2012 was my year for half marathons...no injuries!

Well I really have enjoyed my many half marathons that I've run in 2012.  It really is the perfect distance, not too far, and not too short.  My time at the Hypo was around 2:24, then at the Millarville half on June 16th 2012 it was 2:22, and then at the Dinosaur Half in Sept it was 2:28 (hilly and gravel roads mostly) then my last half was Kelowna and my time was 2:14, my personal best and a time I don't ever feel like I need to best EVER.

I have gone to a minimal shoe called an Altra Instinct, it's a mens shoe, but it fits me great and I've been very happy that Pete Larson of Runblogger.com encouraged me to give them a try.  Best. Shoe. Ever.  It has a wide toe box, I always wear injinji socks to keep my toes from getting blisters, and they seem to really enjoy being able to move around and splay out inside this great shoe.  The sole is thicker than the Hattoris I was wearing, as well as the vibrams.  I ran Millarville in Hattoris, and the rest in my Altras. I bought a mens size 9 to give me room for a thick sock in winter, but I just love them for the roomy fit in the toe without feeling like they're sliding all over the place as I run.

I joined the half marathon clinics put on by the Running Room, a local running store with locations all over Canada.  Overall I feel like this is a great way to get used to the half marathon distance, and meet some great running buddies...I would say that meeting the running buddies is more important than the actual clinic instruction because running is a social activity for me mostly.  I have met some of the nicest people in the running clinics, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to become socially connected and make friends while doing some great exercise.

I decided to take the plunge and join a marathon clinic.  My goal race is the Maui Oceanfront Marathon and it's on Jan 20/2013.  My first 26k run is tomorrow morning....in the cold, ice and snow.  Maybe I am crazy...

I'll tell you one thing tho, running has become soooo much easier now that I'm fat adapted...no carbs for this runner.  It's pretty sweet seeing the 1-2 lb fat loss after a 2-3 hour run... My fuel in the morning is a spoon of coconut oil. On hot runs I would bring it with me mixed with realsalt, which is mineral salt to replenish electrolytes lost by sweat. There's not a lot of sweating in a minus 10C run...so it's not needed. Just water.

My Journey from Injured Half Marathoner to Vibram Wearing Half Marathoner

Well as you can see I'm not a very active poster....but I'm trying to change that.

I have run 2 other half marathons, both in 2010 and with conventional runners. I was pretty injured during and after those two races and decided to give running a rest for awhile and see if I could get a handle on my injuries.

After a few weeks of rest I joined a different running group, the Calgary Road Runners to see if perhaps my training was not what it should have been. They were a nice group of people, but WAY too fast for me, I felt like a turtle compared to them. I learned about heart rate training, km repeats, track drills and other interesting topics that were news to me. I learned that I need to push past my threshold at times in order to see gains in endurance and strength. I enjoyed my time with them but had to stop going to the runs because once again I was sidelined with injuries.

My injuries were just the usual runner injuries, plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, runners knee pain. The worst one was the PF. It felt like I was walking on broken glass in the mornings when I got up, and at other times during the day. It is just so frustrating to be injured and not be able to do the sport you love to keep fit and be able to eat. No run, no eat lol.

I also had various issues with my asthma, and had to learn to be more consistent with taking the inhaled corticosteriods every day, not just before runs, which was a habit I was getting into. I don't like having to take these drugs, and when I feel good, I 'forget' to take them.

The year 2011 arrived and I wasn't running much. I decided to try some 'minimal' shoes to see if that might help with my chronic injuries. I bought some Nike Frees to transition into a more minimal shoe, and began to go on short 5k runs with them. They felt ok, but as soon as the mileage got up there again, past 12k, I was in pain. I was toying with the idea of going with Vibrams, having read so much about them, and of course the book Born to Run. I didn't really like the look of them, and they were another expense I couldn't afford, but when I saw a pair of thin leather hot pink Vibrams at a sports store in Montana, I decided to give them a go. The pair I bought was for indoor only, as it's very delicate leather with a black rubbery footprint on the bottom. They really gave you the feel of being in bare feet, there was absolutely no cushioning or support and it felt very strange to run a couple hundred metres in them on the running track at the gym. At least they were footwear, as the gym, YMCA has a strict footwear policy..

