My Opinion of the Absolute Best + Time Perception + My Ankles are Tired.

Let’s just take a moment and talk about the fact that SKYE SLEPT THROUGH the entire night on Monday.  This hasn’t happened in months.

I think that the three things that have helped her with this accomplishment are:  1.  We have let her cry it out (which hurts my soul) a bit the previous few nights to help her get out of the habit of us feeding her to get her to go back to sleep.  2.  Her love for the pacifier is helping her to fall back asleep on her own if she wakes up.  3.  I’m doing a better job making sure she is getting plenty to eat during her meals throughout the day and right before she goes to bed.

I woke up Tuesday morning freaking out a bit because it was weird to wake up feeling so refreshed at 5:45 a.m. and because I am so used to hearing her in the night that it made me worried about her.

So now that we might have her sleeping through the night… we are going to travel to Kentucky and throw her entire schedule off again;)

Tuesday:  6.82 miles @ 7:55 average pace.

2 mile w/u

10 x 1 minute @ 8/10 effort wise (which ended up being around a 6:15 pace) w/ 1 minute running recoveries (in the 8:xx)

2 mile c/d

It is incredible to me how different 60 seconds feels when running fast vs the way 60 seconds feels when recovering.  The 1 minute fast felt like 3-4 minutes and the 1 minute recoveries felt like 4 seconds.  It’s very interesting how much our perceptions of time changes according to the pace that we are running.

PS when I was coaching my brother for his half marathon (if you missed his before and after post about how he lost 125 lbs—> go HERE) I would always ask him afterwards how his different runs felt during and how he felt afterwards.  Every now and then he would tell me that his ankles felt really tired during the workout but everything else felt fine.  I would always laugh because I have never yet once thought about my ankles feeling tired during a run (but pretty much every other part of my body I have felt tired ha).  He was just kidding about his tired ankles and yesterday I was thinking about how happy I was that my ankles weren’t feeling tired during my fast intervals;)

Also, my brother thinks that if you are planning on racing a lot over the course of your life that you might as well get your race chip implanted into your leg or something.  Wouldn’t that be more efficient to just always have your racing chip on you?

PPS when I have intervals like I did yesterday, I like to guess where the interval will end each time.   It keeps my brain thinking about something other than the pace feeling hard and I try to overestimate a bit so that it helps me to push myself.

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My current form challenge that I am working on.

A lot of my running pictures include my toes pointed outward a bit when they are in the air.  I land with my toes usually pointed forward but when my foot is in the air, I angle it out a bit.  I started paying attention during my runs and yep, I do it most of the time.  It’s not the most efficient thing I’m guessing so I’m working on keeping my toes pointed forward the entire time.

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Hung out with the Skyester until she was ready for a nap and then I made it to another strength class.

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Hung out and watched Brooke run around the yard afterwards.

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A few errands occurred.

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And then Brooke had a friend over so we just ate a simple lunch at home and then made it over to the park.

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Our next stop was to visit with my grandma and then we went over to my parents’ house too.

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She had ice cream cones for us and Skye was pretty jealous of the whole situation!

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LOOK WHAT ARRIVED.  It felt like my birthday when we got home.  After reading your recommendations that I needed one of these… we bought one.  Marathon training is going to go better than ever this year because of this thing.  Michelle told me in the comments that this thing is basically the cost of a sports massage and that made me feel less bad about spending the money to get one.  Injury PREVENTION:)

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Busy watching every move that Brooke makes.

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The Bachelorette is on again, we watched that as soon as the girls went to sleep.

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The other night we were passing by a Trader Joe’s (the closest one to us is about 30 minutes away) and I had about 8 minutes to run in and grab a few things.  I have a longer list of my favorite things from TJ’s here and I bought a bunch of those things but I have a few things below I wanted to share.

My favorite salad dressings are from TJ’s= Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette and the Champagne Pear Vinaigrette with Gorgonzola.

I tried out their shea butter coconut oil hair mask and my hair felt heavenly after.

I always have to get some sort of chocolate there and we grabbed two new bars to have with the kids.  You can never go wrong with their chocolates.

