I've Never Been So Excited About Having Saddlesore

"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine


I biked today. Outside. Here in Wisconsin you can count ON ONE HAND the number of days in January that have been over 30 degrees. And today was 45. It was a gorgeous day.....How could I not  go bike riding. 


But let's start with yesterday. Chuck, my new physical therapist (we'll put him in the same category as the best physical therapist ever) gave me permission to try another 30 minute ride. I had a disaster a couple of weeks ago when I tried to go for a ride and it didn't go so hot. I promised Chuck no more than 30 minute (I almost completely kept my promise. It was something like 35.)


Of course I had to pump up my tires first. Of course I didn't bring the good pump to college. Bike lesson #1 never ever use hand pump again. So there I was at 11 o'clock last night sitting on the floor of my apartment swearing at my poor bike pump who just couldn't seem to get those tires pumped up. 
I got a little impatient to say the least. And sort of got bike grease all over. 

 So this afternoon I set out on my first bike ride since this summer. I was terrified for the first mile or so but got back into the rhythm and cadence a lot easier than I actually expected to. I made it 10 miles. My average was about 18 mph. There was a strong cross wind today making the trip back from my out-and-back a little difficult but all in all it was a great ride. 

It felt fantastic to be back on my bike again, and for just a few moments during it I legitimately felt like I wasn't injured, like I was getting better. It only fed the urge more, made me more excited to get back into the full swing of training. 

Not only that, but my pool workouts have been monstorous lately. The last two have hovered around the 2 hour mark. And this morning before my historic ride I did 70 minutes. 


The only thing that tweaked a little bit after my ride was my achilles and a couple of other miscellaneous tendons in my foot that aren't used to bike riding. Understandably so, I'm really gunshy right now and I do still feel that just the slightest wrong move will get me back on crutches 24/7 and back into the boot. 


On that note I haven't really been using my crutches all that much lately. Really they're just like training wheels. I'm uncomfortable and scared going anywhere without them. No matter whether I'm walking or not, I feel the need to carry them everywhere with my. I'm sure I look foolish walking to all of my classes carrying crutches under my arms, but it's not really my problem if other people think I look foolish is it?

Immediately after I got off the bike by crotch was a little sore. I've never never never been so thankful to have a sore crotch before. 

The Beginning

"Man never made any material as resilient as the human spirit." - Bern Williams

I've come to believe a very important  thing in the past couple of weeks. It didn't hit me hard though until this weekend. This is almost as hard for me to type out as it is for me to believe. Nontheless here it is. Breaking my foot is absolutely the best thing that's ever happened to me. This is my chance to rebuild from the very bottom and come back stronger, better, more determined. It's my chance to not give up on my dreams. I wrote a post awhile back about how and why I was somehow always meant to be a runner. But maybe, just maybe, I was always meant to be an injured runner...because in reality I was always meant to swim, to bike. Maybe, I was always meant to be a triathlete. 

That said it's a new month and I have a whole new list of goals SET IN PLACE AND OUT IN THE OPEN!!!!  Because I'm not afraid to set goals anymore. 

But let's start with January first shall we?

 January:

1. GET RID OF CRUTCHES. DANG IT! I WILL do this. 

2. Walk before I see my doctor again Walk before New Year's dang it!  Done and Done

3. Bike ride by the end of January. It wasn't pretty. But I did it. 

4. Start doing legit pool workouts Done, conquered, and then some.

5. Start off the new semester  on the right foot (pun intended) no more slacking in school just because you can't run. Yup :)

6. Calcium. So. Much. Calcium. Trying.....

7. Find a yoga class and get your strength back. Yoga classes are expensive. Plus I can't do this until I'm cleared to walk again. 

