See Diva Run

Yikes, that sounds really bad! Today was the Nike Human Race 10K. Races were held in cities around the world, but you could also participate virtually with Nike+. I had planned to go to Seattle to participate with the group from Road Runner Sports. I used to run 10K daily, but last weeks 5 mile run was my longest in many months. I went out for what should have been an easy 3 mile run on Friday, and got my butt kicked hard. By yesterday, I was questioning the wisdom of trying to push the distance this weekend. Then I ended up working late last night (more like early this morning). When I woke up, a drive to Seattle seemed like a silly idea. At first I thought I would run the 10K on the Centennial Trail, but as the day wore on, and I was busy waiting on dogs, and trying to get some school work out of the way, I realized that trying to squeeze out the kind of time I need to run 10K in my current condition was just going to create more stress. Jasmine was having a particularly needy day, so at a point where she finally laid down, I laced up my shoes and went out for a short run. I took the same route that kicked my butt on Friday, but today I ran it at a faster pace, and didn’t suffer quite as much. I got in 3.69 miles at a 10:45 pace, which is the fastest pace I’ve been able to maintain since May. I still have a lot of recovering to do, but it was nice to see an improvement. I paid for it tonight with severe pain in my heel, but it was worth it. I probably would have felt even worse if I’d gone for the 10K.

Link to MotionBased run data http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6653416

It has been a cold, rainy summer, and the cool damp weather is taking its toll on Jasmine. Her back legs are very weak, and now we are seeing weakness in one of her front legs, too. At times it is a struggle for her to stand or walk. Watching her struggle is heart wrenching for me. At times I have wanted to rush over and help her. Sometimes I just want to go somewhere and cry. Although I’m inclined to feel sorry for her, Jasmine doesn’t feel sorry for herself. Self-pity isn’t a canine foible. The fact that it’s difficult for her to move may slow her down, and shorten her trips, but it doesn’t keep her from moving. She doesn’t pine for the days when she could run, she just gets around as well as she can. On days that are dry and sunny, but not too warm, she perks up dramatically. Earlier in the week she was trying to drag me down the street for a run. She transformed from the mellow girl who accepts life as it comes to a joyful adventure seeker. It was a blessing to witness. The lesson for me was that I shouldn’t feel sorry for her. I should celebrate that she is still here, and doing the best she can. And on the days she feels like celebrating with a joyous romp down the street, I will celebrate even more.

I went for a training run with my friend Gladys Saturday. She likes to train on a track at a local middle school. I decided to try for 5 miles, in hope of running the Nike+ Human Race 10K next weekend. It was my longest run since April. It was bright and sunny, and the heat quickly sapped my energy. At times I thought about quitting, but I kept telling myself “one more lap”. While I was happy to have made the 5 miles, I was troubled by the fact that it took nearly 58 minutes to go the distance. I have a tendency to mourn the runner I once was, instead of celebrating the fact that I’m still here, and still moving. It’s a very human tendency. We are all about progress. Things need to be continually improved. We aren’t good at accepting our lot in life. This is often a good thing, but it does have a dark side. Many of us lack the wisdom to recognize and accept the things we can not change. Jasmine does, and I sincerely hope that one day I will be able to apply that wisdom to myself.

Learning to be content where I am is a struggle for me, but I am making a conscious effort to get there. In the meantime, I’m also trying to learn to relax. Jasmine is doing her best to teach me, but I insist on sitting at a computer for hours instead of taking a nice nap on a soft blanket, or relaxing on the couch. She has taught me that there is no trauma in life so great that it can’t at least be temporarily vanquished with a treat. That is a lesson I wish I could unlearn, but I’m glad that it works for her. She gets 10 years younger the moment she hears me opening a bag of treats.

What would we do without our best friends?

Title: Snow City Cafe 5K
Location: Anchorage, AK
Description: Snow City 5K is part of the Humpy’s Marathon and Skinny Raven Half Marathon event
Start Time: 09:30
Date: 2008-08-17

Way back before I ran myself into the ground, we made plans to run the half marathon events for the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon and Humpy’s Marathon in Anchorage. This gave us an opportunity to spend time with Cassi & Kane before the arrival of the new baby. When the time came, I was under doctors orders to not run, and not feeling too bad about it, either. Lack of running just meant more time to spend with family. This time around, I was feeling better, so we decided to sign up for the 5K.

