Austin Half Marathon

I've been offered an elite entry into the Austin half marathon on Feb. 20th. I'm pretty excited. It's suppose to be a beautiful and fun course. This will be a perfect race for me leading up to the exciting Shamrock Marathon which I plan to participate in (March).

Granny Linda

My grandmother died today. Respiratory failure. At the end, she was tired and ready to go home. I believe that she was looking forward to meeting GOD and to even see her son who died over 20 years ago. She was an amazing woman. Kind and beautiful, you saw the American Indian in her features. Black hair, dark eyes, natural tan skin........yes she was beautiful.
But she had a hard life. She grew up with very little and had to share that with 2 other siblings. Married young and had 5 boys. Once again, money was scarce and times were hard. She worked hard to make ends meet which was difficult considering the man she married made life even harder. Let's just say.............he made life more difficult for her then life had to be.
She believed in hard work. She spent her entire life working in the fields, working in a factory or caring for others. 7 days a week all hours of the day.
She ever knew any other life. I'm not sure if she every had the opportunity to be happy. To know true happiness. 'm hoping she's happy now.
My mother told me that she's sure that my grandmother found happiness in me. This is something that definitely brings me comfort.
She was so young. I always thought I had time to take care of her. I wanted to take care of her. Now I will never have the opportunity.

Make it Hurt So Good

Oh my gosh it was freezing tonight at track. I thought I was going to freeze to death. Usually at this point normal people go inside b/c they don't enjoy being cold. But no, we (the crazy runners) are outside running in circles (or on a street) enjoying the cold weather and complaining about the weather. Also, our poor coaches are standing on the sideline freezing their butts off and listening to us complain. Why in the world are we complaining? We are so lucky.
We are so lucky that we are able to enjoy such activities as running in a circle on a cold night. We are so blessed that we are healthy enough and we are "free" enough to spend our leisure time doing whatever it is that we love.
If I said it once, I've said it a thousand times. I love running. I'm so blessed to be able to run.

Surf n Santa

Today was my first attempt at fast running since I hurt my hamstring about 4 weeks ago. Starting the race I was a little worried, I just didn't want my hamstring to hurt so much that I would cause more damage to my hamstring. So the goal was too take it easy and just let the pace go where it needed to go. The race went well. My hamstring didn't start hurting until Mile 3 and the pain never became unbearable. So I decided to just keep the pace at 6mins and to just have a good time at the race.
I crossed the finish line right at 60 minutes and 14 secs. Not a bad day considering I'm not at the top of my game. I did have my pride hurt (and they know who they are). All in all, a good race and a good day. Not a bad way to spend my Saturday morning.

Still Recovering

Hi guys,
So I'm still recovering but tonight's track workout really helped me begin to feel like my old self. My mile tonight was a blazing 5:04. Not my best but I'm still trying to get my speed back. It was so much fun.
I'm leaving for Utah in a couple of days. I'm really excited about training in Utah. According to my mom, the weather is amazing and perfect for running. Also, there's a super cool running store up there that's pretty popular called The Salt Lake City Company. I'm planning on meeting up with a group of people there to run on Saturday morning. It won't be the Final Kick group but it should still be fun.
Happy Running in SLC,

Marathon Recovery

My marathon recovery has been going well. I've been doing my recovery the Bill Bernard way which involves continuing running after a marathon to recover. In the past I've taken time off from running and slowly recovered but Bill thinks I'll recover better if I continue running. I have to admit I'm tired and I even ran a 5k on Saturday at a pretty good effort. Right now I'm actually always tired. I sleep a lot and they are really deep sleeps. I was so tired the other night I woke up confused about where I was, actually kind of scary. But my legs do feel good tho.
I need to focus more on better nutrition. Any suggestions?

