Lesson Learned

I managed to run 11 miles on Saturday. Seriously. 11. The best part is that I got through it. Even when I was sure it was impossible. The worst part was learning that I should not run on an entirely empty stomach. I felt like I was running on bad fumes. Also, I learned that sleep is useful for efficient running. And the combination of too little sleep and too little food, is a less than optimal run. 

This Saturday is my first official race. It's the Great Race half marathon in Agoura Hills. The half marathon (that's 13.1 miles) will be on a combination of trails and road. I'm excited but nervous. Excited because it should be a very scenic route. Nervous because that's 13.1 miles. And trails mean that there's stuff for me to trip over. But this time, I'll stay hydrated throughout the week, I'll get enough sleep and I'll eat a little breakfast. This race is supposed to be one of the best post-race brunches, so that should also be fun. And of course, I'll finally have an official picture of myself to put into my scrapbook!!!

Man, I can't get over the fact that I ran 11 miles. Granted, I slowed down by the end and didn't keep my pace perfectly. But I completed it. Me. Amazing. I can't wait to see what I can do next.

Finally, Correct Form

It has now taken me three visits to Jeff Waldberg, but I finally have been able to implement good running form!!! As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I started off with several form issues (i.e., landing heal first, bending at the hip, slightly too slow of a cadence, etc.). Then, when I learned what those were, I over-corrected, running almost entirely on my toes the following week. That hurt. I felt like someone had shoved nails into my calves. So on my second visit, I learned to find the mid-foot, and sped up my cadence. I went back this morning, and I got it!

For some added stability, Jeff taped my heals, which has the unexpected additional benefit of helping me walk in heals without wobbling. I do feel more stable with my feet taped and this week, I'm going to be experimenting with how it feels on the long run. Hopefully, once my body has gotten used to the proper form, the taping won't feel necessary, but in the meantime, it seems to help. I had planned on attempting to run with the tape last Saturday, but because I walked, I couldn't be sure if the taping helped significantly.

This Saturday is our nine mile run in Reseda. We'll be practicing on hills, which, I'm actually really excited about. I think I'll need the practice because in only two weeks, I'll be running my first half-marathon (yikes) on trails in Agoura Hills. Wow that's soon. But I'm confident that even if I can't run the whole thing, I'll be able to complete it. And I'm really excited because I'll finally have a race under my belt. And a picture that I can put into my scrapbook!!! Finally! LOL.

Seven Mile Struggle

Last Saturday (the 7th), we did seven miles at Balboa park. Unfortunately, I felt horrid the entire time, and after starting out at a slow jog for two minutes, realized that I could not keep going at even that slow pace. I was still uncomfortable walking, but decided that since I would have a nine mile run the following week, I really wanted to complete the seven miles, even at a snail's pace. So that's exactly what I did. I basically walked the entire seven miles.

The experience was both exhilarating and humiliating. I was extremely self-conscious because even my walking pace was much slower than everyone else. By the time I was at mile 4.5, the runners were passing me on their 6th mile. The way our course was set up, the runners then passed me on their 7th mile as well. I was literally the last person to finish (except for the encouraging and ever-positive Kelley, who was kind enough to walk with me the entire time).

But, other than being slow, I found that seven miles, walked or run, was still exhilarating and was more mileage than I have ever done in one setting. I completed it, even though it was uncomfortable and even though I would have rather slept in. I was proud of myself for persevering even though it was nothing like the ideal run I had originally hoped.

And I received an added and unexpected benefit -- of working and conditioning the different muscles used in walking. I'm sure that come 26 miles, I will be doing a good deal of walking, and it's good to know that even when I feel crummy, seven miles is completely doable.

So, I got back on the wagon, and did a 45 minute run on Tuesday (I still was feeling pretty awful on Monday morning). It was a little more difficult for me, probably because I hadn't run since Wednesday, but I did it anyway. And I felt good for not giving up.

