A week of rollercoaster emotions… but ends on a good note!

What a week. Last time I checked in things were going FANTASTIC to put it mildly. Running was awesome, classes were over (and I got a 4.0 in my summer courses), and I was heading home to go to the fair w/ my mom.  Well things were looking great until I went on my long run that Saturday… the pace was superb, 7:05 for 10 miles (felt so good! and easy!) but there was a nice little hip pain developing throughout the entire run that had previously only been noticeable after runs when I felt the need to stretch out the hip flexor.  This particular run led me to believe that the pain was more bone-related, which frightened me to say the least.  Given my recent stress fracture in my right femoral neck, I was almost certain that the pain was another developing sfx in the other leg, same area as before.  So as a precaution I took it easy for a few days, crosstrained, went to the chiropractor just in case it was caused by misalignment, and then attempted a test-run that Thursday. Things went just “OK” and then the run Friday was a bit more painful, leading to a more painful day at work afterwards.  I was devastated to say the least.  I know when I’m in good shape and right now I’m in GREAT SHAPE.  So as the realization began to set in that I was probably out for a couple months, the sadness crept in as I imagined all my hard work fading away to nothing.  It was a particularly hard blow because it was just a few days away from the week of preseason xc practice when we get a total kick in the butt to see who has done their training over the summer.  So I was relegated to the sidelines, and the pool of course, while my teammates battled it out on the roads and on the track until I got my MRI.

So long story short (if you want to call this short)… I got the results back today and…NO STRESS FRACTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently I have a bit of fluid built up in the area that is causing painful inflammation and joint pain, so if I work to reduce that then I’ll be back running sooner than expected! I can’t even express how happy I am right now. It has been a huge goal of mine to run this xc season, so hopefully I’ll get in a few meets later on (though I had really hoped to run the duel meet this coming Friday, but I’ll take what I can get).  For now I’ll just keep killing myself in the pool with my newly-found aqua runner foot things that give my legs a killer workout, so I’ll be ready to go in a week or so.  If there is one thing I’ve learned, it is that training through an injury is 10x harder than training for running because it involves a lot of self-motivation and perserverance to get out there and into the pool to workout when no one else is around and there are no teammates and no coaches to push you and hold you accountable.  I remind myself of that everytime I get in that pool.  It is up to me to work hard and no one will know what I do but me, so I have to be mentally tough and push myself.  I have to say I’m proud of myself for being able to do this time and time again.

On another note: the Olympics is awesome! Obviously not everything has gone great for the US or some of the other athletes I picked to stand out, but everyone out there deserves a huge round of applause because it is NOT easy.  Take the women’s marathon, for example:

• Paula is obviously one tough cookie, and though everyone, including her, knows she came back too early from that sfx, it showed serious guts and mental toughness to get through that race and finish.  She will always be a winner in my book.
• Deena Kastor is an unbelievable person.  The way she handled herself in the post-race interview was absolutely amazing.  No self-pity or poor me routine.  She knew that what happened was out of her control and she was just unlucky, but she didn’t make it seem like the end of the world, even though it probably felt that way at the time.  My heart was crushed when I saw her stop and hobble through the pain, and she definitely didn’t deserve an Olympics like that.  She’ll come back, though, and we’ll see her get that Olympic gold medal, I truly believe that.
• Magdalena- hurting your knee on a shuttle bus right before your race? That is just unfair! It’s almost scary to think how those things can happen even when you are 100% prepared for your race, and before you know it you have to stop before the finish of the race.  Again, she is a fighter and she will get back.

My heart really goes out to Lolo Jones, though.  She truly is a class-act.  Not only is she inspiring, beautiful, and exciting to watch, but she managed to hold up through a tough post-race interview after watching her Olympic gold medal dream get taken away with one bump of the hurdle.  This will only fuel her more, though, and I am rooting for her to win the 2012 London Olympics.  She more than deserves that.

There are a few others that should be mentioned as well: Laura Wilkinson, Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, Kerri/Misty, Nastia, Shawn Johnson, and of course Michael Phelps and co. who truly are great athletes and made me proud to be a part of the team USA.  I can’t wait for the men’s marathon tomorrow evening!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao for now

It’s the Olympics!!!!!

I am so excited! The Olympics is so amazing and even though it’s been 4 years since the last summer games, it doesn’t feel that long! Time flies! It seems like just yesterday I was thinking that the next time the summer Olympics rolled around I’d be graduated from college and done with school, and that really freaked me out back then.  Well, funny thing is that I am STILL in school (who would have thought I’d change majors after 3.5 years?) and I am actually fine with being done with school soon.  This whole business of constant reports, projects, assignments, quizzes, exams, labs, etc. is really starting to wear me down, especially since I’ve gone straight through with summer classes. 

Anyways, I have a few key athletes/sports/events that are MUST WATCH!

1.  Kara Goucher/Shalene Flanagan running the 5k/10k double.  It definitely won’t be easy running qualifying heats of the 5k and the finals in the 10k at the Olympic level, but hopefully they’ll be able to handle the pressure and have some great races! Go USA distance!

