Blisters 2 Bliss

Happy Sunday All!

Over the past week and weekend I've had common questions sent my way with regards to obstacles seen when beginning running and how to fix, solve and or rid the obstacles.

I want to take the time to acknowledge all of you out there who have started running. It can be a daunting process! But lacing up, getting out there and doing it - is the first step. 

Now for the newbie runners, be warned there are some things that can come with the sport that have affected us all at some point or other. I'm going to do my best in this post to share these problems, symptoms, causes, effects and my own remedies for them (please remember I am no doctor and this is my personal opinion). 

Problem: BLISTERS

Symptom: Fluid filled bumps that resemble bubbles on the upper layers of skin

Cause: Rubbing/friction due to shoes and or socks against skin. Other things that can cause the blistering from running can include an increase in pace, running for long periods in damp or wet socks, and an increase in temperature may lead to swelling and increased moisture.

Effect: Temporary pain when running till blister heals. Might disturb running gate or pattern, creating a new realm of issues. If blister splits or opens, infection could follow. 

Remedy: I've always gone a half size up in my running shoes to account for the swelling that takes place. I do recommend when starting to go to a proper running store to buy your shoes and get fitted. Great stores for this include: The Running Room, and Running Free. Before long runs and races I also use BodyGlide (its like a deodorant stick made to put on susceptible areas to prevent chafing) on areas parts that are more prone to blistering (ends of toes, and backs of heels).

Problem: BLACK/PURPLE TOENAILS or NO TOENAIL

Symptom: Toenails are bruised (pooling of blood around or beneath toenail), discoloured! sensitive to touch, can leak fluid, and you may sense a pulsing or throbbing in toe.

Cause: Stubbing it while running. Your shoes may be too tight. Running a lot of downhills can jam toes forward causing more friction against top of shoe, and increased pounding over longer distances.

Effect: Can cause extra sensitivity but generally from those I've spoken to, it's not too painful, and certainly manageable. 

Remedy: Shoes with a larger toe box, BodyGlyde, and if you want to drain the blood you can use a disinfected needle to make a hole but this will not help the problem. Note* A bruised and damaged toenail will in all probability die and fall off after a few weeks to be replaced by a new nail growing beneath.

Thank-you Kevin for showing us your bruised toes after Creemore Vertical Challenge (happened due to snug footwear, and many downhill pounding).

Problem: CHAFING

Symptom: Rash/bleeding/friction burn from rubbing/friction most commonly seen underarms, between thighs and for men typically seen around nipples (sorry guys!).

Cause: Friction of skin on product, and or skin against skin. Can also be caused due to wet or moist clothing irritating the skin.

Effect: Soreness that can get so uncomfortable that you may need to stop and or bite the bullet to continue your run. Bloody nipples cause severe discomfort and slight embarrassment (once again, sorry guys!)

Remedy: BodyGlyde (hopefully many of you now see how valuable this product is and have already decided to go out and buy it tomorrow), petroleum jelly, nip guards, and BandAids. What you wear is also a big element of chafing. Clothes that are made with technical fabrics and are designed to wick away sweat will dry quickly, eliminating moisture and reducing chafing. 

A must have in the toolkit for any runner of any level and ability

Problem: HOT SPOTS

Symptom: Extreme heat (burning pain) in a pocket area of your foot or toes, most commonly found on the ball of the foot.

Cause: Occurs when you're not evenly distributing your weight through your foot, so the ball of your foot takes more of the load during the workout. 

Effect: Modified run pattern, causing lack of technique and symmetry. 

Remedy: Tape the hot spot prior to running. Wear a sock that allows proper ventilation in those areas. Consider new shoes that are properly fitted to suit your own foot pattern.

Problem: UNFAMILIAR BOWEL MOVEMENT

Symptom: Sudden urge to hit a restroom, lot's of stomach movement and/or cramping. Unsure of what will happen if you don't stop. 

Cause: Increase of distance, change in diet, eating too close to a run, overeating, spicy food, and/or trying new fuels and liquids while on route.

Effect: Sore stomach, interruption of run, and discomfort. 

Remedy: Watch/track what you eat and keep a consistency before your long runs. For instance I know my body now and that I need to stay away from sausage/red meat and anything with mild spices at least two days before a long run. 

Problem: BURN OUT

Symptom: Out of breath, exhausted mentally and physically. Drained!

Cause: Going out too fast too soon with a lack of pacing. In a race it can be due to the momentum around you with other runners going so quickly out of the gate. Keep in mind the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare! Slow and steady wins the race!! 

