I ran five miles pain-free TWICE this week!  I’m super excited, and feel like I’m finally healing.  I’m really happy I made the decision to go to physical therapy - I’ve been getting ultrasound massage, stretching done by the PT, and learned bunches of new stretches to strengthen the inside of my thighs, which will hopefully permanently pull my kneecap back to where it’s supposed to be.

Other exciting things I have discovered as a result of hurting myself include that:

1. My left leg is shorter than my right leg
2. My left leg thigh muscle is ginormous compared to my right.
3. Apparently ultrasounds come in different frequencies for different functions.  Some frequencies are for seeing babies in bellies, some are for deep tissue massage.  Multitasking!
4. I really took advantage of the fact that I was able to run before.  No more.

I felt really, REALLY good on my last two runs.  No pain, and I feel like I’m gaining my fitness level back quickly that I lost as a result of taking so long off.  I’ve been skipping the pool cross-training the last two weeks, since I was keeping my knee taped during work, and the tape doesn’t dry very quickly (resulting in wet dress pants at my desk).  I developed a skin rash around my knee as a result of the super-glue like knee tape, so I was instructed to only tape while I’m running and then remove immediately, so it’s back to the pool next week.  I’ve actually been missing it (and I would be the last person you would think would miss SWIMMING), but I’ve found it to be a major stress relief during the day to be able to get away for an hour and move.

I think this weekend I’m going to do six miles, probably on Sunday.  I should be almost back on schedule for base-building before I start a new session of half-marathon training in only SIX WEEKS!  I’m disappointed I’ve had to take a break so long that my long run has been relegated to only six miles, but I’m prepared to take it slow and make sure my IT band loves me forever.

I saw this on another running blog, Jen’s Runnings and Ramblings, and thought it was such a great idea to remind ourselves each day what we are thankful for.  So…

Today I LOVE: Running Pain-Free!

Catie

I have to say I was really excited to run the 5k Run for Catie this past Saturday.  Catie is a local girl who was diagnosed with a spinal tumor recently, and all the proceeds from this race went straight to her family to defray medical costs.  I really love races like this because it directly helps my local community, usually tons of people show up, and it’s just generally an awesome vibe.

Saturday morning showed up at it was pouring AND cold.  Not ideal race day weather.  I sucked it up and drove over (and promptly got lost) to Mechnicsburg High School for the race start.  I couldn’t decide what to wear, and opted for thermal pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and my running rain jacket.  Once the race started, I was happy with my top, by my pants were definitely a mistake.  They were soaked through in about two minutes.  Mental note for next time: wear capris in the rain, even if it’s cold.

I hung out in the middle of the pack at the start line.  I was pretty amused because there was a whole group of overly-ambitious girls way up in the front of the pack (wearing matching t-shirts).  Catie started the race herself in a bullhorn, which was unbelievably cute and moving.  Said over-ambitious girls SPRINTED off the block, and needless to say, my slow-self picked each one of them off one by one by about the half-mile mark.

The course was fun, basically a huge block around the high school.  There was one section that was not blocked off well, and I saw a few scary moments in front of me when a big SUV decided to swerve into the lane of runners…we must have been in his way (/sarcasm).  The highlight of the actual running portion of the race for me was seeing Santa driving a giant bus and honking at all of us, to which I returned a huge wave and smile :).

It rained the entire time, which did not make for a fun race.  I stepped in several very deep puddles, which soaked my shoes through and made them heavy.  My pants were also soaked all around the bottoms, making them feel heavy as well.  At least I did not have the OTHER pants on.  I finished in 30:00 flat, which isn’t great for me, but I’ll take it on a crappy day like it was, especially with a taped knee.  I’m not particularly excited about this time either (although slightly better than my last 5k where I was sick), so I think it will be my upcoming Jingle Bell 5k that I will use as my base time for my quickly approaching half marathon plan.

It didn’t stop raining after the race either - so I ran into the high school to get water and oranges.  I hung around to cheer the last of the runners as they came in, but I jetted before the awards in favor of a hot shower and dry clothes at home.  This week it’s back to base building.  I realize this is not a good time to catch up from missed runs due to bum knee, but I really need to work on extending my long runs if I want to have a prayer of completing my next half injury-free.  I’ve been really strict with following the physcial therapy plan I was given, and I’m really feeling much better.  No skipping runs this week, especially with the amount of pie I will be eating next week :).

