That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. - Nietzsche

Monday, April 18, 2011

Less than two weeks left until the flying pig....

....and I'm still not running yet. At all. Heck, a too-long walk around the mall will leave me feeling like a mule kicked me in the shin.

So, it's looking like this will not be a year that I'll be doing any of the pig races. It sucks, but it's almost a relief. At least I know, and I don't have to worry about trying to force myself to recover enough to race and doing more damage. I sent an email asking if I can defer my entry until next year. I'm pretty frugal, especially considering how much money one can spend on running (who knew?? I always thought you bought some tennis shoes and took off!) and eating the entry fee is a little bit of adding insult to injury. Literally.

I asked my PT about doing a half on 5/21. He asked me to please drop the half marathon idea for now. :) I asked him about a sprint tri on 5/28. That one he could go along with. So, some tris and 5ks and 10ks this summer, and a fall marathon. Maybe I can find a half in fall, too, as I need to set a new half PR.

I'm still bummed, not gonna lie. I've only been working for this for a year now. I'm dealing better with the not running thing - actually, I'm scaring myself a little. I'm forgetting what it feels like to run. I've had the fleeting thought of what if I return to running and I absolutely hate it? Or maybe my mind has gone into "I don't miss running" mode to protect myself from dealing with it. I don't know....I just hope I still enjoy running and that I haven't lost so much fitness that I'm struggling to run and decide I can't deal with it anymore.

On the upside, I'm loving the biking. I rode 14 miles tonight (went to the gym for yoga, but went the long way and added the 5 mile airport loop) and had a great time, and worked every bit as hard as I work when I'm running. I passed tons of runners on the trail and didn't even feel remotely jealous of them. Actually, all I could think was, "Ha ha. Look how slow you are. I'm passing you!!" Yes, I realize that being on wheels is an unfair advantage....but still. I like to go fast. This is why I like biking, this is why I like running (not that I'm all that fast....but ya know)....and this is why I merely tolerate swimming. :)

I walked into PT this morning feeling quite frustrated, though, with the pain. It's not nearly as bad as it was, but at the end of a long day, I still hurt. How freaking long is this going to take to heal, anyway? At this point, returning to running is secondary. I just want to be able to walk wherever I want to walk without hurting. The good news is that there is progress. I have to look at it in a different way.....but I can balance much better. I'm asking the PT to add weights to the leg exercises. OK, so I'm a showoff with weights - but I ask them to legitimately, because the current weight is too easy and I can comfortably do more. And when he squeezes my shins to gauge how much pain I'm in (I'm serious, the man leaves bruises), I can shrug it off now rather than flinching. First time the doctor tried that on me, I yelped.

Speaking of, I see the doctor on Wednesday. My goal is to get through a visit with him without crying. Since I've pretty much accepted that there will be no Pig, unless he tells me I'm never running again, I should be good.

Oh yeah.....the other day, I was bumming pretty hard about not racing at all that weekend. It was the first time it hit me that we're really too close for me to get back to running and effectively train for anything. A good friend sent me a very sweet text encouraging me to keep my head up....and then "Time of Your Life" by Green Day came on the radio. I'm pretty much not a fan of that song, since it came out the year I graduated from high school and everyone turned into a sappy mess over it, but one line hit me. "So make the best of this test and don't ask why/It's not a question but a lesson learned in time."

Meet my new motto. I'm making the best of swimming, biking, and yoga, and tempting as it is, trying NOT to ask my leg why it hurts.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

I'm in love!!!

No, this post is not about my husband....although I could say many things about how awesome he is. (Although as an aside, I'm proud of him - he's trying to get back on the running wagon and did two 5 mile runs in the past 3 days. :))

Meet my new sweetheart.....


I did some pricing online and at local stores, figured out what things I must have and what I could skimp on for now, and this bike was the most cost-effective option (because I can't afford a bike that's worth more than my car!!) And it's adorable....but that honestly is a bonus, not a priority. I PROMISE I didn't buy it because it's pink. :)

Then I took her out for a ride in the beautiful 80 degree weather (YAY!) HOLY CRAP was that fun. On my little department store boys' mountain bike, I could barely go over 11 miles an hour. I was FLYING on this bike with even less effort. I looked down and I was going over 17. SWEET. I covered 25 miles in 1:35, but that's a little off because there are a handful of stop signs on the bike trail, and I forgot to pause the Garmin at one especially long stop light.

I WAS PASSING PEOPLE!! I'm usually hearing "on your left" over and over, and *I* got to say "on your left"! I enjoyed this ride to no end. By the end of the 25 miles, yeah, I was tired, but for most of the ride, I felt like I could ride forever. It's amazing what a difference having a decent bike makes!!

(And also a little unfair, I can't help but think. The bike part of the tri seems to be a little unbalanced as far as the difference that spending money on equipment can make. But oh well....now I HAVE some decent equipment!)

That was sooooo worth every penny. I'm thinking I could actually do pretty well at a triathlon debut, once I get the swimming part down a bit better. And once I'm actually allowed to run, of course.

Oh yeah - that ride totally didn't hurt a bit.

