April 22, 2009 at 9:34 am (Uncategorized)
Tags: running
I have had quite a few people ask me about starting to run. I’ve been replying to everyone individually but thought it might help if I made a blog post. I am hoping Nancy at Running Chick will correct me or add any information I’m missing on as a comment because she runs half marathons and has been doing this a lot longer than I have!
First, it is crucial that you get yourself a good pair of shoes. Don’t just go to Dunham’s (and for Pete’s sake, avoid Wal Mart!) and try stuff on. Go to a running store where they do gait analysis. Have someone look at how you walk and determine the motion of your ankles and the shape of your feet. I have a lot of foot issues (overpronation, very low arches, bunions, ankle pain) and this is the best pair of athletic shoes I’ve ever owned. They are fantastic. I’ve had a lot of other pains since I started running but that nagging ankle pain I always would get is no longer there. Be prepared to pay good money for them. Your feet will thank you. Your ankles, knees, hips and back will thank you too. Good shoes will seriously help you avoid that “I hate this” feeling that people get when they first start out. Good shoes will help avoid injury as well.
Second, GO SLOW. If all you do is walk the first week, then walk. When you are feeling your endurance improving, add a little stretch of bouncing walk. When you get tired, walk some more. Walk a lot. Give yourself a day of rest the next day. When you head back out again, try to do a little bit more. A little bit! It doesn’t have to be a ton. If all you can do is 40 feet of a bouncy walk, then do 40 feet of a bouncy walk. It counts. IT WILL ALL HELP YOU BUILD ENDURANCE. This is how I started and within a few weeks I’d run my first quarter mile. I know everyone will vary depending on your current level of fitness, but especially for those of you who know me in person, you know that I did not go work out and am not athletic nor do I even enjoy watching sports on TV.
You will know by how you feel, how much more running to add to your walks as you go. Trust this process. I think that by going really slow I have managed to enjoy this and not wind up hating it. If I’d gone flying out of the driveway at a full tilt I’m sure I’d have quit long ago. Just take each day as it comes. Some days you will be tired and you will get out there and feel like you are lugging around concrete. That’s OK. It’s OK to take more walk breaks on those days, just go to your comfort. As long as you go! That’s the main thing.
And of course, if you have any medical issues, please take them up with your doctor. That includes severe pain that is more than “wow, I didn’t know I had that muscle” pain.
If your goal is to run events, like a 5K, 10K, or marathon, ask Nancy at Running Chick. That’s her department. 
Leave a Comment
April 20, 2009 at 8:22 am (family)
Tags: barn fire, landscaping, running, weather
I updated my other blog “An Adventure in Home Construction” last night – we got our trees planted this weekend. On Saturday I went for a run/walk with my friend Annie. I ran a total of .44 miles, and if you count the walk break in between runs, it was .64. We went on a 2.1 mile loop and walked the rest of it. It was a nice day, it was windy though but in the mid 70’s. After the run we went to the dirt and met my husband and the kids. There is a big sandy ridge (well, I’d hardly call it anything since it looks flat to me, but ’round here, they are called ridges) in the middle of the field and the kids plopped down there with their lunches and sand toys. We managed to get over 100 put in before we needed a break – Annie (who is the best person EVER) offered to go back out there with my husband to finish up while I put Sophie down for a nap. They got all but about 7 of them planted on Saturday!! We filled Annie with beer and pizza. The next day, the temperature had really dropped, it was only about 48 and very overcast. I went out there myself and planted the last 7 trees and I also put in 10 asparagus plants and 15 strawberry plants. I don’t know how those will do, they are in a good spot, I am hoping they will not get too dry or overheated during our long stretches without rain that we seem to always have. I have 10 strawberry plants left to put in here, I figure once they start making berries, then I can go out and check the plants in the field. Otherwise I will be running out there constantly looking for berries!
Saturday afternoon while my husband and friend were out there, they spotted a huge fire. One of the “neighbors” (I say it loosely since they were probably a mile away) had a pole barn that caught fire and it was a total loss. They were able to see it clearly across the field and watched for about 1/2 hour they said. It was lucky it didn’t catch their house because that’s how the wind was blowing. The fire department went back many times to fill their tankers. Then later the same fire and rescue crew went flying by our house again… looks like the Midland Twp. fire department didn’t get much rest on Saturday.
It is cold and rainy today, I am hoping that is good for everything we planted. We have no way to water anything out there so whatever survives will be tough indeed. I will be excited to see little bits of green as the trees start growing leaves. We still have the 3 fruit trees to plant. They are a lot bigger than the saplings we put in so now there will be room for them in the truck. And we still need to plan on where to put them.
I am stiff and sore and walking around like a clunky old man! I am finally feeling it in my shoulders today. I was planning to run today but I think I will give myself one extra rest day and run tomorrow. I have plans to run with Jodie at Disasters with Yarn next Monday so I need to time my running days to get a rest day in before that.
1 Comment
April 14, 2009 at 11:55 am (family)
Tags: kids, knitting, travel, running, Upper Michigan
My husband’s company had a short term layoff last week to save money so we decided to get out of here for a while. We went back to my home town in Upper Michigan and had a nice time! It was kind of low key, since it’s still almost under winter’s grip up there, almost everything is still closed. But, it was good to see my family and a couple of friends. I was able to run alone this past week because there were other adults around to watch the kids, so one time I went to the gym with Nancy at Running Chick because it was too windy and we ran once outside too. (She ran from her house to my mom’s, ran my pathetic little bit with me, then ran back home!) When I had my outdoor run with Nancy, much to my amazement, I ran 1/4 mile! I couldn’t believe it. I ran a couple of other times after that and made the 1/4 mile mark plus a little extra each time. I still can’t believe how quickly one’s endurance builds.
Other than having dinner out a few times, and hitting the KBC with Nancy (once just the two of us and once with all of us!) it was a nice, quiet break. Like I mentioned, everything is still closed but we had good weather and spent some time just driving around, looking at the lake and driving through my old “stomping grounds” out in Stanton Township.
I did a little knitting but not sure it is worth updating my other blog. I took along a pile of kitchen cotton and made a kitchen towel and a couple of dishcloths but that was all. It was just nice to be home for a while. We couldn’t get WiFi at my mom’s so I used my phone for the internet! It was very slow and cumbersome but better than nothing! And the kids did very well on the trip. It only took 8 1/2 hours this time, whereas the past several years it’s taken around 10. They did better going up than coming back but overall we can go farther now without stopping so much and it hasn’t been like that since before I was pregnant with my son over 5 years ago. One evening we went out to dinner with my dad, I had lake trout and some good beer after that and a good sauna! Sophie even went in this time. We had a quiet Easter, we stayed at my mom’s and I made Chicken Paprikas for dinner. I went running on Sunday in between getting dinner going and my daughter’s nap, and there were crocuses popping up all over the neighborhood. It was good to see melting snow and other signs of spring up there.
I cleaned up the house before we left so at least we didn’t come home to a wreck… I have mountains of laundry to do today and I need to grocery shop once I figure out what we are having for dinner this week. The girls are going in to get spayed tomorrow morning (finally!) and we are getting the rest of our 180 trees on Friday. So it’s looking to be a busy week! It is supposed to be in the 60’s too, so that will be wonderful… we can all get some time outdoors. I hope the warm-ish weather is here to stay.
Leave a Comment
