Race Down Memory Lane at Shelby Farms

Piper and I got up early to run in the 2nd annual Race Down Memory Lane Family Fun Run at Shelby Farms. I had two Nutri-Grain bars and a glass of milk for breakfast. Piper had a bowl of Lucky Charms.

We arrived around 7:30a and parked the car, then walked back down to the visitor's center to pick up our packets. Piper had chosen to wear a pink ballerina's tutu along with a pink shirt and her pink New Balance 992's. Needless to say her outfit was a hit among the crowd. After getting out packets we put them back in the car along with her hat and purse. We then sat on the swing and relaxed before the race. In the picture you can see her alligator. The aligator wanted to come running with us.

The 10k race started at 8am and the Family Run started about 10 mins later. We sat and watched as the runners of the 10k began their race.

There were over 200 runners and some folks with dogs and others with strollers. One guy with a double B.O.B. stroller, it was blue and gray. Piper has a pink and brown one.

Along the way we passed the American Bison Range and had to stop and feed them. There were about 40-50 all grouped together.We saw 5 babies.

Here is Piper crossing the finish line. We have no idea what our time was. We weren't running for time anyway, just for fun and to have an adventure out at Shelby Farms. Piper was our official timer person. She wore my watch and we set it to :45 secs repeating intervals. Every :45 secs it would beep for :05 secs. We would run when it beeped and walk when it stopped beeping. We did that for 20 or so minutes and then we were just wandering around picking flowers and feeding Bison.

Afterwards there was a pizza party and we had lots of pizza! It was a fun morning at the park and we had a great time together. She and I are looking forward to the next running race so we can participate and have a good time.

MRI and a 2 mile run

I went to visit Dr Hendrix early yesterday morning to get my MRI test results. Nothing important was found, no bone breaks and no ruptured tendons. They did find that I have an accessory navicular bone. Some people have a larger foot bone just beneath the inside of your ankle. I am one of these fortunate people. However, this plus I over pronate and have been wearing crappy shoes while running and working and wearing flat flip flops with no support have led to my Tendinitis. He said that I should continue wearing the orthotics that he gave me as well as wearing shoes all the time which should help the tendon to heal and start supporting the arch as it should. I told him that I have been running just a bit and I feel fine. He said that I can continue running as long as it didn't hurt and that if I noticed the area below my ankle to swell that I should ice it immediately and take some Advil or Aleve and stay off of it.

Before I picked up Piper from school I went running at Bert Fergusen park. I walked a lap, 1 mile, to warm up and then ran two miles using a 1:45 run - 1:00 walk method. I felt fine the whole time and didn't even have any shin pains. When Piper and I got home my foot felt a bit 'fatigued' so I got a big bowl, put ice and water in it and then stuck my left foot in it for a few minutes. I could only stand a few minutes since it was so cold but I think that if my tendon was starting to swell or anything then the ice water sure stopped that.

I continued to wear my Asics shoes all night and my ankle never hurt or had that burning sensation. It felt good all night and feels great now.

I think this will be my routine for a while:

• Run easy miles
• Ice Bath for foot afterwards
• Wear shoes all the time for support

Tomorrow is the Race Down Memory Lane supporting Memphis Alzheimers patients. Piper and I are going to get up early and do the fun run.

My Timex watch died

My Timex Ironman's Start/Lap button has been hard to press for quite
some time and recently became impossible to press. So, it's time to
get a new watch. I liked the Timex's, I've had many over the years.
I've recently been looking at the Nike watches and I really like the
way they look. I did a lot of research on features and found that the
Nike Triax Speed 50 does repeat intervals as well as lap (or mile)
pace times. I went to several places in town and finally found one at
Sports Authority for $39. I thought maybe they had it mis-priced but
that's how much it costs. It's a great price on a great watch. I've
run with it twice now and it does exactly what I need, repeating
intervals and keeps track of my target mile pace.

Running and a Double Feature

Had an 18 hr overnight in Norfolk yesterday. I didn't run on Monday as
my training plan had ordered so I had to run. I felt good and mapped
out an easy 2 mile run in a neighborhood near the Doubletree hotel. I
set my watch to 1:30run-1:00walk. That worked out well. At the
completion of 2 miles I felt like I should go longer so I stretched it
out about another half mile or so. After the run I went to see a
movie, actually two movies, Terminator (sucked) and Star Trek (2nd
time). I kept my left foot elevated most of the evening. I didn't have
any arch pain or pain near the left inside ankle like an inflamed
tendon but I did have a pain in the middle an back of my left calf. I
almost was wondering if I have a stress fracture on my bone that's
causing some pain as well.

I really wish that Dr Hendrix would have reviewed my MRI and informed
me either way what the results were. I visit him tomorrow morning at
8am.

We will see

I should've run today but...

I created a 13 week half marathon training plan and today was day one.
Today was run 2 miles at 12:30 per mile. Well, I'm not starting off
well. Went my alarm went off my body just did not want to get up and
wanted an extra hour of sleep. I'm on a four day trip and Maybe it was
the late work last night or knowing that today would be a 14 hour work
day.

