This sucks. This really really really sucks.
Oh, about last week: Last weekend, I did 8 miles (we are coming down to the home stretch so the miles decrease) at a hotel gym. It smelled like chlorine, has about a 90% humidity, and had a glorious view of: the indoor pool. But, I did it. I even clocked in my fastest 8 miles yet, and had plenty of energy for planks/ab roller/push-ups/free weights. But, that's not the real story here. The real story starts post-wedding with an infection.
You know, infections just creep up on you, and sometimes you just don't realize how bad they are until a little too late. Of course, with being an attendant in a wedding, such things take a back seat to hair, makeup, and doing "the beavis and butthead dance" with your fiancee. So, when you start to face the music again on Monday, sometimes you get "chopsticks" instead of Beethoven's 9th. This is how it went:
Monday evening, I wasn't feeling quite right and I told Alec about it. I chalked it up to some other health problems that have been my companion for a while now and decided to go to bed. When I woke up at 2am, 3am, 4am and 5am, I realized that something was terribly wrong, so we rushed out to the store at 6am on Tuesday to get medicine. I called my doctor's office as soon as they opened and said that I had to work, so I was wondering if they could have the doc call in a prescription for me. She called me back 2 hours later and said that she wouldn't do that because she had to see me in person. I feel pretty blah about this because I ended up telling her exactly the same things in person as I did on the phone.
I told her what was going on, and that I was currently training for a half marathon in a few weeks. I also let her know that I have no insurance right now (not recommended) because I'm waiting to go on Alec's. She said she would just write me a prescription for 3 days and everything should be fine. I thought, great! No lab work= no extra money!
I went to Target to get my prescription and the pharmacist looked at what it was and said "are you sure you don't have any questions about this?" and I said, nah. Just assuming it was your run of the mill Bactrim/Cillin. I took a pill immediately because I am terrified of infections and I wanted to get it working as soon as possible. Then I drove home and as I was getting out of the car, I started to read the warning label. It was 5 pages of paper worth (really? for an antibiotic, you need 5 pages of warnings? doesn't that sound not-quite-right to you?).
The medicine that I took was called Ciprofloxacin. NEVER EVER TAKE THIS MEDICINE! If you have heard of Levaquin, or Levofloxacin, this is a similar type of medication to that and can have the same severe side effects. They are called fluoroquinolones and can do irretrievable damage to your body...especially if you have the genetic predisposition that considers them toxic.
So, to continue my story, I started reading this warning label and had a few doubts about whether the doctor knew what she was doing or not...but, I wanted to believe that she knew enough about them to prescribe them to me without fearing any ill harm. This is a tricky situation to deal with, because I really want to trust my doctor, but I also don't want to face anything that might disable me from running. The label basically read all of the standard warnings about sleeplessness, anxiety, sun exposure, hearing voices, and depression, but then I got to the last page. It said that this medication causes tendinitis in people that are taking certain medications, and that suffer from several medical conditions. It also said at the very end that exercise can sometimes cause this. I scratched my head a little, and figured that the doctor knew what she was doing. I made a plan to rest while I was on the meds from Tues-Fri, and then to exercise again at the 12 mile run on Saturday.
This plan did come to fruition, but not with the results that I intended. On Tuesday night, I felt dizzy and very tired after taking the pill, so I went to bed relatively early. Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling sleepy again, but I figured it was all because of the lack of sleeping that happened Monday night. I'm pretty sure that I was wrong about that. On Thursday morning, I sat down and had a moment of panic. I went online and started reading runner's forums about the effects of Cipro. I happened upon them when I was looking at making a plan for my next run after a few days off, and I noticed one about tendinitis due to this drug. My heart sank. I immediately stopped taking the pills in the hopes that only 2 days of it wouldn't have done any damage.
I made a plan to call the doctor first thing in the morning to get another antibiotic. "Phew!", I thought. I was not taking it for very long and I wasn't having any pain so I must be perfectly OK. So, Friday morning, I went to the gym to do my usual interval training and weight lifting that I do the day before long runs. I was paying close attention to my Achilles tendon as I ran, and I told myself that if I felt ANY pain or weird sensations that I would stop running. I felt no pain. Everything was normal.
I laid out my running clothes and planned to take it easy on Saturday morning, just to be cautious. I thought I would run easy and walk part of the course to give my tendons a break. At training, I skipped the warm up and headed out to walk as a warm up. I stopped for a minute after .75 miles and did some easy stretching. Then, I started to run at a slow pace and continued running until mile 3. I walked from 3-4, and then two of the mentors caught up with me and I started walking with them. We soon ran, from miles 4-6. It's funny because I was only planning on running/walking 10 miles, but I looked down and there we were at 6-the halfway point.
