What I've been up to

Things have been a bit different these last few months. I've switched my focus to training for a triathlon that will be in June. The odd thing is that I am still holding off on running. I will either test it out again mid April or May 1st.

I've been trying to get in two bikes and two swims a week combined with 3-4 yoga or Pilates classes at the gym. I am not following any set schedule since I am not really trying to kill this race. I still have my eye on a fall marathon and hope it is in the cards for me.

Just for Jeremiah...

who I think is the only person who reads this blog, besides my mom, maybe:)

UPDATE--I had been going to get ART twice a week for the first 2 weeks and then backed down to once a week. Things seemed to be progressing and the doctor encouraged me to go for some short runs to test. I was having minimal pain starting at about 2 miles, which was an improvement from before. I continued with BodyFlow, Yoga, and PiYo 4-5 times a week in addition to my own stretching, balance work, and strengthening excercises. Things seemed to be going well until this last Tuesday. I went out for a run and my right ITband felt amazing! At about the mile mark, though, my LEFT ITband started giving me troubles!!!!! UGH...

So, I am officially resting for a few more weeks in terms of running. I will continue my routines and focus some on the left side. I will be quitting my current gym within the next couple weeks and joining our new Y beginning March 1st. They have a pool, so I plan to start swimming and possibly aqua jogging. I have no intention of running the half marathon in April, but might consider the 10k. If all else fails, I have plenty of people to cheer on during the race and would love to cheer with my dear friend, Danielle.

Needless to say, I am beyond frustrated and have thrown multiple pity parties for myself. In the mean time, I will remember that there are much worse things out there in life that could be happening to me, I have a whole life of running ahead of me, and for the first time ever, I am actually watching what I eat since I am not working out as much.

Active release technique

My it band continues to be a bother, so I am trying a new alternative...ART... Aka active release technique. I have known about this through my ironman friend and reading other blogs and quite a few people have had success in treating injuries. Another friend, who is a PT, had opinions about it and did recently bring it up as something to try.

I was able to get an appointment with the only chiropractor within 50 miles who does this. I was pleasantly surprised with his desire to figure out and treat the underlying issue instead of just the it band. After evaluation, he confirmed some things that I already knew (but didn't say)---I have a leg length difference which is most likely as a result of my pelvic twist. he believes these two things may be causing some overcompensation and I should work on my hip mobility (something Kristin would probably agree with). He was very interested in developing a training plan to work on those in addition to providing the ART I came for.

The treatment itself caused a good kind of pain and I walked away feeling good. Now, 3 hours later, my leg hurts quite a bit. he thinks 4 -6 treatments should do the trick. I am hoping he is right since I am itching to get back on the road. his credentials are quite impressive, so I hope his work with elite athletes pays off for me.

The end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012

I accomplished my 2011 goal of running 1000 miles and did it sometime around the second week in December. I didn't really think it was going to be possible, but I guess with 2 half marathons and a full marathon in the year the training miles really add up.

That was a definite plus for me in 2011. The end of the year, however, did not end so positively. After accomplishing that goal, I noticed some pain in my right knee. I thought maybe I needed some new shoes, so I got new shoes. Unfortunately, that did not help and during my Christmas morning run, I discovered that Santa had brought me a bad case of ITBand syndrome aka runner's knee. I had this a couple years back in my left knee and it extended all the way up my thigh and was most noticeable in my hip. I received physical therapy and massage treatment in order to help recover. It continued to give me problems in my hip for a good year following the initial injury.

As a result of my previous history on the other side, I am not looking forward to this recovery. It has left me sidelined from running since then and I am having a hard time staying away. I've made it to a couple of classes at the gym and tried out a few machines to still maintain some fitness, but it just isn't the same:(

I'm hoping a cautious return will work and that I'll still be able to compete in the Illinois half marathon in April and still consider Chicago in October. We shall see.

Turkey Trot Half Marathon Race Report

On Saturday I ran in in the Schaumburg Half Marathon which is about 45 minutes from my parents' house. I had this on my calendar since the summer and it was going to test my speed training to see how much I've improved.

Apparently I was in the eager bunch because my number ended up being 212 out of the approximately 2000 runners. I was hopeful about my number since 12 is my favorite number and I had a sub-2 in my mind. I knew I would be able to easily go under 2:05, but wasn't quite sure if under 2 was feasible.

I had a great night's sleep and made it with plenty of time to meet Allison at the start. The race went through Busse Forest Preserve, which turned out to be quite scenic and even housed some live Elk (we saw two large ones). They had a shuttle service available to take you to the start, so Allison and I stayed warm in the car until about 8:30 and took a shuttle over. I visited the port-o-potties along with the great majority of the racers and we made it to the start with only 2 minutes to go. There were pacers for this race, so we positioned ourselves between the 2:00 and 2:10 pacers and planned to start slower and hopefully put out negative splits.

We stayed dry the first few miles, but then it started drizzling which continued for the remainder of the race. Thankfully I had my dad's "Life is Good" hat to keep the raindrops out of my face and maybe even an hint of luck as well. Allison's and my Garmins seemed to be quite off from each other as well as the mile markers, so I was having a difficult time knowing what our actual pace was. This proved to be problematic for me since I was trying to be mindful of my pace. Allison held me strong and steady and coached me along the way. It was so fun running with such an experienced racer and she kept me in line--figuratively and literally as she gave the pointer of running the tangents instead of the curvy trail that meandered much of the race.

