body marking, timing chips and medals

those of some of the tasks i took part in today rather than participating. 

My day started at 5:10am.  I woke up, got dressed, fed the cat, and was out the door. Stopped along the way for a coffee and a bagel, and drove about an hour away to arrive for 6:30 am. Like most races, I would imagine, it was organized chaos, as we put up some tents, decided who would be doing what, and for me, a whole lotta explaining... about the boot on my leg.  Once racers started arriving, I started doing a bit of body marking.  That was fun.  Like being a kid, drawing somewhere you normally wouldn't... another person's body, and not getting into trouble for it. Then they asked me to start handing out the chips, since there were not enough people there, so I did.  The steady stream of people going from station to station seemed to flow fairly quickly, and time flew by.  Soon we were hearing the announcements for the first race to start.  Once it appeared that all were through, we started sorting out the finishing medals, getting Accelerade and water bottles into plastic bins, with ice, and organizing the finishing line.

Super Sprint Duathlon participants started arriving, and I was tasked to making sure the timing chips were removed after passing the first 2 girls, and giving the racers their finishing medals.  The whole experience was bittersweet.  I felt great being on the "other side".  Being the one to congratulate the racers.  This was a women's only event, and one that was described as being great for beginners.  It was amazing to see the age range, and women of all shapes and sizes racing.  It was a great inspiration!  When I was handing out the timing chips, a lady came up and said that she knew how I felt... she was in a walking cast as well after a stress fracture on her tibia as well.  I told her that since she was now participating, she was my inspiration to know that I will be a participant in this race one day.  Her said beamed an amazing smile, obviously proud of his mom.  It was a great moment.  I'd be lying if i tried to say i wasn't envious of seeing all the bikes, and runners out there, crossing the line, huge smile, and tears. There were also a few that were pretty close to blowing chunks. LOL One even vomited something green... and I did not look away in time... yikes!

Looking at Marathon Anners' post tonight... i remember seeing her when I was handing out chips, and may have given her the medal!  I wasn't 100% sure she was participating, but I remember her orange shirt crossing the line, and almost said something, but with my personality, and fear of people thinking that i'm a dork, I clammed up and didn't say a word. DOH!   Now I know it was her! Great race Ann!!! You should be very proud.  And now I wish I would have said something.

Oh well.  Even though it's not exactly how I wanted to spend my 31st on the 31st, it was still a great day... figures that this is the first weekend that we've had perfect weather this summer... lol.

I was so inspired seeing all the women cross the line!  One day it will be me :)

Not gonna listen, but i need to vent

as a parent, i hope that i do enough to encourage my son to things that he enjoys, to try things he has yet to experience.  I hope that he can and will continue to feel comfortable talking to me about things; goals, dreams, likes, dislikes, failures, accomplishments... anything.  I hope to have words of wisdom, and to inspire him.  i try hard to be a positive role model, a parent, and a friend. I'm by no means a perfect parent... but i try my damnedest.

Today, I didn't get this from my dad, and I'm so very disappointed.  I've often talked about him as one of my running heros, having run a marathon.

I haven't seen him in a few days, so when I heard him come home today, I made a point of coming out of my office to say hi, and see how he was.  I also had to show off my new air cast... lol.  He shook his head, and said "i think you should really reconsider running, and should just give up on it.  Maybe do yoga instead."  When I told him that I'd be volunteering at this weekend's race, since I had asked him to come with me for what would have been my first "du" to spend the day with him, he said "maybe you should stick to volunteering"

I contemplated carrying on this conversation, discussing the shoe issues I had, etc. which may have contributed to the injury, but in my mind, I was already so sad.  Part of my motivation for starting to run in the first place was to shed a few pounds, weight that I gained after quitting smoking -- something I've very proud of.  I remember my dad telling me once that it looked like I had gained weight and should diet.  Thanks.

I so badly wanted to tell him that I've never been good enough, never gotten encouragement, only hear the things I've done wrong.  I still walk on egg-shells around him, and feel like a failure to him at 31!  I know he doesn't often think about what he says, how it comes out or how it might affect the person hearing it.  I also know that he's been very depressed and stressed out lately... so maybe not the right time... but i feel the way i feel.

This is not something I'd normally spill out to everyone, but I know he won't ever read this, and I needed to get it out... somehow, somewhere -- since it's running related, I figured why not.  I wanted to ask him if he thinks Paula Radcliffe, or any other professional, elite runners should have given up their goals and dreams, even success after their first or any injury?!   I wanted to ask him if he gave up on me the first time I made a mistake?

No, I'll never be an elite runner, but I also don't run to win races!  I run because I can, I enjoy it, it feels good, it's me time, and helps keep off the weight that he pointed out I had gained, it's a change of scenery, and I like race shirts!  I run because I don't want to go through seizures ever again.  I don't think I need to justify this to anyone, reasons are as individual as the person... but I was so discouraged by his lack of support, and his suggestion of giving up something I enjoy because of a bump in the road!

Yes i'm frustrated with this injury.  But I think despite wearing this cast, having to sell race bibs for races I was excited to do, and not being able to run for a while, I've been fairly positive. How quickly that became deflated today.  

