Broken Spoke

With my Achilles tendon hurting during running, I don't want to go for  run until the race.  I dusted off my old mountain bike and pumped up the tires.  Unfortunately, the chain derailed of the rear tire, and locked up the wheel.  The tire locked up and the chain was wedged between the spokes and the gears.  When I tried to remove it,  few spokes broke.  I don't want to invest more money in this old bike, so biking may not be an option.  It's not an option today, anyway.  I called it quits because the sun is going down earlier.  I did get plenty of activity doing 8.5 hours of landscaping, today, and that will count as my training.

Back to Strength Training

While I can't do much with these ankles, I can get back into building up some muscle.  Although I am working as a day laborer tomorrow, I think I'm strong enough to workout tonight.  I'm gauging this by how I have recently felt the day after working out.

Today I did the following:

• 25, 25, and 30 reps of push-ups
• 20, 20, and 25 reps bicep curls with 20lb weights, at a slow pace
• 15 15 and 20 overhead dumbbell press instead of lateral dumbbell raises, I alternate between these 
• 30, 40, and 50 reps of sit-ups

Ice Cold, While Overheating

I did four miles tonight.  It was 80°F while I was running, and that was not fun.  I can't imagine how people run in the heat.  I guess it must be something you have to get used to, like running at altitude.  I'm much more accustomed to running in cool and often windy weather.

During the first mile, my Achilles tendon on my right foot was killing me.  I stuck to a very slow jog, out of fear that I was injured and may make it worse.  After the first mile, it started to feel a little better, so I pressed on carefully.  I barely picked up my pace, because it would kill me to have to miss out on the race from injury.  I also noticed the pain in my left foot coming back, but not in a sharp way.  It was more of an aching of the tendons in the top of my foot, between the second and fourth toes.  Because of these pains, and how my feet have felt since last Thursday's big run, I decided I should soak my feet in ice water for 10 minutes.  When I found that I didn't have enough ice, I through some frozen cold packs into the bucket.  Not only did that help the water line come up, it also made the water almost unbearable.  My feet did feel better afterwards, so I think I'm going to start doing this every time I run.  My biggest fear is that consistent running will lead to shot knees and ankles by the time I'm 40.
According to Achilles Tendon, footwear with extra cushioning under the heal can help an injured Achilles tendon, by decreasing the amount the tendon stretches and limiting the calf muscles' range of motion during strides.  This is a temporary fix, and should not be continued after the tendon is healed.  I do have some shoes with a high heel, and I plan to wear them throughout the day, instead of my VFFs, for the next few days.
I also took some glucosamine today.  I'm hoping it will help my joints, although supplements have recently come under fire.  First they were good for you, now they are said to be ineffective.  What if they are wrong in them being ineffective? They are cheap, so I'm going to keep taking them.  If they don't actually do anything for me, I will just urinate them out with no harm done.  Also, I'm going to take a dose ibuprofen to help with any swelling in my joints, and potassium, eaten as bananas, for the soreness.

Joint Issues

My ankles are worse after the short run yesterday, so today is a day off.  I loaded up on potassium for any soreness and bought joint supplements.  I know supplements have come into fire in recent days, but there's no harm done if I just urinate them out of me.  If future evidence show that the recent findings on absorption are incorrect, then I'm helping my joints.  If they hold to be true, and I am not really absorbing the glucosamine and my daily Centrum multivitamin that I take, then I have only pissed away a total of $36.50 a year.

Two Really Hot Miles

After what I thought was sufficient time off, after the big run last Thursday, I did two miles in the heat.  I don't know if it was from being tired, the heat, or a combination of the two, but it was hard today.  I had set out to do four, but had to call it quits after only two miles.  My feet are still sore from the big run, and now I'm getting a little worried.  It's not just that they are sore, there is pain in between my ankles.  I loaded up on ibuprofen, and took it easy the rest of the night.

Twelve Hours on My Feet.....Again

Today was another occasional double shift at work today.  Out of the twelve hours I was at work, about half was spent on my feet.  I'm going to count today as my scheduled day off, which would normally be on Sunday.  That means tomorrow, I will have to train as if it were Saturday.

