ygohome’s BodyBlog

I did something to my right knee last week. I think it from running the hiking trails, dodging the rocks and tree stumps and the steep hills. I ran 7 miles on the morning of Nov 18th around the neighborhood (no trails on that run). But my knee was aching a little before that run from the previous trail run. And since then it would ache enough to where I was concerned about injury if I tried running before giving it time to heal.

So I’ve decided to take a week off from running. It will have been a week this wed (Nov 25th) so I will try running again at that time. If it gives me any problems then I’ll cut my run short and let it rest for a few more days. Better to be safe than sorry. Spending more time on weight lifting though and thats been enjoyable.

I have over 500 miles on my Nikes.  They still have alot off life left in them but I wanted to try something else… just for a change.  The Nikes were my FIRST ever set of really good quality running shoes.  I visited the local Road Runner store (www.roadrunnersports.com) and after trying on several different shoes includeing an exact copy of my current Nikes (but new) I ended up with Asics GT-2140 size 12.  I tested by running with one Asics and one new Nike and the Asics were much softer in the sole and still supported well.

I plan to revisit the store again this weekend to see about a good trail running shoe.  I’ve been running hiking trails on my weekends lately.  It is alot of fun and works my leg muscles differently than just running the street.  Instead of doing my long runs on weekends I’ve been runing the trails… my pace is about 9:30 min per mile average on the trails and keep the miles under 7.  My legs do ache more after the trails so I think I’ll go back to my longer distance street running this weekend.  Like I said, those trails work entirely different muscles it seems and I’m still sore a bit from it.

Thanks,

Ben

Since I’ve begun running longer distances I’ve had to change my schedule a little. 

 I used to mix my running into my weight lifting.  I’d run two - three miles for 20 - 25 minutes and then I’d come back and lift weights for another 25-30 minutes.  I’d do this 3x per day.  I basically just ignored all the comments that this isn’t ideal or good for me.  There are appearantly many "facts" that say this is a bad practice.   I didn’t give a ****.  Felt good and was fun and I was seeing major improvements so I continued doing that for about 6 or 7 months.

But now that I’m running 6.5 - 13.5 miles it eats up a large part of my workout time.  So I’ve changed to running most mornings on a set route… 2% incline for 3.2 miles… then back downhill for another 3.3 miles in a large circle.  It is a beautiful route and is my favorite.  The route is very quite, not a lot of traffic, very scenic and has a drinking fountain at the halfway point.  So "most" every weekday I run 6.5 in the morning before work with a pace between 7:45 min mile to 8:30 per mile… usually averages out to around 8:05 per mile overall.  Then, every other day in the evenings after I return home from work I hit the weights.   Saturdays are for running long distances only (not weights).  I run with my sister on my long runs and we keep a comfortable pace… usually 8:30 - 9:00 min per mile for 10-14 miles.

lately we’ve started finding some cool new dirt hiking trails around the foothills here in Scottsdale.  We go at about 9:30 - 10:00 min per mile because of the steep climbs and decents and also got to watch out for rocks and tree stumps, and the occaisional cow pie.

You can probably tell that I’ve really taken to running.  It is fun when outdoors and is very enjoyable to me.  I know alot of people hate and despise it…  I’m guessing that is because of a bad experience they’ve associated with running or injury or crappy locations?  I read in the forums here about someone who slips on the treadmill and everyone chimes in saying "see, thats why I hate running". lol.  But what about the joker who over does it on a bench press or deadlift because of bad form, etc and they nearly kill themselves or cause injury?… should we say "see, that is why I hate lifting weights?"  No, that would be stupid.

Anyways, I still love lifting.  Just not doing it as much as I did.  THis should help be recoup and grow I hope.  I know my running is trimming me down but I don’t worry about losing too much muscle.  I just keep lifiting and changing my workouts so they don’t get boring.  And I love running so that isn’t going to end

Thanks,

Ben

I was using a 4" lock blade folding knife to cut a new hole in my leather belt.  Well, the lock  didn’t hold and the knife folded onto my pinky finger of my right hand.  Cut was accross the top of my finger and very deep but the cut did not hit any major veins.  So the bleeding wasn’t a big issue and it quit bleeding if I kept my finger straight.  If I tried bending the finger it would open up the would and bleed alot and look really nasty.

So if I keep my finger straight I don’t think stiches are necessary.  The cut is clean and straight, not jagged… good thing the knife was razor sharp   I’m using popcicle sticks as a splint and wraping it in a couple of big band-aids and gauze.

