Wipe out!

I've had the most intense week and a half.
I'm not even 100% where to start with this. It's been so crazy.

I think I wrote about it, but last Monday, I was in a car accident. I've had my car in the shop since last Saturday and it's been so frustrating to not have a car. I should have gotten a rental car, but I really thought I'd have my car back by now. I know that it's not really anybody's specific fault. It's just a frustrating situation. I should have my car back early next week. (fingers crossed!)
[I'm super thankful for having a really awesome best friend who has been willing to go out of her way to drive me around.]

That's her!

So anyways, I have been majorly slacking on my running lately. I've also been extremely stressed out about school and my car. I've been putting in a lot of time looking for a full time job. I'm two weeks away from being 26, which means that I come off of my mom's health insurance soon. (as a person with epilepsy, it is pretty important that I stay insured.) I've had a lot on my mind. I guess that running hasn't been working out so well for me. I do need to try to keep my focus though. It's really a prime example of how life can knock a person down... and then kick the same person at the same time. (a few times.) That's sort of what I feel like I've been dealing with lately.

So. I have two runs that I haven't posted about. It's been a week since I've last posted and I've only run twice. That's a little bit sad. But oh well. It's all in having a positive attitude. I just have to keep picking myself up every day. 

Last Thursday, I went for a run after class. I went to the gym with a friend from class. It was fun. We ran on the treadmill, which I hate, but we talked a lot and it was fun. It didn't even feel like I spent an hour on the treadmill. I'm glad I did it! I almost didn't go to the gym, because I had opened at work. Then I had three hours of class. I just didn't want to deal with it. I did, though. I ended up with about four and a quarter miles in a little over an hour. Not terrible.

Today, I opened at work. I was super upset when I got home, because I thought that I'd get to pick up my car today. No such luck. Anyways, I decided that I wasn't going to run today. Then, Katherine got home. She convinced me to run with her. We actually had an awesome run! We aimed for 5 miles, but saw a thunderstorm coming, so we decided to just wing it. We did end up making it to 5 miles! However, I definitely tripped over something. (I'm still not sure what.) I fell hard onto the ground. I skinned two knees and both hands. I feel like I bruised my shoulder, too, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I haven't looked yet. 

It was a little funny, because, when I fell, I jumped right back up because I was worried about my Garmin and my pace. haha. That's a sign of a certain kind of runner. ;-) Anyways, we kept going (after slowing down a lot) and still finished the 5 miles. I'm definitely glad I went today!!

Battle wounds. haha.

Anyways, fun times. hopefully, I get my car back soon. 

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days

So far: 611.8 miles/264 days

To go: 388.2 miles/102 days

Disneyland Half Marathon Recap

I have been AWFUL. I didn't run for a little over a week... after all of this time living by my training plan, I just stopped. Ugh. I'm extremely frustrated with myself, but trying not to beat myself up about it too much. I know that I can just deal with it and move on.

SO. Disneyland Half Marathon race report!
I have officially added a third state to my "states that I've raced in" list. (Indiana, Florida, and California! ...and Illinois is next!)

My mom, sister, and Katherine came to California. We have dubbed ourselves "Team 3 Catholics and a Protestant." We've been planning the Disneyland Half Marathon trip since January, when we decided that we wanted to do the Coast to Coast Challenge. Basically, to participate, a person has to run in a RunDisney half or full marathon in both California and Florida. Back in January, Kath and Kailey (my baby sister) ran the "Donald" half marathon, while my mom and I participated in the "Goofy Challenge" (half & full in two days). (to be honest, I did the 5k, too, so I'm, unofficially, "Dopey". I also ran the Princess half in February.) So yes. That's when we decided to do the Coast to Coast.

We had so much fun! None of us had ever been to Disneyland, so it was fun experiencing the parks and the surrounding areas. We got to do so many fun things. But the most fun... was running.

We got up at 4:00 California time (7 my time) for the race on Sunday morning. We all whined and dragged ourselves out of bed to depart at 4:30.. or that was the goal. I don't think we left the hotel until closer to 4:45. Then my mom realized she forgot her parfait, which is her traditional race morning breakfast. Then she realized she forgot her Minnie ears, which she was looking forward to wearing. The last straw was when she realized that she did not have her ipod, either. That's when she went back to the room. The rest of us trudged onward without her. (my mom ended up catching a shuttle to the start while the other three of us walked! not even fair.)

We all started together in Corral D and planned to run together to the first character photo opportunity. Then the race started and we started running. Somehow, I got into a really nice groove and then realized that I was running without anybody on my "team". Oops. Then Kath caught up with me and we ran together to the first photo stop.

Green Army Men! A RunDisney picture tradition.

After that, Kath ran ahead and I stayed in my groove. I felt really good and didn't really have to take walk breaks at all, which really surprised me. It is really the first race that was like that for me. When we got into Disneyland Park, I saw Katherine in line for a picture and jumped in with her. 

