... will overcome their injuries together!

Since our 18 mile run I've only been out for three 5 mile runs - but they were all great runs! Thanksgiving threw our schedule off a bit but the biggest challenge has been ..... no, it can't be! .... INJURY! Aaaaaah! After 9 months of training and the marathon only 6 weeks away this is a bit devastating! 

After our 16 mile run, Josh noticed a bit of pain in his right shin. He was thinking/hoping it was shin splints. He continued to train but two weeks later after the 18 mile run he was really uncomfortable with every step and even walking was not normal. He went to his GP who also was thinking shin splints but the radiographs revealed there was evidence of a stress fracture. Ugh! Grrrrr! Hmph! He was told there was no way he could run the marathon. However, he is getting a second opinion tomorrow by an orthopod just in case. Keep fingers crossed! At the very least we are hoping he will be able to recover enough in 6 weeks that walking isn't painful and he can attempt to walk the marathon in under 7 hours. So our 20 mile run this weekend was postponed ... just in case the he is told tomorrow that it is shin splints and to keep running ... but I will pick up there next weekend and continue on. Josh did dig up his mountain bike out of storage and got it tuned up so I won't be ALONE for my remaining two long runs. Isn't he great? :) This will also give him a way to cross train while running is not an option. Although devestated he will likely not be crossing the finish line running, he is remaining positive my looking to swimming, biking, spinning and personal training as a great way to cross train. He has always said he wanted to do a triathlon!

My own difficulty is not in the same ball park. As opposed to acute and affecting my ability to run, my problem is chronic. I have had trouble with my right lower back and hip that is triggered by laying down. This obviously affects my ability to sleep! I've tried different beds, not running, pillows in an amazing variety of configurations. Nothing makes a difference. I have had radiographs, MRI, consults with physiatry, trigger point injections, SI belt, and 10 weeks of physical therapy. No better! Ugh! Grrr! Hmph! And the most frustrating part is that no one knows what is wrong with me or why laying down is the problem because laying down usually makes back problems feel better. Their response? "That's weird" Not REAL helpful. So I sleep sitting up - again thanks to an engineering feat involving 6-7 pillows. Many theories have come and gone - as I mentioned before - my bed, my running, iliosacral inflammation, and the latest - diastasis recti. What is this latest hypothesis? Diastasis recti occurs most often after having children. The connective tissue between the abdominal muscles stretches out and doesn't return to normal. So down the middle of my stomach I have a space between my "six pack" muscles (although they NEVER looked like that even in my best shape!) that is three inches wide and 5-6 inches long, where there is nothing but a thin piece of connective tissue. The theory is that this makes it impossible for me to have a stable core, no matter how many sit ups I could do, this space will continue to make my abdomen unstable and weak and so my back has to compensate for it. 8 more weeks of physical therapy with a focus on this diagnosis and we will see where I'm at. If not improvement they will refer me to a surgeon. If it is improving I continue with PT. But the bottom line? It is just a theory - no one really knows. 

Luckily for me I am still able to run. I am incorporating more cross training and doing less running and Josh has obviously switched to only cross training until further notice. Josh says you don't know how much you like something until you are told you can't! Now every time he drives along the charles he watches the runners go by with envy. 

Chin up! Keep plugging along doing what you can and that is your best and is great! We were never out to break any records, just to finish, to raise money for breast cancer, and to make a healthy change in our lives. And even if Josh can't RUN the marathon, we can still accomplish all of our goals. Hip hip hooray!

.... is back! Where we've been and where we are going.

Sometimes "life" gets in the way of things. And so it goes. So I had to blow off a few cobwebs from our blog before beginning tonight. Where have we been? What have we been up to? I will try and give a quick summary!

Summer training continued fine. There was no real answer to my question "how will I get my runs in?" I took it day by day and jumped on any opportunity to get out there. Sometimes I took the baby with me when he got up early, other times I'd head out while he napped and my parents watched the other two. Josh and I might trade off, he would head out and I would be ready to go the moment he stepped back in. And our long runs became our date nights. We would have our baby sitter come and head out for 8, 10, 12 miles at 6 at night. Ah! The things you can do when it stays light out until 8pm! Not a romantic candlelight dinner but it was time alone together that we both really looked forward to. Don't we know how to have fun?

