Tag: marathon

Today, I was to pick up my race packet at the Marathon Expo, held at the venue where I had my wedding reception nine years ago.

Tomorrow, my mom was to arrive from Lake Placid to cheer me on during the race. Her husband, a photographer, was to take pictures.

On Sunday, over 1,500 people will run the MVP Healthcare Rochester Half-Marathon, for which I have trained for six months.

I won’t be at the starting line.

Five weeks ago, I sustained a calf strain in each of my legs (the right worse than the left). In early August, I did 11.5 on a Saturday, and when I woke up on Sunday, the nagging calf soreness I had been experiencing for about a week had turned into significant pain. Walking was moderately painful. An attempt at a short three-miler was excruciating.

I immediately launched into panic mode. I set aside my training program, to which I had been adhering like glue. I took a week off from running, implemented the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) method of injury treatment, and when running after seven days of rest was still painful, I went a little nuts in pursuit of self-healing. My list of remedies included, but was not limited to:

• Ace bandages
• Zensah compression sleeves
• Blue Emu
• Alieve
• Heel lifts for my running shoes
• New running shoes
• Three-times-a-day sets of two different calf muscle stretches, each stretch held for 90 seconds (which seems like an eternity), recommended to me by the wonderful Jim Briggs, one of the PTs at Rochester General Physical Therapy, located inside the club.
• Sets of seated and standing calf raises in the club’s weight room, two-to-three times a week.
• A calf massage.
• Cross-training on the cardio machines, using the intervals programs
• Daily ranting sessions to just about anyone who would listen about how much being injured this close to my half-marathon truly sucked.

But last week, after I tried to run again and had to stop just a few miles in because the pain was that bad, I came to the realization that my half-marathon dream, the one for which I had been fighting (and at times, with the insanity of my life, getting my training runs in was truly a fight, both mentally and physically) needed to be shelved.

It was over.

My injury came as a result of pushing myself to my limits (but not beyond them). I did not train to run a half-marathon. I trained to finish a half-marathon in around 1:50. I was clocking long runs at an 8:20 pace. I increased my mileage according to my training plan. I did speedwork with a three-day break following long runs. I followed the rules and I trained hard.

I know I would have finished a sub two-hour half-marathon. I would have met my goal.

Today, I had an appointment with a chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries. He gave me a phone consultation weeks ago, and put me on his cancellation list. I wasn’t able to get in to see him until today. He performed electrical stimulation therapy on the damaged tissues in my calves, followed by ART (Active Release Technique). I have two more sessions next week. He said I should be back running in a week to ten days. He wishes he had been able to see me earlier.

To say I am disappointed does not cover it. What I’m feeling right now requires expletives (and many of them) to even touch the emotions that are swirling. I will spend Sunday either drinking or baking heavily, I haven’t yet decided which.

But if I’ve learned anything over the past six months of training, it’s this:

I can accomplish any damn thing I want to do.

I am now a stronger, faster, fitter, more hard-core runner than I ever was before, even when I was running 30 miles a week, every week, seven years ago. I have an incredibly supportive circle of friends both at Midtown and in my personal life who get what my training meant to me, and who understand how devastating this injury is.

And when I’m 100% again, I’m going to take all the discipline, all the preparation, and all the skills I’ve gained through training for the half-marathon I’m not running this weekend, and turn it into a killer performance in another half, probably in early spring.

And next fall?

I just might try for the full.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
– Confucius

This dinosaur of the MP3 age is my iPod Shuffle, circa 2005. It lacks a display. It requires frequent charging. And I haven’t replaced the ear-bud covers I lost years ago.

But it was my first (and only) digital music player, and it gets me through my runs like no amount of positive thinking, grit, or determination does.

Of course, that’s because I have several power songs on my playlist. These songs infuse me with bursts of energy when the last mile of a long training run is threatening to drag me down. They kick-start my speed intervals, which help me run faster for longer stretches of time. And they push me to run a mile or two farther than I did the week before.

My general tastes in music are definitely in the alternative vein, but some of my power songs are not. Here’s my list:

“She Sells Sanctuary” by The Cult

Okay, so I was 9 when this song came out, but I’ve long held a penchant for 80s-era British rock bands. The meaning of the lyrics is somewhat of a mystery. Some say it’s about social isolation. Others insist that it’s about a man in love with a “lady of the evening.” But I love playing this song during the last half mile of my runs. It’s my “the finish line is near” power song.

