Tag: aches

Run!, Training

Week 18- Step Back

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Upcoming Races:

  • Destination Races Santa Barbara 13.1- May 13
  • Rock N Roll San Diego 13.1-June 4

The beginning of this week was full of late work meetings so with the lingering effects of SLO being felt, I figured it was a good reason to use the time to rest.  Otherwise I probably would have tried to run too soon.    My left ankle was very sore and achy so taking Monday through Wednesday off was probably the smartest thing to do.   But it was hard, I still packed running gear and took it to work every day.  😛

There was also the lack of sleep.  What I didn’t mention was that pre-SLO, I only slept for about an hour.  I generally sleep poorly before races but rarely that bad, I didn’t feel like it affected my race performance though.  I was looking forward to sleeping on Sunday night… except I couldn’t.  I managed less then 5 hours.   Grrr.  Monday night was more of the same as was Tuesday.  By Wednesday I was running on fumes but it didn’t really hit me until Thursday when I was driving home from work.  I started to get sleepy.    Like so sleepy I had to change my running plans because I wasn’t going to make the whole drive home.

That’s not to say it was a bad week, it wasn’t at all- it was a good week.   I just had some speed bumps.    I ate some super yummy food this week and that’s never a bad thing, right?   I did start a Random Friday post but dozed off part way through. Oops!

Monday- Rest  Day 1 of the planned 3 days.  I had a meeting after work so I knew running was very unlikely.  Which was good because damn my ankle was sore.

Tuesday- Rest Day 2 but like I said I carried my running gear with me every day.  Optimistic or in denial?  My ankle was still achy.  I stretched and foam rolled and planked that night.


Wednesday- Rest Day 3  Car show sponsor dinner.  I learned last year that this would be a late night so there was no way running would be happening.  But with an awesome dinner, who can complain?


Thursday- 3.5 miles  I ran!  But I damn near fell asleep on the drive there.  I planned on running in home time but halfway there I realized I wasn’t going to make it.  So I made an emergency right at the lake path and hoped the fresh air and a few miles would wake me up.     Thankfully it did.   As for the miles, I was sluggish and a little sore to start but once I got going things loosened up.  I still made sure to foam roll and stretch really well that night.  I also iced, just for GP.

Friday- Rest  I worked open to close so I knew it was going to a long day.  We were treated to breakfast which was yummy Acai bowls which almost turned bad.  I took a bite of mine and it tasted off.  I took another bite, nope- it still tastes wrong, tastes like nuts.  Turns out they messed up my order and gave me the wrong base, which wouldn’t be so bad except the 2 main ingredients were peanut butter and almond milk.  Umm, I’m allergic to nuts.   I was just going to say whatever and have a cookie because you don’t complain about free food but a coworker took it back and the store corrected it to my original order.  She’s awesome.  (I can’t leave- I swear I’m not just lazy 😛)


Saturday- 6.2 miles  My overall fatigue level for the week never really improved so I made the decision on Friday that I was not running long this weekend.  I was doing 2 6 milers and I was comfortable with that.  Rest is important too.  A cold front came in so I was able to sleep longer and head out for an afternoon run.   Running wise, it was awesome.  Smashrun says it was my fastest run in 6 months.    However it was freakin’ chaos- it was moments of running calmly interspersed with moments of running for my life along with some walking.    It started out normally but went weird soon.   I noticed that a tiny house I’d been watching had recently sold and the new owner had a dog.  I wondered if the dog was nice because dogs like to eat me.  1/2 mile later I was running past a couple of parked cars when 4 pit bulls tied in a truck bed decided I looked like a good snack.  I freaked out and jumped into the middle of the street.  The owner said nothing and just looked me.  Asshat.    2 miles later on my way back I stopped at an intersection because I realized I don’t really know a 6 mile route from my house and was wondering if my mileage was going to work out when I heard a loud BANG! It sounded like a gunshot and it was right near me.  What the hell?!   I know it wasn’t a gunshot because that is actually not an abnormal sound on my longer runs (rural area) but I bolted like a bat out of hell.     I’m running neighborhoods, what is going on?  Then is started raining on me.  Seriously, just get me home.

