Accomplishment

I will be writing a longer post than this tomorrow (when I feel normal again, haha) but I wanted to update my readers who are anticipating the results of today's Hot Chocolate 5K.

I ran the whole thing.
My time was 39:44.

I cried at the finish line, but not because I was in pain.

More to come later... with pictures!

Have I told you about Andrea?

This picture is from high school, but I will always love it!

For those of you who don’t know, I have a friend named Andrea who runs way more than I do. She has always been there for me and she has been helping to keep me motivated about the whole running thing.

Well, yesterday we went out for some training, and I’m happy to report that I ran for 20 minutes of our workout time! I feel like that’s more than I have ever been able to do on by own, and I know it’s with her help I was able to do it. When I would start to get tired, Andrea would shout, “30 more seconds!”, and for some reason that kept me going!

((My knee is still a problem, and I am still working on a solution, but I tried my best to push through it yesterday and I’m super proud of myself!))

Saturday is quickly approaching and I’m feeling much better about my capabilities. Thankfully, I will have my favorite trainer (Andrea) running alongside of me.

I appreciate all your help girl! Love you! 

Time to Make it Count

Countdown to the race... 12 days... AHHHHHHH!!!

Update on my training: I have been working on strengthening my legs and I have been doing some outdoor running when it’s nice out. I got a knee brace but my knee still hurts when I run over a mile.

Today’s solution: I have decided to purchase an IT band strap (after hearing many good things about it). My training today will be the first time trying it out, so I hope it works. This is seriously my last chance.

prxc.wordpress.com

Long term solution: I have made an appointment for a referral to see a specialist about my knee. Since I can’t do anything about my knee before the race, I’m going to take it easy on the 5K and then really focus on whatever physical therapy is recommended for my injury.

(Sorry this blog hasn’t been the most exciting thing ever… when I set out to do this blog, I hadn’t anticipated all of this injury business. I think this whole debacle is more than just an injury… it’s dealing with an unexpected challenge. I already knew learning to run was going to be difficult, but I never planned on adding an injury to the mix, so this has really been an interesting journey for a whole different reason.)

In the next couple weeks, I’m going to require a lot of encouragement, so drop me a line and wish me luck! Pray that I don’t injure myself and that I can accomplish my first goal of many in this insane pursuit. Thanks!!

anddddddd I'm back!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while… I really had nothing to blog about in regards to running, since I haven’t been running at all the past few weeks. I have been very careful with my knee, but this past weekend I decided it is time to get back into it! I finally went out to the Runner’s Grove and got my running shoes (excitement!!). The knowledgeable sales rep helped me select a pair of Mizuno Alchemy motion control shoes, and they are pretty killer… check them out!

After purchasing my shoes, I went online and registered for the Hot Chocolate 5K that is being held on November 5^th. I will be running this race with Andrea (who is probably gonna kill me in time because she runs allllllll the time), but it will feel great to complete my first run. It can only get better from there, right? P.S. Is anyone else running the Hot Chocolate 15/5K? Let me know if you are!

Ok, so the plan for today is to get back on that horse and start training. I have a combo of stretching, biking, and running that I’m going to do in order to pace myself and [hopefully] not injure myself again. Wish me luck!

Progression

So tonight, I decided to go on my very first run since my injury. Huzzah! I mentally prepared myself, making sure I was ready to tell myself to walk if I started feeling pain.

My run ended up being more like a walk with periods of jogging, and I'm okay with that. Plus, I haven't gotten my new shoes yet, so I didn't want to try anything crazy... I ended up doing a little over 2 miles, but again, it was mostly walking.

I think I should integrate some biking with my workouts to help build up some solid leg muscle. Yeah, I bet that'd help...

Sorry this post isn't more interesting. Mostly I just wanted to tell you guys that although lacking some of the motivation I started with I'm back in the game!

Inspiration & Healing

It's Sunday, and so far today I have had no knee pain (YES!).

I talked to my aunt earlier this week about my injury. She does all kinds of running, biking, hiking, paddle boarding -- you name it! Here's a picture of her after at the Irvine Lake Mud Run 2010:

Courtesy of Facebook

When I explained my symptoms and location of pain, she knew exactly my injury because she has had it herself. She said I have ITBS, or an injury of the IT band. Here is what Wikipedia says about ITBS:

"ITBS is one of the leading causes of lateral knee pain in runners. The iliotibial band is a superficial thickening of tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, moving from behind the femur to the front while walking. The continual rubbing of the band over the lateral femoral epicondyle, combined with the repeated flexion and extension of the knee during running may cause the area to become inflamed."

EXACTLY! Finally, an answer to my "What did I freakin do to my knee?!?" question. And the best part? It's not a serious injury and it just takes a few weeks to heal. What great news!

Also, my aunt recommended kinesiotape (or KT tape), which, thanks again to Wikipedia, is defined as "a cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of physical disorders. It was invented by Dr. Kenzo Kase, a Japanese chiropractor, in the 1970s."

Basically, they are used to help support healing of sports injuries. You use one or two strips of KT tape as an anchor, then using tension, use other pieces of KT tape to help reduce swelling and improve circulation to enhance the healing process. The best part is, there are YouTube videos that show you how to use KT tape for specific injuries. Here is the one I will use when my KT tape comes in the mail (hurry Amazon!):

Neat, right? I'm also going to invest in a roller... my runner friends have recommended that thing enough for me to believe it works. :)

On another note, I'd like to dedicate this blog to my friends, Pat & Amy. They finished the Rock and Roll Half Marathon today, and I could not be more inspired. Congrats you guys! You rock!

Courtesy of Facebook

Stupid Knee!!

Hello everyone,

I wish I had better news, but I don’t. My knee is still super sore and I’m contemplating a doctor visit. How could I have destroyed myself so early on? I’m quite upset about this massive hiccup in my plan…

I’ll keep you all updated on my situation, but right now my knee hurts underneath my knee cap, and it’s a sharp pain that kicks in when I move it (as opposed to a constant dull ache). It happened last Tuesday as you may recall, so if I don’t see any change by next Tuesday, I will be setting up an appointment to have x-rays done. I really don’t want to go that route, but I also don’t want to make it worse by getting nothing done if I have a serious injury.

Please stay tuned. I hope to be back up and running as soon as possible.

Much love,

Elaine the gimp