So, it's been a while

Six days until the race!  I've been wildly busy with work and life, and once I added physiotherapy for my creaky SI joint, I've had no time to blog.

Fortunately, I have basically negative two readers at this point, but for you, I apologize for keeping you hanging.

Training has been going well.  I never thought eight miles would feel like an easy, relaxing run, but nevertheless, there it is.  

Rehab's been interesting.  The problem is that my lower core is weak, despite my efforts, and my left hip rotates forward, and then my tailbone pulls out of alignment.  This makes everything hurt, and screws up my stride.

So, part of the work is for the nice physiotherapists to pop my hip back into place.  Today, that involved also realigning the symphysis pubis joint, which cracked painfully and loudly, like a bunch of firecrackers went off in my pants.    I saw stars, and then yelled, and then apologized.  But then, when I stood up, I felt lighter and straight.

This is apparently what normal feels like.

The rest of the work is retraining the glutes and core so they can stabilize my pelvis when I run.  Lots of marching bridges and variations on leg lifts, and lots of getting my tired hamstrings to stretch just a bit further.

I think it's helping, but I also think it will be a while coming back.  The PT says essentially we have to retrain my body to recognize normal as normal, instead of settling back into the misalignment that I've had for months.

The race is Saturday!

Back to the bar!

The last two weeks I've slacked off on strength training because after the trails caught on fire and I missed my long run, I felt like I should take the run options in my training plan instead of crosstraining.

Yeah, enough of that.  I think right now I do a bit better if I run four days a week and strengthen train for two, keeping one day as a rest/yoga day.  

So today I hit the gym with some friends for a leisurely weights workout, by which I mean Coach taught us some new ways to be completely exhausted by the end of it.

First up, the Turkish get-up.  

(That's not me.  This is Neghar Fonooni, who is evidently a badass.)

 Second, the push press. A push press is a regular overhead press, but instead of standing still and beginning the press with your arms, you bend your knees slightly and then explode up, transferring the force from your legs to your arms, and then you press it up.  The idea is to use your legs to power the weight above your head -- it makes the press significantly easier.

Once that was done, it was onto maxing the squats.  110lbs for me!  It was a soft 110, but I didn't really want to push it as my IT band is a bit achy after last week's adventures.  We closed out the day with some push-ups, dips, and split squats, and some well-deserved stretching.

Not sure what to make of this set of lifting standards, but it's interesting.  I'm solidly in the novice-intermediate range on all of the lifts that I've done.  Maybe I've got the wrong sport prioritized as I'm clearly in the turtle range on distance running...!

Who else here strength trains?

Protip: Don't faceplant!

I'm feeling much better after Tuesday's adventure.  My chin is still swollen and my jaw is still tender at the right TMJ, but it's getting better.  Yesterday I went for a walk and took it easy.  The schedule called for cross-training or a rest day, but I figured that my body had enough going on trying to repair my face that I didn't need to stress it.

So, first rule of injury prevention: don't fall down.

Second rule:  your hips are weak.

But I run fast, you say.  But I am healthy, you say!  But I've been doing this longer than you have, emmbee, you say!

That is true.

Still, your hips are weak.  Especially if you're female, and especially if you've had a baby.

I'm a new runner, but I'm an old pro at starting running programs and giving up due to knee and IT band pain.  I knew my feet were flexible, and that I overpronated moderately, so I bought motion control shoes, and, well, I still had pain.

Then I had a baby who liked to eat, and I spent many hours nursing and reading books about running on my Kindle.  And I learned that many of the aches and pains of runners can be attributed to weak hips.

Here's the deal.  When you run, you take about 3000 steps per mile, give or take.  Your body is a marvelous machine, so imagine any other machine you like.  A bicycle, maybe, or a stand mixer.  Now imagine a tiny problem with its mechanics -- maybe a slightly wobbly tire, or one tooth on a gear slightly out of position.  How would it last after 15,000 repetitions?

Why would your body be any different?

Now, this is not all to say that we need to have the same form.  Your personal history and movement patterns are stamped on your body.  But if something small is out of balance, it can lead to greater problems down the line.

Think about your hips and glutes.  If they're not strong, or if they're not firing, when you stride forward powerfully, as you do when you run, your leg will cave in slightly.   Assuming you don't fall down (see protip #1), some other muscle and joint has to compensate to absorb the force.  That means that your foot rolls in more, and your quad and IT band have to tighten to catch you.  Do that 15,000 times, and you stand a good chance of injury.

