Columbus

I am running the Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon this weekend in Columbus, OH. I am excited to race again, but I am also pretty nervous. With triplets on the way, my window of opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials is closing rapidly. To qualify, I need to either run sub 2:19 for the marathon or sub 1:05 for the half. 2:19 seems easier to me, but I am going in to this weekend's race with the goal of running a fast half. Unfortunately, there is no prize purse for the race this year. That means 2 things: 1.) no shot at coming home with any cash and 2.) the competition will probably not be as fierce as it has in past years. However, my friend, Mizuno/Durata teammate and occasional training partner, Dave Fuentes, is also going to be at the race. Dave is in great shape and will be really tough to beat.

Hopefully the weather is at least bearable in Ohio. The course seems to be a good one--slightly downhill and point to point.

Stephanie is now 9 weeks into her pregnancy. We are starting to get really excited about having the triplets!! According to a website called "The Bump", the babies are the size of a green olive this week. Pretty amazing!

Triplets

Well, this makes 2 posts in one day! Steph and I recently found out that we are having triplets. . . . . . . .yes 3 babies!!! We were really shocked at first, but now we are just as excited as can be. Steph and I had tried for quite a while to get pregnant, and we were starting to get frustrated thinking that maybe it wasn't going to happen. Well, it did . . . . in a big way!

Plantar Fasciitis

I am about 10 days away from The Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon, and my training has been going pretty well. I have reduced my volume by quite a bit (hovering in the 70's for weekly mileage), so my workouts have been fairly solid. My best was probably a 5x2K session I did last Tuesday where I came through the miles in 4:59, 4:53, 4:56, 4:49, 4:46. However, I have started to develop a little bit of plantar fasciitis. I had this once before, and I ended up developing a heel spur. So, I learned a lot of different things to do to help alleviate the pain.

Since I started working at The Texas Running Company, I would say that about 1 in 3 people who come in are suffering from this painful inflammation of the arch. Here is what I recommend:
1. Stretch--the inflammation of the arch is often times a result of tightness in the calf. Make sure you stretch your calf before and after working out. I simply use the curb in front of my house to get a good calf stretch, but if you want a good product that helps you get a deep calf stretch check out the Step Stretch.
2. Use a tennis ball or golf ball and roll it under your bare foot to massage the tendon. A frozen water bottle also works well. I like to keep a golf ball at my computer--this helps remind me to massage the arch throughout the day. If you want something that may give you a little bit deeper of a massage, try Trigger Point massage balls and rollers or Foot Rubz.
3. Before getting out of bed in the morning, use a towel to stretch your arch and calf. Place the middle portion of a rolled up towel on the ball of your foot and pull your foot back to you. Most people have the most arch/heel pain in the morning as they take their first few steps. There is a reason for that--At night your foot relaxes and so does the arch. Throughout the day your arch is usually flexed, because you are using the tendon for walking, standing, running, etc. Another option is The Strassburg Sock (this keeps your arch flexed/stretched throughout the night to help alleviate those painful morning steps).
4. A final option would be orthotics. Two good options for runners that provide great arch support are Superfeet and Powerstep. However, if you are like me, you don't like adding anything to your shoe--I prefer my shoes light and flexible.

Take care of your feet, because happy feet mean happy running!!

Compression Socks

Since I started working part time at the Texas Running Company, I have learned a lot about several running-related products that I would have never tried before. One such product is CEP compression socks. With some pretty bold claims (5% improvement in marathon performance), I decided to give the socks a try. I was able to use my employee discount, which was nice since the socks come with a pretty steep price tag ($60 per pair of socks). For the most part, I have only used the socks for recovery (wearing them for 2-3 hours post workout), but today I tried them during my workout. Other than the fact that my legs were super hot (it IS August in Austin), I will have to say that I am impressed. I'm not sure they will improve my times significantly, but they definitely make my legs feel better. It's almost as if I can feel the blood circulating through my legs. They have also helped alleviate a lot of calf soreness when I wear them post-run.

To try them out, click the CEP link above or come visit me at The Texas Running Company (Austin Gateway location).

World Record in the Gulf of Mexico

Steph and I left Galveston Thursday afternoon on a Carnival cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. While on board, I thought it would be fun to whip out the Garmin and see how it would measure my run. (The cruise ship had a track on the top deck that was probably about 1/8 mile around.) I posted the map and stats below. The funniest thing to me was that it recorded my mile pace to be about 2:45 per mile. That's a world record for the mile. When I finished the 45 minute run, the Garmin showed me to have run almost 17 miles. So, you might ask why it was off by so much? Well, from what I understand the Garmin does not constantly track you while running. Instead it does so intermittantly. So, each time it picked me back up, not only was I farther down the track but I was also farther along with the speed of the boat as well. See the map below (Zoom out to get a better picture of the Gulf!!