I survived!

OK just a quick update as I will be away from a computer for awhile and have some fun travels planned. So.....I survived the half. It was so much fun I can't believe I was even contemplating not trying! I was able to run the majority..WHAT??? I love RUNNING!

I was shocked! Did the first 5K in 29 minutes and felt strong until mile 5...walked 5 minutes and then hit it until mile 8...walked a few and then on to mile 11. At that point my knee was starting to hurt but I couldn't even thinking of walking the finish. So I did my best to run walk the last two miles and finished in 2 hr 26 min! My body other than my knee feels great! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

Loved seeing and meeting some bloggy buddies! Thanks Melanie!!! Wish I would have had more time to chat. Pictures coming soon!! Thanks for all the well wishes!!

BIB 20575

Well my run yesterday felt great! 3.5 miles!! Running next to my buddy felt amazing. I wasn't worried about pace...but my buddy wore her Garmin so of course I was curious. First mile or 2 around 9:10 and last mile 8:36??? Wow, that made me happy. BUT today my knee is sore! The more I move the better it seems. It just feels really stiff. I am hoping Friday I can do some walking and the soreness will be gone. It so hard to tell?? I will have to assess jogging/walking the race Friday afternoon. I think I will definitley need my garmin Frenchy to help pace myself. I am a bit bummed...I mean how many more weeks of rehab will there be?? I want to RUN! Trying to stay positive and looking forward to meeting bloggy friends, seeing old friends and spending time with my hubby. I leave with a pic of us from McCall in the Hot Springs on our 12th anniversary! I am really blessed to have such a great husband and father for my 3 blessings!

Good luck to everyone racing and running this weekend! I'm off to Seattle! Stay Healthy!

Cross your fingers....

OK enjoyed another run while we were in McCall, ID., but again had some pain behind the knee. Went to P.T. today and he isn't too concerned. I guess he expects some aches and pains since it has been awhile. So I am heading to Seattle this weekend to "listen to my body" and have fun??? This sounds like a big challenge. I know I will have to do my best to not track people or try to stay with people. I will need to be on my "new knee time". My P.T. said he is not ready to give me the green light for marathon training but thinks it will be coming soon. So more of wait, wait, wait! Let me know if you will be in Seattle and maybe I can cheer for you as you run by me!

I get to go on a short run tomorrow with my long lost running buddy! Yippee!!

Back on the horse??

I loved some of the suggestions....day at the spa, pedicure, sleeping in! But instead today I was able to go for my first test RUN. I got a special 24 hour bandage that is pretty cool. The P.T. kind of lifted the band and wraped higher above my knee which he said kind of tricks the I.T. band, taking away the pressure from my knee. Crazy! I woke up so excited to run, but found myself looking for every excuse to prolong leaving the house. I was scared!! Scared that that first step would hurt. Well my first step felt great as did the first mile and a half. It was the last half mile that has me slightly concerned. I did have some discomfort (I don't want to call it pain, because that means I needed to stop) behing my knee. Weird? It felt kind of tight? But I made it home and felt like I could have kept going...but would have worried that the discomfort would turn into something else?? I fell beat up all over so I am having a hard time pin pointed PAIN. My thigh is one big bruise as is my toe. UGH! So I am going to rest and maybe Sunday go for a short run? It will be Father's Day and my 12 year anniversary. I would love the gift of another RUN!

Guess....

Guess what I get to do tomorrow??

No...not the TOE!

So on Tuesday I stubbed my toe in the pool at P.T. on this weird lip thing as I was trying to tame the fire hose. It hurt...BAD! But of coures I played it cool. Well today I noticed that it was hurting and I kept trying to wiggle and POP it in to place. So when I finally looked at it I saw WHY it is hurting. Yes I think I broke my toe. Not really...I think?? But I jammed it pretty bad. It is swollen, bruised and kind of looks like a bone is not happy right at the joint. WHAT??? So close to freedom...and this? I am crossing my fingers it will be OK. Silly little toe, don't even think you are going to stand in my way! P.T. tomorrow so I get to run! (hoping the toe will be good to go) Yippee!! Who knew running in a bathing suit could be so much fun?

