See? I told you I was jacked up!

((My comment while showing off my b-e-a-utiful MRIs to my coworkers.))

I haven't posted because I have been waiting on getting my MRI back from Wednesday. I can't see a whole lot in terms of the tendon issue (although the MRI tech said she saw some tendonitis in that general vicinity), but I have always had heel pain and now I might know why. Now's also a fantastic time to state that I am SO not a trained professional. Speaking of trained professionals, they didn't give me a report (like they swore up and down was on the disc), so you get the benefit of me and my Microsoft Paint skills. Enjoy.

Also, if you look at the dried, cracked skin on my foot, you will see that as soon as I am willing to let someone without a medical degree touch it, I'm in desperate need of a pedicure. AND, I am getting my x rays tonight; that ought to be interesting as well (but I don't think they come on a disc, so you might just have to take my word for it).

I'm a hot mess in this hospital bracelet.

I'm a hot mess in this hospital bracelet.
Originally uploaded by holo wahini

I asked for one with bling but no such luck.

Undefeated.

So the ankle sucks. Ice is helping A LOT, and I think learning some stability poses in yoga will really help my ankle, as will P.T. (signed up to go on Friday!) I keep trying to think in terms of what's coming next, like the Peachtree, or Vegas... but then I read this.

Jerks.

I realize the message board is a bunch of people who are probably at the worst end of things - seemingly a bunch of surgery folks looking for someone to tell them anything - but when you read that some of them are never the same again, especially as distance running goes, it's really heartbreaking for me. I am taking that pretty hard. And I know that those people are different than I am, and mine may not be as bad, and I may not have to have the surgery, or I might and it'll be good as new, but between my being impatient and my ability to latch onto the worst case scenario, I'm just not excited.

However, let's keep in mind here the things I CAN do.

Bike.
Yoga.
Weights.
Swim.

All things I enjoy, even if they are just distractions from what I really want to be doing. I just can't let the defeatist attitude get a hold of me.

Pretty Pretty Princess

I figured this earned it's own post. I think I have found my costume for the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year. I love BuyCostumes.com!

I am sure this will be fabulously accented with my new ChampionChip:

Dr. Google, M.D.

So I went to the ortho, who poked and prodded my foot and ankle and came up with the determination that I have messed up my peroneal tendon.

Didn't I say that like two weeks ago? Just call me Dr. Google, M.D.

Anyway, I get to wear a super awesome (not!) ankle brace, some heel pads in my running shoes to turn my ankle the other direction, and some physical therapy to teach me exercises to strengthen my ankle. Oh, and my regular doc still wants an MRI of my ankle, so I'm going to get that done. (Hooray for being over the deductible! Free MRIs all around!)

The REALLY important part of all that is that I can still bike to keep my cardio up, I am following my regular doc's suggestion that I take more yoga (see B's first yoga experience here!) and when it stops hurting on a daily basis, the goofy brace can come off, then I can start walking... then "running slowly". (I didn't tell him that's the only way I run.) So while I am not there yet, I am still pretty darn excited!

And then I read this article. Then I was pretty darn not-so-much excited. Darcey forwarded it to the Zappos CEO (a Twitter friend of ours), who said "we are investigating and trying to learn more about devine's situation". Um, I hope so!!!

Where was I on things that excite me? Ah, yes. My friends Joseph and Tiffany had their little bundle of joy last night at 1103 - Madelyn Elizabeth, 6 lbs, 8 oz. Yaaa! Another kid I can spoil then send back to it's parents. I have 18 years to get her to defy her parents and go to Auburn instead of Georgia... better get started on that!

...But Baby, Look at Me Now!

Once a year, when I was in school, we had to do the most horrible, demeaning thing imaginable - the President's Physical Fitness Test. I HATED it!!! I was not an athletic kid, in spite of dance lessons, gymnastics, cheerleading, tennis, and soccer (I pretty much stunk at all of those, except tackling people in soccer.) I hated watching my friends do pull ups on a bar, having no upper body strength to speak of myself. But still, my evil gym coaches made me "try it" - which was more like just hanging there, hoping I looked pathetic enough that they would let me give up. And the shuttle run - all you do is run, pick up a goofy little block on a basketball-court line, and run back. Twice. What does that really say about you or your fitness level? NOTHING! And having someone hold your feet while you do crunches is right up there with medieval torture - when my friends were cranking away at them, I was always huffing and puffing and came up short. Elementary school gym was always such a degrading experience.

