Workout Wednesday–Re-learning to Run

Posted on March 20, 2013 by HHRunner

So my good blog buddy Melissa recently emailed me the following:

I have a blog request for you: Teach me how you re-learned to run. I know my heel-striking is still going on, and I don’t know how to fix it without injuring myself (that’s what I was trying to do when I got injured last year!!!)

HELP ME.

Well. If there’s a few things I’m sure of it’s this:

1. I adore Melissa, so I want to do anything I can to help her. I mean, I even run with her on occasion.

This picture was not edited at all.

2. I am an amazing heel striker when running. Um, just look at the above picture. Or here:

This is like a best of for terrible race photos of me. NBD.

3. Re-learning to run is intimidating as hell, but it’s really not that bad once you get going.

The truth is, when I started running I had no clue that heel striking was bad. I trained for my entire marathon doing the heel striking thing while running, without any sort of inkling that I was doing myself a major disservice and prepping myself for what would be a season-ending, year-long battle with my knee. While I don’t think heel striking led entirely to my knee injury, I have no doubt that it definitely coaxed things along. Mainly because I was given very strict instructions per my favorite sports doctor to STOP HEEL STRIKING.

Oh ok, let me just get right on that. Except re-learning how to run is not that easy.

Successfully NOT heel striking!

So what did I do?

1. I started running in very short increments. This was two-fold: one because I had been out of running for five months and had to build back up my base from the very beginning [not fun. not fun at all.], and two because I had to train myself to run on the forefront of my foot, not the heel. I ran for one minute at a time, focusing on my form the entire time. I literally ran watching my feet strike the treadmill and purposefully took how I was running into consideration for the minute(s) that I was running.

2. I ran only on the treadmill. Because I was able to control my speed and there were no other variable factors, running on the treadmill made the most sense. I didn’t have to worry about the wind, uneven terrain, being chased by a dog, bad weather – none of that. I only had to worry about the boredom that eventually sets in when you’re running on the treadmill. And since I was so focused on my form, that was a very good thing.

3. I had Sean watch me run. When I felt like I was getting used to running without heel striking, I picked up my cell phone [yes, while I was running] and called Sean and told him to watch me run RIGHT NOW. I had been running for about 15ish minutes, which at that time meant that I was starting to get tired and that my form was more likely to start slipping, which I felt was the perfect time for him to come check out my running. He watched me for a few minutes and told me that I wasn’t heel striking, which was good because it reassured me that I was getting used to the feeling of running the right way.

4. I switched to minimalist shoes. And I’m never looking back. Because they have less cushioning on the foot it forces your foot to run more correctly. There’s a lot of fancy schmancy science stuff behind it, I’m sure, but I’m no doctor or expert, so suffice it to say, I can tell that it’s made a difference in how efficiently I run.

brooks

5. I continue to really focus on my form. I will be 100% honest when I say that I do fall back into heel striking when I’m racing and I start getting tired. I can tell when my body starts to make the switch and I have to actively focus on running the right way. I’m usually good until I hit about 11 miles, and then I can start to feel myself falling off and I have to work to run without heel striking.

UNsuccessfully heel striking during the Aramco Half.

Changing your running form is not easy. It takes work. But it is worth it if you’re currently heel striking to invest the time into changing how you run. If you do decide to try and change the way you run, be prepared to have all sorts of leg muscles get sore that were never sore before – because they were never being worked before. Being sore because you’re running the right way, however, beats the hell out of being injured because you were running the wrong way. Winking smile

If I missed something, please let me know!

Do you heel strike?

Psssttt… I have a secret!

Posted on October 16, 2012 by HHRunner

Yesterday was all about celebrating little successes, but today it’s about celebrating a semi-big one.

You see, I have a secret. Saturday I did something that I haven’t done since January 15, 2012.

