Marathon Mommy

OK, well not quite. I'm going for a 1/2 marathon, 13.1 miles, in a mere 20 days. My training has slipped, to say the least, over the last few months-- some of it my fault due to sheer laziness, and some not my fault at all! I was in the best shape of my life in November when I ran a little 10K Turkey Trot with Fred on Thanksgiving day, and my time wasn't all that bad. Then we went on a cruise the following week, and since the cruise, I have gained 10 lbs total. THAT is my own fault-- the holidays and all that business got the best of me, and I wasn't paying as close attention to my diet and training program as I should. I got back into things in January, but in early Feb I hurt my back while picking up my 3 y/o daughter out of her toddler bed. That injury took me out of training for 2 weeks as it healed up. I got back into the swing of things at the end of Feb, but on March 5th, I slipped on the ice and fell in the doctor's parking lot at the hospital-- hello, knee injury! Out of training again for another 1.5-2 weeks. As I eased back into things, I was amazed at how much SLOWER I was for taking a few weeks off! It was some pitiful running, I tell you, especially knowing that I was coming up on a 9.3 mile "mini-marathon" on 3/30. BUT... I finished the Mini-Marathon and lived to tell about it!!!! You can see some not-so-flattering photos of me at www.runphotos.com. Let me just preface the pictures by saying I WAS wearing 4 layers of clothes, so I'm not really as pudgy as I look in some of the pictures, although I definitely was in years past! As I was saying, I finished the Mini-Marathon, and lived to tell about it....



...Aside from another injury, that is. THIS time, I caused myself severe plantar fasciitis on the lateral sides of both feet. For the next 12 days, I could not walk in any flat kind of shoes, running shoes included. The only things I have really been comfortable in are pairs of 3.5 inch heels or higher! At least that helps me keep the pressure off my lateral feet, and along with stretching and icing my feet daily, my feet are healing up pretty well.



Last night, I ran my longest run to date-- 12.5 miles! I am pretty proud, albeit VERY sore. My feet hurt really bad, and I'm in the high heels again, but the sheer knowledge that I COULD DO IT has gotten me through the pain. And yes, there has been pain...I had to wear open toed 4 inch sandals to work today-- I started out in lower, closed toed shoes, but by the time I neared the end of the neighborhood from dropping the kids off at daycare, the sheer misery of the tips of my toes touching my shoes made me turn around, drive home, and pull out the sandals. In 35 degree weather. I did burn 1400 calories on my run though! What I could NOT do was tolerate a full ice bath for my legs when I got home. All the running sites swear it will do wonders for injured legs/ feet, but I made it for about 2 minutes before pulling my legs out, cursing, & vowing to never do that again!!!! I'm sure I was quite a sight-- looking like I was going to pass out, but ultimately stuffing Hello Kitty and Spiderman icepacks into my socks to at least ice the bottoms of my feet (to get the fascia).



I know this must be a RIVETING post, but I want to be able to look back at it one day and remind myself that I did all this and it was actually worth it! Flying Pig 1/2 Marathon, here I come! I got in my long run, and even if I have to run it in heels (haha-- it's been suggestedby more than a few!), I know I can do it now! Wish me luck!