How could I resist Tiana, Naveen, and Louis?!

We decided to run through the rest of the park together and stop for pictures when we could, knowing that the majority of the race did not take part on Disney property. So we did. We had to run through some pretty intense crowds, but overall, we did pretty well and passed a lot of people. (I feel like my pace has really improved and I didn't really know until Sunday.) 

The rest of the race was really fun! (I didn't get many pictures, but that's okay.) We ran through the Anaheim Angels' baseball stadium, which was awesome. It was really crowded, though, and on the way out, I twisted my right ankle trying to pass people. (Yep. The one that I've hurt countless times in the past.) I decided to walk the rest of the race and throw out all hope of getting an awesome finishing time. I knew I had to be careful, because I REALLY want to do well in Chicago. As much as I wanted to finish strong, I knew I shouldn't push it. So I walked. For three. Long. Miles.

The Team!

The race was fun though. I had a fantastic time! (the vacation part was great too!) I want to go back! 

I'm back to Chicago training though. Kath and I did four easy (EASY) miles today and it was fun. It's nice to be back in the swing of things. (sort of. I still want to go back.)

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days

So far: 547.8 miles/248 days

To go: 452.2 miles/118 days

3 cheers for being back to running.

I ran! (two days in a row!) I'm really excited about it.

I thought I was going to have to modify my distance in order to help work through the pain in my toe, but my toe really doesn't hurt at all when I run. I actually decided not to tape my toes today, because it seems like my foot is strained and I limp much more when I tape my toes together. The smushed toe is still swollen, but most of the bruising is gone now. I feel so much better. It's crazy how sad I was about my toe being injured. I thought I was going to have to lose a lot of my training in the next several days. Instead, I lost 3-4 days of training.  Yeah me!

So yesterday, I did four miles. It was the first run I'd done in a week and I felt great. It was awesome. I ran slowly, but I did what needed to be done. That's what really matters.

Today, I was scheduled 8 miles and I knew that I could do it. I did two miles, then Katherine came home from work and we finished out together. We had lots of good talks along the way. One fun thing about Katherine and I running together is that our pace has improved exponentially in the past few months. It used to be that we were pretty slow together and walked a lot. Now we can run much more quickly than we could before, so I'm excited about that. Lots of fun teamwork.

I'm exhausted, so that's all I have to say this time. ha. I'm just glad to be back!!

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 456.66 miles/222 days
To go: 543.34 miles/144 days

i have toe woes...

I guess I should write about... why I haven't been running.

On Thursday, at work, I was pushing drink carts out.. and one thing led to another and my toes got run over.. by a 300-400 pound cart full of drinks and ice.

Yup. My pinkie toe was smushed and is now purple-ish (actually the bruises aren't so bad now). I'm pretty sure it was broken in the incident, but knowing that there's nothing that can medically be done for a broken toe, I've buddy taped it to my ring-finger-toe (is that even a real thing?!) and refrained from running. Since Thursday.

I've been crabby, irritable, mean, and in bad spirits since. I'm worried about my marathon training and about all of my races coming up. I'm trying to pray my toe better. I've been lazy and stayed off it. It has been miserable. I've gone from running 5 times a week to laying around. ALL THE TIME. No joke.

So yes. Chicago training has stopped. For now. I'm going to start using my spin bike as much as I can and lifting weights. I've also looked into buying a good bike that I can use. (I can't afford that.) I've also thought very seriously about swimming. The only problem is that... swimming uses feet. Feet have toes. My toes hurt. So... I don't know about that.

...we'll see. I'm hoping that I'm exponentially better by.. tomorrow.

Training Day 24! (light day)

Today, my leg was feeling so much better! Exciting, right?
...so I went running. haha.

Today was six miles. I did walk a lot more than I wanted to, BUT, I did it understanding that I needed to take it semi-easy on myself because of my hip pain yesterday.

I stretched last night before bed, this morning when I got up, and then before I went for my run. I really feel like that helped out a lot. I've also been taking ibuprofen in order to reduce any possible inflammation. (thanks to Katherine, whose dad is a pharmacist)

I ended up with a 14:40-something pace, which isn't awful. Granted, it isn't my best time and it isn't any sort of race goal pace, but it isn't an absolutely terrible pace, either. It was also really hot out. I'd say that I did okay, considering. My major fear was that I was going to be out of commission for a while, but that didn't really happen.

Tomorrow, I'm taking a rest day. Yay for me. I have a short 6 hour shift at work & then going to see Seth's Encore! performance. It's going to be fun times for sure.

(in other news, this morning I registered for the Wine & Dine half marathon in November. This year, I will have participated in all but TWO of Disney's races.. well race weekends. How intense am I?!)

