Tag: Nike

The Weight on my Shoes

Thursday’s run hurt.

My calves were tight and my arches were sore and achy. I think my PureFlow 4’s are dead. Which is not cool as they only have 146 miles on them. I think… I lost most of my shoe data when Nike updated their running app. Boo. But they felt dead on my run and since is my third pair of them, I am pretty familiar with the signs of a dead shoe.

So now what? I am not hugely fond of the 5’s I have been testing. Granted, I’ve only put 5 miles total on them. The toebox feels small- which I usually like- but the ankle area feels very floppy. I tried re-lacing them on my last run in them but they still felt off. No bloody heels though, so that was a plus.

So while I was running, ok well, taking lots of walk breaks, I was thinking. I’ve dropped thoughts about my weight recently- this still isn’t that post- but what if my weight is affecting my shoes?

Am I too large for my shoes?

I am honestly wondering this not trying to stir anything up. When I was heavier I ran in support shoes. Over the years as I both ran more and lost weight, my shoes kept getting lighter and with a smaller heel toe drop. And things were mostly fine. But now, I am heavier than I want to be by a decent amount. Let’s be real, I am closer to the weight I was when I first started running than I am to when I was at peak fitness 2 years ago. Could that be affecting my shoes?

I know the weight affects my form at times. Especially if I wear the wrong pair of shorts on a run. It could have all the markings of a great run but the wrong shorts right now will turn it to a crap storm real fast. Which then throws off my stride. So why couldn’t that be happening with my shoes?

Problem is that I don’t know how to test this little theory of mine. I mean I could by another pair of shoes but all this shoe buying is getting a little expensive. I am hesitant to return the PureFlow 5’s as I’ve only put 5 miles on them. It took me 20+ to break in the teal pair of 4’s that I had but then I put another 200ish miles on them. The last pair of normal running shoes-i.e more support- I owned was well over a year ago. I actually gave them to my mother to be gardening shoes. So that’s out as an option too.

Then on Saturday, I ran 8 miles in my Nike’s and my legs felt better than they have in weeks. They have even less to them than my Brooks. But, I was also in compression socks. Is it all in my head?!?!

I would love to say I as going to lose the weight and all would return to normal. But again, let’s be real, I’ve trying that for a year and failing in numerous ways. So now what?

Help me, blog land, you’re my only hope!!!

Seriously, what are your thoughts?

Week 15 Training Recap

Upcoming races– Firehouse 5K (this week!!)
SLO Marathon 13.1

Focus– Take it easy and bump it up to 4 days of running

Maybe it was something in the air or the water but this week kicked my trash. I haven’t been sleeping well and that hasn’t helped matters any. I was so tired most days I ordered a coffee and a soda most mornings. Not the best, I know. Towards the end of the week, I made a choice about my stomach meds and that threw some things out of whack as well. I was also feeling very hermit like this week and I ended up bailing on all my public involved plans. #horribleslacker

Running was rough but I hit the days I set out to. Last week was the week of the my first 16 miler attempt and this was the week where I stepped it up to 4 days a week. In retrospect, I should have scheduled those 4 days better.

Monday- 3.5 miles I ran on a Monday! Say what?! I was supposed to have plans later in the week, so I decided to run on Monday. I also ran in some new shorts that I had picked up over the weekend. I have to get over my sudden phobia of running in shorts in public somehow right? Even if it means buying a bigger size. 😭 The run was average if anything. I wasn’t sore after the 16 miler but my legs felt tired. I headed to the lake path for a few easy laps. I kept the pace slow and easy and just tried to enjoy running. However I had shoe issues. I started out in my Launch’s thinking the extra cushion would be a good thing right? My calves tightened up so badly, I changed my shoes 2 laps into the run. Luckily I had my Nike’s in the car as well. I made sure to stretch really well after my run.

Tuesday- Rest This was a rough day at work and a big part of me wanted to run it out. However I was trying to rest my legs after the previous days issues. It was also the lovely shattered make up morning.

Wednesday- Rest– I wanted to run after work, I had everything packed. I had a meeting in SLO in the morning. Part way through the meeting my head started to hurt. By the time I got back to work, I had a full on migraine. I still told myself I was running after work. Around 4:30, I realized that just wasn’t going to happen. I wanted pizza, then comfy clothes and a dark room and an ice pack. So I did just that.

