Alternatives

Well, I submitted yesterday and went ahead on a bike ride. While not as exhilarating as a run, it was a good 30 mins of increasing the heart rate and testing out the hip.

I could definitely feel the ol' hips, but I did not re-injure myself and that was my goal.

I am really thinking about trying a run on Saturday, but I may just give it another week. I really don't want to hurt myself again.

I am upset that I haven't been able to enjoy running out in this short-lived spring. We all know that humidity and scorching temps are just around the corner.

The bluebonnets are out and they are beautiful.

Happy trails!

Almost

I almost had a good 1st run. I have been feeling pretty good the past few days, no pain, no limping, all seemed well.

I took Coach Rick's advice and ran on the dirt. I ran out 10 mins at about a 12:00 pace. My shins hurt a smidge, but overall, I felt pretty good. On the run back in, I took a detour off the dirt and ran through a subdivision on one of the trails. Why? I don't know. Stupid I guess.

I took a couple of walk breaks. Then I felt it again. Dang. I walked some more and I could feel it tightening more. I tried to run a bit more, but I just couldn't. The leg was hurting again, the hamstring and the groin muscle.

So, I walked the rest of the way in and thought about what other activities I'm going to have to do instead of running. None of them appeal to me right now.

I'm going to get the bike out and ride it for some time. I'll give the leg a bit more time to heal.

I stretched it out some more tonight and put the Arnica cream on it. I also took a dose of Advil, which I really didn't want to do, but I thought I should to curb the inflammation. So far, so good, it's not killing me.

I'm frustrated with this, but I know it won't last forever. But my impatient self isn't very patient...

Tried

I got out for a few minutes tonight to see if my leg was feeling as good as I thought it was. It wasn't. I barely got to a brisk walk when I started to feel the pulling.

I thought I'd try to run and see if I couldn't get through the pain, but it got worse and I used my better judgement to head back to the house and give the leg a bit more time.

Honestly, I think I'm going to go out of my skin. I'm snapping at my kids, even my husband, and I can't stop myself.

The ab workouts are good, but they don't compensate for the release I feel when I run.

I am trying to take this time to spend a bit more time in prayer each day. I start out well focused, but easily get caught up in my anxieties.

Barbara, I have somehow misplaced my log in information for Word Press and therefore I can't comment on your blog anymore. I can't figure out how to sign up for a new name. It doesn't recognize any of my possible screen names. But I am reading it!!

Fallen Woodlands Hero

Please see my post on my other blog for details.

Still resting

And snapping at everyone because I have this nervous energy I can't seem to expel.

I am working on the core strengthening and stretching of the hips. The pain is subsiding somewhat, but it is still there. I know I can't run for a while yet, but I am missing it so much. I dread watching this beautiful weather go by and not be able to take advantage of it, but it is what it is, and for now, I'll have to be happy walking with the baby in the stroller. Well, that's not so bad, is it?

Figured it out

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out which muscle I've pulled and how to best recover from it. I think I've isolated it now, and it is an adductor pull. aka a groin pull. I think it happened because my core is not what it should be, nor are the hip stabilizers and everything I've read says that the adductors try to do the stabilizing and in turn end up injured.

Dh has been helping me to stretch and strengthen the last few days with a deep massage thrown in to help. It feels better at the moment, but as soon as it gets tight again, the penguin walking begins and then everything is out of whack.

I don't have a run this weekend, but RTW is next weekend. I'll play it by ear. Right now I'd rather take it slow and steady and make sure this thing is truly healed before I develop a chronic problem.

So, I've made the decision to not decide to do any races until such time that I can build a good base (about 35 miles/week) and then pick some races. Unfortunately that means I won't go to Colorado in June this year. Unless a miracle happens, but at this rate, I keep ending up either sick or injured. I just want to learn to run, enjoy it, stay injury free, and then decide to run a race. I really would like to do Sunmart at the end of the year, but again, I am not committing to anything right now.

I am reading Jeff Galloway's Book on Running. It is an interesting read, lots of good basic information in it. I am not sure about this walk/run method of running, but I may give it a try just for a bit to see if it can help keep these injuries down.

In the meantime, I plan to continue with core training, stretching, and at least walking 30 mins each day until I can run. I'll see if I can manage a short jog on Friday.

Whilst on my walk today, I took Boo and the dog with me. I walked through the park and was in awe of the beautiful white blossoms on the trees. It was breath-taking! I hope to get there tomorrow and take a few pictures. I know those blooms won't last long. I wonder if tonight's rain will knock them off the trees?

Another awe-inspiring site was seen tonight as well. As I went to cross Lake Woodlands, a car actually stopped for me because I was in the cross walk. I have lived here 13 years and I have NEVER seen that. I thought I was the only one in Texas who did that!!! I figured it was a Yankee thing that I brought along with me and honestly, I have never seen anyone else do this!! I was so excited that I waved like an idiot with a huge smile on my face. I'm sure the driver thought I was nuts. What's more, because that driver stopped, other drivers were also forced to stop so that we could cross. It was truly amazing!!

Everyone stay healthy and think of me when you are running!

Yep, it hurts

Well, the nice little pull I felt on Saturday turned into a nice little painful number that causes me to walk like a penguin! The kids are enjoying watching me waddle around, but quite frankly, it is annoying.

I'm taking the next couple of days off to rest it, stretch it, and cross train with some core work, hip strengthening, and Advil overdosing! (just kidding about that part!)