This sweet potato Gnocchi is heaven.

I can’t live without their creamy almond butter (with salt).

I love their pizza dough and we are going to make pizza with the kids today.

Their corn & chile and cowboy caviar salsas are so good.

I think their bread mixes (the pumpkin especially) are amazing so I’m trying out their lemon bread one for my mom soon.

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CAN ANYONE HELP SAM OUT!?!?

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Who has had a stress fracture?  Where was it?  How long did it take to heal?

Are you needing to work on anything with your form?  What is it?

Are you watching the Bachelorette this season?

Top 5 favorite things from Trader Joe’s currently?

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62 comments

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Stress fractures = Massive UGH. I’m so sorry that Sam is dealing with a repeat stress fracture. I did have one in the spring of 2015–I know I’ve talked to you about it before–in the left shaft of my femur. Looking back it was a perfect storm of hard running, not sleeping well, and (unitentionally) not eating enough to support that kind of training. That stress fracture was NO FUN, but it did teach me quite a few things about running and myself.

I’d like to work on my cadence. I’m stuck with this, what I feel is low!, low cadence of 169-170 generally on runs. Last year when my lower back hurt, I was working on my posture during runs. Always SOMETHING to work on :)

YAY for your R8 arriving!!!!!!! Enjoy that pain! ha ha

Top 5 at TJ’s:

-Matcha Jo Jo’s!!!!!!
-Fresh Flowers
-Their baking necessities–flour/brown sugar/oats
-S’mores Campfire Candy Bar thing–I didn’t see these last time I was there, so they may be gone, but they were so so good.
-Chocolate covered almonds

I’ve never tried their Everything but the Bagel seasoning, but it’s on my list to get next time. Everyone raves about it!!!!

Happy WEDNESDAY, Janae!!!! Congrats on that good night of sleep, too!!!!

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Hey Jen! Thank you for sharing what was happening with your stress fracture! I feel the same way, my previous injuries really taught me a lot about myself and what I needed to change to keep running! I forgot chocolate covered almonds… those are heavenly. Yes, get the seasoning. Thanks so much and have a wonderful day.

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Hey! It’s super rare to have a stress fracture in your fibula because it doesn’t bear much weight, but I had one a little over two years ago. Ankle instability is probably an issue here. I was out of running totally for 5 weeks, and it took me 3 weeks to slowly work back up to 5k. I wound up qualifying for Olympic-distance triathlon worlds less than 5 months after I broke my fibula so she may not have to miss out on all the running this summer. I was able to maintain fitness by biking in hard-soled shoes and swimming a lot. You can give her my contact info if she has more questions.

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That is really interesting Victoria, thanks for sharing all of that. AND OLYMPIC-DISTANCE TRIATHLON WORLDS… you are incredible. I’m so glad you were able to keep up with your fitness with biking and swimming. I will send her your info. Thanks Victoria!

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I’ve watched every bachelor and bachelorette season except the very first one?

I love Trader Joe’s!! My favorites are the teriyaki turkey jerkey, their flour tortillas, the pizza dough! My kids love their ‘doritos’ and ‘cheese puffs’. Also, love how cheap ghee is there! I need to try that lemon bread!!

I miss your vlogs! Will you do one soon?

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I TOTALLY forgot about those… yes. Absolutely. I’ll make Andrew do one with me asap! Thanks for reminding me. Okay, I need to try those things… next time I am there. Keep in touch with your thoughts on the bachelorette this season. Have a beautiful day!

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The animal crackers at TJ. I can eat the whole bucket. ?

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Me too. Me too. And now I’m mad I didn’t buy any this last time.

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I’m with you, Molly! Those are my favorite. I love the chocolate cat cookies also!

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Ooooohhhhh, stress fractures are the worst! Poor Sam! :( I hope she heals quickly! I’ve never fractured my fibula, but I have had a pelvic stress fracture, and that took a while to get better. I think I was out almost two months. Hopefully hers won’t be that long! I’ll be praying for her for sure.

