It's not so bad

I think this has been a pretty shitty week all around for most people and I've been pretty down and out, however, I will Try to see things a bit differently because Sarah's post made me feel guilty.  Not like: oh my God, I feel like such an asshole, but more like: yeah life could be so much worse.  I'm healthy enough to run, I have enough money to pay rent, and I have enough food to stuff myself stupid.

Tuesday night we were going to see Cabaret in Harvard Square.  1.  I forgot the tickets.  Not a big deal, we could just have them reprinted there.  I've never forgotten tickets before, I'm a forgetful person but I've never forgotten anything important so it just made me feel like I was losing it. 2.  For some reason this version of Cabaret was the most erotic version possible and my parents were there.  If I wanted to see a strap-on-dildo it wouldn't be in the same room as my dad. 

Wednesday, I had a meeting and I'd been working on this presentation for like a week straight.  I walked over to the client's offices and in the lobby we realized that I left the presentations on my desk.  It was bad, but luckily we were able to scuttle back in heels and suits in 80 degree weather to grab them and still be relatively on time although sweaty.  I was in absolute panic-mode, and thank goodness it actually worked out Ok.  Again, I'm obviously losing it. 

I'm not exactly sure what is distracting my brain from functioning properly, but I'm sure it's a combination of a million little things none of which are life threatening.  

My husband came home from work last night -
Him: I almost ran over a man today.
Me: Oh?
Him: Down by North Station, he just tried to cross the street at a cross walk after the light had turned green!  I honked, stopped, rolled down the window and he gestures to the cross walk like he had the right of way.  I said: It says Don't Walk, he said: I'm A Lawyer!  So I said: You Are A Retard!  Then I drove off.

In the moment after hearing this story I laughed out loud for the first time in three days.  I'm not proud that I found that so utterly hilarious, but it doesn't make it any less amusing!

So How 'Bout That Long Run?

Yeah...well it was two days ago on a irregularly warm Saturday morning.  The birds were chirping and I was swearing at the entire sport of distance running.  Everything started out Ok, it took me a little while to warm up.  Lately, it's been hard to get moving both mentally and physically.  For example, I was trudging through mile 3 which is generally when I start to feel good and I come to a major intersection and stop my Garmin and wait and wait and wait about 1 minute to cross the stupid road.  20 minutes later I look at my Garmin and I'm like: wow, things are slow going today, this might be another bad run.  Turns out I forgot to re-start the giant watch on my wrist (brilliant).  I should have run 15ish but I only ran 12ish because I just lost all motivation.  I don't know what is going on, I'm sort of in running depression mode.  It doesn't excite me the way it used to...like it's not You running, it's me, this just isn't working anymore and unless you give me on Major gift then it might be O-V-E-R.  I just can't wait for some time off, a little vacation, and then you know moving on to speed work.

Besides the bland run on Saturday, my husband was sick with a life threatening cold so we stayed in waiting for it to pass, stuffed ourselves stupid with Chinese food, and watched the entire series of "Firefly" and then the Firefly movie "Serenity".  We are talking about 12 hours of deep science fiction television and film which was seriously awesome (I have never claimed that we were cool), and when Monday came all I could think about was how the good shows always get canceled and how great it would be to kick someone's ass with only my fists.  I'm pretty sure hand to hand combat should be a subject in school, and I'm pretty sure this is why I'm not a teacher.

Speaking of ass kicking, my brother's teeth got knocked out a few weeks ago... well technically only 1 actually flew out of his mouth, 4 of them just got broken from getting a hockey puck to the face.  Anyways, it's really amazing how great his teeth look now in comparison to like two months ago.  This major restorative dental work cost him (or my parents) a pretty penny and it probably hurt a lot to get hit like that, but he actually looks a lot better now.  I thought my mom was going to jump across the table and slap me in the face for suggesting that it was a Good idea to not wear a face mask while playing hockey, but whatever, he wasn't the only person who hit the ER that week and you know what?  My injury hurt too, but nobody could comfortably utter the word "pelvis" at the dinner table so everyone ignored me and my osteitis pubis.  I don't blame them, it's awkward for everyone.  Luckily for my brother, he made out looking better, I just look the same...it was a challenging evening.

