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 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. :)

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.

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.

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!