IT update and vacation.

"I truly believe that we can overcome any hurdle that lies before us and create the life we want to live. I have seen it happen time and time again.”

Gillian Anderson

Barring uncontrollable circumstances, I pretty much believe in the above quotation. Now, if you read my last post, you know that I felt some pain on the right side of my knee during my last run. Enough that I walked and stretched at least 4 times on my 8K run. This happened on Wednesday and this is where it's at, so far: You all convinced me to buy a roller, which I went out and did the same day. I rolled Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Then we were off to New Brunswick, so we pretty much spent the day in the car...lots of rest. Rolled again Thursday evening. Friday, I had read a bit more on IT and so in the morning, I rolled, I took an Advil, I iced and I didn't run. By Friday evening, that would be tonight...we went out to dinner and walked around and I felt no pain at all. Fingers, toes and eyes are crossed!

Shediac - by the Atlantic ocean

Eating an Atlantic specialty - mussels

Tomorrow, I plan on rolling morning and night, taking an Advil in the morning and then we are spending the day on Prince Edward Island...so no running, but lots of walking. Finally, Sunday, I hope to run my 16K long run at a very slow pace (which, would be called walking in someone else's world).  I'll keep you posted and show you a few pics of PEI :)

Thanks so much everyone for your amazing support and advice!

Cheers!

Thank you!

"To accept good advice is but to increase one's own ability”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

You spoke and I listened!

How could I not get a foam roller...every single one of you advised me to use one :)

In the above picture, I am smiling nicely for the camera...

However, this picture is more realistic of how it felt...ouch!

But a good ouch :)

Thanks everyone for responding so quickly! I'll keep you posted.

Cheers!

100% and what is IT...?

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”

Kenji Miyazawa

My last two runs were not easy, but each for a very different reason. Yesterday I ran my 6K tempo and although I am pleased with my time and I mostly felt good, the humidity was 100% so I felt like I was running in a cloud. I'm not even exaggerating, that really was the humidex factor! Luckily, it was relatively early in the morning and not too hot yet. The great thing is that I got through this run and never even coughed once...my lungs are doing so well with this humidity, which is not how it usually went. Yay for running and my increased lung capacity!

Not so yay...near the end of my run yesterday I felt a very very mild pain on the right side of my knee (oh no, not the IT band). It went away immediately, so I just chalked it up to my new running shoes. Howevah! Today I was wearing a pair of broken in shoes and the pain started almost right at the beginning of the run. At first, it remained very very mild, so I didn't worry too much, I just thought I'd make sure to keep my pace very slow. Slowly, the pain increased and after about 3K I decided to walk a few meters, then I stopped and stretched and then off I went again. No pain...yay...pain again...not yay :( so I did it all again, run for a bit, walk for a few meters, stop and stretch. It's not that it was super painful or anything, but I'm really really trying to be smart about this and not push it...although I still did my whole 8K with the stop and stretch incorporated.

One very cool thing that happened this morning is that I ran into (pun not intended) my super sister-in-law who was doing her 29K long run this morning!!! So I ran with her a bit, which was so amazing. She was on her 25th K at this point and she looked great...I am so proud of her and I can't wait to cheer her in when she runs her first marathon in early September. Go Ju!

Okay, so back to me :) ...I put some deep cold on what I believe is my IT band and will baby it for a few days. No 10K tempo tomorrow and Friday is an off day that will remain off (at least off of running). We'll see how I feel Saturday, but for sure I'd like to do my long run on Sunday, especially since I'll be in Moncton, New Brunswick! Hopefully, I'll be able to take some pics :)

If anyone has some advice on how to prevent this mild pain from turning into full-blown IT band syndrome, please do tell. It doesn't hurt when I walk and after I'm done, only while running for now. Thanks.

Cheers!

Marathon training - week 3 done...and life!

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

How about the good news first. I had my annual blood tests and I am thrilled to report that everything is great...no problems anywhere and my HDL is above average, so all good! Asthma-wise, my lungs have been dealing with this summer heat and humidity like troopers...I have been doing so well, that my doctor agreed to reduce the number of inhalations of Symbicort per day (from 3 to 2 inhalations twice a day)...Yay! I'm very excited...especially since this brings me to the not-so-good news :( 

Once again, after only three days off a twenty day run of meds for this exact problem, my throat is showing new signs of candida (aka thrush) a corticosteroid inhaler side-effect. This seems to have become recurrent, which of course is rare (but, I must be one unique gal, because this is the third "rare" thing I've had to deal with). Anyways, the frustrating thing about this is that it prevents me from rejoicing fully regarding my positive blood work and my happy lungs...but, I'm trying not to let it get to me too much. Should be hearing from the doc tomorrow. So, I agree with Dr. King...I accept finite disappointment, but I maintain, infinite hope :) 

