Run 2/hip problems/a new gym...

  For our second run, we had to get up a LOT earlier because we had to be an hour away by 7:30 a.m. Aunt Janet and I decided to carpool together because it is such a long drive to do alone in the morning. It was nice to have some time to wake up a little on the way there. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that I am the farthest from a morning person that anyone could possibly be. So, one of the big challenges for me has been getting myself up in time to eat breakfast and go to the bathroom with a significant amount of time left before I need to run. As of now, it is still not something that I have mastered.

 Anyway, back to run number 2. We went to the Ma&Pa trail in Fallston, MD and it was a slightly warmer day than the first week. Around 35 degrees at the start. I tried something new at the beginning because it was slightly longer and I wanted to make sure that I had enough energy...I had a Gatorade 'Prime.' I'll just say yuck to that. It made me feel slightly better, but it tasted awful.

 One of the things that I noticed over my first week of training was that my right knee was starting to get warm after running, and sometimes would feel tight. So I decided that for the run on Saturday, that I would go out with my knee brace on to see if it helped. Little did I know how many problems that knee brace would cause me later on....

  Apparently, according to a coach, knee braces are only intended for short term wear, and not for a long run or workout. So, it should be thought of more as support between workouts and not support DURING. I really wish I had known that. It felt great during the run because it gave me an extra level of bounce that is like the feeling of new shoes. I did pace myself the entire time to be with my aunt, and we had a nice time. It is great having someone to chat with while you're running! I treasure these times so much because I know that in our busy lives, we will never be able to have this time together on a regular basis after this is over. By the end of the run, it was a little warmer outside, and the ice on the trail had started to actually melt.

  The setting at the Ma&Pa is pretty. It has a farm/house as you leave and then goes down around a pond. There are hills and turns that keep you guessing, and that day you could tell that it had been rain/snowing recently because the ice had gathered in patches in all of the low areas. I am excited to take my dog there sometime because I think it is perfect for a dog to run around!

  But, back to the joints...after the run, I noticed that my hip felt tight and it was aggravated by standing up. We went to a fundraising meeting at one of the participant's homes and were sitting down for a long length of time, and when I stood up that is when I first noticed the tightness. I didn't put together that I had been wearing the knee braces, and just chalked it up to the cold weather and not stretching. It wasn't until week 5 that I emailed the coach to ask her about it. Another silly move on my part....

 I guess sometimes it is just hard to ask people for help. I think I spend a lot of time trying to fight my way through issues by myself, because I feel guilty and almost silly asking others. I had a trainer at Merritt, where I spent the first 80lbs of my weight loss getting into shape. His name was Ken. He was one of the people that I had trouble asking for help from, and when I look back now, I know that I should have been more open and exposed my weaknesses to him. Instead, I constantly felt like I had to compete with myself and all of his other clients to be the most intelligent, and the least annoying. When I told him that I was leaving Merritt, he was genuinely sad to see me go. He gave me a big hug and his email and made me promise to keep in touch. It is idiotic to me now that I ever thought that I had to guard my issues from him.

  However, I am VERY glad that we left Merritt. While it is a clean gym, the locations were not conducive to my workout schedule. I was spending 30 minutes everyday driving back and forth to the gym. It was also about $20 more expensive than the new one we found. AND, our new gym has free indoor tennis, free classes including yoga and tai chi (both of which I have been trying to do to get myself more limber), and access to a swimming pool all summer long. It is also 5 minutes from our house. I'd say we got a good deal, wouldn't you?

Up next...Run 3/fighting off sickness.

XO