It's a GREAT day!

For a couple of reasons....
1. Buckeyes won last night!!!! ELITE 8 BABY!
2. Project #1 of the Spring Yard Projects is complete (retaining wall is built and back filled!) all before it rained overnight!
3. Yard was mowed!
4. 1/8 of the flower beds are mulched (I am so totally paying some high schooler to finish it over spring break!)

AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST....DRUM ROLL PLEASE....

5. I CAN GO BACK TO TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Yep, the AMAZING Dr. Pat told me that I could go back to running....with a plan...2 minute run, 3 minute walk, for 3 miles; then a FULL 2 mile walk. AND! I am supposed to really push the 2 minute run to my fastest time...this will assist with burning the calories AND increasing my speed. He didn't say that I wouldn't be able to run the half; or that I couldn't. He just said that let's work towards it!!!! 

So, I took him in my shoes. I have ordered my original running shoes online now. I am not going to mess with it anymore. Now I have a $109 pair of "street shoes". Sadly, they aren't very cute. But o-well. Unless someone wants to purchase them...$50 say...that will pay for my new Asics..Here is a pic...I have worn them maybe for a total 50 miles. They are a size 9.5 womens. Give me a call, or email, or FB me if you are interested...about a week before I decide to put them on to just wear as "street shoes"!

With all that said...I get to run, I get to run, I get to run!!!!! This makes me sooooo incredibly happy!

I need to give a shout out to my BFFAE Jen! After the initial appointment on Tuesday and me relaying to her my dread and possible disappointment at potentially not being able to do the half, she said to me "I don't care if we walk the whole 13.1. We will START together. We will FINISH together. If I have to push you across the finish line in a wheelchair I will!" Gosh I love her to pieces! That totally made my day! And it reaffirmed my belief and trust in our friendship (not that I had any doubt!)! I really needed her to say that to me!

So, back to running I go!!!!!! Am I nervous? I ain't gonna lie...HELL YEAH! But I am going to push the nerves aside and get out there and DO IT! AHHHHH......

The AMAZING weather and other things...

So, today was THE DAY! The day I got to go the AMAZING Dr. Prikkel for my PF. This guy is HI-LARIOUS! But also very SMART! As any doctor should be. He gave it to me straight.

Here's the deal... It's bad. But it's fixable?! (is that even a word?!) I told him EVERYTHING I have been doing since the flares...ice bottle rolls, golf ball rolls (hateful!), silly looking boots and splints, STRETCHING, STRETCHING, oh and did I mention STRETCHING! Yep, I'm doing it all right. Let's look now...a few gentle (I LIE!) pushes on my heels with his thumbs and I thought for sure I jumped out of my chair and to the moon!  But within a few more pushes I was feeling relief...or so my head was telling me...no, it did feel good once I got used to the pain! HA!  Then onto the board...that kooky chiropractor board/chair/contraption that costs $15k he says....stretch my foot, pop my ankle, massage my calf....ahhhhhhh....if I could have gotten him to paint my toes it would have been the ULTIMATE AMAZING day! But alas, I digress. Some electric shocking pad thingies onto the bottom of my feet and again I about jumped to the moon at the first shock! But oh did that feel good too. Now I have some black tape on my feet. Some Kinesis tape and I am out the door with an appointment to go back Friday with my silly boots and splints and running shoes!

And here's the BEST part...He must have told me 3 times that I shouldn't run the 1/2. I must have told him 3 times that I was doing the 1/2. Because all I really heard was "run". Okay, well, here's the thing. Since this "injury", I have concluded that I may not be able to RUN the entire 13.1 miles. My goal has always been COMPLETION. Whether I walk it or run it. But I will run AS MUCH AS I POSSIBLY CAN!!! Because in my mind, I don't earn a 13.1 sticker for my car if I don't RUN SOME OF IT!!! (secretly preferably 1/2 of it to make it a "1/2" after all!)  Well, by the 3rd time of me telling him that I have to do this, he finally relented and said, well, you may just have to walk some of it. OKAY! FINALLY! (He knows my "cult" so he knows that I will do this. I wouldn't doubt if he has called them to tell them I shouldn't do this...oh HIPPA...)

So with all that...I am off to ICE because it is throbbing right now. Which doesn't surprise me because of the "things" the AMAZING Dr. Prikkel did to it today.

