Fitness

Last summer, I started walking.   Then wogging.  Finally jogging/running.   I relished my cool morning workouts. 

Then summer was over and I had to shift my jogging to the 4PM heat and humidity.  It was almost unbearable, but I made it.   Then winter arrived and I had to deal with a host of new issues ----  never been an exerciser, let alone one who ran in the ice and snow, so how do you keep your glasses from fogging up or avoid bronchitis in the cold????    Made it through that too. 

This summer (up until yesterday's close), I taught summer academy but did not have to be there so early as with regular school, so I was able to return to my morning workouts.  HALLELUJAH  ---   I had forgotten how incredible cool, peaceful, and invigorating it is to run in the early morning hours.  It's as if my dog and I are the only living beings.....   I love it. 

My body clock is pretty good at waking me up and I try very hard to just make it happen every day --- for me to be done with my workout in the cooler weather and because my dog needs the exercise, but my friend Tamar who lives in a VERY HOT climate is having a hard time getting up to run. 

How do you make it happen for yourself?  How do you get up and get going???????

Other deep thoughts that cross my mind in the morning.......... 

1) my knees are  beginning to be an issue even with new shoes, stretching, ibuprofen, etc,   anyone here an OT or sports medicine guru?   I know I supinate/walk on the outsides of my feet and that is why my knees hurt ---from being torqued too hard side to side, so what do I do to strengthen whatever quad/ham muscles to stop/help my knees?   
  
2)am I the only person stricken at times with almost emergency bathroom situations while jogging before "voiding"?   
   
3) anyone find now the mp3 player that first motivated you to keep going is now just a distraction from the road and your pace?
      
4) what about runner's etiquette ???  -- I always get out of oncoming car paths -- even if it means running across the road or getting my running shoes wet/dirty, but still the people in this town are hateful.    

5) what about this --- the same routes I have been running (I have a range of 2-5 miles mapped out) are getting too easy/too short/I feel like I could run more, but I like to do a loop, you know?  start at my house, make 4 turns, I am home.  do I just try to pick up my speed (yuck) or do I do two trips?

This is long, but I hope to hear lots of good advice and get a support group going for all us early morning slaves of the shoe!   Are you out there?????

mkculs, I hope you'll heal fast and be back on the road soon. :(

manta, good ideas...thanks!

Bad run today littered with walk breaks. I hate talking walk breaks, but my body just wasn't having it. Oh well, back on the horse and onward I'll go.

Hope everyone is doing okay!

Thanks for all the concern; the ice worked wonders and the pain is gone. I even played soccer again today, the first time in about 6 weeks. What a joy!! All my hard work--and the HILLS--have really paid off.  I played in 5 minute segments (indoor soccer is incredibly fast!!) and felt/feel GREAT!! I started in goal, which I like and am good at but don't like to do too much b/c then I miss out on the sprinting, and played 14 minutes there, but the rest (two 25 minute halves) was in the segments and I never felt sore or tired or pained--winded, YEP, but not too bad. I only had to lean over and suck wind toward the end of the game. Of course, the proof will be in how I feel tomorrow, but some IB (ibuprofen) should help a lot; I take it before and after games, when I'm restarting after a lay off, and it really does help. I won't need it after a few weeks back to 2x/week (Sundays will be 90 minute outdoor games and we usually don't have many subs, so it is quite the workout. The last time, I burned 990 cals and played goalie for about one quarter!!)

Goddess, do you mean your new shoes aren't exactly what you need? That's disappointing, although it's great that you are really getting a sense of what you want/need. Remember to progress slowly!!

Manta, did you say you went from 1 minute of running to long distance in one year? Did you stick to the 10% increase/week rule? That's pretty impressive!! Were you actively losing weight most of the time? Are you maintaining now? Do you take rest periods--a week or two, every so often? I'm thrilled for you but also concerned about long-term, stress related injuries. Ligaments and tendons (esp. the ligaments) get injured slowly and you don't know until it is too late. They are a BIT(H to heal b/c of slower blood flow, but you probably know about that.

I'm really inspired by everyone here. I am not getting many morning runs in, but I'm hoping to carve out 1-2 days a week just for those. Probably not EARLY morning, either, during the school year, but we'll see :) It was rather fortunate that my injury occurred this week, my week of staff meetings, b/c it forced me to slow down (well, until tonight!!) and take good care of myself in a time of craziness. I did a couple of walks, one long and really brisk one yesterday, and it has all felt good. Trusting to continued good health!