Often, it's not a matter of pure strength.  If you want the easiest, no brainer fix, just find a trainer and learn how to squat and deadlift.  Once you can do those, you'll have sorted out your hip and glute issues.  But you might not be into cross-training, nor might you have time or access for a gym, and the thing is, there is no savings account in strength training.  You have to work these muscles all the time.

So, what to do?

There are so many things, but here's what I like as a starting point:

1. Stand tall.  (If you do yoga, think of mountain pose.)  Stand with your weight equally balanced on your feet, with a neutral pelvis, tail neither tucked nor popped.  Your weight should be over your heels; check this by wiggling your toes off the ground.
2. Now, think of rotating your knees outward from the hips.  You won't actually move your knees --- you're just trying to find that little stabilizing muscle.*  What you're thinking of is moving your glutes (buttcheeks) together without clenching them, rotating your femurs outward without moving your feet.  
3. Now, notice what it does.  Pay attention to your body!  You'll notice that your knees separate a bit, and your legs are straighter.  Your arches will lift slightly.  

This is what you need to get your body to do while you run.  Obviously, you're not going to be able to concentrate on that, so you do strengthening exercises to get those muscles to fire.

Here's my three favorite hip strengtheners.  

• Air squats.  Standing tall, squat down to parallel or just below, and then stand back up.  Here's what you need to think about while doing this:
• Remember that little stabilizing muscle in your butt?  Think about it.  Feel it push your knees outward as you squat and rise.  You want to keep your knees from collapsing in, and you want that to happen from your butt.
• Power yourself back up with your glutes -- you want to avoid tipping forward.  Keep your weight over your heels as much as you can.
• I like to do these after runs, maybe 20 or so.
• Monster walks.  For this one, you need one of those stretchy elastic flat bands.  Loop the band around both legs, around your calves or ankles.  Stand with your feet about hip width and bend your knees into a high squat.  Then, keeping tension in the band, step sideways.  
• Do ten steps in one direction, and then come back ten steps the other way.  You'll feel this in your hip rotators, too.
• Three sets of ten should do ya.
• Roll-outs.  For this one, you need that flat band again, a soccer-ball sized rubber ball (like the kind your kids want at the supermarket), and a chair or a stability ball.
• The band goes around your legs just above the knee.  Your butt sits on the big ball.  The little ball goes between your knees, feet about hip width apart.  Keep your hands on the little ball.
• Think about that little stabilizing muscle, and feel it work as you roll your feet to the outside -- your legs will part, and you'll feel the band stretch.  Then, return your feet to neutral, and squeeze the little ball between your legs.  You're basically doing a clam shell, but while sitting, with a little added resistance.
• Three sets of eight should be good.  If you Kegel as you squeeze the ball, and lift your pelvic floor, you'll get a good workout there, too.  (Important for us mother runners.)

And you're on your way!  Bulletproof.  Just don't fall on your face.

* Technically, it's all these little muscles.  But they're hard to tell apart, and you're looking for a feeling of rotation.

(Standard sort of disclaimer:  I'm not a medical doctor, just a hobbyist, so think critically when deciding whether to listen to some loon on the Internet.  Ta!)

Wheeee.

So, that was interesting.  We had another windy morning and I've been really tired lately, so I opted to sleep in until 6:30AM and forgo a short 3-mile run in favor of yet another strength training Monday.

Today's strength workout totally caught me by surprise.  Coach posted the workout earlier, and when I first looked at it, I figured it would be an easy Monday.  Surely better than a 3 mile run + strides.

- Warm up
- 4x6 overheard press @ 85 %
- sets of 5 dead lift: 50%, 65%,75%,85%,90-95%
-3x8 bent rows, moderate weight
-3x8 lat pull downs
- max front plank x 3

Oh, did you notice what I missed there?

- sets of 5 dead lift: 50%, 65%,75%,85%,90-95%

As it turns out, 5 reps of 95% max weight, which is EQUAL TO MY BODYWEIGHT, is a hell of an evil workout.  I was briefly lightheaded.  But this didn't happen, so it's all good:

My face looked like that, though.

My max plank is 2 minutes and 10 seconds.  And then a nap.

By the numbers.

Today's cross-training involved a date at the gym for some serious technical squat work.  Coach filmed using Coach's Eye, which allowed her to break down our form in slow motion.  I achieve good depth on my squats, but there's a slight catch in my motion just before I bottom out, so my work today was slow (3-count) negative squats, where one squats very slowly and fully, and then powerfully shoots up back to standing.