Sunday- 6 miles Rest  It was raining in the morning so I planned on running in the afternoon.  At least that was the plan.     I ended up super dizzy and nauseous in early afternoon and it lingered into the evening.     I kept trying to force myself to get out and run but I am clumsy on a good day, who knows what damage I could do to myself if I tried to run while dizzy?

9.7 miles for the week.  Perhaps more of a step back week then I planned post SLO but maybe my body was trying to tell me something.   With a race next week, I chose to listen for once.  Who knew?

I did go and see Guardians of the Galaxy 2- Freakin’ awesome!

Oh- who watched Breaking 2?   What did you think?  Kipchoge was so close!

How was your week?

What was the last movie you saw?

Ambassador, Run!, Slacker

Prepping for SLO

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

I’ve never been one to believe in the “taper crazies”.  Hell, I love taper.  An excuse to run less and eat more?  Sign me up! 😝  Yes, I know that’s not how it works but let a Slacker lie to herself ok?

I wasn’t really planning on tapering for SLO.   I did one speed workout this training cycle.  One.  Once I realized how few long runs I had actually done over the years, my focus turned to getting in the distance and time on my feet.   While I have done much better since that little epiphany, it still could have been better.

My plan for SLO was to treat it more like an epic long run.  Enjoy the race, enjoy my pace, take in the view, smile at the awesome crowds and maybe, just maybe take a decent race picture for once.     And now?

I had my weird hip/ IT thing on Friday’s long run.  That led to limping on Saturday and resting all weekend.   This week’s runs have been so-so.  Tuesday’s was actually pretty good.  But outside of that- my shins ache at random moments.  My calves feel tight.  Today it hurt my big toe to drive, seriously?!   There’s a tickle in my throat that feels like it wants to turn into something more.   Bring on the Airborne!!  I haven’t slept well in about a month.


Grrr.  I love this race, I do not want to stress about it.  As of right now, I honestly have no idea what my finishing time might be.  I feel unprepared for the hills.  My fault, I should have sought out more hills.    The hill I use for hill repeats has been a construction zone for the last few months.  No excuses. I should have found another one.   After last year I feel like I have unfinished business with this race.


Maybe that is influencing how I am feeling this week?  I have no idea.   So now, I need to calm down.  I need to make sure I am sleeping better (or trying to), I need to ensure I m still keeping my carb count low to moderate and I need to not stress.  I have been looking forward to this weekend for months.   There are so many people that I am looking forward to seeing again.   I enjoy looking around the expo, and really this is my favorite finish line.

More cowbell!!

Actually, I think venting about it for a few hundred words helped.   Bring it on SLO, let’s do this.  Now if only I could figure out what I am wearing.  😝

Do you believe in taper crazies?

Any tips?

 

Run!, Slacker

Vacation Week 2 Recap

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

Started off with a bang and ended with a whimper.  Whereas week 1 was crazy mileage for a Slacker like me, week 2 was more like my usual.    Maybe I can say I embraced the relaxation vibe of vacation?  Even though I didn’t go anywhere?

Monday- Rest My ankle/calf was twinging from all the miles last week so I chose to rest.  This also worked out as I ended up spending way too much time in AT&T stores this past week.    My parents, brother and I share a family plan and have for years.  One it’s more cost effective and two, I refuse to lose my unlimited data.   It was time for my mom’s phone upgrade and since she needs me as the plan holder to make changes it worked out that I was on vacation.   She picked out a shiny new HTC A9 or something another.    She’s anti iPhone despite owning one the last 2 years.   Her new phone was pretty until we realized over the weekend it wouldn’t send text messages.     Well, that’s a problem.   So, after hours of internet research and on the phone with tech support on Monda, the verdict was to give the phone back.  Seriously, that’s what tech support said.   😒   So days later, after shipping fiascoes, rigged up iPhone 4’s, she is now the owner of shiny new, working, iPhone 6s.