There was a lot to love about this race. It started at 9:30 in the morning, so I didn’t have to roll out of bed in the middle of the night to get ready. The starting line was about 4 blocks from our hotel, so I didn’t really have to roll out of bed until 9:00 (but I did!). The race shirt was a really nice red & black short sleeved tech shirt. The weather was cool, but dry, with just a little wind. The course was nice, with a short tour of downtown Anchorage before we went out to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. The out and back course was pretty flat by western Washington standards. The only small problem was that someone removed the 5K turnaround marker, so we ended up running 3.5 miles instead of 5K. It helped take the sting out of my 37 minute finish time. Ouch, that is 10 minutes off my PR for a 5K. Recovery is going to be a long process.

Anchorage is starting to grow on me. I suspect it is because of my extreme addiction to the grandchildren. Oh my goodness, I just can’t get enough of them! This means that there will probably be fewer visits to other parts of the country in my future, as airfare to Anchorage is not cheap. Maybe next year we will run the half marathon!

Even more family photos at Kodak Gallery

I was all set to post about shoes and a very positive experience at a local running store when I happened to visit The Runner’s Lounge. The topic for this week’s Take It and Run Thursday is feet. How timely!

In the past when I’ve had injury issues, I went shoe shopping. But I’ve been professionally fitted on many occasions. I have a variety of shoes in my closet, and when good shoes weren’t enough to keep injury at bay, I assumed it was because I had run so much that shoes could no longer compensate. With past injuries I’ve been able to minimize my down time by switching to neutral shoes, and shortening my mileage. Since this contradicts everything I’ve learned about pronation and over-pronation, this time I went with my sturdiest motion-control shoes for my recovery.

Last night the 5K training group met at Run 26 in Lynnwood. I wasn’t too enthused, because I’ve been a customer of Super Jock n Jill for a long time. Run 26 owner, Shelby Shenck is a former Super Jock n Jill employee, and very knowledgeable about shoes, body mechanics and injury. I have been diagnosed as a mild pronator on many occasions, but have occasionally been fitted in motion control shoes because of my heavier build and wide, flat feet. The problem is that my right ankle is so unstable that my foot rolls to the side, leading to supination. Can you be a pronator and a supinator too? While most people have a straight forward diagnosis, in my case he said it makes more sense to rotate between neutral and stability shoes. Wow, I used to do that. I quit because I was worried that the neutral shoe didn’t provide enough support for the distances I was running. Maybe I should have just cut back on the miles instead. So, Super Jock n Jill, you will always be my first love (of the running shoe store kind), I think it’s time we started seeing other people.

I’m going to experiment with the neutral and stability shoes in my closet, and if they don’t feel right, I’ll head back to Run 26 and hope that Shelby is there to work with me. For the first time since my disappointing visit to the sports medicine doctor, I’m feeling some hope about being able to run without pain. He also recommended a couple of foot & ankle specialists. I’m hoping one of them is on my insurance plan!

If you are experiencing running related injuries, it might be time for new shoes, or a new shoe store. This is not the time to be cheap. If your shoes aren’t working, take them back, or donate them and get a new pair. $100 may seem like a lot of money, but you can’t buy new feet!

The days are flying by so fast I can hardly remember what might have happened since I dropped out of the “blogiverse”. The biggest news is the birth of our second grandson, Dominic. Jasmine is doing very well, despite the fact that the years are conspiring against her. We take lots of short walks and enjoy our time together. Recently she has decided that she does not wish to be carried down the stairs, which means that she also doesn’t get to walk up them. The result is a very unhappy and loud princess complaining from the lowest level of the house, and a Running Diva who spends 95% of her time downstairs to keep her happy and quiet.

The stress of work and confinement finally got to me a couple of weeks ago. I have been running slowly and for very short distances 2 or 3 times/week. I’ve had plans for the Iron Girl 5K since the beginning of th year, but recently my daughter-in-law Krista (does that make her Diva-In-Law?) decided to participate. This will be her first 5K. My niece and 2 great nieces will be joining us, and it will be their first 5K, too. My newphew’s wife is also joining the fun, as is my friend Gladys. It is going to be a great event. Tory, from Journey to Fitness has started an Iron Girl training group. Krista and I signed up, and have attended 2 sessions. We are having a lot of fun. It is extra exciting for me because this is the first time the two of us have done something together, that didn’t include the guys.

I’m also meeting up with my friend Gladys once/week. She has taken up race walking, and is pretty fast. We meet at a local track, and I jog while she zips around. I am not cross training. The Wii-Fit and the rowing machine have been put away so I can open the futon (did I mention that I’m also sleeping down here?). I’m trying to keep up with stretching, as I think it has a positive effect on my heel and ankle problems. Things don’t hurt as badly as they did a few months ago, unless I put in too much time on my feet. Long walks can be very painful, but short runs (3 miles or less) aren’t too bad.

If anyone is still reading this blog, I wish you well, and hope that some day I will have a little more time to spend visiting with you via blogs, message boards, etc.