Evolution of Steph's Running Shoes

That's right! My new shoes came yesterday!!! My new Nike Free 5.0's. I'm hoping they help to find a nice balance between "normal" sneakers and my vibrams. My sneaker evolution didn't exactly go on the normal track-- sneakers, Free's, vibrams/barefoot, but that's ok. I'm hoping because of my experience in vibrams I won't need too much work to transition into the Frees.

Barefoot Running: I tried my hand at barefoot running with the vibrams and liked it, but with my ankle issues I was concerned about trying to use the vibrams this weekend and next for marathons. I want to give it a few more weeks and maybe try them in a March marathon. For now, I was trying to find a middle ground as the sneakers are too heavy and the vibrams need just a little more support. The Free's are supposed to help find that balance!

Nike Free 5.0: As you know, I did contact vibrams about their suggestions for transition and they sent back a response suggestion I use this site.  I sent Nike a similar note and they sent back  a prompt response to my request RE the free's: transitioning and their suggestions on distance (is a marathon ok?):

"Hello Stephanie,


That is amazing and very ambitious of you to complete that many marathons!


Here is some information regarding the Free technology, it was inspired by the idea of barefoot training, the Nike Free 5.0 Runner shoe allows natural motion which not only works to strengthen your feet, but your entire body. Stronger, more flexible feet mean better performance and less injury. The secret is a midsole that works with your foot, driven by your foot. The dynamically engineered upper, made of Escaine, a Japanese synthetic suede with fiber base, works in coordination with an extremely innovative midsole. An “unshoe” sensation creates a smooth ride, feel, flow and flex.
As in any training program there are risks. These can usually be avoided with proper use and by following a progressive training regimen. A Nike Free training program is included in the shoe box. Also, do not over extend your training and back off if you begin to notice pain or early signs of overuse.
And it always depends on the athlete, his/her anatomy and a potential predisposition to injury, past history of injuries, body type, running style, training methods, surface conditions and a variety of risk factors.
Don't hesitate to email me back or call 1-800-806-6453 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. Pacific Time, Seven days a week if you have further questions.
Best regards,
Nick
Nike.com"
 
It sounds like these are just the type of shoe I'm looking for. I wasn't supposed to run yesterday, but I had to test them out a little!!! Very light -- the entire package they sent (including box, packaging, etc) was 2lbs. I have the same flexability as the vibrams and as I ran I felt myself pulling my legs underneath and standing up straight the way I did with the vibrams. It will take a little more testing-- but I would like to see if this is because of the shoes or because of the good form I've picked up from the vibrams.
 

FLEX! They're sneakers and they cover more than the vibrams, but they still allow the same flexability as mentioned in their letter above.
 
<-- can your sneakers do THAT? FUN!!!
 
Along with my new shoes, came much more snow! As I hurt myself enough in the snow this past weekend and since I have a marathon this weekend I will not be running outside today. I'll go to the gym and test them out a bit on the treatmill.
 
Yesterday, I tested them out indoors as I did a few series on my new Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred!!! Great workout, but if you're an active athlete I would suggest doing 2 or more of the series at a time if that's your full workout. If you're adding it onto your run or another cardio workout do 1 series.
 
 
That's about it-- gearing up for the marathon this weekend and what is looking to be MUCH nicer weather! :)

17 Mile Freeze and Tapering begins... :(

Over Friday/Saturday early morning we were hit with a snow/ice storm my way. Being the impatient little tyke that I am, I didn't want to wait til Sun to get my 17 miler in and I opted to do some snow-shoeing instead! I ran the first 8 by myself, then I met up with my new-to-marathoning friend, D, for the last 9. She's running the Flying Pig half in May and had a 9-miler scheduled for this weekend. The first 8 miles I ran around the neighborhood (hyde park) and probably 10% of the sidewalks were cleared. On top of that, cars line both sides of the street so I didn't so much have the option to run in the streets if I wanted to avoid getting hit by a car....