Oh, and you know what the most DEPRESSING part of the day was, but also the most INSPIRING part of the day was....driving thru the Oakwood/UD area and seeing ALL the people out running!!! If there were 3, there were 15! It was AMAZING! THE WEATHER WAS AMAZING!!!!

Run for me my friends...until Friday when I find out the fate of my weekend training...

It's the SHOES!!!!!!!!!

I swear! It's the shoes!!!!! It's not me or my gait. It's not the way I run or don't run. It's not how much I stretch or don't stretch! IT'S THE FREAKIN' SHOES! How do I know this you ask... Well, let me tell you....

Went to Cardio BootCamp tonight with my dear friend Kelly at the Rec Center. She has raved about this class for weeks and I have been wanting to try a cardio class for core strength. This is definitely the class for that! 50 minutes, 2 nights a week. Easy Breezy!  Well, 15 minutes into it and 1 lap around the indoor track my foot is shooting pain! I push thru as I always do! But MAN AM I IN PAIN!!!! I am truly convinced it's the shoes. Seriously, my feet should not hurt like this. Not during a class. If I am wrong, then tell me so.

I did make an appointment with a Sports Medicine Chiropractor recommended by one of my "cult" running friends. I am really looking forward to this. I will let you know how that all goes next week. The appointment is Tuesday, 3/20.

In the meantime, I am getting new shoes this week. I will go and get fitted AGAIN, but at a different store. I will ice. I will stretch. I will sleep with ugly boots. I will roll a golf ball until you hear me scream in Akron. I will do more core exercises to keep me in shape.

Because sitting dormant/lazy and resting my foot the last 2 days SUCKED!

Stupid shoes!

More of the same....heel pain....

So, didn't quite make it a full 5 miles yesterday. 3.05 to be exact. Had full plan to do so too! Even tricked Nate into going with me by telling him 1. he could ride his bike 2. It would only be 3 miles. Little did I know that 1.5 miles in my heel would say HELL NO! Pain.Shooting.Right.Up.My.Leg. I stop. I walk. Felt like crawling. Stretched it on the curb. And walked some more. Got to a point where I thought "okay. seriously. suck it up. try and run. just try. if you can't, you can't. but try. finish this out. go just a little farther. you can almost see home. come on. you can do this. you are on a busy road. someone will stop if you fall." I start running. Heel still hurts but there is no shooting pain. At this point I just want to get home and put it in an ice bath. I can see me sitting outside (cause it was ABSOLUTELY B-E-A-UTIFUL) with my foot in an ice bath. I make it home.

I was disappointed in myself though. It was a 15 something minute mile. After coming off a 13 min/mile it's hard to accept anything less. And it didn't even feel like a full 3 mile run! That really torqued me off! It was probably more like a 2.5 mile full run. YUCK! I NEEDED 5!

I know I am going to have days during this process of training that I will not be able to run because of my foot. But I feel like a failure. I don't like to fail.

After the race on Saturday after the race, my girls and I went to the running store. I wanted to get some new shoes. Paul, the worker, asked what was ailing me. I tell him. He refuses to re-fit me until my PF is more manageable. Define "MANAGEABLE". Able to walk without a limp is my definition. So, I will give myself a couple more days and then go get fitted, again, for a better shoe. While checking out with some GU and a cool "RUNNER GIRL" sticker, he says to me "IT'S BETTER TO BE UNDERTRAINED AND HEALTHY AT THE START LINE, then to be OVERTRAINED AND UNHEALTHY". Fine. I get it.  But tell that to my trainers and the "cult" that set this plan up for me...and tell ME that over and over as I continue to go out there and push myself to limits unknown.

Maybe Wednesday I will be better to run?

First 5k of MY Season

Welp. I set the precedence for rest of my 5k season
Chipped time of: 40:12.5 (41:36.5 at gun)
Mile Pace: 13:25/M

And that's the pace for all my other 5ks in the 2012 Race Season. Oh boy!  I must say though, this is UNBELIEVABLE! I did it though! As I have mentioned before, I have been doing 5k's since 2009. July. 2009. So, I am not a full 3 years into them yet and this is the first time I have BEAT MY TIME! AND reduced my time by almost 4 minutes in (almost) 3 years!!!! YAY ME!!!!!!!

