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Monday, May 13, 2013

Bring on the peas!

Thursday I had a hard workout. I almost couldn't finish it. It left me in this shape:


Yep. Ice, ibuprofen, and compression socks. It's pretty normal for me to have shin splints, but something had happened to my foot. See that bag of frozen peas on my left foot? Yeah. It started hurting in the late afternoon and just never felt better until I got off of it and iced it. (I've discovered that frozen peas work best for me! They aren't rigid and they fit where you put them!)

Friday morning I woke up and my foot was still hurting, so I went into full and complete freak-out mode. I texted Bruce, who said I probably shouldn't run on Saturday. That really disappointed me, but it just felt like a pulled muscle or something, so after going on the internet and diagnosing myself with 47 different things, I texted Bruce again and he told me I could come in. 

He massaged my foot, poked around in different places on it, and almost immediately found the source of the pain. It was not an injury - huge relief! It was just a sore muscle. Well, I can deal with sore muscles! I deal with them every day! I was mainly just concerned that if I ran on Saturday, I would make it worse. Bruce said it would probably be more sore, but I wouldn't injure myself. Yay!

He gave me a bunch of stretches and exercises to do while I was there, and then he sent me on my way and told me to ice it and take ibuprofen. So I headed to UCF to pick up my packet for my first ever 10K race! I was so happy! And I was so thankful for an awesome trainer who understands my craziness and agrees to see me on the spur of the moment, just for my own peace of mind!

I was excited and nervous and had some trouble sleeping that night. But I finally fell asleep and then the alarm rang at about 5:00. (I think I got around 4 hours of sleep - not great.) My awesome husband - aka my #1 fan - got up and went with me. I was almost late to the starting line. Stressful! I got there with several minutes to spare, and then it didn't start on time, which frustrated me because, had I known, I could have used the bathroom before it began! 

I was maybe about 15 minutes into the race when my stomach growled and I realized I hadn't eaten breakfast. What??!! That is SO not normal! I think I was in such a hurry, I had a few bites of my overnight oats, but not nearly enough to sustain me for a 10K! I was supposed to grab a Belvita on the way out the door and eat it in the car, but I totally forgot! 

And then the foot pain started. It was not horrible, but I began to walk a little more. The plan was to run 5 minutes, then walk 1, for the entire race. By mile 3, I was running 3, walking 1. And soon after, it was 2/1. Around mile 5, the pain got pretty bad and I started doing 1/1. It upset me, too, because before that I was on track to seriously beat my goal time. But from mile 5 until the end, it was pretty slow going. I loved seeing my sweetie's face cheering for me at the finish line! 

I immediately said, "I forgot to eat breakfast." He ran and got me a banana and a smoothie, and then he took my picture! 

So. Let's recap.

Firsts at this race:
  1. First time to forget to eat breakfast before a race.
  2. First time running in compression socks.
  3. First 10K distance race.
  4. First time using my brand new Garmin!
  5. First time taking an ice bath (when I got home) - wooooooo it was cold!
No-No's at this race:
  1. Forgetting to eat breakfast. That was really dumb.
  2. Arriving late to the start line - no time for warmups or bathroom.
  3. Running in new clothes - I had never worn that skirt. Luckily, it was fine.
  4. Letting my realization about breakfast get to me.
  5. Negative thinking.
Once I realized I had forgotten breakfast, I wasn't sure I could do it. Seriously, that is such a mental game and I need to learn how to squelch those thoughts. Also, I was already doubting myself because of my foot pain, and that's another mental game.

So I didn't do my very best. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances, but all in all, I could have done better. I will do better next time. I will learn from this race. And it shouldn't be hard to beat my time, which was 1:19:06. I totally could've done it in under 1:10. 

Now it's Monday and I'm working out again tomorrow. That's 2 1/2 days of rest. My legs and foot are still sore! So what's new??!! Bring on the peas!



4 comments:

  1. Kerri,

    I really enjoyed your blog and I wanted to email you but didn't find an address. I started a company in 2006 called Gracie's Gear (www.graciesgearandtraining.com) where we sold sports bra's and tanks to women with a patented zipper pouch. In 2008 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and a few months following, my daughter developed an infection in her eye.
    Long story short, I was thrilled to come across your blog. I wanted to in-turn, share something I'm doing right now.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/drbotts/gracie-gear-and-powerpouchtm-designed-by-and-for-w

    I'm on Kickstarter trying to kickstart my company. My fight with cancer leaded me to shut my company down. But with the help of friends, fans, and family I'm trying to make a comeback.

    I hope you enjoy our video and maybe feel compelled to share.

    Thanks Kerri! Take Care,

    -Gracie

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    Replies
    1. Gracie, thanks so much for commenting! I checked out your site and I think your bras and tanks look awesome! I backed you on kickstarter and I can't wait to get my tank! :D

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  2. Hi! Found you through Running Bloggers. Frozen peas are such a good idea. I should try that.

    Did you like running in the compression socks? I just ordered some. I've worn compression sleeves at night before (I had nasty shin splints last fall), but I've never worn anything while running. That made it sound like I run naked, didn't it? I don't, I swear. LOL

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    Replies
    1. Hey Diana! Thanks so much for commenting! The frozen peas are super easy - that's why I love them!

      I liked running in the socks, but they didn't feel super different to me. However, I had a pulled muscle in my foot for that race, so I was focused on that. I wonder if my pain would've been worse if I hadn't worn them! I do REALLY love them for recovery, though. I have shin splints ALL the time and I really hope someday that will quit happening! The peas seem to really help, though.

      Funny you would say that about naked running, because JUST TODAY I was looking at local events and there's one called the Nude Run. And it seems to be just that! Who would do that?! My boobs alone would knock people out (including myself) if they weren't restrained!! LOL!!

      I found a coupon code through another blog for 40% off Pro Compression socks. Let me know if you want it! Happy running!

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