2011 SuperSeal International Triathlon review

this weekend, I finished my first Olympic distance Tri. the SuperSeal - http://www.superfrogtriathlon.com/

It was tough, but so great to finish it. My goal was really to just survive it. I didn't care about times or transitions. Maybe next year, I'll aim for time. Surprisingly, the day after, I'm NOT sore at all. Very strange.

Coronado island is really pretty, and the weather was perfect! For a few days the heavy rains was threatening our triathlon to be changed to a duathlon, but luckily our Tri was able to go on.

We stayed at the Loews hotel, which hosted the expo for the race. It was so convenient to check into the race and into your hotel at the same time! then the race was just right out side the hotel too. Not having to drive and find parking is fantastic!!
Loew hotel was amazing. Pet friendly, very clean, great amenities the staff was super friendly, and we got an awesome rate being participants of the event!

The most stress free I've EVER been on a race morning.

The Swim part of the race starts out in the Bay, which I was really relieved, because the waves in the ocean were huge!

Before the race began, my fellow OC-Tri-Meetup buddy gave me some very useful advice. Put water inside your wetsuit which helps insulate you from the cold. and it really worked. It was really cold but it made the swim portion much better.  As we were dipping ourselves in the water, a boat goes out and outlines the course. Then the First waves starts. A few minutes later it was my wave, and we were off. Swimming in the bay wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. I actually didn't need to take any breaks, and was able to swim the whole course. I had to stop a few times to sight because I'm terrible at sighting, (even on land!)

The 1 bad thing about the course is the transition areas seemed a little far away, but maybe that is normal?
You have to go under a tunnel that crosses a 4 lane highway, then curve up to get your bikes. and walking on the rocky pavement is painful! ouch!!

I was so tired from the swim, I walked over to the bike and took my sweet time. People are cheering, and I didn't care. I wasn't rushing, LOL I think i took about 15 mins in transition 1. I ate some of my cliff bar, drank my protein shake, hydrated - I was very dehydrated - went to the bathroom, then put on my cycling gear to head off.

The Biking course was 2 loops back and forth down the highway. So its like 6 miles each length that you go back and forth on. At times i hate loops because the turns sharp and you have to slow down, and you get bored. I kept myself entertained by memoring debris I saw on the road. I would think, "Oh hey i saw that dropped bottle, that means I'm 10 mins away from the roadkill"

The last 5 miles of the 24.6 mile biking part was the hardest. My Hamstrings were so tired, and my butt hurt!

The run was the hardest part of the race for me. My legs were tired but they were able to push through, but my body was tired, my lungs were tired, and my feet were numb. I walked a lot, (run a mile, walk half a mile)

During the bike there was a mean old man that yelled at me to move to the right, when I was already on the "rightish" side, and there was plenty of room on the left for him to move around me. He was just a bitter man.

On the run, I saw him, and we HAD to beat him!
That was our goal to beat the mean old man who yelled as us. hahhah

Overall we finished in just under 4 hours. If we had a shorter transition time, we would've had a better time, but overall I'm happy with my time. I estimated 4-4.5 hours, and I was glad to have come in under 4.

Its a great event, and I recommend this event to anyone looking for an olympic tri.

What's Tri?

my friend asked me, "What is a tri?" and then asked, "is that like the Special Olympics?"

umm...?

a Tri (short for Triathlon) is a 3 part race/event that has 3 portions - Swim, Bike and Run - hence the name Tri

Tri's vary in the length of the activities you have to do which determine the Name of the event.

I'll go over the common ones from longest to shortest. 

1 - The most common one people hear of is the IRONMAN aka 140.6 
   Swim- 3.86 km    (2.4 mi)
   Bike - 180 km    (112 mi)
   Run - 42.2 km    (26.2 mi) marathon
the name "140.6" comes from adding up all the miles together.
 Actually Ironman is more like a brand name. There are races that equal in length but are not called "Ironman"

2 - Half Ironman aka 70.3 or Long Distance Triathlon
  Swim - 1.93 km    (1.2 mi)
   Bike - 90 km    (56 mi)
   Run - 21.09 km    (13.1 mi)
 The name 70.3 comes from adding up all the miles together, which is Half the distance of a 140.6

3- Olympic/International       
    Swim - 1.5 km    (0.93 mi)
    Bike - 40 km    (24.8 mi)
    Run - 10 km    (6.2 mi)

4 - Sprint 
   Swim - 750 m    (0.47 mi)
   Bike - 20 km    (12.4 mi)
   Run -  5 km    (3.1 mi)
For pool-based races a 400 or 500m swim is common. Distance can very, sprints can be considered anything under an Olympic distance

Nike Training Club App

Great apple app and its FREE! super awesome!

