Fun Times in the Non Running World!

Once again I let too much time pass between posts, there is much to fill you in on. After putting in my time with “Bessie” (my boot) for a second time this year I am determined to get all the way better before running again.  Therefore nothing from the last 8 weeks is remotely running related, but I’m still having fun. During my exercise hiatus I have milked a cow, celebrated 10 wonderful years with the love of my life, attended a bridal shower for my best friend, and cheered on a good friend during his first marathon. In between those mile markers in life have been several family visits and a UVA football game, but I’ll give just one of the stories here for fun.

Those of you who have lived with me (or just looked inside my refrigerator) know about my obsession with milk. In our house it is a terrifying moment to ever get down to a single gallon of milk, which most assuredly will not last to the next day. I love all dairy products, but above all, nothing beats a cool glass of milk. I have tried Silk, Almond Milk, Skim – Full, even buttermilk, but one milk related experience has been missing from my life … to milk a cow. So when my Mom called and asked if Jason and I wanted to travel to Raleigh for the North Carolina State Fair, and mentioned that they would have a cow milking station, it was a done deal. As we approached the cows I actually got nervous … what if I was bad at it? It would just be ironic for me to do a poor job obtaining milk from its original source, and I was determined not to let this happen. As we got closer to the front of the line (yes, people lined up and paid money to milk the cows) I noticed that the cow’s names were displayed on the wall; then, jack pot … one of the cows was named … BESSIE!!! I knew this was the cow I was meant to milk. My Mom and sister went first while I watched and learned, then it was my turn. I said hello to Bessie before I started, the least I could do before grabbing onto one of her utters and giving it a squeeze, then milk was shooting out into the bucket! I was super excited, and when I get excited I get chatty, so of course I begin telling the girl from NC State that was there to help take care of the cows all about my life-long love of milk. She probably thought I was a bit crazy, she just smiled and nodded and looked at my family as if to ask, really? So yes, I have now milked a cow, a dream come true.

Well there you have it, if I can’t chase after my running dreams I will keep knocking other life goals off the list while I’ve got extra time.

In other news, I have been using the bone stimulator at least once a day every day and I can really feel a difference. This past week Jason and I began walk/jogging 1-2 miles a few times a week (with the doctor’s permission) and it has been fantastic. Yesterday we ran 1.5 miles continuously with no walk breaks, and I felt absolutely zero pain! I am determined to take it slow (so much so that I had to ask Jason to slow down twice!) and remain patient as my body adjusts to moving again. The dogs are loving the exercise as well, poor Roxie has gained about 5 pounds and Reese 2, they need this as much as I do!

Hopefully the next post will be more exercise related. Until then, happy running!

Reflections

It has been over a month since my last post, and I have learned a lot. One of the things I learned is that I am bad at blogging when I am not running. You see, I think while I run. Thinking is a poor choice of words, I can obviously think when not running, I should say that I reflect when I run. I ponder life and why the world is the way it is. Seriously. When is the last time you stopped and just let your mind go wherever it wants to? I used to do it all the time. Running is simple: left, right, left, right, breath, repeat; the rest of your mind is free to solve the world’s problems. I am aware that sometimes the very act of running takes all of ones concentration and effort for even one mile, but after some time and practice it becomes second nature, and the next thing you know … you’re addicted to it. Before I expand on what else I have learned, let me fill you in on the last month:

I stuck to my plan of taking more time off and following up at the doctor’s office and cannot say I am too surprised by the outcome. By the time I stopped procrastinating, scheduled the appointment, and met with Dr. Ellington it had been a full month since my last run. Not sure why I hadn’t put two and two together, but sometimes we deny the obvious if we don’t like what it implies. It has been 6 months since I first realized that something more than shin splints was causing the pain in my leg, I have followed all prescribed treatments perfectly (I do love rules!), but my leg still hurts. I had convinced myself that I was just sore in that area of my bone, or that maybe I was almost better … this was not that case. He pushed on the sore spot with his thumb to gauge my progress and I about fell off the table in pain. We were both surprised by this reaction, and I could tell by the look on his face that he was concerned. He asked me if there had ever been a point over the last 6 months where I was 100% pain free, I said no … more worried looks on his end. After some thought he gave me his conclusion: my bone is not mending itself. At first the magnitude of this did not hit me. Obviously it is not healing, it still hurts! Then I realized he meant that my bone has not healed at all, at least not even close to the way it should have, then I started to panic.

What does this imply about my future as a runner? What does this mean about my future as a person? Will I have osteoporosis? Will I ever heal? Why is my body not fixing itself the way everyone else’s does? All of these thoughts were running through my mind at once (at least my mind is running!), fortunately Dr. Ellington spoke up quickly enough to keep me from wandering farther down the “what if, and how come” road. He said that cases like mine are not unheard of, they are unusual, but can be treated. He went on to prescribe me a machine called a bone stimulator: It is basically a miniature ultrasound machine that I hook up to my leg in order to target my bone with ultrasound waves. These waves stimulate cell turnover, which means it brings the red blood cells to that area which carry things (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) that build up and tear down bone cells in order to make them stronger. Apparently our bones are constantly in a state of being torn down, then built back up, and that my body is doing this at an extremely slow rate. The stimulator should speed things up in there, hopefully getting me to the point of recovery. That is what I took away from the conversation anyways, for those of you out there who know more about this than me (and I admittedly know very little about this) I apologize if I totally botched that description!

Which brings us all up to date. I am using the bone stimulator twice a day for 20 minutes, and I am still not running. As summer turns to fall bringing in fresh, crisp weather and beautiful autumn colors I inevitably miss running even more than before.

Running was my time. Sometimes I ran with friends, fellow runners chasing after similar goals, people who understand and share my passion. The random strangers that I have met mid-marathon, who turned into friends by the end are some of my most treasured relationships, even though I have never seen them since. Sometimes I ran with Jason or my Mom biking along next to me, I cannot explain what a blessing it is to have family that is just as excited for and proud of me, as I am for myself. How awesome is it to feel the support of my family as they are literally side by side with me through my ups and downs. We are out there to exercise, but those miles alone with them are the times we really open up and talk. Other times I ran alone with nothing but my own thoughts for hours. Often, on the longer runs, I felt my Dad’s presence and could sometimes hear his voice guiding me. I really miss my time with him.

You know what I haven’t missed? Competition. Don’t get me wrong, I’m itching to get back to races, and I will, but that is not what I crave when I see other runners out there enjoying my favorite running loops during the best time of year. God didn’t give me the ability to run so I can beat people, and he didn’t take it away to make me feel sorry for myslf. God gave me these things to teach me how to appreciate life, and the beautiful friendships I have been blessed with.

