Getting to the Bottom of Things

My PT and I are fed up. Tired of nothing working. Frustrated. She decided to look at my feet and how I walk. She noticed that my left foot pronates (or rocks inward making my arch practically flat). She had me lie down and she held my ankles and kind of shook my legs around and told me to relax. She pulled my ankles and laid my legs down flat on the table. One of my legs is longer than the other! My left leg is longer between my hip and my knee. This is why I pronate my left foot - it makes my leg shorter. My body is compensating to equal out my leg lengths. Pronating causes stress on the knee. It is pulled inward - thus putting pressure on the IT Band. AHHHHHHHH light bulb moment! Now we know the cause of my injury. I visited my Dr a few days after the PT noted my leg discrepancy. The Dr noticed too that the left side of my pelvis tilts forward, making the discrepancy even worse. The Dr stretched me in a way while I was lying down that evened out my pelvis, then she had the nurse measure my legs. I have a 1 centimeter discrepancy when my hips are even. The fix for this is easy - orthotics. They are just shoe inserts that have firm arch support to keep that left foot from pronating. Also, a heel lift for the shorter leg. I have the heel lift in my running shoe already. It feels great. I have ordered the orthotics and am waiting for them to come in. My Dr prescribed another round of steroids to see if we can knock out the inflammation that is lingering in my hip. I sure hope so. I am so tired of being achy and missing running too!

Bursitis

No wonder my hip hurts so badly when the PT rolls it! I have bursitis in my hip and got a cortisone shot at my checkup on Tuesday. I have been told these shots really hurt, so I totally dreaded it when the dr suggested we try it. She sprayed my hip with some "freezy cream" then gave me a numbing shot and then the cortisone shot. It only pinched a little - not bad at all. It really, really, really hurt more on Thursday than it did when I got the shot. I am happy to report that today my hip is feeling much better :) I took my last 800mg Advil this afternoon, so I am looking forward to seeing how my knee and thigh feel without any anti inflammatory meds. I got a flyer in the mail for a race in October. I aked my pt if that was a realistic goal. She said she thought that was reasonable. Four more weeks to heal and four weeks to train. Oh, I get to start training in 1/2 mile increments. I'm looking forward to it!

Still Not Well

Just to update . . . I have been in physical therapy for Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome for 7 weeks. My IT Band is so inflamed that an MRI even showed the inflammation (I was told if it showed up on the MRI that it is severe). The first couple of weeks of physical therapy were extremely painful. The physical therapist used a plastic rod and rolled up and down my thigh along the ITB tract. I have knots in the muscles from my knee to my hip that she was trying to work out. I also used ice massage, strength training exercises, and stretching. After several excruciating visits, and a bruised thigh, we saw no positive results. She decided to go a different route (thank goodness) - no physical activity, even limit walking, continue stretching and icing, add electrical stimulation and ultrasound of those sore muscles and the IT band. I also tried several different kinds of anti inflammatory medications until I found one that worked! I am taking by prescription 800mg of Ibuprofen (Advil) 3 times a day along with a steroid dose pack. FINALLY . . . I am feeling some relief. It is not well by any means, but much, much better. Hopefully a few more weeks of this will have me up and running (hehehe forgive me).

Injured - Udpated

I have a knee injury (which leads to back pain) and am sadly taking a break from running - starting Saturday afternoon. I might regret it, but I will be running Saturday in a 10k that I have already registered for. I will be keeping up my cardio by training on the elliptical. Hopefully it will be a quick recovery.
Update: My friend Sharon pointed out to me how crazy I sounded. . . I will NOT be running the 10K on Saturday. I will be trying to recover from this injury so I can get back to running sooner.

I DID IT!

I ran a half-marathon. Did you hear that? I ran a half-marathon. . . well most of it anyway! Here are my stats:

Time: 2hours, 26 minutes, 51 seconds
Place: 12,298th of 24,674 finishers



I was lucky to be able to share a room with ladies from my church who were also running the race. This is a view of West End Ave. looking towards the start line.


This is looking straight out towards Centennial Park. Please note the white line in the middle of the picture . . . those are port-a-potties. Look closely and you can see the lines and lines and lines of people waiting to use them. Thank goodness I could use the restroom in my hotel room before heading down to the start!


This picture is looking towards the left out of our room. People were lined up in their corrals to start the race. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Around 34,000 people ran the race.




My friend warned me several months ago to do some hill training before the half. She neglected to tell me the whole marathon was uphill (or at least it seemed that way). I joined the 2:15 pace team at the health expo before the race.