Chicago Marathon

So I spent the Saturday before the race doing very little. I went to the Expo (which was pretty awesome). Everyone was taking pictures in front of the 10-10-10 signs (fyi - this date won't happen again until 2410- I learned this fact from Ms Margarat Taylor) and it was all very exciting. I spent the night watching the marathon portion of Kona. It was actually very inspiring and motivating.
Sunday morning was exciting but unfortunately it was already warmer than what I wanted. I was hoping to wake up and need a long shirt or gloves but it didn't happen. The race was only a short distance from the hotel so we walked to the Elite Development Tent. At 0705 we began walking to our corral. We had to walk thru all the other corrals and the oddest thing happened. I saw more men peeing EVERYWHERE. On sidewalks, in bushes, on fences. I mean everywhere. I just couldn't believe it. Why do people think that's okay. It's not. There were port a potties everywhere.
So the race began right on time. I was in a crowd of people. I've never been surrounded by so many people. Very fun! We started off running and I realized that someone had lied to me. Chicago is not flat. We immediately began running up and down over bridges and hills. I was really excited for the race to begin. I'd been training and racing for months all to prepare for this one race. I knew that my goal was to qualify for the trials. Play it safe and qualify for the trials. Besides I already knew it was going to be too hot for me to take any chances. Around mile 7 I kind of found myself alone. I had a group of people ahead of me. I decided I would catch up to them and see what the pace was like. Once I caught up with them my garmin said 6:06. Oops too fast. I knew I had to options I could take a chance on the pace or I could slow down. I opted to slow it down back to my planned pace. At mile 10ish my Italian guy caught back up to me. (I had decided earlier in the race that this was my guy - and I was afraid he had let me down). We ended up running the rest of the race together. He didn't speak much English but we were able to communicate enough that we took turns getting each other water/Gatorade. And every time I fell off pace (mile 21-23 were a little tough for me ) he yelled something at me and pointed beside him. At the halfway point I was right on 1:22:38. Yay. Right on cue. At mile 20ish I passed Joan Benoit Samuelson. The crazy thing was that she was smiling. Still smiling and she ran a 2:47. She's amazing.
Also at this point I knew that it was going to be a very hot rest of the race. Very hot. It was already very warm. Like I said there were a couple of miles that were a little rough but the crowd kept cheering for my Italian running mate (Italia!!) and that kept me going as well. Mile 24 was beyond sweet b/c this is when I knew all I had to do was run 2 .2 very consistent miles. The finish for Chicago is uphill. Once again, this isn't a flat course. But it was amazing. It's been such a long time since I ran a fun marathon so it was great to finish. The announcer said my name and city as I crossed the finish line and he welcomed me to the Olympic Trials which was pretty cool.
The finish line was very smooth. The massage tent people were pros. I've never seen the massage tent run so smoothly. Very cool.
We had to fly back to VaBch that evening. I would have loved to have spent more time in Chicago but it was back to reality and real life.
Real life means Coach made me run 7 miles the next day with him while he rode the bike. Coach actually has a different take on post marathon running. I usually take at least a week off from running. He doesn't believe in that. So I even went to track last night. Yay for me. I actually feel good. So, I'm already looking forward to my next marathon and hoping I get faster
After mile 20, it started getting very hot. I realized that

In Chicago

I'm here in Chicago and I already feel very overwhelmed. Already I'm thinking way too much. Am I good enough? Should I have trained more? Should I have trained harder? Being here is very humbling and all I can do is trust in myself and remember what I'm doing here in the first place. It's very easy to forget that the only reason I run is for myself. Not for my sponsors. Not for my coach. Not for anyone but me. I'm the only one whose opinion really matters. No one else is going to be out there with me on the course but me. At mile 21 I'm gonna have to push myself to the finish line.
All I can say is that I'm so excited about being here. I have to remember that I've trained very hard and that I really love running. I can't wait for race morning. I can already feel the butterflies and the anticipation.

The Taper

So for the last couple of days I've been in "The Taper". Some people hate the taper. They complain about feeling like they aren't doing enough and are restless. Me, I love it. After months of training I can feel my legs again and it's great.
I've spent this week doing all the right things. I've stayed off my feet, got my massage from Balance (thank you Jessica) and getting my hip worked on by Jim Browning.
I also seriously believe in making sure I eat enough pasta and cookies (sugar is fuel also). Oh, and pancakes too.
I'm very excited b/c I leave tomorrow. I plan on getting my good luck run in with Mike D and then I'm off to Chicago.