Run on!

Ouchie

My knee has been bothering me since I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run at the end of September.  Not so much to just walk around, or do light exercising, but every time I geared up for a solid run, it ended up in disappointment.  I took about three weeks totally off running, hoping it would heal, but it hasn’t on it’s own.  I decided last week to see my family doctor about it, and she promptly sent me off for x-rays and a physical therapist.  I saw the physical therapist last night, and she determined I have illiotibial band syndrome, and my kneecap is out of place, causing the IT band to rub against my kneecap and cause pain when I run.

I’ve never seen a physical therapist before, so it was an interesting experience to go into the office there and see all these people rolling around on exercise balls and foam rollers.  They even have a pool with an underwater treadmill (which I have high hopes I am going to get to try out!).  After a really thourough exam, she taped up my knee to move it back to where it’s supposed to be, and told me to get on the treadmill for four miles (it takes about that long before the pain starts).  (And what??  I get to run???  I thought for sure you were going to say I had to rest for three more weeks!  Yessssss…permission to run from a doctor!)  I actually had a pain-free run, my first one without pain since the PDR!  Sweet!  I was so excited to actually get to run, and to run pain-free!  I do have to start going to physical therapy three times a week for the next month to hopefully strengthen the other side of my leg up to the point where I don’t have to tape my knee to run anymore.  I have high hopes this is going to work and I’ll be back on my training schedule really soon.

I got sent home with an order to run (yes!), a series of stretches to do, and 12 more appointments with the physical therapist.  I’m feeling pretty good right now about how this is going, and right now am just elated to actually run.  I will totally run with tape on my knee if that’s what has to be done.  Running feels really good, just not sitting in a chair, as I can’t bend my knee all the way.  I’m also pretty darn excited it’s just my IT Band and not something more serious.  It’s a good day.

Thank you to all our veterans today!

Arien O'Connell

I was intrigued recently over the story of Arien O’Connell.  O’Connell was the woman’s “real winner” of the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco.  She didn’t actually win the race though, since it seems Nike decided it would be a good idea to start the “elite” runners 20 minutes ahead of the regular race pack.  It doesn’t seem they defined “elite” well though, as O’Connell ran in the normal pack, as she didn’t classify herself as elite.  She ended up crushing everyone else, including the elites, but since she didn’t start in the first wave of the race, was not counted as the winner.  Nike later took it back, and decided to award her a first place prize (after major complaints from runners across the country), along with the winner of the elite field.  It looks like the bad press for Nike was over, until Reebok decided to pull an additional stunt.

I read this story from the SF Gate over the weekend, where Reebok surprised O’Connell at the school where she teaches and awarded her with a year’s worth of shoes, $2,500 for her school, t-shirts for her class, and an award that said “Winner and Heroine of Non-Elite Runners Everywhere.”  I have to say, I love Nike gear, but they made a huge mistake with this race, and O’Connell definitely deserved to be declared the winner of the race in the first place.  However, I can’t decide how I actually feel about what Reebok did.  Yes O’Connell won the race, but the Reebok stunt stinks of marketing and capitalizing on Nike’s error, especailly after Nike did declare Arien the winner.  It was nice of Reebok to give her some great prizes (and as a runner, I’m positive she’s especially thrilled with all the free shoes), but I don’t know…it almost makes the debacle worse.  It’s really obvious what Reebok tried to do here, and at least Nike attempted to do a good thing in the first place, by shelling out tons of dough to put on the race for charity in the first place.  I am not aware of any Reebok-sponsored charity races (but correct me if I’m wrong), while Nike has a whole lineup of for-charity races.

Nike has decided to eliminate the “elite” wave for next year’s race, which is probably the best move.  That way, whoever crosses the finish line first is the actual winner, no questions asked.  Nike at least realized their mistake and made an attempt to correct the mistake for both this year, and all the years that follow.  Reebok just pulled a lame stunt, and instead of donating around $3,500 to the winner of a race they didn’t even sponsor, I’d prefer to see them contribute like Nike has to the running community by sponsoring a few marathons for charity of their own.

