2 days off for my knee and I'm always a little sluggish after not running for 2 days. It probably also didn't help that most of the route I ran today was a hill of some kind. Overall it was an ok run, but I don't think I'll make a habit of running out there because of all the car fumes. It was the first time running in my new knee brace and I didn't feel any pain at all which was great.

Total: 3.32 miles at a 9:15 pace.

My Knee Brace Search

I'm on day 2 of rest after last week's record breaking (for me) 20.1 miles so I figured I'd post about something that has taken nearly as much time as running has; my search for a knee brace that fits and works.

At first I tried the Jumper's Knee Strap and almost immediately noticed that it made things worse rather than better. It didn't matter how tight or loose it was, where it was placed, etc. it just was not what I needed at all.



So I returned that and tried a sleeve type of brace that had metal along the sides to provide support. I had no idea how big around my knee was so I got the small size. I went back to work and put it on and it felt a little tight, but provided support. A few minutes later my leg was tingling from where it was cutting off circulation so I returned it and got the large size. It felt much better, but again after about 30 minutes my leg felt weird and circulation was still being affected. This time the top of it fit just fine, but I've always had huge calves and that's where the problem was. So basically that meant any kind of elastic brace was out of the question :(


I had been going to Wal-Mart for these and I was running out of options for what they sold. I was down to 2 that were any kind of step up from what I had already tried. Both wrapped around my knee so I was able to give them a try before buying them. The more expensive one bunched at the back of my knee so while it would have been fine for just walking around the office, it was definitely not an option for running. The other one provided the adjustability I needed and seemed to be ok to run in as well so that's what I've been wearing for the past 2 days. I haven't run in it yet, but so far it's providing the support I need and doesn't cut off my circulation like the others so hopefully my 3rd time is the charm.

20 Mile Week!

I was not feeling fantastic today after going out last night, getting 5 hours sleep, helping a friend move and eating a delicious unhealthy lunch at Hooters. But I sucked it up and headed to the greenway with my new Forerunner 205. Somehow I managed 4.1 miles which put my total for the week at 20.1 miles, the longest week I've had so far! I had to go the extra .1 so I could have OVER 20 miles :)

My knee is starting to hurt a little and my legs are just flat out tired so I think I will be taking the next couple of days off. Maybe I'll go for a run downtown on Tuesday.

Ouch My Nipples!

I had originally planned on running around Cool Springs where I work for a change of scenery, but then I found out my Garmin Forerunner 205 shipped early and will be here tomorrow! I decided to wait until next week so I can run with the 205 and know for sure how far I'm running in addition to mapping my course since I've never run out there before.

After my 6 mile run yesterday I took it easy today with a 3 miler, but I did step up the pace a little to just a little faster than my 5k pace last Saturday. One thing I figured out is that I've definitely got the dreaded nipple chafing problem! They were tender after yesterday's run and today they were hurt even worse so I'll have to do some research on my options to alleviate that.

Tomorrow off and Saturday I'll hopefully find time to squeeze in a run with my new 205. I've already hit my highest miles for a single week so far with 16.

2 new "firsts"

Yesterday I ended my post with "Maybe 4 tomorrow" which turned out to be wrong. I met a friend of mine after work to go run around Vanderbilt University (you can guess the various reasons). We ran past The Athlete's House where I bought my shoes and they're nice enough to keep a cooler of water outside for runners. We kept going and before too long he said if we just ran to the light that was the 3 mile mark where we could turn around so I figured I might as well go for my first 6 miler! So other than a 30 second bathroom break, 2 quick water breaks at The Athlete's House and a few intersections where we had to wait on the traffic, I had my first 6 mile run and it felt great. Today's run also put my total mileage for September over the miles I ran in August.. and the month is barely half over :)

Even better is that there were hills-a-plenty and they didn't seem to bother me at all. Somebody on RA once advised looking down as you go up a hill and keep telling yourself you're just about to *start* going up the hill.. next thing you know you're already at the top. Today was the first time I've had any decent sized hills to test that theory out on and it works great so thanks to whoever that was!

