TexasLindsey

6.8 miles at 6pm. Weather= 52F, 28% humidity, 20 dew point, 12 mph wind, sunset. Average pace= 8:25/m

mile 1- 8:45

mile 2- 8:26

mile 3- 8:13

mile 4- 7:48

mile 5- 8:33

mile 6- 8:34

mile 7- 8:36

After I had the IT band issues this last weekend, I thought it'd be a good idea to take a few days off. My left foot is also in pretty bad shape. I've got plantar faciaitis and the top of my foot is tingling and numb. I don't think it's a stress fracture because it doesn't hurt to the touch. I think it's some kind of nerve issue. I have a podiatrist appointment on Nov 10th.

I was feeling really down this week about these injuries. Not running for 4 days in a row felt more like 2 weeks. Now I'm not going to be ready for the marathon I intended to run. It was just disappointing.

Then last night I had a dream about me running this 10 mile race this weekend and doing really well. It was so real! When I woke up, I decided it was a sign. I called my friend Ashley and set up a time to meet her and Tim after work to run today.

I'm so happy I did. It was a great run! My feet still feel pretty bad but everything else was great! My IT Band didn't hurt at all. I love running!

So now I guess I'm running this 10 mile race this weekend. I'm over my funk.

5 miles at 4:45am. Weather= 35F, 70% humidity, 30 dew point, 3mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:00/m.

Met Ashley and Tim to run this morning.  Wore layers and I was comfortable mostly, actually a little hot. Wearing all those clothes makes it so hard to move.  It felt way more difficult than 9:00 pace.  I don't know how people run in colder weather!

Tomorrow is a 10 mile race.  This is the 4th race in the Fire & Ice series with my running store.  I was the overall female winner the first two races and third in the third.  If I do decent tomorrow, then I'll probably win the overall prize which is a jacket and racing shoes.  

My plantar faciaitis is pretty bad.  It was awful this morning and only got slightly better during the run.  I think the IT band was bothering me last week because my form is suffering from this pain. 

Weather=40 degrees, 60% humidity, 12 mph wind.  Average pace=7:41/m

mile 1- 7:23

mile 2- 7:33

mile 3- 7:39

mile 4- 7:46

mile 5- 7:45

mile 6- 7:39

mile 7- 7:41

mile 8- 7:37

mile 9- 7:52

mile 10- 7:50

Not the best race I've ever run, but there are a couple good things that came out of today.  This was a 4 race series and I actually ended up with enough points from the 4 races to get the 1st place overall female for the series.  I'm getting a jacket and some shoes at the awards "ceremony" on Wednesday night this week. 

I went to bed last night at 8pm but I woke up at midnight and my throat was killing me!  Oh no, I'm starting to get a sinus infection or cold or something.  I had restless sleep after that.  At 5am, my alarm went off and I felt pretty bad.  It hurt so bad to swallow and I had a headache.  I decided that I shouldn't run the race in 40 degree weather... so I took IB profen, benedryl and vitamin C and went back to bed. 

But then I had this great dream about running the race and doing well.  I opened my eyes and the clock was exactly 6am.  This was the second time this week I had a dream like this.  I figured it was a sign.  I got out of bed and (sorry to be gross) I coughed up all this junk that was in my throat which made me feel slightly better.  I took a caffeine pill and got dressed super quick... out the door by 6:15am. 

The race started at 7am.  I felt really weird and dizzy at the starting line.  I didn't eat anything but 1 caffeine gu beforehand.  I don't think benedryl at 5am was very helpful for racing.  I ran the race and I felt very relaxed most of the time.  However, I had no faster gears.  Also, I had no motivation.  My throat was hurting and my eyes couldn't focus very well.  I took 1 more gu during the race but I didn't drink any water because honestly I didn't think I could start running again if I stopped. 

I was 5th place girl.  I think if I had been top of my game, I would have probably been 3rd or maybe 2nd.  1st place girl ran 6:30 pace so I never would have caught her even at my best.  It was disappointing that the 4th place girl was like 10 seconds in front of me but I just couldn't get faster to pass her.  Oh well. 

I had already done the math in my head that 5th place would get me enough points to win the series so I didn't really care.  However, if I didn't run this race today, I would have been 3rd in the series so I had already won in my mind just getting out of bed.

So I guess I'm happy with myself considering the circumstances.  I just didn't feel all that great.  When I finished, I felt "odd".  I still do.  It's like medicine head.  I don't like it.  Also, my throat is kinda raw and my vision is blurry. 

