Weekly wrap-up

I had a great week despite how I'm feeling today.  I woke up with a headache, not sure why, probably some poor food choices and not enough water.  In any case, it was another great week for me in terms of training!  Second week in a row that I actually could complete what I have down on my modified training plan.  I ran 10 miles total, which isn't a ton compared to this past spring, but it was pain free.  I have not done any cross training (I know, I know) mostly because right now I think I really need a full rest day in between runs.  Biking or other cross training still uses my heel and I want to take it slow still.  I'm ready to not be taking it slow but I shouldn't complain because I can run!

Monday - 30 minutes treadmill

Wedesnday - 3 miles treadmill

Friday - long run, 4 miles, outside with Dallas on the acorn train.  It had been a while since he had run more than 3 as well, so we took it slow.  Compression socks helped! 

The heel tenderness is still there if I push it a lot, but it's not painful and it doesn't hurt to actually run.  It just feels like it's pulling/tender a bit?  I'm having more of that this morning with it because yesterday I walked and stood around a lot. We had our favorite parade/festival of the year here, Celebration of Nations.  I wore the high clogs that help because my achilles/heel area is not stretched at all...but they are clogs, so not really comfortable on the feet.  It was a great day though, and I took hundreds of photos.  I thought I would share some on Wide-angle Wednesday, but I'll put a couple here too.  

We live in a rural area that is NOT culturally diverse at all.  The University started Celebration of Nations 4 years ago in an attempt to share and celebrate other cultures and I think it's a huge success...and like a candy store for a photographer!

 

 

I will share more on Wide-angle Wednesday.  Hope your weekend is going well, I know there were some races I'm excited to hear about and a friend in the UK that is actually running the Great Yorkshire run as I'm typing this.  Go Kelly!!

Wide-angle Wednesday

Yep, I took a photo of my shoes for Wide-angle Wednesday.  They totally deserve a whole blog post b/c I'm running and with no heel pain!!!! I suspected that my minimal Brooks Pure Flows were aggravating my heel bursitis/achilles area and decided to go back to typical 10mm drop trainers. I chose Brooks Ghost 2 based on a bunch of research and reviews.  I had gone to the minimals to alleviate Plantar Fasciitis, so I was nervous (and still am a bit) about this switch, but I wanted to make sure that my heel/achilles issue was able to heal properly while still being able to run.  I'm a bit sad to not run in my Pure Flows, I really love them, but I've run twice in the Ghosts now with no pain and they feel great! I'm still keeping my mileage low because I can feel a tiny twinge in my heel sometimes when I'm not running and want to make sure I allow it to heal completely before my mileage starts going up for half training.  

In other news, today is 149 days until we leave for the PHM trip and the girls made a countdown chain yesterday.  It was fun, I added my long runs on it.  Even though 149 days does not sound like a lot, it looks like a lot more when it's in paper chain form!

How's your week going?  Have you ever had to change shoes because you felt your shoe was causing an injury? 

Weekly Wrap-up and 9 miles

 No, I'm not nuts. It as 9 miles total for the week, not a 9 mile run.   My heel bursitis is a lot better, more each day, and running does not seem to make it worse!  Yay! I'm taking it VERY easy though, I do not want to be sidelined like that again and it's not 100% better yet.  I've also modified my half marathon training schedule.  I really need to learn from my mistakes and listen to my body.  Finishing The Princess is the goal right now, so I need to focus on that.  

Here's what I have, I would love some of my running friends to tell me what they think.  I took off the 4th day a week I was running, I think it was just too much for my body.  I also shortened Monday's run to just 30 minutes, which will translate to around 3 miles or a little less.   Long runs on Fridays.  I have a 10K the first weekend of November that I am working back up to.  After that I up my mileage and decided that bouncing around a ton does NOT work for me and I need to gradually add the miles so I don't injure myself again.  I did put a week that was less between 10 and 11 just to give myself a little break.  I'm also not going to do 13 until race day, I want the first time I go that far to be the same day I run down Main Street. 
 How does it look? 

