Highs & Lows

Things have been up & down for the last week. Last Tuesday when we got to St. John's School, we found out they were closed for spring break, so instead of running the bleachers at the stadium, we skipped across the street to Blanco's & worked out our arms by lifting a few beers to our mouths. Afterwards, Adrienne & I went to Chuy's for dinner with my mentee Carmen. It was oh so yummy, but I must admit that I felt bad for not working out.

I decided against the Blue Bell fun run & chose to run with the team at the park in order to get a good, solid workout. However, I made the mistake of stretching with the group (I blame the fact that we were being videotaped & I didn't want to look lazy on film). We were supposed to run for 2 hours but within just a few minutes, my IT Band completely seized up on me. I tried to "run through the pain" but I knew it wasn't gonna happen. I slowed down to a stroll & finished one measly loop around the park before I stopped. I met up with 2 of my coaches & told them what happened & they walked me back to the parking lot. We ended up going to Starbuck's for coffee/hot chocolate & went back to the park to wait for everyone to finish.

After practice we had a nutrition clinic given by a dietician. I'd heard this woman talk before but it was still pretty interesting. I'm never going to look at chips & salsa at Pappasito's the same again! (30 grams of fat in 20 chips?!?! I don't even want to know what's in a whole basket!) I know my diet is no where near what it should be so I got some advice as to what I should be doing to get the proper amounts of protein (I'm a vegetarian) & ended up buying a bunch of stuff at Whole Foods & Central Market later in the weekend. So far, my diet this week has been much better. So that's good.

I rested my leg all weekend & felt much better by the time I got to practice Tuesday night. We did stretches, walking lunges, skipping, & high kicks to "warm up", then we ran the bleachers & did whips & chains (where we walk in a line & the person at the end sprints to the front of the line). It was a tough workout, but I made it through & was once again pleased with how I handled it all. The only muscles bothering me today are my calves & even that's not too bad. However, I wish that was the only pain I was experiencing right now.

I went to the dentist today to have 2 fillings drilled & filled & ended up having that done, as well as having a wisdom tooth pulled. I was fine during the drilling but freaked the F out when he started pulling my tooth. I wasn't completely numb. The dr. kept saying it was just pressure I was feeling but I immediately made him stop & explained that it most definitely was NOT just pressure. It was PAIN. He poked around a little & sure enough saw that I wasn't totally numb on the inside so he shot me up with a TON of novacaine. The actually pulling of the tooth wasn't bad at all, but I was already in full panic attack mode & I wasn't able to calm myself down until about 5-10 minutes after he was done. The novacaine has worn off now & I feel like I've been punched in the jaw. I am thanking my lucky stars for my good friend, Mr. Vicodin.

I'll be in pain for the next few days but hopefully I'll be ok by Saturday. I've decided to be a good girl & actually run on my birthday. We're supposed to do 14 miles, but I doubt I'll do that many. I figure maybe I'll do 10 or 12. We'll see how I feel. I want to be able to be bright-eyed & bushy tailed for my party later that night. (Jeebus! I can't believe I'm going to be 35 in 3 days!!! How the hell did this happen?)

I got the final approval from UT to have my bake sale next week in the lobby of the medical school where I work. I've already enlisted the help of all my wonderful baking co-workers & should have some really great stuff to sell. Last year I made $450 & I'd like to beat that by at least $50. I'm hoping the raffle ticket sales will help me with that. I just wish I was able to take off last Friday & get more prizes to raffle off, but I think it'll be ok.

