Tips to Prevent Muscle Soreness

Ok -- launch of my marathon training for 2011, not going so well. I've been hit with some horrible bug literally the day training began Monday. Fever, puking, and so many body aches and weakness, I couldn't make it from my bed to the kitchen for a while there! Bad news. I'm not 100% yet... still a bit nauseous and weak but I'm determined to fake my body into thinking I'm better. Frankly, I think my main struggle right now is re-introducing food that my body is not used to any more after several days of toast, chicken soup and applesauce!

But I'm going to do a light run/walk tonight to get back on the bandwagon that I never even started. As I recall from my last 4 mile run though, I was left sore and achy for literally 4-5 days! Unbelievable for a girl who's used to taking 6 months off and then tackling a 6 miler like its no big deal. I chalked it up to 1. getting older and 2. the cold cold weather (my legs were freezing that entire run... that couldn't have been good). Between that experience the other week and the kick-off of the Biggest Loser last night, I wonder... what do I need to remember to do before/after/during/whenever a run to keep myself from being incapacitated (btw, my new favorite word after being so sick and delusional the other day that I replaced it with "decapitated"). Here's what my research/experience came up with as a nice reminder for all you with your running resolutions:

1. Exercise the day after. I know... that's harder said than done. I know the best remedy for when you're sore from a hardcore run or workout the day before is to get the juices moving, but that doesn't mean I don't just try a few quick stretches and continue to moan about it and lay around as well. But really... a nice swim or bike ride is really going to do more for me than 7 days of whining. Just remember not to do the same exercise that initially made you sore... you want to get the blood pumping without re-injuring those same muscle fibers.

2. Massage. Yes... again, one easier said than done. I have a pretty wonderful fiancee who is also a runner so I find that if I offer him a nice massage after a workout, I'm more than likely to receive one back. But I know I'm in the minority there and I'm eternally grateful to the guy for it. And that obnoxious smelling Tiger Balm (sold at your local drugstore) is the best thing to add on to a nice massage for even more relief. But this is just to combat the pain of soreness... I've also read stories that it just contributes to the breakdown of the torn microscopic muscle tissues. So there's your warning... although I personally won't be turning any offers of massage away no matter what the supposed experts say!

3. Ice bath. Wow... these suggestions seem to get harder and harder, huh? This is 10 minutes of pure torture but it honestly works wonders. I've heard that the worst thing for your muscles is a hot shower/bath. It will feel better at the time but not in the long haul because you're muscles will hurt just as much after that bath is over. An ice bath does the opposite thing... the few times I was nutty enough to try this, I was wearing stilettos the same night/next day. It truly is a miracle worker. Read a book or something to keep your mind off the pain of the cold!

4. Finish off your workout with a good protein shake or even just a glass of chocolate milk. Protein repairs those muscle fibers that are damaged during a workout and if you have it within 30 minutes of your workout, its powers are multiplied. I used to end my runs at Starbucks and treat myself to a Venti Soy Chai. Yes, the calories probably counteracted my workout, but I felt great. ha. Maybe I shoulda stuck with a Tall. Also, while you consume your protein, be sure to stretch too since that also needs to be done within 30 minutes to have the most effectiveness.

5. I say avoid pain relievers for a few reasons... studies show that acetaminophen and ibuprofen may also block muscles from making essential proteins after exercise. I've heard that it negates the workout you just did as well in terms of making yourself any stronger. I also highly say that unless its the day of the race (in which case, you should still only do so sparingly and research correct dosage because it can be dangerous if not taken appropriately), you should avoid taking pain relievers on a run in general. As a girl who breaks easily... tendinitis, stress fractures, all kinds of problems, I like to feel what my body is telling me. Yes, even the pain. Because I don't want to push my body to do more than it should. That being said... if I am SEVERELY sore the next day, its almost better to take a small dosage of pain reliever just so I can get moving but, let it be known, this is just temporary relief and if you don't get moving and try some of the other options above, its just going to fade to the same soreness in a few hours anyhow so its almost not really worth the cons.