But first let me back up a bit…

Since I started running again I’ve approached it very differently then I did pre-injury. I started heart-rate training at the urging of my doctor, which has made for some pretty slow (miserable) runs. If you’re unfamiliar with heart rate training, in a nutshell you have a max heart rate that you can hit while you’re running. You aren’t allowed over that heart rate during your run. Essentially, you train your body over time to run faster and faster while maintaining the same heart rate. Sounds easy enough, right? Except it’s not that easy. In fact, it’s hard and it sucks. The first time I ran by my heart rate I clocked in a 13 minute mile. For me, that’s painfully slow. Like, I want to sit down and cry slow.

But I’ve kept at it. Every Tuesday I go out and run 5 miles. The first Tuesday of each month, I compare the splits from that 5 mile run with the previous month’s 5 mile run. And at the beginning of October something magical happened – I got faster. To give you a taste of what I mean without getting too far into heart rate training, here are the splits from September and October:

Month 1: 9:29, 9:59, 10:51, 11:50, 12:18
Month 2: 9:04, 9:31, 9:50, 10:18, 10:22

So I’m getting faster.

Now that I’ve explained how I’ve been running, it’s time to get to the good stuff. On September 10 an email hit my inbox that made the wheels in my head start to turn.

I ran the FBC Greater Things 10k last year and PRed at it. And I started to think, what if I ran this race – which is ridiculously small, right by my house, and no one has to know I’m running it – and I PRed at it again. I weighed the pros – it’s close, it’s cheap, I could back out of it if I wanted, and I would tell no one so there would be no pressure – and then the cons – what if I was still hurt, what if I did terrible – and ultimately decided to pay the 10k entry fee (it was like $25) and then if I ended up not racing it was no big deal.

I debated back and forth all month. Remember: I haven’t run a single mile faster than a 9 minute pace in months. I got super nervous. I thought about not running it.

Finally, I went to see Dr. Hinson Thursday on my lunch break for a pre-race tune-up where he told me to run the race for fun, not for time (AND I MET LEXY!!). I laughed out loud. I am way too competitive to ever run a race “for fun.” I continued to consider not going.

Friday night I ended up going to bed early and Saturday morning I woke up a bundle of nerves. What if I had completely forgotten how to race? What do people even take to races? WHAT IF I BONKED?! What if I had to stop and walk? What if I PRed…

Looking at a race map for the first time in 10 months isn’t intimidating AT ALL. Wait, how do I read one?!?!

I went through the usual rituals – bagel, peanut butter, banana, bathroom, warm up mile on the treadmill, wake up Sean, get out the door, drive over to the race, try to ignore the butterflies in my stomach…

And we waited. And waited. The race ended up starting about an hour late (con of being a small race that is a family fun run and not a serious race) and before I knew it I was toeing the start line for the first time in almost exactly 10 months.

Probably one of the most flattering pictures of me ever taken. Here I am, just awkwardly standing around, picking at my fingernails. Where do I go? The front? The back? Where is everyone? Do you like my shoes!?!

I lined up near the front and waited as they counted down…

Time to say a prayer. PRAY PRAY PRAY THINK MOTIVATIONAL THOUGHTS PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!

…and then we were off.

Everyone else is starting their watch, so I shall too! Also, I am starting to smile BECAUSE I’M FREAKING STOKED!!! I’M RACING!!!

And I felt like I was flying. And then I looked at my watch and realized I was… 7:21? You need to slow down.

There I gooooo!!!!

I reigned it in, let some people pass me and settled into a comfortable, quick pace. Miles 1-3 I was focused solely on maintaining a sub-8 pace and enjoying the scenery.

Mile 1: 7:44
Mile 2: 7:51
Mile 3: 7:53

Around the halfway point I started a mental battle that stayed with me for the next two miles. I kept telling myself that I was done, that I couldn’t sustain that pace because I have been running slow – not fast – for months, and that I should just give up. I countered all of that by arguing that the mind gives up far before the body does, that I was capable of doing this, and that I needed to catch the girl in front of me.

Mile 4: 8:01 – caught the girl and passed her
Mile 5: 7:59

At mile 5 I started doing fast math in my head, which is not easy considering I am a writer, not a math person. I figured out I could still PR and I freaking lost it. I got so excited that not even the fact that I felt like I couldn’t possibly speed up was enough to hold me back. I started trying to speed up, passing the 5k runners left and right.

