Embrace the Suck Month

Running Kills - just say no. -How I feel right now && "Just Say No to over training" - Mike Way -

Yes - this is what time I get up sometimes

Last month was our hardest training week. We ran three over 30 mile weekends in a row -

One of our running routs - tour of the parks

and i'm really feeling it. I made it through some tough runs, but not with out help. My first week over 50 was rough. I had hamstring issues as usual and had to skip a run early in the week - only to make up for it on Sunday - running 12.5 instead of 10. On Saturday we met at my parents for 24 miles. We had a good group of about 8 ranging in miles between 18, and well... 24. I had an awful run, another runner also did, so we limped through a rough patch together. It was a nice rout though. starting in Sandwich out in the country - going mostly on the back roads towards sharidan into newerk -

Lake Geneva Marathon rout - the 22 Mile Euro goes around the lake trail

Matilda thinks i'm crazy

we got a little lost so our 18 rout turned into  20, but it worked out ok. After that Debi and I had to do another 4 miles. 4 miles never seemed so long - it was tough. I ended up just running down a road and waiting for a ride.... laying on the road... then it

I also go to bed really early sometimes
It's lame

started to rain and it was cold.... but I made it 24, the next day was though, 12.5 miles - It was Judah, Debi, Paul (Old youth pastor who is training again after a year + off) and I. We went down to silver springs from my house, ran a loop, and came back down hale street. That was my first 50+ mile week. On Monday I hurt. BAD. but my hamstring didn't feel too much worse. The next week we ran 23 and 8 I believe. everyone met at my house and we ran a rout through Sandwich and Somonauk. we had about 8 or 9 runners - the weather was great, I didn't feel too bad. That Monday I hurt, but not as bad.... This last week we ran 22 - the tour of the parks rout. Deb and I were going to run 6 before we met up with everyone, but it ended up being very rainy - I did NOT want to go run, it was cold and raining.... I think everyone was praying for lighting... But it didn't, and we did meet at 6am on another Saturday made possible by yet another early Friday night. 10 of us met, I think we needed the group just to have the motivation to get out and run in crappy weather like it was. A few people went 12 miles - we ended up loosing Mike and Angela, so it was just 4 of us. I'd say it was a decent run though. After that run my foot started hurting and Debi's IT Band started hurting.

We met at her house at 8am to run a Plano, yorkville Bristol rout - 10 miles. We were both limping pretty bad - it's my left foot, started with the arch area in the middle, now it's that and the outer edge....

my arch support foot wrap attempt. FAIL

 

We made it through the run though and were feeling alright - we figured this week is an easy week, so we took 2 days off hoping we would feel refreshed after - that effort was a major fail. We had a HORRIBLE 9 mile run this morning. it was 60ish degrees and SOOO humid. I couldn't breath, my foot was killing me.... it was awful. but we made it.... today I am limping. I am tired of hurting. I don't know what i'm going to do - it hurts bad, bad enough I may not be able to run through it. It's just so heartbreaking, hit after hit I try so hard to be upbeat and strong and not worry about how much pain i'm in, but sometime it just wears on me and I feel like curling up and crying. I"ve put so much work into this, time, energy, so much sacrifice and it's just so hard to be hurt right now. The crazy early mornings when I wish I could just curl up on the couch like Matilda and go back to sleep - All the medicine and pills I have to take, All the gear I put on every run, the icing, the massaging, the stretching.... and what do I have to show for it? a little section of medals and running bibs.....

Right now - to me. its not worth it.

Every runner needs one of these

My Watch & headphones

I have the 22 Mile Lake Geneva race on the 12th, I just can't be more hurt now - but I am. The hamstring, blisters, rubs from my camel back, soreness... that was all enough... now my foot? really? I shake my fist in disgust at this situation.

Embrace the suck bracelet. Sometimes it helps

Runner Friends!

To stray away from the doom and gloom I want to talk a little about what has helped me get through this schedule - so far. I wear Calf compression sleeves
- I LOVE them. After a run when I sit at work if I do NOT have my compression sleeves on my calves get SO tight and awful feeling - but when they are on - the feel great. I also think it aids in recovery and is good for traveling if your a runner or not (helps with swelling) . My Garmen Forrunner 405 - I think it's neat - it tells me how fast i go, how many miles i've run - keeps me from starting out too fast and just in general makes me happy.  My Ice Pack - It goes in the freezer and gets cold, OR in the microwave for a heat pad. then it just slips into it's nice sleeve and wraps around what ever hurts - it has been used a LOT. These days i'm not even sure what to put it on first.

I love these

My head phones - I have spend a great deal of money on head phones in the past - finally I found these - they wrap around my ears and actually stay on, Few things do I find more annoying when I run is the feeling of my ear bud slowly slipping out of my ears. Mole Skin - I have some shoes that give me blisters, I like those shoes, and if I put this stuff down where it gives me a blister, no blister and I get to wear the shoes. My Shoes

As a runner you really can't have enough

- I love each and every one of them - even the ones that have hurt me and failed me - i'm just loyal like that. I don't think I could ever have too many, although my door begs to differ. Lately I have been enjoying light shoes and trail shoes. Newton Shoes are my favorite - but i'd be up for trying some heaver more structured shoes again someday. My running friends

I really can't wear these heels

 

 

 

- Sometimes I think my running group needs to have a pact - and that would be - What happens on the trail/road stays on the trails/roads. The runners that show up to run at 6am on a Saturday morning is sometimes the only reason i'm able to get out of bed, and that's because if I didn't, i'd never hear the end of it -we all enjoy the group Facebook attach to runners who don't make it in the morning.  like last week the 10 that showed up in the rain - no way was I going to be the weak link and not show....