TIaRT: Running Injuries and Treatment

Today's TIaRT post is all about running injuries and treatment(s).

I'm relatively knowledgeable about injuries, as I have a tendency to do "too much" "too fast", and wind up sidelined for months at a time (see exhibit A, myself, right now).

As far as treatment goes, I really don't like taking medicine and such like that, so I really don't do Advil as much as some people. If my legs are really bothering me, I might pop a couple, but that's about it. I certainly don't throw them down like candy.

Instead, my treatment regimen is more along the lines of some rolling with my foam roller and some stretching. Alas, I lack dedication to do these things as much as I probably should, though, slowing down my return.

The one thing I do a fair amount of is self-diagnosis using the Internet. The last few times I went to the doctor, I knew exactly what I had (ITBS, broken bone, etc). The research does give me an opportunity to learn about the ailment, and more importantly, how to prevent it.

I know, no rocket science in this post. Sorry.


On a note of humor.. The other day, we had a fire drill at work.. I was relaying the story to my wife and said something along the lines of "Yeah, it was pretty inconvenient. I was right in the middle of doing some stuff."

Her response? "Oh, were you blogging?"

Har har har. (Good one, though!) She's learnin! :)

Alright.. that's all I've got for now.. Keep on rockin!

Take It and Run Thursday: Eating Right

Today's TIaRT post is about what we can do to eat right, eat better, and all that jazz.

I haven't jumped on the smoothie bandwagon. My body really isn't much of a temple. I eat pretty much anything (except for my standing rule that if I swim with it, I don't eat it. Not a seafood fan)

I try to make up for my consumption shortcomings by doing a few things.

First off, at work.. When someone has birthday goodies, or brings in donuts or whatever, I do my best to avoid the aisle completely. That's just calories waiting consumed that don't need to be. I've been largely successful at this.

My next approach is to work on portion control. I'm one of those 'clean plate' club members, and I like to put it all away. There's no need to do that. I have largely failed at this. But, I'm consciously aware, and still thinking about it and trying to work on it.

I will try to eat a salad for dinner if I've been throwing down too many burgers and pizzas as of late. Kind of an attempt to balance out the week..

My biggest weakness as far as calories consumed is the drink. LOL. However, I'm not about to drop that. Let's keep that BMI at a respectably high level.

But yeah, there's a lot more that I could do and should do. It will be interesting reading today's posts on this topic. Keep on rockin', everyone.

TIaRT: Tips For Getting Faster

It's Thursday, time for a free topic to write about, courtesy of the Runner's Lounge. That's good, because I'm low on material today.

Today's topic is all about how to become "faster". Well, that's easy folks, buy her a few stiff drinks, and see what happens.

Oh... not that kind of being faster?

I see.

Well, thankfully, I have some advice for running faster too. A couple of days ago I measured my speed on a mile, and have noticed great progress from when I started. (First off, I can run a mile now, compared to when I started).

Some people will say "do track workouts" or "do intervals" or the like.

I'm going to go a different route..

What has worked for me is this:

Run more.

Plain and simple. If you don't do the time, you can't do the crime. Erm.. Got that wrong too.

If you aren't logging the miles, you can't built up speed. I haven't done a lot of speed workouts. I do a moderate amount of hill workouts, and I think those help too. What has mostly helped is an increase in overall mileage and quantity of runs per week.

Running 2 or 3 days a week is great, don't get me wrong. It's far better than doing nothing. If you can bump that to 3 to 4 days a week or 4 to 5, you're going to notice more results. Your legs will be more used to the action, your muscles will be stronger, you'll be able to withstand more.

Keep that up, you'll be getting faster.

That's my tip. Keep on rockin' everyone.

--

Last night's run log: 3 miles, 30 minutes.

TIaRT: Spring Training Tips

It's TIaRT time, once again. Today's topic is tips for spring training.

I guess I'll be upfront and say, I have no street cred with regards to this subject. This is my second spring of running. Last spring, I was sporadic, at best.

But, as many people do, I will pontificate regardless.

Tip #1 - Don't do too much too fast. It's not like I listen to this tip, though. Exhibit A: cardinal sins post. So do as I say, not as I do (another good quality of someone spouting off).

But, it is important to heed this. You may have been cooped up inside all winter and are ready to bust out, remembering where you were at the end of the fall. If you haven't been working out in the winter, you're probably not where you were months ago.


Tip #2 - Run with someone. It's a lot easier when you have someone out there with you. That person doesn't want to let you down (ideally), and you don't want to let that person down (again, ideally). Plus, you can chat and all that good stuff while grinding out the miles.

Alas, my running buddy is moving away this weekend. Not that she and I have been running a lot together lately for various reasons, but it still stinks. I did like running with her, and I like running with others. Blah. So, there's the second tip I'm going to be disregarding.

Tip #3 - Have fun.

(I can do that one at least.)


