A Tale of Two Legs

How can 1 body feel like 2 different people....what I mean is my right leg has disassociated with my left leg and I'm in a tizzy trying to mend the fences (or the space between).  I have been keeping detailed exercise logs (which is new to me) and there is still no rhyme or reason as to the source of all my angst.  My piriformis likes to rear its ugly head these days without warning me.  I can be going along fine and then WHAMMO!  out of nowhere I succumb to limping with electrical currents coursing down my leg. The currents all ball together in my heel making me feel like there is a stone lodged under my skin.  I can be running, sitting, stretching or doing just about anything when it hits.  Sometimes I tune into what's going on when I'm running trying to find that magic moment when the zingers start.  This is a sneaky syndrome!

Let's recap since I ran Diva half marathon.  I took 3 days off to rest and recover because my leg was a little twingy (is that a word?) on the way home from North Myrtle.  When I say I took 3 days off of running, that does not imply that I was simply sitting on the couch eating bon-bons and watching tv.  No.  I took a break from running and taught 4 Les Mills BodyPump classes, 1 Silver Sneakers Cardio class, 1 Yoga class, and 1 Pilates class.  Yes.  I took it easy. :)

I ran 6 miles with Catherine (affectionately Cac) on half trail, half crushed gravel at 7:34 avg mile.  Felt great.  Did 10 sets of stadium steps that night at our youngest son's Lacrosse game during half time to stay warm.  Felt great.  I actually LOVE doing stairs & hills.  I am not so keen on flat, where you can see for miles and miles knowing you have to get there at some point.  Ran a recovery run with Christie (one of my Sole Sisters) for 4 miles and ended the week with an 11 miler on the greenway at a 7:58 avg. mile.  I limped a little Saturday afternoon so I decided that from now on I will just not sit down (except to type blogs!) unless I'm watching a movie.  I think people would be afraid if I stood up in a movie theater and just stood there the whole time.  Besides, people think runners are pretty weird interesting anyway.  That ended a nice, sweet week with a little aggravation, but not much.

On Monday I ventured to the track.  I love the track.  I think I have finally figured out why I love the track so much (I'm 47 now, so I'll let you do the math).  I don't mind that "out of breath" feeling on the oval.  Wanna know why?  Even if I have to stop, bend over and try not to throw up, I'm right there. I'm not a million miles from home/car.  Okay, a million is an exaggeration, but you get my point.  Somehow my brain has decided that it is okay to work yourself to death on the track, but not okay out on the open road.  Maybe I need to find a treadmill race and I'd be 'all over it'?  I might have something there....new trend sweeping the country......treadmill races!  That would be pretty boring, but it might just happen.  Back to the track:  1 mile warm-up, 12 quarters, 1 mile cool-down.  I picked a ridiculously humid day.  I was all by myself.  Fun times, although I think I usually run a little faster if there are people around/with me.  Anyway, I was just excited to get them done: 

Warm-up mile:  8:10
First 4 laps (30 seconds rest in between each lap)  mile 1:  6:27 (conservative so that I could assess the sneaky piriformis)...took a minute break after 4 th.
Second 4 laps (30 seconds in between each lap)  mile 2:  5:49 (opened up even more and felt pretty good.....took a minute 10 seconds break after 8th
Third 4 laps (35 seconds in between each lap)  mile 3:  5:43 (hung on and gutted it out, sweat flying)
Cool Down mile: 8:00

I am grateful I was only doing 12 400M because the skies opened up just as I was walking to my car.  Some rain would have felt good but the torrential downpour would have been messy.  I feel like my speed is coming back and I feel like I'm ready to be in the 5:20's again in the mile.  My left leg is ready for it, my right one still has not committed.  Ran great on Tuesday and Wednesday and did a recovery run on Thursday. 

Friday I did zero. nada.  It felt great.  It was a fabulous day because we got to spend it with Danielle (our daughter) at her graduation from UNCW (Wilmington).  She graduated from the Teaching Education Department and we are very, very proud of her.  She is currently job hunting.....so if you know of any elementary schools hiring, send me a note!

I will get back to running now so I can end this blogpost with one last personal story.  Pretty uneventful week after returning from the coast.  Then I decided to run a local 8k on the greenway (the same greenway that houses the majority of my long runs).  Everything started out so well.  Saw lots of friends and learned a few things about racing locally.  First and foremost:  an 8k is equivalent to 4.96 miles.  After conferring with several friends afterwards, the race was 5.34 miles.  But, it was for a good cause, so all is right with the world unless you were dealing with an angry piriformis.  Here are my splits:
Mile 1   6:39 - about 3/4 mile into the race, my piriformis said hello and I was in pain trying to push that right leg alongside the left.  I pulled back in my comfort zone and proceeded to smile and wave because I knew it was not a day for opening up. I had so many zingers I actually jumped 3x.
Mile 2   6:54- great chatting along the course because it was 2 out and backs.
Mile 3   7:01- trying not lament that my half marathon splits are faster than what was happening
Mile 4  7:11- well...no excuses here. I thought they forgot to put the turn around people out there because I knew we were going well beyond where we were supposed to go because I know every quarter mile marker on the greenway.  I kept slowing down until I finally saw the leaders coming towards me because I kept thinking they were lost.
Mile 5 6:57- well....at least I picked up the pace because there was a nice steady uphill during that mile. 
.34  mile 1:28- 36:12 Official Time (2nd Female overall)