Like i said in my title... I'm not going to listen to it... I'll chalk it up to my dad being my dad.  I love him, but he's got a strange way of being a "parent" sometimes.  There, venting done for today. I'm done.  I feel a bit better.  I will try to put it behind me now, forget it happened, and not talk about it anymore.  I will remain positive, rest and heal up this leg, and come back better and stronger and prove him wrong.  I guess he doesn't know me as much as I thought he did.  I don't give up.  I fight.

Knowing that I'd be gone most of this weekend, I took my bike to the bike store tonight to get tuned up.  It's been about a month since I got it; so told me that the cables stretch a bit when first used, so to come for an adjustment.  I also noticed that since the crash, the chain clicks more than I remember it.  Since I'll be doing a whole lot more biking now, I wanted to make sure it was in top shape.  You had to have seen the guys face as I walked my bike into the service center. 

"Did that (pointing at my leg in the cast) happen from this?" (pointing at my bike!)  I laughed, said no, but told him that the stitches hiding under the cast was.... i wanted to find a rock to hide under... lol.

sorry to anyone who has read up to this point.  i guess it's a good thing it's a long weekend!!  LOL i really wasn't expecting anyone to stick with me till the end of this one.  i wrote this post for selfish reasons, but thanks for reading this far  :)

testing my positivity....

my leg is in there... somewhere.  *sigh*

tonight i went to the Sports Performance Center, where my sports injury doc referred me to get his opinion on whether a bone scan would be needed.  He had me remove my shoes, stand on my left leg, and hop up and down.  OWWWWW!  *$#%&(@#*$&^  yes, that hurt a LOT! He checked out the xrays, and then had my lay down on the bed, and applied pressure on my tibia.  Yep, that hurt too.  As I've already heard, and committed myself to, 6 weeks no running, and wants me in an air cast.  Possibly for the full 6 weeks!!! dependant on the bone scan results, and pain.  So I got the requisition for the bone scan which I'll call to schedule tomorrow.

He also said that I can bike, so I'm glad I can at least do that, anything non-weight-bearing should be fine, swimming too, so I'll check into that.  I've found someone to buy my 1/2 marathon bib already, and possibly someone for my 10k. I will walk for the 5k run for Breast Cancer at the beginning of Oct if I'm ok to by then; but I'm not too worried about all of this right now.  I just want to fast forward the next 6 weeks.  Would anyone object?

I have heard back from the race directors for this weekend's race, the Super Sprint Duathlon that I had registered for.  

They said I could volunteer, and when I asked what time to be there, they said between 6:30 and 7am would

be great! Pardon?  Crap! It's an hour away!  I better build some good karma points out of this!! LOL  just kidding of course. I figure being able to see the event before trying it will give me a great idea of what to expect, plus it'll be a change of scenery from sweaty, athletic looking boys, often stripping down to change, playing football all weekend. There's only so much that I can take! LOL

I'll be waking up at 5am latest.... on my birthday, for a race which I can't do yet was so excited to try, wearing my air cast.  Doesn't seem fair, but looking at the bright side, i'll be turning 31.... still plenty of running years ahead of me, and it could always be worse.

I met up with the running group last night for a few drinks and pizza, to celebrate one of their birthdays, after returning from their run.  Their concern and support is incredible, and as usual, there were a lot of laughs.  Next week, the group is going out again to celebrate some accomplishments, so I'll join them for that again, since I won't be seeing as much of them as normal.

Happy long weekend... too bad it's the last one of the summer  :(

i'll take it

yesterday, my sports doc called me! He called to see how I was feeling!  I thought that was so cool.  As I've said before, he's a friend of ours, more specifically, used to play football with my boyfriend.  

He's moving soon, so I joked with him that he has a vested interest in getting me better quickly so that I can be useful during the move. He laughed, then asked if I thought I might be better by then LOL.  

He also wanted to make sure that I got his message regarding his referral to the other doc, which originally he scheduled for Sept 4th.  I told him that I'd call to see if I could get in any earlier, because i assumed it would only be daytime hours, and my schedule this week would have been impossible to get there during the day.  I was able to get an appt for this thursday at 5:30 instead.

I also asked my doc about biking again.  During our initial conversation about resting, etc, he said no to biking, and I had sorta left it at that.  I later thought that if i ride on my trainer, inside only... might that be ok?  I wasn't really planning on biking outside with a stress fracture, but not sure I had really clarified that.  He agreed that it would be ok as long as there was NO pain.  Today I rode during my lunch.  Yes, it's more boring than being outside, but it's also better than nothing.

not sure if this is in my head or not, but i've been walking with less of a limp since riding!  I'm not gonna go crazy with this, I want to see how I feel tomorrow, and i'll see what the new doc says thursday.

