Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K)

Beartrax Brownie Shuffle (4.2K) - April 26th, 2015
time = 21:01
pace = 7:52 average
placed 1st in my age group (40-49) out of 30
placed 4th in women out of 86
placed 12th overall out of 121

photo by jeff crosby pre-race

47 seconds faster this year than last so that's something.  i love lapham peak and i love the people who put on this race.  the energy is always the best part.  this race is in memory of nancy sellars who was killed by a drunk driver in 2008 while out riding her bike.  the proceeds from this race go to help support the nancy sellars memorial foundation which in turn does awesome work to enhance public trails and waterways in southeastern wisconsin, promote bicycle safety and cyclists rights, as well as to educate the public on the dangers and impact that drunk driving has on our community.  it is a very worthy cause and one i wholeheartedly support with open arms and the smile i'm sporting in this picture.  with that being said... i am not a fan of the short and fast race yet here i am again.  last year i figured out that i'm a distance runner through and through.  i greatly enjoy running and getting to do it for a significant amount of time.  what i do not like is how i feel when i'm trying to run as fast as i can for a short period of time.  i hate the way it feels.   i even tried to warm up with a short run before the race and that didn't help as much as i thought it might.  i'm just not much of a sprinter at this point.  i mean... i could be if i worked on my speed but my goals are longer distance as opposed to short and fast.  those short races are no joke.  ugh...

did my best.  started out too fast per usual.  had about 5 guys and 1 girl in front of me who pulled away pretty consistently as the race progressed.

the start ~ photo by annie weiss

there was a little snafu at about a mile in where the course branched off of the 20K and the volunteer at that marker wasn't clear so i all but stopped to ask which way.  that sucked.  right then is where 2 people passed me.  one turned out to be a 5mo pregnant woman and the other was a heavy set man.  both of which i feel like i should have maintained pace with or been faster than... i'm disappointed in my performance from that point on.  before that almost stop i was hauling ass like nobody's business and i felt pretty good.  my ankle (oddly) doesn't hurt while running but is really really awful when i finish.  limping and everything.  *sigh*

why do i think i should have been able to stay ahead of those other two runners?  well, mainly because they had physical obstacles that i do not have and therefore i expect more from my body.  i feel like my body should be able to perform stronger and faster than someone who is in the midst of growing another human as well as someone who is carrying 2-3 times my weight.  it seems logical.  not that i would be a better runner exactly... just that my genetic makeup should make it easier for me to run harder and faster given that i am lighter and smaller. guess it doesn't work that way tho' and that is disappointing.  i need to work on my speed if i'm going to do anymore shorties.

the start ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

the start ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

this course is pretty nice.  just a few hills and mostly rolling trail.  the last (maybe less than) half is pavement AND downhill!  i kept coaching myself to make it to the downhill so i could just catch my breath there.  i thought i could catch up to the guy in front of me there but i simply couldn't make it happen.  he was just too fast.  i think he was maybe 15 feet ahead of me and while i was closing in i just couldn't catch him before the finish.  he finished 3 seconds ahead of me.  the amazing pregnant woman finished a whole minute ahead of me!  so fantastic!  all in all i'm happy with my time.  i was shooting for 20min but i'll take the 21min for now.  maybe i can get it down for next year. lol!

the finish... the guy who i simply couldn't catch
~ photo by kristine hinrichs

my typical "pained" finisher look ~ photo by kristine hinrichs

finished!  ~ photo by annie weiss

team instep! ~ photo by jeff crosby

things are lookin' up!

about 2 weeks ago i went to instep in downtown delafield for a PT appointment with bob.  he manually manipulated my hip and lower left leg muscles to the point of pain as well as administered electrical stimulation to my calf and the surrounding tissues.  i'm not gonna lie... it was extremely painful and i thought i might die.  seriously... die.

when it was all said and done he sent me on my way with a leg that was still twitching and flexing, hope in my heart, some directions to do calf raises, and a wallet that was lighter.

