Eli's If the world is ending, I'm going to tri!- FULL (Page 5)

What shoes did they recommend? Are you a heal striker? I used to be a heal striker until i switched to a mid-foot strike. Started in Newtons and went through about 5 other pairs of shoes and always went back to the Newtons. Yes they're expensive, but they work for me. So i stick with what works. The only other shoes i really liked were the K-Swiss Kwicky.

When I first started running I went to a few running stores to get opinions my feet. Some said i pronate, so i went with shoes stability shoes.  They actually ended up causing some pain in my IT bands and knees. Turns out the amount that i pronate is pretty normal and i should be in a neutral shoe. So to this day will run in neutral shoes only.

In your case i would talk with a doctor first to see if there is anything serious. It's the "off" season so you should take care of it ASAP

I agree, swelling like that may be something to get looked at.

In addition, do you have a foam roller? Do you stretch before you run? My wife used to get bad shin pain, but she started to do some basic warm/stretches for her lower legs and it helped.  Although these are for shin splints, it may help:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/193776-warm-up-exercises-for-shin-splints/

The foam roller can help, but you can also roll over a 2 liter bottle as well.

But, you should still get it looked at, just in case.

I'm such a fan of the Newtons.  They are expensive but in any other shoe I would only get about 300 miles, my last pair of Newtons had 650 on them. (that's how I justify paying $175.00 for shoes to the wife!)

Awesome that you signed up for a 15K. My wife ran one in October and really enjoyed it. At that pace, you will be done fairly quickly, so I don't think you should suffer too much from mental fatigue. 

Do you run with Music? I haven't in a few years, but I often ran with an ipod with only one headphone in. Music, audiobooks, etc.

Some races don't allow headphones. In that case, either look around and enjoy, or trash talk with your friend. Plus, at a race, you will spend the first 3 mile worrying about your pace, then ext 3 worrying about getting water and the last three wondering when the damn race finishes.

Also, as you ramp up your mileage, you will find that your mind finds things to work on. 

How far are your runs? Also, when I started back running, since I was carrying a few extra pounds, I used a run/walk system. I would run 5-10 minutes and then walk a minute. I think this really helped prevent injury for me for my first few years.

My longest run so far was 5 miles. It was slow and when I felt it start to hurt I would stop, walk and stretch it out. I really struggled on the last 2 miles to push through it and get home.

I am going to the ortho doctor later today so hopefully they can give me some answers because I honestly feel that something is not right. I'll post later what they say.

Hey All,

Here is the list of names and handles I have for the group. Take a look and correct any mistakes I made:

pvfd304 Brian

bufit Neal

Mitchparadise Mitch

Nick

jpfeife Justin

Jessie Nimue

ohwhitneykay Whitney

neumann_jc Jake 

Chicaskeeper Michelle

bcagle25 Ben

Isomorphism Dave

swim_turtle28 Lexi

ironjim Jim

Good luck at the Doc!  I'm very curios what he has to say.

Congrats on signing up for a 15k!  That's a big one. 

Sometimes I would get caught up in the excitement of the start and my first few miles would be way too fast causing me to bonk at the end.  Make sure to stay within yourself at the beginning so you can finish strong!

Well apparently I over supinate so bad that it put stress on my muscles and I have a tear on both freaking legs. It won't require surgery just some rest and the doc wants me to get custom inserts made. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to talk to him. We'll see how it goes.

Bummer Jake. Maybe custom orthotics may be the way to go. I've heard stories of people who have gotten them and completely change them for the better. Hope it turns out well for you. Until then, keep biking and swimming!

Went for a short run tonight. Man it was cold out.  For Florida standards anyway. I got done and my hands were frozen! My first mile was a low 9 then for some reason it started feeling good. 2nd mile was around a 8:20ish then 3rd mile was between a 7:50-8:05. I'm starting to see a little progress. Goal is to run a HM at/below 8:10. I have a HM at the end of Febuary, where myplan is to go sub 1:50. Would be sweet if i was close to 1:45. but i think i need more speed work and more consistancy. Any ideas on spee-work workouts???

Side note: My wife walked in the door from work complaining her legs/quads hurt from yesterdays run/squats i had her doing. So i gave her my "stick roller" She started using it and was damn near crying because of the sore muscles. I said to her "See, this is what you always made fun of me for. Now you understand" She then proceeded to call me a slang name. It was the highlight of my night!

Thanks for the feedback. I'm always one to get super amped at the beginning of races because of all the people and the general energy of the crowd and have started races to fast for my own good. It'll be tough not to get caught up but i'll just have to keep in mind that I've got plenty of miles and time to kick in the afterburners and push it to the limit.

I do have map my run, but i don't run with my smartphone because I've had issues trying to put music on it. It's a Droid Incredible 2. Does anybody know an easy way to put music on it? i downloaded the Verizon V-cast on my computer, but my computer is pretty old (got it as a graduation gift from highschool and it's going on about 5 years so.. might be time for an upgrade) and therefore slow.. somehow i do have some music on the phone but it's completely random and disorganized and i have no idea how it got there lol

Bummer.  What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  Swimming really keeps me fit when I'm injured.

 I feel for longer distance speed work, mile repeats are the way to go.  It gets a bit mind numbing at the track or on the treadmill but worth it.  I also add a lot of Fartleks to my runs.  (just up the tempo for a bit a few times each mile).  I love hills but I think you're in Florida?? I just broke 1:50 for the 1st time in October at the Long beach Half.  1:49 29.  It ended up being an 8:22 mile or so.  I was only running about 20 - 25 miles per week and I feel that to get in the low 1:40's I will have to up my volume quite a bit.

Love the story about your wife.  My wife looks at me like I'm crazy when I roll out.  Wish I could get her on it!

Lexi,

Learning to pace is a huge thing for most races. It is easy to get excited and blow up.

As for music on the droid, I have had an HTC phone and a LG android phone. For both of them, the simplest way to get music on them was to connect them to the computer through USB, wait till they appear as a Hard drive (may require adjusting the settings on the phone) and then finding the Music folder.

This won't organize them, but it will get them on the phone. To organize, you need to have them in folders by artist, then by album, and it will show that way on your phone.

There are also other apps that will help manage this process. I haven't tried Verizon's product yet, but may try it later today.

What music software do you use on your PC? 

Mitch, don't give him too much help, he is trying to beat me!

I agree about the timing. I did 1:49 at A1A and 1:51 at halfmax in 2010. I think I am still pretty close if not a little faster. Mile repeats, and even half mile repeats are huge for getting faster. As Mitch says, so is speedplay. I really like my 9 mile run where I take it slow for 1-2 miles and then do some faster, but not sprinting running.

I also really like using a run walk program when I am trying to do longer runs faster. Until your body locks in the pace and biomechanics, I think the walking breaks can really help.

Good Morning All,

Managed to get up and spin for 45 minutes, doing some interval work on the spin bike. 

Felt great and helps make me feel ready for the day.

Ragnar starts in two days, so the craziness level at my house is high!