Back in the Saddle

I just finished the Couch to 5k, Week 5, Run 3. I've been doing the Free NHS.uk podcasts on my phone and then uploading the workout to MapMyFitness. 

Today's workout was walk 5 minutes, run 20 minutes, walk 5 minutes. Before this, the longest interval I'd done was 8 minutes. But since I haven't really been able to run in two years, it felt -- wonderful. Except I have to admit that my brain seems all messed up about the whole thing. I know physically I can run for 20 minutes. I mean, I've been doing it on an Arc Trainer for the last six months, and I've gone through 60 minute Body Attack classes. I can jump in the pool and swim for 45-60 minutes, no problem.  Cardiowise, and breathing wise, I'm fine. In my head, though. I'm scared.

I know that my PT said that she'd recommend running not be my main everyday exercise routine. I'm going to be on a bike or in exercise class for at least two of my five cardio days. Given my biomechanics and injury issues, I'm not meant to withstand long time periods on concrete. But there's just something about getting -- outside that I love. I've missed it.

In a way, I think I've missed that more than the running, because I have to admit at 15 minutes into the run portion, I knew that I could finish it, but I didn't want to. My body isn't to the point where I finish and feel amazing. It's at the point where I finish and feel tired. 

But my brain does something else. It looks at my body differently when I look in the mirror. I don't dwell on what it looks like... because I ran. I used it. It got me not just from point A to B (like walking does), but it made me sweat and made my body feel used in a good way. 

When I don't run, I look at my body with a sense of bewilderment. What am I supposed to do with this girl, now? When I run, I feel like I've done what I'm supposed to do. And it pretty much doesn't matter what size the body is, it can move. It can go. It wasn't just sitting. 

So I've got three more weeks to this program, and then I'm going on to the Runner 10k App ($3.99) on the iTunes store. And then I think I'll be a 10k girl, 3x a week. 

Fast feet, fast feet -- okay, well maybe just feet

I participated in the Illinois Marathon 10k today. I set my phone to play my favorite Couch to 5k interval workout (Week 4: walk 5 min, run 3, walk 90 seconds, run 5, walk 2 1/2, run 3, walk 90 seconds, run 5) and then I repeated it until I was done.

My surgically enhanced foot felt no pain, but now at the end of the day, it's a bit puffy. I dipped my left foot with the Plantar Fasciitis in ice water when I got home, and then I've been stretching my feet and calves the rest of the day. And besides a general ache when I stand up for the first few seconds (that actually feels more like it's coming from my pelvis) I feel pretty great.

It was fun, and unlike other big city races I've been in, I had a pack of people around me until just past mile 5. Then it thinned out. I think people started to walk around 4, so they fell a bit behind.

I was not fast. But I also was not injured. I'll totally take that. It was, actually, only 12 minutes slower than my uninjured time back in 2010 when I ran a 10k in 90 degree heat in Baltimore. :-) I was in much better overall shape then (and 25 lbs lighter) but I am terrible at exercising in heat.

Much better to be walogging in 47-52 degrees than in 90 degrees.

I had a good time participating. I know that because I was smiling and thanking the police and volunteers. I didn't do that at the trail run 5k a few weeks ago. That was the first, so it was harder, and I had unreal expectations.

Today was just about perfect.

Run without busting my move

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to do my Couch to 5k run outside in the neighborhood on concrete. It's a walk/run mix, so it's not high intensity. There are no hills in my neighborhood or uneven farm roads. It's part of my attempt to be back to being able to run 20 minutes without foot pain on concrete for the first time since April 2011. It's been a long road. And I even signed up for a 5k the second Saturday in April, so I'd get myself out there to do it.

It's very exciting, and, yet, it makes me feel highly anxious. Every other run has been done on a rubber track, indoors.

But I must admit, I totally miss being outside. I watch this older man run his same route every day. He's run it since we moved here in 2003. It's like clockwork to see him coming down Rt. 45 in his bright yellow jacket.

I miss being one of the regulars.

Injuries suck.

Learning from X-man

We joined the Y in April of 2012. I needed a pool with more than lunchtime, early morning and late night hours -- particularly one with childcare -- at the height of my restriction from using my feet for more than walking so that my peroneal tendons wouldn't rupture.

One day, X-man and I went to the pool where he was told that in order to go down the water slide, he would need to pass a swim test. He figured it would be like the one at the Aquatic Center in Urbana, where he had to be able to show he could swim across the small pool that the little kid slide dumps into. It's maybe 15' across.

But it wasn't. The Y swim test was 10 seconds of treading and the child must be able to swim about 25 yards without touching the side or bottom.

X-man tried. And he failed. And then he fell apart. He's in the middle of his third set of private swim lessons at the Y. Before that he took two sessions at CIRCE and before that he had group lessons at the Aquatic Center and at Sholem. And he always seems to stay in the same place at a level 2. Not because he has any fear of the water, but because swimming requires some sort of relaxation. You have to be able to be still to float. X-man has a hard time being still.

