Getting better

I finally ran for the first time since Saturday this morning and it wasn't too bad. I did 4 very gentle miles on the treadmill and then took gentle yoga before heading to the chiros for the 2nd time this week. I did take a couple of spinning classes as well as body flow earlier in the week and felt that they didn't help my butt. Finally after today, I feel like I'm over the hurdle and will be painfree very soon. (tomorrow?) I think the difference was that the chiro did the cross-friction massage as well as the PNF stretch that he had done prior to Umstead that did the trick. I immediately felt relief and had a confidence that all would be fine soon. I remember that right before Umstead when he did that I immediately know that I'd be fine for the 100! I decided to not overdo it however and will not go back to the club today for a spinning class but I do plan on running in the morning, probably on the treadmill and then take another yoga class. Saturday I'm hoping to get to the resevoir and run with Joanne for a couple of hours. We're going to Charlotte that afternoon so will not be able to run on Sunday which is probably a good thing since I don't want to overdo it. Next week I hope to be back on track for consistant running and cross-training. I was so discouraged yesterday and now I feel like I'll be okay. What a difference a day makes!
Tomorrow is my interview at the Pinehurst Spa. I'm really curious to see what it looks like and determine if I want to work there or not. I really hope it works out as from what we hear, the benes are great! Wish my luck!
Gotta run!

A little setback

Well, so much for getting back into consistant training. My butt has been still giving me problems even after two visits to my chiro. I think I'm going to have to take a few days off running cause even though it wasn't caused from running I do now think that running is preventing it from getting better and it may even be getting worse as my low back as now started giving me some discomfort. I decided not to run today and did my resistance exercises instead and then went to to club and did the eliptical machine for a half hour and then swam a few laps before sitting in the hot tub. I'm going to try ice and anti-inflamatories and hope that things will get better soon. I'm going back to the chiro on Tuesday so hopefully everything will have settled down by then. I know I've been doing too much running in the past week and probably really aggravated the butt muscle as it would hurt all during my run. When I had this issue before Umstead, I stopped everything I was doing and just rested so I probably need to try that again as it worked, I got through Umstead and Promised Land with no problems until I returned to the squat machine. Anyway, as much as I hate to have another setback, it looks like I have no choice but to rest everything for a few days.

Back on track (again!)

It's now been almost two weeks since my surgery and everything is back to normal. I've gotten a clean bill of health from my doctor and she is amazed at my health and fitness. She told me I was her most entertaining patient ever in the recover room! I apparently awoke from the anesthesia and starting talking about my run in with the rattlesnake at the park! Anyway, hopefully that will be my last set back for awhile.
I've been running with a women from the local running club named Joanne. She is pretty new to running and is looking to improve and maybe qualify for Boston. It's fun having someone to run with and I'm even thinking about training to qualify for Boston as well although I want to do it while still running ultras. As slow as I run the ultras it may not work but I'm going to give it a try. Joanne runs a little (okay a lot) harder than I do so I think I'll run a little faster as a result while she is trying to run a little easier on her easy days. Hopefully it'll be a good match. She also came to spinning with me and she seemed to like it as well. Anyway, it was a good training week and I look forward to getting back to being consistant and improving again.

I have an interview at the Spa at Pinehurst next Friday and I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully it'll work out that I can work there and that it's a place that will fit with my wants and needs.

My butt is still causing some problems and running today was quite painful and I ended up having to walk more than I wanted to. I'll go back to the chiro tomorrow and hopefully one more visit will do the trick. I don't want to have anymore setbacks. I'm ready to get back to some quality training!
Gotta run!

I survived!

My surgery was yesterday and I survived! Everything went great and the doctors and nurses were really fun! They were amazed at my fitness and how well I did. I was their best patient ever! Yeah, right! Oh well, I am a good patient, I certainly have had enough practice at it. How many surgeries was this one? I'm a pro. Anyway, I came out of the anesthesia and just started talking as if nothing happened. My doctor was amazed. I actually don't feel like I had anything done and that is a surprise. I did expect to feel groggy or something. Anyway, now I just have to take it easy for a few days and then I'm good to go. Back to "normal".
Looks like May will be my recovery month which is probably the best thing I could do for myself. We're still not sure what is next for us but Frank is still in the training mode to prepare for Massochist but I have no defined goal yet. I'll be doing some research and soul searching. I haven't ruled out another 100 but it might be put off for another year. I think I'd like to do some faster 50K's and 50 milers. We'll see. So many races, so little time!

Should've stayed in bed!

Well, yesterday was one of those days when I should have just stayed in bed. My hamstring issue had been acting up but because it wasn't caused from running, I decided it was okay to run and it wouldn't get worse! Wrong. I went to the reservoir and decided to run 8 to 10 miles. I started out on the single trail loop which is a 2 mile section that I've come to really enjoy as the start of my run, until yesterday that is. No more. About 1 1/2 miles into the run I noticed what I thought was a large stick lying across the trail and was even tempted to kick it out of the way. Fortunately I did not as it was the biggest snake I have ever seen. I think I had jumped over it before I actually realized it was a snake but I did notice the perfect markings on it's back of diamonds. I was freaked out and ran as fast as I could to get back to the parking lot. I was really shook up and almost went home but decided I'd run around the lake which is well traveled and cool. My butt was a little sore but not too bad. I continued on and then ventured off on another trail (not a single trail) that I'd been on a couple of times and it lead to a paved road that goes around another lake. I felt safe as far as seeing any more snakes. Anyway, my butt continued to get worse and worse and by the time I was heading back with about a mile to go, I had to walk and even that was painful. I ended up "running" 8 but it was painful and probably not the best thing. Anyway, I'll be taking some time off as my surgery is Monday and a forced rest will hopefully help. I plan to see my chiropractor as soon as I'm able after my surgery as he fixed me up before Umstead so I'm sure I'll be fine as soon as he works his magic! I now believe that it's not caused by my running or spinning but by the squat machine that I use at the gym. I've been lifting weights at the gym on Tuesday following a 4 mile run and spin class. I finally made the connection and am pretty sure that that is the culprit so I will stop using that and find another way to work the glutes. (after they're better!) Too bad it took so long to make the connection!
When I got home from my run I was telling Frank about the snake, as he often runs that same section of trail and that was when it hit me! I had seen a Diamondback Rattlesnake! OH MY GOD!!!! I hadn't made the connection until I mentioned that the snake had diamond shapes on it's back. I went on line to find out if in fact they live in this part of the state and they do. So I have vowed to never run that loop again and I pray that they only habitat that section. If I ever see another one, it may end my running trails. It's just too stressful for me. I'll try staying on the "trail more traveled" and stay away from the more remote sections.
Today is a rainy dreary day which is perfect for us today. We'll probably go out for lunch and do a little shopping but other than that we will probably just relax and putz around. What a perfect Mother's Day!