Another good thing that came out of the day was that this guy from FW Sport & Spine named Dr Muhall was at the running store giving a lecture on injury prevention.  I talked to him about my foot and he was SOOOO helpful.   The top of my foot feeling numb is nerve problems just like I thought.  Ever since my plantar faciaitis got really bad, I've been walking around on my toes all day...he says this is putting strain on the nerves on the top of the foot and he showed me how to massage it.   The plantar faciaitis can also be alleviated by deep massaging of the arch.  He did it on me and OMG, it felt so great!  Afterwards, I was walking on my heel again.  Still hurts but less than before.  He says I need to just keep working on it everyday but I don't have to stop running.  The man is a genius! 

So I guess maybe this dream=signs thing is proving to be true for me.  I'm glad I ran today.  Now I've got two crazy kids here that I have to take care of.  My mom said she'd babysit later so my husband and I can go out to eat and to a movie. 

6.2 miles at 4:45am. Weather=43 degrees, 71%humidity, 36 dew point, 16mph wind gusting to 24mph, very dark with huge yellow full moon! Average pace = 8:39/m with some 8:00 miles in the middle

Met Ashley and Tim. We're going to try to get back on track for 4:45am every morning. It sucks because it feels like the middle of the night and it's cold, but... I think I'll get used to it.

I've had a few things come up lately that have impacted my running but I think it's getting better now. I'm getting over a sinus infection that hit me this weekend. My foot is feeling better. I've got a podiatrist appointment tomorrow so I think I'm getting a steriod injection.

I'm going to ramp my milage slowly back up and then I've got to start training for a full marathon. I don't know which one yet, probably Cowtown.

6.5 miles at 4:45am.  Weather=35F, 75% humidity, 36 dew point, 5 mph wind, dark with full moon.  Average pace=

mile 1- 10:35

mile 2- 9:05

mile 3- 8:56

mile 4- 8:32

mile 5- 8:32

mile 6- 8:10

final .5 pace- 9:55

Ran to the corner to meet Tim and Ashley.  Tim went to a bachelor's party last night so I was very impressed that he was wanting to run at 4:45 am.  Who has a bachelor's party on a Wednesday night anyways?  

So last night I went to the awards "ceremony" for the Fire & Ice racing series.  I actually ended up with second place.  I thought I was first.  It turns out that they calculated the points differently than I thought.  There were four races but the points only counted for your best three races.  Calculated that way I was second.  If it was best total points, I won.  Oh well.  I still got a really neat Adidas wind jacket.  It's BRIGHT yellow and it has stripes that glow in the dark.  I wore it this morning.  Ashley and Tim said they could see me coming from far away today!    

I went to the podiatrist yesterday about my plantar fasciitis.  The x-rays showed some calcification in the plantar fascia where the tissue had torn.  The doctor gave me a steriod shot in my heel - ouch!  I'm supposed to go get these shots every week for 3 weeks.   He also gave me some completely different inserts than I had before.  They go over my heel.  I don't even land on my heel when I run.  He said this will give the plantar fascia support so it doesn't stretch too much.  The doctor is also a runner so I trust him even though that sounds weird.  He showed me a new way to lace my shoes so they don't put too much pressure on the top of my foot where I have inflammed nerves.  He didn't seem too concerned about the inflamed nerves and the x-rays didn't show any problems with my bones.  

This is the way I'm supposed to lace my shoes.

toes

X

X

l l

l l

X

ankle

He didn't tell me not to run... he just said take it easy on the running.  Hmmmmm... 

So my foot feels SOOOO much better today.  It still hurts but not near as bad.  That shot really helped!  I'm thinking about taking today off but I'm meeting my group on Saturday for 12.

13.2 miles at 6:30am with my running group.  Weather=50F, 55% humidity, 42 dew point, 20-25 mph wind, cloudy.  Average pace=8:09/m

mile 1- 8:20

mile 2- 7:45

mile 3- 7:56

mile 4- 7:43

mile 5- 8:04

mile 6- 8:33

mile 7- 8:21

mile 8- 8:13

mile 9- 8:08

mile 10- 7:50

mile 11- 8:10

mile 12- 8:33

mile 13- 8:40

Today's weather really sucked because of the 20-25 mph winds.  Miles 6-8 and 12-13 were directly into wind.  I'm considering those strength training miles because it took alot of effort... I would have rather climbed hills than battle this wind.  Also, it was cold wind so my legs were frozen and my ears hurt the entire run.  I felt stiff and it was difficult to stay in good form.  

