I am an athlete, and I have feet

Does it make sense, then, that I have Athlete's Foot? (Feet, actually, because it's both of 'em).

I've never had it before, so I can't be sure that's what this is, but DAMN, they itch. That kind of itch that you can scratch but that only makes it worse and eventually you might draw blood and it still won't stop itching. 

When I say it started suddenly, I'm not exaggerating, as most people are when they use that phrase. I mean it was instantaneous. My feet felt fine all day, I was wearing clean socks, an old pair of sneakers, and even went for a couple of long dog-walks. Then I was walking to my house from my car after work and BAM it hit me. My feet itched. 

At first I thought it was because the sneakers I'd been wearing were super old, and so much walking in them had just irritated my skin. But it was SO bad that night that I had to rest the soles of my feet on ice packs. They felt a little bit better the next day, so I figured it was a minor thing that would run its course. But the day after that, I was about ready to scratch my skin to shreds, so I decided to hit up CVS.

I couldn't find what I was looking for at first. I knew there were products called Lamisil and Tinactin (saw them on commercials - "Tough actin' Tinactin!") but the only things with that name I could find were for Jock Itch. Er...ok...I was pretty sure it was the right product, but I didn't want to be rubbing cream meant for a guy's groin on my feet if I wasn't supposed to. I finally had to ask the woman at the pharmacy where I could find something for Athlete's Foot (I totally whispered that part in the store because there were other people around, and really, who wants to admit they have fungus growing on their feet? I was wearing flip-flops for goodness sake.) Turns out Lamisil for Athlete's Foot and for Jock Itch are the exact same thing with the exact same ingredients, because the two infections are caused by the same fungus. Honestly, I'd rather have fungus on my feet than in my crotch!

Anyway, I have been back to CVS twice since then for different remedies because nothing's working. So far I've tried Lamisil cream, Tinactin spray, and Goldbond medicated powder. Each has a different active ingredient, and each says to apply twice daily - morning and night. Also, each claims to stop the itching and burning. OK...maybe they stop the itching and burning for an hour. But am I supposed to wait seven more hours until the nighttime application to relieve it again?

I'm thoroughly grossed out at the fact that I might have fungus on my feet. But I'm trying so hard to keep them clean! I already shower daily, but now I'm washing my feet with seperate soap (Dove), drying each foot completely with it's own paper towel (don't want to infect our bath/hand towels!) and applying one of my medicinal treatments twice daily. I'm sprinkling Goldbond into my socks. I've sprayed all my shoes with Tinactin. Today I washed the bathmats with bleach (don't worry, they were already white) and mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors with a bleach solution (since I walk around the house barefoot). 

Well it's been a full week and I have seen no improvement! What's a girl to do!?!? Should I just go to the doctor and get something stronger? The packages on the various treatments say to "see a doctor if there is no improvement in four weeks." Four weeks!?!? This insatiable itch is maddening. I can not wait four weeks!

Anybody have some tips/tricks/homeopathic remedies?

P.S. If you're wondering where I might have picked it up, I have two words for you. Public pool. And here are two more words. High school. I went (for the first time) to open swim at a local high school's pool on a Wednesday, and that BAM moment came on Friday. Need I say more??

Anyone Can Tri! A race report.

On Sunday, May 2, I proved the name of the race, and completed the Southern Saratoga YMCA's "Anyone Can Tri" triathlon. It was a combination indoor/outdoor tri, because it's still a little too chilly to do an open water swim (although it certainly felt warm enough on Sunday!) The whole event was a 350 yard (or meter maybe?) snake swim in the pool, followed by an 11 mile bike ride and 3.2 mile run outside. There was a central transition area just outside the pool, where competitors could quickly (or not so quickly in my case) switch from swim gear to bike gear, and finally to running gear.

