so i got a stupid shin splint in my stupid right shin back in september and i ran through it like a dummy because i had a race coming up that i love and wanted to do well in. after the race... well, i've been running sporadically at best.
i averaged 1 run a week for 5 weeks in a row and then i felt pretty good so i ran 3 times the week of 10/21-10/27 and then my shin started talking to me the morning after the 3rd run. no pain but i could feel whatever it is in the shin that is a shin splint... ligament, muscle, whatever hurts. i'm too lazy to look it up right now so you'll have to use your own google skills on this one. so i decided that day that i would wait until december 1st to run again.
guess how long that lasted?
until today.
i ran today. i NEEDED to run today. it got really cold, dreary, and freaking snowed on halloween so i've been less than good this week. i've been borderline depressed and just full of unease and malcontent. i NEEDED to run. so i taped my shin, hoped for the best, and ran 3 miles. it was a glorious 3 miles. it is beautiful outside and the air smells amazing and the wind on my skin was amazing and my labored breathing was amazing and my working muscles were amazing and everything about it was amazing.
which brings me to what people like to call seasonal affective disorder. apparently, it IS a thing. so i wonder how it correlates with your run of the mill all the time depression?
my family has a history of mental illness and depression. how this has passed on to me is in the form of manic depressive disorder and deep depressive states. running has all but cured this garbage from my brain. when i run regularly i have very few if not non-existent episodes of wildly varying mood swings. my moods are stabilized by regular running. my highs are (seemingly) normal and my lows are (seemingly) normal. i have not been medicated in many many years thanks to running.
so how do i balance my brain if i cannot run? i also have a bit of an obsessive/compulsive issue as well and when i switched my focus to running this has proven to be alternately a bonus to my running and a detriment. it is a detriment because i can't not run. i have run through injury after injury. i get really paranoid when i don't get to run regularly about my fitness and weight gain. i get really in my head about these things to the point of obsession. i begin to obsess about the foods i put in my body and how much. when i get to run regularly i do not obsess about any of these things. i eat healthy and what i want. i don't restrict my diet when i run and i honestly do not think about food at all other than when i'm hungry i eat it.
i NEED to run. i NEED to run weekly. i NEED it to function properly in this world. it reduces my stress to nil. it makes me feel good. it gives me something to do that allows me to see the beauty in my life, and appreciate all that i have going for me. it makes me a better wife, mother, and friend. it allows me to see that nothing in my life is a chicken little sky is falling issue. before running my life was very dramatic. my brain was very dramatic. everything was life or death... and living with that sort of stress in one's brain is really really hard to do.
today i am calm. i am positive. i am freaking happy.
this is because i run.
so... i am panicking about this stupid shin splint and the amount of time i will have to wait for it to go away so that i can not die. see... dramatic as hell is my brain off running. lol!
in all seriousness tho' i'm losing it. i need to run and am so grateful that my body allowed me to do it today. once a week is not enough tho' so i hope that i can pepper it through every other day or something right now... we will see.
i post this (for one) because i want you to know that you are not alone.
i post this (for two) because i want you to know that it's ok to have mental illness
i post this (for three) because i want you to know that there is nothing wrong with you if you too have a mental illness
i don't really talk about this garbage ever because i don't want anyone to look at me with pity or in a different way because my brain works differently. i don't want to be viewed as weaker or broken because of my brain. i went many years believing that i was broken and that something was wrong with me, and even tho' i KNOW that there isn't anything wrong with me... i still need to maintain the things that help keep my brain in check and KNOWING that i need to do these things is important in keeping nothing wrong with me. i hope that makes sense.
right now i feel a little panicky and just needed to put it down somewhere. lastly, today's short run was the best and i'm so glad i did it.
Showing posts with label runner things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label runner things. Show all posts
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Instep Trail Races - 7Miler
InStep Trail Races, 7 miler - September 14, 2019
time = 1:05:33
pace = 9:48
placed 1 in my age group (45-49) out of 7
placed 4 in women out of 43
placed 15 overall out of 70
link to strava data
please note: this is the fastest i've run this race in the past 3 years... yay!
the start of this report is going to look remarkably like last year's report in that i didn't run much prior to this race. in fact, my last run prior to this race was the sunday before... so 5 full days with no running. this is because about 2 weeks ago i ran this course (minus the tower) in new shoes/insoles (same shoes and insoles as always... just a new pair of each) and for whatever reason, my right shin got very very sore. i mean, tender to the touch sore. this, in turn, affected the rest of the lower leg on that side and i opted to see my physical therapist last friday as a ditch effort for some magical cure. he said my soleus muscle was all jacked and was likely affecting the rest of the leg. he did some deep tissue massage that left me hella sore the rest of the week and i opted for a short run on that sunday post PT, but rest the remaining days of the week.
i got to lapham early so that i could warm up incase everything was still jacked. i ran a loop around the parking lot and wouldn't you know it... my stupid leg was weird. now, i say it was "weird" because it wasn't painful. it was weak feeling... like a pinched nerve sort of... or like it was going to give out and not hold my weight sort of. i walked it off, stretched, stretched my ankle specifically, and then figured i was going to have to wing it.
i ran into the only other person i knew was running the same race, candice, and we talked and commiserated about our injuries. then it was almost time to race. incidentally, this is the last year that russ is directing the race. instep was bought out by PRO so there would be no more of this race... until it was announced that silver circle sports events is going to take it over. not sure what they will call it or how it will be run, but since this is my favorite course and favorite race of the year... i'm glad they're going to continue it.
so candice and i started the race together and nursed our injuries for about the first 1/2 mile and then we separated. i had a time goal for this race and once my leg felt fine... i decided i was going to still shoot for it. so off i went.
i try to run the whole first mile of the course (race or no race) and that means that i run approximately the last .25 uphill. i know that doesn't sound difficult but that is very difficult for me. i am not good at running uphill. in fact, i would say that i am absolutely terrible at it and can't figure out how to get better.
so i hit 1 mile on my watch and promptly started walking. oh sweet relief! walking is wonderful... until it's not. so i walk a little ways up to a specific dip in the trail where it sort of becomes a gentle incline instead of an actual hill and then i start running again. this particular hill is called gut buster and is approximately .78 of a mile up. it seems not so hard when you're looking at it but when you're trying to run it... it's very difficult. for me at least...
so i run/walk up this hill and try to run as much as i can with certain spots where i take walk breaks to help get my heart rate back down and to not feel like i'm dying.
then the top comes and the sweet sweet joy of bombing the downhills begins. i LOVE, absolutely LOVE bombing down. it is my reward for trying to run up. lol! i also make up significant time by doing this - quads be damned!
