Carried by the wind

Today I headed out of the house for a morning run without too much confidence it would be a good one. I was well rested, but my stomach was upset (Ruthann (who felt the same way) and I referred to it as Pizza Roma-ria). It was also a tad bit breezy out as our fall weather is blowing the summer out. Not being a wind fan, I was a little discouraged with that (though looking forward to the cooler weather and rain that comes with fall in Portland). So I got going once I passed through the park and noticed, hey, I'm cruising along! At first I attributed it to the very slow run my running partner and I did on Sunday (more on that in a bit) and it may have had something to do with it both physically and mentally. But I figured it probably had more to do with the wind (which I had thought was at my back). It felt really good to be moving so well, especially after really slowing down on my runs in general lately.

When the half way point hit, I thought ok time to turn back into the wind. I also figured I would be sort of burned out after keeping my fast pace going for three miles or so. But I turned into the wind and it wasn't there. So I happily kept on waiting for it to pick up any moment. Soon, about 3/4 through the 6.5 miles I was planning, I realized the wind was at my back. Huh? As it turns out I was running my fast pace INTO the wind and didn't even realize it. That is when I knew this was going to be a great run. I spied a flag an confirmed the direction and quickly found myself home (with a break to talk to a neighbor I see on my route all the time). I came in at under nine minute miles for my pace, which is about 35 secs faster than I have been running lately. This just might inspire me to start up the speed work again!

So my run yesterday was a "S L O W" (as we kept IMing back and forth about it beforehand) run. Our goal was to do seven miles at about an 11 minute mile pace. It was hard to hold ourselves back but we did a really good job. Either the route was longer than seven miles or we went really slow at almost a 12 minute mile pace. It was a surprisingly good workout, but it makes sense when you consider your a taking more steps and pushing off more frequently. Plus it makes the next run seem super fast!

Bicentenial!

Wow, 200 posts. That seems pretty amazing to me. Not that having enough to talk about on running for 200 occasions is that big a deal, especially for a runner. We love to talk running and many msers love to talk about ms as well. So I guess I have it pretty easy. As far as the ms goes, the only things I really have to talk about are my aching feet (umm, plight of a distance runner?) and bladder issues (plight of a 40+ year old?) so I feel like things are going pretty well for me. I could lose some weight, I'm about 15 pounds over where I would ultimately like to be. But I feel like I am in good shape if not great shape. As far as the weight goes I suspect it may be the rebif that is causing it (or we could go back to 40+ to explain it). I do feel like I should be lighter than I am with the running I am doing. Though I have found that I need to be running over 30 miles a week consistently in order to lose weight. I have altered my diet somewhat with eating more fruits and veggies and less pasta, breads and cheese (though my reductions in the last two food groups could be greater!)

Other things to think about for a 200 post review: I seem to have a bit of short term memory loss, I also seem to have a bit of short term memory loss (ok sorry, I couldn't resist the dumb joke.) I have noticed that every once in awhile I will set out to do something and it will just be gone. If I fret and stew it tens to stay gone, if I just move on to something else it tends to come back to me pretty quickly. I find myself relying on lists more and more which could just be a defensive reaction to memory loss paranoia. Throughout my life I have experienced minor bouts of insomnia. I have noticed that I have been experiencing it more regularly as well. Like last night for instance, grrr. The other oddity has been getting music stuck in my head, it seems to happen really easily and gets really stuck.

This weekend I went for a long run, 12.5 miles. I thought about adding another miles to make it a half marathon distance, but I was feeling like I had already pushed myself enough. So I ended it. But it was a good run and I didn't kill myself too much. I did some yard work after and I think that sent me over the edge in terms of exhaustion. I slept like 10 hours that night. Today's run was a base run. I felt like I was going pretty quickly, but I was doing a 9:30 pace (or plod) but I did feel pretty light on my feet, so I think I am improving (at least my cardio if not my speed.)

No run today,

or yesterday for that matter. It has gotten hot again here. Which has been ok since my feet have been hurting and this little bit of a rest is probably good for me. Tomorrow I have plans for a run in the morning before it gets too warm. I'm going to run Mt. Tabor, but I will probably bike to the mountain to meet my friend before we go up it. The plan is to put in six miles, if I don't ride I'd be adding four miles to that and ten miles isn't what my feet want to do right now.

Base run in the rain

The rainy season isn't quite upon Portland runners, but we have been getting a taste of it recently. I really enjoy running in the rain, as long as it isn't a downpour (which is fun in it's own way). The sprinkly rain we have gotten this week is really refreshing though it does tend to make things very humid. Today when I was doing my post run workout, it felt fantastic to have the rain on my shoulders as I was doing push-ups.

