GrumpysMonkey

Hiring a trainer was one of the best things I’ve done for myself in 2010. Heck, I think it would rank among the top 100 good things I’ve ever done for myself.  It’s not because I’ve necessarily reached my fitness or health goals. If I’d done that, I’d be a size 4, have six pack abs, and be a sub 5:30 marathoner and a sub 2:30 half marathoner. I’m none of those things.

I’m still a 3 hour half-marathoner, and a 6:30 full marathoner. While I can fit into a pair of size 6 pants, I think I’m really about a size 8, which admittedly, is a lot better than the size 10/12 that I was a year ago. And while I can actually see some definition in my abs now, I think at best you could call it a soft 2 pack.

No, the reason I’m so thrilled with my decision to hire a trainer, is that I now regularly outdo my previous accomplishments, something that makes life fun, and interesting, and gives me a high like no other (well, to be honest, I’ve never been chemically high, so I can’t really make that claim, but it’s a good sentence, so let’s just go with it).

Some of the things I’ve been able to do:

• Hold plank for 4 minutes. When I started trying to do planks, I could go for maybe 30 seconds. Now? 4 minutes.
• Hold side planks for over a minute and move from side to front planks one armed. The first time I tried a side plank, I used the wall for support and fell down after 3 seconds. Now, I’m holding them for longer and incorporating movement.
• Kneel on a balance ball. When I first tried this exercise, it was hands and knees on a balance ball. The first time, my trainer had to hold the ball and even then I barely made 30 seconds. By the next week I was balancing on two knees and one hand for 2 minutes. Today, I straightened up and balanced on just my knees for one minute. I could have gone longer had my knees not been sweating!

Some of you probably look at that list and think “well, that’s ok” and others probably think “holy shit that’s hard”. I actually look at the list both ways. I’m proud of my accomplishments. I’m proud that I keep pushing myself harder, to work out longer, to lift heavier weights, and to go faster. But I also realize that there’s so much more my body can do. I’m at the age that I can actually picture a day when my body won’t be able to do these things, and while I hope it’s 30 or 40 years down the road, I can appreciate that it is coming. I’d love to be 65 years old and still running marathons, but there’s no guarantee that’ll happen. I do know that the more I do now, the better my chances are to be healthier and fitter longer.

Another accomplishment? I haven’t skipped a workout in at least 24 days. I build in a rest day every Sunday, but other than that, it’s been six days of working out every week for almost the whole month of August. (I have a hole in my training log for August 6th, so I might have skipped then, or I might just have forgotten to write it down).

Now that we’ve made it through the first half marathon of the year and we’re working on training for the second, we’re also spending a lot more time working out. We try to hit the gym three times a week and then run three days a week. We’re lifting heavier weights, doing more focused workouts, and in general, trying to raise our fitness a few levels.

But OMG am I tired. I’m starting to think that maybe we need to sleep more with all of this working out. I try to get 7.5 hours of sleep because that used to be what my body needed and if I tried to have more on a consistent basis, I’d end up with insomnia. But now I’m experimenting with 8 hours.

On the positive side, we’re seeing payoffs from the working out and other than midafternoon when I get totally exhausted on workout days, we’re feeling good and running is going well.

I ended up buying a pair of jeans yesterday that were TWO sizes smaller than the ones I’m currently wearing AND I bought a bikini for the first time ever. I still have a ways to go to meet my goals, but I know I’m getting there.

Next race is in October.

This year, I’ve made a concerted effort to focus on fitness. I’ve been working with a trainer, we’ve been running a lot, and I’ve been doing a lot of little things like short easy exercises at my desk or on otherwise rest days to build up the muscles I need to support the running.

All of those efforts are actually starting to pay off. I was doing an abdominal exercise today where I had to spot myself in the mirror to make sure my form wasn’t out of whack and what I saw surprised me. I looked thin. I’m not saying I looked skinny, or that I don’t still need to lose 15 pounds, because that’s definitely not the case. I’ve still got a ways to go, but for one of the first times (there was one other time about 2 weeks ago), I felt thin. I felt like I was making progress and that all the hard work I’ve put in both at the gym and at home have really started to pay off.

We ran 16 miles last Sunday. If it weren’t for my two toes that are still very painful from blisters, I could have run another 5-10 miles yesterday. I’m recovering faster and better than I ever have before. There’s still a lot of hard work ahead, but this is going to be a great year for our running and I’m finally going to be able to buy those size 8 jeans.

It’s 1:30pm. I’ve just now managed to put shoes on for the first time today. (as opposed to flip flops). There’s a rite of passage that many runners go through. It’s not pretty, and I won’t really go into it other than to say that I’ve now experienced it three times and I’m sure it won’t be the last. But it makes it very hard to wear shoes.