Happy trails, ladies!

glad to hear you are feeling better mkculs. 

I saw the strangest thing this morning on my run, a truck driving down the road with a confederate flag in the back window.  Not that in and of itself couldn't really be that strange, but remember, I live in Australia!  Why in the world would some suburban Australian want to have a confederate flag in their window?  It just boggled my mind and I spent the better part of my 5 miles trying to work out who would want to do that here in Oz... I guess Aussies can be a strange bunch, granted they same the same about us yanks (as they call us)

mkculs, yes I went from not being able to run for more than a few minutes strait to the distances I am going now in less than a year.  I did the couch to 5K program which I started in November of last year and competed at the end of January at which point I was running ~5K's every other day (So, with C25K I started out with walking/running intervals until after 8 weeks I was up to running ~3 miles straight, and I followed this program every other day).  Then I slowly increased to the distances I am doing now, with adding in a extra running day.  So basically I went from doing ~12miles/week to ~30 miles/week over the course of 7-8 months, which is not really unreasonable.  THere were plenty of breaks in there (went on holidays in March where I wasn't running consistently over the 3 weeks) and have mostly followed an increase for 4 weeks and then back off for a week before increasing again.  If you do the calculations, you will see that the increase has been averaged less than 10% per week.  In general I usually try to increase by maybe 1 mile/week (although in the last month or so, I have sometimes done up to 2 miles/week increase, but that is still less than 10% increase).  Thanks for the concern, but my increases have really not been unreasonable when you do the calculations, just may seem so when you.  I actually just had a major back down week a few weeks ago and now I am on the last week push before tapering for the half marathon I am running in a few weeks.  I will actually be having a week off instead of one of my tapering weeks because we are going on holidays to Vanuatu and I will be diving most of the days we are there.  Pre-baby, I was actually very active, even did some running, but never serious like now, it was just that I got quite lazy after having my daughter and took almost 2 years to get me motivated again. 

As for weight loss, in the begining I started C25K to lose weight, I was carrying about 20-25 extra lbs from my pregnancy, plus about 10 more that had crept up on my with the traveling and move overseas.  So between Nov and March I lost about 20-25 lbs with some effort, and then stopped actively trying.  However, the weight has just kept dropping off (and believe me, I eat!), I feel like I am constantly eating these days.  I have gone from a starting weight of ~167 lbs to ~129lbs (I don't weigh myself regularly, I have a scale addiction/phobia/obsession, but was 129/130 last time I weighed in a few weeks ago).  I am 5'4", so I am at a healthy weight, but could lose more and still be in a healthy range.  I stopped counting calories around March also, but figure I eat around 2000+/day, more on long run days.  I am at a point where I am probably very close to where I will naturally maintain, my goal with weight loss this time around is to be able to just follow my instincts with food and not obsess over numbers either on the scale or with my calorie intake.  Oh and I went from a size 14/16 to a 6/8 in clothes

So, I guess after all my rambling, long story short, thanks for the concern/advice, but I am pretty good about listening to my body and give it the breaks it needs.  Plus, after the half marathon, I will be cutting back on my weekly distance and just take it easy for a few months, probably until after Christmas, when I will ramp up training for some event (thinking of maybe a triathalon sometime late next year, but need to work on the swimming bit, and just because I am thinking about it, doesn't mean it will happen!).

Have a good weekend girls!

no worries goddess. we all have those days when your body just doesn't want to run. keep at it! you're next run will be better!

mkculs - i'm glad to hear that you are feeling better. your meetings couldn't have come at a better time. It was a great time for you to recover. indoor soccer - that is awesome. you definitely need stamina and endurance for that! that sounds like a lot of fun and a hell of a workout! how long have you been playing?

manta - it sounds like you have had a great year as far as running. 25lbs is a lot of weight to lose. great job! i think that 10% mileage increase is a good rule of thumb, but we all know our bodies and their limitations. there is nothing wrong with going a little over that number or under if it is what your body can handle. way to shoot for a tri! i hope you achieve it. i would really like to train for one, but we have no open water here for me to practice swimming...and i am not very coordinated on a bike!

