Something funny about younger siblings

I thought this was funny.  I guess most people who are the oldest of their siblings would agree with this. BTW, I am still running.  I lost a bit of motivation when I took 6 weeks off back in the winter. I will update soon with my goals and plan for the last quarter of 2012.

Brett's Story from 1980

I've been scanning old family photographs my parents have and recently came across an article written about my brother Brett one year after his accident.  In order to put it here I have had to scan it in pieces to make in fit on the scanner's face plate.  This article reminded me why I ran the CIM and committed a year in my life to get there.  It wasn't easy for me, but it was far easier than what my brother did to get one little muscle in his arm back. It's hard to read this because the clip had deteriorated  but I hope you take the time to do so. You can click on the excerpts and get a bit bigger clip that is a little easier to read.  A side note to what my family calls Brett's accident, the boy that pulled him out of the water who was his friend, was recently profiled on the TV show "Undercover Boss".  His name is Rick Tigner and he is now President of Kendall-Jackson Winery.  I don't think that he knows the gift he gave my family the day he turned around and swam back to my brother.  He will always be a hero to me.

Transitions

The month of December went by so quickly and here we are in late-January of 2012.  I think I ran 3 times in December.  My group does a holiday lights run and a solstice trail run and I did both of those.  I also did a charity 5k run for the Salvation Army.  All in all I probably ran 9 miles after the CIM.  I have not ran in 5 weeks. 

I guess I need to figure out what I am going to do now.  My journey is complete. I did what I set out to do and completed my goal.  The question is at what cost?  My body feels broken down.  My ITB while not as tight as after the marathon, nevertheless, is still tight.  I get pain sometimes just walking around at work.  I am having some right hip trouble that just started up mid-December.  The hip starts to ache when walking the dog and the next thing I know I have shooting pain down the front of my leg which then causes me to limp severely.  My tibial tendon problems seems to have moved around the corner and is now an Achilles problem.  Geez I feel like one of the parents on Seinfeld complaining about all of their ailments.

I was hoping to do some trail races this spring, but those are out now.  I do have a running clinic I am going to go to on Saturday, January 28th.  It is really a Chi Running class although that is not what he calls it. It is called Running Injury Free.  I hope that 3 hours is enough to get me on the right track.  I am looking forward to it.  In the meantime I am following my groups training plan for their next Half Marathon, the Shamrock'n in mid March.  Today they had to run 6 miles so I did 60 minutes on the elliptical.  Fortunately, I like to listen to podcasts which really helps make it less boring.  Right now one of my favorites is NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me.  Hilarious stuff. 

The Finish Line

The beginning of my big day started at 2:30 am.  I think I got about 4.5 hours of sleep.  I know that seems really early but I had to meet my running partner at 4 am and I had to allow enough time for my system to wake up.  I actually needed every one of those minutes.  I had to check the weather, Facebook to see what was going on with the running group and if there were any last minute changes amongst other things that needed to be done.

As usual I was out the door late but we got to downtown Sacramento in plenty of time.  We had coffee, we ate our yummy breakfast...Honey Stinger Waffles and then we waited in line to get on the school buses that were waiting for us.  We then drove to Folsom and the start line.  It was in the mid 40's on Sunday morning.
I had on arm warmers, shorts, running shirt, sweatpants, sweatshirt, gloves, socks and compression calf sleeves.  We waited on the bus until 15 minutes before the race started then hit the porta-potties.  We found some of our friends and then waited for it all to begin.

We were told that there were 8000 running the marathon and 4000 participating in the relay which had four legs to it.  The race started at 7 and we were off.  Of course it took us about 5 minutes or so to cross the start line.  Everywhere you looked there were clothes strewn on the ground...pants, sweatshirts, garbage bags, blankets.  These were to be donated to the homeless later.

The course starts in Folsom and continues through Orangevale, Fair Oaks, Carmichael and then Sacramento.  In the old town section of Fair Oaks there are hundreds of wild chickens and we saw a couple
as we ran by.  We were so lucky to have such good weather for the race.  Somewhere in the Fair Oaks area I shed my sweatshirt, sweatpants, and gloves as I got too warm. 

