Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 52)

Great ride Will.  I concur on trying to get this type of ride in as often as possible.  It's not all about the miles, but the miles matter.

Sending some mojo out to Jen and Karl for today's hm.  I can't find any way to track them either.  If anyone uses one of those phone apps while they race, let us know.  It was a lot of fun tracking Dirk and Brenda last year.  I always track friends doing the Ironman events.

I am finally back on the running bandwagon after an extended period of backing off with sickness and work stress and plain laziness.  10k yesterday in a nice breezy day.  Sometimes 25 feels warm, sometimes not so much.

I also use the folding mittens for really cold runs, though mine are a super cheapo wool version without fingers.  I sweat like crazy no matter how cold it is or how easy I run, so I like being able to peel back the tops.

You had a good week and I had to suffer through a less than desired training schedule.  I'll get it back this week....I hope!

Karl had asked for some info on how I have been taping my foot recently.  I have posted some of the pics on facebook for those of you that are friends.  I'll try to find a few more of you on facebook soon, or you can friend me if you like.)  But I am pasting the pics here as well.

I use simple athletic tape for this taping.  I have used K tape (kinesio tape) several times with limited amounts of success.  Athletic tape has provided an almost immediate relief.  The success can has been documented in my logs, if you care to read them, and I was able to run 14 miles with the tape on Friday afternoon.

This is the first 2 pieces of tape applied.  I use no tension at all and I apply it with my foot fully relaxed.  I do allow my toes to remain straight rather than relaxed otherwise the tape seems to pull from my arch much easier.  The tape is anchored at the ball first and then slowly unrolled and pressed into place as I unroll it to about 1-1.5 inches above the bottom of my heel. 

This view shows the first piece of anchoring tape used across the ball of my foot. The tape is laid without tension and is used only to support the anchor points close to my toes.  I have not applied any anchoring to the back (heel) of my foot for any of the taping I have done and it has been held in place pretty well by my socks.

This is the final look. The last 3 pieces if tape were placed after applying a very slight amount of tension to support the arch. The tension is applied by pulling on both sides of the of the tape simultaneously to keep from pulling unequally on one side of the foot or the other.  Any small wrinkles that appear have not seemed to cause me any ill effects whatsoever.  I have been using socks for all of my runs and I would say that since the tape is not moving around it is highly unlikely to cause any blistering.

Disclaimer:  I came up with this on my own.  I have had no instruction in doing this whatsoever, but I can say the pain is nearly completely gone after only one week of using this concept.  I would definitely recommend anyone that suffers from PF to try this on a gradual basis.

One other key I believe is of importance.  If any of you try this I would make sure that ALL of the skin is covered with the tape.  Missing pieces of tape may allow for added stress to the open skin and a tear could result due to unequal forces.

Any questions?

Thanks to all on the glove/mitten recommendations. If it continues to remain this cold out I will be investing in another pair and soon.

Matt great work on the run and ride today. That is a great week of training you were able to put up this past week. I am hoping to get back to some decent numbers myself this week after 3 down weeks.

Warren glad to see that you were able to get back to running yesterday and training in general. I'm glad that you're feeling better and ready to get rolling again.

Tracy glad to hear that you're able to get out and ride and the foot is not preventing you from not training at all. I hope you are seeing some progress there and can get back to running soon.

Dirk that's great to hear that you were able to get that 14 mile run in pain free and glad to hear that the tape has helped with that. Thanks for posting the pics up there and explaining it.

I hope Karl and Jen are doing well today with the HM it's too bad we couldn't track them live but I'm sure they are out there giving their all.

I will be getting my training in today very soon, the last workout of Jorge's WCP for week 9. A 2:40 minute ride on the trainer. I hate those long trainer rides but defnitely necessary for me to improve. The earlier I get it done the more of the day I will have to relax so I will be trying to knock that out shortly.

Tallahassee Half Marathon recap:

Finish Time - 2:00:35. Started off too fast, settled into a groove around mile 3. At mile 5, I felt mt IT band start to hurt, so I shorted my stride and slowed down. It did not bother me till mile 12; I hit the wall at mile 12. I hoped to sprint it out at the finish, but I ended up scampering across the finish line. No worries though! It was a beautiful morning and a wonderful race. I hope to back next year.

