Mississauga Marathon...Check!

We did it!!!!!

Ever since Kathy said to me last summer, "One day I would like to complete a marathon", we have been on a mission. We did it smart, we did it right and we finished well. We are grateful to the gang at the Barrie Running Room for their incredible leadership and support, and to our SparkFriends, who are, to put it simply, there -- always.

Well known by now is the fact that I have been battling to reduce inflammation in a very irritated trochanteric bursa over the last couple of weeks. In fact, I wasn't even certain I would be able to run 5km of this race, let alone the 42.2km, but regardless, I was prepared to walk it all, if need be. That was the plan, anyway. We wanted to ensure that we were well rested and cool as cucumbers leading into race day, so we booked ourselves into the host hotel the night before. We struck out early on Saturday morning as we had to deliver canine semen to the airport, bound for PEI. My lucky dog, Elliott, is being used at stud by a breeder in that lovely province. It was little, obscure side-trip. LOL

Aside from getting a little bit lost at the airport, that diversion went as smooth as can be. Our timing all day Saturday was bang on. It was then time to visit the Mississauga Marathon Race Expo to browse, shop, pick up our race kits, register our timing chips and...drumroll please...meet John Stanton, president and founder -- aka guru -- of The Running Room. What a nice guy -- so informative, supportive and easy to talk to!
-- photo to come --
There was a great t-shirt booth at the expo and we each bought a technical shirt. I bought the one with the slogan that read, "Does this shirt make my butt look fast?"

We had lunch, checked into our hotel and had a nice afternoon nap. We woke up to head out for a pasta dinner and to buy bottled water at the near-by convenience store, and were back in our room by 7:30pm. We ordered up a movie, threw on our jammies and were in bed by 8:00. We watched the movie and fell asleep by 10. We both slept great. Well rested, we were up by 4:30 and ready to go. We grabbed a quick breakfast at 5am that the hotel put on for the runners, consisting of oatmeal, a banana, a coffee and a hard-boiled egg. We ate that early enough that it, hopefully, wouldn't cause either of us problems during the race. Then it was time to head to the start line and meet up with the rest of the Barrie Road Runners for our pre-race group photo.

We stood in line to take that all important port-o-potty break and then made our way to the start corral for the 7:30am start.

Kathy, Lucile, Kirsten and I all started out together and held on to a conservative pace for more than half the race. It was so much fun staying together for that time. Beyond the halfway point we started to spread out. I was feeling good -- good enough to maintain a fairly even pace through the entire race. Even my final kms were staying within the ranges I had been conservatively keeping during the beginning stages of the race. I felt good about that.

About my hip. I took a Motrin -- ibuprofen -- before the start and stuck a Motrin patch over the hip-bursa area for the race. The hip felt good -- the feeling was there, but bearable. It was my low back, sacro-iliac joint, that was tightening up and seizing up during the last 10kms or so, as well as an irritating patch of skin chafing that was starting to come up from the inside of my upper arm brushing against my tank top. It was warm, but there were lots of beautiful, mature trees providing shade, and a nice breeze off the lake, so the heat was not unbearable. I am, however, sunburned today. When the pain really started to seize me up in those last kms, I had this mantra going through my head over and over, "When you feel hurt, don't be hurt, be AWESOME instead!" It came from this poster, LOL!

And this one makes me laugh even harder. It is what I had up as my Facebook profile picture in the days leading up to the race in order to psych myself up:

With 2kms left to go, I started to pick up my pace. I passed Kathy's mom, daughter and friend and that revved me up, and the rounded a corner to see the greatest gang of cheerleaders ever assembled -- the Barrie crowd. WOW! I was 400m from the finish and in tears. I poured it on for the finish and found a couple of fellow Barrie runners there as well as my husband. Nothing better than a big hug at the end of a big race. I grabbed a banana and water and watched for Kathy to come in. She wasn't that far behind. How amazingly, wonderfully fantastic to have completed such a distance on such a wonderful day with the most amazing people.


Then it was off to the pub for a beer and a burger. Well-deserved, I would say!

And here is Kathy and I -- post-race -- hobbling around.

My chip time? 5:03:30. Considering my last few weeks of battling this injury, I simply happy to have made it to the start line, let alone finish the race. It leaves plenty of room for a PB down the road. Meantime, stretch and strengthen these muscle imbalances I have in the hopes that there will be no more bursa flare-ups and no more seizing S-I joint pain in those long runs.

It was a great day -- Kathy, I wouldn't and couldn't have done it without you. Bring on the next one -- whaddya say?

Trochanteric Bursitis

Oh so we are 4 days away from the marathon and I have deduced, along with my PT/Chiropractor, that the problem with my hip isn't a muscle, it is trochanteric bursitis. The bursa sacs that are located all over our body to act as friction buffer pads are highly innervated and have a strong pain reaction when irritated. Due to repetitive strain, too much too soon and the imbalances in my hip musculature (strength:stretch ratios) I have irritated the beejeebers out of my right trochanteric bursa. This is located under the glute medius and tensor fascia latae muscles and over top of the greater trochanter - the ball & socket hip joint.