Anne & I are finalizing everything for our car wash fundraiser on May 6. Our honored patient, Jonathan & his friends & fellow cancer patients are all going to help out. Jonathan even got air time on the Q Morning Zoo radio station. AWESOME! Hopefully that will bring in lots of people. *crosses fingers*

Things are also coming together for our big crawfish boil at Pub Fiction on May 13. The girls are meeting with the manager of Pub Fiction tonight to go over the plan (Mr. Vicodin is keeping me from driving there to participate in the meeting). It looks like most of the food will be donated & Pub Fiction is donating the beer! WOO-HOO!! One of the other girls is also working with the people from Coca-Cola to see if they would be willing to donate sodas for the non-beer drinkers. Pub Fiction is also going to advertise our event on their website & will email everyone on their mailing list, too. I really feel good about this event. I think it'll be a big success.

So in all, there have been more highs than lows, at least in the fundraising department.

Weekly recap

Last week wasn't too bad (unless you count the most painful & horrific dentist appt I've ever had on Monday). I went to Tuesday night track practice w/ the TNT group & it was a tough work-out, but I survived. I made the mistake of starting out WAY too fast in our drills, but it didn't take me long to get in the proper groove. It was the 1st time I ran more than I walked & I was quite impressed with how I handled it. I was exhausted when we were done, but my right hamstring & butt cheek weren't really bothering me at all. I made sure I stretched a lot right afterwards & thankfully I wasn't really sore that much the next day. It wasn't until towards the end of the work day Wednesday that my thighs started feeling sore.

Wednesday night was the big Coach/Mentor appreciation party thrown my the TNT office at PF Chang's. It was actually a really good time. The food was yummy, the company was great & most of us even walked away with door prizes (dry-fit shirts & hats from Luke's Locker). A couple of the girls & I really started planning our big crawfish boil fundraiser & I started to feel much more relaxed about my fundraising. If things go the way we think they will, we can probably make about $5-6K & one of the girls got a company to match up to $1000 of what we raise. WOO-HOO!!! The fundraiser will be May 20 & hopefully by then I'll have raised some more money on my own & this will top off my account. *crosses fingers*

Work has been CRAZY busy this past week & I had no energy to work out at all the last part of the week. I was a good girl Friday though & despite the fact there was a big St. Patrick's day party going on in the courtyard right outside my door, I left the party before 10 pm & went to bed like a good little girl so I could be rested enough to tackle the 10 miles I was supposed to do the next morning.

Saturday was absolutely PERFECT running weather. It was cloudy & very breezy with temps somewhere in the 60's. It was the 1st time in about a month that I felt really ready to tackle some longer distances. Our run was going from Memorial Park through the Heights, then back again. I made sure I didn't start out too fast (didn't want to aggrevate my hamstring) & waited until I'd walked about 2 - 2.5 miles before I started running. I felt I was going at a pretty good pace, but I knew it wasn't my fastest. I didn't mind because I really wanted to make sure I at least got through the run without re-injuring myself. However, for what was SUPPOSED to be 10 miles, it felt like it was taking a lot longer than it should have to reach the turn-around (which was the 1/2 way point). When we finally got to the turn-around, I looked at my watch. No WAY had I gone ONLY 5 miles. It had to be at least 6. I mean, I know I was going slower than normal, but not THAT slow!

At the turn-around, Carissa (who I'd been walking/running with the whole time) decided to keep running & left me behind. It wasn't long though before my mentee, Carmen, caught up to me. She & I stuck together the rest of the way back to the park & had a great time talking. We kept each other laughing & made jokes about what rock stars we are for being out there for so long. I promised her I'd map out the route when I got home so we would know exactly how far we'd REALLY gone & I was true to my word. After breakfast with the TNT gang, I headed home & mapped it out. And ya know what? I WAS RIGHT! It wasn't 10 miles. It was 12.25! Carmen was actually really excited because she'd never gone that far before. She definitely deserved a pat on the back. I told her she'll likely kick my ass in San Diego because even though she's never done this before, she's a much better runner than I am (she can keep it up for miles & miles) I bet she finishes a good 20-30 minutes before I do. And I'll be so damn proud of her when she does. :)

Anyhoo... by the end of the run, my butt & hamstring were really sore, but thankfully one of the coaches had a roller in her car. I rolled my leg & immediately felt better. I stretched a TON & rolled it again when I got home & after I showered & napped, I wasn't really sore at all. The only pain I had (& still have a little bit of today) was in my calves & that showed up Sunday. Hopefully the pain will be gone by practice tomorrow night. Tonight I'm going to do an hour of yoga to try to help that along.