The end of summer, the start of school, and our trip to Yellowstone led us into a 3 week slump of little running. I've been having trouble with my back when laying down so this unintentional break allowed me the chance to evaluate if running was part of my problem - it wasn't. So when October 1st hit there were no more excuses and it was time to hit the pavement.

Squeezing in our runs continues to be a challenge. I don't know anyone who has "free" time, and neither do I, so I just made the decision to find "some" time. It is never ideal, you just need to make it work. We continue in the same fashion as we did over the summer. We take it day by day and if the week is getting ahead of us and we haven't gotten runs in then we make a more concrete plan. I run 3-4 times a week and Josh usually 4-5. Some weeks being better then others of course!

Josh spent the late summer and fall experimenting with "barefoot" running in Vibram Five Fingers. I also have a pair and have run up to 5 miles in them but am not the diehard Josh is. He wears his to work and everything. Hopefully we can get him to do a post of his own on this topic. It is a very interesting concept! They are particularly awesome in the rain.

We are now up to 18 miles. It is amazing how by adding a little bit each week you suddenly arrive at these huge numbers. It is almost a bit anti-climatic. When you have done 16 two weeks earlier and now you do 18 it is great, but I'm still the same old me. I don't feel like a different person. I don't feel like a "runner" all of the sudden. Just me. But that in and of itself is amazing too! That it is that ..... easy. We have continued with the Galloway method of run 4 minutes, walk one. We ran 18 miles yesterday and around mile 15 I started to feel the distance a bit. A little sore. Tough when you stop at a light because you notice the aches more. Ok so long as I'm walking or running. But every time the going got a little tough I just thought "ok, 4 more minutes - no problem."  And it isn't. And then we are done. We give each other a high five and a hug and walk up the hill to home hand in hand. Mission accomplished. We stretch, we are sore, but we did it. The next day we are ourselves again. Today I only feel a slight tightness in my right hamstring. I can walk, I can function. I don't feel how I imagined I would feel after running this far when we started this journey.

Hard to believe just two more long runs left before the big day! 

We have come so far. 

When we began this journey Josh was 54 lbs heavier, we could not run 3 miles in under 36 minutes (12 min/mile) and our long run was 5 miles. Today, we are eating healthier, are more fit (yet somehow I haven't lost a single pound!) we can do 10 miles in 94:60 (9:46 min/mile), our training run is 5 miles and our long run is 18 miles. 

WDW HERE WE COME!

... does the Galloway together!

Hello everyone!

So I have been absent from the blog the last few weeks so here is a summary of what we've been up to:

July 11th Paul White Memorial Race, North Falmouth, MA

The PWM was held on a beautiful day. Our Team All Ears teammate and friend, Amanda, came down with her lovely family to enjoy the day with us. The course was hilly and it was a hot day compared to what we'd been experiencing this summer so it was a challenge. However, the course was pretty, there were lots of great spectators with hoses spraying to cool us off, so we had a great time. Amanda and family came back to Monument Beach with us after the race and the kids frolicked in the sun and surf while we chilled out and relaxed.  Unfortunately, Nik - Amanda's husband - lost his watch in the sand on the beach.  Talk about the proverbial needle in a hay stack...

After this race I sort of fell into a bit of a summer slump. I still added one mile to my long runs each week, but had been having a hard time getting out there for the training runs. I am now out of this slump thanks to a refreshing race this week that has motivated me again. Hooray!!!

July 28th Yankee Homecoming 10 mile race, Newburyport, MA

So much to say about this event!

First off it was a BIG race compared to the little ones we've been doing recently. There were 1,500 runners in EACH the 3 mile and the 10 mile. As a result we didn't get a chance to connect with Amanda before the start :( Next time I will remember my cell phone so we can find one another!!! However, we found all the runners and spectators to create a lot of excitement and ambiance. What fun! 

