Switching to Instagram @ amy_eatrunlift

So much has happened since my marathon- recovery from shinsplints, broken toe, a new love of lifting weights.

I have decided to switch to Instagram to document my journey trying to see if I can build muscle AND train for marine corps! My scientific experiment!  @amy_eatrunlift

Be warned, unlike my Facebook, which is all about family, my Instagram is basically all about me and heavy on the selfies and half naked muscle progress pictures. It is my  little personal oasis away from mommy-dom. Follow at your own risk -LOL

I also post a lot of food pictures because building muscle requires lots of food- now that's fun :)

I find it a more user friendly and fun outlet than blogging. 

Anyone who's interested, I'll see you on Instagram. :)

Rock &Roll USA Marathon 2014

My day started at 4 am. I woke up and had oatmeal with raisins and chia seeds- my usual pre long run breakfast. I also brought a banana and honey stinger waffle with me for later before the race.

I arrived at the national mall at about 6:20. There was no line at the port a potties yet so I took advantage and then met my running group, Mom's Run This Town for a group picture.

By now it was 6:50 and my running buddy Alexandra and I headed for the start. We stopped one more time at the port a potties, this time waiting nearly half an hour. 

We finally reached our corral (the race has a staggered start) at 7:20.

The national anthem played and at 7:30, 1 by 1 the corrals were released. I believe we began running at about 7:38 (we were in corral 8.)

          Alexandra and I before the race

I felt really good running, though I usually don't warm up until mile 3 at which time my pace increases. Because I was running with my running buddy, I ended up starting a bit faster than usual and quickly began to have doubts that I would be able to keep up. A couple times I said that I would probably be running alone shortly, but I kept making goals for myself : " just finish this mile," then: "make it to mile 5 where girls from "Mom's Run This Town will be cheering."

Sure enough, after about 3 miles I felt good and the doubts went away. I was running!!! We made it to mile 5 and there were our friend cheering us on. It was wonderful to see them there and it gave me a boost of energy for the giant hill I saw looming up ahead!

     Waving to my friends as they cheered

I actually had no problem with the hill. I didn't feel out of breath and felt recovered right afterwards. I hadn't trained on steep hills but I had been running smaller rolling hills with my jogging stroller for 15 months and it seemed that was enough . . . but wait!

Now there was a long downhill. Easy, right? 

Not so much!

I really wasn't used to the stress that the downhill motion and constant breaking put on my quads and I found myself slowing down more than I would expect.

But, soon I was past the downhill and kept on going!

The route took us through tree lined streets, DC city neighborhoods, across bridges, and past monuments. There was crowd support along the entire route. People with signs cheered us on, as well as local bands set up every few miles. 

At one point I think we were passing Frat Houses because groups of guys were outside cheering us on. One group had a table with cups on it and a sign that read: "This is not water!"

And speaking of water, there were plenty of water stations along the route. I brought my Amphipod water belt with 2 8 oz bottles. I used them as we'll as drinking a cup a every station, but I feel that I would have been all right even if I didn't have my own water. 

To fuel, I also took a PowerGel every 5 miles for a total of 5 gels at mile 5,10,15,20, and 25.

I also had been carb loading for 3 days which I plan to write about in a future post.

Up to, maybe, mile17, I was still having some doubts. I felt a bit dizzy if I looked down and had to make myself keep looking forward. That had never happened before and I was worried it would get worse, but it didn't and by mile 18 I was feeling great!

About mile 20, my running buddy felt she needed to walk and I started to walk with her. I didn't have a time goal, after all. Strangely, as I started walking, I started to feel dizzy and see spots. 

I said, "I don't think I can walk right now."

An she said, "Go, run."

I felt a bit bad leaving her, but we talked later and she pointed out that I had to run my own race. All was well.

 

I ran and immediately felt better. I looked back a few times but soon I couldn't see her anymore, and I kept going. 6 miles to go.

I started trying to set up my earphones and iPhone to play music and realized that my Life-proof case had failed and there was water (sweat) inside of it. After two miles of messing with it, I gave up, realizing it wasn't going to play with the moisture damage. (It is better now after a night in rice). 

Happily, that distracted me until I realized there were only 4 miles to go. I felt great! My Garmin had hiccoughed at one point, claiming a 7:14 mile- not likely in my opinion, and was now about 1/2 mile faster than the markers. I stopped paying attention to the mileage on the watch and focused on the total elapsed time. 

