Ran again yesterday

Joseph and I went running yesterday around 1 or 1:30. There was a storm blowing in, so there was a good breeze to help with the fact it was around 80* according to my weather channel app on my phone. It never did really rain here, but apparently the storm got close enough to produce nice winds and overcast skies. Nice running weather.

I think we went around about 5 times. 5 x .45 is...2.25 miles. We ran some, and we walked some. We did one run of the .45 (a whole time around), then shorter runs. Some on the straightaways, some on the shorter ends. My calves are still tightening up a lot when I run more than 1 straightaway at time, which I find odd, and I'm not sure what to do about it. Stretching doesn't seem to help, and it doesn't seem to really be getting any better. I'm not at all sure what it is, or why it's happening. My calves aren't weak. Far from it. I've been trying to really focus on not running primarily on the balls of my feet, so that I'm not bouncing off of them excessively. I wonder maybe if now I'm flexing my foot too much, and pulling on that muscle the whole time. Or if it's something completely different. I have no idea, but it's frustrating. I want it to stop.

On the upside, our garden seems to be doing well. The large amounts of water being dumped on it by Mother Nature doesn't seem to have phased it at all. Zucchini and squash have flowers (and the zucchini leaves are big enough you could use one as an umbrella, nearly), eggplant is just now starting to get flowers. Tomatoes are falling over due to the sheer weight of the unripened vegetables hanging off of them. Our strawberries stalled out for a little bit, but they're now blooming again. The jalapenos had flowers on them, but I think all the rain may have pulled them off, lol. The potatoes are doing awesomely. They seem to like drowning, lol.

Not running so much lately

We went for a very short run on Thursday. Not sure what was wrong with it, but it felt off. Maybe it was the fact it was suddenly pretty hot, maybe it was the fact we ran in the middle of the day when we usually run in the evenings, who knows. But we only went about 3 times around the block, and only ran 3 straightaways.

Wednesday night's dance class aggravated my shin splints, so that definitely slows things down a bit.


For whatever reason, my hip is hurting, right along the groin line. We're not sure what happened, or what caused it, but it hurts when I do various things. We're not even sure exactly what is hurting. It seems better today, but Wednesday through Saturday, it hurt just about anytime I did a few different things that are hard to explain.

We danced at our local Greek Food Festival yesterday, and while the temperature wasn't bad in normal clothes, while dancing and wearing velvet (like I was) it was hot, and I was dripping sweat. I also tried out something new: KT Tape. I went to Sports Authority looking for normal athletic tape, and this was all I found. I was hoping to be able to tape my shins for Saturday, so I could still walk today. Wandering around on concrete in completely unpadded dance shoes plus dancing on a metal stage usually does my shins in. Not sure if it was the tape, or just good luck, but my shins are not in the 'omg, don't touch them' state that they can be in after such performances or feiseanna. I got all kinds of comments on my purple stripes on my legs (I bought purple tape because it's my favorite color, and the color for my dance school). But hey if it works. I'll likely be trying it again. We used 2 strips and the box comes with 20.

And today, it has been raining all day. I don't know that we have more coming, but my goodness, it is humid outside.

Half A Mile!

Tonight, I ran either .54 or .55 miles. :) It was a slow pace, .45 miles (where we stopped the stopwatch) was at 5:53 minutes, but I wasn't winded at the end. My calves hurt like heck though. We're not sure what I must be doing, but my calves tighten up very quickly. I do warm up and stretching (though possibly not enough), but they still tighten up pretty badly. After running that distance, walking was painful, but as I walked, it loosened up slowly. I got home, stretched, and Joseph rubbed my calves some, which helped loosen them up a lot. We're not sure what exactly the problem is however.

One theory is that, maybe I'm running too much from my calves. A possibility is that I bounce on the balls of my feet too much, and therefore use my calves too much, due to Irish dance. In Irish dance, everything is done on the balls of your feet, the higher the better. So my default is to land, and spring back up onto the balls of my feet, and too push back up onto the balls of my feet. We're not sure that that is the problem though. I've been working on running "quietly", which seems to mean less impact, but that didn't seem to fix the calf thing tonight.