Based on these realizations, I have made a decision. When I am able to run again, I want to run at least one race per year for someone else. I want to help pace someone else, or lead a pace group, through a race. It can be a 5K, Marathon, or anything in between, but my goal will be to help them meet their goal.

I got carried away with myself last year and forgot to appreciate the gift I have been given. I do not believe that God micro-manages all of our lives on a daily basis. I do not believe that good and bad things happen specifically to teach people a lesson, but I believe that they can. As much as I would love to say “ok, lesson learned” I think it is foolish for me to think I know what the lesson being taught is, therefore who am I to say that I learned it? I am learning though, so even if my bones aren’t healing, I am.

So It's Been A While...

I have been good and followed my own advice to rest and listen to my body. For two weeks I fought back the urge to run on the gorgeous cool mornings we have been experiencing in the Charlotte area lately. I did not even pack my running shoes on my business trips so I would not be tempted to hit the track at Wake after work. While it pained me to do absolutely nothing during this time, I will say there have been some unexpected bright sides. For starters, laundry is so much easier! I hang dry almost all of my running gear and the time it takes to sort one load from the washer to the dryer and not accidentally put the wrong item into the dryer is absurd. Also the amount of dirty laundry has dramatically decreased which is a huge time saver. Secondly, I no longer look like a crazy person at lunch. When I am mid marathon training season I eat like a man … a people tend to notice.  In addition to my regular sandwich plus 5 snacks (typically apple slices, a banana, yogurt, crackers and cookies), I constantly munch on nutrigrain bars, Special K protein sticks, chomps, and generally anything tasty in sight. Lately I have noticed that my lunch bag comes home with stuff still in it, which just seems crazy. Third, I have to admit how wonderful sleeping until 9am on a Saturday morning can truly be. Lounging around in my pajamas until lunch time drinking way too much coffee with a puppy (or two) cuddled up next to me on the couch is awesome. So, while not running has been an adjustment, I think I am coping pretty well.

After my 2 week wait, it was time to test my legs. We travelled to Ohio for a wedding last weekend and I was excited to run along one of the great lakes, Lake Eerie. Saturday morning Jason and I were out the door ready to explore by 9am and the weather could not have been better. The houses (mansions really) along the lake are impressive, there are several parks, and the neighborhoods are friendly and quaint. The 25 minute run was over before I knew it and there had been no pain in my leg the whole way. Afterwards, we walked down to the beach area to touch the water, then we made our way back to the hotel to get cleaned up for the wedding. I was on a high from getting to run, in a new place, with Jason; and could not wait for the afternoon to come so I could watch one of my good friends get married. I will not go into the details of the wedding and the rest of that day, but I will say how wonderful it is to have witnessed true love in its most beautiful form, marriage.

Unfortunately my joy was short lived. Sunday morning when I woke up before I was half way to the bathroom, I knew. My leg was stiff, and not the tired muscle type of stiff from a good workout but the – my bone was cracked and never healed properly but I kept insisting on testing it every two weeks – stiff. I did not tell Jason until the plane ride home to Charlotte, I guess I needed some time to digest it myself. I knew that this time after 6 months of this whole resting then testing routine it was time to face the music. I am not better, I do not know why, but it is what it is. I am not thrilled, but I am not devastated either which is surprising. It has been a full week now of my knowing that I will not run for a long time as I try to dig further into the mystery of my leg pain; and I am ok. Yes I had plans this fall of a glorious come back where I beat all the odds and despite my lack of training demolished the 3 hour barrier at the Richmond Marathon … but don’t we all dream big sometimes? When I knew that was no longer a possibility I switched gears into support mode for my friends taking on new challenges in running this fall. One friend is running his first Half Marathon in October and another, his first Full Marathon in November and I had visions of running alongside them as they chased down their goals. This seemed like a good substitute for a while, if I can’t go for my dreams help someone else reach theirs, but now it seems that is not an option either.

Sometimes in life things just happen and we don’t know why. It makes no sense to me that after all of this time off I am still struggling with leg pain, but I am. A stress fracture, while seemingly a gigantic alteration of my normal day to day, in the grand scheme of life is minute. There are so many other aspects of life to focus on than an inconvenience to my running aspirations. I have a wonderful husband and family, great friends, and a stable career that I enjoy. My new goal is to live with a happy heart, regardless of what I encounter each day. For those of you trying to read between the lines – this means I am out for Richmond. I plan to take the next few months completely off of running, and possibly see another Dr. for a bone scan to get a better look at what’s really happening in this stubborn leg of mine. Not sure if I plan to cross train in the near future or not, something is telling me for now, just to be still and listen.

Decision Time

My last post ended with my concluding that I need to trust my body and enjoy running for what it is. Well, it looks like I had no choice but to listen to my own advice because once again I had watch issues this week. I worked in Winston-Salem and was looking forward to running around Wake Forest. I pulled into the parking lot at the track, grabbed my running gear, and as I went to strap on my watch (which I was sure to pack) I realized that the face was blank. All I have to say is that the battery was 100% charged that morning and usually lasts for 3 days with running before dying. A nagging little voice in the back of my head reasoned that maybe I was not supposed to run hard this week. After not remembering to pack my watch last week followed by it dying this week, I should have listened to that voice. Instead I concluded that I had 2 options: ensure I run the 6 miles by running around the track, or guess at my pace and run around campus based on time using my phone as a watch. 24 laps was not sounding appealing considering I already had a track workout scheduled for the following day, so I decided that 52 minutes of running would be a safe bet for logging my desired mileage and wound my way around the trails behind the Reynolda Village Shops to enjoy some soft terrain and give my shins a break. I have no idea what my distance and pace really was, but it was nice to once again enjoy a relaxing, pressure free run.

