Puzzle Run for Autism 5K

While we were in Orlando for Labor Day weekend, we decided at last minute to go to Oakland for their annual Puzzle Run 5K for autism. It was our first off-road experience through a variety of terrains including sandy roads, orange groves and some gravel trails through a really pretty park and neighborhood.

It was still dark when we arrived and I was really proud that we had managed to motivate ourselves to get out of our gorgeous, comfy Hilton bed!

After he crossed the line, Mike still had time to go back to the car and grab the camera to catch me coming in. Oh well, on the upside I guess I'm getting a longer workout than he is...;) 

Mike said the Vibrams weren't ideal for some of the rocky areas but he enjoyed the 'barefoot' experience overall. There was only one other Vibram runner there and loads of people came to ask him about making the switch.

I didn't feel like a complete dork in my compression sleeves - there were about 20 people wearing them!

I love this picture of us - you can't beat the feeling when it's over!

There were about 400 runners overall, Mike finished 2nd out of his age group (25:21) and I was 8th in mine (31:57) which we were both really happy with. Here's Mike getting his award...

During the speeches they told us that 1 in 100 children are affected by autism and 1 in 58 boys and there is no cure. Great cause, pretty race route, and really nice people - what a great start to Labor Day weekend and 5K season!

Sole Searching...

I went to the running store and asked them to recommend a shoe to prevent injuries. I explained that I am trying to avoid heel-striking and about the shin splints and he recommeded I try these Newton shoes (my new shoes). Basically, they have a reduced heel and built up mid-sole with extra cushioning. They push you forward when you run so they are great for keeping you off your heels altogether but still give you protection on hard surfaces.

This is the company’s explanation of the technology:
“Newton Active Membrane Technology allows you to land on your forefoot safely. Few shoes can come close to Newton’s impact rating in the forefoot. When your forefoot impacts first your foot has less of an opportunity to pronate or supinate as it would if you were heel striking, minimizing injuries. After the forefoot makes impact and the actuators are driven fully into their corresponding chambers (the action), then levering and propulsion come into play. As you push off and drive forward the lugs are released (the reaction) providing energy return that in comparison to traditional foam shoes feels alive and fast.”

Anyway, however they work, I really love them! I'm not sure if it's the new shoes, wearing compression sleeves during runs, the icing, leg raise exercises or some of the Chi Running and Pose techiniques I've been trying, but I haven't had shin spints at all and have been running exclusively outside 3 times a week for a couple of weeks now. I'm so excited! I should be ready for a 5K soon!

Running Gadgets

I have been following another blog written by a lady who is doing the fabulous Couch to 5K (http://www.c25k.com/) program. Apparently there is an iphone app now and she loves it! Here are some of the things that she said on her blog:

The Couch to 5k (aka: c25k) app will ease you into running a 5k in 9 weeks! It is designed to be 3, 30 minute workouts a week, so it is easy to fit into your busy schedules. It’s a really easy app to use too. It integrates with the music you already have on your iPhone, iTouch, or Droid, so you can listen to it as you workout. It tells you when to start walking, running, and when to turnaround at your half way point too. All you have to do is get off the couch and get moving!

Each workout is timed, and it will alert you when you are at your halfway point. It gives you a warm up period and a cool down time too. You can record your workout history and update your results to Facebook (if you want it too).

I don't have an iphone but I thought this was a genius gadget. Two of my friends have bought the Garmin Forerunner GPS watches too and both love them. Think I'll treat myself to something when I've made some more progress - a nice little reward for myself to look forward to :).

Getting back into the running groove

Everything has gone a bit pear-shaped (including me) on the exercise front lately so I've decided that today is the day to refocus, reflect and set a new goal. I've realized that in just six weeks it will be a whole year since I did my first 5K, the Tampa Police Memorial 5K on Bayshore, so I definately need to do that one again and hopefully celebrate how far I've come:).

