Running Update - ::: Le sigh :::

As you can tell by the title, I'm in a bit of a funk with my training. 

Well, funk may not be the best word.  Let me elaborate. 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I have been trying to nurse a shin injury (self diagnosed as shin splints) by icing, stretching, and doing a combination of other activities including biking, elliptical, and stair stepping.  I had been gradually putting running back into my routine, with occasional runs on the roads but primarily getting on the grass and in the U of I arboretum.  I bought I pair of compression socks, and they seemed to be helping me out to run longer with less pain.  I was feeling pretty good and confident and started looking into trail races over the summer and fall, with possibly a fall marathon in my future...

After this weekend, however, I'm less certain.  I decided to try a few miles on the grass in the Vibram Five Fingers, and while I felt alright on the run the last two days have been fairly sore and painful.  Nothing drastic - I can still walk just fine - but significantly worse than before this weekend.  I am guessing the combination of several runs on the concrete where I should have been on the trails, combined with the run in the VFF's, are causing this most recent pain, and I honestly can't tell if it's the same problem or a new one.  The pain has tended to shift all around my shin, never localized to one spot, so I'm not sure if it's just a similar version of the previous problem or something different. 

I have a 5K coming up on Friday night, which should go well (my fitness overall is still good, and I should be able to go 3 miles with my compression socks... I may look like a dork but what do I care?), and then it will be time to re-evaluate my future plans. 

Here's what I'm thinking - it's time to focus on weight loss rather than racing.  Taking a few weeks/months off from running specifically could actually have some benefit, in that it would help me to focus on strengthening other muscle groups and to probably prevent the overuse injuries that I appear to be fighting with.  So, here's the 4-pronged strategy:

1) Upper body strength - use weights, push-ups, and the like to get my arms, shoulders, and chest a little stronger.  I have been doing push-ups pretty consistently, but I could do better.  Perhaps the 100 push-ups program could be a good thing to follow again. 
2) Core strength - start doing crunches again, as well as finding some good core exercises through Runners World or something equivalent to get my core more stable and take some of the "fluff" off of my midsection.
3) Lower body strength - some weights, but mostly focusing on cardiovascular activity like biking, hiking, elliptical, and stair workouts.  I am going to use this to keep my fitness up.
4) Better diet.  The food I eat is generally alright (given my history with acid reflux, I try to err on the side of caution) but I could do better, particularly when it comes to excessive snacking.  Cutting out some of my mid-day and late night snacking, trading off some of my beverages for water, and doing a better job of getting in a variety of food items (more fruits and veggies, etc.) will be significant in helping with weight loss.  Just ask my brother. 

So, that's the strategy.  I'm compiling different core stability and overall strengthening exercises to develop a program that takes 30-40 minutes which I can do a few times a week, hopefully to begin by next Monday. 

If you have comments or suggestions, please leave them in yonder comment box so that we all may benefit.  I hope to get into good shape and be down to my "ideal weight" for my height (184 lbs for a 6'1" dude) by September 1st.  Earlier would be good too!