I got an email tonite about the Super Sprint Duathlon I had wanted to do this weekend.  I replied asking if I could perhaps volunteer instead.  It's my birthday that day, so it's either do that or be a super-fan at Jay's football tournament.   We'll see what happens.

looking back, and ahead

friday evening was kind of a "down" night for us -- chilling out, watching the olympics, and while still a bit frustrated about the news earlier in the day, i was thinking back to when I started feeling the pain in my leg.  An exact conversation popped into my mind, with the exact location! One of the benefits of blogging... aside from my own personal therapy lol.  I thought back to one of the group runs in June, which I blogged about here.  It was about a 2k warm up until we hit a conservation park, where it was a gravel path and very hilly.  I've run it before, always a challenging route.

During the warm up, we cross 2 major intersections before hitting one of the side streets.  At the 2nd intersection, while waiting for the light to change so that we could continue, I remember feeling the pain in my left shin.  I bent down to rub it, felt a lump, at which time i thought was a knot.  I asked Ann, one of the girls from my group, who I ran with most of the way during our first 1/2 marathon, what a stress fracture would feel like.  She asked me "why, do you think you have one?"  I replied that I wasn't sure, but had a really sore shin.  This being one of her first runs after her second 1/2 marathon which she did in May, (the one i was also going to do with her), she was ready to go...  running at full speed.  I told her to go ahead as there would be no way to keep up with her.  I didn't last much longer, but should have turned around at the first sign of sharp pain and gone back to the car.  I would run a bit, then walk a lot, and walked the last 4k.

Thinking it was shin splints, i gave it a few days rest, a little bit of pressure a few days later while riding my bike, but it just hasn't gone away.  Surely I haven't given it a chance to heal properly, not knowing what it was.  The pain during that night was a lot, but it wasn't excruciating, the way i thought stress fractures might be.  I have run since with no pain, and had some very good runs, walked with no pain, so I really didn't think it would end up like this.

Anyway, still hurting to walk a lot.  Last night we went to a wedding for friends of ours.  I wore flat shoes, because wearing any sort of heals would be an accident waiting to happen.  Looked kind of odd, but I didn't care.  Noticeably limping, so i'm sure it was self-explanatory to people that may have questioned my choice of wardrobe.  But something positive come out of this for the evening.  I'm not a dancer, I don't enjoy it.  I'm a people watcher, and others don't seem to get that.  Wherever we go, people are always trying to get me on the dance floor, thinking that i'm not enjoying myself.  But it's quite the opposite... I enjoy watching others out there.  Well, last night, no one asked me or told me to get my butt up there.... it was GREAT! 

I can't sit around and feel sorry for myself for long.  Had the house to myself, i was so tired, and had already fallen asleep on the couch for 20 minutes earlier.  I could have slept all afternoon... but i got up, got my gym bag ready, and drove to the gym.  It's been a long time since I've been there... running and biking have obviously been my workouts of choice, and while i was still doing weight training on my non-running days, I'd use whatever equipment i had in the house, during lunch or before work or bootcamp.  doing the machine workout was a nice change, so i'm happy i made the choice to go rather than be lazy and nap.  Now that the Olympics are over, I should be go back to my normal routine, and go to sleep earlier than 12:30am!!!   Apparently I wasn't the only one!!! Found this article tonight, had to laugh. So for now, I'll stick to weight training, and hopefully i'll be able to work in some cardio soon, like some light biking on my trainer, so I don't lose too much.  

**edited**

hope you all had a great weekend :)

up next...

.. a bone scan.  i managed to get an appt for this morning with my sports injury doc to read the xray and tell me what i knew i was going to hear.  No running, no riding, nothing.  6 weeks.

Today I'm in a crap load of pain, maybe as a result of yesterday's treatments.  My next appt is Sept 4th, not sure if the bone scan will be done that day, or just a consultation prior to getting that done.  Not sure if it will make sense to have one done though, because let's say that there is currently a stress fracture (along with the healed ones showing on the xray).  I've been told already to take 6 weeks off, complete rest.  I'm going to follow that 100%.  A bone scan would confirm a stress fracture, after which I'd be told to rest -- if I'm doing that anyway... is it necessary?  anyway, i will leave it to the pros.

My spirits got lifted a little last night...  watching the 110m men's hurdles last night... Silver medalist, USA's David Payne is also recovering from left tibial stress fracture.  It can be done -- it will be done, i will get back out running, but for now, i will have to practice patience.

karate chops

there is a lot of frustration, and emotion with this post... you've been warned.

After finishing saturday's race, I was happy.  It was a very fun run, (hey! that rhymes lol).  After the race, I stretched out and felt pretty good.  Sunday and monday I did a lot of nothing, tuesday I went for an easy ride, but felt alright, some soreness but just in "that spot" (on my leg people, i'm not talking about THAT spot... lol).  After giving myself 3 days off, I decided to try a small brick workout yesterday at lunch for next weekend's super sprint duathlon. I did a short 5k ride, a short mock transition, and out for a short run.  

Since soreness, injury and caution have been abundant for me over the last few months, and with the run portion being only 2.5k, I decided just to do that distance.  No sense in making things worse.  Ouch.  Not because I just got out a bike, but OUCH.  The same "nagging spot" was hurting like crazy.  Thought maybe it just needed to loosen up, so I took it really easy, and on this very short run, swallowed my pride, and walked often.  Got home, stretched well, for about 15 minutes, and hmmmm, feeling pretty good!  Ok, maybe my legs were just so tight, and the warming up of the muscles and stretching did some good!  As I've been doing, even though I felt alright, I iced, wore shoes in the house while working because it' s more comfortable, stretched out periodically, elevated... 