I feel pretty good as far as recovery from the big run last Thursday, so I'm right on track to do the race in a couple weeks.  I was hurting a bit yesterday, but now I'm not feeling anything more than just some sore feet from being worked so hard.  I'm glad my feet will be strengthened for the race, so I think I will preform slightly better as a result of doing the practice race.  As always, I'm eating tons of bananas, because potassium aids sore muscle recovery.

Well Deserved Day Off

Yesterday's big run killed my feet.  The rest of my body feels okay, so my training is paying off.  My feet are pretty sore, to the point where walking is difficult.  Instead of wearing my Vibram Five Finger shoes all day to help work out the lactic acid, like I usually do, I opted for some very stiff soled indoor soccer shoes.  The idea was to immobilize my feet, so I could actually move around throughout the day.
I ate some bananas and cooked up some sweet potatoes, so the potassium would help with the soreness.  I also took ibuprofen all day, to reduce any inflammation in my ankles and feet.
Aside from that, there was no training today, just pure recovery.  

Upper Body Weight Training Session

The soreness in my left big toe is starting to feel better, after my chiropractor visit on Monday.  I'm glad this foot pain is starting to go away, because I was starting to get nervous.  I don't want any long-term injuries, or short-term taking me out of the race.

I noticed a Soloflex add on my blog today, provided through Google AdSense.  I remember seeing the commercials for them on TV as a kid.  Apparently, you don't buy a new one, but you can new straps.  I guess so many people had them collecting dust in their garages and basements that they decided it was cheaper to refurbish them.  The price on one of these isn't that bad if you go off of CraigsList, and I'm starting to think of one of these instead of a Bowflex gym.  I don't really know if the Soloflex is a legitimate exercise machine, or if the rubber bands are going to hold up as long as their claimed lifetime.  I would like to talk to someone who owned one, but I don't know enough people in the appropriate age bracket.  I'm sure I could find some answers online, but it's not worth looking into until I have a place large enough for a home gym.

I'm going to do a big run tomorrow, to see if I should actually be entering this race.  I'm going to do 8 miles at Skegg's Point, where I ran the other day.  I decided to skip doing lunges, as I don't want to have tired legs tomorrow.  Today is just an upper body workout.

Today I did the following:

• 25 push-ups on the ground x3
• 15, 20, and 25 rep bicep curls with 20lb weights, at a slow pace
• 15 20 and 25 overhead dumbbell press instead of lateral dumbbell raises, I alternate between these 
• 25, 35, and 50 reps of sit-ups 

Three Miles, Beating the Pavement

I really wish I was back on the trails in the woods, but I can't make that happen everyday.  I did three miles today in my neighborhood; however, I had set out to do four.  I also had to walk for 0.2 miles and take a couple breaks.  I don't know if this is from being tired from the big run on Sunday, or possibly from the chiropractor appointment yesterday.  I noticed my left big toe knuckle on the ball of my foot and right calf were a little sore after my adjustment.  This is normal, as my muscles and joints are going to work a little differently with my pelvis being properly aligned.  It feels like my left toe knuckle is getting better, with only residual pain.  The right calf is probably just muscles being used differently or stretched out after the adjustment and should calm down in a few days. I also noticed that I was running 10 min miles, which doesn't sound too good to me.  I think I'm still beat from the run on the mountain, and hopefully, I will improve with the next run.

Weights and Chiro

Today was the day for my chiropractor appointment.  I have mentioned before that I was having some problems with my left leg, and my brother noticed that my left foot was turning out when he was running behind me yesterday.  I also had pain on the large knuckle of my big toe from my foot being angled inward, the outside of my left knee had pain when bent with weight on it, and my pelvis was clicking/popping along my back on the left side during sit-ups.  This all pointed towards a problem with my pelvis or possibly lower back, causing me to not stand straight.  My chiropractor confirmed this and fixed me right up.  He did a pelvis alignment, my back between the shoulder blades, and a couple places in my neck.  