Here's the thing. I've been so distracted by other happenings in my life lately that I hardly thought about the triathlon until the morning of the race. And then I didn't feel like racing. At all. It just didn't seem important, and I didn't feel hyped up for it. But I'd already forked over a $55 registration fee, and as you all know by now I'm cheap frugal and didn't want to waste the money. Seriously, I actually think $55 is a ridiculously high price for a sprint triathlon, but it's the YMCA, which is supposed to be a not-for-profit civic service organization, and is actually more like some exclusive health club. In my opinion. I just wrote a story about a local branch of the YMCA that was able to borrow nearly 6 million tax-exempt dollars because of its "non-profit" status, using an organization meant to give money to companies that actually serve the poor, not just pretend to. Anyway, tangent and rant over, I'd paid the exorbitant fee and I was going to get my money's worth.

I got up at 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, and ate half a banana and a piece of whole wheat toast with almond butter. I absent-mindedly (you'll find out just how absent-mindedly in a few paragraphs) gathered the things I'd need for the race. I put on a sports bra under my bathing suit, and packed a pair of long spandex shorts (that I bought in the little boy's section of Target) and my Pearl Izumi cycling tank. I stuck a pair of (mismatching) socks into my running shoes and threw them in the car. My Garmin was already in my purse. I stuck an organic toaster tart in my purse in case I got hungry. I filled up my 20 oz water bottle. I grabbed a towel from the heap of laundry in the attic, gave it a few sniffs, and threw that in the car. Bike and helmet were already in the trunk. I shoved my feet into my sandals, and off I went, dragging my sister along with me.

I got to the Y before 6:30, and stood in line to pick up my packet, bib, and chip, and get marked with a Sharpie.  I was number 68, and as the guy was writing it on my leg, I started to wish I'd shaved within the last 3 days. If you're wondering what on earth I was thinking, just remember I wasn't thinking about the race. After getting all my stuff (lamest swag bag ever, by the way, the only thing in there besides some pamphlets promoting the Y was a mini men's Degree deodorant) I had about an hour to kill before my "safety meeting."

I went to the transition area to get a spot for my bike and set up my gear, but by the time I got there, the racks were full, so I just leaned the bike against a fence. I wouldn't have done that, but a few other bikes were already there, so I figured it was OK. I pulled out my garbage bag (the one thoughtful thing I packed), spread it on the ground, and put my shoes, socks, shorts, and shirt on top of it. I draped my towel over the handlebars. I gave my water bottle to my sister.

I spent the next 30 minutes or so standing barefoot in the hallway of the Y, surreptitiously picking the bathing suit wedgie out of my butt crack every time it rode up, because the sports bra underneath it made it a really tight fit. Finally it was time for my heat's meeting. The triathlon was going off in heats, and the heats were going off in waves. Each heat had to go to a meeting first, to find out how the snake swim worked, and to be told to watch out for cars while biking and running, because the roads weren't closed. 

We all filed into the pool in a single line, in numerical order. The first person in the heat would start, and 30 seconds later, the announcer would tell the next person to go. I had been getting worried that people would need to pass me during the swim, but it seemed like 30 seconds was a decent head start. The announcer said "68, go!" and I slid into the pool and went on my way. I felt tired almost immediately, which was not a good sign. I just tried to focus on keeping my breathing even and my form smooth. I was doing a pretty good job of it until I was swimming one way in my lane, and someone else was swimming in the other direction, and we collided. Ooooops. I made it a point to stay super close to the lane marker from then on. I think I caressed it a few times after that. 

