The change of seasons is upon us

I love spring.

I really love it.

Spring doesn't always love me, but I will always love it.

When the first signs start to appear, I get so excited that winter is almost done.  My feelings towards winter are about the exact opposite of my love for spring.  But I digress...

My runs lately have been much more appealing because of all the blooms I keep finding. 

Today was just absolutely gorgeous.  I turned off the heater, opened all the windows, and put on my shorts.

I was so excited about everything, that today I brought along my camera for the ride run. 

Quite literally.

I love living in Georgia.  It's such a nice change from the barren flat lands known as central Illinois.  Here we have trees and elevation changes.  In Illinois, you can see for miles and miles because the land is so flat.  You can see for miles and miles here, too, but only if you're on top of a hill.

The hills and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love that there are hills all around us, but I really hate running on them.  Hills are not my friend.  We've slowly learned to tolerate each other, but it's taken a long time. 

Hills like this are not uncommon. 

I've just learned to limit my time on them.

I've also learned how to create routes that end up on the trail.

I can get a break from the hills and enjoy all the beautiful trees.

I've made friends with the neighborhood pup.

Is it really considered friends if she barks at me while I run by?

I finish my run and take a moment to get a great shot of dogwood blooms in the sun.

But wait, there's more!

I'm so busy walking and taking this picture that I don't notice the manhole that was inconveniently left open in the ground.

Notice the word "LOCK"?  It was definitely not locked.  Notice my leg?  There are definitely scratches on it.

Why, you ask?

Because while I was taking the beautiful shot of the tree blooms, my leg went straight down into the manhole. 

And down I went with it!

My camera broke, my water bottle flung out of my hand, and I had to drag my legs out of the hole.

Luckily (or maybe unluckily?) no one was around to see me.  It took a few minutes for me to comprehend what just happened as I sat there in shock.

So what did I do?  I remembered I had a camera on Phillip's old phone that I use as a stopwatch, and I took a picture of the scene.  A bit blurry, but I was shaking a bit.

I managed to pick myself up along with all my flung belongings, and start walking - up the hill I may add - back home.

I call Phillip.  "You know how I tend to hurt myself when I go running?"

Enter Injury #5. 

WARNING:  I'm a bloody mess.

Not only was my right shin cut and bleeding pretty good, it swelled up at least an inch off my bone.  And notice that the inside of my left knee is all scratched up.

Scratches starting from the outside of my upper left thigh to across and down the inside of my left knee.  It's all swollen just above where you can't see in the picture.

I'm going to have a massive bruise.

And finally, just a scratch (hah!) on my elbow.  I discovered that it's really difficult taking a picture of your elbow with a phone.

All I could do was laugh. 

I mean, really. 

I've hurt myself pretty good on these runs before, but this sure tops them all. 

But seriously, please let this be the worse thing I do to myself. 

I've done it again.

Happy New Year!

After the last few months of craziness, it's time to get back into the running groove. We were able to keep up with running here and there with our busy schedules, but not as consistently as we would have liked.  Now that the new year has come, our schedules are going to keep us in town to get more miles in.

I'll admit that it's been frustrating that I'm back to where I was a few months ago, in that I'm slower and struggling to get the same quality of runs that I had before.  The new house is located in an area that is jam packed with serious hills, whereas the old house had much more gradual ones.  I'm sure this has a lot to do with my slower pace.

The Silver Comet back in November

Luckily, the Silver Comet trail is right next to my house, and it is probably the most continuously flat path that we have around here.  It's great for the necessary breaks from constantly running up and down all the hills.





I've decided that for now, I really need to be more concerned with just getting miles in, instead of worrying about my pace time.  Better pace times will come eventually.  Getting back into the routine has got to be a priority.

And so we run.

Last week we were off to a good start.  Phillip kicked butt on his runs, tackling the hills like they're no big deal.  I, on the other hand, pretend to enjoy them as I slowly run my routes.

Tuesday turned out to be what felt like the coldest day ever as I unknowingly set off for a 7 mile run in 29 degree weather.  I thought I had dressed appropriately, but unfortunately for me, I couldn't feel my fingers or toes until at least halfway through the run.  My body did not seem to really warm up at all, and felt stiff and was hard to move the whole time.  Worst.  Run.  Ever.  Never again.  It is so important to dress warmly on those cold days.

Thursday was supposed to be another 7 mile run.  Originally the plan was to start on the Silver Comet trail for about 2 miles and get off into a neighborhood to complete a loop, but I felt so good running on the trail that I just kept going.  In the end, I ran just over 8 miles.  It was awesome.

Except for my poor knee.

About 7 miles in, my left leg started to feel like it was being pinched around my hip muscles.  At one point the pain was in my entire left leg.  Eventually the sensation in my leg simmered down while a pain in my knee really began to flare up.  It hurt for the entire last mile, but I kept going, determined to finish.