2. Women’s 3k steeplechase- this might end up being the MOST exciting event of the entire T&F competition.  I think the USA women could very well sweep the medals, and even more records could be set. It’s so exciting to see such great competition between Jenny and Anna!

 

2. Men’s Marathon- Ryan Hall is going to ROCK the marathon. There is no doubt in my mind that he will win a medal, but which color? I also think Dathan could pull a surprise and get top 5 or so.

3.  Women’s Marathon- Paula! Paula! I hope things go well for her this time around. I think maybe having the injury last minute might help take some of the pressure off, so maybe she’ll be able to just go into it and race smartly w/o thinking so much about winning. And I’m rooting for Deena to repeat her medal performance now that she is a seasoned veteran. She looked GREAT at trials and is very smart, so she won’t overexert herself early.

 

3.  USA Women’s gymnastics team- They are the gold medal favorites, hands down, and I think they are going to dominate the team competition, all around, and event finals.  Shawn Johnson is a beast, Nastia has composure, and Chelsie Memmel is rock solid consistant.  Should be amazing! Unfortunately, the men’s team, now down TWO Hamm brothers, is not looking as fierce. Hopefully they can handle things w/o their leaders.

4. Cycling! A lot of the big names will be competing fresh off the Tour de France, and it should be fun to watch.

5. Women’s 10m platform diving- Laura Wilkinson, all the way. She pulled off a cRaZy dive at Trials to earn a perfect score and pull herself back into the lead.  Her difficulty is out of this world, and she brings so much excitement to the sport. Plus the natatorium for this Olympics is out of this world. Go Laura!

6.  I may just have to tune in and watch Michael Phelps break a few more world records and win a million and one medals because he is just that good.  That man is un-freaking-believable and I’m glad he is able to use his God-given talents (and super-human body) to the max and really give people a good show.

I literally watch EVERY sport at some time during the Olympics because it is such a privelage to see the best in each discipline. And it gives me something to watch on TV every minute of the day

Sport is LIFE.

Where did the time go???!!

Can you believe it? It’s already August and that means fall semester is just around the corner.  It’s been hard to even think about fall classes since I have been hard-core into chemistry since the middle of May.  But not having chemistry 5 days a week + labs will be nice a nice switch after this crazy summer schedule that crams everything into 6 weeks!  All I have left is 2 exams!!! Fingers crossed, though. I have an A and I’m so nervous to screw it up, yikes!  Edit: Ended up with an A in chemistry lab, and got out of the chemistry lecture final exam by applying my ACS percentile! I’m done!!!!!!!!!!

So anyways, after this Friday I will be home for 5 (yes 5!) days, and will be spending lots of time with my sister, going to the fair with my mom, and working a few days at the zoo (my last days there!).  I am so beyond excited. I need a break from BG and from my apartment.  Plus I can run in Westerville and stuff like that. Yippee!

And the running… it’s going GREAT! A few things that pop up here and there (like this foot pain) but once I get my new shoes tomorrow it should be pretty much fixed.  Hoping to get a 10 miler this weekend with the first half being with my sister, and it will be at my favorite park: Antrim! I always have great experiences there, especially with all of the other runners so cheerful and dedicated.  Today was a very successful workout, and it confirmed that I am doing well with speed.  It has been hard to get it back, but I have put in a lot of extra work on my own to improve! And I got the best compliment the other day when a teammate told me that another teammate said I was in really good shape after she had run with me.  That means a lot coming from someone who is a first-class runner herself, and I really look up to.  More motivation to continue my hard work and to keep positive about my progress! 

The only real letdown lately was my “road race” last Saturday. I was really hoping for a competitive race, but it ended up being me running in second and third place OVERALL and having a hard time keeping a good pace on my own and in the heat on the scorching bike path with too many runners to dart around.  It wore me down and I ended up darting off course at 4 miles to put an end to the misery and just call it a day with the 27 min tempo that it became.  Oh well, good to get in the workout and I have many races to come. 

Here’s what this week is looking like, running-wise:

• Monday- AM run w/ teammates, 53:30 at ~7:10 pace; PM run 40 minutes in the heat at 7:20 pace + striders
• Tuesday- speed workout at the track: 3 sets of 3×300m accelerating (59 sec, 57 sec, 55 sec) w/ 2 min rest b/t repeats and 5 min jog between sets. Hit all my goal times except 2 of the 55’s were at 56. Not bad! Did some lifting afterwards
• Wednesday- AM run 6.3 miles recovery run in the dark (fun!); PM run easy 20 minutes and core
• Thursday- AM hills! 2 miles to the golf course and 4 x 5 hills alternating b/t steep and gradual sides, 1.5 mile run back home;
• Friday- 40 min swimming laps (1500 yds)
• Saturday- LONG RUN! 10 miles, 30 minutes of it w/ my sister and last 45 solo at Antrim Park/Olentangy trail! So excited Lifting later.

Total miles running: estimated 42-43 miles!

Do what you love and love what you do! Happy running!