Corkscrews & Cadence: Detroit

If you haven't seen the movie Hocus Pocus, can we even still be friends? I feel as though that's something someone who shops regularly at Target would say. Then again, that store is really speaking to me right now.

When I looked at the date today, I realized two things: I haven't written in over a month and I haven't run in over a month either. If you've been here since the last entry, I communicated that I'd be taking a mild writing hiatus because, well, I wasn't running, and I was about to do some traveling. Let's recap that, shall we?

The week after I got the news that I'd be benched from running, I was clearly devastated. I have never had a 'DNS' in my books. But you know what? Life goes on. I could have been stupid, ignored the pain, and kept going like most runners I see but I wasn't about to make things worse. I could have also still raced but that would have also been stupid. So, let's like, make a smart decision for once! For the love of taking care of your body! I made a promise to myself that I'd start my new life in Arizona with a clean slate, do all of the things I should be doing that I didn't before (warm-ups, stretching, foam roll, don't be an idiot) and I was keeping up with that promise. I even fell in love with yoga. My half marathon is officially deferred and now I sit with a credit that's good for two years whenever I decide what race looks good to me. Oregon is looking pretty legit (Mt. Hood) but, again, let's not jump the gun. We still have one race in the books that's officially 16 weeks away. Shameless plug:

So, what's happened between then and now? The family came to visit. We hung out around town for a few days and then set our GPS to Las Vegas for the weekend. We took in the sights, we ate good food, and we drank many beverages.

Bone Haus Brewing
Cuttings by Prisoner
Cabo Wabo
The Mirage Casino & Hotel
You know what this is

One of those things is not like the other. After Vegas, we flew to Michigan and stayed for a few weeks. If you aren't aware, Michigan is my home state. I spent the last 30 years of my life there (that makes me sound old, I'm only 31) and while I miss family and friends, I can't say I miss living there. From wheels down, the traffic was atrocious. My good friend, Tania, bless her heart for being so patient and driving to get us but also taking us to pick up Jet's for dinner because what else would you get when you haven't been home in 6 months? Also cats. Lots of cat time because I like to treat it as free therapy.

Again, one of those is not like the other, but Dori is my granddog so she counts too.

Michigan was Michigan. Normal, crap weather 80% of the time. The humidity was high and the days were gloomy. My body felt as if it hadn't gotten sleep in a month and craved some natural Vitamin D. Let's be honest, I was eager to get home so I could start physical therapy and get things moving.

Going to a new physical therapist made me nervous. Not because I haven't done it before but because I was so used to going to the same person. It's hard to create a new, trusting relationship with someone you've never met before who you hope will carry you across the finish line pain-free. Thankfully, I absolutely love my new therapist. He is not only professional and knowledgeable but holds a good conversation and makes sure I'm having fun but also analyzes my form the entire time. We're now two weeks in and my knee is feeling good. Even after days of being on my feet all day, I wake up expecting it to hurt and it doesn't like it used to. While I'm not assuming I'm in the clear, all signs are pointing in the right direction. I've learned things I haven't before. Aside from the existing overpronation I deal with, I apparently also have fairly flat feet. Who knew? Time for a new analysis for shoes! And, let me tell you, I'm treating my home exercises as if it were a new religious practice to ward off evil spirits.

For now, we wait. We practice patience. We read. In fact, I just finished this book:

Super great read! I'd put it up there with Kastor's 'Let Your Mind Run'. It kept me entertained in a busy Detroit Airport while watching people go nuts over Chick-Fil-A (is this really still that popular?) or seeing Gate A76 find out their flight got changed to Gate A6, which happened to be on the entire opposite side of the terminal. That'd be a good speed workout.

Things are back to normal. Early morning alarms and eating normal food. Now it's just a matter of getting cleared to run again. For now, we wait.

Today is day one. You're probably wondering, "well, day one of what exactly?" but we'll get into that in just a bit. If you aren't familiar with who I am, I suggest you check out "The Girl Behind the Glass" for a short biography. It's interesting, promise! This post will be pretty long to get things started but you'll get a little history of what the past year has brought and what's to come for 2019. You might want to open some wine before you start. May I suggest a Rosé to make it feel like summer?