I'd ask him periodically and his instructor at the Y would ask him if he'd like to retake the swim test for the water slide. He'd always decline. "If I want to go down a slide, I'll just go to Urbana or Sholem."

But at a Y Night last night, they asked the kids there if they'd like to take the test. And he said, "Yes."

So when I went to pick him up, he had an orange rubber bracelet in his hands. I was so very proud of him. He swam the 25 yards and he did the 10 second tread. He told me that he was the slowest out of all the swimmers who took the test. I told him it didn't matter.  It was pretty awesome.

On that same note, I had it in my brain that I was going to go to the Armory today and try running after I tried yesterday, and had a pants malfunction... (too big at the waist means almost exposing your backside to the other walkers/runners). So after my Body Pump class, I came home. But now, I'm running around doing housework and avoiding.

I'm scared. I don't want it to hurt. I'm scared of how my body is going to feel when I start. But I know I need to break down and do it. At the same time, I'd like to take a lesson learned from X-man. You'll do it -- when you're ready -- and not a moment sooner.

Until then, I'm organizing like mad.

Celebrations

I have to admit that we sat around on Saturday like three lazy-boned people. It was great. The sun was shining through my bedroom window and MacTroll and I snoozed pretty much on and off the whole day with a variety of fuzzy animals. X-man was busy playing by himself for a while, and then MacTroll went and played the Wii U with him. In the afternoon his friends from down the street came over and played for a couple of hours, too.

Today, was a bit different. It was miserable outside. We were still kind of lazy (in bed until 9:30 a.m.) but then we watched "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." We finished the book a couple of weeks ago, and X-man wanted to see the movie. We did have to fast-forward through the end fight, but other than that, he did pretty well. What was great was that throughout the movie, he was pointing out things that were different from the book. It was amazing not only how much he comprehends, but how much he can recall from finishing the books two weeks ago.

He also started his private swim lessons with Ms. Ellen at the Y again. He finished them last July, and due to my surgery, wasn't able to start them up again. So, he had six, 30-minute sessions. Today's were on Sunday but the next five will be on Monday evenings at 6 p.m. For the first time ever, though, he was able to swim from the deep end of the lap lanes in the family pool to the shallow end. It was 25 yards. It was all face-in-the-water doggy paddle. But it worked. Ms. Ellen was impressed, because all last summer he was scared to go too far. He was thinking about it too much.

While he was at his lesson, I took roughly 14 minutes and went up to the track and walked/ran a full mile. It's the first running I have done since March 2012. It was a big deal. It felt weird, but there was no pain. Afterward, when I dropped X-man off at Skateland to go play laser tag with MacTroll at 2:50 p.m., I swung by Body N Sole and picked up "The Orb." As I ran, my calf was tight. It worked, but I really had to concentrate to push off using my toes. I seem to push off on the lateral (or outer side) of my foot. This means I have a tendency to supinate. It's something I get to talk about with my doctor when I see him on Feb. 4 for my final "post-surgical" appointment.

It's possible he may want to make me custom orthotics, so that I don't lean out on the outside of my foot, which is called supination. It's easy to feel, as I'm running that I lean on my peroneals, and I don't want to risk another tear. Since 90 percent of runners pronate versus supinate... I often wonder if it would drive a podiatrist mad to try and make inserts that actually perpetuate pronation in order to prevent supination and work up muscles in a different part of the leg. I guess I'll find out!

But I did the mile. I didn't have to walk in between (i.e. I felt I could run longer and wasn't winded when the time was over. I was advised by my PT to try it out first and to go slow, and I'm a very compliant patient. I'm hoping that I'll get to do it again on Tuesday.

The only other thing we did this weekend was play an 8-hour game of Monopoly. We ended up calling it a three-way tie because it went on for so long. But we noticed that X-man was totally adding up the three die (we use the speed dice in the championship game) and adding and subtracting the money really well... into the hundreds.

I hope everyone had a restful and fun weekend, too!

Guess what?

I was permitted to "jog" for three minutes on the treadmill today at physical therapy. My PT watched my gait (I still lean way to the outside on my right foot), but there was no pain!

Right Appendage and Running the Halls

This is the last week before I have surgery on my peroneal brevis and peroneal longus tendons in my right ankle and foot a week from Thursday. I am not allowed to take any over the counter anti-inflammatories this whole week, so I'm going to be in a bit of pain. It'll be me and the ice pack hanging out on the sofa with my foot elevated -- a lot. It'll be good practice for the stupid amount of pain I'll be in when my foot swells up to the size of a basketball post surgery. Dr. Google sucks for things like this. Yes, I know what to expect, but I'm really not looking forward to the first week or so post surgery. I did, however, drop off the prescription for seven days worth of pain pills at the pharmacy today.

