Starting week 3 of ChiRunning

Last Wednesday I went for my run in the morning and felt great. And then I got sick. I have had an intestinal blech for a week now. It is still hanging on, but Thursday and Friday it was accompanied by fever and some cramping, so I didn't run Friday. I also didn't run Saturday but I went out Monday for my Long Slow Distance run. I ran for 42 minutes and went about 2.3 miles, which is darn awesome. I ran Zombies Run! Mission 22. There is one more left to Season One after this.

Today I got back on my regular schedule and did a training run. I was working on my lean today while running. I think I'm really starting to get it. My hips are a bit tight right now but my knee feels pretty good. This was 2 minute walks and 3 minute runs. The last run... My body did not want to go there. But I made it!

Also, I knitted a knee cozy because my knee feels better if it is warm.

ChiRunning Day 3: Long Slow Distance Run

Today was my very first "Long Slow Distance" run... and instead of doing 2 minutes walking 2 minutes running, I just ran, in 'first gear' as they say in ChiRunning.  This means virtually no lean--just what you need to move forward, no more.  I spent the whole time focusing on my posture--keeping my feet aligned, keeping my C-shape (pelvis level and chin down!) and my core strong.  I jogged for 1.6 miles around the local middle school's track (it was dark! because we turned the clocks back!  And so this morning I woke up 'early' and was early to work and I still had a great night's sleep and it was light when I awoke, which is a darn good thing in my book!  But it was definitely too dark for running on the street--though actually the street is better lit than this track.  Sigh.  I shall find a solution.  It will probably be running earlier).

So, the knee is doing okay and the rest of my body feels good and I can eat whatever I darn well please tonight.

And this morning I got this out of the back of my closet:

a shirt I haven't worn in five years or more!!! And it fits really well!  And there was a jacket too.

After work (you can see my messy office in the background) I went to Panache Coffee in Framingham to meet up with a bunch of other knitters and drink coffee.  I called the blueberry scone I ate 'lunch' and it was really good even though it wasn't terribly nutritious.  It isn't often I have a chance to get together with a bunch of knitters and just knit.  This was a good thing!

But I'll try to run earlier next week.   Seriously.

ChiRunning Day 3, and New Shoes!

Today was another rest day, but yesterday was not, and I did my workout.

I did things differently.  First of all, instead of running for 35-40 minutes as fast as I could endure, I walked 9/10 of it and I only went for 22 minutes (partly because that's all I had budgeted, but also because I'm trying so very hard to not hurt myself.  I practiced walking Very Fast and sometimes that became running. But sometimes it was still walking Very Fast.  And I did not wear a brace or tape, and I still didn't hurt myself.  I feel okay today and I tried to stay conscious all day today of my posture, etc.  There's a bit of stiffness, but that's okay--on Wednesday night it was hurting.

I'm still trying and trying to remember to keep my posture good all day.  My butt still likes to stick out and my chin still likes to come up, and I've just been trying hard to gently put myself back when I sense I have gone out of alignment.  Not judging myself--that's a rough one.  Rough!  And here's something else.  Shayla Morrigan posted this on Facebook today and I think I will look at it daily and make it my mantra, because I know that my stress directs itself straight to my hips and legs (and to my shoulders, though not as bad).

"Be productive yet calm.  If I could just incorporate this one thing into my life I'd be better off!  And if I could remember to *just breathe! and *let go of what I can't control... wow, I'd make a huge turnaround.

So today I went out and bought myself a new pair of running shoes.  This is because in reading ChiRunning I read the bit about shoes which went something like this: Are your shoes over four months old? (mine are 6).  Examine the soles for wear-and-tear.  Discard the shoes if there are places where the top and part of the middle layers of the soles are worn off.  Yeah.  They are binned, because they were flat.  According to the book, this can account for leg pain.  Hmmmm.  So I went to REI and I bought a brand new pair that look like this:

Which, if you think they look familiar, is because they are identical to the pair I bought last spring!  But they were on clearance for $44! SCORE!  The new model of this shoe costs $99.

I also ordered a new pair of winter boots because I have none that make my feet happy.  But I had to get them online because the pair I wanted was not in the store.

Oh, I've just caught myself slouching.  Gotta stop that.  Also, gotta not judge myself for it!  Heavens, this is hard work.  I'm going to go work on this:

It keeps growing!  Must finish it soonish!

ChiRunning Day 2: Rest Day

Yesterday was a rest day.  It was also Halloween, so it was good I rested.

Today is also a rest day, because really I should've done Tuesday's workout yesterday. But this worked better, so I am happy.

