Chaotic Thoughts of an Injured Runner...

It's been six weeks since my IT bands FREAKED THE EFF OUT started to hurt, and I'm officially going stir crazy. I really thought I hit rock bottom a few weeks ago, but I've hit new lows. I've foam rolled. I've ice packed. I've relaxed watching the entire third season of Sons of Anarchy in just over a day. I've ibuprofened/Naproxened. Now, I'm starting to eat my feelings.

Yes. My IT Band freaked out exactly like this...

I had my physical therapy evaluation just the other day, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't in some major pain afterwards. After an hour of being poked, prodded and moved into crazy positions to test my flexibility I was over it. But! She showed me a few stretches, new correct foam roller techniques and how to use a rolling pin (yes, a kitchen rolling pin) to roll out muscles when they're too tight to use full body pressure on my foam roller.

Here's where my crazy thoughts come in and I apologize if it's chaotic.

Well, see... there's this half marathon coming up in three weeks. I'm actually scheduled for it's big brother, the full marathon, but since my injury six weeks ago my husband and I have traded bibs. I'm really trying to heal in the next few weeks so I can attempt to walk/jog the 13.1 miles. I haven't ran in 6 weeks, but I'm determined to run a race that I've been looking forward to for so long (and also 1 of 3 in the San Diego Triple Crown). It's bad enough that I've had to give up my hopes of running the full marathon option. It literally broke my sweet little heart. What has seemed to make things worse was trading bibs with my husband, and giving him my bib for a full that was supposed to be my first. Am I sad? Yep. Am I jealous? Heck yea. Am I holding a grudge? I'm trying really hard not to, but I'd be lying if I said that a little part of me doesn't hurt when he's out on his training runs. So I have 3 weeks to heal, and to attempt a half marathon in the 4 hour 30 minute deadline (definitely do-able... I think). Something inside of me is saying "Heck yes, Andie!" and there's the other voice saying "This is a bad idea..." and there's this third voice telling me "Just keep watching Netflix and eating your feelings."

Which will win? Only time will tell.

Though this is incredibly tempting....

2011 In Pictures (and a few words)

It has been a truly incredible 2011 and filled with so many different emotions. Wanted to do a quick post of some of the highlights, and what I think about when I look back at the past year. Enjoy. :)

January 1, 2011 - The Fiesta Bowl w/ Kyle's brother and his wife to watch OU. Boomer!

February 7, 2011 - Super Bowl. Green Bay Packers are #1. Go Pack Go!

March 31, 2011 - Mini-Hanson concert/Radio promo in Palm Springs with Michelle and Kyle.

April 2011 - My husband (far left) and his Marines the day they deployed to Afghanistan. 

Spring 2011 - The husbands left and we started hiking to keep busy.

May 13-15, 2011 - Met some of the most amazing people in Tulsa, Oklahoma
for a members-only Hanson event.
Bonded by Hanson. Family for life.

June 2011 - Filmed a vlog with my best friend, Vincenzo, while eating German snacks.

July 3, 2011 - The 4th of July NOIZE Party

Glow sticks. Glitter. Girl Talk. Red Bull.

If you weren't there, you wouldn't believe the stories.

Summer 2011 - Skype dates with the husband were always treasured.
Even thousands of miles away he knew how to make me laugh.

July 10, 2011 - Ran my first half marathon, The Summerfest Rock n Sole in Milwaukee, WI.  Between the poor race planning and the weather, it was a horrible experience but I survived!

Late July 2011 - This sums up Stephanie and I's caffeine fueled road trip from Wisconsin to California.

August 5, 2011 - Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary alone.
... the life of a military wife. 

August 2011 - Took my sister to DisneyLand for the first (and second and third) time.

August 21, 2011 - Ran my second half marathon (with a 30+ minute PR) with my little sister at the finish line.
This was my first race having family at the race to cheer me on. Felt incredible. 

October 2011 - HOMECOMING! After 7 months, he's home. 