The rule is, and I promised my soul to Dr. Kluesner that I wouldn't break it, is that for two weeks, my foot is to be elevated above my heart except 1) when I go to the bathroom, 2) when I go to take a shower and 3) when I'm in the car going to my post operative appointments. So, I'll be stranded in my basement for two weeks. If you want to come on over and watch some TV with me or chat, feel free. We'll be in the pet-free, kid-free basement, which will be like my own private apartment until I'm off of crutches, which will be at least 4 1/2 weeks after the surgery. (4 days with a splint, 2 weeks in first hard cast, then suture removal and then 2 more weeks in another hard cast, followed by an air cast -- which I may or may not be able to stumble around in, it depends on the healing.)

But I'm kind of excited and -- dare I write it -- hopeful. Will this surgery finally end the 16-month ordeal? I mean, I can't even call it "the broken foot 2012" because it spilled over into a two-year period.

But I am also very nervous. Going into surgery is a bit like having to hire a lawyer. You always feel like you're in deep doo doo when you have to use their services.

On the other hand, it means I'm probably 97-ish days from getting in a running shoe again and maybe actually running (very slowly with lots of intervals). And holy cow have I missed that hour. Walking, though I like that alone time, just doesn't get the chemical rush in the brain that running does.

Plus, X-man has picked up a bit of the running bug lately. His favorite times to run are a) when he's having a squirt gun fight or b) when he sees striped carpets. (No lie!)

I bought new hallway rugs from Amazon.com last week. They're long and striped and cover the hardwood floor on our second floor. As soon as I got them in place, X-man started sprinting up and down the hallway between his bathroom and our bedroom.

Yesterday, while I was getting dressed for my Library Board meeting, X-man ran up and down the hall four times. After the fourth time, he pumped his fist in the air and said, "Yeah! I did it!"

My kid doesn't wear a watch, so he wasn't worried about time. I wanted to ask what he was celebrating, because it probably comes with some bit of enlightenment like, "I out ran a bear!", but I didn't want to ruin the moment with my stupid questions.

Let's see if he's as excited about running the 3k at school on Sept. 22nd. Last year they offered a 1k for kindergarteners and first graders, so he might decide to stay with his own age group, particularly since he did pretty okay in the standings among little people. Mostly, I just want him to enjoy the running and give a crap about the times. But that took me until I was injured to really understand, so you know, he's got 30 more years to "get" that lesson.

Waddling

This morning I was able to show up for my first 5k in a really long time. I drove over to my alma mater (Millikin University) and met 600+ other people in Fairview Park for a run with John Bingham (i.e. the creator of the Penguin Chronicles in Runners World Magazine). John went to Millikin, too.

Anyway, John's been injured for apparently over a year. I wonder if he's gained weight like I have. I didn't have the balls to ask him. But I was curious.

I have to admit to you. When I went to Millikin, I never really stepped foot in Fairview Park. I went once, to cover a women's soccer game the first year we had a team, after that... I always sent my sports editor or his reporters. So, when the description of the park said "gently rolling hills" I thought it would be like Meadowbrook.

I was wrong.

So, now I know where to go when I want to run hills, steep grades, gentle grades, rolling... because this race had them all. And it had lots of bathrooms, which I like.

It's also the only 5k I know of that awards a medal. :-) And it's really quite a good one to have for someone who is amping up for a fight to get back into her pre-injury, body breaking down form.

See, I told you it was awesome.

Red Shirt Guy

So when I started running with Special K at the Armory in the winter of 2009, there was this guy. He looked to be in his early 60's who was starting to run, too. He and I ran and walked and worked up our endurance together, then the warm weather hit and I stopped going to the Armory, but I'd see him over at Meadowbrook Park on occasion. And every time he runs, red shirt and black shorts.

In winter 2010 when I started training for the half marathon, he was there, too. We were both noticeably slimmer and we ran the exact same pace. I know most 30-something runners would be appalled to know they were keeping pace with someone old enough to be their father, but hell, we were both improving. No walking and we'd keep it up. We must have been on the same training regimen.

When I ran the half marathon, I was so excited to see him. Now, keep in mind, Red Shirt Guy and I have never spoken. We've never smiled at each other. I wonder if he even notices me, the way I know him. He ended up finishing 10 minutes faster than me (I remembered his race number), since my foot was giving out.

Flash forward to February 2012. It's the first time I've been on the track all winter due to my broken foot, an unseasonably warm winter and random stuff that keeps taking place at the Armory (like the RC airplane fest) on weekends when I can run. I walk in at 9:15 a.m. An hour later than I used to. And guess who's there. Red Shirt Guy. He's noticeably trimmer. And he's gone from running a 11:45-minute mile pace for distances to a 10-minute mile pace. Want to know how I know?

I got behind him, like 10 feet behind him. At the first mile mark I was at a 9:45. What? I haven't run that fast since March 2010. Mmmm. Why is he getting off the track?

