I know it has been forever since my last post. Sorry about that, I have been so super busy. Life just gets busier every year. I want to give you guys an update on how I am doing these days.
I am happy to say I am running! I am still feeling some discomfort in my calf (and now my knee) but it is not as bad as it once was. And I am up to about 16 miles a week. I am literally taking it one day at a time. Or one run at a time. I am still seeing Dr. LeBouef in the Woodlands but just once a month now. I started seeing a massage therapist a couple of weeks ago and have had two massages from him so far. Apparently he is a "miracle-worker" and I am VERY much hoping he is.
When I first went to get a massage the therapist was amazed at how much lactic acid I had in my muscles. He had a lot of work to do to break it all up. He was pleased that it wasn't as bad on the second visit. He feels the tightness in the muscles is what is causing the pain. We will see. I have another appt this coming Tuesday. I really look forward to those massages, Alton has a great way of breaking up all of that lactic acid but with little to no pain.
I have also changed my run form and am focusing on landing on my mid-foot instead of my heel. I also slowed down a little. As I think back to when this first happened and the progression of the injury I have realized it is most likely related to how fast I was running. Although my body could handle the mileage and I was following the plan to a tee I was running faster than my body agreed to. Even though it felt just fine. I was just so excited when I realized I was half-way "fast". I thought I would be in the back of the pack but often found myself in the front or close to it. I now focus on being in the back of the pack. I have to really concentrate on running slow and taking it easy. I still don't have a Garmin to check my pace on so I go by my heartrate. If I can hold a conversation then I am at the right pace.
I am also taking more walk breaks. This is an interesting concept to me. At first I didn't want to take walk breaks ( not even through water stations) because I didn't feel like I would be able to get started again, or to feel "settled into" my run if I kept interrupting it. But now I realize it is important to give my body a break ever so often and I make myself do it every couple of miles.
I am going this Thursday to have a gate analysis performed by my doctor. I am excited to finally get it looked at and hopefully get some tips on what I need to do to correct my form, so I don't continue to injure myself. Have I mentioned I want to run forever? :)
My plan is to run the San Antonio Rock and Roll HALF Marathon in November and the FULL Marathon in Houston in January. I am running with the Run Club at the Gym and they have a big group going to San Antonio together, I am excited about that, it will be a lot of fun.
I am feeling very blessed to be able to run right now. I am making the most of every run and truly soaking it in, just in case my leg decides to get really bad and causes me to stop running. It makes those early morning runs a little easier to do.
Thanks for all of your continued support. I really do appreciate it.
August 13, 2011
May 23, 2011
I Am Still Here.......
I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I have been so busy lately. But I wanted to post something to let you guys know how I am doing.
In April I did a lot of research on barefoot running and minimalist running. I video taped myself running in running shoes and barefoot. I could tell right away my form was all wrong. I was heel-striking A LOT! It was a little better when I was barefoot but I still needed to do a lot of work on my form. So I started researching everything I could find on barefoot running and correct running form.
I also made a desperate plea on FB asking anyone for a reputable ortho doctor in the area. I figured let me try that avenue, haven't been to see one of them yet. I was recommended to a doctor in Kingwood by a few different people so I made an appt with him. I was super prepared for this visit. I went to the first doctor and got the MRI pics, had both pair of running shoes to show wear, etc. Well it turns out it was a complete waste of my time. This doctor pretty much said I have already done everything he would suggest and unless I fix my form I will just keep dealing with the problem. ok, I can understand that, let me work on my form.
I practiced the barefoot running for a couple of weeks (which is supposed to be the best way to learn correct form) before I got some serious blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I decided after that, and after talking with other runners, that maybe fully barefoot wasn't necessary. But it was necessary to fix my form and learn to run correctly, and get some minimalist shoes.
This led me back to Luke's Locker for my 3rd pair of shoes in less than a year. I went on a day my trusty sales rep Brian was there and we talked a lot about what shoes to buy, etc. I went in with the thought of getting the Saucony Kinvara's. But I really wanted to try the Newton's b/c I have heard so much about them and they didn't have my size in the Kinvara's. After running up and down the strip at the store I actually decided to buy the Newton's. The shoes I bought were supposed to help you learn to run on your forefoot instead of your heel. Exactly what I needed.
While at Luke's I asked Brian if he knew of any doctor's I could go to to finally figure out exactly what is going on with my calf/Achilles and to fix it once and for all. My exact words were "I need someone who is not going to stop until we figure out what is going on, and I want a runner". He mentioned two different doctor's names. Of course the only one that took insurance was a doctor in the Woodlands. Just my luck, but whatever, what difference does it make at this point???
My first visit with Dr Eric LeBouef was on April 21st. I once again came prepared with everything, MRI results, shoes, etc. I started in on my long story of how this started and ALL of the different treatment options I have tried and where I was currently at. I told him, "you are actually my 6th doctor to see, I know that is crazy." He didn't even flinch when I said that. After I finished he said " I am not surprised I am your 6th doctor, I can't tell you how many people come in here saying the same thing, with the same symptoms. I know exactly what is wrong"
Well that is a little hopeful. He did a very thorough exam and pretty much told me the body part that is effected is where the calf muscle meets the tendons and that I needed to make that part more flexible. He did a little acupuncture on my calf and then slightly massaged it. He then showed me some exercises to do every day, including balancing on both legs to build my ankle strength.
I have since been seeing him every week, for 6 weeks. He now does some electro thing on me when I first get there, which sends little electric waves thru my leg, it feels very good. And then does a little massage, sometimes pretty deep. He says the range of motion is getting much better.
I ran my first race on 5/7, a 5k. It felt WONDERFUL to race again. Just to be there with all of the other runners, the excitement of it all. I LOVED IT! Man did it fuel me to start training for the marathon. My calf held up very well and didn't bother me at all.
Since then it has started to bother me again. This past week has been pretty bad. It is starting to bother me more often. I have been running around 3 miles about 3 days a week. And it is pretty much starting up again. Seems like when I start running consistently it starts bothering me. I am wearing a Strassburg sock to sleep in. It is a sock designed to cure Plantar Fascities but the doc says it will help this as well.
So unfortunately I don't have the greatest news to report. I am signed up to run a 5k this coming Monday, I am excited about it b/c I will be running it with friends. I need to get this under control very soon b/c training starts in about 1 1/2 months for the marathon.
In April I did a lot of research on barefoot running and minimalist running. I video taped myself running in running shoes and barefoot. I could tell right away my form was all wrong. I was heel-striking A LOT! It was a little better when I was barefoot but I still needed to do a lot of work on my form. So I started researching everything I could find on barefoot running and correct running form.
I also made a desperate plea on FB asking anyone for a reputable ortho doctor in the area. I figured let me try that avenue, haven't been to see one of them yet. I was recommended to a doctor in Kingwood by a few different people so I made an appt with him. I was super prepared for this visit. I went to the first doctor and got the MRI pics, had both pair of running shoes to show wear, etc. Well it turns out it was a complete waste of my time. This doctor pretty much said I have already done everything he would suggest and unless I fix my form I will just keep dealing with the problem. ok, I can understand that, let me work on my form.
I practiced the barefoot running for a couple of weeks (which is supposed to be the best way to learn correct form) before I got some serious blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I decided after that, and after talking with other runners, that maybe fully barefoot wasn't necessary. But it was necessary to fix my form and learn to run correctly, and get some minimalist shoes.
This led me back to Luke's Locker for my 3rd pair of shoes in less than a year. I went on a day my trusty sales rep Brian was there and we talked a lot about what shoes to buy, etc. I went in with the thought of getting the Saucony Kinvara's. But I really wanted to try the Newton's b/c I have heard so much about them and they didn't have my size in the Kinvara's. After running up and down the strip at the store I actually decided to buy the Newton's. The shoes I bought were supposed to help you learn to run on your forefoot instead of your heel. Exactly what I needed.
While at Luke's I asked Brian if he knew of any doctor's I could go to to finally figure out exactly what is going on with my calf/Achilles and to fix it once and for all. My exact words were "I need someone who is not going to stop until we figure out what is going on, and I want a runner". He mentioned two different doctor's names. Of course the only one that took insurance was a doctor in the Woodlands. Just my luck, but whatever, what difference does it make at this point???
My first visit with Dr Eric LeBouef was on April 21st. I once again came prepared with everything, MRI results, shoes, etc. I started in on my long story of how this started and ALL of the different treatment options I have tried and where I was currently at. I told him, "you are actually my 6th doctor to see, I know that is crazy." He didn't even flinch when I said that. After I finished he said " I am not surprised I am your 6th doctor, I can't tell you how many people come in here saying the same thing, with the same symptoms. I know exactly what is wrong"
Well that is a little hopeful. He did a very thorough exam and pretty much told me the body part that is effected is where the calf muscle meets the tendons and that I needed to make that part more flexible. He did a little acupuncture on my calf and then slightly massaged it. He then showed me some exercises to do every day, including balancing on both legs to build my ankle strength.
I have since been seeing him every week, for 6 weeks. He now does some electro thing on me when I first get there, which sends little electric waves thru my leg, it feels very good. And then does a little massage, sometimes pretty deep. He says the range of motion is getting much better.
I ran my first race on 5/7, a 5k. It felt WONDERFUL to race again. Just to be there with all of the other runners, the excitement of it all. I LOVED IT! Man did it fuel me to start training for the marathon. My calf held up very well and didn't bother me at all.
Since then it has started to bother me again. This past week has been pretty bad. It is starting to bother me more often. I have been running around 3 miles about 3 days a week. And it is pretty much starting up again. Seems like when I start running consistently it starts bothering me. I am wearing a Strassburg sock to sleep in. It is a sock designed to cure Plantar Fascities but the doc says it will help this as well.
So unfortunately I don't have the greatest news to report. I am signed up to run a 5k this coming Monday, I am excited about it b/c I will be running it with friends. I need to get this under control very soon b/c training starts in about 1 1/2 months for the marathon.
March 30, 2011
I Am A Warrior...........
I did it.....I am a Warrior. Warrior Dash was so much fun. It is a crazy race where people dress up, you get mud in all areas and the rinse off area is the lake.
The best thing about this race is Mario and I did it together. It was so great running a race with him. I have a small hope that he is going to eventually like running a little and will do 5k's with me, but we will see. But it was really neat to actually have him beside me for the race instead of waiting at the finish line for me.
We ran the race on Sunday at 11:30am. We had to park down the road and be bussed into the race. It was very interesting.