To get back on track I'm going to try running outside first thing in the morning when it's not too hot. I ran at 5:45 a.m. for the first time ever this week and followed the advice of a friend and ran laps instead of a run out and run back. It made a huge difference mentally since I wasn't constantly worried about getting further and further away from my house and not having the energy or desire to run all the way back in time to get ready for work!

Last October I was in a world of hurt when I threw up as I crossed that finish line...

Check out my face in the photo and the face of the lady at the front on the right hand side a little closer. Yep - I'm in trouble and she knows it...:)

Let's see if we can achieve a prettier 'over the line' picture this year shall we? 

Hiking out west

Despite the fact that I didn't see the inside of a gym or put on my running shorts for a week, we did manage to stay pretty active on our vacation out west. We got up early, went to bed early and hiked almost every day. Hiking is much more challenging than I thought at high elevations with that thin mountain air. The Navajo trail at Bryce Canyon was probably the most difficult - Maddy loved the trip down but was miserable on the way back up :(. After about a half an hour, she admitted that she was glad she'd done it though:)

I also managed to take 'that damn bike' out a couple of times before the trip and felt a bit better about the whole thing:). My goal for the month is to get to the point where I can do 10 miles on the new bike relatively comfortably.

Like riding a bike? I think not...

It's been a really wierd week. At some point at the end of last week (ironically after a really good monster run), I just lost interest in the whole triathlon thing and my confidence seemed to disappear too. I don't really know what happened to be honest. On Sunday, I just sat around in my running shorts all day and when I finally forced myself to get out there I simply couldn't be bothered and gave up halfway and walked home. I just wasn't having fun. To try and get re-energized we got on Craig's list in the evening and found a perfect road bike for me! I was so excited - we rushed out right away, and brought home a shiny, barely-used Schwinn on Sunday night!

Now...the dictionary says:

like riding a bike
(simile) Said of skill that, once learned, is never forgotten.
 
It doesn't mention anything about road bikes vs. mountain bikes..or fat vs. thin tires...or curly bars. No, the inference of this expression is that biking (in general) is easy, so long as you've done it at some point before. So easy, in fact, that the expression is actually named after it. Anyway, it's a stupid expression. After about a half an hour of wobbling around, nearly falling off and hurting everywhere to get into that uncomfortable, low, crazy-looking position I was so fed up I gave up. I didn't even do 4 miles - it was pathetic. And the pain, oh my God the pain, my hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders - everything just hurt so badly. And the realization after about 5 minutes that I am so far from "tri-ready" just added insult to injury.
 
Here I was, less than two weeks ago, with my mountain bike and hopes and dreams intact...

 
And here is the pesky, bastard bike that is currently my arch enemy...
 

So what now? Well - I'm going to have to learn how to ride it. Apart from the fact that I'm cheap - I'm not ready to abandon the goal just yet. And as my work colleague rightly pointed out I also really hated running when I started this quest to get more active. In fact if I recall I actually hated it more! The triathlon training program (that I have just wasted 7 weeks of my life on) states that it is designed for people who can run 20 minutes, swim 30 mins and bike 30 mins. If that's true - I should be able to start the program again when I can ride my new bike for a half an hour straight without wanting to kill myself. Since I'm on vacation next week anyway (out west so I'll be hiking every day at least), this will be a great opportunity for a nice break from the gym and to refocus on my new objective to conquer the pesky bastard bike when I get back.

Did I really say at the end of my last post "One thing's for sure - if I finish the swim on the day, I'm not going to let a silly bike or run stand between me and the finish line ;)"? How could I have gotten it so wrong? Oh well, I guess life's a journey and all that - I just wish the mode of transportation didn't hurt your crotch quite so much :)

Braving the outdoors...

So far I'm managing to keep up with the triathlon training plan which is very exciting! Earlier this week I completed almost 5 hours of training including some things I've never done before such as: a spinning class (which I didn't fall in love with) and biking the 11 mile, beautiful, award-winning Flatwoods trail that I've managed to avoid for the 12 years that I've lived just down the street. Maddy rode the full trail too which totally blew me away! I am actually quite enjoying my bike now that I am not so scared of falling off it and think I may even upgrade to a proper road bike in time for the big day.

