AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Monday was a running day. Chris actually got off work/class early and could come with me and push the jogger (yay) so i figure this is the start of a great run! And it was for the first 4 intervals on my week 1 track, i was actually running and getting a little out of breath from the running and not the pain in my shin. Then I don't know what the hell happened because when it came time for the 5th interval I was in a stupid amount of pain again! Seriously I was running and crying! So we stopped and Chris has me stretch out and he took a look at my shin. I really think up until this point he thought all this shin pain was in my head, well that ended when he saw how swollen my left shin was, seriously it looked like I had cankles on that side. Anyway I stretched out and we continued, I pushed through the next two intervals (still running and just about crying) and finished the track. We were about 2 1/2 blocks from home so we walked (fast pace) towards home. Problem, the more I walked the more it hurt! Here I was thinking that the walking would feel better, WRONG! We finally make it home and Chris has me do a few stretches in the driveway, no of them really help, but I needed to stretch anyway and then its inside to ice down my shin and pop some motrin.

I'm just getting really really frustrated. How in the world am I going to make it through this 5K that is fast approaching if I can't make it through week 1 of my interval track without being in so much pain? How am I going to let whatever the hell is wrong with me heal without completely giving up my training schedule? They have my money I'm doing the damn 5K if I have to walk the entire thing, but I really want to be able to run it, I just don't know if that is going to happen. . . Stupid shins!

Umm. . .okay I guess

Riley and I finally made it out to our wog this morning. . .it was okay I guess. My shin did not hurt worse (mind you it still hurt like hell) and I did seem to get a better run with the new shoes, I was able to extend my stride and actually run. I ran for 37 minutes and went 2.45miles using the Week 1 Podrunner track. I'm finding that I like the interval training that the podrunner affords me, but I'm thinking that with all my recent injuries and set backs I should probably repeat week 1, today would have been my last week 1 run, but since I had to take so many days off I don't know. . .suggestions M&M? Tomorrow we are having a celebration at church and afterwards I'm going to try to get Chris to walk (just walk, its my off day) with me and the bean at the park so I can stretch out my shins and then Monday I'll run again. I've added my Nike+ thing to my blog so you can see my run information and hopefully give me some tips!

Mwah!

Frustration

So lets review. . .I've lost 25 lbs since summer (yay!) I'm still about 30lbs overweight (BOOOO!) and despite my best efforts I have hit a wall weightloss wise. Thats were all this running stuff comes in. I have never been a runner, but I figure I need to shake it up workout wise so here I am. Anyway about two weeks ago (on Running Day 3) I started feeling shin pain, major shin pain, I brushed it off to simply being out of shape, I figured I could run through it. Then I found out I was wearing the drastically wrong shoes for my running style (severe overpronator) and that that was probably contributing to my pain. So I shelved the new shoes (the Under Armors) in favor of my old Asics and on Wednesday I went out for a wog. I was in pain, but pushing through it until I was about 2/3 of the way through my designated Wog path something happened. I don't know what it was, did I step wrong or something, I don't know, but I ended up in tears because I hurt so bad and barely able to put any weight on my left leg. I hobbled home (about a mile) and tried to stretch and ice and take motrin and nothing has worked. Even walking around my house hurts! So yesterday my new new shoes came. Super motion control Asics Gel-Evolution 4 that are supposed to help with the over pronation. They are comfortable and great, but even walking in them hurts! So I don't know what to do at this point. I can't afford to take time off of my training schedule, but if I don't rest who knows if it will ever feel better and to add to that my dad pointed out yesterday that it may be a stress fracture.

So now here is the point I am at. . .I'm still a fat girl trying to run. Is it the fact that I'm stressing my body by trying to get 175lbs running that has lead me to this or something else. At this point with the way I'm feeling I'm leaning towards its the fattness that has me in so much pain and it SUCKS! I really want to be a person who runs, but now I'm thinking it may be much harder than I thought. I knew that in the beginning this would suck a lot, but I didn't think it would suck this much!

Tuesday's Wog

My new new shoes still have not come, my shins still HURT, but my first 5K is 10weeks away so I have to train and Tuesday I was back on it. After being humbled on the school track by the high school track time (seriously folks they passed me like I was standing stll) I headed back to the safety of my neighborhood (its relatively non-public as far as people I know). So I get Riley all hooked up with Goldfish Crackers and Juice and off we go for our wog. Wog? You ask, well since I'm am walking more than running I have termed what I'm doing as Wogging, not quite running not quite jogging, you get the picture.