So hear are a few of my random thoughts about today and the events prior to, during, and of course after the race....
1. Shelly the Trainer wants a new name. Something "Swedish" she says! Um. Okay.
2. Shelly the Trainer also apparently doesn't know what a bag is before a race. Now! In her defense for today, she ran to my house prior to go to the race. She only lives 1.07 miles from my house. Not a far run. So she couldn't bring a bag with whatever she may need like MY BFFAE, Deanna, and myself had. That's for another blog though...
3. Not one of us in the car this morning had any idea where Harrigan's was. But we got there. And then thought it looked like a pretty cool place.
4. Maybe an hour before the race is a bit early to get there when you have already picked your packet up (THANK YOU AGAIN DEANNA!!!!). However, getting there an hour early does allow for some serious people watching/observing, er, I mean, stretching?! Nah, I ain't gonna lie...we saw some very interesting things/people/outfits/get-ups...and let's not forget the conversations we also heard while waiting for the race to begin...
5. I don't like hills. Didn't know there were hills. None of us checked the route out. They weren't bad. But I don't like hills. Vandalia doesn't have hills! Why does Kettering??? I better train on some hills just in case the 1/2 has a hill or 5...But what I learned...what goes up, must come down. I also learned that while running uphill SUCKS, running downhill also SUCKS! It is just as hard, a little easier, but still sucks.
6. My breathing was good. My third lung kicked in just at the right time. I should have talked more too, so Shelly the SWEDISH trainer says...However, I shouldn't talk with my headphones on...as I TALK VERY LOUDLY....SO LOUDLY THAT JEN (MY BFFAE) COULD HEAR ME AHEAD OF HER! But I don't think I wanted to talk. I wanted to write. Shelly the Swedish trainer should bring a notebook next time so I can dictate my thoughts to her for this blog.
7. Jen, MY BFFAE, has always beat me to the finish line.That's ok. I have a cheering section when I finish! That secretly makes me happy! And I usually lose sight of her before the 1st mile is up. BUT! That was not the case today! She was in my eyesight the ENTIRE TIME! I watched her ponytail swing (wink...told ya!) 
8. PB toast, even one piece, is not a good thing to eat prior to the run.IN-DI-GES-TION.
9. I kicked it into HIGH GEAR the last 1/2 mile...thanks to Shelly. "Hit a powersong, Tami". Okay! She kept up...damnit! Was kinda hoping she'd fall behind and just watch me run like the wind! Maybe I need to convey that to her next time.
10. And lastly, well...it was a great race today. I feel great. I'm glad this one is over though. 2 more 5k's before the 1/2.

Tomorrow, it's a long run. 5 MILER. But we have a plan. Now to rest my foot (incredible heal pain today!) and gear up for tomorrow.

Run my friends. Run. ;-)

70

Tami Henderson

Vandalia

312

37

775

40:12.5

41:36.5

13:25/M

A word of thanks...

I don't have many followers to this blog. I haven't had many hits or views either. But those that have followed or viewed it are friends.  I am not writing this blog for fans or notoriety. I am writing it to express my thoughts about this half marathon. To maybe get advice or a phone call or a word of encouragement is great! And I welcome it! Whether it be to my FB page or on this site.

So, THANK YOU to everyone who contacted me last night about my PF. All your words of wisdom, encouragement, and advice really meant the world to me! This PF is a PIA! I hate it. I despise it. It makes me scowl all day long. But I will get over it. I will persevere.

I will do the half and then I will probably get a saw-saws  and cut my foot off.  At least that's my plan for now. 

Not off to a great start...

But I did attend an AdvoCare Mixer and am extremely excited! And I got my next Runner's World magazine! These two things are quickly becoming my favorite indulgences!

