Deadlift Redemption

10 months ago I experienced an injury.  I was in the gym deadlifting when at the end of my last set I felt a twinge in the left side of my lower back. A few hours later I was in intense pain and had to go home and lie down. Little did I know I'd have to rebuild my entire range of motion in my lower back. Things like sitting down to tie my shoes were impossible. Over the next 2 months I started stretching and getting back into light lifting. My back began to feel better. But still I avoided deadlifting until summer of this year. I began working with a coach to help me. We fixed my form and progressed weight slowly as I began to feel more comfortable with it again. Things went well for the most part, my persistently angry left hamstring made things challenging at times but we've been working on alot of hamstring and glute strengthening. I have learned much.

After 3 months of deadlifting I was at the week of my 30th birthday which could only mean one thing - PR week!

Here I am on Friday staring down these deadlifts again. On my 29th birthday I got a 205lb deadlift. One year later, after having to rebuild myself back from negative nothing, what could I get? I know I could get more than 205 because I have been doing sets of 4-5 reps at 195. So I warmed up, belted up, and put 205 on the bar. Easy. Up to 215. Still easy. So now up to 225 which was kind of my soft goal, seeing as how I squatted that on Wednesday. I wanna be able to at least deadlift the same amount if not more. Daniel got the camera out for some video. 225 happened... so now the question was, go for 235? Let's do it. Wiggle into position, grip the bar... deep breath, squeeze glutes and lats... and this was one slow, ugly mofo of a lift but it happened. But of course, Daniel didnt' get it on video cause his hand was in the way or something. And you know video makes everything official so I had to do it again :)  I set up and got it a few inches off the ground, it wasn't happening again. So it appears right now 235 is my 1RM. And I'm fine with that. This is my worst lift and I am basically starting over with it, so this is good for right now. I know where I'm at and I can start working my way up to 250+ from here.

It feels good to be deadlifting again. It's still hard as hell. It freaking wears me out every time. And I know it's never gonna get any easier... but I'll get better

Feeling my age

Again it's been a little bit since I posted here. The main reason is my computer's motherboard went down so I was without a PC for several days.

In the last 2 weeks I have doubled my training. A heavy push day, heavy pull, then 2 more days of lighter lifting or whatever other stuff I want to do. I've also been trying to walk/run with my husband but this past week it only happened once cause life got in the way.

Already I'm noticing physical changes and strength gains! But man is it taking a toll. I woke up on Wednesday and every single historical injury site/nagging pain was flared up at the same time. Left heel, pulled my left hamstring Tuesday, lower back injury site from almost a year ago, and right shoulder. What is happening!!! Now I know it's probably my body adjusting to double the training. And now on Saturday I am feeling a little better. I tried not to let it slow me down, but I did listen to my body and skipped heavy deadlifts this week and just did lighter ones instead. I squatted heavy yesterday with knee braces on and today I actually feel better than I did before. In the last year I have learned to keep moving as long as it doesn't hurt, but don't be a hero and try to go heavy if my body is having an off day.

Oh, and on top of all these various pains I strained my neck last night just by getting off the couch wrong! It's like my body knows it'll be 30 in a couple weeks and it's laughing at me!

Well laugh all you want! I got #120 on my cable pulldowns and rows, moved up to the purple kettlebell for swings, and brought the #50's to the bench press party..

Sup 50's? It's good to see you above my head...

I am foam rolling, stretching, and epsom-salting the crap out of myself. I also learned to elevate the arms or legs and breathe deep right after a workout to help the lymphatic system drain and reduce soreness. I also got a new supplement from Legion called Recharge and it is legit! I am ALWAYS deathly sore after heavy squats and today I hardly feel a thing!

This week has been a challenge but I love it. I know in time I will adjust and as long as I keep working on rehabbing everything and listening to my body it'll be alright...

Can I just get new legs?

Sigh.

On top of dealing with my on again off again hamstring problems with the left leg, my right leg apparently wants to join the party too.

The right leg has historically had problems with running. I used to have hip pain and a chronic knot in that calf. These are all problems that only happen when I run and not when I lift. The hip doesn't always hurt, but with enough miles/use the calf thing is a given and I have to massage it constantly. Today things were bad. I did wear my compression sleeves because I knew it would be sore, but I still ended up with pain all over my right leg. Hip, calf, medial shin, and ankle today! What the heck is going on? The good thing is I didn't notice much pain during running, but the instant I stopped I was actually limping because of it! When I got home I spent a good while massaging the calf and it feels much better now which is a very good sign. I know this is all muscular, and it probably has to do with a tight hip and the fact that the right ankle overpronates pretty bad. I know all these things are connected, and it'll just be a matter of getting back my running strength and figuring out which tight muscles are the problem. 

