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Written by Amanda LoPiccolo
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Wednesday, 09 June 2010 |
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Wow I guess it's been awhile. Thought I'd give a little update. Things had finally been going pretty well for me in March and early April. My PF was feeling better and I was getting some good miles and workouts in. I started to get excited about racing again and made plans to run the 5k at Penn Relays. Well, 3 days before the 5k, I was doing a workout on the track in spikes. Everything was feeling great. I was hitting all the times I wanted to and I felt really strong. Then, during my cool down I got a really sharp pain in my achilles on the same side as the PF. I didn't think much of it and figured it would go away. Well, it didn't, and my whole ankle swelled up to the point where I could hardly walk. I didn't get to run Penn, nor did I get to really run for a few weeks. I kept trying to run every few days when the inflammation would go down, but it kept coming back. So, back to the bike it was. It took me about 4 weeks to get back into running, but the pain is finally gone. I'm back getting some miles in, and feeling strong again. I am running 5 days a week and biking the other 2. I've been doing a lot of core work, and feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be. I've learned that you can make all the plans you want as far as racing and training goes, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen that way. I'd like to tell you what my next race will be, but I'm taking things slow. I'm definitely hoping to be on the roads this summer, I'm just not sure when yet. I'll be back soon enough. Everything happens for a reason right?
-Amanda
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Last Updated ( Friday, 11 June 2010 )
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Written by Amanda LoPiccolo
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Tuesday, 30 March 2010 |
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I've been back running for 4 weeks now. The first week I thought I would just test things out a little, and only hit 20 miles or so. To be honest, I wasn't so sure I was ready to be running at that point, things weren't feeling that good. The next week I started to feel better, so I added more miles and hit 46. After that things really started to improve. It was like the more I ran, the better I felt, and the better my foot was feeling. The last 2 weeks I ran 50 and 55 miles. In the last week I have even done two track workouts (in spikes!) and a long run of 13 miles (longest I've run since October). Yesterday I did a rep workout on the track and finished with some lower body lifting. Wow, do my legs hate me today. Today's early morning 9 miler before work wasn't too pretty, but it's in the bank. I'll take some sore legs over a sore foot and no running. I'm so happy to be back running, and so glad my foot is holding up for me. I think all the cross training I have done over the past 6 months has kept me in pretty good aerobic shape. Now I just need to work on getting some speed back in the legs! I'm definitely hoping to be back racing soon, and hope to still have a good outdoor track season. Still, one day at a time, but things are definitely looking better!
-Amanda
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 March 2010 )
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Things are looking brighter |
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Written by Amanda LoPiccolo
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Friday, 19 March 2010 |
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Well, the good news is that I've been able to start getting some mileage in for the first time since October. I hit 46 miles last week, which doesn't seem like much, but to me right now, it's huge. I really think the barefoot running that I have been doing 2-3 times a week has been helping to strengthen things up. I've been going up to the track at SUNY Oneonta and running on the turf. I'm up to about 2 miles of barefoot running always followed by 8x100m barefoot strides. I usually do this at the end of my run. When I first started this, it tended to fire up the plantar fascia. Now it actually feels better to run barefoot than it does to put shoes on. My heels never touch the ground when I'm barefoot. I'm really happy that I'm able to start getting some miles in without a lot of pain. Don't get me wrong, the plantar fasciitis isn't gone, it's just much more manageable. I'm still doing some biking (outside finally!) and try to get my medball circuits in a couple times a week. I have a 25 minute or so circuit that I do that I love (because it kicks my butt!). I think sometimes the little things can be the big things, and I always try to remember this. That includes nutrition, sleep, and medball/weight work. The weather has been beautiful here in NY this week which makes the fact that I'm running even more enjoyable. I should hit 50 miles this week and hope to keep bumping it up as things improve. No big goals right now, just one day at a time.
Get out and enjoy this sunshine!
-Amanda
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Last Updated ( Friday, 19 March 2010 )
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Written by Amanda LoPiccolo
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Friday, 05 March 2010 |
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Not being able to run isn't any fun. Running is very addictive, and when you suddenly can't do it anymore, it's hard to not go crazy. I have been battling this current injury for 7 months now, so needless to say, I've had to find something else to do. I've always liked biking. It's something I have used in the past to stay in shape when I'm injured, or to get the legs moving a little on recovery days. It wasn't until the past Fall that I really started to love the bike and understand it more. I bought my first nice road bike about a year and a half ago. This past Fall I was able to get some good miles in outside on the bike. However, Upstate NY weather isn't too cooperative for outside biking in the Winter. Spending hours and hours on my inside trainer can get pretty boring to say the least. Recently, I started going to group bike workouts with some triathletes and duathletes in town. They meet twice a week at Hartwick College in one of the dance studios. Everyone brings their bike and trainer for intense 90 minute workouts. I guess when I first started going I didn't know what I was in for. One of the first comments to me was "Wow Amanda. You must be new at this. You only brought one water bottle and no towel." Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. I never knew I could work so hard on a bike. This week we did 2 and 3 minute VO2 max intervals. I wore my heart rate monitor, and was surprised that I could get my heart rate up almost to the same level as it is during running intervals. I feel great after these workouts knowing I got such quality work in...without any pain!