All seemed ok till I got out of bed this morning.  It hurt... a lot.  The feeling was like someone smashed a hockey stick into the side of my shin... on the inside, right along the bone, every time i took a step.  Hobbled to the bathroom.  Not good.  Called my sports injury doc, appt for 1:30 today.  Good.

Go see him... describe the pain, and he takes out a tuning fork looking thing, smacks it on his foot, then holds the bottom end on my tibia.  Does the other leg, a difference, albiet a small one.   He said that although we thought more muscular based on symptoms previously, he started explaining stress fractures.  My heart was in my throat.  I'll be honest, I've thought about this possibility... a lot.  What would I feel like, would I have actually been able to run 15k on saturday?  Will I be able to bike?  How .... long (sniff) before I can (sniff) run again?

He then suggested maybe trying Acupuncture.  Remember how I said I hated needles.  Does this show my dedication???  I didn't even hesitate.  If it will help with the pain, get me back out pounding pavement, and let me do what i wanted to for my birthday, then sure, stick 'em in. We went through the risks, legal stuff, etc.  He said there may be fainting, dizziness, but only if i was truly petrified of needles.... hmmm, do I tell him that I am now??   Anyway, he stuck me with about 7 needles, and it wasn't bad at all.  I was so proud of myself, and couldn't wait to call Jay to tell him what a big girl I was today!  :)

Once my leg started twitching, it was a weird feeling.  The tempo changes once in a while... so at one point I started giggling.  The sensation gave me the following visual: I pictured a bunch of little people... really little, sitting on my leg, and their tiny handing karate chopping up and down my leg.

When that was done, he gave me a requisition form, to go get an x-ray done.  Do you know what he wrote on the requisition?  Distance runner!  I double-checked the name on the form to make sure he was talking about me LOL.  He said that if the x-ray doesn't show anything, then we may need to get a bone scan done.  *sigh*  one of my bigger running nightmares coming true.  Make an appt. to follow up with him monday evening, and off to the clinic.  X-rays now done, I got home, and had to be nosy.  By no means am I a doctor, radiologist, so who knows what I'm looking at, but this is what my untrained eyes see. The 2 xrays of my left leg both show a spot on my tibia that was circled by someone who obviously looked at it, where the bone seems to have expanded outwards.  My right leg, which they also x-ray'd to compare, has nothing.

I'm going not to stew about it all weekend, diagnose myself, google any key words that might fit, or count myself out of all the upcoming races I have registered for, but I am very bummed out.  He said I may also need to rest from biking too...  Sometimes I wish that I didn't care about my health, looks, weight as much as I do.  Sitting at home on the couch, eating McDonald's all day long is cheaper than trying to eat healthy foods, fueling myself for activity, and I'd be less prone to constant injuries.  Sorry, this will end my pity-party for today.

**edit/update**   ok, so i lied. I said i wouldn't sit here wondering all day/weekend what was going on.  I started thinking - even though my sports injury doc could likely read an xray, radiologists are the experts...   they gave me the xrays.   I had only taken the films out of the package.  I started snooping this evening and found the radiologist's letter to my doctor with his finding.  Evidence of healed stress fractures because of the thickening that I tried to describe above.  Not sure of current or new fractures, but recommending a bone scan.  UGH.  More needles!  

So if they are healed stress fractures, why am I in the most pain now?  I tolerated the pain of stress fractures, and must have run with them at least a few times, since I was resting etc.!

Midsummer Night Run 15k Race Report

What a night it was.  

This was my first evening race, so my day yesterday was spent hydrating and fueling.  It was weird having all day to wait for the race to start, but it was well worth the wait.  

I had taken Thursday and Friday off completely, fearing that i'd aggravate the shins.  I just wanted to get through this run.

I've been in Toronto now for about 15 years, maybe more, and I've never been down to the beaches or this part of the city!  It's horrible! So we left early to take advantage of the weather, get a good parking spot, without having to park for $10 in the parking shuttle lot, and wait to get shuttled to the race site.  We got there in plenty of time, got free parking across the street, and took a leisurely walk along the beginning of the race route.  I also hit the porta-potties early...eeewwwwww.

We met up with a few friends, and joined them already sitting in the shade under a tree.  Also ran into someone from my office who was also running.  Then with about 30 minutes before race time, the 3 others from my running group got off the shuttle bus with my bib in hand, now finally able to get my timing chip.  I'm a bit anal when it comes to waiting for people...  but it all worked out just fine.

Jay became the designated bag watcher.  Rather than mess with the baggage check, he told the group, now 9 people to leave bags with him.  One of the race directors came to us with about 5 minutes to race time, exasperated, thanking us for not checking our baggage. He said never in his life has he seen a line up so long to leave bags, and people waiting until the last minute, leaving a line up past the starting gate.  An announcement was made shortly after over the PA letting us know that due to the baggage and porta-potty lineups, the start would be delayed by 10 minutes.  As promised, the 30k group was off at about 6:40pm, with the 15k group starting at 6:45.

