Exercises I do for Posterior Tibial Tendon issues

A few people have asked me what physical therapy exercises I've been doing to strengthen my posterior tibial tendon. I thought I'd post the answer here in case anyone reading would like some information too.

After a 10 minute warm up of either walking, jogging or cycling I do 2 minutes worth of heel walking with the toes pointed straight up, then walk normal for about a minute to recover, then 2 more minutes of heel walking with my toes pointing out to the sides, then recover.

Then I walk for a minute with the outer edges of my feet (so my arches are kind of facing each other). This mimics an ankle twist. Then I walk for a minute on the insides of my feet with the soles of my feet facing out (mimicking ankle twist/exaggerated pronation).

I do various stretches that mimic over pronation and supination.

I also stand on one foot and 'write out' the letters of the alphabet in the air with my other foot. Do both feet. This helps improve your balance.

I grab imaginary objects with my toes... will do about 60 grabs per foot, rest, and then 60 more per foot (strengthens the arches).

I massage both posterior tibial tendon areas, and I roll the heck out of my calves on a foam roller.

I do a ton more ancillary exercises that help with balance and ankle strengthening, but these are the ones I do several times a week.

We are constantly moving FORWARD when we run or cycle or swim... so a couple times per week I will run backwards for 100 yards for every mile I run (only on a short run day). I will also 'run' laterally, alternating crossing my feet in front and back as I move. I will also do lateral moving squats. I do all these on the run. On those days I will also do some 'bounding' type movements like exaggerated skipping with really high knees. Or I will do burpees.

There's a lot of information on the 'net about posterior tibial tendinitis, with good exercise/stretching suggestions to improve the situation and prevent it from coming back.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

God's blessings to all of you on this wonderful, joyous Christmas Day! Enjoy the time with family, friends and loved ones. Savor the blessings in your lives and give thanks. Don't forget to say Happy Birthday to Jesus and a hearty thank you to Santa Claus. ;-)

And to those who celebrate Hanukkah... HAPPY HANUKKAH!!! God bless you!

Hugs to all!!!

Looking back: My First Blog Post

Here it is. Oh, the memories...

Not much going on these days...

Hi! I'm thoroughly enjoying this month. I got all the Christmas shopping done, got all the Christmas cards mailed and now it's just time to enjoy the days ahead. I can't believe the end of 2008 is just around the corner. It's been another wonderful year with my family and friends. Life is really amazing. Thanks God, for all the blessings... thanks!

I've run several times since the CIM... very easy, no pressure. My body feels good for the most part. I'm eating a little better than I was in the weeks leading up to the CIM so my weight is coming back down. I'm also doing more general strength exercises, but I really just need to get back to doing the CrossFit workouts that are running-friendly. My body misses those!

But no rush, for now I'm going to eat, drink and be Merry! And thank the good Lord everyday for the love I have in my life. Absolutely irreplaceable.

I will start building back a solid base come January, for racing later in 2009. I will run hills, occasional tempo runs and weekly striders during the build up phase. Possibly a few races as time trials here and there, but my goal racing will take place in the fall... God willing. :)

I hope you're all having a wonderful December and that you all have the happiest of holidays.

CIM Race Pics

Here are some photos from the race on Sunday.

My Most FUN Marathon EVER!

Where to begin? I'll start with pictures:
Here's Tracey, Kyle and me at the Expo.



Here's how we started carbo loading. Beer is good. (Can you tell it wasn't a goal race anymore)?





We had so much fun just hanging out and talking. Jessica joined us from Michigan. I first met her in Boston '07 and have since kept in contact with her. Just a great gal!







We were also joined by Larry, Miguel and his beautiful wife, Maria.

I had a great pre-run dinner with the California peeps from RWOL. It was this tasty, spicy Pad Thai with chicken from Fuzio. I loved it!

The morning of the race I was so embarrassed by wearing a costume. I completely covered up until the last minute. I know there are some serious runners at every race... especially the CIM, and in no way did I want to insult any of them by running in a costume. For some reason I regretted that I had it on, but it was too late to change. I just hoped that nobody would be pissed. :(

I had no expectations AT ALL for the actual race. I knew I'd run the first leg of the relay (5.9 miles), hand off to Tracey and then just go with the flow from there. I ran that first leg very leisurely, handing out candy canes along the way and just having a jolly old time. So far, no negativity and only smiles. It was great to see Tracey and Kyle at the exchange point and after she took the chip off my ankle, she was GOOOONE. That is one speedy woman! Kyle took off to his car and I took off my relay team shirt and there I was in full costume. I held my team t-shirt until I met hubby further along the course. As you know I had been registered for the full for a while and didn't want to miss this marathon. A side note: it is probably my all time favorite with the most memorable experiences. God willing, I will run it every year.

Anyway, after that relay exchange I felt really good. My body was warmed up and I was happy to be running! The longest I had run since Clarksburg on Nov. 9 was 6 miles, and my TOTAL mileage SINCE Nov. 9 was only 30-35 miles. Yes, no long runs, no quality work, just short and slow running. When I hit mile 10 I was so happy just to get there. It was like that at mile 15 and then mile 20 (but I digress).

I had no idea what pace I was running and it didn't matter because I handed out candy canes until they were gone and when I met my husband at the half way point, I reloaded. I also gave him my team t-shirt and told him to guard it with his life. He was so sweet! He and the little guy ran with me for about a 1/4 mile and he was all smiles because I was all smiles. He KNEW I was having fun out there! I think he was relieved becuase he had seen what I looked like at Clarksburg and it was not pretty.

My older kiddos were watching the live news coverage from home. They called his cell phone about 3 minutes after I left him because they saw me giving candy canes away to a bunch of kids at the relay exchange, just beyond the halfway point. I didn't even see any cameras there because I was in lala land yelling "Merry Christmas" and giving candy away. Seriously, it was a BLAST! I gave out about 300 candy canes.

Anyway, after leaving that relay exchange things started to feel a little shaky. I was starving, I was feeling achey in my hips, butt, hamstrings and groin... but NOT in my foot/ankle! Whoopee, I'll take it. There were just a couple of times that the right foot started to feel stiff, and at that point I'd just walk fast until the foot loosened up and then I'd run again. I promised my hubby that I'd DNF and call him for a ride if I felt sharp, shooting pain like I felt at Clarksburg. Thank God I did not! I think what pulled me along to the finish was the crowd, and some prayer.

It was so fun to relax while running a marathon, to have NO clue about pace or time, NO goal except to finish. I so enjoyed waving at everybody and yelling, "Merry Christmas" and encouraging other runners along the course. The crowds were so enthusiastic and supportive. Apparently they LOVED the costume I wore and would yell "Merry Christmas" to me even before I saw them! It was so fun and for the first time in my marathoning life, I felt like a rock star. :-)

I ate pretzels from aid stations in addition to taking in 3 GUs along the way. I also used Enlyten electrolyte strips. I drank only sports drink at the stations, except when I had GU (and I'd follow those with water). I started to get those charlie horse calf cramps after mile 21, but they went away as soon as they came. It was fabulous!

The runners all around were just as jovial about the costume. I was so relieved and glad. The last thing I wanted to do was upset a fellow runner. When I'd break off to use a portapotty, or hand out candy, or get something at an aid station and then catch up again, they'd say, "Hey! There's the Santa Lady!"

Several runners asked me about my pace and time goal and the answer was always the same, "I have no idea what the pace is. I'm sorry!" Or, "Today my goal is to have a blast and to finish." That seemed to bring a smile to their faces.

All the comments were positive and many of them said, "That's the spirit!" Even in the last few miles when I passed runners who were doing the 'death' march, they still smiled and even perked up a little as I went by. That is the kind of effect I wanted to have! I told everybody I could, "Great job, hang in there." As we got in to the downtown area passed the bridge, the crowds roared at the costume and we just had fun together! That made some of the runners look up and smile a bit. :)

I also thanked all the police officers and National Guardsmen along the way. I only heard one 'suggestive' remark the entire 26.2 miles... from a guardsmen who actually kept it rather clean as he said, "DAMN, Santa's Helper, you make ME want to run!" Hahaha, I laughed out loud!

At about mile 24-25 I came up on my sister in law who is new to distance running. This was her first marathon! I knew it was her from behind because she has the coolest stride I've ever seen. She bounces like Tigger! No joke. She even says it. She was so deep in concentration that even as I ran right next to her and said, "Hey sis," she did not look over. I had to say it a couple of times before she actually looked at me. I could tell she REALLY wanted to make it in under 4:00. She seemed a little tired but very focused so I just said, "C'mon Ki, you can absolutely do this. You've got it." I ran several feet ahead of her so as not to break her concentration and so she could just let me pull her along. I would look back every now and then and say, "Good job." As we hit mile 26 she picked it up to a near sprint and off we went to through the finish together! She hugged me as we crossed the line and choked back tears as she said, "Thank you for giving me that extra 30 seconds! I wouldn't have done it if you weren't there." I almost bawled... but I held it back! After all, I was there to be jolly, happy and spread nothing but good cheer and smiles to everyone!

THAT had become my race goal after I handed off the first candy cane and I saw the smile it produced! I feel very confident that I succeeded at making my 'race' goal.

Kyle and Tracey apparently burned it up out there because even with my 5.9 miles in 55:xx seconds, we still managed to place 6th in the open teams division with a time of 3:04.something! Amazing!

