Archive for April, 2009

Since I’ve been spending so much time in the pool, I decided it was time I updated my swimming wardrobe and get a new ’sporty’ suit.  But, since I’m not really an avid swimmer, I didn’t want to spend much money on something I’d likely only be wearing in the gym’s pool.  

I bit the bullet and ordered a swimsuit from SwimOutlet.com.  But not just any swimsuit— a grab bag swimsuit.  

Basically, you tell them your size and what brand you want, and they pick a random discontinued style and send it to you for like, 75% off the regular cost of ‘this years’ model.  I’d read reviews of people being disappointed by the crazy print patterns, but what did I care?  I only paid $14 for it.  That’s right. $14.  

It was kind of like Christmas, waiting with great anticipation to see what my present was.   

When my special delivery arrived, I was pleased beyond all expectations.  I may have even squealed with excitement.  It was like hoping for a pony and getting a racehorse.  

Behold, my shiny new REVERSIBLE, non-gaudy, totally awesome, totally “look at me, I swim!” suit:

It’s like getting TWO suits for the price of ONE! Again, $14.  

I’m in love with it and I’m actually more motivated to go to the pool now that I look like a swimmer, instead of some random girl taking up valuable lane space in a bikini. 

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll become a swimmer.

Nah….I’m a runner, just confined to a pool. I’ve yet to even put my head underwater

Perhaps the best explanation for my recent emotional roller coaster is this knee injury that has created chaos in my small world.  I kinda didn’t know what to do with myself, not being able to run.  Thankfully, I’ve finally jumped through the hoops in the process to get in to see a doctor, so hopefully my appointment tomorrow will be a good one….meaning, she won’t tell me to stop running for 6 weeks

In the meantime, I’ve tried to be extra conscious of my activities and have avoided running.  On solid surfaces, that is.  I have spent many hours in the pool since Friday doing some super boring water jogging.    

Seriously, other than the fight that happened between two swimmers sharing a lane, I think I could’ve shut my eyes and taken a nap while in the pool. No new scenery.  Just moving at a snail’s pace, going back and forth, back and forth….

It really makes me appreciate running.

I just want to keep up my endurance to the best of my ability and right now, water jogging seems to be my best option.  It’s a good low-impact substitute but even though it’s a decent workout, I don’t get quite the same intensity as I do from running.  So I’ve started doing pilates too, just to keep my muscles toned and limber.  

Good news is that the knee does feel much better than it did a week ago, but until I’m medically advised to do otherwise, I’ll still be jogging in my swimsuit.

As a runner, today is like SuperBowl Sunday is for football fans.  It’s Boston Marathon Monday.  The most heralded event in distance running.  The granddaddy of marathons.  The big B.

I got up early to watch the last half of the elite race.  There’s been a lot of hype built up around the U.S. runners, Kara Goucher and Ryan Hall, both of whom I really admire.  And since a U.S. woman has not won Boston since 1985— for Kara to win it would be a huge moment for every female runner in America.

And maybe it was the fact that I can’t run right now, or maybe just the joy that overwhelmed me as Kara led the pack to the finish, but I cried.  Watching a running event.  On tv.  How silly or lame is that?  

And then I sighed as she dropped back and crossed the finish line in 3rd place.  Still a huge achievement, but when they showed her husband comforting her, I completely lost it.  Again, with the crying….what is with me?  

It’s been a dream of mine to run Boston someday, and I felt like this would be a good year to qualify for 2010 or 2011.  Granted, the only full marathon I’ve ever finished ended badly and took me 6 hours. BUT, up until this stupid knee injury, I’d been feeling great during my training runs and improving my pace.  Excited to attempt the 26.2 again.  A 3:40 marathon would definitely require me to push myself, but it’s certainly a realistic goal.

Whatever happens, I fully expect to be running Boston sometime in the next 5 years.  I’d prefer sooner rather than later, but right now, that’s the unrealistic dream.

Well…..how do I put this mildly?   This sucks.

My frustrations with my leg problems have been building up to a boiling point.  I’m trying to stay optimistic and hopeful, but it’s hard.

If it’s not one thing hurting, it’s something else.  I guess it’s mostly just my left leg, but that doesn’t make matters any better.  Within the past few weeks, I’ve moved through a list injuries:

Quad/Shin- solved that, then my middle toe started feeling like it was broken.  I think the tendons were just super tight and wouldn’t let me bend my toe.  At all.  Trigger toe, perhaps?  After lots of taping and stretching, that problem has finally (almost) gone away.  On top of all that, my ankle has been a constant irritation and while it’s nothing that bothers me during a run, it bothers me the rest of the day.  But I can deal with that, no problem.

And now, the worst of them all—my knee.  It started out just hurting when I was done running, then started when I’d be in the middle of a run, then when I’d go up stairs, but now it hurts pretty much all the time.

I’m pretty sure it’s either my illiotibial band or the lateral collateral ligament, but I’ve never had problems with either of these, so I’m not sure which it is or what I did to injure it.

I’ve been icing. Elevating. Stretching. Glucosamine-ing like crazy.

I’m frustrated.

I knew training for this marathon would not be a breeze, but this has been hard.  Getting my mileage in and sticking to my training schedule has been relatively easy, but the injuries that have been building up have been difficult to deal with.

So I’m putting myself on the disabled list and getting an appointment with a doctor who can then refer me to a specialist.  The last thing I want is for this to get worse and not be able to run the marathon at all.  I think I can handle not having the strength and endurance to run my best pace and having to slow down.  As long as I get to run it.  I have two months to figure things out.

Until I know more, there’s no running, no biking, probably no elliptical.  This really is a downer.

Trying to stay optimistic is almost as hard as trying to walk up the stairs.

Hopefully my next post will be better

[Placing a smile on my face while crying inside.]

Well, this was a first.

I was out on a 6 mile run along the west side of Lake Union this morning, and two cops on their motorcycles were trying to catch speeding drivers on Westlake Avenue.  As I ran closer, one of them aimed his radar gun at me and yelled “slow down there, speedster—speed limit’s 30!”

Right. If I was running that fast, I’d be Usain Bolt.  And then some.

Regardless, it made me laugh and before that moment, I was having one of those ‘just get this over and done with’ runs.  I started to enjoy it a little more the last 4 miles.

They didn’t clock me when I ran back by on the return trip, but I’m pretty sure I would’ve gotten pulled over if they had been