The "I" word (insert scary music here)

I = Injury. Yep. Not sure to what extent, but I decided to cut my run very short this morning. All has been well in training up to this point. I even toughed out a 19-20 miler in hail, wind, sleet, and snow last week.

When I put my running shoes on this morning, the tops of my feet sort of felt bruised or sore, but after about 1/2 mile of running, they felt just fine. About 1/4 mile into the run, however, I stumbled a little on a trail as I was preparing to hop over a little log. I walked it off, felt no pain or discomfort and proceeded to run. About 4.5 miles later, however, the top of my right foot started hurting again. I stopped and walked and wiggled it around a little. Every time I curled my toes or pointed my foot, I would get a shooting pain from my big toe to the part where the foot becomes the shin. As long as I kept a dorsal flexed foot, I would not get that pain. So, with some upcoming races on the calendar, I decided to listen to my body and cut my run short. I immediately headed to Starbucks and got a bag of ice. After icing it down for about 20 minutes, the pain was almost gone. The area is still tender to the touch, but I am just going to keep doing the RICE thing (but probably without the "C") throughout the day and see how it feels tomorrow.

You know, very rarely do I ever have a good reason to cut a run short. It was very hard for me to walk away from this run today. I was really feeling good. I still feel like I could go out and do another 15, but my foot disagrees. 98 percent of my body feels like a cheater now. I am going to keep a positive and flexible mindset...if it means I need to walk, or crawl, or even roll through my marathons, I will do what I need to do to be able to meet my goals without further injury.

Finding me, little by little

Each week I am feeling more and more like I am back to my old self - the one that wishes nothing more than to have all of the time in the world to run whenever I want. For the first time in a very long time, I am planning to do a 20 miler alone and I am not worried about it. You see, one side effect of panic disorder is something called anticipatory anxiety, where you start to worry/get anxious about the fact that you might have another panic attack soon. It's a very torturous emotional state that you can't understand unless you live it. Fortunately, my only recent attacks have occurred when I was sleeping and in the safety of my own bed. It's almost as though my body has forgotten how to panic in public. I'm sure I will recall such memories when times get more stressed, but right now I am honestly not worried about it. Pfew! I never thought that I would ever get to this point in being able to manage this. In fact, the thing I am worried about most for this weekend is the fact that my faithful garmin is in "a coma" and I may have to estimate my mileage for the first time in weeks. I have become addicted to the many statistics that this little watch has provided me lately. Now I have to revert back to my good ol' I-pod, where I time my water and fuel breaks by the number of songs I have listened to. I'm still fascinated by all the little mental games I need to play in order to get myself through a run, and despite the fact that I actually love running.

On a more humorous note, in my rush out the door this evening, I accidentally put my running pants on backwards! They felt a little strange, which made me wonder if I had recently gained some weight; but when I stepped out of the truck and searched for a key pocket, I discovered the tags....in the front!! LOL! Lucky me, the park restrooms were open so I only had to run with ill-fitting pants for about 3/4 of a mile. :)

Yep...I'm definitely myself again...

Marsala, Mileage, Motivation and the Mystery Blister

As of last night, I have decided that not only is Chicken Marsala with pasta or potatoes my favorite Italian meal, it is also my favorite carbo-load meal. It settles just right in my tummy so I can wake the next morning ready to rock-n-roll without any tummy rumbles. Best of all, I usually have left overs so I can enjoy it after my long runs as well. :)

My long run mileage is getting up there now. 17 miles today and 19 planned for next weekend. I start to get pretty excited about upcoming marathons when I get to this part of training. Every long run feels like a great accomplishment. Better yet, I have been maintaining stamina to the end of the runs and I have been recovering more quickly. I am assuming this means I am in better shape now than I was last year. This is definitely motivating.

On a different note, I have this mystery blister. It's a mystery because I can't feel it, it doesn't bother me when I run, and it never goes away. I get it every time I train long distances. I guess I shouldn't complain, because it could be much worse. It could be very painful and annoying...but it's not so I will welcome it's presence for now.

Suddenly Superhuman

Yes, I now have superhuman capabilities...and I have my data on Garmin Connect to prove it!

Okay, not really, but I did have a lovely and refreshing morning run with some run club folks. I stopped my garmin timer at the end of the run, but then a couple of minutes later, I pushed the start/stop button again, thinking that I had forgotten to press stop....so, I actually started it up again. Within minutes I doubled my mileage, tripled my elevation, and miraculously at mile 8, I increased my pace to 45 miles per hour! Wooooooot! Needless to say, according to my technology, I have surpassed my weekly training goal.

Sheesh, I feel like a dork!

The halfway point

13 miles completed this morning. That's 1/10 of a mile short of a half-marathon. I'm not feeling too sore yet, so that's good. My motivation this weekend is much better than last weekend. I even convinced Mike to roll out of bed at 5:30 am on a Sunday morning to keep me company on a bicycle while I scurried through 7 1/2 miles of darkness and dense fog. By the way, I don't like running through fog when the temperature is in the mid 30's. It sticks to your clothes and your hair, making your body soaking wet before you've even started sweating. This in turn makes you very, very cold. Curse you, Fog!!

Anyway, after the sun came up I changed into a dry running shirt, hopped into my car and met some running buddies at Chambers Bay golf course. This is a pretty place to run, but not exactly ideal for higher mileage days....well, unless your are trying to shred your quads on the downhills and completely solidify your lungs and calves on the uphills. Regardless, I enjoyed the quiet morning with good friends and conversation. I finished my goal distance and all is good!

One official entry submitted, two to go.

Okay, it's official. I sent in my registration for the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on April 4th. There's no turning back and I can make no excuses. Woot!

Noggin Games

Today was a 12-miler day. I'm starting to get up into the kind of mileage where my long runs actually feel like long runs. In other words, when I finish I crave food, a nap and a massage. The most fascinating thing about it is that no matter how much I have trained leading up to my long days, they still feel long. I have learned that my ability to endure the mileage on any given day has more to do with my mindset than my physical condition. Many running buddies will respond to that with a "no duh," but I think it's more complex than that.

Why is it that when I ran my 10 mile race last weekend, I took off at a 9:20 pace with out any concern that I was going out too fast? Today, however, I started around 10:10 and wondered if I would be able to pull through the entire 12 miles. I KNOW that I am capable of doing it, but what is it about my brain during a race that is so much more "gung ho" than when I am just training? Today wasn't a bad run at all. It was a bit cold and boring, but not bad. I stopped 1.25 miles short of my goal to go get warm and get some Starbucks goodness, but I kept it honest and made up the mileage as soon as I got home. A big part of me just wanted to get up to the full twelve so I would not have to worry about it once I went to coffee. A more stubborn part of me couldn't help but focus on how cold and uncomfortable I felt, how good a bagel and chai tea sounded and how freakin' bored I was just looping around town. Why is it that some stranger with a timer at a finish line is so much more motivating than delicious food and a soy chai latte? Why is it that I can be so paitient during the most trying of times, but I can't convince myself to finish the last 8 percent of a long run? Most importantly, how can I find the "gung ho" during training when it matters the most?