Or Maybe I Am Crazy

Our Saturday run this week was 5 miles.

I realize that 5 miles is only a little less than one-fifth of the marathon distance, but I didn't think I was going to get through it. During the first mile, I was sure that I was going to have to start walking the entire last few miles.

My usual comrades weren't at practice, so I ran with our pace leader, Christy, who seems like a really nice and motivating person. She changed our group's pace at the beginning from 3/1 to 4/2 (i.e., four minutes running, two minutes walking).

I tried to remember everything that Jeff and I had gone over at my physical therapy session on Thursday. I mainly focused on keeping a quick and steady cadence, and landing on the mid-section of my feet. I think, for the most part, that I was able to maintain good form throughout the run.

The best part was that I did manage to get through the entire 5 miles at the 4/2 pace. The worst part was that I slowed down a lot. I did the whole thing in 1 hour, 10 minutes, or an average of a 14 minute mile. According to Christy, I started at closer to an 11 minute mile, so I clearly slowed down quite a bit.

More frustrating, however, was how stiff I got. Even after I stretched. By the afternoon, my right foot hurt in a new spot. I'm going to ask Jeff about this when I see him on Friday. Sunday, I hurt everywhere. Seriously.

And that's when the doubt started. Am I insane? Really? This is how my body feels after five miles. I'm going to run 26.1 in a few months? Get real. I just hurt. Did I do everything wrong? No. I'm pretty sure my form was better. Will this get easier? Everyone insists that 5 miles will eventually feel like an "easy" run.

I rested yesterday, with the exception of a nice long walk around Balboa lake with Noah and Mason. It was the first outrageously beautiful day in a while (approx 85 degrees and sunny). But I couldn't believe how crowded Balboa park was. It took so long to find parking. I much prefer the park at 7am on Saturday mornings. This was insane!

But we had a lot of fun, and I got a little less stiff while I was moving. I started feeling more energetic again, and started getting excited again, thinking about the upcoming weekend. This time, we're scheduled to complete 7 miles. I'm sure I'll be able to run 5 miles again this weekend, and if needed, I would still be able to walk the remaining 2 miles. (We are scheduled to do 7 miles this weekend). But maybe I'll be able to keep pace for the entire 7 miles. That would be incredible.

So the question really seems to be: am I crazy for running, or crazy for not wanting to stop?

Reforming my Form

Yesterday morning, I went to see the physical therapist (Jeff Waldberg) who had given our Team a presentation on injury prevention. I decided that it makes more sense to learn proper running form now, while I'm achy but before I am seriously injured, than after the fact. So, after the preliminaries (intake, medical history, areas of concern, etc), he videotaped me running on a treadmill for a few minutes.

He was able to play back the video in slow-motion, and stop on certain pictures and show me exactly what I was doing. He had a lot to show me.

1) I was landing heal-first.

This is apparently normal and proper when walking, but when running, is not the best point for absorbing shock. Landing on your heal, Jeff explained, would be akin to jumping off of a 4-foot high surface and landing on your heals. That would hurt. It increases the risk for hurting the knees and hips, among others. Optimally, I should be striking the ground in the middle of my foot, (i.e., not running on my toes either).

2) My take off was too slow and I was bouncing vertically.

Basically, my stride was a bit too long, which was causing the leg on which I was pushing off, to hyper-extend my toes. It did some other things as well, making me generally less efficient, and overcompensating with a more of a bouncing up and down motion. It wasn't extreme, but still, was not optimal.

3) I was doing a few things right.

My cadence and arm swing angles were pretty close to what they should be. It was nice to know. I need to pick up my cadence just minimally, and it will be ideal.

4) I was tilting my body slightly.

I don't know how to describe this without the pictures, but essentially, I was bending a bit at the waste. Jeff said that he has seen people with much more severe tilting (which again, reduces efficiency and places additional strain on muscles), but that correcting it will help me run more efficiently.

These are all of the big points that I can remember off of the top of my head.