This bursa is inflamed so I am doing everything in my power to reduce the inflammation and hence, the pain. I have resorted to taking NSAIDs (just a short course), ice, rest, gentle stretching and massage. Additionally I am taking and applying the homeopathic Arnica (the product is called Traumeel), and today I will be picking up another natural product called Serrapeptease which is supposed to have really promising anti-inflammatory properties. If I put together a protocol that creates success, I will certainly share. I am just piecing it all together right now, because this trochanteric bursitis is one of those issues which tries to render one sedentary. Ya, well, not me, notsomuch.

Yesterday I got in a painful but gentle 2k jog followed by a 40 min Jillian Michaels DVD and cool down. I tried to run another 2k, but didn't make it out the driveway, so back to the ice bag.

Currently I am:
- 2x/week: seeing a pain and injury specialist for trigenics (ART), chirporactic, ultrasound and laser
- taking fish oil, multi vit, cal/mag
- 3x/day: taking Traumeel orally and topically (Arnica - homeopathcs)
- icing affected area twice daily
- just started taking NSAIDs (ibuprofin)
- analgesic cream in affected area in conjuction with gentle massage followed by ice
- doing yoga

What I will add:
- Serrapeptase (natural anti-inflammatory)
- a joint-health supplement that includes MSM, Glucosamine, Boswellia, curcumin, bromelain
- continue in the NSAIDs until current inflammation is reduced
- ice more frequently, ideally 20 min every hour)

I know we only have one body and there is always another race, so if I don't race Sunday, or try and cannot finish, that is ok. I am ok with that. But I have to put on an all out attack and attempt to make it to that start line -- I cannot surrender yet. That is just my nature. I am by no means being delusional or unrealistic here. As my brother keeps joking to me, "It's play-off time, Sis, suck it up and play hurt."

He is joking, of course...

Hot Hot Hot!

On a snowy, yes snowy May 8th, I decided to partake in a Lava Yoga class. Also known as Bikram or hot yoga this is a flowing yoga class in a room heated room. Heated room -- they aren't kidding! We were up around 98 degrees and sweating profusely within minutes. I mean sweating, drenched, pouring. I have never, in my recollection, sweated so much in my life. We are supposed to embrace the heat and let the sweat flow. Halfway through the class I felt queasy, so stepped out for some cool air and potty break. I came back and completed the class, but felt a little queasy at the end of class as well.

When class was over, my first thought was - why on earth would I put myself through this again? Then someone asked me if I was going to come back, and my response was, only if someone drags me in kicking and screaming. Give me some reasons why this form of yoga is beneficial.

I get that the heat gives you a better, deeper stretch. Stretching warm muscles -- makes sense obviously.

I get that it is purifying and detoxifying. I sweated out my entire innards and every possible toxin that could possibly have ever made it's way into my body.

They say that because the heart is pounding heavily and rapidly in an attempt to cool the body, that it is reaping cardiovascular benefits, but it feels rather like a cardiac episode to me.

I would caution anyone thinking of taking this type of class. Know your body, drink gallons of water, take breaks when you need them. It is WOW!

I still don't know if I like it, or if it is right for me. But I am rethinking the whole kicking and screaming part. I will probably try it again, on my own accord. I will have a better idea of what to expect and could possibly enjoy it a wee bit more.

OUCH TFL!

So as it turned out, I didn't need an ounce of guilt about skipping Wednesday's speedwork run. It was cancelled due to thunderstorms in the area. I attended the Thursday clinic and headed out for the run with the group. An easy night of fartleks was in the plans. I ran about 1.5k and realized this TFL (tensor fascia latae - a muscle on the side of the hip, just behind your hip bone) was NOT happy. My right TFL is an angry, angry little fellow.

So, I pulled out and walked back and went to yoga. There was a restorative yoga class starting and it's slow, gentle, recuperative pace was what I probably needed. This is frustrating and scary - especially this close to the marathon. But, my take on it is that everything happens for a reason. Obviously I am having these issues for a reason and need to work through them for a reason. And the reason is? I don't know - but there is something to learn from every set-back, right?

Ann, our yoga studio owner and a past Olympic track and field athlete, advised me to not run at all until race day. Do yoga, visit the chiropractor (he does ART and trigenics, laser and ultrasound on me), ice, rest and restore. That is the idea for the next week. It's HARD, because I feel SOFT! But it's ok and it's necessary.

And the taper begins...