... ok, so at one point a smll part of me DID hope to get hit by a car. It felt like running on sand and I was getting nowhere. On top of that, I was running in real sneakers (ick) instead of my vibrams so my legs felt like bricks again.

I picked up D and we set out on the back part of the Flying pig loop, then crossed over to the middle portion of the course. If you're unfamiliar with "The Pig" this is where you hit the "Eden Park Hill." This hill is often compared to Boston's Heart Break Hill-- although the Pig is both longer and steeper! The half marathon also runs this hill, so I wanted to take her on the toughest part of the course. She made it with no problem at all!

Fast Forward....

Later that day (post-shower), icing, stretching (a little) I felt a little funny in my achilles (in the same foot that I have a strained Posterior Tibialous). I started to rub the achilles a little and flexed my foot only to hear and feel the strangest sound/feeling EVER... There is no real way to describe it but it kind of felt like a rubber band or 2 pieces of rubber that were rubbing against each other in opposite directions. It wasn't bending and flexing smoothly and making a creeking kind of sound. I know... totally weird!!! HOW do these things keep happening??? I ran 18 marathon last year without so much as a muscle ache and now I'm hurting everything on me!!! I blame winter!!!

I thought back to the run and there was  a point I had a little tightness in that achilles. We had run through some frozen puddles and my feet got wet-- as well as the compression band I had around my ankle. That had gotten frozen and I think it may have frozen my achilles area a little too. Eeek. Sooo it's still making that sound, but it's not as bad. I took yesterday off and I'll be taking today and possibly tomorrow-- good thing this is a tapering week!!!

That's right! Tapering begins today for my marathon THIS WEEKEND. I'm hoping that all my ligaments and tendons decide to function correctly and I'm giving them some serious down time this week. Stretching and icing will be my primary focus. My goal is to stay health this week and this weekend because I have February Marathon #2 next weekend in Albany, NY! My 25th state and hopefully half-way-there race (as long as my ankle coorporates).

I going to need some serious voodo or good mojo toward my ankle this week/weekend!!! Stay tuned.

Happy 100 Followers and Photo Friday!!!

Yesterday I logged onto my account and realized... Steph's 50 Marathon Challenge now has

~*~*~*100 WONDERFUL FOLLOWERS!!!*~*~*~*~

Yay!!!! I remember when my mom was the only person commenting on my post ;). It's been about a year since I started my blog and I've read some wonderful stories and learned a lot from all the blogs I'm following. I hope I'm giving back to the Run~Blog~Sleep Community! I know some of the followers who are always reading and contributing, shout-outs to some of my fav Run-Bloggies (Bloggies I hear from often and/or with great blogs you need to follow):

Marlene (Mission to a(nother) Marathon)  ~ Always sweet and one of the first to comments. Can't wait to meet you in Seattle! Oooh right... I may be in Ontario earlier for a Dr. appt and some lunch ;)

Mel (Tall Mom on the Run)  ~ Ok who DOESN'T love Mel? If she's not sending you motivational emails or going to bat for you against race directors, then she's helping set and complete running goals for 300+ runners!

Shelly (shellyrm aka jogging stroller mama) ~ A dedicate mom, runner and blogger.... puts in more mileage than anybody I know and still has time to check in on all of our blogs!

Anna (Anna Banana) ~ Anna seems to always be up for an encouraging word and with a love for running, she has a wonderful blog with some fun goals ahead. I'll be seeing Anna for one of my doubles in April... as long as I can figure out which state her city is located in!

Morgan (CAUTION: Redhead Running) and Beth (B.o.B.) ~ Can't help but think of them as one because you usually get to read about 1 long run from 2 perspectives. Both hilarious in their own way and doing great in their marathon goals!

100th Follower~ Carlee (Chasing Forest Gump) ~ I just found her blog when I saw she was my 100th follower. From my initial reading it looks like she puts in a TON of mileage. Can't wait to read more!!!