I am so glad I ran and so thankful that I didn't injure myself more and so happy that I was able to make people smile out there. I definitely will do that again sometime... but my goal for next year's CIM is to bust my butt and set a serious new PR. But as with every plan I make these days, I follow up with God willing!

I'll post race pics when I get 'em. Thanks for reading!

I've been running

It's been so nice to get out there and run without any pressure. I seriously love it! I really miss the hard training and part of me just wants to run super hard, super fast. But I'm holding back and being smart about this. If I rush things now, I'll never heal.

That being said... I'm going to attempt to run the full marathon on Sunday, at the CIM. I'm just going to go with a nice easy pace and not push it at all. I'm even dressing up as Santa's helper and passing out candy canes to spectators and to whatever runners want the sugar. I'm just going to go with the flow. If I feel the same pain I felt at Clarksburg, I'm definitely stopping at one of the relay stations and hopping the shuttle bus to the Capitol. But I really hope to finish. I just love the CIM. I've got such great memories there. It was the first marathon where I actually felt that dreaded WALL come crumbling down on me (back in '03), and it was the first marathon where I qualified for Boston (back in '06). I wouldn't miss it for the world!

My foot and ankle have been holding up well... but today when I picked the kids up at school, I held the little guy (who's now getting big) and ran across the street. Mistake! My tendon immediately started burning and aching. I even felt flashes of heat throughout the area. Ugh. It's mildly sore now. I'm sure it'll be fine by tomorrow. I'll run another hour tomorrow and I can't wait.

Anyway, here's the outfit:

Giving Thanks

I had such a great week. The hubby, the kids and I flew up to Idaho to spend Thanksgiving with my hubby's sister and her family. We had the best, most relaxing time. It was FRRREEEEZZZING up there and I loved it! Lows in the mid 20's and highs in the mid 30's. I ran Thanksgiving morning and it was 28-degrees. I thought my nose was going to burn off from the freezing cold. I had to cover it with my gloved, right hand for the first 1/2 mile or so, and then it was fine. I felt no pain anywhere! It was like running with ice packs on my body only with full range of motion. Good stuff. It snowed while we were there, but the snow didn't stick until the day we left. :(
We played lots of games: Texas Hold 'Em, Rummy Q, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, etc., etc. We watched some entertaining movies: Hancock and IronMan. I loved IronMan!!!

We ate a TON of food everyday. Oh, my clothes are tight! I drank some great local wines and even had shots of JAGERMEISTER... the headache that stuff produces is unreal. Ugh.
I so enjoyed the time with my family. I loved that we were all together under one roof for so long and yet we all got along beautifully!!! I am so thankful for their love and that God makes it possible for me to love them. Truly a blessing. I know that my family's love for each other is an extension of God and Christ's love for us. It feels so good to know that in my heart and in every fiber of my being.
Whether or not you believe in God or a higher power, or even if you don't... no matter! But be sure to love. Love your family and your friends and just treat your fellow human beings the way you'd like to be treated. We can make the world a little sweeter just by doing that simple thing.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I know I need to work off a lot of grub. :)

Slow Going

I needed to do something physical today.

I put the little guy in the jogging stroller and we went for a little run. I am back to square one. I can't believe how beaten up my body is. Really. I jogged very slowly and it still felt uncomfortable. We did 16:00, then walked 3:00, then 10:00 of jogging, then walked 2:00, then jogged the rest of the way home.

3.11 miles in 34:56. I know that's close to a 12 minute mile. Oh well, it's something. I wasn't breathing hard or anything, but it sure didn't feel comfortable in my legs. It'll get better with time.

Dear Friend

I am so sorry that you had to feel your pain alone. You always seemed like such a strong person, so self assured and definitely not one to give up without a fight under any circumstance. I've learned that even the strongest person has their weakness. I am saddened and completely shocked that you are gone. I know you were a tough person, and I know you kept your personal life personal and I respected you for that. I know you loved your husband and that your face lit up when you talked about him, and I respected you for that. I admired you. Your work ethic. You were yourself, or so I thought. You were a tough one to crack, but when I got to know you I realized just how friendly a person you were. When you did something only ONE time to hurt my feelings, although inadvertently, you went out of your way to follow up with me and made sure I knew you didn't mean any harm by it. And I understood and I appreciated your effort, and I never lost respect or admiration for you. We did not see each other often, but when we did you always treated me like an old friend whom you were happy to see. I only hope I made you feel the same way! I really liked touching base with you, even for just a few minutes. I'm sorry you felt so alone. I'm so, so sorry. I wish I would have known. Many of us wish we would have known. I worry about your husband. I hope he's okay. Although you were a private person, it was obvious how much you cared for him. Dear Friend, I will remember you. I will pray that you are at peace and feeling comfort now, and that you no longer feel alone in your troubles. I will remember your style and your personality and your grace. I will remember your smile. You saved your smiles for certain times, and I feel lucky that I got to see it as often as I did when we were in each other's company. I will pray for your husband... that he feels your love, always. I will remember you!

And the hits just keep on coming

I am not kidding. I have had test after test after test thrown at me. First the ankle, then the anaphylaxis, then the ankle again, then 10 days ago a cold that turned into a sinus infection and now... I kid you not, my back is done, out, finito. I have had lower right back pain radiating to the hip and through to the front, kind of by the groin. It's horrible pain. The frustrating thing is I'm not sure where it came from.

I haven't been exercising for the past week because it's harsh on the back. I've been taking anti-inflammatories that do NOTHING, I've been resting. I've even spent a day laying down. I now keep a heating pad on it almost constantly. Nothing helps. Pain is constant. If I really felt sorry for myself I'd say that God is playing a cruel joke on me. But I know that's not the case. He's telling me that I can plan to run or race or do this activity or that all I want, but he's got the final say. And right now he says, "Ha! Fat chance, GB, fat chance."

The last thing I remember doing where I felt my back seriously tweak a bit was running the 30K on Nov. 9. The back has kind of bothered me off an on since, but it became debilitating earlier this week. If it's not gone by Monday, I'm going back to the doctor. I sure hope and pray that 2009 is healthy for me because the last few months of 2008 have been a huge bummer. Huge.

I can't remember...

I can't remember the last time I felt free during a run. Felt peace. For a long time now I've been running under the stress of performance. How's my pace? How's my heart rate? Is this going to help me during my next race? Blah blah blah blah. Now that I'm forced to not run at all I am also forced to rehash all that went wrong with my running. It's gonna be a long process, but I'll get back to basics soon. I'll get back in touch with why I began running in the first place... because it made me feel GOOD.

Things happen the way they're supposed to. God has let me know that in no uncertain terms. Now it's about going with the flow.

Epiphany

I had one today as I attempted to run a 30K for 'training.' 18.6+ miles, a distance I've run a trillion times before, should not have hurt as much as it did today. Let me back up. I have not run for 8 days, not one step. I have cross trained like a fiend, going super hard on the stationary bike, elliptical and also pool running hard. Those workouts were so, so challenging and I know they keep me in great cardiovascular shape... but NOTHING can prepare me for running as much as running itself. And there in lies the epiphany.

Yes folks, my experiment was not a success. It was quite a failure as far as running goes. But I learned quite a bit out there today. I learned that I'm through feeling sorry for myself and that I'm at peace with my injury and the need for me to not run fast for a long time. I learned that Clarksburg, CA is a pretty little winery town situated along the Sacramento River. I learned that there is no reason to get upset when runners in their 60s or runners who literally weigh twice my body weight pass me on the race course. In fact, I found that so inspiring! It felt good to look over at them and root them on. I learned that I am so blessed to be able to enjoy the outdoors and physical activity, like I did today. There are people all over this world that can't walk, can't leave their homes, can't even fathom the idea of physical exercise let alone run. Either due to injury, illness, disease, what have you.

As I plodded along in the last 5-6 miles of the 30K, watching dozens of people pass my sorry, limping booty, I felt thankful. Competition comes from a latin word that means "to seek together," and I reminded myself of that today when I was able to just look around at all the runners: old, young, fast, slow, skinny, overweight, male, female. We were all out there seeking something better for our lives TOGETHER! It was really amazing to think about.

Now, onto the nitty gritty. I felt some nagging ache in the foot/ankle early on, but then I seemed to get into a groove and even ran several of the miles at a cruise tempo pace. The aches were still there, but not so bad that I couldn't continue running. Then at mile 10-1/2, the sharp, acute injury pain came out of nowhere! Like a cyclone hit. Even walking fast made it hurt. That was the beginning of the end for me. And at that moment, I said, "Just do what you can to enjoy the rest of this race." That being said, I tried to DNF (did not finish) at mile 11 and again at mile 15, but the sweet people at the aid stations said if I wanted a ride back, I'd have to wait until they shut their stations down and it would be a long wait. I actually asked spectators if they'd give me a ride back and they were there waiting for runners to come by and didn't want to leave. I don't blame them! Anyway, I knew my hubby and youngest son were waiting for me at the finish and I didn't want them to worry so I just kept going. I mostly limped, and when I was able to 'run' it was more like a hobble-jog.

I saw my family just before I got to the finish line, and it was the happiest moment ever! I hugged them and then hobble jogged to the finish.

My coach ran the 30 K as a workout, and it turned out that his workout paces were faster than the fastest guys racing, so he won by over a minute and a half! The general manager of the running store where I work part time also ran today and he got third in his age group and placed 6th over all. That is no easy feat because the guys out there today were fast! Seriously fast, like 5:00/mile fast.

