She Runs in Sandals

Thank you to all my generous friends and family for donating to my PinkDrive Race4Charity.

I have exceeded my R5000 target and raised R5500 and it couldn't have happened without your kindness and I am truly grateful and PinkDrive thank you too.

 

As promised at the beginning of my campaign, I am doing a random draw of all the people who contributed to win a prize from the PinkDrive shop. I entered all the names of the people who contributed (21 in total) in the order that the funds were received by PinkDriveinto a random list generator and then I got Dear Zoe to press the RANDOMIZE button.




The winner is Karen Henry! Well done Karen!! Thank you for your donation, I will be mailing you your gift soon - ish.


Thanks again to all that who contributed. I will be lining up for Comrades 2012 on June 3rd and running with all of you in my heart!

 

I don't remember when, if ever, I have been as excited and apprehensive to run as I was on Saturday.

I had two more Lynosport sessions with Tarryn last week and I am strong all round (measuring strength of fascia lines using the bunkie). During both sessions she did some intense rubbing on my calves and that seemed to make the world of difference to my walking without pain and without a roll in my ankle. I also learned why running on a treadmill isn't beneficial for a road runner (a basic explaination is that opposite fascia lines are used on road vs treadmill).

So, with complete rest since running for 20 minutes and covering 2.2 Kms on the gym treadmill last Sunday, I was very anxious for my first road run in almost 7 weeks! I dressed in my skort and a long sleeved race t-shirt, put my sandals on and hit the road for my old routine, but this time on my own and not as early as i used to out. I figured 3 kms would be a good tryout and I ran to the high school and back. My foot was sore in the area of the break and I can't realistically expect it not to be. Tarryn said I need to work the foot so that the muscles, tendons and ligaments don't get tight but not too much that the bones are disturbed while they are still repairing. I took my sandals off for the last 700m, a smooth section of the road and my feet felt fine considering there has been no outdoor barefoot activity in a long while.

It felt so good to be back running!! But, my foot is still healing and I have to take it slow (way slower than suits me) but I am being an obedient (to my therapists and my body) girl so as not to cause any long term damage. I will try one day running, one day resting but it is a plan not set-in-stone. I really have to take it as it comes with a general goal of a half marathon in mind.

I entered the Kwai Challenge many months ago and I am hoping that I will be okay to run/walk the half marathon by Sunday May 13. This Friday is the RAC 60km long run which I would've been doing again this year but this time I will be going to assist/watch/cheer my dad and a few other friends who are taking part.

Have a happy running week and pleased come back on Wednesday to see who has won my PinkDrive giveaway.

Congrats to Karen, running her first Ultra marathon last weekend. The Two Oceans was run in horrific, wet and cold conditions and she completed the race in a respectable time of 6:41. Well done!

Norman walked the half marathon in equally horrid conditions and finished in 2:56. Well done!

Well done to Shaun, Paula and Kim who also did the various races.

On Wednesday afternoon I went for my first lynotherapy session with Tarryn. She was fantastic! I felt comfortable in her abilities and I was quite taken with her enthusiasm and belief in lynotherapy. She believes we can fix my imbalance and get me back on the road sooner rather than later.

I gave a comprehensive history of my sporting activities before changing into hideous sports shorts. She took me thru quite a few stretch tests to establish my flexibility, all of which I passed. She said she already had an idea which fascia line wasn't functioning well but we did the bunkie test to be sure.

This bunkie test shows up weakness in the medial stabilizing line, and I failed it right out. I could set myself up on my right elbow and place my left foot on the bankie but I could not lift up my right leg at all. Tarryn laughed and I was horrified. I thought it was a trick and I immediately rolled onto my left side to attempt the same test. I could do it easily! For sure my left side was weak. We did no other tests.

I was then placed onto the massage bed and rubbed hard. This is the part that I wasn't expecting. Tarryn said I must tell her when it feels burning or hot. It felt uncomfortable initially but the more she rubbed the more painful it got. She rubbed the inside of my ankle, on my shin and my inner thigh. All were sore and I now have a bruise on my inner thigh and my ankle is swollen. (I am sure Tracey purposely forgot to tell me of the pain involved in the treatment.)

After the rubbing, Tarryn tested me for temporary wedges to balance my gait. I was then given two little bits of yellow pages to wear in my shoe, one under the bone just behind my big toe and one under the arch.

