Meltdown Currently Suspended

The last time I bothered to update my blog, I was having a knee situation.

Ice on the back and the front. Yes, I wear flip flops to work.

Now normally, I wouldn't worry too much about that. I might give myself a break from running until it felt better, which is just me not feeling bad about any sort of desire to plant my ass on my couch instead of running. Better lazy safe, than sorry, right? Then I'd proceed to take more time off of running than necessary and call it "resting my injury" which is just code for "I'm addicted to Netflix and I can't stop watching long enough to put on running clothes."

In all of my 4 years of racing, I've never been too freaked out about a tweaked joint or muscle, but my knee had me on a downward spiral that was starting to border lunacy. After all, the New York City Marathon is less than two weeks away.

Last Monday night, I ran 4 miles on my bad knee and I was okay, but definitely worried about how I would feel at mile 15, 18, or 22 of the marathon. I've trained for this marathon 3 years in a row - 2012 was cancelled, 2013 deferred and 2014 is my last shot. To say I was going into freak out mode is an understatement. I don't think I could have finished a half, let alone a full.

So after a fair amount of wailing, whining and crying, a friend of mine made me an appointment with a naturopathic joint specialist. He actually got on the phone and made the appointment, most likely in an effort to keep me from bothering him every 5 seconds.

Long story short- I had prolotherapy done on my knee, which is where they inject glucosamine, glucose, procaine, etc, into the joint and it promotes self healing without using steroids. Being a naturopathic clinic, they use hydrocortisone as a last resort. The doctor told me that if I was still having trouble, they'd do a steroid injection.

 

Well, let me tell you: they inject a decent amount of fluid into the joint. So I left the clinic in much worse shape than when I walked in. I could barely walk. And now I was worried that I had made a huge mistake. When I walked in, I was still capable of running and barely capable of even walking on my way out.

Luckily, I was able to walk the next day and it's gotten better each day since the procedure. This morning was the first day since my injection on Thursday that my knee felt better than pre-injection.

Hallelujah. Now I can finally calm the fuck down. Just to show how seriously I've taken this, I haven't even ridden my horse (my trainer has ridden him, though) and that almost never happens. I just can't risk this marathon. I've worked too hard to get here.

 

I was supposed to run the Lake Powell Half on Saturday as my last long run, but I stayed home. I haven't run since last Monday, and I still think it would be prudent to give it another couple of days. I'm concerned about losing a bit of my endurance, but I guess being able to toe the line of the NYCM start is better than watching from the sidelines.

In short, I'm back to being excited for the NYC Marathon.

And speaking of Netflix, I'm now obsessed with Reign. I watched the first four episodes last night, which means I got four hours of sleep. So damn good! Is anyone else watching this show? Let's discuss, mmmm'kay?

 

 

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When is the right time to freak out?

So, some super cool stuff just happened in my little world. And then something not so cool. Yes, I have been running. Two weekends ago, I ran 18 miles. I contemplated doing a 20 miler this past weekend, but truly, there wasn't spot to fit it in because I had the awesome opportunity to ride in a clinic with an Olympic Medalist in dressage.

Just a little intimidating...

This is the second time I've ridden with him, but this time was such a huge improvement over when I rode with him in April. Riding with this caliber of trainer is always intimidating, but Louie also happens to be a quarter horse, which are not typically an ideal breed for dressage. I was a little apprehensive going into it.

Not the best angle, but he sure is cute!

Well, I needn't have worried because little Louie was a superstar. I rode harder than I've ridden in a long time and Conrad Schumacher told me that he liked him and that, "this horse wouldn't be as nice as he is if I wasn't such a good rider." He also told my trainer that he thought Louie could go up the levels, which is always questionable with a western bred horse. Eeeeeeeee!!! Awesome, right?

So I spent the rest of the weekend in a self congratulatory haze feeling all amazing and like the world was my oyster and nothing could ruin it for me.