QUESTIONS: Does anyone know how calorie burn works in water?? Am I burning more, same, less when I run for 25 minutes??

Anyone have any TOE remedies?

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it....

OK so today was so full that I didn't even really have time to THINK about my P.T. appointment. Today with the help from some friends...I got Lovely L to gymnastics, One and Only to baseball camp, Sweet J to play date so I could go to P.T, swim lessons for two kiddos, and finished and presented a training on "child guidance" to our local YMCA! WOW, I'm tired!

So my poor leg is so bruised from the butter knife procedure and water massage...AKA fire hose that I was sure he wouldn't do any type of massage today. But I was wrong. Today he pulled out a crow bar type tool and began again to work on my I.T. band. OUCH!! This was so painful as my bruises are so tender. I survived and was rewarded with a awesome 25 minute run in the pool. So in this pain and chaos there was a beautiful shining MOMENT! My P.T. told me that he felt like it was POSSIBLE that I would be able to run/walk the half. So in the pool and back to the crow bar I will go on Thursday and then hopefully Mon. get to try my first short run OUTSIDE (during the appointment). I am so so happy....that he cleary said, "it shouldn't be a problem" YES!!! I do know that there is chance the pain will be there or return on my test run, but I am hopeful!!

I am not sure where my endurance will feel like??? This has been such the journey...
I am so thankful for this DAY...the day that running was in sight AGAIN, and thankful that this crazy super mama day is OVER!!!

Oh...maybe your right?

So P.T. went well yesterday, just very painful. They did ultrsound heat on my leg and knee and then proceeded to take a butter knife like tool and began to "hoe" my leg. OUCH....this really hurt. Then from there is was straight to the foam roller. OUCH...again. Then finally it was to the pool. I ran for 20 minutes and felt great. Hopefully just one or two more pool visits and then I can try LAND!!

OK this is where I may not be very popular...but just want to share and process.
Here goes...
So in talking to the P.T. and stressing my need to get going..I mean come on I am already having to adjust my "dreams" for the Seattle half and now my Marathon training is being compromised...just tell me what to do and let's run. He just looked at me and said, "Do you run to race or do you want to be able to RUN the rest of your life?"
Hmmmm, good question. Let's think about that, training leads to running, which leads to races?? He talked about runners who lose the love of running and instead focus on getting faster, doing more (which is never enough), wanting to join maniac clubs, find extreme races, etc.and that becomes what they LOVE. Not that getting faster or trying new things is bad BUT when it takes away from where you are and how far you have come...that can be problematic and flat unhealthy. Being able to miss a few training days...should be no big deal, slow run...again no big deal. This is tough for people like me, competetive with myself and others. Of course I was like I am not extreme...and look at me I'm hurt. Why can others run marathons back to back and come away healthy? His response was that the way we treat our body will catch up with us. It may take a month or two years but it will eventually show up. Which is what he thinks happened with my IT band. He think my band has been picking up the slack for two years and I have been pushing through and ignoring bits of pain. This I.T. injury has been tough but has made me look at running in a different way.
I do LOVE running, so I want to enjoy it. As I was stressing last week a friend of mine told me "don't let running become your stress....rememeber it is your de-stressor and you LOVE it!" Wise lady eh?? So I know this may not be a popular post but I really appreciated the insight and it reminded me I will get through this and I AM going to ROCK that Marathon in October!!

Please leave a comment...I would love to hear your thoughts.
P.S. My leg feels like a HUGE tender bruise after yesterday so I think I will just be walking on the treadmill today!!

RUN HAPPY

It's official...

Well it is official...I am totally bummed. Ugh! Having a rough day and tired of being positive. Need to take a break and cry a bit....WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH ....BOO HOO.....sniff sniff!! I want to get a plan in my hand and start moving towards Portland 10/10/10! Sorry just need to get that out. Tomorrow will be better! Boo Hoo, sniff sniff!

