Speed and Strength

I am going back to my running roots and trying to do more speed and strength workouts. The Saying "I wish I knew back than what I know now" means a lot to me. I am learning to relax more in my workouts and feel I have better control over my body.
You don't have to exercise or run a ton to be strong and in great shape.

Wednesday --- 1 mile w/up - dynamic stretches-- 2 strides --8x200 and 43sec. pace.
100 meter - 200 jog in between each 200. 1 mile cool down (barefoot) and 15 min. stretch.

All of my 200's were ran at 42-43 sec. So Yea for accomplishing the goal. My form still feels less than fluid but I will get it back.

Thursday-- 5 min w/up ( running barefoot) - dynamic stretch - pose drills ( pose stance, cos, pony,tapping,on leg heel to butt, and alternating heel to butt)
Walking lunge 30x2, chest 2x45, wall sits 2 x 1:10sec, rows 2x30, one leg dead lift 2x20, shoulder raises 2x15, reverse lunge 2x20(each leg), bicep 2x20, tricep 2x20, calves 2x25, abs 120, low back extension on ball 2 x 35, leg lifts 2x 20.
Stretch 15 min.

Strength training felt awesome today. I did it all barefoot and I feel my lower legs and feet becoming stronger by the week.

Good Run / Bad Run!

I usually do my long run on Saturdays but Bill is going camping. So I went today at 10:00am (about 85 degrees and sunny). I borrowed my Moms Garmin today it was quite a interesting experience. It was kind of like doing a race with myself. I ran 6.51 in shoes and .7 barefoot. So 7.19 total. The .7 barefoot sounded good but was a bad idea. I ended up getting a major blister which tells you I was over striding. This is not going to deter me from doing barefoot running I just need to slow it down and shorten the stride until I am used to the form. I am not going to enjoy the next few days of blister recovery.
Other than the blister I feel great! I read Gordon Pirie's Chapter on technique and shoes last night and applied it to my run today. I ran fast and have no lingering pain. Besides my awful blister.


I am going to buy the Saucony Bullet Originals (1st picture) soon so I can start transitioning into minimal shoes.

I also purchased the Saucony Kinvaras (2nd pic.) today. They are supposed to be a fast light trainer that allows you to forefoot run, if that is your preferred method of running.






I am going to post the theory behind forefoot/midfoot running soon. I want to find a couple of good articles that will explain it better than I can.

Wednesday Track day!

My run was okay today. I went the the track with intention for running 3x800 in 3:40
I warmed up 1mile - did dynamic stretches - and 2 strides
I ran in my 800 meter race track spikes.
- I than proceeded to my 800's with a 400 meter jog in between each one. My 800s were all run in 3:20's. I felt great and than questioned myself. " Am I supposed to do 3 or 4?" Well I should have stuck with 3 but I did 4. Even though I still finished under time I was not feeling the last one and should have stopped in the middle.

I cooled down with 4 laps barefoot on the grass and a 20 min. stretch session at home.

First of all my stride never felt smooth and my left foot does not want do anything but heel strike. Needless to say my right calve is extremely sore while my left leg is slightly sore. I feel bad for my right leg it is doing all the work.
I also know I have a long way to go in changing my running form. It looks easy on video but it takes time to retrain your body from 17 years of bad habits.

Monday 5:30 am run.

Today I ran for 37min. I did 4.8 miles. I felt fast but my ankle/lower medial shin area was tight. I came home put on my vibrams and ran up and down the street a few times.

Strength : Core-push ups- Rows- Med ball upper body - Wall sits- lunges- side leg lifts - pose drills- calf raises - one leg dead lift.

New Running: I am trying to learn the forefoot running form ( running on the middle to the ball of my foot) I think I am having a hard time because every time I lean from the ankles my right ankle starts to hurt. My goal is to start running strictly in racing flats or my vibrams. The clunky running shoes that have become standard I believe is part of my ankle issue. It is not allowing my foot to do the motion it needs. Besides the ankle problems my back, glutes and IT band tightness has completely gone away since I switched to this style of running. I will explain more later.

Quad Cramp!

Today was my long run. I ran about 1 hour. I don't usually clock my distance but I am guessing around 7 miles. I did 55 min. with shoes and 5 min. around the block barefoot. During my last mile my quad cramped. This never happens but on Tuesday I raced a few kids from church and realized after I was done that I haven't run like that since college so I paid for it this week. My run was somewhat hard and my form felt tense. I have to say I felt at my best running up hill and against the wind.

I also did upper body strength and core after my run and lower body in the late afternoon. Push ups - rows - med ball shoulder and biceps - Ball crunches - back extensions- Wall sits- one leg dead lift- lunges - calve raise- hip lifts.

I am trying to transition to forefoot running and so 2x a week I do a little barefoot running to help me understand the form a little better.

