running Archives - Page 2 of 4

Dec 8, 2014

Thanksgiving Day Race Fail

December 8, 2014 By Christina

I realized I left everyone hanging about the outcome of my foot. My orthopedic doctor suggested an MRI to determine the cause of the pain on the outside edge of my foot, wanting to rule out a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal. The good news is that there was no sign of any fractures. The bones looked healthy and strong. He said there wasn’t a lot of fluid or anything indicating a severe tendonitis, either, but that it’s still possible to have tendonitis without the swelling and fluid.

So the recommendation was that I wear the boot for another 2-3 weeks and do physical therapy twice a week. This meant missing out on the Hot Chocolate 5k that I was registered for, and it put the Flying Feather 4 mile race on Thanksgiving Day in jeopardy.

I just wanted to run again.

I called the physical therapist and set up twice a week appointments. The therapist found that my right foot didn’t have as much dorsiflexion as it should, and my right hip was really weak. He provided me with a list of exercises to complete at home, with a more rigorous set that I was assigned in the office.

I did my exercises without complaint, applied ice to my foot twice a day, and took my anti-inflammatories on schedule, focused on the end goal of running again. Anything that gets me closer to running again is a priority for me.

After a solid week in the boot, I was allowed to go without it for short bouts of walking. So walking around the house was fine. Going out to check the mail was okay. My foot felt better, probably because I wasn’t giving it a chance to flare up again most of the time. When it did start to hurt, I stopped and rested it.

By the second week, I wasn’t feeling any pain. I was given permission to go for longer stretches without the boot, told to keep it nearby and put it on if my foot began to hurt. I managed to walk around IKEA without it hurting, giving me confidence that the end was in sight. IKEA is not a small amount of walking – if I could walk around the store for an hour and a half, I could probably do anything else.

I still wanting to do the Flying Feather 4 mile race, though. Two days before the race, I was given permission by my physical therapist to do the race, but only if I walked it. I asked if I could try a couple of short run intervals (under a minute each), and he said I could try two, but only if I stopped immediately if it hurt to run. I agreed to these terms, since I had been walking without pain for days. I was sure it would be a breeze.

On Thanksgiving Day, I had second thoughts about the race. Not because of my foot, but because it was 28 degrees outside, with a strong wind, and it was starting to snow. I was determined to not let another race I was registered for slip past me, though, so I suited up in layers (finishing with a SparkleSkirt, of course) and stretched and stretched and stretched ahead of time, as ordered.

Notice the gloves. I could have used two pairs, really.

When the race started, I wanted to take off in a run and never look back. But I walked for the first stretch until the crowd thinned out. I didn’t want to waste one run interval stuck in a pack of people shuffling along.

It was a little crowded at first.

Once I found a clearing, I started a slow jog. It was awesome! I was carefully controlling my speed, but it felt like I was gliding gracefully through the air with pixie dust trailing behind me. I’m sure I didn’t look like that – more like plodding along – but in my head I felt like a gazelle. It had been a month since my last attempt at running.

I switched back to a walk in under a minute – no need to force me there, since I was out of shape with cardio. There was no pain, everything felt good, and I continued on.

When I reached the first mile, I was thrilled to still have no pain. At mile two I mentally cheered that my feet weren’t failing me. I was doing this. I beat this tendonitis and could get back to my training.

And then half a mile later, I felt the first little shooting pain.

That little pain soon called in its friends, and by the time I reached mile 3, I couldn’t ignore the sharp stabbing with each step. But I was also way out on the course – with only a mile left, I didn’t want to be THAT person and ask the race staff to find someone to drive me to the end because all this walking had worn me out. I slowed my walking down and focused on the end goal.

During the last mile, I did have moments where it didn’t hurt. I’m guessing my feet were just numb from the cold and the effort. But just when I wondered if the pain was gone, it would come back. I was happy to cross the finish line and get my medal (and wine), but the smile was masking the pain I was experiencing.

smiling thru the agony (and snow in my eyes)

I was utterly defeated realizing how much my foot was hurting again. After a month off, nothing had really changed, it hurt just as much as before, and I was left wondering how long it will take to get better. I spent Thanksgiving dinner limping around my aunt’s house, and applying ice to my foot.

