Injured

A couple weeks back on Monday April 11th I ran 11.34 miles.  After my run my left knee felt hot and I couldn't even walk correctly.  I was super worried.  I iced the area, took ibuprofen and massaged the area.  I then cancelled all my Zumba  classes for that night and the next morning.   Within about 12 hours my knee felt better but the pain on the side of the knee and part way up my leg was horrible.  Come to find out my IT band muscle was too tight.  I was told by my fitness coordinator at one of the gyms I work at that I should buy a foam roller  and use that to loosen up the band of muscle.

So I went to Running Wild and bought one.  It helped a ton.  I figured I was done being injured.  I resumed teaching Zumba on Wednesday of that week and took a week off of running.

On Monday of this week I went out to run 8 miles.  I'm tapering in my miles now since my half marathon race  is a week from this Saturday.   I was 3 miles into my run when the same thing happened to my knee that happened two weeks ago, it felt hot and stiff.

I immediately rolled it out on the foam roller and did IT band stretches and other stretches.  I couldn't walk correctly so I didn't run anymore, I went home and iced.

I was super sad and worried.

I had to cancel my Monday Zumba at the VA again and then my Tuesday morning Zumba at North Dodge.  I was so upset by this, but knew I needed rest to heal this injury.  I began calling every physical therapist in the Iowa City/Coralville area.  I wanted to get into somebody immediately.  I got super lucky and got into my old physical therapist from years ago when I hurt my back.  I got started on some exercises to make my I T Band Muscle  stronger and was also given a couple different types of massages of the muscle to help loosen it up.

That was Tuesday and then I went back on Wednesday.  I have an appointment every day until I leave for my race next Thursday.

I'm resting for the most part (well as much as a mother of 6 can really rest),icing and doing my exercises.   I'm hoping that by a week from Saturday that I'm able to run the entire 13.1 miles since I've trained for that and hope to do that.

I'm bummed to have this bump in the road.

It's so dang hard

Another week another long run.  Well that's not exactly how it went.  Last week I ran 1.5 miles total.  WHY?  I'm really not sure.  The week started out with a half mile run with my friend Stephany and other friend Amber.  Amber hasn't run in a long time and so this particular day she wasn't prepared for her run.  She decided to run around the track with Stephany and I.  She did well for 4 laps, then looked pale.  I asked her how she was feeling and she said she needed water.  Stephany and I went with her to get water.  Amber passed out.  What a scary time for her and for us.  Come to find out she didn't eat enough at the start of the day, so because she did my Body Sculpt class and then ran she didn't have enough in her body for all that exercise.

On Wednesday of last week I ran with Stephany and Amber again, but we only went a mile and Amber was ready to be done.  I could have continued running and didn't.  Not sure why.  Then Friday came and Saturday came and I didn't run.  I was putting off the long run and as a result didn't do any running.

I decided on Sunday that this week would be different for sure.  That starting on Monday I would do my long run and get it over with for the week so at least all week I could say, "I did it!"

So I planned out a 10.5 mile run.  On the computer it looked so far away and it is.  It was from my house on the West side of Iowa City all the way to our old house on the East side of Iowa City and back.  While on the East side I took an extra distance around the block just to check out the old neighborhood.

I came home and mapped out my run on the computer.  I had gone 11 miles exactly.  How cool!!!

The not cool things about this run are these:
I'm really tired and I still have 2 Zumbas to teach tonight
My right knee hurts pretty bad
I'm freezing

But Hey I did it and that is AWESOME!!

Long way, but not long enough

Each week I'm scheduled to run further than the week before in order to properly train for my half marathon.  This past week I kept putting off the long run..  I was very nervous to do it.  I had major anxiety towards it.  Every time I would think about it, I quickly thought of better things I could be doing and then did them.  I cleaned my room and closet so well that I was able to get 3 garbage bags of clothes and other items to either donate at Goodwill or consign at STUFF.  So one could say my room looks awesome.  When I finished cleaning my room on Friday afternoon, Jason said to me, "Aren't you going to do that long run?"  I told him I could still do it on Saturday and it would be in the week.  He suggested I just get it over with because Saturday could be full of things to do as well.  I already knew the route I'd run because I planned it out on the computer on a site called www.mapmyrun.com   It's fun to plan your routes and it's also fun to just go running and come back and see how far you actually went.  Last week I did 8.5 miles so I had to run further than that to meet my goal.  So I left on the run.  My run included Mormon Trek Blvd., Melrose Ave., Westgate St., Benton St., Camp Cardinal Blvd., and  2nd Ave.  It seemed at one point that I was running forever and I guess I kinda was because it took me an hour and a half to run the 9.5 miles.  There are parts of the run I don't quite remember so I guess that means I was focused.  I know I was paying attention to my right knee and trying to land lighter and not strike so hard.

I'm so glad the long run is over and I hope that next week when I have 10-10.5 miles that I can get through it without problems.

8.5

Another week another long run. I had a hard time around mile 4.5, but kept plugging on. At mile 6 I was ready to be done, but still kept going. Somehow I did it. I had to keep telling myself, "you can do it, only 2 miles left."