We are into the taper for our Mississauga marathon.
I skipped the speedwork last night -- our last hard workout before the taper. We had 10 Yasso-800's planned. I am battling various strains in my hips area. Usually it is the psoas and low back, but last Sunday on the long run my right TFL wore the brunt of the effort. Problems are stemming from imbalances that I need to work on once this marathon is out of the way - imbalances in strength ratios between glutes and other hip stabilizers. I am glad to have identified the issues, because now we can zero in on them and get stronger for the future, but all in all it is a bit of a setback. Hence, I started my taper early and it is a recovery/taper. Well, a taper is a recovery, but you know what I mean. And this basically happened because I had a couple of weeks of 5-6 days running and higher mileage than what I was able to handle at that time. Ohhhh, typical Jen, bit off more than she could chew. It's tough, though, as my cardio and motivation could certainly take on the load, but the imbalances in my hips were pushed to the limit and reared their ugly head. But as my chiropractor said to me, "If I truly wanted to find out what was wrong with a person's body, I would ask him to run as far as he could until he broke. Then I'd know. You have done that for me!" And I am not truly broken, I toned it down and caught it all early enough, so I am feeling ok about where I am . Everything is a learning cure -- at least for me. And I am going to finish this marathon -- there is no question about that.

Kathy is prepped and in a good place for this race, too. We are TEN days out!!!!!

I have been asked to be a co-leader for the marathon training group at the Running Room for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I am excited to encourage others to reach their goals and to re-commit into the fall. Every step of this journey is a learning experience. You learn so much about yourself, your body, your mind.

Hurting Hips Setback :(

I am getting close to the race - we are three weeks out. The higher mileage and five days a week running has pushed my hip flexor injury to the brink. The chiropractor found a slight scoliosis in my lumbar spine and said that my hips are surrounded by muscular imbalances and weaknesses that I need to start working on. I basically hit my breaking point on the 30K run last weekend. How? I pushed too hard I guess. Mind you, I had a better time at ATB30K. So who knows. I think that it was just the drive in me to continue to build the weekly mileage, but my increments were too much. I have backed off extensively this week. I will have only run twice. Suffice it to say I guess I have started my taper. I intend to get 4 runs in next week. We start that off tomorrow with a 38.5K (24mi) run from Barrie to Orillia. I hope the hips cooperate - think positive - they will. I will touch base later tomorrow when the 38.5 is behind me.

Wild Trail Running Adventure

So today was supposed to be an easy run day, a junk mile day, just a loosening and prep for our long slow distance day which is Sunday. I always go for an easy run on Saturday and usually take a dog along. The dogs were into their thing this morning, playing in the yard, napping and so I decided to leave them be and hang with them this afternoon. I set off on my own with the goal to get in a 13km easy run. Why the 13k? Tomorrow is slated for an "easy" 23km and I am kind of jazzed about adapting to the higher mileage these past few weeks, so I wanted to keep that up. A 13km run today would keep my weekly total at 64km - same as last week.

I trod off onto South Bay Road, my usual home route. Up and over the winding road and rolling hills until I came out to the highway which I had to cross over (a bridge) to meet the 6.5km halfway point. So I did - but once I reached that point, I looked to the right, and low and behold, before me was the snowmobile trail that my husband has told me about. This trail would link me down and into Port Severn. This trail is my only hope of creating a route that loops around to and from my house, as opposed to simply out and back. So you know what I did, I hopped on it.

I cannot explain how invigorating this trail run was for me. I felt like a hunter & gatherer, a cave woman, an animal, a wild trekker. I felt like I should have be foraging for nuts and fruit (but I didn't have to, I had a Clif bar). I met a beaver, numerous birds and was hoping to see deer, a moose, a bear - ok, so maybe not a bear. I also met a convoy of 30 or so ATV'ers who smiled and waved politely at me while more than likely thinking in the back of their heads, "What the h#ll is she doing out here?"



I talked aloud to myself, laughed at my slip ups, walked when I needed to, nibbled my Clif bar, snapped some funny photos that I am sharing with you here, and phoned my hubby a couple of times to let him know that his crazy wife was somewhere in the bush - not exactly sure where. He knows those trails well, so could assure me I was on the right path.



And here's the thing. I had a ball out there. My butt didn't hurt. I was smiling as I was dodging mud holes, branches and rocks. I had run 6.5km on road before I hit this trail and ran about 6km on the trail followed by a final 2.5km on the road again. The 6km of trail running went by effortlessly. It was pure BLISS! Which seems a funny thing to think and say when you come across hurdles like this:



And wind up with legs that look like this:



I made it through the trails and hit the pavement again. Once I realized where I was it dawned on me that I had about 10km ahead of me to get home. I was NOT slated to log that many kms today -- it was supposed to be an easy, low mileage day as tomorrow we have our long weekend run. So, thankfully I had my cell and a caring husband who wasn't that far away. I called him for a pick-up. I ran until I logged 15km and he met up with me to take me home. What a mighty good man!

(despite the fact that he was laughing at me)