Evidently I didn't look all rosy coming up the hill to the finish

                        I wore one of my favorite Lululemon tops with some comfy Adidas shorts


I have taken some time off of running this week to cool down my leg a little.  I taught 3 yoga/pilates classes this week which has helped.  For my next race, I'm going to KT tape my piriformis even if it is feeling great.  I will not trust that right leg for a while.  I will continue to stretch, ice and roll (SIR) and be glad that the pressure of having a bad race is now over.  I will not let this define me.  I know I have lots left to do in the running world.  I'm looking at my track meet schedule and looking at my entries into 2 - 24 hour ultra races this year.  Hinson Lake in September and Crooked Road in November.  I'm ready !!

On a personal note, my daughter, Mandi, just got engaged last night to her boyfriend (Jordan) of almost 4 years and we couldn't be happier and prouder of her.  She continues to be a shining light in my life and we are incredibly happy.  I hope she doesn't mind that I posted this photo of her teary eyed but extremely happy!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

GET REAL. GET MOVING!

Dasani Myrtle Beach Half Marathon Race/Pace Recap

I found a new calling.  Who knew I could have this much fun pacing?!  I had one of the most rewarding experiences of my life this past weekend.  It was a weekend of firsts for me.  First, 10 women can absolutely be drama free and all get along swimmingly in a condo.  It was fun because some of the Sole Sisters (Christie, Christine, Sarah, Amy, and myself) teamed up with some of the Woo Hoo Crew (Melanie, Katie, Carole, Kathy) and one from the Streakers (Amanda).  We had an oceanfront condo in Myrtle Beach a few miles away from the start/finish line to the race.

First things first, Christie Strupe (one of the Sole Sisters) bought me the cutest charm for my shoe for the race.

It may be hard to see but it is a sneaker charm from BeeCausecharms.com.  It says Sole Sister. I decided to give my Nike Free shoes a whirl for my pacing debut.  They are super comfortable.  We get to the expo and I am excited to meet some fellow pacers there.  No one was there, but I got my pacer shirt:

Yes, I look happy.  Yes, I stayed this happy for most of the weekend.  I was so excited for my pacing duties that I barely slept on Friday night.  I have to say it was weird being at the Expo and not having any butterflies in my stomach.  I tend to get a little nervous before a race. We got settled in early for the night, and I taught yoga to everyone in the condo for almost 45 minutes.  Very, very relaxing.

The alarm went off at 4:35am and I shot out of bed and directly into my clothes.  None of my condo mates were able to accompany me to the starting line because I had to be there by 5:45am.  The race started at 6:30am.  I was there practically jumping up and down not only from excitement but from also trying to keep warm.  We got very lucky....it was 42 degrees at the start and warmed up as the race went along.  Rain and then snow didn't start till late afternoon on Saturday.  The beach actually had a dusting of snow when we woke up on Sunday morning.  Back to the race.

I saw several friends I knew and met quite a few people who were in my pace group.  I continually stressed to them that I was NOT going to start out fast and that I had 2 Garmin watches on.  One was set for the 9:05 minute mile and the other one had my overall pace, in the moment pace, and time posted.  I even recounted the Richmond Half Marathon pacing story, so I appeased them greatly.  It also helped to allay their fears when I mentioned I have several sub 1:30 half marathons under my belt.

We didn't hear the elephant (yes, a real elephant was supposed to roar, or whatever  sound  emits from their trunk is) for the start, but we saw all the runners ahead starting to run so we started my one watch for gun time (close to it) and the other watch I started on the starting line for the chip time.  I talked incessantly at the beginning to coax the participants not to go out too fast.  We stayed very steady.  I told lots of stories.  I warned them all......you are either going to love me or hate me.  There would be no in between.  I bopped around and chatted up with everyone during the run.  It was a beautiful morning.  I kept telling them that the key to success is to relax and enjoy the run.

I looked at my watches quite often, but I think the biggest smile I had on my face was when we hit the 6 mile marker and my pacer watch had a bunch of zeros across it.  That was a GOOD thing.  It meant that we were nailing our pace and that we were not ahead or behind our goal. 