The whole time that I was running, I was giving all of my attention to my muscles and tendons. I didn't feel a single twinge that was beyond my normal hip and knee pain. So, I continued to walk/run from 7-9, and then I ran all the way back to 12. It was a slow and even pace. When I got done, I felt great! I wanted to run more at the end because I felt like I didn't do my best time...but I knew that at least I had finished. I went for the perfect post-run treat with a few other girls at the snoasis snowball stand in Cockeysville, and was not even tired.
When I got home, I had a snack and decided to cut the grass while the weather was nice. After that I basically just rested the entire day. I noticed that my arms felt really tired (like tennis elbow) but I sometimes get that, and attributed it to mowing the grass.
Now comes the bad part...
This morning I woke up and got ready for church feeling a little more stiff than your average day. I was tired and groggy so I just kept going and didn't take any pain meds. By the time that I got to church, I felt an awful tightness going up the sides of my legs. My initial reaction was that it was from my calves being tired due to the flat course that we ran. So, when I got into church, I used my phone to look up where the tendons are in your legs. This was when I almost started crying at rehearsal. Your peroneal tendons start behind your ankles and go all the way up the sides of your legs. There are brevis (short) and longus (long) sections. My peronea longus is where I am feeling the most tightness. It was literally the only thing that I didn't want to be sore. I could have dealt with any other type of pain from running than tendon pain, because tendon pain means I was right. I was having a bad reaction to the medication.
The questions that I have about all of this are swirling around in my head right now endlessly. Why me? Why so close to the race? What did I do to deserve this? What should I do now? Will I be able to run the race? Will I be able to recover from this? Will I gain weight from not being able to exercise?
A few lessons have already been learned from this experience, so I know it's not 100% bad. The first is that I have always had a deep respect for Alec because of all that he went through when he tore his ACL. I never understood what it felt like, and I always avoided talking to him about it, because I didn't want to stir up old memories. But this week, when I broke down about my feelings of failure and my questions to the universe, he told me about how he felt when it happened to him. I don't know if it is good that we had to go through these experiences in our lives, but I do know that there is a reason for everything. And I honestly feel that he was meant to guide me through this and be my comfort, and that having someone who has been injured at the peak of their game who also loves me and is my best friend is exactly what I needed. It's amazing how God works.
Another lesson: no matter how hardcore you are, and how tough you are, there is a point when you have to say enough is enough. Your body might tell you or your mind might tell you, but whichever it is, you have to listen. And then, you have to wait. Because if you push yourself too soon (like I did, doing 12 miles and then mowing the grass), you will pay for it tenfold and be even more unhappy with yourself.
I am so terrified that I am going to gain weight in these next few weeks. I even told Alec to take all of the junk food out of the house (he was like, "what? the granola bars?") because I don't want to start snacking while I'm stuck resting. There is this inner demon that is saying "you were fat before, you could be fat again, everyone will think you're lazy if you don't run it because you were fat before, you need to just push through it and say screw it all I am tough, you are going to let everyone down if you don't do all 13.1 miles, people don't respect you as much now that you didn't complete your goal, even if you do another half marathon you didn't finish this one and it's this one that matters the most, what if you never get to run again you might as well give it everything now, and etc..." Poisonous and stinkin' thinkin', I know. The question that I have is, how do I make it stop?
Sisters are good for that. And friends. And fiancees. And family. And that is my plan. Focus on how I've inspired people (not how I'm letting those people down), how I've completely turned my life around (not how two weeks of rest is going to send me back down the slippery slope of unhealthiness), how there is always a possibility that I might be fine to run (not how I could suffer from chronic tendinitis for the rest of my life) and how I am surrounded by people that I love and that love me.
And I will rest, ice, elevate, tape/compress, and take an anti-inflammatory. And I will take glucosamine/chondroitin, omega 3, and coQ10. And I will let my body tell me when I am ready to run again, and not vice versa. I will wait.
I forgot to say one thing. My aunt has an injury herself. While I know that she will have a full recovery with rest and PT, she is not going to be able to run the race but will walk it instead. When I heard the news from her about her injury, I was lost for words. I wanted to tell her this: even though you feel like you've worked so hard to get here and now you cannot achieve your goal, you've come so far and inspired so many people along the way. No one has any doubts about you being able to run 13.1 miles. You are stronger and tougher than most people out there, and the more wonderful because of it. Don't let this part of your journey get you down, because there is always the possibility of another race. Just tell me where to sign up, and I will be at your side.
My goal now: start believing that about myself.