Trader Joe’s musts: Everything but the Bagel seasoning, Cookie Butter Sandwich Cookies, their frozen bbq chicken flatbread (or maybe it’s pizza??), and the lavender hand and body lotion (I could only think of four). I’m craving that flatbread/pizza now!!

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Oh a pelvic stress fracture sounds AWFUL! Thanks Natalie. Oh I need to try that bbq chicken flatbread… that sounds so good! Have a wonderful day and enjoy your lunch run today!

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I’m always working on my cadence!! The way I hold my arms, I have a habit of chicken arms when I’ve been running for a long time. I don’t think I’ve ever had a stress fracture.
That sweet potato gnocci looks delicious – that is one of my ultimate comfort foods!
Here’s the summer berry icebox cake recipe!
http://cakescottage.com/2016/05/11/no-bake-summer-berry-icebox-cake/

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THANK YOU for the recipe, I will be making this. Oh I struggle with the chicken arms too haha. Have a beautiful day Erinn and thanks again.

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Sadly, I don’t have a Trader Joe’s in the area. Closest one is an hour and a half or so away. I hear so many good things about it. I have to pay so much attention to my foot strike. My shins do not like a heel strike. I have to focus on striking about the mid foot or so for happy shins. And after your post not long ago on how you swing your arms (out or straight back), I’ve been paying attention to that, was something I hadn’t thought of. I wasn’t quite a chicken wing, but wasn’t straight back either.

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That is too far away… they need to build one close to you! Those are awesome things to be working on Michele, you are rocking it. Have a beautiful day!

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Hey Janae,
Quick question: how do you guys doing crying it out with Skye and not wake up the other kids? I’m nervous about sleep training our baby and waking up our toddler who is across the hallway.

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HEY MEGAN!! Great question. So Brooke will sleep through everything and anything. You could go in there and turn on her lights and talk to her and she would stay asleep. Knox does not so when he is sleeping here it is harder to sleep train Skye because we don’t want to wake him up. Sleep training is the worst (in my opinion) but I know it is best for Skye to learn how to sleep well! Good luck and let me know how it goes for you! Have a wonderful day with your little ones.

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I am currently working on my posture and making sure I relax my shoulders. I realized I get really tense when I run so I’ve been focused on keeping my shoulders relaxed.

That s’mores candy bar looks so good. I am going to have to get it on my next Trader Joe’s trip. I am also going to have to try the Sweet Potato Gnocchi. I saw several people posting about their Cauliflower Gnocchi so I picked a bag of that up. It was delicious!

My boyfriend and I just made burrito bowls with all Trader Joe’s items a couple of nights ago! We used their pre-marinated Carne Asada, Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions (freezer section) , Mexican Style Roasted Corn (freezer section), brown rice and topped it with their Pineapple Salsa and Avocado. Turned out so good and only took about 20 minutes.

My other go to items is the Cauliflower Cheese Pizza, Reduced Guilt Guac and the Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie :) Clearly, I am very passionate about my Trader Joe’s items haha.

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Hannah, I need that burrito bowl now. That sounds SO good. I also need that Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie for dessert after the burrito bowl. Oh I bet the Cauliflower Gnocchi is really good, thanks for the recommendations. I am already excited to go back:) Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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My yoga teacher always says that toes pointing outward in runners is often a sign of tight hips and hip flexors. Rolling with a medicine ball may help a lot if it is the case. Good job on the intervals! I need to work on my speed after a winter of slow running in the snow!

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I guarantee that is what is happening for me… thanks Mel! I will be trying out the medicine ball. Have a wonderful day!

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Hi Janae
(first a big disclaimer that I am not a running expert, I am a MD/anesthesiologist, but i do remember learning a lot of this stuff and most of my knowledge comes from back when I did ballet, where ankle pronation is a common problem)

I have noticed that your ankles do pronate (foot lands and ankle rolls inward) significantly when you run. I first noticed it when i saw the video you made with Jaybird a couple years ago. There are a number of physical therapy exercises that can be done to strengthen muscles that support the ankles so that they don’t pronate and put one at risk for injuries, like plantar fasciitis, iliotibial band syndrome, Achilles tendinitis, shin splints and even foot or lower leg stress fractures. Surprisingly having weak hips can lead to compensating with pronating the ankles. Sometimes its weak muscles of the lower leg/ankle, other times its due to a low or fallen arch of the foot and laxity in the ligaments, which is harder to correct.

