Training Updates: P90X3, New Shoes, Hip Running Form, etc.

This past week I started Tony Horton's P90X3 training program. So far I'm impressed with my ability to do the exercises within my current abilities. Well, minus pull/chin-ups... Any surprise my lower body is where I excel from? So, I've ordered a bar for my basement floor joists, and some crossfit bands to add and decrease resistance as I slowly step up to eventually unassisted maneuvers. They should be here for week two. :)

After the Yoga section I did an "easy" 5K on the treadmill in 27 minutes, which is ultimately my target road marathon pace. My goal ultramarathon/trail pace is 2-3 minutes per mile longer to accommodate for stuff like hills, heat, and exhaustion. It will all come down to how many miles I can log and how I hold up in the heat. The strength training will be here to "make it easier" to keep going with less energy expenditure.

While on the mill, during walking, and any other running, I've now begun to work on hip form. This means driving them forward with each stride. This should mean an easier time on all three grade types, with lighter impacts and less wasted energy.

Also this week I've added two new pairs of shoes into my rotation. I decided to get two with minimal drops, as I need some more mid-foot support to at minimum allow for some more speed.

The trail shoes are the Saucony Xodus 4's, which have the great features of Gore-Tex and a Vibram tread. I'm so tickled with these, as they're fairly light for how rugged, they have a shoelace tuck pocket on the tongue, and the heel tread is wider than the shoe so that it prevents stuff like ankle rolling (which I'm prone to). The Salomons will still serve their purpose on flatter, muddy courses, but for hills and speed, the Sauconys are my best bet. One thing I'll need to do to the Salomons is reduce the drop, probably by sanding or whittling the back lugs. The 10+mm is just too severe for my knees, I'm afraid.

My new road shoes are just your basic Asics GT2000. These have a bit more of a drop than my Nimbus 14's and are less bulky overall. I think my feet will be happier and I will hopefully go a bit faster. I do thank my 14's for helping to strengthen my feet, as they're neutral.

That's it for now! I'll be upping the running mileage to 15, hopefully Sunday morning weather permitting. See ya.

Training Run - Bison Ridge, South Park, PA... and updates...

Yes, that's ice all over my head.
From sweat!

So I've been logging about 20 miles per week running since the start of January, which I'm pretty happy with. Regretfully, my body still isn't yet to the point where it "likes" running. My right shin and calf have hurt since I got a bright idea to run barefoot on my treadmill for two miles around Christmas, and my left knee still has recurring IT band pain after it started in November 2013 - despite all kinds of ice, rolling, and strength training.

This fine morning it was -7 degrees out. I dressed very adequately, layering two socks (regular runners and light wool), CEP calf sleeves, tights, hunter's long johns, nylon pants, three tech shirts, a dickey, a zip-up hoodie, a windbreaker, tight-fitting jersey gloves, a UA skull cap and a double lined yellow hat.  Shoes were Salomon Speedcross 3. I carried my phone in a small Fuel Belt underneath the outer two layers.

So I ended up doing five miles in about an hour. It was slow going in the snow, and I had to stop a few times to clear the ice off my glasses because I couldn't see. Otherwise, my body was fairly happy except for my left IT which acted up more and more, through the little slips and twists of snow impacts. That said, my footing was pretty good because Bison Ridge is a rather technical and unsteady course. There are a few stretches of somewhat flat and runnable terrain, all of which I did just that on. I intended to do 15 miles (two laps) but after an hour's time my knee was in some pain, and had simply built up too much ice on my head and body. All this having been said, it was a very fun experience and I can't wait to do it again (with contacts, ski mask, and goggles)!

Me Too! I Have Shingles. (Plus Health/Injury Updates)

Mid January 2014. Overall health: 90%

So, many runners and triathletes, etc. have reported breaking out in shingles rashes after intense periods of training or races, especially those ages 27-33. Well, I'm now willing to admit I'm not only in the same boat, I'm a bit more of an extreme case. 

First, rewind the tape to 1995. I get chicken pox at the ripe age of 13! Not only do I miss a week of school (my last days missed until I graduated high school), but I get large, excruciating, rooted lesions absolutely everywhere including (but not limited to) my eyes, the roof of my mouth, and on genitals. I'm left scarred for life as I have a great many pock scars.

Since about 2011, I've been battling what I'm sure are shingles outbreaks, even since before I'd started any longer or more intense exercise. The original outbreak area was always the upper left buttock near the spine. The aches would come, then the blisters and burning, then subsidence. During the thick of it, my entire left leg would be on FIRE, with periodic numbness traveling all the way into my heel. Sometimes, the rash would make it over toward my hip area, which was somewhat worse. 

Now let's fast-forward to 2013. During the first part of the year, only a couple of outbreaks in the same area. Nothing to write home about. In August I sprain or fracture my left mid-foot while accidentally sliding down a short hill behind my house. It takes me two months to train that out. Sept 15 I run my first 15-miler with a stiff and swollen foot. Into mid-October I battle second metatarsal overload syndrome while my foot finishes healing. On Halloween, I try to run my first 18+ miler and am struck down with quad tendinitis abruptly at mile 3. A week later, I start getting IT band friction and still can't run more than 3 miles without starting to lock up. November 10, it's Marshall Marathon time. Both injuries all but stop me by mile 13 and I'm forced to spend the last 8+ miles walking. I finish with a 12:17 mile. Now that's tough! 

During the final couple months of 2013 I spend most of my time foam rolling, doing light strength training, and running very short distances. After more intense rubbing of my left quad area, low and behold, more lesions appeared. The culprit!!

Now it's 2014, and I'm currently left with what feels like shin tendinitis below where the other two injuries were. The whole area remains stiff, with my knee and shin cracking and popping from the muscle/tissue stiffness and tension. Some days my entire left leg still feels like it's on fire. Some days I'm tired. Some days I can run and keep loose. Others I wake up and the tendinitis is so painful and stiff that I can't run even though I feel good otherwise. And when out running, my left shin gets so stiff that it causes my knee to lock up, at which point I need to stop, stretch, and massage for a minute. My left quad still has spasms under where the lesions are, although they're much less debilitating than a month ago. And during week two, I even had a two-blister outbreak to the right of my c-6 vertebra by my neck. And now I'm battling numbness that travels into my right hand. 

Ultimately, I know that I will overcome shingles, because I'm becoming stronger and healthier with diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Even if I need meds to combat flare-ups I will concede. And this is because I don't want to permanently damage my nerves to the point of being held back from my two loves of running and cycling.