More on barefoot running

Another interesting article about barefoot running -- this one referencing a study comparing runners who have always run barefoot, those who have always run in shoes, and those who started in shoes and switched to bare feet.

Like everything else I've read on the subject, the study found that barefoot running results in a lot less force and impact. It also found that runners who had traditionally run in shoes and switched to bare feet quickly adapted to the "barefoot style" of landing on or close to the balls of their feet, instead of at the heel.

It also had some interesting things to say about the function of the arch in running -- that barefoot runners have more "spring" in their steps because their landings take advantage of the beautifully complicated structure of the arch.

The whole thing put me in mind of something I read recently, can't remember where, talking about the arch of the human foot and what an amazing piece of engineering it is. It compared foot arches to arches in architecture -- then pointed out that, just as a builder wouldn't support an arch by propping something underneath it, it's anatomically needless to support our arches with fancy padded footwear.

We've trained our feet to need arch support -- but we've got plenty of built-in structure to handle the impact of running ... especially, apparently, if we run using the barefoot gait and land more forward on our feet.

With all that said, I still haven't tried it. Maybe this spring. Until then, here's the article:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123031997&sc=fb&cc=fp

Double weekly roundup

Wow, I wasn't kidding when I said sometimes life gets in the way. The last couple weeks before Christmas are always a bit of a flurry and this year they've been feeling like an all-out sprint. Cookies to bake, gifts to buy and wrap, meals to organize, events to attend ... it's fun but a lot to manage in conjunction with all the usual day-to-day stuff. Happily, I've been pretty much able to stay on top of my regular exercise schedule (with one notable exception, to come) which helps keep a lid on the pre-holiday stress. I know it's time to work out when I feel like my head is going to pop off.

I'm hereby giving myself permission not to post until the holidays are over and the kids are back in school. Hopefully I'll come across something interesting to share and have a moment to write about it ... but if not, I'll post again next year. (I can never resist that one.)

Without further ado, my double weekly roundup.

WEEK ONE

Monday, 12/7:

Full-body circuit training

45 minutes on the elliptical trainer in regular zone 1 (about 125 bpm)

Just over a week since the marathon, and the first time I'd tried any lower-body weights. My legs were definitely still feeling tired but doing the weights actually seemed to invigorate them a bit -- a happy surprise.

Tuesday, 12/8 and Wednesday, 12/9:

Two goose eggs.

Why? Because I was witnessing a marathon of a different kind: my dear sister's long, difficult but ultimately hugely joyful labor and delivery of her firstborn daughter. Welcome, sweet niece and congrats to your two beautiful mommas!

Thursday, 12/10:

45 minutes on the stairclimber in zone 2 (about 150 bpm)

Apparently I am now so old that it takes me a couple days to recover after staying up all night. I used to pull all-nighters in college all the time and a single night's sleep would completely restore me ... not anymore. After skipping the entire night's sleep on Tuesday to be at my sisters' sides, I didn't feel totally myself again until the weekend. Which made Thursday's workout a real struggle. I was hoping for an hour on the stairclimber but had to quit after 45 minutes ... I was just too tired to keep going. That happens to me so rarely that I decided to honor it.

Friday, 12/11:

Full-body circuit training again

45 minutes on the elliptical trainer in high zone 1 (about 130 bpm)

My sleepy brain was still too fuzzy to be on top of everything and I left all my workout sheets at home when I headed to the gym. Circuit training was the only one I could remember in full, so I repeated the workout even though I'd already done it earlier in the week. And, although I had hoped for enough energy to do intervals -- or a zone 2 workout at the very least -- the best I could manage was a high zone 1. Still so tired ...

Saturday, 12/13:

4.5-mile run

My longest run since the marathon and it felt great! Probably because it had been almost a week since I'd taken a run, and my legs enjoyed a break from all that high impact. This was one of those runs where I happily could have kept going ... but with so many family members here to see the new baby, I had lots of people to see and things to do. I was thankful just to be able to squeeze in a quickie. (Insert dirty joke here.)

Sunday, 12/13:

5-mile run

Yes, two runs in a row! I actually didn't plan to do that ... but I wanted to exercise and a run was the only thing I had time for. My legs felt a bit more tired than they would have normally but overall it was another great run and I was delighted to be able to make it happen before hopping in the car to take my other sister, New York H, to the airport.