Anyways, this is to say that I don’t think you will fix the ankle problem by just trying to point your toes forward more… you might want to look into a consult with a sports medicine specialist or physical therapist to get input.

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MELLY!! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to write to me. You are so right… I guarantee this is why I struggle with plantar. I am going to go in and talk to my chiropractor about all of this. Thank you so much… time to get working on this the right way. I hope you are having a great weekend!

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I find myself swinging my arms in front of me but that happens when I’m tired. I’m working on it! It’s definitely hard to learn to maintain correct form.
Ummm that sweet potato gnocchi is my FAVE! It’s really good with chicken sausages. I like to cut that up and fry it with some onions, mushrooms, and garlic, and then add in the gnocchi. DELISH! I’m also a big fan of their entire cheese area… never had bad cheese from there! I like their cookie butter, peanut butter filled pretzels, and sparkling water as well. I think I need to make a TJs run this weekend! :)
Random question for you or anyone else – I have issues with my watch band riding up high on my wrist, almost to my hand, when I’m running – no matter how much I tighten it, it seems to slip, I’m assuming because I’m sweaty. I like to keep it a little further back and facing upright so I can see it more easily. Have you ever experienced this, and what did you do to prevent it? Any suggestions?

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I totally do that too… let’s keep on working on that together Rhiannon! Okay, brilliant to add all of those extras, THANK YOU. I will be trying that. I think you need to go to TJs this weekend too ha:) I have not had that happen for me… ANYONE ELSE?!

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Stress fractures are horrible! I had one in my fibula about 4 years. I’ve had many injuries, mainly in my right leg, and the stress fracture was by far the worse. I guess it didn’t help to run 16 miles, when I was already limping to start with anyway. I was done for the next day. The pain, is a pain I wouldn’t wish for on my worse enemy, it took about 6 months for it to heal. I also had to miss a race, The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH. My running friend ended up picking up my packet and I had to miss a couple of other smaller races that I really wanted to run. I did a lot of pool running and strength training though and had a fabulous orthopedic doctor. Thanks to Janae when she had to do her pool running and recommended the pool running belt she used, I ordered the same one during the time of my injury. The pool belt helps so much! My opinion and one of the best advices I’ve ever received from one of my running friends is, “There will always be other races to run.” Granted, it’s not easy to accept, but in the end, it’s best to listen to your doctor and your body and take it easy. Trust me, I know. And, I’m still learning. :-) Good luck!

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That is so interesting how most of your injuries have been in your right leg… that is how I am too! I am so sorry about everything that you went through. I am so glad that you were able to pool run (it helps SO much when injured)! That is perfect advice, thanks for sharing Kayla. Have a wonderful day and I hope that right leg stays healthy for good now!

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You’re welcome! Thank you Janae!
I’ve been following your blog for 3-4 years now and when I read that you get injured on your right leg I thought, “Wow! I’m not alone!” Thank you for your blog and encouragement as well! :-)

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Thank you for reading Kayla, that means a lot to me! That is my favorite part about blogging… we can all realize we are not alone when it comes to so many different things. Keep in touch!

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You’re welcome! I most certainly will! :-)

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@Sam: Yes, I had a stress fracture in my fibula as well (was the first stress fracture of six in total up to now…)
I think you can compare the healing process to the one of a tibia sf. It took about 5 weeks to be pain free again, and after another week I slowly startet running again (according to a “return to running after stress fracture” plan). The four stress fractures I had in my feet were somewaht different, as they healed not that fast (maybe due to the higher load when walking).
All the best to you, Sam (and feel free to ask questions – I will try to help as good as I can)

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SIX!! Oh Sarah, that is so hard! Thanks for sharing your experience to help Sam out! Have a wonderful day and I hope you never get a stress fracture again.

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You guys are all the best! Thanks so much!