Hopefully I'll be able to take a slow run some time this week. If not, maybe at least a waddle-free walk??

RTW 3/10/07

A lovely day here in The Woods. Nice and humid, so humid that it was hot, yet I was cold at the same time. I guess you could say it was a "sticky cold". A new one for me...

Nice turn out for the Run today, I think there were about 44 or so. I came in 32, right behind Ann Leonie and Denise Van Kuiken. I kept pace right behind them the whole way, and it was a pretty quick clip, at least for me. They were having a nice conversation and I thought about trying to catch up and join in, but I don't think I would have been able to speak.

Somewhere around the 2.5 mile mark, I felt the pull. Crap. My right leg has been bugging me all week, only while walking, but now I felt it while running. I ran through the ouch and it seemed to subside.

I came in at 27:00 for a avg. pace of 8:40/mile. My splits were:

mile 1 - 8:42
mile 2 - 8:47
mile 3 - 8:29
.14 mile - 1.01

I liked the consistency of the times. It felt nice to come in a few seconds better than last week. As I stood around talking with the ladies, I moved to go grab some water and realized that I couldn't walk. Standing not a problem, but that walking thing. OUCH! I tried to look "normal" and hoped no one noticed me hobbling away. I don't think I gave myself away, either that or the ladies just didn't say anything to let me keep my pride. Funny thing about that pride, it gets me into trouble all the time... So walking is not fun right now. Tried some stretches and it's not feeling any different. I'll start the Advil regimen today and pray it gets better quick. I have a run planned for tomorrow morning.

I am upset that the leg is hurting though. I really need to increase my mileage this month and this is definitely not going to help.

Oh, and the baby knows I'm hurting and he's taking full advantage of it. Every time I turn around, he's on the kitchen table. Literally. And I have to hobble over to it to pull him off before he kills himself. As I pick him up, which is very hard to do right now, he gets this diabolic smile on his face. I'm going to have to remember that look. I have a feeling it won't be the last time I see it! LOL

Barbara, I loved reading about your OCD. I can relate. Unfortunately. Happy running everyone!

Jon and Pony, I just read your comments on my other post. Jon, it was really nice to see you at the finish line last weekend. I couldn't believe you were in another state later that day!

Pony, I don't know what VitaMix is, but I'm willing to try just about anything! I don't know if I'll be running anything in Houston right now. I'm thinking of running either the Blue Bell Run or the Conroe YMCA trail run in April. Keep an eye on my blog and I'll try to post it there. I was hoping to run the 10K today, but it wasn't in the cards for me this time. Next year, God-willing, I'll be there!

3/8/07

Weight: 132.0

Conditions: 70 degrees, the humidity seems to be higher today

Mileage: 3.45

Avg HR 170

Time: 35:52 10:23/mile

Notes: forgot my inhaler tonight wasn't too bad, but felt the lungs after the run.

Nice to see the weight coming down. I've given up red meat, pork, (no BACON!) all sweets, and I'm drinking only water. I'll probably keep a lot of this up even after Lent is over. I seem to be feeling less tired and my allergies aren't nearly as bad. Considering how allergic I usually am this time of the year, I am very surprised. I don't miss too much, although, BACON is never too far from my mind. I am amazed that I don't miss the chocolate and other sweets that I had been eating. I haven't even missed the Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!

I am planning to run on Sat. at RTW, but we'll see. I have a weird muscle pull right now that doesn't bother me when I run, but kills me when I walk... go figure!

1st Annual Spring Fever 5K

What a glorious day!! It was quite cool this morning, but the crisp air made us feel alive!

Lem and Foo both ran in their first ever 1 mile Run. They both have caught the "bug." They want to know when the next race is already! They haven't been able to train very much but today, they both beat their typical time by about 2 mins. We aren't exactly sure of their times, but we think they are Lem; 8:23, Foo; 8:26. I am VERY proud of them both!!

Next was my turn at the 5K. I didn't have much hope of a good run since I really haven't been able to run since last Saturday. My pain had subsided, but running still seemed questionable.

As the gun went off, I started my pace and thought to myself, "Self, you're feeling pretty good right now!" So I made a decision to see if I could at least keep my time under a 9:30 mile.

Upon glancing down, I realized I was running a 7:30 mile. ME!?! I freaked out and slowed myself down. Not because I felt bad, but because I've NEVER run that!! I figured I might die if I kept that business up.

I decided if I was running that well, I could try to keep my 8:45 pace that I had attempted last weekend. Again, I found the Garmin telling me that I was running 7: something constantly. I made a mental effort to slow down on several occasions.

My lungs felt great, my legs felt great. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and best of all, my kids were there with me!

I finished my 5 K today with a PR of 8:39/mile. I just haven't figured that part out yet. I am in shock. I had to double, triple, quadruple check my numbers. I truly was in shock. I know this is slow for most people, but for me, this was close to the speed of light! Unfortunately I didn't get my splits, but I think I can figure it out if I look at the Garmin information.

The kids and I milled around after the race to soak in the sights. Grogan's Point is a beautiful neighborhood and the park setting was lovely. The kids feasted on some good eats and we were able to see my placement on the preliminary reports.

I apparently came in 8th out of 133 women in my age group. I was very pleased. Ok, more than that, I was thrilled!!!

This race seemed to be a great success. Not that I have much experience with these things, but we had a great time. The neighborhood was a very gracious host and I hope that they continue this event next year.