New Reusable Ice Pack

To help aid the healing of my knee, I decided to buy a reusable ice pack.  I've been using a ziplock bag filled with ice cubes, then using an Ace bandage to wrap the bag around my knee, buffered by a kitchen towel.  While that works, it's not the most desirable solution.

Since this may be a long term issue, I decided to buy an upscale ice pack, one that is reusable.  After shopping around a bit, I stopped at the local "See the Trainer" store and purchased a 9x24 Elasto-Gel ice pack.  It can also be used for heat therapy, and can be wrapped just about anywhere.  Most importantly, it's reusable, and has elastic straps, and also has it's own microfiber cloth to protect your skin.  If you need a long-term solution, I'd highly recommend something like this.

Or, you can make your own homemade reusable ice pack too by using rubbing alcohol and water.  Add 1 part rubbing alcohol and 2 parts water to a freezer-style ziplock bag, then place that bag into one more bag (just to prevent spills).  This will make a gel that you can mold around body parts if necessary.  Just make sure to use a towel as a buffer though, because this homemade icebag seems to get super cold, much colder than a standard bag of ice cubes. You can also experiment if you need to by adjusting the ratio of alcohol to water.  The more water you have, the more frozen it will get. 

Pro Tec ITB Strap

Since my knee is still hurting pretty badly, and I still want (need) to run, I decided to try out an ITB strap.  Now this isn't really a solution to my problem, more of a bandaid if you will, but at least it will help get me through the pain.  Essentially, it's a strap that you wrap around your knee, slightly above the insertion point of the ITB (where the pain occurs).  This is supposed to keep your ITB from vibrating too much, or to keep the ITB from bouncing flopping against the bone, which should help alleviate some of the inflammation.  Again, it's not the solution, but I'm willing to try anything at this point.  While there are a couple of different brands, the most common one that I've seen is the Pro Tec band.  But, they all work the same way, as far as I know.

2009 Boys Town National Research Hospital Memorial Day 5 Mile Fun Run

Signed up to run with a friend from work.

ITB was still hurting, had to hobble a bit through the race, my knee ached throughout the run.

Wife and daughter ran the 1 mile race.

More Coming...

Iliotibial Band Syndrome??

After my second half marathon race in as many weeks, I believe I may have stressed my Illiotibial Band (ITB). It's a tendon that runs the length on the outside of the thigh and connect your hip to your knee. This typically causes knee and hip pain if you strain it, and is a result of possibly running too much, too fast, too many hills, or on a cambered road, running downhill too much, or simply from having a tight ITB to begin with. It can also be caused by leg length differences.

In my case, in may be a combination of all of the above, since during my race on Sunday, I did start off with some knee and hip pain, but then it went away during the race, but then came back on strong after I got home. The race course itself was pretty hilly, I was running beyond my comfort zone to try and reach a PR, I did another race just 2 weeks ago, and I do have leg length issues. When you combine "all" of those into one day, it's no wonder I have issues. Doh!

To alleviate this, I used some ice on Sunday, took Ibuprofen, and have been doing various stretches to help make my ITB more pliable. It seems to be working since I was able to do a 3 mile recovery walk/jog today at the gym, after doing some light non-impact swimming on Monday. The stretches I've been doing involve doing side lunges, step downs, a lying ITB stretch, the piriformis stretch, wall bangers, and a couple of standing ITB stretches, and also using the stick to massage the thigh muscles and ITB crossways (not up and down), and also using a foam roller to roll out any kinks and knots and break down any scar tissue that might be developing there. It all seems to be working OK, so I hope to continue on the path to recovery. I also may start taking a glucosamine supplement, but I'm not sure if there's any scientific evidence that it actually works, but I don't believe there are any serious side effects either.

I have another 5 mile Boystown Fun Run on Memorial Day that I've registed for, to run with a coworker, but I have no intentions of racing it, I just need to run it for fun. My wife and daughter will be doing the 1 mile fun run/walk that day too. 

This knee pain sucks though, it's not fun.

What Did I Do...

Ei yi yi, what did I do?  After running the Papillion HM marathon yesterday, I was only 16 seconds off my PR pace from two weeks ago.  Immediately after the race, I felt fine, but throughout the day yesterday, my left knee continued to progressively get worse, and worse, and worse.  Today, it hurts so bad, I just don't understand it.  I can barely walk, can't go up or down stairs, and it hurts to bend my knee.  I think the hills, and running extra hard near the end of the race really may have done me in.  I decided to do some light swimming today at the gym, nothing strenuous, only for the fact that I can't really do anything else.  Ouch, my knee hurts.

