Dog running

Ok - I know that it's a crappy picture, but it is impossible to take a suitable picture of one's dogs while running with them...  I'm actually surprised that it came out at all (I only gave myself one shot at it).   But the point is that I ran with my dogs again this weekend - and it is always so different than when running without them.  This was along a path next to Potomac River on a totally awesome morning ~ 49deg.

Obviously, running without them is so much easier, but their companionship and the joy that they seem to get out of being out there with me is very cool.  So many smells, so many things to pee on, interesting critters to want to chase...

These guys aren't much for distance; 3 miles with a break in between somewhere is about all they are good for.  After a bit, the dog on the left starts lagging on me and I have to encourage him to finish with me.  More than once we've had to finish at a walk rather than at a run because he got too tired, or perhaps because something was bothering him.

I give these guys a lot of credit for helping me run:  in my early days (all of 4 years ago), they helped me run faster than the slow shuffle jog that I was calling "running".  Back then, I struggled to keep up with them; at first I could only do it for short spurts; now they pretty much signal  me to stop or slow down after a bit.

But it is so much  pleasure when we get into an easy lope and they are just trotting along with me.  The dog on the left puts his ears back, the black dog on the right seems to always have her ears out, and both of them always smelling for something.  Woe is me if the black dog spots a squirrel or a rabbit and I'm not prepared to rein her in.

Running on this particular trail is handy in that I don't have to travel with water.  Both pups just wade right into the river and drink their fill. In this picture, she's spotted some ducks and I know that she's wondering if she can catch them...

I wish that I felt confident enough to slip their leashes and just let them run, but I'm concerned about what they would get into.

As we were cresting one particular hill, a very large tan dog appears sans a leash....   He stopped when he saw us, effectively blocking the narrow trail, and so I naturally also stopped. Is this dog by himself or what?  I didn't want to attempt to pass him and risk a confrontation of some sort, given how narrow the trail was and how big he was (he was huge!), so we all just starred at each other for a little bit until his owner showed up. It was only 20-30 seconds, but it seemed like a long time - I had enough time to start considering my possible options...  It was just kind of weird how this huge dog was literally dominating the trail and waited for his owner to tell him what to do with us.  It all ended well - the owner was a very pleasant lady who shoo'ed her dog onwards and around us, noting that her dog had never had a leash in his life....  nice.

Marine Corp Marathon - I'm in !

It took serious persistence and knowing some html, but I managed to get registered for the MCM, running Oct 27, 2013!  The event sold out in 2 hours, 27 minutes.  Registration started at noon, and crashed immediately as thousands of runners hit the site.  I am just grateful that I had the time to be able to dedicate to getting registered.  Now I'm just hoping for a strong training period and a good run!
HooRah!  Here we go!

Goals?  Right now my goal is to cross the finish line vertical and preferably running !

hillwork

I suddenly realized today that I have been using a very subtle trick when running a route with hills.  After running for a while, every hill I hit becomes harder and harder for me (hey – I’m not 20 anymore and I get tired…. not an excuse, it’s a fact).

I realized (today) that when I start running out of gas going up a hill, that I often tell myself to just get to the top and then I can walk a bit to recover.  But I never do that, I don't slow down to a walk when I get to the top – I get to the crest and then I keep running – no walking.

And today, after all this time, it suddenly occurred to me why: once I get to the top and I’m on a level or maybe even a downhill slope, the effort diminishes so much that I feel good enough to continue running. Crazy, huh?  The trick was simply telling myself to get-to-the-top and then reconsider my needs.  I don’t know if that makes me a better runner or not, but for me it makes a psychological difference, a mental victory, that I didn't slow down to walk while on the uphill part.  And in the end, it’s all about the small victories.

But maybe this little trick will help someone else…

it's like religious experience

It’s almost like what I would imagine a religious experience to be.  It is a sudden rush of release, of what I don’t know, followed by a flush of new endorphin's that make me feel like I could run forever, up any hill, through any wall.  I’ll share that I am sometimes moved to tears as I run – me a mid 50’s guy who thinks that he doesn't stink and is bullet proof (my injuries clearly prove that I’m not, and yes I do stink). 

It wells up on me at different moments, and at different levels of exertion, and it doesn’t happen on every run.  It is so unpredictable, but is something that I am constantly chasing and hoping that will happen.  And as it starts to happen I almost always say “here it comes….”

It’s the physical effort. 

It’s the mental tenacity to continue. 

And it is a great feeling  - so good.    It is awesome.

Great Falls, N Virginia

I’ve had an opportunity to run in the Great Falls Park of Northern Virginia and I’ve really enjoyed it.  There are a variety of trails with varying degrees of difficulty  and challenge.  It’s January, so many of the trees have lost their leaves, but the views and the surroundings are still awesome.  I have found trails that are predictably firm, modestly hilly, and well marked, and others that are rocky, slippery, steep, and not so well marked.  But that just adds to the experience and the work out.  I love the fact that this beautiful space is so close to where I’m staying – it’s almost like I’m in another world compared to the hustle and bustle of the DC/N VA metro area.