I am trying to finish the training plan slightly ahead of schedule so that I can "face my demons" sooner than planned, so this was also the week with the first dreaded 20 minute open water swim. The swim is consistently one of the top reasons that people don't want to do a triathlon, yet it's only about 10-15 minutes long for most first-timers. Apparently swimming in open water is very different than in the comfort and safety of a pool, so we headed out to Fort de Soto this morning so that I could find out for myself.

Lessons learned:

1. It takes a will of steel not to think about what might be underneath you when you are swimming in the ocean...or what happened to that poor Steve Irwin.

2. Warm salty water tastes disgusting and it's hard to breathe when you get hit with a new mouthful every time you make a stroke. Imagine someone throwing a bucketful of miso soup at your face every few seconds.

3. Seawater is full of random, sticky, nasty seaweed - much like miso soup actually.

4. The current is strong, even in calm waters, and it's very difficult to swim against. This becomes more of a problem when combined with #5....

5. My goggles were rubbish and fogged up within seconds so I couldn't actually see anything once I was out in the water. When I finally got them off my head and was able to focus, I'd been swept away quite a bit so it looked like I was miles away from dry land all of a sudden. Like that awful moment in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...

5. The very last of my problems is whether or not I am able to swim freestyle on the day. There's no shame in being a "breaststroker" - anyone who completes the swim, particularly with 100 or so other people flapping around them, has perfomed a feat worthy of a medal in my opinion.

Dori had it right when she said "just keep swimming, just keep swimming." After about 5-10 minutes I managed to calm down a bit but I was still so grateful when my 20 minutes was up and spent the next hour blowing salty water out of my nose. One thing's for sure - if I finish the swim on the day, I'm not going to let a silly bike or run stand between me and the finish line ;)

Mike's a rockstar!

After doing some research, Mike and I decided to do the sensible thing and complete a proper training plan to see how that went before making a firm commitment to sign up for a triathlon. We both liked the look of this one and decided to start at Week 4 to be ready by September:

Triathlon Training Program

On Day Two of the 13 week plan I came home from the gym to find Mike had gotten online and signed up for a triathlon for that weekend! We ended up in the gym on Wednesday doing a run, bike, swim workout to see how the transitions were and reading endless blogs to try and prepare him as much as possible. After very little sleep, we got up at 4:40am this morning and headed out to Crystal River.

You need a USAT license for a triathlon and there are lots of rules to be aware of that can result in disqualification (or a heart attack for that matter). It was really exciting to see everything getting set up while it was still dark. The temperatures were perfect and there was a really nice beach breeze too when we arrived...

You have to wear a swimcap so that they can see when you are drowning. Here's Mikey Boy in his...Check it...Booyakasha!

They write your 'bib' number all over you so that they can identify your body if you don't survive the swim...only kidding - the numbers are so that they can shamelessly rip you off afterwards with the 'post-tri' photos:)

Mike is literally in his underwear...

Don't let the thumbs up deceive you...he's terrified in this picture...

And they're off for the 0.25 mile swim...

 

He's done with the swim (incidentally - if there had've been a medal for noisiest spectator...I would have placed for sure:))

After an OK transition, he's off on his 'pimped up' mountain bike for the next 15 miles...

Thank God he didn't get a flat (there was no time to figure out how to fix a flat during the 3-day training program). Anyway, he's out for the 3 mile run...nearly there now Mike!...

And he's in!!!

It was so amazing to watch and Mike loved his tri experience! His times were fantastic too and he came in 8th out of the First Timers with an overall time of 1:31:12. He said it was the hardest thing he's ever done and promised to stick to a training plan for next time. For me, I am happy to be sleeping with a sexy triathlete but not sure if I'm inspired or terrified! Let's see how the training goes...Congratulations Michael - you have no idea how proud I am of you!

Swimming in negative waters...

