When to take a Break?

I don't remember when - probably about a month or so ago - I ran the Race for the Roses Half marathon in Portland. I did really good, taking about 30-40 minutes off my previous best time. Near the end - the last half mile or so my right knee really started hurting, but I kept going, knowing that my time was really good - for me - and I finished and knew that something had happened, but also figured that like all of my previous hurts, this would eventually clear up. It hurt so bad, I could barely get up the stairs to visit my Aunt Peg at OHSU after the run.

I took a few off days - messing with my mileage goal for the year and tried to go for another run on Friday, before heading over to the coast with the girl scouts. Unfortunately, I didn't get but 20 minutes into my run and my knee was still really sore. Same thing on Saturday. Here's the trick though. I can walk without any pain at all.

So then I came home and took some more off days. Thinking it's got to get better. Then came another Saturday. I needed to do a 20 mile training run/walk to stay on track for the Seattle Rock-n-Roll marathon in June. Again I was only able to do about 6 miles before the pain became intolerable and I had to pretty much walk the next 11 miles before I called it quits.

I think the next thing was the first of May. Bloomsday. I was headed back to where it all started. I knew I couldn't hike my way over, so Jessica and I shopped our way over instead and crammed for the Spelling Bee the next weekend. I had again mostly rested my knee. No significant running. I pushed really hard at Bloomsday and finished much better than last year. Not as fast as I could have done if my knee wasn't killing me for most of the race, but I went for it. When I could barely walk at the end, it should have been a clue that something was wrong.

Next we went to DC. Walked a million miles - or 20 or so - and not a lot of pain, but I was not able to do the half marathon I was hoping to do in Virginia. I knew that with the pain of going up and down steps, trying to do a half was a bad idea and we still had a lot of things to see on Sunday before coming home.

So this past week, recovering from Jet lag, I got in a few small run/walks both outside and at the Y. No significant pain, but I was not pushing very hard or far.

That leads to Yesterday. I needed to get in 22-23 miles - again to stay on track with my training goals. And again, I did not get very far, before I should have said this isn't working. But I'm stubborn and stupid that way, and decided I would at least walk the miles. And at mile 13 or so, I thought I was finally going to have to call Jim to come resuce me on the trail. It hurt really bad. And that's when I cried. Because I know I can no longer continue to train for a full marathon in June. Let me re-phrase that. I can train to walk - but I really want to train to run. I did get in almost 19 miles, but I gave up on the last 4 mile lap.

I'm not sure where to even go from here. I have a lot of things I want to do this summer. It's not worth permanent damage. It's not worth not being able to do the other half marathons I've paid for. It's not worth letting my Portland to Coast team down. And If I get this thing healed and I can still train for Portland.

So how do I fix the knee. I don't even know what kind of doctor to go see. Do I just go to my regular doctor - who has never even taken my blood pressure - I had to get a knew doctor last year?

I'll just add that I have really tried hard to follwothe training. Not trying to over train. I really beleive something happened in that last half mile at the Roses run. I have cross trained and taken the rest days. It's very frustrating. Infuriating really.

One Year - Bloomsday Take Two

A year ago I headed across the gorge to the beautiful Walla Wall countryside to join my SIL at Bloomsday in Spokane. I had the best weekend. It started as a little thing. Could I really walk an event? Should I even go. Jim had just been laid off... With Cindy's encouragement I took off by myself. Did two incredible hikes in the gorge along the way. On Sunday we ran and walked Bloomsday. It took me One hour and 51 minutes to do the 12K event.

This year I am aiming for less than One hour and thirty minutes. I am looking forward to the same super fun girls weekend.

I am hoping my knee will cooperate. I have taken things really slow this week - a stomach bug will do that to you anyway...after 17 miles last weekend, the pain was pretty intense. Today I did a test run and it is still sore after just a few miles. I can hope for a good run, but will be very happy with a great walk too.

A year later I weigh 80 pounds less. I have walked and ran some great events. It's truly wonderful what this fitness thing has done for me.

Looking forward to hanging with over 50,000 other people all loving the same thing.

Pictures when I return!

Knowing too much

I know the halls and the ins and outs of getting around OHSU, the tram, parking garages, ICU, recovery, cafeterias, and the rest all too well. I'm ready for a break, but even more so I am ready to have my Aunt Peg home and on the mend. I am ready more than anything for my mom to have a break. Aunt Peg has been through hell and it is time to get her back to as normal as we can.

She had her neck bone removed, was in a nearly medically induced coma for four days, when she then had two steel rods put back in her neck area. Her neck was desintegrating and moving into her brain.