Although we have been doing Galloway run 4/walk 1 for all our training runs we have never raced using the method. Well, lets just say it takes a LOT of discipline. Here we are, all pumped up, excitement is tangible, the race starts, mid pack moves ahead and we are plugging along with the back of the packers, warming up, trying to find our rhythm, when...

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! BEEEEP! 

Time to walk already? Are you kidding? We just got started! There is still adrenaline and excitement! Walk? Do we have to? Can't we skip just this one walk interval?

Well, we did walk. We knew we could do 9 miles doing the Galloway and could do 10 even though we hadn't gone that far yet, but what if we tried to run the whole time? How would we feel? So we walked. We found ourselves being passed by almost the entire remainder of the runners. People around us wondering "What's up with those two? They haven't gone half a mile and they are walking already? They'll never make it 10 miles!"  

Well, we did make it 10 miles. The first 3 miles were tough. High 80's and REALLY humid. The scenery was great, beautiful houses, water views, but they were a long 3. Again, there were lots of spectators and hoses to help cool us off. I really appreciated that and it is always good to wave at the spectators to encourage them to cheer you on. I've found every time I give  a little wave I get a cheer. Every little bit helps! We also had the benefit of running near Mr. Moss, who apparently taught in the Newburyport school system for a long time so everyone knew him. It was fun hearing all those cheers - "Go Mr. Moss!" - even though they weren't for us :) 

Then between mile 3 and 4 we went through downtown Newburyport. Along with the race, there were other Yankee Homecoming events so downtown was packed with spectators and vendors - mmmmm - do I smell kettle corn? Whoo Hoo! What fun. All that cheering and clapping, plus the sun going down gave us an extra kick in our step. We were SO glad our watches weren't telling us to walk as we went through downtown. We will have to try and synchronize that for the WDW marathon so we are running, not walking, through the parks!

From there on out we hit our stride. We went through a more rural area - cows even - yipee! I love cows.  There were some hills in this section as well, but we were fine. At mile 8 it was pretty flat and we were feeling great so we kicked it up a notch and ended up passing 50-75 runners that had passed us in the first 5 minutes of the race. It was exciting to be feeling strong at the end instead of wiped out. Thanks Galloway!!! 

Then at around mile 9 who did we see running as fast as he could along the sidewalk heading towards us, but Gabe Gonzales - Amanda's son! Followed closely behind by the rest of his family of course. So I made a quick detour to hand off Nik's watch - which was found on the beach the day after it was lost - in a relay performance worthy of an olympic medal ... or at least youtube!  Those guys are great! This new boost of adrenaline carried us to - ugh! - a hill - up to the football field and across the finish line. Whoo Hoo! We made it! 1hr 48min and 20 seconds placing 1,233 and 1,234 out of 1,352. Our split was 2 1/2 minutes faster for the second half then the first. Thanks again Galloway and also to the sun for going down and making it cooler for us! 

So now I am pumped for training again and ready to pound some pavement. WDW Marathon 2010 HERE WE COME!!!!

TFTRT .... goes to Disney together!

Well, this has been a down week for the both of us because we had a little last minute trip to ... you guessed it! WDW!

The incessant rain was really getting old and we had plans to go to Canobie Lake Park with the kids Thursday (assuming Josh didn't get picked for Jury duty which he did not - he was done at 11) However, as the rain came pouring down and we were discussing our alternative activities for the day we jokingly laughed about "lets go to Disney!". Well, of course we weren't going to pick up and go right THEN - but to cheer us up Josh called Southwest to look into some free flights he had to see if we could use them for our January WDW marathon trip ... but alas! The flights were expiring in a few weeks so....... could we ACTUALLY go right now? Was that CRAZY? Well yes, it was crazy but thats what we are!

And from there everything just fell into place:

It WAS a holiday weekend and Josh was VERY SLOW at work Monday, (Thanks Kap for picking up the two clinics!)

and there WERE 3 rapid reward flights available the next day (Friday) returning Monday so......