I bounced the triathlon idea off a few people who are ordinarily very encouraging and was scared off a bit when all of them (with the exception of one mental person) said it was a really bad idea. The feedback has been completely consistent - the swimming part is supposed to be really difficult. Most of the folks I have asked however are runners, and it would seem that runners particularly dislike swimming for some reason? Now I'm a horrible swimmer and have never been able to do anything beyond breaststroke but I did used to swim a half a mile three times a week in college so how hard can swimming a quarter of a mile really be? Yes I know it's outside with hundreds of people who are thrashing around in the water, but there won't be many people trying to hold me under the water at the very back where I will be:). Here's the thing - when you do a 5K (or any run for that matter), people always ask "what was your time?" My logic is this - when you do a triathlon - the response is more like "you're a rock star," so all I have to do really is finish...:)

So, I did my first step towards training for a triathlon (just a baby-sized one) and made a plan. First I needed to find out where I am at with each of the components in a 'controlled' setting. I know the running part will take about half an hour so as an experiment I did the stationary bike for 40 mins at the gym. I only managed to cover 7.7 miles so the bike bit will take about 1 and a half hours - CRAP! Then I prepared myself for the dreaded swim. I was very nervous about this since I haven't swam laps in 20 years and felt sure that it would be a stark reminder on how much I've aged :(. Also (similarly to the whole bike deal) my idea of an outfit to swim in is more like this...

Than this...

(Incidently: every single image that I pulled online to find this photo looks exactly the same - like they are all either literally dying to catch a breath or screaming for help which is also very discouraging).

Anyway, I bought an appropriate bathing suit (on sale of course - I may only need it once) and hit the pool. I was really delighted to find out that I can swim 24 laps (or three quarters of a mile nearly) in 40 minutes without having to stop at all! It felt exactly like it did all those years ago and afterwards I had a really nice all-over ache and slept really well. It was also nice to get away from the ipod, TV or gym noise and just be really quiet for a change.

So if I can master the transitions and start adding the pieces together it should take under 2 and a half hours to do a sprint triathlon. Next step is to try the bike outside - wish me luck...:)

Fat App

Had some fun at work today with Lisa's iphone "Fat App". Now that is some serious motivation to stick to the running program :)

Should I try a tri?

The running has been progressing fairly slowly and steadily lately but I have have found myself thinking about setting a new goal...maybe a mini "sprint-triathlon"? I'm not sure if it's the heat or what since I swim like a stone and fell into a bush the last time I rode a bicycle. Anyway, it's an interesting idea. Not sure if there's a "standard" sprint-tri but the one that I saw in Fort-de-Soto in August is 0.25 mile swim, 15 mile bike ride and a 5K to finish. Of course I won't be ready by then ("not with that attitude Clare") but I think I'll start out by attempting a bike ride to see how I like it. Now I think I have a bike gathering dust in the garage but I think I'll look more like this...

...than this...

OK - that's Pamela Anderson but you get the point. I'm not even sure if riding a bike requires a helmet by law or not in Florida? So I've found a bike shop nearby and my first objective is to stop in before the end of the week to do some research. Then I'll dig out my bike from behind the Christmas decs and have Mike show me the ropes. Wish me luck!! 

Memorial Day breakthrough!

Headed back to the gym on Wednesday and ended up in floods of tears after not even being able to run a mile. I decided to give in and rest for a few days to try and figure out what to try next...So far I think I have figured out the following:

1. I nearly always have shin splints after running on concrete and need at least 2, more like 3, days of rest afterwards.
2. Stability shoes and/or running barefoot doesn't seem to make any difference.
3. Landing on the fronts of my feet seems to help a little.
4. You can't just ignore shin splints and run anyway - it makes them worse.
5. Rest works wonders but you lose confidence, time and aerobic capabities.
6. I haven't tried ice yet because it sounds like it wouldn't work.

I spent the weekend reading running magazines and found an article that really resonated with me. It said that instead of visualizing a perfect run each time that you should visualize a terrible run, anticipate and prepare for set backs. This way you will have a plan when they happen. So this morning I hit the gym at 7am imagining the worst - terrible pain (I'll switch to the cross trainer), lousy time (that's OK - I'll keep it slow and be happy with being able to do anything at all), negative thoughts (I'll shake them off and celebrate just staying in the gym and sweating for 30 minutes), boredom (I'll listen to comedy on my ipod).

