Thank Goodness for Small Victories!

Well hello there! So the running has been going well, on Tuesday I ran 5 minutes straight and it was 0.4 miles. I felt really good and probably could have ran more, but my right shin was starting to really hurt, so I stopped and walked to cool down. So today, Becky and I ran together at the track. It wasn't bad, but I just couldn't get in the groove...not sure? We walked around once and then ran once, so I only ran 1/4 mile. Ughh.... I feel like I took a step back, but I know I didn't. My right shin is really really sore still. Respiratory wise, I was good! I barely sweat, and felt pretty good save for my right shin! Grr...so tomorrow is Becky and I trying to run a lap and walk a lap, run then walk. God help me! Maybe it's the talking, the music, dunno....just no focus today...

Well as always...Happy Running, whether it's after the kids, to the store or across the Finish line!!

Shin Splints from HELL!!!

Hello and Happy Sunday Runners! What a busy week! Whew! How's the running going? Are you meeting YOUR goals? You know sometimes life gets in the way of things, or illness, kids or just excuses! Something that you DON'T want to get in your way, which has recently gotten in MY way is Shin Splints. Can we just say OUCH?! I was running the other day and finally experienced that awesome groove of running: good stride, good breathing, good form, and here comes the endorphins! Until...I stepped wrong or something and the SHIN SPLINTS FROM HELL kicked in and kicked my butt. Something to horrid that it literally stopped me in my tracks. So I thought I'd take this post to give some inof on shin slpints, what causes them, how to treat them, and how to prevent them! I hope you find this helpful and can avoid the "Oh My Gosh, I've just experienced something like walking on fire with my shins!"

According to MayoClinic.com:



"The term "shin splints" refers to pain along the shinbone (tibia) — the large bone in the front of your lower leg. The pain is caused by an overload on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone. Shin splints are caused by an overload on the shinbone and the connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone. The overload is often caused by specific athletic activities, such as:


■Running downhill

■Running on a slanted or tilted surface

■Running in worn-out footwear

■Engaging in sports with frequent starts and stops, such as basketball and tennis

Shin splints can also be caused by training too hard, too fast or for too long.

Shin splints are most common among runners, particularly those just starting a running program. If you have flat arches, your feet may have a tendency to roll too far inward (pronate) when running — which can contribute to shin splints.

In most cases, you can treat shin splints with simple self-care steps:
■Rest. Avoid activities that cause pain, swelling or discomfort — but don't give up all physical activity. While you're healing, try low-impact exercises, such as swimming, bicycling or water running. If your shin pain causes you to limp, consider using crutches until you can walk normally without pain.

■Ice the affected area. Apply ice packs to the affected shin for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times a day for several days. To protect your skin, wrap the ice packs in a thin towel.

■Reduce swelling. Elevate the affected shin above the level of your heart, especially at night. It may also help to compress the area with an elastic bandage or compression sleeve. Loosen the wrap if the pain increases, the area becomes numb or swelling occurs below the wrapped area.

■Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Try ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to reduce pain.

■Wear proper shoes. Your doctor may recommend a shoe that's especially suited for your foot type, your stride and your particular sport.

■Consider arch supports. Arch supports can help cushion and disperse stress on your shinbones. Off-the-shelf arch supports come in various sizes and can be fitted immediately. More durable arch supports can be custom-made from a plaster cast of your foot.

It's also important to resume your usual activities gradually. If your shin isn't completely healed, returning to your usual activities may only cause continued pain.

Stretching from Runnersworld.com

WALL STRETCH: Stand with your hands against a wall with your left foot approximately two to three feet from the wall. Keep your left leg straight, your right leg bent, your feet pointed straight ahead, and heels on the ground. Hold for 10 to 30 seconds, switch legs, repeat two or three times, and switch sides. Exercise physiologist Janet Hamilton suggests doing the stretch several times a day; stretching only postrun may not be enough to loosen really tight calves.


FOAM ROLL: Rolling your calf over a foam roller after running can help break up microadhesions--where muscle tissue sticks to the outer fascia--that cause pain, says Matt Schneider, certified athletic trainer and certified physician assistant at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. Sit on the floor with your right calf on the roller. Cross your left leg over your right, resting that ankle on your right shin. With your elbows supporting you, lift your glutes off the floor and shift your body to slowly roll your right calf along the roller. Repeat on your left leg.