This was my first wog with my nike fit kit and I have to say between that and my podrunner track I was pretty impressed! I wogged at a 14minute pace for 30 minutes (not too bad considering I was pushing Riley's heavy ass jogger) and was never really out of breath. I have two more wogs this week on the week 1 track before I start the week 2 track on Sunday. Wish me luck and say a prayer that it doesn't rain too hard this week so I can keep up my wogging!

My first race. . .

Its official! I'm a registered for my first race. I will be running the Airborne & Special Operations Museum 5K June 6, 2009 with my dearling Megan. Okay its exactly 10 weeks away which works well for my podrunner 5K plan. Let all just hope my new shoes get here soon so I can start training again! Anyone else want to run with us?? Meredith I know you are reading this. . . run with us!

My name is Danielle and I am an Overpronator. . .

So in addition the nasty food poisioning I got this week, my shin splints were still a problem. My Dad suggested that I come in and have him perform a gait analysis to see if it my shin pain was a result of something in my running style. So I decided that Chris should come in with me because I didn't want to be the only lab rat. So this morning we packed up the munchkin and headed to Pope for our analysis. Chris went first, Dad got him on the treadmill and got the camera going and within about 5 minutes we were watching Chris run on the screen in slow motion. My husband with his freakishly flat feet apparently has a perfect gait. Now it was my turn. . .yikes. So I get going on the treadmill and I can already feel my shins starting to hurt! No fun. Anyway I finish my filming and Dad starts to analyze my gait. Its not good! Apparently I am a severe overpronator! Even to my untrained eye I can see that there is something wrong once he slowed the film down. Well here I am confused, because I have a high arch and overpronation is generally only an issue if you have flat feet. Color me confused! So I'm basically a freak! Oh and by the way from the back on film it looks like I run like a Duck, so I guess calling myself a penguin was not far off.
Dad looked at the shoes I had been wearing, my pretty Under Armors and said that they are great for a neutral foot, which is what I would be with my high arch, if I wasn't an overpronator. Oh well. Dad gave me some stretches to do which should help to strengthen my hip flexors and help to correct my overpronation. He also gave me a list of approved shoes for my issue. S when I got home I hopped on the computer to see if any of our local stores would have them. . .yeah ofcourse not. They had the men's versions, but no the women's ones! Dammit! So I found them online and ordered them: Asics Gel-Evolution 4

They should be here in 2 to 3 days and I'm really hoping they will help my running pain! I can run through the fatness, but I really can't run through these shin splints!

I DON'T <3 Applebees

On Tuesday night Megan's hubby Joe (who came up from Georgia for work) did the sweetest thing. He offered to watch Riley so Chris and I could go on a dinner date! Yay! So Chris and I decided to go to Applebees, which we both love. So we go and have a great time, good food and a chance to talk to each other without the munchkin. It was so nice! Well by 10:00 that night my belly no longer thought it was so nice. EWW! That was Tuesday, its now Friday I still feel like crap! I've been bloated and crampy and so uncomfortable that I tutored Chemistry yesterday afternoon laying on a lab table. So needless to say I didn't run yesterday. This morning I am feeling a little better (despite haivng to run out to the bathroom every 10 or so minutes) so I'm hoping that the trend continues and that maybe by this afternoon I can make up for yesterday's missed run. I also got my Nike+ kit so I can't wait to try that out! I am still waiting for the clip for my shoe and the arm band, but hopefully they will all come this weekend :-)

I <3 PodRunner

Today was my first run using the podrunner intervals program, i loved it! No longer did I have to continuously check my watch to see if it was time to run or walk, I just jammed out to the music. The tunes are pretty good, no lyrics, but it kind of reminds me of a cross between a gay-club beat and a rave. All in all pretty cool to run to. Now my shin splints on the other hand are no fun to run with! I have stretched and stretched and stretched and they just feel worse! SUCKS! Just when I start to get excited about this running thing! I really don't want to deviate from my program, but at this rate I may have to because they HURT!!

New Toys and Shin-Splints

Today is Monday which means that today is not a running day, its an aerobics day. I LOVE aerobics! There are about 8 teachers who get together after school on Monday and Wednesday for an hour of old school aerobics and it is soo much fun. I joined the Aerobics class about a year ago and now beast the class, I mean barely get out of breath beast it (that does not mean my muscles are not sore, i've just conquered the cardio aspect of it). So anyway today was an aerobics day and despite my still very sore left shin I did aerobics, which of course means that my shin is now more sore. Oh well I will ice it and stretch it and hopefully in a few days I will feel better.