WEEK TWO

Monday, 12/14:

Full-body weights

45 minutes on the elliptical in regular zone 1 (about 125 bpm)

Ah, back in the saddle. My goal for this week was to resume my regular, pre-marathon workout schedule: 6 days per week of cardio, with three of them including weight training.

Tuesday, 12/15:

Rest

Uh oh, not off to the best start. Work and holiday prep made it impossible for me to work out, so I had to take my rest day much earlier in the week than I'd wanted to. It only fueled my determination to stay on schedule for the rest of the week.

Wednesday, 12/16:

Full-body weights

45 minutes on the stairclimber in zone 2 (about 150 bpm)

The one thing I didn't have time for was abs, which I planned to do later or the next day -- and, come to think of it, never actually did. I guess I didn't totally resume my old schedule after all, but for heaven's sakes, I was so close!

Thursday, 12/17:

4.75-mile run

This was supposed to be the week's short run but it ended up being the longer ... that's OK. I'm still working up to distances over 5 miles and hoping to get to 7 by the end of the year. Now that I don't have a marathon looming in front of me, do you like this kinder and gentler Anna who goes a little more easy on herself?

Friday, 12/18:

Full-body weights

45 minutes on the treadmill in low zone 1 (120 bpm)

Because I'm not training for a marathon and knocking myself out with long runs in the double digits anymore, I didn't give myself the added rest of a super-low zone 1 workout (where I try to keep my heart rate around 105 bpm). Now, I feel like I need to work a bit harder -- but I still like the variety of the high-incline treadmill workout; plus, it stretches my legs out beautifully. So I compromised and went to a higher heart rate. Even though I'm well within my limits at 120 bpm, it feels like a really good workout.

Saturday, 12/19:

4.25 miles of intervals on the treadmill

This workout truly made me feel like I was on the other side of the marathon and back to my regular self. It was dark and I was alone, so I didn't want to run on the track outside ... instead, I went to the gym and tried to calculate the lap distance on the treadmill. If our school's track was a standard size, that would have been quite easy -- on a normal track, a lap is .25 miles. But on our track, a lap is .15 miles (plus a lot of extra numbers behind the decimal, as I discovered when I went to figure it out). Basically, you have to run around it six and a half times to make a mile.

Trying to duplicate that track workout in the gym was kind of fun, especially from a math standpoint. I had to calculate the distance of our usual 4-lap warmup, then the 8 intervals of one fast lap followed by one recovery lap, then 4 more laps to cool down. In the end, I overestimated the distances: on the track, the complete workout translates to about 3.75 miles. In the gym, I ended up at 4.25. But that was fine; I'd much rather do more than less.

And the intervals themselves? They felt great. I'm really excited to get back on the outside track and see how they feel there.

Plus, the happiest thing of all: my daughter Sweet A came to the gym with me and did her own workout while I ran intervals. That's something I've fantasized about for a long time. Heaven!

Sunday, 12/20:

5-mile run/walk (3.75-mile run; the rest walk)

Ah, the thwarted long run. I was out with my cousin, Crazy B, who has a tricky calf and needed to stop and walk when we were approaching 4 miles. I was so grateful not to be on a strict running schedule anymore ... if I had been, stopping to walk would have been really stressful. Instead, I was able to relax and enjoy the easy chatting while we walked the rest of the way home.

Sometimes life gets in the way

And that's all right.

I didn't get any exercise for two days this week because I was at the hospital helping my baby sister give birth to her own baby. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Did I think about the workouts I was missing? Honestly, not even for one second. Did I worry about gaining weight because I was cramming junky food in my mouth to keep up my energy? Not in the moment, no. Did I force myself to work out yesterday afternoon when I got back from the hospital and had racked up a grand total of 20 minutes of sleep the night before? No way. Instead, I took a big fat bowl of chili up the stairs and into bed with me, ate it with my eyes at half mast, and fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later, I ate another heinously caloric meal from Dick's and fell asleep again. Did I feel justified in what I was doing? A billion percent.

Am I going to experience a setback in my fitness or endurance because I didn't exercise or run over those two days? Perhaps. Is it possible I'll gain a pound or two from my terrible food choices? Maybe.