My physical therapist was not happy with me for not stopping when the pain started. No surprise there, and I’ll agree I was a stubborn fool with that. But last Monday I also had a follow-up appointment with my orthopedic doctor. I described the entire experience to him, he looked at my foot again, poked around a little…and then determined that I needed to see someone else.

He’s sending me to the top foot specialist in their practice tomorrow. He knows my running goals, and said he doesn’t want to treat it conservatively again for another 4-6 weeks to then risk the injury coming right back again. The X-rays and MRI didn’t show anything significant, which makes it more of a puzzle, so he wants their top foot doc to have a look and diagnose the old-fashioned way: by physical exam. Apparently for many unusual foot injuries, an extensive physical exam is the best (and only, in some cases) way to get to the source of the problem when it’s done by someone with advanced training.

Then came the next surprise: no more boot, and keep walking on it all I want. In order for the new doctor to have the best chance at determining the problem, I have to still be in pain. Resting it makes it feel better – as evidenced by weeks of it feeling great when I was babying it – so I need to make sure it still hurts when I see him on Tuesday. This made traveling to BlogHerPRO last week much easier without a boot to bring along, but I still didn’t enjoy hobbling down the hallways.

I really just want to run again. The Enchanted 10K at Walt Disney World is two and a half months away, and I want to be ready for it. I even have an amazing running costume being made for me that I want to wear for this race.

I’m hoping for a solid answer and an aggressive treatment plan tomorrow so that I can get back to training as soon as possible.

Filed Under: me me me, ow, running

Nov 7, 2014

Stopped In My Tracks

November 7, 2014 By Christina

At the beginning of October, I had officially caught the running bug. I mean, I had been running for awhile, but had finally reached that point where I looked forward to lacing up my running shoes. I wanted to get out on the road and leave any stress behind for 40-60 minutes.

And then in mid-October, while out for a typical mid-week short run, I noticed a pain on the outside of my right foot. I usually have little aches during a run, and most of the time they go away after a few minutes. It wasn’t super painful, so I continued on for the last half mile or so. When I got home, I took off my shoes and noticed that the outside of my foot and my heel were still hurting, so I stretched as I usually do, and then grabbed an ice pack to ice down the sore spots.

The next morning, my foot still hurt. I decided to play it safe and stick with the RICE protocol until it was feeling better. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) I tried to run a couple of times in the next two weeks, but each time that pain came back.

Late last week, I noticed that I couldn’t even walk around much without my foot hurting more and more. I finally gave in on Saturday and visited an urgent care, where they took x-rays and recommended I see a specialist. In the meantime, I was to wear an oh-so-sexy black and white shoe and stay off my feet as much as possible.

Yesterday, I saw the specialist. Even though the urgent care said the x-rays looked good, this doctor was less convinced. He saw a shadow on my fifth metatarsal that could be hinting at a stress fracture. To complicate matters, the area of my foot that hurts the most is the exact spot for a common type of stress fracture, but also a common spot for peroneal tendonitis. Which is it? We’re not sure.

Say hello to my inner foot!

I explained to the doctor that I wanted to run again as soon as possible. No – I needed to run again as soon as possible. The last three weeks have been torture. I finally settled into an activity that I really enjoy, and now I can’t do it. I can feel my legs tightening up, itching to hit the pavement. I put shoes on and I want to break out into a run.

And my mind is handling this poorly, too. I’m cranky. I’m short tempered. I’m depressed. I had found that running was a fantastic way to get rid of stress, and now that stress is trapped again. When I’m frustrated at the end of a long day, I want to go run to blow off steam. Oh wait, I can’t.

We don’t know for sure if it’s a stress fracture or tendonitis, so the doctor recommended an MRI to get a better look at what’s going on and (hopefully) rule out an existing or imminent stress fracture. Once we have a better look at what’s going on, the doctor said he’ll put together an aggressive treatment plan to get me running again.

