Believe to Achieve

Woke and happened to look up races for today for fun at 6:30am.  And lo and behold a race not even 2 miles from my house and a free one (donations accepted for the troops of course) if no shirt.  Race day registration as well.  So I called Melanie and hey she was already doing it.  Seriously didn't even know about this race.   I also annoyed my husband so much that he couldn't fall back to sleep so he joined me a half hour later, waiting in the freezing rain.  No lie.  There was snow on some parts of the ground and occasional bouts of a downpour.  But when the race started 20 minutes late-- the rain had stopped  : D.  The plan was to just go easy.  But easy was just TOO easy.  This was a very HILLY course.  Awesome.  Loved it all.  I felt great (besides the burning pain in my right hip and calf).  I welcomed the uphill.  I was visualizing conquering UVM's first half of rolling hills and these were very comparable.  I was at a 7:38 pace at first but at a half mile I was just too held back that I picked it up and passed a lot of runner's before the 5k/10k split off.  More people were running the 5k so runners were further between.  I was just enjoying myself climbing the hills.  I did my usual arm swings to the air to stretch and kick backs while running.  And then after passing about 5 guys I did the most stupid thing.  I went off course.  A guy just seconds ahead of me asked me which way to go.  He went straight, I was confused and thought we were already at the cemetery so I went left early which ended up adding on to make it a real 10k.  The course measured short for everyone else (6.0 miles).   I finally realized where I was and knew how to get back on course but when I met up with everyone in the cemetery I had already added on .2 miles and people I had already passed were in front of me.  Oh well.  At least I wasn't going for time today.  It was more like a LT (lactate threshold run).  I tried to catch and pass orange cap dude again and his friend but wasn't wanting to go faster than my 6:30 pace I was doing.  I need to conserve for the big day. A bit before I made the wrong turn I could see Melanie and Jane up ahead in the distance.  Adding on I no longer could see them.  Silly me.  But at least it was the right distance : D.  So 42:28 for 6.2 miles (6:51 pace).  So glad if felt easy even though I could use a normal right leg anytime soon.  I think it is possibly an ovarian cyst pushing in on the nerves in there-- I have had this type of significant pain before down my leg--piriformis like and then after 3-4 days it goes away.  Hope that is not too much info for some of you but it is what women deal with.  I have intense rebound tenderness in the lower right quadrant of my abdomen.  If it gets worse I will check it out further otherwise it is still massaging of the fascia (thanks Rad) for me from my hip to my achilles.  BTW Troy ran it 47:45.  When I cheered he sprinted in.  He looked great!! : D.

5 easy miles in the am before work.  I guess I am in taper mode.  Felt too easy.  Pace for 5 miles 8:37.

MAJOR FLARE of INTENSE NERVE PAIN radiating in many directions on my right side--- mainly hip, calf, heel, ankle, neck, side of face, down right arm, wrist and fingers.  I tend to get more flares in late spring.  Not sure what it is.  Super burning, some tingling, numbness and stabbing pain ALL on the right side.  Makes me feel like something is attacking me...this has been a 7 day attack, and its been one of the top ones, lasting longer.  Super annoyed.  Still not going to a Dr.   A friend tonight at a social mentioned about her father in law with shingles that keep surfacing thru nerve pain now.  I could liken it to that type of pain.  It seems systematic, at times predicatable/pattern-like.  He too stopped going to the Dr. for help and understanding.  I would also liken my pain to the areas shown on the fibromyalgia commercials.  Although I hate that diagnosis since it seems to be a catchall disease, not fully understood, yet many diseases are not anyway.  I worked through it all, knowing that making it through a 12 hour shift in this intensity of pain and not talking about it much WILL make me stronger in the marathon.  It is just that at this intensity--if it were next week, I  WOULD NOT run the marathon.   I couldn't mentally get my body to WANT to even start to run.  SO  I give myself these next days to rest and recover and pray I go into remission again.  : D.  EASY miles before work-- pain was not good--  5 @ AP 8:36.

Thought I was fine when I awakened but as soon as I sat down in the morning, from lying down of course all night the pain returned intensely.  Skipped on the 3 x 1600 meters (8miles) and tried to find ways without medication to stop the pain.  I had a massage appt so kept that and had deep tissue massage to my shoulder, upper back and legs.  It hurt.  Then the pain was back.  So at 415pm I drove to the American Fork River and sat in it as best  I could (it WAS RAGING!!!).  Managed to sit with my pelvis in the water. BRRRRRrrrrrrr!!   Cold as ice for sure.  Stayed in exactly 7 minutes.  Then thawed out gradually.  After an hour and feeling pretty sad for myself I took a hot shower then decided to just get out and run two miles.  Well, two miles turned into 3 then 4 and the just decided to go to 5 miles and then run with Mel, Kim and Jane tomorrow morning up the AF canyon.  But DARN it my calves are like pregnancy calves--- charlie horses in both of them but mainly the right.  Seriously have never had this running injury.  The massage therapist worked a lot on my piriformis muslcle.  I had TONS of trigger points.  It hurt so good.  5 VERY EASY pace miles in the WIND at 8:30 pace.

505am run up AF Canyon with Mel, Kim, and Jane.   Parked at the very mouth of the canyon and off we went.  No water.  Freezing temps, well almost with the artic air from the snow capped mountains and the nice headwind we had for a bit.  Quite enjoyed this workout.  Calf and piriformis were VERY tight and quite painful at the start but either the cold or the endorphins numbing the pain helped tons.  Brrrrrr!!  Felt pretty tight on the downhill and a bit sore.  Oh and then I was like "oh yah I had a deep tissue massage yesterday, duh!!".  At first downhill was a killer on the calf and achilles, again the endorphins kicked in and after 4 miles of downhill I was able to get in a 6:22 mile : D.  Only one.  I then slowed to run in with Kim.  Her piriformis was screaming too.  The sloped and angle roads combined with the cold were not a good combination.  The mountain air and BRISK river was lovely.  AP  7:35 for 16 miles.  AP for 8 miles up (8:13)-- WE ARE TALKING a 1,616 foot net elevation gain thanks to my garmin for that detail.    A little over an hour later Kim picked me up and we headed for some TRUE cryotherapy in the AF RAGING WATERS.  Seriously COLD.  ICE COLD.  Lasted only 3 minutes.  Not a second longer. 

7 very easy miles before work.  tired.  pulled self out of bed at 4:35am.  ran in circles.  off to a long day at work.  AP in my trail shoes 8:52.  Amazing it has been a year since Squaw Peak 50+ miler.  This year the SNOW FALL is so bad that the course was redirected to avoid the BIG CLIMBING through the snow.  A faster year from what I hear.  But it was the warmest day so far this year.  Yikes.  That happened last year too.   7 DAYS UNTIL A NEW MARATHON PR.  OH YAH!! : D