And I'm off to watch Grey's Anatomy. Love the show.

The Competitive Edge

On my long run on Wednesday Coach and I were discussing the Competitive Edge. What it is and who has it? According to my Coach, it's also called the Rocky Factor. It's an internal feeling that drives an athlete to sacrifice for his/her training. This athlete will go out on race day and will leave everything out of the course. This runner isn't afraid of blowing up and not finishing because he/she will leave nothing to chance.
Not everyone has this competitive edge. Do you?

Lynchburg 10 Miler

Yesterday I ran the Lynchburg 10 miler which is a very historic race (37 years). I have the privilege of writing that I won the race. So awesome! I join the list that has Joanie and Greta on it as well as Catherine the Great. The race was awesome. It starts on a downhill slope so for the 1st mile you are flying. Then starts the pain. The hills of Lynchburg are hard. No lie. I was breathing hard by mile 2 and having a few doubts about my sanity. Around mile 4 a guy comes up and passes me. Every time we went down hill he would pass me and then we would go up a hill and I'd pass him back. He had me worried for a bit b/c I couldn't figure out if he knew something I didn't. After a pretty ugly hill that topped out at mile 5 he went away so then I was just back to cruising. The cool thing about this race was the support. Lots of people along the side of the road yelling and it is an out and back course so heading back there were tons of people cheering which was super sweet. Around mile 6 it occurred to me that 1st place girl was pretty close and I could catch up. It's amazing how your mind becomes totally focused and it's all so clear (b/c the only thing that matters is that one person). This was another race that where I don't remember ever feeling pain. I was just so focused. We took a left corner that would take us back to the finish line and this is where I passed her. The crowd actually went crazy which was pretty cool. So for the next couple of miles all I could think about was running hard. The last mile was pretty crazy. It really is a long hard mile up a pretty steep hill.
This race is one of these days that just makes it all worth while. The pain and the work. All the long hours of running, planning, lifting weights, and just all of it. It's just all worth it.

The Last Run

So my good friend (and amazing runner partner) is off to France. We had a wonderful morning run (20miles) this morning with Coach on his bike. It was a beautiful morning and we had an amazing run. Needless to say, I'm happy for Kelley but I'm sure gonna miss her.

Chicago Half Marathon

Hello all,
I'm in in the amazing windy city of Chicago. I love this city. The tall buildings are beautiful and it's just so cool. I'm in a wonderful hotel called The Palmer House Hilton which was built in the late 1800's. Very cool. I woke up this morning and the weather was in the 50's and it was raining. WAY different than our fair city of Va Beach. I've already wondered out loud if I could move to Chicago but I would miss my city way too much. IDK.
The weather tomorrow is suppose to be in the 60's in the morning. So the weather is definitely ready for racing, I've been to the Expo. It was small which is nice for trying to figure stuff out in a big unfamiliar city. But this is perfect for me figuring out Chicago before the marathon. Speaking of the marathon there are flags out everywhere with 10 10 10 on them. How cool is that!

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. I do know that I have a horrible head cold and my sinuses are draining (very attractive, I know) so that really sucks. I'm hoping it won't affect my performance for tomorrow. I feel that I've emotionally put RnR out of my mind and that I'm ready (emotionally and physically) to race tomorrow. Wish me luck!