I had been able to finish my training runs in 2:30 including water and restroom breaks. I thought with the added adrenaline, I would be able to run at that pace, but I didn't take the hills into consideration. I kept up with the pace team until mile 7. What that means is that I maintained a 10 minute mile pace - up and up hills - for 7 miles. At mile 7 I was huffing and puffing and got a side stitch. I knew if I slowed down it would go away. So, as much as I hated to lose them, I slowed down, got some water, and watched my pace team go on without me. My side stitch went away and I picked up my pace and continued on. The crowd support was great! There were people holding signs. My favorite was by far said, "Your feet are hurting only because you are kicking so much @$$" I also smiled when I read, "Run like a tornado is chasing you." By the way, the weather was beautiful. It was about 60 degrees and overcast and a little windy. The forecast had been for severe weather. The marathoners were actually diverted if they did not get to a certain point in the race by a certain time. The rain did come, but luckily I had made it back onto the shuttle by then. Ok . . . back to the race. There were kids along the course just waiting to give me a high 5. There were several places to stop and have a banana or orange slices, as well as water and Cytomax (yuck - a sports drink like Gatorade - I did not like it). The longer the race went on, the steeper the hills got. I saw mile 11 and knew I was almost finished. I also had heard about the hill at 11.5. It's the one in front of the Capitol Building, it kept going and going and going. I kept pushing on walking and jogging. I turned a corner and saw LP Field. It was still a mile or so away, but I saw it and got a little choked up. I almost cried. I knew if I cried I wouldn't be able to breathe, so I took a couple of deep breaths and got control. The closer I got to the end, the larger the crowd got cheering me on to finish. I could see the finish line! I crossed the finish line in 2:26. Besides getting married and having a child, running a half-marathon is the most meaningful, amazing thing I have ever done!

13.1

I am cooling down, still on the treadmill...just finished 13.1 miles! FEELS GREAT!
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Fantastic Four

Today Sharon and I ran the "Fantastic Four" 4 mile race. It was in Paris and started at the track at HCHS. It was a great race and we were very pleased with our times. We finished in 36:35ish. That is faster than our first 5K in which we crossed the finish line in 36:56! Sharon was the first female in the 40 and above age group to cross the finish line! She won a trophy! I placed third in my age division. I will never catch KL! She has superhuman running powers :) Maybe someday!

Grrrrr

I have been wondering what happens when you get past 99 minutes on the treadmill. I found out today! I have run that length of time before, but I usually stop for a bathroom break and loose all of my stats on the treadmill. I didn't stop today. I was "in the zone" today for my long run. For me what that really means is zoning out :) My body is running but my mind is elsewhere. I had the strangest sensation - as if I was falling, or losing my balance. I thought for a split second that my legs were giving out. Wrong . . . the treadmill STOPS after 99 minutes. I couldn't believe it. I had another 2.66 miles to go for my long run of 11.5 today. I had to start all over - ALL numbers back at zero. Luckily, a friend came to the gym and we talked for a few minutes. My 2.66 miles went by pretty quickly. And if you were wondering - that number on the far right - 1089 - that's the number of calories I burned in 99 minutes. Don't get too excited . . . that might just cover the amount of Reeses Pieces I've eaten this week.
Two tips for this week: 1)My friend who I saw at the gym told me she and her friends ate gummy fruit snacks while they were training on their long run days for quick carbs. She said the packages fit perfectly in your pocket. AND they taste much better than those energy gels. 2)Body Glide anti-chafe balm is my best friend on long runs

New PR!

Sharon and I ran in Camden on Saturday - The Runnin' Red Devils 5K. It was a very cloudy and cool morning. Both of us were expecting a warmer day. I wore shorts and short sleeves and was quite chilly as the race began. Once I started running, I forgot about being cold because my Nike+ malfunctioned. I had it all synced up, ready to go. The race director shouted "GO!" and I pushed the button on my Ipod to start it. . . nothing but silence. UGH . . . I might have mentioned before that I despise running without my music because I can't stand to hear myself huffing and puffing. I knew there was no way I could finish a 3.1 mile race without it. I decided as I was running to take my Ipod off of my arm and reboot it. I have a hard time rebooting it when I am standing still :) I was determined to at least get some music if Nike+ was going to fail me (if you are not familiar with Nike+ it is a device that measures distance, pace, time, and calories burned). I scrolled around until I found my most recent 5K playlist. I clicked it and THANK GOODNESS, Chariots of Fire blared away. I put my Ipod back on my arm - still running, mind you, and was set. There was a pretty big hill at the beginning of the race, but the downhill that followed made it worth while. Sharon mentioned after the race how good it felt to lengthen her stride while flying down that hill. I was thinking the same thing! It felt great! We made it to the first mile marker in 8:50. That's right! Amy Steelman ran an 8:50 mile. Holy cow. I was very pleased! The rest of the race was pretty uneventful with the exception of getting passed by a man pushing a baby in a stroller! That kills me! I felt tired and didn't ever really feel like I was in "the zone." I kept thinking, "How much longer????" Which, for me is a negative that I kept trying to replace with, "I can, I will, I am," and things of that nature :) I was thrilled to see this ending point! Sharon and I turned a corner and we could see the clock. I kept squinting and trying to see that time . . . I decided the first number was a 27! I've never seen anything under 30 that close to the finish line! No wonder I felt "uncomfortable!" I crossed the finish line in 28:14! Sharon took off at the end and finished in 28:12. We were very pleased! She placed first in her age group, and I placed 3rd in mine. We both earned a medal! How exciting!It was definitely worth feeling uncomfortable to earn a PR and to place in a race!
By the way, I have run two 11-mile runs for my long runs the last two weeks. The lady at the front desk said I was very popular and people kept asking who I was. How funny is that??? I have also earned a black toenail and a chafed thigh. I think I am a real runner!