The other "first" is that I ran for over an hour for the first time. I guess tomorrow I will be back to a shorter 3 mile run.

Easy 3

I took yesterday off because I usually take Monday off and to give my knee a rest. Today I just wanted to go have a short, slow run and was afraid I wasn't going to be able to after leaving work late. But I rushed home to change and head to the greenway for a quick 3 miles just as it got dark. Funny how the mileage that kicked my ass a month ago is now a routine, easy day :)

Maybe 4 tomorrow?

Life After 5k

So in the excitement of getting my 5k results, I completely forgot to post about my run yesterday. I ran a nice 4 miler (that's a phrase I never thought I'd use!) that was 100x easier than the 5k on Saturday even though today's run took me over some hills. Part of that could have been because it was 20 degrees cooler. It was the first time running in my new insoles and in my knee brace. So far my knee is holding pretty well. Today will be a rest day and possibly Tuesday too.

Soles4Souls 5k

I was trying to wait for the official results to be posted, but they still aren't up. Yesterday's 5k, my first in nearly 7 years, ended up being a lot more difficult than I was hoping because I was just having one of those "off" days. It seemed harder than my 5.5 mile run 2 days earlier and I had to convince myself about 100 times not to quit.

In the end I did not quit, or walk and I finished somewhere around the 27:00 mark. It was about 27:06 when I crossed the finish line and whenever the chip time gets posted that should take 5-10 seconds off it because of where we started. I was hoping for a little better time, but since I wasn't having a great day I'm pretty pleased... and I beat my friend who has run 3 marathons :)


UPDATE: Of course a few minutes after my post the official results went up. I ended up with an official time of 26:51 which put me 5th in my age group, 23rd in my gender and 33rd overall. I was also the oldest in my age group :)

First 5 mile run!!!

I FINALLY got my first 5 mile run without stopping.. actually 5.5 miles!! I had tried it twice before and hit a wall around 3.5 that I couldn't get past. The funny thing is I wasn't even trying this time. I was actually going out for an easy run after taking 3 days off to let me knee heal (and I will catch hell from Zoomy about this I'm sure) and after 3 miles I felt so good I didn't want to stop so I ran another 2.5 miles. I finally made myself stop after 5.5, but I felt like I could have kept running for several more. At least I did keep it sorta slow for me. I told myself to keep it around 10:00 mpm and I hit the 5 mile mark at 50:09.

If my knee was as super as my feet..

Today is day 2 of taking another break to make my knee happy. It's also day 2 of breaking in my new Superfeet insoles. Hopefully both will be ready in time for my 5k on Saturday. I think I might run 1 or 2 miles on Thursday so I don't completely forget how, but that'll probably be it before the 5k.

In Theaters Today: Return of the Knee

I went out for another easy run today and not very far into it I start feeling the beginning of that same pain in my knee :( I ended up running 3.25 miles over all, but decided to try it with lots of rest between the running. I ran the first 1.5 miles straight, but the rest was done in small segments. That seemed to help at least with the immediate pain, but I'm not sure if it does any good or bad long term.

My grocery trip tonight included a knee strap which I figured I'd at least try and see if that helped at all. Tomorrow is an off day and I'll re-evaluate on Tuesday.

Slow Run, Take it easy

I took 2 days off to rest my knee and today was my first attempt running again. I forced myself to run slower than I've ever run and only ran 2 miles. So far my knee is feeling good so I will try another easy run either tomorrow or Monday. Oh and I got new shoes today which feel much better than my previous ones:

Soles 4 Souls 5K - Registered

Well hopefully I'll be ready by next Saturday because I just dropped off my registration for the Soles 4 Souls 5k. Oh yeah.. and hopefully my knee works then too!

Speaking of that, my knee is definitely feeling better after rest and ice. I would love to go run today, but I don't want to rush anything so it'll be at least tomorrow before I get back out there.

