Red Mosquito

I ran for 2 hours in 100+ degrees Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Instead of taking my usual canal route, I mapped out a 4-mile loop in a ritzy neighborhood about a mile from my house. Streets lined with tall, mature trees meant I was running in the shade the entire time. There were even water fountains at two separate parks just a few steps from the street. Today I felt like I could run forever.

Guys, as my posting in this thread has made obvious, I'm working out a lot more than usual lately; I've lost almost 35 pounds in the last 18 months and I'm shooting for like 15-20 more by December (for my wedding). I'm still carrying a lot of weight, but less than I used to! Anyways, over the past few days I've had a pain in my foot--right in the ball, below my big toe. It's not swelling at all, but it's a pretty constant ache--any ideas? Should I ice it, soak it?

That's some pretty solid work man, keep it up and good luck with the big day. I'm sure t2b will chime in with some advice regarding the pain you're experiencing, as for myself I've been looking over coolrunning.com's Injury Prevention area this morning. I'd place my bets on an IT band issue, so I've been doing a few stretches throughout the day. There's plenty of strength in the knee I just didn't do dick since the hike to stretch it out; this is my taper week so I'll be incorporating plenty of stretches with hopefully none of the shorter runs promoting a flare up.

I'm down about twelve pounds since I started running at the turn of the year, also stopped drinking any alcohol during the week which has certainly made it easier to incorporate more miles, plus house project season is in full swing with projects extending through early October basically ending in time for the Newport Half.

Apparently one of my neighbors used to be a personal trainer for some semi-elite runners, she stopped by the house and left some core training routines for the wife and I. Should prove helpful I'd say.

Simple Torture wrote:Guys, as my posting in this thread has made obvious, I'm working out a lot more than usual lately; I've lost almost 35 pounds in the last 18 months and I'm shooting for like 15-20 more by December (for my wedding). I'm still carrying a lot of weight, but less than I used to! Anyways, over the past few days I've had a pain in my foot--right in the ball, below my big toe. It's not swelling at all, but it's a pretty constant ache--any ideas? Should I ice it, soak it?

Most "bottom of the foot" injuries are actually to do with the tendons and muscles, but I believe what you have described is probably more of an impact injury. If you have been running in the street or on sidewalks, find a soft treadmill or a grassy area that you can run on. Most running loops or paths have a grassy or sandy area right next to it. If you have been running on soft surfaces, maybe hit the stationary bike for awhile or, if your interested, hit the pool.

The good news is that you probably have decent form if you have an injury on the ball of your foot. As a natural heel-striker, I can tell you I put very little weight on the ball of my foot. So your probably a born runner who will be kicking my ass in a couple of years. Fuck you.

Thanks! Yeah, the running path I use does have grass on both sides, so I'll give that a shot when I go out tomorrow. It's also almost new sneaker time--the pair I have now, while still in good shape, only cost me like $40 (which is more than I've spent on a pair of shoes in about, I dunno, my entire life), so I want to upgrade soon. Suggestions of brands in the $100-$150 range? Or are they all basically the same and I should just find one that's comfortable for me?

I'm a New Balance loyalist. No shoe company actually listens to what their costumers say and want more than NB.

I'm a neutral runner and have been very happy with my NB 890v4s.

10 miles in 75 minutes

Felt good this morning, but it was already 85 degrees when I left. Solid, but faded a little. No finishing kick and my right Achilles is barking at me now. After running once or twice a week for the last month or so, I've now logged about 60 miles in the past 5 days.

Gonna be in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks next week. Can't wait to go for a few runs and enjoy that scenery.

turned2black wrote:Gonna be in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks next week. Can't wait to go for a few runs and enjoy that scenery.

Enjoy the trip.

I only have three miles on tap for tonight, knee/leg has felt better today so I'm hopeful it'll go smoothly; I also plan to do a legit carbo load for this race.

Edit: Run didn't go poorly, chose the tread over outside to mess with my speed; semi-intervals running about a mile per hour over my plan for this weekend and made sure to really turn my legs over. I felt my right side tighten up, as it did over the weekend but I forced myself to keep them moving. Pretty much felt fine after with some soreness today probably from the slightly different movements... or it's all in my head, which is probably the case.

