"paid" an old friend a visit this morning...

So I finally did it. I got up at 6 am and went running this morning after a week and a half hiatus. I stretched A LOT before I went out because I was determined to have a GOOD, PAIN FREE run. When I first got outside I walked for about 5 minutes just to get warmed up and get pumped about my run. I'll admit I was still a little nervous about it...

Well I started to run and it felt A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! My stride was fantastic and I felt like it was so effortless, almost like I was floating in air. I never feel light on my feet so it was AWESOME! I was SO incredibly HAPPY to be out running, feeling the cool morning air on my face while listening to some new running music :)! I had missed this SO MUCH and this is what I have been missing. This past week was HARD for me. I felt sluggish and depressed. I tried doing other workouts at home, but nothing even came close to giving me the same high that running gives me. I even ate SO BAD this weekend and gained 4 lbs! I'm not too worried about that though. I'm back to good eating, portion control and no eating after 7 pm this week :). The thing about eating fatting, greasy food is that it HURTS your stomach when you haven't had it for awhile. So my stomach was hurting and feeling SO bloated...not fun.

Anyway back to my run lol...I knew that as soon as I felt ANY kind of pain I was going to STOP because I DO NOT want to take another 2 weeks off to recoup. I ran about 1/4 mile and then I felt it...this little dull pain in my left knee(on the outside), the same pain that bothered me at the Dirty Dash. The first time I ever felt this pain was when we moved into our 3rd floor apartment last December. It was AWFUL and I do not like the feeling that my knee has dislocated from my leg. So I ran a little further to see if it turned into anything or if it was all in my head( I wish!), the pain started to increase so I stopped to stretch it out. Stretching was the only thing that got me through the Dirty Dash. After I stretched I walked for probably 5 minutes and then started to SLOWLY run again just to see where I was at. Well I didn't make it even a 1/4 mile before it started to hurt again so again I stopped, stretched and walked. After 5 more minutes of walking I was determined to run a little more just so I could feel a little satisfied with my efforts. I got to one of my usual corners and started running and yes because its me here I pushed it and went fast to get more in before my knee acted up. I got in another 1/4 mile in and then the pain. Now I was SO beyond FRUSTRATED at this point because I WANTED to run so bad. I am 26 years old and have so many issues with my body and running. Why can't my body just DEAL?? It was KILLING me to have to walk but I did not want to do more damage...so there I was walking home. I walked until I hit 2 miles just so I felt like it was worth it.

Although I am upset about the fact that I couldn't just run, run ,run like I wanted I'm still happy with the fact that I got some motivation back. I have been really missing it and am determined to take baby steps towards complete recovery. I have been dreaming about running non stop lately and to my pleasant surprise woke up 5 minutes before my alarm this morning ready to attack my day. All I can do is keep trying and keep stretching and icing until I get better. I don't know why I feel so ashamed when I have to walk because that stills gets me sweating if I walk fast and far. If walking gets me back to where I can start running again then I am all for it! My hubby thinks I should stick to the treadmill for awhile since it isn't as hard on your joints. I tried explaining to him that it is so exhilarating to run outside in the morning and its about to get cold soon so I need to take advantage. I know he is only looking out for my best interest and he may be right, but I would rather walk outside than run in on the treadmill at this point. Although I may throw in a treadmill run this week just to see if there is any difference with my knee.

Oh also this was my first run since the Dirty D and washing my muddy shoes lol. I washed them twice because well you saw the picture in the previous post...and did not dry them because I was afraid of them not fitting well anymore. Well they were STIFF and my toes rubbed a lot this run, which did not feel too nice lol. Once I get new shoes I will keep these as my Dirty D shoes :) since I plan on doing it again next year!

I may run/walk in the morning or I may go to a spinning class so we'll see :). Also some GREAT news my Achilles Tendon did not hurt at all :)!! One injury down and one to go...



See you tomorrow!