Wednesday was the challenge: how do you run mile repeats with no stop watch? I saw a guy that looked pretty quick running 800s, so I asked his pace hoping I could tag along with him for the 1^st 800m then try to maintain the 2^nd 800m on my own. He was open to the idea, but said he was hitting 2:30s … I am not that fast! I thanked him and joked that when he got tired to let me know and I would join in then. I was almost to the point of bagging the track and heading out for another 52 minute pleasure jog, but being the stubborn (read - obsessed) runner that I am, I of course found a way around this dilemma. What type of smart phone owner would I be if I did not download an app for my needs at hand? I quickly found a stop watch app and was off to take on the mile! The air felt so thick and my legs felt a bit heavy, but I was excited to see if I could still run a sub 6 mile. I had to leave my phone at the starting line since moving it messes up the time keeping app (I know … I have a Droid), so around I went with no idea of my actual pace. I crossed the finish line and grabbed my phone … 6:16. A tiny part of me was let down because I thought I would always be able to crank out a sub 6 mile, but a huge part of me was pumped! A 6:16 completely off of muscle memory was incredible. Now that I knew what the right pace felt like, the next one was easier and I came in right at 6:00. As I approached the starting line for the last one I saw that the speedy guy was also about to line up for his next 800m. He told me he was down to 3:00 now and I was welcome to join in, so I happily tucked in behind him for the first lap, thankful for someone with a watch for splits. My happiness was short lived though, I had forgotten about “the female effect.” You are probably wondering what the female effect is, I am sure you have seen it in action plenty of times, and maybe been a victim of it yourself. Let me explain.

In my experience, it does not matter how slow the male is and how fast the female is. If the female goes to pass the male, or even comes within a close range of the male, he will speed up. A male could be on his 19^th mile with 1 to go and a random female, that, for all he knows could be out for a 1 mile sprint could come along, and he would speed up in an effort not to let her pass him. You men can deny it all you want, but I maintain that the female effect is real, and it never fails.

Now that we’ve got that understanding, back to the track. Mystery guy and I start our first lap, and I instantly knew we’d gone out too fast. I have no idea what that first split was, but I slowed down. By the time the next lap rolled by I’d probably let 10 seconds come between us and as I passed by him (he stopped since he was doing 800s) he called out my time … 2:45 … ouch! No wonder I was hurting, we were on pace for a 5:30 mile! I eased up and tried to just hang on for the last 2 laps. My legs felt like bricks as I finally crossed the line … 5:45. Holy cow. While I was thrilled that I could pull out a 5:45 on my 3^rd repeat, I knew I would pay for it the next day. The guy smiled a bit sheepishly as I waved goodbye and set out for my cool down, he knew as well as I did what had just happened. The female effect, men can’t fight it.

This picture is from Friday. I did not run this day, but check out my “track” that I wrote about last week! Charlotte was pelted with storms all day and there were several floods in the area, my “track” is now a pond! At least Tyler won’t have to worry about my asking her to run there any time soon. J

Fast forward to Sunday for my 10 mile long run. On the whole this was uneventful, but there is one funny part that I want to share. First off, I need to say, my mom is awesome. Ever since I started marathon training, if we are in the same town for my long run she rides her bike next to me. Jason has done the same, and I don’t want to discount how much I appreciate his support, but my mom is the feature figure in this story. We have come to an agreement over the years that whenever there is an uphill approaching my mom should bike ahead and get as much speed as possible going into the hill since it is harder biking up a hill than running. This past Sunday we (Mom, Jason, and I) were biking/running through Umstead State Park in Raleigh, and came upon a long windy downhill that eventually led into a sharp uphill. Having no head start, Mom quickly fell behind on what turned out to be a 0.5 mile uphill. We waited at the top for my mom then we went another mile before reaching the half-way point and turned to head home. Knowing about the hills, Mom and Jason took off to get ahead before going back up the long windy hill we had enjoyed coming down just a bit ago. They were soon out of sight and I tootled along enjoying the park, tried to tread lightly on the downhill so as not to put too much pressure on my leg, then braced myself for the uphill. After a few turns I had my bikers back in sight and was quickly closing the gap. It was relieved to see them because as the sun came up it was getting hotter, and I was getting thirstier, and the water bottles were on the bikes. Then something strange started happening, we were all still going uphill, but they appeared to be getting farther away from me again. I had not changed speed, if anything I had sped up, but before I knew it they were out of sight! I did not catch them for another mile, and I only caught them then because they had stopped to wait for me at the front of the park. I grabbed a water bottle and asked what had happened, and my mom could not stop smiling. As Jason told it, they were huffing it up the hill probably going about 5mph when he looked back and saw that I was in sight. When he told my mom, without a word she stood up, started pedaling as hard as she could, and just took off! Once they reached the top of the hill he thought they would slow down but she kept moving full speed ahead saying “she is not going to beat me this time!” and didn’t stop until the park gate. Who knew my mom was such a baller when properly motivated? She crushed the hill and me! The rest of the run was pretty normal, but I still cannot believe how fast Mom was moving.  

So it is time to get real. Last week was fun, but the start of this week has been pretty rough. I must confess that every run has not been pain free, and while many days have been good, there are fewer each week. After Sunday’s run (which really was completely pain free) I was hurting pretty badly, and Monday was just awful. After 1 mile I had to turn back because I was worried that I was doing serious damage with the increasing level of pain each step brought.

I am going to listen to my own advice from the last entry, and make the decision not to race the Richmond Marathon in November. I am still planning to run the marathon, and am very much looking forward to it, but the pressure I have been putting on myself to set a new PR is off the table. I will be taking the next week completely off, then gradually easing into low impact activities next week, but no running. I am not sure where I went wrong, but there is just no way to realistically expect good results this close to the race with no base to pull from after this break. To be honest I did not take my own decision well at first and went through a bit of a mourning period yesterday as I accepted that I really am not going to break 3 hours this year.

I will chase down that elusive 3 hour barrier, but this is not the year. I will update again in 2 weeks when I can better assess the situation. Until then … happy running!

Running Free

Two events of significance occurred during training this week - my first track workout, and my first double digit long run! Both were a huge success and I am very excited to see where things go from here. To recap:

The goal work-out was:

2 mile warm up - 1200@4:30 - 2x800@3:00 - 2x400@90 - 2 mile cool down

As I had not tested my speed to date, I had no idea if these were attainable goals. A 6 minute mile pace and so few intervals would have been a piece of cake back in January, but these are different times so I was extremely nervous as I jogged towards Tyler, who agreed to join me for the workout. I realized on the way there that I have never done a track workout so early in the day, it was strange being there as the sun came up instead of seeing it go down.

