Patience; the new endurance sport.

I have a confession.  While I was on Nantucket Island, I did not run. I was so very excited to run on their darling bike paths and ocean drives.  But I met my long lost cousin  over there and we hit it off so famously, that I was swept away by finding a new friend in my family.  We were having fun into the wee hours of the morning and I needed to take the ferry of the Island by noon. I have been looking forward to my runs in Newport, RI.  We all got here yesteday (a group of college friends who all now live in this area).  So this morning I got up and started running at 6:00.  I decided to run Ocean Drive.  A 10 mile loop on the peninsula which is the Aquidneck Island of Newport.  But I failed to take into account that the really, hot, bright sun was already up by 6:00 a.m.. In addtion, the direction I decided to take, left me running into that intense sunlight (with no sun-glasses).  Add to that, I was dehydrated from the travel adventures from the day before, and viola!  It sucked.  My favorite run, the run I've looked forward to since last year was ruined by dehydratin and intense sunlight.  I'm mad that I ruined my mileage by not taking advantage of island running. (but not mad I could spent quality time with family in a quaint and exotic location).  Normally, I take Sunday off, but I am going to try and 'vacation' run a few extra miles in the morning along the cliff walk (the ocean trail behind the huge turn-of-the-century mansions of the Vanderbuilts and the Astor's, etc). 

The tendon, deep in my thigh has been really giving me trouble. It's not bad with Ibuprofen, but it takes me 2 miles to warm it up to where I can run with any normal form. I ran the Cliff Walk trail behind the mansions in Newport. It's a beautiful walking trail, about 40 feet above the ocean, along the back side of the huge mansions owned by the Vanderbuilt's, Astors, Sinclair's, etc. It's gets a little rough running the trail because a few miles in the trail turns to trail/rocks. But the whole thing is along the ocean. So it's beautiful. I always have these amazing conversations along those runs with my East coast running friends. I ran so carefully, and only did a few miles (10 m/m). I hope the running gods are appeased by my 'taking it easy' so I don't further aggravte the injury. I'm worried about it.

I got a great night sleep, and got up at 6:00 a.m. for my last run in Newport, RI.  The day was crystal clear.  The water in Newport is sooooo blue on those clear days.  And when the sun rises, the ocean literally sparkles like diamonds/saphires. I know that sounds corney.  The expanse of ocean from those cliffs is so beautiful against the blue horizon with a few sail boats in the distance, and sufers floating near the shore. I love the sound of the ocean from above.  It is such a spectacular run. I spent time this morning noticing the amazing landscaping of those gynormous mansion grounds.  I ran my 5 miles averageing 8:30 m/m (I had taken ibuprofen before the run and comitted to taking it the rest of the day).  But I've reduced the mileage by half hoping to not further aggravate this tendon in my thigh.  After my run, my good friend met me at the beach for a swim and taught me to use his paddleboard (like a really big surfboard you stand on, and paddle with an orr kind of like a kayak orr).  It was a beautiful last morning in Newport.  I have seared the vision/memory of those blue, clear ocean meets sky mornings into my mind so I can recall them on those bland, white/grey winter days in Utah.  This year, I'll be dreaming of the rolling ocean underneath the paddleboard as I rowed.  Off to DC on the train.  I should be at my sister's by tonight.  Goodbye Newport.

I ran the Mt. Vernon Bike trail in Alexandria with my sister. Well, she rode her bike while I shuffled 10 miles along the Potomac. The miles slipped by as we had a very candid conversation about our very grown-up lives. Sometimes I'm afraid of my sister, and sometimes I can't believe how lucky I am to have her. This morning was the latter. I'm trying the Ice/Heat, special stretching, and rolling pin 'scraping' as suggested by Josse and Haynes, and taking it easy (so to speak). I had to take advantage of one last big-girl day, since the kids come this afternoon on a jet-plane, and my life resume to be what it is for now.  It's been a luxurious break, has it not?

I slept from 9 to 6:30.  I have not slept so many hours in a row for a long time.  I must be on vacation.  I ran down Russel Road to Old Town.  I don't like sidewalk running, but we had plans for the morning and I just needed to quickly get my (short) run finished.  My thigh (especially after yesteday's 10) took a long time to warm up. I hit the George Washington Masonic Temple and ran up and down the the stairs three times in a row(138 of them from the bottom).  Running up stairs fast is a great work out. Trying to run down them without tripping is another story.  When I got back, I was literally drenched in sweat.  I love the East Coast humidity.

