Stroke. Stroke. Breathe.
Stroke. Stroke. Breathe.
The water is chilly when you first jump in and it gives a mini-shock to your nervous system. But then the smooth, cool silkiness of the water has a soothing effect on tired muscles and an over-stressed mind. You can float along on your back unthinking and let all the worries, wonders, and injustices of life slide off of you. The only thing to see as you float along is the drab, grey concrete ceiling which has, perhaps unwillingly , been privy to many years' worth of exasperated, sputtering sighs and coughs of release from weary bodies seeking their escape.
You could just float on your back for forever, but that's not really what you came here to do. So you flip over at the wall, spread your arms out in front of you and start to glide. Stroke, stroke, stroke... At first you don't have to come up for air every third stroke because your heart isn't racing and your lungs aren't on fire yet. You watch the black line underneath you guide you on your way as your body slices through the lane, faster than you thought you were capable of going. It feels good to keep your face in the water. Refreshing. Eventually, though, your lungs beg for oxygen, and so the work begins.
Stroke. Stroke. Breathe.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
"Let's soak 'em for Crutchy!"
I have good news and bad news.
The good... no, GREAT news is that I successfully finished my first ever 10k run this past Saturday in downtown Greenville. I'm quite proud of this accomplishment! I never thought I would be able to run a full five miles without stopping, much less 6.4. My training for the last two and a half months paid off. I admit that I'm not a great runner. It took me one hour and nine minutes to finish, which put me at running a little less than an eleven minute mile. That isn't a very impressive or amazing time; but I did finish it! My legs actually, and surprisingly, felt very good for the majority of the run. It wasn't until mile five that I really began to tire. Since I wasn't in it to win any prizes or break ay records, I feel that I did a decent job of pacing myself and running within my current limits and ability level.
Now for the bad news... I tried not to broadcast my pain from last week, but following the previous Saturday's 75 minute training run, I had a lot of pain in the outside of my left foot. Initially, I figured it was the typical muscle pain and soreness that often follow strenuous exercise, and thought I would eventually just walk it off. But, as the day wore on, the pain did not decrease. So, like any modern-day human, I looked up my symptoms and pain online and diagnosed myself. I decided I had either bruised my foot, incurred a stress fracture from my foot's constant pounding on the pavement, or I was making the whole thing up. When I awoke Sunday morning, stepped out of bed and felt a sharp pain shoot through my foot, I knew that I hadn't made it up. Even though it felt better as the day wore on, I asked a nurse friend of mine that night what could be the problem. After I explained to her when it started hurting, how it felt, and where on my foot it hurt, she looked at me kindly, with apologetic eyes and said, "Sounds like a stress fracture, Heather."
Shoot. It's not cool to have a possible stress fracture the week before your first ever 10k. I suppose a normal person would have taken the pain and diagnosis to heart, seen a doctor to confirm their fears, and dropped out of the race in order to heal.
Well... I'm a stubborn dummy then because I didn't do any of those things. I was determined to participate in and complete that 10k because I had trained hard for it and because I had never done one before. So, I compromised and withheld from any running or aggressive walking throughout the week so that my foot might heal and I would be fresh for the Reedy River Run. By the end of the week, I wasn't feeling any pain at all and wondered if I had over-exaggerated it in the first place. So to the 10k I went!
Around mile 2 (with 4.4 miles yet to go) I felt that old familiar pain. So I concentrated on running on the inside of my foot to avoid it. I was determined to not stop running and I didn't. But at the finish line, my foot screamed at me. As I limped to the car alongside my friend, Crystal, I knew my running was going to be out of commission for awhile.
I'm trying to take it easy. My plan is to hold off from any serious running for the month of March in hopes that I will be in good shape for the mud run in mid-April. I'm concentrating on swimming and cycling which don't require me to put weight on my foot. Strangely, I'm missing running. Just when I was beginning to get used to it, maybe even enjoy it, I can't do it anymore. At least not for now.
But the good news is I finished a 10k!
The good... no, GREAT news is that I successfully finished my first ever 10k run this past Saturday in downtown Greenville. I'm quite proud of this accomplishment! I never thought I would be able to run a full five miles without stopping, much less 6.4. My training for the last two and a half months paid off. I admit that I'm not a great runner. It took me one hour and nine minutes to finish, which put me at running a little less than an eleven minute mile. That isn't a very impressive or amazing time; but I did finish it! My legs actually, and surprisingly, felt very good for the majority of the run. It wasn't until mile five that I really began to tire. Since I wasn't in it to win any prizes or break ay records, I feel that I did a decent job of pacing myself and running within my current limits and ability level.
Now for the bad news... I tried not to broadcast my pain from last week, but following the previous Saturday's 75 minute training run, I had a lot of pain in the outside of my left foot. Initially, I figured it was the typical muscle pain and soreness that often follow strenuous exercise, and thought I would eventually just walk it off. But, as the day wore on, the pain did not decrease. So, like any modern-day human, I looked up my symptoms and pain online and diagnosed myself. I decided I had either bruised my foot, incurred a stress fracture from my foot's constant pounding on the pavement, or I was making the whole thing up. When I awoke Sunday morning, stepped out of bed and felt a sharp pain shoot through my foot, I knew that I hadn't made it up. Even though it felt better as the day wore on, I asked a nurse friend of mine that night what could be the problem. After I explained to her when it started hurting, how it felt, and where on my foot it hurt, she looked at me kindly, with apologetic eyes and said, "Sounds like a stress fracture, Heather."
Shoot. It's not cool to have a possible stress fracture the week before your first ever 10k. I suppose a normal person would have taken the pain and diagnosis to heart, seen a doctor to confirm their fears, and dropped out of the race in order to heal.
Well... I'm a stubborn dummy then because I didn't do any of those things. I was determined to participate in and complete that 10k because I had trained hard for it and because I had never done one before. So, I compromised and withheld from any running or aggressive walking throughout the week so that my foot might heal and I would be fresh for the Reedy River Run. By the end of the week, I wasn't feeling any pain at all and wondered if I had over-exaggerated it in the first place. So to the 10k I went!
Around mile 2 (with 4.4 miles yet to go) I felt that old familiar pain. So I concentrated on running on the inside of my foot to avoid it. I was determined to not stop running and I didn't. But at the finish line, my foot screamed at me. As I limped to the car alongside my friend, Crystal, I knew my running was going to be out of commission for awhile.
I'm trying to take it easy. My plan is to hold off from any serious running for the month of March in hopes that I will be in good shape for the mud run in mid-April. I'm concentrating on swimming and cycling which don't require me to put weight on my foot. Strangely, I'm missing running. Just when I was beginning to get used to it, maybe even enjoy it, I can't do it anymore. At least not for now.
But the good news is I finished a 10k!
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