In Feb. of 2011 I began to run a few hundred meters at a time a few times a week, and increased very gradually. After 8 weeks or so I was up to 5k, and had bought my first pair of outdoor VFFs, the Komodo Sports. I bought the mens pair because I wanted them to be slightly too large to allow a sock for cold weather. I'm a size 10 ladies shoe, and the Komodos were a size 42 in the mens. I felt some weird pains here and there with the Komodos, mostly on my toes and the bottom of my feet. My second toe went numb a few times, and this seemed to be connected to something on the ball of my feet. I couldn't really determine what it was, some type of neuroma but it went away after each run. I'm sure it was caused by me landing so much on my midfoot and not bringing my heel down.

I kept reading about barefoot stride, and trying to concentrate on fixing what was wrong with my stride. This was a constant effort that didn't make running very much fun. I shortened my stride, tried for 180 cadence, and made sure to bring my heel down with each step, and not to run on my 'toes' Over the spring and summer I ran as much as I could, keeping the runs below 10k and really trying to listen to my body and not overdo it.

I couldn't even fathom at this point running a half marathon in Vibrams....

I did a Disney Half Marathon Relay in early October with some friends, and even tho I ran as fast as I possibly could, I felt burned out and in pain after 13k. I kept running slow, and focusing on feeling good after each run. For now the PF and IT problems were a thing of the past and that was great news!

In mid October I decided to join the Glenmore Running Room in Calgary for a half marathon clinic, and hoped that the gradual regular training with other people would help my body and feet and legs adapt to the stress I was putting on it. The body can adapt to anything as long as you give it enough time and don't do Too Much Too Soon (TMTS)

Of course October is the start of winter and I knew I was in for some challenges as far as the weather was concerned; how would VFF's be in deep wet snow, cold, wind etc. What about ice and wearing ice grips like I normally do for winter running...they feel fine on cushioned soles, but they can't be worn on VFFs or other thin soled footwear.

The weather mostly cooperated over the 17 weeks of the half clinic, and there were only a couple of oatmeal runs, and I wore the nike frees for one of them (with ice grips) and my new aqua shoes for the other, with no ice grips. Forget the Frees, they're hopeless, and I feel crappy after wearing them. The aqua shoes are called 'Deep See Walkers' and are like scuba shoes, they have a zipper at the ankle and go up past your ankle. I got a mens size 10 and can wear a huge thick 100% wool sock in them so my feet stay toasty, and believe it or not DRY! They're not especially slippery, and I just need to be extra vigilant about icy conditions. Our two weekly run classes are in the evenings and it's pitch black out, except for street lights, so we rely on headlamps to light our way and watch for ice. Running minimal has made me very aware of where I place my feet all of the time, not just while running.

The goal race for this clinic was the Hypothermic Half Marathon, and has never been on my list of races to do. Just the name makes me shiver. Plus there have been stories of running in a foot of snow, and minus 30C conditions. Not ideal for running a half mary. I decided to wait and see how I felt at the 20km mark in the training plan as to wether or not I would run the goal race with my fellow clinic members.

The 20k training run came and went (I ran 23k, just to see if I could) and it felt great overall. The last km was painful, a pain in my knee on the outside and radiating under the knee which seems to happen after the 19-20km mark. It got so bad at some points that I was thinking my knee was just going to buckle under me and I'd fall flat down on the trail. I wish I knew what that knee pain was, and what it is caused by. I'm thinking just lack of training at above 20km distances. Haven't given my body enough time to adapt to running that distance. Haven't done that distance enough times. Who knows.

After that long training run I decided to sign up for the race and worked on buying a bib off someone thru the forums, as the race was sold out. I managed to get myself a bib, and I ran the race with a personal best time! But that is another story!!

My first half marathon

Well the much anticipated Harvest Half Marathon was my goal race and I managed a time of 2:31. I know that must seem terribly slow to some, but to me it was a tough slog. I started off way to fast, feeling great in the first 5k, and running with my two running buddies who both have a faster pace than I do. I was feeling soo good I didn't want to slow down and 'pace' myself like I had planned. The race plan was like this: 1st 5k is all uphill, so GO SLOW. This 5k should be the slowest. Next 5k is down hill and into the flat bottom of Fish Creek Park, familiar territory as we run here all the time. I still felt great here and ran at a very fast pace for me, around 6:15/km. My 10k time was almost the same as my first 10k race earlier this year, 1:08. The next 5k was supposed to be where I would pick up speed, as it is mostly flat as well, which brings us to the last 5k, and this last bit includes a huge ass 600m hill which we were planning to walk up. Then the plan was after catching our breath at the top of Sikome hill, 'giver' all the way to the finish line. Right. After Sikome Hill I wanted to give up, not 'giver'.