Anyway! On to the exciting part of today's blog. . .the toys! I have an Ipod Nano 3G (for the non-techsavy of you, its the little square one with the video screen). I love my nano, but since I started running, well really walking last summer I have wanted to get one of the Nike+ kits for my ipod that will track how far I am running and calculate my mph and all that cool stuff. Well the problem with that is I have the red headed stepchild of all ipods and to my knowledge a case was not made that would hold both my ipod and the nike+ transmitter without having the transmitter dangle precariously off the end of the ipod. Well yesterday I found a case that will carry it all! So this morning I ordered my Nike+ kit and the case and this little clear thing that puts the shoe chip on your laces since I don't have the Nike shoes with the little hole for it. I'm excited! The other piece of Ipod related running news is I found a great way to keep myself on pace! On itunes there is a free pod cast called "podrunner" its all techno music but it is constructed so that you run with a certain beat to regulate your heart rate and the include little chimes that tell you when to run and walk. There are three programs, one for a 5K, an 8K and a 10K. So I downloaded the one for the 5K, I'll let you know how it goes, its a 10week program so well see :-)

First Run with New Shoes

This morning I went out for my first run in the new shoes. Let me set the stage for you. Its morning, about 7:15, I check the weather on my BlackBerry, its 40 but feels like 34 and raining slightly. But I'm determined, I put on my new running duds and I'm out the door. Yikes! Its f-ing cold!!! I press on. I have to say I like my new shoes, but am having issues with my left shin. About half-way through my route I started feeling some pain, can't tell yet at this point if its from the new shoes or my body reacting to running in general or from the crappy shoes I was wearing. I will keep you posted.

We are off to Carolina Beach and Ft Fisher today with the in-laws. We are going to take everyone to the Aquarium, pray for me!

I GOT shoes!

Check out my new shoes!

They are a nice neutral running shoe (yes that means a Fat Girl shoe) but thats okay because they are super comfy! And just for the record, they are not this pink! Mine are only a little pink and mostly grey. I also got a few pairs of running shoes and tops and at Megan's suggestion two pair of wick-away socks. Now lets all hope its not rainy tomorrow morning so I can try these puppies out!

I need new shoes!

I knew as I began this running adventure that I would need to invest in some good quality shoes. Gone would be the days of "Those are pretty" or "I only like grey addidas trail runners because they look good with jeans" I would have to buy actual running shoes. Well I think I drove this point home yesterday on my "run" (yes I say run in quotes because I'm not really sure if what I'm doing qualifies as running). When I woke up this morning my back and hip were killing me! I mean I had to take motrin killing me. So I sat for an hour on the computer trying to navigate the world of running shoes. According to the nice shoe dog at RoadRunnerSports.com I need a Neutral + Shoe, basicially that codes for Fat Girl Running Shoe. So then I start through their list of shoes for me and find some that fit my previous qualifications for shoes, they were pretty and grey. :-) But I am also a girl who needs to try on shoes, so I attempted to cross-reference the shoes I found with shoes available at my local sporting good store. This is were things became difficult. None of the shoes have the same name on the websites! I'm so confused! I think I just need to go to my dad's office, stand on his computer pad and have that tell me what I need and then go buy them and not try to figure this out on my own. . .okay problem solved. DADDY!! Help me!

Day 2

Yesterday was my rest day, boy did I need it! Between all the yard work I did on Sunday, aerobics with Raylene on Monday and running on Wednesday, my poor body was TIRED!! So yesterday I rested (an my in-laws came into town so I played hostess). So today (Thursday) I was back on it. I ran (with my wonderful sister-in-law) the same route I ran on Monday and I kept with the run 2 walk 3 plan. And I am happy to report that today I did not hyperventilate!! :-) Yay! I felt pretty good, well as good as a fat girl can feel running so I think I'm going to increase my running time tomorrow to 3 minutes with the 3 minute walk. I ofcourse will let you know how that goes.

This weekend I am going shopping for running shoes. I have been wearing the same shoes for all my exercising events since July. . .yes I know thats bad! So I have found some shoes on RoadRunnerSports.com that I like and would like to try them on in person before I order them. My dad told me about RoadRunnerSports and their wonderful 60day return policy so I figure I'll give them a try. I will also be purchasing some running shorts so I don't have to wear my darling husbands that smell like stinky man parts! There is nothing worse then smelling like your husbands balls after he does PT!

