20 Minute Challenge

Yesterday was The 20 Minute Challenge event hosted by The Running Room. Originally I signed up to do it by myself. Then I thought I should bring DD8 along with me, since she likes to run with me out on the trails once in awhile. Th-e-e-e-n I thought I should bring the whole family along with me, since I think this is a great way to encourage everyone to be active. It took a little bit of persuading on my part, but then I got the go-ahead from the hubs to sign everyone up. He threw the "jogging stroller" into the back of the truck, everyone got on some running gear, we packed some juice and water, and we were off. On the way down the girls asked how many people would be there. Hubs commented he'd be surprised if there were more than 30. Well...there was way more than 30! I'd guess there had to be a least 100 people, and the best part was there were lots of families and lots of kids! It was great!

We managed to find a parking spot around the block without too much trouble, and made our way through the crowd into the store where we each picked up our complimentary Running Room hats. Each hat came with a 15% discount on store purchases as well. We waited for just a little bit before we were off. Most of us headed in one direction, but I noticed a few going in the exact opposite direction. Those folks looked like the "real runners'. The ones with lots of great gear, very little clothes, and nothing but muscle on their bodies.  We all just walked down the block and across the street and I was beginning to wonder if anyone was going to run at all. Then one of the staffers said, "Ok...if you are running you can go ahead and start now". I worked furiously to get my Nike+ system going on my iPhone (which is dying and really, really, needs to be replaced) and then DD8 and I started off. Hubs had the other two kiddos in the stroller.

It was really, really, hot. I think it was about 37 degrees out. So, DD8 got pretty tired, pretty fast (so did I!). She was complaining about a stitch in her side just a couple minutes in, but the staffers were so great -- cheering her on and telling her what a great job she was doing. It was so sweet. She continued on as long as she could, and then we decided she should just make it to the next stop sign and then take a break. Once we reached the sign, she fell back and jumped into the stroller -- booting DD6 out and onto her feet!

I continued on without any trouble at all because now I was booting it down-hill. La-la-la! Off I went...until I noticed not too many people were around anymore. Then one of the staffers came up behind and yelled, "You can turn around now! Your husband has already gone back! You're gonna' have to boot it up that hill to catch up!"

Oh, my gawsh. Up hill? Really?

That was hard. I did my best but had to stop and start a couple of times on my way back up. I finally caught up and grabbed a quick drink of water. DD8 started to run with me again at that point, but then hubby took off running. I felt defeated. No way I could catch him, even though he was the one with the stroller and two kids! DD8 and I just decided to do our own thing. We walked when we needed to, but vowed to run out the end and booted it back up the street to the store/finish.

Once we got back to the store the staff told us to come on in...there was juice and snacks inside. That juice was fantastic. ;-)

It was really a lot of fun and I learned a few very important lessons on this my first ever public, outside, with other people, run:

1) I really need to get my own pace and stick to it come race day. I find starting and stopping much more difficult than to "Just keep running....Just keep runnning..." (you have to say that in the voice of Dori from "Finding Nemo".

2) I cannot let myself worry about what other people are doing. Most of them will be way better runners than me, so I can't get caught up in that or it's really going to make me want to quit.

3) I need better earphones (I couldn't hear my music or prompts, at all)

4) I love my new shoes (and got comments on them at the challenge!)

5) I need to practice running outside, in real conditions, a LOT more in the next four weeks.

But, the most important thing I learned was that it was a lot of fun.
;)




I'm so glad we all went together and I felt incredibly proud of my very cute, active, little family.
:)

Thanks to the Hamilton Running Room for a great event!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Beep. Beep. My Metronome Arrived!

Well, the postal strike was over two weeks ago and it looks like the mail is ~finally~ getting through now. I know this because my trusty little Metronome that I ordered ages ago finally appeared in my mailbox. A metronome? For running? You say. 

Why, Yes!

This handy little gadget helps keep you at your correct cadence. This is great for a new runner like me who has trouble figuring out if I'm going fast enough, or too fast, when running outside. On the treadmill it's easy-peasy because the ground is moving beneath you and you just have to keep yourself from falling off. Outside is another story. Now I can just keep an ear on my little beeps and know whether I'm on track or not. Of course, this isn't suppose to actually affect my speed at all (since in Chi Running your cadence is suppose to remain the same, no matter how fast you're going), but I still find it keeps me moving along at a nice, steady pace. 

(I had a freebie iPhone version that I tried out awhile back and I really liked it -- until it got some sort of bug and stopped working properly. Thus the purchase of the real deal)

To read more about Chi Running and the use of a metronome click RIGHT HERE. 

While you are there, be sure to click around and read all about Chi Running. I love the whole concept and I'm sure it is the only reason I am doing as relatively well (for a Non-Runner with an old broken knee) as I am. There is so much less pressure exerted on your knees since your body remains over top of them the whole time as you just continue to fall forward. There is no hard "stopping" with your heel, then pushing off again, motion like with "normal" running. 

Yeah. I'm really bad at explaning the whole concept. Just go check out the website. It will make much more sense then. 

Anyway, 

I just got to try out the metronome on the treadmill yesterday. Love it. If nothing other than the distraction it affords me. I love listening to the little beeps and making sure I'm about where I should be (I am shooting for 85 strides per side right now...which is comfortable for me). I'm really looking forward to using it outside. Not sure when that will happen...hopefully soon. The doctor's office called yesterday and my test results (for my knee) are in. He wants to see me about them. Gotta' make an appointment...

I'll let you know how that goes. 

In the meantime...

yesterday's run...

on the mill...

25 minutes non-stop running (which was the plan for the day), 

distance covered in that time...

2.1 miles. 

Next run: tomorrow. 

Talk to you then. 

The Accidental 5K.

