I haven't posted in a while. Mainly due to not wanting to 'jinx' my training upramp. But enough time has gone by that I feel much better about being able to stick to training. The issues I've had with my hip/back and foot have decreased significantly.
For my foot, I've started wearing a Powerstep insole for my high arches. A Spenco ball of foot cushion that handles my mutant foot problem. All of these things keep me quasi-mobile.
For my hip/back I've been working out at a place called 'Kosama' here in Va Beach. It's a studio that holds classes similar to P90X or Insanity. I think some of my longer term issues was my crappy posture, long times sitting at the computer and flying in airplanes. This led to overall poor form and the fact that my core was neglected compounded the problems.
For last 4 months, I've been going to the various Kosama classes, KCore, Kbox (kick boxing) KCardio (cardio..) and have seen/felt a big difference. Obviously the movement helps out and mixing it up helps me as well. Each class has it's focus areas, but engaging the core has, I believe, really helped me. I'm still working on the endurance, but the pain I'd felt in the hip/back/foot has really decreased. My 'wind' is much better as well.
I ran my first 5 miler this weekend in years. While not spectacular, it was notable for me in that I didn't get really winded and had no pain. The back was a little stiff, but I AM 50, so some of that isn't surprising. Hopefully, as I get into the longer runs again, the ol' body won't feel as beat up.