Tuesday evening we are going to see a musical-type performance show, I'm not really sure what to call it, but I have a relative in it and my parents will be there and there is probably going to be nudity.  It will be yet another challenging evening with family, however, it means a night off from running.  I'm not sure what I'd prefer, another boring as shit run or having to deal with seeing boobs with my dad in the room... 

Running Boredom

I haven't posted all week because nothing worth anything has happened around here lately.  I fell on my face at work - twice (heel catching on folded up hem of pants) yes everyone saw me, almost died from some idiot's body odor on the bus... it was an emergency situation, got lost in a library, got the "you are cured" from both my doctor and my physical therapist, got two filling replacements at the dentist, cashed in a million effing frequent flyer miles to Chicago for the marathon so we wouldn't have to spend $1,200, and I watched TV premieres all week long.  That's really my lame week in a nutshell.

Chicago is Really soon and I'm finding it difficult to find the desire to run right now.  I can run a handful of miles quick with my group, I can run a few miles of hills, but these legs are saying: long distance is for the birds.  I'm bored with the miles, bored with my running routes, bored with running in the dark.  I'm especially bored with the amount of time I've put into this whole race before the race has even happened.  I am sure other people get really restless a couple weeks before a race, but I kind of thought this is when it became fun... you know scaling back, lighter runs, more rest, more time for fun things.  So you know, just hanging here, wishing that the race would hurry up and get started. 

I'm already thinking about races past the marathon as if it's already happened.  I'm planning on doing the B.A.A. 5K again because it's fun, the 5K St. Patty's day run, and then a half marathon in the late spring/early summer, maybe a 5K or two if they are local, followed by a 10K in the middle to late summer, and then another local half marathon in October.  I really want to learn to run a fast 5K and half marathon obviously, I'll be joining my team for the track workouts so I can learn how to run faster than a middle aged double wide stroller pusher.  Or you know, I will get accepted into the NYC Marathon via lottery system (this will never happen...secret sigh of relief... but I will keep entering and eventually I will run through those boroughs, see you in NYC in 2014).   

So anyways, has anyone started their holiday wish lists yet?  I have.  What's on it?  CEP compression socks because this girl knows how to have a good time.

That was a Tough 20

Yesterday, I had to run 20 miles.  I mean not only was it on my marathon training schedule but it was also going to be a good indicator of how far I can push myself, so it was also sort of a much needed mental boost. 

Mile 1: Maybe 56 degrees doesn't mean that I need to wear a long sleeve shirt over my short sleeve shirt because I'm already dying.  What will the weather in Chicago be like? I'm not prepared for weather...
Mile 2: GOD it's so humid out, WTF.  Ugh, I feel terrible today.
Mile 3: [ran into my gym, dropped off my long sleeve shirt into a locker] continued on.
Mile 4: Why don't I feel warmed up yet?  [And a dog just ran straight into me...why?]
Mile 5: This isn't working today.  Today would be a good day to have a partner.
Mile 6: I want to stop, but I can't stop.  Am I already shuffling?
Mile 7: Where is the nearest bus... if I can find a bus to take me back to Harvard Sq. then I can jump on another bus to get home... this is a brilliant idea.
Mile 8: Legs are heavy, so heavy.  Need to stretch.
Mile 9: Do I really Need to do 20 today? 
Mile 10: This is the shittiest run I've had a in long time, I might as well just come to grips with the awful splits and then heavy legs.  Let's stop and stretch, and wtf is that??

It's not a great photo, but basically it's this like outdoor workout area that has pull up bars on the right and elliptical type things on the left.  Do all cities have this or is it like the strangest thing you've ever seen?  I don't get it.
Miles 11-15: Reached a whole new level of pain.  This is same kind of pain I felt at mile 18 of last week's long run, my legs were just so tired and sore.  Every step had become a major effort.
Mile 16: Stop, Stretch, Die a little inside.  Text my husband to tell him that I'd be longer than predicted so he wouldn't freak out and think I was laying on the side of the road half dead.

Stood on the side of the river and was like: Oh my God, I can see my office.  I have to get out of here, it's just too close.  I've never run all the way to Back Bay before...
Mile 17: Ok, three more miles, just keep running, don't stop, get through it.
Mile 18: Ran into my gym, picked up my long sleeve shirt, stuffed it into my Camelbak and kept going.  Still wanting to die, especially now that my Camelbak is so uncomfortable.
Mile 19: My face was really salty, craved a Gatorade real bad.
Mile 20: That was a shit storm of a run, but I finished.

