A nice 'lil healthy dessert recipe from Rachel N. -- as healthy as dessert can be. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
26.2 Days
I opened my email last night to this:
So, um, this is going to be interesting. Ben and I are going to post in the next few days what we're up against... name an injury, we've got it! Run/walk, anyone?
ps: Props to Btown Boston qualifiers/runners. Here's everyone's bib. I'm proud of Ben for being under 1,000! (bib/wave assignments in order of qual time, fastest first)
...Which resulted in a response like this:
So, um, this is going to be interesting. Ben and I are going to post in the next few days what we're up against... name an injury, we've got it! Run/walk, anyone?
ps: Props to Btown Boston qualifiers/runners. Here's everyone's bib. I'm proud of Ben for being under 1,000! (bib/wave assignments in order of qual time, fastest first)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Race Shirt #5,239
Ok, just kidding. But don't you have tons of race shirts? Some are just more notable than others! Some for personal reasons, some are just cool designs.
Anyway, I found this at Urban Outfitters -- the tee shirt frame! Frame your best races. :)
Anyway, I found this at Urban Outfitters -- the tee shirt frame! Frame your best races. :)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Racing Stripes
Earlier this week, thanks to Dr. Mandy Smith at Bloomington Sports and Wellness, I got my racing stripes!!
She taped me pret-ty good with RockTape, better known as KinesioTape (actually, KinesioTape is to elastic therapeutic tape as Kleenex is to tissue. Make sense? It's a brand name). It comes in a bunch of different colors, but on that day, I only had my choice of pink or pink. It's ok. :)
Mandy tells me she's the only "Rock Doc" in all of Indiana, meaning she's taken a bunch of courses and tested/certified to apply it correctly. You don't have to be a medical specialist to apply or buy the stuff yourself, and there's even instructions included on how to tape yourself. Obviously, it's most effective when done correctly. Think of it like putting a band-aid on your finger when it's extended straight. It pulls when you bend your finger, right? Sort of the same idea here-- the tape pulls when I stand up straight or bend my knees.
The purpose of this is to lift the fascia, the thin layer that covers your muscles. By lifting the fascia, we might be able to take some of the stress off of the muscles where I'm having pulling or tendinitis issues. While this isn't intended as a permanent solution, it should help us figure out what's working/not working so we can concoct a good treatment plan.
Compared to Kinesio Tape, according to Mandy, Rock Tape is so much better -- much more adhesive and flexible. I can at least tell you that I've had this on since Monday afternoon and have only had to cut and trim a few inches off when it came undone. I've showered (ha! Aren't you glad?) and run just about every day, and she even says that this tape will usually stay on swimmers for up to 5 days. It's Saturday and still sticky!
I am covered with this tape from a few loops around my foot to completely up to my hip (3 stripes on the left leg). With all of these left foot-calf-knee-hamstring-hip problems, we went all the way. On my right side, as you can see, I am sporting a below-the-knee tape job where my lower leg muscles have been feeling like they were pulling off of the bone -- painful and sharp!! It got so bad in the last few weeks I was walking normally, but it was not pleasant.
Despite the fact that Lance Armstrong was one of the first to make this stuff trendy, I like it not because it's what the cool kids are doing but because it's actually worked. While I didn't have a painful enough baseline to compare to, I haven't felt any pain in my right leg since the tape went on on Monday! On the left, I felt a twinge at Thursday night's run. And now, after the 13 mile run, I can definitely feel a little pulling in the lower right leg, but I suspect it's because the tape's gotten more elastic over the past few days. I'm still MUCH better off than I was before, so I think we're on to something...
Ps: [Disclaimer-- Shameless plug ahead.]
If you want to try RockTape, Mandy's going to be at most of the Mag 7 races taping people before the run. You don't have to be injured to get taped. It obviously won't be as in depth as what I have going on, but you'll get the general idea! Go to the first race, the Magnificent 7k and find out! (I think that's the first one she's at -- will verify!)
She taped me pret-ty good with RockTape, better known as KinesioTape (actually, KinesioTape is to elastic therapeutic tape as Kleenex is to tissue. Make sense? It's a brand name). It comes in a bunch of different colors, but on that day, I only had my choice of pink or pink. It's ok. :)
 |
The purpose of this is to lift the fascia, the thin layer that covers your muscles. By lifting the fascia, we might be able to take some of the stress off of the muscles where I'm having pulling or tendinitis issues. While this isn't intended as a permanent solution, it should help us figure out what's working/not working so we can concoct a good treatment plan.
Compared to Kinesio Tape, according to Mandy, Rock Tape is so much better -- much more adhesive and flexible. I can at least tell you that I've had this on since Monday afternoon and have only had to cut and trim a few inches off when it came undone. I've showered (ha! Aren't you glad?) and run just about every day, and she even says that this tape will usually stay on swimmers for up to 5 days. It's Saturday and still sticky!