Week Fourteen

On Sunday I finished week fourteen of my marathon training course. I’m a little more than half way through.

The week ended with an 8 mile run. Which felt great! The start of the week was a little tougher, still recovering from the 17 miles last Saturday.

I opted to go run on the river trails in Eugene and managed to avoid getting rained on. It was again pretty good running weather, although I was pretty cold until I got warmed up. I didn’t see anything odd this time. Just smelled some cigarette smoke when I couldn’t see the smoker. That’s always a slightly uncomfortable feeling.

This coming weekend I run my first 2010 half marathon. Race for the Roses in Portland. I’m hoping to cut 20 minutes off of my previous best time. I’m struggling with how to train this week. Go easy, so my legs are fresh for Sunday. Or continue on the same path, because the marathon is the ultimate goal. I’m hoping for at least the same luck I had this past Saturday with the weather, if not a little warmer.

My mental hang up is like my normal OCD stuff. If I don’t do exactly what the book says, I feel like I’m letting myself down. This is where a living, breathing trainer would be a really good idea. They could tell me what to do, and if I didn’t, I would be letting them down.

March numbers look pretty good. I’m still on a downhill trend from a great January, but am ahead of the monthly average I need to be to get to 1600 miles this year. Cross training days put a real dent in the daily average.

In other news –

We had some good news regarding Richard’s lung tumor. The current treatment has resulted in a 25% shrinkage in the tumor and nothing new has appeared. Please continue with good thought and prayers for his continued healing.

Unfortunately we also learned the Betty has thyroid cancer and will now be heading into her own treatment. Testing is underway to see if it has spread to the lymph nodes. Please pray that this has been caught early and that treatment will be successful.

Finally, my Aunt Peg is headed up to OHSU this Thursday for some major surgery to repair some issues she is having with her neck. This is not a simple procedure and again – all the good thoughts and prayers you can muster for her are greatly welcomed.

Upcoming –


Three day girl scout trip to the coast with horseback riding, sea lion caves, and other fun stuff. We have nearly as many adults going as girls, so hopefully Kelli and I can keep everyone entertained. Good weather would be great too!

Running and walking truly is a savior. It is the one thing I do for myself that allows me to de-stress. With so much going on, sometimes it’s nice to just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

17.6 Miles

Yesterday was the first really long run for me. I always feel good up to 15 miles and then have to mentally work out anything over that.

I started about eight in the morning. It was still cold, but it warmed up nicely to be the best running/walking weather yet. I finished in a little under 3.5 hours. My first and last mile were all warm up and cool down with walking. My actual running pace was 11:39 per mile. A pretty significant improvement for me. I actually did 13.1 in 2:32, which cuts about 20 minutes off of my best half rate to date. I'm never going to be fast, but I do like to see the improvement.

What I don't like is how sore I am. I thought I had conditioned better than this, but am feeling a lot of muscle soreness in my thighs. Yes - I really do need to start a weight training regime, to get better core strength. It's just that those things are so intimidating to me.

We did purchase a spin bike and I am absolutely loving it. I lovewhen you find great deals on Craigslist. I am getting caught up on all of my favorite shows, while sweating like crazy and getting in the almost perfect cross training exercise. Even without weights, my thighs and the rest of my legs should continue to build strength.

I am glad that next week is a short run - just eight miles. I don't think I could muster up much enthusiasm for another 17-18 miles. That really will be all the way to Monroe.

Today is easter egg dyeing day and basket getting ready day.

DC Update - we have our flights scheduled and our hotel booked. ACS is doing a coin drive to help raise funds. We are very grateful for their desire to help us fund this trip. We have our tickets to visit the Capitol building first thing Friday morning. From there we have a great list of things to do from Miss Edleman. She's been taking the 7th and 8th graders to DC for many years. We are very excited to be making this trip and very proud of Jessica.

In the News

http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_da9aee86-3a27-11df-831d-001cc4c03286.html

Had to post this. Off to the local market to get the paper copy.

We have been studying a lot lately. It doesn't always happen with grace, but we are trying. How do we keep it from feeling like punishment?

Gadget and Fitness Tools - Part Two

Another big key to my success has been my exercise and food journaling. I started out with a little handmade notebook, that quickly filled up with all kinds of notes. I now use a calendar journal.

From there I update my online food journal daily and my exercise excel spreadsheet when I get time, usually twice a week. Less frequently these past two months because of all the other crazy time committments.

The accountability to wrtie things down, makes me take at least a moment longer to decide if I am really hungry and really want to put things in my mouth.