Never having run in any other kind of big long race like this, I was surprised at the level of crowd support.  There were people out on their front lawns drinking their coffee, waving and cheering us on as we ran by.   We saw lots of spectators with dogs which was fun.  We saw so many different breeds which broke up some of the monotony.  Our running group was out in force on the course.  We saw them early on and then at the half way point and then at around mile 26.1.  They were all there with signs and cheers.  I can't imagine doing this alone with no support.  It is such a big undertaking.  I ran over 700 miles so I could run 26.2 miles on a Sunday in December. 

It was worth it though.  You really find out what you are made of.  It is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one.  I had a few tough runs prior to the CIM.  When I cruised through mile 18 with no problems it was a great relief.  At that point I felt confident that I could finish the race without having to walk any more than the 1 minute I walked after 3 minutes of running.  In the end I ran most of the last 2 miles or so just because I was afraid if I stopped I wouldn't be able to run again.  I finished the race in 5 hours 28 minutes and 54 seconds.  I hope that someday I can try and run another marathon and run the entire thing.  I have a lot of issues to work on before that happens.

In the end, I accomplished my goal of raising $1000 for The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.  In fact I raised $1050.  A big thanks to everyone that contributed.  An even bigger thanks to my running friend Terry Tokutomi who ran with me the last 2 months of my training.  She kept me positive and motivated when I was feeling very down.  You have no idea what that means to me.  My running a marathon journey is over, but what I do next is yet to be determined.  I need to get my running form corrected so that I don't have these ITB problems.  I am so tired of my knee hurting me.  I hope that 2012 will be as great a year as 2011.

SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE!!!!!!

Thirteen Hours To gO!

I have my pasta sauce simmering on the stove.   Hopefully, I will eat by 7 pm instead of the not so great for running a marathon time of 9 pm.  It has been a busy day.  I ran at 7 am to see what the temperature was like and to shake out the kinks and also to check the running gear.  BTW, long socks on arms are scratchy so I bought some arm warmers at the expo for $10.  I will be ditching the sweatshirt and sweatpants somewhere along the course. I went to the CIM Expo and listened to some speakers and wandered around looking at the various booths.  I got my very boring grocery shopping done and gas for the car so I would be ready to go at 4 am tomorrow.

Wow!!!  A year of planning and working towards my goal are at an end.  I ran 721 miles to get to tomorrow.  Now all I have to do is show up and run 26.2 miles.

I've been thinking a lot about my brother today.  He has rarely been far from my mind.  I remember the sweet little boy he was, following me and my other brother around.  Brett is 4 years younger than me and 18 months younger than my other brother.  In those days, he was a nuisance to me.  Getting into my things, asking lots of questions and in general just being a little boy.  There was no way for me to know that when we grew up he would be one of my closest friends. 

I know people that don't have relationships with their siblings.  I have a friend that doesn't like her brother.  That is so foreign to me.  I can't even imagine what it would be like not to have my brother, both my brothers in my life.  In my birthday card this year he wrote a note, yes with a pen in his mouth he wrote these words:  "I've always known that my big sis has my back.  That was true when we were kids and now even more so."  The thing that he doesn't know is that he has always had my back.  He has always been a source of strength to me.  There are many decisions in my life that I couldn't have made without his counsel.  I just feel so lucky to know him, to count him as my friend, and to love him like a brother because he is...my brother Brett.  Tomorrow is all for you little brother.  Your spirit will carry me on my way.  I love you!!!

Research for a Cure for Spinal Cord Paralysis

This 7 minute video was brought to my attention by the Team Reeve Facebook page.  Dr. Wise Young talks about the cure for spinal cord paralysis like it is just around the corner.  I hope that it is.  I would love to see my brother Brett walk again in my lifetime.  Of course, if he was able to use his arms well enough to drive would be wonderful too.  Please take a look at this video so you can see what donations to The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation pay for.  Your donated dollars can truly change the course of someones life.Click to view Dr. Wise Young's interview

4 Days and Counting

I had a pretty miserable last four miles on my last long run before the CIM.  We ran 22 miles but unfortunately I had to walk the last 3 miles because of knee pain.  It was cold out on the American River Bike Path with some parts colder than others.  It never seemed like we warmed up enough and then when we walked, we were starting over to warm up the legs. 

When I got home, I was so cold I couldn't stop shaking.  My knees were knocking together so I went upstairs and stripped and jumped into bed with all the covers on trying to warm up.  My hands never did.  I finally got up and put on a shirt, a sweatshirt, a knit cap and sweatpants.  I should have just jumped in the shower but my brain didn't seem to be working properly at that point.

