Training for the Run

With the heat and humidity of summer, there is usually a lot of talk of how to keep your dog safe in the heat.  I’ve been hearing a lot of advice on the subject lately and thought it would be good to check up on some of the advice.  One thing I’ve heard over and over is that a dog will do anything for its owner, including running in extreme heat to the point of extreme sickness or death.  Now that has peaked my interest and concern for my dog.

After checking several websites, I see a lot of the common sense tips such as bring water along and make sure you keep your dog out of traffic.  Other tips I see over and over is run in the early morning or late evening when it’s cooler.

After a little more digging on the Internet I found this quote on the about.com site:

“Many dogs, especially the ‘athletes’ will keep running, no matter what, to stay up with their owner.”

They go on to list signs of heat stroke in dogs as:

“Signs of heat stroke include (but are not limited to): body temperatures of 104-110F degrees, excessive panting, dark or bright red tongue and gums, staggering, stupor, seizures, bloody diarrhea or vomiting, coma, death.”

Basically, if your dog starts lagging behind on those hot days, let her take a break.  I don’t usually carry water with me, but I do run around a lake on hot days, so Annie (my dog) can walk in the water and grab a drink every two miles or so.  Plus it’s pretty shady where we run and she likes to run on the cooler dirt just beside the paved path.

So, keep cool and keep your dog cool this summer and everyone will be happy with their training!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since my injury and it looks like it may take up to a full 2 and a 1/2 weeks until I can start training again.  Of course it’s frustrating that I can’t just get out and run.  Annie (my dog) is feeling a little cooped up too.  There is good news though.

According to the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital training tips for distance runs,  I still will be able to adequately train for the 1/2 marathon.  Their training schedule starts 7 weeks before race day.  With the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon on September 3, I still have plenty of time to get good training in for the race.  Here is my training schedule according to Thomas Jefferson University:

Seven Weeks to Race Day

SEVEN WEEKS TO RACE DAY

TIP #1
The general principal when building endurance is to get comfortable at a certain level of running and then increase it gradually, making sure that you don’t have pain and that you don’t risk injury. If you do have some pain, you need to back down to a lower level of miles per day. Any pain that persists beyond three or four days warrants a visit to the physician.

TIP #2
Maintain a sufficient level of calories to match your training level. A 160-pound man or woman burns about 840 calories running eight miles. A 145-pound man or woman burns about 750. Many runners attempt to avoid fat in their diets. “Runners tend to predominate their diets with just carbohydrates-and that’s not good. It’s certainly important to have a lot of carbohydrates in the diet but you do need a balance of protein and fat in the diet as well for optimal health and optimal running performance.

TIP #3
Remember that there is no real evidence that vitamin supplements or training supplements will help you build muscle or train more efficiently. As long as you eat an adequate number of calories from a variety of food groups, you will get the vitamins and nutrients that you need. So watch your diet, and save your money for other interests.

Ok, so I’ve had my foot sprain for a week now it and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I’ve been reading up on according to The Sports Medicine Advisor from the University of Michigan, a mild foot sprain should have a recovery time of a few weeks. Now they also say to ice the foot every day and keep the foot elevated. I must admit that I haven’t been doing either on a consistant basis. Also I should be using crutches until the pain is gone. I haven’t been doing that either.

The previous post went over some prevention tips, but with a foot sprain, it’s usually an accident. Stepping down a step wrong while wearing flip-flops did me in. I did roll my ankle a bit when I stepped down, but thankfully my ankle isn’t bothering me at all.

Preventing a running injury

With my foot showing little improvement, I started looking around the web on steps you can take to prevent injury. I found out that there are assessments you can have done that spot trouble signs. The Walker Center at East Carolina University will perform some of these tests including one that caught my eye that uses high-speed video to find potential injury spots.

Here are the tests I just mentioned quoted from ECU’s website:

Physical Therapy Screening to determination injury potential:

• Physical therapy examination - A certified physical therapist evaluates each athlete. This screening identifies potential sources for injuries. A physical therapist will evaluate each athlete’s posture, skeletal alignment of the lower extremity, and musculoskeletal flexibility.
• Rear foot motion analysis and lower extremity function in running - Inappropriate timing of joint actions in the lower extremity can also cause injuries. High speed video motion analysis is performed on how the foot strikes the ground during running and the test determines if the movements in the foot and ankle joints are properly synchronized with the movements of the knee joint. Pronation and supination in the foot are evaluated in runners.

