What a weird week. Monday I went with 100 7th graders to the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center in Finland, MN. This is an annual 3 day trip that they go on to get some hands-on science experience, as well as for many of our urban students a chance to be out in the wild. It was a lot of fun, though being responsible for 16 students and 3 adults would be draining enough, we rock climbed, cross country skied (classical), hiked (and fell alot), and generally were very active. The weather was great – 40’s and sunny, but the snow conditions were terrible. They decided we were the last group to ski, since we went through 3 inches of water while crossing the lake. The snow pack was also fairly soft so every few steps you sunk a foot into the snow, which made for a very long and tiring hike.
The only free time to run was in the morning or late at night, so on Tuesday morning I set my alarm for 5 and got up. I was supposed to run with one of the male chaperones, but he was up really late and opted to sleep in! It was so quiet and peaceful. I was a little concerned at first that some animal might attack me, but once I got over that I enjoyed one of the best runs I’ve had in a long time. Just me and the serene early morning quiet. Due to the conditions I just did an out and back on the Wolf Ridge dirt driveway, which ended up being 5 miles and a little hilly. The actual campus sits atop a “mountain” at about 1,400 feet above sea level. I gained about 400 feet in elevation over the last mile, which was a lot steeper and longer than any of the hills I’ve run this year. I managed to keep running and finished without having to walk! Like I said it felt really good. I did some stretching, etc and then commenced the day of skiing, hiking, etc. I was exhausted by the end of the day!
I felt fine on Weds to finish up the trip and we rode all the way home on the bus and only felt a little sore. On Thursday I woke up early for a running analysis at a new physical therapy center and learned that I really do pronate a lot. I still have a lot of weakness even after all the therapy I’ve been doing. He wants me to try wearing insoles while I run, stretch the upper calf more (gastrocnemius muscle), and try to focus more on being a mid-sole striker instead of a ball of my feet striker. My right leg was a little tight but nothing serious.
I decided not to run on Friday because I planned on running Saturday and Sunday with the guys, at least for a little bit. I noticed that when I squatted my quad hurt on the outside part near my knee. Odd, but I thought it was still residual pain from the hill work. So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up at 4am with a lot of pain in my leg. I took some ibuprofen and went back to sleep. When I finally woke up my knee was a little swollen and it hurt to stretch out my leg. Even with icing, popping pills, and elevating it my knee cap was almost missing due to the swelling.
When I woke up on Sunday it was feeling better, though still stiff and swollen. Christy was going to the gym so I decided to join her and swam 300 meters in the pool before sitting in the hot tub for a bit. It is hard to swim without bending your knee, so I got a pretty good upper body workout out of it! It really sucks because it was in the mid-50’s on Sunday and would have been a great day to break out the bike from its winter slumber. Oh well, there will be plenty of time for that.
Below are a few videos I took while enjoying the 2010 City of Lakes Loppet. Sadly, we didn’t actually make it to the cross-country skiing race on Sunday. But we enjoyed a full day of activities on Saturday.
The Penn Ice Cycle Loppet is a big draw for us. It is fun to watch cyclists trying to keep their bikes upright on ice. Race criterium style it was divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced men, followed by an all levels women’s race. Videos are below in respective order.
Skijoring is fun to watch, partly because of the variety of dogs used.
Led by a Viking and some high school teams, kids 12 and under went for a 1 or 2k loop in the Minne-Loppet.
Our friends dog was enjoying the snow and ice.
You can check out my Flickr stream for photos of the day.
I’ve slowly been trying to increase my mileage since I am still fighting off the Plantar Fasciitis. This week was the longest yet in 2010 at 13 miles, I know impressive? I feel like I’m getting stronger (running-wise) and haven’t seen an increase in heel pain. I don’t think I’ve seen a decrease in pain either, though it is hard to tell for sure. I’ve gone 2x’s now to a free wellness clinic and gotten a massage, specifically on my foot as well as chiropractic work on my foot. Last week was more of a chiropractic massage really digging in and put some foot bones back in alignment. I got a lot of pain relief from that session, but not as much this week. They are students, which is why it is free, so I might need to suggest that they work on my legs and hips too.
On Tuesday morning I woke up with the alarm and felt very awake so I jumped out of bed and got a 5k loop in. It felt pretty good. I need to be setting my alarm earlier, because it is hard to get even a 3 mile run in as well as the PT and stretching that I need to be doing. I was very happy to run in the morning!
I didn’t run again until Thursday. I knew that if I wanted to get the run in I would just have to do it right after work, but also knew that I still wouldn’t have a lot of time. So I ran home from work. It ended up being farther than I remembered but was a good 4 mile run. It took a little while to get warmed up and relaxed (maybe hampered by the fact I was running with my wallet, cell phone, and keys). It was 39 degrees so I opted to run home in shorts! A little cold on my knees but it felt great.
My third run was the Sunday morning 6.5 with the guys around the Get in Gear loop. We split into two groups about a mile or so into it and I opted to stay with the back group and we had a nice and relaxed run. It was overcast but still 36 so another great morning to be out on the trails.
Overall it was a pretty long week. Several late nights and long days made for a pretty exhausted guy come Friday night. Though we enjoyed watching Invictus, which brought back memories of my time in South Africa.