My friends Kim and Toxie ran so well. Kim won the 20 mile race (women's division) and ran very fast, and Toxie came in third in his age group (and about a minute ahead of Kim). Outstanding!

Well, I'm going to go back to cross training, but also include a few days a week of easy running along with a long run at an easy pace. I think my body and foot are so 'dead' because I ran that distance after taking over week off (and because I'm injured anyway). So now I know my body does not do well on a plan like that. I like experiments! :)

P.S. I got a lot of compliments on my outfit today... of course, a running skirt from www.runningskirts.com, a matching tank (also from rs.com) and knee high compression socks. I think it was the socks & the skirt combo.

Happy Birthday to my dear DAUGHTER!

I love you always!!!

Hanging up the RACING shoes for a while

I went to the physical therapist this morning and he told me that I could get stronger and probably avoid surgery and get back to being competitive IF I gave up the high intensity training and racing for at least 6 weeks. Basically, call it a season right now.

He said I could keep running easy miles, but everyday might be too much for now. He even said I could still do a long run of 20 miles every 10 days to 2 weeks or so, as long as I kept the pace in check and didn't introduce speed into it.

His reasoning was because just 3 weeks ago I was so swollen and in so much pain that the sports doctor couldn't even examine the area without me begging him to stop. He said 3 weeks is not enough time for the tendon and arch to strengthen to the point where I could do high intensity running without causing further damage. I need to give this adequate time to heal as best as it can and really concentrate on strengthening the area, and my feet in general.

The PT said if my long range goals were to keep competing and to run sub 3:00 marathons, he highly recommended I don't race the 30K next Sunday and that I don't race the CIM. Also that I forego any kind of speed or tempo work longer than 30-40 minutes, and only once a week if that.

Every time I brought up racing or hard training runs, he shook his head at me and finally said, "You have to make this decision based on your long term goals. If you end up needing that surgery I can almost guarantee, based on my experience with runners, that you will end up being a recreational runner afterward, if you're lucky."

I guess that was enough for me. I'm hanging up my racing shoes for a while. Not my running shoes... just the racers. Yes, I've already cried over it. Drank wine over it. Ate disgusting amounts of chocolate over it. I just need to let it soak in and accept it. At least I can still run. I think I'm going for a 25 mile bike ride tomorrow, just to purge my sorrow over not racing for the rest of this year.

Still Running Down a Dream

... but unlike Tom Petty's version, I'm hoping mine will come to me!

I've been discussing orthotics and foot issues with a friend from the RWOL forum. He's The BBK (The Baseball Kid) and he's run thousands of miles over the years and many races, including a sub 2:50 marathon. I asked him to tell me more about his running style and his running shoes. After years of repetitive overuse injuries, he slowly trained himself with the help of Newton Running Shoes to shorten his stride and therefore become a mid foot striker. He no longer uses the Newton Running Shoes because he's become quite efficient at the running style. Well, and they're almost $200 a pop.

I asked him what other tools he's used to avoid repetitive injuries and he said he's tried custom orthotics six times, all of them failed to help. He said it wasn't until his physical therapist suggested he try Walk Fit Insoles that he found a solution for his problems. His back hurt, his knees hurt and his feet hurt and he was just not feeling the love for running anymore. He tried these insoles (oddly enough there is a 'cheesy' commercial, as he puts it, on TV for them) and he has been problem free ever since.

I had to give these suckers a go and guess where I found them? Bed, Bath & Beyond! Yes, for the low, low price of $19.95. As seen on TV! The stiff orthotics come with 3 levels of support 'pads' which are actually more like hard plastic, so you can customize the foot bed to suit your level of comfort. I find that awesome because right now my right foot needs MAJOR support, whereas my left foot is still pretty strong so I use the lowest level support pad.

I took them out for a 20 mile run yesterday and it was like a God send. :) Don't get me wrong, the orthotics did not take away that long run 'pain' that you feel from miles 10-20, but it did prevent the sharp foot/ankle pain I'd been feeling. I completed the run the way my coach wanted me to: First 5 at 8:15s or faster, 2nd 5 at 7:50s or faster and last 10 at 7:20-7:30s (I did those at 7:22s average). I was so thankful to have survived it and am enjoying some downtime today.

Anyway, the Walk Fit Insoles support different parts of the arches in your feet, and don't focus on just medial stability. It feels like they are lifting the arch area placed closer to the mid foot rather than at the ankle, so they don't push on the tendon that is already thrashed (in my case at least). They seem to be supporting the bones that the posterior tibial tendon is attached to. I walk around in them and feel complete support! And a bonus is my knees don't crack as much as they used to.

Okay, enough endorsements. I hope you are all running happily and staying healthy. After all, none of this stuff matters unless you have your good health! I learned that lesson and hope to carry it with me forever.

MRI Results Are In

Very little bad news and mostly good news. Thank God!

I have tears in my posterior tibial tendon that won't repair themselves, and that has caused my right arch to begin to fall. However, he said the tendon is still functioning fairly well because my arch still has some flexibility and 'bounces back' a little from a flattened position. He sees that as a good sign.

He also re-examined the tendon area yesterday and I felt no pain at all. Nothing. We both were pleasantly surprised. He said as long as I continue to improve and not feel pain, I can keep doing what I'm doing. He said to come back if two things happen... the arch completely flattens out and does not 'bounce back', or I begin to feel chronic pain again that does not go away despite rest and rehab measures. He said I will feel mostly good days if I continue to improve, and there will be a couple of bad days in the mix while I get stronger. But if there's several weeks of bad days, then come back.

We discussed my training habits, the kind of shoes I wear, my short and long term running goals, my race schedule. He took all that into consideration and offered me conservative options for treatment, and encouraged me to continue my training and running. He just advised me to be cognizant of good pain versus bad pain and to know when to pull back. After the last few weeks I am more cognizant of that than ever.

What I've been doing that has helped:
I have added supportive inserts to my low stability shoes. SOLE brand - Dean Karnazes model, heat moldable.
I'm running fewer miles, mostly just the quality workouts of tempo runs, long runs and occasional V02 workouts.
I'm cycling, pool running or doing elliptical on recovery days.
I'm doing physical therapy exercises for the ankles every other day.
I'm shortening my strides so that my feet fall under my center of gravity rather than in front of me. This makes me strike mid foot (or on my entire foot) rather than heel strike. The heel striking causes me a significant amount of pain in the tendon area.
I wear a wrap on my right ankle when I'm not wearing supportive shoes.

He said I could go for it at the CIM! That is music to my ears!!!

Teaching myself how to run

Okay, couple updates. Had the MRI taken yesterday and get to go over the results with the doctor on Thursday. I wish I knew how to 'read' MRIs because I have all the films, I just don't know what the heck they all mean.

I've been running. Probably not the brightest idea, but it feels good to be out there. However, I have had to change something major in my running... my foot strike. I have always been a heel striker and quite comfortable with it up until this injury. When I went out for a run Monday afternoon, my ankle was really just killing me (the tendon area). I didn't want to stop so I completely adjusted my foot strike to mid foot. I basically stood up tall and as I leaned slightly forward, my foot stepped out to catch my fall. My knee was bent and I landed on my entire foot, not just my heel. And knew this was how I needed to be running. So that is what I did. I ran the entire 6 miles very conscience of the way my feet struck the ground. Within a minute I was not feeling any ankle pain! I was careful not to land on the balls of my feet, but on my entire foot at once.


Yesterday morning my husband accompanied me on the bike as I ran. I practiced my midfoot strike and he commented on how different my body appeared. I asked him what was different and he said, "Your body looks taller." Apparently I slouched a lot the way I used to run. He also said it looked like my feet were landing underneath me rather than in front of me... this is what I want!!!

When I watch my kids run, this is how they do it. They don't heel strike. Somewhere along the way we adults start to land on our heels. There are some fortunate grown up runners who naturally run with a midfoot strike, and I've found that they deal with practically no overuse injuries. I talked to Miguel about it and he said it was actually the most efficient way to run, but it will take practice. But he is all for it if I don't feel pain. Of course he's naturally a midfoot striker. Some guys have all the luck. ;)

I'll update when I get the results of the MRI tomorrow.

Run on, run healthy!

Maybe it is just anxiety and my mind... maybe I'm not broken

Now I'm just talking to myself, so if you're reading, bear with me.

Last Sunday I had a great, great 18 mile run after having been down the week before. Mike and Jimmy were riding along side me on the bike, and Larry was running with me. He let me dictate the pace... basically I had to do the workout the way Miguel wrote it out:

First 8 miles at 8:10-8:20 pace (easy). Miles 9-12 at 7:40-7:50 pace (even easier, and I ran them faster). Mile 13 at 6:55 (hit it exactly), mile 14 at easy recovery (about 7:35), mile 15 at 6:50 (ran it in 6:40), mile 16 easy recovery (same as mile 14), mile 17 alternated :30 at 10K pace with :30 easy (avg. pace for that mile was 6:47), mile 18 was cool down (7:50 pace). I hit all the paces or was faster and it felt so good. I felt so fresh. The foot/ankle hardly bothered me until the cool down. It was miraculous. I think the average pace for the whole thing was 7:45. I had a good run on Tuesday (10 miles on rolling hills) and then Thursday, I choked the tempo run.

Maybe I am seriously injured, maybe I'm not. Until I know for sure, I will continue to push myself and that might be my downfall.

