A Long Winter

By: K 

It’s been a long while since I updated this blog and I sincerely apologize for that. This winter I was very much less than stellar in the exercise department but as of today I started jogging again! Didn’t test my time and I only jogged a mile, but it’s great to feel like I’m working again on my body. I’ve gained back about half of my weight (I’m about 185 lbs now) but the fact that I didn’t allow myself to get back to 200 lbs is refreshing to me, seeing as how that seems to happen rather often. I also couldn’t afford my gym membership anymore so I’m back to just doing it on my own and jogging around my neighborhood, so hopefully I can still find some good results!

Just wanted to do a quick update.

Shin Splints

Sorry I’ve been offline for so long. I haven’t been able to jog lately because I’ve been getting shin splints. I need to buy some new shoes so I’m waiting to get some money so I can purchase a really nice pair of running shoes. In the meantime I’ve still been keeping up with my weight lifting and diet (I’ve lost 36 pounds now!) so I haven’t fallen out of my routine. I just need to fix this small problem. I’ll let you all know when I get back on board.

March 5th – 11th 2012 Update

A Quick Question…

By:K

Just a quick question for anyone who might know… what is this thing called so I can put it into my exercise journal?

Quick update

By:K

So I know it’s been a while since I updated, but I haven’t forgotten about this page. To be honest, It’s possible that soon I’ll be shifting all of my blogging over to my studio website. It’s still under construction, but it’s getting closer to completion. When it’s done, i’ll link it here so that you can get over to it and start following my blogs there.

So I have completely failed the last few weeks since school started and with work going on after school, it’s tough to find any jogging time, but I’m thinking of requesting to only work weekends so that I can 1. Get jogging at night or at the rec after class and 2. so I can keep up with my final semester. I’ll keep you guys updated as things change around.

My Friend Survived a Lightning Strike

By:K

So days after her encounter, my friend had an article written about her in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. In the article, she talks about all that she remembers and about how lucky she feels to be alive. It’s a very interesting article and actually contained a lot more information than I was aware of when I was told about the incident. I’ll link the article here.

 

Reader Question 1

MC commented with-

“I have a request: do an entry about why the back of your foot can hurt sooo bad when jogging and how to fix it.

full disclosure: I jog barefooted in the house ’til I can handle longer distances outside. tried putting shoes on… made the foot hurtiness worse!”

 

By: K

To be honest, I’ve never experience this phenomenon, but from what it sounds like you should be taking a look at

1. How you’re running. Is your stride heavy in that you feel like you stomp your feet when you hit the ground. Are you rolling your feet or just planting them on the ground? Rolling your feet might better spread out the impact you’re receiving to your entire foot keeping it from all happening in the back.

2. Where you’re running. Personally, there’s no reason to be running with no shoes on (AKA no support) and there’s no reason to be running inside. When I first started jogging I was able to make maybe 1/16th of a mile, if that, and I just walked the rest of my route to get used to it. Now I’m running 2 miles almost every day. By running inside, you’re not really preparing yourself for outside because the environment is much different. You’re also more likely to get shin splints from running on one surface only to run on a completely different surface at a different time.

Wikipedia states Shin Splints to be “…pain along or just behind the tibia (shinbone), the large bone in the front of the lower leg. Shin splints occur during physical activity and result from too much force on the shinbone and connective tissue attaching muscles to it.”

If you’re running on carpet or even wood, when you get outside to concrete, the impact is going to be much worse, and if your body is used to softer ground, you’re going to be in pain rather than letting yourself get used to the concrete from day one and being careful with your distance.

Again, my first jog was nothing even close to one mile. It was a few yards at best because I was so out of shape, but I’ve always jogged outside (Unless it’s winter in which I jog at the rec at school) so that my body is used to the surface I jog on and is used to jogging in shoes. I also wear gel insoles in my shoes, so you might want to look into purchasing some of those if it hurts as much as it does.

In short, jog outside, not inside, wear some protective, comfortable shoes and don’t push yourself with distance, instead make small goals and slowly achieve greater ones as you accomplish the smaller ones.