I killed my knee yesterday.  Not running.  Nope, walking around.  Trick-or-Treating with my nieces (my son having gone out with his friends, being that age.  He was a Creeper from Minecraft and he wore a suit and carried a briefcase, which was incredibly cute, honestly!  I helped him wrap the box he used in green wrapping paper but otherwise he made the whole thing himself.  We have transported ourselves into a new era of Halloween Costuming.  Also, one of his friends said, "You know, you can buy one of those for like $20, and we said, "Ha! we spent $2.99 for some wrapping paper!"  There is a real triumph in being cheap.  I mean, frugal. :-D)

So, I may never ever wear shoes that are not Very Very Flat.  Ever again.  Because that's what I did yesterday, and now, OW.  And I also may never take the dog trick-or-treating on a short leash again, because he pulls on me--just a little, but he does--and that makes me put undue pressure on my knees, reining him in.  Bah.  I do not like pain.

So today on my rest day I will go shopping, which will include a trip to the mall, and I will be spending my entire shopping trip being extremely careful of my knee placement and body alignment.  I have reconfigured these slippers by removing the leather soles that aren't in the picture because I put them on after this, and sewing leather bits to the bottoms so they don't stretch the shoes out.  So now I don't have to scuff around to keep them on.  Much awesome!  Comfy for house wear!

Tomorrow if it still hurts I will do Very Careful Walking for my exercise session.  Because though I don't seem to hurt myself running, I definitely don't want this to get worse.  This is at 'kneecap feels kinda wobbly' stage and that truly worries me.  Kneecaps should not feel wobbly.  But I am determined to keep exercising because not exercising means a whole bunch of things I don't want.  Like, today? I passed the 20lbs mark in my weight-loss progress!  WHEE!!  And exercise has contributed terrifically to the fact that I look and feel... terrific!  Imagine what I'll look like 20 more pounds down the road!

Wish me luck.  Wish me healthy knees.  Wish me pain-free.  Here I go, doing laundry and then going on my weekly shopping-for-work trip! exciting life I lead, eh? :-D

ChiRunning Day 1

I got the ChiRunning people to reset my start date to today and I redid workout 1.  I used the Zombies, Run! C25K app; its timing is a bit off from the ChiRunning one but not too much, and mostly I just made sure my core was strong throughout the workout.  I actually walked part of it, but what I feel as a 'running' gait is actually more comfortable for me.  I'm doing my best to get my full foot strike down, and I think I had it at least a bit of the time.  I tried shortening my stride and going faster, and there were a few moments when that even worked.

It was raining the whole time (thanks, Hurricane Sandy!) and I came in looking slightly drowned-rat-esque, and my knee still hurts but it isn't worse.  I'll take not worse for now.

I tense up my lower legs when I run. Bet that adds to the leg pain.  I'm going to research the Body Looseners in the book and see what they have for lower legs.

Running Remix

Well, hello.  It has been a while, hasn't it?  According to my ticker I am down 19 pounds (really 18.8 but the ticker doesn't do decimals) and that's, just huge.

I am still attempting to run, but of course the moment I finished up with my calf injury, I hurt my knee.  Well, re-initiated a wonderful injury from long ago, really: I've been wrestling with knee stuff since my late 20s, and I weigh a couple more pounds than I did then (even with having lost 19 pounds, yep).

And work started up.  I'm still managing to get out to run several times a week but it isn't as consistent as it was during the summer. So, I have been reading ChiRunning by Danny Dreyer.  I'd read ChiWalking years ago, and I absolutely remembered some of it and applied what I remembered--but.  First of all, the walking and running bits are different, and second of all? I didn't remember it all.  So, time to go back to the drawing board.  I've been running while applying some of what I'm learning, but it isn't enough--I have to go all the way back, starting now, and start over, because the way I'm running is causing injury.  I have to relearn moving.  I have to relearn standing.  I have to relearn sitting and walking.  And then I have to relearn running too.  The whole kit and caboodle has to start from scratch.

I registered for a training session on ChiRunning.com with the goal of eventually running 5K.  And I have kept reading (I've read the section on injuries twice now).  I have a run coming up today according to the training session.  Of course, I've been impatient.  I want to keep going far and fast (I've been doing 2 miles in 37 minutes which isn't superfast but it's considerably faster than I was running before).  I want to keep up with the C25K training I was doing.  I want to keep up with Zombies, Run!

But I have to stop.  I have to back off.  I have to start over.

So, I'm starting with the self-evaluation in the book.  And then I'm starting with the very first workout and Form Focus and I'll do it as long and as often as I need to to master the first Form Focus.  Doing it again is not an issue.  Keeping my knee from hurting is totally an issue.