I had a good run until I stopped. And tomorrow I have a massage scheduled which is gonna be much needed. I have put myself through it lately, active 6x a week WHILE on a calorie restricted diet for fat loss. I guess it's no wonder things hurt a little. I will roll out and rest up for tomorrow, and possibly tape up the hamstring for my super barbell complex which will likely leave me on the floor. It's so good though. 

Even if stuff hurts, I'd rather be doing what I do than doing nothing at all.

Strength Benchmarks

I found this article "9 Essential Strength Benchmarks for Women" and read it to see where I stack up.

Basically it has 9 exercises where you should either be able to do a certain % of your body weight as your 1RM, or a certain amount of reps, etc. So this is a way to see how you measure up against what women "should" strive to be able to do.

Bench - I can bench 130 without a doubt. I haven't done a BB bench in a minute cause I'd want a spotter. I could ask someone at my gym but I usually just use dumbbells. I have been working with 45's lately. Any time I lift heavy I do about 5 reps per set, obviously except when trying to find a 1RM. Last time I used a barbell I did 115 twice. I am going to try for 130 soon though.

Overhead Press - 105 1RM for me which I have not attempted yet but I'm pretty sure I can hit. I work with 85, have done 95 before. Right now my shoulder is pissy so it's not the ideal time to try, but once it's in a better state I am going to get 100+ overhead.

10 Full ROM Pushups - I can do 20-30 of these depending on the day.

1 Bodyweight Chin Up - Easy, I could hit 3-5 in a set

Deadlift - Here's where I suffer big time. 255 is a lofty goal for me right now. I have never been a strong deadlifter - genetically small butt and legs, tight hips and hamstrings, that whole deal. I am naturally more of an upper body powerhouse. So I hit 205 in September, then in December I injured my back while deadlifting. Now I am doing it but with less weight and really trying to focus on form. The heaviest I have gone lately is 155 for 5 reps. I have been wary of going much heavier without having someone watch me. Well today was sort of my lucky day! I was lifting and Will the instructor was there. We were chatting and started talking about deadlifts and my injury. He said he had some time and he could help me out. Well I did NOT have alot of time, I was running a bit late this morning and had a bunch of stuff left to do (I had already squatted and I don't really like to do both lifts on the same day) but I loaded up a 135# bar quickly and busted out 5 reps to see what his thoughts were. All he said was "It looks good" Well... good!!! That's a relief. I told him that this weight was fine but any time I go heavy I tend to pick up my hips too early which puts more of the weight onto the lower back. Will's advice for me was to only do 2-3 reps when I go heavy and just really focus on form. I will try that on Friday when I deadlift maybe with like 165-175 and see how it goes. It's good to hear from a trainer that my form looks ok - cause I have been working on it

Squat - Almost there. 212 is the goal, I know I can do 205. And that's raw, so I bet even with a belt/Oly lifters I could do it right now. Somehow I'm a decent squatter, I tend to be more quad dominant but in recent months I've developed my glutes/hamstrings much more.

Barbell Hip Thrust - I don't really do these often, I find them to be kinda awkward. I can do some weight but over 200? No idea.

2 minute Plank - Oh hell no. I don't plank too often but I bet if I tried I could do like 1 minute. It's just not something I train often.

20 inch Box Jump - Getting there. I didn't do these at all but now I do, and I think the box I use might be 12. Maybe in time, but for right now I am good with the 12 and just working on improvement.

All in all - not bad. My weak points are pretty much what I expected. I have been lifting seriously/consistently for almost 1.5 years so I feel pretty good about where I'm at, especially with no formal coaching of any kind. And after today I feel like I have the confidence to work up to heavy deads again, albeit very slowly and carefully. One day I would love to pull over 300

Running - problem solving

The saga continues as I try to figure out what's at the root of this pain I've been having in my right shin. And I think I'm making some progress.

I largely attribute this pain to getting back into running consistently after some time off. I have the same shoe nearly a year ago when I was running 10-15 miles a week and even ran a half marathon in it with virtually no problems.

But wait, last summer I got my insoles and started using them in my shoe...

I had used them sparingly over the last 6 months, then in Jan/Feb I started running 2-3 x a week on the treadmill, and am now running outside. At first I thought they were working well enough, I even noticed I feel less overpronation when I wear them. But now that this pain is creeping up it led me to consider.. could it be my insoles?

I think the answer is a partial yes. Today I ran 3 miles without my insoles and noticed a difference right away. No shin pain until the very end of my run, which allowed me to run faster and complete the same run in a 10:24 pace vs a 10:38 pace 2 days ago. My heart rate was in the aerobic zone instead of the "easy" zone. My efficiency improved (180 cadence, higher leg swing, lower rate of impact) and I overall felt "lighter" on my feet. Without my insoles it was like the pain shifted over to my right calf, probably because my feet had to work harder to absorb the impact and stabilize my ankles. Calf pain I can deal with, for 2 years I've had a chronic knot on that side and I know it's cause that is my weaker ankle.