We were off... first part of the race was in on city streets, in an industrial area, then through a parking gate to the park area.   The road had a lot of potholes, and quickly turned to gravel.  A few puddles to dodge... but by this time, the pack had somewhat separated, everyone seemed to be in their own groove.  This is when my mind started toying with me.

We were at about 3k, my pace was under 6:00km/min, and while the area of my shin splints wasn't bothering me at all, the outside of the opposite leg was burning a bit.  My mind was telling me that since I came to this with no expectations for time, if I needed to walk the rest of the way, or turn around and not finish it would be ok.  But this was not ok, and not needed. Physically I was fine.  Why my mind keeps trying to sell myself short, I don't know.  

I was listening to my ipod, a mix that I had created for my 1/2 marathon in March. It's been a while since I listened to these tunes, but something interesting happened.  The song Apologize from Timbaland & One Republic came on.  Not a song that I normally would put into a running mix, not sure what I was thinking, but how it impacted me today!  The lyrics in the chorus saying "It's too late to apologize... It's too late."  Well, I changed it up a bit, and boy did it help. My version became, "It's too late to give up now, it's too late."  This became my mantra.  I found myself repeating it a few times throughout the run, shutting out the negativity that my head was trying to sneak in.

The scenery was amazing.  We were on a piece of land, water surrounding us on both sides now, coming to the first turn around, which was a lighthouse.  Now going the opposite direction, I saw each of the other runners in my group... it was uplifting to see them. Scenery was even more spectacular now.  Toronto's skyline, on a clear night, sun setting behind the CN Tower, and the water.  

I mostly followed the normal 10/1's that I've been using during training, added a few short walk breaks, because of my shins burning still a bit.  My goal was to finish in under 1h45.  I was well ahead of that pace, so while I could have probably finished a bit faster, I was just enjoying myself, and maybe I stopped fighting my mind games a bit.  I rounded the last corner, and was the finish line.  I saw Jay, who snapped a quick picture, and crossed the line. Got my finishers medal, took off the chip, grabbed a banana and bagel and stretched out.  I finished in 1:31:07.

Given the injuries in the last few months, and the breaks I've taken due to sunburning my feet, moving, injury recovery, I'm very pleased with my time.  I would do this race again in a heartbeat.  I'm certainly glad I didn't continue on with the 30k, because my legs are quite tight and sore today, another 15k woulda probably killed me. I will do it -- when it's right.

Waited for the rest of the group, some coming in about 1h40m later, having run the 30k.  Everyone did amazing... and no injuries! Yay!!! They said that the scenery was even more amazing, going more into the beaches area, but pretty dark in some areas, and running along the boardwalk.  They were also saying that there were bats flying around, swooping down over the runners' heads, immediately I thought about if I had run it, would I have had a new PB just trying to get away from them?!  LOL  Everyone had a great time though.

We all went to a burger joint after to refuel... not the greatest meal at 11:30pm, but two of the pubs we went to before were on a late nite menu, with little choice.  I ate because I know I needed to, not because I craved a burger, or had any desire to eat at that time of night. Only ate 1/2 my burger and shared onion rings and fries...  It was a guiltless meal.  lol

Recovering today... calves are tight, but nothing major.  Next event on the 31st! Can't wait!

Checked the news this morning, there was a recycling plant fire this morning -- probably less than a km away from the race site! Scary after the propane blast that happened only last week.

Trainer on the trainer

now that I've registered for the super sprint duathlon, which is in 16 days, 17 hours, 59 minutes and 33 seconds, I need to do a few things:  

• I need to get back on my bike, which I haven't ridden since my fall
• I need to get a few bricks in... to at least get the feel for running then riding, and riding then running
• I also need to feel much more comfortable with the clipless pedals, and getting unclipped in time -- regain my confidence
  

Well, I got the first one out of the way with today.  I decided on a lunchtime ride... so I went out to the garage and got my bike.  The first thing I noticed on my bike were some of the scratches it now has on the handle bar, the pedal and the gear shifter.  :( Oh well.  Proof it's been ridden i guess, and not just collecting dust. LOL

Last night I dug out my indoor trainer that I purchased a few years ago, which collected dust, because it was SO loud, having knobby tires on my old bike.  Barely used it.  But I had a thought the other night, which kinda freaked me out a bike -- so much so that I will probably use the trainer more often. 

I'm not a huge fan of running in the morning, because I feel I need to eat before I exercise, at least something.  Truth is, I have a hard time waking up early enough to eat, and run/ride before work (this might change though when school starts up again as I will be forced to wake up earlier... ).  A lunch time workout breaks up the day... and gives me time to fuel myself during the morning too.

Anyway, onto my point.  I'm a software trainer, and starting next week, will be training morning and afternoon sessions for clients around North America.  Thinking about my little freak accident that happened, so close to home, what if that or something worse happened... What if I'm not able to make it back home to my office in time for my next session, maybe because of a flat, or another injury. What if... 