But at any rate, I HAVE to focus on the good runs and learn from the 'bad' ones. So that's what I'll do. And maybe this time next week I won't be running at all, or I'll have good news from the MRI and continue training for the CIM. Only God knows and I have to trust him. What else is there to do?! I have to trust him.

Thanks for reading.

Fear and Anxiety suck

You know what, I'm actually afraid to run. It's definitely a psychological thing now and I feel anxious about it. I'm afraid to run because I'm afraid of continuing to fail/slow down/quit mid workout, etc. And I'm afraid of completely wrecking my tendon.

It has been 5 business days and I still have not been able to get the MRI that the sports doctor ordered, (I'm praying for this week).

My coach told me to take Friday, Saturday and today completely off of ANY physical exercise (so no cross training either). I ran on Thursday the 16th and it was depressing. It was supposed to be a long tempo run and I literally had to take :30 after each mile to regain composure and catch my breath. I hit the tempo pace up until mile 6 (and that was nice), but then I deteriorated from there to mile 9, and then just stopped and jogged. I was supposed to do a 12 mile progressive tempo. Oh well. I managed to run 12 miles that day instead of the 15.5 I was supposed to do.

I'm wearing an ankle wrap all the time and babying my right foot/ankle. I think I'm ruined mentally for running and I don't know how to overcome it. Do you have ANY, ANY pointers at all? Help!!!

I want to run but am also fearful of doing worse damage to the tendon in question. Just based on the doctor's examination, he said, "When we see the MRI, it's probably not going to make you happy." I hope he's wrong.

Miguel (my coach) is awesome and really trying to not let me get too discouraged. He shares stories of many talented runners who have suffered through very serious injuries and after time off, came back even stronger. I just hope I get some confidence back somewhere along the way.

So for now, that's where I am in training. The CIM is completely up in the air at this point. My heart wants to run and run hard... but my mind is playing games and it has definitely affected my physical running ability. Don't let this happen to you!!! Sorry to unload. I just had to vent to somebody.

Surround yourself with positive things, positive running images. Take a day or two off if you think it will help you. Think positively all the time! Remember how strong you really are and how much you like to race and train.

Just to remind myself not to throw in the towel

From the NY Times:

"Elite runners, of course, are not like the rest of us. But it can help to see what they do when they are injured.

Paula Radcliffe talked about the training that helped her run in the Olympic marathon after sustaining a stress fracture in April.
Paula Radcliffe, the world-record holder in the women’s marathon, sustained a stress fracture in her left leg at the end of April and was told by her doctors that she should forget about running in the Olympic marathon in August. She had to take four weeks off, with complete rest, and spend three of those weeks on crutches. But Radcliffe was determined to train for the marathon anyway. In e-mail messages, she explained her training.

When the four weeks of rest were over, Radcliffe began pool running, 70 to 75 minutes in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Two weeks later, she was able to use a Nordic ski machine, once a day for up to 75 minutes, and then immediately jump into the pool for an hour of pool running. Her pool running consisted of high-intensity bouts lasting 30 seconds to four minutes interspersed with recovery periods of no longer than 30 seconds. Then she began using the Nordic machine followed by pool running twice a day.

“By eight weeks in, I was able to transition to a combination of the ski machine and elliptical trainer with the occasional pool session,” Radcliffe wrote. She simulated running sessions on the elliptical cross-trainer, using the machine for up to 2 hours 30 minutes at a steady level of effort and also doing sessions with higher intensity segments, like three to eight minutes of hard effort followed by 90 seconds of easier effort for recovery.

After nine and a half weeks, Radcliffe started using the Alter-G, an antigravity treadmill that subtracts weight from runners, allowing them to strike the ground with less impact as they run. She began gradually with a five-minute jog and a five-minute walk at 75 percent of her body weight and continued with the ski machine and the elliptical. Gradually, she built up to longer times and greater percentages of her weight.

Finally, 12 weeks after her injury, Radcliffe ran outside, but only for 20 minutes. At about 14 weeks after her injury, Radcliffe left for her training camp in Macau, having run outside only six times.

On Aug. 17, she ran in the Olympic marathon in Beijing, finishing 23rd. She was hampered by cramps in her calf that occurred, she said, because her back was stiff and it pinched a nerve.

“The good thing was my leg didn’t reinjure,” Radcliffe wrote. “The marathon was like a bad training session that I recovered quickly from and am now gradually getting back to decent running fitness again.” "

Possibilities

Life is full of possibilities. I choose to see things in a good way as much as I can. What I mean is I went to the sports medicine doctor on Monday and his preliminary diagnosis is Posterior Tibialis Tendinosis. My first thought was what is the difference between tendinosis and tendinitis?

"tendinitis
The suffix "itis" means inflammation. The term tendinitis should be reserved for tendon injuries that involve larger-scale acute injuries accompanied by inflammation. Take NSAIDs, rest, ice, etc. Usually okay within 2 weeks.

tendinosis
The suffix "osis" implies a pathology of chronic degeneration without inflammation. Doctors prefer the term tendinosis for chronic tendon injuries. The main problem for someone with tendinosis is failed healing, not inflammation; tendinosis is an accumulation over time of microscopic injuries that don't heal properly. Although inflammation can be involved in the initial stages of the injury, it is the inability of the tendon to heal that perpetuates the pain and disability. Most of the pain associated with tendinosis probably comes not from inflammation but from other irritating biochemical substances associated with the
injury.

If a tendinosis is treated early, it will take 6-10 weeks for full recovery. Many people, however, are unaware of the seriousness of beginning aches and pains, whether they be from work or sport. Often, if their pain disappears after a short warm-up, they will continue to work/play without seeking out proper medical advice/treatment. (That sounds like me). The result is chronic overuse tendinosis which can take 3-6 months for full recovery. An understanding of this is important for the treating practioner(s), insurance providers, coaches and or employers."

I have an MRI for this week and probably won't have results until next week but the doc says that I can train on it until we know for sure, but to be very aware of PAIN (not soreness) and know when to stop.

HAHAHA, I guess if I knew when to stop I wouldn't be in this predicament, now would I?

But yes, I have continued to run. Did 10 miles on the golf course yesterday, nice rolling hills. My foot/ankle bothered me a bit but it really really acted up AFTER the run. I did a lot of trigger point massage last night and talk about pain! But it's worth it if it helps the area get stronger. Tomorrow I'm supposed to do a long tempo run. I'm taking easy days off right now, but will resume them with cross training sessions next week.

The good news is that life is full of possibilities... and no matter what comes of this, there will be other things I can look forward to while I'm not running. :) God is good.

Better

Thanks to everyone who read my last entry, and thanks to those who left a comment. :) I'm better now. It had been a downer of a week. I really took that race to heart, blamed myself for all that went wrong and just felt like a failure. I was so hard on myself and really lost a ton of confidence in this entire thing we call running. After MANY, MANY go rounds with my coach, we made some changes in my training that begin this week. Last week he told me to take all my easy days OFF and I could cross train or completely rest on those days. I chose to take them completely off of any activity, with the exception of Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and yesterday. Tuesday I did run very easy miles. Thursday I did cruise/tempo intervals at 10K pace. It was difficult for me to get out there and do those because of fear of failure, but I said, "Screw it. I have to just get over this." So I did the workout and felt almost 100% better about things, but not quite. Friday I ran very easy, just 20 minutes. For each of these runs, my foot/ankle problems were ever present. Just a downer! Oh well. Yesterday I had a long run of 18 on schedule with a ton of speedplay built in and I felt the need to do it. I wanted to do it. I had the fire in my belly to do it.

I called Larry and he agreed to run with me. My husband and little guy were with us on the bike. It was the best run I've had in a LOOOOONG time. I hit all the paces and even ran :10 faster per mile than I needed to in the later miles. I felt so strong and so fresh, mentally and mostly physically. But my foot/ankle still hurts. :( Overall though, it gave me the boost of confidence I needed. And it reassured me that the anaphylaxis and what it did to my body on race day was out of my control. There was no way I could stop my body from fighting it. Either it had to fight it, or it had to run hard... obviously fighting it was my body's priority! So my apologies to the race.

Anyway, did I pray out there on the long run yesterday? Yes. Did I pray a lot? Yes. I also just let go and gave it over to God. And my last 5 miles were my strongest. As I ran them at 10K race pace and felt my body fatigue and my breathing get really rapid, I thought, "This is what it's all about. This is what God has made my body capable of doing. Use it." I was so happy after that run. Ask my husband! Ask Larry! I was beaming. The overall run was done at a 7:45/mile average. Not too bad after a shoddy week.

Went to church with the family last night and felt so refreshed and thankful.

Talked to Miguel and he reassured me that I am very fit and in great shape and when it comes time to really taper for the CIM, I'm going to be very ready to attack my goal. He does not sugar coat stuff. He does not lie to people about how they're running. So to hear that from him after all the crap I was feeling last week is good.

Going to the sports doc today to get things checked out. I hope it's nothing that won't require more than a few days rest/cross training. But after yesterday... my foot is one big owie!

My Half Marathon and how God is Talking to Me...

Shame on me for trying to ignore what God's saying. I've had a very strange month with weird acute injuries or illnesses popping up every week. Honestly, it feels like my body is breaking down. Mentally, I'm in it, I'm in the game. Physically, it's just not happening. I'll start with a little recap of the last few weeks and then get to a race report.