There are MANY many many more but as I go to copy your web addy's I'm reading them all and it's taken me about an hour just to get the few listed above! Thanks everyone for following and as always ... if you're planning on being in one of the states listed in the link at the top  (Upcoming Runs) just let me know!!! I love running buddies.

If you're new or have been following and keeping on the DL I would love to hear from you... 
WHO ARE YOU??? 
~Where are you from???
~What are your running goals???
~Tell me a little about YOU!

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Photo Friday!

Earlier this week I posted that I bought the new Nike Frees online in hopes to have a balance between sneakers and Vibrams for the 2 upcoming marathons. Well as you can see these are NOT Nike Frees. They are my old Asics. Apparently by "2 days" finish line actually means "1 week" Grrr so I needed to get something for my long run this weekend. It's going to be cold and I need a little more support for my 17 miler.... so off I went for my 7 mile run.

This was SO weird... I felt like I had lead in my legs and it probably sounded like an earthquake wherever I ran. I imagined people running for cover as I ran toward them.

My New Friends! So I was running up a hill in a popular running area of Cinci (Hyde Park) as a girl came down in the other direction she said "Watch out for the Deer." This is not exactly a "Deer friendly" area as it's very populated and not very close to the woods. Once in a while 1 or 2 will wonder in and they'll call people to get them out (hopefully in a friendly manner). But when I came over the hill there were these 2 guys on one side (cute, huh?) But as I kept going I realized what the other runner was talking about-- there were at least another 7 on the other side!!! That's a lot of deer. Maybe they're hiding from hunters-- smart deer!!!

(Double click the picture to make it bigger and see my new friends!)

Hotel Speedwork and Recovery!

Travel a lot?? Zipping around hotels and finding a hard time to get your miles in?? Well this week I'm in South Bend, IN! (woo hoo??). I knew I wouldn't be able to workout tomorrow so I made sure I was able to get in a solid run tonight.

No offense to you fighting Irish fans, but South Bend isn't the most exciting place in the world outside of football season (and probably doesn't change much during football season either). Knowing south bend, the weather would not be on my side and either would the safety of the streets, so I made sure to find a hotel with...

1) A decent workout room
2) A pool/spa area with a hot tub





Speedwork:
The Deathmill and I are definitely becoming better friends!! I'm still not thrilled to be on it and it takes some effort to keep from walking off, but I found a good way to get my miles in and hardly notice... speedwork! If you remember, last week I did my speedwork on a treadmill and left this post about it! My ladders were great, but I wanted something to push a little harder-- to push the speed-endurance. So, I took on a few:

Mile Repeats!!
Repeat 1: 7:41 pace -- Complete!
Repeat 2: 7:39 pace -- Complete!
Repeat 3: 7:30 pace -- Complete!
Repeat 4: 7:20 Pace -- Complete!
I did about .25 miles of jogging/walking between with a good cooldown for a total of 5.5miles

*Isn't the post-speedwork feeling just awesome???* I like the sweat and the tight legs that say "you kicked butt!" I think this is why I like working them on treadmills-- you get extra hot and sweaty.

Recovery- Hotel Style!
I knew I'd be traveling and I thought I would take advantage of the hotel hot tub! Since my ankle is still a little injured and hot tubs are great for injuries I jumped right in!! I started with 10-15 min warm-up with my feet in the tub. I stretched out a little and was ready for my speedwork!

Following my workout I did a quick 10 minutes with an ice pack-- *Yep, brought my ice pack with me and stuck it in the freezer during my workoug.* After my ice time (NOTE: Always ice before heat for injuries!!!!) I did another 10-15 in the hot tub with a little massage.

So far so good! My ankle feels better than it has in a while. I think I'll take one more dip in the morning. :) For now... off to bed so I can wakeup early and brainwash provide job opportunities for young Notre Dame students. Goodnight from my new workout facility/spa-- The Holiday Inn!