I finished up the swim and my breathing was a little labored, but nothing too horrible. I ran out the door to find my bike, and after adjusting to the blinding sunlight, I quickly toweled off my feet, shoved myself into my shorts, tank, and socks, and laced up my sneakers. Then I realized I had no water. My sister had my water. And she wasn't allowed into the transition area. Shit. I saw her running near the fence, waving the bottle. One of the race officials saw her too, and took the bottle from her and gave it to me. How nice of her. But then I realized I still had an 11 mile bike ride and a 3.2 mile run to finish, and I hadn't eaten for over two hours. Where was my toaster tart? In the car. In my purse. With my Garmin. I made a wild "nibbling" gesture to my sister, intended to mean "Go get me my bar!" but she didn't understand, so I had to tell to her to go get it. While she was doing that, I put on my cycling gloves and helmet. She ran back, threw the bar to me over the fence, and I frantically took two big bites. Then I had to wait a minute while I tried swallow with an incredibly dry mouth.

OK, transition one was finished. I shoved the other half of the bar into my waistband, jogged my bike over the timing mat, and climbed on. About seven pedals later, I heard a faint "thwumping" noise, looked down, and realized the bar had fallen out of my waistband and was now lying in the road with my bike's tire track sliced through it. I probably should have stuck the bar in the back pocket of my cycling tank, since, you know, that's what it's made for.

Someone told me the bike course was "relatively flat." Well that someone was a LIAR. Seriously, their pants are on fire right now. It was actually rather surreal out there on the bike, because everyone was so spread out that it was like I was just out for a jaunt by myself. Every once in a while at an intersection an official would point me in the right direction, but for the most part it was just me, my bike, the road...and my thoughts. Mostly those thoughts went like this: "What the F? It's so hot out here. There's no shade. OMG. Is that a huge hill coming up? Seriously? Another one? Ow. I think I just got a bug in my eye. I hope it doesn't crawl into my brain. Am I going the right way? So. Hot. OMG, another big hill. Pedal. Pedal. Pedalllll. Don't. Stop. Quads are burning. Pedal. Pedal. Pedalllllll!"

Thankfully I didn't have to stop in the middle of a hill anywhere, because that would have been really embarrassing. Though there was one point, in the middle of a hill, where I think I was averaging one full pedal every 30 seconds, and some guy flew by and said "Good luck." In that tone that really means, "Ha, good luck sucker!"

Anyway, I made my way back to the transition area after what seemed like an eternity, hopped off the bike, and jogged it over the timing mat. Now, being an extreme amateur, I had actually worn my running sneakers for the bike ride, and didn't have to change them during transition two. I just gulped some water, briefly considered dropping out of the race, and ran over the next timing mat to start the run.

I have just one word to describe the entire run: HOT. It was brutal out there. The high that day was 87 degrees, and there was seriously no shade on the course. Luckily there was a random water stop, which consisted of one volunteer handing out warm cups of water, and what I can only assume was a resident of a neighboring house yelling out "Congratulations! You can do it!" in a thick Spanish accent.

My legs felt like rubber bands that might snap at any moment for at least the first mile of the run. They were wobbly and I felt like I couldn't control their direction or pace. Were they even still attached? I couldn't tell. I did have the extreme pleasure of passing the sarcastic "Good luck" man during the run, and trust me, I wished him some luck himself. Ha.

I had absolutely no idea what pace I was running. At all. Usually I'm really good at feeling out a pace, but I could have been running anywhere from 7 minutes per mile to 15 minutes per mile, and I don't think I would have known the difference. It was too hot to even care. I just wanted to finish. 

And finally, finally I rounded a corner to see a woman ringing a cowbell (the only crowd support on the course besides the Spanish congratulations lady!) and the finish line was in sight. I'd like to say I "kicked it in" but I really didn't, because it was so hot, and also I couldn't feel my legs.

I got my medal, got some water, and said, "Hey, I'm a triathlete!" And then I went to Starbucks and got an iced coffee. 

Here is the breakdown of my results:

Swim (350 m) + T1 - 10:58 

Bike (11 mi) - 42:59 (approx. 17 mph)

T2 - 1:39

Run (3.2 mi) - 25:16 (7:54 per mile)

Total time - 1:20.51

April in Review

I'm definitely a few days late with this post, but oh well, better late than never, right?

