Run consistently as I get back to 100% health. Stay patient!
Long-Term Running Goals:
Have fun training and racing.
Sub-17 5K
Sub-1:17 Half Marathon
Quality for the Olympic Trials in the marathon
Personal:
I am originally from Knoxville, TN and moved to SLC with Jake in 2010. I started racing in 2011 and had some great success before a major injury hit me in July 2012. I had athletic pubalgia surgery in May 2013...then again in Sept 2014 and am still trying to get back to my old self. Although running is my true passion, I love doing pretty much anything active outdoors - backcountry skiing, backpacking, biking, etc.
I've been running for the Saucony Team since 2011. I enjoy representing the brand and really do believe they make the best shoes :)
I work as a Quality Engineer for BD Medical in Sandy.
Well I can't say that I'm not intimidated about the new OTQ standards. 2:37/2:43 for women. That's fast. So I would have to be a 2:42 marathoner in order to make the Trials in 2016, 6:13 min/mile. That requires a perfect 2 years of training to even attempt. So come on injury. GET BETTER!
PM - Headed down to Diamond Fork with Amiee to check out the hot springs. 5 mile hike and loved the springs! It was fun to have a little adventure and no injury pains.
AM - Elliptical for 30 minutes. I was able to increase the effort enough to make it feel like a real workout - a first in a long time. Pool running for 30 minutes afterwards.
AM - 30 minutes on the elliptical. Doctor said still no running through the rest of the week. My used-to-be super conservative goal of being healthy by the new year is not looking good. I'm trying my hardest to do everything right and yet I'm pretty much in the same place as I was in August except 100x more out of shape. Breakdown...Gotta get myself thinking more positive now.
PM - Pool running. Went to Costco - bought a huge stuffed animal and bag of dried mangos that made me feel better :)
AM - 30 minutes on the elliptical. Called the sports doctor this morning and told him the steroid isn't helping more than 10-20%. Back to the drawing board - big test to see what other diagnostic/treatment ideas he has up his sleeve...we're missing something here, I know it.
PM - 2 miles walking around the track with some running drills mixed in there. 30 minutes of arm weights.
AM - 25 minutes of yoga. Really awkward at work when someone comes into my office and I'm icing and heating my pubic bone/groin. Whatever, I'm not letting this get worse!
PM - 35 minutes of pool running with Jake. 40 minutes of recumbent bike.
Tera Moody's full post about her experience with Olympic Trials standards really hit close to home. It's hard for me to even pick out one section from it. She is a prime reason why we have the OTQ standards and their importance to the development of world class athletes. She is now a 2:30 marathoner and got 5th at the 2008 Olympic Trials. I can't wait to start training again!
"For the next two years qualifying for the trials was something I thought about every single day. It gave me a reason to dream again and I begin to see flashes of my old pre-collegiate self. Having that goal and accomplishing milestones along the way helped bring back my shattered self confidence. It led to better things not just in running but across the board."
AM - So thankful that Allie was willing to join me for pool running. Made it to an hour today!
Today was the first day in 4 months that I woke up without any pain. The steroid is finally working! Maybe the doctor is right and I just had so much inflammation that I haven't been able to heal. I'm on day 11 of 12 of the prednisone, so I'm really worried that the pain is all going to come back as soon as I'm off it. So I decided to start an anti-inflammatory diet...it's not a lot different from what I currently do, but I'm adding tart cherry juice, salmon, a lot more fruits and vegetables. No candy, ice cream, or refined carbs for a while.
AM - 30 min of pool running then skiing at Park City! It was SO COLD. Jake and I skied for an hour and a half and then had to go in. I got terribly nauseous for about 15 minutes because my hands and feet got so frozen (does this happen to anyone else?). Lesson learned, we stuck to only a few runs before warming up each time. Jake and I just don't have enough insulation for winter in-bounds skiing. We had fun though!
AM - 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. Psoas feels like it's going to explode, glute muscle painful, and now at my lowest weight since I was in middle school. Got my hopes up too soon.
AM - Very uncomfortable all yesterday and this morning - significant pain in right groin area and glute with a lot of radiating pain. Going to the doctor again this afternoon. What's most frustrating about this is that I felt fine, even good, while we were skiing. I have no idea what my limits are because the pain doesn't show up until 3-4 hours later and into the following days.
I found a place close to where I live and work - Performance Rehab Clinic - that just got an Alter-G Treadmill. It's very pricey to use ($1/min for 30 min, 10 punch pass $200, $100/month + buy own shorts) but I might fork over the money if it can get me healthy quicker/more safely.
PM - 2.2 miles on the treadmill. Then 2.6 miles after my doctors appt got cancelled.
AM - I convinced Amiee to run in the snow with me before our pool running, so we went to the park close to the gym for 15 minutes or so. followed by pool running for maybe 20-30 minutes.
We made a big brunch and had the long run crew + Allie and James over. Fun times!
PM - 2.2 miles with Jake at the horsepark with all the pups and the snow.
AM - 2.4 miles on the treadmill, 8:20 pace. Keeping it to 20 minutes of running for a while but I felt pretty good. Not as good as skiing would be today, but hopefully I'll be able to ski again before all the powder days are gone.
