Training Day 1

If I were allowed to jump up and down, I would be jumping around the office right now.  FINALLY! Day 1 of my new training plan is here.  I get to start walking today (jumping is 3 weeks away)!  I will be walking every other day for 20 minutes on the tread mill at a pace of 4.2.  If I make it through the entire week without pain in my femur, I get to move to the next week – 20 minutes of walking everyday!  Best case scenario, I will be “running” in 4 more weeks.

I really am proud of myself for the way I’ve handled my injury. I definitely cried my share of tears when I found out I couldn’t run my marathon. I definitely cried when my dear friend Sara ran by me during the race.  (another Sara! I like friends with the same name – if your name is a version of Lindsay, Kerrie, or Sara, i will make you my friend!) I still haven’t found the willpower to get into the pool yet.  But I think I’m making the most out of an ugly situation.  I’m feeling stronger in my whole body now then I did after my 18 mile run. I’ve got a big injury behind me. I’m ready to come back faster, refocused, and wanting it so much more.

While stress fractures are a very common running injury especially in white women over the age of 30, the location of my stress fracture is not seen very often.  It is smack in the middle of my left femur (not near my hip). I’d like to think the titanium rods and 8 screws that I have in both my legs have nothing to do with it, but you never know.  The one rod is in the opposite femur and the other rod is in my left tibia.  Who knows what kind of impact that has on my running? (How did I end up with metal legs – sledding accident when I was 16! DO NOT SLED on a hill near stairs with hand railings)

After my sledding injury, all of my doctors and physical therapists had no idea how long it would be before I learned to walk again. They had no idea if I’d ever play sports again. I proved them all wrong. I walked 10 days after my surgery (assisted by my physical therapist and a walker, but I walked). I had to relearn everything, but I did it. I was even back playing volleyball 3 months after the accident. So…will a stress fracture keep me from running my next marathon? Absolutely not!

My stress fracture was a wake-up call to me.  I was so focused on running, following my training plan, and building up mileage that I ignored the rest of my body. I told myself over and over that after the marathon I would start strength training and start doing more cross-training.  I didn’t do it soon enough.  My body and my brain were trying to tell me that I need more than just running, but I didn’t listen. Looking back, I am lucky I didn’t get injured earlier.

Today is Day 1 of a healthier, more balance me.  I will not ignore what my body is telling me! If my leg hurts, I will go back and repeat the week prior.  It’s in writing now for the world to see – I can’t go back on my word!

Motivation for today’s Walk – below is a posting I made on my American Cancer Society fundraising page.  I absolutely love ah-ha moments when running.

I had my ah-ha run yesterday, thank goodness. I’ve been struggling the past few weeks with my running mentally. When I got home from work yesterday, I really didn’t feel like running. I went and saw Hood to Coast last night (SEE IT! IT IS AMAZING), so I knew I had to run before I went or I would feel guilty during the whole movie. I grabbed my rain coat and hat and ran my 4 miles in the pouring rain. Around mile 3, I was so frustrated with myself I wanted to scream. Physically I feel great and strong, but mentally I keep doubting myself. Last year when I trained for the Shamrock half-marathon I had so much motivation. Mentally I was strong and physically I was weak. At this point in my run, my thought process went something like this What motivated me last year? The thought of seeing my kiddo on the sideline cheering for me always chokes me up. Several people said they didn’t think I would actually do it since I had been talking about it forever. After all my runs, I thought to myself, “I told you I would do it!” 3 half-marathons later, everyone recognizes I’m too stubborn not to do it. By the time I finished my run yesterday, I was thinking to myself that I wish someone would come along and tell me I can’t do it so I can prove them wrong. And then it hit me. DUH! I’m the one who keeps telling myself I can’t do it. I literally felt all the self-doubt melt away. I really wanted to put my running shoes back and re-run my 4 miles, but I had to a movie to get too!
I know that there will be days I think I can’t do, so this is my reminder that I can. Saturday’s training run is 14 miles, my longest distance ever! It’s a good week to get my confidence back!

I killed it on that 14 mile run – I ran 14 miles faster than I have run any of my half-marathons! If you think you can’t do it, you can.  Don’t be the person that stands between you and what you want.  We all have a million reasons why we can’t do something, but they are just excuses. Go make yourself proud. Try it! If you want something, do it for yourself! Nothing feels better than achieving something on your own!  See ya’ll at the finish line!