XO
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
11 miles/Bad bad morning
On Friday evening, I was overcome by my nerves about our 11 mile training run on Saturday morning. I thought of every possible motivation that could make me feel better, and meditated on the thought that I would have success. I got all of my clothes laid out and all of my assorted habits in order, and went to bed feeling unsettled. When I woke up in the morning, I just knew. I knew my run was going to be awful, I knew that I was going to have to work mentally to keep from stopping midway through, and I knew that it would be a struggle to keep up my pace. Sometimes intuition can be a curse. The question here is very "chicken or egg"... did I know it was going to go badly and then it did (like something fated to be), or did it go badly because I gave in to the intuition?
Either way, it was crap. I started out by waking up 10 minutes after my alarm went off (I think the volume was down too low), and when you have allowed yourself 30 minutes to get ready, 10 minutes is a big chunk of time. So, I ended up having to rush through my breakfast of oatmeal, egg whites, and banana, and running around like a crazy person putting on body glide/tape/sunscreen and filling my water bottles for my belt. When I was ready to go and almost out the door, my stomach went crazy! I had to run back in and go to the bathroom. I managed to get out the door 4 minutes late, and make it to meet Aunt J at Barnes&Noble 4 minutes behind schedule. Then, about 5 minutes around the beltway, I realized that I left my running belt filled with all of my Gu at home on the stairs because of my emergency bathroom trip.
YIKES!
Not having a running belt when you always do is cause for a serious panic attack. Especially when you are sensitive to caffeine and all of the Gu that they have on the course have caffeine. And, when you hate stopping for water breaks because the water is warm, or they are out of it, or all they have is gatorade.
We stopped at Royal Farms on the way to BWI and I realized that my stomach was still upset so I went to the bathroom again. I do enjoy that a lot of the courses we have been using are close to Wawa's or Royal Farms stores for that simple reason. When we got to BWI Sawmill, I talked to a couple of people about not having a running belt, and one of the coaches had a spare one for me to borrow. It really wasn't the kind that I like, but I figured something is better than nothing.
I grabbed a water bottle and stuck it in the belt, and used one of my Aunt's Clif bars. We all got ready to start and I realized that my ipod wasn't starting (it's a 1st generation Nano). So I had to hang back for a minute to figure out the problem with it, and by that time everyone else was pretty much gone. I started to run and got about 100 feet along when I noticed that my water bottle had fallen out. That meant that I had to turn around after starting so late and add even more time on. It took my almost 5 miles to get used to the running belt, because it was so old school. It had no elastic in the band and had a clip that wouldn't stay closed. It was constantly turning around on my waist and flipping up in the air.
Around mile 2, I started feeling my stomach get uneasy again, and this time I made the brilliant decision to not stop at the bathrooms that were right in front of me on the trail. When I got to mile 3, I found out just how idiotic that was. I started considering running across the street to the Burger King up ahead when I notice a port-o-potty that looked like it was intended for airport employees. It was just inside of a fence area, but not in a zone that was marked "employees only" so I ventured over to it. I was probably in there for a good 7-8 minutes and let's just say that after inhaling that much fake air freshener, it does feel a little bit like your eyes are going to pop out of your head if you hold your breath any longer.
When I came out, it occurred to me just how long I was holding my breath because my eyes were watering and I had to take a bit gasping breath. At this point, I decided to pick up my pace a little bit. I planned out my water so that I could refill it right around halfway, which meant that I could start sipping it. And, I took the first bite of the Clif bar. It was right around mile 4 that I began having gal bladder spasms, and looking back, I now know that it was because my stomach was so empty before I started refilling it. Around mile 4.5, I caught up with Aunt J who had left earlier than the rest of us to get a head start. It was nice seeing her out there and running with her for a minute!! I definitely got some motivation hearing that she was having some issues herself.
I think this is one of those life lessons that I have been unable to accept, but that I know to be true. Never assume. Don't assume that people are thinking negatively about you, don't assume that they do or do not care about you, and don't assume that their life is any easier/harder than your own. I make the mistake constantly of thinking that people are looking at me in a negative way (even when they are praising me, I still sometimes feel like they go behind my back to talk about me), or that they have had an easier time of it than me. In all reality (which I know, but find it hard to remember in those stupid moments), I cannot ever put myself in anyone elses shoes so spontaneously. Even people that I know could have something going on that I don't know about. Some sort of difficulty, or even a true happiness might be racing through their mind and I would never know it.
I'm not saying all of this because I thought that Aunt J was having an easier time than I was, so don't get me wrong! It was just an aside in reference to my daily emotional struggles that have been coming out of the woodwork these past few months. Aren't you all glad that you get to read about my issues, haha!
Anyway, back to the run.