Then on Sunday night, I felt a weird tightness in my right knee and the freaking out started. Then I really started freaking out last night when it still hurt. I ran 4 miles and I wasn't crippled, but 4 miles is somewhat shy of 26 and I'm starting to really lose my shit because I have a wee little marathon coming up in less 3 weeks.

Please work, please work, please work...

So this has been me all day at work: leg elevated and ice every half hour. I've also been less than pleasant to be around, according to my coworkers. But I don't believe them.

Someone please help me calm the fuck down because I'm pretty sure that my amazing weekend of riding is the cause of my knee issue. I refuse to call it an injury because I refused to be injured. Aaaaaaaahhhhh! Why now?!?! Why????!!!!

So feel free to just reassure me that everything is going to be fine. Even if you're lying because I'm planning on ignoring things I don't like right now. It's how I roll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Disappointment and Sportsmanship

I planned on writing a very different accounting of this event when I wrote it in my head. And trust me, I've been writing it in my head for awhile now, planning out the best way to tell you all about my amazingness. (Humbly bragging, of course, because no one likes a cocky asshole.)

In case you had any doubt...

Now, most of you know I am not the most serious of runners. I can admit that. Running is something I do because I love racing and I have a hard time putting effort into things without a goal in mind. If I don't sign up for races, I have a very hard time just going out and running for the love of it or even for my health. I need goals, but I also don't freak out (usually) if I don't have a stellar performance. I basically run races for fun.

One thing I am absolutely dedicated to is riding. I ride 5 days a week, and we train hard. That doesn't include all of the care, prep work, etc., that also goes along with horse ownership. I've shown more in the last two years with Louie than I have since I was a teenager.

The competition year for the USDF, which in this case means United States Dressage Federation, runs from October 1st through Septempber 31st. There are national standings by level and by breed.

A couple months ago, I found myself sitting in 2nd place in the national standings for Louie's breed. You have to meet certain requirements, file breed declarations, show a certain number of times, etc.

Yes, that's Lou's real name.

 

Exciting, right? Now even though my horse trainer blasted this news on Facebook, I'm really superstitious about counting my chickens before they hatch. But even so, I maintained my reserve champion (2nd place) standing until last week. So, of course, I was blogging in my head about Louie's amazingness and was ready to write a very different post. I mean, the season is almost over.

I knew the girl behind me had little hope of catching me because it's all based on averages and she most likely wouldn't have enough time to bump up her average that much. What I didn't expect was for someone to come out of nowhere two weeks from the end and land in the champion spot, effectively knocking us all down a slot.

So, why is this such a big deal? I mean, he's still in the top 5. In the country.

Well, because there is a national awards gala event held every year that honors Champion and Reserve Champion winners. It's a black tie event. You receive a medal and recognition. Third place gets a certificate in the mail.

So, yeah. I'm pretty disappointed. In my mind, I had already sealed the deal. Even at this point, I could get knocked out of third, but it wouldn't be as big of a blow as getting knocked out of second. Or if all top 5 were recognized and received an award, it wouldn't sting as much. Just getting a certificate isn't quite as exciting.

My very first horse trainer absolutely wouldn't tolerate unsportsmanlike behavior, so I was never a kid that wanted to beat anyone in particular. I wanted to win, don't get me wrong, but growing up in the horse show world, you learn a lot about disappointment. I'm sure the top two riders didn't work any less hard than I did and I'm sure the girl in second feels pretty crappy, too, because she was in the lead for months and got knocked down a placing with only two weeks left in the show year.

There's always next year, right?

 

 

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Longer, Faster, More

Yesterday morning, Lara and I met at 5:00am for our long run. The plan was to do 14 miles. Now for the last month, all of our long runs have been in the double digits which is about the most consistent training I have done in years.

Good morning, Scottsdale!

 

Also, they've all ended rather miserably with my hips tightening up and my feet killing me. We had done some speed work on Thursday and I reported that it was the first run in forever where I actually felt good about running.