speaking of bikes - my fiance talked to an older guy at work the other day and i guess this guy was a very avid runner. He has had 2 hip replacements throughout his running career and no longer runs. it freaked my fiance out and suggested that i take up biking instead. it was very endearing to see him so concerned about me. but i reminded him about my history with the 2 wheeled monster and told him i couldn't. i love running. i just have to keep doing what i am doing; increase slowly, take my vitamins, drink my milk, eat right, strength train and listen to my body and hopefully it will all workout.

it has been tough to get up in the mornings though. i have logged only 1 morning run this week because i have been going to bed so late (12:00am or so). yesterday i was able to do some speed work at the gym and then i did yoga for my p90x workout. i love yoga! i felt so relaxed afterwards. it is a tough workout, but somehow your body just feels so loose. today i am running after work and then we have our leg workout (P90x). tomorrow will be my long run of 14miles. if i can get my miles in for today and tomorrow, that will give me 37 for the week. 3 shy of the 40 i wanted, but i am cutting myself a little slack since i am doing extra workouts. hopefully next week i can hit 40.

i planned my running schedule for next week and i was so excited because i managed to tweak it so i have 1 less day of running (so i have more recovery time) but i still get all my miles in for the week, i can do my p90x and i can keep my 80/20%. i only had to add a little more mileage per day. it was beautiful! i was so proud....like i had invented the light bulb. i told my fiance about it. he said "that's great! as long as running doesn't include me." (in the background i could hear that trumpet they play on the price is right when someone loses) i know he didn't mean it in a bad way, he just doesn't understand running.

 i agree with mkculs: everyone here is inspirational. it helps to have runners to chat with. Only runners can understand runners. happy running everyone! have a great labor day weekend!

Original Post by manta515:

I saw the strangest thing this morning on my run, a truck driving down the road with a confederate flag in the back window.  Not that in and of itself couldn't really be that strange, but remember, I live in Australia!  Why in the world would some suburban Australian want to have a confederate flag in their window?  It just boggled my mind and I spent the better part of my 5 miles trying to work out who would want to do that here in Oz... I guess Aussies can be a strange bunch, granted they same the same about us yanks (as they call us)

Apparently, some people think it just means, "Rebel" not "Confederate Rebel." Yikes, even in Australia, though; creepy!!

Manta, I thought you were running a lot more than that! Sounds like you have been very careful; good for you on that and all counts!!

mkculs, yay!!! Glad you're okay and still hoppin'. :)

The shoes are fine for now, but I definitely won't be staying with the Kayano series next time around. My left foot is neutral/underpronates and my right foot tends to supinate and THEN overpronate more as I try to kick up. It's really weird - I feel like I stole two people's feet! I tend to not use the heel of my foot at all, so I don't need all of this ridiculous heel cushioning unless I'm walking. I'll look around...besides, I find it fun, haha.

manta, haha! I have said it before: I love Aussies because they're a little loopy.

That also makes me feel better...I'm currently a tight 14 and a comfortable 16 and I'm hoping and PRAYING I'll get into a 14 in the next two months.

khooder, thanks! I ran a mile today after my bike ride and I made a PR of 11:02. For a 194 lb. woman, I'd like to think that's not too shabby. I also got quasi-hit on and I got a few stares from people who don't understand why runners run. To cut it short, it was better!

Oh, and don't call me a dork but I left my water bottle on the side and ran without it for the first time ever. I thought it felt weird but it definitely freed up my arms. I also picked it up and threw it on the sidewalk like a true runner! I felt awesome.

Hold on, I've heard so much about p90x. What's it like? Does it work? Hope to hear more about your progress. :]

"Only runners understand runners" - YES! People don't understand why I leave (or try to leave) it all on the road 3-4x/week. At least I don't have to explain it to you guys!

I've spoken enough! Have a great run if you're running tonight or tomorrow morning and I hope to hear more good news soon.

I finally reached 13 miles on todays run for the first time ever... and let me tell you, the last two miles were a killer, the last mile, for the first time in a very very long time I was tempted to stop, but since I knew I only had a mile left, I pushed and did it! And I kept a decent training pace of a little under 6 mph! 

goddess... yep, my two feet are slighlty different when I run too.  One totally supinates and then supinated some more especially when my foot is getting tired... its like I am totally just running on the outside of my right foot, the left foot is a bit more neutral with only a slight underpronation.  Keep trying with the shoes, you will find one that works.  Oh and btw... FANTASTIC job on the weight loss so far, you have totally said goodbye to the 200's!  I recall you were struggling a bit to get under the 200 mark and look at you now, almost to the 180's!  You'll be catching up to me before you know it!