Dr. Hinson!! Do you see me?!?! NO HEEL STRIKING!!

I turned the corner into the parking lot that the race ended in and I almost cried.

Mile 6: 7:33

Dr. Hinson!!! CHECK OUT MY FORM!!!

At that point I started sprinting. When I saw the time clock my stomach dropped out of my body and I broke into a huge grin while pumping my fist.

Last 0.2: 6:51

I was too fast for Sean to even catch me cross the finish line. OK, if you look closely you can see me dying behind the left hand pole of the finish line.

Overall time: 47:05
Last year’s time: 48:54

I have never been more grateful for my body allowing me to run in my life. This race was far from perfect – I clearly have a lot of mental work to do because it was a battle – but it proved to me that the way I’m training right now is working for me and that I still got it.

Is Paleo Right for You?–Guest Post

Posted on September 4, 2012 by HHRunner

Hi friends!! I’m back from vacation but since my house is still without internet I’m still mega-behind on, well, life. Luckily my little internet mishap meant that I wasn’t able to run this guest post last week from one of my fave bloggers, Melissa, who blogs over at Mouthwatering Morsel, which means I get to run it now! I adore Melissa and her blog, so I know you will too!

Enjoy!!

Hello Hello Happy Healthy Runner readers! I’m Melissa and Mouthwatering Morsel started to grow from recipes and badly written restaurant reviews into my daily shenanigans while learning to live an actively healthy life. I say “learning” because ~~sometimes~~the choices I make are not the best ones. We only live once, right?

I have been an avid reader of Rachael’s blog since the start. We’re best friends if you can’t tell. (Excuse my man hands.) She’s someone who’s motivated me in my workouts whenever I felt like giving up and even helped answer a few dumb questions I had without hesitation. So when I got asked to guest post for her, I literally jumped out of my seat. Especially because it was my first one ever!

source

Let’s take note that I was at work … in a cubicle. Read: OPEN SPACE. Yeah. I got some weird looks but who cares. I get to guest post and they get nothing. And that is all that matters. FYI, that’s not me. I went and looked up an excited Asian girl at work for that picture. Just thought we’d clear that up.

I remember her, Rachael … not the Asian girl, asking me my thoughts on Paleo so I thought I’d share it with y’all.

The Paleo Diet is not a diet. It’s a way of life. The only thing you have to do is noteat grains, dairy, or processed foods. At first, it was horrible when going out but soon realized meat and veggies were the way to go. But that started to add up.

I turned to cooking even more at home. If you live a busy lifestyle, this might be a little hard at first. I learned to prepare everything on the weekend in little Tupperware so I could go, go, go during the week.

The way Paleo works is, since you’re eating “real” food, you get full faster and longer, therefore eating less. Paleo has helped me in portion control and helped me lose a good 10-15 lbs in one month’s time – with working out of course.

source

The only thing I really disliked about Paleo was the lack of beer. From a beer lover, this was torture. We’re allowed tequila but who really loves that crap anyway?

I’m not going to lie. Ever since work started, grains have made its way back and I’ve realized it doesn’t keep me full long enough resulting into excess eating. Eeep!

I get asked if I’m still on that “Paleo sh*t” and my answer is:

Yes. It’s really not hard to change the way you eat and helps you get to that healthy state of mind. Plus, no calorie counting!

No. If I crave something, I will eat it but not stuff my face with it.

If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help out anyway I can. Just shoot me an email or check me out at MwM! I also want to thank Rachael for letting me invade her space. And to all you HHR readers, Think Good Thoughts for today is a wonderful day!

Ever tried Paleo? Thoughts?

Frequently Asked Running Questions – Guest Post

Posted on August 30, 2012 by HHRunner

Please welcome Jina, who is one of my favorite bloggers!! She’s hilarious and refreshing and I always look forward to reading her posts!! Enjoy!