So, aside from TIaRT.. last night, I went out without my Garmin. I went and chugged up a monster hill. It was sprinkling. The fresh smell of rain. A breeze in the air.
And, that's as poetic as I can get.

It was awesome, though. 4 miles down, I felt great. I almost wished it was raining more. And to think, I used to not run in the rain.

Oh, and I have no idea about the 'Friend Connect' thing. I saw a bunch of people post that, so I figured I'd be a follower. I thought it was supposed to include the 'following' crew, but it obviously doesn't. No idea how it works, how it's different or anything like that.

Keep on rockin' everyone!

TIaRT: Common Mistakes and Cardinal Sins of Running

Today's TIaRT is about the common mistakes we make while running.

My most common mistake, which I still consistently make, is to do too much, too fast. Cranking up the miles without being adequately prepared. I did that a year and a half ago and wound up with a scorching case of ITBS. So, I recommend, don't do that. You may have the mental stamina to grind it out, but if your body isn't ready, you'll regret it.

Another mistake, which I've learned from, is not listening to the aches and pains of running. There are some pains which you get that you just know are bad. For a new runner, the pains all seem to blend together. As you become more experienced, you can start to detect what is just muscle fatigue versus something more serious. Of course, there are days where shit just hurts. All over. Who knows what's hiding in that mess of aches and pains.

So, one mistake I still make, one I have tried to learn from. Eh, not terrible.

As far as running and I have been doing.. Tuesday I did 4 at the gym. 2 miles, a short walk & drink, 2 more miles. ITB seemed OK. Yesterday, I just didn't want to go to the gym. I thought about hitting the elliptical, and well, it just didn't happen.
Today, I'm dog tired, but I'm going to try to get outside after work. At least do a few miles. The weather looks like it's starting to break and is going to warm up over the next few days, so I'm psyched. My gym membership is up, and I don't really want to renew it at this point, since I should be outside consistently very shortly.

Keep on rockin' everyone.

Take It and Run Thursday: Backwards TIaRT - You Ask the Question

Today's TIaRT is for the bloggers to ask their peeps a question.

I'm a running newbie. I have much to learn. One of the great things about the blogging community is that advice comes freely and quickly. I mentioned my symptoms of a poor ending in my 15 miler, and you all came to say that I didn't fuel well enough, along with tips for fueling.

So, I guess I need to ask a question in order to play along this week.. I guess mine right now would be: "How do you go about getting running in when your schedule goes upside down? Say, you are working a lot, your sleep patterns are changed, you're busy at home. How do you do it? Can you train for a race in such conditions?" Yeah, that looks to be about 3 questions, but it's all related.


My run last night went as I feared. I made it about 2.5 miles before my ITBS kicked in. I'm going to go on the assumption that I can get it in gear in a month or so, like this article says. I'll keep stretching and rolling and hoping, and we'll see where I get.

I was thinking on the way in to work, that I've been feeling really good lately (apart from my leg). I think it's because I'm really in an unofficial taper. Very little running, my body is ready to go. Alas, too bad there's not a race on the horizon. I'm really hoping that as spring is arriving that I'll be able to run in the nice weather...

Keep on rockin', everyone!

TIART: The Marathon - Explained

Today over at the Runners' Lounge is TIART, all based on marathon running.

I'll preface this post by saying: I have not run a marathon. I haven't even run a half marathon (but I have run that distance before).

What's the draw of the marathon? It's sort of the ultimate racing distance. Sure, there's ultras and whatnot. Truthfully, though, until I started following blogland, I had no idea about such things. I had heard of marathons though. And I knew they were far. Very long.

So, to me, the draw is.. it's kind of the king of racing. Not that I'm going ever to race a marathon and be anywhere competitive. It's more of an endurance test. Can I do it? Can I go all the way? I'm the kind of guy who likes to go to 100% in stuff. If I don't, it nags at me.

The long run draws me as it is. (If you said that to me a couple of years ago, I would have said you had been smoking something.) To go out on a nice day and run for miles and miles... There's just no feeling quite like it. The thoughts in your head clear, you feel great afterward (cardio-wise at least). There's just something about it.

I think it's just the fact that it's such an accomplishment that draws me. I won't be happy if I wind up walking part of it (minus the aid stations). I want to run the whole damn thing. To go from being un-active to a marathoner is something worth noting. I'm not there yet, but I want to get there.

My wife told me this morning that she doesn't know what to make of me being an exercise nut. I don't know what to make of that comment, either. Is it good, is it bad? I guess it's who I am now. I think that since it's completely orthogonal to everything I do in a "normal" day, whether it's working or chilling out, it draws me. Something different. I love things that are different. (Of course, if I run every day, at some point it's no longer different.. hrms..)


I see next week's TIART is about how to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I've got nothing there. Short of using a scooter or something.

TIART: Training Plans Do's and Don'ts

Last night I went to the gym and did 3 miles on the track, followed by week 3, day 1 of the 200 sit-ups plan. My abs feel like they were worked this morning. Wow!