So I was back up on the treadmill after work on Saturday. I was a little tired from a busy day at work, but other than that I felt good. I still don't have the results from all my knee xrays and ultrasound so I'm trying not to push my luck, but I also have a 5K race coming up in 6 weeks...so it's tricky. I figure at least the treadmill is cushy and level so it's the best place to be right now. The plan was to run for time (30 minutes) rather than distance. I just thought, I'll try to run for 30 minutes straight again, and then I'll stop. I've done 30 minutes once before, so I really wanted to do it again. If my knee started to hurt, then I'd throw in the towel early.

So off I went. The first 4 minutes felt like I was just learning how to walk, let alone run. I think I was so scared of hurting my knee that I was really over-protecting it and I was running really weird and awkwardly. It was strange. But, then I got into a rhythm and things started moving along much better. Except, during about the first 10-15 minutes I'm always bargaining with myself, "Okay, just get to fifteen minutes, and then you can have a walk break". "Just try to get through one more song" (on my iPhone). That kind of thing. I watch the timer too much and it seems to move really slowly. Then I got to the 15 minute mark, and I realized I really didn't need a walk break. I was feeling great. So I continued on for the 30 minute goal.

{Insert note here: I need to tweak my iTunes Run Mix. Working = Gwen Stafani's "I'm Just a Girl". Not working = Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right, But It's Okay"}

I got to 30 minutes feeling pretty darn good.
I had reached 4.0 km's in that time!
But, a deal is a deal so I slowed the treadmill down to a walk. I was going to do a 5 minute walk cool-down. I got 3 minutes into my walk when I realized, My Nike+ System is Still Recording This! Argh! I don't want a walk added into my run time!! Argh!

So, in a panic, I cranked the speed back up and ran out the remainder of my first 5K.

I was done in 37 minutes and 23 seconds.

My first (accidental) 5K.

Despite it not being my plan, and despite the fact that I walked 3 whole minutes of it, I was still pretty darn excited.

There was much woo-hoo-ing going on.

All the little triumphs: it's one of the best parts of being a noobie runner.

My Left Knee

So, ya, I hurt my knee awhile back. Long story short...I was crossing the road (at the crosswalk, with the light, mind you) and I got hit by a car. I thought the lady was just getting a bit too close as she moved towards me, but then I realized she wasn't going to stop. Of course, by then I was already up on her hood...then down on the road. I broke my left arm, and my left knee. Well, not really my knee, but my "tibial plateau". It got all kinda' crushed down. So the doctor had to build it back up with the use of three big honking screws.

Nowadays it doesn't cause me too much trouble. Other than the fact that it takes me awhile to get up off the floor, I can predict oncoming rain storms with amazing accuracy, and I have this gorgeous 7 1/2 inch scar down the front of my left leg...it's not that big of a deal.

Of course, I never really tried to run on the sucker before.

This past Sunday (after finding out I wasn't doing as well as I had thought), I went all out on my treadmill. I was pretty determined to go as far as I could. I was feeling great. Not too full, not too hungry, no stitches in my side...all was good. So I ran and I ran. At some point during that run I took one single stride that hurt. like. hell. Just that one step. It felt like something went terribly, terribly, wrong. But, then, the very next step was fine. My knee felt maybe just a wee bit "achy" now, but no real pain. I managed to finish 2.4 miles (woo hoo!) with 30 minutes of non-stop running (no walk breaks! woo hoo!). I was so excited to have done so well (I have never run for 30 minutes straight before in my life) that I wasn't even too concerned about my knee. I just did a few stretches and then grabbed an ice pack. All was good.

The next day, my knee was still a bit achy and I also woke up with a terrifying looking black spot on my side (but, that's another story...) so I gave my doctor a call. He had me come in right after I was done work and an ultrasound and xrays were scheduled for my knee. I had those done on Wednesday. I didn't run on Monday, or Tuesday, but I got back on the treadmill after all the pictures had been taken.

Really, I didn't feel too bad at all (just running a bit terrified about this terrifying looking black spot on my side...for which the doctor has me booked in as an "urgent case" at the dermatologist. But, that's another story...). I did 2.0 miles in 25 minutes. I could have gone longer, but I really didn't want to push it. Then I did a less half-arsed version of my usual stretching routine. I think stretching a bit longer than 12 seconds per is probably a good idea, right?

Now it is Friday and I'm planning on running again tonight. I'll let you know how it goes and I'll let you know the results of all my tests when they come in. And, I'll let you know more about this terrifying looking black spot on my side soon, too.

p.s. That isn't really my knee up there. I don't have a photo of my xray. But, if I did, that's pretty much exactly what it would look like. Freaky, huh?

I'm So Mad at You Right Now.

I've got some good news, and some bad news...

I finally figured out my treadmill. Of course, the manual is nowhere to be found around here (neither are those arm rest thingies we had to take off to move it down into the basement, but that's another story). So, I looked it up online (I have the PaceMaster ProSelect model) and found out how to check if it is in Metric or not. I had been extremely hopeful that it was in English Units (mph) ever since my little Nike Plus told me I had run much farther on my treadmill than I had thought I had. In fact, yesterday I logged a 23 minute "3.0" (which I was telling myself was 3.0 miles...practically 5K...Man, I ROCK).

Turns out....
ya...
not so much.

I have now officially changed the treadmill over to English Units and my "3.0" yesterday was 3.0K. Three kilometres. In 23 minutes. Oh poop.

For 24 precious hours there I felt like a real runner. Like I could actually do this thing! And well!

Now I'm back at square one. Plodding along. Still not able to run more than 3.0 kilometers. Signed up for a 5K race in 50 days.

Oh. my. gawd. What have I done?

Bad Nike Plus, system. Bad!