So yeah, I'm pretty sure that is what's going on. I have tried for a year to use the insoles we sell at my work, my first pair was made wrong and caused achilles pain in both sides which was totally new to me, and it looks like the second pair just isn't gonna work either. I make and sell insoles every day and almost every day we get returns. I find that they work for some people but not others. Every day I have people telling me how the insoles got rid of their knee/heel/etc pain and allowed them to run again... then I get some people who say they didn't notice a difference, and then some people who actually had more pain after using them. Sadly I seem to fall into that last group. Maybe part of it is me being a mid to forefoot striker, and coming down directly on that plastic plate is stressing my shins and arches? Our insoles aren't even that hard compared to something like Superfeet or orthotics. I dunno. I'm just glad I'm getting somewhere with this. Now I figure I just keep my mileage low yet consistent, and in time it'll work itself out.

Exercise = good

First full week of being active again is a success

It feels sooooo good!

Ran 5 miles total, would have been 6 but yesterday I ran out of time and had to cut my run short.
Full body workout over the course of 2 days
And I'm about to go to the gym with my husband to do more stuff

Everything feels so much better... I don't feel like such a pile of crap, I feel calm and happy... Sleeping way better, I'm out within 30 minutes of lying down (makes it hard to watch movies though) and bathroom stuff is back to normal too.

I have also noticed that I feel much better at work. After the initial pain of my injury subsided I was still having pain at work. I do alot of squatting and bending down during at typical day, and any deep squatting was really hard because of reduced range of motion, lots of tightness in my back and hamstrings. This week it's been awesome and I can squat down with no pain. I'm also in a much better mood overall which makes it easier to deal with the occasional asshole customer.

So basically... I'm not sure I did the right thing by waiting so long to run and lift again. I have never had an injury like this before so I thought I was doing the right thing in being cautious and taking my time to heal. But it turns out exercising is actually helping significantly, and doing nothing seemed to make it worse. I'm still having a little bit of pain sometimes but it's so much better than it was.

I'm back at it with almost as much fire and intensity as before. Not lifting super heavy just yet but I'm working just as hard. There is some pudge to be shed off of my body so I'll be adding in some complexes and interval sprints soon.

I'm back baby!

Today was my first day back in the gym after more than a month of not lifting due to my back injury. I was so glad to be back.

I was daring enough to even work my back today (I may lift with a coworker on Thursday and I'd like to do more of an upper body workout with her) and for the most part things went pretty good. I didn't do any crazy heavy weights but that doesn't mean I took it easy..

Deep squats, #95. No issues here except some knee soreness at first

RDL's with that barbell up there. I probably could have done #85

Pull ups. Lost alot of progress here :( Also getting my foot into the band hurt my back a little

1 arm rows #30 each

Various seated leg machines. I never do these but my husband advised it figuring they would be back friendly. Believe it or not these hurt my back the most out of anything I did

Curls #15

Back extensions!

Then my tabata stuff - it was hard cause I havent done it in awhile ... it was air squats, burpees, kettlebell swings, jump rope. The burpees were a bit rough but I was able to do them

Core work, stretching

I am feeling good and having no pain. Just sleepy.

I'm so happy to be lifting again.. And running too.. maybe now I can shed a bit of this pudge I packed on during my time off/holidays

A brightening future..

It's been about a month since my back injury occurred. No exercise, playing it safe. It does still hurt but it's better than it was, so I decided to test the waters with a 2 mile run. After a month of zero exercise, and even longer since I had last gone running. Lifting dominates my life these days.

It went totally fine! It was one of those things where it doesn't hurt, but you're "aware" of it being there if that makes any sense at all.. Yay! If anything my right hip/groin hurt the most, but that's just my ongoing shitty right hip that's been an issue since day 1. My calves are going to hate me too because it's been so long since they got used. I did this at a nice 10:05 pace and it felt pretty darn good.

So I'm going to make this a thing, 2-3 mile runs 3x a week and adding distance as I feel comfortable... also my hip/hamstring/lower back yoga video at least twice a week. I hope I can get back to lifting in 2-3 weeks. Because I really miss my gym

Oh yeah, and it's a whole nother year now.