What really mad it worth the cost was the tendon and muscle work he did.  I should of got his notes from where he worked on, so I could explain it better.  There were a couple issues, the left knee and my usual problem with the my upper right quadriceps tendons.  My left knee pain was from my left hip not rotating correctly, because of the misaligned pelvis.  So, some sports therapy was done on both, but I was concerned because that caused a popping in my left knee where the pain had been.  The doctor thought this might be from tendons moving differently after the adjustment and exercises.  After a day or so, the popping should stop as everything stretches out and settles.
The second issue is with my right side.  As a teenager, I ripped the bone off my pelvis, where the tendons for the quadriceps attach.  I was playing soccer and hyper-extended my knee kicking the ball.  Rather than having a torn tendon, the bone was  pulled off where it attached.  Instead of screws and staples, surgery was avoided by letting the bone grow out to the fragment that the tendon was attached to.  Once it had healed halfway, I reinjured it again.  This means my body mechanics are slightly screwed up at the pelvis, because of this.  Not only is my motion screwed up by how the tendons attach, but there is a build up of scar tissue preventing the tendons from moving across each other properly.  We do several painful exercises to break up the scar tissue, so the tendons can move and be loosened up enough to allow the hip/pelvis proper movement.  I will be sure to take notes on my next visit, so I can be more descriptive in these exercises.

Now, back to the training.  Sunday was supposed to be a day of weights, but my brother and I went on a big run instead.  Today, I was sure to do my strength training before my appointment, because nothing is more frustrating than paying $55 for the a doctors visit and then immediately screwing up what was done.  I didn't do anything special, just my normal routine.

Today I did the following:

• 25 push-ups on the ground x3
• 20, 20, and 25 rep bicep curls with 20lb weights, at a slow pace
• 10, 15, and 25 rep lunges with 20lb weights in each hand, and one foot on a chair behind me
• 15 20 and 20 lateral dumbbell raises instead of overhead dumbbell press, I alternate between these 
• 30, 40, and 50 reps of sit-ups 

The Great Outdoors

To get more of a feel for trail running at elevation, I thought it would be a good idea to run in the woods on an actual mountain.  My brother and I went running at Skegg's Point/El Corte de Madera Creek on Kings Mountain today.  While it was clear skies where we live at a few hundred feet above sea level,  we were running in the clouds and rain at an elevation of 2200 feet.  Bear Valley, where the Tough Mudder will be having the NorCal event, is much higher than that, but this is the best I can do near where I live.  The trails run along ridges, canyon walls, and alongside creeks at the lower elevations.  Running through the redwood trees in the moist air was incredible.  

If you are familiar with the trails, we followed the Tafoni Trail 0.9m, to Fir Trail 0.3m with the 0.1m detour to the vista point, Resolution Trail 1.7, to end with El Corte de Madera Creek Trail 1.5m.  That makes it a 4.5m run with many elevation changes withing a 400 foot span.  Here is a pdf of the trail map.  Virtual Parks has an online map and some panoramic views of a few spots on the trail, including the vista point.  

For a good review of the El Corte de Madera Creek trails, check out this writeup on Bay Area Hiker, a great hiking resource if you live in the area and the source of these photos.

Having a running partner was nice.  My brother, who is training for a different endeavor, has a different running style than myself.  I charge uphill, and cool off on the downhill.  I charge up the hills because it is more work, and I want to maximize my workout.  I cool off downhill because I just need to keep my heart rate up, and I'm hardly going to be working my muscles downhill anyway.  Then I'm doing interval training without stopping, but I don't know if this is the most effective way to do that.  It's my method that I have come up with during this training, and I should do some research to see if this is really is a legitimate strategy.  My brother keeps constant pace, no matter what ground is under him.  Uphill, downhill, rocky, loose dirt, or packed dirt, he keeps the same pace.  For the second half of our run, I let him take the lead and followed his pace.  His consistency was really helpful when I was tired, because continuing to charge uphill was killing me. It also helped that he had a watch, so when we were tired at the end, we were able to be sure that we were running at least 10 minutes at a time.  I will probably pick up a fitness timer, or just get a cheap digital watch.