I’m unable to do any lifting that requires a full hand grip.  I can manage pushups and ab excersizes of course and my running is not affected.  But I can’t do any curls.  I may try doing some bench presses today but I usually keep a solid tight grip on the bar and instead I will now need to avoid wrapping my pinky around the bar when pushing up.  I’ll have to see how well that goes.

So, I think I’ll be having to limit my weights and not do much lifting for a few weeks while the cut heals.

That was the last time I try using a full wrap around grip on a pocket knife… even the lock blade knives.  Was a dumb thing to try to do.

Ben

I needed a simple way to track all of my running so I checked out the NIKE+IPOD Sport Kit($30 + $150 for the ipod nano 8gig).  I also looked at getting a Garmin 310XT ($400).  After asking around I decided to go with the ipod/nike+ solution.  I hadn’t been running with any music or headphones since I began a year ago.  weird huh?  SO i made my decision because I really wanted the music and the Nike+ sport kit was a big bonus   The Garmin has dead on better accuracy since it tracks by GPS, and can record if your going uphill (which the nike+ipod cannot do).  But I really really wanted my music!  And the nike+ipod works pretty darn well.

So me and my sister (she’s my running partner) went to the local Apple store here in Scottsdale and bought some 8gig ipod nanos.  I also bought a set of Sennheiser PMX 80 Sport II headphones.  These headphones are GREAT!  They have just a single wire and are uber comfortable and don’t fall out while running.  And they are water/sweat resistent, which is good cuz I sweat alot… http://store.apple.com/us/product/TU136ZM/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Ng&mco=MjM0NDUyOQ#overview

We also got some armbands to carry our new ipods while running.  And to compliment that, I also bought a Nike Watch Remote Control wrist band that allows me to start/pause/stop/adj vol/change songs/etc without having to twist my arm and divert my attention to the ipod to do so.  It is VERY cool… http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/commerce/nikeplus?hf=4294967065^4294967132&t=All%20Nike%2B#/?ll=en_US&ct=US&pid=218268&cid=102201&pgid=&p=PDP

So I get home and upload some songs to my ipod from itunes.  Then I calibrate it so it get’s an idea of my run gate, etc.  Then the next morning I went for a 6.5 run.  The tracking device lets me know my pace, distance, how long I’ve been running, etc at the push of a button.  And I can also get straight to my motivational "powersong" by the push of a button on my wristband.

Anyways, to make a long story short… I love the ipod and the nike+ tracking sensor.  I have Nike shoes so the sensor fits in a special pocket under the insole.  My sister wears asics so we bought her a little pouch that attaches to the laces of her shoe.  We’ve been uploading all of our running data to our laptops (mines a MACBOOK and hers is a Windows laptop… works with either) and uploading to the nikerunning.com website I’ve setup training schedules, challenges, goals, etc.

After uploading the data from my ipod to Nikerunning.com I can see all of my run history in graph form showing my pace along each run.  It really helps and motivates me to do better.

Its really cool!  If your looking for a good tracking device while running then I recommend the Nike+ipod sport kit… especially if you already have an ipod nano or touch or iphone.  The Garmin would track more accurately but the ipod is close enough for me and it is consistent even if its not super accurate.  Plus the nikerunning website makes it even more fun to use and own.

and now I’ve got rockin tunes when I go running

Ben

My last few blogs have been about my search for some good running shoes and how we found just the right pair for me.

If you’ve read my other posts then you’d know that I’m fairly new to running.  And all of my running has previously only been on the treadmill at my apartment’s air conditioned gym room.  I’ve really enjoyed the running even though it’s not super exciting while running in place on the "mill".  I do get pleasure though knowing that I’ve lost about 30 lbs of fat since Nov of 2008 and its been really nice and convenient to just step off the treadmill when I’m finished running and to pick up the weights and workout my other muscles.  Plus all the cardio has really kept me enegized thoughout my day and keeps me lean.  So in that respect I’ve really loved treadmill running.

One of the reasons I kept to the treadmill was because I was so new and wanted to start out slow and easy in a controlled environment (A/C!).   Through the year though I’ve increased my pace and the incline and distance.  I’ve worked up to running 3.5 miles prior to each heavy weights workout and I do my workouts 3x per day.  So I’ve conditioned myself to run over 10 miles per day.  I’ve been doing this using cheap comfortable athletic shoes.  But those shoes were not meant or designed for long distance running.  And they had hardly any support or cushion and so when I did try running a few times on the pavement it REALLY HURT and so I’d go back to the treadmill.

But now that I’ve got my nice new running shoes I’ve decided to give the great outdoors another try.  My younger sister (she’s 35, I’m 39) began running about the same time I started so we are both very new to it.  We decided we’d go running together in the mornings.  So, last Saturday her and I met at 5:30 am and drove to a park with 4 one litre bottles of cold water in a cooler in the trunk of my car.  We each brought beach towels and hand towels so we wouldn’t sweat all over my nice interior for the drive back. haha.