it was at this point that i caught up to a couple of guys as i bombed down a hill. i kept trading places with them for a bit and started to get annoyed and too focused on where they were. they were ahead of me for the whole first part of the race, but after gut buster i passed them on the down hill and then when i walked they passed me on the up and this went on for several different hills until i was finally tired and annoyed enough of being so close to them that i took off on the flat at the top of asthma hill to get some space between us. i lost them in the hills just prior to the tower, and i managed to maintain pretty good splits even with running up the tower in mile 4. i meant to count the sets of stairs up the tower but forgot... i think there are 5 flights but i have no idea how many actual stairs. once at the top i turn around and fly down... holding on so that if i eat it... i won't fall far.
i saw candice on my way from the tower as she was heading to the tower. since i am so competitive and she was the only person i knew personally who was running the race i really wanted to stay ahead of her. she is a much better runner than me and she kicked my ass at high cliff passing me in the last mile and beating me in the race so this time... i wanted to stay ahead... cuz... competitive. duh...
thankfully right after the tower is the downhill (the big slide?) that parallels gut buster and is similar length so almost a mile downhill... running at full speed and making up time. i passed a few people but this race is 3 different races at the same time on the same course so it's hard to determine who's in your race and who's running the 1/2 or the full marathon distances... and trying to look at someone's bib is just too tough so i have no idea if i was passing people in my race or not. no matter... it feels good to pass people cuz... competitive.
i hit the bottom of the hill and at that point it's about 1.5 miles to the finish with another long hill (aptly named 2 tier because there are 2 parts of the hill with a small sort of flatish incline between them). i passed a guy on the flat who passed me right back on the first portion of 2 tier, and back and forth until the downhill called magic carpet ride. i zoomed past him on magic carpet ride because who cares about quads, and then there was one more man in front of me. he seemed to be running faster than me but when we hit the final flat at the same time i pulled ahead by a hair. it was then that i decided to try and stay ahead of him. it was SO HARD! i was literally only a breath ahead of him... i could hear him breathing on my right the whole time. when we both hit the final straightaway and i could see the finish i started sprinting. normally i do not do this because i simply do not have it in me. normally i feel so bad at the end of a race that it takes all that i have just to keep running, however this time... i RAN!
i ran as hard and as fast as i could with him on my heels the whole time. i came in first with only a 2 second different between our times! TWO SECONDS! man... that felt really good. it felt really good to run as hard as i could and do as well as i did coming off a stupid weird injury. i'm hoping that the injury is gone for good and that tomorrow when i wake up i will feel great and will be able to run a nice run with frank.
i've got some big goals for 2020 and need to go into the new year fresh and injury free!
as always i love the shit out of this race. i love lapham and love running there as much as i can. i'm not sure what the race will be called next year but i hope it's put on with just as much love and care as russ put into it all these years.
time = 1:05:33
pace = 9:48
placed 1 in my age group (45-49) out of 7
placed 4 in women out of 43
placed 15 overall out of 70
link to strava data
the start of this report is going to look remarkably like last year's report in that i didn't run much prior to this race. in fact, my last run prior to this race was the sunday before... so 5 full days with no running. this is because about 2 weeks ago i ran this course (minus the tower) in new shoes/insoles (same shoes and insoles as always... just a new pair of each) and for whatever reason, my right shin got very very sore. i mean, tender to the touch sore. this, in turn, affected the rest of the lower leg on that side and i opted to see my physical therapist last friday as a ditch effort for some magical cure. he said my soleus muscle was all jacked and was likely affecting the rest of the leg. he did some deep tissue massage that left me hella sore the rest of the week and i opted for a short run on that sunday post PT, but rest the remaining days of the week.
i got to lapham early so that i could warm up incase everything was still jacked. i ran a loop around the parking lot and wouldn't you know it... my stupid leg was weird. now, i say it was "weird" because it wasn't painful. it was weak feeling... like a pinched nerve sort of... or like it was going to give out and not hold my weight sort of. i walked it off, stretched, stretched my ankle specifically, and then figured i was going to have to wing it.
i ran into the only other person i knew was running the same race, candice, and we talked and commiserated about our injuries. then it was almost time to race. incidentally, this is the last year that russ is directing the race. instep was bought out by PRO so there would be no more of this race... until it was announced that silver circle sports events is going to take it over. not sure what they will call it or how it will be run, but since this is my favorite course and favorite race of the year... i'm glad they're going to continue it.
so candice and i started the race together and nursed our injuries for about the first 1/2 mile and then we separated. i had a time goal for this race and once my leg felt fine... i decided i was going to still shoot for it. so off i went.
i try to run the whole first mile of the course (race or no race) and that means that i run approximately the last .25 uphill. i know that doesn't sound difficult but that is very difficult for me. i am not good at running uphill. in fact, i would say that i am absolutely terrible at it and can't figure out how to get better.
so i hit 1 mile on my watch and promptly started walking. oh sweet relief! walking is wonderful... until it's not. so i walk a little ways up to a specific dip in the trail where it sort of becomes a gentle incline instead of an actual hill and then i start running again. this particular hill is called gut buster and is approximately .78 of a mile up. it seems not so hard when you're looking at it but when you're trying to run it... it's very difficult. for me at least...
so i run/walk up this hill and try to run as much as i can with certain spots where i take walk breaks to help get my heart rate back down and to not feel like i'm dying.
then the top comes and the sweet sweet joy of bombing the downhills begins. i LOVE, absolutely LOVE bombing down. it is my reward for trying to run up. lol! i also make up significant time by doing this - quads be damned!
it was at this point that i caught up to a couple of guys as i bombed down a hill. i kept trading places with them for a bit and started to get annoyed and too focused on where they were. they were ahead of me for the whole first part of the race, but after gut buster i passed them on the down hill and then when i walked they passed me on the up and this went on for several different hills until i was finally tired and annoyed enough of being so close to them that i took off on the flat at the top of asthma hill to get some space between us. i lost them in the hills just prior to the tower, and i managed to maintain pretty good splits even with running up the tower in mile 4. i meant to count the sets of stairs up the tower but forgot... i think there are 5 flights but i have no idea how many actual stairs. once at the top i turn around and fly down... holding on so that if i eat it... i won't fall far.i saw candice on my way from the tower as she was heading to the tower. since i am so competitive and she was the only person i knew personally who was running the race i really wanted to stay ahead of her. she is a much better runner than me and she kicked my ass at high cliff passing me in the last mile and beating me in the race so this time... i wanted to stay ahead... cuz... competitive. duh...
thankfully right after the tower is the downhill (the big slide?) that parallels gut buster and is similar length so almost a mile downhill... running at full speed and making up time. i passed a few people but this race is 3 different races at the same time on the same course so it's hard to determine who's in your race and who's running the 1/2 or the full marathon distances... and trying to look at someone's bib is just too tough so i have no idea if i was passing people in my race or not. no matter... it feels good to pass people cuz... competitive.