Both of us were running in Vibram Five Finger shoes.  He had the KSO with a smooth soul, and I went with my KSO Trek with beefer kangaroo leather and more tread.  He usually uses his shoes for treadmill running at the gym, and I have been running on concrete with the Bikila.  We were both struggling with the sharp rocky sections of many of the ridge trails.  My brother was also having some issues with the slick sole of his shoes on wet rocks.  We both kept our eyes glued to the trail ahead, to avoid stepping directly on a rock or something we might slip on.  I was very glad to have the extra tread, and the kangaroo leather held up fine when wet.  My two shoe system seems to be working out well.

After the run, we took a dip in the, usually warm, pool at my brother's complex.  The heater must have been off or something, because that water was freezing!  I know it's going to be much colder when I do the Tough Mudder, so this little taste of frigid water has me not looking forward to those obstacles.

Luckily, the hot tub was living up to it's name.  I took a 15 minute soak in there, and did some leg stretches, while I loosened up in the hot water.  Not wanting to dehydrate much more, I thought it would be a good idea not to have a prolonged soak.

Scheduled Day Off

My Saturday was busy with work and a kid's birthday party, so there was no workout today.  Usually Sunday is my day off, but I don't think there is any harm in switching the two.  This is the limit of the flexibility in my workout routine.

Everyone, including the children, were interested in my Vibram Five Finger Bikilia shoes.  When kids said they were silly shoes, I explained that they were my ninja shoes.  Other's said they had seen people with them, and asked every question they had come up with since their first siting.  I even let a friend try them on, as he was talking about getting a pair and had the same size feet.  Another woman wanted to know how they were for walking around all day, because she was about to go on vacation, involving lots of walking tours.  Some of the B-Boys that were at the party thought they would be good for practicing Capoeira, due to the traction and dexterity in the toes.  Wearing these shoes don't just help workout soreness from running in them and building up the strength of your foot, they are great for striking up conversations.  Since I really love these shoes and what they have done for my foot health, I really don't mind telling people about them......even if I do sound like a sales rep for Vibram.

FOUR MILES!!!!!

Even with a sore back from yesterday's day laborer work, I pushed through and did four miles after work.  I am quite pleased with myself for this.  Three miles was getting easier, so it was time to jump up a level.  Much like when I first did two or three miles for the first time, the last mile is where it really hurt.  I focused on keeping my stride and breathing steady, and I think that really helped me keep going until the end.  I was running like a machine that couldn't be stopped.

I did notice some pain in the second knuckle of my left big toe.  I have a feeling this is from the hip and knee issue I mentioned previously.  It's as if the toe was being pushed toward my other toes, at the ball of my foot.  This makes sense if you look at the other joint issues I am having.  Looks like my pelvis is out of alignment or tilted, causing my left knee to buckle in, which finally tilts my foot inward and puts pressure on my foot at the ball.  Normal walking around raise any flags that this was happening, and actually went completely unnoticed.  Sit-ups, lunges, and consistent running brought these issues out and showed that they are linked together.  I actually called my chiropractor yesterday, and I have an appointment for next Monday.  It will be nice to be all straightened out for once.

Day Laborer

I spent the day as a day laborer, so that was my workout.  I'm going to count it as a strength training session.  I had to remove rotten wood borders of a concrete driveway, bend over an ivy bead and trim it, dig holes in insanely hard and rocky dirt, and then plant several potted plants.  I'm sure my back is going to be sore tomorrow, so I had plenty of potassium when I got home.  It doesn't sound like much work, but it was six hours of bending over and working my back that made it tough.  By the time I got to the digging, I was already beat.  I know if I did this everyday, it wouldn't be as difficult from being used to doing it.  I don't want to be used to it, because I never want to do this again.  It's hot, dirty, sweaty work, and you are screwed if you run out of water. Even if it were my own home, I would want to pay somebody to do it for me.

