Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

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Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:28 pm

Wow, I'm excited! :-P

I've transitioned my 5K journal (viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11691) into this new one since I decided to commit to completing a marathon.

I'll be Chi running ( http://www.chirunning.com ) my way to it (and through it) and it'll be some time before I'm ready. I'm tracking my progress to keep my motivation up, keep me connected to you fine people, and keep me from giving up.

I have a 5K ( http://www.komensf.org/ ) happening pretty soon. Maybe a little too soon considering the condition I'm in, but I'll just do the best I can.

I'm in bad shape right now, lost a lot of my conditioning and currently dealing with sore muscles, tight heels and knees, it's all seemingly :shock:

but, I know with time and effort I can do this. :)

I'll have to become a regular runner. I'll do my first check in with my next post. Good thing I really like running when I'm in good shape for it. I like these emoticons. ;-)
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commitment

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:52 pm

Today was mostly a rest day since my calve muscles are so sore. Jogged 2 miles and a little walking.

I paced my usual path, it's 2 miles one way. (I drove the path recently to find out exactly.) So if I can go there and back it's 4 miles. Besides the 5K my first plan is to get to the point where I can run the 4 miles.

I go in the mornings when the weather is cool and the streets are dark and near empty.

I'm kinda impatient for my legs to feel better but it's my own fault for overdoing it with some inclines recently. Also, probably lactic acid buildup from not eating properly. Sad how much conditioning I lost. :oops:

It was a lot easier to run when I was lighter, it felt easy and natural. I could also go longer with good energy. I want to get back to that. Right now I do my best!

Another thing I'm thinking is I should get into a regular yoga practice and keep centered and bendy and all that.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby f1jim » Wed Sep 15, 2010 1:54 pm

Hi
Great to see you back here on the forum. There was definitely something missing without you! I'll be watching you progress with your training, pretending I have the energy and guts to do it. Go get 'em girl.
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starting

Postby Caroveggie » Thu Sep 16, 2010 7:57 am

Hi Jim, thanks for posting. Yes, I've missed you guys, just been busy with life in general.

Yesterday I jogged a little over 2 miles. Jogged the 2 miles down and then some of it back, maybe about half. My calve muscles were still really tight so I thought I should walk it off.

This morning I jogged the 2 miles down, walked around (TIGHT calve muscles) and jogged another 20 blocks or so back then walked the rest (so more than yesterday jogging, but still not the full 4 miles.)

Soon I'll jog the entire thing and once I have that down I'll start improving my pace.

I'm going to do a little research and see about how long it takes for the body to get in good condition to handle a marathon.

I'll work out more today. The calve muscles are tight and sore still so I'll be careful.

Eating-wise I did fine except I had Thai for dinner. MWL from now on. I haven't had anything yet today. I'll have the rest of this orange flesh melon I have in the fridge for breakfast, and I'm thinking potato and salad for lunch, and maybe make a nice soup with the rest of the salad for dinner.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby sksamboots » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:33 am

I'm so glad to have you back :nod: Keep on keepin on :nod:
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby vegnLC » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:52 am

Hi Caroveggie

I'm relatively new to the forum (been lurking for a while but only started posting in the last couple of months, sporadically). Wanted to say good luck w/ your training - and to add that I've just started ChiRunning too! I love it so far. I have a love-hate relationship with running: when I'm really doing well, I *love* it, feel so freed and energized by it, but almost all other times, I hate it, and it usually takes me so long to get back to the loving it stage that I don't persevere. I've also been plagued by nagging injuries - right-side ITB, left-side plantar fasciitis, and I'd basically given up running, which also meant giving up triathlons, which I did in college, because 1/3 of it didn't seem feasible.

The reason I'm thrilled with ChiRunning is that so far, the injuries are staying quiet, and I'm already LOVING running again, only 2-3 weeks in! I've been making sure to focus, even when walking, on the picking-up-the-heels part and the pelvic-tilt part, both of which I think are taming the PF, which tends to flare easily.

