Fate

Yes, I know I have left all of you hanging by not blogging for an entire 10 days.  There are quite a few reasons for my lack of blogging, including the fact that my computer was not working properly (fixed now), I have not been running due to my ankle (that would not be a cheerful post) and also...lack of inspiration I suppose.  But have no fear.  I am back to entertain you with my random stories. 

So when I last left off I was heading to the gym to do some cardio since I was going to be missing my 16 mile run.  I completed my own person triathlon that day which included 45 minutes on the spin bike, 15 minutes on the stair climber, 60 minutes on the elliptical then ending with 15 more minutes on the stair climber.  I felt like I got a pretty good workout in, I was similarly exhausted as if I had ran for 12 miles or so. 

I rested the next couple of days and decided to attempt my short run on Tuesday morning at the gym.  After about 1.5 miles I decided to call it quits and switched to the dreaded  delightful elliptical machine for about 30 minutes more.  I also did a leg workout that day just for fun. 

Do you believe in fate?  I do.  On my way home from the gym on Tuesday I needed to stop by the store really quick.  I didn't feel like going to my regular Safeway so stopped into a different one.  In front of me in line was one of the moms from Niko's preschool last year.  She asked me how my running was going and I told her that was a sore subject and explained about my ankle.  Well, I forgot that she is a chiropractor and she suggested I stop by her practice so she could take a look at it.  I mean, come on...what are the odds?  I took it as a sign that my ankle needed something more than just rest and went to see her the next morning.

Turns out that the bones in my feet were kind of all jumbled up and in the wrong places.  Which explains the bruising and lack of flexibility.  I have been to see her 3 times now and I am happy to report the swelling is completely gone and I ran today pain free.  She told me yesterday that she is really happy and impressed with the progress in just 6 days!  So I am stretching, flexing, icing and compressing to keep it from happening again, but in the meantime...I think (knock on wood) I am going to be able to resume my full training plan this week.

Ok, I will continue with some more updates soon.  I have to go play Hi Ho Cherry Oh with a cute little five year old boy right now.  He has been very patiently waiting for me!

The Week That Wasn't

Soooo...I last left you with a story of my lovely 15 mile run.  After that run my ankle was still bothering me (duh) and although it didn't get worse, running on it for 2.5 hours didn't magically heal it.  So I have been resting it all week the best I can waiting for the day when I wake up and it feels back to normal.  And by resting it I mean I have not been RUNNING on it.  I just cannot take an entire week off of everything! 

So I went to yoga on Monday morning and Tuesday I did an upper body free weight workout plus 45 minutes on the elliptical (so boring- shoot me now!).  Wednesday I rested.  But Thursday I couldn't take it anymore and hit the gym for a leg workout and 60 minutes on the elliptical.  Then last night we had soccer so I went ahead and played keeper for the entire game.  We played a team that is technically in C league but they were very nice and it was a really fun game.  We lost 6-10 which isn't too bad considering how amazing some of the players were on the team.  I had a hard time watching the ball a few times because their footwork was so good!  A couple of the players on the other team told me I was doing a good job playing keeper so that made me feel good. 

I have been doing some research into my sore ankle and am pretty sure what I have is a deep bruise in my left outer ankle bone.  I have been using compression all week, icing and resting and I think it has finally started healing.  There really isn't much else you can do aside from just giving it a chance to heal by staying off of it.  Ugh.  I went and bought some bromelain which aids in healing bruises and also something called The Rub which is good for sore muscles and bruises.  Today it feels about 75% better than even yesterday. 

So I am officially taking one week of running off, starting last Monday and (fingers crossed) hopefully ending Tuesday morning with a 4 miler.  I will just continue my plan and forget last weeks 4, 8 and 5 milers.  And the 16 miler I should be doing as I type this.  This will be known as "the week that wasn't" in my training plan.  Oh well, life goes on.  I am somewhat over it. 

Just a quick update, nothing else too exciting right now.  I am heading to the gym for a good sweat session- I at least need to keep my cardio up so I will be hitting the spin bike and elliptical machine for a 2 hour cardio workout.  I am thinking 45 on the bike, 45 on the elliptical then finish it off with 30 on the spin bike or stair climber if my ankle can tolerate it.  Fun times!!! 

I Win

Saturday I skipped my long run because my ankle bone was bothering me.  I also skipped out on playing soccer Saturday night in order to have the best shot at completing my run on Sunday.  If you know me at all, you know that it is really difficult for me to do either of those things.  But I made a deal with myself and that is how it was going to be. 

Sunday morning I had to get up at 4:45am in order to get to work at the bright shiny hour of 5:30am.  In case you have never been up at that hour, it really isn't shiny at all- it is actually kind of dark and hazy.  But there are people who apparently need coffee at o'dark thirty on Sunday morning sooooo...off I went.  After 8 hours of being on my feet and working I rushed home, arriving around 1:45pm and was out the door ready to run around 2:10pm.  Devan had a soccer game at 5:20 and I knew this run was going to take a good 2.5 hours to finish! 