I had a fantastic run in the end - 5K in 33:33 and I felt like a rockstar! I even iced my shins when I got back to Tampa. At this point I'll try anything because when it goes well, running is just the best feeling ever:).

Fed Up :(

Not sure what's going on but despite my best efforts it's going horribly pear-shaped in the running department at the moment. After a couple of indoor runs in the Vibrams I braved the outside for the first time at the weekend. We treated it as if it were a race and got up at 7am, did our stretches and hit the road. Maddy took her bicycle and it felt really great to be exercising as a family:). I took it really slowly and used the pavement on the way out. My legs started to hurt a bit so I switched to grass on the way home. It was actually really nice to feel the blades of grass beneath my feet and I had to focus so hard on the ground to avoid holes and anthills that the time passed really quickly! So last night I hit the treadmill but for some reason just couldn't finish. After 28 minutes my legs were in so much pain I just couldn't carry on. I'm not sure if it's shin splints or calf pain from the change to landing on the front of my feet which Vibrams forces you to do. Mike asked me whether the pain was in the front or back of my legs. To be honest I couldn't even tell - it all just HURTS! Is this why they say it takes a while to get used to the barefoot thing? Was it the concrete? When am I going to be able get back to running 5 miles again? Why can't I break a 33 minute 5K when I was doing under 30 minutes just 3 months ago? Right now my legs hurt, I can barely finish a run, when I can I'm slow, and I've gone from feeling like a rockstar to a crazy monkey woman. So I'm back in the shin splint guards today to relieve the pain. I've no idea what to try next - I'm too fed up to even think about it :(.

Miles for Moffitt 5K

Had a good week preparing to get 'back in the game' in time for the weekend 5K. My original goal was to run in under 33 minutes but my as my confidence waivered throughout the week I decided I'd be happy if I just ran all of the way without stopping. On Monday I couldn't resist trying out the new Vibrams on the treadmill and it went really well aside from some strange looks in the gym and irritating some of last week's blisters. Mike wore his outside and absolutely loves them! On Tuesday I celebrated my birthday. Mike gave me the cutest card (don't you love the way he labeled the people just in case I didn't "get it"?)...

...and he made a cake from frozen fat-free Cool Whip...

...and gave me a Body Bugg to track calorie expenditure...

I wore the Body Bugg to the gym on Wednesday to see how accurate that calorie meter on the cross trainer really is. After an hour, the machine said 576 and the Body Bugg said 440 so basically it's a Tall Light Frappacino off - good to know :). I was just starting to feel mildly confident as I left the office when I was caught in the lobby by a coworker who shared that she was also running but she couldn't believe how slow her 5K times were and she had even said to her girlfriend "can you believe we are actually going to get beaten by Clare!?" as if I was some kind of slug! Just the determination boost I needed :).

Mike woke me up at 6am on Saturday to the theme tune for Rocky and I got ready. Over 5,000 runners turned up and there were lots of booths, live bands etc. and a great atmosphere. Met up with Emily for some positive vibes before the race:). The first half of the run was great but I must have been overdoing it because the second half was really tough. I did manage to run the whole distance (albeit very slowly at times) though.

Got home, checked the Body Bugg (the run was worth 450 calories or a nice big bowl of low fat icecream) and took a lovely snooze. The results came in later - 33:03 :)

Vibram fivefingers for two!

This morning we took a trip to Fit2Run at International Mall on the way to the beach to pick up some Vibram fivefingers. These shoes are supposed to give you the whole barefoot running experience but with a bit of foot protection. Even the Tamahumara strap bits of rubber tires on their soles sometimes! The store guy told us that they are actually selling out in many of the styles and they are really growing in popularity. Well, if that's true they must really help you run fast because they look absolutely hideous!