SHIN LIFTER: Lie faceup on a hamstring curl machine, and place your toes under the footholds. Flex your feet toward you to work the muscles in the front of your lower legs. An at-home alternative: Sit on a chair or the edge of a bed with your feet hanging down, not touching the floor. Put coins in a sock and rest it on the top of your foot. Raise and lower your foot, flexing at the ankle.

HEEL/TOE WALK: Walk across a room with your forefoot off the ground. Then walk back on your tiptoes. These exercises will strengthen your compartment muscles. "When these muscles are stronger, they can withstand more stress," Schneider says. "You want to build up these muscles so that they--and not the bone--take the brunt of the impact of running."


SEATED CALF RAISE: The gastrocnemius is easy to target with standing calf raises. But you won't reach the soleus, unless you work the calf with a bent knee. You can do that with seated calf raises using a machine at the gym (or by sitting in a chair, and putting some resistance like a dumbbell on your lap). Raise the weight up to a count of three, but then lower it slowly to a count of five to really work the muscle.

COMPARTMENT STRETCH: Standing up straight, bend one knee and bring your heel toward your glutes (like a classic quad stretch). But instead of grabbing your ankle, hold the top of your foot. "Holding your foot is the key to stretching the compartment," Dr. Rouzier says.

Welcome Mom Runners! Munners? Roms? Nope Doesn't work! Hahahaha

Hey there gals and guys, I guess guys? hmm... I'd like to welcome some new friends that I've joined or have joined me in my running. All have the most important title of Mom, and are fairly new to running, not to mention amazingly wonderful and beautiful gals!

So for all the people in the NWI area, I thought I'd list some upcoming races over the year.

04/17/2010 Race for the Cure 5K Run & Walk IUPUI, Downtown Indiana
04/17/2010 The Challenge: Purdue Center for Cancer Research 5k Purdue University - Ross Ade Stadium
04/2/2010 Spring Fling 5K Ramp Run, Hammond, IN
05/01/2010 St. Pauls Spirit 5K, Valpo, IN
5/08/2010 OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon 13.1 Indianapolis, IN
06/06/2010 Field Station Frenzy 5K Trail Run, Chesterton, IN
06/26/2010 Firecracker 5K Chesterton, IN
07/17/2010 Run with the Big Dogs 5k Run and 1 mile walk 5k run Chesterton, IN

O.k. More races to be posted later!! Feel free to let me know about any upcoming races too!!

As always.... Happy Running whether it's to the store, after the kids or to the Finish Line!!!

Week 1 of 10

Hello and Welcome to Week 1! Becky and I have officially finished the first run of week 1! Yippee!! The lecture tonight was on running form and breathing. You wouldn't it's really hard to breath right? Well apparently it is! You're suppossed to breathe using your belly! Here's a quick article on belly breathing. SO I tried to do this as we ran 1 min and walked 2 minutes tonight, but I have to admit, I total forgot after a while. I was doing pretty good and it started to get hard half way through. I'm not sure if it was because I didn't have any music, because it was colder than the other day or what? So I made it through and I admit I was at the back of the pack. And I have to give some big thanks to Becky for stickin with me back there!! I's not where you place, it's that you finish right! So Let's make it through the first week!! Here's the schedule for the first week for training:

Class/Monday: Run 1 Walk 2 x 4
Field/Tuesday: Rest
Class/Wednesday: Crosstrain or Rest
Class/Thursday: Run 1 Walk 2 x 4
Field/Friday: Cross Train or Rest
Trip to Indy/Saturday: Run 1 Walk 2 x 5
Sunday: Walk 45min or Rest

So it should be a busy week and weekend!
In the immortal words of Captain Tenile from MXC: Leeet's Gooo!!!

Happy Running whether it's to the store, after the kids or to the Finish Line!!

And Joe joins the Race!!!

Happy Sunday Runners!! I was talking to my husband yesterday after I finished my run and all our running together and he said that he was going to run as well! Yay!! I wasn't sure if he would really go through with it though. Well this morning at 5am the alarm went off! 5AM on a SUNDAY!!! I promptly told him to shut the damn alarm off and went back to snoozing.... I woke up about 7a to find him not in the bed and where was he? He had gotten up to run this morning!! Good Job Honey!!! I asked him why so freakin early and he said because he doesn't like to have people see him run so he ran in the dark. Hey whatever floats your boat! So now as we sit on the couch he finally says that his legs are killing him. Poor thing! I don't know if he will let me post his starting stats, but at least he is on a good foot starting! Maybe I'll even get him to run the 5K with me. I have to be honest though, I kind of want this for ME not for something for us to do. Yeah I'm a little selfish I guess.... Well off to get some kids to bed for naps, and do some chores! Tomorrow, work and run at 6p! So until my next post....