I'm not much of a new year person.. I had a pretty good 2015 - aside from wanting to move away from this miserable place I had a great year. Fitness wise especially, my lifting really took off in 2015. I went from being a beginner who couldn't squat or deadlift more than 50 pounds to adding more than 100 to that number. I hit a 205 deadlift, 185 squat, and 115 bench. My strength and endurance grew so much. I did alot of races - A half marathon (PR'ed!), the Hot Chocolate 15k, Savage Race, Tough Mudder, and my Spartan Trifecta - 2 of my hardest Spartans to date in NJ and PA... and a few other random things thrown in there. I was so much better at obstacles this year too, climbing the 8 foot wall by myself for the first time and making it 1 knot from the top of the rope climb. I have alot to be proud of this year.

For 2016 I'm just going to keep improving. Lifting, running more often... race wise I will probably chill a bit more this year, but I will at least do another Trifecta, a Battlefrog, a Savage Race, hopefully some new to me OCR's, and I would like to do a half this year. I don't know what this year is gonna bring, it may bring us a move back to Georgia which could throw off my schedule - so I'm going to wait to plan anything for a couple months. I miss running in the woods of GA and SC, without all these people around, just enjoying the laid back country.. Sigh .. :)

Whatever happens, rest assured I'm going to be improving, trying new things, and getting stronger.

Break Time

Haven't posted here in awhile ... part of that being I just ran out of interesting things to say, and the other part being - I'm injured.

1 week ago I strained my lower back. Deadlifting. See I have this form issue sometimes when I go heavy, where I tend to pick my hips up too early during the lift, and it ends up putting alot of the weight on my lower back. My husband has grilled me on it when we train together, I have been trying not to do it... but I guess last week I wasn't thinking and pulled my hips up too early with 175 on the bar. Oops.

After that fateful lift I went to work and the pain was pretty unbearable. I was finding it hard to squat down (I have to squat down at least 4 times during every gait analysis, and I had 6 or 7 of them that day) so when I got out I headed straight home for some rest. Luckily I had 3 days off, which was originally planned for a family visit and a Christmas fun run with my brother for his first ever race, but it just wasn't gonna happen. I could hardly move.

I told my parents the news and my dad and I fought about it, out of nowhre he says something along the lines of "I've been wanting to get this off my chest for a year now, but running and lifting aren't safe and you'll hurt yourself" I was already very upset that I screwed up on my form and allowed this to happen in the first place, so that was just the straw that broke the camel's back (hehe!) I told him I will not stop, not ever. I wasn't hearing any of it and got off the phone with him. We made up a couple days later, I see where he's coming from because he was athletic when he was my age and has dealt with injuries himself. That's where my stubbornness comes from, and from his sister who has also continued to play sports despite injuries and naysayers. But the way I see it it's better to have lifted and lost, then not to have lifted at all... I see people every single day who aren't necessarily active and may just need walking shoes for work or every day errands, who have back pain, hip, knee, etc. Sitting around doing nothing is going to give you problems too. So why not do awesome things? It's worth the risk to me.

That being said, I don't think I did anything majorly bad. It's a strain. I am like 70% back to normal, I can get through a work day and do most everything normally at this point. There's still some pain, and my middle back is sore from having to compensate. My right lower back/hip is the worst, but I have historically had pain on that side so I am not surprised. I think with another week of rest I can get back into the gym. BUT - I'm calling it quits on heavy deads for awhile. I'm not stupid, I learned my lesson. I obviously have a serious form issue and I need to correct it for good before trying to go heavy again. So deadlifts will be lighter with an emphasis on perfect form. This is not a defeat - it's a lesson, and I will simply change how I do things.

Being out of the gym and not running for a week is driving me crazy. I can't sleep, I've gained weight, been eating like crap... Still, it doesn't stop customers at work from complimenting me, asking what sports I play because I "look athletic" I don't think I do, but thanks!

So - give it another week or 2, and I'll be back with a vengeance :)

Pulled a muscle for a PR

This morning I went to the gym early before my 9am massage appointment. The focus was to be on upper body - chest/shoulders, etc.

It was cool because I think soon I can up to 45's for my dumbbell bench. Then I went over to the rack to do some push presses. I have been working with 5 reps at #85. Today it seemed just a little easy so I threw some 25's on there which made the bar 95 lbs.

It was all going good but then as I was lowering the bar on the last rep I felt a twinge in my left shoulder. Wasn't terribly painful, just kind of like "Oh, something happened back there!" kind of a feeling. So this is a PR for me, I haven't tried to max out on these yet but I think next week I'll try to get 105 over my head

So went to my massage and it wasn't as crazy painful as last time. We worked on my back and legs - tight quads, IT bands, hips, calves, the works. I got Biofreeze put on too which was awesome. Later this afternoon my shoulder REALLY started to hurt. I lied down, took some Ibuprofen and we put the heated blanket under my shoulders to warm up the muscle. After describing it to my husband he concludes it's just a pull and says it's happened to him like 20 times. Never happened to me with my shoulder before. It freaking hurts! But the good news is he thinks it'll be gone in 2-3 days if I rest.