I have to say that weightlifting is great for my general mobility, and it seems to be keeping my core in line, too.  Fingers crossed.

_______


When I decided to blog my first half-marathon training cycle, I was moved to write largely because I couldn't find any runners like me.  There are:

• skinny girls who run and take endless selfies and pictures of what they eat.
• moms who run and post endless pictures of their kids.
• overweight women trying to lose weight and blogging their weight loss journey.
• fast, talented runners who post their training programs.
• men, who get to blog about running without including their children or their dress size.  (uh, figuratively speaking.)

I am:

• 35 (too old to be Internet cute.  Thank goodness.  I look like the wreck of the Hesperus when I run.)
• a mother to a one-year-old who I am not going to pimp out for page views.
• employed
• in extremely good shape
• slow as hell.

So I thought maybe someone would want to read about someone with a 9:30ish easy pace who never raced as a kid or young adult, who started running seven months ago because it's the easiest form of exercise to fit in when one has a small person with an unpredictable schedule in their life.

Anyhow, last week I had a doctor's visit.  This will never be a weight loss blog, because the Internet feeds neuroses and disordered eating and I'll not be a part of it.  Let's say I weigh X, where X is a healthy BMI, but in the doctor's judgment, I'm a little too lean.  We both suspect that this is due to training for a half while weaning a baby, but I'm supposed to eat more so I can ward off stress fractures. 

It's nice to have a prescription for chocolate milk. 

But my other numbers were great.  105/65 BP.  55 resting heart rate.  

So it got me thinking about the best way to avoid obsessing over one's weight.  Hard for a woman in a society where "thigh gaps" are now being overtaken by "bikini bridges."  Hard especially for someone like me who enjoys data and quantifying the self and all of that (though I don't own a scale.)  Hard also because there is some small correlation between one's weight and one's health, so ignoring it completely isn't really an option for most people.  

Here's the thing.  If one tracks a lot of numbers, then each number is individually less powerful.  What might a list look like?  Here's a start:

• Blood pressure.
• Resting heart rate.
• Maxes on lifts.
• Body fat % 
• Tape measurements (waist, hips.)
• Hours slept per night.
• Steps taken per day.
• 5K time

What would be on your list?

Lifted.

Yes, I'm lifting in a running skirt.

So today Coach said we were going for our first 1-rep max.  To do this, we'd begin by lifting 50% of our estimated max 8 times, then add weight and lift 6.  Repeat for 3, 2, 1, 1, 1... and then we'd know what our max was.

She did not tell us to plan for pictures!   Hence insane hair.  

Here I am mid overhead press.  Do I have too much curve in my lumbar spine?  Possibly.  

We maxed deadlift (131lbs) and overhead press (60lb.)  I think the plan is to test this every four week, so we can see how our training is going.  With the amount of running I'm doing, I don't expect to make great strength gains.  

Then I came home, drank chocolate milk, ate dinner, weeded the garden, and mowed the lawn.  I have this cross-training thing DOWN.

And tomorrow is a six-mile run.  Urp.

Great review of the Nike Zoom Pegasus 31.  I'm currently doing most of my miles in the 30 (clearance beats new every time), so it's great to see that they haven't changed it too much.  Plus, Pete's right.  It's a sweet-looking shoe.

Week two recap

Sundays are better with flowers:

Tiger daffodils from this spring

Weekly total: 20 miles.

I'm feeling pretty good about training so far, as I was able to complete my long run easily.  I'm not in pain, either, which is new, as for the past three months I've been battling a cranky left glute.  Aggressive hamstring stretching and strength training seems to have helped.

I am, however, unusually tired, to the point that I took a pregnancy test (negative!) and I'm wondering if my iron levels are off.  A check-up Thursday should help sort that out.  In the meantime, this week will be lighter on lifting as it's an interval week and Friday is the holiday.

Week in review:

Monday's strength workout.

Tuesday's easy run.

Wednesday's strength + tabatas.

Thursday's easy run and apricot overload.

Friday's easy run thwarted by a stroller.

Saturday's poopy long run.

Tabata, n.

def., latin for "beat DOWN."

Today the plan called for either rest, or cross-training, and I opted again for a lifting workout.  I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up, but four days running, two days lifting, and one day of rest seems to be working okay so far.