Tuesday-4 miles   More late afternoon running for the win.  Well kind of.  I headed out closer to dusk than planned but figured I would see how many miles I could get in before it got too dark.    Parts of my run were great and other parts not so much.  Once again my pace was better than I had expected and I didn’t need any walking breaks.  However I stopped 3 times to stretch.   My calf/ ankle thing is not happy at all and I kept stopping to stretch it out along the ways.  Trees and curbs were all fair game.    Grrr.   The run turned out to be a nice little progression but my leg is not happy.


Wednesday– Rest With my ankle area being weird, I decided to try an every other day running schedule this week.    Which works out as both my parents had birthdays this week.  My mom’s was today.   The brother and I took the parents to dinner that night.  I may have eaten a few too many bread sticks at Olive Garden.  😉

Thursday 3.75 miles– holy ouch, batman.  That rest day didn’t help the tightness is my ankle/ calf area.  Once again I was using trees and curbs to stretch it out along the way.  It started raining on me on the way back but I was too cranky to enjoy it.    I shortened my run which made me cranky.  I was hoping to hit 6 but there was no way. 😐

The weather man lied- it rained!! Oh and I saw this lovely sign. 🙂

Friday- Rest  Pop’s birthday!

Saturday- Rest  Unplanned, I was hoping for a run but I felt crappy.  I had tossed and turned all night and felt exhausted.  I also felt a little nauseous.  I meant to take a 30 minute nap after lunch but ended up napping for 2.5 hours.  Oops.

Sunday- Rest Sensing a pattern here?   Part of me wanted to run and part of me wanted to be lazy on this last day of vacation.  I still wasn’t feeling so hot so I wasted the day away watching cheesy tv Christmas movies.  #sorrynotsorry

She has the right idea- nap all day.


Somehow vacation has come to an end.   Normally by now I am itching to get back to work.  However I don’t feel ready to go back.    I feel like there was so much more that I needed to do (like clean my car) but time just seemed to move quickly these past 2 weeks.    Make it slow down!  How is Christmas so close?  And I seriously have no gift ideas.  Normally by this time I am done shopping!  I have wrapping paper but nothing to wrap!

So it’s back to work tomorrow.  Back to treadmill running, boo.  Back to better eating habits, hopefully.  😃

How was your weekend?

How is your Christmas shopping coming?

Any good calf stretches?  I need help.

 

gear, Run!, Slacker

I’m Cheating

Fallon @ Slacker Runner

So, is it possible to run yourself out of shoes?  And I don’t mean by putting too many miles on them.

When I first started running, I ran in Brooks.  A pair usually lasted me a year.   I was also barely doing 200 miles a year but that’s another story.  The shoes weren’t bad but I didn’t love them either.   I had a bad case of shin splints that would come and go as well.  After a few pairs of Brooks- Ravenna, I think- I switched to Mizuno.   Instant convert.  I loved my first pair of Wave Inspire 9’s.   I put over 500 miles on them.    I replaced them with another pair of Inspire 9’s.  Loved those too, until I didn’t.

My favorite :)
My favorite 🙂

I started feeling aches in my feet and achillles.   My 10K PR was set at 55:40 and I still don’t know how.  My left achilles hurt so bad throughout the race I came to a complete stop at one point to stretch it out.  And then there were the walk breaks.   I took a week off after that race and started looking at my shoes.   I had also been running in a pair of Wave Rider 17’s for my shorter runs and I felt better in those.   But they were neutral and I was supposed to be in support shoes, so back to the store I went.    They suggested a high cushion shoe to cure the aches and pains.   So hello, Brooks Adrenaline 14.   Holy crap, those were bricks.    Plus the right one was way too big and even shoe-doo’ing the laces didn’t help.  It was the first time I ever returned a pair of shoes.  I felt really bad about it- I tried to like them, I did- put about 100 miles on them but just couldn’t.   photo 1Back to the store again.   Another treadmill test showed I pronate the same in support shoes versus a neutral shoe so what was the point?   The employee helping me suggested I run in what was comfortable to me and not what “anyone” recommended.  Glory days!   I switched to running in the Wave Rider’s full time and it was smooth sailing from there on.  Over the next year I picked up a pair of Wave Hayate’s for trail running and Wave Sayonara 2’s for shorter, faster runs.   Things were awesome…until they weren’t.