I finally warmed up and got something to eat and then filled the tub up with cold water.  I got my handy half gallon ice block, made some hot tea and got my reading material together, rolled up my sweatshirt and then stepped into the cold tub.  As cold as it is in the beginning, miserable really, once you are totally in, it feels really good.  I stayed in for 20 minutes.  My legs felt so much better afterwards.

I felt like I needed to see my Physical Therapist so I e-mailed him and low and behold there was a mix up.  The receptionist had made an appointment the last time I was in for tomorrow so I had a slot ready for me.  Weird how sometimes serendipity steps in.  I went to my appointment and he did ultrasound and pressure point massage on the sore spots.  I felt better but not confident about the marathon in less than two weeks.  I managed to run about 2.5 miles the next day and 3.1 miles on Thanksgiving Day.  My left leg from calf to upper thigh continue to be sore.  Right now I am thinking I am a crazy person to run 26.2 miles on an already sore leg.  Maybe adrenaline will be just the thing to carry me through on Sunday.

CIM-Three Weeks Out

So for those of you not from the Sacramento area, the above picture is the course that I will be running on December 4th.  We start in Folsom and run 26.2 miles to the Capital in downtown Sacramento.  I will also be running very near my house.  It is maybe a mile away from Fair Oaks Blvd. and Oak Street which is around mile 5 or 6 of the race. 

Tomorrow, November 12th, we are running the last 15 miles or so of the race.  We will be starting at Fair Oaks and Sunrise Blvd.  Should be interesting as there are no sidewalks on parts of Fair Oaks.  Guess I better wear something bright so the crazy drivers on this road can see me.  I can say crazy drivers because I lived in that neighborhood for 6 years.  I once missed hitting a deer by about 10 feet on Fair Oaks between Sunrise and San Juan. 

At this point, physically, I feel like I am being held together by string and sheer will.  I have my I Phone timer working everyday at work.  It alerts me every hour and a half to get up and stretch.  I go through a regular routine of stretching calves, quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes.  I had to bring my yoga mat to work so my knees wouldn't hurt.  I have a glass panel next to my door.  It's kind of embarrassing to have your boss walk by while you're in the middle of a glute stretch. 

Not many people understand why I am doing this.  The people I work with think I'm a crazy person.  My boss told me yesterday that he is happy with 29 minutes of cardio a day and that nothing could convince him that what I was doing was "fun".  I don't know if it is fun either.  Challenging, pushing me beyond my capabilities, setting and achieving a goal, it is all of those.  Truly if a 53 year old woman with a bad knee can do this, anyone can too with proper preparation and motivation.  I am motivated, very motivated.  I haven't raised the money I would like to with the fundraising.  My job situation became tenuous and I didn't want to threaten any professional contacts with a personal issue.  Still, money is needed to continue research into the cure for spinal cord paralysis and I am glad to raise whatever I can towards that end. 

Five Weeks To gO!!!

Can't believe that I have been training for the CIM for 47 weeks!!  Officially the CIM training for my group started the first Sunday in July, but mentally I have been preparing for this since January 1st.  Tomorrow my goal is to run 18 miles.  This will be the furthest I have ever run.  I'm slightly intimidated by it because two weeks ago on my 17 mile run I had to walk in the last mile or so because my left calf felt like it was ready to give out.  It felt like it wouldn't hold me up if I took another running step.

I haven't posted in awhile.  Weekends are mainly the time I write and they have been filled with running.  I did run in the Urban Cow Half Marathon the first Sunday in October.  That race was a lot of run.  They had a new course which I like a lot.  I did the run/walk method with intervals of 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking.  I was 5-6 minutes slower than my time last year but that is to be expected since I was walking some. 

I did buy calf compression sleeves this week to help my calves with this long run looming tomorrow.  I tried one out on Thursday during our regular run.  It wasn't too constricting which was good.  When I used to play soccer, I had to wear 2 pairs of socks and sometimes it felt like they were just too tight and constricting since they also had to go over my shin guards.  They would bother me the entire 90 minute game.  I think I will probably wear both of them since I am also having trouble with my right tibial tendon which is on the inside of the Achilles tendon.  Hopefully it will give the tibial tendon some additional support. 