Hidden Mickey

 

Well, I'm happy to say that Thursday's run wasn't just a fluke. I actually felt pretty good for almost the entire run. Sure, I felt pretty beat when I sat down in my car, but I also felt like I could have continued for at least a little bit farther and that is always an amazing feeling. Granted, this time I was smart and took some Advil before our run. I know some people are against taking NSAIDs before running, but it really helps me. So I'm not advocating that others should do it... But it totally helped me not want to die at mile 10. Plus, I only took two.

 

Random bike and tent. Not sure that's happening here...

 

It has been really humid in Arizona this summer, but it wasn't quite as miserable as it has been so that was nice. Every 10 years or so we have what is called an El Niño year where we get a considerable amount of rain. Looks like we're having one this year, because we've had crazy storms and flooding. The desert looks like a meadow. Although we haven't been running in the desert because I'm so sick of seeing that same scenery over and over and over. We've been running along golf courses, which are pretty hilly. Even though the hills are small, there's a ton of them so we're getting in some hill work, too.

 

This is not supposed to be a pond.

Anyway, we ended up doing 14.5 miles and I didn't want to die. I consider that a win. We took way less walk breaks and the breaks were took were shorter. Our overall pace was faster (although that really applies more to me than Lara because she's capable of running faster than me any day).

Not really a problem...

 

So yeah, two runs in a row that I'm feeling good about. Months ago, I had a goal of running NYC Marathon in sub 5, but I don't think it's possible. I've been way more consistent about training but to pull that off, I should have trained harder this spring. C'est la vie. Plus, this way I can go into that race just soaking everything in. I definitely want pictures and I want to remember every second because I know it's the most amazing race there is.

I've run past this light for the last 5 weeks and I never noticed how cool it is.

Later, I went to Chipotle and ordered a gigantic lunch. While I was in line, I saw this teenaged girl wearing floaties on her arms. I saw the same thing at a restaurant last weekend. Is this a thing? It's so ridiculous, that I couldn't stop staring. Did my generation do things this weird and now I'm just old so I think it's dumb?

So weird.

Only 41 days until the New York City Marathon. Eeeeeee!!!

This blog post was brought to you today by the letter M. For Marathon, of course!

 

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Whoa, A Post Where I Don't Whine

So, Wednesday night (I actually wrote this yesterday but forgot to post it), the alien billy goat, a.k.a. Lara, and I did an actual speed and tempo run. We stayed off the trail because Lara's billy goat abilities failed her last week and she fell on the mountain and fractured her arm.

I took the rainbow as a sign my run would be magical.

 

Never fear, though, Lara is running just fine and also is riding her horse. And as much as I want to sometimes murder her on our long runs when she says things like, "'we're almost done" when we still have like 5 miles to go, I know I'd never get long runs in without her.

Magical.

 

Anyway, we did 5 miles and I really pushed myself. The first mile was slow to warm up and the next mile we picked it up a bit. On the third mile we picked it up even more and on the fourth mile we did intervals between light posts. We took a walk break for about a quarter mile and then really pushed the rest of the last mile.

Had to stop for this picture, of course.

 

You know what? I actually felt good. It has been so long since I had a run where I actually got a runner's high that I'd forgotten how good it can feel. Consistency actually does pay off, my friends. Who knew?

Plus, the scenery was amazing even if the humidity was ridiculous. I said I wasn't going to complain, so I'll let my weather app do that for me.

Also humid. Don't forget that!

 

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It Might Be Time To Freak Out

I keep thinking I have all sorts of time to train for the NYC Marathon, but it's getting frighteningly closer. I keep checking the New York Road Runners page, not for marathon updates, but for swag updates. Because God knows, I am going to go cray cray buying things with that logo on it.

But then I saw the count down. (Cue ominous music here)

Well, yikes. That's pretty close.