Thursday- 4.5 miles– Ouch, ouch, ouch, damn it. Another run in the Launch’s and a ouch filled 4.5 miles. I probably should have called it sooner but I was stubborn. I kept stopping and stretching out my calves. No luck. I was thisclose to taking my shoes off and finishing the run barefoot. But instead, I went back to my car, then home to stretch. It was probably payback for not going to the work social thing that I was supposed to that evening.

I don’t know if it was the shoes or what but I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst cramp in my left leg. I damn near screamed. It was like a charlie horse all over my calf. I felt like I had barely dozed off when it happened again- in the right leg. WTF?!

Friday- Rest– Ha! Standing in the morning and walking around was real fun. My upper calves were so painful and tight from the cramps. Compression socks can be had to conceal at work but thankfully it was a casual Friday. And I pushed it to the limit when I wore my old dark blue Pureflow’s with my jeans. I meant to change them, I really did but never did. So bad.

Saturday- Firehouse 5K, 3.75 walk– First 5K of the year! It was rough, no lies, recap will be up on Wednesday. I tried to get ahead of the soreness I knew was coming by heading out for a walk later that day. I could tell that I was getting super stiff already. I was really hoping the walk would make things better. I also missed another social situation- this one was family related. #horribleslacker

Sunday- 7.5 miles– Oh my quad. Serious ouch! Full disclosure- I have never run the day after Firehouse. I usually take 2-3 days off, sometimes 4, I’m that sore. I ventured out Sunday morning for a long run. I was hoping for 10 miles but I knew that was unlikely. My quads were so tight, my feet hurt and my knees were sore. Throw in 90% plus humidity and this run was Rough. I slogged my way through 7.5 miles. I welcomed any break so when some cyclists needed directions, I was more than happy to. ☺ 7.5 is better than none right?

All in all, it wasn’t a bad week. The runs weren’t the best but I got them done. The mileage was a little lower than I would have liked but I knew that was likely with Firehouse in the mix. It’s suddenly dawned on me that SLO is only 3 weeks away. How did that happen? I feel unprepared, I’m not ready! I need more time. So this week, I am just going to keep my head down and just keep running. Hopefully the soreness will ease up and I can have a decent week of running. And foam rolling, I really need to do that more. 😛

How was your week?

Ever get horrible cramps in the middle of the night?

Have you ever had a week where you just wanted to be a hermit?

The Jury’s Still Out

Before I get to the boring medical stuff, how’s this for a roadblock-

That thing is huge!   And was standing 2 weeks ago.   Wonder when that came down.

Why do I hope for answers from a doctors appointment when those have been so rare in the past? Particularly from this doctor. The only time I have ever seen him show any kind of emotion or urgency was when I was attacked by a dog a few years ago. Anyways, after a scheduling headache last week, I was able to see my doctor on Monday. He ordered a chest x-ray and some blood work and gave me a snazzy new inhaler to try. Instead of a rescue inhaler, it’s a daily use inhaler. Boo, I’m so over medications. My medicine drawer is looking a little crowded. But, I would like to run without gasping for air. Also, a rush at work shouldn’t leave me feeling winded. So hopefully these tests will shine at least a little light on what’s been going on.

That being said, I had a pretty good run on Tuesday. I took the Nike Free RN’s for another little test spin. I set out to run super slow. I was hoping I could maintain a slow, easy pace without any walk breaks. I was running from work so I was a little concerned about the humidity but I was hoping a nice and sloooow pace would keep my breathing under control. This route is not conducive to a slow start though-

I kept my pace calm and just kept trucking. I was feeling ok and enjoying the sunset on the ocean. I was also debating if I wanted to run 3 or 4 miles. I had gotten out of work a little later so the sun was setting quickly. I had remembered my flashlight though and I had my blinky lights on my belt. I love the turn around point for the 4 mile route but thought 3 might be the better idea as the return to my car is always slower. I was feeling sluggish but ok and was going to push for 4 when the roadblock pictured up top put a stop to that. Boo. I never quite realized how damn big the trees in the eucalyptus grove were before. I’m glad I wasn’t running when it came down!

I made it back to my car just before total darkness fell. One bonus about starting so slow? I negative split this route for the first time ever! #findtheshiny right?

