old lady knees – Fervent Foodie

9 things I learned while training for a half marathon

April 30, 2012 21 Comments

When I first started having knee problems about two years ago, I went to see an orthopedic doctor. After a lengthy round of Q&A and a few X-rays, the doctor simply concluded that “some knees just aren’t made for running.” Really, doctor? Apparently the x-rays didn’t show the stubbornness that fills my bones like a tough impervious marrow. From that day forward, I’ve wanted nothing more than to run farther, longer, and faster than I had the day before. I love running, and I wanted, no, I NEEDED to prove that doctor wrong.

In December, I signed up for the Charlotte Racefest (my first ever half marathon), but after four long months of training ending with yet ANOTHER knee injury, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to run it. This time around, I hurt my knee doing lunges in a bootcamp class at the Y. When will I learn? I took it easy the entire month before the big race, but when race day arrived I still wasn’t confident I’d be able to run 13.1 miles. At that point, I only had two 10-mile runs under my belt.

Since I’d already forked out the cash for the half marathon, I decided to at least attempt to run it. During the race, I tried not to think too much about my knees, but as the miles ticked by I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded that I was still running. Most of the race was shrouded in a euphoric haze, but as I neared the finish line I started to feel nauseus. My pace slowed, and I began to feel dizzy. With every step, the looming finish line appeared to be one step further away. At that moment, the BF jumped out from the sidelines smiling and hooting and clapping his hands like a crazy man. I was so close. I put my head down, dug my heels in, and pumped my arms. Seconds later I crossed the finish line clocking in at 1:56:58–literally seconds below my original 9-minute mile goal!

As I hobbled to the sideline, I could do nothing but let out an exasperated “BOO YA.” Some knees just aren’t made for running, my ass.

Here are the top 9 things I learned while training for my first half marathon:

#1 Buy good shoes. This one is #1 for a reason, and I can’t stress it enough. The first time I hurt my knee, it was completely and solely due to the fact that I was wearing a cheap pair of old cross trainers. I urge you to go to a real running store and hop on the treadmill. Have the sales associate watch your running patterns and check to see if you under or over pronate your ankles. Is your stride too long? Are you heel striking? (I was!) Don’t buy shoes based solely on the sweet color or the cool gel thingy in the heel. It’s hard, I know. I LOVE my Asics Gel Nimbus 13’s, and plan to get a new pair this month!

#2 Create a plan (brownie points if you use Excel). When you’re training for a long distance race, especially if it’s your first one, you can’t just approach it all willy nilly. Are you serious about completing the race? Yes? Well then sit your butt down, do some research, and create your plan of attack. Make sure to factor in short runs, long runs, and those extremely important recovery days. Check out my half marathon training plan here.

Fitness

Recap–the (almost) 14 day fitness challenge

November 28, 2011 No Comments

Whelp, it has been 14 days since I proposed the 14 day fitness challenge and made it my goal to exercise every day for 14 days straight (including the Thanksgiving holiday). The first 7 days went as planned and I exercised each day. Boo. Ya.

Here’s how the second half of the challenge stacked up:

Day #8: Power Pump class at the YMCA
Day #9: Woke up with knee pain, so I decided NOT to exercise.
Day #10: 15 minutes on the elliptical, 1 hour of strength training & free weights
Day #11: Turkey Trot! 5 miles in 43:48!!
Day #12: 30 minutes on the elliptical
Day #13: 3 Mile Leslie Sansone walking video with my mom
Day #14: Stuck in traffic on the drive home from Ohio and got home 2 hours late – AKA no exercise.

So the 14 days fitness challenge was more like the 12 out of 14 day challenge. Even though I missed the challenge goal, I’m happy with what I was able to accomplish. First off, I listened to my body and decided not to run when my knee was bothering me. This is HUGE for me. Normally I am stubborn (and stupid) and try to run despite pains, which is exactly how I hurt myself two summers back. Second, I EXERCISED ON THANKSGIVING. Insane!!!

The Turkey Trot was the first race I have run in, and I’m already searching for my next race.

Half marathon here I come!!!!

Fitness

She’s going the distance…

August 16, 2011 17 Comments

I’m one of those weirdos who likes to run WITHOUT headphones. Did you know that some people actually do that? I think the first thing most runners do after lacing up their sneakers is pump up the jams. Yes, it’s 1992 again. Where IS that jock jams c.d. anyway?

Personally, I just like to hear the sounds of nature (or the sounds of city) as I’m running. Or, perhaps it really just has something to do with my paranoia and not wanting any crazies sneaking up behind me without my knowledge as it could impede my natural defense mechanism: the karate chop. Hyyyyyyyy-ya!