Back to happier news...today I got my new training program at the gym. As Marjorie (my personal trainer) was going through my new program with me, I couldn't help noticing and commenting about how far I'd come. The progress I've made over the last two and a half years is amazing. For example, when I got my very first training program, I had to do 2 X 15 sit ups crossing over...and I could not do it. It was so hard for me. Today, Marjorie had me do my sit ups with no help from my legs, which were laying flat, going slowly and not touching down with my shoulders (2 x 20) and I could do it! This was how it went throughout the session...things felt easy"ish" and doable. After three years of being a member at my local gym, I was discussing with Marjorie my decision to not renew my membership in September. I have some of the necessary equipment to train at home (stability ball and 3lb free weights) and will buy what I'm missing (an elastic and some ankle weights)...plus, we will be buying a treadmill for the fall (yes!). Marjorie agreed to change up my program for me once in a while from my home...which will be perfect. From the beginning, she has been an important part of my transition from walker to runner. When I first mentioned to Marjorie (last August 2009) that I hoped to run a 10K in April, her response was immediate and extremely encouraging, "That sounds like a great goal"...and I though, "Wow, it sounds like she thinks I can do this"...which, was so motivating for me. Thanks Marjorie for your continued support and encouragement.  

Finally, I once again missed the Wednesday 8K steady run on my training schedule...but, I did do an extra 2K on Tuesday (just sayin' :)). I'm good with that though, I know this will happen sometimes and that it's to be expected. This week should go well, considering I'm finally off for a much needed vacation for the week...Yay!

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter who turns 21 today...I love you so much sweetheart :)

Cheers!

Sorry, no pics...broken camera :)

Morning run!

“My path has not been determined. I shall have more experiences and pass many more milestones.”

Agnetha Faltskog

The hot and humid weather persists, so for the first time in a long time ever I was out of bed at 6:10 and out on the road by 6:30am! This morning was a 10K tempo run and it went surprisingly well...considering it almost didn't happen. It is just so hot and humid that I had a really hard time sleeping (no AC)...so when it was time to rise and shine, that little voice in my head started, "You didn't sleep well, you'll be too tired at work" or " You can go this evening, that's when Uber H is going"...you know THE voice. Then I though of my super sister-in-law who was up and out the door at 6:30am yesterday morning to run 19K! "Come on Anne, if she can do it, you can do it" "You can rest this afternoon...anyways, you start your vacation at noon!!!" That did it...and I did it. I must do this more often...I ran my fastest 10K tempo ever in training (10:17min/mile pace). I ran mostly by the river, which gave off a nice light breeze and the shade was on the good side at that time. Wish I'd had a camera to show you the cute little squirrel sitting on a garbage can, eating, buffet style :)

Cheers everybody!

Another special day!

"More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse."

Doug Larson

"A long marriage is two people trying to dance a duet and two solos at the same time."

Anne Taylor Fleming

29 years ago today...we said I do!

We had no idea what that would entail. We learned that marriage is not a fairytale, it is something that requires major personal investment. We learned that, being fully invested in the relationship is not always so easy to do...especially while going through the "raising young children" years. There are many amazing moments with young children, but it doesn't make it easy. Most importantly, we learned that hanging in there through the worst of times (which pretty much all couples go through at some point) was the best thing that we ever did...our history together is what makes us so strong today...and now we are experiencing a good dose of the best of times. I love you Uber H and I feel your love for me strongly. Happy Anniversary to us :)

This morning, we started our day with a 13K LSD (long slow distance)...what a great way to celebrate our union. Uber H took a few pics...although he didn't manage to catch the skunk that strolled across OUR street a few feet in front of us!

Being silly for the camera :)

The beautiful bike trail on the canal.

Uber H looking pretty sexy for a 53 year old ;)

Coming around the Fort - by the water...beautiful area to run in.

Happy Fourth of July to all my friends in the United States!!

Cheers!

Marathon training - week 2 done...and so much more!

"Let the refining and improving of your own life keep you so busy that you have little time to criticize others.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I have 20 minutes...so I thought I'd give a quick update on my week. Training is going well, despite the fact that life has definitely been too busy to criticize anything. I missed my Wednesday run due to a work emergency. Thank goodness, that is the one run that I don't mind missing as it doesn't seem to affect the overall training. Thursday, I spent much of the day helping my daughter move. Then after dinner, I went for my 10K tempo run in her town...which, happens to be very hilly. It went well though and I was pleased. Friday I went to yoga and suffered through lots of hamstring stretching exercises...then I completed my gym workout. Had lunch with my close friend Miglena and then Uber H and I met friends for dinner and a really great evening at the Montreal Jazz Fest...the weather was perfect and the atmosphere amazing! A fun evening in excellent company :)

Today is a special day...the man who has been there for me through it all (sickness and health, good times and bad times, richer and poorer...etc). The man who is my rock, the one I can ALWAYS count on...the one who built our house and our home...the one who is an amazing father...the one who is my favorite running and life partner...that wonderful man is celebrating his 53rd birthday today! I love you so much dear Uber H...you really are an Uber Husband! We started the day with a nice 6K run together...and we are now off to celebrate. It was also my mom's birthday this week, so it's a big family celebration this afternoon.

Through it all...busy days and fun activities...training continues.

Cheers!