Honestly, I may even love cycling as much as I love running. I haven't felt so awesome after a workout since the 15 mile run. Like I did that day, I feel like I could take on the whole entire world right now.

One final thing...I bought myself a pair of real padded cycling shorts. I'm so glad I did, because now I know it's going to be a challenge to run in them in a tri situation. They feel seriously diaper-like. My butt should be thankful though - it hurts now, and I'm only imagining how it would feel after 25 miles without the extra padding.

Next weekend, if it's nice, I'm going to ride to the place in Loveland (mentioned in a previous post, when I was training for the thanksgiving 10k) that has the awesome frozen bananas. I totally can't wait.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

another post for my own reference

5/28 - Tri for Joe (bonus: swim is in a pool)
6/5 - Southern Indiana Triathlon
7/10 - Ceasar Creek Triathlon
7/24 - Cincinnati Triathlon
9/11 - Hueston Woods Triathlon (bonus 1: 4 ft deep swim) (bonus 2: it's pretty!)

(No, I'm not planning on doing ALL of these! Just ideas so that maybe I can do a sprint AND an Olympic tri this season.)

(Note: if you can't tell, I'm a little nervous about the idea of an open water swim!)

Tri, tri again

I'm better today. I got a good nights' sleep and started my day with yoga and 30 minutes in the pool. It was a little bit of a tough emotional day - today is the official longest run of the Flying Pig training group, and on my way to the gym, I saw part of the group (in addition to several other random runners - it's a beautiful morning). I assume I saw some of the faster people. (Hey, Running Buddy - did my eyes deceive me or was Coach Joe F carrying pink balloons??) I was sad for me, but happy for them. I mean, they were running up the Watterson hill and smiling about it. Good for them. My time to shine in the Pig will come.

But, the situation is what it is. The funny thing I realized is that I kept thinking I'd like to try a triathlon one of these days, but I couldn't pull myself away from running long enough to work on the other two. And so my body did it for me. So I'm really focusing on swimming, and I'm finding that it feels good. It's still boring - and I'm waiting for the company in China to send me replacement waterproof earbuds, since the ones I got arrived half dead and then fully died after one round in the pool - but in a weird way, it feels good. It feels challenging yet relaxing, kind of like a long run on a good day. Afterward, I feel good - not as good as after a run, but I feel content and relaxed and like I've done something good for myself. Plus, whenever something hurts (like today), swimming loosens everything up without that pesky gravity thing being hard on me.

I also think I'm going to do some bike shopping this weekend. I can kind of afford a bike. :) At any rate, even if I decide that triathlons aren't for me, I do want a nicer bike. The guy who teaches circuit training at my gym is a cyclist and he gave me some pointers, and told me I could do all right with $400ish.

What else....oh, I bought a real actual swim cap instead of having to constantly re-do my ponytail mid-swim. And I put Total Immersion on hold at the library. And my 400m time is right about at 11:00. I'd be ok with it being 10ish for the tri. I also think I'm losing time on the turns because I don't do a flip turn, and I'm not sure I care much about learning. I wouldn't use it in an open-water race, and I'm a little wary of smacking my head.

I also think I'm going to include a lot more cross-training in the future, even when I am back to running again. I tried running and running and running and it got me here....so I'm going to run and bike and run and swim, and I don't think it'll interfere with me reaching my full running potential (like I was deathly afraid of before.)

I also realized something.....a stress fracture, from what I understand of my recent education on the subject, starts from the inside. The bones themselves actually get inflamed, inflammatory fluid shows up in the marrow, and they eventually get so inflamed that they crack. Mine weren't cracking yet, but they were close. Meaning I basically had enough pressure on my bones that they could crack. Doesn't it take a TON of pressure to crack a bone? Especially a tibia. So yeah, wow, NO WONDER I was hurting. I feel validated in a weird way.

Anyway, as far as the tri thing goes, I have a new goal. It's a bit of a crazy one, but....provided I do a sprint tri this summer and it goes all right and I enjoy it....I want to do an Ironman! Not any time soon, but maybe in a couple of years. Maybe I could work toward a half Ironman next summer. I don't care about doing it fast, I just want to finish it. I think I could do it. And for real....how many people have finished an Ironman??? That would just be awesomesauce. Even better would be the ability to brag about it at my 15th (HOLY CRAP) high school reunion. That's in 2014.

Off to have a lazy Saturday, now that I've earned it!

Friday, April 8, 2011

why bother, Pooh....

I'm slightly gloomified today. Part of that is probably because I worked overtime this week; Wednesday and Thursday were both over 10 hour days, and I'm tired. But there are a couple of things that bummed me out today......

(1) I went for a walk with a client yesterday, because kids generally will open up a lot more if you're walking with them. I don't know why, but it's true, and it was a beautiful day, and the client was saying she felt cooped up, so I suggested a walk. Right after I did, I remembered I'm not supposed to do extra walking, but I've been feeling better, so I shrugged it off. By the end of the day, I was almost limping again. Not quite, but I was in some pain, and I was in some pain when I woke up this morning.

