Every Wish That We Put Into Motion.... (comments welcome!)

[avondale]

10 minutes in my closet

@Erika10021 you must have an amazing closet!

 

[Erika10021]

you must have an amazing closet!

It is a walk-in closet but for a long time, it was the best way to get in a couple moments of exercise. "I'm just going to change, I'll be right out" and then get in 10 squats and 10 push ups. Even the bite sized exercise helps!

 

[Herding_Cats]

Last week wasn't the week I was planning on having. It was my last full week leading up to my officially official plan for the 50k trail run, but life (and the weather) doesn't seem to care about that.

Sunday: 6mi/90min on trail. This was hard. It was by far the nicest day of the week....warm and sunny compared to how things have been for the last few weeks. I am having an issue where my soleus just locks up about 1mi into my trail runs and I have to stop and stretch (while muttering and whimpering) because it's really, really, really tight. Almost to the point of "I'm pulling the plug and turning back" tightness. And this has happened with all of my trail runs. I'm not sure if I need to warm up, or if it's the hills/trail surface, or if it's the shoes. Regardless, it's not a fun time but if I keep pushing through it does eventually get better. Also, I am getting some sort of allergy-type rash around my sock-line on my ankle after trail runs. I assume this is from the dirt/sand that is getting into my shoes during the runs. My forearms break out in a rash while gardening if I don't wash them off immediately after finishing up (I usually wear long sleeved shirts, or cheap arm sleeves to prevent this) so being "allergic to dirt" isn't a new thing. But it's really annoying to have itchy ankles after a run.

Monday: track meet, and volunteer parent-of-the-day at preschool.

Tuesday: I don't remember Tuesday. It was probably cold and rainy and windy and disgusting.

Wednesday: 4mi/60min run, plus 1 hill. This whole run felt awful. I was going to do 2 or 3 hills but the first one was so dreadful I just called it good and went back to the house. And then to yet another freezing-cold and windy track meet.

Thursday: yeah. I don't remember Thursday either. I think it rained again, and a bunch of stuff got cancelled.

Friday: another track meet? Where it was cold and windy? Of course! This one only took 7 hours. DS2 PR'ed in the 800m but missed automatically-qualifying for regionals by 0.6sec. So he went from being really happy to being really irritated. He also ran in the 4x800m relay, the 4x400m relay, and the sprint medley relay (another 400m leg.) He's been sick with some upper respiratory crud for about a week, so we are hoping he's on the right side of it at this point because he is quickly running out of time to qualify, and his 4x800m team that we thought would make it to state finals again this year is about 25 seconds off where they need to be and that's a LOT.
Weekend: the weather perked up some, and we got a lot of outside projects done. I was going to run on Sunday afternoon while DS3 was at open soccer, but the parent meeting before/during that ended up taking almost 2 hours, instead of the 20min that I assumed it would be. And by the time we came home from that I was completely over the idea of going for a run or even just a walk.


In MW-planning:

DH and I had a big discussion about flight prices, alternate airports, and had kind of decided to wait on prices for a little bit, but then this morning I found flights on SW out of Grand Rapids for 8500pts/person and booked them. Which means waiting lasted a whole 24 hours. United is still incredibly high for Monday flights, and American just didn't have much for options on the timeline we wanted. Delta is holding at about $185/person (one way) out of Detroit plus luggage, so we are looking at basically half the price and free luggage for what we booked. Plus, it's a small airport and lines at security are generally non-existent. We booked a studio at Riviera through a member on the rental section here on the boards for Monday night, and I'm excited to check it off my list of Disney resorts. I think we are down to just CR/BLT for deluxe that we haven't stayed in at this point...not counting the new FW cabins.

 

[The Expert]

But it's really annoying to have itchy ankles after a run.

Have you tried running gators? They always pop up on REI when I go looking for running deals. I've never tried them, but maybe they would help? Or maybe running a line of body glide around the top of your sock, if it's less about debris getting in and more about a skin sensitivity there?

 

[WillRunForPizza]

Have you tried running gators? They always pop up on REI when I go looking for running deals. I've never tried them, but maybe they would help? Or maybe running a line of body glide around the top of your sock, if it's less about debris getting in and more about a skin sensitivity there?