Also, this is pretty cool. Found this article called "Are you Strong?" and the answer appears to be yes in most cases! I fall into the good or between good and great for most things. I don't do all the exercises listed/or have not tried to do that many reps in one sitting. But for the big lifts and major things I focus on, I'm doing pretty damn good for coming up on my first full year of lifting.

Gym Milestones

After 6 months of serious, regular heavy lifting, I finally decided to test my limits on heavy lifting. I did pyramids, so working very close to my 1 rep max here. And yesterday was leg day, so - squats.

Set 1 - 85 to warm up

Set 2 - 135 x6

Set 3 - 165. And that, folks, is my own body weight (give or take a few pounds)

I did 3 at this weight! 4 would have been pushing it. So my absolute 1 rep max might be approaching 180? And now I know I am able to squat my body weight which is a milestone in weightlifting I think.

Set 4 - 155 for 5 reps

Set 5 - 135 for 6 reps

Set 6 - 95 for 10 reps

Set 7 - 75 for 15 reps

Set 8 - just the bar, quick tempo for 15 reps

(Now, after doing all that.... why was I unloading a barbell after a different exercise... and taking a 10lb plate off tweaked my back??? WTH!) It hurts but I don't think I did anything to the spine, it's on the right side only so I probably just aggravated the tissues. All this from a damn 10lb plate! 

So yes. I feel pretty awesome, it's not a massive amount of weight but I doubt many chicks in my gym can say they can load up their body weight, put it across their shoulders, and squat.

It's nice to see all these gains and see noticeable strength, and even physical changes as well. I'm not perfect. I will never have a low body fat %, abs, or any of that mess. I love food too much. But for me it's all about performance. What I am able to do in the gym, in everyday life, and on the course is what matters to me.

** Another big milestone - for the first time ever I am able to fit into REGULAR sports bras! Like the Spartan bra pictured above. I have this in a medium, then I have the blue and yellow one in a large. And the large is actually kinda big! Last week I got this sports bra on sale at Dick's in the black and grey color. A large fits me perfect! This is huge for me because I have never even been able to get these bras over my chest in the past. I have always used the Under Armor Protegee which is a zip up. I still use it, just ordered another one in fact, because I do love them for running. But it's nice to know I can go with a "regular" sports bra for lifting - and have more color options for once.

I got my run in already this morning. Been slacking off in the running department, so I'm very glad I got my ass back out there. Just a 3 miler, my GPS wouldn't cooperate this morning so I said to hell with it and ran blind. I guesstimate it took about 28 minutes. No bathroom issues this time but I didn't eat anything beforehand. I'd say not bad for running at 6:40 am with no food or coffee. Good thing I got out so early because they are calling for a heat advisory today. Ouch.

Taking a break from running

Yes. Sad to say it is so. I'm still struggling with this hamstring issue. Again, not really painful, just tight and limiting the range of motion in my left leg.

My strategy is to take 2 weeks off from running and see if that helps. I'm also icing it a lot and using moist heat when I can. I am foam rolling my lower body a lot to loosen up any tight muscles that might be impacting the lower hamstring. Finally I'm working more on strengthening my legs/lower body. Did a lot of lifting this week plus I spent some time on the hamstring curl machine. Also doing some yoga to take the place of running. I'm stretching the muscle very seldomly and if I do it's gentle stretching.

It's been about a week and I am feeling better but not 100%. I just hope this doesn't flare up again when I do return to running.

Half Marathon - The Decision

So. It's the eve of what is to be my second half marathon.

I was training (not specifically for this half, but to be able to run that distance in general) for the past 3 months.

Then. Hamstring injury.

Today, in a last ditch effort to assess my ability to run without tightness, I went out for a quick run in this hot ass Georgia weather. And it went much much better than Monday's run. On Monday I got tight after 1 mile and my running form was affected by it. Today I took it slow and didn't really have any issues. There were times when I could definitely feel it, but it was very minor and my running form was not affected at all.

I have done some thinking and I am having a hard time justifying NOT running the race. I feel like this isn't really enough to hold me back. So to hell with it - I am going to TRY to run it. I'm gonna take it easy, and if things start getting bad I can always pull myself from the race. It's better than me not even trying. Time to Spartan the Fk. Up.

Wildwood Games - I'm coming for you

Injured, again.

For as long as I have been running, I have only ran 1 half marathon. Crazy, right? Well I thought it was high time to change all that, so I went and signed up for the Wildwood Games. It's a local trail race here in my county and I'm running it with Team RWB! 

