Beauty from pain.

Wow, last week was a very emotional week. It was a blessing to meet with other runners in my running group on Saturday to talk about Boston and dedicate our miles. What really came out of our discussion was how much we need to remember that life is such a precious gift, and that we need to love each other and care about each other and encourage each other as much as possible for the time we have been given on this earth. I think I've cried more in the past week than I have in a long, long time, but the beautiful stories of love and kindness that are coming out of this awful craziness have amazed me. I especially loved the story of the guy who finished the race, but gave his medal to a distraught young lady who wasn't able to finish. (The whole incredible story can be found here: http://articles.ktuu.com/2013-04-19/medal_38680566)

I've heard so many other stories...people giving away the shirts and jackets on their backs to cold and frightened runners, people coming out of their homes with juice and bagels, people giving each other rides and opening their homes to the stranded and shellshocked. The good truly outweighs the evil, and that is so beautiful.

Since last Monday, a lot of people have asked me if I'm afraid to run races now. The answer is a vehement NO! If anything, I am even more inspired to get out there and race again. In what more tangible way can we prove that evil doesn't get to win? We won't be cowed and shackled by fear. "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7 NASB) As a matter of fact, I started actively looking for races I could do SOON. Running is tied to my emotional and spiritual well being as much so or perhaps even more than my physical well being, so running a race now feels like it should be part of the healing.

Love this bracelet from Endorphin Warrior. 

There are so many ways being put out there to help and support Boston's victims. I tried to compile a comprehensive list, but it kept growing until it got out of control, which is a pretty awesome problem. So instead of trying to name everything, I'm just going to list a few.

The One Fund Boston was set up to help those most affected by the Bombings in Boston. You can donate directly if you would like.

My friends at Another Mother Runner have a simple and super cute limited edition cotton memorial tee that will benefit The One Fund Boston. It is only available to order through April 26th, though, so act fast if you want one.

Tough Chik has an awesome "Boston Tough, Boston Strong" performance tee that will also benefit The One Fund Boston. The shirt may be a limited run so order that one quick, too.

My super amazing friend Sandy at BIC Bands put together a fabulous Boston Strong headband, also contributing to The One Fund. Check out the prototype. Again, limited edition!

There are literally tons of other folks and events out there doing great things to help out the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. Search on Google for other ways you can help.

Run on, strong and fearless!

Boston.

I was having trouble writing my post for this past weekend, and I delayed posting it...I think it was because I was supposed to write instead about what happened yesterday in Boston.

I simply cannot fathom, can't wrap my head around the kind of mindset it takes to willfully and purposefully set out to destroy innocent people's lives. To kill, maim and intentionally hurt. Especially at a place that is supposed to be a place of celebration, of joy, of goals accomplished.

As a runner, while I may never pull off a Boston Qualifying time, I know the training, effort and struggle that goes into preparing for a race. Even before the bombings occurred, I was watching the race and my heart was with every single runner there and what they each represented. Determination, sacrifice, struggle. Good grief, my heart is with runners that aren't running races...I feel empathy for runners I see running up the hills near my house. "Good job! Keep going," I want to whisper, (and okay I've occasionally yelled it out loud.) How much more was I cheering for these strangers, running the pinnacle of marathons, Boston! But, they weren't strangers. Not really.

Runners overcome obstacles. It's just what we do. And though we are a group made up of differences...different paces, different sizes, different sexes, different beliefs...we remain a community. Almost a family. There is a feeling of kinship and camaraderie that every runner shares, because we DO overcome obstacles and we understand what the struggle feels like. Whether we struggle to run faster, run further, or just to get our shoes tied and get out the door, runners understand each other.

As the bombs went off and the grisly scene began to unfold before my eyes, my first reaction was numb shock. My heart broke into a million tiny pieces as details of injury and death counts began to be released. My heart broke for the victims, the families, the runners...both there and everywhere. Because it isn't strangers out there. It is runners. People I understand and who understand me. People who grunt and curse and cry but run up the hills anyway. People who "don't have time" but make time to fit in their miles. People who desperately need a sitter at 5am on a Saturday so they can fit in their long run when their spouse is out of town. People who know what color the sky is when the sun comes up, or when it sets. People who know exactly how many miles it is around their block, around their neighborhood, around their town. People who know the feeling of crossing over into mileage that's farther than they've ever gone before. People who don't quit because it's hard, but who instead dig deeper.

Today as I hear about all the ways runners are coming together to show support, it just reaffirms my belief. Though we may not know each other, we aren't really strangers. We are family. We keep going, we keep cheering for each other, we keep believing in each other. We run virtual races, we dedicate miles, we wear our race shirts, we pray, we cry. Whether we've Boston Qualified or not, run Boston or ANY race or not, I believe all our hearts and our prayers are in and for Boston. We will keep digging deeper. Together.