 Chose a Goal

 Choose a Level

 My Favorite Goal is "Get Focused", which are 15 mins of targeted areas that I add in addition to my cardio workouts.

Start your Work out
There are videos that show you what to do.
You can add music and the timer will count down when to switch to the next move.

Run in Small Portions

A large misconception when a non runners thinks of the word "Running" they think, miles after miles at lightening speeds". Then they easily get discouraged because they think, "I can't run 5 miles! I can't run 100 meters, I can't run 6 min miles."

Running isn't all or nothing, Its not 5 miles or bust. Its putting 1 foot in front of the other, at a pace faster than speed walking, for whatever amount of time you want. There is no judge, only yourself.

Dont focus on "can't run # miles". Instead break it up.
Do 1 mile in the morning and 1 mile at night. Or even break it up until 3rds. Morning, Noon and Night.
You're working on building up the muscles in your legs. Once your legs get stronger, you can then work on building endurance, by extending the distance of each segment and then cutting down the # of segments. Then once you get your endurance up, you can focus on speed.

This is also a great method for runners recovering from injuries.
Instead of running 6 miles, run 3miles in the morning and 3 at night, or 2 miles Morning, Noon and Night.


Start of slow, in small segments and you'll reach your goal.

Lap Swimming Etiquette

Being new to swimming (about 2-3 years), I had a lot to learn, but some things just seem to be common sense, like Pool Etiquette. Just as you don't trim your nails at the dinner table, you'd think some things would make sense.

Now for myself, I was new to swimming, so I do understand how some things wouldn't be the first thought to come into your head if you're nervous and getting into the cold pool water. Sometimes I think its Karma for my beginning mistakes, that now I have to deal with. Or maybe its just the cycle of life in the gym pool.

Here is much more lengthy list rules.
http://www.enjoy-swimming.com/swimming-pool-etiquette.html

Here are the top ones that I've come to figure out on my own (which aren't new), just common sense from swimming at the gym. 

1.  If you're alone in a lane you can take up the middle
2.  If you all the lanes are taken, Scan to see which swimmer is around your speed and your style. 
3. WAIT for the swimmer to reach the end, and lightly tap them on the shoulder and ask if its ok to share. They have to say Yes, its just a Nice gesture to ask, and also you can set up ground rules.
• If there are 2 of you, just take a side and swim back and forth. 
• If there are 3 or more, swim in a circle (right lane goes out, and left lane comes back), so no one bumps into each other, and everyone can go at their own speed.
4.  If you can't find someone of you're speed, and you are slower, just pause and let them pass.
5.  Space out - Let there be enough space between you and the swimmer in front, so you dont touch their legs. 

Its really not too much to request, but there are some pretty comical situations that happen at the gym.

• People think that if they start on the Opposite side of the lane, that you magically wont bump heads. I really don't understand that concept.
• New, learning, or non swimmers seem like to stay on the left side with the sprinting swimmers. Why? I imagine the pool like a freeway, slow on the right, fast on the left.. These must be the same people who drive 50mph in the 1st or carpool lane
• Some reason the most popular stroke is the Frog, (not a legitimate breaststroke, its more like a modified doggy paddle). And those darn froggers take up the whole lane, and if you don't act fast, you risk getting groped by the creepy old dude. *shudders*
• Slowest swimmer in the world thinks its dandy to swim in the Middle of the POOL, not the lanes, the pool itself, so everyone has to swim around them, and they're not even phased by the disturbance they're causing. They're completely oblivious to it. And you can tell theyr'e not doing it maliciously, they're just doing it because they are stupid.

Peroneal Tendon Injuries

What is that?

About a month ago, I started getting a really bad pain on the outer side of my foot, and near the bottom of my foot. It would happen a few hours after a long run.  It feels similar to the pain felt with a stress fracture, except the only difference is that this pain will fade away, and a stress fracture wont.
It would prevent me from even walking. It was a very sharp Stabbing type of pain, mixed in with a deep cramp. It would go away after a day, so I didn't think much of it. Then it happened again and again.