I've really been looking forward to running another half. Especially because I was injured when I ran my first half.

Well...

I've gone and done it again.

For a long time now my left knee has been... funky. Rarely hurts but gets stiff and clicky. I thought it was runners' knee at first even though I never get kneecap pain, it's always on  both sides of my knee. I ruled out the IT band because the symptoms just don't match up. Now I'm pretty sure I know what it is. 

My hamstring is either way tight or strained. It's the bottom of the hamstring/behind the knee. There is no bruising. It just feels very tight and I'm finding it hard to fully extend my leg without bending my knee. Up until Monday I wasn't having hamstring issues, just the weird clicky knee. I did speed work on Monday and during/after that run is when my hamstring started to feel tight. Guess it just had enough? 

Of course this happens 2 weeks before my half marathon! 

I haven't run since Monday, I'm using ice, moist heat, my Stick, compression wrap, and today I am just now getting into some light stretching. I stretch my hamstrings after every run and do plenty of leg strength work. This is probably an overuse injury, and there's probably a reason why it's my left leg only. It's not really THAT bad. I think it will be better soon.

As much as I hate the timing of all this, I'm not totally devastated about not being able to run. Since I've started lifting weights more I don't feel totally helpless when I can't run. If this had happened 6 months ago I'd feel utterly doomed. But now I am able to look at it with a more realistic and laid back view. I will run again soon. The world is not ending! I can go kill it in the gym, get a great workout and feel awesome. 

Not really sure how this is gonna go for me next weekend. But I'm gonna try my best to run this race and not be injured!

Battle wounds

So it's been a few days since my epic weekend at Battlefrog, and I'm finally feeling less sore! Still enjoying the post race sense of accomplishment and reliving the day with my teammates on Facebook. However, I have a slight problem.

Remember the new trail shoes I got recently? The Inov8 Trailroc 226?

I love the shoes. They are comfy and work well on the trails. When I first got them I had the sneaking suspicion they were slightly too small. But I did a few runs in them and they seemed ok.


At about mile 3 of Battlefrog we had just finished a very long trek through a stream. I noticed my shoes were full of some very sandy/gritty dirt and it was creating mounds in my shoes. I've dealt with this type of dirt before and it's never caused me problems. I really should have stopped to empty them out. I guess at the time I didn't think it was a big deal. But as the race went on every step was becoming agonizing. All the hill climbing in the last half of the race made it hurt even more.


Warning - nasty pic ahead!!!

Yeah. This is freaking painful. Worst blisters I've ever had by far.

I am returning the shoes. Luckily the place I bought them from accepts used returns, so I cleaned them up real good and will ship them back asap. I want to get the same shoe in a larger size. I really do like the shoes, they performed excellently and were comfy aside from the blister thing. I am just convinced it's a sizing issue. I also think that hiking the race made it worse. I never blister while running, but in the past I have wound up with some pretty nasty blisters after long walks and hikes. My toenails also took a beating - another sign of a sizing issue

Nasty post-mud run feet

I was pretty sure I was gonna lose this toenail. I lost one a few years back and it turned this ugly reddish purple color, so I was pretty sure this one was a goner. But it's looking much better now and it no longer hurts.

Wish I could say the same for the blisters. They're still incredibly painful and itchy. I don't think I'll be able to run for at least a week. It sucks, but what can you do. I'm actually kind of glad for this experience, because I have learned never to settle for a shoe you think might be too small, and I also learned that sometimes it's best just to stop and get the crud out of your shoes to save yourself alot of pain. 

Guess I'll see how things feel in a few days, then hit it hard as soon as I can!

Friday ramblings about life and quads.

It's Friday afternoon, and I am sitting here under the big tree outside my work. Sometimes I just have to come out here to get away sometimes. Get out of the dingy building and get some fresh air and sunlight, you know?

It's been kind of a frustrating and challenging week. A lot is on my mind right now. But things will get better. And I have the power to make them that way.

The good news is I got all of my workouts in except for 1 run. And it's been awesome. I think I'm starting to truly love strength training!

The bad news is - last night I pulled my quad muscle while I was doing a goblet squat. It didn't hurt - more like it started to tense up. I thought ok, it's time to stop now before I make it worse. It's not hurting very much today, just a bit more tender than normal. However I'm not sure if it would be wise to go running tomorrow. I'll see how I feel when I wake up. Getting tired of setbacks when trying to do hill repeats. I need to be ready for the Spartan Super in 3 months! But I can't injure myself worse either. So it is what it is I guess.

Time to go back to work. And ponder my future.

GRU Augusta Half Marathon

I did it.

I have completed my first half marathon!

Let me tell you the tale of the GRU Augusta Half Marathon..

