The Boston Marathon closed today.  I am sitting on a deferred (last year) guaranteed entry and have until the December 11 deadline to get it to them.  I am coming off an injury that has sidelined me for many months this year.  I am finally back on the road again and so happy just to be out there.  It is definitely still sore, yet seems to get incrementally better as the days go by…but Boston in 5 months?  I would love to run it this year…but I have a fear of commitment.  There is so much info out there on coming back after an injury it’s hard to decipher if it’s possible.  What’s a girl to do?  I say “Get engaged”!  I found this article from Running and FitNews (from the American Running Association) that actually puts percentages (something I can understand) to mileage build up after an injury.  I decided engaging myself in a plan and taking it one week/run at at time is the best therapy for my injury issues.

And in the meantime…there are so many other races/runs to consider.  I just received the info for the ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon & 10K on June 6.  I have been wanting to run one of their races.  It looks like a very girl friendly, fun event.   The Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington Delaware is now open for registration, a must for those in the area headed for Boston.  This is a tough course that has a brutal uphill finish but fun filled with competitive runners.  And finally, Jamie and I have vowed to try out the Lululemon Running Nights at their store here in Philadelphia.  Lululemon Athletica & Philadelphia Runner have partnered for : Running Rules, a beginner/intermediate Running Club.   Regular Running Schedule: Thursday’s, 6pm followed by mini-yoga for runners, (short runs about 30-45 min).  They have these runs at stores all over the country.  It looks like a nice way to meet some new long distance friends.

And a perfect way to keep me in (running) treatment!

Lessons in humility are fewer and further between for a 46 year old.  Yesterday I had one at the pool.  I received my aqua jogger in the mail and decided it was time to try the foot out on the road and in the water.  I have an appointment with the sports doc today and the foot in the boot was feeling really good.  My 15 year old daughter and I decide to run to our community swim club (only 2 miles) and then try out the aqua jogger in the pool.   It felt great to run!  Freedom.  But by the time we made it to the pool my foot was already starting to feel a little sore…nooooo!  My husband and 13 year old son met us there and brought my new aqua jogger with them.  Now if you have teenage children (who swim very well), you may relate to the utter humiliation of their mother strapping this thing on and running (in front of everybody) in the pool.   I am not a swimmer.  I practically drowned trying to put the thing on (I am suddenly reminded of those ladies from my youth at the Y doing water aerobics for the 60 and over set).  My husband (another really good swimmer) is laughing so hard at my lack of finesse in H2O that my son decides I am too embarrassing to get near.

I start my trek cross the pool in the running motion with vigor.  I can actually feel the resistance on my legs, but what do I do with my arms?  I decide to move them as if I am running.  I change the intensity now and then to see if that makes me more tired.  The kids decide it’s better to ignore me and play with their dad…I keep running up and down the pool.  I see people I know and they don’t seem to notice the flotation device strapped to my middle…I chat…but I keep running.  After about an hour and a half I am really starting to get tired so I declare I am ready to get out and the kids cheer.  The most boring run of my life…I will never take the road for granted again.

This morning I woke up a little sore in the legs.  A good sign.  The foot just a little sore.  When I came home last night I googled “aqua running” and found some great information on making the workout more beneficial.  I learned this is an excellent way to cross train for injury prone runners like me.  It will help me maintain fitness for running more than swimming.  So it looks like I’m in (the pool) for now (if my kids don’t die of embarrassment…or me of boredom). Time to look into an aqua ipod?!

Dara and I are tight…tight-muscled that is.  When I read her book ( Age is Just a Number) that included her pre-olympic routine I wanted to know more about the stretching she came to rely on to get her there.   She called it her secret weapon.  Now,  I do not have the very apparent resources of Dara so when I saw the Resistance Stretching DVD with Dara Torres online, I was in.  It is the work of her resistance stretching team of Anne Tierney and Steve Sierra of Innovative Body Solutions.    I have been doing these stretches for a few weeks now and I come to look forward to them at night.  At first I wasn’t sure if I was doing the resistance part correctly (and this is where a trainer or one of their classes would be good)…but I managed to go back and watch their very detailed tutorial again and again until I was confident I fully understood.

If you are an older runner like me you may also find these stretches very helpful as part of your cross training.  I have been off the road for two weeks now due to my foot injury but continue to cross train and stretch.  I am not as sore as I am usually.

If you are  one of those people who likes to do things at their own pace at home (I still do Cindy Crawford’s dvd–circa 1992) then this might work for you.  It comes with two discs.  The first one explains in detail each stretch.  The second dvd, the one I use, is a 20 minute workout with Dara herself (and if looking at that amazing body for 20 minutes doesn’t at least ignite your motivation…).

So now Dara and I are no longer tight, but I do like working out with her every day.  She and Cindy Crawford…my BFF’s on dvd.  I am thinking that if I order the Kara Goucher workout on itunes it will complete my circle of fabulous (fictional) workout friends:)

The Anderson's Garden

A salad a day….my training mantra for these past weeks.  This has required effort on my part.  As much as I love to order a good salad in a restaurant, it’s not what I crave at home.  My husband planted this fabulous mesclun lettuce mix in our garden (photo) and it is making my daily quest for a salad actually tolerable.  It is truly amazing how lettuce fresh from a garden can taste so much better!  My 13 year son and I sometimes have what we call “power salads”- – just eat it raw and get it over with!   But I have also found some really fabulous dressings that have helped me make it through these salad days:

• Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette (This is my favorite on a salad with a sliced pear, walnuts and a handful of gorgonzola cheese).

