More new Kicks - Saucony Progrid Omni 11

Saucony Progrid Omni 11

I ordered a pair of Sauconys a few weeks ago from Fleet Feet. I have wide feet and they didn't carry these babies in wide. Well, they came in and I picked them up last Monday. Tried them out on Tuesday morning... OMG... they are AWESOME! I might have a new favorite running shoe. The thing I like about these the most is the cushioning. The inserts have memory foam in them. I might have tried these on last year at the Potomac River Running Store....quite possibly the same model, but not sure. I should have taken note. They were my second choice behind my trusty Brooks Adrenaline. I've never had TWO pairs of running shoes in my rotation, so this is a FIRST for me! I've also never really run in ANYTHING other than the Brooks Adrenaline!

The Saucony Omnis (SO) are lighter than the Brooks Adrenaline (BA), so they are more suited for longer distance running than the BAs. The SOs are just so friggin COMFY! I cannot stress this enough. It's like walking on a dang CLOUD. I could wear them all day! They were the same price, I think... at least in the same price range. I learned that the WIDE version of shoes are very limited in colors, which is why I can't ever find any snazzy/flashy colored shoes that are right for my feet. :\ The SOs also came in a nice Blue/Gray color scheme (still not as flashy as I'd like), but the Wide was only in this Red/Gray combo. I am REALLY happy with my purchase and I hope to make the SOs a part of my running shoe family from now on! :)

Up this week is my last day of Crossfit. I will miss it, but I will be back at bootcamp soon. If they ever do more classes, I will definitely sign up. If they ever open up a Crossfit gym in this area, I MAY sign up... not sure. Those gyms are hardcore. But at some point, I'd like to be hardcore. :) Maybe. At least I got a taste of it. And dammit, doing ONE unassisted pull up in my life is on my bucket list!!!

I have a 10 miler this weekend. I hope to redeem myself from my last 10 miler... which was hilly and just plain exhausting. I wasn't ready, but I wanted to make the most of the running trail in DC. At least THAT was pretty! Me on the other hand... was not so much.

I also wanted to write a bit about my 9-miler I did last Sunday. It was fine. I did it at the same pace as the last 8-miler. We went a bit later than I normally go, so it was pretty hot. I don't know if I just didn't take enough fuel (I split 1/2 a pack of GU chomps - I took 2 at 4.5 miles, and the other 2 at 7 miles in) or what, but my legs felt pretty damn tired at mile 7. I tried not to think about how tired my legs felt... tried to scroll through some uplifting songs on my mp3 player to distract myself (I don't usually listen to music)... it wasn't until after the 8th mile - the last one - that I was like, screw it, let's just get this over with and end it! After I hit 9, I stopped my watch and started to walk the .75 miles back to the car. My damn right calf was so tight! It was tight for 2 days. Well, it didn't occur to me until well after the run that: what if that happens to me at the half in November? What if my legs give out in the middle of it? I thought about the ironman races where people literally crawl through the chutes to the finish line, falling, and getting back up because they just pushed themselves so hard... After some motivating comments from my Daily Mile friends, I decided, well, I just have to take the bad runs and move on. Everyone has them. Just have to adjust and adapt!

I do know that those GU gels worked for me. I tried one for the first time on my 5 miler on Tuesday... and it instantly worked...or so it seemed. Haha. It tasted like shit, though! haha... Whatever. I will choke it down if it will make my legs move faster!!

Nine More Weeks

Remember my last post on getting new shoes? Here is a comparison pic: old versus new

I meant to post more on being halfway through half-marathon training, and now we are over half way! We are on week 14 and only have 9 more weeks to go until the Rock and Roll Half on November 3rd! Woohoo!

It's hard to believe that it's getting closer and closer. But it seems like I've been training forever... which, I pretty much have been doing since January 1 of this year. The build up and anticipation is certainly increasing as it gets closer, as well as our weekly mileage! I have no idea how I will handle the crossing the finish line... will I break down into an emo mess and weep like a baby? Or will I finish strong and feel like kicking ass upon crossing the line? Maybe I'll be crawling up the chutes, barely able to walk, and crying from pain!?! LOL Hopefully not that last one. I'm pretty sure lots of catching of breaths will ensue and trying to find water will be the first thing on my mind. Who knows! All I know is that I can't wait to find out!!!

We (the Pooler CREW Training Group) did 8 miles this morning on a dark golf course. It was pretty neat, as I've never run on such a course. It was a great change of scenery - even though the first half of the run was in complete darkness (thankfully the blue moon was still out at 5:30 am!) and there was some dense fog lingering over us. The 2nd half of the run was much better and cooler as the humid fog lifted and the sun started coming up.

Another old vs new comparison... Inside of my overpronating right heel

I've got a new injury this time around... It's called um... *something* bursitis (I will fill in the blank later when I feel like getting up to get the paper in my purse with the correct term)!! It's basically some fluid buildup at the back of my knee from my uneven leg lengths (due to scoliosis) and overcompensation of the shorter leg. It's nothing that inhibits my running, but it is one of those minor aches that gets annoying throughout the day and you'd just rather not have it exist. It only bothers me when I extend my left knee. I feel some minor discomfort at the back of my knee. I went to a free injury clinic at Fleet Feet after the 8-miler today and that's what the physical therapist told me. He suggested icing, compression, strengthening exercises and a heel lift (to lift my shorter leg up a bit). I actually have one from another PT that I threw in a drawer somewhere. I used it a few times, but decided it sucked. I might try to find it. I was apparently using it wrong. I was supposed to put it under the shoe's insert, not over it. (Duh!) Apparently this was caused from over striding from sprinting. With my last few runs, I've been trying to sprint at the end, like the last 1 to 1.5 miles of the run because I have energy saved up and I ALWAYS love to see how fast I can go for however many miles we do... Bad idea!! I need to save that stuff for actual races, not training runs...