We don't know. Any ideas? During dance class, my calves don't tighten up like this, so it's odd to me. We're not going to increase the distance anymore for a while, though. I'm content at half a mile. It feels like a real accomplishment, much like completing the whole block did. But our whole block is only .45 miles, so a half mile wasn't that much further. Pretty good progress for having started running only about 3 weeks ago. I bought my first pair of running shoes about 17 days ago. :) Now, we're just going to work on making that half a mile better.

.45 miles!

According to mapmyrun.com, the distance around my block is actually .45 miles. I had only ever mapped it with my travel odometer on my car, so it was a rough guess. But on the upside, I RAN THE WHOLE .45 MILES TODAY!!!!!1 Before running that,I ran three .14 miles (our straightaways, as I refer to them), and after the .45 miles, we did a cooldown that consisted of walking the straightaways and trotting the ends of the loop, which are about .09 miles in length. I think we did 5 laps, which is .45 miles x 5...which is...2.25 miles. :)

Here's the nifty thing, my little sister (age 6) went with us today. And she did, in fact, run the entire .45 mile stretch, after running all the rest that we ran too. She was complaining of her legs hurting a bit, and she seemed a bit dehydrated. She lagged behind a bit, because we started running, her shoelace untied, so she had to stop, so we told her to wait at my grandmother's (next door to our house). She didn't, so she was behind us, but she says she ran the whole .45 miles. Which is impressive, in my mind, for a kid who doesn't really run off of the playground.

*happy dances* I ran nearly a whole half a mile!


Oh, and I bought my first running bra yesterday (well, my mom bought it). It's a Juno, made by Moving Comfort.  
I wore it today, and didn't really notice a difference. I suppose it had to have made a difference, but I didn't really notice any less jostling (not that I ever notice any anyway). It was comfy, I like the adjustable straps, and I like the fact that if I for some reason ever felt inclined to show of my pale-as-moonlight tummy while running, I could in this bra (it's made for running shirtless), but I didn't really notice it doing things any different than my compression bras do. And I do Irish dance and running in the compression bras, and plain sports bras that don't have compression. So I don't know. Maybe I'm just not tuned into my boobs.

Ran Today

It was pretty warm earlier today, but as sunset came about, it dropped into the 60s. I didn't get home until 8 pm or so, so I went running in the dark. My mom went walking with me (and ran a bit), and I ran for a little bit. After about 30 minutes, my stomach started hurting (I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, so it likes to periodically just freak out), so I had to quit and go inside. I ran solidly for nearly 4 minutes before I had to stop, which was just short (like 30 feet short) of .4 miles, or my entire block. :) I'm so proud. And excited. Hoping to go running again tomorrow, and to actually make it.

Where was my usual running partner, you may ask? Well, Joseph's knee has been hurting since Wednesday. He had basically everything torn or injured a few years ago, and so it frequently gives him issues to some degree (pops often and painfully), and after it happened, he was told he would never run again. Well, he proved them wrong, and he now runs and does Irish dance. But anyway, it randomly decided to be painful on Wednesday, and he decided to dance at practice anyway. So, he could barely walk on it Wednesday night and Thursday, and today, he's walking normally, but it's not up to running par yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Shins are still hurting some, but tolerably, and not usually during normal daily activities. I take ibuprofen about 30 minutes-1 hour before I go running and ice them afterwards. It seems to be helping. So we'll see. :)

Oh, and I found those Clif Bloks at Wal-Mart today. Only $1.76, so my mom bought 4. :)

Pushing Myself

Yes, I probably am. But I'm notorious for doing that. It's just about the only way I survive sometimes. The whole 'The Little Engine That Could' mantra, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."