From now on I will be wearing my Team Reeve running shirt on every long run.  I love the words written on the back.  It says:  "For everyone who thought I couldn't do it, for everyone who thought I shouldn't do it, for everyone who said I didn't have it in me, see you at the finish line."

The Reeve Foundation is doing such great work.  They are not only doing cutting edge research on a cure for spinal cord paralysis, they also assist people with purchases of items that can make the newly paralyzed lives more comfortable.  They are a fantastic organization.

Get To VS. Have To

Kristin Armstrong has a section in her book "Mile Markers" called I GET TO.  It really had a lot to say to me.  I'm a complainer.  I don't mean to be but sometimes I complain a lot which then defines me as being negative.  I don't really think of myself that way.  I think I'm a pretty positive person.  I don't let anything keep me down for long. 

This Get To Vs. Have To has been simmering in my brain for awhile.  I say I have to go run tonight or I have to clean the house.  Turn that around and say I get to go out for a run tonight or I get to clean the house today.  One is joyful, the other is not.  I really need to practice this more  for many reasons.  I lost three close friends to cancer during the past 10 years.  Two died before they turned 40, the third before he turned 50.  All three were soccer friends that I played with, drank beer with, went to tournaments with, and shared my life with.  Their presence in my life is missed.  I will always miss them.  The fact that I get to run another day, that I get to watch  my son grow into a man, that I get to clean the cat box, all of these things are really celebrations of being alive, of being present in my own life.  This way we honor those who don't have that choice.  Think about that voice in your head and change your attitude.  Celebrate your get to's.

Kaleo 5k

Wow, it has been forever since I posted something.  I will be posting more shortly.  I just wanted to quickly talk about a 5k I am running tomorrow.  It is called the Kaleo 5k (Kaleo means "strong voice" in Hawaiian).  The race was started in 2009 to raise funds for a Sheriff's partner dog called Kaleo.  He had cancer and the need $12,000 to save him.  He survived and the following year they had the race again for another police dog named Dante who also came down with cancer.  Now it is an annual run to raise money for retired police dogs and their care after their service to  us.  What a great cause!  I met Kaleo this morning after picking up my race packet.  He is one beautiful animal.  He is a European Shepherd, maybe Belgium.  He  has a very black face and very wolflike.  He weighs about 90 pounds.  My picture doesn't do him justice.http://www.ssdk9run.com/  There is a much better picture of him and his whole story at the website.

Cross Training Part I

Last week I finally got back to my cross training.  I had laid off for a month for various reasons, everyone came to my house for Mother's Day, a 5 day vacation, my son's 21st birthday and then finally my biggest excuse is I got out of the habit.  They say it takes 21 days to make an activity a habit, it takes about 21 minutes or maybe 21 hours to break a habit.  I had a little eye opener last week when my knee reacted to my three hill runs in a row.  Scared me all the way back to the Doctor.  He told me to keep running but to get back to my cross training. 

The reality of my situation is that in order to run I have to cross train and strengthen the weak muscles that are causing my knee pain.  Strength training is something that I will have to do for as long as I want to run.  They are two activities that have to go together.  The reality is that I lifted weights anyway. I did the elliptical on the days I didn't run.  Now I do exercises that specifically help me with running.  I am working on my  glutes, hips, and VMO.  I do strength training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I also do upper body work on those days.  Triceps/biceps one day, then chest/back the next and lastly shoulders.  I am also doing core work and riding a bike instead of the elliptical for the summer.  Tomorrow I start back up with yoga.  I have a DVD that is called The Athlete's Guide to Yoga by Sage Rountree.  I can program it do the poses anyway that I want, but I do the ones that Sage designed.  I will probably post more specifics later on the strength training.

I recently started cycling again.  I haven't gotten on my bike in at least two years.  I have a mountain bike that has never been on a mountain.  It's heavy but you do get a pretty good workout on it.  I actually started Wednesday.  I probably biked around 7 miles in about a half hour.  It's funny when you haven't been on a bike and you get on it and take off it sends you back to the first time you rode your bike as a kid.  You remember the freedom that came with having a bike.  The wind in your face. The ability to go far away if you wanted.  Be a daredevil and ride it really fast. 

