Britta, regarding the Voltaren  (diclofenac sodium) tablets 75 mg is available but I think it is a prescription medication, so you need to ask your PCP for a script.  I prefer to use the gel since it is topical and gives  direct relief to the area of pain.  Plus some oral NSAIDs may give an upset stomach.  My doctor just told me that as of the moment, supply of the gel will be limited since there was a problem with the manufacturing firm in the US and most of the gels will be coming in from Germany.  It might be around two months before the supply normalizes.  But please do check with your doctor regarding this.

Mary Kay - Great job on the 8.5!   For sure, you will do great at these  three races, March 3,  10, and 18. 

Andy - got the shot bloks, strawberry and cran-razz flavors.  The store ran out of the margarita flavor.  Will try those on Sunday for my scheduled long run. Any advice on how to take the chews like how many pieces for an hour of running.

Nick - how's the foot after the outside run, hope you did okay and no flareups of pain or discomfort.

Stephanie - good luck on the recovery.  Better to start slow than rush into things and regret it later.

Would  just like to know your opinions on this matter.  I am training on 2 kinds of shoes.  For long runs, I use a mizuno wave precision.  This will be the shoes that I will be using for the HM on May 6.  For my easy runs, I run on NB 890.  Am I doing this right?

Run safe and run fierce.

Penny, how often you eat the blocks, or any energy food, is dependent on two main things.  First is how hard you're working, which will set how much you need to refuel.  Second is a maximum limit of how much you can actually digest.  I've been able to eat one pack of blocks per hour without any problems on long efforts of 3 hours or more.  The widely accepted rule of thumb is that you can only take in about 600 calories per hour but I've been able to pass that so you'll need to do some experimentation.  To borrow a phrase: your mileage may vary.    Just try to gauge how much you're working and balance it with what you need.  Also remember that it will take 10 or 15 minutes to be effective if you're trying to refuel before some hills.  If you eat too much it will just sit in your stomach and may cause some discomfort.

I like to also use various solid bars like Clif, Luna, and Power partly for variety.  I've been accused of bringing the whole grocery store with me on the longest events but when I'm burning 800 to 1000 calories per hour for 6 to 8 hours running out of energy is a disaster.  For a HM or run of 2 to 3 hours I usually bring 2 packs of shot blocks, 1 solid clif type bar, and my fuel belt with my own drink mix because while I will get some plain water at some aid stations I tend to make my drinks strong for both during and after the race.

Andy

Penny,

thanks for the info! I have heard about the stomach upset with the oral Voltaren, so maybe it's not a good idea and I will stick to the gel ;-) I really hope I recover soon from this, because it really starts getting me :-((((( It's been 10  days since my last run (not counting the one try in between when I started having pain again) and it starts affecting my body. My entire body just feels so uncomfortable and stressed without working out. I am used to running a lot - about 5x a week and about 17 miles a week including at least one long run and now I am down to nothing. It affects my physically and it is only a question of time until I start becoming really cranky about this! The fact that I have to study intensely for an exam next week doesn't help either, exactly now I would need my runs as a de-stressor... oh well.. this is hard... running is my passion and obsession (it admit it!) and also I had gotten so far regarding the training towards my first Half Marathon... Oh well....

Sorry for whining... ;-)

Britta

Britta, my hip pain was so bad at the end of October that I had a limp in my stride and finally couldn't run. I stopped running and started Physical Therapy and was miserable because I couldn't run and had no faith. Ortho said it was caused by hip arthritis. My body is covered in arthritis and it doesn't all hurt and I knew it was soft tissue pain so my mind said BS! I had no faith in the PT and it took a long time to work but I was able to run Nov.24, though PT said don't and I had pain and by mid December most the pain was gone. I took too long to get treatment but my PT was good. Hope you come back quickly!! when you are ready to come back, let your body tell you what it can do. Being depressed is normal and I'm sorry it's so hard. Your brain is reacting to it's regular lack of endomorphine rush with a rebound. It will even out after about a week. you might be able to get a similar satisfaction from working out on an eliptical or bike. I tried it and it took too long to fit in my life. give it a try and see if you can find your happy place. Whine all you want. You are going through a really tough time!

Penny, I have no idea about the shoes. I'd say stick with the ones you know you're going to wear in the race when you're running outside so race day will feel as much like a normal run day. You can use a lighter shoe in the gym, or not. 

Welcome Jessica! There are now about four of us running HMs in May. Are you training with a group or by yourself? What's your plan?

Oh, Andy, I love when you talk technical! In my wildest imagination I can't picture the day when I can ingest 600 cal just to refuel for an hour. Right now I'm recording all my calories because I'm GAINING weight despite running more distance and more often and I am eating 1500 cal. for an entire day, with running. I was eating 1375 but someone suggested it might not be enough given my weight (163)  and BMR.  

Welcome to the May 6th HM group, Eric!

This week has been beautiful weather so I've been able to run outside but was so not into training today. thank you Britta for reminding me how easy it is to get side lined. Tried running three miles and only did two (walked the third) and then couldn't concentrate when I got back to work, which was unusual. So, I went home and slept and without really planning it, I've had a cutback week. I don't know how to explain the fatigue. Wondering if not drinking enough water could be doing this or something else. I'm racing Saturday (10k) and hope to get a better time on this run than I did in November when I wasn't really running, just walk/running with a lot of walking. Also thinking I need to change my training around, start running with a training group or taking a dance class for cross training. Taking suggestions.