Effect: Lose motivation and enjoyment. Struggle to last on runs, and experience a lack of energy to finish strong on a run/race. 

Remedy: Wear a watch and stick to the pace planned and/or create a pace plan (You may need to play around with this to find one that works for you). Run with a partner and/or at a talking pace. 

Please be sure to consult a doctor if you have any concerns and/or your problems persist.

The Waiting Game

The waiting game is what I'm currently playing right now and what I will continue to do for the next 3 weeks and 3 days.

'What is she talking about?' you may ask, especially if you are a male (sorry for the judgement) and or haven't gone down the pregnancy route before. 

After having a child, 6 weeks is the amount of time that patients must wait before engaging in certain physical activity such as running, sex and higher impact activity. 

The why for this is because internally your body needs to heal after the 9 months and labour it's just been through. Just as my doctor stated, I feel great now, as if I could run but running this soon could cause damage. 

When doing my own research I found the following things that can happen if starting too early:

Abdominal muscle separation can happen during labour, with postpartum exercise too early you can risk abdominal muscle damage...See this link at baby center for more information.

Your adrenal glands have the possibility of being tapped out to empty if exercising too soon, throwing off the healing process of the rest of the body. See Family Education website for more info.

Also at family education website I learned that joints can still be loose post pregnancy like they were during pregnancy causing greater chance of injuring yourself. 

I'm sure there is many other things that could happen too and from other running moms that I've spoken too they have all warned me not too run too early due to internal damage so I'm going to follow their advice and wait to get my run on till I hit my 6 weeks and see my dr for my post partum checkup. Better safe than sorry, I want to run for the remainder of my life and I don't want to ruin that by starting too soon.

Some wise words that I have heard from my mom, my friend Delynn and other wise women in my own words is, The body takes 9 months to nurture and create a baby, it takes another 9 months for the body to fully get back too normal.

What I will do that is safe, approved exercise prior to running:

• Walking daily with my daughter Iyla and boxer dog Kaiser daily
• I will start my weight program beginning next week, using Iyla with some of the exercises (a post will follow on how she is involved) 
• Eliptical
• Stretching
• Kegels too

This was our first walk on June 26th

The Spectator

Over the weekend I found myself as 'The Spectator' as my husband ran 'The Creemore Vertical Challenge' 25k. It's not like I haven't watched him run his races before but what was new this time was that our daughter Iyla joined me on the sidelines.

I'm a whole new type of Spector now. One that needs to take care of our bundle of joy, let my body heal and be that support system for my hubby.To be honest in the past I haven't been the best 'Spectator' because I like being involved in the action at hand.

Creemore is where Kevin and I started our trail racing last year. Before learning of our pregnancy my goal was to do my first ultra this year at it. The ultra would've been a 50k distance. At Creemore it means doing the 25k route twice. 2014 is when I will now make this goal happen.

With Iyla now being two weeks old and breastfed it was a full on planning and process to prepare for this trip to watch Kev race. We are on a pretty consistent feeding schedule and she's taken to it quite well and we didn't want to mess it up. One car stop in a parking lot, after being bottle fed, to burp Iyla and one more at Tim Horton's to wake us up before we arrived. Kev got his bib and loot and thanks to Iyla's stroller and me spectating we could put whatever things Kev didn't want for racing on the stroller...no bag checks!!! Another big win was the fact that I could take race photos for our memories and we didn't have to rely on others doing so.

My 10k MARATHON

Race: Shoppers Drug Mart Run For Women

Website: Run for Women

When: Saturday, June 22nd, 2013 

Distance: 10k, 5k or Girls 1k (12 & under)

Cost: $60-$70

Aid Stations: 3 water stations

Start Time: 10k 8:30am

Race Kit: Event t-shirt, granola bar, fruit flavoured water

Race Awards: Finishers bracelet

Winning Womens Time: 41mins by Nathalie Vigeant

My time: 51min 05 seconds

My placement: 22nd out of 303 runners

Pace: 5min 07 seconds per km

Pre-Race:

I registered for this race very last minute, the day before. Fortunately for me there was no limit with the amount of those racing. I took this last minute route because of my ever approaching pregnancy due date. Feeling really good the day before I went to Unionville's Running Room to register because the online registration was closed. 

My mom, dog (Kaiser), husband Kevin and I arrived at the race 45minutes early. Unionville is a quaint community with beautiful shops on their main street and we took advantage of this time by enjoying a nice drink just outside Starbucks. 