Photo by josephp

I came accross an interesting article today in the New York Times - Road Runner Rage.  The basic gist of the article is that there has been an uptick in Runner/Road Rage lately as they battle to share the road.  They gave some scary examples of some guy hitting a runner with a golf club, and another being threatened with a beer bottle.  I’ve been noticing an uptick in impatient drivers lately as well.  It seems like everyone (runners, bikers, and cars) feel like the road belongs to them and the other groups should not be there.

I think runners definitely share some responsibility, and should try to be more courteous.  Runners who make themselves invisible by running with, instead of against, traffic (by biggest running pet peeve ever), runners who run right down the middle of the street, runners without reflective gear on when it’s not light enough out, and runners that make no effort to move over if they see a car definitely should take some blame.  However, I think cars need to be a little more careful as well.  I’ve been almost plowed down several times by people not looking when they are backing out of their driveways.  I’ve also had cars turn into driveways directly in front of me, forcing me to stop or get hit.  I’ve had still other cars obviously not move over to give me space, just to “prove a point.”  When it’s person vs. car, car is going to win, so I tend to err on the side of caution, even if it makes me angry to do so.

Maybe it’s the economy or whatever that is making people edgy - but I got yelled at “for being on the wrong side of the aisle” at the grocery store a few weeks ago (there is a correct side of the aisle I’m supposed to stand on?  How do you get the stuff from the other side?).  Someone gave me the stare down (again at the grocery store) yesterday too, as I was backing out of a parking space, and was over half way out of the space.  A person came whipping around a corner, honked forever, and forced me to stop backing up so they could go first.  It’s interesting to me that these things have happened so much more frequently lately.

I’m trying really hard to chill out lately (running and driving), as I figure there is no point getting worked up over others - but I really hope everyone takes a few minutes to slow down and be aware in their cars, and take responsibility for their own safety when running.  We’ve got to share the road together.

In other running news…I’m being forced to take a few days off, and I’m not happy about it.  I went to see my primary care doctor yesterday to check my knee pain, and I was promptly sent off for x-rays, written a script for physical therepy, and put on two weeks of prescription strength anti-inflammatories.  I have an appointment with a physical therapist on Monday, and hopefully at that point I’ll be given the clear to run (maybe? please?), but in the mean time, I’ll be hitting the pool and doing some extra yoga.  I’m really hoping this clears up soon, as I was really trying to get a better base, before I have to start official half marathon training right after Christmas.

I had a pretty miserable run yesterday.  I was planning on getting five miles in.  It was a brisk 45 degrees out when I wanted to leave, so I opted for gloves, long sleeves, and pants.  PANTS.  This is where my nice run went downhill quickly.

I put on a pair of pants that I used to run in quite a bit without issue.  However, it’s’ been so nice lately, this was the first time I’ve worn pants to run since, say, last March.  One thing I neglected to remember is that I’ve lost about 15 pounds since last March.  I left the house not realizing that once I started to move quickly, these pants would not work out.  My run turned into a giant circus of me trying to hold up my pants and move forward at the same time.  At one point, I tried to bunch them up and clip the waist smaller with my iPod, but my iPod ended up going flying (as my pants are falling down).  I’m POSITIVE I was quite the vision coming down the road, flailing all around trying to hold up my pants, trying to find my iPod, and run all at the same time.

I made it about four miles in, and my dreaded IT band flared up again.  Probably because I did not have anywhere close to good posture, since I had to HOLD UP MY PANTS.  I quit.  It was one of those days where it just isn’t worth it anymore.  I walked home the rest of the way, and had a good laugh afterwards.  The IT band is still a major concern though, I can’t believe it hasn’t healed yet, over a month after my last half-marathon.  Tonight I will be discussing massage therapy with my yoga teacher, as self-treatment is no longer working out.

Now THIS is why I run!

In order to save myself a whopping five bucks, I registered today (last day for discounts!) for the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon on May 3, 2009!  Let the training begin!  I’ve heard this is a fun race, with tons of bands on the course, and a cool covered bridge to run through.  Apparently the pasta party the night before is a blast as well, although I didn’t get a ticket for that (yet).

I’ve decided to try out the FIRST half-marathon program.  I’m going to get all “serious” about it this time around, with the Furhman Institute of Running and Scientific Training.  I counted backwards from May, and I still have nine weeks left before I need to start the program.  It worked out nicely, as “official” training will start the week after Christmas.  Until then, it’s base-building time.  I’m working my long runs back up to eight miles before the training progam.  I’m looking forward to trying out FIRST.  For my last half marathon, I followed a plan of getting the miles in, and not paying attention to much else.  FIRST emphasizes quality of quantity, and encorporates strength and cross training in addition to miles.  If I like the FIRST program (and I think I will) for this half, I’m planning on using this for my first marathon program as well.