I am covered with this tape from a few loops around my foot to completely up to my hip (3 stripes on the left leg). With all of these left foot-calf-knee-hamstring-hip problems, we went all the way. On my right side, as you can see, I am sporting a below-the-knee tape job where my lower leg muscles have been feeling like they were pulling off of the bone -- painful and sharp!! It got so bad in the last few weeks I was walking normally, but it was not pleasant.
Despite the fact that Lance Armstrong was one of the first to make this stuff trendy, I like it not because it's what the cool kids are doing but because it's actually worked. While I didn't have a painful enough baseline to compare to, I haven't felt any pain in my right leg since the tape went on on Monday! On the left, I felt a twinge at Thursday night's run. And now, after the 13 mile run, I can definitely feel a little pulling in the lower right leg, but I suspect it's because the tape's gotten more elastic over the past few days. I'm still MUCH better off than I was before, so I think we're on to something...
Ps: [Disclaimer-- Shameless plug ahead.]
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Bedford 10k Race Report
Rain, rain, and rain! After one of the longest, hardest work weeks I've had since ACN, I woke up on this rainy Saturday morning to run the 10k in Bedford.
To set the scene, here's the week recap:
Monday - easy 4 miler with the group (my right knee was killing me from the 14 aquajog on Sunday)
Tuesday - track night with Andrea
Wednesday - nada
Thursday - mile repeats with the group (4 of 'em)
Friday - nada
Saturday - Race Day!
I'm definitely doing only a few miles each week, mostly because I want to take it easy on my hip/knees/leg/foot until we can figure out what the problem(s) are. Talk about quality over quantity... man am I totally paying for it!!
We got to Bedford and were situated with about 15 minutes to go before the race. Rachel, Kari, Craig K. and I did a short warm-up with the 10 minutes we had, and after a stride or two on the track, I could tell my legs weren't feeling quite 100%. But, that's the beauty of these Bedford runs! They're more casual and laid-back, but still forces a good race-pace effort. In true Steph form, I barely made it to the start line before the gun.
I wish I could confidently say I purposely changed up my normal race m.o. and went out fast, but that's a lie. I haven't raced in a while, so I fell victim to the "Jon Lee Effect" and was swept away with the faster guys at the gun. Faster than I'd like. My tried and true method usually involves going out very conservatively and picking up the pace. Today was not one of those days!
I ran with Chris for a little while, and we hit Mile 1 at 6:40. That would've been completely awesome if I'd felt better! Anyway, I think Mile 2 came at 6:59 (?), and Mile 3 at 6:55. As we went around the cul-de-sac, Chris took off and I lost my split-calling buddy. Every mile after that was a fight!! The rest of the run was an awful blur of trying to catch my breath, saying "thanks!" to the volunteers, and giving each runner a thumbs up or a "good job" when we crossed paths. Late into mile 4, I saw Ben, who had finished the race, walked back, and was cheering for me on the side of the road. Sweet- I was close to the end! (My body must funnel all the blood and oxygen from my brain to my legs when I run... I barely remembered any landmarks on this out-and-back course to realize my mistake) At this point, I was so tired!! I was paying the consequences for going out too fast in the beginning. As I approached Mile 5, the volunteer said, "Only a mile to go!" .... but unfortunately, I thought I was already well into mile 5. If you know me at all, I have a very distinct on/off switch, and this was mentally damaging! My heart sank even more when I realized that there was no possible way, where and when I'd seen Ben, that he could've finished so quickly and jogged back to the point where I'd seen him a hundred yards earlier. He had to have dropped out.
I negotiated with myself up the last hill (I'll take it easy up this hill, but then must continue at race pace to the finish) and finally saw downhill straightaway to the finish. I had less in the tank than I hoped in the last mile. But, fast forward to the finish, and finally it was over. On the injury front, I never had any issues! I ended up feeling sharp pain in my right leg during the cooldown, but that's it. The injuries still exist, yes, but didn't flare up during this run... they mostly show themselves when I approach higher mileage (40+) on the week. A temporary win, but a win none the less!
Upon finishing, the rest of the guys told me Ben was feeling sick again during the race and stopped running. He's been fighting a cold all week. While running, he was having some productive coughing fits and walked it back from the turnaround point at the cul-de-sac. Three hours later he started to having some knee/leg issues that caused his leg to swell at the knee and calf. He can barely walk and bear weigh on it today (Sunday), but is popping ibuprofen, icing, and resting like a champ.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my time, especially since I rarely race the 10k. Now I have a better idea of my fitness level. The time was good enough for me, and I know I can run that (or faster) while also feeling stronger. So, the two goals I have walking out of this are a) to start lifting again and b) add more miles.