i hit the bottom of the hill and at that point it's about 1.5 miles to the finish with another long hill (aptly named 2 tier because there are 2 parts of the hill with a small sort of flatish incline between them). i passed a guy on the flat who passed me right back on the first portion of 2 tier, and back and forth until the downhill called magic carpet ride. i zoomed past him on magic carpet ride because who cares about quads, and then there was one more man in front of me. he seemed to be running faster than me but when we hit the final flat at the same time i pulled ahead by a hair. it was then that i decided to try and stay ahead of him. it was SO HARD! i was literally only a breath ahead of him... i could hear him breathing on my right the whole time. when we both hit the final straightaway and i could see the finish i started sprinting. normally i do not do this because i simply do not have it in me. normally i feel so bad at the end of a race that it takes all that i have just to keep running, however this time... i RAN!
i ran as hard and as fast as i could with him on my heels the whole time. i came in first with only a 2 second different between our times! TWO SECONDS! man... that felt really good. it felt really good to run as hard as i could and do as well as i did coming off a stupid weird injury. i'm hoping that the injury is gone for good and that tomorrow when i wake up i will feel great and will be able to run a nice run with frank.
i've got some big goals for 2020 and need to go into the new year fresh and injury free!
as always i love the shit out of this race. i love lapham and love running there as much as i can. i'm not sure what the race will be called next year but i hope it's put on with just as much love and care as russ put into it all these years.
Monday, August 5, 2019
High Cliff Ultra 25K
High Cliff Ultra 25K - August 3rd 2019
time = 2:49:52
pace = 10:56
placed 1 in my age group (45-49) out of 15
placed 12 in women out of 76
placed 25 overall out of 124
link to strava data
what to say about this... well, i've DNS'd the past 2 years in a row due to my near-constant injury after injury. this year i really wanted to run this so i waited until 3 weeks before the race and signed up. i suppose i should mention that when i signed up the longest distance i had run since may was maybe 10 miles. i figured i would run it and not really race it and just make sure that i finished as the goal.
i ran a 15 mile training run out at nordic with sid the saturday before and it went well with no aches or pains but we took it really easy and ran pretty slow. then on my tuesday run the next week my left leg felt so bad! my quad was all kinds of knotted up and i could barely roll it without tears. because i wanted to run this race i decided not to run the rest of last week (leading up to the race) so i could just roll the knots out of my quad and be good for the race. it proved to be the right tactic because my legs felt great going into the race!
high cliff state park is approximately 1:47 minutes from my house. i drove up the morning of the race since my race didn't start until 9am so i could get up at a decent time and make it there with time to spare. my gps sent me to the wrong place at first but it must happen all the time because that place is a storage area for the park and they have a sign right out front that says so much and gives directions on how to get to the actual park entrance. so i turned around and headed into the quaint little village of sherwood, wi. i finally found the park and drove up to where all the hand written signs were telling me to go.
once i arrived i got a primo parking spot right at the starting line. i think people thought it was a handicap spot as it was right next to the actual handicap spot, but it was not... don't worry i checked... it was just for me!
i got there just in time to see the 50K start. denny was running that and i cheered him on, but alas... he did not hear me. after that i went looking for my bib.
got my bib and noticed that there was no timing chip! what the hell?!? i got all nervous and fb'd a friend who told me that Mark, the race director, does it old school and they write down your time as you come through the finish. craziness... hard for my type-A personality to be ok with it but what the hell?!? i went with it and hoped that they got it right.
the race starts pretty bare-bones... like a lot of trail races i've run... just a little yell and off we went.
the first 2/10 of a mile was a steep service road downhill. it spread people out but only by a smidge. then we ran a bit of flat paved trail for the other 8/10 of the first mile to go ahead and start climbing single track trail back to the bluff. to be honest... i don't remember the flat being that long but in all the excitement things get weird.
the single track was frustrating because it was up down up down up down and i was stuck behind a couple of people. when i'd finally get past them there'd be an incline and we all know how well i "run" those... so i'd be walking and they'd pass me again. i make up my walking time on the downs so i was really frustrated that i couldn't get away from these people so that i could really open up my downs. finally, we got to some flat area (maybe near mile 4?), and i was able to give it some gas and put a little space between us. i ended up running with a really nice woman until about mile 6 or so. we kept passing each other as one of us would walk and the other would run by and this went on for a couple of miles until at an aid station in the prairie i lost her for good. it's too bad too because i was really enjoying her company and it would have been nice to run with her through the prairie that came next.
miles 6-12 were basically scorching hot as balls prairie in full sun and about 85ยบ with very very short brakes of woods for about a stride or two throughout. to say the prairie was hot as balls is an understatement. it was more like running on a treadmill in an oven with a heat lamp beating down on you. there were very short bursts of a gentle cool breeze but they were few and far between. it was freaking hot! when i was coming back around to the aid station between miles 12 and 13 i noticed that my fingers were swollen up like sausages. i needed some salt.
i want to take a moment to thank the volunteers at this aid station. they were absolutely the best and really boosted my mood both times i went through. they worked tirelessly to make sure that each and every runner that came through felt special and cared for and it was just what i needed at that moment. so the space between 12 and 13... i asked one of the volunteers if anyone had any s-tabs and no one did but he offered me a potato. here's the thing about trail races (if you've never done one)... they have real food. real good food. all of the things really...
so i took a tiny potato out of the water it was hanging out in and dipped it in the bowl of salt sitting next to it. there was so much salt on that damn potato but i sure as hell popped it in my mouth and got it into my belly. grimace and all.
then i chugged some water, ate some watermelon, and was on my way. the sign leaving the aid station says 2.3 miles left so i thought... i got this.
my hips had started hurting a couple miles back so i was walking a lot more than anticipated but i felt good and wasn't crying. i kept running when i could and taking walk breaks when i needed to. i didn't think i would be winning any placements so i really wasn't pushing through the pain. i walked a lot in those last 2 miles.
i passed a couple of dudes who smoked me earlier in the race... they were walking now. the heat really got to a lot of people i think. i just kept drinking like crazy and making sure my bottle was filled up each chance i got to fill it. thankfully they had tailwind so i didn't take in anything weird that my belly isn't used to.
so i'm run-walking through the 2.3 miles to the finish and i realize i'm walking more than i'm running so i push a bit harder and that's when i trip. i saved myself so all was well with the world but i tend to not lift my feet when i get tired so i started paying a little more attention to that so i wouldn't actually fall.
when i'm about a mile out (or so i thought based on what a 25K distance is supposed to be and comparing that to what my watch was telling me) i am passed by 3 women. one right after the other...
so i start to run. i start to run as hard as i can because hell... i'm almost done and i should be able to run a mile without stopping... right? i pass 2 of the women who just passed me and then my right hip was all... nah... we're gonna walk.
so i walked. my watch clocked the course at 15.67 which is why i got confused when i didn't see the finish at 15.5. it's prairie and then woods and then prairie and then turn into the woods and finally some single track and poof! we're out of the woods and back at the start/finish where i'm proud to say i ran it in.
i'm pretty proud of this race. i don't think i was properly trained to be racing this distance and even tho' i said i would go in and just run it... i've never gone in and just run a race. i race all races.
