Believe to Achieve

Mizuno precisions, japanese flower.  Hmmmm how many miles can I put on these shoes?  I honestly should not have run this morning....who know what I am doing to the nerve in my ankle--   crawling ants feeling as the nerve tries to come to life, numbness like feeling all around mostly the inside of my ankle and follows above and crosses over the top and to the bottom of my foot.  I am like falling apart....what the heck is all this injury stuff???  My PF is numb so I may be injuring it more and more.  I can't get into my podiatrist for two weeks from today.   Hmmm how much damage can I do in that time??  Got my MRI report back--- it showed facet hypertrophy on all my lumbar vertebrae and a dry disk at L3-L4 and a herniated disc (mildly protruding into the ventral thecal sac--- spinal cord) at the L4-L5.  So my thought about "DOUBLE crush" to my ankle is probably true--- first a pinched nerve in my back and second a pinched nerve in my ankle.   Blah blah blah.  I am in training. NO TIME FOR INJURY.  Plan this week-- 6, 6, 6, 5, 5, 10  = 38 miles (up four miles from last week).  Ran cautiously for six mile this morning out and back past AF high school to the half course mile 12 mark and back home.  Although I strategically avoided my ankle completely FREAKING out--- the nerve keeps doing a popping feeling so it causes "electric shock" like symptoms in my ankle....I still ran 9 x 30 second pickups with 1:15 to 1:30 seconds in between just to test myself on speed. I have no speedwork planned this week or next.  I am waiting for week 4 to run some at the track after  I build up my running aerobically.  I felt really strong in my pick ups.  Pace was in the 5:40 range.  Love the short speed.  In between I ran easy but it made my last two miles a 7:17 and 7:10.  AP for 6 miles= 7:54.  First mile 8:44.      Then I had to go biking....because it has been since the 4th of July!!!  AP for 12 miles 4:05.  It was an intense hilly course on the foothills of PG.  I was tired at the end. 

1pm-- ONE MILE with Courtney in the sun.  Courtney wants to get in shape aerobically for soccer etc....So we started our training together.  One mile and some change-- 9:51.  Stopped for 45 seconds at 0.62 miles.  Courtney having a hard time breathing.  She had just eaten and it was hot.  AND she hasn't run in a while except little bursts at twice a week if that soccer practices.  She has been swimming though.  I motivated her with talks of Rachelle's "never ran more than 2 miles" two years ago and NOW look at her :D.  I hope Courtney doesn't lose motivation. 

Trying out new mirages version one feels better on my feet and not so much of a "stability shoe" feel.  Woke at 6am. Drove the carpool for swim team practice.  Ran 6 miles (3 miles out and back, hilly) from the PG pool at 8:06 pace, first mile 8:46.  Last mile 7:43.  Changed into swim suit and swam my fastest over a mile yet this season-- 34:06 for 1800 yards (1760 yards is a mile).  This time includes two stops after 12 laps (36 laps is 1800 yards) and 24 laps for 30 then 40 seconds.  FYI I looked up about my mile time and for swimming in races swimmers are usually talking about METERS for the mile but only saying a mile = 1500 meters which is 1640 yards which IS not a mile but UNDER a mile so basically in an Olympic distance I would be swimming the mile in 28 minutes or less.  I wouldn't stop so I can take away that time as well and I seem to go faster in OPEN water.  I am feeling stronger and stronger in my swims.   I swa 6 more laps as well working on my breaststroke and a couple backstrokes too.  I really am not liking my foot problem--- tendinitis or tarsal tunnel?? I have a Dr appt in less than two weeks...in the meantim I am trying NOT to over do it and actually have NO ankle/foot to run on.  Remember when I said I would stop running when my ankle falls off?  apparently my ankle is trying to detach itself.  Double coupon shopping day with Troy and Courtney.  We saved tons!!  only 152 dollars for two cart loads. Oh yah.  Troy is really good at it!!  price matching is very beneficial when feeding my hungry little family.  Check out my face book for the link to a very cute video on youtube about Cookie Monster singing to the new popular song (that I don't like the lyrics too but cookie monster version ROCKS) "here's my number baby, so call me maybe".  Very cute and pretty much fits my family!! 

mizuno precision japanese flower.  they are so old i am not putting them up on the list of shoes above.  many, many miles on them, let's just say that.  Up at 6am.  Carpool to pool for Courtney.  Ran up to canal trail on Battlecreek Drive from PG swim pool.  First mile 9:12.  Last mile 6:40.  Ran 4 miles on the canal dirt trail.  AP 7:49.  I was movin' on the trail and didn't realize it.  THEN another mile swim at the pool.  Took 10:20 to go 12 laps.  That is pretty quick.  I felt strong.   1800 yards in under 33 minutes with 40 second and 30 second break.  Then did 2 laps breast stroke, 2 laps back stroke and one lap again with freestyle.  Will start some speed work in the pool next week.  Work the next two days so just two 5 mile runs those days and one 10 miler on Saturday.  Ankle-- numb and shooting nerve pains. Didn't act up as much as yesterday.  Steroid shot in the back pending.  Kim's mom's ankle is also numb from a herniated disc in the same area.  She got a steroid shot yesterday. Waiting to hear how she feels, if the numbness goes away.  There is also the new therapy where they inject antioxidants into the site.  It has a high success rate.  Not covered by insurance so I need to make sure that's the best treatment.     I have a herniated L4-L5 lumbar disc.  My left kidney is also working overtime.  CUTEST video I have seen in a while and appropriate since I love cookies:  go to youtube and find the video "Sesame Street: Share It Maybe".  Definitely a must watch.  Show your kids/nephews/nieces etc.... :D.