When I look at it, it feels like "not enough" but I am also realizing that I tend to push myself just too far and too fast and that is how I end up injured.  I have plenty of time after the half to add a 4th day and run more...IF I don't injure myself.  I'm not going to stop running and there's no rush, so I need to keep that in mind and stop trying to run every single day and push my body beyond its limits. 

I have also been trying to figure out what CAUSED the injury, as I want to prevent it.  I believe my minimal shoes just were not enough support for longer runs, the pain started after my longest run of 8 miles.  The low drop was putting strain on my achilles and the heel bursitis was a result of that.  I have heel inserts right now in my shoes to lift my heel a bit and take some of the strain off my achilles, but these pretties will be making a debut this upcoming week.  More on that after I run in them and see how it goes!! 
 

All in all, I was happy with my week, especially since last week I didn't run at all.  I'm still nervous and cautious, which doesn't translate to really letting go and enjoying my runs as much as I would like.  I find myself worrying, focusing on if anything hurts, and stressing a little when running, but I'm OH SO HAPPY to be moving again!

Most of the time I see quotes and words of wisdom to runners to push themselves MORE.  Have you ever found that you actually have to push LESS?

Wide-angle Wednesday

It's pretty busy around here!  We have college prep stuff going on for the boys and Savannah has been sick.  We're not sure what is going on, the Dr. thinks maybe anemia or lyme disease, we have to wait for blood work to come back. You would never know she's been sick from the photos I took yesterday of her and E.  They got matching shirts (and headbands) to wear to Disney when we head down for the race.  In a rare moment yesterday they wanted to model for the camera.  Who am I to deny them?!?! ;)  I know, not super exciting stuff, but it's what I have to offer today.  

155 days until we are on our way to Florida!  I better get runnin'.  

 

Have you ever worn matching shirts at Disney? 

100th Blog Post!

I noticed this day drawing near and got nervous.  Here I am injured and my 100th post should be a happy post, full of excitement at how far I've come, right?  

First things first, my very first blog post back in March.  Oh yea, I have gotten to 100 already and I just started blogging in March. Motormouth.   I didn't even post a photo in that first blog post, I really had barely any clue what I was doing, just wanted to document my journey!  

My second post, I RUN, was actually my first real post, explaining my past experience with running and what got me started running again.  If you have oodles of time, check it out! 

It's bittersweet reading these posts and seeing myself talk about my struggles with injuries and to be injured again.  I wonder if I will just always have an injury?  The very very very good news this morning is that I RAN!!!  We headed to the gym this morning and I ran 30 minutes with no pain.  I took it at a slow pace and you will all be happy to know that I actually wore a SHOE and not a flip flop:

You will have to excuse the quality, when we got back I had Dallas take this pic and it was raining and dark.  I'm pointing at my shoe because I did some shoe "surgery" in order to make it possible to run with my shoe.  

So, I'm not in pain most of the time, but the problem has been when I slip the shoe on.  The back of the heel rubs right on my heel and it hurts.  Since I had an extra pair of shoes that I got for 35$, I decided to do something a bit drastic.  I found other runners online that did this, I didn't come up with it on my own.  
The supplies:

It was actually harder to cut the heel than I anticipated and I wish I had an exacto, but I didn't, so I just winged it.  I was going to cut more than this, but it felt low enough that it wouldn't bother me slipping it on, so I didn't try to cut more off.  The heel hurts lower than where I cut off, but apparently it's just putting the shoe on that irritates it.

I know, insane, right?  What a girl will do to be able to run! 

Since that's just terribly ugly, I got some duct tape.  I picked the pigs flying and thought it fit my theme...I'll quit running when PIGS FLY! ;) 

Taped it up and shoe surgery is done! 