Preparin' for a Hurtin'

I decided to skip exercising today, anticipating a lot of pain tomorrow.  I'm spending the day as a hired hand for a local landscaper.  I am basically spending the day as a day laborer, so I'm expecting a lot of physical work.  I don't want to go into the day already fatigued, because I don't know exactly what tomorrow's work entails.

New Strength Training Approach

So far, I have trying something a friend used to do in college with the bicep curls.  Do as many as you can rapidly, until you are tired.  Doing this with the only weights I currently have, 20lb dumbbells, takes forever, and it's not going to help me bulk up.  It would be a better toning exercise after gaining more mass.  After completing three sets I had done hundreds of curls.  I decided to start doing slow extensions and exploding on retraction.  The slow extension helps tire the muscle out faster, so I am only able to do 25 on my right/dominant arm and 20 on my left.  Not only is this faster to do, but it should be better for building strength faster.

I also know that I shouldn't be doing the same workout each time, so I'm going to start making changes for each one.  Last time, I did lateral dumbbell raises for my shoulders, and I did the overhead dumbbell press this time.  Next time, I will go back to the previous exercise for my shoulders.

I also did push-ups on the floor, and then did them on an 18" coffee table.

The lack of a crunch or sit-up exercise was not intentional.  I meant to do it after lifting weights, but I simply forgot because I was so tired.

When doing my lunges with dumbbells, I noticed a popping on the left side of my knee.  No pain, just an annoying half pop, half click.  I think this is related to my left hip not moving right, which happens while doing sit-ups.  I need to get into see the chiropractor, as it is now obvious that my pelvis needs an adjustment.  I try to prolong the time between visits, because I no longer have health insurance and don't make very much money.  I don't want to end up with an injury, so I need to stop being so cheap.

Today I did the following:

• 25 push-ups on the ground, and 25 with my feet elevated 18"
• 20, 20, and 25 rep bicep curls with 20lb weights, at a slow pace
• 10, 15, and 25 rep lunges with 20lb weights in each hand, and one foot on a chair behind me
• 15 20 and 20 overhead dumbbell press instead of lateral dumbbell raises from the last workout

Short Test Drive

I decided to break out the new shoes I bought a week ago, since I can't return them anymore.  I bought a pair of the Vibram Five Finger Bilkila running shoes, and was wearing them around the house for a week to be sure they were a good fit.  When my feet hit the pavement, I loved these shoes instantly.  My feet feel great when striking, where as the tread on the VFF KSO Trek pair began to annoy and irritate my feet when running on pavement. There is a thick layer of tread, designed for paved surfaces, that adds cushion.  I ran with Injinji socks, so that may have added additional cushion effect as well.  Either way, my feet felt great in these shoes.  I had no foot pain at all.  I am very glad I made this purchase.  I love my KSO Trek pair, but I will keep them for trail running and around town wear.

It was pretty late at night when I did the run, and I could really feel it one mile in.  I cut the run short at two miles, because I was so sleepy.  I need to make sure that I run right when I get home from work at 8:30pm or start running early in the morning, like normal people do.

Scheduled Day Off

I have decided that Sunday should be a day of rest.  I have to have one day a week to make sure my body has fully repaired itself.  Either Saturday or Sunday will be my day to fully recuperate.

Breakfast To Go and Weights

Kashi cereal, vanilla yogurt, and a banana on the counter at work Saturday morning.  I have been eating a banana every morning because potassium helps sore muscles.  I haven't been sore lately, either from getting stronger or these daily bananas are doing the trick.  Just because you aren't home, doesn't mean you can't eat well. I threw this together while standing behind the counter.  I see people eating crappy processed food all the time, and they say it's because they don't have time to eat right.  With barely any effort, you can bring healthy fast food along with you anywhere.

After my shift, I did my usual weight training.  It is getting too easy, so I need to change things up.  I have an old weight set somewhere in my mother's garage, so I will dig that out sometime this week.

I did notice that my left hip is clicking along my back, when doing sit-ups.  I do have issues with my pelvis popping out of alignment, so I will need to see my chiropractor to have them adjusted.  Usually it is on my right side, due to a childhood soccer injury.  A tendon ripped the bone off where it attached, so now there is a bone spur where the pelvis grew out to the bone fragment.  This has resulted in a change in my bio-mechanics, which occasionally requires chiropractic adjustment of the pelvis. 