So, today's Take It And Run Thursday post is about training plans. Do's and don'ts, tips and tricks.

Well, being that I just started following a training plan, I really don't have much sage advice to offer. I will offer up the reasoning I started using a training plan, though.

My first half year of running was great. I'd just run as I liked. I'd go on a long run on the weekends, and loved it. Slowly my shorter runs during the week disappeared, and I was just doing a couple of long runs a week. As most could predict, my body broke down due to the sudden increase in mileage, and I was done.

Last year, I was recovering from the injury, and was running ad-hoc for quite a bit. Afterward, I would run, but run aimlessly. No real plan, no real goal.

I'm hoping that a training plan will get me past both issues. That a reasonable plan put together by someone knowledgeable will be more likely to get me through uninjured (by slowly raising the mileage and intensity). Also, that having a plan will help me achieve my goals.

That's why I adopted the 20 week marathon program over at Cool Running. I'm not endorsing it yet, as I'm only on week 2, but I figure having a plan is better than not.

I'm looking forward to reading about other people's experience with training plans.. I have a lot to learn here.

TIART - Running Dreams and Wishes

Today's TIaRT topic is about running dreams and wishes.

I could take this in many many directions.

Personally, I wish that I could run every day, and be pain/injury free. I wish I was ready to run a marathon. I wish I was trained to be an iron man.
Those items, well, 2 of the 3, I can control myself, more or less. If I work at it, I can hopefully get there.

I wish I had extra hours in the day to run. I wish it was always the perfect running temperature out. I wish I could run every day with my running buddy.
These, well, they're just wishes. Fun to dream.

I wish that drivers were always considerate to runners. I wish the same that bikers, other pedestrians, dog owners, and others were considerate to runners.
These, again, just wishes. I'll do my part, and hopefully others will too.

I wish I had an iPod to run in the gym with. I wish I had tons of awesome running clothes.
These, they're just material things. They aren't important.


But, I could think about others, as well. I wish that others were able to run injury free. I wish that others could achieve their goals. These, the first one is a wish. The second, if people are putting in the time, most of their goals can be achieved


I guess my big wish would be that people can run. Run injury free. Run if they weren't able to run before. After that, I'm a firm believer that you can do most anything you put your mind to.

My big personal dream is to run a marathon. It would be a huge mark indicating how far I've come. From being un-athletic in general to running a marathon would be amazing.

Sigh. And right now, I guess my little wish would be that I didn't have things to do at work, and I could read blogs and write stuff all day. *chuckle*

TIART - Thank Goodness for Running

Today's theme for Take It and Run Thursday is sharing reasons why you are thankful for running.

I'll do that, but also head in a slightly different direction.

Certainly, I am thankful for running. It's an escape. A chance to unwind. A chance to collect my thoughts. A chance to improve myself on a number of levels.

I also am thankful that I am able to run. That my health is such that I can, and can do so often.

What I really need to work on is that there is so much in my life to be thankful for, yet I sometimes get hung up on small pieces that didn't go quite right.

Sure, we've all got some legitimate bitch and gripe about something serious that has happened which is unfair. An unexpected medical condition. An untimely death in the family. Etc.

But to gripe because my Garmin didn't sync up with the satellites fast enough, or I only did 6 miles instead of 8, or other things like that.. those aren't real complaints. They're not really even worth voicing.

I have shoes on my feet that are under 300 miles old. I have clothes on my back that are in good condition. I can run to and from a roof over my head. I can eat & drink when I get back. All of those things right there are plenty to be thankful for.

Never mind the luxuries like the couple of nice wicking running shirts I have. Or the Garmin watch to track my mileage. Or the fact that I can sit down at a computer and blog about a run.

I have a wonderful family, a great group of friends, and I have all of the necessities of life, and more.

There's a lot to be thankful for, and it's important not to lose sight of that. Not only in running, but in life.

TIART - Running Green

So, the theme today for TIART is Running Green.

Not to rip off tfh, but I'm going to throw myself as somewhere "in the middle".


I buy new running sneaks every 300 miles or so, but I do try to use my old ones as "every day" shoes.

I have bought running shirts & shorts, but I also use my old t-shirts and shorts (those certainly aren't as nice to run in).

I do refill water bottles from the tap, but I also go and drink new bottles of Gatorade style stuff.

I'm certainly more willing to go walking a long distance to get somewhere, but there really isn't much around to walk to.


So yeah, I'm in the middle. I'm all for doing things that are green, but it just doesn't always happen, for any number of reasons.

I think that running has made my healthier, hopefully cutting down on medical costs & equipment, which should be a green thing. I do things like lots of recycling, using a programmable thermostat, etc.

But really, I think there's probably more things I could do, like buying packets of Gatorade mix & making my own. Trying to bike to more places. The list goes on.

We should all try to be a little greener.