I don't think that I did anything wrong: ate a decent dinner, went to bed early, did my usual morning routine.  The only thing that I did differently was that Friday night I went out and ran a 5K in the dark... I felt compelled to up my mileage a tiny bit because my week total was really low.  Sure it wasn't a good idea, but I don't think that's why my long run sucked so bad.  I think sometimes it just happens, not everyday can be a good run.  So I learned that even when things aren't going so great, I can still get through 20 miles which is amazing in itself because I remember when 5Ks were a struggle.

What else?  Body Glide works.  During long runs my sports bra was seriously chaffing me and no matter which one I wore, they all did the same thing.  I finally caved and got some Body Glide thinking it wouldn't work but it worked.  Also I used it on my arms where my Camelbak sometimes rubs, and again, no chaffing there either.  I mean I didn't need any more discomfort during that run, I'm glad it didn't let me down.

That night after dinner out and 2 glasses of wine (1 too many unfortunately) I slept 11 hours and felt much less pain when I woke up.  I love recovery days!

Nobody likes the rain, especially me

How to let the weather ruin your run.

1. Leave for work not knowing it would rain.

2. Don't pack anything for the gym, because hey you can run outside when you get home.

3. Watch the dark sky take over your neighborhood helpless to the situation.

4. Change into running gear and then realize that loud annoying sound is rain pounding down from the sky and then pause and sigh as loud as possible because your medium sized run just got screwed.

I Really didn't want to get my sneakers wet again.  I ran in the pouring freaking rain on Monday night and it took them until Wednesday to fully dry out.  Yeah, I just need them to be in good condition for my long run on Saturday no matter what and I don't trust my old ones anymore.  Stupid excuse?  Yes.  Valid?  Oh Yes.  I don't think that anyone Wants to run in soggy sneakers.  I have 20 miles planned so I need things to be in order because it's probably going to be ugly.

Instead of running, I made sure to get in a good stretch and then I ate a ton of homemade pizza with veggies.  It was amazing, yeah not to brag, but it was fantastic - perhaps the only good thing that came out of skipping my run.  There's something so fulfilling about making dinner for two people for the cost of my tall soy pumpkin spiced latte.    

Other than the (thankfully) dry sneakers and the homemade pizza, one of my favorite shows is back tonight!  I know this is a total: you love it or hate it show, but there's nothing I love more than a group of misguided idiots (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia).  Oh yes, the offensive shit is about to rain down.

Back with the group

Dark, ominous clouds rolling into town.

text from A: Hey, are you going to the group run tonight?
text from Me: Yeah, I bet the clouds will pass or just be a light sprinkle.
text from A: Ok, see you in 20 minutes, still biking right?
text from Me: Yes to the biking, see you soon.

I felt like the weather gods owed us one, we'd skipped a few group runs over the summer really thinking it would rain and it didn't.  Besides that, I had to go tonight, they were giving out the racing singlets and if I didn't get one tonight I might not get one till the spring so we got our asses on our bikes and went to the group run.  We biked a mile down the street, parked, and then met up with our very large group.  Over the summer there were no more than 25 people on a Monday for a 5K, tonight there were well over 40 even with the angry looking clouds.  The moment we got to the starting area it started sprinkling, 5 minutes into the run it started pouring with thunder and lightening and it was pitch black.  We got soaking wet, but it was nice at first.  The pace was a bit slower due to everyone being a little bit more careful around traffic and such and it was just nice to be not be the only idiot out running in the middle of a thunderstorm, bad decisions love company.

We made it through the run, and hopped on our bikes and rode home now soaking wet and freezing cold.  The ride home was fine - it was mostly well lit and there was very little traffic.  I got to my sleepy street, which has only has maybe 3 street lights on the whole thing, and I could almost feel the warmth of a hot shower.  Of course I was riding down a one way street the wrong way, so when I saw a car coming I decided to go onto the sidewalk since there wasn't anyone around.  Only I was going full speed ahead and hit a curb that I didn't realize was a curb because it was so dark, then slamming on my brake (only one hand would function) sliding off my seat right into the front of my bike hitting my knee on some metal part, and almost killing myself.  I have to say, if I had hit my crotch and aggravated my stupid pelvis life would suck a lot more right now, my knee isn't so bad.  I'm going to buy a little headlight for my bike so next time I won't die doing something ridiculous!  