We went around the block 4 times today, which is about 1.6 miles. I think it was 4 laps, anyway. It was hot when we went running today, but there was a bit of a breeze. But to give some scope, it is 4 pm and 85*F. In the sun on asphalt, that is pretty hot. My thighs kind of hurt, but like I said, I pushed myself today. We ran my .2 of a mile, and then kept going a little bit, so it was probably closer to .25 or .3 miles. All I had to do was stop and tie my shoelace. It came undone. We didn't time that "lap" though. Didn't time anything today. Then we walked for a while, until I was breathing decently again, and ran from one stop sign to another, which is probably about .1 miles. Then we walked again (although Joseph may argue that what I was doing could scarcely qualify as walking). Then we made a run from what I've named "Chihuahua Corner" to home. I call it chihuahua corner, because there's this house there with these 2 chihuahuas who bark incessantly as we go by. It doesn't matter the pace, they are running, barking, and jumping. Thank God for fences. Anyway, according to Google Maps that's about .2 miles as well. But it's less than my first .2 miles because that's from Chihuahua corner to the stop sign. The last run from Chihuahua Corner was only to my driveway.


Okay, played with Map my Run. The run from Chihuahua Corner to the stop sign in .23 miles. The run we did today from Chihuahua Corner to the back corner is .31 or .32 miles. From the top of the hill to the stop sign is .14 miles. And the Chihuahua Corner to home is .19 miles. :)


But my God, was it hot.

Clif Shot Bloks

So, when I bought my first pair of running shoes, I saw these. They are Clif Shot Bloks in Black Cherry. Curious, I bought one to try on my feis on April 30. Joseph and I shared one on Saturday (the 30th). So we each had 3 bloks a piece (there are 6 in a pack). They're very good, the flavor is awesome. And, as the picture shows, the blocks are all apart, so you don't have to pull them apart or anything.

3 pieces is 100 calories. 24g of carbs, 70mg of sodium, and 20mg of potassium. 12g of sugar. 2 servings per container.

I don't know that it did much, but I'm not sure. I didn't eat for most of the day while dancing, so maybe it did something. But, hey, the bloks were yummy. They are exceptionally gummy though, but not really in a gummy bear kind of way. It's almost something you have to try to get. But I liked them. And I'm a tough sell as far as protein bars/granola bars/energy goops go.


Downside...at our local running store, they're $1.99 a piece. Ack.

No Running Til Monday-ish

Yesterday (Wednesday), we didn't go running because we had swim class in the morning (~1 hour), and dance class in the evening (~2 hrs). Given all of that, and the fact there wasn't really time, we decided to not run yesterday. My shins are hurting, so running has actually been put off until likely Monday. I don't need to run and aggravate things when I have a dance competition on Saturday, and we're driving back home Sunday, so there's not a ton of time to run there either. So a few days of rest for my legs, which I suppose I need to incorporate any way. But you know how it is when you first start something. You want to go and do it and do it and do it, forget resting. Yeah...usually doesn't work so well.

Today is Joseph's 24th birthday. Happy birthday, Joseph! He's my running buddy, and since he'd had his shoes for 3-4 years, I bought him a new pair for his birthday. He found them, tried them on and all on Friday when we bought my shoes, so I knew exactly what he wanted. So I went and got them. :) So now, he has new squishy running shoes. Should be much more comfy than his old shoes.

I've been told that my next major investment should be a running bra. The place I normally buy (as in twice now) running stuff carried Moving Comfort. Has anyone ever used this brand? What did you think? The people at Go! Running kindly encouraged me to come back some time and try them on and figure out when one I like.

Another thing I'd like to try is compression socks. I've heard they can help with shin splints. Sadly, like everything good, they're pretty expensive, so that purchase is being put off a bit. Anyone ever used compression socks? If so, what kind?