Hi, Happy Healthy Runner readers! I’m Jina, and I blog at Behold the Turtle. I’m a slow runner, as you might have guessed from the title of my blog. I’ve accepted my slowness … for now. Eventually, I want to be super fast like Rachael. (she’s very flattering as well )

Not super fast (or even remotely fast)… yet

I’ve been running for a little more than a year. In that time, I’ve ran six 5Ks, one 10K and two half marathons. And, I’m signed up for six more half marathons (the half marathon distance is my jam).

As soon as I mention that I run, it seems like everyone has a question or comment … some are idiotic or just plain mean. I respond nicely, but sometimes I really don’t want to. I really want to use the not-so-nice response I came up with in my head. But, maybe an educated, appropriate response could encourage someone else to run and love it as much as I do. That’s worth it, right?

So, I came up with a list of the frequently asked questions, what I want to say, and what I say. Maybe it can help you if you’re faced with the same questions … or maybe it will just make you think the not-so-nice responses in your head.

Question: Isn’t running bad for your bones?
What I want to say: I’m sure sitting on the couch does great things for your bones.
What I say: Actually, it’s not. You’re not alone in thinking that, but studies show running actually promotes higher bone density and can help prevent arthritis and other serious bone and joint problems, like osteoporosis.

Question: You pay someone to run a race?
What I want to say: Duh!
What I say: Yes, money goes to charities, as well as helping put on the race. It takes a lot of work and money to put on a race (think of the logistics, road closures, police presence, timing chips, bibs, start, finish, refreshments). There is a lot of volunteer work to put on a race, but some things cost money and some or the entire race fee goes to charity. Just as people playing team sports pay for facilities, officials and organization, runners do the same thing.

Question: You ran 13.1 miles?
What I want to say: Jerk! Yes, even someone like me can run that far.
What I say: I sure did! You see all shapes, sizes and ages running. With the right training, anyone can run a half marathon.

Shockingly, I ran 13.1 miles!

Question: You run … for fun?
What I want to say: Duh! Why else would I be doing it?
What I say: Yes! I enjoy it. It’s a great workout, and it’s a way to challenge myself. Just like other people enjoying playing sports, I enjoy running.

Question: Isn’t running bad for your knees?
What I want to say: Gah! Why must people turn a healthy activity into a negative one?
What I say: Not necessarily. If you’re healthy with no knee issues, running isn’t bad for your knees. It can actually help them … if you approach running in a smart way (gradually increasing your distance, wearing the correct shoes). Repetitive weight bearing and motion are good for the joints, and running essentially does that.

a little run, a little walk

Posted on June 22, 2012 by HHRunner

Don’t worry, I am. But let’s get serious for a minute here.

I kind of snarked on running two minutes at a timeyesterday, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since I hit “publish”.

I’m a very sarcastic person by nature. I know you’re all probably shocked by this news.

The truth is, I’m thrilledat this point to be running any amount of time at all, be it 30 minutes of 2 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking, or 10 straight miles. This whole injury/recovery process has been a really humbling experience for me because I think at a certain point I started to take running for granted. I was naturally decent at it, and so I pushed and pushed and pushed… and fell apart.

I had pretty grand plans for this year in terms of running, and being injured has shelved every single one of them. It’s taken a lot of back and forth inside my brain, but ultimately I’m ok with that. Am I still going to mentally fall apart from time to time? Yeah, probably. I’m a pretty emotionally driven person. But overall I feel like being injured has taught me to really appreciate a lot of different aspects of my life.

Running 30 minutes of 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking soundslike a walk in the park. Even as I’m typing it I mentally am thinking how easy that little of running is. But honestly, it’s hard. Especially because I’m correcting my running form in the process. I’m sore in places that I’ve never been sore before from running. I’m out of breath after 10 minutes of run/walking. I’m sweating up a storm after 45 minutes… and only 20 of those minutes were spent running at a pace that is not usually a fast pace for me. And honestly, I couldn’t be happier.

On top of that, I can’t even begin to describe how grateful I am for all of y’alls support. It’s been incredibly moving, and I am filled with an amazing gratitude for the blog world and for all of you people out there that have offered words of inspiration, sent me encouraging emails, and tweeted me to congratulate me on finally getting to a point where I’m doing any running at all.

