5k PR

About a year ago, I ran the Sharon Timlin 5k. I was inspired to register for it on a trip to visit my aunt Midge. Her husband, my Uncle Dennis, died of ALS in the fall of 2010, and when I visited Midge last April, I decided to run the Sharon Timlin race because it was a fundraiser for ALS. I ran 25:57. It was my first race since college. Sean was my pacer. I've never heard of a pacer for a 5k, but there you go. I'm lucky.

On Sunday, I ran the Sharon Timlin 5k again. When I toed the line this morning, I thought about the start of this race last year. I was so emotional that day; partly because of Dennis, and partly because I really wanted to run a marathon but didn't know if I ever would. I used to cry about that a lot.

I didn't cry Sunday morning, but I did run a 20-second PR. And my IT band didn't hurt! All the PT, foam rolling, strength exercises, rest / low mileage, and ART I've been doing must be working. And maybe Dennis was watching out for me.

After the 5k, for the first time in months, I wasn't registered for any races. That didn't really feel right, so I registered for the Mass Ave Mile yesterday. I'd love to run a mile in under 7 minutes. I am dying to get faster. I haven't done any speedwork since last year, but I've put in a ton of miles. Although I'm happy I ran a PR, I want to do better.

At last year's Sharon Timlin race, Maple ran a 200m track race. This year they didn't have races for the little kids, but they did have a mile race for kids 7 and up. Maple doesn't turn 7 until August, so I didn't register her for the race. But when we got to the race, she started running laps around the track, just for fun. I asked her if she'd want to run the mile, if I could get her registered. To my surprise, she said yes.

I hope I'm not being one of those blind parents who push their kids to do tons of crap and then act shocked when anyone suggests that the kid is just doing it to keep the parents happy. But whatever. She was amazing, and finished the mile in 9:19 (this was her first chip-timed race).Usually when we run around the block, she wants to stop four times to walk, so I was shocked to see her coming up to the finish in nine minutes! We were so proud, and so was she.

Later on Sunday, we went to REI and she climbed to the top of the climbing wall (for the first time). It was another surprising moment. She had to work through fear and exhaustion to get to the top, but she did it. I should never underestimate her. She can do so much more than I think she can.

And I should think the same way about me! I want to break 24 minutes for a 5k this year. Maybe that's impossible, but I used to think running a marathon was a stretch. Someday I want to run sub-22 for the 5k. That's probably insane - I have absolutely no raw talent for running and I don't think I have any fast-twitch muscles at all - but I think I'll have fun trying.

Sean is running a lot lately as well. He's training for the Vermont 50 this fall, and he's also doing the Mad Marathon in Vermont as a training run. We might do the Disney Marathon together in January, but we haven't committed yet.

This week is about increasing mileage for me. I'll start speed and hill work next week. I'm going to try to get faster this summer, and then whip myself back into marathon shape for either a fall marathon or Disney. Maybe both.

Bliss

This past week I've been focusing on healing and having fun with my family. I'm not doing much running yet, but I had my longest run since the marathon (4 miles) today and it went really well. The ITB seems to be settling down.

I am faithfully doing PT exercises every day, foam rolling twice a day, pushups three times a week. I'm doing lots of cross training: hiking, elliptical, and I added spinning this week. I was nervous about spin class because they keep the lights really low and I tend to get a bit disoriented in the dark (thanks to an MS relapse years ago), but the class went well and I'm looking forward to doing it again. I need to incorporate more core work back into my routine, and I'm going to add a day of yoga starting this week. I am allowed to run every other day, up to 4 miles, and I'll slowly increase the mileage. I know I've lost some fitness since the marathon (only three weeks ago!) but I'm working on it. The run today was a huge confidence booster. If things keep improving, maybe I'll be able to run a half in the fall.

Since the marathon, I've been feeling better and better. For the first week or so, I had pretty bad anxiety. I think the reduction in cardio made me a little nuts (running is my therapy). But after I got used to the new (lazy) normal, I started feeling good. My explanation is that I was constantly tired while training, especially near the end of the cycle, and I tend to have more MS symptoms when I'm tired. I was regularly a little dizzy and just didn't quite feel right. I think that as I build up more aerobic fitness, that will get better, but whenever I'm pushing myself to a new level, I'm going to feel a little bit awful. Maybe lots of people do, MS or not.

This weekend has been so wonderful. In fact, every weekend since the marathon has been wonderful because Sean quit his retail job that had him working most nights and weekends, which meant Maple and I never saw him. Now, he stays home and takes care of us, and it's awesome. He packs our lunches, makes our dinners, and takes care of a million other things. He makes us happy and he seems a lot happier himself. For the past few months, training for a marathon while having MS and basically being a single parent was hard, and having him home is like the world's best vacation (for me). We got rid of one of our cars and simplified our lives in general. We have a tighter budget now, but it's worth it. We have our sanity, and we have each other. I didn't realize how much I missed him.