Once we got there we saw exactly what we imagined. It is like a Renaissance Festival 5k. There are people dressed in all different costumes and matching outfits. There are turkey legs and pints of beer everywhere.
There was a pile of shoes in the middle of the road that people are donating to charity (I looked up which one so I could tell you guys b/c it was a great cause but now I can't find it anywhere). The shoes from Saturday were there so it was already a big pile when we got there, Lance and Andi added to the pile. I hate to be the person whose job it is to clean all of those shoes. There were some pretty nasty ones.
Mario, Andi, Lance and I ran the race together. My plan was to walk most of the race because my calf had been bothering me again after the indoor tri. But of course once we started off and we were jogging it felt really good. So I was going......being careful......but going......
Andi and I ran together for a while and then walked for a while, we alternated that for a little bit and then Andi decided she was done running. That was fine with me. I wanted to do this with her b/c this is probably one of the only races I don't care too much about my time and since we run at such different paces we never get to do races together.
Lance and Mario started running together but Lance soon realized he would rather walk as well. We did most of the obstacles together. After a while Mario and I started running to the obstacles, just to run, and would then wait for Lance and Andi before doing the obstacle. It was really fun to do it all together.
I think my favorite obstacle was the cargo net. I enjoyed climbing, that is something we as adults don't do that much anymore, not as much as kids do. I also thought the jumping over fire was pretty cool. I looked at the pics the WD people take and I didn't realize I could jump that high. I was going to make sure there was no way fire was touching me.
The last obstacle is where they get you muddy. We had to crawl under barbwire in the mud. It was very gross and to top it off Mario dropped his expensive sunglasses in there when he did a belly flop so I was feeling around in the mud as well. We never did find them. But we did all finish and took our "finisher" photos and got our medals.
As you can imagine there was mud everywhere. All in our shoes, squelching between our toes, in our shorts and Andi found a good amount in her top. It was pretty gross. Mario was wondering what in the world was in his pockets and he thought, did I put some crumbed up paper in there, etc. So he stuck his hands in to see.....this is what it was......
......two globs of mud!
The funniest thing to me was the rinse off area. The lake. And to get to the lake you have to go through about 20 yards of mud. Very interesting. I did go out there just b/c I was sooooo nasty but it didn't too much good. But I never did take my nasty shoes off until I got back to the car. There was no sense in changing into my flip flops, I would just get muddy again.
After we rinsed off we went and got our free beer. Luckily for Lance I don't drink beer so I gave him my ticket. You had to turn in your timing chip to get the ticket and his somehow came off during the race. (he's not an official finisher) We then listened to the band that was playing and went to the finish line to see if we could see Niki cross over. Her wave was an hour after ours. We got a great view of everyone jumping into the mud pit, crawling thru it and then crossing the finish line. And we did see Niki finish as well. You could tell she was having a blast she was grinning from ear to ear.
We then decided to head back to the car. Mario and I had a softball game later that day we needed to get ready for. We all changed at the car. We just held towels up and changed.
The entire experience was so great. We had such a great time and we can't wait to do it again. We are all four signed up to do the Beach Palooza race in Sept already. And we will be back for WD next year and maybe some of the other ones as well, like Muddy Buddy, etc.
The best thing about this race is Mario and I did it together. It was so great running a race with him. I have a small hope that he is going to eventually like running a little and will do 5k's with me, but we will see. But it was really neat to actually have him beside me for the race instead of waiting at the finish line for me.
We ran the race on Sunday at 11:30am. We had to park down the road and be bussed into the race. It was very interesting.
Once we got there we saw exactly what we imagined. It is like a Renaissance Festival 5k. There are people dressed in all different costumes and matching outfits. There are turkey legs and pints of beer everywhere.
There was a pile of shoes in the middle of the road that people are donating to charity (I looked up which one so I could tell you guys b/c it was a great cause but now I can't find it anywhere). The shoes from Saturday were there so it was already a big pile when we got there, Lance and Andi added to the pile. I hate to be the person whose job it is to clean all of those shoes. There were some pretty nasty ones.
Mario, Andi, Lance and I ran the race together. My plan was to walk most of the race because my calf had been bothering me again after the indoor tri. But of course once we started off and we were jogging it felt really good. So I was going......being careful......but going......
Andi and I ran together for a while and then walked for a while, we alternated that for a little bit and then Andi decided she was done running. That was fine with me. I wanted to do this with her b/c this is probably one of the only races I don't care too much about my time and since we run at such different paces we never get to do races together.
Lance and Mario started running together but Lance soon realized he would rather walk as well. We did most of the obstacles together. After a while Mario and I started running to the obstacles, just to run, and would then wait for Lance and Andi before doing the obstacle. It was really fun to do it all together.
I think my favorite obstacle was the cargo net. I enjoyed climbing, that is something we as adults don't do that much anymore, not as much as kids do. I also thought the jumping over fire was pretty cool. I looked at the pics the WD people take and I didn't realize I could jump that high. I was going to make sure there was no way fire was touching me.
The last obstacle is where they get you muddy. We had to crawl under barbwire in the mud. It was very gross and to top it off Mario dropped his expensive sunglasses in there when he did a belly flop so I was feeling around in the mud as well. We never did find them. But we did all finish and took our "finisher" photos and got our medals.
As you can imagine there was mud everywhere. All in our shoes, squelching between our toes, in our shorts and Andi found a good amount in her top. It was pretty gross. Mario was wondering what in the world was in his pockets and he thought, did I put some crumbed up paper in there, etc. So he stuck his hands in to see.....this is what it was......
......two globs of mud!
The funniest thing to me was the rinse off area. The lake. And to get to the lake you have to go through about 20 yards of mud. Very interesting. I did go out there just b/c I was sooooo nasty but it didn't too much good. But I never did take my nasty shoes off until I got back to the car. There was no sense in changing into my flip flops, I would just get muddy again.
After we rinsed off we went and got our free beer. Luckily for Lance I don't drink beer so I gave him my ticket. You had to turn in your timing chip to get the ticket and his somehow came off during the race. (he's not an official finisher) We then listened to the band that was playing and went to the finish line to see if we could see Niki cross over. Her wave was an hour after ours. We got a great view of everyone jumping into the mud pit, crawling thru it and then crossing the finish line. And we did see Niki finish as well. You could tell she was having a blast she was grinning from ear to ear.
We then decided to head back to the car. Mario and I had a softball game later that day we needed to get ready for. We all changed at the car. We just held towels up and changed.
The entire experience was so great. We had such a great time and we can't wait to do it again. We are all four signed up to do the Beach Palooza race in Sept already. And we will be back for WD next year and maybe some of the other ones as well, like Muddy Buddy, etc.
March 16, 2011
Here We Go Again....... Part 2
I absolutely hate to post this. But this is the best way for me to get it out. I am back to square one! My calf, or what I now know is actually the Achilles Tendon, is hurting again. I have not been able to run in over a week.
I ran the 20 minute tri on Sunday, 3/6, at a higher pace than normal but nothing too wild, it felt great. Then the following Monday I ran 5 miles. Once again, felt great! One of the best runs yet. But it was pretty much all down hill from there. It started bothering me on Tuesday and has bothered me ever since. I have taken a few days off (well kinda) to see if it would subside and it hasn't. I have foam rolled and iced every day, as well as stretch.
So, here we go again. Back to the beginning. Back to the search for what is going to fix this. Back to the doctor's appts, etc. I am beyond frustrated at this point. Runners get this injury all of the time, why are they able to heal so quickly? I have heard the same thing from all three doctors, "some people just heal faster than others". WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no reason why I should be injured with an Achilles Tendon for 4 1/2 months. Especially after trying all of the different "solutions" I have tried. I mean come on now!
Ok, so now that I got that out (thank you for listening)....let me say I am not giving up. I have had 4 people say to me, "maybe running isn't your thing." It is! No one is going to tell me otherwise. I feel so happy when I run and I get such joy and relaxation from it. How can it not be for me?
So for those that know me well know that I already have the next 3 steps planned. The next 3 steps to get me running again.
1.) Visit doctor in Kingwood that is supposed to be GREAT with these kind of injuries. The running coach at the gym suggested I try him out. Apparently he is a "miracle worker". Yea, well apparently I am going to need one of those so let's just see how good he is.
2.) Once I am running again, even if for 20 minutes at a time I am going to get a biomechanic test done on my run form. This will pinpoint problem areas to change so I can reduce risk of injury once I do get healed. My god, I do not want to go through this again.
3.) Research minimalist running style. I am currently reading the book Born to Run. It is an absolutely amazing book that spotlights the barefoot running theory. It follows a Mexican tribe that runs thru the canyons of Mexico for long distances at a time in home-made sandals. It explores the theory that our bodies are made to run and we could run further with less effort if we 1.) adopted the running form our ancestors used when that was their main mode of transportation and 2.) chucked the running shoes and ran in a more minimalist shoe.
I am very intrigued with this book. I have done some research already and apparently this one book alone has transformed a lot of people into barefoot runners or minimalist runner. I am going to look into it more though. I am going to "interview" runners who run in these type of shoes, check out the barefoot running websites and read the authors and other runners in the book websites. Maybe it is the answer. Who knows.....but what do I have to lose at this point? It makes a lot of sense to me.
On a good note, 2 things:
1.) Mario, Andi and I are doing Warrior Dash on Sunday. I am not running all week so I can do it on Sunday. I don't plan to run much at the race but will need all I can get. I can not wait, it is going to be so fun!
2.) I have made headway with the swimming. I have figured out that I only need to take a breath every 5 strokes instead of 3 as I was doing. And because I was taking more breaths than needed I was filling my lungs with unneeded air, raising my heart rate. At least that is what I think. :) Either way it is better. Still much to be desired but better.
Thanks for listening. If anyone knows of anything else I can try to heal my leg please let me know. Or if you know of someone who has had this same issue. I am open to anything right now.
I ran the 20 minute tri on Sunday, 3/6, at a higher pace than normal but nothing too wild, it felt great. Then the following Monday I ran 5 miles. Once again, felt great! One of the best runs yet. But it was pretty much all down hill from there. It started bothering me on Tuesday and has bothered me ever since. I have taken a few days off (well kinda) to see if it would subside and it hasn't. I have foam rolled and iced every day, as well as stretch.
So, here we go again. Back to the beginning. Back to the search for what is going to fix this. Back to the doctor's appts, etc. I am beyond frustrated at this point. Runners get this injury all of the time, why are they able to heal so quickly? I have heard the same thing from all three doctors, "some people just heal faster than others". WHATEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is no reason why I should be injured with an Achilles Tendon for 4 1/2 months. Especially after trying all of the different "solutions" I have tried. I mean come on now!