This weekend is the Blue Bell Fun Run. I want to do it, but I also want to keep up my mileage & knowing me, I won't get out there & do more miles afterwards. And the following Saturday is my birthday & I was planning on sleeping in & skipping practice that day, so I really will need to get in some good distances. Eh. We'll see what happens.

A friend gave me a coupon for 2 free sessions with a personal trainer. I'm going to set up the appts & see how it goes & find out how much it would cost to keep the trainer. Carissa's aunt is also a personal trainer at Bally's (where I'm a member) so I'll compare the costs of the 2. I really need some extra motivation during the week & think it'll really help me stay on track & get better if I have someone telling me exactly what I need to do. Of course, if it's too expensive, I'll just have to fend for myself. Again... we'll see what happens.

Change in plans

Originally I was going to do the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville on April 29, but last week I was informed that a good friend just got engaged & the wedding is, you guessed it, April 29. I don't know how they are going to plan a wedding in less than 2 months, but I'm guessing it's going to be a small one. I'm bummed I'll be missing the race, but I know I'd be more bummed if I missed her wedding.

I swear, I think I'm cursed this season. Since the Houston marathon, I haven't been able to do a single race I've planned for so far. We'll see if I actually make it to Brenham for the Blue Bell Fun Run. Here's hoping!

Almost forgot...

about the stretching clinic!

A physical therapist came to talk to us about proper stretching & to show us what we can do to prevent certain injuries. It was a lot of the same stuff she showed us last season, but this time I had a specific problem to ask her about... my ass.

She had me lay down on my back & she moved my right leg around in various positions until she found one that made me whince. Then she had my lay on my stomach & she started pushing really hard on my butt w/ her thumb. She was sure she'd found "the spot", but I told her it was a bit further up. When she pressed on it, I whinced again & she went "AHA!" She said my problem was with the smaller of the 2 glutius maximus muscles. Apparently I'm over-using it when I run & I need to start using the larger muscle. She told me to imagine that I'm trying to hold a quarter in my butt. LOL! She also showed me some stretches to help alleviate the pain in my ass. Hopefully they will work soon. *crosses fingers*

What happened to winter?

It is most definitely gone.

Gone, gone, gone, gone, GONE! :(

I was so bummed when I woke up yesterday to find it was hot & humid. It wasn't even the least bit cool at 5 am. Blech!!

I felt like shit from the moment I woke up. My broken tooth is keeping me in pretty much a constant state of misery & I am not sleeping well at all. I still went to practice, though I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about it. It was to be a timed practice because we were having a stretching clinic afterwards & they didn't want anyone to miss it, so our instructions were to go out for 45 minutes, turn around & come back to the park. From the moment I started, my legs felt like lead & I felt like I had no energy. I wasn't going any where near my normal speed & it was pissing me off. I just couldn't do it. I walked for a while with one of my mentees but when she went to the water stop, I continued on, meeting up w/ another mentee & my friend Carissa. We talked & walked for a while & next thing I knew it was time to turn around. I hadn't run at all & was feeling a real need to just be alone so I told the girls I was going to run & I did. For the rest of the way back to the park, I did my 4:1's even though it was really hard for me. For the most part I was alone, but eventually the 1st mentee I was with caught up to me, but when it was time for me to run again, she didn't follow. It wasn't until I got back to the park that another person caught up with me & asked if she could walk with me. I felt bad because I really wanted to say "no" to her (I didn't). I just wanted to be alone, but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen so I chatted with the girl the rest of the way in.

I ended up finishing 5 minutes early. In all I did a little over 5 miles, which means my time S.U.C.K.E.D.

