Nursing a Running Injury

In August I wrote about recovering from a bruised toe. This week, I learned that I was suffering from a strained ligament in my knee. During my runs, my knee literary felt like it would give out from under me. Needless to say, I was not happy. Since I’m trying to increase my mileage for the ZOOMA Atlanta Half-Marathon next month, this was not the time to encounter an injury. I’m taking nearly two weeks off from running to give the knee time to recuperate. Thanks to my trainer, Calvin, here’s the approach I’m taking to treat my injury:

· Take ibuprofen twice a day
· Lap swimming for my cardio exercise (in place of running)
· Ice packs on knee for 15 minutes followed by heating pad

I also decided to purchase a new pair of running shoes. My current pair felt as if I wasn’t getting an adequate level of support as my mileage increased. I had been running in Adidas Supernova Classics (which I loved for the high-arch support). It was a tough decision to select a new shoe – I literally spent 30 minutes at Big Peach Running Co. in Decatur deciding between a pair of Mizunos and Sauconys. I ended up with the Mizunos. Hopefully, I’ll returned to a comfortable running experience by next weekend.

Since I’m not running this week, I decided not to post a route. However, if you’re looking for a running route, here are a couple of sources:

Map My Run (Atlanta Running) – This is where I keep maps of my running routes. Currently, there are 20 routes available.

Run.com – The site offers 18 different routes, which are primarily located within intown neighborhoods.

Atlanta Track Club – You’ll find 9 routes in neighborhoods across Metro Atlanta

Blogs for Women Runners

To help inspire my training for ZOOMA Atlanta, I’m on a mission to discover blogs from women runners. Here’s a few great blogs that I’ve found:

Marathon Moms: Colorado-based Dimity McDowell is a sports-and-fitness writer who has completed two marathons and two Half Ironman triathlons. Sarah Bowen Shea is a writer from Portland, Oregon who has run four marathons. Dimity and Sarah write about the challenges of balancing family time and work demands with fitness and training schedules.

Fitness for Mommies: This blog is hosted by Rachel, who is a self-described wife and mother of two crazy boys. Along with being a mom, she’s also a physical education teacher and an athlete. The goal of this site is to offer testimony, information, and articles on all things related to balancing life and athlete endeavors.

See Mommy Run: This site strives to connect moms in local communities to run and walk together. It invites moms to join an existing group in their area or start their own group.

Running Skirts: Twins Cindy and Christy are moms who blog about everything related to running.

This week’s route is a 5-mile loop through the Winnona Park neighborhood from the Oakhurst Running Club. You can find the route at Map My run under my group Atlanta Running.

Winnona Park – 5 Mile Route
· Start at One Step at a Time
· Head north (left) on Oakview Rd
· Turn left on Adams St
· Turn right on W. Dougherty St
· Cross S. Candler St. and continue on Winnona Dr
· Turn right on Hilldale Dr
· Turn left on Derrydown Wy
· Turn right on Craigle Ave
· Turn right on Katie Kerr Dr
· Turn right on S. Columbia Dr
· Turn left on Kirk Rd
· Turn left on S. Candler St
· Turn right on Brower St
· Turn right on Garland Ave
· Turn right on S. McDonough St
· Turn left on W. Hill St
· Finish at One Step at a Time

Training for ZOOMA Atlanta

I kicked-off my training last week for the ZOOMA Atlanta Half-Marathon with an 8.5 mile run. Yesterday’s long run was a fantastic 9.5-mile route through Decatur, Lake Claire and Druid Hills. With the arrival of cooler fall weather, I’m looking forward to long weekend runs as I prepare for the race. The ZOOMA Atlanta site features training stories from two women bloggers. For additional training inspiration, read the blogs from other women runners that are linked to the ZOOMA site.

Runner’s World is also a great resource for training information. Look for the article on half-marathon training from Doug Rennie. It includes recommended training schedules for novice, intermediate and advanced road race runners. You’ll also find some great blogs at the magazine’s site, such as Marathon Moms. Bloggers Dimity and Sarah write about the challenges of balancing family time and work demands with fitness and training schedules.

This week’s route is a 9.5-mile loop, courtesy of the Big Peach Running Co. in Decatur. You can find the route at Map My run under my group Atlanta Running.

Decatur – 9.5-Mile Route

· Start at Big Peach Running Co. and turn left on E. Trinity Pl.
· Follow E. Trinity across the railroad tracks onto N. Candler St.
· Turn right on Green St. and run through the nature path
· Cross over S. McDonough onto Oakview Rd.
· Stay straight on Oakview and turn right onto E. Lake Dr.
· Stay on E. Lake through Oakhurst and into Lake Claire
· Cross over the railroad tracks and turn left on Ridgecrest Rd.
· Turn right onto McClendon Ave.
· Run up and down the hill on McClendon
· Turn right on Lakeshore Dr.
· Stay straight onto N. Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Take a slight left turn onto Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Take a slight right onto W. Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Turn right onto W. Trinity at the church
· Turn left onto Commerce Dr.
· Turn left onto Clairmont Ave
· Turn right onto Scott Blvd.
· Turn right onto Willow Lane
· Turn left onto Church St.
· Turn right onto Forkner Dr.
· Turn right onto Sycamore Dr.
· Cross E. Ponce de Leon and stay on Sycamore
· Cross Commerce and turn left onto Candler St.
· Turn right on E. Trinity Place and return to Big Peach Running Co.