It's amazing to have the flexibility to work at home, and I love it, and I love my new position, so I don't want to screw anything up.  I don't want to have to call my boss from "somewhere" asking him to host my sessions because of a lunch-time mishap.  So, having the trainer is a "safer" option...  for a lot of different reasons.  Running on the other hand is different.  I'd like to think that less can happen while out for a run -- unless i get so caught up in the moment, unaware of time, and distance, and just keep running.  ;)

It felt weird though "riding" in the house, when it was bright and beautiful outside.  I thought about putting the trainer on the back patio to at least take advantage of the weather even though I wasn't "going anywhere", but we live on a corner lot, so cars driving my on the side of the house probably would have looked at me like a dork, and my very sweet, but very chatty neighbor was also outside... didn't want him to look at me like a dork either.  I also wanted to see how noisy it was indoors.

So tonight, I may go out for a shorter run with the running group again, and tomorrow, I will either rest, bike, or weights. Saturday is my 15k evening race.  Going with absolutely no expectations -- given the last few weeks, I'm just happy to be out running this one, and will leave it at that.  That's it for now!  Cheers.

Champagne Birthday... am i crazy?!?!?!

today is not by champagne birthday, that would make me 12 years old.  LOL definitely not the case. However, I will be 31 on the 31st.  

Last night, I read Marathon Anner's post, and haven't gotten it out of my head.  A Super Sprint Duathlon -- 2.5k run, 10k ride, 2.5k run August 31st!! What an amazing way to celebrate my champagne birthday!  All day I've been humming and hawing about it... 

It's official, I'm registered!  AM I CRAZY!  This is less than 3 weeks away, 19 days to be exact!  But I'm so excited!

The other crazy part is that I had also registered for Nike's 10k Human Race, also because it was on my birthday.  I think the local running store where the group and I meet is hosting this event in the evening... 6:00 ish, so I should be able to manage both.  What better way to spend my birthday than virtually running with a million other runners around the world -- considering how much running has changed and impacted my life!  Anyone else doing this run? 

Went for a short 4k run today, felt good... stretched, and iced a lot again.  I may go out for a run tomorrow with the group, will see how I feel.  I don't want to overdo it before Saturday... i figure if i run tomorrow, thursday off/biking, and friday i'll go for a short run, or take a second day off running if needed before the Midsummer Night's 15k run.

So that's the plan.  I can't believe i've just registered for a duathlon!  When I bought my road bike, I was thinking about possibly trying one next year! I thought about volunteering at one this year, just to get a feel for the atmosphere, and what to do!!! But there's really not a lot of time to do that first now!  LOL This is even more crazy to me considering the shin splints, and bike crash, but neither will stop me :)  Thanks for the motivation Anners!!  Hope to see you there now too!

deformed

got my stitches out tonight.  glad they're out, but my scar is gross.  It's definitely not the nicest stitching job i've seen.  Hoping now that the stitches are out, the scar will even out and be less bumpy.  contemplated posting a picture, but decided not to.

i went out for a 6k run yesterday, felt good.  Great actually!  I really felt like going longer.  It was a sunny but cool day out, perfect for running, but i let the logical, forward-thinking, protective voice lead, shutting down the adrenaline-driven voice that was enjoying the run, wanting to continue.  I got home, chugged down a quick recovery drink, jumped into a shower, and stretched out well.

This saturday evening is my 15k run... which I officially downgraded from the 30k.  I was really looking forward to finally hitting that distance, but I know I will, when it's right.  Not being able to run that distance now twice is kind of a bummer, but i'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason.  (Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that I believe this... I will let you know...).  I just like getting new race shirts, and running routes that i normally never would, plus others in my running group will be doing each of the distances.  This route also goes along part of the 1/2 marathon route which I'm running Sept 28th, will be a nice little preview.  Today my shins felt fairly good.  I've still been icing, wearing shoes in the house during the day, so i'm sure it's all still helping.

Something else, totally unrelated to running, but wanted to share.  I officially heart Facebook. Earlier this week, I found one of my oldest, closest friends in the whole world, with whom I lost touch about 15 years ago.  I had to live with her for a few months when I was 13, going through a very difficult time in my life... and then moved to Toronto with my dad.  Being young, taking things for granted (which i try very hard not to do anymore since my surgery...), we simply lost touch. I've been thinking about her a lot lately... and did some searching and found her. She's calling me tonight, and I can't wait to hear her voice.  Jay is already betting how long before i start crying once we're on the phone together. lol

Relearning to run

I went to my appointment last night, and was given some good news, along with a long list of things to work on.  I was totally enlightened and inspired, so this post may be a bit lengthy.

First, we reviewed the videos from my 2 gait analysis'.  Even to my untrained eye, I could see how much I do pronate, especially on my left --- I think!  (LOL, now i've forgotten)  And these latest pair of shoes, definitely not good for me.  I pronated more in those with my orthotics, than without orthotics in my stability type shoes in Feb.  So that was definitely a step backwards.  Luckily the only running I did in these most recent shoes was the gait analysis and a short 3k run the day I got them. Who knows what type of injury I would have gotten had I continued.  Those shoes are already returned to the store, another one purchased.

