Big Sigh

I'm back on the sidelines again. 

 Dr. Justin is working wonders with my hip and shin, and I've made two new best friends.

But now that my hip is happy the pain and tension has just moved on to my foot.  I'm tied to the bike this week, or, dear Lord, pool running.

You'll hear more about this next week, but I'm about to start training for a half marathon.  Training starts September 1.  That's right - in 4 days.  Dr. Justin is having me start of training right: with a walk/power walk combo!  That's right folks, I'm going to train to run 13.1 miles by walking and walking faster!

I know, he's the expert, but I really miss running, and this isn't the way to build my confidence for this race.

I know it could be a lot worse.  I've been there too.  But I'd love to run pain free and not broken, just for one training cycle.  Pretty please?

Going to the Voodoo Doctor

I've never had any use for chiropractors.  I'm sorry to offend anyone, but as somebody who has stainless steel for a spine, I just never saw what they could do for me.  But being sidelined with #stupidshinsplint, I'm desperate.

I heard about a great sports chiro through the grapevine, and once I saw he had worked magic with the LSU football team, I figured it couldn't be all bad. Since I have great insurance, I made an appointment.

I learned some new and interesting things from Dr. Justin.

1.  Newtons are evil shoes that 99% likely caused my metatarsal break.

2.  My spine curves a whole lot more than I would like it to, considering how it resembles the Eiffel Tour in structure.

3. Evidently I had a stress fracture in my left tibia last fall that healed on its own.  Probably while I healed my other broken bone.

4.  My hips are more uneven than I had even suspected.  My right hip is a good inch higher than my left, so of course I'm having shin splints.  The bone in my left hip is also degenerating AND I have a bone spur.  How do I even get out of bed in the mornings??

On the upside, after one visit with Dr. Justin and his magic hands, my shin splint is nearly gone, and my left hip is happier.  I think after all these years it doesn't understand how not to be tense and in knots, so it feels kinda funny.

Needless to say, I'm not running for right now.  At least so far the good doctor hasn't recommended I give up running completely and resign myself to pool activities for the rest of my life, so that is a positive.

As sick as I am of being injured and hurting all the time, I'm more concerned now for my long-term prognosis.  Funny, until last week I was plodding along just fine, bothered by pain and discomfort but not letting it affect my attitude or activity level.  One look at my xrays and now I'm worried about carrying my purse while I walk, much less distance running.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss.  I guess until my left leg just gives out completely I'll continue on, though.

How NOT to run a race: Crime Prevention 5K

I registered for the Crime Prevention 5K because:
A. It was an evening race, and we usually run after work
B. A very flat course
C.  The start line is outside my office window

What I didn't realize was:
1.  It's still August in Mobile, so HUMIDITY - duh!
2.  When I got to the start line I would've run all of 5 miles in the preceding week and a half.  #stupidshinsplint

So I taped up my shin and knew I wouldn't get under that elusive 40 minutes, and frankly, hoped I wouldn't have to drop out.  This ended up being a bigger local 5K, with almost 300 entries, not including the 2 baby stollers and 2 dogs.  Between the crowd and stress about my leg holding up, I totally lost composure at the start and with it, my game plan to stay calm and cool and use this as a supported training run.  I had at least programmed my Garmin for 5 minute run/1:30 minute walk to hopefully keep my shin at least placated.

When the gun went off, instead of starting slow and controlling my pace, I reverted back to race panic mode and took off like lightening had just hit.  I thought I'd lost Mark for good.  On the up side, I didn't feel any pain.

Mile 1:  13:26

For some people, that isn't a fast pace, but I know for me, it's not sustainable for 3.1 miles.  I haven't run more than 3.5 miles at a time since November, and at my best, a 14:00 mi is good for me.  Mark caught up to me, and I tried to pace myself off of people I thought looked to be about my pace.  But the damage was already done.  I had a hard time catching my breath and had to walk extra.

Mile 2: 14:59

Mile 2 was pretty much a suckfest.  I walked way more than I wanted to, and got really down on myself.  When I did run it was only for about 3 minutes at a time.  My legs felt wiped out already. I made the fatal mistake of not taking a handheld with Nuun.  The race was well supported with water, but I'm used to drinking Nuun in addition to taking a salt tab.  The effects of the salt tab faded pretty quickly, and by 2.5 my fingers were swollen like sausages.

Mile 3: 15:10

I asked Mark to help pace me during the last mile.  I still wasn't running full intervals, and I was feeling nauseous from the humidity.  At least there was a breeze that kept us a bit cooler.

Mile 3.2 (yes, this course was long.  Get it right, Productions by Little Red Hen!): 12:27

So obviously my legs had more left in them than I thought.

Official (Gun) time: 45:51
Garmin time: 45:42
263/280
Age: 11/13
Females: 106/114

As bad as I felt about my effort, Strava let me know that for the actual first 3.1 miles I ran, this was my second fastest 5K.  That really made me feel better since I see some improvement over my first 5K 2 years ago.  I learned once again I need to work on my hydration and make a real effort to hold back in the first mile.  I also need to get better at my mental game and digging in deep when it hurts.  I keep learning these same things over and over.  I just need more practice.

