Week eight, run three …. this girl is grounded

Well 8:1 was going REALLY well.. right up until it wasn’t. Honestly I have no idea what happened I was running and then I was falling and then I was hurting…. A LOT.

I just got home from emerg.  Coach, who was amazing, drove me there and Gil met us. They took care of me really quickly.  I have a half cast on at the moment util they have a chance to get a better look at it. It might be broken it might just be a very bad sprain. Either way I am out for 4 to 6  weeks. I am on crutches and probably will need some physio. It totally sucks. I am in a lot of pain even with the Percocet. But worse then the pain is the disappointment.

But hear me now, I will be back!!! I mean it. My goal has not changed.  I WILL BE BACK!!

 

 

 

Running with Purpose

As you may have heard this New Years Eve I am starting a new tradition. I am going with Coach, Mrs. Coach and several hundred other people to participate in the 28th annual Resolution Run. This is a 5K event and I am super excited to finish 2012 on such a high note.  I am very proud of everything I have accomplished so far this year but my running, that is the icing on the whole cake.  Part of running these kind of events is fund raising. I know that moving into the holidays money gets tight, it certainly does for me but I wanted to let you know I am raising funds for  Feed Nova Scotia.

This is an organization that holds a dear place in my heart.  I think that the work that they do in our communities is amazing.  Please give if you can, either on my pledge page or through any of the various events coming in the next few weeks.

If you can’t don’t worry about it. There are lots of other ways to support Feed Nova Scotia and ME.  Your words of encouragement keep me going towards my goal of a marathon before I turn 40.   If you are looking for something fun to do early in the evening on NYE come meet me at the finish line, I will be the big girl with the even bigger smile.

 

 

Week Eight, Run Two… Lesson Learned

A few weeks ago I learned that running was like a miracle cure for cramps. That in mind I thought if I went for my run today it might help with my headache… oh dayum was I wrong! What an awful run.  The only good part was that I had Mrs. Coach with me.  I had a super hard time stringing together 8 minutes.  I did cram in three sets but not in a row. I walked more than I ran but at least I did that.  And of course the more I exerted myself the harder my head pounded by the time we were done and I was in the car I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to make it home with the sun shinning in my eyes making everything worse.

I am in bed now, advil dark (minus the computer screen) and I am praying it goes away on time for yoga and dodge ball tonight.  I feel like crap but I least I ran.  yeah.

Week Eight, Run One…. Pounding Pavement

Today we made an unprecedented leap, rather than going up one minute we went up TWO making it 8:1  Woh! But the weirdest thing happened… after our second or third set of eight Mrs. Coach asked me “How is six compared to eight?”  and the answer was simple “it feels exactly the same!”  And I wasn’t kidding. I couldn’t tell you an difference.  All in all  I was very happy with my progress all though I did succumb to an awful stitch in the last few meters.

I can’t wait to get back out there again on Monday.

 

8:1,  3.6K ….. I can almost see the home stretch!

Week 7, Run 3… In a word Brrrrr!

Well well I guess we have hit nasty weather season! We were about a quarter of the way into our run and I felt “plink, plink” on my face. That wasn’t rain bouncing off my cheek, not that was freezing rain. Perfect.  Actually it wasn’t so bad.  By the end it was coming down so hard it encouraged me to run a little faster.

I have to say that so far 6:1 has been my favorite week. I feel like I am finally coming into my own.  There were a few moments tonight where I felt so smooth, so graceful, so with it… then my brain would start THINKING and I would loose  it. But I feel confidant I will feel that way again.

Mrs. Coach and I spent our run talking about marathons we want to run in future, dreaming but I think that this a dream I will make come true. Wouldn’t that be awesome? I would love to do it WITH Mrs. Coach. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Okay I was nice and toasty warm when I was done running but now I am cold and my muscles are achy so it’s Advil, a hot water bottle and my cozy bed!

6:1, 3.2k  under my belt! Waaaahooo!

” We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. ”
– Sir Roger Banniste

Week Seven, Run Two ….

My muscles were cold this morning when we started and it felt like they were never going to warm up and relax but they did eventually.  Mrs. Coach and I were on our own together so there was no concern about keeping up with the pack which is always more enjoyable for me.  We got into a good grove early on and kept it for the whole run.  Again I was pretty tired near the end but if I’d had to go further I think I could have done it.

This afternoon I am sore but I only have myself to blame, poor stretching and then an hour of dodge ball practice.

Two things I wanted to mention…

One… running is the best cure in the world for period cramps.  Really, I mean it.  I have been having awful cramps the last few days but while I am running, while that adrenalin is coursing through my body I feel no pain,  well not that pain anyway. 😉

Two… I love it when other runners pass and say hi or good morning but I have to say that I find it really condescending when they see Mrs. Coach and I and they make a big production about how great we are doing.  The reason I find it condescending is because they don’t say it to the thin girls. Not even the LTR thin girls.   I am sure it is a well meaning gesture really.  I am sure that no one is trying to be rude.  It’s just… well it feels like they are saying “Good hustle fat girl!”  Now I know I call myself fat but that is different, maybe I am a hypocrite but it IS different.   So please other runners, say hi, say good morning or good evening or nice weather we are having, but don’t say “Great job, don’t give up” because I am here to tell you I have no plan of giving up.

 

But right now I am hitting the tub to warm up these cold tired muscles… with bubbles, lot and lots of bubbles.

Week Seven, Run One… Yeah, I am awesome.

You want to know how I felt after my run today?

 Okay, I will demonstrate with a picture ….

 

 

Yes, that is right, I felt like WONDER WOMAN!  We did 6:1 today and it was AWESOME.  Coach had said a few weeks ago that everything after 4:1 is just “running more” and that didn’t make sense to me until today.  Maybe it is that by now I have figured out my pace. Or maybe it is because I have figure out how to breath better. I am not sure but it was just easier, better.  I was tired at the end. Right in the last couple of meters my left knee felt a little wonky. I had a nice stretch and nice soak in the tub and I don’t feel achy at all.  If anything I feel eager to get back out and do it again tomorrow.  Woo! I love flying!

Week six, run three … Dancin’ with myself!

Oh there were SO many reasons not to run tonight.  Cramps, wet rainy night, no running partner…  it is so easy to find an excuse when you are looking for one.  But I am signed up for not one but TWO 5k’s before the end of the year so I have to keep in shape and on track.  And speaking of tracks, that is where I ran.

I made a call to the Sportsplex and found out that for a mere $3 I could run my heart out on their track… indoors!  Which is exactly what I needed because I was a little scared to run out in the dark by myself.  Yeah I am a wuss, what of it?

Me, my iPod and an interval timer went full tilt tonight.  I ended up doing 4:1 intervals because for the life I me I could not figure out how to change the time on my timer (frustrating!) so I went for 35 mins to get the full benefit.   I think it just about evens out in the end.  It was nice running on a track because your footing is always even and of course NO HILLS! But the other people, especially the small unmonitored children whose parent were busy watching their other kids play hockey, were a hazardous pain in the ass.

All in all I am very please that I went out, proud that I was able to find the motivation to move when I didn’t necessarily want to.  I look forward to Saturday and running with my peeps again.