I need to give you some background information on the "track" that I have been referring to. It is a 0.25 mile loop around a field of sorts, but it has cracked pavement complete with mud puddles and small changes in elevation. I love it because in addition to a track workout you get to puddle hop while practicing hills, but I think Tyler was a bit surprised when she first realized that this was the place I meant when I said "track." Soon, we were off, chasing down the 1st lap of 3 for the 1200. I was surprised when I came through in 89, 1 second fast, and I felt solid. The next lap flew by and I came through in 90, perfect. The 3rd lap was a bit of a struggle but I pulled it off and finished in 93 for a total time of 4:32. This was 2 seconds slower than goal, but I was thrilled because I knew at that moment the rest of the workout would be a success. While I did fade during the final lap, I knew I had a lot left in the tank, and looked forward to the 800s. Each was right on target at 3 flat and I could feel my body coming alive from the thrill of chasing down each lap as it came. We altered our goal a bit for the 400s deciding that 85 would be a better pace, toed the line, and were off again. I held back some on the 1st but still exceeded my goal with an 83, then let myself go for it on the last one to see what I could do ... 77! The 2 mile cool down was tougher than I care to admit, but I was so proud of my track work-out that the slow pace did not bother me a bit. Tyler is awesome to have gotten up so early to run in circles with me, but I do not think I paid her back for it well. Apparently I splash quite a bit more than she does when running through the puddles and she came away from the morning with mud covering her legs and lower torso ... sorry Tyler!

The second significant even took place at the Greenbrier in West Virginia bright and early Saturday morning. Jason and I traveled there to visit my wonderful grandparents, and to watch some of the Greenbrier Classic (a PGA golf event). Knowing that the golfers would be teeing off around 8:30am I needed to finish up my 10 miler early since the roads wind around the golf course and I did not want to be in the way. Jason was planning to ride the bike along-side me and just as we were heading out the door ... horror struck...

I FORGOT MY GARMIN!!!!! How could I do something so stupid? I was furious with myself, and as I grew angrier each moment I realized how absolutely addicted I have become to pace training. Jason calmed me down and reminded me that our bike has a computer on it to calculate speed and distance. I would not have the luxury of looking at my wrist to track my pace per mile at whatever moment I so pleased, but I would be able to track my total distance and time, then do the math to solve for pace. At this point is really was ridiculous to be upset over something like this, I should not be focusing on pace right now anyways. If anything, this was a blessing in disguise because it would force me to run by feel. Still mad at myself, I set out for the run not knowing what to expect, but trying to keep an open mind.

Before long I was loving running without my watch. I was running at whatever pace felt good and we went down whatever route looked fun. The miles flew by and before I knew it my 1^st double digit run was complete. Jason read off the total time and it came to 1:18. I had not been focusing on pace the entire time, so to have run for 10 miles below an 8 minute mile pace and finish feeling relaxed and comfortable was awesome. I will not run without my watch every time, but this reminded me the importance of trusting my body and enjoying running for what it is, fun.

Jumping Ahead

Running has always been my solution to life’s obstacles. It clears my mind of all worry and frustration when times are tough, and sharpens my appreciation for the things that I am thankful for. Whether experiencing a good day or bad, running never fails to put me in a better place. I used to come home from a 20 miler physically exhausted, but so annoyingly giddy that my family seemed to disappear to tend to other tasks, and let me “relax and cool down” on my own. While I thought that the inability to run would be the most difficult stage of my injury, I did not think about the period I am in at the present: I am able to run, but it takes everything in me to do so at the pace and distance that I want to obtain.

Since beginning to run again, each day has been a struggle. I am thankful for that struggle because it means that I am moving towards my goal, but struggling every day tends to grow a bit tiresome.  Running is not currently my answer to the struggles in life; it is one of my struggles in life. I no longer have a “go to” to fix it. I have decided that when you lose your “go to”; you have two options: Give up and stop where you are, or keep going until you find it again. I chose this week, to keep going, and boy was that the right decision.

My weekday runs on Tuesday (4.25 miles @ 8:25) and Thursday (6.09 miles @ 8:19) were nothing special. Just like the past few weeks I “survived” the run each day and came back drained both physically and mentally. Friday morning I was feeling ambitious and decided to do P90X with Jason, then run, and then do the Ab Ripper X; all before work. After 50 minutes of the most intense push up focused workout I have ever experienced (we began phase II this week), I was seriously questioning my ability to run. It was 6:45am and I had already completed a great workout, I could have easily talked myself out of the run and into the kitchen guilt free for a protein shake, but something deep inside kept tugging me towards the roads. I willed myself out the door and hoped for the best. The 1st 800m was absurdly slow, and the 2^nd was even worse. The first full mile though is mostly uphill, so I comforted my ego with thoughts of a faster 2^nd mile. To my dismay the following mile was just as slow as the 1^st, and there was no excuse this time regarding elevation change. As I began my struggle through the 3^rd mile my mind began to wander, and I started thinking about the days leading up to my last marathon when a 7:20 felt easy. I cannot believe now how much I took for granted just months ago, assuming I would always be that fast if not faster. Lost in thoughts of the “good days” I almost didn’t hear my Garmin beep off the 800m split … then I just stared at those beautiful numbers … 7:45 pace!!! I haven’t seen numbers below the 8 minute mark since my 1^st week back when I stupidly ran as fast as I could at the track! I tried to contain myself, although I noticed that I felt very relaxed despite the bump in time. The next 800m came before I knew it, and I had successfully completed the 3^rd mile of my run in less than 8 minutes. With only 1 mile to go, I tried to keep my pace in check and avoid doing something stupid (like fall off of the curb … not that I have done anything like that before, I am an alert runner). I reminded myself that I still had 2 more runs this week and sprinting now was the worst thing I could do, then I held my breath as the next 800m split popped up on my Garmin … 7:45 pace again! With only 800m to go until home, I relaxed and lived it up. I swear giddiness is a side effect of running, and I must have looked like a fool rounding the corner of my street with a big smile plastered across my face for all to see. It was 7:20am, I was drenched in sweat from the sweltering heat and humidity, I still had the Ab Ripper X workout to go, and I was delirious with excitement.

Over the weekend, Jason and I travelled to Kiawah Island, SC to meet up with my mom for golf lessons. Knowing that Saturday would consist of hours of swinging away at the golf ball, I saved my long run for Sunday. I took advantage of Mom and Jason being too exhausted to think on Saturday evening after our fun day of golf in the 100+ degree temps, and persuaded them to commit to joining me Sunday morning on bikes while I ran. We set off at 8am on the same route I had taken the day before along the island’s pathways meant specifically for bikers, runners, and walkers. The shade provided on the paths for the first 3 miles was fantastic, and we just cruised along chatting. The 4^th mile we ran out of pathways and wound our way through the beautiful, but less shaded, neighborhood streets. With no shade and no breeze, we quickly made the decision to cut over to the beach for the remainder of the run as soon as we saw an opening. The views as we approached the water were spectacular! For a split second I felt like I was running in the opening scene of Chariots of Fire, and it would not have surprised me to hear the theme song playing with men dressed in white running on either side of me. While there were no white clad men, I did have the joy of finishing the run flanked by my two best friends. Running through sand is tough, but I was so happy to be on the beach without a care in the world surrounded by my family, that the miles just flew by. I definitely felt as though I was working for each step, and am still waiting for the run when I zone out and forget that I’ve been running, but it was so worth the work!