DONE!

WOOHOO!!!! Just finished 10 MILES! 1 hour 50 minutes! 1102 calories burned. During the last mile We Are the Champions came on my ipod. It was perfect. Brick House followed and that made me laugh! Half-marathon, here I come!
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10 Miles

I was feeling blah Monday and my run reflected it. Not sick, blah, just bad attitude, blah. I struggled through 4 miles and felt really fatigued. I actually ended up walking some of the way! I did finish 4 miles though:) Today I had a great 5 miles. I ran the entire distance. I am nervous about tomorrow! Thursday is my long-run day. I will be running my longest distance to date. 10 MILES! I don't know why I am nervous? I have hydrated well today and am planning broccoli and rice and cheese for dinner - plenty of carbs to keep me going ;) Although I am nervous, I am certain that I will run 10 miles and I am looking forward to reaching another goal - a "mile"stone (hehehe)

5 Mile Race

Today Sharon and I ran a 5 mile race at Johnsonville State Historic Park. The weather was beautiful -sunny and much warmer than the weather we have been having. The road we raced on had lots of potholes and loose gravel due to the snow and freezing temperatures. There were some spots on the road and grass that still had a little snow! We had hoped to finish the race in under an hour. Sharon finished in 48:44 and I finished in 48:45! Sharon placed 3rd in her age division! We were both pleased! Of course, we talked to a fellow runner and friend who finished TWENTY minutes faster than us. We were not discouraged though because we both know better than comparing ourselves to anyone other than ourselves! It was a great race. We plan on going back next year :)
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I am ashamed to say that I missed/skipped Wednesday's run. I really intended to go but school was canceled because of the snow. I could have gone later in the afternoon but I decided instead to be lazy and not get out. I can come up with a hundred excuses not to run if I don't get it done first thing in the morning. So, new rule!!!!! Always run first thing in the morning. Do not put it off and tell yourself you will go later in the day - that is a LIE :) you will not go!
I did get my long run in Thursday. 8 miles took me 1:27ish. I ran slowly so I would have the energy to finish. Why are the first couple of miles the hardest? After I got past them I felt fine. My thighs were burning toward the end- but of course the were, I ran 8 miles! My longest run to date.
Today we are in Tuscaloosa. We went to gymnastics last night and a bbq today. Allie is napping in the car right now. As soon as she wakes up we will go to the basketball game. Ross left us in the car - which is fine because Allie really needs a nap! Anyway- I got up early and ran my 5 miles. I plan to get up and run another 5 before we leave in the morning to make up for missing Wednesday. My thighs were burning today too! Makes me think of a quote I read somewhere . . ."Pain is weakness leaving the body." Gotta love that!
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I got my run in this morning at the Civic Center. I walked 1.5 miles while waiting for my friend to show up. She was at the health expo. I decided she had changed her mind about coming and I started running without her. After about a mile she came in. I stopped and got on a treadmill that is out of my "comfort zone" so we could run side by side ( I always seem to choose the same treadmill at every run). We ran 3 miles. I donated blood Thursday and was feeling a little sluggish today. Maybe it's that or maybe all the junk I ate yesterday? Ohhhhh but that's another topic for another day :) I'm just happy to get in my training for today. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.
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11 Weeks Away

The Nashville Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon is 11 weeks away. I have decided to run! I started training already! I made a calendar :) I am putting gold star stickers on the calendar days when I finish a scheduled run. Anything for motivation, right? Speaking of motivation, the blurb under my blog title is my "running mantra". The idea came from an awesome book I am reading, The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgner, and Tanjala Kole. If you are considering distance running of any kind I would highly recommend reading it. The book says "the brain believes what it is told and alters behavior to match so that the system is not in a state of dissonance." It also talks about the importance of keeping a positive attitude . . . so with my new positive attitude, I decided to try lying to myself to see if it would work. It totally does!!!!! To be honest, until recently I could not say that I love the act of running. I do love the feeling of finishing a run, so much so, that I continue to do it. But when I run, now I tell myself that I love to run . . . that I never quit . . . that I never get tired, and now I really do believe it!

Here is my schedule for the week:
Saturday - 3 miles
Sunday - rest
Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 8 miles
Friday - rest

Saturday and Monday call for 3 miles, but I am going for 5 since I have a 5 mile race coming up on February 20. This will be my first 5 miler. I am really looking forward to it!