Sometimes as I’m running sans music, my subconscious starts to play songs to keep me entertained. There are two songs that pop into my head more than any others. The Rocky Theme song. Yes, I’m serious. And Going the distance by Cake. “She’s going the distance. She’s going for speed. She’s all alone (ALL ALONE) in her time of need.” Not that any of this songs applies to me, but for some reason it keeps me chugging along. Whatever works, right?

As much as I enjoy running, sometimes I wake up and want NOTHING to do with it. I have this mental debate with myself about whether or not to run. Then I try to convince myself I’ll go after work (haha, nice try self, but when has that ever happened?!). The process of just getting myself outside is the hard part. Once I get going, I’m ALWAYS glad I did.

I was talking to my mom a week or so ago, and she mentioned this new book she’d read called In the Long Run.

She casually suggested I read it. AKA she told me I needed to read it. She told me why I needed to read it. Then she told me once again that I should really really just give it a shot. And then three days later the book miraculously appeared at my doorstop. Funny how those things work, isn’t it?

I can’t fully recommend the book. BUT I can recommend the first 104 pages (slowly but surely making my way through it Winking smile ). It does have my mom’s stamp of approval though, and I’m pretty sure that’s the highest level of stamp a book can receive.

The one theme in the book that has really resonated with me so far is: “slow down, and you’ll go farther”.

When I woke up Sunday morning I REALLY wasn’t in the mood to run. I felt groggy (even with 8 hours of sleep), so I made some coffee and cooked up my normal dippy egg + 3 egg white scramble + a toasted slice of Trader Joe’s sprouted bread.

Then I decided if I was going to run (which the jury was still out on), I’d need some extra fuel so I threw in a 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s plain vanilla greek yogurt (my fav) and some strawberries. While I let all that deliciousness sink in, I started thinking about the book.

Slow down, and you’ll go farther.

It’s like I could hear my mom whispering these words in my ear. Slow down, Mare. Slow down….. That was enough for me to get my butt in gear. Once outside I decided that rather than hitting the trail for my normal 3 mile loop, I’d head for the city for a leisurely uncharted jog. 2.5 miles into it, I felt like I could run a little farther than my normal 3 miles. 4 miles into it, my knees still weren’t bothering me. 5 miles into to, I was pretty much AMAZED at my progress. And at an OUTRAGEOUS 6 miles, I was still holding steady at my normal 10 minute mile pace.

Never in my life have I ran that long.

HOLY COW. Where did that come from? I’ve been running 3 mile loops consistently for the last couple of weeks after FINALLY making it through my interval training and getting to the point of running without any walking intervals. But going from 3 miles to 6 miles, no problem? I’m still shocked. On my normal 3 mile loop, I always feel like DEATH at the end. Like every last ounce of life has been sucked from my being and it’s all that I can do to drag my feet back to my condo. Is that because I have a predetermined route in mind and I’m just hurrying to get to the end? Is it really just in my head? Just HOW far can I run if I set out with no plan in mind? 8 miles? 10 miles?!

I guess mom was right. Maybe I’ll actually finish this book, unlike the 5 others I currently have in progress Smile

What’s the farthest you’ve ever ran?

Fitness, Ramblings

Stop.and.go.

June 17, 2011 7 Comments

Stop and go. Stop and go.

Ya’ll may recall my short-lived escapade with running last summer. And you might also recall when I hurt my knee. And if you recall those two things you might also recall that I tried to get back into running by purchasing new running shoes and starting interval training. And then remember when I hurt my knee AGAIN? And then I went to the orthopedic surgeon and he told me “some knees just aren’t made for running.” And then I said screw you, doctor. I’ll show you, doctor. And then remember when I tried to do interval training again? And then I hurt my knee.. AGAIN. And then basically said yeah screw running?

That was fun, wasn’t it? Smile

Sooooooo…. about 2 weeks ago I went to the Charlotte Running Company to buy *new running shoes* … Stubborn might just be my middle name.

Note that I purchased the new shoes BEFORE trying to start running again. Let’s give Mary a cyber pat on the back for at least taking one step in the right direction.

The coolest thing about my visit to the Charlotte Running Co., was the personal fitting. This involved me running on a treadmill while they videotaped my ankles and feet. The playback was pretty interesting to watch. I learned that I do not over or under pronate (roll the ankles inward or outward), which I was always curious about. What I do do is over extend my legs when I run, which causes my heel to hit the ground first. Apparently, the balls of your feet should hit first. The salesman told me to pretend that I’m running on hot coals and take quick short steps.