From a bio-mechanical standpoint, nothing horribly wrong, but I need to make some changes. I'm a heel-toe runner, and also externally rotate, meaning my toes point outwards slightly.  It became quite evident watching the videos that my ankle is absorbing much of the shock, and i'm hitting on the outside of my heel rolling in. The doctor doing the assessment, who is my doctor's partner, and an accomplished Masters runner, is a strong supporter of the Pose method of running.  He showed me a brief video to demonstrate this, where it's more about landing on the ball of your foot rather than the heel.  Dr. Romanov is a Russian Sports scientist, who has trained Olympic athletes, and has been around since the year I was born!   Working on this technique will take practice, patience, and time.

Will this work 100% for me?  Who knows.  Is this the best way to run?  I also don't know the answer to that.  Like with so much, there seems to be a lot of debate and varying opinion. Rather than jump into anything with both feet at the mere suggestion, I try to research as much as possible.   I came across this article, which discusses a few of these methods, including pros/cons of varying strike.  I have ordered Dr. Romanov's book, to at least give it a chance, and get a better understanding of the idea, technique and the suggested exercises and see where it leads me.

I just got my September's edition of Runner's World... on the cover "21 New-Shoe Reviews Find the Right Fit for Your Feet"... hmmm.  Also shown here if anyone is needing a shoe review.  Maybe they heard my cries for help! LOL!!!

Another discussion we had was something that I thought of as I walked into the office and brought up.  For the last 5 weeks, I've been working at home. At home, I'm in bare feet all day long. While I'm at a desk for a good part of that, both doctors agreed that I should be wearing shoes or at least Crocs or something around the house.  I'm a pronator, so when I walk during the day, I'm doing the same.  

In the meantime, I've been given the ok to start running again, finally.  I will go out slowly, and try to be at least more aware of my foot strike and see if I can break old habits.  

This is how obsessed I've become about becoming a better runner and trying to stay injury-free!  My home office has a beautiful big window, facing a fairly busy street, in a neighborhood that seems almost flooded with runners and cyclist. While it's been torture over the last 12 days not running, I now think of it as a training tool!  I watch their feet!  I hear the fast pitter patter of runners' feet on the pavement, quickly take a look and see how they are planting their feet!  Now it's my turn.  The sky seems to have cleared up a bit at least... hopefully enough to go for a short run at lunch time, and see what happens.

So here's my question to you?  Do you may close attention to your gait? How your foot hits the ground?  Do you consciously make corrections, if needed?  How does your foot hit the ground? Heel? Middle? Forefoot?

I can't wait to be reunited with my Garmin today :)  It's a good thing too, otherwise, I don't think I'd fare so well in SLB'S Worth the Weight challenge!!!

Stitches out Monday...!!!  

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

Take It And Run Thursday - 6 word running memoir

Today's TIART at Runners' Lounge is coming up with your 6 word running memoir.   Once I started thinking about these phrases, I couldn't stop... and couldn't really decide on one.   

• Quit smoking, now I can run
  
• Logging miles beats inhaling cigarette smoke.
  
• Not to fast, not too slow
  
• I’m a runner now, imagine that!
  
• Once strangers, now great running friends
  
• Never knew what a fartlek was
  
• Wish I would have started sooner.
  
• Running challenges both mind and body
  
• Some miles run, many miles ahead
  
• My first finishers medal at 30!
  
• Have my father as marathon inspiration
  
• More shoes for running than others!
  
• Can’t believe that I enjoy running!

Going for my appointment tonight -- hope to have a positive update soon!

Funny story.  As I've mentioned before, we recently moved in to help my dad through some rough times.  It had been months since he's slept or eaten properly, was very stressed and depressed.  Last night, Terron and I were playing the Wii Fit.  My dad came home, and sat on the couch with me to talk about stuff, and cracked a smile watching Terron dodge flying shoes in the soccer game.  After a few more tries, my dad, who is 57, and has never had any interest in video games and is pretty old-school, stands up and says it's his turn.  Sorta stunned, Terron hops right off, and we sit and watch as my dad plays this game for the first time ever.  I was almost in tears -- it was amazing to see my dad laugh, and have fun again.  For a brief moment, he forgot about all the pain, hurt, sadness and stress that the last 2 years have brought him. Then he tried the ski slalom... that was a riot, and I think he let a few f-bombs slip... Terron just looked at me and giggled.  anyway, it was a great moment.  

crash-training

last week i had booked an appt with the sports injury doc for last nigh.  Yesterday I called his office, left a brief message, asking him to return my call.  He did.  I gave him a better description of saturday's events, and his response "i suggested cross-training, not crash-training" OHHHHHHHHH!  DUH! LOL  Luckily we know each other from outside of my never-ending-consistent injuries because I may have cried. 

Not sure if it's just this week, but everywhere I look, there are runners and cyclists, almost rubbing it in.  I've been sticking to weight training (keeping my fingers crossed, cuz knowing me, i'll find a way to screw this up too!! LOL) and having fun with the Wii Fit, but it's totally not the same.