Three Miles.....Slightly Easier

Today is a run day, so I did three miles like I did two days ago.  It was slightly easier this time, which means I'm making progress.  I started out feeling a little muscle fatigue, and I'm not sure if running every day is a good idea.  Yesterday I ran two miles, just to get some cardio in.  I think finding a different exercise on the non-running days would be better.  This is part of the problem of getting in shape, is the fatigue from overdoing it or from shaping up?  What is normal and what is going to lead to injury or worse, permanent damage.  I did notice some foot pain in the middle of my left foot, but it wasn't terribly bad.  I'm hoping it's just from running three days in a row, getting used to consistent running, the Vibram shoes causing weak parts of my foot to be in use, or a combination of these factors.  I'll have to monitor this, as I don't want any long-term injuries.

Running and Weights

I felt pretty good today, after finally hitting the 3-mile mark yesterday.  No soreness to report.  Today I did a shorter run than yesterday for cardio, followed by a strength training workout.  Two miles are what is easy, so I went ahead and did that without being too tired.  I then did my normal workout with weights, without much difficulty either.  I would like to be able to do cardio every day, but I don't know if running everyday is a good idea for the joints.  Perhaps I should look into biking or swimming on my non-running days.  My only concern is that I'm going to be too tired for tomorrow.  We will see.

THREE MILES!!!

Tonight I left the house for my scheduled run, and I wanted to push farther than 2-miles.  The last time I ran that far, the difficulty was significantly less than the first time I did.  Being no different today, I was a little tired two miles into it, but had plenty left in me.  I was just thinking of doing 2.5-miles, but that was before I knew how good I would feel after the first two.  I pushed though it and made it to 3-miles for the first time.  The end of that third mile was pretty tough, so it was an exercise in discipline to keep moving.  I'm going to stay at 3-miles until it's as easy as running 2.

Stepping Up The Strength Training

Feeling a bit stronger while doing my sit-ups, I decided to push until I got tired.  I ended up doing 125 sit-ups, instead of just 100.  This made me think that maybe I should ramp up all of my exercises too.  I am learning the line between overdoing it and pushing it every time do a good hard workout.  I have also noticed each exercise gets easier after warming up the muscles with low reps.  I may just start doing a warm up set and then try pushing higher reps for the other two sets.  I still have to do more research on weight training, but it is also important to pay attention to what works for me while exercising.

Today I did the following:

• 125 sit-ups
• 50 push-ups with my feet elevated 18"
• 30, 40, and 55 rep curls with 20lb weights, at a fast pace
• 10, 15, and 25 rep lunges with 20lb weights in each hand, and one foot on a chair behind me
• 10, 15, and 25 reps of lateral dumbbell raises for my shoulders

Piece of Cake

I did two miles today, and it was a piece of cake.  That means the next time I run, I'll have to push harder than just two miles.  The regular exercise, stretching, and proper diet are making this seem much easier.  When you aren't working out regularly, pushing your body really takes a toll on you for several days.  After those miserable first days of soreness, the workout becomes much more bearable, with little recovery time.  I have never really understood the importance of regular exercise until now.

Day Off........Again

I gave my body a day of recovery, but this time it was from the night before.  I went out with the guys and drank a moderate amount of alcohol.  Because I don't drink regularly anymore, it took longer to recover the next day.  I'm going to stick with abstaining from alcohol, as I don't have time to keep taking days off from training.

Back to School Shopping

I went ahead and did my weight training routine today, which went pretty well.  I am feeling a bit stronger, so it wasn't as difficult as last time.  I need to start thinking on where to go from my current workout, once this becomes even easier.  I'll have to do some serious research on free weight training, so not to waste my time and maximize my workout.