On Saturday, Sean ran his 18-miler (he's training for a 50-mile race in September) and Maple and I went to the farmer's market. I really love our little town and the fact that we can walk to everything. We bought cold brewed coffee, coffee beans, bagels (wheat weekends!) and pasta. We took Maple out to ride her bike (which she just started doing by herself last week). We went out for pizza and came home and watched tv.

On Sunday we hiked Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire. I was impressed that so many people were out there (easily 100+ on top of the mountain when we summited around 11:30). What a scene! The weather was perfect, and it was a serious little hike too. Maple was amazing, scrambling up the rocks with Sean as her coach. I wasn't so cute but I hauled my ass up there anyway. I always wear a skirt when I hike (easier to pee) and with people lined up behind each other (or beneath, in most cases) all the way to the top of the mountain, I gave more than one (maybe more than 100) people a panty shot. Oh well, I'll never see them again. Hopefully.

Now go and watch Erin's amazing running form. I can't believe she just started running like three years ago.

Two Weeks Later

It's been two weeks since my first marathon. I've been doing a lot of thinking about running, but I haven't been doing much running. On my second run after the marathon, I had an angry IT band and foot pain after about 2 miles, so I decided to take a whole week off and cross train.

Yesterday I finally saw a PT and a new chiropractor who does ART. The PT confirmed what I've long suspected, I have a crazy right leg. The knee points in, the foot points out, the whole leg is bowed. She also found that my legs are slightly different lengths and my right leg is significantly weaker than my left. She sent me home with a bunch of the dreaded exercises, which I am to perform on one side only, in order to get my right leg as strong as my left. Clams with a resistance band, one-legged calf raises and mini squats and deadlifts, hip flexor stretches, etc.

I dislike PT exercises immensely, but I dislike not running more.

Then I saw Dr. V, the highly recommended chiropractor who specializes in ART and treating runners. She took x-rays, she hurt me, she was funny and she was great. I'm going back twice next week. Despite her offhand comments about my right leg, ("Whoa, that is weird!") I'm much more hopeful about getting back to running. She said my longest run in the next couple of weeks won't exceed 4 miles, and that's fine with me. She even said I could run this weekend as long as I kept it under 2.5 miles. Yes!

I'm so happy to be on the road to recovery. Soon I'll be back on the road. Wow, I'm all about these silly platitudes today.

So what has life been like after my first marathon? It's been good. Mostly I've enjoyed the rest and the school's-out vibe of not being "in training" anymore. The first week after the marathon, I didn't run or exercise at all for three days, as Hal suggests. On Thursday I did two easy miles and barely felt my IT band towards the end. I cross trained on Friday (bike) and tried running 4 easy miles on Sunday. That run did not go well at all, which is when I decided to take a week off.

This past week, I cross trained. I did interval training on the bike, I did the elliptical while watching Unbreakable (the most inspiring running movie ever), which kind of felt like running with all the runner POV shots. I kept up with my 100 Pushups workout, although it's getting really tough (and I'm only in week 2).

Okay I was supposed to talk about "life" and I just talked about running. Interesting. Let's try again.

Because I knew I was injured before I even ran the marathon, I wasn't too depressed about having to cut back. I know I'm losing some fitness, and I don't like that at all, but it's worth it to get back to running pain-free.

Um.

Recently, I thought back to running cross country in college. I walked on the team in my final year of eligibility, and I was the slowest girl on the "A" team, which meant running doubles. I'm not sure whether I wasn't fueling properly or whether doubles were just too much for me, but I got more and more tired as the season wore on. I got slower. And it reminds me of training for the marathon. For the first half of training, I was getting faster and I had tons of energy. And in the second half, I got tired (and sick) and injured. Did I do too much? Should I have taken more rest days? Should I not have upped my mileage at all in the first half of the training? Probably.

So will there be another marathon? I sure hope so. I definitely want to. I have to get my leg and foot healed, and I want to focus on some shorter races for a while to have some variety (and not burn out). But I absolutely want to run another marathon. For my first marathon, I just wanted to cross the finish line. Next time, I can't wait to cross the finish line in a time that I feel great about.

The marathon has changed me. I feel more confident and satisfied with myself. I am so proud. I learned so much about myself, both mentally and physically. And that, my friends, is worth everything.

Okay that's some life shit right there.

Here's what I have to say to myself before the Next Big Thing:
When you're training for a marathon, it's a long haul, and if you feel great at the beginning of the training cycle, that's great! Don't push it and try to do more because you feel great. You have a tendency to become "overtrained" without the normal symptoms of overtrainedness. You get tired and maybe, with or without MS, you have to work up to things a little more slowly than other people. So what? That's who you are. Know yourself. Be proud. Work with it. Go out and do something else reckless and hard and amazing.