Since you mentioned tight calves, I wanted to say that maybe you're adding too much lean - Danny says in the book that leaning too far can cause calf/shin pain. Also, in my experience, being careful to do all the body looseners before a run and the stretches after the run really make a huge difference.

Finally - there's a ChiRunning workshop in SF coming up on the 25th (I swear I don't work for them :lol: ). I'm signed up with a friend, and I think there's space left. It's not cheap, but if you have the cash, it might be a great investment!

I've set a dream-scenario-goal as doing a marathon, but I'm not ready to pick a date yet :) I need to do this longer to really trust that I can actually be a runner again and not be plagued by pain. I'm excited to follow you on your progress! Good luck!
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Thu Sep 16, 2010 10:52 pm

Hey thank you for your advice vgnlc! I think I should check out that workshop.

Besides the little-over-2-miles this morning jogging, I also walked and biked. My calve muscles are still tight and sore but better than before. I went to the gym and worked on my arms for a little bit. Overall though my body still feels like it needs more exercise (yet at the same time I have a lot of muscle soreness to deal with). For a while I had been running/jogging almost all day (breaks with walking, of course) but I had to stop and then I lost my conditioning. :(

I also want to use Chi running to keep injury free. I'll study the book more. I thought the calve soreness was a stretching problem so I've been stretching them out a lot. Honestly I hadn't finished the book, so it sounds like (duh) I should poke my nose back into it.

I did very well eating-wise today. I had a sharlyn melon (my favorite), brown rice, some honeydew, and broccoli and tomatoes with nutritional yeast on top. I bought Bragg's liquid aminos because I was low on soy sauce and they were out of the one I usually get. It's pretty good and tastes just like soy sauce anyways, although no sodium and all those amino acids.

I need to replace my running shoes.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby f1jim » Fri Sep 17, 2010 6:27 am

No sodium in Braggs? Since when?
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Fri Sep 17, 2010 9:17 am

hm, maybe it's just lower sodium, let me go check..

Bragg's Liquid Aminos
160 mg sodium for 1/2 teaspoon

It's good with rice. I've always had naturally low blood pressure, so I'm not worried about salt too much. I generally follow Dr. McDougall's guidance about salt. I use soy sauce or Bragg's for rice sometimes, and a garlic herb seasoning for potatoes (sometimes). That's about the extent of it.

This morning is really wet. I walked the path instead of jogging it. Felt weak and sore, probably from biking hills yesterday.

I'll do my jog or run later once the sun has burned off some of the fog and dried the streets and I feel more energetic. It was a nice walk. It felt long. Jogging or running it is much faster.

I finished the honeydew. I also have brussel sprouts that I'll eat later. They're one of my favorites. I steam or bake them and then just eat them with balsamic vinegar.

I'm glad I have this journal because I really have to keep at jogging and running. I want to see the improvement and this allows me to track it. And uh.. so far... yeah, I'll need to get back out there :P

It'll be nice once my body is in better condition for running.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby vegnLC » Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:22 am

hi again

since you mention that injury prevention is a goal, I wanted to share another part of the ChiRunning book I found really valuable (I just finished the book, so forgive me for the constant references :oops: ). actually, it's two related parts: Gradual Progress, and the caution against overtraining. one of the leading causes of injury in most sports is overtraining - either going too fast or too far or too often early in a training program, when the body isn't ready yet and/or doesn't have adequate recovery time before the next workout. if your muscles are tired or sore, your form will suffer, and the poor body mechanics of improper form are what lead to injury. this has been *my* cycle (motivated by frustration over lost progress when I have to stop for injury recovery - I start back up with too much distance and not enough recovery) for years.