Race Play by Play:

Right before the start of the race the sun came out just as women started to line up. No one seemed in a rush to begin and or line up so I got a great spot up front. Its not often I find myself at the very front of the start line, quite weird and motivating for the future. 

Once the gun went, we were all off. I started off at an 8min/mile pace to begin with lot's of adrenaline running through me. The course was beautiful as it took twists and turns through trails and many trees. Runners were quite chatty and supportive on route, I was given much cheering from women who noticed my pregnancy and even more cheering from those that I passed during the race. 

During the race my body felt better than ever and I feel this was probably a result of being on maternity leave for a week hence not on my feet as much. I felt I could run even faster than I was going but didn't want to push it. The only thing I found difficult was in knowing where I was on the course. There were km markers but they didn't go in order so the only way I knew how far I had gone was thanks to my trusty Forerunner Garmin watch. 

During the last km Kevin jumped into the race with me to see how I was doing. This gave me an extra boost to finish strong and to keep up my pace. In the last 400m I passed my mom with Kaiser who wanted to jump into the run with me, unfortunately dogs aren't allowed in this race. Through the finish I went and I came in at 51mins, a pregnancy personal best for my 10k. As soon as I finished the rain started and we decided to take off to get ready for my nephew, Kai's first birthday. At the birthday my body felt sore like it normally does after running 10k's while pregnant. I was happy to relax the rest of the day. 

Fast forward 11.5 hours after the 10k and my race started back up!!! Kevin and I were at home watching a movie when what I thought were Braxton Hicks started. I was excited to experience them because I hadn't up to that point and thought in that moment our daughter might actually come on her due date of July 4th. Then what I thought were Braxton Hicks began happening every 4-5minutes...Meaning these were no braxton hicks BUT actual contractions! Kevin and I hit the road for the hospital for 10pm. 

At the hospital we learned that I was 3 cm dilated and it could still be a few days, the nurse said I hadn't dropped yet either so I had the option to walk around at the hospital and hang out for a few hours and they would check me again and or go home to try to get some sleep till contractions were at the point I couldn't handle them. Because I was feeling good during the contractions and could talk, Kev and I went home after stopping at Shoppers Drug Mart on the way to buy some gravol and extra strength tylenol. Earlier in the day my sisters friends had given me some tips from their midwives/natural deliveries of taking 2 gravol and 2 extra strength tylenol during the early stage of contractions to help sleep through them. Kev ran into Shoppers while I decided to walk around outside the car. In that short time period I started having contractions only 1-2mins apart and too difficult for me to handle on my feet that I had to sit back down. 

We decided to still head home and try to sleep, between the shaking post contractions and the contractions I got NO SLEEP. Kev tried to comfort me and could between contractions but once they started I did not want to be touched and we decided to head back to the hospital. 

Now it was 1am! I was told I was 3.5cm dilated and that my cervix had thinned and I was staying at the hospital. 3.5 THAT'S ALL....In my head I couldn't fathom that. They felt 100x worse than they did a few hours earlier. I was now "hitting the wall"  and not sure if I could have the natural birth (no drugs)  that I desired. I let Kev know how I was feeling and that I was thinking I might need an epidural. At this point we were in a waiting area/exam room and I was off the monitors so that I could move or walk around as desired during contractions. I couldn't walk as planned and although I was taking the contractions one at a time I finally decided I wanted the epidural. Kev went to let the nurse know and in the meantime I had a contraction so bad I had to push...It just happened naturally. The nurse came to speak to me and prep me for the epidural when I told her to stop because I would have to push for a contraction that was coming. She told me I shouldn't be pushing and did a quick check and realized that I was not only crowning but I was now fully dilated and there was no time for an epidural. 

Kev wasn't back yet from hitting up the restroom and came back to an empty room while I had been rushed into a delivery room with 5 nurses and no doctor. As they were prepping me to push Kev came running in and they put him to work right away too. So much for my stomach needing to drop! This baby girl wanted out. The pushing actually felt so much better than the contractions and I felt as if I was able to get to an end goal and my "Hitting the Wall" was over! Around 5 contractions later we welcomed IYLA SKYE into our world. She was 7.2 lbs and healthy! 

Running Pregnant Questions Answered

Hey everyone!

It's been a while since I've really spoken to my experiences running while pregnant. Now at 38 weeks, I have safely reached full-term and have two weeks left until the ever closer due date. I've been asked many questions along the way that I hope I can clarify, touch upon, or answer for you in this post.

