Here We Go....

        

                                    We Surrender!! Ready or not........

Ragnar NW Passages - It's Happening People

 The rock above I-5 Northbound heading into Bellingham. 

Courtesy of a Team Roadkill Cafe.

One of my favorite pics from last year's race....

Leg 7 Trail....

Deception Pass

The Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies have stayed the same for the most part. One of our compadres had to drop out but his replacement was our van driver from last year, Juliet's awesome husband Rob. We are officially 3 days out! Our start time is early again this year - 7am. And I am giving up one of my legs - the longest one since I am not quite in that kind of shape yet. I am runner 2 this year (was 3 last year) and will be doing two legs - first is 3.0 miles and the second is 3.8. Totally doable. In the meantime, if you want to read about last year....take a gander. 

Part 1 Recap

Part 2 Recap 

Part 3 Recap

The Big Finish 

Odds, Ends and Awesome Stuff

Joined a Gym....

So the Girl and I have been talking about joining a gym for a few months now. I needed to wait until I finished PT and Lexie cleared me for that....but now that summer is here, it was the perfect time to get started. There is one that is a few blocks from my work (only a short train ride from home) and they allow the Girl to also be a member and come and go as she pleases, even though she is still a minor.

My goals for this are to up my game in terms of cross and strength training. I plan to be there 3 days a week, mostly on my non-running days so I can do the elliptical and some circuit training. In the week since we joined, we've actually gone on running days so I've gotten to experience a treadmill for the first time.

Before now, I had only ever been on a treadmill for warm ups at PT and at the running store testing out shoes. So running a full 3 miles on one is a totally new experience. I totally get why people call it the 'dreadmill'. It's kind of awful. Like I can't stop staring at the screen to check how far I've gone. It's is also much harder. I had no idea. But running at the same exact pace, even when you are tired and would naturally slow down a little on the road, you just keep going. I am not sure I really like it.

And it's boring as hell. They have these little TV's but only get like 4 channels, so I am forced to watch CNN  (love news, just not that network) and get dizzy trying to read the subtitles in an attempt to trick my mind into staying busy. I am thinking I need to a) not go on the same one every time b/c it makes it worse that the view is exactly the same and b) perhaps try watching something on Netflix on my phone to distract myself and c) don't go on the treadmill.

I think the last choice is the winner. At least as long as it's prime outdoor running season in Seattle. I think it might not sound too bad once winter hits and every run is in the dark again. We shall see.

Part of the membership includes Personal Trainer sessions. Never really done that so it will be good I think. I had my first apt. with Zack, my trainer, yesterday and it went well. We have our first workout scheduled next week and he's going to set me up with a good circuit training routine that will cover arms, abs, back and legs.

Also part of this next phase - the Girl and I need to clean up our eating. Like a lot. It's gotten pretty bad and I've been really lazy lately. No more - there is absolutely no point to doing all this work physically if we eat crappy - the bad food will always show on your body and I'm tired of it. Big changes to come - watch out!

June: In Which I "Run" My First Half Marathon in a Full Year

So this happened.....

I started the month still on my NYC high....Love that place. Running there was so fun that the feelings definitely lasted for a bit. Can't wait to go back - I think I definitely want to do a race while I am there next. 

I also went into June feeling pretty good since I officially finished with PT. All that good running juju put me in a race frame of mind. Decided at the last minute to do Rock and Roll....and am SO glad I did.

It was another phenomenal race with Wear Blue  and I had a pretty good race considering I walked over half of it.

Wear Blue Mile 

This photo of my girls was all over the RnR post race emails and updates. Great shot!

Overall a great month and now all of a sudden it's July and time for Ragnar! Here we go...

Seattle Rock and Roll 2013 Recap

Wear Blue Runners at the Start. Source.

I am extremely late on getting this one out there. I hope I can remember all the gory details! My first race in a year - and even though I didn't run the whole thing, it was still a really great experience. I was really on the fence about doing the race at all. I literally registered a week before because I just couldn't decide. Ultimately, I just couldn't NOT do it...running with Wear Blue is always such a great experience that I knew I would regret it if I didn't join in the fun again this year. 

Keeping the injury in mind and the fact that I was decidedly not in half shape, my plan was to walk to the split at the lake - where the full marathoners go right to Seward Park and the halfers go left to run along the lake to I-90. Because of a slight change in the course this year (they removed the killer hill around mile 5 that leads to the lake and rerouted on a much more flat street), I ended up running more than my planned 5-ish miles. My official stats were that I ran to the 10k mark and walked the rest, except for the last half mile, which I ran again. Overall, only 49 minutes slower than my slowest half, which wasn't too bad considering I walked 7 miles of it. 

