Next week I’m stepping it up to 4 miles per run.  I’ve also begun using some music which appears to be helping my run pace.  I’ll experiment a bit more with that this week.  After Easter, I’m also going to try for a longer run on the weekend.

Some girlfriends and I are looking forward to our next race, The Race for the Rabbit, at Zoo Montana on the 31st.  And of course, no self respecting group of running girls would miss the chance to have an after-party of eating and drinking.  Woo hoo…can’t wait.

I don’t know who else deals with this but I have an ongoing issue with working out and my hair.  It’s recommended that a person gets around 75 minutes a week of moderately vigorous cardio exercise.  I shoot for 3 sessions per week in which I burn 400 calories or more.  The other 2 days a week I devote to strength training.  Also, one shouldn’t do 2 consecutive days of either vigorous cardio or strength.  What that means is that you have to get semi sweaty almost every day of the week.  Now, I don’t wash my hair every day.  It’s very dry, course, and curly.  Plus I get it colored once per month.  Washing everyday is not recommended for hair like mine.  I usually don’t mind a yoga or strength session that gets my heart pumping a bit and warms me to a semi-glow state.  I simply put a blow dryer to my neck area and then go on about my business.  But a run or a kickboxing session simply has to be done on hair washing day.  In order to get in an exercise session on both Saturday and Sunday I have to wash my hair both days.  Then if somehow I get off schedule (happy hour with the girls on a Thursday night is bound to evaporate all desire to come home and exercise that evening), the whole week’s hair washing schedule gets off kilter.  It’s such an ongoing battle.

In the book “Run Your Butt Off”, one runner talked about running during his lunch hour.  He wrote about a handy wipe type product that he uses post run for a quick clean up without a shower.  I think that’s great for underarms, etc, but then what do you do about your hair.  Running at lunch is definitely not in the cards for me.  But I’m not going to be scared off by a little bit of sweat either.  Whatever it take…you know.

Another issue that is keeping me from running as often as I’d like to is a foot injury.  I’d had a slow fall, running only a few times between October and November.  When I got to SC for a long term work assignment, I was thrilled to be able to use the treadmill in the hotel fitness center.  I’d been using the treadmill religiously 3 to 4 times a week for the first 2 weeks that I was there.  I was running between 3.5 and 4 miles per session.  I was feeling great about this and had signed up for the Columbia Marathon (I only signed up for the 5k).  On the Sunday of the week of the race, I started on the treadmill and noticed that I was being plagued with a funny heal pain.  During my run that morning, I had so much pain that I was finally reduced to walking for the remainder of the session.  The next day at work, I found that I was tiptoeing around due to the amount of pain in that heal.  As the week progressed I realized that I had sincerely injured something in that foot.  I was not able to compete in the 5k that weekend and I was disappointed.  Since that time I’ve had the pain not only in the heal but in the achilles tendon and ankle area as well.

With some research, I’ve self diagnosed this as plantar fasciitis.  According to the US National Library of Medicine, “plantar fasciitis is inflamation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot.  This tissue is called the plantar fascia.  It connects the heal bone to the toes and creates the arch of the foot. Plantar fasciitis occurs when the thick band of tissue on the bottom of the foot is overstretched or overused.  This can be painful and make walking more difficult.”  So this has been going on all winter.  I always have the pain first thing in the morning and then later in the day it subsides.  When I run I don’t feel it.  It’s not until later in the day and then the next morning that it’s very painful.  Again, after a day or so it gets better.  I’ve been keeping my mileage down since I have so few days that I can actually run, but am hoping to increase that in the next month or so as the weather improves and the time changes allowing for more hours of daylight and possibly getting in the morning runs again.  It sounds like most runners have dealt with this affliction at one time or another.  I guess I’ll have to see how it goes when I increase the mileage and determine what level of pain I am in.  Stay tuned.

I regularly use a heart rate monitor.  I bought it a few years back just for the satisfaction of seeing the total calories burned after the end of a hard workout.  Plus I use my calendar to log exercise duration, type and total calories with each workout.  This HRM will show the user the duration and either heart rate in either beats per minute or percentage of maximum based on the individual user settings.  When you first start it, it beeps slowly letting you know that you have not yet reach your target zone.  Once you go a little faster, it stops beeping thus letting you know that you are within your target heart rate.  If you go too fast or exert yourself too much, it beeps really fast, thus letting you know that you are outside your target heart rate zone.  I often get anxious when it starts going off like that, that I might be heading for a stroke.  But I just back off a little and it usually goes back to the silence of the ZONE.

As my running training evolved so did my technical savvy with my smartphone.  I decided to download the I Map My Run app.  This app will allow the user to track distance, speed, pace, elevation, etc.  The newest version will also have the app  speak to the runner and verbally give the runner all their stats at whatever intervals (miles or minutes) that you choose.  Today the GPS that functions with the app was having difficulty locating me.  When it finally located me I set out on my route.  At one point, well before the end of mile 1 she piped up and said that I had already run over 8 miles with a speed of over 20 miles per hour.  If only I was at the Olympic trials today!  Anyway, it was obviously a waste of 45 minutes of battery life since the woman that was talking to me didn’t have the slightest idea where I was.  Maybe I’ll try it again on a sunnier day.