Tomorrow we fly to Norfolk and arrive around 1pm. I will definately
run tomorrow. I feel fine and my legs and feet are feeling great.

Looking forward to more running.

Mountaineer 5k

I ran the Mountaineer 5k at Shelby Farms this morning. My slowest 5k ever at 37:45. I'm ok with that and I'm happy that I feel ok to run. I haven't received the results back from my MRI yet but I feel fine and I want to at least keep a little fitness that I've gained over the winter. I tried Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run method again. I changed it a bit to 2-1-3-1. I think I'll change it back to 2min run followed by 1 min walk and repeat. There were a few times during the 3 min run that I was looking at my watch and wanted to start walking.

I wanted to really take it easy and try to average 12 mins per mile. The first mile was 11 mins so I had to really slow down a bit. The second was 12:33 and the third was 12:53. The only discomfort I had was while running the first 2 miles I had some outer shin pain, mostly on my left leg. After the the second mile it went away as it usually does, after I get warmed up.

It was a perfect day for a race, cloudy around 72 deg and sometimes a little mist. Can't ask for better than that. It was a well run race and everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoy themselves.

Bill and I rode our bikes from my house and rode the course beforehand. We had an idea of where the course would go but wanted to check it out anyway. They didn't list a description of the course online. We then changed shoes and shorts and ran the race. I rode home soon afterwards because I had to pick up Piper. Bill rode down to the WRT.

Going on a 4 day trip tomorrow and will try to run a few times. The Race Down Memory Lane 10k is next Saturday. That may be a bit too far to run for now and I may just push Piper in her stroller again on the 'Family Fun Run'.

Zoom thru the Zoo? Nope.

Piper and I went to the Zoo around 1pm today. That was too early. I brought with us food and drinks to have a late lunch then hang around until the Zoom thru the Zoo began. I was planning on doing the 1 mile family fun run with Piper. Well , around 2pm she was acting silly and uncooperative, meaning it was time for a nap. We drove home and on the way home she fell asleep. She slept until 5:30p. By then Stacie was home from taking care of Sandra's cats and too late to wake Piper up to go back to the zoo.

So....

Stacie and Piper went next door and hung out with Erika while I went for a short, easy run. I ran 2 miles, an out and back route that goes uphill from the start and returns downhill. I tried using Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run technique. It worked out ok and was probably best since I haven't run in a while. I set my watch to 2 min run, 1 min walk intervals. I arrived at the 1 mile checkpoint at 12:30. I turned around and headed back home to finish at 25 minutes.

My feet and ankles felt fine except for a little stiffness under my arches. I have the new orthotics and the new Asics 2140's so it'll probably take a few runs to get used to them.

If I feel good tomorrow I'll try to get out for another easy run, maybe the 2.5 mile loop. I also, need to look for a new watch. This broken start/lap button is impossible to push down now. Maybe Piper and I will go watch shoppin' tomorrow.

MRI complete. Lets go to the Zoo!

I had the MRI done on my left ankle/foot. It was a nice 45 min nap. The RT scanned 8 times to get different angles and areas. The hospital Dr will review it today and then send it over to my podiatrist. Will probably be a few days before I hear anything.

I feel fine. No burning pain behind my left ankle today like the past two days. Of course it is still early in the day. Piper and I are going to see her pediatrician at noon. She has had a cough and last night woke up with her ear hurting. Today she has had a runny nose. Probably an ear infection again.

It's a really nice day so after we visit her Dr and get anti-biotics we are going to the zoo. I'm wearing my new orthotics in my new running shoes everywhere I go now. Together they do a great job at supporting my arches the way they should have been. No more flat shoes
or flat flip flops. Only old man shoes from now on. I had corrective shoes when I was really young. I should have learned my lesson then.

I want to run

However I do have an MRI tomorrow morning to see if I have any
ruptured or torn tendons. Should probably not run. But I want to.

Ok, I won't.

Maybe tomorrow after the MRI.

Bike ride with Bill

Did an easy ride from Bill's house out into Shelby County, maybe Fayette County, who know's. Kept the ride mostly at a conversation pace. My ankle/foot felt fine most of the time. Had a slight burning sensation behind my left ankle around mile 10 but then it went away. Saw a lot of riders out this morning. A big group from RB's then a few guys out by themselves.

Ride was 21.48 mi in 01:30:00 hours at 14.32 mi/h. Not great but not bad for a fun ride with friends.

New Runnin' Shoes

I've needed new running shoes and today was the day. I took Piper to school this morning then went for a 2 mile walk/run on the Wolf River Trails. I felt great running half of the outing.

Stacie and I went to lunch at Osaka then we both went to the New Balance store in Cordova. Stephen, the store manager was very helpful and I tried on 3 pairs of shoes. I measured a 12 on their Brannock scale. I tried the NB 1106's, 1123's and 1124's all with my orthotics. The 1123's were my favorite from that group. I purchased a higher arch orthotic and told Stephen that I wanted to visit Breakaway Running and Fleet Feet to try on every good Motion Control shoe available in town.