I picked up my pace after one of the coaches gave us a little pep talk, and made it to the halfway point. It was there that I realized that I had no more water. I stopped to blow my nose (I never realize that I have spring allergies until I am running and my nose is too), and ate half of the Clif bar with my last sip of water. I turned around and then really tried to get my pace up. Around mile 6, it hit me that my mouth was really dry from the Clif, so I made the plan that even though I was going to be angry with myself, I would stop at mile 7 where I spotted some refreshments on the way out. I swear I ran even faster once I came up with that plan. So guess what happened....
No water at mile 7!! It was drained by the previous athletes. Dry. No sustenance for me. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Was one of the things that was going through my mind. As well as some choice words. However, this freak out moment gave me a huge boost in motivation, because I knew that somewhere on the way back, there just had to be water for me! My pace increased so much that I passed a girl who was way ahead of me from the beginning, and then a team of two ladies who had passed me earlier, and then finally all of the walkers. At mile 8-9, I swear that I have never run that fast in a practice. It was all because I knew that sweet sweet water was at the 9 mile marker.
And when I got there, it was glorious. Glorious warm gatorade. I had 5 tiny cups of it and felt so refreshed that I even finished my Clif bar! :) Mile 9-10 was the absolute longest mile of the day. Even though I had finally found my pace, the winding path through the forest felt like it went on for days...something about a turn, then some trees, then a hill, then a turn, then some trees, then a hill going on for 10 minutes is monotonous... At mile 10-11, I could taste sweet victory just around the corner (mostly because I know this part of the course the best), so I kept up the energy despite my body wanting to stop and my joints aching, and I ran it in as best as I could.
All-in-all my time was 2 hours/11 minutes...but that includes the water bottle turn around at the beginning, an 8 minute bathroom break, and a stop at the turn around, and the 9 mile marker. So, maybe more like 2 hours/2 minutes??? I'm thinking when it was broken down it would have been more like 11 minute miles. In which case, I was right on par with the 10 mile run the week before.
After we got done, everyone socialized for a bit (I love this part of training together) and then Aunt J and I headed out to the Under Armour outlet (making a necessary stop at Royal Farms for some bathroom/water/food action). I finally got the hat that I should have gotten the first time we went, and a heat gear shirt for running in the warm weather. I can't believe how excited I get about buying new running clothes now! I'm such a nerd!
So, to sum it all up: my morning starting off awful, and I came away with it saying "I just ran 11 miles. I actually overcame all of my stupid negative thoughts and ran the whole thing." That's a win in my book. The coach also said something that has kept me from being hard on myself about the whole day. She said that even though at the time it may feel like you just can't get through it, you will. And the beautiful thing is, because you have a bad training run a few weeks before the big race, the day of the race will be perfect. All of the quirks are now worked out of the system and it is ready to go. Now if only real life could be like that all of the time.
Logging a lot of miles this week, so wish me luck!
XO
Either way, it was crap. I started out by waking up 10 minutes after my alarm went off (I think the volume was down too low), and when you have allowed yourself 30 minutes to get ready, 10 minutes is a big chunk of time. So, I ended up having to rush through my breakfast of oatmeal, egg whites, and banana, and running around like a crazy person putting on body glide/tape/sunscreen and filling my water bottles for my belt. When I was ready to go and almost out the door, my stomach went crazy! I had to run back in and go to the bathroom. I managed to get out the door 4 minutes late, and make it to meet Aunt J at Barnes&Noble 4 minutes behind schedule. Then, about 5 minutes around the beltway, I realized that I left my running belt filled with all of my Gu at home on the stairs because of my emergency bathroom trip.
YIKES!
Not having a running belt when you always do is cause for a serious panic attack. Especially when you are sensitive to caffeine and all of the Gu that they have on the course have caffeine. And, when you hate stopping for water breaks because the water is warm, or they are out of it, or all they have is gatorade.
We stopped at Royal Farms on the way to BWI and I realized that my stomach was still upset so I went to the bathroom again. I do enjoy that a lot of the courses we have been using are close to Wawa's or Royal Farms stores for that simple reason. When we got to BWI Sawmill, I talked to a couple of people about not having a running belt, and one of the coaches had a spare one for me to borrow. It really wasn't the kind that I like, but I figured something is better than nothing.
I grabbed a water bottle and stuck it in the belt, and used one of my Aunt's Clif bars. We all got ready to start and I realized that my ipod wasn't starting (it's a 1st generation Nano). So I had to hang back for a minute to figure out the problem with it, and by that time everyone else was pretty much gone. I started to run and got about 100 feet along when I noticed that my water bottle had fallen out. That meant that I had to turn around after starting so late and add even more time on. It took my almost 5 miles to get used to the running belt, because it was so old school. It had no elastic in the band and had a clip that wouldn't stay closed. It was constantly turning around on my waist and flipping up in the air.