This weekend also marks daylight savings time.  It’s already too dark by the time I get home from work to get any substantial miles in outside, so I’m not looking forward to having an hour less daylight.  It’s time to dust off the treadmill and warm up the DVD player for my weeknight runs.  I’m not into running alone in the dark, and I’m not really a morning person…I’ve found the 5:00 AM runs are not for me, and I’m far more likely to skip them to sleep and then not make them up.  It works out better if I just don’t fool myself and plan on running in the evenings.  At least there is always the weekend.

Photo by j / f / photos

Last night I finally made it back to yoga class.  I was a regular in Ashtanga class at Just Plain Yoga for a long time, but with school, running, and life, it just kind of took a back-burner for a while.  I’ve really been missing class, so at the recommendation of a friend, I decided to check out a Rasa Vinyasa class at my old studio.  Yoga is great cross-training for running, and since I’ve had some iliotibial band issues lately, I figured a good quality 90 minute stretch certainly couldn’t hurt.

I have never been in a class quite like this before.  Before we started, we made a small alter in the middle of the class with bowls of fruit and candles.  There was fun music and we sat in a circle.  This is drastically different than the rigidity of Ashtanga that I am used to.  Ashtanga class is based on the same sequence each week, and there is a “we must work in a straight line” kind of feeling to class.  Rasa Vinyasa turned out to be quite the opposite, and a great deal more fun for me.  I really enjoyed the moments where were asked to “be ourselves” and “move however feels right.”  There were still some challenging poses and sequences (I learned a new form of wheel pose that involved one leg up in the air), but it was so much more lose and relaxing.  To me, this felt like the way yoga should be for me.

After not such a great day yesterday, it felt so good to go back to yoga class.  I really enjoyed it, and am already looking forward to next week.  It’s amazing how much better I feel after connecting with myself for a short 90 minutes.  Silly things in life I was just making a big deal over seem so much smaller and less important when I’m done with practice, and yoga reminds me to have gratitude and solice with myself.  Rasa Vinyasa reminds me that yoga doesn’t have to be rigid and it can be a time to explore creatively, rather than think about the next pose.  Yoga has been an important part of my life in the past that I have lost sight of lately, and I’m glad that I’ve found it again.

I woke up yesterday to pouring rain - it was dark and dreary and cold and disgusting and I almost didn’t go to the race at all.  I still have a lot of gunk in my chest from the bad cold I’ve had for the last week, and I really didn’t think it would help much to hang out in the rain for a few hours.  I got my butt moving eventually, and I am half glad I did.  It was still sprinkling when I got to the race, but it actually stopped raining by the time the gun went off.

I got to the one mile marker in about 9 minutes, which is quick for me.  Not too quick when I’m feeling 100%, but today, it was.  I couldn’t get a full breath of air for the life of me - gunk prohibits that.  I did mile number 2 in about 11 minutes, and ended up finishing the race in 31 minutes.  By the time I reached the finish of the 5k, I had thought about stopping a few times, as I just couldn’t breathe properly.  I didn’t stop, but I felt pretty crappy by the time I was done.

I’m not pleased.  I had hoped to use this time to pace my next half-marathon training, which will start in about a month.  Turns out, I’m not pleased at all with my performance, and I don’t really want to use this as a pace time, as I know I can do better.  I did map out my half marathon plan (Lehigh Valley Half!) the other day, and I don’t need to start until the week after Christmas.  I signed up for another 5k in a few more weeks, so I think I’m going to go for that time instead.

After the race, I saw an MBA friend who introduced me to a couple other area runners, which was fun.  We went to the awards ceremony afterwards (inside, thank God).  One of my new friends won first place in his age group, which was cool.  One of the best parts about this race was the swag!  This race was worth it just for the stuff.  Everyone got a really nice long sleeve shirt and PowerBar in their race packets, and they had enough door prizes for almost every single person.  I ended up winning Hershey Bears tickets, which was awesome, and made the day worth it, as long as I don’t get sick again for hanging out in the rain for the day :).