Major Setback

Got the results today.  It's my Achilles. (Isn't that what I've been telling the doctor for over 3 months now!)  Good news he said, I don't need surgery.  Bad news, I can't run.  He's sending me to physical therapy for a month to see if it helps.  If not, then he will go in with a needle to make the tendon bleed to promote healing.  Doesn't that sound fun!

I am so bummed.  I need to continue to run.  I have to start my marathon training in August.  In order to be ready to start my marathon training in August, I need to be running now.  Do you get my issue here?!

The doctor said he understood I wasn't hearing anything but bad news.  He stated he realized he took away my "crack."  But I could do the elliptical or ride a bike for exercise.  That's when I started pouting and said "I hate the elliptical!"

So now I'm wallowing in self pity.  It's leading to this...

Yep, drowning my sorrows in Diet IBC Root Beer!  This really sucks.

Bummed

So I haven't posted in awhile cause I've been bummed.  My leg has been bothering me so I haven't been running like I want to.  I had my MRI.  Now I'm just waiting to see if they found anything.  I go Tuesday to see the results.  I think this is Crazy M MRI month since both the husband and I have had one in June.  Of course the husband's showed he needed shoulder replacement surgery.  I pray mine is just a teeny tiny lil thing that can get fixed easy and fast.  I really just hope they found something.

On a fun note, I entered a Mud Quest Adventure Run with my best friend from high school.  It's not till October 2 but I can't wait.  We picked the Conquest course which is 3.5 miles long with 19-21 obstacles.  It's gonna be a messy blast!  I promise to have lots of pictures when the time comes.

Other than the speed bump with my running, everything else is going well.  My eating is great and the weight continues on a downward slide.  Calorie counting is truly the easiest way I have found to control my eating.  But I guess it's all about discipline.  I know someone that is trying to do the same thing and she continually sabotages herself.  I've tried to help her and she continually asks me for advice but no matter what I say, it is up to her to follow thru.  Maybe someday it will hit her.  I know I've fallen short many times before I was able to get on track and stick with it.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Guess What I Found Out...

NOTHING!  Yep, that's why I hate going to the doctor.  He looked at my leg again.  Then said we could do two things, either go to physical therapy and see how that helps OR do an ultrasound, see if we can find what exactly is wrong, then do injections.  Well, first off, I'm not a big fan of physical therapy.  I get bored very easily. Second, I want to know WHAT IS WRONG!!  Really, don't guess, let's find out.  Third, I have to get this leg fixed by August.  That's when I start my serious training for the marathon.

So the doctor did the ultrasound.  And guess what, found nothing.  Couldn't see anything wrong.  Just my luck.  Again, this is why I don't go to the doctor.  Always happens to me.  It hurts.  I know it hurts.  It's not in my head.  Yet can't find anything.  I sometimes wonder if doctors think you are exaggerating about the problem.  Or you're just a pansy and it really doesn't hurt as bad as you say.  All these things run thru my head as I'm sittin' there.  So tomorrow I am having an MRI done.  I told the husband I'm sure it won't show anything either.  Don't get me wrong, I want to find something.  Something to give me validation for my pain.  But the reality of it is they may not see anything which just ticks me off!

Of course, the doc said if it hurts to run, don't run.  But he knew I wouldn't stop. Plus I've ran on it this long hurting, why stop now?

One positive note today, I've lost 5 lbs since June 3!!! This calorie counting thing is so easy.  Just have to be disciplined and stick with it.

Takin' It Easy

Yesterday was suppose to be my easy day, a 2 mile run.  I tried using an ankle brace.  Wanted to see if that would help.  Well, it didn't.  I think it actually bothered me more than my actual leg pain.  I ended up only running 1 measly mile.  What a bummer.

Then the husband called me at work this morning.  He called my doctor and scheduled an appointment for Monday.  He said we were going to find out what was going on.  He told the receptionist that he was coming to the appointment with me and we were going to get to the bottom of this!  Oh my, I can hardly wait for this appointment.  The doctor has no idea what he has in store for him dealing with the husband!

Today is my off day.  The leg has been sore all day.  Tomorrow is suppose to be my long run day but we won't be home.  I'm waiting till Sunday evening to run it.  Hoping my leg will feel better after a few days rest. We'll see.

In other news, I wanted to share a few websites I've found very helpful.  First one is MyFitnessPal.  I totally love this free site.  I use it to count my calories daily. You can access it online or via an IPhone.  My weight has been coming off using this program.  Of course, I'm very strict about remaining in my calorie range.  It's a great tool.