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I think I have a lot to work on form wise, especially when I’m tired. Mostly not leaning back when I get tired. And working on my stride would be good too. I’m getting a lot better at not heel striking so that’s progress and saves me a lot of shin splint problems.

And I’ve never been to Trader Joe’s! I hope we get one closer soon so I can try it out.

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YES… I do that too! I just start leaning back too when I am tired. Do you think we really will get one soon… I keep hearing rumors about TJ’s coming to us! Have a beautiful day!

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Ugh, I got a tibial stress fracture last spring/summer after under-fueling and running too hard too soon after a bad ankle sprain. I took a full 8 weeks off and TOTALLY changed my diet/worked with an endocrinologist to get some hormones that were out of whack under control. My orthopedist told me that one of the most important parts of the healing process was going to be figuring out the root cause of my fracture; so whenever people ask me for stress fracture advice, I tell them to check in with a nutritionist and get their hormones checked by a doctor, because healthy bones are maintained by regulated hormones!
I am working on keeping my elbows in, not heel striking, and leaning forward when I run. I try to focus on just one thing per mile, though.

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Kerri, I am so sorry about what you went through last summer but it sounds like you were able to get a bunch of things worked out to help you from now on. GREAT tips to go see a nutritionist and endocrinologist and these will help Sam a lot. I think that is great to just focus on what part of your form at a time! Have a wonderful day.

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After reading your post last week, I ordered the R8. It arrives Friday, and I cannot wait!

It is so hard to narrow down my TJ’s favorites to 5. Creamy Toscano cheese is definitely on the top of my list right now. Any variety of the Toscano is delicious in my opinion, but my favorite is soaked in Syrah. Other favorites include the flower bouquets, grapefruit candle, Pizza Parlano and Well Rested Tea.

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Oh this makes me so happy! Let me know what you think of it when you get it! I need to try that cheese… and that candle sounds amazing. Next time I am grabbing that. Thanks Tara and I hope you have a wonderful day!

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I have been working on my form since my injury last year, and it’s mainly making sure my glutes are firing. So, I do several dynamic stretches before heading out, even if it’s only for 3 miles. I am also currently working on making sure I get stretching in every day (or as much as I can remember!)

Oh, TJs how much I love thee! Current favorites: roasted cacao nibs
dressing: spicy peanut vinigarette, green goddess
campfire s’mores bar
chicken and green chili tamales
dark chocolate and almond cookies
I could totally keep going!

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Oh I need to work on making my glutes fire while I run! You are doing awesome Annemarie! Now I need to go back to TJ’s and get the things on your list!

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I am a sucker for taking pictures of my daughter and I running together. I never knew my arms were in such a weird form until I have started taking these. Yikes. Reminds me I need to research what they should be doing, because what I am doing is definitely not it!

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Erica, I was going to text you this but you three were in my dreams last night and we were at Cafe Rio and it was amazing. I LOVE the running pics you take with her:) Have a wonderful day!

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I’ve lost count of how many stress fractures I’ve had over the past three years. I ran for years without problems, then started getting them constantly. Both legs and one foot. I’ve been to two orthos, a podiatrist, and my regular doctor. They all just tell me to wait and let it heal and it’ll be fine, so I do and then I get another one. Running is my favorite thing and I’ve just about had to give it up. I take every supplement known to man, have supportive shoes with inserts, and stretch after exercise. Insurance won’t cover a bone scan. Any other suggestions?

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Tracy, this is awful! I am so so sorry! Anyone have ideas that can help Tracy?

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Hm…maybe switch up your shoe brand/style? I was fitted for pronation and bought the “right” shoes and ortho prescribed inserts, but still kept racking up stress fractures. It wasn’t until I, on a whim and a sale, bought shoes for neutral gait with extra cushioning. No stress fractures since. Just a thought.

Also, I learned my mileage limit (for me personally) and worked to stick with that.

My only other thought would be form? I did have a PT who videotaped my running and reviewed basic mechanics with me. Showed me what I was doing right and where I was creating imbalance. They then taught me some strength exercises to help with instability in my smaller muscles and I worked on form from there.

