Weeks #16, 17 and 18

You may be wondering what has happened to my updates.  Well let me fill you in on the last three weeks. 

Tuesday, September 21 (Week #16) I was out of town for training.  After spending the day in the classroom I decided to get a nice 4 mile run done.  Unfortunately it didn’t go as planned.  After the first 2 miles I was in excruciating pain.  I managed to hobble the last couple of miles but was unable to run the rest of the week.  I made a doctor’s appointment for Friday morning. 

I headed to the doctor Friday with one question on my mind, would my injury keep me from my 16 mile group run scheduled for Saturday?  My doctor was incredibly patient and worked with me for nearly an hour.  He hoped it was muscular and told me I was cleared for Saturday.  He warned it would be painful but didn’t feel I would do further damage.  He also encouraged me to make a Physical Therapy appointment ASAP.

YEAH!  So I got up bright and early Saturday to meet my team.  My coach had other plans.  She felt that my injury leaned more towards a stress fracture and would not let me run.  So back home I went. 

Let’s turn back to the end of Week #15 when I told you about my completely ungraceful fall.  At the time I made a comment to Angela that thankful I hadn’t tweaked anything.  Boy was that wishful thinking…

Tuesday, September 28 (Week #17), I had my first of what was to be many Physical Therapy appointments.  My unfortunate sidewalk encounter caused SI Joint Dysfunction, Pelvic Misalignment and a trauma to the muscle that connects my hamstring to my butt bone.  My Physical Therapist corrected the dysfunction and misalignment but the muscle trauma meant 6 to 8 weeks of recovery time.

So here we are, Tuesday, October 12 (Week #18) and I am still unable to run.  Well unable to run without excruciating pain.  Each week gets a little better and I am attempting to maintain my cardiovascular level so when the muscle heals I can hit the pavement again, figuratively speaking that is. 

I will be unable to complete the full marathon on November 13 but still have hopes of getting the half done.  Thankfully my injury is not one of repetitive motion.  It was simply a fluke.  My body can handle the stress of running the longer distances (well at least up to 15 miles).  So I will try again next year.  Hopefully I can convince Angela that she should join me!

Week #15

Since I traveled over the weekend I had Monday off.  I decided it would be beneficial to knock out my long weekday run when I wasn’t pressed for time.  In theory this was fabulous but execution was a different story.  I just had a tough run.  I was super slow.  I took Phoenix out with me for the second half.  That kept my pace up a bit and tired him out for days!

I didn’t run Tuesday.  So Wednesday evening I headed out to get some miles done.  During my run I thought I was flying.  I changed my pace up a few times as our training guide suggested.  I got back to the house and checked my watch to find that I was not running nearly as fast as I thought I was and I was completely out of breath.  Very weird…

Thursday morning my alarm went off early so I could get a run in before work.  I realized then why I was so out of breath the night before.  I had a terrible chest cold.  No running for me. 

Saturday I headed out for the group run.  We are on a fall back week so only did 10 miles.  .  When I started training 10 miles was incredibly intimidating.  Now I think that is my favorite distance.  The weather was perfect and Angela and I had a ton to catch up on since we missed our run together the previous Saturday.  All was going well until I hit an uneven patch in the sidewalk.  I managed to skin both my palms, my right knee, left calf, left forearm and back.  Completely ungraceful.  I got up and kept running but was definitely sore on Sunday.

This week we put in 20 miles.
Cumulative for the season 276.3 miles.

Week #14

I had to bump the schedule forward this weekend in order to complete the mileage before heading out of town for my best friend’s wedding. 

Monday I started strong knocking out my long mid week run.  Tuesday I hoped on the treadmill at lunch.  I am no longer a fan of the treadmill.  While I appreciate that my pace stays consistent and generally I run faster I get incredibly bored.  Wednesday I was supposed to do 4 miles but wasn’t feeling fabulous.  I contacted my coach to get her perspective and the short run and the long run I had to do on my own. 

I took my coaches advice and skipped the 4 mile run.  Only the second run I haven’t done the entire program.  Friday morning I got up, after very little sleep, and hit the pavement by 6:30 am so I could complete 15 miles before getting in the car and heading to Pennsylvania.  I had mapped out 2 loops, one of 3 miles and one that was 2.  Both brought me back by the house so I could hydrate and grab some gummy bears as needed. 