• Trader Joe’s Cranberry, Gorgonzola and Walnut Dressing (I like to add a handful of their Omega Trek Mix)

• Wegmans’ Balsamic Vinaigrette.

• Organic extra virgin Olive Oil and Seasoned Rice Vinegar (my daughter Isadora’s favorite — a combination her Grandma Luanne taught her).

Cross-training has taken on new meaning as I nurse yet another foot injury.  This time on the top (same foot), the result of a shoe tied to tight?   Frustrating to say the least, but it’s been getting better every day.  One day running, then two or more days off.  Cross-training on off days and one full day of rest.  This has been working so far to keep me fit with less running.

I received my Resistance Stretching with Dara Torres DVD (Dara’s’ secret weapon for training over 40) and I am into a few days of trying it out.  So far so good and will review after a few weeks of keeping up.  I think all of us forty somethings will find this one really helpful for all those tight parts.  My husband and I went to see the film The Hurt Locker last night (an excellent account of the war in Iraq from the point of view of a few men…staggeringly eye opening) and when I got up my legs were SO tight from sitting there after a 14 mile run that morning.  So I came home and did some of what I now call the “Dara stretches”.

Adding miles can be tricky…proceed with caution.  Every day out there adds to the conditioning but it does not come easy.   Food has become my frenemy. Obsession with my daily diet is exhausting, but increases my confidence and energy during workouts.  Sit-ups, lunges and leg lifts chip away at the runner inside.  Only small twinges of soreness remain of my foot injury, but so many other areas draw my attention.  I still do the ice bottle after runs and ample time stretching before stepping out the door.  Every ache reminds me to take it slow or take a rest…one mile at a time.

And I am not alone.  It is marathon season.  I have noticed so much information out there for anyone training: first timers, PR seekers and everyone in between.  This month’s Runners World features their new Marathon Challenge.  For $130, Bart Yasso will devise a marathon training plan for you based on your goal.  I signed up for the NY Times Run Well Training Tool, part of the NY Times Run Well -Your Marathon series.  Customize your training from a choice of training schedules and track your miles.

I picked up a copy of  Running Times and found two really great running calculators (They are now posted on the resource page under training tools).  Each give you your training/racing pace calculations at many different distances based on a marathon finish time.  For “zen runners”  like me, this is such a helpful tool for long runs and 800’s on the track.  I am never quite sure about training pace.

The best part about being back on the road is seeing familiar long distance friends out there still putting in the miles -training for races of their own.  As  soon as I get my conditioning back, I look forward to hearing their latest stories and catching up!

photo courtesy of TFTS

The alarm rings at 4:40am and I think I am dreaming.  I am so sore (in many parts of my body as a result of my first few days back training!) that I have forgotten about my injured foot.  It’s been tight in the mornings but seems to be loosening up while I run.  A good sign.  The iconic words ring in my head…no pain no gain (the mantra for all conditioning).  Half asleep and reduced to a running bra, shorts and shoes–I am up…so far, so good.   After a beauty routine that consists of brushed teeth, a hair tie and ample sunscreen…I head to the kitchen.  Stretching is now a must so I decide I might need to get up even earlier to get it all in before I head out the door.  No need for eating right now but as I increase the miles I will add a half of a Power Bar or a Slim-Fast to sustain my energy.  My LDF’s and I meet on the corner at 5:15am to get workouts in before making lunches, signing permission slips, and asking the daily 5 million dollar question: “Did you remember to brush your teeth?”–morning family madness.

The familiar smell of the neighborhood morning air is somehow comforting.  It reminds me that I have been here before (hoping it will induce my muscle memory?).  It’s great to be on the road.  It’s great to be listening to the LDF’s talk about nothing in particular.  I remind myself that it will get better/easier everyday I am out there.

The endorphin rush of aerobic exercise has me geared up and ready to take on the day.  I have accomplished something already and it’s only 6:30am.  This is a feeling I miss…the one that makes me a badass when I come in from my run, get the kids up, and holler as they fly out the door…”Did you remember to brush your teeth?!”

I have been stretching my foot every time I think about it since I started Physical Therapy.  My foot was in a boot for 6 weeks due to a stress fracture.  The sports doctor also found a heel spur that is associated with tightness and soreness of my Plantar Fascia.  I have been prescribed a twice a day (and whenever I think about it) routine of a series of 6 stretches to do at home.  This coupled with my PT sessions of ultrasound and deep massage are all part of the plan to accelerate my healing so I can finally start running again.  I have been religiously complying to this effort and today I woke up with HAPPY FEET (very mild tightness…no pain).  I have heard many conflicting theories on whether or not runners really do need to stretch and although I have always done a little,  I am now a convert on the pro-stretching side.  After reading the Dara Torres book in which she is fanatical about her middle aged daily stretching  (and don’t we wish we all had someone to do it for us as she does!).   I thought it could help this 46 year old runner.  It looks like it’s working.   I will mark this day as progress in my recovery journal categorized as:  Stretching-the truth.

For a peek at some of the stretches I have been doing go to: CYBER PT