Sole Runners Thunder and Lightning Run

Amidst lightning, occasional thunder, and rain sprinkles, the Green Girl ran with the Sole Runners this morning.

Coach Steve started off the morning as usual with updates and advice. He reminded us all that the Sole Runners Long Beach Marathon Carbo Loading Dinner and Winter Season Kick Off will be on Thursday, October 14th at 6:30 PM at Buono's Pizza downtown.

He encouraged us to invite our family and friends to join us and possibly become Sole Runners for the Winter season.

As we started running, I was grateful for the cooler temperature but the air was muggy and I started sweating right away.

The morning clouds cast shadows on the Marine Stadium water.

I intentionally left my patellar strap at home because I wanted to focus on straightening my left leg. The inside of my knee started to hurt a couple of miles in but I concentrated really hard and tried to invoke my muscle memory. Luckily, I was able to make the pain go away in less than a minute.

After the Sole Runners First Annual Charity Meet-n-Greet, the Real Medicine Foundation sponsored an aid station along the course today.

I was so excited to see watermelon slices that I accidentally inhaled a seed. It got stuck in my throat and caused me to violently cough involuntarily. In the process, I managed to spit on three other Sole Runners. They all looked at me in shock and I had to apologize for expectorating on them.

Despite the awkward watermelon seed incident, I had a really good run today. My body felt good and my foot didn't bother me at all.

Say, 'Cheese,' Long Beach! and Sole Runners Run

The Green Girl has been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster the past couple of weeks.

After a successful 17 mile run a couple of weeks ago, I managed to twist my right ankle as I was doing household chores.

Instead of containing itself to a particular location, this injury would present differently each time. I would go an entire day without any pain or discomfort and then I would feel a sharp pain in a random location. Since it didn't hurt when I ran, I simply went on easy runs sans Mr. Green Garmin.

With 15 miles planned for this Saturday, I decided it was time to pay my podiatrist, Dr. Richard Graves a visit after work on Friday.

He patiently listened to me babble on about my poor foot and my inability to Internet self diagnose due to the fluidity of the pain. He said his best guess was that I managed to tear my plantar fascia. I was thrilled that he didn't think it was the posterior tibial tendonitis since that was one of the places I had been feeling some pain.

As a runner, he understood my need to get this mileage in. He asked me when was Athens. He said he would tape me up and I could see how I felt on Saturday and go from there.

He suggested I come by each week to get taped before my long run and just listen to my body. He said, if possible, to try to get in my long runs and then instead of tapering, rest as much as possible in the last three weeks leading up to the marathon so I can give my foot a chance to heal.

Friday evening, my Sole Runner friend, Michelle, joined me at First Fridays for the Say, 'Cheese,' Long Beach! photograph competition results.

I didn't end up winning in any of the categories but I was thrilled to see a number of my photographs featured in the exhibit.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I held my breathe as I stood up and put weight on my foot. I didn't feel any pain so I headed out to join the Sole Runners for my tentative run.

I talked to Coach Steve about my foot and he suggested I look into getting a plantar fasciitis splint to wear at night. He explained the importance of applying dorsiflexion at night so the fascia heals in a flexed position.

I gingerly headed out with Mentor Barb, and her dog, Sassy.

My right foot felt good but the inside of my left knee was hurting so I put on a patellar strap and the pain went away immediately. I had brought the strap because I'd been feeling a pulling sensation and thought I might need it.

A few miles in my left hip flexor tightened up and became sore.

At the marina, Barb pointed out the boat she sails on, the Yippee Kai Yay.

Mr. Green Garmin ran out of juice towards the end of my run so I'm not sure what my exact mileage was but I did around 14.5 miles. I didn't have it in me to try to do another half mile.

It never felt so good to sit down on my yoga mat and do post-run yoga. I felt so much better as I headed back to my car.

My right foot is feeling good today but my left hip flexor is still sore and very tight.

I will try and make an appointment for another Active Release Techniques session this week. I also wanted to follow up with Dr. Gonzales on the results of my running gait analysis video.

The Running Gods Smiled Down Upon The Green Girl

The Running Gods smiled down upon the Green Girl today.

I BodyGlided up my feet and slipped the ankle wrap around my right foot. Then, I put on my patellar strap on the right knee. All this awkward walking to minimize ankle pain has caused my knee to start hurting again. I mean, who doesn't love overcompensation injuries?

I was running really late this morning after getting caught up in heavy traffic so the group had already taken off by the time I got there.

My ankle was still feeling a little bit tender so I did a brisk walk for the first 10 minutes to warm up my body. Then, I moved into a slow jog. My arch throbbed each time the ball of my foot hit the ground. I figured I'd give it a few minutes to stretch it out since I'd been babying it all week. It stopped hurting after about 3-5 minutes so I increased my speed. It felt so good to run again.

