See Diva Run

This song goes out to my good friends… especially the ones who make me want to get off the couch and lace up my running shoes. You were with me in spirit today as I struggle through a hilly 5 mile lap of “my hometown”. (Any BFS fans reading this?)

• Kara - I thought about all of the hard work you put into training for the Eugene Half Marathon and hoped that it culminated in a PR. As I jogged down the road with gritted teeth, I remembered to “shorten my stride and watch the horizon”. Thanks for that!
• 1MiletoGo - Before I went out the door I read the news that you had PR’d in Denver, and I was thrilled for you. As I’ve said on many occasions, you have had more influence on my running than any other person, because you were the one who introduced me to Nike+, and the Nike+ challenges. I would never have put in the kind of training that I did in 2007 without that extra motivation.
• Ginger26.2 - After running the Kentucky Derby Marathon last weekend she was “back on her horse” this weekend, running the Eugene Marathon. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there with you in person, but I was definitely with you in spirit. I’ll see you in Anchorage this August!
• Ken Conahan - Ken ran his sixth marathon of 2008 last weekend, each one faster than the previous one. He finished the Country Music Marathon in 3:50, which is almost an hour faster than his PF Chang’s time in January. Amazing! Ken was out again today, running a marathon in Pennsylvania. I sincerely hope that he had another great time.

There are also many people who inspire me that didn’t have a race today, or if they did, I didn’t remember. My thanks also go out to Amy & Tom, Nancy, Nat, Betsy, POM and RJ. Your infectious enthusiasm and determination have kept me from completely giving up on running, even though I’ve felt like it a few times this year.

There is a Simpson’s episode where Homer tries to jump the Springfield Gorge on a skateboard and ends up tumbling over the precipice, hitting every conceivable obstacle on the way down. 2008 has felt a lot like that. I’ve had injuries in the past, but a couple weeks of rest and my mind and body were ready to go again. This time it was different. Resting didn’t make the pain go away, and running didn’t hurt too much while I was doing it. The intense pain came after I stopped, or at mile 8 during the Whidbey Half Marathon, but it also came after a walk. I’ve also struggled to try and maintain the balance of work, school and running. I’ve been doing it for years, and at a much more extreme level. In 2005 I finished a degree while working 18 hour shifts on a regular basis, and training for the Rock n Roll marathon. In 2006 I was still working a lot of 12 hour shifts, while working on another degree and a certificate concurrently. I also ran the Goofy Challenge, and 3 half marathons, and married off the two oldest children (don’t worry, they were adults). By 2007, I was on a break from school, so I put the time to good use, running 1600 miles and setting PRs for every distance for the marathon. My boss really wants me to finish up the next degree, so I jumped back into school in the fall. I think that is when the skateboard started heading for the cliff.

I managed to keep up with work and school, and I even kept up with running. By December I was feeling overly tired, and blaming it on the nagging pain from what I thought was plantar fasciitis, but was really peroneal tendinitis. In February, my podiatrist gave me the green light to keep running, as long as I kept it to 3 days per week. He even gave me the thumbs up for running the Mardi Gras Marathon. Obviously he didn’t think I was that bad off, but I was unable to keep up with the intense running required for the FIRST program. I have become achy and whiny, and that really bothers me. I want to go back to being the woman who runs 1,600 miles/year.

I’m not sure whether my problems are mental or physical. Maybe I’m just too old to keep up the insane lifestyle. I hope not, because I can’t give up the job, and the job insists on school. That only leaves running as something to give up, and I’m afraid if I give it up completely I’ll gain 50 pounds by soothing my stress with food. I’ve been doing that lately What I do know is that I probably would have given up on running already if it weren’t for all of my great virtual running friends who keep me inspired, and keep my head in the game, if not my feet! Thank you very much! I thought about all of you during my run today.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 4th, 2008 at 8:51 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.