Around mile 2, I started feeling my stomach get uneasy again, and this time I made the brilliant decision to not stop at the bathrooms that were right in front of me on the trail. When I got to mile 3, I found out just how idiotic that was. I started considering running across the street to the Burger King up ahead when I notice a port-o-potty that looked like it was intended for airport employees. It was just inside of a fence area, but not in a zone that was marked "employees only" so I ventured over to it. I was probably in there for a good 7-8 minutes and let's just say that after inhaling that much fake air freshener, it does feel a little bit like your eyes are going to pop out of your head if you hold your breath any longer.
When I came out, it occurred to me just how long I was holding my breath because my eyes were watering and I had to take a bit gasping breath. At this point, I decided to pick up my pace a little bit. I planned out my water so that I could refill it right around halfway, which meant that I could start sipping it. And, I took the first bite of the Clif bar. It was right around mile 4 that I began having gal bladder spasms, and looking back, I now know that it was because my stomach was so empty before I started refilling it. Around mile 4.5, I caught up with Aunt J who had left earlier than the rest of us to get a head start. It was nice seeing her out there and running with her for a minute!! I definitely got some motivation hearing that she was having some issues herself.
I think this is one of those life lessons that I have been unable to accept, but that I know to be true. Never assume. Don't assume that people are thinking negatively about you, don't assume that they do or do not care about you, and don't assume that their life is any easier/harder than your own. I make the mistake constantly of thinking that people are looking at me in a negative way (even when they are praising me, I still sometimes feel like they go behind my back to talk about me), or that they have had an easier time of it than me. In all reality (which I know, but find it hard to remember in those stupid moments), I cannot ever put myself in anyone elses shoes so spontaneously. Even people that I know could have something going on that I don't know about. Some sort of difficulty, or even a true happiness might be racing through their mind and I would never know it.
I'm not saying all of this because I thought that Aunt J was having an easier time than I was, so don't get me wrong! It was just an aside in reference to my daily emotional struggles that have been coming out of the woodwork these past few months. Aren't you all glad that you get to read about my issues, haha!
Anyway, back to the run.
I picked up my pace after one of the coaches gave us a little pep talk, and made it to the halfway point. It was there that I realized that I had no more water. I stopped to blow my nose (I never realize that I have spring allergies until I am running and my nose is too), and ate half of the Clif bar with my last sip of water. I turned around and then really tried to get my pace up. Around mile 6, it hit me that my mouth was really dry from the Clif, so I made the plan that even though I was going to be angry with myself, I would stop at mile 7 where I spotted some refreshments on the way out. I swear I ran even faster once I came up with that plan. So guess what happened....
No water at mile 7!! It was drained by the previous athletes. Dry. No sustenance for me. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Was one of the things that was going through my mind. As well as some choice words. However, this freak out moment gave me a huge boost in motivation, because I knew that somewhere on the way back, there just had to be water for me! My pace increased so much that I passed a girl who was way ahead of me from the beginning, and then a team of two ladies who had passed me earlier, and then finally all of the walkers. At mile 8-9, I swear that I have never run that fast in a practice. It was all because I knew that sweet sweet water was at the 9 mile marker.
And when I got there, it was glorious. Glorious warm gatorade. I had 5 tiny cups of it and felt so refreshed that I even finished my Clif bar! :) Mile 9-10 was the absolute longest mile of the day. Even though I had finally found my pace, the winding path through the forest felt like it went on for days...something about a turn, then some trees, then a hill, then a turn, then some trees, then a hill going on for 10 minutes is monotonous... At mile 10-11, I could taste sweet victory just around the corner (mostly because I know this part of the course the best), so I kept up the energy despite my body wanting to stop and my joints aching, and I ran it in as best as I could.
All-in-all my time was 2 hours/11 minutes...but that includes the water bottle turn around at the beginning, an 8 minute bathroom break, and a stop at the turn around, and the 9 mile marker. So, maybe more like 2 hours/2 minutes??? I'm thinking when it was broken down it would have been more like 11 minute miles. In which case, I was right on par with the 10 mile run the week before.
After we got done, everyone socialized for a bit (I love this part of training together) and then Aunt J and I headed out to the Under Armour outlet (making a necessary stop at Royal Farms for some bathroom/water/food action). I finally got the hat that I should have gotten the first time we went, and a heat gear shirt for running in the warm weather. I can't believe how excited I get about buying new running clothes now! I'm such a nerd!
