No Excuses!

The end of March has crept up on us way too fast!  It seems like it was just yesterday that we were dealing with sub zero temperatures, snow storms and making final preparations for out Spring Training Vacation.

Now it is the end of March, vacation is over and we are finally having warmer days!  Granted it will probably be July before we see green grass and can head to the beach - but it's a start!!

As I sit here and look back on the last month, it was definitely a roller coaster of a month.  I had some great runs, so not so great runs, shared a fabulous vacation with my
husband and some great friends... and had to face the fact that I needed to slow down and deal with an injury.

The statement above has really helped to keep me focused this month.  There were days that I had serious doubts about what I could do, questioned why I ever decided to sign up for a full marathon and was ready to just give up.  Then a statement like the one above would show up on my Facebook page or on my Twitter feed and remind me why set out on this journey.

For those of you that follow me on Facebook an/or twitter, you have seen me post about having to deal with this injury.  Any runner is prone to injury (and usually all deal with one at some time or another) and we all dread the words, "no running"... and hearing IT band is never a good thing to combine with that statement.  This was not a new injury to me.  I actually had IT band issues after the Fox Cities Half Marathon in 2012. With this race, my IT band issues were probably a direct result of trying to do too much, too fast.  I tried increasing my miles faster than I should have and thought could finish a half marathon without a lot of training - after all, I was planning on just walking most of it!  Wrong answer!  It actually took me over 7 months to feel comfortable running again. 

For those of you that are nor familiar with the IT band, yes you have one too!  In simple terms, it is a band that runs basically from your hip to your knee. It is key to helping stabilize the knee when running, biking, hiking and even weight lifting.  There are many factors that can contribute to IT band syndrome and at some point many runners end up dealing with either pain or injury that is IT band related.  

Icing my knee after my 17k in AZ

Now, 2 1/2 years later I started facing similar pain.  At first it just some minor pain after I would hit after running 8-10 miles.  I didn't think anything of it at first and just contributed it to the slow increase in miles during my marathon training schedule.  However, when the pain would creep up on my at the gym (some days squats got the best of me) I started looking at options.  I have some awesome trainers at the gym that started doing what they could to help me with additional strength training and modifying some things to try and keep me from aggravating it even more.  After doing a few long runs and spending time with ice packs all afternoon following a long run, and having to cut a 12 mile training run short because I started feeling the pain within the first few miles (I still pushed thru and finished 6 miles) I knew I need to do something.  

Thanks to the recommendation from a trusted fellow runner and his connections, I was connected with a fabulous Physical Therapist (who is also a runner!) to help me with a treatment plan and we are starting on the road to a better me, and a future will still see me as a runner.  Over the last few weeks I have learned that my pain this time is a result of not having all of my muscles working together like they should be.  All of my muscles in my legs are strong, except my glutes.  In the words of my Physical Therapist, all of the muscles in my legs are doing all the work and my glutes are just going along for the ride.  We need to wake them up and invite them to the party!  They need to start contributing to the effort!  We have a plan and with some hard work and dedication to this training plan, I know that I can come out on the other side, pain free and a stronger runner than I am today.

In the mean time, I have had to make some modifications to my training.  One of the hardest things that I have had to do in a long time was back out of running the Dick Lytie Half Marathon last weekend out at UWGB and only run the 5k.  Yes, I was bummed that I would not run the "big" miles, but I decided that I was going to go out there and make the best of the day. No Excuses!  It ended up being a mild and sunny day.  After the long cold winter that we dealt with, it was a fabulous day to get out and run. The 5k course was a fairly flat course so the elevation change (or lack thereof) was going to be refreshing!  I knew that I didn't want to push it too hard but still wanted to see what I could do.  I started out at a nice pace and fell into a refreshing rhythm.  When I hit the 1 mile marker I was feeling good.  It turned into a great feeling when I realized I just ran a 9 minute mile.  I kept up with the comfortable pace that I found and just rolled with it!  Before I knew it, the finish line was just ahead and it was on!  I kicked it in for that final push for the finish.

Official time = 28:37

In the end, I missed my 5k PR by only 8 seconds!  I could not believe I just did that!  It was an amazing feeling to know that I just ran one of my best 5k's EVER!  This amazing morning has truly given me the confidence that I can get through this injury and come out stronger in the end!  It will be some hard work, but I can do it!  I have a fabulous support team of my  amazing family,  fabulous trainers at the gym, my new Physical Therapist, plus many awesome friends that continue to help me grow as a runner, keep my in check so that I don't push myself too hard or too far and continue to encourage me to be the best that I can be.

Here is to a great 2014 and all of the adventures that will continue to come my way!  Be strong my friends!

Recharged, Rejuvenated and now back to Reality

View from Piestewa Peak summit, Phoenix AZ

All good things must come to an end... and now it's back to reality.

Spring Break/Vacation 2014 was here and now is a wonderful memory!  After spending a week in sunny, WARM Phoenix, with great friends, I have spent the better part of the last week trying to get back into my "normal" routine!  I am really not liking the fact that it has snowed not once, but twice since we got home last Thursday!  

It was an amazing week filled with adventure and fun.  There is no way that I can give everything that we did proper detail here so here's a "quick" summary:

1.  Running:  We wanted to get in a bunch of outside miles while were had the chance, but unfortunately that didn't happen. Saturday morning, however, we hit the streets of Glendale for the Kiss Me I'm Irish Run.  I can officially say that I completed my first ever 17k race!  Yes, 17k - in honor of St Patrick's day!  It was so nice to be able to throw on my running skirt and a tank top to go for a run instead of putting on multitudes of layers just to stay warm!  Plus there was free beer at the end!!  Official course time = 1:52:24  Yay!  Granted, my knee ended up paying for it over the next few days, but it was worth it!