Happy Running whether it's to the store, after the kids or to the Finish Line!!

We ALL must Start SOMEWHERE!

Ahhh.... what a beautiful Saturday!! Joe (loving and adoring husband) and I took the twins (yes I have twins! yes I am busy with them, and yes I am done having kids!) for swimming class as per usual, well with one difference. Joe watched the kids and I ran! Yep today was the first day of my running. I downloaded the podcast by Robert Ullrey using the Couch 2 5K program. You can find the podcasts here. Today I did a 5 min brisk warm up walk, then did 4 cycles of running 1 minute and walking 3minutes. It was nice, it took me about 17 minutes. So I figured I'd post my "Pre" or start of program stats. Trust me this is NOT fun for me....

Height: 5ft 6in
Weight: 235lbs
BMI:37.9

So I will post my weekly stats with updates on weight and I may do some measurements and add them as well. Monday I start my official class. My running plan is to run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. My goal isn't to loose weight, although I'll be thrilled if I do! Speaking of goals, let's review them...

Goals:

1. Sign up March 1, 2010 6p for Y-Run Class (Have to start off on the right foot right?!) DONE!!!


2. Make it to class every Monday at 6pm, unless I am working.

3. Run at least 1 other day during the week.

4. Complete the Hub Run 5K, First or Last, just finish!



Happy Running whether it's to the store, after the kids or to the Finish Line!!

Goal #1: COMPLETE!!

Hey Ya'll! Today is March 2, 2010, and yes that means that I officially signed up for the Y-Run class yesterday. Woo Hoo!!! I wouldn't call myself an over-achiever, but I diiiiid accomplish goal #1. Awesome, now on to the rest of the list, but first more about the class...

The class is at the Southlake YMCA in Crown Point, IN and had a really nice turnout for the class. There were probably 50 people that showed up and they had only planned on a max of 30 because they had to make more copies of the paperwork. We completed a self health questionaire, then went through the basics of the program. Our trainer is Misti who has been a certified running coach for beginner runners for 6 years. She also works for a company called Fleet Feet that will. custom fit you for shoes, and other running apparel. I will be visiting them this Thursday, which should be a really cool experience because I've never been fitted for shoes, even in all my years of nursing! So I'm excited to see how much better they feel.

We didnt have any assignments for this week, before we really start hard core next week, but Misti said that we could walk briskly for 30min each day. Yeah, I haven't done it yet because I'm currently sick, yeah yeah, no excuse... So we're off running on Monday!

The training schedule will start with running 1 min and walking 3min x 4. We will see how that works... So what am I doing this week? The plan is to walk at least 2 days for 30min. I've made some kick ass playlists for my Zune, and also purchased some running apparel from Tar-jay. Thursday I will be going to get some new shoes. Yippee!!!

Total spent on running so far: $60

Goals:



1. Sign up March 1, 2010 6p for Y-Run Class (Have to start off on the right foot right?!) DONE!!!

2. Make it to class every Monday at 6pm, unless I am working.

3. Run at least 1 other day during the week.

4. Complete the Hub Run 5K, First or Last, just finish!

More to come!!!

Happy Running whether it's to the store, the fridge or to the Finish Line!!

Welcome One and All!!

SO you know how you keep telling yourself you're going to do this or you're going to do that? Well I've always told myself that I wanted to be a runner and now I'm finally taking steps to do it. At one time I was in really good shape, now...not so much. So what's happened? Let's see: Marriage, Work, Twins...Life in General! So the first step on this road to my first 5K is a class that I'm signing up for at the local YMCA with one of my best friends and my company on this journey, Becky.

 I love Becky, she is such a dynamic and amazing woman. She too has kids, has 3 dogs, a 20 ac farm, she runs agility with her dogs, her boys show horses, she is just amazing and has boundless energy. I'm counting on her to help me through this! hahaha!

Many experts say that setting goals is the key to many successes, so fine, I'll bite let's set some goals!

Goals:

1. Sign up March 1, 2010 6p for Y-Run Class (Have to start off on the right foot right?!)
2. Make it to class every Monday at 6pm, unless I am working.
3. Run at least 1 other day during the week.

Ooooookk....let's not get over zealous...that's enough for now! We'll keep you updated and post pics soon!

Happy Running whether it's to the store, the fridge or to the finish line!