8. Be really really smart about food choices. Eat things that will make foot better. Trying....

9. Try to start sleeping more Ohhh yeah. 

10. Find will to run again Soon, Soon, Soon

February: 

1. GET RID OF CRUTCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. Walk. All. The. Time.

3. Start biking outside. 

4. Start 2-a-day pool workouts

5. Faithfully take calcium and vitamins.

6. See a nutritionist. 

7. Get good grades :)

8. Start weight lifting. 
9. Stop complaining about weight lifting

10. Find will to run again. 

How unfortunate that numbers 1 and 10 are basically the same. All I have to say is that  number 1 better go. And number 10 will come. I have big plans for number 10 actually. My foot broke on November 12. Almost 5 months later on April 2nd I'm going to go on my first run. April 2nd is my 22nd birthday. I'm giving myself the greatest gift I can. 

Back to the beginning of this post. Breaking my foot was a horrible, horrible thing. But it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I wouldn't take it back for the world. It's like breaking my foot gave me a whole new chance. This is, as I've come to realize, my chance to rebuild  myself from the bottom up, to have a fresh new outlook, to start over.  The way I was running, and (not) taking care of myself. The way running and winning ruled my life. The way that I was running away from things and not towards things...For all of these reasons it was only a matter of time before something broke. I'm just glad that it was my foot and not my spirit. 

The first two months of this injury I thought of as the end. It was the end of fast running. It was the end of running period. It was the end of all of my dreams. It was the end being a hard core instead of a recreational runner. It was the end of life as I knew it. None of this is true, except for the last one. It IS the end of life as I previously knew it. But that's O.K. Because while it is the end, it's also just the beginning of so much more. 

Learning to Swim

Dory: Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do? 

Marlin: No I don't wanna know. 

Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.

I have never swum,(swam? swimmed?) this much in my life. I used to pat myself on the back when I would swim for a full hour. Now, my workouts on average are at least 90 minutes. I've been doing actual workouts as opposed to using it only as "cross training" and doing the appropriate drills (like pulling etc...). Results? ....My arms hurt. 


But here's my current favorite workout...


500 WU Choice
300 Kick
300 Pull (150 free, 150 back)
800 Fast
800 Breath every 5 strokes
800 Breath every 7 strokes
300 Pull
300 Kick
500 Cooldown


One of my friends that used to be on a swim team suggested it. I don't know if it's doing anything but it sure feels like it is. 


Also, however, track practice has now officially started. It's funny because I didn't miss running that much, didn't think I'd miss it that much, until I saw my team running intervals without me yesterday around the indoor track. I'm fine in the mornings with my swims, with my own stuff. I'm completely at peace with what this is and the fact that I cant run. I know it's all for a reason. But it's tough to watch them do it every day. 


In the same breath it would also be impossible for me not  to be there, because I love them all so much, and I can't imagine just ditching my teammates, my friends, my family because I can't run. I don't want to lose them and running all at the same time. It just makes me feel a bit nostalgic I suppose, makes me hope that they aren't taking all of the steps they're running for granted. 




And finally....I'm realizing that nutrition is something that I'm not going to be able to figure out on my own. I'm contemplating going to a nutritionist to see if they could help me out with this osteopenia thing. Furthermore, my (new) physical therapist told me that one of the best things after osteopenia is to....weight lift. Which, I really hate, so there's another department I'm going to have to improve in. 


Aren't the arm muscles I'm building for 2 hour pool workouts enough???

Weekend Cooking Experiment

"If you feel like eating, eat.  Let your body tell you what it wants."
          - Joan Benoit Samuelson

I've been wanting to share some of my favorite "fuel" recipes on here. These are the things that keep me going through lots of training. 

So here it goes: 

Week One: Breakfast Cookies! A.K.A. homemade cliff bars!

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (natural)

1/2 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup plain oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup dry, powdered milk

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup dried cranberries or raisens. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. In a large bowl, stir together the applesauce, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in dried cranberries. 

2. Drop mounds of dough (about 1/4 of a cup big) about 3 inches apart on the baking sheets. Flatten each mound with a spatula. 