6. A new fact for me is that I read more antioxidants like in Vitamin C and E especially will aid in your recover as well. True or not, any excuse to eat healthier sounds like a good one. Grapefruits, melons, berries, lemon juice, and oranges are great sources of vitamin C. Wheat germ oil, vegetable oil, nuts, dark green veggies, and whole grains are great sources of vitamin E. So eat some of that after your next hard workout and let me know if you think it works!

7. Drink water. This is another struggle for me. Why do I hate water so much? I'm pretty much always dehydrated, dang it. I'll make an effort knowing that dehydration exacerbates soreness though!

Readers, please contribute a few more ideas if you know of any!!! I love having your comments.

Enjoy your run!!! See you at the Toledo Glass City Marathon!

Memmmmories.... like the corners of my minddddd

Hey bloggie. Sup?

Remember me? I bet I've lost all of my viewers. I've neglected them and you for so long, bloggie. I'm a horrible blogger. But I have a job. And a fiancé. And a house. For Pete's sake.

But after sending a good friend my "life list"... I'm inspired again to come back to you more regularly. I know you've heard this before so just support me and I'll do my best.

So as an FYI, I am now up to 33 items done on my list of 111 (78 items done). Done in the last few months:
65. get CPR certified
102. buy a house/condo/2-square-foot-of-land! (swoon... more details to come of my lovely "treehouse" in Whitehouse)

I'm also still chipping away at a few others, such as:
13. run a half-marathon in less than 2 hours (PR is 2:05:07) :: doubtful, but I do have a half-marathon tomorrow... maybe a miracle will happen (or I'll find a shortcut)
67. read the Bible :: I started reading it around Lent. Its slow-going with my busy schedule but at least I've started
75. watch all 100 of the AFI's 100 years, 10th anniv edition :: now at 66 out of 100 so far
78. develop a better/stricter budget and stick to for at least 3 months :: I'm at a month and a half of monitoring Ryan's and my bills and allocating them to line items. Granted with wedding planning and house renovations/decorations, it will be out of whack for a while. But the key is, I have a system and so far, its nice to track everything and just know.
111. go on a picnic complete with basket, blanket, wine, and a cute guy :: next warmish Fall day, maybe I'll take Ryan into our beautifully landscaped new backyard for a picnic and some champagne to toast our new purchase/new life! Oddly enough, his back up proposal was to have a picnic set up for us when we were out for a run... his actual proposal was perfect as is, but I can't help but swoon over how awesome he is and how well he does know me and what I love.

Cheers! Have a great weekend... post a hello to show me you're still here and encourage me to post more entries soon!

Tuesday Duathlon

Well... I'm back! Finally healed (at least I feel like it) from my SECOND tibial stress fracture in the last 3 years of my marathon career (the first happened after I finished my first and was two inches above my current one). Last night I did a 5K run with a decent 9:24 pace and then immediately after did a 20 mile nice bike ride on some serious hills through Waterville, Perrysburg, Maumee (Sidecut Park is SO pretty), up the crazy Fallen Timbers memorial hill and then back home.

As far as the running, I felt great. It was the perfect crisp weather and the sun was shining and glorious. My leg and ankles felt fine but I was huffing and puffing and sweating as if I'd never run a day in my life. I'm kinda flabbergasted at that. My last run before I ended my training for the Nashville Marathon (which is BTW this weekend -- so excited to cheer on my sister on her second full, boyfriend at his first (which he blames me for!) and dad on his first half marathon!) was on February 18. So basically its been two months since I've really run. But why do I feel so out of shape? I used to be able to pick up 5 or 6 miles easily after 3 or 4 months off! And this time, I've actually been swimming hardcore several miles a week anyhow! I'm pretty irritated and as my birthday looms on Saturday wonder: is this old age?!? Let's hope its a fluke and will subside soon because there are a lot of road races and triathlons I have my eye on this summer.

Anyhow, despite feeling so outta shape during my run portion of my workout, I'm still awfully proud of myself. I feel like I'm finally feeling like myself again!

Birthday Wishes

So this year, the marathon I chose to train for is on my birthday -- April 24. My parents, little sister, boyfriend and a handful of other favorite people of mine are all schlepping down to Nashville for the Country Music marathon so some of us can run 26.2 miles (and I will celebrate all of my 32 years).