As the title says, I’m ready to start increasing my mileage. I’m going to do this by adding a 4th day of running, though probably not this week. I’m going on a 2 night, 3 day field trip with 104 7th graders to Wolf Ridge. Should be a lot of fun, but don’t know if I’ll have the time to sneak in a run. There will also still be significant snow on the ground there too. I need to pick a race to train for so that I have that extra motivation to get out there.
How was your week? What is your next race?
This Week’s One Post is a short preview of the Human Race 8k that I wrote in 2008 when I signed up for it. Back in January, I thought I might be in shape to run it this year, though it isn’t looking good on that front. Probably not a good idea to run the 5k either.
You can buy shoes almost anywhere it seems. But runners tend to be a little more picky about shoes that are going to carry them over the miles. Most runners tend to prefer a good quality running shoe or the growing trend of going barefoot. Even barefooters need clothing and accessories. So I’ve compiled a list of the “running specialty stores” in the Twin Cities metro area. I’ve commented as best I can on them. I’ve listed the Top 5, followed by a few others! I hope this list is helpful and please provide feedback on your experiences.
Run N Fun – St Paul, Burnsville If you were to ask most of the guys I run with, they would say this is the only running store to visit. The Burnsville store just opened last year and their St Paul store was in the news due to a robbery. Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and experienced. The St Paul store, which I’ve been to a few times, covers 3 or 4 store fronts and offers quite a range of merchandise. Like most of the other stores they offer a great discount for local running clubs (I know the MDRA and USATF-MN). They have a Facebook group that shares photos, upcoming events, and information. Finally, Run N’ Fun is the choice of most of the local college teams.
Marathon Sports – Minneapolis This is probably the running store I’ve been in the most. The MDRA training groups have had special discounted events there. Most recently I won a gift certificate from the MDRA Annual Party. They are known for having a doctor in the store twice a month. They are also located a block from Lake Harriet. I’ve always been impressed with the staff and the products they offer. The last event hosted there included post-run bagels and drinks plus a special discount (larger than the normal MDRA).
Running Room – Minneapolis, Burnsville, Woodbury, St Paul, Rochester, and Maple Grove This is the closest store to our house and I’ve been there a few times. They are the most “corporate” of the specialty stores. Running Room is a chain of stores in Minnesota, Iowa, and Canada. I was not overly impressed with their staff the few times I’ve been there. But they have some amazing sales. One thing that sets the Running Room apart is their marketing machine. It helps to have the large corporate backing (i.e. not being family owned) but they have a monthly newsletter and sales.
Gear – Edina I’ve never actually been into this store. Some friends of mine really love it and say it is one of the best running stores. Here is their Facebook Fan Page. It is actually very close to Marathon Sports.
TC Running Company – Eden Prairie We visited this store one night for a Team USA-Minnesota event. Nothing really stands out to me about that brief experience. They sponsor a team and have an RV that makes appearances at races. Their Athlinks page has some great info.
Other Running Stores
I included some “corporate” stores, because they do sell running shoes and occasionally the staff can be very helpful. In college we actually went to Finish Line. They didn’t really provide much technical help, but we got a good discount.
Schuler’s Shoes (Twin Cities New Balance) – Bloomington, Burnsville, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, Roseville, Saint Cloud, St Louis Park, and Woodbury
Runner’s Edge – St Paul Their website doesn’t work and the phone rings and rings. Anyone know if they are open still?
Where did January go? 31 days into 2010 and it is just starting to feel normal to write 2010.
February was a better month for running. While generally I struggle with the motivation to get up and run, especially in the morning, I doubled my monthly mileage from January. February saw 35.4 miles added to my shoes. I hit double digits for weekly mileage at 11.9. March should be a good month to continue ramping up the mileage. My longest run was 6.5 miles with the guys on a sunny, Sunday morning. February also marked the one-year anniversary of having Plantar Fasciitis, check out my 18 steps to try to get rid of it.
I’ve set a few random goals for the year:
Run Around All Named Bodies of Water in Minneapolis
I didn’t add any new bodies of water, though I did run the Get in Gear loop two times which takes out a section of the Mississippi River.
Read the Entire Bible in a Year
This was tough this month. Partly because February only has 28 days, but also because this month included reading the entire books of Exodus and Leviticus. Luckily, the legalism of the Old Testament is balanced with reading from Matthew and the grace found in Jesus.
Read a Book a Month
I failed on this one. I picked a small book called Enjoying Prayer. It is only 140 pages long, but the format and topic made it a little hard to finish. Its setup to read a chapter at a time with thought provoking questions, not like a novel. I should finish it soon and get a book for March.
Blog Regularly
I only posted 4 times at my personal blog, oops. I posted regularly on here and that’s more important for you! I did make some updates to my blog theme. What do you think? I continue to do well on my Project 365 (taking and posting 1 picture a day).
Other things of note… February was a busy month all around. It seemed like there was something going on almost every night. I’m on the board of the Young Non-Profit Network for the Twin Cities (YNPN-TC) and we had a busy month welcoming new board members.
One Post this week is about Running Groups, I really enjoy the group I run with.
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