Official Results...not too shabby.

We started in Corral 17 again this year and it was packed! I think we had nearly 300 runners out - which was more than last year. Volunteers also turned out in higher numbers for the Wear Blue Mile so it was very cool to have such a visible presence. Just before gun time, we had circle and it was pretty big and the energy was really amazing. Hard to describe the feeling - a heady mix of joy and sorrow. It is a somber thing to honor the life of someone who lost it in service to our country - but to do it in such a life affirming way makes it a truly remarkable experience. The excitement, love and purpose was palpable. And so very humbling.

Source. 

We crossed the start line right about 7:25am or so. Ran with the crew until the split at mile 6 and then slowed my roll to a walk. It wasn't that bad walking the rest actually. I was kind of psyching myself out a bit since walking PDX was so painful, but it was not that bad at all....

Tony, Deidra, Me, Lee, Jess and Kryste

The Wear Blue Mile, like last year, did not disappoint. It was moving, uplifting, and inspiring. I still get chills when I think about it. I ran to remember Nathan and Frank - seeing their posters on the mile was throat-lump inducing for sure, especially when I noticed the note from Kryste on Frank's. That definitely brought a few tears to my eyes. 

Rachel's Husband. 

Kryste's Husband

It was pretty hot for this one - by the time I was done it was definitely in the low 70's. Which makes this Seattle girl start to melt....But blue skies and brilliant scenery made up for it. 

Ran into my friend Bob on the course....

Me, Deidra and our awesome friend Holly - who rocked her very first marathon like a boss.

My girls #meanjess and #lunchbox around Mile 19. Both ran the full carrying those 5 ft. Flags.

No recap would be complete without a stolen race photo - thanks MarathonFoto!

Just like last year, this race went off without a hitch. There was definitely an increased security presence at the finish line, but thankfully, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on. Everything was well organized and easy to figure out. I think I will definitely be doing this one again. And who knows, maybe by next year, I'll be ready to tackle a full marathon? We'll see!

Addendum: I just remembered something I forgot to tell you! I walked across the finish line and was immediately accosted by a producer from KIRO 7 News asking about my Wear Blue shirt. He grabbed the on-air guy and explained what the group is all about and then before I knew it, I had a microphone in my face and a camera about 2 feet away. I was hot, sweaty, red faced and out of breath. I did my best to explain what Wear Blue was all about and why we run to honor the fallen, the families and the fighting. I am pretty sure I rambled and was not very articulate....which was later evident when approximately 8 seconds of the 2 minutes I talked to him was aired. Heh. I set the DVR for all 4 half hour news segments from the 5pm news on and of the three packages on the marathon they aired, the one I was in was only aired once. So I don't think the segment turned out quite the way they'd hoped. It was about running with purpose. Also in the segment was some active duty military folks who walked/ran with their heavy rucksacks which was cool - but the bummer for me was that they didn't show my shirt well or have the name of the group on the screen. Oh well. I guess I'll have to take that 8 seconds of fame as is. 

Rocking and Rolling

Wonderful day yesterday. I really had a great run/walk and it was so amazing to be with great friends to honor the Fallen. More to come with a full recap. Today, I'll be attempting to recover while helping my little brother unload a moving van into his new house. With stairs. We'll see how that goes.....

Seattle Rock-n-Roll

  This may or may not be happening. Don't worry - I'll be walking more than half of it....

May: In Which I Officially End PT

After 10 long months, I had my last PT appointment last week. I am healed and no longer 'injured' -- acutely, at least. I will always have to baby this hamstring and take extra precautions. But I am officially 'all running' now and am going to begin to progress up to higher mileage - but very very slowly.

Hudson River Greenway

I also went on a work trip this month. To NYC. My second time visiting and I love that place. I was there for a week - 4 days for work and 2 extra days for fun. I had a phenomenal time and was able to get 3 runs in. 

 Hudson River Greenway - Again. Loved this path and all the piers. This was the end of one I particularly liked. It had these nice lounge chairs at the end overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey.