i did race it conservatively tho' in that i didn't finish with tears or so spent that i couldn't have run a few more miles if necessary. my hips were hurting which is why i would have had any trouble running farther otherwise i felt pretty good.
this was a really fun race. it was a lot harder than i thought it would be and i would absolutely run it again. they had stone-fired pizzas at the end and that was amazing! i also drank a can of coke which also tasted amazing.
the race director sends out a handwritten note to each participant when they register which i think is a really great touch. it's meaningful and really drives the olive garden feel home...
time = 2:49:52
pace = 10:56
placed 1 in my age group (45-49) out of 15
placed 12 in women out of 76
placed 25 overall out of 124
link to strava data
what to say about this... well, i've DNS'd the past 2 years in a row due to my near-constant injury after injury. this year i really wanted to run this so i waited until 3 weeks before the race and signed up. i suppose i should mention that when i signed up the longest distance i had run since may was maybe 10 miles. i figured i would run it and not really race it and just make sure that i finished as the goal.
i ran a 15 mile training run out at nordic with sid the saturday before and it went well with no aches or pains but we took it really easy and ran pretty slow. then on my tuesday run the next week my left leg felt so bad! my quad was all kinds of knotted up and i could barely roll it without tears. because i wanted to run this race i decided not to run the rest of last week (leading up to the race) so i could just roll the knots out of my quad and be good for the race. it proved to be the right tactic because my legs felt great going into the race!
high cliff state park is approximately 1:47 minutes from my house. i drove up the morning of the race since my race didn't start until 9am so i could get up at a decent time and make it there with time to spare. my gps sent me to the wrong place at first but it must happen all the time because that place is a storage area for the park and they have a sign right out front that says so much and gives directions on how to get to the actual park entrance. so i turned around and headed into the quaint little village of sherwood, wi. i finally found the park and drove up to where all the hand written signs were telling me to go.
once i arrived i got a primo parking spot right at the starting line. i think people thought it was a handicap spot as it was right next to the actual handicap spot, but it was not... don't worry i checked... it was just for me!
i got there just in time to see the 50K start. denny was running that and i cheered him on, but alas... he did not hear me. after that i went looking for my bib.
got my bib and noticed that there was no timing chip! what the hell?!? i got all nervous and fb'd a friend who told me that Mark, the race director, does it old school and they write down your time as you come through the finish. craziness... hard for my type-A personality to be ok with it but what the hell?!? i went with it and hoped that they got it right.
the race starts pretty bare-bones... like a lot of trail races i've run... just a little yell and off we went.
the first 2/10 of a mile was a steep service road downhill. it spread people out but only by a smidge. then we ran a bit of flat paved trail for the other 8/10 of the first mile to go ahead and start climbing single track trail back to the bluff. to be honest... i don't remember the flat being that long but in all the excitement things get weird.
the single track was frustrating because it was up down up down up down and i was stuck behind a couple of people. when i'd finally get past them there'd be an incline and we all know how well i "run" those... so i'd be walking and they'd pass me again. i make up my walking time on the downs so i was really frustrated that i couldn't get away from these people so that i could really open up my downs. finally, we got to some flat area (maybe near mile 4?), and i was able to give it some gas and put a little space between us. i ended up running with a really nice woman until about mile 6 or so. we kept passing each other as one of us would walk and the other would run by and this went on for a couple of miles until at an aid station in the prairie i lost her for good. it's too bad too because i was really enjoying her company and it would have been nice to run with her through the prairie that came next.
miles 6-12 were basically scorching hot as balls prairie in full sun and about 85ยบ with very very short brakes of woods for about a stride or two throughout. to say the prairie was hot as balls is an understatement. it was more like running on a treadmill in an oven with a heat lamp beating down on you. there were very short bursts of a gentle cool breeze but they were few and far between. it was freaking hot! when i was coming back around to the aid station between miles 12 and 13 i noticed that my fingers were swollen up like sausages. i needed some salt.
i want to take a moment to thank the volunteers at this aid station. they were absolutely the best and really boosted my mood both times i went through. they worked tirelessly to make sure that each and every runner that came through felt special and cared for and it was just what i needed at that moment. so the space between 12 and 13... i asked one of the volunteers if anyone had any s-tabs and no one did but he offered me a potato. here's the thing about trail races (if you've never done one)... they have real food. real good food. all of the things really...
so i took a tiny potato out of the water it was hanging out in and dipped it in the bowl of salt sitting next to it. there was so much salt on that damn potato but i sure as hell popped it in my mouth and got it into my belly. grimace and all.
then i chugged some water, ate some watermelon, and was on my way. the sign leaving the aid station says 2.3 miles left so i thought... i got this.
my hips had started hurting a couple miles back so i was walking a lot more than anticipated but i felt good and wasn't crying. i kept running when i could and taking walk breaks when i needed to. i didn't think i would be winning any placements so i really wasn't pushing through the pain. i walked a lot in those last 2 miles.
i passed a couple of dudes who smoked me earlier in the race... they were walking now. the heat really got to a lot of people i think. i just kept drinking like crazy and making sure my bottle was filled up each chance i got to fill it. thankfully they had tailwind so i didn't take in anything weird that my belly isn't used to.
so i'm run-walking through the 2.3 miles to the finish and i realize i'm walking more than i'm running so i push a bit harder and that's when i trip. i saved myself so all was well with the world but i tend to not lift my feet when i get tired so i started paying a little more attention to that so i wouldn't actually fall.
when i'm about a mile out (or so i thought based on what a 25K distance is supposed to be and comparing that to what my watch was telling me) i am passed by 3 women. one right after the other...
so i start to run. i start to run as hard as i can because hell... i'm almost done and i should be able to run a mile without stopping... right? i pass 2 of the women who just passed me and then my right hip was all... nah... we're gonna walk.
so i walked. my watch clocked the course at 15.67 which is why i got confused when i didn't see the finish at 15.5. it's prairie and then woods and then prairie and then turn into the woods and finally some single track and poof! we're out of the woods and back at the start/finish where i'm proud to say i ran it in.
i'm pretty proud of this race. i don't think i was properly trained to be racing this distance and even tho' i said i would go in and just run it... i've never gone in and just run a race. i race all races.
i did race it conservatively tho' in that i didn't finish with tears or so spent that i couldn't have run a few more miles if necessary. my hips were hurting which is why i would have had any trouble running farther otherwise i felt pretty good.
this was a really fun race. it was a lot harder than i thought it would be and i would absolutely run it again. they had stone-fired pizzas at the end and that was amazing! i also drank a can of coke which also tasted amazing.
the race director sends out a handwritten note to each participant when they register which i think is a really great touch. it's meaningful and really drives the olive garden feel home...