3. Bake, one sheet at a time 14-16 minutes or until browned. Cool. Store in an airtight container...or freeze (they're really good frozen)

Enjoy!

Random Fact Friday

"The power of people that believe in you & encourage you to chase your dreams is a tremendous gift"


1. I'm a huge social media nerd. I'm fascinated by it. I have a facebook, a blog, a twitter and my newest endeavor...a google+


2. I have been blond my entire life. Until two weeks ago. Now I'm a brunette. I did it because right now marks a whole new phase of my life, and I wanted a change. However, I no longer feel offended when people tell blonde jokes in my presence. I will probably never go back. 


3. I found my perfect running shoes! The Saucony Triumph 9


4. I'm dreading going back to school. I leave on Sunday and haven't started packing. 


5. I had a complete meltdown and had a really horrible impulse buy the other day. underwater mp3 player. Never have I ever been so excited to try out a new electronic gadget. Three more days till it gets here. Best impulse purchase EVER


6. On Wednesday I swam for two hours. 


7. I used to want to try out for American Idol.I am not a good singer. Now I only watch the first week of auditions because I really like watching the people who are really bad. 


8. I'm secretly afraid that my track team will think that it's stupid that I'm still there this season since I can't run. 


9.  I hate winter in Wisconsin. I'm currently sleeping under: A sheet, a blanket, a comforter, two quilts, and a fleece blaket. Oh....and this is all while wearing a short sleeved shirt, a long sleeved shirt, and a sweatshirt. 


10.  I strongly dislike cocky people. 


11. I rarely put more than $20 in my gas tank at one time. 


12. I used to drink almost a pot of coffee a day. However, when I found out about the whole osteopenia thing I gave it up cold turkey. Now I have maybe one cup per week. If that. I've replaced it with what may be a seriously inappropriate amount of tea. 


13. I love painting. If I wasn't so determined to be an athlete, being an artist would be my second pick. I'd like to open a coffee house/art studio someday. 


14.  I walked on a treadmill for 5 minutes. If I've said it  once, I've said it a zillion times I HAVE THE BEST PHYSICAL THERAPIST EVER


15. It was a major blow for all of us cheeseheads over here when the Packer's lost this past week.  Poor, Poor, packers. :(


16.  My goal is to do a half-marathon by June. I WILL come back strong. Stupid bone fracture. But underlying that goal is the goal to do so slowly and carefully. 


17. I hate watching new T.V. shows because I don't know the characters. 


18. I hate snow. 


19. My weirdest hobby is origami. But I'm actually pretty good at it. 


20. I don't buy storage containers. I  put everything in running shoe boxes. 


Happy weekend to everyone!

Physical Therapy, Finally.

Yesterday was a huge day for me. And I mean HUGE. It was my first day of physical therapy. But I woke up yesterday morning with my foot hurting and a ton of snow on the ground. So I wasn't expecting it to go well.

I've been seeing the same physical therapist since I was a sophomore in high school, and I don't know if I'll ever find one I trust quite as much .

So yesterday I braved the snow to get my foot looked over. There was actually quite a bit of good news. t I haven't lost an incredible amount of strength or flexibility. In fact, it's not really that much different from my right foot. And finally, the best news of all: any pain that I am feeling is due completely to the fact that I keep walking around on my toe because I'm afraid to put weight on my heel still. He said that as long as I stop doing that, and keep stretching that all should be good. Any pain I feel now, is most likely soft tissue damage and not bone pain. so excited. And then the best news. He told me that there is no way that swimming can do any damage so I can go ahead and go swimming every day if I want, as long as I keep stretching afterwards.

I just have to remember: this is not the end of my collegiate running career. It is the beginning of training for the swim portion of the ironman. Just keep swimming.

Osteopenia: The Great Nutritional Challenge

“What is stronger, fear or hope?” ― Lance Armstrong


Osteopenia is defined as bone mineral density (BMD) that is lower than normal peak BMD but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis according to Web MD. It's not enough to be serious you see, but it is enough to be seriously considered. Apparently it is also enough to stop you dead in your tracks at the 4k mark of NCAA regionals.