I took Stacie home, since it was almost time to gi pick up Piper. I went to Breakaway Running next. There I met Stacy (I guess her name is spelled this way, my Stacie is the only one that spells her name with 'ie'. I told Stacy about my overpronating, Posterior Tibial Tendinitis and she had me step on their fancy footpad computer thingy. It showed me as not having as flat a foot as I thought. My left arch was lower, which was no surprise. Then I did the walk/gait test. I walked across the pad left foot then right foot. This showed a normal step with my right foot and a pronounced overpronation with my left foot. We then measured my feet which on their scale came to 11.5. I tried Asics, Brooks and Saucony's all with my orthotics. I ran outside for a while in each shoe while Stacy watched my gait. She commented that most were correcting my overpronation and were giving me a correct normal stride. The choice came down to the Asics 2140 and the Saucony Hurricane. Both fit my foot well and I had to try them on both again and run outside for a bit longer. Finally I tried on the Saucony on my right foot and the Asics on my left. I ran outside and walked back and really noticed that the Asics provided much more mid and forefoot cushioning. I'm a midfoot striker so this made up my mind.

With my MRTC 15% discount the Asics 2140 cost $90. I was very pleased with the shoe and and getting a pair for less than $100. I very much recommend visiting Stacy at Breakaway Running, she will fit you right. Breakaway is located at 552 South Mendenhall, Memphis, 901-766-7600.

Feeling Better? Shoppin' for shoes.

We enjoyed the zoo yesterday. Walked around a lot, no running. My foot and arch felt fine when we got home and even when I went for a walk with Stacie, Piper and even Esther and Mabel (our dogs).

This morning was a different story. I got up early as usual and helped Piper get ready for school. After she was ready I got my gym bag and workout clothes together and planned on going to the gym and working on legs today. However, right behind my left ankle I started to feel a burning spot or burning pain. I only felt it twice. I took Piper to school and then came home and iced my left ankle. The pain never returned but I did notice a big squiggly vein that I don't remember noticing before. It sort of went down with the ice and never appeared again. I kinda thought maybe it was a tendon or something that was loose. But it can't be., or at least I hope that it isn't.

I decided to take it easy and instead of going to the gym I spent a while researching motion control shoes online. I found a few NB, Asics and Sauconys I liked. I called the only 3 specialty running stores in town and asked if they had any of them. Only the NB store had the NB's. Thank you Stacie for helping me. I also got rid of all of my shoes that have no support like flat flip flops and my slip on Timberland work boots. I have a nice pair of over the ankle combat boot type boots that I will wear to work and a pair of Birkenstock type shoes to wear around the house or outside.

I feel pretty confidant that eliminating those poorly supportive shoes and getting a new pair of running shoes as well as wearing the orthotics the podiatrist gave me that I have seen the end of this problem and I can continue my training towards completing my first marathon.

Walking and a very short run...don't tell my Dr.

Piper and I went to the park yesterday. Actually we went to 2 parks. We went to Shelby Farms and walked around the off leash area. Then we went to Bert Fergusen park and played on the playground.

Did a lot of walking around and even ran around a bit while chasing Piper and while she chased me. I've been wanting to run just a bit and see if I can get my pain to come back. Probably not the best idea but it's my 'Scientific Method' of solving the problem. My left foot felt fine. When we got home I thought that maybe my left ankle was swollen a bit, but both feet looked a little puffy around the arch. I put ice on it for a few mins and took a few Hammer Nutrition Tissue Rejeuvenator pills.

We're going to the Memphis Zoo today so lots more walking around. We will have to wait and see how my tendon feels afterwards.

Rainy and Cold

Started a 3 day trip on Sunday. First full day at work using the orthotics that I got from the podiatrist. I also wore some ankle/arch supports on my left foot that I got at Target. I like the feel of wearing them and they fit fine in my new boots. I also started wearing a new pair of lace up boots to give my ankle and foot better support than the older Timberland boots, which had no support at all.

I iced my ankle/arch the first night just a bit because it hurt just a little bit.

I wanted to go for a walk today and start getting some exercise in but the hotel has no fitness center and it's raining and 53 degrees outside. I wish that I would have brought a sweatshirt and rain jacket. If I went for a walk today I'd catch a cold and/or a sinus infection to go along with my foot issues. I'd really be a gimp then.

I get home tomorrow afternoon and hopefully the weather will be better so I can get out and walk. Maybe I can pick up Piper from school and take her to the park if it's nice.

Photo of Posterior Tibial Tendon

Feeling Better

My ankle is feeling better today. Been putting ice on it and taking Aleve and Advil to help with the inflamation. I also have an supportive ankle wrap to help keep my ankle aligned while sitting, standing and walking.

30,000 feet over Huntsville

Just a test to see if I could upload a photo from my phone.

First Post

May 8, 2009. First post. I have been training for my first marathon, the St Jude Marathon, December 5, 2009. I have a recurring injury with my left foot. I finally went to see a podiatrist yesterday and he agreed with me on what I thought it was, Posterior Tibial Tendonitis. Rest, Ice, Elevation and take Aleve. He scheduled an MRI to confirm it and to make sure the tendon had not ruptured.