If it’s just tendonitis, I’ll likely go to physical therapy for several weeks, and could possibly be running again in a few weeks. Or maybe just walking. I’d even be okay with walking if my foot was strong enough to get me through the 4-mile race I have on Thanksgiving Day. I can keep up the required pace by walking. (Did I mention I’m registered for two races in the next three weeks? All that money may be gone now.)

If it’s a stress fracture…well, we’ll hope it’s not. The options for how to handle that aren’t pleasant, and most guarantee I won’t be running again for months. If that happens, I’m going to need an antidepressant prescription with my treatment plan.

My MRI was this morning, and we’ll go over the results on Monday. In the meantime, my footwear has received an upgrade:

This really looks like an early Iron Man boot prototype.

It’s too bad this couldn’t have been the left foot. I can’t drive in this boot, so any driving involves getting to the car, taking the boot off (which is a multi-step process), switching to a shoe, driving to my destination, and then putting the boot back on before getting out of the car. Which limits my desire to want to drive anywhere unless it’s absolutely necessary. But we’ll really hope this doesn’t require a cast, or I won’t be able to drive at all for weeks.

So for the first time in my life, I’m cheering for tendonitis. It’s the lesser of the injuries, and would be a welcome diagnosis compared to the hell of a stress fracture.

We’ll know more on Monday. Hope for tendonitis.

Filed Under: me me me, running

Sep 24, 2014

Running Sucks (But I Love It)

September 24, 2014 By Christina

Had you told me years ago that I might actually want to go for a run, I would have laughed. I probably would have snorted from laughing so hard, too.

Even a few years ago, when I started running as a way to lose weight, I did it because it was a cheap form of exercise and it worked. But I didn’t love it. I’d wearily drag myself outside for each scheduled run, knowing I’d be proud of myself once it was over, all while fighting off the small voice inside my head telling me I was too tired, and maybe I should wait until tomorrow to go out when the weather might be cooler/warmer/it might be less windy/fewer people might be outside/I might have more energy/or have more time to think up new excuses.

And I’m not a pretty runner in a matching outfit with a slight glistening of sweat on my face, smiling and chatting as I run by. No, I’m more of the dripping in sweat, violet-red-faced, huffing and puffing, can’t even string two words together, pained grimace, slowly plodding, should-we-call-911? type runner. It’s not a pretty sight.

However, for all that I look like I’m being tortured, I’m finding that I like running more and more. There’s still no doubt for me that running sucks, but I’d probably feel the same about any form of exercise. Pushing your body outside of the comfort zone is not pleasant, no matter what you do. You’re going to ache, you’re going to want to stop, and unless you’re swimming, you’re going to be sweaty and smelly afterward. There’s no escaping the suck involved in challenging your body.

So how could I possibly love to run? Let me share a few of my reasons for lacing up my running shoes.

It really does get results. After only a month of regular running again (3x/week), I was already seeing more definition in my legs. After two months, I’m noticing I don’t get winded as easily when I’m active. I’m not losing a lot of weight, but my legs and butt are definitely starting to change in shape. However, I’ll say it’s not cheap like I originally thought. Good running shoes are a must, which can be pricey and need replaced every 300-500 miles. And if you’re in a northern climate like me, you may need to invest in a treadmill or gym to have an indoor place to run when there’s snow or ice in the winter, as well as cold weather running gear. But the cost is still minimal for the results.

Running is mental sorting time. Had a bad day? Run out your feelings on the pavement. Overwhelmed by too much to do? Use your running time to sort your to-do list in your head. I didn’t believe I could do these things at first – mostly because I was super focused on breathe, breathe, just a little further, don’t pass out – but as I learned to settle in to running, I found it was easier to ignore the panic messages from my body by occupying my brain with other things to think about. This is totally ME time – with my headphones playing music, there’s no one to interrupt me as I travel and think about what I need to do later that day or that week. And on those bad days, visualizing myself running away from any negative feelings, or putting the energy from a bad mood into pounding the pavement, is surprisingly helpful in resetting my emotions.