But we ran 16 miles yesterday and did our first sub 3 half marathon distance pretty easily. Three or four more long runs and it’ll be time for the marathon.

It’s 50 days until John and I run our second marathon. We’re training hard, which of course takes a lot of time, so if we’ve been a bit flaky lately, or you don’t see us very much, that’s why. I’m working with a trainer at the gym on core strength, which has been amazing. It’s not cheap, and thank goodness for the Outlook book royalties which paid for the last three sessions I just booked, because we’re really trying to buckle down right now and save as much as we can.

I’ve also had to buy a second pair of VFFs. I’m wearing VFFs as my only shoes from now until the marathon (with short exceptions for nice dinners out or gardening) to strengthen my feet. Since you don’t wear VFFs with socks (or at least I don’t, some people can) and since I work out in them daily… they are a little… well… let’s just say they are less than fresh. I wash them at least once a week, but putting on damp shoes after a long workout is kind of icky. Outlook paid for that too actually.

We’re hoping to run 15-16 miles this weekend, and then we’re running in the Beat the Bridge race the week after. Then it’s an 18-20 mile run, a 5 mile run the next Sunday, and then ideally, a 22-23 mile run the weekend after. Along with all this running, we’ve got other workouts, I’ve got work, and we’ve got SIFF (the Seattle International Film Festival). We’re crazy. I know.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that the rest of my body hasn’t quite kept up with my running. Basically, that means that while the running was going great, I was experiencing some unpleasant aches and pains because my core, hips, thighs, glutes, and back weren’t strong enough to continue to increase my running mileage.

So, I went back to physical therapy (to get a quick fix for the pain, which has worked) and signed up with a trainer. OMFG. So my new workout routine is:

• Monday: 30-60 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes of strength work.
• Tuesday: 3-5 mile run, PT exercises
• Wednesday: 60 minute strength workout (with the trainer for a few weeks, then on my own)
• Thursday: 3 mile run, PT exercises
• Friday: 30-60 minutes on the bike, 30 minutes of strength work
• Saturday: Rest day
• Sunday: Long run (starting at 4 miles, ending at 23 miles over the next few months), PT exercises if I can move when I’m done.

So, I will be forgoing the following from now on: makeup, jewelry, any sense of having free time, caring about whether my top and pants match, and having matching socks. Also, sleep.

I should just say now that I hate Ben Schorr for getting me into running in the first place and convincing me to run a marathon. IT’S ALL HIS FAULT!

It’s the one time a year that we ask for money. John and I are running the Beat the Bridge race again this year to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Our team page is here. From there you can donate to John or me, or join our team if you’re going to be in Seattle on May 16th.

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I haven’t for years. It just seems silly to focus on something just because it reached a certain date on the calendar. However, January marks the 6 month countdown to our first marathon of 2010, so it just seems like the right time to step up the marathon training.

So this isn’t a resolution post. No. Not at all. So my apologies that it’ll read like one.

For this year’s marathon training, I’m going to try some different things. Sure, we got through the marathon last year. It was a great experience. But lots of it hurt, it was hard, and I think we could have done a lot of things differently. So here’s my plan for this season.

Monthly Goals

Last week I wrote out all of my planned workouts for January. I’m going to be doing either 2 or 3 runs a week, but I’m going to alternate a lot more circuit training (mixing cardio with weights) and walking into the mix as well. I want to do a lot more strength training this year. Running isn’t just about the legs, it’s about the core, the arms, the neck, and the ass. So to that end I’ll be lifting a lot of hand weights, doing a lot of crunches, reverse crunches, and hamstring and quad work.

Walking

Since we’ve switched to barefoot running, I’ve realized how important it is to really take the time to strengthen my feet. The arches in particular need a lot of work. So I’m going to go for at least one walk a week of at least an hour. Some weeks I’ll do two, depending on how much running I’m doing. During the walks I plan on focusing on the proper form in the barefoot shoes as well as just mentally preparing for the marathon and listening to my Spanish lessons.

Diet

I hate that word. But I’m not going on a diet, I just want to be more mindful of my diet. I’m going to be keeping an informal workout log and I’ll not only record my workouts, but also what I’m eating before, during, and after (to the best of my abilities). It won’t be too strict, and I’m not going to majorly change the way I eat, but I do want to play around with different meals the night before hard runs and after hard runs to see what foods best help my recovery and my stamina.

My hope for 2010 (this is the closest I’ll get to a resolution) is that I can be more focused in everything that I do this year. More focused on work, more focused at home, and more focused at the gym and when out running. If I can do that, the marathons this year (yes, there will be more than one) should be a lot easier than last year’s.

