Will Run For Ice Cream

As I started thinking about this part year, I just realized that I completed not one but 2 Marathons this year. I PRed a Half in June, and then ran back to back Half Marathons in September. I followed that by a PR run for my last Marathon in November, although it wasn't the race that I wanted.  As I type this post I ran 1000 miles for 2013.. not too shabby. Toss in a 5K and numerous training runs, it's been a very memorable and lesson learning year for me.  What I learned from this year and will tell my future self in 2014:  Listen to your body. Training plans are great tools, but they are just that - tools. If your plan says get in 20 miles, but at mile 10 into the run you feel pain, for pete's sake stop. Don't keep pushing through. Just stop.  Training runs are not races so stop running them as if they are.  Enjoy the journey in addition to the race. Don't just focus on the race and the end result. Focus on what got you there.  Learn some...

I did it.... I walked 2 miles, took a day off and then ... I ran. .. woo hoo.. I ran a mile. I was starting to feel a little pain by the end, and I felt a little pain with walking afterward. So I immediately iced and kept compression on the entire day. I was able to walk yesterday without pain which was a great sign that I hadn't overdone it. I took a rest day yesterday. And then today I walked a half mile, ran a mile at 10 minute pace and walked another half mile. So that's 2 miles for today.  I didn't want to do the walk/run thing for my recovery plan, but after talking it over with my trainer, I decided to heed  her advice and follow her plan. And I'm glad that I did. Today I wanted to keep running when my 1 mile was up, but I followed the plan; switched it to a walk, and  I believe this will be the best way to get me back to where I want to be without re-injury. Of course I still have to listen to my body. If something hurts I need to stop. But it sure f...

As you know, I have a massive sweet tooth. And what a great way to curb that sometimes is with gum. But regular flavor gum can still sometimes leave me searching for something sweet. Well how about brownie flavored gum? Or orange cream-sicle? Or buttered popcorn? I know right?!? But I have to say it tasted exactly like the flavor it was supposed to be. And with only 3 calories, I could indulge in a brownie tasting gum instead of a brownie. I have to say I was impressed with the flavors and the variety. Have you heard of Yum Yum Gum ? Well they offer over 101 flavors of sugar free gum.  This sugar free gum does not contain aspartame. Instead it has xylitol which is endorsed by the American Dental Association. So this is a great gum for children. In fact, that's how the company got started. It came from the desire of wanting to be able to give a product to their children that they could feel good about.  In addition to great fun flavors, the gum is reasonably...

After a week in 'da boot', I was in mild to moderate pain in my calf/Achilles. After 2 weeks in the boot, I was past the moderate mark and had pretty bad pain with every step. So, I took myself out of the boot this past weekend. Go ahead, say, you did what?!?. That's that the Dr's office said when I called them on Monday. Go figure, they wanted me to come in and get my calf checked out.  Lil Man and I went to the office. After the examination, the Dr agreed with me that the boot wasn't helping but was possibly hurting things. But he wasn't sure if it was inflammation or a tear. If it was a tear, he wanted to put me in a cast, as in a real cast that couldn't be removed.  I dropped Lil Man off with Hubby at his office since Lil Man couldn't go to the MRI. I drove over to the imaging center and got prepped for my first MRI. I'm a little claustrophobic so I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I have to say that I didn't like havi...

What I've learned from being injured is that there are a lot of emotions that go along with being an injured runner. And honestly if you aren't a runner (or an athlete) chances are you really just won't get it. So the first thing I had to come to understand is that there will be people who just 'won't get it'. They won't understand the difficulties of trying to maneuver this boot while taking care of an (almost) 3 year old. They won't understand the frustration of how difficult it is to get up stairs when just last week you were RUNNING up them. They won't get it. And no, telling me how this is a great time of the year to take off running, or that I really just needed to slow down does not make me feel better. In fact, it just irritates me.  And I've thought a lot about how I got myself in this situation. I think it goes back to my really great 20 miler.  It was my best, to date, 20 miler so far. And I ran it way too hard, and way too fast...

Have you heard for FitSnap ? If you blog, or like to document your runs/activities, this is a pretty cool free app. It's super easy to use, and so far I've had great results with it. I created these two pics using the app.  Sigh, I know. The first pic was my first outside run after the marathon. The second was the next day when I got injured. ( I Took A Step, Felt the Pull, And Then The Pain ). Anywho, back to the FitSnap app.  There are several options and filters to choose from when creating the pic. I'm a tech nerd so I like this stuff, but I really liked how easy this was to use. And I'm actually thinking of going back to some of my more memorable runs and creating some pictures.  Here are some of the features of the app. Take a photo with iPhone camera or select an existing image from photo library. Select from a list of activities, including running, cycling, swimming, CrossFit, yoga and more. Enter information about a workout or activi...

Being injured is lonely. First of all, no one but you know exactly how it feels. You are the only one that's literally feeling the pain and the emotional anguish. Other people may identify ( if they've been there before ), but at that moment, you are the one 'dealing' with it.  And then, if most of your friends are 'runners' or active people, and if the only time you really saw those people was during running or activities, then it's especially lonely when you are the one not participating anymore. People move on, find other running partners and friends, and you aren't necessarily 'forgotten' but you are no longer a part. And mentally, that can be tough.   And this week has been an especially trying week. In addition to my own physical and mental pain, Lil Man is sick... bad sick. I've never heard his cough be this deep and rough before. After puking up green mucus today, we took him to the DR. We were told it's viral, and I...

Coulda, Woulda, Shouda... oh just stop it already.. it is what it is... you can't change the past, you can only live in the present and move forward. (This was my self talk after seeing the Sports Injury Doctor). By the way, if you are in the Harrisburg Area and in need of services such as this, I recommend them. ( OIP Harrisburg ) So it appears that I have a gastrocnemius fascia tear.. big fancy words for.. "Girl you are screwed". Dr said it would have been better if I would have torn a muscle.  Prognosis is that we hope it will heal and not require surgery. I'm hopeful that it will. But I will be in the boot for 4-6 weeks. I wore a boot 2 years ago for stress fracture. But I have to say that this injury is more painful, the boot is heavier, harder to walk in, too tall of a heel, and my hips/back/knee are already feeling the brunt of it after 1 day.  I'm trying to stay positive and focus on other things such as core and upper body. But I...

Yesterday, I went outside in the cold weather for my first outside run post-marathon. It went fairly uneventful. It felt great to be out there running again. I had decent splits. My knee felt ok. Overall it was a good run.  This is me today...  After my run yesterday, my calf felt pretty sore and tight. I stretched as best as I could. I walked on it all day with the family. Then last night, I rolled, and rolled, and rolled some more.  It was tender to walk on it in the middle of the night. Lil Man got into our bed again ( sigh ) at 2:30am. So I took some motrin (in case of inflammation). This morning I stretched. It felt ok when walking. So I did my 1 mile #RunningStreak. It felt fine during the run. I was getting breakfast when Lil Man spilled his entire cup of milk on the carpet. I turned to go down to the basement, as I was running down the steps, by about the 3rd step or so.. I felt it... a pull, a nice sharp pain, and my calf muscle immediately ...