(2) I asked the PT if I was crazy for wanting to run a half in three weeks. He said yes. I asked if I'll be running at that point. He said maybe walk/jogging. I asked if I could walk/jog a half marathon. He said maybe. But I don't know that I want to walk/jog a race, and furthermore, I don't know if my stubborn competitive (with myself) brain would let me.

(3) They have this pump and run event before the Pig, either (a) for people to be able to deduct time off their race time for every successful rep (not officially, just for the purposes of the contest) or (b) for injured people or non-runners. I checked it out online and thought that maybe I could do one of the non-running events, if nothing else - the pump/run/row, or the gauntlet (which adds on incline situps with an 8 lb medicine ball, jump rope, and step-ups - the latter two, of course, I can't practice). However, today I tried to see if I could bench/curl the weight I would have to do for the "pump" part. Not. Even. Close. Well, the curl is maybe close. Not the bench. I know it's more for the weightlifting types, and I do high rep/low weight strength training, but still. Something else I can't do.

Just call me Eeyore now.

There is good news, which I'm trying to keep in mind. I can elliptical now. I hate the elliptical, but it means I can squeeze in a workout when I'm pressed for time, since I don't have to go to the gym - the apartment complex has an elliptical. I actually made up a 30-minute circuit training workout - 5 minutes of elliptical, 5 one-minute reps of various strength training exercises, repeat - holy mother of god, that kicked my butt. The other good news is I can bike. I tried the stationary bike at the gym and it didn't hurt. This weekend the weather will be awesome, and if I can't run, I can probably bike as long as it doesn't start bothering anything.

The other good news is that I can balance on my bad leg now, something I haven't been able to do because it previously felt like it would snap under me. And the PT let me do the leg press machine, one of my favorites. I couldn't load it up with weights and show off (because that's probably my best weight machine, go team thunder thighs), but it's one more thing that's not verboten now. (Well, ok. As the PT made it clear, I can do it UNDER THEIR SUPERVISION. And there is no showing off in PT land.)

Oh, one more piece of good news - I have a great PT. He's funny and motivating and self-depricating about the fact that he's the same height as I am (and btw, I'm not very tall!) So at least I like going to see him, and I feel like he's really helping. Not a damn thing in the world can make this injury heal faster, but they're helping everything else get stronger.

I'll be happy when the Pig is over, one way or another, because it's HUGE around here and it's a bit stressful to think about. Right now, all I can do is retain my cardio fitness and sanity every way I can.

Monday, April 4, 2011

I do what my running buddy says to.

My running buddy started this: the 30-day song challenge that's going around facebook....except that you get a whole week, instead of posting a song every day, which is much more doable and less annoying.

Week 1: Your Favorite Song.

I didn't even have to think about this for longer than 2 seconds. I have a long-standing favorite, from one of my favorite bands, whom I love like only an '80's child could. Quite apropos for this blog and my running career...even now. ESPECIALLY now. Couldn't find the original video, so just enjoy the music.


DISCLAIMER: I loved this song looooooong before anyone ever thought of Glee. So there.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Well, I'm the slow kid, and not moving is about as slow as you can get....

I was thinking last night that I should really update this blog.

Then I realized that I feel a little silly having a running blog that, for the time being, is all about NOT running.

I'll have to come up with some ideas.

In the meantime, April 1 brought some good times - I woke up. I walked through my morning routine - bathroom, coffee pot, checking facebook, shower....and somewhere in there I had an amazing realization. THIS DOES NOT HURT.

For the first time in probably a month, I could walk and it didn't hurt.

The rest of my day was absolutely fabulous. I haven't been so happy in a while. This doesn't mean I can run anytime soon (soon enough for me, anyway), but it does mean that there is an end in sight. I'm not going to hurt forever. I WILL run again and I will do more races and I will run my marathon! Then I proceeded to have a great swim workout. I had some issues with the new mp3 player (got an email on its way to china about that) and it got boring at times, but by the end of it, I pretty much felt like I could stay in the pool forever. I mixed it up with some kickboard stuff, including working my arms by holding the kickboard between my knees. (Yeah, you wanna talk about some slow swimming....eesh!) It felt really good. It wore out every muscle I could imagine.

And I'm making more of an effort to enjoy the things in life that are not running related. That's not to say that every reminder of running doesn't still make me a little pouty and jealous, but for the most part, I'm getting good at distracting myself. I made risotto for dinner for the first time, and it was Hell's Kitchen-worthy (and not in the "It's not good enough, ya donkey!" kinda way.) I'm enjoying sleeping in on Saturdays and hanging out with the husband instead of getting up to go for a long run. (Actually...I miss the running itself but NOT meeting up at 7am to do it!) Right now I'm waiting for some friends to come over right now so we can go watch the Reds go 3-0. Running does not need to be my whole life, and I think I'm going to come out of this injury a whole lot more balanced about it. I'm definitely going to cross-train more, and right now I think more about my first triathlon than my first marathon.

The pain-free walking isn't 100%....after a while the leg goes back to reminding me that everything isn't cool yet, but ANY amount of being able to walk and it doesn't hurt is an improvement. Oh, and the PT got harder. I was almost giddy when they let me on some weight machines. I'm sick, I know!