Ok, so now that I got that out (thank you for listening)....let me say I am not giving up. I have had 4 people say to me, "maybe running isn't your thing." It is! No one is going to tell me otherwise. I feel so happy when I run and I get such joy and relaxation from it. How can it not be for me?
So for those that know me well know that I already have the next 3 steps planned. The next 3 steps to get me running again.
1.) Visit doctor in Kingwood that is supposed to be GREAT with these kind of injuries. The running coach at the gym suggested I try him out. Apparently he is a "miracle worker". Yea, well apparently I am going to need one of those so let's just see how good he is.
2.) Once I am running again, even if for 20 minutes at a time I am going to get a biomechanic test done on my run form. This will pinpoint problem areas to change so I can reduce risk of injury once I do get healed. My god, I do not want to go through this again.
3.) Research minimalist running style. I am currently reading the book Born to Run. It is an absolutely amazing book that spotlights the barefoot running theory. It follows a Mexican tribe that runs thru the canyons of Mexico for long distances at a time in home-made sandals. It explores the theory that our bodies are made to run and we could run further with less effort if we 1.) adopted the running form our ancestors used when that was their main mode of transportation and 2.) chucked the running shoes and ran in a more minimalist shoe.
I am very intrigued with this book. I have done some research already and apparently this one book alone has transformed a lot of people into barefoot runners or minimalist runner. I am going to look into it more though. I am going to "interview" runners who run in these type of shoes, check out the barefoot running websites and read the authors and other runners in the book websites. Maybe it is the answer. Who knows.....but what do I have to lose at this point? It makes a lot of sense to me.
On a good note, 2 things:
1.) Mario, Andi and I are doing Warrior Dash on Sunday. I am not running all week so I can do it on Sunday. I don't plan to run much at the race but will need all I can get. I can not wait, it is going to be so fun!
2.) I have made headway with the swimming. I have figured out that I only need to take a breath every 5 strokes instead of 3 as I was doing. And because I was taking more breaths than needed I was filling my lungs with unneeded air, raising my heart rate. At least that is what I think. :) Either way it is better. Still much to be desired but better.
Thanks for listening. If anyone knows of anything else I can try to heal my leg please let me know. Or if you know of someone who has had this same issue. I am open to anything right now.
March 7, 2011
I TRIed It.....and Loved It!
I completed my first "triathalon" on Sunday! The indoor triathalon at the gym. It consists of a 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike and 20 minute run. And you earn points based on distance covered during those times.
I have been taking swim lessons for this, for a month. I wanted to learn how to swim freestyle with my head in the water. I did finally learn how to do it, although I still really need to work on it. I just can't get the breathing down yet. It is very frustrating but I know I need to just keep practicing and I will eventually get it. But as of right now I don't really care for it. But I think I will as I get it.
So it was the part I was dreading the most at the tri. The worse part was you had to share a lane with someone and since my plan included a lot of backstroke (a stroke that is much easier for me) I was worried I would smack them. But then I remembered my friend Niki was signing up for the tri as well I didn't feel as bad smacking her. :) She will forgive me. Another good thing was it was very relaxed and you could stop anywhere in the pool, walk the length of the pool, or just stand there if you wanted to, as long as you got in the water. So I wasn't too anxious about it, just glad it was first b/c I just wanted to get it over with.
So Niki and I met up at the gym at 7:30am. We checked in (got a really nice performance tee), set up our transition clothes, and headed to the pool. There was one wave ahead of us and they were already in the water. I expected to see at least one person walking, standing, something, but they were all swimming, really well. Oh well....I will just do the best I can. The plan was to do 4 lengths freestyle and the rest back.
And we were off....the swimming was as hard as I figured it would be. I have a lot of work to do on swimming. My goal was to complete at least 10 lengths, and that is exactly how many I did. Although I didn't make 4 lengths freestyle, just two. I couldn't handle all of the turbulance and swimming right next to Niki. So I just swam backstroke for the rest of it and only hit Niki twice, on the last two lengths. I said "sorry"! :)
I was very glad to get out of the pool and change for the bike riding. We headed up to the cycle room and when we walked in the guy said we have 30 seconds to start. Oops....apparenlty we took a little long changing. We jumped on, I was able to at least adjust the seat before getting on, but the handle bars wasn't high enough. The volunteer was nice enough to come raise it for me and then push my seat forward, as I stood up and pedaled. I averaged about 29 mph and kicked it up a little higher in the last 10 minutes. I ended up going 14.4 miles, higher than I had been doing so I was happy with that. Best thing was my legs weren't even jiggly afterward, I was ready for the run.
I definitely did the best in the run, shocker, right? I ran at about a 10min/mile for 10 minutes raised it to 9min/mile for about 5 min and then went to about a 7:45min/mile for the last 5 minutes (that is 8.0 on the treadmill). It felt so great to run that fast. My legs weren't bothering me at all.
Afterwards Niki and I stretched out and headed home, glad that we did it. We both really enjoyed it and we are looking forward to the Super Sprint Tri in May. I just have to conquer my fear of swimming in lake water to do that.
Oh.....this just in. As I was finishing this up I received the results from the tri. I tied for 6th place out of 10, in my category. 23rd out of 32 overall. :) The swimming killed me. I have pretty competitive times in the running and biking. Oh well I will keep working on it.
Now on to Warrior Dash in two weeks! And hopefully a Half Marathon in 3 weeks!
I have been taking swim lessons for this, for a month. I wanted to learn how to swim freestyle with my head in the water. I did finally learn how to do it, although I still really need to work on it. I just can't get the breathing down yet. It is very frustrating but I know I need to just keep practicing and I will eventually get it. But as of right now I don't really care for it. But I think I will as I get it.
So it was the part I was dreading the most at the tri. The worse part was you had to share a lane with someone and since my plan included a lot of backstroke (a stroke that is much easier for me) I was worried I would smack them. But then I remembered my friend Niki was signing up for the tri as well I didn't feel as bad smacking her. :) She will forgive me. Another good thing was it was very relaxed and you could stop anywhere in the pool, walk the length of the pool, or just stand there if you wanted to, as long as you got in the water. So I wasn't too anxious about it, just glad it was first b/c I just wanted to get it over with.
So Niki and I met up at the gym at 7:30am. We checked in (got a really nice performance tee), set up our transition clothes, and headed to the pool. There was one wave ahead of us and they were already in the water. I expected to see at least one person walking, standing, something, but they were all swimming, really well. Oh well....I will just do the best I can. The plan was to do 4 lengths freestyle and the rest back.
And we were off....the swimming was as hard as I figured it would be. I have a lot of work to do on swimming. My goal was to complete at least 10 lengths, and that is exactly how many I did. Although I didn't make 4 lengths freestyle, just two. I couldn't handle all of the turbulance and swimming right next to Niki. So I just swam backstroke for the rest of it and only hit Niki twice, on the last two lengths. I said "sorry"! :)
I was very glad to get out of the pool and change for the bike riding. We headed up to the cycle room and when we walked in the guy said we have 30 seconds to start. Oops....apparenlty we took a little long changing. We jumped on, I was able to at least adjust the seat before getting on, but the handle bars wasn't high enough. The volunteer was nice enough to come raise it for me and then push my seat forward, as I stood up and pedaled. I averaged about 29 mph and kicked it up a little higher in the last 10 minutes. I ended up going 14.4 miles, higher than I had been doing so I was happy with that. Best thing was my legs weren't even jiggly afterward, I was ready for the run.
I definitely did the best in the run, shocker, right? I ran at about a 10min/mile for 10 minutes raised it to 9min/mile for about 5 min and then went to about a 7:45min/mile for the last 5 minutes (that is 8.0 on the treadmill). It felt so great to run that fast. My legs weren't bothering me at all.
Afterwards Niki and I stretched out and headed home, glad that we did it. We both really enjoyed it and we are looking forward to the Super Sprint Tri in May. I just have to conquer my fear of swimming in lake water to do that.
Oh.....this just in. As I was finishing this up I received the results from the tri. I tied for 6th place out of 10, in my category. 23rd out of 32 overall. :) The swimming killed me. I have pretty competitive times in the running and biking. Oh well I will keep working on it.
Now on to Warrior Dash in two weeks! And hopefully a Half Marathon in 3 weeks!
I Am Released.....
As of last Thursday I am officially released from Airrosti treatment. I am a little uneasy about it but excited at the same time. I have been doing well, there is no doubt my leg is improved. I ran 4 miles twice last week and it felt fine. Didn't hurt at all. And it didn't bother me much afterwards. I am still icing twice a day, sometimes more. I have this handy ice pack I use at work now that wraps around my leg and sticks with velcro. Now that is making the most of your time. (something I have perfected over time) I am also foam rolling at least once a day. I now foam roll calves, shins, quads and it band. It is actually to the point it feels good now! If I run I foam roll twice that day, just for good measure.
I guess I am uneasy b/c I still feel some twinges throughout the day. Nothing major, in fact anything but. But I just thought they would go away completely. I am worried that as I get higher up in the mileage it will just start all over again. But I won't know if I don't try, right?
So I am done wearing the pretty kineseo tape everyone so enjoyed. To let you know what everyone has been staring at, I posted a few pics.
So now the goal is to run 5 miles/twice this week and then maybe 3-4 miles once. I ran 5 miles tonight and it felt great. Much better than I thought since I have been under the weather but I had to get out there and do it, it takes a lot to stop me from running. I will put ice on it tonight and a lot more tomorrow. I am going to swim and cycle tomorrow, giving my legs a rest and then try and run 5 miles again on Wednesday with the 3-4 mile run on Friday.
So I am now heavily considering running that Half at the end of March. I keep going back and forth in my mind, praying about it, etc. I don't want to push myself and injure myself further but I feel like I won't. You just never know. I think if I run the first 1/2 of it and then use the 5:1 technique (run 5 minutes/walk 1 minute) for the rest of the race I will be fine. Plus there is a super long time limit so if nothing else I guess I can walk it when I need to. Not really how I planned to run my first Half but it is better than not doing it at all. I really, really, really want to complete a Half Marathon.
I am going to see how the next two weeks go. The registration deadline is next Friday so I have two weeks to see if I can hold up. If I make it through the 5 miles this week I will run 6 next week a few times to see how it holds up. Wish me luck!
February 23, 2011
Don't Count Me Out Just Yet.......