Khooder... I have actually lost 38 lbs total... but who is counting (hehe).  Like I said, it really has just kind of fallen off, the first 20 or so I worked at, but the rest just seems to have melted away.  My hubby made a comment on my loose skin today, and I freaked and said wear?  He pointed out the skin on my upper arms (bat wings) are SLIGHTLY loose, I have never had bat wings... even more incentive to get back into consistent strength training!  It really sucks being a pear, my bones stick out up top now, but the fat in my tummy, butt and thights just won't budge!  I am still only really toying with the tri idea right now.  Unfortunately, we just got some bad news that the owner of the place we live in is planning on selling which means we are going to have to move.  This wouldn't be too bad, but the housing market here is a bit of a mess atm, which has driven rents up ridiculously, so we may not be able to stay living in the beaches :(  We are thinking of heading closer to where I work, which is a bit inland, but we would be able to get a much bigger place with a yard, which would be nice for my 2.5 year old.  I am just so bummed about the prospect of no more morning runs by the water!  So, if we DO move out of the beaches I wouldn't have the option of early morning training swims, which would ptu a bit of a damper on the tri training.  Oh well, we will cross that bridge when it comes I guess.  We have at least a couple of months to find somewhere. 

mkculs...  I WISH I was running more, I struggle to get the mileage in that I do, and like I said, I am going to have to cut it back after the half.  A full time job, a 2.5 year old, and a hubby who works late means there isn't much time to actually get runs in, which is why I started the early morning running thing.  Fortunately, I LIKE early morning runs for the most part.  I would actually LOVE to train for a marathon next year, but there is no way I have the time to put in the long runs needed for the training, I barely can get in the 2 hr half marathon training runs!

Oh, and one more positive, it was actually quite nice today when I did my long run, I wore only a sleeveless shirt and capri length tights.  Spring is almost here!!!

Would we be better off moving to a "Group"? I would set it up if need be.

Olivia77, join the teachers group, ok? And anyone else here who is a teacher. Let me know if you need info on how to join.

 

goddess - 11:02 is not bad at all! good job. nice work with the water bottle! hee hee.

P90X...it is a pretty intense workout regimen. it requires quite a bit of stamina. it is an hour workout 6 days a week. you alternate between weight training for different muscle groups and cardio training. right now we do Mon: chest/back/abs; tue: plyometrics; wed:shoulders/arms/abs; thur: yoga; friday:legs/abs; saturday: kempo and then after 3 weeks it changes. you never really get used to any one workout. it is definitely one of those "miracle" workout videos that promises the world in 20 minutes. you work hard. but i think that is the ticket. in 2 weeks i have noticed a difference. my arms, back, claves, abs have a little more definition. i can also do a few more push ups than i could 2 weeks ago. i think it helps that i am still running. but i really like it so far. however, yesterday i did not feel like doing it at all. i was very tired but my fiance pushed me to do it, and i felt great afterward. i am not looking to lose too much more weight. maybe 5-10 lbs max. i want to build more lean muscle to get more definition and get stronger so i will hopefully be less prone to injury while running. i am looking forward to see what the outcome is after 90 days.

manta - 38lbs! that is awesome. what a bummer that you have to move. i hope you dont have to go too far from the water. that would be a bummer for your training. i know what you mean about having areas where it is hard to lose weight. i hold a lot in my mid section. running seems to be the only thing that gives me results. but it is the last place where i notice a difference. i am having a hard time losing my last 10lbs. hopefully the added workouts will help me get there. strength training should help you tighten up your arms! good luck finding a new place.

good running everyone!

khooder: what is the maintenance for p90x? I have seen the infomercials. It does look intense.

I have been following New Rules for Weightlifting for Women. It is also kind of intense but not 6 days per week. I have found it really helpful for upper body strength. I am moving to stage 2.

I am also trying to avoid injury so I can run. I usually only run every other day and only on trails. this week I ran 5 days but still on trails.  I broke my tibia two years ago.

My goal is a marathon next spring which I can probably do now but my trainer husband wants me to train some more before tackling it. However, yesterday he and I were talking and he thinks that a road race is the wrong race for me and I agree - I run faster on trails and once we get on the roads (or road like trails) I slow down. You can see it on the Garmin data that I collect while I run.  So, we are looking at 30K / 50K trail races. 

