from somewhere in my imagination

Do the Shoes Fit?

You know how we all have subjects that we have little soap box moments about.  When it comes to running I have a few…one is the need for appropriate support up top, when I see a lady running with her boobies bouncing all over the place I cringe and often grab my own in an attempt to support her.  I usually want to yell advice over my shoulder along the lines of ‘get a proper bra’.  It’s no good having a great runner’s body and boobs that sag down to your belly button.  Seriously.

Another is groups of people, for f**cks sake don’t take up the entire path just for the sake of your conversation, it’s just rude to everyone else around.  Runners and walkers alike.

But, the big one is shoes.

I am by no means an expert but I have had more than my fair share of foot and ankle injury so I have listened to what professionals have told me and learned from the experience.

Our feet are out platform, they are the workhorses of our body that spend a good percentage of our day carrying us around and generally being used and abused.  Have you ever tried lifting your body weight with your upper body?  I can leg press my body weight, plus more, but I still can’t quite manage a chin up.  Bench press it or dead lift it?  Forget it.  Our feet do a lot more work than we probably give them credit for.  And then we do something crazy like try and run on them and amplify the forces we are subjecting them too.  Or worse, we do it wearing the wrong shoes.  It's cruel!

I have run on and off for a good 20 years or more.  Shoes and the related sciences have changed a lot over the years but one thing remains the same, if you want to run you need the right pair of shoes for you.  Also, lets face it, we’re not as young as we once wore and the sad truth is that an older body is far less accommodating of and able to repair minor and repetitive damage that can be caused during the high impact of running, and even walking.  Don’t choose a pair of shoes that will be used for high impact sport or exercise because they look good or are a great bargain.

I have suffered two injuries at the hands of my shoes.  The first time was in late 2010, when I first started running regularly again.  I needed a new pair of shoes.  I knew that I needed them.  I needed to wait until next time I was in Adelaide to get properly fitted but unfortunately that was enough time running and walking in them to do damage.  Tendonitis in one ankle is not a pretty thing, it’s worse when you have it in both.  Let alone having to look after four kids when it hurts to walk.

It was a case of old shoes not providing enough support that lead to my ankles taking too much of a pounding.  Did you know that it’s recommended to replace your running/walking shoes every 700km or so?  That’s about all they are good for, irrespective of how ‘still new’ looking they might be.  If you are running and/or walking for exercise 3-4 times each week you will actually clock up those kms pretty quickly.  With all the run tracking apps available it’s not even hard to keep an eye on it.

One of the worst things about having hurt your feet and not being able to walk properly is you leave the rest of your body susceptible to further injury.  Have you ever ‘thrown’ your back out a bit because you were limping for some reason?  Likewise, ended up with a sore knee because a bung foot was throwing you off balance?

My second injury is more recent.  I am still suffering at its’ hands unfortunately.

Again, I knew that I needed new shoes, but this time I did something about it immediately.  I went to Athlete’s Foot, a place where they ‘analyse’ your feet and gait to determine whether your foot has a high, neutral or flat arch and should recommend a new pair of shoes accordingly, dependant on what you want to use them for.

Unfortunately I was sold a pair of shoes that never should have been considered for my neutral arches.  The shoes I was sold had way to much support for my feet which resulted in damage to my arches during the heel strike phase of each run pace.  The most ‘supportive’ (or expensive) pair of shoes is not necessarily the best pair for you.

A couple of weeks later, by which time there was obviously a problem, I visited a specialist running shoe store.  I took my new shoes with me and again had my feet and gait analysed.  I walked out of the store with the right kind of shoes for my feet.  I also left armed with a lot more knowledge about my feet, what is right for me and the differences between different pairs of shoes.  For example, I think all the new, brightly coloured Nike shoes look amazing but I’ll never be wearing a pair to run in because they are all totally wrong for my feet, and I know why.  Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions about why these are the right shoes for you.  If your shoe salesperson can’t answer adequately go somewhere else to buy your shoes.

To Athletes’ Foot credit I took the offending shoes back, with about 100km less rubber, spoke to the manager and she refitted me and replaced the wrong shoes with the right ones.  But, by then the damage had been done.

Whatever shoes you end up with it’s important to give your feet a bit of TLC yourself.  Aim to build strength in your legs before you start running too much, especially if you are overweight, consider starting with low or no impact cardio (like bike riding or swimming) for starters.  Strengthening your calf muscles will help enormously to protect your ankles, just like a stronger core will help to protect your back.

I love hearing about other peoples’ running journeys.  Do you run?  What do you Love most about it?  What’s your best piece of advice, shoe related or otherwise?

Tatum xx

On Sunday

Every now and then we have a moment where things all comes together and we achieve something awesome.  I feel pretty lucky to have had lots of moments like that in my life, but truth be told I have worked really hard to get to a lot of those moments.

Like on Sunday.

My first goal for 2012, health & fitness wise, was to run a half marathon.  I was really scared that I wouldn't get there, a foot injury has interrupted my training so it hasn't gone down quite the way I wanted it to.  However, I didn't chuck in the towel.  I changed my approach and adapted, I (mostly) listened to my trainer and I did as much as I could while giving my foot room to heal.  I talk some more about how I adapted and what my training consisted of in another post.

