Runners?

RE: 6:51!!!

Hi, Angela! My feet are not biomechnically suited to high impact. I developed Achilles tendonitis and collapsed my right arch soon after starting running which is my first love. Custom orthotics kept me running for a long while and 1999 was my big year. I raced monthly and have a PR of 22:37 for my 5K and ran the Tucson Marathon in 4:04:30. I would have had a sub-4:00 marathon if I had paced myslef but I ran 8 minute miles the first half and pooped out. If I had shot for 9's across the baord I would have shaved off enough time to break 4 hours but my pacing is awful and I get so darned excited at the start of a race I go out like maniac. LOL!

Last year I developed Plantar Fascitis and it wouldn't respond to treatment and I had to quit running last August. I did every therapy known to man and finally had surgery but the foot is weak and I am erring on the side of caution and using my step because for some reason high impact on the step is easier on my foot. I only jump where it is unavoidable and try to stay low. I hope to run again but I want to be sure I don't do any irrepairable damage and end up unable to exercise at all. I am focusing on strength work right now and being very gentle about cardio!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/nosmile/peacesign.gif
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RE: 6:51!!!

Hi Bobbi,
Thanks for sharing! I'm so glad you are still able to exercise! I would be pretty miserable without my stress reliving exercising. :) I really do hope you are able to run again and you are so smart on ering on the side of caution during your current training. Running is my first love too so I understand your desire to start it up again once you are healed.
I know what you mean about getting too excited during races and blowing out of the gates too fast. I was born in AZ and lived in Tucson for a number of years and really wanted to do the Az. Phx-Tempe Marathon in January but I'm not ready yet so I will have to wait until next year. I did a 4:02 in San Jose and would of done under 4 but the line to the restroom at mile 18 was long and I really didn't think I should chance it another mile. LOL! Next time.
Thanks again for sharing your experience and accomplishments!!!
Angela
 
>Cool....:) its great meeting runners in their 40's!

I just wanted to mention that the female winner of the Los Angeles Marathon this year was 42 or 43. ;-)
 
>>Cool....:) its great meeting runners in their 40's!
>
>I just wanted to mention that the female winner of the Los
>Angeles Marathon this year was 42 or 43. ;-)

Now that is very cool!...Bobbi and Angela..thanks for sharing your running experiences. I have run since High School, but took about 8 yrs off because of...Achilles Tendonitis! I started again in 1992. Got talked into a marathon in 1997, fell in love with distance. Never was very fast and short distances and yes Bobbi...6:51...WOW!. I think when I was like 30 I did this 2 mile run at 6:34....have never run that fast since...:-( . I have done 12 marathons and do most of my speedwork on the road. Didn't really use Cathe's step Interval tapes to increase my speed. But since I always do them...it could have helped. And once again I have Achilles Tendonitis...yuk!...although I ran 6 today with relatively no pain. So I am praying. :) The good thing is Cathe's tapes are so wonderful when you are injured and I do hope you can run again Bobbi...and keep it up Angela...you two are awesome. Hope you don't mind my sharing...Carole
 
Angela, where do you live now? I have been in Tucson for 18 years and love it! I grew up in Michigan. I would love to do another marathon. I was just starting a prgram with Team in Training to raise money for diabetes but had to pull out when my feet deteriorated. I hope to walk/run one in the future.

Carole, Achilles Tendonitis was my first overuse injury before I learned about proper footwear and running smart. It is very painful if memory serves! I'm glad yours is under control. I should have married a podiatrist. LOL!

I once ran a 5K with a 94 year old man and he was incredible! Happy running, one and all!


Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/nosmile/peacesign.gif
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Bobbi...you are so sweet and I do like making someone smile. :) Yes Achilles Tendonitis was also my 1st injury, although when I hit 40 I somehow managed a few others! I'm 44 now. I know the reasons you get it and I was avoiding all the ways but for some reason it came back..I usually run in 3 pairs of shoes, alternating. I also know a good Physical Therapist, but he is brutal and I only go if it is really bad. :). This time its just very annoying. But I do have Cathe's tapes and these message boards, it does help...lots!...Carole
 
I hear you, Carole! I have noticed lately that the arch of my right foot, my only good one ;-), is painful in the morning. I am still in denial over this. I guess, on the bright side, if it collapses, it'll even me out but if I get an inch shorter, I am going to be mad! There's an orthapedist in town who is wonderful and I am going to call for an appointment now since he works with many of the U of A athletes and he's difficult to get an appointment with. Maybe he can offer a difinitive solution. My feet can get rather painful at times and I have to wear my orthotics all the time to support them. Using the step doesn't exaccerbate the problems the way running does and I am so glad I have a huge selection of Cathe dvd's. I remain hopeful that a definitive solution exists. In the meantime, I am pretty good at modifying and I keep my cardio short. I have always been rather inclined to overdo cardio and I have found that doing much less hasn't effected my fitness level much at all.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/nosmile/peacesign.gif
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Bobbi, I can certainly relate to being into denial! I have been there many times. I am lucky with my feet and as I have often thoght my knees also. And being any shorter for me....oh my...I am only 5'4"...probably taller if I didn't run. :) . One other thing that worked for me was the Nordic Track. I got one before I started Cathe's tapes in the early 90's. It was the first thing that got my heart rate up like running. Although Cathe's BB tapes have done that also. I also tend to way overdo cardio, I feel like I always need to burn fat! So sometimes I add a bit of Nordic to my step workouts..:) truly an addiction. I do hope the orthopedist can help you. Sounds like a good idea seeing him...Carole
 
Carole, I really hope you are able to start doing marathons again!!! That is so great you have done 12! What a wonderful accomplishment and thank you for sharing :)

Bobbi, now I live in Northern California basically about 90 miles north of Sacramento. I do miss Arizona and I have a lot of family there but I like the seasons here much better. I still root for the Wildcats!