after a few ups and downs in pain during the first week my leg has consistently been getting better.  there is less and less pain with each run and as it stands today (i see him again tomorrow) there is a section on the inside of my lower leg just above my ankle bone and ending just below where the calf muscle starts where there is still pain.  i'd say it's about a 4 inch section of my leg.  there is no longer any limping, it only hurts when i run, and it usually dissipates as the run continues on.  it doesn't ever completely go away but it's so minimal that i am no longer even considering any sort of pain relief.

i'd count that as a huge win!

today is the last day of june and after logging my last run of the month i've clocked 140.91 miles for this month!  that is absolutely amazing!  last month i ran 99.88 which was HUGE after what my year had been shaping up to look like.

january - 111.44
february - 68.51
march - 8.57
april - 30.95
may - 99.88
june 140.91

i'm so excited!  i've been running with so much pain all year and the prospect of running pain free is truly attainable.  cross your fingers!  i may be back to race pace soon enough.

sports medicine physical therapy > ortho physical therapy

today i had the opportunity to visit bob at instep for a physical therapy session.  my insurance doesn't cover any sports medicine physical therapy so seeing bob is coming straight outta of compton... er... i mean my pocket.

initially, i was seeing a sweet little girl named megan over at froedtert, but she wasn't helping.  quite frankly... i don't think she knew what the hell she was talking about.  she tested my range of motion the entire first visit, and i left there with handfuls of handouts with exercises to strengthen my "weak ankles and glute muscles".  i suppose it is needless to say (although i will say it anyway) that i left there less than thrilled, and not feeling very confident in megan's ability to help me.  after all, if i wanted a personal trainer i would have gone to the gym.  *sigh*  so i did the exercises she prescribed and then i went back in two weeks expecting her to follow through with the treatment that my doctor prescribed when sending me to her in the first place.  which was deep tissue massage and electro-therapy.  neither of which she addressed in the first visit.  during the second visit she asked about my running and how i was feeling and then put me on a bosu ball.  she wanted me to do several sets of single leg squats.  i obliged and basically got an insurance paid for work out.  i inquired about the actual therapy that my doctor prescribed and megan informed me that she didn't think that was the route to take as based on my symptoms she believed i just had weak ankles and glutes so no need for that pesky therapy.

um, what?!?

it was at this point that i decided that she knew nothing jon snow!  jesus!  so i cancelled all the remaining appointments and the receptionist actually asked me if megan had released me from care.  as if i have to have her permission to be in charge of my own care!  wtf?!?  i said no and that i was going to find a sports medicine therapist.

fast forward to today.

i go in to see bob and tell him what has been going on.  he does a few simple tests and then i tell him what megan said and he laughed.  he laughed out loud.  i told him what my doctor said and he agreed completely with him.  i liked him right from the start.  bob put his hands on me right away.  felt how my muscles were moving (or not moving as it were) and seemed to know what he was talking about.  he manipulated the muscles in my left glute and hip manually and with tools.  it was pretty painful at times, but i am hopeful that i will see results.  he seemed to think things will be fine in a few months or sooner.  he explained to me that what is going on in my calf has to do with constricted blood flow and that's why the muscle is knotted up and hard in a bunch of spots.  he gave me some exercises to help remedy that as well as did the torturous electro-therapy for 15 minutes.  he manipulated my calf for a long time before the torture which hurt like hell but now (several hours later) it feels pretty damn good.  apparently the hip/glute/calf are all related which i figured but it was nice to have it confirmed.  he isn't worried about the numbness and doesn't think i have sciatica which is also super relieving.  i just have some fucked up muscles that got all tightened up for some reason over the winter and need to be softened up and stretched out and back to normal.

mostly it's just nice to know that i know my body as well as i do and that someone else listened to me.  that damn girl didn't listen to me at all and it was so frustrating.  i assume that it is because she's young and maybe with time and experience she will learn to listen.  either way... i'm glad i'm not in her care anymore because man that was frustrating!

life is good people!  be inspired!