Injuired......party of one

Right now I am feeling like the only person that has ever had a running injury and I will NEVER heal! My hip is still sore, it's been one week off of running. I know that is not a long time to rest, but it feels like forever.

Everywhere I go I see runners. They are sprinting, gliding, pounding the pavement to their goal. I'm stuck on the bike (which actually has been great) and I have a 1/2 marathon in 1 month. All I think about is "what if this is it?" - no more running for me. No more training, goals, races.....shirts!I went to the store and bought 2 running skirts yesterday, just to prove that I'm not done with this. I WILL run again - soon I hope or I will loose my sanity.

There are bright spots during this injury. I turned 30 yesterday! Wahoo! Feels great, got lots of love from friends and family. Presents - always! The boys slept until 7:30!!!!! Normally 6:30 is the wake up call for "juice! Milk! toons!" Sam got up and made me breakfast while I took my time getting out of bed. I cannot remember the last time I slept until 7:20! I took the boys to daycare, went shopping (no work for me), and went to lunch at Ray's Hell Burger. Yum-O! We finished the day with a pool party at my in-laws and a laid back dinner.

Today I pick up my birth dad, go to lunch.......get more supplies for my birthday party. I know time off from running is not the end of the world, there are tons of things I can do and tons of things to be happy about. I never thought "take a week off running" would make me feel anything but happy. What? No sweating, hurting, cramping, exhaustion? Where do I sign up? I do really miss those things though. I also miss my Sole Sisters. We have not done our long runs together in 2 weeks. I have really come to need those.

Here's to turning 30 and healing this hip!

To run or not to run......

Great Question!

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to the track workout tonight. My hip feels 90% better. I'm stretching it and taking Ibuprofen. The workout tonight is:

run 3-6 X (600 @ 10K pace, then "float"100 (ez jog), then run 200 all out) rest 3-5 mins or jog ez 400 between sets

Running that much for first run back might be a little too much. I do have a babysitter though.....tempting. I haven't run in a week......tempting. It's not 100 degrees outside.....tempting.

I might have to jog around some before I leave and make it a game time decision. I don't want to be laid up my first workout back with this sore hip. Although, I was thinking back to college days of playing lacrosse. A sore hip would have never kept me out of practice or a game. Most of us usually hid injuries to make sure we could play. Never once did I think about what I was doing to my body long-term, just that I wanted to play - and play hard. I do remember giving the injured a hard time - "suck it up" "get used to it" "you need to stretch/sleep/run/lift more". Now, I get a sore hip and not only did I take a week off, I went to the Dr, stretched, limped, complained......my season ending injury. :)

I have enjoyed my week off - even though I was sure I would die from lack of running. I rode the bike like crazy and stretched. I also spent a ton of time reading other peoples blogs - living through them.
We'll see what tonight brings!

Not so hip.....

Went to the Dr today to see why my hip is not feeling so great. I was terrified she would tell me that I had to quit running or worse - something that I would have to just "deal with". But, Good news! Just a strained muscle. Whew! She gave me a bunch of stretches to do and said "no running for a week".

WHAT!? No running for a week? My rational brain knows that's ok. I will not die. I can ride my bike, swim, relax......maybe. My neurotic brain is screaming "I will be stressed and I will gain 1 million pounds" (already thinking about where the closest store I can buy swedish fish is at). I already made the first of the hard decisions and told my wonderful Sole Sisters (Alyson and Meg) that I can't do our run tomorrow. Eeek! But, what did Alyson come back at me with? "I think you picked a pretty good week to take off because of the heat advisories" Thanks SO much for the positive spin! That one statement totally changed how I'm going to approach my week off.

The plan? Lots of bike riding and swimming. I'm turning 30 on Thursday. There are tons of other things I can do this week to replace running and being rested for my WHITE TRASH BASH will be a good thing.

