Saturday, January 4, 2014

Interesting First Week of The Year...

Wanna know how many miles I've run in 2014 so far?  Zero.  Yep.  I promise this won't be a whiny post, so you can keep reading!  Last Saturday I ran 9 miles and my knees/legs were super sore, but they felt better about a day and a half after.  I went to the gym on NYE and ran a slow 2 mile recovery run on the treadmill...and that night I started feeling *something* in my heel/achilles area again.  



For those of you that don't dare to follow my every movement and remember every detail in my life, I was injured this past August/September with heel bursitis.  It was right where the insertion into the achilles is at the back of the heel and although I was able to walk around, I could NOT put my shoe on without burning pain when the shoe pushed on my heel.  I ended up doing crazy things like running and biking in flip-flops (not advised!) 

 and eventually in desperation, cutting the back of my shoe out so I could run.  This did work, actually, but I was already on the mend and only ran this way once before getting new shoes and healing up.  What really helped was going back to regular drop shoes instead of my minimalist shoes.


So when I started feeling the strange *burny* uncomfortable feeling in my heel the other day, I was upset. I would like to think that I can learn from my journey though, and so I put on my big girl panties, pulled out my ugly clogs, and stopped running for the week.  This is a big deal for me.  I haven't missed a training run at all since I started back up in September...and maybe that's part of the problem.  I decided to listen to my body and rest.  I haven't put on my running shoe since Tuesday and I've been wearing my clogs.  They have a big heel that takes pressure off my achilles and allows that swelling to go down.  They are uuuuuugly, but do the job! 
 Now classic Karen would be totally freaking out right now.  SEVEN WEEKS from tomorrow I will be running 13.1 miles and I have only run 2 miles this week.  I'm not sure why, maybe completing my 9 miles on Saturday, but I'm not freaking out.  I'm calm, I'm confident that I WILL complete this race and I know that I just need to listen to my body and it needs to take a moment.  I am not in any pain and I believe that come Monday I'll be able to run.  I think I caught it early enough. In the meantime, I'm having fun doing the Team RunDisney Photo-a-day challenge! 


 How was your first week of the year?!?  Have you ever just felt like... my body needs a moment, time for a mandatory rest!

22 comments:

  1. Great job listening to your body and taking a break! Somehow, once I finished 8 miles, I knew I could finish PHM last year, so I know what you mean! You've got plenty of time and you've put the training in so far, let that pesky foot/ankle heal and you'll do great.

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    1. Thanks Twink! I'm so glad that I'm not skulking around about it, and it feels really good to listen to my body and still know that I got this! :)

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  2. Good job taking a breather and listening to your body! That's a good reminder for all of us! I'm still having a lot of Plantar Faciitis pain so it's been hard having to take a step back and just do stuff like elliptical and yoga instead of running and tennis, but you just have to do what you have to do sometimes!

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    1. Thanks Desiree! I hope you are feeling better and recovering from that flu! I had PF in 2012 and was not able to run for 10 months. It was awful. The elliptical and bike are what got me through!

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  3. Very smart to listen to your body instead of pushing it into a worse injury. It's never fun to have to take a mandatory rest but it's a necessary part of what we love to do. I decided to practice yoga at home today instead of running my planned 4 miles or going to a yoga class since this cold is kicking my butt. There's a saying in yoga that I like to remember when my body is "acting up": it's yoga practice, not yoga perfect. Same goes for running, You're still making progress and you're going to rock that half marathon! :)

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  4. Definitely smart to listen to your body. You've got a really good base, so I'm sure you'll be fine. I love that you wore flip flops to bike. :)

    I've done something every single day so far because I signed up for a January challenge, so that helps. I can be a serious slacker.

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    1. I'm always tempted to do streaks, but I know my body and it's just not ready for it. Each time I get inured it's b/c I'm doing too much. My brain seems to want to go and go and my body is like... NOPE.

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  5. Love love love that you're listening to your body. I would hate for you to be sidelined longer than a week! I didn't get my 9 miles in this week, but I did get 6, and I have to be happy with that. Sometimes, training does go according to plan! Hell, life never goes according to plan!

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    1. Thanks Rachel! I got in 4 on the TM today and it felt great! I think sometimes it's better to rest more, when I really push, it's like my body isn't getting enough recovery time and my runs are harder.

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  6. I've found it's always better to listen to your body than push through it- you always know best! If it's any consolation, for my first half, I only trained up to 8 miles. You can do it! :)

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    1. That is a HUGE consolation! Makes me feel much better. After the 9 I ran, I'm feeling much better about being able to complete the race!

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  7. Echo-ing all the comments above, you are very smart to listen to your body and take a short break rather than injuring yourself much worse and having to take a long time off. I would have a hard time missing those work outs too, but it is definitely for the best :)

    As for the Team runDisney photo challenge, I think you're a few days behind - I'm waiting for Jan 1-5 photos lol!

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    1. Thanks Lauren! LOL...I'm not posting the challenge pics here, I am putting them on Instagram, twitter, and FB though!

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  8. I read your blog regularly and I remembered that you cut your shoe last time you had your pain and was going to ask how that was working out? Glad you are taking the time to rest. You will do fine at PHM, just remember even though it's a race, you don't have to "race" it. Just go at your on pace and listen to your body.

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    1. Thanks! Somehow I just KNOW that I'll be able to finish the race. I've felt that way since I ran 9. The heel is much better, it seems to act up after anything longer than 8 miles. Rest helps though and this time I didn't let it get as bad as last time before resting.

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  9. Ouch! I hope your foot is feeling better soon. Take the time you need to rest - you know you can tackle those 13 miles when the time comes. No need to make things more painful in the meantime! - Jess

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    1. On the mend! Thanks Jess! I ran 4 this morning and will probably only run 2 on Wednesday or maybe even cross train so I can save myself for my 10 miler on Saturday! The long runs are the ones I want to make sure I get in!

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  10. I think your very smart to take a week off, and don't worry about it hurting your training - it won't. It will probably help both in training and avoiding any further issues.
    I'll be pulling for you that the rest is exactly what was needed and you'll be running pain free again soon! Take it easy when you do start running again, back off to any signs of pain, probably avoid hills for a while since they will pull on your tendon. Get yourself to that 13.1 in 7 weeks:)

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    1. Thanks Kristy! I think you are right, my run today felt effortless compared to some of my runs lately and I think it's b/c I'm overtraining a bit and not recovering enough (for my body). I ran 4 today and I will most likely just cross train or run a short 2 miler on Wednesday so I can be well rested for my 10 mile run on Saturday!

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  11. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CUT YOUR RUNNING SHOES! I'm freaking out about this. LOL Way to be crafty! I'm glad you took some time off to rest and let your body do its thing. We all need that at some point.

    I haven't done nearly any of my training yet in 2014 - mostly because of the snow/freezing temps here and I hate treadmills. It will be all my fault if I'm not ready for Princess... but I'll push myself through it either way.

    We'll both get there!

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    1. LOL...yep, I cut them! That was last fall, though, when I was really desperate after weeks of not being able to run. AND, I had gotten a few pair for $35 and so I felt like it was worth it to cut one pair. I ended up only running in them once like that, but it wouldn't have mattered, I had to change shoes to completely get rid of the injury, so I couldn't wear them anymore anyway!

      You'll be ready! I'm doing less running but all of them on the treadmill except my long runs. I keep getting lucky and having my long runs on days that warm up, it looks like we may hit 50 this weekend when I'm due for 10 miles! Hopefully enough snow will have melted that it won't be too slippery!

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