I hate running without people in front of me. I'd like to say this is my "strategy" when I run races, but really, running for me is 98 percent mental. If I get bored, it's a lousy run. And, well, even just noticing other runners gaits is enough brain capacity to keep me NOT noticing what I'm doing.

I didn't have high hopes of running long today. I have a lot of things to get done and, well, I didn't make it to the gym pretty much all week. I also missed Kari's circuit class on Saturday because I woke up with the worst sinus headache.  But I figured I'd squeeze a 5k in and go home. Nothing big, but I signed up to run one on the morning of March 10th, so I might as well make sure I can actually run the whole stupid thing.

After Red Shirt Guy left the track, I continued around and I remembered I left my leaky water bottle on the coat rack horizontal after I hung it up. I swung by the racks, grabbed it and put it upright on a garbage can. I noticed he must have gotten off the track, taken a drink of gatorade (he's obviously doing the half marathon again, if not the full) and gotten right back on. So, I waited for him to pass me and then I fell in line behind him. Next half mile we were at a 9:48. And I have to admit, I wasn't feeling winded. I was actually quite pleased. Then he got off the track again. Wow, I used to fuel ever 4 miles when I did the half, so roughly every 45 minutes. Doing it every half mile seemed odd. And then I had a thought. Maybe I was the jackass "pushing" him. So I took off on my own and naturally, I got bored and I slowed down. 9:53... 9:55. My total 5k was just under 10-minute miles(9:58 per mile). 31 minutes has always been my average 5k. My PB which expires this March is 29:25. I hope to one day break that 30-minute mark again.

As for Red Shirt Guy, I'm guessing he can keep it up for the whole half marathon, since he didn't have a giant injury/defective body breakdown. He got back on the track half a lap behind me and he stayed there, without me charging up his heels or breathing hard from behind. I'm proud of him, and I'm sorry if I annoyed him today. And I hope that I'm able to get my shit together so I can run a half at a 10-minute pace. Things to work toward.

Getting Back on the Horse

So, I've been easing myself back into running. I've been mixing it up with long walks (60-75 minutes) with Lily or by myself. I've got one session left with Kari before she gives me my work out plan. But I started to sign up for things.

For example, I renewed my membership to the trail running group in Danville, so I can do the Fat Ass the day before my 36th birthday. Then I registered to do the Mini-I Challenge during the Illinois Marathon. I did the half last year, but am wary of injury, so the Mini-I Challenge is running the 5k on Friday night and the 10k in the morning. I love doing 10ks. In my opinion, there aren't enough of them in Central Illinois.

I went in to pick up replacement running shoes at Body N Sole the other day, and they had their New Year's Run sign up at the front desk. Only 150 runners can run -- and they were on runner 94. I sat there staring at it wondering if I should bother (and yes, it's a little sad that they haven't updated their web site with their own run, yet.).

The run benefits the food bank, which is a good reason to participate. But the runners who are mostly signed up for it -- are running store runners. Real runners. Even though I know the penguin says that I am a real runner... I have never felt that way, and real runners treat me that way. During races, I find the line between where the runners stop and the walkers start. Some runs I run the whole thing. Some runs I have to take walk breaks. I used to chalk it up to me being a newbie. Now I know that it has more to do with my mental state of mind.  Kind of like still being 80 lbs lighter than I was. I am totally still a fat girl in my head. I've had a number of races, where I've done walk breaks and had people my pace ask me why I wasn't just running the whole thing -- or tell me they don't consider it a good race if they walk. That's totally their choice. I don't make judgements on their style, why are they so into mine? I started a walker who started to run to burn more calories in a shorter time. I didn't grow up running. I never loved it until I couldn't do because of injury. Then I missed it. Now I appreciate whatever kind of run I get, because after not doing anything for five months -- I get it.

At Weight Management tonight, there was a flyer for the Carle Resolution Run on January 14 at 9 a.m. It's totally family friendly. Pets, strollers and kids welcome, which is more my kind of thing. Kind of like the untimed Fat Ass trail run. But what this gives me is goals. Things to work toward... but I'm timid.

Which is hard for me to admit.

Blissful Agony

I went out and ran my first run since, um, May. It's hard after an injury to realize exactly  how hard it is to start entirely over as a runner after being off your feet for so long. And all the cross training in the world might keep your cardiovascular system going, but it all goes to hell when your body isn't used to running carrying a weight bearing load. Particularly one that is registering at 173 rather than 160 these days. But it's not the 250 I was, so I'm totally keeping perspective.

I followed my podiatrist's directions and ran a block, walked a block. I lasted 27 minutes and went 1.92 miles. I'm trying not to think of the time when my daily routine was an easy 5-7 miles... with no walking. I'm trying to think about how thankful I am that I can run at all. In all honesty, the big accomplishment here that I am most proud of is that I was up -- and out the door by 5:15 a.m. Holy cow am I ready for that whole "fall back" thing this Saturday.