442 am run before work.  tired.  8:19 AP for five miles.  first mile 8:39 --thought it was over 9mm so I guess that is good.  ankle may Never get better if  I keep running on it without a diagnosis but it is crunch time.  ready to go otherwise....actually "sciatic nerve" tried to show its face again---hamstring pain that really is nerve pain.  I sure hope I didn't open a can of worms trying that swiss ball work out Rachelle posted on her blog.  it seems whenever I do workout that involve planks and stability the nerves in my back get inflamed.  need to do more exercises for my WEAK back.  those core exercises were intense.  my shoulders are achy today!!  worked at utah valley hospital on pediatrics. 

early morning run before work at 6am.  5 miles @ 8:10 pace.  First mile 8:49.  Last mile 7:39.  long day at work. Tired.  Where did last years body go??  Every night I am just tired.  Perhaps it is all this heat!!!  I don't do well in heat.

I signed up for this race yesterday to try and get my butt in gear even with a bum ankle.  Yup still insane.  Would you expect anything different from me?  More insane is the first 2.5 miles of this course.  The first  mile is all uphill with part of it labeled "Goliath".  The second mile contains the second half of Goliath then some rollers.  It starts at Timpview Highschool and heads north, turns right after going .8 miles and head up Goliath then turns south at the top with a rollers that is still a net uphill until mile two, then a few more rollers in mile three then if you can even get your breathing/heartrate in control (which I couldn't since I am out of shape) you can take advantage of the second part of mile three (wonderful downhill) and mile four some little roller then downhill by the Provo Temple.  Miles 5 and 6 are flat with the last .2 miles UPHILL.  Seriously this course kicked my butt.  IT was soooooo hot and humid that I was completely saturated in sweat in the two mile warm up I ran.  I was so much worse in the race.  

Splits-- 7:53 (9:08 in the warmup where I felt I was suffocating), 7:51 (I am pretty sure I was moving in place for a bit at the beginning of this mile, the rollers in view didn't help me mentally after the first water station.  Mile three pleasantly surprised with 6:30.  One guy (in his 50s based off his white hair) completely cut off the corner after we turned left and you were to stay and go around the cones.  He gained momentum from this and easily gained 15 seconds based off that move.  I was irritated!!  Mile 4-- 6:40.  I seriously was like if SGM is hot this year I am not racing it!!  The heat was killing me.  My HR just never recovered from that ridiculous hill climb!!  I thought the girl ahead of me was the woman I talked to at the start that I had warned about the first mile and she said she ran track but just had kids so she was out of shape.  Turns out that wasn't the case at all-- it was 17 year old teeny bopper (cute blonde, taller and I but skinnier).  We met just before the awards.  She was like "wow you did great.  Last year you would have beat me.  I ran it over 43 minutes".  This year she ran it in 41:24.  She won 100 dollars.  Nothing for second place.  I didn't care and knowing she was somewhere out in front and unseen from where I was just gave me the excuse to slow it down.  I was seriously nauseated.  MY legs felt like jello.  Mile 5-- 6:55.  See I slowed but it was flat to slightly uphill then a short downhill.  Mile 6 I wanted to quit and walk so I am sure that is why I slowed.  7:15.  Oh well.    The last .2 miles are uphill.  Yuck.  The sun was beating in my face.  I was just glad to get this over with!!  Oh at mile 4.7 there was another left turn and the guy in front of me completely cut off  the corner without going around the cones.  So losery!!! It was obvious where you were supposed to run.  I am sure white haired guy (who finished close to the first girl) cut that corner off too!!  Sorry it just annoys me.  I want to run the course the right way and I expect others to but what do you do???  blah.  Funny sidenote-- two bikers at different times just before mile two were giving me encouragement.  I was still recovering and running a lot of rollers and told them "sorry I can't talk".  I told one of the bikers to tell the girl up in front to "slow down!!"   He said she was slowing on the uphills so I could catch her on the down.  I was in no mind set to race so I didn't have it in me to catch her.  I was feeling quite dehydrated.  In fact right now I think I have a slight case of heatstroke-- I am dizzy and my HR is up and I feel like vomiting.  I needed to take in some salt before this race.  I only took a few swigs of powerade and 1/4 of a banana.  I think a salt tab would have saved me.  I was wondeirng if someone would have collapsed on this course because I thought I was about to.  Okay, long report.  Nothing wrong with 2nd place on a comeback. Ran coolddown in 8:09 pace.  Warmup pace 8:14 for two miles. Total miles 10.2.  Oh yah-- Course short unless the garmin can't pick up the intense vertical gain accurately.  The race director swears the course is on but Ian Hunter ran it and really believes  it is closer to 6 miles as well.  The RD is my neighbor.  He used his bike with a device to track the distance.  Not sure what kind that would be or how accurate it is.  According to a recent conversation on this about the Boston Marathon course-- GPSs can be off hence why they use a similar device to mark the course.   Feel free to enlighten me.  When I course tooled it the satellite had a hard time getting elevation at times.  We are right upside the mountain.  Effort the same for me in the heat and with the giant (goliath) hill.  Of course THOSE who took OFF the corners even ran less.  Silly boys!!