A Reminder...

It's been two weeks since my last post, for which I apologize, but I've still been working, I promise. 

This has been, by far, the hardest two weeks of training. I've felt ill while running, and it seems like I hit the wall just after I step out my front door. 

I find myself frustrated by my lessened abilities. I was a rock star runner a month and a half ago, doing far better than I ever expected and it felt great. Hard work, effort, and dedication had really paid off. I was so proud.

Flash forward to today, when I ran 10 miles and I thought I wasn't going to make it home. "Ran 10 miles" isn't really an accurate statement, either. I went ten miles, but I have never stopped, walked, and gasped for air so much. I probably ran 9. Probably.

Now, it was 90 degrees. But the last two weeks have been filled with runs that are so far from "fun" I can't even believe I was sort of enjoying this at one point. My training schedule is screwy because I'm making up for lost time, my confidence is blown, and I was actually near tears while running today (not really that hard, I now understand why people on The Biggest Loser cry all the time).

So what am I doing to make myself feel better?* I came home and watched several Team World Vision videos to remind me of all the good I am doing by running. The good stuff that's not just for me. This is the video I watched to remember exactly why this charity is so necessary. And here's a little video from World Vision Australia with Hugh Jackman in it. I like being on the same team as Wolverine! President Clinton and daughter Chelsea are on board too, partnering with World Vision and Proctor and Gamble to give water purification packets to people to make this water safe:
 

This is Confiance. She has to travel 30 minutes each way to
be rewarded with this filthy water.

The packets, distributed by TWV, help turn the murky green water from this borehole to this:

Confiance is on the right, and much happier now!

 I'm pretty convinced that people run with charities so that on days they want to kill themselves for choosing to run a marathon, they will realize that it is a good decision, you are doing something to make the world a better place, and those things are far more important than the fact that your legs want to fall off. I am so proud to work with an organization that provides "sustainable sources of clean drinking water" by working with "protected springs, boreholes," clean water wells, and rain capture systems. This fantastic charity "is now providing clean drinking water to a new person every 30 seconds." If you'd like to read more about Confiance and the Clintons' visit you can find the full post here.

So please, help me convince my legs and feet that their pain is worth these people's gain. Donate to my fund here and help children like Confiance gain access to safe, clean water for their whole lives.

*Note: I also ordered a big Giordano's deep dish pizza to make myself feel better. One of these coping mechanisms was super healthy. (The other was super tasty.)

Out for a Month, In for a Weekend

Ever wonder if someone could take an entire month off of marathon training and still do the race? Well folks, we are about to find out. My 10 mile run was on July 10th, and my first real run back was on August 9th. 

An update: I did my PT exercises diligently last week. They hurt oh so bad but made me feel so much better. I continued to ride my bike (talk about saddle sore. Yeesh!) and do my ab workouts (back to level 3 by August... made one goal at least!). One of my extremely long bike rides took me from Lawrence toward downtown:

How bout that skyline, eh?

And even further south, to the other side of downtown (by the aquarium). 

That black building that stands on it's own off to the right? Same as the black building that stands on it's own at the left of the other picture. I went faaar.

On Friday I went on my test run. My wonderful friend Janell went with me to keep me company and support my nerves. And I did it! It felt a little tight at moments, but I had no pain in the heel at all. What a relief!

The next day I was eager to go again, and my boyfriend ran circles around me (I am not joking). I was slow as a snail, but still no pain. 
 
Because I'm a little late on this week's post I'll update you all the way. Monday I got to do five miles at an increased interval. How exciting! The next day went something like this:

 Me: How are you feet?
 Feet: We're swell, thank you for asking!
 Me: Excellent, everything's fine and groovy the--OHMYGOSH THE PAIN!
 Thighs: We thought you quit the marathon! We don't like yooooouuuu!!!!

So cross training is great, and sooo important.... but your muscles will definitely be different. I took 2 days off running and hit the PT hard on Tuesday and today, and I get to go on a five mile RUN run tomorrow. Hopefully everything will be back in order. (Although I'm sure my thighs will continue to threaten a coup the day after.)

I'll be honest: I'm a little nervous that the rug is going to get yanked out from under me and it's all going to hurt very badly again and I won't be able to do my 'thon. After living with the pain of retail feet for years, and the tendinopathy for a month, this near pain free feeling that I'm having seems too good to be true. I don't trust it. But I'm going to keep doing exactly what the PT says and hope for the best. Because hope is awesome.

And here's a flower that I meant to post ages ago, forgot about, and then found on my phone today. Because it's hopeful!!

Physical Therapy: More Painful Than Your Injury

I am currently entering week four of non running training. I've been biking so much I may have bruised my tailbone, and swimming everyday that it's warm enough to go into the lake. And while I love swimming, and biking is fun, eep, that's scary. I mean, I will have been out for a month of marathon training. Can you do that? It seems like you maybe can.

The series of events: Saturday I woke up super early to do a photo shoot for my running group. I was torn. When we first talked about it I said yes, because surely I'd be back by August 3rd! Right? Wrong. It was extra painful for me because I knew I was awfully close to recovered, and everyone else was jumping out of their boots with excitement. It was half marathon day. I was left behind, literally, as they all went off with a spring in their step (at least at first) to run half of what they'll run on Oct 13th. Everyone seemed so healthy.

But during the shoot I got to talk to my team captain. I haven't had a lot of one on one interaction with him, because it's a big group, and he's a busy guy. But he gave me some really excellent advice. Apparently there are some physical therapists who will do free screenings with people like me who are running a 'thon. He also said the longest his girlfriend ran before the race last year was 13 miles, but she was able to finish. It is better to be healthy and undertrained than mildly hurting or overtrained. Of course it is even better to be healthy and properly trained, and while I am super jealous of my other n00b friends who have been able to do that, I have not. Physical limitations are stupid.

Long story short, I went to a PT yesterday. He explained a bunch of things about my feet that all made me predisposed for this injury, including the way years of retail and being required by management to wear shoes that put looks before your well being have really screwed up my feet (plantar fasciitis, anyone?). And then he gave me a list of exercises that sounded super easy and short, and one more week to heal on my own. On Friday I do a test walk/run (basically intervals... basically starting at the beginning of training...) to see how it goes. If it hasn't healed up by then, he wants to send me to a sports doctor to accelerate the process. C'mon healin on my own!

So for the moment, this is my gym:

They may look innocent, but they are actually devices of fear and pain!

 And while I still felt pretty fit and strong, the stupid muscles that I am supposed to work with these were on fire last night. It was a higher pain level than my foot has been for the last two weeks, so it seemed unfair. But when I woke up this morning, for the first time in years I took my first few steps out of bed with no pain. Take that retail! 

My list of homework. I hate this homework!

So, armed with medieval torture methods, new shoes, rest, and ice, I am in full recovery mode. In one week I will let you know if the magic has cured me, or not. If you want to know more about achilles tendinopathy, there is a lot of great info here. Incidentally, that list of risk factors? I had seven of them... plus the plantar fasciitis that isn't on there. Huzzah!  

(Healing thoughts and juju are appreciated as well. We are in an all methods go situation here. Code Orange people, Code Orange!)