In other running news, in my running absence, my Polar ran out of batteries. I apparently didn't read the fine print when I bought it because I have to SEND it somewhere to get the battery changed out to ensure I don't mess up the "water resistant" elements of my watch. The closest approved service center is Michigan, so off it goes in the mail today. I guess while they're changing the watch battery, I'll just have them change the transmitter one too, so that in three weeks, when I'm using it again, the other half doesn't go out. :-)

My orthotics came in the mail, too. I'm going to wear them to work today and see how they go. The doctor said they might need to be "filed down" to fit better.

After Thanksgiving, I start a twice a week, three week workout routine with Kari Gardner. She works with some of my friends, and I'm really excited about it. I'm hoping to get rid of the doughy middle I've accumulated by February. I work out with her, and then she gives me a plan to follow for a while. Then I can return and update as needed. I'm also hoping to be able to join her post-holiday fitness classes on Saturday mornings this winter.

In cat news: Clawdio came home. All of his labs were normal (hooray). But his temp was low and he was dehydrated for some reason. They think he had a vagal response or a seizure, but in a cat his age, it's kind of hard to know unless it happens again and I can get him to the vet quickly or they're around during an episode.  Since the vet is a 20-minute drive, that's hard to do, when the episode only lasted 3 minutes. But he's only had one of them, soooo we'll hope it doesn't happen again. Right now he's trying to scam a second breakfast off of me. :-) He knows I'm a sucker.

Other than that, want to see something funny?

The Foot Doctor

I finally got a referral appointment to go see a podiatrist. The first one that was available during a "convenient" time was Oct. 6, so I guess that's when I'm going. :-) We'll see if I need orthotics or not. As it goes, I seem to be walking around fine (minus the first four minutes after I get up). And I'm great in the pool, on the bike and doing the Nike Training workouts. The elliptical also works (but is boring as all get out), but running outside and the treadmill tend to cause pain, so I'm avoiding.

In other news, I'm participating in a charity event this Saturday at the County Fairgrounds and Crystal Lake Park. It's one of those 5k romp in the mud things called CrazyK. I'm doing it as part of a team with a friend/neighbor of mine and 8 of her other friends. We'll have a team tent and bright orange shirts and green hairsprayed hair. I am happy in the fact that it's for charity, so I feel no need to go fast, just to have fun.

Because that's the point, right?

At the same time X-man and MacTroll are going to head down to Charleston/Mattoon to check out the airshow. And then Saturday is Parent Date Night at the Recreation Center. We were going to go see Harry Potter, finally, but the times don't work, so we'll have to check out something else.

What Would You Do?

On Sept. 30th, I'll be on a flight to Florida. I am supposed to participate in the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon on Oct. 1. But I've got this injury. I have to call Disney tomorrow to finish my reservations. Since I have a non-refundable ticket and $250 into it, the least I'm getting is a vacation with my two other runner friends.

My plan right now, since I'm totally fine walking. Is to work on getting to a place where I try to run/walk 1/2 of it... and then totally walk the rest. I should be able to maintain less than the required 16-minute per mile pace that way. On the other hand, if I can't maintain it, I'll be picked up by the slow bus. 

I'm also thinking about seeing if I can come up with some kind of running shirt that has the slow moving vehicle triangle on it with a Tigger Tail and the word "Injured" across it. :-) 

The truth is that instead of treating it like a race, I've started to think of it as a fancy place to get in some physical activity, rather than pulling out completely.

Does that make sense?

Putting the pieces together

I've started back to running -- slowly. I made it out 3 times last week. All very low mileage runs (between 1 and 4 miles). There's a bit of walking involved. There's lots of stretching of the calves, the feet and the achilles area. I also did Body Attack twice, physical therapy and some weight training.

I've got my second half marathon to do in October, so I'm keeping an eye on the calendar. But at the same time, I'm not pushing myself to go any faster than my foot can take. Slow and steady. Slow and steady.

What I'm more concerned about right now (particularly after attending two birthday parties today) is the amount of food that has been passing my lips. It's not hunger need. It's an "I want" need.

And running is always dangerous, because when I do it my brain gets happy and I feel great about my body. But it also makes me think I can eat whatever I want "because I ran today."

But we all know that's not how it works.

So, gotta readjust that one this week.

P.S. It's weird not to have someone greet you at the door when you get home from a night out...

Saturday in the Park -- when it was 50 degrees

Today, MacTroll and I did the Twincity Twosome at Crystal Lake Park. This marks the first 5k MacTroll has run in a decade. He was nervous, and he was male about it. He started yammering as soon as he woke up. Words like: "What if I beat you?" "What if we take first place in our age division?" "Mmm, maybe I should have carb loaded last night..." came out of his mouth (I reminded him that he had garlic veggie ravioli as his carbs.  :-) But I know he was looking for pizza...