Signing up for races is like peer pressure with a t-shirt and medal at the end. I do sign up for races, and they serve an enormous role in my motivation to run. Why? Because I know that during the run, there will be a bunch of other people running, many of whom are faster than me. I don’t care that they’re faster, but seeing them motivates me to not be last, and knowing they’ll be there motivates me to keep training ahead of the race, too. It’s totally peer pressure that I put on myself, and I tend to run harder in a race than I do when running solo.

And sometimes there’s a prize at the end. Now, I’m part of the group that doesn’t believe that every kid should get an award for participation in school events. But when I’ve run a 5K or 10K distance? I’ll gladly accept the medal bling. Crossing the finish line is still an accomplishment deserving of a medal, considering the percentage of the general population who would be able or willing to do so.

You can be creative and run in costume – and people love it. Before this year, my favorite races were those that involved being covered in colored powder by the end of the race. It was fun, aside from having blue earwax for the next week. But then I discovered the joy of running in costume, and I may be hooked. It’s like Halloween year-round, and it’s completely okay to not look exactly like the character, because you have to modify most ideas to fit them into running-appropriate costumes.

There are also Facebook groups and blogs devoted to running in costume. Going along with this idea are the runDisney races – not only are costumes encouraged at these races, but you get to run through the Disney parks!

It’s inspiring to see how many miles you’ve run. There are moments when I feel like I’m not progressing fast enough in running. Or days when I feel fat and out of shape and wonder why I even keep bothering to work out. And then I look at my stats:

I know that’s not a lot for some people. But 26.5 miles in August is HUGE for me! That’s the equivalent of running from downtown Columbus to Delaware, OH. When I see that monthly total, I’m motivated to keep going and challenge myself to go even further the next month. I love seeing my progress quantified in miles, and I am thankful for every mile behind me.

So that’s why I’m going to keep running, and continue pushing myself beyond the boundaries I had established in my head. I never thought I could run a 5K, and I did it. I’m now training to run my first 10K in February, and I intend to do it. Beyond that, I’m considering training for a half marathon – which still feels a little crazy to me, but maybe I need to try something crazy to see if I’m capable of it.

Fellow runners, why do you love running? Do you have reasons that I didn’t list above?

Filed Under: running

Jul 16, 2014

Finding My Motivation with runDisney

July 16, 2014 By Christina

My motivation for staying in shape has been lacking so far this summer. I was hoping that the longer days and relaxed schedule would result in finding more time to work out, but it hasn’t happened so far. Being sick the first part of June didn’t help, but after I’d recovered I still didn’t feel like going for a run or doing any strength training.

Stepping on the scale at the end of June was quite a shock. I’d gained five pounds since May. How had I gained five pounds since May? While I haven’t been writing down everything I’ve been eating, I had a pretty good idea of it, and it definitely wasn’t enough to cause that much weight gain.

“You’re 38 years old now, your metabolism is slowing down,” I was told by more than one person.

What?

No way I’m going to let getting older tear me down. I put a lot of work into losing a lot of weight – 80lbs from my highest weight, 60lbs lost since having kids – and I hit my first goal weight two years ago. I’m not going to see it drift completely out of reach with five pounds gained each year. I was already five pounds over my initial goal weight earlier this year, so an additional five pounds puts this officially into HELL NO territory.

But working out for me is always a challenge. Inertia is strong in me. There has to be a reward in sight or it’s too easy to let it fall to the bottom of my to-do list and never get done. What I need is solid motivation.

So yesterday, I signed up for some solid motivation and registered for the Disney Enchanted 10K.

Earlier this year at the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I participated in the runDisney fun run. It was only two miles, but I got a taste of what a runDisney event is like. And OH it was awesome!

running dressed as Anna at Disneyland for the DSMMC fun run

After I got back from Disneyland, I continued thinking about all of the runDisney events and how I’d love to sign up for one of them. Aaron had to listen to me talk about them so much that he started to get excited about the idea of running a race through the Disney parks. Suddenly he was the one saying, “Why don’t we do it?” Which then forced me to stop talking about the idea in the abstract and make a decision. And I decided it’s time to go for it.