What I did:
-warmup with inchworms, spider-walks, box squats, around the worlds
- practice cleans

Coach has a nefarious plan to turn us into Olympic lifters.  Not going to happen!  This is supposed to be our light week because next week we are going to do something called a 1-rep-max, which the Internet tells me is a way to

- 3 x 5 squat, very light, with full depth
- 3 x 5 bench, at about 80%
- Tabatas: 4 minutes - alternate crab walks and push-ups
- Tabatas: 4 minutes - alternate windshield wipers and what I'm going to call single-leg seesaws -- balance on one leg, keep hips square lean forward bringing trailing leg to parallel behind you, repeat.


Can we talk about Tabatas?  These are high-intensity interval training sets.  We did 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, 4 times, for each set.   All I knew was that my buddies who Crossfit never shut up about HIIT and Tabatas and how they're more fit than cardio bunnies and eat free range organic unpasteurized bears for breakfast, etc.

Tabatas are evil.  EVIL. I finished feeling energized, and spent, and mystified that I was breathing hard from lying on my back swinging my legs from side to side (the windshield wipers.)

Interesting read today: Caitlin writes about tattoos, musing aloud why they have become more common among active women.

My off-the-cuff take on it is that a woman who is active, who has learned her physical limits and how to push them further, is less likely to adhere to beauty standards that admonish her to be small, delicate, ornamental and perform traditional femininity.

Once you get past that, well, ink is a great way to embody non-traditional beauty.  It's not just that it's not traditionally feminine that makes it appealing, I think, but that it is permanently so, a way of marking one's defiance of a certain set of norms.

Of course, if they keep it up, tattoos will come to signify, "middle-aged female athlete."

(Which is not only great, but think of all the bros with those barbed wire tattoos!)

Women should clean!

...and jerk!

Today's strength workout focused on learning the technique for the "clean" part of the "clean and jerk."  With relatively light weights, we started with a hanging pull, driving our hips and shoulders up, and then basically racked the bar up on our shoulders.  I'm intrigued at how much of weightlifting is about technique, transferring the energy of one's hips and glutes to one's wrists.

Anyhow, lots of fun.  I'm not too worried about lifting a ton right now as I'm thinking of it as only cross-training while I'm training for this half.

What I did:

• -practice cleans
• - 3x5 dead lift at about 80% (2 warm-up sets first)
• - 3x5 standing press at about 80% (2 warm-up sets first)
• - for 10 minutes on rower: 1 minute at about 85%, 1 minute at easy pace

80% for me on deadlifts is about 85lb; standing press only 45lb as I don't quite yet grok the starting position.  

Up tomorrow at 5:30am:  5 easy miles.

On writing and running.

Rachel Toor brings us a lovely essay on the similarities between writing and running.

To her observations I'd add that both writing and running, at least in my particular case, demand continual, patient effort.  I am not a naturally gifted runner, and to get to the point where I can run several miles without injury has taken careful training over seven months.  Likewise, if I wish to write well, I need to write every day.   I can't just sit down and write an essay any more than I could jump off the couch and run a marathon.

In both disciplines there are junk miles.  In running, miles that you run just to practice; in writing, sentences you write just to keep the thoughts from freezing and seizing up.  It takes time to find my stride in both running and writing.

Yet improvements happen in small invisible increments, until one day, the flow is effortless and beautiful, and I run miles without thinking faster than I have, and the words cover the page.

__

Today's plan has me doing a "fun workout", for which the authors of Train Like A Mother suggest something like soccer or cross-country skiing.  It'd be nice to play soccer, but look, I'm running because I don't have time for another sport (and also, no skills.)  So today I have a date with some heavy weights.
__

The apricots have ripened.

Strength training.

I named this blog "Bulletproof" because that's my main objective in training for this half.  I want to be injury-free and energetic; I work full-time, I have a toddler who never stops moving, and I'm 35, which is an interesting age in that some days I feel twenty-five years old, and some days I look in the mirror and see my grandmother peering back.

(She looks pretty good.  But still.)

At any rate, everyone and their mother recommends strength training for runners, and I actually really enjoy lifting.  It's fun, satisfies my need to track progress, and the only reason I'm not focusing on weightlifting is that it's harder to commit to a program that requires me to go to the gym more than a couple of times a week.  (See above re: toddler.)

I'm lucky in that I have a friend who is a certified weightlifting coach, so throughout this training cycle I'll be lifting heavy twice a week.    Deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, and tons of mobility and core.  Women should lift heavy weights.

(I am nowhere near any of those benchmarks.  Maybe the planks.)

This is necessary because while I haven't been seriously injured (knock on wood), I'm really good at tweaking various muscles and joints, and in the past, they've kept me from running.  And these days I just don't have time for injury time.