Other than that, sleep and controlling stress, as well as working to gain more nutrient supplementation from whole foods vs pills/vitamins, would be the next areas I would tackle. You could always do a blood work up and see where you are on things like iron/calcium/potassium/magnesium, etc. That way you can approach your nutrition from a more holistic approach.

Good luck! Sadly for folks like us who tend to “collect” fractures, it’s kind of a guessing game and it can get frustrating. Keep trying though. Something will stick to the wall eventually. :)

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Keep us posted on the new roller! I’m curious to know a comparison between that and regular foam rolling/rolling sticks.

TJ: always the Speculoos cookie butter! :)

So sorry for Sam! Stress fractures are the WORST! For me, I’ve only ever dealt with 1st metatarsal and tibia (in several spots). The ones in my tibia still give me issues to this day, 10-12 years later (particularly the one that was misdiagnosed—on a bone scan, no less!). I was told by a PT to listen to him and not the ortho, let him tape me up tight, and “run through it” as long as I came in for recovery massages and did strength training. (Yes, that PT got fired by both me and my ortho, by the way!) My biggest advice is to *listen to your body!* Everyone is different and everything from diet to sleep to stress to hormones to nutrient deficiencies can and do affect recovery time. Cross train with anything that does not cause pain, find another valve release for your stress besides running (yoga, gardening, new hobby, etc) and go slow. Also, I wish someone had taught me how to treat other aspects of my health during that time—particularly nutrition and stretching. I was eating enough, but of all the wrong things and I never stretched. Best of luck, Sam! Approach this from a “whole health” perspective and hopefully the recovery will be shorter.

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I totally will… I can’t believe how good it is already. I feel like I’m getting a leg massage when I use it ha. THANK YOU for sharing what happened to you and your advice… thank you. So lame about that PT! This will helps Sam and others! Have a wonderful day.

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So the Campfire bar is my favorite. I hope you guys like it. Also you probably should have got more than one.

I have had a stress fracture on my tibia or the talus right above the ankle and my recovery was about 6 weeks. I did not run much at the time, but I just had to take it easy and walk slowly. I also wore more supportive shoes since it was near my ankle. I literally was unable to even bend my toes by the time I went to the doctor though. I think mine was due to ankle instability, too much running too quickly, and lack of good nutrition at the time (that may not be an issue). I had to walk a lot during that time and after a few weeks I was able to walk without pain, but I did a lot of low impact until it felt completely better. My husband also stress fractured one of his bones in his leg and sat out an entire season of sports and running. He did some cycling and other low impact until things started improving then went back to running. I think his recovery was about 4-6 weeks.

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I have a silly question. Every summer, my running efforts are thwarted by the Florida sun, bugs and rain. I joined a gym so I could use the treadmill to run, no excuses now! It also allows me to finally do elevation, which is non-existent in coastal Florida. Question is: the treadmill automatically resets for speed and elevation at 30 minutes for a cool down, then completely stops at 35 minutes. At that point, I have to push go again which starts me all over. Any tips or suggestions from fellow gym treadmill users to keep the “flow” going?

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Good question. i don’t know treadmills and have always wondered this those few times when i have used one.

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I love that you talked about time perception. I feel the same way. Kind of on the same topic but on Tuesday a group of us meet at the track and do a speed workout. There’s a group of super fast guys with like 6 minute mile times. They lapped me and they were on their recovery lap while I was in the middle of an all out sprint….we were going the same speed! It was kind of funny and kind of annoying lol.

Oh man, now I really, really want to get one of those rollers! I’m going to save up for one now lol. As far as form goes, slapping my feet and running totally flat footed. If I don’t pay attention and just zone out, I find myself doing that. I’m usually good about it but sometimes I get tired and I end up doing it!

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your group sounds like my colleagues. they run a 7:00 marathon pace. their speedwork is in the 4:00-5:00. i don’t even try.