I like to think I have gotten more fit as I have gotten older. Sort of. I can at least run, which is something I couldn't do very well as a kid. But more importantly, somewhere along the way I developed the will to try. And, apparently, so have the Baby Boomers. Due to so many requests from them, the government has developed the President's Physical Fitness Test for Adults. If you go to their website, you can enter your information and see how you rank in your age group. The test only has three sections: Aerobic (1 mile walk or 1.5 mile run), Muscular Strength and Endurance (half sit-up and push-ups), and Flexibility (the good ol' V-sit from the original test). There is also the President's National Challenge, which is a daily activity log for being active 5 days a week for 6 out of 8 weeks and even has a competition between the states. (Alaska is leading, by the way) Would anyone be interested in doing a blogger group for this?

I think it's high time I finally earned the certificate for this one! Just as soon as I clear it with my docs... :o)

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

In light of giving relationship advice to a friend and a great article by Kristin Armstrong in Runner's World, I have to think about my short-term (but too long-term in my eyes) break up with running.

The doctor said I probably have tendonitis, recommended an x ray, MRI, an ortho appointment, more yoga, and physical therapy. I have the first one out of the way, the MRI is probably coming (waiting on insurance, naturally), the ortho appointment is Tuesday, yoga's no big deal, but the PT, that's going to take... weeks. Ugh.

My doctor also reminded me that I'm not 20 years old any more (FYI, I'm approaching 27 at a pretty good clip). I have feet issues. Stretching and flexibility issues. And, now, ankle tendon issues.

The article made me think about relationships and how some of them can translate to running...

Example: A friend of mine has a lot going on. Probably bit off more than he can chew.
Running: Someone like me who has too many racing endeavors.

Example: A single friend who thinks everyone has a significant other, except for him.
Running: Everyone out running when I can't.

Example: Breaking up to see other people.
Running: Stopping running to try other sports.

Example: Two people who just can't seem to meet each other on the same level, having difficulty understanding each other.
Running: Having inconsistent or bad runs (aka, heavy in their running shoes)

Example: Charlie Brown and the Redheaded Girl
Running: No matter what you try or how hard, you can't catch that runner who is leaving you behind.

Example: Trying to impress a guy/girl and always coming up short.
Running: Training for certain races and not making it. (For us, last year's marathon).

Example: The bad boy/girl you should probably stay away from but can't.
Running: The race/distance that kicks your butt every time, and you keep coming back for more.

Example: Swingers.
Running: Triathletes.

Blog Love!

Since I have to live vicariously through my running blog buddies, allow me to show off a new blog I am reading: Run, Girl, Run.

Now, everyone run to my hubby's blog and leave him comments about needing a week-and-a-half-overdue race report: The Starting Gun

UPDATE: I thought it was time to branch out in the running blog world (read: home alone and bored), so I added about 6 more blogs. Enjoy!

Back in the Saddle and Bucked Off the Horse

Well, my foot/ankle had been feeling better. I even wore heels to work Monday and Tuesday with no problem. So, as antsy as I was to get back to running, I decided to go out this morning and try to see how many times I could do the one-mile loop around my neighborhood.

Answer: One. Barely.

As I limped on back towards the house, I realized that I came back too early. I also realized anyone who knows me knew I would - I eat, sleep, breathe, obsess about running all day long, and to not run hurts about as bad as the injury. It felt soooooo good to be back out there, even if my foot was hurting. I was just happy to run, and I hated to see it end, but it had to.

I called three different orthopedists today - one didn't take my insurance (which is odd, as they were on their website), one booked me for May 27 (far too antsy for that), and the other for May 20. I started thinking about how most specialists hold their appointments for referrals, so I decided to start with my regular doc, hoping I can get sent to an ortho before the 20th. Maybe they have a great cure, maybe they have nothing, but I really think it's going to take someone telling me "Stay off of it for three weeks" to keep me out of my running shoes. I am that antsy.

And can you blame me? We registered for Vegas last night.

View from the 3rd row me the Baseball Grounds

View from the 3rd row me the Baseball Grounds
Originally uploaded by holo wahini

Florida is beautiful!

Florida is beautiful!
Originally uploaded by holo wahini

...But the Owner's Manual Says 93 Octane!

Most runners say they run so that they can eat whatever they want. Man, I wish that was really the case. While it's nice to think that running and working out will burn calories so that you can eat all the junk food in the world, I've noticed when I run that I can't eat that crap. My performance is horrible. I like the term "heavy in my running shoes": bloated, dehydrated, sluggish. I run better and feel better when I eat salads, lean protein, minimal dairy, and drink lots of water. Soda and alcohol are two of the things that make me feel the worst (well, except for a few sips of Diet Coke right after a race).