UGH!!!! I hate this!!! I am sick of feeling so crappy. I just want to be back to where I was. At this rate I'm never going to finish the marathon in the time alotted. Thank goodness I am FINALLY going to the dentist tomorrow. I can't wait for this damn tooth to be out of my head & the pain to go away!!

Next weekend's practice is supposed to be 12 miles. I plan to start early (maybe around 5:30-5:45). Here's hoping I'll be back to full "YEAH!" strength* by then.

* extra credit if you know what that's from.

Frustration

I am so frustrated. I can't seem to get healthy so my training has gone to shit. I get depressed because I feel like I should be out there doing something, but since I'm not out there doing something I get tired & all I want to do is sleep.

Then there's my fundraising. In a word, it's SHIT! By this time last year I had raised over $1000 already. As of today I've only raised $125. Big f'ing deal. I was so surprised that I didn't really hear from anyone this time around after I sent out my first round of letters. Last time I was innundated with emails, but now, nothing. Maybe they figured last year was a one-time thing so they all were eager to donate, but now that I'm asking again, they're avoiding me. I haven't even heard anything back from a single member of my family. AND I HAVE FIVE SIBLINGS!!!! Recommitment is less than 2 weeks away & I really just want to call it quits. I know I can't afford to put the money up myself, but I also know that my brain won't let me quit. So I guess I just hope & pray that people respond to my next round of emails & the fundraisers I have planned are hugely successful. Unfortunately right now I am seriously lacking in the optimism department. Right now all I really want is to climb back in bed, pull the covers over my head & cry.

*sigh*

Don't mind me... it's been a really bad week.

Crash!

I told the gang at breakfast after practice on Saturday that I thought "Crash" was going to be the surprise winner for Best Picture tonight & I was right! Hooray!!! I haven't actually seen the movie yet (I plan to, I swear!) but I still had a feeling it would win. It's also kinda cool that it won because I have a sort of "Six Degrees" thing going on with it. The sister of a friend is dating Hughes Winborne who just won the Oscar for Best Film Editing for "Crash" tonight (they showed her sister as he was giving his acceptance speech). That makes the 2nd Oscar winning film I have a "connection" to. The first one was "Forrest Gump", which my brother worked on as a PA. :)

8 mile

I was feeling a lot better yesterday so I decided to try for the full 8 mile distance at practice & I started out pretty good. I didn't want to over do it so I walked the 1st 2 or 3 miles, then started my 4:1's. Unfortunately my bladder wasn't cooperating with me & I had to make a pit stop at Starbucks. By the time I got out of Starbuck's, I noticed that all the other slower walkers had just passed me so I sped up to catch them. Along the way I saw the 1st of the runners coming BACK to the park. That was quite humbling. I wasn't even 1/2 way done & here they were on their way back. *sigh*

For the most part, my leg felt great, but I had a weird pain/discomfort in my upper right butt cheek. I can't really describe it other than it felt very "weird". I had to stop to stretch a few times & then around mile 6 I felt my hamstring start to tighten up. The slower gals passed me again. I tried to run, but it wasn't helping the pain in my ass so I decided to just walk the last 1.5 miles back to the park. As soon as I finished, I stretched as much as I could. I went to breakfast with the gang & as soon as I got home, I stretched some more, rolled my leg & put a big ice pack on it. After my shower & nap, I was VERY stiff & sore & a bit worried. Thanfully it all subsided & today I woke up feeling great. *whew!*

Next weekend I was going to do the Bayou City Classic, but TNT is gonna be short-handed (most of the coaches will be gone) & Ginny asked me if I could help out at practice & I said yes. We're having a stretching clinic that day so I really want to be there for that. To me it's worth missing a little race because I need to do whatever I can to make sure my leg doesn't get messed up any further so I can be in good shape for my BIG race.

And now it's time to sit back & watch the Oscars. Woo-hoo!