Now, I admit I have odd feet.  The left is bigger than the right, one arch is high and one is medium.  Oh, did I mention they change size?    Legitimately change size, I have had them measured more than once each time I felt like they had grown or shrunk.   The shoes in my closet range from 8-10.     Some of them collect dust depending on what shoe cycle I am on.  Those Hayate’s and Sayonara’s that I love?  Too big now.  When I run trails, I wear multiple socks.    And my much loved Rider’s?  They’re not right anymore.  Something’s off.

4 pairs in and they make my legs hurt.  My knee aches, my shins and calves are tight, my ankles hurt.    I tried going back to supportive shoes and tried the Wave Inspire 11.  Yuck.  That was the second time I’ve returned a pair of shoes.  Sorry!  So I bought the updated Wave Rider 18.  What the hell.  They are awkward and make my left foot hurt and ache in odd spots.  I’ve tried reworking the laces but no luck.   If I wasn’t embarrassed I may have returned them too. 😂  So back to the drawing board.

Everything feels like a lot of shoe these days.  I was kind of embarrassed to go back to the Running Warehouse with my current issues.   I wanted to try things on but not have to bother anyone.    So I headed to Dick’s.   I tried on every shoe in my size that I could reach and put away on my own.   I made sure I didn’t leave behind a mess.   The only things I didn’t try on were Hoka and Nike.  I’ve never liked a Nike pair of running shoes and as for Hoka?  I have troubles picking my feet up as it is, let alone with that much shoe.  There were 2 options that felt good to me but I was still undecided.  I felt like I was cheating on my running shoes.   The shoes I liked were entirelydifferent than what I have been running in.  Decisions, decisions.

This is normal, right?
This is normal, right?

To help my choice, I ran a few runs in my Sayonara’s.   Too big yes, but overall so much better than my current shoes.   Before last Thursday’s run turned creepy I was experimenting with my shoes.  I ran 2 laps of the lake in the Sayonara’s and 2 in my Wave Rider’s.   I was going to change back to the Sayonara’s for one last lap but then creepy truck happened.   Grrr.

Saturday I headed back to the Running Warehouse to make a decision.  I asked for 3 pairs of shoes.   Mizuno Sayonara 3, Brooks Pure Cadence 4 and Brooks Pure Flow 4.     The Sayanora 2’s have been phased out and while the 3’s were awesome colors, I didn’t like how they felt on my fit.  To me they look and feel like an entirely different shoe.  Closer to the Rider 18’s actually but they felt wrong on my foot.   The Brooks Pure line is entirely different than anything I have run in.    I tried them on years ago and hated them.   This time they made the arch on my left foot happy.   One pair more so than the other.  So I left with a pair of Pure Flows.   What have I done?!  8 pairs of Mizuno and I left with Brooks.IMG_1532I am breaking them in slowly but so far I like them.  I am running differently in them but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.   My shins are achy but that’s happened every time I’ve switched shoes so I am not alarmed at the moment.   And my left leg joined the party!!  I’ve mentioned before that my left leg is lazy and usually the source of my problems.  I went for a short run on Monday and it was like my leg woke up.  Hey, where have you been this whole time?!  So now the problem is long runs.   I don’t feel adjusted to the Pure Flow’s enough to run long in them but my Rider’s make my knee hurt.    I’m trying to figure out how to change my shoes at some point during the run.   Hmmm.   Laps of the lake would work but I don’t want to go back for a few weeks.

So, thoughts?

Have you ever just stopped liking a shoe?

Am I the only one with odd feet?  😃

Thoughts on how I should attempt long runs?