I'm also thinking about my nutrition more now. I feel like I need to fuel my body properly and stop eating like a complete moron all of the time. It's something I'm going to start to research. I still have some pounds to lose, but that isn't the goal. I want my body to respond the way that it needs to respond to running. I've seen a lot of improvement in myself in the past year and I know that I want to continue along that path.

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 382.24 miles/201 days
To go: 617.76 miles/165 days

Chicago Training Days 22 and 23

It's time for an update! Yay!

Yesterday, the rain was horrible and I knew I wasn't going to get my 7 miles in that I had planned. So I pulled a short run from later in the week and decided to switch it up a little. (is that even allowed when you're supposed to be following a plan??!)

So anyways, I did three miles yesterday that were intended for later in the week. I got rained on the whole time and took advantage of it by wearing long sleeves. (Okay, so the sleeves probably weren't neccessary, but how can you go wrong with a Goofy Challenge shirt. haha. I did get a little bit warm.) I ended up with about a 14 minute pace, which wasn't my best, but at the same time, isn't awful. I felt pretty good the entire time. It has been nice to have some rainy weather, so that I can keep going and it isn't quite as hot.

Today was the 7 miler. I don't know why I was dreading it, but I was. I put it off almost all day. I was going to go in the morning. Before I knew it, it was 11 and I figured it was too hot. Then I was going to go at 2:30-3ish so that I'd be back by the time Katherine got home from work and we could have some fun adventures. Then, before I knew it, it was 4:15 and almost time for her to head home from work. In that case, I figured that I would stick close to home and then see if she wanted to come with me later. My pace was horrendous for the first two miles that I did alone. There's something extremely lame about running around an apartment complex for multiple laps. Maybe I need a larger apartment complex. haha.

When Katherine got home, she changed out of her work clothes and we headed out to the running trail.

I realize that when I say running trail, it sort of sounds like I do a lot of trail running. The trail that I use isn't really a trail. It's an asphalt path. Just to clear that up. haha.

I felt fantastic until I was a little past mile 3 and a half. My left hip/upper leg started cramping up like crazy. I stopped to stretch several times. Each time, it felt a lot better, but then got worse again. I didn't really have a choice but to finish out the run, because of the out-and-back nature of the route that I use. I did a LOT of walking on the way back home. So much that I got really frustrated with myself. Ugh. I'm worried that I'm seriously hurt.

My pace ended up in the 16-minute range. Awful. Almost embarassingly so.

Tomorrow, I might actually have to skip a run for the first time on this training cycle. I'm praying that I'll wake up feeling fabulous and completely able to finish out what I need to do. The likelihood of that is slim, but there's always hope, right? The idea of being behind on my training really freaks me out and I'm not sure why, considering that I've never followed a real training plan before. Hmm...

Here are a few pictures from today's run. They're from my Blackberry, so they aren't as lovely as the ones that I took with my new camera the other day.

 My first stretching moment.

 Katherine saw a bunny in the cloud and decided to be like the bunny. Do you see it?

This picture is AWFUL quality, but there was for sure an alligator swimming along in the river next to the path. I've never seen an alligator outside of the zoo before, so this was crazy. (Wait! There's a 3 legged alligator who lives in the Magic Kingdom.) Can you see him?

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days

So far: 375.94 miles/200 days

To go: 624.06 miles/166 days

Chicago training day number SIX

It's week two of marathon training. This is getting intense. (sort of.) I ran more last week than I have in a while, so I was a little worried about how my body would react. It doesn't help that my job is fairly physical, too. I do a lot of walking and lifting... and pushing carts and whatnot. So, when I rest from running, my body is still on the go much of the time.

Today, I had a three mile "easy" run. My goal was to do 13-14 minute miles. I ran with Katherine, which sometimes slows my pace, because we talk a lot. When we talk, I take more walk breaks than I really need to... I ended up on pace for the first two miles, but I started fighting some really intense pain in my right thigh. I tried to push through (I know, I know, bad idea.), but it got really bad when I was at about mile 2.35 or so. I had to walk the rest of the way home, which really frustrated me. It almost feels like I pulled something, but I'm really hoping that it was just a fluke and that I can get back to training again. I'll be really sad if I've screwed myself over.

Chicago is such a big deal to me. I have run two full marathons, but they were both at Disney. I feel like Chicago is going to be a completely different ball game and I want to be able to do my best. I'm so nervous about it. I don't want a running injury to screw up my training and, thus, screw up my experience. I'm not sure what to do.

I think that I'm going to try to run tomorrow and see what happens. I'm going to take it easy and not try to push it too hard.

(especially with Tropical Storm Debby finally leaving... I'd like to experience some sunshine.)

Goal: 1000 miles/366 days
So far: 273.94 miles/178 days
To go: 726.06 miles/188 days