Once home, after putting ice on it and doing a little research, I self-diagnosed myself with Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, most commonly known as "runner's knee".

source

Read: Injury #4

Basically, it's considered an overuse injury.  Overuse?  Really?  I knew those hills would kill me...

It happens mostly in young, recreational runners, and twice as many women than men.  Ah dang, I'm  both of those. 

I feel the pain mostly on the outer side of my knee, and occasionally just under my knee cap.  It is definitely more noticeable when I'm walking downstairs. And we definitely moved into a two-story house.  Lovely.

The good news is that it's been a few days since that run, and the pain is slowly but surely subsiding.  I took Friday off from all running.  Saturday I went on a short, low-impact bike ride.  Sunday I ran a little over a mile to see how my knee would do.  It was still aching, so the run was kept short.  Today, I ran just over 3.5 miles.  It took longer for the pain in my knee to flare up, but flare up it did.  More ice was applied once home.

source

I don't want to stop running altogether, but I'm nervous about making anything worse.  I think riding my bike on off days can help, since I wouldn't be putting a lot of pressure on my knees.  And these stretches have been recommended on a lot of different sites. 










At least this injury won't leave a scar.

Keep On Keeping On

What a month October has been.  New changes have been decided on, some have been acted on, and in the meantime, we kept on running.

On the 22nd, we ran in the Oakland Cemetery's Run Like Hell 5k.  As part of the Halloween spirit, we all dressed up.

Thanks Joshua!

The looks on everyone's faces when they saw our Jackie Moon look-a-likes, priceless.

Lessons Learned from Injury #3:  Do not attempt to turn around to talk to your friend amid a crowded street, just after missing a tree in the face, and not seeing the approaching curb.  You will stumble, fall, and scrape your hand.

Injury #2 is slowly but surely healing.  It finally just looks like a long scratch on my arm.  Injury #1 is barely visible.  Yay!

The following day was the long 10-mile run.  Remembering our previous 10-miler made this one feel a bit daunting.  I just felt so tired the entire run, and was nervous for this one.

In trying something new, we sipped on Gatorade during the run instead of water.  I personally don't enjoy drinking Gatorade while working out, but I was willing to try anything to keep up my energy, and had a 1/2 water and 1/2 Gatorade mixture.  I also tried little energy bites that I would eat every 15 minutes or so.  Phillip wasn't as much of a fan of the little bites, and stuck to his Gatorade.  I was surprised by how much they really did help, and will definitely continue this new tactic on the long runs.

Now what I need to figure out is a good recipe for sports drinks and energy bites that I can make myself so I know exactly what I'm putting in my body.  Until then, Gatorade will have to suffice.

A few more runs throughout the week, and here we are, back at Sunday.  We decided on going on long runs every other weekend until we're more comfortable with those distances, meaning we have this weekend "off".  And we almost really did take the weekend off.

Until today when I guilt tripped myself into going for one. 

You know when you know you need to do something, and you just don't want to do it, but realize that's the time when you really need to?  Yep.  It happens.

And for the best.  My run today was the best paced run I've had in quite some time.  Maybe it had to do with running mid-afternoon.  Maybe it's because it was surprisingly nice outside.  Whatever it was, it worked.  It worked great.

Great for Phillip, too.  He was totally going to skip out as well, but luckily for him, when I got home and told him how I did, it seemed to guilt trip inspire him, leading to his own great run.  Awesome!

Tomorrow is the last day of October!  It's doubtful that I'll get another run in.  I have to dress up in my costume for work, and it's likely to take all morning to get ready.

Which leads me to my end of the month stats!

Total miles run in October:  74.1 (up 23.3% since September!)
Farthest distance in October:  10 miles
Total miles since August:  209
Total calories burned since August: 20,344 (yeah, baby)

Happy Halloween!

What a week

Thanks Katie!

What a busy and emotional week this has been.  Last week Saturday was just loaded with things to do.  We had the Walk to End Alzheimers in the morning, that afternoon Phillip went off to donate blood while I had to go work at a festival for a few hours, and then we spent the evening with his sister and her boyfriend.  No time for a run at all. 




Then Sunday rolls around, and so does a 10 mile run.  I figured that 10 miles would be a piece of cake if the week before I ran 9 and felt awesome after.  Phillip was able to join me, and we decided to keep this long run interesting by driving up to Marietta and running up there. 

We started off great.  We stopped early on at the Kennesaw Mountain Visitor's Center for a quick bathroom break.  10 miles is a long run, so we figured it would be a good idea to empty our bladders before we started our trek. 

Unfortunately, within 20 minutes or so we had to alter our course to find the nearest bathroom to stop again.  Stupid bladder. 

