Back Story

Oh, the running back story.  Where to begin.  I guess it should begin with the phrase, "I can't run.  I have a bum hip from an old ballet injury." The bum hip is true - I do have an old ballet injury that tends to get aggravated.  As my daughter said to me today, "you have been on the earth a long time...you are old and getting broken."  This fall I truly felt this way.

I won't add my personal medical history to the Internet, but suffice it to say that I had some health issues this fall that resulted in lots of testing with little findings and the suggestion that perhaps my symptoms were, as The Golden Girls' Dorothy Sbornak would call, "functional."   Stress and anxiety were bringing me down.  Medication was an option, but that was not something I was ready to pursue.  Instead, I decided to give running a whirl.

I started on the Couch to 5K running program at the very first of the year.  It's a gradual, 9-week program that "eases" you into running.  I remember going out that first day with Geof and the kids to the local elementary school track.  The schedule for the week was to alternate between running 60 seconds and walking 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes.  Halfway through I thought I was going to DIE.  It was so hard.  But I did it for two more days and moved on to the next week.  And the next week.  Building endurance little by little.  Geof and I were doing it together, and I so enjoyed our morning running dates.  I had some mild aches and pains and had to go slow to accommodate the hip pain, but I kept plodding along.  I got fitted for proper running shoes, got some great ear buds, learned about running socks, and actually looked forward to my runs.

Then I experienced tremendous hip pain.  It was so bad.  I was so mad. (Excuse me as I seem to have slipped into a kindergarden writing assignment.)  I had to take a whole week off just to recover and I was really upset about losing my hard work.  I tried taping it with KT tape, but really, how does one tape a hip?  Someone suggested that it might be my shoes.  I shrugged that off since I had been fitted for shoes, but then I thought, "why not?  I should have the shoes rechecked."  I was refitted with a neutral support shoe with inserts, and what do you know?  The next time I ran I had no pain.  And the next time.  And the next time.  The right shoes made all the difference.  It has been nearly 10 weeks since and still no running-related hip pain.

I did find other pains.  Years of wearing pointe shoes for ballet do no favors for a girl's feet (yes, my girls both take ballet), and as a result I do have a bunion.  But, years of wearing pointe shoes and living in a dancer's world gave me some knowledge of what to do about it.  The athletic/medical tape industry thanks me 3-4 times a week.

And then my knee started twinging and feeling a little weak.  Back to the roll of KT tape for some extra support and that problem is pretty well taken care of.  So, yes, three kinds of tape hold me together for my little weekly runs, but hey - I'm out there!

About halfway through the program my kids tracked out from school, and so my "free mornings" for running were no longer there.  Since Geof has a home office, he graciously took over kid duty 3 mornings a week so I could keep up my program without interruption. For me, these were the hump weeks of the program.  My endurance was being stretched and the runs were getting hard for this beginner who was now running alone.  I found, though, that this was a great time of training for me. I used the quiet time alone to listen to praise songs, and would literally find myself throwing my hands in the air during intervals, praising God for being just a step ahead of me, leading me on. 

One of my favorite excerpts, strategically placed in my playlist:

I was with you in the valley

And up upon that hill

So I take just one more step in front of you

For I am with you still, you still

And I will...

Shine on, shine on

And onto something new

It's long I know I do

I will remember you

Shine on, shine on

And let the others see

You got your victory

Will you remember me?

(excerpted from Shine On by Need to Breathe)

I would pray for my kids.  I would just think.  And, I would cringe and huff and puff and get cramps and get whacked in the face by branches and leap over fallen logs and avoid ugly geese at the lake and listen to random podcasts about fainting goats and learn to like Cliff bars and think about my old high school CC coach telling us that if we didn't dry heave at the end of a run, we didn't really run.  I got over the hump.

And so, on March 25, I officially completed the Couch to 5K training program.  Except for the week of hip recovery, I didn't miss a run or miss an interval.  I was so motivated and so stuck on my schedule.  I ran when  the program said run and I walked when it said walk.  If you know me, that's not like me at all.  But with this I have been craving my runs and craving doing exactly what the lady in my iPhone the C25K program outlined.

(These 2 show different time stamps.  By the end of the 9 weeks, I was using a Nike running app because I actually wanted to know how far I was running and keep track of my pace.  The C25K app didn't do that for me, but I would come home and run the  C25K app so I could "officially" mark off my accomplishment.)

My goal in this has been threefold:
1) improve my health naturally with low stress, diet and meaningful exercise.
2) run in the Raleigh Rocks 5K on April 9 without walking.
3) run in an 8K race in my hometown in May (without walking - we'll see about that)

So far, most of my health issues are now gone (I attribute this to the exercise, the new way of eating and a conscious effort to scale back on some of the things that I could often let overwhelm me).  I have also, as a result of a new way of eating and frequent exercise, been able to put on the few pounds that doctors have been telling me I've needed for the past couple years (got way down with mono and never got back up).  That has been kind of a mental challenge for me, but when I am generally feeling so much better, I can't really complain about shifting body weight.  I am learning to listen to my body and work with it, and I am so excited that I can actually reach these goals!  I seriously thought at the beginning of this whole journey that I would not follow through.

So, after our day in Charlotte we headed back up to Raleigh so I could drink lots of fluids and get to bed early.  I had my stuff all ready to go.

 iPod, KT tape, toe tapes, socks, cool rocker tank, bib, hair elastics, running socks, shoes, and running skirt with chapstick tucked in back pocket.

Ready to rock!

The 5K course around the RBC Center

One of my early morning cheer leaders

So there are just a handful of pictures of the run, but I remember it vividly and I felt great the whole time.  I felt prepared as I had run the 5K distance 3x/week for the past 2-3 weeks.  It was cool and drizzly weather, which was very nice.  During the event, I ran at a good pace and was able to increase my pace gradually and then kick it in a bit for the last mile. I ran past bands, ladies with strollers, children with their parents, walkers, and even a number of other runners.  The last quarter? Forget about it.  I was moovin'!  I know I gave it my all, because the dry heaves descended upon me once I crossed the finish.

By then end, this is what I was running for.

I don't know, perhaps I was playing air piano as I crossed?  

Note to self - next time you run, consider a spray tan.  Good grief!

 Spent.

My neighbor finished the race as well!  Good morning for red heads!

So that's it.  The cat's out of the bag, and I'm hooked on chasing it around for about 3 miles or so, 3-4 times a week.  I'm kind of facing a mental wall with this 8K distance.  I've gone the distance twice and had put in a few 4-milers, but it's getting hard.  I nearly choke over my words when I say I'm going to do an "easy 3 miles" most mornings.  Seriously?  3.5 months ago I could barely run for 60 seconds.  The couch was my friend.  And now running 3 miles several times a week is my new norm.  Crazy!  But going beyond the 5K is playing head games with me now.  The hump is back (and it brings with it congestion-inducing pollen and North Carolina heat and humidity!), and I might could use a little support and encouragement to meet this next distance goal.  I will get there, I know it.  This hump is just bigger and more time consuming and will make me dig really deep.  I'm learning not to be discouraged by minor set backs, that not every run is a good run, and that if I can just push through the rush and reward after I'm done is totally worth it.

And, ok, fine.  I'll admit that Justin Beiber is on my playlist, Baby.

See ya on the trails!