Prep Day

Tomorrow is the race, and today I have to get everything ready.  I've decided to drive up tonight and sleep in the car.  This way I can sleep in tomorrow, and don't have to get up at 5am for the 3.5 hour drive.  I also soaked my feet in ice water for 20 minutes one last time, fearing the torture they will be subjected to tomorrow.

Food

• Bananas for breakfast and the night before. I want to load up on potassium to help with the soreness.
• Yogurt and granola for breakfast
• Protein powder for breakfast
• Two sugar free Powerade for after the race
• Two 20oz jars of green tea for the ride home
• Trail mix for the ride home
• Plenty of ibuprofen to reduce swelling and inflammation during the race and after
• Glucosamine, multivitamin, and fish oil supplements
• Two gallons of water

Gear for the very cold night

• Sleeping bag
• Extra blankets
• Camping sleeping pads
• Long underwear
• Down jacket
• Fleece gloves
• Extra change of clothes
• Toilet Paper
• Sunblock
• Bug repellent
• Plastic bags for my muddy clothes 

Race Gear

• Vibram Five Finger KSO Trek
• Injinji Outdoor Series Trail Toe Socks
• CLC Black Work Gloves
• Black Nylon Shorts
• Black Nylon Shirt

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.

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.  

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.

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. 

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.

Afternoon run

After work and some auto maintenance, I decided to go for my every other day run.  This time I ran in the late afternoon, while normally my run is the first thing I do in the morning.  I waited several hours after my last meal, so not to make cake because of a full belly.  Still being still from the pushing myself a couple days before, I decided not to repeat the same run.  This time I did just one mile with hills, which turned out to be just right for my legs.  I did notice that I was a little slower, and I am not sure if it's from running later in the day or the sore legs.  I still did my banana, orange juice, and protein shake with milk immediately following my run.

Dinner included some steamed and then grilled sweet potatoes, which are packed with potassium.  This helps sore muscles, so I force myself to eat these disgusting things.  I don't like sugar or sweet tasting things at all, so I try to find ways to change the sweet potato taste.  Steaming them before grilling them with ground turkey, brown rice, and green bell peppers really took the sweet out of them.

After dinner, my brother happened to stop by, and he was wearing Vibram Five Fingers.  He let me try on his one size too small Sprint model, which fit all but my big toe perfectly.  In my KSO Trek VFFs, my big toe fits perfectly, but my smaller toes don't fill in the 'fingers' very well.  I did run around with one of each pair on, so I have decided to buy another pair for running on cement.  I love the Trek sole, but the tred can be a bit painful during running on hard surfaces.  I think I should invest in the Bikila running model that I had tried on before.  The only problem is that I cannot find a sale price online.  I think it may be a newer model, so I may just have to pay the pricey retail price again.

It has also occurred to me that while these shoes help my feet flex more naturally, using them on artificial flat and hard surfaces work against using my feet in a natural way.  There is quite a bit of research on walking barefoot from various indigenous populations, as well as research on barefooted running.  Perhaps someone should do a study on the affect of wearing these shoes, or no shoes at all, while walking on hard, flat, man made surfaces.

Later, I decided to go out dancing for a bit.  I ran into some old friends, and ended up mostly socializing.  My legs weren't sore, but they were definately tired, so I didn't feel much like dancing the night away.  I did get down a little with a bunch of poppers and lockers, and it was just enough to work out any stiffness.  I decided not to push my legs much and to not screw up my sleep schedule too much, so I headed home at a reasonable hour.