Anyway, the twosome works by teammate 1 running his 5k and handing a large popsicle stick baton to runner two to do her 5k. It works for us because the transition is right next to a playground. Sure, it was kind of wet and soggy after all the rain last night, but X-man didn't seem to care.

My body, however, did. I don't usually run when it's wet and cold. I also don't usually run when it's over 80 degrees. And although, I wouldn't really call 50 degrees cold, it felt cold after waiting around for MacTroll this a.m.

I think he understood at line up, however, that all of his worries about competition were out the window when the pace group signs started at 18 and ended at 28 minutes. "There was no 34!" he said later. I smiled and then told him about how when I lined up for the half the last pace group was 3 hours and under... and then a big yellow piece of tape with a sign over it that said "Walkers."

He was concerned that he was losing his amateur runner status. I explained that he was entering a recreational runner status... but he was leaving behind his non-athlete status.

Anyway, by the time MacTroll got to me, my teeth were chattering. I hugged him, kissed him, and took off. I was so proud of him for all of his hard work. I ran the whole 5k without any problems, but I wasn't fast, and, of course, even though my foot was a tad sore at the beginning, by mile 1.5 it felt pretty okay, but when I was done -- it was angry with me. I stretched pretty well when I got home, but it's pissed.

So several times today I put a tennis ball under it to stretch it out. I rolled a frozen water bottle under it. I elevated it. I massaged it. It's sitting in my overnight splint right now.

Let's hope it's back to normal tomorrow. My third PT appointment is on Monday afternoon. I get to tell him that my short run didn't do so well in the long run, but it was feeling oh so better after the last two appointments.

When I finished, MacTroll was worried because my lips were blue. I felt like I couldn't really get a good breath the entire race (I guess that's what happens when you don't run in two weeks). But my hands were stiff, too. I made the guy at the end tear off my bib thing because I didn't have the dexterity.

Double Damn!

So, I sucked it up and went into the free injury evaluation at Carle today. It's a pretty quick way to get diagnosed and yessireee, I have plantar fasciitis. The guy started going over what to do, which is all the things I have been doing. I am allowed to swim and cycle, but I shouldn't do long runs for a while and shouldn't always be on my feet. He did appreciate the fact that as a pre-school teacher, that's impossible. It's kind of like telling a waitress or a nurse or -- a runner -- to sit down.

Then he said I really needed a lot of deep tissue massage.

For .01 seconds I thought of myself naked lying down under the care of my favorite massage therapist Ms. Lorree Harty at Erickson Chiropractic Clinic all calm and cool and pain free. Yeah, I know better. This is when I go to physical therapy or Bodyworks Associates at the ARC and let them beat on my feet and my calves until I'm clenching the table in agonizing pain. I know there's usually a giant release of badness and then better mobility later, but holy shit, it makes rolling your injured, overused IT bands on a foam roller feel like snuggling puppies in comparison.

But the guy who diagnosed me this a.m. at the sports clinic... he didn't really say that. He said, "PT would be good. But you could also put a metal spoon in the freezer and then take it out and really grind it into your foot. -- It's gonna hurt though -- at least if you're doing it right."

Grind? Self-abuse in the name of medicine. Fabulous. Love it. So thrilled.

And, of course, although Carle is in-network for most items with my insurance, it's not for PT. But the sports guy wasn't an MD so he couldn't make the referral, so I had to call my primary to send me back to Eric and Rebekah at Athletico. I'm waiting for my favorite nurse Jo (Happy Nurse's Day!) to send the referral over so I can set up an appointment. Since I already told Rebekah about my heel randomly hurting at their information table at the half marathon, she wasn't surprised when I called and gave her the heads up at 7:45 a.m. (The poor thing had an info table between Great Harvest and Biaggi's. I would have just sat there and stuffed my face the whole time if I was her. But then again, pretty much a bear waking up after six months of hibernation has more food control than I have.)

So there you have it. Dr. Google was right, and I've been doing all the stretching and icing and resting  I can while still maintaining my lifestyle. It was nice though that he didn't use the word -- orthotics. I know they're coming, probably for all three of us in this house, but until someone in the medical profession utters the words "go get them now" rather than "you'll probably need them." I'm not calling the podiatrist. Ever since they charged me $165 to wrap my foot in 2008 and $185 for a 10-minute appointment, I've totally been against going back. Seriously, I could have found a trainer at a wellness clinic somewhere that could have done that for nothing. And it didn't help. What did help? Losing the body weight of a large golden retriever from my body. Go figure.

I'm still scheduled to do the Twin City Twosome on May 14th with MacTroll. If worse comes to worse, I could walk it. But I don't want to, but somewhere in my head I know that's the smarter thing to do.

Pain in the foot

I've spent six days staying "off" my foot. What that means is that I haven't run since the half marathon, and I hate it, but at the same time, I know that I'm injured -- not from the half marathon, but from something that happened on Wednesday before the half marathon. I have no idea what, just that I went to sleep fine and woke up and stumbled across the floor like an old crippled woman. The only heel that hurts is my right one.