My plantar fasciitis was ok I guess.  It hurt the whole way but not super, super bad.  What hurt the most was my right big toe developed a huge blister.   

So not the most enjoyable run I've ever done but I'm glad I could do 13 miles without major injury.  I can tell I've lost fitness these last 3 weeks of running less because of my foot problems.  Oh well.  I'll get back to where I was if I can ever get my foot better. 

9.2 miles at 4:45am.  Weather=59F, 76% humidity, 51 dew point, 12 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=8:40/m

mile 1- 9:28

mile 2- 8:22

mile 3- 8:31

mile 4- 8:13

mile 5- 8:21

mile 6- 8:25

mile 7- 8:33

mile 8- 8:54

mile 9- 9:20

Ran 1 mile to corner to meet Tim and Ashley.  Ran miles 2-7 with them on the hilly route.  Then ran miles 8-9 by myself home.  Lots of hills today and I charged them all.  Felt pretty good aerobically but my foot still hurt.  The new inserts are quite different from my old ones... going to take some getting used to.  My calf muscles are sore. 

I slacked off earlier this week.  Ashley and Tim don't want to meet on Mondays anymore because they are doing Monday night track.  Tuesday we were going to run but the forecast said it was going to be storming so we cancelled ... but then it actually did not storm. 

I am irritated with myself that I can't seem to get back in the groove of things.  "If you really want something, you find a way.  If you don't, you find an excuse."   I am finding excuses.  Sometimes I think I might just want to take off a couple months from running but then I'm not sure so I do the bare minimum while I'm trying to decide.  I can't shake this funk.  I'll keep working on it.

7 miles at 4:45am.  Weather=37F, 70% humidity, 28 dew point, 9 mph wind, dark.  Average pace=9:11/m.

9:47

8:45

8:57

8:56

9:11

9:09

9:32

Ran 1 mile to corner to meet Ashley and Tim.  Ran miles 2-6 with them.  Ran 1 mile home.  It was very cold today but the wind wasn't too bad.  I think wind to the cold is like humidity to the heat.  I can better handle cold when there's not much wind and I can better handle hot when there's not much humidity.

I was pretty comfortable with the clothes today.  For future reference to myself of what to wear in similar weather: I wore technical t-shirt, arm warmers, warm running gloves, headband for ears, running tights.  I thought I might be cold with this but I was actually pretty comfy the whole time.

Here's the plan for the rest of the week.  Easy 6 tomorrow.  Easy 10 Saturday.  Race 13.1 Sunday (although I'm not aiming for a PR). 

Going to try to get back up to 40+ miles every week from now on.  Foot is feeling much better.  I get another steriod shot in my heel today - fun! 

Racing White Rock Half on December 4th and FW Running Company Half on December 17th.  Aiming for a full marathon in February.  There are a couple of options for that.  Tim wants us all to do Galveston Mardi Gras Marathon on Feb 5th.  It would be a fun couples' weekend.  Also Cowtown full is Feb 26th. 

Ran 2.3 miles with my group.  Average pace =7:50/m.  Was feeling good until all of a sudden... my right leg's calf muscle felt like it had a charlie horse.  I had to move off the trail and let everyone pass me by.  I was unable to run after that because it hurt too much.  I had to walk back to the store. 

I think the inserts I got from my podiatrist were helpful for the plantar fasciitis but they have been working my calf muscles differently than normal.  I've had sore calf muscles for a couple weeks because of them.  I guess I strained or pulled a muscle... whatever.

So just to recap:  in the last month I have had severe plantar fasciitis to the point where the x-ray showed calcification where the tissue tore, IT Band pain that caused me to walk one day and take 4 days off (but hasn't hurt since), and now a pulled calf muscle that caused me to walk.  

I give up.... for now.  I am taking two weeks off with zero running.  If in two weeks I can walk without limping, then maybe I'll start back up slowly.  At present my foot hurts all day long even when I'm laying down.  I limp all day.  I think limping is triggering other problems.  All these issues are relatively minor though.  I think it's just smart to take time off before I do something to myself that will put me on the bench even longer.  My friend, Greg, kept running for several weeks with shin splints and now he has a stress fracture and has to take 6 weeks off or more.  My friend, Emily, kept running with plantar fasciitis and other foot pain and then got a stress fracture in her foot and had to take all summer off.