With 16 weeks to go before Richmond, I am happy with the progress I have made so far. Looking at my mileage build up for the next few weeks is intimidating, but I am excited to chase down each mini goal leading up to the big day. Running is not my answer to life at the moment, but I don’t think it is one of the problems anymore either, and I am ok with that.

PS - Congratulations to my good friend Brian Resutek for finishing the Ford Ironman Lake Placid this past weekend with an amazing time of 11 hours 14 minutes and 24 seconds!!!  

You are an inspiration!

Breaking into the 20s!

Despite a mid week bout with a stomach bug that made its way around work, on the whole this was a great week. Monday I really should have run in the morning before work to avoid the heat and humidity, but when the alarm clock went off at 5am I just could not bring myself to get out of bed. Feeling guilty from sleeping in, I was determined to run when I got home from work despite temperatures near the 90s and terrible humidity. Somehow I talked Jason into coming with me, but we decided to leave the pups at home due to the heat. We wound our way through random streets in Myers Park for 2 miles with no particular path in mind, then turned around to find a different route back to the car. I have noticed that lately I take a long time to warm up, so when we were close to finishing my body was finally waking up and read to go. Hopefully as my stamina starts improving this won't be an issue much longer. Monday was a great run because my legs were strong and I got to spend time with Jason, but the humidity was killer.

Keeping in mind how difficult Monday was with the humidity, on Wednesday when the alarm clock went off at 5am I dragged myself out of bed for 4 miles. Other than feeling groggy from lack of sleep, nothing stands out about this run for the week so I will skip ahead to Saturday.

This weekend has been long awaited for several months for one very special reason ... HARRY POTTER!!!!! The final movie came out this weekend and my brother in laws, Michael and Brian, plus Michael's girlfriend Erica came down to Charlotte to watch the movie with us. Erica and I have a special bond over Harry Potter, and as soon as the date was released for the last movie we planned to watch it together. With extra people in the house we thought it would be fun to make crepes and serve them with nutella, strawberries and blueberries. We had everything we needed except for the berries, and I decided that running to the grocery store and back would be a great way to get my 5 miles in for the day while productively shopping for groceries. Mike and Reese (our smaller dog) came with me while Erica and Brian stayed with Jason to do Kenpo X. While I think it is really cool to use running to accomplish a task, I don't think that the people in Harris Teeter appreciated my dripping sweat all through the store as I picked out and payed for my products. While in the store I noticed a strong odor and thought something must have gone bad, then I walked outside and it still smelled ... and I realized it was me! I just won't shop there for a while in case they recognize me as the smelly runner girl that bought berries. Mike and I each carried a bag and ran at a relaxed pace back to the house. I must say, Mike is a trooper; I do not know many people that can walk out and run 5 miles for the heck of it. I really enjoyed the company and am glad he came.

Saturday night we were up late watching the new Harry Potter movie so waking up at 8:30 on Sunday was tough. I really wanted to run before church so out I went to tackle my longest run so far. The plan was 7 miles, and a few months ago this would have been the distance of a regular weekday run, but this morning it was a daunting thought. I struggled through the humidity on the first mile, then my body seemed to adjust and I settled into a nice rhythm. With 3 miles to go I was starting to worry. My body and lungs felt the way I used to feel after 20 miles, and all I could think about was how far I have to go over the next several months. I kept pushing and tried to focus on relaxing and enjoying the fact that I was outside running on such a beautiful day injury free, then before I knew it I was only 1 mile from home. The last mile was so easy, I think because I was happy with the thought of finishing my first long run back, bringing my total mileage of the week to 20!

The week was definitely a success. I think less and less about my injury each day, and I am still waiting for the day I forget about it all together. My body is responding well to the slowly increasing mileage in addition to P90X, and I am looking forward to throwing in some tempo runs soon to begin regaining my speed. Still not ready to commit to a time goal for the Richmond Marathon, but I have a hunch I'll be aiming low!

Learning to Hold Back

This was week 1 of Training for the Richmond Marathon! It is still many months away, and I am not quite to my usual 16 week count down, but I have created a schedule that I hope to follow from now until race day. This week the plan was to run 4 times, and that will continue to be the plan for another month in order to build up a solid base.  August will mark the beginning of my training period where I will not only care about the miles, but the pace of each mile in addition to track workouts, tempo runs, and marathon pace runs. For the month of July I will enjoy logging miles at whatever pace feels good (this is what I am telling myself anyways, to be completely honest it is difficult for me not to have a goal pace in mind each time I set foot out the door!). 

Monday's run was mentioned in my last post, so I'll move on to the highlights of the remainder of the week. Wednesday morning at 5:30am I was out the door to meet my running buddy Tyler. She and I began running together 2 years ago and I am so thankful to have a friend like her to run with when the timing works out. With the traveling my job requires and the recent injury I experienced, we have had trouble finding time to run together on a regular basis. When I texted her Tuesday evening to see if she would be willing to meet me before the sun was up for a measly 3 miler, I had low expectations. Now - to clarify - 3 miles is no distance to balk at and I do not mean to call that distance "measly" in a negative manner. However, when asking a friend that normally runs 6+ miles each day to get up earlier than usual for half of her regular distance, it is asking for a lot. With this in mind, when she texted back that she would love to run with me, I was absolutely thrilled. We chatted the whole way and it felt like old times, then the run was over before I knew it. I was so sweaty that you would have thought I'd run 10 miles. The idea was that getting out the door by 5:30 would eliminate some of the nasty humidity Charlotte has been been experiencing lately, but this was not the case. I am happy to report that the humidity was the only negative aspect of the run, and everything else was perfect. While worried about my leg every step of the way, it never flared up, and I hope that over time I will think about it less and less.

Thursday's run was wonderful, in that Jason and the pups (Roxie and Reese) came with me! We love exploring different parts of Charlotte, and running is a wonderful way to learn about new areas because you move much slower than you would driving around in a car and tend to notice things you would otherwise miss. The sky was looking fairly threatening but we decided to go for it and see what happened. I was shocked as we took our first few steps to find that my legs felt like lead! We have been doing P90X everyday now for 2 weeks, so I knew I would be tired, but this was tough! After a mile my body started to warm up and each step was more comfortable, by the end of the run I felt like myself again. I must brag on the dogs here because they can be hit or miss when running in the heat; Roxie and Reese were awesome the whole way! Roxie looked just as thrilled as I felt to be outside moving for the sake of moving. My leg never caused any problems, but again it was on my mind with almost every step. When the 3 mile mark came and the thunder we had been worried about started rolling in, I was happy to call it quits.