It was about two weeks ago that I had that sudden upper back and neck immobility and I was pretty much laying down for one full day and then did very slow pool running the next day. Exactly one week later my inner right ankle swelled up like a plum due to tendon issues. I took one full day completely off and then did a hard pool running session the next day. I ran 3 days last week. I also found out via xray that I have degenerative bone mass in my right ankle, higher up the bone. Basically I'm at risk for stress fracture there, and for osteoporosis everywhere else. Ugh. And today was the icing on the cake with another episode of anaphylaxis.

Today I raced a half marathon, if you could call it that. The bad news is had I been at the top of my game, I would have taken 2nd or 3rd in my age group. The bad, bad news is I was nowhere close to the top of my game. The night before the race I had broken out with symptoms of anaphylactic shock which I have suffered through several times in the last few years, and spent time in the ER twice because of it. I caught it just in time to pop Benadryl before my airway was completely blocked. I went to bed with a puffy face and a thick throat, and woke up still slightly puffy but breathing fine. When I get full blown anaphylactic shock, I get 'monster' face. It's really, really not pretty. My face, swells up like a balloon, my eyes practically swell shut and I break out in hives all over my body, and then my airway begins to close rapidly.

So this morning I felt pretty good. Had a good night's sleep thanks to the Benadryl. I warmed up for 2 miles with my brother and felt so good, sharp, ready to roll. The plan was to run the first two miles very conservatively at 6:55 per mile and then slowly pick it up to about 6:45 by mile 5, and then let it roll... just race the rest of it at full capacity. I was nailing the splits with my brother by my side. It was awesome. Then I started to feel odd in the 6th mile, just not strong but not winded. We met Larry/Mosquito at the 7th mile (he did the first 6 or so miles as a tempo run and then wanted to run the last half of the race with me and my brother. When I saw him I was slowly on the downward spiral and I didn't even know it.

I managed somehow to kick out a 6:41 for mile 8, and then my body just wanted to quit. I fought it with my positive thoughts, but my body actually overpowered me. It was not 'a wall,' it was something strange that I had not experienced during a race. I still can't describe it except to say that I had nothing in me, despite having eaten very well in the days leading up to the race, and having hydrated well, having had adequate rest and having eaten a good breakfast this morning.

I've felt 'the wall' before... and that was not what I felt today.

Somewhere during mile 9 I looked at my brother and Mosquito and said, "It's a no go for me. I have to DNF. I can't GO.'" They both know that I just don't quit races. I might run them slow if I'm really hurting, but I don't quit. But I absolutely would have walked off the course and quit, without regret, had they not been there and had my husband and youngest son not been waiting for me at the finish. Mosquito and my brother said, "Whatever you do, do not DNF this race. Jog it in if you have to." Mosquito said, "If you DNF now, it will wreck you mentally for the CIM later. Trust me." I said, "Okay, but you guys go, please. And Larry, pace my brother to a sub 1:30... that's his goal today." And with that, they ran on.

I jogged for a bit, contemplating DNF-ing, but then I thought of my hubby and how much I just wanted to climb into his arms. That kept me going. I literally ran 7:10-7:25s for the next 3 miles. During this time, I began to itch everywhere, and then I began to scratch, and then I could see my right upper eyelid in my field of vision and I knew what was happening. That crappy anaphylaxis was coming back! Dammit. It all made sense to me why I was so physically drained and exhausted. My body was fighting it off with everything it had, and not lending much to my running goals. No wonder my body took over my brain.

Anyway, I cheered on everyone that passed me. Inside I wanted to cry but I kept thinking, "Hubby is at the finish waiting for ME. Just run TO HIM." I was very happy when Reyana/Big Girl caught up to me somewhere before mile 11. The sight of her was like seeing an good friend when I needed one, and she helped bring me in. Thanks Big Girl!

I found my husband pretty quickly after I left the finisher's area, and he looked at me and knew immediately that I needed medical attention. He had been to the ER with me when I've had episodes before. When my voice starts getting really deep and cracking, he knows my airway is closing. That's when he said we needed to go to the ER. I kept saying no. We went to the medical tents looking for Benadryl. None of them had any. He kept saying we needed to get to the hospital or to the fire station where they could hit me with the epi-pen and then take me to the ER. I said no. We finally walked into a hotel and found Benadryl in the gift shop. I popped two and about 2 hours later, the itching stopped and my airway was back to almost normal.

As I type this my eyes are still pretty swollen, but other than that I'm feeling okay, just physically exhausted.

I talked with Miguel on the phone shortly after the race and he was concerned. He has had an episode before and was in the ER for it also, so he knows what it does to the body. He knew that was the reason why my body wanted to stop. He said, "Your body was working in overdrive to fight off the allergic reaction. That's what happened to you." Anyway, he told me to rest a lot tonight and tomorrow and then we'd reevaluate the week ahead of us.

Miguel beat Adam Goucher today at the San Jose Half, and ran a PR to boot! Awesome and inspiring!!!

My brother was incredible and finished in 1:30! A huge PR for him. And his wife ran GREAT and finished in 1:51. I'm very proud of both of them. I finished in 1:32, and basically will log it as a semi-decent training/tempo run. I was glad when it was over and it was so good to feel my husband's arms around me at the finish. Salvation. It felt like I was saved!

I'm taking all these physical mishaps as a sign from God that my body probably needs to go easy for a while. I'll cross train a lot because I need that physical activity, but I think all the hard training is finally wreaking havoc on me. :( It has been a long time since I've consistently felt like crap after EVERY run, even the easy ones. That's how I feel now after all my runs, and it's very sad. It's not a mental feeling, it's definitely all physical and that's the hard part. My body is strongly at odds with my will right now.

Thanks for reading, and just know that I am fine. I just need to find out what it actually is that I'm allergic to, and I need to get an MRI for my ankle to find out what kind of tendon damage there is. I already know about the bone 'damage.' Take care of yourselves!

Me and Kendra:

Me and Lee:

For my friend, RGreen45 :)

I am really SLillie (aka Silly Lillie, aka The Skirt, aka GB). :)

And for anyone else reading... I have much to blog about so I'll do that soon.

I might be busy tomorrow... it's my hubby's birthday. Big 3-9.

10 Days to the Rock N Roll Half

What a weird week it has been! Thanks for the nice messages regarding my neck and back. All is fine now. :)

Just a quick recap of how things have gone since my last blog entry.
I pool ran for an hour on Monday (oops, did I already say that)? I did my best to not use my arms. It was actually kinda neat to just use my legs.
Tuesday I ran 15 miles and I really don't like running in the heat because it's harder on my body these days. I slowly picked up the pace every 5 miles and finished the run several minutes shy of 2 hours, average overall pace of about 7:50 (I don't have my log book in front of me).
I was so sore the day after, but I think it's because I got up at 0400 to leave for work, 2 hours away, by 4:50 a.m. Long day! At the end of the day I ran 7 miles on the treadmill with a steady uphill climb on the hill setting. It felt challenging, but not hard enough to call it more than an easy run. However it was much faster than my usual recovery run pace.
The inside of my right ankle, just underneath the bony protrusion, was quite swollen and sore afterward. I iced and iced and took ibuprofen and it was better today, but still sore when I ran.

This morning I ran 6.35 miles at a recovery pace (9:00-9:15/mile average). It felt good to run very mellow like that. My ankle did not hurt much, and the swelling is down. Tonight I run another 4 miles, and will not go faster than my body says it wants to go. I like true recovery days because I don't give a crud about how slow I go. :)

Tomorrow I have a GREAT workout... a hard one but I love these challenging runs. It's a progressive tempo run where I start slightly slower than tempo, hold most of the middle miles at tempo and then finish close to all out for the last 2 miles. I can't wait! I'll report back sometime over the weekend.

Run strong, friends!

BREAKTHROUGH :) and then a Break :(

First the good news, from my running log book on Friday 9/19:

"I woke up edgy, a bit stressed and cranky. Felt some nervousness when I thought about the workouts: 4 x 800 + 4 x 400. I tried to calm down by saying, 'It's just 800s and 400s' but still felt nervous. I ate 2 pieces of toast with butter and strawberry jelly and 1-1/2 cups of coffee, lots of water. During the warm up and workout, I drank 20 oz. of Cytomax (concentrated mixture).

Before the workout as I was getting sunscreen on, I visualized my body running the 800s and 400s -- relaxed shoulders, calm face, gliding legs. I visualized me breathing hard, but in control. I KNEW it'd be a hard workout because it's V02 Max work. During the warm up I still visualized and said affirmations: RELAX, CALM, GLIDE, STRONG. Sometimes I'd say, 'Soft is strong.'

The striders felt great. No tightness at all. I was ready for the workout. I practiced exactly what I visualized. I DID NOT let my body get tense. I FELT the lactic acid coming and I remained calm through the end of each interval. In between intervals I said, 'Hurt is good. It's not hurt, it's good stuff. I feel strong. This is what V02 work feels like. Yes!' I also said a couple, 'Thank you God. Please be with me.' I am so happy with the workout. God was with me!" -end of entry

The 800s were done with 2 minute active recoveries:
2:54, 2:55, 2:58, 3:01 ( all four were faster than I've ever run 800s on the road before)!

The 400s were done with 1 minute recoveries:
1:25, 1:28, 1:29, 1:25 (the 1:25 is a new 400 'pr' for me on the road).

