I have to admit I was a little worried that I would be the weak link in this mornings run. While I had a pretty good run last Sunday at the Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon I just couldn't find the motivation to run all week long. My mojo seems to be in hiding and I just can't locate it. Maybe it's the darkness of 4:30 a.m. or maybe it's the changing weather or maybe it's just laziness. I'm not quite sure.
When D Gee suggested that we run a little later than we usually do I was super happy. It meant I could sleep in until 5:45 and take my time getting ready to leave the house. It lifted a little weight for me. Friday nights for the last couple months have been really late nights for me and meeting up with the group in the wee hours of Saturday mornings has been tough. Really tough.
I met up with D Gee at the appointed hour and place this morning. It was cold. Colder than cold. Like 30 something degrees cold. Thank goodness for good running tights, a beanie and gloves! While we got ourselves together and our Garmins searched for satellites BC ran up (he started out an hour earlier so he could get in a longer run). His timing was impeccable! It was too cold to stand and chat so off we went.
My goal today was to not hold the boys back too much. I wanted to run hard and find my mojo where ever she may be. The boys were gracious and let me set the pace. We clipped along at just over a 10 minute pace and caught each other up on the goings on in our lives. We ran 5 miles without walking. That was huge for me. Sadly I haven't accomplished this feat for many months. I got into the walk/run habit and I liked it just a little too much. We stopped for a 2 minute bathroom break and we were on the move again.
As we approached Big Bertha that little nagging voice of self doubt starting chirping in my ear. I wanted to run every inch of her steep switch backed slope but I've only been able to do this once or twice. Usually I surrender to the burning in my legs and lungs and walk up. But not today. Instead of giving in I prevailed! It hurt and it wasn't pretty but I did it. I had to walk for a few feet up once at the top to catch my breath but then it was back to the run.
Around mile 7.5 or 8 the boys decided to do a little trail running. My left glute has been sore and tight for quite some time and today was no different so I decided to stick to the pavement. It gave me a couple miles to work on pace and push myself. I wanted to walk like nobodies business but I didn't. I pushed until the 9 mile mark and finally gave myself permission to take a small break and re-hydrate. I tried to power through the last two miles but I was quickly running out of steam. D Gee caught back up with me around mile 9.5. We both were feeling tired but good. I took one more small walk break at mile 10 and then made the final push to the parking lot.
I'm so happy I got out and ran hard today. I'm starting to remember what it feels like to really run not just half-ass run, to get out there and do work. While I can't say with certainty that my mojo is back I can say that today I feel damn good!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Procrastination Leads to a Run Down Memory Lane
I am the queen of procrastination. I always have been and I'm pretty sure I always will be. Somehow I just function better with a little pressure, at least in most things. There are certain circumstances that I will freak out about if I don't have them planned well in advance but that's a story for another day.
This weekend I put my long run off as long as I possibly could. I checked The Weekly Runner several times during the week to see what my other runner friends had planned for the weekend but no one posted anything. The group seems to be at a crossroads of some sort and is splintering somewhat. Growing pains I suspect but it makes me sad. I really love to run with my friends on the weekend and sit at a local Starbucks afterward for hot coffee and long chats about a lot of nothing (aka gossiping).
So with no plan on the books and a 10 mile run on the calendar I decided to map out a route around my town and knock it out by myself. I planned to go around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning but forgot that Son #1 was scheduled to take the ACT. I wanted to wish him luck and send him off so I pushed the run back about 30 minutes. Well in those 30 minutes I was able to talk myself out of running all-together. I decided to brew a steaming hot Cafe Americano and rent Horrible Bosses off of pay-per-view. My rational was there is always tomorrow for a long run. I spent the rest of the day cleaning carpets, furniture and a few windows. No rest for the wicked right?!
This morning I headed out the door around 6:45 a.m. just as daylight was beginning to break. It was crisp and cool, perfect running weather. I had mapped a route on Friday but I decided to wing it a bit once I stepped out the door. I ran part of the course in reverse of what I had planned. I am so glad that I chose to do this because when I reached the bike trail that runs along a creek I was able to get some amazing sunrise photos.
This weekend I put my long run off as long as I possibly could. I checked The Weekly Runner several times during the week to see what my other runner friends had planned for the weekend but no one posted anything. The group seems to be at a crossroads of some sort and is splintering somewhat. Growing pains I suspect but it makes me sad. I really love to run with my friends on the weekend and sit at a local Starbucks afterward for hot coffee and long chats about a lot of nothing (aka gossiping).