November 21, 2011 - United Stated Marine Corps Birthday Ball

As the year draws to a close, I also want to reflect on the loss of five men from our Darkside 3/4 Marine Corps Family while on their most recent deployment to Afghanistan. May these men never be forgotten, and their ultimate service to our country always be remembered. 

Cpl Paul Zanowick

LCpl Jason Hill

Cpl Mark Goyet

Lcpl Christopher Camero

SSgt Leon Lucas

What will you remember most about 2011, and what do you look most forward to in 2012?

What I've Learned... Being Injured - Week 2

Just the other day was officially two weeks since I got injured and I'm finally feeling good enough to give an easy jog a try later this evening. As far as what I injured, I still have no clue. Each day it feels like a different injury. One day it'll be on the outside of my knee (typical IT band) while the next day it'll be on the inside. Last week my blog post was what I learned about being injured in the first week, this week I wanted to write a little bit of what I've learned in week two and what I need to do to make sure this doesn't happen again.

1. My BFFs: Ibuprofen, ice, warm baths and foam roller. There's been two new additions to my daily routine: warm baths and the foam roller. I'm taking ibuprofen and icing throughout the day, and at night I've made it a point to warm up the muscles and get a good foam rolling session in. I definitely have a love/hate relationship (don't we all?) with my foam roller. Funny how something that can bring you to scream out curse words tears, is the same thing that makes your muscles feel normal again. 
2. Fear of getting hurt again. I'm afraid to run tonight, not going to lie. My biggest fear is that I go out for an easy mile or two and I'm brought to tears by the same pain that struck me the other week. I'm afraid of being out for yet another two+ weeks. I'm afraid of never running again. Okay, maybe I'm overreacting a little on the last one...  
3. Fear of not running my Marathon in January. I'm not sure if I'll be able to throw myself back into training in some of my highest milage weeks. Worst case scenario the husband said he'll flip-flop race bibs with me and he'll run the full while I run the half. Sounds great, but in reality he's not all that prepared for a full either. The last long run that I've done was a 15 miler 3 weeks ago, I'm not sure from here how to jump back into training. 
4. My twitter following is amazing. I know I said this last week, but it's the truth. Whether they're asking how my injury is healing, giving me advice on products to try or advice on strengthening, it's great to know you have the support of others.  Kelly (@lovingtherun) has been amazing this past week and I'm so grateful. Not only did she take time to recommend an incredible article written by Jason Fitz (@JasonFitz1) on how to strengthen your IT Band after injury, but also pointed me to the direction of Rock Tape. Taped up with my hot pink tape for the first time last night, and I can already tell we'll be together for a while. 
5. Prevention. From here on out it's time for me to step up my training, not only keep up with my running but also prevent injuries from happening again. I need to quit slacking when it comes to hill workouts as well as my lower body strength training. I'm really good at remembering to do upper body and core, but somehow I seem to slack on lower body strength. From here on out, it's all about being proactive and preventing another injury, whether it's the same injury that has plagued me over the weeks, or Heaven forbid something worse. 

When injured during Marathon training, how do you get back on track? Jump right in, or take things slow?

What I've Learned... Being Injured

My luck has officially worn out. After running for nearly a year and a half, running distances ranging from 5ks to half marathons it has finally happened. It has been plaguing me for over a week, forcing me to sit out over a week thus far. What exactly is it? Injury.

Let it be said, I've tested my luck before and never been injured. So why me? Why now? I'm guessing a lot of it has to do with the amount of cross country driving the husband and I have been doing, mixed with half-assing my workouts, and focusing on upper-body strength mixed a little with the lack of stretching pre and post runs. I've gotten away with most of those before, but the perfect mix of those at the current moment led to the perfect disaster.