Verrrrrry interesting. It’s funny to think that there’s a “right” way to run. There’s more to it than strapping on any old pair of tennis shoes and hitting the payment. Really, Mary? Cuz that worked oh so well for you last summer, didn’t it?

After trying on about 10 pairs of running shoes, I ended up going with the Asics Gel Nimbus 13:

Even with my new shoes and my new hot coal running technique, I didn’t want to just jump into running head — strike that — ball-of-the-foot first. I decided to ramp up with… you guessed it.

Interval training.

Originally, my goal was to start with 1 minute running and 1 minute walking for 20 minutes. Then each week gradually increase the run portion of the interval by 1 minute.

Good plan, eh?

Probably was, but it just wasn’t challenging enough. But as much as I just want to just get out there and RUN until my legs can’t carry me any further, I have a little nagging voice in the back of my head reminding me how devastated I’ll be if I hurt my knee again this summer. Sooooooo I reached a compromise with the nagging voice. Instead of bumping the run time up a minute each week, I’m bumping it up a minute each day that I run.

My feets in action:

I’m also running every other day (as opposed to EVERY day I tried to run last summer), and I found a pretty nice path to run on (as opposed to hard streets/sidewalks).

If I stay on this plan, I should be able to run 5K no (knee) problem by mid August! That would be the ultimate accomplishment in my mind. I know 5K isn’t much—I mean it’s no walk in the park but it’s also no marathon—but in my knee-injurfied world it’s quite the accomplishment!

Fitness, Recipes

Strength Training & a Breakfast Sandwich

January 15, 2011 8 Comments

Last spring, I found a new love in running, and shortly thereafter I found out I have crappy knees that can’t handle too much impact.

Sadness… Sad smile

Then, a few months back, I joined a gym.. That’s right, a gym. And since then I’ve pretty much become BFF’s with the elliptical. Feeling like a hamster is better than feeling like a sloth. Am I right?

While it feels good to get some cardio in during the week, I noticed I’ve been feeling kind of weak lately. Slightly feeble. (could be the cold weather?) Plus my posture has definitely declined in the past couple of years, and that is not a trend I’d like to continue on.

With all this weighing on my mind, in my down time over the past few weeks I’ve been working on putting together my first-ever strength training routine. I’ve NEVER EVER been into weightlifting or any of the machines at the gym. It’s just, well, too complicated. Plus, I’m a numbers gal. If I can’t see the numbers adding away right in front of my face, I feel like I’m not accomplishing anything.

So one morning, I tried out a few different exercises I found in the pile of fitness magazines I’ve been hoarding in my office and was immediately discouraged. I just really didn’t know what I was doing, I had no plan of attack, and it felt like a big fat waste of time.

Well that is until I woke up the next morning and literally had to lift my legs out of the bed because they were so sore. Perhaps it is possible that doing these silly strength training moves DOES actually impact your body…

Perhaps.

The next day, I went through ALL of the fitness magazines I’ve been accumulating over the past year and snipped out the strength-training exercises that looked promising. Using this data, I pieced together the exercises I actually understood and/or those that appeared somewhat feasible and that could be done in the comfort of my own home…

Thennnnn I found images and instructions for each exercise and then decided to take things to a whole new level of crazy by organizing all the data into a PowerPoint presentation.

What? You don’t put your strength training workouts into PowerPoint?

Open-mouthed smile

After ALL of this research and organization, I had about 30 exercises but still no plan of attack. I knew what the moves looked like, how to do them, and… well, that was about it. So I sent my PowerPoint to the BF, who has a heck of a lot more experience in this area than I do, and asked him to please help me because I’m to the point of extreme frustration even though I had found pictures for each exercise, detailed descriptions, and picked out a really pretty color scheme!!!!

Hehe…

Pretty, right?

Luckily, he obliged and did help and also did agree that it was a pretty color scheme…. (your darn tootin it’s pretty) all while I got to work on breakfast!

FINALLY!!

Cue the turkey pepperoni breakfast sandwich please!

Easy peasy, I tell ya. This is 1 egg seasoned with S&P topped with 4 slices turkey pepperoni and 1 tbsp reduced fat Mexican cheese:

My cheese was being stubborn and would not melt, so I popped a lid on for a bit to coerce it.

Mellllltttttt I say!

Then I slid the egg onto a toasted whole grain English muffin and added some Ketchup and some Franks Red Hot:

How ridiculously good does this look?

Mmmmmmmm….

Get in my belly.

Smash em together:

Annnnddd the sandwich was gone 13 seconds later.

Stats on the sandwich: 221 calories, 31g carbs, 9g fat, 15g protein, 8g fiber

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