No Stress Fx....yet

So I tried to run on Saturday…I made it three miles before limping home on a very painful left foot. I won’t lie…that shit scared me…I could barely walk. Sunday I did an hour and a half of Taebo and iced it more and sat around hoping like hell I didn’t have a stress fracture. I figured I had about 6 weeks before I’m due to start marathon training….so I have time to heal…but anyways.



Monday morning rolls around and I’m still one gimpy mofo. I hobble my way to work and sit down with Michael and ask him to look at my foot. He does….I tell him what I’ve been up to with the running…he shakes his head and we make a plan to go over to x-ray after the chick that doesn’t like me leaves and we’ll shoot a couple films. He says he thinks it’s been long enough that a stress fracture would probably show up on x-ray. I disagree…we argue a few minutes and go to x-ray. We shoot 3 films…and go look at them. Nothing…not a damn thing except pretty white bone. So we decide to lay off the running for a week…and if it’s still hurting….x-ray again and see how that looks. If I’m pain free in a week….I’m going to lay off running for another week and start running again.


I’m not sure where this leaves me with my barefoot running. I don’t want to stop…I love love love it…but I’m scared that if I don’t lay off, that if I don’t already have a stress fx….I’ll get one. I thought I was doing ok but this really got my attention. I’ve already paid for the marathon….I will do it. Maybe now is not the time to be trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. Maybe I do my gravel marching through the winter..Concentrate on at least trying to change my foot strike even in shoes…and once my marathon is over….loose the shoes and do it right this time. I guess for now though…I get through the next couple weeks and see what that holds.


So tomorrow we’re heading up to Skips Dads for Thanksgiving. We’re bringing dinner so I have a boatload of things to pack and bring plus I have to work tomorrow. Ugg..I need to relax. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and remember to appreciate the things you’re thankful for!

Barefoot, Taebo and Dragon Boating

Increasing my barefoot mileage....yeah…I don’t think I’m ready for it. After a very cold, 5 mile barefoot run on Tuesday night…I developed some top of the foot pain that still is lingering. I still did my 10 miler on Thursday in shoes and was ok. Taebo tonight and I’m undecided about what to do about my run tomorrow. I guess I’ll try scaling back and see how that goes..if my foot protests…I’ll stick with my Taebo for a couple more days and try again. I bought a new DVD that Dominic and I did on Monday night and it was awesome….very old school Taebo and I was dying…..fantastic! I saw him teach once…when Skip took me to California not too long after we married and one of the main things I wanted to do was to go to Billy Blanks World Training Center in L.A. and take a class. I ended up being sick most of the time I was there and didn’t end up taking a class….but I did go to the gym and watched him teach. I still kick myself for not just doing it anyways….missed opportunity…that gym is gone now and last I heard Billy was living in Japan…still putting out new stuff…but no US base anymore. Note to self and others…don’t let a small roadblock….block you from doing something you really want to…because you may NEVER have that chance again. Lesson learned.

My long run was good. Ten miles below marathon pace. It was chilly and I made Brian wear his sweater. He pranced his way through 10 miles like he does it every day and behaved himself pretty well. I ran along some of the marathon route and felt strong. I got an email from said marathon today titled “After stuffing, start a running”….HA! That kinda threw me though…made it a bit more real. I’m running a freakin marathon and in a few weeks I need to start training for it. I thought getting that 20 miler in would ease some of this…but it doesn’t seem to have. I really need to sit down and hammer out my plan….after Thanksgiving…I swear it.

So today we have Dragon Boat practice. How do you practice dragon boating in Wisconsin at the end of November you ask? You line up 10 rows of chairs two by two and have your drummer beat on a table while you all paddle with your pretend paddles made out of PVC pipe made by one of your teammates. You see the key to successful dragon boating is not brute strength…but brute precision. The ability to work as a team and paddle in unison is much more important then having a bunch of big ass dudes on the boat….although we have those too. You see, the person that paces the boat sits in the very first seat on the right-hand side. The drummer keys off of this person…and the entire boat keys off the drummer and this person. I am that person..not the drummer…the pacer. This is our first year putting together our own team. This will be my third year on a boat and Skips fifth. Other years we were on a VERY uncompetitive boat sponsored by his sisters accounting firm…get the idea? So after getting spanked by over 30 other teams last year Skip vowed never again and the idea of a dragon boat to compete was born. I’m just kind of along for the ride because he knows I will set one bitchin pace and I have the strength to keep it up for 3 different races. Skip and another fella from his work have hand picked a team of 20 paddlers with 3 or 4 alternates based on strength, ability and want. You have to have a minimum of 8 females in the boat and after 4 practices…things are looking pretty good. We figure that if we can get to the point of sticking together on land…the water shouldn’t be such a reach. I guess we’ll see…we’ll only have 3 water practices to figure it out..but by then we’ll have been practicing together for over 10 months.