I was sent off to walk/run to integrate the muscle changes that she had made. I also had a follow up appointment for Friday afternoon.

I went to the gym and managed 20 minutes on the the treadmill and covered 2 kilometers walking and running. My foot wasn't sore while I was doing it but I was walking with a limp when I walked off to my Pilates Class. It was also slightly swollen and I had a dull headache when I finished at the gym.

The following day I also had a headache, for which I took a tablet. I was walking with my wedges in my shoes all day and managed a little more running than walking on the treadmill and covered almost 2.5 kms in the same 20 minutes. I wasn't limping as badly and had a good Pilates class afterward.

This morning I have woken up with a dull headache again. Not bad enough to warrant a tablet but it got me thinking that it could be related to the wedges. The wedge under the arch of my foot was also feeling "hot" so I have taken it out. I will just wear the one behind my big toe for the rest of the day, until I see Tarryn later today. Here's holding thumbs for successful treatment.

I have a friend running his Comrades qualifying marathon this Sunday and another running to improve her Comrades seeding. "Happy Running Gus and Val". Ian, Norman and Isaac taking part in the half marathon - "Have a great one. 2:05 for you Ian"

Happy running to you all!

 

It's quite hard to focus on what I have done rather than what I haven't done. I have missed two races, entered and had a number for. I have missed more than 300 kms in training thru March and am down by more than 500 kms in my year-to-date of training. My training is nowhere near what it should be in order to complete The Comrades Marathon, all 89kms, which is taking place in only 59 days.

I had a couple of tough decisions to make last week and I decided to a) not give my Comrades entry away and 2) I will line up and run to (at least) half way and be part of the experience and put value to the kind donations given to Pinkdrive.

In the meantime, I have had an X-ray and my left, second metatarsal is fractured. It is aligned and healing well. I will continue to not-run and keep up with my TI swimming, running in the pool and Pilates for at least the next 10 days. I am walking better, can wear regular shoes again and can take a little pressure on the ball of my foot while running in water. I am going to see a lynosport therapist at the suggestion of one reader.

I plan on starting a gentle run/walk program from Sunday 15th which will give me 7 weeks to train toward a marathon (halfway point of Comrades).

I will be missing the Randburg Harriers Easter 100km aka "The Poor Man's Two Oceans" taking place this weekend. I ran the Sunday portion last year, in the cold and rain. Wishing those taking part, happy running.

Two Oceans is also happening this weekend, in Cape Town. My best wishes go out to Karen, doing her first ultra - "slow and steady girl, you'll have a blast and finish well." and, to Norman, "Happy walking, your ankle will be fine and you'll be done in time". To all those from Morningside Runners - "Have a fantastic weekend, make yourselves proud." to everyone else taking part in the trail, the half or the ultra, Have a great run!

To you, wherever you may be running, happy running and a Happy Easter or Pesach to you and your families.

 

March was meant to be my high mileage month in the build up to The Comrades Marathon. Since hurting my foot while running The Vaal marathon on March 3, I haven't run a meter!

I have seen a 2 physio therapists, one who does acupuncture too. I have been told it was a stress fracture in the meta-tarsals but this could only be confirmed with a scan that'll cost R6000 and all it will confirm is that I can't run for 6 weeks. I have been told it was torn ligaments in the bottom of my foot and would be okay in about 10 days. I have worn a moon boot to help me walk and prevent doing further damage while I am limping. I have obviously rested,I have iced, I even took anti-inflammatory meds for a while. I have had in excess of 30 needles sticking out my foot and most recently my shins and endured lots of pricking pain. (your feet are full of nerve endings and meridians, hence reflexology focuses on the feet)

All this and I still don't know what or why and at the end of it all, it doesn't really matter. I haven't been able to run and there are only 68 days before the big race!

Initially I thought that I would be okay with about 3 weeks off and recovering. I would just have to change my training program and time goal. I figured I could make Comrades my long run as if it was part of my 60 days of training. Now, I am not so sure. The added curve ball is that this year is the first year that Comrades has offered race substitutions for the first time. I could offer my place to another runner and those substitutions close on March 31st. I would have to decide soon. And, I have been raising money for Pinkdrive as part of my Comrades Run. Many people have donated and I am almost at my goal of R5000 and now if I don't run I feel "dishonest". I know the money is still being used for the fantastic cause of prescreening for breast cancer but the people who donated where doing so to support me on my run. I don't know how to explain it clearly but I feel bad about that too.