The cut is healing up nicely, should be able to get the stitches out monday.  Telling myself it'll be easy, schmeasy -- having had 42 staples removed from my head I can handle 4 stitches!!!

I've rescheduled my appt to tomorrow for the consultation with my sports injury doc, and the other doc to get his opinion on my shin splints, since I still have pain, and haven't run in 10 DAYS!!!!!!! ugh -- also on my shoes, gait and orthotics.  I'm hoping to be able to move in the right direction on this...  I think I've now realized how much running has done for me, and how much I need it.

26.89k, 890 calories and 4 stitches later

grrr.  i'm so frustrated right now.  I'm almost thinking that I'm not meant to run the 30k distance! Seems that each time it comes up, an injury gets in my way, as I missed Around the Bay in March due to injury.

I went to the sports injury doc again last night.  On wednesday when I went for my treatment, we redid my gait analysis with my new shoes and orthotics to see how my gait is, and if there could still be some pronation in my right foot causing the shin splints on my left leg.  I'm starting to think my left side is jinxed, just like Marlene!!! Read on.  So, last night he tells me that even with the new Asics and orthotics, I'm still pronating on my right.  crap.

He told me that there's another doc in the office who's a seasoned marathon runner, 30+ years experience running, 20+ being a sports injury doc, and wants him to review my video gait analysis, and perhaps do a treatment on me and work on my gait to see if perhaps small corrections could make a change... and talk about shoes.  Also maybe putting in a bit of a medial post on the orthotic, a bit of a support under the ball of my right foot to reduce the pronation.  Ok.  So he says that the 30k is still not out of the question, but to keep up with cycling, and maybe some water swimming, and next week, he'd like to have me back out running.  He said that if I wanted to try a few short runs on the treadmill, I'm ok to do that, but if I'm still in the wrong shoes, I'm not sure I want to risk further injury.  That takes us to this morning.

Actually, last night while running errands, we stopped by the bike shop as I wanted to pick up a pair of bike shorts, since my butt hasn't been super happy wearing regular shorts on longer rides.  So I picked up a pair of shorts, and a shirt.... This morning I got up, sporting my new threads.

My ride was awesome.  Everything was great, some hills, little wind, I felt great.  As I got within about 2km from the house, the cloud overhead decided to start spitting out rain -- why would today be any different right? LOL  No big deal since I was close to home.  On my last stretch, I could hear a car behind me... and as it passed me, it was coming towards the ride, avoiding a piece of cardboard in the middle of the road.  I don't even think the driver was aware of me being on the road, let alone how far they had gone towards the curb.  Being totally aware of what was going on, i slowed down and also moved to the right, and ended up slipping in the drainage grate, and falling.  In the midst of my fall, something cut my left leg, and i landed on the same friggen hip that I did 2 days ago!!!  No pain, I rode home, but as I got off my bike realized I was bleeding pretty good now.  Got in the house, got a wet facecloth to start cleaning the wound, and realized it was a gash... nasty and deep.  not a cut.  Don't worry, I won't gross anyone out with pics,  cuz I even have a hard time stomaching it.  Looking back, I'm not sure what I could have done differently to prevent this!  Sharing the road with cars, especially with drivers that are distracted, or that are not paying attention is a risk!  I fully understand that.... luckily i saw what was about to happen.

Jay said we had to go the ER.  I hate needles, I hate stitches, I hate hospitals and I hate Emergency Rooms.  I was bound and determined to go in there and tell them that I'm not in pain, don't need to waste their time, and I could go home, but they strongly suggested that I'd then be left with a huge scar, with a huge potential for infection, causing many more issues than simply getting stitches.

After about an hour, lots of fear and tears later (I've been petrified of needles for years, more lately... yes, I'm a big suck) I was done.  4 stitches.  

Again, it could have been a lot worse, so I'm of course thankful.  But I'm also very frustrated. It's the same leg as my shin splints, dead center in the middle of the back of my leg, a few inches above my achilles tendon.  Again, lucky, cuz this could have been nasty.  Now I won't be able to get a proper treatment for my shin splints next week, and 7-10 days to get my stitches out. When I asked if I was going to be able to run my 30k in 2 weeks, his expression changed.  A lot. He also didn't say no, but I kinda saw it in his face.  He said not to run for a few days for sure, but because of where it is on my calf, I have a fairly high chance of reopening the wound.

So between the stitches and the shin splints, still not sure if i'm in correct shoes, maybe needing a modification to my orthotics, it may be a few weeks before I can get a good run in, and not sure that I'll be wise to go on with the race.  Sigh... I know there will be many others, but I'm so sad.  

We went to a friends' place for a bbq this afternoon... and on the way home, I had to go to the drug store to get some more bandages.  They had a Wii Fit in stock-- 1 left!  I redeemed my loyalty points and bought it...  I figure that maybe this will hopefully be a much safer form of cross-training for me.

Alright, enough of this pity party, sorry I'm just in a funk.  I'm supposed to go to a pool party tomorrow, but can't swim either.  :(  So no water running either, obviously.  Ok, I'm done.