Saturday was my last day of running for the week, and I believe it was a turning point. The morning began with P90X yoga, which if you have never experienced, is extremely challenging. There is no impact in yoga, but some of the poses require strength from muscles that I did not know existed. Jason and I must look hilarious trying to pull off some of these moves, maybe next time I'll take a picture and post it. The funniest part is when Reese (our little dog) gets excited that we are on the floor at her height and thinks it is time to play. While in the pose, downward dog, Reese ran underneath me and started jumping up to my face trying to get kisses. By the time I made my way outside to run it was 1pm so I decided to drive over to booty loop and run around Myers Park for a change of scenery, also most of the loop is in the shade. Two things happened during the run that I am very excited about. The first happened at the 2.5 mile mark: I was running along, enjoying the view of the gorgeous houses on my route, when my watch beeped notifying me of the 0.5 mile split. I looked down, saw the number, and thought, "I hate seeing such slow times!" then it hit me... all I was thinking about was running slow... not my leg! I had gone an entire half mile forgetting that I was worried about an injury! The rest of the run I was able to stop fearing the impact of each step, I feel like I finally let part of my worries go. The second thing that happened was at the very end of the run. I was nearing the parking lot where my car was parked, and my watch showed 4.5 miles. I entered an internal debate between the value in pushing for another half mile to obtain 5 miles even for the day, or settling for the lesser distance knowing that I would finish feeling strong. The competitive side in me knew that doing the additional distance showed mental strength and that pushing for more in any workout helps when you are hurting on race day. Another part of me knew that the smart thing to do was to stop while I was feeling good, and not risk it. In the end, I decided that now is not the time to be competitive, now is the time to run and feel good. It was hard choosing the easier option, but I know it was the right one. Learning to hold back is difficult, but I am sure I will glad I did when I am strong and ready on race day.

Week 1 : Check! 

P90X Is Whipping Me Into Shape!

After my last post I decided that it would be best to take more time to rest and let my leg heal. Something was clearly wrong on that 5 mile run two Saturdays ago, and I have already learned the hard way to listen to my body, so I stopped. I am so glad that I did. It is hard to describe the peace that I felt during the first week of non running because it is odd to me that peace is what I felt. Normally I would be antsy from the lack of my favorite form of exercise and constantly frustrated at the site of other runners out enjoying a beautiful day. This time was different though, and I truly believe it is because that is what I was supposed to do. Not to say that I have been a bum the past two weeks, a whole new way of exercising has been introduced and I am really enjoying it.

I did not like it at first, the feeling of exhaustion in single bursts from straining against a weight instead of the constant effort required in aerobic activity. It is a strange sensation to break a sweat without breathing very hard, and took some getting used to. The Ab Ripper X session in particular keeps me happy with a grueling 15 minutes of nothing but pushing to the limit 3 days a week following each of the weight heavy workouts. It definitely fulfills my need for cardio and an even level of effort. I am embarrassed to admit how difficult I found the first Legs and Back day, as I had expected that to be my strongest area. I was sore for 3 days afterwards, so much so that I had trouble sitting and standing at work! Fortunately after the second week through each of the workouts my body is adjusting and I am not nearly as sore. The concept of a different workout pushing unique muscle groups each day is fantastic and really keeps it interesting.  I can feel strength returning to my legs and body and am very excited to see how this affects my overall fitness and speed once I am back to running full time.

Speaking of running, the Steamtown Marathon on October 9th was something I had really looked forward to for a while, but it is just too soon for me to ramp up my mileage and speed the way I would like to. Fortunately the race allows runners to waive their entry for one year if needed. This was great news, because many marathons will not provide any sort of refund or entry waiver.

The Richmond Marathon on November 12th is my new fall marathon and I began my first week of training this week. Knowing that my stress fracture was caused by increasing mileage too quickly in the winter, I will be very careful to slowly add mileage and monitor my body carefully this time around.

My first run back was this past Saturday along the Potomac River in Virginia with my good friend Nikki and her boyfriend Kyle. It was wonderful to run with friends and enjoy being outside along the water on a gorgeous summer morning. Nik and Kyle ran with me for 1.5 miles then I did another 1.5 mile loop on my own. The heat was definitely tough as we slept in past 8:30 before heading out to run, but it didn't matter, I was loving life the whole way. This felt right. Immediately I could tell that I made the right decision to rest for the past two weeks. My lungs were pleasantly in better shape than I had anticipated, which I attribute to working out every day with P90X, and my legs felt great. In addition to running over the weekend I swam 1/2 mile every day and wake skated (like wake boarding but it's just a board, there are no boots to strap on). The last day there I set out for another 3 miles and again it felt perfect to be outside running. After a full weekend of fun it was hard to believe how easy running felt, but just like Saturday the 2 loops came and went and I was done.

The next few weeks will be very telling as to whether or not I can race Richmond the way I want to, or train to simply complete the distance. I hope that I keep up the P90X as I increase my mileage, it seems like such a great concept. Only time will tell!

2 Steps Forward 1 Step Back

This week was wonderful for several reasons. Most importantly, this week (today actually) is Jason's 25th Birthday! We had a wonderful time going out to dinner on Friday night to celebrate, and when we got home I gave him his present early because I am terrible at waiting for exciting things. I was so excited that I did not even wrap it, I just walked into the room with the present behind my back, sang happy birthday, then handed him the box labeled P90X. For those of you that know Jason, you know that he is already very fit, so no this was not one of those "I'm trying to tell you something by disguising it as a gift" gifts. However, everyone gets bored with the same routine over and over again, and this looked like a great way to mix things up with his workout routine by adding in some new elements he would not normally choose to do on his own. Also, I plan on jumping in for the non "bulk up" workouts such as yoga, abs, and kick boxing. This will be amazing cross training for my running and a great way to spend quality time with Jason. We took our "before" pictures and measurements today, I am excited to watch our progress over the next 90 days.

