I rolled my ankle and I haven't been able to run since last Saturday. I wish I had a great story like "while running through the lower east side, I had to make a sharp turn to avoid being hit by a crazy cabbie," but truth is - I tripped over a boot. The craziest part is I'd done a timed 5K trial on Saturday morning, then gone to the gym for leg work and then run home - all prime opportunities for ankle rollage. But no, I tripped on my boot in my apt and spent the next 48 hours icing and elevating.
Moral of the story: Don't skip putting your boots up after a night out.
In my quick Google search after the "injury" (we'll call it), I found the acronym RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression (ACE wrap) and Elevate. So, that's what I did (minus the compression) and I've healed pretty quickly. I had to fight the temptation to get back out there too soon, but hopefully I'll be running again by Saturday!
For now, I'm still on the bench.
I feel you, Tim.
To all of the NY runners who have been getting it in in sub 20 degree weather - hat tip to y'all!
Saturday, I clocked my longest run so far - 6.5 miles! Well, technically I didn't "clock" 6.5 because I paused my app and forgot to restart it for half a mile, but the other people running with me confirmed we'd logged 6.55 miles. This was especially exciting because:
So much of running is mental. Any mental win is big!
I had never before consciously decided to run 5 or more miles. Any other time was an accident because I'd gotten lost or because I was tricked. (For the record, this was 6.55 miles because we all got lost. It was only supposed to be ~5.5.)
I ran the entire time without music which meant I was forced to listen to my thoughts. My thoughts (retrospectively) were quite entertaining. I was constantly coaching myself out of competition with others. Running, at my current stage at least (and for my forseeable future), is SO not about that. I had the nerve to think...literally, in my little 'just started running 6 months ago' head - "This must be how Allyson Felix feels" when I comfortably strode past a guy who had been ahead of me for most of the run. Really? Allyson Felix, huh? lol
Most importantly, I'm still 3 months away from my half, training hasn't technically started for it yet, and I just completed half the distance of it. That felt good.
Here's a pic from the foggy morning 6.55 miler.
I've been out of running commission for the last 4 days because of a nasty little virus, but I hope to hit the pavement tonight!
1. Don't stay out late celebrating a Cotton Bowl win (Gig 'Em Aggies!!) the night before a morning run.
2. Running with others matters.
In my morning struggle, I was late to the group meet-up to run. Another guy happened to also be late and we agreed to run a different route on our own. This guy runs several marathons a year, likely at a pace almost twice as fast as mine. I assumed we'd jog to the start of our run together (Queensboro bridge) and then run on our own. No. He insisted on running with me. I pleaded with him to go ahead of me, but to no avail. He ran alongside me, telling me funny stories and pushing me to keep going when I wanted to stop. I know that I would have run about half of what I actually ran had he not been there.
I've always underestimated the power of running with others, but now I'm a believer. Much love to the running community.
Its been a while since I've posted, but I've been running! Promise! I figured it was time I highlight some of the fun things that have been going on since I last blogged. I will make a goal of blogging at least once a week as I work towards my next big milestone . And, since we're on the subject....
I'm running my first-ever HALF MARATHON!! *cue reggae airhorn*
It wasn't that long ago that I nervously prepared for my first 5K and now I'm crazy excited to train for my first Half! While I did not consider the fact that I'd be training during the coldest months of the year (womp), I'm up for the challenge. This particular race only accepts a limited number of people so I felt quite lucky to be picked.
I've been fortunate to meet and run with some pretty cool folks who happen to be affiliated with Nike. When they were having a New Year's Eve party and run (read: run in 30 degree weather, 25 with windchill) my otherwise logical self thought - "Wow, this seems like fun!" Note - you be the judge over the next few months, but I think running clouds logic.
Anyway, I decided to go for it. My grandmother always told me to bring in the New Year how I plan to spend it and I knew I wanted to up my running game this year so I was in! Here are a few pics:
When we arrived, DJ Mode was transitioning from All Gold Everything to Pour it Up which meant I danced the entire walk from the front door to where we were told to pick up our bags. Bags? Umm yes! When we RSVP'd we were asked our shirt and shoe size so when we arrived, they had a backpack with our names. Stuffed inside was a cute Running Vest, LunarGlide 4s and our Race number. Score! (Sidenote: This is New Year's Eve. A day when we usually shell out a bunch of money on an outfit we'll wear once, go to a party to do exactly what we did 2 weekends before, and probably pay way too much to be at said party. Here I am in the most comfortable shoes & clothes I own, haven't spent a dime...and they are giving ME stuff! Mind. Blown. 2013, I already love you.)
After receiving our bags, we were asked to wear the vests and we went to the dance floor. The time I spent dancing got me to my Fuel goal in no time! Oww!
This is my absolute favorite pic of the night. (And apparently it was everyone else's too since we made the Top Ten. Oww!)
The photog just started snapping pics during our trial and error for the jumping pic and I thought this candid was funny. (And yes, this is a real candid as you can see by my full Cheshire grin; not one of the fake instagram 'candids.' lol)
After a few hours of dancing, eating, toasting and photoboothing, we grabbed our stuff and headed to Central Park to kick off the New Year with a run. I wish I'd gotten photos of all of the crazy costumes, but there were people wearing Christmas lights, Santa suits, pimp coats - you name it, it was there. The race kicked off with midnight fireworks. My friend Ann implored me to start with the 7 min mile crew. Ha! That lasted about half a mile. lol (One day!) Here's video from the start of the race:
Finally, a friend asked me to gchat with a fellow runner for his new site Eavsdrop! It's definitely the best update of what's been going on since I last blogged. Eavsdrop our convo here.
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