So that went well tonight.

18 Miles!

I'm back on schedule.  Today's long run listed 18 miles and I went out there and I actually did it.  I've been thinking a lot about fueling for a run and as an experiment (and because we have nothing to eat in this place) I woke up at 7 and ate only a Kind bar with my coffee. 

During my run I had a Clif shot block at mile 8 and another at mile 12.  At mile 15 I ran into a store to refill my empty camelbak with a Gatorade.  Literally, I ran into that store and demanded an orange flavored Gatorade, threw them $2 and ran out.  So I drank all the water in my camelbak, had about 75 calories on the run, and in the last few miles I had about 1/4 of a Gatorade.  This doesn't seem like very many calories to carry me through that long run, but I made it and I was never hungry.  I'm pretty sure that the key here was what I ate for dinner last night.  I had about 3/4 of a spinach, onion, and mushroom calzone with a little cheese.  That's the kind of meal for me that has staying power!  Also, I drank a blueberry flavored beer and went to bed at 12:30 so it took me about 6 miles before I even felt awake and aware of my surroundings.  At one point I was like: Where the F am I right now??  I can see where I came from, and I know as long as I stay on this path I'm not really lost but seriously what is this place?  And then I stopped, looked around and was like: hmm, I'm going to turn around now... and it was probably a good decision.  Yes, I stopped looked around, pulled out  my phone took a photo for the view and then continued on.  I throw my phone into my camelbak in case of a pelvic disaster during long runs these days.

 All went well till mile 16 when I started to get really tired, or I mean my legs started to feel major discomfort but I hobbled on and I even tried to control my facial expression because people were giving me concerned looks,  and I made it home jumped into another chilly bath and started my day.  We're going to see Wicked today, which means that I get to sit in a sardine can of a theater for 3 hours - that can't be good for my legs.  Major stretching and core work planned for tomorrow, major wine drinking planned for tonight : )

Living in Constant WTF

No city is entirely normal, but things are really strange around here this week.
 
On my Thursday evening 8 mile run a woman spit on me.  Not like on me, but right at my feet as I ran by and it's not like she didn't see me coming.  Why would anyone do this?  She could have spit in the other direction or just not at all I mean she was carrying groceries not exercising.

Conversation on a regular day.
Me: I've been flossing a lot more since I went to this new Dentist.
Friend: Yeah, I mean I don't know why I don't floss more often.  I'm always just sitting on the couch or in bed, I could just do it then.
Me: Wait... you floss in bed?
Friend: Yeah.
Me: What!  No, that's just gross, you don't Actually do that do you? 
Friend: Yeah I do.
Me: I'm telling you that's not normal and it really is pretty gross.  I'm really grossed out by that habit.
Friend: No!  It's not that bad, you are exaggerating.
Me: Ok, I need assistance on this one, you need to know this is not Ok.  I mean besides the fact it was on The Marriage Ref and the country decided it was gross.
Third Party: Flossing anywhere but in the bathroom is completely unacceptable.
Me: I know, right?  I would like breakup with someone over that. 
Third Party: I wouldn't even talk to them, I would throw that person off a cliff.
[Who's exaggerating now?]

Today, saw a man drinking from a gallon of milk on a bench in an upscale mall.  He was dressed nicely as if he were just taking a little lunch break but he happened to bring a gallon of milk instead of say a cup.  I really hope he didn't drink that whole thing.  I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it.

I just got an email asking me to volunteer for the Fluff Festival.  Fluff was invented here and I can learn all about the millions of uses for it, and if I ever ate this mystery product I might actually do it. 

This week in Boston they found an alligator in the Charles River.  An Alligator Bs, and it was Real.  I love wild life, but I do not like big chomping ugly creatures roaming free where I live.

There are thousands of fresh water jellyfish in Walden Pond.  It makes no sense.  My BFF said that world is ending, I can't even get into the bizarre stuff that people are doing with Tylenol to kill snakes.

Anyways, Happy Friday, I know this post was a waste of time for many of you.
I hope everyone eats something delicious tonight!