However, I've had problem after problem this year. Bad shoulder. Wonky toes. Super sharp plantar fasciitis. And now I have yet another eerily familiar woe -- the dreaded posterior shin splints. My right leg's calf is soooo sore on one little spot specifically on the inside of that leg. Been there -- done that. In 2007 I had a sore posterior shin on that same right leg the month or two before the Marine Corps Marathon. I completed... in a lot of pain and with a handful of advils. And within three days afterwards, I couldn't put any weight on it at all and I learned I had a stress fracture in my tibia. Cut to 6-7 weeks of wearing an evil boot and having to go to the world's creepiest and flirtiest sports orthopedist. Bad news.

So I'm paranoid that this is what I may have again... I sit here with ice on my stupid calf and worry that I'll have to spend my birthday tortured as I watch all my loved ones run the race that I was supposed to be in. That could be a REALLY crappy birthday. I know I'm insane to want to run a full marathon on the one day of the year that is all about me... but the actual race day is the only reason I dare run in the first place. I hate running coincidentally... but the glory of the finish line always give me amnesia to the hard work and exhaustion of training. So I'm saying my prayers and hopefully this Cobra kicks in so I have health insurance (they say it will be retroactive but I don't trust it). I have 67 days to try to get back on this bandwagon that I can't seem to stay on for even a solid week. Here's hoping!

I've Missed You Too...

Hello, blog. Have you missed me? Special shout-out to Mademoiselle Danielle over in Paris who has been begging me to re-visit you. For all you blog-fans, you better thank her!

Well, its been an eventful 6 months. Crap, has it been that long? And the 6 months before that I was kind of a slacker blogger with little substance. But its a new year and lots of new changes are beginning so its a good time to reinvigorate my favorite family, friends & follower updater (sorry Facebook status updater. I do love you too.). So... I will re-hash a quick 6 month summary of my personal life so I can resume without guilt.

- THE MAN & THE MOVE: Okay, so this isn't in particular an item on my life list so I'll try not to gush or start rambling too much about my love-life. But in June of 2008, I got a lovely LinkedIn message from a past love from about 10 years ago. We had lost touch and hadn't emailed in about 6ish years. I had often thought of him over the years and vice versa. Oddly enough, I thought of him a lot when I was in the pain of mourning my cousin last March. I guess deep in my mind, he was more than just an old flame and my subconscious knew he could comfort my sadness. LinkedIn messages led to a few emails and photo exchanges which led to a week of daily 2 hour phone calls... and pretty much daily calls since and visits to Ohio/NYC/and in-between every other week over the past 6 months. We knew pretty quickly that this was a big re-connection. And although I've always been convinced I didn't need a man to be happy (and still do), I've never been happier in my life than in the last 6 months. Soon, I made the decision I swore I never would... I moved back to Ohio. And you know what? I could not be happier that I did.

Its funny... I spent the last ten years playing big city hotshot. Getting glammed up. Shopping at Saks for designer ensembles. Rocking stilettos so high that they should really have a health-advisory-warning on them. Climbing the ladder at work and in the design world. And just trying to be as glamorous and far away from the little farm girl I grew up as. Deep inside, I knew I shouldn't hide that friendly & sentimental Midwesterner who missed her family and the quiet of the country and small towns. But it took a man from the past to remind me that although its fun to play dress up, I'm just as special being the same person I was way-back when. He loves me no matter what I wear, where I live, or how successful I am. And finally... I do too. What an amazing man that can show me that.

- THE JOB(S): dbox has been great to me. Like every company recently, we've had a few bumps in the road but because of their quality, much less so it seems than pretty much any other agency out there. And, even better, unlike my previous gig that left my insecure and unconfident, they've made me feel capable and talented to rock any project. I don't want to sound conceited by any means but, damn it, I've been designing a long time and my eerie good memory along with my attention to details has made it inevitable that I would become one of the best at what I do. In most cases throughout my whole career, I end up the sole art director/designer on most projects because I earn the trust from both my boss and client to be able to do it all. So its time to retire the insecure and scared designer and embrace my new life and my new business finally. Its scary as hell but somehow without any effort or push or requests for referrals, I've got new business requests flying at me -- and amazing dream clients at that! I've worked hard to get here and I'm finally more than ready and entirely inspired.