Thank you for your request/question

A Jogger’s Worst Nightmare

By: K

You know when it’s coming and you know it’s going to ruin your entire jog. You try not to focus on it but it gets worse and worse. I’m sure you all know of course what I’m talking about.

Cramps.

They’re the arch nemesis to any jogger trying to make that extra mile. They can take down anyone at any time and anywhere. My recent jog was my latest encounter with the twisted demon known only as the “cramp”. I was jogging my route and not even halfway through did I feel it coming in through the right side of my waist. It started subtle, but intensified in no time. I’ve found that there are 2 outcomes to such cramps and I feel they must be treated as such.

1. If you continue to push through the pain of a cramp it will eventually go away and you’ll be free to jog some more. Sometimes it even feels like the cramp snaps out of position, like a knot untying itself, I’ve noticed. Then you are able to continue your jog problem free.

2.The pain gets to a point that it feels like the area that is in pain (my waist, for example) feels like it’s being stabbed or about to collapse. In these cases, it’s best to just stop the jog and do a little walking until it goes away. You can attempt to start jogging again, but I’ve never found the results to be all that great after a cramp like that.

The best defense is obviously a good warm up and stretching session before going on your jog. When I go outside for mine, I always touch my fingers to my toes, stretch my legs back and even loosen my arms and stretch my waist (Since that is what gives me the most trouble). I also always have a lot of buildup in my throat so I always clear it thoroughly before I begin my jog.

To further prevent any possible cramps you need to be aware of your diet and times of lunch, dinner, breakfast, etc. I jog at night as the sun is setting but I’ve jogged in the morning as well as the sun was just rising. Both jogs were enjoyable and both need to be treated differently.

The morning jog is easier to manage because you can wake up and go right out to the jog. No worry about your diet or food intake when you’ve slept all night. With the evening jog it gets a little more difficult. I have found that I work best if I have not eaten at least 3 hours prior to my jog and if I have not drank anything in the hour prior to the jog. Add about an hour or 2 and I’d say you’ve met your max waiting period. You don’t want to go so long that you’re getting hungry or thirsty again cause that’ll make things worse.

Cramps are not a fun thing to deal with, but they can be avoided as long as you stay conscious of what you’re doing throughout your day. Hopefully this little prevention article will help you in your journey to jogging further distances without getting those awful inconveniences!

To Playlist or not to Playlist

By: K

When about to embark on yet another jog I always think to myself “Should I bring the MP3 player this time? Or not?” and lately that question has been answered with a loud “No! You have healing piercings on your ears you idiot!”. So lately I’ve been going on jogs without any music to listen to at all and I have to admit, I like it that way.

I used to listen to music every day that I went jogging, specifically I listened to a lot of metal and techno. Things from Metallica and Dream Theater to Mdotstrange and MSTRKRFT. While I always seemed motivated to get that last bit of my jog finished while getting goosebumps from the last minutes of Symphony X’s “Odyssey”, I’ve noticed that now I don’t need that motivation to get through the final stretch of my jog.

So the question remains. “Should I jog with music or without?”

I think the real answer is in preference and how you’re feeling. Sometimes there’s nothing better than hearing the natural sounds of the world around you as you blaze through the air and feel it passing your ears. Sometimes it’s better to listen to some heavy, hard pumping metal to get your blood flowing and your adrenaline pumping.

Currently, I’m in the natural mood (and I have healing piercings, so putting on headphones isn’t the greatest idea). When I do listen to music, my basic playlist comprises of things such as

Metallica

– Death Magnetic

– Master of Puppets

Dream Theater

– Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

– Octavarium

– Systematic Chaos

Symphony X

– The Odyssey

– Paradise Lost

Dragonforce

– Inhumane Rampage

Racer X

Alexisonfire

Lifeline

Mdotstrange

MSTRKRFT

Red Hot Chili Peppers

These are the main artists (And some albums) that I listen to when I’m jogging/exercising. But for now, I’m sticking with the natural thing. It’s nice to feel like I don’t need any musical motivation to keep going and if that time ever comes, I’ll get back into the music (and my piercings will probably be fine by then).

Also, Update: 1 Mile jog tonight.