Night Before the Race

All day I have trying my hardest to think of race day as just another long run. The word "race" gets me all nervous. I am just focusing on resting and getting some sleep tonight. I am having trouble deciding on whether I should wear just the short sleeve Fleet Feet shirt while I run or if I should also wear my long sleeve layer over top of that. I don't want to be too hot but I don't want to freeze either...I bought some compression base layer shorts to wear underneath my pants just for fun. I love work out apparel.

At the beginning of this journey, the deal between my husband, John, and I was that I could name our first child (I think he thought I wasn't going to go through with it!). I think I will also reward myself with a pedicure! What a journey this has been. I have wanted to quit every other week but I just kept going. Ashley's mantra is proving to be true: "You are stronger than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can." Brilliant.

1 Week To Go

This weekend I ran the 7 mile route which was the last long run until race day. It felt mostly good and at the turn around I even thought, "that's it?" It was difficult this week because I had inlaws at my house for a week. I had to forfeit most of my workouts and only ran once! This week there are no excuses. I will do something everyday. I will admit I am nervous about race day. I am nervous to be going at this alone and nervous because I remember how I felt at mile 11 in the 12 miler. I have to remember to eat during the run! I can't believe I made it this far. It feels good to commit to something and see it through. I have to say, I am looking forward to getting up at a normal hour on Saturday morning. I will have to think about that during the race. I don't even want to think of it as a "race," that term puts butterflies in my tummy. I will have to think of it as just another leg of the training. Wow, what a journey.

Every time I think about not running on November 1, I cry.

I've been going to physical therapy for almost three weeks now. Maybe, I don't remember when I started.

My Dr. cleared me recently to run less than 1 mile (and just today uncleared me). Yesterday Waffles and I ran far less than 1 mile. It felt so good for my body, except the GIANT cramp in my side, but my leg still hurt. It hurt less than it did when I ran 10 miles, but it still hurt.

Today when I went to see the Dr. she got to palpate (my new favorite word) my leg. She said my leg is a little squishy. Squishy = swollen. I KNEW something was wrong with it. I didn't think the whole thing could be just in my back. So, she spent close to 20 minutes massaging the heck out of my leg. It hurt. It's tender and I'm a softie. So, while I did something to my back that pinched a nerve... there's also my IT band. I feel like I am a big bag of mess. I'm only 24 and I feel like I'm 48. Yuck. There's nothing wrong with being 48, except that I AM NOT 48.

Anyway... hopefully we have found what is really wrong and we can go on making it better. She gives me exercises, I do them. We find ones that work, ones that I think are awesome, ones that kind of suck and ones that make my knee hurt worse. My favorite one has been the plank... and the one leg dead lift... which killed my knee but it was awesome. I have the best personal trainer ever.

12-Miler

What an experience! At 5:30 on Saturday morning, before the sun came up, I embarked on the longest run in my life. It was completely dark out and I could not see a foot ahead of me. I kept hitting pockets of hot air and soon regretted wearing my new Nike long sleeve layer. We ran toward the sunrise and it was beautiful. Early on I hit a nice stride, didn't have to fight to breathe, and just enjoyed the views. I actually ran without music and enjoyed more than when I did run with music, which surprised me. I felt like it helped me clear my head and be more present in the moment. I also wore a knee band that supported my tendon and it did worlds of good. I felt great....until mile 10. My knees started getting stiff, my hip flexor ached, my side hurt and by mile 12 I was sure I was going to toss my cookies. My body actually freaked out. Every part of me felt like it was abandoning the mission. Yet, as I saw the end of the course, andrenaline kicked in and my aches and pains subsided. During the last mile a kind person actually turned back for me and having that support really helped me keep going. Otherwise, I think I may have laid down and died.

All in all, it was enjoyable and I surprised myself again. I think I am learning a lot about my capabilities and my limits. I realize I enjoy running courses that are 10 miles or less, at lease for now! Today, I am feeling some soreness in my quads and hamstrings and my abs even hurt. This experience is forcing me to live a healthy lifestyle. I recently read some articles about the importance of having a strong and flexible body (abs, back, arms in addition to legs) in order to be a strong and efficient runner. My Dad, of course, cheered me on and I often use his advice, "when you feel like stopping, just think about putting one foot in front of the other." This has helped me get through some tough mental blocks. Ashley reminded me an important motto, "You are stronger than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can do." Words to live by.

hi again!

There's another post that will be coming soon about everything that's been going on in my non-running world. Hopefully Missy will update about her awesome 12 mile run today!

In the mean time, I was cleared to run one mile sometime this weekend. Now, I haven't done that, but towards the end of a long walk, I ran about 200 feet with Waffles and overall it felt pretty good. I can feel some tightness in my leg, but hopefully it's not a bad sign. I can't wait to get started again!

hmm...

I wasn't going to write this post until I know what is going on... but I thought I'd write it anyway.

Two weeks ago we ran ten miles. It's by far the farthest I've ever run, and I ran 90% of it. I walked very little and only because I a.) could no longer run straight up b.) was in such pain, I had to walk.

The day after that run, I was in such awful pain, I was limping everywhere. My right knee and thigh hurt immensely. On a scale of 0-10, 10 being the most painful, I was about a 9.

I rest for a week and felt very dull pain all through the week. I thought I was healing. I iced several times and felt much better.

Saturday of last week, I had a trail race that I had signed up for. 4.25 miles, uphill, down hill, around rocks, loose dirt, 92 stairs, etc. After 4 minutes I was back to level 9 pain. I had to limp down the 92 steps and almost started to cry several times. The rest of that day I was at a level 8 or 9. In the car driving to Phoenix I even reached a ten for about .9 seconds. It was awful. I decided to call the doctor and made an appointment for Tuesday. Tuesday I met with my pcp and she said, IT band, shin splints and possible stress fracture. She ordered x-rays, gave me anti inflammatory medication, and schedule physical therapy. She also told me not to run. I let her know that wasn't an option. She had me promise her I wouldn't run until I saw a sports med dr. I could make that promise. The next day I went and got 45873495 x-rays of my right leg.

I have an appointment with the orthopedic doctor on Monday and he'll go over my xrays. I also start physical therapy on Friday. I'm a little nervous because I don't know what he is going to say. I guess we'll see on Monday.


Until then, these guys are waiting for me, patiently. I can't wait to put them back on. When I do, I'm not sure I'll be able to train for the half marathon I had planned, but I will run anyway and get ready for another one. I will do it, because I want to.

Sad to Skip a Run (or not!)

I had a pretty decent week of workouts and runs. Yet, I am not running the longer Saturday run this weekend...:( Instead I'm going to FALL BALL. Oh my, I'm sooo excited. When I saw the ticker for how close the race is my stomach dropped. Even though I am missing the run this weekend I will make it up. I can't afford to lose my endurance.

Also, got really excited about trail running. Found some information on groups that look like fun. I really enjoyed that trail race.

Have a great run tomorrow, Ashley!