Big Picture

 

 

Well today was the day I got to see the P.T. He told me that yes, yes my right hip and leg overall is weaker than my right and my knee has been pulling up the slack most likely for months. So we did some stretching and base assesments and then into the pool I went. YES!! 15 minutes of pure joy....I was able to RUN! The treadmill is in the water and he also added some jets for resistance. It felt good but I am worried of what I will feel like in the morning. I must add that running in a bathing suit is not a good look for me. Undulation and fat in slow motion is not a good thing. I was so happy to be running that I didn't really care. Who cares if my inner thighs were doing weird floaty things on the big screen. Yes, you are on camera the whole time....so it is recorded for viewing. NICE!

After that he gave me this 5 day band-aid that I am sporting in the pic. It is suppose to help with keeping inflamtion down. I also came home with a foam roller. OUCH! So he told me the same...that running by the end of June would be best case scenario. I don't want to rule it out or get bummed until I know more. Right now I am just thinking...MARATHON! So I will wait and assess it next week....more time and we should get an idea if the pain is going to return?? We also talked alot about RUNNING in general and had some awesome insight and thoughts on this "addictive sport". I will share more on that next time....I am off to ICE and watch a little Bacherlorette!

Tell me what I want to hear...

Well tomorrow is the day....I get to finally see the P.T. after 14 days of rest! The P.T. I am meeting was recommended as "working with runners". I am going in with a swimsuit and calendar in hand. Hoping that he lets me get in the pool and try my first jog and that he will look at my marathon time line and tell me when I can GO again!

I know that I won't be RUNNING the Rock N Roll Seattle half but I am wondering if it is possible for me to go and jog/run/walk it? It is only 3 weeks away but I am feeling great...pain free. I know this can all change with just a few strides but I am trying to think positive. It will be hard to be in the excitement of race day and I know that I have to take it easy, but seems like a good mental training day...right? Plus there are so many bloggy friends that I would just love to meet.

In the past two weeks I have been working my arms....a lot and that has been kind of fun. My push ups are stronger and I am tempted to post a "tricia/gun boat" pose. Fellow blogger Tricia from Endurance Isn't Only Physical wasn't unable to run a while back and spent some time on her ARMS...let's just say it really worked and she posted a rocking pic on her blog.

So I am trying to stay distracted and know (hope) that I am very close to running again soon. I have been dreaming about running.
I am so looking foward to....
Feeling the breeze
Warm sun on my face
Enjoying God's creation around me
Sound of my foot steps
Time alone (and with running buddy)
SWEAT, SWEAT and more SWEAT!!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend with some amazing races/runs.
P.S. WOW WOW!!! 70 peeps in my support crew!

Run Happy

Winner....

Today was good, got myself out of bed and to the gym early. I was able do the eliptical for 30 minutes and I did SWEAT!! So that felt wonderful! I spent most of my time watching this guy run his intervals. I was totally talking him through it in my head. "Come on you got it, run hard...almost done...NICE! Random I know, but it passed the time and made me so excited to be able to run again!! I did some arms and abs and called it good. My knee seems to be feeling fine, so I am hopeful but still scared that the pain will return! I am on countdown to the 7th and crossing my fingers for some good news from the P.T.

It has been great having new bloggy friends in my support crew and again I really appreciate all the ecnouragement. So I am happy to announce the Running Chics winner...

Congrats to Paige at Two Runners and a Brown Dog. You have won the Running Chic running shirt! Please email me your mailing address, shirt size and color...so you can collect your PRIZE!!

Hope everyone had a great National Running Day!! Believe me I was WISHING I could run all day! Being able to run and even walk truly is a gift...enjoy every step!

RUN HAPPY!

Still waiting...

So I am still waiting for the GREEN light to RUN, I am feeling a bit sluggish. Walking has been great but it is just not the same!




I WANT TO RUN!!! I want to cross the finish line and experience everything in between! Only 6 more days until I see the P.T. I am crossing my fingers that he will put me straight in the POOL to run on their fancy treadmill. Yes, you read that right...I am excited to run in my bathing suit!! WHAT??
Anyone have any great tips of distraction strategies while I wait...? Also if you are new to my blog, be sure to say hi and tell me something about your journey!!

RUN HAPPY!