There’s no real point to this post, other than to say THANK YOU and to say that even if I’m not running marathons right now, I still love running. You guys are awesome.

Happy Friday!

Runner hills

Posted on June 20, 2012 by HHRunner

Earlier today I got this tweet:

I kinda laughed and then went to Google and sure enough, look what I found:

How very odd. There Sean and I are, in all our wedding glory. I suppose I should be happy that it is at least one of my favorite wedding pictures that shows up.

Speaking of, I then went and read Tara’s post where she used a different picture to illustrate hills. I can’t imagine why she didn’t use the one of Sean and I. I think it’s kind of rude. We clearly are the epitome of runner hills.

So now Tara and I are in a fight. Oh did I forget to mention that to you Tara? Well, we are. I’m mad that you didn’t include me in your blog post when a picture of me and Sean in our wedding attire so clearly demonstrates hill running. Winking smile

Moving on.

SOMEONE may have taken a *teensy* break from strength-training. You know, because of the old knee and all… or maybe just because I’m lazy. I’m not sure which. Regardless, I decided yesterday to quit being a baby and just get it done.

I followed a workout that Melissa recently posted, with a few slight modifications so it ended up looking like this:

5 min warm up walking on treadmill

ARMS – 3 sets, 12 reps

- Bicep Curls, 8lb weights

- Tricep Extensions, 8lb weight

- Pushups

- Shoulder Presses, 8lb weights

- Arnold Presses, 5lb weights

ABS – 3 sets, 12 reps

- Plank

- Toe Touch Crunches

- Leg Raises

- Bicycle Abs

LEGS – 3 sets, 12 reps

- Forward Lunges, 12 each side

- Squats

- Wall Sits

- Dead Lifts, 8lb weights

25 min on bike

http://happyhealthyrunner.com
inspired by: http://mouthwateringmorsel.com

Three things:

1. Holy crap I have clearly lost some strength. I knew this would happen but I think I’ve been blissfully in denial about it. After one round through I thought about shelving the workout and just going to lie on the couch, but I managed to talk myself into finishing.

2. I AM SO SORE. Every part of me is sore. When I stand, when I walk, when I sit. Lunges and squats are the devil.

3. I need some heavier weights. Even with losing some strength, I still need some heavier weights for certain exercises. Since I did this workout at home (minus the biking, that was a lunch workout) I had to stick with 8lbs because they’re the heaviest weights I have. Maybe I need to buy some more weights. Or just get myself to the weight section of the gym when I’m there.

So, the moral of this story: don’t slack off on weight training. You’ll be sorry if you do. Oh and use my picture when you want to illustrate hills. Obviously.

I need some more strength workouts, so if you have some please send them my way!

7 random things

Posted on June 7, 2012 by HHRunner

today’s workout: 35 min walk/run combo – 2.55 miles; 25 min walk after work – 1.67 miles

my sweet friend Jenny over at The Little J Bird nominated me for a blog award recently…

…and considering I have been a big lack of blog posts lately (well, until this week) I think that’s pretty nice of her.

as with all blog awards, there’s some rules.

1. post the award logo and and picture on your blog and link back to the person who nominated you. (check)
2. tell seven things about yourself. (see below)
3. nominate up to 15 additional bloggers who you think deserve the award. (not happening, too much work and I am lazy)
4. post a comment on the blog of each nominee to tell them him/her they have been nominated (see above)

seven random things

1. converse shoes are my favorite shoes of all time. I wear them constantly. sean, on the other hand, hates them.

2. I am obsessed with patterned socks. in fact, the only plain white socks I own are the ones I wear to the gym. for my birthday this year one of my coworkers got me some pretty sweet socks that look like converse shoes. I am in love.

3. I am a notorious heel-striker when it comes to running. guess what that gets you? injured. GO AWAY HEEL STRIKING.

4. I’m jumping on the minimalist shoe bandwagon.

5. we use AIM to talk at work. does anyone else still use that? I forgot about it after the 10th grade, but since my boss works at a different location I now use it all the time.