You can see from this picture how hilly the environment is.  The Potomac River is to the left and I'm running a ridge trail.  It is very steep off to the left, navigable, but steep.  This trail was great to run on.  It was fairly clear of rocks and I could get a reasonable pace going. Having said that though, I still had to pay a lot of attention to where I was stepping.

Being new to trail running it really has been a challenge for me, both physically and mentally. Physically because it can be very hilly, the ground gives in different ways (it’s not asphalt or concrete) and sometimes the ground is soft and sandy and other times quishy and muddy, I have to watch for rocks, roots, and slippery leaves, and mentally because I have to really pay attention to the ground.  I can’t just run and put my mind on auto-pilot – I have to pay attention to where I’m going and where I’m stepping.  One bad foot placement and I could be rolling an ankle (or worse…).  But I can really feel the workout in my quads and hams.  I can also feel it in my joints, and I’m wanting to carefully and deliberately develop strength and stability, so I am taking rest days when I need to.

The downer to running these trails though is that the scenery bears looking at, but I can’t take a chance to sightsee while running – so I have been stopping a lot so that I can look around.  I figure that its ok to do that; I’m not racing, I’m training.  I’m sure that if I continue doing trail running and enter a trail event that I’ll want to train for speed on a trail and my sightseeing time will be postponed.  But that’s ok. 

I also found that when I wander off any of the main trails that I really have to pay attention to where I’m going, because since the trail might not be well travelled, it’s sometimes hard to tell where it goes.  I’ve had to backtrack a couple of time to reconnect with the trail that I think that I’m supposed to be following.  I don’t have a map and there are few signs. Sometime the trail is marked by a dash of paint on a tree trunk, so I have to be watching for those… But all of this adds to the thrill of it.  I figure how lost can I get?  In one direction is the Potomac River and in the other is a road. And I know which way is North…

This is actually a great running environment.  I’ve found that there are a long string of trails that connect to each other throughout the Potomac River area.  I’m not sure, but I suspect that you could run from the Great Falls Park area all the way around to Alexandria and only have to deal with crossing or navigating a major road but a couple of times.  I’d like to try that.

There is a trail called “Difficult Run”, which is actually a water way (kind of a natural stream) with a trail that runs along it.  It’s pretty cool.  Some of it is a hard packed trail and some of it you have to carefully pick your way around (at least the area that I tried).  I’m hoping to run the entire length of that also…

I’ve decided that my near term challenge is to register and run the Marine Corp 17.75 event in Prince William Forest in March.  Assuming that I finish, I would be guaranteed entry into the Marine Corp Marathon in October, which is my second challenge.  So with that in mind, I am amped to getting prepped to run 18 miles!  I have read that it’s a little hilly – all the better for my training.  This is actually a good step up for me from my flat Michigan running!

Solo run, Group run

With winter upon us (at least up here in the northern Midwest) a lot of us runners either take time off the heal old injuries (that has been me recently) or head for the treadmill.  After figuring out how to dress for cold weather running, I began avoiding treadmills and found running outside in the elements to be great.

Which takes me to the title of this section - during the winter we tend to do more solo running, simply because there are fewer crazy people willing to run outside.

I find group runs to be somewhat social events; there is a fair amount of conversation, I like that I can meet new people, and it makes the run go by fairly quickly.  I do learn some new things, but aside from getting my miles in, what did I get out of the run?

When I'm running solo, I'm constantly thinking about my form, the consistency (or lack of) my pace, and meeting the goals of my run. That doesn't happen during a group run.  During a group run, the goal is mostly about getting the agreed to miles in... Somebody sets the pace and away you go.

I believe that solo runs give me the opportunity to judge myself from a very particular perspective. I start out with a goal for that run, be it long or short, and then I measure myself against my progress towards that goal. I calculate and measure my splits, I try to be conscious of my form (are my feet landing under my hips, are my arms swinging in line with my motion, or am I flailing them around, are my hips forward, is my head up, etc). I'm not totally geeky about this 100% of the time, but I do try to run as efficiently as possible.

The other thing that I get out of solo runs, particularly long runs, is the confidence that I can do it on my own. At the end of the day, when I'm out there running a distance event, I know that it is all up to me and me alone. The support of a group is great, but in the end it will be my legs, my stamina, and my ability to persevere over whatever ails me that will get me across the finish line.

