Diagnosis & The Plan

So I went to the doc yesterday and they basically told me everything the Hubz told me (yes Hon, you were right!). They said I strained my left hip flexer muscle. They gave me stretches to do. They said to try and run once a week to see how it feels. If it's better, then I can start running again. If it's not, then don't run...duh. If I am still in pain in 4 weeks, then I will go back and they'll do xrays to see if it's something more. They don't think they will see me again and I hope they are right.

Because they aggravated it yesterday while they were stretching me and seeing how strong my leg was and stuff like that, it's a little sore. So I won't be trying to run until next weekend. So that will give me another 8 days of no running, so maybe I'll be feeling better.

I am going to stick to my workout plan of biking, ellipticaling, and Rep Reeboking.

I am going to keep my fingers crossed that I'll be able to run again soon and that I'll be able to run my next Half...which is just 6 weeks from Sunday!

Have a great weekend!

Injured

Yup, I am injured. And yup, I did it during my Half Marathon. Boo! Right after I finished my Half, I felt a weird pain where my leg meets my pelvis...it might be my hip flexer...not sure yet. The days following the race I was super sore. So I denied that I was injured and said that I was just sore. I took 5 days off from running or any other form of exercise. Finally on Saturday I set out for a 4 mile run. As soon as I started I knew something was wrong. I could feel the pain again. I was run limping and I'm sure I looked pathetic. I knew I couldn't do 4, so I decided to do my 3 mile route. A half mile in, I knew I couldn't do 3. So I made myself finish 2 miles. I was not happy and finally accepted that yes, I am hurt, not just sore. After the run I could feel the pain for the rest of the day and was sore there. Now I don't feel the pain unless I lift my left leg. So I feel it running, going upstairs, things like that. Today it is not as bad as it was Saturday, but I still feel it. I am not sure exactly what is wrong. Did I sprain a muscle? Did I tear something? I made an appointment to get checked out so I know what to do to fix this, how long to rest it, and to find out when I can start running again...I am supposed to run another Half in just 6.5 weeks! We'll see though! Today I went back to the gym for the first time in two weeks! I took my Rep Reebok class and was ok for almost all the moves...it's a strength training class not cardio. The only think I couldn't do were knee lifts and jumping jacks during the warm up. Before class I tried biking for cardio and thankfully had no pain! Then after class I tried the elliptical and again had no pain. So thankfully I can bike and elliptical for cardio until I can run again.

So no running for now. My workouts will be biking, elliptical, and Rep Reebok. Half Training part 2 is on hold until I hear from the doctor what the plan is. This stinks!

Weekly Workouts
Monday ~ OFF
Tuesday ~ Biked 4.4 miles, Rep Reebok, 15 min Elliptical (Check!)
Wedensday ~ Bike, Elliptical
Thursday ~ Bike, Rep Reebok, Elliptical
Friday ~ Bike, Elliptical
Saturday ~ OFF
Sunday ~ OFF

My plan might change after I meet with the doctor. I'll keep ya posted.

Now for some pics of my kiddos to lighten the mood. :)

Doing It Again

Well it's official! I registered for my second Half yesterday! It's just 7 weeks from Sunday! I worked on my training plan and my first run will be tomorrow.

I was soooooo sore from my Half on Sunday. I could barley walk Sunday night and Monday. And then each day has gotten better. I haven't done any runs or workouts since the Half. I've enjoyed the break. But tomorrow I will attempt my first run after my Half. Then on Monday I'll be kicking things back into high gear with my running, workouts, and eating.

Thank you for all the awesome comments on my Half! I had an awesome experience with it and it felt amazing to cross that finish line! I'm looking forward to doing it all again in just 7 weeks!

Presque Isle Half Marathon

I did it! I am a Half Marathoner! It was actually harder than I expected. It was very hot and the heat definitely effected me. But I pushed myself with all I had and finished!

The Half started at 7:30, so I got up at 5:50 and go ready. I left my house by 6:30 and headed down. It was very busy and I was lucky to get a parking spot in the main lot. My pit crew, S and M, met me there and here super helpful! They held a lot of my stuff and took all my pictures. I grabbed my chip and then we went back to the car to put on my bib and chip and get all my gear ready.

Then I headed to the bathroom line. It was long, but there were a few sets of lines. Thankfully I got in and out just in time.

Ready to go!

I put on my hydratin belt and mp3 player and got in line. We started like 2 minutes later!

The first couple miles flew by. I saw S and M around mile 1 or so.

Right after that I got my first side cramp. I was not happy about that. It slowed me down and I worked through it. Right after that I saw my Hubs and Kiddos! It was so great seeing them. I got really emotional when I spotted them. I could see my husband made shirts for the kids to wear...My Mom is Fast, Run Mom Run, and Mom's Biggest Fan! They were so cute cheering for me.