Weeellll, it didn't quite work out that way. 1st 5k was wonderful, fast. 2nd 5k was great too, fast and fun. By 15k I was starting to feel some serious muscle pain in my right glute and hamstring area. Then the inside of my hip joint started to hurt. I ended up walking here for at least 10 min. Then the Hill. The Hill from Hell. At the 17km mark, we had to start our 600m climb up Sikome Hill, which most people walked. At the top I was completely and utterly spent. I wanted this stupid half marathon business to be finished, and I would never be so stupid as to do another one. I couldn't believe I actually thought this would be 'fun'. I felt like crying because of the thought of quitting and giving up. I knew my 11 year old son was waiting for me at the finish line... the thought of explaining to him why I quit..nearly killed me.

Then I met an angel on the course. A sprightly happy soul, wearing the strangest of outfits, and some kind of pink compression sleeves. She was 'coaching' another runner, a young girl named Betty. This angel wasn't actually in the race, she was running it for fun to help her friend Betty finish. She chatted away to try to keep Betty's mind off the searing pains in her body. And I guess she saw that I was near death, because she asked me to join them and run the rest of the race in with them. We had 4km left to go. Every rational part of me wanted to quit and never do this silliness again. Obviously I was feeling the effects of running too fast too long earlier in the race. And the lack of training as I only trained for 10 weeks instead of 16.

Ms. angel got Betty and I to run/powerwalk as much as we could to this sign and that one and kept reminding me of my precious son waiting for me at the finish line. I dragged my body which was just a ball of pain by this time, along with them. 700 metres from the finish line I see the blond shaggy hair of my dear sweet Noah. He ran up to me enthusiastically and said ' Hi Mom, how are you? You don't look fine. Are you ok? I'm really proud of you you know. Come on we're almost at the finish line, it's just over there. Mom you sound funny are you sure you're ok?' I was sucking wind pretty badly at the end, my asthma finally getting the better of me, and as soon as I crossed the finish line and slowed down, I held on to Noah's shoulder, and burst into tears. I couldn't believe I actually finished this race.

From couch (never ever having run before in my life) to half marathon in 13 months. I am proud of myself despite my slow time. I did the best I could, I pushed myself beyond my limits, and despite the overwhelming desire to quit, I stuck it out and achieved my goal.

I AM A HALF MARATHON RUNNER!

And you know what, my next one is in exactly one month, Nov. 14. It's called the Last Chance Half. last chance to kill yourself before the new year...lol. I am actually looking forward to it. I think I'm addicted!

Well we had an escapee chicken running around on the road beside my house on Sat. Luckily a neighbor kindly came to notify me and a few other neighbors joined in to help me corner the wretch and get her back in the yard.

She's been broody, so grouchy and depressed, and sitting in the nest box all day. Trying to hatch eggs. That will never hatch.

The cure is to take them out of the nest box and keep them outside in the sunshine till the broodiness passes. I feel sorry for them, all that maternal instinct, and no babies to be found.

Nowadays in factory farms, eggs are hatched in incubators, because you need a constant temp of body heat to hatch eggs, or a broody hen.

In the old days, the farmer would wait till a hen went broody, then put all the other fertile eggs underneath her and she would sit on them patiently for 23 hours a day for 21 days till they hatched.... It's like a phase they go thru every once in awhile.

Anyhow, this broody hen was mighty pissed at me for taking her off her nest (she even allows the other hens into the box with her to lay their eggs so she can sit on them...lol) and she was racing around the yard, just generally freaking out. And after I went inside, somehow, she jumped my 6foot fence...or somehow the gate opened...I have no idea how she escaped. Once I opened up access to the nesting boxes, she made a beeline and went back inside.

Thank god I have kind and wonderful neighbors!!!!