I am a Runner Again!

I finally got my custom orthotics this week, and I hope this will be the answer to my running problems!

The guy who made them told me to walk on them a few days, and wait until Saturday (today) to run, or else I would be very angry with him. I didn't want to be mad, because he was a very nice man who listened patiently while I told him about all the irregularities of my feet. He built these corrective thingies accordingly, and I am glad to finally have them!

And the weather was perfect! Upper 60s. I decided to be conservative, and did a 1-mile run/walk, to see how it would go. I ran 0.2, and walked 0.1, for a total of one whole mile. Whoopee! I did the running portions on the fast side, so that I wouldn't feel like a total lazybones. I got fairly out of breath.

I am a beginning runner again (one who has run 25 marathons in the last 3 years!) ~ I'm going to build my distance from the ground up, as if I were a beginner.

I forgot how great it feels! I have been feeling frumpy and fat lately. I gained weight while I was on crutches.

I have been thinking about this weight gain, trying to decide what to do about it. I am usually pretty casual about it when I have to lose a few pounds, and have managed to stay a certain weight for a long time ~ on the upper edge of normal for my height. But now, after the injury, I am over the "normal" threshold, so I'm going to have to do something that goes against everything I believe in ~ I'm going to have to weigh and measure my food. Some people call it a "diet."

I really like the SuperFoodsRx books, and wanted to try their diet plan. So I sat down with the book and tried to make sense of it. I worked at it for several hours, and found it to be very confusing. I don't want that kind of frustration if I'm trying to lose weight, so I decided to go with something I know.

Back in the 80's, Weight Watchers used to use the "exchange" plan (similar to the diet used by diabetics). It is very sensible and easy to follow, and it worked for me back then. When I went back in the 90's for a "tune up," they had switched to the Points system. I never could get used to that. For some reason the idea of a "point" is too abstract for me, but I can easily grasp an "exchange" of a given category of food. I can't go back to Weight Watchers, then, but I don't want to pay someone to lose weight anyway!

So I dug up all the information I need. I found lots of information on the internet, and the old-time Weight Watchers cookbooks are available used for just pennies. I'm going to start Monday. (Weekends are not good for starting something like this, and besides, I have food in the kitchen I need to eat up, so it won't be there to tempt me.) I'm kind of looking forward to it!

Especially since I'm running again.

Monday & Tuesday, January 4 & 5

Monday:

Breakfast: Emergen-C, a shot glass of nuts, coffee, Muesli & soy milk
Lunch: spinach & tomato salad with vinaigrette, yogurt-breaded turkey breast
Snack: Coffee, a Kashi cookie, and three chocolates. (Stress eating)
Snack: 1 pear
Dinner: 1/2 sweet potato,1/2 can of organic split pea soup with wheat germ, flax seed & cheese stirred in, Weight Watchers dinner
Snack: Emergen-C, a shot glass of nuts, yogurt

Categories I missed: Blue/purple fruit (I'm out of blueberries!), Citrus fruit, Other Veggie, & Tea
Tuesday:

Breakfast: Muesli & soy milk, Emergen-C, coffee, a shot glass of nuts
1st Lunch: The other half can of the organic split pea soup, with wheat germ & flax seed but no cheese.
2nd Lunch: Weight Watchers entree, asparagus, broccoli, carrots
Dessert: 2 pieces chocolate
Snack: Coffee
Snack: 1 orange
Dinner: Spinach & Tomato salad with Caesar dressing (a packet from Wendy's)
Turkey Bean dish with wheat germ & flax seed
Snack: Blueberry yogurt, 1 piece of chocolate

Strength Training ~ I did everything except quads & calves again, while watching "The Biggest Loser" and "National Body Challenge."

Sunday, January 4

Oh, the picture turned out tiny this time. You'll have to click on it to see what I ate today.

I also did my strength training ~ all the muscle groups except calves and quads. I'll be going to the doctor tomorrow, and hope to be off crutches, finally!

Saturday, January 3

Today I crossed off everything on my list except citrus. (Whatever I don't cross off becomes high priority the next day.)

Breakfast: Oats, frozen blueberries, soy milk; a shot glass of nuts; Walborne; coffee
Lunch: Yogurt-breaded turkey breast, spinach & tomato salad with a few spritzes of vinaigrette, tea
Dessert: Two Kashi cookies
Snack: Emergen-C & coffee
Snack: edamame
Dinner: Kashi frozen entree: Rancero Beans; carrots & broccoli; an apple


My arms are sore from strength training yesterday ~ that's a good sign!

Friday, January 2

Breakfast: Oats, blueberries, soy milk, a shot glass of nuts, coffee, Wal-borne
Snack: a second pot of coffee
Lunch: carrots; omelette made of 3 eggs, olive oil, garlic, green onions, spinach, broccoli, cheese
Dessert: a piece of chocolate
Snack: Two Kashi cookies
Dinner: Yogurt-breaded turkey breast, asparagus, orange


Strength Training:

Tonight I did strength training ~ I think it took about an hour and it was hard! I did every muscle group except calves and quads. No wonder I have trouble sticking with this! It was hard work. But I did it while watching junk TV, so at least I felt like I was getting something done while watching idiot TV stuff.

2009 Fitness Plans

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has spent some time thinking about fitness-related "New Year's Resolutions" today.

I've got a few ideas, but I don't know if I'm going so far as to call them "resolutions." There are some areas in which I'd like to have better habits, so here are some general improvement ideas.

Eating:

Since I've had a stress fracture, I have gained a few pounds. Actually, the gaining started before that ~ it is so easy to gain weight when you are running marathons! Because of the necessity of eating enough before a long run, it is difficult to eat just the right amount, and I tend to eat more than I need to, and it becomes a bad habit. My weight is back in the 160's, which is in the "overweight" category for my height, so I'd like to get back down into the 140's again.

