Another setback

Last Sunday, July 25,2010 I fell and sprained my ankle. At first I was very discouraged. It swelled up immediately so I went straight to the emergency room. The doctor there was very helpful. The first thing out of my mouth was, "This can't be happening... I have a marathon to run." The Doctor asked me when the marathon was and I replied that it is in January. He asked me if I was doing the Disney marathon and I said yes I plan to, can I still do it. He said yes you will be able to run it by then, you have plenty of time. He just said I will have to train a little differently. He referred me to a sports doctor who is supposed to get me back on the road. However he did say it could take 6 to 8 weeks before I can run again.

So they wrapped my foot up, gave me some crutches and sent me on my way. I tried walking on crutches for 2 days and decided that crutches and I do not get along. So I went to the medical supply store and they hooked me up with the scooter you see in the picture.

The scooter is awesome because I have the freedom to move around better, but I sure do miss walking. I took my scooter to work and everyone had to try it out. One girl said, "no fair you get to use a scooter." I wanted to say, "No fair you get to walk" but I held my tongue.

If I have to be off my foot the scooter is the best way to do it. I go see the sports doctor this Friday. I'll let you know what he says. Wish me luck. I am eager to get back to training.

I got my Disney hotel information in the mail the other day. I am still excited about it all, but a little sad that I can't train right now. I hope I don't lose any progress I made so far.

do not run. no don't do it

Hi,

Yesterday I spent an hour on the elliptical machine. I put the tension up to 10 and gave it all I got. It felt good. Afterward I was a little concerned about my knee, but it was fine. Just a little sore for a while. I was sure to stretch good after my workout. I am tempted to try running on pavement, but am holding myself back. I want my knee to be completely healed and I want to be able to run the 10 miles by the end of the month. So although I am very tempted to run, I am going to control myself and continue doing my cross training. I feel good that my knee is making some progress. :)

2 hour walk

I decided since my 8 mile run I should take it a little easy with the running the next two weeks and just do cross training. I am hoping this will help my knee to heal a little. So today I just walked on the treadmill for 2 hours at a 20 min/mile pace. According to the treadmill that was 6 miles. My plan is to do anything but running for 2 weeks and then see if I can run 10 miles at the end of the two weeks. My cross training will consist of the following: walking on the treadmill, "running" on the elliptical machine, and bike riding. All of this is low impact and I am thinking the low impact training will benefit my knee. I am also concentrating on stretching after my workouts and building my quads and hamstrings so they can better support my knee.

I am also getting up early before work to walk at least a mile. This helps limber up my leg and allows me to sit all day without it getting stiff. This morning I walked one mile in about 21 mins.

P.S.

I MADE MY DISNEY HOTEL RESERVATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mickey here I come. :)

Just can't stop

Well my knee was sore through the night. When I woke up this morning it was stiff. So I went for a 1 mile walk, nice and easy because I knew I was going to be sitting all day at work. That helped to loosen it up a bit. When I got off work I stopped by the gym...I know it's like an obsession now. I did 30 mins of moderate/medium workout on the elliptical machine. And 30 mins of easy walking on the treadmill. When I got home I did some stretching of my IT band, hamstrings, calves, and quads. I'm hoping if I strengthen those muscles it will help support my knee better. Oh and I wore my compression knee bandage thingy all day at work and while on the elliptical machine. The knee is still a little sore but no worse than it was before I ran the 8 miles. I am still undecided weather to see a doc or not. But one thing I know for sure... no long distance running for a couple weeks at least. :( Can't wait to do those 10 miles though. Am I sick or what???

8 miles for the first time

Last night I stopped by the gym and put in a slow hour on the elliptical. I didn't want to push my knee too hard but it was feeling good and I wanted to get limbered up for the big run the next day. My knee was still a little sore last night but I decided to bite the bullet and take the 8 mile challenge today anyway. I got up at 4:00 am ... had some breakfast and was out on the road by 4:30am. I ran the whole 8 miles in 1 hour 58 mins and 24 seconds. The first 5 miles was problem free and I felt really good. In fact it was so good I was thinking I could do 10 miles instead of 8. Then at mile 6 the knee started protesting. It didn't want to go any more, but I was not going to let it win. I was determined to do the 8 miles. By mile 7 I had to take a couple walk breaks but I hung in there. Mile 8 was the killer. I took several walk breaks during that mile but I kept on going and by the time I hit my driveway I was more than ready to call it quits.

All I wanted to do was sit in a cool tub of water and soak my aching body. After that I made a cool refreshing fruit and protein smoothie and was ready for a long nap. :) After a good nap I feel good and am proud of myself for running the farthest I have ever gone before. I have been icing my knee. It is still sore and I'm thinking I may have to see a doctor if I am going to get this knee to do 26 miles by January.

But the thing I am most proud of is that even with a sore knee I still ran 8 miles for the first time in my life. Truly a milestone in my life. :)

compression bandage

Yes, It almost breaks my heart. My knee was too sore today and I know trying to run 8 miles tomorrow is out of the question. :( But I am not going to be totally discouraged. I am too determined to run this marathon. I am putting off my 8 mile race until Wednesday. Until then I am going to wear this compression bandage and just do some walking. I have decided that riding my bike may be too hard on the knee as well. So hopefully walking for the next 4 days will be enough to rest the knee and still prepare me for the 8 mile jog. Rest and a little pixie dust and hopefully I'll be good to go.