Another reason that this week was wonderful is that I came home from Winston-Salem on Wednesday night for the rest of the work week! I typically travel for my job and am used to being away from home most weeks Monday - Friday. Being home meant getting to run in Charlotte with Jason and the dogs on a weekday, such an unexpected treat. Thursday morning the alarm clock went off at 6am and I rolled out of bed, so happy to be rolling out of my own bed and not a hotel's. I started getting ready and asked Jason if he was still up for coming. He slowly got himself up and ready as well, then we made our way downstairs to leash up the pups. Unfortunately, Roxie seems to be having allergy issues again and has been licking her paws quite a bit. It looks as though one of them is slightly cracked, so we decided she should rest and let that heal, which left Reese as the solo dog for this run. Reese can be hit or miss when running without Roxie. She loves the two on one attention from us, but she is very skittish when outside the house away from the security of having Roxie right by her side. In the past this has occasionally led to Reese pulling towards whatever direction she thinks is home with all of her might for the duration of the run, which is just not fun. Luck was on our side that day and Reese looked thrilled to be outside running with us. She led the way to the greenway with her tail up and her ears flopping happily with each step. The sun was still low in the sky and the heat had not yet rolled in for the day, it was perfect. While alone on the greenway as we trotted along towards the 1 mile mark I wondered if life could possible get much better than this. In Sunday school this week the topic was about moments of stillness being the time that we are able to take in the beauty of the world around us and feel the presence of God. Even though we were running, this was one of those moments. 

The third reason this week was wonderful is that I received the all clear from my Dr. regarding my training. It has been three months since my stress fracture and I have followed the Dr's orders every step of the way hoping for this moment to arrive. He gave me final instructions to have fun running again, not to worry about slight soreness when not actively running, but that if it started to hurt during I run I needed to stop and rest again. I thanked him and walked out feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted, little did I know my joy would be short lived. Saturday morning the alarm clock went off and I jumped out of bed knowing today would be my first 5 mile attempt in months. Jason rode his bike next to me as we started towards the greenway, and we talked about today being an easy run to slowly work my mileage back up. I had done two 3 mile runs so far, 5 should not be too hard right? Wrong. At the 2.5 mile mark I had to stop for a walk break. My legs felt like lead, my lungs were burning, and I had a horrible side stitch. After 2 minutes of walking I started back up again, determined to run the complete distance. The next 2.3 miles went by with little trouble as my legs had finally woken up and the stitch in my side was less sharp. The final .2 miles were up the big hill next to our house, and I wanted to work it. I took off up the hill and within seconds was panting hard. Jason looked at me nervously every few seconds, I probably sounded as though I would collapse any moment I was wheezing so loudly. I did not care though, I was free and I was pushing hard to finish the hill. For a split second almost at the top I felt a sharp pain shoot down my leg where the stress fracture had been, then it went away as quickly as it had come. 10 seconds later I was at the top of the hill, walking slowly to cool down. I had finished the 5 mile run successfully but I was a bit scared. What was that pain, and would it have come back had I kept running? The Dr. told me I was clear to run just 24 hours before, what was happening? The rest of the day it did not hurt much, but there was this dull ache every once in a while that kept me nervous and cautious.

I have decided to take at least one week off of running to monitor the pain and then decide what to do. I want 5 pain free days in a row before I consider running again, and until then I am excited to try out the non impact P90X workouts. Also I can take advantage of our stationary bike to work a bit more on my lungs as that seems to be my biggest weakness at the moment. As far as long term planning goes, I have made a few other decisions due to the additional time off I am planning for this week and potentially next. The Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA looks like it will be too much of a stretch this year. My goal for this entire year in the marathon has been to break 3 hours, which has proven to be an elusive barrier so far. Given that Steamtown is now 16 weeks away, I have no base mileage, and I am going to take 7-14 additional days off, it just does not make sense to keep this race on my schedule. The Richmond Marathon is scheduled for the 2nd weekend of November and I am leaning towards this as my fall marathon. I am not sure if my goal for the year will remain to break 3 hours, it would be silly to commit to that when I cannot even run 5 miles at the moment without pain. So, for now, my goal is this: To successfully train for and complete the Richmond Marathon. Time goals will be determined later, I am happy with this for now.

For the next month I'll be chasing down the time I lost from this unplanned step back. That is ok though, things in life worth attaining are always worth waiting for. 

Let the Mind Games Begin

This week of running has been wonderful and difficult all at the same time. The joy attained merely from running in circles around the track at Wake Forest is indescribable. My body is revelling in the feeling of propelling myself forward one step at a time for the sole purpose of moving. As soon as I am done running for the day I begin craving the arrival of tomorrow, so I can experience the elation again. My mind, however, is another story. The moment I reach for my running shoes, my leg begins to hurt. Not like a dull ache sort of hurt, a sharp, stabbing sensation. The funny part is that it does not always hurt in the same spot, it just hurts. Sometimes it is my ankle, sometimes just below my knee, and the most scary times it hurts right where the stress fracture was. It is all in my mind, but it still causes me to pause and go through a brief mental battle before lacing up my shoes and heading out the door. The first few steps I am terrified that I am making the wrong decision, and that I should back off for another week or two, however after just 30 seconds of pain free running I am alway glad that I went for it. All four runs this week were great, but two in particular stand out.

Tuesday was supposed to be an easy day at work, and I was planning to head to the Wake Forest track for my first run of the week at 6 pm. One thing led to another in my preparations for class the next day, and I looked down at my watch as I walked out the door to find it was already 7 pm. This was probably better than leaving at 6 since the sun would still be up for another hour, but the temperature had cooled some. As I approached the locker room a shooting pain went down my left leg, my mind was making its first move in battle. I began to change into running clothes telling myself that the whole purpose of coming to the track was to run on a soft, rubber surface, and that my leg does not really hurt. My mind countered this with a sharp pain in my knee, and it buckled a bit as I took my first step towards the track. I decided to calm myself down by stretching, so I sat down to loosen things up and watch the other runners on the track. One of the most fun parts of being on a track is that you can see the other runners at all times. There are usually a few Wake students there jogging, some people who look like they came from work, and then there are always a few students that look like they are affiliated with one of the college's sports teams doing speed drills. Before I got injured I used to love timing my drills with theirs and feeding off of their speed to help push my workouts harder. This time though, I felt almost ashamed to be seen running next to these people that were clearly in much better shape than myself. I decided to start my run by jogging the wrong way in the outer lane. I was hoping this would give the impression of "I am really fast and just came here for some easy laps." Unfortunately I think the desired effect was lost and that instead people thought I was a slow girl trying to get in shape at the local track and did not know which way to run. Nevertheless, as soon as I finished the first lap I stopped worrying about what everyone else there thought, this felt good. It felt so good, that I decided to run faster on the next lap. After a short while, a mile had come and gone in 7 minutes and 30 seconds. I could not believe it, a 7:30 mile! My lungs were burning and my muscles were threatening to lock up, but I felt wonderful so I kept pushing. At the finish of my second mile the watch again clicked off a 7:30 pace and I slowed down to walk for my cool down. I was so happy and so mad at myself all at once. Happy because I felt like I still "have it" and mad because I know it was absolutely stupid to go that fast on my 3rd run since being in a boot with a stress fracture. I promised myself not to let that happen again, and then allowed myself a small moment of pride in what I had just accomplished. The next day at the track I was sure not to exceed an 8:30 pace, and my lungs were thankful for the rest.