Happy Running,
Stephanie

PS! If you haven't already please check out my Daily Mile Cheez Burger Meter!!! MY favorite post-marathon meal and boy have I earned them!!! -->

Give-a-ways:
Race Day Staples at Running with Babes!!!

All over the place-- Vibrams to Frees

Yes, I'm certainly going about my shoe choice out of order. It seems that the logical progression into barefoot running would be normal sneakers, then Nike Free's, and THEN vibrams. But, I always leap before I look.

Vibrams go just when its getting good:
As I said in my last post, I was concerned about being vibram-marathon ready by the Myrtle Beach Marathon (1.5 weeks away). I was still getting a little ache in my ankle with the Vibrams and I don't want to take the risk when I have back to back marathons, 2 weeks in a row.

However, as I went on my run last night I finally found my stride! Yes, you're supposed to run more on the front of your feet wth the vibrams, but I think i was landing at such an angle, I was sort of jamming in my foot/ankle with each stride. Last night, I started out my run with an easy 2 then I picked it up. I found that when I picked it up, my feet were actually pulling further under me rather than reaching out. My legs were picking up, but landed directly underneath me in shorter, yet faster, strides with a big kick back. It felt great and before I knew it, my easy 6 turned into a hard 7.1 at about an 8 min/mile pace.

Nike Free? Possible middle ground?
I knew I wanted to go back to shoes and help support my ankle a little more-- just until these 2 marathons are done and I have a longer break (you know-- a whole 3 weeks) to really get used to the vibrams before declaring them marathon ready. But then I thought...

"What about the time I've put into the vibrams already? What about all the posts I've made on helping my form and building those small running muscles in your feet and ankles? Can I go back  on all that now??"

There has to be a good solution for this... of course there is!! Nike Frees! They're more of a shoe, but still made as a middle ground for barefoot running. I think they'll give me just a LITTLE extra stability I'll need until my ankle is 100%, but still allow me to keep up my barefoot ways. They should be coming this week... cross your fingers that I've found my marathon race shoe solution!!!! Until then, I have 1 more workout in my vibrams (deathmill speed workout) at my hotel when I get to Notre Dame. I'm going for a recruitment day tomorrow and I made sure to get a hotel with a gym so I could get my workout in!! And please, don't tell my vibrams I'm cheating on them-- I would feel horrible if they found out. Off for a 4-5 hour drive (yuck). Wish me luck.

Happy Running,
Stephanie

Give-a-way!!!
Mell (Tall Mom) has a recovery sock give a way!! Yay if you go tell her I sent you :) :) :)

It's Flipping Cold! and VFF short retirement?? :(

You know what's not good for a tight ankle? The cold! I waited until about noon to go on my long run for the week, in hopes that it would warm up. It got sunny, but the windchill was brutal. It was SO cold! How cold was it?....

Top 5 it was so cold...
5) It was so cold I had to keep and eye on my feet to be sure they were hitting the pavement-- I couldn't feel them. I also couldn't feel my butt for hours after. Seriously, you could have full on Turkey-ed me and I wouldn't have felt it.
4) It was so cold, that in the middle of the day people were running with full ski masks
3) It was so cold, I thought about all your Southern/warm state runners in your 40 and 50 degree temps wearing cold weather gear and complaining. Then I thought about how much I wanted to drive to your 40-50 degree temps, put you in my car then bring you to the death loop I was currently on and make you sit there until I could Turkey you and you wouldn't feel it! *Don't worry, I'm feeling better now. You may continue to follow my blog without fear*
2) It was so cold, that when I stopped in the grocery store after (still wearing my full gear- gloves, hat, etc) the pharmacist laughed at me when I tried to chatter out what I needed. I can't blame him, I was sort of standing/walking in a "my knees are so tight and my body won't uncoil until I get warm" half-squat
1) I stopped in a frozen, yet clean, port a potty for 5 minutes and contemplated staying there until spring to avoid the cold. This is one of the many reasons I thank god for port-o-potties... Love me some port-o-potty!