pics to follow soon

RnR update

Okay so the race is over. The times are in the book and a personal record was achieved.
The race was truly wonderful today. I had an amazing time. From the first moment of standing on the starting line with the Great Constantina Dita our 2008 Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist from the Beijing Olympics to the finish line and seeing my wonderful friends David (Balance Therapeutic Massage) and Kathy (my Italian mother) and of course the amazing Andy and Coach Bill.
I started the race feeling very good and relaxed. Mile 1 was no problem with a smooth 6 minute pace. Realizing I felt great I picked up the pace to catch up with the next group. Then I totally just settled in and ran as hard as I could. I never looked at my watch. I remember seeing the 10mile time which was 59:00 minutes and all I could think was sweet I'm on target. The finish was amazing and I wish I had ran harder but that's easier said than done b/c at the time I felt I was running as hard as I could.
I've had people already ask me what my plan was or what was my strategy. Literally, it was to trust my training and my coach. Also, I planned on finding someone to run with and just sticking to her as long as possible. Basically, run hard.
So the race is over with. I'm going to enjoy this night and tomorrow it is back to business as usual. I have a massage at Balance tomorrow and an easy run. And this I will be off to run the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday the 12th.

rock n roll half marthon

http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/news/songoka-ogi-claim-victory-in-virginia-beach_13096

Article about the race already posted online. short mention of me near the bottom.

Dear RnR

So tomorrow is Race Day and it's pretty huge. I've been invited to have an Elite Start and I take that responsibility pretty serious. My number is F14 so that means that there are at least 13 other amazing, fast women who all mean business. But I think I'm ready
I haven't posted anything in a while for lots of reasons. I've been pretty busy with work and training and sometimes it doesn't always cross my mind. But let's just say I've been running better lately than I have in the past 2-3 years. Things in my life have finally settled down enough that I can focus. Last week during a track session I ran a 5:04 mile on my own. Totally awesome feeling. Also feels great to have coach Bill so happy as well. A couple of weeks ago I ran the Lynchburg Half Marathon in a time of 1:20:22 which broke the course record of 1:25:36. I totally recommend this race b/c it's a challenging course and it's only 20.00. I got a cool shirt that actually fit me (how many times have you gotten a shirt that was way too big), everyone was nice, I was less than a half mile from the starting line, the course rocked, and did I mention it was only 20.00 bucks. And the city of Lynchburg is beautiful. (I'm actually returning on September 25th to run the Historical Lynchburg 10 miler)
So now that you are all caught up. LOL.
Tomorrow is race day. I've been blessed to have amazing friends who are gonna be on the course. And I can't wait to see you guys. Remember to cheer loudly!! I want to hear you. I'm gonna need it. I've also been blessed to have gotten my legs massaged (thanks David) and to have gotten an amazing Elite entry into the race (Thanks Jim Golden). And Coach, awh we are gonna have an amazing time tomorrow.

So dear RnR,
Tomorrow morning we are going to meet again. The weather will be amazing and the competition will be stiff. You will be (as you have always been) a very worthy opponent. But I am ready for you. And this time is like no other time before. We are meeting on under different circumstances and I am ready.
Your most devout servant.

Good luck to everyone running. See you out there.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Did you know that there are foods that can cause or worsen already present inflammation. According to different experts foods that are high in fat such as processed meats (hot dogs and luncheon meat), red meat, and junk food can cause or increase inflammation. Processed meats such as lunch meats, hot dogs and sausages contain chemicals such as nitrites that are associated with increased inflammation and chronic disease.

This little piece of information is very important for runners and athletes. If I can eat or avoid eating certain foods to decrease the inflammation in my muscles then I want to do that. I believe that a healthy diet is better than taking vitamins or anti-inflammatory medicines.

Well, the number one best thing to do is drink water. Lots of water!

Also our body needs protein to build healthy body tissues. Good protein sources include lean poultry, fish and seafood, nuts, legumes and seeds. Red meats may trigger inflammation, so cut back on fatty red meats.

Soybeans, tofu, and soy milk are three great sources of soy proteins that may help to reduce your pain and inflammation.

Over all, when you are choosing anti-inflammatory foods to help reduce your inflammation and pain, choose fresh foods instead of heavily processed foods. Here are some tips:

• Breakfast could be oatmeal served with fresh berries and walnuts, with a cup of soy milk.
• Snack on whole fruits, nuts, seeds, and fresh vegetables throughout the day instead of cookies and candy.
• Eat more fish and less fatty red meat.
• Stay away from deep fried foods and bake or stir fry your meals instead.
• Choose green, orange, and yellow vegetables for your side dishes.
• Drink plenty of water, fresh 100% fruit and vegetable juices, herbal teas and green tea.