So with no plan on the books and a 10 mile run on the calendar I decided to map out a route around my town and knock it out by myself. I planned to go around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning but forgot that Son #1 was scheduled to take the ACT. I wanted to wish him luck and send him off so I pushed the run back about 30 minutes. Well in those 30 minutes I was able to talk myself out of running all-together. I decided to brew a steaming hot Cafe Americano and rent Horrible Bosses off of pay-per-view. My rational was there is always tomorrow for a long run. I spent the rest of the day cleaning carpets, furniture and a few windows. No rest for the wicked right?!
This morning I headed out the door around 6:45 a.m. just as daylight was beginning to break. It was crisp and cool, perfect running weather. I had mapped a route on Friday but I decided to wing it a bit once I stepped out the door. I ran part of the course in reverse of what I had planned. I am so glad that I chose to do this because when I reached the bike trail that runs along a creek I was able to get some amazing sunrise photos.
This nature area holds special sentimental value for me. It is a quarter mile walk from the house I grew up in. As I kid played in and around this creek. I learned to ride a dirt bike not far from this point and how to jump on a moving freight train here (sorry mom!). We also laid out scores of pennies and nickels for the passing trains to smash. I remember rushing to the tracks to find the warm coins once it was clear. We would stand near the tracks counting cars, feeling the breeze created by the speeding trains and waving to the brakemen on the cabooses. There was no paved trail back then and a lot fewer houses. But it is still a beautiful place to be.
Even as a kid the water would grow green and stagnant by summer's end but it wouldn't stop us from spending our days here. Being out there alone today I was able to focus on the fun that I've had on these shores. Now that I am an adult I realize how lucky I was to have this little bit of nature as a playground. I'm sure it contributed to my on-going love of being outside and near water.
This trestle provided shelter from the burning summer sun. We would sit on the cool damp earth and talk about whatever it is that kids talk about and chew on the wild fennel growing on the banks.
All in all I had a really great run. I was aiming for a 10:30 pace but stopping to take all of these pictures tanked my time (I averaged 10:55). It was worth every extra minute!
Next Sunday I will run my 20th half marathon, Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon. I'm so excited. I've never run this particular race before but I run the route often with my buddies. I'll be heading to the race solo and running solo. I was a little apprehensive about this prospect. Even though I usually run a race alone I usually have a carpool buddy. I'm glad I got out there alone today because now I'm not apprehensive at all just ready to run number 20!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
What To Do?
To CIM or not is the question of the week.
A few years ago I had a goal set for a 4:30 marathon. I trained hard and I was on target to meet my goal. On the morning of the marathon I felt strong and was running well. If I could keep up the pace I was running I would cross the finish line approximately 10 minutes ahead of my goal time. But it was not meant to be. I sustained an injury to my right knee somewhere along the way. By mile 23 I was in severe pain and unable to run. I was only able to sort of walk/limp. I missed 4:30 by 17 minutes crossing the finish line in 4 hours 47 minutes. I was letdown. 4:47 is my personal best to this day but I know it’s not the best I can do.
I was barely able to make my way from the finish corral to my waiting family and friends. The pain was unbearable. After hobbling for a couple of blocks towards our car I gave up. I just could not go any further. Hubs went to the parking garage to retrieve the car while I waited in the cold December air with Debra, her daughter, and my boys.
I spent the rest of the day in bed taking massive doses of Ibuprofen and icing my knee. I called the advice nurse. She told me to just rest, after all I had just run 26.2 miles and I should expect to be sore. This was not my first go at the rodeo that is marathoning and knew that this was not the usual kind of soreness but did not push the issue. I slept on and off all afternoon and through the night. I had to have Hubs help me do everything including walking me to the bathroom which really involved him carrying me.
First thing Monday morning I called my doctor. She told me to come in right away. Hubs piled me into the car and took me in. The doctor gently moved my knee this way and that. She decided it must be a stress fracture and I was off to the X-ray Department. 30 minutes later we sat looking at the bright white bones of my lower right leg. A fracture could not be found but Doc was sure we were missing it so she scheduled me for an MRI and a consultation with a Sports Medicine doctor. I was fitted with a pair of crutches, given the paperwork to take 4 weeks off of work and sent home.