X marks the spots of pain 

I found out my Peroneal Tendon is pissed off. It supports the ankle and foot movement. I've been having ankle problems for the past few months, so its no surprise that another issue as risen. I did a trail run, and uneven ground made for a pissed off Peroneal Tendon.







Here is a good article about it
http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/peroneal-tendon.htm

Treatment:
I took some aspirin, elevated my foot and rested, and sure enough it went away. But for good? Not sure.. but at least I know what it is now.

Trapezius Muscle pain

Last week I learned of a "new" type of pain. The Trapezius muscle pain.

Last week, after my 13.1 and nursing some old injuries, I wasn't able to run as much as I normally do. And on top of that, I was insanely stressed out at work, putting in LONG hours sitting at the computer.

Finally Saturday morning, my body had enough, and the spot right between my middle and lower trapezius was in excruciating pain.

I've never had a pain so bad where it made me want to throw up and I couldn't breathe. And whats worse is that I didn't even "earn" the pain, like through rock climbing or from training, just stress at work. So unfair and evil...

I spent all Saturday using all my remedies - foam roller, a tennis ball, stretching, yoga, massage therapist, soaks. Nothing relieved it. People say don't move it, but the less I moved, the MORE it hurt. So I tried to always keep moving, not matter how painful it was. Sunday morning, my back was still in pain, but I had more movement in it. At least I could swing my arms for my 10k that day.

I thought it was going to be hard to run with my back pain, but actually running HELPED! Half way through the race, all the pain in my back was gone, and I felt 'normal' again! It was great! Running is my savior.

Later that day, the pain slowly crept back, but not as strong as it was initially. But now I know what I have to do, run, and run some more. :)

2011 Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5/10k Run

This was the 33rd Annual Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5/10k Run. But this was the first year I've heard about it.



It was a really fun event, 100% put on by volunteers which donate all the proceeds to the Chinatown community.
Its a great event for a great cause.

Here is the link to their Facebook site which has some videos - http://www.facebook.com/lacfrc

and their main site - http://www.firecracker10k.org/

When I signed up for the 10k, my friend told me, he ran this race last year, and it had a ton of hills and he wasn't doing it again this year.
I usually dont mind hills and thought, "How bad could it be?"

If I had to describe this race with 1 word it would be HILLS!! It was tough, but Beautiful.. You start off near the end of Chinatown, and run up toward Elysian Park, coiling up all the way to the top, then down towards Dodger Stadium, and back down onto Broadway, where you have the last stretch to the finish line. At times I wanted to take out my camera, but then I didn't want to slow my time down.

As we started the race,  I saw the 5k runners coming down the last final turn, and making it back onto Broadway, so I had in my mind, "that's the last turn, then gun it for the finish line."

The race wasn't very crowded, a few thousand people, so the corral markers were pretty much ignored, I didn't stand in my corral, because I wanted less people to dodge.

At the first hill people weren't defeated yet, we ran. It went up forever... After the first mile, it flattened like 100 feet, and I thought, yes its over.. I usually like hills, its my strength where I usually find opportunity to pass up others, but that joy was short-lived as another hill approached. There were a few times when I thought, its over..but no, another hill around the corner. But through all the painful hills, running up Elysian Park had beautiful views of Down town LA and Dodger stadium. It was worth it.
I wanted to run the entire course, but at the peak, it was just too much and I walked the last 100 feet incline.

The rest it was "mostly" all downhill from there. Made up my lost time, and when I saw that last turn, The finish line was near.

I really liked having the finish line so close to the last curve.. If I had to run another 1-2 miles after that brutal hill, I don't know what I would think.. in my mind I kept telling myself, just look for the last turn, it'll all be over soon. It's really what pushed me through it.

I think I might do this race again next year. :-D

2011 Surf City Half Marathon

The weather was fantastic for racing. It was cool and a nice marine layer kept the temps low. When your running your body temperature rises and keeping yourself cool improves your performance.

This was one of the most well organized races Ive been to and its a HUGE race too. Seriously other event coordinators should take some tips from Surf City on how to organize an event.

Usually most races everyone start at once, marathoners, halfers, 10k, elite, and 1st timers, so the first few miles are dodging elbows, cutting around slower runners, and finding the right pace.
But with the way Surf City was set up, you didn't have to deal with that. I loved it!!