Next week is 9-9.5 I hope I feel this wonderful next week after the long run cause it's getting so hard.

Did I miss anyone?

I have finally gone in and added all the blog addresses that are in the family and a few of my friends as well. At least I think I have. Did I miss anyone? Did I spell names wrong?

Just let me know and I'll add it, or change it.

Or is there someone that reads this blog on a regular basis that would like their blog displayed on the right side?

it's getting harder

Today was a long run again, this time 7.5 miles. It was so hard and I wonder how I've ever ran further than this.

I feel blessed to have run this far and hope that I'm able to continue to increase my mileage each week.

A few goals for the upcoming racing season

Unlike Michelle who is a bit nuts, I don't like running outside when the temperature is below freezing and there is ice/snow on the ground. Actually, I don't like to run very much. However, I do like to compete.

I will do a few 5K's this year but they will be secondary to my real races. I have two triathlons planned for this summer. The first one will be the Lake Geode Challenge. It is an Olympic distance race (1500 meters swim - about 0.9 miles, 40k bike - about 25 miles, 10k run - 6.2 miles). Last year I did the Okoboji Triathlon which was a near-Olympic distance race so this year I thought I would jump in with both feet and really challenge myself. I did the Okoboji race in 2 hours and 9 minutes on a 97 degree day. My goal for Lake Geode is to be under three hours and hopefully do so with the temperature under 90.

I've done a lot of cross training all winter but now it is time to start stepping it up and get back in the water and actually hit the pavement. My other triathlon is the Crossroads Triathlon. I have done this one twice already and really enjoy the race. It is a sprint distance race which is a 500 meter swim, a 15 mile bike ride, and a 5k. My goal for that race is to break 1 hour and 25 minutes. That will be 5 minutes faster than my best time. There are two things (besides overall fitness and weight management) that I need to work on. First, and this will be particularly true for Lake Geode, will be race management. Since cycling is the strongest part of my race, I tend to push too hard in the bike portion and leave nothing left for the run. I am very competitive on the bike and am always trying to catch the rider in front of me - even during training rides. If I can find the fine line between too hard and just right, I will be much more successful. The second thing I really need to work on is my transitions. I am pretty slow and could potentially save a couple of minutes by speeding up the time between each event.

The last race I am really looking forward to is the Flying Pigs Duathlon in Washington, Iowa. We did it as a team last year and took 2nd in the team category. It is a fun race and gives me the opportunity to really focus on going as fast as I can on my bike without having to worry about running.

Zumba

All of us from Left to Right:
Kim, Holly, Sandra, Jason, Me, Allison



Back in January the club that Jason and I both work for had a Zumba party. I was put in charge of it since I've been teaching Zumba the longest out of the 6 instructors that teach it.

I planned a 2 hour event complete with snacks and lots of prizes!

One girl took pictures of me teaching and just barely sent them to me, here are a few. I'm not sure if I like the look of the mic on the side of my face, either I look funny or like a rock star, not sure which.







I love teaching Zumba and currently teach at 5 different locations on every day except for Sunday. To find a Zumba class in your area just go to www.Zumba.com and then click on Find a class, then put in your zip code.

Starting to get serious

It's the end of February and I'm well on my way to my half marathon training. I was due a 6 or more mile long run by this week. Since I have a small 5K race this Saturday I knew that day couldn't be my long run so I did it today.

I ran 6.5 miles today!!

AND

it felt great. It was one of those days that running just goes well and everything about it feels right.

Next week is 7 miles and I hope I can report great news that time as well.

Far from home

As some of you know I'm training for a Half Marathon. That's 13.1 miles just in case. I only mention that because years ago I wouldn't have had any clue how far a Half or Full Marathon was.

Anyway yesterday I should have ran 6 miles because that's what I'm up to as far as mileage goes. I asked my son, Brenden to run with me. He was more than excited to run and started to put on his running clothes.

I put on my colder weather running clothes since it was only 44 degrees out, this included dri fit long running skins, a sport tank covered by a long sleeve dri fit running shirt, followed by a long sleeve running jacket.

Brenden asked me how long we would be running. I told him I really needed to do 6 miles, but would run however far he felt comfortable and then we could either turn around towards home or call Jason (my husband) to pick us up. I made sure I had my cell phone in my pocket.

Brenden was excited to run with me. So we set out and ran for a while. When I checked my stopwatch it had only been 30 minutes and it seemed like 45 or more. Brenden was a trooper and continued to run. When we got to Coralville we both needed a break and were walking for a short bit. It had only been 42 minutes.

Brenden then decided he was done and we were no where near home.

I then saw a lady who was my boss at Curves. She was in the back of her store loading stuff in her car. She spotted me and said, "What are you doing over here?" Knowing I was far from home. I mentioned to her I was out running with my son and we were going over to HyVee to get a drink of water and then continue running.

She said we both looked worn out and then Brenden said, "I sure am and I'm ready to be done."

So she offered to give us a ride home. So nice of her. She clocked the drive home to see how far we had run. I was bummed to find out we had only ran 4.1 miles since it seemed like so much farther. However I'm glad I was able to run with my son. A special memory.