Start line of the Kiss Me I'm Irish Run 17K

2. NHL Hockey! Nothing brings back the college days like watching some good hockey!  While we were in the area, the Phoenix Coyotes just happened to be playing at home vs the Calgary Flames so we had to fit a game into our schedule!  What a day!  Running in the morning, relaxing by the pool all afternoon and a hockey game at night!  That makes a good day in my book!

3.  Brewers Baseball!!  We were able to get to 2 games to watch the Crew in action!  Unfortunately we missed meeting Hank by a few days as he had already made the trip to his new home in Milwaukee.  Nothing can make you forget about the long, cold, snowy, cold, harsh (and did I say cold) winter that we have experienced in Wisconsin this year, than some Brewers Baseball in Maryvale AZ! 

4. Hiking!!  We made two morning adventures out to Piesetwa Peak and both hikes were worth the climb!  Once you get past the half way point distance-wise on the hike to the summit, you are actually only about 1/3 of the way elevation-wise to the summit!  Over the second half of the climb, those switchbacks get tighter and steeper!  You have to really work for it, but your efforts are definitely rewarded once you reach the summit!

Molly, Matt and I, on the way back down the mountain

Piestewa Peak Summit!

5.  The Food!  I was determined to find a way to enjoy the foods of the area without completely falling off the wagon.  Yes, there were many times when we went out to eat that I did just order a salad, but these salads were amazing!  Who can complain about a huge bistro steak salad like this with tons of spice and flavor and a honey balsamic vinaigrette?  Don't get my wrong, I did splurge and enjoy many things that I normally try to stay away from, but I just made sure that I didn't do all my splurging in one day!

Southwest Bistro Steak Salad from Oregano's in Tucson

 6. Relaxing!  This was the one thing that we made sure happened!  We knew there was a bunch of stuff that we wanted to do, but we also wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the time away from home, work and life in general!

 7.  Fun in the sun! When in Arizona, why not rent a convertible?  Especially when you find the deal that we found!  For less than the cost of a compact car, we enjoyed the Phoenix sun in a 2014 Mustang Convertible!  John said that we will never own one for several reasons... WI weather really does not make one practical (so my solution... we move somewhere warmer!) and with how tall he is, he said he always felt squished (hence why I put the top down whenever we were driving somewhere!).  Regardless, it was a fun car to drive when we had the perfect weather for it!

My 2014 Mustang Convertible for the week

All in all, it was a fabulous week spent hanging out with friends, reconnecting with others that we have not seen in years, relaxing and just enjoying each others company. Getting away from the every day stresses of life is always a good thing to do from time to time.  It was nice to get away, but all vacations must come to an end and reality must be faced!

Before we knew it, it was back to the cold and snow.  Back to the gym.  Back to running in near freezing temperatures.  Back to work.  Routine is good to get back to.  Maybe one day we will be able to say that reality is in some sunny warm location, but until then, we just will have to settle for enjoying it in short spurts on vacation!  Time to start planning the next trip!

enjoying out last full day in Arizona!

Sunday night, fireside chats

Sunday nights...

Time to relax after a busy weekend, unwind before the crazy work week starts up again.  Cone on in and enjoy the fire, grab a glass of your favorite beverage and relax!  It's time to chat and reflect on the last week, learn and grow from it and prepare mentally for the next round!  If you were here, what would we chat about?

I would tell you:
...That I found a new chiropractor!  Now please understand that I can not say anything bad about my old one, just found a new one that fits better with my lifestyle.  With all of the strength training at the gym, miles I am running and crazy days, having a chiropractor that practices Active Release is a great ace to have up my sleeve!  After just one visit, I could tell a huge difference!   I also found out that my shoulder pain was probably from my fall at the ice caves at the beginning  of February.  I have a huge knot in my shoulder that we will be working on next week.  The best part of my appointment this week, NO shoulder pain when I did my long run yesterday!

...Thursday night was an amazing night!  It was double date night!  John and I had the opportunity to join some of our friends for night out on the town in Appleton.  Dinner out at Victoria's for a fabulous Italian feast (ok Italian pasta feast for them, amazing salad for me, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything!) and then it was off to the PAC for Wicked!  This was the 3rd time the show was in Appleton and the first chance that we had to go.  What an awesome show!  Now, I keep asking myself why we didn't go sooner!

...This cold winter has been enough!  We officially broke a few records this week and can say that we just survived the coldest winter that Green Bay as seen in 110 years.  Ok, now that we have broken that record, this extreme cold can end!  I don't know about you, but I am getting tired of having to get dressed in 15 layers just to go out for a run!  My toes can't take much more of this!

...My biggest accomplishment... ran just shy of 21 miles in less than 30 hours.  Great way to start off the month of March!  Yesterday was the toughest training run yet for the Cellcom Marathon.  Between the cold and wind, it was a long 12 miles.  The fact that it snowed on Friday night, leaving a blanket snow (5 inches) across the entire city, didn't make it any easier. A few miles of the route were actually unplowed streets!  But we survived.  Then today was the CP Telethon Walk/Run and I pulled out just shy of 9 miles.  It was an amazing morning with a group of amazing people.  No matter how cold it was or how tired we got, we kept going!  I will have more on that in another post - too many amazing things going on to put into words here!

So what do you have to add to our fireside chat tonight?!?!  Fill me in!  What did you accomplish this week?  What are you proud of?  What did you get to experience?  Be proud of what you did and feel free to share!