Here are the stats:

Swim total: 2,000 meters

Bike: 4.5 hours/43.66 miles

Run total: 56.7 miles

Strength: Didn't keep track this month, but if I had to guess I'd say approx. 2 hours

Race: 5 miler, 35:55, 7:11 per mile average pace

I very obviously slacked way off on the swimming. My regular pool was still closed for renovations the entire month (but it supposedly opens tomorrow), and I only managed to sneak into the local college pool free of charge twice. I swam 1,000 meters each time, hence the 2,000 meter total. I did, however, discover the benefits of evening swimming. Easier to sneak in, hardly anyone else in the pool, and extremely relaxing before bed. Hopefully I'll put it into practice a bit more often this month!

I'm feeling pretty good about my biking for the month of April. I did an hour and 25 minutes more than I did in March, and since I was able to take the bike off the trainer and get outside, I got to track my mileage. I still definitely need to work on the biking, my quad muscles are just not all there yet for the sport. I need to do some 20+ mile rides, and work on my technique on the hills. I better hit the bike path this month!

I was really worried about my running in April, after suffering from some pretty bad shin splints. I took a couple of stretches of 3-5 days of off running completely. But I'm surprisngly happy with my total mileage, after all. I'm less than a mile off of what I ran in March. I attribute that to less "junk miles." Yeah, I took some extra days off, but I only skipped shorter runs, and I made up for it by running longer on other days. My long runs are all on track for my half marathon in June! 

I totally stopped keeping track of my strength training because I was less structured about it in April. Normally it's at least 45 minutes per week in a class at my gym, but I think I only made it to the class once, possibly twice, and the rest of the time I just did some strength and core work at home whenever I had the time/motivation. 

The one race I ran at the beginning of April was a 5-miler, and I "bandited" it. That means I didn't register, or pay, and I ran without a bib. I just veered off the course right before the finish line. The time is what I registered on my Garmin (and yes it did tell me I had gone the full 5 miles when I stopped my watch). If you're wondering why I decided to bandit, there are a few reasons, not the least of which is that I'm cheap frugal. I was iffy about the whole thing because of the shin splints, and I thought it'd be a waste to pay the registration fee only to have to drop out halfway through because I was in pain. Luckily adrenaline kicked in and I was totally fine, and didn't injure myself further. Also, the race was sponsored by (and I think benefited) my company's competitor, but really, that had nothing to do with me not paying the fee...really...honest...

So that's April. Once again, I find myself needing to create more balance. I'm always much further ahead in one aspect than another, and I just need to be more consistent across the board!

Luckily I started May off with a bang...well, with a triathlon, actually. Stay tuned for a race report!

Gone with the wind

I really do not like running when it's super windy outside. Sure, you feel great going in one direction, with the wind at your back, but going the other way it feels like running on the treadmill, because you're practically going nowhere. Only it's worse than running on the treadmill, because the wind is whipping leaves and other crap into your face.

Plus, if you're like me and have a bad haircut, it's nearly impossible to keep some of the strands under control. I never should have listened to the hairdresser when she called me a chicken for never doing anything "different" with my hair. I ended up with some long bangs that I can't do anything with! They're that annoying length that is just the tiniest bit too short to go into my ponytail. I'm thinking of getting a new hairdresser.

But anyway. Today when I went out for my run I stuck a few bobby pins and a thin elastic headband in my hair and hoped for the best. The wind was howling like crazy, and soon my bangs were flopping in my face. I felt the top of my head to make sure the bobby pins were still there, and they were. But the headband wasn't. I hadn't even felt it fly off! Now, granted, it could have been due in part to the fact that I have a giant head, and headbands have never fit me well. (It's true, I really do have a big head...my sisters and one mean boy used to call me bobble head).