"when you're here, you're family"
 |
| the bullshit elevation profile for the first 5 miles |
all of the next photos were taken by ohwow images. you can see all the photos they took here
 |
| coming down |
 |
| ... and going back up |
Saturday, May 27, 2017
sitting is such a pain in the butt
so... the week before i went on vacation to florida i was hella busy. so busy in fact that i went to crossfit once (it hurt and i was SOOOOOPPPPPER sore the next day) and ran zero times that week. this proved to be my downfall as i would find out a few weeks later.
because i did basically nothing for the 4 days before we left my glutes (which were in a shitton, yes that's a word, of pain after that crossfit class) got really really tight which then transferred that tightness to my hamstrings. all of this was unbeknownst to me until i tried to run 20miles upon my florida arrival. (strava data here)
that run started a domino effect of ailments that have now culminated into some serious pain in the ass. i'm literally UNABLE to run without pain and certainly not at the level i've grown back to over the past 6 or so months.
notably, i also think that the fact that i have a sitting job attributes to the nerve pain i've been experiencing again.
today i went to see jerome for a sports massage at body wise milwaukee. it was fantastic. some of my pain is relieved, and i'm interested to see how running is tomorrow. i'm not expecting any miracles but i'm hoping that the pain is lessened.
it is so amazing to me how, as i've gotten older, my body no longer recovers like when i was in my 20's. of course, i rarely moved my body in my 20's other than to walk a lot of places (necessity not choice) and to shake my rump-ah in a well lubricated white girl way.
now... if i don't stretch an appropriate amount of time after physical activity... my body rebels and i'm in a world of hurt a couple of months later. aging is a bitch.
i have bryce in approximately 3 weeks (20 days to be exact). i'm working on transferring my 50K entry to the 1/2 marathon distance. we'll see if i get to do that. i've been patiently working with someone at vacation races but the communication is sporadic at best given that they are always gone on location at other races. we'll see... if i am unable to transfer to the shorter distance i am going to stick it out for the 50K and hope to god my body holds up. i am not ready for that distance given i've run only a handful of miles since my ice age DNF. life is cruel sometimes. *sigh*
i mean... worst case scenario... i walk the whole 50K. the cut off is 11 hours. that's like 21min/mile pace. i'm pretty sure i can manage that with some running thrown in there for good measure. do i WANT to walk a whole 50K? hell no... but if i don't have a choice i don't have a choice and i will tough that shit out like a champ.
next year i think i might have to strive for short(er) distances and see how my body tolerates that. until then... i will take this race season and try to run/race for love and not be so broken up about the competition aspect of it all. i always want to win so maybe this is a lesson in humility, slowing my roll, and learning how to love the journey.
that run started a domino effect of ailments that have now culminated into some serious pain in the ass. i'm literally UNABLE to run without pain and certainly not at the level i've grown back to over the past 6 or so months.
notably, i also think that the fact that i have a sitting job attributes to the nerve pain i've been experiencing again.
today i went to see jerome for a sports massage at body wise milwaukee. it was fantastic. some of my pain is relieved, and i'm interested to see how running is tomorrow. i'm not expecting any miracles but i'm hoping that the pain is lessened.
it is so amazing to me how, as i've gotten older, my body no longer recovers like when i was in my 20's. of course, i rarely moved my body in my 20's other than to walk a lot of places (necessity not choice) and to shake my rump-ah in a well lubricated white girl way.
now... if i don't stretch an appropriate amount of time after physical activity... my body rebels and i'm in a world of hurt a couple of months later. aging is a bitch.
i mean... worst case scenario... i walk the whole 50K. the cut off is 11 hours. that's like 21min/mile pace. i'm pretty sure i can manage that with some running thrown in there for good measure. do i WANT to walk a whole 50K? hell no... but if i don't have a choice i don't have a choice and i will tough that shit out like a champ.
next year i think i might have to strive for short(er) distances and see how my body tolerates that. until then... i will take this race season and try to run/race for love and not be so broken up about the competition aspect of it all. i always want to win so maybe this is a lesson in humility, slowing my roll, and learning how to love the journey.
Friday, March 3, 2017
MARCH FO(u)RTH
one of my very best friends has celebrated the 4th day of march for years. i never understood the significance of the day... i thought it was just a clever play on words (as he is prone to such things) and that it must have some life significance to him but i never really asked until a few days ago.
as we were chatting via text i asked if he was doing anything special on march 4th. i knew that the answer would be yes and that i'd learn about some awesome plans that he had to be out in nature.
i was right... he is headed to the desert with one of his good friends for hiking over the weekend.
he also encouraged me to find my own limits edge and do something. so that got me thinking... and i wanted to know if this was an actual thing... an actual holiday, or if it was just his thing. google is incredibly effective when learning new things. i found this, this, and this.
so dear friends and readers... let's jump on the bandwagon! what do YOU plan to do to honor your body, honor your mind, and push your limits on this unofficial holiday? what does this look like for you? what could this mean for you?
for me... i'm going to run at one of my most favorite places and do 12miles (already on my training schedule). i am going to run 2 loops of the black loop at lapham. each loop is 6.4 -6.6 (depending on your garmin) although this map marks it at 7... it is not 7 miles. i intend to power through it to the best of my abilities under whatever the given conditions of the trail are. when i was at the park earlier this week it was snow covered but i'm hoping that will be somewhat gone by tomorrow.
get out there and be limitless! enjoy your day and then tell me all about it!
i was right... he is headed to the desert with one of his good friends for hiking over the weekend.
he also encouraged me to find my own limits edge and do something. so that got me thinking... and i wanted to know if this was an actual thing... an actual holiday, or if it was just his thing. google is incredibly effective when learning new things. i found this, this, and this.
so dear friends and readers... let's jump on the bandwagon! what do YOU plan to do to honor your body, honor your mind, and push your limits on this unofficial holiday? what does this look like for you? what could this mean for you?
get out there and be limitless! enjoy your day and then tell me all about it!
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Chilly Willy Run Series - Flannel 5K
Chilly Willie Run Series - Flannel 5K - February 25, 2017
time = 25:28
pace = 8:20
placed 2 in my age group (40-44) out of 25
placed 18 in women out of 212
placed 43 overall out of 324
link to strava data
why do i do this to myself?!? i SWORE... literally SWORE... that i would NEVER race in winter again! i blame the recent 60ยบ weather for my lapse in judgment. i mean... it seemed like a very good idea at the time of signup... let's run a race in freaking FEBRUARY for christ's sake!
sure... what could go wrong?
um... let's study that question for a moment.
turns out... a few different things.
so it was 18ยบ with a wind chill of 5ยบ at the race start. that isn't cool (no pun intended. ok... maybe pun intended). i arrived at naga-waukee park in delafield, wi about an hour before race start. it's a good thing too because there were no bathrooms at the start/finish. the park is broken up into "picnic areas" and the start finish was at picnic area 5. when i arrived i headed to the bathrooms and they were LOCKED. yup... locked. so i headed over to the tent and asked about that. they said that bathrooms were available at picnic area 2 (which is directly at the entrance to the park) and down at the lake which was also a bit of a trek from the start/finish. while this was inconvenient it certainly wasn't the worst thing in the world. i drove down to the 2, took care of that peeing business, and drove back up to 5 and parked. just after i parked i saw dave and made him get in the car to talk. it was hella cold! so we chatted for a while and then saw (and said "hi" to) jeff who was volunteering and taking photos for the race.