Run strong, all!

I feel challenged. Or motivated. I hate hot weather so I'm going to try running early after the HM. Did it once last year and at 1.5 felt like I was going to faint so I probably stopped when I could have pushed through. Thx Andy. It would feel sooo goood to be carrying 20 lbs less!

Hi all,

I am back to running outdoors again.  If feels great to get away from the treadmills and indoors.  I have lost a good portion of endurance while my foot was healing so I am slowly working my mileage back up.  I am hoping to be ready for my half in June.  May is going to be crazy in Chicago with the NATO/G8 summit  Work has me working overtime all month, and I need to get my higher mileage during that month.  I used to maintain my milage to a point where I could run a 15k with little or no prep.  Now it seems like a 10k would be a challenge.  Ah well, I have to get it back up there.  Thanks Penny and Mary Kay for the well wishes.

Penny- I think you can wear different shoes depending on you run length.  I have different shoes for different terrains.  As long as you are comfortable in the long run pair for you half, I think you'll be fine.

Mary Kay- How was the 10K?  Hope you ran well.

Britta-  Glad to hear the hip is slowly getting better.  Just don't rush getting back out there and ease back into slowly.  I am going through that now, and I know how hard it is. 

girlintheorchard Hang in there I promise after a couple of normal weeks you'll be amazed how fast everything comes back. Once your body is well rested and all drugs from virus out of your system.

I just went thru that same type of peroid. Had a great HM in Jan. Then a bad sinus thing going on. Went on to doing speed work for a few weeks got another type of bug. (I NEVER GET SICK) ran very little for another two weeks. When I started back I was amazed how I felt. 1 mile felt like 3. 3 miles felt like 6. 6 miles felt almost impossible with a much higher HR. Now 2 1/2 wks of building my base back up to normal, cross training, and biking. I feel I'm almost there. Enjoyed my first long run in a long time today. Didn't look at my watch . But i actually ran ALL negative splits quicker than i would of prior.

PS.

3 days a week I used Recoverite as a meal replacement in 8oz skim milk.

Debra, I echo what Webpro said but that was my experience after being out for over four weeks. You've been out less than two weeks. It sounds like you haven't so much lost your endurance as your body is not strong enough yet to run at the rate you're expecting. You may need more antibiotics and time. Once you are well, you will see a vast improvement in your energy level. I tracked my infection (started as a virus) by watching my HR. The heart rate was off the roof with the least effort and then was under control with the same effort when I was recovering. 

Webpro, interesting about meal replacement. Wonder if there's a time when I could do that and not overdo food later.

Mike, a 21 mi. weekend? You have got to be ready. let us know how the taper goes?

Thanks everyone for the good wishes. Sorry to say but the race was a big fail and I'm still not sure why. I went in very optimistic, feeling no anxiety. I knew the course. I'd never run it but had driven it a lot. Warmed up before so I could start out running and had everything I needed but forgot the Garmin (I use it for run/walk pacing) so I decided to wing it. That's probably an example of how carefree I felt about the whole thing. Mistake No. 1) - I was not prepared to race; I was too carefree about the pressures of being in the crowd. I get very anxious in crowds and need to prepare to deal with it mentally. No. 2) - I started out too fast. It didn't seem so fast. Everyone's feet looked like they were going a nice slow pace but it was too fast for me. No. 3) - I got swept up in the excitement and was not paying attention to me or the weather. I run wired with two programs. I never checked either for pace. I didn't once focus on breathing. I never took a system check to see how I felt physically so when my body shut down, it came as a big surprise. The first 1.5 was all uphill so I didn't feel bad about taking walk breaks after 1 mi.

I guessed I had started fast and course turned around and came back; I figured that would be all running. Although the temp was supposed be close to 40, we still had winds from the storms the day before and that was a struggle. Around mile 2 I needed to walk and it was downhill and I was freezing cold and my mind started racing because I wasn't even three miles in and had walked more than run and I could feel my body shutting down. It seemed there was no way I was going to run six miles but my mind had trouble accepting that and I kept second guessing myself, trying to find a way to push myself. At the same time I was thinking, "You could just run the 5k". "But then I'd have to deal with changing the registration after the fact and if I have to put up with someone's attitude right now I'm just going to cry." The whole thing overwhelmed me and I lost it right there. I was jogging and sobbing like a baby (had a towel to cover my face) and right as I finished mile three, I stopped and walked to the car, 500 feet from finishing. I am soooo disappointed. I didn't know it at the time but would have finished under 40 min which is a goal and would have been a PR. Instead I'm now disappointed in myself. My mind just said "You aren't getting what you came to get, you chose to be here, you can choose to leave and there's nothing that says you have to take another step." So I felt like rebelling, said enough and quit. Who was I rebelling against? Oh, that would be me.

I went for a long run yesterday to try and overwrite the experience but ended up running only 3.2. Although the temp was 39, it felt bitter cold with the wind and I was getting numb. Then I had ice cream and a hot dog. Seems I'm excellent at self-sabotage. Meanwhile, my one friend is on a trip in Appalachia and my mentor friend from work is on a high because he had a 24 mi. weekend (which I asked about) and a date and dismissed me without asking what happened by saying, "It's a bump in the road."

If you read all the way to the end, thanks for being here and letting me vent. I doubt I'll make this mistake again and hopefully someone can learn from it.