Wife Mother Runner Blog - Wife Mother Runner

The Shoes Are Telling Me The Story

May 22, 2016

I have been having issues lately with some nagging injuries in my hip and knee. I finally decided to abandon a newer pair of shoes that I just started using on April 1 and went into a pair that is two models older.

I run in Nike LunarGlides. The pair that I noticed problems with was their model 5 (pink shoes on the left). I brought them to my chiropractor along with my new pair (the model 3) and he agreed with me that the model 5 could very well be a culprit for my recent issues.

At first glace of them, he saw he toe box bending upwards and commented on how wide the toe box was. That was also the first thing I noticed when i compared the model 3 to the model 5. I often switch between the model 3 and the model 5, favoring the model 3 because of the construction of the shoe. As I think back now, I ran the Marine Corp Marathon wearing the model 5 shoe and I had a very hard time with that race because of issues with my IT band acting up. During the Dopey challenge in January, I alternated shoes. I’ll have to see if I can determine which model I wore for the marathon for that race.

But it goes to show that just because you buy the same brand and model of shoe, each make is different. I like the support that the model 3 offers. They have a harder side support and an extra hole to allow you to use marathon lacing to keep your heel from sliding up the back of the shoe. The model 5 does not offer that. The model 5 also seemed to allow my foot to move around more in the shoe. As soon as I went out for my first run in the new model 3 shoes, I felt a big difference. First I felt it in my right calf muscle. But that was gone after the first mile. I feel much better support now in the shoes.

But after talking with my chiropractor he mentioned getting re-fitted for running shoes. When I started running in Nike LunarGlides it was because I was fitted at a running store back in 2012. Since then I haven’t run in any other brand of shoe. Dr. Pat mentioned that we change over time and it’s good to go to a different store and make the investment to purchase a pair from them after being fitted again to see what they recommend and to try out a different shoe to see how it feels.

It’s interesting to see how beat up the pink shoes look and I have only worn them for just about a month. I know that in the past when I wore a model 3 versus other models, I had better support with those shoes. I’ll have to look back in my notes now to see if when I was having injury issues, if I can relate it to the model I was running in. With my Garmin 220 you can keep track of your gear that you wear during your run. I started doing that now so I can keep track of the mileage as well as any issues I might encounter.

runDisney Virtual Running Shorts – Yellow Shoes Race Is Now In Session

May 21, 2016

runDisney announced a new race series available to you while you are at home and NOT in Disney. It’s another opportunity for you to get your family or friends involved in a runDisney races without the expense of travelling to a Disney park, paying for a hotel, flight and meals while you are there. Plus the bling is super cute! So at the very last minute I registered. I didn’t think I was going to do it; but once again, I was enticed by the bling and an “inaugural” event.

The running Shorts is taking places as a series which will run from May 15 – June 30, 2016 or you can participate in one individual race. I registered for the series; but am considering registering my kids for at least one of the races. You will receive a Commemorative Mickey’s Yellow Shoes Finisher Medal, and you can download the Yellow Shoes Digital Race Bib to wear for your virtual race.

The first event in the series is the Yellow Shoes race. It takes place May 15 – June 1, 2016. Proof of time is not required and really these races are low pressure and is just a way for you to bring the runDisney experience to your town or home.

New Yoga Poses

May 20, 2016

In Yoga we did some new poses and one of my favorites was the Inversion Pose. This pose was fun to do because I wore my heart rate monitor to class so I could view my stats. The inversion pose really drops the heart rate quite a bit! That’s because you have your feet in the air so your heart isn’t working as hard to move the blood throughout the entire body.

The instructor said this is a great pose for when you are on your feet all day. Inversions are typically seen as a hand stand or a forearm stand or a plow. Inversions are great for balance and concentration, as well as circulation. I think for sure this is a great pose for after a long run when you want to move that blood out of your legs. I used to take ice baths after my long runs, but I stopped torturing myself with those baths. I will try this approach to see if it helps with recovery.