- THE RIDE: I did it. #4 on the list. Ride a century bike ride (100miles) in honor of my Uncle Ray. My Uncle Ray passed away a few years ago from cancer but not without leading a life that inspired. He struggled with spina bifida his whole life and despite having been told as a child he would never walk... his determination and persistence made it inevitable that he eventually did. Beyond that, he additionally went on to ride TWO century bike rides. For a man that I walked with a severe limp his whole life, I sat at his funeral and listened to these stories and thought about how I should try a century ride too... I didn't even OWN a bike then either. And he could join me as my angel and ride in his third century ride. So on a very rainy day on August 31, 2009, my sister Tessa and I taped photos of my Uncle Ray onto our trusty bikes and took off to ride 100 miles out to Montauk from Babylon, Long Island. We were tested for sure... Tessa had three flat tires and though we started out tentative, by our third flat we were practically an Indy 500 pit crew. We had our tears, irritations with one another, sang songs along the way, and I think I prayed about 40 exhausted Hail Mary's during the last 10 miles uphill. I've never been so muddy, cold and wet. And our 8 hour prediction turned into an 11 hour reality with the weather and tire problems. Ironically, the rainy storm was remnants from Hurricane Daniel. So apparently the angel of our lost cousin Danny decided to also join us and play a trick on us that day... that's just like him too. But we enjoyed it nonetheless... and finished proudly and without injury.

What else...
I'm training for my THIRD full marathon. Who would have thought? Do I get extra credit for finishing #1 on my life list three times?!? When I wrote this list in April 2007 I hadn't even done my first half-marathon and I had only been running for about 4-5 months. Who would have thought the little unathletic, clumsy girl would become a runner?!? I'm still unsure of it... we'll see how many marathons it takes before I finally feel like a real "athlete" rather than some sneaky regular person posing as one. All I know is that this marathon will be on my 32nd birthday. What a great way to assert how young I actually I am!

Lastly, life is just good all around. Friends and family are healthy and happy. My life is on the cusp of finally finding a better balance and peace with the patience and help of some amazing people in my life. And if you would have told me one year ago, that my life would be what it is now and I'd be so happy... 1. I wouldn't believe it. 2. I would be pretty proud of myself.

Although I have to do better on my blog updates, I know. Life can't be perfect now, can it? I'm making a list now of other things to update you on from the past 6 months too -- weddings, design projects, vacations. So stay tuned. I swear I will write again before another six months go by!!!

Rooting for Hall Even More

From the Boston Athletic Association ticker:

10:40am At 8 miles, the split is 38:14 (4:54). As the group overtakes the legendary Hoyts, Rick and Dick, Hall offers them a word of encouragement.

I did the same when I passed them on my bike in the triathlon last Fall. Of course, I wasn't competing for a laurel wreath... what a class act that Ryan Hall is!

History in the Making

I'll put money that an American makes history today... whether its Kara or Ryan, I'm not sure. But I'm watching every mile (albeit from NYC).

I'm giddy with excitement.

Marathon Madness

No . . . I'm not talking about the big sales going on (but seriously! They ARE so good!).

And so commences my novel of the 2008 New York City marathon.

So, yea. I ran a marathon. No biggie right? Its my second after all! However, with the ups and downs of getting laid off, being unemployed for two months, moving to NYC, and job hunting, and then starting my new job 5 days before the race — to say I was ignoring my training is a severe understatement. I was very nervous before the race because I had really only been running once a week for the past two months. It was hard to feel like going out for a run when I knew there was my website to design or my resumés to send out or things I need to pack (I packed and moved in TWO weeks people!!! And I have a lot of crap!). So when the marathon came, I knew I wouldn't do as well as the previous year (4:42 — 2007 Marine Corps marathon). And the funny thing is with so much on my mind, I wasn't really stressed about the race and, in fact, it went by in a blur because I spent those 4+ hours just assessing my new life!