SPECIAL NOTE: I did not have the Pace or Time function visible on my Garmin screen, only the distance. I literally had no idea, other than FEEL, what paces I was running. This forced me to pay attention to my breathing and to my entire body. I went with what felt hard, but controlled and by the good grace of God, it worked! :)

Now the Break: I was not able to do my long run on Sunday because late Saturday evening my neck and upper back seized. I could not move my head more than one inch in either direction and the pain was just excruciating. I felt it all night long, despite taking a lot of ibuprofen and icing it. Woke up Sunday completely stiff from the waist up. Horrible! I rested a lot. :(

Today the pain is not so severe and I have better range of motion, but any kind of pulling on the upper back and neck muscles causes sharp shooting pains to go up and down my neck/upper back. If the pains persist through the night, I'm going to call the doctor and or chiropractor tomorrow morning.

I might try to ride the stationary bike at the gym, but leaning forward on the handlebars is out of the question. :(

Take care and stay healthy!

Third Week of Marathon Training

I'm such a slacker with posting lately! There's not a whole lot to catch up on but training is going well. I'm reading Running Within by Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott and I'm practicing a lot of visualization and affirmations as I run. It's renewed a certain appreciation in me for this sport! When I relax and focus on calm as I do hard training runs, I end up running faster. It's like a pleasant surprise. I still feel the work, but my fear of the 'pain' is not as great as it used to be. I'm learning to work through the pain. I prepared for childbirth in the same way. I visualized and practiced positive affirmations and relaxation and was able to give birth 3 times without the need for anesthesia. I have to say those child births were easier than marathon training! Weird, I know.

Anyway back to physical training now...
I ran a little over 60 miles last week and here's what the miles included:
M: 8 miles recovery (4 a.m., 4 p.m.)
T: 7.2 miles easy
W: 9.94 miles with 4 x 2K at 5K pace
T: 9 miles recovery (4 a.m., 5 p.m.)
F: 9.14 with 4 x 800 & 4 x 400 @ sub 5K pace
S: 3 miles recovery
S: 14 long run with first 6 at easy pace, then 2 miles ins & outs @ 10K effort, then 3 miles @ 1 minute slower than MGP, 2 miles @ goal MGP (but ended up being a little slower) and then cool down mile.

This week is a very slight cutback week to about 55 or so miles in preparation for a tough schedule next week. I haven't seen next week's workouts yet but I've been told to "get ready."
Well this is what I've been doing in this 3rd week of marathon training:
M: 8 miles recovery a.m.
T: 4 easy a.m. followed by mid-core strengthening, 4 easy in p.m. followed by pull ups, dips, sit ups
W: 10.48 miles including 5 at progressive tempo pace followed by 1:30 recovery jog and then 1 mile at 5K pace (6:30).
T: 4 recovery a.m.
F: will be 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 (at slower paces than last week)
S: will be 4 recovery
S: will be 15 with first 12 between 7:40-8:10 and last 3 at 6:30-6:45 (I'll run this on good size rolling hills)

Sometimes the paces feel on the easy side and I have to remind myself that it's only week 3 of the training cycle and to be patient. Miguel reminds me that I'll definitely be running faster as the weeks go on, and to be patient. I think he's making sure that I don't peak too soon and then feel burned out by the time the CIM rolls around. We talked goal time for the San Jose Half and it's in the 1:26 range. If I stay healthy and I keep my mind strong, I can do it. I'm going for it and I can't wait.

My brother and his wife are also running and it should be a great event for all of us. Christy from Runningskirts.com is running too! We'll be working the runningskirts.com booth together on Saturday. :)

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled programming. Run strong.

Residuals & a Race Report on Miguel

I hope whoever is reading this is well and healthy! I still have some residual gunk in my chest and can feel it clearing out with each sneeze or cough. My body feels fine though and I don't feel sick. I think it's just a case of bad allergies accompanied by colorful phlegm. Mmmm, lovely.

But running has been going good this week. I met with Miguel yesterday and he looked to be in crazy good fighting shape! He's probably dropped 10 or so pounds since he left for altitude training up in Mammoth Lakes at the end of July. I looked at him and knew I had no excuses not to whip my fat arss into shape. Anyway, he showed me the overview of my training cycle and it looks challenging but very doable. I'm glad he had gotten me up to a few weeks at 75 miles per week this summer. My highest week will be 90 and I will have about 4-5 weeks in the 80 mpw range. I'm so excited to see how my body and running are affected by this. I'm 39 and am in the best shape of my life as far as running and racing. I have only been racing and training with commitment since 2006, so I think I have a good number of years left in which to improve.

This week was a low mileage week in the 50s range. I did a couple of V02 workouts this week and they both hurt. I like my legs going fast, but I have a hard time liking my lungs burning and my head feeling like it's going to explode. The first workout was Wednesday and it was 4 x 200s with :30 recoveries followed by 4 x 400s with 1:00 recoveries followed by 4 x 200 with :30 recoveries. In between each of the 3 sets I took a 3 minute jog. The 200s were all in the :40-:42 range and the 400s were in the 1:29-1:32 range. I need to work on letting go when it comes to these types of sprints. I just need to do it and not hold back, but call me chicken!

The 2nd workout was 4 x 1 mile speed intervals where I got a full 4:00 recovery between each. By the last interval I could have used a 6 minute recovery! Anyway they turned out like this: 5:54, 6:20, 6:21, 6:23. I was so so surprised to see a sub 6 mile on the road! I have not done that before and was pretty happy. But the last 3 intervals brought me back down to earth. In fact, I almost passed out at the end of the last interval. I was absolutely wiped out. When that last mile started, I literally felt scared (of the pain that would soon take over my body). I said some prayers for health and strength and for some reason, God always seems to hear my prayers for help! He amazes me and I am thankful.

I'm happy with the workout because Miguel told me to just run them a little faster than 6:30s. He was happy with the way they turned out too but he says we need to get me finishing faster rather than slower. Absolutely the truth! He also said that with good tempo training, I will soon be able to hold my paces at the faster end of the spectrum instead of finishing almost :30 slower than the first mile.

Okay, today is an easy 3-4 miles and I'll probably do it on the treadmill when the kiddo is napping. My older kiddos are at their step mom's and will be back tomorrow afternoon.

I do think that I will ask Miguel to change one thing: make my long runs on Saturday and easy runs on Sunday. I really want to be able to go to morning mass and enjoy it rather than worry about a long run I have to do later. I think he'll understand. :)

Lastly, I wanted to give a shout out to Miguel for his race performance at the USA 20K Championships. He had taken quite a few days off in the weeks leading up to the race because of an acute achilles injury. He started conservatively in the first couple of miles and then he went for it. He ended up passing 22 runners from the time he picked it up to the finish line and he didn't get passed. He placed 13th overall with a PR of 1:02:18. That's a 5:01 mile average. Awesome!

10 Miles

It's Sunday and beautiful outside. It's past noon and only 77-degrees. A wonderful change from the past several days when temps were already in the high 80s by 8:00 a.m. I ran 10 miles today with my hubby and toddler on the bike alongside. My older kids are with their step mom this weekend.

The first 6 miles were at an easy pace of about 8:20-8:25/mile.
Mile 7 was "ins and outs": alternating 30 seconds at mile race pace followed by 30 seconds of the above easy pace, avg. 7:26.
MIle 8 was back to the easy pace, but I averaged 7:48.
Mile 9 was supposed to be between 6:50-7:00, and I ran it in 6:47.
Mile 10 was a cool down mile.

I drank a lot of fluid out there. I'm hoping that my cold is completely gone. I still feel a scratchy throat, but overall I think I'm back to good health. No pains detected, but I definitely felt fatigue and soreness especially in my hamstrings. I'm sure this was from the 5K race yesterday. My breathing felt much better today.

Tonight we go to our friends' son's birthday party. I'm definitely going to have a nice, cold beer! And cake and ice cream, too.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

My Last 5K for a while

It's been an interesting week. Last weekend I did not run because I was down for the count with a sinus infection and cold, complete with chest congestion. I was feeling better earlier in the week so I did some easy miles and then did some 800s on Wednesday. Felt pretty good! The average for the 4 800s was 3:09. Thursday I was feeling okay, Friday I was feeling sick again and today... today I used my brains (said with a boat load of sarcasm) and I raced the last of the Turlock 5K Summer Series.

I decided to not wear the Garmin and just wear the sports watch. I decided to not look at my splits, which was a good thing (I'll tell you why in a second), and I decided to just go with the flow, hang on as long as I could and try to not collapse at the end.

I felt great in the first mile, smooth. In the middle of the 2nd mile I started to feel some overall body fatigue and started to feel the remnants of the cold in my chest. By the third mile, I was ready to walk. I wanted to throw in the towel and quit. But because Cross Country season starts next week for the local high schools, we had about a hundred kids out there with us. I just didn't want to quit and have all of those kids witness it. So, I pressed on and finished in 2nd place for the women and 13th overall. I'm so glad I had won the first 2 races in the series because I ended up being the overall female series winner. :) The race director is sending me a nice plaque for it!

I looked at my splits with my coach's wife after the race and boy, did we laugh! My first mile was 6:08 (yes, way, way too fast). It felt so good while I was doing it though. My second mile was 6:44 (and this was when I was feeling tired). My last mile.1 was 7:38. Hahahaha, crash and burn! I just could not wait to get the race over with! My overall time was 20:30. I'll take it, especially after having been sick for a good part of the week leading up to the race. It felt good to race though, even if it wasn't a PR.

I still haven't broken 20:00 for the 5K, but I will! Anyway, my times for the series were 21:00, 20:44, 20:30. At least I improved on the course each time. I just don't think I'm made for short distance speed. But that might change when marathon training gets under way... MONDAY!