2009 Papillion, NE Half Marathon

I ran my 2nd half marathon in as many weeks this morning, over in Papillion. This was the 2nd annual running of the race, which helped to support the local food pantry and the Special Olympics. I didn't exactly know how well I'd do in this run, since I just raced 2 weeks ago, and I signed up for this race at the very last minute.

In the beginning, I started out racing since I felt good and wanted a new PR, but then experienced some knee and hip pain early on so decided to slow down a bit, since this was new. But, that pain went away by about mile 5 or so, and I decided to race it afterall.  By about mile 10, I quickly did some math and realized I could try for a new Personal Record so I really began to push it hard, a lot harder than I've ever pushed. In the end, I came in with another sub 2 hour time, at 1:59:45, but missed a personal record by 16 seconds from my race 2 weeks ago.  Bummer.

I still had a blast though, it was such a great run, and am pleased with my time. I was really sore this afternoon, and my left knee was really in a lot of pain. I iced it, and have been taking Ibuprofen to ease the pain. I don't think I've torn anything, but probably just pushed it a little to hard. (edit, I believe it's an ITB issue).

It's kind of surreal though, I can't stop eating. I've eaten enough food today for 2 normal days I think, I just can't seem to satisfy my hunger. Will definitely have to watch my food intake over the next few days. I've now got 4 weeks until my next race in Denver in mid June. I plan to rest up for a few days, then get back at it and start training hard. The elevation in Denver will be a real challenge.

A post-race picture with the shirt.  I was a little disappointed that we got a medallion, instead of a medal with a ribbon.  The 10k participants got the ribbon, with a 3-d sculpted medal, and the half-marathoners got this medallion in a plastic case.  Um, can I have a cool medal with a ribbon instead?

400 Career Miles

I surpassed the 400-mile mark in my running career today, an awesome accomplishment! I'm taking another taper week this week, in preparation for my next half marathon race this coming Sunday. Nice, slow runs this week, with about half my normal mileage, easing down in distance each day. Friday and Saturday will be full rest days, and also carb-loading days, to store enough fuel and energy for the race. I'm still not sure if I'll race the event on Sunday, or just run it for fun, it will all depend on how my legs feel, and whether I feel I've got enough kick to put the hammer down. In the end, it won't really matter, it should be a really fun event, and that's the most important thing! I ran on the treadmill indoors yesterday since it was raining outside. Ugh, I hate running on the treadmill now, especially since I've been running outside so much. The time on the treadmill just passes so slowly for me, versus when I'm outdoors. I think I'll have to learn how to be a cold weather runner so I won't have to be on the treadmill so much this winter.

One Week Post-Race

Well, running during the last week has mostly been light and easy to aid recovery, since I ran a hard race last weekend. Overall, I feel I'm well rested, and have recovered as much as I'm able. In fact, today, I did a long run around 11 miles, and it felt really good.

I also bought new shoes, since my 2nd toes on each of my feet were cramped last week when my feet swelled, so shoes 1/2 size bigger really helped. I wasn't excited about buying new shoes, but feet are important. I was a little worried about the shoes being too big, but I just used the top-most eyelets to snug the shoes up a little more.  I normally wear a size 12 shoe, but for running, size 12 1/2 will be much better.

The weather was cool this morning, with just a slight breeze, but the run felt great. I did forget to take my bottle of Gatorade with me, but found that I did fine without it. For upcoming training, I do have another half marathon in Denver in mid June, so I need to get back into the saddle of doing hard training. To that end, there is another half marathon race in Papillion next weekend, and I believe I will run it, but not race it. It's a good opportunity to do my long run. Of course, I say I don't intend to race it now, but race day adrenalin may change that. It's a small race with only 300 runners or so, and if I feel good, I just might try to put the hammer down. 