I managed to knock out the first 10 miles without stopping and at about the same pace Angela and I run.  I then stopped at the house and had my first ever Gu.  It was better then expected, but I was so hungry at that point almost anything would have tasted good.  I then set out to get the last 5 miles done.  I opted to do the 3 mile loop first.  Figured it would be nice to get it out of the way.  My pace was substantially slower but I kept plugging along and eventually I knocked out the first loop and passed the point of my previously longest run 13.1 miles.

Things then started to go down hill…My knees began to throb and my motivation completely disappeared.  I kept marking points along the route and then mentally yelling at myself to just get to that next stop sign, not to give up.  I made it to 14 miles, one of the stop signs I used as a marker and told myself to keep going, I was almost home.  14 ¼ just ¾ mile left, that is nothing, keep going, ignore the pain in your knees.  And I did until 14 ½ miles at which point my knees won out against the voice in my head.  I hobbled home, but I got all 15 miles done!!!

This week we put in 25 miles.
Cumulative for the season 256.3 miles.

Week #13

I don’t have much to report.  I managed to run all the miles for the week.  My motivation is lacking.  After finishing the ½ and the fundraiser failing to generate the anticipated level of support I find it challenging to want to get up and go.  Some days are better then others. 

For example, my 7 mile run on Wednesday went better then expected.  I was able to get up early and get the miles in before work.  I was even done with enough time to still catch the bus.  Then Thursday I got up to knock 3 out before going to work and was miserable.  My shoes didn’t feel right and I wanted to throw the towel in at 2 miles.  Don’t worry, I didn’t. 

Our long run on Saturday was just ok.  I felt fine but was incredibly bored.  It is hard to keep moving your feet when you aren’t motivated.  Hopefully things will start to pick up…

This week we put in 23.5 miles.
Cumulative for the season 231.3 miles.

Week #12

Saturday was a huge milestone.  I completed the Patrick Henry Half Marathon in Ashland, Virginia.  While my overall goal is to complete the full marathon in November running this race was still a significant accomplishment. 

My runs throughout the week were tough to say the least.  Angela and I went out to do six on Tuesday and just barely got in 5.  Although the weather seemed nice the humidity quickly caught up with us and Angela’s shin refused to cooperate.

Wednesday and Thursday I got two quick runs in during lunch.  Neither of them was fantastic.  My feet felt like they weighed 30 pounds each, my muscles were sore and I just wasn’t feeling it.  Needless to say the week made me incredibly nervous for the run on Saturday. 

When my alarm went off at 5 am I was already awake.  We quickly got dressed, fed the animals and loaded the car.  Excitement increased after we picked up Angela and headed to Ashland.  Philip dropped us off with the expectation of heading towards the finish line in a few hours.  Angela and I stood in line for the bathrooms and then waited for the race to begin. 

At 7:15 a cannon blast announced the start of the race.  We were off.  It was partly cloudy and 66 degrees with 90% humidity.  2 hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds later I crossed the finish line. 

When you have hours to kill and a ton of pavement to cross millions of thoughts cross your mind, at least a million thoughts crossed my mind.  Topping the list were things like -   “What on earth were you thinking?  Who willingly signs up to run 13.1 miles, let alone 26.2?  Please let me be able to run through this cramp?  I am starving?  Are we done yet?  How about now?”

Thankfully I had a ton of support along the way the silenced the voice in my head at the exact moments I needed it to.  Angela stuck with me although she could have left me behind and beat her personal best.  Philip showed up at the half way point to take pictures and cheer us along.  A few of the coaches from the training team were situated throughout the course to offer words of encouragement.  And of course Angela and I ran with gummy bears!!! 

I am proud of my accomplishment, completely a half marathon, running a distance I never thought my body could handle and living to tell about it.  I am also half way through the training program for the marathon.  While I know it will get increasingly harder I am able to look back and see how far I have already come.  Now to stay motivated for another 10 weeks…
 

This week we put in 24 miles.
Cumulative for the season 207.8 miles.

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• As a volunteer and parent to 3 pets adopted from the Shelter I wanted to do something more for an organization that has given me so much.
• Cash donations enable the Shelter to cover projects not funded within the normal City operating budget. 

Every dollar counts!  All donations are tax deductible.