Trying something new...

Last night I went swimming with the JCC Masters. It was first time and first real exercise in about 10 days not counting the Shamrock 8K. It was an awesome swim! It did not feel like I'd been out of the water that long. Whew. I'm glad because I'd been making great strides - so to speak - in the water lately. Next week I plan to get back on track with everthing else, too. Except for maybe running. At least that is the plan...


After practice I stopped by a friend's house who is also part of the Masters swim group. He was going to loan me this...thing to try to stretch out my calves and feet. It looks like this:


And as advertised in Road Runner Sports: "PRISM STEP STRETCH :: Get 3X better results stretching your calves, hamstrings arches, plantar and ankles than stretching against a wall. The Prism Step Stretch allows you to relax muscles so you get the most of your stretching, ultimately helping to prevent shin splints and other running-related injuries of the leg and lower back."


The plan is to borrow it for two weeks and to see if it makes any additional difference. That is in addition to everything else I've been doing on my own and with the help of others. Anyway, I tried it out last night even before I left his house. It definitely seems to stretch things better than any other type of stretch I've done. One thing I noticed while using it - it seems to be able to perfectly recreate the feeling I get in my heel when I run. It is a kind of pain, but more of a pulling. It makes me wonder if because my calves are so crazy-tight that that is somehow what I'm feeling. And I know my calves are crazy tight because two massage therapsits and the chiropractor told me. And the podiatrist... Anyway, hopefully I can fit this stretching thing in 2x a day, along with everything else I try. Plus all the other stretching I need to fit in. And if it works, I guess I'll be ordering my own.


The next two weeks are really busy for me. I don't think I've blogged much about the class I've been taking since the beginning on February: Personal Trainer Certification through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America. I've decided to 'plan for my retirement' so to speak. I have two more weeks of classes, which meet on Monday and Wednesday nights from 6:30-8:30. We've gotten through the entire text book. Next week is review and the week after (gulp) is testing: Practical Exam on Monday and Written Exam on Wednesday. Then I'll get my results in 2-4 weeks. If all goes well, I'll have a new certification! Then I can really start planning for my retirement. Well, I'm kind of kidding, but it would be nice to have something to do on my schedule that is related to fitness. This is something I'm going to try a little on the side at first, and go from there. Who knows...


So, TGIF! Can you believe there is SNOW in the forecast for this weekend? I say "Say NO to the Snow!"


Happy and Healthy Training!!

Shamrock 8K...

What a fun weekend! I went out on Saturday morning and ShamROCK'd the best I could, despite a foot that was still uncooperative. I ignored my heart rate and just ran! I was secretly hoping for sub-50 since I'd not run since the GW Birthday Marathon Relay (7.3 miles) and had only been spinning, swimming, and elliptical-ing. My left quad ached along with my right heel. So it is back to the drawing board for me. I think I may end up taking time off from the elliptical, too. I will figure this out in the next couple of days. Not sure what this means for the Flying Pig Half, but...I will just do the best I can and have fun with that. Nothing should keep me from swimming and riding though! So on a positive note, that should continue to help my biking base.

Time: 47:15 (Yay!)
Division 65/459
Gender: 792/4867
Overall: 1967/7675

I'm already signed up for the 2012 marathon since I'd previously deferred this year's marathon entry. Boy, I sure hope my foot (and the rest of me) feels better by then! Preferably by mid-July in time for the Musselman Half!

All in all, it was fun socializing with and cheering on Z mates and meeting up with old (very old!) friends! Looking forward to March 18, 2012!

Happy and Healthy Training!

I did miss my happy puppy...and she was very happy to see me last night! As I was her!!!

ShamROCK on...

It's time to get my ShamROCK on! In just two hours I am off for the weekend and it will be fun! Tomorrow I will do the Shamrock 8K! However the pesky Shamrock Marathon (but probably not the Whale Challenge) will have to wait till 2012. I plan to have fun cheering on Jeff and my Z'mates and even riding my bike outdoors on Sunday! I even remembered my cowbell this time!

So, regarding the heel hell I've been in... I have not run since the 7.3 miles of the relay I did at the GW Birthday Marathon. The biking/spinning I've done has been good as has the swimming. The time on the elliptical has been a little like hell. For the past couple of months I've beeing getting some ART and seeing very little progress. But I think there is hope. Yesterday was a doozy of a day: my first acupuncture treatment, followed by some chiro and ART, followed by a much needed deep tissue massage, followed by a spur of the moment Kinesio taping of my plantar fascia by Steve at FastTrack for Saturday. (Thanks, Steve!) At the moment, my heel feels pretty good. Really. But I'm not totally holding my breath, just in case. :) Twenty-four hours from now I'll have completed my 8K...and it will be interesting to see just how my heel fares.

Update on Monday...maybe! (Translate = if there's time!)

Happy and Healthy Training!

On a sad note...I'm going to miss Riley, my happy puppy!

Oh heel...

Happy Friday! It is time for a heel update. I’ve been getting regular ART treatments on my foot. Heck, on my entire lower body, actually. It is apparently a mess. I had *no idea* how tight my muscles were. I’m trying to be extra nice to them... And I will need to continue to be nice to them. Otherwise, my race calendar will have to drastically change! I also ordered a new / different type of orthotic. Those should be in next week and hopefully will make a difference after I break them in. Anyway, after all that - my heel/foot is still sore at times. It definitely hurts in the morning when I walk up. Then sometimes it is just kind of random! I do ice and massage it 2-3 times a day. And I almost always wear shoes with my 'other' orthotics in them.

No running aside, the rest of my training has been going pretty well. I’ve gotten some solid bike rides done on the trainer at home. Three weekends in a row I got in 3, 3 and 2.5 hour rides. Plus I’ve had some good mid week spins. I had an odd thing happen on Wednesday night though – for the first time ever I got a crazy calf cramp 56 minutes into my ride at a hard z4 section. I was transitioning to recovery in 4 minutes so I just switched to recovery then. Strange. This weekend is a Team Z Time Trial at Prince William Forest Park. That is if it is not cancelled due to crazy rainy weather! I am signed up to do it, so it will be fun to see how I compared to the one I did back in I think December. I’m sure I will at least be able to make three full loops!

Recently I’ve had a lot of great swims, too, and I think I’ve been averaging three swims a week. Or at least 2.5! Last weekend I had a workout where I did 10 x 100Y at Threshold pace. My threshold pace from my swim test last month was 1:36/100Y. I actually average 1:33 – the #1 was 1:31, #2-8 were 1:33 and #9-10 were 1:34. I was pretty excited! This weekend I have another swim test – it is supposed to be on Saturday. I hope I can fit it in as I have a CPR class from 9:00-3:00. I’m not sure what time the pool closes that day. If not there is always Sunday afternoon.

So...since I have not been running at all I have been using the dreaded elliptical. I say dreaded because I just can’t seem to get into a good groove on it. Plus I tend to feel my foot on it, too. The JCC has two types of machines – newer Precor and older Life Fitness. I started out on the newer type but have decided recently that the older type works better for me. Oh well, I’ve been averaging about 2 sessions a week on that.

Finally – I’ve done strength training three times in the past two weeks. Woo hoo! I actually saw a little progress on the third session. I am doing the same 7 exercises each time and really trying hard to follow the instructions. It will be fun to see how I progress. One thing I have not really done is work on my cross training exercises: hip openers. I really run out of time on Monday and Wednesday nights, when I’m supposed to do these due to my evening class. But class is over at now the beginning of April. After this my schedule should lighten up a bit. This is a good thing because mid-April brings the beginning of triathlon season!

Happy and Healthy Training!