 

 New World Trade Center

Run #1 was my second full day. And it was hot. 86* and very humid. This Seattle girl nearly melted but I pushed through and completed a 3 miler. The HRG was only about 6 blocks from my hotel so I was able to get both weekday runs in close by. The second run was much cooler because I went in the morning. There were a ton of other runners out both times. But no one makes eye contact. I am used to the whole smiling and nodding at each other when passing another runner.
Yeah. Not so much here. 

The 3rd and final run was my last full day and I had the time to take the subway uptown to Central Park. I had to do at least one run there. And this one, incidentally, was the most like running at home. The weather took a turn during the week and thunderstorms, wind and lots of rain moved in. So it was in the high 40's, pouring rain, and I was dodging giant puddles the whole time. But it was worth it! 

The Reservoir

May felt like a good month. I feel like I finally turned a corner and am on my way to being back to 'normal'. And I am really glad about that. Realistically, it will be at least 9 months to a year before I am back up to 'half shape' and able to race again. But I am ready to take on this next part of the challenge and embrace my new reality. Cross training, strength training, you name it. I am going to be so on top of it because damned if I am going to get injured again!

 Wet cold run in Central Park in Blue. 

Looking forward to this summer. Ragnar is a couple short months away and it'll be here before I know it. Gotta get serious about the training for real.

Running in NYC

 Hudson River Greenway

View of the World Trade Center from the path....

 Central Park - the Reservoir

 The entire path is about 1.67 miles...and the inside trail was

muddy and full of puddles. Just like running at home!

Very peaceful...

New York State of Mind

Running along the Hudson River Greenway and in Central Park....loved every second.

Mapping Some Runs in NYC

The Big Dream: Someday I'll do this sort of running in NYC....

I am headed to NY for a work trip next week. And I cannot wait. It'll be my second time visiting the city and this time, I plan to get in at least three runs. Last time I went, I had just started my running love affair and ended up walking so much around the city that I never ended up getting a run in. This time, that will not be the case. 

Central Park - here I come!

I plan to get two runs in early morning along the Hudson River Greenway, which is about 5 blocks from my hotel. I'll do one in either direction - one south towards lower Manhattan/Battery Park and the second one will be north headed towards the West Village. My final run in the city will be in Central Park. Can't run in NYC without visiting the park. It would be tragic not to.

I will be sure to post pictures from my travels next week. I really really wish I was able to get in a day early b/c the Brooklyn Half Marathon is happening Saturday. It might be fun to spectate that one, since their field grew from something like 7,000 last year to nearly 25K this year. I guess that is what happens when the two biggest marathons in the U.S. are impacted by terrorists and an act of mother nature in the same Marathon season.

Happy Running this weekend everyone!

April: In Which the Unthinkable Happens

 Source.

"In the immediate sense...[it] was an attack on the highest profile moment of the highest profile event of a relatively low profile, unique culture, which is the marathoners. The endurers.....doing something that is not much like anything else in our American culture. In our instant reward world, marathoners are after a gratification that is not just delayed, it is a form of gratification that most of us have a hard time believing can conceivably be gratifying. But that difference fosters fellowship among marathon runners and that has fostered culture and that has fostered now even a whole economy that you wouldn't know existed unless you went looking."  ~ Rachel Maddow, TRMS, Tues April 16th

April was a rough one for our sport. Every runner I know was pretty devastated by what happened at the end of the Boston Marathon this month. It was horrible to watch that type of carnage and terror mar one of the most amazing feats a runner can experience. And for all the family and friends who came to cheer on their people and who were hit the hardest; we, the marathoners, were particularly devastated to watch what happened to all of you as you stood there excited, proud and expectantly waiting to cheer your runner on at the finish, just when they needed it the most....

The morning after, I read this little piece at Jezebel  - The People Who Watch Marathons - that I thought captured it well....

"The spectators — people who show up and cheer with noisemakers and high fives and encouraging cheers and magic-markered tagboard signs that read "YOU ALL ARE CRAZY! KEEP RUNNING!"— are the people who matter most to runners. Without those people, a marathon would just be an exercise in self-abuse from a large group of crazies. But there is meaning in marathoning: the people who watch"

It's been weeks and we all know the 'ending' to the story by now. The two men responsible have been captured/killed after a week of keeping the city hostage in a paralyzing fear culminating in a manhunt that completely shut down Boston proper and the surrounding communities.  The finish line has been cleaned up and is no longer a crime scene. The hundreds of injured people are slowly trying to heal and start their lives over in their new reality. The dead have been laid to rest.