1- Marathoners started 1 hour before the half marathoners so the crowds were already cut in half.
2- Your bib number was determined by your time. For me I put my expected finish time to be 2 hours so I was in the 8000 group.
3- Your bib# determined your corral so it was a no brainer. So if you think "hey everyone here is a 4000 and I'm a 15000... hmm am I in the right spot?" (there are the occasional few that have late regs or something else, but for the most part it follows that pattern)
4- The corrals were sectioned off in 3-5 min waves with ribbons and tape, so people couldn't get anxious and go ahead.

This enabled everyone to have a crowd-free experience during the Entire route. Awesome!

Running in Silence

Lately I've been in search  to be more spiritual.

I've been trying to meditate to make sense of my thoughts but its hard to tune yourself out. After a few failed attempts, I remembered I was really good a tuning myself out while I was running without music.So yesterday I did a good 4-5 mile run, in silence, and it was so freeing.

Now its Not easy to start off running long distance without music, if its something you're used to. Trust me.

I did Not start voluntarily. It started 1 day my ipod wasn't charged all the way, another day, I forgot to bring it, another day, the stupid thing started to die mid run. Now when this happened, I didn't handle it well. I would seriously "sabotage" my run, so it would end early and I could avoid running without music. My 5 mile runs would turn to be 1 mile, looking back, it was kinda pathetic of me. haha

I started off with a few miles, here and there. As my Ipod would die more and more often, I would get so frustrated at it, I just stopped bringing it altogether.

Eventually, I started to appreciate running with out music. Its a very "interesting" feeling. The best way I can describe it when you're driving home really late, and you're really tired, and you got home, but you have no recollection of "How" you got home. Your body knew how to drive home, even though your mind wasn't fully into it.

That's kinda how it is. I finished a 10+ mile run, and didn't even realize the time that goes by. Its actually quite amazing on what you find out when you're alone with your thoughts and just space out.
I've come up with so many "Million Dollar Ideas" only to race home and google that its already been invented. haha! one day.. one will work..


In September/October, I bought the new Ipod Nano  the one like this.

Its a fabulous device because its small, and can clip onto your shirt. So for the past few months I've been so addicted to it, I haven't ran without music and actually that concept completely eluded me.

So now, on my long runs, I plan to put the nano down, and be alone with my thoughts..

lets see what "peace" it can bring.

Run Less, Run Faster - Session 1

  My friend gave me this book for my birthday, and its something I've been striving to do ever since my first race - Run faster. Why? Not so I can win a race, or prove anything, its merely so I can spend less time running!! As much as I love running, I do love other things in life too, like eating, or swimming. Spending 4-5 hours running, every Sunday morning isn't always ideal. Once in a while its ok, but all the time gets a bit draining. Now if I can cut that down to 3 hours, now we're talkin!!

So I started the Half marathon training program listed in the book.
The first workout are timed intervals, (I usually don't train with a watch, so this was difficult for me to figure out how fast I was supposed to be running)

10 - 20 min warm up,
12x400 @9.15/min pace, 90 sec RI (rest interval)
10 min cool down.

Actually using the "Dreadmill" aka (treadmill) worked out really well. It was easy to set the pace and make my legs go. I ended up on the Dreadmill for over an hour. I've Never spent that much time on a treadmill, usually I'm bored out of my mind after 20 mins and I'm dying to get on the pavement.

For me, Interval training and focusing on the distance really helped make the time go by much faster (instead of focusing on the time), because 400meters later I'd have to switch up the pace.

I've always read so many articles of how to "have fun" on the treadmill, and I actually did!

Lets see if I'm faster after 18 weeks.

Corona Del Mar

My friend recently gave me this book for my birthday. I love running quotes, and this was perfect.

Although its not all fun and games, the author sprinkled in a few, what he calls "detractors and reactors" type of quotes, things non-runners say, which is kinda cool. 

One quote was:
"Its unnatural for people to run around on city streets unless they are thieves or victims.."-Mike Royko

This is all too true almost every time I run, and I think its true for most people, unless you live in a city where people run and everything is runner friendly or bike friendly.