I decided to take a hike today instead of run in an attempt to 'rest' my Piriformis/Bursitis/Iliopsoas Syndrome that has been bothering my hip/butt/thigh place for the past two weeks.  We hiked along the C&O canal/Potomac River up in Maryland on what is known as the "BillyGoat Trail."  It is a breathtaking wide and rushing clean river, surrounded by tall grey rock facecliffs, topped with lush greenery.  Although eating lunch on a cliff overlooking the Potomac was breathtaking, the hiking was not a good idea at all.  I was trying to 'rest' but the constant jarring of the rock jumping, climbing, and balancing aggravated the problem even more.  The ibuprofen isn't cutting it and I'm unsure where to ice (my butt or the front of my thigh?). Aside from wogging the next few days even less miles, I'm not sure what else to do but stop.  I think I need to see an orthopedic doc when I get home.   Hmmm.

I ran with Sarah (and Julia! for one mile).  Julia was running out in front of us giggling the whole way--a tiny red haired olympian running away from the mommies.  We did our easy Friday morning thing, and when I got back my Garmin read 6 miles.  I hardley believe that, but that's what it said.  My leg/hips etc felt so good all day.  I started some post-run amino acids and a few protein drinks this week. I think it's helping repair the damage.  I'm feeling stronger.

I wogged (more Wa than Ogg) along the Mt. Vernon trail with my sis.  It's right along the highway that leads to George Washington's home in Mt. Vernon.  But it is very lush compared to Utah, and runs parallel the Potomac. My original plan was to run my scheduled 17 miles with the locals (see ArgentineRocket).  But she is nursing a stress fracture and now I have this thing with my leg.... At least she has a good plan b to recover with all the bike riding and aqua jogging.  I thought maybe we could swing a bike ride.  But then I got really, really sick these past few days.  I either: a) don't ever want to go home to face my life again, and am having a psychosymatic episode or b) see a).

It's astonishing how quickly miniscule details add up and change everything. The diminished daylight at 6:00 a.m., a prolonged flu/cold, school starting, an injury....  I am weak and injured. And now so many unwelcome details occupy the diminished privacy and enjoyment of the most pristine and beloved time of my day. I had a fantastic summer did I not?  Didn't I soak up the beautiful Utah mornings?  Didn't I challenge myself to run long, fast, and hard?  Didn't I make new friends and give myself tangible, exciting new challenges?  Didn't I marvel at the beauty of Spring and Summer?  Did I not flourish in new landscapes and climates?  I did.  But the table has quickly turned.  My body's calling the shots right now, forcing my mind into a time-out.  I have a pain deep in my hipflexor/quad which started the 23rd of July, and has since become worse. Also, I am also trying to recover from a prolonged case of strep throat and a cold which I caught somewhere in DC.  Once home, I called Sarah to make my a running date for my first Friday home-- phlegm and all.  She suggested that running with a 7 month pregnant lady would be 'easy.' But don't believe her....  It was therapeutic thought getting out there with a friend.   And while I was pretty tired, I didn't hurt afterwards.  Sasha suggested running slower and less to see if the inury will pass.  I agree. I did that with a tendon pain in my knee last year and worked carefully through it.  If it does get worse during this week of less and slower running, I'll find an ortho doc and make a better plan b (bicycling, swimming, strength training-- I know, icky).  I was complaining to Sasha (as I should be ramping up in these next weeks for St. George).  I said "I can't believe the monumentally bad timing of this -- I don't have time!"  to which he replied "Yes you do.  You have your whole life."  He's right.  This may be inconvenient, and it may just ruin this one race, but my primary goal, above all else has always been to JUST KEEP RUNNING throughout my lifetime.  So I must respect and appreciate my body for what it does for me, and be patient through this process.

I got on to blog my run and saw the sweet, encouraging comments on my last entry.  It made me tear up a little. Thanks you guys.  Today I ran really slowly, but gave it an extra mile (once warmed up, I feel fine).  When I got home I ice packed my thigh for like an hour.  But like Marion, I wonder what's going on with my butt....I mean, my hips/butt and whatever goes on in there to keep your legs attatched to your body.  I did feel better today than I have in a while, but I can't think of enough adjectives to describe my legs-- lead? bronze? dead weight?  I am not one one ever takes my health for granted.  I thank the universe often for my strength, but more so during times like this.  As consolation and reward for gettng out there, both yesterday and today were breathtakingly gorgeous mornings.  More like September than August.  The horizon was light pink bleeding softly upward into the baby blue sky, with that gigantic full moon sitting fat and heavy over the alfalfa fields.  The trees and fields are so green, and the air so light with a touch of a breeze. I am greatful for every day my skin is touched by the breeze and my eyes are met with the serene beauty of a calm morning.  I am grateful to be out there, that plus, there's a lot less mosquitoes lately :)