approximately 15 minutes before the start we left the car so that i could warm up and dave could find some others he's friends with. i ran up and down a little bit of the road and mentally thanked jeff for telling me to come with screw shoes. the pavement was plowed and pretty clear of snow, but there were still a good deal of slick spots and areas still covered with snow. i should have known that this was going to cause problems...
about 5 minutes before the start i headed over to the corral. i like to be in the front so that i don't get frustrated with getting caught behind slower people. i know that people will pass me, but i just like to get out in front and get out of the way. so i started near the front and that's where i saw another instep running team member, andrea, so we talked a bit about the weather and our shoes. maybe now is an appropriate time to say that if i hadn't gotten my race comped through instep for being on their team i probably would have flaked and not gone at all. responsibility (and possibly guilt) are strong and motivational drivers. i run for instep on their trail team as well as for oiselle voilรฉe. for that reason i sometimes get comped entries to races where i can represent instep... this was one of those races.
the gun goes off and we start running. the wind is gusty and makes everything a lot more challenging and so much colder. i feel pretty good, but right away the cold is affecting my legs. i can feel the waterlogged dead weight feeling coming on, but i press on and try to ignore it. i feel like i'm running pretty well and i guess i should be since the first portion of the race is essentially DOWN HILL! while this makes me pretty happy at first i then remember that what goes down must come up... at the bottom we loop through picnic area 2's parking lot and head back up said mentioned hill. by now i've seen a few people slipping and sliding and i hear a guy behind me say that someone fell. i've slipped a few times and my legs are getting heavier and heavier... so heavy, in fact, that I STOP RUNNING AND WALK A FEW PACES!
what in the ever loving fuck?!? yup... i'm not even a hair out of mile 1 and i'm freaking walking. there is nothing more humiliating for me in a 5K than having to walk. i mean, it's only THREE miles for christ's sake... what is wrong with me?
so i walk a couple of paces and then start running again. i'm surprised i can even pick up my legs at this point... they are so damn heavy. i focus on putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. there were several turns on the park roads and an adjacent neighborhood and then we ran downhill again to the lake. as with before... what goes down must come up. *sigh*
andrea fell back right out of the gate because of the slipperiness of the roads, but she moved up on and passed me around this time. i only walked (again) a few paces but man... it sure plays with one's confidence to have to do that. this is the first 5K i've EVER had to walk in. EVER! i think the fact that we started at the top of some hills was a bit unnerving for me because we started with a significant descent and then a very slight differential between that and having to head back up right away. it was absolutely a challenge (two times over) that i was ill prepared for.
i was feeling pretty down about my performance at this point and really just trying to keep picking up my legs and putting them back down. i knew i only had about a mile left so.... i kept pushing and really just thinking about why in the world this felt so hard.
finally, the finish came into view... i saw jeff again (taking pictures) so i put on my photo face and waved. as soon as i passed him i went back to looking like death. i ran through the finish incredibly relieved to be finished as i simultainously cursed the time clock which was ticking off the finish time well past what i deemed acceptable for myself.
dave was waiting at the finish with a congratulatory smile and kind words. we went straight to the tent for the promised hot cocoa and to wait for the results.
it was a pretty spectatular turn out for a race held on a not so spectacular day. i will try very hard to remember why i loathe racing in cold weather after this race.
this race series hands out awards for the most average runner of the race. so the man and the woman who run exactly the middle pack pace win an entry to the "average joe" 5K which i think is really awesome and fun. those were the first awards handed out.
next they did overall winners and then age group winners. i always like to stay and see if i've placed in my age group. the announcer gets to my age group and calls out my name as the 3rd place winner! yay me! so i receive my medal and the person called as the 1st place winner of my age group is my friend cortney (i didn't think we were in the same age group so i was surprised).
dave and i left after that. we were supposed to go run lapham (i had 10 miles on my schedule), but i was so cold and disappointed after my race that i didn't want to run at lapham. plus dave is considerably faster than me so i didn't want to hold him back since my body is currently walking on the heaviest of railway ties. i mean... lead weights. iron beams. tree trunks... you get the picture. they were damn heavy and subsequently S.L.O.W.
i headed home and ran another 6 miles on the treadmill instead.
after my shower and eating i looked at the official results only to find out that they were different than what was announced on site. i had actually come in SECOND in my age group because (sure enough) cortney was NOT in my age group. i contacted the race director and he confirmed that the posted results are correct. this is where the rest of my "what could go wrong" disappointment regarding this race comes into play...
i was disappointed to learn that he was aware of the issue with the results, but chose not to do anything about it right away because it "only affected a few people". i am a pretty serious and competitve runner and even tho' i did a pisspoor job at this race the results... the CORRECT results... are very important. i didn't freak out or act like an ass when given this response... i just said thank you and sent him my e-mail so i can get the correct medal. i don't want to be a jerk about it, but this is the second time this has happened to me with this race director. the first time it was (thankfully) corrected right away so i left with the correct medal and had pictures retaken with the correct medal... now tho'... i will have pictures with the wrong medal and it's disappointing. it sort of makes me wary of running their races. i understand that there are A LOT of things that go into planning a race, but honestly, i think that the results are of the utmost importance. i suppose there are some people that wouldn't care if this happened to them, but if there's even one person who cares about this then the race director should care about it also. i would not want it to happen to someone else even if it isn't really that big of a deal... more of a minor inconvenience. anyway... that's the race report and my experience. if you like winter/cold weather racing then i recommend it. the course was insanely challenging and totally worth it. i think it's one of the most difficult 5Ks i've ever raced (and all 5Ks are truly difficult). oh and the shirt... it was cute. tech t with a flannel filled state of wisconsin. the race director also said during the awards that next year they'll have ACTUAL FLANNELS! that alone might make me do it again... lol! i mean... c'mon... a flannel race shirt?!? that's pure gold.
time = 25:28
pace = 8:20
placed 2 in my age group (40-44) out of 25
placed 18 in women out of 212
placed 43 overall out of 324
link to strava data
why do i do this to myself?!? i SWORE... literally SWORE... that i would NEVER race in winter again! i blame the recent 60ยบ weather for my lapse in judgment. i mean... it seemed like a very good idea at the time of signup... let's run a race in freaking FEBRUARY for christ's sake!
sure... what could go wrong?
um... let's study that question for a moment.
turns out... a few different things.