the Gradual Progress part is related because we are encouraged to take a "longview" approach - to really be patient and establish a strong, stable, healthy foundation before building, and to make the building phase gradual and careful. I forget which part, but one of the chapters has advice on building a program (no more than 10% increase in distance or 15 minutes in duration, whichever is smaller, between any two runs, and no more than one increase per week). I've reminded myself of this principle a number of times when I've felt like my day off in between runs is lazy or losing ground. I tell myself that even though I am fit enough to run every day, my muscles and my ChiRunning form aren't there yet, and I need to recover properly between runs to ensure that my next run moves me in a positive direction and not a dangerous or injuring direction.

sorry to be "butting in" to your journal so much! I just found these ideas to be so helpful and reassuring, so I wanted to share :)
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:36 pm

Thanks for your advice, vegnLC! :) Very much appreciated. I don't mind anyone posting at all and welcome advice. I should really read the Chi running book thoroughly.

I haven't posted because there hasn't been much to report. Each morning I jog/run the 2 miles out, varying speed (mostly jogging). It used to feel fine but there a lot of variables that influence how it feels - mainly what, how much, and when I've eaten the day before. Energy level can vary and digestion, muscle soreness, etc.

This morning I did the 2 miles out. Just now I went for a slow jog and felt some knee tightness so I ended up taking a walk to the beach and then headed back home.

I still have the 5K coming up soon.

The sun is out and weather is actually lovely right now. This morning there was dense fog throughout the avenues where I live that stopped abruptly once I got to a certain street somewhere in the teens, then everything was very clear. Then further down the fog started again. Weather in SF is a little surreal. But I like the changes. The streets are deserted when I go out in the mornings, dark and quiet, it's nice.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:41 pm

Yesterday morning I went out early and jogged some extra. I'm not sure what my total mileage was but it was longer. My knee is a bit sensitive. This morning I decided to sleep in and let it heal up. I went for a walk to stretch it out and it seems like it's getting better.

Tonight I'm biking for more exercise. My 5K is Sunday so we'll see how I feel tomorrow, whether or not I'll go out more will depend on how my knee feels. No point injuring myself.

I've been doing ok eating except sometimes having Thai isn't the best choice. But the melons out there are really good and I've just discovered concord grapes which are really delicious although very messy to eat. I cooked brown rice also today so that should be good for energy.

I hope my knee feels 100% better soon because I missed not having my usual run in the morning.

Also I need to replace my running shoes soon. The last time I made a mistake because the guy said they were the exact same as the ones I had just a different color, which was totally untrue. They're not even running shoes or trainers, but I couldn't tell until I tried running in them. I couldn't run at all. So I still want to get exactly the same pair I have, just new, or else, something better. I'm still using the old pair and this other pair that has less cushioning for shorter runs. I should just buy 2 if I find my favorites again..

On a good note I forgot to mention that my calve muscles are much better now :)
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:20 am

Progress is really slow because I haven't run or even jogged in a while. My knees are too tight/sore when I descend or ascend stairs or inclines. I think I did too much too soon maybe. It feels like I'm going to really hurt myself if I even jog.

So instead I've walked around trying to walk it out. Walking in the sand at the beach helps. I'm feeling weak, heavy, and depressed about this. I want my knees back so I can start running again.

Maybe I'll try running/jogging barefoot at the beach today. The weather has been lovely.
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby f1jim » Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:44 am

I think walking this off is the right way. Build back your reserves and get back to where you were steadily and it will come. Don't be in a huge hurry and take the time to let your body ease into the workouts. It will come!
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Re: Caroveggie's Marathon Journal

Postby nomikins » Tue Sep 28, 2010 11:50 am

Coming from the perspective of a twice marathoner and 16 half marathons since 2004, here's my take. Don't worry about all the running. Try a run/walk plan for a while. You will have better recovery time and feel better as you ramp up your mileage. Try a 5:1 run/walk split and see how that goes for a week. Or some split where you can jog comfortably and then walk for a minute or so to recover. You're not going to win that marathon, so enjoy it! Enjoy the journey of training and building endurance, and your will enjoy the race day.
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