With 19km as my maximum training distance I started on Sunday without having run the full 21.1km before, but that's not unusual for a first time half marathoner.  Not ideally I'd only done it the Saturday before, I'd wanted to be at that distance a good 3-4 weeks before with only a shortish run the week before.

Sunday arrived, way too quickly, Lauren & Jess came along for the drive and for that I am so grateful.  I'm not quite sure how I would have gotten home otherwise.  It also meant I had someone's shoulder to bury my face in when all the emotion hit and I ugly cried, gasping for breath, at the finish line.

I pushed.  I pushed through pain, past the overwhelming desire to stop and walk 3kms from the end.  I pushed through that last km and picked up my pace to the finish line.  I pushed from somewhere within and I made it.  All by my own. 

Long distance runners have got balls.  Even when there is another person running alongside you it's your legs and your brain that have to get you there.  There's nothing else to hold you up but your own two feet, nothing else to carry you over the finish line.

1:51:39 is my official time.  I thought that second 1 was a 0 but I'm not going to quibble over it.  It is so close to the 1:50:00 that I secretly hoped I'd be able to finish in.  So secret I couldn't even say it out loud in case I didn't get anywhere near it.

I amazed myself.

Even when I could barely get out of bed this morning because my body was hurting so bad I still couldn't quite believe I'd done it.

But I did, and I did good.

Thankfully my muscles are coming down from yesterday and I'm walking like a normal person again tonight.  I happy with my recovery actually.

So, on with the next goal, another half, this time as part of the Adelaide Marathon Running Festival.  This time I'll be running on the same track as my sister Sam who's gearing up for the full 42.2km.  Awesome isn't it, I'm excited for it.

Do you have a big goal for yourself this year, running related or otherwise?  I'd love to hear all about it!

Tatum xx

A Time to Learn

You would almost have to have been living under a rock not to have heard of the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation.  I did round 3 back in 2010, its first year, and had some amazing results in a short period of time.

Then I copped an injury that pretty much stopped me in my tracks.

As you know 2011 was a full on year for me and I never really got back into the swing of exercise but with a good, healthy diet my weight stayed around the same.  I think?  I don’t weight myself often normally.  Well, my clothes didn’t get appreciably tighter or looser anyway.

Then I welcomed 2012 and rediscovery of one of my ultimate goals.  To run a marathon.  I committed to it.  I told people and I started working towards that goal in a very serious way.  As well as regular running sessions and other cardio in the gym I knew that I needed to incorporate elements of strength training so I would be less likely to hurt myself again.

Fortunately Lauren introduced me to the Boss.  I have worked really hard and I have loved it.  The changes to my strength and shape have been amazing; it helps when you have great direction.  As the weeks have progressed I have found myself becoming more and more committed to the changes in my body and wanting to progress them further. 

My eating habits have changed.  I don’t want to put anything in my body that isn’t good for it or makes it feel heavy, I’ve worked too hard to undo it by eating food I don’t love and isn’t really good for me.  Sumo Salad and Sushi have been my lunchtime staples on work days when I haven't quite managed to bring my own.

Prompted by the excitement of 12WBT Round 1, 2012 coming to the end I decided that now was the time for me to step things up a notch.  I’ve signed myself up for Round 2 and I’ll be tackling the Lean & Strong program head on.  I am so excited about the new stuff I am going to learn about building lean muscle mass and the nutrition that goes with it.  I want to know more about protein and carbs and the actual facts about when to eat them and why.  Not just all the bullshit that you read in women’s magazines.

With the 12WBT comes goal setting, I do have a few kgs I want to lose but I am approaching the bottom end of my healthy BMI weight range so that really isn’t the key for me.  I am more focused on the changes I read on the tape measure, a lower body fat percentage and growth in lean muscle mass.

After I run the Barossa Half marathon on Sunday I’ll be dialling back the running during June.  I’ll stick with RPM for my cardio, building my endurance and giving my feet a rest from pounding the footpath before I start to ramp up my training again in July on the home stretch for the Melbourne Marathon in October.

To go with the marathon goal I set myself the half crazy goal of taking on Tough Mudder Sydney in September.  It makes me grin and gives me butterflies every time I think of it and the fact that I really am going to do it.

To complement those body stats goals I want to set myself some physical ones too.  Is 12 weeks to short a time to get some good six pack definition?  I don’t know, but I am going to give it a red hot go.  100 push ups on my toes, and let’s add 25 tricep pushups to that…they are one of my nemeses.  Bodyweight chin-ups, another nemesis, 5, 10 maybe?  These goals are fluid, I want to push them as much as I can in the next 3 months to achieve the very best from myself.

So there you go.  I’m saying it out loud and putting my goals out there.  Bring it on, this is my time to conquer and to learn.

I’d love to know if you are doing 12WBT this round.  I’m also really interested to hear about other’s experiences with the Lean & Strong program.

I promise there will be plenty of the other stuff I blog about still, and plenty of new stuff too!

Tatum xx