I really focused on getting them to ignore their mind and let their legs just keep turning over.  I discussed ways to get the core involved to give the legs a break, but mainly I just kept pointing out things along the run to amuse them and make them smile.  I even got bystanders involved during the run.  I would yell, "When I say Myrtle, you say beach, Myrtle...Beach".  Everyone joined in and encouraged my group.  I didn't care if they thought I was nuts or not because I was going to get them to that finish line if I had to pull, drag or carry them.  Luckily, I didn't have to!  Here is a photo from the race almost 3/4 of the way into it:

It dawned on me that this great group of people were all going to make it.  I was so thrilled.  I knew that we had quite a difference in gun/chip time so I didn't tell them that we were going to come in under 2 hours.  With a half mile to go, I encouraged anyone who was feeling good to listen for the crowds, empty the mind, and focus on the finish line.  Several took off.  I still had a good number left with me and when we made the final turn towards the finish line, I ran sideways, backwards and encouraged them as loudly as I could.  The crowds were helpful.  I think the louder I yelled for them, the louder the crowds were :)  Here is a photo of me running sideways to coax them to the finish line:

I crossed the finish line at exactly 2:00:01.  However, my chip time ended up being 1:58:18.  I would never have finished this early if my group wasn't all with me.  We lost 2 people that I know of because of being injured and not feeling well.  If we lost any others, I was not aware of them.  Here is me going across the finish line overjoyed for my group:

Had I known the red Powerade stained my tongue, I probably would have kept my mouth closed, but I was too happy to even care how I looked.  Yes, my race bib says Cindyloohoo.  Why not.

I got to hang out with lots of friends afterwards and we took several photos.  Most of my friends PR'd on Saturday and I couldn't have been more pleased.  I knew I did the right thing by pacing when several runners and their families came up to me in the post-race area and thanked me.  I also got several hugs from family members for getting their loved ones in under 2 hours.  I turned to several girls in my group and smiled ear to ear.  I felt like I needed to run some more miles and I knew Mark, a friend of the Sole Sisters, was trying to qualify for Boston.  I ran to the 23 mile marker and ran with Mark to help him to the finish line.  He was having some leg issues.  He was battling hard to finish in 3:25.  I could see the pain on his face but I knew he was close to his goal so I ran and tried to keep his mind off of running until his wife Samantha joined us.  I veered off so she could help him the finish line.  He missed it by less than 2 minutes.  He WILL qualify soon.  I just know it!  I got back to our group and we took more photos.
Here is our pyramid attempt:

All in all, I     l  o  v  e  d    being a pacer.  I would do it every weekend if I could.  I also enjoyed getting over 19 miles in for the day. After eating, showering and napping, we headed to the after-after party at the House of Blues.  I think I danced for almost an hour.  Talk about fun!  But now my focus will be on the Wrightsville half marathon next month on St. Patrick's Day.  I will be RACING, not pacing.  I better get off this chair and go for a run.......

Half Throttle

What do you do when you cross a person who is usually wide open 90% of the time with a person trying to ease back into their normal routine?  Half Throttle.

Half Throttle is the title I have given myself this week.  I spend my days motivating others through  personal training or teaching classes.  I am a "wide open" kind of girl.  I usually do not know any other speed, except when I am teaching yoga.  I look the love on people's faces when they attend one of my yoga classes for the first time after being subjected to my "evil twin" in one of my BodyPump or Extreme Interval classes.  I still fondly recall a comment from a runner friend who came to my class and kept smirking throughout because they were waiting for my real voice to emerge.  When I finally figure out how to add videos and other sidebars to this blog site you will be able to experience it yourself with some quick health tips and some exercise ideas.

Back to half throttle.  I am good at digressing.  Well, some of my Sole Sisters call it my "squirrel moments".  I have been cutting back on my teaching schedule so I can slowly regain my speed, strength and endurance after being sick with the Flu and Bronchitis.  I have not been cutting back on my running.  I am running more days per week, but less mileage than I have been lately.  Now that I am completely recovered from my ultra and illness, it's time to get back my speed.  I want to compete in the Masters National Track Meet in 2014 which is being held in Winston-Salem, NC.  I want to go back to competing in the 1500 and 800.  I think adding more speed training will help me get back under 1:28:00 in the half marathon.  I want to accomplish all these things before the dreaded  5 0  ....I need to state my goals on paper so that I will hold myself accountable.

I love setting goals....do you?  Success or failure of goals give you a purpose.  My personality is too competitive to allow for failure to come too easily.  Navigating a way towards success is much more fun.  Are you going to set some goals for 2013?  Remember that a lofty goal needs smaller victories along the way to help motivate and dedicate yourself toward success.  The goals I want to achieve next year are still in the nebulous planning phase.  I still have 13 days left!

I am really enjoying my runs lately.  The weather has been bouncing around from 30-60's.  I am not complaining per se, but my sinuses are not as adaptive.  Catherine (Cac) has been a great addition to my running this year.  We have very compatible running styles; she runs and I try and keep up.  Literally.  She has one speed.  Some days I can handle the speed, other days I am searching for rope to tether me to her so she can drag me along the pavement.  I am not sure Greensboro motorists are ready for that visual.  I usually enjoy running hills, but when I run with Cac I search out the flattest possible routes so she doesn't hear me gasping for air.  Let me just state here that Greensboro has quite a few hills in it.  I am guessing that is why they call this the Piedmont Foothills. :)

Seeing as today signifies exactly one week before Christmas, I think I better get back to shopping, wrapping and baking.  Tomorrow my husband, Dan, goes under for a procedure to fix his hiatal hernia and scrape his ulcer scars.  Any prayers for him are welcome.

Exercise Log for the week:

5 BodyPump Classes
1 Yoga Class
Running (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Looking forward to adding more exercise next week!

In health and wellness,
Cindy