Where's the Beach?

I've started this post in my head a dozen times. I'm still not entirely sure where to begin. I haven't been blogging consistently. That's obvious right? That also means I've not talked a great deal about training for the Chicago Marathon, training during a Southern summer, over-coming yet another injury, and everything else that goes along with training for a race. Do I start at the beginning or do I do the race recap while it's fresh in my mind? Do I let the race settle in my head so that I can adequately attempt to talk about it? Because I'm a Type A person, I'm going to start at the beginning. The signing up for the race and the training. If you can hang with me, we'll get to race day. And I hope you will stick with me. After my first marathon in December, I ended up with a nice stress fracture. I had a slow road to recovery. An even slower road to building back up my running - both distance and pace. I ran two half marathons and a 10k, none...

Injury Update I decided to go see a podiatrist. Not because I didn't fully believe or trust my doctor, but I really wanted to get a full understanding from someone who only deals with feet and ankle injuries. I'm exactly 4 weeks out on this stress fracture and was (key word) in the boot for 3 weeks. The podiatrist said that a full break takes 8-12 weeks to heal and a stress fracture about half of that time. That means at 4 weeks, I'm totally on the mends. He gave me the OK to do non-impact workouts like cycling and even said to try the elliptical. I admitted I'd been doing the bike and he said that was perfectly fine as long as there had been no pain. Phew! Oh, and the biggest news was that I could ditch the boot! That in and of itself was like angels from heaven. I'm still not cleared to run, but at least there's an end in sight to the injury. He said to wait 2 more weeks then start going out for test runs. The biggest thing is that I have to realize that...

If you had asked me what my running and racing plans were for 2015 right after my full marathon at the end of December, I would have told you about races that I had planned. Funny thing is that I really don't love to race. It makes me a nervous mess, but I keep finding myself going back for more. I tend to want to race the same ones I have done previously as well. Perhaps it's because I've been there, done that and have the t-shirt to prove it. Last year, my first 2014 race was the River Trail 15K . So, it made sense that it'd be my first race for 2015 as well. The race is this Saturday, however. And I am still in a walking boot. Last year I ended up with an age group placement and a nifty cup. This year, well, I can use the cup at least right? The 15K was used as more of a training run for me for the Little Rock Half Marathon . I thought it would help me get into the racing mindset, plus I needed the miles of course. The Little Rock Half Marathon was my very f...

This is certainly a post I never wanted to have to write again .  As a runner, I know I'm prone to injuries. I've had a bout with IT Band problems when I first started running. I've dealt with plantar fasciitis not once, but twice even going so far as to tear the one on my left foot during a half marathon. I've lived with piriformis pain for years now, and recently a weird pain in my heel that I thought might just be another manifestation of plantar fasciitis perhaps. Hint: it's not.  I am definitely going through the stages of mourning right now. I'm currently in the wallowing in self-pity phase. Jason has suggested, hinted that he may need to move out for 6 weeks. Joking/sort of. The one thing that I use to de-stress, to help deal with depression, to stay centered is being pulled away from me again.  Two words every runner dreads: Stress Fracture I tend to be an honest person to a fault. So here it goes ... The Truth Is ... The Truth Is I ha...

Moving It I had sort of hoped to get in a run at lunch with Jason today. But I definitely needed to rest both my heel and piriformis. So, I hit the gym instead. Since spin is out, the cardio was pretty boring - hello elliptical. I did the elliptical for about 40 minutes then did 3 rounds of a tabata session using kettlebells and body weight. It probably didn't actually help my piriformis one bit, but I couldn't stand the elliptical for a minute longer. It was a super simple workout as I hadn't exactly written it down. I just chose 4 exercises for a circuit that was repeated twice  before a break so each circuit (with break) is 5 minutes. You do each exercise for 20 seconds followed by a 10 second rest before moving to the next exercise. After all 8, you rest 1 minute. Kettlebell swings Kettlebell figure 8's Alternating front lunge holding kettlebell in both hands chest level Squat thrust with pushups Kettlebell swings Kettlebell figure 8's Alternating ...

Short Sunny Run It sounds like almost everyone is have just insanely awesome weather right now. It was another 80-degree day here again. Sunny, warm, but really windy. I guess that's spring for you. I am loving all the new blooms of color right now. Just so refreshing - other than the pollen that is. We are already having pollen alert days if you can believe that. But I'll certainly take a greenish/yellow car if that means warmer days and vibrant colors. I have decided to follow a 10K training plan from Smart Coach. I chose a moderate plan with low miles. It's not necessarily so I can race. It's merely a tool I am going to use to ease back into running. So no 6.5 mile runs right now. Nope, easy 2 milers or short tempo runs is all this plan has for me slowly building towards 5 miles tops. And I think that's what I need to scale back and start fresh. Who knows, maybe it'll help me rebuild my speed and endurance much better than before. If nothing else, at lea...

Re-Thinking My Running Yesterday ended up being one of those days that turned out to be a good one, but totally not planned. It was a sunny, warmish day. I really couldn't stand the thought of the gym to be honest. So this leads to the first unplanned activity - a run with Jason. We started off slow and steady. He had a route that he wanted to go. And his routes are very very different than mine. I wanted a simple out and back. I actually would have chosen to drive to the river trails. He, on the other hand, meanders, starting from the house. So, while I'm just trying to get my running legs back in action, he's meandering around for the run. Sudden left turns, now a quick right turn. It might be planned out in his mind, but he wasn't sharing his plan with me. Let's just say I was a little annoyed at that, but was trying to be a good sport and just enjoy being outside running. It was definitely windier than we had expected. Hello running in place feeling. But,...

Wow, today was just one of "those" days. It was raining, the temps plummeted, spin class was stifling hot, a bit of work stress. So, yep, one of those days. But, despite the stifling heat during spin class, it was a good class. It was another small one. But one of the girls there and I got to talking about running. She suffered a stress fracture in her femur back in November, and is still unable to run without pain. She seemed so grateful to have someone else understand what it means to not be able to get out and run. She mentioned that there should be a support group for injured runners. You know what? I think she's right. Luckily, I have many of my blog readers as an unbelievable support system. Not many of my friends really understand. And this goes for any injury that prevents you from doing what you love of course. But not having a support system from those who understand...it's tough. It makes you feel like a whiny baby, like maybe you're just blowing ...

This has been a very long day for me mostly spent waiting on doctors. I won't even get into that diatribe. No noticbable fracture in my heel that can be seen on x-ray. However, doctor is pretty certain it is not plantar fasciitis and is concerned it could be a calcaneus fracture. So, yet another appointment tomorrow morning for an MRI. Physical therapy was a little more promising. Definitely piriformis syndrome. She was a little concerned that all the things I've been doing haven't helped. She said I was doing everything she'd suggest to any patient. She did notice that my hips are not aligned and thinks this is a muscular deficiency that she wants to also address. I did get a cortisone and lidocaine treatment and she gave me additional, more "aggressive" stretches to try. She also took a look at my heel and was a little worried about how it looked and felt to her. So, long, exhausting, frustrating day. And that brings me to injuries I suppose. Source:...