I think Karl passed his GI issues to me. Post race I ate a piece of pepperoni pizza. 30 minutes later I realized it was a bad idea. It is now 3 hours post race, I've been hydrating and had some Pepto Bismol (kids Pepto actually) and am feeling better already. After treating your body so well and putting good things in it, I did not realize that pizza would feel like soured milk in my belly.  Iposted my review in te race log forum and am still waiting to see my OFFICIAL finish time.

Full race recap with pics and miles by time - http://jenbendewish.wordpress.com/2013/02/03/39th-annual-tallahassee-half-marathon-recap/.

(Tally Half Marathon (2) small.jpg)

Great job Jen!  Started off too fast, huh?  I'm sure no one in this group can relate... ha!  Who is the guy in the pic w/ you?

Also, if you dont already, you might try chocolate milk after long workouts and races.  I love it.

Tracy great job and nice swim session for you. Sounds like all those hard workouts your coach has you doing is paying off for you.

Congrats on a good race Jen!  Take some time to get some recovery and get your IT band under control and look forward to more great races.

It's great to see a pic of you and Karl too.  I have to admit, since I have only Karl's avatar to go by, I didn't know who was in the pic either.  On your blog is another pic, should I assume that's Pam ("pink socks")?

For the time you spent on the course you were right at the threshold of being out of glycogen, did you take in any calories on the course besides a few sips of Gatorade?  When you hit the wall there's the possibility it may have been nutrition related.

I drank water or Gatorade at each stop. I also consumed 3 Energy Gu's (really only two since I did not get all the gel out of each one.) I would normally just consume one and then sip on diluted Amp Endurance drink. I am starting to think that I should run with my belt and drink when I am used to drinking, instead of waiting for a paper cup at a water station. I also wish I had an Endurance chew tablet (even though they taste gross). My diet the day before was not perfect and I don't think I consumed enough calories. Normally, I eat a good breakfast and get some pancakes in then have Adobo Chicken for dinner. The Filipino style chicken has soy sauce and rice in it. I feel like the soy sauce (sodium) helps big time. That was my routine for all other races and I have felt pretty good on race day. I also went into this race 5 lbs lighter than any other race (not a big deal, but significant for my 5' tall frame).

Yes, on my blog is Pam "Pink Socks".

My official finishing time was 2:00:02.47. Yes, I am proud, but that 2 seconds kills me!!!!!

I just realized after typing this, that I pretty much abandoned my normal routine and feel like I consumed too much sugar while on the course and did not do my usual prep the night before.

Congrats to Jen on her HM...she is a "stud".  She took off like a rocket and never looked back.  I am so proud of her....but the pic..lol  I look like I just woke up.

Dirk, thanks for posting the pics of the tape wrapping.  I think that will help a LOT of people on here!

Tracy,, congrats on the swim!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so envious!!!!!!!!!

Well, I finished my 1st HM and Jen BEAT MY BRAINS OUT!!!!!  I ran 2:06 and something.  1st my hat is off to all the people who run up north in the cold.  You can see in the pic prior to the race that I had on a sweat shirt and sweat pants.  I don't know the temp but it was COLD.  It felt so good to line up to start the race just being around the people to warm up.  When I got out of my sweats I had the uncontrollable shiverings going on..... I want to thank everyone here as I was not going to start the race due to IT band issues but with the encouragement I decided to start.

1st 3 miles I felt like I was running on rocks my feet were so cold.  It felt like my socks were bunched up around my toes.  After mile 3 they FINALLY started warming up.  I ran w/ wife (Pink Socks) also pictured w/ Jen for the 1st 1/2 of the HM, she kept on going and did the full.  Just short of the 1/2 mark for me I stopped to use the porta pottie...had to wait in line, should have just gone beside it...

After the turn around I wanted to do negative splits on the way back.  I was sandbagging going out because I was unsure of my IT band and wanted to support wife on her 26.2.  On the way back, I was feeling very good.  AT mile 9 myIT band hurt for a little while and I changed my cadence some and it went away.  I do not know my splits at this time ( I don't run in gps) but when the results are posted they are supposed to be there, I'll let ya'll know.  On the way back from the 1/2 point, not 1 person passed me...no big deal cause I was already with the slow people...lol

I felt really good all the way back and at mile 10, I said I'm going to finish this and really kicked it up a notch.  From mile 12 - 13 was kind of hard as I started getting tired, but when we got inside the track, i said YEAH!!!  and I feel so sorry for the folks doing the full marathon!