I kept pushing along. My family drove up next to me and they'd cheer from the van. Then they'd go ahead and get out and wait for me to come. It was really great having that support and motivation.

Around mile 4.5, I got another side cramp. Again I pushed through it and it went away. I was struggling because of the heat. I had my hydration belt that I was drinking from. Thankfully I had that!

I have never walked during a 5K, 10K, or any of my training runs. But I was hurting in this heat. So finally at mile 7 I decided to walk through the water stop. I grabbed a water and walked and drank it and then picked it back up again. At this point I knew I probably wouldn't reach my goal of under 2 hours, but at this point I just wanted to finish. I told myself that I could want through the rest of the water stops. Trust me, there were times I wanted to walk, but I made myself wait for the water stops. If I hadn't have walked during the water stops, I think my body would have given out on me. I am proud of myself for sucking up my pride and doing what was best for my body.

I counted down every mile. I told myself that at mile 12 I'd pick it up a bit and then at mile 13 I'd give it my all. Man that is a long 1.1 miles! When I hit mile 13 I just ran as fast as I could. The spectator line was so long! The finish seemed so far away! But I knew I couldn't slow down with all those people watching me. I saw my husband, kids, and parents cheering me in. And then a little further down I saw S and M cheering me in. I crossed that finish line with a smile on my face and my arms in the air! I did it! I made it!

I finished in 2 hours 3 minutes and 14 seconds. I was 18th out of 50 in my age group and 399th out 849 overall!

Coming down the stretch!

I just passed my family!

Catching air!

Almost there! Push it girl!

I did it!!

Afterwards I just walked around in a circle until I calmed down. I was already starting to hurt. But I kept moving and stretched out. I met up with my family and friends and told them about the race.

HOT and SWEATY!

Half Marathoner!

My wonderful family!

S's shirt!

My pit crew!

Me, R, and my parents!

The kids held the build a sign I had made!

They held a picnic at our local amusement park afterwards. They fed us and even gave us beer! It was really nice!

I am super proud of finishing this race. My training runs were all awesome. I was fast during them. I averaged 8:45 minute miles in my 12-mile training run. But every run is different. My 12-mile training run was not nearly has hot and it rained on me the entire time. So heat definitely plays a role. I am glad that I wasn't stupid and that I made the decision to start walking through the water stops. It could have been a huge disaster if I hadn't. And the best thing is that I am so proud of my race. I am not upset that I didn't reach my time goal. I'm proud of taking care of myself and finishing as strong as I could. Now I have a Half PR and something to try and beat next time...and yes, there will be a next time! In just 8 weeks I am going for number 2! Same course but a lot cooler temps!

Fun Fact

I ran my very first race, a 5K, last year on July 17, 2010.

I will run my first Half Marathon exactly one year later on July 17, 2011.

Cool, huh!?



My first 5K race ~ July 17, 2010



Hello!

Wow! Almost a 2-month hiatus! Sorry about that! You'd think that with training for a half marathon, that I'd write on my running blog all the time...guess not! I've just been busy enjoying the summer and running that I really haven't been in the mood to blog.

My Half training has been going awesome! I've loved it! My Half is just 6 days away! I can't believe it! My longest run was 12 miles and I loved every second of it. I've figured out how to fuel. I hate gels and love chomps. I got a hydration belt that is awesome and works perfectly.

We've been pretty busy this summer on the weekends. Doing lots of fun things with the kids. In June the boys turned 2 and S turned 4. We've been outside nonstop. It's been a lot of fun.

I haven't ran a 5K in almost 2 months. It feels weird. But running one would have messed up my Half training. I don't know when my next one will be. But I definitely miss it! Maybe I'll find one in August to do.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer! I will definitely write a race report for my Half Marathon!! So excited!

Here are some pics from the last couple months.

This Week's Workouts

Hello! I skipped this last week. So here are this week's workouts.

Monday ~ BFBM Circuits 1-3,6/HMT ~ 3.1 miles
Tuesday ~ Run 1.5 miles on TM/Rep Reebok/10 minutes elliptical
Wednesday ~ HMT ~ Run 4 miles/Abs
Thursday ~ Run 1.5 miles on TM/Rep Reebok/20 minutes elliptical
Friday ~ BFBM
Saturday ~ HMT ~ Run 6 miles
Sunday ~ Probably rest

My half training went well last week. I did 3 miles Monday, 4 miles Friday, and 5 miles Saturday. Due to our anniversary celebrating I didn't run Wednesday morning, so I just moved it to Friday.

To those of you who run longer distances for training: Do you fuel during those runs? Like take gels or whatever? I have never fueled during a run and I know I'm going to need to for my Half. So I'm just looking for advice on when to fuel during a half. What do you do?