T-69 Days to the Half Marathon

I did an 8 mile run today. That is the longest I've done yet. I would rate it an A-. I averaged a 13 minute mile, and combined 5 minutes of running with 1 minute of walking. When I had about 1.5 miles to go, my legs were feeling really heavy, but I was overall doing ok. Which isn't to say I wasn't glad to stop!

I had a very large dog, a St. Bernard mix I believe, charge out at me pretty early in my run. I had carried my pepper spray, which I rarely do, and I had my hand on it. As the dog ran at me growling, I stopped, turned sideways, didn't look in his eyes, and froze. His owner called him back once, and I started to move, and he turned around a ran at me again. He was less than a foot from my thigh. The second time his owner called, he went back home, thank goodness. I was a little freaked out, because the dog was huge and its tail was NOT wagging.

I had to pee today on my run (I think that's a good sign as far as hydration?) so I climbed down into a ditch and did my thing. No biggie. I felt like "real" runner, dropping trou and doing my thing.

I also tried Gu for the first time on my run today. I took half of one at first, to see how my system liked it. I really didn't enjoy that taste in my mouth as I was working so hard. I folded the remaining half packet of Gu and stuck it in my little baggie I had with me. When, 45 minutes later, I tried to take the rest of it, the bag would NOT open. Thankfully my husband drove by then, returning from getting groceries, and I could hand him the mess. Kind of a fail, I think. I will need to look for sustenance beyond Gu.

The most fun part of the run was my surprise cheerleaders. I had a co-worker yell encouragement at me from her house (thanks Lisa!) and a former co-worker give me a thumbs up as he drove by. I guy I don't know drove by me in a truck and said something I couldn't understand, but he was smiling so I'll assume it's positive. Then, at the end, when I really needed it, the mom of a former student drove by and slowed and rolled down her window and said, "Great job Emily!" It's really nice to get the encouragement. No one cheers for you when you're "just" walking. And though I still sometimes feel that I get cheers out of sympathy, as in "Oh my God that poor thing looks half alive. I better give her a shout out, because I might be the last human contact she'll ever have." Whatever, though. I'll take it.

Sooooooooo. I see a podiatrist on Monday about my feet/ankles. I am hoping that he'll say it ain't no big thang, but that I'll need to rest to fully heal it. That I can deal with- I'll rest come January 9th.

T-74 Days to the Half Marathon

Today I contacted my trip coordinator (she does it for free b/c she's officially employed by Disney) to make sure the Magic Express bus will be picking me up at the airport and bringing me back. That makes this race seem even more real!

I have see a PT twice now- once Friday and again today (Monday). She is doing ultrasound on my feet, and laser. Both are meant to stimulate cells to heal themselves. I am also doing a few strengthening exercises (towel scrunches with my toes, heel lowers) and icing. I am wearing orthodics in my shoes. I got NEW running shoes, so I can alternate pairs. My IBS nutritionist lady said I should drink ginger tea, because that will help sooth my GI system and maybe help the inflammation in my heel as well.

I mean, honestly, is running really this complicated?? As a child I did it so effortlessly, without ever thinking consciously about it. John "the penguin" Bingham talks about that, I think. How we used to run for joy and just because. Then, it becomes work. Now it's almost all I'm thinking about.

Even having said all this, I am already thinking about doing a full marathon in 2011. Maybe the MCM in DC in October. Maybe our local KBVCM in Burlington in May, though I doubt I'll be healthy enough. It's funny, isn't it? My life would be a lot easier without running, but I think it would feel a lot emptier too. I may have officially become a runner.

T-81 Days to the Half Marathon

...and I am up shit creek without a paddle. I used a program to train up from the couch to a 5K. Then I used a program to train up from the 5K to the 10K. Now, it's time for me to train up to a half marathon, and I am pretty sure I'm injured.

It started at the beginning of September with pain in my heels. That has continued, and gotten worse. Now, the tops of my feet up through the upper part of my ankle gets excruciatingly tight every time I run. I start to almost lose contact/feeling with my feet. I did 3 miles today as my first day of half marathon training, and I had to walk twice. My breathing was ok, my body from the knees up felt strong. My ankles downward hurt so bad I was almost in tears.