This may be a test worth taking. Especially if you are having constant injuries in the foot and/or ankle region. Another great resource that I came across is from the University of Illinois. They have a great page with illustrations on how to strengthen your ankle to help prevent ankle injuries and shin splints.

Sometimes things just happen. I wasn’t even running and just went down a stair wrong and twisted my foot. Now I’m unable to go running and it’s driving me nuts! I can’t wait to get back out running, but don’t want to force it especially with a 10K coming up on July 8th.

Both Caroline and I are going to participate in this race.  Caroline is running in the 5K and I’ll be running in the 10K race.  Downtown Wilmington is such a cool historic town and it will make for a very nice run.  It looks like Caroline will stay in the downtown area for the 5K race and I’ll be crossing the Cape Fear river for the 10K portion.

On another note, my foot sprain is still bothering me quite a bit.  I’m really sad that I can get out for a good run, but concerned that if I do I may make the foot worse at this point.  Plus this week has been extremely hot.  Even the mornings are pretty warm and muggy.  I’m planning on a training run later on this week and may even do a test mile this afternoon.  We’ll see how it goes.

The Hurricanes have won it all!  In a very impressive game 7 the team dominated the game.  Things started off rough before the game even started.  The security at the RBC entrance gave my car keys and cell phone to another person while I was going through the metal detector.  I tried to yell at the guy to get his attention, but I was just thought of as another excited fan screaming for the team.  Turned out that since he grabbed my stuff, he left his cell phone and keys.  I grabbed them so that I could call and make an exchange.  He ended up calling me just before the national anthems and we made the exchange after the first period.

After all that excitement, there was the excitement of the game!  The RBC center was declared a no sit stadium which made the excitement level of the game stay high.  The only time the place got a little quiet is when Edmonton scored a goal to make the game 2-1.  But the quiet only lasted for a second as the crowd got behind the Canes and cheered them on.

When the empty net goal was scored, that’s when the place went really crazy!  The jumbotron showed Cuba Gooding Jr., Tim Robbins, and of course Ronnie Francis cheering on as they presented the Stanley Cup!  It as a very exciting and emotional experience that brought a happy tear to many of the fan’s eyes.

This will definitely be a night that neither Caroline nor I will ever forget.  Truly amazing!

I injured my left foot over the weekend.  I was out camping and twisted the middle of my foot stepping down a step.  I’m not sure what the injury is exactly, but it seems to be doing better.  I really hope to be our running again tomorrow.

As for today, I wouldn’t have made it for a run anyways because of the Game 7 of the NHL playoffs.  This is it for the Canes.  Winner of this game takes home the Stanley Cup!  I’ll be a nervous wreck during this game.  I don’t think many people thought it would go this far (to game 7).  Hopefully the Stanley Cup stays right here in Raleigh tonight!

Taking the day off from work tomorrow and heading out for some camping.  I found a great little site on a lake where there usually aren’t many people.  There is a nice beach where I can go fishing, swimming and just hang out with a book.  I do hope to get in a good run on Friday or Saturday, but if not then I’ll definately make up for it by swimming.  The only problem with this camp site is all the poison ivy.  I got it pretty bad on my arms last time I went.

Saturday I’ll be back in town in time to see the next installment of hockey.  Hopefully the Canes bring home the Cup!

My dog Annie is fast asleep. We ran a different 6 mile route tonight. I don’t think she is tired so much from the actual run, but with all the new sights and sounds from the run. I also was a fan of this new route. It may have to do with the fact that the weather was perfect tonight. Cloudy, 73 degrees with a slight mist towards the end of the run. Also, with Alberto closing in on us, the wind was nice and steadily cooling me off.

After my run tonight, Caroline was also interested in getting in a little run. I figured I’d go with her, so Annie, Caroline and I got in another couple of miles. Turned out to be a good night of training.

GO CANES!! Bring home the cup!!

What a nail biter last night!  The Carolina Hurricanes got the win last night with one of the most exciting games of the series.  There were so many great saves by Cam Ward and so many great opportunities for the Canes to score.  The last few minutes of the game were pretty stressful.  The Oilers pulled the goalie and tried in desperation to score a goal to tie the game up.  They gave it all they got and for a while there was chaos in front of the goal.  But in the end, the canes were the victor.  Now on Wednesday night the Canes can end this series and hoist the cup high over their heads at home with a win.  I’m so excited about the game.  The RBC center will surly be rocking.

I’ll hope to be able to do a nice long victory run on Thursday if the Canes pull it off Wednesday night!  We’ll see.