Ultimately I would like to do ultra marathons. I don't know if it is possible yet but I think I have the right mind set.  I have been on some long runs that are hard and my mind set - it is just one foot in front of the other...

Today, I am wearing pants, with shirt tucked in that I have never worn. I cleaned out my closets the other day and 1/2 my jeans were thrown out and I was trying on shirts, dresses, skirts, etc that I used to love and now they look terrible. But I feel a sense of loss sometines.

cawilder - sorry i am a little slow today. i am not sure what you mean by maintenance for p90x. do you mean like maintenance needed to do the program? it actually comes with a fitness test that you have to do before starting it and it lays out the minimums that you should be able to do in order to benefit from the program. i guess anyone can do it, but someone that is really out of shape will have a hard time and not get the most out of it because they will have to take continuous breaks. even the weight training is a form of cardio. the most you rest between exercises is about 10-15 seconds. it kind of resembles circuit training. if you are in decent shape, an athlete, or used to workout, it should be fine. since you are a runner, i think you have the stamina and lung capacity to deal with the workout. please let me know if i am totally off base with what you wanted to know.

that is great that you are working on your upper body. i have a very weak upper body so p90x is definitely helping me.

i think that is awesome that you want to do 30 and 50ks! . i would love to do an ultra. but i think i need to get a few marathons under my belt first. hee, hee.

wow, I had a crappy run this morning.  I think it started because I didn't want to get out of bed, plus today was speed training day, which is always my least favorite run (although I do like the fact that it is over quicker than other days!).  Finally, I was having intestinal problems from the moment I woke up (probably tmi, sorry!),  Oh, and my legs have felt weak this entire week from doing the 13 miles on Sunday (Is that normal?).  They haven't felt like this after doing 10 or even 12 miles, but that 13 mile run seems to have taken a lot out of me or something.  Its mostly my lower quads that are feeling weak, and it almost feels like its making my knees unstable, have any of you had this?  Not sure if I am describing it right, but it feels like if I twist or turn in the wrong way, my whole leg might just give out, there is no pain at all, it just feels weak. 

Anyway, I decided on hill repeats this morning, but stopped at 4 repeats (have been doing 5 or 6 lately).  I was feeling weak and a bit nauseous so I called it a morning.  Its probably a good thing I am off on vacation on Sunday, I just hope I am not coming down with something because that would suck to be heading off on vacation while being sick!

 

Khooder, yep, I feel your pain, plus add a baby pooch onto the fact that I hold onto weight in my hips, thighs and butt, and you have a distaterous bottom half!   Seems that my tummy has permanently stretched from having a baby (maybe because I didn't lose the weight right away?  Who knows.  But I have this little rounded pooch that is just SO ANNOYING.  I never had this before, I guess its all part of the joys of having children! Although I DO get annoyed that some women don't seem to have any tummy issues after having kids, just seems unfair, and lets not get started with the stretch mark map I have on my tummy now too.  Running has really helped with slimming my bottom half though, more than anything else I have ever done, and as I said, the weight just seems to be falling off.  Just when I think I have a piece of clothing that fits great, it starts getting big on me.  I now own two pair of size 10 jeans that I bought while I was in the states in March that I can pull down without even unbuttoning.... it can be quite annoying... in a good way though.  I have no idea what size I would be in the states anymore... probably a 6 or 8, but they size things differently here in Australia, so I wear a bigger size number here than I would in the states (talk about psychologically annoying!). 

Will do an easy run tomorrow morning and then debating whether or not to try and get a longer run in on Sunday morning before we head out on holidays.  Will just have to see how I feel and how ready I am for the trip I guess.

Hi fellow runners!!

I haven't posted in a long time. I've been busy and running out the door to work after my morning run.

I've had a bit of set backs for the past couple of weeks. I am still running 3 times a week, but I started to get shin splints. I am not sure why this is happening. I was reading in a book that there can be many reasons why shin splints happen. However, I don't know how to identify why they're happening to me. It is a bit frustrating. Actually, VERY frustrating.

Does any of you have any tips or advice? I would really appreciate it.

Thanks and keep running!

Hi tamarita,

Shin splints happen due to overuse.  Typically they are because you have added more miles on too quickly. Regardless, the only way to truly get rid of them is to stop running, take time off, and then build up again. Not an attractive idea. To alleviate the pain, I used to ice after running and use ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (aleve) to reduce the inflammation.  My shin splints moved to stress fractures which turned to full fractures so they are nothing to mess around with.