I spent a lot of time on a bike in my 20's.  My ex-husband was into biking so I was too.  We lived in Santa Barbara and it was such a beautiful place to bike in.  We rode all over the hills above the city.  I got to be very good at climbing hills.  One summer we parked our car at Lake Cachuma which was on the other side of the Santa Ynez Mountains.  I was supposed to ride over them, but the road is a highway and very steep with a lot of curves and traffic.  I would have needed more time to train and truthfully I was scared to death to attempt it.  So we parked at the lake and rode our bikes to Pismo Beach which was about 75 miles away.  We got there late in the day, showered, walked to dinner and next morning rode back.  A week later I pulled the ligaments on both sides of my left ankle while playing soccer.  I was running to goal with the ball in front of me and stepped into hole.  I ended up in a cast for a couple of weeks and then had an ankle that was never the same.  I do ankle circles sometimes after running and hear lots of clicking.    I was grateful that my soccer injury came after the bike ride.  I would have been so pissed that all my training that summer had been for nothing. 

I have enjoyed being on the bike again even if it is only 7 miles and around my neighborhood.  I miss my regular training route in Santa Barbara.  It had a beautiful ocean view, down a twisty hill and then up a killer hill that puts Sierra College to shame.  Oh well, I can still see it in my mind while I bike around my new route.
Hopefully I will notice in a couple of weeks some improvement in my quad strength. 

Running Book Geek

As proud as I am to say that I am a Runner, I used to be proud to say I read books, lots and lots of books.  Over the years with a child and 90 minute commutes and jobs that consumed my time, reading took a back seat to all of that.  I have read a little in that time, mainly 2 or 3 books in a month and then nothing for 6 months or a year.

Recently I have read so many books on running that it officially makes me a running book geek and I can put that right next to my running podcast geekdom.  The reason for the book reading on running is the current state of my physical health.  I'm not ill or anything just dealing with a chronic problem with my IT Band which really is the symptom of my problem with patellafemoral syndrome or chondromalacia syndrome.

I took a break from the technical books to read a book called Mile Markers by Kristin Armstrong.  She is the ex-wife of a guy named Lance.  She lives in Austin Texas.  The book has 26.2 chapters with running topics like endurance, passion, and clarity.  I have really enjoyed the book because some of it really hits home.  I will never be the runner she is but I can understand her affection for the women she runs with whom she calls her sweat sisters.  I run with a mixed group of people, men and women, who make it fun to run and add another dimension to my life. 

 I want to quote a passage from her book, but it is really a quote within a quote.  She quotes a trail runner friend of hers who came down ALS. This was written while climbing  Machu Picchu.

  "I am a seeker.  I am a wanderer. I am who I am.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.
   Life is a series of great paradoxes.  To find ourselves, we get lost.  To gain, we lose.  To know the light, we plunge into the dark.  To succeed, we fail.  Opposites seem forever linked.  Without one, we cannot define the other.
   Blessings to all who share these mountains, who share journeys---both guide and traveler.  Blessings to all of those who seek, knowing they may never find.  May you breathe in every moment and with it know that you are truly loved."   ...Dano Keitz

In Kristin's book I finally found the words to why I started this journey to run a marathon.  I was truly inspired by the people in my group who ran the CIM last year, both the veterans and the first timers; although that wasn't quite enough for me.  The greatest inspiration to run this marathon is still my brother Brett.  I can't cure him of his paralysis, but I can stand for something when I run.  Here is what Kristin wrote "Running for someone else makes me less willing to give up and more able to understand the pain and the fatigue, knowing that someone else is drawing power from my effort.  I look at it as an opportunity to carry a portion of someone else's burden, to cover some ground on that person's behalf, to try to lighten the load by shouldering some of it on my own back.  That's endurance.  That's what moves me to move."

She wrote what I felt but could not find the words for.  I highly recommend this book.  There are hidden jewels within it that as a runner you will recognize and feel not so alone.

Bay to Breakers

Bay to Breakers. Mere words cannot explain the experience of Bay to Breakers.  It is a race that is also Mardi Gras, a race that in Brazil would be called Carnival.  It was the most fun race that I have ever done.  Of course I had good company.  You really have to have an open spirit and a zest for life.  Obviously many people would be offended by the experience that is B2B. 