A few funny moments happened when people kept running past the actual finish because the line could be identified only by a small ground marking and about 5 people standing around. Rachel N. was hilarious! As she unknowingly sprinted across the finish - and then kept going - we yelled at her, "You're done! You are finished! Rachel, you're done!" She still kept running like she was racing! Honestly, the Bedford Let's Go training group always does such a great job on their races, despite the usually small field. McDonald's orange drink and oreos at the end of the race, awards given out as you cross the finish line, directional arrows spray-painted on the ground, and volunteers at EVERY turn -- it doesn't get better than that. All in all, this was a good and hard race, a completely appropriate and consistent end for this incredibly exhausting week!
To set the scene, here's the week recap:
Monday - easy 4 miler with the group (my right knee was killing me from the 14 aquajog on Sunday)
Tuesday - track night with Andrea
Wednesday - nada
Thursday - mile repeats with the group (4 of 'em)
Friday - nada
Saturday - Race Day!
I'm definitely doing only a few miles each week, mostly because I want to take it easy on my hip/knees/leg/foot until we can figure out what the problem(s) are. Talk about quality over quantity... man am I totally paying for it!!
We got to Bedford and were situated with about 15 minutes to go before the race. Rachel, Kari, Craig K. and I did a short warm-up with the 10 minutes we had, and after a stride or two on the track, I could tell my legs weren't feeling quite 100%. But, that's the beauty of these Bedford runs! They're more casual and laid-back, but still forces a good race-pace effort. In true Steph form, I barely made it to the start line before the gun.
I wish I could confidently say I purposely changed up my normal race m.o. and went out fast, but that's a lie. I haven't raced in a while, so I fell victim to the "Jon Lee Effect" and was swept away with the faster guys at the gun. Faster than I'd like. My tried and true method usually involves going out very conservatively and picking up the pace. Today was not one of those days!
I ran with Chris for a little while, and we hit Mile 1 at 6:40. That would've been completely awesome if I'd felt better! Anyway, I think Mile 2 came at 6:59 (?), and Mile 3 at 6:55. As we went around the cul-de-sac, Chris took off and I lost my split-calling buddy. Every mile after that was a fight!! The rest of the run was an awful blur of trying to catch my breath, saying "thanks!" to the volunteers, and giving each runner a thumbs up or a "good job" when we crossed paths. Late into mile 4, I saw Ben, who had finished the race, walked back, and was cheering for me on the side of the road. Sweet- I was close to the end! (My body must funnel all the blood and oxygen from my brain to my legs when I run... I barely remembered any landmarks on this out-and-back course to realize my mistake) At this point, I was so tired!! I was paying the consequences for going out too fast in the beginning. As I approached Mile 5, the volunteer said, "Only a mile to go!" .... but unfortunately, I thought I was already well into mile 5. If you know me at all, I have a very distinct on/off switch, and this was mentally damaging! My heart sank even more when I realized that there was no possible way, where and when I'd seen Ben, that he could've finished so quickly and jogged back to the point where I'd seen him a hundred yards earlier. He had to have dropped out.
I negotiated with myself up the last hill (I'll take it easy up this hill, but then must continue at race pace to the finish) and finally saw downhill straightaway to the finish. I had less in the tank than I hoped in the last mile. But, fast forward to the finish, and finally it was over. On the injury front, I never had any issues! I ended up feeling sharp pain in my right leg during the cooldown, but that's it. The injuries still exist, yes, but didn't flare up during this run... they mostly show themselves when I approach higher mileage (40+) on the week. A temporary win, but a win none the less!
Upon finishing, the rest of the guys told me Ben was feeling sick again during the race and stopped running. He's been fighting a cold all week. While running, he was having some productive coughing fits and walked it back from the turnaround point at the cul-de-sac. Three hours later he started to having some knee/leg issues that caused his leg to swell at the knee and calf. He can barely walk and bear weigh on it today (Sunday), but is popping ibuprofen, icing, and resting like a champ.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my time, especially since I rarely race the 10k. Now I have a better idea of my fitness level. The time was good enough for me, and I know I can run that (or faster) while also feeling stronger. So, the two goals I have walking out of this are a) to start lifting again and b) add more miles.
A few funny moments happened when people kept running past the actual finish because the line could be identified only by a small ground marking and about 5 people standing around. Rachel N. was hilarious! As she unknowingly sprinted across the finish - and then kept going - we yelled at her, "You're done! You are finished! Rachel, you're done!" She still kept running like she was racing! Honestly, the Bedford Let's Go training group always does such a great job on their races, despite the usually small field. McDonald's orange drink and oreos at the end of the race, awards given out as you cross the finish line, directional arrows spray-painted on the ground, and volunteers at EVERY turn -- it doesn't get better than that. All in all, this was a good and hard race, a completely appropriate and consistent end for this incredibly exhausting week!
Here's me with my medal!
(Yeah, I'm scrubbin' today... but I earned it!)
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