Running Update

Besides writing about my work and my family (and how they overlap!), I also want to write about my running. Since March, I have been starting to read some blogs of other mother runners, and I have found them to be entertaining, informative, and inspiring. I think tapping into this whole community of mom runners has a lot to do with my continuing to run.

So a quick recap of the past year:
October 2009-I joined Weight Watchers to lose 20# of post baby weight (my baby was then 3 1/2)

December 2009-Starting walking on the treadmill. Got way too boring, so added little intervals of running.
My plantar fasciitis of my left foot started up (hadn't been a problem for past 1.5 years).

Jan/Feb/March 2010-Signed up for the Chicago Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K. Was running 3x/week, up to an incredible 5 miles! Saw my regular doctor. She gave me a big blue splint to wear on the left at night.  Left heel pain getting worse, so I got new stability shoes (next version up of my then running shoes). Still limping with walking and running (but still running!). Got a pain of Dansko clogs that several friends swore by. Super cute, but did not solve the problem. Discovered the "Run Like a Mother" book. Loved it! Made me laugh, made me cry, totally inspired me!

April 2010-Finally (after spending $200+ on shoes that did not solve the problem), I saw a sports medicine physician. Xrays normal, no stress fracture! Went to see a sports PT. Deann was awesome! Apparently my left calf/Achilles really tight compared to my right and normal people. My left calf also very weak. She videotaped my running. Both hips weak and excessive rotation of my legs...wasting energy. Started stretching exercises, ice massage for my foot, and some simple strength moves at home. Deann felt I was predisposed to plantar fasciitis, and it would probably always bother me off and on.

May 2010-Ran a 5K and a 10K.  My 5K time was 30:54, a total PR for me. I really kicked it into high gear at the end, and my HR got to the 190s. Not the best idea, was totally dizzy and nauseous for that last sprint and after.

June 2010-Had unplanned surgery. Could not run for 3 weeks. Considered not starting up again, but I had signed up for a marathon relay with two friends for Team in Training, so started back up in July.

August/September 2010-Following a half marathon training schedule for the marathon relay. I was signed up to run the third leg, 7.5 miles. However, we weren't sure who would be injury-free enough to take the middle leg, 11.7 miles, so I wanted to be prepared. Unlike the 5K or 8K training schedule I followed, this required me to run 4 days a week. This has been really hard for me. Four days a week makes me very achy.

October 2010-Ran the relay! So much fun. I picked up at approximately mile 19. Chip time from mile 20 to 26.2 was 1 hour 3 seconds.  And hey! Guess what?  My plantar fasciitis is gone! I can imagine a little twinge here and there, but nothing like it was earlier this year.  The rest of October, I was on no particular running schedule. It was dark in the morning and dark in the evening. I tried the treadmill, but I felt tired, slow, and short of breath.

November 2010-Next race is the Disney Princess Half Marathon on February 27.  We are taking our first family trip to Disney World!  I mapped out my training schedule. Nothing fancy. Thus far, I have used Hal Higdon's beginner training plans, and this seems to have worked for me. I put it all on my calendar, and I started this past week. I also made some peace with my treadmill. It is in the unfinished basement next to the washer and dryer. I put a fan up and hung some pictures and old bib numbers to look at.  I had a few successful 30 minute runs last weekend while my husband was gone hunting. I am going to try to run outside (or at the indoor track at the Petit Ice Arena), but it's an option.

My shins are a little sore, and my current shoes have about 400 miles on them.  I have been really hesitant about new shoes since all the foot difficulties I have had.  Last night I went to Fleet Feet,  and they fit me with a new pair of shoes. I switched from Asics 2130/2140 (stability) to Saucony ProGrid Glide 2 (neutral). The Glide 3's felt terrible! Something was rubbing the back of my heel! I also tried a pair of Mizunos (not cushioned enough and felt lumpy under the outer part of my foot), New Balance (too hard on forefoot), and something else I can't recall. I settled on a Brooks Ghost 3.

And that's where I am now. I'm going on a year, and I think it's going to stick with me.
I have lost 20# with Weight Watchers, and I have maintained it!  After the Princess Half, I am going to do the Door County Half Marathon in May 2011.

Screen Time

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 2 hours of screen time per day. This includes television, computer and video game time. They also recommend no television prior to age 2 (this clearly does not occur, hello Baby Einstein empire!).  Although I am quite familiar with the recommendations,  I am not super strict with the 2 hour limit.  When I was little, we had cartoons only on Saturday mornings and occasionally a sitcom in the evening. As I got a little older, cable emerged, and my youngest brother reaped the benefit of USA network's Cartoon Express and a VCR.  Now, with cable, satellite, DVDs, TV on Demands, DVRs, Tivo, and multiple video game systems, kids have whatever they want to watch when they want to watch it.

For example, my son T. played probably close to 10 hours of Lego Indiana Jones 2 this weekend.  It's a newer game for him and so his interest level is high. From our experience with the Wii over the past year, he will lose interest, and then he will have weeks of not playing.  Since we do a lot of driving up north on the weekends, Santa brought a DS last Christmas. Again, he will go through stretches of playing, then he won't play it for a long time.

When we go up north, we have about 3 channels we receive with our antenna. We have a lot of hand-me-down VHS tapes, and (unless it is cold or rainy) the Wii stays home.  The kids love to "adventure" in the woods there. At home, both kids have swim lessons once per week, C. has dance once weekly, and T. just finished his first season of soccer (3 days per week).

It's all about balance.  Living in Wisconsin, we have to adjust to increased outdoor time in the spring/summer/fall and slightly more screen time in the winter.

By Sunday afternoon, I had had enough of the rain, cold, and video games.  I took the kids to a local inflatable play place, and the kids bounced their brains out for 2 1/2 hours.   Only once they were sufficiently sweaty and tired did we return home.

Of course, with it being the onset of the winter viral season, who knows what germs we picked up along the way. But that is a topic for another day!

Such a long, long time

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted anything. Almost two years.

A lot has happened. My children are now 6 and 4. They are now in school. I have been in practice for over 8 years. I went from "full time" to "part time." I've lost 20 pounds. It's been a good couple of years.

At the end of 2006, I started running. I kept up with it long enough to complete a 5K on May 1, 2007. It was painful. 3.1 miles felt like forever. I was completely cashed the rest of the day.

I put my running shoes away until December 2009. I started running again. Over the past 11 months, I have run a 5K, 8K, 10K, and a marathon relay (7.5 miles). I am signed up for my first half in February 2011.

Since I have started running again, I have started reading blogs of other mother runners. I love reading how other women balance family, work, life, running. In leaving a comment on another blog, I had to sign into my Google account. Which led me to here.

Hmmm. Perhaps it's a sign I should give it another go.