So, with my little injury, combined with Cinco de Mayo, Billy being out of town, and going to dinner with my parents on Friday, I have or will have been to the following places... and I'll tell you right now, I did not order the healthiest things on the menu:

La Nopalera
McDonalds
Dunkin' Donuts
Zaxby's
Five Guys
Wendy's
Chelsea
a Suns game (all you can eat burgers and dogs, plus $1 beer night)
...and I'd like to make a London Broil this weekend.

I kind of have this "enjoy it while it lasts" feeling about eating all this junk - hoping that when I can start running and working out again (cross your fingers for Monday!) that I will want to eat healthy to most adequitely fuel my body. Or, at the very least, just so I don't feel heavy in my running shoes.

Jen and the Amazing Sprained Ankle (mostly in pictures)

God bless Jen, my massage therapist. Even when I want to kill her, or even tell her I would if I wasn't face-first in a massage table and at her mercy, I still love her.

She said that the ankle is most likely sprained and gave it some extra attention, which I think helped a lot. I am going to stay off of it until Monday at the earliest, take her advice to R.I.C.E., then try to squeeze in a few miles with the 1st Place Running Club crew and my new ankle sleeve.

She also hit my plantar fasciitis pretty hard, which on my sore foot was majorly flaired up around the heel area. That was when I was really screaming at her:

So, that leaves me right about here with my marathon training:

Expensive Habits

My husband was pretty happy when I put down the golf clubs and picked up my running shoes. He thought I had traded in my expensive habit for a cheaper one. I can for sure rack up on running clothes and accessories, but that's still cheaper than my super cool putter (which does me no good; I can't putt for crap). However, I have a little proof here that running - well, racing - surely isn't cheap:

• Disney Princess Half Marathon $120
• Tickets to Pirate and Princess Party $89
• Commemorative Pin (pre-ordered it for a change) $11.72
• Disney Princess ChampionChip $39.00
• Lovely Active.com "processing fee" $14.85

• Grand total for this one race (not including gas to Orlando, timeshare point values for hotel, food, crap I know I'll buy either at Disney or at the Expo, the 5k I'm sure B will want to do, and the usual Epcot drink around the world): $274.57

Running the inaugural Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon, and getting that medal - Absolutely Priceless.

However, there might be a little shiny silver (or orange) lining on my race expenses: My company was recently purchased by a major running sponsor, so maybe I'll get a little discount on a few races... Maybe. :o)

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

That's about the fifth title I have come up with for this post. I initially started out with "Forgiving The Distance", an apology for badmouthing the 15k distance for so long, but I think it has once again betrayed me. So, to the Gods of Running Karma, I have to sacrifice my ankle.

It started out a pretty great race - I felt awesome as the Disney Women Run The World 15k started out. I hated running the off- and on-ramps due to hip issues, but they were short and I plowed through them. I was never horribly tired, and per my trusty Timex I finished in 2:00:51, about a good 7:01 faster than the Gate River Run! (My official time of 2:03:10 includes a bathroom stop). Afterwards, I felt pretty good, well enough to fight my way through the Epcot crowds to ride Soarin' (which, due to said crowds, we only end up riding about once a year.) Then, we headed to the hotel to check out, and off to Magic Kingdom.

That's where the distance decided it wanted revenge.

I will admit I am the world's worst about stretching. I know my calves get tight and I do very little to prevent or treat that. (Save for my amazing massage therapist and my Marathon Stick!) Well, this time, I am mega-tight in the lower calf area. I walked towards T'n'T (Ticketing and Transportation, for you non-Disney addicts out there) and I felt some soreness in the ankle and kind of going down into my foot around the side.


I have plantar fasciitis to beat the band, but it more manifests itself in my mid-foot, right down the middle (most people have heel pain - I can't decide if they're luckier or not). This was kind of on the side, so I didn't really think it was related. After trekking it around the MK, I ended up at First Aid getting Tylenol, ice, and an Ace bandage. I put the ice on my ankle, but it didn't seem that it was helping there. So, I put it further down on my foot. That hit the spot. Throughout the rest of the day I noticed that the more weight I put on it, the worse it got. This morning I decide to hit Google and I think this is it: Peroneal Tendon...sprain? Maybe? (Another site with this info here.)

So I am going to start my Marathon training two weeks late, while I take a nice (gag) two weeks off to R.I.C.E. the heck out of this thing, get an ankle brace, hit the anti-inflammatories, STAY OFF MY ANKLE, and, if it comes to that, pay a visit to the sports medicine doc. (Yippee! Not.)

This, however, is so not stopping me from registering for the inaugural Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. But it might keep me out of 15ks for a pretty long while... How come I can do 13.1 miles without any problem but 9.3 miles just gives me fits every time?

You have new Picture Mail!

You have new Picture Mail!
Originally uploaded by holo wahini

This guy is probably the only one...