My foot is coming along. It's a very slow process, but I'm trying to stay optimistic. I do a lot of strengthening exercises (eccentric calf lowering off of stairs, picking up marbles, single leg stance drills, range of motion, etc.). I have even started incorporating some barefoot running into my workouts. There are two theories about treating plantar fasciitis. One is to coddle the foot. Use tape, wear heavy duty shoes, get orthotics, and never walk around barefoot. This is what I had been doing without much success. The other theory is that plantar fasciitis is caused by weakness in the foot. How do you fix weakness? You strengthen it back up! That's what I'm trying now. I have been using a mondo surface track since it's got pretty good cushioning. If you've never done any barefoot running, you're going to want to start slow. The first couple times I did this, I had sore muscles in my feet and legs all the way up to my hips. It's amazing how much shoes change our mechanics. I am up to almost 2 miles of barefoot running now, and it doesn't really fire up my plantar fascia. I get some crazy looks...but in my mind, I'm just fixing what is broken.
Right now the sun is shining and Spring is trying to come along. I'll be excited to get out on my bike and hopefully my feet soon too.
-Amanda
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Last Updated ( Friday, 05 March 2010 )
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Written by Amanda LoPiccolo
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Friday, 12 February 2010 |
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Hello. I'll start with a little intro about myself. My name is Amanda (Laytham) LoPiccolo. I am 27 years old and live in Oneonta, NY. In the Fall of 2008 I was married to Matt LoPiccolo. I work as a chiropractor here in town, and help my husband out coaching the Oneonta State cross country and track & field teams. I grew up just down the road in Otego, NY and graduated from Unatego High School . I attended Division III Ithaca College where I was a 7-time All-American. I got my degree in Exercise Science and went on to New York Chiropractic College in Seneca Falls, NY. I earned my Doctorate in December 2007, at which time I moved back home. After graduating from Ithaca in 2004, I took a couple of years off from competitive running to focus on my rigorous studies. It wasn't until I started dating Matt in the Fall of '06 that I even thought about getting back into running. However, Matt convinced me to give it a shot and see what I could do. I joined the Syracuse Chargers and began getting back into racing. I realized how much I love running, and how it is such a huge part of who I am. I started setting PRs in every race and event I did, and fell in love with the sport all over again. I owe so much of that to Matt (not only my husband but my coach as well), and the Syracuse Chargers, who have been so supportive.
When Kevin (Lucas) asked me about doing this blog back in the Fall, I thought it was a great idea. I think it's wonderful all of the new approaches that Niagara is taking to promote the sport. I have kind of been putting off getting started with my blog, since in my opinion, I didn't feel like I had much to share yet. I have been battling with plantar fasciitis in my right foot since this past August, and I just can't seem to shake this thing. It's really unfortunate, since I dealt with the same thing in my left foot from the Fall of '08 until the Fall of '09. After running through it for a year with some average race results, I actually got sidelined with another injury in my sacroiliac joint last Fall, forcing me to take an extended running break. It wasn't until that time that the SI and plantar issues cleared up, and I was able to finally run pain-free for a good 9 months. During that time (last Winter and Spring) I was able to get some quality training and mileage in for the first time in a long time, and the results showed. Indoors I qualified for my first ever USATF Indoor Championship, placing 6th and 13th in the 1500 and 3k. Outdoors brought even more exciting results for me. I ran PRs in the 800, 1500, and 5000 (2:09.67, 4:16.48, and 15:52.70). I qualified for the USATF Outdoor Championships, earning a trip to legendary Eugene, Oregon. At the Championships I ran the 1500 and 5000, placing 22nd and 14th respectively. The trip itself was amazing, and only made me want more.
After the Outdoor Championships, I took a two week break from running to give my legs a little rest. I started back in with some base building in mid-July and was feeling good until mid-August. One day my foot was great, and then next it wasn't. I am very meticulous about keeping a running log, so I know the exact date and run when my foot began to hurt. I knew as soon as it started what it was, and I had a feeling I was in trouble. Rather than give up the Fall racing season, I attempted to run through the plantar issues with sub-par results. I had been looking forward to Fall racing, since I hadn't been healthy for a cross country or road racing season in quite some time. In addition, Matt (who is the Elite Development Team Director for the Syracuse Chargers) worked hard to recruit new members to the Chargers, and for the first time in a long time, we had some good teams! I love the team aspect of cross country, and wanted to be able to contribute. I was able to join the team for a couple of road races and a cross country meet before calling it quits for a while. (The interesting thing about plantar fasciitis is that you can run through it. It's not even usually the running that hurts the most, it's the post-run that's the worst. No matter how much ice or stretching I would do after a run, I'd be limping around the rest of the day). I got a cortisone shot in November and took 5 weeks off of running, hoping to get everything cleared up. Well, it worked for a little while, but the pain came back. So, here I am now, still trying to get rid of it. Weeks of cross training and going to PT haven't seemed to do much. I'm taking things one day at a time and trying to be smart, hoping that when this weather breaks and Spring is here, I'll be out there running. This first entry has gotten long enough, so I'll keep my cross training details and rehab for later posts. The one thing about injury is that it sure makes you appreciate the times when you're healthy. I know I'll be back doing what I love soon enough.
Thanks for reading.
-Amanda
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 February 2010 )
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