I don't believe in dieting or counting calories, so this is going to go slowly. (I believe in counting SuperFoods, and counting colors!) I think I will be able to lose weight just by being aware of what I eat, and by trying to eat as many SuperFoods as I can.

I usually have my camera handy, so I think I will photograph what I eat in a day. Not every day, but perhaps most days. And I'll post it on this blog, to keep myself accountable. I did this today, and I noticed that I was reluctant to eat, because I didn't want to add it to the picture!

(In case you are curious, here is what is in the picture:
Breakfast: a glass of Wal-born, and a pot of coffee. A bowl of muesli & rolled oats, uncooked, with soy milk; a bowl of frozen blueberries, thawed, with a container of yogurt stirred in.
Lunch: a Lean Cuisine, carrots, and steamed broccoli, and tea
Snack: a shot glass of nuts
Dinner: my famous turkey bean dish, with wheat germ & flax seed stirred in.)

I do well with my eating when I keep a checklist of "SuperFoods" ~ it's a list I made up, based on the book SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. So today I made up a list that I can print off each week, and check off the foods that I eat, so I can see at a glance how I'm doing.

I don't have to eat all of these each day, but the game is to get as many as possible. If I eat normal portions of most of these, there isn't room for much junk food, and I get a lot of nutrients. My list is:

Blue/purple fruit
Citrus fruit
Other fruit
Spinach
Cruciferous veggie
Orange veggie
Tomato
Other veggie
Oats
Other whole grain
Salmon/turkey
Beans
Nuts
Tea
Yogurt
Supplements

I also made a weight chart, because it motivates me to see the numbers go down! I'll post that in a few weeks, when I get some data.

Running:

I'm not allowed to run yet, but I have a schedule for building back up to marathons by the end of the year. I'm being very conservative about it. I'm planning to run a half marathon in May, and we'll see how it goes from there.

Strength:

This is the area I've never been able to maintain good habits in for very long. So 2009 is the year.

I made a chart of several exercises for each muscle group. I'm planning to work on each muscle group twice a week. I figure 30 minutes twice a week ought to do it. I will print the chart each week on the reverse side of the paper with the SuperFoods lists.

I can't do some of these with a broken leg, but there are many that I can. So I'm going to start this week on everything except calves and quads.


Flexibility

I haven't decided exactly about this, but it would be good to take a yoga class, or use a yoga DVD, or come up with a stretching routine. I'm going to give this some thought for a couple of weeks, and start when I start running.

Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon Attempt

It was a nice little race, and even though it turned out to be a bad experience for me, I can't give it a bad review. I'm not going to say much about it, though. For reasons already mentioned in my other blog, I ended up with a stress fracture, and did not finish this marathon. (Since there was a half marathon event, I did manage to finish that. I did not get a finisher's medal, but at least I can cross Mississippi off my list for half marathons.)

The Gulf Coast Marathon is a small race, which is my favorite kind. The race director runs, too, and sometimes comes in first!

The packet pickup was easy to find, although the race was not. There was not a lot of information online, and I wasn't very clear about where to go for the race. I was not the only one who got confused, and showed up at the wrong place! But no problem ~ when we did arrive at the race, with no time to spare, we learned that the start was delayed.

The weather forecast called for a torrential downpour. I hoped that the rain would hold off a bit. I knew that there was a good chance I would not be able to finish this marathon, and I asked if I could switch to the half, if necessary. They said that would be fine.

The race took place at the Stennis Space Center, about an hour's drive from New Orleans. (We took a little trip to the French Quarter the evening before!) There were all sorts of interesting things to look at. The route was basically a double-loop, so I saw most of it, even though I only ran the half.

My leg was hurting early on, and by mile two I knew I would not be able to do the full marathon. I wanted to do the half, though, because look at all the trophies they had set up. I guess I get my choice of trophy. And as usual, I left it there for others to enjoy, because none of these would fit in my trunk.


















I chose one of the little ones. You can see it, if you ever go to the Stennis Space Center. I didn't think I should take a big one this time, since I didn't do the full marathon.

They had a Sverdrup named after me. I don't even know what a Sverdrup is!



At about mile 12, the torrential downpour began. I put my camera away and just tried to get to the finish line without doing too much damage. By that time, I was obviously limping.

At the finish line, they had some kind of warm food. I don't remember what it was exactly, because I had other things on my mind (like extreme pain).

I was soaking wet, and it wasn't any fun. But before we left the space center, we stopped by the visitor center. I brought in some dry clothes, and changed in the bathroom, and then hobbled around to play with the fun things. Because I was determined to have fun, somehow!

There was a space shuttle simulator, and I tried to land the space shuttle several times. I crashed every time, and burst into a ball of flames.

This is what we look like in psychedelic colors.



That's me in the space suit.

Other than having a serious running injury, it was a good race, and I would recommend it. I would definitely consider going back and trying this one again for my Mississippi marathon.

That's all for my running reports for 2008! I was signed up for the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon in North Carolina, but of course, I did not run that one. (You can read about the trip, though, on my other blog!) I am also registered for Disney World in January, and will not be running that one either. (Somehow, I think I'll find a way to have fun on that trip, even without running a marathon!)

My next post will be in 2009, and I will document my big comeback from the stress fracture. Because I WILL make a comeback! With the doctor's ok, I will start my running from scratch. This will be a good time to lose some weight, and start a strength training program, as well. I plan to be up to a half marathon around Memorial Day, and if that goes well, then train for Marathon #26!

Happy New Year! (And happy old year, for a few more hours!)