Redemption Runs Rock!

This last weekend's run was a disaster. I was supposed to run 5 miles. I went about 10am on Saturday and was pretty excited. I was going myself and was actually pretty excited. I put on my trail shoes to get traction in the 1/2 inch of snow and set out. I was feeling pretty good and running on the balls of my feet as much as I could. Unfortunately this was probably a mistake. I was going to go out 1.5 miles, turn around and go past the car for a mile, then come back. At the 2 mile point, I was in so much pain in my calves that I couldn't go any further. I tried leaning back on my feet, but then my ankle hurt. Both types of pain hurt so bad that I couldn't run anymore. I walked the next mile back to my car... in the mean time I was determined not to give up on the mileage, just the run. I was going to do 5 miles somehow but it would just take longer. I stopped at the car to text hubby and let him know I'd be a little longer than planned and told him why. My frustration got to me and I locked my keys in my car. Luckily I still had the phone with me. Texted hubby and told him I'd need the spare key in about a 1/2 hour. I ended up finished the 5 miles with several unsuccessful attempts to run.

Today I had 3.5 miles on the schedule. It was 58 degrees, on January 31st so I took advantage of the beautiful day. It was a little windy but I was bound and determined to re-do the run from Saturday. I had my route picked and everything. This time, I went back and forth between running on the balls of my feet and running more flat-footed. I tried to do more on the balls of my feet but when my calves started to hurt, I'd fall to flat-footed and run like that for a while. Unfortunately my ankle was bothering me but I pushed through it. I wanted to quit so bad, but I I did it! 5 miles in the bag! Yes! It felt so good!

If I can do it, you can do it too. Set your mind to complete your goal and you can do it!

Changed Form and PT

I've been getting antsy while trying to NOT run before I went to PT this week. It's a new year and our running group has a weight loss challenge going. Running has been a great source of weight loss for me and I've been anxious to get back to it. Tuesday last week I decided to give it a go again. It was a nice day so I ran outside. I was able to eke out one mile and was disappointed. I walked for 1/4 mile than decided to attempt running again, despite the pain in my ankle. But this time, I thought I might try the proper running form. See, I've never actually been taught how to run or had someone study my form. I've been told that you're supposed to run on the balls of your feet towards your toes but I've never paid any attention to it since it worked for me the way I was running (probably landing flat footed). Once I started running again, the ankle was pain-free while I ran on my toes. My calves were killing me, but in a good way.

Then I decided to run a second day during the week, which has always been my downfall with the ankle. Thursday, I did the same thing, correcting my running form and other than the calf pain, I felt great! My ankle was virtually pain-free. Same thing on Sunday when I ran. I was able to run 3 miles, 3 days this week. I'm ecstatic! Perfect timing because it's the first week of my half marathon training plan.

Today I saw a PT for my ankle pain. I explained to him what I was feeling, when and where. He poked and prodded, twisted and turned, I walked and balanced. It appears my Achilles' tendon on my right leg is tighter than the other one and not as flexible. On top of that, my right leg seemed a bit shorter, but turns out my hip was rotated back, making it appear to be shorter and out of alignment. He did some adjustments for that, gave me some stretches and strengthening exercises and gave me the okay to run on my own. I go back next week and hopefully things will get better and continue to improve.

By the way, the foam roller is awesome. My calves were killing me after Thursday's run. I didn't do anything about it but after Sunday's run I used the foam roller. Less than 10 minutes, but it worked wonders! No lasting effects from the run. We'll see what tomorrow's run brings.