Like its 1000% clear that I'm just jogging, I have workout clothes and a water bottle, My hair is tied up with a hat or visor, yet people still look at your like you're an alien, or you're up to no good. Sometimes I envision myself getting shot from the police because they mistaken my water bottle as a gun, and my water belt as a holster.

At times I really would like to move to a city where exercise was accepted it. Where people don't try to kill you for being in the bike lane, or Honk at you when you're running on the streets. Where people don't feel threatened because you are exercising. Which is why I would Love to live in Corona Del Mar, one day.....

I train down in Corona Del Mar (about a 40 min drive) and I always say that those are "my" people. They're up at 5am on a Saturday and already clocked a few miles on their bike or on the pavement. Its really amazing and heart warming. These people do what I do, all the time & more hard core, and its the whole city. In CDM, you won't have the conversation with someone, "Why do you run" instead it would be "When do you run? Can I join you?"

Great Article via Runner's World

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-267--13818-0,00.html

A Great article of why Running is awesome, via Runner's World (the best runner's magazine ever!)


It's All Good
More scientific proof that running keeps you healthy.

By Amy Rushlow
Image by John Hersey
From the February 2011 issue of Runner's World

Scientists have discovered the fountain of youth—it's running. Studies continue to find that hitting the roads improves health and well-being. "The biggest benefits come from vigorous exercise like running," says JoAnn Manson, M.D., chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Here are the latest reasons to lace up.

LOOK AHEAD
People who run more than 35 miles a week are 54 percent less likely to suffer age-related vision loss than those who cover 10 miles a week.

KEEP THE BEAT
Runners who log a weekly run of 10 miles (or more) are 39 percent less likely to use high-blood-pressure meds and 34 percent less likely to need cholesterol meds compared with those who don't go farther than three miles.

FUNCTION WELL
Men who burn at least 3,000 calories per week (equal to about five hours of running) are 83 percent less likely to have severe erectile dysfunction.

BUILD BONE
Running strengthens bones better than other aerobic activities, say University of Missouri researchers who compared the bone density of runners and cyclists. Sixty-three percent of the cyclists had low density in their spine or hips; only 19 percent of runners did.

THINK FAST
British workers were surveyed on a day they worked out and a day they didn't. People said they made fewer mistakes, concentrated better, and were more productive on the day they were active.

STAY SHARP
A study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported that women who were active as teenagers were less likely to develop dementia later in life.

SLEEP TIGHT
Insomniacs fell asleep in 17 minutes on days they ran, compared to 38 minutes on days they didn't. They also slept for an extra hour on days they exercised.

SNEEZE LESS
People who exercise for an hour a day are 18 percent less likely to suffer upper-respiratory-tract infections than those who are inactive, according to a study from Sweden. Moderate activity boosts immunity.

BREATHE EASY
Researchers had asthmatics do two cardio workouts and one strength session a week. After three months, they reported less wheezing and shortness of breath.

LIVE LONGER
A review of 22 studies found that people who work out 2.5 hours a week are 19 percent less likely to die prematurely than those who don't exercise. A separate study found that active people have a 50 percent lower risk of premature death.

COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO EXERCISE AT LEAST 20 MINUTES 7 DAYS A WEEK HAVE HIGHER GPA'S THAN THOSE WHO ARE SEDENTARY.

Zensah Compression Socks Review

These socks are pretty awesome. I wore them on my last 13.1 race, and my legs are pretty sore expect for my calves, which I attribute to the socks. I also enjoy having the ankle support from the whole sock, versus just the calf sleeves.  My calves actually feel fine, as if I hadn't even run 13.1 miles. My quads on the other hand are pretty sore.

Zensah Compression Socks
 

2011 13.1 Series Los Angeles

This weekend I participated in my 1st of 3 races of the 13.1 Series.  
I'm doing 3 events so I can get that special medal!


This race was held in near Santa Monica and Venice. This is still a relatively new series, so the # of participants wasn't as crowded as other races that I've been in. At first I was skeptical about how few participants were there (I heard about three-four thousand). However, during the race it was actually really nice to not worry about the crowds. Usually the first 2-3 miles are spent dodging elbows and passing up people. But for the majority of the race I didn't really have to bother with elbows or people who were too ambitious and went in the 5 min corral, when they're really 13 min runners.

This is a good race to aim to PR in. Its Flat and Straight. You start at the beach, and run up Venice Blvd about 7 miles, and then turn around and run back down Venice Blvd. Its nice to not have to strategize about if there is a curve coming up, or where the path is taking you. Its just 1 straight shot.