Bobbi & Carole, what kind of speed training were/are you doing? I've been doing mile repeats and sometimes some fartlets (sp?). I also try to run every race in this area since the group dynamics/ competition really push me a lot more than I push myself :)

Angela
 
Thanks so much Angela..I want to be able to run some marathons too, and hopefully in 2004!. Although I did try a 50K in Sept of 2002 and really liked it. It was all on trails. I also live above Sac...about 150 miles! My whole family moved from Southern Cal. The speedwork I do is with my Heart Rate Monitor. There are some runner's from a local club that meet at a track at a College but so far, I have done my speedwork alone. If you use a Heart Monitor I'll be glad to give you the speedwork I followed. I did also do some hill repeats as I live in a hilly area and whenever I came to an uphill, I would push it. My PR was in Sac at CIM...1998...I did a 3:30. And yes...I was sore for days after..:). You and Bobbi have been so fun to talk to, as I could go on and on about running and exercise. :D Carole
 
50K!!! HOW NEAT!!!

I would love to do one of those 50K's!!!! Did you feel like the trails were much easier on your joints? I heard there was one in Wiskey Town. Is that the one you did?
I do have 2 heart rate monitors and I'm glad I do becuase one right now is stuck on just giving me my total avg rather than my current heart rate. Can't seem to figure out what happened. Anyway I will use my old one on Wednesday for my interval training so please give me the speedwork you followed. I can do hill training as long as it's not raining because it's just a mud slide otherwise.
I want to be able to do a 3:30!!!! :D

Angela
 
RE: 50K!!! HOW NEAT!!!

Yes trails are much easier on the joints. It was in Placerville. Run on the Sly, they have an 8 mile, 30K, 50K and 50 mile on Labor Day weekend. In Whiskeytown I did the relays with 3 other friends. I have done the 30K there though, a good one to start with. I did what is called a ladder: start with your max HR and subtract 40 beats. Start there for me it would be 143, after a 5 minute or so warm up increase your HR 5 beats for 5 minutes, do this for 25 minutes (5 beats, for 5 min), then after the last one...go back down the same way. It was hard but a killer feeling when you finish! I also did intervals like this: Do a 10 minute jogging warm up, then run hard for 100 seconds, then recover for 3 minutes, and do that over and over . I usually did this on a 5 or 6 mile run. I watched my HR on the sprints and tried to get it up into my 4th or 5th zone. I only did speedwork twice a week with recovery runs in zone 3 on the other days. Also did 2 20 mile runs and a 22 mile run during the training. The training is very demanding so be sure to have a rest day...and by all means...be careful.:) Carole
 
RE: 50K!!! HOW NEAT!!!

Thank you so much Carole!!! I will give it a try and maybe one day I'll see you at the Run on the Sly of course I'll be on the 30K one not the 50K :)
One more question and I promise to stop bugging you. When you were training for this were you doing any Cathe weight training? I find it so hard to squeeze it in.

Thanks again!
Angela
 
RE: 50K!!! HOW NEAT!!!

You are very welcome, and no worry...you are not bugging me! I enjoy helping when I can.:). When I did my PR I was doing regular weights like in a gym. I have all the equipment at home. I might have thrown in a few Cathe step and weight tapes when I had time, yes very hard to squeeze in! I did the 30K last Sept at Run on the Sly, but maybe 50K next year!
 
Hi,
I hope you don't mind me asking, but wouldn't the orthotics prevent injuries like PF? I'm just worried because I have high arches and a few weeks ago my left one started to nag me and then it started yelling and eventually laid the law. So I grudgingly started to use the orthotics and so far so good...no pain at all. But Bobbi wrote that she had orthottics and still ended up with a collapsed arch?
:-(
 
Actually, my arch collapsed and the orthotics saved my behind and allowed me to continue to run. Besides the high arches, I also have Morton's Toe where the second toe is longer that the big toe. My feet are ridiculously unstable, naughty dogs. With your orthotics and great shoes, you should be fine! Check out http://www.roadrunnersports.com. They are great at guiding runners into the right shoe. My big mistake was to get into light weight shoes for racing. The aren't stable or cushioned enough and caused alot of damage before I figured out what the problem was.
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/nosmile/peacesign.gif
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Hi Tia, congrats on starting a running program! I love to run, I do marathons and triathlons pretty much year around (triathlons in summer and running races in fall/winter). I normally run 3 days per week sometimes 4.

I pretty much weave all of Cathe's videos in my program. But I do find that I have to cut out step pretty much completely when I get up to high mileages for a marathon (I'm preparing to do my 5th marathon in Jan.) and when I'm in peak triathlon training. My 41 year old knees can't seem to take all the pounding of running plus power stepping. I've had other friends that have experienced the same thing. You will have to experiment to see what you can handle.

I agree that the strength training is very important and I do all of Cathe's strength workouts with no problems. Off-season (right now) I focus on heavier strength work so am doing Slow & Heavy, PS, MIS, etc. Once I get closer to triathlon season I will do lighter faster workouts like Power Hour and cut back my strength training days.

Usually I do legs 2-3x per week, but do find that I have to cut back on the amount of weight that I lift when my mileage is higher. You will have to experiment to see what your body can handle. Also find that Cathe's core work has helped my performance considerably so highly recommend that you include it 2-3x per week.

Hope that helps, have fun!!

Cheryl
 
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