20 year-old female full-time student with a mission: Run a marathon. The catch? I have a connective tissue disorder. I am proving to myself that my body can be amazing. Here I will post my inspirations, successes, and daily workouts. Join me!
My hips have really been bothering me the past two days, and I’m worried about doing permanent damage if I try to run like I did on Tuesday. I’m disappointed and frustrated, but these things happen. Before I had the goal of running the marathon, however, I would roll with days like this, adding extra ibuprofen as needed, but now I have to focus on what I can do to help my body run better tomorrow. This is a much better mentality, I think. I’m stretching more, doing my PT exercises more readily, and icing or using a heating pad instead of passively allowing my joints to feel pain.
I’m certainly much more acutely aware of the pain (and subsequently what constitutes real pain as opposed to discomfort), and I have been complaining (inwardly, I hope) a lot more than usual. However, all of these things are combining to make me eager to get back out on the trail to run pain-free.
I have a goal now. I have a definitive, positive goal that involves hard work and will suffer under lagging mental and physical participation, and I want to reach that goal! There’s no way I’m backing out now. It’s incredible what such a specific goal can do: I’m not in this journey to lose weight, run fast, or even have the glory of finishing a marathon, necessarily; I’m in this to help my body succeed and to help my brain understand that I am capable of living my life to the fullest, regardless of any diagnosis. All of those things (ok, maybe not the “run fast” one…check out my dailymile widget for yourself! :P) will be happy bonuses, but I know that I will gain something so much more valuable than weight loss or pride: I will gain a future free from obstacles and the knowledge of how to be kind to my body while pushing its limits, and hopefully over time I can extend those limits.
Let’s be limitless.
What does goal-setting do for your mentality? What’s your favorite type of goal: do you thrive under pressure with short-term goals, or do long-term goals keep you more motivated? What’s one goal you have made in the last month, and where are you at achieving it?
Good morning!
It is cold, windy, and overcast here, but what made my run so miserable this morning was not directly related to the weather: my hips were out of place.
I must have subluxed them in my sleep (which is not very difficult this time of the month), but I didn’t realize until I was out the door and by then I decided to push through what I thought was just morning pre-warmup pain. When I started running it was clear that I had to stop and just walk it out. I had planned to run 3 miles today, which would have been totally doable coming off of a rest day, so I walked the distance instead, making a pit stop at the library and the coffee shop.
I’m disappointed, but this was the first time my joints had hindered my workout. This walk was a reminder of why I am writing this blog in the first place: I have to be acutely aware of my EDS every step of the way because “no pain, no gain” does not apply to me. If I run on hips that are out of place, I could risk serious, irreparable tendon damage. This applies to everyone, of course, but not everyone will dislocate or sublux their hips as easily as someone with EDS will. This was a good moment to reassess my plan and decide that training alone, for now, is best, and that I should continue to take it slow this week until things shake back into place as they so often do on their own.
I am strong, and I can do this, I just have to do this at a different pace.
Have you ever had moments when you had hyped yourself up for a run only to fall short of your expectations? What did you do to overcome this type of disappointment?
"We soar highest when only truly challenged."
Sanjay Gupta, in his commencement address for University of Michigan’s Class of 2012
(Source: Washington Post)
Today I’m supposed to take a rest day, and I am dutifully trying to, but I want to run so desperately (I’m in the groove!) that I have inundated myself with running blogs and have decided to post my favorites on rest days! Today’s is Mile Posts, a blog written by Dorothy Beal, who is a mother of three, an author, a Saucony spokesperson, and has a marathon PR of 3:11. She’s great, and the blog is filled with helpful tips and life stories that would keep any runner motivated. What’s your favorite running blog? Share in the comments!
Today’s run had winds of 21 mph with gusts of 30 mph, so it was quite challenging, but I ran solidly for the first 13 minutes or so (until I counted to 500!) without stopping a single time. I’m really loving this new route.
On the return loop, I think I stopped three times, but only for 30-60 seconds each time. I’m disappointed, but for my third run of the week I can’t be too hard on myself!
Today I hit 30 miles on my Asics! This was helped in large part by the 10 miles I logged at Relay for Life, but it’s a big milestone for someone who has never run continuously.
I am in the groove, and I really don’t want to take a day off of running, but I think instead of a rest day tomorrow I’ll take an easy cycling day. I’m going to try cycling for a good 10-15 miles at an easy pace to keep things moving and work some different muscles. Things are feeling good and I don’t want to jeopardize anything, but I also love these post-exercise endorphins! I have a big paper due Tuesday, and I’m going to need all the help I can get!
What’s your favorite “rest day” workout? Do you hit the gym or yoga class? A combination? When do you know to take it slow and really take a rest day?
Today’s run was incredible. I definitely felt those endorphins today after my run! I decided to stay with the route I took yesterday but I wanted to take it a little farther.
I did a 5 min walking warmup, and then I ran for 13 minutes without stopping. Took a 60 second breather just walking, then I think I ran for 5 minutes, 60 second break, then between 10-12 minutes. My strategy for increasing the length of my run by so much? Counting. I used Fit Chick in the City’s “Running without a Mantra” post (here) to inspire today’s workout. I told myself that I could stop running once I had counted to 500, and it totally worked! Instead of turning around at a park when my Nike+ told me that I had run 10 minutes, I ran all around it-and discovered a new path that takes me right by the side of the river, no geese included-because I had only hit 400. I dutifully kept going because I could see the end in sight-only 100 more numbers! And I hit a personal record for my mental stamina. It was so wonderful.
I think I can keep this up! I’m sitting here realizing how incredible my body feels: I feel loose yet in control, and my muscles are tired but so, so happy. I did my PT exercises outside, and even had the opportunity to tell someone about why I was doing a silly hip exercise in the middle of the grass! Everything feels great. I just hope everything stays this way tonight- I have a concert tonight!
Wow, it’s amazing what a day of rest can do. Yesterday (Day 11) I ran the longest I have ever run continuously.
I started off with a short walk (only about two minutes…) then started running. About two minutes in, I realized that the bandaids over my blister had shifted and I could feel the friction against the blister. I turned around and walked for three minutes, thinking I was going to head back and give up on my run for the day, but something made me decide to turn around and keep going. I am so glad I did. I ran for about 8 minutes without stopping since I hit all the ‘walk’ signs at the three stoplights on the route I took, and when my Nike+ hit 10 minutes I stopped (it had been running for those first two minutes when I was walking to warm up) and walked for sixty seconds, then I kept going!
I ran for another six minutes or so, then turned around and ran the rest of the way except for the couple stoplights.
It was so nice. I ran for about 1.8 miles, and I took a new route! I like this one much better than circling around two bridges twice. Nike+ estimates about an 11:30 mile, which isn’t bad for my second full week of running!
I’m so pumped.
