Listen here left foot.

We're not messing around with no stinkin' stress fractures or whatever else you've got in mind this year. I'm officially signed up for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and with this blog as my witness, iamrunningthirteen(pointone)miles on May 8, 2010.

Last year I signed up to run while fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It was an extremely rewarding experience and I was blessed with meeting Luke. <-- Seriously one of the brightest smiles I've ever encountered. And I'm still humbled when I recall the generous outpouring of support from my family and friends. Seriously. You all rock. But I decided to just run this year. After all, of the two goals I set for myself on this journey last year, actually running 13 miles is the one I didn't accomplish.

OhWait. You mean completing the online registration wasn't the hard part? Shoot. S'pose I should now begin the search for my training schedule and shake the dust off my running shoes.

Any other you a first-timers out there? Or is running the Mini on your check list with grocery shopping and going to the dentist?

i'm still gimpy

It's been 2 weeks since my last run, and I miss it. I received my coach's update for the week, and included were a few pics from this morning's 2 hour run. 2 hours. Wow. I'm impressed with all of you out there training. I have yet to feel a 2 hour run, but one of these days I hope I will. I'm going to set my sights on a fall half marathon and hope my foot heels by then. It's status quo for now - not getting any worse thankfully, but it's also not getting better.

Most days I do walk fine. But that distance includes only short bouts from the house to the driveway, the parking garage to the office and here to there in between.

I have my 2 year old nephew, Little Man, for the weekend. Today, Brett and I took him downtown to visit a museum and see "more animals" at the zoo. [We had OH! So much fun!] But by mid-afternoon, Little Man's stride is faster than mine...

the foot, pt. 2

Good news - The x-rays came back and my foot is not fractured.
Bad news - My foot is still stiff, no less swollen and I still can't walk on it without pain.

The good 'ole doc says to "take it easy." Remember running break I took last week? Sure, it helped. By the weekend, my foot wasn't bothering me a bit. And I gave it one more day of "easy" on top of feeling pretty darn good. So yea, clearly I need to take it easy for longer than a week. That's a lot easier said than done. And while I'm taking it easy I'm also not training. Which will make that half-marathon pretty difficult.

I'm frustrated.

to be continued...

Hobbled in to see the Dr. this morning. Hobbled back out and over to the hospital with an order for x-rays. An hour later I hobbled back to the car. Destination: sofa. The x-ray technician said the films should be read and sent to my Dr. tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, my bum is already tired of sitting around...

the foot, pt. 1

I joked about running in my high heels in my Top 10 Reasons to Run a Half-Marathon.

Funny thing is - I might not be too far off. My foot continued to hurt throughout the week when walking a moderate distance in anything other than heels. And my moderate distance I mean across a room. But if I wore heels it hurt considerably less, almost not at all. Messed up? Yes, I know. So I took the rest of the week off from my training runs. Today, I felt pretty good. And a 90-minute run in the gorgeous sunshine beckoned.

In the first couple miles, the foot was really more of an annoyance - I ran through it fine. By mile 5, I was in tears and Brett was on his way to pick me up.

So tomorrow, the physician beckons. My foot is swollen, aching and I can't very well make the necessary motion in my foot to walk.

Wii Fit might be right.

Please forgive my obvious detour from running in that last post. It was at least in the same fitness genre.

So my darn sinuses kept me from running over the weekend. I instead slept most of it away, and lived on a cycle of dayquil - nyquil - dayquil - nyquill. Monday I felt 95% better, and it was a balmy 50-some degrees when I got home from work. So out I went with my roommate.

Goal - 70 minutes. Actual - 65 minutes. [And I admit to taking a few minutes along the way to walk.]

I'm a falling apart people! [Perhaps Wii Fit was on to something after all.]

My knees were giving me fits during my run. And chatting with my friend the physical therapist - she thinks I might have/be developing a bit of tendonitis in my knees. Of course I would be! Tendonitis in my wrists plagued me throughout my cheerleading days. At it's worst flair up the sports medicine people fitted my wrist for an immobilizer. My right wrist. For an entire week.

So I'm following doctor's orders and will be applying ice after my long runs from here out.

Also, I have some major cramping in my left foot. I even passed up on my high heels in favor of ballet flats today. And let's just say the walk from my office to the cafe across the hall.... The thought alone is painful.

Okay - my apologies once again for the complaints filled post. That's sometimes the problem with a blog. I sign in and am given this blank text box to fill with anything I want. Dangerous territory I say!

Meet Wii Fit.

I recently got Wii Fit. And it is hilarious. Really!

So I'm doing my fitness stats.

Age? I'm 26 thank you.
Height? Yep, I'm five feet tall.
Weight? Yea, I get it. [And SO not publishing that to internet!]

Now on to the part where I have to do something. So I stand on the Wii balance board and try to make my center of balance, as indicated by the red dot, match up with a machine. This isn't as easy as it looks people!! Result -- My red dot is like 1.2 centimeters to the right and it asks me if I have troubles walking!

A couple more and it spits out my Wii Fit age.

Drum roll, puh-leeze....

I'm 46.

Oh whatever. I'll show that Wii Fit!!

i'm official.

Oh - and as of today I'm official.

Recommitment papers turned in to LLS. Check!
Completed my race registration. Check!
Have bib number. Check!
Ordered my purple TNT race day singlet. Check!
Registered for the race eve pasta dinner. Check!

I feel like a real runner!

catching my breath

On Tuesday I was just down the way in Columbus, Indiana and I needed to get one of my short weekday day runs in. Sure, it's only an hour down I-65, but make no mistake - it IS southern Indiana and there ARE hills that we do not have in central Indiana.

Whew!