so it was 18ยบ with a wind chill of 5ยบ at the race start. that isn't cool (no pun intended. ok... maybe pun intended). i arrived at naga-waukee park in delafield, wi about an hour before race start. it's a good thing too because there were no bathrooms at the start/finish. the park is broken up into "picnic areas" and the start finish was at picnic area 5. when i arrived i headed to the bathrooms and they were LOCKED. yup... locked. so i headed over to the tent and asked about that. they said that bathrooms were available at picnic area 2 (which is directly at the entrance to the park) and down at the lake which was also a bit of a trek from the start/finish. while this was inconvenient it certainly wasn't the worst thing in the world. i drove down to the 2, took care of that peeing business, and drove back up to 5 and parked. just after i parked i saw dave and made him get in the car to talk. it was hella cold! so we chatted for a while and then saw (and said "hi" to) jeff who was volunteering and taking photos for the race.
about 5 minutes before the start i headed over to the corral. i like to be in the front so that i don't get frustrated with getting caught behind slower people. i know that people will pass me, but i just like to get out in front and get out of the way. so i started near the front and that's where i saw another instep running team member, andrea, so we talked a bit about the weather and our shoes. maybe now is an appropriate time to say that if i hadn't gotten my race comped through instep for being on their team i probably would have flaked and not gone at all. responsibility (and possibly guilt) are strong and motivational drivers. i run for instep on their trail team as well as for oiselle voilรฉe. for that reason i sometimes get comped entries to races where i can represent instep... this was one of those races.
 |
| dave & i just minutes before race start - pc: jeff crosby |
 |
| just moments before we took off - pc: jeff crosby |
the gun goes off and we start running. the wind is gusty and makes everything a lot more challenging and so much colder. i feel pretty good, but right away the cold is affecting my legs. i can feel the waterlogged dead weight feeling coming on, but i press on and try to ignore it. i feel like i'm running pretty well and i guess i should be since the first portion of the race is essentially DOWN HILL! while this makes me pretty happy at first i then remember that what goes down must come up... at the bottom we loop through picnic area 2's parking lot and head back up said mentioned hill. by now i've seen a few people slipping and sliding and i hear a guy behind me say that someone fell. i've slipped a few times and my legs are getting heavier and heavier... so heavy, in fact, that I STOP RUNNING AND WALK A FEW PACES!
so i walk a couple of paces and then start running again. i'm surprised i can even pick up my legs at this point... they are so damn heavy. i focus on putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward. there were several turns on the park roads and an adjacent neighborhood and then we ran downhill again to the lake. as with before... what goes down must come up. *sigh*
andrea fell back right out of the gate because of the slipperiness of the roads, but she moved up on and passed me around this time. i only walked (again) a few paces but man... it sure plays with one's confidence to have to do that. this is the first 5K i've EVER had to walk in. EVER! i think the fact that we started at the top of some hills was a bit unnerving for me because we started with a significant descent and then a very slight differential between that and having to head back up right away. it was absolutely a challenge (two times over) that i was ill prepared for.
i was feeling pretty down about my performance at this point and really just trying to keep picking up my legs and putting them back down. i knew i only had about a mile left so.... i kept pushing and really just thinking about why in the world this felt so hard.
dave was waiting at the finish with a congratulatory smile and kind words. we went straight to the tent for the promised hot cocoa and to wait for the results.
it was a pretty spectatular turn out for a race held on a not so spectacular day. i will try very hard to remember why i loathe racing in cold weather after this race.
this race series hands out awards for the most average runner of the race. so the man and the woman who run exactly the middle pack pace win an entry to the "average joe" 5K which i think is really awesome and fun. those were the first awards handed out.
next they did overall winners and then age group winners. i always like to stay and see if i've placed in my age group. the announcer gets to my age group and calls out my name as the 3rd place winner! yay me! so i receive my medal and the person called as the 1st place winner of my age group is my friend cortney (i didn't think we were in the same age group so i was surprised).
dave and i left after that. we were supposed to go run lapham (i had 10 miles on my schedule), but i was so cold and disappointed after my race that i didn't want to run at lapham. plus dave is considerably faster than me so i didn't want to hold him back since my body is currently walking on the heaviest of railway ties. i mean... lead weights. iron beams. tree trunks... you get the picture. they were damn heavy and subsequently S.L.O.W.
i headed home and ran another 6 miles on the treadmill instead.
after my shower and eating i looked at the official results only to find out that they were different than what was announced on site. i had actually come in SECOND in my age group because (sure enough) cortney was NOT in my age group. i contacted the race director and he confirmed that the posted results are correct. this is where the rest of my "what could go wrong" disappointment regarding this race comes into play...
i was disappointed to learn that he was aware of the issue with the results, but chose not to do anything about it right away because it "only affected a few people". i am a pretty serious and competitve runner and even tho' i did a pisspoor job at this race the results... the CORRECT results... are very important. i didn't freak out or act like an ass when given this response... i just said thank you and sent him my e-mail so i can get the correct medal. i don't want to be a jerk about it, but this is the second time this has happened to me with this race director. the first time it was (thankfully) corrected right away so i left with the correct medal and had pictures retaken with the correct medal... now tho'... i will have pictures with the wrong medal and it's disappointing. it sort of makes me wary of running their races. i understand that there are A LOT of things that go into planning a race, but honestly, i think that the results are of the utmost importance. i suppose there are some people that wouldn't care if this happened to them, but if there's even one person who cares about this then the race director should care about it also. i would not want it to happen to someone else even if it isn't really that big of a deal... more of a minor inconvenience. anyway... that's the race report and my experience. if you like winter/cold weather racing then i recommend it. the course was insanely challenging and totally worth it. i think it's one of the most difficult 5Ks i've ever raced (and all 5Ks are truly difficult). oh and the shirt... it was cute. tech t with a flannel filled state of wisconsin. the race director also said during the awards that next year they'll have ACTUAL FLANNELS! that alone might make me do it again... lol! i mean... c'mon... a flannel race shirt?!? that's pure gold.
Monday, February 20, 2017
60ยบ in FEBRUARY?!? i'll take it
we have had some ridiculously beautiful weather for the past week or so now. it has given me the chance to run on my favorite trails. slow but beautiful given the amount of mud, standing water, and ice lurking about. i started training for iceage 50K on monday (2/13) and the runs were nothing short of extraordinary!
i ran in the sloppiest of conditions over the weekend... it was perfect! there is nothing i love more than trail running.
 |
| lapham peak - wednesday 2/15 |
 |
| lapham peak - sunday 2/19 |
the slipping down ice wasn't so fun, but what can ya do? keep on keeping on... that's what! there was a section of trail where the ice went edge to edge for maybe 10 yards or so... down hill. this was a bit scary because as i was bombing the edge my right foot landed on the ice... i was unable to correct and ended up slippin' and slidin' down to the bottom. i'm proud to say that i stayed upright the whole time in spite of the trail trying to take me down. that'll get your heart pumping!
so because i've been feeling so awesome, and the weather has been so great i decided to take advantage of a couple of races that InStep Physical Therapy & Running Center offered to the Trail Team (which i am honored to be a part of). today i signed up for a 5K this coming weekend. unfortunately, it is looking like it will be only a high of 30ยบ instead of this lovely 50-60ยบ we've been experiencing. this is still warm enough for me to feel good about racing. plus it's in delafield and on a trail so it's really a win/win all around. i'm going to rock a flannel to make it official too so there's that! given that it will be cool i should be comfortable enough in the flannel to make it worth the weirdness of racing in one.