I know it has been a while since I posted but I am posting with good news.....hopefully!
Let me start from the beginning. Thru a trail of emails it was brought to my attention that one of my vendors from work was a runner. A REAL runner. She has run 21 marathons and 10 half's. She is also a Certified Running Coach and is co-owner of her own running training company. She is living my dream!
Well after discovering this we started chatting. We both love to talk about running and now we have someone we can talk to without getting the blank "I don't care" stares. I quickly let her know about my blog.
Within a few minutes of reading the blog she emailed me back and said, "can I offer a suggestion for your injury?" Are you kidding me....yes please do.....I will try anything at this point.
Here is a quote from that email:
Let me start from the beginning. Thru a trail of emails it was brought to my attention that one of my vendors from work was a runner. A REAL runner. She has run 21 marathons and 10 half's. She is also a Certified Running Coach and is co-owner of her own running training company. She is living my dream!
Well after discovering this we started chatting. We both love to talk about running and now we have someone we can talk to without getting the blank "I don't care" stares. I quickly let her know about my blog.
Within a few minutes of reading the blog she emailed me back and said, "can I offer a suggestion for your injury?" Are you kidding me....yes please do.....I will try anything at this point.
Here is a quote from that email:
"Let me lay it out like this first: Since July of 2009, I battled injury after injury. It all started with a stress fracture on my right foot. As that healed, I was determine to run my marathons I had signed up for (Houston & Austin). After dealing with the stress fracture (wearing a boot for 8 weeks!), I developed a neuroma (pinched nerve) on that same foot under my toes. Got my cortisone shot and ran the Houston marathon! During the race, I started having severe pain in the left foot (heel area). It was discovered afterward that I had plantar fasciitis and a possible heel spur on my left foot!!! Anyway, a few weeks later, I ended up breaking my big toe on the same foot…it bent out to the right and broke the sesamoid bone. Back in a boot and not able to run. I did electromyopulse therapy, cortisone shots and all kinds of other therapy on it and nothing seemed to work. So, I broke down and went to an airrosti therapist for treatment. My friend had told me about it, but I kept resisting that “hokey” stuff! :) He determined that I actually had Achilles tendonitis that was pulling on my heel making it hurt so bad. You probably won’t believe this, but I went into his office in a boot and came out in a running shoe and ran the next day. It took three treatments and it “went” away."
I was beaming from ear to ear, if she had done this and it worked for her, maybe it will work for me. I had HOPE again!
That night I went home and spent 1 1/2 hours researching Airrosti. It seemed too good to be true and why hadn't any of the other doctor's I had been to mentioned it? I could not find one bad thing mentioned about Airrosti. In fact every single person who tried it said it worked. I even had mom research it and she couldn't find anything bad as well. Ok now you got me. Although all of the reports did say it hurt like hell, I really don't care at this point, as long as it means I can run again.
So I called and made an appt for the next day. I am having to pay out of my pocket, they do accept insurance but mine is out of network and cheaper for me to pay out of pocket. But they offer a payment plan and I don't have to start paying on that until mid-March. It isn't really that expensive, I am just broke. :)
I was so nervous going into that session. How much was this going to hurt? Can I take it? After about a 15 minute consultation with the doctor we got to "work". He was very upfront and said, "yes, this is going to hurt." ok, but for how long? I am thinking 30-45 minutes, when he said 15-20 I was elated. This part of the treatment is a very deep tissue "massage" using the thumbs to loosen up the fascia around the muscle. He explained that every muscle has fascia around it and when our muscles are injured or tighten up the fascia likes to "hug" the muscle. Since the fascia doesn't have any sort of blood supply to it, once the muscle loosens up or heals the fascia doesn't know to "let go." So they go in and smooth it out and loosen it up. It isn't very pleasant but he did a good job of trying to distract me while he was doing it. He also went ahead and did both legs, not just the injured one AND did my shins! That was by far the worse pain, although it was discovered I have shin splints and now I can get those fixed for the price of one. :)
After the massage you meet with another person who shows you how to use a foam roller and the importance of it. Luckily I already have one of these but didn't really use it properly. She showed me how to roll out my calves and shins. Afterwards they put kinesio tape on you, 4 colors to choose from (black, nude, hot pink and turquoise), to promote blood flow to the area, decreasing inflammation and swelling. I choose black the first time. :)
I quickly asked if I could go to spin class that night, after the treatment, I am training for that indoor tri in March. He said, sure go for it. In fact we want you to be active, it will promote the healing process. Heck yeah.....I like this type of thinking. Then he said, and I want you to run tomorrow, up to 3 miles. Even better! Also, put ice on it twice a day and foam roll twice a day.
Spin class went well. I actually did better than I have ever done, although I don't think that had to do with the treatment, I was probably just amped up. But I did get some funny stares from the gym-goers with the black tape on my legs, but whatever.
The next day I was a little sore from the treatment but nothing like I thought it would be. I went running that afternoon and it felt GREAT! I forgot how good it felt! I was on cloud nine. I only made it 2 1/2 miles b/c it was soooo hot and humid that day and I hadn't run in the humidity in a while. But I didn't care, that was the longest in about 3 months. I was so excited I went to my neighbors house and told him, I had to tell someone in person. I was absolutely stoked for the rest of the day.
My leg felt fine after that, I had a few "twinges" here and there but nothing out of the ordinary and certainly no worse than before. Went to my second appt (of four) on Monday. Went thru the same treatment, apparently I am getting used to the pain, it didn't hurt that much. I think I just know what to expect now. I then went and learned how to foam roll my quads and IT band as well as the calves and shins. And then opted for the blue tape. My daughter told me last time I should get blue since it is my favorite color, why not? I didn't realize he was going to tape the front of the leg this time, great, the time I pick a bright color. Needless to say I got LOTS of stares at the gym. Seriously people, have you never seen kinesio tape before? My marching orders were to run that night, up to 3 miles, foam roll only once a day and ice twice, and stretch a lot. No problem.
I ran 3 miles on Monday. It felt soooooo wonderful, it is hard to put into words. I was just so excited. Until yesterday........
I started feeling that "twinge" in my calf yesterday morning and as the day went on it got a little worse, nothing unbearable, just a reminder it is there. I went ahead and biked for 25 minutes and swam for about 40 yesterday and it didn't bother me during those activities. Came home, stretched really good and foam rolled everything. Then emailed the doctor to let him know what was going on. He has suggested I ice today 3-4 times and stretch throughout the day. I will email him soon so we can decide whether I should run tonight or not. At this point I am thinking I will, it feels pretty good. I have my third treatment tomorrow morning.
So I am still hopeful that this treatment is going to work, I will probably lose my mind if it doesn't. I highly suggest anyone with muscle-related injuries try it out, if you have tried everything. You can go to http://www.airrosti.com/ to check it out. If you click on Testimonials you can view a video there of the treatment process.
Wish me luck...... I hope to post in the near future that all is fine and I am running in a race soon. :)
February 9, 2011
Here We Go Again.......
Well I went to the PT today. I told him about my run on Saturday. I haven't run since. My calf has actually been bothering me again, without running, so I knew better than to push it. My shin splints have also been bothering me. When I told the doctor all of these things he had a grim look on his face. And then he said the words I was hoping to not ever have to hear again......"you need to stop running for a while." Um....can I just say.....it took everything I had not to start sobbing in the office. I hate that I get so emotional over this but I just can't help it. I did tear up and I tried to hide it so bad. I ended up having to walk away from the conversation for a few minutes so I didn't embarass myself by flooding the office with my tears.
After I gathered myself we talked about it a little longer, and I am happy to say I kept my composure, although it was NOT easy. He pretty much said no running for a week and then we can SLOWLY start back up. Like 10 minute runs for a few weeks. I am beyond frustrated at this point. I am pissed. I am pissed this is happening to me, I am pissed that I see other people out there running with no injuries and I am pissed that I have fallen in love with something that apparently doesn't love me back.
So unfortunately I am not going to be able to run that half at the end of March as I hoped. There is no way I will be ready for it. I am still doing the Indoor Tri and the Warrior Dash though. Those don't require too much running. I am not going to set a goal for a race just yet, running race. I have found that I put way too much stress on myself when I feel I need to ready to run by a certain time. I am just going to do as the PT says and hopefully one day be able to run again.
I am also doing a few extra things. I am going to get a second opinion about my leg. Just to make sure they don't see something the first doctor missed. I am also going to get some Dr. Scholl's to try. The PT thinks a lot of my issues are coming from how hard I strike the ground with my feet. I thank my Mamaw and Mom for passing that down. We all flap our feet when we walk and it has probably effected my run. And as soon as I can run again I am going to get a biomechanic test done.
So at this point I am very down in the dumps and disappointed. But I am still not giving up! Maybe, just maybe, I will be ready to start training for the marathon in July.
Something good has happened though. I had my first swim lesson yesterday. And as my friend Donica said, "I didn't see the paramedics, so I assume you didn't drown." I had no idea how I was going to do going into the lesson. I haven't really swam in probably 20 years or so. Man, I am old! So I let the instructor know right off the bat, I haven't swam in a long time. She said, "that's ok, go ahead and swim to the end of the lane, let's see what you got." I was so nervous, would I make it to the end of the lane? Guess what, I did! AND...she said I had great form. I just need to learn how to swim with my head in the water. Well that is great news, I was super excited about that. I guess all of those years watching my sister swim in swim team paid off. We also did the backstroke a little, which was a nice break from trying to swim free with my head in the water. It is not as easy as it looks. Backstroke went well, as well. She said I had good form, just a few things to tweak. Overall it was a very successful lesson and I really had fun with it. I plan to get in a few more swims before the lesson next Tuesday.
So I am going to try and focus on swimming and biking for now. At least I can build that up. And I am going to try my hardest to not think about running.
After I gathered myself we talked about it a little longer, and I am happy to say I kept my composure, although it was NOT easy. He pretty much said no running for a week and then we can SLOWLY start back up. Like 10 minute runs for a few weeks. I am beyond frustrated at this point. I am pissed. I am pissed this is happening to me, I am pissed that I see other people out there running with no injuries and I am pissed that I have fallen in love with something that apparently doesn't love me back.
So unfortunately I am not going to be able to run that half at the end of March as I hoped. There is no way I will be ready for it. I am still doing the Indoor Tri and the Warrior Dash though. Those don't require too much running. I am not going to set a goal for a race just yet, running race. I have found that I put way too much stress on myself when I feel I need to ready to run by a certain time. I am just going to do as the PT says and hopefully one day be able to run again.