Eating/Smoking

Oh, yeah I guess I said this blog was also about me eating healthier and quitting smoking so I should probably post my progress on that too :)

Eating healthier was the first change I made so it's become pretty routine now that it's been almost 2 months. I buy only 100% whole wheat breads, eat more turkey, chicken and pork and less ham, hardly eat any red meat, eat less instead of gorging myself every meal, avoid fried foods except for my once a week splurge at Chick-Fil-A, drink maybe 1 coke a week (instead of 3-4 a day), drink juice, diet green tea and lots of water, take my lunch with me to work instead of getting fast food, get healthier meals when I go places where I used to eat unhealthy (the guiltless grilled chicken sandwich at Chili's is AWESOME), and probably other things I'm forgetting. The biggest area I need to improve on is fruits and vegetables. I love me some broccoli and asparagus, but I don't eat enough and the closest thing to fruit I really get is from my Flat Earth chips.

The smoking is the most recent change and is going easier than I had thought it would. I decided to quit at 1:51 PM on 8/27/2008. Since that time I've had no more than 2 a day except for when I've had alcohol. I figured I would cut it out of everyday life first since that's easier and accounts for the majority of my time. The last 3 days I've had 1 each day, at night and each night it gets more and more repulsive and I put it out before it's gone. This morning I was told my car smelled 100 times better than it used to, and hopefully I smell better too :)

I don't knee-d this!!

After my run this past Saturday I noticed my knee was hurting a little, but attributed it to the hills I had just run that I wasn't used to. The pain went away until 2 days ago when it hurt a little after my 5k practice run, but again it went away. It didn't hurt at all during my run last night, but after I was done it sure did. I iced it when I got home and then put a heating pad on it before bed, but it's still hurting this morning. I guess I won't be running for at least a couple of days so I don't do any more damage :(

5k Practice #2

Today was practice #2 of going exactly 3.1 miles to get an accurate time. Unlike yesterday I did not start off too slow and as a result I ended up taking 1:21 off yesterday's time! My 2nd practice 5k comes in at 25:44. I think I'm going to do an easy run tomorrow not paying attention to time at all, rest on Friday, then try a longer run on Saturday so 5k practice #3 won't be until next week.

Welcome

I've been using RunningAHEAD to track my runs which I will continue to do, and blogging about it on my MySpace blog. I think most of my friends on there are tired of hearing about it and I wanted to move it to something that I could access a little easier so I decided to start this blog. I will probably move all my blog entries over eventually so if this post is stuck in the middle and seems out of place, that's why.

When I moved back to Nashville on July 12th I decided to make a change that had been needed for a while, start eating healthy and getting serious about it. A little over a month ago (July 28th) I decided it would be a good idea to start running, mainly for my overall health, but also for selfish reasons like being tired of looking at flab on my belly :) What I was not expecting was to become addicted. As someone on the RA forums suggested recently the difference between a runner and a jogger is that a jogger has to convince themselves to go run, the runner looks forward to it and hates it when they can't run. If that's true then I'm definitely a runner. Having an injury or a scheduled rest day sucks and makes me look forward to the next day even more.

One other reason I wanted to run is because I knew if I got hooked it would give me more motivation to quit smoking and make it easier to do so. Last Wednesday at 1:51pm (yes I'm weird like that) I decided the smoking was going to have to go because I want to be healthier and run farther. So my trifecta is 1) eating healthier, 2) running, 3) not smoking and I plan on continuing all of those for a long, long time.

Right now my running goal is to get below 23 minutes in a 5k by the end of the year which I know I can do. I'm also thinking about training for a half marathon (probably the Country Music Marathon) as my first goal of 2009.

5k Practice #1

Today was practice 1 of going exactly 3.1 miles to get an accurate time. My first mistake was starting off too slow. My second mistake was trying to make up for that in the 2nd and 3rd miles. The last mile kicked my ass and my calf is cramping, but I made it. My first practice 5k comes in at 27:05. Not as good as I was hoping for, but I still have over a week to get that time down.