Five half-marathons, four 5k races, three sprint triathlons, two 10k races, and one full marathon. All in one year, and all in memory of someone who never knew she was strong.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Back on the Wagon and Praying to the Foot Gods


We are in! Mike and I registered under the charity section for the Colorado Marathon, and we’re in. Race is May 1, which is 16 weeks away, which means marathon training starts this week!! As in, yesterday!



So, with that being the case, I ran for the first time in three weeks yesterday. We did three miles on the indoor track at the Athletic Club because it was two degrees outside last night; yes, count them, two. I actually did one mile on the track, one mile on the elliptical, and one mile on the track while Mike did all three on the track. I am trying to be cautious, and my foot felt a tiny bit tweaky after the first mile. I iced it when I got home, and it felt *ok* this morning. I feel a little nervous but am easing into it and making sure to be acutely aware of how it feels at all times. I am going to take a look at new shoes this week. Even though my Pearl Izumis have been my saving grace for the past few years, my body, running style, and feet have changed, so I am going to go get fitted again and see if they have any advice for fighting Plantar Fasciitis. I am also going to start icing after every single run (I will, I swear, even thought I hate it) and I am going to start sleeping in one of those apparatus’ that keep your foot in the right position all night to ease the fasciia. Any other PF remedies you know of? I will try ‘em. I am all about prevention this time!


I selected a training plan that has three rest days per week. I will use one of those days to lift upper body, but am going to fully stay off of my feet for all three days. It seems like a lot of rest days, but I am not trying to be aggressive. I am trying to finish this race.


I am also back on track to lose this last 15-20 pounds. I was slacking for awhile and I need to be serious about that part of it, too. There is a reason you don’t see too many people my size finishing marathons, and it is that it is too hard on bodies to pound 200 pounds around on little feet. It’s just the way it is.


I had a pretty rude awakening last night. Guess what they have when you run indoors? Mirrors, lots of them. I made the mistake of wearing one of my favorite workout shirts, that I actually, until last night, thought looked good on me. Yeah, not so much. Running in front of mirrors is my new scare tactic to get my weight down. No matter how much I pulled and stretched my shirt or hiked my running pants up to cover my stomach, I still kept catching glimpses in the mirror of everything jiggling around and straining against the spandex and tech material. Sometimes it is good to get a new kick in the pants like that, and that is the affect it had, for sure. I also felt a little sad about it though.


I have come far and am happy about that. But I have far to go. In so many ways.


Rest day today.


4 miles tomorrow.


My new breakfast of champions as suggested by my best friend:


One light English Muffin (I get double-fiber because fiber is my friend) 100 calories


One ounce light cream cheese: 70 calories


One Morningstar vegetarian sausage patty: 80 calories


I toast my muffin and let the cream cheese get all melty, then add a little hot sauce. Yum! And keeps me full til lunch!

6 comments:

  1. Hey Cara (long time no see!), I don't know if you've heard anything about the barefoot running movement.... may sound CRAZY, but the idea is that our modern running shoes and all that artificial padding and support is actually CAUSING our perfectly engineered human feet to atrophy/weaken and can cause all those typical runners' injuries. (Think of all those world-class runners from Africa that grew up running barefoot.) There's a movement of people now running in Vibram Five Finger shoes. Probably not what you'd want to hear at this point in your training, however. But if you are at all intrigued, I suggest reading "Born to Run." Hang in there, listen to your body, and I wish you the best of luck with your training. I am also starting from scratch (haven't worked out in months), and will be doing a half marathon on May 1st! =)

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  2. Congrats on your decision to do the Colorado Marathon! That is awesome!

    Remember to stretch and try to stay away from heels on the days you run. That is what I had to do when I had PF.

    Yummy breakfast!

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  3. I have PF in one foot and for regular shoes I have removable inserts from Birkenstock that have helped a lot. Another thing that worked for me is to limit walking barefoot.

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  4. No PF advice here, just good old-fashioned cheerleading! You're doing GREAT, keep it up! And I am SO glad there are no mirrors at my gym. :)

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  5. Congrats on getting in for the CM!

    Let's see PF advice...not sure how much help I can be I've had it on and off not sure if these things helped but seemed too...Iced using a frozen water bottle...great to just roll it back and forth. Always wore good support shoes, from the time I got up until I went to bed. And as you said losing weight, that was the biggest help I think.

    Mirrors...no thanks! They sent a video out of the turn around during the run of the Iron Girl tri and I was horrified seeing myself running like that! :)

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  6. Just wanted to let you know that like it or not I just awarded you the Stylish blogger award over on my blog... :)

    By the way how was the race?

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