They had a good # of water locations with Gatorade, at almost each station, if not at least every other station had an energy drink. The first few miles there was a water stop at each mile marker. Then in the middle of the race, it was about every 2 miles, then Some races I've been to, only have water stations at every 2-3 mile marker, and every 2-3 stops will have Gatorade or an Energy drink, so it can be about mile 4 or 6 before you get a sport drink. They had the fruit punch Gatorade at this race, which is in my opinion is the best tasting one. The yellow one just gets really boring. haha.  I usually carry my own liquids, so I don't lose time fighting the crowds for a drink, but usually half way through the event, the sun starts beating down, and I grab water to toss over my head and down my back.

Sneak in more Protein

Here is an a Super Easy and Healthy way to sneak in some more protein into your diet.

Its important to get adequate amount of protein in your diet to build Lean Muscle Mass. Your muscles need protein to maintain itself and to get stronger. If you start cutting calories, and especially the protein, your muscles will wither away, leaving you lighter in weight, but flabby.

You want to get tone, not flabby.

How many grams protein to do you need per day?

A good gauge is to take your weight. 
-divide by 2 (if you want to build more muscle)
-divide by 3 (if you want to get lean but not bulk up too much)
anywhere inbetween 2 & 3 is a good number to be at.

If you want to build lots of muscles, go 1 for 1, 1lb / 1 gram of protein. Some guys actually do more than that..

example
weight 125
divide by 2 : 62.5 grams of protein
divide by 3: 41.6 grams of protein.

I cant' take all the credit for this, my b/f showed me this.

• Oatmeal 8g
• Egg white (or with yolk your pref) 4g
• Soy milk 7g
• Protein powder (as much as you like)
• mix it all together, microwave. 
• Done. 

You get 19g alone, without the powder, if you add in 10-15 grams of powder, you're already at close to 30-35 grams in just 1 meal.

Its much easier, and less fattening than eating a ton of chicken or steak.

Oatmeal (Kashi has 8 grams of protein)

Egg whites about 4g

Add as much protein powder - I do a spoonful about 10-15g

Soy Milk, about 7g

Add it all together, microwave for 2 minutes

Perspective

Its pretty funny how quickly perspective can change.

My first race were the old Nike Races around either 5 miles or a 10k.

In 2006 the Nike Run Hit Wonder (where they had 1 hit wonders perform). I guess that wasn't as appealing to the performers so they changed it the year after to be the Nike Run Hit Remix in 2007, then the next year it became the Nike Human Race in 2008 this was a pretty awesome race because Kanye West performed at the end.  After that I stopped attending these races because they started to get more expensive but more lame.

The 2009 race was held at midnight, and fyi, running around 'that' part of LA is not safe at night, oh and also NO BAND & no music. More $ and less goodies.. no thanks.. They haven't hosted another one of those races since.

2006

2007

 

2008

I wasn't a consist runner back then. I trained a few months before the 'big' race, and take a significant amount of time off. But I always remember how STRESSED I was over that those races. Running 6 miles? WTF?!! I would train diligently and get my miles in.

in 2009, I decided to go for the Big Time, and do... The Orange County Half Marathon.. 13.1 miles.. It was the biggest challenge ever. I thought I could never run more that than ever, but after I did I race, I went on to run a marathon the next year.
Its funny how quickly perspective changes.

This weekend I have a 13.1 race coming up, and I can honestly just go out and run it, without stressing about "training" for it. I mean I'm training all the time anyways, but Now I can actually Enjoy myself. 13 miles is close to a normal maintenance run, and 6 miles are my "easy" runs.. just a few years ago, 6 miles was insane to me. 

So if you have a big race coming up and you're worried about it, dont worry too much.

You'll finish, look back and think, "hey I did it, and I can do more!"

Posterior Shin Splint

My current "injury"

Forefoot running was not meshing well with my left leg. My plantar would be upset, my ankle would need more support, and my calf would always be really really sore, but it was pains I could power through. Then recently, I got a 'new' pain that was much different.

This pain felt more like a really deep painful bruise on the lower, inner section of my left calf. Around 3-5 inches above the ankle. The foam roller couldn't help this time. The Pain would last about 3 days, but would come back again, with intense usage.