I am also doing a few extra things. I am going to get a second opinion about my leg. Just to make sure they don't see something the first doctor missed. I am also going to get some Dr. Scholl's to try. The PT thinks a lot of my issues are coming from how hard I strike the ground with my feet. I thank my Mamaw and Mom for passing that down. We all flap our feet when we walk and it has probably effected my run. And as soon as I can run again I am going to get a biomechanic test done.
So at this point I am very down in the dumps and disappointed. But I am still not giving up! Maybe, just maybe, I will be ready to start training for the marathon in July.
Something good has happened though. I had my first swim lesson yesterday. And as my friend Donica said, "I didn't see the paramedics, so I assume you didn't drown." I had no idea how I was going to do going into the lesson. I haven't really swam in probably 20 years or so. Man, I am old! So I let the instructor know right off the bat, I haven't swam in a long time. She said, "that's ok, go ahead and swim to the end of the lane, let's see what you got." I was so nervous, would I make it to the end of the lane? Guess what, I did! AND...she said I had great form. I just need to learn how to swim with my head in the water. Well that is great news, I was super excited about that. I guess all of those years watching my sister swim in swim team paid off. We also did the backstroke a little, which was a nice break from trying to swim free with my head in the water. It is not as easy as it looks. Backstroke went well, as well. She said I had good form, just a few things to tweak. Overall it was a very successful lesson and I really had fun with it. I plan to get in a few more swims before the lesson next Tuesday.
So I am going to try and focus on swimming and biking for now. At least I can build that up. And I am going to try my hardest to not think about running.
February 5, 2011
OK.....So Here Is Where We Are Now.......
So I have gone to 5 Physical Therapy sessions now. I really like the therapist, he is very nice and listens to me. You know that is hard to find these days. I normally do about 30 minutes of calf strengthening, 5 minutes of stretching and then about 10 minutes of an excruciating massage. He didn't do the massage the first two sessions. He tricked me. He didn't start with the massage until this past week. He said, "oh, today we are going to do a small tissue massage." Wow....great, that sounds good. Um...yeah.....not so much. It hurts SOOOOOOO bad! I clinch my hands on the pillow so bad, so as to not scream, that they hurt. But he is working out the knots, etc. and it is needed. So I endure. Have I mentioned I will do whatever it takes to run? :)
He has been made well aware of the goal as well. He knows I am trying hard to train for the 1/2 marathon at the end of March. He is working with me to meet that goal. But the other day he asked me something, just off the cuff. I was saying once again how much I want to run and he said, "what if you were told you can't ever run again?" I just sat there with a blank look on my face. He hadn't ever given an indication that my injury was that bad so I don't think he was trying to hint to something. I think instead he was telling me to chill out, in not so many words. That it won't be the end of the world if I can't run that Half in March, and that it is better than not being able to run anymore.
My progress has been going well for the most part. On Tuesday I was going to run 25 minutes straight, for the 2nd time, but ended up running 30 minutes bc it felt so good. My calf wasn't hurting so I went with it. But when I tried to run 30 minutes again on Thursday I couldn't. I stopped at 25 minutes bc my calf was getting tight. Hmmm....that's not good. But maybe after all I had put it thru that week (2 PT sessions (including the massages that have left bruises on my legs) and 1 30 min run) I wore it out. Plus now the shin splints are coming back. I feel like I am starting all over again.
Would you believe that I drove to PT on Friday morning at 10am when all the ice was on the ground and Houston was freaking out? The Dr called me and said he was up there and if I wanted to come I could. I really wanted to just lay in bed and get up late but I pulled myself out of bed.
I told the Dr about my run Thursday and he agreed it may just be fatigued. I told him I wanted to start running mileage on Saturday's and was going to start this Sat with 3 miles. So he decided to do the normal calf exercises and massage. Good thing was the he mentioned during the massage that the knot in my calf is decreasing. WOOHOO.....maybe I won't have to do that much longer.
I went for my 3 mile run toda
y. I want to report that it was great, my calf felt great the whole time and I breezed through it. But I can't. Unfortunately after about the 2nd mile my calf started tightening up and had a slight twinge in it. Something the Dr said was a sign to stop. I am getting so sick of this. I am so frustrated and am just throwing my hands up going, "WHY?" Am I ever going to be able to run again? When is this going to be over?
That's pretty much where I am at right now. I am not giving up though. I will go to the Dr on Wednesday and let him know what's going on and go from there. I am just starting to realize my goal of running at the end of March may not happen. Once again I may have to swallow my pride and back out. But I have to continue to do what is good for my health. Even though it SUCKS!
One thing I am looking forward to though, my silver lining you could say, is swim lessons on Tuesday. I start weekly 30-minute private swim lessons this week to learn how to properly swim. It should be very interesting. But I need to learn how to swim with my head in the water, I was taught side to side, and correct form. All in preparation for the indoor tri in a month. So at least I have that to look forward to. Plus I just registered for Warrior Dash, super excited for that.
He has been made well aware of the goal as well. He knows I am trying hard to train for the 1/2 marathon at the end of March. He is working with me to meet that goal. But the other day he asked me something, just off the cuff. I was saying once again how much I want to run and he said, "what if you were told you can't ever run again?" I just sat there with a blank look on my face. He hadn't ever given an indication that my injury was that bad so I don't think he was trying to hint to something. I think instead he was telling me to chill out, in not so many words. That it won't be the end of the world if I can't run that Half in March, and that it is better than not being able to run anymore.
My progress has been going well for the most part. On Tuesday I was going to run 25 minutes straight, for the 2nd time, but ended up running 30 minutes bc it felt so good. My calf wasn't hurting so I went with it. But when I tried to run 30 minutes again on Thursday I couldn't. I stopped at 25 minutes bc my calf was getting tight. Hmmm....that's not good. But maybe after all I had put it thru that week (2 PT sessions (including the massages that have left bruises on my legs) and 1 30 min run) I wore it out. Plus now the shin splints are coming back. I feel like I am starting all over again.
Would you believe that I drove to PT on Friday morning at 10am when all the ice was on the ground and Houston was freaking out? The Dr called me and said he was up there and if I wanted to come I could. I really wanted to just lay in bed and get up late but I pulled myself out of bed.
I told the Dr about my run Thursday and he agreed it may just be fatigued. I told him I wanted to start running mileage on Saturday's and was going to start this Sat with 3 miles. So he decided to do the normal calf exercises and massage. Good thing was the he mentioned during the massage that the knot in my calf is decreasing. WOOHOO.....maybe I won't have to do that much longer.
I went for my 3 mile run toda
y. I want to report that it was great, my calf felt great the whole time and I breezed through it. But I can't. Unfortunately after about the 2nd mile my calf started tightening up and had a slight twinge in it. Something the Dr said was a sign to stop. I am getting so sick of this. I am so frustrated and am just throwing my hands up going, "WHY?" Am I ever going to be able to run again? When is this going to be over?
That's pretty much where I am at right now. I am not giving up though. I will go to the Dr on Wednesday and let him know what's going on and go from there. I am just starting to realize my goal of running at the end of March may not happen. Once again I may have to swallow my pride and back out. But I have to continue to do what is good for my health. Even though it SUCKS!
One thing I am looking forward to though, my silver lining you could say, is swim lessons on Tuesday. I start weekly 30-minute private swim lessons this week to learn how to properly swim. It should be very interesting. But I need to learn how to swim with my head in the water, I was taught side to side, and correct form. All in preparation for the indoor tri in a month. So at least I have that to look forward to. Plus I just registered for Warrior Dash, super excited for that.
February 3, 2011
I Came.....I Saw.....I Spectated
The big day was here. The Houston Aramco Half Marathon and Chevron Marathon was upon us.
When I made the decision to not run this race I dreaded calling Andi to tell her. We started this together and we planned to finish it together. I knew she would be very understanding though, I just hoped she had the courage to still run it. To my satisfaction she said "oh, well yeah, I am still running it." I immediately told her I would be right there by her side at the beginning of the race, in the middle of the race and of course at the finish line. Of course thinking to myself, "are you sure you can do this? be at the race that you were supposed to run, that you deserved to run, and not cry the entire time?" But it was may more important to me to be there and support a friend than to worry about a few tears. Plus it will be neat to experience a race as a spectator and not a runner. A running friend of mine, who is also injured, said, "oh Jaime, you will love it. You will see how much they need for you to cheer them on, in their eyes." She said she goes to races all the time to cheer the runners on, when she is not running, in cheerleading outfit and all. :)
As I watched the weather forecast for the race I thought, hmmmm.....is it better to run in the rain or spectate in the rain? Chance of rain was 60%, it didn't look like there was any escaping it. Luckily it wasn't predicted to be that cold. My husband, who had been planning on coming the entire time, backed out when he realized he was going to have to sit in the rain for 3 hours. But my daughter was all game so she woke up with me at 4:30am on Sunday to get ready and head downtown.
It was very important to me to be there with Andi before she started the race. I knew her nerves would be shot and I was hoping to bring some calmness to her before the race. She arrived at the race early enough to attend the Catholic mass so she was in there when I arrived. To my surprise she came out very calm and collected. She said she was very glad she had gone and that it really helped to settle her nerves.
Makayla and I left Andi as she headed to the starting line and drove to mile 4 where the Houston Food Bank had a hoopla station. I raised money for the HFB in order to gain my entry into the race after I wasn't picked in the lottery, great organization. I got lost trying to find where they were so Makayla and I had to walk a long way. Luckily it wasn't raining yet.
During our very long walk to the hoopla station we walked along the street that the runners would be coming up soon. And wouldn't you know, we start seeing the lead car heading toward us. Wow....that didn't take long. I thought it might be the wheelchair participants but instead it was the men leaders. They ran RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I almost felt like I was experiencing an epiphany. It was SOOOOO neat to see them run. I don't normally get to see these really fast runners. They looked so great. Like it was completely natural to run a 6 minute mile, or less, they looked like we do when we are walking. The front women runners passed quickly after that. Makayla and I just stood in awe. I can't put into words how awesome that whole experience was.
We FINALLY found the hoopla station and we sat up our cheering section. I was amazed at all of the runners. We were set up at the bottom of a hill so you could get a very clear picture of the magnitude of this race, seeing all the runners coming down the hill. I had three people I was looking for, and that I had made signs for. Two co-workers and of course Andi. It was so hard to see faces, there were so many people. I saw Dylan first, he was in the middle of the herd, and I saw this little hand pop up and wave. He caught me off guard. "oh Dylan, yeah, go Dylan". I fumbled for my sign to show him. He smiled. Later he said, "Thank you Jaime! It was awesome when I saw you cheering me on."