Anyways…hope everyone enjoys their weekend. We’re in for a bit more soft weather before old man winter gives us a swift kick in the pants next week. Looks like it’s going to be a white Thanksgiving in Wisconsin…I’m so not ready for this.

Barefoot Glass Encounters

So it was supposed to be an easy 10 mile run at below marathon goal pace….that soo didn’t happen. I really wonder what is up on these kind of runs. Is your head just not in the game? Is your body rebelling against what your mind says it has to do? Either way…this run just wasn’t happening. I made it 3.6 miles before I stopped in by my friends work..tucked my shoes under her car and took off barefoot to complete a very unimpressive 8 miles. Now those first 3.6 I did manage to keep below pace goal…but it was SUCH a struggle. I ran on some trails behind V’s highschool which reminds me that I have to take him back there and show him the ponds so he can get some fishing before it gets too cold.
I noticed several things on this run. Ditching the shoes brought almost an instant relief to the bonk. I stopped worrying about pace because I know I can’t hit it yet without shoes. I relaxed without even trying and just enjoyed this beautiful day…even knowing it would probably be one of the last.


I also had a first today. I stepped on a decent shard of glass. I thought I’d hit a pesky little rock that didn’t want to shake loose and after a few steps of it still bugging me…I stopped to brush it off and saw a shiny chunk of clear glass embedded in the bottom of my foot. But instead of pulling it out and it bleeding..I just picked it off….it had not even broke skin! I was completely blown away and I guess I must be doing something right because if I’d stepped on that a couple months ago my foot would have been a bloody mess. I really didn’t have any expectations with starting barefoot running….so I really haven’t thought much about the physical changes happening to me…but it is crazy how different they are already. The bottoms of my feet are not torn up and ugly..or even hard. I told Skip about it when I got home and likened it to pushing something into play dough except that it bounces back better. Good stuff.


I’ve also been thinking more and more about winter. I think I’m going to try and find some water socks to do my shorter runs in. I have a pair from Dragon Boat racing but they’re too small when I tried them with socks…so I need to try and find some still for sale this time of year. As for keeping my feet conditioned..I’ve read about gravel marching…and I think that’s going to be the way I have to go. I just don’t think I can do the treadmill. Why am I going to invest hundreds of dollars on something that I will dread going near? Doesn’t make sense.


Happy running folks..however you go about it!

Barefoot Running Around the Hospital

With daylight savings I am loosing my sunlight for my Tuesday night runs…which blows. I can’t run barefoot in the dark…not yet and I think probably not ever. So I took my gear to work and bolted out 15 minutes early in order to be able to knock out a few miles in the light. It was an EXCELLENT barefoot run. I think I did my fastest pace to date and went 4.5 miles. I truly felt like I was flying even though it’s still so much slower then my shod time…I wonder why it feels faster? The area around the hospital is largely unpopulated and wide open so it actually was and is a perfect place to run barefoot. There is nothing on the sidewalks and it was full dark by the time I was done and I had no mishaps. My feet feel great…no blisters…and I feel strong. And if I had decided to slice my foot open or some other weird thingy…I couldn’t have been in a more perfect place with the ER a stones throw away…HA! I think I may keep doing this as winter looms.
On the work front. I HATE Wednesdays at the clinic. There is SO much negativity and hostility amongst the old ladies that I can barely stand it. They are never happy…there is no workplace get along and they are all so stuck in their ways and NO one does it right but them..not even each other and especially not someone under 40! I don’t know how other people feel….but I’m of the mind that work doesn’t have to be a big stupid drag…and as long as you’re doing what you’re supposed to in a timely manner…there is nothing wrong with both having a decent time doing it….and enjoying the company of the people that you spend more time with then your family. And I think those feelings resonate to the patients who in turn feel more comfortable while they are there. I take care of the working man…you don’t get much more blue collar then Occupational Medicine, so generally speaking…my patients don’t work in the most wonderful environments….so coming to us may be the nice part of their day…when they get out of the heat of the factory or the cold of the outdoors…by god..can’t it at least be as pleasant as possible? Eh screw it….there’s really nothing I can do except keep being awesome and put on the happy face……and maybe someday…someday.