According to my calculations, even if I ran a 10 min mile from here on out, I could beat 4 hours- and I was averaging 9:30 at this point!

Finally, I hit mile 25. I put on a burst of speed, feeling great! My last mile ended up under 9 minutes as I saw RFK stadium up ahead. I passed cheering crowds as I sprinted to the finish!

I crossed the finish line and there was Deborah, one of the chapter leaders of Mom's Run This Town, with my medal!

I gave her a big hug, grinning ear to ear, I was so happy and feeling so good!

Then I got a space blanket, some water and some chocolate milk and waited for my running buddy to finish.

She crossed the finish line shortly after.

I went to meet my family and friend waiting for me.

My toddler began making the "milk" sign very seriously, with both hands, so I plopped down and nursed her. Them we made the long, line filled, crowded trek back to the metro- all the way to the end of the yellow line.

Finally, FINALLY, we headed for food!!!

I had eaten a protein bar, chocolate milk, pretzels, and an orange post race but I was still starving!

We went to BGR: The Burger Joint and I ordered a Wellington Burger, Sweet Potato Fries, and a Vanilla Milkshake. My friend told the cashier that I had just run a marathon and he gave me a giant chocolate chip cookie for free! 

I started eating it in line, as soon as I could get the wrapper off and ate a 3rd of it before I stopped myself. What I really wanted was protein and I didn't want to completely fill up on cookie.

                    The meal

                       Yum!!!!!!!

 All gone! Yes, I ate all of it by myself and it was wonderful!!!!

That night I went to bed at 8:30 and had the soundest sleep of my life!

How do I feel now? My quads are really sore- like, walk down the stairs backwards, sore. I'm too sore to really go for a walk even, so I'm resting.

It's all muscle aches though! Nothing concerning at all- no joint pain, bone pain, tendon pain at all! And only one small blister that looks bad but doesn't even hurt.

What a great experience! I can't WAIT to do it again! 

I swore I would take a break until Marine Corps Marathon training began in July but . . . there is a great 50K coming up on June 7th . . .

Running Assessment

Today I went to Valens Physical Therapy in Old Town Alexandria and got a runners assessment. I learned a lot and really enjoyed it. Here's what happened:

I filled out a one page form asking about my running history/training etc. Then, MacKensie, the physical therapist, asked me some more questions. 

She checked my alignment, muscle strength, and generally assessed how my body moved and functioned in an exam room. 

Almost everything looked really good except my SI joint was a little out of alignment on one side. (This is the Sacro-Illiac joint or hip/pelvis). She explained this using a skeleton.

Generally, though, she said she could align my joint and then give me some strength exercises to stabilize and strengthen. She didn't see any major problems or think anything threatened my distances. 

She told me I was built like a runner like quote "born to run." Now I really liked her :).

The I got on the Treadmill and she videotaped and watched me walk with shoes off and on. Then she did the same while I ran, first with my beloved Mizuno Wave Inspire 9's, then with the new shoe I am considering now that the "9"s are discontinued- the Saucony Guide 7.

It turns out that my foot looks more stable in the Guide and when I ran in the two shoes, one after another, I could feel it too. So, Mackenzie recommended running in the Guide. Now I have 2 extra pairs of new Wave Inspire 9's to sell (size 9). :)

MacKenzie said my arm swing looked great. My gait did as well, in most ways. I naturally have a midfoot strike which is apparently good and puts less strain on the knees etc. 

We looked at all the different parts of my gait and my left leg looked great. On my right side, my knee tended to swing inward toward the midline. Apparently related to my imbalanced SI joint. This was mild and correctable.

In general, this part was pretty cool, watching myself run in slow motion :) I made sure to wear shorts that I found flattering because I knew this would be happening.

Then, MacKenzie aligned my SI joint- this part reminded me of being at the Chiropractor. She said the misalignment made one leg function as longer than the other. She also said that Mount Vernon Trail runners often have this problem because of the unevenness and banking of the trail.

Then, I worked with Andre. He showed me specific foam rolling points that Mackenzie wanted me to concentrate on. They explained to me that as an endurance athlete, my muscles could have the tendency to stay tight and this would help keep everything aligned as well as recover and heal my muscles. 

