Weekly Recap

Monday: 3.1 miles

Trail run by my apartment. Handled hills a lot better on this one, didn't have to stop. If I can't go fast yet, climbing hills is just as challenging.

Tuesday: 5.1 miles

Pacer duties, 25:55 XC 5k total, 2 miles cool down

Wednesday: 1000 meter swim, 12 miles biking

Took it easy because I put some stress on the foot Tuesday.

Thursday: 2.5 miles

Easy trail run

Friday: 3 miles

Hampton Hills trail with Abby, didn't have to stop after stair climb section! But kept tripping on roots, no falls though.

Saturday: 60 minutes on elliptical

Even when it's hot, I'd rather be outside than indoors and on a machine. Except yesterday. And I didn't want to do my pseudo long run on a treadmill.

Sunday: 3.8 miles

Wanted to do 5 miles but got a late start (midnight) and the cooler temps made my foot act up- hurt a lot. I also had indigestion. I ended this disorganized jaunt with 4 strides that got me feeling better and awakened some muscles I haven't used in a while. Better to have taken it easy than to keep pushing through pain. And 3.8 is better than nothing at all I guess.

Total: 17.5 miles running, 12 miles biking, 1000 meters swimming, 6.5 miles elliptical

I am being as smart as I can be with my mileage increase, even if it feels slow. But going too fast is what brought me to this point. XC season is on the verge of starting daily so this week is crucial for being smart and patient. Pacing all the different groups of runners provides a nice balance between speed work and taking it easy for injury's sake. What makes it a challenge is feeling disorganized by being all over the place. However, I have to remind myself that they are at different points in the process than I- I can use these runs towards my base. And at the same time, coach them to their potential.

Weekly Recap

Monday: 3 miles on golf course

Legs felt fresh towards the end, like real fresh! 30 minutes biking afterwards with James on the rest of his run.

Tuesday: 3 miles

Easy run with XC team on trails. Biked 20 minutes in the afternoon as transportation to/from campus.

Wednesday: 2 miles on Ledges trail

Hilly=good practice, definitely plays tricks on me physiologically and as a result, mentally. Biked 10 miles with James in the AM on his tempo run.

Thursday: 5 miles

Mostly trails with XC team. Nice distance day. Foot handled it well, slightly achy afterwards though.

Friday: 3 miles

Hampton Hills trails with Brianna. Can't wait to build up distance to support my fitness on hills. Biked 20 minutes as transportation to/from campus, swam 1000 meters, very refreshing. Massaged heel under spa jets- really worked out the tightness!

Saturday: 20.6 mile bike ride

Simulated a long run on the Hike and Bike Path. Heart rate was pretty consistent. It was hot and I should have worn sun screen. Handled the inclines well. No foot pain!

Sunday: 40 min bike, 10 mins of pool stuff

Biked on Towpath and to/from campus, was going to swim but forgot goggles and cap so just did some strength stuff in the pool and then massaged my feet under the spa jets again.

Total: 16 miles running, 4 hours biking, 1000 meters swimming

Finding it somewhat of a challenge to hold back with the running but cross training has helped release some of the tension and keep me in shape. I do feel in shape. And all of the runs this week were based off feeling and not paces. Each week, I add 1-2 miles and as sad as it sounds, I look forward to that. But focusing on the little things makes being patient a little easier.

An honest 7:46 mile

Last Friday, I set out to run a mile, putting a little effort into it, just to see how it would feel and to get some aggression out of my system. It was, well, it felt harder than 7:46, more like a 7:10. But it told me a few things. One, my cross training this past spring helped. It could've been a lot slower but the biking and swimming seemed to have preserved some of the fitness I built up before my injury. Two, I have my work cut out for me. I still suffer from some pain after runs but during the runs, my legs feel fresh, enough to start focusing on getting faster. However, it's going to take a lot of time to get where I want to be. And that's where the honesty comes into play. Since I am injury prone, I'm going to focus more on shorter distances but at a quicker pace, in both training and racing. I don't think I will do more than 40 miles a week to finish the year out.

This week, I am looking to get in 15 miles and eventually finish out the summer between 20 and 30, playing it safe with the foot. I've begun practicing with the cross country team and they've kept me honest as well. I think an adult runner can learn an important lesson from a high school runner: run by feel. Many of these kids don't run with watches, don't know what pace they are going and don't know what a tempo run is but they still go out there and run, with a sense of innocence. I was like that in high school. And now that I am older and working with kids, I'm reminded to try and balance the mindset of an adult runner with the mindset of a high school runner. When I run with them, I notice they push as hard as they can to stay together and when their bodies tell them otherwise, they stop. Where the adult runner comes into the picture is me, encouraging them to focus on breathing and letting them know they must pace themselves, that it's still early in the season and they are working towards getting in shape. But I can't discount the need to want to push themselves merely just to push themselves, like children racing against each other in an open field. And I can't forget to do that with my running either. Running that 7:46 mile was me being a kid again.

I ran on Father's Day

I'm here at the park for a run. It will be my first attempt at a full mile since my injury. I hope I don't feel any pain.