Have a good week!!!

What I find inspiring

Andre Phillips ran the 400 meter hurdles in the Seoul Olympics in 1988. He dethroned the king of the 400 hurdles, who sat on that throne for a decade, at the Olympics that year by winning the Gold. The 'king' was Edwin Moses. Andre Phillips was just a guy raised on the east side of San Jose, California who at the age of 18 was 'on his own' as he said. He lived in his car for 3 months before finding a place to call home. But while he lived in his car, he worked at a restaurant and he eventually went to school at UCLA. He did not give up on himself. He did not take a path that could've ended his life. He made the best out of what he had at the time. He made his dream a reality when he became an Olympian, and he lived beyond his wildest dreams for that moment when he won the Gold and beat Edwin Moses. He's #1120 on the left, Moses #1114 is on the right.

He's still living the American dream as a Vice Principal at a Stockton high school where the kids just love him, and where he imparts his wisdom and kindness on the kids. He plans on returning to track competition as a Masters competitor next year at the Modesto Relays. I cannot wait to see him! I'll definitely be rooting for him with every step and every hurdle. I want to be like him when I grow up.

I also find my daughter inspiring in the way that she can't wait to take violin lessons because she loves the way the violin sounds. And who can draw a damn good rendition of a Picasso painting, freehand. And I am inspired by my son who is teaching himself to play the guitar, with the help of his granddad, too. But he can already play several chords of the song, More Than Words. He taught himself by watching it on You Tube! And I'm inspired by my youngest son who insists on doing things by himself, and who is talking up a storm.

Life sure is beautiful if you look in the right places. :)

The Calm Before "The Storm"

The Storm of which I speak is marathon training, of course. ;)

I've been running, nice and easy and no more than 50 minutes at a time. I stopped pool running last week, although I have to admit it's a good way to get that heart pumping when cross training. Definitely throw intervals in there when pool running, otherwise the point is moot. I'll be loosening up a little more this week and doing a few 800s tomorrow and some more short turnover sessions next week along with getting the miles back up. September 1 is just around the corner and then it'll be time to get serious. And I am serious about this fall training cycle! I really don't know what kind of workouts are in store and I can't wait to find out. I do know that my mileage will be up there (compared to where I was before Boston). I don't foresee a 100 mile week anytime this cycle, but I'll get up to around 90 (God willing).

I'll be a real stickler about core strengthening as well. My goal is 3 core routines per week, at minimum. I did the CrossFit workout of the day on Monday and I am SO sore today, two days later. Shows how much I've been slacking with those. But my heart was pumping good in that 16 minute workout, and I love this kind of muscle soreness (well, at least when I don't have to do a hard training run or race). But all of the core stuff combined with the running will just keep the strength level high. That's good!

On the home front, my husband received a job offer at his former fire department. If all goes well with his medical (and I'm sure it will), he'll start in mid-September. He'll be a Battalion Chief... a huge change from working on the line, but he's ready. He's been a line firefighter for 16 years now so I think he's ready for this change. I am so proud of him and know he'll be a good leader.

The kids started school on August 18. The morning air is cooler, crisper. The sun takes longer to rise now and early morning runs will be dark when I get back to them. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It's been almost 2-1/2 years since I worked full time at the police department. I've been working an average of one to two patrol shifts per month since. At first I really, really missed everything about my career. I still miss so much about it when I'm there doing it, but when I'm far removed from it and doing everything else, it doesn't tug at my heart so much anymore. I do enjoy being out there in the community, a community so different from the one where I live.

Working patrol opens my eyes and mind to everything that I usually shut out when I'm at home. Being out there reminds me of all I have to be thankful for! The simplest things: love, family, food, shelter, health.

Since I no longer work full time, I've been blessed to have been able to pursue my hobby of running in earnest. Something I was not able to do when I worked at least 10 hour days and commuted about 4 hours a day to and from work. I've definitely been blessed to be able to be here for the kids! They asked me to not go back to full time yet. Their dad is in Iraq and I think they'd miss having me gone most of the day, too, on top of their dad being gone until next Spring. Not that they don't love and trust their step parents because they completely do, but I think you all know what I mean. Being home has been a gift! I have so many options to consider regarding career, but full time will have to wait a while longer.

Well, time to enjoy some coffee while the toddler plays with his toys. We'll watch a little Olympics (GO USA). I'll run later today after the kids are done with homework.

Hope all is well with you!!!

A Week of REST

This week has been nice as far as any kind of training. I've taken it easy all week with some cross training via pool running (although those workouts are hard), and just plain rest. I haven't run since Saturday and I feel really good. In fact, I can't wait to get back to running and I know this little bit of rest is what I needed both mentally and physically.

The downside is that I've been eating everything I want (aka JUNK). I seem to eat better when I'm running more and running hard. I also get better sleep, etc., etc. But this week I told myself I'd enjoy whatever I feel like. Sometimes ya' just gotta not be so rigid about things. Okay... sometimes I just need not be so rigid about things. ;)

No big injuries to speak of, just minor aches and soreness here and there. Same old stuff that comes with the territory. I hope you are all enjoying AUGUST. My kids start school next week. I can't believe how fast the summer break has gone by.

The THRILL of Victory!

Wow, wow, wow, wow! One Wow for each member of the U.S. Men's Swimming 4 x 100 Freestyle Relay. I love to see efforts like theirs. It was an amazing, heart tugging, tear producing (from joy) effort! Talk about a RACE. That was one of the best races I've ever seen! Here it is on nbcolympics-dot-com.
Congratulations gentlemen! Well earned, well deserved.
To the french who unfortunately talked smack about the U.S. team... sorry about the agony of defeat. :(

Dreams (and not the Goals kind)

It's been a tiring week after the SF Half Marathon. I did 3 recovery runs from Monday through Wednesday, but I did strides at the end of Wednesday's recovery run and everything felt very tight and uncomfortable instead of loose. Thursday I did a tempo run and it took all I had just to run 4 miles at my tempo pace. I just PHYSICALLY wasn't feeling good. I knew I was not yet recovered from the half.

So I told Miguel and God bless him, he said, "DO NOT push the pace if you feel tight. Just run your miles at easy pace and if you throw in a strider and things feel tight, immediately stop and go back to easy paced running. We don't want you injured before we start marathon training September 1." So I did an easy run on Friday and Saturday and today I'm going to do a 12 miler and if I feel good after the first pick up (fartlek), I'll keep proceeding with the run as planned... fartlek in the middle and then progressively faster for the last 4 miles, ending at a 6:40 pace. If I feel tightness in my hamstring insertion points (or sit bones), I'll keep it at easy pace.

Anyway, on to DREAMS. I had such sad dreams last night that the crying in my sleep woke me up. :( The first dream was about how my oldest son was exposed to anthrax, of all things! And I was too, but somehow it did not make me ill, but I was rushing around trying to tell my family so that I could get back to my son and be with him. But all my siblings and their families were busy preparing for a trip with my parents and I couldn't get them to sit still and listen and I kept yelling louder and louder, "Come ON! Come ON! Come ON!" I kept trying to get them to listen and I was crying so hard because I just wanted to get back to my son and I never did get to tell them because the crying woke me up.

When I woke up I looked around the room and thanked God it was just a dream.

The next dream was about me driving a bunch of women around in my car with my toddler and daughter on their laps. The women kept saying that my son was anemic and that he had "that look." ??? I looked at my son and he looked really, really pale, but he was still smiling and playing. Then my husband was in the car (all of the sudden) and he said, "Just park here and I'll be right back." So I parked the car at the stop sign in the middle of the road like he said. A driver came up behind me and yelled at me to move my car and I said I couldn't. He then got on his car radio (like in a police squad car) and said, "Send patrol over." Oops! I still didn't move my car for a minute or so.

Then I finally moved the car across the intersection which turned out to be the city where I work. I thought I'd better get out and look for my husband. I left the women and my kids in the car and just got out and started walking, barefoot. My feet were getting wet. I started yelling my husband's name over and over. And I saw many cops that I work with also yelling his name over and over. I kept walking, aimlessly, through town, barefoot, yelling his name. And the cops kept repeating it. There were hundreds of other people walking around but I did not recognize their faces and they were all wearing dark clothing.

As I kept walking, the scene in my dream changed back to my room where I was asleep and then I heard my husband say quietly, "Here I am, here I am." And in my dream I woke up and told him I had a bad dream and he said, "Yes, your left shoulder is bleeding (and in my dream it was cut and bleeding) and you did something so weird." I said, "What did I do?" He said, "You licked your feet!" In my dream I was grossed out, and then I said, "In my dream I was walking barefoot around the city looking for you, and my feet felt wet." And then he said, "We need to take care of this cut." And then I actually woke up. So it was weird, but I was having a dream within a dream! I've only done that once or twice before.

I looked over at my husband who was zonked out and I went back to sleep, praying that I'd have no more bad dreams. The alarm went off at 0500 and I told myself, "I'm not running until the baby's nap time." And turned the alarm off and crashed out until 0730.

I actually feel kind of disturbed and a little saddened by my dreams, although I know they are not real. I also feel tired and a little run down. I think it's because I worked yesterday and being outside in the sun in full uniform (roasting) just tuckered me out. And I did have lots of jalapenos with dinner last night... I bet the spicy food made me have funky dreams!

Ya' ever say, "That's it, no more, I'm done racing," after a race?