Summer wrap-up

Wait... summer is over?  No way.  Suddenly everyone is a little less chipper including myself.  I found this photo on my computer and I was like: hm... a thinker or a psychopath?  This is what I get for not taking more Real photos, a whole stock of retarded ones.

This summer was really awesome this year, we didn't really do anything too crazy but I got to see my girlfriends a lot, all of them!  Somehow we all got split up and live all over the place since college, I mean college was like effing a million years ago but you know, I still like to think of myself as young.  I can't hold my liquor anymore, but I can still hang and be hilarious.

I joined a running club and actually improved really quickly till I busted my pelvis.  Later, I got to show about 3 doctor's and one physical therapist my junk.  I'm oddly immune to it now, even though I really want to say: hey eyes up here buddy -  each time.  And the next time someone I know says: hey how's your hip doing?  I'm going to punch them square in the nose.  Pelvis does not equal hip on any part of this planet.

I went the whole summer without cooking anything really new except for pie.  You know what I learned about living in a house is that sometimes houses don't have central air and that means your kitchen gets to be 95 degrees of pure agony... it's fine most of the time, but not for kitchen adventures.  Must remember: Don't be cheap, just get takeout or eat a salad.  The heat agrees with no person in this household. 

If you decide to grow edible plants in your home you'll probably be tempted to water them a lot, more than you should and that might cause a problem aka thousands of fungus gnats invading your home.  I don't want to freak people out but we had a full month of fungus gnat takeover, they were holding things hostage, mainly my sanity.  Then we killed them all dead with sticky traps and organic "pesticide" and in turn also killed our plants by accident, not one tomato plant even flowered and the basil just didn't seem right.  It was the biggest waste of time ever.  Now every time I see an insect that flies I have the urge to scream bloody murder.  Those bastards ruined my life.

Who knew that so many meaningless things happened over the course of a few months?  Well the party is over, time for pumpkin drinks and Halloween costume planning.

There's so much to learn in life

Yesterday we went to a cookout down the street, and it was perfect.  The hostess is a running friend so everything there was really light and healthy (so. many. veggies.) except for some authentic Polish Kielbasa and sliders.  After we properly stuffed our faces and laid around in the grass (normal right?) we headed to a local bar and proceeded to horrify everyone else there.  I didn't drink, so I was the only one who witnessed the shitshow going on before my eyes.  Multiple tequila shots on a Sunday night can be really painful and I was like 1. I'm so happy that I'm sober right now, and at the same time 2. Everything is a little too real right now, I should be heavily drinking.  I'm pretty sure my husband was the drunkest one there by far yet somehow I'm the one that woke up feeling crappy and then did a fantastic job wasting the day away in slow motion.  I did about 4 loads of laundry, grocery shopped at a snail's speed, stretched, re-potted a plant, and then watched 6 hours of Little People Big World before running a quick recovery 5k.

I set out to run an easy 3ish miles to just kind of loosen up, and instead after 1 mile I ended up high tailing it around town before getting home and finished within seconds of my 5K PR time.  It just felt good to be able to move around and push myself without pain or the even the fear of pain.  I spent a lot of time this weekend stretching out and holding positions for at least 30 seconds.  Every time I felt really tight, I would take 5 minutes to really loosen up the problem area.  Smart?  More like my physical therapist's homework assignment.  It pains me to say that it really is helping because it just makes me feel kind of stupid - like obviously stretching makes you feel better when you feel tight and if you feel less tight you will probably run better.  The obvious often escapes me! 

Speaking of ridiculous things.  Today I got stuck in my own bathroom.  We have really old door knobs that attach to equally old doors, and they basically twist into each other to stay on...but if you over twist one, it will just fall out leaving you trapped in the bathroom alone and holding a doorknob in your hand that can't just be put back on.  Thank God my husband was home when this happened.  I was like: seriously, what would have happened if you weren't here and you were away on business?  I mean that's like 3 days or so of being trapped without any real escape....jumping out the window wouldn't be an option... I'd have to break through the really old door somehow and then explain to the landlord that I almost broke his house apart because of a doorknob malfunction and then we'd have no door on the bathroom and then we'd have to move for the 4th time in 5 years because I couldn't go even a day without a bathroom freaking door!  Do you know how much that has cost us in movers?  A shitload.