there is still time for you to sign up for this race... in fact, i'm pretty sure they have race day registration. come one come all!
 |
| this was on saturday (2/18) on IAT from the nordic trail head... it was such a beautiful day! |
 |
| lapham peak on sunday was glorious! |
i also signed up for beartrax 20K today. i was supposed to run it last year, but ended up dropping out of almost all of my races due to whatever weird thing that happened to my left hamstring. this race is in one of my most favorite places, lapham peak. lapham peak is where i began this trail running adventure, and therefore holds my heart as my favorite trails to run. it is where it all began...
if you're new to wisconsin trail running i highly suggest coming to run this race (or any race at lapham for that matter). this park is really runner friendly with a mixture of wide groomed ski trails, and then the IAT which runs through and is more technical and adventurous. this race tho' is only on the groomed trails so i think it's good for someone who wants to try out trail running, but might be a little apprehensive. prowl the peak 5K (possibly now defunct) was the first trail race i ever participated in. it was definitely an experience and one i wouldn't trade for the world.
looks like i'm back in the saddle which is a glorious place to be. with any luck 2017 will shape up to be a banner year all around. big things in store for me this year...
Thursday, January 5, 2017
never give up!
let me explain: i lost my job back in september and it was becoming cold out which equals darker earlier and then it was dark and cold out at 5:20am when i usually get up to go to the 6am crossfit class... and well... i just sort of stopped going.
october 25th was the last time i went before this past monday. that's 68 days crossfit free for those of you who are counting. that's 68 days where (apparently) i got as weak as a newborn baby. the workout wasn't hard. in fact it felt great and i was totally able to do it. it burned and got my heart rate up and it was a challenge but i wouldn't say that it was HARD... that is... UNTIL LATER MONDAY AFTERNOON!
OH.MY.GOD!
i should have known that as soon as i got my butt off the couch and i stumbled and fell on the floor that the workout was HELLA HARD! the entirety of my leg muscle groupings were screaming at me in protest! calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes were losing their minds when i tried to use them. i wasn't sure how i was going to make it anywhere and this was just a few hours later! by nightfall i was having trouble moving at all. i mean... have you read the workout? seriously... a baby could do it!
by the time i went to bed monday night i was popping two acetaminophen and calling it a night. tuesday morning my son's alarm went off and i leapt out of bed with the vigor of a cheetah... ok FINE... i rolled out of bed like a soft, broken, crazy painful ball of tears. i woke up SO MANY TIMES monday night that i'm not sure i even slept. everything hurt so bad every time i moved and it woke me up. by the morning i was just so happy for it to be daylight that i got out of bed with the speed of a geriatric arthritic turtle.
i literally rolled out of my bed, and onto the floor where i landed in a crumpled pile. i started breathing again as i (ever so slowly) pushed off the ground with my arms until i was standing hunched over which is when i haltingly attempted to stand up. when i finally found my wretched lower body erect i figured out how to breathe again.
now it was time to take a step... as i mentally chided myself for taking so many days between classes i whimpered and shuffled out of the bedroom.
it is now thursday and while i'm still in pain... i can finally walk normally today! praise the powers that be! life is wonderful! tomorrow i'm going to class again... i will never stop going to class unless i'm going to stop FOREVER! i learned my lesson from the crossfit gods and will never stop paying tribute to the sanctity of my body and health.
moral of the story: never never never quit crossfit once you've gotten past the initial week of ferocious pain. i want to shout out my crossfit gym (badger crossfit) for believing in me and being ever so supportive in my endeavors to look better in my swimsuit... and also run injury free.
just to illustrate the difference adding cross training into your runner's schedule i leave you with this:
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| this is just 4.5 months and there is a noticeable difference. i'm excited to see the changes to come. |
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
what's that you say? SHOE REVIEW! horray!
as many of you know i've been a long time fan and dedicated runner to new balance. i have had some issues with their shoes (mainly due to the narrow toe box), but haven't really been proactive in finding an alternative because i really love the shoes so much. lately tho' i'm getting a little tired of the constant blisters on my middle toes.
sooooooo... i've switched (tentatively) to altras for trail and topo athletic for the road.
let's start with my trail shoes first and then move onto the road shoes...
the altra superior 2.0 ~ i have had these trail shoes before and for whatever reason they are now only available on closeout. both on the altra website, as well as the secondary sites like zappos, running warehouse, and REI to name a few.
sooooooo... i've switched (tentatively) to altras for trail and topo athletic for the road.
let's start with my trail shoes first and then move onto the road shoes...
these shoes are fantastic! they are incredibly light weight, have great tread, are zero drop, have a wide toebox, and hold up well in sloppy conditions. they only weigh 7.5 ounces which is an additional bonus as i truly hate heavy shoes. i've recently run in some pretty snowy conditions (4-6 inches) of what i like to call "snowsand" which is like running on a beach of dry sand or possibly imagine running through mounds of slippery sugar. it was challenging for sure but not at any moment did i feel unsafe or like i would fall. there is no doubt that i will add ice spikes or screws to my shoes to run once the trails are covered in lots of ice patches, but until then these are doing a great job.
i like to stick with the same companies when i find something i like so i went ahead and bought a pair of road shoes from altra too. again, the ones i purchased, provision 2.0, were on closeout (likely because they were the 2.0s) making them a really economical purchase, and i was pretty excited to try them out. i ran in them twice for a total of 8 miles and i was not happy. the toebox is again nice and roomy, but for whatever reason, my left heel kept slipping no matter how i tied the shoes or how i tried to remedy it. i returned them and tried the provision 2.5 (maybe the update made a difference?)... no such luck. the 2.5s were no different than the 2.0s. my left heel slipped and i didn't even bother to test these on a run. i just returned them and started a web search for "wide toebox" shoes.
in the meantime, i continued to use my new balance 1500s for indoor runs.
i finally found a shoe that looked promising... from a brand i've never heard of before... topo athletic.
so i purchased the topo athletic fli-lyte. this shoe is AWESOME! granted i've only run a short 3 miler in them but i LOVE them! these shoes have a 3mm drop and weigh only 6.7 ounces. i love the sea foam/tangerine color combo and as a bonus (if you like that sort of thing) they give a second set of laces to change up the look. my heels don't slip and my toes feel great with the more anatomical shape.
their mission statement is pretty awesome too. i can't believe i've never heard of them before. no matter... they're on my radar now and i'm sticking with them. bye bye, new balance... onto newer things!
so that's what i think about that.
what are your favorite shoes and why? have you ever heard of topo athletic? what are your thoughts about the natural toebox vs standard toeboxes? how do you feel about zero or low drop shoes?
tell me your thoughts in the comments! i'd love to hear them.
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