I have an appointment with a podiatrist on November first, but I may try to get into the physical therapist I used before for my knee sooner than the first. I am so very discouraged right now. I have 12 weeks until the Disney Half, and I am so afraid that I will be sidelined for awhile b/c I'm hurt. I almost don't want to know. Come hell or high water, as long as I can move forward at a 16-minute-mile pace, I will be doing that half marathon.

Race to the Top of Vermont: August 29, 2010

Here's what I can say about this race- there was no "racing" about it for me. I ran maybe 10 minutes of the entire climb, if that. Those 4.3 miles that rose 2,550 vertical feet with at 10% grade were much more grueling than I had anticipated.

Usually I sell myself and my athletic abilities short. This time, I overestimated my fitness. My legs were burning, and I was exhausted by the time I reached the summit, a full 1:34:30 after I left the start. I know this timing is accurate, because this was my first race with timing chips.

Adding insult to inury is the fact that my racing shirt is too small. I ordered a large, which has been plenty big in other races, but this time it is much too tight. Too damned bad- this is a shirt I would feel like wearing around to brag that I even survived this race.

A big positive that came out of this, though, is the fact that I had to push my body harder than I ever have on one of my runs, or my 5K races. I was panting, and my legs were on fire, and I literally thought I would fall over from exhaustion. Yet, I pushed on and finished. I think this encourages me to work harder in my training, and it gives me a better idea of how deep I can dig when I need to.

When I reached the summit of the race (the second to last runner to finish, by the way), they were out of water. I sat in the shade, very thirsty, and hungry, and started to get quite faint. I rode down the mountain in a big van with other racers, and I sat in the passenger's seat, because I was going to have to throw up out the window. I did not, luckily, but I really felt extremely weak and ill. At the BBQ aftewards, I grabbed 3 drinks from the beverage line and headed home. I drank all three, and my waterbottle full of tepid water, before I made it home- a 40 minute car ride. THEN I started to feel more like myself.

I loved the friendliness of this race, the beautiful weather, the views from the top, and the atmosphere of joy and goodwill. However, I cannot say that the memory of the agony of Sunday will have faded enough in my mind by next August to again sign up for the Race to the Top of Vermont.

Taking A Little Break

Hi all. I know some of you loyally follow my blog, and I can't even tell you how much that means to me. Thank you all.

As school starts up, and since I'm fostering cats which make me really busy, and because I am embarking on a new training program that has less running and more cross training, I am going to take a break from blogging here.

I will blog about how my August mountain run goes, and the 10K in October, and then pick back up again when I really get into my half marathon training in mid-October.

Time to Regroup

This is going to be brief, because I am quite busy. The top of my right foot has been hurting, my hips are off, and I've just been tight all over. I did some searching on the Internet and found a Hal Higdon program that trains for a 10K in 8 weeks, and is much more conservative as far as distance. There are more strength and cross-training days worked in.

As of Monday, I will be 8 weeks from my 10K race, so I will start his training program then. It seems like perfect timing, so it's meant to be. I plan to visit Fleet Feet soon to talk about another pair of shoes so I can rotate what I wear to run in, and I also need to commit to a stretching program. Hopefully this will keep me on a good path all the way through to the half marathon.

Wednesday I walked/ran 3 miles, and I took yesterday off. Our foster kitten was very sick, and he ended up dying, so I wasn't in a place where I wanted to get out there and work out. Today I did 3 miles of all walking. I'll do whatever feels good for Saturday and Sunday, then the Higdon program starts Monday. I hope this is the magic bullet!

Week 7 Day 1 of 10K Training

Today was 5 miles. I took Sunday AND Monday off because I was feeling so sore. Well, as usual, after running today I feel better overall. My hips don't hurt as much. I can feel that my hamstrings are tight, and my Achilles/calves are tight too. I need to make sure to stretch out now that I'm warmed up.

I am worried about my heels, though. The very back of my foot, like where my heel strikes the ground, is incredibly painful. I don't think it's plantar fascitis (sp?) because I don't have that tight/tearing feeling. It is more like a bruised bone feeling- that repeatedly hitting the ground heel first is causing residual pain. It is worse when I first get out of bed in the morning, which is a hallmark of plantar issues, but I just don't know.

I have only 150 days until the WDW Half Marathon, so I have to get this solved. I will probably head to Fleet Feet later in the week and see what they think.