Ran again today

I ran again this evening with Joseph. We went around the block 4 times, which totals out to about 1.6 miles. At one point, we ran about .2 miles. I ran it in about 2:11. :) We also ran from one corner to the other, which totaled to about .1 miles. It was a very nice day to run, sunny and about 63* F. The rain is mostly gone, but the ground is still very damp. Of course, we had something like 12" of rain since like last Monday. That's a lot of rain on already drenched dirt.

We ran doing walk/run a lot. We'd run for 54: 1,2,3,2,2,3,3,2,3, etc. and then walk for about the same. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's fun. I enjoy it. Which is the important part, I suppose. :)

I'm still incredibly winded at the end of that ~1/4 mile, but I'm doing it, after I've been run/walking for a while, so I feel pretty good about it. My shins are trying to hurt some, so I'm taking ibuprofen, and I decided to start icing them today. Which I hate. Despise. I do not like cold ice packs on my legs. But, between dance, and now running, I guess that's what I have to do to not stop. Because I definitely can't stop dancing at all until July when summer break comes around, and with school ending in about 2 weeks, I fully intend to go practice more at the studio. So these legs aren't getting any kind of a break unless it is absolutely necessary. I've continued dancing for good periods of time on shin splints before, they're not going to stop me now when it's just a twinge of pain. Stupid? Possibly, we'll see.

We ran really hard for a little bit on one of our .1 mile stretches. And go figure, my legs were fine, my lungs were struggling (completely expected), but then my arms (which I pump as I run) started feeling kind of cold and jello-y. Anyone else ever experienced something like that? Joseph says it's a prime example of how disproportionate my upper body to lower body strength is. I can leg press a minimum of 330 lbs. When I did that, I had a sprained ankle and didn't want to keep trying. So there's no telling if that's really my top range. My upper arms are sillily weak in comparison. Well, Irish dance doesn't really use your upper arms much. :) lol

Running in New Shoes

I got my first pair of running shoes Friday, a pair of Nike Zoom Vomero +5. They're the previous model, so they ended up being a bit cheaper than the current one. I wore them around Friday afternoon and some Saturday (I didn't have shoes on a ton Saturday that weren't dance shoes) to break them in and today, I finally got to run in them! *insert happy squeals* I like them because they are squishy, and my foot feels like it has tons of room. I got fitted at Go!Running, because I had no idea what I was doing. They told me that you needed to have some extra room at the toe, so I ended up with a 7.5 womens for size, and they also told me that it was good for the shoe to have extra room sideways because the foot swells while running. Well, I've never noticed my feet swelling during dancing, but admittedly, this is different. So I took their word on that, and tried on 4 pairs of shoes, narrowed it down to 2, and picked the Nikes. They're not a color combo I probably ever would have picked, but they feel good. And the shoe laces aren't 12 inches too long for normal usage.

So I went running today, just for about 30 minutes, and it totaled out to about a mile. It was an 1/8 mile indoor track at my school, because 1)swim class was cancelled today and 2)it was pouring down rain the vast majority of the day so running outside wasn't really an option. Plus it was 50* F. I'm new to running and running while cold and wet, in new shoes nonetheless, sounded less than no fun. We ran about 4.5/8 mile, and pretty much walked the rest. We ran 1 lap, then walked for a little bit, then we ran 1.5 laps, and walked for a bit, and then Joseph goes, 'so do you think you can do 2 laps?' Well, was that a challenge? Now, I had to at least try. So we started running, and with about an 1/8 of our 2 laps left, he goes 'pick up the pace', so I ran as hard as I could for the last like 25 feet. Then I was done, lol. Sat down and caught my breath (I'm not sure my inhaler ever really kicked in, since I took it at 11:15 and we started running at 11:17.) My 1/4 mile was around 2:40, which Joseph said totaled out to around a 10:30 mile, if I could run a mile at this point. Which I can't, but I haven't been running long. I was pretty darn proud of that 1/4 mile. We then walked for another 2 laps until Joseph had to leave to go to class.