The Disney Enchanted 10K is part of the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend in February. Aaron signed up for the half marathon, and even the kids asked to try the kid races. While I’m up for a challenge, a half marathon is a little too optimistic for me at the moment. I’ve done a 5K several times, but I’ve never attempted a 10K. It’s twice as far as I’ve ever forced myself to run, which means it’ll be tough to step out of the zone I’ve become comfortable in and push myself to train further.

I think (hope?) I’m up for the challenge. I’m nervous I won’t be able to do it, but at the same time I’m unwilling to let getting older take control of me. I’d love to be in the best shape of my life when I reach 40 in two years, and this is a good first step toward that goal.

This might just be the biggest motivation to get fit ever for me. There’s a solid end date on this, with a well-defined bar for success. I don’t have to run for the entire 10K – walking parts of it is okay – but I have to keep up an average pace of 16 minutes per mile. If I fall behind, I’ll be out.

Spending all of the time and money to go to Walt Disney World for this race, and then not get the medal at the end, would be devastating. So I have to take this training seriously to make sure there won’t be any chance for that. I want to cross that finish line and add 10K to the list of accomplishments I never thought I could do. The location of the race, my love of Disney, and the costumed characters that will be cheering me on are all additional motivation to make sure this will be a success.

And I can make a running costume for it, too! Now I just need to decide what my costume will be!

Filed Under: Disney, healthy living, running

Apr 25, 2014

Running Thru Disneyland & What I Learned Along the Way

April 25, 2014 By Christina

One of the experiences I was most excited about when going to Disneyland for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was the two mile Fun Run being planned for some of the conference attendees by the RunDisney team. I had already been trying to get back into running, but seeing the opportunity to run through Disneyland and California Adventures gave me a renewed motivation to train harder.

Of course, this would happen to be the coldest, harshest winter we’ve had in a long time, meaning that the majority of my training was done indoors on my treadmill. I started back at week 1, day 1 for a couch-to-5K training program, finding even the first week difficult. I’d later realize that starting a running program when you have a bad cold, which then turns into sinus and ear infections, makes the path a little more rocky, but hey, I had a deadline to meet, as well as a time: they wanted us to average a 13 minute mile.

In the week before I left, I started to worry that I wasn’t ready. I had yet to get beyond week 3 of the training program, unable to run longer than three minutes without a break, and I couldn’t get my time to anywhere under a 14 minute mile. The weather had FINALLY turned nicer, though, and I decided to switch my running to the outdoors. I also ditched the couch-to-5K program and decided that I’d run until I just started to feel out of breath, then walk for a minute or two, then run again. The combination of finally running outdoors with more than the wall in front of me and running without a timed schedule worked: on my last run before I left for the conference, my two mile time was 25:42, just barely under 13 minutes per mile!

At registration in Anaheim, those of us who were running were asked to go to the end of the hallway, where we were fitted with new shoes, courtesy of New Balance, one of the sponsors. Their team of fit experts made me feel like Cinderella, only instead of a glass slipper they found the perfect running shoe for my foot. I also stopped to admire the limited edition Disney-themed running shoes they had on display. It’s only natural that Cinderella was one of the character-inspired designs.

Photo credit: Josh Hallett @hyku

With new shoes for my feet (thank you, New Balance!), I then visited the runDisney/ESPN table to talk a little more about the runDisney events. I had originally thought they only did marathons and half marathons, but learned last year that there are 5K and 10K events that often go with each of the larger events. (Kids races, too.) Each event looks like so much fun!

The run wasn’t until Sunday morning, which meant I had three days to wear out my feet with all of the walking around Disneyland. Luckily, I had spent a week walking around Walt Disney World not even two weeks prior, so my feet handled the stress without any problem. I was smart and stuck to sensible shoes, too.

We had to be up SUPER early on Sunday morning. Check-in was at 5:30am. I wondered how many people would show up in costume, or show up at all, at that early time. Part of my motivation was wearing something fun and Disney-themed to run in. I dressed as Anna from Frozen, with a little help from my soon-to-be favorite running skirts, SparkleSkirts:

And I found Olaf!