Other than that I think I'm really getting stronger - especially with the crossfit class I'm going to. It's pretty intense, but I like a good intense workout where I'm not running on pavement for hours at a time! I'll blog more on that at a later time.

Speaking of getting stronger, I decided to start a Plank-a-Day challenge, where you pretty much just do a plank for as long as you can (time it) every day for a month and see how much longer you can do it by the end of the month. The plank position is one of the simplest ways to increase your core strength and stability – something I know I need in order to further reduce my chances of injury when I run.

I found out about Plankaday via a new blogger that I follow: Cherierunsthis.com! Cherie is a fitness blogger from PA who posts lots of recipes, workout tips and fun photos! Check her out if you can! I can't wait to do the Foodie Penpal this month! (I'll blog about that later too).

But it's another fitness blogger who started the Plankaday challenge: Lea at runningfordummies.net. She's got a leaderboard going and I'm currently #11 at 2:23 minute plank. Not bad for my first time! Lea holds 7+ minute planks!

I'm not sure if I was doing it properly, but my abs (and surrounding areas) were shaking for the last minute or so, so I think I at least got some real plank action going on! I'll have to have Joel check my form tomorrow. Lets hope I can keep this up every day! It only takes a few minutes of your time, so I have no excuse not to do it! Join me!!!

New Kicks and 10 More Weeks Until my First Half!!

Dailymile says I've logged 318 miles this year so far - which means that I am WAY overdue on getting a new pair of shoes. I only have ONE pair of running shoes in my inventory - my trusty Brooks Adrenalines. I got my last pair back in {looks back in blog...} OMG... July 2011!!!! Holy moly, I AM way past due!!! I wasn't running as much, but I'm sure I got at least 40 miles on those shoes in 2011. They say you should change your shoes out when they reach 300-400 miles, but closer to the 300 mile mark for smaller runners. Check out the wear and tear on these "old soles":

Pretty FLAT

Inner heel of my right shoe

So after my 7-miler this weekend, I decided I was going to buy a new pair of shoes. I was originally going to wait until the Fleet Feet CREW sale on the 8th, but I don't think my feet can wait that long... I have an 8-mile training run (as well as shorter training runs) and a 5K race before then! I tried on some other (cool) flashy shoes that are similar in style to my Adrenalines - a pretty sea green Mizuno pair (can't remember the model!) and a dark grey/bright magenta pair of Asics 2160 (I think...). Damn, I wish I took a pic of them (oh wait, I couldn't because a kid by the name of Liam was playing with my phone the whole time!) The latter of those I think I will try to save up for when the CREW sale actually happens. I really, REALLY want pretty bright shoes (and a second pair of shoes to train in)!! Neither of the other 2 I tried were as flashy and bright as I would have liked, but better than the subdued Brooks colors. I ended up getting a pair of the new model Adrenalines - in a half size smaller than I usually wear (my older ones had a little too much toe space). They are quite pretty, actually:

After watching me try on shoes, Liam wanted to try some on...although they didn't have any his size. :( But the sales associate was nice enough to put some big shoes on him to make him happy. He also found some smaller kids shoes he decided to try on himself...

Oh wait, here's a  photo of the Sea Green Mizunos (on Liam)....Pink is his favorite color!

Oh, we also picked up my free pair of YurBuds that I won in the Fleet Feet Savannah FB trivia contest a couple weeks ago!! I let Joel pick some out and get fitted because I don't use headphones/music much while running these days. I did try them on, though, and they felt pretty cool.

Speaking of winning stuff, I won a free race entry into the Daniel Defense Pooler 5k on September 8!!! This was all thanks to my great friend and fellow running mama Jen of Running, Our Way!! Thanks so much girl!!! Yeah, Woohoo!!! I actually found out that I won the race entry AND the earbuds on the same day!! I felt so lucky!! :)

I was going to blog more about this being the halfway point in my half training, but I think this is enough for now... I need to eat breakfast...

Happy running!

3.1 miles - Wilson Bridge Trail

My new Brooks Adrenaline GTS (my 3rd pair of these)

July 10, 2011, Sunday
7:50 am (approx)
3.1 miles (via Joel's watch)
? didn't time it, but most likely between 37-43 minutes

This time we parked close to the top of the hill, meaning we had a difficult last mile. The turn-around point wasn't even on the bridge - 1.5 miles out was at the start of the bridge. It was humid and there were no clouds out. I could tell my pace was pretty slow. I didn't stretch well in the beginning, either. I did not have to walk at any time, even on the hard hill at the end, although I was probably going at a walker's pace! haha I wore my new running shoes! No digestive issues after this run, thank goodness, but I did notice a slight knee discomfort at the bottom of my left knee afterward.

At yesterday's free physical therapist consult, the doc said that my knee issues seem like tendinitis. She said that I should work on my leg/hip strengthening. Also to stretch out my calves and shins. She said my feet were flat and that I need a motion control shoe (which my old Brooks are), and possibly an insert to support my lack-of-an-arch. She suggested new shoes - I tried on 3 pairs: New Balance (nah), Brooks (the ones I ended up getting) and Saucony (VERY comfy, but seemed too roomy). I may try the Sauconys next. I can use these for a while and then decide to come back later and get the inserts, which I will probably do. She said that I should not rule out running!

I will see if she is on our insurance. But I might just try the other, closer physical therapist that I already found who is on our network.