Then Andre took me through all the exercises MacKenzie wanted me to do:

Opposite arm/leg lifts for SIJ stability,

Bridge with Ball Squeezed between legs for stability as well, Side lying Hip ABduction for strong running, Squatting Retro Monster Walks with band at Knees for hip strength, Clamshells for hip strength, single leg squats for movement retraining (to keep my knee from swinging inward), Squatting sidestep with band at knees for movement retraining and hip strength, and Stationary side lunge for movement retraining.

All exercises were prescribed with number of reps and times per week. Currently with the Marathon so soon, it was recommended that I go a little easier and just do them 2x a week (once after my shortest run, and once on a recovery/rest day). 

It was also explained that women often have weak hips/glutes and compensate with their quads. I was told that my hips needed to be a main strength focus for me.

I also got to do the full workout. So each exercise was done with coaching for the entire number of reps and sets prescribed! The whole assessment and workout was 2.5 hours.

After the workout, MacKenzie checked my SI joint and it was still aligned. I asked her if this was everything: so this is the comprehensive "what I need to do" to run the best I can? And she said yes. 

She is also going to write up an even more detailed summary and email it too me. If I learn more or got anything wrong, I will post it!

This was a great experience and I highly recommend it! While these exercises are good for any runner, getting a personal assessment will tailor exactly what YOU need. 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Afraid to run?!?

After months of pain free running, my knee suddenly started to act up. I think it started after a particularly strenuous treadmill run in which I did 22 miles at an 8:50 average pace, my normal long run pace being about 9:30. 10 of the miles were at an 8:30 pace.

Just after completing this run, I read in Runners World that doing speed work on the treadmill can cause you I over stride, trying to keep up with the belt.

Now, I have never had problems before, but this was a very long run and . . .

The next day the back of my leg hurt at the knee, as though I had hyperextended it. Fortunately that went away with 2 rest days, Sunday and Monday. I ran Tuesday (7 miles), Wednesday and Thursday (8.5 and 9.5 miles). I noticed a little soreness on Friday on the inside of my left kneecap. Then took a rest day Friday.

Saturday I ran 13 miles and was fine until Mile 11, then started to feel my knee. It was better in the morning though, and I did my planned 10 miler with some soreness at mile 9.5. This soreness, though mild, continued into the next day. 

I took Monday off and then felt fine Tuesday so I did a tentative 3 miles. So far so good. I took Wednesday off, planning to try for 8 on Thursday. 

Which brings me to today (Thursday). After taking extra rest days and worrying about my knees, I found myself afraid to do this run. I tend to push down my emotions sometimes, but honestly, this week I have been constantly stressed that my knee would keep me from running. 

I finally got out there though. 8 miles at a little under 10 minute pace and . . . So far so good! I think the rest days really helped! 

And tomorrow I am going to Valen's Physical Therapy in Old Town Alexandria to do their running assessment. 2 hours one on one to analyse and advise me, so I can decrease my risk for injury and be the best runner I can be! I'm excited!

Review to come! 

Early to Rise

If you had told me, even two years ago, that I would be happy to wake up at 4:30 to exercise, I would have laughed heartily: "Hahaha!" 

But it turns out that it is actually quite nice! 

There was a girl in my high school chemistry class who came to school with damp (sometimes greenish) hair after waking at 4 to go swimming. - she was at Olympic trial level. I asked her how she could do that and she said she didn't mind. 

I didn't get it but now I understand. When your body gets to a certain level of conditioning the exertion becomes pleasant, the high addicting. And what a great antidepressant!

So here I am at the gym, having woken up at 4:30 and having ran 9 miles by 6:50- yes, A..M. It may rain today and my husband can't watch the baby later (and I don't want to miss Yoga).

Too bad my rest day was yesterday, but it was one that I couldn't rearrange even though the weather was nice, having run 22 miles and 10 miles the two days before. Don't want to break this body that has let me accomplish so much!

Anyway, it's 7:30 and I'm on my way home, already done with my run for the day! How cool is that!

22 Miles in the Rain

Last week it was ice. This week it was rain. Once again I had a great run set up with friends and I thought the weather would squash my plans.

BUT! When I asked my friends from my running group, they all still wanted to come! 6 people willing to join me at 5:30 in the rain! And one at 6:45 to run 10 more miles with me! 22 miles in all and I only had to do the last 4.5 miles by myself!