I've decided to finally go ahead and order some Bondi Bands. Supposedly, they stay put, and wick sweat away, too, so you don't get any dripping in your eyes. Now I just have to decide which to order...I'm debating between three. Should I order the one that says "I love running; I hate running; I love running; I hate running." Or "Run now...wine later." Or "I run for chocolate." Or all three?

Does anyone have these? Do they work? Are they worth the $8 each?

Sparklies!

This post has NOTHING to do with running or triathlons, except for the fact that I now have something to worry about losing while I'm exercising.

 

That's right, I got ENGAGED on Friday!!!!!!!! (That definitely deserves 8 exclamation points). I've only been waiting for ohhhh 2 years or so. In our typical fashion, darling fiance (as he will henceforth be referred to) and I got engaged in our bathroom. Yes, our bathroom. You see, I was rushing around to get ready for a dinner he told me we were going to with a couple of his friends and their significant others. I was late getting home from work, in a lousy mood, and was in the bathroom straightning my hair and grumbling to myself about not wanting to spend the evening in mixed company. Darling fiance was in the kitchen and I called out to him that I planned on getting tipsy off of wine and initiating a serious conversation about "our future." Which I knew he would know meant I planned to nag him about not being engaged after dating for 3+ years. Well, right after the words were out of my mouth he appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, pulled the ring out from behind his back, and asked me to marry him, thereby eliminating the need for me to nag him all night (I still don't actually know if he had planned on proposing before dinner, or if he decided to do it on the spot then because he didn't want to listen to me complain all night). I spent about a solid minute doing the typical "OMG OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS IS THIS A DREAM OMG ARE YOU FOR REAL?" and squealing and jumping around. And then, we went to dinner (alone) and toasted our future with champagne and lots of food.

So there you have it. Darling fiance has warned me about 20 times already to take the ring off when I'm swimming, biking, or running because he doesn't have it insured yet and I'm notorious for losing things. I once lost a ring (NOT a diamond one) when I was getting ready for bed, and apparently took it off and absentmindedly threw it in the garbage instead of putting it in the jewelry box. Whoops.

That's OK, though. It'd be hard to get used to working out lugging all this extra weight around on my hand, anyway! 

For what it's worth, I do not plan to start using this blog to talk about wedding details. I may start a new, separate blog for that, so stay tuned for the link if you are interested.

P.S. Sorry for the relatively crappy picture. I got my camera stuck on some weird setting and can't figure out how to change it back.

Sneakers? What sneakers?

Yeah...I have what some may consider a "sneaker hoarding" problem. But I KNOW I am not the only one...in fact, I personally know a few people who have a far bigger collection than I do! It's just so hard to get rid of a pair of shoes that has served me so well (and cost me a pretty penny), and that I can use for other things after they're too worn out to run in. 

Pictured: 3 pairs of Asics Gel Cumulus 11s, 1 pair of Newtons, 1 pair of Vasque VST trail shoes, 1 pair of Brooks Defyance, 1 pair of Saucony ProGrid Triumph 5s, and 1 pair of Nike Air Zoom Elites.

Not pictured: 1 pair of Saucony ProGrid Triumphs that mysteriously disappeared one day (but I highly suspect darling boyfriend got ahold of them and threw them in the garbage), 1 pair of Asics Gel Cumulus 10s, also a boyfriend casualty (I got dog poop on them and left them on the stoop until it could dry out enough to flake off, but he thought I meant to throw them away....why would I do that???), and one pair of Sauconys (can't remember the model but they were red and black and made me look like Spiderman) that boyfriend convinced me to put in a shoe donation box.

Love: Asics Gel Cumulus (obviously), Newtons, Vasque VSTs.

Like: Saucony ProGrid Triumphs (but I got a stress fracture wearing my second pair of them so I'll never wear them again - superstition), Nike Air Zoom Elites (but they were a bit too wide for my foot, and also, they are discontinued).

Hate: Brooks Defyance (the inserts felt like they were made of concrete).