I have enough friends who've injured their fascia, so I started icing and stretching right away. The race was fine until mile 10, and then my foot started to hurt. The next day, I started RICE. I have still been swimming (it's fine then) and cycling at the gym (also fine). Tae Kwon Do is kind of half and half. But I only did 45 minutes on Monday and then 30 minutes tonight. I'll take my orange belt test on Saturday. On Monday morning I'll be heading over to the Carle free sport injury clinic. We'll see what is actually wrong then.

But walking a lot, standing and and running are pretty much out of the question right now.

Fitness Realities

At Weight Management on Wednesday, a trainer from the Carle Training Group came and talked to us. He focused on the importance of weight training for overall health. Most of the people in WM tend to be over the age of 45, so he addressed the issue that after 35, your bones don't really absorb calcium any more. What you have, is what you have... So you want to use weight training to keep those bones strong. He also talked about how it's virtually impossible for women to bulk up too considerably and that any exercise regime that you undertake needs to change every six weeks or your body will become used to it and plateau.

He talked about other things, but these were the highlights that made it into my notebook. The one big eye opener... as your body ages, you will need to increase the calorie burning of your workouts by 10 percent each year just to stay the same.

I raised my hand and said, "So, by the time I'm 70, all I'll be able to do is move for 15 hours a day in order to fit into my pants?"

He looked at me, smiled and pretty much nodded before going into talking about how the metabolism slows down with age. How menopause can affect the body, etc., etc. I kind of tuned that out as I thought about who would still be active at 70 and be willing to work out with me for 15 hours a day. Madonna will be 86, maybe by then we'll finally have gotten acquainted.

In other news, I ran my first half marathon today. I got to see a WM buddy at the start who was doing a 10k. Then I got to see a neighbor and a former Millikin student of mine. It was chilly out there waiting to start, but the weather was perfect. I took a GIANT chance and changed up my attack plan for the run. Instead of running the first mile and then walking .2 and running .8 for the whole thing, I ran until I couldn't run any more, stopping only to take in my Gu and G2 at miles 4, 7.5 and 11. I ended up making it to mile 8.5ish before I started the walk/run trend as originally planned. Of course, it doesn't help that Nike+ somehow dropped the GPS at mile 1.5... so I have no pretty map of my run with my paces to show you. I can tell you that the 25 mph wind coming over the hill at mile 6.5 was met by me with a "whatever" but the three additional "hills" where we bottlenecked at Meadowbrook made my heart sink. Not enough to curse them because it wasn't their fault that they got paired with the wind. But it didn't stop others. That whole park was nothing but runners whining, "Fast and Flat course my ass!"

I also know that my heel hurt mildly until mile 10, and then it caught fire, so I walked more at the end than I wanted too. I can also tell you that I felt nothing for the last .4 miles but glee. And I was ever so happy to see MacTroll and X-man on the corner of Pennsylvania and Fourth Streets.

I was also happy to run with and see my friends along the route. But I was sad that the crowds were not nearly as inspiring as I would have liked. I'm a big cheerer. I believe in being loud and proud at these kinds of things. But when I passed by most people (if they didn't have cowbells), they were sitting silently staring.

I still feel smart for packing my own aid. I know others didn't because I felt like I was the only one with a water bottle, but by the time I got to the stations they had mostly fruit Gu left. And vomiting was NOT in the cards today. :-) I'll stick with my Chocolate Outrage, thank you.

Anyway, here's the photo MacTroll clicked of me at mile 12.5 just before I hugged X-man. As you can see, I was deliriously happy.

Oh, and my time... for those who are curious was 2:32:11. 

A Turtle in a World of Rabbits

Tomorrow is the 115th running of the Boston Marathon. I know four people who qualified to compete and registered to go. Out of the four, two are definitely running, one is definitely not running due to injury and one is traveling there hoping to compete, but not sure if she will because of injury.

This is how it is sometimes in the sport of running. You sign up for something, you hope to do it -- and then you don't. Christopher McDougall, who wrote Born to Run, had the same experience. He signed up to run the Boston and was going to do it barefoot, then his father fell ill, and although his family told him his father would want him to run, he realized it might be what his father would say, but it certainly wasn't what his father would do if any of them were sick. So he didn't run. He went and saw his dad.

I will never be fast enough to qualify for road races like the Boston, and that's okay. Runner's World posted a wonderful Bart Yasso quote as their Facebook status before they started their Boston obsessive posting, "I often hear someone say, 'I'm not a real runner.' We are all runners, some of us just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner."