Or just longer socks?

I am having an issue where my soleus just locks up about 1mi into my trail runs and I have to stop and stretch (while muttering and whimpering) because it's really, really, really tight. Almost to the point of "I'm pulling the plug and turning back" tightness. And this has happened with all of my trail runs. I'm not sure if I need to warm up, or if it's the hills/trail surface, or if it's the shoes.

I wonder if it could be a form thing? Like maybe your form changes between roads and trails? In that case, maybe your muscles just need a chance to get used to a slightly different motion and will adapt after a few weeks. If you have a foam roller, maybe that would help?

 

[Herding_Cats]

Or just longer socks?

all of my "running socks" are ankle socks. So I either have to experiment with new socks ($$) or risk blisters with my other socks.

I wonder if it could be a form thing? Like maybe your form changes between roads and trails? In that case, maybe your muscles just need a chance to get used to a slightly different motion and will adapt after a few weeks. If you have a foam roller, maybe that would help?

To be fair the trail I've been using has very, very little in the way of flat stretches; it's pretty much up and down in some manner the entire time, and I'm sure that's aggravating muscles that I'm not used to working. Also, from what I can tell, hiking shoes in general have less of that "rocker" shaped sole, and are quite flat in the mid-foot area for stability, which is also a change.


This is a 3.2mi loop. The "flat" area that's the low point is sections 2x6 boardwalk and rutted up muddy singletrack from mountain bikers. So even though it's flat, it's still pretty uneven to run on.

 

[avondale]

Also, I am getting some sort of allergy-type rash around my sock-line on my ankle after trail runs. I assume this is from the dirt/sand that is getting into my shoes during the runs.

I was also going to suggest gaiters (not named after the reptile LOL), but that may just move the problem up your leg. Maybe really, really light mesh-type tights would work? Let you stay reasonably cool while also keeping the dirt off?


The soleus issue is almost certainly a combination of form, different surfaces, and the shoe type. Trail shoes generally don't have much in the way of rockers in the soles because frankly, you don't want to rock over roots and rocks that may already cause you to trip and/or twist an ankle. So you're probably going to have to work into all of this.

Even things like power-hiking uphill is going to possibly cause problems - think of how your foot will be more dorsiflexed as you walk up a steeper surface, and that will affect the various calf and shin muscles.

 

[nancipants]

I found a reel of you on Instagram!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Herding_Cats]

I found a reel of you on Instagram!

OK first of all, I thought this was going to be another race clip from the marathon.


But you don't even understand. After every trip he's all "I like going to Disney, and it makes you happy, but I want to vacation other places too."

And then I talk him into another MW (because BOOKS!) and then I make reservations, and then HE is all "well what if we went down a day sooner?" And "What is the earliest possible flight we can get on so we can do a park day on the first day?"

And at least half the reels he sends me are about Disney trips/parks/adults. And it's just like do you really mean what you say when you tell me you want to visit other places?

 

[nancipants]

OK first of all, I thought this was going to be another race clip from the marathon.


But you don't even understand. After every trip he's all "I like going to Disney, and it makes you happy, but I want to vacation other places too." And "What is the earliest possible flight we can get on so we can do a park day on the first day?"

And then I talk him into another MW (because BOOKS!) and then I make reservations, and then HE is all "well what if we went down a day sooner?"

And at least half the reels he sends me are about Disney trips/parks/adults. And it's just like do you really mean what you say when you tell me you want to visit other places?

He's a Disney adult in disguise and uses you as cover.

 

[michigandergirl]

The soleus issue is almost certainly a combination of form, different surfaces, and the shoe type. Trail shoes generally don't have much in the way of rockers in the soles because frankly, you don't want to rock over roots and rocks that may already cause you to trip and/or twist an ankle. So you're probably going to have to work into all of this.

I agree with this. My calves/achilles are always really tight and sore when I don't regularly trail run. I experienced this recently when I started trail running again after an entire year of only road running. I tried to just ease into the trail running and sprinkle it in with my road runs and the tightness got better after a few weeks. They were pretty sore again after my 10K trail race, but I think that's cuz I was pushing a little harder than I did in training.