About a year ago I got back into running. My cousin Andrea trained for and successfully completed the Utah Valley Half Marathon. I was very proud. Andrea is amazing. Not only did she run every last step of the 13.1 miles of the race, but she did it with cerebral palsy. It made me think that I should do the same thing and now I am gearing up for the Top of Utah half in August. I am so stoked.
Getting from where I was a year ago to where I am now has not been easy. My knees paid a dear, dear, price at first which landed me in physical therapy. Fortunately my wife recommended her physical therapists Steve and Karen at Orrock Mendenhall Physical Therapy. They are great. Both of them are runners and understand the stresses running puts on the body. After working with them my knees and IT bands are good. Well, about as good as any runner could ask for.
I love to run. I am sad that I gave up on it 15 years ago due to tendonitis and thought I would never run again. Now, at 33 years young I am planning on an eight mile long run tomorrow.
So, the overall purpose of this blog is to help other beginners, like me, avoid the same mistakes I made when decided to start running again after so much time off. Also, as the name implies, this blog is to help people get into running who don't have tons of discretionary cash or think it ridiculous to pay $70 for a pair of shorts. Yeah, I'm cheap. But I am out to prove to other runners you don't have to spend a ton of money to enjoy a great experience.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Coming back...Slowly
Nearly no one follows this blog so next to no one knows that since late December of 2011 I have been somewhat sidelined with some hip problems. After about three weeks of physical therapy, I can say they are getting better and I am in a place to get back into running.
The mistake that led to being sidelined was twofold. First, I abruptly changed my training routine from running just for time to running for mileage. This led me to doing too much, too fast, which is a pitfall that becomes the downfall of many beginning runners. As I start from the drawing board, I am going to focus on running for time and will leave running for mileage until I am actually training for something.
Mistake number two was not watching what I eat in the belief exercise alone was all I needed to lose weight and get healthy. I am not sure if this was a cause of my injury, but until someone more knowledgeable than myself tells me otherwise I am going to think so.
For Christmas I got a new pair of Mountain Masochists from Montrail. They were way to narrow in the toebox so I exchanged them a pair of Salomon XA Pro 3d Ultras (perhaps the longest shoe name ever). My brother-in-law recommended them and so far taking advice was a good thing. So far the Salomons have been great and I am considering buying another pair once my Brooks Adrenalines wear out.
Though I said the cause of my injuries was twofold, I realized there was a third clue to the cause of my hip injury, not enough cross-training. Running is my favorite form of exercise. However, for a beginner like me, it is not something to be done everyday. From the little I have read it is a good idea to take a week or so off to do things like cycle, elliptical, or swim to allow the body time to recover from the pounding and stress running places on the body. Speaking of pounding, now that I am the proud owner of a great pair of trail running shoes, I am planning on spending more time on the trails near my home in the hopes that my body will thank me for running on these softer surfaces(Thank you this year's mild Utah Winter).
I have dreams of doing marathon and beyond distances but for now have to focus on building a base, eating right to lose weight, and training at a pace that will allow this body of mine to adapt to the stresses of moving being overweight to in-shape. I am excited as ever to run and hope to make it healthy to at least one starting line in 2012.
The mistake that led to being sidelined was twofold. First, I abruptly changed my training routine from running just for time to running for mileage. This led me to doing too much, too fast, which is a pitfall that becomes the downfall of many beginning runners. As I start from the drawing board, I am going to focus on running for time and will leave running for mileage until I am actually training for something.
Mistake number two was not watching what I eat in the belief exercise alone was all I needed to lose weight and get healthy. I am not sure if this was a cause of my injury, but until someone more knowledgeable than myself tells me otherwise I am going to think so.
For Christmas I got a new pair of Mountain Masochists from Montrail. They were way to narrow in the toebox so I exchanged them a pair of Salomon XA Pro 3d Ultras (perhaps the longest shoe name ever). My brother-in-law recommended them and so far taking advice was a good thing. So far the Salomons have been great and I am considering buying another pair once my Brooks Adrenalines wear out.
Though I said the cause of my injuries was twofold, I realized there was a third clue to the cause of my hip injury, not enough cross-training. Running is my favorite form of exercise. However, for a beginner like me, it is not something to be done everyday. From the little I have read it is a good idea to take a week or so off to do things like cycle, elliptical, or swim to allow the body time to recover from the pounding and stress running places on the body. Speaking of pounding, now that I am the proud owner of a great pair of trail running shoes, I am planning on spending more time on the trails near my home in the hopes that my body will thank me for running on these softer surfaces(Thank you this year's mild Utah Winter).
I have dreams of doing marathon and beyond distances but for now have to focus on building a base, eating right to lose weight, and training at a pace that will allow this body of mine to adapt to the stresses of moving being overweight to in-shape. I am excited as ever to run and hope to make it healthy to at least one starting line in 2012.
 |
| My new Salomons. Not to be confused with Saruman :-) |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)