Today's shirt. For Boston.

"Hear my cry, O God; Give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy." - Psalm 61:1-3

 

Plank challenge winner.

For those of you that have been doing the plank pose along with me each night, how did it go?? I hope some of you will share. Did you make it all the way to 2 minutes?

I did better than I expected, but wow, after about 70 seconds, it started to get REALLY hard. I admit that after 90 seconds, I was having to alternate between a regular low plank and a knee plank position in order to hold it. For the final day at 120 seconds, I ended up switching to the knee position for about the last 40 seconds. That said, I feel fantastic about the effort. I can now hold a regular low plank position for much longer than I ever could before, and I've gotten into the habit of doing it each and every evening. Now I'd like to dial it back to one minute holds and start adding in some side planks.

You know what else is cool? My youngest son was helping me time myself for the last week, and now he is getting down and trying to do it along with me. If I inspire my kids to be more fit, even in small ways, that makes me really happy.

And now, the winner of the Plank Challenge Salonpas Super Awesome Goody Bag: Comment #2, Kristi Anderson! Kristi, I will be in touch to get you connected with your prize! Thanks to everyone who participated along with me and helped to keep me inspired and motivated. I would definitely love to run another challenge soon.

Told you it would be an awesome prize pack!

What kind of challenge would you like to participate in next?

Disappointment kicked to the curb.

This week, I am running again. What an amazing feeling it is just to run. To be able to just put one foot in front of the other and not feel pain shooting through my knee. I am reminding myself of this blessing because for a while I couldn't ignore the tinge of disappointment that accompanied me once I got past those first glorious miles. That devilish voice was whispering in my ear: look at how slow you are, look at how you struggle to finish just 5k, look at how much you've lost.

It's true that when injury hit, I was running my fastest times ever. I'd just PR'd a half marathon. I ate 8-mile runs for lunch and my usual long runs were 10+. After almost four weeks of barely doing any cardio at all, I feel back at square one. But while I may have lost fitness, I have gained other things. I have been strength training and I already feel the difference it makes in my stride and my form. I have done more yoga and feel more in-tune with my body than ever. I have had time to reflect on my long-term goals and the many blessings I have.

Was I disappointed to see the fitness gains I worked so hard for have slipped away? Yes. Am I ready to earn them back? Absolutely. My goals may be longer term for now, but since I plan to keep running well into the future, I will look at the big picture. Every small step forward is still a step forward. That devil on my shoulder, the one whispering negativity and disappointment in my ear? He sat there for a day and spouted off, but then I flicked him off his perch and am choosing to keep looking up, to keep focusing on what's good. And what is good is that I am running again.

I have not forgotten our Plank Challengers! I know some of you are doing it along with me. I don't know about you, but after about 70 seconds, it started to get exponentially harder! Today was supposed to be 100 seconds. I admit that with 36 seconds left, I had to lower myself to knees. Still, when I started I thought I would collapse after just 30 seconds, and today I am holding for over a minute. Will I make it to two minutes? I don't know, but I do know that when this thing is over I will be able to hold it for longer than when I started, which was really the main goal of the challenge! I can't wait to hear some feedback from those of you that have been participating along with me. I did promise a prize at the end too, so be watching for that post coming after the challenge is over on Saturday.

What do you do when negative thoughts start to bring you down? How do you stay positive? What is the longest you've ever held a plank position?

Thankful.

Happy Easter! I have so much to be thankful for right now. My heart is full!

Now, c'mon people! Where are my plank challengers?! There is still plenty of time to get in on it and comment to win some Salonpas and some other fun goodies that I've rounded up. I'm up to 1 minute and 10 seconds today. Haven't done it yet and am dreading it a little. One minute was HARD. Hard, but I did it! Two minutes still seems scary, but one minute seemed scary a week ago. Like building up running mileage, one step at a time and suddenly you're exceeding what you thought you could do. I'm thankful for the encouragement from those of you that are doing it with me! (Don't forget to post your progress back on the plank challenge post itself. That is where I'll pull a winner from!)

Yesterday I ran two miles. I haven't been so thrilled or thankful to run two miles since back when I first started running and two miles was further than I'd ever been. I wanted to cry for the joy of it. The knee held up fine, but felt a little stiff during the run and a little swollen afterwards. I put ice on it immediately, then did a hot epsom bath, then more ice. The swapping between hot and cold therapy really seems to help, and by the afternoon, it felt totally fine. I am easing the mileage up very slowly. My plan is to run a mile or two a day for a few days, then try three and inch towards four. With some rest days sandwiched in, of course. There is still that fear lingering that I'll reinjure it by overdoing, so I'm definitely going slow. I'm hunting around for a training plan for returning from injury because if you know me, you know I like to have a plan. I'm just so grateful that my my knee is healing and running is coming back to me.