So on November 2, 2008 the New York City marathon commenced after a really cool ferry ride out to Staten Island. Over the long bridge and into Brooklyn I ran — trying not to start out too fast (a fatal flaw in marathons which usually will result in what the call "the wall" in mile 18-ish). I knew the Brooklyn part would be long. Jesum, its almost half the race! So when I finally got through that particular Borough, I was thrilled and had a much-needed boost of energy. Both that and my sister Tessa was at the half-marathon point (on a side note, Tess ran with an epileptic woman as her guide for the last 13.1 miles. How inspiring she is cannot be described. She volunteers with the Achilles almost every Saturday and I hope to start joining them once my life becomes a little more balanced! Not to mention, she only found out she was running as a guide three or four weeks before and hadn't been training! What a badass!). When I saw Tessa, not only was I thrilled and excited to see her, but I couldn't believe that I was actually keeping pace with the 4:15 group! And slightly faster perhaps because I had caught up with them from the 4:30 group! Anyhow, I stopped to say hello but she wouldn't let me rest more than a minute before I was back on my way.

After the Queensboro Bridge, I entered Manhattan. I must confess, it wasn't the enormous crowds and craziness as much as I had read (although there were of course still lots of crowds and craziness) but knowing Jen, Lynn, and Lauren were at mile 18 was motivating! And my old high school buddy Wes was ahead as well (actually he's my high school buddy's little brother).

Anyhow, I made it to them (the girls, never found Wes) but yet again they wouldn't let me rest for even a minute. At this point, damn I was getting tired. I hadn't walked once which I usually do so every 5 miles or so for a minute or two on my traditional training runs. I told myself to run to the Bronx and then I would let myself walk a few minutes. I crossed the bridge and told myself 'at the end of this song, I'll walk'. By the end of the song I could see the bridge back into Manhattan and again I pushed myself to the next milestone. At this point, I was like 'only 5 more miles, maybe I could make it without walking a single time!'

2 miles to go as I entered the park, I checked my time. . . if I hauled ass I could break 4:30 — a feat I hadn't even expected to aim for! So haul ass I did. And that last .2 mile, I think I upped my 10:14 pace and was hitting around 8 or so. I almost puked a few seconds before it was so intense. I knew I exerted exactly my best effort, no more or less.

And finished I did — 4:28:14. I beat Oprah's time (which funny enough, I joked with my fellow racer Emily that there was no way I would be remotely close to that). And I bested last year's time by 14.5 minutes. That's almost unheard of in marathon running. So there's something to this undertraining thing. Last year, I was sore before the race and ended up with a stress fracture afterwards. This year, no problems at all (except of course descending my new 5-floor walkup for the next three days!).

I'm fighting the urge to run another next year. Maybe again in 2010. Or maybe I'll run half as a guide. Next year will be strictly half-marathon(s) and maybe another triathlon. I need a year off. . . I miss my autumn Friday nights and I was so unmotivated training solo this year that I need to really miss it before I put myself through that again.

But, man, it was a great race. I think I liked the Marine Corps a bit better though. Partially bc I got to run with Tessa. Partially bc my family was there. Partially bc the day was sunny and gorgeous (this year was gray and cold).

But there's something to be said about running 26.2 miles in a city you just moved to only 5 days previously! Even though it went through in a blur... it was a pretty great 4 1/2 tour of NYC and I'm glad and proud that I did it.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Wowsers. Its a whirlwind over here. So much to blog about! But I will space it out a little. . . maybe another post tonight. I do promise to be better about the blogging frequency now that my life is starting to settle and take shape.

But BIG news! I have reached my fund-raising goal for the marathon! $2,503.40 is going to an amazing charity that is a very big part of my family's (in particular my sister Tessa's) life. Thank you so much to everyone. Its funny because so many people who donated said I'm an "inspiration" which, if you remember, is the most amazing and touching compliment to me. It is you folks who are inspiring for opening your wallets in such tough economic times to help out me, and more importantly, these amazing disabled athletes and generous volunteers. I can't imagine that the marathon could possibly be any more fulfilling and incredible as the fundraising.

Also, I was actually blogged about by someone else! There's an article about my fundraising/blogging escapades on the firstgiving blog and the online fundraising blog! SO COOL!!!

So again, thank you so much. I couldn't have done this without my amazing friends and family! I'll be thinking of each and everyone of you in the 4-5 hours it takes for me to kick this beast's a** on Sunday!!!

And I Don't Feel Bad About It . . .

Yes, I confess that I am eating ice cream with chocolate syrup on it as I am watching the premiere episode of "The Biggest Loser." I realize that most people may feel guilty by this pairing. Not me — I ran 20 miles earlier today and burned 2200 calories. This ice cream is entirely deserved. Especially only three days after my triathlon.