Over the next few days I tried to get in the Christmas spirit. I tottered around the house on the crutches while trying to decorate. I was bored and anxious. The MRI and the sports med appointment were a week away. Hubs took a couple days off of work and took me to the mall to knock out some Christmas shopping. I just wanted to be fixed and for the pain to go away.
Hubs took another day off of work and took me to see Sports Doc. I sat on the paper lined table as she moved the knee this way and that. She poked and prodded. She assessed I had weak quad muscles. Again we looked at the x-ray films, still searching for a hidden fracture. A little more poking and prodding and Sport Doc diagnosed a torn meniscus and “the worst case of bursitis” that she had ever seen, worse than 70 or 80 year old patients. Wow! Way to go me! She cancelled the MRI appointment and laid treatment out for me.
Treatment would be long and slow starting with a corticosteroid shot to the inflamed bursa. Not as bad as it sounds and it did bring some relief. Sport Doc referred me to Sport Therapist to rehab and strengthen the area. She prohibited me from excessive walking and absolutely no running. The tear in the meniscus was small and did not need surgery; the bursitis was the primary problem.
Rehab was a test in patience. I was forced to give up the one thing that is at once my addiction and my salvation. I hated the rehab exercises. They were monotonous and boring. I skipped workouts and cheated on the walking and running. I set myself back. I hated the look on Sport Doc’s face when I admitted I ran a couple miles just to see how it felt. The look of disapproval made me want to hide under a rock. I admitted to her that my goal was to run CIM again that year. Sport Doc told me in no uncertain terms that if I ran a full marathon 12 months after this colossal injury I would wind up back in her office and possibly be facing surgical repair of said knee.
I heeded her advice and let the notion go until 2010. All was going as planned and then the tumor appeared on Easter Sunday on the top of my right foot. It was not painful. It was just a lump staring up at me mockingly. The following day I was back in my primary physician’s office. She diagnosed a ganglion cyst and referred me to podiatry. A week later Pod Doc tells me that it must be surgically removed and recovery time would be 2 – 3 weeks. I underwent surgery to find that the cyst was actually a solid mass and had grown into the tendon in that area of my foot. Pod Doc had to cut out and remove a section of tendon. Not the news I wanted to hear. Recovery time was now projected to be 4 – 6 months. CIM had to come off the calendar for a second year. I followed his orders and 8 weeks after surgery I was given the go-ahead to slowly start running again. CIM was 4 months away. I put the race back on the calendar and began training.
October rolled around and I ran Urban Cow. My foot ached throughout the entire race, something was not right. I booked an appointment with Pod Doc. There was a painful lump that I had attributed to scar tissue. Pod Doc assessed the lump and the mobility of the foot and determined the tumor had grown back. A second surgery was scheduled. CIM was once again of the calendar. I was defeated and unhappy. The second surgery revealed a tumor and a tear in the tendon. My running career was on hold yet again.
In late January 2011 Pod Doc cleared me to run once again. I did not run. I was fearful. I could not face another surgery. Finally in late February I laced my shoes up and went for a run.
I have spent the last 8 months diligently training and have successfully completed my first full marathon in nearly 3 years however I am apprehensive about registering for CIM. I am not overly superstitious nevertheless I am shy about committing. Something about being so focused on this one event seems to be a bad omen. I am mostly pain free and mostly injury free save for the toenail situation. Would running CIM lead to yet another injury? Should I just cut my losses and focus on Big Sur 2012?
I just don’t know.
A few years ago I had a goal set for a 4:30 marathon. I trained hard and I was on target to meet my goal. On the morning of the marathon I felt strong and was running well. If I could keep up the pace I was running I would cross the finish line approximately 10 minutes ahead of my goal time. But it was not meant to be. I sustained an injury to my right knee somewhere along the way. By mile 23 I was in severe pain and unable to run. I was only able to sort of walk/limp. I missed 4:30 by 17 minutes crossing the finish line in 4 hours 47 minutes. I was letdown. 4:47 is my personal best to this day but I know it’s not the best I can do.
I was barely able to make my way from the finish corral to my waiting family and friends. The pain was unbearable. After hobbling for a couple of blocks towards our car I gave up. I just could not go any further. Hubs went to the parking garage to retrieve the car while I waited in the cold December air with Debra, her daughter, and my boys.