Physical Assessment

1. Are you currently nursing any injuries, aches, or pains? Yes.  My right kneecap and the muscles to the inside of my knee are painful and I have hip pain (that hasn't been bothering me when I run, though) and general tension throughout my body. I have also suffered from Plantar Fasciitis in the past though it has not recurred as a result of running so far.
2. Do you have any physical conditions that would warrant a doctor's approval or consultation before beginning a running program? At this time I'm going to say no, though if the knee doesn't improve I will have to take it to a doctor.
3. What is the maximum number of miles or minutes you could comfortably run today? Without knee injury--just thinking about my cardio capacity, etc., I have comfortably run 40 minutes/about 2 miles at a slow pace and I could probably go farther at the slow pace.  With the knee injury... it kinda depends.  
4. Are you overweight? Do you use running for weight management? Yes, and yes.

I don't yet know my resting heart rate.  I'll document that at a different time.

Mental Assessment: Thinking/Feeling

1. How much a part of your life do you want running to occupy? I would like it to be a regular recreation practice.  I'm not at this time planning to enter marathons or have running become the core of my being, but I'd love to run a 5K for charity once in a while.
2. Why do you run? Because it's fun (especially with Zombies!) and because it burns calories at a higher rate than walking.  Also, it has helped me with some of my leg cramping issues and it just plain feels good.
3. What do you want from running? Weight loss, health, a feeling of well-being and also of triumph!
4. Do you feel better training with a group? Alone? with a partner? Unapologetically, I like to run alone.  I'd love to get to a point where my dog could come with me, but otherwise, me and the road.  Partly this is because I'm still really slow, and when other runners are with me I feel competitive.
5. How good are you at being self-motivated/staying with a training program? Um. Not the best.  But my MFP friends are keeping me going and so is doing this blog publicly. 
6. Would you like to achieve a certain distance or pace? I would like to run a 5K sometime soon--I'm more motivated to do it in the springtime! but maybe go someplace warm and do one over the winter. :-D
7. Is there a specific race you'd like to train for? not at the moment... there are a couple in the springtime I've been looking at.  I was thinking about a Turkey Trot but I think my knee needs to heal before I try.
8. What are your fears around running? being the last person across the finish line/being the object of pity; hurting myself.

Pre-Assessment of Chi-Running Techniques

I haven't been through the lessons in Chapter 5 yet, but I have already started to notice how this technique is going to be hard (and also which parts will be easy).  So I thought I'd start with where I am now and just note...

The Big Thing I need to start with is my C-shape.  I habitually stick my butt out in back and my chin out in front--I've noticed it a lot.  I think once I get this down--once it becomes habitual for me, all day, to level my pelvis and strengthen my core--the rest will fall into place.

I also notice that 1) the parts of my body that are supposed to be loose are tense.  and 2) my right foot splays out just slightly, which according to the book contributes strongly to knee issues.  It happens less when I run than in normal life.

There's all sorts of other bits--I'm not leaning right, I'm not peeling my feet up right... but I have to start with my C-shape until when I check in with myself throughout the day I find that I'm not all weird-postured.

I'm working on getting my dates changed in the ChiRunning site because I signed up for a training program... I'll either run today or tomorrow, not sure which... and all I'm going to focus on is my C-shape.

I'll let you know how it goes.  Meanwhile, knitting pictures! Because we all know we need those!

"Smoke Before Flame" oven-dyed yarn

"Blue Dog Yarn"--gradient dyed in the crockpot

Beaded choker...lovely phone picture.

D's new socks!

Cuppycakes!

Socks for a Faerie Queen

Down for the count...

Dang it dang it dang it.

Saturday on my run? Another owie.

Not as bad as the first Owie a few weeks ago, but it has the feel of wanting to become that bad. I am not going to let it!  I am applying liberal amounts of ShaylaMyst's Arnica Salve, using  lots of Advil, and using a couple of Ancient Torture Devices to beat my muscles into submission.

I am itching to run.

I do not want to hurt myself again.

It is a Conundrum.

I am contemplating trying a C25K regimen, especially as I have only a few Zombie runs left to do before I finish the season.  I'd like to work my speed up.  I definitely will have to wrap my calf muscles before running from now on, once this stops hurting.  Gah.  With all the bits of me I thought would hurt, I never thought about my silly calf muscles.  It is quite upsetting.

I'm very glad Labor Day weekend is over.  I have been, perhaps, injudicious in my food consumption, and because of my silly calf, I have not exercised.  Tomorrow I can get back to normal, even if normal is slowish walking instead of the thing I usually do, which is still slow, but faster than this.

And work, which means not sitting home snacking.  Yay work!

Meetings this week in the evening and on the weekend should keep me to my diet, right? :-D  Yeah, maybe.

Want a gratuitous knitting picture?  I finished some socks for my nieces.  The smaller pair doesn't fit, darn it. I have to make another pair, and these were torture the first time.  Maybe they'll go better the next time just because I'm used to them now.