I don't know that we'll run like that all the time, but it's a cool way to do it at school, because I can really gauge how far I can go. I can't do that the same way going around my block. So I figure for going around my block, I'll continue with my counting (1,2,3, 2,2,3,3,2,3, etc), and doing the walk/run in more of a set pattern than we did at school today. Today, it was run a set length, then walk until my breathing was easy again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Rain, rain, go away

Well, I wouldn't have gone running today anyway, because my shins hurt badly from yesterday's feis, where I got a 2nd, 3 3rds, and a 4th (in a trophy special, so I GOT A TROPHY!!!). I accidentally curl one leg under the other and sit on it at times, and it hurts like hell. Must remember to not do that until they stop hurting. I should really ice them, but I really hate ice. It's cold. So ibuprofen it is. And currently a cat lying on them on top of my blankets.

But anyway, it has rained a ton over the last few days/weeks, and we've had tornadoes. The ground is completely saturated, and today and tonight, we have a 90% chance of rain, and tomorrow an 80% chance. But my backyard is a pond at the moment. To give you guys who don't live around central Arkansas an idea of what's going on, here are some of my friend's Facebook statuses:

"My poor neighbors had to park their cars at my house and bring the boat out so they can get out if they need to. Sucks to live in the flood plain like they do... but glad my house is at the top of the hill!"

"We're hearing reports that several areas have been affected by flooding. Those include 67/167 from Jacksonville to Cabot, Highway 10 west of the LR city limit, Boyle Park and portions of Jacksonville." -a local radio station


"PET EMERGENCY:The arena where the tornado rescue dogs are being kept is taking on water fast. We are needing people with trucks or trailers to come to the Wal-Mart on Harkrider in Conway. They are donating approx 100 pallets so that we can get the dog crates off the ground." -Joey the Garden Cat 


"Lovely, they won't let you out of Cabot because it's flooded all around."

"has gotta get back into Jonesboro come hell or HIGH WATER."

"FYI - Pinnacle Mountain State Park is currently closed due to limited access caused by flooding."

Anyway, you get the idea...

I was hoping to get out and at least walk around the block (approximately .4 miles) a few times, but the rain has not let up at all. So I guess I'm staying inside and doing homework today, and hopefully not running to hide from tornadoes in the bathroom. I knew I wasn't running today- again, shins-, but I wanted to at least walk.

Monday morning, I did one run/walk around the block before coming in because I didn't want to run out of time and not get breakfast before going to school. Could have done 2, but I didn't think to see how long it took me to do the first time around.

Wednesday night was dance night. We were at the dance studio from about 3:30 until around 7 or so. The feis was this weekend, so we were going over all of our dances and making sure they were decent enough for the feis. We also had swim class at school that morning.


Thursday night, Joseph (my fiance) and I went around the block 3 times, running for a period, then walking, running, then walking. When we were maybe 100 feet or so away from our house, and had decided we were on our last lap for the night (darn mosquitoes), we decided to run, like full out, to the house. He kept pace with me, but I ran as hard as I could for going downhill. Felt like I was going to do a faceplant the whole time, but I didn't. So it totaled out to about 1.2 miles that we walked/ran. We also partially stopped because a house on the backside of my block, well, their chihuahuas had escaped the fence. And the darn little ankle-biters got more bold each time we went around, on the last go-round getting within 6 inches of my ankles. We threw water at them the last time, and decided we didn't want to deal with them any more.


Saturday was dancing from 8:30 until around 2 pm, I think. I wasn't dancing the whole time, as the competitions are divided by age and level. But it is still a fair amount of dancing. I was registered for 8 dances. Maximum I could have done was 9. And today, my shins are paying for all of that. :/ Oh well, that's how it goes, I suppose. 


I have 6 more class days of school, and then finals. I'm hoping (weather-allowing) to be able to do more running after the insanity of the last 2 weeks of the semester is over. I'm nearly burned out at the point.

My dance classmate, Marisa (L) got first, myself, and Joseph (we both got 4th).

Hope the weather is much less soggy where everyone else is!