Woke up early, literally couldn't breathe because I am still really congested. I'm glad I did get up so early though because we were running a little late. By the time we got down there and walked to the start line it was already 7:40, with an 8am race start time. I didn't have time to wait in line for the porta potties, but I knew there was a bathroom at the BBQ pit. It's a terrible bathroom - no lights, doors don't close, and no TP. But apparently... today the toilets were not flushing. It was possibly the worst toilet I've ever seen. Both of them were.. filled. Yep. But I squatted and peed none the less, it's better than waiting in line. My warm up was not as long as I wanted it to be, because it was time to get lined up to start!

The weather was perfect. 45 starting out and warmed up to about 60. Our race started after the 10k. I was at the back of the line because I knew this would be a slow one for me for a couple reasons - it's my first half marathon ever and I didn't want to burn out early, and I also wasn't sure how my foot was going to react.

During the first mile I ended up talking to a couple of ladies about the course compared to last year's 10k course. They were actually running the 10k and missed their start time so they had to catch up. Simply chatting with them really did a lot to relax my nerves. I was so much calmer after that, and was really just taking in the sights around me and appreciating the support of the spectators. I took a gel at mile 3.5 (and 7 and 10) I overdid it with the gels on purpose, I'm hypoglycemic and wanted to eat preemptively instead of get caught in a blood sugar crash. Looking back on it I probably could have survived with 2 gels.

Somewhere between miles 3 and 4.. I was not having any foot pain yet which was a great sign.. however I notice my foot began to tense up. It was like my toes wanted to curl involuntarily, and the top of my foot would just pulse and quiver for a few seconds. I tried my best to just relax my foot and not think about what could go wrong. Mile 5, along comes Walton Way. Long ass hill. I remember this well from my 10k last year. I made it with only a brief walk at the top. Enjoyed running through Augusta, seeing all the beautiful old southern homes and what not. My mentality for this race was just to take it all in, and think of it as just another long run. And it seems to have worked. I didn't have any music - they ask you not to wear headphones and I respected that - but the volunteers and spectators were amazing at cheering us on! It made such a huge difference for me. It's heartwarming to see so many supporters out there.

Beyond Walton Way I didn't really know what was up next. I had looked at the course map briefly about 2 weeks ago and didn't remember much. We turned onto this road called Berkmans road or something, runs right along side Augusta National. All of a sudden there's this big ass hill ahead of me. Oh god. I ran it slowly - but at this point most other people were walking. I started to feel some random knee pain that would come and go. My endurance was still strong. Around mile 10 is when my foot actually started to hurt, and the spasms were becoming more frequent. The bottoms of my feet hurt now too. The last mile was the worst. Everything started to hurt and I basically hit the wall. But I pushed it out and made myself keep running to the finish line, where I saw my husband screaming at me - ordering me to sprint. Yeah right! It took everything I had left, but I did it! I FINISHED!

My time was pretty bad. 2:42. First half marathon and a bum foot - I was being conservative. But nothing stopped me from finishing and that's what's important. I have laid the foundation. All that's left is for me to improve upon it.

I had a great time - once I got out there and started running I was super relaxed, I enjoyed being there with all those other runners and spectators cheering us on. I loved running through town and putting myself up to this challenge - and beating it! Plus I got to spend the whole morning with my husband, who once again was super supportive!

After the race I got some very tasty and satisfying lunch from Genghis Grill. I freaking love that place. Now I'm home, very tired and in pain. But that's alright. Pain is temporary. I can do awesome things!

Warrior Dash - North Carolina

I'm back from Warrior Dash!

Man, it was a hot one! It was 90 degrees and sunny... luckily I brought a bunch of water and took advantage of all the water stations. I'm also glad I came prepared with sunscreen because I am very prone to sunburns!

 Yesterday morning I made the drive to North Carolina and arrived at the Rural Hill park 2 hours early. But not before snapping this picture of the course from my car window (stuck in traffic) I was kind of irked at the sight of this, because of how DRY everybody was! And I figured it had to be at least a mile in because there was a water station in this segment. Anywho. Good thing I got there so early because this event was not very well organized. Now, this isn't my first foray into racing, so I know to come early and be prepared to wait. I didn't complain loudly like some others did, but it was kind of a mess. I'd say it took me at least an hour and a half to pick up my packet. They had tried to form lines for gender and name, but the line was so far back that nobody could see the signs and it was essentially one giant clusterfuck. Somehow I happened to walk right into the correct line for my gender and name, so at least I didn't have to lose my place and move. 