Potential uses for worn out sneakers: Cross training, yard work, walking the dog, squashing bugs, wearing with sweats when you need to leave the house unexpectedly, and annoying your boyfriend.

I don't know what I am going to do when our attic* runs out of space!

*I keep my clothes and shoes in the partially finished attic because we don't have enough closet space. Does anyone want to lend me $50,000 for renovations? I'll build a special cubby just for my retired sneakers.

A little lesson on shin splints

The thing about shin splints is...they royally suck. The "scientific" term for shin splints is medial tibial stress syndrome, but you don't really need to know that. All you need to know is that they hurt and they take a long time to heal. Although it feels a lot like the bone hurts, the pain is often caused by inflammation in the connective tissues that attach the muscles to the bone. Got that? 

Now, Google searches and some doctors will tell you that the "simple" (their word, not mine!) remedy for the common runner's ailment is R.I.C.E. That's Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I'd like to add to that, but my acronym will change slightly. It's C.R.I.M.E.S. That stands for Compression, Rest, Motrin, Ice, Elevation, Strength. (They don't necessarily need to be done in that order, but I had to rearrange the letters to make an actual word).

Ask any runner if rest is "simple" and the answer will be a resounding NO! Not simple. Not at all. If my own experience is any indication, what a runner with shin splints will do is take a minimal amount of rest, and then overload on the rest of the recommended remedies in hopes of making up for it. Why rest? Well that one is obvious. Less stress on the shins = healing.

But what about the other suggestions? Well, compression (they make special socks/sleeves for this purpose) can stimulate circulation and support leg muscles and tissues to reduce impact and absorb trauma. Motrin reduces inflammation. Ice also reduces inflammation, and reduces pain. I'm not sure how it works, but apparently an inflamed, irritated muscle or tissue can lead to an accumulation of fluid, and elevating the lower legs to above heart level can reduce that. And finally, strengthening exercises for the calves and ankles can help prevent shin splints in the future, because stronger muscles lead to more stability, and can absorb shock, and reduce trauma.

If you're wondering why in the world I'm blathering on about shin splints, I'll clue you in - I have them. I know, sucks, right?

Here's a comprehensive list of the things I've tried to get rid of the nagging shin pain:

• Rest; first I took 2 days off from running. Yeah, 2 days was all I could mentally handle. Then, when that obviously wasn't enough, I took 5 days off. 5 days seemed to work better than 2. Duh.
• Ice; I tried a few different strategies. First, I plopped old-school lunchbox-style ice packs on my shins after running. When that didn't do much, I put a bunch of ice cubes into Ziploc bags and used those. That worked fairly well. But when I really got frustrated, I gave my shins ice baths. I filled a bucket (I used our mop bucket...shhh don't tell the darling boyfriend, he'd probably be grossed out that I stuck my sweaty, post-run feet into the bucket we use when cleaning our kitchen floor) with water and tons of ice, and soaked my shins for 10 minutes after every run. 
• Compression; never tried it. I spend lots of money on useless things, but calf sleeves isn't one of them.
• Elevation; well, I lay down a lot and sometimes I put my feet up. Does that count?
• Strength; I've read a lot about various strengthening exercises for the calves, and I've implemented some into my daily routine. I spell out the letters of the alphabet with my toes, do calf raises, and walk across the room on my heels, and then my toes.
• Motrin; I've got this one in the bag. Motrin before a long run, motrin after a short run. Ahhh, sweet, sweet relief.

There are other ways to prevent shin splints that are just common sense and don't apply to me. Replace shoes when they get worn out - check! I got new shoes at the first sign of shin pain, even though they only had about 200 miles on them and should not have needed replacing yet. Wear the right type of shoe for your foot and stride - check! I experimented with many, many different brands and models of sneakers before I finally settled on the Aasics Gel Cumulus line, and I went through three pairs with zero problems.

The moral of this story is: You can do everything right, and still get shin splints that you can't get rid of. W.T.F.??