I decided to use the rest of the day to take care of another problem.  I don't like the tread of my Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek shoes for running on concrete, so I checked out the Bikila running model today at the Redwood Trading Post.  These shoes fit a little differently than the other VFFs, as there is no ankle strap pushing your feet forward into the separated toes.  This was a problem for me, because all except for my big toe do not fill out the toes. The next size down, 43 EU, fits my foot perfectly, with one exception.  I need a couple more millimeters in the big toe.  Since you can't break in these shoes and hope that it will stretch, I decided not to take a chance on getting the smaller size.  The slight pinch I feel on the big toe will turn into terrible discomfort after just a short run.  The larger size does feel a bit loose, so the clerk suggested wearing Injinji socks.  The socks did help with the fit, and will surely help with having stinky running shoes.  These socks weren't cheap at $15, but I only bought the one pair.  The tread of these shoes is different too, it has additional layers of material under your feet, to provide more cushion when striking.  There is also some light arch support added, instead of the leather arch on the KSO Trek model.  I'm hoping the different tread will help how my feet feel after a couple miles.  I'm not going to run in them just yet, as I'm not to sure about the fit.  The store said I could wear them around the house for 7-days, so I'll test them out at home.

The other change today was deciding to monetize my site, as these shoes don't pay for themselves.  Currently there are Google AdSense adds below the first post on a page.  Hopefully, they will be relevant adds, and someone finds them as useful as any encouragement or information in this blog.

Committed

All that stretching and potassium yesterday really did the trick, because I feel a million times better today.  My muscles aren't at 100% just yet, but they are well enough that I don't have any excuses for not working out.

After work I did two miles, in a cold fog.  It was easier today then when I ran it two days ago, either from actually getting in shape or the cold moist air.  My stomach also wasn't completely empty, because I forgot that I had to run tonight.  I did cramp a little bit on my right side, below the rib cage, but I didn't get sick and make cake.  I really felt like I could do another mile, and can't believe how much stronger I feel compared to a week ago.  I think I will push it a little past two miles on my next run, and possibly three by the end of next week.  I do need to be careful, because now that I can push myself past the point where my body says stop, I could end up doing damage.  I also cooled down faster than last time, so there has been definite progress.  After a shower, I didn't even feel fatigued, and had enough energy to go out and do it again.  This was new and empowering feeling that I don't think I have ever felt.  Forcing myself to stay on my scheduled runs really is paying off, and I'm definitely starting to get hooked on fitness.  The only way I have been able to do this is by making this something that I have to do, like brushing my teeth or going to work.  I am committed to training beyond the Tough Mudder, and will continue to push toward higher fitness levels for the rest of my life.

I am starting to really hate my Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek shoes for running on concrete and I'm thinking of checking out the Bikila running model tomorrow at the Redwood Trading Post.  I haven't found any deals online, as the shoe is a newer model.  So if the in store price plus tax is on par with online plus shipping, I just might pick up a pair.  Don't misunderstand me, I love these shoes.  It's just that the tread on the KSO Trek can be painful when running on concrete, especially towards the end of the first mile.

Deserved Day Off

Well the work out on Tuesday, and the two mile run yesterday ruined me for today.  I'm forced to take a day off because I can hardly move.  My form would just be sloppy and I could hurt myself, at least that's what I'm telling myself.  I feel guilty because I have already taken days off that I shouldn't have, but this time I am in bad shape.  I did a lot of long deep stretching twice today, and that helped quite a bit.  I also walked around a lot, to get some kind of activity.  For breakfast and lunch I had mashed sweet potatoes, as well as a banana at dinner for potassium.  Lastly, plenty of water and green tea was consumed throughout the day.

Koolaid Man

Even though I was incredibly sore today, I went for a run.  I was scheduled for one, and didn't want to take another day off.  I was hoping that the run would aid in my recovery from my workout yesterday.  Turns out, it did help, so i kept going after my planned mile.  I finally broke through the wall I feel.....Koolaid Man style.  I did two miles, but more importantly, fatigue wasn't a limiter anymore.  I could have gone another mile too, but I didn't want to over do it.....especially after the previous day's workout.  Between the run and plenty of stretching, I felt much better for how sore I was earlier.