6. I love twitter more than any other form of social media. you should come be my friend. (@happyhealthyrun)

7. most days when I hear about running I want to punch everyone in the face. but I have tried to stay as in the loop as possible because I know I’m being petty and it’s no one’s fault that I’m injured.

tell me something random (or seven things!)

In the air!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by HHRunner

Hello friends!

If you’re reading this I’m probably en route to Vegas right now but I wanted to drop in and let you know that if you just are dying without your daily dose of my awesomeness FRET NOT! I’m over at Melissa’s blog right now talking about my new favorite workout!

Go see my blogging bestie (and me)!!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Oatmeal Smoothies

Posted on March 14, 2012 by HHRunner

After getting harassed on Twitter yesterday by these lovely ladies I figured I had to post something otherwise they might start a riot. Of course, if it means they’d come banging down my door I’m not sure that’d necessarily be a bad thing because at least then we could all hang out, but that’s beside the point…

Anyway, Melissa told me to post a recipe and while I am not the most creative cook out there (I like to take a recipe that’s already in place and then tweak it to my needs, not create from scratch), I have been enjoying the most wonderful smoothie the last few days.

Of course, that means I should probably preface this with something regarding my relationship with smoothies, right? Isn’t that what bloggers do? Sit down, this is a good one.

I’ve been drinking smoothies for a long time. In fact, I’ve been drinking them ever since I started working out and I found out that my mom drank them. If smoothies are good enough for her, well then they’re good enough for me too!

You are welcome for the Paint picture, by the way. I am much too busy to be bothered with something professional looking like Picnik.

However I took a short break from them when I stopped lifting weights. You see where this is going, right? With my return to weight-lifting came the return of the smoothie. After starting Live Fit I got really good at making a smoothie as soon as I walked through the door from the gym every morning. Now I can’t imagine not having one in the mornings.

But until recently I haven’t necessarily been very adventurous when it comes to smoothie-making. Can you even be adventurous in smoothie-making? I’m not sure. But regardless, my typical smoothies consist of some form of milk, a banana, protein powder, and frozen fruit. If I want to add some nutritional punch to it then I’ll throw in some spinach. This is a good story so far, isn’t it?

However this week I had to save my frozen fruit for homemade sangria. It’s all about priorities, right? A banana, protein powder, and milk just wasn’t going to cut it, but I wasn’t ready to cut out my daily smoothie so I had to improvise. And thus the oatmeal smoothie was born.

Oatmeal Smoothie

Makes enough for one smoothie

Ingredients:

- 1 banana
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon to taste
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- ice as needed
- 2 tablespoons quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 c milk

Directions:

Blend.

Drink.

Enjoy.

Nothing ground-breaking going on over here. In fact, you’ve probably already heard of or made oatmeal smoothies. But I hadn’t. And that is how I made a post out of nothing.

What’s been up?

Also, send me your favorite smoothie recipes.

3 Things Thursday

Posted on March 8, 2012 by HHRunner

Man oh man. 3 things Thursday is coming WAY late today. But it’s here

1. Last night Sean and I watched Knight and Day. Seen it? If you haven’t then I wouldn’t rush out to pick it up, it wasn’t great. However Cameron Diaz is in some rockin’ shape. Holy cow that girl has some arms on her, I don’t even get how that happens…

via

Seriously?!?

2. If you’ve never tried popcorn + hot sauce then you need to because it’s quite possibly one of the best combinations there is. It’s so good that it was what I had for dinner last night. The best kind of popcorn, in my very humble opinion, is this kind:

3. I go through phases where I have very vivid dreams and then phases where I can’t remember them at all. Lately I’ve been having extremely vivid dreams. Earlier this week I dreamt that there was a snake in my bed and it was slithering up my leg. That’s disgusting. Last night I had a dream that I named my first child – a girl – Brie. Like the cheese. I even explained that her name was spelled like the cheese. Let it be known that I would never name my non-existent daughter after cheese.

4. Random 4th… my very good friend Melissa wrote a VERY accurate post about things you’re not supposed to say. Love her, love this post.

Blogging Besties

Do you remember your dreams??