How has your week been going?

Ever run into a roadblock like that?

Week 7 Training Recap

Upcoming Races– SLO Marathon- Half

Focus– Recovery

This will be a quick recap. This week shaped up a little fluffier than planned. Not a lot of exercise but eating like I ran a marathon. Or 2. Oddly, I was fine during race weekend and even Disneyland. It wasn’t until Tuesday that I went off the rails. A post race week combined with hormones = #eatallthethings.

Monday- Disneyland!! According to my Up band, we walked around 7 miles that day. Not too bad. My legs held up pretty well, I didn’t really feel sore from Surf City but there were moments my mother left me in the dust. Mostly going up, walking up to Super Hero HQ was a little rough.😁

Tuesday- Rest My chest was hurting pretty badly on Tuesday. I had the day off and thought about riding the bike or going for a short run but decided to pass on it. Instead I caught up on all the laundry from the weekend and worked on some computer issues that I had been having. The computer is fixed but I want to throw my printer out the window.

Wednesday- Rest Back at work and I had a meeting a few towns south in the morning. I kind of feel like I spent the day driving all over the county, so it was a planned rest day. Plus my chest was still sore.

Thursday- 12 miles stationary I had packed my running gear and was looking to try for a short run after work. I still felt a little bruised but nothing like the past few days. However a dense marine layer rolled in around closing time so I took it as as a sign to not push my lungs. I headed home for the bike instead.

Friday- Rest Like always. 😛

Saturday- Shoes! With spring races on the horizon and big plans for the summer, I need to figure out my shoe situation. While my Pure Flow’s aren’t making me bleed anymore, they are not making my feet happy either. My left foot in particular. With that in mind, I headed down to SLO for a little bit of shopping and ended up at the Running Warehouse. Uh oh. It was busy but someone was able to help me fairly quickly. I’m horrible because I don’t remember his name! After explaining all the issues I had been having lately, he brought out 3 pairs of shoes for me to try- New Balance Vazee Pace, Saucony Kinvara 6 and the Pure Flow 5’s.

The New Balance felt great when I was sitting but horrible once I stood up and walked around. The Kinvara’s were super snug. I didn’t want to go up a size because I regret it every time I do. The newer Pure Flow’s were odd. They are firmer than they used to be. I didn’t feel any pinching in the heel and the arch support felt ok but the tongue was ridiculous! It’s harder now so it felt like a piece of plastic digging into my ankle. What is with that?! Based on what I liked and didn’t like, he then brought out a pair of Brooks Launch 3’s. They felt the best out everything but they still felt like a lot of shoe. I’ve really liked the lower heel- toe drop of the Pure Flow 4’s and the smaller foot print of the toe box. He then brought out a pair of Nike’s- the Free Run Distance. Say what?

I’ve tried on numerous pairs of Nike’s over the years and hated every single one. Which is odd since all my tennis shoes were Nike’s. I was predisposed to hate this pair, then I put it on. Holy crap, it felt like a slipper. Snug but not tight and with a 4mm drop. Now, it felt great in the store but running could be a different story. But it was the best fit and I ended up leaving with my first pair of Nike running shoes.

Oh and I had dvr’ed the marathon trials and watched them that night. How awesome was that? Shalane and Amy were amazing and the perfect example of #runningrelationshipgoals.

Sunday- 6 miles First run in a week and it was rough. I was hoping that all the extra rest would have helped my lungs but not so much. My training plan called for a 90 minute progression run but I had mentally changed that to an easy 8 since I wasn’t feeling great since the race and hadn’t run. I started out the run in my new shoes but knew I might end up looping back to the house if they didn’t work. Usually I try to break in my shoes with 3-4 mile runs. My warm up walk was a little longer than usual and felt pretty good but running was hard. I was huffing and puffing a mile in. I wasn’t wheezing, it just felt like it was harder to get in a decent amount of air. I ran slowly and took regular walk breaks. I called it at 6, I didn’t have another 2 in me today. The shoes felt pretty good. I started the run with some soreness and twinging in my left knee but that’s been there since Thursday. It actually got better by the end of the run. They held up well today but I am cautious to see how they do once I run in them more.