My day started at 4 am when I woke up in Berkeley at my brother's apartment.  We had watched the local news the night before and the forecast was thunderstorms.  My brother was half heartily concerned about me being electrocuted.  In fact, the opposite happened.  We had beautiful running weather for the most part.  We got lightly rained on for maybe 10 minutes.  I ran with my friend Rubi Lawson who had never run in a race before.  I thought that it was really brave of her to tackle a 12k for her first race.  We probably ran about half of it, maybe a little more.  We had a blast.  We saw far too many naked people.  I understand that the race had less of that this year.  I'm glad of that.  After you saw one naked  person that shouldn't be naked you had seen one too many.  We ran with two ladies that were on Naked Patrol.  They were not giving tickets out to people who shouldn't be naked but were encouraging those that they felt should be naked to shed their clothing and run naked.  It was hysterical to hear their whistles tweeting and watching them run down good looking guys. 

San Francisco is obviously a world class city.  In my opinion it is the only real city in California.  The homes and the buildings are so beautiful and that is not even getting into the views the city provides.  Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park...all exquisite. 

The costumes were incredible.  We saw clean and bad Charlie Sheen, coke smudges and all.  We saw Oompa Loompas and a pod or a herd of Elvii.  What is the plural of Elvis anyway?  Below is a picture of the Elvii and right next to them is Princess Leia, followed by the Royal Newlyweds and finally Hayes Hill looking backwards. 

 What is it that drives a middle aged man to run around naked?  I don't get it myself.  Gross, gross, gross. 

Several times in the race, we smelled something illegal being burned.  I think we almost had a contact high from the many times we smelled people smoking marijuana.  I'm glad my workplace does not do drug testing.  Personally, I think that Bay to Breakers is a race to do every few years.  I think if you did it every year you might get bored with it, but every two or three years would keep it fresh.  I definitely think that B2B should be on every one's bucket list of races.

Catching Up

I hadn't realized it had been almost a month since I last posted here.  Time flies even when you are not having fun.  I was making some headway on the treadmill in early to mid April.  I was running much faster then I usually run at about 9:15 to 9:30 per mile.  It's been very hard to keep up the form.  You have to really use your mind to envision how your body looks while running.  For me it is trying to get the feeling of my body being in alignment and that all the parts are clicking like gears in a watch.

My biggest problem is my right arm.  The arms are supposed to be bent at 90 degrees and basically swing like a hinge back and forth; although more back than forward is best.  My right arm will fall out of that form and lower to my waist and look like I am punching at something.  I also have the added problem of being super tense in my right shoulder.  I guess that comes from my keyboard sitting on top of my desk and my mouse being 8 or so inches away from it.  I knew my keyboard should be lower but it means getting a drawer and having someone install it and I just was lazy about it.  Now I will have to take action because really it interferes not only with running but is the reason my right shoulder hurts so much of the time.



I was doing ok on the treadmill with Mike there to tell me when I was falling out of form.  When he released me to run on my own, things changed.  It was strange to run on the ground again.  It was hard to keep up the form and I began to feel tightness in the ITB again.  I had a terrible run about 2 weeks ago and came home very disheartened.  I decided to quit running until maybe May or June and give my leg a break.  I also decided to no do anything for awhile so I didn't run, I didn't do the elliptical, or yoga, or strength train.  After about 5 days, I felt better and decided to try and run again.  What the heck, right?  I had trouble on the first attempt but I think I was dehydrated and maybe that ice cream sandwich at work wasn't the best idea an hour before my run.  I went out on Easter Sunday and ran 3.71 miles and did ok.  I only stopped a couple of times to put myself back into my correct form.  I also ran at 9:55 pace which is faster then I have run in along time.

Tonight I have hills to run which may or may not be a good thing with the ITB. We are running at Miner's Ravine trails so I can always run on the trails instead of Picches Hill.  My ITB and calves are tight so I will do some dynamic stretching before I leave to warm up.

I now have a picture of my inspiration, my brother Brett, on this blog. The picture was taken Easter Sunday so it is very current.  I'm going to stay with him in a couple of weeks when I run the 100th Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco.  I'm running that with my friend Rubi.  It will be her very first race.

Relearning to Run

Is it possible to forget how to run properly?  When we were children we could run all day.  We could do that because our body naturally fell into the proper alignment.  It seems that most of my knee/ITB problems are that somehow along the way I stopped running like a child.  Now I am learning how to run properly.  I've been looking into Chi Running since I first heard about proper running technique from a seminar I went to at Fleet Feet Midtown that was put on by Dr. Justin Lau.  He didn't call it that but I had an idea that was what he was talking about. 