I am also thankful for my running pals, two of whom took it upon themselves to pick me up at my house during their long run and run with me for two miles before returning me safely home again, then continuing their longer mileage. Having their friendship and support is amazing, and I don't know what I'd do without them.

As long as I'm on the subject of gratitude, I'm super thankful for my amazing family, for my awesome job and co-workers, and my wonderful friends. I'm starting a gratitude journal again just to remind myself of the blessings big and small that come my way. I hope you, too, have a heart full of thankfulness this Easter!

 Does anyone have a return from injury training plan to recommend? And what are YOU thankful for today?

Plank Challenge.

Good news! It looks like I can try to run again within a few weeks. I have to start out VERY light, with walk/jog intervals, but if those go okay, I can try to ease back into regular running. I should be able to do the elliptical again at the very least. I have promised everyone, including myself, that I will stop immediately if I have ANY pain. I'm so glad the meniscus tear I have seems like it was relatively minor and is healing on its own without the need for surgery!! Blessed, blessed, blessed!

During the downtime, while I was unable to find a good cardio exercise that I could do, I started doing some strength training. I've always known I have weak hips, which probably contribute to not-so-great form, which probably contributes to how I ended up getting injured. I slack in the strength training area largely because I find it incredibly deadly dull, so to keep myself from being bored, I would invent little challenges for myself. (Goal-oriented, you know!) I would try to see how many crunches I could do in two minutes, and better it the next day. I'd do a stair step set of hip drops and see how high I could go. Then I started trying to increase my plank time every day. THAT gave me an idea. To keep me motivated, and maybe motivate a few others, I decided to try doing a Plank Challenge!

Just to be perfectly clear, we are talking about planks like THIS, not planks like this.

The challenge is to plank every day for 2 weeks, building your planking time from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. If a 2 minute plank is easy for you, increase the hold time to something that challenges you. Frankly, a 2-minute hold time currently seems impossible to me. Thirty seconds has me shaking at about a 4.0 on the Richter scale, which shows how much I need this challenge!

I'm posting the schedule I am planning to use, but feel free to adapt the hold times to whatever you want to use to challenge yourself. If you want to work towards holding a plank for five minutes, go for it! And I don't care what kind of planks you do, either. Knee planks, high planks, stack planks, it's all good as long as you're making it challenging for yourself.

To participate, favorite this post and come back to comment every day when you complete your challenge for the day. To make things more exciting, I will assign every comment a number, then use a random number generator to select one post to win a prize! So the more times you plank, the more posts you make, the more chances to win! (I will only count one post, per person, per day, though!)

And the winner? Well, the winner gets something to help out with those sore post-planking muscles, of course! One of my favorite products, Salonpas Massage Foam. I'll even throw in a "Run Happy" sticker and maybe something else fun, too. So join me in this plank challenge and help me keep from going off the rails while I'm not able to run! Good luck!

Join any time, but the cutoff for posts eligible for the prize draw will be 11:59pm April 6, 2013.

Waiting is the hardest.

I wish I had a better update on my knee injury. It is still likely a torn meniscus, based on Urgent Care and my wonderful Chiro/ART therapist's evaluations. I have not been able to get in for the second MRI yet. Gotta love HMO's! The bad news is, just about every form of cardio is still too painful. I can't do anything that requires impact or too much bending of my knee. The good news is, in the almost two weeks that I've been "resting" it (as in, not running or doing any weight bearing cardio) I have regained a great deal of my range of motion. I can bend it much further than I could two weeks ago. It still makes an awful clicking, crunching sound when I bend it, but I can bend it further before it starts to be uncomfortable. I can also walk almost normally, though a bit stiff legged on that side, without using those hateful crutches.

I'm trying to stay positive...meniscus tears are a common injury and lots of people get back to sports after recovering. I will run again. I am using this time to strength train, which is something I've needed to add in to my training for a long time. I will come back stronger. I know this.

The hardest part for me right now is not knowing how long I will be sidelined. As a goal oriented person, I feel like having a date to look towards would be helpful. On the other hand, part of me is afraid to face how far out that date might be. Maybe it'll be soon. Maybe not. I will finally see an associate at my Primary Care doctor's office on Monday. Hoping for some positive feedback...

What are some ways you have coped when sidelined with injury? What kinds of cross training did you do? I need ideas!