I love Mom's Run This Town! What a great running group! If you are interested, chances are there is a chapter near you! Find out at Momsrunthistown.com.

I'm not going into a mile by mile recap today. Lets just talk about some differences from previous runs:

Today, I took my Powergel every 5 miles as usual but felt a little wonky (tired and hungry) at mile 18.5. So I took my last gel early and felt better. I kept thinking of a friend who told me that in the Marine Corps Marathon there were big chocolate chip cookies at Mile 20. I was seriously craving one :)!

Other than that, after doing 20 miles twice, 22 didn't seem much harder and I'm feeling good now!

I got a chance to wear my Knuckle Lights for the first time and I love them!

They provide a steady bright stream of light that seriously illuminates the trail and they are very comfortable to wear, even for me and I do not like carrying anything when I run. In fact, they were so comfortable that when it got light out I didn't bother to take them off or run them to my car when I passed by it!

They are also safe to use in the rain.

Thanks to my friends and knuckle lights, I could safely start at 5:30 and be done before 9:30. Then home to my family and some Talenti Tahitian Vanilla Gelato!

Running Long - on the Treadmill . . . And Turkey Hill Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream!!!

I was so excited (I get that way before my long runs). I had a great event lined up for this morning with my running group "Mom's Run This Town." 3 people were going to meet me on the Mount Vernon Trail at 5:30 to run until 6:30. Then we would get back to the start to pick up the second leg-at least one more person who would run 12-15 more miles with me. 

Then it snowed . . . and temps plummeted to the single digits. The trail, the sidewalks, the sides of the road, all covered in a sheet of ice. There was truly no where to run safely. So, off to the gym (that place I go to maybe once a month on average but it is so worth it for these instances).

I started my morning at 6:45 at Starbucks for a Gingerbread Latte. A froufrou coffee drink is part of my long run ritual. The shopping center parking lot was a sheet of black (and some white) ice. But I made it in and out.

Then on to Golds, where happily, their snow plow company had done a bang up job.

Once on the treadmill, the mental games began. I was nervous. Could I REALLY get through 16-18 miles on a treadmill by myself?!? (Somewhere in my head, I knew I was actually going to do 20 miles but I tried not to admit it to myself yet.)

I started at a 9:40 pace with a 2.0 incline. I have read that using that incline helps compensate for the treadmill being slightly easier than road running. I cued up the second half of The Hunger Games on my IPad and away I went.

At mile 4, I switched to a 9:30 pace and continued that until mile 15, taking gels at mile 5, 10, and 15. Always with water!

When that movie was over, I switched to Into The Wild. Then, at mile 15 I switched to music and alternated my pace between 9:30 and 8:00 because the music and runners high gave me a "pick me up." I knew I had this then. I would do 20 miles and love it!

At mile 18.5 I started to feel a cramp in the top of my right foot, so I lowered the incline to 1.0 and slowed down to a 10 min mile. No help. 

I paused the treadmill and retied my shoe looser, shaking out my foot. BETTER!

Back on the treadmill- pace up to 9:15. Then up to a 7:56 minute mile for one final mile at 19 miles and then DONE! 20 miles complete!

189:10 (9.27 minute mile average)

I did it! I doubted it could be done but I did it and am relieved to know that no weather can keep me from my training :)

I had to walk for about 10 minutes afterwards. I stopped for a sec and felt a little woozy. Walking is always recommended post long run because the muscle movement of walking helps pump the blood and prevent blood pooling and dizziness.

Properly cooled down, I headed for home. I wa feeling happy and goofy though and couldn't resist the urge to announce to the recruiters in the gym office that I just ran 20 miles on the treadmill. High fives all around - then home to my ice cream recovery.

Today's treat was Turkey Hill Homemade Vanilla mixed with Plain Greek yogurt in about a 2:1 ice cream:yogurt ratio.

The Greek yogurt adds healthy protein and live active cultures. Also, when the two are soft and stirred together, the ice cream gets a delicious icy consistency much like when it is added to root beer. Also, there seems like there is more ice cream!!! It's delicious. Try it!!!

The vanilla ice cream itself was . . . Fine. Not the best and not the worst. (I highly recommend Talenti Vanilla- by the way.)

But mixed with the yogurt it was delish!

Recovery done right once again.