Back on track!

This has been a good week. We're finally getting back to a routine and have been running all week. Monday was the first day that I've felt energetic and we really got a lot done around the house. Tuesday we were back at the club running on the treadmill. I took a spin class right after running and it was great to be back in the saddle again! After spinning I worked out on the weight machines but had to cut my weights back a little from pre-Umstead. Wednesday we went to the reservoir and ran for 2 hours. I created a new combination of trails to give me 8 miles and it was fun and there was even a cool breeze when I was running around the lake. It's a little discouraging to be so slow but I have to allow myself time to fully recover. Hopefully I won't need that excuse much longer! Today (Thursday) it was a repeat of Tuesday; run,bike,lift. I was able to increase my weights already so that made me feel good. It won't be long until I'm "back to normal"! I did have a realization today about my hamstring problems that had occurred right before Umstead causing me great concern and a real hamper to my training and that is that I think it was caused from spinning and not running!!!! I hadn't had the problem since my least visit to the chiropractor which was a couple of days before Umstead and I've certainly been doing my share of running hills which is what I thought caused it. (need I be reminded of Promise Land not to mention Umstead!) Anyway, I've had no recurrence of it until Tuesday and guess what I did on Tuesday, yep, I took a spinning class! Today during class I noticed that somtimes when I pull up on the pedal I could feel it in the hamstring where it had been tight and a lightening bolt went off! Now I just have to figure out what to do about it other than not spinning cause I really love spinning and it's a great workout and ultimately is what really helped me get over the hills at Umstead and for that matter Promise Land until I bonked! Anyway, I'm going to try to spin with less intensity. I have a tendency to work too hard on the bike so I'm going to cut back the resistance a little until my hamstrings are ready for more intense workouts. Hope it works! Tomorrow is a recovery day and the only thing I plan on doing at the club is to take a Body Flow class which is a tai chi/yoga/pilates class followed my meditation. We may bike with the local bike club in the afternoon but we'll see. I don't think I'm ready for a very long bike ride yet.
My surgery is scheduled for Monday and I will be relieved when tht is over. I'll be out of commission for a couple of days and then will get back into my routine on a scaled back version but I don't want to lose too much of what I've been working at to get back.
By the end of May I should be totally recovered from all my running and health related issues and will be ready to roll!
More to follow!

Back to normal?

I woke up yesterday morning and finally felt like I had energy. It's been awhile since I have felt really good. I think that running a 100 miler and a Horton race in a 3 week period was too much for me. I really under-estimated Promise Land, so much so that I even ran 17 miles with Frank the week before. It was a recovery long run for him, but like a "race" to me. Anyway, not a smart thing to do a week before running in Blue Ridge Mountains. Another lesson learned. (I hope)

I went to the club today to run on the treadmill and decided that I need a break. We've been doing ultras every month for several months and it's just too much for me. I guess I'm starting to feel my age. Say it aint' so! I just want to be able to train and workout consistantly but running so many races seems to interfere with that as I end up tapering for or recovering from. It's a catch 22. I need a goal race to train for yet the races cut into my training!

My surgery is scheduled for next Monday so that will be a forced rest and will probably be a good thing for me. Once I'm recovered from that I plan on easing back into working out, focusing on cross-training, resistance training as well as running.

Almost recovered!

It's been a week since we ran the Promise Land 50K and we're almost recovered. It really was a tough one to recover from. I ran today at the reservoir and ended up walking for the first couple of miles. I finally started feeling a little better and "ran" intermittently. I only "ran" 4 miles and will probably do about the same tomorrow. We're hopeful to get back into our routine next week which will include our cross training as well as running more consistently. I feel like I've been tapering for or recovering from events now for over a month and have pretty much ceased any cross training or long runs. Time to get back on track!
Not having a long term goal to train for will make that a little tough so I've got to decide what I want to use as my goal race. At this point I'm not sure if it'll be for time or distance but I'm sure I'll come up with something soon. Frank has Mt Masochist to train for so he's all set and will really need to up his hill training!

Some events I definitely plan on participating in are the Rattlesnake 50K in WV in July and the Hinson Lake 24 hour run in September. Other than that everything is pretty much up in the air. We'd like to go back to Sunmart but may decide to wait one more year.

I will be having some outpatient surgery this week but am not sure of the date, probably Wednesday. I'm a little nervous about the procedure but I'm sure all will be fine. I'll be recovering for a couple of days but hopefully won't be down too long. I really want to get back to a routine and some type of normalcy. I need normalcy in my life.

We'll probably run at the club tomorrow and then stay to lift weights. It's been way too long since I've done that so I'm looking forward to getting back into it.