I missed the other co-worker, I must have had my back turned when he passed. I almost missed Andi. I didn't see her until she was right next to me handing me her jacket. Did I mention there were a lot of people? I ran with Andi for 1/4 of a mile, checking up on her seeing how she was hanging in there. She looked great, smiling from ear to ear. I gave her a few words of encouragement and saw her run off. GO ANDI! Makayla and I stayed at the hoopla station until the last runner ran by. I cheered for an hour straight. At this race they put the runners first name on the bib so you were able to actually urge people on by name. That was really neat. I liked being able to say, "Go Amy, you are looking good." or "Go Eddie, you are running strong." yeah, this spectator thing isn't so bad. Runners were actually thanking me for cheering them on. Something I do when I run races, but never really realized how much it meant to the spectator until I was thanked.
After the last runner ran by Makayla and I trekked back to the car and headed to mile 11. It was the closest I could get to the end of the Half without getting into downtown. By this time it was raining pretty good. Makayla and I had to stay under the umbrella for a good portion of the time. I felt like we waited forever for Andi to run by. I know it probably wasn't that long but I was a little concerned about Andi since she hadn't really trained that much. But then I saw her. I ran to meet up with her. We thought ahead and brought extra socks for her to change into and that is the first thing she said to me when she saw me, " I need the socks." Her feet were soaking wet and she had blisters. While she was changing the socks I did a checkup to see how she was doing. She said, "you know, it actually isn't that hard. I actually feel pretty good." Well you go girl. And she was off! So Makayla and I made a mad dash to the finish line, we only have about 30 min (I told Andi to take her time) to find a parking spot and get to the finish line.
We barely made it as we dealt with traffic, etc. but we did end up seeing her cross the finish line, but from afar. It was set up to where you couldn't really get that close. But I cheered so loud she heard me and saw me cheering her on. I was so SUPER PROUD of her. She did it. She crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 14 minutes. As she says, she finished that race for both of us. One of the only goals she has completed in life. You go girl! Can't wait for many more to come.
So, did I like being a spectator? Yes, I REALLY did. It was really neat to be on the other side. I have a lot of respect for spectators that go out there and cheer for hours. Plus I saw so many things I wouldn't have seen while running. However, I am a runner. I hope to not have to sit on the sideline for too many more races. But if that is the hand I am dealt I will make the most of it and head out to cheer on the runners!
When I made the decision to not run this race I dreaded calling Andi to tell her. We started this together and we planned to finish it together. I knew she would be very understanding though, I just hoped she had the courage to still run it. To my satisfaction she said "oh, well yeah, I am still running it." I immediately told her I would be right there by her side at the beginning of the race, in the middle of the race and of course at the finish line. Of course thinking to myself, "are you sure you can do this? be at the race that you were supposed to run, that you deserved to run, and not cry the entire time?" But it was may more important to me to be there and support a friend than to worry about a few tears. Plus it will be neat to experience a race as a spectator and not a runner. A running friend of mine, who is also injured, said, "oh Jaime, you will love it. You will see how much they need for you to cheer them on, in their eyes." She said she goes to races all the time to cheer the runners on, when she is not running, in cheerleading outfit and all. :)
As I watched the weather forecast for the race I thought, hmmmm.....is it better to run in the rain or spectate in the rain? Chance of rain was 60%, it didn't look like there was any escaping it. Luckily it wasn't predicted to be that cold. My husband, who had been planning on coming the entire time, backed out when he realized he was going to have to sit in the rain for 3 hours. But my daughter was all game so she woke up with me at 4:30am on Sunday to get ready and head downtown.
It was very important to me to be there with Andi before she started the race. I knew her nerves would be shot and I was hoping to bring some calmness to her before the race. She arrived at the race early enough to attend the Catholic mass so she was in there when I arrived. To my surprise she came out very calm and collected. She said she was very glad she had gone and that it really helped to settle her nerves.
Makayla and I left Andi as she headed to the starting line and drove to mile 4 where the Houston Food Bank had a hoopla station. I raised money for the HFB in order to gain my entry into the race after I wasn't picked in the lottery, great organization. I got lost trying to find where they were so Makayla and I had to walk a long way. Luckily it wasn't raining yet.
During our very long walk to the hoopla station we walked along the street that the runners would be coming up soon. And wouldn't you know, we start seeing the lead car heading toward us. Wow....that didn't take long. I thought it might be the wheelchair participants but instead it was the men leaders. They ran RIGHT NEXT TO ME. I almost felt like I was experiencing an epiphany. It was SOOOOO neat to see them run. I don't normally get to see these really fast runners. They looked so great. Like it was completely natural to run a 6 minute mile, or less, they looked like we do when we are walking. The front women runners passed quickly after that. Makayla and I just stood in awe. I can't put into words how awesome that whole experience was.
We FINALLY found the hoopla station and we sat up our cheering section. I was amazed at all of the runners. We were set up at the bottom of a hill so you could get a very clear picture of the magnitude of this race, seeing all the runners coming down the hill. I had three people I was looking for, and that I had made signs for. Two co-workers and of course Andi. It was so hard to see faces, there were so many people. I saw Dylan first, he was in the middle of the herd, and I saw this little hand pop up and wave. He caught me off guard. "oh Dylan, yeah, go Dylan". I fumbled for my sign to show him. He smiled. Later he said, "Thank you Jaime! It was awesome when I saw you cheering me on."
After the last runner ran by Makayla and I trekked back to the car and headed to mile 11. It was the closest I could get to the end of the Half without getting into downtown. By this time it was raining pretty good. Makayla and I had to stay under the umbrella for a good portion of the time. I felt like we waited forever for Andi to run by. I know it probably wasn't that long but I was a little concerned about Andi since she hadn't really trained that much. But then I saw her. I ran to meet up with her. We thought ahead and brought extra socks for her to change into and that is the first thing she said to me when she saw me, " I need the socks." Her feet were soaking wet and she had blisters. While she was changing the socks I did a checkup to see how she was doing. She said, "you know, it actually isn't that hard. I actually feel pretty good." Well you go girl. And she was off! So Makayla and I made a mad dash to the finish line, we only have about 30 min (I told Andi to take her time) to find a parking spot and get to the finish line.
We barely made it as we dealt with traffic, etc. but we did end up seeing her cross the finish line, but from afar. It was set up to where you couldn't really get that close. But I cheered so loud she heard me and saw me cheering her on. I was so SUPER PROUD of her. She did it. She crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 14 minutes. As she says, she finished that race for both of us. One of the only goals she has completed in life. You go girl! Can't wait for many more to come.
So, did I like being a spectator? Yes, I REALLY did. It was really neat to be on the other side. I have a lot of respect for spectators that go out there and cheer for hours. Plus I saw so many things I wouldn't have seen while running. However, I am a runner. I hope to not have to sit on the sideline for too many more races. But if that is the hand I am dealt I will make the most of it and head out to cheer on the runners!
January 31, 2011
The Kids Partake In The Action.......
The kids got to practice their running skills one more time, on Saturday. I had both of them signed up for the Kids Fun Run, part of the Houston Half Marathon, when I signed up for the Half. They had been wanting to run a race and Tracy told me how much fun her family had in it last year so we thought we would give it a try. Plus I wanted them to see what all the hoopla about racing was about.
As soon as we got there we got their race packets and changed their shirts into the Fun Run shirts. We then went and got in their respective corrals, Makayla with me and Malik with Mario.
The race was great. It was a 3k, about 1.8 miles. Malik started off running, he couldn't wait. Makayla wasn't too excited about running. She had a side stitch and her ankle hurt and she just wasn't into it. It was hard for me b/c I wanted to run so bad. This was sort of like my mini-race, since I wasn't able to run the Half. :) But after telling her how happy she would be if she continued and finished the race she decided to give it a try. She walked most of the race but I did get her to run a few times. We all ran together as a family for a little bit, that was really nice.
Malik ran almost the entire race. He has so much energy! We all ran the last few minutes together and everyone crossed the finish line. The kids got their medals and we went in to enjoy the kid zone. I was very proud of both of the kids but especially proud of Makayla for not giving up.
They really had a fun time and Malik is already talking about his next race. I think he is going to be my running buddy!
As soon as we got there we got their race packets and changed their shirts into the Fun Run shirts. We then went and got in their respective corrals, Makayla with me and Malik with Mario.
The race was great. It was a 3k, about 1.8 miles. Malik started off running, he couldn't wait. Makayla wasn't too excited about running. She had a side stitch and her ankle hurt and she just wasn't into it. It was hard for me b/c I wanted to run so bad. This was sort of like my mini-race, since I wasn't able to run the Half. :) But after telling her how happy she would be if she continued and finished the race she decided to give it a try. She walked most of the race but I did get her to run a few times. We all ran together as a family for a little bit, that was really nice.
Malik ran almost the entire race. He has so much energy! We all ran the last few minutes together and everyone crossed the finish line. The kids got their medals and we went in to enjoy the kid zone. I was very proud of both of the kids but especially proud of Makayla for not giving up.
They really had a fun time and Malik is already talking about his next race. I think he is going to be my running buddy!
January 26, 2011
Um Excuse Me......Something Is Wrong........
After the third race I felt a little tightness in my left calf. No big deal....just a little tight from all of the awesome races I have been running in. At first it didn't hurt while I was running, only afterwards. But then it got to a point where it hurt all of the time, including when I ran, so I sucked it up and went to a sports medicine doctor.
I am not injured, I am not injured, I am not injured. I replayed this about 50 million times in my head. As I sat in the doctor's office my stomach was in knots, please don't tell me I can't run. When the nurse took my blood pressure she said it was a little high, which is abnormal for me, my bp is always perfect. I asked her if nerves could effect it and she said yes, definitely. I told her we didn't have anything to worry about then b/c I am nervous as hell right now.
The doctor had me move in every which way trying to figure out what was wrong. She finally concluded that when I run I turn my left foot in slightly and now that I am up in the mileage it is starting to effect me, in my calf. She also said I need to build my glutes and ankles b/c they weren't strong enough. The ankles I wasn't surprised about, thanks mom for the wimpy ankles, although you would have thought I would have built those up carrying all that weight around all those years. The glutes I was surprised about, I mean my Lord, I do like a million squats a week! But ok...fine dr.....what do I do so I can run again?