My ankle was still tender and I wasn't 100% sure how it would feel once I started running.  I figured the worse case scenario I would just head back home and call it quits if I couldn't handle it.  My ankle definitely had some pain but it was tolerable as long as I kept my pace around 10-10:30 minute miles.  Which was fine, I had originally planned on 9:45 or so but I wasn't going to complain as long as I could get the mileage in. 

I left my house and headed across the Narrows Bridge.  The wind was so intense as I ran over the bridge I could barely catch my breath.  It was a side wind so I was basically zig zagging my way over the bridge and back.  I remember yelling out "thank you" to the sections of the bridge that blocked the wind for a moment, allowing me to breath.  At one point on the way back I actually started to feel claustrophobic and started to panic.  I had to stop, face in towards the traffic and take a few calming breaths.  It was REALLY tough to run in and I kept looking at my pace- I could NOT get it under 10:45 for the life of me.  I just wanted to get the heck off of that bridge!  Later when we drove over the bridge to Devan's soccer game the reader board said "caution- severe side winds on bridge".  Uh, you could say that again!

I stopped by my house really quick around mile 7.6 or so.  I refilled my water bottle with Gatorade this time, ate half of a banana, grabbed some energy chews to take with me (I took a gel around mile 5)  and headed back out the door towards Wright Park.  This section was less windy and more downhill so it felt pretty good.  I was on the opposite side of the street from Dave's meat and produce stand as I ran past it and noticed a little boy about 10 years old or so wearing a costume.  He was dressed up like a big bunch of purple grapes and was trying to get people to stop at the store.  He saw me, darted across the street and started telling me I needed to go buy some grapes.  He was jogging along with me at this point as I am laughing and telling him no thank you.  We must have been quite a sight- me around mile 10 running along side a kid dressed up like a bunch of grapes.  Awesome! 

This was the longest run I have completed yet.  It took me 2 hours and 32 minutes so my pace was 10:10 overall.  Which is good I think considering the fact I was up early, worked 8 hours, was babying my ankle and had that crazy side wind on the bridge.  I never felt like giving up, although I did feel hungry and my muscles were very tired and achy in the last mile or so.  But really, can you blame them?  I got home, had just enough time to wash my face off and eat some protein bites before heading to watch Devan play soccer.  Jaime was with me so she drove (thank goodness) because I was practically too worn out to chew my food.  Seriously, even my mouth was tired!

Today my ankle feels about the same as it did before I ran.  So I guess that is good, at least I didn't make it worse.  I went to yoga class this morning and it felt good to stretch my sore muscles.  I may skip my run tomorrow and just do some eliptical training.  I want my ankle to be 100% for my run next weekend- 16 miles!!!  My marathon is 8 weeks away.  Which reminds me that I should probably register for it!

All Carbed Up With No Place To Go

Today I was scheduled to run 15 miles.  I was a bit nervous but also excited- it would be my longest run ever.  However, on Thursday during my workout and run my left ankle bone felt bruised and kind of achy.  I figured it would go away and be fine after a day of rest since my right ankle bone felt the exact same way last week then felt fine after a day or two.  I have found that I get odd aches and pains in my feet while running in my minimalistic shoes, which I assume is normal as my feet build their strength and adjust to them. 

So I rested yesterday, staying off of my feet as much as possible.  I carb loaded appropriately with a bagel, oatmeal and a pb and j sandwich throughout the day.  I convinced myself it was slowly feeling better.  I would poke it, rub it...checking to make sure it was less tender than an hour ago.  When I went to bed I was convinced it was going to magically heal in the next 8 hours and my run was going to be amazing.  My route was planned, the weather was good, my carb loading was in place- surely my body would not let me down!

I woke up this morning and stepped out of bed.  It didn't hurt, so that was good.  I ate my standard meal prior to running farther than 10 miles- a cliff bar with peanut butter and a banana and a couple shots of espresso.  Hey, I have a sensitive system so why mess with something that works right?  As I sat there poking at my ankle bone I remembered one of my New Year's resolutions- listen to my body to prevent injury.  Right.  No french fries, no candy...and today- no running. 

To say I am disappointed is the understatement of the year.  But I am hoping it really is just like the other ankle bone and feels 100% tomorrow (in which case I will do my run).  Otherwise I will just rest until Tuesday and resume my training schedule from there.  Better safe than sorry, I would definitely rather miss one run then chance having to take a week or more off.  I am not going to lie.  I have had the urge to throw my gear on and head out the door about 20 times this morning.  I fought the urge each time, which is probably why I am still in my pj's while I type this.  I didn't want to get too close to my workout clothes!!  I was finally able to finish one of the books I have been reading though.  All morning I kept looking at the clock thinking about where I would be if I was out running.  I have issues.  But I listened to my body and it said don't run today.  Fine.  Today the ankle wins, but hopefully tomorrow- I win.     

My Last 3 Miler

Today was officially my last 3 mile run for this training cycle.  Which I am fine with because really, how is a 3 mile run helping me run a marathon???  I was in the mood to just RUN and see how hard I could push myself.  I know, I know, I said I was done with speed work.  But if the mood strikes, you just need to go for it right?  So I put on Linkin Park radio on Pandora and set my treadmill to an 8 minute pace for the first mile, 7:47 for mile 2 and 7:30 for mile 3.  It felt wonderful and terrible all at the same time but I finished in 23:20 and couldn't have been happier!  My overall pace was 7:46 over 3 miles.  Rad!