I'm looking forward to hopefully just zoning out on the run, taking in the views and posting a fair time.

turned2black wrote:Gonna be in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks next week. Can't wait to go for a few runs and enjoy that scenery.

So there's this from the Glacier National Park site...

oasisfan35 wrote:I'm looking forward to hopefully just zoning out on the run, taking in the views and posting a fair time.

Good luck, sir!

turned2black wrote:

turned2black wrote:Gonna be in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks next week. Can't wait to go for a few runs and enjoy that scenery.

So there's this from the Glacier National Park site...

oasisfan35 wrote:I'm looking forward to hopefully just zoning out on the run, taking in the views and posting a fair time.

Good luck, sir!

If it happens - go for the face!

Rangi Guy wrote:

turned2black wrote:

turned2black wrote:Gonna be in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks next week. Can't wait to go for a few runs and enjoy that scenery.

So there's this from the Glacier National Park site...

If it happens - go for the face!

Max speed of animals:
Grizzly bear 30.00 mph
Human 27.89 mph

I think t2b could definitely edge him out especially if the chase goes on over a quarter mile, then it's no contest.

10 miles in 74 minutes

5 a.m. run. Overcast morning. Kinda humid. Nice, relaxed run. Decent finishing kick.

Legs feel pretty solid. One of the runs I want to do in Montana is 14 miles with about 4,000 feet in vertical. Can't fucking wait.

I'm too late for the competition. That said, is there a Fitocracy group set up? Would be easy to track and compare.

We broke 6 km/h this morning!

Hey, fuck you, that's a big thing for us!

turned2black wrote:

oasisfan35 wrote:I'm looking forward to hopefully just zoning out on the run, taking in the views and posting a fair time.

Good luck, sir!

Since it was a 6:30 am start we stayed in town, well Middletown, RI since there is no parking in Jamestown. Checked in to the hotel, found some food, came back to the hotel with some ice cream on the porch and kicked back; 8PM rolls around and there is a collective "fuck we forgot to pick up our bibs." Set alarms half an hour earlier, chill and hit the sack. Felt good for 4am, hotel was about 3/4 miles or so away, parked, bibs gotten, shit taken... set to go; bussed over the Newport bridge with plenty of time to sit in the corral and stretch, biofreeze, etc.

Fair course, two downhills but a ton of gradual uphills that I really didn't mind after the hike. Garmin watch was definitely a huge plus, I kept myself around the pace I was shooting for at two hours and even held a bit in the tank for the end... that lasted ten miles, I was on pace to come in a minute or so under 2 hours. Then my leg just stopped bending and hurt like a motherfucker, I literally stopped a few times and verbally acknowledged I was totally fucking my time and then trudged on for two fairly painful miles. A little after mile twelve there was this girl cheering runners on, she was on my left and on crutches; I gazed down and she had lost her right leg from the knee down. I picked up my pace and ran the rest regardless of how my goddamn knee felt. I didn't hit my mark but I did shave another six minutes off my time with three halfs down and at the least one more to go in October. My wife is also going to shoot for under two, which is big for her she can run forever but not at the quickest pace, so I'm looking forward to the training. Also, Newport looks to be the most enjoyable race for the eye on the RI circuit so that is a huge plus; today had some ocean views but mostly shaded neighborhoods... other than the girls wearing cheekies, in which I must thank every one.

My knees are killing me. Is icing them the only thing I can do?

Simple Torture wrote:My knees are killing me. Is icing them the only thing I can do?

I just has an appointment about my elbow. My doctor told me to take 5 Aleve (not Ibuprofen) a day. He said, "Take 5 a day or don't take any." Do that for two weeks, ice a couple times a day.

Simple Torture wrote:My knees are killing me. Is icing them the only thing I can do?

Where exactly do they ache?

With my current issue (lower right side of knee, ITB connector) ice along with periodic biofreeze applications (when you can't just sit and ice) along with wall-sits to still work the muscle was the recommendation. The few days I did that, along with stretching, worked out as best as I would have thought for the time-frame; the flare up may well be some tendonitis with the added miles from the hike. This week I'll focus on adding in more core training along with the ice and wall-sits.

It hurts especially on the bottom of the knee; really it only hurts when I'm running, and then every once in a while when I take a big step or am going down stairs. I've really only just started running every day, so I'm hoping it's just my body getting used to moving, but I'll try some ice tomorrow!