My plan

Ok, so I am not giving up. I am just going to put the long distance runs on the back burner for now. Allow my knee/tissue to heal, strengthen and stretch and keep at it.

So here's my plan
May
Run every other day: T, Th, Saturday, with maybe a cross training on Wed. The days I don't run I will work on strength, pilates, core. I will stretch and roll daily.

I will cut mileage back so maybe do t and th 3 miles each then on Saturday try to run 4-6 miles unless it hurts

Run the Apollo 5K mid May

June
Reassess - continue with May's plan but try to run 4 x week and slowly increase miles.

July
Reassess - run 4 x week - hopefully by then do 3, 5, 3 then long runs on the weekend (start on half training schedule)
10k in Michigan

August 
Continue to train for Half
If feeling good, plan an October/November Marathon - increase slowly

September
Run the half - if pain is good then go ahead with Marathon

Fail!

Sometimes things don't go as planned. I knew I was taking a chance. I felt great then the pain set it. I tried to walk and stretch. Didn't work. Plus I did not want to spend my first marathon hobbling. I wanted to run it. So I called it quits around mile 4 or 5? It's pouring rain too.

There will be more races. I know I can do this. Time to heal and rest. I'm over it.


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Night before marathon! Nerves are running high. Mostly just hoping mr itbs stays quiet. Of course my . started today. Perfect timing.


We arrived in Toledo around noon. C and I went by our old apartment and had lunch at Calvino's - a place we used to eat at. We had Greek salads and split a huge turkey sandwich. Yum.

We then went to university of Toledo for the expo. I bought some arm warmers and we picked up our packets. We then headed to the hotel. We met our friend Brenda for a drink to catch up and visit - it was so nice to see her before their big move to Cali! Next we rested at the hotel then has dinner with K and G once they arrived. We picked up their packets since that stayed back to coach out girls soccer game.

Now I'm relaxing. C is rolling my it band! I think I'll sleep good. I'm
full of sheppards pie and took a nice warm shower!!!!


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Carb loading Rigatoni with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Sausage

I have been making sure that I have been eating three meals a day - not skipping on any meals. I don't want to weight myself, I did at the gym the other night and I was only up to 111, normally I have been floating between 109-110. BUT this week is different. I want my body ready with plenty of fuel. So this week I have been adding in more carbs than usual to our meals. Complex carbs like brown rice and whole wheat pasta...but you can see below that is not the case tonight. Sometimes a good, Trader Joe's rigatoni just calls to you. I swear they have the best prepackaged pasta. So I whipped this up early before M's soccer practice so when we get home we can chow down. I will be sure to have an extra helping or two! I plan to have some big meals on Friday and Saturday, nothing crazy. I have been trying to drinks water, I am so bad at this!

3 days to go!


1 lb rigatoni - cook per the instruction, always salt your boiling water - reserve a little of the pasta sauce

In a deep saute pan, warm up olive oil and sautee 3-4 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 chopped onion. When fragarent, add in:
1 lb Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage (if you have a Marino's near you, GET THE CHICKEN BASIL  SAUSAGE - so good) I chop my sausage up in bite sizes

Brown sausage, then add in 3-4 chopped up zucchini, bunch of quartered grape tomatoes, splash in a bit of white wine, cook it down, simmer until all is browned and liquid is gone.

Toss with pasta and top with fresh Parm!
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2.6 & 5 - final countdown

Tuesday - went to the gym for a nice eacy 2.6 mile run, wanted to just do 2 but wanted to also burn a few more calories. Felt strong, finished strong.

Wednesday - met my running group - good turn out this week. Several new runners I hadn't met. Most of the 'women' ran the 3 mile route, one girl did a 5 miler on her own, I ran with the guys. My GPS clocked us at 4.8 at 8:54 pace but our running leader (who is my running idol, he runs 17 minute 5K's and runs all his marathons at 7:00 pace) he felt said he mapped out our route for a 5 mile run and felt we were running at 8:30 pace - GPS or human experience - mmmmm which trumphs? Either way, it was a great run, I felt strong, no pains. I am feeling OK about this marathon now.