Ah, That Feels Better

After a good rest day yesterday (Ok, I did do a ton of yardwork, but no running), I decided to get back out on the road today. After waking up, I felt really good, and nearly all the aches and pains have disappeared. After lunch, I headed out for another nice, easy jog. But, I felt so good, I was able to pick up my pace to my normal speed, with no major problems. That felt really good, knowing that my recovery is in full swing, and my body is repairing the damage that I did to my muscles on Sunday. I ran in the heat of the afternoon, with temperatures in the mid 70s. While it was warm, it felt good to get a really good sweat going, and I cranked out 3 1/2 miles. Ahh, it felt wonderful. I also bought a running moisture-wicking visor to help shield sun off my face. I decided against a normal hat since I've heard it can trap heat on these really hot runs. I still don't want to run too hard, or too long yet, as I want my muscles to return to their full capacity without putting too much stress on them. Slow and steady build back, and I should be stronger than ever.

Oh, My Aching Joints

Today has been a somewhat hard day, and I'm a little stiff and sore. That's to be expected, but as long as I keep moving, slowly, things continue to improve. I decided to go for a very slow recovery jog this evening, just to keep the joints limber. The first half mile or so was very painful in my knees and feet, but after that, once everything was warmed up, the run felt good and I was able to complete a 5k, but at a very slow, leisurely shuffle.

The key is to not rush back into your training, but to ease back into it, and give your body a chance to fully recover. I intend to keep taking it easy this week, with nice short runs, slowly improving my speed back to normal, and then begin training hard again next week as I have another half marathon race in Denver in 6 weeks.

The challenge in that race is the elevation. The Denver course itself is relatively flat (mostly), meandering through downtown Denver, past the football stadium, then up in elevation a bit around a nice lake, and back. But, the 3500 elevation difference compared to Omaha will slow my pace by a few seconds for each 1000 feet gain. My strategy is to build endurance down here by speeding up a little, and hopefully getting in a little hill work, and also running in the heat. The Denver race is just a fun run to me, as I thought it would be a great weekend getaway.

Anyhow, until then, slow and easy runs to keep the legs moving.

2009 Lincoln, NE Half Marathon

Short version: I finished my first ever race and HM in 1:59:29! My secret goal time was 2:05, so I blew that out of the water. Didn't stop to walk once. My wife's first HM time was 2:33:16, and her goal was just to finish since she's struggled with her training and has been sick for the last couple of weeks. We feel great, and have grins on our faces from ear to ear, we are so proud of what we've accomplished, and better yet, we were able to do this together! Weather was absolutely perfect, partly cloudy, light wind, start temps in the mid 50s. I placed 1648 overall, and was 171/303 for my age division. My wife's goal was to finish in the top 5000 (there were 4808 entrants in the HM). ha She finished 3834, and was 308/434 for her age group.

Long Version: Today was the culmination of 15 weeks of hard training, going from not being a runner at all in January, to completing my first ever race (and half marathon) in sub-2 time. My training went well, taper went well, carb loading went well, everything just fell into place for an awesome run!

We woke up at 415 am this morning to get ready for the race after a really good night's sleep. After assembling all our gear last night and having my standard breakfast of bagel, PB, and Gatorade, we were on the road at 515 am for the 1 hour drive to Lincoln. About halfway down, we both had headaches for some reason, so we had to stop and grab some Motrin from the gas station. Got to the starting line around 630 am, headed to the restroom (we opted for the real bathrooms inside the football stadium) warmed up a little and checked our bags. My wife was nervous, I was not nervous at all for some reason.

My wife met some friends that she was running with (co workers), I hugged and kissed her, wished her good luck, and headed to the middle of 9:00 pace group. My wife and friends were at the back of the 10:00 pace group. The energy was amazing. They played the national anthem, blew a cannon, and the race was on. It took about 7 minutes for me to cross the starting mat.

Everything just clicked with this run. It felt great from the very beginning. I had no major aches and pains throughout the run, and I can honestly say that I had so much fun! Although, I did get a little nauseous around mile 10, but it passed by mile 11. I started out at solid 9:30 miles, ramped that up to 9:10, and eventually 8:40 miles with a nice negative split and finished with a flat out sprint. I did eat 1 GU 15 minutes prior to race time, then took GU again at 4.5 miles, and 9 miles. I did carry my own Nathan water bottle with Gatorade, just because that's how I trained. I also grabbed 2 waters along the course, with the cups having lids and straws. That was cool, and allowed runners to not worry about spilling it all over themselves. As far as music, I've trained from Day 1 with my Ipod, but didn't use it all in the race. I had it hooked up and ready to go, with my earbuds hanging on my shirt cuff, but didn't need to use it once. There was plenty on the course to keep my attention, it was so much fun! The crowd was really cool along the whole race, and I really appreciated their enthusiasm which helped to really push me. That race day adrenalin is for real folks.