So, then he showed me how I should be running, such as where on my feet I should be hitting the ground, and basically how to run with more efficient alignment. I started again on the treadmill at a low speed, implementing his suggestions, and felt the difference at once. As I felt more comfortable, we increased the speed. As a comparison, he had me go back to running how I had been (heal-first), and instantaneously I felt more impact, more effort, and more work from certain muscle groups.

I'm going back next week, as a follow-up to make sure I am able to remember and continue to run with good form.

I am so glad that I was able to do this. I have never really been taught how to run in a way that identified what I was doing. TNT told us generally that we're supposed to not strike on the heal, but I didn't realize that that's what I was doing. And I haven't had anyone take the time to show me how to change it.

I have my 5 mile run on Saturday morning, so I plan to practice this new form then.

What I Think I Can Do vs. What I Actually Do

The "impossible" has become my jumping-off point. 

At Saturday's practice, our team changed locations from the Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks park to the park at Balboa.  I knew that we were scheduled to complete four miles, and that this time, one of those miles would be timed so that we knew what our "pace group" would be. By the middle of the warm-up jog, though, I felt tight, tired and worried that I would not even get through the warm-up. But I somehow did, stretched, and then we all set out for mile one.

As I had been doing, I decided to power-walk this first mile. The nice part was that I was able to look around and take in the incredible scenery. I am so annoyed that I've been living down the street from one of the most serene parts of LA that I've seen, and that I only just discovered it. Balboa park reminds me a bit of Boston common...but with better weather. And birds! There were soooo many birds.  I even saw a heron or egret (I'm not sure which, but definitely from that family).  The worst part of this first mile, however, was the fact that I had to go to the bathroom. And I ended up a mile away from it.

But I couldn't walk back, because the second mile was our timed mile. We were only going a half of a mile to our starting point (which had the bathrooms), and turning around, so I had to just deal with it. I figured that I would power walk this timed mile, but then our coach told us that in order to learn what our 60% of our effort is (which is what we're supposed to be training at on Saturdays), we need to know what our max is. We were told that we should push ourselves to a point that we wouldn't be able to sustain for a long period of time. So, I started walking for a few seconds at the beginning, and then decided to push myself. I ran (though it probably appeared to be more of a jog). I felt pretty uncomfortable because I passed the walkers, but I wasn't quite up to speed with the runners who had started off at a run. But I figured that I would just alternate the running with walking. 

But then I started to feel so good and I did not want to walk. I got to my turn-around half-mile point, feeling winded, but energetic, and enjoying the wind in my face. (I finally got weather-appropriate running gear and it makes the cold of 7 am more bearable.)  I started walking again for a bit, and then felt that urge to run again. So I did. I was pretty close to one of the runners, so I tried to pick up my pace a bit and catch up. I walked once more, but then saw the finish line, got excited, and ran. My friend Kelley (who had already gotten to the finish point) ran out to meet me when I was close, and ran the remaining distance with me, pushing and encouraging me.  

Before I set out for the timed mile, I asked my mentor Brett what time I should be aiming for, and he said that walkers should generally aim for no more than 17 minutes. I made it in 11 minutes, 40 seconds.

Okay, clearly, I'm no elite athlete here. But last year, I decided to run down the block from my house. Literally. One block. I thought my calves would fall off at the end of that, and I couldn't catch my breath for another block. I had just walked a mile, and run/walked another one. And, I got put into my pace group with other runners (and one amazing-kickass-fast walker). 

To put us into pace groups, they told us to add 2 minutes to our time (13:40), and group one was under 10 minutes, group two under 11, group three under 12, group four under 13, group five under 15, and group six over 15.  Our group is not huge, and our pace is run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. The other week, this pace was exactly what I told our running coach (Bridget) that I couldn't sustain. But, I figured that maybe I have gotten stronger, so I decided to give it a try on the next mile. After all, I could always change pace groups.