You can strengthen your shins by dangling your legs over a tall chair as you sit and writing the alphabet with your feet.  You might want to run on softer surfaces.

Check out runner's world or other sites for other information.

My lovely, motivating friends! I've been back to work (teaching) and so busy, I have not had my usual inordinate amount of time to keep checking back here for updates!

Tamarita, take the time off. It will be so much better for you in the long run. And start back really slowly (pace and distance). Do you run on roads? do you also walk a lot? I sometimes used to get shin splints from walking on hard surfaces, esp. if I walked a long distance after not doing much walking (despite being, at the time, an avid and very fit runner!) Conditioning, rest, and reasonable increases will help. Right now, you can stretch the muscles by pulling one leg up behind you and pulling your toes toward your butt. Good for quads, too, but can be hard on the knees. I cannot find another way to stretch the shins and I love this one. Start gradually and gently, barely stretching at all while you still have pain. I second the recommendation for something that will help with the swelling (IB is my favorite). I like ibuprophen in big doses, 800 units  3x/day and continuing for 24-48 hours after the pain is gone. BUT you cannot keep to that regimen for more than 2 weeks (max) and you should always check with your doctor before going to meds.

Carol, I'm interested in knowing about trail races. I think I went onto a site once called something like trailrunners.com; do you know it? I have also thought ultramarathons might be fun (what a strange thought to most people, huh??) I'm a LONG way from that, but it's a goal.

And right now, I'm on total rest from exercise. That injury I mentioned 10 days ago flared up over the weekend, and so I'm taking off until it heals. I'll play soccer, but I'll stay in the goal during outdoor (I may be able to run on the indoor field without problem; I'll have to see). My weight has fluctuated allllll over the place this week--from 194 to 199! I don't usually see that unless I've been traveling. Also, I just had the period from hell, 11 days AND I leaked through once--first time in the 38 years I've had TTOM!! I skipped a period in July (but at 49, that seems like it should be ok) so it was like a "double." Sorry if this is tmi!! I wonder if I got really dehyrated by it, because I keep feeling thirsty despite drinking my usual amount, and my weight dropped overnight one day from 197.4 to 194.6--obviously, a big loss of fluid! On a positive note, the percentage of body fat I have has gone down steadily (if slowly) despite the weight and water fluctuations.

Well, I'll be keeping up with y'all but not running :(

Happy trails, all!

Well, my legs are feeling a little better, but still on the sore side.  We are off to Vanuatu tomorrow and today was a rest day for me.  I am debtaing whether or not to try to get a run in tomorrow morning as we don't leave until 7 pm, but I think I will just wait to see how I feel... of course, knowing me, that means, yep, I will do a run.  Also, I have a whole week or rest from running next week, I  will only be to swimming and diving all week, so should give my legs plenty of recovery time. Then when I come back, I have one week until the half marathon.

 

We have officially received notification that we have to move out of our place.  We have also decided to move away from the beaches and closer to my work.  I am slowly warming to the idea, there are definitely a lot of pluses to making to move.  The only problem is that now we need to find a place to live before Nov. 4.

I hope everyone has a good week, keep nursing those injuries and hopefully everyone will be healthy when I return!

 

Had to cut the run short this morning.  Cyclists sort of messed it up.  Grrr.  Really infuriated me.  Might go for a run later if it is not too hot after I am finished feeling angry.  Grrrrr.

*Big Pat on the back* 

I actually managed to get in 10 miles this morning! Plus, I am mostly ready to go, so just have a few things to do and the head out of here this afternoon for the airport.

Good job Manta.  10 miles is quite an accomplishment!

Well, I gave soccer a try today and it went pretty well. I played on the field for about 70 minutes, and in the goal for about 15. A couple of times I felt a quick, sharp, moderate pain in the sore muscle, but it wasn't much. I'm going to keep ice on and give the ibuprophen a try. I have trouble remembering to take the meds regularly, but I think it might really help. I noticed in stretching that it only felt tight a few seconds and then the discomfort passed. I am taking that as a good sign.

I'm dying to get back to running and hope it will work out ok . I felt so good during the game, sweating and running. I miss my quiet, deep woods trails!

Manta, sorry about the moving!! I hope you find something you like!