I also put some inserts in the heel to raise my heel a little.  The research I have been doing seems to conclude that my minimal drop shoes (4mm Brooks Pure Flow) may be what caused the achilles bursitis.  I don't want to try and get new shoes right now since the injury is not totally better, so raising the heel a bit seemed like a good solution.  When I first started running this morning, I wasn't sure this was going to work, I was worried it was going to slip too much, but it was fine!  

I felt so alive running, I had a grin from ear to ear...except when I was crying b/c I was so overjoyed to be running and in no pain!  I was also really happy to see I had not lost all my stamina.   I've taken my Aleve and I'll be careful the next couple days since it's after the running that it swells and causes problems, but I'm ready to jump back into a modified training plan! (more on that next time) 

For now, I want to stop talking your ear off and just finish reflecting what all this means to me.  I could probably make a list of all the things I have learned in the last 100 posts, there are many.   When I was running this morning though, I was thinking of one thing again and again.  I think my biggest lesson is that this is a journey and I will take it as a runner.  I AM a runner, regardless of whether I'm running 20 miles in a week or 0.  It's a part of me and there are going to be many many bumps in the road along the way.  That's all they are though.  I have to take them for what they are, adjust, be patient, and KNOW that I will run again, I will race, I will train, and sometimes I'll be injured.  

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, I don't even know if I'll run Wednesday like planned, but for now that's my intention.  If I can't, then it's just another blip on my journey to learn from.  Either way, I'll do it as a runner, b/c that is what I am. 

Weekly REST-up

I figured I should call it what it was!  LOL.  This week was all about resting and healing.  I'm tired of this injury and I felt like I just kept pushing myself and not really healing completely. Biking even seems to make it tighten up and get inflamed, so, I rested.  A LOT.  There may have even been beer involved.  ;)

It actually wasn't as good as it looks.  Rey brought it home for me and I was pretty excited to try it, but it wasn't as pumpkin-y as I had hoped.  Rey came home on Tuesday, so this made my week of rest really enjoyable and easier to tolerate!  <3

Backing it up a bit, I did workout on Monday, I did some machine work, showing off my new shoe trend.  It's all the rage, ya know, wearing one flip-flop and one shoe.  I also used the bike for a bit.

The verdict is out on whether this was aggravating the injury, so I decided to just completely rest the remainder of the week. It may actually be my minimalist shoe (AND that would include using a flip flop) that is causing too much strain on my achilles.  Wah!  I love my shoes!

Since I wasn't going to be burning any calories working out, I wanted to get back to what makes me feel best, tracking my calories.   I got back to logging everything on MyFitnessPal.  I've been logging for over a year, but for a while now I slack off and by the end of the day.  This week I started logging morning to night again and feel much better. A little more vigilance on my part never hurts. It's also much easier to stay in my calories when I'm not running, I don't have my huge runner's appetite.

 

All in all, this week went fairly well for not running at all.  We finally got some fall weather and had lots of family time. 

 Monday is a big day.  It will be 5 weeks since the heel bursitis/achilles issue started and the day I have decided to try my running shoe on and attempting a run.  It may or may not be a run with the heel cut out of my shoes.  LOL.   It will also be my 100th blog post.  Nope, no pressure there!  

I am trying to prepare myself for the idea that I might not be able to run and that I might have to rest even more.  It's my own fault for continuing to try and run and not completely rest so I could get better, but I have to learn from that and not push myself to where I continue this cycle.  I feel like had I rested completely from the beginning, it might not have taken this long.  

In any case, Monday will bring my 100th blog post,  whether I'm running or not! Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Wide-angle Wednesday

Just a moment first to think about what happened 12 years ago.  I cannot believe it has been 12 years and I want to pay my respects to those that lost their lives, and those that were left behind.  I will never forget. 

This week is going pretty well, considering. All is right in my world, aside from my injury, because Rey is home this week! I'm enjoying every moment.  If you know me at all, you know what else makes me happy... so without further ado, just a few things that make me smile:

I hope everyone is having a good week!   What is the first thing that came to mind that makes you smile when you think of Disney?