It turns out that proper alignment is as easy as falling down.  Imagine standing tall with your shoulders, hips, knees and ankles in a straight line. Now imagine falling forward and letting gravity propel you.  This is just the start of Chi Running.  The more you look into it, the more it feels like learning to swing a golf club which I found incredibly hard to do.  These are the things that are now running around in my head when I attempt to run properly:  straight line from head to ankle, lean forward, shoulders relaxed, elbows at 90 degrees, hands firm but relaxed, landing on the midfoot,  feet taking small quick light steps as they sweep the ground away and behind you.  If you want to go faster, then lean further forward but with the same cadence in your feet.

I didn't want to invest in a book that I might not get anything out of so I checked out the book "Chi Running" by Danny Dreyer from the library.  I haven't read too much, most of what I have learned has been through watching a couple of videos on youtube and listening to a couple of podcasts of people that have tried it and detail what they have learned in their podcast.  By the way, if you haven't checked into podcasts, you really should.  I listen to a lot of them while running and walking and they are a lot more interesting then listening to music all the time.  You can go to ITunes and select podcast and then search for what ever interests you.  I like one called ITunes Celebrity Podcast.  Usually it is musicians that talk about music and other musicians that inspire them both today and in the past.  I've listened to ones from Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, Cindy Lauper, and many others.  I also listen to running podcasts.  One I particularly like is called Running with the Pack.  The two people that do this one are from Penn State so you get to hear about things that go on on the East Coast plus they talk about new products they have tried, races they have done, all sorts of stuff.  I diverge, sorry. Anyway check them out and maybe I will do a post on podcasts soon.

I hope that I can get my running technique corrected in the near future so I can start training for some longer runs.  Right now I have the Bay to Breakers in May to do and am hoping to be ok by then even if I have to run/walk it.  It's only 7 miles and it should be absolutely wild.  I'm doing it with my friend Rubi who has never ran in a race before and trains only on a treadmill.  She is a fun lady so we will have a blast.

Tonight I am practicing my chi running as chi walking because I can't run until I get the technique mastered.  My ITB was really inflamed from the last run I did over a month ago, which was an 11 miler so I am being cautious.

Here is a link to a fun Chi Running Video.  I hope you like it.

Perspective

I admit that complaining feels good or whining like in my last post.  Sometimes though, things happen that put your life back into perspective.  That happened to me last week.  I hadn't talked to my brother Brett in a couple of weeks.  My Mom called me to talk to me about a couple of things. One of them being that my brother Brett was really sick.  He had been running a fever and had what they thought was a bad cough at least that is what he and his attendent thought.  He had been sick for over 10 days already.  He went to the Doctor and had a chest XRay.  The news came back that he had pneumonia.  This news absolutely floored me.  Pneumonia is dangerous in a healthy person yet alone a person whose health is compromised by their disability.  When my brother broke his neck, he lost about 50% of his lung capacity.  He sleeps in a hospital type bed which was in an upright position because he felt like he was drowning in the fluid in his lungs.  Thank God the antibiotics kicked in and did their job. 

My knee problems don't mean a lot when put into the perspective of losing your life.  This is why I have really been so upset with my knee troubles.  I really want to run a marathon for him.  Everyday is a challenge to my brother and others with disabilities.  He has moments when he feels bad for himself.  He also has perspective.  There is always someone in worse condition then you.  Brett has limited use of his arms, but he can feed himself and do other things with them to make his life more independent. He had a friend that could move nothing below his chin and moved around in a wheelchair that he blew air into a tube to make it move.  Perspective.

Can I have some wine with that whine?

I haven't ran since Sunday February 20th and I've been whining about it and I've been drinking wine.  I'm trying to drink away my sorrows and take the edge off my incessant thigh pain. The details are that I ran 11 miles that day with an already achy IT Band.  I thought I had stretched and foam rolled enough the day before and I would be fine. NOT!!  I was supposed to run around Lake Natoma that day and got half way around when I realized that I had some tightening in my quads specifically my old nemesis the IT Band.  I decided I could make it back but took it easy and ran/walked the rest of the way back to my meeting place with my club.  I foam rolled it when I got home but it wasn't enough.  The next day I was miserable.  I could barely walk faster then my 93 year old Grandma.