When I hit mile 11, I realized that I could knock out a sub 2 hour time if I continued to put the hammer down, and just run hard, harder than I've ever run before. Getting my sub 2 hour time time by 31 seconds was just pure luck I guess. Like I said, everything just clicked when it was supposed to.

The only part of the course I didn't like was a 2.5 mile stretch on an 8 foot wide bike path along Highway 2. It was shoulder to shoulder, back to chest in that stretch. I said screw that and ran on the grass right next to the trail, which allowed me to cruise past runners just about every second. Hey, it worked for me, and was part of the reason why I got that sub 2 hour time!

My wife, while running her own race, did awesome as well! She has chronic asthma, and has been sick lately over the previous couple of weeks, and also has struggled with her training. Her lost long run was 3 weeks ago at 10 miles. She did super and only walked 1/4 mile. I'm so proud of her, I can't even begin to describe how wonderful she is, and how cool it was to be able to do the event with her. Even though we didn't run it together, we each had to run our own race, it was a great feeling to meet back up at the end to give each other a hug and kiss and that we'd just made memories that would last for the rest of our lives.

My brother in law did take a few pictures of us running during the race, and I was able to high-five my sister too, and another sister was there, although I wasn't able to find her in the huge crowds. Our daughter wasn't there, but we called her from the finish line as soon as we were able.

Bottom line, words just can't describe how happy we both are!!! This was an awesome, amazing, crazy, surreal experience, and we're living proof that you can do incredible things if you're willing to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and just say, "Well, why not!"

We're home now, sitting on the couch, and just resting. 13.1 miles, been there, ran that! Bring on the next race!

Garmin Split Times (for the super curious):

Mile 1: 9:30, Mile 2: 9:30, Mile 3: 9:25, Mile 4: 9:27, Mile 5: 9:12, Mile 6: 9:12, Mile 7: 9:00, Mile 8: 9:00, Mile 9: 8:57, Mile 10: 8:43, Mile 11: 8:35, Mile 12: 8:40, Mile 13: 8:24, Last 0.25 1:55 (7:32 pace), Total: 1:59:38

I also wanted to express my thanks to EVERYONE on the Runner's World chat boards!! There are some great folks there and I appreciate so much all the advice that everyone has been willing to give to this once newbie runner. Everyone there has been so positive, and I truly think they all helped to push me today, to a safe and almost unbelievable sub 2:00 finish! I also want to thank my coworkers for giving advice and continued inspiration, and also my family for the love and support for something that was completely foreign to me (running) a few months ago.

My wife and I after the race. Note our huge grins!  The experience of a LIFETIME!

Race on!

Pre Race-Day Jitters

Today is the day "before" the big day. I've been tapering my training this week, and have run only half of what I normally run. I feel as if I'm losing everything I've done in training up to this point, even though that's not the case at all. I've also been carb- loading the last couple of days. Ugh, I've gained a couple of pounds, and definitely can't wait to stop so I can get back to my normal foods. Pasta, potatoes, pancakes, bread, you name it, I've done it. It's supposed to give you extra power in the race since I'll have a higher than normal carb load on board. It's just making me fat.

Today, we headed to Lincoln to get our race packets. We visited the race expo, although it wasn't that great, and we drove the course for the race. So, I think we're as ready as we're going to be! I actually slept fairly well last night, even though I had to get up every 2 hours to pee. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I've been drinking like a fish. Bottom line, I'm well hydrated, have got extra fuel on board, now I just have to go out and run.

It's kind of a surreal feeling that my 15 weeks of training has culminated in this single moment. I'm assuming that it will all be a little anticlimactic tomorrow after the race is over, but that's why I've signed up for more races, to keep me motivated to continue my training. The weather for the race tomorrow should be nearly perfect. Temperatures should be in the mid 40s, winds should light from the north (at my back for the first 6 miles or so), and it should be dry.

In the back of my mind, I have a goal time in mind, but in the end, it doesn't really matter how I do. I know I'll finish, my training has already proven to me that I can do the distance. I just hope my body remembers, and it goes according to my master plan. 13.1 miles, in an official race, in another 14 hours, I should be able to say, "Been there, ran that!"