It may not look relaxing but it was actually very relaxing. I stayed in this position for our end of class ritual of 5 minutes of quiet reflection while the instructor helps us to focus on every part of our body one at a time. Bringing our focus inward and to complete relaxation. The benefits of this pose are the following:

– Eases anxiety and stress
– Therapeutic for arthritis, headaches, high blood pressure, low blood pressure and insomnia
– Eases symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, menstrual cramps and menopause
– Relieves tired or cramped feet and legs
– Gently stretches the hamstrings, legs and lower back
– Relieves lower back pain
– Calms the mind

As I continue to take these yoga classes I hope to learn new poses. I checked out inversion poses online and found a great web site for beginners to try inversion poses such as headstands and wall stands.

Getting In The Zone – Heart Rate Training

May 19, 2016

With my approach to a more successful Marine Corp Marathon this fall, I am working on my training plan. I already printed out my Jeff Galloway training plan for completing a marathon and filled in the dates going backwards from race day. However, I also want to incorporate heart rate training into my plan this summer. I was listening to two of my favorite podcasts, Another Mother Runner and Team Shenanigans, and they were both duscussing training plans in a way that I hadn’t really heard it explained before.

Dimity, from Another Mother Runner is training for an ultra with her coach Mary-Katherine “MK” Fleming, so she wanted to do so in a way that will help her be successful and also to avoid injury since she has been prone to injuries with her feet so frequently. The Team Shenanigans podcast had Matt Fitzgerald on the show several times and he was talking about doing an 80/20 plan. Meaning 80% of your runs are done at an easier exertion level, and then spend 20% of your training working on speed, whether that be cadence drills or track work.

For the last two weeks I have been doing the heart-rate training with my running. With heart rate training the rule is to keep you heart rate below 140. If it goes above 140 then you have to walk until it lowers. The purpose for doing this during your training is to establish a solid cardiovascular base. Over time you will become faster but while in the training it is grueling because your pace is significantly slower. Heart-rate training requires a lot of patience. It teaches your body to convert fat instead of glucose for fuel.

So far, despite feeling much slower while running, I am doing pretty well with using a heart-rate monitor and training at around 140 bpm. It’s hard because sometimes you easily jump up to 150; but it also syncs in well with my Jeff Galloway run/walk/run method. When my heart rate is higher, it happens just about the time that my timer goes off for a walk break. So my stats have been averaging around 140-144 bpm while running.

The Train Like A Mother Club is providing Heart-Rate Training Programs as well as a Stride Into Summer Plan so I may take advantage of those two plans to help me have a successful summer of training in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon.

Getting Rid of Excess

May 12, 2016

This week in my Yoga class (that I really wasn’t in the mood to go to) the instructor talked to us about Excess. Every week as class begins, the instructor speaks to us from the book The Yamas and the Niyamas. Excess can rob us from our Joy. Excess can be in the form of sleep, sugar, clutter in life, food, activities, weight, or anything.

That very same day I took a walk instead of a run and listened to a new podcast called The Coach Jenny Show. It was Episode 6 and the topic of the episode was Six Ways to Declutter Your Life and Improve Your Performance. Bingo! There was the affirmation that I was meant to be at that yoga class that night. If I stayed home I would have missed the message meant for me.

The reason why I didn’t want to go to yoga was because I wanted to be home with my family. I had been feeling down for over a week. Not just down but significantly blue. I was afraid that depression was creeping in and I was losing control over my emotions. The weather the week prior was grey, cold and rainy. I was starting to go crazy. But by Sunday afternoon the clouds finally cleared up and the sun came out. It was such a treat! Sunday was Mother’s Day so I made sure I got in a run for myself and did things that I wanted to do. Then we visited my mother-in-law, and then had my mother over for a tea party and dinner. I wanted to take a walk with the family before dinner so we could enjoy that sunshine and some fresh air. We had all been stuck indoors for so long and needed to get outside and move.

I was glad that I went to the yoga class because in addition to the word “excess” that I had been thinking about since Monday, the exercises she showed us were different. We did more work with opening our shoulders and also used the wall for support. When I woke up the day after, I felt sore, which was the kind of sore that is good.