I've actually been training, but it's not pretty. Like, at all. I've done several double digit runs, but I've been hovering in the 12 to 13 mile range, because, well, anything longer just blows. Plus, being the slow turtle-like runner that I am and the Florida-esque humidity along with the Arizona hellish heat, it has just been really, really miserable. I know, I know, boo hoo. Suck it up.

My new awesome weather app.

 

I keep imagining how much nicer the weather will be in NYC, but it will be crappy here until pretty much the weekend before we leave. In a lot of ways, I keep wanting to just blow it all off and wing it, but I also don't want to have a completely horrible experience. After all, how many times will I get the opportunity to run this race?

In the meantime, I've been trolling the NYRR store website. In 2012, they offered really cool finisher jackets for pre-order that you could have delivered right to your hotel the next day. How cool is that?! This year's finisher jackets haven't been released, yet, but there's other cool stuff.

A little pricey for a t-shirt, but I want it.

 

Water bottle? Yes, please.

Of course, the thing I'm really holding out for is the Asics NYCM back pack. My sister got me one from when I was supposed to run it in 2012 as a gift. Now, it doesn't have the year on it, but it has the old ING logo. NYRR has partnered up with TCS and the logo is different. So of course, I need a new one, right? Right?

The answer is yes. I'm a sucker for awesome backpacks and the Asics NYCM backpack is really reasonably priced and really good quality. At least the one I have is. I haven't seen the new one, but I emailed them and they assured me that one would be offered this year. #priorities

Somebody help me use restraint. Anyway, looking at merchandise helps motivate me to get out there and run. Mainly by scaring the shit out me.

This app is the best. Seriously.

 

 

 

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Medal Monday

Lately, I've been trolling eBay. You see, last year I found these amazing casual boots through an online saddle shop and I love them. Mainly because they fit. I'm a short person with giant calves, so tall boots of any kind are really hard for me to find. You don't even want to know what my custom riding boots cost me. Trust me, I nearly choke when I think about it.

Now imagine these babies in black.

Anyway, I bought these boots in brown, but at the time, I really wished they were black, because black is my favorite color to wear. They actually fit, thanks to the adjustable straps and they are comfortable to wear all day long. The saddle shop I ordered them from only offered brown, so it didn't occur to me that they might come in black.

I happened to look at the inside of the boot and realized that they are made by a completely different company than is advertised by the tack store. So I hopped online and found similar boots by that company on eBay. I held out and kept looking for the specific boot and finally the heavens opened up, rainbows appeared, angels sang and those very same boots appeared in black. It was like I won the lottery. (I believe in having low expections in life.)

Anyway, of course I bought them. And they cost less than my original pair. Score! They have yet to arrive, or even actually ship from the seller even though I ordered them 8 days ago (but who's counting, right?) but I'm waiting on pins and needles for them to show up.

And thus, an addiction to eBay was born. You can find all sorts of random shit on there. It's fun to shop around. So, of course, I searched marathon medals.

Now, I don't really care if people want to sell their medals, to be honest. Personally, I don't see myself selling mine, but on the other hand, I've raced a lot in the last 4 years, so I have a pretty good collection at this point. I can see why someone might sell theirs. What I am curious about is who would actually buy them?

$50?? Hmmmmm...

Especially if it's from a recent runDisney event. I could understand replacing a lost medal or a damaged one, but I know runDisney is pretty good about helping out their runners. I heard about someone getting their Dopey medals stolen out of their luggage and runDisney replaced them.

$149.99?! Notice the lack of bids?

I definitely couldn't imagine parting with a Boston medal.

I could understand wanting a vintage medal, say from an early Boston Marathon or New York City. Or maybe one of the early Mickey medals.

 

I do like these old school medals.

The one thing all of these medals up for auction have in common is that they have zero bids. So I guess there's not a huge market for them. Anyway, it's fun to search them out just to see. Last week, I saw a collection of Coast to Coast medals priced at $399. I think there were maybe 7 of them.

In the meantime, I'll just keep trolling eBay for lost treasures.

 

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