 “The Other Side” by Pendulum

The first minute of this song builds up to a great switch-up in the beat, and once the song reaches that point, I start running a speed interval. Running intervals within the first two miles of a run is relatively easy for me. Running them six or seven miles in is not. So, I try and have this song queued up just before I start.

“You Spin Me Right Round” by Dead or Alive

The 2009 re-mixed version of this song gets me in my sneakers and out the door on cold, rainy mornings, it helps me power up hills, and it makes me want to go dancing in the tinfoil paradise known as Vertex in downtown Rochester, a place where I spent a great deal of time in the early 90s.

And last, but not least…

“Lose Yourself” by Eminem

I realize Eminem doesn’t exactly fit the genre to which my other power songs belong, but I can’t help it. I love this tune. It helps me push through to the end of my run, when one mile back I thought I didn’t have anything left in me. The lyrics make me think of crossing the finish line at my half-marathon in September, of achieving this goal of mine that I’ve held on to for so long.

(Oh, and sometimes I do a little above-the-head fist-pumping while this song plays. Don’t tell anyone, or you’ll ruin my street cred.)

“Feet Fail Me Not.”

Admit it, it’s a perfect running song.

What are your power songs for your workout?

I was not always a runner.

In high school and college, I was the classic bookworm. I studied. I co-edited my high school paper and wrote for my college one. I read stacks of books and wrote short stories and poetry. I ate whatever I wanted, and didn’t give much thought to what I was putting into my body. My eating habits were awful. I was the only vegetarian I knew who didn’t eat vegetables.

One day, I stepped on the scale and was horrified by the number staring back at me. I turned to my sister, a long-time runner, and asked her about her sport. She encouraged me to lace up my sneakers and get back into shape. That was almost seven years ago.

I ran 30 miles a week and was in the best shape of my adult life. Running had given me back my strength, my energy, and my body. I was addicted. On the one day a week I did not run, I felt as if I had accidentally worn my slippers to Wegmans. Something was just off.

I set a goal to train for a half-marathon.

Of course, my journey has had detours. My detours are now three and 17 months old.

In 2006 my daughter was born, and 30 miles a week, plus a full-time job, plus freelance work was no longer possible. Instead, I ran 20 a week, and while it wasn’t enough, it had to be enough.

Image Courtesy of Timtak

In 2008, my twins were born. And a life that seemed chaotic before their arrival suddenly morphed into the very definition of mayhem. Running was squeezed into the crevices. Five miles one week, fifteen the next, and three the week after that. I had no schedule. No rhythm. And certainly no speed. They had colic for six months. I functioned on less than five hours of broken sleep a night until well past their first birthday.

My runs suffered.

And in October of last year, I stopped running. We moved. I had taken on a number of large freelance projects. I had three children under the age of three. I told myself that there wasn’t time. That I would start again soon. That there would be plenty of time for running in the future.

It was the wrong decision.

Running makes me a better writer. It makes me a better mother. It makes me a better human being. It is something that is mine, and mine alone. Whether I am on a deserted road or on the treadmill at Midtown surrounded by fellow runners, I am completely centered, focused, and driven. My outside distractions, my kids, my deadlines, my mountainous piles of laundry cease to matter in the slightest.

I needed to find a way to bring running back into my life.

In February, I joined Midtown. The club has, in many ways, given me back my life. I am “me” again.

I drop off my children in Kidtown, where a wonderfully kind, patient, and dedicated staff takes incredible care of them. I can complete my runs knowing that they are in a safe and fun environment, which means so much to me. The social scene of the club is something I’m looking forward to enjoying as well. My family and I attended the Bunny Brunch recently, and we all had a blast.

And the half-marathon plans are back on. I’m running in the Rochester Half-Marathon in September.

My Midtown story isn’t that different from yours, minus, perhaps, the Twinsanity. Each of you has made healthy living a priority. Each of you belongs to Midtown (or would like to) for a reason. Whether it’s the pursuit of a lifestyle change, a fitness goal you want to attain, or a sport you want to perfect, Midtown is serving an important purpose, and I would love to hear about it. Write a comment, use the form on the Contact page, or send me an email at Kristi@meetme-atmidtown.com.

This blog is for you, Midtown’s members and future members. It will feature member profiles, an “Ask the Trainer” series, commentary on current health news, and special posts, such as “Midtown’s Best-Kept Secrets,” which will highlight aspects of the club you might not know about.  And of course, I want to hear your ideas, too. If you have a suggestion for a post on this blog, please share it.

Welcome to your blog. I hope you’ll return often.