A Little Tweak

I'm getting so far behind! With the kids and husband home for a week and a half, the computer is occupied and when it's not I feel a little guilty indulging in the business of "me" time when everyone's here. But it's a quiet moment and soon I will catch up on my own posts and all of your lovely blogs. I hope everyone's Christmas was grand. Mine certainly was and though my schedule is messed up, it's great having everyone home. I wouldn't have it any other way!

This week was a good one. We got a nice snowstorm in warmish weather and it just happened to be on my long run day. I was lucky enough to have Heather join me on this snowy 13 miler. We had a good time running out in the country and in the quiet that only snowfall can bring. We checked out the house that I love and want and picked out a nice spot for Heather to move out to as well! Dreams, people. I have them. They include a country setting, a couple of acres, a few neighbors (that I should be able to hand pick), a stream or river in the backyard, and lots of big trees to play in. A barn would be nice too, but we could build that later. It's a different dream than I would have had 15 years ago, but it's what I really want someday. Anywho... we had to run single file on the highway to get back and we ended up off the road in the 8 inches of snow for about a mile. Talk about an extra workout. And a good reminder of how to lift the legs. I think we should get extra credit for that mile!

I also made a discovery this week that may have saved my legs. I had been feeling tightness in my achilles and arches and still had sore calves from the snowman shuffle several weeks ago. I wasn't too concerned because it really wasn't bad, but had started rolling them out before and after every run. But I do have a history of injuring my self by running through pain. I'm smart like that. I started to even feel it during my cycling class. I wondered if I just didn't let myself recover from the race like I should have. So I happened to jump on the treadmill for one of my runs to see what barefoot felt like again. I only went 4 miles, the belt felt like it was getting warm and I didn't want any blisters. I got off and checked out the bottoms of my feet. They were a nice black all except for my heel. Well, the very edge was but not the whole thing. I recall having seen several pictures of feet and they are usually pretty evenly coated except for the arch. I went back and read my barefoot running book again and have come to the conclusion that I'm not touching down on my heel enough. The next run was my 13 miler and I made a conscious effort to make sure that I touched down on my heel. The difference was almost instantaneous. My achilles and arch do not hurt any longer and my calves are getting better. They still get sore when I push the miles or speed, but I think that's because my form slips. Hopefully that will get better with time. I still have to remind myself to touch down completely with my heel but I can't believe how a little tweak can make such a big difference. Yippee!

This is the scene behind where I want to live someday. There were people ice skating on this the last time I ran past. I think there may have been some ice fishers here until it warmed up.

Monday: 6 mile run in Evo's

Tuesday: 5.5 mile run in Evo's, full body weights

Wednesday: 7 mile run in Newton's

Thursday: weights, cycling class, yoga

Friday: 4 miles barefoot on treadmill

Saturday: 13 miles in Newton's