If you are wondering where the comments have gone, I had to cut and paste these three entries from where I accidentally submitted them with last week's dates. So, when you cut and paste text, the blog comments do not follow.   But getting the dates correctly entered on the current events feels important to me right now.  So... in spite of the weeks of 8+ hours of sleep I am still uttlerly exhausted. I think I have finally iced/ rested away the major pain in my thigh.  But I can tell that I've had the crap beaten out of me mentally, emotionally, and physically in the last 2 weeks.  It's not that I got sick or injured that matters so much as the timing of it.  It's a major blow to my confidence that I'll have the strength to do at least 4 long runs before the first weekend in October, and still recover my stamina for endurance and strength for speed.   Regardless,  I have  been enjoying the cool, moquitoless mornings taking it easy at 9:40'-10:15's.  It can always be worse.  So I shall not complain.

I don't even want to know how slow I'm running right now, so I ditched the Garmin this morning.  But just to remind me how I'm doing is Sasha, cheerfully inviting me to run back to the house to run a few extra miles with Sarah-- as I used to do just for fun on Thrusdays and Fridays.  Then there's MattK, gliding effotlessly fast down the trail "good morning" he says lifting his hand in a friendly wave. Good morning for who? I think.  Then the three lady woggers PASS ME UP from behind with their arm-swinging power-walking.  No, not really, they didnt' pass me,  they were actually walking toward me.   But they probably COULD have passed me by.  The great news is, the phlegm has mostly vacated my lungs and I can now breath alright, and my energy is a little higher.  My thigh feels ok, but my butt and hips are still either tight or fatigued.  I may just try a long run on Saturday.  I'll see how tommorrow goes.  It has now been a month since I vowed to eat no refined sugar or flour, and no choclate (not even the pure dark stuff).  I have had a slip up only once or twice (hey, when a five star chef at a beach-side five star restauraunt in Nantucket offers you a complimentaly portion of his special new flourless choclate cake truffles with huile d' orange, you really can't say no, now can you?  Besides which, it didn't even contain any refined flour).  I've been back on the wagon especially since being home this week.  I wish I could sing accolades of eating pure sources of protein and complex carbohydrate, but I got sick and injured while doing so (it must be the missing chocloate).  JK, truth is, I'll probably doing this for a while to really get a feeling how well it works or how to make it work right.  A by-product of doing this however is that I've even been off most meat. It it just hasn't seemed appealing.  Anyone got a good serving suggestion for Mung Beans? 

 My mind was wandering this morning.  The dry coolness in the air reminds me of my first September in Utah.  I first came to, and fell in love with Utah during the winter ( I adored the skiing).  So when I returned the next school year, late summer and Fall was like a bonus.  This morning was cool, but I kept hitting little pockets of warm air that collect near the river under the trees. I love this weather and the clear blue pre-dawn sky.  I worked a little harder today (still sans Garmin). I tried to remember and practice the gait that I developed when I ran with Catherine and Amanda.  They were both shorter than me by 4 inches, and they each have this short little quick-step.  We always averaged 8:30's.  So I did that for a while, but also stopped to stretch a few times.  The exhaustion feels like it's diminishing, but I still have a lot of tightness and am still a sore in my thigh--but it really feels like it's getting better.  I was remembering the last time I had a satisfying fast run. It was my last day in Rhode Island.  I took an ibuprofen and hit it hard.  It was beautiful sea-side running on the cliffwalk above a sparkling Blue Ocean.  I still reflect on those moments.  I loved the morning post-run swimming. Those were calm beautiful days. It's nice to have those memories. But I feel like that was a million years ago.  This morning, after four miles on my own, I came home, got the kids out of bed, fed them breakfast/made their lunches, saw them off to school on their bike's, and then ran up to Sarah's to meet her for her four.  Running with Sarah is just like eating candy. Not that the miles or the effort don't count, but it's just so darn therapeutic.   Yeah!  It's Friday! 

I did it.  I ran 14 miles this morning with Catherine.  I could not have done it alone.  She kept me entertained (or rather, I kept her entertained) by giving her every detail of my recent vacation. But since I got so sick and the pain in my hip/thigh, my endurance and stamina has taken a hit. I needed to get my confidence back and 14 was the right distance.  Last time I ran a long run was 17 miles on July 25th.  I haven't run  more than 12 since. To make matters worse,  I've missed two long runs in a row (today should have been 18, but oh well).  I have minimal pain in my thigh and hip.  So if recovery and this week's running go well, I may  not  be too far behind myself. We'll see.  I can't aford be too ambitious right now. This mornig was very cool up the canyon.  I love the cooler weather, but am already melencholy about the passing of Summer. But, what a beautiful morning.  I hope Hobble Creek goes well for everyone.  I can't wait to read the race reports!  Good luck everyone!