My best miles seemed to be between miles 8 and 10 and I really was feeling good and confident about a sub-2. Not surprisingly, I started to fade the last 3 miles despite Allison's strong words of encouragement. I don't believe I could have made myself run any faster the last part of the race, but I did push myself as much as I feasibly could to get as close to 2 hours as possible. It was just a little too late as we came in at 2:00.29. This was still quite the accomplishment for me and I really appreciate the support I got from Allison on Saturday.

I was excited when I spotted the Muscle Milk station and snatched up a chocolate. Much to my dismay, though, it was not tasty at all. I think I'll stick to my usual chocolate milk treat after long runs instead.

I am a little sore today and my left hamstring continues to be a bother, so it will make my decisions for future races a bit interesting.

Veteran's Day 12 miler

Distance: 12 miles

Total time: 1:57

Average pace: 9:43

I had been looking forward to taking my long run on my day off and not having to fret about getting back to Tony and the kids. Macy and Tyler were at the babysitter's this morning, so I took my sweet time and really enjoyed the morning.

It started a little briskly as you can see. This was actually at 8:12 because we have yet to change this clock from Daylight Saving Time.

It didn't feel that cool and my first couple of miles were around 9:30s...I didn't want to push it since I am still testing out where exactly my hamstring is in all of this. I headed into Heritage Park...

and followed the path around Kaufman Lake...

and around near my school. I jumped on part of the marathon route and enjoyed the view of one of the golf courses and some of the nicer homes in Champaign...

I was still feeling pretty good at this point as I continued on to Hessel Park...

I took a quick break right around this garbage can. I ate my fruit snacks (something I think I am going to try in place of my Gus) and walked about 100 yards before continuing with my run.

I did start to feel a bit tired on my way back. Mile 7-9 seemed a bit slower and then I tried to pick up my pace slightly to make sure I stayed under a 10 minute average. I greatly noticed my hamstring the last three miles and in the last mile wondered to myself why I would even consider running a full marathon again. Of course, now that I am writing this, that thought has vanished, but I'm afraid that if my hamstring isn't 100%, I really should avoid the full.

I got pretty hot despite the cool temps and worked up quite a sweat by the time I arrived back home. It was great to get this long run out of the way and know that I can enjoy both Saturday and Sunday without needing to put in too many miles.

Hot Chocolate 15k Race Report

Listed Distance: 15k (9.3 miles) Garmin Distance: 9.63 miles

Official Time: 1:26.56

Overall Official Pace: 9:20 Overall Garmin Pace: 9:02

I first found out about this race in October of last year when the registration for 2010 was already full and I was just getting back into running. The idea of running for chocolate is a perfect match for me considering my typical chocolate eating method is shoving an entire handful into my mouth at a time. So, I verbally committed to this race over a year ago and was ecstatic when some of my friends agreed to do it as well.





There was a medical emergency at the expo Friday night when we were picking up our packets, so it took a bit longer than expected. Needless to say, we still found ways to entertain ourselves.

Once we were finally able to go in, I found a hat and shirt that I had to buy since they have the "Will Run for Chocolate" logo.

Our hotel was right across the street from the start, so we didn't have to get up too early for the 8:20 start. I debated on what to wear because I knew I would be cold waiting and warm once I started running. I decided to check my coat and pants and went with shorts. It turned out to be a perfect choice.

The gear check was a bit crowded, but the line moved fast and we were able to get a fake running shot with some of the city background.

Although I have been around large races as a spectator many times, this was the largest race I have actually run. I believe there were over 20,000 runners and this made me a little anxious. I had not submitted a time to be placed in a corral, so Jen and I both were to start in the open corral. I knew this would make my "trying to run as fast as I can--nothing slower than 9:30s" strategy a little tricky, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

They had to re-route part of the 5k course at the last minute, so this delayed our start and we didn't make it through the actual start until close to 8:45. Jen and I spent the first two miles weaving through runners and this made me a little nervous after becoming exhausted at Allerton last week when I had to do the same thing. My Garmin went a bit crazy due to the building interference so I was again a bit anxious to know how we were actually doing. Turns out I didn't have much to worry about it because mile 1 was a 8:13 and mile 2 was at a 9:19 pace.

I went ahead without Jen (something we anticipated would happen) and continued to push myself through runners. I felt great the whole time, barely noticed my hamstring, and got a few laughs. My favorite conversation I overheard was near mile 5 when a girl asked the guy she was running with, "So, how long is a 15k?" The guy replied, "I don't really know, I think it is like 10 miles or something." To which the girl said, "No, I think it is like 7...we're almost done."

I continued passing people and felt like I was picking up my pace even in the last few miles. The last mile and half did seem to go on for awhile, but I actually clocked in faster times...8:32 and 8:41 for the last half mile. This made me happy considering I'm trying to use this as a time indicator for an upcoming half marathon.

We were in a bit of a time crunch after the race since we had to check out of the hotel at 12, but the event was well organized and the lines for chocolate went quickly. The fondue and hot chocolate hit the spot.

There was a stage with live entertainment and plenty of space for the post race party.

Overall, the race was good. It is a great distance and runners receive a jacket (that runs small), which is a nice alternative to a race shirt. If I were to do this again, I would try and get in a corral. I would also see about a late check out that doesn't cost $50 so that I could get as much out of the post race party as possible.