Saturday was unbelievable, but I knew I would be going out Saturday night and Sunday wouldn't be a long run option day-- yeah, I have my priorities straight! So I threw on  many layers and headed out to the local airport for a 5-mile loop on repeat. Half of the time I felt ok (the half that you weren't facing into the wind), the other half I was thinking about continuing to run in the non-windy direction, all the way home and having somebody bring me back to my car later. Unfortunately my car had my keys and cell phone in it. Damn! Oh well...

I completed the loop twice then added on another 2 miles before I couldn't take it anymore. My knees had gotten so tight, and no matter how fast I ran, I was not getting any warmer. My ankle started hurting a lot as well.

Ankle = VFF marathon ready??
I'm getting a little worried about my ankle holding up for the next 2 marathons (in 2 weeks and 3 weeks). I've only gone 12 on it, and it hurts-- but that may be more because of the cold and everything tightening. I've continued to ice after my runs and I've been doing the exercises the PT gave me and most importantly, I've been listening to my body when it says it's done. ie. stopping at 12 when I wanted to do 15.

I may actually be switching back to shoes this week to get ready for Myrtle Beach. I'm not sure if my feet are ready to take the VFFs on a full marathon. Kyle, kindly pointed out that I had a blood blister on the bottom of my feet this weekend. Ew! On top of that, the pads of my feet are getting worn from the treadmill-- The way my feet strike, with the deathmill going in the other direction, it causes a very hot friction and my feet sometimes feel like they're burning. Damn deathmill. Anyways-- I've sort of peeled off a couple of layers on skin. Which... I think is a consideral improvement from the constant hard callus I had before from running in sneaks! At least they look better!! It's like a VFF foot peel/scrub. Who needs a spa?

Warning: If you're nausiated easily do NOT, I repeat do NOT look at the picture below. Bloggy world, It's time to meet... my feet! Feet, bloggy world, bloggy world meet feet! They're actually looking quite dapper today, if I do say so myself. Oh ps. This doesn't include the tops where the toe-nails are mostly disconnected from the toes because they've fallen off too many times. Doesn't EVERYBODY want to be a marathon runner??

Mind you, my feet are normally nasty gross and have always been. I've run long distance for 14+ years plus rugby, Lacrosse, Field Hockey... basically any sport you can find. I've torn them up, so don't take this description as the fault of the VFF's entirely. But, even so, I don't want to risk it with 2 marathons, 2 weeks in a row. I'll be taking the Vibrams on their last run tonight, then retire them until after the race in Albany (btw-- what will hopefully be my 25th state!!! Halfway there!!!). I'll keep you'll posted.

Happy (and hopefully warm) Running,
Stephanie

Oh PS. BIG weekend surprise!! I received my first bloggy-friend package from Shelly!!! She saw that I noticed another blogger talking about "Shred"-- a Jillian Michaels workout DVD and she sent me a copy!!! So sweet! Definitely made my weekend. I can't wait to test it out and report back. Thanks Shelly!!!!

What do YOU want from your local running store?

I believe a local running store should be there for their runners in any way possible because, hey!, the runners are the reason they're in business. By this I mean anything and everything from providing water and gatorade outside the store (for runners and dogs too!), to stocking some of the most up-to-date equipment, shoes, and apparel out there. I don't believe running stores should charge $100-$250 dollars for a training program (half a year by the way) and should, rather, be a place for runners to meet and run together for free and with the help of the store.

I have a few other ideas, but I wanted to hear from you guys!! You're running every day and some of you have awesome local running stores. They host events and have recognition days...

What can your local running store do for you???
~ Provide seats to stop at during a hot day with cold water and maybe gatorade (if they're in a heavy foot-traffic area)
~ Provide low cost (or no) cost running groups
~ ??? What are your ideas???