I started to google and narrowed it down to either a posterior shin splint or a stress fracture. I set up a meeting with my podiatrist who did an xray and thankfully said its not a stress fracture, and was as I suspected, a posterior shin splint.

I told him my new method of training, forefoot running. The strange thing is my right leg has No pains at all. no soreness, nothing. 100% left. so odd.

anyways, he explained that the Normal shin splints we get, (on the front of the leg -shin) is caused because that muscle is pulling our foot upwards (figure 1). Where as for me, from Forefoot running, my foot is in the downward position more (figure 2), which uses the posterior mucles, hence over use= shin splint

I asked him what a stress fracture would feel like, and he said:
1- a constant pain
2- more of a throbbing, stabbing pain, that would get get worse even with walking.

At least now I will be able to tell the difference.

For now I'm gonna go back to my old midfoot strike. But I'm really happy its just shin splint, and nothing worse. Horray!!

Figure 1
This is where the pain was.












Figure 2

2009 Camp Pendleton Mud Run

as "Fun" as this race was, I wouldn't do it again. I'm just a little bitter because I got injured on my right foot, that took 6 months to 1 year to completely heal. It sucked for a long while!!

Within the first mile, the race made you cross a creek so your shoes are wet from the start. (yes running in wet shoes suck!)

the first 3-4 miles have similar creek crossings, going up trails and uphills. Not too bad. The last 2-3 miles you start getting into the mud pits, (lovely) and climbing over the walls. I'm really glad I did it with a group, because the guys are taller, were able to help boost us up. Then there was a lake crossing. This particular race, the lake was about 5.5 feet deep, so the boys were able to walk across (no one in my group knew how to swim), so I was able to piggy back off the boys. My friend did this race in 2010 and said the water was much deeper so everyone had to swim.

We finished the race in pretty decent time, but I wish I had brought flip flops to wear. My shoes were so full of rocks and grossness, the trek back to the car was difficult. This is where I got my foot injury. Also wearing old and worn out shoes didn't help either.

People said to use duct tape, but I didn't use it, but I did have my shoes Really tight, which contributed to my foot injury.
all in all, it was fun, but I wouldn't want to do it again..

2009 OC 1/2 Marathon Review

I decided review some of my old races, of what I can remember..

May 2009, This was my First ever half marathon, and the long distance I've ever ran up to that point. Earlier that week, my training partner told me that she read somewhere, "You're not a real runner until you've crapped your pants". That day, I came close to it.

We woke up at 4am got ready and drove down to Orange County. We didn't practice our morning routine, so we didn't have the proper breakfast set up, (which later I regret). I believe I ate a slice of bread and a "No Peanut Peanut Butter" with no fat (mistake), and a hard boiled egg. Very nervous for our longest race and run to date. It was the first time I ran where the end point wasn't a circle. So you park at the finish line, then take a shuttle to the starting line..

So you have to get there early or you might miss the shuttle. We waited in line for 30-45 mins and it was VERY cold. I didn't bring a camera or phone so I have no pictures to document this race. We were all rookies.

I recall seeing a group of older Korean men and women who are part of a running group, they wear bright yellow shirts. I don't recall the name of it, but they are at every running event I've attended here in So.Cal, so I'm sure you'll see them. And they totally kicked our mid 20's asses.

The run started off great, until I hit around mile 6, then my stomach started to hurt, and things weren't looking so good. For the rest of the race onward every muscle of my body that wasn't running, was focusing on not crapping my pants. After mile 9, I took small breaks by slowing down to get water, and then to run again. I didn't want to stop or walk. That meant defeat.

I pushed through and was insanely tired at this point, and wanted to stop, but I was at mile 11. Only 2 more miles left.. I tricked myself into say, I'll walk at the next mile, I'll walk at the next mile... Then mile 12 came and its only 1 more mile left, you CANT walk now!

The best thing that I always will remember, there was a sign someone posted up near the end that read:
"Pain is temporary, but your Time is on the internet forever!" 

I kept running.

Finally I made it to the end, and made a bee-line for the restrooms, I didn't even try to find my friends. I found a corner and sat there, my stomach was in so much pain. I experienced having salt crystals on my body for the first time, and my underarms were so chaffed. (I learned how to tell what makes you chaff and what doesn't)

There were a lot of firsts that day.. but far from being my last.