Lessons learned this weekend:

- If everyone else is drinking heavily, staying sober is way too eye opening.
- Stretch every day properly and for more than 10 seconds.
- Have an escape plan in case you have doorknobs from the early 1900s and you could potentially get trapped in bathroom naked.

14 miles is almost 20 miles....almost

Saturday morning I got up, drank my coffee and set out on my first outside long run since I hurt myself.  I usually like to follow the rules, I'm not a rule breaker or a rebel, but I do like to bend them a little.  I was told not to run outside on the roads for awhile, but really, what is awhile?  So I made a little compromise, I ran indoors all week long and today I wanted to run part of my usual long run route along the river and when I was done with that I would stop at my gym and run on the treadmill before jumping back on the roads to get home.  I don't know why I even bothered with stopping at the gym, but once I had the plan established in my head there was no getting out of it.  Luckily, they sell ice cold Gatorade there, and my Camelbak was empty so it was worth the detour just for provisions.
9 miles outside on my regular route
3 miles inside on the treadmill at my gym
2 mile run back home
After all that I took an "ice bath"... but it was more like a chilly bath, I didn't have enough ice because I forgot that the tub in this place is for really big and tall people and I'm on the little side.  It was a great test though, next time I'll know how to do it better.

The run overall was pretty good.  My legs felt fatigued as I expected since I've missed a bunch of mileage, but my pace was pretty normal.  I did have to do a bunch of 10 second walking breaks here and there but that was also predicted and it didn't really mess with my time too much so I was fine with it.  It was a nice run, way less painful than ever imagined and the weather was just about perfect.

This has nothing to do with running, but Craigslist has stopped their Adult Services listings.  I'm not stupid, I know what all that is, but does this mean an end to online prostitution and a rebirth of hookers standing on street corners at all times of the day?  That is something I'd prefer not to see because I saw a special about online prostitution on one of those investigative shows and these people are really not what you might expect a hooker to look like...this is not Pretty Woman.

Anyways, back to running.  Today is going to be spent doing a Lot of stretching before stuffing myself with cookout foods mmmm corn!

Freak out momentarily over

It's so early... like the birds aren't awake yet, but after 5 restful hours of sleep it's Go time.
I'm getting ready to go to PT, which is fine, I'd rather get it over with now and ruin my morning that get it over later and ruin my night. 

My question of the way too early morning is - how much ice goes into an ice bath, like 1 bag or 2?  I have two trays of cubes and I was thinking to myself: I'm no genius but that does Not seem like it would be enough for like a 5 inch bath.

Anyways, I'm not freaking out as much this morning because I'm remembering a few things:

• All the ladies at the Nike women's half and full marathon...obviously I did the half, but when I was done and people kept going, some of those people didn't look ready to face the next 13 miles.  They looked scared shitless.
• I have a friend who ran the LA marathon without any preparation, his longest run was 9 miles and he's not a good runner, but he finished.
• People finish in costumes, we're talking like wedding gowns, hot dog costumes, and Tinkerbell outfits with wands.  If they can do it, then I should be able to as well.

I see the first rays of sunlight, you'd think that this would be nice, but I'm more of a sunset person.  I can't wait to find myself a pumpkin spiced latte with soy today... oh yeah 300 cals later in beverage form, life will be good.

A little freak out

Last night I had a dream that I ran half the Chicago marathon, at the halfway point I was flagged down by a couple friends and they wanted to go shopping.  I didn't even think about it, I mean do you really think in dreams anyways?  So suddenly we were shopping with all these fun bags in tow and I was still in my sweaty hot pink running gear.  2 hours later I realized that I was actually running a race, so I jumped back onto the course and I was freaking out because A. I was so behind and B. It was getting embarrassing.  I woke up before I could finish the race.  I don't like that dream at all... I had an Italian sub for dinner with extra pickles.  Was it the sub or was it my feelings of unpreparedness?  I'm sure that its a combination of both, and I woke up this morning feeling really stressed.  I feel so much weight on my shoulders right now: work, running, injury, the fact I'm missing half the skin on my nose because I scratched it off in an itchy rage and it's taking forever to grow back, we haven't bought our Chicago plane tickets yet, there are birthdays to remember and presents to send, and I have three books waiting to be read, I have a licensing exam in a month and I haven't even cracked the book yet, I broke a glass on the floor and haven't been able to find all the glass pieces except when they pop up in someone's foot, you know I just feel drained and overwhelmed and like I've lost total control.