With that taken care of, the rest of the run was just looooonng.  (I say this now.  Just wait til I start running 20+ miles.) On top of that, there's just no way to avoid hills.  They suck.  Until you're done with your run and realize hills are actually good for you. 

Long runs like this one gives you a lot of time to think.  So many thoughts went through my head.  What am I going to be for Halloween?  What do I get to eat after I'm done?  Why does this run suck so much?  That kind of stuff.  I did realize that my 9 mile run the week before was so great because I ran on about as flat of a trail/road as I could find in Georgia.  Dang.  Stupid hills.

After the grueling 1 hour 53 minute run was over, we met up with Phillip's dad at Waffle House, where we promptly scarfed down an omelette, hasbrowns, and half a waffle each.  It was so good.  Then, hot tub!  It does a body good.

Alas, 10 miles really pushes your body to do things it doesn't normally do.  Phillip and I both felt the after-effects of it for days after.  Our bodies were just so tired.  I was falling asleep much early at night and having a real hard time getting up in the mornings.  I couldn't muster up any energy until Wednesday to go for a run, and even then it was just 2 miles. 

On top of that, Phillip has been busy looking into grad schools, while I had an incredibly emotional week of work that caused a chain reaction of figuring out my next step.  Unfortunately, I've found that this kind of stress can be really un-motivating.  I had no desire all week to get on my running shoes and get out the door.

It wasn't until Friday that I managed another run, with it being only 4 miles.  But remember:  No run is too short!  While my 2 and 4 mile runs were nowhere near what I should have run, they were better than none at all.  Right?

It's now Saturday, and we have another busy day ahead of us.  I'm going to try to in squeeze another short run today in anticipation of a possible 10 mile run tomorrow. (Already? Dang.)

***

In other news, injury #1 for Phillip is slowly but surely healing.  He's back to running! Injury #1 for me is also almost completely healed.  Just a bit of a scar showing. 

I might have already earned injury #2...only a week after getting injury #1.  It's possible that it was also acquired while on a run with our dog, who got spooked by another dog and her leash somehow caused a rope burn on my arm.  Very unsightly.  And very slow to heal.  A week later and it's only now starting to scab. 

I'm going to have to keep a chart on my fridge to keep track of how many running related injuries I get throughout this whole training process. The ones that are conincendentally acquired whilst running with the pups gets an extra star. 

Battle Wounds

After our first 9 mile run, we were pooped.  Tired.  I took the next run-day off.  Two days just weren't enough time for me to recover.  Phillip, however, knocked out 4 miles.  The next day, we joined a pick up game of soccer.

And then it happened.

After a quick bite to eat after the game in downtown Marietta, we started towards our car to go home.  All of a sudden, Phillip feels a pain in his knee.  His knee goes out.  He can't walk.  He has to lean on me in order to walk across the street to our car.  Oh no, this isn't good.  About a year and a half ago, Phillip had the same thing happen during a game of soccer and was out of commission for weeks.

Spending the next two weeks taking time to ice his knee and rest, he hasn't been on a run until today.  But he's back baby.  And he's got me being over-protective, giving him those looks only a teacher can give and reminding him to take it slow.  He'll be kicking my butt in no time.




Meanwhile, I've been keeping to the training program as much as possible.  Weekend runs have been out, due to lots of road trips, but starting this weekend, no more excuses.


Every once in a while during my morning runs, I'll bring along our dog Odette for a bit of exercise.




This past Tuesday I was on a 5 mile run, with Odette by my side.  My run took me to the main road just outside our neighborhood.  On the sidewalk right where I came out of is a section that is difficult to pass through.  One side of the sidewalk is blocked by a lamp post; two feet away there is a large metal box of sorts blocking the other side.  Not much room to get by with more than one person.  I look down at Odette to make sure she had enough room.  I see that she does.

And then it happened.

As I run by, I feel an incredibly sharp, intense pain on my shoulder.  I look up, and discover attached to the lamp post is a metal box.  My shoulder discovered the corner of said box.  My shirt has a quarter sized hole in the sleeve.  I try my best not to cry as I push through and keep running.


At a stop light, I check out the damage.  Oh man.  I did pretty good.

You can already see a bruise forming.

During my lunch, I was curious to see how much this new injury of mine had progressed.  It got all shades of reds and purples in a hurry. 






My kids at work got a good kick out of it.

After a bit of a peroxide wash, along with neosporin and band-aids, my shoulder is healing quite nicely.  The bruise is slowly fading and the scratch is starting to close up.

I'm happy to say that Odette made it through the whole incident unscathed.




As this is the end of the month:


Natalie's stats:
Total miles ran in September - 60.1
Total miles since August 2011 - 135
Total calories burned - 12,944 

Thanks RunKeeper!