After a pep talk and warm ups, we all gathered at the starting line. They split us into two groups: the runners, and those who would follow a 30 second run/walk pattern. I could run longer than 30 seconds, but knew I couldn’t run all the way without a walk break. So I positioned myself somewhere in the middle, between the two groups. I’d try to stay with the runners as best I could.

I was starting my running music…the Frozen soundtrack, of course

It was amazing to run through the parks! For someone who loves Disney, having the chance to run down Main Street towards the castle, with the street quiet and empty, is simply surreal. As I ran (and walked), I kept thinking, “Is this really happening? Am I actually here, running through the castle, past the statue of Walt and Mickey?”

a sideways shot running out of the castle

Disneyland itself was fairly quiet, but once we left the gates and crossed the lot into California Adventure, we were presented with a different atmosphere. More cast members were on hand, directing us which way to go and cheering us on. You could feel the energy in their smiles. I was tiring out by this point, taking more walk breaks, but it was their enthusiasm that kept me going.

After running around the Paradise Pier area, we made the final turn into Carsland. I could see the balloon arch for the Finish line up ahead, along with the families and the runners who had already finished. I was already breathing hard with a pain in my side, but nearing that crowd made me launch myself into a sprint for the finish. I made it!

Photo credit: Josh Hallett – @hyku

I was tired at the end, but I also felt exhilaration for what I had just done. Two miles isn’t a lot to many people, but two miles in under 26 minutes was a great accomplishment for me. And there are few experiences that compare to running through the Disney parks in the quiet of the morning!

Lightning McQueen is holding me up at this point.

Reflecting on the experience, I picked up a few valuable lessons from this run:

1. “That’s what friends are for. They help you to be more of who you are.” Christopher Robin’s words reinforce the idea that a good community is invaluable. Some of the runners had formed a Facebook group to encourage and support each other as we trained for this event. Some were new to running, others experienced runners, and a lot fell in-between. Just when I felt like giving up before we even arrived, there were community members there to remind me that I could do it, I wanted to do it, and I wasn’t alone.

I wouldn’t have felt as prepared if it hadn’t been for the advice and encouragement I received from that group. It’s hard to do anything alone, but it’s so much easier when you have friends to remind you to keep going and not give up. It was wonderful to see each of them cross the finish line, too!

2. “Just keep swimming.” I’ve used Dory’s phrase many times since I first saw Finding Nemo, in many different situations. When you’re running, and your lungs are burning as you huff and puff for air, the finish line can seem awfully far away. I remember coming around a corner and seeing Paradise Pier, and then realizing I still had to run alllllll the way around it. But I wasn’t going to quit, right? No way! I had to keep going, reminding myself that I could get through it if I just kept swimming, swimming, just keep swimming…

3. “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Mary Poppins was right – find the fun in any task, and it’s far easier to accomplish. Why did I put together a running costume? Because when you’re running through Disney, it feels more fun to run as a character! For that time, I was Anna, running through the magical world of Disney with the Frozen soundtrack in my head. Running is hard, but that two miles was probably the most fun I’ve ever had while running, which only makes me want to do it again.

This was a big revelation for me: if I want to find more success with running (and anything else in life), I have to find ways to make it more fun for me.

4. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney’s quote is popular for a reason: there’s some solid truth in there. If you told me ten years ago that I could run two miles, I’d have laughed until I cried. I’ve always admired runners, but I was never a runner. Well, now I’m willing to challenge that idea. I want to be a runner, and I’m willing to pursue it. I feel that, with the right motivation, I can keep training and push myself further. I can apply this philosophy to anything I want to pursue in life as well.

It was a magical experience, and I’m so glad I decided to do it and didn’t give up.

Neither Aaron or I have done a runDisney event yet (other than this unofficial one for me), but the announcement of the new Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon at Disneyland was enough inspiration for Aaron – he’s vowed that he will run in that event for his 40th birthday in three years. I’d be happy just to train for and run in the Princess 10K at Walt Disney World – a half-marathon seems far too out of reach for me, but if it’s a runDisney event to motivate me, I think I could be ready to attempt my first-ever 10K by next year.

Photo credit: Josh Hallett – @hyku