Sorry for the gloating. . . I'm getting to that exhausted and unmotivated portion of my marathon training so its good to keep reminding myself how well I'm actually doing!

More Countdowns...

OK, the braces countdown is a very big one in my life right now... but let's change the most recent post so it is now about FUN countdowns!

10 days until the NYC Half Marathon (hope my foot starts cooperating and that a miracle happens and I can beat my 2 hour goal).

Exactly one month (31 days) until the Wild Dog Triathlon in Rhode Island. I'm even more excited about my very first triathlon because now my sister Tessa will be joining me!

108 days until the NYC Marathon. I simply cannot wait for this one!

Running Personal Records

Since last week, I got a PR (personal record in running lingo) last week at the POW-MIA Run for Freedom (okay, let's be honest here... I got a PR there because it was the ONLY 5-mile race I've actually particpated in!). And in a few weeks, I'm trying for a PR of under 2 hours at the half-marathon in NYC (life list #13)... that's going to be tough though since I'm suffering from some major posterior (insides of my calves) shin splints and since I also did really damn well last year.

So here are my PRs for all 10 of my races so far... I'm a slow runner but I'm not a natural athlete and also didn't start running until two years ago so I'm doing okay in my book.

5K = 26:36 (8:34 pace) on 2/3/08... I've ran 4 5Ks total
5-mile = 46:44 (9:21 pace) on 6/29/08... only one race
10K = n/a... hmm how have I never ran a 10K?
7.5-mile = 1:15:00 (10:00 pace) on 6/24/07... only one race
Half-marathon = 2:08:59 (9:50 pace) on 8/5/07... I've ran 3 half-marathons
Marathon = 4:42:44 (10:47 pace) on 10/28/07... only one so far!

The Latest Trend

Seriously... it started with these two funny photos of me with my niece and nephew... and then I started hunting and realizing, crap, I need to shut my damn mouth.

I Am SOOOOO Assymmetrical

With all the hype around Marathon Monday here in Beantown, I went into Niketown on Saturday morning to make use of the video gait analysis they were doing. I have had serious problems finding the perfect running shoe. With my flat feet, neutral running shoes make my arches (or lack thereof) cramp and the stability shoes made for over-pronaters like myself always result in serious blisters in my arch area. It got so bad that I just started taping my feet and that's how I made it through marathon training last year (seriously, I've tried everything -- Glide, moleskin, double-layer socks, the special Asic socks that are specially made for Left and Right feet).

The guy who did my analysis was great -- even more informed than the Marathon Sports guys I've had in the past (which despite my continual shoe failure I'm always impressed with). He even recommended a pair of Brooks shoes in addition to a Nike brand!

In any case, the actual analysis was pretty cool. I ran on the treadmill and they videotaped and displayed on the huge flat-screen my ankles and feet. WOW! I had no idea what was going on down there! It was so bad I was shocked people hadn't stopped me before because it seriously looked like my left foot was turning completely on its one side! As bad as that was, my right foot -- looked totally normally. I was SO lopsided. It explained my stress fracture in October and why the blisters were always so much more severe on my left foot.

I asked if I should be wearing two different types of shoes on each foot to compensate -- and his answer was "actually, yes." Or I could get orthotics specially-made for running if I continued to have shoe-drama. He also said I was probably doing this because my hip-muscles were tight and I should incorporate some yoga stretches like pigeon (which I had just read the other day!) and stretch extra long after my runs (FYI to the new runners who say they're inspired to run after a few of my posts - stretching AFTER your run is super important. You don't want to stretch cold muscles before you run). So next Niketown Running Club (on 4/30 since I'll be missing this week because of a conference call for work) I will be trying on the Nike pair he recommended and see how it goes.

Anyhow, I highly recommend video gait-analysis. It was SO interesting!

In the meantime, good luck to all the marathoners today! Especially my good friend Brandon (#2981)! I'm tracking him now and he's off to a good steady start with a 6:55 pace at the 10K mark! I'm wearing my new "RUN BEANTOWN" t-shirt today in honor of the race (damn... I'd rather be running the marathon than working today!).