Dirty Dash

The 10K Dirty Dash was Saturday September 24, 2011 and it was SO MUCH FUN! There were 5 girls on our team sponsored by Gold's Gym Utah :). We ran at 11:40 and got done around 1:30.

There were so many mud pits and obstacles! So one of the first mud pits was a lot deeper than I realized so I ended up in a puddle of mud within the first 10 minutes lol! It was AWESOME though! So much for "trying" to stay semi clean until the end. Seriously though it was IMPOSSIBLE with all the mud pits and besides it is SO MUCH MORE FUN to get MUDDY :)!!! I never thought that I would enjoy doing something like this so much. I was definitely very nervous because lets face it I do not enjoy getting super dirty, but I thought what the heck why not get out of my comfort zone?! I am SO glad I did because it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G :)! I had the best team EVER and had so much fun with Nathalie, Katie, Rachael and Sara :)! They were awesome and I couldn't have done it without them.

Unfortunately my knee started to act up because of all the hills, so I would have to stop and stretch it from time to time...but that helped and got me through it :). Good news though my Achilles tendon did not hurt one little bit...YAY!! Besides a few bruises lol and sore muscles I came out feeling GREAT! I am already planning on doing it again next year and trying to talk my hubby into doing it! Well enough talking....enjoy the picture OVERLOAD!

The girls: Sara, Nathalie, Rachael, me and Katie

So excited to be getting started!

Hay bales...there were A LOT of these! Although tempted to walk around them at times I did not and climbed over every one :)!

I laughed almost the whole way through :)!

Yay!

Muddy tunnels with water spraying in! I about lost my contacts at this point! Thinking I may need to take goggles next year....or just get Lasik ;)!

Katie making a mud angel ;)

Yea I do not climb walls....I have a nice bruise on my inner thigh from this lol.

Nope I think I'll get muddy and crawl under this time :)!

The Jell-O "shots" (just Jell-O cups) were a GREAT energy booster :)!

I had red Jell-O and had some on my face after this and everyone was asking if I was bleeding lol.

These were so FUN and it was awesome when you'd step on the other side and fall in because it got deeper suddenly lol!

TIRES :)! This was a little tricky because they were muddy/slippery in the middle, so it made it a little difficult to go fast.

Love that I am ALWAYS the short one lol!

Photo op!

Going for a mile long swim lol...I don't want to know what was in that water. It sure felt icky by my feet though!

Ok so I am terrified of heights and at this point I was panicking inside, but I felt amazing once I was over and on my way down. SO empowering to face your fears!

You can hardly see me but I am on the rope swing :)

Watching Nat swing

Now this was AWESOME! I went down on my stomach for the first half and when I stopped I got up ran a little and then slid on my butt to the bottom. I wanted to go again SO bad. Although the combination of water, dirt, plastic and speed made for quite the burning on my arm...so worth it though!

Here goes nothin ladies!

SO FUN and so HAPPY to have made it to the end :)!

  The aftermath of the Dirty D!

Oh trusty shoes you did me well :)

ps. they washed up real nice...although they do stink like mud a little lol.

 

My first race...#3707 :)

I will NEVER forget it! Can't wait until next year :)!

Thank you Gold's Gym for sponsoring us!!

dirty dash here I come...

The Dirty D is tomorrow and I am SO EXCITED, but very nervous at the same time lol. I mean have you watched the video I posted a few posts back?? You get SO DIRTY!! I'm just hoping I don't pop out a contact while swimming in the mud pit haha. I guess we'll see huh?! We run at 11:40 am tomorrow in Midway :). Stay tuned for a post about all our DIRTY fun :)!!

See you tomorrow!!

Dirty Dash 9/24/2011

I am SO EXCITED to announce that I will be running in the DIRTY DASH this September 24, 2011 at 11:40 am!!!! A friend of mine(my 2 week Challenge leader :)) won a free team from Gold's Gym so we are going!! Now I'm definitely not one for getting SUPER DIRTY but what the heck?! It looks like a BLAST and I can not wait to laugh my butt off with our FUN team :)!

SO EXCITED :)!!!