So what, then, is the cure? 


There are of course, medications that a person can take, but unless you are on the brink of osteoporosis they're not generally recommended. And, I don't necessarily want to go on medication. So, my challenge for the rest of this healing period is to work on this nutritional challenge and harden my bones by the time I start running again. 


Every conversation that I've had about my foot goes something like this: 
Person: What happened?!?
Me: I broke my heel from running. 
Person: Oh. You should drink milk!


Of COURSE I should drink milk. I know that. The entire world knows that. Do I drink milk? no. I don't like milk and I never have. I do eat yogurt and ice cream, but just because I have yogurt for breakfast 4 days a week does not mean that my calcium intake is set to go. 


There's so much to consider apart from simply drinking milk (almond milk, soy milk) or eating cheese and yogurt and ice cream (unless of course I ate ice cream 3 times a day which I would be O.K. with me) For instance, there are foods that can aid or ruin your calcium absorption. For instance, a highly acidic diet can detract from calcium absorption. Not getting enough vitamin D can also stop your calcium absorption in it's tracks. I feel like it should be so simple. But at the same time I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of information that's out there. What I want, is for someone just to tell me exactly what to eat every day and I'll follow it. What I'd like I think, is a nutritionist. As things stand though, it seems like I'm going to need to become my own nutritionist, studying what can help me and finding the best way to take on osteopenia. 


I'll be working on putting together a nice little nutritional program over my last week of Christmas break. I'm hoping that somehow, I'll be able to get it together and fix this whole osteopenia thing before it's time to run again. I'm open to any and all suggestions as well. 


For now, I'll just be reading up on osteopenia and slowly digging my way out of the calcium-deficit hole that I have apparently dug myself into. 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

"The woods are dark, lovely, and deep. But I've got promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep. -Robert Frost


So I had a doctor appointment two days ago. In my mind here's what was supposed to happen.
Doctor: Wow. Never have I ever seen an xray look this good. Your healing astounds me. You're basically a superhuman. You may feel free to go on a 15 mile run...TODAY! YAY! (confetti begins falling from doctor's office ceiling.)
Katie: Thank you, thank you. I couldn't have done it without you  and the extensive amount of calcium I've been consuming, which, as you can see by the x-ray is at least a million times more calcium than the average person consumes.
    I then throw my crutches out the window, sprint out of his office, into the sunset on a 17 mile run. Barefoot. In the snow. At 7:30 7:00 6:30 6:00 pace.

Here's what actually happened. The fracture is healing. (insert confetti). But the point to that is that it's not healed yet. Meaning...that I still can't run. Obviously. The good news is that I am starting physical therapy (finally) and I'm allowed to start walking a bit. Apparently pain is supposed to be my guide. My tendons are a little messed up, so I have to be careful with that. Oh, and the fracture? Let's just say I'm glad no one told me how big it was at the beginning of this whole ordeal.

On Friday after we took xrays I sat down with my doctor in his office to look at the xrays (hint: you know that you are a special case when your doctor allows you to sit down in his office with him instead of seeing you in one of the examination rooms. This also means your doctor is awesome.) So I looked at this now-calcified fracture, realizing that it goes all the way through my calcaneous, save a couple of centimeters at the end of it. This explains the extreme amount of pain that came along with this fracture.

This brings us back to the original question that I couldn't answer 9 weeks ago. And I still can't completely answer. How does a heel bone crack almost all the way through in the mere span of a week? Here are some of the answers for you that I have stumbled upon.
First of all there were warning signs that I should have seen.  During the season, my foot used to go numb a lot. At the time I blamed my shoes, my socks, going to slow, going to fast, fatigue, dehydration, pavement. I should have blamed my stress fracture. I also got a blister halfway through the season, that just would. not. heal. I stayed and never quite went away. And the skin peeled and it was always red and inflamed. It was right over where the fracure began. Finally, and oddly enough, the place where I first noticed the fracture was a the pool, while doing flip turns. I noticed that my ankle hurt when I was kicking...this should have been a warning sign because nothing ever hurts in the pool unless it's really serious. But as with so much else, I chose to ignore it.