Crazy Ass Saturday

Today I'm running 2 races. I ran the CHKD 8K this morning in Norfolk. Won 1st place Overall Female with a time of 28:59. A huge PR for me! The races was great. And I loved running through the city of Norfolk between the tall buildings. Very cool! A huge win for BDP peeps. Tonight, Kelley Taylor and I will be continuing the crazy day of racing with another run in Newport News. The Icelandic 8K. Should be lots of fun. I won't lie to you. My legs are a little tired but I got a massage from David at Balance Therapeutic Massage on my legs to promote recovery. I'm sure this will be a huge help to me. Anyway, off to get my legs up in the air.

Skinny People Shop Here

There's an article on AOL Health which states that according to a survey that was taken b/w December 2008 and March 2009 only 4% of shoppers that go to Whole Foods are overweight (this location was in Seattle). The reason is b/c obesity is linked to poverty and Whole Foods Grocery store is anything but cheap (the average price for a market basket of food at Whole Foods was between $370 and $420, compared with the same basket of food at Albertson's for $225 to $280). Basically people who have lower incomes are looking for foods with more bang for their buck (these usually are the more calorie dense processed foods). MSNBC even reported that in a separate study in 2008, it was estimated that a calorie-dense diet costs $3.52 a day, compared with $36.32 a day for a low-calorie diet. So deep down obesity is a economic issue and eating healthy require more money and requires more preparation time then eating a processed high calorie diet.

It really is sad that in a country like America and with as much food as we seem to have that we still have people who can't afford a healthy diet. I know that buying fresh vegetables and fruits are expensive but I believe it is possible for a family on a budget to still buy foods that are good for them. Frozen vegetables are always a good option. I think I find this topic very frustrating b/c I really believe in eating healthy and always having fresh fruits and vegetables in the house and ready to eat.

Taking the time to Recover from an Injury

So it's been about 7 weeks since I wrote that I was going to focus on rehabbing my hip until it was truly better. Ever since then I've been religiously attending physical therapy at Atlantic Physical Therapy, getting my knots worked out at Kinetic Health, and attending sessions at Range of Motion with Nick. Now this sounds like I'm trying to do advertising for my sponsors but I'm not. These are people who have been a huge part of me getting back to doing what I love (running fast!!!!). When my hip hurts its hard to be motivated. I can stand pain..........just not this kind. And let me tell you, if you stay committed to getting better, then its going to work for you. As runners, cyclists, ect. sometimes we feel that pain is a part of it but it doesn't have to be. Your knee doesn't have to hurt and your hamstring doesn't have to be tight. But considering all the time, money and effort we put into training it is so worth it. I've learned that I have to take care of my body. I'm getting older (yes I know I'm still young but I've been running since I was 14 and that is a lot of miles on my body) and I have to realize that it is going to talk longer to recover and it's going to get easier for me to get injured if I don't start taking care of myself NOW.
So these are just some thoughts to think about. Have you had to take some time off? Why did you have to slow down or take it easy? Is there someone out there who can help you get back to doing what you love?
Here's another thought. Preventing injury. This is so important b/c once you are injured its going to take weeks to get back to being healthy. So maybe it's important to take steps to stay healthy. Once I'm healthy I'm going to continue seeing Nick (Range of Motion) and Jim (Kinetic Health). I want to stay healthy.
B/c all I wanna do is have some fun (running fast)

Bike to Work

Hey guys, tomorrow is bike to work day. I don't have to work but I do have to do my long run. Thinking I might try to bike to Final Kick and then to my long run and ride my bike back home. Could make for a long day, lol. Maybe I can get my running partner to just drive me home. haha

Complete vs Incomplete Protein

A few days ago I was talking to a brilliant neurosurgeon (this man is very intelligent and I would totally trust him with my brain) and we were discussing my running and my hip/glute injury. As we were talking, he told me that part of my problem (the slow healing of my leg) could be because of my vegetarian diet. He thinks that because I'm not eating meat that my leg muscles can't repair themselves as well as they could if I ate animal protein. He based this off of the idea that the body needs and wants animal protein to heal. At first I shrugged his comments off but I have to admit that the comment stuck in my head. Here I am days later still struggling with the comment.