I had to teach a class on Tuesday and I was feeling anxious about it, but after being a yoga I was able to calm my thoughts and help myself to remove the excess anxiety with meditation.n I am noticing that I am applying meditative practices to my every day life.

With the new podcast I listened to, Coach Jenny was talking about moving into the new year and finding ways to renew, regroup and reinvent ourselves. She challenges us to make a small habit for yourself that speaks directly to you, and get rid of something that is weighing you down or zapping your energy so you can make room for something new. When I got back from my walk I felt renewed and when I got back from yoga I felt even better.

I made a decision at that point that I was going to stop letting the excess feeling of sadness or confusion or overthinking take over my thoughts and I was going to set daily and weekly goals for myself. I was able to determine that when I don’t have a deadline or a direct goal in my calendar then I tend to go astray, lost motivation and focus.

This week I am now setting up small goals for myself that I can focus on and when I set myself up with a “Power Hour” to do things I get things done and I feel better for accomplishing my tasks. So what else do I have to get rid of? Stuff… I have too many closets! Too many clothes, too many shoes…. you know the drill. It’s time to purge, do some Spring cleaning. I am going to make it a priority over the next few weeks to remove any items that I haven’t worn in a year. I already have one laundry basket full of clothes.

So I have had a lot of time to think about some things. I had been worried that I was getting very depressed but then I had an immediate turnaround where something clicked for me and I’m feeling a lot better, more focused and determined. Progress not Perfection. That is my motto this week.

Seasons Are Changing

May 2, 2016

It’s that time of year again, I start to feel anxiety about my children ending a school year. It is not about them going on to summer vacation; but that they are going moving up into a higher grade. Last year it was harder because my son was leaving one school and starting another. With the end of the school year comes my son’s birthday. This year he is going to be nine….. NINE! How is it possible that I gave birth to my first born child nine years ago already??? I remember the day(s) like it was yesterday. There’s always this underlying anxiety I feel when Spring comes around, the past few years. I wasn’t sure what it was until last year when I realized it. It’s my children moving on.

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts called Laugh or Go Crazy and Michele, the host was saying how she was feeling that life was going by too fast. She was also mentioning that her oldest boy was getting older and that she was also feeling emotional about it. I thought it was interesting that she helped me identify what I was feeling. So I need to work on embracing the changes, accepting it, and to feel proud for my children. They are learning, growing, blossoming and I have to enjoy every moment of their young lives!

When we were on vacation a few weeks ago the vacation was so different from years past. They are older now, can ride all of the rides that they want, my daughter is a roller coaster junkie as much as my son is, and they walk everywhere! No more strollers. Granted, the times when we did use the strollers was easier because we loaded them up with all of our crap so if the kids got out of them they tipped over; but we always knew where the kids were. Now we have to hold their hands or have our eyes on them constantly. They walked everywhere in Disney but did not complain about it! Even on the late nights when we closed the Magic Kingdom and Aquatica!

I see friends and family having babies and think of how much work it is to have a baby. Those years are a blur to me now. They were very hard times, but joyful, rewarding times. But they were a lot of work. Now with our kids being 7 and 8 it is a different kind of hard work. We are managing a full calendar with activities at school and sports and play dates. When they were babies we were home a lot so they could nap or have their bath and be ready for bed. These days, it is a treat to be at home for a night.

Someone once referred to me as fun-loving. I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I DO love to have fun! I love to make adventures for the kids and my family. I love to make memories. I want them to think back on their childhood or their lives and remember all of the good times we had, like taking walks at night in the dark on Christmas eve, or playing soccer in the driveway on New Year’s Eve. Searching for golf balls in the field at night after walking through the cemetery. Each and every vacation, to Disney and New Hampshire. Trips to the beach to ride bikes, stealing corn from the corn field while riding bikes…. There are so many. Enough that we made a memory jar to add these special memories into so we can enjoy a meal and open these pieces of paper next New Year’s Eve and laugh and re-live the memories of the past year.

I love that the kids are growing up, but I want to keep them little for as long as I can!