How does a heel bone crack almost all the way through in the mere span of a week? 
The next answer is the scariest of all. It's one that I've known for a couple of weeks now (4) and haven't quite been able to write about yet. Osteopenia is what happens to your bones on the path towards osteoporosis. Luckily, unlike osteoporosis, it is just the de-mineralization of your bones is is actually reversible (usually) with a proper diet and amount of calcium. Osteopenia, is actually not that uncommon in women over 30 and especially not in women over 40. Simply, it means that your bones aren't as strong as they could be and you're losing some density. It basically is a road sign that says "Caution: this road may lead to osteoporosis." The thing with osteopenia, however is that because of your de-mineralized bones it's much easier to fracture them because they're not as strong as they should be. In addition, an excessive amount of running, and they're quite easy to stress fracture. Mine is in the early stage and not something that, at this point anyways, I'm  too worried about, but it is something that I need to talk to my doctor more about and figure out if I'm going to get another stress fracture as soon as I start running again.

So all of that said. I have 5 more weeks and then I go back to see my doctor the best orthopedic doctor in the entire world. We're going to take more xrays and make sure I'm done healing. In those 5 weeks I am supposed to faithfully start doing physical therapy, and that therapist is supposed to slowly get to strong enough to walk all the time without crutches. I'm already walking without them around my house, but I'm too afraid to do so out in the rest of the world. Especially, now that there's snow on the ground. So...that's at least one good thing. I feel like I'm thisclose to walking normally again.

In the meantime though, I'm still going to be doing lots and lots of swimming. And lots and lots of praying.

Worries and Other Things and Thursdays

"There is no cold weather. Only soft people."

1. It's snowing out right now. I don't want snow. I want to be able to run before there's snow. Furthermore I'm really selfish about it because I want to bike if the doctor allows me to. If I AM allowed to bike I don't want snow to be stopping me.

2.  I'm literally so nervous for my doctor appointment that my stomach actually hurts. I'm afraid I won't be able to run at all. Or walk. I've been kind of cranky the past couple of days because I can't think about anything else. And I can't stop worrying about it. I don't want to think about it, but I also can't stop.

3. I haven't showered at my house in over a week. I have either showered at the pool or not showered. This may be gross to some people. I prefer to think of it as a talent. In addition the pool is going to be really cold today because it's really cold outside.

4. It's days like today that really make me miss caffeine. It's snowing. I'm going to find out the fate of my track season tomorrow. I NEED caffeine. I'm like one of those drug-addicts that you see on shows like addicted....except I'm not that hard core enough. One glass of wine sends me over the edge. One dose of Nyquil knocks me out for at least 10 hours. Caffeine is my drug.

5.  I found this place on the internet called Swimmer's Choice where you can order a discontinued TYR swimming suit for like 17 dollars. You don't get to pick the suit, or the color (usually just the style). The people that work there stuff a random discontinued suit in a bag lovingly choose one for you and send it to you in the mail. I don't much care what color my swimming suit is, just that I don't have to pay my entire life savings for a new one. So here goes nothing. I'll let you know if the nice people at swimmer's outlet know how much I like pink.

Shoe Advisory?

"Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going. Where they've been. I've worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard I could remember my first pair of shoes" -Forrest Gump

I'm going to buy shoes on friday. Wait...let me rephrase that. I'm going to buy new running shoes on Friday IF I'm not banished to crutches for 4 more weeks. However, as I said, I'm assuming I'm going to be allowed to walk. Which means: I'm going to need shoes to do the walking in.

