I've Been Keeping a Secret...

Hi blogger friends, time for me to tell you all my secret. Notice that I haven't been posting a lot? If we are fb friends then you may have noticed that I have not been running a lot either. That's right, I have not been running much these days. Maybe 1-3 times a week if i'm lucky and my mileage has been low, between 4-15 miles a week. No ladies, don't get excited, my secret is NOT what you are thinking...
Since May I have been having some pain and discomfort in my left heel. I believe I have a mild case of Plantar Faciitis. Back on May 21st I stupidly ran a half marathon in 1:40, I hadn't been running fast and I have no idea where that time came from. The last couple of miles I had some discomfort in my heel but it quickly went away after the race. Then on 5/29 I ran a 50K on trails, no discomfort whatsoever, I didn't feel a thing in my heel. On 6/5 I ran a marathon and felt some dull pain after mile 8 but it went away right after the marathon. The next 2 weeks I hardly ran at all, a few miles here and there. I've really been taking care of things and I feel that the problem is under control and I am being extremely smart about it. I have been running for 14 years injury free, this is the first problem I have ever had. It's frustrating but I'm taking care of it and I know it's not going to get any worse because I have been taking such good care of it. I have been running a little but not much. I know I have defintely lost some speed but I don't feel that I've lost any endurance.

Here are things I've been doing to take care of my heel:
(note: this is over a 3 month period!!!!)
-wearing night boot/splint every night for the past 2+ months. (I have a high-end one, it's very comfy and I love it! Will almost miss it when I don't need it anymore, that's how comfy it is!!!!)
-Ice (heel, arch, achillies, calf)
-the stick on my calf
-rolly ball for my arch
- LOTSSSS of stretching
-Acupunture (community acupuncture, it's VERY affordable)
-Gait analysis to try to find the problem
-switched my shoes, also bought shoes that are specifically for walking
-heel cups
-self-massage (not going to pay $100 for a massage. I can't seem to find anywhere affordable here in Boston.)
-running slooow, lots of walk breaks and running on trails whenever possible
-lots of rest!!!

Whie it is frustrating, i'm really not overly upset about it because I know it will get better and I do feel that it IS getting better. Currently, the discomfort is very minimal and sometimes I feel nothing, but i'm not going to run on it and make it worse. Not worth it. I do feel that it is improving and I have not yet cancelled any of my plans for this fall. I will take things slower, that's for sure but I still feel that I will be able to run the races I want to run. I feel like I have no right complaining or getting mad about it because, like I said, I have been running for 14 years injury free. I know my body is in sync with my running and I know that running does not normally cause my body injury or pain. I'll get back to that point, I just need to be patient and cautious for the time being.

Well there it is. Now that it's out, I feel I can start blogging more :-)
Thanks for listening!!!!

Honeymoon Pictures (in chronological order!)

Here is our 3 week honeymoon in a nutshell....ENJOY.....

 Pineland Farms 50K, New Glouster, Maine

 Matching "just married" shirts in front of the castle (OMG the castle is SO small!!)

 Day 1 of face painting.  

 Where is Ryan???? Sleeping in the hotel room! Early morning in the park by myself! SO fun!!!

 Day 2 of face painting. Disney's California Adventure

 Ryan won all these silly stuffed animals (he won several for kids too)

Realizing he cannot take the pup with us on the rest of the honeymoon. RIP Mudville Pooch

Waiting for the Amtrak train from Anaheim to San Diego!

Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon Expo 

 Fancy hotel toilet paper cover

 San Diego Zoo

 San Diego

 Post-marathon pic

 In cab on our way to the SD airport and then on to Vancouver!!

Another fancy hotel!!! Downtown Vancouver

 The Olympic Torch!!

 Dinner is a revolving restaurant in Vancouver

 Our cruise ship! The Disney Wonder

Room #2090

 Adios, Vancouver! See ya in a week!

 "Congratulations" dessert

 Tracy Arm, Alaska

 Tracy Arm, AK

Panning for gold at Liarsville in Skagway, AK

 So many characters on the cruise!

 We played "Match Your Mate," we were the newlywed couple and we won!!!

 Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, AK

 Upside down trees at Glacier Gardens, Juneau

 Ketchikan, AK

 My attempt at drinking

 YUCK! I hate alcohol!!!!

 Kids drink...this is more like it! (see my nails, no French manicure for this bride. I had bright pink nails for the wedding!)

 3 weeks of FUN...over...

Dinner in Portland, OR during our 8 hour lay over

Thanks for looking at our pictures!!!! :-) 

7/29/11, My "Slowest Marathon" NOT my "Personal Worst"

On Friday night I ran a marathon in Wakefield, MA. It was an 8 loop course around a lake and it started at 7pm, making it my first ever night marathon. My finish time was 5:06:53, 1 hour and 38 minutes slower than may personal best.  Slow? To some people, maybe. "Worst?" Hell no, it was great!! It's not my personal worst, it's just my "slowest marathon." I refuse to call my 5:06 a "personal worst." What does that even mean? There was nothing bad about that marathon, it doesn't deserve the label of "worst." I had a great time, in fact, it was extremely enjoyable, all 26.2 miles. I ran the first 5 loops with an old friend and a new friend, the conversation was great, I had several belly-laugh moments when I could baarely catch my breath because I was laughing so hard. Then there was that good laugh when all 3 of us peed under a low tree branch together, right along the path at dusk. After the 5th lap, we lapped Ryan, who was running the 12 hour ultra (more from him soon). I decided to drop back and run with him. I ran 2 laps with Ryan in the heavy down pour, gosh, I love running in the warm rain in the summertime!!! We chatted with a few other runners, including one man who has been living in a motorhome for the past 7 years exploring America (my dream!!). I have spent years of my life living in a motor home traveling America as a kid so it was cool to meet him! I decided to run the last loop my by myself and this loop was definitely my strongest. Eventhough I had not run over 10 miles since RnR San Diego on 6/5/11, I felt really strong that last lap and picked up the pace a bit. At mile 24.5 I met up with a young man who was running his first marathon and was struggling, a volunteer yelled to us "stay together!" So we did. We ran the last bit together chatting the whole way. I finished the marathon around 12:15am. I changed my clothes, ate a sandwich then grabbed an old mylar blanket and a sweatshirt and set up my sleeping space alongside 20 tents. I laid down the mylar blanket, rolled the sweathshirt into a ball for a pillow and laid down on the grass to sleep under the stars. What better way to spend a summer's night?? A far cry from a "personal worst!"