Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Check Out My Slit

I took my son for his 12 year old physical today. He got fondled. Did they do this when we were 12? I laugh at this questionnaire the kids have to fill out for the doctor. Questions like: what do you spend your money on? How do you get your money? How do your parents show you they are mad at you? It would be a great candid camera to have a kid answer: "I get my money from selling drugs and spend it on weapons. My parents show me they are mad at me by stealing my drug money."

Now onto running:

In my quest to bounce back from this stress fracture injury, I've been doing a lot of reading about how to be smart next time. Not that I was completely ignorant, but I constantly pushed myself to the point of crapping (sometimes under bridges, sometimes in bushes, sometimes, well I didn't make it), didn't cross train (except some yoga), ran back to back days all week long, didn't take my calcium, changed shoes just because I felt like it without making sure they were the best fit, raced and raced and raced and...well, I guess I was completely ignorant.

Here's what I have learned, fellow runners. I know most of you know this, but there is always room for a reminder:


  • Gradually increase distance, intensity and frequency. 10% rule. Don't increase any of these by more than 10% at a time. Big Fat Fail for me. I upped my speed and frequency and distance all at once. Right before I got injured I ran ten miles one day, 18 miles the next day (at marathon pace), 6 miles the next day (fast), then major major speed work (9x800). Then ouch, hey my foot hurts. No shit.

  • Be careful of excessive downhill running. I didn't do too bad on this one, but did the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon (all downhill in the Colorado mountains) then the next week ran the relay in Oregon.

  • Adequate rest between workouts. Total fail for me.

  • Fewer hard surface runs. I did okay on this one. Did lots of trails.

And just food for thought. Did you know 80% of running injuries are caused by too much of an increase in mileage?

I am going to make a confession here. Sometimes when I would read your blogs and hear of your long distances, fast times and PRs, I would feel the need to keep up. To push harder, rather than doing what was right for my body. Lesson learned. Be where you are.

Tomorrow is indeed another day. There is no telling if another injury awaits me in my future, but I'm going to work hard and diligently to avoid it. Trying to BQ after only running for the past year or so might have just been too much. I plan to be running for a very, very long time. I plan on running a marathon at the Great Wall of China. I want to run the Athens Marathon, following in the footsteps of Pheidippides and returning to the place where I went to high school. I want to do an ultra someday, running the famous Comrades 87km race in South Africa. I need to keep my body strong for all that I have in store for it. I am competing only against myself and I need to not compare, not judge, not let my ego take over.

What are your great future running plans? Where is your dream place to run a race? How will you take care of yourself to make sure you get there?

BTW, for all you inquiring minds, my cute new party dress is from Forever21. Yes, I know. I am 42. So I call it ForeverDouble21 and it's all good.

I close with a picture of me getting ready to see Wicked this weekend. What a wicked slit I have in my skirt, eh? Forever Double 21!!


PS: Check out this giveaway!

21 comments:

  1. I've managed to do every one of those 'don't do's' and paid the price for each one. The important thing is to learn from it and not make the same mistakes again. I'm in starting-over mode right now, so I'm living every single one of those rules.

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  2. Thanks for the reminder...I am bad about not taking enough rest days. My sanity always says I need to run. But my insanity will be at it's peak if I can't run due to injury.
    And I want to say, you are doing really well without running - I don't think I would be holding up as well as you! :)
    Hot dress!

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  3. Nice reminders...stuff we know but don't always follow, right?! Have fun at Wicked, love it! Those are wicked shoes by the way!

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  4. I think I'm in the same boat when I say that reading other people's running blogs and how far they are running makes me want to keep up too. You're right...stay at your own pace. Thanks for the reminder!

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  5. your flipping hilarious! i'm rolling at this post!!! i agree 100% with the feeling of a bit of competition. its good and bad at the same time. good because it helps get me out the door and bad because i'm ALWAYS pushing myself. Thanks for reminding me to do my OWN thing!!!

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  6. Very simple visual thing to do, a monthly calendar, 3 different color markers. 1 color for hard days, 1 color for easy and 1 for Cross training. After the workout (not before) mark the calendar easy or hard, very quick visual to see, multiple hard days or no xtrain in weeks. You can then expand to include flexibility (yoga) and strength

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  7. I have finally admitted that I have Plantar fasciitis. I am committed to reducing my miles and the number of times I am running in a week. Injuries suck - but we all need to listen to our body. You will run (more than 1 minute at a time) again . . . soon.

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  8. i can totally relate to your feeling of having to keep up. I don't have a goal of BQ... but I do want to have running be a part of my life for a long time. Because of the 'pressure' (totally self-induced), I stopped posting my paces/every single detail of my work outs. We're not all equal. I'm not as fast as most runners out there, but I'm me. I do it because I can and because I enjoy it. I now feel a lot more relaxed... glad i'm not the only one!

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  9. I'm just going to go ahead and admit my guilt as well. Where do I sign in and do I need a name tag?

    The first step is admitting the problem the next is learning from it. Let's all stick together on this one!

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  10. You've taken a crummy experience and learned a lot from it - that is what counts.

    I'm guilty of breaking many of the 'rules' but trying to be a smarter runner and thinking LONG TERM.

    I want to be running marathons many years from now. I *have* to keep running marathons for at least 40 more years if I have any hope at a BQ. hahaha

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  11. Great reminders. I am guilty of feeling like I should do more when I read everyone's blogs. thanks for reminding me to not compete with my bloggie friends and risk injuring myself.

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  12. Thanks so much for all the info. I tend to overtrain way too much as well. Why are we all so guilty of this? And I hope you had an awesome time at WICKED. And THANKS so much for posting my giveaway!

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  13. Good post!

    In my injured state, I too, had plenty of time to put on my hindsight goggles and look at all the stupid stuff I was doing right before I got broke (and I've been running for many years and knew better...perhaps this is why I had never tackled training for a full marathon?). Wake up call; I'd like to think I'll learn from it!

    Here's to not being a dumbass, cheers.

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  14. ahh yes the need to keep up, that one bit me the arse a few times and was probably why I had to stop running for 3 months myself. I really want to get faster though, so I'm trying to strike the balance of listening to my body and making slow and steady increases

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  15. Be where you are at: I love it. That is one sexy skirt - you could be the poster child for ForeverDouble21!

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  16. Great rules. I'm learning to stretch more, even though I'd rather not. That's an awesome dress, you look amazing!

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  17. Oh ya. I've totally been guilty of pushing my mileage/pace to the idiot-zone in an attempt to keep up with others.

    Nice slit!

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  18. Am I the only one who thought it said, "check out my shit"? Because let's be honest, it wouldn't be shocking coming from you. :o)

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  19. I just found your site! I injured myself too, 1 month before the NY Marathon that I was supposed to run this year. I also want to run a marathon in May and hope to take things slow and not do anything too crazy like I did in the past. Good luck with running!

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  20. Really enjoy your blog, and am trying to behave myself as I recover from an injury, thus the comment on this particular entry. Glad you made it through your stress fracture and are back pounding the trails.

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