"Am I hurting myself?", "Should I start eating chicken again? That isn't as bad as red meat and what harm could it do" And I'll only eat it every once and awhile and isn't running way more important to you." As these thoughts ran through my head there was another side of me struggling with the idea of eating meat again. I don't want to eat meat. I stopped eating it not only for my health but also because I believe its wrong to mass produce meat and I hate the way animals are being treated.

So I began conducting some research and I've found that a vegetarian diet can supply quality protein as well. Instead of just eating chicken and getting your protein a dinner of beans and rice is just as good and the heart benefits are numerable. Yes, it requires a little more thought and planning but its worth the work. Most research says that Americans eat way too much protein thinking they need it and that all that nice protein is helping their muscles be nice and strong but that's not true. All that extra protein is just turned into fat and it's causing a high protein and low carb/vegetable diet which is far from healthy not to mention the environmental problems it's causing.

This subject is something that really means a lot to me. I grew up on a farm where we raised cows that we sent to be slaughtered and I hated it. I still hate it to this day. As proud as I was (and still am) I could never be a part of it with my family. I would love to hear your comments and thoughts but I'm off to track practice. But let me know what you think.

Cycling

Taught my first spin class last night at Range of Motions. It was tons of fun. I was a little nervous. I was afraid my class wouldn't be hard enough. Turns out it was just the right amount of difficult. I recieved a huge compliment from one of the participants. He said, "It was just the right amount of difficult. You took us to our edge and you could tell when to bring the level of difficulty down a bit to keep us going". Cycling is a great workout for everyone. The level of difficulty is controlled by the participant with the instructor just being there to lead you through the workout.
Cant wait for the next class.

Weekend

Had a fabulous weekend! My new strategy is to fall in love again with racing. So I spent the weekend running hard and getting focused again. Ran a local 5k on Saturday (Cinco de Mayo) and then ran a local 8K on Sunday (Jewish Family Services). Had the greatest time hanging out with friends and enjoying the weather. Also picked up some great prizes for winning Overall Female Divisions like a gift card to Final Kick and a gift certificate to The Shoe Box.
I had a reason for racing this entire weekend. I like to use them as tempo runs and to get me use to racing. To remember not to take any race for granted.

Setting Goals

So to continue this topic about Setting Goals I decided I'd like to share more. I'm a big fan of Evan Lysacek (he is our current gold medalist 2010 Ice Skating champ). He has accomplished a lot in his life already. He is the first American male to win the gold medal in 22 years. That's huge. This is a sport that's been dominated by one Russian male for over 12 years. How did he do this? Since he was about 8 years old he has been skating, for as long as he can remember he's been wanting the gold medal around his neck. He's been working toward this for years. He trains 7 hours a day, he doesn't party and stay out late, he eats well, he gets his sleep every night, and he stays focus. When asked why did he do Dancing with the Stars, he said it was b/c he needed a new goal and structure. Also, he needed something to fill the void that he was afraid he would feel after winning the Olympics. To me that's amazing and it was so inspirational. I started thinking about how many hours do I devote to training and how can I train better and smarter. If I run or workout twice a day that's anywhere from 3-4 hours depending how far I run, ROM days give me another hour, core work.......well that's another 30 mins and I can't forget physical therapy which is another 90 mins.

But he has accomplished all this through setting goals (small ones all leading up to the Big One). As an athlete I have to set goals even if the goal is I need to attend two times a week for rehab and then do exercises on my own 2 days a week as well. But I need to keep in mind my one Big Goal as well (whatever it may be)
Setting goals will help us all be better runners, swimmers, cyclist (athletes)

Setting Goals and Helping Out

I had someone ask me today why haven't I been posting and whats up with me. I really didn't have a good answer b/c there have been several times that I thought about posting something.