So, to sum it all up: my morning starting off awful, and I came away with it saying "I just ran 11 miles. I actually overcame all of my stupid negative thoughts and ran the whole thing." That's a win in my book. The coach also said something that has kept me from being hard on myself about the whole day. She said that even though at the time it may feel like you just can't get through it, you will. And the beautiful thing is, because you have a bad training run a few weeks before the big race, the day of the race will be perfect. All of the quirks are now worked out of the system and it is ready to go. Now if only real life could be like that all of the time.
Logging a lot of miles this week, so wish me luck!
XO
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Fabulous weekend/Two PR's
This past Saturday was a glorious day for me. Not only did I achieve the 10 mile run that I was so nervous about, but I also finally met my fundraising minimum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was a little afraid that I wasn't going to meet it for the past few weeks, because I knew that there were people who wanted to donate, but they just weren't coming through for me. It added a lot of stress into my life because if I didn't meet my minimum, they would have charged our bank account. I am assuming that you all understand what it is like when you are planning a wedding and even $10 seems like a HUGE amount to pay for something. I can't help but think about the favors that I could be ordering with that money, or the drink that we could be having on our honeymoon :-)
Thankfully, a very dear friend of mine took pity on my facebook pleas and donated the last bit that I needed before the deadline. Phew! No more limbo for me!
The run on Saturday was so nerve-wracking! There was something about crossing the line from singular to double digit miles that scared the hell out of me. On top of it, I got next to no sleep. I couldn't seem to fall asleep until Alec got home from work around 1am, and then I woke up at 5am from a terrible nightmare (involving ghosts of dead relatives) and just couldn't seem to fall back asleep before 6am when I had to wake up. For the record, I am absolutely non-functional unless I get 8 hours of sleep. I know it sounds like something a teenager might say, like: "oh, I need soooo much sleep", but if I am being completely honest with you, when I get less than 8 hours, I am grumpy, my eyes get red and baggy, my stomach is upset, and I will get sick if I am exposed to any germs. This is one of the reasons that I am a party pooper on Saturday nights...because I know that I have to sing in the morning, and if I go on less than 8 hours (heaven forbid, throwing in a drink or two), I am no good for at least two days.
So, now that you get how severe my sleep-deprivation effects me, I can move on with the run. When I "woke up" that morning, I made my standard egg whites, oatmeal w/brown sugar, and banana breakfast and drank about 5 servings of water. I went to the bathroom (hooray!) and got dressed, and left the house. I realized about 10 minutes later that I had completely forgotten to take along my water bottle for post-run. I think in all of my nervousness, I had a brain fart. I drove to the NCR trail and got there right around 8am when practice starts. We did some calisthenics and stretched a little (it is bad to stretch cold muscle) and pretty much just started right away.
For those of you who have not read my older posts, I am not the biggest fan of the NCR trail. I think it stems from a combo of monotonous running scenery (it's great for biking), slanted path tracks after rain, and the whole "last time I was here I seriously injured my ankle" thing. That in addition to the 10 mile heebeejeebees equalled a very tentative Sara. One thing that really helped me was that I got up that morning and went online to check email/facebook and saw that Aunt Janet had emailed me. It made me remember just why I am doing this and gave me a little extra push. Then, I saw the status of one of the other girls that is training and it said that she was nervous, too! I felt really relieved seeing that I wasn't alone.
So, the course was very basic. Out-and-back. Run up 5 miles, run back 5 miles. The first 5 were pretty decent. I started off a little slow due to technical ipod issues, but once I found my footing I didn't stop. Around mile 4 is when I start to feel REALLY good. It is like I will be able to just run forever at mile 4. I also got my Gu timing down for the duration so that I have a plan for future long-distance runs. I take it after 4, 7, and then if I really need it at 9. For the marathon, I will be able to space it out even further... I am thinking 4, 8, 12. That last one is really important, because it gives me the extra boost that I need to have a strong sprint to the finish.
So, the second 5 were pretty strong, but I ran into some road blocks along the way. When I took Gu the second time, I stopped to drink a bottle of water. And, being as competitive with myself as I am, I wanted to drink it down as quickly as possible so I could keep going. Well, I must have swallowed a lot of air with it because like 5 steps later, I had a severe pain in my stomach/digestive tract. I ended up slowing my pace for almost a mile because it just wouldn't go away. It almost felt like when you get a stitch in your side, only it was higher. Eventually, it went back to normal (I have no idea why it did, but thank gosh!).
Around mile 8, I started to get fatigued and had to fight with myself to stay positive about finishing. I sort of love that internal struggle, because when you get through it is even more invigorating. It takes a good struggle to really grow! When I took the Gu at 9, I felt re-energized and just hit the turf as hard as I could. I managed to almost sprint towards the end. When I did, I realized that I was only the second runner to finish for the day!!!! WOWeeWOWeeWOW!!!