Happy friday-eve!
<3 Stein

Day 1

So now that my running friends (Megan and Meredith, M&M I will call them collectivly) have lite a fire under my butt I am going to attempt this craziness they call fun. . yeah fun. :-/ So today was Day 1. After doing a little info gathering on my faithful interweb I decided to try a modified Couch-to-5K plan. This plan is aimed at couch potatoes, I am not a potato (I prefer to think of myself as a penguin because of my short legs) so I'm modifying it slightly. The plan instructed me to warm up for 5 minutes with a brisk walk then run for 90secs and walk for 3 minutes. I decided to warm up and shoot for 2 and 3 (run 2, walk 3). Well it turned into run 2 and walk 4, but I figured that was an okay start. Chris came with me and pushed the little Bean in the jogger (thanks honey!) to lend some moral support. You have all met my husband, he is an amazon! Six-four to my five-four, his legs are over half of my body. You have to see where I'm going with this, we can't run together! I jog, he walks very slowly next to me. But I appreciate the love! My goal was to do a 30 minute walk/jog/thing through my neighborhood, I am not ready to run in the public yet. So we set off from the house, Mommy, Daddy and Beanie in the jogger. We did our 5 minute brisk walk warm up and then I started to run. Yeah that wasn't so bad, but hell its only the first two minutes. Well I make it the first two minutes with out making an ass of myself, yay! I'm not too out of breath and the hyperventilating breathing hasn't started yet. Oh but wait we are only 7 minutes in to our thirty minute adventure. I walk my four minutes and go again and this is where the fun begins. I CANNOT RUN AND BREATH PROPERLY!!! I don't know what the proper way is (the interweb gives me conflicting stories) but I know that whatever my body does is just WRONG! I get about a minute into my next cycle and I start hyperventilating! So I focus! In nose out mouth, in nose out mouth. Yeah that doesn't help! So Deep in through mouth out mouth, nope not that either. Thankfully my two minutes ends and I can stop. My darling Christopher has run beside me and tries to give me tips like breath when you step with your right foot or every other right step. I try to explain to him that I am focusing on not falling and just trying to get air into my lungs any way I can I can't remember which step or foot I'm on, that will not work for me! And well the rest of my run goes this way. Run two minutes, hyperventilate, walk four and repeat. But anyway I made it the entire 30 and I didn't die. . .yet! Hey there is always tomorrow so someone teach me how to breathe and run already!

I am not a Runner!

There are many things I am in my life. I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a teacher, a friend, I am not however, a runner. Okay so now you are asking yourself, Stein, why if you are not a runner do you even bother to bring this up. Good question . . .its all Megan's fault (well and to be honest Meredith's too!)

I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old, soccer is a sport that disguises running by distracting you with a bouncing black and white ball. I LOVED soccer (still do), and why, because its competative and if you know me you know I am competative to the core. I like being good at things (who doesn't) and for 12 years I was very good at soccer. I played three seasons (sometimes four) a year (Rec, indoor, school and travel for those of you keeping track) for 12 years. I have played every position on the field at one point or another and it was good! And then I graduated high school, I went to college and I got busy, I got jobs, I went pre-med and there was no time to play. So without the little bouncing ball to distract me there was no running. I saw no point in pointing off to the horizion and saying, Yes today I will go that way! Ehh no thank you! And running on a treadmill, BORING! So no running! Great, fine, good. So instead I do aerobics, I like aerobics, I beast aerobics. Okay so now how does all of this relate?

I have always wanted to be a person who runs. If you have ever noticed, the women who run are thin! And to be honest its not just the thinness (yeah I don't think that is a word, but whatever this is my blog and I make the rules :-P) issue, but women who run always seem more content than women who don't. I want to be one of those thin content women who can find their zen out on the road. (Also I have a secret dream to do a triathalon, but considering my dread of the running part . . .well yeah) But because I dislike running so much and to be quite honest suck at it, I have never thought it to be more than a pipe dream. I have tried to run before. I can't! I am incapable of getting my lungs to cooperate with me. I cannot both breathe and run at the same time. Its extremely frustrating! Don't believe me? Run with me, you will see. Its bad, hyperventilating bad. . .yeah.

Anyway so I have friends who run and these friends like to run and because they like to run they want me to run. Megan and I have been best friends since we were in the eight grade, she has (like me) never been a person who runs. We both have issues with our knees and to be honest for most of our lives the two of us running has not been a pretty sight. Well my Megan ran a half-marathon last weekend! I am sooooo proud of her its beyond words, but now she thinks these crazy things like I should run too. Yikes! Well in true Megan fashion she has talked me into this craziness and has me thinking I can run a 5K. . .yeah me. . .what?? And my Meredith (Marathon-Meredith) is fueling the flames that I can do this. I love my friends. . .I guess I'll give it a shot. This should be interesting (or at least amusing for you to read about. . .)