Since the last time I posted I've actually been very productive. I've been going to physical therapy for my hip every week, working out at ROM with Nick, coaching track at Cox, I passed my test for my Master's Degree, and I've been thinking about my goals for my future.
I even ran a 5K for Alzheimer's (A Run to Remember).

I do better in my life when I have goals to work toward and my life is organized. I work well in a structured environment. The last couple of weeks I've struggled to make Physical Therapy and my Master's Degree my goals but I'm beginning to feel better now and I'm itching to start planning and racing. Once again this goes back to another problem I'm well known for........my lack of patience.

Whats the answer to this problem? Being true to myself. Who am I? What do I want?
I want to train and race. How to I do this? I've picked a race........Utah Half Marathon....I can't wait.

My new toy

Today I bought a trainer for my road bike. A Kinetic from Final Kick. Used it with my bike this evening and it was a lot of fun. Great ride. It wasn't running but it was fun. I need something while I'm rehabbing his hip. Yea!

A Different Goal

Setting goals is a big part of life as an athlete. It's was keeps you going. It's what makes you get up in the morning. It's what makes you lace up your running shoes and gets you out the door.
But setting goals also leads to one of my biggest human flaws.
One of my biggest personality flaws is my inability to be patient. When I want something, I want it then and now. When I set my mind to something, there is rarely anything that will stop me from reaching my goal. It's one reason I'm able to train the way I do but lately that mindset has done nothing but get me in more trouble. I've had to put the spring marathon on hold. My left leg hasn't been functioning properly for a long time but I've just kept going. I've continued training and it's finally caught up with me. Yesterday, I was no longer able to deny the fact that I have to take time to let me left hip heal and get stronger.
Last week my plantar fasciitis returned. So my solution.....multiple pairs of new shoes, orthotics, and stretching. But instead of healing, my right knee starting hurting and then the hip starting hurting and last but not least my hamstring started hurting. This is most definitely one of those times when an athlete is just down and out. What to do? I could give up but that's really not my style. So I've decided to put all my trust in Atlantic Physical Therapy again. They've fixed me before (shin splints) and I know they can do it again. But I have to stay focused and stick with the program. My first action to show my commitment, this morning when I got up I did exercises that Lucas (the PT guy) gave me. Two times a week with Lucas, two times a week at home all for 6 weeks. I just have to be patient and remember the goal.

It's just hard. This time the goal isn't a race.

A Learning Experience, the Hard Way

This might seem like an odd time to begin a blog but I actually think it's the perfect time. I'm hoping I can just explain what happened on Sunday and close this chapter of my racing career. Chalk it up to a lesson learned.
So, my first DNF
I'd been training for the Shamrock Marathon. I'd put a lot of pressure on this race and I really wanted to do well. I had trained hard and I had family watching (it would be their first race) But a week and a half before the race I came down with a horrible cold. Basically, I developed a cough, chest congestion, and I was tired all the time. I wasn't able to run more than four miles at a time but I kept hoping that I'd wake up the next day and be cured. I still did everything like I usually would. I got a massage from Balance Massage, I went and saw Jim at Kinetic Health, and I rested and ate my pasta on Saturday night. Unfortunately, I never did get better. On Sunday, I woke up still coughing but I just prayed that I'd be able to get through the race.
I started out feeling great. Mile 1 was perfect 6:20 (I was right on pace) and I thought, I can keep this up. But it didn't last. I began falling off the pace early and all I could think about was, that it was too early for me to be feeling this way. I was tired. Exhausted already. decided to end the race at Mile 11 hoping to save the fight for another day. It was a tough decision. I fought the idea for almost 2 miles. When I found my friends, I cried. I couldn't believe that it was over. At first, I was beyond crushed and I felt like I had failed.
But I know that I did the right thing. I will pick myself up off the ground and do it again. This time I will not be sick and I will be much stronger. Just got to get better and refocus.
So, I hope this will help people understand.