Not so sure I can take pictures of my bike ride like I did with the run, but we'll see. Here's to hoping I have a speedy recovery and that I don't kill my family without running this week! :)

Ode to Burke Lake

Well, I've fallen in love with Burke Lake. What's not to love? Shade, fairly flat, lots to look at, always people running/walking. I've been running it once a week, but might be bumping it up to twice a week now that it's so hot even by 7am.

I popped 2 Shaklee Engergy Chews (thanks Al!) and I hit the trail. I only saw 3 other runners the whole route, which made me slightly nervous about my choice to run at 12:00 in the afternoon. I'm glad I went, but I had sweat pouring off of everywhere! I added a little to the run to make it closer to 5 miles (10:47 pace). Not too shabby for the heat and some weird right hip pain (have to keep on eye on that). It was pretty humid, the run is all in the shade (except one horrible straight away). I was so sweaty my band-aid actually fell off! Gross, I know. I did pick it up and put it in the trash.

I was pretty comfortable in my favorite running outfit (pic at the top). I was rocking (or at least I think so) the running skirt, Dri fit tank (a must for the sweat I produce), new sunglasses (Target $16), my fuel belt filled with Performance (thanks Al!), and my Ipod.

I have to say, I used to make fun of the running skirt, but now I LOVE them! They are super cute and since I've been blessed with chub rub I need to run in pants, capris, or spandex shorts. Spandex shorts, my husband nicely tells me, should not be worn on their own :) so the skirt over it is the best! I have 2, both nike, but I'm always looking for more. A great website I found today is www.runningskirts.com and http://www.teamestrogen.com/skirt-sports/product/c0-b100121.html

The Fuel belt: can't leave home without it. Especially in the summer time. I typically fill it with Performance, shaklee electrolyte drink, and it also holds my car key and cell phone. LOVE IT! The thing I'm trying to leave at home more: the Ipod. I'm reading everywhere that to really get into the run you need to be listening to your body. So, I'm leaving it or not turning it on more and more. The verdict? Not too bad, not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. My Nike Plus being a piece of crap is another reason I'm leaving it more. I can't wait to get a Garmin GPS watch. DREAM BIG!

and so it begins......

My quest to pack in the race calendar for the next few months (before that cold sets in) is getting intense. I was going through what I have and realized I do not have a race in August! Oh no! How did that WHOLE month slip by me?? I'm sure I will be more than fine, but I'm itching to find something.....somewhere.....anywhere.....

I have two races in September: 1/2 marathon in Va Beach with my Sole Sisters! and my 1st sprint Tri a week later in Williamsburg (Patriot Sprint). October calendar: sprint tri with Sam, Lee and Alyson and then my questionable Halloween race. I am currently signed up for the Marine Corp 10K. It was a temper tantrum registration, I wanted the marathon.....but I did not register fast enough. So, I decided the 10K was my backup, pity run.

Long story short....I have spent a decent amount of time today stalking people who have bibs but can't do the marathon. So, I have 2 emails out there in cyber world....who knows....maybe I'll be running in the marathon this year! I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

As for now I'm going on with cross training for the Tri, racking up the weekly miles for the 1/2 in va beach. I'm trying hard to get 2:00:00 flat.

ok - back to check my email and continue stalking marine corp marathoners

1st DC TRI happy hour....success!

Ok - went out of my comfort zone and joined my husband Sam at the DC TRI happy hour.....totally forgot what those are like! I met a ton of new people, had a few beers, and some great nachos (a great happy hour really comes down to the appetizers!)

So, I'm in. I'm an official DC TRI member! Wa Hoo!!!!!!!! So, I get a shirt - to add to the collection I've got going - and a water bottle. I'm pretty excited to be in the group, now I just need to tackle the training.

So tomorrow I'll be off on another brick training - bike then run, or depending on the weather a swim and a bike ride.

WISH ME LUCK!

And we're off!

This is my first ever blog, but I just had to do it! I've been wanting to tell the world about all my happenings, and also want a way to keep in touch with family without cluttering their in-boxes.

So, a blog is where I ended up! Wish me luck!