I have this...superstition, I suppose you might call it, that everytime I get injured in a pair of shoes I must ditch them. Usually I ditch the brand entirely. Here is a list of currently banished shoes:
Brooks Ghosts
Saucony Kinvara
Asics Kayano

So.....that said I'm also currently wary of any Brooks, Saucony, or Asics shoes. This leaves me with as far as I can tell Mizuno, Addidas, and Nike. And I'd really rather not go with Nike or  Addidas. I've searched my way through every shoe advisor out there and I still have no idea what I'm doing. You would THINK that after running for the past 11 years of my life I would have figured out what shoes to wear. No such luck. I was an Asics junkie for quite some time, but I lost faith in them after I went into a running shoes store last year and was told that the structure of my Kayanos may have been the cause of my patellofemoral pain.

I know everything there is to know about foot type and different running shoes and what they all do. I'm positive that I could work in a shoe store and have told so many of my teammates what shoes that they should get after examining their feet. So...why is it that I can't figure out what kinds I should be wearing.

Most heavily right now I'm thinking Mizuno...only because they're the only brand yet to hurt me. I'm also a little concerned about going with a newer brand that I've never heard of. Newtons look promising, but I haven't heard enough success stories.

The bottom line is I need something with EVERYTHING. Stability, cushioning, and structure. Is it possible that they make a shoe with all of that? I'm pretty sure that cushioned and structured shoes are like...opposite. The search will continue...Bottom line: I don't care as long as they come in either a.) lime green or b.) hot pink and c.) do not fracture my bones.

Then again, do I even bother buying shoes since it'll be so long until I'm able to run again? Or should I buy them right from the get go so I start walking in the correct shoe and eventually transition into running?

The Second Wave

"In life each of us faces great challenges, and in return is given even greater blessings"


I only have 2 more days of being on crutches. Potentially. I mean, I admit there is always the possibility of him not letting me walk quite yet. Five weeks ago I thought he would take away the crutches too and here we are. I'm not expecting to get to run anytime soon, but it would be nice to be given permission to walk. And really, if we're realistic, I'm walking anways. So, I'm assuming that they're going to let me walk. But you never know do you?

Track season is beginning and it's becoming increasingly hard for me to not get depressed about all of this. I knew this would happen weeks ago, but I never knew it would be this frustrating. What I mean is this: I experienced the first "wave" of sadness right away when it seemed like the whole world ended just because running did. I got over that. And I'm O.K. with not running again until I'm good and healed. I understand that this is all for the best. Plus I love swimming, I love biking.

I knew I would be sad when track rolled around but I didn't know how sad. So now is the beginning of the "second wave" of sadness. So many of my friends, are getting ready for the season and getting excited about upcoming races. Races, that I'm going to have to watch. I think that if it were just me, things would be different, coping would be different because I wouldn't have to stare running in the face every day. I could just, as I have been doing, pretend that it doesn't exist. But since I'll be at meets and at practice it's hard to pretend that it's not there.

I just need to remember that this isn't all that there is. There will be more running in the future, whether I can run now or not. I have to keep my eyes forward to the future and not fixated on the present.
Most importantly, I need to remember that right now I need to be putting all of my energy into getting healthy again, and becoming a better, stronger person. 

I think, partially, what I'm worried about is not being able to run again for a long time. That's what's been keeping me up at night lately. Half of me is excited about the prospect of the doctor allowing me to walk again, the other half keeps whispering in my ears "what if he never lets you run"

So, once again, fingers crossed, I'm off to the doctor in two days. Maybe I'll come walking out of his office.

Learning to Love Moderation

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” 

― C.S. Lewis

I have one week until I'm allowed to walk again. One. Week. Try as I might, I simply can't stop my mind from going crazy with "what-if's" My mind waits until I'm juuust about to fall asleep and then goes crazy and keeps me up for hours. 


I'm exciting because I think that walking means biking too. Now, unfortunately, Wisconsin weather is among the most unpredictable in the entire United States, so I'm not holding my breath or anything but I'm just saying that I might get to go on a bike ride next week.   