I walk over to the picnic table in the corner to stretch my calves. It's shaded and there's a gentle breeze to take my mind off of it being 80 degrees. I prop my right leg up on the bench and lean forward, looking out to the field ahead of me. There's a pavilion with a bunch of people running around, playing catch with a football. Smoke rises from a grill. Closer to me, there is a man swinging a child around his waist. The child is giggling. "Again, daddy!" he says.

Oh shit. It's Father's Day.

I switch legs.

What do people do on Father's Day? I can't even remember the last time I spent this day with my dad.

I bring my left leg back, turn around and walk over to the trail.

Here we go. I press the start button on my Timex, a beep sounds, and so do my feet, shuffling through the mud on the ground.

There is no foot pain. But my heart aches.

Yeah, we will never be able to make up the lost childhood where band recitals were missed, dances were never danced at father/daughter socials, and no golf clubs ever swung together on a Saturday morning. I know it was never meant to be this way. But life happens. Hell, injuries happen and we heal. Why can't this other pain go away so easily?

And just like that, I'm done with this run. 9:23. Not too bad for the first time out. I walk back to my car. Red eyes match the Powerade I reach for on the passenger seat.

I take a long sip and sniff back the tears that have turned into snots. I must stretch again.

At the same picnic table, I prop up the right leg, lean in. God, this stretch feels good.

Next to me now is a woman, mid-30s, on a blanket. She is lying down, face up, looking at the clouds.

Why isn't she with her father on this day? Did she grow up without one too? Or, wait...

Shit, my father is still alive. I jog back over to my car, open the door, and reach for my phone in the cup holder. I scroll through the address book, stopping at 'Dad'. I could text him, 'Happy Father's Day!', to avoid the awkward pauses in a phone conversation.

My thumb hits send.

It's ringing.

My stomach sinks.

"Hi Dad," I say.

Aqua Jog on Land

Though you will catch me walking sometimes, I am a runner again. Starting out slow, and with different arm form, I feel anew. Going slower has allowed me to stop and smell, well, the trees, especially when it rains.

I "ran" 9.5 miles this week- Mon-Wed-Fri included 3 minutes walking and 3 minutes running for an average of about 25 minutes. Today, I did a longer session, with more running periods- 2 min walking, 5 minutes running for about 37 minutes, covering roughly 3.5 miles. During that run, it started to downpour, so much so that it was as if I was being showered by the sky and prancing through bath water all at the same time. Simply amazing.

During the run I felt pain-free, efficient with my improved form, and in not too bad of shape, making me believe that the cross training has paid off. After the run, I felt little ache in the foot and proceeded to do foot drills in the wet grass. The socks were soaked already so it didn't matter being barefoot.

With this new form, I feel like a completely different runner than before the injury. And it just seemed to pop out of nowhere that maybe what I was doing with my arms for the last ten years was incorrect. I guess being on the disabled list and instead watching James's beautiful form helped me to see that. My goals have changed because of this, too. For the fall, I will start over and focus on the distance I was introduced to when I began running in 2000, the 5k.

My foot would like to update you...

Message from my right foot:

I am doing a lot better! I had a close call the other day though while barefoot so I will have to go back to napping, stretching, and wearing these really comfy shoes called Vibram Five Fingers. My owner also has been kind enough to occasionally ice me and rub me down. But sometimes she puts this weird thing on me at night called The Sock. Sometimes it digs into my friend, the calf, so she usually takes it off in the middle of the night. Lastly, she sometimes rolls a golf ball on me while standing up. This feels like it's ironing out the wrinkles on me. And I like that.

Alright, alright. Thank you foot for the update. So, as you can see, the time off from activity has been beneficial. So far, this summer has been going well, too. I am not in any classes but have been spending my time working on a manuscript for a contemporary fiction novel, which means most of my time is spent at a desk, not only exercising my mind but also allowing my foot to heal. I would like to thank my supportive boyfriend for helping make this "internship with myself" possible. I am able to experience the life of a writer and so far, I am loving it (meager pay, blank screens and all)! Other exciting news is that I will be going back to my high school this coming fall to be an assistant cross country coach. I am looking forward to this opportunity as it is something I've always wanted to do. I just didn't think it would be happening this soon. The team has some promising talent and still has Coach Gorby leading the way.

That's it for the updates. This warmer weather is teasing my foot but we'll be back out there soon enough!

The Cleveland Marathon, I was there...

...I got the shirt, I got the goodies, I got a DNS. However, I had fun biking along the course as James ran the 10k. Compared to when I watched the race back in 2007, it definitely has improved. They changed the start and finish lines, making it feel less crowded. There were a ton of port-o-johns so lines were not insane. Overall, it was a great day to run for those that were able to run.

In the meantime, I spent the last week or so doing easy treadmill work that did involve some running but only noticed a slight improvement with pain. So, I made the difficult decision to start all over. This type of injury is hard to overcome because when you are not running, you are still putting pressure on the injury whenever you walk. I haven't run since Thursday and have noticed decreased pain. But some hours during the day, it comes back to haunt me. And haunt me real bad.

I am going to take it week by week right now. All I want to be able to do at this point is run for 30 minutes on the Towpath, that's all. It can even be really slow. I hope resting like this will be the solution to this annoying problem.