Recently several people have asked me more about the barefoot running and I figured I’d take a few minutes to share more about it in case anyone is thinking about making the switch.

1. Are you really running barefoot? No. We’re running with five finger shoes. These shoes provide enough protection that small rocks, glass, and small tree branches don’t hurt. Yes, having parts of the shoe between your toes is a bit weird. But other than making it a little hard to get the shoes on the first couple of times, they feel just fine.
2. Do your feet hurt? No. Well, not really. You need to build up slowly with running barefoot. Your arches will get tired quickly and the balls of your feet will be sore the first few times because you’re running with little to no padding so the feeling is much like a bruised sensation. For me, this feeling took about a month to go away. It took me a month to go from zero to 3 miles each run. The first couple of weeks I was doing quarter and half mile runs and that’s it. But now I’m up to 5 miles and I could probably go further if I just had the time. (We’ve been busy).
3. What about knees, hips, ankles? I’ve had a history of knee and hip problems. But since switching to barefoot running, I’ve had no problems at all. My calves are tired because the motion of barefoot running, when you’re landing on your mid-foot rather than you heel is a lot harder on your calves. But your calves are designed to take it. So other than taking some time to build up calf strength, I’ve had no problems whatsoever.
4. Do your feet get cold? A little. Particularly when running on wet ground or on wet leaves, some water does seep into the shoes. And when it is cold outside, the first quarter of a mile is kind of cold on the toes. However, once you’re running, you don’t really notice it anymore unless you run through a puddle.
5. So why do you do it? Really, go read the book Born to Run. There’s a lot of technical information about how and why, but basically, when you land on your heel, your leg is extended in front of you and that actually hyperextends your knee (which is bad). When you land on your mid-foot (the fleshy padded part), you actually land with your foot almost directly underneath your body, Your leg is still kind of bent and this is how the knee was designed to work.
6. What about speed? Your stride is very different barefooting than with shoes. You’re basically just lifting your feet and using momentum to propel yourself forward. So stride length doesn’t really factor into the picture. It took me a while to figure out how to go faster. I was stuck about a minute per mile slower than I was with shoes. But I finally figured it out today and I was back to my old speed. Basically, you need to maintain a straight back and sort of angle your body forward to increase momentum.

Some other information.

So I’m a pronator. What that means is that when I land on my foot (my left particularly), the ankle and foot sort of bend inward a bit. This can cause all sort of problems, including knee problems. This is why I’ve had knee issues. So I’ve been investing in expensive shoes that are supposed to try to prevent pronation. Unfortunately, they can’t fix the entire problem no matter how expensive the shoes so you still end up with knee issues. The theory behind barefoot running is that the pronation is actually fixable when your body learns that it has only itself to rely on (and not those expensive shoes). I haven’t had my stride analyzed since I started barefooting, but I do know that I have no idea where my knee brace is and I DON’T CARE. I haven’t needed it since I started this. Not only that, but no more shin splints, no more hip pain, and I can run multiple days in a row. We ran 4 miles this morning and I actually ran partway back from the grocery store this afternoon. I NEVER could have done that in running shoes.

I want to try this. How do I get started?

If you’re seriously interested in barefooting, there are a couple of things I suggest. First, get the book Born to Run. Read it. Then if you’re in Seattle, do a lesson with Barefoot Ted. He’s local to Seattle and you can do an intro lesson with him and bring up to 4 friends. He’ll give you exercises to get started and help you figure out your stride. We did this and it was very helpful. We’ll go back in a month or two for a refresher lesson to make sure we’re still doing everything correctly.

Last Friday I went on my longest “barefoot” run yet. I made it almost 4 miles. I took a couple of walking breaks, and my feet were plenty sore by the time I got home, but I made it. I’m now no longer worried about running the Jingle Bell Run in December. Now I just need to work on my technique and my speed.

“Barefoot” running is slow. You’re taking very short strides, since your foot is supposed to land directly underneath your center of gravity, so you need to work on cadence more than anything. Supposedly the ideal cadence is 90 (which is actually 180 steps per minute). Right now my comfort level is about 155. You are supposed to increase your cadence at the same rate as your mileage – no more than 10% per week. But I”m still working on being able to comfortably run around the lake regularly, so I’m going to work on that before I really focus on cadence. I hope to be working on my cadence by the end of the month.

Since it gets dark so early now, I don’t have a lot of time to regularly run, so I’m trying to bring the VFF’s to work every day and go for a 30 minute walk each day that it isn’t pouring out. So far so good and the daily walks will also help me drop a few pounds, which will make the running that much easier.