In the meantime, my husband has run 2 half marathons that I entered him into and he continues to wake up early and go running. My race entries have been wasted! I have managed to do my Pilates classes, 2 aqua aerobics classes and even fitted in a yoga class with my oldest daughter. I also did a weekend training course in Total Immersion swimming. So, all is not lost with my core strength and fitness.

The question now is "What to do about Comrades?"

 

On Sunday I ran my first marathon of the year. It could be considered a qualifying marathon for The Comrades Marathon, but by virtue of having finished Comrades 2011, I am already qualified.

This was my qualifying marathon last year and I had such different feelings when I lined up to start this year. The pressure that I had placed on myself then to qualify was huge - I had messed up in my first marathon and this felt like Do-or-Die. This year, my goal was to beat last years time and ideally to get a better enough time to improve my seeding batch

Seeding is as follows for Comrades:

Given last years finishing time of 11:43, I am seeded in H. I would need to run my marathon in a time of 4:20-4:30 to get a G seeding. I was aiming to finish close to 4:30. I have signed up to run for charity and i am aiming to raise R5000. Once I have achieved this, I will get charity seeding CC but it is a psychological thing to know that i have qualified off G rather than H. (if you would like to contribute to Pinkdrive, you can donate here)

I have been sickly for the past 3 weeks and my training hadn't gone as well as I would have liked, so I changed my marathon formula. In the past, I have run for 9 minutes and walked for 1 minute. I investigated other options and came across a very useful site, Coachdino. Here I calculated that I could run 7 / walk 1 at a comfortable pace and finish close to 4:30. I set my Garmin accordingly and printed out a pace wristband here.

I was feeling fairly confident on the morning of the race. Alan fetched me at 4:15, for an hours drive and a 6am start. All was well at the start - and off we went. This marathon is a popular one for qualifying and we told there was a record field of 4000 people (I think this was for the 5, 10, 21,1 and 42,2km, because there wasn't much congestion at the start).

It is a lovely route thru the suburbs of Vereeniging and eventually along the Vaal river. There are lovely houses and an estate with Springboks running around. The watering points are fantastic and a number of households along the way leave out their garden sprinklers and we can run thru the water and cool down. There was the usual Coke and water to drink as well as Cream Soda and many tables had chocolates and jelly babies and biscuits and chips. I never think that i am hungry but when I see the goodies I take something to nibble and I enjoy it.

I ran really comfortably and was happy with my progress - I kept my average pace at 6:29 up until the 30km mark. Then the wheels came off. My left foot felt as if was cramping and got really sore. By 35kms I was thinking that I am going to need to get a lift to the finish cos I could not go on like that. Somebody running next to me said to his running buddy "From here on it is all in the head" and I kept that mantra going in my head. I figured that I still had time on my side and I could run a little and walk a little and still make the 5 hour cut-off. I also took an anti-inflammatory tablet which might have helped by the last 2 Kms when I was running almost all the way. I finished in a time of 4:46 - 3 minutes faster than last year and considering the pain I was in, a very good time indeed.

I walked backed to the car, feeling fine, the pain of earlier not there (likely numbed by medication) and had a happy drive home. Alan had surprised himself and run a 3:29:30 marathon and also felt good.

I was feeling really proud of myself when I got home - I had finished a marathon and my last 3 weeks of training hadn't gone well; I had set a marathon PB; I had overcome the pain and not quit!

A long bath, lots to eat and a cup of tea and off to rest on the bed. A couple of hours later, I got up and my foot was the size of a melon! Swollen and blue all over, including underneath. I could barely put it on the floor, never mind actually walk on it.

I have been taking anti-inflammatory meds, rubbing my foot with arnica cream and massaging my legs with The Stick. I have been keeping it elevated as much as possible and I have iced it a couple of times (there are conflicting views on whether hot or cold is best). And, I am grateful I drive an automatic car because changing gears with a clutch would not be an option!

Today is now day 3 post marathon and while it is still swollen and I am still limping, my foot is getting better. I will be seeing a physio this evening and hopefully will get some diagnosis and identify the cause.

And even tho' this is the result, I would do it again. I am thrilled that I ran a marathon, it feels like such a huge achievement and a small price to pay. My confidence is up and even if I have to take a few weeks off now to let this foot get fixed, I am sure I can keep my fitness levels up and my mind in check for further distances.