And yes, I did pay for the effort in my shin the next day.

The July Rundown

In July:

Hot temps = no races here on the Gulf coast, so July was filled with trying not to lose my mind running tiny loops around my neighborhood.  40 miles worth of tiny loops.

I rejoined Weight Watchers, and that is going pretty well.  More on that later.

And July finished with no running.  Boo.  I've got to get the shin splint in my left leg healed up or at least calmed down by the time I start training for my half in September.  Boo.  I'm making friends with the Stick and lots of ice.

Pre Training Week 5

Polar Vortex!!!  Thanks to this crazy weather, we actually had a couple of days this week with less than 98% humidity!  In July, people!  It was still hot, so it didn't really make running any more pleasant, though.

I started back down the road of self-doubt this week.  I've worked really hard since February to not doubt myself so much, but missing a couple of runs the last couple of weeks + running with shin pain + getting closer to actual half marathon training really got to me this week.  The furthest I've run since November has been 3.5 miles, and I just can't imagine making it another 9.6.  Part of my brain knows I can do it, I have done it, and I have plenty of time to build up to it, that I am running stronger and faster than my last training cycle, and that I'll have a good race.  But some days the worry that I'm not running enough miles, that I'm not getting significantly faster, that the training plan I've picked is too tough, and that I'm going to get injured overwhelm the positive feelings.  Frankly, I think improper fueling and the oppressive heat have a lot to do with all of these negative thoughts, so I need to watch that better, and do everything I can to stay in the positive zone.

Mon: run/walk 42 minutes  20 min. walk:I was super tired today and just couldn't push myself to run.
Tues: yoga / weights
Wed: run/walk 48 min - This one was ugly.  And I'm still having the shin splint issue in my left leg.  Ugh.
Thurs: run 2 miles 
Fri: rest weights
Sat: run/walk 56 min - We headed to the Y, dreading the treadmill the whole way, because of the rain.  But on the way we saw some other folks out running, and by the time we parked, it had stopped raining, so we hopped on the path across the street and got our (very hilly) miles in.
Sun: weights  rest - Got back in town from a quick trip to a family wedding, so no time to work out today.

Pre-training week 4 and Back to Weight Watchers

So last week, I clicked the "Join Now" button for the third time in my life.  Since April I've put on 7 lbs., and I'm inching too close to comfort to that 150 number.  Now, I know weight loss isn't all about the scale, and I can see that I'm putting on muscle, but I'm also not losing fat.  My clothes are not getting any looser.  I've been half-assed tracking using My Fitness Pal, but I guess I have a problem setting the right targets for myself, and I need more accountability.  I need to get rid of these pounds permanently before half marathon training cranks up in the fall.  So it's back to Weight Watchers I go.

The program worked great the first time I was on it.  I just let myself get a bit out of control.  The second time they had swapped to the new Points+ system, and it just didn't work for me.  To be fair, my heart really wasn't in it that time.  This time I'm also tracking using My Fitness Pal to get a better idea of calories and macros, in addition to points.  I'm giving it my all for three months.  Wish me luck.

On to the training side of things...

Monday morning the happy little weatherman let us know that this week's dew points would go from "uncomfortable" to "oppressive." Like, really, this is the actual scale.

Mon: run/walk 42 minutes
Tues: yoga / weights
Wed: run/walk 49 min
Thurs: run 2 miles  yoga - My left shin wanted to give me some problems this week, so I thought it was wise to take the day off and stretch a lot.
Fri: rest
Sat: run/walk 56 min
Sun: weights

Pre-training: weeks 2 & 3

Apparently I have bruised the heel pad of my not-broken foot, and it's taking forever to heal.  It hurts to stand and walk on, but not so much to run.  So my running intervals aren't too bad, but walk breaks are excruciating.  Maybe I should do away with them?  Yeah, right.


Week 2
Mon: run 35 minutes - Saw a water moccasin.  A LIVE water moccasin.  I ran faster.
Tues: yoga?  weights
Wed: run/walk 48 min - OMG I thought I was going to DIE!  By far the hottest run this summer, and its just going to get worse.  Ugh.

Thurs: weights Rode my sweet cruise bike around the neighborhood.
Fri: rest
Sat: run/walk 48 min - Just a great run.  I wish every run was like this one
Sun: weights rest


Week 3
Mon: run/walk 42 min
Tues: yoga or weights - weights.  I still can't straighten out my arms.
Wed: run/walk 49 min run 2 mi  - Swapped Wednesday and Thursday because of the 102+ degree heat index, and I'm not willing to spend an hour on a treadmill.  The interior of the YMCA was approximately 11 degrees warmer than outside.
Thurs: run 2 mi run/walk 49 min - I finished, but in this humidity it wasn't pretty.
Fri: rest

Sat: run/walk 49 min - thank you Hurricane Arthur!  We have humidity down near 65%.  Spring has returned!
Sun: weights