Here is a little video that keeps me motivated.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFOAmGRiHwe

Hope you enjoy it

takin' it easy

Well I had my first little set back. My knee was a bit sore this week and so I decided to take it easy. I would rather have a little setback now rather than keep pushing it and have a bigger setback later. So Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I just walked. No running at all. But today I decided to put the knee to the test. I got on the treadmill and did 4 miles in 1 hour. Not a very fast pace, but I am more interested in endurance than speed.

My knee got sore during the last 15 or 20 mins of the run, but I was determined. Afterward I did some stretching. I think that may be the key to keep from further injury. I am not very good at stretching after a run. But I think if I want to run a marathon I need to make stretching a greater priority. It's almost 2 hours after my run and my knee doesn't feel any worse than it did before the run... so I guess that means I didn't do any more damage.

The good news is that even with my little set back I am still ahead of schedule. And I think I have a good chance of making my ten mile goal by the end of July. I am hoping to run 8 miles this weekend. Wish me luck.

Happy 4th of July

Today I woke up and my knee was a little sore. So I decided that running was probably not a good idea and that I should take it easy today. So I went for a 30 mile bike ride. Hey when you are training for a marathon that IS taking it easy. :)

During the last leg of my ride my sister called and wanted to go for a walk on the beach. So I raced home, put up my bike. Took off my wet clothes, a quick shower, dry clothes and I was off. Oh I did have two hard boiled eggs and some red seedless grapes. We walked... um.... I'm guessing about a mile or maybe a mile and a half. Then we went out to eat. I had a veggie sandwich on whole wheat. After that I was wiped out and took a 2 hour nap. My knee is a little stiff and sore this evening. I walked a little bit to loosen it up and am putting some ice on it now.

Hope everyone had a Happy Fourth of July. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday America!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was awesome!!!!

I woke up at 4:30 am bright eyed and bushy tailed. So I started getting ready for the big day. I was too excited to eat, but luckily I had an energy bar to eat during the drive. I didn't drink too much water because I didn't want to have to pee during the race. I drank just enough to keep me hydrated. But after the race I drank like a horse. It was about a 40 min drive to the Auditorium where the race would start.

The weather was perfect and not a typical July morning. There was hardly any humidity, and even a cool breeze. It was overcast and quite comfortable. My friend Rebbecca ran with me. She is awesome and broke her personal record today!!!!

The day started out with a nice walk around the duck pond to the race. After about a mile into the race I met this guy who has a similar sense of humor. We stayed together for about 1.5 miles. We kept cracking each other up. It was a riot and helped keep my mind off the fact that I was running. Finally he slowed down and I kept going. But after a few minutes I came across another friend, Brooke. She gave me encouragement and we finished the race together. Half way through the race I saw my friend Kate in her car along the side of the road to cheer us on. It was soooo good to see her there. Her support meant a lot. With good friends to cheer me on, how could I not strive to do my best. And so I put everything into it...Oh and for my time??? 36:45:0 which is an 11:50 mile pace.

Of course in the same race a 69 year old woman ran the thing in 28:29:0. I would love to meet that woman... what an awesome person she must be.

After the race The Morning Star Cafe served us breakfast. baked oatmeal and fruit. It was the perfect meal after a run. Rebbecca didn't like it but I thought it was very tasty. But it was very, very sweet.

After I left the race I went to the gym. Yes you heard me right. But I'm not as crazy as you think. You see I was meeting a friend for lunch and the gym had a shower close by. But since I had some time to spare I couldn't pass up my favorite elliptical machine. So after 30 mins on the elliptical and a shower I was ready for lunch. My friend, Brenda, took me to lunch at Olive Garden for my Birthday. Then after lunch we did what we do best.... shopping. I even took her to the running zone because she wanted a pair of shoes. So after all the exercise and walking around the shops all day.... I think I will have a good nights sleep. I feel really good right now and just might go for an early morning jog tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Running is expensive!!!!

Hi,

OK I spent a lot of money, and I'm still happy. This is a miracle in itself. I finally joined that gym and paid my first membership. BTW... I actually did have crickets chirping outside my window last night. That Damn Jiminy Cricket and the whole conscience thingy. I also paid for my race on Saturday. I paid for the Space Coast 1/2 Marathon. Now the marathon isn't until November... but why put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Or something like that. And I also paid for the 1/2 marathon training camp which starts the end of August.

The training looks like a lot of fun ( I have a loose interpretation of the word "fun"). Every Sunday morning we have a 6:00 am run. Which wouldn't be too bad unless you figure the run is at least a 45 min drive away. And then a group run every Thursday evening. Oh yeah 7:00 pm evening runs in Florida during the hottest part of the year will be... well... fun. :)

But back to the business at hand. The firecracker race. So no running tomorrow. I need to save all my energy for the race. Which means no posts tomorrow.... there will be nothing to tell. But please drop by on Saturday to see the race results. :)

As for today. I took it easy. 30 mins on the elliptical. The rest of my workout was spent writing checks. My hand is sore. But my legs and knees feel fine.