Three weeks in…

We’re 3 weeks into our training plan and my husband has learned quite a few non-runner, wife related things. Things like I take lots of reminding to get my okole moving if I don’t have plans to meet someone at a specified time. That he has a better chance of motivating me to hurry up if his running clothes is on and waiting than it would be if he waited for me in his underwear.

That being said, We got out there for the mere 40 min run on Saturday morning and had a decent time. I tend to run without music as much as possible because I use the time to evaluate how the run is going and ruminate on life in general. With our strides being different, it’s easy to run alone and run with him at the same time. I can’t tell you how enjoyable it has been to have his company when I run. I can only hope that the process is bringing him as much joy as running has for me in the last six years. I’m just not sure why it takes so long for me to motivate myself to get out on the trail.

The pain might has something to do with it. When I sprained my ankle a few years ago, it changed everything about how I run. That’s probably not special to say, but given how much I loathed running 10 years ago (and definitely all through my school years) it’s not particularly surprising. While the time was decent, I still dealt with a bunch of pain. On the outer sides of my feet as if I has issues with Supination instead of the Overpronating like I was familiar with. There was also some issues with pain in my IT Band. This I was somewhat familiar with but this time (and the two previous times I had run), the pain radiated past my knee into my calf. When it occured, I tried to power through it as much as possible and took walk breaks when I couldn’t.

Post run and post food, we went to look into getting Justin formally fit with a new pair of shoes for his training journey. Up until this point he had picked a pair that he thought he liked and used it for both working out as well as for every day use. The nice kid at Run 26 in Mill Creek brought out some Brooks since that’s what he was wearing as well as some other models. After a few test jogs, Justin chose the new Saucony model. The whole process made me realize that maybe it wasn’t just me and I asked if there were any changes in the model shoe I was using. My newest trainers were Adrenaline 16’s I had picked up earlier this year to replace a LE pair I had bought during the holidays. I’ve been using Brooks for quite a few years now so I’ve always just moved to the newest model.

While the store employee indicated that there hadn’t been, when I took the same question to Facebook with a description of my symptoms enough people chimed in with similar issues to have me move back to my older shoes. I can feel the runs more with the age of these shoes, but at least the cramping and pains have subsided for the most part. Now, however, I must search for a new pair since this can’t be a permanent solution.

Next up? Well the plan says 50 minutes which at a 15/16 min pace means we might get 4 miles or so, but we signed up for a 10k on Saturday. A good friend of Justin’s says it’s good placement in our training plan as he’ll most likely learn what the wall feels like and plan for it later on when the training plan calls for that type of mileage.

Advertisement

Getting Back in the Groove

I’m not going to lie. Unlike most people, I like the way I look in my fitness gear. It makes me look thinner and I feel stronger and more confident. A lot of that has to do with what I’ve accomplished. If you have seen my Runner Runner page, I’ve accomplished quite a lot in the last 10 years. Gosh, I’m just now realizing as I write this that it’s been almost 10 years since I’ve started this journey as a runner. Who knew that I’d enjoy it so much?

Certainly not me. I disliked exerting myself when I was younger and it never dawned on me that it was a great way to lose the weight that was slowly creeping up on me. Unhappiness and inattention will do that to you. I digress though. This post isn’t about the sad place I was in back then even if it did lead me to the wonderful life I have now.

This post is about getting started again. About 1.5 years ago, I took a spill. Anyone will tell you that spills happen. That’s life. It’s learning to get back up again and keep going that makes all the difference. Both in running and that fun allegory for life as well. This spill however was big and said alot about my running form. They forced me to take a hard look at what I was doing fitness wise and pay more attention to the advice I had been given since starting my journey.  

When it happened, I joked that the tree jumped out and attacked me, but the truth is that I don’t have a strong core and it was even weaker when I decided to start running back in 2008. What actually happened is that in the middle of an easy trail run, I stopped paying attention to where I was placing my feet and turned my ankle well enough to sprain it. It was a painful and shocking noise. I have great running friends. Some offered to carry me back to our starting area and all of those near me stopped to ensure I could go on. I hobbled carefully and determined I could walk but soon after I decided I should go home and put my feet up. It was at home that I realized it wasn’t a simple sprain and worried that I had actually broken my ankle. Lucky me – the guy had just left for Japan the day before on a week long work trip so it was me and the pup at home alone to make the determination via Dr Google. Not the greatest resource for anything but worry. Luckily I have a cousin who is a nurse who gave me some sage advice and a Mom who lives relatively close (an hour away) who was able to bring ice for ice packs and crutches to make things easier. And like any good mom she did my dishes, took the pup for a walk and then called after she left suggesting a sit down and scoot down the stairs instead of hop down with the crutches JUST to be safe. I also had a chiropractor visit scheduled a week away.

With a back to back 10k/Half Marathon almost 2 months away, I was concerned about being able to hit my goals. The Doc worked his magic and was optimistic but shortly before the race said he thought I could walk the 10k but wasn’t confident I could do both. Stubborn me tried anyways. Looking back I wonder if the healing process would have been quicker if I hadn’t been stubborn and tried. I finished the 10k painfully and was swept for the first time at mile 4 of the Half Marathon. I knew it was going to happen and was even ready for it. But being ready for it and having it happen are two different things. I cried a lot of tears but a lot of friends in my internet community cheered me on and reminded me of the work I have put in these years since I started. That I was braver than those who had yet to start.

 

 

It’s now 1.5 years later and I’m gearing up for my first real training season since that fateful fall. The sweet husband gifted me with a race entry for Avengers Half Marathon this coming fall and as added incentive signed up for it as well. His first Half Marathon! The ankle still has twinges often but an MRI indicates that it’s healed just fine. Tomorrow we head out for our first training run of the schedule I’ve built for us and I’m both nervous and excited.