I think I have a small obsession with lip gloss.  I usually apply it about 300 times a day and it is a MUST for when I am running.  I don't really know what it is, but wearing it just makes me run faster!  Ok, probably not, but it feels good and I prefer to be wearing it!!  Anyways, what I really want is to go buy a new tube of my very favorite kind (clinique superbalm in raspberry) because it is almost empty.  But I seem to have more than enough lip gloss to last me for a while.  Hmmmm...decisions decisions.  And my tube of philosophy orange jelly bean is missing.  Has anyone seen it??? 

I am starting to get a bit nervous for my long run this week.  It is a 15 miler, and I have never run farther than 13.1 before.  I am not worried that I won't be able to do it, I am confident in my ability.  I just don't really know what to expect.  Fear of the unknown I suppose.  Our soccer game this week is also on Saturday, so that will be interesting.  I am going to make an attempt to play, but who knows how my body is going to feel!!! 

The Ducks Didn't Seem to Mind

In case some of you haven't noticed it has been raining a lot here in Washington lately.  There has been flood watches on a lot of the local rivers.  Tons and tons of rain.  Except when I looked at the Weather Channel- it was saying sunshine Friday (yesterday) and only 10% chance of rain.  That sounded promising so I decided that would be the day to take the kids to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  And since we didn't have a soccer game that night, heck lets have a BBQ too!  So I invited people over for dinner and rounded up my friend Sarah and her son Evan to go to the zoo with us and it was going to be a great, non rainy day!!!

Devan, Evan, random kid in yellow jacket and Niko

I woke up Friday morning to RAIN!  Lots and lots of rain- buckets full of rain falling from the sky.  I came up with three possible reasons for the really bad, completely inaccurate prediction of the weather.   

1.  The weather channel was playing an April Fool's joke on us.  Haha, good one!
2.  I misread it and it actually said there was a 10% chance it would rain 100% of the day
3.  Predicting the weather is in fact just really difficult

I think this giraffe was checking to see if it was still raining

Whatever the actual answer is, we were troopers and went to the zoo, in the pouring down rain.  We had fun despite being cold and wet the entire time, and the kids were troopers.  We had a few good laughs and saw lots of animals.  Some of the animals were huddled up out of the rain, looking about as thrilled as we were that it was raining.  And some of them didn't even seem to notice at all.  One of the best parts was as we were leaving and Evan was being pokey to catch up.  Niko was trying to round him up but was not having any luck so Sarah hollered at him really loudly and he came running.  Niko walked past Sarah, looked at her and said "you have a really big voice".  It was classic, we had a good laugh at that one!

What, I like snakes!

This gorilla was awesome- he was doing a workout the entire time we watched!

Niko the tour guide showing Evan our next move

The commute home in rainy, Friday rush hour traffic was a real treat- I think it was twice as long as the trip up.  We had time to clean up a bit and then it was BBQ time!  There was no end in sight for the rain so the boys bbq'd outside while the rest of everybody hung out in the house.  It was a fun time and the first BBQ of the season.  Even if it got rained out! 

Today was the Jr. Daffodil Parade.  Devan signed up to walk in it, like she did last year so we headed down the road first thing this morning.  The parade started at 10am and it was the 50th anniversary this year so that was pretty cool.  She walked with her friend Stella and the rest of her elementary school.  Aren't these girls goofy???

After that I was scheduled for a 10 mile run and later in the day- a MASSAGE!!!  My wonderful hubby actually called and scheduled a one hour sports massage for me.  I set off for my 10 miles glad it wasn't raining- however it was really windy and kind of cold!  So I wore capri tights, a running skirt, a tech tshirt and my running jacket.  I still felt a bit chilly but knew that I would warm up once I got going.  Well, guess who decided to make an appearance about 2 miles into my run?  Mr. Sunshine!  So I was dressed too warmly and was kind of hot.  However, the wind never let up.  It felt like resistance running- like somebody had their hands on my shoulders and was pushing against me.  It also made breathing kind of tricky and at times I questioned whether I was, in fact, moving. 

I tried to keep my pace between 9:20 and 9:30.  I feel like this is a good long distance pace for me and I want to be able to hold and maintain it with some degree of accuracy without having to look at my garmin every 60 seconds.  I did pretty good today, my time for 10 miles was 1:33 for a pace of 9:21.  I find I naturally run faster now, which I find exciting.  I don't have to think about it any more, my pace has just gotten quicker.  My mileage is increasing rapidly at this point so I am probably going to tone down the speed work a notch.  I don't want to risk an injury at this point and feel like I have made a lot of progress towards getting to a pace I am happy with.

My massage was amazing.  Just what I had been needing!  He worked on my legs mostly, and also the arches on my feet apparently need a lot of work.  He said my muscles respond well to massage and was able to really loosen up the knots.  I asked him if some people have muscles that don't respond well to massage and he said yes, all the time.  I am glad my muscles are well trained haha.  I am rebooked in a few weeks and can't wait!