Healing My Foot

Last Monday I went up to the local running store and got this sock to sleep with at night which keeps my foot flexed so that the facia on the bottom of my foot stays in a position to allow it to heal quicker. After 3 nights I started to feel a difference. Normally, waking up in the morning my first couple of footsteps I take are uncomfortable until the foot warms up. However, after a few days of wearing the night-sock, my foot stopped bothering me. I will definitely keep wearing it until my foot is no longer sore. Some other things I am doing for my foot are: foam rolling my calves, stretching, massaging my calf, rolling my foot out with a frozen water bottle and I put in my inserts into my new sneakers.

I know it seems like a lot to keep up with, but it is completely worth it to me. I've had many people say to me, "Why don't you just stop running?" It sort of annoys me, but I have to see it from other people's perspective and try not to let it get to me. I do believe in resting an injury, but stopping is like giving up...on something I love. And that's not in my nature.

I have sort of this inbetween competitive spirit that likes to enjoy running, but yet could easily get focused on setting a goal to beat. I have at times thought about taking a break but I don't think that lasted more than a day!

So, what type of mental barriers, or physical obstacles are you being faced with? And, will you give up on your favorite things that set your mind free????

New Accessories!...And Run Therapy

We were supposed to run over the weekend and still have yet to complete our 14 miler! I went away over the weekend and my friend, S, had a big party to get ready for at her house, but after this weekend, I vowed that nothing was going to come between me and my running!! I think all the tension was building up in me-had not ran since last Wednesday-and today I had the last straw! I called up S. and asked her if she wanted to go for an easy run after my daughter's swim practice. She said yes and I was looking forward to it.

Something about running that just clears the mind and makes you a better person after! There's also something about running with a great friend that makes it that much more enjoyable, even when the running gets tough-We Keep GOING! The run was great tonight...the weather was mild, sun was setting, and wind slightly blowing. Just a great night to be outside and we ended up running an extra 10 minutes. I have yet to measure the distance, but we ran for 40 minutes. After that, I decided to take some pictures with my phone since I forgot my camera.


I wanted to include some pictures of two new accessories added to my running collection. On Sunday when I came home from my little trip, my husband surprised me with something I've been wanting/needing for my training on my long runs....he bought me a Camelback backpack! SOO much easier than putting out water bottles along our routes. Also, a few weekends ago, I was at my sons t-ball game and a woman was going around with handmade hair ribbons to purchase for a small fee that goes to Breast Cancer. I bought two, one for me and one for S. Thought it was perfect since the race we are doing is 26.2 with Donna-The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer and in which 100% of the proceeds go to The Donna Foundation. And I feel that the words, "Overcome Together" speak to me in many ways. We will wear our ribbons proudly!











Feeling strong at the end!!

Pilot

Ok so taking pictures at 5:30am doesn't provide the best outcome, but that's not what I was going for anyway! LOL.

I've always said that regrets are a waste of time, but in this case, I do wish I would have started journaling about my first marathon from the start. But when I think about it, the start could be anywhere and not just signing up for this race I'm doing with my friend, in February 2011. I've been running for many years now, taking breaks here and there, had 3 kids, starting running again...it's an endless cycle that always brings me back to the one thing I love to do-RUN! Running, or just working out or doing any type of exercise, is something in which I take pride in and brings me and my thoughts to the next level.

So right now, my friend, S, and I are training for our first marathon. She likes to run and we are pretty good partners being that we run around the same pace, and we push each other to do better and go faster. I think we have about 16 weeks left until race day so our mileage is starting to pick up now. Our last run was 12 miles and was not pretty. The last mile or so was pretty tough and my right foot was starting to cramp up. Since then my arch is sore at times and I can tell that I really need to do extra stretching if I'm going to make it through our next run which is supposed to be this weekend, doing 14. I think I may try and break it up into halves so it's not soo long all at once to see how my foot does. My next step is to get a splint to wear at night that keeps my foot stretched out when I'm sleeping.

I'm supposed to run tomorrow but I'm heading out of town so looks like I'll be making friends with the treadmill tonight or early tomorrow before I leave. I have some great ideas for this blog so keep checking back!