So even though I'm not a big fan of group runs, I have admit that it was by getting involved with a group that I learned that I could run at a faster pace than that which I had become accustomed to running.  During my first group run, I remember being shocked at what a quick pace the group trotted off at (in retrospect it wasn't that fast...but faster than I was accustomed to) but I kept up with them, albeit bringing up the rear. The route we were running went through a bit of downtown so we to deal with traffic lights, and I recall panting "red light, red light, give me a red light" so that I would have a chance to catch my breath (and catch up). I noticed after a while that the lead guy eventually started timing the lights in my favor - he must have heard me (or sensed some measure of my distress). Those traffic lights were the only way I made it through the run! We did 9 miles+ at the fastest pace I had yet to run, effectively pushing me into a new level. That may not of happened if I was only running solo. I had gained a whole new level of confidence because of it!

There was another time with a different group that we did trails - a totally new experience for me and something that I may not of tried on my own. Now I'm hooked on trials and would like to do more.

The point of all this is that I think that there is place for group runs and solo runs, and it is not a bad idea to do both. But for the winter, it will mostly be solo...

My feet hurt - and I'm sick and tired of it

[Edited and updated 12/4/14] The title pretty much says it all - I've been fighting plantar fasciitis in my left foot and the achilles tendonitis in my right. I had been able to get through a run but then paid for it afterwards, hobbling and limping around.

In my battles to help my feet I have/had established a regular routine which now (November 2014) includes some foot strengthening exercises - I will post something about this once I get a better feel as to what, how, and if anything works.

For the plantar fasciitis:
I think that I can pretty much say that I for me (PF is different for everybody) the magic key to relief of my PF simply involves stretching. Not just my feet themselves, but my calves, hams, and quads. My PF was symptomatic of other issues further up my leg.

• Heal drops and calf raises. Using a couple/three 1x4 boards I do very careful heal drops and calf raises - not to extremes, just enough to loosen up and warm up.
• Modified toe-touch. Standing with legs apart (roughly hip wide), bend knees slightly and touch the ground in front of my toes and then squeeze hams and butt cheeks out. Keep head down and breath easy for about 30 seconds. Release, and do it again a couple more times.
• Kneel on the ground (rug preferably) with the tops of my feet flat on the ground (toes pointing behind me). Breath easy and slowly and gently lean back so that my weight is supported on my feet (my butt is on my heals).
• From that previous position, now curl my toes so that they are under me and holding my weight (still on my knees though).  Hold that position for a little bit, breathing easy.
• Then roll back so that I am literally squatting but holding my weight on my toes.  Hold for a few.... and then stand up.
• Finally, some foam rolling - calves, hams, quads, IT bands.

What kind of helped, but was only temporary, were these:

• Lots of stretching and manipulation of the foot throughout the day, rolling a golf ball under my foot, or a frozen bottle (felt good because it basically numbed everything, but didn't solve the problem),
• Massaging the foot several times a day.
• I discovered a method of taping that has seemed to help some.  I simply did an internet search and watched 2 or 3 youtube videos, went out and bought some rolls of sports tape, and then taped myself up every day (but not for a run).  I wore the tape for 8-10 hours a day but did not sleep with it. A link that was forwarded to me is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jKGDhxcdtzE
• After a run, I iced for 10-15 minutes.
• I did not taking any anti-inflamatories or pain killers (they didn't seem to help and I'd rather not).

For the achilles tendonitis:

• Modest stretching, but no toe lifts, just enough to loosen it up some.
• Wearing shoes (I tend to like to walk barefoot when ever possible).  Shoes raise my heel up just enough to take some of the tension off the tendon.
• After a run, I ice for 10-15 minutes.

The good news is that I believe that I have the plantar fasciitis under control.  I no longer hobble as I get out of bed in the morning.  The incredible pain that I used to get as I try to make my first steps of the day is no longer there - so I see that as progress.

The bad news is that I'm realizing that I'm not going to fix the achilles tendonitis as long as I continue to run - So last Sunday, after aborting a run half mile into it, I made the decision to not run for a full week.  Then I'll ease my way back into it.  If it still feels tight, I'll back off again.  I have to get it healthy.  I read some scary things about popping the tendon and I don't want that to be me.

My feet have hurt so much that I had dialed back my mileage substantially - and the immediate effect that I've notice is that my weight has been going up.  I didn't realize just how much of a calorie burning action running was on me. My understanding was that, as a runner, I might burn 100 or so calories per mile, which isn't that much.  But apparently it makes a bigger difference than I imagined. So now I'm going to try to burn those C's on a bike or walking or doing upper body workouts.

Someone suggested that I stop drinking beer, but are they nuts?  C'mon man....

(If you would like to leave a comment I've been told that it may be necessary for you to temporarily allow 3rd Party Cookies - it's not my thing... it's seems to be that a Google Blogger thing... For example, if you use Chrome, go to "Settings", scroll down to the bottom and select "Show Advanced Settings", select "Content Settings" in the Privacy section, and then un-select "Block 3rd Party cookies...".   I would not recommend leaving your settings that way, so be sure to reset it back to block 3rd party cookies.)