Weekly wrap-up

1 mile.  Yep, I ran a whopping ONE.MILE. this week. LOL.  I'm ok with it (for now), I did some cross training and I'm in a "hopeful mood" about my heel healing.  (I giggle every time I put heel & heal in the same sentence...yes, I'm 13.) 

Monday-16.3 mile bike ride

Tuesday-strength training & 1 mile via flip flop (indoor track)

Wednesday-rest

Thursday-LOTS of strength training

Friday-tons of walking(shopping with my girl)

Saturday & Sunday-more rest

All in all, it really was not a horrible week, considering I couldn't run.  It could have been much worse (emotionally/mentally).  I think the week got better as I went along.  Friday was probably the most fun, we went into the city for a dentist appointment and a girly shopping day. 
(yes, I'm going to blog about shopping...if I can't run?!?...)  

 For those of you that don't know, I live 100 miles from Saint Louis (grew up in STL and moved out here 9 years ago) in a very rural area, we basically have a Walmart.  Blech!  So, I miss going to Target and the mall most of all.  We brought E, Savannah's friend, along for some shopping fun! 

 Yes, it's true, even escalators are fun for us country-folk.  

Target was the first stop, I had a date with the active wear!  I bought another razorback shirt I love, just in a different color. 

 Oh and can I just say?  Is my kid growing superfast or what?  I took a picture of Savannah and realized that she's already changed in the last few months! Compare February to now. 

 

My mind is blown.  She's going to be 13 next month but I feel like she's 16!  Ack! I digress...

So, had a fabulous day, had some Starbucks, walked a TON and wasn't too sore, and had some quality time with my girl.  After taking E home, we went out to dinner alone, it was so nice!  She even obliged and took a selfie with me!

So, I feel pretty good about this week, considering I can't run.  I have been a little clumsier?  A little forgetful too, I'm wondering if that is somehow because I'm not running/getting those endorphins?  In any case, I'm not wallowing on the couch with ice cream, so I call it a good week!  

Oh!  I forgot the pic of my new shirt.  It's really more of a look-at-how-my-shirt-shows-off-my-tattoo pic, but that's ok.  LOL

 

Ok, shew!  I sure do have a lot to say on this running blog for someone that didn't run this week!  ;)

DITTO.

April just said it all.  Seriously. No need for me to type up a post today b/c word for word, she said exactly what I would say for myself.  Thanks April, saved me some time today.

Dealing with injuries without losing it. 

Happy Saturday folks!  

Wide-angle Wednesday

Is it actually Wednesday?  Today is a rest day for me.  I got in a good upper body workout yesterday and I did run around the indoor track in 1 flip flop and 1 running shoe.  I only did a mile or so, but it didn't hurt, so that's good news.  Obviously I'm not going to run a ton in a flip flop, but it's nice to know it can be done. 

Not only is it Wednesday, but it's September!  Ahhh!  I've been down about not running, but just looking through my fall photos perked me up, so I'm going to post a few more than normal.  I LOVE fall.  LOVE it.  The colors, the smells, the leaves falling, the wind, cool temps, bonfires, pumpkin everything, Halloween...  so you get a bunch of random fall stuff today just b/c it's cheering me up!  

  My Kitty!

 

 Savannah (in the Mickey shirt) and her BFF's

 

 

 Do you love fall too?  I'm headed into the city on Friday and there's a Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks just waiting for me.  ;)

 

 

Just keep swimming...or riding...

or anything but running, apparently. 

I would love to say this is going to be an inspirational post (cause I need some, pretty please)  I'm just not sure where it's going to go, so I cannot make any promises.  I'm going to dump it all here and see where we're at when I'm done!  

Before I start, congrats to all the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare runners yesterday!  It was so much fun watching everyone from afar.  Happy Labor Day as well. 