But the path to real healing is months and years away. For everyone. And for us runners, we are just going to do what we do - keep running. One step at time. One foot in front of the others. For those that we lost and for those that won't run again, we run for you.

Unstoppable For Boston

Group shot before the run. Source.

My local running store Fleetfeet hosted a run Monday night called Unstoppable for Boston. There was a pretty nice turnout, over 340 people, I believe. They sold t-shirts, raffle tickets and beer after the run and raised over $7k. New Balance graciously offered to match the donations for the evening so all told, over $14k was donated to One Fund Boston.

I met up with my friend Mike and I actually got to run the whole time. It was only 2.62 miles so it was perfect to fit in as one of my "all runs" I was assigned between PT appointments. It was a lot of fun to run with so many folks and thanks to the drivers of Capitol Hill for patiently waiting on the side streets for all of us to pass by. Nothing like a little unofficial road run with over 300 people! 

It was nice to be with my 'people'....and go for a run on a beautiful spring Seattle day.

Brokenhearted

I didn't have a Boston Marathon shirt to wear today to show my support....but my wear blue shirt turned out to be perfect. In so many ways. I wore it all day and then laced up for a 3 miler. To show my support and solidarity for the runners, the spectators and everyone who was impacted. Especially for the three who were taken too soon and those whose lives will never be the same.

Good Morning San Francisco

On a work trip but I got in a nice 3 miler this morning and was treated to a beautiful sunrise over the bridge.

March: In Which I am Very Very Lame

Not really sure how that happened. I went a whole month without a single post. How lame am I? Don't really have a great excuse...other than work has pretty much kicked my a$$ this month. I've been so busy and kept meaning to write a post here or there and just never quite made it happen.

Recovery Update: We reduced my PT visits to twice a month in February. That continued through March and we have since decided that once a month is now sufficient. So I will not be back until the third week in April. We'll see how I do managing the tightness in my hammy without that massage. I can keep it at about 70-80% loose on my own with stretching and foam rolling.

My runs, as assigned by PT until my next visit include doing two as ALL RUNS! I've gotten pretty good at tolerating my 5/1 intervals...so the next jump will be to all running. It's time to start getting serious because Rock and Roll is only a few short months away. And then a month later it's Ragnar time. Kind of makes me a bit nervous. But I have realistic expectations so that should serve me well.

Happy Spring! 

February: In Which I Keep Slogging Forward

Feb Miles -  34

 2013 has started off slowly....but that is ok. Winter is now almost over and it's time to start enjoying the changing season and being able to do a run after work and have it still be light!! Love this time of year....It's such a relief after all the dark runs wearing my nerdy safety gear.

Taking it slow is paying off....baby steps aren't fun to document b/c frankly, it's a little boring. And every so often, I get a little excited and over do it a bit and have to take a step back. That happened this month. I was doing well with my 4/2's and got the go ahead to do one 5/1 in the two week period between PT apts but somehow heard that I could do one a week...so I did two runs at 3 miles with almost all running. Not ready for that and the result is that there has been increased tightness and pain. So backing off and sticking with mostly 4/2's right now is the plan. One 5/1 only...before my next PT visit on 3/12. Moving forward, slowly.

I finally got a new pair of shoes! I have been needed a pair for a while but was really unsure of what to get since my Brooks Ghost 4's had been discontinued and I wasn't sure if the 5's would work for me. I spent an hour or so trying on about 6 different pairs and finally settled on a pair of Mizuno Wave Inpires. Verdict after wearing them for a month? LOVE them. I get support and spring, but I can actually feel my feet hitting the ground. The Ghost 4's were pillowy and glidy...and sometimes maybe a bit too cushy. But I'm in love and may just be a Mizunos convert....we shall see!

The month ended with a little reflection on the mental aspects of injury recovery.... I am doing it right...and in the right frame of mind at the moment. It's just requiring an infinite amount of patience.

 

Injury Recovery

Injuries suck. And every runner, sooner or later, will have one. It may be big and take you out for months. It may be small and only briefly interrupt your running. But no matter what, you are sure to go through the "Five Stages of Injury", as coined by Beth over at Shut and Run ~ I give her full credit for laying it out so nicely.