There is a freaking hurricane heading this way... I don't really know what that means but I do know that I NEED to do a long run this weekend and whether it's outside in the glorious rain and wind or inside on a mindless treadmill it just needs to get done.  I also know that this is really a very big make or break run for Chicago.  How do I know how to come back slow enough to not re-aggravate my injury but fast enough to get the miles that I so badly need.  I did 8 this week without too much issue but would it be too much to try for 14?  What if I ice bath after?  Third question - how much training does one need to just Make It Through a marathon?  Like say I just wanted to get my ass from the start to the finish in one piece with walking, speed walking, and running all in one.  I am rational, and I do think that I'm rationally nervous about this situation.  I had a goal, it was 4:10 or as close to 4:10 as possible, today my goal is to finish on my own two feet because I feel too dedicated to this situation to pull out unless absolutely necessary.

Oh by the way, tomorrow (Friday) I have physical therapy at 7am for this injury.  7am!  Do you know what time that means I have to get up?  5:30am.  I'm so not a morning person and I pity this physical therapist...

Three doctors and one final answer

The story of how shit hit the fan.

 

8/19 felt massive pelvic pain while running, let it slide because it was so weird.

8/20 Rest

8/21 Rest, attended wedding and limited dancing.

8/22 felt even more massive pelvic pain while running, went to ER.

ER doctor diagnosed me with: Osteitis pubis basically just by looking at me.  Also he was wearing a silly band and a soul patch, did not like this.  

 8/23 saw a followup Physician's Assistant in an orthopaedic office, he took an xray and diagnosed me with - ? - he had no idea what was wrong with me, but felt strongly that it wasn't osteitis pubis.  Obviously this is not a good enough answer: no diagnosis is ridiculous because I know the amount of pain that I felt, and I know that I barely walked in and out of the ER because it was That Horrendous.  That doesn't just disappear. 

 

9/1 went to a sports medicine physician who spoke to me very in depth about my history and my current activity level, how fast I usually run my 5k and my 10k and my predicted time for the marathon, did a barrel of stretches and balances and poking.  In the end he agrees with the ER doctor that it is in fact osteitis pubis and gave me a path back to fitness and health.  This is an over training injury, even though he agrees that 25 miles a week isn't exactly over training, but he did notice that one side of my body is much stronger than the other side of my body during balance tests so I'm probably running by favoring one side...hours of running favoring one side can cause problems.  I'm going to start PT and keep running at a moderate speed on the treadmill, if I had a place to water jog that would be cool but I don't.

 

Anyways, the case is closed.  I have my final diagnosis and I know how to heal and recover, praise the lord.  I would like to thank my husband for carting me around to these appointments, it was very tiring and draining to go to all these places for he both of us.  If I have one more freak injury (in March: neck strain from playing Bejeweled on the iPhone and napping funny...three month recovery) this year I might want to consider opening my own clinic.  I have excellent medical coverage thanks to my Husband's company and I work within the insurance industry so I know that I'm a really expensive person on his plan right now... like someone is getting monthly reports on claims and my name is probably getting red flagged as being ridiculous because year-to-date: 8 chiropractor visits, 8 PT visits, 5 doctor visits including specialists, 1 ER visit, 1 xray, and 12 scripts.  Seriously.  If I wasn't a part of this really rich plan, I would not have done half of those things because I wouldn't want to pay copays for all that, so I'm lucky that I had the resources to get to the bottom of my neck strain and fix it and now get to the bottom of my pelvic pain and hopefully fix it.  

 

Tonight, I hit the treadmill.  Immediately I knew that it wasn't going to be that great, my pelvis hurt a little from all the stretching and exercises and poking that the doctor did to it today so I tried to take it easy.  I did 3 miles, 1 mile walk, and then some light core work.  The TV on the treadmill didn't get all the channels and that really irritated me enough to not want to stick around longer than I had to.  Having the news come in all fuzzy is not the same as Jersey Shore with crazy girls smashing plates for no reason and boys "creeping".  Things are still chugging along on the running front...