And this morning I woke up with a sore throat and a runny nose. My head hurts and my body is achy. Darn sinuses. My roommate and I had made an after-work running date. And honestly, if she hadn't been in running clothes and ready to go when I walked in the house... Well, at 6 p.m. this evening I'd have been right here on the sofa rather than outside with a nose running faster than my legs. I only made it 20 minutes before I stopped at our front door and let her continue without me.

I know I didn't ruin my training with missing 10 minutes this week, but I'm bummed, it's the first week I've not done my full training.

AND! I passed my personal fundraising goal this week! To all of you who've made the decision to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my run -- THANK YOU! In the scheme of life, I am so grateful for my health and physical strength, sinus infections and all. Please forgive me for my self-pity fest just now. When all that keeps me from running my full time this week is a piddly sinus infection - well, I have it pretty darn good, don't I?

inside my brain.

I did it -- and I can't tell you all how good it felt to finish my first 60 minute run. Because honestly I doubted myself on this one. [Thanks to all of you for giving me your vote of confidence. It really did help because I didn't want to come home and not have finished the whole 60 minutes!]

And since I didn't have a running partner this morning, I was left to the thoughts in my own head and Beth's music mix. [Thanks Beth -- fabulous mix!!!]

Minute 5. Crap, it's really cold out here.
Minute 10. Oh so many cute puppies out running with their owners!!
MInute 13. Seriously, how will I ever do 13 miles.
Minute 15. I have to cover this same distance further before I can even turn around!
Minute 22. Where is that next mile marker?!?!
Minute 27. No. Really.
Minute 30. Now, I'm getting somewhere - I'm heading back home!!
Minute 40. I can do this.
Minute 41. I can do this.
Minute 42. I can do this.
Minute 45. Is that the Kessler bridge up ahead? [HUGE smile]
Minute 51. I can't wait to get home and tell people I actually did this.
Minute 55. Maybe I'll be able to run 13 miles afterall. I still have 2 months before the race.
Minute 60. Okay, still glad to be done with that. Until next weekend.

my first freak out.

I think I've mentioned - my weekday runs are still short, while my weekend runs get longer with each one. So for my short weekday runs [20 minutes right now] I generally stick to the same path along a couple main streets. They're well lit and traveled, both good qualities for an after sunset run. But tonight, I finished my route and was still 2 minutes shy on my time. And I have this route planned at exactly 20 minutes every time. So, I'm feeling good - I've picked up my pace a little bit, I'm feeling strong... and then I check my e-mail. As a Team In Training participant I have a running coach who keeps in regular contact with running tips, injury check-ups and of course, the group run schedule for the coming weekend.

And I'm scared.

20. No problem.
30. Done.
40. That too.
60. Here's where my first freak out happens.

And yes, I realize I am training to run 13 miles, which will surely take me more than 60 minutes. But that's in May - it seems forever and a day from this weekend in February. And an hour is a long time. It's an entire episode of Grey's Anatomy, with no fast forwarding through the commercials. The clock will do a full circle before I finish.

Oi. Wish me luck.

i'm running, but i'm still a girly girl

So here's been my challenge these last few weeks - having enough daylight to get my runs in before the sky turns dark at 7 p.m. That's the thing about winter - it's dark in the morning and dark evening. And I'm in the office during the sunshine! Although in full disclosure, it'd be hard for me to get up and run that early in the morning even if there was enough light. I am just not a morning girl, nor am I a wash-my-hair-and-ready-in-15-minutes girl. I like my sleep. I like my bathroom time. I don't care who knows it. So thankfully, I'm at the start of my training [week #3] and my weekday runs are still short. And I'm noticing the sky stays lightish a few minutes longer each day. But you know - the lighter the sky gets each day, the longer my runs will be!

this is why i run.

I just received an e-mail from Mallory that Luke [the strong little guy mentioned in my note] is battling a virus and high fever. With his supressed immune system - this is a scary time for his family. Please lift him up in your prayers. You can read his story/journal here.

it's cold in indiana!

Someone asked me recently if I ran on a treadmill at the gym. Nope, I'm adding a layer of fleece, covering my ears and heading outside. Turns out, I'm enjoying running in the cold! I even got Brett out for a run with me last night. Although at my pace and with my short little legs, it was more of a running walk for him! [He's 6'3"]

the first mile.

I had my first training run yesterday morning, at 7:30 a.m.! It was the first 2 miles I've ran in, well, longer than I care to admit. I felt good though. And today... my legs are pretty sore, but I'm looking forward to my next run. That's a new feeling - to be looking forward to running!

Top 10 Reasons to Run a Half-Marathon

10. I look good when my body is twisted in pain, drenched in sweat. I smell good too.
9. I get to buy new shoes. My running coach has recommended I not run a half-marathon in my favorite high heels. [And no - your donations will not be purchasing said shoes.]
8. Let's be honest, if no one was watching, I'd likely say "well, it was close to 13.1 miles." That's why I've selected to run the nation's largest half-marathon. And it happens in my hometown - pretty cool city, huh!
7. If I get tired of running I can just stop. Unlike swimming, I won't drown. And unlike cycling, I won't fall over. Well, I might fall over...
6. I'll burn lots of calories. Anyone for a cosmopolitan after the race?
5. I've never been a runner, but I hear it's easy to learn. Like walking. But faster. And with more injuries.
4. Donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are 100% tax deductible. Isn't that SO much better than giving it to Uncle Sam?
3. There is no logical reason for me to run 13.1 miles, which is why I probably haven't done it for the past 5 years I've told myself I would.
2. But there is a logical reason to raise money for cancer research. Every 4 minutes, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer. And every 10 minutes, cancer claims a life.
1. It's personal too. In 1992, my mom lost her fight with with cancer. Just a few years later, my Aunt Karen beat cancer and today is a proud grandmother to her 3 [soon to be 4!] grandchildren.