So... how did it happen? Last Thursday I went out for an easy 3 miler after giving my legs rest a couple of days to stretch after the husband and I drove back to California from seeing family in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. The run started off shaky. No problem, haven't really ran in over a week, so just keep running. Mile one, a little pain in the knees. C'mon Andie, walk it off. By mile 2.5 my knees almost felt like they were having muscle spasms. Oh, no. This is definitely not normal. I left the gym feeling defeated. In all honesty, I'm surprised I didn't leave in tears. As frustrating as that night had been, recovery has been worse. Just when I think my IT Band is back to normal, it throws me a loop and a new pain.

What I've learned While Being Injured:

1. My BFFs: Ibuprofen, compression and ice. Over the course of my running adventure I've learned to truly love all three of these, but now they go with me everywhere. I almost always have an ice pack with me when I leave the house, sneak compression tights on underneath my jeans and have a bottle of ibuprofen in my car, in the house, and in my purse. Never can be too prepared.
2. The love I have for running. I can't even tell you the number of times I've welled up with tears at the thought or mention of running and races. Before injury I treated running a hobby, but now that I'm laid up I realize how much it really means to me and to my sanity.
3. I HATE sleeping on my back. Absolutely hate it. You don't realize how accustomed you become to things, until you can't do it. I'm a side sleeper. I'm a cuddler. This whole sleeping on my back so I don't put pressure on my IT band thing? Not my idea of a good nights sleep. 
4. My husband rocks. The night before we left for the Marine Corps Ball, he stayed up until 3 in the morning to clean the kitchen and living room for me, because I could barely walk or get off the couch to clean. Sure, as women we all ask our husbands all the time to help us out. But for them to do it without asking? Priceless.
5. The Twitter community My twitter following is incredible. They have had nothing but advice, well wishes and support. It's truly amazing, and I'm so grateful to have them all in my life. <3

Have you injured your IT Band before? Any other friendly advice? Also, how did you cope with being injured and not being able to have your stress release?

Related Posts: What I've Learned... Being Injured - Week 2 

Why I've disappeared... again.

I know this is no excuse, and I don't exactly have the best track record for blogging regularly. Oops! Anyways, the reason excuses excuses I've disappeared the last few weeks is that I've been a crazy working as many hours as I can, organizing to the point of perfection, to cleaning all nooks and crannies fool. Why? Because this happened... finally.

So what if the first thing I noticed in this picture were my legs? 

Yep! My husband is finally home from Afghanistan, and has been back in the states for almost a week. We've been busy getting things ready for our cross-country road trip, and just trying to enjoy each-others company. It's crazy going from a single housewife for the last 7 months, only talking to my husband once every week or two, to having my husband by my side 24/7. So surreal at times. There are still moments when we're watching tv on the couch that I can't believe he's actually sitting next to me. I can't even explain the feeling. It's funny thinking back to early in the deployment and the conversations I would have with fellow wives, and the things we'd wish for. Thank goodness he has been easing me back into his obsession love of video games because I remember quite vividly there was a rough week, where I told my friend Jenna that I would give anything to see my husband sitting on the couch, ignoring me while playing Call Of Duty. It's weird getting used to the little things like cooking dinner for two again, sharing the remote or not being able to sprawl out across our queen sized bed. It's the little things I tend to take for granted when he is home, and it's the weirdest feeling getting back into the swing of things when he's home. Luckily he has been amazing helping get us back into the swing of life from 7 months ago. He's been back in his routine of putting gas in the cars, taking out trash and making breakfast in the mornings. Sometimes it's those little things that you miss the most.

Together again. <3

Marathon Training Week One... CHECK!

I'm officially done with week one of my marathon training, and it really feels great. I know it's only week one, but I really do feel like I've accomplished something. I'm really trying hard to complete my training to the best of my ability and by the books, since I really slacked on training for both half marathons. My idea is that if I post for the world to see, it's a way of holding myself accountable. Of course I love dailymile, and have confessed my love for the site time and time again, but without others seeing what my training plan looks like, I really can't be judged for work I am/am not doing. I guess, I want to be judged. I want others to see my training and see how far I've some in such a short period of time, and maybe it's also for myself to see where I was at week one and see where I finish at week eighteen.