* Tip: Rest is just as important as running. I only run 3 days a week with a strength day for my 4th day workout. That means that I have 3 days of rest. This is why have been able to avoid major injury in the last 2 years.

Me and My Running

Well Let me start by telling anyone who reads this blog a little about me and my running background. Hold on tight because this is a long one.
I was somewhat born into a running family. My Dad has been running for quite sometime now. He was a sprinter in college turned distance runner and again sprinter in his early 40's. He was and is a fast man both in sprints and in distance. My Dad is now 62 and is still running long distance today. My Mom got a later start on running she started when she was 31 but she was a quick little runner. I am still trying to beat her PR 5k time of 20:54. I am on my way. She is now 59 and still runs today. Both of my parents are my running hero's.
As a child I was exposed to the running world through road races and my Dads track meets. I have always loved to race. I was always up for a friendly race with anyone who who asked. I knew that someday I wanted to run track like my Dad. So my Freshman year of High School I first ran Cross Country and than ran Track. I missed making it to State that year because of the Flu and I was determined to make it the next year. The summer between my Freshman and Sophomore year of H.S. was a pivotal time in my running career. My Mom was sick of us sleeping in and so she woke me up and told me that we were going running, and from that point on besides when I was pregnant I have not missed a week of running. My Sophomore and Junior year of H.S. I did make it to State in the 100 and the 200. My Senior year we moved to AZ. I loved that they had finished tracks at each H.S. This was the year I made my move to the 400meters. I went to state in the 200, 400, and 4x100. We had an awesomely fast team. After H.S. I went to Mesa CC on Scholarship for the Heptathlon. I went to nationals fresh. and Soph. years in the 4x100, 4x400, and 4x800. I also qualified for the Heptathlon but chose not to do it. I didn't love the Heptathlon. For some reason though I went to Utah State on a small Scholarship for the Hep. That was the year I moved away from home, met my husband, and got out of shape because my new coach was trying a different approach with his athletes. It back fired on me. I got married at the end of my Junior year. My Senior year I gave up my tiny scholarship and told the coach I just wanted to sprint. I trained myself in summer to become faster and stronger and I came back fighting, and faster. Surprising my coach. He later admitted he should have kept me running.
After I graduated we left Utah State and moved to AZ. I started running longer distances. I was doing pretty good at the 5k and 10k races. I ran my fastest 10k at 45:42 and my fastest 5K at 21:20. Soon after I got majorly injured. I was running one day and both my knees started having sharp shooting pains. This side lined me for a little while. I kept running but it was always slow, tight, and uncomfortable. I saw many doctors, Chiros. ,PTs etc. No real answers.
I soon got pregnant and took time off of running. After delivering I started up again with alot of weight to lose and really slow running. I pretty much struggled with my running for 18 months until I got pregnant again and quit for a time. After my second delivery I started up again but I took a different approach and started as if I was a complete beginner. I responded well to this. But I still had the nagging tightness in my glutes, back, and hips. So my friend told me about this Physio Therapist she had been to. She told me he practiced something called ART (active release technique). I thought why not I will try it. I did go see him and this became another pivotal point in my running career. After 6 sessions with him the pain that I had felt for over 4 years was gone completely. All the other Doctors told me to stop running. The ART provider told me I need to live my life and run. I wasn't perfect or cured, but I was given hope that I could do what I loved...RUN!!!
I was still not fast like I was before and weighed about 20 lbs more than I wanted. Not because I thought I looked bad but because when trying to run fast it is nice to feel light. When my 2nd child was 2 yrs and 3 months I got pregnant with my 3rd and again I stopped running. I was gaining weight fast in my pregnancy and was told to slow it down. So I started writing down my eating for 3 weeks and when I went to see the Doctor I had dropped 11 lbs in 3 weeks. I only gained 6 back and gained only 24 lbs for my whole pregnancy. This means something because after I delivered my 3rd I quickly lost my baby weight and within 6 months I had dropped an extra 25 lbs. I was now down to my optimal running weight. I started my running program slow again and quickly built up to running 6-7 miles for my long run on Saturdays and 3.5-5 miles 2 other days in the week, with strength training on the side. I have done okay injury wise. I have felt tightness and discomfort but I have not had to take time off of running.
I am currently running 7:30-8:00 minute miles and I have started back at the track trying to improve my speed.
I will talk about my new running adventure on my next post.

Running Log Blog

Hello my friends! I have decided to create a blog that I can log my miles and running experiences. First off I am not an eloquent writer so don't expect beautiful poetic words. I have decided that I want to log what I am doing now so when down the road I am in a rut or injured I can look back on what I was doing when I felt strong and reconnect with that feeling. So if you are bored or intrigued sit back and enjoy the endless road race of my life as a crazy runner.