One great thing was, I did not have to check my bag. The parking was literally right next to the race grounds and I got a really good spot, so I just kept my stuff in there. I brought my Spi belt just in case, and had a plastic bag to put my key in so it wouldn't get muddy. I made it right on time for my 2pm heat. And off we went!The first mile was really just running through a field - a very hot field. Then we started to see the obstacles. Alot of climbing obstacles here. My overall feeling of them is, they weren't super easy but most of them were not too challenging for me. About medium I'd say. 

The two that gave me the hardest time were - an A frame ladder where the rungs were loose hanging chains. This one was simply awkward to maneuver because the chains made me shake and wobble. But my strategy here was to keep my center of gravity low and use my butt as a support if need be. The other one was a ladder that had an overhanging board at the top that jutted outward, so you had to figure out how to get up and over that. I hoisted my leg over rather than relying on my upper body to push myself over, because I didn't want to end up hanging off of it with my legs dangling. 

I pretty much jumped into the obstacles with no fear. Spartan Race taught me not to think - just do it. I "chicked" quite a few guys out there yesterday!

The second half of the race was a woods trail. It felt good to get out of the sun, but I was pretty tired at this point. I can't say I ran the whole thing - I definitely stopped for walk breaks. But the majority of the people were walking by this point, and I was one of the few still running at all. It was at this point that I realized all the mud would be at the end. After I jumped over the fires - was really looking forward to that part, my Spartan Race had no fire! - there was the mud. Oh, such mud there was ....

This mud. Was like peanut butter. Let me put it this way... it was a bottomless mud pit, yet I was floating in it. That's how THICK this crap was. Nobody was moving. When I finally got a chance to try and move forward, it took all my strength just to move one inch. Most people were crawling out to the side, and unfortunately I did the same. I'm normally not one to opt out of obstacles, but this was just ridiculous and I only would have frustrated myself. So, over the finish line I went, looking like a mud monster. I have no idea what time I finished (I would have had to wait around to find out) but I estimate somewhere between 50 and 55 based on the announcer calling out the next heats to start. 

And, my medal! I love the fact that it's a bottle opener too. I really do love mud... it felt great and cooled me off after that very hot run. This mud was literally about an inch thick on my skin. I felt like a frosted cake! So it was time to find the showers, because I still had to drive back to Georgia. The "Warrior Wash" was just a guy with a fire hose who kept running out of water. It didn't do the job very well and there was no changing tent, so I had to get creative in the back of my Jeep. Good thing I brought dry towels and baby wipes! Unfortunately I did lose my free beer ticket, prolly from that fire hose. But it's ok - I got to stop at Chipotle, a place I absolutely love and haven't had in almost a year! The food was way more filling than I remember, but maybe that's because I don't eat like I did last summer...lol.  So all in all, a great day of muddy racing. Feel like I conquered the course pretty successfully!

My thoughts on Warrior Dash

Pros

• I love the warrior/viking theme of this race. The atmosphere is fun and laid back, they always had music going and alot of people were just hanging out and enjoying themselves. It's not "elitist" or "hardcore" by any means.
• There are alot of people who run in costume which adds to the "fun run" element. They have contests for the best costume and best beard
• The pricing is pretty modest compared to other races
• The fact that they let me transfer to the North Carolina race due to my back problems that started a week before I was supposed to run the Georgia race. The deadline to change registrations had passed, but after explaining my situation they allowed me to transfer anyway. There was a $10 fee but I didn't care. It's nice to know that not all people are robots, and some do have sympathy.

Cons

• Not managed well. For how big this racing series is and how long it's been around, I'm surprised they still struggle here. Lines are disorganized and long. My race also could have used a better washing system and a changing tent. Definitely show up early, expect to wait, and bring plenty of wipes, towels, and clean clothes - also, you may be changing in your car.
• Lack of mud. This might be a pro to some people. Not everyone wants to get muddy right off the bat, then have to run their entire race covered in mud. It also makes the obstacles harder as they get covered in it. I guess most people just want to splash in it at the end of the race and spend less time getting dirty. Not me. I love mud. Spartan Race had mud throughout, and it's not just obstacles and running. I think what this does is shifts your mindset for a moment, from "holy crap I have to complete all these crazy obstacles" to more of a mindset of playtime and carefree wading in the mud. Kind of calms your nerves and distracts you a little, which I personally like. 
• Here's my beef with the obstacles of this race. It's not so much that they aren't challenging, it's that they lack variety. WD has alot of climbing and crawling oriented obstacles. At Spartan Race you had plenty of that, but you also had to push, pull, lift, and throw. 

I had fun at Warrior Dash and I'm glad I finally got to go! It's a great race for people who are just starting out in obstacle racing, or for those who just want to do something a little more laid back. That being said I do prefer Spartan Race - it's a hell of alot harder, but is better organized and the obstacles have more variety. 

And of course, I love my viking helmet!

More pictures and official results to come when I get them