Running has become one of my passions. It's taken me quite some time to deem myself a 'runner'. I always thought I'd have to show some sort of accomplishment or win all of the competitions. Hell, I didn't even like running until around 2013. It's brought out the best in me and the worst. I don't think I've ever hit such highs and lows from an activity that just requires you to put one foot in front of the other. But to hit highs, we have to start with the lows. I had been blessed for quite some time with not having to deal with injuries. I've always had a pronation issue since I was a kid but the good folks over at Hanson's fitted me with Saucony Guide's and I never looked at another shoe ever again (thanks, guys!). The 'no injury' train would quickly come to a stop February-March of 2018. After developing some pain in my right hip, stubborn-me decided to seek help. Some X-rays and an MRI later, it was discovered I had partially torn my hip-flexor tendon. "No running for at least 4 weeks and then we'll start you on physical therapy". I'm sorry Doc, what? You said no running? Christ on a cracker; how am I suppose to live with that diagnosis. But, guess what? I did what I needed to do. I started physical therapy and thanks to my trainer, I came back strong. Toward the start of my running again, I received news that I was chosen from the waitlist to run Bayshore in Traverse City that upcoming Memorial Weekend. Despite being probably the hottest weather I have ever raced in, I ended up with a 6-minute PR half marathon. Might I add that it was amazing to run a race with so many of my fellow Michigan Volée sister birds? Heads up, wings out!

Fast forward about two weeks after that, I was gearing up to start training for my first marathon. Even before I ran Bayshore, I had only had one-half marathon under my belt before I decided to tackle the full 26.2-mile distance. Crazy? Probably. Unachievable? Not even close. I was going to finish that race whether it took me 6 hours or if I had to walk across the line. I followed Hanson's Beginner Marathon training plan to start. When my first track workout came, it was literally the worst run I had ever had. Speedwork has never been my strong suit. I threw in the towel that evening and decided to just focus on finishing. Luckily, they make a plan for that too. It took 18 weeks, 5-6 days/week of running. Shout out to my husband who is the best support biker ever. Only husbands of marathon trainers can probably take the harsh words we tell them during training just to tell them how much we love them after.

I became a marathoner on 10/21/2018. I crossed the finish at 4:38. I cried and then ate half a pizza and drank two beers. Who knows how many times I said, "I can't believe I just did that" but it was the best high I had ever had. But the injury train came back into town. This time, it didn't wait long. It must have tried to pick me up and take me away around mile 20 when I came to a halt due to the sharpest pain I had ever felt in my right exterior foot. I could barely walk Sunday night and Monday, well, I was better off lying on the floor. Being thankful again to know such good people, I paid the University of Michigan another visit and left with a diagnosis of a stress fracture. This time? No running for two months. Naturally, I was upset. But I finished the race! I probably ran 6 miles of it with the fracture but I got my medal and I was part of the 1% (or is it 4%, I can't remember). I was put in a boot for a month. I was cleared to run Christmas day. Inbetween that time, we moved to Arizona and left the cold winters behind. Oh, and you bet your ass I ran on Christmas. It may have only been one mile but that mile was the most exciting mile ever.

Detroit Free Press Marathon Finisher, 2018

So, you made it to the important part: what are you doing this year? Thanks for being so patient. This year, we start from the bottom. We treat this as if we've never done this before. We approach it the right way: healthy and strong. Today, I began training for a 5K (Mountain 2 Fountain). I honestly laugh even typing "training for a 5K" because I've never actually have had to train for one. I just ran a marathon 3-ish months ago; why do I need to train for a 5K? I didn't run for two months straight. I'm not about to dive head first into a pit of more injuries. I do have plans for other things this year but we'll get to that later on as time progresses.

Sometimes you have to start from the beginning to build a solid foundation; to reshape yourself; to become strong as fuck; to set personal records; to learn why you love this. I have partnered with Kristen Griffin (Find Your Stride Coaching) to aid in this journey because lord knows, I'm lost without a plan. She's honestly amazing and when we talked, it really got me amped up about what's to come. Will we PR this race? I don't know. Will we finish? Damn right we will. The next five weeks will be about how this training goes, what the end result will be, and everything in between. Oh, and we'll talk about wine too; because it's delicious. I might sneak some beer in there as well.

10/15/2019

Hocus Pocus

1/29/2019

A Clean Slate