I’ve also heard a lot of talk about using music for fitness and for running.  There are tons of articles out there about playlists and motivational music to help keep a good pace and to keep the runner motivated with good, heart pounding tunes.  Personally, I run in the quiet.  I just listen to my body, focusing on my abdominal breathing and form which gets harder as I go further.  I also like the sounds of the neighborhoods around me and think about what people are doing on this lovely Sunday afternoon in the middle of this Montana winter.  It gives me time to think and meditate which I don’t give myself the opportunity to do at any other time.  To each their own.

On Saturday, February 11th, my aunt Mavis and I walked in honor of Sherry Arnold.  For those of you that may not know, Sherry is a teacher from Sidney, MT.  On the morning of January 7th she went for her normal morning run and never returned.  A full on search was launched however her body had never been recovered.  It was a very moving experience for me to be part of the run in Sidney, the area that I am also from.  Although I didn’t know Sherry personally, it was humbling to be part of such a outpouring of love for this beloved wife, mother, teacher, and runner.  It was reported that there were close to 500 participants walking or running in Sidney.  There were also several other Montana communities taking part as well as runners from 47 states and 18 countries.

As a runner and a woman, I am sincerely disturbed that we cannot feel safe running in our communities and neighborhoods.  Obviously, everyone needs to take precautions and be aware of their surroundings.  But I will not let this stop me.  When we woke up on Saturday morning it was -15 and we were dressed like the Michelin Man but we didn’t let that stop us.  As we walked our toes were freezing and so were our noses, but that didn’t stop us either.  Now every time I run I think about Sherry and push myself to run and be strong and not be afraid.

Bree and I actually called our event a triathalon since we stayed after the bowling and and fellowship were over to drink a few beers and eat some lunch.  I mean what are we running for anyway…to be able to eat and drink without the consequences of undue weight gain!  I mean it was Super Bowl Sunday…let’s be realistic.  I find it amusing that several websites were trying to help those 100% – ers (I mean all healthy, all the time) find sensible and healthy ideas for their football bash.  It’s just one day.  You can go back to healthy tomorrow.   

Anyway, it was the first real event of the season and I’m glad I did it.  I’m not sure I would’ve done it alone so I appreciate Bree participating with me.  The next one is the Shamrock Run in March so I’m hoping for continued nice weather to train in.

This week is going to be a tough one, workout wise.  I’m working late on Monday through Wednesday so running is out (too dark, no treadmil).  I’ll plan for cardio kickboxing on Tuesday and strength training on Wednesday.  Thursday I’m flying out to Eastern Montana for a hometown visit.  It’s my Mom’s birthday.  Saturday I’ll be running with area residents of Sidney, Montana for the Virtual Run for Sherry Arnold.  (More on that to come).  Working out when you aren’t in your own environment is a bit tougher so I’ll have to let you know how that goes.

A lot of people ask me how I got started running.  I had been working out pretty consistently for about 4 years doing at-home workout DVDs and some walking when it was nice so I considered myself to be in relatively good condition.  Then 2 years ago I thought I’d try running.  I’d start out thinking that I could do a walk run combination.  I first set my goal at running a half mile at a time.  I mean how hard could that be…anyone could do that much, right?  Wrong!  Just being in good shape does not prepare you for running.  I immediately got frustrated and stopped trying to run.  But last year I had been traveling quite a bit and using a treadmill for walking.  Everyone once in a while I’d pepper in a minute or so of jogging.  At first, a minute at a time was all I could do.  Then 2 minutes.  Once I got back home, I decided I was going to try running again.  My goal was to jog 2 minutes out of every 5 for a total of about 40 minutes.  I realized that I was burning quite a few calories even with the walking breaks.  I had invested in a heart rate monitor a few years back and it was a great tool for managing my pace when I first got started. (I’ll write more on the use of this tool in another post).  I continued with the 2 minute segments for probably 2 weeks or so before moving to 3 minutes out of every 5, still for 40 minutes total.  By the following week, I was varying between 3 and 5 minutes of running at a time along with walk breaks.  Within another couple of weeks, I found I could run for 6, 7, and 8 minutes at a time without walk breaks.  All in all, I think it took a little over a month to get to the point of being able to run a full mile before taking a walk break.  From there, I just continued to increase my running time until I got to the point that I didn’t need any walk breaks and I continued to increase the duration of each run.  By July I was consistently running 4 or 5 miles at a time and I did my first 10k in August.

One of the biggest obstacles that I found with running was breathing.  I had done some research about how to control your breathing through cadence (matching each breath with a certain amount of steps) and also through breathing from your diaphragm (belly breathing) and not your chest.  There’s also posture and proper body positioning.  There were definitely a lot of things to think about but eventually it becomes more natural.

I think that the biggest thing that I would suggest if you are wanting to start running is BE PATIENT and DON’T GIVE UP!  It’s not going to happen overnight.  But eventually your body will mind you and you’ll  feel the runner’s high.

Anyway, I’m thankful for the new year and that we’ve had several days of moderate temperatures and that most of the snow has now melted. For the last few weeks, I’ve managed to keep up 4 to 5 workouts a week which includes 2 days of strength and/or yoga.  I had 2 runs this week that were over 3 miles and that’s been the first runs in a month so that felt pretty good.  I hope to be able to keep up at least a few runs a week.

During this time, I have been able to substitute the cardio of running with kickboxing and dancing DVDs.  They still burn the same amount of calories as a run, but I just worry about losing any endurance training that I’ve gained.  I’ve read several articles in Runner’s World that winter in usually a good time to downgrade the running anyway and focus on the strength and cross training opportunities.

I wonder what everyone else does over the winter months.