Today I did an afternoon run which I rarely get to do in the summer because of the heat. Today it was pretty cool and the aforementioned rain kept things very nice. The only issue I had going on today is my feet. Running in the motion control shoes does seem to help with the pain. One of the most difficult things about my foot pain has been separating pain I feel from injury from the ms pain I feel in my feet. I can run through the ms pain, but I don't want to over do it with the injury pain. I would rather recognize that and take it as the warning it is meant to be.

Running through the ms pain is not that big of a deal at this point in my ms career. It is more of a discomfort. But sometimes it does feel like my foot is sort of cramping up and stiffening. It sounds worse than it is, but it still isn't great! I do think I can run through this with no problems. As long as I can rely on my muscle memory and awareness of my foot placement I think I will be ok. I think if that goes say from an extended break from running, that I'll be able to build it back up. I would think this would be the same for someone just starting out as well.

Fastest run this month & flip that lift

I didn't really set out to do a fast run, but that is what I ended up doing. I didn't wear my orthotics, but used my lighter Aisics Gel Kayano 12s which are also a size smaller than my Mizuno wave rider 10s. I have noticed being able to run faster in them in the past, but the two previous runs were at my normal of late pace of 9:30. Today I ran just over nine minute miles.

I also flipped my lift over. I have been wearing a lift in my right shoe since I was like 9 or 10. I remember being mortified that I would have to wear giant shoes to correct my shorter right leg. But it was only a half inch or so, all I needed was a lift in my right shoe. So they made me a leather and rubber wedge shaped thing that I have been wearing ever since. Yep the same one. Over the years I have molded it down pretty well on the inside of my foot, so that side is completely worn away. So I decided I needed a new one. I was really excited to have a new one, a thirty year wait over and done with.

I went to a foot store in a strip mall (yes, questionable, but I figured they would be cheaper than a podiatrist) and showed them my lift. I told them I had worn it way down on the one side (as was obvious) and that I wanted a new one, a full one. They said they could make me a new one out of hard foam and carve it to match my foot. Perfect!

Two weeks later it is ready and when I pick it up they have made me an exact replica of the old one, an almost artistic replication. I tell them no, I wanted one that isn't worn away, a full one. The person said, "Oh sorry, the guy who made it quit and he is the only person who knows how to do it." Great. Well I can always use another lift exactly like the one I had, so I took it and went home dissapointed.

So, today on my run I flipped my lift so the worn side was on the outside of my shoe giving my inner foot more support. And it worked well I thought. It was pretty comfortable, less foot pain than many of my runs. I don't know if I would recommend flipping your orthotics, since I wear my lift under a motion control insert I think it worked for me.

I am thinking about buying a pair of walking shoes to wear to Europe this fall. Time to research!

Third run in a row, twice in a row

Well, third run in a row twice with a three day break in between. I don't think this qualifies for my four runs in a row method of getting back into running. And to top it off I probably won't be running tomorrow as I will be up somewhat late tonight with band practice. Speaking of, I just joined a band - the Carroll Raumm Orchestra. Talking to the director I found out they play for the Portland Marathon every year. Seems like I remember them, but I was probably so jazzed (no pun intended) to be running that I may have forgotten. Now I will have an excuse for not running it!

So, today's run went pretty well. I wore my motion control shoes for the second day in a row. I had put these aside when I got my orthotics as I was supposed to run in a neutral shoe with them. My podiatrist said I could easily rotate them if I wanted (since I had just purchased a new pair of the MC shoes). I have noticed that I seem to run faster in them then my orthotics (though not these last two days). The orthotics are more comfortable, but are heavier. In addition since wearing them I have a reoccurring plantars wart on the bottom of my foot. My doctor says they sometimes pop up with new shoes as your foot might rub and the irritation can contribute to them. He said my orthotics were probably the culprit and told me about an over the counter medicine called Duofilm. The Doufilm worked (the wart came off eventually leaving a small crater on my foot) but it came back. I have gone through probably four bouts of applying the medicine. So in my foot book, they mention using common duct tape on the wart to cover it after you put wart remover on it. Apparently this is one of those common things that everyone knows. Well, not me. So I have been using the duct tape (just a small square) instead of a bandaid for a couple days now. Apparently the glue irritates the wart. Anything to do that!

I did notice some foot pain after my long run on Sunday, but not enough to discourage me from running a couple of base runs today and yesterday. There is a part of me that thinks I should head my body's message more and just stop running. But there is a larger part that says buck up and deal with it and use the warning as incentive not to run too much. Moderation!