I woke up ready to run!  I had no pain at all this weekend, I'm not uncomfortable at all when I'm walking around in flip flops, it's like I'm not even injured...until I put my shoe on.  Ugh.  I was so excited but as soon as I slipped on my shoe,  the heel was burning.   WTF?  I took the shoe back off and after cursing and putting  my flip flop back on, I headed out to petsit.  I was in a REALLY foul mood.  I looked like this: (note, this is a reenactment so it may have been much uglier, you would have to ask Dallas. LOL) 

 When I was done (petsitting & pouting), Dallas suggested we bike instead of trying to run.  I was pretty close to running in my flip flop, so it took some convincing.  Eventually I relented and this is how I rode...

At some point Dallas told me to slow down, I was so frustrated that I guess I was taking it out on our ride and he wanted to go for distance, not speed.  I realized as I got lost in my music that I was playing with the idea of running when we got back to the house. It was going to take quite a few more miles to convince me that I shouldn't.  So I kept riding. 

We stopped by the house around 10 miles for a drink of water and I knew if I didn't get right back on the bike that I would be off running in my flip flop...so I kept riding.  

At some point I WAS enjoying the ride, I do like biking sometimes, but I don't get the same feeling when I'm biking as I do when running.  Around mile 14 I had exhausted myself enough that I thought I might be able to finish up the ride and not try to run when I got back to the house.  We made it home at 16.3 miles, lots of hills thrown in, and my bum was sore and my legs like jello, but I still felt a bit like this: 

It's just.not.the.same.

Jeez, here come the waterworks.  Running is my happy place.  It's not about the sweat or the workout, there's something more there.  I go deep in myself, I am ONE with myself, my breath, my feet pounding the ground. It's like meditation and there's just no other activity that makes me feel the way running does.  It seems cruel that I can't do it and that injuries seem to plague me.  

Sigh.  So, Miss-overly-dramatic has to deal.  First World problems, I tell ya.  There are so many things to be grateful for, including the 16 mile bike ride I was just able to take!  It's not the same, but it's something. It's more than something, more than lots of people can do.   I have been described as a pretty persistent person.  I guess I am, I think because I don't feel I have any other choice.  What choice do I have?  Give up?  and do what? Sit here and pout more?  So, I'll keep swimming... or I'll keep riding and I'll do whatever I can until I can run again.  I WILL run again, because to me, there's just no other alternative.  And my face most of the time is going to be like this:

 I'll fake it until I make it and persist until I get what I want.  I'll run in flip flops down Main Street and through that castle if I have to, but I'm going to run my race!

Weekly wrap-up

There is so little to wrap up, I almost didn't post.  I'll be mad later if I don't have a wrap-up, even on the not-so-stellar-weeks, so here I am!  Heel bursitis is still keeping me from training much.  I ran only 2 miles this week and biked 18.  I did a little upper body strength training too.  That's it.  *sigh*  My shoe bothers the heel (it doesn't hurt at all when I have no shoes or flip flops on) so I rode my bike in flip flops. 

It wasn't too hard to do, but I felt like I needed to be more cautious and go a bit slower.  

In an attempt to make myself feel better, I got a new Sparkletech skirt!  I love it!

 I would be much happier with it if I could actually RUN in it though.  I know, I'm complaining.  Sorry. I'm trying to stay positive, I don't actually have to start my half training until October, so that is a good thing.  It's just frustrating to have an injury that only hurts when something touches it.  My 2 miles was ok, but I can feel a burning when my heel pushes on the back of my shoe and I don't want to injure it more by pushing it.  I did try to run on the TM barefoot for a bit, but that is something you have to build up to as well and I could feel pulling in my achilles, which cannot possibly be good for the heel bursitis.  I don't want to irritate it more.

  I suspect this week will bring more cross training, although if I have to wear my shoes to the gym, I might as well try to run. 

The only other thing going on this week is that I'm all about twitter and following everyone in Disneyland this weekend!  It's been so much fun seeing all the photos and updates from Dumbo Double Dare.  It makes me excited for the Princess!