But really, how about a little perspective? In the grand scheme of things, what's more important: that I keep up a strict (and admittedly self-imposed) workout schedule so I can maintain my fitness and keep fitting into my jeans; or that let my family know that nothing in this world is more important than them? I think the answer to that is obvious.

Belated weekly roundup

I'm three days late for this -- not because I haven't been doing any exercise now that the marathon's behind me, but because my beautiful sister gave birth to her first baby yesterday and I was a privileged helper during the long labor process. How fortunate am I, to enjoy two peak lifetime experiences -- to run a marathon and witness the birth of a baby -- in the space of just a couple weeks? I am counting my blessings these days.

Monday, 11/30:

20 minutes walking on the treadmill, 4mph

I've got to say it was tricky getting on the treadmill the day after the marathon; I was definitely a bit creaky just walking around in my own house. But with that said, I felt better by the time I got off. My legs were looser and a little less sore ... although I definitely wasn't too interested in staying on any longer.

Tuesday, 12/1:

5 minutes walking on the treadmill, 4.2 mph

Upper-body weight workout

25 minutes on the elliptical

My warmup on the treadmill felt great, which was a really nice surprise. The weights were a surprise of a different kind: extremely difficult. I hadn't anticipated that they would be, since my upper body was relatively passive during the marathon (aside from core stabilizing muscles). I got through it, but slowly and a little excruciatingly. My stint on the elliptical trainer afterward was also hard ... I think I was just tired.

Wednesday, 12/2:

30 minute run/walk (25 minutes of running)

My 42nd birthday. I should actually call what I was doing jogging, not running, because I was moving so slowly. But, as I posted earlier, it felt great. I was so happy to be back at it on my birthday.

Thursday, 12/3:

Chest/back weight workout

30 minutes on the elliptical

A bit better than the week's earlier foray into weights: this time, the weights were again really difficult but the cardio felt good. I could definitely tell that my back muscles had gotten some good work during the marathon -- they were weak and sore overall. So I tried to take it a bit easy on them while still completing my workout.

Friday, 12/4:

3-mile run

SuperAthlete J asked if I wanted to head out with her -- and how could I say no, after all we'd been through together, not to mention that she was leaving two days later for a 5-week holiday in Australia? That lady knows how to live, let me tell you. We were definitely not at the top of our respective games but we went the distance and it felt like a sweet wrap-up to our training. Oh, SAJ, I miss our runs already.

Saturday, 12/5:

90-minute walk with a friend on the icy streets of Queen Anne

I wouldn't count this as exercise, except that anything during the week after a marathon seems like it should be worth something. And all the near-misses I had with not quite having my feet go out from under me definitely felt like they were giving me a decent core workout.

Sunday, 12/6:

4-mile run/walk (3.8 mile run, the rest walk)

Fabulous! The weather, although really cold for Seattle, was beautiful. As I set out, the sky was that deep blue color it takes on just before darkness. Running along, I got to admire newly hung Christmas lights and peep into people's windows to see them cozy in their homes. I felt strong, calm and contemplative the whole way through. And, although I didn't want to stop at the 4-mile mark, I didn't want to push it too hard in my first week, so I did. But not before closing it out with a little sprint because I felt so good and happy.

That may have been a mistake: my legs were sore and achy almost as soon as I got back home, and stayed that way throughout the night. I decided to back off a bit for a day or two, then try for another 4-miler -- without a closing sprint -- and see how it felt.

First post-marathon run (okay, jog)

Ironically, I felt more like a runner today -- when I jogged two whopping miles -- than I did on Sunday during the marathon.

I'm sticking with the plan I read about in NW Runner magazine, slowly working back toward running. Monday I walked on the treadmill. Tuesday I got on the elliptical trainer. Today, third day after the marathon, I felt like I could handle a jog.

I set out from my house at a walk, paying careful attention to my legs. They felt normal. I never would have guessed that I used them to drag myself through 26 miles just a few days earlier. I thought I'd stick with walking 'til I felt good and warmed up, then break into a jog. But I song I really like came up on my iPod (still in shuffle mode): "Let It Go" by The Village Green. I couldn't help myself, I had to start moving faster.

Those first few strides were a revelation: they felt great. I settled into a rhythm so easily and happily, it was like coming home again. I didn't plan to jog two entire miles. But it felt so good, and so easy, and so right, that I didn't want to stop.