She said to not run AT ALL until there is absolutely no pain in the calf, as well as use ice and Aleve. She also gave me some exercises to build those glutes up. But doctor....will I be able to run my Half Marathon in January? Sure, no problem, you will be fine by then.
It was a little hard to swallow the fact that I couldn't run for a while, but it wasn't the end of the world. I vowed to work out like a mad woman until my calf was better. Riding the bike, the elliptical, strength training, whatever it took to not lose the muscle tone and conditioning I had gained over those 5 months so far. I also threw in a few yoga classes, mostly b/c I needed the mental release but also to help build those ankles.
Speaking of the mental release. I had no idea how much running was feeding my brain, not just my soul, until I couldn't run anymore. I had heard about runners going into depression when they got injured but never really understood it. I have a much better appreciation for that now. I was very down for a long time. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was depressed but I was definitely down.
After 6 weeks, YES 6 WEEKS, I called the doctor back and said, "ok, it doesn't hurt anymore, can I run now?" And no, it wasn't the first time I talked to her since the original appt. I called that poor woman a million times to ask her a million questions. I felt like I was just wasting my time and of course everyone and their dog had an opinion of what I should do. I even went and got a MRI but they found nothing. But now it didn't hurt anymore, I was ready. Mind you at this point there is only 4 weeks left until the Half Marathon. She suggested a walk a minute/run a minute for 20 min and see how it goes. IT FELT GREAT! You should have seen me. I know people around me thought I was crazy, I was grinning from ear to ear. I was running again!!!!!
I ran min/walk min for a week and then the doctor said I could step it up and run straight for a while to see how it feels. Unfortunately that didn't work out as well as hoped. My calf started hurting again. I almost broke down in tears in the middle of the gym. You have got to be kidding me! Right when I was feeling comfortable that I would be able to complete this race. So I called the doctor back and went for a visit. She said things were looking up, my ankles and glutes were stronger and that I should be able to run the race. However she wanted me to go see a podiatrist to talk about putting orthodics in my shoes so I wouldn't turn my foot in as much.
I was excited to see the podiatrist b/c he was also a runner. I wanted to get a runner's opinion on what was going on. So we sit down and I tell him everything going on and he says, "were you training for a particular race?" I said softly, "um....yes.... the half marathon in two weeks" and he immediately says, "well you're not going to run that, right?" I said even softer, "um....I was planning on it" and I just looked at him with as much hope as I had and he said, "I highly suggest you don't run the half in two weeks".
No, no, no, no, no! This is not happening. I am running that race. He said there was about a 90% chance that I would blow my calf out if I ran that race and that would require 6-9 months of rehab vs. only 2 more months or so. Would you believe I still left that dr.'s office with the intention of running the race? I am just a little hard-headed.
However it ate away at me all day. Should I do it, should I not? On the way home I finally broke down and cried, the pressure of making this decision was just too much. I prayed to God that he would help me give this problem to him before it made me sick. And I prayed that I could talk to someone who would help me put things into perspective. And wouldn't you know not more than 5 seconds after saying that my phone rang? It was my sister. Wow....thanks God.
My sister and I talked about whether I should run it or not, for a while. I told her what the dr said that morning and she soon helped me to realize this one race just wasn't worth it. I think it was the hardest pill I have ever had to swallow. I cried and cried. What a disappointment. I had worked so hard for this and I so deserved it.
When I got home I told my husband and kids I made the decision to not run it. Once again, breaking down in tears. Even though I was crying I felt more at peace than I had in a while. The decision was made. It took me a few days to get through the pain and disappointment I felt. But I am not a wallower (or however you spell that), I refuse to wallow in my sorrow for longer than a few days. Time to get back on my feet and get this thing healed once and for all.
So I am now focused on a half marathon at the end of March. There a few other events I want to do in March as well, an indoor triathlon at the gym and the Warrior Dash.
I went to physical therapy for the first time tonight. The dr. only thinks I will need 2-4 weeks of it and I can still run while I am healing.
I ran 20 minutes straight twice now and my calf didn't hurt during or afterwards so I am stoked. Really hoping this is a sign of good times to come. I will gradually increase the time and hopefully train as much as possible for that half at the end of March. I really want to run a half marathon this year b/c I want to train for the full marathon next year, starting in July. If I am not ready in time for March then i will find one in April or May. I WILL RUN A HALF THIS YEAR!
I am not injured, I am not injured, I am not injured. I replayed this about 50 million times in my head. As I sat in the doctor's office my stomach was in knots, please don't tell me I can't run. When the nurse took my blood pressure she said it was a little high, which is abnormal for me, my bp is always perfect. I asked her if nerves could effect it and she said yes, definitely. I told her we didn't have anything to worry about then b/c I am nervous as hell right now.
The doctor had me move in every which way trying to figure out what was wrong. She finally concluded that when I run I turn my left foot in slightly and now that I am up in the mileage it is starting to effect me, in my calf. She also said I need to build my glutes and ankles b/c they weren't strong enough. The ankles I wasn't surprised about, thanks mom for the wimpy ankles, although you would have thought I would have built those up carrying all that weight around all those years. The glutes I was surprised about, I mean my Lord, I do like a million squats a week! But ok...fine dr.....what do I do so I can run again?
She said to not run AT ALL until there is absolutely no pain in the calf, as well as use ice and Aleve. She also gave me some exercises to build those glutes up. But doctor....will I be able to run my Half Marathon in January? Sure, no problem, you will be fine by then.
It was a little hard to swallow the fact that I couldn't run for a while, but it wasn't the end of the world. I vowed to work out like a mad woman until my calf was better. Riding the bike, the elliptical, strength training, whatever it took to not lose the muscle tone and conditioning I had gained over those 5 months so far. I also threw in a few yoga classes, mostly b/c I needed the mental release but also to help build those ankles.
Speaking of the mental release. I had no idea how much running was feeding my brain, not just my soul, until I couldn't run anymore. I had heard about runners going into depression when they got injured but never really understood it. I have a much better appreciation for that now. I was very down for a long time. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was depressed but I was definitely down.
After 6 weeks, YES 6 WEEKS, I called the doctor back and said, "ok, it doesn't hurt anymore, can I run now?" And no, it wasn't the first time I talked to her since the original appt. I called that poor woman a million times to ask her a million questions. I felt like I was just wasting my time and of course everyone and their dog had an opinion of what I should do. I even went and got a MRI but they found nothing. But now it didn't hurt anymore, I was ready. Mind you at this point there is only 4 weeks left until the Half Marathon. She suggested a walk a minute/run a minute for 20 min and see how it goes. IT FELT GREAT! You should have seen me. I know people around me thought I was crazy, I was grinning from ear to ear. I was running again!!!!!
I ran min/walk min for a week and then the doctor said I could step it up and run straight for a while to see how it feels. Unfortunately that didn't work out as well as hoped. My calf started hurting again. I almost broke down in tears in the middle of the gym. You have got to be kidding me! Right when I was feeling comfortable that I would be able to complete this race. So I called the doctor back and went for a visit. She said things were looking up, my ankles and glutes were stronger and that I should be able to run the race. However she wanted me to go see a podiatrist to talk about putting orthodics in my shoes so I wouldn't turn my foot in as much.
I was excited to see the podiatrist b/c he was also a runner. I wanted to get a runner's opinion on what was going on. So we sit down and I tell him everything going on and he says, "were you training for a particular race?" I said softly, "um....yes.... the half marathon in two weeks" and he immediately says, "well you're not going to run that, right?" I said even softer, "um....I was planning on it" and I just looked at him with as much hope as I had and he said, "I highly suggest you don't run the half in two weeks".
No, no, no, no, no! This is not happening. I am running that race. He said there was about a 90% chance that I would blow my calf out if I ran that race and that would require 6-9 months of rehab vs. only 2 more months or so. Would you believe I still left that dr.'s office with the intention of running the race? I am just a little hard-headed.
However it ate away at me all day. Should I do it, should I not? On the way home I finally broke down and cried, the pressure of making this decision was just too much. I prayed to God that he would help me give this problem to him before it made me sick. And I prayed that I could talk to someone who would help me put things into perspective. And wouldn't you know not more than 5 seconds after saying that my phone rang? It was my sister. Wow....thanks God.
My sister and I talked about whether I should run it or not, for a while. I told her what the dr said that morning and she soon helped me to realize this one race just wasn't worth it. I think it was the hardest pill I have ever had to swallow. I cried and cried. What a disappointment. I had worked so hard for this and I so deserved it.
When I got home I told my husband and kids I made the decision to not run it. Once again, breaking down in tears. Even though I was crying I felt more at peace than I had in a while. The decision was made. It took me a few days to get through the pain and disappointment I felt. But I am not a wallower (or however you spell that), I refuse to wallow in my sorrow for longer than a few days. Time to get back on my feet and get this thing healed once and for all.
So I am now focused on a half marathon at the end of March. There a few other events I want to do in March as well, an indoor triathlon at the gym and the Warrior Dash.
I went to physical therapy for the first time tonight. The dr. only thinks I will need 2-4 weeks of it and I can still run while I am healing.
I ran 20 minutes straight twice now and my calf didn't hurt during or afterwards so I am stoked. Really hoping this is a sign of good times to come. I will gradually increase the time and hopefully train as much as possible for that half at the end of March. I really want to run a half marathon this year b/c I want to train for the full marathon next year, starting in July. If I am not ready in time for March then i will find one in April or May. I WILL RUN A HALF THIS YEAR!
My Third Race........
Houston's 2nd race in the warm up series for the Marathon is a 25K race downtown. They offer a relay as well, for those training for the Half. It is a three-person relay of 5.2 miles each, however I didn't want to just run 5.2 miles so I originally opted out, until I found out you could run more than one leg. I was immediately stoked. For one, that would be the farthest I have run so far and secondly, I wanted my friend Andi to join me so she could feel what it feels like to run in a race.
Andi and I joined the running club together last July. After a car accident left her in PT she decided to walk with the walkers in the half and not push herself to run. So we didn't get the chance to really spend time running together. This would be a great chance to bond over running. :) Plus, she needed a little motivation at the time and I knew this would do it for her. As I said before, there is nothing like your first race.
So she met me at my house very early that Sunday morning and we headed out, including my very supportive husband! We got there with like 15 minutes to spare and by the time we found the tent our running club was in Tracy was in panic mode b/c she was worried we would miss the start. But we made it and trotted over to the starting line.
