My Sisyphus Goals...

...Or Really I've Been Under the Boulder, Instead of Pushing It...

I realize that I've abandoned this blog for nearly SIX (6!) months and many of you probably thought it was defunct, or I had given up my goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

Well, basically I had. I became completely discouraged after breaking my toe in December. I've been running, but I've been remiss about blogging about it and painfully remiss in participating in any kind of real training program. So far, this is what I've been doing since the beginning of the year:

Anderson Creek 5K, February 4: My first race after the toe break. It went surprisingly well despite the fact that I did ZERO cross-training while I was injured. I actually won my age group. Total surprise.

Pittsburgh Half Marathon, May 5: I didn't really train very hard for this race. I logged mileage, but did minimal (read: zero) speedwork. I ran a 1:56, which isn't a PR, but not horrible given the circumstances.

Fort Bragg Army Birthday 10-Miler: I did not train for this race. I basically just ran it based on what little training I did for the half in May. I ran 85 minutes. Not even close to a PR, but commendable.

And then there was nothing, with no race on the horizon and an uptick in the pace of my personal and professional life I let my running routine basically vanish. Also, I found myself again dealing with transition on all fronts and I let running fall off the plate.

I just became so disgusted with my performances and repeated failures that I took an unplanned sabbatical from running. I did enjoy having a lot of extra time on my hands. I chose to fill it by eating and watching television. Did I miss running?  Not exactly.  Did I miss feeling fit? Absolutely. I also missed fresh air, the time to myself and feeling strong. I also missed pushing myself toward something and my existence started to feel...numb.

So, I decided to hit the pavement again. It tried just running a bit to rebuild my base mileage.  This was only mildly successful and I really didn't get into any sort of running routine until my annual vacation in Italy. I slowly I logged some miles despite copious amounts of wine and jet-lag. I felt slightly better reintroducing the routine, but struggled upon my return to North Carolina. Between my jet-lag, work and oppressive NC humidity it was really difficult to find the motivation to get out there. I had only casually looked into some marathons. I began to realize without a goal, I just wasn't going to push myself back into a running routine. So I reignited my goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I after some research I decided it would be best stick closer to home.

So I've officially registered and have begun training for The City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh, NC. November 4.

I'm working hard to not get discouraged as I've lost a great deal of speed and I'm a little intimidated by some of the mileage that is on the horizon. I am terrified of an over use injury. I figured that I have to look at City of Oaks as a spring board and work from there. I may not BQ but I hope to at least set a personal best.

I also hope to maintain this blog again. I'd like to get back into a weekly blog routine to help chart my progress, and hopefully get some tips and motivation from my fellow runners. So we will see!

In Summation: Running Sabbatical=Makes You Unfit; NC Humidity=Oppressive; Lack of Goals=No Essence of Life; Running=A Bit of a Struggle at the Moment; Faith in Mankind=Maybe at the End of the Tunnel

Back in the Saddle...

(Editors Note: This blog is published late because not only does the writer procrastinate running, she also procrastinates writing about running) 


Or... The Good News and the Bad News......

First, the good news... I can run again!

My quacky doctor ordered another X-ray and has said my toe is healed. He also said that I can go back to my normal activities, including running, but starting off easy.
I know it's not my doctor's fault that I broke my toe. But he certainly made me run the wickets of Army bureaucracy before letting me know that I was cleared to run. I will spare you the rants on the Army medical system and all of it's woes. The good news is that I can get back to running

Now, the bad news....I am so out of shape!

Despite my best intentions, I really fell off the fitness wagon. I gave up any extra exercise just before Christmas and haven't really regained any schedule. So, once again I find myself just beginning to be a resolutionary deep into February. I'm really frustrated, because my 2012 racing season seemed so promising and now I feel like I'm starting right back at square one. It seems like my goals for 2012 look mysteriously like my goals at the beginning of 2011.

• Drop 10 pounds
• Qualify for Boston
• Run 1200 miles for the year
• Eat like an athlete
• Keep weekly mileage at least 20 miles per week
• Take speed work seriously
• Keep better records
• Become more flexible
• Practice Yoga
• Become more athletically diverse
• Blog weekly 

 Even though I cracked last year's 1,000 mile goal  early, it still seems like a repeat of the last two years.

I'm trying not to become discouraged, but admittedly it's hard. So this weeks small goal is to rededicate myself to my fitness goals. I hope that by the end of the month fitness is a solid part of my life again.

In Summation: Goals=Unrealized; Blog=Dusty; Eating Habits=Grotesque; Yoga Practice=Non-Existent; Faith in Mankind=Hanging out on Heartbreak Hill

This One Cried Wee Wee Wee...Crunch!...

...Or Perhaps I'm Not Bionic After-All....

Cue the sad trombones because I've managed to break my left pinky-toe. I was in the gym, trying to get 'my swell on' and accidentally dropped a 35-pound plate on my foot, while trying to set up the Smith Machine for squats.

I knew that the maneuver was going to go wrong, but I couldn't move my foot from the way quickly enough and I crunched my toe. I was able to continue my work out, but by the time I got to work it was massively swollen and I could barely walk.

After hobbling around my office for most of the day, I was basically instructed to go and have an X-ray. The next at the doctors office it was revealed that had indeed 'fractured my fifth toe.' I was absolutely gutted. The Doc informed me that I would have to wear a 'post-surgery shoe' AKA Chinese Jump Boot and I would have to 'buddy-tape the toes.' This means taping the little pig that cried wee to the little pig that had none. As if things weren't bad enough, the Doc continued to inform me that I would have to wear the CJB for two weeks and I shouldn't run for 4-6 weeks! What a smack in the face after my recent victory. I was massively disappointed. No running for 4-6 weeks, this can't be possible!

Well... guess what? It is friggin' possible. I broke the toe on December 6, and much to most of my friend's surprise, I actually wore the CBJ the full two weeks, save one day. I have been a little flaky about taping the toes.

I did my first run on 22 December, four miles and everything seemed okay. So, I ran four miles again on the 23rd and 24th. Again, so far so good. I decided to increase the mileage on the 25th to 6 Miles and things didn't go so well. I felt kind of stiff through the run and around mile 3 my right knee started making a strange clicking sound and I could feel something wasn't quite right. When I got home I tried to stretch out and use my foam roller to take some tension out of my IT band. Nothing seemed to do the trick and the knee began to swell.

I suspect the knee is a reaction to the change in my gait because of the toe. I've also had some minor set-backs with the toe and had to go back to taping it up.

I have another appointment to see the doctor, but I have not been running and don't know if running is in my foreseeable future. This is making a drastic negative impact on my running goals for 2012. At this point, I can't even make any goals.

In Summation: Broken Pigs=Totally Suck; Wonky Knees=Also Suck; CJBs=Annoying; Faith in Mankind=Wasting Away Unfound on My Running Trail