Another site is Eating Well.  They provide all kinds of healthy recipes.  I subscribe to their newsletter.  Right now, they have healthy recipes for homemade ice cream.  Yummy!  I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for a recipe that has a few less calories.

Are there any healthy websites you use on a regular basis?  Let me know about them.

Self-Deprecation, Party of One

Some days I really feel like an athlete.  Striding down the road, full of myself and my abilities.  But then there are days that I feel like a wannabe runner.  That was me today.  As I'm joggin' down the road, thoughts are runnin' thru my head:

"you are SO slow."

"hope no one sees you running, they'll wonder why you're even trying."

"what were you thinkin' entering a marathon."

"you're never gonna make it."

"you don't even push yourself"

And it goes on and on.  I don't really know why today was so bad.  I'm very critical of myself.  I knew my pace was slow and it went downhill from there.  I try to speed up but my legs feel heavy.  Then I feel defeated.  Then I get mad.  I was suppose to run 30 minutes.  I think it should be easy for me to complete 3 miles in that time.  But I don't so I make myself keep running until I do hit 3 miles.  And it only took me 31:10.  I was just over a 10 min/mile.  Realistically, I should be okay with that all things considered.  So why wasn't I?

Grasshopper-palooza

I stepped out of the truck today and noticed the ground move!  Seriously, I had to take a second look.  Realized it was grasshoppers.  Grasshoppers EVERYWHERE.  I knew I would need my ninja moves along this run.  Sure enough, I was bombarded.  They attacked me from every side.  A few grabbed hold but not for long.  I think they were trying to take me down!  Are grasshoppers carnivores?  I'm almost certain these were!

Anyhow, my run was good.  My tempo was much better today.  But my leg was hurting.  It hurt all day.  I tried stretching out good before my run.  Used my rubber band and everything.  I think it made it hurt worse.  So now I'm icing it.  Maybe that will help.  I'm gonna pick up an ankle brace tomorrow.  I saw on WebMD that immobilizing may help.  See I went to a doctor, Mr. WebMD!

On a side note, I lost 3 lbs last week.  Magically, when I count the calories I put in my mouth, my butt gets smaller!  Wow, what a concept!

Time: 25 minutes
Pace: 9.79

Longer Run

I put my longer run off till this morning.  I thought it might be better to run it in the morning instead of yesterday evening.  The wind has been blowing and the humidity has been horrible.  Figured at least I would have cooler temps in the AM.  Come to find out, I don't think it would have mattered.

I was fighting my head today.  About half way thru, I wanted to stop.  Just kept tellin' myself there was no good reason to stop.  I was only tired.  Nothing wrong.  Then I thought about Navy Wife and her last post.  She talked about the same thing and training her mind for mental endurance.  Well, I had a lot of training to do today!  My mental endurance sucked!  But I took it in small increments.  Just do 5 more minutes, than 5 more.  Finally I hit the finish.  I have lots of work to do by December.

On another note, my achilles is still giving me fits.  The husband wants me to go back to the doctor.  I say no because he will most likely make me quit running again.  I know, I don't make sense.  But I don't want to get sidelined.  If it gets really bad, I'll go back.  Until then, I deal with it.  (I so sound like the husband when he was riding!)

Run time: 40 mins
Pace: 10:69

Blah...

You ever feel like that?  Today was suppose to be my "off" day.  But yesterday I ate bad BBQ for lunch and felt bad all evening.  So I switched my days.  Got home today after a busy day at work and was beat.  So tired I tried to lay down and take a power nap.  Didn't work very well.  I was just NOT motivated to run.  Plus it is windy and hot and humid and etc.  I could think of so many excuses not to get my butt out there.  But I put my running clothes on and headed out.  I haven't missed a run in three weeks.  This was not going to be the first just because I didn't "feel" like it.

I took a different route on my blacktop today.  For some reason, I've never ran the opposite way.  I think the biggest reason is there are residences that way and I'm not sure about dogs.  But today was the day to find out.  Only saw one dog at a cattle/trucking place.  Dog didn't care one bit that I was running by.  Hardly raised his head to acknowledge me.  That makes me happy.

I came across a skunk on my trek.  I didn't ever see it but I could smell it.  I just told it to stay where it was and I would stay where I was.  No issues there.  Almost back to the truck, I encountered another critter.  A SNAKE!  Luckily, it was just a lil green grass snake, about 2 foot long.  It slithered so quickly across the road in front of me that I couldn't even get a picture.

But all in all, a run can't be that bad if it ends like this...



Today's run: 25 min
Pace: 10:31

I'm So Miffed!