So this week ended up being on the lazier side of recovery with only 2 workouts. But I am ok with that as I needed a wake up call to make me go to the doctor and Surf City was that call. My appointment is Monday and I am really hoping that it is something that can fixed fairly quickly. Fingers crossed! I am trying not to plan to far ahead into next week until I hear what he has to say.

How was your week?

Ever had to change your mind about a brand of shoes?

Did you watch the trials?

Return to Long and a Goofy Garmin

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on my last post. I felt a little odd posting it. I wasn’t sure how well “re-embracing the Slacker” would go over. It does sound a little backwards 🙂

Friday was one of those days that started ok and went south real fast. So fast and south that it made me question how well I was doing my job. By the time I got off work all I wanted to do was eat a pizza. Like, the whole thing. I had had tentative plans to hit the track for some speed work with a friend but those fell through. Part of me wanted to use that as added justification for the pizza. The other part of me wanted to run. In the end I met up with my mother at the river path. We walked the first 3 miles while I ranted. Well as much as I could without going into too many details. By the end of mile 3, my feet were itching to run. So I decided to run the last mile. I felt really good on that mile; I felt like I was running out my irritation and doubt. So good in fact, I am pretty sure I threw down my fastest mile- 8:15. Sweet! I can’t find the proof to back that up though, apparently my Garmin doesn’t track single mile records?! My fastest unofficial 5k is 26:35 so I double checked the times on those miles, and yep, this was still faster. 🙂

The only bummer was that while running I determined that my white Wave Riders are pretty much done for. 300 miles and done. Poor, pitiful shoes. I have already been breaking in their replacements but it’s still sad to say goodbye to these. Normally I would try to get a few more miles out of a shoe but since I should be in a support shoe but choose to run in a neutral shoe, I have been trying to pay more attention to how the shoe wears down. On Saturday, I did some shopping and I did purchase some fancy insoles to try and see if that would help get some extra miles out of them. The verdict is still out on that one. I also purchased another belt to try out. I have a fitletic belt and a Flipbelt, but I am always open to possibilities. Sunday, I finally followed through on a longer run. I made it to the track for 8 miles. I have missed the track. I didn’t feel up to speed work and figured a long, slow run would be more beneficial anyways. My Garmin apparently had other plans. It took awhile to find the signal and by the time it did, it was almost 2/10 of mile behind. By the end of my run, it had dropped even more distance. I could not figure out was going on. Luckily, I am a little neurotic and still run with the Nike app too. It tracked well enough. Warming up was hard on the track. I had to force myself to walk 3 laps, which is huge compared to the 200 meter warmup I used to do. After that I just tried to keep an easy pace. I ran miles 2, 3, 4 and took .1 walk breaks in miles 5 and 6. After that it was all running until I hit 8. The weather was kind of weird for the run, overcast and kind of muggy but not too hot. At one point, I thought I smelled rain in the air but nothing ever happened. Boo, that would have felt great.

I stayed in lane 7 the entire time, my Garmin disagrees.

I also got to see a prodigy in the making. This family came to the track to have the little boy ride his big wheel. He was having some problems steering. However the scene stealer was his towheaded, little sister. They brought her a tricycle but she didn’t need it. She ran laps around the track, barefoot. He father was cutting across the grass trying to catch her. She was all of 3 years old and so cute. She thought it was all a great game to her. If she keeps running, I’m betting she’s gonna be fast. 🙂

After stretching out some, I tried messing around with a self timer app that I downloaded. Haha, umm no. I was either out of the shot or looked like I was tripping instead of running. I also determined that the new belt is a no-go. While the pouch didn’t move or bounce, the belt refused to stay put. Granted I wear my belts super low. So low, a woman in the SLO half grabbed my shoulder at mile 2 to tell me it was falling off. Nah, that’s normal. I could do without the bubble butt effect but it works for me. This Nike belt will not, so it’s going back.

Do you see how low that is? — Do you see how low that Flipbelt is?

My run felt good. It was a little harder than I would have liked but considering I had to talk myself into getting out there, I was ok with that. I tried to rationalize another weekend of shorter runs but even with my revived Slacker-ness, I knew that was a bad idea. But I admit I was glad when I was done. Then it was time for a quick shower before heading out to dinner with the family. Olive Garden, yummy.

Ever run into any running phenoms?

Any suggestions for a wacky Garmin?

How do you carry your gear?