We figured out my time (I desperately want a Garmin) to be around 1hr, 51 minutes which is a little over an 11 minute mile. I think that is pretty fan-freakin-tastic considering that when I started running in October 2003, I could just barely jog for a 1/2 mile at 3.0mph (20 min. per mile). Last January, I got it up to 3.5 mph (17 min. per mile), and last summer 2010, I ran my first 5k at the gym at about 4.5 mph (13 min. per mile), in January when I signed up, I was running my distance runs at 4.9mph or just under 12 min. per mile.... 11 minute miles this week =about 5.4 or 5.5 mph! I can't wait to see what my time will be in a year. I hope to still be blogging so that you all can follow my improvements and be encouraged by them.
On Monday of this week, I didn't have enough time, so I ended up running 4 miles. Just to give you an idea: in January, I was running a 5K (3.1) at 40 minutes. On Monday, I ran 4 miles in 40 minutes (that a PR-personal record, for me). I think something that helped me was that Alec was there with me and I knew that we had to go to the store, and then he had to head to work. So, I used the motivation of not making him late to work and it turned out very much in my favor.
Then, on Tuesday, I did 5 miles by running to the gym, working out my abs and arms, and then running home. That was great because I waited until it was the height of the heat (yes, Mom I wore my sunscreen) and headed outside. I am trying to prepare myself for any weather conditions that we might experience in Virginia. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is going to be 85 and humid even at 7am.
This evening, I decided to mix it up again and used http://www.mapmyrun.com/ to find a new route around Pikesville. The start location that I wanted to use was 1.5 miles away, and I didn't want to drive, so I rode my bike and then headed out for a run. In spite of all of this great early morning training that I have been doing, tonight is proof that I am an evening runner at heart. I beat my old PR and after I biked home, had enough energy to take the dog out for a run as well. When all of this is over, I think I will try to mix in more evening workouts again.
My annoying moment of the week so far: I just can't seem to shake the dressing room anxiety. We went shopping today for a suit and dress for some events coming up, and even though I know that I am a small size 14, when I was going to put the dress over my head, I just wanted to stop and take it off because if it didn't fit I was going to be so disappointed in myself and feel fat all over again. So I had to take a deep breath and I asked Alec about 10 times, "are you sure it isn't too tight?" before I realized that in all reality, I looked good. Meaning- I didn't hate myself when I looked in the mirror. The reason that I say this is annoying is that I want to be over this feeling now, and just go shopping like most girls do...you know, for the fun of it. Maybe that should be my "homework"?
11 miles this weekend. As me how nervous I am about that! I'm glad that Aunt Janet will be back, and am hoping that she is up for a trip to Under Armour so I can score a running hat for cheap. Now that's exciting shopping!
XO
ps-for those following my injuries: they are significantly better after using Rock Tape. I now swear by the stuff for all of my long runs and recommend it to anyone who has recurring pain.
Thankfully, a very dear friend of mine took pity on my facebook pleas and donated the last bit that I needed before the deadline. Phew! No more limbo for me!
The run on Saturday was so nerve-wracking! There was something about crossing the line from singular to double digit miles that scared the hell out of me. On top of it, I got next to no sleep. I couldn't seem to fall asleep until Alec got home from work around 1am, and then I woke up at 5am from a terrible nightmare (involving ghosts of dead relatives) and just couldn't seem to fall back asleep before 6am when I had to wake up. For the record, I am absolutely non-functional unless I get 8 hours of sleep. I know it sounds like something a teenager might say, like: "oh, I need soooo much sleep", but if I am being completely honest with you, when I get less than 8 hours, I am grumpy, my eyes get red and baggy, my stomach is upset, and I will get sick if I am exposed to any germs. This is one of the reasons that I am a party pooper on Saturday nights...because I know that I have to sing in the morning, and if I go on less than 8 hours (heaven forbid, throwing in a drink or two), I am no good for at least two days.
So, now that you get how severe my sleep-deprivation effects me, I can move on with the run. When I "woke up" that morning, I made my standard egg whites, oatmeal w/brown sugar, and banana breakfast and drank about 5 servings of water. I went to the bathroom (hooray!) and got dressed, and left the house. I realized about 10 minutes later that I had completely forgotten to take along my water bottle for post-run. I think in all of my nervousness, I had a brain fart. I drove to the NCR trail and got there right around 8am when practice starts. We did some calisthenics and stretched a little (it is bad to stretch cold muscle) and pretty much just started right away.
For those of you who have not read my older posts, I am not the biggest fan of the NCR trail. I think it stems from a combo of monotonous running scenery (it's great for biking), slanted path tracks after rain, and the whole "last time I was here I seriously injured my ankle" thing. That in addition to the 10 mile heebeejeebees equalled a very tentative Sara. One thing that really helped me was that I got up that morning and went online to check email/facebook and saw that Aunt Janet had emailed me. It made me remember just why I am doing this and gave me a little extra push. Then, I saw the status of one of the other girls that is training and it said that she was nervous, too! I felt really relieved seeing that I wasn't alone.