And here's the other problem... "monkey boy" Mike loves his new footwear so much he's now wearing them everywhere. Here he is in Clearwater later this afternoon...remind you of anything?...

Anyway, blisters are still on the mend so it's the cross trainer for me tomorrow and I'll try out my new "foot gloves" on Wednesday - wish me luck!

Barefoot Running Experiment...

Mike read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall about the Tamahumara tribespeople who can run literally hundreds of miles at a time. One of the key differences between them and the rest of us is the fact that they run barefoot. We thought we try it out at LA fitness on the treadmills first:) and heading off this morning...
First of all, the treadmill is hot (Mike thought at first that it was his feet that were generating a lot of heat:)). Not too hot though and both of use started out really well. It felt natural and easy - just warm that's all. My foot strike adjusted right away and I naturally didn't land on my heels at all. I took it really steady and ran about 1.3 miles in about 14 minutes. I even had a little runner's high kick in and the time flew by. We both stopped, however at the same time for the same reason - blisters. Loads of them and some big ones. (I didn't realize just how many until I could properly assess the damage later). So we put sneakers on and got back on the treadmills planning to do another couple of miles. I had to stop after 1.6 more miles when I felt two blisters burst at exactly the same time - one on each foot! It happened right in the middle of another little runners high so I was dissappointed but it was a great experiment and I was pleased at how well it went for the first time. I will definately try it again and next time I will end a run barefoot instead of starting out that way. Mike is going to invest in a pair of the oh-so-glamorous 'foot gloves.' I may even try that myself, it's not like I'm single or my husband cares...:)
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
I also tried to lean forward more today to move my center of gravity ahead of where my feet land which I read on a blog about "Chi Running." This was very successful immediately (although I kept forgetting to do it:)) since gravity helps you propel forward. I tried this towards the end of the run and actually had to increase the speed to stop the feeling of 'falling.' Anyway, I feel good and ready for the Moffit 5K at the weekend and no shin splints at all (I've just got to get these blisters to heal now!)

My feet...

Mike's feet (obviously)...his verdict..."I felt like a monkey boy - and I like monkeys"

At least the tops look OK:)...

Pushing Through...

My surgery got scheduled for April 27th, my legs were still hurting and I was 4 sessions behind on my goal to exercise 3 times a week for the year, so I decided on April 20th to work out every day for a full week to get caught up. I did the bike (which is really boring) and the elyptical (which I hate) every day. At the end of the week I got on the elyptical machine and realized that it was actually a cross trainer which I'd never used before but Mike raves about. It was actually really good! No impact to the legs and it felt much more like running. I really feel like this may be the perfect answer to how to stay 'in the game' when I'm having leg issues. On the day of the surgery I even did the cross trainer in the morning since I wasn't sure how long I would have to rest for. At the hospital that day, one of the RNs actually said 'you must exercise' when she saw my blood pressure stats which I was thrilled about too! The surgeon told me not to work out for a week but I managed a session on the cross trainer at the weekend just fine. I ran 3.25 miles in 32:13 on Monday and did 5 miles on the cross trainer at work in 54 minutes this week too. My legs feel great after being laid up from the surgery and I feel back on track finally!

Relay for Life 5K

I felt completely unprepared to run a 5K with all of the leg problems and frankly I hadn't been enjoying running lately for some reason. I had a minor surgery coming up which was on my mind a lot too. After taking a full week off I ran one full 5K at the gym the week before the race and tried to lower my expectations a bit. I ran with Mike and Emily again and the race itself was really disorganized. It was supposed to start at 9 (at which time it is already too hot in my opinion) but didn't actually start until 9:40. I wanted to just run the whole distance to be honest and not get shin splints. After a reasonable start I stopped running at 25 minutes and walked for a while. I just felt so hot and miserable. I managed a sprint at the end and came in at over 34 mins. For now, I am just going to have to celebrate the fact that I did it. It seems like this running thing is like taking 3 steps forward and 2 steps back sometimes. It's hard on your body and you get injured from time to time. And when you rest from injury it's really hard not to see a slip in your times. I really need to push through this...