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Monday, September 19, 2011

Warrior Dash Here I Come!

The Warrior Dash in St. Louis is only a month away. Race day is Oct. 15. I have decided to take a chance and race with my husband and his three friends. My husband thinks this is a great idea. We'll see! I'm going to race in a traditional 5K on Oct 2 as a test run. I don't think my first 5K experience should be the Warrior Dash! I just learned that a friend from elementary school will be competing in the Warrior Dash as well. It would be an added bonus to see her again. My step-brother and his wife just completed the Tennessee Warrior Dash yesterday and declared it "awesome". Of course, they've been running for years so it wasn't overly challenging for them.

I find that running continues to become easier for me and that I can run longer than 5K. I suppose this means that I really could increase my speed instead of increasing the distance. I think I'm concerned that I'll run out of steam if I speed up much. Maybe I'll work on letting that fear go next run. My main concern continues to be my knees. They are much improved now that I only jog on dirt. I haven't bought new shoes yet as we've been dealing with extra expenses. However, I think I need to go on a buy some soon if I'm going to continue jogging. I've also read that wrapping my knees may help. Any ideas about that? There are a variety of wraps as well as recommendations for putting ice as well as heat on my knees. I don't want to do the exact opposite of what I need!

7 comments:

  1. WOW - we have quite a new running community here! Good luck with the Warrior Dash - it sounds like a blast!!

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  2. Yay, DODN! Go for it, you can do it!

    I have no idea about the wrapping or the ice or heat. I know that sometimes people alternate between the two, but I don't know for what reason. I'm going to try jogging on dirt as well.

    One of the surfaces my 5K last Saturday took me on was a historic street in my little hometown. It's brick overlaid with concrete overlaid with asphalt. My knees didn't bother me at all but my ankles have been really sore.

    Good luck on the Warrior Dash! Make sure you post about how that turns out. I'm thinking of doing one near here. I think March is the date for the one closest to me so I have plenty of time to prepare.

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  3. Thanks HeIsSailing

    D'Ma,
    I'm excited that you'll be running in the Warrior Dash as well. I'll definitely post on it. Hopefully I'll survive the experience!

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  4. Ah…the addiction spreads! Love it!

    You can try wearing a neoprene knee brace. I find they tend to get hot. (One of my friends running the Warrior Dash wore a metal brace, and lost it in the mud pit at the end!) And my wife insists they do nothing.

    After running…ice.

    Surprisingly, increasing distance is far easier than increasing speed. I have found (and this is typical) I can run greater distances…yet I am keeping the same pace. Even if I shorten a run…there’s that same pace. (around 8:00.) The way to increase your pace is to do intervals. Look ‘em up and you will understand. I did some intervals before my 10K and dropped my pace by :30. If I really worked at it… who knows?

    Also, one needs to alternate running with core training.

    Please tell us about your Warrior Dash experience. Did you see the Zombie run referred by Sam on my blog? I’m thinking a road trip to Indianapolis come next June….or maybe Austin.

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  5. DagoodS,
    You know, on Tuesday I ran with a neoprene knee brace that my husband dug up around the house and the difference was amazing. It was the first time I had absolutely no knee pain. And I ran much faster as well. I couldn't believe it.

    I'll certainly look up the interval training. Thanks for the recommendation. As far as other exercises, I practice yoga regularly and then add a few strength training exercises as well as occasional biking, zumba, and kickboxing. I need to get more serious about doing my crunches, planks, and push ups daily.

    I'll definitely write about the Warrior Dash. I did see the Zomie run video! The creativity of these races is impressive. I think zombies chasing me might get my adrenaline going. That could be alot of fun. Like a Matthew 27 reenactment :) Indie would be closer for me than Austin, but you know, if you'd consider flying to Austin, you could fly to Atlanta instead and we could get D'Ma to join us! I don't think she's too far from there. I'm sure she'd enjoy being chased by zombies.

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  6. Oh, I'd love to meet up with you guys in Atlanta! That would be awesome!

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