We called our AllEars teammate and Disney travel agent, Amanda at http://www.mommymouseplans.com and asked her to look into passholder discounts and sure enough ...

35% off at Port Orleans Riverside.

How could we NOT pass up such an opportunity???

So planning and packing took the place of running on Thursday and Friday we headed to the airport to spend the next three days in sunny, hot, NOT RAINY, Florida!

Josh attempted to track our milage walked on the Garmin but we do not have the details yet.

Regardless of the results, we know we walked a lot. Our legs were sore at the end of each day. Although the only time our heart rates were elevated was when we were running through the airport to catch our return flight!

So now we are on day 6 of not running. The training log is looking blank. But tomorrow is a new day and we will be back out there!

Goffstown Gallop Part 2

Goffstown Gallop Video Part 1

The Goffstown Gallop and hydration systems

The family that runs together .... gallops together!

So Friday night we decided it was time to check out hydration systems after running on the only warm day we've had all month holding water bottle by hand. Josh didn't mind but I didn't like it at all. I had run earlier in the day so Josh ran over to City Sports and I met him there with the boys. Sports stores are SO much fun that before we knew it, it was nine o'clock and Michael and Liam had rearranged the entire shoe department :) Not only was this past THEIR bedtime, but also pretty late for those of us running the Goffstown Gallop the next morning! Not the most well planned evening, but hey, spontaneity is the spice of life!

The Goffstown Gallop:

We started the day at 5:30. Giddy up! Got up the boys up (Hannah was at the cape with Grammy and Grampy) and hit the road. Along the way we picked up my niece who watched Michael at the playground while we ran. We arrived close the the end of registration - we were running 30 min behind schedule - so I dropped Josh off to get us signed in while I parked. Despite our late arrival we still had time to meet up with Team AllEars teammates, Mike and Michelle and husband Andy. 

Right away we knew this was a fast field as we were instantly pulling up the rear, police car right behind us. I thought, "hmmm, I don't feel like we are going slow" and sure enough at the mile mark we were at 10:40! Along with Mike we were the last three! Sure am I glad I resisted the urge to try and keep up with the pack or I wouldn't have lasted the whole 5.2 miles!

Here is my favorite quote from DisBoards Wish Team at Expedition everest challenge:

DLS: Dead last finish

 is better than

DNF: Did not finish

 is better than

DNS: did not start

Great huh?

So we continued on our merry way. Liam did great, smiling for the first half, sleeping for the second half. The course was hilly but shady. We ran some with Mike and some with Michelle. We had fun being silly taking photos and video and finished with smiles on our faces - our #1 goal! 

Mike and Michelle are the co-captains of Team AllEars - a group of disney fans that are running either the WDW Half or Full Marathon 2010 and raising money for breast cancer research. Being part of this team has been a wonderful way to maintain our enthusiasm. We both give and receive tips, advice, encouragement and laughs! Please see links below and on the side to make a donation! 

Hydration systems:

This will be an ongoing topic as we each try different systems.  

The GG wasn't so long, especially with the water stops, to require a hydration system but we were pumped to try them out so we went ahead and gave them a try.

I used the womans Camelbak Dream. This is not a running specific design, we just happened to get it on clearance last year for other uses but thought we'd give it a try. I had no problem with swinging or sloshing and really enjoyed the ease of drinking. It was very comfortable, only a bit hot and sticky underneath it on my back. Josh tried the Nathan multi bottle belt. He found the bottles both easy to remove and put back - a problem we discovered with some other brands/style. It was comfortable but he has some concern about chafing if worn for long distances. This of course we will be able to test outs lowly as we increase our milage to 26.2 over the next 6 months! The big bonus with the multi bottle is you can put electrolytes in 2 bottles and water in the other 2. The camelbak you need to make one choice and go with it.

More to come as we trade systems over the course of the week!

To steal a favorite quote of Pop Pop and Grams...

MAKE it a great day!!!