So that’s my semi-midweek ramblings. Ten or bust below target marathon pace in the morning! Have a great week!

20 San Fran Miles

Where to begin? This was not a couples vacation per say. Skip was working every day and I was trolling around the city. Now this sounds like it wouldn’t be any fun for all involved but that’s just not how the two of us are made. We’re both very content on our own…and the only time we saw each other in San Francisco was in the evenings for dinner….and very relaxing sleep.



Monday

Much to my surprise the plane did not plummet into the earth as I am always certain it will. It was a smooth flight with no hassle on either end. Skip had flown in the night before and started at whatever it is he does on Monday morning so I shuttled from the airport and got to our hotel in the financial district in the early afternoon. As soon as I put my things away I hunted up the concierge and told him I needed a 5 mile route for that day and at least an 18 miler on Wednesday that included running the Golden Gate Bridge. This dude wasn’t a runner but was a wonderful help. Took out a map of the city and routed me a 5 miler for the evening and what he thought to be about a 15 miler for Wednesday..he was wrong. It was a beautiful evening and I kept my shoes on for the first mile…then took them off and had an extremely pleasant barefoot run along the bay side of the city. Tons of runners….tons of people…awesome.

Love these guys!

I went back to the hotel…showered, took a nap. We headed down to Fishermen’s Wharf and Pier 39 for dinner at the Crab House and were eating dinner when the Giants won the World Series. The town went absolute apeshit and it was a site to behold. We didn’t get tons of sleep that night due to the shenanigans of downtown and a town that had never won a series before…it was so cool.


Tuesday

Coit Tower



Lombard Street

 I got up whenever….knowing there would be no exercise that day…I never do shit the day before a long run. I grabbed a map and my bag and headed out to see what the tower that was straight out from our hotel room was all about. Let me just pause and say that I have the utmost respect for the people that live in this town. These hills are no joke people. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and I was dying trying to hike some of these streets…..so the no exercise the day before a long run was kinda a bust…but I saw TONS of the city.


Skip and I did dinner at the Fog City Diner…rest…repeat. Do you see the trend here?


Wednesday


I packed up my not inconsiderable amount of shit that I was taking on my long run and headed out…map in hand…for my attempt at a 20 mile run for no other reason then to see if I could do it. This was not a run for time…staying in downtown and the elevation difference would see to that, but I was ok with it. People were already lining the streets at 8 in the morning for the parade that was coming later that day…the Giants were coming home from Texas and this was serious business. What did amuse me was the other runners I saw that morning and how they were dressed. It was in the low 60’s I’d say when I started out and I was in a tank top and shorts and quite comfortable. The other runners were in running tights, long sleeve tech shirts and hats….too funny.



I made my way through town to the opening of Golden Gate Park. They had the most lovely paths and sooo green everywhere. It was a perfect start and by the time I got through the park I already had 7miles in and was staring at the Pacific Ocean. Now I’m not sure exactly what the concierge saw when he looked at me but he must have mistaken me for a trail running enthusiast because the next TON of miles was crazy off road trails and hills like nobodys business. SUCKED BIG TIME…but the view made it easier. I just kept looking off at the Golden Gate and thinking….that’s what you came here to do lady..now get yer ass to it. And I did….about 14 miles in. The bridge is about 3.5 miles or so if you run it both ways so by the time I was off it I had pushing 18 miles done. If I’d continued the path dude gave me it would have been closer to 22 miles then the 20 I wanted…so I rerouted myself and finished the 20…the last mile or so being uphill.

Heading for the Golden Gate

Finally made it!

A Bridge with a view

20.10 miles….elevation gain 1,707 feet….4 hours 6 minutes and holy crap it was something.

Went back to the hotel…took a nap…went to dinner with Skips work people. Hit China Town…I was tall there…first place ever. Went to bed..very content and not very sore surprisingly.


Thursday


Got up at 5 AM god help me. Ground out 4 miles on the treadmill. Showered…got on an airplane and went home…hello Wisconsin.

So here's what I know this week. 

If I can run 20 miles in San Francisco I can run a marathon here...tomorrow if I had to.  Now I can relax till January when I start actual training.  I'll still keep my maintenance long run of 10 miles once a week until then.  I almost have my plan finalized in my head and need to get it down on paper before it leaves me.

I love California....but would never want to live there.

A treadmill will be a last resort with me..I HATE those things.

The people Skip works with are terribly impressed with him...rightfully so too.

I have a bit of a hard time knowing what to do with myself when I have nothing I HAVE to do.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful, relaxing weekend!