So, the course was very basic. Out-and-back. Run up 5 miles, run back 5 miles. The first 5 were pretty decent. I started off a little slow due to technical ipod issues, but once I found my footing I didn't stop. Around mile 4 is when I start to feel REALLY good. It is like I will be able to just run forever at mile 4. I also got my Gu timing down for the duration so that I have a plan for future long-distance runs. I take it after 4, 7, and then if I really need it at 9. For the marathon, I will be able to space it out even further... I am thinking 4, 8, 12. That last one is really important, because it gives me the extra boost that I need to have a strong sprint to the finish.
So, the second 5 were pretty strong, but I ran into some road blocks along the way. When I took Gu the second time, I stopped to drink a bottle of water. And, being as competitive with myself as I am, I wanted to drink it down as quickly as possible so I could keep going. Well, I must have swallowed a lot of air with it because like 5 steps later, I had a severe pain in my stomach/digestive tract. I ended up slowing my pace for almost a mile because it just wouldn't go away. It almost felt like when you get a stitch in your side, only it was higher. Eventually, it went back to normal (I have no idea why it did, but thank gosh!).
Around mile 8, I started to get fatigued and had to fight with myself to stay positive about finishing. I sort of love that internal struggle, because when you get through it is even more invigorating. It takes a good struggle to really grow! When I took the Gu at 9, I felt re-energized and just hit the turf as hard as I could. I managed to almost sprint towards the end. When I did, I realized that I was only the second runner to finish for the day!!!! WOWeeWOWeeWOW!!!
We figured out my time (I desperately want a Garmin) to be around 1hr, 51 minutes which is a little over an 11 minute mile. I think that is pretty fan-freakin-tastic considering that when I started running in October 2003, I could just barely jog for a 1/2 mile at 3.0mph (20 min. per mile). Last January, I got it up to 3.5 mph (17 min. per mile), and last summer 2010, I ran my first 5k at the gym at about 4.5 mph (13 min. per mile), in January when I signed up, I was running my distance runs at 4.9mph or just under 12 min. per mile.... 11 minute miles this week =about 5.4 or 5.5 mph! I can't wait to see what my time will be in a year. I hope to still be blogging so that you all can follow my improvements and be encouraged by them.
On Monday of this week, I didn't have enough time, so I ended up running 4 miles. Just to give you an idea: in January, I was running a 5K (3.1) at 40 minutes. On Monday, I ran 4 miles in 40 minutes (that a PR-personal record, for me). I think something that helped me was that Alec was there with me and I knew that we had to go to the store, and then he had to head to work. So, I used the motivation of not making him late to work and it turned out very much in my favor.
Then, on Tuesday, I did 5 miles by running to the gym, working out my abs and arms, and then running home. That was great because I waited until it was the height of the heat (yes, Mom I wore my sunscreen) and headed outside. I am trying to prepare myself for any weather conditions that we might experience in Virginia. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is going to be 85 and humid even at 7am.
This evening, I decided to mix it up again and used http://www.mapmyrun.com/ to find a new route around Pikesville. The start location that I wanted to use was 1.5 miles away, and I didn't want to drive, so I rode my bike and then headed out for a run. In spite of all of this great early morning training that I have been doing, tonight is proof that I am an evening runner at heart. I beat my old PR and after I biked home, had enough energy to take the dog out for a run as well. When all of this is over, I think I will try to mix in more evening workouts again.
My annoying moment of the week so far: I just can't seem to shake the dressing room anxiety. We went shopping today for a suit and dress for some events coming up, and even though I know that I am a small size 14, when I was going to put the dress over my head, I just wanted to stop and take it off because if it didn't fit I was going to be so disappointed in myself and feel fat all over again. So I had to take a deep breath and I asked Alec about 10 times, "are you sure it isn't too tight?" before I realized that in all reality, I looked good. Meaning- I didn't hate myself when I looked in the mirror. The reason that I say this is annoying is that I want to be over this feeling now, and just go shopping like most girls do...you know, for the fun of it. Maybe that should be my "homework"?
11 miles this weekend. As me how nervous I am about that! I'm glad that Aunt Janet will be back, and am hoping that she is up for a trip to Under Armour so I can score a running hat for cheap. Now that's exciting shopping!
XO
ps-for those following my injuries: they are significantly better after using Rock Tape. I now swear by the stuff for all of my long runs and recommend it to anyone who has recurring pain.
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