I was actually really surprised when then next mile passed. I was running and talking with Kelley, and Victoria, who is a really nice girl that I met the first day of practice, but who I hadn't talked to much since then because I had been training with the walkers and she with the runners. But even more surprising to me than the fact that I was actually running 3 minutes at a time, was that I was having fun doing so.

Mile four came, I still had to use the restroom, and I FINALLY was running back to it. But I didn't want to stop and lose my momentum, so I kept going through the end of the mile. I ran 3 minutes, walked 1 minute, for two miles! AFTER mostly running another mile. After walking the first. WHAT?!?

So much for classifying myself on what I think I can do. I have no clue what I am capable of. 

It's not like I didn't think that I would get here. I am training for a marathon. Clearly, I was eventually going to be able to do 4 miles. But I had no idea that I would get where I am as quickly as I have. Who knows what I'll be able to do in a few weeks even? 

One of my favorite moments of the day was when Brett (mentor) gave me a high-five after the timed mile, and laughed at me and mocked me for saying I wasn't able to run. 

After the run, our stretching and my bathroom break (FINALLY), we had clinics on fundraising and on injury prevention. I learned a whole lot of useful information, the most helpful of which was probably that most injuries are caused either by overworking (and not letting the muscle tissue heal) or by problems with a runner's form. 

I cannot wait to see what I am capable of doing next. 

Introduction

Hi there.  Thanks for checking out my blog.  

My hope is to keep my friends and family updated with my progress as I train with Team in Training (TNT) for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon on May 31, 2009.  I realize that this is a pretty dramatic goal for someone who is, let's face it, seriously overweight and not in prime shape. 

Why I Decided To Do This:

I have a few key friends who I consider to be "runners." I admire my friends considerably, and have always felt awe at their ability to train for and complete a marathon. But I've also felt like they're a different species than I am. I've always thought that I'm not built as a "runner." Up until now, my main experience with running was the "run days" we had in gym class, which I dreaded so much that I literally suffered anxiety dreams over them. 

But then, almost as sudden as flicking on a switch, I decided to walk/run a marathon myself. It was shortly after New Year's, and I was at my friend's house scrapbooking photos of my dog. (Yeah, I know. No comments on this please.) My friend (I don't know if she wants to be named, so that's why she's going by the vague designation "friend") who is a leukemia survivor, had run with TNT when she moved to California a few years ago.  She didn't know many people in California, so she had decided to join TNT to help raise money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to meet other people, and to train for a marathon. She told me that she had never run before that, and that since the first event, she has now run several marathons and countless shorter races.  Wow.  My scrapbook pages, embellished with paper dog bones, were looking sort of lame compared to her album that was too small to hold the many photos and mementos from of her multiple races.  

I asked her about TNT, and she assured me that most people who decided to train with TNT were not "runners" before they joined, and that TNT provides a well-rounded training program that helps people ease into huge goals without making the mistakes that often lead to injury, burn-out, or failure. It seemed like a good way to learn to run, and for something that was greater than simply my own personal fitness goals. 

Initial Changes:

Once I made the decision, and opened my mind to the possibility of running, I felt an unexpected wave of relief. It was as if I had been living within physical constraints from which I had broken free. (Yes, clearly they were mental self-labeling constraints, but the feeling was more of a physical one.) I suddenly believed that I could learn to run and within 5 months, become a "runner." I started reading about running and learned that there is a whole lot more to the sport than simply putting on a pair of overpriced shoes and moving my legs. I started thinking about my body as more than "overweight." I started to think about what my body can do, not just how it looks. I began to focus on food as fuel, not just as "good" or "bad." 

I'm sure there are scores of books on attitude and perception, but for me, it was like a chain reaction. Once I opened my mind to the possibility that a non-runner could become a runner, suddenly, I felt like I could tackle almost anything if I decided to, planned carefully, and committed. What an exhilarating feeling! I joined Weight Watchers, determined to stick with it and change my relationship with food. 