Andi and Tracy took off when the gun shot and they were on their way. Leaving me behind. It was the first time I actually got to experience what my husband had been doing at these races, waiting. It seemed like an eternity for even Tracy to make the loop but she trotted on around that corner and I yelled so much I thought I would go hoarse. And then finally Andi came. She was the last person to come in from the first leg of the relay but I could not have been prouder of her! SHE DID IT! Completed 5.2 miles, which I believe was the longest she had run so far.
And I was off. It was so hard to sit there and watch all these people run by, I was sooooo ready. I had to make myself watch my time b/c I knew the adrenaline was pumping hard by now. I waved at Tracy and Pat (another running buddy in the club) each time we passed on opposite sides of the road. It was nice to see her face a couple of times, in the midst of the craziness, even though she looked like she was going to pass out. :) Tracy always looks like she is about to pass out when she is running but she always does fantastic.
It felt great turning the corner for the second loop and seeing Andi and Mario cheering me on. I am very blessed to have a husband who completely supports me. It was very cold that day and he sat all bundled up in his jacket waiting for just a glimpse of me as I ran by.
I learned a new lesson about running on this race. To date I had never taken water or gatorade from the volunteers handing it out b/c I carried a fuel belt and never ran out. Well I ran out at this race so at the last water station I grabbed a cup of gatorade. I was so close to the finish line I didn't want to stop running so I just turned the cup up and "drank". Um.....yeah......not so much. That doesn't really work. I was now bathed in gatorade and I know the runners around me were thinking "you dumb ass". I just laughed it off, wiped my face as much as I could and realized if I fold the cup sides in when drinking and running it doesn't spill. :)
I crossed the finish line with an average time of 9:39. Andi ran up with me and we crossed the finish line together. I was so happy she did that.
Overall it was a great run. I proved to myself I could run 10.5 miles, I am ready for the Half now, what is another 2.5 miles?
Andi and I joined the running club together last July. After a car accident left her in PT she decided to walk with the walkers in the half and not push herself to run. So we didn't get the chance to really spend time running together. This would be a great chance to bond over running. :) Plus, she needed a little motivation at the time and I knew this would do it for her. As I said before, there is nothing like your first race.
So she met me at my house very early that Sunday morning and we headed out, including my very supportive husband! We got there with like 15 minutes to spare and by the time we found the tent our running club was in Tracy was in panic mode b/c she was worried we would miss the start. But we made it and trotted over to the starting line.
Andi and Tracy took off when the gun shot and they were on their way. Leaving me behind. It was the first time I actually got to experience what my husband had been doing at these races, waiting. It seemed like an eternity for even Tracy to make the loop but she trotted on around that corner and I yelled so much I thought I would go hoarse. And then finally Andi came. She was the last person to come in from the first leg of the relay but I could not have been prouder of her! SHE DID IT! Completed 5.2 miles, which I believe was the longest she had run so far.
And I was off. It was so hard to sit there and watch all these people run by, I was sooooo ready. I had to make myself watch my time b/c I knew the adrenaline was pumping hard by now. I waved at Tracy and Pat (another running buddy in the club) each time we passed on opposite sides of the road. It was nice to see her face a couple of times, in the midst of the craziness, even though she looked like she was going to pass out. :) Tracy always looks like she is about to pass out when she is running but she always does fantastic.
It felt great turning the corner for the second loop and seeing Andi and Mario cheering me on. I am very blessed to have a husband who completely supports me. It was very cold that day and he sat all bundled up in his jacket waiting for just a glimpse of me as I ran by.
I learned a new lesson about running on this race. To date I had never taken water or gatorade from the volunteers handing it out b/c I carried a fuel belt and never ran out. Well I ran out at this race so at the last water station I grabbed a cup of gatorade. I was so close to the finish line I didn't want to stop running so I just turned the cup up and "drank". Um.....yeah......not so much. That doesn't really work. I was now bathed in gatorade and I know the runners around me were thinking "you dumb ass". I just laughed it off, wiped my face as much as I could and realized if I fold the cup sides in when drinking and running it doesn't spill. :)
I crossed the finish line with an average time of 9:39. Andi ran up with me and we crossed the finish line together. I was so happy she did that.
Overall it was a great run. I proved to myself I could run 10.5 miles, I am ready for the Half now, what is another 2.5 miles?
Andi, Me, Pat and Tracy
January 24, 2011
Third Place.......What??????
The next race I ran was a 5K to benefit Addie's Faith Foundation, formed to fight childhood cancer. I picked this race for a number of reasons. 1.) I had never run a 5K before, 2.) it was for a great cause, 3.) it was on a Sunday, so it didn't disrupt my long training runs on Saturday and 4.) they had a 1K for the kids to run.
Everyone was so excited for the race. The kids had been wanting to run with me, even though they couldn't believe I could run faster and longer than them, and they wouldn't be able to keep up. I am an old lady to them, how I could run further than them? So I was excited to get them to a race they could actually run.
Tracy and her family joined us. Tracy and I decided at the beginning of the race just to go all out. What was 3 miles when we were up to running a lot more than that? Let's just give it everything we have and see where it gets us. Thanks to Tracy's Garmen we were able to pace ourselves and we ran very hard at a 7:45 pace, which is WAY faster than my normal 9:40 or so. But it was for a short period so I was able to maintain, but I could not have run another minute after I crossed that finish line. I thought I was going to throw up for the first time running. All I kept thinking was "don't throw up in front of the kids". I didn't want them to remember that when they thought of running. :) I was able to hold it all in and after some water was just fine.
Well come to find out Tracy and I tied for THIRD place. That is just insane. I couldn't believe we did that well. We were very proud of ourselves! We even got a 3rd place medal. I started to feel like a real runner. Like I could really climb to great heights. I was more pumped than ever.
Can you tell I was sucking air big time? But I love this pic b/c it shows Tracy and I crossing a finish line together, maybe one of the only times that is going to happen. :)
Everyone was so excited for the race. The kids had been wanting to run with me, even though they couldn't believe I could run faster and longer than them, and they wouldn't be able to keep up. I am an old lady to them, how I could run further than them? So I was excited to get them to a race they could actually run.
Tracy and her family joined us. Tracy and I decided at the beginning of the race just to go all out. What was 3 miles when we were up to running a lot more than that? Let's just give it everything we have and see where it gets us. Thanks to Tracy's Garmen we were able to pace ourselves and we ran very hard at a 7:45 pace, which is WAY faster than my normal 9:40 or so. But it was for a short period so I was able to maintain, but I could not have run another minute after I crossed that finish line. I thought I was going to throw up for the first time running. All I kept thinking was "don't throw up in front of the kids". I didn't want them to remember that when they thought of running. :) I was able to hold it all in and after some water was just fine.
Well come to find out Tracy and I tied for THIRD place. That is just insane. I couldn't believe we did that well. We were very proud of ourselves! We even got a 3rd place medal. I started to feel like a real runner. Like I could really climb to great heights. I was more pumped than ever.
The First Race......Nothing Like It......
This was the one thing I journaled in the 7 months I have been running. Enjoy!
I was so excited for my first real race. I had been training for 3 months and was just at 7 miles so this 6.5 mile run shouldn’t be a problem.
I did everything I was supposed to do the night before, to have a successful run. I went to bed early, ate a good meal, got my fuel belt ready and even put some new songs on my ipod. I was ready!
I got up bright and early on race day, at 5am, so I wouldn’t be rushed when leaving the house. Mario, my husband, and I headed out around 5:45am.
When we got there we had a heck of a time finding the Kingwood Fit tent, but finally located it, unfortunately too late to take the team pic. But I found my race partner, Carolyn, and we shared our excitement for the race (it was her first race as well). As we were talking I reached into my jacket pocket to get my ipod out and only pulled out headphones. Where was my ipod? Panic mode starting to step in. I have NEVER run without my ipod and now I have to do a race without it? I ran to the car as quick as I could, hoping I dropped it in there, but to no avail.
As I was walking back from the car it hit me that I was about to have to run 6.5 miles without music. And I had JUST downloaded new songs and everything. But I decided to make the most of it, as I try to do in every aspect of life, and enjoy the sounds of a “race”.
When I got back over to my group I met up with Tracy,my running buddy, told her of my misfortune and my new plan and we started walking over to the starting line. There were so many people! Tracy was quick to tell me that there would be 5 times that amount of people at the Houston Half in January, man I can’t imagine.
The gun goes off and Tracy and I are on our way. After about ½ mile together I told her to go ahead and run ahead of me (she is faster) b/c I was worried I would push myself too hard at the beginning and not be able to finish strong.
So it was just me for the next 6 miles, no music, only the sound of the race. So many sounds I never thought of or considered, I heard:
- People talking (remind you I normally don’t hear this b/c I ALWAYS have my music)
- Footsteps on the downtown streets
- Running shorts rubbing together as legs moved
- Water splashing around in fuel belts
- The sound of people running through Gatorade/water cups after runners have thrown them down (this is the one I was least expecting)
- People on the side of the street yelling words of encouragement
- The lone man about 3 miles into the race ringing his cow bell. He might have been out there to encourage one person in his family, etc but he encouraged us all.
- The two little boys standing on one of the overpasses on Allen Pkwy telling me to keep running, that I could do it and I was a winner.
- The volunteer who called my number on the walkie talkie to the people at the starting line, so they could alert Carolyn to get ready for her leg of the race.
- The many people at the end of the race, shouting so many encouraging words, “You are almost there”, “you have a perfect pace”, “you are doing great”, “keep it up”.
So because I “lost” my ipod I had a whole different experience than I would have with it. I really “felt” this race and what it meant to be a runner. I am so glad God instilled in me the thought to make the most of that challenge and to turn it around into something positive.
As I hit the last mile or so I turned on the after burners and went after it. I knew I had it in me at the time. Thank God I had been running hills on Tuesday’s because those hills on Allen Parkway would have killed me otherwise. I just envisioned myself on the little hill on Kings Park Way in Kingwood and made it through every one of them. It felt great, even though my heart rate was a little higher than I like it. And it helped so much to have people shouting from the sidelines those words of encouragement.
Mario was waiting for me as I crossed the line, I was so amazed with my pace I was trying to tell Carolyn that if she really went after it we might have a chance to place (not having a clue where we sat.) I finished my leg of the race in 1 hour and 2 minutes. That is a 9.5/min mile. I have NEVER run that fast in my entire life, I normally run closer to a 10/min mile. So I was ecstatic.
I never thought I would call myself a runner. I never thought I would LOVE to go outside and run. I never thought I could run more than 3 miles. I never thought I would be half-way fast at running. I never thought this was me……but it so is!
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