My thigh was so tight any kneeling or squatting was out of the question.  The crackling noises as I went up and down the stairs in my house were almost loud enough to wake the undead.  What really hurt was the rubbing of my pants against my thigh.  If I closed my eyes it felt like my pants were made of sandpaper and not a fine grit either.  As  you can see, I whine with the best of them.

So I did what any self respecting college graduate would do...I drank some more whine.  LOL.  I know now I am being (and I am using my husband's favorite word) ridiculous.  What I did do was really think of what my options were with my IT Band.  What was the root cause of all of this pain?  As luck would have it, Fleet Feet Mid Town was having a 1 hour seminar about running injury free (serendipity coming into play) so I went.  I then made an appointment with a Podiatrist who is a runner.  I don't have foot pain but thought maybe he could check me out and rule out whether I had one leg longer then the other which is one symptom of IT Band syndrome and any other physical problems.  I then made an appointment with an Exercise Physiologist who is also a certified massage therapist who is also a local ace bicycle racer who also trains tri-athletes.  I then went to a 1 hour demo on Trigger Point Therapy products.  I got a lot accomplished in a week.

Today I went to the Exercise Physiologist, who I am just going to call Mike from now on.  We had a long talk about my troubles and he basically told me a bunch of things I already knew.  My VMO muscle is weak and underdeveloped.  I thought I was doing exercises to strengthen them but he seemed unimpressed by them.  He did ultrasound along the whole length of my IT Band and then followed that up with massage.  Very painful massage.  Turns out besides the very tight ITB, there is something way up high on my thigh that is equally tight.  I forget the terminology because he threw some very long scientific type names at me over the hour I was with him.  Depending on how sore I am tomorrow, as he wants me to be pain free, he is going to do a gait analysis to see if I am running properly which we may do Friday.  I am guessing that I am not running properly and that is why I am having so much trouble. 

Who knew running could be so hard?  Obviously it can be hard on your body, but hard in that there is a lot to remember.  The running seminar I went to demonstrated that to me.  Feet under knees, knees under hips, hips under shoulders, head/neck in line with those points all the way down. Like a marionette. Arms at 90 degrees. Tuck your pelvis up and back without tightening your glutes. Always run with a cadence of 170-180. Lean 1/4" from hips not waist when you take off, from there if you increase your speed it's in the degree of lean and how your legs flow behind you. Let gravity propel you forward. He said your arms and legs work in unison so if you want to run faster pump your arms faster your legs will follow. He said to only work on one thing at a time for 30 seconds or so. I don't know how I could possibly remember to do all of this stuff. Handouts would have been great.

My final thoughts are that I have hope.  I really have to get this corrected or my running days are over.  It might not be today but someday the tracking problems I am having with the patella will wear down and give out.  If I can rule out all the what ifs and work on what can be corrected then I should be able to continue on this journey to run a marathon.  I didn't even tell Mike about that.  He doesn't know me yet so he doesn't know how fixated I can be with things.  When I get fixated I rarely let up until I have followed something to an extraordinary end or the bitter end.  Which one will this be? BTW, I'm drinking Petite Sirah from Six Hands Winery in Walnut Grove as I write this.  They are a small family run winery out in the Delta.

Future Races

Currently I am training for the Shamrock'n Half Marathon on March 13th. It begins and ends at Raley Field in West Sacramento.http://www.shamrocknhalf.com/.  Should be fun since a lot of my running group will be there also. I think I need to figure out if I am going to be wearing any goofy St. Patrick's Day clothing items.  More then likely I will be running in capris so I guess I could find some men's underwear to wear over them. 

The other race that I have registered for is the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco on May 15th.  http://baytobreakers.com/.  I am really looking forward to this one. I understand it is one of the oldest organized races in this country.  This year will be the 100th Anniversary of the race.  I'm thinking I will probably only run this once so the 100th anniversary sounded like the right time for me.  It was pretty expensive though.  I had race fees, then mailing fees, then bus fees, then I decided to get the tech shirt instead of the T-shirt which cost me an additional $30 so all in all $120.  The nice thing is I get to spend the day before in Berkeley with Brett.  We always have a good time together and I love Berkeley.