On Saturday back in Charlotte after a few days off I decided it was time for a run on the 3 mile greenway trail. I wanted to enjoy a slow easy pace and have some quality family time with Jason and the pups. I was a little more distracted as we got ready to run this time as leashing up three excited dogs can be challenging (our two, plus Scout - our friend's dog that we have for the week). The mind games didn't start until the the front door had shut behind us on our way out, then I had a quick moment of panic. My watch wasn't finding the satellites quickly, it was hot outside, and my leg hurt; I came so close to talking myself out of running. Fortunately Roxie really needed the workout and looked anxious to get a move on, my watch linked up, and we took off before I could debate the matter any further. All went well for the first 1.5 miles. The dogs were great and ran happily in a little pack next to us, and the heat wasn't too bad once we reached the shade of the greenway. After we hit the turnaround though, things changed. One by one each dog started lagging behind, and we began to wonder if the heat was just too much for them to handle. At the 2 mile mark we decided it was unsafe to push the dogs any further, and Jason offered to take all three of them and walk the last mile slowly so that I could finish up. He knew that I was excited about running 3 miles today, and wanted me to reach my goal without having to worry about the health of our dogs in the process. As I rounded a corner and ran out of site from Jason and the dogs, I heard this horrible high pitched bark/whimper/squealing noise coming from their direction. For a split moment I debating running back to check on them, but figured Reese saw a squirrel or something and would soon quiet down. Then a few seconds later I heard the noise again, but louder. I turned back to look for them only to see Jason and all three dogs running towards me full steam ahead! Apparently the dogs did not fancy the idea of being left behind on our family run, and pulled Jason as fast as they could to catch back up with me. I was so happy to see them coming my way and wish I had a picture to share because it did look a bit funny seeing Jason fly around the corner with three dogs at a full sprint. Their excitement was short lived though, because as soon as we were reunited they slowed down again. Seeing how upset they had been the first time I left we decided to slow the pace and enjoy the last little bit at whatever pace the dogs wanted. I got my three miles, and they did it with me. I realized after our run that I had been so focused on making sure the dogs were doing alright that I had not once thought about my leg. Hopefully this will help me convince myself that I am healed, and the mind games will stop. Until then, I'll keep looking forward to the next battle. At least I know that if there is a fight, it will be followed by a run.

The Sweetest Mile

This week I was reminded of just how long a mile really is. In order to explain why a mile would seem longer this week than any other, some background information is necessary.

The past 8 weeks I have been recovering from a stress fracture in my left leg caused by over training after the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February. I did take some much needed time off immediately following the marathon, but instead of easing back into things I jumped straight into heavy mileage again. Although I have never had shin splints before I heard that they can be quite painful, so when my left leg began to hurt I brushed it off as a nuisance that would soon subside. After two weeks of trying to ignore the increasingly sharp pain in my leg while running, the pain turned into a constant stabbing sensation at all times regardless of my being in motion or at rest. I fought the reality at first that I had all the signs of a stress fracture, convincing myself that if I just rested for a bit then it would all go away. After two more weeks of denial, I finally gave in to the fact the a visit to the doctor was the next step.

Once at the doctor's office my suspicions were confirmed, and I was sentenced to 5 weeks in the boot. Jason and I had already planned a week long trip to California the next week so that I could compete in the Big Sur Marathon with my running buddy, Tyler, go wine tasting in Napa and Sonoma Valley, and see the sites of San Francisco with my sister and brother-in-law, the Tilts. The thought of missing the marathon, then doing wine country and San Francisco in a boot was so depressing that at one point I tried to talk Jason out of us going all together. Fortunately, we did go on our trip, and had a wonderful time. Cheering on my friend as she chased down the Big Sur finish line was surprisingly uplifting. I had forgotten how contagious the excitement of marathon day can be. Wine country was even better than we had expected, and our time in San Francisco was perfect. During our limited amount of time there we visited with Jason's sister Christine and her husband Andrew, were able to meet up with our good friend from Charlotte, Mary Leigh, and we even came up with a nickname for my boot, "Bessie."

Back in Charlotte after our trip I settled into a "normal" life as a non runner. I watched the beautiful spring days turn into hot summer ones and knew that when I did eventually run again my body missed the transition time from cold to hot weather. I worked much later at work than ever before because, well, why not right? I told myself I would swim to keep my cardio up, but that's really not my passion, and I made one excuse after another to avoid the pool most days.

Finally, after what felt like forever but in reality was such a small amount of my life, the doctor said the words I had been longing to hear, "you can take your boot off now." I am pretty sure that was followed with statements like "but you need to go slow" and "only if you are careful" and the one I know I pretended not to hear "you should keep it close by just in case your leg starts to hurt again." All I heard were the words of freedom. Of course, even though I knew better, the first words out of my mouth were "when can I run?" He just laughed while telling me to try walking and see how stiff my now atrophied leg felt with a normal range of motion.

Two weeks after following the doctor's orders and doing absolutely nothing but living life as a non-boot-wearing-non-runner, it was time to put it to the test. Last weekend I rode a bike for the first time with my good friend Erica and all seemed to be in order. I spent the following days alternating between the elliptical and our stationary bike, remembering how good it feels to break a sweat. Then, the moment I had been waiting for was upon me. This past Saturday I was sitting next to my husband Jason, lacing up my running shoes and leashing up our dogs to head out for a one mile run.

Our plan was simple: Walk the first bit until we reached the flat, soft greenway, then slowly begin to run. I was so nervous as we walked towards the greenway. I started wondering what I would do if we started and my leg started hurting again. Would I admit it and stop? Would I try for just a few more steps to try and shake out the cobwebs? Would I deny it all together and run the mile then tell Jason that it hurt? To my relief, the moment we hit the greenway and began to run I knew it would be alright. My entire body hurt. My hips were stiff, my knees were sore, even my feet hurt ... it was the best feeling in the world. There were no stabbing pains, just the sweet feeling of being sore. At one point I had to ask Jason to slow down because I was having trouble keeping up, and for the first time ever I was happy to see one of the dogs slow down for a potty break. I have no idea how fast/slow we were going, but we made it.

On our walk back to the house I had two thoughts running through my mind:
(1) This must be why people don't like running, that was actually hard
(2) I can't wait to do it again tomorrow!