Monday: 
   Training Plan: Rest
   Actual: Rest Whew!
Day one sure was difficult. Almost didn't feel like I worked out. Oh, wait...

Tuesday:

   Training Plan: 3 mile run

   Actual: 3 mile run @ 10:30 min/mile pace
Nothing crazy. First run in a couple weeks, and only one of a handful since my last half-marathon in August. I wasn't really expecting much, so a 10:30 min/mile pace worked for me.

Wednesday:

   Training Plan: 5 mile pace

   Actual: 5 mile run @ 11:24 min/mile pace / 60 min spin class / 60 min weights
Over-achiever? Yep. Probably. My best friend is an incredible athlete, and helping me weight train. Wednesday's just happen to be a two-a-day workout. If it starts getting to be too much, I'll calm things down. Promise. ::fingers crossed behind my back::

Thursday:

   Training Plan: 3 mile run

   Actual: Rest
Yes, I know. You're probably thinking to yourself, "WTH? Skipping runs already, Andie?!" But it wasn't like that at all. Really worked out hard on Wednesday, and decided to take a day of rest to prevent any sort of injury. Last thing I wanted was to be injured after week one.

Friday:

   Training Plan: Rest

   Actual: 3 mile run @ 9:50 min/mile pace
Ran while in San Diego. The miles just seemed to come so easy, and time flew by. Really wish more runs were like that. But all runs can't be pure perfection, right?

Saturday: 

   Training Plan: 8 mile run

   Actual: Cross Train - row machine 20 minutes / bike 50 minutes
::FACEPALM:: Just assumed that my long run would be on Sunday, so cross-training on Saturday right?! Wrong. In the famous words of Oscar Wilde, "When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me." Truth. 
Overall, my first cross training session went A-MA-ZING! The last time I did a true cross-training session at the gym, I could barely get to 10 minutes on the row-machine, and somehow I made it to 20 minutes. Bike went well, too, but nothing crazy to report on. 

Sunday: 

   Training Plan: Cross Train

   Actual: 8 miles @ 11:58 min/mile pace
Now I know why cross training is on Sunday, and the long run is on Saturday. I was dying and my legs were extremely exhausted. Oh, well. Better luck next week. The only plus to this run? The gorgeous run along the ocean at sunset. 

Holding Myself Accountable

It's official: I'm currently finishing up with week one of training for a marathon. The marathon that I'm training for is the Carlsbad Marathon in beautiful Carlsbad, CA and is the first race in the San Diego Triple Crown series. The most exciting part of this race? While I'll be running the full marathon, my incredible husband will be running the half marathon. This will actually only be the second race of mine that he's attended, with the first being our Thanksgiving 5k last year. Wow. I've come a long way since then! :) Never ever in a million years would I have thought that I would even be slightly interested in running 26.2 miles for fun. Even when I went out for that first hellish run with my best friend Jessica in the Summer of 2010, the thought never even crossed my mind that I would be able to complete a 5k. Here I am, early Fall of 2011 and thus far I have completed three 5k's, two 10k's and two half marathons.

With all of that being said, I needed to come up with a way to make sure my training gets done. Once my husband gets home from Afghanistan, he'll be there to push me and make sure that all my workouts get completed. Until then, it's just me, myself and I. I'm not going to say that I'm a slacker (okay, okay. I'm a slacker), but sometimes I let life get in the way of my training. I think the only way to truly hold myself accountable to my marathon training schedule is to blog at the end of each week about the previous weeks training. Sure, I log my miles and workouts on dailymile, but no one knows what my training schedule was supposed to be except for me. As much as I love dailymile and absolutely swear by it, it doesn't really give me that extra push to get my miles in.

Are you good at getting training plans completed the way that they were meant to be completed? How do you hold yourself accountable?