This week was full of quite a lot of swimming. My days consist mostly of wake up-tea and breakfast-pool-nap-TV-sleep. Usually after so much time out of season and so much time off of school I get restless and bored. Maybe it has something to do with the stress of last semester. Maybe it has something to do with dreading going back and facing the doctor and the track season. But for some reason I'm perfectly content with things the way they are. I feel like maybe I have more that I have to put back together first. 


Swimming has been the best part of my days. (Never thought I'd say that!) Though I don't need to I usually warm  up with 1/2 an hour of aqua jogging and then follow up with some swimming. I'm up to 45 minutes. 


I've also been walking. Probably more than I should. But it seems that I can't help myself. Sometimes I partial-weight bear, but ever since New Year's day I've been actually walking around the house. I'm just so sick of using my crutches. Yeah, sometimes it makes my foot sore but it dosn't hurt to walk on it so I'm hoping that's a good sign. 


Moderation is going to be my biggest challenge once I start doing things again. It's already hard for to me not walk on it too much, not swim on it too long, not stress it as much as I want to. 


One more week until Friday, January 13-.....next x-rays 

Uphills, Downhills, and The Next Few Miles

"There are three choices in life. Give in, give up, or give it all you've got."


If we're being honest here, I don't have much of a year to review. I spent three-fourths of it injured. I was injured at the beginning of last year, and I'm injured now. Those are the downhills. I encountered three major injuries over the course of 2011: IT band syndrome, patellofemoral, and finally a fractured calcaneous. I had only a few really, really solid months of racing and training. Right now, I can't walk...well..couldn't walk (we'll get to that in a few paragraphs). But I'd like to take this post to talk about the victories that I DID have in 2011 and map out the ones I'd like to achieve in this next year. 


2011....I came back from my IT band injury just in time for track season. I didn't have the stellar season that I had hoped for. But still,  came away from it with a lot of good experiences and a few PR's. I had one of the biggest learning experiences of my life as I ran Kansas Relays in April and I experienced what it's like to run on a seriously big stage. Pressure? Sure but it's exciting. Though they weren't as big as I had hoped for I DID set some PR's
3k-10:45
1500-5:01
1 mile: 5:15
10k: 38:00
Oh...and I learned how to swim, and swim A LOT this past year. I never imagined that I would enjoy swimming, but it's become so much a part of who I am, and for much of the year, swimming got me through many of the toughest parts of this year. And..I bought a crazy, beautiful bike and even learned to ride it. My passion for running ultra-marathons someday slowly changed to competing in ironmans someday. 
Finally, cross country season. While it was mostly full of disappointments there are a few things that I can' skim over. I won my conference race for the second year in a row-becoming the first ever female to win the title twice in conference history. I also ran an 8k instead of a 6k for one of my races and set a new PR of 30:14. 
I applied to four different graduate programs, and finished up my undergrad requirements in psychology. And finally, I learned a lot about myself, most importantly that I can make it through everything, even broken feet. 


2012
-Start walking again ...check! I did this today. I can walk without crutches. I still do use  my crutches, usually just using one, but I can do it. And there is no pain. I'm trying not to walk too much but I'm so excited. I decided that I was going to start walking in the new year. I wish it was more exciting to talk about, a better story. But truly all that happened is that when I was going into the kitchen this morning I decided to do it without crutches. 
-Start running again
-Train for and complete a century ride. 
-Graduate from college
-Nutrition-calcium and protein and such
   I'll do a post on this later but this category includes a lot of smaller goals such as making sure I'm getting 1500g of calcium every day and eating protein every day and most importantly of all using nutrition in such a way as to make my foot, and myself better. 
-STOP BITING NAILS
-Give up coffee. (this is part of the nutrition goal but it's so sad that it deserves it's own category)
-Strengthening mind and body


Happy 2012!