I'd rather run a slow marathon than a slow half marathon. Does that make sense? I don't want to do a 2 hour half, my PR now is 1:52 and I'd like to get better this fall with that.

KNEE DON'T FAIL ME NOW!

4.3

I totally wasn't going to go for a run tonight...but I'm so glad I made myself go. The hardest part sometimes is just getting out the front door. I had a really nice, easy run. Started at 9:13 then ran 8:24.

4.3 38:08 - no pains...rolling and ice here I come!

4

Stormy night so our running group canceled. So I did a sweaty 4 miles on the mill
1st mile at 9:13 then the rest 8:34. Good run. No pain!!!!!


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3.1

27:19 8:44 pace....sweaty run at the gym, felt good then some good core work, now to ice, roll and strengthen. Hoping for a 5'er tomorrow night with the guys!

As my BFF texted me from mile 24 of the Boston marathon yesterday the last thing I thought of would be what she texted me as she headed home. It's spring break for her kids and they annually cheer on the runners from the sidelines of the big race. She texted me videos and pictures of the elites and random runners teasing me that that could be me next year.

Then her text read "bomb, limbs lost, wtf". Not clear what she was saying I quickly googled the news since I was out walking the dogs. We become almost numb to the awful world we live in now and I immediately thought that something bad had happened At this major international event. Sure enough

I was glad my BFF and kids got home safely to their house in Saville Hill. She was shaken all day as the bombs went off near her office. And to make matters worse, her son knew the boy that was killed. Ironically they ran track together.

My running group gathered tonight to run for those victims in Boston tonight. I could not make it but tonight when I run I will be thinking of everyone. And run with a heavy heart

When I became a runner I was blown away at how nice and kind the running community truly is. Everyone encourages one another, is kind and really runners have this amazing strength. I'm so glad to be apart of this community.

As I approach the Toledo Marathon, whether I'm running the half or full I'm going to run a little differently. My naive, innocent thinking of just going for a run will be replaced with a cautious heart. But I won't stop.


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8 miles!

My longest run in awhile and it felt good! The first few miles were tough but then I got into my groove and just waited for the ITBS to kick in. It didn't...until right at mile 8. But I felt good during the entire run and truly feel I am on the mend!

Decided to just do the Half Marathon in Toledo instead of stressing out about doing the Full.So this next week I will do my runs, running group then try to do a 12 miler next weekend.I don't want all  y marathon training to be for nothing. I am just happy I can run again without that awful knee locking pain.

8  miles 1:09 8:39 mm

thoughts on raw - veggie sides

I have never been much for diet trends: Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, etc. I am just a firm believer in eating healthy foods, watching portions, moderation and not snacking after 8pm. However I like to pull ideas from some of these trends as I think each has some good ideas from them. I was reading up on Raw Diet today a bit and how much research has been done on cruciferous veggies (broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts) and how cooking them really robs them of their nutrients that are disease fighters. Makes me think of trying to serve more raw veggies - not only is it healthier but honestly tastier too. I think food should be served in it's most pure form as possible. I believe in using herbs and other natural flavors to make food tasty.

As I was preparing our yellow french beans the other night for dinner, the girls each kept sneaking beans off the counter and eating them. I realized then, why am I going to cook them?

French Green Beans
Mixed minced garlic, 3 tbsp red wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, pepper, and toss with the beans. YUM

Raw Broccoli Salad
Rinse broccoli and chop up into bite size pieces. Mix a little balsamic vinegar with a little organic mayo, season with pepper, whisk it up and mix with the broccoli, toss in raw peanuts and serve.

3.5

Went to the gym tonight and ran for 30 minutes - ended up with 3.5 miles started at 9:05 worked up to 8:00. No pain at all, I could feel my IT band nice and loose on my left side and tight on my right, so I need to make sure I am rolling and strengthening both sides. I plan to ice, stretch and strength tonight then rest Friday and try a longish run on Saturday. I am slowly starting to have hope maybe I'm on the mend and maybe I can do this marathon.