That's what I said at the finish line of the San Francisco Half Marathon today. I ran the 2nd half of the full course and I don't know why, but I was expecting it to be flat and easy. There were some flat part and some easy parts, but that was most definitely not like the half I ran in Sacramento in March (real flat), or the San Jose RocknRoll course (also real flat). Today's course was just downright hard, but take that for what it's worth from a runner who hasn't run hills since May. More to come on the race in a few.

DAY BEFORE THE RACE:
Anyway, Saturday was a great day! I worked at the Runningskirts.com booth all day with Christy (co-owner and twin sister of Cindy). It was so, so great to meet her in person and I had a real blast working with her. She is not only very kind and personable, but gorgeous. Those expos are busy, and tough on the body. I don't know how they do so many.

It was really cool to meet so many different runners who enjoy running in skirts. The skirts and bras were selling like hot cakes, like they were going out of style or something. I think I sat down for maybe 5 or 10 minutes the entire day, that is how busy we were! Have I ever mentioned how much I love their skirts? ;) Christy and Cindy, anytime you need a hand at one of the expos and I am available, I would love to work with you again. I really enjoyed it. Thank you very much for the fun opportunity and for your generosity! Christy, can't wait to read a little report on the first half. I saw your finish time and you did GREAT, especially for the first half of that course. I can only imagine the hills.

Many people came by the booth to say hello and it was great to meet a lot of the other runners who use the Runnersworld.com forums. After talking running so long with these people, you sometimes feel like they're your training partners when you finally do meet them in person. Fellow blogger, and ultra runner extraordinaire Rick Gaston came by to say hi and update me on his life. Rick, I'm so happy that things are going well for you!!! :) Now let that thigh/knee of yours heal!

On Saturday night after the expo I met up with a lot of runners from the California Running and Racing Forum on Runnersworld.com at Buca di Beppo. It was so hard to get a chance to talk with everybody because it was very crowded in there and quite loud, but it was nice to put more faces to names. Runners really are so friendly and supportive of one another, in many aspects of life and not just running. I really enjoyed talking with Lori and Gundy. Gundy just finished running the Badwater Ultra Marathon through Death Valley and finishing up Mt. Whitney. Talk about a super knowledgeable, dedicated, talented yet very humble man. And Lori was just a sweetheart! She made her goal in the full marathon in SF running a sub-3:30 by 2 minutes. Go girl!

RACE MORNING:
Nothing too eventful. Woke up about 3 hours before gun time and choked down more fluids, sports drink, coffee and half a bagel with butter. My tummy was nervous, I was nervous. Met Larry, aka Mosquito, our running store general manager at the shuttle buses at 6:30 and off we went to the 2nd half starting line at Golden Gate Park. Made use of the port o potties once, and then made use of the dense trees and shrubs several times. Saw BUFFALO grazing in a field at the park and I had to stop and stare.

Warmed up for 1.5 miles, including long strides at goal pace. Changed into racing flats, checked the gear bag and fell into line in wave 1. I had gotten a voice mail from Miguel the night before and he said to go out at 6:45-6:50 for the first 3 miles, and then after the little hill at 3 miles, let it loose and be aggressive. Just go for it. He said not to be afraid and to push myself. He said to visualize seeing the clock at the finish line saying sub 1:25 (hahhahahaha, right), and that I was ready. And you know what, I know I was ready (but the course has to be pretty damn flat for me to get that time, at least right now).

Followed his instructions pretty much to the letter, but I live in flat land and the hills were longer and more challenging than I thought they'd be. I thought they'd be little rollers like CIM's course, but no, to me these were actual hills. Enough so that my pace slowed significantly on them. The downhills in Mile 6 were THE BOMB though. I FLEW down those things and had a blast doing so. What I did was monitor my Garmin for the first 3 miles to make sure I wasn't going too fast, and then I just stopped looking at it completely until I got to the finish line. I ran the last 10 miles completely by feel, and let me tell you, I felt it.

Looking at the Garmin AFTER the race, I realized that I ran .38 miles longer than I had to. I did not run the tangents which added on a significant amount to the race. I ran 13.48 miles at 1:30:03, which was a 6:41/mile average. But since that's not official, I have to go with running 13.1 in 1:29:09 (6:49/mile average). Not much of a PR at all, but I have to cut myself some slack because this course was so different from the last half marathon I ran in March.

My splits were:
6:44
7:03
7:14
6:49 (first 4 miles had some hills, in Golden Gate Park)
6:22
6:40 (several rollers)
6:40
6:05 (can you tell there were a couple down hills in this mile?)
6:33 (aah, flat)
6:31
6:46 (feeling fatigue and feeling headwinds)
6:40 (see above)
6:45 (barely, barely hanging on... in fact, gasping at the end)
3:15 (for . 48)
2.08 mile cool down a little while later

As soon as I crossed the finish line, Larry and David (another RW forum user) asked me if I was all right. I must've not looked too good. I didn't feel too good either. I saw my husband and ALMOST said, "Never again," out loud. Instead, I just said the words silently to myself. Of course that won't last long.

Afterward I went through waves of feeling decent, and then feeling just plain ill, exhausted, wanting to lay down and curl up into a ball and sleep. I still feel pretty crappy at 8:15 p.m., but I'll get over it.

I talked to Miguel after the race and he said he knew the course was tougher than he let on, but didn't want to psyche me out before the race. He was happy with what I did today because he said I was still very strong on high volume/low intensity (which is what I've done through the summer). He feels that the high volume, high intensity workouts that will come for marathon training will really help me improve by a lot, and not by just seconds.

To Larry (Mosquito Mosquito) & David (Golden State Runner): You guys completely rocked that 2nd half! Larry ran a 1:12 & change and David ran a new PR of 1:23 & change. As I mentioned earlier, the course was not easy. My hat is off to these two because they went twice as fast as me and felt twice the pain! ;)

I wanted to give a shout out to Billy & Paul, two other RW forum users that I met at the expo on Saturday. SF was Paul's FIRST MARATHON and he did great! Paul, you're a nut to pick that one for your first, but it shows how much gumption you've got. And Billy PR'd AND broke 4 hours by 8 minutes. He wanted to break 4 at the San Diego Rock N Roll in June but didn't, and I know SF's course is much harder than SD's, and he not only broke 4 but he broke it by a ton of time! Great job guys!

I have a few weeks of easy running and cross training to do. I'm looking forward to the down time. I'm sure it's all I need to get my race mojo back. Thanks so much for reading and for all the good wishes prior to the race. :)

Nerves Are Good

I'm nervous! I haven't felt nervous like this for a race since the CIM last year. It's been a LOVELY week of tapering. I cannot even tell you how happy I've been with the cut backs this week. I did run a short quality workout on Wednesday, more to loosen up the legs and lungs than to gain any fitness. It was 1 x 1 mile at 6:26, 3 minutes recovery, 4 x 400 with 1 minute recoveries: 1:27, 1:30, 1:32, 1:31, sandwiched between 2 miles warm up and 2 cool down. The rest of the days have been nice, easy, short runs and lots of stretching.

I'm running 2 easy miles today, and 20 minutes tomorrow, and that's it until Sunday morning. I'll be talking to Miguel tomorrow about my race strategy, but when I talked with him today he said, "Don't be afraid to be aggressive after the first 2-3 miles. Just let it go and do it." I've put in some good training and good miles during this summer's mini-season, and I'm ready to 'let it go and do it.'

I think that's why I'm nervous!

Okay, time to get some grub. Have a GREAT weekend! I'll be thinking about all the kind stuff you wrote in the comments of my last entry, and I'll carry those good vibes with me over the course. Thank you!!!

Yesssssss!

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to those who commented on yesterday's blog. I left you a message in the comments section but just wanted to reiterate how much I appreciate your kindness!

Today was a much better day. Sleeping 9 hours was KEY! I needed that. And tonight I will be asleep at a reasonable hour and sleep in. That's what the "Yessssss" is for. I get to sleep soundly every morning this week! I got my workouts from Miguel and he was not kidding when he said this week would be light and easy. My hardest workout is Wednesday and it really isn't hard at all. Just a mile at a relaxed 6:30 pace, 3 minutes recovery and then 4 x 400 at a :90 pace with 1 minute recoveries. Everything else the rest of the week is easy stuff with striders. He even said, "No tough core workouts this week, especially no burpees!" He knows I do CrossFit and that it can take a toll on ya'. So yessssss, I'm looking forward to easy stuff all week long!

JANETTE asked me yesterday in the comments about how I found Miguel as my coach. He is a local runner and I would always see him out and about training like a mad man for the Olympic Trials. He also is one of the managers at our Togo's Eatery so I'd see him there whenever we went in for good grub. We would always say hi to each other as we crossed paths while running. It's a small town and when you see other runners, you remember them. When I started working part time at our local running specialty store, he and his wife would come in regularly to see our store manager, with whom Miguel and his wife are close friends. One day we all talked about past races and upcoming races and goals and that's when I got the idea to seek his help for my next marathon. Our store manager asked him about it and he said yes.

I don't know why but I didn't really know how much he listened when I gave him my feedback on workouts, but I learned just the other day that he listens AND remembers everything! After doing a workout last week, I told him what my splits AND my heart rates were and he said something like, "Remember last month when your heart rate was much higher when you did a similar workout?" I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered the exact number because I looked it up in my log and he was right. He really does monitor my work. Yaaaaay!!!

Anyway, time to get ready for bed. Kids are sound asleep and my DH had a rough night at work last night and he's ready to crash. Thanks again for reading, everybody! Hugs!