My sister has a wrist band that keeps track of her pace, heart rate, time and a bunch of other stuff.  We jogged from 6am to 7am around a nice grassy park with lots of nice paved paths.  We ran for about 4 miles and was a BLAST!  The next morning, Sunday, we met again and this time we went around my neighborhood and even did some jogging for about 1/2 a mile on some dirt trails.

This morning I went for 4 miles just by myself around the neighborhood streets and housing areas and then took a 1 mile jog on a dirt trail.  It was very fun exploring and soo much better than a treadmill.  And it wasn’t as difficult as I feared.  All of my conditioning in the last year on the treadmill at 5+% incline at 6.5 mph had made this running on pavement a breeze and very very enjoyable.  Okay, I won’t lie, its not really a breeze… ITS HARD WORK! But it was so fun. 

Now I plan to run every morning for an hour and I’ll save my weight lifting for the lunch time and evening workouts.

Happy trails,

Ben

Well, yesterday I posted in my blog about me begining to look for a new pair of running shoes.  The shoes I had been running in were basically just canvas with laces on top. ha.  They were diesel shoes with almost no support.  They were like slippers or moccasins and I loved them for their comfort.  But when I began to run more than 7 miles a day I could really begin to feel my feet’s suffering.

I’m a newb when it comes to running and have only been running for about a year consistently.  And all of my running has been on the treadmills because when I’d try to run outside my feet would ache because there was not enough padding or support.

So I got online and looked at RunnersWorld.com and saw that the Saucony Omni 8 was their editor’s choice.  So I found a local store, RoadRunnersSports, that sold Saucony.  I went in and told them about how my right foot between the heel and arch felt really sore like it was bruised badly.  I explained how all my running has been on treadmills but I’ve recently stepped it up to 10 miles per day instead 6 - 7 per day and thats about the same time I began feeling the pain.

The owner of the store  came over and said he’d like to do some analysis on my feet and running.  So I took off my shoes and socks and I rolled up my jeans above the knees and he had me stand straight with arms at my side on this floor mat.  The mat was a bunch of sensors that would display my balance and foot arch and where my weight was distributed at on my feet.  Then he had me take a few steps on the sensor to see how my foot distributed weight when doing that and also to get a good idea of the shape/structure of my feet.

Then they had me run barefoot on a treadmill while filming the backs of my legs/feet with a high speed slow motion camera.  After I ran for a bit at a light jog we played back the video.  It showed that my left foot and archiles tendon were in perfect form coming down and also when lifting off.  My right foot, however, was not so good… it showed that I would tend to land more on the outside of my right heel and then my ankle and archiles tendon would appear to shift and tip to the left alot.

Then he went on to measure my feet for the actual size.  Turns out I’m a size 12!  That really amazed me because I’ve always worn 10.5 or sometimes 11 but never anything larger.  I trusted him and didn’t argue though.  He said I’d want about a thumbs width between the tip of my big toe and the end of the shoe.

Based on all of that and a few other things he decided to bring out a few supportive shoes.  One of them happened to be the Saucony, another was an Asics (can’t remember the model), and the 3rd was a pair of Nike Structure 12’s.  He also got me some insoles to help support my arch better.  I tried them all on and I ran the treadmill with each… then I took them outside and ran in front of the store for a few minutes.

In the end I decided on the Nike Structure 12.  All three of the shoes were very comfortable and I ended up simply decideing based on their looks.  I’m glad that I had them help me pick out the shoes instead of me just going into Nordstrom and buying just any running shoe.  If I had shopped without their help I wouldve ended up with a shoe too small and that wouldve been terrible.

Up till now I’ve not had shoes designed specifically for running.  I do all of my running on the treadmills which I think has absorbed alot of the impact compared to if I were hitting the pavement.  But a few days ago I’ve stepped up my running from 6 miles per day to 10 miles per day to prepare myself for my first marathon.

But the last few days I’ve been experiencing alot of soreness near the arch and heel area of the bottom of my right foot.  My shoes I’ve been wearing are more like moccisans, lightweight deisels(sp?), rather than a runners shoe.  They are super comfrotable for light running of about 2 miles at a time but if I run too much continuously then I get the problem I’m experiencing now.

So, tonight I’m on the hunt for a good running shoe.  Problem is that I don’t know where to start looking.  I think it’s going to be pure luck if I find something that works great the first time.  I’ll post up later to let you know what I’ve found and if they are any good.

Any recommendation would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ben