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Yes I actually stress fractured by ankle but doing many reps of jumping jacks in my garage without a mat (hard concrete is not good). However, I never knew it was fractured. Dr.s thought it was just tendonitis so ended up walking on it and limping for 3 years. Long story short, it was a stress fracture but then healed incorrectly and a piece of bone chipped off an was hanging in my joint which was causing the pain every time I walked (right foot). Dr. decided I would need surgery to fuse my ankle bones and ended up having an MRI before hand to check things out. MRI showed a blackened out spot and they said that that usually indicates that a bone has died, but they wouldn’t know for sure until they go in. If it indeed was dead they would do a bone graft from my hip. Outpatient surgery turned in to an over night deal because the bone was indeed dead and bone grafting had to be done. I was in a cast from foot to just below the knee for 12 weeks. Couldn’t drive (right foot), had crutches for 6 weeks…..it was not fun, and my son was 15 months at the time and it was during the heat of summer in Texas (Houston area). I survived – have some limited mobility in my foot but no pain, not even in the winter – I do have 2 huge screws through my heel keeping everything in place. This was back in 2007 and since then I have run 15 half marathons, 1 full marathon, a 25 K, 30 K and a metric marathon plus several 5 K’s, 10 K’s and a mud run!!!!

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omg what a nightmare. i can’t believe you persevered and continued to run afterward, that is so so inspiring. thanks for sharing

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My son recently had a fibula stress fracture and missed most of his cross country season last year. He tried to come back to running too fast and ended up in a boot for 6 weeks followed by lots of PT. His doctor also put him on a calcium supplement. The good news is he is now recovered and finishing up his track season qualifying for State this weekend!

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Janae!!! I’m so happy to hear you like the R8. I’ve been trying to decide if it’d be something I would use or if it would just collect dust in my closet like my other recovery tools. Going to look to order now!

I have had a few stress fractures in the past due to overuse/lack of recovery/undernutrition. I’ve since learned to take more rest/easy/recovery days, eat enough and listen to my body. I used to ‘push through’ thinking I was stronger for doing so. But I realized that running that extra 5 minutes or 1 mile or on a day when I was already feeling achy and tired is not worth NOT running for a few months due to injury. And when I look back…am I going to want to remember running myself into injury? Or running for the love of how it makes me feel?

My love for T Joe’s is relentless. I am there almost everyday. I love their baby zucchini, fresh edamame, sugar snap peas, baby watermelon, horseradish hummus. I agree their chocolate is always a staple. And their flowers! I always have fresh flowers in the house and their selection is abundant and cheap.

Have a great day!

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Way to go Skye on sleeping through the night! Even if it’s an anomaly, that one night makes such a difference. If only little ones could know how much they will appreciate sleep when they’re older!

Ditto on the TJ’s pizza dough, that corn salsa (the best!) and if you like Blue Cheese dressing, they have a great one in a jar.

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We are big Trader Joe’s fans but the closest one is 2 hours away….we just got some dried fruit, nuts, brownie mix, and some coconut pancake mix that sounds AMAZING!!

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I am just recovering from a fibula stress fracture. Mine was pretty bad and I spent 12 weeks in a boot. When I started to run again I did too much too quick and ended up with a bone bruise. Rest and don’t push it. I had to make the tough decision to put all my spring and summer races on hold until next year (including my first 100 miler….boo!). Hope you heal quickly Sam!

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I’ve also switched to a healthier lifestyle which comes with a strict diet and with intensive training. I’m training for a race with SportMe half marathon app and I feel like I’m on the right track.

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form stuff. so many good points here in the comments too!

that’s interesting about the hip placement firing the glutes. i have tried to run with my hips more forward instead of hanging back. the cadence thing. it took me forever to go from 160 to 170 and finally to 180+ . just Forever. learning to sustain 200+ for small distances. it’s coming (hopefully at some point). Relaxed shoulders – i figured this out at some point – but yeah it’s such a problem when the shoulders aren’t relaxed!!! i hate it. i am still figuring out arm swing without getting the shoulders to twist (keeping core strong). also whether i need to clasp my hands into fists or what. i saw something that said hold your hands in firm cups. i have no freakin idea… there is so much form stuff i can’t even. one thing i learned – it’s a good thing to focus on for all those easy runs…!

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