I was all ready for my run today.  My last run was great.  Today it was raining and cool.  Perfect for a jog.  With Mike (Iphone) in hand, I headed out.  As I'm running down my blacktop, I see white up ahead.  White?  Please tell me they didn't!  Please!  Sure enough, I get up to the "white" and the county had covered the top of the blacktop road with rock!  Now my nice smooth running path is a rocky, ankle twisting maze.  I was so mad!

After I got past that section, I continued on my way.  Then sure enough, there's more!  I hate it.  I have to slow down to a crawl.  If a vehicle comes, I have to stop all together cause I can't safely run on the side of the road with all the large loose rocks.  And how many vehicles passed me today......record setting 6 (4 trucks, 1 car and a semi)!  What the heck!

Doesn't that look like a mess to run thru!  Well, it is.  I came home and called the husband.  He asked what I was going to do about it.  I asked if he would take the tractor and scrap it up!

On a positive note, I'm officially entered in the White Rock Marathon!!!

Todays run: 30 minutes
Pace: 10:10

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

First let me say, IPhone ROCKS!  Okay, now that I have that out of the way, I'll explain my outburst.  I downloaded an app called Jog Log.  Thru GPS, it measures your distance and pace.  It also calculates calories burned.  Also maps your run.  All kinds of cool stuff.

I thought I would try it out today.  I was pumped.  Got it all cued up and hit the road.  I was feelin' great today.  Could tell that I was scootin' along faster than usual.  I checked my pace and was estatic.  Mainly because I've felt like a slug lately.  I get the to end of my road (1.25 miles) in 11:58.  Faster than I've ran it since I started three weeks ago.  Woohoo!

I head back.  Mid-way, my phone rings!  It's the husband.  I'm huffin' and puffin'.  Tell him I'm running.  He says goodbye.  I look down and see a message on the Jog Log.  I think it says "do you want to resume your paused run?"  So I push yes and keep going.  Few seconds later, the thing beeps and it's stopped.  WHAT!!!  I'm running and pushing on the screen, running and agitated that I can't figure it out.  Running wondering what the heck is going on.  I finish the run in a huff.

Turns out, I think it said "do you want to continue to pause your run?"  Geez louise!  Luckily, I set my watch when I started so I got the end time.  I'm such a number freak though.  I want to know what I did, how fast I did it, etc.  Then I want to be able to compare the next runs.  I figure at least I got part of the run logged.  So I come home and try looking at it.  Up comes the message to resume run, I press No.  Then try to look at the log to see what I had done.  NOTHING THERE!  Somehow I screwed it up so much that it didn't even save the first part of the run.  WHY????

Oh well, maybe I will figure it out.  Or maybe the IPhone is just too smart for me.  Good 'ol faithful watch clocked my 2.5 mile at 24:15.  I'll take it!

Calorie Counting

Yep, I went back to loggin' my food.  I found it to be the best way for me to control my eating.  I'm tired of low fat this, no sugar that.  When it comes down to it, it's all about calorie intake and calorie burn.  So I've set a limit to the amount of calories I'm allowing myself to take in daily.  My goal is 1200-1300 a day.  I'm eating a lot more veggies and fruit to keep my hunger at bay while taking in less.  It has been going extremely well.

I started my food journal off the old fashion way, carrying a piece of paper around, writing down everything and the calorie count.  But then, I got an I Phone yesterday!!!! Holy crap, it's awesome (and only $97 at Wal-Mart!)!!  I got an app called My Fitness Pal.  I log what I eat and it keeps track of everything.  Best thing ever!

I have followed my running plan to the T.  Haven't skipped out on one run yet.  There have been a few days when I really didn't want to get out there, but I kicked myself in the butt.  Once I was running, I was glad with my decision.  I'm not real happy with my progress.  Seems like I'm still struggling.  I've been running the same stretch of black top road for two weeks now.  Doesn't seem any easier.  That gets me a little discouraged.  But I'm gonna stick with it.

I've also decided on the marathon I will run.  It's the Whiterock in Dallas, scheduled for December 5th.  It will be a week after my 34th birthday.  What's a better way to celebrate?!  I also found out that the race benefits the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital.  They allow people to sponsor a runner by making donations.  So I have set up a donation page.  I figure I might as well make the most out of this.  It should benefit someone else besides me.  I will be putting a link to the site in the near future.

Besides that, nothing new.  Thought I would share a few pics of my running path with ya.

Here's where I start...

My usual audience...

The harvested wheat fields...

Headed back...

More onlookers...

The finish line.  My truck waiting patiently for me.

I live about a half mile down the caliche road.  You may wonder why I drive to where I run.  Well, let me just say, I'm not the most graceful person.  I tend to hurt myself on the most mundane things.  It's best that I don't jog on caliche.