"1. Denial – Are you f*cking kidding me? My marathon is in {insert number} weeks and I’ve trained my ass off. There is no way I’m not running this thing, even if I have to crawl. It’s just a pain in my hip. I’m sure I just pulled a muscle dancing on the pole. Or maybe this pain is a figment of my imagination, part of tapering madness. I’m sure I’m fine.
2. Anger – Are you f*cking kidding me? This still hurts, might be worse. Why me? I didn't do anything wrong. Everyone else can run and not get injured. Hell, Dean freaking Karnazes is running across the United States and he never gets injured. This sucks. I don’t deserve this. I pay my taxes, I follow a training plan. I bought the stinking $100 shoes that they told me to buy at that damn store.
3. Bargaining – You are not f*cking kidding me. I’m hurt. I get it. But, I swear if I am healed enough by marathon day to at least complete the race I will never {insert vice: cuss, drink, over train,  do meth, run with scissors, yell at my kids, lick a knife} again. Once I complete this race, I will rest for a really long time and go to the doctor. I swear. Just let me run this race.
4. Depression – (warning: here’s where it gets really ugly). I’m f*cked. I’m out of the race. Hell, I might never run again. I hate swimming and biking and most of all running in the water. I want to run. I only like running and I am nothing without running. I will get fat. I will get lazy. I will lose all of my fitness. Why bother getting out of bed?
5. Acceptance – I can’t race. I can’t even run right now. But, it’s going to be okay. I am still an athlete, I am still a runner, I am just recovering. I will be back. Stronger than ever. Even though I can’t run, there are other things I can do to maintain my fitness. Even though I can’t run, I am still worthy. There is more to me than being a runner."

 As someone who has been out of commission since August, I can tell you this is pretty spot on. I think part of the reason this injury has been so stubborn is partly due to the fact that I was stuck in the Denial stage for so long. It was a rapid descent into Anger, Bargaining and Depression from about September on. Once I fully realized that I was going to be out for a while, I wavered between Depression and Acceptance for quite a while.

In fact, it's only been in the past month that I finally feel like I am solidly in the final stage of Acceptance. Mentally, I've kept my head down so I could focus on recovering stronger than before. Doing something proactive helped alleviate the depression. Not totally of course....actual measurable progress was what it finally took to move past that mentally. And since this has been on my mind quite a bit, it was only appropriate that my current favorite blogger, The Hungry Runner Girl also did a post on injury recovery the other day. This one focused on the mental aspects of getting yourself to Acceptance stage.

These efforts are in three parts - Get Proactive, Focus on the Short Term and Focus on the Long Term, which will ultimately allow you to get to the final part, the ultimate goal- to "Come Back Stronger". Getting proactive means you get to focus on other stuff, like cross training - and taking a break from running allows you to examine what might have led to the injury in the first place. Focusing on the short term is really just another way of saying 'Take it one day at a time". Looking at the long term will keep the focus on coming back smarter and not getting re-injured. All of that makes you tougher...and better able to handle the beatings our bodies take while we all try to become Kara Goucher.

Good advice. I wasn't sure I'd be able to run the same way again....But now I think that I'll be back. And be stronger than before.

Moving Forward

I am alive! I swear. And happy to report that the 'running' is going well. January and February so far has been marked by inching forward. Small steps that take an extraordinary amount of patience. But I feel as though I am actually getting 'somewhere'....

Last night, for the first time in many months, I went on what I can actually call a run. Yay!! By the end of January, I'd progressed to doing 3/3's (3 mins running/3 mins walking). A couple weeks of that and I was able to move to 4/2's. Since I've done several of those with minimal pain/tightness, I got the ok to do a 5/1. Barely walked at all during that 3.3 miles! It felt SO good. I seriously cannot wait until I can do long runs again. That is still a couple months out, realistically. But I am so close.

By March, the goal is to be doing all running for that 3-ish mile loop. Things have been progressing so well that I definitely feel this is doable. The patience is paying off. And I hope that it renews my motivation to once again immerse myself in all things running. I've taken a 'break' from the obsession the past several months, mostly so I didn't lose my sh*t too much over this injury. Now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, I am ready to rejoin the ranks.

I am also going to spend the next month or so revamping the blog and experimenting with some different layouts and designs. I am getting bored and since the blog is officially a toddler now, it's time for a makeover and update. So bear with me....don't hesitate to tell me if you think it looks stupid or if you have suggestions. Thanks for sticking with me y'all. It's been quite the roller coaster the past 6 months.

Giving Mizunos a Shot

My new shoes. I've spent the last year and half running in Brooks Ghost 4's. They have been replaced by the Ghost 5's --which don't feel nearly as good. So I took a chance on another brand. Taking them out for a test run in a bit....we'll see how they feel.