I did check my watch to make sure I wasn't exceeding the plan's recommended time of 30 minutes max. When I saw 26 minutes show up, I slowed to walk to cool down. Within a few more minutes, I was off my feet altogether.

I wondered if I'd pushed my luck, if my legs were going to start to hurt. It's 5 hours later and I feel great. So appreciative of my strong, resilient body. Today I love running more than ever.

Back at it

I was all set to take a rest day today. Maybe a rest day tomorrow too, depending on how I felt. Even though I was pretty antsy after such minimal exercise last week, I wanted to honor the work I put my body through on Sunday.

And then my stepsister, SuperRunner K, emailed me and mentioned an article she read in NW Runner magazine. It said that you shouldn't fully rest the day after a marathon, that it would impede recovery.

I just happened to have the magazine -- they were giving them away free at the marathon expo over the weekend. So I looked up the article. First thing I noticed was that it was directed at people who want to run another marathon as soon as reasonably possible after finishing one. Not a day or a week later or anything crazy like that, but maybe a month later.

I am definitely not one of those people. I don't have any immediate plans to run another marathon -- although, almost 36 hours after completing my first one, I would say that I'd like to do another one. I did in fact talk to SuperAthlete J about it this morning. I offered to train for another one with her, since she wasn't able to finish this one. (Meanwhile, a voice inside my head said, "Are you out of your freakin' mind?")

Honestly, I don't know if I'll run another marathon. When I was in the thick of training, I didn't like how much time it took out of my life. How I had to make so many changes because of it. I resented it and said I wouldn't do another.

Now ... I'm not so sure. Of course that's easy to say while I'm still coming down off my first. But I would like to have a chance to improve: make the experience better, do it faster, do it without walking.

So we'll see. In the meantime, I don't want to lose a lot of ground by not running for a few weeks while I recover from the marathon. I don't want to start all over again, feeling like 8 miles is an impossible distance.

And who knows, that might happen anyway. But this plan that I read about in NW Runner is designed to get runners running as fast as possible after a marathon, and without injury.

Here's how it works:

1. Walk or cross-train (cycle or swim) for 20-30 minutes. This starts the day after the marathon and continues until you feel ready to move on to step 2. The author says it's important not to take a complete day off for at least the first week.

2. Walk or lightly jog, or mix the two, for 20-30 minutes. Continue until you feel ready to move on to step 3.

3. Jog 20-30 minutes per day. Start taking every third or fourth day off, if desired. Continue until you feel ready to move on to step 4.

4. Jog 30-40 minutes per day; take two days off per week if desired. Continue until you feel ready to move on to step 5.

5. Continue step 4, but add one run per week of 1:00-1:15. Continue until you feel ready to move on to step 6.

6. Continue step 5, but increase the time of the long run to 1:15-1:30.

7. When you can run 1:30 and feel fine the next day, you can consider yourself recovered and resume rigorous training. (Or run your next marathon.)

I don't know what I think about this, but I'm going to give it a try. I walked for 20 minutes on the treadmill at the gym today. It was hard to get started but it felt good after just a few minutes. Then I got sore all over again an hour later. I'll be curious to see how it goes.

Short and sweet weekly roundup

Not much to say on this one, since it was the week before the marathon, but here we go:

Monday, 11/23:

3-mile walk with my very pregnant Sister M

Tuesday, 11/24:

4-mile run

So short that it felt like it finished before it started. Nice and easy.

Wednesday, 11/25:

Rest

I was supposed to do 2 miles on this day, but between two long meetings and Thanksgiving prep, couldn't make it happen. Although I did consider going to the gym for a treadmill run at 9:30 that night, I gave in and took the rest day (thanks to some good advice from Sister A, SuperAthlete J and Husband M).

Thursday, 11/26:

3-mile run

Super-fun turkey trot with Sister A -- the perfect springboard, or so I thought, to the marathon.

Friday, 11/27:

Rest

Saturday, 11/28:

Rest

Sunday, 11/29:

26.2-mile run

I forgot to mention in my mammoth marathon recap that my legs felt absolutely great for the first 10 miles of the run. My body was definitely ready to go ... it was my mind that tripped me up.