First Steps:

I started out walking around my block, while adding spurts of jogging. The first few times were surprisingly fun. My reading had helped me realize that combining intervals of walking and running was a way to build endurance and strength, not, as I had long thought, a sign that I couldn't run. I also learned that I should not run as fast as I can for as long as I can withstand. So I actually started to enjoy being outside, moving and not feeling as though I would keel over at any moment. 

On my second walk/jog, I was able to jog for longer intervals than I had the first time. I was surprised to find myself disappointed that my scheduled 30 minutes had ended. 

My first group practice was actually disappointing, however. I had expected to run a timed mile, be sorted into a group of people who were at a similar pace, and start training. But it had rained, and although we met and learned a lot about the process, stretching, fundraising, optimal apparel, etc., I was actually bummed for the first time ever that we wouldn't be running (the track had flooded). Weird. I was bummed I couldn't run. 

The second group practice was a whole lot better. This time we had a clinic on proper running and walking technique. Our group is divided into "walkers" and "runners." Most people, however, combine both walking and running during training and marathons. I wasn't sure which group I should join, since I felt like a walker-who-wanted-to-become-a-runner. My coach suggested I start with the runners, since we would start off at an easy pace (i.e., run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute). But, I realized that at my current stage, I am able to run 1 minute and walk 3. So we agreed that I would benefit from learning the techniques for both running and walking, but training initially with the walking group. 

And that's when I learned that athletic walking bears little relation to the kind of walking that I've been doing for the past 26+ years. (I don't know how old I was when I started walking. I assume it was after I turned one.) But it is FUN! And as I get stronger (and lighter), I will be able to incorporate more and more jogging. 

So, the second group practice was terrific. I walk/ran 2.5 miles and felt fantastic. We also had a clinic on nutrition, and on running shoes. (My excessive reading on marathon training already paid off; during the shoe clinic, I won a hat for being able to explain to the group who Phiddipides was and what he did.)  

Since that practice, I've only had one additional walk/run. Due to an unusually nasty storm, I did that practice at the gym, but was able to run a lot longer than I had previously. I completed 2.77 miles in 40 minutes (10 of which (.5 miles) were at a slow warm up/cool down pace). My next steps will be tomorrow.

My Training Schedule:

Currently, I'm training a few days per week. Mondays and Wednesdays are my mid-week runs, which I do on my own, though weather permitting (and schedule permitting) I may occasionally do with some of the group. At this point, the goal on these days is to walk/run for 30 minutes. Sundays and Thursdays are cross-training days. I have been doing yoga and pilates, to help strengthen my core and increase my flexibility (so I am less likely to get hurt). And Saturdays are the long group runs. However, for now, we're starting pretty slowly, and will gradually increase our distances. This Saturday, for instance, we will walk/run 4 miles, and the following week will be 5 miles, followed incrementally by 7, 9, 11 and a half marathon (13.1) on March 28.

I'm excited about the half marathon. I will be running it with members of my TNT training group in Agoura Hills, nearby. It will be held on a trail, which should be an added challenge. I figured that it's good practice to see the feel of a "race" on game-day before the May marathon. 

Next Steps:

Tomorrow I plan to walk/run for 30 minutes, but it's still unclear whether weather will dictate that I do this at the gym or outside. I realize that I probably can run in the rain (I don't think I'll melt), but I think I'm less likely to slip and injure myself (especially as I'm practicing new and proper form) indoors. But I'm hoping that the weather changes soon and becomes the sunny California that I love. 

A Special Thank You:

Thank you to all of my friends and family for your continued support of my efforts. I can't tell you how much it means to have you backing me as I work toward my goals. And thank you also to those of you who have so generously donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on my behalf. I have pledged to raise $2500 to this wonderful organization before the middle of May in exchange for the amazing opportunity they are providing to me. Your help and support has already helped me raise almost $1000. I cannot thank you all enough!  For those of you who are interested in contributing, you can do so easily online:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/rnr09/jgusdorff