I could not drag myself out of my bed at 5:30 (per my usual Monday), so I opted for a lunch time run.  It's 97 degrees in case you're wondering.  It's ridiculous I wear that Nathan water belt for those long Saturday runs.  Which is stupid, because we always finish the run by 9:00 a.m. before the sun, before dehydration and heat play any role in performance. You need a water belt ON A DAY LIKE TODAY when you are too lazy to run before the sun is high in the sky. So many things can be said about the ineffeciency of mid-afternoon running.  Ah well, anything was better than what I should have been doing around that same time.

I am not getting enough protein.  I can feel it in my legs.  I have been so very cautious to run carefully, slowly and I think I'm successfully healing whatever was happening in my quad.  But my legs (and hips) feel weak. I think it's the lack of meat.  I didn't mean to start going meatless. But once I gave up chocolate and sugar, I felt like I might as well give up everything....I was raised for a lot of years vegetarian (my step mother was 7th Day-Adventist), but I whole-heartedly embraced my inner carnivore somewhere around 21.  Changing my diet last month, made me revert to my upbringing (when I had a 97 pound woman in charge of trying to feed me). So Marion, you will be proud of me, today I will be eating a lot of talapia with peach salsa for lunch an a t-bone steak with fried corn & roasted red pepper relish for dinner.  BTW, I hereby endorse the PROVO FARMER's MARKET (held every Saturday at Pioneer Park on 500 W & Center).  I bought a box of peaches, tomatoes, corn, beet greens and signed a petition to keep Italian nuclear waste out of Utah.  So it's nuclear free peach cobbler for everyone!  Come on by.

I ran one good quick mile today.  It's been so hard to get my legs moving.  But I didn't get out until later today (after I got the kids off to school).  I haven't had the heart to go out in the dark and now the prime running hour is now occupied by waking up warm, sleepy-eyed children and simultaneous eggs/waffle/sandwich/carrot stick making. But let me tell you, it's a bad idea to bring the dogs on the trail after 8:00.  It's all old people who take it upon themselves to enforce the leash law (even if the dogs are well trained), and mommys lined shoulder to shoulder with their double strollers.  I should know better.  It was a great summer wasn't it?

I ran a single fast mile yesterday and didn't ice when I got home.  I am dumb. I paid for that and so ran extra slowly this morning (9:40m/m).  Up until now it's been a steady improvement.  So now I know, it's not the distance, it's the speed that's getting to that place in my quad.  What do you use going fast that you don't going slow? It must be how I hit the ground or push off that's different.  Two weeks off my game and I'm ruined.  I can't even remember how to run right.  How did that happen?  I need to find a Grey's Anatomy and get a good look where that thing is and what it attaches.  I can feel it getting better, I just need to take it slow.  I might start supplimenting with Amino Acids and a few protein drinks.  I know you're supposed to get your nutrients from food sources, but I feel like my body needs some extra help. That, plus maybe some Ice Cream.  Also, let's hear it for the fields of Black Eyed Susan and Larkspur!  How gorgeous are those little bright faces in the dawn!  I never get tired of the watching the world change outfits.

I ran with Sarah (and Julia! for one mile) today.  Julia was out in front giggleing and running away from the mommies the whole time.  She's a tiny red haired olympian, that one.  So we did our easy Friday morning thing, and when I got back my Garmin read 6 miles.  I can hardly believe that, but that's what it said.  My hips and quad felt great all day.  I started taking amino acids and a protein drink post run.  I think it's helping.  I'm feeling strong and it feels like the damage is repairing itself.  Feels good.

I had a hard time sleeping.  I ate a huge quantity of  whole wheat pasta and bread last night and topped it off with a homemade key lime cheese cake.  When I get nervous about a distance run I tend to overeat.  Then the extra calories keep me awake.  But it was worth it.  I had a great run. I met Catherine at Will's, ran 9 up the Canyon past Vivan Park near Big Springs.  We ran into Josse and her group near the top.  Is there a healtier looking person that Josse?.  She's adorable as usual.  Then we ran down a while with this guy we always see on the trail.  He was coming down from Soldier's Hollow.  He did the grand slam last year (4 Utah marathon's in the year) and has run a lot of years with the Sojourner's Club.  We did four excellent miles with him (I didn't tell Cathereine how fast we were going until later).  I got a little fatigued toward mile 16, but picked it up that last mile.  Oveall a good, strong run.  I now have 4 bags of ice ace bandaged to various anatomical locations, and I'm sitting on one for my hips as I write this.  Whoever invented those freezer ready blue gel packs should get a nobel prize.  It saves me from having to go outside and sit in the river.   Yay!  Not bad.