When I think back to the worst parts about being a pre-teen/teenager, gym class and the dreaded mile run would be at the top of my list. I would do everything in my power to cheat (running REALLY slow during the 9 minute run so that I only had to do two laps instead of three), or to skip out on it altogether (your gym teacher didn’t want the awkward argument when a 13 year-old girl said ‘she wasn’t feeling that well’ that week) . My asthma had a lot to do with it, but I didn’t like it in general. Though, I did envy the girls who could go out there, run a 7-minute mile, and not spend the rest of 7th and 8th period with a beet red face. It wasn’t until I got to college and lost a little bit of the weight without evening trying/changing any habits (the constant uphill walk to the business school will do that to you), that I decided to step foot on the track at our campus workout facility. I’m not saying I was running miles and miles at a time, but half a mile here, a mile there, and slowly I wasn’t dreading it anymore. Once I made up my mind to change my bad habits (read here), I was able to run further and begin actually enjoying going for a run around campus. It became a wonderful way to relieve some stress before a big exam or just enjoy how gorgeous the IU Campus was.
It was a coincidence that Bryan found his love for running in college too. During Thanksgiving breaks, we started signing up for the annual Bonfield Express 5K Turkey Trot. Jim Bonfield was a teacher, coach, and dean of Downers Grove South High School and passed away in 2003 due to complications with Hodgkins Disease. The Bonfield Foundation was started in his honor and the foundation works to support and build character and community commitment in high school students in the area. The annual Bonfield Express 5K is a very special event that we look forward to every year. Being able to support our community is another reason we began to fall in love with running.
Most recently, Bryan decided he wanted to push himself and set the bar a bit higher. He will be running his first 10 Miler in April and has been training for a few weeks already. He discovered the Hal Higdon Training Program and what I find interesting about this program is that there is a Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced schedule for any race distance: 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K/10Miler, Half Marathon, and Full Marathon. It provides a healthy way to gradually introduce running distance to the newest beginner yet a challenge for those who have been running distance for years. I am so incredibly proud of his dedication to the training schedule (and even more impressed he’s been running OUTSIDE in January and February). The schedule includes weight training, stretching/strengthening, and a rest day and he has taken each part of this as serious as the run days.
We’re optimistic he won’t need this cold weather gear much longer. š
In some ways, I have admittedly been pretty jealous of the hubs when he goes on his long runs. For about a year now, my long runs have been very sporadic. I found myself struggling to climb stairs, run, and sometimes even get up and down from a sitting position without some killer pain in my knees. In September, I finally decided to get some x-rays and learned that my knee caps are basically not where they are supposed to be- aka all of the cartilage in my knees is not protected by the knee cap. I was instructed to work on strengthening the muscles on the insides and outsides of my legs to try and pull my kneecaps back into place. From what I can tell, it’s made a difference but I still have really bad days and somewhat good days. Without surgery one day, I don’t think I will ever be able to train for a run that’s much longer than a 5K which gets discouraging. Though,I try and remind myself why I love running to begin with and that I can still feel as good after 2-4 miles as I would after 6-10.
In addition to strengthening exercises, the only other thing that has allowed me to be as active as I am is Kinesiology Tape (or KT Tape). This tape is used by professional athletes and Olympians to basically provide an additional layer of support for sore muscles, ligaments, and tendons. You can leave it on for days at a time and withstands sweat and water. I have noticed this tape provides DAYS of support even after I remove it. It’s literally like a second skin. For runner’s knee, I wear half a piece straight across each knee just under the kneecap, and anchor it with two additional pieces crisscrossed over it and adhered to my mid-thigh down to the top of my shin. If you have any ache or pain related to fitness activity I HIGHLY recommend purchasing some KT Tape. It works really well for elbows, shoulders, lower back, and knees and I love that each package comes with instructions on how to apply the tape for each kind of ache or pain. You can purchase the tape right on the KT Tape website or through my Amazon link below.
Needless to say my relationship with running has been an interesting one. I’ve learned to listen to my body and not overwork myself when my knees are telling me not to. Bryan’s dedication to stretching and strengthening in addition to those long runs has been a huge eye-opener because this allows him to push himself a little further each day. I’m hopeful that with a few more months of strengthening exercises, icing, and continually wearing my KT Tape to support my knees, that I can get back to more of a routine, especially as the weather gets nicer! For now, I’ll enjoy watching Bryan’s progress as he continues to train for his 10-miler and hopefully I can join him in a few shorter distance races later in the year. I cannot wait to watch him accomplish his goal and cross the finish line in April!