Runner's World must get that although a large number of their subscribers are obsessed with speed and super athletes, that a number of their readers are in it for the fitness or (god forbid) the pleasure. Because they also just released a Runner's World Trail Guide edition this month. In it the Letter from the Editor Josh Dean (who I love because of this article) talks about how he runs, but he's not a runner. He has no personal bests. He doesn't get up and do it every day. But he runs for health (and a fair amount of vanity) around NYC. For this issue of the magazine, he wrote about trail running and suddenly finding out that he loved it because it requires a runner to disconnect from distance because all you can do is concentrate on the path in front of you -- or you'll hurt yourself. This made me laugh, because it is true. Of course, I feel this way about running (or walking for that matter) anywhere. Today, I didn't lift my foot up enough on a 12-mile run and almost lost it on a sidewalk in front of Meadowbrook Park on a virtually flat surface. :-)

I am less than two weeks away from running my first half marathon at the Illinois Marathon. I don't find this a particularly giant athletic feat, as I know half the city is signed up to run it with me. But if you think of where I was fitness-wise the last time I attempted something like this (2001) before I totally screwed my IT bands and the doc told me I'd never run more than a 5k ever again, it's kind of a big deal. I know I'm ready to go. I know that in comparison to my bunny-like neighbors (who will be done and at home showered and eating lunch by the time I finish) that I am totally the tortoise. And as a tortoise, I have a running plan to stick to, because my performance is inconsistent (at best) and is largely based on my mental mood. My hardest run times are, honestly, getting outside to run (particularly in crap weather) and from mile 1.5 to mile 3 and from mile 9.5 to mile 10.5. If I can get through those, I'm doing pretty well. And I haven't had any kind of knee, hip or back pain since I signed up for the half in the middle of March.

For those of you who will be out in Urbana watching the first half of the marathon, I'm guessing I'll be running 12:15 minute miles on average, since I'm doing a walk/run approach. (It's kept me injury free thus far, so I'm sticking to it.) But I'm also sure that I will start toward the back of the pack between the folks that look like runners and the folks that look like walkers. It's my comfort zone at the line up, so it might take me a while to get to the starting line. For those of you far away, I'll be trying to use an iPhone application that will let me communicate where I am in the run for you. I've registered for both 26.2 and Glympse. I haven't figured out which will be better. But I'll try to link it through Facebook, if possible before the start.

Other than that, it's just me, hoping for decent weather, and that I'm not too cranky at the start. I'm not an early riser. I like it when the clock says 7 a.m.

However, on a different note, I will be making rabbit for dinner this week.
:-)

Runnin' Down a Dream

I haven't written about running in a long, long time. I'm still keeping at it. In fact, I'm participating in my first half marathon on April 30th. I'm hoping it's the first of many (Particularly since I registered for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon in October.)

I've gotten into a comfortable 3 runs a week rotation. During the weekend is my long run where I run the first mile and then I walk .2 miles and then I run .8 miles (wash, rinse, repeat) until I reach my goal for the day. It's kind of my own version of Jeff Galloway's walk/run system designed to keep me from injury.

Today's run was 11 miles. I have one more long run next weekend and then I taper until the race. On Tuesdays, I do a 60-minute fitness run with little to no walking, if possible, and on Thursday I do a 1.5-mile jog and then do 50-100 meter intervals for 1 mile, attend a yoga-lates class and then jog .75 miles home. 

In between, I do some in-the-gym biking and now that I've passed the two-week post surgery mark for my Lasek, I can get back in the pool. It all seems to be working to avoid reinjuring my back. I've also noticed since I moved from the indoor track to outside I've gotten slower (Thank you to Mother Nature and her natural resistance through 25-40 mph spring wind gusts), but I don't have any runner's knee symptoms, either. 

I love the feeling I get when I'm done with my workout for the day. But I do wish every long run wasn't met with me thinking of all the things I could be accomplishing at home. The first 4 miles is always full of the desire to go back home and start gardening or laundry or something stupid like that. It's funny, because post-run moments like now, all I want to do is shower, eat lunch and take my family to Brain Awareness Day at the Children's Museum. I could give a crap about my garden or turning mulch. Although I did come home to a sparkling front porch, since MacTroll took X-man outside to do his favorite thing -- play with our garden hose and soap. When it's dry, my rocking adirondack chairs will be outside, and I can hang out and read out there.

Oh, and a note for fitness guru Matt Fitzgerald. I finished your Racing Weight book during jury duty this week. In it you mention that if some random CEO can find time to run a company and train to be an endurance athlete anyone can. At that moment I wanted to shake you, Matt. Find me a single parent with  kids who need constant care or pick up and drop off at their fitness events, without the economic resources to hire cleaning people and yard people and other people to care for their homes (i.e. they make less than $40k a year), and/or are expected to put in 8+ hours, as needed, per day at their job (or maybe two jobs to make ends meet or have a 2-hour commute) without any financial extras or incentives and we'll talk about people who are role models for endurance athlete training. 

Either way, I'm meeting my long-term goals as a runner to 1) Survive the run 2) Not get injured (or injure anyone else) 3) To not vomit. Every run where I meet those goals, I pat myself on the back. It's a good run. How's that for motivation?