I spent the rest of the day in bed taking massive doses of Ibuprofen and icing my knee. I called the advice nurse. She told me to just rest, after all I had just run 26.2 miles and I should expect to be sore. This was not my first go at the rodeo that is marathoning and knew that this was not the usual kind of soreness but did not push the issue. I slept on and off all afternoon and through the night. I had to have Hubs help me do everything including walking me to the bathroom which really involved him carrying me.
First thing Monday morning I called my doctor. She told me to come in right away. Hubs piled me into the car and took me in. The doctor gently moved my knee this way and that. She decided it must be a stress fracture and I was off to the X-ray Department. 30 minutes later we sat looking at the bright white bones of my lower right leg. A fracture could not be found but Doc was sure we were missing it so she scheduled me for an MRI and a consultation with a Sports Medicine doctor. I was fitted with a pair of crutches, given the paperwork to take 4 weeks off of work and sent home.
Over the next few days I tried to get in the Christmas spirit. I tottered around the house on the crutches while trying to decorate. I was bored and anxious. The MRI and the sports med appointment were a week away. Hubs took a couple days off of work and took me to the mall to knock out some Christmas shopping. I just wanted to be fixed and for the pain to go away.
Hubs took another day off of work and took me to see Sports Doc. I sat on the paper lined table as she moved the knee this way and that. She poked and prodded. She assessed I had weak quad muscles. Again we looked at the x-ray films, still searching for a hidden fracture. A little more poking and prodding and Sport Doc diagnosed a torn meniscus and “the worst case of bursitis” that she had ever seen, worse than 70 or 80 year old patients. Wow! Way to go me! She cancelled the MRI appointment and laid treatment out for me.
Treatment would be long and slow starting with a corticosteroid shot to the inflamed bursa. Not as bad as it sounds and it did bring some relief. Sport Doc referred me to Sport Therapist to rehab and strengthen the area. She prohibited me from excessive walking and absolutely no running. The tear in the meniscus was small and did not need surgery; the bursitis was the primary problem.
Rehab was a test in patience. I was forced to give up the one thing that is at once my addiction and my salvation. I hated the rehab exercises. They were monotonous and boring. I skipped workouts and cheated on the walking and running. I set myself back. I hated the look on Sport Doc’s face when I admitted I ran a couple miles just to see how it felt. The look of disapproval made me want to hide under a rock. I admitted to her that my goal was to run CIM again that year. Sport Doc told me in no uncertain terms that if I ran a full marathon 12 months after this colossal injury I would wind up back in her office and possibly be facing surgical repair of said knee.
I heeded her advice and let the notion go until 2010. All was going as planned and then the tumor appeared on Easter Sunday on the top of my right foot. It was not painful. It was just a lump staring up at me mockingly. The following day I was back in my primary physician’s office. She diagnosed a ganglion cyst and referred me to podiatry. A week later Pod Doc tells me that it must be surgically removed and recovery time would be 2 – 3 weeks. I underwent surgery to find that the cyst was actually a solid mass and had grown into the tendon in that area of my foot. Pod Doc had to cut out and remove a section of tendon. Not the news I wanted to hear. Recovery time was now projected to be 4 – 6 months. CIM had to come off the calendar for a second year. I followed his orders and 8 weeks after surgery I was given the go-ahead to slowly start running again. CIM was 4 months away. I put the race back on the calendar and began training.
October rolled around and I ran Urban Cow. My foot ached throughout the entire race, something was not right. I booked an appointment with Pod Doc. There was a painful lump that I had attributed to scar tissue. Pod Doc assessed the lump and the mobility of the foot and determined the tumor had grown back. A second surgery was scheduled. CIM was once again of the calendar. I was defeated and unhappy. The second surgery revealed a tumor and a tear in the tendon. My running career was on hold yet again.
In late January 2011 Pod Doc cleared me to run once again. I did not run. I was fearful. I could not face another surgery. Finally in late February I laced my shoes up and went for a run.
I have spent the last 8 months diligently training and have successfully completed my first full marathon in nearly 3 years however I am apprehensive about registering for CIM. I am not overly superstitious nevertheless I am shy about committing. Something about being so focused on this one event seems to be a bad omen. I am mostly pain free and mostly injury free save for the toenail situation. Would running CIM lead to yet another injury? Should I just cut my losses and focus on Big Sur 2012?
I just don’t know.
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