At this point, I caught up with another runner, Ruby, who had also arrived late. I feel in stride with her and we started chatting.

The warmer weather was a pleasant surprise today. The skies were clear and the ocean view was spectacular.

There are so many reasons why I love being part of a running group. Meeting new people is definitely one of them. We swapped race stories and shared what had made us start running in the first place.

I was scheduled to do a 3 hour run today but I decided to cut it short because I didn't want to take any chances. I ended up doing 6.51 miles in just under 2 hours.

I've missed the majority of my Surf City USA Half Marathon training schedule. I'm not nearly as prepared as I'd hoped to be but I'm okay with this. I know I've got a good cardiovascular base from cross-training and I'm not aiming for a personal record at this point.

The Green Girl's Very First Trail Run

Before our usual training run yesterday, Coach Gary Smith held an hour long Chirunning lesson. I've attended multiple Chirunning sessions but I enjoy participating in the classes because I always learn something new.

After the Chirunning lesson, we broke up into the full and half marathon groups to start the run. Since I was diagnosed with runner's knee, I haven't been keeping up with my Surf City USA Half Marathon training schedule. I've been being really careful with my knee and after going a full week without any significant pain, I decided I was ready to push myself. Instead of joining the half marathoners, I went with the full marathon group. I had attached my patellar strap to my hydration belt in case my knee started to hurt while I was out on the run.

We all set our watches to beep after 55 minutes to indicate the time to turn around and head back. We were given small, handwritten maps to help guide us on our run. I folded the map up, stuck it in my pocket, started Mr. Green Garmin and headed out. My plan was to really take it easy but try to run the entire time.

Coach Steve Mackel passed by and suggested I increase my lean. I was grateful for his advice and concentrated on doing that. I could feel myself getting faster.

Since I'm a really slow runner, I started out with the group but soon I was running all by myself. I pulled the map out of my pocket and tried to figure out where I was supposed to be going but I got really confused. The note in the middle of the map, 'If you get lost it's okay ☺,' made me laugh. I was definitely lost.

I kept running until I reached a dead end. About a block after my turnaround, I saw some runners returning from a side street so I headed over there as quickly as I could. As I neared the end of that street, I realized there was an unpaved path ahead. I took a deep breath, stepped onto the dirt, and continued running. The path headed towards the ocean and then curved to the right. At this point, a cliff overlooking the ocean bordered the left side of the path. The view was breathtaking but the ground was uneven so I slowed down to a jog and concentrated on my footing.

I wasn't able to run the entire time because some of the inclines were too steep for me and I was terrified of slipping on loose rocks.

On the way back, the sun was shining through the clouds in a way that appeared almost divine. It was absolutely beautiful.

Coach Gary ran by and asked me if I was going to take a picture and blog about it and I assured him I would.

According to Mr. Green Garmin, I did 6.92 miles in 01:47:12. At the steepest part of the hill, I was going down at about a speed of one mile per hour!

Green Girl Running Update

I want to congratulate Kitzzy on her very first half marathon. I am so proud of you, girl! Whoo hoo!

My right knee is doing really well. I've been carefully keeping my feet really straight when I'm running and wearing a patellar strap on the weekend when I do my longer runs. And by longer, I mean slightly over a 5k. I guess I've been overcompensating for my bad knee and my left calf has been getting extremely tight. I don't want to push through the pain so I walk when it hurts.

Today, I was able to do about 50 minutes without any discomfort. When my left calf started hurting, I immediately stopped and walked the rest of the way back.

I'm really behind on my training schedule and I haven't done any interval or tempo training. The Surf City USA Half Marathon is on February 1, 2009. I have less than 2 months left to train but I don't want to push myself too hard and cause more injuries.

One thing Mr. Green Garmin has taught me is that I start out really, really slow. When I begin a run, I'm averaging a 15-16 minute mile. As I warm up, I increase my speed. When I'm in the "zone" I am usually just under a 12 minute mile. When I get tired, I tend to do a 13 - 14 minute mile. Before all I could do was divide time by distance so I never realized how much my speed varied.

Sole Runners Winter Training Starts Tomorrow

My running group, the Sole Runners, will start the Winter Full/Half Marathon Training Program tomorrow morning. I'm really looking forward to this. My Saturday mornings seemed so empty without the group runs.

Since my knee pain started, I've been faithfully applying heat and cold and resting it as much as possible. I also went ahead and purchased a patellar strap yesterday after my coach recommended I give it a try. He also suggested I look into Active Release Techniques (ART). ART is a method of soft tissue massage that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.

I am hopeful that I'll be able to complete an easy run tomorrow.