AM - Scheduled day off (unless you count the other 1.5 hours+ of therapy). Actually survived through 6 straight days of running so I probably shouldn't push my luck. Going to try for 25 miles this week!
PM - 30 minutes of pool running with Jake. Alter-G tomorrow!
AM - 30 minutes on the Alter-G at 75% bodyweight or ~85 lbs. 4.1 miles! I felt good...no pain, only a little irritation in the right distal hamstring like always (we'll get to that problem soon). I really feel like I'm making progress.
Yesterday when I went in to the PT office (Performance Rehab Clinic), I met a guy on the Alter-G that had a spinal cord injury 15 years ago and hasn't been able to walk since. If I heard right, he was on the 1996 Paralympic Basketball Team. Anyway, the guy was so excited because he had been walking on the Alter-G for 20 minutes at 35% bodyweight. The PT said that he might be able to get some of his motor control back and actually walk again. So inspiring...technology really is amazing sometimes.
Yesterday I developed some very specific pain in my lower right abdominal region. I feel like this pain has been coming on for a month or so now, but now it's at the point where it hurts to the touch. It's not bothering me when I'm running - just afterwards. I talked to a nurse that I work with and he gave me a list of 20 things it could be. Oh, the drama of this injury!
AM - 30 minutes of Alter-G running, 4.2 miles of running at 80% bodyweight (~91 lbs). Occasional hamstring aches and groin pains but overall a good run. I can feel my psoas get tired at about 25 minutes right now, but it has made huge progress in the last two weeks.
PM - 30 minutes of pool running.
I still have the lower abdomen/groin pain to the touch which makes me wonder if this injury is all associated with a hernia. If it doesn't get better in the next week, I'm going to the doctor.
Also, I'm gaining my weight back! Funny how running again has pushed it back up, but it's a good thing. I need to be somewhere in the 115-120 range.
PM - 2.2 miles at Sugarhouse and the track. Jake ran in lane 8 while I ran in lane 1 :) A little achy/fatigued this afternoon but nothing a little ice and laying won't fix!
AM - Horsepark loops for 3.5 miles. Most I've run outside in a while and lots of dogs at the park so a pretty great start to the day. Now the ultimate relaxation day, made possible by Jake being out of town :)
AM - Tempo loop run, 3.8 miles. Averaged under 8 min pace!
Heading to TN today...going to take some ibuprofen for the flight in an attempt not to undo the progress I've made in the last couple of weeks (traveling is really bad for this injury). Fingers crossed for no delays, cancellations, etc. Hopefully a week of sea level will be just what I need to put this injury to rest!
AM - 2.8 miles in the TN pouring rain. Kinda fun actually! Slow going, 2.8 miles in 25 minutes. My goal this week is 20-25 miles - I won't have access to an Alter-G so I'm just going to do what I can handle outside this week.
Merry Christmas Eve! Going to me grandparents for some good 'ol southern cooking.
AM - Midday Christmas run, 4 miles and felt awesome. Averaged 7:30 pace with no pain! I still don't feel smooth when I'm running, but it's getting better.
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!! :)
My parents, me, brother and his girlfriend. My bro and I don't look much alike!
AM - Another 4 miles today in the rain, 7:30 pace. Felt good again! And it looks like I might see the sun for the first time in days.
Any thoughts about how I should build my mileage up in the next couple months? Days off, mileage totals, etc? Jake and I have an idea but it would be good to get other input as well. Neither of us has had such a terrible injury before.
AM - 2.5 miles, 8 min pace. Woke up with injury annoyances - hip, glute, and hamstring. Did a ton of PT work to try to get it under control and then headed out for a 20 min run. I felt okay running but afterwards not so great. That lower right abdominal pain that hurts to touch (I thought was a hernia) came back after the run...I hope all this is just a sign that I need an easy day. Lots of icing, heating, and laying around planned for today.
Thanks for all the input on training from everyone yesterday. Great thoughts...based on how easy it is for this injury to flare up, I need to go completely by feel for a while longer and always stop running before anything acts up. I'm really enjoying being able to run again and not taking any mile for granted :)
AM - 4 miles, kept it easy at just under 8 min pace. All that laying around yesterday must have helped because I woke up feeling good this morning. It's a good thing because I have eaten way too much food the last few days and needed to run off some calories!
AM - 4 miles around the neighborhood. There's only a half mile stretch that is even close to flat so I've been going back and forth on it every day. Ran the last two in 7:10, 7:07 - I hope I don't regret that later but it felt so good to run a little faster.
AM - Really excited about my run this morning! Miles were 7:43, 6:50, 6:19, 6:17, then easy 0.4 home. Looked down at the watch at mile 2 to see a sub-7 and I must've gotten a little hyped up. I felt great though - really felt like I was RUNNING today. I had no pain and made sure to focus on form and running within my means. It turns out that my body still knows exactly what marathon pace is!
Flew back to SLC today. Traveling wasn't too bad, especially since I got upgraded to first class on the 3.5 hour flight (extra room to stretch out the legs helped a lot). The mountains and valley are beautiful here with all the snow - like a winter wonderland! It could be a little warmer though :) I ran 3.3 miles around the nearby neighborhood. Good to be back!