I've now done my 1st HM!  My IT band feels better than it has in weeks, don't know if it was just time to heal, the massage, new stretches or the magnesium cream I started applying to it but I am ready to go out and keep the training going.

I want to stay in HM shape, and up my biking.  I've been lax on that trying to get ready for this HM but now it is time to get er done!

Jen, after you left I had stomach issues too, not as bad as the 15K but lots of cramping.

Dina, I wonder if you might not be able to improve your feet?  I've been learning a lot about the lower leg muscles and tendons this year.   It's these muscles that are situated under the calf that control the motion of the foot.

The 3 muscles to note are:

Tibialis posterior  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibialis_posterior_muscle
flexor digitorum longus  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexor_digitorum_longus_muscle
flexor hallucus longus  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexor_hallucis_longus_muscle

The tibialis posterior is the muscle that allows you to roll your foot to the outside, which means it's the muscle that counter acts pronation.  I've never heard anyone talk about this before, but pronation should be curable.  I was a moderately severe pronator when I began running in high school.  I thought pronation led to my injuries (of which I had many) so my OCD kicked in and I became obsessive about not pronating.  I did this by HOLDING my feet neutral with each step I took as I ran.  A few years later I no longer pronated even without thinking about it.  It was just that my Tibialis posterior muscle wasn't active enough during my stride, and it 'learned' to change.  There are strengthening exercises for this muscle.

Also, the flexor digitorum longus is the muscle that allows you to push down with your 4 small toes.  The flexor hallucus longus is the muscle that allows you to push down with your big toe.

Both of these are used when transitioning from a flat foot to the ball of the foot as you run.  You said you have weak toes, so you probably have weak flexor longus muscles and you can work on that too.

In fact, I recently took some video of Jordan running from behind and noticed that her foot was turning in at toe off.  We did some diagnostic testing and found out that she has a strong digitorum and a weak hallucus...so she toes off her little toes rather than her big toe.  So we are working on strengthening that.

And trail shoes are so important for trail running!  I used to turn my ankle about every mile on the trails when I used my big training shoes.  In fact, racing flats are a better idea off road than trainers.  The important feature being that you are closer to the ground. 

Good trail shoes get you closer to the ground.  They trade off some cushioning, but it's a necessary trade off and trail surfaces don't need as much cushion as you need for pavement anyway.  Your Sauconys look like good trail shoes.

Oh I completely understand about the 2 seconds.  A few years ago I had a 5K time which was 22 FLAT.. I definitely had that extra second in me to be able to come in under 22 if I would have known!  But I wasn't paying attention to my watch...

About your stomach issues, I wonder if you consumed too much?  It has been said that for a half marathon, fluids might be enough. (Obviously it's different person to person.) So maybe you don't need all those gels? Is each of those 100 calories?  I think that may be a lot, especially for a smaller person and also including those gatorade calories.  The other thing I have heard is that consuming gels and gatorade together could cause problems.  Have you tried that combination before with no problems?  I also do think as you said, what you eat a few days leading up to the race makes a difference in terms of energy level.

Great job Jen and Karl.  And Jen, I tend to agree with Samantha that maybe you took in too much.  At half marathon effort, I think it's hard to consume many calories.  It's a tough distance since the 2 hour mark would suggest you probably need something, but the effort level really hampers the ability to ingest the calories.

On my front, my company announced we've been bought by Oracle.  It's not "official" until all the regulations are satisfied and the ink dries on everything, which is likely to take until May/June.  I have no idea what this means for me or my group, but I'm not optimistic.  All parties are talking the good talk, but I'm old and wise enough to know how these things work out, and how massive corporations really work for us soldiers on the ground.

Thanks Samantha!

Warren, good luck with your new company!

Warren & Samantha -

I think both of you are right. This is the first time I have ever had tummy troubles post-race. I don't normally ever drink Gatorade when training, so I think that was my first mistake. Second, all my 9+ mile run days, I just eat one GU at the halfway mark and drink diluted AMP Endurance or Herbalife Prolong. Instead, I decided to consume 3x as many GU's and mix them with Gatorade. LOL. What was I thinking?!?

Warren- I hope the Oracle takeover fares well for you. I'm not too familiar with Oracle's rap sheet - I have studied General Electric extensively and a few others. Does Oracle have a long history of takeover's?