1. Does your stomach move around a lot when running? 

To be honest I don't even notice my stomach while running. It moves with my body the way it always has and I don't feel it swaying any which way. One thing that I have noticed is that prior to pregnancy my stomach, despite hot weather, would still be cool to the touch. However now, my stomach is always warm when I touch it.

2. Do you feel your baby move when running?

I have felt the baby move once during a run and that was during the 'Chilly Half Marathon' I did back in the winter. At that point in the run I was hungry and in need of replenishment. As soon as I took my gel I felt great and the baby was quiet again. I honestly think running soothes her to sleep, hence why I don't feel her when running.  I do however feel her when I go on walks.

3. Do you wear a belly band/belt for motion control while running?

My sister actually gave me a band/belt around week 28. She is very active in her job of coaching and doing choreography for figure skaters. She mentioned that she needed to wear the band/belt during the last few weeks of pregnancy and thought that I also might need it. I haven't had to use it yet because I feel quite comfortable and my stomach hasn't dropped...I might need to use it when or if my stomach drops for more support. I'm grateful I have the option. 

4. Do you have to pee constantly when running? How often do you have to stop?

I've been very fortunate in this area, while I have many close friends who do need to stop constantly to release the pressure they feel. I can run on average about 10km before I need to stop. Most of the time if I'm doing a 10k loop I make sure to have a portaloo (I know pretty gross but if you gotta go you gotta go) somewhere on route just in case. In my neighbourhood I'm lucky because the majority of parks in Richmond Hill do have portaloos on site.

Boston Marathon 2013

BOSTON MARATHON 2013

By: Kevin Souter (My husband)

Well now that the dust has settled, the emotions are in check and the legs and body have had enough time to rest and recuperate...it’s finally time to put to print ‘MY’ 2013 Boston Marathon experience.

First let me preface this by saying that it is no easy feat to 1. Exceed the qualifying times for Boston, and 2. Get accepted. Part 2 is more of a fingers crossed kind of feat, but another obstacle nonetheless. My story began last year at the 2012 Toronto Goodlife Marathon. My Goal was to run a 3:00hr marathon (couldn’t get a 3:05hr Training Plan - but hey...what’s another 5mins!!). My Boston Qualifying Time was 3:05hrs or less for the 25-29 years old age group. Training began well and remained on track. There were times where I’d substitute/skip a run based on schedule, and other days when I’d run with Calea and Kaiser enjoying some quality family time. Then with one month to go I began developing some strange and serious pains in my knee. I can only explain it as patella tendonitis without having had it professionally examined. My training then took a back seat to rest. With the run looming, I had created some varying goals: a) Complete the marathon, b) Run a personal best (PB 3:27hrs), c) Dig deep and get under the 3:05 Qualification.

Without going into too much detail, I was able to pull together all my mental resources and previous training to cross the finish line in 3:04.32hrs! The last 6-10 miles were agony. Thankfully, on the last mile with my energy truly waning, from the crowd jumped Calea to speed me up, push me on, and re-inspire me in a time of need. BOSTON here we come!!!

The build-up to Boston was like no other. I felt like a privileged and professional competitor awaiting important information and documents in the mail. All of which was needed at an extremely well run and efficient Packet Pick-Up and Expo.

Several events occurred over the weekend as runners, families and spectators descended on the city of Boston. The energy around the city was incredible amidst a sea of blue and yellow.

Sporting Life 10k 2013

SPORTING LIFE 10k TORONTO

Supporting Camp Oochigeas

Pre-Race: What you need to know is that 2 of my best friends that I grew up with from Chatham (Lindsay and Delynn) decided to run their first ever 10k THIS RACE. Let me also tell you that neither one of them had ever done a race prior to this and to be quite frank they did not share the same passion or enthusiasm for running as me before this point. They both had to start from scratch and I mean bare bones! 

The training they did prior to this was a combination of programs they found online that involved treadmill walk/run schedules that didn't truly set them up. For example one had my friend going at such a fast pace during her run she couldn't maintain it for more than 10mins. I was fortunate enough to see Delynns training schedule about a month prior to the race when her and her husband joined Kev and I in Cabo. This gave me a chance to help her adjust to the road from the treadmill and lengthen her time running vs. walking. The strides she made in our week vacation were huge and I knew if she continued on she would be set.  She learned during this vacation how to pace herself.

Lindsay was a bit different case because years ago she used to come with me on jogs and I knew she wouldn't have a problem with the distance. The problem (no problem at the end of the day) was in her head and believing in herself and her ability. She would have to tackle that gremlin on the day of and I knew her nerves would be high.