So, I ran last night. It was a beautiful day! Warm. Low 60's I think. I thought it was gonna be great! I only had to do 3 miles (1 mile run, 1 minute walk). PIECE. OF. CAKE. Or so I thought....talk about a struggle. I couldn't find my "groove" on the sidewalk, so I moved to the street. That proved to be unsafe, so I went back to the sidewalk. Music was not kicking in for me. It took everything I had to just get thru that 1st mile. UGH. My right heel was THROBBING. I realized I am starting to roll my foot to compensate from the pain on the heel only to now have pain in on the side of my foot. I am not winning. Mile 1 down. Walk for 1 minute. Yeah, even that hurt. I start running again thinking I can run thru the pain. OH, and there is someone running towards me too. I can't let them see me walk! ARE YOU KIDDING! So, yeah, I start running. Picking up the pace. Whew! They passed. I slow down. MISTAKE! Foot throbbing again! I walk. I can't do it. It hurts so bad. I really needed my Trainer Shelly on this run. She distracts me. Takes my mind off the pain.  I only made it 2.66 miles just to get back to my house. And I am pretty sure I walked more than I should have.

My foot was so stiff last night. I would wake up in the middle of the night and it was stiff. This was definitely something I have never felt before. I stretched it in the middle of the night, at least 4 times, yawn.  Today, it is still painful. It may be time to call the foot doctor. Again.

I do have a 5k this weekend. And I am really looking forward to that! I love the 5ks. I hope I still love them after this weekend. I have 2 more before the big 13.1 miler.

Tonight I will do some AB RIPPER! Thank you Matt and Amy! Hmmmm, wonder if I can get my son to join me! (I can hear you dad!!!!)

Until my next run, probably Friday morning...here's to hoping my foot heels itself. I don't have time for this pain! 58 days and COUNTING....

Week 3....5 MILES

Yay! I did it! I ran a full 5 miles. No stopping! Not even to "chuck" as Shelly (my trainer) put it!

It started out great! I had a lot to talk about with Shelly as we usually do on my long runs. Mostly me talking and her listening. It helps me breath, er forget about breathing as I run, which then I can run longer. Usually the first mile is the WORST for me but this time it was a breeze...it went by so quickly. 13 something I think. Which is very impressive for me. I am getting faster. I think. I feel anyhow.

Mile 2.5 was nice too. We actually went a little further. My choice. I think I surprised Shelly.  Then we turned around and went back. This was about when I wished I had something to drink. Just to wet my mouth. Gosh it was so dry. The miles started to suck. Bad. So we started laughing about the "fanny packs of water" that some runners wear (sorry if you are one of those people that wear them). Why would I add another 3 pounds to my already overweight body and run with it! HELLO! So Shelly the Trainer said she would carry water next time for me (and her secretly...I think she was dry-mouthed too!) So that got me thru the next half mile.

About mile 3.5 is when I wanted to "chuck" as she put it. Throw up. Yep. I had the feeling of "I am going to die or throw up". I didn't stop running. I just leaned a little to the left, spit, and all the while kept running. Shelly the Trainer, however, ran a little ahead of me and looked the other way. 

Mile 4 because MIND OVER MATTER. I did 4 last weekend. What's another mile??? What's another 13:46? NOTHING! But it took me a few to get there. But I did it. And we ran. Susie, the voice on my Nike app, came on and said, "You're almost there! Hit for a powersong and punch it". OKAY SUSIE! Let's do this! And I did. To Nickelback. And I finished it. And it felt great. And I will do it next weekend.

It started snowing. It got colder. I asked random people on the path if they had water. They did not. But they smiled. I enjoyed the run.

And then it occurred to me, thanks to Shelly the Trainer, that today is March 3rd. MY 1/2 IS IN 2 MONTHS! 62 DAYS!!! Eh, I got it. Thanks to Shelly the Trainer.

My oh my...feet

There is nothing worse than Plantar Facetious...I SWEAR! The pain in my right foot is enough to make my eyes well with tears! I'd give birth to a 12# baby to not have this pain!

Went out last night for my 2.5 mile training run last night...1/2 mile in and I come down off a curb HARD and the pain shoots up my right leg! OUCH!!!!!!! But I keep pushing thru it. I think I will be resting tonight.

So my fear today...what if this happens at the half? What if the pain is so horrid and dreadful that I can't finish? What if last nights run did more serious damage and I can't finish the training? What if? What IF?  But I am not dwelling on the what if...I am not going to the doctor. I am going to do my stretches, ice it, wear the lovely brace at night (good thing I sleep alone...they aren't attractive) and just pray that it gets better. 

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them...or if you have some cortisone in a syringe that you'd be willing to shoot in my foot, I'd happily oblige. :)