Plus my new shoes (techincally new but the old style and brand I have used before in my races) feel good.

4.26

Our new local running group met tonight. I went and wa determined to run as far as I could. I ended up with
4.26 miles 8:36 pace
Knee was tight at end but I was ok

Running group was so fun! I ran with my regular friend I run with and another guy who runs 7:xx marathons. He gave me some good advice and my itbs. Then we all went for a few beers. So fun!!! Glad we are doing this in our town. Great group if people.


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Location:4.26

PT

I saw my PT yesterday. She couldn't cause me any pain and said I was strong. Gave me strengthen and stretch exercises...really showed me nothing new. Was always insinuating that I stop running, um no! Then another PT came by and was saying how is wife suffers from ITBS and runs marathons. He was much more helpful. Gave me orthothics b/c he noticed I pronated (knew this already and she didn't even check). Also suggested I order a brace to get me through the race. Not sure, I will keep rolling and strengthen my quads, hams, etc. and see what happens.

2.6

Beautiful, sunny, spring weather. I had to try another run. I put on my new Brooks Pure Flow 2.

Started out fine, then around mile 2 I felt a tightness and then the pain. It's hard to describe - it's something I just can't run through. So I stopped, stretched, tried again but didn't want to make it worse so walked home. Bummed.

I will continue to roll and strengthen. I miss long runs!!!!!!

Grilled Chicken and Greek Orzo Salad

Today was the first NICE day of the season. The kids were outside most of the day and loved it. We cleaned up the grill, bought some new propane and had our first grill out. It started to rain as we were about to eat so despite A's protests (she reallllly wanted to eat outdoors) we took our meal in.

Grilled Chicken
Marinated chicken breasts all day in Trader Joe's Red Wine and Olive Oil Vinegrette. YUM! Grilled up perfectly and a great marinade.

Greek Orzo Salad

1. Boil up salted water, cook about 1 cup of orzo. Set aside. I placed mine in the freezer to chill. Toss with olive oil when done.
2. Meanwhile place in a large bowl:

1 chopped up english cucumber
1/2 c. chopped kalamata olives
1 c. chopped grape tomatoes
14 oz. marinated artichoke hearts (drained but reserve the juice) chopped up

Squeeze lemons over and season with pepper. Toss with Feta cheese and the orzo. Chill if needed. Pour artichoke marinade over before serving and toss.

3 miles :) and some new kicks just might do the trick!

AND NO PAIN. I have been rolling and strengthening and resting my IT and I realized last night that maybe my new Mizuno pair of shoes I bought back in December aren't good for me. They offer a lot of support for my pronation but I threw on my old Brooks Pure Flow this morning and tested my run. No pain...not at all, no tightness and I am VERY aware of any tightness in that area now. I was tempted to run longer but didn't want to push it. So I rolled my IT when I got home and will do my ITBS recovery work out tonight and run again tomorrow.

FLEET FEET - is a great store. They will take back your shoes no matter what. So I headed over to our local store this afternoon and said I wanted to exchange my pretty blue Mizuno Wave Inspire (sniff sniff) for the new Brooks Pure flow - I haven't had any pains with my old ones even though they were a size too small. So I walked out with my new pink Pure Flows and am anxious to see how the run goes tomorrow. I am still hopefully for the full if not half marathon in a few weeks.

And I also received store credit since the Pure Flows are cheaper so I stocked up on some Shot Blocks - my fav!

Sports Dr

told me what I figured .... looks like IT band. So he gave me meds, wrote a script for PT and told me to foam roll my band out. I am hoping the meds work! He did offer to give me a cortizone shot (although he said it's painful!!!!) to run the marathon or if I just end up doing the half. So I will take the meds, roll out my IT and get back to it. He said not to do a long run this weekend but I just at this point want to run with no pain. I will take it week by week, 4 more until the marathon and I know I can def. run a half but really want to shot for the full. We will see!